Swagbucks Coupons Work For Me

Are you a Swagbucks collector? What about a coupon clipper? Did you know you can have the best of both worlds by earning Swagbucks when you use coupons? Swagbucks has a page on their website where you can print coupons. The site is powered by coupons.com so if you're a regular couponer you're probably already using many of the coupons available on the Swagbucks site, but not getting credit for them. Today I printed out coupons to save 40 cents on 6 cups of Yoplait yogurt, $1 on Kashi cereal bars, and $1 on Kashi cereal. There are also coupons for Udi's gluten free bread. I have a friend who buys gluten free products so I plan to print those for her so she can redeem them and put some bucks in my account. Go to the Swagbucks website, click on earn and then coupons. You'll find 18 pages of deals to choose from.

If you aren't earning Swagbucks yet, what are you waiting for?!? I've earned nearly $100 in Amazon gift cards in a little over a year just by using the toolbar. That works for me! For a homeschooling mama of two reading machines, free Amazon money is pure bliss! Head over to Swagbucks now to start your account then go to We Are That Family to find out what's working for everyone else.

Learning with the American Girls

In just a matter of weeks, Spice turned into an American Girl addict. We received a catalog out of the blue in the fall. I was going to chunk it right off the bat, but decided to hold on to it for a bit to see if she showed any interest. She did not and I thought I had tossed the catalog in the recycle bin. About a month later, I walked into the living room to find her deeply engrossed in the catalog. Apparently it had gotten buried under some books on the coffee table and she unearthed it. Since that day she hasn't talked about much of anything else. She got an AG doll from Santa (one of the My American Girl dolls, not a historical character) and Sport bought her a mini Kaya doll for Christmas as well. This semester she is taking an American Girl class through a homeschool enrichment program we participate in. The class will spend the entire semester studying Rebecca Rubin, a Jewish girl living in 1914 New York. After reading through the books, I decided to supplement her studies at home. I'm also in the process of planning a more in-depth unit on WWII and American Girl Molly. I have decided to post about the work Spice does at home and in class in case others want utilize the wonderful books in their child's studies. I will post about each book in a series as we finish it. First up will be Meet Rebecca. Check back soon for our first installment!

Taco Pie

I haven't done a recipe post in awhile. Just haven't been able to find the inspiration, but it came this week in the form of organic ground beef on sale at Publix. I stocked up and was trying to think of how to use it when I remembered this recipe. It's a family favorite, but I haven't made it in a lonnnggg time because I quit buying canned biscuits - too many weird ingredients. I recently discovered Trader Joe's has a (relatively) healthy store version though so this recipe is coming back into the rotation.


Here's what you need:

1 lb. ground beef (sometimes I substitute the fake Morning Star Farms meat and no one is the wiser)
1 packet taco seasoning
8 oz. tomato sauce
8-10 oz. can of biscuits
1 cup refried beans
1 cup cheese (I use whatever's in the fridge)
1 small onion, chopped

Brown beef and stir in tomato sauce and onion. Heat until it begins to boil. Lower temp and simmer 15 minutes or until thickened. Lightly grease 9-inch pie plate. Flatten biscuits over bottom and up sides of plate. Spread beans over dough. Top with meat and bake for about 20 minutes at 375. Sprinkle cheese over top before serving.

This recipe is being linked with Balancing Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday, All The Small Stuff's Tuesdays At The Table, and At The Well's Tempt My Tummy Tuesday. Head to either of those for more yummy recipes.

Jen over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam is also taking a poll to find out what brands we can't live without. In other words, if you found out a particular brand item was going to be discontinued, which ones would you stock up on. Here's my (not so short) list:

Coca Cola - No diet or zero stuff here. Can't beat the real thing.
Kroger Natural Peanut Butter - I could live with other brands if I had to, but this one is the best in my opinion.
Annie's Mac and Cheese - Spice is a mac and cheese addict. I don't feel quite so guilty when I serve her the Annie's all natural brand.
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups - Nothing else compares...
Tostitos Restaurant Style Salsa - Nice and refreshing. The closest to actual restaurant salsa I've found in a jar.
Tostitos Baked Scoops - The perfect complement to the above mentioned salsa. These are the ONLY baked chips I like and they make my constant craving for chips and salsa a little less guilt inducing.
Crayola Crayons - The rest are just colored blobs of wax.
Oral B or Johnson & Johnson dental floss - All the other brands fall apart before the job is done.
Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom Cleaner - The only one that actually works on the tub.

And No. 1 on the list...

Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning - My luxury item if I'm ever on Survivor. This stuff could even make grass taste good.

Head over to Jen's blog to see what brands other reader's are loyal to and feel free to leave a comment here telling me your favorites.

Frugal Fashionista

Jen over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam is hosting a Frugal Fashionista fashion show this weekend. I’ve wanted to participate in one for so long, but it seems like once I first discovered them she didn’t do one in forever then when she did have one I totally missed it. So here’s my first Frugal Fashionista post. Unfortunately, the pictures aren’t the greatest. My camera was taking for-evah to charge so I had to get Hubby to snap a few pics with his camera phone. Not the best quality and to say he wasn’t into it nearly as much as me is a huge understatement. But it’s all we’ve got so here goes…


This jacket was my thrift store find of the week (and I found some goooood stuff this week)! Abercombie and Fitch via Goodwill for $5.90! As for the rest of the outfit…
Ribbed turtleneck – FREE from a homeschool swap.
Jeans – FREE from an awesome consignment shop. I bring most of my unwanted goods to this consignment shop so I have built up a nice little line of credit. It’s fun to walk out of a store with a sack of free goodies and not have to worry about the police tracking you down.
Shoes – $4 on clearance at Cato.
Grand Total: A whopping $9.90!



I picked up this nice and cozy sweater yesterday. Can’t wait to wear it!
Sweater – $2.72 from America’s Thrift Store
Jeans – same as above
Axcess Shoes – $3.88 America’s Thrift Store – These aren’t my normal style of shoes. I prefer “sensible” (i.e. comfortable shoes) but for some reason when I saw these yesterday they just called to me. Here's a better picture:


Grand Total for that outfit: $7.76

Ooh! I almost forgot this sweater and it’s one of my new all time faves. Luckily, Spice was kind enough to take a picture for me today.
I picked up this Dress Barn beauty at a church run thrift store on Tuesday for $2.00!!! The aqua shirt underneath came from the same store last season for $1.50.

Hope you enjoyed taking a peek at my bargains. Can’t wait to show off more next time. I already have a nice little wardrobe of spring goodies built up, but since neither my legs nor my toes are in spring mode, they’ll have to wait! Check out other fashionista bargains at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam and My Red Apron's Thrift Store Thursday.