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Frugal Novice

Protecting Your Marriage

When Brian and I got engaged, we did premarital counseling at the university we graduated from. We were so glad we did it because the counselor had us talk about issues we might never have thought to discuss, and it gave us insight as to how each of us approach things that can be hot button topics, like money management. In our case it was really nice to find out we were on the same page about most things.

I think most people would agree that their marriage is one of the most important things in their life. Sometimes couples encounter bumps along the road and may even feel like they are drifting apart. Marriage counseling is a great option to help bring problems to the forefront so they can be resolved. Some people might not like the idea of bringing someone else into what can be personal problems, but marriage help can be the answer if it’s hard to resolve problems by yourselves.

There are a ton of resources out there, from finding a marriage counselor to books to finding resources online. Whatever solution is chosen, there are many great ways to protect or salvage a marriage.

Disclosure: http://cmp.ly/3

EA SPORTS Active 2 & House Party Review

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I’ve written about House Party before back when we hosted a Hasbro Game Night. I’ve gotten the chance to work with them again on an EA SPORTS Active 2 party. I can’t say enough about how great I think House Party is. You don’t even have to have a blog to participate! Once you’re selected to host a party, simply share with the online House Party community all the details of your party, including photos & video. There are always a lot of parties available to apply for, too. It’s a great way to discover new products, share them with your friends, and enjoy fun freebies.

I thought I’d share with y’all a little bit about the latest product we received – EA SPORTS Active 2 for the Wii. I’ve tried other fitness games for the Wii before and I can honestly say this one is my favorite. I knew it was going to be a little something extra just by seeing all of the peripherals included with the game:

There’s a leg band to track motion, an arm band that tracks motion AND your heart rate (LOVED this feature), and a flash drive that plugs into the Wii and can also plug into your computer so you can participate with an online community of other people using the game. You also get a resistance band that helps with many of the exercises.

I signed up for the 9-week program and am excited to track my results. The workouts are challenging and there are a ton of different options so you can avoid getting in a rut. There are different intensity levels to set so you can get the challenge you need without going overboard.

This is a great workout option for me, because it’s really hard with two kids to find the time to sneak out to the gym. With EA Active 2 I can work out in the living room after the kids go to bed. I mentioned earlier that the arm band tracks your heart rate – I think this is my favorite feature, because I can really see how my body is responding to the exercises. There are even tests you can take to see how fast your heart rate recovers after an intense activity, giving you an idea of how your fitness improves over time.

I’d definitely recommend this game for anyone who wants to add convenient workouts to your routine.

Note: I received the EA Sports Active 2 game and extras for participating with House Party. I was not required to write a blog post, and all opinions included in this post are honest and my own.

Online Transactions

How many of you have direct sat tv? I have heard several people say that you can save a lot of money with direct  tv and am curious what your opinions are. This year we’re trying to make smart decisions with our budget, saving money where we can and just being more organized in general.  I like to pay bills online as much as possible because a) I’m not having to pay for postage and b) it’s a lot easier to keep track of everything.

Online transactions have come a long way from when I first started paying my own bills in and right after college. Now security is even tighter and you can even have a digital signature to add another layer of safety.  I think by the time our children are grown the concept of mailing a bill in will be a foreign concept – everything will be done online.

Disclosure: http://cmp.ly/3

CSN Stores Review: Fiesta Ware Plates

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I’ve written about CSN Stores before on my blog. Each time I go to their site I find yet another product that they carry. When I had my latest opportunity to do a review for them, I chose to receive Fiesta Ware plates.

When Brian and I first got married, we registered for three shades of Fiesta Ware – turquoise, sunflower, and cobalt blue.  It’s been over 7 years now, and I’ve gotten a little tired of that color scheme, but it seemed a little extravagant to go out and buy a bunch of new place settings. I wished I could just order single plates… and then discovered that at CSN Stores, it’s possible.

I received the Tangerine, Scarlet, Plum, Shamrock, and Peacock plates. I think having the multiple colors is fun, and being able to just get the plates is a lot more practical. Everything arrived quickly, well-packaged and intact.

A friend told me she has dinner plates for different holidays, and I think that’s a really fun idea. You could order scarlet and white to have plates for Valentine’s Day, and then add some shamrock plates to make them perfect for Christmas. Black and tangerine would be perfect for Halloween – the possibilities are endless.

Note: I received the Fiesta Ware plates for review from CSN Stores. All opinions provided are honest and are my own.

Safe Driving

I’ve always been a pretty cautious driver, and after having children I’m even more aware of other drivers on the road too. I know not all people are safe drivers, so that makes me very alert when I’m driving with my boys.

I do think technological advancements can really help with safety on the road. GPS tracking is one feature I love – there’s no need to attempt to look at a map when you’ve got a voice telling you where your next turn will be. I think distracted driving is dangerous driving. Technologies like GPS tracking allow drivers to be much more focused on the road, making it a safer place for everyone to be.

Disclosure: http://cmp.ly/3

Friendly Friday 1/14

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Welcome to Friendly Friday – the first of 2011!

Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog too! Just click “Get the code here…” at the bottom of the list. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way for everyone to get even more traffic to their blog.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Christi at Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your family-friendly link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it’s a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post – the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers! We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we’ll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the content of next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):

Natalie, a brunette, shares about her life and her “blonde moments” on her blog Blonde at Heart. Her writing is so fun to read! You’ll find posts about her husband and her nephews (and shopping – who doesn’t like reading about that?). She recently turned 29, so stop by and wish her a belated birthday!

Jen @ My Secret Home is a 23 year old stay-at-home-mom of 1 little guy, who is the love of her life! She loves trying out new products, going to restaurants, going for walks, traveling & shopping. She is a *green* mommy and through her blog hope to provides families with eco-friendly product suggestions. You’ll find a lot of great giveaways on this blog!

At Mom to 2 Posh Little Divas you can read all about the blogger’s two sweet daughters. She shares funny stories about the things they say, provides activity ideas that you can try with your own children, and really lets you feel like you’re a part of her adorable family!

Now that you know about these 3 wonderful blogs, it’s time for you to join in! Add your family-friendly link below and we’ll see you back here every Friday! And don’t forget, you can grab the code to share the link list on your blog too.

All three hostesses appreciate followers through GFC and Twitter, and we’ll follow you back – be sure to leave a comment with your URL and/or Twitter username.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Resource for Small Businesses – Lendio

In a dream world I’d love to own my own gift shop, selling all hand-made items. I love to make things and have a ton of talented friends whose products would be great to include too. I don’t have a clue about getting something like that off the ground, but I do know there are companies like Lendio that exist to help small business owners get matched up with financing. Lendio can even help with things like writing a business plan.

If I ever get to the point where I’m ready to make the dream of the shop a reality, I think Lendio would be a great resource for getting started.

Disclosure: http://cmp.ly/3

Jewelry With a Meaning

What girl doesn’t love jewelry? I think every female I know has spent at least some amount of time daydreaming about engagement rings. I remember in college some friends and I surfing the web just for fun and showing each other rings we liked (Brian ended up doing a great job picking out a ring, by the way).

A couple of months before we got married, Brian and I went together to look at wedding rings. There are SO many more options out there for women than men, but I guess that’s because we care about what our rings look like a little bit more. We had fun picking out our rings together.

I know where I’m from it’s really common for people to get promise rings, too – kind of a pre-engagement ring. I didn’t have an official promise ring but Brian did give me one for our anniversary one year that I wore until we got engaged. It’s kind of a nice way to show your intentions even before taking the next step of engagement, I think.  I love jewelry that has a sentimental meaning behind it – the pieces I love most all mean something special to me.

Disclosure: http://cmp.ly/3

Betty Crocker, GladWare, and Safeway Stores Giveaway

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This year, why not start a new tradition for Valentine’s Day? With a little help from Betty Crocker, GladWare® and the Safeway Family of Stores, you can keep your loved ones’ hearts and homes filled with the homemade goodness of Betty Crocker. Whip up a plate full of cookies using a recipe from BakeSweetMemories.com and give someone you love a sweet treat. You could even host a cookie swap and invite your friends or family over for a night of swapping cookies and recipes.

Once you’ve finished baking, share it in GladWare! Glad® food storage products are the perfect solution for preparing, storing and transporting your baked goods.

Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix is a way to cut down on the time it takes to make cookies –  that makes it even easier to share the love with your family & friends! I got to try the mix, and I decided to make cookies for my coworkers. I also bought a bowl of buttercream icing so people could have that too if they want. Everyone really loved the cookies (I doubt anyone could tell they weren’t made from scratch!) and they disappeared quickly.

Wouldn’t you like to make cookies for your friends or family, and have handy storage for them? And wouldn’t it be nice to have, say, a $25 gift card to the Safeway family of stores (which includes Dominick’s, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, and Genuardi’s) to buy even more cookie-baking supplies? Well, you’re in luck!

Win It

Safeway, Betty Crocker, and Glad through MyBlogSpark has provided a prize pack for me to give away!  This includes a package of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix, a GladWare sample pack and a $25 Safeway gift card (also valid at Dominick’s, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, and Genuardi’s)! This contest is open to all U.S. and Canadian residents. Entries will be accepted until midnight CST on Wednesday, January 19.

How To Enter

Mandatory Entry: Comment on this post telling me what your favorite Betty Crocker or Glad product is and why!

Bonus Entries

(Only valid after the required entry has been completed)

Please leave a comment for each extra entry – if you blog about this giveaway and get 3 entries, for example, comment 3 times.

  • Share a link to this giveaway on your Facebook wall {2 extra entries}
  • Blog about this giveaway and link it back here {3 extra entries}
  • Follow me on Google Friend Connect {2 extra entries}
  • Subscribe to my RSS feed {2 extra entries}
  • Follow me on Twitter {1 extra entry}
  • “Like” Frugal Novice on Facebook {1 extra entry}
  • Tweet about this giveaway {1 extra entry per tweet; 2 tweets (not back-to-back) per day}

Note: Safeway, Betty Crocker, and Glad provided me with the gift pack for review, information, and additional gift pack for giveaway through MyBlogSpark.

Christi

Kix Prize Pack Winner!

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The winner is….

Congratulations, Amber! Thanks to everyone who entered. I have another great giveaway I’ll be posting Wednesday. I’m pretty excited about this one – it’s another from MyBlogSpark.

Solar Power for Your Home?

Brian and I, like many people lately, are always looking for ways to cut costs. I know with how hot it gets in the summer our electric bill for a pretty small house can jump as high as $250. We’ve looked into home solar power in the past, because the idea of reducing energy costs is really appealing.

We don’t plan to be at this house for much longer, but we may think about panels for the future and would probably look into solar financing to make it work with our monthly budget. The cost of solar power can be more affordable than people realize with financing options that exist.  I hope some day we’re able to do solar panels on our house for both the financial and ecological benefits to be reaped.

Disclosure: http://cmp.ly/3

Homemade Mac & Cheese Recipe with Tillamook Cheddar

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I love cheese. I’m one of those that gets giddy over the cheese section of the grocery store, and I seriously think I’d be fine living on cheese and bread alone if I had to. I had never tried Tillamook before, but I got the chance to sample two of their cheeses recently:

• Tillamook Sharp Cheddar is naturally aged for over nine months to achieve a full-bodied flavor marked by sharper accents than the medium cheddar. We loved the flavor of this cheese for sandwiches or shredded on tacos. It’s got a nice sharpness to it, but isn’t overpowering.

• Tillamook Smoked Medium Cheddar (aged 60 days) is infused with natural hardwood smoke to produce the distinctive flavor of this uniquely delicious cheddar. The smokiness of this cheddar is SO good. This is one of new favorites. It adds a real depth of flavor to dishes like macaroni and cheese but is great to eat all on its own, too.

Tillamook has been farmer owned since 1909. They’ve worked hard over the years to distinguish ourselves as great supporters of the local and state dairy industries and as committed stewards of the environment.

I thought it’d be fun to share a macaroni and cheese recipe so you could go get some Tillamook smoked cheddar and see how it adds a new twist to an old favorite! This recipe is from Nestle Carnation:

Ingredients:

  • 1 & 2/3 cups dry elbow macaroni
  • 2 tablespoons corn starch
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 Nestle Carnation evaporated milk
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 cups shredded Cheddar (note from me – try the smoked cheddar!)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 2-quart casserole dish.
  2. Combine cornstarch, salt, mustard and pepper in medium saucepan. Stir in evaporated milk, water, and butter. Cook over medium-heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted. Add macaroni; mix well. Pour into prepared casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
  3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and light brown.

Note: I received coupons to try Tillamook cheese for free, but my opinions in this post are all honest and are my own. I was not compensated monetarily for this post.

Christi