Earth Day Giveaway - Green Bag Tag

Today is Earth Day, and I would like to help one of my readers take a step towards a greener life by giving away a FREE Green Bag Tag that you can use at any CVS Pharmacy nationwide along with your own bag and save a tree every time you do so. In addition to that, every 4th time your Green Bag Tag is scanned at the register, you get $1 in CVS ExtraCare Bucks! It's like being paid to use your own bag!
You can learn more about Green Bag Tag at CVS website here.

Just leave me a comment with your favorite "green" tip or just say that you want it.
The winner will be selected at random next Wednesday, April 28th.

Fruit2O - Review and Giveaway

MomSelect has sent us six bottles of new Fruit2O Essentials beverage to review and giveaway to my readers. What a treat! Fruit2O comes in 6 delectable blends of fruit flavors with several nutrients found in 2 servings of fruit in each bottle. A great new way to get the water and nutrients you need anywhere, anytime—all with 0 calories!

My daughters (who are very particular about what they drink) have announced their winners: Vikki's favorite was Citrus, and Nikki's - Cherries & Acai berries. They liked the remaining flavors (Cranberry + Raspberry, Strawberry + Kiwi, Blueberry + Pomegranate and Peach + Mango) equally and I was quite happy they did as each bottle contains not only water, but also vitamins and fiber equivalent of 2 servings of fruit per bottle.

Would you like to try Fruit2O Essentials for yourself? One lucky reader will get a set of 6 bottles of Fruit2O - one of each flavor -- just leave me a comment before next Tuesday, telling me what is your favorite non-alcoholic beverage. The winner will be chosen at random, and announced next Wednesday, April 28th.

Can't wait to try it? Go over to Fruit2O website and print money saving coupons before you head over to the store ;)

Giant Gift Card Giveaway and How to Enter to Win an Eco-Friendly Car

I have received a word from MyBlogSpark about a great promotion that Giant and Stop-and-Shop stores in MA, RI, CT, NH, NJ, NY, MD, DE, VA and DC are planning in the upcoming two weeks to celebrate Earth month: between April 16-29, each time you use a reusable shopping bag and purchase any five of participating General Mills products with your Giant/Stop-and-Shop card, you are entered to win a brand new 2010 eco-friendly Hybrid car!

The participating products are listed below -- chances are you are buying them already!

Week 1, April 16-22
Cascadian Farms Cereal
Cascadian Farms Frozen Vegetables
Progresso Light, Reduced Sodium and High Fiber Soups
Betty Crocker Specialty Potatoes
Betty Crocker Boxed Muffins
Betty Crocker Cookie Pouch
Nature Valley Crunchy, Sweet & Salty, Trail Mix and Yogurt Bars
Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters
General Mills Fiber One Chewy Bars
Betty Crocker Gushers, Fruit Shapes, Fruit by the Foot or Fruit Rollups
Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers
Yo-Pus, Yoplait Fiber One or Yoplait Delights Multi Pack
Yoplait Original, Light, Thick & Creamy, Light Thick & Creamy or Whips
Pillsbury Grands Biscuits
Totino's Pizza Rolls 90 Ct.
Cheerios 18 Oz
Cinnamon Toast Crunch 24.9 Oz
Honey Nut Cheerios 25.25 Oz
Kix 18 Oz
Lucky Charms 24 Oz
Multigrain Cheerios 16.2 Oz

Week 2, April 23-29
Cascadian Farms Cereal
Green Giant Vegetables
Nature Valley Crunchy or Sweet & Salty Granola Bars
Green Giant Boxed Vegetables or Prepared Vegetables, Simple Steam Seasoned Vegetables or Rices
Green Giant Wanchai Ferry Entrees
Yoplait Frozen Smoothies
Totino's Pizza Rolls
Pillsbury Savorings
Fiber One Muffins
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Pillsbury Sweet Rolls
Yoplait Greek Style Yogurt
Yoplait Kid Multi Pack
Cheerios 14 Oz
Cocoa Puffs 16.5 Oz
Honey Nut Cheerios 17 Oz
Lucky Charms 16 oz
Multigrain Cheerios 12.8 Oz
Reeses Peanut Butter Puffs 18 Oz

You can also enter without making a purchase by filling out a form in your store, see your Giant or Stop-and-Shop store for details.

General Mills and Giant have sent me a $20 gift card via MyBlogSpark; and they are giving another $20 giftcard to one of my readers who are interested in this promotion. Just leave me a comment with your favorite General Mills item to enter. The winner will be drawn at random on Tuesday, 4/20th.

Good luck! :)

RainbowBrite is back!

Do you remember Rainbow Brite from your childhood? Well, guess what? She is back! :) A modern up-to-date version that is, with her own website - Rainbow Brite online - that has games, a short video, a list of cool new Rainbow Brite products and more! Rainbow Brite dolls are actually back in Target stores right now, and they will be hitting Toys ‘R’ Us this month.

MomSelect and Hallmark had sent me Rainbow Brite activity CDs with games, puzzles, a picture maker, coloring pages, the Rainbow Brite theme song - for my daughters to enjoy and for me - to give away! We got the CDs just before the major snowstorms, so the timing could not have been better: my daughters (a third grader and a preschooler) spent hours playing with Rainbow Brite and enjoyed the activities offered on the CD.

Now you can too! I'm giving away 5 of the CDs on February 28th. All you have to do is leave me a comment until then. :) The winners are selected at random.

Meanwhile, you can go to Rainbow Brite website and see what the buzz is all about and don't forget that you can find Rainbow Brite products at Target and Toys'R'Us (in case your kids start bugging you to get the actual dolls like mine do :))

And the winners are....

The winners of the Fiber One Yogurt gift pack from Yoplait and MyBlogSpark are...

Donna and Alina!
Congratulations!!!

(Both winners were contacted for their mailing address)

Thanks to everyone who participated: don't forget to print your $1 off coupon and be sure to try Fiber One Yogurt -- 100% yummy and satisfying with just 50 calories! :)

Fiber One Yogurt - Review and Giveaway

MyBlogSpark has provided me with an opportunity to try the new Fiber One yogurt, the only leading nonfat yogurt with 50 calories and 5 grams of fiber (20% of the Recommended Daily Value!).

I have to admit, though, having three little picky eaters at home oftentimes places the taste of whatever is served ahead of nutritional benefits, so I wasn't sold on that statement alone. I know Fiber One yogurt is also a good source of calcium and vitamins A and D and is made by Yoplait - our preferred brand, so I was glad to offer it to my Panel consisting of a Third-grader, a Preschooler and a Toddler; the fourth cup of a 4-pack was consumed buy Yours Truly.

Out of available flavors (Strawberry, Peach, Vanilla and Key Lime Pie), my kids ultimately chose the Peach, and none of us regretted it later: the yogurt was creamy and delicious, well-liked by all three kids and I was especially grateful for the "just 50 calories" part after -sigh- eating too much over the Thanksgiving weekend with extended family.

You can try Fiber One yogurt for $1 less using this $1 off coupon and two lucky readers will also win Fiber One Gift Pack that includes a Fiber One yogurt VIP coupon (good for a free 4-pack of Fiber One yogurt), cooler pack, and other storage items for you to carry your snacks and yogurt - courtesy of MyBlogSpark and Yoplait.


All you need to do is leave me a comment telling me how you make sure you don't overeat at all those holiday feasts and/or what's your favorite dieting tip.

The giveaway will be open until Sunday, December 13th, and the winners will be announced on Monday, December 14th.

Purex 3-in-1 sheets: Win a Year's worth of clean laundry

Purex has launched the new revolutionary product this spring - 3-in-1 sheets that combine load's worth of detergent, softener and anti-static all in one powerful sheet. I'm excited to be one of the Purex insiders and help spread the word about it! Not only do these sheets WORK, Purex also gives you a chance to win them every day by tweeting about it. You can also win a year's worth of clean laundry from Purex here.

$10 Stop and Shop gift card giveaway

My Blog Spark and General Mills offered me a challenge: they have provided me with the $10 gift card to Stop and Shop to see how much I can stretch it.

The timing could not have been better: Stop & Shop stores are having a Back-to-School Saving Event is taking place September 4-10!

Here's more info about the Back-to-School Saving Event:

Great sale pricing on the participating General Mills brands: Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Reeses Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cookie Crisp Sprinkles, Cookie Crisp, Fruit Snacks, Old El Paso Dinner Kits, Pillsbury Strudel, Pillsbury Scrambles, Green Giant Boxed Vegetables, Yoplait Yo-Plus Multi-Pack, Fiber One Yogurt Multi-Pack, Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookies, Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, Pillsbury Sweet Rolls and Yoplait Delights

Additional savings for you or your school, depending on which Stop & Shop location you shop:

If your Stop & Shop store sells gas --
Buy four (4) participating General Mills items and you’ll automatically earn 100 points on your Stop & Shop card
For every 100 points earned, you'll save 10¢ per gallon of gas (Please note: Total discount cannot exceed price per gallon)
Just swipe your Stop & Shop Card at the pump to redeem your Gas Rewards

If your Stop & Shop store doesn’t sell gas --
For those Stop & Shop locations without gas stations, don’t worry – you’re not left out of the savings – if you buy five (5) participating General Mills products, you will receive 20 Bonus Box Tops for your school.

While I'm planning my shopping trip and getting my coupons ready, YOU have a chance to win $10 Stop and Shop gift card of your own, courtesy of MyBlogSpark and General Mills. Just take a look at this week's Stop and Shop circular and leave a comment, telling me what would you get if you won.

The winner will be chosen at random on Saturday, September 12th.

Bath&Body Works - 20% off and FREE lotion giveaway

I have two 'Exclusive Offer' cards for Bath & Body Works that I won't be using, so I decided to pass them onto someone who will. These do not have my name on it and can be used like coupons at any Bath and Body Works location nationwide.

One card is for 20% off your entire purchase; the other - for a FREE Black Amethyst body lotion (2 oz) - NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Both cards are valid IN-STORE only, Sept. 3-21.

One lucky winner will be selected randomly on Saturday (9/13) and will receive both cards.

All you need to do - is leave me a comment with a way to contact you if you win :)
Good luck!

I cannot believe my luck: I have won 4 giveaways over the past two weeks!
Thanks so much to:

• Kimberly from My GoodCents , who sent me a code for a FREE photobook! I'm getting all my digital pictures in order, and will be ordering one soon. Thank you!
  
• Linda from $ensational $avings - I have recieved a few extra coupon inserts along with the Kellogg's coupons and $10 rebate: I have used those at Target this week to get some (actually, 10 boxes of) breakfast foods and treats for my girls FREE - thank you so much!
  
• Alyson at This Bumpy Ride for her giveaway of samples and coupons: she will even throw in some extras - baby coupons for my 3-month old nephew, Mark :) The rest is a surprise, and I can't wait to get it. Thanks!
  
• Mommies United for selecting me a winner of Banana Boat and Wet Ones gift pack, including 6 cans of spray-on sunscreen and plenty of Wet Ones in this Back-to-School giveaway. They actually had 12 giveways with 86 winners of awesome prizes, but I think mine is the best :) Thank you, ladies!

Tonight we're picking a winner of a $5 Sears gift card - there's still time to enter. These giveaways have been so much fun: we'll have another one tomorrow. Stay tuned! :)

Labor Day deals and giveaway

I got my $5 Sears gift cart from AdPerk and was going to redeem it today (Labor Day usually means great sales), but I just found out that our Sears went out of business! I'm going to give my $5 Sears gift card away to one of the readers, randomly selected on Sunday, September 7th and announced on Monday, September 8th. All you have to do is leave a comment with a great Labor Day sale (or any good sale or deal you scored this week, online or in-store)

Here are some top picks this week:

• Amazon: >Grocery Promos (too many to list -- 40% off clearance, free shipping and product-specific deals)
• Avon: Solutions Skincare: Buy 1, Get 1 for $1.99! Mix n' match your favorites at AVON! (+ Free shipping on $10+ order with code 829FSW, expires today, 9/1/08), Labor Day sale - up to 60% off!
• Babies R Us: $5 off $25 (expires today, 9/1/05)
• Fashion Bug: they are running extra 50% off clearance promo right now! plus save 15% off though this link (exp. 11/30/08); $10 off $50, $15 off $75 or $20 off $100 (exp. 11/30/08); FREE shipping on $75+ (exp. 11/30/08) More codes to use:

776212003 - $20 off $50 with your Visa card - Expires 10/31/08
776236606 - Save 10% on a $50 order or 15% on a $100 order - Expires 11/30/08
776236507 - Free Shipping on $75 - Expires 11/30/08 776236705 - Save $10 on $50, $15 on $75, or $20 on $100 - Expires 11/30/08
776218000 - $10 off $30

• GraveYardMall: Deal of the Day - 90% off!
• Lane Bryant Catalog: Get an additional 50% off all clearance items(prices shown include discount, exp. 9/2/08); L09018 - Free Shipping on any order - expires 9/2/08; Free shipping on $50+; use source code 941095 at checkout. (exp. 9/30/08); 15% off $85+; use source code 941096 at checkout (exp. 9/30/08)
• Limoges Jewelry: Labor Day Sale + Save 20% on every order. Enter code: LBD22 at checkout (expires today, 9/1/08); after 9/1/08 - enter code BTS15 for 15% off (exp. 9/30/08) - check out their amazing clearance deals!
• NetFlix: Netflix - Only $4.99 a month! No Late Fees. Try it for Free!

Share yours :)

School lunch dilemma and a chance for YOU to win a $5 Starbucks gift card

School starts on August 25th around here this year, and that is [gulp!] next Monday! I was flipping through all the papers that came from school and couldn't help noticing that they have raised the cost of school lunches: it's $2.90 now.

Last year we got a lunch card for Victoria, so she could get a hot and nutritious lunch at school. We had a mixed success with that: depending what's on the menu, she would either eat what she liked (usually pizza and/or a piece of fruit) or just get some milk and eat a snack that I packed for her daily. I tried packing lunches, but she brought most of them back as she "wasn't hungry", or complained that her lunch got cold and she didn't want to eat it cold (our elementary school doesn't have a microwave for students to heat their stuff. We wanted to donate it last year, but due to some norms and standards it's apparently not allowed :( I used a thermos jar and a FunTainer, but neither would keep the food warm enough until Victoria's lunch time)

So here's my cry for help here: even though we are generally happy that school lunches are available, we really don't want to spend $2.90 every day, especially if Victoria doesn't eat. We are looking for quick (to prepare and eat!) and inexpensive lunch ideas that would meet nutritious needs of a 7 1/2 year-old and would be appealing enough so she would actually eat her lunch and not trade it or bring it back. (Victoria doesn't eat peanut butter, so PB&J sandwiches are out; I usually also pack a piece of fruit and a cereal bar or crackers as a snack). Any tips on how to keep her food warm are also appreciated (like I said, we were using an insulated lunch box and a thermos jar or a FunTainer, but they weren't working well for us).

For every comment with school lunch ideas you will be entered to win a $5 Starbucks gift card. Links to your older posts are ok, pictures encouraged, but please try to limit your comments to one per day :)
One winner will be selected randomly on Sunday, August 24th, and announced on Monday, August 25th. If among the comments received we find an idea that would work for us, we may award another $5 Starbucks gift card to the author!

Thanks!

101st post giveaway - CVS coupons

My blog is 100 entries long, so that's a reason to celebrate! :)

It still looks empty and ugly and sometimes I don't feel like posting, but it's very encouraging to see people stop by and comment on stuff they've found useful or share a tip that they think I may use.

I'd like to thank all of you who stop by by offering some coupons that you can use at your local CVS pharmacy. Just leave a comment (make sure I have a way to contact you if you win) and keep your fingers crossed :)

One lucky winner will receive the following coupons:

• 2 x $5 off $30 back-to-school/stationery purchase (exp. 9/13) - these actually scan on anything in the store!
• 5 FREE 4x6 prints from your digital camera or picture CD (exp. 12/31/09 - this is not a typo!)
• $1.50 off BreathRX (exp. 8/31)
• $2 off any Cristophe Beverly Hills purchase (exp. 8/31)
• $1 off Aquapod natural spring water (exp. 9/30)
• $3 off 2 Sally Hansen nail color (exp. 8/31)
• 2 x Buy 2, get 1 free POWERade or POWERade Zero (exp. 8/30)
  

I know that a lot of CVS stores do not accept coupons printed online due to some fradulent coupons floating around, so I wanted to emphasize that these are NOT printed from the internet: these are real coupons from CVS booklets found at select stores. If I find any extras I'll throw them in as well :)

The winner will be randomly drawn on Sunday (8/17th) night and announced on Monday (8/18).
Good luck!