Sunday's media madness...

I had no blog yesterday because I was personal attendant to a dear friend who just got married.  Sorry for the delay today as well but I was invited to her parents house for gift opening.  Thanks for your patients everyone.

Not all that long ago a friend got me interested in scrapbooking and I love it, so of course when I found the set of books by Laura Childs I was in my version of heaven, mystery and scrapbooking theme, its like all my favorite cooking mysteries!  So far the series consists of 7 books:

Scrapbooking Mysteries

1. Keepsake Crimes (2003)

2. Photo Finished (2004)

3. Bound for Murder (2004)

4. Motif for Murder (2006)

5. Frill Kill (2007)
6. Death Swatch (2008)
7. Tragic Magic (2009)
8. Fiber & Brimstone (2010)

I have just purchased a set of the first 4 books so these are the ones I have focused my blog on today.  I was able to find Keepsake Crimes at The Book Depository for $6.07 with free shipping for a new copy, if you would like a used copy the lowest price I found was at Sea Shell Books for $1.99 plus $1.99 shipping that brought the whole total to $3.98.  They were a few cents higher than the next competitor but they have a 5 star rating vs the others rating of 1 star.  If you have a kindle you can download the book from Amazon for $6.99.
 
The second book in the series, Photo Finished is available new from The Book Depository for $5.88 with free shipping, a used copy can be found for only $1.99 from Sea Shell Books, add the $1.99 shipping for a total cost of $3.98.  The Kindle version available from Amazon is $6.99 for the download.
 
The third book, Bound for Murder can be found new from Deep Discount for $6.29 with free shipping.  If a used copy will work just as well the look at Blue Cloud Books, the cost is only $3.95 with free shipping.  The Kindle version available through Amazon is $5.99 for the download.
 
Finally the forth book in the series, Motif for Murder is available new from Buy.com for $1.01, even with $3.25 for shipping it is still the lowest cost at $4.26 for a new copy.  If you would like a used copy its again lowest with the best rated seller at Sea Shell Books at $1.99 plus shipping of $1.99 for a total of $3.98.  Unfortunately there is no Kindle version of this book.
 
I hope you all have a great safe Halloween tonight!!
 
C.Q.

Friday's freebie...

Its never too early to start your organization for next year with a new calender.  You can pick up a really nice new calender from Betty Crocker that is full of wonderful recipes just for signing up for one of their news letters.  The Betty Crocker news letter is full of cooking tips and reader suggestions, the Dinner Made Easy news letter has recipe ideas that you can have done in 30 minutes or less and the Bisquick news letter is full of recipes made with Bisquick, everything from appetizers to desert.

Hope you all have had a great week so far!

C.Q.

Thursdays picture perfect deal...

The picture...

It wasn't that long ago that I went for a beautiful fall camera walk/drive with my husband.  Hearing the wind howling and the snow rain hitting the roof on such a grey day it's hard to believe this was just a month ago!  This beautiful country road was up near Grand Marais, MN on the Gunflint Trail.


The deal...

Well for most of the country winter is here, the weather has turned grey, cold and windy.  Time to curl up with a cozy blanket, warm cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate and a great book.  Borders is offering 40% off any one item, just print a coupon to bring into your local store or show it to the cashier on your mobile device.  The coupon is good through 11/1/2010.  If you are a Borders Rewards Perks member you will get an additional 10% to 40% off your entire purchase depending on your member level.

Have a great day everyone!

C.Q.

Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

Sisyphean  \sis-uh-FEE-un\ ~ adjective

DEFINITION: of, relating to, or suggestive of the labors of Sisyphus; specifically : requiring continual and often ineffective effort

EXAMPLES: "Considering the inherently fickle nature of golf, defending a title is, no doubt, as Sisyphean a task as any in the sport." (Anthony Cuaycong, BusinessWorld, July 2008)

DID YOU KNOW? In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king who annoyed the gods with his trickery. As a consequence, he was condemned for eternity to roll a huge rock up a long, steep hill in the underworld, only to watch it roll back down. The story of Sisyphus is often told in conjunction with that of Tantalus, who was condemned to stand beneath fruit-laden boughs, up to his chin in water. Whenever he bent his head to drink, the water receded, and whenever he reached for the fruit, the branches moved beyond his grasp. Thus to "tantalize" is to tease or torment by offering something desirable but keeping it out of reach -- and something "Sisyphean" (or "Sisyphian," pronounced \sih-SIFF-ee-un\) demands unending, thankless, and ultimately unsuccessful efforts.
 

~THE REBATE~

Today I have a great offer from Waring, your choice with Purchase of a WMK300A Waring Waffle Maker, you can get a free Waffle & Pancakes Recipe Book, a $15.00 value, OR get $10.00 cash back.  Both offers expire 12/31/2010 and require you to send in the UPC from the package and the dated cash registar reciept from the store.  Note that each offer goes to a different address so make sure it's correct before you send.  I checked on line and found the lowest price with shipping for this item on sale at Amazon for $60.66, marked down from $150.00.

Hope you are all having a good week!

C.Q.

Tuesday's tid-bit...

Let The Stress Begin!

The little wedding countdown on my computer tells me that we have 5 days left until the wedding. If that doesn't make me want to curl up in a corner and cry, I don't know what will. This past week in Minnesota has been pretty stress free. I have had a chance to run around with family and friends and play.

Now I have to buckle down and get busy. Finalize things with the D.J.'s, photographer, baker and so on. Figure out when everyone is going to need to get into the reception hall. Make sure that Roy has the rest of his costume. We have to plan our honeymoon yet. Nobody can say that we like to plan in advance. No, we like to drag our feet until the last minute.

I need to start baking for gift baskets for our out of town guests. Michele found a bunch of treasures for us to put in said baskets. I need to figure out how many hotels/motels I have to deliver to. So far its three. That could change. Baking should help me calm down somewhat. At least the folks who do it for a living claim its soothing. Me, I'm not so sure.

The girls and I still have to splatter blood on our party favors. Figure out logistics of rehearsal dinners. I think that the gal who is going to marry us might like the finalized wedding she is going to preform. I really should get that done today. Its all written up, just not sent to her.

I'm starting to hyperventilate just writing this.

Did I mention that we are supposed to get a huge storm that could bring snow??!! The waves on Lake Superior could get up to 28 feet? I still need to get to the lake to get my sand for the sand ceremony! I will need to bring my camera so I can take pictures of the waves as they wash over me.

Time for me to go breathe into a paper bag to calm down and start my day!

Sunday's media madness...

Recently I was at the Mall of America and boy was it confusing!  Unfortunately I left my iPod in the hotel room, if I had remembered it it would have been much easier to navigate.  I have an app I downloaded for free called Mall Maps Mobile and it has come in handy more than once.  If you are going on a vacation and plan on doing some shopping its a great app.  On the iPod it can't use the "you are here" function but you can usually find where you are pretty easily, with the iPhone version of the app you can use this function and it will make getting to where you want to go that much quicker, there is also a version for the iPad.  V.B. & Smith has a list of the malls the app supports so you can check it out before you download it to you devise.

Another free app that is handy to have is Open Table, this application allows you to make reservations for your favorite restaurant right from your iPod, iPad or iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Nokia, Palm WebOS and Windows phone, just make your selection from all the choices and download, it couldn't be easier.  Best of all the app has restaurants at up to 14,000 Open Table-enabled restaurants in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom and the list is always growing. You can search for places to dine based on location, name, cuisine, price or reservation time.  Open Table offers points for making reservations through them as well, so when you have enough points built up you can get a dining check to be used at any of the restaurants that use Open Table.  Who says there is no such thing as a free lunch?  Check the web site for more information on their dining rewards program.

I hope you are all having a fantastic weekend!

C.Q.

Avoiding the pitfalls...

There are times in every one's life when we look back and say something like "oh I wish I hadn't done that!"  Here are some thing that may help you avoid that headache of regret in the future.

This is one every student knows, never pay full price for text books, you can buy a little older version that is still new or a good used copy and save a ton of cash, check out Alibris to buy at a lower cost.  But here is something many students don't know, you can actually rent text book!  Check out eCampus for all the details on their rental program.

Planning a vacation soon? If you are going to be renting a car be sure to check the rates between companies as well as the difference in cost between renting at the airport vs the city vs a suburb. Almost every airport has a separate tax that you will be charged in addition to the rental fees, likewise many cities also have individual tariffs, such as Bloomington's Mall of America tax as well as the new tax to build the baseball park. If you check in an outlying suburb you can often save over $100 a week, even with the bus or cab fare that's money in your pocket for something much more fun.  If you are looking at flying some of the airlines charge a fee to be one of their premier members and then you get to use the lounge and you get miles built up as you fly with them, instead of paying the fee for becoming a premier member consider a Visa or MasterCard that ties to the airline, usually the annual fee is less and many of them will allow you use of the sky lounge as well as being able to earn miles for everything you purchase, not just when you fly.

Planning on giving a gift card this holiday season?  Many time people think its best to give a credit card's gift card, like American Express or Visa, however most of the major credit card companies charge a fee just to purchase the gift cards.  Instead consider giving a gift card to a specific retailer that won't charge an upfront fee or give cash. Also be sure to be on the lookout for discounted cards as well, Costco sells them to members at a slightly discounted rate and you can also purchase some good deals on eBay and Gift Card Rescue.  If you're a member of someplace like Market America you can earn cash back for your gift card purchases.

Small convinces can cost a LOT of hard earned cash, everything from baby formula that comes premixed for three times the price to pre-sliced deli meat, it all adds up.  If you are willing to do a little work you can save a ton of cash over the course of a year.  Doing things like making your cookie dough from scratch, making extra food for dinner and freezing some for meals at work and slicing your own bread and meat will far out weigh in cash what you spend in time.

Along the same lines is to avoid the wacky ideas, things like the hands-free soap dispenser so you don't have to touch the germ ridden soap pump, thinking this threw you can see why this is just a crazy marketing ploy, if you washing your hands, then whats the problem?  If you work in a Hospital or take public transportation frequently you may want to use the hand sanitizers out there, but as a general rule they are over kill, just remember to keep your hands washed throughout the day, if you do need to have something to kill germs you can always find inexpensive pocket sizes at Target and Walmart, you don't need to spend big bucks for a name brand, they all have the same germ killing ingredient.


Hope you all have had a great week and are enjoying the weekend.

C.Q.

Friday's freebie...

Its that time of year again when everyones skin starts to really dry out.  I have tried many lotions over the years and found a few I really love and a few I wish I had never wasted my money on, so its nice to be able to get a sample to see if you like it before you buy.  Right now you can get a sample of Vaseline® Intensive Rescue™ lotion for your dry skin, just fill out the online form and allow a few weeks for delivery. 

Have a great Friday everyone!

C.Q.

Thursdays picture perfect deal...

The picture...

Up the stairs.  I liked the simplicity and the curve in this picture I took at the Split Rock Lighthouse in Silver Bay.  The stairs lead up to the light which was first light July 31, 1910.

The deal...

If your looking to add a little light to your home this fall then be sure to look at the Home Depot lighting department.  They are having a huge sale of 20% - 70% off of ceiling fans and lighting both on line and in the store.  The sale even includes solar walk way lights for out side, a nice touch when the sun sets at 4:00pm in the winter. 

I hope you are all having a nice Thursday!

C.Q.

Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

paranymph  \PAIR-uh-nimf\ ~ noun

DEFINITION:  1: a friend going with a bridegroom to fetch home the bride in ancient Greece; also : the bridesmaid conducting the bride to the bridegroom

2a : best man b : bridesmaid

EXAMPLES: The bride and groom, accompanied by their paranymphs, stood before the officiating clergy.

DID YOU KNOW? "Paranymph" resulted from the marriage of the Greek prefix "para-" and the Greek word for bride, "nymphē." The prefix "para-" can mean "beside" or "alongside of," as is apparent in the word "parallel," from the Greek word "parallēlos," a union of "para-" and the word "allēnōn," meaning "of one another." At one time, the word "paranymph" also was used for a person who solicits or speaks for another -- that is, an advocate -- but that sense is now very rare.

~THE REBATE~

Getting your floors ready to entertain this holiday season?  Bissell is having their Fall Savings Days.  If you purchase a Bissell you qualify for a rebate of up to $40.00.  If you spend $60.00 - $99.00 you get the $10.00 rebate, spend $100.00 - 199.00 and you will get the $20.00 rebate, spend $200.00 or more and you will get get the $40.00 rebate.  This rebate is instant if you purchase through Bissell.com using the coupon codes listed on the rebate form at checkout, or if you buy through your favorite store, just download  and fill in the rebate form and mail it in with the original cash register receipt and the UPC code cut from the box.  Purchases must be made between 10/10/10 and 11/6/10 and envelopes need to be postmarked no later than 11/15/10.

Hope you all have a great Wednesday!

C.Q.

Tuesday's tid-bit...

Monday In Minnesota

I made it into Minnesota on Saturday. I took the shuttle to the hotel to meet the girls. Michele and Jen had a lovely table set with wines, cheeses, meats, Godiva chocolate and other assorted goodies. Not to mention bottles of wine. We all got quite silly and loud. There is nothing better than getting together with girlfriends after a long absence.

One of our highlights was seeing the area that Michele grew up in. That was fun seeing the house she grew up in. Hearing about what things had changed in the area. Her high school was HUGE! It seemed to go on for days. It was so nice that she shared a part of herself. Very pretty area.

This week should be a busy one. Michele and Jen need to come out to the house a couple times this week. They will get to see the decorations and flowers my mom had made for the wedding. I asked Michele if she would take a picture of them for me as well. It will be nice for me to have and good for the scrapbooks they are making.

Another thing we will all get to do is see how long it takes me to get into my corset. That should be fun for all. As long as I don't have to hold and chair and have them in a line behind me, tugging and pulling, it should be good. Better to have an idea know how long it takes, rather than last minute at the wedding.

Glad to be in Minnesota on this chilly Monday morning! Brrrr

Sunday's Media Madness...

Recently my husband picked up a new CD at Target called Slash, the lead guitarist is not surprisingly Slash of Guns N' Rose's fame. I have to admit that although I was not a huge GnR fan I really do like the new album a lot. The amount of talent that is featured kind of makes your head spin, the CD features songs with Ian Astbury of The Cult, Ozzy Osbourne, Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, Myles Kennedy, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, David Eric "Dave" Grohl of Nirvana, Michael Andrew "Duff" "Rose" McKagan of GnR and Velvet Revolver, Kid Rock, Matthew Charles Sanders aka M. Shadows, Rocco DeLuca and Iggy Pop. Slash handled the majority of arranging and song writing duties and handpicked each guest artist to collaborate with on rounding out each track, which makes this album great, the different singing styles really come through on each track.  For more information on Slash, the new album or to watch some of his video's check out Slash's own website http://slash.ultimate-guitar.com/.

I was able to find the lowest retail price at Walmart for $10.00 plus tax and shipping bringing the total price to $12.76. If you look on eBay you can find a new copy for as low as $6.00 plus $3.00 shipping.

I will upload a picture of the CD cover when I get home, the hotel computer will not allow me to upload any images yet.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

C.Q.

Old money...

Every fall when I start to get geared up to put out the seasonal decorations I also take a look in the closets to switch up my clothes from summer to winter. Every year I find things I didn't wear for one reason or another that we take into the Goodwill or Salvation Army. We also have some great second hand stores in the area that will either buy things outright to re-sell or put things on consignment. This is a great way to get a little extra cash to use on your holiday planning. Just this week I also got a wonderful e-mail from a place called BBOS that will purchase your gently used designer handbags. Most women usually get tired of looking at these bags long before they ever wear out, so this is a great way to get some cash for them. I have a Coach purse that belonged to my Grandmother that looks like it was just purchased yesterday, despite the fact that both my Grandmother and mother used it before it was passed on to me.

Another thing I had sitting in drawers around here were old cell phones, we finally broke down and sent them off to the Cell Phones for Soldiers program. If you don't want to donate them to the Soldiers you can also check for a local women's shelter, they can always use them as well. If you would like to make a little money off your old phone Pace Buttler will buy back quite a few but some are hardly worth the time it takes to package them up so be sure to check the price list first. Always remember to deactivate your old cell phones before you donate or sell them.

Cleaning out your jewelry box? Many of you have probably seen a million commercials on TV for places to sell your old or broken jewelry and wondered about the pricing. I recently used The Gold Guys in the Twin Cities (JUST before they opened a place closer to where I live), and they were fantastic to deal with. We got the current, up to the minute market price for gold, this is important because gold is like selling stock, it goes up and down and you want to be able to sell when its high, if you mail it in you don't know what the price will be when it arrives at it destination.

Finally, if you have decided to trim down your DVD, Game or CD collection take a look at Second Spin. They will pay a set price for each item which makes it easy to know in advance what you can get. Just click on what you would like to sell at the top of the page and then type in the title or UPC to see what you can get, it may not be a lot but if you have a few things it adds up quick. 

Have a great weekend and happy hunting.

C.Q.

Friday's freebie...

Looking for a cute card for Halloween to send to a grandparent, godparent, aunt, uncle or friend?  How about this fun idea; take your pictures into Walmart and get two free 5x7 instant HP Photo cards that you can personalize. Just print the page and bring it in with you, with this money saving trick you can stock up on more treats.

Have a great Friday everyone!

C.Q.

Thursdays picture perfect deal...

The picture...

Since I love museums I was thrilled when I had a chance this summer to go to the Minneapolis Institute of Art for the Art in Bloom festival.  Everything was beautiful, but I was struck with this piece, its called the Tiber Muse and dates from the 2nd - 1st centuries BC, the artist is unknown.  The sculptures tag reads "Although discovered in the vicinity of the Tiber river in Rome in 1858, the style of this statue's drapery suggests that it originated in a workshop in Greece or Asia Minor.  The Roman importation and copying of  Greek sculpture are well documented, from the time of the Roman conquests of Greeks territories in the 3rd century B.C. and throughout the imperial era (27 B.C. - about 396 A.D.).  The public exhibition of Greek spoils encouraged Romans to collect Greek art and commission new works in similar styles.  Displaying statuary of Greek origin or appearance eventually became a mark of one's social status and education."

The deal...

Looking for new jeans?  Newport News is having a great jean sale.  Buy one pair get one free!  That makes them just $19.00 per pair.  They have jeans in regular, tall, petite and women's sizes.  While your there be sure to check out the clearance section for deals up to 65% off regular price.  If you place an order over $75.00 you can use coupon code 675 and receive 20% off your entire order.  Shipping at Newport News is between $4.99 and 19.99 depending on how much you spend, you can look at their shipping chart to see what the charge will be for your order.  If you need to return anything because it doesn't fit they include a label to return it, if you use this though they will deduct $6.95 from your return credit, they also include a label to use to return via the US Post office which you have to pay for up front but it may be a little less expensive.

I hope you are all having a great day!

C.Q.

Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

farrago \fuh-RAH-goh\ ~ noun

DEFINITION: a confused mixture : hodgepodge

EXAMPLES: The shop is filled with a whimsical farrago of artwork, antiques, and vintage clothing.  "So far, the excuses and explanations offered … for this fiasco have been a farrago of misleading and contradictory statements." -- From The Ottawa Sun, July 21, 2010

DID YOU KNOW? "Farrago" might seem an unlikely relative of "farina" (the mealy breakfast cereal), but the two terms have their roots in the same Latin noun. Both derive from "far," the Latin name for "spelt" (a type of grain). In Latin, "farrago" meant "mixed fodder" -- cattle feed, that is. It was also used more generally to mean "mixture." When it was adopted into English in the early 1600s, "farrago" retained the "mixture" sense of its ancestor. Today, we often use it for a jumble or medley of disorganized, haphazard, or even nonsensical ideas or elements.


~THE REBATE~

Right now Litehouse dressing is offering a 3-workout 10-Minute Solution DVD FREE by mail with the purchase of any (2) Litehouse Salad Dressings.  In addition to the rebate Lighthouse is donating $0.20 for each bottle sold to the Susan G. Koman for the Cure fund.  If you sign up at the Litehouse website they will give you a coupon for $1.00 off your two bottles as well.   Here's a fun idea for the holidays, when the DVD arrives wrap it and then open it with your other gifts.  This will help get you in the mindset for your New Year's resolution with a new workout.  This rebate offer ends 10/31/2010, you will need to send in the completed rebate form together with the original cash register receipts.  Only one DVD per household is allowed.

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

C.Q.

Tuesday's tid-bit...

Magpie!

Happy Monday to everyone! My name is Bernie and Michele asked if I wanted to play on her blog. I live in Montana and will be getting married in Minnesota at the end of the month. My fiancee' agreed that I should go back to Minnesota for two weeks before the wedding. What a guy! That means I get to actually see the decorations and other items for my wedding. My Mom and girlfriends will be able to see my wedding dress. Yea!

Speaking of girlfriends, Michele and our friend Jen will be meeting me in Minneapolis when I fly in. We are going to stay overnight in the cities and have some fun. When the three of us get together its one big gigglefest. This spring they came to Montana to visit me for a week and our sides hurt from laughing so hard. It seems as if everything is funnier when we are all in the same room. Even if its not really funny normally.

During their visit we took a car ride to Yellowstone Park. Michele is very good about spotting birds and wildlife as we were flying down the road. Jen and I are not good at that at all. So Michele was our spotter. Michele was so pleased with all the Magpies she saw. We knew that because every time she saw one she would yell, "Magpie!" Who knew that Montana had so many Magpies? It was news to me. Jen and I were feeling like losers by not spotting these as well, we got over zealous in looking for them. It didn't matter if it was a crow, a leave, a stick, or most times nothing, we would yell "Magpie!" Michele would patiently explain to use why a crow couldn't be a Magpie, but we didn't care, it kept us amused.

Finally, when we went to a museum, we saw a stuffed Magpie in a display. We both yelled, much louder than one should in a museum, "Magpie!" Bragging how we finally spotted one of Michele's Magpies. She was laughing so hard, we thought that she would wet her pants. Michele had a total of 6 Magpie spotting and we had one. Which we kept bragging out that one Magpie sighting the rest of the trip.

Now when we all get together, someone usually yells out "Magpie" for no reason. It makes us all laugh and that is good enough for us.

Sunday's Media Madness...

Just when you thought video games couldn't get any better than they are along comes something like Power Gig: Rise of the SixString.  This games combines all the fun of the classic Guitar Hero games along with strategy gaming.  The game is sold as a bundle and the guitar controller, besides being used for the game, can actually be plugged into any standard amplifier and played as a guitar.  The game is rated T for teens and is available now for pre-order, the release date is October 19, 2010.  The following is the description of the game from Seven45 Studios:

From the Manufacturer:

The next evolution of band games is coming your way this fall with Power Gig: Rise of the SixString - the first game to feature a real electric guitar controller! Power Gig: Rise of the SixString will transport players to an entirely new universe, with its own mythology, politics, settings, heroes and villains, where music rules all.
 
Game Overview

On the gameplay front, Power Gig uses new technology that represents the next evolution of music performance games to provide all players - from casual gamers to the hardcore, from those who have never before picked up a guitar to those who play guitar on a regular basis - with a more authentic and fun experience. The game offers two overarching modes of play. In addition to traditional beat-matching that will be familiar to fans of the band game genre, Power Gig also introduces the option to switch on chording, or chord play. Chording presents the added challenge of playing the game using chords that require specific finger placement on the strings. As players progress through the game, becoming more comfortable with a genuine guitar and potentially choosing to play real power chords, they will find that the byproduct of playing the game is coming away from it with an understanding of some real-life guitar fundamentals.

The World of Ohm

Power Gig: Rise of the SixString takes place in Ohm, a world where music is power. Rockers are the guardians of musical clans, serving their leaders with the mysterious powers of music and Mojo. You and two of your friends take on the role of these Rockers as they encounter power struggles and intrigue. In Ohm, alliances are forged and broken, rulers rise and fall, and heroes are made as competition rages among the rocker clans. Music is power…it's time to play.

Revolutionary Instrument Peripherals

The SixString Guitar: The SixString Guitar pulls you into a more authentic rock experience with real strings instead of buttons and lets you take the experience even further through Power Chord mode, which blends real power chords into gameplay. The icing on the cake - the SixString is also a fully functional real electric guitar that can be plugged into any standard guitar amp!

Music

Power Gig ups the ante on the music front with a host of killer tracks, led by three music superstars that are exclusive to our game - Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews Band and Kid Rock. This marks the first time ever that master recordings of songs from each of the three artists will appear as part of a band video game. Power Gig will also feature a host of songs from major label artists and emerging talent from the indie scene, many of which are available for the first time ever in music games.

Compatibility

Power Gig: Rise of the SixString and all of its controllers are compatible with Rock Band® & Guitar Hero® games and peripherals*. Go to powergig.com/compatibility for more information.
 
This game is available for XBox 360 and the Playstation 3.  I found the lowest prices for the XBox 360 and Playstation 3 version at Blow it Outta Here for $170.99 with $2.99 shipping for a total cost of $173.98.

Savings by the yard...

We are just coming out of an 80+ degree weather spell so that makes it a little hard to think about fall and winter decorations, but where we live waiting a day could mean the difference between the 80 degrees and a foot of snow.  We are hosting the family Christmas this year so I have been looking for ways to make our outdoors as pretty and festive as the indoors.  One of the things I would like to do is light the two trees we have in our front garden so they are a treat to see when you come up the driveway.  Now days there are so many options in string lights it can make your head spin, but my suggestion if you live in an area with limited snow cover is to consider Solar lights, not only do you not have to worry about plugging them in each night but you will save on your electric bill as well.  Hammacher Schlemmer has a 32.9' strand that is guaranteed for 10,000 hours of light and includes two rechargeable batteries in red, green, blue or white for only $59.95.  If you plan to order more than one set be sure to use coupon code WWGRDN, good for free shipping on any order over $85.00.

Even less expensive than lighting is using your existing planters that held all your beautiful flowers during the summer and switching them out for fall.  All you need are some things collected from the outdoors, dried grasses with feathery tops, fall branches with colored leaves (these you can change out when the leaves fall) a few branches from Curly Willow, a Walking Stick plant or twisted branches, and some evergreen.  All you really need to do is place these items right into your dirt you used for your flowers.  If you keep the dirt watered you will keep your grasses a little longer, but remember, in a very cold climate freezing will make it hard to get your items out to switch for the Holidays if you want, and it may also damage your container.

When the weather does get cold enough to freeze consider using that to your advantage.  If you have a large bucket, spray the inside with a non stick spray and fill it with water, then take a smaller container with the outside sprayed with non stick spray and place it in the center (it may float around a little but the next step will help stabilize it) Next you will need items you would like to see in the ice, things like sliced oranges, acorns, bright leaves, small pine cones, red berries, cloves and star anise work great for this.  Place your decorative items around the middle container then cover with plastic wrap to keep everything from coming up over the top, if you need to you can place something heavier on the top over the plastic wrap.  Then freeze outside in the cold weather.  When its all set, the two containers should be easy to remove and you will have a beautiful glass like container for outside your front door that looks great with either a battery or solar flicker light or a little tea candle in it.

I would love to hear your creative and low cost or no cost ideas!  If you need more inspiration check out the articles at About.com, they have a whole section devoted to outdoor decorating.  I hope you are all having a great weekend.

C.Q.

Friday's freebie...

My dad was mildly diabetic and my mother in law is a diabetic so I know how expensive it can be to manage the disease. Right now you can get a free BREEZE®2 or CONTOUR® meter just by filling in your name and address on their web page and answering a few easy questions about diabetes. So if you or someone you know needs a meter or would like a newer one here is a great opportunity. This offer from Bayer comes and goes quickly so act fast.

Sorry for the lateness in getting this out, I was out of town today.  Hope you all had a fantastic Friday!

C.Q.

Thursdays picture perfect deal...

The picture...

This little bunny was at the Duluth Rose Garden eating the grass shoots and rose petals.  There were quite a few bunnies in the area, which is usually the case with rabbits.  They were all adorable and you could hear the park visitors ohhhhing and awwwing the little guys.

The deal...

Love purple or have someone on your holiday list who does?  6PM.com is having a huge store wide sale on all things purple, up to 75% in fact.  So if your looking for a great pair of lavender shoes, an amethyst purse or a plum sweater check it out.  This is a one day only sale for 10/07/2010, but they also have a three day sale going until 10/10/2010.

Hope you are all having a great Thursday!

C.Q.

Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

raconteur  \ra-kahn-TER\ ~ noun

DEFINITION: a person who excels in telling anecdotes

EXAMPLES: A bona fide raconteur, Turner can turn even mundane experiences into hilariously entertaining stories.

"The story is constructed as a light mentor piece in which Henry, a sometime college literature professor, Christmas ball collector and raconteur, takes a boarder into his crummy New York apartment." -- From an article by Dennis King in The Oklahoman, September 10, 2010

DID YOU KNOW? The story of "raconteur" is a tale of telling and counting. English speakers borrowed the word from French, where it traces back to the Old French verb "raconter," meaning "to tell." "Raconter" in turn was formed from another Old French verb, "aconter" or "acompter," meaning "to tell" or "to count," which is ultimately from Latin "computare," meaning "to count." "Computare" is also the source of our words "count" and "account." "Raconteur" has been part of the English vocabulary since at least 1828.

~THE REBATE~

You can receive a $10 Toy Cash Voucher from Kellogg's, when you purchase 5 specially marked Kellogg's products.  To recieve the $10.00 credit you need to send in 5 tokens from specially marked packages of Kellogg's snacks, all the varities are listed on the rebate form which you will need to fill in and send with the tokens.  The rebate ends 12/31/10 so is great to use for your holiday shopping.  The form says one entry per envelope and one entry per household.
 
 
I hope you are all haveing a fantastic day!
 
C.Q.

Tuesday's tid-bit...

Monday's value meal...

With apples at their best right now it made me think of a Waldorf Salad, StarKist has a great version listed on their web site that I thought sounded yummy and easy, great for dinner or to take to work.



Albacore Waldorf Salad for two

1 pouch (2.6 oz.) or 1 can (5 oz.) StarKist® Albacore Tuna in Water

1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. raisins
¼ cup mayonnaise
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 apple, large size, cored and chopped
½ cup chopped celery
2 Tbsp. walnuts or pecans, chopped
2 Tbsp. milk
Sugar, to taste

In a large bowl, toss together apples and lemon juice. Add celery, raisins, walnuts and tuna; toss gently. 
In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, milk and cinnamon; blend well. (for a sweeter dressing add sugar)
Pour dressing over apple-tuna mixture; toss gently to coat

---Main course---

$0.50 cents off any one StarKist pouch product when you sign up at their web site
$3 Mail in Rebate from Sunmaid Raisins AND Shrek DVD/Blu-Ray, exp. 3-31
$0.75 off  Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise
$0.35 off Domino Sugar Product

---Beverage---

$0.75 off Smart Balance Milk

---Dessert---

$1.00 off on two Pillsbury® Refrigerated Holiday Cookies (The coupon is near the bottom)
and/or
$1.00 off one pint of Talenti Geleto e Sorbetto (The coupon is about 2/3 of the way down the page)

I hope you are all having a great start to your week, next Monday my friend Bernie has agreed to write something fun for the blog, she has a great sense of humor and I am sure you will all enjoy it.  So when you read the Monday blog next week just remember the immortal words of Monty Python...."Now for something completely different!"

C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

Halloween is coming faster than a witch on a turbo propelled Bissell so I thought today we would look at some great old film classics to get you in the spirit as it were.

I found five sets of classic movies that are perfect for satisfying my love of classic movies as well as embracing the darkness of the holiday.  The first one, Frankenstein - The Legacy Collection includes Frankenstein from 1931 The Bride of Frankenstein from 1935 Son of Frankenstein from 1939 The Ghost of Frankenstein from 1942 and The House of Frankenstein from 1944 all staring Boris Karloff.  I was able to find this collection for the lowest price from the NBC Universal Store, the price is $12.98 plus $4.95  for shipping for a total cost of $17.93

The next set is Dracula - The Legacy Collection, this set has multiple stars from the era, such as  Lon Chaney Jr. and John Carradine and includes Dracula, both the English and Spanish version from 1931, Dracula's Daughter from 1936, Son of Dracula from 1943 and House of Dracula from 1945.  The lowest price again was from the NBC Universal Store with a price of $12.98 plus $4.95 for shipping for a total cost of $17.93.

Next on the list is The Mummy: The Legacy Collection which includes The Mummy from 1932, The Mummy's Hand from 1940, The Mummy's Tomb from 1942, The Mummy's Ghost from 1944 and The Mummy's Curse also from 1944.  These movies also feature Lon Chaney Jr. and  Boris Karloff.  I found these for a little less than the first two at the NBC Universal Store, $10.98 plus the $4.95 shipping for a total cost of $15.93.

Who could forget The Invisible Man: The Legacy Collection, this set includes The Invisible Man from 1933, The Invisible Man Returns from 1940, Invisible Agent from 1942, Invisible Woman from 1940 and The Invisible Man's Revenge from 1944.  This set stars Claude Rains, Vincent Price and John Barrymore.  NBC Universal Store has the lowest price again at $12.98 plus $4.95 for shipping for a total cost of $17.93.

The final set is of course The Wolf Man - The Legacy Collection and includes The Wolf Man from 1941, Werewolf of London from 1935, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man from 1943 and She-Wolf of London from 1946.  This set includes such actors as Bela Lugosi and the renowned Lon Chaney Jr..  I was totally unsurprised to find the lowest cost was again at the NBC Universal Store, the price for this set is $12.98 plus $4.95 for shipping for a total cost of $17.93.

A couple things about the NBC Universal store, first if you order more than one of these collections the shipping will be $4.95 for the whole order not per item, also, I found a coupon code for 25% off your order, just type in NBCU25VIP at the checkout.

The reason I love these films is because they have had such a great influence on the modern day Horror genera.  I also like how far ahead of their time the special effects and cinematography were, we tend to take those things for granted now with the advent of CGI.  Do you have an all time favorite Horror film?  I would love to hear what it is and why its a favorite.

Have a great day everyone!

C.Q.

Savings to scream over...

Halloween is almost here, are you ready for the Ghouls and goblins to come out?  If not here are some places to find some great deals on every thing you may need from candy and different ideas for the trick or treaters to costumes for the family.

Most of us adults stay home for the big night and hand out candy but have you considered some different options?  I have a friend who's mom doesn't get a lot of kids to her door so she goes to Sam's Club and gets a case of those half cans of soda, the kids love to go to her house because its something different.  Another idea along those lines is the small juice boxes, Sam's Club had the Apple and Eve Fruitables variety pack in the store, these are nice because they have 1/3 less sugar than other brands.  If you are going to stick to the tried and true candy then be sure to watch your local grocers fliers for sales, the manufacture candy coupons are hard to come by because they know you are going to purchase candy for the holiday.

If you are planning on attending a costume party, or in my case an all out Halloween wedding, many of the costume sites are having sales.  Babies"R"Us is offering 20% on new ''R'' exclusive Halloween costumes order through October 30th for your little one's.  The Disney Store had their costumes on sale for the kids who are a little older, they are offering $10.00 off costume orders until October 5th.  For kids of almost all ages The WB is offering costumes at up to 50% off, everything from Harry Potter to Freddie Kruger.  Also check out Shindigz, they have some costumes marked down as much as 90%!  My friend just had a really hard time finding shoes to go with her outfit in her size and called a ton of costume companies until she got to Fierce Costumes, the lady there was above and beyond for customer service, so if you are looking for something really great or a little hard to find try them out, if you use coupon code TRICKORTREAT you will get 10% off your order, you can also find them on Facebook where they offer discounts and promotions as well.  Got a costume that just wouldn't be complete without having weird eyes?  Coastal Contacts has a huge selection of wild lens, use coupon code SFX25OFF for 25% off your order.  If you even dress up the dog for the night check out Dog.com, they have everything from cute collars to full costumes for your Fido and right now everything for Halloween is 10% off.

Looking for a little entertainment for fright night? Put your feet up, light a nice candle from Colonial Candle's scent of the month selections that are on sale for 25% off, grab yourself a little indulgent treat from Cherry Moon Farms, who is having a sale of 15% off selected Halloween goodies, and read a good book.  Barnes and Noble has all the Halloween favorites as well as some you have never seen on sale, how about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? 

Do you have plans for Halloween?  Planning on visiting a haunted house, or a real haunted place?  I would love to hear about it.

Have a fantastic day everyone!

C.Q.

Friday's freebie...

Christmas is only 83 days away, I know its hard to believe; but you can check it out for yourself at Santa's countdown calendar! With that in mind I found a great set of free downloads over at the Life...Your Way ezine that can help reduce some of the stress. I am looking forward to using some of these myself for the family Christmas this year. The free down-loadable book has great ideas on saving both time an money this year and the helpful free worksheets include:

:: Address Book
:: Baking Planner
:: Budget Worksheet
:: 2010 Calendar
:: Cards Worksheet
:: Decor Inventory
:: Family Traditions
:: Gift Ideas
:: Gift List
:: Handmade Gifts
:: Master To-Do List
:: Order Tracking
:: Shopping List

I hope you all have a great Friday!!

C.Q.