New Meat and Seafood Comparison

I'm trying to make meal planning a regular weekly thing for our family. The best way to do it is to base your menu on the sale items each week. I've always found this kind of a pain because it's a pain in the a** to have all of the circulars out in front of me at the same time to compare prices. Since meats and seafoods are the most expensive ingredient in most of the recipes I use, I thought it would be helpful to type up a spreadsheet where I can compare meat and seafood prices at a glance. Stores and their prices are listed side by side for easy comparison.

Since I was typing it up anyway, I thought I would share it with all of you as well. It's a Google Doc so anyone should be able to view it.

Meat and Seafood Comparison Spreadsheet

A couple of things you should know:

• Stores listed currently are: Big Y, Stop & Shop, Price Chopper and Shaw's
  
• I did not specify brands on this spreadsheet so if you are a loyal Perdue consumer, for example, you may not like this.
• I did not specify package sizes. Some of these prices may only be good on larger family or value packs. Please take a look at your circular to verify before you get to the store and are disappointed.
• The prices listed are from my local circular for Manchester or Vernon, Connecticut stores. Please verify prices in your local circular before shopping.

I hope this is helpful! If anyone has another store they would like to add please let me know. I'd be willing to give someone permission to edit the document if you would be willing to add your local store. However, I would like to limit stores added to this document to CT and surrounding states.

Let me know what you think!

Click Here to read more...

Big Universe - Review

Reading has always been an escape for me.  Ever since I can remember, I've loved to read anything I can get my hands on.  In particular, I remember reading the Babysitters Club series when I was in elementary and middle school.  I just could not wait to see what happened next and I read the entire series of over a 100 books and then moved on from there to other series throughout the years.

I hope to instill that same love of reading into my son.  Of course, his Daddy hopes that he's going to be an NFL or NBA star someday but I'd love it if he was a bookworm like his Mommy.  And, why can't he be both, right?  I've been reading to Ben since he was an infant.  Now, he's 2 1/2 and loves story time.  We're always looking for new books to read and new ways to hold his interest in reading.  Enter, Big Universe!

Big Universe is a site where you can read, create and share books online.  What an amazing site this is!  Ben and I had a blast checking it out!  There are hundreds of books by well known authors and publishers that are available to read online anytime.  You can sort them by grade level, reading level, age, category and even language.  Of course, you can also search by keyword, title or author as well.  From there you can read the entire book online.  These are not just previews - it's the entire book!  If you find a favorite you can add it to your own personal bookshelf to find it again quickly in the future.  You can also rate books and recommend them to others. 

We had a wonderful time finding new books to check out.  Some of these titles are well known award winners, others are hidden gems that I'm so happy to have found!  One of our new favorites is The Tree by Dana Lyons.  The book is absolutely gorgeous to look at and the story is powerful.  Ben also liked When Pigs Fly by Valerie Coulman.  That one made him laugh at the silly pictures.  There are so many more that we want to check out. 

We also used Big Universe at bedtime.   We usually read a story each night but, like any 2 year old, Ben likes to hear the same stories over and over and over again.  I found that if I bring the laptop in at bedtime he's more likely to pick a new story from Big Universe to read thus saving my sanity!  I think I'll go nuts if I have to read I Love Trains one more time.  He sits in my lap and we put the laptop on the bed and read a story that way. 

The other amazing feature of Big Universe is that you can write your own story!  Ben's a little too young to really be interested in this feature yet but we did look around at a lot of user authored stories.  There are great tutorials that walk you through the whole process and it looks really easy to do.  Once you have your story, you can share it for the world to see.  We laughed a lot at some of the creative stories kids have come up with.  For example, what would happen if aliens had invaded a medieval castle?  Who would win the battle?  Check out Aliens at the Gates for the answer.  You can also rate, recommend and add user created stories to your bookshelf.  This is an amazing creative outlet for kids who love to tell stories or create tall tales. 

We had an amazing time playing on this site and I expect we'll continue to use it on a daily basis.  I urge everyone to check it out.  There's something for ages 0-teenager.  Parents will get a kick out of it too. 

You can sign up for an account by visiting the website.  They offer a free account which will let you preview the services and create one book of your own.  To have full access to the site you can sign up for a personal account which is only $4.95 per month.  This is a great deal since most hardcover children's books are in the $15-$17 range.  You can save a ton of money by reading them online instead!  There are also accounts for families, classrooms and schools so this would be a great resource for teachers and homeschoolers as well. 

Until the end of the month, Big Universe is offering my readers a Personal Account free for one month!  Here's how to take advantage of this great deal:

1. Visit https://biguniverse.com/account
2. Select FREE account
3. Fill out the short registration form 
4. You will get an activation email.  Click on the link in the email to activate your account
5. Sign in
6. From your account page, enter promo code BUMOM09
7. Your account will automatically be upgraded to a personal account for one month for free!

It's that easy!  This promo code is only valid until October 31 so hurry and take advantage of this great opportunity!

I hope you and your families have as much fun on this site as we did!  Leave a comment and let me know what you think! 

Click Here to read more...

No More Children Forgotten in Cars

This is an amazing post on Mommy Words about the dangers of forgetting your child in the car during the warm weather. Everyone knows that this is a dangerous situation and that a child should never be left in a car, but I think sometimes people have misconceptions about what type of parent could make a mistake like this. It's not only the "bad" or "neglectful" parents whose children die in overheated cars. Normal, loving, caring, attentive parents have made the same mistake.

I urge you to check out this wonderful post from Mommy Words and spread the word.

No More Children Forgotten in Cars

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Can Grocery Delivery Save You Money?

I heard about peapod a long time ago but I had all these preconceived notions about it...it's too expensive, they won't take coupons, it's only for people who can't otherwise leave their homes, etc, etc... How wrong I was!

My friend and SIL, the Deal Finding Mom was recently given the opportunity to take a tour of the Peapod facilities and gave the service a try. You can read her full review here. After reading her review and talking to her about it, I decided to give it a try. Here's what I found:

• The sales are the same as in Stop & Shop. For the most part, everything on sale in the circular is also on sale online at Peapod. There are also web only deals to take advantage of.
  
• They take coupons! This is a huge one for me! If they didn't accept coupons I wouldn't even consider using the service.
  
• There are lots of promo codes. Delivery usually costs $9.99 for orders $60-$100 and $6.99 for orders $100 or more. However, there are lots of promo codes out there for $10 off, $15 off and more. They also will send you emails with special promo codes included so you really get free shipping most of the time.
• Ordering was really easy!
• There are lots of delivery times to choose from. You should have no problem finding a delivery time to fit your schedule and you can even get $$ off your order when you pick certain times.
• My order was great! I ordered produce, breads and non-perishables. Everything was fresh, the produce looked amazing and nothing was squished!
• My driver/delivery person was very nice. Our delivery person explained everything to us, asked if we had any questions and helped us bring everything in.
• They will credit you for any problems. Our delivery person explained that if we were unsatisfied with anything at all we could call and they would credit our accound, no quesions asked. It's nice to know that if your eggs are broken they'll make it right without a fuss.
  

I placed my first order last week. I decided to give it a try and see if it would save me money. We usually go grocery shopping as a family. No matter how long I spend before a trip planning a list and clipping coupons we always end up spending more than planned because Eric or Ben will see something else they want and throw it into the cart. I thought that maybe if I order online I can do it myself without them sabotaging me! Last week I stayed in budget, did a meal plan and only bought those items that we needed and were good deals using coupons.

I was very happy with the service and definitely plan on using it again in the future. Click the banner at the top of the post if you'd like to give it a try. You are welcome to use wanderingpeanut@gmail.com as your referral.

Note: This is NOT a sponsored post. I was not contacted by Peapod and asked to post. I'm just so pleased with their service that I thought I would share it with you!

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Sweepin' It Up

I've started a new blog! It's called Sweepin' It Up and it showcases Blog Giveaways, Contests and Sweepstakes from all over the web. I'll be updating it daily with new giveaways so make sure to check it out! I would love it if you would consider subscribing to the feed and/or becoming a follower.

If you are hosing a giveaway or contest of any kind you can email me at sweepinitup (at) gmail (dot) com. I would be happy to post about it!

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Stumbling Around...

Found while Stumbling today:

If you're a big movie fan, this is a really fun site to check out. MovieMistakes.com lists movie mistakes. For example:

In Charlie's Angels, when the Angels are fighting the "Creepy Thin Man," right before Drew Barrymore lifts up Lucy Liu to spin her around and kick the thin man, to get Lucy's attention, Drew hollers out "Lucy!" even though Lucy Liu's character's name is "Alex."

I don't know that I would ever use this, but it's nice to know it exists. eCalc offers a free online Scientific Calculator. Just in case you need to do some advanced equations while figuring out this week's grocery deals! :)



How's this for a warning message:

Danger. Do Not Touch. Not only will this kill you, it will hurt the whole time you're dying.

LOL!

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Stumbling Hodge Podge

Here are three of my favorite Stumbles from today:



I know most of my readers are probably not big gamers, but I really liked this game and wanted to pass it along. Straw Hat Samurai is a Flash game where you play as a samurai to defeat the evil forces. Some blood so not for young kids, but entertaining for adults.


I came across this quote. How scary that Thomas Jefferson predicted exactly what's happening now:

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
- Thomas Jefferson 1802

Click here to read a great story about a soldier in Iraq and a cat named Tom

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Ben's New Favorite Site

I was Stumbling through kid's sites today and came across Starfall. They have a section of their site dedicated to "Let's Get Ready to Read" where they focus on the alphabet and each letter individually. Now, I know Ben is a little young and I have no expectations that he will be reading anytime soon, but he absolutely loved watching the animations for each letter and was following along with the sounds! There are very few things that can hold his attention for more than 30 seconds, so I'm excited to have found something educational that he likes and pays attention to.

Click here to go directly to the section that Ben liked so much.

I would also like to note that this is not a paid post and I have not been compensated in any way for posting this. This was just a site that my son genuinely liked and I wanted to pass along!

Enjoy!

Click Here to read more...

Saturday Sponsor Spotlight - Gamefly

I know that many of my readers are not video game addicts like I am (yes, I can admit it. My name is Cherie and I am an XBox 360 addict.), but I'll bet many of you have kids or husbands or significant others who are. There are lots of women out there who have to repeat themselves 20 times to get the trash taken out because their son or husband hasn't heard what they've said because they're too busy kicking butt on Madden or playing a campaign on Call of Duty or rockin' out on Guitar Hero.

I also know that many times you'll buy a game and it gets played a couple of times and then it never gets touched again. Or, they beat the game in a few hours and it's lost its appeal.

Eric and I decided to try out Gamefly well over a year ago. For those of you who don't know, it works like Netflix. You pay a monthly fee and they mail you a game. You keep the game for as long as you like. There are no late fees - only the regular monthly fee. If you decide you like the game, they give you the option to buy it at a discounted price. If you're not interested in purchasing it you keep it for however many days or weeks or months you want. If you don't like it, or if you beat it, or if you just get bored you can send it back in the mail in the prepaid envelope and they'll send you another game of your choice.

Eric gets bored with games easily so this was great for him because he could try it out and then send it back whenever he was bored. He wasn't spending $60 a pop to buy a new game every time he got bored.

I like it because I'm a big fan of RPG's (role playing games) and if any of you have ever played them you know that they sometimes take well over 40 hours to complete! We don't always have the money to purchase the game so this way I can keep it for the entire 40+ hours of gameplay time - even if it takes me months in real life - and still not pay full price for the game.

They offer games for all platforms including XBox 360, Playstation 2 and 3, PSP, Nintendo DS, Wii and many more. So, no matter which system your family has, they have something for you. They also have a HUGE selection of games! Everything from new releases to classic favorites. They do get new releases on time so your not stuck just picking from old games that no one wants to play anymore.

There are also many different plans to choose from:
2-Game Plan (the most popular plan) - Two games out at a time $22.95/month + applicable tax
1-Game Plan - One game out at a time $15.95/month + applicable tax
3-Game Plan (requires an active account in good standing for at least 60 days) - Three games out at a time $29.95/month + applicable tax
4-Game Plan (requires an active account in good standing for at least 60 days) - Four games out at a time $36.95/month + applicable tax

Right now they are offering a special offer for new accounts:
1-Game Plan: $8.95 first month then $15.95 month every month after plus 14 FREE issues of Sports Illustrated or Entertainment Weekly

2-Game Plan: $12.95 first month then $22.95 every month after plus 14 FREE issues of Sports Illustrated or Entertainment Weekly

OR

10 Day Free Trial: 2 games out plus 14 FREE issues of Sports Illustrated or Entertainment Weekly. $22.95 monthly after 10 day trial period.

Gamefly is easy to cancel if you decide it's not for you. You can cancel right from your member account page on their website. No hassle, no phone calls!

This is just one of the ways we save money while still being able to play games we love and try new ones. If your family has a video game system it may be worth looking into. Click the Gamefly box above to be directed to their site so you can check it out for yourself.

*Note: All of my sponsors are sites and services that I have used or researched personally. I will never post a link to any site that I consider to be spammy or a scam. I will also never post something just because I'm being paid to do it. My Saturday Sponsor Spotlight posts are not paid posts.

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We Now Return to Your Regularly Scheduled Programming

My coupon program is now fully registered and working properly again. I will be getting back to my regular posts regarding coupon matchups starting with the new grocery circulars in this Sunday's paper.

Woo Hoo! I'm so happy!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I use Coupon Wizard by MicroBlast Software. It's not flashy or anything, but it does exactly what I need it to do. Here are a couple of screen shots:

This is the "list view" of all the coupons entered. You can also sort them by store, product, date, etc...

This is the individual coupon view. You can view all the details of a specific coupon. I use the comments section to list where I got the coupon - which insert or tearpad, etc.

Click Here to read more...

Sites I Recommend: WEbook

As you may or may not know, I'm slightly addicted to StumbleUpon.com. I just love to find new things. Today I stumbled on the site WEbook. If you like to either read or write original material, you might be interested in this site.

You can read hundreds of works...anything from fiction to sci-fi to biographies to children's books and everything in between for free! If you like to write, you can join for free and start your own project. You can work alone or collaborate with other people.

Check out this video explanation:

Click Here to read more...

Great Links For Kids

These are some sites with great activities for kids that I've Stumbled across recently. My son is 18 months old, so many of these are geared towards the younger kids.


FamilyEducation.com has a great section on printables. You can find everything from coloring pages to word searches to board games to car games all ready for you to print and keep the kids busy on rainy days.

Search Tools for Kids - This is a listing of search engines that are great for kids, parents or teachers to use like Encarta, Merriam-Webster's Dictionary and Ask for Kids just to name a few.

Crayola Fireworks Spectacular - My 18 month old loves this site. You create your own fireworks show online.

SFS Kids - the San Francisco Symphony has a kids site to teach them about music and all types of instruments. Neat site.

SillyBooks.net - This site has lots of animates storybooks for kids of all ages. Great for toddlers or children just learning to read as it shows the words and kids can read along with the narrator.

Fisher Price - Fisher Price has an activities page on their site with lots of things for the little guys to do. They have coloring pages, lots of games with pop up characters, animal sounds, etc. Lots of fun for toddlers.

Kneebouncers - This is my son's favorite site online. There are a few different games but they are all based around the keyboard. Every time he hits the keys something new happens or pops up. He loves it!

Click Here to read more...

Links I've Stumbled Upon

I'm addicted to StumbleUpon and find lots of stuff that I'd love to pass on but don't want to do an entire post about. Here is a compilation of sites and posts I've come across and enjoyed.


7 Reasons Not To Mess With a Child
7 little anecdotes about things kids say

Tuzki - Bunny Icons
This is a blog post about those cute little animated bunny icons you see here and there. The post has a link to download them and explains where they came from.

How To Tie a Tie
This site shows how to tie a gentleman's tie in Double Windsor, Half Windsor, Four In Hand and Pratt Tie Knots

How to Make Granny Squares
A tutorial about how to crochet Granny squares. If you're interested in learning to crochet there's also a link to some great tutorial videos.


10 Ways to Take Stunning Photos
10 tips to take great pics

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Expired Coupons

So, you've been saving a ton of money by clipping coupons every week, but now you have some that are expired. What do you do with them?

Send them to the troops!

Military Families overseas are able to use manufacturer's coupons for up to 6 months after the expiration date. Through the Overseas Coupon Program (OCP) you can adopt a base and send expired coupons to them to help our military families. Of course, you could also send them on your own...you don't have to be a part of the program, but the OCP keeps track of how much is being sent to each base and has an idea of who needs it the most.

I've adopted the Ansbach, Germany army base and will be sending them all my expireds. If you are interested, but don't have the time or inclination to do the legwork involved, I'll be sending them a mailing about once a month and would be happy to include your expired coupons with mine. I'll even do the sorting and adding!

If you are interested, please send me an email at wanderingpeanut@gmail.com and I will give you details and mailing information.

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Vocalpoint

I just wanted to pass along this site to everyone. I signed up for Vocalpoint quite a while ago and then forgot about it. Just recently, though, it has completely paid off! I've started receiving lots of coupons and free samples in the mail.

I have received so far:

• Sample box of Kashi Vive (a new Kashi cereal. My son loves it!)
• Coupon for a FREE box of Kashi Vive (retail around $4.49)
  
• (5) $2.00 off Kashi Vive coupons
• Coupon for BOGO any Kellogg's Special K Product
• (10) Coupons for $1.00 off any Special K Product

I think I received the Kashi coupons in June and I got the Special K ones about a week ago. Maybe I'll get something else next month! I definitely recommend checking it out and signing up!

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Be Charitable for Free!

These are some great sites where you can make charitable donations just by clicking. Please check them out!







This one lets you donate 20 pieces of dog kibble to a shelter in need every day you play their cute doggie trivia game.








This one lets you donate 20 pieces of cat kibble to a shelter in need every day tou play their cute kitty trivia game.



This one lets you play a fun vocabulary game. For every word you get right, they will donate 20 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program to help end hunger. You can play as much as you like.

This one will donate the value of 1.1 cups of food each day when you click the button.

Every day that you click you help to donate 1 free mammogram to a woman in need

Every day that you click you are helping a child in need get the healthcare they need

Donate books to children in need every day that you click.

Save 11.4 sq feet of rainforest ever day you click

Donate half a bowl of food to a rescued animal every day you click.

Click Here to read more...

Lookybook

This is a really cool site where you can view children's books cover to cover before you buy them. They are in full color, you get to see every page and the images are large enough that you can actually read the book online. This is great if you want to make sure content is appropriate for your child before spending a lot of money, and you can also just have fun reading online.

Click Here to read more...

How To Avoid Trapped Arm Whilst Cuddling in Bed

I think the Superman is my favorite part. LOL! This is one of the many hilarious videos on VideoJug.com
I'm especially a fan of the Dating Humor section.

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If You Like Scrapbooking...

I Stumbled upon this site today. It looks pretty neat so I thought I would pass it on in case anyone is interested. You can create online scrapbook pages that incorporate video, music and pictures as well as the traditional scrapbooking elements like papers (or in this case backgrounds), borders and stickers. You can then post your pages to your blog or website, send them to friends and family, or print them out.

Click Here to read more...

Grow Cube

This is a really cute game. It's basically about strategy. You have to place the items on your cube in the right order to win. There aren't any great directions on the site, but it's not too hard to figure out. It took me quite a while to solve it, though. There are also quite a few other games by the same guy that are similar. They're all pretty entertaining.

CLICK HERE TO PLAY

This is a YouTube video of someone solving the puzzle. Try it on your own before you watch this!! Only watch this if you get stuck!

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