Free Stuff

Today is Free stuff day and I am only posting the ones that are reputable and not a scam to get your e-mail address or info, some are fun and others are just great items for short trips or just to try a new product. Most I have tried myself.

************** HYGIENE ****************

AVEENO free shampoo and conditioner sample: http://www.aveeno.com/hair-care/free-samples


WALMART samples send directly to your home, follow this link to get free music downloads, dog food bags, hygiene products, etc. Just check back often because it changes quickly: http://instoresnow.walmart.com/In-Stores-Now-Free-Samples-And-Tools.aspx

**************** MP3 Downloads ***************

Download 3 Free Songs & Lyrics from Cotton’s "The Fabric of My Life"
The Fabric of Our Lives (Zooey Deschanel - Miranda Lambert - Jazmine Sullivan)

25 selected mp3 downloads here, they expires March 30, 2010, so take your time: http://lstn.urbanoutfitters.com/7/

Rhapsody gives you a free MP3 download weekly: http://www.rhapsody.com/freeweeklymp3s

Music for kids too! here is a whole bunch of them, from the always fun Hocky Poky, to Old McDonalds, to Rock a Bye Baby, Choo Choo Boogaloo, a total of 10 and totally free:

http://www.musicforlittlepeople.com/Audio_Recordings/Downloads/Free_Downloads/

********* END OF MP3 LIST ******************

******** MORE STUFF *******************
FREE MAMMOGRAM ~ OCTOBER 17TH 2009 in 3 Philadelphia hospitals. Uninsured or under insured women, follow this link to find the one that will work best for you: http://www.phillyhealthinfo.org/index.php/health_events/2009/10/17/

FREE BETTY CROCKER POTATO BOX, choose your flavor and enter info here: http://freesample.bettycrockerpotatoes.com/BCPotatoesII/Default.aspx


2010 Women's Health calendar from the US Government, one calendar per household/address:
http://www.womenshealth.gov/pub/calendar/

******************* POGO TOKENS *************************


Redeem tokens to enter contests and win cash prizes, basically, this is a fun website with tons of good games.

Every Wednesday from Sept 23 to Oct 28th when you log in you will get tips and 10,000 free tokens http://www.pogo.com/pogo-prizes-p...g-page.jsp

POGO tokens (5,000) go to these link at make sure you are signed in to your account: http://www.pogo.com/pogo-prizes-p...ackpot.jsp

Courtesy of WonderBread, 2 links with 5,000 POGO tokens each:
http://www.pogo.com/pogo-prizes-p...ackpot.jsp
http://www.pogo.com/pogo-prizes-p...ackpot.jsp

Additional 10,000 tokens:
http://www.pogo.com/pogo-prizes-promotions/tokenPromotions/10yr-anniversary/10k/token-jackpot.jsp

POGO tokens (25,000) plus 3 games to play for free for 1 hour each:
http://uk.pogo.com/hotdeploy/uk/p.../dlsurvey/

POGO tokens (5,000) works if you have a membership. This is for HOG Heaven slots and it is the featured game for the month of October:

http://uk.pogo.com/games/hogheaven

POGO tokens (5,000) thanks to Betty Crocker: http://www.pogo.com/pogo-prizes-p...ackpot.jsp

POGO Tokens (total of 40,000 by clicking on both links:
http://de.pogo.com/hotdeploy/de/p.../dlsurvey/ (German website)
http://fr.pogo.com/hotdeploy/fr/promotions/marketing/dlsurvey/ (French website)


Saving the best for last, up to 200,000 POGO tokens with just one click, this program searches many available offers and deposits them into your POGO account (make sure you are signed into your POGO account first):
http://www.pogocheats.net/token-grabber/


**************** END OF POGO TOKENS ****************

*************** LATEST ITEMS FOUND *********************

Free full sized bottle of OUST, limited to the first 10,000 people who respond so hurry up!:http://www.rightathome.com/offers/200910-oust/

The best websites to get free links to stuff or great prices on big ticket items are Slickdeals.net or Fatwallet.com

Send FREE postcards and they pay the postage, limited to recipients in the US and Canada, here is the link: http://www.hippopost.com/start/

Free JUICY JUICE water bottle, fill info and check mark for your free bottle at bottom of page: http://www.juicyjuice.com/Login/Register.aspx

Enjoy! and leave a note if this was helpful to you

PEACE

THE UNITED STATES AND EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

OBAMA IS MEETING THE REST OF THE WORLD

Today I overheard some ignorant people deriding our President for taking a vacation so early in his Presidency and stating that he should have stayed home and fix the economic crisis that he owns.

I wonder how many of people are still listening to unfounded "facts" and distorted views to make their minds or add validity to their prejudices.

Let's review the so called facts: The so-called "vacation" is a diplomatic trip to Europe to form alliances and restore faith in the United States from countries that have become extremely leery of us over the past 8 years. We could actually be equated with a juvenile delinquent that has been unrepentant for years, thumbing his nose at the law and respectable society.

This juvenile delinquent has rejoiced in a "shock and awe" doctrine and suffered no consequences, while leaving the adults to clean up the mess.

The juvenile delinquent has been sent home to Texas and his most notorious gang member, Dick Cheney, should stay in his dark, dank cave and stop surfacing with irrelevant distractions of fear of the unknown, while attempting to instill blame from past misconduct into the new administration.

So, in case someone was wandering.... Barrack Obama is WORKING!!!! and has been working since he started running for President. In the history of this country, we have never had a harder working President, or one that is so available and in touch with the majority of the people of this country.

I hope we can all appreciate how easy it is to loose touch when one is encased in a bubble of security and politics. Imagine how easy it is to never be in touch when someone has never been part of the group of people that makes their own beds, cooks their own meals and struggle with a paycheck on a monthly basis.

That was then.... this is now.

So, we agree... The President is working and making us look good for a change. We can only hope that Europeans will agree to work along side with us to fix this globally horrendous economy, because we can't do it alone. And that acknowledgement from Obama to the world shows us as mature, elegant and rational adults.

That alone, is a great departure from being the arrogant bully in the playground as promoted by the previous administration. Which brings me back to insist that Chaney be covered with layers of garlic and kept in his dark, dank cave until we can regain our balance. That is not asking too much, is it? :)

I have to add that I agree that Obama owns this economy. He did not create it, but he certainly applied for the position and inherited all that it entails, so in that sense, he does own it. However, it is my opinion that he also realizes that since he has been working tirelessly to stop the bleeding of jobs and promote the creation of new ones.

WILL OBAMA SUCCEED IN CREATING NEEDED ALLIANCES?

If you are someone who believes in the power of prayer, I hope you add this one to your ritual and request that our President succeeds in this endeavor, because as a Nation, we have stood alone for the past 8 years and are unable to extricate ourselves from the mess created by arrogant people who have no allegiance to our country and its people.

When Wall Street executives are outraged that people are questioning their "hard earned bonuses" and have the goal to claim that it is needed to retain the "talent" that got us into this mess in the first place.... well, folks, we need all the help we can get.

PATRIOTISM AND SACRIFICE

You are a patriot if you are still "hanging in there" and doing your best to keep afloat in this economy, while supporting your family so they don't go under.

You are a patriot if you have put your political views, ideology and ingrained views aside to give a new direction a chance to succeed for the benefit of all our citizens.

You are a patriot if you shut out the political heads and listen to your own voice after quietly looking at your neighbors and friends and acknowledging the reality of their struggles.

You are a patriot if you realize that much has been asked of you and you are still willing to give more.

SACRIFICE:

You have sacrificed when you agreed to take a pay cut and a work day without salary so your co-workers can keep their jobs. You are also a Patriot.

You have sacrificed when you deny yourself something you needed, just so your kids or your spouse could have. You are also a Patriot.

You have sacrificed when you downgraded your standard of living by half and still keep hope that this is a temporary setback and you keep marching forward. You are also a Patriot.

You have sacrificed when you have taken time out of your insane schedule and stepped away from certain depression and demanded loudly and clearly that your representatives do the job they were hired to do. You wrote letters, sent email, joined the appropriate organizations and made irate phone calls. YES! YOU ARE ALSO A PATRIOT.

And I thank you.

PEACE to you and yours.

TRAVEL TRAILERS

There are nice old and new trailers out there..... we just want ONE.... just one, that is all.

I'll just jump in and say that shopping for a travel trailer is not for the faint of heart.

Besides the local paper and local newspaper, Craigslist is our main source for searching for trailers.

We have gone from finding the "perfect" trailer, to finding something adequate to something that does not stink..... too badly. In other words, we have lowered our expectations significantly, but what really stinks (besides the aforementioned trailers) is the amount of lies we have to endure while giving up precious time and gas to allow people to lie to our face and seeing if we are willing to "bite".

Our list does not require much, just what you would expect when purchasing anything that you and your family will be using for a long time: Clean, no Leaks, maintained electrical/gas, etc and of course, no smell of cat urine. (you can imagine why)

Let me tell ya! .... Most of the people who post in Craiglist are delusional or they are shameless liars who seem to be under the impression that once they type in the statement "Excellent condition", you will show up and not notice the dry rot, the smell of mold, cat urine, rust, dents, missing seals on seams, or the fact that the only thing holding that unit up is a merciful God, because the tires are shot.

We have been looking for around 2 months and it looks unlikely that we will manage to get what we would like to have by this summer because of the delusions that these posters have about selling them for the same price as a new one.

If you are new to travel trailers, there is nifty little guide called N.A.D.A. and it is very similar to the familiar Blue Book we all use to determine the price of our every day vehicles http://nada.com/ and after we plug in the "excellent condition" reported by the poster, add all the stuff that does NOT come with it (like a washer and dryer, or garbage disposal, etc), the price on the unit can range anywhere from $3,000 to $4,200 dollars. The asking price is close to $10,000.

It must be a real beauty to command such a price. The condition is "mint" (as they are fond of posting) and ".... You will not find a better unit at this price anywhere". We can only imagine how much better these units must be for these people to be asking $10,000 or close to it.

The fact is, that Travel Trailers depreciate faster than any car any of us has ever owned, they are not in high demand and frankly, condition and maintenance is everything when it comes to making a sale. This is true of everything, but more so on travel trailers that are designed with low weight and frankly, low quality materials to begin with. Even brand new units are quite a disappointment in terms of materials but since it is designed to take the place of cheap hotel for a few weeks a year, you will over look it. (yes, you will, specially after you have gone to ever dealership and walked in every single one of them).

Of course, taking a realistic look at what the unit should actually be priced at, would be helpful.

Imagine our surprise when a 2003 Aljo lite travel trailer was advertised for $9,500 and having been used rarely (according to N.A.D.A. $3,700 to $4,460 is the actual price) was not in "perfect condition": Major holes in the body, tires flat, broken pieces.... but hey! no leaks! (Or so the owner claims) even though the poor unit has been sitting outdoors for years with more holes than a block of Swiss cheese and one wonders " do people really think that everyone else is that stupid?".

We have had our share of snow, hail and rain over the seasons and one wonders what magical spells have kept the elements out of those holes?

Take the woman who wants the same amount for a urine infected unit, holes in the bathtub, seals missing from the seams, pet hair all over the unit (where humans are meant to sleep, eat and sit) and claims that all appliances work even though they have never used them.

(...... Hummmm! this rust bucket that has been taking a beating and used to death for the past 10 yrs, has never been used for cooking, showering or heating some water?).

But hey! in talking to them, this trailer is worth that much because that is what they paid for it 10 yrs ago (before it was trashed, of course, minor detail).

We will persevere and keep looking and putting up with the nonsense and hopefully, we will prevail and take our first real vacation in 14 yrs.

Thank you for reading.

PEACE to you and yours

Saving money on cleaning products

CLEANING WITHOUT BLOWING THE BUDGET


The following are basic things that we have tried and work well. We save money and don't come in contact with harmful chemicals. Safe for our family, safe for the environment and we reduce waste by reducing our carbon footprint.

White Vinegar

Spray bottle and white vinegar.

A gallon of white vinegar costs less than $2.00

#1. Use full strength to clean the grease off stove top and disinfect any area you would use commercial chemicals (like commodes, bathroom fixtures, etc)

#2. Spray on ants that invade your home. Spray around areas where they are prone to enter your home.

#3. Dilute with warm water and spray lightly and mop wood/laminate flooring and tiles. It leaves everything clean and shinny, while it disinfects.

#4. Diluted with water will clean and shine bathroom mirrors and remove toothpaste from every surface.

#5. If out of alcohol to clean a cut, use vinegar, it will kill germs and disinfect just as well by changing the PH in which bacteria thrives.

#6. A couple of drops in the ear will relieve "swimmer's ear", stop and ear infection (we have used this successfully for years) by changing the PH that bacteria/germs need to "cling" to. (we have not had an ear infection in years and our kids have not needed to use antibiotics)

#7. Use to clean car and house windows, remove hand oils and grease from steering wheels, shine chrome wheels and faucets.

#8. Marinate meat and poultry in your favorite mixture and add a little vinegar to tenderize meats and keep them juicier while cooking. It also shortens cooking time.

#9. Use in rinse cycle in your washing machine to brighten up dull dark clothes.

#10. Use white distilled vinegar to remove deposits from the inside of your coffee machine.

#11. Add a few drops when boiling eggs to keep them from cracking.

#12. Hard water stains can be removed by rinsing with white vinegar (shower glass doors, car hoods, etc).

#13. It makes a wonderful low-fat, low-calorie dressing by mixing (to taste) some white vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic/onion powder and cilantro. Yummy!!!

There are many more and as time goes by we find more and more uses for white distilled vinegar.

BAKING SODA

I can't imagine anything more versatile that baking soda, it is widely used in cooking and baking, but cleaning is just one discovery after another as we go through life and make bigger messes.

#1. Remove persistent odors from garbage pail, refrigerators, freezer, pet and human odors in carpet, etc by either placing a small container in these areas or spraying liberally over carpet and vacuuming after 10/15 minutes.

#2. Add to solution in shampooer to remove both pet and human odors.

#3. Add to laundry detergent to soften water, use less detergent, brighten clothes and remove stains in colors.

#4. Add to hot water wash when doing white loads to remove gray from socks and perspiration stains from clothing (yellowing).

#5. Make a paste with water and easily wipe away scuff marks from linoleum without ruining the shine.

#6. Add to water bucket (dissolve completely) when mopping tile floors.

#7. Throw over fire (on wood, upholstery or stove fire) to put it out.

#8. Soaking dirty underwear, cloth diapers, badly stain clothes in baking soda and then washing will remove most persistent stains and odors.

#9. Nasty smells in stainless steel water bottles are gone after letting a solution of baking soda and water sit a while in the container.

#10. Soak gold/silver jewelery NOT PEARLS in a tin foil container filled with hot water, salt and baking soda. It will remove tarnish and leave the jewelry sparkling.

#11. Run your dishwasher with baking soda in the bottom to clean it, add it to the bottom while doing a full load to use less detergent and avoid "etching" on glasses caused by hard water.

#12. Clean and shine without scratching your bathtub, tiles, and fixtures.

#13. Use it to brush your teeth and whiten your teeth. Gargle with a mixture to eliminate bad breath.

#14. One teaspoon dissolved in water will reduce stomach acid. My grand-uncle used it after every meal to avoid/reduce heartburn.

#15. Make a paste with water and apply directly to insect bites/poison ivy, etc.

#16. Add to your bath water to soften hard water and enjoy a bath that is good for your skin.

#17. Pour into your kitchen sink drain and let it sit for 10 minutes, then pour boiling hot water and it will remove that nasty smell that comes from the pipes, will dissolve gunk in the pipes as well.

#18 Baking soda and vinegar make for a great volcano effect for kid's science project but it also dissolves grease in kitchen pipes. (Regular maintenance makes this easier, I suggest once a week)

#19. Silverware sparkles after rubbing with baking soda (rinse and dry afterwards).

#20. Dissolve baking soda in warm water and let it sit in smelly plastic containers for about 15 minutes. The smell will be gone and most stains will come out.

PEACE to you and yours.