More Taco Bell Benefits!

Looks like I know what I'm having today! Thanks to Money Saving Mom, I just found out that Taco Bell is giving away one free Taco from 2-6pm today Tues Oct 28th as a result of some base stealing during the World Series. Gotta love their promotions.

A brief stop in the kitchen.

I have been talking with some people about the joy and ease of using crock pots and how to save money when you are providing dinner for your family. Many of us are so frazzled and flustered that the idea of a home cooked meal for your family is somewhat of a fantasy. Especially, in my case with way picky special needs kids, making dinner is not unlike working at a fast food diner.

A short time ago I came across these posts from Money Saving Mom and since they fit into my topic of conversation and suggestions I thought I would pass them along.

Here is a guest post she shared recently from a woman who has dedicated herself to making every dinner for an entire year cost no more than $5! Check it out and then go subscribe to her blog. Having a new idea every day is pretty cool in my book!

Here is a question asked by MSM taking a poll of how many of us use our crock pot. Check out the links she has. One of them is another 365 days of ideas, this time all surrounding the crock pot. Since I have been without a crockpot for so long and finally got a replacement, you can bet I'll be checking it out for ideas.

Another way to help our Military Families

I know many of you send your expired coupons to Military Families, since apparently they are still good for them 6 months after expiration date. How cool is that? Imagine the waste generated from unused coupons from six duplicate copies of the Sunday paper (for example), and now we can send them to be used by someone who can use them, even if we can't!

But let's be honest, there are many of us out there who want to help but never seem to make it happen. Or maybe you have it totally together but wonder, what else can I do?

Well now there is a way to do more for those of you who want to do more, or the rest of us who are still trying to do something. I was scanning through my mountain of blogs and came across this from grocery coupon guide. It's a quiz site where you answer questions about grocery savings and coupon knowledge and for each right answer you get they donate coupons on your behalf!

Here's what the site states:

"About Coupon Quiz
Coupon Quiz is dedicated to giving grocery coupons to military families living overseas. These families have limited access to grocery coupons meaning they can't get discounts we take for granted. By taking the Coupon Quiz, you help provide grocery coupons to these families reducing their food bill."

You get 5 chances every day to answer questions. For each right answer you get .50 in coupons is donated giving you $2.50 to donate every day! And if you aren't sure about the answer you get to ask for a hint which takes you to a page with the information on it!

I've already donated $2.50 today and you can bet I will be back tomorrow!

WFMW (Wii like to be fit)

Well after 3 months of wishing and an additional 6 months of searching our family has finally become proud owners of that elusive creature the Wii Fit. I swear it's one of the most wonderful "toys" we could have ever brought into our household. The Wii is, in general as well. We don't tend to go out and do things as a family, with our kids public adventures are just that...adventures, not merely a relaxing form of entertainment and as little time as Daddy has at home with us, we like to make the most of the time.

Enter the Wii (and now Wii fit). Only in the comfort of our living room can my 2 year old go bowling as well as my carpal tunnel suffering husband. For my racing obsessed 5 year old nothing beats Mario Kart...he doesn't even care if he loses the race he just enjoys falling off a cliff! And last but not least for my 9 year old who has to win at all costs even if it involves cheating (thus not too many board games played here) there is Mario Party 8...basically a board game you can't cheat on with interactive games every turn.

Now we have the Fit. Again, easy enough my 2 year old can do it...and does! Granted a 2'8 22 lb 2 year old comes up as Obese (I guess the system isn't designed to take into account "baby fat") so don't take it seriously for your kids. My balanced challenged 5 year old comes up with a Wii Fit Age of 33! But that alone is entertaining for the kids, nothing like a spot light coming on a # filling the screen and an animation accompanying it. In the case of my kids, it's the Mii looking like a frail old man/woman leaning over and holding their back.

But enough about that. The activities range from a variety of options under categories of Yoga, Strength, Aerobic and Balance games. I got this beause I didn't want to go to a Yoga or Pilates class, but now that I have it there are so many other things to do. Tight rope between two high rise buildings (Balance), hula hoop challenges (Aerobic and one of my personal favorites), a dance dance revolution style step aerobics (not as much fun as the real thing but still challenging nonetheless) and lets not forget hitting a soccer ball with your head, but watch out for the shoes! What could be more fun than having your family of Miis kick soccer balls, shoes or panda bear heads at you!

I haven't been at it for very long but already I feel my balance improving, I had no idea my posture was so bad. My kids are keeping at it and I even manged to get my husband to create a profile! It brings our family together and our kids beg to exercise! I have no doubt that with continued use the benefits of the Fit will far outweigh the cost.

But don't take my word for it. My local paper just did an article on a woman and her Fit right here. Be patient with the link at the end of the article . I don't think the site was prepared for the traffic they would get as a result of the articles popularity.

Want to see more WFMW, check out RocksInMyDryer