http://iowahippiechick.today.com Living Simply Thu, 21 May 2009 17:38:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Join the Dairy Queen Blizzard Fan Club and receive a coupon to buy one / get one free - Click here. Rachel Ray Nutrish Dog Food sample - Click here. Download a free kids music album offered by Mega Bloks - Click here. Mighty Leaf Tea sample - Click here.  (Kroger card # ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/04/03/freebie-friday-14/ How to Save Money from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit Saving money is one of those tasks that's so much easier said than done. There's more to it than spending less money (although that part alone can be challenging). How much money will you save, where will ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/04/02/how-to-save-money/ One of the rituals I picked up from my mom was spring cleaning. There's just something about it that shakes off the winter blues. And besides that ... It really helps to get our home & stuff organized and in good repair. (Which always saves us money!) Here is a basic spring cleaning checklist ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/04/01/time-for-spring-cleaning/ Oh my goodness am I excited! We are getting almost $6K for income tax refunds! Normally we do not receive such a large refund - Because we have our withholding set to just cover our income tax expense. Maybe a little bit back ... But never six thousand dollars! FOR HEAVENS SAKE THIS IS SO COOL ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/03/31/our-cpa-had-awesome-news/ The administration at Today.com has decided to discontinue allowing it's bloggers to participate with Entrecard.  (So, this will be my last top dropper post.) Here are my March and final top droppers: Sound of a Soft Breath  Scandinavian Ways  Themelib Computer Aid The Frugal Housewife Blogger Templates The Way I See It The Toy Report Random Ramblings All Contests Thanks so much ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/03/30/march-top-droppers/ How to save up to $2,000 a year  by Real Simple Magazine. R.I.P., cable TV?  by Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine. Four Old-School Reasons Why You Can Thrive in this Recession by Sonia Simone at Copyblogger. How to find free stuff by Lori Bongiorno an environmental journalist. Cash for trash: Reuse stores make use of ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/03/27/friday-must-reads/ I haven't yet, because I'm still waiting for our accountant to complete our 2008 income tax returns.  Hopefully he is done soon, because the quicker we fill out & file Cody's FAFSA, the better I'll feel.  (And then I can finally tick that off my spring to-do list!) Filling out ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/03/26/have-you-done-your-fafsa-yet/ (Makes 6 servings) Ingredients 8 ounces whole-grain penne rigate ¾ pound boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 tablespoon ground coriander 2 tablespoons chili powder ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 yellow onion, chopped 1 red bell pepper, diced 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped finely 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/03/25/south-of-the-border-pasta-bake/ Get a free sample of Parent's Choice Milk DHA & ARA or  Gentle  Formula - Click here. If you like lemonade ... check out All Bran's new Fiber Drink Mix with 40% of your daily fiber needs - Click here. Free toilet paper from Cottonelle ... and a sample of their flushable ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/03/24/freebies/ It's taken me awhile to digest the whirlwind of activity from last week.  Especially since my traveling companion (who also happens to be my sister) lives in a very different income bracket than me ... She is quite wealthy.  In fact a self made millionaire.  Which is not usually an issue ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/03/23/las-vegas-vacation-oh-my/   Last night, Craig and I went to a live performance of Rain-The Beatles Experiment.  It was  so much fun.  The show was held at the performing arts center, up on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa.  The tickets were a little "spendy" for our budget.  But we ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/03/16/all-you-need-is-love/ You've got to act fast if you want this one ... Because it is only available until 10:59 am EST, on Saturday March 14th.  You will be prompted to become a member of Oprah dot com before being allowed to download the book.  Personally, I think it's worth the effort.  ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/03/13/free-e-copy-of-jean-chatzkys-new-book-the-difference/ Simple soup suppers are one of mine and Craig's favorite meals.  They taste great and always save us money on our grocery bill.  Italian Sausage Soup (Prep: 30 minutes)  (Cook: 1  1/2 hours) Ingredients 1 pound Italian sausage - casings removed 1 large onion, chopped (1 cup) 1 medium carrot, chopped (1/2 cup) 1 stalk ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/03/13/italian-sausage-soup-recipe/ I just love this photo! Cody took it last spring ... Which might just give you a clue as to what it is - Did you guess it yet? Or give up? All right I'll tell you - (If you didn't come up with it yet ...) It is a mountain of used sandbags. The sandbags ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/03/08/can-you-tell-what-this-big-pile-of-stuff-is/ Containers or canisters in the kitchen - Large ones are useful for holding flour or sugar.  And they can also hold wooden spoons and utensils.  Smaller ones can hold tea bags, coffee, dried beans, matches, etc. Containers for office use - Mayonnaise size jars make terrific pencil/pen holders.   Baby food ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/03/05/13-ways-to-survive-the-current-economic-times/ A grocery coupon and deal forum at The Full Cup (Savings by the cup full.) The top 50 blogs networked under "Freebies" on Facebook. To make changes positively ... use the First 30 days. That Dr. Seuss just had a birthday ... check out the website ... I love Dr. Seuss. More ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/03/04/did-you-know-about-these/  My oldest son Dillon's new 9-week Old English bull dog baby! wordless wednesday http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/03/04/im-a-new-grandma-sort-of/ Yesterday as I was opening the mail, and it happened, my first panic attack.  The trigger was a benefits paid  statement from our health insurance - But there were no paid amounts to be found.  All I saw were denials for payments on my recent surgery, to the tune of ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/03/03/i-had-my-first-panic-attack/ To say, "I can't afford it!" To which I reply, "Thank goodness!" My dad and my husband Craig both have the tendency to live by the motto - I deserve it.  Which in theory I stand by them 100%.  But theory needs to be balanced out by reality.  Which boils down to ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/03/01/its-no-longer-taboo/   This past week while trolling the blogosphere - I noticed quite a few posts on gratitude.  Isn't that terrific?  Especially during these difficult times we are living in ... This ability to ask the question - What do I have? (And be thankful for it.) Instead of the question - What ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/02/28/simple-gratitude/ "Cents"able Momma has four easy steps to cut laundry costs. Bargains4wahms has end of February coupons at (coupons.com). Being Frugal is Fabulous has an interesting frugal tip for us. Common Sense With Money has started a series on stockpiling. Everything Finance has a review on David Bach's ... http://iowahippiechick.today.com/2009/02/27/save-some-money-reads-from-around-the-web/