I'm a big fan of Zagg InvisibleSHIELD screen protectors! My handheld GPS, iPod and phone all have them. No more worrying about scratching the screen when putting my gadgets in my pocket or purse. I've even run my keys over the protector and no scratching! I've recommended them numerous times to friends and many of them are repeat customers for their various gadgets! invisible shield

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On Thursday, September 29, Krispy Kreme will celebrate National Coffee Day and its new Krispy Kreme Signature Coffee Blends by giving a FREE 12oz cup of House Blend Coffee to its guests in the U.S. and Canada. No Purchase Necessary.

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 photo credit: Amazon

Starting today, users of the Kindle and Kindle app can borrow Kindle books from over 11,000 United States Libraries!

According to the Amazon website, these books are available at libraries using OverDrive to distribute digital content. You can search for a library near you on the OverDrive search page. (Make sure to click the Library tab above the search box.)

Don't have a Kindle? Download the free Kindle app for your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, Android Phone, or Windows Phone 7

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Armed with my smartphone and the Yard Sale Treasure Map app (check out the website, they have PC, Android & iPhone versions!), we headed out this morning to find some bargains. Here are the yard sale spoils for the weekend. I was really on the hunt to find some things to resell, but ended up with a few things we needed for the house instead!

$5  - 1 piece place setting of our dishes - Noritake Colorwave Graphite. It is missing a mug, but for that price, who cares? Normal retail price is $39.99
$3  -  large brown throw pillow for the couch. Brand new!
$10 - wireless router
$1  - The game of things.
25 cents - wire rack for the kitchen

The dishes were purchased at a benefit yard sale. We think they actually came from Bed, Bath & Beyond since they had several new items in packages from there. This was definitely my favorite find of the day!

I've not been able to print wirelessly since we got married because our modem/router is downstairs and my office is upstairs. It's been a slight pain, but I didn't want to spend $50 to buy another router or bridge. (My router didn't have the capability to pick up the signal from downstairs). I thought $10 was definitely worth it. There have been several times I needed to print off a recipe, coupon or something and I was downstairs. In order to print, I had to take the laptop upstairs, dock it, print, undock & take it back downstairs. I can't wait to get this hooked up! Looks like I got a pretty good bargain. This is going for about $20 with shipping on ebay.

The game of things is one I've wanted for a couple years. It's been on my Christmas list and our wedding registry. It looks brand new. Some of the parts are still in the shrink wrap. Hmmm...used ones are selling on ebay for around $20. Tempting. But since I've wanted it for awhile, I think I'll keep it for now.

Sadly, there probably won't be many yard sales next weekend since it is a holiday. Hopefully, there will be some so we can go again! The following weekend we're planning to have a yard sale of our own, so no hunting that weekend! :-(

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Have you found something on Craigslist only to discover someone else already bought it? Are you looking a specific item, have time to wait for it, but don’t want to check Craigslist EVERY day? Here are a few ways you can put Craigslist on “auto-pilot” to make your searching easier. My best find so far using these methods was a $279 IKEA dresser for $40!

• notifinder.com – emails you when the item you’re looking for is added. Note- my notifications went to my Gmail Spam folder, so be sure to check that!
• RSS feeds – there are MANY ways to read feeds, but my favorite is Google Reader. 
  Search Craigslist.org for the item you are looking for. Copy the URL of the results page. Open Google Reader and click Add Subscription. Paste the URL of the Craigslist search results page. Any time an item that matches your search is added, it will show up in your feed reader.
• craigz.com – doesn’t send any automatic notifications,  but the advantage of this site is the ability to widen your search radius up to 300 miles

Search tips –

Try your searches out on Craigslist to see what kind of results are returned before you use notifinder.com or an RSS feed. If your search is too broad, you may need to be more descriptive or search only in a specific category. 

Use broad search terms for more results – van, table, highchair

If you are looking for specific items, use descriptive search terms for fewer results - Venture van, IKEA table, Chicco highchair

Also try multiple variations of your search terms (including misspellings!) – Chevy, Chevrolet, Chev,
Chico

Looking for homeschool curriculum? Try variations – Beka (some list as ABeka or A Beka-  Beka will catch both), BJU, Bob Jones, homeschool, home school, textbook, or curriculum

Remember – if you are searching for multiple items, do different searches for each! Searching for van, table, highchair won’t give you any results unless someone happens to be selling all three!

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Since getting married a little over a month ago, one of my biggest challenges is coming up with meals and staying within the budget! I'd like to eventually sit down and create a meal calendar, but so far life has been pretty busy so it hasn't happened yet! My sister-in-law told me about Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer: Great-Tasting Meals You Can Make Ahead

 

I was going to buy the paperback version, but decided to go with the Kindle edition since I have a Kindle reader on my phone and computer. You can get the free Kindle Reader here for PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, or Android Phone

So far, I've made Cheesy Chicken Bundles, Beef Chimichangas, and Breakfast Burritos. They've all been hits!

I'm making just one batch of each to make sure we like the recipe before I make a lot to freeze. But since it is just the two of us, we've eaten one meal and I've had enough left to freeze another one. One mess. One cooking day. Multiple meals. Win!

The recipes are even laid out in an easy to read format and the math is done for larger quantities. Yay!

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WYFF, my local TV station, did a segment about using data on a smartphone. Major carriers no longer offer unlimited data plans to new customers. So how do you keep from exceeding your monthly data cap if you don't have unlimited data? WYFF offered the solution of using wifi whenever you will be using a lot of data. That is good advice, and fine when you're home or at a coffee shop, but what about the times when you're out and about and don't have access to wifi? How do you monitor your usage then?

I have a solution - monitoring data (3G/Edge/GPRS) use with - 3G Watchdog for Android.

The basic version is free and I found it to be enough for my needs. I've only had it installed about three months, but I love it! Previously, I would really limit my data usage because I had no idea what my usage was. I was paranoid about going over my limit and paying a big fee. Now I can use it more freely because I know what has been used and how much is left!

The widget is installed on my home screen so I can constantly monitor where I'm at in relation to my quota. 3G Watchdog alerts me when I am at 75% of my usage for the month. (The 75% can be changed to whatever the user wishes.)

Last month, I was out of town for a couple weeks with limited wifi access and using Google Maps Navigation for driving directions. Before, I was afraid to use it in case it used a lot of data. Turns out, it doesn't! (Tip - if you can, get the driving directions while on wifi BEFORE you head out for your destination. You'll use less data that way.)

I'm currently at 83.6% of my monthly usage with 7 days left in my billing cycle. 3G Watchdog says if I keep my usage constant, I'll be at 106.4% of my quota by then. But now that I'm home, I'm fairly certain I can keep that under 100% by limiting my non-essential use away from wifi.

3G Watchdog keeps track of all sorts of statistics so you can see your daily usage history for the month and monthly totals back through several months.

Thanks, 3G Watchdog! Now I won't get bit by my smartphone!

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The Amazon Kindle Store has a plethora (currently 37,456) of free Kindle books! The menu on the left side of the Amazon page lists the different categories to make it a little easier to wade through the long list. Click on those links and it will break things down even further.

Don't have a Kindle? You can still get the free books! Download the Kindle app for your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, Android Phone, or Windows Phone 7 I have the Kindle app on my Android Phone. The screen is a bit small, but it is great for squeezing in some extra reading time wherever I am!


This book isn't free, but it is on sale $14.99 $9.99. The author is my friend, Adam Blumer. It is a riveting mystery that I couldn't put down!

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Best Buy has X-Men Blu-Rays on sale for $7.99 this week. Regular price is $24.99. Each Blu-Ray has a coupon for up to a $12 ticket for X-Men First Class.

Total $31.96 for 4 Blu-Rays and 4 movie tickets!

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I'm trying to get my life a bit more organized this year. Laura at "I'm an Organizing Junkie" is hosting 52 weeks of Organizing. That might be doable! I typically get overwhelmed, but seeing it in manageable chunks seems less intimidating! I'm already a week behind, but I have a few really small projects, so I hope to tackle two one week and catch up!

I have some fabric bins from IKEA that I love. Great for stashing stuff that sometimes just has no other place to go! I keep my bike helmets and other related gear in one. It is nice to have it all accessible near the door, all in one place and out of sight!

Another bin contains cables and miscellaneous electronic stuff. It is always a mess and the small stuff gets lost in the bottom. So I organized it today! Some stuff will be sold at a garage sale or on eBay. The rest of it went in smaller boxes. I added a white sticker and some packing tape so I could label them with a dry erase marker. (I hate permanent labels! I might change my mind about what goes in the box!) Aaaahhhh....it is much better now!

Before:

After:

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