Song of Summertime

Woo hoo!  Daphne and Anali have posted their summertime songs, so I guess it is my turn!

They both chose songs that represent a specific summer for them.  I could do that and it would be 1997, Hanson's MMMBop, which has had more impact on my life than any other song period.  I'm saving that one in case I need to use it in a later post. :)

As it happens, I have an affinity for summer-themed songs.  My sister, Jess, and I had a cassette tape with a bunch of summer songs that we listened to frequently as kids.  I made an ultimate summer playlist a few years ago that has all of my favorite summertime songs on it:


School's Out - Alice Cooper
Summer in the City - Lovin' Spoonful
Hot Child in the City - Nick Gilder
Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams
Boys of Summer - Don Henley
Summergirls - LFO
Summer Breeze - Seals and Crofts
Summertime- Billie Holiday; Louis Armstrong
Summer Nights - Grease Soundtrack
In the Summertime - Mungo Jerry
Cruel Summer - Bananarama
Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffet
Put the Lime in the Coconut - Harry Nilsson
Summertime - DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
Hot Fun in the Summertime - Sly and the Family Stone
Holiday - Madonna
Vacation - The Go-Go's
Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran
Walking on Sunshine  - Katrina and the Waves

Choosing one is difficult, but I'm going to go with Katrina and the Waves' 1985 hit, Walking on Sunshine.  That song always reminds me of summertime and the wonderfully worry-free simplicity of childhood summers.

I had never seen this video before and I'm a bit depressed by how cold and depressing it is!  Where's the freaking sunshine?

Songs of my life

Jumping on the bandwagon with Daphne and Anali, I will be posting about songs that have impacted my life.  The first is a song from my childhood.  I come from a very musical family; the radio or MTV were often playing in the background in many of my early memories.  My mom sang along with radio continuously whenever we were in the car.  In fact, I didn't know there were grown-ups who didn't do that until we joined the neighborhood carpool and a neighbor boy asked why my mom was always singing.

The record that had the most impact on my childhood was Michael Jackson's Bad.  Released just after my 4th birthday in 1987, this was one of the first albums my family purchased on CD (though we probably bought it sometime in 1988).  Without a lot of choices to show off the amazing sound quality of this new-fangled technology, this got played often and loudly.  My younger sister, who was still learning to speak, called him "Uncle" Jackson.  My favorite song was the title track, Bad.  We loved to jump around the living room listening to it.  We loved "Uncle" Jackson so much that we rented Michael Jackson Moonwalker repeatedly from the video store rather than getting animated kids movies.

Without further ado, I give you Michael Jackson's Bad.

New Year Goals

I normally do not make New Year's resolutions for the same reason I do not make Lenten promises or go on diets...I inevitably fail and can't handle the guilt.  However, I have a few small goals that I have been meaning to work towards and hopefully putting them into writing will bring about some measure of accountability.

1. Improve time-management at work.

• Step 1 - Use MS Outlook calendar to plot my time commitments.
• Step 2 - Schedule time for the tasks I normally allocate to the mythical "when I get around to it" hour.
• Step 3 - Write down EVERYTHING!

2.  Read to Erik and Kyle every night / establish bed-time routine

• Step 1 - Establish a concrete bed-time.
• Step 2 - Figure out how long it takes to get teeth brushed, jammies on, etc. so we can start getting ready for bed with enough time left to read.
• Step 3 - Read a book or two then lights out.
• Step 4 - Move Erik's bed out of our room and into his room.

3.   Establish 529 College Savings Plans for the boys

• Step 1 - Research the best plans and perks they offer.
• Step 2 - Move the kids' money from savings accounts into the 529 account.
• Step 3 - Connect account with my Upromise account to directly deposit those savings into 529.
• Step 4 - Make contributions to the accounts and get tax deductions.

I have already started on Goal 1 and have got my outlook calendar looking mighty spiffy for this week.  I will have to confer with my husband before doing much with Goals 2 and 3.

So what are your New Year's goals/resolutions?  Do you make them?

Arizona and/or Southwest Coupon Blogs

     It is important to browse deal sites and blogs specific to your region.  There may be specific stores in your area that only have stores in one state or region.  In Arizona these include Fry's, Basha's, Food City, AJ's, Sunflower, and Fresh and Easy.  In addition, even the large chain grocery stores can have very different sales in different regions.  Safeway, Albertson's, and Kroger (the parent company of Fry's) may have different prices and sales in various markets.

     If you make your list based on prices found on a site out of your area, you may end up not saving the amount you thought you would.

     Here is a list of the Arizona and Southwest (Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico) blogs I subscribe to in my Google Reader.

     My favorite ones are printed in Pink.  I subscribe to the facebook pages of these as well, so I get the most up-to-the-minute deals.

Arizona Families

http://arizonafamilies.blogspot.com/

Arizona Grocery Guru

 http://www.azgroceryguru.com/

Arizona Savings

 http://arizonasavings.blogspot.com/

Arizona Shopping Secrets

http://arizonashoppingsecrets.blogspot.com/

Arizona Thrifty Mom

http://www.arizonathriftymom.com/

AZ Money Savin' Mama

http://azmoneysavinmama.blogspot.com/

Azcentral.com Deals

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/realdealsblog/

Bargain Believer

http://www.bargainbeliever.com/

Bargain Moms

http://bargainmoms.blogspot.com/

Born 2 Save!

http://born2save.blogspot.com/

Cents'Able Shoppin!

http://www.centsableshoppin.com/

CG Couponista

http://cg-couponista.blogspot.com/

Clever And Crafty

http://cleverandcrafty.blogspot.com/

Coupon Sense

http://couponsenseblog.com/

Coupons In Overdrive

http://couponsinoverdrive.blogspot.com/

Crazy Cheap!

http://itscrazycheap.blogspot.com/

Desert Deals Diva

http://desertdealsdiva.com/

Janie Girl

http://janiegirlfreebies.blogspot.com/

Lanaye

http://lanaye.com/

 

Living The Domestic Life

http://livingthedomesticlife.com/

Michelle's Bargains and Freebies

http://michellesbargainsandfreebies.blogspot.com/

Moms Essential

http://momsessential.blogspot.com/

Saving Cents with Sense

http://www.savingcentswithsense.net/

The Coupon Don

http://coupondon.blogspot.com/

The Grocery Queen

http://groceryqueen.blogspot.com/

     There are probably many more AZ coupon blogs out there, but these are the ones I've found and liked enough to keep on my list so far.

Last chance to buy discounted OPI nail polish?

OPI, one of the biggest names in nail polish, has requested that online retailers (e-tailers) stop selling their polishes at deep discount rates. The company does not sell their polishes on their website or allow the salons who have permission to carry the brand to sell it online either. They are suing the companies that don't comply.

OPI polishes normally retail for about $8.50 in the U.S.  Abroad they cost significantly more.  Several polish e-tailers (8ty8 Beauty, Head 2 Toe Beauty, and Victorias Nail Supply ) have stopped carrying OPI...no word on what they did with their current stock.

The only e-tailer, that I know of, still carrying OPI, and the one named in the lawsuit, is TransDesign.  They are liquidating their stock, so if you want to get some OPI's for between $4.50 and $5.25 each (more for Designer Series), this may be your last chance.

Here is what OPI's website says on the matter:

Stop Diversion Now!

OPI takes the safety and well-being of our trade and consumer customers very seriously, and has dedicated itself to providing them with the finest Professional Beauty products available today.

That is why OPI is so passionate about fighting diversion.  Diversion is the sale of Professional products outside of Professional beauty channels.  OPI has spent tens of millions of dollars in the fight against diversion, to ensure that our OPI brand professional-use products are used only under the supervision of trained professionals.

OPI brand products are intended for sale in professional beauty (salon) channels.  We sell them to distributors or wholesalers who sell exclusively in those channels.  Those distributors, in turn, sell exclusively to salons. OPI brand products sold outside these channels are improperly obtained and in violation of our agreements and commitments to distributors and salons.  Unfortunately, those diverted products may not be current, or may be improperly and illegally labeled or of inferior quality, or may even be fake or counterfeit.  OPI only guarantees or stands behind products sold through authorized channels.  For OPI brand products, these do not include mass retail channels, the Internet, drug stores, or grocery stores.

Diversion ultimately hurts both salon professionals and salon clients.  In addition, it deprives consumers of the professional care and advice that are necessary to enjoy these professional-use products.

OPI’s efforts to fight diversion include:

• Agreements with distributors that prohibit the sale of OPI brand products outside professional channels

• Coding systems to help trace diverted product

• Pursuing leads that we receive about the unauthorized sale of OPI products

• Supporting industry-wide anti-diversion efforts

• A program to track down and take legal and other action against divertors, including the use of private investigators and lawyers

• A dedicated staff with a toll-free number and email address to record and follow- up on diversion reports

You can help. Should you become aware of what you believe to be diverted OPI brand product, please contact OPI at 800-341.9999 or at diversion@opi.com.  Please provide your name, the name of the store in which you saw what you believe to be diverted product, the address of the store, and the products. 

I think this is ridiculous and is angering a lot of their loyal customers and polish lovers.  Here are a couple of nice posts by polish bloggers with their response to this situation.
The Swatchaholic - Anti-OPI opinion
Carina L'etoile - Pro OPI opinion

In my opinion, this is a total douche-move on OPI's part.  I don't believe their claim that this is about quality control...it is about purchase price control.  They want to force consumers to pay full retail price for their polishes.  If they want us to pay MSRP, they should lower their price because their polishes aren't worth $9.00.

Couponing and other ways to save money

Before you say, "I can't do that because..."

Everyone likes saving money...but using coupons seems time consuming and not worth the effort to most people. It takes some time to learn it, but it can definitely be worth it. I started couponing in October 2008 and have saved between 50% and 80% on every grocery purchase. The amount of time I spend preparing my trips is roughly 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If I save $100, that hour of deal matching and preparation is worth it to me.

There are various degrees of couponing/deal shopping. You can use an e-coupon here and there, or keep up with a blog or two, or you can make it into a full-time job. I tend to think of it as a hobby and a bit of a game.

Another excuse people give for not couponing is health. If you shop mostly fresh foods and organic foods, you are always going to spend more than people who buy a lot of highly processed foods. But there are coupons and sales for EVERYTHING! Sometimes you have to sign up for company newsletters or do more research to find coupons for organic items, but they exist. And the newspaper frequently contains coupons for items like whole-grain pastas and bread, canned beans, soy milk, and cage-free eggs. If you want to save money with coupons, you can do so no matter how strict your diet is.

One of the most anxiety causing aspects of couponing is dealing with cashiers and other shoppers. Before couponing, I worried that cashiers would be suspicious of me and other shoppers would be annoyed at me for taking so much time in line. I have had a few unpleasant experiences with cashiers who don’t understand how coupons work, but overwhelmingly they are happy that I am saving so much money. And other people in line have eyes bugging and jaws dropping when they see how much I’ve saved – they may be annoyed at the extra 1-2 minute wait, but they can’t fault me for doing it. I have had a college guy who was just buying beer ask me where to get coupons and a CVS employee ask me how I work the Extra Bucks deals because she wanted to learn.

Bottom line: you won’t know if your reservations have merit until you test them. You can’t know if it’s not your thing until you try it.

Getting Started – Knowing the Lingo, where to find coupons, etc.

These two ladies have done series of posts on getting started with coupons…very informative and they will explain better than I can. They also talk about coupon organization methods – I am firmly in the no-clip camp (I save the whole inserts and only clip the coupons I am using for the day).
Couponing 101 – Getting Started
Bargain Briana – 15 Days of Couponing

Printing coupons and loading electronic coupons onto your shopping cards

One of the easiest ways to coupon is to add electronic coupons to your store loyalty cards. There are also many printable coupons online. These sites below are some of the most popular coupon sites plus the two grocery store site I use. Check the website of your local stores to see what coupons they offer.

Coupons.com (THE printable coupon site...you have to download their coupon printer software the 1st time)
Shortcuts (e-coupons & printables)
Proctor & Gamble E-saver (e-coupons)
Cellfire (e-coupons for your shopping card or your cellphone)
Upromise (e-coupons that save for college)

Safeway (e-coupons and printables)
Fry's (e-coupons)
Check your local stores websites

Matching coupons with sales - 3 methods to try

• Option 1 - pay sites
  

I subscribe to The Grocery Game and get most of my shopping deals from there. I subscribe to 3 stores which costs $20 every 8 weeks. I could put lists together from the different blogs, but this is much faster and more convenient. If you sign up for the (FREE) four-week trial, please put my name and e-mail (sydni.abrahamsen@gmail.com) in as the referrer. Referrers get free weeks, but I highly recommend it even if I didn't get that perk. I have saved between 55-80% every shopping trip since starting to use their lists.

Another similar pay service is called Coupon Sense.  They have free local classes available to help you get started.  They are a regional service, but may be a better deal depending on your shopping habits and/or local stores.

• Option 2 - blogs
  

I read several blogs that give me info on good deals and coupons. I use Google Reader to subscribe to them all so I only have to check one place to see any new posts. Once you have a Google reader account, you click “add new subscription” and put in the web address of the blog.
A few to check out:
Baby Cheapskate (baby & kids deals)
"Deal"icious Mom
Bargain Briana
Be Centsable
Freebies 4 Mom (and non-moms too)
Couponing 101 (perfect for beginners)

Arizona specific deal blogs (for non-AZ readers, just do a Google search for "coupon blog" or "deal blog" and your city or state):
Saving Cents with Sense (My favorite!)
Arizona Grocery Guru

Desert Deals Diva 

Living the Domestic Life

Arizona Savings

Cents'Able Shoppin!

AZCentral.com Deals (a good heads-up on event deals too)
Arizona Local Coupons (printable coupons for AZ services)

• Option 3 - forums

You can check some multi-use websites and forums for help matching coupons and deals. There are forums for specific states or cities where people post their match-ups. These sites also have coupon databases where you can search to see if there are any coupons available for a specific product you plan to buy.
A few to check out:
Pinching your Pennies
A Full Cup
CouponMom.com
Hot Coupon World
The Coupon Cupboard
Grocio

Finding deals and coupon codes for online shopping

These sites can help you find free shipping and coupon codes to thousands of websites. You can also sometimes get great discount codes e-mailed to you for signing up for company newsletters of places you frequently shop.

FreeShipping.org
Retail Me Not (awesome site!)

Getting rebates and cash back for purchases

A good deal can be made great when you get cash back or receive rebates. If you plan to shop online, start at one of these sites to automatically receive money! Each of these sites works differently, so take a look at them to see which makes the most sense for the purchase you are planning.

Upromise (saves money for college for you or your child)
Ebates (cash back in the form of a check mailed to you)
Cashbaq (cash back by check or paypal)
Big Crumbs (cash back by check)
Mr. Rebates (cash back by check)
Swagbucks (a search engine that earns you points used to buy giftcards & more)
S & H Greenpoints (like the old green stamps saved and redeemed for merchandise, but online)


In conclusion

This is a lot of information and a lot of links...it's a bit of an info. dump. Sorry about that. I will try to answer any and all questions or point you in the direction of someone who can.

If you love that feeling of finding a great deal or getting that perfect outfit on the clearance rack...you will probably enjoy couponing. Give it a try!

Time for a long overdue update!

I realize I haven't posted anything here in nearly a year, so I thought I'd spam you all with multiple posts in one day! Aren't you excited?

Interesting fact #1: We bought a house! It is a 1500 sq. ft. townhouse with 3 beds 2 baths. It is near McClintock and Baseline and we will be getting the keys on May 25th! It needs some cosmetic updates since it has been occupied by the same owner since the 1970's. We have a lot of "interesting" wallpaper to remove and carpets to rip up. We also have avocado counter tops and a genuine "wood" paneled refrigerator!
Interesting fact #2: We are expecting baby #2 on July 18th...hence the need for a larger living space! We aren't finding out the gender on this one either and we don't have names picked...not that I'd tell anyone what they are if we did. I don't like fetuses being referred to by name...it weirds me out!

Interesting fact #3: My hair has gotten very very long. It is almost reaching the small of my back. I don't have any emotional attachment to it, and I was going to donate it until I looked up how much money hair is worth. I have no qualms about donating worthless junk to charity, but if I have a commodity worth a thousand dollars or more I'm selling it! I plan to list my hair for sale sometime later in May or early June. www.thehairtrader.com

Interesting fact #4: We sold one of our cars to a family member. We are now a one vehicle family.

Interesting fact #5: I have had several people express interest in coupon shopping recently, so I thought post a blog entry with the information I usually e-mail to friends who express interest. Look for that shortly. :)

Something Like You

As a preface, this is from my work iTunes, so it only has like 10 CD's worth of stuff on there.

RULES:
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag 20 friends (make me #21 so I can see your results).
5. Everyone tagged has to do the same thing.
6. Have Fun!

IF SOMEONE SAYS 'ARE YOU OKAY' YOU SAY?
"Get Up and Go" - Hanson

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
"Christmas Bells" - RENT cast

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GIRL?
"On the Street" - RENT cast

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"Weird" - Hanson (nice.)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
"Javert at the Barricade/Little People" - Les Miserables cast

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?
"Turn Around" - Jonny Lang

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"March of the Witch Hunters" - Wicked cast

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"Summer Nights" - Grease cast

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"Drink with Me" - Les Miserables cast

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
"Wish I Was There" - Hanson

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"Cry Me a River" - Justin Timberlake

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"Castle on a Cloud" - Les Miserables cast

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"It Makes Me Ill" - *N Sync

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"On My Feet Again" - Jonny Lang

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
"Vacation" - The Go-Go's

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Right for Me" - Justin Timberlake featuring Bubba Sparxxx

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
"Schadenfreude" - Avenue Q cast

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
"Up Against the Wall" - *N Sync

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"(And She Said) Take Me Now" - Justin Timberlake featuring Janet Jackson

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
"Madeline" - Hanson

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"No Good Deed" - Wicked cast

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"Something Like You" - *N Sync

Funny Name Game

I haven't done this quiz since I changed my name, so I thought it would be fun to see if the names are better now.

1 .YOUR REAL NAME
Sydni Lang Abrahamsen

2.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME:(mother and fathers middle name)
Jan Scott

3.NASCAR NAME:(first name of your mother's dad, father's dad)
Jim Jack

4.STAR WARS NAME:(the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)
Abrsy

5.DETECTIVE NAME:(favorite color, favorite animal)
Pink Dolphin

6.SOAP OPERA NAME:(middle name, town where you were born)
Lang Chicago

7.SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning)
The Blue Dew

8.FLY NAME:(first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)
Syen

9.STREET NAME:(fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie)
Moose Tracks Chocolate Chip

10.ROCK STAR NAME:(current pets name, current street name)
Pockets First (awesome)

11. PORN NAME: (1st pet, street you grew up on)
Punky Knoll

12.YOUR GANGSTA NAME:(first 3 letters of real name plus izzle)
Sydizzle

13.YOUR GOTH NAME:(black, and the name of one of your pets)
Black Benji

14. STRIPPER NAME: (name of your fav perfume/cologne, fav candy)
Eternity Snickers

25 Things About Me

1. I like TV and books much more than I like movies. I can only think of a few movies I really loved.

2. I am currently applying to the School of Information Resources and Library Science at University of Arizona for a master's of library science.

3. I am a perfectionist about organization, so I would rather live with piles of stuff everywhere than do a half-assed job of sorting, labeling, and storing things. I usually know where everything is even when it looks like total chaos as long as I put it there in the first place.

4. I love nail polish and have tons of it, but I'm a slob at putting it on. I have never been able to go slowly enough or hold the brush steady enough for perfect application. I just wait til it dries then rub off all the polish that got on my skin.

5. I took classical ballet, tap, and jazz dance lessons from age 7 to 18. I loved it but was never very good.

6. I love Hanson. Yes the band that sang MMMBop. I have no shame about this. I am a fan club member and a member of the official street team. I have spent hundreds of dollars and driven hundreds of miles to see their shows. I have never met them, but Taylor did sign my copy of one of their CD's after a concert once. I was behind some other girls and had one of them hand it to him.

7. I am just beginning to get into using coupons and being a super-frugal deal shopper. It is so much fun! I used to hate grocery shopping, but when I go with a detailed plan and coupons it becomes fun.

8. I have really bad joints. My knees crackle and crunch like a seventy-year-old. It is a hereditary arthritis thing from my dad's side of the family.

9. In high school I made the top ten of South Dakota every year on the National French Test. Not as impressive as it sounds when you consider how few schools actually offered French class and that the test was completely optional. Still though, I think I was one of the first to place all four years from my school.

10. Mountain Dew = Perfection. I have mostly switched to diet, but it isn't even close to the same.

11. Growing up in South Dakota was not as dreadful as it seemed at the time.

12. I have Bipolar II disorder, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, and probably some other disorders too. I have been medicated since I was 14 and it has COMPLETELY changed my life for the better. I will take pills for the rest of my life and do it happily. I am not ashamed to talk about it, mental illness is a disease like any other.

13. I took piano lessons from age 8-18 and played flute from age 12-18. I haven't played either in about 7 years.

14. My husband plays a game called Settlers of Catan with friends every week. In this game you exchange resources with other players. One of these resources is Sheep, another is Wood. As you can imagine, there are many jokes to be made here. Because he hears everyone talking about sheep so much, my son thinks handing something to another person is called "sheep." He hands us things one by one saying, "sheep" "sheep" "sheep." It's really funny.

15. I love crafting. I currently do mostly scrapbooking, but I've also dabbled in polymer clay, jewelry making, decoupage, and random glue-gunning of sparkly things. Majoring in interior design for a couple years killed my creativity and desire to create anything for about 4 years, but it's back!

16. I have thicker hair than anyone I've ever known (except for my mom and sisters). If I braid it extremely tightly, the braid is probably still 2-3 inches in diameter.

17. I loooove desserts. Chocolate cake and cupcakes are my favorites, but I can't think of a single dessert that I dislike.

18. I am really bad at keeping in touch with people. If not for myspace and facebook, I would probably not be in contact with anyone from my past.

19. A big part of the reason for #18 is my aversion to calling people on the phone. I have serious anxiety when it comes to calling people, even friends. I am better at it than I used to be, but still prefer to chat in person or online.

20. I don't like violence. This includes playful hitting and videogame violence. I do very poorly in games that require shooting because I would rather run and hide than fight the bad guys.

21. I do love crime dramas like CSI and Law and Order: SVU, though. I think the difference is that most of the killing/violence has already happened and the drama comes from the suspense of figuring it out, not the action.

22. I like watching shopping channels when I have trouble falling asleep or am really bored. Jewelry television is the best one. Listening to people with slight southern accents and watching sparkly gems going around on turntable is very soothing.

23. I love musicals. However, I've never seen anything by Steven Sondheim. I have listened to some of the songs and haven't liked any of them. I feel like a fraud as a musical lover because of it.

24. I love my job and the people I work with at the science and engineering library.

25. I had a really hard time writing this list of 25 things. I probably did too much explaining of each point for anyone to read the whole thing too.