Get Paid To Fish!

Submitted by tired_gardener on Sat, 07/03/2010 - 14:19
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Do you like to fish? Do you want salmon to continue to be around? Do you like money? Bonneville power is offering $4 to $8 for every Northern Pikeminnow you catch! There are a few limitations though. You have to catch them between May 1st and September 30th. They have to be at least 9 inches long. You have to register before you catch the fish and check in the fish the same day, before the registration station closes. Head on over to pikeminnow.org for more information.

Why? Well northern pikeminnow eat salmon fry. The more salmon the pikeminnows eat the fewer salmon their are in the rivers.

Can I eat pikeminnow? Yes. They are not high quality eating, but you can eat them if you want. I am unclear as to whether the program allows you to keep the fish or not. It says "Fish caught while registered at a station must be returned to that station, during its hours of operation, on the date stamped on the registration form." It also refers to checking in the fish. If you want to keep them, I'd ask before hand. If they keep them, I'd like to know what they do with them. I hope they don't go to waste. If they do allow you to keep them, and you don't want to eat them, use them for fertilizer or bait for crawdads. You can also feed them to your pets.


Whale Sharks Caught in BPs Mess

Submitted by tired_gardener on Thu, 07/01/2010 - 10:41
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I have not been following the oil spill mess very closely. Mainly because every time I hear about it I get angry. The political bantering back and forth is stupid. I don't care who cleans it up, I don't care who's to blame. I just want it fixed.

Now whale sharks are making their yearly migration from the Yucatan to the Mississippi Delta and are going right through the mess. These guys are highly endangered and this stupid oils spill is going to kill off even more of them. How many other endangered species are being threatened because of this mess. We don't know. Whale sharks don't float, so we will not know how many of them die. How many other critters have died and sunk.

Get it fixed already!


Dairy Queen Blizzard BOGO Coupon

Submitted by Elizabeth on Thu, 07/01/2010 - 09:25
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Go over to http://blizzardfanclub.com/ and join the Blizzard Fan Club. You will get a buy one get one free coupon in your email a couple minutes later.

Car of the Future: The Terrafugia Transition Flying Car

Submitted by tired_gardener on Wed, 06/30/2010 - 14:50

I'm taking a step away from my normal frugal and sustainable posts and posting about something that is just cool. Terrafugia, a company that until today I had never heard of, is working on a new car, or is it a plane? It's a flying car!

Drive to the airport, fold down the wings (with the push of a button), fly to another airport at a cruising speed of 115 miles per hour, land, fold up the wings, drive to your destination, park. I thought this was pretty cool, although not very practical on my budget.

Looking at the sustainability of this vehicle. It boasts a road mileage of 30 miles per gallon on the highway. Not too bad. In the air it gets 5 gallons per hour. At a cruising speed of 115 miles per hour that comes to 23 miles per gallon. Not quite so good. If they could get better mileage, I'd be more impressed there.

It's not so great for families. There appear to only be two seats. There is plenty of cargo space for taking camping trips, but it needs at least two more seats.

Frugally, forget it. At $194,000 even if I was making a million dollars a year I'd have trouble with that price tag. Although, if you fly a lot and need a plane, it might make since. Although, you can get a used Cessna for under $30,000.


Former Quarterback Randall Cunningham Morns Son

Submitted by tired_gardener on Wed, 06/30/2010 - 09:08
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Let's all say a prayer for Randall Cunningham and his family for the loss of his 2 year old son. After leaving the NFL, Randall Cunningham became a pastor. He performed baptisms in a hot tub in his back yard. Young Christian Cunningham was found floating in the hot tub Tuesday around 4:30. CPR was unsuccessful in reviving Christian. Loosing a child is terrible. I pray that I never know what Randall Cunningham is going through.

Lord, please give strength to Randall Cunningham and his family through this trying time. Help them to see your glory in this tragedy. Pour your love onto them as you lead them. amen.


Gifting: What Should You Give?

Submitted by tired_gardener on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 13:11
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This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of FriendGiftr. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you ever gotten a gift from someone and though "what were they thinking?" Have you ever given such a gift? Admit it, you have! I know I have. I once gave gift cards for ice cream. As they opened them their eyes lit up. Their mother, on the other hand glared at me. Whoops. I thought it was a cool idea, but mom must not have agreed. Gift cards are hard to exchange though... or are they?

I just found out about a new product called FriendGiftr. FriendGiftr allows you to buy a gift card for a friend. Whoopie, right? You can get gift cards anywhere nowadays. They are easier to get than cash. What makes FriendGiftr so special is that if the gift receiver says "You know, I don't really want ice cream" they can go up to the site and trade it in for one of the other 120 companies that have gift cards for sale through FriendGiftr. Best of all, there is no cost for trading in the card!

When I first heard about them, I thought "great, gift cards for John's Swimwear or Gramma Jack's Hats." Turns out that the 120 merchants are all major retailers, restaurants, theaters, and a few major on-line retailers. Oh, and they are linked in, so you can use their services through FaceBook, an iPhone, a Blackberry, an Android or even through their website.

I will need to say, I've not tried them out, so I don't know what their customer service is like. I don't know if they are as cool as they look, but it has a lot of potential. If you used them, please let me know what you think!

Visit my sponsor: America's Favorite Gift Cards

RECALL: So many recalls! 8 food and drug recalls in 10 days!

Submitted by tired_gardener on Sat, 06/26/2010 - 10:18
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I'm glad that when problems are found with products that recalls are made, but it is a little hard to keep up on them all. Many of us just wait to hear about them on the news or for a friend to tell us about them, but is that enough? Since June 18th there have been 8 recalls, just through the Food and Drug administration. Do you really want to wait to be told about those, or should you be proactive and look for them? All you have to do to find out about all recalls in the US is to visit the Government Recall Site.

The recalls site does not list all the recalls, it just lists links to all the sites that have list recalls. I think one of the most important to check is the Food and Drug Administration. They are listing 20 alerts so far in June this year.

In case you still don't want to visit them, I'll give you the basics of the most recent 8 food or drug recalls:

      June 25, 2010 - Kellogg Company Voluntarily Recalls Select Packages of Kellogg's® Corn Pops®, Kellogg's® Honey Smacks®, Kellogg's® Froot Loops® and Kellogg's® Apple Jacks®
      June 24, 2010 - Lancaster Foods, LLC Voluntarily Recalls Fresh Spinach with Best Enjoyed By Dates of June 19 to June 27, 2010 Due to Possible Health Risk
      June 24, 2010 - P&G Voluntarily Recalls 4 Hour Decongestant Nasal Spray in the United States
      June 22, 2010 - United Pet Group Voluntarily Recalls Pro-Pet Adult Daily Vitamin Supplement for Dogs Because of Possible Salmonella Health Risk
      June 18, 2010 - Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc. announces a voluntary recall of Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Chicken Dry Dog Food Due to a Possible Health Risk
      June 18, 2010 - Rich Products Corporation announces nationwide voluntary recall of Allen Bavarian Crème Filling due to undeclared allergens in product
      June 18, 2010 - Kent Nutrition Group, Inc. Conducts Nationwide Voluntary Recall of Kent Feeds Swine Products
      June 18, 2010 - Portland Shellfish Company Expands Recall to Include Meat Without Feet Label, Lobster Claw and Knuckle Meat, because of Possible Health Risk

Go to the FDA site for more information if you have any of those. And eat safe. Grow your own!


$144.96 worth of groceries for $10.36, after sales, coupons, and rebates

Submitted by tired_gardener on Mon, 06/21/2010 - 08:39
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Have you ever heard of the crazy couponers who get $144.96 worth of groceries for pennies? Well, Elizabeth and I went to Rite-Aid yesterday and did it too. We may not have done quite as well as some of them, but I think we did pretty well. A couple of Items I think we could have done better on, but we only go things we regularly use (with one exception).

The exception was that I got two new razors. I usually use a single blade, because I have sensitive skin and thick beard hear. One of the razors was originally $12.99 and I got it for $0.99. The other was $9.99 and I got it for -$6.00. That's right, I am getting paid $6.00 to try it. I've not decided if I'm going to try them and see if they do better on my beard or if I'm going to give them to a charity.

Now, to do this takes a little planning. To be honest, since we are new to this it took us a little longer than it would someone who is more seasoned. Still, the four hours we spent on making the list and doing the shopping was worth it to save $134.60. Now, you might say "shut up Jason and tell us how you did it!" so I will.

First, I checked out several sites that listed deals. I saw a trend that Rite-Aid had some good deals this week. This Beautiful Frugal Life had several great Rite-Aid deals listed. Hip to Save had a bigger list but This Beautiful Frugal Life had some scenarios that were better, so I used both to make my list.

Some of the deals print out coupons on your receipt that are good for money off your next order. To make sure I get to spend these, and not have to carry them around till the next time I come in to the store, I broke the trip into three orders:

note: the total item price is before any rebates. the +up rewards are not counted toward the cost of the item as they came off the next order.

Order 1

QtyProductReg PriceSale PriceMFGStoreOtherSCRRebatesUPTotal
1Gillette Fusion ProGlide Razor$12.99$9.99$4.00$5.00$5.99
2Pantene Shampoo$9.98$7.00$1.00$3.00$6.00
1Colgate Pro Clinical Toothpaste$4.49$2.99$1.00$2.00$1.99
2Arm and Hammer Spin Brush My Way Kids$14.98$7.49$7.49
1$5/20$5.00-$5.00
Total Paid at Register$16.49
Rebates sent away for-$5.00
Total Paid after Rebates$11.49

Order 2

QtyProductReg PriceSale PriceMFGStoreOtherSCRRebatesUPTotal
1Colgate Pro Clinical Toothpaste$4.49$2.99$1.00$2.00$1.99
1Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Eye Enhancing Mascara Duo$10.95$10.95$5.00$10.95$5.95
1Schick Men's Hydro $9.99$9.99$5.00$1.00$9.99$3.99
1Clearblue Pregnancy Test 2 ct$13.99$9.99$5.00$9.99
1$5/25$5.00-$5.00
2Up Rewards (from above)$5.00-$5.00
Total Paid at Register$11.92
Rebates sent away for-$25.92
Total REFUND after Rebates-$14.02

Order 3

QtyProductReg PriceSale PriceMFGStoreOtherSCRRebatesUPTotal
2Kellogs Raisin Bran $9.58$3.98$1.50$2.48
2Corn Pops$8.98$3.98$3.98
2Corn Flakes$8.98$3.98$1.50$2.48
2Rice Krispies$9.58$3.98$1.00$5.00$2.98
2Naproxen Sodium$25.98$12.99$12.99
2Up Rewards (from above)$2.00-$2.00
1$5/25$5.00-$5.00
Total Paid at Register$17.91
Rebates sent away for-$5.00
Total paid after Rebates$12.91

Now, I'll point out a mistake I made so that you might not make the same mistake. Notice on Order two that there are two items in the "rebate" column. Unlike the Single Check Rebates from Rite-Aid, the mail in rebates both need an "original dated receipt." That means I can only send in for one of the rebates. I'll go to Rite-Aid and see if they can give me a duplicate receipt, but I doubt it. I'll let you know if it works


Portland Feed Stores

Submitted by tired_gardener on Fri, 06/18/2010 - 08:25
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I've looked for local feed stores. Specifically for organic feed. I thought it would be helpful to have a list of stores around for when I need it and you might find it useful too. I'm not listing any chains, just the locally owned stores.

North Portland

Livingscape Nursery
Addr: 3926 N. Vancouver Avenue
Portland, OR 97227
Tel: 503.248.0104
Fax: 503.248.0105
Mon-Fri:10-6
Sat: 9-6
Sun: 10-5
Livingscape is dedicated to enabling people to live engaged lives - engaged with their friends and family, their community, their food, and the geographic spot they call home.

Pistils Nursery
3811 N. Mississippi Ave.
Portland, OR 97227
503-288-4889
7 days a week: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
From the beginning, our aim has been to create a garden shop unlike any other in the city. Once inside, you’ll find an eclectic mix, from the distinctly modern — terrariums, specimen house plants and work by local artists — to the down-home — chicken keeping supplies, soil amendments, garden tools and more.

SE Portland

Concentrates
2613 SE 8th Ave
Portland, OR 97202
Phone: 503-234-7501
Toll Free: 800-388-4870
Fax: 503-234-7502
We specialize in "feed concentrates", and we carry an eclectic range of products for all kinds of farmers, home-owners, and businesses.

Foster Feed & Garden
10307 SE Foster Rd
Portland, OR 97266
(503) 777-2967

Naomi's Organic Feed Store
2500 SE Tacoma St
Portland, OR 97202
PH: 503-517-8551
FAX: 503-546-9755
Tuesday - Saturday 10 - 6pm
and Sunday 12 - 4pm
Our family-owned shop supplies a wide range of organic products including: soil amendments and fertilizer, seeds, straw, hay, compost, potting soils, livestock feeds, supplements, chicken supplies, pet foods, a variety of salts, hand tools & lots of books! Lending library in the works : )

Wichita Feed & Hardware
6089 SE Johnson Creek Boulevard
Portland, OR 97206-0698
Phone: 503-775-6767‎

NW Portland

Linnton Feed and Seed
10920 NW St. Helens Rd.
Portland, OR 97231
Store Phone: (503) 286-1291
Store Fax: (503) 286-9592
Uhaul Phone: (503) 285-4991
8am-6pm Monday thru Friday
8am-5pm Saturday
9am-3pm Sunday

Gresham/Troutdale

Burns Feed Store
29215 S.E. Orient Dr
Gresham, OR 97080
Phone: 503-663-3246
Fax: 503-663-7836
Monday - Friday 8:00am - 6:00pm
Saturday 8:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday 10:00am - 4:00pm

Vancouver/Clark County

Orchards Feed Mill
6017 NE 109th Ave
Vancouver, WA 98662
Phone: 360-892-3001

Pioneer Feed
21605 NE 10th Ave
Ridgefield, WA 98642
360-887-4237

Thrifty Feed and Garden
4207 St. Johns Road
Vancouver, WA 98661
Phone: 360-695-7351
Toll Free: 877-872-1788
Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

South of Portland

Clackamas Feed & Pet Supply
15734 SE 130th
Clackamas, Oregon 97015
Phone: 503-655-9457
Mon - Fri 9-6
Sat 9-5
Sun CLOSED


I'm back

Submitted by tired_gardener on Fri, 06/18/2010 - 08:13
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Having my own classroom takes a lot of time! I kept thinking about this site, and wanting to do some work on it, but between lesson plans, IEPs and then wanting to also spend time with my family, you all got left behind. Well, it's summer now. I plan on doing a lot of writing this summer and make some new videos. Elizabeth (my wife) has also agreed to write some on the couponing she is doing. We are novices to couponing, but we will share what we are learning. I'm not sure how much Elizabeth will be writing and I may not be able to write much in September, but I'll see you all while I'm here!