In Memory Of Molly

It has been a week now since our precious Molly has left us. I knew it would be difficult when the day came but I never realized how difficult. It is truly amazing how close you can become to your pet. She fit into our family so well. She gave us so much joy and love. We miss her so much. Now rest Molly. We love you!

Time to save!!

OK everyone head on over to the Disney Outlet Store and take a look at all the bargains. www.disneyoutlet.com. This is the time to get those T-shirts and souvenirs before you head to Disney. Make sure you use the special code to get and extra 30% off your purchase. Now is a good time to buy for Christmas with these deals. Don't forget to take a look at the Halloween costumes for October.

To all those dads out there:

Happy Fathers Day!

Thank you to all those that lost their lives protecting our country and freedom. Our heros!

You've got to try it!

I have had $3.00 coupons off of the Kashi pizzas for awhile now but could not find them in any stores. Yesterday I found them at Meijer for $5.29 each so I purchased 2. I had the Mediterranean Pizza today for lunch and guess what I loved it. I just started a diet 2 1/2 weeks ago and have already lost 7lbs. I am really trying to cut portion sizes, eliminate Coca Cola, sweet tea and deserts. I am also watching calories, adding more protein and fiber to my meals and drinking a lot of water. Seriously a lot of water. When I looked at the Kashi Pizza box I immediately seen it has 260mg ALA which is an Omega 3, 15 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber. It is made with 7 Whole grains and Sesame with Flax seed. No I am not one to eat frozen pizza but this is not your ordinary frozen pizza. You just have to try it. Kroger, starting Monday, will have the Kashi pizza on sale for $3.99 each. I will be stocking up.

Oh by the way here is what the Mediterranean Pizza has on it. Spinach, fire roasted red onions and sweet red peppers, four signature cheeses including Feta with roasted red pepper sauce on stone fired crust. Guess what it is all natural!

My KMart Deal

Here it is, my Kmart deal. Price before coupons $257.46. Price after coupons $79.74. Total savings $177.72. Not bad!

Your Support Is Needed

In June of 2006 dear friends of mine lost their child to Cancer. Their daughter Hannah (pictured above) was only 2 1/2 when she was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma. Hannah fought for 7 months going through 6 rounds of chemo and many surgeries. Many were there for Hannah as she courageously fought for her life and we can still be there for her by supporting the CancerFree Kids Butterfly Walk on May 9th 2009. The event will take place at Cottell Park, Mason OH starting at 9am. You can register individually or as a team at http://www.butterflywalk.com/ . On line registration ends 5/7/09. All event details can be found at the above link. Last year the event raised over $40,000. All proceeds generated by the Butterfly Walk go directly to CancerFree Kids. It takes people like me and you to see that a cure is found and only by donating can this be done. I challenge all you bloggers to form a team and come out to this event. We enjoy helping others save money, imagine the joy you would feel knowing your support would help a child. Please take the time to look at http://www.butterflywalk.com/. Feel free to contact me personally at cgtrs@aol.com if you have any questions that may not be answered by visiting the site. Hope to see you there!

Tammy

Our Favorite Disney World Resorts

For those of you that did not get to see my guest post at http://blog.nickels-n-dimes.com/ well here it is for your viewing pleasure. I hope the information I provide is helpful to you. If you ever have any questions about Disney World feel free to email me at cgtrs@aol.com. I am happy to assist you in your Disney trip plans.

Hello everyone! My name is Tammy and I absolutely love Walt Disney World. With this guest blog I would like to share my family’s two favorite Disney resorts. I have just recently developed my own blog site so that I can share Disney Vacation Deals, money saving tips, and the experience I have gained from my many trips there.

My first visit, to the most wonderful place on earth, was our honeymoon in August of 1990. Since then, I have been there 14 times. I have learned that the best way to go is to stay on Disney property. Disney truly takes great care of their guest.

We have stayed at 3 of the Value resorts and 2 of the Moderate resorts. Our favorite value resort is Pop Century. This resort does not share bus transportation with any other resorts. The other value resorts do and this can lead to long lines to and from the parks. The 50’s building, B and C, are our favorite to stay in at Pop. You should ask to face Hourglass Lake. Here you are able to see the fireworks from Epcot IllumiNations, not to mention it’s very quiet facing the lake and walking path which can be nice after a long day at the parks. Pop Century is the only resort that has a frozen Coke machine. This is one of the highlights for my boys.

If you are looking for a more adult theme, I recommend Port Orleans: French Quarters (our favorite Moderate resort). Port Orleans gives you the feeling of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It is situated on the bank of the Sassagoula River that offers a free boat ride to Downtown Disney or its sister hotel Port Orleans: Riverside. It is a wonderfully peaceful resort. My parents absolutely love it here as well. You have the opportunity to rent fishing poles, pedal boats, rowboats, bikes, or take a horse drawn carriage ride. The rooms are a bit bigger than at Pop Century but not drastically. The food court is comparable to the value resorts but at Port Orleans you also get the benefit of sit down restaurants.
All moderate resorts have hot tubs where the value resorts do not.
Port Orleans: French Quarter is one of Disney’s smallest resorts. You would not be disappointed with any building on these grounds.

I highly recommend not getting a room that faces the pools at any resort. Disney’s lifeguards go off duty, I believe, about 10 PM. Guest are allowed to stay in the pools and swim at their own risk. It can be very loud. It seems like the noise from the pools echo and when you are trying to get to the parks early the next morning you want your sleep.

Some helpful tips when staying at any Disney resort.

Due to airlines charging for those extra suitcases try cutting down on the number of outfits you bring by doing laundries while you are on vacation. I know the last thing you ladies want to do is laundry, but think of the savings. The laundry facilities are by the pool so while you are enjoying a swim throw your laundry in. Purchase one of those pop up, mesh, clothes hampers. This packs very nicely in your suitcase taking up no room at all and makes it convenient carrying the laundry down to be washed. Bring along some travel size detergent and dryer sheets and you are ready to go.

Disney offers refillable mugs at your resort. The mugs are around $12 each. Unless you plan on being at your hotel a lot I would not invest the money. They don’t hold that much once you put ice in them. Take along those Kool-aid Singles or Crystal Light singles to add to water. These can also be carried into the parks and added to the free cup of ice water you ask for.

We usually eat breakfast in the hotel room or on the bus headed to the parks. I bring Pop Tarts, Quaker Oatmeal Bars, and baggies filled with our favorite cereal, in our suitcases. Capri Suns also pack well to go along with breakfast. These also work well for snacks while in the park to hold you over until lunch or dinner.

Take along a fitted sheet for the bed. When packing the fitted sheet I put a dryer sheet in the suitcase with them so you have a fresh smell when you slip under the covers at night. This also keeps the flat sheets the resorts use from getting all knotted up underneath you when sleeping.

There is not a lot of room on the bathroom counter for shampoos, deodorants and other personal items. Purchase an inexpensive plastic hanging shoe holder and hang it on the bathroom door. This will hold all those items and keep them from clutter up the sink area.

We always take our pillows from home for a better nights sleep. You can purchase the bags that compress the pillows for easier travel. I got mine at WalMart and you simply roll the bag after you sealed it to push the air out. They can be found where you find luggage.

We have also packed at small cooler filled with peanut butter, crackers, chips, bread, jelly, fruit cups, cans of pop and any other non perishable item you can think of and send it on the airplane. We didn’t have any problems but I would call ahead and ask if this is OK for the particular airline you are flying on. When we get there we fill the cooler with ice. For all you Mountain Dew lovers, like my husband, Disney has a contract with Coke so you will not get Pepsi products in the World.

Remember to enjoy yourself and be a kid again!

Thank you Cincinnati Cents, for bringing this to our attention. With these offers you can get the movie BOLT for only $6.99!
Buy Bolt at Target for $15.99
use the $5 printable coupon here
submit for $6 rebate with this form
You need to buy a box of pasta, including Ronzoni Smart Taste, Ronzoni, San Giorgio, Creamette, American Beauty, Prince or Skinner but you can usually get a box of Creamette for around $1.

Birthday At WDW

For anyone attending Walt Disney World on their birthday don't forget to register your birthday on their official website (which you can find on the left side of my blog) in order to get your voucher for free admission. Prior to entering the gate go to the will-call window and get your fastpass. Everyone in your party receives the fastpass but all must be present and have your park pass in hand. What a great gift! There are others to choose from but this would be the one I would pick during peak season. Oh by the way the cake my son is holding in the picture was made just for him on his 13th birthday by one of the Disney Bakers. I called Pop Century the week before our arrival and placed the order. They had never heard of a chocolate chip cookie cake so I had to explain. It turned out just wonderful and was $12.00. It was ready to pick up at noon the day of his birthday. He was so surprised.

Make Note

Making plans to go to Walt Disney World? Well make note, McDonalds will be holding their convention this year in Orlando July 12-24. They are not staying on Disney Property but there will be select dates that Disney's Hollywood Studios will be closed to the public and opened only for those attending the convention. They say to expect thousands to attend. On July 15, 19 and 23, Disney Hollywood Studios will be open 7:30 p.m. -midnight for McDonalds employees only.

Something New At Downtown Disney

The new "Aerophile" tethered balloon will begin giving rides at Downtown Disney next week. Prices have been set at $16 for adults and $10 for ages 3-9, plus tax.

I Have A Secret!!

Rumor has it that Walt Disney World's next promo will be FREE DINING!! Yes you heard me correctly, but this is a rumor. Travel will need to take place between August 15 - September 30, 2009. This will be available for booking starting on March 30th.

Disney Crocs

Click on this link http://www.crocs.com/products/outlet/ and you will find some great prices on Disney Crocs.

Disney Pins

If you are headed to Disney and love pin trading I recommend hppydiztrader from eBay for the purchase of Disney Trading Pins. Look to the left side of my blog and you will see her name, click on it and it will take you to her store. I have purchased from her 3 times and was completely happy with everything about the transaction, shipping and quality of the pins. These are the same pins you would buy at Disney that would run you $6.95 to as much as $12.95 each. I recommend buying the $2.50 PER DISNEY PIN GRAB BAG LOT. She is now offering free shipping. This is a buy now special and is not always available. You do not get to pick which pins you want. It is a total surprise but you can tell her if you are purchasing for a boy or girl or even tell her a few of your favorite characters. There is no guarantee on what pins you will get. This pins are new. I am not even headed to Disney and I am thinking of buying. If you have any questions feel free to email her and she can give you the answers. I do not know this person personally but have been extremely happy with my pins and transaction with her. Oh don't delay on purchasing the GRAB BAG LOT. It is only available for 4 more days.



Don't know anything about pin trading? Well I plan to give you the scoop in an upcoming post. So stay tuned!