Deals!

Please note, if you are done Christmas shopping, and you would like to adhere to our church leaders and save your money for something useful...you should NOT follow this link. However, if you're an idiot like me, you should check this out:
http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108928
I am particularly happy with my latest purchase: a wooden Melissa and Doug dollhouse that is currently $47.99 at Amazon (savings of $113.00). I'm currently tempted to buy Settlers of Catan with the expansion pack for around $30.00, but in order to get the dollhouse, I had to promise my sweet husband that I would not buy one more thing this year. Please learn from my mistake, and don't make such foolish promises! Ü Happy shopping, or saving...whatever you choose!

Pumpkin cookies

Just wanted to make sure y'all noticed that I posted the Thanksgiving pumpkin cookie recipe down in the recipe section.
Love ya!

Moral Decisions

I "borrowed" this quote from my snow college friend. 'Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.''This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.'Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened.... Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat.'--- Elder Neal A. Maxwell 1979

Deals!

I decided when I find deals I'm just going to post them, because it's hard to know when people update the other sections and some of these deals go pretty fast.

Free wallflower starter kit with any in-store purchase. Expires November 23rd.
http://f.chtah.com/i/34/528207786/2...2_wfcoupon.html

Free full size secret sport deoderant. You have to cut and past this link for it to work for some reason.
https://secretsport.safeprocessing.com/

Fisher-Price® Smart Cycle™ Physical Learning Arcade Systemoriginal $109.99 now $43.99 (b4 15 off code)
*I can get 15% off and free shipping with my Kohls card so if anyone wants to do this you can just pay me $39.00 and I'll get it for you. You may want to look at this entire thread from pinching your pennies to see what deals are at Kohls. The smart cycle keeps going in and out of stock, so if it says not in stock, you can keep checking back to see if it returns. http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103447

HOT! Will sell out fast! Refurb Dyson DC07 $149.99 / DC14 $179.99 plus free shipping
http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103686&page=1&pp=10
*I wish I had the money for one of these! I've heard they're amazing.

Items up to 90% off + additional $10 off $10 order @ BCOutlet.com!
http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103291

All Skechers or Aerosoles $24.99 or less at 6pm
http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103869

Amazon Toy Promotions & Deals
For a limited time, spend $25 on Toys and get a 2-year subscription to Cookie Magazine. *NOTE: If you don't want the subscription can follow the instructions to get a $15 refund.~ Spend $50 in toys, get a free toy thru 10/17. *NOW states "Not combinable with other offers."~ Spend $75 in toys, get a free toy thru 10/17. *NOW states "Not combinable with other offers."~ Buy 2 select Hasbro board games, get 1 game FREE~ Buy 2 select Lego Bionicles, get 3rd one FREE~ Buy 1 Star Wars Light Saber, get 1 FREE~ Get 3 select Transformers for $50~ Buy BioniCam and get Free Bug Vacuum~ Get 3 select Ty Products for $10 - thru 10/17~ Get 3 select action figures for $10 - thru 10/17~ Get 3 select Transformers for $15 *Appears to be OVER*~ Free Mr Potato Head with $25 qualifying order -- see this thread for details~ Receive $10 off $50 qualifying order -- see this thread for details~ Bill Me Later Promotion ~ Save $10 when you spend $50 or more when you pay with Bill Me Later. Offer valid Oct 13, 2008 - Dec 30, 2008. Limited to items sold by Amazon.com. Subject to credit approval. One per customer. Enter code BMLSAVES at checkout. Promo details
*I'm not sure if these are still working, and the promotion doesn't show up until you get into the checkout process.

Let me know if you have any questions, or if a link is not working! Also, it's hard for me to know which deals you guys would be interested in, so if you're looking for something specific just let me know and I'll keep my eye out for it. I'm looking for deals on Ninja Turtles. Shredder cut the arms off of Donatello and Raphael, so I'm looking to replace them for Carter.

Monthly Updates

So I took the liberty of updating the blog for the month. I have added a new poll which you may have already seen. The results for the last poll were very close with Mccain just one vote ahead of Obama.
I figured we also needed a new book of the month and have added a series instead of just one book. I know, I have made a regular bit of that, but the whole series is really good, and I don't know if people have already started it or not. I have also updated the "Previous Book of the Month" section. There were a couple of books that were missing, but all should be on the list now.

Things in my neck of the woods are pretty darn good. We enjoyed our trip to Vegas two weekends ago, but the trip wasn't quite long enough. Jess spent last weekend in St. George with the women of her family doing their biannual girls weekend, so I got to enjoy some time with "the midget". We had a lot of fun, and played around most of the weekend. We've had Rachel with us during the last week and a half, and have enjoyed that immensely. She is so much fun, and I'm not looking forward to her going home this next weekend. We have also really enjoyed having Jana with us. I have to say that I've not had that much time around these two girls to see their true personalities. I was on my mission when they "grew up", and I moved up to Salt Lake pretty much right after I got home. Both of them are wonderful and I've enjoyed all the times we've had together.

Poll question

Okay, so I have been racking my brain trying to think of something fun and worthwhile, but have not had any luck coming up with something. It may be the really hectic schedule I've had, or the fact that I'm just getting too old and am losing my creativity. Anyway, if there is a question you are dying to know everyone's opinion on, go ahead and throw it out there. If you are one of the few who check out this site that aren't an author, shoot me an email, and I will post it. Hope everyone is doing great!!! I can't wait for Friday!

Couscous!

Okay, so mom and I have been trying to find some different types of slightly healthier meals to make recently... Enter couscous! Mom had got some couscous a while back and we hadn't tried it yet so I fried up some onions, garlic, and a little spinach and added it to couscous that I cooked in chicken stock and it was really good! Stryder, Shelby and Soren even ate it! Before she ate any, Shelby said that couscous was her FAVORITE! I think at that point, it was just fun to say, but the several servings they had convinced me that it really might be true! ha ha. It's not particularly low in calories and is of course a carb, but it has zero fat and has a ton of protein and fiber! Just thought I'd share. Love ya'll!

Back to School?

I was going to post lyrics to a song on Billy Madison, but I'll spare you all... those who know what song I'm talking about are hearing it in your heads. One question: Where's all the back to school posts fam? I know ya'll have little kids starting kindergarten and older ones getting back to school... doesn't that warrant a post? I want to see ya'll's cliche 1st day of school pictures with the kid standing next to their school with their backpack on heading off to kindergarten! he he. You know you took them so post 'em!

Some of you may be thinking that I'm hypocritical in my request, but back to school in college is boring and I assume everyone's sick of hearing about my boring college career so I won't bore you all... If you REALLY wanna hear about it, read my very first post... it's a similar circumstance!

Love ya'll!

Twilight Movie

I decided that I should contribute something! So we need to celebrate that Twilight is being released on 11-21-2008!! Let's all have a party and go to the midnight release together!! Well, at least those in Utah and those in Nevada. There are multiples in both groups! Maybe Taryn and Cari will have to come up for a weekend! Is that Thanksgiving weekend? How fabulous that could be!! shopping in the morning and unable to sleep that night because of complete excitement! I think we should be getting a plan in the works! Love you all!! Laura

Breaking Dawn

Ok, so they are being very secretive about what they release on this book, but Rachel did find that on the Stephenie Meyer website http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/ They have a quote of the day every day out of the book... And the last couple have made me feel a little suspense, so if you haven't been reading them. You DEFINATELY should!

Blog Backgrounds

Hi guys,
I was just wondering if anyone knows what I can do to fix my blog background. It was SUCH a cute one, but I can only see the brown middle, and not the cute polka dots that are supposed to be at the sides. Any suggestions? Love ya! Tara

New Poll

So I kind of liked the whole "blog poll" thing, and so I decided I would put another one up. I think I'm going to try and have one a month, so I you've noticed it's outdated and have a cool question feel free to throw it in. For the four people that visit this site that aren't authors, you can shoot me an email, and I can get take care of it. This month is summer movies (and no, Twilight is not on the list due to the fact that it's not a SUMMER movie). We already know what movie is going to top the winter list, so that would be a pointless question. If I've left one out let me know. I put Dark Knight on the list because it is coming this month, it may have a bit of a handicap due to the late release time, but we'll see how it does. I also made it possible for you to vote for more than one. This is just in case your significant other has a different fave than you do. If you want, you can put a vote for each one. If you notice one of these movies is high on the votes, and you haven't seen it yet, you may want to find an excuse for date night and check it out!! Have fun and keep bloggin'!!

Just a dumb note for Candice

Hi candy, I was just reading your profile and wanted to inform you that the reese witherspoon movie is Just Like Heaven. My favorite too!

the cutest blog on the block

Hi guys, just wanted to include a little note about taryn's blog background site. If any of the rest of you have tried to get on it and gotten an error message don't worry. I found their blog and they said their server was too small and went down. They should be up and running again soon and with a bigger server, faster and better than ever!

Thank You!!

I just want to say thanks for the great recipes. I can't wait to try them! And in answer to Tara's question, I found this great site for free blog backgrounds and it is so much easier than any other one I've found. It's called Thecutestblogontheblock.com! They have a ton of different ones and it is so easy to do that you can put one on and see if you like it, then change it if you don't. Right now I am not using one of their's because I keep changing mine but I will most likely use one of theirs when I do add one. So, sorry if every time you come to my blog it's different. I find it relaxes me and takes my mind off other things as I play and tweek with my blog and look at others. So anyways thanks again and hope you all are having a great day!

New Book

Okay, it is a new month, and therefore, a new book. This month's pick is The Host by Stephanie Meyer. I know that there are already a bunch of you that have read this, but if you haven't it is worth picking up. What better way to get ready for Breaking Dawn. This is a book full of twists and turns, but in the end it is a great read. If you just can't get enough of Stephanie Meyer, this is a great book to wet your whistle until August 2nd anyway.

I also added a new section under the book of the month that has previous faves, so that if by chance you missed a month, you can see what is there. Hopefully that will keep us all full of ideas for future readings, and we won't ever be want of a good book. ;-D

Background

Hey Taryn,
I was wondering where you got that awesome blue plaid background for your blog. I LOVE it!!

New RECIPES!!

I just wanted all of you to know I posted 4 new recipes! One at Candice's request, and three at Taryn's. I color coded them, so you can tell when one stops and another starts. Love ya!

Recipe Request

So I was wondering if I could put in a request for the next few recipes. I would really like Laura's Taco soup and Tara's tortilla soup. It's kind of too hot for me to eat soup but I've been craving it, so if those could be added as the next ones that would be great! Thanks all and get to blogging :)!

I've been playing again

Okay, so for those of you who aren't total nerds and don't read the updates on Blogger when they log in... They have a new page element called blog list, or something like that. It is like the link list, only it allows for RSS feeds from the blogs themselves. So if you noticed, I updated our family list so that it now shows the name, snippet from the most recent post, and when the blog was last updated. I did this because I hate having to go to everyones blogs just to find out that y'all are just like me, and haven't posted anything new. Now you can check here and see who has been doing good, as well as those who need a little nudge to get things moving. I hope y'all approve, and like the new addition!!!

Me Again!

I added a deal for free lunchmeat coupons and some more Wii games at Amazon. I also sent an e-mail with the first chapter of Breaking Dawn for all you Twilight readers. If anyone didn't get it, just let me know and I'll send it to you. Love you all!

Deals

Just letting everyone know that I updated the deals section. I highly recommend the ELF cosmetics one. I'm possibly going to make another order, it was that good of a sale.

Just a couple of quick notes...

So I thought I had better spread the word that the Logan Anniversary Inn is way cool, and anyone wanting to go to one of their rooms should definitely keep that in mind as they are looking. We went there last weekend and had a blast. The Costco here in Salt Lake has gift certificates that they sell, so we got the room for almost half price. The Inn itself is a bunch of homes that have been converted into the different themed rooms. They have really done a great job. We went to Joanie's Diner, a fifty's diner themed room, and it was so much fun. They had a juke box, hot dogs, banana splits, and a soda fountian right in the room. They really did a great job with the decorating, and even had a phone booth that really worked. For those who like the traditional cheesecake and sparkling cider, don't worry, they have those too. Jess and I were sick by the time we went to bed. It was a much needed break, and was very nice to have.

Secondly, I have updated the Book of the Month section, and have again just put Jess' current fave on there. I am still reading The Work and the Glory, so there isn't anything new from me. The Looking Glass Wars is really fun though. It is a twist on Alice in Wonderland, and is really intriguing. I do give a word of warning, the first part is kind of sad, and Jess says it is just a little bit disturbing. She still has really loved the series, and has read both book 1 and 2 during the last few weeks.

I hope everyone is doing great. I look at the blog and just smile. I have to admit that when I first started this project I was really worried at the time it would take to keep it up, but everyone has really stepped up, and I now have to admit that sometimes I think I haven't done enough in comparison to everyone else. Thanks again for making this site awesome for anyone who wants to see the latest on all of us. Love y'all!!

Scrunchy Face Resemblance

So, I just wanted to see a side-by-side picture of Candice and Meleah's scrunched-nose faces and thought you'd all like to see it too, so here it is! :) SO cute! What a fun mother-daughter resemblance to have!

Surprise!!!

Surprise Everyone! I FINALLY decided to contribute to the family blog, and guess what!? I TOTALLY wrote a new post on my blog too! Aren't you proud!? Thanks for the birthday wishes on here Taryn... I hope all of you are doing well in Henderson, I LOVE you all, and miss you too!

Happy Birthday!!

I know it's late but I just wanted to give a shout out to Jana and say Happy Birthday! I feel like I have known you forever and I have to say that you are such an amazing person! You are beautiful inside and out! There are so many good qualities about you that I admire. So I hope you had a good birthday and I love ya girl!
Sorry to all the other birthday people, I'm not trying to leave anyone out I just wanted to let Jana know we are thinking about her. And anyone who reads this make sure Jana knows since she hasn't been the best about checking Ü!! But we love her still!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Our family is blessed with some fabulous mothers who care for and love the children that God has blessed them with. To my sisters and sisters-in-laws, might I just say: You all are doing an amazing job! As the kids get older I can see your influence on them and can't wait to see them grow up and become the outstanding people that you are raising them to be. Most of them aren't old enough to appreciate you yet but you are such amazing women and mothers. You all forget yourselves completely out of love for your children. Your sacrifices have been many and your reward in heaven will be great.

All of us are lucky to have our loving mother's example in our lives to show us how to be mothers and how to love unconditionally. Mom has given us so much throughout the years and we see her strength and the sacrifices that she makes for us nearly every day. We've gotten so many great characteristics from her guidance and are always appreciative of the comforting assurances and advice that she gives us. I know I speak for everyone when I say thank you so much for all that you've done for me and taught me and I love you TONS, Mom!

I'm happy to be surrounded by such amazing mothers and hope that I can someday be half as good of a mother as you all are! Happy Mother's Day!

Taryn your blonde is showing!

So I'm a bit of a blonde but I just wanted to show that I got it figured out! I had something clicked No instead of yes, and once I changed it the toolbar showed up. Cool Huh?

Quick Queston

Ok now almost all of you have done the cute colored words in you blogs. Not that I want to be a total copycat or anything, but HOW do you do that? I can't figure that out! So if any of you cute color users would comment and let me know that would be great. Love ya guys!

Update

Just letting everyone know that I added another recipe and a couple of deals in case you're too lazy to scroll down and check. :)

Music

So I added some background music :) Hope you all approve. Let me know if you have any requests, or if you want to modify our playlist, let me know and I'll give you the sign-in info :)

How does he do that?

So I just wanted to post and share these pictures I took of the kids the weekend Laura and D were in town. The kids all ended up in Grandma and Grandpa's room, and needless to say, Grandpa managed to sleep through it all. They later knocked down the mini blinds, how I don't know, but when I took these pictures it looked like innocent fun to me. Boy those kids sure have fun!

Book Section Updated

Hello everyone!!! The Book of the Month is up again, and this one is another good one that Jess strongly recommends. The Fablehaven Series is good for the old and young alike. It is much like the Harry Potter series as far as the age group it is written for. Most of the books are light and fun, but there are a couple darker spots in each one. I also updated the trip area as much as I could, but there may still be some trips that are not listed. Mom and Dad, yours is one, as I am not sure what days you are planning on coming up for Mother's Day. For the record (though I may not speak for all the men) I like the new layout, and it is well worth having to adjust a few things again to have a template that isn't one of the standard boring ones that are defaulted with Blogger. Love y'all!!

Deals Section

Just letting everyone know that I added a spot to tell about deals that anyone finds, such as hasbro sales, free samples, grocery sales, etc.

Family Pics

You may have noticed that I put my family pic next to my profile, and in order to not look weird, I think everyone else should put theirs on too! Jana and Rachel included! (Am I starting to sound bossy?) Also, I'm with Taryn on the everyone needs to blog more thing. Some of us don't even have a single post yet. Hmmmmm. This is a record for posterity people! Okay, I'll leave you alone. Love ya!

So helpful

Thanks to Candice for all of the blogging tips. Now we can all be as cool as you! I think the family blog looks great and Ben approved too, so way to go. Everyone needs to blog more, I love reading about the kids and each other. Hope everyone had a great weekend. Hope to see you all soon. Love ya!

Aaargh!

I just realized that I also deleted the upcoming trips! I am so sorry! Now I realize why I had to beg Steve to send me an invitation to be a part of this blog! He must have forseen the idiotic things I would do! Please fell free to fix anything else that I have messed up!

New Template?

Okay, I'm going to start out this post by apologizing. First, to the men in the family for making this blog a tad bit girlish. Second, to Rachel because when I switched templates it deleted the book of the month segment! Doh! You see, I saved all the other page elements, but I thought the recipe and book of the month were posts. My bad! Also, if you boys really hate the background I will change it, even though I think this one is so incredibly cute! Just let me know. I'll only cry for a few days. I also wanted to inform everyone that I finally found the website that I got my template off of. Yeah! I'm putting a link from my blog if anyone wants to check it out. I think they have a lot of cute ones, but if you don't find anything you like you can just google free blog templates and hundreds of sites come up. I think it's pretty much the same as My Space. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Cari's Comment

I just want to tell Cari, since I can't find a way to comment on her blog, that her post is very sweet, funny, and oh so true! Also, that we're going to miss those of you that don't love us enough to come down this weekend with Mom and Dad! Love you guys!

Getting started

Well I figured I'd better make this blog official, and actually have a post on it. Today is April 13th and it has been 3 days since I finally got up the nerve to start a blog. I have thought about getting something going for a while, but just haven't followed through. For those of you who know me best, I think that is no surprise. I don't think the site looks too bad considering all the facts. Thanks to everyone who has been and will be contributing to the content. I am very excited to see what grows from this. I just thought I would post this to break the ice. I will post a better update on specifics going on in my family later.