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Archives for May 2011

Father’s Day: Personalized Photo Cards

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Photograph Credit: Shutterfly

If June flies by as quickly as May, then Father’s Day on Sunday, June 19 will be here soon. In past years, I have created personalized photo cards for each of my children to give to Paul. Since the cost of most photo cards start at $2.99, one can quickly spend upwards of $10 just on cards. Ouch!

Thankfully, we can get these cards for the price of shipping through Shutterfly.com. Heather over at Freebies4Mom.com shares the details for claiming 5 free cards for $5.99. This deal ends on June 9. I purchased 5 Father’s Day cards with this same deal (different promotional code) last week. For this deal you can either order 5 identical cards or 5 different cards. I could not order 3 different cards and 2 identical cards. When I was charged full price for the second identical card, I removed it from the shopping cart and created an additional card. Then the promotional code worked, and my order is being processed.

You will save money, but you will also spend time creating these cards. For me, the time is well spent since the cards are personalized with pictures of each of my kids with their Daddy. If you are looking for other personalized gifts for Dad, check out this post from centsiblesavings.com.  If you find other inexpensive personalized gifts for Father’s Day, then please share the details in the comments section.

National Doughnut Day: June 3, 2011

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Photography Credit: LaMar's Donuts

Yes, there is a National Doughnut Day, and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and LaMar’s Donuts are celebrating with free doughnuts.

Yeah, another great family adventure to start off next weekend.

If you have a participating location near you, then mark your calendar for these free events:

Krispy Kreme tweets on Twitter:

Friday 6/3 – KKD is offering 1 FREE Doughnut on National Doughnut Day. This offer is good at participating U.S. KKD retail shops.

LaMar’s web site announces their celebration:

We celebrate National Donut Day by giving visitors a FREE Gourmet Donut with a hole – No purchase required! Since National Donut Day started in 1938 as a tribute to the “lassies” – women volunteers who helped feed soldiers in World War I, we find it an appropriate patriotic salute to give every visitor a gourmet donut – free, for no charge. Imagine: a donut that doesn’t require any dough!

In addition to the free doughnut announcement, LaMar’s web site includes the history of National Doughnut Day. Since I found it interesting, I am including the information.

THE HISTORY OF NATIONAL DOUGHNUT DAY

National Donut Day is celebrated on the first Friday in June. In 1917, Salvation Army female volunteers known as “lassies” prepared thousands of donuts to the homesick soldiers that served in France during World War I.

The doughnuts were made by filling a pail with oil and using left over dough flour and other ingredients on hand and a wine bottle as a rolling pin. Doughnuts were fried – seven at a time – in steel helmets on an 18-inch stove. The 100 doughnuts made that first day were an immediate success.

Soon, hundreds of soldiers stood in muck outside the tent, waiting for the sweet taste of doughnuts. Before long, The Salvation Army was cooking thousands of doughnuts around the clock. National Donut Day was officially established in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army to raise much-needed funds during the Great Depression.

Please visit the links to these establishments to locate a participating location near you. I have learned to call ahead to confirm participation since, more than once, our family has arrived for an event only to find the business not participating. Use your time wisely and check first. Enjoy your time with your family!

Bowling: Brunswick

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Photograph Credit: Brunswick

Brunswick has not one, but two free bowling opportunities.

The first event is The Bowlopolis Bowling Party on June 4 from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. and requires registration by Monday, May 31. According to the Brunswick web site:

The Bowlopolis Bowling Party is for kids ages 12 and under and includes FREE bowling, shoe rental, pizza, soft drinks and ice cream. PLUS! We are giving away the latest Bowlopolis DVD and other great Bowlopolis prizes!

Photograph Credit: Brunswick

To find a participating location and registration form, please visit the Brunswick web site.

The second free bowling event occurs all summer long with Students Bowl Free. When parents join the Bonus Zone and add children to their profile, they will receive free bowling for the kids during June, July, and August. To locate a nearby participating location, please click the link here for more information and to join the Bonus Zone.

If you cannot find a participating Brunswick, then check out the other free bowling programs through Kids Bowl Free and AMF. Hopefully, one of these programs will be available in your area.

Pork Chops: Slicing a Boneless Pork Loin

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Planning for Success

Photograph Credit: Fotolia

When Paul and I were first married, we enjoyed cooking together a new recipe each week. We had received some cookbooks for our wedding, and we would browse and choose one recipe to make. Besides giving us time with each other, these sessions also helped us find meals we both liked. I tended to cook foods that were coterminous with my mom’s style which was vastly different from Paul’s mom’s style. As a couple, we worked to find meals that were our style.

During these experiments, we tried different cuts of meat, including pork. We found that we liked the taste once we overcame the chewy consistency. As we added children to our family, the consistency of the pork I cooked, baked, or roasted was not tender enough for our little ones to chew. To spend my time wisely, I chose not to make pork until . . . I came across this great post from centsiblesavings.com.

After reading her post, I waited for boneless pork loins to go on sale for $1.99 per pound. At the sale, I purchased a small pork loin and tried her Chicken Fried Chops recipe in the crock pot. (Her recipe is included in her post here.) The result of trying this new recipe was . . . a family favorite! The pork was so tender after cooking in the crock pot for 6-8 hours. The realization that this was a “keeper” meal came when my children asked for more.

We love this recipe, and I have made some minor adjustments to stretch the pork more which saves me time, energy, and money. These are Tracy’s tips for this recipe:

  1. Purchase the boneless pork loin when it is on sale for $1.99 per pound or less. My rock bottom price for this cut is $1.99 per pound. In April, I purchased 5.17 lbs. of a “pork loin, loin half boneless” at $1.99 per lb. for a total of $10.29.
  2. At your time of purchase, ask the butcher to cut the pork loin into chops. Our butcher at Publix used a sharp knife to cut our pork loin into 11 pork chops. My kids loved watching this process. I am thankful for all the wonderful employees at Publix who willingly demonstrate and teach my kids as they help me save time, energy, and money.
  3. Consider using 3-4 pork chops for each meal instead of 6 or 7. To feed my family of 5, I use 3 pork chops.
  4. Add more ingredients. About an hour before serving the meal, I remove the fat from the edges of the chops, shred the chops using a fork, and stir in another mixture of ½ cup of milk and 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup.
  5. Allow the chops to complete the meal. Instead of serving a side of meat per person, I make open-faced sandwiches using toasted hamburger buns. The leftovers make great lunches. By using my time making this meal, I can serve one dinner and at least one lunch. Yeah, saving money, energy, and time while feeding my family makes me happy.

This meal is such a hit in our house that my son requested pork chops for his birthday dinner. I highly recommend this delicious recipe. You, too, can save time preparing dinner by allowing the crock pot to cook all day for you. Stay tuned next week for more on pork loins.

Customer Service: Bi-Lo

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Sometimes I think customer service is a lost art, and then other times I am blown away by someone with great customer service. Since I will be the first to e-mail or call when there is a problem, I also want to praise a company when they handle a situation well and exceed my customer service expectation.

Photography Credit: Bi-Lo

Shopping at our local grocery store, I have struck up a friendship with the bookkeeper, Laura. She is very friendly and has 3 children about the same ages as my three.

Since Laura works at the Bi-Lo grocery store near my son’s school and I am not planning to drive on that side of town this summer, I will miss her. Knowing someone at the store saves me time and energy.

When a bottle of dishwashing detergent leaked inside a bag of groceries, Laura wiped everything down and replaced the messy bottle. She also helped to adjust my receipt when the register missed doubling a $.50 coupon.

Besides helping with my shopping needs, she is pleasant and brightens our day. She communicates with my girls, and they look forward to seeing Miss Laura when we shop at Bi-Lo.

If I ever need an item out of stock, help reaching an item, clarification on a sale, or assistance with a leaking product, I can find Laura and know that she will either handle the matter or get someone to address the problem. I’m thankful for the friendship we have with Miss Laura, and I look forward to visiting with her again next school year.

Do you have a favorite cashier or store employee that gives you great customer service? Having that connection saves time and makes shopping enjoyable rather than a necessary errand. With so many companies downsizing, policy seems to be taking priority over customer service.

In an effort to encourage those who put the customer first, I would love to post your stories of employees that give great customer service. If you have a great story to share, then please contact me.