Curse of the Spider King {A Review}

I just wanted to remind you that Saving Money...Living Better is now Simplified Saving. Please make sure to head over there so you don't miss any exciting content! And now....Curse of the Spider King!

When I first looked at The Curse of the Spider King: Book 1 in the Berinfell Prophecies, I'll be honest with you, I wasn't too jazzed. The cover of this books has lots of gross looking spiders with knights riding on them. I hate spiders and I'm not a big fan of the fantasy genre either. This book by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper was written for ages 12-17. When I offered it to my kids to read, my 14 year old grudgingly offered to read it. I was pleasantly surprised when an hour later she came out of her room and told me "This book is amazing!" And from the time she finished the book, she has asked time and time again "Do you know when the second book is coming out?"

I'll let her tell you in her own words what she thought.

When I first saw the book Curse of the Spider King, I thought it was the lamest book ever, but I was just judging by its cover. As I started reading it, I couldn't pit it down. Curse of the Spider King was amazing. I just wanted to keep reading and never put down this mysterious book.

The book is about seven 13 year olds who live in our world, not realizing that someday they are going to save a world beyond their own. I love the characters Batson and Hopper created. The seven teens are my age and it sort of gives me something to think about...What would I have done if it was me?

The end of the book had a one chapter sneak preview of the second book. I'm so glad there is a second book!!! I can't wait to read it. And this time, I won't judge a book by its cover.

As a mom, it's comforting to know that books put out by Thomas Nelson won't be full of bad language and questionable morals. I can allow my teens to read them without having to read them first!

If you have a teen, this book would be a great Christmas gift! You'll definitely want to check it out.

The Curse of the Spider King: Book 1 in the Berinfell Prophecies
By: Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper
Ages: 12 - 17
Put out by: Thomas Nelson
Price: $14.99 (You can purchase this book from Amazon for $10.19 by clicking here or clicking on the image of the book in the left sidebar.)

Disclosure: This book was provided to me free of charge by Thomas Nelson in conjunction with Mama Buzz. All opinions expressed here were my own or those of my sweet daughter.

It's Time To Make The Switch...

Simplified Saving is finally up and running...and it's pretty! So if you've been reading Saving Money...Living Better (my blog with a very long name), you can now switch to Simplified Saving (or www.simplifiedsaving.com) There are a few more things that need to be done, but it's functional! If you are currently reading this in a reader or via email, please head on over to Simplified Saving and subscribe over there. Thanks for your patience during this long annoying process!

FREE Beth Moore online Bible study every Monday!

Join Beth Moore every Monday for a free online Bible study! Click here to listen and download the study guide!

Mega Swagbucks Day

Today is Mega Swagbucks Day and that means you can earn Swagbucks in larger denominations (10,20, 50, 100). They guarantee over 10K Swagbucks will be awarded in Mega Bills! Make sure to head on over and do a few searches. Remember 45 Swagbucks will get you a $5 Amazon gift card. You can easily earn 1 or 2 Amazon gift cards a month with just a few searches a day!

For those of you who haven't heard of Swagbucks, it is a free way to search online (it's powered by Google and Ask.com) and earn rewards for doing it. You can learn more about Swagbucks in this post. Have a great weekend!!!

FREE Beth Moore online Bible study every Monday!

Join Beth Moore every Monday for a free online Bible study! Click here to listen and download the study guide!

Mega Swagbucks Day

Today is Mega Swagbucks Day and that means you can earn Swagbucks in larger denominations (10,20, 50, 100). They guarantee over 10K Swagbucks will be awarded in Mega Bills! Make sure to head on over and do a few searches. Remember 45 Swagbucks will get you a $5 Amazon gift card. You can easily earn 1 or 2 Amazon gift cards a month with just a few searches a day!

For those of you who haven't heard of Swagbucks, it is a free way to search online (it's powered by Google and Ask.com) and earn rewards for doing it. You can learn more about Swagbucks in this post. Have a great weekend!!!

FREE Beth Moore online Bible study every Monday!

Join Beth Moore every Monday for a free online Bible study! Click here to listen and download the study guide!

Redefining Beautiful by Jenna Lucado

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review Redefining Beautiful by Jenna Lucado. It's not often enough that I read a book challenging teenagers to look at beauty differently, to redefine beautiful as "what God sees when God sees you. Although this book was written for teens, I think women of all ages struggle with "ugly days" and insecurities and would be encouraged by reading this. It is funny and insightful and although the subject matter is deep in places, it's an easy read.

Redefining Beautiful has great insights on the connection between a girls self image and her relationship with her dad. Jenna encourages girls to develop healthy relationships with their dads because so much of a girl's view of herself, others and God is shaped by this relationship. The good news is that even if your relationship with your dad isn't all it's cracked up to be, the ultimate relationship is the relationship with your Heavenly Father...God.

I asked my daughter to write down her thoughts on the book and this is what she shared.

For the past couple of weeks I have been reading a book called Redefining Beautiful, by Jenna Lucado with Max Lucado. My overall impression on this book is that it is extremely helpful, especially when times come when you don’t feel beautiful. I love books and I read a lot of them. Many of them have like a lesson learned at the end. But this book is like a guide through life. There are times when someone comments on our looks in a negative way and Redefining Beautiful has the answer.

From my point of view, as a 14 year old, I think there are two main points in this book. Number one: feeling beautiful just the way we are, because God created us in His image. Thinking about that just blows my mind. Number two: having a healthy relationship with our earthly father and our Heavenly Father. Dads are great. And I understand that many girls out there don’t have a father. I feel sad for those girls, but if that’s the case there is always, always our Heavenly Father. And I know that I can trust Him. I didn't grow up with a dad. I was adopted two months before I turned 12. Having a daddy has really changed the way I feel about myself. I have someone who tells me I'm pretty and makes me feel safe. Although I'm adopted, I even look like my daddy. People who don't know I'm adopted tell me all the time that I look like my dad. I am a lot more confident knowing that my dad is around. I don't have to worry about my weight or how I look, I know he loves me no matter what and I know that God is the same way!

I encourage moms out there to read the book and have their daughters read it too! I know it's sparked a lot of really good discussions in our house!


Thanks Jenna Lucado and Thomas Nelson! Keep up the good work!

A move and a makeover...my blog, not me!

As much as I'd like to move and get a makeover, right now, it's the blog that's moving and getting a makeover. Saving Money...Living Better is about to become Simplified Saving!

www.simplifiedsaving.com

When I begun blogging, I had a hard time picking out a name that I liked...and more importantly, one that wasn't already taken. Since I'd never been a blogger, I didn't think about things like trying to remember a ridiculously long URL...and http://savingmoneylivingbetter.blogspot.com is definitely ridiculously long! I've also come to realize that as a mom, sometimes saving time is as important or more important than saving money. Simplified Saving is going to be about saving time, saving money, and saving your sanity!

Also, to kick off the new site, we'll be doing some fun giveaways! Although the blog makeover won't be complete for a few more weeks, the move should be complete in just a few days. Hope to see you there!

If you haven't been over to check out the new site...you're missing out! Check out the posts you missed!

A Thankful Heart- My challenge to you and to myself to look at things through the lens of thankfulness

Menu Plan Monday - This is my normal weekly attempt at menu planning.

12 Days Of Christmas Giveaway- Week 1 This is the first in a 12 week series of giveaways! The contest closes at 11:59 pm tonight!

www.simplifiedsaving.com

REMINDER: Tomorrow is FREE Museum Day

Just wanted to remind you that tomorrow, Saturday, September 26th is Free Museum Day and you and a guest can receive free admission to hundreds of museums and cultural venues! Click here to get all the details and print your admission pass.

VS Panties 10 for $25

If you haven't registered for Victoria's Secret Pink Nation, you need to do it now! I was so excited to see an email last night from Pink Nation...these emails almost always have a great coupon! I received quite a few great freebies and deals in the past, but right now they are offering a coupon for panties...10 for $25. This is a great deal and a great opportunity to stock up for yourself or as a gift! Click here to login or to register to get your coupon!

Mega Swagbucks Day

Today is Mega Swagbucks Day and that means you can earn Swagbucks in larger denominations (10,20, 50, 100). They guarantee over 10K Swagbucks will be awarded in Mega Bills! Make sure to head on over and do a few searches. Remember 45 Swagbucks will get you a $5 Amazon gift card. You can easily earn 1 or 2 Amazon gift cards a month with just a few searches a day!

For those of you who haven't heard of Swagbucks, it is a free way to search online (it's powered by Google and Ask.com) and earn rewards for doing it. You can learn more about Swagbucks in this post. Have a great weekend!!!

Free SweetFire Chicken Breast Entree at Panda Express 9/25

Print this coupon and take it to any Panda Express location on Friday, September 25th for a SweetFire Chicken single serve entree...no strings attached! You may want to call before you head over to make sure your location is participating. One coupon per person. While supplies last.

Thanks for the heads up Kiki!

80% off Land of Nod

Definintely check out the Sale Merchandise...they have products that are up to 80% off! Lots of good deals for Christmas and birthday gifts! Don't forget to go through Mr. Rebates for 5% back.

I found quite a few things already! Happy shopping!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday- Teriyaki Chicken and Rice
Tuesday- Fajitas
Wednesday- Hot Dogs and Mac N Cheese
Thursday- Italian Chicken and Pasta Salad
Friday- Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Broccolli
Saturday -FFY

For more ideas or to see what everyone else has cooking this week, head on over to I'm An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday!

FREE Beth Moore online Bible study every Monday!

Join Beth Moore every Monday for a free online Bible study! Click here to listen and download the study guide!

Sunday Newspaper Coupon Preview

Wondering what's in this Sunday's paper? Wonder no more... Check out Sunday Coupon Preview!

SEARS Coupon is DEAD!!!

I went to Sears today to use the coupon I posted about earlier this week and I was told by a Sears Cashier that these coupons are not being accepted as they were not intended to be distributed to the public. :-( Even though this coupon came from their own website, they aren't honoring it! Sorry for steering you wrong!!!

I may be wrong, but you can probably still purchase online from the Juniors Apparel section by using code 17SEARSAPPAREL at checkout! To get more bang for your buck, go through Mr. Rebates and get a 2% Rebate (plus an extra $2.50 sign up bonus if you're a new member) or go through Shop at Home for 4% (and a $5 sign up bonus if you're a new member)!

Click below to go through Mr. Rebates

Click below to go through Shop At Home

Mega Swagbucks Day

Today is Mega Swagbucks Day and that means you can earn Swagbucks in larger denominations (10,20, 50, 100). They guarantee over 10K Swagbucks will be awarded in Mega Bills! Make sure to head on over and do a few searches. Remember 45 Swagbucks will get you a $5 Amazon gift card. You can easily earn 1 or 2 Amazon gift cards a month with just a few searches a day!

For those of you who haven't heard of Swagbucks, it is a free way to search online (it's powered by Google and Ask.com) and earn rewards for doing it. You can learn more about Swagbucks in this post. Have a great weekend!!!

Don't forget to pick up your FREE mall gift cards!

I hope lots of you were able to take advantage of the free mall gift card offer I posted about here. If you did, make sure you remember to go pick up your cards during the redemption date. I'd hate to see you waste free money! Also, you may want to use your gift card with the great Sears coupon I posted about here to pick up some free or super cheap Christmas gifts!

Free Health Benefits for Dummies book

Sign up here to receive a FREE copie of Navigating Your Health Benefits for Dummies. You can choose to receive a hard copy or download a copy.

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

$10 off $10 Juniors Apparel at Sears: September 15 - November 14

UPDATE: These coupons are not being accepted at Sears! Sorry!Looking for some FREE or very cheap stuff? Take this printable coupon and head to Sears where they will take $10 off your $10 Juniors Apparel purchase. There is NO minimum purchase!

If you don't want to brave the mall, you can also purchase online from the Juniors Apparel section by using code 17SEARSAPPAREL at checkout! To get more bang for your buck, go through Mr. Rebates and get a 2% Rebate (plus an extra $2.50 sign up bonus if you're a new member) or go through Shop at Home for 4% (and a $5 sign up bonus if you're a new member)!

Thanks Moms Need to Know!

Click below to go through Mr. Rebates

Click below to go through Shop At Home

$999 Emergency Fund Giveaway from Dave Ramsey!

Dave Ramsey is giving away $999 everyday between now and September 18th. You can get all the details and register here!

FREE Museum Admission - September 26, 2009

Saturday, September 26th is Free Museum Day and you and a guest can receive free admission to hundreds of museums and cultural venues! Click here to get all the details and print your admission pass.

10% off Gap Outlet printable coupon

Twitter Moms has teamed up with the Gap Outlet to provide you with a great 10% off coupon! Go here to print yours!

Thanks Bargain Briana!

Menu Plan Monday

It's another busy week at our house so we'll be keeping it simple yet again!

Monday - Fazolis
Tuesday- Taco Pie
Wednesday- Spaghetti with meat sauce and salad
Thursday- Italian Chicken and Mashed Potatoes
Friday - Pizza
Saturday- FFY (Fend For Yourself...there are always plenty of leftovers!)

If you're looking for some great ideas for meal planning, head on over to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Newspaper Insert Alert - 5 Inserts This Week

If you're wondering whether you should pick up the newspaper this weekend, the answer is YES! At least for me it is. This week there will be 3 Smart Source inserts and 2 Red Plum inserts! It's always great to pick up a few extra papers on weeks with extra inserts...especially if you're new to couponing and/or stockpiling. You may want to check the Dollar Store in your area to see if they carry the Sunday paper for $1.

Also, remember that you can always print Coupons.com coupons from the left sidebar of Saving Money...Living Better! Check out this post to see some of my favorite places to get coupons!

Mega Swagbucks Day

Today is Mega Swagbucks Day and that means you can earn Swagbucks in larger denominations (10,20, 50, 100). They guarantee over 10K Swagbucks will be awarded in Mega Bills! Make sure to head on over and do a few searches. Remember 45 Swagbucks will get you a $5 Amazon gift card. You can easily earn 1 or 2 Amazon gift cards a month with just a few searches a day!

For those of you who haven't heard of Swagbucks, it is a free way to search online (it's powered by Google and Ask.com) and earn rewards for doing it. You can learn more about Swagbucks in this post. Have a great weekend!!!

Where to find coupons

Here is a list of some of my favorite places to find coupons!

Printable Coupons

Coupons.com- You can also print coupons directly from my blog! Look in the sidebar on the left!
Red Plum
SmartSource
Meijer Mealbox
A Full Cup -Target Coupon Generator
Old Navy Weekly

E-Coupons

Shortcuts
Cellfire
Upromise

Great Places To Purchase Coupons

Coupons & Things by Dede
eBay

Restaurant.com Gift Certificates 90% off until September 12th

Restaurant.com is offering 90% off their gift certificates until September 12th (actually til 3:01 AM PST on September 13th, but who's counting?). That means you can get a $25 certificate for $1 or a $10 gift certificate for $.40. You can make this deal even sweeter by going through Mr. Rebates. They are offering 25% cash back which takes your gift certificate prices down to $.75 and $.30. To take advantage of this deal, enter discount code ninety at checkout and hit apply!

Happy Eating!

Tonight Is THE Night...

Don't forget that there will be a Saving Money...Living Better seminar at the Eckhart Public Library tonight in Auburn, IN from 6:30-7:30 pm. This is your chance to ask all those questions you've been wanting to ask about saving money! I'll be talking about saving money on groceries, everyday purchases, and travel as well as planning for Christmas and birthdays throughout the year! Can't wait to see you! If you haven't registered yet, feel free to leave a comment on the blog that you'll be attending!

Attention Target Shoppers - I Saved Over $175!

I've posted before about how much I love Target and after today, I love it even more! My Target store is great about accepting coupons, they even told me that I could use their kiosk to print Target coupons. Today I purchased $220.50 of groceries and Christmas gifts for only $37.73! I also received a $5 Target gift card for purchasing 5 Fiber One products and I will receive a $10 Kellogg's Fuel For School rebate for purchasing 10 Kellogg's products! If you take those 2 off my purchase total that means I've only spent $22.73! Some of the items I purchased today weren't absolutely necessary, but they were pretty darn cheap and my kids were absolutely thrilled!!! Here's the breakdown of what I purchased:

3 Leap Frog Tag Readers ($49.99 each- marked down to $12.48 each clearance-used $10/1 coupon)
2 boxes Nutrigrain bars ($2.39 each used $1/2 from 8/2 Kellogg's Insert and $.50/1 Target Kellogg's Snack coupon)
6 boxes Yogo Bits ($1.75 each used $1/2 from 8/2 Kellogg's Insert and $.50/1 Target Kellogg's Snack coupon)
2 boxes Fruity Cheerios ($2.64 each used $2/1 Fruity Cheerios* and $1/1 General Mills Cereal)
2 boxes Pop Tarts (used $1/2* and $.75/1 Pop Tarts)
4 boxes Fiber One Toaster Pastries (used $1/2 Fiber One Toaster Pastries*)
1 box Fiber One Bars 8 stretchy book covers (clearanced for $.48 each and $1.38 each)
2 3-packs of paper book covers (clearanced for $.68 each)
10 10-packs Bic pens (clearanced for $.70 each used $1/2 Bic Stationery)
1 Crayola Twistables Crayons (clearanced for $.48)
6 Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal Cups ($.95 each used $1/1 General Mills Cereal)
12 Market Pantry String Cheese ($.40 each used $1/2 Market Pantry Cheese)

*I buy lots of my coupons off of ebay, so I'm not sure what the dates are on some of these coupons!

There are lots of great deals out there! Hope you can take advantage of a few of them!

FREE 2010 Wildlife Calendar

My girls love calendars so I try to take advantage of the free calendars I find! Click here to get your FREE 2010 Wildlife Calendar!

Thanks Moms By Heart!

Menu Plan Monday

As usual, I'm anticipating a busy week around here which means we're going for lots of quick, easy meals!

Monday- Labor Day Cookout at Mom and Dad's
Tuesday- Spaghetti with meatsauce, Salad, and Garlic Bread
Wednesday- Taco Pie
Thursday- BBQ Chicken, Pasta Salad
Friday- Hot Dogs and Mac and Cheese
Saturday-FFY (Fend For Yourself...we always end up with plenty of leftovers!)

For more great meal planning ideas, head on over to I'm An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday!

FREE DVD Rental from Redbox: Valid September 7th only

It's the first Monday of the month and that means another free DVD rental from Redbox. Simply check out with coupon code T46T3Q7. This code expires 9/7/2009 at midnight.

Happy Labor Day

I hope you are enjoying time off with your family and friends. I thought I'd give you a little background on Labor Day According to the US Department of Labor, Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Most of you who read this blog are working hard to save money so that you can contribute to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of your family! And I appreciate that A LOT! (I also appreciate you taking the time to read my blog, so with that in mind, here are a couple things to take a little bit of the "labor" out of your day!

Saving Money...Living Better Time Saving Tools
Did you know you can sign up to have "Saving Money...Living Better" delivered to your e-mail. Look on the right side of the blog for a little box that says "Subscribe via email" and enter your email address. You will have to verify that it belongs to you and then you will begin getting the blog posts sent to your email. No more wondering if you missed a deal!

In addition, rather than typing http://savingmoneylivingbetter.blogspot.com into your web browser, you can simply type www.simplifiedsaving.com. Saves a lot of time and energy...ok, so it really only saves a couple of seconds, but those seconds add up quickly!

Swagbucks Tools
The Swidget is a Swagbucks widget that allows you to search, check for new swag codes, read the Swagbucks blogs, and you can even sign up Swagbucks if you haven't done that already (and if you haven't what are you waiting for??? Don't you like free stuff???) The Swidget is located at the bottom of the home page of my blog, simply scroll all the way down and check it out!

Also, if you haven't done it already, add the Swagbucks toolbar. It's great and they're giving away free swagcodes on the toolbar everyday during the month of September! Read my post on all the cool features the Swagbar offers!

I hope these will save you a little time! Enjoy the day with your family and friends and enjoy the fruits of your labor!