Idol Chat: Top 6

Sorry I've been sparse with the idol updates. I don't have a ton to say about the show this week - I love country music, but most ppl opted out of the country vibe. This week tends to make it or break it for so many of the contestants, so that's probably why.

1. Lee - You're Still the One - best song choice of the night, IMO. He's a true star.
2. Casey - Don't - I was glad to see a departure from his normal style. I thought this was his best performance
3. Crystal - No One Needs to Know - this is my favorite Shania song ever and I was really disappointed. She took so much of the spunk out of this song. It was too slow
4. Mike - It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing - I'm not a fan of Mike's "sappy love song" rut, but Shania was in tears, so I guess it was good
5. Aaron - It's In the Way You Love Me - I thought he sounded good but looked sick or on the verge of tears.
6. Siobhan - Any Man of Mine - Am I the only one who thinks that the judges all must've been ON something. I thought she murdered that song - what a horrible song choice! Of all the contestants to NOT do a country vibe, I would have picked her, yet they gave her accolades! I just didn't get it AT ALL

I think it's a toss-up between Siobhan and Aaron, but my bets are on Aaron to go

We have a winner!

Using Random.org to generate a number, the winner of my giveaway has been selected! Entry #17 was Missy! I'll be contacting you via email! Congratulations!

Result: 17 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Scrubbing Bubbles

I'm a member of a really awesome consumer group called BzzAgent.com (see the link in my right side-bar if you'd like to join)! They send you a product, ask you to test it out & then rely on your word-of-mouth opinions to make a "buzz" about the product.

The most recent product they sent me came about 2 weeks ago. I'll say that I've been a bad girl & hadn't done anything with it until today, but things have been quite busy around here, so I hope they'll forgive me!

I took it out of the box and was really impressed with how easy it was to set up! There aren't a ton of complicated parts (the unit, the refill & the hanger) & there's really no assembly to do (the 3 parts just need to be snapped together! You just hook it up to the shower-head and you're good to go! I will say that I was a bit disappointed that the starter kit didn't come complete with the 4 AA batteries that are required to run the unit, but I understand that this is the same kit that consumers buy in the store, therefore they would also not receive batteries....and that beggars can't be choosy!

I plan to update in another week with another review of how well the unit cleans my shower. I am especially interested in this, with my hard water issues! In the mean time, if you would like to try one out for yourself, I have coupons for $3 off & I would be glad to send them to my readers! Just leave a comment with your email address & I'll be in touch! This coupon would be a great deal, especially when stacked with a retailer coupon (Target, Rite-Aid, etc)!

Another Great Day at Rite Aid

This week is a fabulous week for Rite-Aid savings!! Sorry it's a bad pic but here's what I got at Rite-Aid this week, followed by the breakdown!

Purex 3-in-1 laundry sheets (2 pkg): reg $8.99 ea, on sale for BOGO, (2) $2/1 coupons from the Sunday paper plus a $2/1 Rite-Aid video values coupon: $1.50 each
GE Reveal Light bulbs (two 4-packs): reg $5.29 ea, on sale for $3 ea, $4 SCR on 2, (2) $1/1 coupons from the Sunday paper: FREE
TGIF Potato Skins: reg $2.19, on sale for $.99, $1.50 printable coupon: FREE (plus $.51 overage)
Kotex Ultra Thin Liners: reg $4.49, on sale for $3.49, SCR for $3.49, $1 coupon: FREE (plus $1 overage)
Old Spice Body Wash (2 bottles): reg $4.79 ea, on sale for $3.50, $1 SCR/2, BOGO coupon from Sunday paper: $1.25 ea
Rite-Aid brand antacid: reg $3.99, on sale for $3.59

I also used a $5/$25 purchase that came with my new Rite-Aid Wellness Rewards card

In total (after single-check rebates are returned), I bought $48.81 worth of merchandise for $3.11!!!!!

Don't forget to check out my giveaway here!

A Giveaway: Swarovski Pearl Bling ring

I'm so excited to be hosting my first-ever giveaway on my blog!

A few weeks ago, I won a ring from ChunkyBling.com. You may remember the post where I blogged about them; they're an online designer/seller of awesome chunky jewelry designs. When I got the ring in the mail, I couldn't have been happier! You see, originally, I was supposed to get a Swarovski crystal ring, but the designer emailed me and said that they were out of the particular bead needed to make the type of ring that I had won... She asked if I would like to choose a ring from their Swarovski pearl ring line instead. I was super excited since I immediately fell in love with this ring & thought it would be the perfect accessory for a dress that I'm wearing to a friend's wedding in May.

Now I have a second ring, exactly like my own, to give away to one of my lucky readers! There are several ways to enter & you may submit as many entries as you like, but the first is required! Please submit a separate comment for each entry method used.

Ways to enter:
1) Go to the Chunky Bling website & enter their Name that Bling weekly contest. After doing so, come back here & submit the jewelry name that you entered in the contest. (REQUIRED)
2) Become a fan of Chunky Bling on Facebook
3) Blog about this giveaway & then comment here with a link to your blog entry
4) Tell me how you found out about this giveaway (Do you know me? Did you find me through a giveaway site?)
5) Share a personal connection you have (self, friend, family member) with infertility
6) Become a follower of my blog (or let me know if you already are one!)

Chunky Bling has also set up a coupon code exclusively for readers of my blog! Enter TERI805 at checkout to receive 15% off your order through May 2nd.

One winner will be chosen via Random.org at noon on April 25th (EST). Good Luck!

Rite Aid Deals & updates

Things have been crazy around here. Preschool is very busy & becoming slowly more stressful as the end of the year/graduation approaches. We just found out yesterday that we're getting these my-boss-has-gone-off-the-deep-end evaluations at some point before the end of the year. Seriously. These evals are like 5 pages long & rate you on about 50 things on a scale of 1-5 where she says "3 is good, expect lots of 3s" - um no - a 3 is NOT good - a 3 would be like her child bringing home a C and I know that is not acceptable. Especially when the next category up says that a 4 is "above average" - so that shows you right there that 3 is just average. I'm not worried about it though. I certainly don't care what she thinks when I've gotten glowing recommendations from principals and fellow teachers over the years. It just makes me mad that she thinks she can come in and pick apart our teaching techniques when A) no one is required to be a certified teacher at our preschool & therefore they don't have the benefit of years of college preparation in planning and implementation and B) she herself was about as lazy as they came when she was a teacher at our facility. UGH!

I released my evaluation stress with a bit of retail therapy after work today. I went to Rite-Aid to take advantage of a few sales/coupons & also to spend my $20 gift certificate that was to expire at the end of the month.

Brita Filter: $21.99 - $2 Video Values coupon = $19.99
Ziploc Slider Bags: originally $2.99 each, on sale for $1.99 each, coupon for BOGO: $1 each
Puffs Plus: originally $1.99, on sale for $.99, coupon for $1 = $.01 money maker
Complete Contact Solution: originally $9.99, on sale for $7.99, single-check rebate $7.99: FREE
Schick Hydro Razor: originally $9.99, on sale for $8.99, coupon for $2 off, single-check rebate $6: $.99

I used a $5/$20 Video Values coupon plus my $20 gift certificate & ended up spending $12.67 out of pocket on $49.95 worth of merchandise. I will be getting $13.99 back in single-check rebates, making this trip a $1.32 money maker!

I plan to go back tomorrow to take advantage of the $6 off zyrtec coupon I found online plus the $2 off zyrtec coupon I printed off the Rite Aid Video Values site.

Giveaway coming soon!

Keep your eyes peeled for a giveaway next week & an update, too - I'm so sorry, but I haven't really had anything blog-worthy just yet...

Idol Chat: Top 9

Much to my surprise, I wasn't too enthralled by yesterday's show. I am a HUGE Beatles fan, so I was excited for it, but only a couple of performances really "did it" for me this week! I did love seeing the little extras to learn more about their personalities. It makes me kind of like them all and not want to choose someone to go home....

1. Lee - Hey Jude - G keeps saying he sounds just like the guy from the Counting Crows. I love the gravelly-ness of his voice. I thought the song was awesome, but agreed that the bagpipe was a bit out of place.
2. Casey - Jealous Guy - I wasn't familiar with his song so it was a little harder for me to get into but I thought he was really great again last night. I like how he held back a bit to highlight the vocals.
3. Crystal - Come Together - good solid performance for her. Very much in her vibe, but nothing super outstanding about the song in general.
4. Mike - Eleanor Rigby - I agreed with the judges that there were certain parts that just didn't do it for me, but the break down at the end was awesome - it almost put me in mind a bit of Gangster's Paradise (which is kinda weird, I guess).
5. Katie - Let it Be - this is such a pure-vocal song that her rendition left me feeling a little flat at the end. I was expecting a little more power behind her voice, etc, but the judges loved it, so what do I know?
6. Siobhan - Across the Universe - I thought it was nice that she held back and didn't scream this week, but I was definitely sleepy by the end.
7. Tim - All My Lovin - Definitely Tim's best performance, IMO. I like that he was playing the guitar...he may have bought himself one more week???
8. Andrew - Can't Buy Me Love - I liked the vibe of the song (especially the funk near the middle) & that it was still enough like the original, yet showed some of his personality. However, I thought that the trumpets along with the acoustic guitar made it sound kind of disjointed.
9. Aaron - Long & Winding Road - very true to his style, but when will he break out? I think he's treading into dangerous territory by setting himself up as the "ballad guy".

Bottom 3 Tonight: Katie, Andrew & Tim/Aaron (though I am going to say Tim for the record, just because he's been to the bottom 3 before and Aaron hasn't)
Going home: Andrew