It's getting to be that time of year again... time to bust your butt to find the perfect gift. Whether it's just for that special someone, the kiddo's or you go all out and try to get something for everyone (even on the tightest budget I try to get a little something for everyone).
Now, I'm not a girl like all the others.. I HATE TO SHOP! I don't like lines or messy stores, I hate getting all the way there only to find they don't have the thing I went there for, I can't stand dealing with cranky customers or nasty store employees, I get enough of that during my 9-5, thank you very much.
I did 100% of my shopping online last year. I came home every night to another box or 2 full of goodies that I ordered online. I got something for everyone and quite a few things for the kid and stayed well within the budget that I had set for myself. How did I do this you might ask, well I'm a sleuth. I shop around online for the best deal and then I look for a coupon or a code to use for either dollars or a percent off and if I can get free shipping on top of that it makes the deal even sweeter!
I look around online and I post all the great deals and bargains I find at Smoking Hot Deals. There you can find some of the best coupon codes, bargains, freebies and there's much more to the site than shopping. You can sign up and chat with us in the off topic forum, find recipes, enter online contests & sweepstakes, print out in store coupons and find rebates on products you use every day. I've been doing this for years.. It's a great community of people and I can't even begin to tell you of some of the amazing deals that I've gotten that I would have never even found without Smoking Hot Deals, from Free blankets to practically free orders.. It's amazing the things you can get with just a little help.. And in this economy, you need all the help you can get, and all the better when you can get great gifts for everyone on your list and still keep money in your pocket.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
3 minute Cocoa
I Love, I mean, absolutely LOVE hot chocolate.
But don't bring me a packet of some store bought stuff..
Just hand me the canister of sugar and the Hershey's cocoa powder.. oh yea.. and the milk.. NEVER water.. never, never EVER.
The weather's getting colder here in NY.. I'm not happy about it since we barely had a summer this year, but the one good thing is sitting and enjoying a cup of hot cocoa at night before bed.
This is the recipe I use:
Hot cocoa for one
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cocoa
1 dash salt
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1 Add sugar, cocoa and salt into a large cup.
2 Heat milk in microwave on high for 1 minute or until hot.
3 Pour milk into cocoa mixture; stir.
4 Stir in vanilla.
I like to add a little dash of cinnamon into it for a little kick too.. just be careful not to leave your cup alone for long.. I sat mine down.. and half of it was mysteriously gone
But don't bring me a packet of some store bought stuff..
Just hand me the canister of sugar and the Hershey's cocoa powder.. oh yea.. and the milk.. NEVER water.. never, never EVER.
The weather's getting colder here in NY.. I'm not happy about it since we barely had a summer this year, but the one good thing is sitting and enjoying a cup of hot cocoa at night before bed.
This is the recipe I use:
Hot cocoa for one
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cocoa
1 dash salt
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1 Add sugar, cocoa and salt into a large cup.
2 Heat milk in microwave on high for 1 minute or until hot.
3 Pour milk into cocoa mixture; stir.
4 Stir in vanilla.
I like to add a little dash of cinnamon into it for a little kick too.. just be careful not to leave your cup alone for long.. I sat mine down.. and half of it was mysteriously gone
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
What to do with Tofu?
On a whim one night as I was running through the supermarket to grab something to make for dinner (ya know, it was just one of those days) I stopped to get some won ton wrappers and picked up a package of extra firm Tofu.. hoping to incorporate it with dinner the next night.. that was um... a week and a half ago and I still don't know what to do with this stuff... so.. I'm shouting out to y'all to PLEASE help me out with this.. what do I make with this stuff? How do I use it? Helllllllllllp!
LOL!!
Thanks!
LOL!!
Thanks!
Friday, September 11, 2009
SPECIAL OFFER: Save 15% Off The HBA Conference and Receive a FREE Exhibits Pass!
I got this in an email.. and I'm pretty sure that even though I can't go that someone else can take advantage of this offer.. so I'm sharing.
This special offer is exclusive to CosmeticIndex.com subscribers, when you REGISTER with Priority Code: EHCA9 to attend HBA Global Expo, the annual beauty event to source, network and educate on all things involving personal care, fragrance, wellness and cosmetics.
BIG Saving and BIG Benefits:
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Use PRIORITY CODE: EHCA9 when REGISTERING to attend the HBA Global Expo and to SAVE 15% OFF your HBA Conference Pass as well as a FREE Exhibits Hall Pass. For the latest show information visit us at www.hbaexpo.com (Note: This offer is valid until Monday, September 14th and for conference upgrades ONLY.)
Registration Questions? Please contact John Morabito at (203) 846-0083 or email.
September 11, 2001, My Story
September 11, 2001 is a day in my life that I can recall almost every detail, it has been permanently etched into my memory because I have replayed it over and over so many times.
The morning started normally, I got myself ready for work and got the kid on the bus to Kindergarten which had started just a few days earlier and I got on the subway from where I lived in Queens, NY to my job in Midtown Manhattan.
I was already at work in the kitchen of a place called The Emerald Planet that was located in the mezzanine level at Rockefeller Center when a friend of mine called and told me that I had to get home ASAP, a plane hit the towers and NYC was under attack. I had to wait for my manager to get back from the errand he just ran and then I told him I was leaving, he had already heard people talking and he was ready to close the place anyway so I ran to get on the subway back home and on the train there were people coming from the WTC site, crying & covered with soot, praying & talking with each other. In the area where my bus stop was to get home was in what they call 'little India' & I saw a man dressed in military fatigues & I just prayed. I got off the bus and when I looked to my left I could see that the Empire State Building was still there, so I thanked God, and ran down the block to my house.
I got home & saw the video of the second tower being hit & watched the towers fall in absolute horror because I was there the Saturday before for a job interview at a restaurant called the Coco Marina that was located at the back of the WTC by the river. I got myself together and then went and picked up the kid from school where parents were already picking up their children, the kid was sitting in the lunchroom with his head down in his arms crying, not because of what had happened, he didn’t even know yet, but the noise in the lunchroom made him upset. I’ll never forget that, he was so sad just sitting there, and when he saw me he was so shocked to see me and then he was so happy that he practically jumped into my arms. I was just happy to get him and go back home where it was safe.
I lived very close to LaGuardia airport & I'll never forget the silence when they shut the airports down & then the deafening roar of the fighter jets taking off & patrolling the area.. it was just.... I don't even know words for what that felt like.. But it's something that I hope we never have to go through ever again. I remember the first time I rode the subway after 9/11 and the panic I felt.. I think it was the first time I ever rode the subway alone without having music plugged in my ears. Going to work was weird. and very stressful for the first weeks back. Manhattan was seemingly covered in a black cloud.. And that smell.. Oh God, that smell was so horrible and it just hung in the air for weeks and weeks.
September 11, 2001 is a day that I'll never forget because I knew people who worked at windows of the world & lost their lives that morning, I went to college 1 subway stop away & remember looking at the towers from the 16th floor of the building where my school was.. it's just so painful to go there now & to see pictures that it's just gone.. the Christmas after 9/11 I was there and I took many pictures.. but they're tucked away in a box in my closet. The memories will always remain for so many people, those who were in NYC at the time and those miles away.. It doesn’t matter where you lived at the time or what you were doing because it’s almost guaranteed that you remember it exactly.
©AMVG, September 11, 2009
The morning started normally, I got myself ready for work and got the kid on the bus to Kindergarten which had started just a few days earlier and I got on the subway from where I lived in Queens, NY to my job in Midtown Manhattan.
I was already at work in the kitchen of a place called The Emerald Planet that was located in the mezzanine level at Rockefeller Center when a friend of mine called and told me that I had to get home ASAP, a plane hit the towers and NYC was under attack. I had to wait for my manager to get back from the errand he just ran and then I told him I was leaving, he had already heard people talking and he was ready to close the place anyway so I ran to get on the subway back home and on the train there were people coming from the WTC site, crying & covered with soot, praying & talking with each other. In the area where my bus stop was to get home was in what they call 'little India' & I saw a man dressed in military fatigues & I just prayed. I got off the bus and when I looked to my left I could see that the Empire State Building was still there, so I thanked God, and ran down the block to my house.
I got home & saw the video of the second tower being hit & watched the towers fall in absolute horror because I was there the Saturday before for a job interview at a restaurant called the Coco Marina that was located at the back of the WTC by the river. I got myself together and then went and picked up the kid from school where parents were already picking up their children, the kid was sitting in the lunchroom with his head down in his arms crying, not because of what had happened, he didn’t even know yet, but the noise in the lunchroom made him upset. I’ll never forget that, he was so sad just sitting there, and when he saw me he was so shocked to see me and then he was so happy that he practically jumped into my arms. I was just happy to get him and go back home where it was safe.
I lived very close to LaGuardia airport & I'll never forget the silence when they shut the airports down & then the deafening roar of the fighter jets taking off & patrolling the area.. it was just.... I don't even know words for what that felt like.. But it's something that I hope we never have to go through ever again. I remember the first time I rode the subway after 9/11 and the panic I felt.. I think it was the first time I ever rode the subway alone without having music plugged in my ears. Going to work was weird. and very stressful for the first weeks back. Manhattan was seemingly covered in a black cloud.. And that smell.. Oh God, that smell was so horrible and it just hung in the air for weeks and weeks.
September 11, 2001 is a day that I'll never forget because I knew people who worked at windows of the world & lost their lives that morning, I went to college 1 subway stop away & remember looking at the towers from the 16th floor of the building where my school was.. it's just so painful to go there now & to see pictures that it's just gone.. the Christmas after 9/11 I was there and I took many pictures.. but they're tucked away in a box in my closet. The memories will always remain for so many people, those who were in NYC at the time and those miles away.. It doesn’t matter where you lived at the time or what you were doing because it’s almost guaranteed that you remember it exactly.
©AMVG, September 11, 2009
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