Real Weird Blog
A fun blog about real life and the real weird things we encounter.

Hi visitors! I am so happy to have you here. Please have a look around and let me know what you like or don't like :/ Leave a comment or send me an email! I love to hear from my readers.

Awesome Sams Club Deal



UPDATE: You  still have time to buy this! Offer ends on March 7!!
I have been considering getting a Sams Club membership for some time. I wasn't sure if I should choose Sams Club, BJ's or Costco; they are all about the same distance away. Well when I saw this AMAZING deal on Living Social I knew now was the time to try Sams Club out. Anyway, right now over at Living Social you can get a 1 year Sams Club membership, $20 gift card, and several coupons for FREE items for only $45!!! That is the price of a membership but you get so much more.

Be sure to sign up and shop through EBates for 2% cash back or ShopAtHome for 4% cash back.

Have you tried any of these companies? Which is your favorite?



Oh Hey!



Oh hey, Blog land! Long time no see. :( I have been super busy adjusting to my new internship and schedule and getting ready for our 6 month realignment. Which means ANOTHER new schedule. Oh man. I know, excuses, excuses. I hope to be back to our normal awesome blogging good time buy the end of March. Oh how I hope that happens much sooner. Anyway thanks for sticking around through the lack of awesome. Wait you are sticking around aren't you? Was there anyone even here to begin with?

Any who, leave me a comment letting me know a topic you would like me to touch base on or maybe a topic you NEVER want me to talk about or just say HAY!

PS: As you can see, what I have really been doing is dying my hair. JK


Biotrue Giveaway



I normally don't share these instant win games because there are so many and most times I never win. This is the second time I have won something from Biotrue. Anyway follow the link and vote and then spin the wheel to see if you win! Good luck, Have fun and be sure to come back and let us know if you win!


Mailbox Monday 2/17/2013



Wahoo! This was an awesome freebie week. Well I guess any week where I get something FREE is awesome! Right? My apologies for the crappy pictures not sure what is going on with that. Anyway here is what I got this week. My Moo.com business cards and I must tell you these are VERY nice. I have previously received cards from Vista Print and these are way better. The ones at Vista Print seem like they are printed on a thinner card stock. These from Moo.com are thick and look very nice.

I also got ANOTHER BzzKit from BzzAgent! This one is for the new NESCAFE Memento coffee. I LOVE coffee and this seems delicious. Can't wait to try and trust me I am sure I will be back to tell you all about it!

Zoey received her FREE circus ticket from Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey. I was supper excited about this because she LOVES the circus. We are actually going on Thursday! I have already purchased our tickets so this arrived a little too late. BUT the great thing about the FREE circus ticket is that it can be used at any time! There is no expiration date. You just have to make sure you request before your child turns 12 months. It is a part of their Baby's First Circus Program. How cool is that?

A local gas station sent me some coupons for FREE items. They included a FREE carwash, fountain drink, coffee, and hot dog!


Toddler's Drinking Habits



I wasn't sure if I should post this. I wasn't sure if anyone else had a similar issue, nor was I sure that my silly resolution would work for anyone else.

Here was the issue. Anytime I would drink anything (not alcohol) my daughter would want to drink some as well. I don't really allow her to have all of the bad things I drink (coffee, soda, sweet tea...) unless there is nothing else around. Problem was once she started drinking something, she wouldn't stop. I would have to pull the straw out of her mouth, which got messy sometimes.

Since this kid is obsessed with numbers (how awesome!) I thought I would incorporate that. Now, when she is in need of that quick sip in between a meal, I will let her have a drink and I will count out loud until i reach 3 or 4 or 5 depending on what number we agreed upon. She knows once we get to that number it is time for her to stop. This has made things so much better. No more mess or fussing because she cannot have anymore of a certain drink.

Do you have anything similar that works for you?

Mailbox Monday! 2/11/2013



Time for another Mailbox Monday! I apologize I have not been keeping great track this week. This was however and a pretty good freebie week. As you can see from above I got a sample pack from Emergen-C which included a coupon too! My daughters birthday is March 18 so Toys R Us sent us a $5 off a $25 purchase. Kroger sent me a nice group of coupons. Which included 2 FREE items coupons and several other awesome coupons for things I use. I also got another BzzAgent kit for Kroger Carbmaster products. I can take a picture though because I lost that shit. :( I think it might be in the car. I HOPE!!

In addition to those freebies I also received 2 checks this week. I received a $28.88 check from Ebates and a $35.85 check from ShopAtHome. If you are not familiar with these sites, you should be! They are awesome. I get check likes these every few months for things I would already be purchasing. Basically before I purchase anything online I check these sites to see who is offering more cash back for a certain store. I also check Upromise.com since they now have a standard payout option instead of just paying toward a student loan or 529. Upromise is great because they always offer 5% for any participating retailer.

I would love to see what I may have missed out on this week. Link up in the Mailbox Monday Linky below or leave a comment with what you got this week!!



Weird Wednesday: Eye Bombing!



Have you ever heard of yarn bombing? How about eye bombing? Well, this shit is hilarious  Basically all you do is stick a pair of googly eyes to something. It's creepy, it's awesome! I think I am going to start some eye bombing of my own.


Imagine walking around a store and seeing this.




Another Thomas Deal!



If you don't know, my daughter LOVES Thomas the Train. I am always on the look out for Thomas the Train deals. I recently came across this deal on Kohls.com. You can get this cute little Thomas the Tank Engine Christmas Delivery set for only $17.99!

You can also use ShopatHome for 4% cash back, Ebates for 6% cash back or Upromise for 5% cash back


Mailbox Monday! 2/03/2013



This week I got a cute little "i know" bracelet and a 10% off Lowes coupon!

This week I also got my newest BzzAgent kit! This kit included one of the NEW Schick Hydro Silk razors with 1 refill and 8 $5 off coupons to pass out! At least 1 will be included in my giveaway. I really wanted to include a before and after photo for this one. It would have been just too embarrassing.  Not to worry thought the 2 giant hairy caterpillars hiding in my pants legs are gone! Whew! (TMI?) I will say this razor is awesome. I HATE shaving because I ALWAYS get razor burn which is horrible. With this razor I did get razor burn but it only lasted for one day which is certainly a step above the norm. I only cut myself once which is also a step above the norm! I chalk that up to the razor too because I shave like a mad man. I mean I have to. That is the only way to get rid of the giant caterpillars. lol



10 FREE Business Cards



Wahoo! Right now over at Moo.com you can score 10 FREE business cards and FREE shipping!  :) You don't even have to provide your CC info. I just order 10 for the site. You can use business cards for so much more than just a business card. You can use them for gift tags, valentines coupons, etc.  If you have any other ideas share them in the comments.


 I loved a lot of the cute designs on the site. The only thing i did not like about the site was that text customization options were very slim. If you can design your own card you can upload and print it for FREE! I didn't really feel like doing that so I went with a simple text design.

Thanks Hip2Save for the heads up.


We Have a Winner!!!


Thanks to everyone who entered my very first giveaway! It was a huge success and I cannot to wait to have some more. You can check out my current giveaways and enter them too!

Anyway onto the good stuff, Elise won! I have emailed the winner and they have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be choosen. 



Sun Sunday: Day of Remembrance


So, I totally forgot to do a Sun Sunday post last week. :( This week I decided to post about the men and women who have lost their lives while having one of the coolest jobs ever. This last week has included several anniversaries related to these horrible tragedies. 


Apollo 1 crew: Guss Grisom, Edward White II, and Roger Chaffee Visit NASA's site to view their story.


Challenger Crew: Dick Scobee, Micheal Smith, Judith Resnik, Ellison Onizuka, Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa Corrigan Visit NASA's site to read their story.


Columbia Crew: Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Ilan Ramon, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, and Laurel Blair Sauton Clark You can read their story on NASA's site.


I got this tattoo in 2009. Late in 2009 is when it was decided that maned space exploration was no longer needed. NASA was behind schedule for a planned 2020 return to the moon and it was becoming too costly.  The one below is of a random planet with rings like Saturn. Once my sleeve is finished the background will look like space. I can't wait to get it done.



Banana Nut Muffins Recipe



UPDATE: I brought these into work today and everyone loved them!! 
One thing I have learned this past week is that if I want to accomplish something I should NOT make it into a new year resolution. Every year for the last several, my resolution has always been to cook at home more.  We eat out every day that I do not work. At the moment that breaks down to about 3 days a week. This year I choose not to make it a resolution because I knew my work schedule (getting off at midnight) didn't really allow for cooking within normal hours. Well for some reason I have really been in a cooking mood these last few days. *crosses fingers* I hope it last! Anyway, onto the good stuff. Here are some Banana Nut muffins I made and some Chocolate Chip Banana Nut bread. YUM!


INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cup of All Purpose Flour
3 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 1/2 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Butter (softened)
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
4 Bananas (better if they are on the riper side)
1 cup Walnuts
1 cup Chocolate Chips

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375* and grease your baking pan.
2. I mixed the first 7 ingredients in that order and then added the bananas 1 at a time.
3. Keep mixing... I mixed for a little while, the original recipe says for 3 min.
4. Fold in the walnuts and the Chocolate Chips if needed.
5. Spoon into your cooking pan of choice. Cook for about 18 minutes.
6. Gobble it up or save some for breakfast!

I forgot to add some walnuts to the top of mine. :( I made 12 muffins and an 8x8 loaf of bread. (you know, standard bread size...lol)

Here is the original Banana Nut Bread recipe.




Weird Wednesday



This is a tattoo from my left arm. I found this site The Creatures in my Head several years ago and new instantly that I wanted one of these characters as a tattoo. If you are not familiar with this site you should really check it out. Basically every day for several years now this guy draws a different character and puts the picture online. I just think it is super cool and cute and of course the characters are weird so they fit right in.



Thomas the Train and Woot.com Sale

If you have a Thomas the Train fan in your house you will want to check out the sale going on over at Woot.com. Right now they have these 2 piece train sets for only $9.99 + $5 shipping. If you order at least 2 it is definitely worth the price and for most of them just buying one is better than any online price I could find. We all know how expensive Thomas the Trains stuff is. Lucky for me, I picked up a few items from the Target toy clearance that should get me through until Christmas.

Have you found any other good Thomas the Train deals recently?


Homemade Granola


So, my work schedule is changing and I will not be working 1 to midnight anymore. Instead I will be getting off of work at 6! I am going to use this change to improve my cooking skills actually cook something and maybe break this horrible eating out habit. Today I went to the grocery store and picked up all sorts of ingredients. I will be making chicken parmesan, tortilla soup, dorito pie, chocolate chip cookies, banana nut muffins and this homemade granola.

INGREDIENTS
1 Tbs Olive Oil
2 cups rolled/old fashioned oats
1/4 cup of butter
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1 pinch of salt (optional)
1 handful or so of almonds, walnuts, raisins, dried fruit, etc.

DIRECTIONS
1. Put the olive oil and the oats into the pan and cook until some of them look brownish


2. Pour the oats into something else and then cook the butter, honey, and brown sugar in the pan until bubbly.


3. Add the oats and mix it all up. Cook for a bit longer. Don't wait until you smell them burning like I did. Take them out after they are all coated and well heated. I sprinkled the salt on some where around here. I think. :)


4. Add in the nuts and dried fruit or whatever else you want.


Ahh the finished product! These are super yummy even being a little burnt. I can't wait to make them again! I plan to use this granola for a yogurt topping or just as a snack.

I found the homemade granola recipe here but as you can see I did make a few of my own changes.


Cute Cheap Business Decorations!



I saw this cute little thrift store when I was getting gas the other day and I just had to share it. How cute is that building? I just love the green and pink. Can you tell what those green circles and pink flowers are made of? Well, the green circles are those little plastic plates you stick under the not so sturdy paper plates to give them more support. The pink flowers are serving trays! I didn't have the time to stop in because we were headed to see our brand new nephew but I hope to check it out soon.

If you are in the area and want to check out Crystal's Closet in Richmond, Va. you can go to the facebook page here.


Mailbox Monday! 1/28



In my mailbox this week I got an 8 load sample of method laundry detergent. I am interested to see how well this stuff works. That little bottle is only half full. It came with a $2 off coupon! I also got another Starbucks gift card this one was from the Disney Reward program. That program is actually pretty cool. I have not bought a single Disney DVD but they give out free codes so frequently I have been able to get several FREE gift cards.



My Bargains at CVS!



Did I mention I went shopping this morning? Here is what I bought at CVS on 1/27/2013! Right now when you spend $20 on select products you get $5 back in ECB. I did that deal for the coffee. Here is how it broke down.

I bought:
1 Tide $5.94
2 Starbucks DoubleShot Espressos 2 for $10
2 Starbucks Frappuccinos 2 for $10
1 TRESemme Shampoo $.99
1 TRESemme Conditioner $.99
1 Dove Trial Size Deodorant $1.27

Starting cost was $29.19.
I used:
$1.50/1 Tide Detergent, exp. 1/31/13 (P&G 12/30/12)
$2/2 TRESemme Shampoo or Conditioner from the CVS Coupon Machine
$1.50 Any Deodorant purchase from the CVS coupon Machine
I will also get $3 back into my Endorse account.
I got $6 ECB's. $5 for the coffee and $1 for the Tide.

Total cost: $15.19

Another to thing to note about the image are the StayFree items. I did buy those today with a rain check! My store ran out 2 weeks ago when they had the sale. I was able to use the rain check for the BOGO sale, the BOGO coupons and I had received a $2/2 StayFree or Carefree products. This allowed me to get 2 small packs and 2 big packs for $.50 since the coupon had a limit of $4.49. These and the ones made by Always that are Ultra Thin are my absolute fave so I was super happy about this deal. Always make sure to ask for a rain check so you don't miss out. Just be cautious about when your coupons expire.

Did you score any sweet bargains this week? I would love to hear about them!