Organic Valley Coupons

I have been trying to incorporate more and more organic foods in my daily life over the past year. The biggest reason for this would be the birth of my daughter. When I started looking at different foods for her and doing more and more research, I came to the conclusion that organic foods would be the only choice for her and that I needed to start moving in that direction as well. So after 6 and half months, litle Katelyn (my daughter) has only eaten organic food and I would say that 60 percent of the food I eat is organic. The one problem with eating organic is that it's expensive! So, being a bargain shopper, I am always looking for deals and coupons. Once place I found that you can get organic coupons is at the Organic Valley website. Organic Valley has a whole line of products to choose from. Here is a link to the site. You can print off coupons directly from their site and you can also sign up for their program called "Farm Friends", and receive lots of coupons in the mail. So hopefully this helps out some of my fellow organic eaters out there. Remember, "You are what you eat".

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I Didn't Know I was Pregnant?

So there is a show on TLC network called "I didn't know I was pregnant" and I happened to catch a portion of it the other night. My initial thought was how do you not know you are pregnant? Are these women crazy or just ignorant? After watching a few stories it became clear that the women in the show are a little bit of both. I mean they are getting morning sickness and just think it's the flu..... getting a little chubby around the tummy and they think they are just eating too much. I think the highlight of the show was when one lady thought she was having stomach cramps and went to sit down on the toilet and instead of poop coming out, a little baby fell down into the toilet. Now, that would have to be a shocker! :)

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Faster Fridge Water

I personally don't own a fridge with an ice and water dispenser on the outside of the door, but I have used quite a few in my lifetime and the flow rate of the water coming out of it drives me crazy! Can't they make these any slower? It's ridiculous. If I am going to wait that long for a drink of water I expect it to be the best damn water I have ever tasted. I'm talking crystal clear, organic, tastes like heaven wonderful water. But, no...... it's just normal old water. And have you ever tried to fill a pitcher full of water from one of these? You might as well get a chair and sit there because your legs will start aching from waiting around for it. So in short, this is a plea to all you refrigerator makers out there, speed it up!..... or I guess I can just use the water out of the faucet?

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HDVision - A Must Have

Okay, so they aren't the coolest looking pair of sunglasses...... but I'm not the coolest guy in the world either. So if you look at it like that, my HDVision sunglasses and I are a perfect pair. The "As seen on TV" pair is well worth the $19.95 for 2 pairs that you pay. It brightens up the world around you and really does cut down on glare while driving. I recommend them to everyone!

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Not 2 Die 4

I checked out the new BBQ joint over in West Glen Shopping Center in West Des Moines called 2 Die 4 the other day and was not too impressed. Definitely would not die for that. They have a very limited menu, meat was a little dry and BBQ sauce was served cold?

Still the best in town...... that title belongs to Woody's Smoke Shack on Cottage Grove. That brisket is awesome!

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Bear vs Will Ferrell

Tuesday June 2nd on Discovery channel, check out Will Ferrell on Man vs. Wild. You can see Bear Grylls take Ferrell on an outdoor adventure in Sweden. This should be hilarious!

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Be Green and Save Money

Here are two interesting facts for you:

-Did you know that a reusable beverage bottle can eliminate 365 disposable water bottles / year (based on avg. use of 1 disposable bottle per day)
-American’s use 3.3 million plastic bottles every hour but recycle only one in five.

I use to take 2 plastic water bottles a day to work with me. But not any more. I have found a better solution, the Rubbermaid reusable water bottle. I purchased 6 of them for $18.00 total for my wife and I to use. We stopped buying the disposable plastic bottles and have never looked back. Doing this has saved money and helped us to go green a bit. I figured that we purchased a 24 pack of water every two weeks for $5.00. That's $10.00 a month and $120.00 a year. So over a years time that is a savings of $102.00! Not bad at all. I recommend everyone pick up their own reusable bottle today.

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Long Time No Blog

It has been forever since I have blogged about anything. Don't worry, over the last 2 months I've had many new thoughts to share with you. Being a new dad has really taken away my time at the computer, but now that I have figured out a schedule, I will be a writing fool. Stay tuned.......

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Easy Dips to Make for your Superbowl Party

Here are 2 really easy dips you can make at your upcoming Superbowl party. Yes, even you guys can put this together.

Pickle Roll Up Dip
What you need: Sour Cream 8oz container, Whipped Cream Cheese 8oz, 2 packages Carlbuddig Corned Beef, 1/2 Jar Dill Pickle Relish, 1/4 teaspoon Salt

Cut up Corned beef into small pieces, mix all ingredients together stirring well in medium sized bowl. Serve with crackers (wheat thins taste great). Tastes just like eating a pickle roll up without the mess!

Ultimate Cheese Dip
What you need: 1 can Hormel Chili (with our without beans), 2 lb. box of Velveeta Cheese, Crock pot

Throw the hunk of Velveeta cheese in crock pot along with chili. Set on medium and let the cheese meltdown. Make sure to stir it every 10 minutes or so until ready to eat. Takes about an hour until it's nice and hot. Tastes great and is way too easy!

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Asian Hamburger Helper?

I was walking down the aisle in my local supermarket and something new caught my eye. I almost did a double take when I saw that Hamburger Helper now has two new varieties of Asian Helper. There is a Beef Fried Rice and a Mongolian Beef flavor to choose from. Generally speaking, I'm not usually a huge fan of Hamburger Helper (aka shit in a box), but even I couldn't resist trying out the Beef Fried Rice. It was pretty easy to make, just cook up some hamburger add seasoning and rice. When it gets done, you add 2 scrambled eggs to give it that classic fried rice feel. Overall, it was okay. It definitely needed a little salt and pepper to help it out. I probably wouldn't buy it again, but it does make me wonder....... What's next? Irish Helper perhaps? Maybe a corn beef and cabbage flavor? Only time will tell.

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Great Deal on SDHC Memory Card

I just bought a new camcorder that uses an SDHC card for memory and I was in search of the best deal out there. After about an hour of shopping around I was able to find an 8gb SDHC card by Transcend on Newegg.com for only $12.99. Plus you get free shipping and there is no tax. I know what you might be saying... To good to be true? I read all the reviews for this product and everything I saw was good. So if you are looking at a memory upgrade for your camcorder or digital camcorder it's worth checking out. Here is a link to the product page: Click here.

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Glenn is Coming Back

Glenn Beck is finally going to be back on the air Monday, January 19th. Yep, Beck, who was previously on CNN has made the jump to Fox News, which seems to be a better fit. The first guest on the new network will be our favorite Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin, who I think Glenn may have a bit of a crush on? Anyways, tune in for some great television and straight talk about government, the economy and more. Monday at 4pm Central on Fox News.

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Baby Stories

With the due date fastly approaching for my first born child, one thing has become more clear.... Crystal clear...People love to tell you about their birthing experiences. I have heard many different stories from people that I barely even talk to. It's amazing the kind of information people offer up to me.... and I'm not even the one who is technically giving birth.
It seems to me that people either have a great experience and say it was a beautiful wonderful time or they hated it. There doesn't seem to be a middle road. So what can I expect? Well rest assured that I have a few more weeks of hearing story after story so maybe I will have a feeling for what I am getting into it. Trust me, I won't be blogging about the details. That would be under the category of TMI (too much information). :)

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Lawsuit seeks to take 'so help me God' out of inaugural

I was reading the news this morning when I saw a headline that said "Lawsuit seeks to take 'so help me God' out of inaugural" that caught my eye. Is this the world we are living in now? The story goes on to say that a few atheists got together and felt like they were not being represented by government because the word "God" was showing up. Guess what.... You are living in the United States of America, a nation founded under God. The basis of American government is built upon Godly principals. So knowing that fact, these people who are so offended by God being used in government should look into moving somewhere else.... or just deal with it. I get sick of our country being so "Politically Correct". If we keep up this pattern of being 'PC'pretty soon we won't even recognize our own country.

Read
the full story here.

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Extreme Weather Chasing

This past month I started watching a show on the Discovery channel called "Storm Chasers". The premise of the show is exactly like it sounds, two different groups chasing storms and the resulting tornadoes caused across the Midwest. Being an Iowa native, I am all too familiar with the devastation a tornado can cause. But there is just something about a tornado that makes it so interesting to watch. The 100mph plus winds and the pure awesome power of nature is amazing! Anyways, one of the two groups from the show have a cool website with footage of tornadoes and many other extreme weather updates you should check out: http://www.tornadovideos.net/

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Whip It, Whip it Good

I was listening to some Christmas music yesterday and I realized I like the sound of a whip. (The sound was in a song with Santa and his reindeer.) I also like to try and make the sound of a whip. Whoopah!!! But that is where the like of the whip ends. I definitely don't want to be whipped by anybody and I don't want to whip anybody. But, I guess I would probably use a whip Indiana Jones style if I had to. Hmmmm...

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Mountain Dew Cake?

I have a lady at my work who is addicted to Mountain Dew. So I was interested to see if there was a dessert to make with Mountain Dew in it. After doing some research I came upon this one, which had great reviews. So for all of you Mountain Dew lovers, you should give this a try.

INGREDIENTS
1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
10 fluid ounces Mountain Dew™
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup butter
1 cup flaked coconut
Add to Recipe Box
My folders:

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, oil, eggs and citrus soda. Mix until all ingredients are moistened.
Pour into prepared 9x13 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely.
To make the topping: In a saucepan, combine pineapple (with juice), sugar and corn starch. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat. Add butter and coconut. Spread topping evenly over cake.

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Top 10 Christmas Movies

Here is my top 10 list of Christmas movies for the Holiday season: The first 3 are must sees for me each year!

1. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
3. A Christmas Story (Yes, it is played for 24 hours each year)
4. A Charlie Brown Christmas
5. Home Alone
6. Love Actually
7. Micracle on 34th St (new version)
8. It's a Wonderful Life
9. Scrooged (Bill Murray Version)
10. Elf

Honorable mention: White Christmas, Family Stone, Bad Santa, Santa Clause, Reindeer Games, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, Jingle All the Way

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Black Friday 2008 Ads

The giant day after Thanksgiving sales (Black Friday) are coming up soon. You can view all of the ads ahead of time at: http://bfads.net/Adscans

Looks like a lot of good deals on GPS for your car this year. Otherwise, I didn't see anything that great. But, yes I will be out at 2am in the morning getting those deals. I just can't help myself. Happy shopping!

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Free Google Broadband Internet Access

This is the official 300th posting of my blog, "The Thoughts of Thomas". In honor of this milestone I am giving you all a free gift. The gift of free internet. That's right. Here is a link that will give you free internet from Google and save you hundreds of dollars each year. Enjoy. ;)

http://www.google.com/tisp/

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