A 2.99 sealed Rice Cooker.

I don't know about you, but I always mess up rice.  It either gets too mushy or not soft enough.  :(   I found this NEW IN THE BOX amazing rice steamer at the Goodwill this week for only 2.99.  Yowza. I love that store!

now I just need a handy dandy rice spoon and I will be good to go!

I was kicked out of the Goodwill

Yes it is true.  The Goodwill threw me out of its establishment tonight.  Did I too heated over a zany coffee mug?  Did someone steal "my" green clover sweater?  Did I pretend to fall on the slick laminate floors?  No no no.

By accident, I swapped my visa card with my boyfriend's visa card.  We both have identical cards from the same bank, and when we are hanging out we use each other's all the time. Whoops.

I went to ring up my 19 dollars worth of treasures... handed over the card.  After a long pause and an untrusting glare, the clerk asked for my ID.  I handed it over, and she said she simply could not help me. UGH.   So embarrassing. In 14 minutes (before store closing), I managed to get to an ATM and hurry back for my treasures, but it was embarrassing nonetheless.

Chicken from the Goodwill

I bought this at the local Goodwill for an adorable little girl I know.  She loves him and named him Paulie.

He only cost .50 cents!

Free Heartburn Medication yay Prilosec OTC

Here is a link to a free sample of Prilosec OTC, a useful heartburn medicine that I love!

Free Prilosec OTC

I would also like to add that a lot of times you can ask your doctor for free samples of a drug that you need (especially if you are uninsured).  Doctors are given thousands of free sample packs of drugs a year and most of it gets thrown away because of expiration dates and because most people just don't *ask*.

The best things in life are free

Many may disagree with me, but I think the best things in life are free.  Here are a few free things I think are awesome!

1. Saying I love you to someone
2. Going on a walk outside
3. Writing someone a letter
4. Organizing drawers/purses/backpacks to make your life easier
5. Donating old stuff to charity
6. Doing a favor for someone
7. Listening to NPR (okay, you need a radio.. but it doesn't cost anything to listen!)
8. Going to the library
9. Starting a blog on blogger (okay you need internet and a computer.. but it is free, which is awesome!)
10. Making a list of everything you are grateful for.

So that is some of the stuff that makes me really happy.. and all of it is free.

Photoscape

I cannot praise this free program called Photoscape enough!

It pretty much does everything that photoshop does, and it is free.  I use it for about 90% of my photo enhancing needs.  It is so easy to use and I like I said, it does nearly everything that photoshop does with the exception of working with 'layers'.

Here is a link to download it:

Photoscape Free Download

And no worries, there are no annoying ads or strange viruses with this program.  Weekly updates are the most annoying thing I can think of!   I have been using it for years.

Oatmeal and Bananas

I will admit it.

I am one of those fat people who always cries that it is too hard to eat healthy because it is "so expensive".

Really that's a crock.

Awhile ago, I found a list of the cheapest foods on the planet.  I was wowed by the fact that everything on the list was healthy.  heh!

The two foods I took off of the list to apply to my own diet:

Bananas and Oatmeal.

Total Cost: $2.68

Caraaaazy.  That is 42 oz of oats and 5 bananas.  Throw in some free sugar packets from the gas station and that is a whole week of healthy breakfast for 53 cents a day.  Cut those bananas in half and 2 people can chow down!

Craigslist couches, spas, tickets, stereos, egg cartons and more for free!

My first big Craiglist find was 8 years ago when I bought a PS2 with 12 games and 2 guitars for guitar hero for only 100 bucks.  I was hooked ever since then.

Did you know that nearly ever city on Craigslist has a free section?   Check it out!

Under the "For Sale" section on the front page, there is a link that says "Free"  In Reno today the following items are free:

2 tickets to the Comedy show / hypnosis show tonight at Pioneer Center - 

Free Hide a bed couch - (Sparks) img

We Have Surplus Food Available - (Sparks, NV)

Glass shelving - (North Reno) pic

Quarter Pipe - (Reno)

Dirt - (kietzke)

milk crates in... - (truckee)

Thu Feb 09

Complete bed *pending pick up* - (Fernley)

FREE Philips 55PP9401 55 in. TV - (South Lake Tahoe) pic

Free Dirt - (Spanish Springs)

Barbecue Grill - (Lemmon Valley ) pic

used tire dirt bike tire - (sparks)

Free scrap wood for firewood - (sparks)

Foam Block EPS, SIP panel - (Sparks)

FREE FRIDGE AND DISHWASHER - (SPANISH SPRINGS)

FREE CONSOLE STEREO - (RENO)

Artificial christmas tree - (Old SW Reno)

double pane frosted glass window - (89444)

Nursery organizer - (Sparks) pic

handmade baby sundress - (Sparks) pic

10 year old cal spa - (Carson city)

egg cartons - (Clearacre area)

Tons of stuff - (NW Reno)

Free dirt delivered - 

---RAILROAD TIES FREE--- - (SUN VALLEY) pic

free moving boxes - (Sparks)

Wow and that is just 2 days worth!  Crazy!

Free Ebooks: I am in love with them!

EBooks are amazing, so much in fact, that I want to write them. 

Here are some things I love about Ebooks (I download mine off of Amazon)

1.  They are sooooooo cheap!   or sometimes even free.
2. You can hold 4000 of them in the palm of your hand
3. I love the kindle format- you can highlight, skip back and forth, zoom in and zoom out so easily.
4. You don't have a brick and morter store display telling you what you like to read... you can browse your favorite topics by lesser known and sometimes better authors!
5. No lines to wait in
6. No cashier miscounting your change

I love ebooks.

This month I downloaded 2 ebooks for free:
Hollowland by Amanda Hocking  (a fun read about zombies in the apocalypse)
get it here:  http://www.amazon.com/Hollowland-The-Hollows-1-ebook/dp/B00466H8JK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1328501629&sr=8-3

and
The Thirteenth Unicorn by W.D. Newman  (feels like a fantasy written about unicorns for tweenage kids.. lots of action. good reviews so far!)
get it here:  http://www.amazon.com/The-Thirteenth-Unicorn-ebook/dp/B004LROPC2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1328501998&sr=1-1

I could go on and on.  Also I downloaded the kindle ap on my phone and computer.. and while I do not have a kindle yet.. the ap works perfectly on my other devices!   I highly suggest just browsing around amazon some afternoon.  A lot of authors put out their first novel for free.. and other ones run between .99 and 2.99.   You can't beat those prices for hours and hours of entertainment that you can keep forever! 

How could I forget about Ross? I found Audrey there!

Aside from Pawn shops, yard sales, estate sales, and the Goodwill.  I find a lot of fabulous deals at this place:

ROSS!

*this isn't my exact Ross, but it looks a lot like it!*

I love this place: it can be hit or miss though.

  I find the best deals on

1. clothes

a. dressy shirts

b.  jeans

c. occasionally they have 20 dollar Converse shoes in my size

2. Gourmet Cookware

3. Expensive shampoo 

4. Bedding, especially sheets!

5. Designer purses (I will blog later about a Betsey Johnson I got there for $10.00)

and

6. Art work.   Sounds a little silly, but I have made some killer art finds at Ross. 

 Here is one of my favorites:

A 24 x 36 inch painting of Audrey Hepburn. 

 It is an actual gel textured (not giclee) wood framed heavy picture (it really looks like a painting up close)

Right now it sells at Linens and Things for $89.99

I got it at Ross for $19.99.  Amazing!  

DVD SHOWS I heart Robot Chicken

Scored the first two seasons of Robot Chicken at the Goodwill for under yes UNDER $5.00.  They have already provided me with hours of laughs and entertainment.  

7.98 for all of this

My friend and fellow blogger recently found these amazing deals at her local Minnesota goodwill.  In Minnesota they are fancy and actually put labels on things. Here in Nevada there are just color coded lists all over the stores!   Anyways, look at this cookware!

Looks like casserole dishes, a soup dish, a ladle of some sort, a bewitching loaf pan and metal measuring cups.  Yowza.   Great finds Beckah.

Follow her blog about ferrenting here:   http://www.ferrenting101.com/  It is strangely addicting.  Last week I didn't even know what a ferrent was and this week, I'm following the tribulations of 11 fuzzy friends.

Gourmet Gourmet Oh My~!

I have found a few diamonds at the Goodwill before (mind you I only go once per month).   My most recent "proud" find was this:

The tiny manufacturer stock photo is not much to brag about, but this pan is amazing.  I found a 14 inch stir fry pan...  Not excited yet?  Ok let's try again, I found a 14" PAMPERED CHEF stir fry pan at the Goodwill for a mere $9.99.  

It is amazing, and I cook nearly everything in it.  It is the perfect size for any meal, and it is beyond easy to clean.  To date, it is my best kitchen find.

Item:  14" Pampered Chef stir fry pan

Place: Goodwill

Price: $9.00

Price on Amazon.com:  $149.99

Wowza, that is all I can say!

Walmart returns!

In honor of New Years Resolutions, I found this swell  digital scale at the Goodwill.  It was 3.99.  While the box was was a little beat up, the scale was wrapped in plastic still with a new lithium battery already loaded into it.  I of course tried it out in the store before I bought it.  Upon seeing a disappointing number, I decided this was too good of a deal to pass up.  Here's to seeing those numbers go down down down.  Happy 2012!

Item: Digital Scale

Place:  Goodwill

Price: $3.99  

Same scale at Walmart sells for:  $14.99