Deal Seeking Mom has some new magazine subscription info here, including:

FREE 1-year subscription to Cookie or Family Fun from One Step Ahead. Just set up a registry – once you add an item to your cart [for your registry], the free subscription registration will pop up!


FREE 1-year subscription to Metropolitan Home from Rewards Country.

FREE 6-issue subscription to Seventeen magazine from StartSampling.com.

FREE 2-issue subscription to Town & Country from StartSampling

If you haven't already, you should sign up for your T.G.I. Fridays Give Me More Stripes card. For every $1 spent, you earn 1 stripe. These accumulate and when they reach $100 in purchases, you get coupons for free food. Plus, you get coupons for free appetizer and dessert just for signing up.
Wait, there's more, coupons and more special offers are emailed regularly. The newest, for members, are:

"Penny appetizer at the bar when you purchase any beverage" &
"$1 dollar entree with purchase of any another entree".

I don't go there a whole lot but with these soups, I'll definitely go more often. hey, you gotta save where you can.

So, the movie finally came out on DVD yesterday. I was quite excited for it, even though I did end up seeing it in the theaters and was left with mixed feelings about it.

I don't know what I'd expected after reading the books. I mean the movie is pretty spot on. I think I just forgot how young the characters were supposed to be. I say "forgot", but I really mean "purposely pushed out of my mind". To my defense, I almost have to push their ages out of my mind, or I'm left feeling perverse and/or ridiculous for reading it.

If you haven't read the series then you may not understand because it isn't until the second book that things get really good. Read my reviews below to see what I mean.

You can read my review of the first book here.

Whereas the first book is all about establishing this unbreakable bond between Bella and Edward, in New Moon, the romance becomes more complicated.

A new romance begins between Bella and Jacob (you may have seen stuff with "Team Edward" and "Team Jacob". Well that's what that's about). Anyway, in the beginning, you can't believe the story is going in that direction. Again, the first book makes it seem impossible that anyone could come between the two. Half way through though, you are so glad. Jacob is everything Edward isn't. Then, by the end, a true love triangle has been created. Stephenie Meyer writes it so that you, yourself, are confused about what Bella should or will do.

Eclipse is a true continuation of the last book. In it, the love triangle really heats up. The fact that Edward is a vampire and Jacob...well, that he's different too really make for a more exciting twist than most romance books.

Meyer gives you just enough to keep you reading and hoping. She really is a good writer in that way. All the books were so hard to put down. All except the last.

Breaking Dawn was my least favorite. I didn't like how everything was wrapped up in a nice neat bow.

There was a shocking moment in the book, but it wasn't the ending I would have liked.

Below is my post this time last year, before I knew The "L" Word's ending:

So the "L" Word is saying good-bye next season. That saddens me, but I do think maybe it is time. The story lines have went south for me and it just seems like they're going in circles.

I will miss "Shane" (Katherine Moennig) the most. I just wish she'd stayed with Carmen or that they will bring them back together for the last season. This whole I'm going good over a straight girl thing that they left it with, sucks.

Sometimes I think Shane is the only reason I watch. Lord knows it isn't Pam Grier, who, bless her heart, cannot act her way out of a paper bag. I did start to like the Max/Moira character but then they just pushed him/her to the side and for what I don't know. I just really can't express enough how much I don't like the direction the show took.

I also liked that they brought Marlee Matlin on because I'm learning sign language and I just have so much more respect for her and it was fun to watch her sign and be able to pick up on what's she saying without being told immediately. Bette and Tina need to be together though so Marlee's character has to go.

Jenny drives me crazy and I'm glad Shane screwed her over like Jenny screwed over all of her friends. Now, I'm ranting about it like it's real. The point is it will be sad to say good-bye but necessary before they completely butcher even the memory of a good show.

UPDATE: The "L" Word is now over and I have to say I'm sadder about it than I thought I would be. I'm not exactly sure why. The ending was really disappointing.

I guess we all have those shows we keep watching, even if we don't love the direction the show's going because we've followed it's storyline and it's characters so long. Lost is a prime example. If I hadn't watched the stupid thing so long now, I'd stop because it frustrates me more than anything.

I did like what happened to Jenny, but I don't think she and Shane should have hooked up. Again, I wanted Shane back with Carmen. Other than that, it was really lackluster. Too bad.

I actually got to see a movie in the theaters before everyone else in the world already had! It's a rarity lately so I have to mention it.

Although this was my husband's pick, I didn't fight him on it because it did look interesting. That and he assured me, after reading the "graphic novel", that I would like the psychological factor of it. He was right.

The movie was definitely more than a typical "superhero" story especially since only one character actually has powers. Nothing against typical superhero films, I usually like them too; but this is more than that. First of all, it's rated R and deservedly so. There's nudity, but there's also extreme violence, with some very disturbing subjects. It is not meant for children, to say the least. I mean I don't dislike violence and even I had to turn away from some scenes.

That being said, I really did like the movie. I liked the direction and although I've heard the creator wasn't happy with it, from what I saw of the book, it seemed to follow very closely. The one big difference, from what my husband tells me, is the ending. However, from what he told me of the original ending, I'm glad they changed it. I actually liked the movie's ending. It all came together quite nicely. Not in a tie it up with a pretty bow way, but in a way that you really couldn't argue with.

Now, I should say, I wasn't completely in love with the characters. I don't know how believable the idea of a meek, bird-loving crime fighter is (Nite-Owl). As far as the girl (The Silk Spectre), forget fighting in high heels, there's no way you're fighting like that with that hair. Believe me, I know, I could have played her myself. That's me below, looking pretty B.A. in my senior picture. Hey, don't underestimate a girl with a nose ring and wicked smile.



True, I wasn't exactly fighting crime with my long hair, but I didn't have to for me to know that would be a hindrance. I did like The Comedian character, or at least the actor (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Too bad he had to be a d*ck.

All in all though, I'd highly recommend this movie to adults. Again, please don't think that this movie is fit for kids just because it looks like an innocent superhero film. It's not!

Though I saw this movie when it first came out on video, I wasn't sure if I was going to post on it or not. The main reason being that I was embarrassed that I even watched it.

I have previously posted, on my blog, On My Lists, about my utter distaste for everything Woody Allen. Woody Allen being the director, there was an obvious moral dilemma.

That being said, I just had to see this movie because, as much as I can't stand Woody Allen, I love Javier Bardem. That man, wow! The decision was easier than it should have been, let's just say that.

This was really the first time I'd been able to see Bardem as a normal man, not made up to look older, or with a very heavy accent as he has in his foreign films. I liked his character alot, in fact. If I'm honest, I think I secretly hope this is how he is in real life.

But I digress. Getting back to the movie, it was surprisingly good. Penélope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson were both good. I was surprised to see that Penélope was not one of the two main women, but the part she did play was more fitting for her. She actually played the crazy, passionate ex. She inserts herself between Bardem and Johansson (Cristina), while Vicky pines for her best friend's man. Three women all desiring Bardem's affection, not a stretch I'm sure.

As always, with Allen's films, there's an examination of the dynamics of relationships between the characters. I don't know that there's ever conclusions made by him so much as he just allows us to make our own with what feels like open-ended, pointless story lines. I don't know maybe he's genius, but I just think he's lazy. I mean there should be a point to a story or why tell it? So, as far as the storyline goes, I wasn't overly impressed; but I did enjoy the cast and that was enough in this instance.

Quite often I see stuff on the net that I love and know I could make myself. However, I sometimes have a hard time remembering what it was I wanted to do. So, I figure I better start keeping track and maybe give some ideas to you all while I'm at it. For instance, this X-ray lamp is super cool, and I could so make it myself. To the right is another shade idea I like made from wrapping paper.




Same goes for the Flintstone's car (below). This would be cool for Halloween photo shoots or just for kids in general.



For those of us wanting to work on a smaller scale, here's instructions on how to make a dress form out of duct tape. You never know, it could come in handy.
Or, here's instructions on making stamps out of old sneaker bottoms.

Or Here's a super easy rope rug that can be as cool as your imagination can make it.

On a different note, I didn't know this, but according to Woman's Day, some cable companies will let you put your cable on "vacation" hold while you go on...vacation, of course. Now, this could mean they won't bill you or they will drop your service to "basic" for that period. All you have to do is call and ask.

Also, some may not know that there may be cheaper packages out there than you think. I thought I was at the cheapest with the basic package at my old cable company, but then found that there was an even cheaper one they didn't even tell me about. I would never have known except I found out on-line. We lost half our channels, but I only watched one of them so there was no love lost for me. Might be worth asking about.

Bundle packages that allow you to get your phone, cable and internet through the same provider are usually cheaper, than if you spread your services out amongst companies.

Tip Hero has a great article on how to save money on your cable by watching more Hulu! For those who don't know, you can find all the best tv shows on Hulu.com. I go there to watch any shows I might miss when my DVR doesn't record for some reason.

I know a lot of people who just switch their service providers when the initial contracts are up. Usually, when you call to disconnect, your current provider will match the price you found elsewhere.

As far as the phone goes, a lot of people have disconnected their landlines and just use their cell phones, which saves them money. However, it's very important to remember that landlines are better in the case of emergency. 9-1-1 can find you quicker at home than if they have to try and find you on your cell. Just something to think about.

For my sake and yours, I thought I'd do a quick run through of the blogs in my Money Saving blogroll and point out some of their features.

Becentsable - One of the best and most developed sites. I love the look of the site with tabs, does have coupon blogroll, but some you have to pay for, has "grocery gathering" with all stores listed and memes.

Budget Helpers -some interesting blog rolls, walgreens but not cvs, other little tips on free and cheap stuff out in the world.

Coupon Mom - Alot of info, but I don't love the way it's set up. Still, there is a lot of good stuff.

Frugal Living -Great articles on being frugal

Frugal Village -Another site full of articles on being, guess what... frugal

Hot Coupon World - coupon forum

Moms Need To Know - Another resource for coupons and store deals

Money Saving Mom - help for beginners, coupon blogroll, ebooks etc.

My Grocery Deals - site helps you make shopping list for local stores, shopping challenges

Nicole's Nickels- great stuff on making money as a secret shopper, book reviewer, survey taker, etc.

Northern Cheapskate - good blogroll, good posts, such as How to live without the Sunday paper.

SlickDeals - all kinds of deals on everything!

The Centsible Sawyer - mostly store deals. Has lingo abbreviations, clear deal making schedule, hand her own button you can post on your site.

The Coupon Diva - A real deal getter. She has a great article here on how to make a little extra money on the net. One way is through taking surveys. Here is one of the places she suggests that I have also had luck with, Mindfield Online.

Tip Hero- has a great array of money saving articles, covering any topic you can think of. It's the kind of site you can get lost in because there's just so much stuff to take in.

Want Not- Deals a lot with internet discount codes, etc. I've found some good Amazon deals through this site. Jungle Crazy is another place for Amazon deals. Though I haven't added it to my blogroll, I thought I'd mention it.