Harris Teeter Meal deal - valid until 4/3/12

This week the meal deal is much better since it allows for the ingredients to be mixed and matched to generate several meals.

BUY ALL FOR $9.99: (save at least $8.77!)

• one (1) 2 lb. chub Harris Teeter Rancher Ground Chuck;
• one (1) 11-16 oz. Arnold Hamburger Buns;
• one (1) 6.7-8 oz. Sargento Sliced Cheese; and
• one (1) 10 oz. Utz Chips 

Keep in mind that the ground beef from Harris Teeter does not contain pink slime according to the published statement here. 

To make the meal healthier - rather than make cheeseburgers with chips, as the meal deal suggests. Make regular burgers, topped with fresh tomatoes and even consider adding veggies to the meat patties before you grill them to further reduce the fat content. A recipe for meat/veggie burgers is here. The patty contains mushrooms, onion and bell pepper.
The cheese I would use to make grilled sandwiches. Don't forget that Sargento offers reduced fat varieties for their sliced cheeses. Since you can buy any Sargento sliced cheese you can use a cheese other than regular cheddar to make gourmet-style grilled cheese sandwiches. The website here lists different suggestions for grilled cheese sandwiches with fruit or veggies.  The chips, adequately portioned, can be a nice addition to a salad for lunch.

I have to say, I really like the meal deal this week since it contains products that can be used in a variety of meals and so even the relatively unhealthy potato chips can be turned into a diet-friendly meal when combined with a salad.

 

Aldi meal - gourmet eating at discount prices - Brie / Pear Panini

Since I have been writing several posts now about the Aldi specials that turn out to be really good eats at bargain prices, I figured that from time to time I could write a post about a meal that incorporates the weekly specials from Aldi.
The first post will describe a simple sandwich that I thought of when Aldi had in consecutive weeks pears and brie cheese on sale. So today at work, I made a sandwich out of these ingredients and it turned out to be really tasty and a bargain as well.
I had previously eaten similar sandwiches at local eateries, combining pears or apples with brie cheese and then potentially some other ingredients, such as walnuts. But I wanted this sandwich to be easy enough that I could fix it at work.
So this morning, the ingredients below made it into my lunch bag.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - three ingredients for a tasty sandwich - could not be easier!

Brie is on sale this week at Aldi - I picked up the Brie shown above for $2.99 - not a bad price. The pears were on sale starting last Wednesday for about 50 cents/pd - a real bargain. The bread is simple whole wheat bread, you could go fancy and use ciabatta or bagels.
I sliced both the pear and the brie cheese very thinly since I wanted to do two layers of pears and cheese on my sandwich. I figured since I will toast this, I want the slices to be thin to melt nicely and prevent the filling from falling out.
I started off by toasting the bread. I did not toast it for too long to ensure that the bread was still soft since I wanted to press the sandwich later and was afraid that darkly toasted bread may break into pieces.
I then piled on two layers of pears and brie, alternating the cheese and fruit. I made sure that the top layer of bread touched the pears since I did not want pear juice to soak too much into the bottom layer of bread when I pressed it later on.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - No panini press? No problem - George Foreman grill will do!

So we do not have a panini press at work, but someone had left a Foreman grill in the shared kitchen, so I put the sandwich on the grill and pressed down the lid for a couple of minutes, then checked how dark the bread and how soft the cheese was and continued to grill the bread until I liked the consistency.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - finished sandwich, nice layers and nice consistency!

The above picture shows the final product. The sandwich got a lot thinner due to the pressing, so the George Foreman grill did its job. The cheese was nicely melted, but not too soft and the pears and brie cheese formed layers that were just the right size.
My first bite convinced me that this is winner. The sandwich tasted awesome! I like brie, but because of the relatively high fat content, I am hesitant to just eat a brie sandwich. So the addition of the pears makes the sandwich more substantial, but keeps the calories down overall. I can highly recommend this combination and the total prep time was about 10 minutes, using no other device than a simple grill. I am sure a toaster oven would work as well or even a pan, if you put a weight on the sandwich to press the layers together and give you the panini appearance!

Pink P&G bakeware set - Harris Teeter promotion - it arrived!

copyright Durhamonthecheap - contents of the Good Cook’s Hope Line Pink Bakeware Set from 2011!

Some of you may remember that I posted last year here about a special promotion through Harris Teeter for a P&G Bakeware set in honor of breast cancer awareness. For buying $25 worth of P&G goods in one trip, you could a FREE Good Cook’s Pink bakeware set worth around $40 value.

The bakeware set arrived last week (finally!!) and as promised includes a 3-Piece Mixing Bowl Set with Covers, a High Temperature Spatula, an Oven Glove with Silicone Pad, 3-Piece Liquid Measuring Cup Set, a Silicone Baking Sheet, and a Tin Cookie Sheet.

I have included a picture of contents above. They are good quality products and I am looking forward to replacing my old cookie sheet with a brandnew one and getting a nice silicone baking sheet. Very excited about the measuring cups and mixing bowls - you can never have enough bowls or measuring cups in a kitchen! I am looking forward to a repeat of this promotion, which P&G has done now for two years in a row.

Harris Teeter Meal deal - valid until 3/27/12

Not every week, but frequently Harris Teeter will advertise a meal deal and the one for this week is actually pretty good. You save almost 50% off the regular price. I would not describe the meal deal as particularly healthy and unfortunately the ingredients this time do not allow for a lot of mix and match to generate some healthy meals, but the price is reasonable. To make it more healthy, I would pair the pizza with a green salad and low fat dressing. The PretzelDogs should come in handy when watching UNC plays on TV and soda is always useful as a pantry items.
Remember to qualify for the meal deal - all items must be purchased in the same transaction!

BUY FOR $6.99 (and save at least $6.78 - you may have a coupon for the Red  Baron pizza)

• one (1) Red Baron Pizza (Pizza & Sides, Hand Tossed or Pan Pizza ONLY

• One (1) 9.6 oz. SuperPretzel Dogs; and
• One (1) 2 liter Coke Product

Green Mountain Naturals - hot apple cider

copyright Durhamonthecheap - Green Mountain Naturals sample

Green Mountain had a promotion during which they gave away 12 packs of Hot Apple Cider K-cups. I signed up and was lucky enough to get a package to sample. I usually like Hot Cider, but have never really wondered about the ingredients in the packages that you see on the grocery store shelves.

First off - I initially started drinking the cider in the morning in lieu of my usual coffee. Big mistake - I actually do miss my morning coffee and quickly switched back to the coffee in the morning routine, saving the cider for the afternoon break.

The K-cups for the cider are used like any other K-cup in your Keurig coffee maker. I opted for the 10oz portion initially and ended up with a very weak flavored apple cider. While I could make out the apple flavor, it was not strong enough for me. I did not need to add any sugar because the sweetness was right on target. While not overly sweet, the cider definitely was not sufficiently tart to require sugar to be added. I then switched to the 8oz cup, hoping to bring out more of the apple flavor, but I was disappointed again. The apple flavor is very weak compared to what I am used to in terms of both powdered cider mixes and regular cider bought from the refrigerated aisle in the grocery store and heated up.

I am not sure whether the weak flavor is due to the all natural ingredients or whether the fact that my Keurig machine is mostly used for coffee and the lingering coffee grounds affect the flavor. I will finish up the package of Green Mountain Naturals hot apple cider, but not reorder the flavor. The color was also weak and not as dark as that seen in other cider preparations. I can certainly do without the color, which in many products is mostly due to added artificial ingredients anyway. But the flavor of this hot apple cider is just very weak and making this Green Mountain Naturals product a disappointment.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - brewed Hot Apple Cider

Cabbage with a twist - Curried cabbage and rice noodles

copyright Durhamonthecheap - curried cabbage with rice noodles

Aldi had cabbage on sale and usually I fix it like we used to it in Germany - add to one large pot the finally chopped package with some meatballs and add to taste caraway seeds and bay leaf, then cook thoroughly and serve with mashed potatoes.

But I was looking for a lighter meal involving cabbage and without meat. I  remembered that I had seen cabbage prepared in Indian restaurants with curry and just eaten with rice. I searched online for curry and cabbage recipes and found a number of recipes, many of them requiring that you prepare your own curry. I have prepped curry in the past, but it is quite a bit of work, requiring a number of spices that I really only use for curry and so a lot of it goes to waste. I therefore decided to improvise on the recipes that I found online.

I added some oil to a regular pan (not a nonstick variety) and then chopped one whole yellow onion. I cooked the onion long enough to have the pieces obtain a nice sheen. In the meantime, I finely chopped the cabbage and then added the cabbage pieces to the sauteed onion. Lastly, I added a good amount of curry to give the contents of a pan a rich yellow color, cooked and stirred for about 5 minutes to soften the cabbage. I then added a little bit of water to prevent the cabbage from sticking and covered the pan with a lid. The stove was set to low and I cooked the cabbage for another 15 minutes to ensure that the curry and onion flavor could seep into the cabbage. I then removed the lid and let most of the moisture cook off.

I had planned to add rice, but since I only had brown rice at home that I could not see go well with the cabbage, I quickly prepped some rice noodles. I added a good amount of cabbage to a bowl and about half the amount of rice noddles and mixed the two while eating. Overall, the dish turned out great. The cabbage was nice and soft, but not wilted. I really liked the texture. Together with the soft noodles, it was an excellent combo. The curry and onions had nicely flavored the cabbage and the meal was much lighter than the traditional meat and cabbage dishes that I grew up with.

I will definitely cook cabbage more often this way because it allows for a nice light lunch that is healthy and vegetarian.

Gyros - special deal at Aldi starting next Wednesday

copyright durhamonthecheap - plateful of Gyros goodness

I love Gyros sandwiches, but they are quite pricey if you order them at a restaurant. So I was particularly excited when I saw Gyros kits as a weekly special at Aldi starting this Wednesday, March 28. I stopped by this weekend and Aldi had the kits already in the store. For some reason, they put them in the freezer - I would have definitely preferred to have them stored in the fridge because the tzatziki sauce does not freeze well. But I picked up a package, figuring I would try it out and at $6.99 for 5 sandwiches, the price is really good. So this weekend, we had Gyros. The preparation could not be easier.

I stored the package in the fridge, to allow for the gyros meat, the sauce and the pita bread to thaw. Overnight in the fridge was plenty of time to get everything thawed out. The instructions on the box are for microwave (which I used) or for skillet method. I would recommend the microwave method because putting the Gyros meat in between paper towels gets some of the grease removed that stays behind with the skillet method .

I took a couple of microwave-safe plates, put a couple of pitas on one plate and microwaved them for 20 seconds to get them piping hot. The pita has a nice consistency, fluffy and just thick enough to give you a full-meal size sandwich, but still soft enough to be folded easily.

The Gyros meat is fully cooked and so the microwave is just needed to heat the meat again. The portion size is 5 slices a person and you only need to microwave them for 45 seconds. Again, put them in between paper towels to remove some of the grease.

The tzatziki sauce is nice and rich, with a good balance of garlic and cucumbers as well as some parsley. I stirred it a couple of times since it was frozen and there was some excess liquid. But it turned out to be nice and creamy and was easily spooned on the pita.

The instructions recommend some chopped onion or tomato wedges, but I had a simple bagged lettuce mix at home, so I added some of that to the pita and it turned out great.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - weekly special at Aldi starting 3/28/12

The first picture shows one sandwich. As you can see the portion size is huge; one sandwich is definitely a filling lunch. Calories per sandwich are 540, the sodium is high due to the Gyros and the total fat content of one sandwich is 40%, again due to the Gyros meat.

While I would not recommend a steady diet of Gyros, for people that like me miss Gyros from European or US street vendors, this Gyros sandwich kit provides a nice alternative to the super-expensive restaurant food and it allows you to control portion size and calorie intake. I have actually cut down on the meat that I added to my sandwich and upped the salad content because I do not eat very much meat, so five slices of Gyros meat was too much for me.

Remember: Aldi has this weekly special starting officially 3/28/12, but you may already find it in the stores. The Aldi in Durham, NC has the kits already available in the weekly specials freezer section.

Reminder - backyard critters need water the warmer it gets outside

It may only be March and in some parts of the USA it may still be rather cold, but here in North Carolina it is already very much like spring and temperatures this week have been around 80oF. I have had water out all the time, ever since I moved into this house because there is no lake or stream nearby. Ever since then, squirrels and birds come regularly to drink or, like in the video above, to bath.

I want to therefore remind everyone that if you can, please put a birdbath out and enjoy your backyard becoming a haven for birds and all kinds of critters. It does not need to be a fancy birdbath. I simply re-purposed a planter saucer. I try to put in fresh water at least every 2 days to make sure that no mosquitoes develop in the summer and that the birds do not get sick because green algae do tend to form if it is warm and the water stands for too long.

So do something good for the birds and find a bowl, not too deep, add some water, and enjoy your backyard zoo!

New bzzkit: Garnier BB cream - Miracle Skin Perfector

Today I received my bzzkit for the Garnier Skin Renew Miracle SkinPerfector BB cream, which instantly

• hydrates
• renews
• brightens and
• evens out skintone

It contains SPF15 and can be applied very sparingly to even out small blemishes and make your skin appear younger and fresher. The box indicates that users after only one applications reported a more even complexion (90%), a more healthy glow (93%) and smoother skin (96%). These numbers certainly are impressive.

I tried out the cream and applied very small amounts to my face, then compared the texture of my face to my neck and I actually can confirm that the cream does even out the skintone and makes the skin appear smoother. Keep in mind this is after only one application - I am definitely impressed!

In addition to a full size bottle of the Miracle Skin Perfector, I also received a number of coupons for $1off the product as well as the bzzguide with a lot of helpful information.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - contents of the bzzkit for the BB cream from Garnier

Disclaimer: I was provided with a free full size bottle of the BB cream from Garnier in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own and have not been influenced by bzzagent.com or any other third party.

Booksneeze review: Interesting take on the meaning of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and what they mean for people TODAY

Larry P. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College in Michigan wrote The Founders' Key wrote this book to explain the ongoing constitutional debates to lay people. His main point is that the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are not opposing documents, but are expressions of the same principle - namely that people are below God and this includes people associated with the government. Both documents are the foundations of nations, two pillars that ensure liberties and rights of individuals. The author goes on to argue that in modern times the constitutional debate has gone into the direction of finding the constitution outdated and interpreting the Declaration of Independence to ensure new rights for people that were never part of the original draft nor intended by the drafters.
This had led to a weakening of the meaning and importance of both documents in our current political discussion and has led people to believe that these documents must be read in a way that the drafters according to Arnn never intended them to be read.
This book, despite being focused on constitutional law and interpretation, is certainly appropriate for non-lawyers to read and can be enjoyable for any adult interested in politics and individual rights.
I would recommend that people set aside some time to read this book since I had to go back and reread certain sections. If you are more familiar with constitutional law and the discussions dealt with in the book, it may be easier. But I would recommend reading one chapter at a time to make sure that the material really sinks in.

Disclaimer: This book was provided free of charge through the Booksneeze program in return for an honest review. The opinions expressed in this blog entry are solely my own.

Hill's® Science Diet® Ideal Balance - bzzcampaign and rebate offer

It seems that companies are finally waking up to the desire by petowners to feed their dogs and cats high quality food without a lot of filler material. The problem of filler material was first brought to my attention about a decade ago when I took my shelter dog to its first vet appointment and the vet thought the dull fur was due to bad nutrition and warned me about bargain dog food that contained mostly byproducts and grain. Lack of protein can contribute to dogs having dull fur and lacking energy. Ever since then I have been careful about the dog food I purchase and made sure that protein was present as a main ingredient and the contents listed were items that I could understand.

Through bzzagent.com, I am now enrolled in a campaign to try out a new dog food by Hill's Science Diet called "Ideal Balance". It prides itself on containing only high quality ingredients and no fillers. The main ingredient, according to the website here, is chicken. Because you can not expect this dog food would be priced as cheaply as some of the bargain dog foods that have mostly grain as ingredients, Hill's Science Diet has come up with a nice rebate offer. In exchange for trying out the new Ideal Balance dog food, you can get the price reimbursed (up to $12.99). The link above is for the rebate offer, which is valid until the end of this year.

The site also has a nice comparison chart with other dog foods - including Blue Buffalo as well as Nutro Natural Choice, Natural Balance, Wellness, Innova, Iams, and Nestle Purina ONE. Give it a try, but as always keep in mind that the data is from a Hill's Science Diet website. I actually checked the Blue Buffalo website, but their comparison with Hill's Science Diet does not include the Ideal Balance brand of dog food.

I am not certain what goodies I will receive in my bzzkit for the Ideal Balance test, but if I do not have enough coupons to go around to everyone of my friends and colleagues, the rebate offer from Hill's Science Diet sounds like an ideal way to try out a new brand of high quality dog food without risking a dime (except maybe the postage).

taken from the campaign homepage of bzzagent.com

Disclaimer: In exchange for participating in the bzzcampaign for Hill's Science Diet Ideal Balance, I will receive a coupon for a bag of free dog food. The opinions expressed in this blog entry are solely my own and have not influenced by bzzagent.com or any other third party.

Freedom of Information Day on March 16th

This day is close to my heart because it allows ordinary citizens to act as watchdogs over politicians and governments. But at the same time, it also teaches us an important lesson about how much we allow others to look into our lives.

March 16 is a day to remember that access to information has also implications for our own personal liberties. Events in several cities teach us the dual role of this day. One event is organized by the First Amendment Center in Washington DC and brings together groups concerned with freedom of information and open records, from government, media and the legal system. Not by accident, the Freedom of Information Day is celebrated on March 16th; this date is also the birth date of James Madison, who is considered the "father" of the First Amendment.

For legal scholars there is also an event that is delving deeper into the political importance of Freedom of Information, such as how transparent is the current administration. An event at George Washington University will host a number of law professors that will discuss governmental transparency, in particularly in light of unmet expectations for the transparency policies of the Obama Administration.

For any parent with children in college, one note of caution. Colleges under the Freedom of Information Act can and must disclose information about students upon request. Many colleges have implemented safeguards to prevent that student email addresses or living locations are disclosed under a Freedom of Information Act to companies that then want to contact students for business purposes. To avoid having email addresses or house addresses revealed, many colleges offers students privacy options that will be respected under a Freedom of Information Act request. I recommend that parents and students check for the availability of such privacy features at the college.

The Freedom of Information Act (or FOIA) evolved under Lyndon B. Johnson and went into effect in 1967. Originally intended to permit outsiders (citizens, reporters etc) access to governmental information and reduce the secrecy of governmental action, FOIA also applies to state agencies and state universities. While contributing to the transparency of government actions, exceptions exist to FOIA requests and reporters often find documents containing redacted information citing reasons such as national defense or privacy concerns of the people involved.

Image was obtained from here

So on this day - celebrate your individual liberty and remember that sometimes being a good citizen means to ask questions. We all have representatives in the state legislature and in congress. There is nothing wrong with emailing your representatives and asking questions or requesting information on a specific topic. Full fledged Freedom of Information Act requests involve significant time and work, but an email on a topic close to your heart takes a couple of minutes.

I have written to my representatives and usually received an answer. As a citizen, remember these are your representatives and if you have a question, ask! As the events listed above make clear, the Freedom of Information Day both celebrates our individual liberties, but also our duty as citizens to keep an eye on our representatives - after all they represent us and were voted into office by ordinary citizens like you and me!

Free Tanger Outlet $10 Gift Card (Facebook account required)

You have to go to Facebook and like Tanger Outlet on their homepage here and then a pop up will be visible for a $10 GC to Tanger Outlet. The GC is printable and must be redeemed by 3/14/12.

new Walgreens skin care line - Simple (sensitive skin experts)

I recently participated in the program by shespeaks.com to determine how Walgreens was handling a new product line for skincare called "Simple" that is a major seller in Europe, particular the U.K. As a reward for my participation and the honest feedback, I received today a full size sample of "Simple Moisturizing Facial Wash". The additional information provided by shespeaks indicates that the facial wash:

• cleanses and nourishes skin
• is 100% soap free
• has the added vitamins: Pro-Vitamin B5 and Vitamin E
• contains skin-loving ingredient: Bisabolol

If you are like me you go Bisabolol and wonder what this component is actually doing.  Wikipedia can always help and the information about the compound is actually pretty interesting. Turns out that Bisabolol is an alcohol that forms the primary constituent of the essential oil of German chamomile. So I am thinking that it must be good for you  because I had to drink a lot of chamomile tea whenever I had a sore throat since it was supposed to help reduce inflammation. Bisabolol has a weak floral aroma and can be used in fragrances. I tested the moisturizing facial wash and did not notice any scent. Next the Wikipedia entry explains that Bisabolol has been used for hundreds of years in cosmetics because of its perceived skin healing properties. Remember the chamomile tea, the anti-inflammatory use must be true and not just a way for my mom to convince me to drink herbal tea. Confirmed by Wikipedia again where it states that Bisabolol is known to have anti-irritant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties.

So it seems that the Simple skincare line at least based on the ingredients combines natural compounds with vitamins to form skincare products for sensitive skin. I used the facial wash this evening and my skin was not irritated at all and felt nice and smooth afterwards.

Below is a picture of the content of the package I received today. The tube is a good size and shespeaks was nice enough to include a print out listing additional Simple products. Simple also has a Smoothing Facial Scrub as well as a Hydrating Light Moisturizer.

If you are interested in trying out the Simple skincare line, just stop by your nearest Walgreens!

copyright Durhamonthecheap - content of the box received from shespeaks, including free Simple skincare product

Disclaimer: As part of the Simple blog project, I received a full size product from the Simple skincare line in exchange for an honest review. Any opinions expressed are solely my own and have not been influenced by any third party or shespeaks. Any financial or other reward I may have received has not influenced the opinions voiced in this blog.

Smarterer - test your knowledge online on fun topics from social networking to computer software

Smarterer is a fun way to test your knowledge online. You go to their homepage here, create an account to login and select a topic that interests you or in which you want to learn more. I started to test my knowledge on bzzagent.com, the company that first introduced me to smarterer through one of their campaigns, and yes I learned some more stuff about the bzzagent. Even though I have been affiliated with bzzagent for years, I did not know when precisely the company was founded or the background of the CEO.
I then went on to select powerpoint as the next topic because even though I regularly use powerpoint for presentations, I figured that I can maybe make my presentations more interesting once I fully appreciate the potential that powerpoint has. I rarely take the time during the work to just play around with an application, unless I need to figure out how to do something. So taking tests using smarterer is a fun way to learn some more about standard office programs that may prove useful in the long run.
Another area in which smarterer offers online tests is social networking. You can test your knowledge on Twitter and Facebook. Everyone is concerned about privacy and security on social networking sites, so that is where I plan to head next. I wonder what interesting pieces of information I can pick up in a test on Facebook - maybe even how to turn off the timeline feature for good!

Allure Sample: Vichy Normaderm

Today I received a package with three small samples from Vichy Normaderm through an Allure giveaway.
Vichy Laboratories has won several awards from Allure, including the "Allure Best of Beauty Award" and "Fitness Beauty Award" for their acne and sun care products.
Below is a picture of the box and contents, like all product samples through Allure it was very nicely packaged and contained a card with additional information about the products.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - contents of the Allure Expert sample package for Vichy Laboratories

About the products from the Triple Action Anti-Acne line, Allure wrote the following to explain the win for the Vichy Laboratories products: "Vichy Normaderm Triple Action Anti-Acne Hydrating Lotion scares away blemishes with salicylic and glycolic acids, and it mattifies, so makeup stays just where it should."

The product description for the lotion states the following:
TheTriple Action Anti-Acne Hydrating Lotion ($22.50, 1.7 fl. oz.) combines Salicylic Acid, Lipo Hydroxy Acid (LHA) and Glycolic Acid, all powerful micro-exfoliators to clear skin from blemishes and blackheads and tighten pores. Its unique formula is oil-free, and provides  24-hour hydration while mattifying skin. The result is a lotion with demonstrated efficacy on breakouts and delivers healthier-looking skin in just one week.


I had no idea that Vichy laboratories has been in existence since 1931; they celebrate 80 years of skincare expertise. In the USA, Vichy Laboratories products are available at CVS and Walgreens.

You can find out more about Vichy Laboratories on their homepage here.

Free Redbox Rental on 3/8/12 - code Thanks2U

Tomorrow, Redbox is giving away a free rental for a DVD at any of their locations. Just select the movie and when you are ready to check-out, enter code THANKS2U to have no charges applied for the first night. If you keep the movie a second night or longer, the normal rental charges will apply!


In celebration of their 2 Billion rentals, Redbox is running this one day promotion.

conditions:
Valid for a 1-day DVD rental at kiosk on 3/8/12 only (expires at 11:59:59 p.m. CT).
Limit: 1 code per transaction, regardless of # of rentals. 1 time use of code only. Code valid at kiosk only for a 1-day standard DVD rental or a discount worth the value of the standard DVD daily rental rate off the first night's daily rental fee for a Blu-ray Disc® or video game. Not valid online, via app, or for prior rentals. 

giveaway from a fellow blogger - Cravebox February contest

A fellow blogger has a nice giveaway from the Cravebox theme. If you go to Christi's Reviews here, you can enter to win a selection of the February Cravebox. It is also an opportunity to learn about the Cravebox program that allows you for a discount price of $10 to get a nice selection of products.
So head on over to Cristi's blog and see if you can win the following items:

•  packet of e-boost 
• Amore Pacific Cleansing foam 
•  FULL SIZE Mereadesso face + neck toning gel 

Good luck!

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector B.B. Cream - new bzzcampaign

I just found out this week that I will be testing a new product from Garnier called Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector B.B. Cream. It is a B. B. cream that will give you a luminous glow and comes in two different shade from light to a darker skin tone. For those who are by now wondering what B. B. cream is - it stands for blemish balm and is a cover up for small blemishes that evens out the skin tone and provides a luminous glow at the same time. 

I have not tried out the product myself, but I use routinely other Garnier products and they never disappoint. A nice added touch, although in these days of skin cancer awareness, it also comes with SPF15 UV protection.  

I can not wait to try out the product. The website for the new product is here.