If you have a teenage girl (or boy) and are looking to get some great styles for cheap (Express is expensive let me tell you!), then head on over to the clearance section of Express with your handy dandy coupon and save tons!

Print your coupon for $30 off $75 (or $15 off $30)
or shop online with coupon code 9598

Tops are $10 and $15, respectively.
Jeans are $20.99 & suit jacket is $69.99 (after additional 30% off).

As always, I recommend shopping through a site that pays you back whenever you choose to shop online. Big Crumbs (4%), Cashbaq (4%), Ebates (2.5%),  Mr. Rebates (3%), & ShopAtHome (N/A) are all highly recommended. Each one varies slightly ~ Big Crumbs has no limit on payment but some of the other sites offer sign on bonuses.

For college savings check out UPromise (2%).

Additionally, be sure to look for more coupon codes at Retailmenot.com.

**Disclosure statement: Affiliate links used for Big Crumbs, Cashbaq, Ebates, Mr. Rebates & ShopAtHome.  If you sign up through one of my links I benefit according to the affiliate terms of each site.

Save at Express: $15off$30 or $30off$75, Ends Sunday is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

Here is Megan, accompanied by Nitza Kats on piano, playing Scherzettino by Joachim Anderson (1847-1909)

If you like my writing why not subscribe and never miss an update. Let’s be friends. Connect with me on Facebook and Twitter, too.

Scherzettino, Performed by Megan Bender & Nitza Kats is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

Ooh to the eeh the ooh the aah aah
To the ting to the tang the wallawalla bingbang
Ooh to the eeh the ooh the aah aah
Ting tang wallawalla bingbang

This is how I remember Alvin and the Chipmunks. Singing songs like Witch Doctor. I even grew up listening to the Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas album. That’s right, back when they had albums. Good times.

What are your memories of Alvin and the Chipmunks? Did you know you can now you can share Alvin and the Chipmunks with your kids? Up-to-date and hip, and completely three dimensional looking. What kid wouldn’t want to see this?

Last week Fox Family Films released Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel

…and my niece cannot get enough of this movie. She even brought it by this past weekend just in case we were interested in checking it out ourselves. How is that for a 7 year old’s seal of approval?

This Double DVD pack includes The Squeak Along bonus disc with more music, mayhem and all-new singalongs!

And check this out.

You can enjoy even More Munk Mayhem when you get munked. First choose your chipmunk. Then outfit and accessorize. And if that wasn’t cute enough, you get to record a message. You can call it in, use a microphone, text to speech, or choose a line from the movie. I opted for a line from the movie. Press play below to hear my message.

For all you parents looking for a family friendly film to add to your collection.

Go ahead, buy it now, your kids will love you for it. Or you could just say you were buying it for your kids. It’s okay I won’t tell.

Be sure to visit http://www.foxfamilyflicks.com for more fun munk mayhem.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Now Available on DVD, Blu-ray & Digital Download is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

Since I know Jannie LOVES big pictures!

October 1997: Megan – 6 yrs,  Amanda – 4 1/2 yrs

Happy Easter, Jannie is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

Short little story, really.

When I married the kids’ father back on March 16, 1991 we [he] chose March for two reasons: 1) I was pregnant and he did not want Megan to be born out of wedlock and 2) not a whole lot happened in March [only his mom's birthday]. Needless to say, Amanda was born on March 12 and Stephen on March 21. So much for it not being a busy month.

We are no longer married, but not because of that.

And it just gets better.

I still have the two birthdays in March. No anniversary. Yet, not wanting to deviate too much from the festivities, I meet Dwayne who happens to have been born on March 17th! Gotta love it!

Here is how we celebrated this year.

First up – Amanda

Since I [we] buy for the kids all year long, holidays and birthdays are not big gifting days. Instead, we make a special meal and eat cake. Amanda didn’t have a preference for dinner this year and it was Friday, so I made homemade pizza, with homemade [from scratch] garlic bread and a white cake with vanilla frosting for dessert.

Birthday #2 – Dwayne

Dwayne is Scotch/Irish and the gods were smiling on him when he was born on St. Patrick’s Day all those many years ago. We always have Corned Beef and Cabbage with boiled potatoes for his birthday. I also made a devils food cake [bundt style] with green vanilla frosting for dessert. If he could have he would have married that corned beef dinner. It was love at first smell, taste, and every bite afterward.

Last but not least – Stephen

Stephen didn’t have a preference for dinner so I made a gorgeous roast that Dwayne had picked up from the local Minute Market. We guess this is local beef, but don’t know for certain. I cooked this in my slow cooker all day with carrots, celery, onions, and mashed potatoes on the side. He did request a peanut butter ice cream pie for his dessert. I’ll be sure to post the recipe later this week. It’s pretty good and super simple to make.

I didn’t feel icing would taste good on this, so I just stuck in a few random candles.

Do you have a month full of birthdays?

What do you do to make each day special? Do you have fun birthday traditions? What kind of cake is your favorite? I ♥ comments! Why not drop me a line and let me know all about it. Leave a link to your post if you prefer. This is a Do Follow blog, so why not get in on the bloggy love.

Happy Birthday! is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

Whether you want life to move forward or stand still makes no difference. Life will do what it will do. You do have some control over it, but it is only some.

You can live to be 104, only to get hit by a van when you go out to buy the morning paper.

I get these thoughts sometimes. Well, I get many thoughts all of the time, but I get these thoughts only sometimes. I will have made a decision, like buying my daughter a laptop when she graduates, then out of nowhere I buy her one for Christmas instead. Of her sophomore year no less!

And just like that my well thought out plan was out the window.

In 2003 [or thereabouts] I bought my children a very nice and none-too-cheap HP desktop computer with printer. At the time I did not have a credit card, well not one with a limit high enough to buy a none-too-cheap HP desktop computer with printer. I borrowed Dwayne’s and told him I would pay my portion of the bill [in full] when it arrived. I ordered their NTC HP DC with P [that just looks funny] and waited for it to arrive. This was to take them through their primary school years. At least my fingers were crossed that it would.

Some time in 2008 [5 years and 3 kids later] the monitor began to fail. Not a bad run, I thought. The kids used this computer for games [Sims, Rollercoaster Tycoon, Runescape, etc] and homework. They used it for internet access and watching television [I bought the antennae attachment]. I even used it on occasion when my laptop started to fail. Run away from the blue screen of death.

I seem to have a way with computers. They like me for some odd reason. Not sure why since I don’t particularly care for them. I once had a desktop computer that I never put the casing on because I was forever having to wiggle and adjust something. I think it just liked being open.

Then one day the monitor didn’t work. We [read I] jiggled something and it was fine. Then it wasn’t. Then it was. Amanda managed to keep the monitor functioning for awhile. I priced new ones and hated the thought of putting out money for something that was outdated already. Granted, a $100 or even $200 monitor would have been the more economical choice, but their harddrive was small and was pretty much full. The computer ran slow and didn’t run some newer applications. It just seemed like throwing good money after bad.

And then my mind drifted.

Okay, no comments from the peanut gallery!

I remembered finding a Dell laptop that came with Windows XP. We really did not want to get Vista if at all possible. Unfortunately, this was no longer an option unless we were willing to pay extra [we were not].  We found one at a cost we liked. We customized it – Red. We added the matching mouse and speakers. Then we walked away.

I remembered my plan. I was going to get Amanda a new laptop when she graduated. But the NTC HP DC with P [still looks funny] was not holding up its end of the bargain. Amanda still has a few years left in high school. And Stephen, well, he has limited access to the computer [any computer] and I allow him use of my laptop when he needs one for school.

I broke down and bought it. Just like that the plan was changed. No matter. I had been saving quite aggressively and could afford this.

A few days later I was let go from my job.

Life happens whether you want it to or not.

That was just over a year ago.

About a week ago Amanda came to me about her laptop. The screen went black. Every now and then she gets it to work. Maybe 5 minutes, maybe 30. Then it goes black again. It flickers. It wants to work. It fades.

She is annoyed.

I am disappointed.

Mac vs. PC

I did a little math the other day.

I paid about $400 for Amanda’s laptop in November 2008. I paid about $900 for my MacBook in July 2007.

Amanda’s laptop was kept in the box until Christmas 2008. My MacBook was opened immediately and put to work.

Amanda is on her laptop all the time when she is home [she is at school from 8 am - 4 pm M-F]. I am on my MacBook all the time when I am home [I have no job].

Amanda’s laptop cost $400 for 1 year’s worth of use. My MacBook cost $360 for 1 year’s worth of use [$900 / 2.5 years].

My conclusion

Mac’s cost more initially because they last longer, but are the better value in the long-term. PC’s are meant to be disposable; use for a year then buy a new one.

This is not a scientific experiment. Your experience may be different.

I am not saying I am anti-PC. What I am saying is I am anti-crap. Especially when I pay $400 for that crap!

I expected more.

I expect more.

Michael Dell – I am disappointed in your company

I will say that without a doubt Dell has some of the best customer service around. When the mouse that came with Amanda’s laptop was damaged, Dell sent the replacement before they received the damaged one from me.

I remembered someone somewhere saying how CSR’s [customer service representatives] get yelled at and complained to, but rarely thanked. I made sure I sent an email to Dell letting them know how impressed I was with their level of customer service.

Yet, the laptop is out of warranty.

I have gone through your records and I would like to inform you that your system warranty expired on 2009-11-02. I am afraid I would not be able to provide further support. However not to worry, we have several options available for valued customers like yourself. There are free online resources available to assist you at *****, including the One Stop Troubleshooting Tool and Drivers and Downloads. We also have fee-based phone support available from Dell’s Expired Warranty Support team, for quick and easy answers to your questions about your Dell system for a nominal fee. They can be reached at ***** .

Once it is confirmed that the LCD needs replacement the EWS department will be able to connect you to the Out Of Warranty Repair department for the pricing information.

I will be a pleasure to assist you with any of your further concern.

- Reply from Dell customer service

I am told the light needs to be replaced. To replace the light would be a tedious venture. No one around here will touch it. Everyone [Amanda has talked to about this] says to buy a new laptop. The light costs $400 to replace. I haven’t confirmed the cost, but that’s what I paid for the entire laptop. It doesn’t sound right to me.

I can buy a new screen for between $99 & $129 online. There are even instructions on how to do this. I guess the $400 price has something to do with labor [makes sense].

Dell, you promote these laptops to kids, to parents. You even promote to businesses.  You must do research and know how much computers are used by the average person. And then you sell a product whose screen fails after 1 year? I am disappointed. I’m not sure your customer service is enough to keep me as a customer.

I need more.

I need quality.

And so it goes

Amanda wants to be an Architect or an Engineer or maybe both. She feels a PC will be better suited to her future needs. I agree. I just hope the companies stop making them disposable.

Not everyone can afford to buy a new computer every year.

Not everyone cares if they are that technologically current.

After all, my 2 1/2 year old MacBook works just fine for me.

Disclosure: Affiliate link used in this post. Other than that I was not compensated for anything said. All opinions are 100% mine.

If Quality is Less than Acceptable, Does Great Customer Service Really Mean Anything? is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

Talk about your duh moment. Okay, not really. It’s not like I planned any of my kids. I meant to, really I did. But the best laid plans… uh, no pun intended.

Anyway, I now have 3 teenagers. Honestly, I’m not sure if the boy will be harder or easier than the girls. I don’t want to be one of those moms who feels no girl is good enough for her son. Just like I’ve worked hard at making sure Stephen is not a mama’s boy. Stephen is 13, so his girlfriend problems days have yet to start. Not that he hasn’t tried. Nothing real and long lasting just yet.

Today it’s about the girls

I like the girls’ friends. I have no problem with their boyfriends. They are kids and they have issues. And I like to say neutral when it comes to their issues.

Sure, I’m supportive of my children. But knowing kids, well, people are likely to change their minds often I try not make judgments of their friends. It’s not my place. Is it?

Megan went off to college this fall. With that change in her life she also allowed herself to be free of any boyfriend ties. This was all well and good [and expected] for all except the boyfriend.

Lashing out in response to real heartbreak

I know the heartache. I’ve been there.

I know the lashing out. I’ve been there.

I know there is light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve been there.

I must say, I am glad I grew up. Emotional rollercoasters suck!

And things worked themselves out and all was okay with the now ex-boyfriend. Or was it?

Round two

Megan has been home for almost a month now. She has hung out with many of her local friends [boys and girls]. She talks to her college friends [boys and girls]. Ex-boyfriend comes around as he is her ‘friend’ now. Nothing new to me. My best friend was their father, after we were divorced.

Yet, something went wrong and communications got a little skewed. Now he’s emotionally and stalkerish and bashing and cursing and demanding.

She can handler herself. She blocks him online. Ignores him when he calls or texts. No problem. It will pass, right? Then I get texts. And I get emails. And I ask to be left out of it and to remain neutral. But the other mom is not neutral [as I'm led to believe].

And then I lost it

Instead of ignoring and not responding, I replied.

I lashed out.

I got emotional.

I was pissed!

Really. I’m fairly easy going, too. I asked to be left out of it. I don’t want to be involved.

Am I really supposed to get ‘all up in’ my daughter’s business every time there is trouble in friend land? I don’t think so, but maybe I’m the only one.

Regardless, I feel bad for responding and lashing out. And I had to say that, publicly.

Thanks for listening.

Parenting ~ How Involved Do You Get In Your Teenager's Life? is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

Hold the phone!

Do we want to go to work? Do we really want to go to the mall and shop? Maybe we do want to get home from our trip, but do we really? Or are these just programmed responses dictated by society?

The media advised us to not go out this weekend as the roads were still dangerous. The malls did not open until noon. Many stores did not open at all on Saturday, though. I commend Old Navy, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Aeropostle, American Eagle and any other store that took into consideration their employees and decided to not open Saturday [in Roanoke and anywhere else in the path of the storm]. Still, several people determined to go shopping were there and quite disappointed. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. Wants vs. needs people.

That’s heavy, man!

I have worked through five winters since being in Virginia. We don’t get that much snow on our side of the Blue Ridge [I'm just east]. So no, I did not want to go to work or shopping or anything else when it snowed. This was the time to spend with the kids sliding down the hill in our backyard and making snow angels when we would collapse from all the hiking up the hill.

After spending twenty-some odd years in South Florida I tend to really enjoy all of the changes in the seasons. Oh, and I still remember sledding down the hill when I was wee little. The last winter I spent in New Jersey was when I was 6 years old!

Trivia

The first winter in Virginia we did not have sleds. We used the sides of moving boxes covered with heavy duty trash bags. The kids still talk about it as being the most fun we ever had sledding.

My Video Diary

This looks so much better in best quality on my laptop. Note the bunny tracks ~ really cute ~ and the rooster guarding the tree. I had to gather Mr. Rooster and carry him back to the coop. We think he may have gotten a bit disoriented due to the snow. Oh, and since no one would take pictures I had to get a little creative at the end. Enjoy!

Note: All images are of our property. The old worn-down house is an old schoolhouse. One day I would love to restore this and make it a library, but it needs a lot of work and $$$. Ivy had a blast running through the property and chasing us down the hill when we were sledding.

Sledding, Bunny Tracks, & Lost Roosters or What I Did On My Winter Vacation is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

Shhh, I just became a Secret Santa to someone I know. Is it you? You will have to wait until December 21 to find out, because I am not telling.

Even better! Yeah, it’s always something ‘even better’ with me, I know. Hush now. Listen {read} ~ 1-800-Flowers.com will donate $5,000 to Toys for Tots if 10,000 Warm & Fuzzy Secret Santa gifts are sent.

$5,000 buys a lot of toys!

And this is 100% FREE for you. That’s right. You can help a child and be a Secret Santa to someone [or many, many someones] and it will not cost you one red penny. Red? Hmm, anyway. And to sweeten the deal, 1-800-Flowers.com will give you a 15% off promo code after you send your Secret Santa gift.

So, that’s Have Fun being someone’s Secret Santa, No Cost to you, 15% Off promo code, AND You Can Help donate to Toys for Tots! Wow! I am so there! And you should be, too.

Just head over to 1-800-Flowers on Facebook and become their fan. Then click on the tab marked Secret Santa. Oh, and your recipient doesn’t have to be on Facebook, just have an email address.

Okay, gotta keep this brief so I can send more Secret Santa gifts to my friends and help 1-800-Flowers reach their 10,000 goal. I really want every kid to have a Very Merry Christmas this [and every] year!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Toys for Tots, 1-800-Flowers.com, and the Global Influence Network. If I am one of the first 20 bloggers to post about this I will received a $50 holiday arrangement of my choice from 1-800-Flowers.com. If I am not one of the first 20 bloggers to post, then I will be eligible for a random drawing for a $50 holiday arrangement of my choice from 1-800-Flowers.com [5 will be chosen]. All opinions of the Secret Santa program and Toys for Tots are completely my own.

1-800-Flowers + Toys for Tots = Warm Fuzzies All Around is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

What does this have to do with anything?

I actually do have a point AND I know what it is. Yippee!

Sunday morning I checked my email and waited. If a sale were forthcoming I would eventually know about it. The email finally arrived and off I went. I verified his shoe size and order two pair. I saved an additional $5 by checking out RetailMeNot & earned $2.85 from Mr. Rebates. I opted to pick these up at a local Sears store, so I saved on shipping. I bought two pairs of $80 work boots for just under $75 [$38 each].

Again, why is this relevant? Later in the week I picked up his boots. Dwayne checked them out and then asked if I was going to blog about my great deal.

Are you my friend on Facebook?

If you are, then you already know Amanda [my middle child] made 3rd Chair Symphonic Band in her All-District tryouts on clarinet. This means she was rated the 3rd best clarinet out of the 79 to try out in our district. Amanda is 16 years old and has been playing clarinet since she was 11.

Yeah, I’m bragging a bit.

Amanda calls me to let me know. She was crying tears of joy and of accomplishment.”Mom, this is better than 8th grade,” she says. She made 3rd Chair Symphonic for middle school band, too. But high school All-Districts is harder.

Amanda comes home and says I should call Dwayne and have him pick up a cake. She’s not too proud to ask. He is making her a devil’s food cake today. She also asks if I am going to blog about it.

I found money!

Gosh, this is a hard thing to say. I have a lot of clothes and a very, very, extremely small closet. Really. And our bedroom should probably not house a bed bigger than a full, yet we managed to get a king size in there. Well, we thought we might be moving when it was purchased. So, anyway, I was putting all my massive piles of clothes away and ran across an old Valentine’s Day card ~ from 2008! Shocked me, too!

And in this card, from my parents no less, is a check for $50 [no good as it's almost 2 years old] and two $5 bills. I decided Megan must have taken hers and these most likely belong to Amanda and Stephen. So, they made out anyway. And Amanda asks if I’m going to blog about that, too.

It’s kind of like that

My family knows when something interesting, funny, educational, or anything random just pops into my head I just may blog about it. As it turns out, I think they want me to. It makes them feel a bit bigger than our small town [no stoplight, that's small]. Really, if you blink, you missed us. It’s that small. And maybe I will blog about that, or maybe not. Who knows really. I say ‘really’ an awful lot, don’t I?

So, there you have it. Amanda, Dwayne, I blogged about it. And because I like the song, here is a little Trans-Siberian Orchestra for your listening [and viewing] pleasure.

You Know You're A Blogger When… is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010