Happy 4th of July!

July 4th just so happens to be my mother's best friends birthday. 

Happy Birthday Diana!  

Diana was throwing a - go ahead and guess, yes - a BBQ. It was the perfect excuse to make a few dozen cupcakes and give a Pinterest pin I saw a try.  

The Inspiration: Flag Fruit Cupcakes

As good as the blueberries and strawberries looked,  I decided to go without the fresh fruit since it was over 95 degrees out!  I kept my ingredients simple and turned to good ol' Duncan Hines.  No, I was not about to make cupcakes from scratch - don't judge - everyone loves boxed cake! Besides, I have never baked cupcakes from scratch before, shhhhhh. 

• Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix paired with Cream Cheese Frosting  
• Duncan Hines French Vanilla Cake Mix & Vanilla Frosting
• Red & Blue Sprinkles
• Coconut Flakes

4th of July Cupcake Flag

I wanted to use 50 cupcakes but it just didn't work out. It came out close enough though, 48 cupcakes!

Take A Break From Your Bills!

I love reading All You Magazine for their great tips.  Here's one I never thought of... taking a vacation from your bills!

Did you know you can cut costs by: 

Suspending your landline or wireless service.  Who would think to voluntarily suspend their service? 

Your landline can still dial 611 or 911 if needed, so there's no need to worry about needing information or calling for help in an emergency.  

Suspending your cable/dish service.  If your service provider doesn't allow you to suspend service, switch to the lowest cost plan while you're away.  DirectTV customers can suspend their service as long as the suspension will last less than 6 months and there's no current account balance. 

Switch your water heater to vacation mode and cut the energy use by up to 25%.  Hmm, have a bill for $100 or $75? 

There are a few things I do religiously when going away to help cut costs, such as: 

Unplug electrical appliances.  I think it's so vital for everyone to know that even though an appliance may be turned off, it still draws electricity when plugged.  Think about all those chargers that are left plugged into an outlet! Yikes!  

Before I leave the house, even for just a long weekend, I unplug my:

• microwave 
• lamps 
• tv
• computer 
• plug-in air fresheners
• fans 

Whichever way you decide to have a vacation from your bills, make sure you ask if there are any fees or time limits!  You wouldn't want to be a hit with a fee later on, it'll defeat the purpose of saving.

Healing Power of Egg Whites

I would have never thought that eggs could be a healing miracle for burns.  Eggs are known to be full of vitamins.  They are in fact a placenta, right.  Apparently, egg whites are also a natural form of collagen, which helps regenerate burned skin. 

First Aid for Burns*

  1. Spray cold water on the affected area until the heat 

is reduced and stops burning the layers of skin.

2. Spread egg whites on the affected area, 

allowing to form a protective layer. 

Story #1 

"A young man sprinkling his lawn and bushes with pesticides wanted to check the contents of the barrel to see how much pesticide remained in it.  He raised the cover and lit his lighter; the vapors inflamed and engulfed him.  He jumped from his truck, screaming.  His neighbor came out of her house with a dozen eggs, yelling: "bring me some eggs!"  She broke them, separating the whites from the yolks.  The neighbor helped her to apply the whites on the young man's face.  When the ambulance arrived and when the EMTs saw the young man, they asked who had done this.  Everyone pointed to the lady in charge.  They congratulated her and said: "You have saved his face."  By the end of the summer, the young man brought the lady a bouquet of roses to thank her.  His face was like a baby's skin."

Story #2

"A woman burned a large part of her hand with boiling water.  In spite of the pain, she ran cold faucet water on her hand, separated 2 egg white from the yolks, beat them slightly and dipped her hand in the solution.  The whites dried and formed a protective layer. She continued to apply layer upon layer of beaten egg white, during at least one hour.  By afternoon she no longer felt any pain and the next day there was hardly a trace of the burn.  10 days later, no trace was left at all and her skin had regained its normal color."

 *  Collagen dressings are created by companies such as Johnson & Johnson to treat burn wounds. 
     Click here to learn more. 

{Community} Spring & Summer Fun

Check with your city's Parks & Recreation Department to see what fun things can be done.

Here's my fav from Heath, OH...

Swimming Lessons 

Session 1: June 11 - 22

Session 2: July 9 - 20

Cost: $20

Star Spangled Celebration!

Geller Park: 

July 2

5:00 pm

Cost: Admission, parking, entertainment all FREE

Kids Summer Bowling Camp (Ages 4 - 14)

Park Lanes

June 25 - 29

11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Cost: $60 

Extend Coupon Expiration Dates

DYK? Military families overseas can use expired coupons for up to six months past their expiration date. 

Visit ocpnet.org for more information

Free Money Anyone?

Rebate websites are a must when shopping online.  Why?  Because you get cash back on your everyday purchases!

My favorite is MyLuckyRewards.com from Lucky Magazine

Every quarter, if I accumulate more than $15 in  cash back rewards, I get it loaded onto a prepaid Visa 

that I can use just like a Debit Card. 

Other sites to try are

• eBates           More than 1,000 retailers - Get paid quarterly via check or paypal
• Fat Wallet     More than 1,000 retailers - Get paid weekly via check or paypal
• Mr. Rebates  More than 2,000 retailers - Get paid monthly via check or paypal

{Fashion} Colorful Cardigans

Spring is just around the corner! Yay!

Look at these cute & colorful cardigans available at Nordstrom Rack. 

I tried finding it online but had no luck.  I would love one of these! Pink please!!