Powerful Wind Turbines

There's a new type of wind turbine that rotates horizontally, which is supposed to be able to generate twice the power as traditional turbines.  They're called Aerogenerator X Vertical Axis Wind Turbines, and are expected to be completed by 2014.

You can click here to watch the video:
http://gizmodo.com/5599241/the-most-powerful-wind-turbine-doesnt-look-like-any-wind-turbine-youve-seen-before

Aerogenerator X Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Elliptical Bike

I saw this and thought it was pretty cool.  It's called the ElliptiGO 8S and it's the world's first elliptical bike.   Here's a video, so you can see how cool it is.  The best part is that it "provides a low-impact alternative to outdoor running that maintains the core running experience without the damage to the body."  Looks fun!

 Check out www.elliptigo.com for more info.

Granola Bars and Gum

Walgreens:
4 packs of Trident Gum
2 boxes of security envelopes

Used:
Walgreens in-ad coupon for envelopes, making them 59¢ a box
BOGO Walgreens in-ad coupon for the gum and
$1/2 coupons for the gum, making them 15¢ for each pack

Total: $1.88 (savings of $5.98)

Giant Eagle:
6 boxes of Cascadian Farms Granola Bars (reg price $3.49, these were on sale 3 for $10, and on top of that, for every 3 you buy, you get an automatic $3 off your order. That works out to be 3 for $7.)
5 boxes of Morningstar Farms products, $3.50 each

Used:
75¢ off each box of Granola bars, doubled, making them 83¢ a box.
75¢ off each of the Morningstars, doubled, making them $2 a box.

I get a lot of free or nearly free gum. Which is pretty handy, since I chew a lot of gum.  And I like a variety, as you can see here:

I ♥ gum!

Raw Food

Ever since I had the Raw Spinach Pesto Manicotti at The Laughing Seed in Asheville, I've been a bit obsessed with raw food.  I not only loved the way it tasted, but I also liked how it made me feel after eating it.

So tonight I prepared my first raw dish and it turned out great!  It was like pasta & sauce, only not.

I got the recipe out of a book called Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People by Jennifer Cornbleet.

I first prepared the sauce, which was:
Tomato,
Sundried Tomato,
Red Pepper,
Garlic,
Oil,
Basil,
Oregano,
Salt,
Pepper, and
Cayenne

You toss everything in a food processor and puree.  It looks just like tomato sauce and tastes delicious!

Then I took some zucchini and used a vegetable spiral slicer to make corkscrew type "pasta".  I then used a peeler to make fettuccine size strips.

Top the zucchini with the sauce.  I garnished with a few slices of red pepper.  So yummy!

I was a bit intimidated by making food that doesn't get cooked, but this recipe was so super quick and easy.  I'm excited to pick something new to try for next week.

This week's special deals

I haven't been able to get as many great deals lately.  A lot of the sales have been focusing on Back to School supplies.  I've gotten a few things to donate here and there, but nothing like the mass quantity of free pasta I was getting a few months ago.

Walgreens (trip 1):
2 Kotex pads, on sale $3.50 each (regularly $4.39)
1 Dial body wash, $3.99
1 Secret Soothing Effects Deodorant, on clearance for $2.59 (reg. $8.99)
5 pieces of Poster Board, 99¢ each

Used:
$2 off each Kotex Pad (Walgreens coupon), plus $1 off each Kotex Pad (making them 50¢ each)
$1 off Dial Body Wash
79¢ off each poster board (making them 20¢ each)
$4 in Register Rewards

Total: $4.53 (savings of $28.12)
Plus I got back a $3 Register Reward for the deodorant
and a $3 Register Reward for the body wash

Walgreens (trip 2):
2 Kotex pads, on sale $3.50 each (regularly $4.39)

1 Secret Soothing Effects Deodorant, on clearance for $2.59 (reg. $8.99)

Used:

$2 off each Kotex Pad (Walgreens coupon), plus $1 off each Kotex Pad (making them 50¢ each)

Total: $4.17 (savings of $16.38)

Plus I got back a $3 Register Reward for the deodorant

Giant Eagle:
1 container of Green Works laundry detergent, reg price $6.99

Used:
$3 off any Green works

Total: $4.22
Plus I will be sending for a full rebate ($6.99), so I end up with the detergent for Free, plus making a $3 profit.

*I did get a few other ok deals at Giant Eagle, but nothing fantastic.

I may also head over to Office Depot later in the week, to get a ream of paper for $1.00, after rebate.

Social Media Monopoly Board Game

It's just like Monopoly, but instead of Atlantic City landmarks, it has Internet and Social Media references.

I don't know if you can buy this, but I think it'd be pretty cool to play.

Go here to read the full article: 

http://www.bite.ca/bitedaily/2010/07/social-media-monopoly-board-game/

♪ We all live in a Yellow Submarine ♫

This was someone's wedding cake!  I think it's pretty cool.
:)

You can read the full description here.

Panera's Pay What You Can Restaurant

Panera has been running a non profit restaurant in MO that runs on the honor system.  And it's working!

Customers are told to pay what they can afford.  I find it intriguing that people can manage to behave themselves enough to make this happen.

Panera is not the first to do this.  A place called One World Salt Lake City has been running their restaurant on the honor system since 2003.

You can read the full article here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37213165/from/38357994

[photo: sfgate.com]

Free/Cheap stuff at Walgreens

Walgreens (trip 1):
Crayola Washable Markers - on sale $3
Crayola Crayons -  on sale $1
Box of Paper Clips - on sale 79¢

Used a coupon for 50¢ off paperclips (making them 29¢)

Total with tax: $4.58
Plus I got a $1 Register Reward from the crayons
and a $3 rebate for the markers

Walgreens (trip 2):
Crayola Crayons - on sale $1
Schick Hydro Razor - on sale $7.99
Yes to Tomatoes Body Butter - on sale $6.89 (regular price is $13.79!)

I used a 15% off coupon from the Walgreens' Facebook page.
(making the crayons 85¢, the razor $6.79, and the body butter $5.86)

Total with tax: $14.31
I got a $1 Register Reward for the crayons
a $2 Register Reward for the razor (which was an unexpected surprise)
and I have a full rebate ($7.99) for the Razor.

Walgreens (trip 3)
Finesse shampoo - $3.59

Used $1 coupon

Total with tax: $2.80
I will send for a $3 rebate for the shampoo

Eco-Friendly House

Check out this cool looking house.  It's called a Global Model Earthship.  It has solar panels, solar hot water, skylights, walls made of earth and recycled tires.  You can get a small 800 sq foot one all the way up to a three bedroom 1500 sq foot model.

It's a little strange looking but I love the fact that it's made with recycled material and the amount of light is fantastic.

You can read more about it here: http://earthship.com/buildings/global

Best times to buy stuff

Did you know that Tuesday is the best day to get a deal on airfare?  Or that a tweet at Noon (EST) during the week will get the most attention?  Or that it's a good idea to fill your gas tank up before 10am on Thursdays?

This article from Vocalpoint has some great tips and hints about the best time to take action:
http://www.vocalpoint.com/_500001298/Articles/The_Days_of_Your_Life

Weekly Deals

Walgreens:

2 Walgreen's Reusable Shopping Bags - 99¢ each
Always Pads - $4.39
3 packs of Sharpies (2 in each pack) - on sale $1.49 each
4 packages of Scotch Tape - $1.99 each
3 bottles Listerine - on sale for $2.99 each
2 Renpure Organic Shampoo - on sale Buy 1 Get 1 Free ($6.99 for 2)

Coupons Used:
98¢ off 2 reusable bags (making them 50¢ each)
$3.50 off Always Pads (making them 89¢)
$2.40 off 3 packages of Sharpies (making them 69¢ for each pack of 2)
$3.98 off 4 packages of Scotch tape (making them $1 each)
$3 off 3 bottles of Listerine (making them $1.99 a bottle (they're usually over $4!))
$7 in Register Rewards

Total with tax: $17.44 (saved $36.85)
*Plus I'll send in for the $6.99 rebate for the shampoo (apparently there is no limit on how many times you do this rebate, but each one has to be in a separate envelope), which makes both shampoos Free!  And that takes the final total down to $10.45.

CVS:

Kotex U pads $4.99

Used $4 Extra Care Buck

Total with tax: $1.29
*Plus I got back a $4.99 Extra Care Buck (from the pads)
and a $1 Extra Care Buck (from using my Green Bag tag four times)

Kroger:

2 boxes Puffs Tissues - $1.79 each
1 bottle Suave Professionals Shampoo - $1.90
Nasoya Tofu - $2.89

Coupons:
$1 off each Puffs (79¢ each)
Free bottle of Suave (this coupon scanned as $3 off, and the cashier let me have the overage!)

Total with tax: $3.87

Giant Eagle:

Didn't get any really great deals this week, but I did get 2 huge bags of cat food to drop in the Humane Society Bins at the front of the store for around $2 each (they're usually about $4 each).

They just started printing annual savings at the bottom of the receipt, broken down by category.

In the past 12 months, I've saved:
$58.46 in gas
$467.63 in store savings/sales
$934.26 in coupons
for a total of $1460.35!!!