Groupon Deal: $50.00 Reebok voucher for $25

The other day I realized that I had a hole in the heal of one of my sneakers. As in, I could see daylight through it. Considering that I just bought the sneakers in March, I wasn't thrilled that they needed to be replaced. Then I saw this Groupon deal for a $50 Reebok voucher for $25. I found some sneakers that I like for sale on the Reebok site with free shipping. I also had a $5 credit from Groupon. For $20, I was able to replace my sneakers. I hope that this pair lasts longer than three months.

I Scream for Slush

On the way home from Alex's last day of school, I told him that he could have a special treat when we got home in honor of his last day of school. I listed all of the frozen treats that we had in the house: popsicles, ice cream, or sports bars. He rejected them all and said that he wanted to make blueberry slush ice cream. I'm not sure where he got the idea to make ice cream. Then I remembered that we did have an ice cream maker hidden in the basement.

The ice cream maker was a wedding gift that at the time of registering for wedding gifts seemed like a must needed item. We actually did use the ice cream maker several times after our wedding to make some delicious homemade ice cream. Unfortunately, after the novelty wore off, we stored it in the basement and sadly forgot about it. I'm embarrassed to admit.

With Alex's request for homemade ice cream, I dug out the ice cream maker. I was pleased to see that we still had all of the parts. I was even thrilled to find the recipe book that came with it. The recipe book had a recipe for slush that could not have been easier. Basically, pour four cups of your favorite fruity beverage or soda into the ice cream maker, turn it on, and wait 15 to 20 minutes for tasty frozen slush. (Oh, you also have to make sure that you freeze the main bowl beforehand.) Alex wanted to include blueberries so we threw some of those in too. The result was a delicious treat! 

We happened to make the slush during the summer's first heat wave so it was very well timed. Now that I have resurrected the ice cream maker, I have been perusing the recipe book and making plans for more homemade ice cream this summer. I'm so glad that Alex requested homemade ice cream on the last day of school!

Fun at Fenway for Father's Day

Happy Father's Day! Today, we spent Father's Day at Fenway Park's walk around the field. If the Red Sox happen to be away on Father's Day, the Red Sox organization opens Fenway Park to the public. You are allowed to walk around the warning track, visit Wally, sit in the dugout, and have your picture taken with the 2004 and 2007 World Series trophies. Also, a couple of former Red Sox players were available for autographs. Alex got Bob Montgomery's autograph. We took advantage of this experience and it was the perfect day for it. Then we went to Jerry Remy's Sport's Bar and Grill for lunch.

Tickets to a Red Sox game can be difficult to get at an affordable price. The great thing about today's event is that it allows families to affordably experience the allure of visting Fenway Park.

Here are a couple of other ways to experience Fenway Park without buying tickets to a game:

The Futures of Fenway is August 18 this year. This is a doubleheader game of minor league teams. This year the teams are the Red Sox A affiliate Lowell Spinners taking on the Hudson Valley Renegades from the Tampa Bay Rays organization. The second game matches the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox vs. the Buffalo Bisons, an affiliate from the New York Mets organization. Ticket prices start at a low cost of $5/ticket.

You can also take a tour of Fenway Park. Tours are offered daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. On a game day, the last tour is three hours before the start of the game. Ticket prices are $16.00 for adults and $12.00 for children. Alex took the Fenway Park tour on a field trip and came home with many funny stories and a possible sighting of Mike Aviles. According to Alex, he drives a white car.

Alex's favorite player is Jacoby Ellsbury. Before we left the field, he wanted to take a long look at center field and see the part of the field where Jacoby plays. Although he admires watching Jacoby play, I'm glad that his biggest role model is not a Red Sox player, but his dad. I think that today's dads do not get the credit and respect that they deserve. Dads today seem to be portrayed in television shows and in the media as bumbling fools that don't help with their kids or know how to take care of them. The current example is Phil Dunphy from the television show, Modern Family. Senator Scott Brown's campaign thinks that being a good dad is such an exceptional skill that his campaign is currently running an ad showing how helpful he is around the house. Most of the dads that I know are equal partners in raising their kids. They are taking their kids to school, feeding them breakfast, helping them with homework, coaching their teams, doing the dishes, picking up toys, mowing the lawn, and the rest of the endless household chores. My husband does all this and more. Craig, thank you for being such an amazing dad and role model for our son. He's growing up to be an incredible human being because he has an amazing man like you as a role model.

Pull Up Your Britches and Do Something

David McCullough's recent commencement speech at Wellesley High School, Craig's alma mater, went viral and gained negative national attention because McCullough dared to tell the graduates that they are not special. Those reacting negatively to the speech are missing the point. McCullough is not being a Debbie Downer and killing the dreams of young, newly graduated high school students about to enter adult life. If you take the time to read or watch the entire speech, you will see that McCullough's goal is to inspire the students to work hard to become special and earn special recognition. Towards the end of the speech, he says, "Don’t wait for inspiration or passion to find you. Get up, get out, explore, find it yourself, and grab hold with both hands."

This speech made the rounds the same week that my 91 year-old grandfather passed away. During Grandpa's funeral service, the minister mentioned that Grandpa would often say, "Pull up your britches and do something." He would say this when he would see one of his children or grandchildren sitting around with nothing to do. Britches are what Grandpa called pants. His point was to stop sitting around wasting your time and get up and do something useful.

After losing electricity in the aftermath of Hurricane Carol that struck Rhode Island in the 1950s, my dad remembers as a 7 year-old complaining to my grandpa that he was bored and tired of sitting around in the dark. My grandpa's solution was for my dad to gather old flashlights, batteries, and wires from around the house to build a lamp. By the end of the day, my dad had built a MacGyver-style lamp and was no longer able to complain that he was tired of it being dark. He jokes that this experience taught him not to complain. It seems to me that he learned more important lessons. He learned practical lessons about how electricity works. More importantly, he learned to be resourceful. When you are in a less than ideal situation, don't sit around and feel sorry for yourself. Get up and do something about it.

My Facebook friends have already seen this quote, but I want to repeat it because I think it ties in with the theme of making the most of your life. When Alex was born, Grandpa gave us a card addressed to Alex that read:

Dear Alex,
Just grow up to be a healthy, normal boy. Always do your best, but have some fun every day and never loose your sense of humor.
Love,
Great Grandpa Stubbs

That about sums it up. It's up to you how special you are and your life is. Do your best, but have some fun every day.

Free Target Beauty Bag Has Arrived

My free Target beauty bag arrived today. It included the following items:

• Neutrogena Ultra Sheer dry-touch sunblock 1.0 FL OZ
• TRESemme Split Remedy slit end shampoo 1.0 FL OZ
• TRESemme Split Remedy split end conditioner 1.0 FL OZ
• Aveeno Smart Essentials daily detoxifying scrub 1.0 FL OZ
• Garnier Fructis Color Shield fortifying shampoo and conditioner 0.34 FL OZ
• Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter - peach parfait
• Plus - a book with Target beauty coupons

I love free swag! These travel size items are great for taking on trips.

Birthday Freebies

The older that I get, the quicker it seems that my birthday sneaks up on me. There are a number of freebies available that make birthdays all the more enjoyable. I love that my email inbox fills up with birthday freebies in the days leading up to my birthday. Many of them I get as a reward for being a store or restaurant email member. I either forget about or don't even know about the free birthday item until I get the annual birthday email.

Here's a list of the ones I've gotten this year:

• Not Your Average Joe's restaurant - An email for a complimentary entree and dessert. This offer is available to members of NYAJ's email club.
• Starbucks - A card in the mail for a free beverage of my choice. This is sent to anyone who registers a Starbucks gift card on Starbucks website and enters a birthday in the account information.
• Starbucks ice cream - A coupon for $1.00 off a pint of Starbucks ice cream.
• Dunkin Donuts - A medium beverage of my choice from Dunkin Donuts for being a member of their rewards program.
• Brueggers - A coupon for a free bagel and cream cheese with the purchase of a beverage for signing up with their email club.
• IHOP - Free Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity entree. This offer is available when you sign up with your email on the IHOP website.
• Uno Chicago Grill - Free entree if you are a member of the Uno Insider's Club.
• A coupon for $0.50 of Driscoll berries.
• Bass - 20% off your next purchase for being a member of the Bass rewards program.
• Office Depot - 10% back in rewards.

Free Personalized Greeting Card

You can get a free personalized greeting card from treat.com. Go to treat.com, create your greeting card, and then use coupon code FREETREAT. With Father's Day coming up, you can use this offer to make a special card for the dad in your life.

Swagbucks: Searching for Gift Cards

I use Swagbucks now as my primary search engine as a way to earn gift cards while I'm doing my usual online searching. Swagbucks is a search engine and rewards site. When you sign up and use it as a search engine, you will be randomly rewarded with points. Once you accumulate a certain number of points, you can redeem them for rewards such as Amazon or Starbucks gift cards. It usually takes me about a month to earn a $5 Amazon gift card. It's not a lot, but its nice to get a little something for the Internet searching that I would be doing anyway. There are other ways to earn points such as ordering deals (mostly Groupon deals), answering surveys, watching videos, or printing coupons. The Money Saving Mom blog has some tutorials on how to use the Swagbucks site and earn more points. You might want to give it a try and earn some rewards for your online searches.