Sometime last week I came across some meals in mason jars while on Pinterest. It really caught my attention because I never used jars before and I fell in love with this idea. Over at Big Red Chicken are two great posts about Mason jar meals. One is an introduction, while the other post has recipes. They are definitely worth checking out if you have any interest in Mason jar meals at all.

This past week has been a big one for Jazz. Thursday was her first day of school, she is in 12th grade. As part of a program at her school she is taking classes at a local college this year. You could feel and see the excitement she felt while she was showing me her Econ and Psych text books. Her i.d. picture was cute, she made sure of that, lol. Jazz was given a special bookbag, flash drive and her parking pass.  Friday was her driver’s test and she passed!! She was able to drive herself to work and everything. It sounds weird but it hit me just at that moment that she is really growing up. I can’t stop it, no matter how much I tried to ignore it. Jazz is smart, hard working, loyal and beautiful with a no nonsense attitude when it comes to her education. I could not be more proud of her ♥.

I clip coupons, a lot. I am the type of person who hates to buy anything with a coupon, but I don’t take it to the extreme. I do buy extra papers on Sunday and ask family members can I have their coupons if they are not using them. While visiting Just Because I’m A Mom, I read a post about extreme couponer who was caught stealing. Can you believe that? Does it really have to be that serious? I like to save money as much as the next person, but I would not even thinking about stealing papers from someone else. I agree with Gina that you don’t have to use 20 or more coupons to completely clear a shelf of one product. How much of one product do you really need? I definitely would not want to give up space in my home to store it all.

I wanted a place to share topics that catch my eye in a somewhat organized manner, lol so I welcome you to this week’s edition of Saturday Sharing.

School starts back in two weeks for my three younger children. This means I need to the ball rolling on finding meal ideas and doing a little menu planning. This summer I have really been taking it easy and it is time to change gears. I have a feeling this will be an extremely busy school year so I will need all the help I can find to make things easier.

I found a few recipes that I want to try.

• Brown Bag Burritos: Perfect for a make ahead meal you can refrigerate or freeze
• Monterey Ranch Quesadillas: Can be baked in the oven
• Homestyle Ribs: Slow cooker meal

• Chicken Gyros: We love gyros so this would be a nice twist
• Honey Pork Chops: Freezer meal that can be baked, grilled or slow cooked
• Bacon and Tomato Pasta: It has bacon, no other explanation needed!

• Pan Seared Tilapia- Only 5 ingredients
• Brined and Roasted Turkey - Looks moist and delicious
• Onion Roasted Potatoes: An easy side dish

Because of dvr I don’t see a lot of commercials, unless of course I just have to watch some on live t.v.  Today I was watching Hulu Plus and a Gap commercial popped up. It was about freezing jeans. I have never heard this before. Is this common? I am wonder how often do you do this between washing.

Everyday I am on Pinterest, a site that takes bookmarking to another level.  I have 813 pins and that number is quickly rising. Discovering what others find interesting is one of the best parts.  Plus it helps me keep track of just about everything. Well, over at The Vintage Apple is a weekly linky for Pinterest. This is going to be fun and I can wait to get started on Wednesday!

I came across this site today Stand Up for Family. It was a online comedy show that launched July 26th. I know, I am late  :)  I don’t know how I missed it! It is something American Family came up with to promote putting family first. Bill Bellamy is the host and there were six comedians Earthquake, Doug Williams, D’Lai, Wil Sylvince, Nikki Carr and Pat Brown. I am glad I came across it. I heard some of the jokes before but it was still funny. I wonder if they are going to do more.

Make sure check out my giveaway to win a $25 Walmart gift card. I also am giving away a Monopoly game and three  Pump It Up Party Goodie bags. I am going to add some more so don’t forget to visit 1stopmom Giveaways and Reviews

Here are a few of the sites I visited this week that I wanted to share with you.

Grampy’s World: Did you know he has a weekend linky? I think it is a pretty nice thing to do. If you sign the linky, he will add you to his blog’s sidebar for one week. What a great way to give some linky love

Three Fates Design: Right now there is a giveaway for a beautiful pair of earrings or a beaded cuff. You don’t get to pick which one but hey you may just win the one you really want! I am trying for the butterfly beaded cuff

From Dates to Diapers: While at BlogHer, Christine was able to participate in a “Got Milk” campaign. She shares with us the secret behind the milk mustache. Plus she looks so cute!!

School starts back September 1st. Can you feel my excitement? I remember when I could not wait for summer to start. Now I am counting down the days. I need some peace and quiet, lol.

I have a back to school giveaway going on right now where you can win a $100 gift card to Walmart and a Scholastic Children’s Dictionary. You can get a lot of stuff for back to school. Make sure to leave a comment on the giveaway post with a back to school tip and you will be entered to win! Check out the other bloggers on the tour as well. Serendipity Mommy post up yesterday. She shares memories of a school field trip to the Zoo. One of my favorite places to go. Plus she is giving away a portable dvd player!

Here are a few of the sites I visited this week that I wanted to share with you.

Jenn Cooks: You have to check out this recipe for Butterfinger Cake! Seeing all the pictures made me want to get up and make one.

A Hen’s Nest: There is a great giveaway for a Summer Boredom Buster package of three books. We love National Geographic so I am entering to win this one!

Baby Making Machine: Lil J has turned 1 month! Wow, time went by fast. I just love all those big bows she wears

My Brown Baby: Denene took her family on a trip to Paris. I never thought about going before but I changed my mind after reading this post. The pictures are beautiful.

I wanted a place to share stuff in a somewhat organized manner, lol so I welcome you to Saturday Sharing.

I am a fan (stalker, lol) of Riding with Jessica. It was a pleasant surprise when I visited her site earlier this week and noticed the changes and the new name That Tech Chick. Catchy right? She is taking her blog in a direction that showcases the things she loves. Being a geek myself I am  pretty excited. Jessica is so smart and creative. I am not just saying this because she got to meet Kat and take pictures with her, lol.  Go show Jessica your support. Grab her button, like That Tech Chickon Facebook, follow Jessica on Twitter. You know the deal

Speaking of Kat, I am sad to say that she did not make it to the next round during her American Idol auditions. It is beyond clear that those judges do not know what they are talking about. If you don’t already know, Kat can sing! I am not saying this to be nice and polite. She can really sing. Plus she has a beautiful smile and personality. Even though they did not pick her I am so proud of the fact that she went out there and auditioned. That is pretty big. You just have to go and read her post about her American Idol audition. She took some great pictures too.

I have been relaxing by reading some blogs by some of my favorite people, but also discovering a few new ones. I remember when I first started blogging I would check out who people list in their sidebars. I am going to start doing that again. Here are a few of those blogs I visited this week.

Make sure you check them out, they are worth a visit!

Well today was the big day. I mentioned before I was on baby watch, lol. Well Lil’ J has finally arrived.  She weighed in at 9lbs and 9 oz.  Congratulations to Mama and family. She definitely is beautiful.

My son TJ constantly searches our yard for snakes and it kind of freaks me out. But the ones he has found are nothing like what was on Kat’s window over at For the Love of Chaos. You would not believe the size of this snake and she caught it on camera! She is good, lol.

I just have to mention Cat from 3 kids and Us. She made a practice Cinderella cake for her daughter’s birthday and now I have cake on the brain! She did a really good job and dare I say it? I want to give it a try, lol. Every time she makes something, I am convinced I should try to do it.

For Father’s Day Walgreen has a promotion where you can get a free 8 x 10 collage made. Throw it in a frame and it would make a nice gift *hint hint*. It ends today so go to the Walgreens Photo Center and use the code: GOBIG8X10 

If you do not know who Renee from Cutie Booty Cakes is you should! She is one of the most honest, real and inspirational people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Renee has recently lost 47 pounds is on the road to lose a little more.  She has decided to run the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco. Renee set this personal goal because  she wants to make a difference in the lives of others. She is  running with Team in Training to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Renee running in honor of her girlfriend’s 4 year old daughter Ja’Naya, she is currently battling leukemia and winning. The fundraising goal is $4000 which she is trying to reach by August 5th. Please help to support Renee by donating and sharing her donation page. Here is the link to the donation page http://pages.teamintraining.org/ga/nikesf10/rrossk

I went to Walmart yesterday and found Kayla a few tshirts and skorts for on $1. Yep one dollar. I stumbled across them on a clearance rack marked $3. You know that just made my entire day. There were also some flip flops on sale for $1 but they were out of Kayla’s size.

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I came across such a useful website this week, Everybody Loves Smoothies. I have bookmarked this one.  We like to make smoothies and can never remember where we saw a great recipe.  What really caught my eye is the fact that other people can submit their own recipes. Right now there are only a few hundred but new recipes are added daily. With summer so close, we are going to visting this site a lot!

Did you know Oprah is looking for the next tv star to host their OWN show? You can go to the site and upload your own audition video or you can go to one of the open casting calls. Check here for more information.

As an avid video game player, I could not help but smile when I went to the Google home page.  They made the Google letters into a pac man video game. And you can play it! Isn’t that cool?

I had no idea that May was better sleep month. Personally I love a good night sleep. Well right now Sleep Number is having a Summer Sweepstakes . You can go to www.sleepnumber.com/summer to enter for the chance to win a Queen Sleep Number® i10 bed set, including one Queen In-Balance blanket, one Queen In-Balance Sheet set with two standard pillow cases, and two Natural Foam pillows and home delivery. (ARV: $4,925.00)

Today is Stamp Out Hunger. We participate in this single day food drive every year. All you have to is leave a bag that contains perishable foods, like canned soup, canned vegetables, pasta, rice or cereal, next to your mailbox prior to the time of regular mail delivery.  If you “like” Stamp Out Hunger on Facebook, Campbell’s will donate a can of soup to Feeding America.

McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant is giving Moms a complimentary dessert tomorrow.

If you create a Mother’s Day Card on Facebook and send it to your Mom,  Denny’s will give both you and a Mom a coupon for a free Pancake Puppies Sundae.

At Walgreens you can get a free 8 x 10 collage print. Today is the last day. Use the code GOODTHOUGHTS when you check out.

If you are looking for crafts, recipes or ideas for Mother’s Day, here a few links worth checking out:

• Make and Takes
• Kaboose
• Kid’s Turn Central
• Enchanted Learning
• Family Fun
• About.com

Have a wonderful Mother’s Day and don’t forget about aunts, grandmas, cousins and friends!!

 JCPenney: Free shipping on orders over $75. Use code 75SHOWER Remember to order by May 1 to get it byMother’s Day

Kohls: Free shipping on orders over $100. Use code SHIPTOME100

One of my favorite restaurants, Famous Dave’s is having a giveaway for a $200 gift card. All you have to do is follow them on Facebook. That is a lot of great barbecue you can get if you win. And I mean really great. You have until May 5th.

Have you heard about Sam’s Club’s Giving Made Simple Program? This program involves one charity winning $1 million .Junior Achievement is up for an award. I was in JA when I was younger. I remember learning a lot and make some pretty nice stuff including a lantern. I did a really good job on it and sold quite a few. To vote,  go to Giving Made Simple  You can vote until May 2nd.So that means you can vote today and tomorrow. If Junior Achievement wins, $1 million will go to  teach entrepreneurship young people.