Cats And Coupons

I never knew there was a National Cheesecake Day. That in itself is surprising since cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts, if not the most favorite. Eli’s Cheesecake is offering 25% off of any one item ordered online before 08/01/08. COUPON EXPIRED. Eli’s Cheesecake is online at http://elicheesecake.com/. Yummy!

THIS POST WAS EDITED A COUPLE OF TIMES TODAY DUE TO EMAIL I RECEIVED FROM ELI’S. IT SEEMS I MISUNDERSTOOD AND THE PTB AT ELI’S HAVE GIVEN ME THE GREEN LIGHT TO LEAVE THE COUPON CODE UP. ALTHOUGH THE MISUNDERSTANDING COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED I MUST SAY THE LEVEL OF RESPONSIVENESS FROM THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM ON THE SITUATION WAS OUTSTANDING.

EDIT 2 – 08/01/08 – The coupon has expired so I have taken it down.

There are tons of sites on the internet offering free recipes for people. No Cans is a website put together by a family that wanted to find safe foods to feed pets after all of the pet deaths and recalls of 2007. The site offers recipes for making homemade pet food and pet treats for both dogs and cats. The cat category is split into different sections including kitten forumla and milk, kitten food, meat cat food, fish cat food, meat cat treats, fish cat treats, no meat cat treats and food for sick cats. The dog category is split into sections as well, including dog food, meat dog treats, vegetarian dog treats and dog treats from broth. All recipes include a list of ingredients and contain easy to understand instructions. It’s quite an interesting site. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Do you collect points or codes from soda products? How many soda manufacturers have these programs? I know Coke has offered My Rewards for quite a while now. I have a My Rewards account, but half the time if I have a code I can’t enter it because the printing isn’t clear enough to read. Today, I went on a quest looking for contests for an xbox 360. My son’s been really wanting one for a long time. Anyway. While searching I found out that Mountain Dew also has a program to collect codes from their products. Not being a soda drinker I don’t know if they do theirs the same as Coke. Are their codes legible? Just wondering. Sometimes I think that the codes are purposely made hard to read so less people win.

I recently read an article that pointed out a large need that’s currently getting bigger. Many people are aware of the many overpopulated shelters. It costs money to run them. But some people don’t realize they can help. Obviously, one way you can help homeless pets is to adopt one. But another way is to help the shelter that is housing them. Call your local shelter and ask what they need. The shelter near us is always looking for things – old towels, old bedding, inexpensive toys, and food. Yes, your local shelter would probably be more than happy to receive a donation of food. That’s what they feed the homeless animals with, isn’t it? Of course it is. But there’s another reason. As the economy worsens, some people are having to give up their pets because they can’t afford to keep them. So in order to help, some shelters are actually giving residents in their area pet food so they may keep their pets. Imagine if the shelter populations only increased more as the prices of gas and the cost of living rises. There are too many homeless animals now. You have the power to directly impact this situation. Call your local shelter. Ask what they need. See if you have any of it in your own home. When you go grocery shopping, buy a couple of cans or a bag of pet food for the shelter. I’m pretty sure that if everyone gave what little they could the animals would be in an entirely different situation.

On the way home from the track meet today we stopped at McDonalds because TJ was thirsty and a little hungry and it was almost 6pm. Today McDonalds was giving away a free Southern Chicken sandwich with the purchase of any medium or large drink. They’ve been promoting this special for a week. So, we pulled up and ordered. TJ wanted a chocolate shake and a double cheeseburger. I went to the window to pay. I asked her why the total was so high and she told me it was because you had to buy a drink to get the chicken sandwich for free. I told her I had bought a drink, the chocolate shake. She told me the chocolate shake wasn’t a drink. I pointed out thatn is was listed with the other drinks on the menu, came in different sizes and required a straw. She actually had to call another cashier to the window to get permission to give us the chicken sandwich for free. Am I crazy or something? Isn’t a chocolate shake a drink?

Cats and Coupons is joining in the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Giveaway Carnival for the first time! I’m giving away TEN coupons for a free six pack of Yoplait Kids yogurt in a cup or yogurt drinks. Sorry, there is a little fine print, the coupons cannot be redeemed in California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota and Tennessee. (If you’re in one of those states and traveling out of state soon enter and pick up your yogurt there.) It’s easy to enter. To enter just leave a comment containing your name (at least first name), how old your child is and their favorite flavor of yogurt. Feel free to share if you’re participating in the carnival as well if you like. Please take a look around while you’re here and if you like what you see please feel free to bookmark my blog or subscribe to my rss feed. Hurry and enter now – comments close Friday 04/25/08 at 11:59 pm est. The winner will be selected using random.org and will be announced on Saturday 04/26/08.

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED.

My sons and I tried something new this week, Yoplait Kids Yogurt. This yogurt was designed especially for young children as a healthy snack. Kids enjoy the taste of Yoplait Kids while adults enjoy that it has 25% less sugar than the leading brand of kids yogurt and contains vitamins, protein and Omega 3 DHA which helps promote brain development. It is available as a yogurt drink or in a cup. If you live anywhere in the United States except for CA, ID, LA, NV, NJ, ND and TN you can request a free sample of Yoplait Kids yogurt just by filling out and submitting the request at www.yoplaitkids.com. I will be posting a review of Yoplait Kids yogurt on Val’s Views shortly.

Here’s some interesting little tidbits about the eating habits of cats that came across. Some I knew about and others I didn’t.
* Cats naturally eat between twelve and twenty meals a day. Wow! No wonder my cats are always neat the bowl asking for more.
* An average adult cat weighing ten pounds should eat about 275 calories per day. That’s as much as some humans eat in one meal.
* Cats are proven to be finicky so it’s suggested that new food be introduced gradually, mixing the new food with the old. Well I did know that but I’ve always believed in mixing foods together for another reason. It’s easier on the digestive system to not suddenly switch foods, because some animals will have upset stomachs or diarrhea when food is drastically changed.
* Giving your cat milk is not a good idea. After growing out of kittenhood most cats become lactose intolerant, which means they could have painful, dehydrating diarrhea. I had heard not to give them milk, but did not know it was because most cats become lactose intolerant.

Find the food outlets. On one end of the town I live in we have an Entenmann’s outlet that carries much of the Entenmann line as Freihofer, Arnold, Boboli and Thomas’ products. In the town directly next to us there is a Pepperidge Farms outlet. I can buy the exact same products in these stores that I can in grocery stores but for much less. The Entenmanns, for example (because they’re so yummy). I bought a box of cookies, a chocolate cake, a box of cinnamon danishes and a pound cake all for $5. Each of those items goes for anywhere from $2.50 to over $4.00 each in the grocery store. So, if you want to save some money, find out if there are any food retail outlets near you.

My son went to an end of season pizza party for his basketball team yesterday. One of the Moms brought a half sheet cake, decorated with a basketball. It looked really nice, and didn’t taste bad either. When I asked her where she’d gotten it, I was surprised to hear she’d gotten it from the county vocational school for $10. I did not know the culinary program had products for sale. Not only can you order certain things for the students to make in class, they have a store open to the public. Everything is made daily by the students in the classroom.
I also recently learned that the Cosmetology program at the vocational school has one or two nights a week where the public can come in and purchase services at a reduced price. The students do the work, and the instructor checks important steps along the way to ensure quality work and make sure the practical application of knowledge is being applied correctly. One of the women I work got a hair cut from one of the students and it looks great.
I know there’s an automotive program as well, and I heard they do some work for area residents as well but haven’t been able to confirm it yet.
I think it’s a great way to let students practice their future craft and for people to save some money while supporting education. Next time you need a specialized service, see if there’s a vocational school in your area that offers services to the public.