The New Glade Expressions and BzzAgent!

Now that I've started getting into the swing of things (I hope) with college, I plan to be posting a lot more often to my blog. Since I started college back in August of last year, I've been pretty inundated with assignments and reading, along with other projects that I've needed to devote my time to. Although we all know college isn't all fun and games (even though we sometimes wish it was), there are some projects that I've actually really enjoyed participating in, after all of my homework has been completed of course. ;)

One of these projects happens to be BzzAgent, an awesome site that lets anyone (not just college students) join to test out free products in exchange for their valuable feedback. Because of BzzAgent, I had the opportunity to try out two different products from Glade's new Expressions Collection.

I'm so glad I was able to try these, because I probably wouldn't have even given these a second look. The Pineapple and Mangosteen oil diffuser (although not my first choice of scent), was actually a lot better than I had expected it to be. It was a bit strong for the first few days, but after that it was just enough to permeate the room and leave it with a nice, refreshing, tropical scent. And I loved the design of it, it fit it very well with the table in our dorm living room. Here's a picture of it in the dorm!

My favorite product of the two that I tried out was the Lavender and Juniper Berry fragrance mist. The smell of it was just plain AMAZING, and it actually reminded me of those gummy berry snacks that I used to love in elementary school. It gave my dorm room a very lovely, inviting smell that I enjoy having after a long day of classes. And the design of the bottle (with a removable label) is very unique and modern to look more like a decorative object than like a plain, regular bottle of fragrance mist.

I'm so proud to be a member of BzzAgent and have the opportunity to try out these products, as well as share in my experiences with others, at no charge. If you love trying out new things, I'd definitely recommend signing up for BzzAgent. What would you like to have the chance to try out at no cost? :)

Self-Motivation

I think we all understand how easy it is to begin something, continue to work on it for awhile, and then eventually forget about it and leave it as a never-to-be-completed work in progress. I couldn't even tell you how many times I've done this. Books, drawings, projects: all worked on to an extent, only to be scattered forever amongst all of the other unaccomplished ideas.

I had a feeling this is where my blog was going for a little while. But this is where a little bit of Self-Motivation and extra effort come into play! Now I won't deny that I've been a little bit distracted with all of this getting-ready-for-college stuff, and it might still have an impact on my ability to write future posts. But I will definitely be sure to put aside a little extra time to keep everything updated.

And in other news, I am officially leaving TOMORROW for Fresno Pacific University! I am beyond excited to start a new journey as I finally begin the life of a college student! Woohoo! :)

$10 Worth of Free Items PLUS Free Shipping!

Here's an offer that's impossible to pass up. When you sign up for Vitacost, you get $10 to spend on their website!! And now through April 12, you get free shipping on your entire purchase as long as you add their Vitamin D3 Capsules ($4.99) to your shopping cart, leaving you with just over $5 to spend on whatever you want with NO shipping costs! They have a lot of awesome products to choose from: shampoo, conditioner, vitamins, food, baby products, soap. Too much for me to list here! I decided to use the remaining $5 I had on an 18 oz Nature's Gate Pomegranate and Sunflower Shampoo and Superior Bee Flower Rose Soap!

And also be sure to add two free samples to your cart. Remember this promotion ends on April 12! But even if you do miss the deadline, you can still sign up to get the $10 code. Vitacost is constantly having free shipping promotions like this, so even if you miss this great deal, save the email you received with the $10 code and keep your eyes peeled for their next free shipping promo!

Calling All Gamers!

I know that guys are usually the ones known for playing video games, but I do play my fair share of video games too. Gog.com is offering a free PC download of Fallout today and tomorrow only!! This game has 5 star ratings btw! Add the game to your account here. If you don't have an account, registration is free and easy and they give you 6 additional games just for signing up! Their site also has a great selection of games at reasonable prices, generally $10 and under.

Companies to Contact for Coupons

How is everyone doing with their savings so far? Some of you may know that I said I was going to be compiling a list of companies that you can email to get even more savings, so here is the beginning of what will hopefully be a very long and useful list of companies that will send you coupons if you ask them nicely.  


                      My successful endeavors

                                                                                 

•  American Italian Pasta Company                
• 1 Coupon for .55 off and 1 Coupon for a FREE Package
•  Kellogg's                                                    
• 3 Coupons for $1 off various Kellogg's brands
•  Sara Lee                                                    
• 3 Coupons for $1 off Sara Lee Brands
•  Bays English Muffins                                  
•  2 Coupons for .75 off Bays English Muffins
•  Best Foods                                                 
• Coupon Booklet with several AWESOME coupons
•  Birds Eye Vegetables                                  
• 3 Coupons for .35 off Bird's Eye
•  Bob Evans                                                  
• 4 Coupons for .50 off any Bob Evans Product
•  Boboli Pizza Crust                                     
•  2 Coupons for $1 off any Boboli Product
• Bob's Red Mill                                            
• 4 Coupons for .55 off any Bob's Red Mill Product

In case you're wondering what to include in your emails to these companies or any others you contact, here's a sample email that I sent to Azteca Foods (of course I never got a response from them, but this is generally how I structure my emails).

Dear Azteca foods,

My family and I love to eat tacos, burritos, and tostadas for 

dinner all the time. Deep-fried bean and cheese burritos are 

actually one of my favorite dinners as far as taste and 

simplicity. Normally we purchase La Rosa tortillas, but I'd 

love to try out your brand to see how we like it. If you had 

any coupons that you could send me, I would greatly appreciate
it. 

Thank you very much!
Allisha Gold, Burrito Enthusiast

 Good luck with your emails! I'll be sure to update the list of companies as I get more coupons in the mail!

Blog Giveaways

Why pay for something when you can get it free? Blog giveaways are great ways to win free items, gift cards, or even cold hard cash! In this past month alone, I've won 4 different giveaways being hosted by bloggers themselves, and this was pretty much the first month I've ever entered blog giveaways! What's so fantastic about giveaways that are hosted on blogs is the fact that your chances of winning are usually pretty high. Most giveaways range from just a few hundred entries to a few thousand; compare that to the sweepstakes held by large corporations that can have hundreds of thousands of people entering. And what's even better is that almost all blog giveaways allow you to earn multiple entries, making your odds of winning even higher! So now that we've been talking about blog giveaways, I say it's time to announce our first blog giveaway!! Enter through the Rafflecopter form below for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift code. This giveaway will end on April 7 at 12 AM EST and is open to the U.S. ONLY. The winner will be chosen through random.org and will have 48 hours to respond to my email. You must follow my blog through Google Friend Connect to be eligible to win and I will verify the entries. Good luck! (:

Bored? Get a FREE $20 Game Download!

Free entertainment! Woohoo! Paradox Interactive is offering free downloads to their Cities in Motion game! All you have to do is complete their survey about video games, which should take you at the most 20 minutes. It actually froze on me when I was almost finished with the survey, so I had to re-take it for it to finally go through; but even with me basically doing the survey twice it still took me less than 20 minutes. Hopefully it will work the first time for you! You can take the survey until March 31st and they will email the download to everyone a few weeks later.