Mainely Coupons » Blog Stuff

Make Sure You Have the Right Blog

mainely — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 04:34:51 +0000

Every once in awhile I google myself….I know it sounds dirty, but after thinking up this name and buying the URL back in 2009 I have to watch out for imposters and people with close names. Not everyone understands why having a unique name is a good idea and how infringing on someone who may become big one day could lose them all their effort (if they put enough into it).

I am only found at http://mainelycoupons.com. I am NOT hosted by blogspot. I am NOT Mainely Couponing-who existed for two months this spring. Should you feel the need to do a WhoIs lookup you will find that me, Angela Watts, owns this site and has since 2009. Accept no imposters.

Back to Saving

mainely — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 05:56:01 +0000

I have been seriously slacking in the deals department. Even worse I have been slacking in the posting and sharing department which makes me feel even worse. After looking at what I want to buy for lunches for work I need to get my butt in gear though. So I will be working harder to catalog and share deals. Maybe not for as many stores-after all how many sites need to post the exact same deals-but focusing on the New England stores. Market Basket, Shaws, Hannaford and Target, maybe Walmart or some local restaurants/daily deals things for variety.

This is probably good timing for the rest of you. If you have kids they are back in school, unless you home school. If you lost power during Irene you need to replenish your fridge and freezer. Winter is coming and its time to stock up on lovely shelf stable comfort food. The holidays are just around the corner and the number of shopping days til Christmas will start to get smaller every day-no pressure but the sooner you think about it and make a list the sooner you can nab great deals on discount to help save cash.

So get out your notepad and a pen and get ready to work on that shopping list. There are some great sales this coming week and we’re going to do our best to take advantage to maximize our savings.

Color Change?

mainely — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 07:27:08 +0000

Not sure I’m liking the new colors….I miss the bright pink and black design. I think I will be trying out a pink design tomorrow night as well as working on the Market Basket ad scans when I have some high speed access. Life is starting to get back on schedule and settle down with the new job, so I will be getting my butt in gear and posting the deals again. yay!

iStockphoto and She Blogs Makeover Contest

mainely — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 05:23:45 +0000

SheBlogs is having a blog makeover contest. As you might imagine I would adore to win. Coding for WP just isn’t in the cards right now, and its always refreshing to let someone else take your ideas and bring them to fruition. Especially as hot as its been and as busy as I’ve been. Having someone build me a custom template with graphics I can actually respect (instead of some of the 90′s era junk some people charge big $$ for and pass off as quality custom graphics) would be fun.

Above is the image from istockphoto I chose to be representative of my blog. There were lots of images to chose for and telling me to pick just one is like telling a kid in a penny candy store they can have one sweet. I bookmarked several piggy bank images and a couple purple flower or serene women looking shots as well. My blog is about saving money, how I do that, and is almost an homage to my mom who used coupons and tried hard to save money my entire life and formed alot of the ideas about shopping and spending I have today. She also repeated things like “money doesn’t grow on trees” until I was old enough to understand how to make paper, which is what money is made of…thus it does indeed grow on trees to a degree. The colors are also pleasing and meld well. The pink of the pigs, the blue of the sky, the cocoa brown of the earth and the green of the tree/money are a nice light and airy touch compared to the saturated colors I tend to go with. After searching for days through terms like “frugal” and “purple” and “piggy bank” I saw this one and just knew it was the one and a great starting point for a design.

If you don’t know about istockphoto here’s the paragraph they have prepared to tell you more about them:

iStockphoto is the world’s leading royalty-free stock multimedia destination, with millions of photos, illustrations, video, audio and Flash files starting at $1. Find inspiration for your blog and dozens of other creative things including business cards, websites, flyers, invitations, newsletters, craft projects, advertisements, presentations, décor and more.

Istockphoto and SheBlogs are offering a download of three images from a pre-selected collection here. They were also offering a 10% off code good on 50image packs, but it expired the end of June (even though the contest wasn’t over til the end of July), which was 5HEB10G511.

MIA-Sorry About That

mainely — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 04:52:57 +0000

So I have been MIA and am behind in anything having to do with the internet at this point. Unfortunately life interceded and took precedent. Here’s what I’ve been up to:

I got a new job. YAY!
I had a yardsale-and got a sunburn but not much cash
I took lots of naps cause its hot
I did laundry and errands and grilled dinners
I went shopping with my mom for work clothes, new sneakers and stuff

While I am still juggling two dogs, a husband, housework and the new job (with one car to share) I am in a much better mental state as my sunburn fades a bit. I am warm blooded normally and having a wicked sunburn while its hot and muggy has been killer. I’ve been drinking fluids and hiding in the AC and watching movies instead of dealing with online stuff while sweating and being uncomfortable sitting for long periods.

So know I did not abandon you-oh spider bots (and maybe a stray reader if I am lucky). I am working on things as I can and will be back in gear soon. I can’t remember how I fixed the sidebar last time and its been making me angry….which has also been discouraging me from working on the blog. I promise to get my butt in gear and get it going.

In the meanwhile-if you are one of the greedsters trying to put one over on my favorite retailers…..look for a featured post all about you soon.

Follow me on BlogLovin-All Your Favorite Blogs in One Place

mainely — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 22:29:24 +0000

I have been avoiding housework this week. And blog work, although I did get the Hannaford post done. I’ve been browsing preserving blogs and reading gardening blogs and stumbled across one with a BlogLovin button. I’m a sucker for a pretty button, done up in nice Web 2.0 style. So I clicked it and realized I could clump all the foodie/garden/preserving blogs I try fruitlessly to follow through Facebook in one place. *Swoon*

And because the only thing cooler than finding a button for BlogLoving on a blog is being able to have one to call my very own…..tada!

Word Limit Issue….

mainely — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 05:08:37 +0000

Having an issue with word limit in the new themes I want to use. Which means the last two store policy links cannot have just about anything in them….research suggests its connected to the PHP file, but I can’t figure it out. I don’t know PHP….argh. Its too hot to try and wrap my brain around this. Feeling like a complete failure for being so behind.

New Theme Coming

mainely — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 05:30:14 +0000

You may notice drastic looking changes over the next 24 hours, possibly the next few days. I promise you the same nutcase is behind the scenes and the deals aren’t going anywhere. I am am just working through a re-launch. Fresh new theme, fresh new design. I hope it will be more educational and help you find what you need. The hybrid features of the new theme will give a nice landing page with options for educational topics and new posts as well as the benefit of following the blog in an old school format. So hold on to your coupons and get ready to save!

NEW List Feature

mainely — Wed, 18 May 2011 06:24:50 +0000

So I am trying out a new list plugin which will allow you to select items and print a Shopping List for each store. You can view it on this week’s deals, starting with the Market Basket ad. I have the entire ad listed, but I am thinking I will type out the add then make just the coupon matched items and really good deals a listable format. Mostly because it took forever to make the entire ad a list….

Carbon Neutral Status

mainely — Sat, 14 May 2011 01:03:03 +0000

You may have noticed my host company Host a Tree is a green host company. What does this mean? It means they have determined how much carbon they use in electricity to power the servers, offices, computers, etc and purchase an equal amount in “green energy” to offset that. This “green energy” is renewable powered, whether with water or wind or whatever. This helps let resources last longer and cuts down on carbon dioxide production. You can read more about Host a Tree’s green initiative here.

While traipsing around today I stumbled across a Carbon Neutral Blog effort. In return for a mention and a button post they plant a tree for you in a region which need reforestation. The idea is to offset the power used to work on the blog itself on your side of the screen. I don’t fool myself into thinking that between the two I am negating my carbon footprint completely, but I do hope it lessens it to a degree. Maybe if I factor in the blueberry bushes I have waiting to be planted I can count it completely even.