"Like" Montebello Mom on FB, get a free Albertson's card!

Albertson's has a new "Healthy Eaters Kids Club" card program. Everytime you visit Albertson's, your child can pick up an apple, banana, string cheese, or fresh bagel for free! I have extra cards to give away for fans of Montebello Mom. The first five people to "like" Montebello Mom and post on my wall will get a card for their kid!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Montebello-Mom/128186553902956

I found a Halloween Activity in Montebello!

I visited the Montebello Parks and Recreation Department at Acuna Park and found a notice for a teen dance that's happening tonight, Friday, October 29. No information on the start/end times. It's called "Jack-o-Lantern Jamboree" cost is $5, picture ID (school ID?) is required. The party is at the Cathy Hensel Youth Center,236 George Hensel Drive. 887-4577.

Halloween Day Events & Activities

Besides the YMCA's Halloween Party tonight I don't know of any other Halloween activities in Montebello. Here are three that aren't too far from Montebello: at the LA Zoo, the shopping center Americana at Brand, and the Aquarium of the Pacific. The Zoo and aquarium activities require a ticket or membership, the activity at Brand is free.

----A Scary Good Time----
Sunday, October 31, 2010 from Noon-2pm
It's all fun- no fright- during the Halloween Kids Club at The Americana at Brand. Wear your favorite costume and take home ghostly candy and enjoy spook-tacular entertainment (by Melissa Green)! Face Painters, Balloon Artists, Costume Parade, Treats for all in costume. Off Brand Boulevard in Glendale. 818-637-8982

----"Spooktacular" Kids Activity Morning----
Saturday, October 30, 7:00-9:00am
Come to the Aquarium for fun in your Halloween Costume. Enjoy "Kiddle Karoo and Her Krazy Krew" Halloween Adventure puppet show. Watch the Aquarium animals eat their breakfast. Have your face painted with a spooky bat or kitty cat! Each child will take home a special surprise (while supplies last)! Enjoy a special breakfast in Cafe Scuba(~$4)! RSVP Required: (562)437-FISH (3474)

----Join Us for Boo at the L.A. Zoo!----
Saturday October 30 & Sunday October 31, 2010 - 10am - 4pm
Have a safe and spooky Halloween at Boo at the L.A. Zoo! Eucalyptus Grove will become a giant Pumpkin Patch with jack-o-lantern carving, photo opportunities, and eerie crafts. The Creepy Creature Encounter at the Winnick Family Children’s Zoo will feature trick-or-treating, a chance to get up close with some creepy creatures, and Halloween entertainment. All activities are free to GLAZA members and with paid Zoo admission.

Free Pampers Potty Training Kit: Free Sample & Coupons + Huggies DVD

http://www.pampers.com/en_US/potty-kit-request/

Use the link above to get a Dora or Diego themed potty training kit from Pampers Easy Ups. You can hit the back button after you submit your information and send the kit to friends and family too!

UPDATE 12/2: Here is an offer for a Potty Training DVD from Huggies. Click here to order.

Gasoline for Less: Exxon/Mobile & Shell

When my car is on empty I try to time my fill ups with a trip that goes past South El Monte to visit my three favorite gas stations:

The Mobil at Santa Anita Avenue, just north of the 60 Freeway. 3/31/12

PECK ROAD MOBIL

1220 PECK RD

SOUTH EL MONTE,CA 91733

SHELL GAS

1130 N PECK RD

SOUTH EL MONTE, CA 91733

(626)279-5857

EXXON/MOBIL

1100 SANTA ANITA AVENUE

SOUTH EL MONTE, CA 01733

626-350-1468

All the stations are an easy off/on from the 60 Freeway. I've found the pricing to be consistently about 10 cents cheaper than other gas stations in Montebello and comparable or sometimes less expensive than Arco or Costco gas station prices.

The stations on Peck Road have a drive through car wash that costs about $5 with a fill up.

Click here to read how you can save an additional 10 cents a gallon with a Ralphs card and find a link to find current gas prices in your area.

Toys R Us "Bricktober" Event

Toys R Us is hosting a "Bricktober 500" event where kids can make a free Lego car to race and get a Lego driver's license.

Saturday, October 23, Noon-2pm


The fine print says, "Event activities are intended for children ages 3 and up. Parental supervision required at all times. Free gifts and all event activities are available while supplies last and are distributed to participating children only. Quantities limited; no rain checks."

If you are heading to the mall on Saturday for the Disney Costume Parade, then you can make a stop at Toys R Us either before or after for the Lego event. What a fun Saturday for the kids! Have fun!

Kids Eat Free Restaurants

If you like to share a restaurant meal with your family but don't care for the huge check at the end of the meal here are restaurants in Montebello and surrounding areas that have Kids Eat Free nights. There is a Kids Eat Free night every day of the week, how great is that?



----MARIE CALLENDER'S----
One free kid meal per adult entree. Tuesdays and Saturdays 7am-9pm.
The kids dinner menu has about 8 options and comes with desert! Marie Callender's website also has downloadable coloring pages, print them out, color them and your kid can get a free meal any day of the week! Click here to visit Marie Callender's Kids!
Northeast corner @ The Shops at Montebello
1852 Montebello Town Center Drive
Montebello, CA 90640
(323) 722-7437

---- ROCKY COLA CAFE---
One free kid meal per adult entree. All day, every day! Located in Uptown Whittier, the diner has a 50s juke box feel. *Thanks to Aiddee from Montebello for suggesting this restaurant!
6757 Greenleaf Avenue

Whittier, CA 90601
(562) 907-3377

----COCO'S----
One free kid meal per adult entree. Wednesdays and Thursdays after 4pm.
2501 W. Via Campo
Montebello, California 90640
(323)728-4690

----IHOP----
One free kid meal per adult entree. Every day 4-10pm.
2060 S. Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park
323-887 1111

----CARROW'S----
One free kid meal per adult entree. Limit 3 kids per family. Wednesdays and Thursdays after 4pm.
2271 S. Atlantic Blvd.
Monterey Park
(323) 264-5511

1021 San Gabriel Blvd.
Rosemead
(626) 288-5633

----DENNY'S----
Two free kid's meals per adult entree. Tuesdays and Saturdays 4-10pm.
2727 Via Campo
Montebello
(323)722-3424

8600 East Whittier Blvd
Pico Rivera
(562)948-3333

7268 Gage Avenue
City Of Commerce
(562)806-1535

5142 Triggs St.
(This site is Tuesdays only)
City Of Commerce
(323)264-2425

TIP: Be sure to ask if the child drink is included with the meal, sometimes it's not and it's an unexpected charge. Enjoy your family dining out experience!

Free Pennysaver Ad for Halloween!

Most people I've talked to about this do not read the PennySaver magazine that comes in the mail every Wednesday, but I do! They are having a promotion where you can place a Halloween greeting for Free!

You have 15 words including title for free! You can call it in 800-995-3333 or tweet your message to #pennyshout with your zip code and message. 2 free ads per household.

Think of the possibilities! You can write a message to your parents in another city, you can wish your kids or their teacher a Happy Halloween. I know my kids are going to be thrilled when they see their name in print.

Deadline is Thursday October 21 @4pm. Call or tweet your greeting ASAP!

Grant Rea Park, Montebello CA: Review

One of the city’s largest parks, Grant Rea has a lot of features. It is probably why many of the area residents chose it as their #1 birthday party spot.


There are four shelter areas, five baseball diamonds, batting cages, a barnyard zoo, a large play structure, a small play structure, a swing set, a water play structure, and large grassy fields. A horse and bike trail are adjacent to the park.


Grant Rea is easily an “all day” park. With so many features it’s easy to stay all day. I arrived at the park on a Monday a little before 10am and some families were setting up for the day. They came with coolers, chairs, blankets, bathing suits, the works! Mature trees shade most of the park play area and trees shade some parts of the ball field viewing areas. The fields are used by the children of Montebello throughout the year and are transformed into soccer and football fields in the fall. There is a snack shack that is occupied by the league parents on the weekends.


The play structures are suited for all ages. The smaller structure is for younger children and features climbing areas and slides. The larger structure has higher climbing areas and slides, and a big orange fish bridge. The kids loved the play structures but didn’t liked getting shocked by the static build up on the slides.


Three shelter areas can be reserved for gatherings, they are located at the south end of the park near the water play area and playground. Shelter #1 is shown on the left in the photo, and Shelter #2 is on the right. Both Shelter #2 and #4 are adjacent to the water play area. I called the city to inquire about the missing Shelter #3 and they said it's on the north end of the park adjacent to a baseball field. The shelters have six picnic benches, are shaded by a roof, have a BBQ grill and a trash can. If you are out of luck reserving a shelter for your party, don't let that stop you from having a party at Grant Rea, lots of families bring in their own sets of tables and chairs and mark off an area with decorations.



The water play area was a big hit with the kids at the park. There are no information/warnings/rules posted about the water area. The water is activated by placing hands on a pole with a rounded black top. There are water cannons, a rainbow that continually sprays, and buckets that fill up and dump out with a huge splash. The water area is not shaded at all so make sure to slather on the sunscreen. Kids can go in barefoot or with shoes. A city employee once told me that the water play is auto controlled by temperature.




It’s been a while since I visited the barnyard zoo. When I was a kid it was free to go in and all they had was the barn and nearly every animal had mange. I was surprised to see that they have added a lot to the area.




There are pony rides, a merry go round, mining for “gold”, a “train” ride, fishing, and of course the zoo. All have a cost from $2-3 and look a little dilapidated. There are two picnic areas in the zoo that can be reserved for parties and the zoo offers a traveling zoo that can come to your school or party for a fee.


They have a Barnyard Zoo $7 Weekend Special which includes a pony ride, train ride, and merry go round.


I thought the pony rides to be the best value. For $3 each child gets two turns around a fenced in track led by a friendly vaquero. If you want to take pictures he’ll stop the kids at the end for a pose.




The batting cages are only open in the afternoons so we missed out. There are six cages of varying speeds up to 90 mph. They have equipment to lend if want to try your hand at it on the spur of the moment.


Near the batting cages you can get a good view of the horse and bike trails, there are a lot of stables to the south of the park and it’s fairly common to see someone riding. There used to be access to the bike trails from the park near the baseball fields but at the time there was some construction and it was closed off. The bike trails can still be accessed from Lincoln Avenue near the dam just north of the park or just south of the park across Beverly Boulevard.


There are at least two sets of bathrooms at Grant Rea, one near the play area and another near the ball fields. There may be a third near Shelter #3 but I could not get access due to construction. Like most park bathrooms they are on the gross side and smell. The picture here is of the bathroom near the play area, it had paper, but it needed a good scrub and power wash to be decent.

The entire park is plagued with mud puddles. In the fields, near the zoo, near the shelter and water play area, it’s pretty bad. There are a lot of trucks and a lot of foot traffic in the park and it all creates big puddles, watch your step. If area has experienced a dry spell it may not be as bad.


On any weekend the park can be packed, with half a dozen birthday parties going on and league play on the fields it can be difficult to find a parking spot. Most families find extra parking on Rea Drive or in the neigborhood to the north of the park which can be quite a hike on a warm day with kids in tow.

GRANT REA PARK
600 N. Rea Drive
Montebello, CA 90640
323-887-4591

Juan Matias Sanchez Adobe, Montebello CA

The Sanchez Adobe is Montebello's version of a AAA Tourbook "Gem". The Sanchez Adobe is the oldest house in Montebello. The adobe is nestled in a quiet neighborhood in the hills of northeast Montebello.






We visited during the week, so we couldn't get inside. Although closed you can still walk around the property. At the rear of the adobe are two shaded verandas and a decorative well. The verandas are so nice I can imagine taking a siesta at mid-day.




The adobe is wheelchair accessible with a long ramp leading from the picnic area to the porch surrounding the adobe. On the south side of the park is a 4 car parking lot and bathrooms. Plenty of street parking is available, but read the parking signs about street sweeping days.



There is a slatted wood roof covered area with several picnic tables and a BBQ. A small gated area is found behind the tables in the corner of the property that has the tombstones of two of the Sanchez family members.

Docents are available to give tours of the adobe every Saturday, from 1-4pm.

SANCHEZ ADOBE
946 Adobe Ave.
Montebello, CA 90640
323-887-4592

Bicknell Park, Montebello, CA: Review

Enter the park from Garfield Avenue and turn in at the golf course. On the right is a pond with two fountains and a family of ducks who are begging for some crackers. Drive up the hill and park anywhere on the left. The park is surrounded by a parking lot on all sides.


There is no sign stating that you have arrived at Bicknell Park, but it’s a grassy area with a tall monument in the center remembering the victims of the Armenian Genocide. At the monument you’ll get a great view of the San Gabriel Mountains and the local hills. It’s a nice place for a picnic, there are plenty of trees to set a blanket under or you can find seating inside the monument.


There is a nice paved path that cuts through the park in a north/south direction but it doesn’t go anywhere. It begins and ends in a parking space. There is no handicap ramp at either end. The monument has a wheelchair ramp. It’s located on the southeast side adjacent to a steep hill. There is no walkway leading up to the ramp.


The monument from a distance is very beautiful. If you stop to read the monument inscription, head's up, birds nest at the top. There is a water fountain at the monument but it looks like it doesn’t get much use, let it run a good minute before taking a first gulp. There is no trash can at the monument. The monument is surrounded by a lot of low walls perfect for kids to climb on, but keep a watchful eye; it’s a long way to the bottom if they fall the wrong way.



If you have to go to the bathroom walk west across the parking lot into the golf course area and you’ll find some beautiful restrooms adjacent to the golf pro shop. The Quiet Cannon restaurant is located just past the restrooms. It's a bar/cafe/restaurant combination and is a really nice place to have a meal. An average meal is less than $10. There are nine giant flat screen televisions throughout; most are concentrated in the bar area.




To the southeast of the park is a driving range. Prices start at $2.75 for a bucket. Sometimes the balls get past the netting and fence and make it into the parking lot, so take a look around and you may get lucky and get a free souvenier of your visit. In the same park area is the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, it's easy to access via the golf course, but an unshaded walk through the parking lot. My mother-in-law stayed there once and she had no complaints. About me, of course, but the hotel, no.

BICKNELL PARK
901 Via San Clemente
Montebello, CA 90640
323-887-4540

Parkapalooza: Montebello

I'm going to take my kids on an adventure around Montebello. With a little more than a week before school starts we will visit every park in Montebello. Each day we'll hit one or more parks and share what we think. Nine parks, eight days, let Parkapalooza begin!

ACUNA PARK

1700 W. Victoria Ave.
Montebello, CA 90640
323-887-4540

ASHIYA PARK

2700 W. Beverly Blvd.
Montebello, CA 90640
323-887-4593

BICKNELL PARK

901 Via San Clemente
Montebello, CA 90640
323-887-4540

CITY PARK

1300 W. Whittier Blvd.
Montebello, CA 90640
323-887-4576

GRANT REA PARK

600 N. Rea Drive
Montebello, CA 90640
323-887-4591

HOLIFIELD PARK

1060 S. Greenwood Ave.
Montebello, CA 90640
323-887-4589

POTRERO HEIGHTS PARK

8051 Arroyo Dr.
Montebello, CA 90640
323-887-4594

REGGIE RODRIGUEZ PARK

200 W. Mines Ave.
Montebello, CA 90640
323-887-4590

SANCHEZ ADOBE

946 Adobe Ave.
Montebello, CA 90640
323-887-4592

Lets go Dodgers! Free Dodger Tickets

Thanks to the Union 76 Promotion we scored a set of four Dodger tickets to a Sunday game. The kids had only been to minor league games and I wasn't sure how they'd handle the huge stadium and crowds. Our seats were in the lower reserve section in right field. They weren't too bad except that we were in full sun. I slathered the kids with sunscreen but they were complaining that they were getting hot by the 4th inning. The stadium had lots of empty seats so we moved to a shaded area and they were so happy to be in the shade they were great the rest of the game.

During the game the kids were happy to watch the action on the big screen, enjoyed the music, and looking through binoculars at people. After the game kids were allowed to run the bases on the field. This is something new for me and the kids had a blast, even the baby! The line was really long but it went really fast, there are pictures online but I haven't checked them out yet.

I don't know Dodger policy on bringing food into the stadium but the signs at the entrances said, "No glass containers, alcohol, and coolers." I had popcorn, candy, go-gurt, and other snacks in my purse and I was passed through security. We bought 3 drinks at $5 a piece and paid $15(!) for parking. The game started at 1pm and we were in the car at 5:00.

I noticed a park outside the stadium and the cheapskate in me thinks I'll try to arrive early and park in the street next time. But my husband noticed an MTA ad in the Dodgers Playbill magazine that says FREE round-trip bus service to the stadium is offered to/from Union Station. You just have to show your ticket to get on the bus. The last time I was at Union Station parking was about $7. I also noticed that the MTA bus stop was a heck of a lot closer to the stadium than my parked car was.

At the game there were advertisements for discounted kid tickets. The day of the game you can purchse two children's tickets for $5 each with a paid adult ticket in any section of the stadium. What a bargain!

Telephone Survey re: Montebello

This afternoon I'm in the yard watering when my son brings me the phone, it was a survey company asking questions about Montebello. They ask me what are the 3 biggest concerns I have as a resident of Montebello. I said, graffiti, crime, and the Montebello Hills. They asked what I would do to help Montebello get better, my response was to have some kind of incentive for business to come to Montebello. I must have my finger on the pulse of Montebello because the question were about all those things.

I think the city council paid for the survey (or the development company of the Montebello Hills) and when given the opportunity to add my own comments I suggested that the next time there is to be a survey they should think about hiring residents to conduct the survey instead of hiring an outside company. The woman conducting the survey said the company is based in Utah and she works out of a call center in Kansas. Some of the questions were poorly written and even she said she didn't understand them. Maybe the city should contract with me instead.

YMCA Montebello: Family Fitness for All

We are members of the Montebello/Commerce YMCA. I've often wondered if the monthly cost is worth the membership. We signed on to pay $59 a month for a family membership which includes full use of the facilities and a discount on classes with fees. For a while I thought a membership wasn't worth the monthly payment, now that I've been going regularly I think it's a bargain!

The YMCA is very family friendly. Here are a few things that are offered for families:

• There is babysitting for kids 12 and under in the KidZone for up to 2 hours a day!
• Kids 12 and older can use any of the YMCA's facilities including the exercise rooms!
• There are lots of classes for kids that include exercise, dance, swimming, and karate. More classes are offered during the summer when school is out.
• During school breaks a full time camp environment is available for older kids.
• The kids can also join baseball and basketball teams and compete against other YMCA kids.
• There is a good sized pool with aerobics classes throughout the week and times set aside for adult swim and recreational family swim.
• In the mornings it's a great place for older adults to socialize! There are lots of senior citizens that attend the late morning classes.
• Besides the full gym, there is a smaller workout room for newer or shy members who don't like everyone staring at their butt.
• Easy access to personal trainers are included with membership.
• There is a nice big parking lot
• YMCA is a non-profit organization, hosts events for the community and offers payment assistance for anyone in need.

The babysitting alone is one of the main reasons we are members YMCA, the caretakers at KidZone make my kids feel comfortable and loved and I get to exercise and watch my favorite tv shows at the same time!

Yard Sale Shopping Tips

I love yard sale shopping! It's a great way to find clothing and toys for kids at a huge discount over retail stores. Here are some strategies when shopping at yard sales:

• Leave the babies at home. My yard sale rule for my kids is, if you can buckle yourself in and out of your car seat you can come with me. You'll be making frequent stops, only getting out for a few minutes, you don't want to have to be buckling and unbuckling all morning. One time I had a family stop at my sale and ended up spending about 15 minutes going through my things before they remembered they had left the baby in the car. Don't take any chances, if you can, leave the baby at home.
• Empty out the car. You may come home with more than you planned for and it's good to have space in your car to bring it all home.
• Take small bills and quarters. Early in the day sellers might not have change.
• Look for kids in the yard and the color pink. If you are looking for kid clothing, it's sometimes hard to tell if a seller has any for sale. Keep an eye out for kids in the yard. If you see kids playing in the yard, they probably have kid clothes. If you see an abundance of the color pink, then you know there is girl stuff for sale.
• If buying multiple items ask the price upfront. Generally people will sell clothes or other similar items in a pile for a set price. Once you know the price you can gage how many you can afford. Don't waste time sorting through a pile and finding what you want only to find out the seller wants $5 a piece.
• Check for stains on clothes. If buying baby clothes look for stains on the front where food is likely to dribble, and in between the legs where poop is likely to leak out. Check for worn knees on pants, zipper, buttons, and snaps on shirts.
• If they are your neighbors, be friendly! There are lots of sales in my neighborhood and I will tell the sellers, "I live up the street", and then compliment them on their yard or mention something about their house that I've noticed on walks with the kids. I've gotten lots of discounts this way and once I got a Little Tykes slide/swing play set that was practically new for $20 instead of the marked $60 sign because I lived on the block.
• It's okay to haggle a bit. If the sellers want $5 for an item, offer $3 and see what happens. If they won't come down in price try driving by a few hours later. If the item is still there make your offer again, they may be more willing to sell.

Read more about yard sales!

Yard Sale Selling Tips

Montebello's City Wide Yard Sale Weekends

Yard Sale Selling Tips

I've held about a half a dozen yard sales and am an experienced yard sale shopper. Here are some things that I do to target specific shoppers and stay organized when I'm hosting a sale.

•  Advertise your sale. Tell your neighbors of your intentions the week before, at the same time put a sign up in the yard that says, "Yard Sale here Saturday". Post a listing at craigslist.org under the "garage sales" heading. Spend some time making large visible signs. Keep it simple, include an arrow, the words "Yard Sale" and your house number. The morning of the sale post signs at the end of the block. Remember to take them down when you pack up and save them for next year! We've been using our yard sale signs for years. 
• Try to sell larger and more expensive items on Craigslist first. If you have something that is still in great shape and is still sold in stores, chances are you'll probably get more money if you try to sell it on craigslist than at a yard sale. Craigslist.org is free to post so it doesn't hurt to try.
•  Post signs that specify larger amounts of goods for sale. I make my signs on the computer in large bold font that fills up the whole paper and hang them on the porch posts up high. Some examples include: "Boys Clothes 3T", "Women's Shirts Size M", "Men's Shoes, Size 12", "Toys, Toys, Toys", "Kitchen Gadgets", "Tools and Garden Equipment". Print out an extra sign to hang on the table or box where the specific items are located to make it easier to locate items and reorganize later in the day.
• Keep as much off the grass as possible. I only put large bulky items on the ground. Everything else is on tables or in boxes on benches so shoppers do not have to bend down or kneel.
•  Have small bills and change ready. The week before the sale I start saving small bills and change for the early bird customers. It's been my experience that the first customers usually only have a $20 bill, and once I even had a man pay with a $100 bill!

 

• Have plastic bags on hand for people who buy a lot of stuff. Some customers will love your taste and will pick up several items. They will need a bag to carry it all home. It helps to be creative, if you have a huge amount of purses that aren't selling, stuff the items in a purse and tell them the purse is free. One time I had an abundance of sand buckets and told the children that they can have the bucket and all the little toys they can fill in it for $1. They loved the idea and the parents were happy that it kept them busy while they sorted through the clothing piles.
•  Grab some spray cleaner and paper towels and dust things off. People will pay more for things if they look clean and in good shape, so grab some cleaner and make it shine. A Mr. Clean Magic Eraser can get mysterious hard to remove marks off of most anything.
• If you have time bake some cookies! If you have a gift for making the perfect cookie then whip up a few batches the night before. Wrap them in cellophane or Ziplock bags and sell 2 or 3 for $1. Set up an area with the cookies, water, or other snack items you happen to have in the house and you'll make a few extra dollars.  I've found that later in the day as the items left for sale are diminishing most people will end up buying a bag of cookies even if they don't see anything else they want. TIP: Kids go crazy for anything with sprinkles and m&m candies. They'll beg their parents for a bag of cookies and parents usually give in!

•  Know when to call it a day. At our house around 11 o'clock it starts to wind down, customers aren't as frequent, people will slow down in their cars to look but most drive on. We experimented one year with a sign that said, "Everything 25 cents, no joke!" I stood at the curb for an hour and held it up at every passing car and surprisingly it worked! About half of the interested shoppers stopped and picked up something, and those that didn't buy anything bought cookies. We still do the "25 cent blow out" at every yard sale.
•  Plan what to do with your items after the yard sale. If it's a small amount you can leave it near the curb with a "FREE" sign. If you have a bit more to get rid of, read places to donate your stuff here.

 

Read more about yard sales!

 

Yard Sale Shopping Tips 

 

 Montebello's City Wide Yard Sale Weekends

 

 

 

 

 

Vons, Ralphs, Albertson's, CVS, Target, Superior, Food 4 Less, Payless Foods Coupon Policy

Vons doubles coupons up to $1.00 value. Vons often has coupons in the weekly flyer. These can be combined with manufacturer coupons for extra savings.

On 1/8/11: I spoke with a Vons: Montebello supervisor and she said they only accept 2 identical coupons per transaction and only one coupon will be doubled, the second identical coupon will be accepted at face value. Expired coupons are not accepted. If a coupon doesn't scan, they don't accept it. The coupon policy is under plexiglass at each register on the shelf for writing checks. Click here for details on Vons coupon policy. The fine print at the end of the weekly Vons flyer reads:

On Buy One, Get One FREE ("BOGO") offers, customers must purchase the first item to receive the second item free. BOGO offers are not 1/2 price sales. If only a single item is purchased, the regular price applies. Manufacturers' coupons may be used on purchased items only - not on free items. Limit one coupon per purchased item. Customer will be responsible for tax, CRV and/or bottle deposit on the purchased and free items.

Ralphs coupon policy is similar to Vons. Ralphs will double coupons up to $1.00 total and will only double the first coupon for similar products, all other coupons are accepted at face value. Ralph's coupon policy is printed at the bottom of their weekly flyer and it states:

Applicable sales tax charged on Manufacturer's coupons. All manufacturer's coupons doubled are subject to the expirations and specific language contained in the manufacturer's coupon. The following are excluded from this promotion: all liquor, tobacco, fluid milk products, "Free" coupons, coupons marked "Do Not Double" or that exceed the value of the item, and except as we specifically advertise, any coupons that require the purchase of multiple items. If a coupon exceeds 50 cents and is less than $1.00, its value will be increased to $1.00. A limit of 1 coupon per household for each coupon offering will be doubled or have its value increased to $1.00. All other coupons of that offering will be redeemed at face value. All coupons $1.00 or greater will be redeemed at face value. A limit of five (5) FREE coupons per household will be redeemed. We reserve the right to accept, limit or refuse manufacturer's coupons issued by other supermarkets.

Albertson's accepts coupons at face value only. Albertsons often has coupon booklets available in store, these can be combined with manufacturer's coupons for extra savings.

Super A accepts coupons at face value. Each weekly flyer has 4 coupons that double any coupon up to $1.00 total value.

Superior Market, Food 4 Less, & Payless Foods accepts coupons at face value only.

CVS accepts coupons. They also issue store coupons at the in-store coupon kiosk or at the end of your receipt which you can combine with a manufacturer's coupon for extra savings. CVS also has coupons on their website.

Target accepts coupons. Target publishes store coupons and they can be found online at their website. These can be combined with manufacturer's coupons for more savings.

Strawberries!

It's strawberry season! At our house that means strawberries are a common side dish at breakfast and lunch, and served as dessert after dinner.

The best local strawberries are just a stone's throw from the mall found on the northeast corner of San Gabriel Blvd & Rosemead Blvd. Look for the signs with a big strawberry, drive into the dirt lot, check out the strawberries growing in fields and then hand over $10 for six pints of bright red, perfectly ripe, naturally sweet strawberries in a cardboard box. Six pints of strawberries is a lot of strawberries! Share with friends/family and experiment with new recipes! My strawberry creations include strawberry-lemonade, strawberry popsicles, strawberries dipped in chocolate, quasi-jam, and strawberries with freshly made whipped cream.

For a more in-depth strawberry experience make a trip down to Tanaka Farms in Irvine, http://tanakafarms.com It's quite a drive but a fun afternoon is guaranteed. For $13 a person you get an hour tour which includes a tractor ride, fresh from the field vegetable sampling, and 15 minutes to roam a strawberry field picking and eating as you stroll.

Wherever you chose to get your strawberries, be sure to close your eyes and savor each bite. There is nothing like the taste of a fresh strawberry in spring. Enjoy!

I don't leave home without it: The Coupon Wallet

All couponers need a system of organization for their coupon collection. Some chose envelopes, binders, small card filing boxes, and some use coupon wallets. The best coupon wallet I've found is at http://thecouponwallet.com

It is by far the best storage system yet. It's extremely roomy, includes a calculator, scissors, printed dividers, and a pad of pre-printed grocery lists. There are sections for supermarket savings cards, extra large coupons, and any other extras. I ordered a deluxe wallet in pink and black stripes, the fabric is canvas, much like that on outdoor furniture.

My favorite feature of this wallet is that it is large. It measures 8.5" x 4", my wallet when full is about 2 inches wide. The bright colors and size make it pretty hard to lose it in a pile of mail on a counter top.

The deluxe model is $20, the basic model without all the extra storage compartments are $14. The money you save from being organized and knowing where your coupon wallet is at all times is worth the cost of "The Coupon Wallet".