For an entire week, I had the luxury of driving around a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox, courtesy of Chevrolet’s Driving in the Heartland team, dedicated to the heartland of America! You can check out their website or follow their tweets, @ChevyTexan, for their latest adventures, offers, fantastic finds, and more.

As a savvy deal finder, I definitely wanted Chevrolet to get their money’s worth, I tweeted #chevyhaul like crazy and during Black Friday I managed to make it to 20 different stores, starting at midnight with my friend and fellow blogger Gita of the uber-fashion blog, Mimi and Chichi.

Top 10 Black Friday Shopping Tips

In preparation of Black Friday 2012, here are 10 things that every savvy Chevy Haul shopper should know:

1 – Do the math! It is very easy to think you’re getting a good deal on Black Friday. You wait the entire year for sales like these. The only day of the year Apple deems worthy of offering a discount…but to feel good at the end of the day, make sure you’re getting a good deal on quality items!

Walmart was offering an Emerson 32? 720p LCD TV for $188 but who could beat the quality and discounts offered by Best Buy’s Sharp 42” 1080p LCD HDTV for ONLY $199.99. Plus, with the Walmart horror stories on the news and talking with other shoppers in line, I doubt I’ll ever  visit Wallyworld on Black Friday.

2 – Map it out! With many stores opening at midnight (and some even opening on Thanksgiving day — too early if you ask me…) you’ll not only want to make sure you understand where you’re headed but WHEN you need to head there. Before I hit the road in my Chevy Equinox, I made a list of all the stores that opened early, in the order they opened here. There tends to be a gap between the stores that opened at midnight, and the next round that opens at 4-5am…this will keep you busy.

*Another thing to consider, visit stores more out of the way. Although the drive might be longer, the wait will be shorter and more variety will be left untangled. Especially for high demand items, go the extra 20 miles to a remote location that you know won’t be as hectic!

**Many stores open earlier but end the incredible sales before 11am or noon. Get there early if you want to get the best deals!

Click on the Foursquare image below to see the stores that I stopped at and the deals at the time.

3 – Bring a snack! If you’re always snacking like my friend Gita and I you’ll want to bring some holiday leftovers (brusselsprouts and cookies) as well as some water and energy drinks. At every store we visited, people were complaining of hunger pains, impatiently waiting for the food courts and other restaurants to open. Crabby people make impatient shoppers who are more willing to just buy things they don’t want. Give your wallet a fair chance.

4 – Leave the kids at home! We were waiting in line at Old Navy, for 30 minutes outside (so many people showed up for the free digital camera, fire hazards limited the number of shoppers allowed in at one time…) and it was fairly cold for us Texans. In front and behind us were were sobbing toddlers, begging to go home. Finally, seconds before being let into the store, the mothers staggered off with their children. MAKE CHILDCARE ARRANGEMENTS! There are a lot of children friendly daycares, gyms, and play places that offer moms and dads Black Friday shopping drop offs, starting early in the morning until the afternoon.

*With the new midnight shopping time, I also noticed a LOT of tweens running loose at the mall. Apparently their parents dropped them off with friends, while waiting for their stores to open, you could see some inappropriate makeout sessions going on. PARENTS – shopping is not the only thing that goes on at the maul…I mean mall.

5 – Go big or go home! Some of the best deals that I saw being offered were in department stores! For all your houseware needs, Macy’s and Sear’s were the way to go!

• KitchenAid Pro 500 Series Mixer for $199.99 at Sears
• Macy’s offered 20% off additional Black Friday sale prices! Gita got amazing sheets, retailed at $600 for less than $250!

6 – Fight the Crowds! With the explosion of online Black Friday sales, who in their right mind would consider fighting the crowds when all of your shopping can be done from the comfort of your own home? I’ll give you one reason why. Every year, without fail, there are significant online outages or slowdowns because of the crazy amounts of traffic generated from the 20 million other people who want to shop from the comfort of their own homes.

I remember one year I spent 3 hours painfully fighting Kohls website, adding things to the shopping cart, trying to checkout with them, being told they were sold out or having my cart emptied prematurely. In 2.5 hours I probably could have fought the masses, tried on clothes, AND checked out! Never again!

7 – Keep it social! Above was a list of all my foursqaure check ins. Make sure you take advantage of all the social and in-store promotions being offered! Many Foursquare venues offered additional discounts to shoppers. At Old Navy, Gita won an additional coupon for being the first to bring up a nail file during a contest. Many retailers on Twitter offered their followers Twitter only coupons AND additional #hashtag contests. With everyone else busy shopping, the chances of your winning is increased greatly!

8 – Chevy-sized vehicle for haul! This year I was blessed to have a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox to haul around all our deals! Buy a new car, borrow a friends, clean out your trunk before hitting the road!

Our Equinox offered:

• great gas mileage so we could go the distance
• plenty of storage space for our shopping haul
• comfy seats when we needed to give our feet a rest
• hiding places so we didn’t get mugged (always be wary of your surroundings, don’t be sitting ducks…)

9 – Additional tips and tricks! Here are some more helpful tips and tricks for making the most out of Black Friday:

• Sign up for email alerts from your favorite stores ahead of time
• Buy the newspaper on Thanksgiving for printed coupons and tons of store ads (nice consolidated view for the last minute shopper)
• Download a Black Friday mobile app like BF Ads that gets updated with new ads all the time, is easy to use, and works without an internet connection (mall 3g can be shady)
• Shop the off hours! Old Navy was CRAZY and had a long line at midnight, but everywhere else we visited between 2am to 7am had virtually no lines! Traffic starts to pick back up around 7am…
• Make sure you get a place in line. If you’re battling it out for the best Best Buy offer, get there early and get the ticket. Ask for one. You need proof you were there at 24 hours before midnight and not some random person who waltzed up when the clock struck 12.

Driving in the Heartland invited me to:

So, what better way to ease some of that holiday shopping stress than by taking a brand new Chevy for a spin to get all of your shopping done in comfort and style? This year, Chevrolet will be giving five fabulous bloggers a Chevy vehicle to drive while they take on their holiday shopping throughout the Heartland. Three bloggers from Texas and two bloggers from St. Louis, Missouri, will be riding comfortably in Chevy cars and crossovers in the next few weeks, and you can follow along as they navigate the madness on Twitter using the hashtag #ChevyHaul.

Check out all the details here.

Related posts:

1. 2011 Black Friday Store Hours
2. Black Friday 2011 Deals
3. Eversave San Antonio

Does anyone here like to win free stuff?! (I know I do!!)

Thanks to Eversave San Antonio, one of my fabulous readers is going to walk away with a gift certificate to Dallia’s Hair and Nail Studio ($55 value!!)

Multiple Ways to Enter and Win:

• Simply leave a comment at the end of this blog post on which local San Antonio restaurant or retailer you’d like to see featured on Eversave next!
• Tweet:  I want to win an @EversaveSAT deal on @geekettebits.com! Pls RT! http://bit.ly/tsnVtW #gbcontest
• Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/geekettebits
• Become a Fan on Facebook: http://facebook.com/geekettebitsfan
• Tag “Geekette Bits” in a wall post on Facebook with a link to this blog post!

** All winners must have already signed up for Eversave San Antonio! **

Did you know?? Eversave San Antonio:

• Local deals offered DAILY! National deals offered as well!
• Get $2 off coupon just for signing up today!
• Convince you’re friends to sign up too, you’ll get $10 for EACH friend as soon as they make their first Eversave purchase!

Become a fan on Facebook:

Follow their tweets, @EversaveSAT:

The winner will be selected randomly on Tuesday, November 22! Check back to see if you won!

Related posts:

1. 2011 Lemonade Day San Antonio
2. San Antonio Daily Deals

Free stuff for reading? Yes please! Check out this list of retailers and local libraries offering incentives for kids to read with their families or on their own this summer! Beat the heat and reap the rewards, literally! In no particular order here are a bunch of great programs!

Barnes & Noble’s Summer Reading program encourages kids to read by asking them to download a journal, read 8 books, and then pick a FREE book at the nearest store near you. Now through 9/6/2011!

Downloads:

• Kid’s Journal
• Teacher’s Resources & Activities
• Parent Resources

Borders book store is offering you a free book after the 10^th book read! Now through 9/5/2011! Download the reading form here. You get to pick which 10 and Borders is offering a great selection of freebies to choose from (see complete list of freebies here!)

Even Chuck E Cheese is getting in the spirit by offering this reading calendar in exchange for tokens!! Print our calendar here.

From now until 10/1/2011, you can join the HEB Summer Reading Club and after reading 10 books you’ll get a cool prize!

After printing out the form (download here), mail it in to this address:

H•E•Buddy® 2011 Summer Reading Program,

10530 Sentinel, San Antonio, Texas 78217

Download your summer reading log from Half Price Books here and spend your summer keeping track of all the great books you read! Start turning in completed logs between July 25^th through August 7^th and receive $5 Back to School Bucks reading rewards cards!

Scholastic if also offering freebies in their summer reading program here. Log your minutes to win rewards! This is by far the most modern and technologically filled summer reading program. Your child will sign up for an account where they log the hours they read each day. Meet the reading challenge each week and win FREE downloads and other prizes.

Related posts:

1. 2011 Lemonade Day San Antonio

Last year was the first time San Antonio, TX participated in Lemonade Day. While their goal was 1,500 kids participating, San Antonio had 3,300 participants, the most every for an inaugural city! In 2011, their goal is 7,500!  On May 1, 2011, any kid (or young at heart) is encouraged to not only open a lemonade stand but pick up the FREE backpack ahead of time.  It includes information for kids and parents about planning and becoming a young entrepreneur.

The City of San Antonio passed a health ordinance on March 3rd waiving the temporary food establishment permit requirement for children and youth participating on May 1^st!

Website:
http://sanantonio.lemonadeday.org/

2010 Lemonade Day in San Antonio

• Last year the average stand was open for 4 hours and 51 minutes. In that time the average profit was $73.00
• In 2010 over 70% of profits were donated to charity
• Last year’s most successful stand in San Antonio made over $600!

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/ldaysa

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/LemonadeDaySA

Online Resources:

• Facebook app and more games here
• Teacher Guides here
• Compete for prizes this year!

2010 Lemonade Stand Map | San Antonio, TX

Backpack Pickup Locations

Register online or pick up your FREE 2011 Lemonade Day backpack full of educational information and coupons for kids and parents! Different bags for different age groups, pick up at any of the following events:

• San Antonio Library at any time starting April 4^th, Library locations click here.

What	Where	When
Fiesta de los Niños  Parade at noon Featuring middle school bands, elementary school students, Port San Antonio employees, SAFD fire truck, & lots more.   Rides, games, food, entertainment and lots of fun!!!!	200 Donald Goodrich Rd  San Antonio, TX | Map	Saturday, April 9,  10:00am-7:00pm
KidsDay in the Park  Free event for parents and children age 10 and under	San Pedro Springs Park | Map	Saturday, April 9, 2011  10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Kids’ Kingdom @ King William’s Fair      Kids’ Kingdom is the child centered park area in the King William Fair, features “kid” friendly attractions with games and carnival attractions. Activities include free arts and crafts by Mission Trail and other community groups	1032 S. Alamo Street San Antonio, TX 78210 | Map	Saturday, April 16,  10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
3rd Annual San Antonio Youth Summit    Small group sessions on important social issues in San Antonio with panel discussions with community leaders on how to build for a better future.   Motivational speakers and workshops on preparing for the future	200 E Market St  San Antonio, Texas 78205 | Map	Tuesday, April 5, 2011 8am-4pm
Valero Go! Challenge	Alamo Dome  100 Montana St. San Antonio, TX 78203 | Map	Sunday, April 10, 2011  12 noon – 3 p.m.
San Antonio Zoo	San Antonio Zoo  3903 North St. Mary’s St, San Antonio, TX 78212 | Map	Sunday, April 10, 2011  9am—12pm
	San Antonio Whataburgers	Saturday, April 23, 2011  2—5pm
Charlotte’s Web   Showing at the Magik Theatre from April 6 through May 7th.	420 South Alamo  San Antonio, TX 78205 | Map	Friday, April 22, 2011  6-8:30pm   Saturday, April 23, 2011 1?3:30pm

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I don’t even need to own an iPhone to know how helpful a few strategically downloaded games can be when it comes to entertaining your child (or someone else’s!)  Here are one’s that I have downloaded on other people’s phones or that were recommended to me!

All the apps are free to download and have been kid tested and mommy approved!

*Make sure thought that before letting your child play the games, all default settings are as you expect.  Lately there have been a lot of articles about kid’s downloading full versions and automatically charging to their parent’s itunes account.  Don’t be caught with any surprise purchases!

Click Image for iTunes Link	iPhone App Description
	Tap Fish, you are only taps away from owning multiple aquariums where you can decide what fish to grow, to sell, and to breed!
	Toy Story takes you on the adventure of a lifetime:  A fully interactive reading experience packed with Games, Movie Clips, Coloring Pages, Sing-along Tunes, and Surprises on every page. Hear the story read aloud, record your own narration, or explore at your own pace.
	Approved by teachers, parents and toddlers alike Toddler Teasers Shapes teaches while it entertains. With a focus on simplicity and full voice overs, toddlers play and learn without the need for extra help. The app displays colorful quizzes and offers positive reinforcement and fun rewards. The child-safe menu allows parents to customize game play and difficulty.
	I Hear Ewe – Animal Sounds for Toddlers -Entertain and educate your toddler with this simple game full of 24 different authentic animal sounds and 12 different vehicle sounds. When your baby taps on an animal or vehicle icon, the game will verbally announce what type of animal or vehicle it is and play a recording of its real sound.
	Balloonimals (MY FAVORITE!!) Beautifully rendered Balloonimals spring to life when you blow into the microphone on your iPhone or press the screen with your iPod Touch. Watch the balloon inflate and then give your phone a shake to start constructing your Balloonimal. With each shake, your animal takes greater shape until… Voila! Your Balloonimal appears and is ready to play. Pet your Balloonimal to see what tricks it can do.
	Peekaboo Barn Lite Inside a little bouncing barn, friendly farm animals are waiting to pop out and surprise your little one. Try and guess who they are; tap the doors to find out!
	Chinese for Munchkins takes children on a journey, teaching them how to say animals and numbers in Mandarin and Cantonese – the two most common Chinese dialects in the world (there is an English option too). Whether they want to roar with the “lau fu” (tiger), munch on bamboo with a “hung mao” (panda) or count “yak, yee, saam” (1-2-3), kids will be drawn to the flashcard pictures, sounds and animations.
	The experts at Parents® magazine help moms and dads keep young children entertained and stimulate learning with Parents Flash Cards. The included card packs are Colors and Shapes.
	Shape Builder LITE – The Preschool Learning Puzzle Game – Each puzzle has 5 to 10 pieces and after positioning all of the pieces, the real image is revealed along with a professional voice recording of the word spoken by Jill Dews, a licensed speech therapist. Encourages cognitive thinking and fine motor skills plus exposes young minds to new music instruments, animals, produce, objects and the alphabet in a fun and engaging format with LOTS of fun sound effects!
	Tangram Puzzle Pro FREE – Get 12 puzzles for free and see what Tangram Puzzle Pro is all about. Intuitive one-finger controls let you slide and spin shapes, and a convenient shape tray keeps things organized.
	FingerPiano Lite – allows you to play the piano with your forefinger.
	Read Me Stories – Children’s books A fun new educational and entertaining book EVERY day helps your child develop good reading habits. Each book teaches your child new concepts, new words and how to say them.

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The 2011 San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo starts this Thursday, February 3, 2011!

Website: http://www.sarodeo.com

Twitter: @SanAntonioRodeo

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sarodeo

Download Schedule of Events.

Calendar of Deals and Special Offers:

Legend	Date	Special Offer
	Feb. 3	1st day of the rodeo!
	Feb. 4, 11, 18	Dollar Days! Every Friday, $1 admission from 8am-5pm. Rides, hot dogs, and soda only $1 all day!
	Feb. 8, 15	Senior Day – FREE admission for seniors! 55+
	Feb. 7, 14	Free nachos w/ purchase of 2 tickets for Monday performances. Must pick up at ATT Center Southwest Ticket Office.
	Feb. 3, 10, 17	College days! Free grounds admission w/ college ID.
	Feb. 4, 11, 18	Military Days! Free grounds admission w/ valid military ID.
	Feb. 20	Family Day! $1 ground admissions, $5 discount parking, $25 carnival wristbands, discounted food!
	Feb. 20	Last day of the rodeo.

*Additional details here.

Special Offers on Food:

Driving Directions here:

Dust & Bubbles

Valentine’s Day, Monday, February 14

Treat someone special to a VIP rodeo:

• Dust and Bubbles includes a ticket to the Party Suite on the Terrence Club level
• Rodeo and concert
• Reserve parking pass
• Brunch served in party suite catered by Levy Services
• Premium champagnes and Sparkling wines will be served

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I’ve never been one to say no to a GREAT deal so when I heard about Texas de Brazil’s special, I had to check out San Antonio’s newest Brazilian steakhouse.  The San Antonio location just opened for dinner the first time in December 28, 2010.  There are over 15 locations around the US and internationally!

January 2011 Special

Through the month of January 2011, Texas de Brazil is offering dinners the following INCREDIBLE couple’s special at $74 per couple:

• Dinner for Two, normally $40 each
• Dessert for Two, (choices included pies below, Papaya ice cream, and decadent creme brulee)
• Bottle of Wine or Champagne (including delicious Chilean wine)
• Non-alcoholic beverages (regular ice tea, soda or coffee)

6 of us went and took advantage of this incredible offer.

Other Discounts

According to their website, Texas de Brazil also offers:

• Senior Citizens Discount – 10% off regular dinner price for up to 8 guests.  65 years or older.
• Military Discount – 15% discount off regular dinner price for military members or veterans, valid up to 8 guests.
• E-club - sign up here and also get a coupon for 25% off your entire meal!

The Food

We loved the lobster bisque, cheesy bread rolls, incredible meats!  The traditional Brazilian seasoning style that includes covering the meat w/ rock salts while it cooked was used leaving tasty meats.  Some of the meats easily picked up the salt, if the meat is too salty, consider ordering their cooked to order steaks, done to internal preference and with or without salt.

• Salad area included mixed greens, seasonal veggies, homemade soups, imported cheeses and bread
• Meats included my favorite (lamb chops), everyone else’s favorite (Picanha – garlic marinated house steak), Brazilian sausage, pork ribs, bacon-wrapped filet mignon, and much more!
• Desserts included papaya creme, bananas foster pie, chocolate mousse cake (AMAZING!), creme brulee, key lime pie, and many more options.

Parking

Had no trouble parking downtown, one couple used the valet, right next to the restaurant, the other two couples parked in the Travis parking garage next to the Majestic theater and walked less than 2 blocks to dinner.

The Wine

Below also is a picture of the wine aerialist who deftly soared through the winery, flipping around while she retrieved wines, hand picked by the staff and guests.  There was also beautiful rooms for private events as well.

Website: http://www.texasdebrazil.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/texasdebrazil

San Antonio Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Texas-de-Brazil-San-Antonio/176878792325203

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Last year I wrote a Day After Christmas Sales post on my blog and got over 1500 visitors that day after Christmas. Here are the deals, sales, and coupons I found for 2011 to start the post-Christmas, ready to save money season off right. As I find more deals I’ll add them to this post, check back frequently!

*Post-Christmas is one of the BEST times to buy large electronics and appliances…just saying…

Added 12/26/2011:

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Did you wait until the last minute to purchase a Christmas present this year?  No fear!  UNICEF is here.

The best gift is a gift that keeps giving…and what could be better than a gift that literally saves lives, natural resources, and makes the world a better place!

A couple of Sundays ago, at my church Oak Hills in San Antonio, Max Lucado quickly showed a video of missionaries from our church sent to different parts of Africa to build fresh water wells w/ money raised from the Bibleland Children’s Sunday School classes.  Not only were the children there laughing and thanking us, they are now able to enjoy clean, fresh water without worrying about contamination, disease, and travelling many miles to fetch a tiny amount.

Check out all the ways to give back to children around the world:

About UNICEF:

Working in over 150 countries, UNICEF provides children with health care, clean water, nutrition, education, protection, emergency relief, and more.

22,000 children die EVERY DAY from preventable diseases.  Imagine being able to buy a gift that saves the life of one or many children in poverty stricken parts of the world!  Several, charitable organizations like UNICEF let you do just that!  Dedicate the purchase in the name of a loved one or friend and send/print notification.

Right now the featured gift is a “Winter Child Survival Pack” that includes:

• supplies to sustain child for 6 months!!
• vitamins and minerals to grow healthy
• measles and polio immunizations
• enough water purification tablets for 50,000 liters of water!!

ALL of that is possible w/ a small donation of $81.35!  And if that’s too much they take general donations of $5 and more.

• Education & Play - school supplies, soccer balls, and more give these children a chance for quality educations!
• Immunizations – vaccinations for diseases that don’t even exist in modern countries ($20 buys 412 tetanus shots)
• Water – water pumps, purification, and family water kits
• Nutrition – baby scales, ready to eat food, vitamin powder ($18 buys 604 individual doses of vitamins and minerals!)
• Emergency – high energy food, water kits, tents and more to help during emergencies
• Health - first aid kits for field workers, mother/baby packs, for $80 save 1000k from deadly diseases

Did you know that as you’re shopping for people on other sites you could still be helping children fight preventable diseases?!

American Airlines | Causes on Facebook | Delta Air Lines
FEED | Gucci | H&M | IKEA |  Western Union

Click on the links for more details!  American Airlines is fighting diseases w/ incentives to donate to UNICEF by offering 2 AAdvantage miles in return for EACH dollar donated.  Donate right now!

The special edition “Gucci for UNICEF” Sukey bag, designed by Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini in grey “La Pelle Guccissima” leather, is being sold in Gucci stores in over 20 countries and from April 15, 2010 through February 28, 2011, Gucci will donate 25% of the retail price!

UNICEF Social Media

• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UNICEF-USA
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/unicefusa

TeachUNICEF is a portfolio of UNICEF-focused resources designed and collected by the U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s Education Department for educators, afterschool instructors, and parents. The units, lesson plans, stories, and multimedia cover topics ranging from the Millennium Development Goals to water and sanitation.

*Teaser for my next blog “Teach UNICEF”

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Back by popular demand (from this article last year), here’s all the gift card purchases you can buy for loved ones (or yourself!!) that are accompanied with extra incentives to buy.  Gift cards can still be an incredibly thoughtful gift without taking up too much space or time.  Since you’re going to be getting the gift cards anyways (or if you want to save additional money when you make purchases for yourself…) check out these great seasonal offers that will not only bring a smile a friend to the person receiving the gift, but also the one giving (FREE stuff for you!!):

*For those gift cards that I missed, here’s a link to 54 more gift cards w/ a comparative checklist.

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