St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, and it’s not the luck of the Irish that will keep the roads safe! It’s planning now for a safe and sober way home.

Are you headed out with friends after work this Wednesday to celebrate the holiday? No? Well when you and your family are on the road headed to choir practice, a t-ball game, or coming home from school, you may be sharing the road with those returning from a fun St. Patrick’s Day event. It?s time to spread the word about the dangers of buzzed driving and to remind people that Buzzed Driving IS Drunk Driving, and the best way to stay safe is to plan ahead.

Let’s remind everyone about the importance of remembering to:

• Designate a sober driver before you leave for your event.
• Be ready to take alternate transportation such as a bus or taxi. Have the phone number of a taxi service stored in your phone before you leave for the party.

Even if you will not be celebrating this St. Patrick’s Day, keep in mind that in 2008, 1,179 people in other vehicles were killed in crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers. And for those who don’t plan on over-indulging–a buzzed driving crash looks the same as a drunk driving crash.

Global Influence is working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Ad Council as they continue their efforts with the “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving” PSA campaign. Buzzed drivers drink and drive, but do not consider themselves a hazard on the roadway because they have had “only a few” drinks. The campaign hopes to educate people that consuming even a few drinks can impair driving and that “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving.”

We need your help in keeping the roads safe for everyone this St. Patrick’s Day by spreading the word that buzzed driving IS drunk driving.

To learn more about the impact buzzed driving can have on a life, please watch this important video about the financial and personal repercussions of getting a DUI: http://buzzeddriving.adcouncil.org/sign.php#video

**Remember: Buzzed Driving IS Drunk Driving. Plan ahead and ask your loved ones to do the same.**

For more information, visit Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving on Facebook and Twitter (@Buzzeddriving).

DISCLAIMER: Information was provided by Global Influence. I received no compensation for posting it.

See what’s coming up for coupons in Sunday’s paper by visiting Sunday Coupon Preview.

Why would you want to know what coupons there are ahead of time? Well, one of the top reasons that comes to mind is if there is a product that you use that is going to be free or cheap, you can plan ahead to buy extra papers or order more coupons so you can stock up. This week there should be a Smartsource and Red Plum insert. Get planning.

Market Mommy is holding an Etsy Blog Party this week! She is introducing many great sellers on Etsy–each specializing in handmade goodies including paper printables, bath & body products, felted fruit, and our Oodles of Yarn crochet & knit creations! There’s a little background about what these moms do, how they handle work and family, advice to share, and more.

Giveaways

Each of the sellers featured are having a special giveaway so be sure to stop back throughout the week to sign up for each giveaway. Oodles of Yarn is giving away an EMMA hat to one lucky winner. Make sure you comment HERE to win.

Discount for Readers

PLUS all orders from Oodles of Yarn this week will receive a FREE MISS EGGY Bunny with any purchase–yay! just in time for Easter treats!

So go on over to Market Mommy, enjoy learning about handcrafters, get some advice about business, and sign up for your chance to win!

Quick Links

• Market Mommy
• Market Mommy’s Etsy Blog Party Welcome
• Win from Oodles of Yarn at Market Mommy
• Oodles of Yarn

The Salvation Army is having their 5 for $5 tomorrow–Friday, February 12th. All clothing (excluding outerwear and formal) is on sale 5 pieces for $5.00! You can get some awesome stuff at Salvation Army and when better than a sale?! It’s a terrific time to think ahead and stock up on next season’s styles and sizes. They have this 5 for $5 each 2nd Friday of the month.

Just to give you an idea of some of the things that we’ve found: name brand clothing (Chanel, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Gap, Limited, etc.), an American Girl Doll ($6) , and a KitchenAid Professional mixer ($50!!) and so much more.

If you’re not in the Midland, MI area, you may want to check with your local Salvation Army or Goodwill to see if they have special deal days like this.

Save 80% off Restaurant.com $25 gift oertificate orders PLUS receive a $15 FTD® Floral Reward! Use discount code: HEART and pay only $2 thru 2/14/10. Be sure to check the terms of the gift certificates. Most certificates work more like a coupon that you can use with a minimum purchase (ie. Save $25 on purchase of $35 or more). Expires 02/14/10.

Save More!

To receive an additional 28% back, go through Mr. Rebates. Make sure you are registered and login. Do a search for Restaurant.com and click through their link. They will track your purchase and deposit the rebate into your Mr. Rebates account. If you’re new to Mr. Rebates, you’ll receive a free $5.00 just for signing up!

With all that they are paying you to eat out!

Quick Links

• Save 80% at Restaurant.com. Use coupon code HEART for discount and FTD bonus!

• Mr. Rebates

A friend of mine and I have decided to open an Etsy shop to sell our crocheted pieces. We love crocheting and have sooo many¬† ideas for fun, useful products for the whole family. We’ll be adding lots of things over the next few months–baby blankets, scarves, hats, animal toys, and more. All of our work is custom, made-to-order and most things will have choice of color(s) and accessories.

If you have a website, feel free to grab out button and help us get the word out about Oodles of Yarn!

<a href=”http://oodlesofyarn.etsy.com/” mce_href=”http://www.savingsdiner.com/”><img border=”0″ src=”http://savingsdiner.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/button-OOY.jpg” mce_src=”http://savingsdiner.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/button-OOY.jpg”/></a>

CBC LADIES: We’ll be having a vendor table at the Ladies Retreat in April so you’ll be able to see our wares in real life.

Did you know that when MP3 players are purchased as gifts, the majority of purchasers are moms? That finding emerged at the Mommy Tech summit at the recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show.

But do you know about the potential risks? Kids often don’t know how to use audio technology safely and they can harm their hearing as a result. In fact, hearing loss among young people is reported to be on the rise and there are strong concerns that a generation of young people could end up with prevalent hearing loss.

“For some time, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has warned that hearing loss in the United States could rise significantly due to the misuse of personal audio technology,” ASHA President Tommie L. Robinson, Jr. explains. “Unfortunately, a report released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation cites some alarming trends about excessive entertainment media consumption among our nation’s children, indirectly supporting ASHA’s concerns. This should be a warning to parents that they must regulate children’s exposure and fully understand the potential health threats associated with misuse and over exposure to such technologies.”

“ASHA will continue to bring these issues to the forefront and appreciates the Kaiser Family Foundation’s contributions to the national dialogue,” Robinson adds.

According to a 2004 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, children were reported as being exposed to 6 hours and 21 minutes of media (TV, music, internet, etc) per day. By 2009, this statistic had increased dramatically to 7 hours and 38 minutes per day. When media multitasking is taken into account, this leaps to 10 hours and 45 minutes per day. This massive consumption of media has led to decreased grades in school and ASHA contends it puts kids at an increased risk of hearing loss.

One thing that is clear from the study is that parents can be very positive influencers on how their children use entertainment media.

How You Can Help – Spread the Following Message

Whether your child received an MP3 player, gaming device, cell phone, laptop, or any other device with headphones, don’t overlook the important health threat of hearing loss. Now is the time to reach out to other parents about the importance of hearing loss prevention, the damaging effects of excessive media consumption, and the resources available to them through ASHA.

Here are two simple ways to protect your children’s – and your own – hearing.

• Keep the volume down. A good guide is half volume.
• Limit listening time. Give your hearing ‘quiet breaks’.

Find more information and statistics at ASHA’s website. You can also follow their Twitter feed or fan them on Facebook to get real time updates on their work.

DISCLAIMER: Information is from Global Influence. I received no compensation for posting this information. Photo from Stock.Xchng

If you’ve wanted to get Crocs on a good sale, now’s your chance! 6pm.com has several styles for kids and adults from $5 to $18. Some of the styles include the Nile, Cayman, Prima, Disney Cayman, Mammoth, and Endeavor. Styles and colors may be limited because these will go quickly. Not sure when the sale ends.

Photo from 6pm.com

For a limited time you can save 25% on all Valentine photo gifts at PhotoWorks. This is a great way to personalize a present that is useful, too. They offer mugs, mousepads, notepads, calendars, photo books, and photo cards. If you’re a first-time customer, they offer free shipping for registering.

Click on the banner above to order. Use the coupon code BEMINE to receive 25% off on Valentine photo gifts. Expires 02/03/2010.