Reflection on 2010

I have to say, 2010 was an amazing year, filled with lots of incredible events, but also some sad ones. First with the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics happening in my home town which was a huge and amazing event in itself. I was lucky to be working right in the middle of it all at the Main Media Centre so I was downtown where all the action was everyday. I had a lot of trouble finding a permanent job this year and was jumping from temp job to temp job, but I met some great people and made new friends while doing them!

Later on was the low point of the year, when my grandpa wasn't doing too well and he passed away. Long story about that, which I'm still a little bitter about, but at least I know he went surrounded by family and friends. Soon after that, I went through several rounds of interviews to snag the job that I have now (though my contract is up today, but I should be continuing? I'll update you on that when I know!). It took me a long time and tons of resumes sent to land a full time job, so I was pretty stoked about this one, even though it was a contract position. It was good to get some experience in something that I'd related to my field.

Around the same time, I was accepted into the Samsung Mob!lers Program, the first in Canada. It was a quick application through Facebook that my sister sent me that I completely forgot about until I got an email to set up a phone interview. I was flown to Toronto (my first time there!) for training, met my team and was given the Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant smartphone, and the competition and marketing campaign was on for two months! We churned out four videos in total (check out the Facebook page here), won two of the missions ($300 prize per win) and won the grand prize - $1000 and an all-expense paid trip to Seoul, Korea! It was an amazing trip and the other Mob!lers from around the world I met were awesome and I had sooo much fun.

2010 was also the year I started contesting. I had blogged about how I read about people who win over $22,000 worth of prizes a year and I was going to give it a shot this year. While in between temp jobs and applying for jobs, I had some time to enter and I won some things worth noting! After I started my full time job, I didn't have any time to enter anymore, but I think I managed to win quite a bit this year! I will post all my winnings soon, so watch for that! Maybe it will inspire you to start contesting too! I think in 2011, I will try and get back into entering contests because nothing beats the high of finding out you won a prize!

Well I hope everyone had a good year in 2010! Let me know what your highlights were! Have a fun and safe New Year's Eve, and I'll see you next year! 

My last prize cheque arrived!

My prize cheque for the last mission we won (Double Rainbow) and the grand prize arrived a few weeks ago! I'm so sad to see the Samsung Mob!lers program come to an end! I had so much fun and met so many great people. I hope there' a similar cool program/contest in 2011!

Win a $150 Best Buy gift card - Vote for my sis!

My sis is in a contest that she really wants to win so she needs your help!

Just go here: http://apps.facebook.com/unboxingday/gallery.php?sort=2

Click on my sister's video (Jenny Lee - XBox Unboxing) and click the vote button! You only need to register the first time, and only so Best Buy can keep track of how many times you vote. Each time you vote, you get an entry to win a $150 gift card!

Remember you can vote everyday! Thanks everyone!

Buy 2 items, get 3rd for $1 at Old Navy (Dec 31)

Old Navy is continuing with the Boxing Week sales and having a one day sale in preparation for the New Year. On December 31st only, buy any two articles of clothing and get a third one for $1! Great time to pick up some clothes and use up those gift cards you may have gotten for Christmas!

FREE Amazon Gift Cards - Swagbucks & Irazoo!

Swagbucks is an awesome search and win site where you can earn rewards FAST. It's easy to do and you get 30 swagbucks right away if you use the link below. So far I have cashed out for $275 Amazon.ca gift cards.  There are tons of prizes to choose from, like other gift cards, cards,  comics, Wii and PS3 consoles, Nintendo DS, you name it! So many prizes  to choose from!  

All you have to do is search and you  might be rewarded with points. The fastest way to earn is through  swagcodes, that are released several times a day. You can find it  through their blog, searchbar, facebook, twitter, etc. Also there are  points for daily polls, checking out the survey link and the daily  special offers link!



Irazoo  is another great search and win site that I've been using for even  longer than Swagbucks. They recently changed it so that it's just like  Swagbucks - you win points for searching, and there are also treasure  codes. As a summer special, they brought back the rate and earn portion  of points - when you do a search, you can comment and rate a site for 50  points. They limited it to 100 points a day though (used to be 300!).

Canadians  are only allowed to redeem for Amazon.com gift cards, but if you live  in the states, you have access to the other prizes as well, like gaming  consoles, cameras, computers and other gift cards. I have already cashed  out for $130 Amazon.com gift cards!

Save $5 Online at Chapters

If you shop online at Chapters/Indigo/Coles, this will help you out! Save $5 on your next online purchase by entering the code irewardsdec at checkout. The code is valid until January 31, 2011. Now is a great time to see if there are any Boxing Week deals as well!

Get a $15 iTunes gift card when you buy Bic Holiday Shave Pack

Walmart has Bic Holiday Shave Packs on sale for $14 each (Men's and Women's) along with a Mail in Rebate coupon for a $15 iTunes gift card! The promotion is on until January 15, 2011, so last chance to pick these up! Remember you can use coupons when purchasing these packs as well!

Marley & Me - Movie Review

I watched a bunch of movies while on Christmas Break (all of three days - the weekend and Monday. So sad.) and the first one was Marley & Me. I read the book a few years ago and thought it was a sweet story and the movie looked okay. The book and movie follows the life of John Grogan and his dog, Marley. Owen Wilson plays John and Jennifer Aniston his wife, Jenny. The movie stays relatively true to the book and it has a bit of a sad ending but it's a decent movie. Only $5 at Best Buy or Walmart right now for Boxing Day! ;)

BOGO at Lush on all Holiday Themed items!

For Boxing Week, Lush has all holiday themed products on a Buy One Get One Free Sale. Pretty good sale if you are a Lush fan!

How's your Boxing Day/Week Haul?

How did everyone make out with their Boxing Day shopping?

I got to the mall at 4am, the mall opened at 5:30 and I got in line just in time to ensure myself the Flip Mino Camera at Old Navy. There were only 25 at the location I was at! Here's what I picked up:

Old Navy
- Sweater - $20
- Tank - $5
- Flip Camera - Free with $25 purchase!
Total after tax: $28
Used $30 gift card and got $2 cash back!

Superstore
- Wii Super Mario Galaxy 2 - $29.99 - $10 coupon = $19.99
- Wii Carnival Games - $10 (Originally $39.99, then $18.98)

The Body Shop
- 2x Gift Sets - $12 (reg $25 ea)
- 10% Love Your Body Discount
- $5 off $20 SPC Discount
Total after tax: $19.19

Walmart & Best Buy
 - Dvds $3.97 - $5 each

Zellers
- Lindt Chocolate packets - $1.74 (reg $3.49)

Also used up some of my Dec 31 expiring FPCs and got:
- 2x Cottonelle moist wipes tub
- 3x Coke
- 1x Pilsbury Pie Crust
- 4x J&J Baby Shampoo

Maybe pictures to come later!

The Tourist - Movie Review

I went to watch The Tourist today to use up the last of my movie tickets from iCoke.ca before they expired. The reviews for this movie wasn't great but I thought what they hey. Boy, should I have listened!

The Tourist stars Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. Depp plays Frank, an American tourist visiting Italy and Jolie plays Elise, an undercover cop who is trying to catch Alexander Pearce who is wanted for stealing two billion from a gangster as well as for tax evasion.

The critics were right - there was absolutely no chemistry between Depp and Jolie and it was very hard to believe that they can fall for each other so fast...and the ending is even worse! I couldn't believe I wasted my time on this movie! Don't watch it in theatres, definitely not worth it. The cool part was I recognized some of the places in Italy that I've been to before!

For more information on The Tourist, go here.

Up to 60% off at The Body Shop

More sales at The Body Shop! If you didn't catch the week long sale (Buy a bag for $5, save 50% off anything you can fit inside), there will be more sales on Boxing Day. Now you can save up to 60% on items - I'm guessing these will be gift baskets. Stock up now!

They are also offering another "bag" sale. Buy a Bag for Life for $5 and anything you can fit inside is 30% off.

Remember to use your Groupon if you still have those!

Boxing Day Deals at Superstore

$10 coupon in the flyer for any video game priced at $29.99 or more! Cut this out and use it on these games on sale to make it an even greater deal:

Xbox Kinect games ($29.99 - $10 coupon = $19.99):
- Joy Ride
- Dance Central
- Kinectimals

Xbox360 games ($39.99 - $10 coupon = $29.99):
- Halo Reach
- Fable 3

Nintendo Wii games:
- NHL Slapshot bundle ($39.99 - $10 coupon = $29.99)
- Super Mario Galaxy 2 ($29.99 - $10 coupon = $19.99)

There are also other video games you can save $5 off regular price on (xbox, wii, ps3) that you can use the coupon for as well.

Fable 2 for Xbox is half price at $9.99. Pokemon Platinum for the NDS is also half priced for $19.99.
Value games that are $18.98 will be $10 each (I have my eye on Carnival Games).

DVDs will be from $4 each, recent releases $7.50. Blu-ray movies starting at $5 each, recent releases $12 each.

TV seasons starting from $10 each.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas! Have fun with boxing day shopping, and have a great New Year!!

Get ready for Boxing Day!

The week's flyers should have arrived by now, which means you can check out what is on sale for Boxing Day/Week! It's a great time to pick up cheap electronics and clothes for yourself, as well as to put away as future gifts. Stock up on little things that you know you will use, or can use as a birthday gift. ;) Trust me, it'll save you a lot of money! You can also shop online, but I find that is not as exciting as actually waking up at 3 in the morning to go line up! Have fun guys and hope you score some great deals! Tell me what you buy!

12 Days of Christmas Freebies from Apple (Dec 23 - Jan 3)

Apple has jumped on board with the Christmas freebies and are starting a 12 days of Christmas freebie starting tomorrow on till January 3rd. Each day there will be a free app/book/song/tv show/movie offered. Check out their site for more details and for the downloads.

Shoppers Bonus Redemption Coming Soon! (Dec 28-30)

Shoppers Drug Mart will be holding another bonus redemption after Boxing Day! Unfortunately no mega-bonus, but just the regular one. Save up your points because there are probably going to be some good sales on Christmas items when they go on clearance!

Redeem 50,000 points for $100 worth of items and 95,000 points for $200.

Reminder - Use up your Dec 31 expiry coupons!

Just a quick reminder to use up all your coupons expiring December 31, 2010! I know I have a little stash of free product coupons I have put away in my purse that I have been redeeming the past few days (Cottonelle moist wipes tubes, Coke, Pilsbury pie crusts, Filidae cat food) and I still have a few more to use up (J&J Baby product, Healthy Way product, Cat food). Here's hoping for another great stash of FPC's (free product coupons) and other manufacture coupons in the new year!

$5, $10 or $20 from WagJag.com

WagJag is one of the many city specific coupon deal sites and they are offering a Christmas special on their Facebook page. Just go to their Facebook page here, click the "like" button and you will get a gift of either $5, $10 or $20 to spend in the future at WagJag.com!

Free Chapman's Ice Cream 2011 Calendar

Chapman's Ice Cream is already offering 2011 calendars! I've ordered their free calendars for the past two years and they are really nice! Just go to their website here and order yours - it's free!

$1 Scarves at Old Navy (Dec 18)

Old Navy has another One Day Wonder sale, $1 for performance fleece scarves. The sale is good for only one day (Dec 18) so hurry to your local Old Navy to catch this great deal! Makes great stocking stuffers!

Save 50% at The Body Shop (Dec 17-19)

Yet another sale at The Body Shop, just in time for those last minute Christmas shoppers! This time, you buy a red bag for $5 and you can save 50% off everything you can fit inside! There isn't any fine print on whether or not skin care products are excluded, but I have a feeling it might be. Definitely worth checking out since The Body Shop items are great as gifts. You might even be able to use your Groupon with this purchase too! Remember you can get an SPC discount here ($5 off $20), as well as the Love Your Body discount (10% off).

Free Quatchi Plushies, Dec 17-19 (Lower Mainland Only)

The Olympic Merchandise Warehouses in Vancouver and Burnaby are offering a free 13.5 inch Quatchi plush toys with red mittens this week! Limit one per person (no family limit), while supplies last. These medium sized Quatchi's are very popular, so go earlier if you plan on getting one. This is most likely the last giveaway they will have as I believe they are shutting down for Christmas and won't open back up until the New Year.

The two locations are at 8410 Ontario St in Vancouver and 6741 Cariboo Rd in Burnaby.

More information on the warehouse locations and hours, go here.

Tron Legacy - Movie Review

I went to an advanced screening of Tron: Legacy tonight! I've never seen the original movie so I didn't really know what to expect, and the trailers I watched left me confused still haha. The movie is a sequel to Tron and stars Garrett Hedlund as Sam, Kevin Flynn's son. Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Kevin Flynn. The story picks up with Kevin's friend, Alan Bradley, telling Sam that his father paged him and gives him the keys to the abandoned Flynn's Arcade. Sam finds a secret room behind the Tron arcade game and gets transported into the digital world that his father created, The Grid. There, he finds his father and they set out to go back home. Of course, it's not easy, but I won't spoil it for you!

The movie was in 3D, which is so bothersome because I wear glasses when I watch movies, and there didn't seem to be too many 3D effects. The majority of the movie took place in The Grid so it was a digital world, full of lights, which was kind of cool! Lots of special effects which makes it a worthwhile movie to see in theatres, especially with the booming music on surround sound. I would recommend the movie to any Tron fan, though I was a bit impartial to it, but I do think it's a decent movie.

Tron comes out in theatres on Friday, December 17th. For more information, go here.

Please vote for me! One time only!

I'm in a new contest and I've fallen behind to 5th place, so I need your help!

Just go here and "like" my post (Karen Lee).

I believe you  need to click on 'submit haiku' before you can see the posts, and since I'm in 5th now, you also need to click on 'View all' to see mine.

Thanks!

Buy 2 Get 1 Free @ The Body Shop

Yet another promotion at The Body Shop! This one comes around quite often, but might be a good deal if you are planning to buy a lot of Christmas gifts there! Buy any 2 items and get 1 free, or Buy 1 get 50% off a 2nd item. This sale includes everything in the store, including their skin care lines.

30% off Regular Priced Item @ Chapters (Dec 15-16)

Chapters has a coupon out good for two days only for 30% off any regular priced item. Just print your coupon out here and bring it in to your Chapters. It's good for Dec 15 and Dec 16 only. As usual, you can use your iRewards discount card to get an additional 10% off.

Update on Contest Wins!

It's been a while since I posted any of my contest wins, but it's also because I haven't really been entering anything. I've been so busy with work and I get home so late that I just haven't had time. But I thought I'd update on some of the things I've won in the past few months, to give you a little inspiration to keep entering those contests!

4th Generation 8gb iPod Touch

Blackberry Curve with 6 months service

The Disappearance of Alice Creed on Blu-Ray

Toy Story 3 Blu-Ray & DVD Combo Pack

These are the more interesting things I've won. I also received a pair of tickets to the Sara Bareilles concert last month (pictures to come very soon!) and a Whistler Blackcomb lift ticket. The most recent win was a pair of tickets to the Dead Mau5 concert in Toronto, but I'm giving those away for obvious reasons haha.

Also just got back from Korea last week - my biggest win, from the Samsung Mob!lers program. I'll post about that soon as well!

'Tis the Season...

Now that Christmas is almost upon us, have you finished your Christmas shopping? There are sales left and right at the mall, but make sure you know your prices before you buy anything. A lot of times, stores will put out a "sale" price when it's actually the original price of the item, or only slightly discounted. For me, I'm looking ahead to BOXING DAY. That's when all the good sales are to be had! Scope out your favorite stores now to see what you want and could possibly get on Boxing Day for 50%+ off! Check online for early  Boxing Day flyers so you can plan your shopping trip that day. Also think ahead and try to pick up some gifts for later on in the year, like birthday presents or housewarming gifts!

Also places like Craigslist has a lot of new items being sold that you can buy as gifts (mostly people trying to get rid of gifts they don't need/want, so they are still in the original packaging). I haven't bought anything myself through Craigslist, but I've definitely sold a lot of brand new things!

The malls are packed so better go now before it gets even closer to Christmas! The malls also have extended hours starting soon, and some places (like Walmart and Superstore) are open 24 hours! Good luck everyone on their Christmas shopping!

FREE Amazon Gift Cards - Swagbucks & Irazoo!

Swagbucks is an awesome search and win site where you can earn rewards FAST. It's easy to do and you get 30 swagbucks right away if you use the link below. So far I have cashed out for $270 Amazon.ca gift cards.  There are tons of prizes to choose from, like other gift cards, cards,  comics, Wii and PS3 consoles, Nintendo DS, you name it! So many prizes  to choose from!  

All you have to do is search and you  might be rewarded with points. The fastest way to earn is through  swagcodes, that are released several times a day. You can find it  through their blog, searchbar, facebook, twitter, etc. Also there are  points for daily polls, checking out the survey link and the daily  special offers link!



Irazoo  is another great search and win site that I've been using for even  longer than Swagbucks. They recently changed it so that it's just like  Swagbucks - you win points for searching, and there are also treasure  codes. As a summer special, they brought back the rate and earn portion  of points - when you do a search, you can comment and rate a site for 50  points. They limited it to 100 points a day though (used to be 300!).

Canadians  are only allowed to redeem for Amazon.com gift cards, but if you live  in the states, you have access to the other prizes as well, like gaming  consoles, cameras, computers and other gift cards. I have already cashed  out for $130 Amazon.com gift cards!

Please vote for me! One time only!

I'm in a new contest and I've fallen behind to 4th place, so I need your help!

Just go here and "like" my post (Karen Lee).

I believe you  need to click on 'submit haiku' before you can see the posts, and since I'm in 4th now, you also need to click on 'View all' to see mine.

Thanks!

Burlesque - Movie Review

Saw Burlesque tonight to use up my Cineplex movie tickets I got from iCoke. Burlesque stars Cher and Christina Aguilera, with Aguilera playig Ali, a waitress from a small town who goes to Los Angeles to follow her dreams about becoming a singer/dancer. She stumbles upon The Burlesque Lounge where she gets a job as a waitress. Cher plays the club's owner, Tess, who is trying to raise enough money to save her club.

While a fairly predictable movie, I thought it was enjoyable, besides the awkward number that was randomly thrown in so that Cher could sing and the love story between Ali and bartender, Jack (Cam Gigandet). It was quite reminiscent of Moulin Rouge (which I love!), and who doesn't like a movie with singing and dancing haha.

For more information on the movie and show times, go here.

Free Mukmuk Plushies, Dec 10-12 (Lower Mainland Only)

The Olympic Merchandise Warehouses in Vancouver and Burnaby are offering a free 9.5 inch MukMuk plush toys with red mittens this week! Limit one per person (no family limit), while supplies last. If they run out of MukMuk's with red mittens, you will receive the regular one (which they gave out several weeks ago). Make sure to go early, as more people are finding out about these freebies so they go fast, especially at the Vancouver location.

The two locations are at 8410 Ontario St in Vancouver and 6741 Cariboo Rd in Burnaby.

More information on the warehouse locations and hours, go here.

Free Johnson & Johnson's Baby Product

Hurray for another Facebook freebie! J&J Baby is offering a coupon for a free J&J baby product of your choice. Just "like" their page and click on the link to get your coupon.

Like their Facebook page here.

Free Softlips with Coupon @ Shoppers Drug Mart

Shoppers Drug Mart has Softlips lip balm on sale for $1.99. There is a printable coupon for $2 off, which means you can get it for free, and only pay the tax! Shoppers also has 300 bonus points for each one you buy.

It may be a hit or miss on whether or not your Shoppers will accept printable coupons. Make sure they enter the coupon in at $1.99 otherwise there will be an error (unless you are buying something else). Remember you can price match at other stores as well if your store doesn't take the printable coupon.

You can find the coupon here.

Lend a vote for my sis - Get a chance to win $150 in Best Buy gift cards!

My sis is in a contest that she really wants to win so she needs your help!

Just go here: http://apps.facebook.com/unboxingday/gallery.php?sort=2

Click on my sister's video (Jenny Lee - XBox Unboxing) and click the vote button! You only need to register the first time, and only so Best Buy can keep track of how many times you vote. Each time you vote, you get an entry to win a $150 gift card!

Remember you can vote everyday! Thanks everyone!

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Midnight Launch @ Best Buy (Vancouver & Toronto Only) - Dec 6th

Best Buy is holding another game launch, for World of Warcraft, starting tonight at 9pm. You can get a chance to win the collector's edition of the game (2 available), or if you come dressed in costume, you could win an HP AMD Quad Core or Triple Core laptop (2 available)

As usual, there are also gifts with purchase for the first x people in line. Free steelseries WOW MMO mouse ($100 value) to the first 50 customers at the midnight launch stores (first 15 customers at all other stores); free steelseries WOW Goblin or Worgen mouse pad for the next 50 customers; and free Cataclysm poster for the next 45 customers.

Be sure to go early, as you probably will have a chance to play the game, and there will be other goodies you can get by answering trivia!

Buy a Gift Card, Get a Free...At McDonalds

McDonalds has jumped on the free gift with purchase bandwagon! They are offering a free snack wrap and drink when you buy a $10 gift card, and a free Big Mac and drink when you buy a $20 gift card! Offer if valid until Dec 26th. This is great for anyone who frequents McDonalds, or knows someone who does (my dad goes everyday)!

MEGA-Bonus Redemption Weekend at Shoppers Drug Mart (Dec 4-5)

START THE CAR! Shoppers Drug Mart is offering their biggest ever bonus redemption this weekend! If you've been hoarding those Optimum points, now is the time to use them!

There are 3 bonus redemption levels this time:

30,000 - $60 off

50,000 - $125 off (extra $25 from regular bonus redemption)

95,000 - $250 off (extra $50 from regular bonus redemption!)

Go to your Shoppers NOW before people clear the shelves! There are lots of people who are going to redeem multiple times because of this great offer!

The Body Shop - Buy A Box For $5 & Get 50% Off Everything Inside

The Body Shop has a new promotion going on and it's a pretty decent one! Buy a box for $5 and everything you can fit inside will be 50% off! Unfortunately, it excludes the items I use, including skin care, make-up, gifts, charity items, LYB card and gift cards. This promotion runs until December 5th.

Free Quatchi Plushies, Dec 3-5 (Lower Mainland Only)

The Olympic Merchandise Warehouses in Vancouver and Burnaby are offering a free 13.5 inch Quatchi plush toys when you visit! Limit one per person (no family limit), while supplies last. This is the largest plush they have given away and from what I heard, there was a long line to get them for once, so go early if you want one!


The two locations are at 8410 Ontario St in Vancouver and 6741 Cariboo Rd in Burnaby.

More information on the warehouse locations and hours, go here.

Tax Free Days at Superstore (Dec 3-4)

Superstore is holding another 2 Tax Free Days, December 3 and 4. Most locations are open until midnight (some 24 hours) in preparation for the holiday rush. These two days you don't have to pay the HST on anything in the store, so it's a great time to stock up on essentials, party items, and big boxed items like gaming consoles, tv's and cameras.