Oh, My! Right now I have a bunch of products that I'm in the process of testing and I gotta tell you it's almost confusing. In fact, when I saw the box on the porch today, I thought, "Oh no. What do we have to eat now!"

But really it's all good. Some of it I'll get to share with you. Like the produce from Glade that is scenting my living room. Some of it is not for sharing. In fact, most of it is not for sharing. Make that 5 products right now that are not for sharing! But I'm careful to keep it all straight so I can record the right information for the correct company.

So, how did all these products arrive at my house? From filling out surveys for the most part. The only exception is the Glade product which is from BzzAgent. Surveys not only pay you money but they are often seeking people to test products. In the past I've tested baby wipes, disposable training pants, toilet paper, shampoo - to name a few items.

If product testing is interesting to you, then definitely check out BzzAgent and see if it's for you. Also, keep an eye on the surveys that you fill out and see if one of them is hinting at a product test. You never know what you might be getting for free to test in the privacy of your own home! And as far as I'm concerned as long as it's not fish it's definitely a Cool Idea!

Personally, for me doing good things for the environment comes down to something basic and simple. God made it and we should treat it well.

So, how far am I willing to go? I like to drink clean water so I'd like to make sure that we keep bad stuff out of the water. I like to breathe clean air so I think we should keep bad stuff out of the air.

I know we need to balance prosperity and commerce with our impact on the world but I think the world should get a bigger vote since it was here first. You know, sort of like the Native Americans should have. Yep, you get the picture.

This comes down to a do-unto-others thing in my view and it can start small. Comfort and Joy walk to school as many days as we can even though this is clearly not the norm. In fact, I don't see any other kids walking to school. This not only gives us time together as a family but time to enjoy the world around us. We look at the colors change and the leaves drop from the trees. It's a magical time in Virginia and if we were in a car we might be speeding right by too quickly to notice or too quickly to be able to have a conversation about it. Every day. And I do mean Every Day.

Our choice to eat organically when we can afford to is another way to support the environment, but you've heard me discuss that before when I've discussed buying locally. It just makes sense and it's such a Cool Idea that I don't have any more to say on the environment issue. Next, we get closer to home.

Use the discount code TREATS to get a great deal at Restaurant.com! Get $25 certificates for $2!! As always, remember to read the details for each restaurant you're considering so that you know what their specifications are. Most of the time certificates don't expire for a year, but double check. This TREATS is good through Oct. 31. Enjoy because it is definitely a Cool Idea!

So, how 'bout those 'Skins? Yeah, that's what I figured. I didn't even stay awake for the end of the game last night and yet I'm pretty sure I know how it ended. How is that? Because it's raining today instead of dropping confetti from the sky that's how.

I know that some people really get into how 'their' team does on a weekly basis. I keep tabs on them and root for them but it's been a long time since I knew the names of the players or could pick them out of a lineup. It's a strange feeling especially since I grew up in the DC-suburbs and several of the players used to come eat a little restaurant where I had my first job. It was at that job I learned a few things - football players dodn't drop the ball much because they have huge hands and we as fans should be thankful that they wear grills and masks most of the time. A lot of those guys are just not pretty.

But even though I'm not a die hard, bleeding fan it pains me to know that they are doing so poorly and to hear - even as remotely as I am, cut off from speculation since I rarely read the newspaper and not a guy - that Snyder will likely fire the new coach.

I think this is Snyder's key to all disappointments. Just fire 'em. To me it sounds a bit like Marie Antoinette but then I'm probably mixing my metaphors. Because of these kinds of management changes he keeps jerking the team in different directions every couple of years and each time it creates a new problem that takes a few years to settle and rebuild and then he fires that guy. Seriously, is there anyone with a pulse that doesn't see this as a problem.

So, I was thinking that if a Mommy ran the Redskins there would be a very different management philosophy. I think that instead of deciding to fire a coach half way through a season - his second season coaching EVER - the Mommy would get the coach a mentor to help the coach out. Give him some personal bolstering and professional words, if necessary. But mostly, Mommy owes her associates respect and alliance and they should know that at all times. If they don't, they won't feel comfortable to go out on a limb and make hard decisions or courageous plays.

Mommy would also let the coach know that to learn is to make mistakes, and to make mistakes is to learn. Snyder has to realize that some of the problems with the depth of the bench is because of the flip-flopping that's been going on. Shoot, even I remember the years when the dork from California tried to make the Skins into a passing team. Like that was ever going to happen. Let Coach use this season as a training and building season.

Devil's Advocate is going to remind Mommy that this will be a very expensive process. Sure. But if you fix it this year then you're done and you will have the undying respect of Coach and the Entire Washington Redskins Fan Base and there isn't any other like it in the world. In fact, if you could bottle it and send it that into battle I figure we'd be out of the Middle East in record time. And even if it doesn't work, what have you lost really? Time? You were going to loose that anyway. Respect? Unless you give it you don't get it back.

I'll continue to keep my fingers crossed for my home team and hope that Coach gets a break and Snyder keeps off his back for the rest of the season and if there's a Mommy out there with a few hundred million dollars who'd like to implement these philosophies give me a call and we'll see if Snyder is open to negotiation.

This will be the first of several posts on this topic because there are many levels that I want to talk about. First we're going to look BIG PICTURE!

I'll be one of the first to admit that I've been mightily spoiled by the incredible riches of our state and national parks. The United States obviously has the opportunity to set aside so much space because we have so much space. But I'd also like to think that it's because we, as a nation, value setting some of our land aside. Whether it be for it's beauty or it's history or for reverance - we value what this means.

In a sense, it's like tithing. The reason for tithing is so that we learn to live on less than we make. Setting aside parks not only allows everyone to hold this land in common, to enjoy and use, but it means that we have to learn to live on just that much less land.

Some parks are very large. In fact the largest National Park is "Wrangell-St. Elias located in the Eastern region of South-central Alaska. The Chugach, Wrangell, and St. Elias mountain ranges converge here in what is often referred to as the "Mountain Kingdom of North America." It is the largest national park in the United States, six times the size of Yellowstone. Wrangell-St. Elias encompasses over 20,000 square miles of mountain wilderness - that's over 50,000 square kilometers, or 25% larger than Switzerland!"

Some of these parks are very small. The smallest being in Guthrie, Oklahoma to commemorate the land rush but it ended up being so small due to the deed being written improperly.

But no matter what the size they all have a story to tell and stories are what make us different from other animals. Stories are what we will pass on to our children and the next generations.

So as we continue to think about stewardship let's consider what it means to be a Steward of our natural and national park resources in the sense of keeping them available for future generations. This is never the sexy part of any government's budget but one that we would all miss if it left or if we had to start paying, or paying substantially more, for the opportunity to enjoy and explore the wonders of this great land. I know, I'm a geek, but I think it's a Cool Idea!

We love Children's Place! In fact, it's the only store I've ever found where the sizes are actually true to Comfort's age. Amazing. Even better than the great sizing are the cute styles and wonderful use of color.

That said, I don't shop there unless there's a coupon involved because it's usually out of my price range. Even better, a coupon and a sale going on and if you are a reader of Common Sense with Money you'll have heard that there is in fact a great sale going on at Children's Place online.

So, hurry and grab a coupon and get some cool clothes during this seasonal transition sale. I know I will because this is definitely a Cool Idea!

I promise you'll make more than two cents with Survey Head, though! In fact, when you get invitations from Survey Head you'll find out the percentage likelihood that the survey is a good fit for you. Pretty good, huh. The cash out threshold is $25 and can be done in Amazon gift cards, cash or donations to charity. Again, Pretty neat. Signing up to do surveys through Survey Head is definitely a Cool Idea!!

One of the things I do to help our family budget is mystery shopping. You've heard me talk about this before but not, perhaps, in the context of Stewardship of Time.

In the past several years one thing I have had more of is time. As opposed to money:) Of course, I couldn't do a great deal with it because I always had Comfort and Joy with me but I had time on my hands. Literally. That's when I started trying to find ways that I could work from home while I watched the girls.

Mystery Shopping isn't a great option in this case because I have to have someone else watch the kids unless I find a meal Mystery Shop but that doesn't mean that these shops aren't useful to us.

But now that the girls are in school, remarkably, I actually have less time for the work I'm trying to do so I'm more careful about the mystery shops I take on. In September I took on too many and it was a little crazy. I intentionally backed off for October and I've only been accepting assignments slowly throughout the month.

One great thing about being careful about doing your reports is that companies learn when you are reliable and when they need someone they'll give you a call. I've picked up 3 shops this way in October alone. So, the calendar has changed drastically. At the beginning of the month I had one mystery shop scheduled [dinner for the family at a burger place]. As of now, I've also added:

• 3 grocery store mystery shops
• 2 cosmetic store shops [these are nice because they don't require a purchase!]
• Hardware store shop
• Pizza delivery mystery shop

I also have a long-term shop that is coming to completion by the end of the month. And there's still another week left, too. I might pick up some more. But I'll wait and see if it's something that I really need and make sure that it doesn't take up a huge amount of my time because now that I have less time I want to make sure that I use it carefully and wisely because being a good Steward is definitely a Cool Idea!

Just as it's important to use our money to have a say about what's important to us, it's also important to use our time to show what we value. Strangely, if most of us look through an accounting of how we actually spend our day we'll likely find that there's a lot of stuff that we don't value that we're spending the bulk of our time on.

Why do we do this? Sometimes, we don't know it's happening. If this is the case, once we have the information we then have the opportunity to change. It doesn't always have to be a huge change but if it should make a big enough difference in your life for you to notice.

Sometimes we do things we don't value because we feel we have no choice. Why? Because it's our job, or a loved one enjoys the activity, or - for whatever reason you have chosen to spend time doing something that you do not enjoy or value. You just need to decide if this is okay with you - for now. It doesn't have to be forever. Just for now. Give yourself a set increment of time and then check back in and decide if you're still okay with spinning your wheels. If not, then make the change.

And sometimes we make a conscious effort to use our time with care to do something for someone else. This is important, too. Stewardship of Time shouldn't always be about ourselves and what we want and need. We need to think outside of ourselves to see the bigger picture. This perspective takes maturity but it helps us remember that there's more to life than whatever gossip might have been on TV that day. Stewardship of Time reminds us to be conscious of how we use our time, to value the time that we have, and to consciously consider spending our time to help other people. Personally, I think that's a Cool Idea.

Here we go! The Cellfire coupons have been reset and are available for saving to your Kroger or Safeway family of store brand loyalty cards from now until Monday, November 02, 2009. They will expire 2 weeks later on November 16, 2009.

Here are the coupons that you can load:

BC Cookie Mix Save $.40: Save $0.40 when you buy any flavor 17.5 OZ. OR LARGER Betty Crocker® Cookie Mix.

BC Potatoes Save $.40: Save $0.40 when you buy any flavor Box or Pouch Betty Crocker® Potatoes (Except Potato Buds®).

BC Warm Delights Save $.50: Save $0.50 when you buy ONE any flavor Betty Crocker® Warm Delights® Bowls OR Betty Crocker® Warm Delights® Minis Bowls.

BC Frosting Save $.50: Save $0.50 when you buy ONE TUB any flavor/variety Betty Crocker® Frosting.

Bisquick® Save $.60: Save $0.60 when you buy 40 OZ. OR LARGER Original Bisquick® OR Bisquick Heart Smart® Baking Mix.

Chex Mix® Save $.50: Save $0.50 when you buy any flavor 4.5 OZ. OR LARGER Chex Mix® OR Chex® 100 Calorie Snack.

Chex® cereals Save $1 Save $1.00 when you buy any TWO Chex® cereals.

Fiber One Muffin Mix Save $.50 Save $0.50 when you buy any flavor/variety Fiber One(tm) Box Muffin Mix.

Green Giant® Vege's Save $.50: Save $0.50 when you buy TWO any variety Green Giant® Frozen Boxed Vegetables.

Hamburger Helper® Save $.75: Save $0.75 when you buy THREE any flavor Hamburger Helper®, Tuna Helper® OR Chicken Helper® Home Cooked Skillet Meals.

Kix® cereal Save $.55: Save $0.55 when you buy any Kix® cereal - Kix®, Berry Berry Kix® OR Honey Kix®.

NV Granola Nut Clustrs Save $1: Save $1.00 when you buy ONE BAG any flavor Nature Valley® Granola Nut Clusters.

PB Cookie Dough Save $1: Save $1.00 when you buy TWO PACKAGES any variety Pillsbury® Refrigerated Cookie Dough.

PB Frozen Grands! Save $.75: Save $0.75 when you buy any TWO Frozen Pillsbury® Grands!® Biscuits, Cinnamon Rolls, OR Mini Cinnamon Rolls.

PB Italian Meal Bred Save $.40: Save $0.40 when you buy any TWO Pillsbury® Italian Meal Breads (Includes any Loaves, Breadsticks, Dinner Rolls, and Pizza Crust).

PB Rolled Pie Crusts Save $.50: Save $0.50 when you buy TWO packages of Pillsbury® Rolled Refrigerated Pie Crusts.

PB Refrig'd Grands! Save $.30: Save $0.30 when you buy TWO any size/variety Refrigerated Pillsbury® Grands!® Biscuits.

PB Sweet Rolls Save $.40: Save $0.40 when you buy any TWO Pillsbury® Sweet Rolls OR Grands!® Sweet Rolls.

PB Holiday Cookies Save $.75: Save $0.75 when you buy any TWO Pillsbury® Refrigerated Holiday Cookies.

Progresso® Broth Save $.50: Save $0.50 when you buy ONE any variety Progresso® Broth.

Progresso® Soups Save $.50: Save $0.50 when you buy TWO any flavor Progresso® Soups.

Romano's Mac Grill kit Save $1: Save $1.00 when you buy any flavor Romano's Macaroni Grill® Restaurant Favorites® Dinner Kit.

Yoplait® cups Save $.50: Save $0.50 when you buy SIX any variety Yoplait® Yogurt cups OR any flavor Yoplait® Original OR Light Smoothies.

Yoplait® Delights(tm) Save $1: Save $1.00 when you buy any flavor Yoplait® Delights Yogurt Multipack.

Pillsbury® Crescents Save $.50: Save $0.50 when you buy any TWO Pillsbury® Crescent Dinner Rolls.

Cottonelle® Save $.25: Save $.25 on any ONE (1) 4-pack or Larger COTTONELLE® Toilet Paper.

Huggies® Diapers Save $3: Save $3.00 on any package of Huggies® Diapers

KOTEX® Brand Save $1: Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) KOTEX® Product.