Here is a list of websites and businesses that offer discount coupons for the Tampa Bay area:

• Coupons of Tampa Bay – Free, printable, local coupons for Tampa, St Pete, Clearwater, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco…
• Entertainment Discount Coupon Book – An entire book with thousands of dollars worth of savings. You also get a membership card which provides additional discounts at participating businesses. Plus, you can download more coupons from the website!
• eFlorida Coupons – Claims to be Tampa Bay’s largest free coupon directory.
• Valpak – You know them. It’s the coupon pack that comes in your mail every so often. Well, you don’t have to wait. You can print discount coupons right from their website.
• Tampa Bay 360 – The coupon page from a Tampa Bay area virtual tour site.
• Retail Me Not – A site where people share discount codes for online purchases.

Coupons often don’t last for very long; they have expiration dates. Sometimes, the offers expire or don’t live up to their promises. Real offers can be hidden by those that are spam, so you have to look carefully.

I think that the benefits outweigh the problems, and with a little effort, you can save some money by using coupons.

Children (or kids at heart) create their own works of art using the spin painting machine. Paper is placed on a spinning platform and people get to squirt paint onto the paper. It creates some really neat designs, and kids love that they can take home something they’ve made themselves.

It’s the same with sand art. Your guests fill uniquely shaped bottles with different colors of sand to make a one-of-a-kind pieces of art. There are basic tube-type bottles, but there are even more exciting bottles shaped like animals, flowers, and more.

For parties and similar events, the cost depends on the number of guests you will be hosting. It averages about $15.00 per guest (minimum $150). Each guest can create two 5 x 7 spin paintings, a sand art necklace or keychain, and a 5 oz. sand art bottle. The guest(s) of honor may select a 10 -12 oz. bottle from inventory.

For festivals or fairs, I’ll pay the booth fee if it’s not too expensive. I will need electricity for the spin painting machine.

***Fundraisers: Contact me about working your fund-raising event. I usually am willing to give a non-profit organization up to 30 percent of sales. It will depend on any booth and application fees.

So far, I’ve had a really fun time with these activities. Thanks for the support.

This book has coupons for almost everything. The cool thing is that this isn’t just a discount book for special items or entertainment events. It contains coupons for things you do everyday like grocery shopping or dining out.

The coupons offer discounts for restaurants, groceries, clothing, movies, travel, attractions, car care, home furnishings, and so much more. Many of the coupons are for 50% off or 2-for-1 specials.

Not only will you find well known national chains like T.G.I. Fridays, IHOP, Firestone, and Vision Center, but there are hundreds of coupons for local Tampa Bay area businesses.

Just using two or three of the coupons can make up for the price of the book. A special members card is included that allows you to save even more by getting discounts at participating stores and restaurants. Plus, book owners can go online and print out even more money saving coupons.

• SamEric Theater
  When I was nineteen, I went to the downtown movie theater to get a job as an usher. Two weeks later, I was made assistant manager. Although it was a fairly easy job, there was a lot of responsibility. The SamEric was the largest movie auditorium in the city of Philadelphia (1200 people). Also, my lack of social skills made it difficult for me at times. Yet, I am proud to say I worked at the largest movie theater in Philly.
• Camp Saginaw
  While working at the SamEric and going to Temple University, I attended a job fair at school. This let to my getting a job as a camp counselor at Camp Saginaw in Oxford, PA. The first year I worked there, I helped with the shows the campers did. During the second year, I also taught Model Rocketry.
• Archdiocese of Philadelphia
  After a failure in trying to join the Air Force, I thought I would try teaching (something I always wanted to do, but thought I was too temperamental). Between 1984 and 1991, I taught at three Archdiocese schools: Holy Name of Jesus in Fishtown, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in South Philadelphia, and St. Cecilia in Foxchase. I did feel somewhat the hypocrite, since I was already an atheist by this time, but I did teach Religion, along with all the usual elementary curriculum. I did enjoy it, but I was not well suited to handling 30 kids at a time day after day.
• Tracey Tours
  I think I worked for them in the summer of 1987. I gave 2 and one-half hour tours of the historic area of Philadelphia. Most of the tour was on a bus and we drove past City Hall, down Pine St., and through the Historic District. The visitors and I got off at the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, and we also stopped at the Betsy Ross House. This was a really fun job which allowed me to combine my love of Philadelphia history and teaching.
• Sesame Place
  During the summers of 1989 – 1991, I worked with the Muppets. I began as an Entertainment Tech and ran a show called The Wild Duckie Chase, where kids would act and be inserted into a video with Bert, Ernie, and Super Grover. I was able to become Area Supervisor of the Technical Services Department in 1990. I was then able to work on all the shows in the park, plus the exhibits, video games, and computers.
• Busch Gardens Africa
  Working at Sesame Place allowed me to move to Florida and work at another park owned by Busch Entertainment. From 1991 through 1995, and again in 1998, I worked at the Moroccan Palace Theater. The shows at that time were ice shows, so not only was I doing real professional theater work, I was also helping to maintain an ice rink. The two shows I worked on was Around the World on Ice and Hollywood Live on Ice. This was one of the jobs I really enjoyed.
• VerticalNet
  I moved back to Philadelphia for two years from 1995 to 1997. While I tried to establish a business on the Internet for myself, I began working for a net company in Horsham, PA called VerticalNet. It specialized in websites for specific industries (vertical markets). I learned a lot about coding and graphics while working there. The company has been sold and reorganized a couple of times. It was never really profitable, but I didn’t know the Internet bubble was coming. I also didn’t know that the man who became CEO while I was there, Mark Walsh, was such a big player on the web. I decided office work was not for me and I missed Florida. I left the company after only 10 months.
• LBI.net
  I have worked with computers since 1981, and I build my first webpage in 1994. When I decided to move back to Philly for a bit in 1995 and create a neighborhood website for Fairmount, my friend Paul Neal decided to build one for Long Beach Island, NJ. I’ve been working with him on LBI.net ever since.
• Yesindeedy
  I always wanted to work for myself and own my own business. I seem more suited to that than working for someone else. I tried many businesses through the years, but in 1998, I officially began a web-based company called R-JEM Enterprises (a name I had thought of years before). Later, I decided no one would recognize or remember that name, so I changed it to Yesindeedy Software, and then simply, Yesindeedy. This reflects my hope of a happy future and positive outlook on life. While I still continue to work on the Internet, I’m hoping that Yesindeedy expands into Real Estate and Show Business in the future.

I’ll update the list as necessary.

• Blue Lane Photography
  Owned and operated by Zekeshem Parsons, Blue Lane Photography is located in beautiful Tampa, Florida, and serves the entire Tampa Bay area and beyond. Shem also co-owns Room 3307: Modern Boudoir Photography.
• Christmas Wish List
  Share your Christmas Wish List with a designated group or groups of family members and friends.
• Darsville (Darlene Egli)
  The website of my friend, Darlene Egli. View her artwork and learn more about her.
• John Lund
  One of my best friends from high school is now a Senior Vice President in the Disney Organization.
• Knit One, Pearl Onion
  A whimsical and loosely informative culinary and knitting journal from Joann.
• LBI.net (Long Beach Island)
  All about Long Beach Island, NJ. A website owned by my friend, Paul Neal.
• Norman Moran
  My cousin, Norman, is a Coldwell Banker Preferred Real Estate Agent. “Serving Philadelphia and Surrounding Counties Representing Real Estate Consumers Best Interest.”
• Loonstyn Properties
  My cousins, the Loonstyns, not only run a roofing company but also provide superior homes and apartments in the Art Museum and Spring Garden Areas of Philadelphia.
• My Local Stage
  Local community theater information for the Tampa Bay area.
• Shawn Rice
  Ok, Shawn and I are not the closest of friends, but I hope he doesn’t mind that I can say, “I knew him when.” He’s now traveling around the country on tours, becoming famous.
• ShowSys
  ShowSys provides technical management and design services including control, audio and video design to the entertainment and themed markets. Owned in part by my friend Scott Arnold.
• SwankIvy
  A very cool writer, artist, and singer.
• The Tiedeken Family
  A website about my mother’s family.
• Wag Your Tail
  Owned by two sisters, Dawn and Heather, Wag Your Tail specializes in clothing and other products for dog lovers.