Julie's Journal

This post was sponsored by Kmart. All the opinions are mine.

Do you remember the days of the Bluelight specials at Kmart? I remember being a kid and getting excited when I saw the cart come around the store with the flashing blue light and the loud speaker saying “Attention Kmart Shoppers.” HA!

Kmart has sure come a long way since then, especially with the opening of the Super K’s. Once our Super K opened here, I rarely ever shop at Walmart anymore. Super K just blows them away in my opinion. They have a better selection, and the stores are kept much more clean!

Starting tomorrow, on August 1st, Kmart is bringing back the Bluelight Specials for one day only. You can get special offers throughout the day on everything from patio furniture, to grills, to jewelry… all at the Kmart Bluelight Specials prices! In fact, there will be over 40 great Bluelight Specials throughout the whole day. But remember it’s only going on TOMORROW so make sure to add Kmart to your list of places to go while out doing your errands.

Make sure to follow follow @kmartdealsnnews on Twitter for all the latest Kmart deals and specials.

I was invited to go to the General Mills Table Talk blogger event August 30-31 in Minneapolis at the Betty Crocker Kitchens and I thought it looked like fun, so I just finalized my plans today. I’m pretty excited about it and wondered if any of you are going as well. Here’s a little bit about the event and what we will be doing.

Put the spotlight back on family dinner time:

• How to bring value, nutrition and family fun to your dinner table
• Exclusive sampling of new products and twists on family favorites
• Ideas of how we can help bring variety to your dinner time

I get into Minneapolis in the afternoon on Sunday and that night we are taking a dinner/cocktail cruise on Lake Minnetonka. The next day is the Table Talk blogger event where all the fun foodie stuff is going to happen. I’m really looking forward to this event!

So it’s that time of the year where parents all across the country are getting ready to send their child off to college. Whether for the first time ever, or as a returning student, there has to be some type of financial plan in place. It’s hard to keep money coming in as a college student, but there are ways to help you manage the little money you do have.

Sears makes it easy to juggle these expenses with their Reload-able Gift Cards. As a parent you need to go into the store to purchase the card originally, but then you can load funds onto the card online, in a store, or in a student shop at their local Sears and Kmart stores. There is also the application CampusReady on Facebook that will help you.

There are three sections to the Sears CampusReady Facebook application. The Roommate Matchup let’s you take a quiz to discover what you and your new roommate share in common (or don’t). The Dorm Room Designer let’s you design your dorm room in 3D before you even step foot on campus. And the Gift Getter let’s you choose the things you need for college and post them on your Facebook page so all your family members can see it, and hopefully buy these items for you.

Going to college for the first time is a scary event, but with the fun and helpful tools like these, it will make the transition less stressful.