For a limited time -- a little over two days as of this posting -- you can get Juicy Couture for up to 70% off from Secret Style.  If you enter my e-mail address (lily@brokeinamerica.com)  in the Sponsor field you get $10 off of your order.  The $10 is the referral fee which I would have gotten if you ordered something.  Instead, I'll let YOU have it.  :-) I took a look at what they have.  They had dresses and tops only. I personally am not a designer-label kind of person but I thought someone who would love to have some designer duds on the cheap might appreciate the link. Photo:  blingyourself.com

Death and taxes -- aren't those the only things on earth that are for certain?  It looks like the combination of the bad economy and the huge number of aging baby boomers are raising the public interest in the mortuary career.  People looking for a stable career where there will always be work for them wherever they go may have found one option.  Newsday.com reports that enrollment for mortuary careers have increased significantly.  In Nassau Community College, for example, the mortuary program lasts for two years, and 80% of their graduates have found employment in the funeral services industry.  Graduates can reportedly earn around $50,000 a year after a year-long residency at a funeral home.   Current demographics of experienced morticians show that they are an aging population, thus increasing the employment prospects of new graduates. Would you??? Photo credit:  Eco Casket

I am a techie, so I understand the necessity to be on top of the game.  One has to keep learning about new technologies, new methods, new acronyms in order to keep up.  I also know that it can be expensive.  As part of my "earn more" strategy I am going after some professional certifications.  I discovered last year that I have the passion and talent for database programming, so I am hoping to get certified on SQL this year.  As I surf the web looking for practice exams for 70-431 I came across some free e-Learning courses that Microsoft is offering.  It covers a multitude of topics:  SQL, Visual Studio, MIcrosoft Office, etc.  I thought I'd share this link for fellow techies and techie wannabes. Click here  to check 0ut the FREE Microsoft e-Learning courses!

What would you do if you hear noises outside at 2:30 in the morning and see three men trying to take your car away?  I don't know what I would do, but what Jim Tanks of Halsell, Alabama did ended up costing him his life:  He grabbed a gun, walked out the back door, and confronted the men.  The men were not thieves, but rather, repo men trying to take Mr. Tanks' car away.  Shots were fired and Mr. Tanks died with a gunshot wound to the chest.  The repo man, Kenneth Alvin Smith, now faces murder charges.  He says he fired in self defense.  Mr. Smith works for Ascencion Recovery in Birmingham, AL, where a repo man was shot dead and yet another was wounded in two separate repossession incidents just this year. Most financially-strapped people start getting behind on their car payment.  I am no different.  In fact, a tow truck near my car is one of the top ten things a broke person like me is afraid of.  In nightmarish imaginings I have always thought repo men take your car in the middle of the day, when you are at work, for full embarrassing effect.  Never in my life did ...

Indulging in some form of harmless escapism is necessary once in a while just to give one's mind a break.  I usually play computer games, usually online.  The kids are quite adept at finding downloadable games.  For a while our computer was cluttered with all these Free Trial downloads.  Now that they are older, the kids know that downloading Free Trial games are not worth the time, the disk space and the frustration when the trial is over just when things got interesting.  We only download full version games now, and if they are free, the better! Well, what Amazon.com is offering are full versions of three FREE games: Build-A-Lot Jewel Quest II The Scruffs The original Jewel Quest was one of my most favorite games.  I actually bought the mobile version and played it on my cell phone a lot.  Jewel Quest II is a fancier, improved version of it.  I have tried Jewel Quest II on the XBOX 360 and online and the graphics are so much better compared to the original.  I have never tried either Build-A-Lot or The Scruffs, but I downloaded them as well.  I am looking forward to playing these games this weekend! Get FREE games here. What is your favorite computer ...

Spam, a canned meat product (or some may cheekily say "meat-like product" or "meat by-product"), was the staple in American kitchens during the Great Depression.  Parents back then, desperate to save money but still serve their families some protein would "butcher" a can of Spam.  With everyone trying to cut back on spending, it looks like Hormel's Spam is once again helping Americans feed families.  The New York Times reported that since July, production of Spam at the Hormel plant in Austin, MN has been relentless:  two shifts, seven days a week at 149,000+ cans of Spam per shift. What is Spam?  People know Spam as "junk e-mail", but Jay Hormel, the son of the company founder, says that Spam is a combination of ham, pork, sugar, salt, water, potato starch and a "hint" of sodium nitrite "to help Spam keep its gorgeous pink color."  Spam is available in regular, Low Sodium, Spam with Cheese, and Spam Hot & Spicy. Find Spam recipes here.

A post at TMZ.com cracked me up.  A website is now providing a service to men to remind them when the women in their lives are scheduled to have PMS.  The service is FREE and you can track up to five women.  Women can also sign up to send alerts to the people in their lives. The site is PMSBuddy.com.  Their motto:  "Saving relationships one month at a time."  For the menfolk, the site aims  "to keep you aware of when your wife, girlfriend, mother, sister, daughter, or any other women in your life are closing in on "that time of the month" - when things can get intense for what may seem to be no reason at all."  For the ladies, the site is "a great way to give people in your life a heads-up of when you might be feeling a bit irritable without having an awkward conversation." Not only does the site send out reminders,  it also sends out advice on how to deal with, or survive, the PMS stage.  You can even read PMS-related stories here. I'm thinking about signing up to send alerts to hubby and the kids!  That way hubby will know when to turn the speakers waaay down, and the kids will clean up ...

I recently stumbled upon FreeDigitalPhotos.net,  a website with tons of free images that one can use for blogs, websites, even school projects!  The free images are web-ready at 640 pixels x 427 pixels.  I consider this a medium-quality web-ready photo.  No, this will not be an ideal resolution to use for desktop wallpaper.  However, you may buy larger and higher resolution versions of the photo if you desire.  Here is what I love about the site: No registration is required.  You may use the images for commercial purposes. You can download the images instantly! Here are their  main categories for the photos: Animals Celebration Everyday Items Food and Drink Natural World People Places Plants Sports and Leisure Transportation Uncategorized Each main category has several sub-categories.  For the Natural World category, for example, the sub-categories are: Agriculture and Farming Coastals and Oceans Fall - Autumn Landscapes Sky Summer Spring Sunset and Sunrise Waterfalls Weather Winter All they are asking is that you display a link to their site from your own website or blog, and give them credit when you use their photos in print. Click here to get FREE images for your blog or website! Click here to check out previous FREE Stuff and Great Deals posts at Broke in America.

[caption id="attachment_467" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Photo: eonline.com"][/caption] Just in time for the Oscars, Amazon.com is having a huge sale on Academy Award-winning movies, up to 50% off.  The Oscars will be shown live on ABC on February 22nd.  The Amazon.com Oscar sale ends February 23rd.  Check out the list of this year's Oscar nominees here. Get your Academy Award-winning movies here.

A California woman has given birth to octuplets!  Two physicians headed the delivery of the eight babies by Caesarian section, it was confirmed today.  The babies -- six boys and two girls -- were born between 10:43 a.m. and 10:48 a.m.  They weighed between 1 lb 15 oz and  3 lbs 4 oz. Forty-six people helped with the delivery which was planned well in advance.  The doctors and hospital staff involved did two dry runs to prepare for the delivery.   Things went flawlessly even though only seven babies were expected. Photo from blog.joins.com and not the actual babies.