This week’s roundup is short and sweet. It includes one tip that is ONLY good tonight and another that expires Saturday. The rest are good for any time of year. Happy holidays!

Universal Movies wants you to see their movies. Sign up here to get an invite to special screenings of their films.

If you’re one of many making losing weight your resolution for the new year, or you just like cereal, Special K will give you a free box of cereal (with the purchase of another box). Go here for the details.

Tonight at 9, you might want to gather with the family in front of the computer to watch Brian Setzer’s Christmas show live from Knoxville.

Also, if you’re staying in and looking for a holiday movie (or not), check out this listing.

Here’s an easy craft project for all your photos: make a collage! Get 33% off your project if you print it at Walgreens. Start by building it on Snapfish. Then, enter the code DEC19 at checkout (offer expires December 26th at 11:59PM).

More photo fun: Check out animoto. You can make 30 second videos with your photos and music for free. You can also join the service for $30/year (or pay $3 for one video) to make longer videos. Thanks to Bernice for the tip!

For the crafty: take those holiday cards and ripped wrapping paper and turn them into something new.

That’s it for this week. Next week, I’ll have a list of some of my favorite tips from this year (don’t worry, they’ll still be good). If you want to share a tip, send an email to nperez@ksat.com with “Friday Freebies” in the subject line.

This week, I have a few holiday tips, as well as free food and music – and there’s one tip that is only good on Tuesday. Start saving after the jump!

With the kids out of school next week, you might want to make plans to go to the San Antonio Zoo Tuesday (Dec. 22). Admission is half-off (admission will be $5 for adults, and $4 for seniors and children) just for that day! See what’s happening at the zoo here.

I know you like free stuff (otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this), so check out Kashless. You register and see what stuff other people are just giving away. While you’re there, post things you don’t want anymore and someone will contact you to collect it.

You might want to make friends with iTunes on Facebook. They give away free music to its fans there. (And while you’re there, you might want to become one of our fans, too)

Pet owners, mark your calendars for the first and third Wednesday of each month. Animal Care services will offer low cost vaccination and microchipping each afternoon between 3-5. Go here for more information.

From my inbox: Like stir fry? Head to the Fire Wok in Stone Oak. For every $5 donation you make to the San Antonio Food Bank, you’ll get a free dinner there. All proceeds go to the Food Bank. Valid ONLY at the Stone Oak location.

From my inbox: Pavil Restaurant and Bar is celebrating its first anniversary today by giving away free entrées. Now through January 15, 2010, you’ll get a free entrée with the purchase of one.

This site has all kinds of shopping tips in Texas.

If you receive gift cards this holiday season but they’re from stores/restaurants you don’t like, you can sell or swap your cards here.

Teens might like this one: sign up for Claire’s Secret Santa Circle and get $5 off a $10 order just for joining.

Since schools will be out, you might want to bookmark this page or this page for some holiday coloring pages. If you or your kids are crafty, here are a few things you do at home.

You can send the troops a video holiday message here. And this site has a list of ways you can send your support in a care package.

I’ll be back on Christmas Eve with more tips. If you want to share a hint, send an email to nperez@ksat.com with “Friday Freebies” in the subject line.

Global warming is real…a legit question is how much is caused by CO2 (man)?  I know we are overwhelming the planet with 500 trillion cubic feet of CO2 every year.  I know that there are only 5 quadrillion square feet of planet earth.  That is 10 times 500 trillion.  So we are coating the planet with about one tenth of a foot of CO2 every year.  That’s about one inch.  After 10 years it is a foot and after 50 years you are up to your neck in CO2.  (those numbers are conservative but real)

If you can’t fathom huge numbers then fathom this.  Every year the CO2 content of the atmosphere increases.  It has gone from 280 PPM to about 390 PPM.  It is going up about 3 PPM every year.  Basically there are not enough trees in the forest, grass on the plains, seaweed in the seas or algae in the oceans to process all the CO2 we produce.

CO2 is a greenhouse gas that traps heat.  Fact.

Bottom line is we have a CO2 problem.

Conservs (deniers) are right in that the temperature rise so far has been slight.  About 1.4 degrees F.  So instead of 30 Below it is now 28.6 below.  No big whoop.  It’s still awfully cold.

Is the slight warming bad?  There is an argument there…I accept that.  But to say that global warming is a hoax is wrong.  To report hacked emails by adding fake stuff to them like FOX News did is bad journalism.  In fact I say downright dastardly deceptive.

It is wrong to believe that temperatures have stopped warming.  That is more junk from some oil companies and Rush Limbaugh and FOX.  The latest decade, 2000-2009 was the warmest ever recorded.  (World meteorological Organization…December 10, 2009)

Global Warming.  I am fascinated by the subject and I enjoy talking about the facts.  I will never try to over-hype the phenom because I don’t know.  But I hate the politics and fake facts of the deniers.  They are spewing total fabrication. They are getting even louder and fakier recently.  They come out with fake facts like  “Oh the climate has stopped warming since 1998″.  That’s just a lie.

Conservs are right about the money/power grab.  The Libs answer to everything is ”let’s tax it”.  Puhlease…How about coming up with a real answer like emission free power?  Like Nuclear, Solar, Wind.  How about electric cars that rely on emission free power?

That’s about all I know about Global Warming except I didn’t mention all the real stuff that I have actually witnessed in my lifetime (57 years of Meteorology).  Rising Sea levels, melting glaciers, shrinking Arctic ice cap, ice in dates later, ice out dates earlier, deeper droughts,  more powerful floods,  more powerful hurricanes.  These things have nothing to do with placing the thermometer too close to the air conditioning unit at the Wal Mart in Arkansas.  Nothing.

Have a good Old Fashioned Merry Christmas!

This week’s free stuff includes music, gift cards and a few holiday tips. Start saving after the jump.

Students might want to check out Amazon’s Trade-In program. Find the value of your books, they’ll pay for the shipping and you’ll get a gift card in return.

Free music for rock fans! Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan has decided to give away music on the band’s site. Read all about it here.

You can get gift cards for free, as this article says, but be prepared to hunt (and possibly spam your friends).

Send a free card to the troops on this site.

Don’t forget your pets this holiday season! Click here for a special treat for your dog. Click here for a special treat for your cat.

Kids can make crafts and get their picture taken with Santa at Bass Pro Shops for free. Go here for the details.

Remember Pee-wee’s holiday special? You can watch it online for free. Note: You’ll get a pop-up asking you to register, but you don’t have to register to watch the video.

One more holiday tip: check iTunes for a whole bunch of free holiday tunes. (If you haven’t downloaded iTunes, click here)

This week’s charity is Toys for Tots. Here’s a list of events in San Antonio. Here’s a list of places where you can drop off toys. And click here to find out how to make a monetary donation to the program.

That’s it for this week. If you want to share a tip, send an email to nperez@ksat.com with “Friday Freebies” in the subject line.

Since December is finally here, this week’s free stuff and discounts are mostly holiday-themed. Start saving after the jump.

Head to Walmart Saturday to get your photo taken with Santa for free. Find a location here.

You’ve missed a few days of this, but there’s still plenty of time to get free food from Whataburger. Just sign up and you’ll get free food coupons in your inbox through December 24th.

Looking for some new holiday recipes? Check these out.

Maybe some free holiday music will get you in the spirit. Check this site for a free daily download.

If you haven’t seen “The Way We Get By,” you can watch it free online for one week. Go here to read more about this fascinating documentary.

Speaking of movies… If you have movie fans on your holiday shopping list, you might consider getting some gift cards from Santikos. If you buy $100 worth of gift cards, you’ll get one free movie ticket (you know, so you can treat yourself). Note: you may not see that listed on their site, but I got word about this special in an email from their marketing department.

This week’s featured charity: Elf Louise. You can volunteer your time or send money/donations for the kids.

That’s all for this week. If you want to share a tip, send an email to nperez@ksat.com with “Friday Freebies” in the subject line.

By Brian Alonzo

It’s the buzz in San Antonio. If its not, trust me… it will be. The low pressure system that caused the rain on Mon-Tuesday will be heading off our east. As it does it will interact with another low pressure system to the north and help bring colder air southward towards Texas. What is also going to help is a high pressure system over the Rockies. So all this cold air is going to get shoved towards us. What is going to cause the precipitation is a upper level distubance. In order for snow to stay snow as its falling to the ground, both the upper levels and the surface need to be below freezing. Since the surface temperatures will be slightly above freezing for most of our area, snow will not accumulate. After Friday we’ll have to worry about freezing temperatures in San Antonio in the evening hours into Saturday morning. Our temps can be in the upper 20’s while the Hill Country may see low 20’s and isolated spots could see upper teens.  The forecast and what area will see snow can change between now and Friday so stay tuned to KSAT-12 and JustWeather.com.

Happy Thanksgiving! While you’re adjusting your belt for all that food, take a look at the special pre-Black Friday edition of Friday Freebies. Enjoy!

Black Friday ads have been online for a while. You might check this site or this site or even this one for a look at them.

Prime Outlets is hosting a late night shopping event beginning at 12 a.m. Friday. It’s the Midnight Madness Pajama Jam. The first 500 shoppers who visit Guest Services in their PJs get a free goodie bag loaded with coupons, giveaways (including Jockey brand pajamas) and a chance to win a $500 shopping spree. Go here to see what stores fill up that big outlet mall. Oh – don’t wait too long on this. The specials are good through 8 a.m. Friday.

Wal-Mart plans to keep its stores open 24-hours throughout the weekend. If you go there, look for some of these specials (sent to my inbox):Buzz Lightyear Talking Action Figure – $29, Barbie “I Can Be” Playsets with Doll – $15, Fisher-Price Power Wheels Kawasaki KFX Ride-On – $178. Also, board games like Candyland, Yatzee and Chutes & Ladders are just $5. Browse online before you go to the store.

If you have an iPhone, you might want to download the application from dealnews.com. It tracks Black Friday deals – and specials beyond that (including Cyber Monday).

Walgreens has already started its holiday deals. Go here to check them out. If you enter the code BFRIDAY when shopping online, you’ll get $10 off your order of $50 or more (through Saturday).

There are a few websites that list promotional discount codes. These will get you started:

• Retail Me Not
• Current Codes
• Promotional Codes
• Coupon Cabin

Looking for ideas to use your Thanksgiving leftovers? It’s not hard to find some recipes. Here are a few:

• Turkey & stuffing casserole
• Turkey-sausage paella
• This site has a recipe for Pilgrims Pie and more

Keep the little hands busy with these coloring pages.

There are many more hints and ideas out there. If you have some holiday related tips, share them in the comments section. I’ll be back next week with  more tips! And if you want to share a non-holiday related tip, send an email to nperez@ksat.com with “Friday Freebies” in the subject line.

So by now, you should know that Donny & Kym won the big mirror ball trophy on “Dancing With The Stars.” I figured it would be hard to miss. So if you’re still interested in a recap of last night’s show, you’ll find it after the jump.

We got to see all the couples from season nine, with the final three couples making the grand entrance. Uh-oh. Miss Piggy – or at least the back of her head appeared as the recap of Monday’s performances played. Live TV, people. So here’s what we do when there are problems, we go to break, regroup, then get back to it. So happy Tom Bergeron is the host! He is a true pro!

Here are the standings:

1. Mya & Dmitry – 87 points

2. Donny & Kym – 85 points

3. Kelly & Louis – 76 points

First performance of the night comes from Whitney Houston. She performed “Million Dollar Bills.” Sorry. Can’t watch her. I don’t think she sings any more. It’s like she just speaks the lyrics.

It’s time for “The Losers Club.” It’s the people who are the first to be kicked off the show. Jeffery Ross returns in a sequined jacket to roast/induct a new member into the club. Ashley Hamilton gets his jacket. Jeff called it a “token of your suckiness.” He said when Ashley was out there, people thought it was a telethon for the uncoordinated. Then, Ashley said he’d give his dance with Edyta his full 10%. Ashley dropped Edyta, then danced with Jeff. Then (the horror!), they opened their shirts! That’s comedy, right? Tom said Jeff’s stomach was whiter than a snow drift. True.

Like deja vu, we get the first of many recaps of the entire season. Sorry, folks. I’m hitting FF. I’ve sat through the whole season. I could just go back and read my recaps if I wanted to live it again. Kathy Ireland & Tony Dovolani danced. If she danced like this weeks ago, she might have made it further. They were followed by Macy Gray & Jonathan Roberts. I’m still uncomfortable watching Macy dance. Debi Mazar & Maksim Chmerkovskiy. She was lovely.

Another taped piece looks back at what became “DWTS: The Season of The Flu/Injuries.”

Tom DeLay & Cheryl Burke returned to do the Texas Two Step. If not for injury, I totally believe The Hammer could have made it to the finale! This was his dance – even the booty shake. Only made me feel a little uncomfortable. Still, he is fun to watch!

Taped piece looking back at the fourth and fifth weeks of competition. FF again. Chuck Liddell & Anna Trebunskaya performed. He still scares me. Mark Dacascos & Lacey Schwimmer performed next. Then, Chuck and Mark did some fighting. Don’t worry, no one got hurt. Except maybe my eyes.

Adam Carolla gave Donny some advice on how to win. Really? Adam can’t dance! Kelly and Mya showed up. Adam called the ladies “the enemy.” Then, he tried hard to be funny. FF.

Natalie Coughlin & Alec Mazo returned to perform. She was good. Why didn’t she make it through the competition?

Melissa Joan Hart & Mark Ballas performed in bright yellow and purple. Is that a ploy to get Lakers tickets? She was so good!

The judges talk about the finalists. Len said Kelly is unexpected. Bruno said she’s wonderful in hold. Len said she engages with the audience. Carrie Ann said Donny is an incredible showman. Len said Donny lights up the ballroom with every dance. Bruno said Donny is solid and never underperforms. Len said Mya has the talent to take the title. Bruno said Mya uses her body like a musical instrument.

Another re-introduction of the final three. Come on, ABC! Content, please! FF again.

Kelly & Louis performed their Viennese waltz from earlier in the season. It did look like Kelly forgot a step towards the end. Still loved this dance. Len said of all the celebrities who have been on the show, he’ll miss her the most because he loves watching her every week. The audience was chanting for her. Bruno said she may come from rock and roll royalty, but she has earned her place as a ballroom princess. Carrie Ann through tears, she doesn’t know if anyone has ever touched her as much as Kelly has. She said every time she watched Kelly dance, she was growing every step of the way.

Mya & Dmitry performed their jive from earlier in the season. It was just as fun as the first time they performed it! Bruno said Mya was sharp, slick, never missed a beat. He said she never dropped her standards throughout the season. Carrie Ann said every season, someone sets the pace and that has been Mya from day one. She called Mya a star. Len said they’ve had a few ups and downs but he never doubted her dance talent. He called her fantastic.

Donny & Kym performed the Argentine tango from earlier in the season. I’m glad they chose this. Donny couldn’t smile one bit during this performance. I like that it was not a showman’s dance. Carrie Ann said Donny has graced them with show stopping performances. She was glad he chose that as his final dance because it was artistry in motion. Len said Donny has been mostly good, sometimes bad and one dance was pretty ugly. But he never lost his performance. He said Donny finished strong. Bruno said Donny is a great performer. He said Donny reaches the dark side and uses it well.

The judges ranked the finalists for the final round. Here’s how they chose ‘em:

1. Donny & Kym – 30 points

2. Mya & Dmitry – 28 points

3. Kelly & Louis – 26 points

Wow!

Louie Vito & Chelsie Hightower danced to “Puppy Love” performed by Donny. Do they have something to tell us? The song started slow, then got fast and the dance included a great lift and lots of tumbling from Louie. Donny gave them two thumbs up. Samantha said Chelsie & Louie are not dating. OK. I believe that.

Michael Irvin & Jerry Rice perform a dance off. Jerry performed with Anna Trebunskaya, while Michael got his partner, Anna Demidova, back. I’m giving Michael the edge because he has a more intense dance face. That said, watching these two dance, then fight over a football made me realize why they did not make it to the finals. It was fun. Not great. The judges awarded the mirror ball ring to Michael. There was celebrating. Then, the judges stopped that. They decided the battle of the bodies goes to Jerry.

Aaron Carter & Karina Smirnoff performed their quick step.

Miss Piggy was backstage with Cloris Leachman, Jerry Springer, Steve Wozniak and Joanna Krupa. They all seemed to be afraid of Miss Piggy. Huh? Then, those four took the stage to do a competition mambo. Cloris stood still for a bit as Corky seemed to shake her to life. The Woz did a lot of hobbling about in a pink boa. Jerry still made me a bit uncomfortable (I was afraid he might hurt himself). Cloris & Corky were the first eliminated. Jerry & Edyta were booted. How could Joanna not shine here? She’s left with The Woz? Then, a partner switch. Steve & Karina were booted. Surprise, surprise! Joanna wins. Is this how the judges reward her for not making the finals? Ah, the dance ends with the couple’s signature move – only in reverse (not dirty talk, it was Joanna holding Derek).

Whitney returned to perform “I Want To Dance With Somebody.” Again, mostly talking the lyrics. FF.

Now, finally down to the business. The third place finishers: Kelly & Louis.

The winners of that ugly mirror ball trophy: Donny & Kym.

That’s it. See you in the Spring!

I think this photo says it all. Kelly has surprised herself by making it to the finale – and there’s a chance (really, there is) that she could win it all. Who would have thought Joanna would be sent home instead of Donny? Wait. I did. Because Donny has fans. Harsh, I know. So, let’s see how the final three do in their last chance to woo the voters.

Couple: Kelly & Louis

Dance: Argentine Tango

Carrie Ann paid the couple a visit. She told Kelly she’s the one who has had the biggest transformation of all the couples. She gave Kelly a few pointers. OMG! Who is this girl? Kelly is a dancer! No, not just a dancer, but a dancer! Wow! I have never seen her move with such confidence. This is my favorite dance from Kelly. LOVED IT!

Len said Kelly epitomizes what the competition is about. She has little or no dance experience, but she’s made it to the finals. He thought she danced right up there – very good. Bruno said he never would have thought that Kelly came as she started and ended up in the finals. She mastered the intricacy, but he thought her free hand was loose and he wanted more sensuality. Carrie Ann said she was proud of Kelly. She said she made the emotional connection she hasn’t seen before. She called it a very sophisticated routine.

SCORE: 26

Couple: Mya & Dmitry

Dance: Paso Doble

Len showed up to give Mya some tips for the paso doble. Len thought their dance was lackluster. He wanted it bigger and stronger – with more attitude. Watching this dance, I kept forgetting that Mya is not the professional here. She is fantastic! I didn’t see a thing wrong with this dance.

Bruno said, “The power of Mya unleashed for all to admire.” He called the dance amazing. Carrie Ann dubbed Mya “The Queen of the Paso Doble.” She said it was dynamic and hot. Len said Mya came out like “The No-Stress Express.” He said it was right up there with the paso done by Mel B. and Maks a few seasons back. I agree!

SCORE: 30

Couple: Donny & Kym

Dance: Cha Cha Cha

Bruno visited Donny & Kym. He said Donny has to be technically sharp and a great performer to win. Sooo afraid they’ll make out! Bruno worked on getting Donny to move a little differently than Donny is used to. No kisses. I don’t know if it was the music (“September”) or the sparkly dress Kym was wearing or the fact that I was on my second cup of coffee, but this made me happy. It was so light and fun!

Carrie Ann asked Donny where his hips came from. She pointed out a little problem with his hands. Len said that was a cha cha cha! He said Bruno worked some magic because it’s a tough dance. He said Donny coped great. Bruno said Donny is a credit to his profession. Bruno said he shouted at him for an hour and Donny discovered parts he didn’t know he had.

SCORE: 27

Megamix

The couples have to perform a group dance where they perform three dances at the same time back to back.

It started with the Viennese Waltz. Then a little Latin dance. The final dance: a jive. I don’t know how the judges are going to score this. The couples were in near perfect step the whole time. I kind of hope they don’t bring this back. It was too hard for me to concentrate on anyone. Perhaps if they bring it back, they shouldn’t score it.

Len thought it would be easy to judge. He said it was difficult. He said there’s no clear winner of the show. He thought they were all good. Bruno said Mya can samba. He said Kelly’s waltz was good. He said he thought Donny was one of the professional dancers – showing age doesn’t mean anything. Carrie Ann said she was impressed with the way Donny kept up with the professionals. She loved Mya’s samba. She said she loved Kelly’s back in the waltz.

Here are the rankings:

1. Mya & Dmitry – 30 points

2. Donny & Kym – 28 points

3. Kelly & Louis – 26 points

Freestyle

Couple: Kelly & Louis

Kelly has torn the cartilage in both of her big toes. How has she been dancing? LOVE that she got to dance to “I Will Survive.” Loved all the sparkles she was wearing. Love that she was having so much fun while dancing. Oh no! Big slip during a stunt, but she made a quick recovery. Then, her last lift at the end went a little slow. Still, this made me so happy. And there was something happening with my eyes. They were a little misty.

Bruno said Kelly had all the glitz and glamor of the disco era. Then he had flashbacks to the 70s. Carrie Ann said Kelly is a survivor. When she falls, she gets back up. When she forgets, she laughs at herself. Len said Kelly smiled through it, she was singing, he enjoyed it. Kelly did say on one of the lifts it looked like Louis pooped her out of him. Toilet humor on a family show – love it!

SCORE: 24

TOTAL SCORE: 76

Couple: Mya & Dmitry

Mya doesn’t want to play it safe. But she ended up going with Dmitry’s choreography. This was a little Broadway (“Hairspray” music, y’all). This was crazy fast and fun! But I wanted a little more.

Carrie Ann said it was high energy, fun but not outstanding. She said if you do “Hairspray,” you’re competing with that. She said it didn’t showcase Mya. Len said it’s clear Mya has great dance talent. He said he was expecting something to happen and it didn’t. Bruno said Mya had the joy and owned the beat, but he said at this stage he wanted something more spectacular. He said it wasn’t bad. Uh oh. Dmitry might be in trouble.

SCORE: 27

TOTAL SCORE: 87

Couple: Donny & Kym

Marie tried to distract Donny during rehearsals. Donny stayed focused. If Donny doesn’t shine here, I will be incredibly disappointed. I could have done without the 30 seconds of wasted time at the beginning. Once they started dancing, it was fun. There seemed to be some sync issues. And it seemed like Donny stopped dancing to wait for Kym on the lifts. So much fun!

Len said it was an absolute showstopper. He feared Bruno was going to shout so he moved out of the way. Bruno said, “Mr. Show Business at his best!” He called Donny the master. Carrie Ann welcomed Donny to the “Hall of Fame of Freestyle.”

SCORE: 30 (Donny’s first perfect score)

TOTAL SCORE: 85

The disco ball will be awarded Tuesday. Whitney Houston will perform. Former contestants will take the stage again. It’s two hours of entertainment. I challenge you to count the sparkles.

This week’s roundup  includes a look at a little pre-holiday sale and other ways to save money – including a new place to take the kids to eat free. Start saving after the jump!

Head to Babies “R” Us for a pre-Black Friday sale Wednesday, Nov. 25. Among the bargains: 15% off an ONE baby item, free $10 gift card with a toy purchase of $75 or more, and buy one, get one 50% off all Carter’s and Gerber clothing. Find a location here.

If you’re already making plans to hit the stores next Friday, this story has some helpful tips.

Join the email list at Sports Authority to get 10% off your orders. If you don’t want offers cluttering up your inbox, you can always shop their 50% off shop, which includes a daily special.

I have one more email list you might want to check out: Hobby Lobby. You’ll get a weekly coupon. If you don’t want to sign up, bookmark this site for that coupon. And if you’re feeling crafty, you can get some ideas here.

For every $100 gift card you buy at Maggiano’s Little Italy, you’ll get a $20 gift card for free.

Whether your head’s achy or you have a cold or allergies, if Tylenol makes a product for it, you can go here to get a coupon.

From my inbox: Parents, load up the kids and head to DoubleDaves. Kids under 12 eat free every day at the buffet through the end of the year. Note: each child must be accompanied by an adult buying a buffet and drink. Go here for locations.

I’ve chosen the Salvation Army as this week’s charity. You can donate to the Kettle Campaign. You can also help a local kid by adopting an angel.

That’s it for this week. If you want to share a tip, send an e-mail to nperez@ksat.com with “Friday Freebies” in the subject line.