...a Tresler wife and mama

Mosaic Meme's

2008-07-30T21:51:00.006-07:00

I was kind of bored this evening, even though there is plenty to do around here. I decided to go ahead and make my own little flickr mosaic meme....instead of chores. Bad Melissa. It was fun though...

The last picture isn't really my flickr name. Nothing came up when I entered it in so I just typed in "your name" I like what I found though! :)

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Here are the instructions:

Type your answers to each of the questions below into Flickr Search .
Using only the first page, pick an image.
Copy and paste each of the URLs into the mosaic maker.

Questions:

What is your first name?
What is your favorite food?
What high school did you go to?
What is your favorite color?
Who is your celebrity crush?
Favorite drink?
Dream vacation?
Favorite dessert?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
What do you love most in life?
One word to describe you.
Your Flickr name.

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I had so much fun doing mine I thought, well shoot lets do one for the hubbs.

...Here is Malachi's:

For the last picture I didn't use our Flickr name because nothing comes up for it. So for Mal's I used "my name." I laughed at what I found because Mal loves 'The Princess Bride'.

Why stop at Malachi? Here is baby D's:

I am not sure why the picture for his favorite color didn't show up. I guess white will do since we really don't know what his favorite color is. ;) For his flickr name I just used his initials, for the high school I just did his favorite cartoon. I couldn't think of anything for a 'celebrity crush' what do you do for an almost 14 month old? I just typed in 'the goodnight show' - that lady seems sweet, hehe.

Win a Vintage Apron!

2008-07-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

I just love all of the cute vintage aprons at Rick Rack Attack.

Visit Confessions of an Apron Queen & enter to win one of these super cute aprons!

Sweet Amazon Deal! - Free $10! TODAY ONLY!

2008-07-28T12:28:00.004-07:00

Thanks to Crystal at Money Saving Mom for posting about this great deal!

Sign up here for a free one-month trial of Amazon Prime and you will get a $10 Credit towards your next order! Amazon Prime is a new service that gives you free 2-day shipping on all orders from Amazon.com.

You can use your $10 credit to purchase anything through Amazon.com. So if you find something for $10 or less you will receive it FREE with FREE 2-Day Shipping! The credit shows up when you check out!

I just used my credit to pre-order Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer. I was debating whether or not I wanted to purchase this book since I borrowed the other books in the series from my lil sis. I figured I would go ahead and get it since I only had to pay $2 something bucks out of pocket with this deal! Yay!

***After you sign up just log into your account and I believe you click a link that says something about managing your Amazon Prime account. Then there is a little button that you can click that I believe says "Do not Upgrade" - click that and then you will not be charged the $79 annual Amazon Prime fee after your 1 month free trial is over! (and you will not have to remember to cancel your membership in a month!)***

Menu Plan Monday - July 28th

2008-07-28T09:43:00.005-07:00

Once again this past week didn't go as planned so some of the previous weeks meals will be for this week. I can't really complain, it just means less planning and shopping for me!

Here is what is on our menu this week:

Breakfasts:

Muesli *w/some added spices and coconut & Toast

Millet Muffins & Smoothies
*substituting at least 1/2 the oil w/applesauce

Nourishing Traditions Waffles

Yogurt & Granola w/ Fresh Fruit

Eggs & Toast

Cold Cereal

Lunches:

Egg Salad Wraps

Peanut Butter and Jelly w/fresh fruit or veggies

Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup

Tuscan Penne Pasta Salad

*leftovers*

Dinners:

Buffalo Turkey Burgers w/ steamed red potatoes and celery sticks. (Rachael Ray's 365: No Repeats cookbook)

Sloppy Lentils w/steamed veggies on the side

Shepherds Pie & Fresh Fruit

Crock Pot Indian Curry & brown rice

Spicy & Tender Crock Pot Pork Chops w/ brown rice

** Thank you to Laura at Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday! **

CVS week of 7/20

2008-07-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

Well it was nice to be back this week. I had some ECB's that were expiring on the 20th so I had to use those up. Malachi came with me so he threw something in that he had been needing. I didn't have my best trip, but it was good to use up some ECB's to get some stuff we needed for free, or almost free!

Here is what I scored this week!

*2 CVS Diapers (jumbo pack)
*2 CVS Baby Wipes
*6 Bottles of L'Oreal Vive Shampoo/Condtioner
*4 Trident Gum
*3 Pack of CVS Replacement Toothbrush Heads

-$2/10 CVS CRT coupon
-$4.99 (Buy one get one free Vive) x's 3
-$1.69 Trident Buy one get one free (x's 2) *Should have been $1.49 I guess the cashier made a mistake.
-$2/$10 CVS Purchase (from tear pad) coupon

Total after manf. & store coupons: $27.59
ECB's Used: $21.99
OOP: $5.60 + tax **On a gift card**
ECB's Earned: $7.00

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So altogether I got $72.88 worth of merchandise for really nothing out of pocket besides losing some ECB's and gift card money. If I would have walked into CVS with only my Extra Care card and not a single coupon I would have paid $49.94!

I needed to bring my ECB's 'on hand' amount down anyway because it was getting kind of hard for me to keep up with! I don't know how people do it when they have more than one Extra Care card.

I always love to get in on a diaper deal! It is nice to get them for close to free, and I definitely have enough shampoo and conditioner to last us through the year, hehe. I think I am going to add some of it to my donation pile.

Want to see more CVS savings? Visit The Centsible Sawyer & Money Saving Mom!

A couple of posts I enjoyed today.

2008-07-21T14:02:00.002-07:00

...just thought I would share! :)

Alyssa at Keeping the Kingdom First lists '10 Ways To Be The Worst CVS Shopper Ever.'

**This post had me rollin' because everything she lists is SO TRUE! Please read if you are a CVS shopper! It is people like this that will end up ruining the CVS deals for everyone!

She mentions her post was inspired by 'How to be a Social Downer' over at Mrs. Fussypants Guide to Life. So I had to go check it out. It's funny because we all know 'that person.' I also really enjoyed her blog as well!

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The Apronista is hosting a giveaway for an awesome vintage apron of your choice from Rick Rack Attack! These vintage aprons are SO stinking adorable! It would be so fun to win one! I think this one is super cute:

Go check it out!

Menu Plan Monday - July 21st

2008-07-21T09:32:00.002-07:00

This week I am going to try a couple of new recipes just like last week! I am excited to try some more new recipes. Last week we enjoyed everything we tried, so we have some new 'keepers' :) I would definitely recommend the Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins (yum yum!), 5 Minute Southwest Salad (thanks to orgjunkie, this salad rocked and was SO fast and easy!) and the Citrus Fish w/ Couscous! The Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas were great too, even without the chicken.

I made a mistake this past week that cost us. I had everything out and I was all ready to start dinner when Malachi called me and said we were invited to his parents house for dinner. So I put everything away (or so I thought.) On the way home from his parents house I had a vision of the chicken still in the sink. I was certain that I had put it away along with everything else. When we got home I found the chicken in the sink. :( I was SO mad at myself because the chicken was for 2 meals! I don't know where my mind was!

Anyway, here is our meal plan for this week!

Breakfast:

Oatmeal w/ Fresh Fruit
Cold Cereal
Yogurt, Granola & Fresh Fruit
Whole-Wheat Pancakes w/ Nutty Topping
Smoothies & Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffin's from last week.

Lunch:

***Lunch is usually leftovers around here. If there aren't any leftovers we usually just have sandwiches, burritos, quesadillas, soups or salads...

Dinner:

Pecan Crusted Chicken w/ Spinach Salad

Very Veggie Slow Cooked Red Beans & Rice

Sloppy Lentils w/ Steamed Veggies on the side

Shepherd's Pie w/ Fresh Fruit on the side

Pioneer Woman's Pasta Primavera w/ Whole Wheat Bread

**We didn't get to the Buffalo Turkey Burgers or the Honey Mustard Pasta last week so those will probably make there way into the menu this week as well.

For more menu ideas head on over to orgjunkie's Menu Plan Monday!

My Saturday Morning Cartoons.

2008-07-19T20:43:00.003-07:00

Ok, so they aren't really cartoons but every Saturday morning at 8 am I turn my tv to BBC America so that I can watch 'How Clean Is Your House' and 'You Are What You Eat'. I just love both of these shows.

I can't believe the houses Kim & Aggie visit on 'How Clean Is Your House'. I get so grossed out by the houses that they clean but I can't help it, I have to watch. I learn some great tips from them and I am also encouraged because 1. My house, at its dirtiest is NEVER anything like the houses they visit, 2. I am inspired to get up and clean because I do not EVER want my house to end up like the ones they visit. I bought their 'How Clean Is Your House' book a couple of years ago and I really enjoy it. It is full of great tips! I just love Kim & Aggie. They are such funny ladies.

'You Are What You Eat' is my weekly reminder to try my best to eat healthy and to try and do at least some type of exercise. I am always surprised at the food that the people on the show consume in a week. It is do disgusting. Gillian McKeith always has me laughing. She can be pretty mean but she always manages to get her point across and she has changed a lot of people lives by getting them on the right path when it comes to their food choices. I know I have been encouraged by her and each time I eat candy I have the vision of her in an apron with a glass of sugar in one hand and the candy in the other to show me exactly what it is that I am putting into my body. Hehe. A lot of the recipes on the show actually look pretty good to me so I would like to check out her 'You are What You Eat Cookbook' sometime.

So, if you are looking for some entertainment on a Saturday morning while you drink your coffee or morning tea watch these shows on BBC America with me! ;)

No CVS for me...

2008-07-19T19:18:00.005-07:00

I decided to take a break from 'deal shopping' this week. The week kind of got away from me and to be honest I just wasn't feelin' it. I didn't even do the CVS free photobook deal. I just couldn't get prepared and get myself to make a CVS run. This is the first week I haven't scored some deals in awhile, and I was thinking "what is wrong with me?" I guess I was just feeling a little burnt out with trying to come up with a deal that included something we needed. Then I read this post over at Biblical Womanhood and I realized that it's not just me that was feeling like that so I felt better. I have gotten a little behind on my coupons with the cutting and organizing, but I hope to have it all figured out tomorrow and I am hoping to score some sweet deals this coming week.

::If you are interested in checking out what kind of deals other people were able to hook themselves up with this week visit The Centsible Sawyer and Money Saving Mom!

Magicloths

2008-07-16T16:15:00.001-07:00

Today I went to Mervyns to get baby D some new kicks. While I was there I heard an announcement, "head on over to the counter next to the jewelry for some limited time freebies!!" Of course since I love freebies I was right there, hehe. (What a nerd.) So the lady gets started and has all of us there (about 20 or so...I was right in the front, hahaha) gather around her demo table and informs us that we will get these little items for free and anyone who gets one can use it at the end to get more freebies...blah blah blah. So lucky for me I answered some random question correctly so I got two of the freebies:

I was thinking "sweet maybe I will get two of the 'other' freebies at the end" - hehe.

So she went through her whole demo telling us that the samples we received can be used for so many things...I think she mentioned cleaning sunglasses, wiping down your car interior and stuff like that. Then she whips out the normal size of the cloth and goes to town demo-ing. (Is that a word?)

I have to admit that I was pretty impressed with what she did. You can dry cars, clean spills in the carpet, dry your hair/body, clean...etc with it. She did the carpet demo and I was like "WHOA!" She took a piece of carpet and spilled diet coke all over it til it was drenched. Then all she did was lay the cloth over the top of it for a minute or so and then rung it out in a pie dish and almost all of the coke rung out of it! Then she layed the cloth back on the carpet and applied pressure and was able to get the rest of the coke out of the carpet! I even felt it after and it was pretty much dry, like it never happened....The thing is so absorbant that you can put it in a pie dish of water and it will just soak it all up. Then you can lift it up and no water drips from it. Niiiicccee.. I really wanted to take it from her and use it to dry my truck off, if I ever washed it...I should go do that.

So after a few other demos and talking (a lot) she gets to the end about the freebies. At this point I had heard Deacon crying (good thing my mama and sister were with me, hehe) and I was getting a bit anxious. Turns out the whole deal was that if you bought a 2 pack of the cloths that sell for $21.99 she was going to throw in another pack for free, AND a mop. So those were the freebies I waited for, I actually had to buy something to get my
'other' freebies... psh! I do remember seeing the mops on tv before and I always thought they looked pretty cool, (again, what a nerd.)

So I waited all of that time (5+ minutes, hehe) for that? It was a good deal and if I had the extra $22 bucks I may have just went ahead and got it. I was amazed that almost everyone in the little group I was in purchased it!? I was suprised, I thought everyone would just walk away like me. I guess the girl was good at her job. I peaced out and went to tend to my baby and told my mom about it as we watched everyone walk away with there magic towels and mops.

I have to admit that I kind of want one now.

Click here if you are bored and want to see pretty much the same demo that I saw today.

**I am not trying to sell this product or anything, i'm not working for the magicloth maker people. I just wanted to share my little experience of the day! - Has anyone tried these?**

I guess I will go use my mini magicloths to go dry something now....

Menu Plan Monday - July 14th

2008-07-14T10:38:00.007-07:00

Ever since Malachi and I were married I have been doing menu planning....well I guess I actually started my own personal menu plan back when I was living alone as well. Menu planning is such a great way to keep yourself organized and less stressed out during the week. It is nice to have a variety of different meals to choose from and not have to make so many trips to the store. It also helps to keep your meals within a budget and we all know that is important!

I try to base my menu off of what is on sale and what I already have on hand. I usually open up my cookbooks, or browse around online on Sunday or Monday with the grocery ads for the week in hand. First I try to find meals with ingredients that I already have. Then I see which meats/produce are on sale and build the rest of the menu from that. I also like to try and get a variety of different meats and produce for throughout the week with at least one meatless meal. (Usually not Malachi's favorite, hehe.) When I have decided on the meals for the week I bookmark any recipes I find online and organize them into a folder. For recipes I find in a cookbook/magazine I just bookmark the page and also write the page number down on my list of meals for the week.

I make my grocery list and break it down into categories that follow the layout of the store I am going to like dairy, meat, bread, produce, canned/bulk..etc. That way my list is organized and easy to follow when I am in the store. I also go through my coupon binder and pull any coupons that I have for items on my list and put them in the front of my binder for easy access.

Shopping off of a list helps me a lot. I really try to focus on what I already have on the list so that I do not buy things that I do not need, that is unless I find some sweet sale that I can't pass up and have coupons to go along with it. Of course I always make sure not to go over budget, hehe. *wink* Seriously though...I set an amount and try my hardest not to go over that amount. I feel really happy with myself when I get everything I need for less then my set amount. I usually skip out of the store with a big ol' grin when that happens, j/k.

Some weeks I seriously have know idea what I want to make. I don't like those weeks. A couple of months back I found orgjunkie. I wasn't even looking for menu planning ideas, I think I had googled something about organizing closests or something, but I was happy with what I found. Every Monday she hosts 'Menu Plan Monday'. I have been able to find some great menu ideas from everyone who posts there weekly menu plans there. It is very helpful, especially when you have the 'I don't know what to make this week' problem.

I decided that it was kind of rude of me to find such great ideas from other people and not post anything myself. So I am going to start sharing our weekly menu's here and participate in Menu Plan Monday. Share your menu too, maybe we can get some ideas from each other!

Here is what we will be feasting on this week:
*I don't assign meals to certain days. I like to keep it flexible. You just never know what mood your are gonna be in from day to day. ;)

Breakfast:

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins
Oatmeal and Whole Wheat Toast
Yogurt and Granola w/ Blueberries
Cereal
Eggs and Toast
Smoothies

Lunch:
***Lunch is usually leftovers around here. If there aren't any leftovers we usually just have sandwiches, burritos, quesadillas, soups or salads...

Dinner:

Citrus Fish with Bell Pepper Couscous with steamed zucchini and squash.

Grilled Chicken & Black Bean Quesadillas w/fresh pineapple on the side.

BBQ Beef Sandwiches and Pasta salad. (Fix it & Forget It cookbook)

5 Minute Southwest Salad w/whole wheat bread on the side.

Ravioli Pasta Bake w/ tossed salad and whole wheat bread.

Buffalo Turkey Burgers w/ steamed red potatoes and celery sticks. (Rachael Ray's 365: No Repeats cookbook)

Honey Mustard Pasta w/fresh fruit and a tossed salad.

I had a few ideas but thanks to orgjunkie I was able to quickly find some other recipes to help me fill in the rest of the week. I thought the Honey Mustard Pasta, and the 5 Minute Southwest Salad sounded good and I got the recipe links from her!

For more menu ideas head on over to orgjunkie's Menu Plan Monday!

CVS week of 7/6

2008-07-11T16:45:00.002-07:00

This week I really wanted to get in on the Olay deal. I have been wanting to get some of their products for awhile but of course didn't want to have to pay much for them! - te he he. The last time I scored a deal on facial products was with Garnier prodcuts quite awhile back. I'm not a fan of their stuff. It works nice, but I guess its mainly the smell that gets to me...

Anyway, I went in with a different plan in mind, but I still walked out happy.

*Olay facial cleanser
*Olay detoxifying pore scrub
*Olay micro derm cleansing cloths
*(2) Pert Plus (hey they were only $.50 ea. after coupon)

-$3 Olay coupon (x's 3/from 6/22 SS)
-$2 Pert Plus (x's 2)
-$3 CRT for face product

Total after coupons: $10.97
ECB's used: $10.00
OOP: $.97 + tax (on a gift card)
Earned: $10.00 ECB's

Want to see more CVS savings? Visit the "Cents"ible Sawyer's CVS Superstars! And Money Saving Mom's Super Savings!

Need a photo book?

2008-07-09T22:38:00.001-07:00

Head on down to CVS starting next week *7/13 - 7/19* when they are FREE After ECB's!

4 X 6 10 Page hardcover photo books ($3.99), Free after extra bucks, LIMIT 1

6 x 8 10 Page hardcover photo books ($7.99), Free after extra bucks, LIMIT 2

::The 6x8 books will be better than free if you have the kodak coupon for $3 off an instant photobook. These are what I plan to get. **(The Kodak Photo Book coupons were found in the 5/04 and 6/08 SS Insert)**

::Also make sure to check the photo center for any other coupons they may have. I know there are some '$3 off 6x8 photo book CVS store coupons' out there so I will be looking for those as well.

Just bring in your pics on any media CD-R, USB Stick, SD Card or any other memory card with the pictures you want and insert it into the Kodak picture machine in the photo center. Then select the background you want for the pages, select your pictures, and then it auto arranges them on the pages for you. You can then go back and make pictures bigger or smaller, or rearrange them if you want. From what I have read it is pretty easy to do and only takes a few minutes to complete.

It will be nice to get some pictures printed out. I have SO MANY and they are all on the computer or on CD's! I am due for some photo books!

Teething Cookies for Baby

2008-07-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

Deacon has been chewing on everything he can get his hands on right now. Poor little guy, his molars are on their way in. I happened to find a recipe at keeperofthehome.org for a healthy teething cookie so I just had to try it! Turns out baby D loves them!

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Teething Cookies for Baby

2 Tbsp honey (not suitable for babies under one year of age)
1 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp oil (Coconut oil or butter is recommended)
1 egg yolk, beaten
1/2 cup rice or millet flour
3/4 cup flour of your choice (spelt, wheat, kamut, barley)

Stir together the honey, molasses, oil and egg yolk. Mix the flours, and add to make a stiff dough. Since flours differ, if it is too thick, add a Tbsp of milk. If too soft, add a bit more rice or millet flour.

Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into rectangles 1 x 1 1/2 inches. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

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I used a combination of brown rice flour and whole wheat flour along with coconut oil. I actually had to add about 4-5 tbsp's of milk to my mixture because the mixture was pretty crumbly and not forming into anything so you may have to do that. I rolled the dough out a little bit thicker than 1/4" so I baked them for about 25 minutes. I also didn't get 4 dozen cookies out of it since I rolled it thicker and I cut them a bit larger than 1 x 1 1/2".

I tried one myself and they are pretty hard but they mush/gum up nice. I thought maybe my little guy wouldn't like them. They are not very sweet at all, I would maybe even add 1 more tbsp of honey next time. That didn't seem to bother Deacon, he had 3 yesterday! He really liked them! I have to admit that made me feel kinda good, hehe.

In'N Out Secrets

2008-07-07T13:20:00.004-07:00

I am really trying to eat healthy, but I have to admit I am a sucker for In'N Out Burger. After months of waiting we finally got one down the street from our house! Danger...danger. Hehe.

Well, I knew about a few of the 'secret menu items' - but I had not heard about them all, til today. Malachi found them, and I thought I would share.

**In-N-Out Burger has a secret unpublished menu for insiders who are In-The-Know. Next time you're there (tomorrow . . . or maybe tonight), order a bag of these off-the-menu specials:

"3-by-3" = three meat patties and three slices of cheese.***ooohh a triple decker!***

"4-by-4" = four meat patties and four slices of cheese. *Malachi loves this one!*

"2-by-4" = two meat patties and four slices of cheese.****got cheese?***

*Note: You can get a burger with as many meat patties or cheese slices as you want. Just tell the In-N-Out Burger cashier how many meat patties and how much cheese you want and that is what you'll get! For instance, if you want 6 pieces of meat and 10 pieces of cheese tell them you want a "6-by-10." ****Wow who has a mouth that can fit around a stack like that?****

"Double Meat" = like a Double Double without cheese.***No cheese, eh?****

"3 by Meat" = three meat patties and no cheese.***That's a lot of meat!****

"Animal Style" = the meat is cooked and fried with mustard and then pickles are added, extra spread and grilled onions are added. ****This one is MY FAVORITE! I get it almost every time I go, hehe*****

"Animal Style Fries" = fries with cheese, spread, grilled onions and pickles (if you ask for them). ***Yum, yum I always forget about this one.***

"Protein Style" = for all you low-carbohydrate dieters, this is a burger with no bun (wrapped in lettuce). ***This is what I should get ;)***

"Flying Dutchman" = two meat patties, two slices of melted cheese and nothing else - not even a bun! ***How do you eat this one? With a knife and fork? I don't want melted cheese all over my hands!***

Fries "Well-Done" = extra crispy fries . . . even better than the regular! ***That's what I'm talkin' about!****

Fries "Light" = opposite of fries well-done, more raw than most people like 'em ***No thanks!***

"Grilled Cheese" = no meat, just melted cheese, tomato, lettuce and spread on a bun. ***What?! No meat?***

"Veggie Burger" = burger without the patty or cheese. Sometimes we call this the "Wish Burger." ****Boring.****

"Neapolitan" Shake = strawberry, vanilla and chocolate blended together.***I think I will stick to a one flavor shake.***

The friendly employees of In-N-Out Burger will take your special order without question, if you use the right terminology. The printed receipt will have your special request typed on it just as we said it.

Try it!

Penny items at Staples!

2008-07-06T18:34:00.003-07:00

If you can make it to Staples between today and Wednesday the 9th you can get some items for just a penny! Today I made the trip up the street and was able to get all of the above for $1.14 +tax.

*(2) Purell hand sanitizers = $.01 each (limit 2)
*(2) 8 packs of pencils = $.01 each (limit 2)
*(10) Folders = $.01 each (limit 10)
*(4) 1" Poly Binders = $.25 each (limit 4)

**The limits are per customer so I could have scored some more stuff if Malachi would have been with me. I think what I got will do though! :) I read somewhere that people are bringing their whole family in with them and using each person (even a 3 year old, hehe) to get their 'customer limit' - so if you really need to stock up then bring the whole fam down, hehe.

It was nice to get in on a deal like this because it seems like I am always searching for a folder/binder for random things and now we will have some on hand. You can always use pencils, and at a penny each I couldn't pass up the hand sanitizer!**

CVS week of 6/29

2008-07-06T17:42:00.005-07:00

Oops, I forgot to post this last week, sorry. I did two transactions (2 different stores) and here is what I got:

Transaction #1:

*2 CVS brand liners
*2 CVS brand tampons
*2 Coppertone sticks

-$1.00 CVS feminine product coupon
-$1.50 CVS feminine product coupon

Total after coupons: $12.44
ECB's used: $11.99
OOP: $.45 + tax (on a gift card)
Earned: $13.98 ECB's

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Transaction #2: **I really wanted to get the mascara and my store didn't have any left :(

*2 Sure deodorants
*Physicians Formula mineral mascara

-$1.00 Phys. Form coupon
-$2.89 (BOGO free Sure coupon)

Total after coupons: $9.88
ECB's used: $9.49
OOP: $.39 + tax (on a gift card)
Earned: $10.99 ECB's

**I was pretty happy with the week. I was able to get a few of the July freebies and I was happy to get in on the free sunblock deal! I hope that helped someone else! I always love free makeup and it has been fun lately because I have been able to try a few different brands that I usually would have never even thought to try. I think I am going to start a bag of stuff to donate!**

I ♥ Breastfeeding...

2008-07-03T19:44:00.006-07:00

Before I ever even found out I was pregnant I was sure of one thing, I wanted to breastfeed! Once I found out I was pregnant I researched it even more and was totally confident that was the way I wanted to go! I didn't know how long I wanted to do it, but I knew I wanted to. When I had Deacon and we began our 'nursing relationship' I have to admit that it was very hard and there were times that I wanted to give up...(oohh the pain). The pain went away and when it was gone I had the joy of knowing that every bit of nourishment my child was receiving was coming straight from me, his mommy. How amazing is that? How awesome that God designed us to be able to provide nourishment for our babies! I love nursing, I love the bond it has created with Deacon and I. I love that nobody in the world will ever have that with him. Its a special time for us to relax and enjoy each other. My world can be totally chaotic, and sometimes all I need to do is take a breather and sit down and nurse my baby. Now I am feeling that it all has to end and I am so full of emotion I feel like I can't breathe.

I have loved the convenience of nursing. If Deacon was hungry I could offer him something to fill him up. Now that he is older and is eating big boy food, he doesn't just rely on me anymore and it's nice sometimes, but still hard. Every day I have to figure out what I am going to feed my baby and how much, and is this healthy, etc. I am really going to miss the days of just sitting down and knowing that everything my baby needed he was getting from me.

A few weeks ago I started to give Deacon some whole milk. He had a tough time figuring out the sippy cups, but I finally found a cup he is able to drink from. Once he really got the chance to taste cows milk he seemed to like it. I was happy and sad at the same time. I don't want to be replaced...sniff sniff.

Weaning... wow I never thought this time would come so fast, and I have no idea how I am going to stop. I have read through my nursing books and when I read them I just shake and am so full of emotion that I can't even cry. I don't know what my problem is besides that I am just scared to stop. Then I think, why do I have to? Who is telling me that I have to? Nobody really, I guess I had decided myself that I would stop nursing when Deacon was a year old. I just never knew how hard it would be.

When I took him to his 1 year well baby check I asked the Dr. about stopping and he told me to just stop one feeding every three days and within a week I should be able to completely stop, ha - yeah right, easy for him to say. I have done this every single day since Deacon was born. This is what we know. How do you just stop? I sit and nurse my baby and I can look down at his sweet face looking up at me and I know I am the only one that can provide him with this satisfaction, how do you stop something so special?

Nursing my baby has been one of the greatest things I have ever done, and with every day that passes I am one day closer to stopping :( I am so thankful to God that I have been able to to do this, and for so long, but when it comes to stopping...I need help, I don't know if I can do it. I kind of wish that it would be his choice and not mine. I read about babies just losing interest in nursing. Although that would probably make me sad, I think it would be easier. The pain of stopping scares me too.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Sharing the love from my inbox...

2008-07-03T16:26:00.008-07:00

Enter to Win a Free Earthbound Farm Cookbook in honor of their 24th Birthday, Here, everyone who enters will get an instant printable coupon good for $1 off any two Earthbound Farm organic products!

Sign up at Ideal Bite to receive easy eco-living tips which are delivered in a short, sassy email each weekday. Also if you look on the side bar there is a link to enter to win 1 of 5 Ideal Bite Wine Totes. All you have to do is answer 5 questions!

2008-07-02T17:26:00.002-07:00

Sweet CVS deal:

Buy (2) Coppertone Suncare Products and receive a $10 ECB - limit 1. I had read that the Coppertone face sticks and chapsticks were working towards this deal, so yesterday I had to try it out! I got 2 of the Coppertone Water Babies UVA/UVB Protection Sunblock Sticks, 30 SPF for $4.99 each and I received $10 ECB's back! Pretty sweet deal!

CVS week of 6/22

2008-06-26T10:17:00.006-07:00

*9 Soy Joy bars
*Huggies baby wash
*CVS cotton swabs
*CVS pocket tissues

-$Buy 2 get 1 Free Soy Joy (x3)
-$1.00 Huggies
-$2.00 CVS skincare coupon

Total after coupons: $9.98
ECB's used: $10.00 (adjusted to $9.98)
OOP: $0.00
Earned: $12.00 ECB's

This was a fun one! The cashier was like "wow, you just got all of this stuff for free....wait a second here are some more extra bucks for you....wow!" I didn't pay ANYTHING, not even tax. She had to adjust my $10 ECB to $9.98. So I basically got paid $12 for all of this stuff! I ♥ CVS!

**I now have $43.47 ECB's!!**

*******************************************************

*Want to see more CVS savings? Visit the "Cents"ible Sawyer's CVS Superstars!

Earthbound Farms Coupons!

2008-06-26T08:59:00.006-07:00

Click here to take a quiz at Earthbound Farms. It's a pretty simple quiz about healthy and organic living that takes less than 5 minutes to complete.

Once you are finished you will be able to submit your address to receive some coupons and a pocket guide for buying organic. You can also sign up for their newsletter as well! If you are one of the first 9,000 quiz winners you will also receive up to $3.30 worth or Horizon Organic coupons!

Thank you to Kristin at BeCentsAble!

Freebies & Coups!

2008-06-25T13:19:00.007-07:00

Click here for a free greeting card from American Greetings.

Here is a sample of Hartz UltraGuard Pro Topical Drops for Dogs or Cats.

Express has a printable coupon for $30 off a $75 purchase or $15 off a $30 purchase. *Expires 6/29*
Sign up here for a coupon for $5 off a package of Luvs Diapers along with a Welcome Kit. (Thanks to More Than Enough!)

Click here for coupons for Gerber baby clothes.

Free Diapers and $10!

2008-06-24T19:02:00.002-07:00

Click here to find out how you can get the hook up!

Coupons!

2008-06-22T15:43:00.002-07:00

Toys R Us has a printable coupon for a free Thomas Train (valued up to $12.99! *No purchase neccesary*) Expires July 5th.

Party City has a printable coupon for $5 off a $25 purchase. * Expires 6/29* Thanks to Denise at The"Cent"sible Sawyer!

Click here for some free Pledge Multi Surface wipes.

CVS week of 6/15

2008-06-20T21:35:00.004-07:00

I only had one transaction this week. I wasn't too impressed with the ad, and I didn't have any $/$$ coupons. :( I still did pretty good, just didn't leave with much.

**ECB's to start with: $41.44**

*Almay mascara
*CVS bandages (June freebie)

-$1.00 Almay coupon

Total after coupons: $7.98
ECB's used: $7.98
OOP: $0.00
Earned: $6.99 ECB's

I wasn't even going to go to CVS this week but I couldn't resist. It still worked out well for me without having a -$/$$ coupon. This was my first $0.00 out of pocket transaction! The cashier was like "how did you figure this out?" To be honest I thought my OOP was going to be higher, I did my calculations wrong in my head. I only paid $.08 in tax to get a nice tube of mascara and a package of bandages!

I think I am going to have to make one last run to CVS tomorrow because I FINALLY received some coupons on my receipt! It has been a long time since I have received any AND my store finally got the price checking/coupon printing machine that I have heard so much about! Too bad it wasn't working tonight.

**I now have: $40.45 ECB's!**

Want to see more CVS savings? Visit the "Cents"ible Sawyer's CVS Superstars!

Freebies & Coupons

2008-06-19T16:23:00.003-07:00

Save the disappearing bees! Click here & sign up to get some free wildflower seeds from Burt's Bees!

Folgers Gourmet Coffee sample here

Senseo European Style blend -$1.50 coupon here. (After the coupon prints click the back button in your browser, I was able to get 2 coupons)

Thanks to my sister in law, Rebecca for this one: Click here for a free slice of cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory (valid 6/23-6-26 w/purchase of 2 entrees)!

Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew sample here.

I love MultiGrain Cheerios! Click here for a sample.

Here is a sample of Playtex Personal Cleansing Cloths.

A few coupons from Clean Home Journal. Save $3 on a Glade Scented Oil Candle Holder, Save $2 on any 2 Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner Refills, Save $1 on any Windex product.

Save $1 on any Blue Bunny Novelty item here.

Cheap Sippy Cups at Babies R Us!

2008-06-18T10:15:00.005-07:00

I know this is kind of last minute, but I thought I would share anyway.

Babies R Us is having a great sale on their 2 packs of Playtex Sippy Cups. These sippy cups are made out of type 2 plastic which is BPA free and recycleable. In store they are already -$2 off but if you get their circulars in the mail there was recently a coupon for -$2 off EVERY 2 pack of sippy cups. I went yesterday and bought a package for $1.50, regularly priced $5.49!! I bought the Stage 3 (12 months+). You can also use the coupon multiple times in one transaction to get -$2 off all of the cups you buy! I only bought one package because I'm not sure if D will like these cups or not, but for $.75 ea I was willing to try them!

This deal/coupon expires tomorrow.. but I thought I would throw it out there anyway!

"Living Well Isn't Just About Organic Fruit" ......

2008-06-14T17:20:00.004-07:00

Click here for an awesome, inspirational article!

I just had to share!

I am gonna print this out and hang it up in my house!

CVS week of 6/8

2008-06-13T12:10:00.004-07:00

This week I only had one transaction.

**ECB's to start with: $39.56**

*AZ Republic
*Kotex Pads
*Kotex Tampons
*Kotex Liners
*Toothbrushes (2 pack/June freebie)
*2 CVS Bandages (June Freebie)

-$3/15 CVS coupon
-$.75 Kotex coupon
-$1.00 Kotex coupon
-$2.00 Kotex coupon

Total after coupons: $12.71
ECB's Used: $11.58
OOP: $1.13
Earned: $13.46 ECB's

Not too bad! If I would have walked into the store and only purchased a Sunday Paper it would have cost me $2.00! Thanks to CVS I was able to spend only $1.13 out of pocket for the paper AND everything else! I am also now ahead in ECB's! Yay!

**I now have $41.44 ECB's!!**

Want to see more CVS savings? Visit the "Cents"ible Sawyer's CVS Superstars!

Yum! Yum!

2008-06-11T20:46:00.008-07:00

Since my baby boy has been getting closer and closer to the big 1, and now has finally turned a year old, I have been slowly trying to get him used to 'table food' and have been trying to give him less baby food. So far it hasn't been too bad of a transition but I am always trying to figure out how I can give him food that he can be excited about with the confidence that I know that he is still receiving good nutrition! A couple of weeks ago I purchased the cookbook Deceptively Delicious! I was so excited when I found this book for a decent price at Target. Anyway, today I decided to go ahead and make a Sprouts run and buy some ingredients so that I could finally try out a few of the recipes!

Speaking of Sprouts, not only did I get some great deals on produce, but I was able to get 2 Silk Chocolate Soy Milk 1/2 gallons for $.25 each! I am in love with this stuff! They were on sale for 2/$5 and I had two coupons for -$2.25! (I received the coupons off of the Silk website. I checked again today and it looks like they aren't running the promotion anymore. Make sure to check back from time to time though!) I was really impressed with the produce selection today! I usually find with Sprouts its hit or miss. The past few times I have been there the produce looked yuck, but today it rocked my world! Yes! :)

Ok, back to the book:

Today we tried:

Tuna salad (with cauliflower) on whole wheat pita bread
Ranch Dressing (made with Great Northern Beans) with vegetables
Italian Meatloaf (with carrot)
Mashed Potatoes (with cauliflower)

Before purchasing this book I read through some reviews on amazon. I don't really understand why so many people gave bad reviews. So far everything has been really good to me and my family! There are a lot of people that gave the book good reviews too! I am really looking forward to trying some more of Jessica's recipes! If you have been thinking about getting this book I would say go for it!

**I am not going to use the ideas and recipes in this book to replace eating fruits and veggies on their own. I want to make sure that my baby has a 'taste' for nutritious food without it always being snuck in my mommy. I just want to use what I have learned from this cookbook to be able to prepare healthy, nutritious meals not only for my son, but for my husband and I as well! It is nice to know how you can sneak a fruit or vegetable into foods that are usually not considered to be healthy!**

CVS week of 6/1

2008-06-06T11:01:00.010-07:00

*HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY to my precious baby boy, Deacon! I love you!*

This week I had 2 transactions:

*ECB's to start with: $39.37*

First store:

*2 Pampers 40 ct.
*2 Pampers wipes

-$5 CVS
-$1.50 Pampers
-$1.50 Pampers
-$2.00/2 Pampers

Total: $11.96

*I used $10.00 in ECB's & $1.96 + $.56 tax OOP.
*I earned a $5 ECB!

______________________________________________________

Second Store:

*4 Dawn dish soap
*2 Listerine Smart Rinse (June freebie)
*Always pads 16ct.
*CVS brand pocket tissues (a filler item so I could use my -$5/15 coupon)

-$5 CVS
-$.25 Dawn
-$.25 Dawn
-$1 Listerine
-$1 Listerine
-$4.99 (Free Always pads coupon I had)

Total: $3.98
*I used $3.79 in ECB's & $.19 + $.62 tax OOP!
*I earned $8.98 in ECB's!

*I now have $39.56 ECB's!*

Want to see more CVS savings? Visit the Centsible Sawyer's CVS Superstars!

******************************************************************************

Here are a few of the freebies I got in the mail this week!

*Here is the link for a free Playtex drop-ins bottle.
*Click here for free Purex!
*Click here for a free GE caulk sample.

Gymboree Score!

2008-06-05T17:44:00.003-07:00

I received my American Baby magazine the other day and was SO excited to receive a 50% off Gymboree "Peel-A-Prize" coupon inside! It was my lucky day because that NEVER happens to me! I always end up with the lowest % off coupon with deals like this, hehe! So I had to go use it today! Baby D will be workin' it for his 1st birthday tomorrow! When I went to check out the lady that rang me up was like "Oh my gosh!? You have a 50% coupon, this is gonna be a great deal!" Then a little after that a few ladies were in line behind me and I had the coupon in my hand and I guess they were able to see it because 2 of them were like "NO FAIR!!! You got the 50% off??"

I was able to get (2) 1 pieces, 4 shirts and 2 pairs of shorts for $51.25! The regular price for everything would have been $161.00! (whoa!) AND I received $25 in Gymbucks to use in July! This worked out great because earlier today I found a $50 check that I forgot we had, so it will almost be like it never happened! I am getting addicted to Gymboree clothes. I never really got excited about that store in the past because I thought all of their stuff was over priced (which it is) but if you always buy the clothes on sale or marked down and pair it with a coupon or Gymbucks then you really get a good deal! Today I paid about the same (probably less actually) that I would pay at Target (or a similar store) but I got better quality clothes that all match! I love that they have certain lines of clothing out so you can mix and match everything and get a few different outfits out of it!

Praying for green thumbs.

2008-06-04T11:10:00.001-07:00

For the past few months Malachi and I have been slowly starting random vegetables and herbs in containers in hopes of soon having our very own garden. On Memorial day we decided to get the rest going and do a square foot garden. So far we have a few different herbs, tomatoes, and peppers, squash, and watermelon. We filled in 14 spaces. We still have quite a few spaces left so we thought we would go ahead and try to plant some seeds even though its a bit late. I also got a little strawberry plant to add to my container garden! Earlier this year we also planted an orange tree , lemon tree and a few weeks ago planted a lime tree! I am so excited that for little out of pocket I can plant, nurture, photograph (hehe), smell, look at, pick and taste fruits and veggies that were born in my very own backyard.

We took this picture before we added the watermelon plant.

Here is D getting into the strawberry plant.

A few days ago we harvested our very first cherry tomato. We decided to cut the tiny thing in half so we could both try it, haha!

I just want to throw this out there too...if you haven't joined The Home Depot Garden Club, then you need to. Not only do you get e-mails with great advice and stuff but you get some really awesome coupons both in emails and in the mail!! We used some great coupons for our garden, and even got a free book that is full of awesome information for gardening! Also make sure you join Lowe's Learn 2 Grow as well! You get some sweet info and coupons from them as well!

A few days ago we used this coupon from Home Depot to score 2 Mandevilla's for about $21!

Our yard is a work in progress, but it sure is coming along nice!

I am praying for green thumbs.

CVS & Bashas

2008-05-30T22:17:00.008-07:00

I wasn't too excited about the ad for CVS this week, but I still went in so that I could take advantage of a $5 off $15 coupon and roll a few ECB's. I thought I was going to leave with more ECB's though. I made a mistake, I didn't realize that the limit for the May allergy med deal was 3, I thought it was 5. I already have 2 at home and I got 2 more this time...oh well. I only ended up losing about .20 something cents worth of ECB's though, so I still pretty much got it for free, I just didn't get the ECB. I was bummed because I thought I was gonna get paid this run. Hehe.

Here is what I got:

(ECB's to start with: $39.56)

* 2 CVS allergy med (May deal)
* 2 Rolaids (May deal)
* 1 Excedrin
- $5 CVS coupn
- $2.00 Excedrin coupon

Total: $8.45

**I Paid $7.98 in ECB's and $.47 + $.20 tax OOP.

I now have $39.37 ECB's!

*Want to see more CVS savings? Visit the Centsible Sawyer's CVS Superstars!*

*************************************************************************************
$1.50!

I had to make a quick run into Bashas to score some cheap toilet paper after I left CVS. They have these Charmin 4 packs on sale for 10/$10. I used (3) -$.25 coupons that doubled to $.50 ea. So I paid $1.50 for 12 rolls of TP!

Fry's & Wal-Mart

2008-05-28T17:20:00.004-07:00

Tuesday I went to Fry's to score a few deals since it was the last day of their ad. It was my first time using e-coupons. When I first heard about e-coupons I wasn't too excited because I don't want them to replace paper coupons, hehe. I enjoy cutting and sorting coupons, call me crazy but its fun to me!

Anyway, I loaded coupons from P&G and Unilever to my Fry's VIP card and was able to use them along with paper coupons as well! So I did pretty well!

* 2 Covergirl eyeshadows
* 2 Herbal Essences hairspray
* 1 Wisk laundry detergent

- Buy one get one free CG e-coupon
- $1.50 Wisk detergent e-coupon
- Buy one get one free Herbal Essence e-coupon
- $1.00 Herbal Essence coupon
- $1.00 Herbal Essence coupon
- $1.00 CG coupon
- $1.00 CG coupon
- $1.50 Wisk coupon

= $3.07 + tax for $16.65 worth of stuff!

I also went to Wal-Mart this week and scored the following:

* 3 packages of Farmland Bacon
* 2 packages of Hebrew National Franks
* 1 Silk Chocolate Soy Milk
* 1 Bagelfuls
* 2 Wishbone Bountifuls dressings
* 2 Tobasco sauce
* 1 Motts for Tots juice
* 3 Bush's Grillin' Beans
* 2 Snuggle Dryer sheets
* 3 Dixie napkins 160 ct.

I paid $14.39 for $36.14 worth of stuff!

I finally made it to CVS!

2008-05-24T20:28:00.004-07:00

Its been a pretty rough week here. My baby was sick pretty much the whole week, and Wednesday night we actually had to take him to the ER because he was very very dehydrated. They gave him an IV and pumped 2 bags of fluids into him. While we were there I got super duper sick and could barely even be there for my baby. Thank God I have such a wonderful husband who is also such a wonderful Daddy! I hope nobody else gets this awful stomach flu, but we are finally doing better!

I was thinking that I wasn't going to be able to go out and get any deals this week and I was sad, hehe. I had deals planned for Walgreens, Fry's, CVS, and Basha's. Lucky for me with the 2 grocery stores I have until Wednesday. For Walgreens I had a plan to roll a $3 RR, but it was going to expire on the 22nd so I had to use it that day. Since I was sick I sent the hubby to go get some free Gatorade with it instead of my original plan. Hey, at least it kind of worked out because I needed the Gatorade, hehe. I REALLY wanted to get to CVS this week, i'm such a nerd, I have withdrawls if I don't get there at least once a week. Haha! I was finally able to go tonight though. I was pretty happy with what I left with for $.78 OOP.

ECB's to start with: $38.55

Almay i-color $6.99
Almay i-color $6.99
Maybelline Great Lash (my fav!) $4.79
Maybelline Great Lash $4.79

= $23.56

-$5.00 off $15 CVS coupon
-$1 Almay coupon
-$1 Almay coupon
-$4.79 Maybelline Sale, Buy one get one free
-$1 Maybelline mascara coupon
-$1 Maybelline mascara coupon
-$6 ECB
-$2.99 ECB

Subtotal = $.78
+ tax: $.38
= $1.16 OOP

I now have $39.56 ECB's! Yay! I am $1.01 ahead!

*For more CVS deals visit The Centsible Sawyer's CVS Superstars!

Sick baby, shopping withdrawls and weird weather.

2008-05-20T16:30:00.003-07:00

My precious baby boy got a bad case of the stomach flu last night. Poor little guy. It was a rough night for us, but luckily I have a wonderful husband who really helped me out a lot!

Anyway, since baby D is sick I haven't been able to go out and score my deals yet. I am looking forward to going when he feels better, usually I go shopping on Monday or Tuesday, so this feels weird. I am SO hoping he feels better soon. He is just miserable and it breaks my heart.

Anyway, lil D is napping right now so I have been browsing around online, when I stopped here
seriously, What is up with the weather? Yesterday it was like 109 hot degrees and today is still hot, now they are saying it could be 79 on Thursday? We'll see if it really happens, I would like one last treat before the summer...

Sweet coupons, Walgreens & Used Coffee Grounds.

2008-05-18T16:38:00.011-07:00

What a sweet coupon day! There are really some great coupons in today's paper! Besides the one delivered I got 3 more! One I purchased at Starbucks and the other two were free at Walgreens!

I still had a $10 RR so I made a quick Walgreens run after church to score some toilet paper and extra newspapers since the coupons rock! Well, today was my first experience with a negative subtotal! Here is what I did:

~2 AZ Republic @ $1.85 ea (yeah, I didn't know they cost 1.85 I thought they were $2 - Yay!)
~Pack of 12 Double Rolls Ultra Quilted Northern TP: $8.99
~Walgreens Coffee filters: $.99
~Walgreens travel size tissues: $.29 (Filler item)

Total = $13.97

-10.00 RR
-3.00 WG coupon for Northern TP
-1.00 manf. coupon for Northern TP

Subtotal = $-.03
+ $.88 tax
= $.85 OOP

I was surprised that my $1 manf. coupon went through, I thought it wouldn't go through since I was going to go in the negative

**Walgreens paid me $.03 today! YAY!!

************************************************************************************

This morning we went to Starbucks so I could get my Sunday morning Pike's Place Blend coffee, yum yum...hehe, and to browse through the paper (and to sneak a peak at the newspaper bin hehe, too bad there wasn't any left over papers in there this morning, darn...haha.) It was definatly a good morning though! I thought my total seemed a little low for what I purchased:

~Tall brewed coffee: $1.60
~Bagel w/cream cheese: $.80/$.35
~AZ Republic: $2.00

= I was only charged $3.47 w/tax

When we left I had a look at the receipt and I was only charged $.50 for the Sunday paper! Yay!

I was also very happy because we scored a bag of used coffee grounds from their "Free used coffee grounds for your garden" bin! I know you may be thinking "Wow, free used coffee grounds?"

A few weeks ago we hooked ourselves up with a compost bin through the city and decided to start collecting our grass and tree clippings along with our fruit and vegetable scraps, etc. . to help nourish our landscaping and garden. You can also use coffee grounds in the bin because they generate heat and will speed up the composting process. I love that we are not only saving money by doing this but our plants will be healthier and happier! The Starbucks I usually go to never has any in the bin. :)

Hope you are having a great Sunday! I'm off to finish my coupon cutting, sorting and filing.

2008-05-17T09:26:00.011-07:00

I have had a few people ask me why I buy things I don't 'need' at the time. I have tried to describe to them why I do it and how I do it, then this morning I found the perfect post to explain why at Mommy Making Money.

It is so nice to have the items you know your family needs, on hand BEFORE you need it! What makes it even better is knowing that you didn't go over your budget to get these things, AND the majority of it was free, close to free, or purchased with very low OOP.

Having a mini store in your house is not only beneficial to you and your family, but also to extended family or even others in need. I haven't even been doing this for very long, but I already have plenty of extra toothpaste and razors, etc, that I can happily share with others! My parents were over yesterday and they left here with a Venus razor, 2 packages of Zantac and a sample of Prilosec, which was helpful to both them and myself. God knows I have enough razors on hand and we don't have any need for Zantac here. Both items were money makers when I purchased them which allowed for me to buy items that were 'needs' for my family last week.

So, go get your Sunday paper tomorrow, check out the ads, clip your coupons and take them with you when you do your shopping. I get excited about it every week. The fun part is thinking, "I wonder how much I can get for $____ amount of money this time", and not thinking "I wonder how much all of this is gonna cost me?"

Happy shopping!

Friday Freebies

2008-05-16T10:42:00.008-07:00

Click here for a free Excedrin sample, thanks to Wal-Mart.
Click here for a Tide w/ Dawn sample. (wait for Kelly to get out of the way, hehe)
Click here for a Free Quaker Simple Harvest Granola Bar or Hot Cereal sample.
Need some caulk? Here is a free sample of GE's new 'Caulk Singles'
I just received this potty training dvd sample in the mail a few days ago, I won't be needing it for awhile but hopefully it will be helpful when baby D is big enough for the potty!

CVS Shoppin' article

2008-05-15T11:23:00.005-07:00

People are really starting to catch on to how much money you can save by shopping and stockpiling at CVS and Walgreens. Click here to read the article posted on MSN Money. A few of my favorite blogs are mentioned as well! There are also some great links to answer questions you may have about all of this! CHECK IT OUT!

A few freebies..

2008-05-15T11:05:00.005-07:00

Click here for a free sample of Advil and a $2.00 coupon.
Click here for a free Playtex Sport sample.

How would you like 2 Regular Chili Cheese Coney combos at Sonic for $5? Click here to get your coupon, expires July 31st!

5/14

2008-05-14T10:54:00.005-07:00

Last night I ordered a FREE Roadside Emergency Kit! This will be nice to have! To find out how you can get yours, & a few other goodies visit JANE4girls $800 Annual Budget For A Family of 4!

*Thanks to Denise at The "Cent"sible Sawyer I found about these freebies:

Visit Dunkin' Donuts anytime between 10 am to 10 pm tomorrow, May 15th if you would like a FREE 16oz. Iced Coffee! Gotta love free coffee!

Visit Dippin' Dots anytime between 4 - close on May 20th to get a FREE cup of Birthday Cake Flavored Dippin' Dots in honor of their 20th Birthday!

and..

Also visit Dippin' Dots between May 27th and June 24th for their "Two-fer Tuesdays." Buy one get the second for $0.20!!

5/13

2008-05-14T08:59:00.008-07:00

I just wanted to apologize for not posting any CVS scenarios for the week. To be honest I never really knew what I was going to do until right before I got there yesterday. So I will go ahead and post about the 'scenario' that I did.

CVS:

ECB's to start with: $ 31.74

Ajax .77
Colgate 4oz 2.99 (-1.50 coupon)
Colgate 4oz 2.99 (-1.50 coupon)
Schick Intuition 9.99 (-4.00 coupon)
(2)CVS Allergy 5ct 3.79 (May freebie)
(2) Hawaiian Tropic lip balm 1.99ea.

Total: $28.30
- $7 coupons
= $21.30
-2.79, 3.99, 4, 4.99, 5 ($20.77 ECB's)

Subtotal: $.53
+ .61 tax
=$1.14 OOP

Earned: $27.58 ECB's

Ending ECB amount: *$38.55 ECB's*

Thanks to a couple of friendly posters at Slick Deals and Hot Coupon World I learned that the 'buy 2 Hawaiian Tropic items get $10 ECB' promotion this week includes the lip balms which are $1.99 each. So you spend $3.98 and receive $10 ECB's back! That is $6.02 profit! Yay!

***Note to above: I walked around CVS trying to find these and right before I was about to give up I found them. The Hawaiian Tropic display was in the back of the store at the endcap of the office supply aisle? Hehe, kind of strange.... they had sunblock in different areas all around the store. So you may have to hunt around to find them, but its worth it!

$ Want to see more CVS savings? Visit the Centsible Sawyer's CVS Superstars! Here

*For more CVS savings and other stores as well visit Money Saving Mom!

Walgreens:

RR's to start with: $22.00

Trans #1:

Pert Plus 3.49 (-1.00 coupon)
Kleenex .59
(2) Stayfree @ 3.00 ea. (-2.00/2 coupon) (-2.00 Easy Saver catalog coupon)
Walgreens brand pads 1.99

Total: $12.07
-$5.00 coupons
-$6.00 RR

Subtotal: $1.07
+.97 tax
=$2.04 OOP

*I will earn $2.50 for the Pert Plus, and $1.99 for the Walgreens pads back w/ the monthly rebates.

*My original plan didn't work out. I had a $2.00 off coupon for Pert Plus which would have made it $1.49 so I bought the Kleenex as a filler item so my total would be at least $6 to use my RR. I checked out with the store manager and he noticed that the coupon was only for 'botanical blends Pert Plus' or something so I couldn't use it. I forgot to have him take the Kleenex off too since I no longer needed it for a filler, but its ok...I can always use Kleenex.

RR to start with: $16.00

Trans #2:

(2) Stayfree @ 3.00 ea. (-2.00/2 coupon) (-2.00 Easy Saver catalog coupon)
Walgreens light bulbs 1.69

Total: $7.69
-$4.00 coupons
-$3.00 RR

Subtotal: $.69
+$.46 tax
=$1.15 OOP

*I will earn $1.69 for the light bulbs back w/ the monthly rebates.

*I also used a Gillette body wash RR to get another free bottle! (-3.49) :)

I will probably pay another visit to CVS this week because I would really like to take advantage of the Eucerin deal. I have a lot of coupons! I am just on the look out for a -$/$ CVS coupon!

Last night we went to Red Robin so that my husband could get his free birthday burger! We went a few weeks ago for my birthday too. I gotta say it sure is nice to pay $9.00 and get 2 awesome burgers! I tried the Banzai Burger and it was out of this world good! Make sure you sign up for the Red Robin eClub so you can a free burger on your birthday!

Thank you Walgreens RR!

2008-05-10T21:37:00.004-07:00

A big thank you to Walgreens! I had a lot of fun shopping your ad this week! I used some RR this evening to score 2 packs of FREE Huggies! Gosh, I love free diapers, hehe! I also got a package of Skittles and Peanut Butter M&M's for a nice Saturday treat. A real nice Saturday treat when they are free....now only if we didn't have to pay tax on them.....oh well. I still have RR to spend! YAY!

Thanks again, Walgreens!

Oh yeah, a little FYI - I did two transactions and at the end of both of them I received a $2.00 off Pampers catalina coupon. Apparently the Huggies = a Pampers coupon!

5/10

2008-05-09T22:27:00.004-07:00

Are you frugal or cheap? Hmm, good question. I took this quiz at moolanomy to find out. My score was 25! Yay, I'm frugal!

Gillete 2 in 1 Body Wash at Walgreens!

2008-05-09T18:22:00.005-07:00

This promotion is in next week's ad (5/11), but it has started early! The deal is you buy a bottle of the 2 in 1 body wash and when you check out you will receive a RR for a FREE bottle!

Thanks to some friendly 'posters' over at HCW (Hot Coupon World) I was able to score a couple bottles of Gillette Body Wash for the ol' Husband today for $.49 + tax! I left with another FREE coupon as well! I guess I need to head down to Walgreens again...hehe.

Walgreens!

2008-05-08T20:42:00.011-07:00

I have had a busy couple of days at Walgreens, but I have to say that I have had a pretty good time. I still don't even think I am finished yet! This has been my first time using coupons with Walgreens and I am pretty glad that I jumped in this week!

So let's see... (please be patient with me, I am still pretty new to blogging and also new with how to post all of this info, if you have any questions about what I do, please let me know.

Trans #1:

(2) C/G Blush @ $5.99 ea.
(6) C/G Eye Shadow @ $3.49 ea.
=$32.92
Cover Girl products are Buy 1 Get 1 1/2 off this week so:
-3.00 (50%)
-1.75 (50%)
-1.75 (50%)
-1.75 (50%)
Then I used the following coupons:
(3) -2.50 off 2 C/G products =(-7.50)
(2) -FREE Blush when you purchase 3 C/G products = (-11.98)

Subtotal: $5.19
+ 1.99 tax
= $7.18 OOP (out of pocket)
*I received $20.00 in RR "Register Rewards"(prints out as (2) $10 Rewards)

This picture = the next 3 transactions.

Trans #2:

Venus Razor 9.99
Zantac 3.99
(2) Walgreens Bags @ .99 ea. (my filler items)
=15.96
-4.00 Venus coupon
-1.00 Zantac coupon
-10.00 RR

Subtotal: $.96
+$1.28 tax
=2.24
*I received a $6.00 RR for purchasing a Venus Razor and a $3.00 RR for the Zantac.

Trans. #3

C/G Blush 5.99
(3) C/G Nail Polish @ 3.99 ea.
(2) C/G Eyeliner @ 2.99 ea.
C/G Sharpener 2.99
=26.84

-2.00 (50% off)
-2.00 (50% off)
-1.50 (50 % off)

-2.50 off 2 C/G
(4) -1.00 C/G
-FREE C/G Blush when you purchase 3 = -5.99
-*6.00 RR (for purchasing a Venus Razor)

Subtotal: $2.94
+1.73 tax
=4.67 (OOP)

*Received $20.00 in RR

Trans. #4:

Venus Razor 9.99
Zantac 3.99
Peanut Butter M&M's .79
=14.77

-4.00 Venus coupon
-10.00 RR coupon

Subtotal: $.77
+ 1.13 tax
= $1.90 OOP

*Received $6 RR for Venus & $3 RR for Zantac

Here is what I did today:

C/G Tru Blend 8.99
C/G Powder 7.99
C/G Lip Slicks 3.99
(6) Crest toothpaste @ 2.50 ea.
Walgreens Bandaids on clearance for 1.00
=36.97

-4.00 (50% C/G)
-9.00 (Walgreens coupon $3 off 2 Crest)
(2) - .50 Crest
(4) - 1.00 Crest
-1.00 C/G
-7.99 (FREE) C/G Powder when you buy foundation
-6.00 RR coupon

Subtotal: $3.98
+2.21 tax
= $6.19 OOP

*Received $20 RR (2/ -$10.00 coupons)

...and

Venus Razor 9.99
Zantac 3.99
(3) Walgreens Chap-Aid on Clearance for .40ea.
=15.18

-4.00 Venus coupon
-1.00 Zantac coupon
-10.00 RR coupon

Subtotal: $.18
+1.02 tax
=$1.20 OOP

*Received $6 RR for Venus & $3 RR for Zantac

I now have $45.00 in RR! I plan on rolling a few of them tomorrow and then either saving the rest for next week or use them up to buy Diapers!

.......................................................................................

This evening hubby came home with a few freebies! He was using up a Best Buy Rewards certificate as it was going to expire today! Baby D and I were pretty happy with what we received:

For some great deals and even a few freebie items visit The "Cent" Sible Sawyer, her blog is awesome!

.......................................................................................
I still need to post some CVS scenarios but I am still not for sure what I am going to do. I haven't really had any extra time to think of what I plan on doing since I have been so busy with Walgreens this week, hehe.

5/4 CVS

2008-05-05T21:28:00.009-07:00

I had some ECB's burning a hole in my pocket (who am I kidding they are burning holes in my pocket every week, hehe) so I went on down to CVS yesterday, here is what I left with.

~Garnier hair color: $5.99
~Garnier hair color: $5.99
~Venus Razor $9.99
~Colgate 360: $3.99 (free after ECB)
~Adidas Deodorant: $4.99 (free after ECB)

Total: $30.95
- $5 off $30 CVS coupon that was emailed to me
- $1.50 off Garnier Nutrisse haircolor coupon (May issue of Good Housekeeping)
- $3.00 Garnier
- $3.00 Garnier
- $4.00 Venus Razor
= $14.45

Then I used some ECB's from last week to help pay for the rest:

-3.00 ECB
-4.99 ECB
-5.98 ECB

Subtotal: $.48 + tax

AND I received $17.98 ECB's back! Yay! :)

For some other great CVS deals check out BeCentsAble: CVS.

I am excited for the ad for next week! Looks like some good deals! I will post a scenario or two later in the week when I figure it out!

In the meantime I have got to try this bread.

Sharing the love.

2008-05-01T16:22:00.021-07:00

Ok, so I decided that I am going to try and update this thing more often. Yay! I have been trying to decide lately if I just wanted to write about whatever on here or try to have a theme. I have now decided that I am just going to share whatever I feel like sharing, so I am sure it will be pretty random!

This past year I have really gotten into coupons, saving money and stockpiling. I love it! I love that I am saving my family money every week! I love that I am getting more bang for my buck. I love that I have been getting so many items for free, nearly free or basically getting paid to remove an item from a store! :)

I have always loved coupons but I never REALLY understood how to make them work for me to get the best deal, I have to say too that I am no professional AT ALL but I am learning more and more every week. I have found many internet sites and blogs that have really helped me to understand what it is that I am doing.

I am not going to go back through all of my receipts or anything, I am just going to start fresh with my posting about this today.

So, today I went to CVS. If you think CVS is no good, then you are wrong my friend, very wrong. This is the place where I find my best deals and let me tell you it starts to become an addiction. Its my hobby, yes shopping CVS is a hobby of mine. I have a lot of fun there. You would be doing the happy dance as well if you left there today paying only $3 something dollars OOP (out of pocket) and you had all of this:

All of this because I:
Cut and file just about every coupon in the Sunday paper (or wherever else I may find them) every week and browse the ads matching coupons with sale prices. I do this with CVS, Walgreens, Safeway, Bashas's, Fry's, Target...blah blah blah. I have always enjoyed looking at the ads, but this is just WAY more fun I tell ya!

To organize my coupons I first started with just a small coupon accordion file type thingy...well I have moved on from that, my friend as that little guy was just not doing it for me anymore. I never thought I would move on to a binder, but it was necessary.

Here she is in all her glory:

and here is a little peak inside:

That is one good lookin' binder if I do say so myself.

I take this big fat wallet with me when I do my shopping, tell me I'm weird, call me a nerd, do what you will. I'm saving money. Yahoo!

That is all for today, I will see what I can come up with later.

I need a new coupon organizer...

2008-04-09T13:55:00.003-07:00

I am on the mission to put together a new coupon organizer for myself. My couponing has gotten a little out of control. (Which makes my bank account happy, it loves to have money in it.) So I am on the mission to find something suitable today. I am thinking something like this.
Oh and we SERIOUSLY need a baby gate so lil' D won't sneak into the kitchen anymore.

An updated pic of Deacon and I.

2007-09-03T17:30:00.001-07:00

Housework...

2007-08-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

Seriously....no fun. I should be finishing up where I left off yesterday...but here I am sitting at the computer. Even Deacon is sleeping right now, I should get up and get to work.

I sure have come to find out that ever since having a baby the things that used to be so easy to do are that much more challenging. I would say that the chore that was pretty much the easiest to do yesterday was laundry. Deacon was on and off crying all day, and if he wasn't crying he was hungry and then he would fall asleep while eating so that means within an hour or less he is hungry AGAIN...makes for a very challenging cleaning day. I am still proud of myself for the amount that I accomplished though. Who wants to finish my chores for me?

I need a vacation.

2007-08-26T18:51:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of me and baby D back from when he was only a couple of weeks old.

Watch & Learn...

2007-08-26T18:01:00.001-07:00

Word.

2007-08-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

So, I decided to try out blogger and get my very own easy peasy blog. Sweet deal...its free and everything. How convenient! I am cool now because I am going to have my very own BLOG.