A couple of posts I enjoyed today.

...just thought I would share! :)

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• 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

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.

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...

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

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

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

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!