I'm just a girl

NYC New York Color - Beauty on a budget

2011-12-31T19:32:00.003-05:00

I love pretty things! Like most people these days, I also like to save money where I can. One place that I try to save money is in my make-up box. It's not practical for me to spend $25 on a lip gloss when I want to try a new shade. Instead, I like to find more affordable options because then I can afford to have more variety.

That's where NYC (New York Color) Brand comes in handy. Found at your local drugstore or mass market retailer, their products are easy to locate and don't put a huge dent in your wallet. They carry all the fun trends in products with the colors you want at a price you can afford.

I recently tried their Liquid Lipshine in "Nude York City" - It's a great color that seems like it would work with a variety of skin tones. Just like pricier department store brands, NYC Color Liquid Lipshine gives you pure pigment color and creates a 3D style effect for a gorgeous, glossy pout. I loved the way it felt when I put it on and the color stayed true, giving me a great glossy look.

If your make-up box needs some new life, the NYC Color brand can help you get out of that rut. You can check out the Liquid Lipshine as well as all their products at the NYC Color website. The gloss retails for about $2.49 at your local retailer.

I received this complimentary product to test as part of Influenster.com's holiday VoxBox giveaway. You can join Influenster too if you're interested in getting to try the latest products for free!

imPRESS Press-on Manicure

2011-12-31T19:18:00.003-05:00

Recently, I was sent an "imPRESS Press-On Manicure" from Broadway Nails to try. This was part of my holiday "VoxBox" from Influenster. If you haven't checked out Influenster, I highly recommend signing up!

So, onto my manicure... The nails come in a cute little nail polish shaped bottle. The manicure sets are available in a variety of solid colors and patterns. I received a black and white crackle effect set. What I loved about these nails was the fact that it was super easy to put them on. I was on my way to holiday party for work and running behind, I literally put them on in the car! (Thankfully I wasn't the one driving!) I liked that they were easy to apply and gave me a special look for that night. At the end of the night, they were just as easy to take off. I found this great too, since I was a little tipsy and struggle with nails and my contacts!!!

They would have held up longer I'm certain, but for me, it was all about having that cool, trendy nail look for the night. imPRESS Press-On Manicure gave me just that!

If you want to check these out, you can find them at your local mass market or drugstore, they retail for between $5.99 - $7.99 (solid versus pattern). You can visit the imPRESS website to check out more about them.

I received this product complimentary to test as part of the Influenster holiday VoxBox. You can sign up with Influenster.com if you're interested in testing great new products too!

Furbabies

2010-08-26T19:31:00.003-04:00

I am a mama. My babies simply have four legs and a little more hair than yours. Yes, I really love my babies as much as you love yours. I pick up scattered toys, I clean up puke, I potty train, I soothe away fears and I want to pull my hair out when they are underfoot sometimes. I pay for food and shelter, healthcare costs and the like, I reward their successes and scold them for their misdoings. In these ways, I am just like you.

I teach my babies good manners, when we are in public they know they must behave. When they misbehave, I correct their behavior or remove them from the situation, I don’t simply ignore the disturbances they are creating for other people. My babies are not allowed to play unsupervised, creating havoc for those not responsible for them. In these ways, I may not be just like you.

I will not pass judgment on the money you spend for violin lessons or soccer gear. I will expect the same courtesy for the money I spend on daycare or playgroups. You may find the clothes/accessories my babies have as laughable, but stop and consider that I might find the way you dress your children laughable too, I am just too polite to say so. It is not my place to question the depth of your love for your children. Until you know what it’s like to hold your little furry one in your arms as they draw their last breath, you cannot question mine.

“If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”—Francis of Assisi

Comfort

2010-06-14T13:48:00.003-04:00

Awe... isn't she sweet? I mean just rotten... The downstairs of the townhome is often a tad bit chilly in order to keep the upstairs bearable, so since I my lil' furbabies have practically no fur (ironic?) there are always an abundance of blankets for them to snuggle under. This weekend, while straightening up the living room (which really should happen multiple times a day with a dog that will chew anything) I finally realized something. I started to fold up the assorted throws that were scattered about and fluff and straighten the throw pillows... then it occurred to me that it really was pointless. I mean, if I do this, one of the dogs will inevitably sit and nudge at the stack of blankets until they tumble over or will curl up somewhere looking cold and me or the roomie will spread the blankets back out. Yes when company stops by, I'll take 5 minutes to fold up the throws and arrange the pillows (and hopefully have enough of a heads up to vacuum!). However, in the meantime, I think it's better to just let things remain comfortable. It's not that I don't appreciate an asthetic looking living room, but I also want it to be a living room that you can... LIVE in. This is also why, when you stop by, you'll notice that there is a gigantic dog bed crammed into the small space between the couch and the entertainment center. I'm the first one to admit... it looks cluttered, and I've moved it to other spots... but you see... my furbabies apparently love to snuggle in the bed, crammed securely into that tight spot. When the bed gets pulled out from the corner, they manage to drag it back... I've taken the hint... they live here too, it makes them happy, I can deal with it.

It's not over after 30, It's just getting started

2010-05-13T09:26:00.002-04:00

I've taken a significant blogging hiatus and I'm hoping that I can now get back to it. Over the past several months, I've found interesting things I want to blog about, just never seem to manage to take the time to sit down and start typing.

I figured I'd start back up with an update on a goal that I shared awhile back. Back at the end of '08 (doesn't that sound like a long time ago) I shared that I had decided to go back to school. True to my word, in Jan of '09 I was back in school taking classes. In December of '09 I actually completed my Associate's Degree! It was odd, because from the minute I started back to school, I hadn't really given my Associate's Degree much thought. I was (and still am) focused on my Bachelor's degree. However when I received my Associate's Degree in the mail, I felt such a sense of accomplishment. I was greatful for that feeling because this past semester has been a struggle for me. Not academically, in terms of grades, I completed the spring semester with flying colors, but their were just a few snags at the beginning of the semester with my textbooks getting lost at the warehouse and stuff - not to mention that I had been going to school (after being out of school for just over 10 years!) for a year straight, including summer, with no breaks... so I was reaching a burn out.

I finished out the spring semester and I am actually enjoying a summer off. I debated taking a summer course, but after struggling to keep some momentum during the spring and knowing that the fall semester was going to be a hard one, I decided that taking a couple months to catch my breath, relax and re-focus.

Now I have my sights set on my Bachelor's degree. In the fall, I will be attending Northern Kentucky University (via online... I love that!) for either 3 or 4 semesters (I'm shooting for 3, but that may prove tricky) to finish out my Bachelor's degree in Organizational Leadership. I'm also starting to contemplate what I want to complete my Master's Degree in. I've been tossing around a few different ideas, but I think I'll wait until I'm closer to finishing my BA to make a final decision.

One thing that I've thought about alot as I've been back in school is how much I wish I hadn't taken time off the first time around. Once I stopped, it just seemed easy to not go back. It would be nice to already be finished. However, I don't think it was without some benefit. I've found that the work and life experience I've had over the last 10 years have given me much to draw from for my classes. Especially in the last semester, since my classes were oriented towards aspects of professional life. I don't think I would have gotten as much out of those classes the first time around. Of course, I wouldn't have been pursuing this degree the first time around. Perhaps that is why it has happened the way it did, because it's really hard at 18, with no real life experienc to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life!

So, that's where I am... a little over halfway through my BA, taking the summer off to enjoy other things, like READING for pleasure (I'm hoping to share some reviews on some of the books I've been reading). Stay tuned for the next step in this journey.

A year in books...

2009-12-22T22:40:00.002-05:00

Recently, my friend Bobbi blogged about her top picks for books she has read in ’09. Now the first thing I thought as I read Bobbi’s blog was “Whoa! You’ve read 141 books this year?!?!” I think my count for the year tops out somewhere between 30 and 40 books. That being said, this year is probably the first year in MANY, MANY years that I have read with such intense frequency. Growing up, I loved to read. I would often read 2 or 3 books in a weekend (I’m a fast reader) for pleasure, not counting books I was required to read for school.

Then somewhere along the way, my passion for reading seemed to fade. I’m not certain why, because I’ve always loved the mental escape that reading provides, but it always seemed like life got in the way. I would read when I traveled (still is my favorite way to kill time on a plane) or occasionally see a book that I just had to read, but probably averaged no more than 2 books a year!

So what have I been reading this year? A completely random assortment of books on every imaginable subject. I’ve decided to steal Bobbi’s idea and share a list, though I’m putting my own little spin on it.

My Top 5 books for 2009:
(5) The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood) – I was required to read this for a class I took fall semester. After reading the book, I easily would put this on the “Must Read” list for all women. The book is a fictional book that takes place in an alternate future in which women become something much worse than second class citizens. It really makes you think about some of the “innocent” fanatics and encourages readers to explore the notion that what may seem harmless today, could quite possibly become something far worse.

(4) Whale Done! The Power of Positive Relationships! (Kenneth Blanchard) – I thought that this book would be useful to read, considering my major. Additionally, I was taking a communication class that focused on interpersonal communication, so maybe I was just in the mood for this kind of book. This is a fairly easy read, nothing technical. The average person could most likely read it in a single sitting. The focus of the book is about using positive reinforcement to foster better relationships, which is something many of us have heard of. The reason I like this book is because it is able to clarify in very simple terms how to accomplish this, how many of us aren’t accomplishing it (even when we think we are!) and what we’re doing instead.

(3) Lover Eternal (J.R. Ward) – This is the second in a series of books called the Black Dagger Brotherhood. If you enjoy vampire books, you’ll want to check out this series. I will say, the first book in the series, I only thought of as “average” but I am glad that I have continued on in the series. I’ve currently finished 4 of the books, though this book remains my favorite.

(2) Dead to the World (Charlaine Harris) – For the minority of people out there who aren’t reading the Southern Vampire Series (it seems everywhere I turn, people are) this is the fourth book in that series. Why did this one make my list? Because after being teased in the first 3 books, for many readers, this book has some plot payoff! I must say, if you watch the series, True Blood, that is based on this series of books, I strongly encourage you to pick up the books, they are much better!

(1) Dead and Gone (Charlaine Harris) – Yes, I have picked two books from the same series for my top two books, but I really have enjoyed this series thus far. This is book 9 in the series, the last book until May of ’10. I know that some people didn’t enjoy it as much, but I really like this one.

One book that I am a little sad to say didn’t make the list… The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown. I have loved, loved, LOVED Mr. Brown’s work over the last few years… And have been anticipating this book for awhile (it was at one point rumored to be released in ’07, so yes, I’ve waited AWHILE!). I even preordered the book, so I would have it the day it came out.

Unfortunately, it took me a few months to find the time to read it. While I didn’t completely despise the book, I didn’t love it either. Perhaps waiting so long made it hard for the book to live up to it’s hype, but I found this to be a just average read, though the subject is controversial.

Looking into 2010 I have stacks upon stacks of books that I’m trying to wade through… There are two books that I am eagerly anticipating.

First up – Dead in the Family (Charlaine Harris), the latest and greatest Southern Vampire Novel. I read the sneak peak of Chapter 1 on the author’s website earlier this week…. I cannot wait for this book to come out!!!

And second – is more of a wish… a pleading even… to Stephenie Meyer to please go back and finish Midnight Sun, or heck, rewrite the darned thing… I need more Edward!

Once a month cooking?

2009-11-03T15:15:00.002-05:00

MoneySavingMom & FishMama are hosting a live once a month baking/cooking event that starts today. Once a month cooking... an interesting concept, but I am not quite sure I'm ready to jump in with both feet. There are only two people in my house (myself & the roomie) and our schedules vary, so we don't always eat at the same time, we eat out sometimes, and sometimes we just snack. However, I can say that the concept of having some meals on hand so that my kitchen can stay cleaner...well I can buy into that... so I'm dabbling with this notion of cooking/baking ahead... though I must say I cheated a tad, I roasted a turkey breast yesterday and have the deconstructed results already packaged and in my fridge, but I was really wanting some turkey and knew that would occupy my oven for much of the time, so I decided to get a jumpstart on it. So what else am I up to... well it's midday here and so far in addition to the turkey I roasted yesterday I have already made:

Baked Pasta - No recipe here, I just pick a pasta, this time I chose a whole wheate penne, cook as directed, drain, stir in grated parm cheese, saute up any veggies you have on hand, add in pasta sauce ( I had some jarred variety) and mix it up. I go ahead and portion it out in 2 serving portions and freeze. Then, just pop out of the freezer and into the oven... I usually top it off with cheese when baking (you can also stir in some cheese when you're making it up) and it's pasta for dinner without having to wait for water to boil, etc...

Stuffed Mushrooms - Again, no recipe, I'm really more of a method cooker. Start with stuffer mushrooms, remove stems and reserve... gently clean your mushrooms with a lightly dampened paper towel. Finely chop your mushrooms. In a skillet melt about a tablespoon of butter (or you can use an oil, I happened to have small piece of butter left over from some other recipes), as it melts, sprinkle in a tiny pince of red pepper flakes, lightly sautee a minced clove of garlic and a few tablespoons of chopped onions (I made veggie dogs last night, so I had some leftover onion... chop it once, store it in the fridge and add to dishes during the week!), stir in your mushrooms, and add some crumbled precooked meat (I actually used some Boca soy crumbles, work just as well, taste the same and you don't have to precook!). Season with whatever you have on hand, I used a bit of poultry seasoning, which is a fun little mix to cook with. Cook until onions are soft and then stir in some grated parm cheese. I then let the mixture cool... then just stuff about a tsp of the mixture into your reserved mushroom caps. Place on a lined baking sheet and freeze until firm, then transfer into another freezer safe storage option. You'll probably have some left over stuffing, just pop it into a freezer bag and toss in the freezer too, it's a great addition to pasta sauces! When ready to use, just pop them out and lightly spray or brush the caps with a little olive oil and bake at about 350 for about 15 minutes or until heated through. Oh, and sprinkle on some cheese!!

Next up - I have some yummy homemade bread that is rising and will be going into the oven shortly.

And I just pulled some yummy French Puff Muffins out of the oven and am getting ready to top them now.

I am also planning on whipping up some peanut butter fudge and then I'm probably going to call it a day for today... but that will definitely stock me up on some quick dinner options, breakfast options and a sweet treat... Also have to get some homework done and then I might regroup and see what I want to work with tomorrow!

Spicing it up affordably

2009-10-20T13:36:00.002-04:00

My kitchen is full of spices, I don't know that I could even rattle off the assortment of spices and herbs that I have on hand. The great thing about having a variety of spices is the ability to change things up when you get bored with a particular dish. That being said, spices can be expensive. I don't mind spending a little money on quality spices however sometimes I run into a recipe that calls for a spice that I don't have on hand and don't frequently use. Obviously, depending on what it is, I can always substitute, but sometimes I like to give it a whirl. What I don't like to do however is spend $6-$10 on a spice that I may not use very often, especially if I'm unfamiliar with the spice. So what's a girl to do?

Check out your local health food store or the bulk food section of your local grocery store. Up until recently, when I needed a random spice that was a bit pricey, I headed to Whole Foods, but now, I can actually take advantage of the updated bulk food section at my local Kroger. There you will most likely find a bulk spice section. Now don't let the prices on the bins scare you... it's not oncommon to see prices like $17 or $29, this is however the price for a pound of the spice! You can simply get as much or as little as you like. Last week, I was trying a recipe that called for coriander, which I didn't have any of. Now a jar of coriander was around the $4 mark, but I wasn't sure that I would use it frequently enough to pick it up, and I was sticking with a budget... so instead, I just went over to the bulk section and dispensed out what I needed for my recipe - the cost was around 14 cents!

I really recommend this method if you're trying a new spice or if you are trying to stay within a weekly budget and don't have much wiggle room that particular week!

Be sure and check out Tammy's Recipes for more Kitchen Tip Tuesday Tips!

It was 1980 something...

2009-09-21T19:51:00.004-04:00

It was 1980 something... the four little munchkins you see are 3 of my cousins and me. I'm the blonde one on the right, with the giant bear and the dirty white socks. We were thick as thieves. My cousin Rhonda, (second in from the left, the giant of the group) was like a big sister to me at that age. We lived across the street from each other from as early as I can remember. We shared toys, we shared secrets, we even shared clothes (I always got her hand me downs). One time, she even shared the chicken pox with me, though managed to avoid them herself... yeah, that was one she could have kept to herself. The little dark haired girl on the end, that is my cousin Shelly, and the tiny little boy next to me, her brother Kevin. They lived about an hour away, but visited quite often. I was born between them, Shelly being about a year older than me, and Kevin being almost a year younger. Sleepovers with Shelly meant late night gigglefests, with parents threatening to separate us if we didn't quiet down. And Kevin, being the only boy in the crew, was of course often teased mercilessly, but still a part of all the important playtimes. We all spent birthdays and holidays together. We played nice and we played not so nice, sometimes being cranky and taking it out on each other.

Through the modern marvels of Facebook, our family has been sharing lots of old photos, and we've had so much fun, laughing and teasing each other about old hairstyles and fashion sense as well as that lack of self conciousness that little kids seem to have when letting their parents take pictures of them doing silly things.

This picture really is a snapshot of a moment in time, back when we were young and idealistic. Back before life had reared it's head and exposed us to some of the less pleasant aspects. In that moment, our biggest concern was most likely if we would be able to get back out to play some more before our parents started hosing us down and getting us ready for bed. This was before three of us would learn the word divorce. Before one of us would welcome the birth of a second child while still reeling from the loss of a mother. Before one, at the tender age of eight would be able to establish the timeline of "before my dad died" and "after my dad died." These children aren't yet preparing to say goodbye to a grandma, the matriach that held their large family together. The innocence on their faces doesn't reveal that one will hear the word "cancer" not once, but twice as a young adult. That one will make some bad choices and go through some difficult teenage years. They will experience their share of loss, of illnesses (both their and loved ones), trials and tribulations, though it won't all be bad. They will also experience great joys, in marriages, and births; in graduations and promotions. In the time between then and now they will have felt both joy and sorrow, happiness and fear.

So, if I could go blink my eyes, and go back to that moment. Would I step out of the shadows and warn these children of what lies ahead? Would I advise them of what to watch out for and who to hug one more time? No, I think that if I could transport myself back there, I would just want to stay there in the shadows and soak in the pure, unadultered bliss that is the naiveity of that moment. I sit here now, knowing that they each come through it all, a bit wiser, a bit stronger. Each event has shaped those little faces into the adults that we are today; and we are the better for them. So I look into each of those smiling faces and revel in the innocent happiness of their gaze, and I am reminded that we were blessed with that moment, when all was right in the world.

Making Facebook Work For You - Part 2

2009-08-19T13:06:00.004-04:00

If this is your first time joining me on the joys of FB, you'll want to start here in order to be completely in the loop.

So, now that you've mastered "Hiding..." Lets take a minute and talk about "Requests." What are "Requests" in FB? Well, they can be anything from a friend request, to a gift for your favorite farming application, to an invitation to play the newest farming game, to a virtual hug. FB has thousands of applications, enough to interest everyone, though most of us are usually only entertained with a handful of them, and sometimes lose interest in an application after a couple of uses. When I first started using FB, I would get so annoyed by the growing number of requests I received. They multipled like rabbits (and I couldn't sell their fur, because they weren't farming rabbits!) Sometimes I would get annoyed and just delete all of them. That only worked for awhile though, because, like dandelions, when you get rid of one, five more come back to taunt you. On top of that, some of the requests were useful. What's a girl to do?

Well, the answer really is simple, and it's very similiar to the "hiding" feature. When you click on your requests from your homepage (not the "See All" but rather a specific type that is listed) you're going to see something similiar to this:

I've blocked out names & pictures, to respect the privacy of my friends, but you should get the general idea of what the screen looks like.

Generally, you'll see who the request is from, if it is from an application, you'll see the name of the application and then you'll see some blue buttons that give you options (options are nice!)

The first option is generally an option to accept, which is what you'll click if you want to comply with the request. You will also have either one or two more buttons that give you the option of passing on the request. Generally you can click "No Thanks" or "Ignore" and get the same result, the request goes away. This is possibly what you typically do. It works, the request leaves... the problem is... if this is something you have no particular interest in... you've just created a dandelion... the request can come back, maybe from the same person, maybe not... but mark my words... it will be back...

That's why I like to use the two link options below the buttons. The first one is my favorite. "Block This Application." You simply click it, and you will be blocking all future requests from that application. This is particularly handy for some quizzes and if you're not into hugs, flowers, etc.

The second option, I rarely use. It's "Ignore all invites from this friend" Technically, if you have a friend who loves to invite you to everything under the sun, you can click this, and you won't get anymore invites from them, ever... the only problem, you may want to get something from them later. If you have a friends who is constantly bombarding you with new requests for different applications and you're tired of blocking them all, this would be an option... then again, you may just want to tell your friend to lay off the invites... Invites / Requests are kind of like the FB equivalent of an email forward. We should all be responsible and only forward ones we actually enjoy and choose the most appropriate audience for each one, unfortunately there's always one person out there who Spams us with everything... If you don't want the confrontation of telling them to knock it off, perhaps "Ignore all..." is your friend.

That's all for now. Next time, I'll be focusing more on what you can do to limit what others see you doing (Big Brother's watching, lol)

Be sure and check back for other posts on even more options to Make Facebook Work For You!

Gotta go, my farm is calling, need to harvest my crops before the Mobsters take them all and I have to call my Sorority Sisters in for backup because then the Vampires might get testy, and then who will there be left to Farkle with?!?!

Making Facebook Work For You - Part 1

2009-08-19T12:26:00.001-04:00

Judging by my current friend count, I know that I'm not the only Facebook (FB for short) user out there. Actually according to FB's press releases, there are more than 250 million active users, 120+ million of those access their accounts daily. It seems like I am constantly finding old friends, coworkers, acquaintances, classmates, etc... Many of my family, from my mom, to aunts, uncles, cousins, etc... are now on FB and I communicate regularly with them through FB. According to Istrategylab.com, in 2009 there was a 276% growth in FB users, age 35-54, and 55+ has increased by 194%, not to mention younger demographics which grow exponentially.

Ok, so why am I boring you with statistics? Well I guess that's stemming from my recent back to school mode, I'm used to having to provide supporting details and references, lol... But seriously, the truth is, there are plenty of FB users out there. If you are using FB regularly (or even semi-regularly) you're bound to notice that your friend count creeps up... and with that increased friend count, comes more & more information thrown at you. I enjoy reading my friends updates, and often times I also enjoy seeing the results of their quizzes, etc... but sometimes, I think it can be overkill... I don't particularly enjoy going to my newsfeed and having to scroll down through 30 different quiz results to get to anything real or interesting. And as the number of friends I have has increased, along with the time that I can set aside to use FB decreasing, I have began to use options that make using FB work better for me.

So that's what I've decided to share with you today. There are actually several things you can do to enhance your FB experience, and if I were to put them all in one blog... you might be finished reading it by next week, so I'm going to break it up over a few blogs, for your reading pleasure.

The first focus... your view... literally, what you see from other people when you log into FB. The quickest and simplest option for eliminating clutter in your Newsfeed (the main part of your homepage, that streams your friends updates) is to use the "Hide" feature. Let's say for example that one of your friends is a "Farming" fanatic, however you aren't interested in farming, or in seeing updates from your friend (or friends...there are lots of us farmers!) about their farm. All you need to do is, the next time you see a post from your friend that is one of the "Farm" posts, hover your mouse in the upper right hand corner of that post (Just below the separator line). When you do this, the word "Hide" will appear. When you click on the word "Hide" you should be given a couple of options, either to hide your friend entirely (this means you won't see anything from that friend in your newsfeed, and I don't recommend this option for someone you regularly talk to) or the option of "hiding" that particular application. Once you click to hide the application, it will take away ALL posts from ALL friends pertaining to that application... and presto... no more farming nonsense for you! This is also a handy feature when your friends start a quiz that you have no interest in... you know, one of those quizzes that everyone takes, you can simply "hide" the quiz. I use this all the time for random applications, like "drinks, hugs, kisses, etc" It's not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but honestly, FB has thousands and thousands of applications, and various friends have their favorites... if I didn't hide some, I'd drown in drinks, hugs and flowers!

Be sure and check back for other posts on even more options to Make Facebook Work For You!

Gotta go, my farm is calling, need to harvest my crops before the Mobsters take them all and I have to call my Sorority Sisters in for backup because then the Vampires might get testy, and then who will there be left to Farkle with?!?!

Getting the most out of college text books

2009-08-07T02:27:00.002-04:00

Higher education can have a lofty price tag these days. Not just the usual suspects like tuition or room & board. When I went back to school last spring, I spent alot of money on books. In fact my book expenses were almost 40% of the amount that I paid in tuition! Imagine that, paying tuition, then spending somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of that on book... Why I haven't went into the college text book business is a mystery to me.

Depending on the class a text book might cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $60 - $150... sometimes less, sometimes more... You can save a few dollars by buying the used books at the bookstore, IF you beat the rush, used books are limited quantities...

Of course college bookstores will also buy your books back at the end of the semester, however you might be sad to find out that a book that you spent $100 on will be purchased back for around $20... I've been in the bookstore picking up books and saw a student turn in a stack of books and only get back about $40... And of course, used books, while less than new, still go for a pretty penny. If a book is $100 new, you can probably get a used copy at the bookstore for $80... that's quite a profit for the bookstore... you'd definitely get more dollars if you could cut out that middle man... but how do you do that? Well, you could try standing outside the bookstore and asking each student what they were looking to buy, but chances are that isn't the best use of your time... Which brings me to...

The wonderous invention we call the internet. Everyone knows you can buy practically anything online. Most of us are familiar with EBay or similiar sites that allow us to buy & sell at better prices than we might otherwise find. What you may not know is that EBay has a branch of their company called Half.com. So what is Half.com? It is similiar to EBay, but instead of bidding, you just list your price for books, cd's, games, and gaming systems. If you're familiar with the "Buy it Now" feature of EBay, that would be an easy comparison, all of the listings are simply at a "Buy it Now" price.

The great thing about Half.com is that you don't have to pay a listing fee (as you do on EBay). Half.com collects a small commission on all final sales, so if an item doesn't sell, you're not out any money. The trade-off is that unlike EBay, where the buyer pays you directly (through paypal, checks, etc) they submit payment directly to Half.com. The website pays you (via paypal) 2 times a month, so you won't get your payment right away.

So why am I talking about Half.com? Well they happen to be a big draw for college text books. People all over the country list their books online & sell to other people all over the country. I recommend if you are purchasing books to check out their website and compare the pricing to that of the local campus bookstore. Depending on the book, it might or might not give you some significant savings. And once the semester is over, a few weeks before classes resume, you can list your textbooks on the website for sale.

Just this week, I listed 5 textbooks of mine & my roomies on Half.com and in 3 days, I had sold all the books. The combined profit? About $350 - if we would have returned these books to the school bookstore, we probably would have recieved about $60.

Now I know that many of my readers may not be in school themselves, but many of you probably know people going to school, or kids getting ready to start college, etc - So pass this helpful information along to them. College is expensive enough, it's great when you can actually save a few dollars!

Slowly but surely

2009-08-05T12:19:00.002-04:00

So week 2 came & went, I weighed in this past Sunday... after having dropped 10 lbs the first week, I was expecting some resistance... While I didn't make double digits again, I did lose a respectable 3 lbs... So I'm at 13 lbs lost for the month.

This "monitoring your sodium" diet is tricky, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. It seems easy at first, you just cut back on salt... then you start reading labels...and well... you realize just how tricky that can be. Nutritionists recommend that a person should eat no more than 2,400 mg of sodium per day. That is roughly the equivalent of 1 tsp of salt... And you may be thinking, I don't eat a tsp of salt a day... but you might be surprised to find that many people consume more than that, alot more than that...

Since starting this plan, I've targeted the "2400" rule... and when I go grocery shopping I'm amazed... Pasta sauce - 400 to 700 mg of sodium per serving, my favorite french bread pizza... a whopping 1100mg of sodium... even juice isn't safe... a serving of juice can have upwards of 90mg of sodium per serving... Does that mean you shouldn't drink it? Well, no... just that you may want to look for the best options out there, practice moderation, and take a realistic look at what you're consuming. I think that's important with anybody, whether or not you're trying to cutback on anything...

Even water that's not filtered to remove it has sodium in it... not that sodium is bad, your body does need about 500mg a day... it's just fascinating... Right now I'm starting the search for sodium free/reduced baking soda/powder (Baking Soda has a ridiculous amount of sodium in it!) But the stores around here don't seem to carry it, so I guess I'm going to order it online.

Ok, rant about sodium is over.... it just happens to be a forethought for me these days. I will be posting a couple more blogs this week, I've got a yummy recipe to share (that's low sodium, hehehe) and I'll discuss how to save & make money with college text books!

Off to a good start

2009-07-27T15:01:00.002-04:00

In keeping with the concept that "It's not over after 30" I've embarked on a sort of "upgrade" for myself. Nothing drastic like botox (luckily I'm not in need of that yet) or plastic surgery. More of a do-it-yourself project, on myself.

The first thing I've tackled... Vitamins... I admit, I'm horrible about remembering to take them, but I'm working on it. I've also started back up on my iron supplements (I tend to be anemic) in an effor to bring myself some more energy.

I've also modified my diet. Again, nothing radical like "No-Carb", "Low-Carb", or "Cardboard Only" I'm just focusing on moderation and cutting out processed food where I can. The biggest change being sodium content. I'm trying to stick with the recommended Sodium allowance. I've never really had problems with my blood pressure, and I've never been one who was heavy handed with the salt shaker, but when I started looking at sodium content of items, I was shocked at how much sodium I was seeing. I've not outlawed anything completely, just keeping in mind the best ways to serve them.

I've actually came up with some great recipes that are healthy, low cal, and low sodium... oh and most importantly... TASTY... that I'll start sharing periodically on here. For those of you who see me chattering on about something on FB, just ask if I mention a recipe that I haven't shared and I'll be happy to pass it along.

The one item I have pretty much eliminated from my diet... Soda... It's really more of breaking a habit... But it's a great way to cut out carbonation (which excess can make you feel bloated) cut out sodium, caffeine, sugar (or sugar substitutes...which still make you crave sweets). I went an entire week without drinking any. I really wanted the "cola" taste, and had been trying to find a 20 oz Diet RC or Diet Rite (since they have no sodium, blah, blah, blah) but hadn't had any luck, so I did go yesterday and pick up a 6 pack of bottles at the grocery store... However, I only had one yesterday (and split that w/ the roomie) It was tasty, and I think it satisfied the craving... so I'm going to see if I can stretch those and only drink one per week.

I also need to get my Wii hooked back up (I took it to a friends awhile back, and haven't gotten around to setting it back up) so that I can hook up my Wii Fit and see how that works now that the monster lives here... Should prove to be interesting...

So, each week, I am weighing myself. And when I weighed in this week... I discovered that I had lost 10lbs! Now, I'm not crazy enough to believe that I'll lose that much every week... I know that because I cut my sodium down to a more sensible amount, I've definitely shed some water weight, so we'll see what this week holds for me.

That's all for now!

A great weekend

2009-06-29T19:40:00.003-04:00

Well, I really have been MIA on the blogosphere lately huh? It's been a pretty crazy several weeks. After I wrapped up spring classes, I thought I'd have a bit more time, unfortunately that wasn't the case. Life happens. My summer class was VERY involved, my mom had a health scare, and life just seemed chaotic... I am glad to say I came through the other side unscathed (AND my Mom did too!!!!)

So, while I've had tons of ideas for blogging topics, I just haven't been able to manage to park myself down and start writing. Hopefully, I've turned the tide on that... I'm slowly trying to work my way back into the blogosphere...

My first blog back... is about my fabulous weekend trip to the 'Nati (Cincinnati) to see NKOTB (New Kids On the Block).

So, a few months ago, my best friend, being the great and wonderful person that he is, suprised me with an early birthday present of tickets to NKOTB... I cannot tell you how thrilled I was! I was a HUGE fan of NKOTB as a tween... you have know idea... I mean, my mom was pregant during this phase, and when I found it was supposed to be a boy, I begged my mom to name him Jordan Nathaniel Marcel (Jordan Knight's full name). I didn't manage to get the whole name to stick, but mom liked Nathaniel...

So, the concert was this past weekend. We decided to drive up a little early and stop and grab dinner first, at La Rosa's, yummy!!! Of course the fun part was getting from La Rosa's to the concert... See we had GPS'd ourselves to the restaurant. The plan was to then GPS from the restaurant to the concert. HA! When we got back into the car, even though the GPS had just sent us to this place, it now couldn't locate us. We thought maybe if we drove a little further back up our route, away from the trees, we'd have better luck... we were wrong... It was almost comical, we drove around Newport, and crossed over into Ohio before GPS found us. Luckily, we had managed to figure out on our own the direction to head, and we were headed the right way. Which is really a good thing, because GPS lost our signal again along the way.

We finally made it to Riverbend and parked. Then we completed what seemed like a 2 mile trek to get to the actual gates. Once we got inside the gates, we decided to go ahead and check out the concert merchandise and get something to drink before we headed to the seats. It was still rather humid out and pretty sunny... so in standing in line for both, the sun was beating down... and everyone standing around, including ourselves were sweating horribly.

The concert itself was great. The Jabbawokeez were the first opening act, they were suprisingly entertaining. Jesse McCartney was the second act. Then my boys were on. It was a great show, with alot of their old stuff mixed in with some new stuff. I got some great pics and had a blast. Of course by the time we drove home, I was more than ready to hop in a shower and get rid of the funk!

Crazy 8's

2009-06-10T15:28:00.002-04:00

Natalie over at A Little of This, A Little of That tagged me for this meme.

THE RULES: Mention who tagged you. (check!)

Complete the list of 8’s.

Tag 8 other people.

8 THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO:
(1) Public Speaking Class being over
(2) Vegas in October
(3) NKOTB concert in a few weeks
(4) Did I mention Public Speaking Class being over soon?
(5) Transferring to NKU in the Spring
(6) Kevin getting home to assist in monster watch
(7) Retirement (I've still got awhile)
(8) Oh yeah, Public Speaking Class ending... (lol)

8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY:
(1) Bought a very expensive pair of black pants
(2) Bought a very awesome pair of black pants
(3) Contemplated whether the awesomeness outweighed the price of the black pants
(4) Took a bath while the monster spied on me
(5) Went to my FAVORITE class
(6) Gave a speech in my FAVORITE class
(7) Decided to grab dinner from a restaurant, because it was late and I was tired
(8) Ended the day with a good book and a hot bath

8 THINGS I WISH I COULD DO:
(1) Not go back to work until I finish school
(2) Find a job that paid me to stay home and go to school
(3) Retire at 31
(4) Figure out how to trap the house elves here to keep my place clean
(5) Catch up on sleep
(6) Remember to take my vitamins
(7) Eat Spaghetti
(8) Invent something that would make me millions of dollars

8 SHOWS I WATCH: ( I am going with what's on right now, everything it seems is in reruns)
(1) RW/RR Challenges (guilty pleasure)
(2) I'm a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here (Junkfood for the brain)
(3) The Goode Family
(4) Little House on the Prairie (yes, I've seen them before, I still watch 'em... I actually RECORD them to watch!)
(5) Jon & Kate, plus 8 (yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah... those little kidlets are cute... leave me alone!)
(6) Rachael Ray Show
(7) Raising the Bar
(8) In Plain Sight

8 FAVORITE FOODS:
(1) Pizza
(2) Peanut Butter
(3) Ice Cream
(4) Croutons
(5) Turkey
(6) Chicken Fingers (though I've never seen one on a chicken)
(7) Bread
(8) French Fries

8 PLACES I’D LIKE TO TRAVEL:
(1) NYC at Christmas
(2) England
(3) Tuscany
(4) Lithuania
(5) Alaska (via a cruise)
(6) Australia
(7) Ireland
(8) France

8 PEOPLE I’VE TAGGED:
Ok, so several people I would have tagged have already been tagged, so I'm only tagging a couple, however anyone who wants to... feel free to join in!

Mary at Owlhaven
My favorite Newlywed

Secret to great cupcakes & cakes

2009-06-02T09:26:00.003-04:00

Good Morning folks! It's Tuesday... and one heck of a Tuesday it's been already! You know it's going to be a great day when you have an icepack on your arm before 9 am!

However, I'm pushing through. I've been absent from the blogworld, because lots of school stuff going on in a small amount of time (that's what happens when you cram a semester class into a 6 week summer session)

It's time for Kitchen Tip Tuesdays over at Tammy's Recipes. I thought of this tip last week when I was baking up some Vanilla Zucchini cupcakes. It's a tip that I use most every time I bake any kind of cupcake or cake. I discovered it by accident. Once, while baking a set of cupcakes, I didn't have enough batter to fill all of the wells. I poured some water into the empty ones to prevent the pan from warping. I noticed that when I was finished baking, those cupcakes seemed moister. So I experimented... now when baking any cakes, I put another pan on the rack below, partially filled with water. The water in the pan creates some steam & moisture which helps offset the drying effect of the oven. Every time I use this method, I get a much moister cupcake, that stays fresh much longer!

Hope you find this helpful, and don't forget to head over to Tammy's site to check out more tips!

Murphy's law at it's best

2009-05-21T00:21:00.002-04:00

Today was one of those meltdown days:

Overslept
Went to the grocery store & was ready to check out... no $$$
Lost car in grocery store parking lot... TWICE
Almost got hit by Graeter's Ice Cream Van
Bread that was purchased somehow opened, dumping into carseat
Dog broke tooth (her's, not mine)

Purple & Orange Cauliflower, Oh My!

2009-05-21T00:05:00.002-04:00

I stopped in at Kroger today & they have a great little sale. You can buy a head of Purple or Orange Cauliflower for just .99 each! White cauliflower is still about 2.50, and these were normally almost $4, so I grabbed a couple (plus they are just so darned cute!)

Once you bring the cauliflower home, you might be looking for a good recipe. Here's a good one to try. I wish I had a pic of it, but it was gone before I blinked! Maybe next time.

One head of cauliflower - chopped into bite size pieces.

Olive Oil - about a 1/4 cup

Salt & Pepper (I never measure these when I'm just cooking, I just sprinkle)

Garlic Cloves - Anywhere from 10-20 (sounds like alot, but it's worth it)

Italian Seasoning - about a teaspoon

Red Pepper Flakes - just a pinch

Shredded Parmesean Cheese

Place your cauliflower in a casserole dish. Peel & slightly crack your garlic cloves, throw them in whole. Drizzle the veggies w/ your olive oil. Season w/ salt, pepper, Italian seasoning & red pepper flakes. Toss to coat evenly. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven. After 15 minutes, stir the veggies & sprinkle with the shredded parmesean cheese. Bake another 10 minutes. Check to see if the veggies are tender. You may need another 5 minutes or so (stir again if you do)

Remove & Serve immediately.

I really believe that in most cooking, (not baking which requires some degree of measurement) it should be about just getting in there and having fun. Feel free to swap out some ingredients if you want.

I suggest:

Can swap broccoli for cauliflower (or use both!)

Don't swap the garlic - It gets really tender & sweet, and is great smushed into the cauliflower as you eat (or on a hunk of bread)

Use whatever seasonings you want, experiment!

A real sinker

2009-05-20T00:18:00.004-04:00

More & more often, our cell phones go lots of places with us. And it is inevitable, that at some point, many people find their cell phone taking a swan dive into the nearest body of water... When this happens, you might think it's money & contact info down the drain... but this may not be the case.

A few years ago, I worked briefly as a customer service rep for a cellular company, as well as spent a couple years in other capacities for the company. The knowledge I gained there has been pretty helpful, I'm an expert at troubleshooting my own phone. One great tip that I picked up while there was how to handle a wet cell phone. I've shared it with a few people, most recently with one today, and decided it might make a good blog post, in an attempt to get the info out to lots of people faster.

So, if you find yourself in a situation where your phone is in the water, the first step is pretty simple:

GET IT OUT! The longer the phone is in the water, the less likely you might be to restore it.

The next step is very critical... DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT, attempt to turn the phone back on to see if it still works! The truth is, often times a phone can survive being dropped in water, as in most occasions, the phone powers itself off when it hits the water. When you try to turn the phone on, because there is water inside the phone, you then short the phone out, frying it, so to speak... Water + Electricity = BAD

Now, quickly remove the back of the phone and get the battery out. This is really important if your phone by chance didn't power off, because you need to temporarily "kill" the phone.

Grab a towel, and dry your phone. Dry all the visible places... inside where your battery case is, around the hinges, open the little covers that hide the charger openings (you can use a Q-tip to try to soak up some moisture there) If your phone flips or slides or anything, open that too. The key is to expose as much as possible of your phone to air.

Next place your phone on a clean dry towel.

Now walk away, that's right... just leave it... you've done all you can do, and now you must leave your phone to the elements... Depending on how long your phone was in the water (say I dropped it into the sink and immediately grabbed it back out, versus I went into the pool and forgot I had it on me) You'll want to let your phone dry out for anywhere from 24 - 48 hours. If you have a small fan, it wouldn't hurt to set it near the phone to provide some air circulation.

After 24-48 hours, come back and reassemble your phone. Attempt to power it on. If the cellular gods are smiling on you, your phone should power back on. If it doesn't at first, you may want to try plugging it in and charging it, some batteries lose their charge quickly when wet.

I've had personal experience, and my phone came through just fine. I've also heard some really weird stories of things people have suggested that ended disasterously, such as:

Freezing your phone: BAD IDEA... water expands when it's frozen... you could really do more harm than good, plus you're going to be allowing more moisture into the phone.

Baking your phone: You would have to be VERY careful and I would NOT recommend baking the battery. Even without the battery, the LCD screen can be very tempermental when exposed to heat.

Of course the best plan is prevention... but we know that it's not always possible.

*On a side note, I imagine you could use the same process for other small handheld electronics, like Ipods, etc... but I've never had personal experience with 'em

Staleness be gone - Kitchen Tip Tuesday

2009-05-19T01:24:00.003-04:00

It's Kitchen Tip Tuesday over at Tammy's Recipes. Be sure and check out her site for a variety of tips!

Ever reach into a sleeve of crackers only to realize they're stale? or perhaps a bag of chips that someone left the clip off of? Maybe in your morning fog you didn't close up your Cheerios... While I'm a huge proponent of repackaging items, using clips, etc to keep out the air... inevitably something is going to get stale. And nowadays, everyone is looking for ways to make their money go further...

So the next time you find yourself with some stale chips, crackers, or cereal... try one of these two ideas:

#1 - Microwave - Use the microwave, on high, at about 30 second intervals until the item is thoroughly heated (it will vary depending on your microwave & the amount of food you're working with). Just spread the stale chips, etc out on a paper towel & microwave. Afterwards let the food cool down, and you'll find they've crisped back up.

#2 - Toaster Oven/Oven - Spread out the stale cereal, etc on a baking sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes in a 300 degree oven until nice and toasty. Once cooled, you'll find they taste fresh again.

Breakfast Pizza

2009-05-17T12:16:00.002-04:00

Like most of my recipes, this is more of a method, you can embellish as you see fit to suit your tastes.

Ingredients:

1 small/med onion

2 T butter

Salt & Pepper

Small can of refridgerated biscuit dough (6 biscuits)

2-4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 lb breakfast sausage

3 eggs

1/2 cup milk

Start by cutting onion in half, and then slice fairly thin. Place onions in pan with butter. Season with salt & pepper. Start on Med/High for about a minute, then reduce down to Med/Low and continue to cook until the onions become soft and caramelized to your liking (depends on how much time I have) stirring periodically to prevent burning.

Brown & crumble the breakfast sausage (you could do this with the onions if you like, but if you want to cut down on excess grease, cook separately) then drain. This is where I took a short cut. I used precooked fake sausage crumbles because my roomie doesn't eat meat.

Roll out each biscuit individually until about 1/8 inch thin. It's easiest if it's done between two layers of waxed paper. Overlap the biscuits in an 8" or 9" pan/pie plate. I used a can of 6 biscuits, but these were fairly small biscuits, if your biscuits are bigger, you could probably get away with 4.

When the onions are done, spoon them onto the biscuits. Add the sausage as well. Sprinkle with cheese (you can use any kind of cheese, and more or less to your liking)

Whisk together the eggs & milk. Pour this mixture over the topped biscuits. Bake in a preheated oven (375) for about 20-25 minutes (until center is set). Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing and serve.

I forgot to take a picture until part of it had been served :)

Baked Asparagus

2009-05-12T23:17:00.005-04:00

Over at Tammy's Recipes, it's time for In Season Recipe Swap. I really like the idea of this recipe exchange, because it's all about using what's in abundance. This week's theme: Asparagus.

I've tried a few asparagus recipes. One of the new favorites in my house is one from Tammy's site, Creamed Asparagus Over Pasta. I only make 2 small changes to the recipe. (1) I go ahead and combine everything (the sauce, pasta & alfredo) in a casserole dish & bake it for a few minutes. (2) I add a pinch of nutmeg to the cream sauce. I like to add nutmeg to most cream sauces.

Hands down the favorite asparagus recipe in my house, and actually it's the easiest... is Baked Asparagus. It's more of a method than a recipe.

Start with the asparagus. You can use as few or as many stalks as will serve your family.

Snap or trim off the tough ends.

Lay the asparagus in a single layer in a baking pan.

Drizzle the asparagus with your favorite olive oil. (This is my favorite brand)

Toss the asparagus in the oil, so to coat them

Sprinkle with salt & pepper

I also sprinkle with shredded parmesean cheese sometimes

Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes

Serve warm

I like this recipe because it's so easy, I don't dirty any dishes except for my pan and it's done in less than 20 minutes without having to fuss over them, giving me time for whatever else I need to prepare. None of the ingredients are exact, just to your liking. I would guess it's about a tablespoon of olive oil, for an average bunch of asparagus. I just turn the bottle up and make one pass over the asparagus. I use a couple small pinches of salt & just a couple quick shakes of pepper. As for the cheese, I use it when I think to, but it's just as tasty without. You could substitute any hard cheese.

Make sure you go check out everyone else's recipes. I have a fridge drawer full of asparagus, so I'm excited to see some new recipe ideas.

Viva Las Vegas

2009-05-08T15:56:00.004-04:00

It gives me GREAT pleasure to say that I'm heading back to Vegas this fall!!! The first weekend of October to be more specific. This is a rather recent development, it was only decided YESTERDAY. My roomie & I visited Vegas in December of '07 for an awesome concert (Spice Girls) and yet another concert is bringing us back there this year.

Still looking at vacation packages, we just purchased our concert tickets yesterday. So who are we off to see? Kylie Minogue! This is her first U.S. tour... Ever... My roomie is a huge fan, and I like her music myself. She finally announced a small tour (only 7 shows at this time) for North America. We actually barely got the tickets, they had a presale yesterday that started at 1PM, and both my roomie & I were online, and had to keep refreshing for about 5 minutes before someone's tickets must have gotten released, and we managed to score a pair!

If you have any bargains you've heard about in Vegas, be sure and let me know. Last time we were there, we managed to score a few, but always up for suggestions.

Schoolin' and Such

2009-05-01T01:09:00.002-04:00

Well, back in January, I blogged that I had started my classes. I am happy to report that I am now going into my finals for each class. WooHoo! This semester has actually went by rather quick. I have just one final assigment/exam for each of my classes. And then...no break for me, beginning the week of May 10th, I will be starting summer school! Summer school will be 1 part catch up and one part get ahead.

I previously blogged that I was taking 3 classes & a lab (which is basically a 4th class) this semester. Unfortunately, I decided to withdraw from one of my classes. I was taking Comparative Religion and while the class itself had so much potential, and in the time that I was taking it, I discovered so many interesting tidbits, in the end, the class lacked the instructor input that I felt was needed in order to be successful. Each week we simply read a chapter and then posted our thoughts on a discussion board. We were graded on our posts, but our professor was very unclear about how he would grade the posts. We would only get one grade for all the posting for the entire semester and he provided practically no feedback on our comments. Additionally the few assignments were very vague. My biggest fear after being in the class for a month and a half was that when finals rolled around, I would have a final on unknown material. There just didn't seem to be a good compass for the class. So I withdrew, while I could still do so without it impacting my GPA. I will be replacing this class with a Women's Studies class in the fall.

My biology lab actually turned out to be very fun! Because the class was online, we had to purchase lab kits. We got to perform experiments at home! Some of it was challenging, because this was a new kit that they had not used previously, so adjustments in instruction had to be made, but I liked the class overall. And I now know how to extract DNA with everyday household ingredients!

Unless something goes terribly wrong, I should have an A in all 3 of the classes from this spring!

So, as for my summer classes. When I decided to drop my religion class, I knew that I needed to take at least one class during the summer to keep my fall schedule manageable. The first class I will be taking is public speaking. I DO NOT WANT TO TAKE THIS CLASS. Why? Well, the first reason being that while it is sometimes offered online, and I was holding out to see if it would be in the fall... they didn't... so I actually have to go to school (which means if I start working before the class ends, scheduling) and second, because I don't think I'll get the same benefit from the class. It's a requirement for the program I'm transferring into, and while I completely get why it's important for students... Having worked in professional settings, in management capacities, public speaking is something I've grown quite used to... but at least I was able to pick it up as an evening class for the summer... Just 3 evenings a week, for about 6 weeks... and my roomie also needs the class for his degree... so we're taking it together!

I'm also electing to take an additional economics class this summer. It's being offered by the same professor I have this semester. Since I'm familiar with his teaching style, I feel comfortable taking the class in an accelerated format (AND IT'S ONLINE). It will be picking up right around the time that my first summer class ends. This also means that I will only have to carry 7 hours (3 classes) in the fall to meet all my requirements for my transfer!

Sign of the times

2009-04-29T20:56:00.002-04:00

I was planning on posting a picture with this blog, which would have made it alot more interesting. Unfortunately, I got a little ahead of myself and tossed the box in the dumpster before I remembered.

So, on to the story. Last night, my roomie & I decided to grab pizza for dinner (he gets a great discount on Tuesdays, so it's super cheap) We picked up the order, and as we were leaving, I happened to notice the label on the box (the sticker that has your name, etc)... It said "Your Pizza Experience Was Managed By Christ"

Now I'm not trying to be sacrilegious or anything... but it truly is a sign of the times when the son of God has a part time job!

Homemade Croutons

2009-04-28T10:45:00.003-04:00

I love croutons... I'm not a fan of salad, but I snack on croutons... but have you ever looked at the ingredient list on some brands? Not to mention, it's actually pretty easy to turn ingredients you already have into yummy crunchy goodness without leaving home.

I'll share with you my method, it's not an exact recipe, because it will vary based on your personal preferences and the quantities you have on hand.

Start with your bread. You can use fresh bread or stale bread, doesn't really make a difference in the end. The only difference is that the fresher the bread, the longer it will stay in the oven, in order to dry it out. Most recently I made some croutons with some leftover Sourdough bread I had. It was a really rustic bread and had lots of flavor, but you can really use any bread you want.

Cube your bread, size is up to personal preferences. I usually cube mine in about 1 inch or so pieces, because I like jumbo croutons. If you make them smaller, they'll finish faster of course. You'll want them to be similiar in size, so they'll all finish at the same time.

Spread the bread out on a baking pan and drizzle with melted butter (for a full pan, I use about a 1/3 a cup of butter) you can use more or less, just eyeball it, the more butter you use, the better the end result. Sprinkle the bread with your favorite seasoning (I use garlic powder) and then toss the bread cubes to make sure they are coated as evenly as possible (you don't have to be perfect)

Bake the bread @ 300 degrees until lightly browned and completely dry. You'll want to stir them every 10 to 15 minutes. I usually bake mine for about an hour and 15 minutes. These are a good project for when you're cleaning the kitchen, etc, since you'll already be in there. After about 30 minutes, I usually take them out and drizzle/stir in some additional melted butter (maybe another 1/4 cup) and some more garlic powder.

When you think they are done, taste one... if it's chewy in the middle at all, go another 10 minutes and try again. At about the 1 hour mark, I take mine out and sprinkle in some grated Parmesean cheese (toss to coat) and let them go another 10 to 15 minutes. Once they're done, to ensure that they are completely dried out and nice and crunchy, I just turn the oven off and leave them in the oven to hang out for awhile.

You can store them in an airtight container, or in the freezer for longterm storage.

Want more great kitchen tips? Head over to Tammy's Kitchen for Kitchen Tip Tuesdays

What a monster eats

2009-04-23T10:55:00.002-04:00

Yes, her chew toy is not 6 inches away, but she would rather chew on a stray plastic container she found.

But she eats her greens too! On a plate no less!

Life with pets

2009-04-23T10:30:00.007-04:00

We recently bought a bookcase to fill some blank wall space in the living room. Previously there had been a large ottoman on that particular wall, but when we got the new living room set, the room was rearranged, and the ottoman was out. And we were stuck with a blank wall that just looked really bare. We went shopping looking for something to fill that space. We had some ideas, unfortunately, the stores weren't cooperating with our ideas. Everything we looked at was either not in our price range, too big, too small, or the wrong color. We finally ended up modifying our plans and switched to a grouping of items. This is how the bookcase came to be in our living room. For days, it sat empty while we figured out what was going on it. Well, except for the cats... who decided that this was their new multi level cat bed.

Finally, I started filling the shelves. We wanted the shelving to be functional (it needed to be a place our remotes could go, out of reach and maybe house some DVDs) but we didn't want it to be completely packed full of stuff, and end up looking cluttered. Our living room is small, and if the bookcase is overrun, it will just make the whole room feel cluttered. So far... I've got 3 shelves arranged... and then comes the decision... what goes on the last two shelves... because clearly, the cats still think that these two shelves are their bunk beds...

And of course, I somehow got a strange angle when I took this, and cutting off part of the shelf, because it looks crooked, but I'm looking at the shelf now and it's not.

A yummy mashed potato

2009-04-10T11:47:00.009-04:00

It seems that everywhere I read, people are pairing down their food budget, trying to economize, not be wasteful, etc. One of the popular ideas, that's been going on, on a few blogs, is skipping the grocery store, and just using what you have on hand. I'm trying this as well. Yesterday I made a baked mashed potato recipe. Well, it's not really a recipe, so much as a method. I've read several recipes, and I just blended a few together, based on what I had on hand.

Here's what I used:
Bag of Oreda Steam & Mash Potatoes

1% Milk

Sour Cream

Onion Powder

Neufchatel Cheese

Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend

2% Colby Cheese

Salt & Pepper (not pictured)

Cooking Spray (not pictured)

Now, you could always use regular potatoes to start this out, but I had these on hand, buried in my freezer, and they cook in the microwave, less hassle for me!

You can also use regular cream cheese, I just happened to have the Neufchatel on hand.

You could also use whatever sort of cheese you had, I think any would work equally.

Now, start by popping the potatoes in the microwave, according to package directions (mine took 10 minutes on high). While they are doing their thing, go ahead and cube up your Neufchatel and shred your cheese:

Once your potatoes are done, wait about 2 minutes, then carefully pop open the bag, and dump them into a bowl with your milk & butter blend (use quantities recommended from package).

You can mash these by hand, or mixer. If I'm making regular mashed potatoes, I usually will just do them by hand, so as not to overwork them, but since I was going to be incorporating other ingredients and wanted it to be smooth, I used my KitchenAid. Once you get the potatoes started, and they're about halfway mashed, go ahead and add in your cream cheese (8 oz block cubed), shredded cheese (about 2 oz), sour cream (I just grabbed a big spoonful), and the onion powder (I just sprinkled some in, I'm guessing, about a half a tsp):

Mix until combined and kinda smooth. Spray a casserole dish (I used 9x13) with cooking spray, then spread the potato mixture in the dish evenly. Sprinkle with salt & pepper, and dot with some additional butter.

Bake @ 350 for about 20-30 minutes, until heated through. Serve

I forgot to take the picture until some of it had been served up, but I think you get the idea :)

Fabulous 5

2009-04-10T11:23:00.008-04:00

So, here's the challenge. Go to your picture folders (or where ever you store them) and randomly select one subfolder (if you don't have subfolders, improvise) Then, select pic # 4, 7, 12, 16, & 22 (Again, if this folder doesn't have that many... just go with it) This probably works best if you're like me and have a folder that just seems to collect all sorts of random pictures with no real theme, there's always plenty of pics in the folder.

Here are mine:

This was taken a couple years ago on a trip to Vegas. It was the last night we were there, so we were walking around on the strip, trying to see/do as much as possible before going home. This shot is down by the Venetian, of course it was FREEZING out there, so it has hard to get a shot without shaking.

This is the hole in my backyard. They started semi filling it in with rocks when they were doing construction, now it's just there, one of these mornings, I'm going to be taking Zali out and I'll be half asleep, and when she starts down the incline (because heaven forbid she should pee on flat land) I'm going to lose my balance and go tumbling down this.

I'm a little behind on sorting, clipping, filing coupons. 'Nuff said.

I was just messing around with my camera when I took this picture, though one of my FAVORITE shows is on :)

These things are taking over my backyard

Very important rule

2009-03-27T00:52:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to share an important rule. After applying flea medicine to your pet, do not pet your pet (lol) where the medicine was applied, or snuggle up... unless you're thinking about getting your lip pierced or something, in which case, it would probably make a nice anesthetic.

Monday night, we were settling in to watch a movie, and the monster, aka Zali was curled up beside of me being sweet. So I nuzzled up to her, not thinking that just a couple hours beforehand we had put her Advantage on.

At first, I just noticed the smell on my hands (it surprisingly smells good, kinda tropical) then I notice that my lips are going numb. At which point I calmly ask my roomie to pause the DVD, and jump up heading for the kitchen. I grab the first cup I find and start rinsing my mouth out with water, repeatedly. Then I decide that just rinsing over my lips probably isn't 100% effective, so I grab the first thing I see (Dawn Dishwashing liquid) and quickly squirt some into my hand, and begin scrubbing my lips. After a few more rinses, I determine that's probably all I can do. My roomie has at this point called in to see what I'm doing, so I make my way back to the living room, giving him the story.

Thankfully, my lips are still attached just fine!

Consumer Research at it's finest

2009-03-25T08:45:00.005-04:00

Do you like getting freebies in the mail? I love it, especially when they are not your run of the mill freebies. I'm not going to take the time to bullet out the places you can go for free samples, there are plenty of other sites that do that. What I want to share today, is my review of some neat programs you can sign up for that may just leave you with a surprise in your mailbox.

First up:

BzzAgent

BzzAgent is a "word of mouth" advertising program. They work with a variety of companies that want to advertise by giving away a select number of their product. How it works is simple. You sign up via their website and complete a basic profile. You then will also randomly complete brief surveys, etc that help guage your particular interests. When a campaign opens that matches your demographics, you'll be alerted to sign up. You get a "bzzcampaign" package in the mail with all the necessary items. My roomie & I both participate in this. I can't even begin to remember everything they've sent us... Just last week, I got a Glade Sense 'n Spray. A couple months ago, I got one of the new Cover Girl Lip Inks. About a year ago, my roomie got sent a Logitech Universal Remote (It's an AWESOME remote, with touch screen, etc... that retails for $200). Sometimes I go months and don't get anything, but then again, it's not like I'm working for them either. In exchange, after you've tried the product, they want you to create buzz about it, positive or negative depending on how much you like it. They usually give you coupons you can share, etc. You then complete surveys, etc and let them know how you shared. Pretty simple.

Up Next:

Pssst from General Mills

Pssst is a program General Mills offers, that allows you to learn more about new products and promotions. Most of what I have received from them has been in the form of coupons emailed to me. However l also received a package from them yesterday. Inside was a full size box of a new flavor of Fiber One Granola Bars (a 5 ct box) AND coupons! I didn't even request it, they just sent it! Pretty cool...

Moving on to:
SheSpeaks

SheSpeaks is a website for women, about women, by women. It's a forum, that contains all sorts of topics for women. The website itself is pretty interesting. There are also a variety of market research opportunities they offer from time to time. I've received chocolate, vitamin C packets... and today I'm receiving a Haagen-Daaz Party Package... Yup... they are sending me a package of their 7 new pints of Haagen-Daaz, along with coupons, and goodies to do an ice cream tasting party.

So what are you waiting for? There are others out there, and over the next few weeks, I'll try to share more of the programs I participate in. But for now, I've got some ice cream to watch for!

Some deals around town

2009-03-23T13:50:00.003-04:00

Here's a couple of my favorite deals I've spotted recently:

Meijer:
I'm a greeting card person, I love them. I stopped in Meijer this weekend, and as I walked through the card section, I noticed some coupon tearpads. Meijer has a coupon for $2 off when you buy 3 American Greetings cards. They also have an assortment of cards for just $.99 each. That means you get 3 cards for $1 - The coupon is good through April 12th

Kroger:
I just happen to LOVE the new Cherry Diet Dr Pepper. Kroger has a sale right now, you buy 2 - 12 packs of any Dr Pepper and you get one free. Which makes them $2.34 each... not a bad deal. However, if you've already been buying Dr Pepper (or if you want to repeat this transaction) many of the 12 packs are advertising a $1 coupon inside. If you use 3 of these (because you are purchasing 3 12 packs) you can get the 3 - 12 packs for just $4 or $1.33 each

( I can see the mountain of Dr Pepper I shall be constructing, lol)

Yummyupdated

2009-03-10T16:23:00.003-04:00

Crystal over at MSM is having a Baking Day. Sounded appealing, but I wasn't in the mood to spend all day in the kitchen with the oven going, but I thought it was a good idea to get a few things knocked out of the way for later. So I decided to join in. I've mixed up:

French Breakfast Puffs - Popping them in the freezer to enjoy throughout the week
Baked Pasta - Going in the freezer for later this week
Soup Beans - Possible dinner tonight for roomie
Frito Crockpot Candy - Intrigued me, so I decided to try them, they are yummy!

*Update, I also whipped up some yummy breadsticks, no photo, sorry :)

And I made some cornbread to go with the beans for my roomie :)

My new KitchenAid stand mixer really got a good workout today!

Life with the monster

2009-03-05T18:41:00.002-05:00

Anyone who doesn't think that a pet isn't like a child should try living in my house for a week. While there are some obvious differences, trust me when I say that parenting a puppy can be even more difficult than parenting a child. So, several months ago, I shared with you about our new addition Zali. In the months since she has moved in she has brought many joys and many frustrations, such as "the candy corn incident" and of course she was officially dubbed "the monster" awhile back after devouring a few remote controls.

I am continuously amazed at how she learns new skills to both dazzle and try us. In fact as I am sitting here trying to type this post, I am being targeted with a ferocious onslaught of doggie love. Like any parent, I am the master at holding a wiggly child in one hand while cleaning up a mess with the other.

I think that Zali's goal is to teach us new lessons, I'm still trying to figure out what yesterday's lesson was exactly. Yesterday Zali became obsessed with soda cans. She managed to find one everytime I turned my back, and I would be alerted to her discovery by the cruching of the can. She even proceeded after having a can taken away from her, to hop onto the couch, near where a small table was. She sat behind the table, calm as could be, and punched with one paw (think kickboxing) and successfully knocked a empty can my roomie had finished earlier to the floor.

About 30 minutes later, I was sitting in the living room and I heard one of the cats make a strange noise, I peered around my laptop to discover that it was Smokie (Zali's favorite unwilling partner in crime) who was laying on his side, with the most peculiar look on his face. Why? Because Zali had plopped down and made herself comfy, using him as a bench.

I can't help but to wonder what comes next. And just when I think that the little monster is going to drive me mad, she comes up, cuddles beside of me and lays her head on my leg.

Perseverance and Lessons Learned

2009-03-03T11:37:00.002-05:00

Lessons I learned this weekend:

1. Pizza Sauce is not a good tool for mopping the kitchen floor

2. Just a little butter will ensure a clean release of pizza dough from the pan

3. Egg whites are a great way to glue your waxed paper to your baking sheet

Saturday evening, I decide to make a homemade pizza for dinner. This can be a time consuming process, but the results are worth it. I started by making some dough. Next after getting the dough into a pan, I topped with my yummy homemade pizza sauce. What happened next, is still unclear, but somehow as I turned away to call to my roommate to come into the kitchen to help with toppings, I bumped the pan, and it fell from the counter. And of course... it flipped on the way down, landing sauce side down. You can imagine the fun of cleaning up this saucy, doughy mess, all while trying to keep the monster at bay!

Fast forward a bit, I recently bought a new Kitchen Aid stand mixer, and decide I wanted to give making meringues a shot. So of course it would only make since that the perfect time to start such a finicky recipe would be after having already had a dinner fiasco... Unfortunately, I pulled the meringues a little too soon from the bowl, and they hadn't quite reached the right stage.

Meringues take about 2 hours to bake, so an hour later when I peeked in the oven, and looked at the sad little meringue blobs... they had completely melted flat onto the pan. So I turned the oven off, and decided to wait until morning, to deal with the cleanup. I got up Sunday morning to find that the meringues, in their melting process, had completely glued themselves and the waxed paper to the baking sheet.

I did however succeed in making a pizza the second night. And yesterday, I made my second attempt at meringues, these turned out MUCH better.

Trying to decide what my next kitchen disaster will be :)

Spring Cleaning

2009-02-26T09:08:00.002-05:00

Anyone looking for a random kitchen accessory/appliance? I'm going through the cabinets and drawers, and trimming down the things I have no use for, or have multiple of. I've decided that there are just too many things not getting enough use, and things that I'll never get around to using, etc... so I've started a box of things I no longer have a use for. Now I just need to decide what to do with it all. Having a yard sale isn't very practical here, so I think I'm going to start craiglisting it all. I'm also going to post some of the things up here on this blog, so if you're local and I have something you might be interested in, you can let me know. I'm also open to barter/trade for any of the items.

I haven't had a chance to take any pics, but if you're in the market for some dishes, an electric mixer, a turbo cooker, or a "GT express" let me know. I also have a coffee table and an ionic hair straightener I'm getting rid of as well

What's for dinner?

2009-02-23T20:16:00.002-05:00

I tried a new recipe from Tammy's Recipes for Spinach Rice Casserole. I am not a spinach eater myself, but my roomie thought it was quite good!

It's a pretty simple recipe, I made a couple minor modifications to the original, based on what I had on hand:

9 or 10 ounces fresh spinach leaves ( some people who reviewed the recipe used frozen, I went ahead and picked up fresh, it was on sale)
1 tablespoon water (I used a couple extra tablespoons of water)
1 teaspoon dried onion or 2 tablespoons of fresh, minced onion (Didn't have either, used 1/2 tsp onion powder instead)
1 cup cooked rice (measurement is after cooking, not before) (I had a pack of 2 of the Minute Rice cups that already cooked, that you microwave to heat up, since I was cooking the rice in the casserole, I didn't bother to microwave, used both cups, which equalled a little over a cup, but worked great!)
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon sal
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Start by wilting down your spinach leaves. I did this by dropping about half of them into a large pan with a couple tablespoons of water, over low-med heat. Pop a lid on, and periodically turn the leaves as the bottom ones wilt. As there is room in the pan, add more leaves until you get all of the leaves worked in. Once all the leaves are wilted down, remove from heat and allow to cool. (I removed the spinach to another dish, and spread them out so they would cool quicker) I prefer doing this because if you try to add the hot spinach to the rest of the dish, you can end up cooking the eggs a bit prematurely, which wouldn't be that tasty.

Mix the rest of the ingredients together. Stir in spinach. Place in a greased 8x8 casserole and bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes, or until middle is just set (you can check this with a fork) Keep in mind that you'll have some carryover cooking, so it'll finish once you pull it from the oven and let it stand.

Some great deals out there

2009-02-13T15:14:00.003-05:00

Have you filed your taxes and now you want to treat yourself to something with your refund? Well, I'm not suggesting that you blow all of it, but there's nothing wrong with a great bargain.

I'm a big fan of Wisebread.com - They have a Best Deals link that gets updated throughout the day with the best that's out there on the web.

One great deal they alerted me to... courtesy of Fat Wallet... is that through Feb 28th Amazon.com is offering $20 off instantly from your $49 or more in selected Andis products. You just enter code ANDSFEB9 at your checkout. You can click HERE for the post and it has a link to the Andis products in the Amazon store. I was able to snag 2 new hair dryers (one for me & one for my roomie) and a new flat iron (all of which were on sale!) for $53, less the $20 = $33, and then I had $29 in Amazon gift cards from my banking rewards... Grand total was around $7 and shipping was free!!!!

Remember, before you decide to make a big purchase, do a little homework, there are plenty of bargains to be had!

Just for fun, vote for me!

2009-02-12T12:14:00.002-05:00

There is a little contest going on that I entered, so I am shamelessly plugging my entry :) (it's ok, you're supposed to tell your friends, and my readers are my friends!) Just go to this link Before noon on Friday (tomorrow) and vote for "Melissa" PLEASE & Thank you!

Here's my entry (which can be seen on the page) It looks better on the page, because I can't get this version of it to sparkle :)

Free Breakfast Tomorrow (Tuesday)

2009-02-02T09:20:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow (Feb 3rd) Denny's Restaurant is giving away a free grand slam breakfast to everyone. Click here for details

Some great deals abound!

2009-01-23T10:09:00.002-05:00

You'll have to use your imagination on this one for right now... I took pictures of my shopping trip with my phone, but last week I had modified the settings on my camera, and I can't figure out where it's saving the pictures!

So anyways, it's been awhile since I've shared some bargains, yesterday I managed to score some amazing deals. My kitchen cabinets are thoroughly stocked with all sorts of things.

First stop was Kroger, they're doing some really good sales this week. They have one of those promotions where if you can get $5 off your order for buying 10 products from certain groups.

Kraft Cheese is part of this sale. It's on sale for 1.99 for a variety of slices, shredds, cubes and chunks. There is also this little blinkie in some of the Kroger's that will give you a $.75 off one Kraft 2% variety. I usually buy the 2% varieties anyway, so this was a great deal. Between pizzas and casseroles, salads, sandwiches, snacks, pasta, etc... cheese will definitely be used in this house, and I had the fridge space... so I actually bought 10 packs of Kraft cheese! (Yes, I know it sounds like alot!) I got 7 bags of shredded, 1 pack of slices, and 2 blocks of Colby.
Let's look at the cost:
Kraft Cheese on sale for 1.99 each X 10 = 19.90
Less 10 blinkies for .75 : 19.90 - 7.50 = 12.40
Less $5 for purchasing 10 promotion: 12.40 - 5 = $7.40

$7.40 isn't a bad deal at all for 10 packs of cheese, it makes the cheese just $.74 a pack

Quaker Rice Cakes were on sale for $1 each, I had coupons from recent insert for $1 off, making them free.

Hormel Chili is on sale for $1 a can (Kev eats the vegetarian variety for lunch sometimes) and it's part of the "10/$5" promotion. I also had some coupons for $.55 off 2 cans from last week's inserts. I think I bought 8 cans total.

Rotel Canned Tomatoes are on sale for $1 and part of the same promotion, I had some $.30 off coupons (Kroger doubles to $.60 off) from last week's inserts, so I picked up some of those as well.

Kleenex Tissue is on sale for $1.59 and is part of the sale, I had some $.40 manufacturer's coupons from recent inserts, so that went into the mix as well.

Horizon Organic Single Serve milk is on sale for $1, there were recent coupons for $.25 off one (doubled) - I picked up a couple to use for cooking (I don't drink milk, Kev only drinks Soy)

I can't remember all the rest of the bargains, but those were the highlights. If I find my pics I'll update.

At Mejier, I worked a few good deals, the best being Kellogg's Cereal deal :

Kellogg's Cereal (select varieties) is on sale for $3 a box. If you buy 4 boxes, you get $2 off your transaction. I bought 4 boxes = $12 - $2 off - 2 Coupons for B1G1Free peelies - 2 $1 coupons = $2 for 4 boxes of cereal.

My grand total's for shopping:

Well at Kroger, my total when I checked out was $38 for $137 worth of groceries. However, I had bought an air freshner that was a holiday scent and was supposed to be $5.24 (and it had a $3 peelie on it, so it would have been $2.24) but it rang up as $10.49. I stopped at customer service and they checked, and told me since it rang up incorrectly, they were giving me the item free, so they refunded me the FULL purchase price of $11.12 (with tax) so my total at Kroger was only around $27! (It pays to check receipts!)

At Meijer, my total was around $32, but I had one transcation that didn't discount, so they gave me a $2 off my next purchase.

And I'm pretty stocked on the essentials now!

Want to know more of how I save big at the store, just ask! I'll be happy to share my tips!

The monster in my house

2009-01-19T10:49:00.002-05:00

There is a monster in my house. As a child, we sometimes are afraid of the monster in the closet or under the bed. Thankfully, I am not afraid of this monster, in fact, I'm quite smitten with her. She's a monster none the less. I willingly allowed this monster into my house.

This monster comes in the form of a 5 and a half month old puppy, named Zali. Have you seen the movie "Marley & Me" yet? This is Zali... and while I'm happy that she won't age at the speed of a 2 hour movie... I wouldn't mind getting past this puppy phase.

Being a puppy means that Zali is into anything and EVERYTHING she can get het little teeth on. And she is suprisingly swift when your back is turned. I have had not one, but 2 planners devoured... and with the second one, I do mean DEVOURED.

She has managed to climb into laundry shelves, and ate laundry pre treater! Just last week... I made the mistake of thinking my coupon binder was out of her reach... TWICE in one day! The second time did it in... and now I've got a few hours to spend putting together all the little slips of paper I came home to find spread across the living room floor. Suprisingly, she didn't eat the coupons... just the binder!

Saturday morning, when my roomie & I came downstairs, Kev discovered that he had forgot and left his cell phone on the couch... That morning, when he let her out, he left her downstairs to catch a little more sleep. She decided to start making phone calls! Luckily his phone only had a couple small scratches to the back.

Yesterday, I had the misfortune of leaving my cell phone down... and she managed to get her teeth on it. I do admit I become a bigger fan of my phone everyday... she actually chewed the back off the phone and it still works! Luckily I have a replacement back!

For all the terror that she brings to the house, she also brings joy. She is so loving and affectionate that you can't hold a grudge long. Sometimes, she gets herself into something she can't get out of. Below is a prime example. Friday evening, we were in the living room watching tv, and I suddenly realized that I hadn't heard from her in a bit. I wandered into the kitchen and found her with her head stuck in a Pepsi box. She wasn't moving... just standing there... I think she was freaked out. So I did what any pet parent would do... I quickly called Kev to come see... and then we grabbed the camera to take a picture... then rescued her!

My house, the obstacle course...

2009-01-14T10:24:00.002-05:00

I realized this morning that my house is an obstacle course. Now you might think that this is due to my housekeeping skills... and you would be wrong.

Just this morning, I woke up and as I approached the darkened landing upstairs, eyes still have closed with sleep, I feel something at my feet. Instinctively, I raise my leg and attempt to step over this obstacle that is preventing me from making it into said landing from my bedroom. Ha! If only it were that easy, no, I guess I should have mentioned that my house is not only an obstacle course, but an ever changing obstacle course. For you see... as I stand, balanced on one foot, each place I attempt to put my other foot, I suddenly encounter another obstacle. And just as I finally manage, mainly due to the fact that one doesn't really have much balance when they are half asleep, to land a foot to the ground, I am suddenly thrown off balance as the afor mentioned obstacle brushes against me.

Somehow I manage to make my way on into the landing, and luckily down the stairs without further incident... this time...

I think pets have a wicked sense of humor. I can only imagine that in their mind, the thought is " Oooh, there she goes, let's watch her dance! Ha! Right foot up, oooh, she's going to the left, gotcha! Take that! I'll purr now, she will think I just want attention!"

And don't even get me started on the audience you get when trying to use the bathroom!

making my way back into my blog

2009-01-12T11:39:00.002-05:00

So, I've been a tad bit incognito online as of late. I guess a combination of the holidays, getting ready for school, my job ending and life in general just really messed with my routine. I'm still trying to sort out a new routine for myself, and have been meaning to blog, heck I've even drafted up a couple blogs, but each time I abandoned without finishing.

This time I'm just going to dive right in, ramble on for a few minutes and call it a day. At least you'll know what's going on in my world!

So the holidays were great here, a bit chaotic, many of my best laid plans didn't get accomplished, but in the end, joyous times were spent with friends and family. That's really all I could ask for!

So I'm not working now. My contract ended a tad bit prematurely, on Dec 19th. It was somewhat expected, somewhat unexpected. I was originally supposed to depart sometime in Nov, then it was extended until the end of Dec, then it was extended until the end of Feb, then I found out I was going to be off for 2 weeks at Christmas, and then finally, due to economic tightening, the contract was ended as of the Christmas break. I was already planning on being through with that contract in February, so I was somewhat prepared, it did suck however that I had to join the ranks of the unemployed quicker than I expected.

I mentioned a couple months ago that I was headed back to school this semester. I am pleased to report that I am officially back in school. Today was Day 1 for me of the new semester. I don't remember all the pre-start stuff (getting books, getting registered, etc...) being as cumbersome the first time around, then again, I'm a few (alright more than a few) years older this time around.

I'm taking 3 classes & a lab. I have an Economics class, a Comparitive Religion class, a Bio class and a Bio lab. Thankfully I am able to complete all classes online. Tricky part being, I have to hold myself accountable for actually doing everything. There is no daily class schedule. I do have assignments due, etc on weekly/monthly basis... Now I just have to be the adult and get them turned in!

My biggest struggle is trying to get a routine down, not just for school, but for life in general. Not working makes it weird. I have plenty of time, yet I feel I have no time at all. Trying to figure out what time to get up, a normal eating schedule - so that I'm not just constantly snacking, etc. This is the tricky part. I do appreciate that I can hang out in my pj's all day though.

Well I think I'm going to wrap this one up for now. I will be back on later today or tomorrow, as I get back into the regular routine of blogging!

Not me...

2008-12-29T22:27:00.002-05:00

So it's Monday (well, for at least another hour or so...) This of course means that I must report in on the things that I didn't do. Actually, that would probably be the truth of it... in the past week especially, there were alot of things that I managed to avoid/forget/skip.

Of course, it wasn't me who didn't blog at all last week. I mean, I wasn't working, so wouldn't that mean I had an extra 40 hours... Surely I did blog, they probably were just in that new invisible computer ink.

I didn't run out of time on Christmas Eve, and resort to simply stashing EVERYTHING in the garage before family arrived. No, that doesn't sound like something I would do, because of course I was off work all week, and would have had more time for things like cleaning & getting things ready. I know it also could not have been me who didn't make a single Christmas cookie until AFTER Christmas, and then just a pack of Toll House... with all the ingredients that I have in my house...

Speaking of after Christmas, it wasn't me who waited until after Christmas to pick up sale items to use as gifts, not for next year, but for people who I knew I wasn't going to get to see until after Christmas anyways...

It was not me who still didn't get to finish Christmas cards... but went ahead and bought cards for next year on clearance. I mean even marked down to $1 a box wouldn't be a good deal for the person who just stores them to look at herself!

It was not me who headed into the kitchen this morning with the thought of making waffles, but decide to have a left over piece of peanut butter fudge instead. That sounds like the kind of person who would petition for peanut butter fudge to be it's own food group...

I'm also not the girl who has been running around with her hair in a ponytail almost 24/7 for the last WEEK to avoid the hassle of fixing it. I also didn't decide to try out my new black nail polish by painting one of my toes, and then never getting around to painting the rest...

Well, since it's getting late, and I'm getting sleepy, I guess that's all I can think of for now that I didn't do. McmMama over at MyCharmingKids has a wee one in the hospital, so there's not a link for posts this week, but I'm sure your prayers would be appreciated!

Tagged

2008-12-23T07:38:00.004-05:00

Natalie over at A little of this, a little of that tagged me. Pretty simple, just have to go to 6th picture folder and find the 6th picture... and hope like heck that it's a pic you remember why you took, so you can tell everyone, lol.

Here goes:

Well, I think that most people should be able to figure out that's Hillary Clinton. This pic was taken over the summer. My roomie, another friend & I went to Frankfort to hear her speak. It was HOT that day, both waiting outside AND inside waiting. But we were right up front, I got her autograph. Though she didn't secure the nomination, I am glad I had the opportunity to meet her.

Feel free to join in & link back

Christmas according to me

2008-12-18T09:33:00.004-05:00

Antique Mommy was sharing some absolutely important and worth memorizing Christmas information over on her blog. I love when reading another person's blog gives me a topic for my own, especially since I seem to be swamped these days!

So here goes:

I grew up with the SAME Christmas tree in my house from my first Christmas all the way up to in my 20's. It was a white tree my mom bought out of the box as a display model right before my first Christmas... for YEARS I thought people who had green trees were just weird! When I moved out on my own, mom even bestowed it on me. Now that the tree has been laid to rest (I still did keep a bough of it that I decorate) I have a new tree. I couldn't find a white one I liked, but this one is a blueish green, which is prolly the next best thing.

My first Christmas season on my own was the Christmas of the dueling Christmas trees. Both myself & my roomie had brought trees and he liked his green one better than my white one... and well... Green trees are weird... They sat in the living room, opposite of each other. His kept falling over! I had nothing to do with this!

I am 30 years old, and I will still wake up by 5 AM on Christmas morning... I think it has been this way since I was born... it is beyond me how people sleep in... It's Christmas people!! When my younger brothers came along, my mom told me I couldn't open presents until they woke up. My brother Ray wanted to sleep till 10 AM!!! I used to still get up early... go dig through my stocking... go dig through everyone else's stocking, trade any candy I wanted :) and then go sit in my brother's room and poke him until he woke up! Yes, I was a loving child.

This year, there is no Christmas tree up in my house. The new little monster would be only too happy to make that her next chew toy. I got this cute little Charlie Brown mini tree - not sure where it's going yet.

Any decorations put up this year will have to be above waist high... see above comment abuot little monster for any explanation you need. That being said, most all of my decor is still boxed up. It will make it's way out... eventually

My favorite Christmas song is The Twelve Days of Christmas. Each year I go with friends & family to Southern Lights and when we get to that light display, I begin seeking, providing entertainment for all (they say they don't like it, but I know they do.) Though sometimes I have to sing it fast to keep up with the light displays.

I make a holiday punch that changes just a bit every year. I don't have a recipe. It's more of a method. I put whatever looks good when I'm shopping in it. It's very sweet usually, which is the PERFECT excuse to mix it with Arbour Mist. My mother likes it as well.

I don't put alot of pressure on myself to find the perfect gift. I also don't want others to stress about what to get me, because if I really want something, I just go buy it myself.

This year, Christmas Eve is at my house... I'm serving Pizza!!! I actually think Christmas dinner would be complete with Pizza & turkey... (turkey... mmmmmm) and cookies... there must be cookies

So that's Christmas according to me.... Feel free to share your own thoughts, ideas, traditions, or whatever else you wanna share!

Exactly which Elmo is this?

2008-12-17T09:04:00.001-05:00

Great Expectations and Small Jubilations

2008-12-16T15:24:00.003-05:00

I read a post from Rachel who blogs at SmallNotebook. She did a guest post on MoneySavingMom which you can read here. She was sharing the more simplistic approach that she takes to Christmas. She doesn't get all caught up in the "keeping up with the Joneses" in order to throw a more lavish spread than those around her. Not saying that there is anything wrong with going all out for Christmas. This year, I'm going for a semi simple approach. Partly because of time constraints, the economy, etc... and partly because of the monster residing in my house!

I still don't really have much in the way of Christmas decor out. I've given up on even putting anything out until this upcoming weekend. I'll be off work for at least 2 weeks after Friday (perhaps even longer) so I will have a bit more time to get everything out. I hope to put up some pics once I have! That being said... Christmas decor will be kept to a minimum this year... because Zali, aka Monster, is a bit chew happy, so my Christmas tree is staying boxed up this year. I've tried experimenting with some decor on the entertainment center, and well... it's not going to well... she's pretty feisty when we're not around. I guess I'll be more creative in decorating from the waist level & up in my house!

I am having my family come to my place for Christmas eve. I'm going to keep it pretty casual, make a homemade pizza, some appetizers, punch & we're going to watch a movie as a family. For Christmas Day, I'll drive to my parents house.

I do plan on doing some baking... still haven't decided what, I guess I'll decide next week when I'm off.

It wasn't me

2008-12-15T09:58:00.002-05:00

So it's Monday, the rain is pouring, and I would much rather be snoring! But since I'm up... It's that time.

I certainly did not decide to write up this blog while I'm at work, no if I was at work, I would most certainly be on the phone with someone in England or emailing someone in Australia, not playing with my blog.

I did not run and grab dinner last Friday, only to come back home and sit in front of my house, eating it in my car so as to avoid the begging eyes of my four legged children while I tried to enjoy the food. No, that wouldn't have been me. It also wasn't me who stopped at Walgreens to buy a Christmas present and ended up buying more outdoor Christmas decorations... especially since the inside of my house has not been decorated yet.

I am not the person who routinely leaves the ringer turned off on her cell phone and convienently leaves it in another room so that she doesn't have to actually ignore a call when I would rather veg out or sleep in. No that would be irresponsible, definitely not me.

I most certainly have not postponed many household tasks that need to be done, with the excuse that I will be off for 2 weeks at Christmas and can get everything done then. That would mean that my garage is overflowing and the dining room table is stacked up with stuff for the garage, and is probably why the Christmas decorations haven't made it out yet... Nope not me.

I know it wasn't me who saw the little monster chewing on a box this morning and decided to leave her be, because that meant she was leaving me to get ready in peace this morning. I also was not the one who suggested to roomie that we meet for lunch today because I didn't feel like rummaging through cabinets and really didn't want peanut butter sandwiches for lunch.

I also did not forget to drop my prescription off EVERY single day last week, except for Saturday, only to remember that Kroger's pharmacy closes early on the weekends. I also did not say, well I will get up first thing Sunday morning and drop it off, only to be still sitting here on Monday with my prescription in my hand. Nope, couldn't have been me, because I would know that I only have a certain window of time... and then my face will start flaring up...

And I know that I certainly did not still avoid finishing Christmas cards this weekend... I mean if that were the case, I might as well wait until next year or something like that :)

Be sure and visit Charming Kids if you want to see what other people didn't do!

Be nice

2008-12-12T09:54:00.002-05:00

Does anyone remember those old commercials, I believe they were from Pantene, the "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful" ones? I recently had an incident that somehow made me think about that commercial.

On Wednesday, I was skimming through my email, and noticed that JCPenney had emailed me a $15 off $15 coupon! I printed the coupon out, and figured it would come in handy. Later that day, I saw another email from them, about their sale that was going on that day, with "Huge doorbusters all day, etc" so I thought, "what the heck, I'll go out tonight, might be able to stretch that $15 even further!"

I got to the mall, and went to the store, I didn't need anything in particular, and I'm pretty much settled on Christmas gifts, so my roomie & I decided to head up to housewares. This was where most of the deals were to be found, so I figured I could find something useful. I browsed through the entire section, finally deciding on this roasting pan set. (It's a really nice set, btw!) It was a great deal. It was originally $39.99, on sale for $19.99 and had a $10 mail in rebate. With my coupon, I'd only pay $5 for it, and either get that $5 back, or depending on how the manufacturer does their rebates, actually make an extra $5!

So we go up to the register. The lady working seems pleasant enough... She rings up the item and gives me the total. I hand her the coupon. She looks at me and says, I don't think that it will let me take the coupon for that. I politely stand there and wait for her to give it a shot. In the meanwhile, another lady was approaching, and I guess she saw/overheard the conversation, she had a similiar coupon ($10/$10) - she politely pipes in that the gentleman downstairs explained to her that it would be good off of anything. The cashier then looks at her and tells her that it will not work on everything, and that for example it won't work on the appliance she's holding. She tells her that if she wants to tell her what department this guy was in, she'll call down there and tell him he's handing out wrong information.

Now the whole time, this lady's (cashier) voice is pleasant enough, she has a friendly voice, but the tone she's using and the statements she's making, combined with the facial expressions, body language, are giving off a quite different impression. The other customer leaves the area and the cashier proceeds to begin keying in the coupon. And she's visibly annoyed, she had to key the coupon in twice because she miskeyed it the first time. I continue to stand politely, not speaking, waiting for her to finish. When she gets finished, suprisingly enough, the coupon worked. I scan my card, and pay for the item. That's when it gets really fun.

When the receipt prints out, it also prints out the rebate form. The cashier looks at it, and is standing there holding all of it. She looks up at me and says "Hmmph, looks like this has a $10 rebate, but I don't see how you're going to get a rebate, since you only paid $5 for it to start with!" Then she hesistates, as if she's waiting for me to tell her to just toss it or something. Instead I just smile and wait while she finally hands me my receipt. Out the store I go!

So, why did that remind me of the "Don't hate me..." commercial... Simply because that's not the first time I've been shopping and scored a great deal, only for the employee to think I'm somehow cheating the system. And that's not the only place it happens. To be fair, we've all been guilty of it I'm sure... You go to the store and notice the person checking out in front of you got a great clearance deal on a jacket you bought for full price last month, or even just has a better set of coupons than you do.

The way I see it, we are currently living in some very troubling times. Let's face it, our economy sucks! People are losing their jobs, their homes, everything... every day. We're all feeling the strains of the world right now. Let's not begrudge each other when one of us figures out how to actually make it work. Let's celebrate each other's successes just as much as our own. The world is bad enough without us having to tear each other down!

The ten spot

2008-12-12T09:34:00.005-05:00

So, what exactly can $10 get you these days. You definitely can't get pizza delivered for that, and most drive thru value meals for 2 will run you more than that. That's not to say that you can't stretch that $10. I did just that yesterday... with change to spare!

I stopped in at Kroger last night. The above pic is a shot of my purchases. The grand total: $8.96

My total before savings would have been $57 - so that's about 85% savings

I bought:

2 Boxes General Mills Cereal (Cinnamon Toast Crunch & Trix) @ $3 each

2 Boxes Chex Mix Bars (Turtle) @ $2.50 each

3 Boxes Strawberry Poptarts @ $1.78 each

3 Bottles of Hairspray @ $1.11 each

3 Bags Lifesavers Candy @ $1 each

1 Can of Hairspray @ $2.18

4 Trial Size FiberChoice Tablets @ $2.19 each

1 Almay Makeup Remover Towlettes @ 2.99

1 Maybelline Mineral Makeup @ $1.69 (clearanced)

I used

$1/2 Cereal Coupon (Internet Printable)

$1.25 off Chex mix bars (x 2) (I.P.)

$1 peelie off poptarts (x3)

$.50 off any Suave (doubled) that was a peelie on the products (x4)

$1 off Lifesavers MFN (x 3)

$2 off FiberChoice (hang tag on some of the other products) x 4

$2 off Almay Product (From the Kmart Beauty Book)

$2 off Maybelline Mineral Foundation MFN

I also got the $4 off your order for buying 4 select General Mills products.

A great way to get Entertainment Book for Free!

2008-12-11T09:31:00.002-05:00

I was reading through some different blogs, it seems everyone has Entertainment books on sale right now, and there are lots of ways to get them pretty cheap. I finally ran across one that will make it FREE! If you don't know what the "Entertainment" book is, you can click on the link, basically it's a coupon book for your local area that gives you a ton of discounts, etc.

If you want to pick one up for free - here's how:

Start by going to Cashbaq and joining if you have not joined already. They are actually giving $5 just for signing up, so you'll actually make an extra $5!

From the main page at Cashbaq, you'll see the link to the Entertainment book, which if you follow their link, is on sale for $25, and is being discounted $10 when you buy through that link. This brings the cost down to $15. (WITH FREE SHIPPING)

When you are order the book, you'll be given the option of signing up for "auto-renewal" for future editions you'll get $5 off your order, bringing the cost of the book to just $10. You'll get an email notice when the next edition comes out next year, and you can cancel it if you're like me and will be looking for another great deal :) I always mark these down in my calendar so I don't forget!

You'll check out and pay the $10, but Cashbaq will be refunding you the $10 through their site! And if you were new to Cashbaq, you'll actually be getting $5 more, so you'll get paid to get the book.

Not a bad deal if I do say so myself. I was originally planning on picking up the book for cheap at Walgreens, but Free is better :)

Going to extremes?

2008-12-10T09:45:00.004-05:00

I was reading an interesting blog by Mary over at Owlhaven. She posed the question of is there a point in which frugal becomes TOO frugal? So, I started thinking, exactly how "frugal" am I?

Being a young 30-Something, I've often found that some of my friends think my ability to stretch a dollar or acquire things cheaply is pretty cool. Others probably not so much. And even amongst the ones who are amazed at my spending, some don't often think it's something that they would do themselves, sometimes citing lack of time, lack of knowledge, lack of patience, or unwillingness to stoop to using coupons, etc. I get it, to an extent. So before I get into figuring out how frugal I am, I could probably start with why I am in the first place.

I will say, right off the bat, that the word "Frugal" probably leaves a bad taste in people's mouths. To some, it implies a mental image of a person separating their 2 ply toilet paper and washing out their butter containers. ( I do NOT separate my TP, but I do keep some of those containers, hey... storage containers have a way of disappearing in my house, I need every advantage I can get). I often use terms like "practical, economical, or "good steward" of my money" to describe myself. So why am I, you ask?

If you think I have problems spending money, you would be incorrect. I personally LOVE spending money, I like buying things, all sorts of things. So much in fact, that I discovered a long time ago that the better the deal, the more things I could buy! Think about it. Let's say you have $100 to spend on groceries,personal items, and entertainment. If you go into the grocery store and spend $75 on food, that leaves just $25 to spend on personal & entertainment. But what if you were able to get that $75 worth of groceries for just $30... well, that leaves you some more wiggle room.

Now don't get me wrong, yes I could stop buying toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, air freshner, and household cleaning products today, and would seriously not need to sweat replacements for a year. However, I am not by any stretch of the imagination leading a miserly life. There are parts of my life that I choose to budget, which gives me that much more money for the other parts. I share a very large 3 bedroom 2.5 bath townhouse with only 1 other human being (granted the pets help occupy this space). Between dear roomie & I, we have acquired a $400 vacuum, a very nice, larger than necessary flat screen television, a Wii & it's accessories, and many more things. My bathroom overflows with health & beauty products, and I do my fair share of eating in restaurants. For me it's about balance. I am able to make my money go farther. This does not mean I have a never ending bank account. I do make hard decisions when it comes to finances, and sometimes opt to do without things.

So, for me, how frugal is too frugal? Well, I'm really open to trying most anything once. If it's a money saving option, I'm all for giving it a go, provided it's doable for me. An idea that's had some success for me, cooking from scratch. I'm still expanding on this, but I now make things at home that I used to buy prepared. I've discovered that I prefer a completely homemade pizza and that with the right prep work, it's not an inconvience. Not saying that all my frugal endeavors have met with the same success. I got the notion that I could save a ton of money if I stopped eating out at restaurants entirely. Well, for some that may not seem like a hard task, but in my crazy hectic life, it's sometimes the only thing that can keep my schedule sane... needless to say, this idea did not last long. Now I'm not out eating $30 dinners every night, but I don't beat myself up terribly if I decide that the lunch I packed is just not appealing and can wait until tomorrow. And then their are the ideas that I don't even attempt. Lately I've been reading online from many different sources about making your own laundry detergent... and I have to admit... it kinda appealed to me... but then I gave it some more thought. I do manage to keep a good supply of laundry detergent on hand at a very reasonable price, and I have a high efficiency washer, which means I do have to pay particular attention to what goes in it. Of course at the end of the day, for now it's a matter of time management for me. I decided that it's just easier for me to use my good ol' Tide and call it a day. My schedule is hectic and I'm saving enough in other areas, that this isn't a battle I need to win.

So, if you're still with me (I know, I've rambled) that would be my answer... for me, how frugal is too frugal? To put it simply (well, as simple as I can) if the act of being frugal outweighs the benefits of the frugality (either in savings, time, or fun) then I pass. I don't however wrinkle my nose up at the brave souls that give it a go. If you're committed to it, and it's not inflicting harm, I say go for it... it's all about personal choices.

It wasn't me...

2008-12-08T15:48:00.004-05:00

It wasn't me stopping in to see what my favorite Newlyweds were up to when I should have been working. It wasn't me either that read this post and was inpired to share one too!

It wasn't me who just had to go to the post office Friday to get the cute "Holiday" stamps so that Christmas cards could get done over the weekend and then forgot to actually fill them out. And it wasn't me who decided that Christmas decor would go up over the weekend, even buying some new items, only to have everything still sitting in boxes come Monday morning.

It couldn't have been me who went to the grocery store on Sunday, only to come home and look around at a fully stocked kitchen and pick up the phone to order pizza. I also was not the one who started cleaning the kitchen only to resort to stacking extra things on the deep freeze and high tail it back to the living room to catch up on some tv.

I know that I wasn't the one who somehow gathered a large group of friend's and acquaintances to go out bowling over the weekend, only to depart from said gathering hours earlier than the rest because I was sleepy. And it just couldn't have been me, who made these plans to offset the original plan of a Christmas gathering at my house that was cancelled because I found reading the Twilight series to be much easier to do than the rearranging and organizing that was required in order to entertain at home.

And speaking of Twilight, it's not possible that I have become quite smitten with this fictious character, Edward Cullen!

You can of course find even more of this type of blog over at Charming Kids

Great trip to Kroger

2008-12-08T09:51:00.002-05:00

Well, I was going to post the picture of my Kroger trip, but unfortunately I didn't realize until just now when I went to upload, that the picture was nothing but a blur (guess I was moving to quickly to put up everything) I spent $42, my pre-coupon price was almost $80, and that was taking off sales prices and a couple of deals that took $$$ of the total as the items were being scanned (like the cereal deal). Pretty good deals. Since I don't have my pic, I'm not going to detail out everything I bought, but just bullet out some of the great deals I picked up.

Celestial brand tea, FREE (on sale for $1, still had 1 of my $1 coupons lingering)
Daisy Sour Cream, FREE (on sale for $1, used recent $.50 MFN's - doubled)
Sargento Potato Finisher $1.50 (on sale for $2.50, used recent $.50 MFN - doubled)

Cereal Deal - Cinnamon Toast Crunch/Honey Nut Cheerios/Cheerios are on sale 4 for $12. If you buy 4 boxes, you get $4 off that order, making them $2 a box. I then went online and got Cinnamon Crunch & Honey Nut Cheerio coupons for $.55 off a box. That made 4 boxes = $5.80 or $1.45 a box

Fleischman's Yeast Strips, on sale $1, used $.45 recent MFN, made them $.10 for each strip of 3. Also, look out for some bonus packages that have an extra packet... I wasn't paying attention, just grabbed some, and got home and realized I got 1 of the bonus packs, wish I would have caught that at the store!

I picked up a steak for $2 (thanks to $2 peelie off the Natural brand of Kroger Meats)

Shredded lettuce is $1 a bag. This is a handy product. Used some last night to make tacos (already had shells on hand from Meijer's deal on those awhile back)

Happy Shopping!

Cool Giveaway

2008-12-04T09:39:00.000-05:00

Over at Moms by Heart you can enter to win a $20 coupon for one of the Jennie O Oven Ready Turkeys! Now this is a giveaway I can get into... hello... TURKEY!!!!!! Yummy. I've used one of these before and loved it. Click here to get the scoop.

One of my new favorite things

2008-12-03T11:50:00.003-05:00

Just thought I would share! I recently picked up a moppine and I love it! Are you wondering what exactly a "moppine" is? Well, have you ever watched the Rachael Ray talk show? It's from her line, it combines 2 kitchen essentials into 1 handy item. #1 Oven Mitts and #2 a Dish Towel. Basically it's a big dish towel, but in 2 of the corners (opposite of each other) Oven Mitts are sewn in. It's pretty handy. I first heard about them last year on her show, and thought they sounded pretty neat, but never got around to purchasing. A couple weeks ago, while shopping in Wal-Mart I stumbled across them. I picked one up, and both myself and the roomie just love it. If you want to pick one up for yourself (or as a great christmas gift for your favorite cook!) you can check your local Wal-Mart, they run about $8. Or you can find them online. I think one of the shopping channels (can't remember which) sells a set of 3 for $18. You can also go through Rachaelray.com to link to places to buy them. I got the cute orange striped one!

Any takers?

2008-12-01T16:55:00.004-05:00

I'm looking for a couple of guinea pigs :) You may or may not know that I sell Avon. I don't do much promoting of it on this website (don't want to run off any readers with pushy sales tactics). I am going to be testing out some new skin care products that will be out in about another month, I want to get user opinions... in order to share with future customers. While I simply love trying out new stuff, I can't effectively try all the products at the same time. So here's what I'm looking for. First, I should point out, that I'm a small, home based business and can't afford to giveaway the products for this test. These aren't samples, they are full sized products. What I will be offering is this, if you are willing to give the products a shot and give me your opinion about them, I will sell them to you at my cost. Because of the nature of this, this one is only for Lexington metro area residents... but if this goes well, I might have other opportunities open up for any readers outside of that area at a later date.

So what would you be testing? One of two skin care bundles. These are MARK products. I personally use some Mark products myself and LOVE them. They are pretty neat skin care products.

One person will be trying:

Calm Yourself Bundle. The cost of the bundle is $13.30 (plus tax) - when it hits the books, it will be $22, so that's a pretty decent savings. You will get:

*Calming Effect Comfort Milk Cleanser - This soap-free cleanser that treats delicate skin with skin-nourishing milk complex also relies on banana and oat milk protein to help calm and comfort.

*Calm Yourself Hydrating Mask - This gel mask immediately increases skin's moisture by 168%, plus packs the power of five super soothers - sea moss, wheat germ, cucumber extracts, aloe vera and green tea. Antioxidant-rich lemon and orange extracts also help improve skin tone

*Go With the Grain Light Exfoliating Beads - Vitamin-rich adzuki beans and rice bran - two traditional Japanese exfoliators - blend with corn cob to lightly polish skin

The other bundle I need a tester for is the "That's Deep" bundle"

*That's Deep Purifying Gel Cleanser - A super-fresh, soap-free cleanser with sugar maple and black willow bark that goes right to work against dirt, oil and other skin cloggers

*Shine Fighter Oil Control Mask - An intense purifying mask featuring kaolin, a natural, oil-absorbing clay. Exfoliating sugarcane and antioxidant-rich pomegranate extract also work to rid skin of dirt and oil, and promote a clear and radiant complexion

*Berry Grand Super Exfoliating Beads -Antioxidant-rich cranberry and pomegranate seeds combine with apricot seed powder to polish away skin impurities

If you're interested in trying either of these bundles, let me know. I'll have a special gift for each user as a way of saying Thank You. Also, if you notice, there isn't a moisturizer in this bundle, if you want to add on one of Mark's moisturizers while you're trying, I will order you one (again at my cost for this testing) - You can ask me for details :)

Candy Corn Mystery and other ramblings

2008-12-01T15:28:00.002-05:00

So, last week was a bit hectic at times, and at other times, I used the opportunity to just get away from my computer and enjoy some R&R. Wednesday night, I came home and was able to solve the Candy Corn Mystery...

What exactly is the Candy Corn Mystery? Well, have you ever wondered what would happen if your dog ate an entire bag of candy corn??? I'm sure it's been at the top of your list of unsolved mysteries... It's no longer at the top of mine. After walking through the door Wednesday evening, I was caught off guard by some suspicous stains and blobs in my house. With a new little terror on the loose, it's not unusual to come home to find something has been gotten into, but this was a new one for me... For you see, these blobs/stains were Hot Pink... So I am instantly concerned wondering what Zali has gotten into that would cause her to have this abnormally colored vomit (sorry there just isn't a nice way to phrase it). I start worrying thinking she has gotten into some cabinet and ate through a stockpile of air freshner or detergent... but she seems fine. Finally, as I start picking up everything, I catch a glimpse of an empty bag of candy corn... and having been the only one in the house for the last few days, I know that this wasn't there before. I quickly deduce that the brightly colored orange/yellow/white candies are what has created this unusually colored suprise and also can probably explain the little monster's very round, very tight belly... I pick up a few straggler pieces that she somehow missed... I'm contemplating whether or not she should see a vet. I decide to just monitor the situation... as she is acting pretty normal... not as active, but fine. She did survive, and in another hour, had one heck of a sugar buzz!

It's shopping season

2008-12-01T15:06:00.006-05:00

So, last week kicked off the official start to the Christmas holiday shopping. I'm always interested in how each year more and more stores start their sales earlier and earlier. I can remember when no store was open on Thanksgiving day, then K-Mart started, now many more followed suit. And this year, JC Penny actually opened at 4AM! Unbelievable. So - my blogging was pretty slim lately, thought I jump in and share my shopping stories.

I did start by taking advantage of some great grocery deals at Meijer last week, I meant to post them earlier in the week, but since those sales are now over, figured I wouldn't detail them out. My "official" shopping started on Wednesday night. You have to love shopping online... there are just far fewer headaches! I got my email from Lane Bryant announcing their sale earlier in the day, and was excited, this is the sale that I wait for every year, it's "Merry Christmas to me!" seeing as how Cacique bras have to be quite simply the world's greatest, even with the $38 price tag on most, they are one of my essential items. Which is why I love their Thanksgiving sale... B1G1 Free!!! I combined that promotion, with a $50 off $150 gift cheque AND Free shipping, and got $300 worth of bra's for $100 - That's 66% savings, it's hard to get a better deal. No pic posted for this one :)

Next up, Meijer, on Thanksgiving morning. I was an efficient shopper, was in and out of the store in about 15 minutes. I picked up a few rolls of Christmas wrapping paper for $.59 each, a pumpkin pie for dinner ($2.99) and the item I had went in to get, a 9 piece casserole set for $9.99!

Next I went on to CVS (though was irritated once I got their to discover they had actually let people start at midnight... HELLO... I live right down the street, I would have so been there) But I digress, picked up a quick selection of items that were completely free, combined w/ coupons which made them money makers. I spent ECB's and Gift Card, so nothing out of pocket here:

That was it for Thursday. Now on Friday, I had considered getting up early to hit a few deals, but talked myself into staying in bed instead. Later in the evening, Kev & I did stop by a few stores and snagged a couple things we were wanting to pick up that were on sale. It was great, because we got good deals and ALOT fewer people!

Target: Juno DVD $6 (This is a GREAT movie if you've never seen it) and Gremlins DVD $3.99

Walmart: Still had some $2 DVD's so I picked up a few to use as Christmas gifts.

Also browsed Half Price Bookstore and got a couple books for myself.

No other shopping, until Sunday, when I hit up K-Mart's Double coupon days (up to $2 coupons!)

Not everything was completely Free, however some things were items that I already had on my list to pick up regardless, so they were cheaper by buying there. Some of the best bargains:

Gillette Body Wash $3.99 - used $2 coupon from Sunday's insert making them Free. I bought 7!

Vaseline Moisturizer $2.99 - used $1.50 coupon making them Free. I bought 2

Reynold's Oven Bags $2.29 - used $1 coupon making them $.29 each

Glade Air Freshner $.99 - used $1/2 coupon making them Free, I think I got about 8

Febreeze Air Effects $2.99 - used $1 coupon making them $.99 I bought 4

Purina Beneful Dog Treats $4.99 - used $ 2 coupon making them $.99 I bought 3 bags

Pledge Dusters/Refills $2.50 - used $1.50 coupon making them Free, I bought 7

I won't take the time to detail out all the bargains, because there are a ton of sites that already have. I suggest if you haven't stopped by, grab your coupons and go!

Paying the price

2008-11-21T13:21:00.006-05:00

Sometimes I have to remind myself that what sounds like a great idea should perhaps require a bit extra thought. Not to say that it still shouldn't be done, but maybe lay some more prep work down before hand... such is the case with last night's movie adventure.

So, yesterday, on a whim, I registered online to win tickets to the first showing of Twilight and was suprised to get a call shortly later telling me that I had won! My friends and I had been discussing wanting to go see the movie, but were having problems coordinating schedules to find a suitable time over the weekend. I should point out that AT NO POINT during the discussions was the thought of going to the midnight screening even suggested. In fact, we were grumbling that the Friday night showing would probably be waaay to crowded for our tastes.

So fast forward to that call, "woohoo, I won!" I hang up with the DJ, give my roomie a call and open the conversation with "How would you like to postpone your sleep schedule tonight?" Now the funny thing is, he actually responded with inquiring if I was referring to going to see the movie tonight... That's what happens when you are roomies for as long as we have been... you're in each other's heads... it's scary!

He's in... so I hang up and give my good friend Mish a call at work, and give the same opening line, she is afterall the one who is really, really wanting to see it right away. After some convincing (I'll split the cost of the 3rd ticket, you can take a nap beforehand, you can skip the gym tonight, yes you can have popcorn) she's in too.

Now, what I do wish I had done... was take a nap myself... I have to remember that I no longer find it as easy to function with little sleep... not that I get a ton of sleep... but I had actually gotten up early yesterday morning...

I did however opt to go to the movie in comfy clothes that could easily go from the movies to the bed. The difference between going to see a midnight showing when you're a twenty something and when you're a thirty something is all in the look. It was comfort over style for all of us... not saying I went in looking like a troll, but I had my makeup off, my hair up in a ponytail... you get the picture.

As we waited for the movie to start, the three of us laughed that we were the chaperones for the movie, as most of our fellow moviegoers were obviously younger. Finally at around 2:15 we were headed home. Luckily, it was a short drive and I was in my bed by about 2:45. I was however T-I-R-E-D this morning. I skipped my Enbrel shot last night, I'll do it tonight, as it happens to make me incredibly sleepy in the morning and I definitely didn't need that working against me this morning.

I almost made it to work with no mishaps... Just one small fender bender about 2 minutes from work. Luckily, no damage, no injuries, just the embarrassment of having to stand outside my car in the midst of morning traffic surveying the damage with a fellow commuter!

So, do you want to know about the movie? I loved it... It made me want to read the books that much more, because I can see where there is alot more to the story. This is not your typical vampire movie. When we left last night, we were discussing it, and I compared it to Interview with a Vampire, in the sense that it's not a movie that's about blood, guts, and violence (not that there isn't blood, or violence) but that there's an actual story...

So, would I do it again... probably, just might try to squeeze in a nap first!

Just because I like to share

2008-11-20T16:07:00.002-05:00

I think I've mentioned this before, and I know I tell people in real life this all the time. If you are looking at free/cheap entertainment, try entering local contests. Chances are the odds will be more in your favor. I routinely enter radio station contests on their website. Just this afternoon, I saw that Hot102 was giving away tickets to tonight's midnight showing of "Twilight" so I registered real quick. And sure enough, not 5 minutes ago, they called me and I won a pair of tickets!!!

Over the years I have won (locally):
$500 Macy's Shopping Spree
Kings Island VIP 4th of July Passes for 4
Countless CD's
Restaurant Gift Certificates
Movie Passes
Concert Tickets a handful of times
Diamond Journey Necklace
Free Trip to L.A.

and my hands down favorite...
10 Tickets PLUS 10 Backstage Meet & Greet Passes to see P!NK (She's my favorite)

so how do I do it, some of the time, I'm lucky and I'm Caller # whatever... but more often than not, I've registered via the radio station's website. If you're reading this in the Lexington Metro area, here are the ones I recommend:

104.5 The Cat
98.1 The Bull
94.5 Mix

(Those, and a handful of other sister stations that you will find links to on their site, sometimes run the same contest on each station, and you can sometimes register multiple times by registering on EACH station)

Hot 102

So what are you waiting for, get registered... or just leave them all for me to win! :)

Looking for a good book?

2008-11-20T09:34:00.004-05:00

The cold weather is upon us, for me that means curling up with a good book (usually in a hot bath). There are plenty of ways to pick up books. I frequent halfprice bookstore here in Lexington for some great prices on books I want to dive into. I also head over to the library and check 'em out there (this is especially useful for cookbooks or reference type books, gives you a trial run to see if you'll benefit from what's in it)

And then there is always winning FREE books. I love when bloggers give away a book. Maybe I'll do that sometime soon, for now though, head over to see what Mary @ Owlhaven is offering up. There's actually a choice of 2 books from her list. i personally am leaning towards "The De-Stress Diva's Guide to Life" and then maybe a 2nd one from the list as a Christmas Gift. What are you waiting for... go check it out!

A pretty good deal on some pizza!

2008-11-20T07:39:00.004-05:00

I used this last night so I know it works! Papa Johns Pizza has started marketing through Facebook. If you "add them as a friend/fan" on Facebook, THIS WEEK, they will give you a code for a free medium cheese pizza with an online order! (You have to buy something else online, but it's not one of those "regular menu price" things where you still spend $15.

Go to Facebook (Register if you have never used facebook

Search Papa Johns (you'll know you're on the right one, the promo is on the page)

Add yourself as a fan

Check your inbox for a notification or message from Papa Johns shortly after, they will send you a message, it contains a place for you to enter your email address.

Then just check your email, you'll get your one time code.

Visit Papa John's online (Register if you have never used before)

Enter the code, and add something else.

You can actually order a "Create your own" 6 inch pan pizza for $3.49, and you'll get the free pizza. I opted to get some of their yummy parmesean breadsticks for $4.99. I also opted to pick it up, so I didn't have to worry about a minimum delivery charge. Keep in mind, if you're planning on getting pizza, it appears you can combine it with the other specials on their website, but if you just want to get a quick meal, pick something small and you'll score the free pizza!

(Note, on Facebook, it says "w/ online pizza purchase" but when you enter the code on the website, it just says online purchase, so you could order breadsticks, cheesesticks, dessert, etc!

The "eww" factor

2008-11-14T12:40:00.003-05:00

Why does it seem that if something is going to go wrong, it is going to go wrong on the heel of some other catastrophe... in the middle of the night, when you have to work in the morning... This is my life.

So, everyone remembers, Zali, the little brindled hellion that was just sooooooo cute she had to come home with us, right? She definitely is adding some spice to the house. I'm just hoping we survive "puppy teeth 08" but I digress...

Since Zali is so little, she can't quite make it through the whole night without needing a "potty break." In an effort to maintain some of our sanity, Kev & I rotate nights, trading back and forth who gets her for the night and in turn has their sleep interrupted... (let me just say I LOVE when it's not my night!) Last night, however, was my night... Zali comes off to bed with me around 11:30, and she's looking a bit tired. I must say, when she wants to be, she can be soooooooooo sweet. She cuddles up beside me, tucks her head on my shoulder and actually goes to sleep in about 5 minutes. SCORE 1 for me!

Around 2:45 Zali rustles, and I oblige by scooping her up, carrying her down the stairs, and out the back door we go, me half asleep. She does her business, and wants back in... because, well, the grass is wet... that's no fun for her. I promptly stumble back in the house, hand her a treat, then decide to make a quick bathroom trip myself - so I step into the half bath downstairs. Now mind you, all of this is done with no lights being turned on in the house... My goal is to stay in a semi slumber myself and not wake her up too much either. I step out of the bathroom and Zali is sitting at the bottom of the stairs, she yawns... this makes me happy, because I should be able to get her to go back to sleep. I scoop her back up, and we head back upstairs... I crawl into the bed and Zali quickly settles back to sleep.

Fast forward a few hours, it's almost 6... I don't know if Zali wakes me up, or if I instintively wake up because something isn't quite right, but I turn over and something seems different. I scoop up Zali, but my nose has detected an odor. I am curious, perhaps she had an accident... (she is after all only about 12 weeks old) I step into my bathroom and flip that light, so as to be able to see, but not completely flood my room with light. Sure enough I see that Zali has an upset tummy. She has pooped... in my bed... before dawn... I grab some tissue to pick up the offending mess (at least I have a big bed, and it's not where I should be sleeping) then put a towel down, to pick up anything excessive (luckily it wasn't a really messy episode... I have pets, so I guess I'm used to these things happening, while not fond of them, I've seen worse, and this is why I own a carpet/upholstery shampooer). Zali is still squirming a bit, so I decide to take her downstairs and let her back out. I head down the stairs (again no lights, as I'm hoping to get about another hour of sleep) and as I reach the bottom of the stairs and head towards the back door, eyes half closed, dog in one hand, I feel a squish... under my foot! It seems that when I scooped up Zali earlier in the dark, I didn't notice that she had a little accident, but I FOUND IT THIS TIME... so I am now, half asleep, grossed out, dog in one arm, hopping on one foot into the half bath... Oh and should I mention that while I am cleaning up her accident, she decides she can't hold it any longer, so she squats and pees! After cleaning my foot, and the floor, I grab her food, set out breakfast, set her in front of her bowl (lights back off now) and head back to find a clean corner of my bed for another hour's sleep.

So, how'd you sleep last night?

Give your opinion and help a local charity

2008-11-10T11:11:00.002-05:00

KentuckyBizBuzz.com has a great program going through the end of November. For each review you write of a local business, they will donate $1 to a local charity of your choice. Click Here for full details of how it works. There is a max of $25 per person that can be donated. This is a really cool way to add an extra donation to your favorite charity. Also be sure and check out KentuckyBizBuzz.com for reviews on local places in your area. It's a great way to find the best and worst your town has to offer!

Free Burnless Bakeware for only $1 Shipped

2008-11-05T11:01:00.002-05:00

Please make sure you read all the details of the offer. It's a pretty good deal, but you have to pay attention. I picked up this FREE Burnless Bakeware Loaf Pan from EasyBakeware.com. All I had to pay was $1 Shipping. There are several items you can choose from. If you click on the link, you can select any of the items under Freebies. That's it, pretty simple. Now as for shipping. You have a few options for shipping. Standard shipping is $7.95. HOWEVER, you can get it shipped for just $1 if you agree to take a Free 7 Day Trial to a rewards program. Here's the part you want to pay attention to. I take advantage of these occasionally. When you read the offer details, it will provide you the member services # that you can call and cancel your trial. I write down the #, the date I am starting this, and how many days I have free. Then I just call and cancel this service. I make a note on my calendar. In fact, for this one, I'll actually just call tomorrow and cancel that rewards program. I've done this in the past, with much success, you just have to remember to call and cancel. If you're not sure you'll keep up with that, you may want to pass on the deal, otherwise in 7 days, you'll be charged $14.95 as a monthly fee for that program. An additional step that I use, I pay for these items with prepaid Credit Cards. I'm always getting these as rewards for different things... you know the kind that are $5 Visa cards, etc... by using this card, I am completely secure in knowing that my personal checking account, credit card, etc will never be charged for anything. Pretty neat pan for a buck!

Did you?

2008-11-04T14:40:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm not going to make this a political blog. This is definitely a historic election for many reasons. I'm not going to share my personal decisions on here, and I'll ask everyone else to do the same. I do want to encourage you to get out and vote if you haven't though. I got up a bit early this morning, and headed to the polls. I was there around 8 AM, walked out at 8:50 AM. Yeah, it was a long line, but it was actually pretty neat. You'd have to have lived under a rock to not have been bombarded with campaigning in recent months (and I think even the underside of rocks were plastered actually, lol) But today, standing in line to participate in this moment in history, I took the time to take in the scene laid out in front of me. There were gray haired women in their Sunday best standing alongside young college guys still wearing their sleeping clothes. Women in business suits standing beside of moms with kids in tow. Movers n Shakers rubbing elbows with retirees. People of all colors and nationalities. Blue Collar, white collar, and no collar. The mood was good. People talked, no one seemed to complain about the line. Most thought it was pretty cool. People talked about staying up late to watch the results, parents were explaining why so many people were there to their children. At the end of the day, regardless of who wins any of the elections that we had today, this will be a moment to remember. I was there, were you?

Let's Try home made pizza

2008-11-04T12:08:00.002-05:00

Ok, so for this "try it Tuesday" I am going to share with you my latest culinary adventure, a pizza made with home made pizza dough. My original plan was to do the sauce from scratch too, but there were forces conspiring against me, so I decided to just stick with the dough for this attempt. I've been wanting to try this dough for awhile now. It's a recipe I've read that several other bloggers tried and loved. I also had finally acquired my bread machine... and decided to give it a whirl (no pun intended!).

But first I had to run to the store, 2 stores in fact. I had to run to CVS because I had some ECB's that were expiring AND they had Coke products on sale. My original plan would have netted me 4 - 12 packs of Coke for about $5, but as I tried to print out some Coke Reward coupons, my ink cartridge completely gave out on me. I searched in vain for the refill I bought a few weeks ago, and COULD NOT FIND IT. Finally, frustrated, I just headed to CVS and bought the soda anyways, better luck next time I guess. Then on to Kroger to pick up flour. Flour would be a crucial ingredient in making pizza. I suppose you think it's odd that I don't already have flour in my house, considering if you know me, or have been reading my blog, you know I have stockpiles of practically everything. Everything except flour. I knew that I did have some flour, but I knew at least part of it was self rising (bad for bread machine) and the other, well I honestly couldn't remember when I bought it (I never really use it much) so I decided it would be best to start from scratch.

Now, next time I decide to be adventurous in the kitchen, I will probably exercise a little pre-cooking planning, but I was hell-bent on making this pizza. And while I do know how to cook, have a pretty decent stocked kitchen in terms of equipment, etc... lately cooking has been more of a quick process. Quite frankly, I'm a bit out of practice to actually preparing a real meal, from raw ingredients. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's more of a sign of the times...

The following are actual phrases heard from my mouth last night, that could probably give you an indication that I probably should have just had a bowl of cereal and tried again another night:

"Kev, I can't get the bread machine out of the box!"

"Kev, do we have any measuring cups that we're not using for dog food?"

"Kev, can you Google how many teaspoons make up a tablespoon?"

"Kev, can you do something with this dough ball?"

Don't you feel bad for poor Kev, who I had convinced to postpone having dinner, because I was going to make us a pizza? See, the bread machine had just been bought this weekend, and it didn't want to come out of the box. I don't do alot of baking from scratch, so when I cook, I'm good at eyeballing, I rarely need to measure a dry ingredient, other than Zali's puppy food, so it seems that the measuring cups have disappeared except for hers. And I believe that the tablespoon measuring spoon has wandered upstairs with the humidifier for cold season.

I do recommend pre-assembling all of your ingredients. I did this, it helps... I also recommend reading through your recipe before you start, I did this, it helps... I also recommend not being scatterbrained while you're doing it, I didn't do this, but I think it would help. The first mistake I made was as I started dumping my flour into the mixing chamber... BEFORE any of the the liquids (in case you don't use a bread machine, this is a No-No) so I had to dump that out, wipe the residue out and start over. Now the unfortunate thing, I didn't really take timing into consideration. So when I finally started the dough in the bread machine and did the math, imagine my mood when I realized the dough was going to take an hour and a half... and it was almost quarter after 8!!! (Que poor Kevin as I explain "well it will only have to bake for about 15 minutes once it's done!"

An hour and a half later, my machine beeped, and I headed back in to check out my doughy goodness. After removing said dough, I realized that this dough made a bit more than I would want to use, so this is where "can you do something with this dough ball" came in, as I divided the dough in half (the other half is now resting in the freezer). As I formed my pizza, I got ready to start preparing it. I ALMOST forgot that you're supposed to sprinkle the dough with salt before putting on the sauce... and when I say almost, I mean, I had placed a blob of sauce in the middle of the pizza when it occurred to me. Though I didn't notice a big difference in tast between that spot and the rest of the pizza when all was said and done.

Finally, at 10:15, we were chowing down on the home made pizza. It was good. I will definitely use this recipe again. I've normally used one of those mixes in a pouch, but not always been satisfied with the results. Maybe next time though, I'll actually have my act together!

And if you're wanting to see a picture of my creation... well... if you hadn't been able to gather by reading this, that was another FORGOTTEN step... maybe next time!

This week's Meijer trip

2008-11-03T10:30:00.003-05:00

So I jumped up early on Sunday and ran to Meijer to pick up a couple items. Ended up w/ a bit more than I planned, but the deals were great. Total out of pocket expense was about $27. Total before coupons was in the $60 range. What did I buy:

Meijer Doubles coupons up to $.50

Glade Air Freshers - Sale Price $.50 each, used $1/2 coupons = FREE

Glade Glass Scents - Sale Price $1.59 each, used B1G1 & a $1 coupon = $.59 for 2

Ziplock Pump Vacuum - Sale Price $3.19, used $2 MFN = $1.19

Ziplock Freezer Bags for Vaccum Sealer - Sale Price $2.28 each, used $1 MFN = $1.28 each

Glade Fabric & Air Refresher - Sale Price $1.99, used $1.50 MFN = $.49 each

Glade Carpet Deoderizer - Sale Price $.99, used $1 MFN = FREE

Betty Crocker Potato Dishes - Sale Price $1 each, used $.35 MFN = $.30 each

Think Thin Protein Bar - Sale Price $1.75, used $.50 MFN = $.75

Eggo Strawberry Pastry Swirls - Sale Price $2.50, used $.55 MFN = $1.95

Jello - Regular Price $.74 each, used Meijer Mealbox $1.50/2 = FREE

Taco Bell 12ct Shells - $1.30, used Meijer Mealbox $1.50 = FREE plus small overage

Bagel Bites - sale price $5/3, used $1/3 = $1.33 each x 3

Sargento Artisan Blend Cheese, sale price $2.01 x 2, no coupons

Kellogg's Pop Tarts - sale price $1.33, no coupons

Zesta Saltine Crackers - sale price $1.28, no coupons

Doritos - sale price $1.99, no coupons

De Fratelli Pizza Sauce - sale price $.99, no coupons

Pepperidge Farm Frozen Coconut Cake - sale price $2, no coupons

also I had a $.50 OYNO (off your next order) and 2 $2 OYNO coupons I used.

Not a bad trip.

The flaw in the invisible car

2008-10-31T11:47:00.006-04:00

So, do you like the invisible car... only problem is they forgot to make the bumper invisible. Ok, not really. This is what's sitting in the garage today as a result of my roomie's minor traffic mishap yesterday. We decided that it could sit amidst the Avon & surplus of my stockpiling efforts rather than the backseat of his car for all the neighbors to gawk at... Like I said... it's been one of those weeks!

Some good deals

2008-10-31T11:35:00.002-04:00

So I managed to score a few good deals this week. I've unfortunatley been fighting off the plague, so I didn't get pictures of all of them. Here's a snapshot of what I picked up at Meijer this week for just under $9:Taco Bell 18 Count Shells, on sale this week for $1.04 each, used $1.50 mealbox coupon (from Meijer website) for each one, making them FREE plus overage

4 Boxes of Jello, on sale this week for $.50, used $1.50/2 mealbox coupon for each set of 2, making them FREE plus overage

Covergirl Foundation & Pressed Powder, on sale this week, B1G1 - combined with P&G coupon (B1G1 )from "October Savings" at beginning of month, making them both FREE

Kleenex w/ Lotion, regular price $1.59, used $.40 (doubled) MFN coupon, making them $.79

Fancy Feast cat food, 2.15 lb bags, reg price $2.14, used $1 MFN coupon each, making them $1.14 each

Duncan Hines Orange Cake Mix $1 - No coupon, just picking this up because we use this particular kind of cake mix alot and they are hard to find

Liquid Skin $4.19 - No coupon, roomie needed

Peroxide $1.39 - No coupon, just needed

Taco Bell Dinner Bowl, on sale $1.90, used $1 peelie on box, making it $.90

Some other great deals I picked up this week:

I had a few Febreeze Noticeable $5 off coupons that expire today, used them at Wal-Mart, where they were just $5.97 - making them $.97 each, picked up 4, in their new limited addition scents for the holidays!

Zone Perfect Bars, there are some MFN's floating out there for $1 off 1. They are $.97 each @ Wal-Mart, picked them up for Free

Well-Patch Singles, at Wal-Mart, just $.98, used the $1 coupons that expire today, FREE.

If you haven't managed to pick up a bunch of Free Excederin during the last CVS sale, check out Kroger, they have a blinkie machine that has $2 off the 20ct express gels, and they have them for just $2.99 - so you'd pay $.99 each. Not bad deal if you need some.

I'm sure there are other deals I should mention that I bought, it's just been one of those weeks!

Life is really just a big game of tetris

2008-10-30T15:43:00.003-04:00

I'm not trying to sound all philosophical, but life is really just a big game of Tetris. Now, if you're one of the, oh handful of people on earth who does not know what tetris is, I suggest you go here, and become properly initiated!

In Tetris, you have all these blocks, assorted shapes and sizes, coming at you, to be put somewhere. In life, we have responsibilities, wants, needs, desires, bills, in assorted importance that come flying at us, to be accomplished. Your goal in tetris, is to stack these blocks in the best way possible, so that you can fill lines completely and make these blocks go away. Your goal in life, is to balance all of those wants, needs, etc so that they are completed. In tetris, advanced players try to stack blocks for big combination, clearing multiple rows at a time, for more points. In life, advanced players try to multitask everything coming at them to get the most accomplished in the least amount of time, to have more time for more. In Tetris, you only get a small glimpse of what piece is next to come. In life, you only get to plan for part of what life is going to throw at you. In Tetris, the better you get, the more pieces come. In life, the farther along you get, the more there is to do. In Tetris, sometimes you have to make a sacrifice and not line up the pieces exactly where you want them to. In life, sometimes things pop up that mean that a need has to come before a want. In Tetris, if you're not paying attention, it's easy for it to get out of hand. In life, if you're not participating, it's easy to get out of hand.

Do you see where I'm headed? I could go on and on, but the truth is, life just like Tetris, is about learning from your mistakes, balancing between thinking on your feet and planning for the future. And life, just like Tetris ultimately be about enjoying the process, not the end result. The big difference... when your Tetris game is over, you can play again. Life on the other hand... is a one shot opportunity. So make it count! And, maybe go play a game of Tetris while you're at it!

Leashes aren't just for pets

2008-10-30T14:30:00.004-04:00

Alright, so this particular blog may not be the most popular for any of the parents out there reading this. So let me first preface this by saying that I do in fact LOVE children, and while my own children are of the 4 legged variety, my youngest brother is 16 years younger than me. I know that people always say your opinion on kids changes once you have them, well, that may be, however due to some family health crises, I did get a very huge part of the responsibility for his upbringing while I was at home, so I do have a bit of perspective on the trials and hard work that goes into it.

Now, back to my story. So last night, after a pretty long mind numbing day of work, I headed to a local grocery store to pick up a couple of last minute things. While there, I decided to suprise my roomie, who had also had quite a day to a yummy dessert. And by yummy dessert, I don't mean a betty crocker cake mix. Nope, I'm talking about those fancy schmancy desserts behind the glass case. You know the kind that look like they should be in a magazine. The kind that any sane person, who works a 40 hour week, would not even attempt to make & decorate... heck I wouldn't even know where to begin to dig out all the kitchen gadgets & attachments necessary for one of those.

So, just as I am approaching said fancy schmancy counter, my cart is almost hurtled right into the case! You might be thinking that a giant wheel of cheese had fell off the display and was now rolling through the store wreaking havoc... but then you would be wrong (but I like how you think) Nope, to my left, I suddenly see two young children, a boy and a girl. I'm guessing in the 4-6 year old range. It seems that these children are on a mission to score that free cookie that they get when they come to the store.

*editor's note, I like a good bargain myself, and if the store would give me a free cookie when I shopped, I'd probably be snagging one too, so I'm not hatin' on them for this*

Well, these children are quickly destracted by the brightly colored frostings of the sheet cakes and proceed to ooh and ahh over them while their mother makes her way back to the bakery. In the meantime, the lady behind the counter takes my request for a couple slices of heaven :)

Now, as I wait for her to remove the cakes from the glass cage they are in, I am entertained by these children, who are fascinated by the cakes. All the way up to the point when they bore from looking at the real cakes and decide instead to look at the cakes in the book. Unfortunate for me, this book happens to be located directly on the other side of my shopping cart. What happens next, is this long drawn out battle, because child A is mad that child B is now flipping the pages in the book, because she was there first. Now, having spent many a year in noisy call centers, listening to people yap on about all sorts of things, i can tune this out. What I cannot tune out, is the constant shoving of my buggy as these children pout and fight. I glance over at the mother, who is watching on, but not saying anything. I can't move, because there isn't anywhere else for me to stand...

Finally after a few minutes (in my mind I'm wondering how much longer can it take to slice cake) the mother pulls the instigator of this fight aside and tells her to calm down, and not to bother the lady (me) beside of her. I just happened to turn back in their direction about this time, to check that my purse, etc hadn't wandered off, and so I notice as this lady is saying this, she's looking at me as if I'm the one doing something wrong, I can only assume, by not being more accommodating to her kids. Unfortunately, this does not deter said child. Fortunately, it's only a few more seconds before my cake arrives to me, and I can get out of this war zone.

I should say, I totally understand that children will be children. I also understand that my mama would have hauled me back out of the store with no cookie and probably not much of anything else had I decided to terrorize the very tired, overworked customer, really just wanting her over priced dessert and a drink.

Now, I'll probably take a pretty unpopular stance here... I'm sure there are people out there who are probably thinking that I am the crazy lady who keeps the kids baseball when it lands in her yard, and shouts at the children riding by on their bikes... which is totally not the case. But people CHOOSE to have kids, and in that, comes a responsibility that you must bring these children up with manners & courtesy. And just as you've CHOSEN to have kids, I currently am CHOOSING to NOT have them for the time being, because that's not a responsibility I want to add just yet. While I think your kids are cute, after a long day, the last thing that I want is to be part of their real life pinball machine as they bounce through the store. Now while I'm not saying you have to tie your child up, perhaps you can rein them in a bit :)

Sweet Reason to Vote

2008-10-30T11:41:00.001-04:00

I just got an email from Krispy Kreme. If you wear your "I Voted" Sticker, you'll score a FREE Doughnut. Details of the offer:

On Election Day, Nov. 4, 2008, participating Krispy Kreme stores will be offering a free star-shaped doughnut, with white icing and red, white and blue sprinkles, to each customer wearing an "I Voted" sticker. While voters may not always agree on the best candidate to win, each voter can agree on one thing: Celebrating one of America’s most coveted constitutional rights can be oh-so sweet.
The star-shaped treats are made from Krispy Kreme’s signature, yeast-raised dough, and will be available only on Nov. 4th. This promotion is good for one doughnut per customer. Select stores may offer yeast-raised doughnuts in the standard circle shape, but still decorated with white icing and red, white and blue sprinkles.
Please call your local Krispy Kreme store now to find out if they are participating.

It's Tuesday... let's try Haagen Dazs

2008-10-28T14:46:00.002-04:00

Well, my posts have been few lately, I apologize, but life has been hectic and Zali has been keeping my hands full. Then I unfortunately caught the plague... ok... not the plague... but I'm not 100% yet either... But still I trudge on!

This week, let's talk ICE CREAM, which in case you didn't know, is in my opinion, it's own food group. I make no bones about it, I believe in daily frozen confection consumption. Which is why I'm sharing with you my most recent flavor adventure... Fleur de Sel Caramel Haagen-Dazs. It sounds fancy, huh? It shoud... The pint I picked up, at Wal-Mart none the less, set me back $4.04!!! Normally, I can manage to get a couple half gallons for that. I have, however been eyeballing this flavor for MONTHS... It's one of their "Reserve" flavors, which means, the ingredients are harder to come by and the production is limited... and as a result... the price goes up, more than your regular Haagen-Dazs. Ever since I first spotted that little pint a few months ago, I have been scanning the frozen food cases, watching for a sale, a price drop, a coupon... ANYTHING... but alas, no such luck. Finally, I bit the bullet. I have been doing a great job with budgeting lately, and have cut my household budget, easily 50% or more each month... so by George, I was having the Haagen-Dazs.

Now some background info, Fleur de Sel or "Flower of the Salt" is supposed to be one of the rarest and most delicate salts in the world. It is harvested by hand on the French Coast of Brittany. The ice cream contains Fleur de Sel caramels, covered in chocolate, and then mixed into a caramel ice cream with swirls of caramel and French sea salt accents. I almost felt that I should put on my black dress to enjoy this... instead I opted for my comfy pj's.

Now, I should say, I'm not a huge "salt" person. I really don't use alot of extra salt, etc... but this flavor intrigued me. And, after sampling it, I can say that for me, it was worth the $4 price tag. It had the most interesting flavor, slightly sweet, slightly salty, pefectly creamy. This is what ice cream is supposed to taste like. Now granted, I won't be dishing this up at my next party, and this isn't the ice cream you make a milk shake with.... no this ice cream is best enjoyed by itself, it doesn't need anything extra to make it special.

There are some other "Reserve" flavors, I'm going on a search for 'em.

Newest Addition

2008-10-24T14:35:00.004-04:00

There has been a new addition to our house. Meet ZaliShe's about 10 weeks old

She was a resuce from the Lexington Humane Society. She is a hound mix, completely spoiled already... now only if Mollie will decide she likes her!

Brows: The good, the bad, and the ugly

2008-10-24T13:45:00.003-04:00

I'll admit it, I have a thing about eyebrows. It's probably one of the first things I notice about a person. Over the years, I've used a variety of ways to keep my own in (the) perfect shape. I now have a brow lady. Her name is Nini. I have went to her for several years now. Many of my friends have been drug into her little room in the back of Glamour Nails only to immerge slight pink and totally hooked. Why, you ask?

Well, for starters, Nini charges $8 for eyebrows. The going rate in most salons around these parts, $12... so right there you get a 33% discount. But price isn't the only factor. The reason that I go, and the reason so many of my friends have followed suit, is exactly what you get for that $8. Now I have on occasion, been in a brow emergency (yes... they exist) and was unable to make it to Nini's... and quietly slipped into the chair of another... and $12 later, I would emerge, moderately pleased with my results. In most cases, the person would have me lay back, slap on a little wax, pull it away, rub on a little oil and send me on my way... occasionally I might get a stray tweezed... more often than not, they matched...sorta

When I walk in to see Nini, I am summoned back to this little room in the back of the nail salon, and recline comfortably on her chair. Now, there's no mood lighting or aromatherapy here, but what you will find is a clean workplace, a knowledgeable person and all the tools needed. She starts with the wax... and maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment, but I enjoy my eyebrows being waxed. It's not that I am particularly fond of my hairs being ripped out by the roots, but there is a sort of zen sensation about the whole thing. Once Nini removes the wax strips, she will then grab a piece of guaze or cotton and use a remover to get rid of any excess wax. This is where most people think they are finished... but this journey is not quite over. The next step for Nini, is to break out the tweezers and carefully examine your brows... providing you with the precision that can only come from removing the pesky little hairs one by one. Once she's done.... she then reaches for her little brow brush and scissors. She then proceeds to trim any long hairs, ensuring that your brow line is perfect. The result, a perfect brow... She's really great about getting just what you want, whether you like a high arch or something a bit more relaxed, whether you lean more towards the Brooke Shields 80's brows or something a bit thinner.

My last time venturing outside of her world, provided to be disasterous. I vowed, if I made it out of the salon alive and with eyebrows that still grew, I would never again step out on her. See, I was in a hurry one day, and had accompianed my friend to get his hair cut at Ziyan, a local hair salon. Since I was already going to be there, I figured I would multi task and get a brow touch up... This was a big mistake. The same gentleman that was cutting my friend's hair, stepped in to do my brows (This was my first red flag... Just because you can cut and style the hair on top of my head doesn't mean you can work magic with the ones that sprout above my eyes). He first took me over to another corner of the salon and slapped on some wax. When he went to remove the wax, his "well, huh" was my second red flag... none of my hair came out! He proceeds to do this a second time, only to get the same results... asking me, if I have ever had problems before. Nope... this has never happened. After the second strip is yanked off... again my little eyebrows hanging on for dear life, he then advises me that we're going to go back to the esthetician's room and use something different. Now, I should have just cut my losses, but perhaps my mind was a little numb from the fight between my brows and this man's wax, because I followed him. He proceeded to use a different wax, which was a hotter wax (normally, the heat from a wax doesn't bother me, however, after having this warm goo placed in the same spot 3 times only to be ripped back off, I was feeling something alright!) Thankfully, this wax worked and he proceeded to then wax the other brow. When he finished, I sat up and he handed me a mirror. I admit, the only thing I was concerned about was that I still had skin above the nose. I barely glanced in the mirror and high tailed it out of there. It was only after I was safely in the car that I bothered to actually inspect my eyebrows. And of course, I wasn't pleased with the results... I did however surmise that I could manage to camouflage the flaws with some brow powder while my poor little brows healed. I went home and iced them and was happy to wake up the next morning to find no permanent damage. Since then, I have not strayed... there are just some things that you shouldn't chance.

So what are my tips for great brows.
#1 - If you want to do them yourself, start small, suck it up and have them done once, and then perform the maintenance

#2 - If you don't like the eyebrows of the person doing the job, chances are you won't like their results

#3 - If you are going to do them at home, using some ice or anbesol can help minimize the discomfort

#4 - If you aren't sure where to get yours done, ask someone who's brows you like where they go

#5 - Don't overdo it! You can always remove more, but it's hard to glue 'em back on

#6 - If you have sensitive skin, mention that to the esthetician, there are waxes that are better for sensitive skin

#7 - If you are getting them waxed, do yourself a favor and skip the makeup. It will make it easier for the wax to work and you won't get weird makeup lines

That's it, happy grooming!

The 6's

2008-10-22T09:18:00.002-04:00

I picked this up from Owlhaven - Feel free to join in. If you post, just leave me a link to your post in comment :) - You can check out her list here

Since it's early, and I'm in a cantankerous mood, I'm taking a pretty light hearted approach.

6 Things I Value:

#1 The extra leg room in my queen sized bed when I wake up and realize that the furbabies have migrated to the roomie's bed!

#2 The view from my home office when the next door neighbor is outside working out

#3 Sunday mornings when I wake up super early and have the whole place to myself for hours before anyone/anything else stirs

#4 The fact that my morning commute is interstate driving, people zoom by too fast to really notice me rocking out!

#5 Not having a boss in the same country, let alone the same building as me. Makes micromanagement a much more difficult task

#6 Time spent with good friends that makes the most mundane of tasks seem like a party

And now 6 things I don't support:

#1 The idea that because I am a grown up that I can't watch Disney Channel Movies

#2 The notion that I can't have my cake & eat it too... Why the heck did I bake it?

#3 The opinion that my four legged children mean less to me than your two legged variety

#4 The concept that dessert should come at the end of the meal, personally I believe all meals should start with ice cream

#5 The mindset that because I'm single means that I should be looking

#6 The voice of the complainer, if you don't like it, what are you doing to change it?

Try it Tuesday strikes again

2008-10-21T15:15:00.002-04:00

It's another Tuesday, so I'm back to share more. So many new things recently, I just got a new furbaby, I just started a new medicine, but, as promised from last week's installment, I have decided to share from my finds at Lush. First, a little back story...

I discovered Lush a few years ago. I was in Orlando on a business trip in July, and well, unless you're originally from Mercury or something, you won't find Orlando that pleasant in July... It's HOT! My trip had me staying at the Marriott located at the Orlando International Airport, and we didn't venture out much, since our conference was there as well. Lucky for me, they have a great little mall, so with my free time, I was able to persuse and check out some new stores. That was when I first discovered Lush... If you've never been to a Lush store, think of a Bath & Bodyworks, only more hands on. All through the store, there are giant slabs of pretty soaps, and bath bombs, and lotions, and potions... Being the product junkie that I am, I was in heaven. I snapped up a few different things to try, and loved everything. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to travel near one again... so imagine my excitement when our Macy's opened a counter just a couple weeks ago!

Now, I know I could shop online, but if you want to touch, feel, smell... you don't get the same effect... and depending on how many things you want to try, buying online can get pretty pricey, because they sell in specific sizes... in the stores, you can have them slice off as little or as much as you want! So... I headed to the little shop in my Macy's.... which isn't as grand as the real stores, but works quite nice. I picked up a few treats, and today I'm sharing one of my favorites.

The Aqua Marina Cleanser: Now I warn you, this doesn't look like your typical cleanser... in fact, you kinda think sushi when you see it. Heck, it's even wrapped in seaweed! Now some of you know, that I am an Avon rep, which means I have at my disposal a wide variety of products. This should say something that I'm out touting a product that isn't one I sell :) Why did I pick this? Well I actually got a choice of a free cleanser with my purchases, and this was the one I decided to try. I couldn't be happier. I have skin that is a bit sensitive. I also have rosacea and a couple other skin calamities. This was why I liked this one... It contains aloe vera, chamomille, patchouli... these are very soothing ingredients. And I have found that this stuff feels ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL on my skin. Now the first thing to consider, if you decide to go out and buy this... it's sold in bulk, you can get as little or as much as you want. I would recommend starting out on the small side, because of the ingredients and the fact that it has no preservatives... the shelf life is only 3 months. At first glance, you may look at this and wonder exactly how do you use it... it's not a soap that you lather up. It's not a liquid that you can keep in a pump. It's actually a semisolid blob (ok, I know... not the prettiest word, work with me). When you want to use it, you just pinch off some (say oh somewhere between pea & marble size) and put it in the palm of your hand. With your other hand, wet your fingertips and add some water. This melts it into a really loose paste, fairly liquid. Then just use this liquid on your face. Smooth over skin, adding more water as needed to cleanse. Then just rinse like normal. I immediately noticed how calm my skin felt. I've been using for about a week and my skin has stayed clear, smooth and calm. This is definitely a product I will buy again.

That's all for this week!

Stop Hiding

2008-10-17T15:39:00.005-04:00

Click here to check out LeAnn Rimes new PSA

LeAnn Rimes has partnered with the American Academy of Dermatology & the National Psoriasis foundation in their Stop Hiding Campaign. The purpose of the campaign is to:

*Educate the general public on how this chronic immune disorder affects nearly 7 million Americans

*Motivate patients suffering from Psoriasis to Stop Hiding and Start Living

*Encourage patients to see a dermatologist and discuss appropriate ways to manage their disease

The spotlight has followed singer LeAnn Rimes for most of her life. Unfortunately, so has the embarrassment of her psoriasis. But not anymore. LeAnn is taking a stand to Stop Hiding from her psoriasis and wants you to Stop Hiding and Start Living too. Join the Stop Hiding campaign and receive updates from LeAnn and the campaign.

A coupon in my bread & a GIVEAWAY

2008-10-17T15:18:00.003-04:00

This morning, in my usual frantic dash around the house to secure the items I would need for my day at work, I reached in my bread box and grabbed the loaf of bread. I proceeded to pluck 2 slices from the bag and just as I was dropping them down in a ziploc bag, something catches my eye. A coupon... for sandwich meat...between my slices of bread. Now, I'm quite familiar with promotional packaging, and as a coupon user, I always check the boxes of products, to see if a coupon was printed inside. This was however new to me. The coupon wasn't just tucked into the packaging, it was "smack dab" in the middle of my loaf of bread. So if any of you have recently picked up some of Sara Lee's Soft & Smooth Whole Grain White bread... don't be suprised if the next time you grab a slice you get a little something extra!

Now onto the part you're here for... the GIVEAWAY... I am going to be giving away a 2 Week Free Pass to Curves for you & a friend. Pretty nifty huh? I'm not sure how it relates to coupons & bread, but it's my world, you're just visiting :)

To enter the giveaway:

#1 Leave me a comment w/the oddest place you've found a coupon

#2 Get a bonus entry if you post my contest on your blog or elsewhere (Just leave me a comment with the link)

#3 Get another bonus entry if you subscribe to my blog

I'll be running this contest until 24th (A week from today!)

Good Luck!

Try it Tuesday

2008-10-14T16:03:00.004-04:00

Ok, so I've decided to introduce a new segment into my blog. "Try it Tuesday" Each Tuesday, I will be sharing my results of trying something new, it could be a new food, a new recipe, heck if I have a slow week, maybe a new way home from work!

And my first "Try" is Snyder's Multigrain Aged Cheddar Cheese Puffs. Or Cheezy Poofs as I shall now refer to them. So, how did I select this product? Well, after careful market research and hundreds of hours in the lab... OK... back to reality... Sunday, I was grocery shopping, looking for a "Chip Product" to go in my lunches... and these caught my eye. Why did they catch my eye?
#1 Cheezy Poofs are GOOD!
#2 They were on S-A-L-E
#3 MULTIGRAIN in big ol' letters across the top required closer inspection
#4 There was a blurb about FIBER on the front too

So, I paused, and after taking a glance at the bag, decided that these would be a better option for me than the Wavy Lays Ranch chips I had just placed in my cart.

Now, they have 2 grams of Fiber in a serving, which isn't the greatest number, but does rank higher than my potato chips, and I'm a FIBER junkie, so I thought that combined with Whole Grain sounded like a better option.

I broght these for lunch today. And I must report they are YUMMY. To be completely honest, no, they aren't exactly like eating my usual fav, Cheetos Cheese Puffs. However, they have a great Cheddar Flavor and the whole grain adds an interesting crunch. And I don't feel quite so guilty eating them. I checked out their website, Snyder's has an entire line of Whole Grain snacks, including White Cheddar Cheezy Poofs... which are sounding very yummy!!!!

That's it for this installment, check back with me next week, for my next venture... I'll be giving the scoop on one of the goods from my shopping trip to LUSH today.

Some great weekend savings

2008-10-13T09:10:00.009-04:00

I set a goal for Sunday, and am quite happy to say it is was about 90% accomplished... I am pleased considering in recent weeks it would have been scored a big fat 0% - So, what was my goal? To get all my shopping for this week finished on Sunday. Why?

#1 I work a full time job during the week

#2 I have my part time sales gig during the week

#3 I end up missing good sales if I don't go early in the week, because all the items are gone

#4 By the time Saturday comes around, I've usually got so many things on my "to do" list, that I end up up chucking some of the deals that I want to do

Basically, recently, I haven't been getting to the store on Sunday, and then am stuck running after work in the evenings, which then just seems to be a huge time sucker, because I usually would go home, realize something was needed and then go back out, before I knew it, the entire evening was wasted.

So this weekend, with the exception of a couple of small items I will need to pick up on the way home from work (which won't be a huge time constraint) I'm finished. I do still need to go to CVS & Walgreens this week, but planned on doing that during lunch, there weren't any spectacular deals I saw that I really needed. Below is what I picked up:

At Rite Aid: I spent $23 HOWEVER, with the exception of the All-Bran Fiber waters ($3.49) everything in the picture is FAR (free after rebate)

I don't have my receipt with me, so I can't remember all the specific pricing. You can view your circular at RiteAid.com and check out the HUGE list of FAR items this week. I bought Theraflu, Lizard Lips Lip Balm, Lypsyl Lip Balm, Soft Lips Lip Balm, Excederin Tension Headache Express Gels, & Bee M.D. throat drops.

Next at Meijer (I have 2 pics, couldn't get it all on the freezer for one pic):

I won't bullet out every single item (if you see something that I don't mention & wanna know the price, just ask, I'll let you know if it was a deal or a "I just want") I spent around $50 at Meijer for everything you see, whic is not bad, considering I bought laundry supplies, etc

Best deals:

Orville Redenbacher Natural Popcorn (3 Ct full bag or 4 Ct Mini) on sale half price $1.59 minus a $1 MFN from recent inserts = $.59 a box (I bought 5!)

ChexMix $1.25 a bag minus $.50 MFN from recent inserts (doubled) = $.25 a bag (I bought 4!)

Dole Salads B1G1 @ 2.79 ea minus $1 coupon ea (in store complimentary mag, look for the recipe stand, it's located there) = $.79 for 2 bags of salad

Betty Crocker Instant Potato Packets, Reg Price $.89 minus $.40 MFN coupon (doubled) = $.09 each (I bought 4!)

Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup on sale 10 for $6, I bought 4 and combined with a $.40 /4 MFN (doubled) making it $.40 a can

Spaghetti O's (I usually don't buy, but this was a great deal) 6 for $3, there was a $.40/2 MFN (doubled) making them just $.10 a can!

Campbells Soup at Hand & Microwavable Soups $1 each, used a $.50/2 MFN (doubled) making them $.50 each

Some other quick deals

V8 Soup is on sale for $2 minus a $1 MFN = $1 ea

Tide 20 Loads $4.99 minus a $1 MFN = $3.99 ea

Apples $2.69 for a quarter peck bag (I can fit a TON in that bag)

Prego Sauce on sale $1.67, minus $.50/2 MFN (doubled) = $1.33 ea

Green Giant Frozen Veggies (small box or Steamers) $1 each, combine w/ the $1 off Steamer or $.50/2 Boxes (doubled) = Free Or $.50 each

On to Kroger: Total $1.08 (Used $16 in Glade Rewards)

Noteworthy purchases:

Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Bread is B1G1 ($2.29)

Oreda Steamers $2 Sale (Use $1 MFN) = $1 each

Well that's all folks. With the exception of some soymilk & cat food, I am through shopping for the week (some of these items obviously carry over into other weeks too!)

Free Chocolate & Cheap Fiber

2008-10-09T09:47:00.003-04:00

Ok, so I haven't posted a deal in a while, not that I haven't been getting them. In some cases, by the time I make it home, I haven't felt like taking a picture. In other cases, I have actually managed to take a picture, but just not managed to get the picture online... Busy, Busy, Busy...

However, I thought I would share my quick trip to Walgreens last night. Yesterday I was on a mission, I had $10.50 in RR that were set to expire, and this was my first chance to make it into Walgreens this week. After working all day, and the heading with my roomie to the Sprint store for what seemed like an eternity, I finally made it to Walgreens... I was on the opposite side of town, and had actually not been in this "new" Walgreen before. Sadly some of the deals I had planned weren't in stock... so I had to improvise & make due. There wasn't anything I actually neeeded anyways. But I did manage to get paid a quarter to get some chocolate!

Here's what I picked up:

2 Benefiber 16 pack Kiwi Strawberry @ 7.99 ea

2 Dial Yogurt Hand Soaps @ 2 for $3

2 Lindt Chocolate Bars @ 2.49 ea

2 Individual Packs Peanut Butter M&M's @ 2 for $1

4 Reese Pumpkins @ 2 for $1

1 Nivea's Men Body Wash @ 4.99

The total came to about $33

I used:

(2) $2 MFN Benefiber Sticks from recent insert AND the WAG ESC for $5 (multiplied x 2) - Making the Benefiber just .99 a box

(1) BOGO Catalina for Dial Yogurt Hand Soap = $1.50 for both

(1) BOGO MFN Lindt from last Sunday's insert, (1) $0.75 MFN Lindt from last Sunday's insert, AND the WAG ESC for $1 (multiplied x 2) - Making the Lindt completely free, plus netting me a quarter in OVERAGE!

Then I used my $3, $3, and $4.50 RR ( I threw all the candy in as filler to equal out to my coupons, who can go wrong with candy!)

Total after coupons: $2.63 AND on top of that, the Men's Nivea Body Wash is one of the secret rebate items this month, so I will get back $5.48 back for it ($4.99 + 10%) which means I actually made a profit! Not bad for a quick deal & a very tired shopper.

C'mon People, even a caveman can do it!

2008-10-07T15:19:00.002-04:00

Ok, if you know me, you know that I have a coupon/discount/deal for practically everything I buy... I'm lucky that way I guess (though it has more to do with logic than luck) however, even if you don't feel you have any time to clip a coupon or the such... you can take advantage of the easy deals... what are these easy deals... the ones that drugstores offer for FREE... yes... that's right.... FREE... You follow their process, and the only $$$ you are out is tax (now of course, if you're a good deal hunter, you are probably going to combine a coupon in there, and make money, but that's a different post... this post is for the folks who are just starting out and trying to make sense of it all).

So, this week, let's start at CVS. I'm not going to go through the whole CVS101 - because it's been explained on other blogs... if you need a crash course, might I suggest.... CVS101 courtesy of Money Saving Mom to get you going. Basically, CVS is pretty shopper friendly, you don't have to wait for a rebate, the rebate prints back out to you instantly in the store, in the form of "ECB's" or Extra Care Bucks, which are just dollars that can be spent on store purchases... just make sure you have your handy dandy little CVS Extra Care Card. So... back to this week, combining some deals that CVS has for the week, along with what they have as some Monthly deals, here is what even the laziest among you can pick up... (Now please check your circular if you don't live in the Lexington Metro area, there are a couple of random places that get different CVS ads, but most should find this works just fine).

Purchase Always Infinity Pads - They are priced 4.98 this week, when you buy them you get 4.98 back... the advertisement says limit 1, it's actually coming back as 2... so here's how you do that... Your initial investment is $5.28 - that's the price of 1 pack (w/tax) - You get $4.98 printed back, then you buy your second one (you can carry them both up to the register at the same time, and have the cashier split the purchase, provided the line isn't out the door, the cashier won't mind, they are used to this!). Second pack, you use your $4.98 ECB that printed from the first one, and you pay the difference in tax ($0.30) - So far, you've spent $5.58, and you have 2 packs of these (If you have no need for them, I'm sure you know someone who does, or heck, send them to me, lol!) . You also, have ANOTHER $4.98 ECB from CVS... Then you can go back and buy the Well Patch Athritis Patches (3 Count) @ 5.99 each, they are generating 5.99 in ECB's, so you'll buy one, and it will be $6.35, you'll use your $4.98 ECB, and pay the difference ($1.37) and they will give you back $5.99, now you can roll this one 4 more times, each time, you'll now have a $5.99 ECB, and will only be paying tax ($0.35) each time. So, then... you buy Glaceau Vitamin Water, it's 2.29 (plus tax I believe) AND you pick up CVS Brand Vitamin D (because you know you need more Vitamins anyway) It's onsale for $2.99 this month for 100 count (actually it's a 120 Count bottle at my store) and they generate $2.99 back... so the total for these items is $5.28 before tax, so throw in a couple packs of travel tissue (they are by the register, and are 2 for $1... it's cold season, you need something to blow your nose) - That should bring your total up to $6.28 plus tax, and you'll use your $5.99 ECB, and pay the difference, less than a buck... You will also now have $5.28 in ECB's to use) So after all of it, you've spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $7 -$8 bucks (depending on how many times you got the Well Patch), and you have 2 packs of Always Infinity, 1-5 Boxes of Well Patch (great for achy bones), a vitamin water, some vitamins, and a couple travel packs of Tissue... PLUS you have $5.28 to spend again... at this point, you can go crazy and buy yourself something pretty... or... save them for the next deal... See was that so hard????

Now, we can move on to Walgreens.... Walgreen's system is a bit different, their rebates are submitted online or via mail. You can get real $$$ back, or if you put it on a Walgreens Gift Card, they will give you an extra 10%, I recommend this, because, well, it's extra money, and after the first month when you send off for it, you'll get your rebates FASTER. Now Walgreens also has something called, Register Rewards (RR) but I'm not going to talk about them in this post because we're not using them for these... Now you will spend a little more to get yourself started at Walgreens, but after that, you'll be able to re-spend the same money OVER and OVER... So What are you buying... This month, you can pick up Nivea Men's Body Wash, it's FREE after Rebate (FAR), Extreme Energy 2 Pack (FAR), Your Choice of L'Oreal Cleansers (FAR) & Rimmel Lasting Finish Mineral Foundation (FAR) - You simply pay for them, go home, sign into their website, enter a couple things from your receipt, and submit... they will mail you your Gift Card... no UPC's to clip, nuttin... Then that money comes back to you, and you can use it next month for their Freebies.

Now let's move on to Rite Aid... I have to admit, I don't shop Rite Aid as often, so if you really want to know about alot of their deals, check out IHEARTRITEAID for all the scenarios and deals. However I do know that this week, you can buy Crest Whitening Rinse for $3.99 and then use their SCR (Single Check Rebate) to get your $ back...

So... was that so hard? I mean, very minimal effort, and you start the cycle... once you get started, you just keep rolling your "refunded" money back into the store, so you continue to bring home products at little to no cost to yourself... and then... you can use COUPONS to actually make money... but if that overwhelms you, BABY STEPS... start with Free...

And you know those dollars I was pointing out spending at CVS... Check and see if your bank offers a rewards program, I earn points for all the $ I spend through my bank (National City) that I cash in and get CVS gift cards, which takes care of my tax, so then I spend almost nothing out of pocket there too!

Sometimes it's ok to get lost

2008-10-07T00:01:00.006-04:00

Are you looking for something fun to do this fall... I'm suprised each year, when I mention the words "Corn Maze" to people, just how many people look at me like I've sprouted a third arm... yet those that have joined in on the fun, have had a blast and look forward to doing it every year! So, to start with... I'll get real simple... a corn maze is exactly what it sounds like, it's a maze... in a corn field... there are a variety of themes, sizes, levels of difficulty, and entertainment value to each one. If you're not sure if there is one near you, I recommend starting clicking here to check out a HUGE directory for pumpkin patches, corn mazes and the works!

Now I do have some tips...

* call ahead or check online, to confirm hours & pricing... everything changes...

* wear comfortable shoes, preferably tennis shoes... your feet will thank you

* make sure the size of the maze is appropriate for the people attending, small kids might not be able to make it through a 9 acre maze and you may be carrying them!

*get a group together, it's much more fun with a group of people, and depending on the size, you might get a discount

*don't wear your Sunday best, it's a farm after all... chances are, you'll end up a bit dirty or dusty

*make sure you hit the bathroom before you hit the maze... Read on and you'll find out why!

So, here's my own little tale of this year's corn maze adventure. We decided to check out a relatively new one this year. Kelley Farms did their 2nd annual corn maze... It's pretty big, something like 8 acres, this year it's in the shape of Abraham Lincoln. It's actually 2 different mazes, we were brave enough to try both. We of course headed out once it got dark... because corn mazing is even more fun with a flash light! They gave us a diagram of the maze, so you could figure your way through, we of course took it, but decided we'd just figure this sucker out on our own... We did pretty good. We managed to only go in circles about 20 times (this is half the fun!) in the first maze... Remember me telling you that tip about bathroom visits... very important... one of my dear friends decided she couldn't hold it any longer, so we purposely found a dead end that curved around.... and stood guard while she crept into the dark to pee! Let me just say it's very quiet out there too... so we had to talk kinda loud to drown it out... Sadly, this isn't the first time I've known a friend to have to pee in the corn maze!

Now at one point, I'm sure I personally made parents grab their children a little tighter... See earlier in the evening, as we were getting ready to head out, one of my friends was on the phone, recanting a very funny comment to another friend, and for some reason I got tickled, just as I was trying to take a drink of soda... and unfortunately, while trying to keep from spewing the soda out my mouth (which I was succeeded at preventing!) I managed to spew soda through my nose! I know, not a very pretty picture! Definitely not one of my more graceful moments, that's for sure... So fast forward to about an hour later, in the maze, as I exclaim (and unfortunately, in my "outside voice" )for all the world to hear, "I can still smell COKE in my nose!" At which point I realized that the words tumbling forth from my mouth, might have different connotations to those said parents who were probably now trying to herd their children away from the crazy druggie in the corn maze!

After making it through the first maze, which was dubbed... "Harder" we decided to give the "easier" one a shot... now mind you, there are these little numbered check points as you go through the maze, so you can kind of figure out if you're headed on the right path... so we pass Check point 1 very easily, before you know it, we're onto #2, and in the blink of an eye, #3 is in our sights... at which point, I point out, "Wow, this one is easier"... which as you probably have guessed, was a little presumptive... because as we trudge on... we see another checkpoint...and as we get closer, realize we're back at #2... SUPER, so we backtrack.... and instead of seeing #3, the next one we spy is #1! Somehow, we manage to get our heads in the game, and start back over, of course, through the rest of the maze, the following comments can be overheard by our group "Hey, this is the same hole we stepped over 5 minutes ago!" and "Haven't we been by this row before???" But finally, Victory was ours! We successfully made it out of Maze #2... We had managed to hit all the checkpoints in both mazes (with the exception of C.P. #5 in the first one) and had a bunch of letters to unscramble.... I am pleased to say I solved the puzzle, and we headed back to claim our prize... mini pumpkins & gourds... although each of us heard a different description of the quantity we were supposed to claim... so we possibly stole an extra gourd... if so, I blame Misha!

Here's Misha & Kev as we entered the Maze:

And here is Kevin & Me!

So that was Corn Maze adventure '08 - Who knows where we'll end up next year!

$1 Butter Burgers!!

2008-10-02T15:42:00.001-04:00

Check it out! Culver's will be celebrating their 24th Year on Tuesday Oct 7th by serving up their famous ButterBurgers for just $1 (Limit of 5 per order)

Such a lovely day

2008-10-01T16:03:00.004-04:00

I love it, I woke up this morning and weather guy tells me today was going to be in the 60's... WOOHOO!!! I happen to be one of those people who loves the cooler weather.... I stepped out to head to work (in Capris & Sandals... because that is the perfect attire for this weather) and was a little sad that I had to spend the day at work. I did manage to sneak outside for lunch & read... this was my view:

It was great, not too sunny (my pale complection doesn't appreciate alot of that) with a light breeze, it was heavenly! I can't wait for the day to be over so I can get out and at least enjoy the evening. This is definitely good corn maze weather, which is hopefully going to take place this weekend!

That's all for now... go get out from behind your computer and get some fresh air!

Free Flu Shot in Lexington

2008-10-01T12:09:00.002-04:00

I saw this article on WLEX's website. Fayette County Health Department is doing free flu shots this Saturday (Oct 4th) at Lexmark - it's drive thru service, just drive up and roll down your window :)

You can get all the details on their website, by clicking here

It's the little things

2008-09-26T09:00:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a good day. Nothing spectacular happened, and that's okk. If you wait for something spectacular to make your day, you could spend much more of your life waiting around, instead of enjoying the simplest of things. Even the smallest or most random things can brighten your day, if you let them. So, here's what made me happy yesterday:

Lunch w/ the best friend - Yes, I see him everyday, but it's great to steal a few minutes with a great friend, just to help you finish out the day

Fresh Breadsticks @ Lunch - Hey, I'm easy to please! There is something to be said for hot & fresh bread, lol!

Silly Text Messages - Another acquaintance & I got into a short text discussion on some pretty absurd topics, that made me laugh so hard I was crying

Smooth commute home - I drive the interstate home most days, a day with no backups, pile ups or speed traps... is wonderful

P&G Mail - I did a survey online for P&G awhile back, and was rewarded with coupons... this was really cool, because it is the full coupon insert for October, so I can use them early!

Free Ice Cream - Stopped at Coldstone Creamery & picked up a free ice cream during their Make-A-Wish Ice Cream Social. Nutter Butter... YUMMY

Rite Aid actually had something in stock - Advil was on sale, I had a coupon, it was on the shelf... so I picked up 3 bottles of Advil for FREE... YAY ME!

Yup, all in all, not a bad day!

Free Ice Cream & a Good Cause

2008-09-25T15:16:00.002-04:00

Tonight is Coldstone Creamery's Make-a-Wish night. They will be giving away ice cream - in your choice of:

Jack's Creation - Marshmallow ice cream with OREO® Cookies, Chocolate Chips & Fudge

Emily's Creation - Nutter Butter® ice cream with White Chocolate Chips, Kit Kat & Yellow Cake

It's their 7th annual Ice Cream Social, from 5PM - 8PM - and donations made will benefit Make-a-Wish

So stop in and grab an ice cream & make a donation!

Click here for full story

Check 'em out

2008-09-24T09:05:00.003-04:00

Here are some great giveaways out there by some bloggers:

Do you need to be organized? Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls can get you started with a "Truly Mom" planner, this one is a great planner, go check it out here.

How about a free 2 year mag subscription to the greatest magazine ever? Then you'll want to check out Thrify Mama's All You giveaway

It's not over... but it's different

2008-09-23T13:05:00.002-04:00

So, in creating my blog, I made a pretty bold statement. "It's not over after 30" And I do believe that statement wholeheartedly. I guess I forgot to give my foot that memo. About 2 years ago, being the completely put together and graceful person that I am, while attempting to be a good samaritan, I fell... not once... but twice in a matter of 60 seconds (yes, I know... this takes talent). This resulted in a very scratched cell phone, a wounded ego and unfortunately... a sprained ankle, dislocated kneecap and a broke foot! I spent months in tennis shoes (which was fate's little fashion torture for me) and made a full recovery... well as full as one can expect. Once you break something, it's never quite right.

My most recent affliction began about a month ago...I noticed that I was having some heel pain... which I have had from time to time, but this time... it just didn't go away... and there were times when the pain was excruciating... I kept thinking it would go away... (because you know that simply wishing away something is very effective, lol) but alas, last week my foot called my bluff and I was forced to bite the bullet... and call the doctor. Not just any doctor... nope, my 30 yr old foot was making me drag it to the podiatrist...

Now I'm not knocking these doctors... it's just when you walk in, and you see the display of "orthopedic shoes" you have to wonder if someone will be lurking behind the door ready to put on your medic alert bracelet and give you a Geritol chaser.

So, after a brief prodding & series of X-Rays to rule anything else out... Dr Po (as in POdiatrist) concludes that it's Plantar Facaiitis and then gives a scornful look over in the direction of my comfy Curve sandals... I guess from his tone, that "Extremely High Arches" are not as cool as they sound and am slightly disappointed when he gently points out, that I do need to remember that as we age, we have to start taking better care of ourselves and realize that we can no longer be as carefree... In short - I gather from him that 30yr olds should not be waltzing around barefoot nearly as much as I enjoy!

So I leave the doctor armed with a prescription (thinking to myself... hmmm which pharmacy can I get a GC from?), an arch binder (big ol' piece of elastic, suprisingly comfy) and a pair of inserts... feeling like Sophia from Golden Girls... and as I leave the doctor's office, I faintly hear the "flip-flop" of my youth staying behind...

I am sticking to my guns... it's not over... but it's different... and that's not always a bad thing... and at least I have my memories (for now!)

I was born to be a mother, just not today

2008-09-17T16:01:00.003-04:00

For as long as I can remember, I've had names for my future children picked out. When I was very young, I told my mother that I wanted to have 16 kids! Of course, when I was 7, my mother became pregnant with my brother, and I got a little more formal of an education of pregnancy... at which point, I advised my mother I would adopt. Now my brother Ray, who was born right before I turned 8 might not agree so much that I was born to be a mother, considering when he was about 6 weeks old, I was holding him, and he started to spit up, at which time, I promptly tossed him in the air to my mother who was passing by with a laundry basket as I exlaimed "Here Mom, Catch!" - Thankfully, she caught him and I learned that little brothers are not footballs.

So you may wonder, at 30, how many children do I have? Well, I have a few furbabies (the herd) but none of the human variety. And that has been the intentional plan. You see, I love children, and I do plan to have some one day, it's just that... today isn't that day... and tomorrow isn't either. It's not that I don't think I could take care of one. If I were to wake up tomorrow a mom, I think I would manage just fine. But I'm not in a rush to start that portion of my life. I know what the challenges of motherhood can be, and I know one day, I'll be ready for that... but... (you guessed it) Not today.

When I was a freshman in high school, my mother announced that she was pregnant, and the following fall, they brought my baby brother home. I was 15. This time, as a teenager, I had a much more active role in the care of this little wiggly being. Due to unforseen family health emergencies, I actually wrapped up the last week or so of my sophomore year taking care of a 6 month old baby & an 8 year old child while going to school. Having a baby brother was fun, because babies are fun... but I also learned that waking up at 3 in the morning because a baby is crying... not so pleasant. And as the rest of my time at home went on, my baby brother got brought along to shopping trips & college computer labs & all sorts of things, because in my family, my parents worked, and everyone had responsibilities. And, looking back it was great, for many reasons, first & foremost, it was a great lesson in the responsibility of parenting...(hence, no kids now because I knew what came with those cute little babies). It also was a great opportunity for me to get to know my little brother. In fact, at 19 when I moved out on my own, 2 and 1/2 hours away from home... it was leaving that little booger that saddened me the most (I'm sure Trav would be mortified to know he's being referred to so fondly).

For these reasons, and many more, I know that motherhood is something that I want to experience first hand. However I also know that it is something that I can wait for. I'm encouraged, because I've recently ran across blogs from women who had children later in life, and some who did it by themselves by choice. I enjoy reading these women's stories because it's great to find other like minded women, who don't think it's odd that at 30 I am childless and am ok with it. I know one day, I will join their ranks... just not today :)

Some great giveaways

2008-09-17T08:47:00.002-04:00

Life's hectic this week, so no giveaway from me... don't worry, I'll make up for it next week! But in the meantime... check out some of these blogs for great giveaways!

Light up the nights this fall. FrugalMommyof2 has an awesome Keystone Candle giveaway you should check out

AND she's also giving away some really cool Honeybee Makeup so you can look oh, so pretty in that candlelight!

You can really clean up if you check out Super Coupon Girl's Cleaning giveaway - she's got the products & the coupons to help you restock!

"Deal"ectible Mommies is helping you wage a battle on bathroom funk with her Scrubbing Bubbles giveaway! Check it out here

Frugal RI Mama is helping fund your "CVS'ing" with a $10 GC to CVS... are you just imagining the transactions in your head... lol

No Red Bull needed, just buy a pillow

2008-09-16T16:49:00.003-04:00

Never underestimate the power of a good night's rest. And I am a firm believer that the bed should be a haven, it should be comfortable & inviting. For me, that means a my favorite down comforter (I use it year round, it's like sleeping in a cloud...)

I must be one of the pickiest people in the world when it comes to pillows... I have been wanting new pillows for my bed for awhile now, and every store I go into, if I make it to that part of the store, I am often sadly disappointed in the selection... I mean, how in the heck do people sleep on these things I keep finding...

So, this past Sunday, being completely oblivious to the Ike winds that were whipping through my town, I got the urge to head to the mall. Now I had decided to head to Macy's because they were doing a promotion... and my plan was to go buy some bakeware... as I have been needing to replace some of my existing pieces...

Getting there was quite an experience, the power had knocked out some traffic signals near the mall... OK... first... mall traffic here in Lex is a nightmare anyways... but it seems many drivers lose the ability to process the simplest of driving rules when the signals aren't working... but I digress...

Made it into Macy's, and luckily their power was on (it had been out earlier, I learned once I got there) and headed to the home section... I found some bakeware that I liked... but needed some "filler" because I had a coupon that was taking "x" dollars off my purchase, but I wanted my purchase to be "y" number of dollars, because Macy's was doing a promotion and for every "z" dollars you spent, you got back "q" dollars on your next purchase (I bet you didn't think you'd ever need algebra to read a blog, huh?!?!)

So as my roomie & I are wandering around the home section, we come across.... PILLOWS... and hey, it's a Sunday afternoon... there is housework to be done at home... the wind is knocking down trees & walls... so obviously this means... we must check out every pillow we can... and we proceed to do this... I don't wanna give away all the fun... but at one point... roomie actually laid down on the floor to check out how comfy one might be that we were contemplating...

However our efforts were rewarded... as we both found the "PERFECT" pillow... The pillow I got is "European Style" which is just a fancy way of saying it's square instead of rectangle. I made my purchases (bought bakeware too!) and headed home... and let me tell you, Sunday night when I finally crawled into bed, I realized I had found the perfect companion to my heavenly comforter... I slept divinely... cocooned in my bed, comforter up to my ears, head snugly resting on this lovely dream vessel.

And the following morning, while I didn't want to drag myself from this slumber, once up, I felt suprisingly well rested... all day... no energy drink required... makes me want to devote a whole day to it... there's just nothing like a good pillow & blankie...

Even Mollie would agree... as you can see from the pic, as she is snuggled under her own down blankie w/one of her many pillows throughout the house.