Fred & Amber Peña's Family Story

Are Coupons Worth It?

2010-02-11T16:09:00.000-08:00

The Wall Street Journal seems to think so. I don't think I need to give you my opinion on the matter - it should be very clear from this blog what I think. The fact is that, yes, coupons take time. Most things in this life are a trade off between time and money. If you have the money, you can buy yourself some time by paying more for conveniences or hiring someone else to do the work. But, when you find yourself short on money, you have to be willing to invest your time to change that.

Last month I saved $517.94 from both sales and coupons (this month, I've alread saved $571, and the month's only half over!). I probably spend 10 hours a week clipping coupons, organizing them, checking blogs, planning shopping trips etc. (I probably spend more time on blogs than I need to, but I enjoy being part of the couponing community) That works out to be about $13 / hour. And that time spent was at home, with my kids and husband, usually watching a TV show or movie at the same time. I can't think of any other job that has the perks or the benefits of couponing. Plus, as an added bonus, there's the rush of excitement in the check out lane when you see just how low you got your total.

Right now, I really feel I have the best job in the whole world - I get to be a stay-at-home mom and a savvy saver. It's pretty much...awesome :o)

January Budget Wrap Up

2010-02-04T13:42:00.000-08:00

Albertsons: (2 shopping trips)

Total Shelf Cost: $148.61

I Paid: $27.44

Savings: 81%

I am SO going to miss Albertsons - the last store closed and I am SO sad *sigh*. That's one of the reasons why I didn't stay under $100 last month - I just couldn't let these deals go by because I will never see ones like them again.

Rite Aid (2 shopping trips):

Total Shelf Cost: $78.90

I Spent: $7.95

Savings: 89%

Smith's and Maceys:

Total Shelf Cost: $52.70

I Spent: $27.74

Savings: 47%

Walgreens (3 shopping trips):

Total Shelf Cost: $100.00

I Spent: $17.09

Savings: 82%

Maceys:

Total Shelf Cost: $16.70

I Spent: $4.20

Savings: 74%

Smith's:

Total Shelf Cost: $92.06

I Spent: $32.57

Savings: 64%

Walmart (2 Shopping Trips):

Total Shelf Cost: $93.85

I spent: $29.33

Savings: 68%

I did do some price matching, which is totally evil, I know, but I had to go there to pick up stuff for a Primary activity and didn't want to make any other trips, so I did it. And I only feel a little bad about it.

Buy Low:

Shelf Cost: $16.35

I Spent: $6.31

Savings: %61

Sunflower Market:

Shelf Cost: $5.14

I Spent: $3.23

Savings: 37%

(FYI - The brown bag is flax seeds)

Target:

Shelf Cost: $41.32

I Spent: $6.44

Savings: 84%

Target, Buy Low, Babies R Us (very random, I know):

Shelf Cost: $29.72

I Spent: $7.94

Savings: 73%

We also had several small trips to Smith's where we picked up bread, milk, and whole milk yogurt. I also placed an order with Alice.com for some Saran Wrap, because we were all out and I knew I wasn't getting to a store in the next few days and didn't want to make a special trip.

All told, in the month of January we:

Spent $197.22 on all groceries (food, household items, diapers, toiletries, medicine etc)

Total Value of Purchases (Shelf Cost): $714.66

Saved with coupons: $284.86 (don't doubt that coupons are worth the work!)

Saved with Sales: $233.08

Savings: 72%

At the beginning of the year, one of my favorite blogs had an excel spreadsheet to download that tracks all of these numbers - you just enter a few numbers in off your receipt and it totals everything up - I love it. I not only love seeing how much I save, but it's so much fun that it keeps me on top of my receipts so that I don't lose track of how much I've spent. I used to just keep a mental tally of how much I had left to spend, but I know there were things I forgot and that adds up. So, I'm loving this new spreadsheet because it's yet another way to save money.

Eating From the Pantry Wrap Up

2010-02-04T13:25:00.000-08:00

Well, this is where the confession comes in - I pretty much failed at my eat from the pantry challenge. I wanted to keep our grocery spending under $100, and that did not happen - not even close. In fact, I spent $197! I fell off the wagon, big time. But, I don't really feel bad about it - maybe I should, but I don't :o) I knew that it would be very difficult for me to stick to a $100 budget and I'm not really surprised that I didn't make it.

I did succeed in cleaning out the fridge and freezer quite a bit (the freezer door actually stays closed now and things don't fall out when I open it!). I managed to go from 10 bottles of salad dressing in the fridge, to 5 (and 2 of those are almost gone). I also finished off lots of other odds and ends that were taking up room in the fridge and freezer: Hoisin sauce, maraschino cherries, marinated artichoke hearts (2 half full jars - what's my problem!), lots of cheese, BBQ sauce, sweet & sour sauce, 10 lbs of clementines, cranberries...and probably some other things that I can't think of at the moment. It feels good to clear out the clutter in there. So, in that regard, the challenge wasn't a complete failure.

In that regard, this challenge was really beneficial to me in that it changed the way I meal plan. I am much more conscious of what I have on hand and need to use up. It was fun to invent recipes that used ingredients that I had on hand - I haven't been that creative in the kitchen for a while - it was refreshing. For those reason, I'm really glad I took on this challenge.

I think I'll throw up a post showing everything I bought last month, just to show that some of the deals were just too good to pass up (and maybe justify my complete lack of self control).

Our Swagbucks Booty

2010-01-15T14:14:00.000-08:00

Our family has been using Swagbucks for about 9 months now and during that time, we're accumulated $100 in Amazon gift cards. With those gift cards we bought:

This Plantronics Bluetooth headset for Fred:

This Radioflyer Scooter for Hunter:

(Shhhhhhh, we're saving it for his birthday!)

And this arrived in the mail yesterday for me:

I wrote here that one kitchen gadget that I simply cannot live without is my digital probe thermometer. Well, my beloved thermometer died, on Christmas Day. Not great timing. But, luckily Ham isn't a particularly "needy" meat, and our dinner still turned out great. That day I logged into our Swagbucks account and started redeeming our Amazon gift cards. I was SO grateful that we had a bunch of these gift cards that we got completely free so that I could turn right around and get an item that I wanted.

If you're unsure what Swagbucks is, I wrote posts here and here that explain exactly what it is and why I love it so much. If you'd like to score your own Swagbuck booty, click here and you'll be able to sign up. When you sign up under me, I'll get a Swagbuck for every one that you do (up to 100). And when you've signed up, sign up all your friends and family under you so that you can get Swagbucks for every one that they earn too. It really is a win-win situation: We all get free stuff, just for searching the Internet using Swagbucks, which you probably do already.

Help for Haiti

2010-01-15T08:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I feel a little weird about posting this, but with all the tremendous support for this cause in the blogging world, I feel I kinda need to. One of my favorite blogs, Money Saving Mom, has started an effort to help those devastated by the earthquake in Haiti. For every blog linked up to her Help for Haiti post, she will donate $10 to Compassion International. She has also recruited the help of 45 blogs, who in turn are donating money for every blog linked to their sites. So, by posting what our family has done to donate to those in Haiti, I will be able to link up to all their posts, multiplying the little that we were able to give.

We donated money to our church's Humanitarian Services. We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and our church runs a phenomenal Humanitarian Aid program. There are dozens of reputable organizations that are accepting donations for Haiti, but I chose to donate through our church because I know that 100% of the money they receive goes to those in need - there is NO overhead for administration costs. I know that they do a wonderful job and are guided by the spirit in their efforts. If you wish to donate to the LDS church's Humanitarian Aid fund, you can do so here.

Our donation wasn't very big, but as Crystal said, even $1 - $2 is a lot of money in Haiti. And thanks to all the wonderful bloggers out there, I can multiply our small donation by simply linking up to their sites. I encourage you to do something and check out all the blogs that will multiply your efforts. This is definitely the kind of thing that I normally just keep to myself, and I don't mean to brag about what I'm doing, I'm really just posting so that I can make our small donation stretch a little further. And beside money, we can all pray. Because above all, the people of Haiti need miracles, and miracles come through prayer.

Eating from the Pantry Week 1 Wrap Up

2010-01-08T11:58:00.000-08:00

We've been "Eating from the Pantry" for a week now, and we've barely made a dent. But, we have used up some odds and ends, and it feels good to be clearing the kitchen clutter. I'm only posting our dinners here because breakfast is usually cereal and lunch is usually leftovers or something simple, like soup and sandwiches.

Day 1 - Appetizers: home-made cream cheese & crab wontons, pigs in a blanket, cuties, celery with cream cheese, sweet pickles, cheese ball with crackers, and sparkling cider.

Pantry items used:

Sweet pickles
Cream Cheese
Crackers

Verdict: Yummy!!!!!

Day 2 - Southern Style Chicken Sandwiches, Frozen Onion Rings, Green Smoothies

Pantry Items used:

Tyson breaded chicken breasts in the freezer (gone now!)
Whole wheat hamburger buns in the freezer (gone now!)
Pickles (We have tons of pickles that I got for dirt cheap when Smith's doubled coupons)
Frozen Fruit (I got a bunch of Albertson's brand frozen fruit on clearance before they changes to Fresh Market)
Onion Rings (used half the bag)

Verdict: Nothing amazing, but they were tasty.

Day 3 - Apple Pecan Pancakes with Pumpkin Butter, Green Smoothies, Hash browns, Sausage

Pantry Items Used:

Krusteaz pancake mix (that I got for $.67)
Pecans (chopped and stored in the freezer)
Pumpkin butter that I made from our jack-o-lantern that we never carved
Frozen fruit (gone now!)
Jimmy Dean Sausage (that I got for $.49) (gone now!)
frozen shredded hash browns (gone now!)

Verdict: Yummy! And very filling - We had lots of leftovers (which we ate for lunches)

Day 4 - My version of Outback Steakhouse's Alice Springs Chicken, salad, canned pineapple

Pantry Items used:

Center Cut Bacon (that I got for $.75)
Cheese (there have been so many good cheese deals lately - we have a ton!)
Chicken (frozen - bought for $1.29 / lb)
Canned Pineapple (I bought for $.25)
Used some salad dressing on the salad, but we still have tons in the fridge)
Used leftover ham sauce from Christmas instead of making honey mustard sauce (and it tasted great - my ham sauce is pretty amazing, if I do say so myself)
Potatoes (they have been so cheap lately that we've been buying and using a lot of them. These I got at 10 lbs / $.99 at Albertsons)

Verdict: Soooooooooooooo good! (but not worth paying $10+ for in the restaurant when you can serve 4 for half that price)

Day 5 - Steak, Baked potatoes, roasted broccoli, cherries

O.k. so I know that it is not remotely close to cherry season, but they looked so good and I love them, so I splurged (paying $2.99 / lb - ouch!) Grant loved them too!

Pantry Items Used:

Chef's Request Steaks (I got these for $.98 after coupon)
Italian salad dressing (I used it as a marinade - 1 bottle of salad dressing down, 9 to go!)
Potatoes

Verdict: Good. I bought 4 packs of the Chef's Request Steak (at $.98 each) before I'd heard that they weren't very good - you can taste all the preservatives they use. But, I didn't want to waste them, so, I marinated them for 2 days and served them with crushed pecans and they actually tasted good. Not great, just good. I don't recommend this product at all.

Oh, and the cherries were delish!

Day 6 - Macaroni & Cheese with ham and Broccoli, tropical fruit

Pantry Items used:

Macaroni (Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta that I got for $.20 / box)
Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Evaporated Milk (I got for $.24 / can)
Frozen Broccoli
Deli Ham
Del Monte jarred Sun Fresh fruit (I used a BOGO coupon on this, it was still a splurge at $1.50 / jar)

Verdict: Creamy, warm, and yummy! I probably wouldn't buy the fruit again though - it's really nothing special and you can get canned fruit for much cheaper. I love the Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta - it's fortified with fiber, calcium and protein, so it has some of the benefits of whole grain pasta but the taste and texture of regular semolina pasta which makes it more versatile.

I made a ton of macaroni & cheese, so we froze half. I love to make double batches of recipes and then freeze the second portion. We rarely eat out, so it's nice to have something on hand for those days that I just don't feel like cooking.

Day 7 - Spaghetti & Meatballs, peas, cherries

Pantry Items Used:

Spaghetti (Ronzoni Smart Taste again)
Ragu pasta sauce
Ground beef (96% lean that I got for $1.99 / lb - gotta love Smith's markdowns!)
Italian Blend cheese
Green Giant Frozen Peas
Bread Crumbs
Dried herbs

Verdict: Nothing special, but it satisfied the family's craving for spaghetti and meatballs after watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

I also made a double batch of meatballs and froze the second portion.

It has been a lot of fun challenging myself to use up what we've got, and it's nice to start making more space in the fridge and freezer. The back room and pantry are still a total mess, but hopefully by the end of the month we'll have cleared out enough that I can get in and organize it better.

Eating From the Pantry (well, mostly)...

2010-01-06T20:36:00.000-08:00

A couple of my favorite blogs initiated an "eating from the pantry challenge" for the month of January. When I first read of it, my initial reaction was "Thanks, but no thanks" and I didn't give it a second thought. Then, about a week ago I was wading through our back room. I use the term wading because that it literally what it is like - we have so much food and household supplies in our back room that I can't even begin to organize it. There is just so much stuff. It's all stuff that we use, and it's all stuff that I bought at rock bottom prices, so there's nothing to feel bad about. Plus, our church advises that each family have a year supply of food and household supplies. And we are no where close to a year's supply of food! Well, except for granola bars, we have a 2 year supply of those! So, despite not having space, I still feel the need to stock up when the price is right, after all, it's what the Prophet has counseled. *sigh* But, I have finally come to terms with the fact that our little house simply cannot hold a year supply of food and our family - it's one or the other and we've got no where else to go, so the food it is.

So, I decided to follow my blogging leaders on their culinary adventure. Now that doesn't mean that we are going to strictly live off of what's in our house - I plan on buying fresh produce and dairy this month and that's about it. I will probably succumb to some rock bottom deals and venture outside of the basics, but, the bottom line is that I want to keep our grocery bill under $100 this month.

My biggest goal this month is to use up a lot of the odds and ends we have around here (like the 10 open bottles of different salad dressings in the fridge - I'm not joking!). I've come up with a menu plan for the first 2 weeks and things are looking pretty good so far (no mustard and pickle sandwiches ;) Here's the menu for the first 2 weeks (some we've already made):

Meals already made:

Appetizers (not really part of the challenge, but we grazed on yummy appetizers on New Years Day)

Steak with Baked potatoes (using my $.98 Chef's Request Steaks) and roasted broccoli

Apple Pecan pancakes with pumpkin butter and green smoothies

Macaroni & Cheese with ham and broccoli

Southern Style Chicken Sandwiches

My version of Outback Steak House's Alice Springs Chicken

Coming up:

My version of the Olive Garden Tuscana soup (in the freezer) with sourdough bread (that I will make myself if I ever remember to buy cheesecloth!)

Lemon chicken stir fry with rice noodles

Chicken fingers (with crushed up potato chips) and onion rings

Chicken Poppy seed pasta salad (Not really a winter dish, but I gotta use the salad dressing)

The Best Pot Roast

Spaghetti & Meatballs (Fred's request after watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs last night)

French Toast with pumpkin butter (I made a lot of pumpkin butter!)

Cafe Rio sweet pork salad (I have the pork in the freezer leftover from the last time)

Beef Stroganoff

Really, looking at what we have on hand, we could do this eating from the pantry challenge for 2 months before it really begins to stretch us too far. But, I don't want our stockpile to get too low - I'd hate to actually have to pay full price for things. *gasp* Really, the only reason it's possible to live (and eat well) on $100 this month is because I have a lot of food on hand, thanks to some serious couponing. Without coupons $100 would leave us eating a lot of beans and rice. I am so thankful for all the wonderful coupon blogs out there that have helped me save so much money! I've been hard core couponing for almost a year now and it has really paid off. Our family has gone from spending $400 / month for all groceries (food, toiletries, cleaning, diapers etc) and having no food storage. To spending $200 / month for everything and having a size-able food storage. What a blessing!

Sorry for that tangent...back to the point of this post: eating from the pantry - I'm excited for this challenge and the creativity it will take to use up some of the things we have around here. Hopefully I'll stop being a slacker and post some of the recipes over on my other blog (No, there's nothing wrong with your eyes, it really has been 5 months since I've posted). I'm especially looking forward to clearing out some space around here so that I can get my stockpile more organized. Yes, this is going to be good for me.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T13:22:00.000-08:00

We wish you a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours. We hope that you feel of the peace and hope that the Savior brings into the world, we certainly do. It has been a wonderful year for our family. It has been full of challenges and trials, for sure. But, overcoming those trials has made us closer as a family and to the Lord. We are all healthy and well, which is huge considering this time last year, we weren't sure how Grant's heart was doing. And we are so grateful that he's doing well. Fred's applying to Law School and we're anxious to see where we end up next fall. Amber's loves being a coupon-clipping, deal-seeking, stay-at-home-mom. Hunter is learning to read and Grant is perfecting his demolition abilities. All in all, we feel so very blessed and grateful for everything the Lord has blessed us with, material and immaterial.

Merry Christmas!

Albertson's Doubles and Rite Aid deals

2009-12-21T11:54:00.001-08:00

It has been forever since I've posted pictures of my grocery deals. It's not that I haven't been shopping, or that I haven't been getting deals, or even that I haven't taken pictures - I've done all these things, I just haven't posted them. But, I was so jazzed about the Albertson's double coupons in this Sunday's paper and the deals that I got with them, that I just had to share:

(4 cans corn, 4 cans green beans, 5lbs oranges, 2 lbs cheese, 2 packages of sausage, 1 package of salami, 1 tub of butter)

I paid: $7.20

Original cost: $61.41

Savings: $54.21

Keep in mind that Albertson's prices are inflated, but no matter where you're from, $7 for all that is a steal! Now if you're looking at this, and wondering if we're all going to have heart attacks in the next week (with the butter, sausage, cheese, salami), don't worry. Most of this stuff will be consumed over the next couple of months. I don't shop like most people - most people go to the store and buy what they need for that week (or so). I mostly buy things that are on sale at rock bottom prices and stock up on those things. That way I have enough to last until the next time they go on sale. Then I essentially shop and meal plan from my food storage and I rarely have to pay full price for anything. It really is a beautiful system.

I also went to Rite Aid this morning too:

(24 double rolls of toilet paper, 1 pack of Huggies, 1 box Triaminic, 1 bottle of Tylenol, 1 pack of gum, 1 bottle of water, 1 reusable shopping bag and 1 pack of gum)

I paid: $12.42

Original cost: $50.22

I saved: $37.88

It's kind of weird walking away from Rite Aid actually having to pay for things - usually everything I get is free. But, it's hard to get toilet paper and diapers for free. So, I just had to settle for a really great deal. We now have about a 9month supply of Toilet paper. I really need to just stop buying it - but it's hard to pass up such good deals on great quality TP (it ended up being $.16 / roll, which is right about my target price). I had free coupons for the gum, water bottle, and bag - I received them in the mail from Rite Aid. And what's great is that this is my 5th pack of Huggies from Rite Aid this quarter, so I now qualify for a voucher for a free pack! I love buying diapers at Rite Aid. Most weeks they have several free after rebate items (sometimes even money makers) and when I buy a pack of diapers too, I can usually get my total up to $25 to use my $5 / $25 coupon. Since everything else I'm getting is free, the $5 is essentially goes toward the diapers, which makes them a great deal. And then when you buy 5, you get the 6th free. So, I end up spending about $15 for 6 packs of Huggies, which is pretty darn awesome!

Things have been very quite around here lately...

2009-12-21T11:51:00.000-08:00

We've been busy and I've thrown most of my blogging energy into keeping up my kids' blog (since it doubles as their journal). So, if you want to know what we've been up to and you don't have access to my kids blog (it's private), just send me your e-mail address and I'll get ya on the list. I don't mind sharing the blog with people I know, I just don't want everyone to be able to see it. So, please let me know if you want to be able to access it. :o)

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown Review

2009-11-10T19:59:00.000-08:00

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown was very similar to his other Robert Langdon books (Angels & Demons and The DaVinci Code). A race against time, a psychotic pursuer, hidden codes, architectural symbolism... these three books all have a very similar "formula". Which made this book a little predictable. There were still plenty of "Aha!" and "Ooooh, that's what that means" and "hmmmmm, very interesting" moments, but I do wish the story line was a little more surprising.

I've been sick the last few days and this book was the perfect companion as I laid on the couch wrapped up in a blanket. I read it pretty quickly - in just 2 days - it was hard to put down :o) I definitely recommend it.

The book was plenty exciting and I enjoyed all of the discussion of symbolism found in our capitol (I'm sure there is already a "Lost Symbol" tour of Washington D.C in the works). The discussion of the Masonic culture was interesting - especially their belief that we have the ability to become like God and that the Bible is a treasure trove of knowledge (both of things spiritual and things temporal). It's discussion of Noetic Science has sparked my curiosity and I'm definitely going to look into it more (does thoughts really have mass, does the human spirit really have mass, can you really visualize healing power...)- SO interesting! It's always fun to read his books, because he usually does hit on some gospel truths (which is always nice to see in pop culture). There are definitely things that are not compatible with the gospel, which, thanks to the gift of the Holy Ghost, are very easy to discern.

Dan Brown's method of taking facts and extrapolating from them is always polarizing and it will be interesting to see what people to have say about his latest work. I haven't searched out anything yet, but I'm sure that there are already people debunking some of the claims that he makes in The Lost Symbol. But, putting that aside, it was still a great fiction book.

My Grade: A-

Fun and Easy Fall Craft

2009-11-10T19:49:00.000-08:00

I am pretty much obsessed with Fall leaves - I absolutely love them! Last year, Hunter and I collected a bunch, only to see their colors fade and watch them dry out and fall apart. This year I had a plan...

Over the last couple weeks, Hunter and I have been collecting leaves as we've been out 'n about. Once we got them home, I heated some paraffin wax in my double boiler and we dipped the leaves in the wax. We set them on a sheet of wax paper to cool (which took all of a minute). Hunter loved helping with this - we did it every day for a couple weeks and it was all he could talk about.

The wax prevents the leaves from dying out and preserves their color. The colors do darken some - they don't stay quite as vibrant, but it still works pretty well. Here's a shot of some of our leaves:
Pretty fun huh? It is a wonderfully inexpensive fall decoration. We've got our preserved leaves spread across our mantle, and I have to say, I'm very fond of it:

Fred's 28th Birthday

2009-11-05T19:41:00.000-08:00

WOW! Am I a lame blogger or what?! I'm just really finding it hard to find time to blog. We've been up to a lot in the last month, but you certainly can't tell by looking at this blog. Rather than doing a tiresome catch up post, I'm just gonna jump back into the present and hopefully keep a better track record from here on out.

Fred's Birthday was last Friday. Hunter made a cute birthday banner for him - I helped him write out all the letters (I put down dotted lines and he traced over them with his crayons). The writing turned out a little light, so it would be hard to see in a photo, so I'm not going to post one. But, Hunter was SO proud of himself - it was very cute. In fact, even after spelling out "Happy Birthday Daddy!" he wanted to keep tracing letters, so we pulled out one of his Hooked on Phonics workbooks and did some more in there.

Friday night I surprised Fred with a night out. I arranged fro Ryan and Alexis to come over and babysit so we could go out on our own (it's been MONTHS since we've done that). I even managed to keep it a secret so it really was a surprise - which is amazing for me, I usually have a spacey moment and blow it. We went to dinner at Red Robin (he had a free burger coupon and he LOVE the bottomless fries).

Then we headed over to JCPenny. I had 2 $10 off coupons, so we split up and bought something for each other. We put a cap at $15 (only $5 after the coupon). It was a fun challenge. Although Fred was upset at me because I wouldn't allow him to use some of his birthday money to buy me a $30 skirt. He did get me a nice button up shirt - it was originally $30. And I got him a purple, black, gray and silver striped tie - it was originally $30 too. We each spent $5.33 (with tax) out of pocket - what great deals, huh?!

After our "shopping spree" (which it kind of was for us), we headed over to Payless shoe store. This was during the 50% off Oprah coupon event and Hunter needed new church shoes, so we decided to get some. We waited in line for 45 minutes! There were so many people there. We had a great time talking to everyone in line that it wasn't that bad at all. We were probably the only ones buying 1 pair of shoes - I would've loved to get more, but we just don't have the money right now.

Here's what we were able to get for less than $20 - Originally these items would've totaled over $80 wtih tax (Sorry the picture's so dark):

While it was a really simple date night, just the fact that we had a date night was SO wonderful.

On Sunday, we had a big birthday dinner as well. We invited over Jillian, Ryan and Alexis (and Maija), Mike and Alicia (and Katie & Ethan), and our neighbors Jade and David Griffith (and Ezra & Eli). Ezra was sick, so he and David didn't come, which was sad because Hunter loves Ezra. But, he had so much fun with Katie anyways. We had a big dinner with Allison's Brisket, blue cheese mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus and broccoli, salad, rolls, wassail and other drinks too. For dessert we had brownie sundaes. Fred REALLY wanted to play games with everyone, but it never happened. The kids were so crazy and with daylight savings, the kids were tired "earlier" so people had to head home before we could get out the games. We still had a great time talking and hanging out. We'll have to have a game night some other time just for Fred.

Unfortunately I didn't think about taking pictures. I did snap this one of the kids trying to grab the DVD logo on the TV as it bounced around the screen. At first it was just Maija and Ethan mesmerized by it and trying to grab it, then Katie got in on the action too.

Overall, I think Fred had a pretty good birthday. It was fun to turn the spotlight on him - he's so great a taking care of all of us that it was nice to give a special couple of days. Love ya babe! xoxo

Fall in the Provo Canyon

2009-10-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, in between sessions of General Conference, we took a trip up Provo Canyon to see the leaves and play at bridal veil falls.

The trees were beautiful, as you can see:

Hunter had SO much fun playing in the waterfall. It was a none too warm day, and the water was frigid as usual, but he didn't care one bit. He splashed and leaped and stomped and climbed until the only dry part of him was his underwear (which is all he was wearing in the car ride home). It was the perfect mid-conference-day activity to get all the wiggles out. We'll have to remember that for next year, that is, if we're still around here. Next fall will be law school, and who knows where we'll be.

Review of Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood by Jim and Charles Fray

2009-10-09T12:39:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood by Jim and Charles Fray and let me tell you, that's one life changing book. As a parent of a energetic and sometimes difficult 3 year old, I was looking for any and all help that I could get. My friend Kimberly said that this book helped her immensely with her preschooler, so I decided it was worth a try. The book is very enjoyable to read, provides lots of memorable examples to go along with the principles it teaches. The principles are simple but powerful. Now, I just need to break my habit of getting frustrated at every misbehavior and implement the love and logic principles. It's hard to change behavior, but I determined to do it and put love and logic to the test. I can't wait to see the results, both in Hunter and in myself. This is seriously a life changing book for parents of young children - everyone should read it.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins Review

2009-10-03T18:50:00.000-07:00

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, the sequel to the Hunger Games was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. from start to finish. The story is gripping and haunting - I found myself thinking about it anytime I wasn't reading it. I wanted to pace myself and read it slowly, savoring it, but I just couldn't - I devoured it and was left with a sad, empty feeling when I was done since it is going to be so long before the sequel comes out (I felt the same way after each and every Harry Potter book too). I could go on and on about this book, but whatever I say will not do it justice - my limited literary capabilities will not ever be able to pay it proper tribute. In case you haven't read it yet - it is a must read!

Grade: A+

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Review

2009-10-03T18:34:00.000-07:00

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a beautifully written, compelling story about a girl in WWII Germany who loses everything familiar to her as her world and the country fall apart all around her. The story is narrated by Death, which may sound morbid, but it is actually poetic and insightful. The omniscient point of view creates a very revealing portrait of humanity. I was hook from the very first sentence and loved it to the very end. In fact, while the story does come to a very complete and perfect closing, I wanted it to continue simply because I enjoyed Death's narration so much.

My Grade: A

Rockin' Rite Aid

2009-09-29T15:57:00.001-07:00

Rite Aid's deals aren't too shabby this week either. Here's what I got:

(2 deodorant, 1 razor, 1 toothpaste, 1 box of pads, 1 Reese's)

I spent: $8.26 out of pocket

Rebates: $2.69 for the toothpaste, $5 for the razor

Bottom line: $.57

Plus, these purchases qualified me to receive $20 back from Rite Aid's Fall Gift of Savings Program. Thanks to this program, I've made $11.20 in profit shopping at Rite Aid the last couple of weeks. It doesn't get much better than being paid to shop.

Wonderful Walgreens

2009-09-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

This week is amazing at Walgreens - there are so many free after RR and moneymaker deals. Here's what I got:

(1 chap stick, 1 toothbrush, 1 bag of cough drops, 1 bottle mousse, 1 razor, 1 bottle of lotion, 1 pack of floss picks, 2 cans almonds, 1 box Robitussin to go, 2 bottles of Emergen-C)

I spent $16.69
I received $17 in Register Rewards
Bottom line: $.31 in profit
Regular Retail: $45.05

I came out ahead $.31 "buying" all of the stuff above. Our Walgreens is a little lame in that they limit you to 2 transactions, so I had to spend a lot out of pocket since I couldn't do lots of transactions and just roll my RR from one to the next. So, now I have a ton of RR to use in the next couple of weeks. Thankfully, it looks like there will be quite a few freebies and cheapies coming up, so hopefully I'll be able to keep them rolling. Our Walgreens actually limits you to 1 of each of the RR offers. Which I like, it ensures that more people get a chance to get in on the deals. It's all about sharin' the freebie love.

Super Exciting Baby Einstein DVD Deals

2009-09-29T15:30:00.001-07:00

I found out on Saturday that Babies 'R Us and Toys 'R Us had an amazing sale on Baby Einstein DVDs - $2.50 each! The sale was ending that day and we were super busy, so busy we didn't even have time to watch the BYU Football game, but I managed to squeeze a trip to the stores. I got 12 Baby Einstein DVDs for $31.98! And we're selling 4 of them on half.com for a profit that's going to cover the cost of the 8 that we're keeping. I was so giddy - I've wanted to buy these ever since Hunter was a baby, but we just didn't have the money. Patience really does pay off when it comes to frugality.

Weekly Monday Morning Shopping Trip...

2009-09-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

Walgreens:

(4 bottles All Small & Mighty 32 load laundry detergent, 2 10ct packages of Airborne, 2 toothbrushes, 2 Febreeze candles, 1 Thermacare wrap)

I spent: $ 13.08 (That's how much 2 bottles of the laundry detergent would've cost)

Regular Retail: $ 65.36

I had heard about a lot of great clearance finds at Walgreens, but wasn't expecting to actually find them at my store. I was so excited about the laundry detergent - they would've been a better deal if I had any All coupons, but I've used them all. Darn it! $1.79 is still a great price for this detergent. The priciest thing, by far, was the Airborne - it was a good deal, but still a good bit of money.

Walmart:

(4 Healthy Choice Meals, 8 bags of veggies, 2 bottles applesauce, 2 1/2 gal Lactaid milk, 3 cans coconut milk, 4 cans cream of chicken soup, 2 boxes Jell-o, 2 bottles SeasonAll, 4 packets taco seasoning, 6 bananas, 3 pears)

I spent $ 21.81

Regular Walmart Retail (which is already low): $ 43.51

I usually only go to Walmart to use coupons that will lead to free or almost free products or to use coupons that are about to expire on products I really want or need. So that's what this trip was, plus a few well priced produce items. I should've bought fewer veggies - you should've seen me trying to get them into my freezer - it was pretty comical. The Simpson's episode where Homer uses his Tetris skills to pack the car for a family trip came to my mind while I was packing, re-arranging, and shoving everything into our freezer. I sure wish we had an extra freezer - some day :o).

Rite Aid:

(2 packages of Pull-Ups, 1 package of Diapers, 1 Clean & Clear face cleanser, 1 bottle Proantinox)

I spent $ 25.15
I will receive $17 in Single Check Rebates from Rite Aid
Total, after Rebates: $8.15!!!!!

Regular Retail: $52.95

A couple of weeks ago our Rite Aid changed their hours from being open 24 hours to 8am - 12 midnight. It has made it very difficult to get there on Mondays - the only time that I have the car is before Fred goes to work (which is usually before 8). I was a little distraught this morning knowing that with the amazing diaper deal going on this week, I would probably find a lot of empty shelves by the time I finally made it to the store. And they were pretty much cleaned out of Huggies diapers (no size 3 or 4), but I was still able to get some :o)

In case your wondering the Proantinox is an ultra concentrated Cranberry drink, specifically designed to help treat UTI's. I don't really need it, but I made $3 buying it, so I figured why not. Oh, and I didn't buy Newborn size diapers because I'm pregnant, I got them because they were out of pretty much everything else and I figured that they'd make a good baby shower present some day.

It's The Little Things...

2009-09-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

This is the view that we have out of our bedroom windows - isn't it quaint. There are actually three windows just like this side by side and it is just lovely to look out them and see the green leaves flickering in the breeze. I love to come up to our room when the boys are napping and lie on our bed, under the window, and read. It is so peaceful.

While our home does have a few things that I could do without, I sure am grateful for it. Yes, we do have problems with mold in a couple of spots, which I have to clean with bleach every few days (it doesn't grow that fast, I'm just uber paranoid). It's drafty and poorly insulated. There's no dishwasher. The driveway is very long and super tiring to shovel in the winter. And the bathroom is tiny.

BUT, we have 3 bedrooms - the boys each have their own room and it is wonderful. We have a large living room that is big enough to double as an "office" for Fred. We have our own washer and dryer. We have a covered car port (which is a perfect home for all of Fred's tools. Oh, and our car manages to squeeze in there as well). We have tons of storage space in our back room (which is overflowing with food storage that I really need to organize). We have a decently nice front and back yard that is great for running around with our boys. We have beautiful bay windows in the front room that let in a ton of light, which is especially great in the winter. We pay a phenomenally low rent, which includes utilities. We have a very nice landlord that fixes problems right away and has been very patient with us as our plans have changed numerous times since we've moved in.

We are very blessed to have this home to live in. While it does have it's problems, I am still so, SO grateful to live here. I will forever look back, fondly upon our time here in this home. Yes, the years that we live here will probably be some of the most challenging of our lives - it's not easy being a young, poor, college student family. But, I know they will be some of the best of our lives and unlike any other time. I'm grateful that during these challenging times, God has given us small, tender mercies, like a beautiful view from our bedroom window to remind me of just how lucky we are.

5 Guys Burgers and Fries

2009-09-20T21:34:00.000-07:00

My Grandparents (Gill) were in town very briefly at the beginning of last week. They stopped by our house for a short visit and were kind enough to leave us a little money to go out to eat, since they weren't going to be around long enough to take us out themselves. Well, me being the totally impatient and impulse driven person that I am decided to go out that very night. Fred had wanted to try 5 Guys Burgers and Fries for some time, so that's where we went. I know we're way behind the times - the place has been here in Provo for quite some time now, but we don't ever eat out, so we're just a little slow on the restaurant scene.

But let me tell you, It. Was. Good. I honestly don't think I've had better burgers in my life (and that includes In-n-Out). And I make a lot of really good burgers at home too, but these were on a whole other level. I rely on lots of extra ingredients to make my burgers tasty. These were out right, straight up, yummy burgers - starting with the meat which was so juicy and delicious. They have way more topping options than In-n-Out (although I stuck with a pretty traditional burger). Their fries are made fresh from real potatoes - they were dense and tasted so good. I normally skip the fries at most burger places because they just aren't tasty enough to be worth the calories to me. Uh uh, not here - I ate a ton of them. Hunter loved them too, as you can see in the picture above. They have the standard fry sauce too, which was oh so good.

I don't think I will ever want to eat another burger at any other restaurant again. They just won't be as good. Seriously, that's how good the burgers are. Now, I hope I haven't hyped it up so much for you that when you visit there, you are totally disappointed. But, even if you don't think they're the best burgers ever, I'm sure you'll agree with me that they are pretty darn tasty.

Makin' Money at Walgreens and Rite Aid

2009-09-14T23:44:00.001-07:00

My Monday started off the same as any other Monday - a 6am trip to Walgreens. And it was a pretty good trip too. Here's what I got:

(2 Schick razors, 2 packs Trident gum, 1 bottle Ibuprofen, 1 bag Nut Clusters)

I paid $3.81, plus I got back $3 RR for the Nuts Clusters and $1 RR for the gum. So, I came out a head a little :0) Originally, this woud've cost $28.56. I would have had quite a profit if I did the Triaminic deal - I could've made $7 buying 2 bottles of Triaminic. But I decided to pass on it for 2 reasons. First, Hunter's only 3 - Triaminic and all other cold medications are not advised for kiddos under 4. Second, the kind of Traiminic that was a money maker was a night time cough suppressant. And I really don't believe in cough suppressants - your body needs to cough to clear out the congestion (I usually only buy decongestants / expectorants). So, I decided to pass on the deal and allow others to make an easy $7. Alright, I'm off my soap box now. I kinda regret it, because I could've just donated the medicine to the food bank, but cest la vie, I'm still happy with my deals. And that's probably way more information than you really care to know...

Once Rite Aid opened, I went there, really excited about their weekly deals. My excitement fizzled when I got to the register and the cashier and manager told me that it was Rite Aid's policy to not allow BOGO coupons paired with a BOGO sale, so no free makeup for me :o( I needed to use some of my free product coupons so that I could get by before coupon total up to $25 so that I could use my $5 off $25 coupon. So, I ran and grabbed the chap stick, diapers, and canker melts (all of which I had free coupons for). I got all the stuff below for $5.43, which I paid with a gift card. Plus, I will receive $5 back in SCR for the Johnson & Johnson products and $1 in SCR for the Suave lotion. So, I came out ahead with a $.57 profit!

But, it gets even better. Rite Aid has a promotion (Fall Gift of Savings) going on right now, where you get Rite Aid gift certificates back when you spend certain amount of money. My pre coupon total was $30.43, which means that I already qualify to get $5 back. And there are still several more weeks left in the promotion. I have a feeling that I am going to make quite a bit of money shopping at Rite Aid this month! :o)

Once I got back home I realized that I had left my BOGO Cover Girl coupon at the register. So, I called the store to see if they had set it aside. They had and they informed me that they had talked to Rite Aid corporate and several other Rite Aid stores and discovered that Rite Aid had changed their policy and now allow BOGO coupons to be paired with BOGO sales! So, they told me to hurry on in and get my free makeup. Now that is coupon friendly customer service! So, Hunter and I ran back to the store and got this:

I paid $.84 for the CG foundation, CG mineral make up, and Reese's - basically, all I paid was tax! So sweet! It would've cost $24.37. Add that to my $30.43 above and now I've accumulated $44.81 in eligible purchases for the Fall Gift of Savings promotion . Once I reach $50, I get $10 back - which I will definitely do by the end of the promotion.

Hunter wanted the candy bar and I was weak and gave in. It's the first time I've done that and now I worry about the precedent I set. Now, he's going to be begging for candy every time we're in line. *sigh*

At the end of the morning I ended up getting paid to buy all of the items pictured above. I brought home $83.36 worth of products, spent $10.08 out of pocket, received $4 in RR and will receive $11 in rebates from Rite Aid (so far...). Which means that when all is said and done, I will have made a $4.92 profit!

That is why drug stores and coupons are so wonderful! I absolutely love shopping at drug stores. They make things ridiculously complicated, but once you figure out the puzzle you come away with some killer deals and the thrill of having conquered something challenging. It's a fun game :o)

I ♥ Case Lot Sales!

2009-09-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

This week is the week of case lot sales - Smith's, Albertson's, Reams, Buy Low, and Harmon's are all having case lot sales. I went to Smith's because I love my Smith's, it's close and they've got good prices.

Although, at Smith's you have to buy whole cases to get the case lot price, Macey's usually allows you to get individual items at the case price. So, I only picked up whole cases today and am hoping that when Macey's has their case lot sale next week they'll have things priced individually, where I'll pick up other things that I want to stock up on, but just not a case at a time (mandarin oranges, cream soups, tomato paste and sauce, honey, oatmeal, peanut butter, vegetable oil, and maybe a few other things)

Here's what I got:

(24 boxes corn bread mix, 24 cans black beans, 24 can corn, 12 cans Chicken, 8 4 packs pudding, bananas, tomatoes and milk)

I spent $55.66, originally it would've cost $109.82. They're not amazing prices, especially when I've been able to get so much for almost free lately. But, with Albertson's changing hands, we've not had very good sales lately from them and I doubt we'll see double coupons ever again. So, I'm happy with the deal I got. Fred's especially stoked about the corn bread - it's not a great price, but he loves the stuff and now we have lots on hand so we can have corn bread when ever his little heart desires. I'm excited about the sugar free chocolate pudding. I'm trying (slowly, but surely) to loose weight and sugar free chocolate pudding is a life saver when I get a craving for chocolate (which is pretty much daily).

While I did have to buy things by the case to get the sale price, they still took my coupons for the corn and pudding - they had to manually override them, but they were happy to do so. And that made me very happy, because the coupons saved me an additional $7 on top of the case lot prices - yay!

We bought the same amount of beans and corn last year and I actually ran out of my last can of black beans and corn last week - I bought them 1 year ago exactly. That worked out pretty well :o) However, I did buy way too many crushed and diced tomatoes last year, I probably wont' get any of those this year. Stocking up like this is very important if you are trying to cut your grocery budget. If you stock up when items are at their lowest, then you'll never have to pay full price ever - and that's a good thing.

Monday Morning Madness

2009-09-08T22:29:00.000-07:00

On Monday I hit up Walgreens, Albertson's and Target, all before 9am! I was actually so excited about the Target deals that I had a hard time sleeping Sunday night (what a dork!).

Here's my Walgreens trip:

(2 Reese's candy bars, 1 Glade scented oil candle holder, 1 candle refill pack, 2 glade candles, 1 water bottle that had travel size tissue and lotion in it)

I spent $4.71 out of pocket, but received $3 in Register Rewards that I can use later. Originally this would've cost $21.64. I probably wouldn't have run out to get this stuff, except I had Register Rewards that were expiring and so I needed to roll them. Now, I have $3 that I hopefully can roll on more useful items. While Fred loved the Reese's and I'll love the candles, we don't need them, and I'd rather be getting stuff we need for almost free.

I then headed over to Albertson's where I picked up:

(2 6 packs Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt, 8 bottles DanActive yogurt shots, 4 Activia, 2 6oz Dannon Light & Fit, 6 boxes frozen veggies, baby lotion, saline solution, and hydrocortizone cream)

I spent $11.77, originally $48.75! I wanted to get more veggies but there is NO room in my freezer. I had a hard time just getting these 6 boxes in. And our fridge is pretty full of yogurt too - we got quite a bit the last 2 weeks with Smith's Mega Sale and now this Dannon promo (which was save $2 instantly on $10 of Dannon products, plus I used coupons). Good thing we eat a lot of yogurt. I used a $5 catalina from earlier in the week to help pay for this shopping trip. Also, all Albertson's brand items are 50% off right now (as part of the AFS transition), so the lotion, saline and hydrocortizone cream were really cheap!

And last, but definitely not least, Target! I was SO excited about this sale - I dreamt about it all night. Here's what I got:

(8 boxes Fiber One Caramel Delight cereal - yum!, 2 boxes Fiber One Granola Bars, 4 string cheese, 4 5pk Ponds cleansing cloths)

My total for all this was $11.54, plus I got $10 in Target Gift Cards, so it was almost a wash! Originally this would've cost $52.02. Our family LOVES this cereal - I was so excited that I was able to get it for free! Wahoo :o) I combined manufacturer coupons, target coupons, and a target gift card promo - now that's what I call a perfect storm. And, bonus! 4 of the boxes have BOGO coupons for Fiber One yogurt - and when I use a $1 coupon (which I have a lot of) on the one I'm buying, I should be able to get 8 containers of Fiber One yogurt for about $1! Sweet! But, I've gotta wait until we get through all that Dannon yogurt first :0) I wish I was able to get more of this cereal, because even though I got 8 boxes, it will probably be gone in a month! And even though I bought 8 of one kind, there were tons on the shelf, so hopefully I left enough for others - it was really hard to restrain myself. The cheese was free using target coupons and the Ponds was free using a manufacturer coupon that didn't exclude trial sizes. Once again, my Target is awesome and I had no problem using all the coupons (24 of them!)

Overall it was a very successful morning of shopping - I spent $28.02 on $122.41 worth of merchandise and I still have $10 Target gift card and $3 in Register Rewards. What a great way to start a day :o)

BYU Football Starts with a Bang

2009-09-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we headed over to Mike and Alicia's to watch the BYU - OU football game (Mike is Fred's business partner). Ryan, Alexis and Maija also joined us for the excitement. It was truly BYU style football - small apartment and lots of kids :o). We are so grateful that Mike and Alicia invited us over, because we decided not to get cable this fall (we got it last year, mainly for football). We're so glad that we're able to not only able to watch the games, but hang out with them as well.

To say that watching the game in a small apartment with 6 adults and 5 kids was crazy would be an understatement! The kids were all really well behaved, but between the stress of a very close football game and the stress created by keeping and eye on all the kiddos - phew, we were wiped out at the end.

Katie and Hunter had a great time playing together. They had some crazy 3 year old synergy going on - by the end of the game they were so hyper! Hunter was worn out and ready for by by the time we got home. Grant, Maija and Ethan were very good - they just played with toys and explored the living room.

We had an exciting game, yummy food, and great company. We hope the rest of the reason is just as great!

Go Cougars!

Lots of Veggies from Albertson's

2009-09-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

Fall is in the air, which means sales on veggies and soup - way excited about the veggies, not so excited about the soup. I like to have canned soup in my food storage because it is a good staple to have on hand in case of emergency, but I really don't like canned soup (everything's mushy and salty and homogeneous in flavor). So, we usually stock up during the fall sales, hold onto it, and when it's about to expire we donate it to the Food Bank. We just don't really eat it, but we would if we had to.

Albertson's has a pretty good sale going on right now. I was able to get all the stuff below for $14.80, plus I received a $5 catalina that I can use like cash anytime in the next 2 weeks. Originally this would've cost $52.93 (with Albertson's inflated prices). Pretty good deal.

(10 boxes of vegetables, 2 cans of biscuits, 1 tub of frosting, 6 cans light Progresso Soup)

The challenge was fitting all the veggies in my freezer! I want to get more, but need to make room for them first. We pulled out all the bread ends I had been saving and fed the ducks, so that helped. Hopefully we'll go through a bunch of food with the football game this weekend. Fred absolutely loves biscuits and since baking is not really my cup of tea, I'm glad he can have some (plus, they were free!). And now that the weather is cooling down, I might actually turn on my oven and "make" them for him. I'll probably also come up with some tailgate recipes to use them because I got a bunch at Smith's Mega Event Sale the last 2 weeks as well (those were free too!)

How I love thee, Swagbucks!

2009-09-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

I just have to give another shout out for Swagbucks. I've now earned $30 in Amazon gift cards and Fred's earned $10. Seriously, it is the easiest way to make a little extra money. We haven't decided what we are going to get with our gift cards - most likely we'll use it for Christmas presents.

I gave a pretty detailed explanation of it here and you can read that to learn more about it. We use Swagbucks to do all of our Internet browsing - even if we know the URL, we still type it into Swagbucks and it helps us earn points even faster. And, they just rolled out a new toolbar - when you install it, you'll have access to a new swagcode (worth 1 point) every day during the month of September. That means that you can have 30 Swagbucks by the end of the month, just through the toolbar. The toolbar also makes it easy to do all your searches with Swagbucks.

If you sign up using my link below, I'll earn 1 point for every point that you do (up to 100). So, sign up using my link and then have your friends, siblings, spouse, cousins etc sign up under you so that you can get their points. You'll be amazed at how fast you accumulate Swagbucks when you have a bunch of people under you.

I know it seems too good to be true - free money, just for searching the Internet. But, it's really that easy. I waited a long time to sign up for it because I was skeptical, but now I wish I'd signed up for it as soon as I found out about it - I'd have that many more Swagbucks to my name.

Sign up! :o)

Target and Walmart in one Night - Totally Different Experiences

2009-09-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

I was completely exhausted Monday night, but HAD to get to Target - the deals were just SO good! Can I just say how much I love my Target - I've been reading all over the blogosphere about people having problems with grouchy cashiers and managers, and yet I have never had a problem. And tonight my cashier was SO super friendly - she was so happy for me and the deals I scored. She congratulated me and told me I was a good shopper! Now that is the kind of customer service that keeps customers coming in the doors. I plan on e-mailing Target corporate to let them know how wonderful she was - seriously she was a doll! With Albertson's out of the Double Coupon game, Target may be my new favorite place to shop! I seriously love all of their web coupons - there are some great deals every week. I just wish our Target wasn't so far away...

Anyways, here's what I got:

(4 boxes of cereal, 4 boxes of granola bars, 1 1/2 lbs of Boneless Skinless Buffalo chicken breasts (yum!), 2 cartridges black ink, 28 1 quart hefty bags, and 4 cheese sticks)

I spent $24.20, originally this would've cost $62.43! The biggest expense was, of course, the ink - it was originally $30 itself. But I used $20 in gift cards ($10 for the Quaker deal last week and $10 from the Special K deal this week) to pay for most of it - I only had to pay $10.49 for 2 cartridges of ink. AND I still have $10 in gift cards that I earned for buying the ink, which I will roll into next week's deals.

I wanted to snag several more things (bananas, baby bottles, buddies soap, Honey Nut Cheerios cups), but they were cleaned out! Bummer - I was expecting it though and was still very happy with the deals that I got.

I also went to Walmart earlier in the evening, where I picked up my free Glade candles, free after MIR Palmolive dish soap, almost free Tabasco sauce and Chinet plates as well as a few other odds and ends. **WARNING: There is a little bit of venting ahead!** When it came time to pay, my total seemed a little high, but there was already a huge line, so I decided to just pay and look over my receipt out of line. Sure enough, my cashier missed one of my $3 Glade coupons. I went to customer service and explained the situation. The girl I talked to was very nice and called another employee over and asked her to check the cash drawer for the 4th coupon. This other employee treated me like I was a criminal - she was questioning what all of the other coupons were for on the receipt and comparing bar codes to make sure I wasn't lying. I told her that I wasn't trying to rip them off and that I just wanted them to check the drawer. If there were only 3 coupons in the drawer, then I must've forgotten the coupon. But, if there were 4 coupons in the drawer, then clearly one of them was missed and I would like the money for it (being that I had already paid out of pocket). I don't know why she was so quick to assume that I was being dishonest - it was very rude! She came back from checking the drawer and sure enough there were 4 Glade coupons in there. The first girl gladly gave me my money back and I was on my way. What a different experience that was from Target! I can't say that I love shopping at Walmart - I'm happy with the deals I get sometimes, but it's kind of an unfortunate, necessary evil.

See What I Mean?!

2009-08-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

I wrote here about Hunter going through an asserting-his-independence-phase recently.

This morning I found him sleeping on the floor. He had pulled out his favorite "baba" shirt (one from Grandma Bessey) out from the dirty clothes (after I told him that it was too dirty to wear anymore) and put it on.

Now this is all very minor compared to the other things that have been occurring around here lately. And I certainly don't mind if he wants to sleep on the floor, in a dirty shirt - that's a battle I can concede. Hopefully, little things like this will make him feel more in control and he will stop some of the other uglier behaviors he's picked up.

Mommyhood Lessons

2009-08-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

This is kind of a long post, so feel free to ignore it, but it sure was cathartic to write. I actually wrote it last night, but my internet went down and I was unable to post it then.

Hunter has been going through a difficult phase the last couple of weeks. Couple that with Fred working A LOT and studying for the LSAT several hours a day and you have one very exhausted mama (which would be me).

Hunter has been asserting his independence with unprecedented vigor. He has gone from a kiddo that is really good most of the time to a kiddo who is really difficult most of the time. I know this phase will pass and on the other side, I will have my wonderful, sweet child again. I’ve read many times that when children go through difficult phases it usually coincides with a developmental leap as well. Let me just say that after the last couple of weeks, Hunter better be a genius after all this. ; )

I still love the little guy to the ends of universe, don’t get me wrong – even with all the challenges right now, I wouldn’t trade being his mom for anything. I would however, trade a few of his behaviors for no great sum. Poor Grant has taken the brunt of it physically while I have taken the brunt of it emotionally and mentally. I’ve tried every solution that I and many others, can think of and none of them have helped much. There is always a temporary reprieve, but then the ‘tude comes roaring back with even more gusto. I think this is something that I am just going to have to endure, hold my ground, and eventually it will pass.

I’ve tried allowing him more freedom – yes, you can blow milk bubbles all over the table; no, you don’t have to be strapped in the grocery cart; yes, you can eat a pint of blueberries for dinner (and nothing else). But the ensuing chaos that is created from his new freedoms stresses me out and it does nothing to curb his bad behaviors, which leaves me, well, back to the beginning – exhausted!

And here is where I found myself tonight. Tired and ready to be done with the day hours before bedtime. Fred, working late, but probably not as late as last night (which was 3am, so earlier shouldn’t be too difficult). Grant went down to bed and there was still another hour before Hunter’s bedtime, which seemed like an eternity. I confessed to Hunter that I was so tired and wanted to sleep. He made his sad puppy eyes and said “I know mama, I know. Come sleep in my bed”. He then held my hand and led me into his bed, tucked me in and even gave me Mickey and blankie to cuddle. He then read books to me and told me he loved me. Then turned out the light and closed the door.

As I laid in his bed admiring the glow-in-the-dark stars we had made together, I was grateful that my sweet little guy had returned to me when I needed it most. I was grateful that he wasn’t upset with me for not allowing him to go to the park today or sending him to time out, or even (gasp!) yelling at him.. I was grateful that when he saw that I was in need, he took care of me the best that he knew how. Maybe my sweet little kiddo is still in there somewhere.

While he definitely can stand to learn about a thing or two about obedience and kindness, there is sure a lot that I can learn from him. Every morning I wake up still reeling from the drama the day before and bracing myself for what surely lies ahead. Hunter wakes up, happy that it’s a new day and excited for whatever it holds. I let my frustrations bubble and simmer inside of me, making it very difficult to forgive, forget and move on. Clearly, Hunter has no problem with this, his compassion came billowing out toward me this evening after I had been upset with him much of the day.

Hmmmmm, I guess I’m the one that could stand to learn a lesson or two (or ten!). Tomorrow’s a new day – here’s to making it better than today.

Rite Aid and Target Deals

2009-08-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

I took Hunter with me on my Monday morning shopping spree today. He did very well, except for one little incident at Target where he was trying to play with the credit card machine and almost fell out of the cart - yikes!

At Rite Aid I got:

(2 bottles of Lysol Wipes, 4 Pilot Pens (Fred's favorite), 4 composition notebooks, 8 D batteries, 4 AA batteries, 1 toothpaste and 1 bottle of Tylenol)

I spent $17.50 out of pocket, but will receive a $5 rebate for the batteries, $2 rebate for the pens, $2 rebate for the Tylenol, and a $2.49 rebate for the toothpaste. So, after rebates, I will have spent $6.01 (that's how much the 4 pack of AA batteries would've cost)! Original Price: $52.28 (yikes!)

At Target I got:

(2 mini loaves whole grain bread, 2 bottles shaving cream (more art for Hunter!), 2 bottles baby wash, 2 bags of skittles, 2+ lbs of bananas, 1 mini watermelon, 2 travel size Hungry Hungry Hippos, 2 cups Honey Nut Cheerios cereal, 2 travel size toothpaste, 1 Bounce Dryer bar (so excited to use this!), and 2 baby bottles)

I spent $8.22 on all of this, originally it would've cost $39.84. Target has been really hot lately with all their web coupons. I love the baby ones they came out with this week and am looking forward to using a couple of them again next week (once the shelves are re-stocked!). Speaking of shelves, I turned onto the cereal aisle to find a woman clearing the shelf of the individual Honey Nut Cheerios cups. I walked up, grabbed my 2 that I was planning on buying and watched her continue to fill her cart and empty the shelf of every single one. She did not leave any for anyone else, and this was at 8:15 in the morning. And the web coupons are good until 9/12 - there is plenty of time to stock up and still allow others to get some too. There are going to be a lot of sad shoppers today who are trying to get a few free cups of cereal only to find an empty shelf. SO Rude! I just don't get it. Anyways...

I also hit up Walgreens, not because there was anything there that I really wanted to get, but I had some Register Rewards that were expiring and I needed to use them, so I got some printer ink - I've been printing too many coupons! :o) Walgreens' sale this week was pretty disappointing so I just picked up my ink, talked with my favorite cashier, grabbed my free photos and left.

All in all, a great morning of shopping :o)

Who Says You Have To Play By The Rules?

2009-08-23T09:01:00.001-07:00

Today was the Oquirrh Mountain temple dedication and so Amber went to the morning session. Hunter was asking to play games all morning but could not until Grant went down for his morning nap. I lifted Hunter up to the "restricted section" of his room where we store all of the games he can't play with on his own, or at least we don't let him, and he picked out "Harry Potter Scene It?" I let him set up the game as he wanted, because of course I'm not going to try and teach him the rules when he's three, and this is what we got. All of the player pieces in the middle of the board instead of on the outside track and the House Points cards lined up around the room. It's not in this picture but all of the question cards ended up strewn around the area right next to the computer desk. Then Hunter looked at it for a little and decided he'd had his fun and that it was time to clean up. So he picked everything up and put it all back right where it belonged. We had fun without the rules, so who needs 'em? At least when you're three, right?

Birthday Boy!

2009-08-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

("Happy Birthday Grant!")

We had a fun day celebrating our little guy. We are so grateful that he is part of our family here on earth. We know his being here is a complete miracle and are so grateful that we have been blessed to have him in our home. I can't imagine life without him. He brings pure joy into our house. Thanks for being such a sweet kid, Grant! We love you.

(I'll post details about today over in the kiddos blog tomorrow - I've got lots of fun pictures and videos. If you don't have access to our private blog, but would like to, please e-mail me and I'll send you an invitation)

Target Freebies and Cheapies

2009-08-19T09:37:00.000-07:00

Target has some great web coupons out right now, so I decided to make the trek up to our nearest Super Target (10 minutes away). I know, I'm super spoiled because this is farthest I ever have to drive to shop. I don't make it to Target every week, but because of the great web coupons and needing to get some toys for Grant's first birthday I headed out today.

Here's what I got (minus the toys for Grant)

2 cartons soy milk, 2 bottles french vanilla coffee creamer, 2 bags skittles, 3 ears corn, 2 small loaves of whole grain bread, 3 apples, 5 bananas, 3 pouches tuna, 2 cups honey nut cheerios, 2 travel size shampoo and conditioner, and 1 first aid kit

I spent $9.55. Originally it would've cost $23.82. The corn wasn't a great deal ($.33 each), but Hunter really wanted it and how can you say no to a child when he's begging for vegetables. I'm lactose intolerant and drink soy milk all the time - with the $.50 target coupon it's the cheapest way to buy it. I will be super sad when the coupons expire this weekend. I love when Target releases coupons for produce and bread - it's great to get deals on healthy food that we need. The coffee creamer I bought on a whim because it was only $.15 each after coupons - it will make yummy smoothies and french toast :o) I wanted to pick up more travel size items for free, but they were cleared out of several of the items I wanted. Oh well, there's always next week.

Making Lemonade out of Lemons

2009-08-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I made this:

in an attempt to suction out a small Styrofoam ball that Hunter had stuck up his nose. (Fun huh?!) It didn't work and we had to visit the Dr.

But, this little contraption worked great to clean out the inside of our computer and our refrigerator coils (they were duuuuuusty!) Now I have a 2 less things on my mental to-do list. Thanks, Hunter (I think...)

Book Review: Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

2009-08-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

I finished reading the Last Lecture by Randy Pausch a few weeks ago, but failed to write a post about it until now. I really enjoyed this book. It's short, it's sweet and light, but thought provoking at the same time.

Randy Pausch died of pancreatic cancer at a very young age leaving behind a wife and 3 young children. This book is full of little gems that remind you of what is important in this life. Reading it fills you with a desire to make the most of your life and to treasure every moment. The whole book is very inspirational. I also liked it because it has lots of short chapters, which is great for me because I never seem to be able to carve out a long amount of time to sit and read.

I definitely recommend this book - it's no literary great, but it is definitely worth your time. My Grade: B+

More great Albies Deals

2009-08-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

You all may be very sick of all my grocery deals posts. But, I'm gonna keep hitting you over the head with them because I want to make coupon converts out of you. Okay?!

Albertson's is in the process of changing over to AFS and has a lot of products marked down so that they can clear the shelves for the new brands. I didn't take a lot of time to browse through the store today because I had the kiddos and Hunter was already hard enough to keep track of (he was running up and down the aisles "Super Fast just like Dash"). But, I did get some great deals on baby products. As far as I could tell, all of the Baby Basics brand (Albertson's baby brand) items were all 50% off! Lots of Pampers and Huggies items were marked down t0o (27% - random!), which I thought was odd because, surely, AFS carries those products (I guess we'll see). I picked up a few baby things - I wanted to get more, but I didn't want to clear the shelves. I got some baby food even though I've been making my own, because they were clearanced and I had a coupon, so I figured the minimal extra cost was worth the convenience. If you need diapers, wipes etc I suggest heading to Albertson's ASAP to get in on these deals before they're gone.

I also snagged 4 boxes of Post cereals, for which a Catalina started today. I was at the store by 10am and already most of the Post Selects were gone! I sure hope they were gone because lots of people had already come in and not because a couple people came and hoarded a bunch.

Anyways, here's a picture of what I got:

I paid $9.17 (that's basically how much the diapers would've cost). Originally this would have cost $43.13. I did 2 transactions and used my $5 Kraft Catalina and my $3 Post Catalina to pay for most of the second transaction.

I am really well stocked on diapers now - I need to stop buying them. But, I just keep getting such great deals that it's hard to pass up. It's hard for me to pass up any good deal - I'm pretty much addicted :o)

Kraft Freebies at Albies

2009-08-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

This week is another amazing week for Grocery deals. Smith's has a great sale on Kelloggs items, which combined with coupons and the Fuel for School rebate, means that you can actually make money shopping there. We already did the rebate, so I just picked up 2 boxes of cereal and 2 boxes of fruit snacks for $.50 each.

Albertson's also has a great deal running this week which allows you to make money. When you buy $25 of Kraft products you get a $5 Catalina and a $20 MIR form - so everything is essentially free. It turns into a money maker when you use coupons because you still get the full $20 rebate. And they have a great Post cereal sale going on that let me get 4 free boxes of cereal! Well enough blabbing, here's a picture of what I got at Albertson's today:

2 pizzas, 1 flat bread sandwich, 2 boxes breaded fish fillets, 4 boxes of cereal, 12 puddings, 2 boxes of crackers, 24 bottles of water

I paid $22.30 out of pocket. But, I received a $5 Catalina and will get $20 back from the rebate. So, I ended up making $2.70 profit! Original price of all this was $77.04. I didn't even use any of my $5 Catalinas from last week's sale to pay for it. Sound too good to be true? Here's the proof:

How fun is that?!

Harnessing The Mighty Power of the Electron - The Easiest Way to Polish Sterling Silver

2009-08-12T00:30:00.000-07:00

I love sterling silver jewelry, but hate how it oxidizes. Most of my sterling silver I keep in air tight storage so that they go decades without tarnishing. But, I happen to have a favorite plumeria flower ring from Hawaii that is sterling silver. This ring never leaves my finger which means after a couple of months it looks more like pewter than it does silver.

I have used traditional silver polishes on it for years, but with all it's crevasses and grooves it takes forever to polish it all (and I go through A LOT of Q-tips doing it). About a year ago I discovered a great method for cleaning sterling silver anything - it is the fastest and easiest that I've found.

Here's what ya do:

Gather the items that you want to de-tarnish. Do a surface cleaning on them - for me that means using a toothpick to get all the lotion gunk out of the crevasses of my ring.

Line an appropriately sized pan with aluminum foil - shiny side up. For me and my little ring, a small bowl will do. If you're polishing silver flatware you will want to use a 9x13 pan.

Bring to boil enough water to submerge your silver objects. For my ring it only takes about a cup. I do this in the microwave because it's faster than the stove top, during the summer it doesn't heat up my kitchen and it gives the inside of my microwave a nice little steam bath which loosens up all the crud and I can take 30 seconds to wipe it out when I'm done.

While the water is coming to a boil, pour table salt onto the aluminum foil. I don't have an exact amount for you - Just make a thin layer of salt along the entire bottom of the dish that you're using.

Place all of your silver into the dish. Once the water is boiling, pour it over the silver. Allow to sit for 20 minutes.

It has been too many years since my last in-organic chemistry class to tell you the science behind this method. But, I know it has something to do with ions moving stuff around. Basically, electrons do all the dirty work while you sit back and relax (hah!).

After 20 minutes, check on your silver. You will notice a dark ring on the aluminum foil - that's all the "tarnish" molecules that have been magically removed from your silver and deposited onto the foil.

If your silver is heavily tarnished it may take several soakings before your silver is looking like new. But, the great part is that it requires very little work for you. If your silver still is tarnished after 1 soaking, discard the water and foil and start all over again. It takes just a couple of minutes to set it all up. It sure beats polishing it all by hand. Especially if you have lots of tarnished silver - this method takes the same amount of time no matter how much you have.

Here's a shot of my ring before (sorry the picture is blurry - I'm no photographer and my camera is pretty pathetic too)

And here's an after shot:

The difference is pretty subtle in the pictures, but in real life it is more pronounced - my ring looks almost new.

If you take time to do some research I'm sure that you can find out the actual science behind all this and it would be a great lesson for the kiddos and show some science in action.

Get other great tips and tricks over at We are THAT Family's Works for Me Wednesdays

Marathon Shopping Day

2009-08-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

I am on complete shopping overload this week. Smith's is doubling coupons (unlimited!), Albertson's has multiple sets of double coupons and a smokin' hot sale, Rite Aid and Walgreens both had tons of free after rebate and RR offers. And I went to all of them yesterday, and Target too! I actually went to Smith's 3 times because I kept reading about new hot double coupon deals. In all I went to the store 7 times yesterday! And I had a great time doing it (well, until my last transaction at Albertson's and the catalina didn't print, then I just wanted to be done!) I brought my SIL along with me to Walgreens and Rite Aid first thing this morning. These 2 stores are not the best place for a newbie couponer to start out, but the deals were so great that I wanted to share the love. She had a great time and is totally hooked.

I was so excited about all this Sunday night that I hardly slept at all. I am such a grocery geek - I get an adrenaline rush just thinking about all the money I'm going to save.

So, how'd I do? I think I did pretty good. I don't get multiple copies of the paper so I wasn't able to get as great of deals as a lot of other people, but I'm happy with my success. I didn't take pictures of it all because I just wanted to get it all home and put away.

In total I spent $83.94 yesterday on $270.77 worth of groceries. I will get $38.74 back in rebates, so accounting for that, I spent $45.20. Plus, I still have $30 in catalinas and $8 in Register Rewards to spend later. Once I use those, I will have spent $45.20 on $308.77 worth of products! That's a savings of $263.57, or 85%! I spent about 3 1/2 hours in the stores (and driving) and about another hour or so planning everything out. So, saving over $263 is a pretty good return on my investment - about $58 / hour.

I did take a few pictures...

Here's what I got at Rite Aid: I spent $16.50, but will get back $31.75 in rebates, so I actually made $15.25 shopping there (Love it!). Rite Aid has really had amazing deals the last few weeks. And the employees at my store are super friendly. They even had all of the free after rebate items on 1 shelf right at the front of the store - so convenient!

At Walgreens I got:
I spent $8.74, but I still have $8 in RR to spend in the next 2 weeks. (btw, the green bottles are shampoo and conditioner)

In one of my trips to Smith's I got:

I spent $4.33 (that's less than the deodorant costs normally!) Smith's was crazy yesterday. I went at 6am and there were already dozens of hard core couponers there. When I went in the evening, it was a mad house. I don't think Smith's had any idea what they were getting themselves into when they announced they were doubling coupons. I saw a lot of empty shelves - they were not prepared for this, especially with the P&G promotion running concurrently. But, I hope they do it again, because, my goodness, it was so much fun seeing that total just plummet as they scanned the coupons.

It's days like today that make all the time I spend clipping, filling and planning worth it. I truly do enjoy it all - it has become a hobby for me. But, even the hard core grocery geeks need to take a break, so I'm not going to the store at all today. I know, not much of a break. But, Wednesday starts a new sale cycle for Smith's and Albertson's and you never know what great deals it's going to bring :o)

Confessions...

2009-07-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, as I was preparing a Young Women lesson on Scripture Study, I fell asleep while reading my scriptures (and got a big spot of green ink on my sheets from my scripture marking pen)

Sometimes I go so long in between vacuuming my carpet that my kids' hair picks up little pieces of debris when they're playing around on the floor.

I justify buying junk food (like Easy Mac) by the fact that I got it for free. As if that makes it any healthier.

A week ago, my son cut his own hair with his scissors. Unfortunately it really doesn't look all that different from when I cut it myself.

Charming Disneyland Paris Picture

2009-07-28T17:30:00.000-07:00

How wonderful is this?

My Best Shopping Excursion Ever!

2009-07-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

It was another blissfully successful morning of deal shopping. Check it out:

At Rite Aid I got:

And a BIC Triumph Roller Pen (Fred was really excited about it and opened it up before I took a picture), for $15.68. Which isn't really that great of a deal. The real story here is in the rebates. I will be getting back $9.95 for the mascara, $4.00 for the Herbal Essence shampoo and conditioner, $2.00 for the BIC pen, $2.00 for the Neutrogena make up. So, after rebates, I ending up making a $2.27 profit! Regular price was $51.24. How sweet is that?! Big thanks to Hip2Save for compiling such a great Rite Aid shopping list.

At Walgreens, I got:

for $4.99. Which again, isn't a great deal, but I will get a $3.99 rebate for the head band. So, that brings my total down to $1.00. Regular price for this was $17.48.

We got Albertson's Double Coupons in the paper yesterday, so I made another run to Albetson's and was totally surprised by the Palmolive dish soap deal I stumbled upon. I was able to get 4 bottles for $.68 total! Here's everything that I got:

for $3.08! Regual price was $30.61.

Between the three stores, in total, I spent $1.81 on $99.33 worth of merchandise - that's 98% savings! I think this may be my best shopping excursion yet!

Albertson's - 87% savings!

2009-07-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

Even without doubles this week's Albertson's sale is pretty HOT! Check out what I got today:

16 double rolls of toilet paper (32 regular rolls)

4 rolls paper towels

1 gal Nursery water

12 cups Mott's applesauce

3 boxes Wet Ones hand wipes (72 wipes)

5 packets Ranch Dressing Mix

10 disposable latex gloves

for $6.82! Original Price on all this: $55.72. Oooooh yeah. Love it!

There are a few more things that I will probably go back to get on Monday. I'm still hoping that there will be doubles in this Sunday's paper, even thought the rumors are that there won't be. I'll wait and see. If not, I'll still head in Monday because they have some pretty good deals going on that I'd like to get in on. Plus, I think I'd like more Ranch packets - we go through a lot of those and at $.70 a piece, you can't beat it!

Family Reading Time

2009-07-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

I have a ever growing and never shrinking list of books that I want to read. The list never shrinks because I have a really hard time fitting book reading into my days. I can only pack so many things into my day and book reading, unfortunately lands towards the bottom of the to-do list. Usually most of my reading occurs late at night (and early into the morning) the night before the book is due back to the library.

This is no good for many reasons. I am none too happy the next morning. I often don't get it finished and have to pay a late fee (it's only $.10 / day, but still, annoying). My kids don't see me reading, so I'm not setting a good example for them. And the books I read are much less enjoyable when I read them in this stress packed manner.

So, I've decided that we are going to family (really just me and the kids) reading time each day. We always read a couple books to our kids before nap and bed times. But, this will be a time where they can sit and "read" to themselves and I can read my books. I have a 3 year old and a 11 month old, so really not much reading is occurring for them, but it's more about the habit right now.

The 11 month old goes into the play pen with some board books and quite books. He really enjoys himself a lot actually. It's quite cute watching him turn the pages and look through the books. My 3 year old gets a book and sits with me on the couch. I settle in to read my book while my 3 year old runs back and forth to his room grabbing more books as he finishes one. Reading time will usually last anywhere from 20 - 30 minutes. I was quite surprised that both my kids' attention spans lasted this long, I expected 10 minutes to go by and both of them begging to do something else.

We've been doing this in the late morning, after my little one wakes up from his morning nap and before lunch time. It seems to work pretty well. We go the park in the mornings, so my 3 year old has most of his sillies worked out and is able to sit quietly for a while. And my little guy is always pretty chill when he wakes up, so he's happy sitting in the play pen and not necessarily wanting to roam around and get into mischief.

We've done this for several days now and it has been wonderful. I'm almost done with my current book and it's not even due for another week!

I know this is really nothing new - I'm sure a lot of you do this in your own homes. But, it is new to me and I love it. This works for our family. Find out what works for other families over at We Are THAT Family's Works for Me Wednesday Carnival.

Donation Time Again

2009-07-18T14:12:00.000-07:00

Over the last month or so, I've collected the following items for FREE:

5 packages of Kotex
6 Toothbrushes
4 Foss
5 Deodorant
1 Contact solution
2 BBQ sauce
1 Shampoo / Conditioner

All were free through coupons or mail in rebates (or a combination of the 2, in which case they were money makers!). Retail on all this is close to $40! I don't really need any of these products, so I'm going to drop them off at the Food Bank here in Provo some time this week. I get warm fuzzies just thinking about it :o)

You can see the stash of stuff that I got for free and donated last time here.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Review

2009-07-17T23:09:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter love runs deep in my family - my sisters and cousins combined have read the books too many times to count (although they do keep track and are quite proud of it). The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as I am a big Harry Potter fan as well.

The movies will never be as good as the books and shouldn't be compared to one another. They are 2 different mediums and lend themselves to different types of storytelling. I've always tried to view the movies as a works completely separate from the books. This objectivity usually leads me to think very highly of the movies, despite their differences from the books. But, this movie left me a little disappointed.

It is clear that the movie's attention is focusing on 3 aspects of the book: the emerging adolescent affection of Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione; Draco's journey as a new Death Eater; and the relationship of Dumblebore and Harry Potter, and with it Dumbledore's legacy.

I think that the movie portrayed the complexities of adolescent relationships - love, crushes, friends, competition, heart break, anger etc very well. And I enjoyed that part of the movie. There was great character development and I feel that it set the stage very well for the 7th movie. But, I feel that the rest of it was very lacking.

Dumbledore and Harry's journey to learn all that they can about Voldemort and the Horcruxes should have been the main focus of the movie. The hours that they spent together unraveling the mystery of Voldemort, and thereby strengthening their relationship, makes the ending all that more tragic. Simply showing one of the memories and moving on with very little discussion of its significance is not adequate.

Judging by the plot elements from the book that were either omitted or left in the movie and the cinematography, it is clear that David Yates wanted the focus of the movie to be on Dumbledore. And yet there were many missed opportunities to do this. More of the plot should've focused on Dumbledore and Harry as they work together to determine what all of the Horcruxes are. Because there is very little discussion between Harry and Dumbledore, Harry is just an observer. He views the memories that Dumbledore has collected, is instructed by Dumbledore to get one more and that's it. Because Harry isn't involved in the discovery process, we as the audience aren't either. There is nothing to draw us in. We aren't there in the room with them as they figure out what makes Voldemort tick.

Because the movie focuses so little on Dumbledore and Harry's time together, the ending is not very climatic. There is no great loss because there was no great gain to begin with. You have to spend time developing a relationship if there is to be any emotional effect when that relationship is ended. Yes, the movie can only be so long and things have to be cut to achieve this. But, I feel that the movie missed a huge theme in the book and that left the movie feeling very hollow. Plus, there was that strange scene at the Burrow that was not in the book and seemed to come out of left field. Surely that scene could've been sacrificed to obtain more character development for Dumbledore and Harry.

Additionally, less time should've been spent on showcasing the CGI - yes, we know you can make amazing computer generated images, we get it. But, really at the end of the day, it is meaningless. I don't pay money to sit and watch synthetic images on a large screen. First and foremost, the movie must tell a story and I don't feel that this movie told the story very well.

I know that when books are adapted to movies, not all the material makes it to the silver screen. Story lines that don't serve the theme of the movie must be cut in order to produce a cohesive work. I am not looking for the movie to be a prefect re-creation of the book. But, in this case, the movie did not adequately communicate a theme that it was clearly trying to.

I do have to say, that this would be one of the harder HP books to turn in to a movie. There is a lot of exposition, which makes a compelling book, but would make a very boring movie. I don't know exactly how this should've been handled. But, I do know that what was portrayed in the movie was lacking real depth.

Bottom line - the movie was just o.k. It is always wonderful to visit the world of Harry Potter and I automatically like the movies for bringing me there. But, this movie left me disappointed. It failed to tell the story that I know it was trying to tell.

This post is very long, and really, I could go on for a while longer, but won't. If you made it to the end of this review, you must really want to hear what I have to say about Harry Potter. Either that, or you completely disagree with what I have to say and are seething at my audacity of criticising a Harry Potter movie. If it's the latter, I have a feeling, I'll be hearing about it.

What Do You Spend Your Money On? Things or Experiences?

2009-07-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

Money has been very tight in our house lately and we've taken a very close look at where our money is being spent. This has been such a valuable learning experience for our family. I cannot even begin to enumerate all of the lessons we have learned over the last few years.

Earlier this year, I set a goal to spend less money on things and more money on experiences. We fill our lives with too many things - clothes, movies, furniture, cars, jewelry, decorations, toys, electronics etc. And in reality those things do very little to make us happy, and we definitely can't take them with us into our next life. Sure they are fun, but they don't bring us any lasting joy. What does bring us lasting joy, and will forever be a part of us, is experiences and memories with our friends and family.

With this in mind, I'm trying to put my money into those things that really matter. Rather than buying Hunter a bunch of toys that he really doesn't need for his birthday, we put his birthday money from Grandparents and great-Grandparents toward a trip to Disneyland. And let me tell you, those 3 magical days at Disneyland are more valuable than a house full of toys.

This year, when my mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I couldn't think of anything. I honestly hadn't thought about what I wanted at all. That has never happened to me. I did need a new diaper bag, and so she got me a new one (note to all you new mothers out there: do not buy a white diaper bag, even if it is absolutely adorable with it's pink and white polka dot interior and black accents - it will be filthy in one day flat!) What I did want for my birthday was the ability to do fun activities with my family, activities that we really can't afford right now. So, I'm spending my birthday money on arts and crafts supplies for Hunter, trips to water parks and museums for the whole family. The memories from these experiences are worth so much more to me than any thing I could buy.

And, speaking of my birthday, my favorite part of the day didn't require any money at all. Fred had my brother and sister-in-law babysit the kids while we took a walk up Provo Canyon. We walked and talked. We sat on rocks by the river listening to the peaceful flow of water and discussing grand ideas. He picked me a bouquet of wildflowers as we walked back out of the canyon. It was truly magical and it didn't cost a dime. Sometimes the most valuable experiences in life are the simplest ones.

Next time you go to plunk money down on something, ask yourself if it is just a thing, or if it is an experience. If it's just a thing, think about what experience or memory that money could buy instead. Decide which you want more. You may be surprised how many things you realize that would trade in for lifelong memories and experiences.

Smith's and Albertson's Shopping Trips

2009-07-15T15:54:00.001-07:00

This week's sale at Smith's blows Albertson's sale out of the water! Even taking into account double coupons at Albertson's, I would shop at Smith's over Albertson's this week. Smith's sale is huge - there are so many participating items (a lot aren't even listed in the add) and the sale is on items that aren't complete junk, like a lot of the Albertson's sale items are.

I did make a couple trips to Albertson's today though. They have a great deal going on with Fiber One products. You won't hear a lot of buzz about the deal on any deal blogs, because most of them don't get excited unless cereal is less than $1.00 a box. But, usually the cereal that is that cheap is complete junk, and I don't buy it. So, when our family's favorite cereal was on sale, I just had to jump on it. Here's what I got at Albertson's today:

I paid $15.44, original price: $63 (Do keep in mind that Albertson's regular prices are very inflated). And I feel great about what I bought. Sometimes, I come away from a great deal knowing that I saved a ton but also feeling like I spent my money on second rate items. But, not today. I absolutely love fresh salsa, and it was free after doubled coupons. We love the cereal and granola bars. I use Dijon mustard and pineapple all the time. The only thing that I wasn't over the moon about was the Fiber One toaster pastries, but they were so cheap, that I decided that I could live with it (at least they have a good amount of fiber right?!)

And now for Smith's. I got:

For $19.30, Original Price: $42.16. I only spent around $7 for the 10 items in the promotion: cream cheese, gum, yogurt, salad dressing, water, cheese, and jelly. The package of blueberries is HUGE (but a great deal) and we will be eating blueberries on pretty much everything for the next few days. I had BOGO coupons for the Jones soda, and I am drinking it while blogging and it is heavenly! I will definitely be making a second trip to Smith's this week - there were so many things in the promotion that I didn't know about, I wasn't prepared for them. I'll have to go again sometime when I have more time and can browse and find the best deals.

Fun with Shaving Cream and Food Coloring

2009-07-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

Today, Hunter and I made these pictures, using shaving cream and food coloring:

Pretty cool huh?! We got this activity from the Family Fun Magazine (No, I don't work for them, I just really love their magazine). Hunter had such a great time making these and it was the perfect use for all of my free shaving cream. We'll definitely have to do it again - I just have to wait for Walgreens to give me more free shaving cream ;)

Happy 7-11 day!

2009-07-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

We got out Free Slurpees! Did you?

Fun Things in This Month's Family Fun Magazine

2009-07-11T18:09:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love my subscription to Family Fun Magazine. Some month's issues are better than others, and this month happens to be one of the better ones - there are so many activities and crafts that I am so excited to try out. They have a few of them available on-line - not all of them though and in fact some of my favorite ones from this month aren't. But, here's some good ones that are available on-line:

Ribbon Pillow (so cute - I'll have to wait on this one until a daughter comes along though)

The Fomerator (I can already hear Hunter sqealing with laughter)

Back Yard Water Park

Think Fast! Brain Boosters (my kids aren't old enought for these yet, but I will definitely use them some day)

There are a lot more great crafts, activities, organizational tips, traditions etc in this month's issue. It is only $10 for a year subscription - it's so worth it! There are so many great things to do with your kids and a lot of helpful hints that will make your life easier.

Another free Amazon Gift Card

2009-07-10T20:05:00.001-07:00

I just got another free $5 Amazon Gift Card through Swagbucks! I got my first one about a month and a half ago. At this rate, I'll probably have $30 in Amazon gift cards by Christmas time - for free! So sweet. Fred's using it now too, so hopefully he'll be able to get a nice stash as well. From the looks of things around the blogosphere, we earn them at a pretty slow rate, but that's o.k. - every little bit helps. If you wanna earn free gift cards for searching the web, like you do anyways, click on the banner below and you can sign up.

Great Shopping Day

2009-07-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

Today I actually had the car and I sure made the most out of it. I went to Albertson's twice, Kmart and Target. Phew, I'm beat! But just check out what I got at KMart:

Almost $70 worth of toys and games for $20.18! All of their clearance toys have an additional 50% discount off the clearance prices! The selection wasn't great, but I found a few things that I new the boys would like. The Pictureka card games were only $.99 after a $5 coupon from coupons.com. Some of the stuff is for now, other is for later (Christmas), and some we'll give away. Ahhhhh, how I love a good bargain.

At Albertson's I got:

for less than $2! (I can't find the receipts, grrr, so I can't give you the exact amount). The cookie dough was a last minute swap out - they were all out of Stain Stick - I guess I underestimated the hotness of that sale.

I love coming away from a day of shopping thinking about how much I saved instead of how much I spent.

My Child or My Twin?

2009-07-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend we were at my Grandparents cabin in Southern Utah. My grandmother had found some old baby pictures of mine and passed them on to me. When we showed them to Hunter and asked who was in the picutre, he replied "Hunter" (he usually refers to himself in the 3rd person). Every picutre of me that we showed him he insisted that it was he in the picture and not me.

We did look a lot a like - the chubby, rosy cheeks and the long dark hair. When Hunter was a newborn, we looked at my baby picutres and Fred was sure that he wouldn't have been able to tell the two of us apart. So, this either means that I looked like a boy, or Hunter looks like a girl :o) Either way, and thankfully, Hunter is looking less like me (a girl) and more like a little boy.

Hunger Games

2009-07-07T22:19:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was camping (well sort of, we were in a cabin) in the mountains above Cedar City. We had a wonderful time - I just love southern Utah! I brought along Hunger Games to read while there and on the road. I had been waiting months to read it - I requested it from our library a long time ago. But, our library is just so dang popular and the book is equally popular, which created a perfect storm and I had to wait quite a while before it was available.

It was SO worth the wait! I loved this book from start to finish. Suzanne Collins' writing style is no nonsense and to the point, so the book doesn't waste time and moves along nicely. It is a young adult novel, but has surprisingly mature themes and story lines. The setting is startlingly plausible. I constantly found myself in shock at what their society had become, and at the same time evaluating the similarities to our current society. While it was difficult to find a real connection with the characters (I'm not 14 and I don't live in a violent post-apocalyptic dictatorship), I still really enjoyed their journey. There were a couple moments that were predictable, but for the most part the story was very creative and other worldly.

I am very excited for the second one in the series, Catching Fire. It is released September 1, 2009. I requested it from our library - I am #67 in line (almost 2 months ahead of time)! They have 20 copies, so hopefully the wait will move quickly.

Summer's Simple Pleasures

2009-06-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

Picnics

(Fred may or may not be mocking me here)

Fruit! Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Berries, Pineapple, Plums, Peaches, Cherries - I love them all! And so does Grant

Days at the Park - this is Hunter coming down the slide

Feeding the Ducks

Sun and Water

I am truly loving the summer! It is so fun to re-live your childhood summer days with your children. Eating frozen Capri Suns, drawing with chalk, running in sprinklers, playing at the park etc. It is so carefree, and makes me feel like a kid again. I so need to move back to San Diego where we get a lot more mileage out of our summers (being that summer blends into fall and spring). But, for the time being, we're making the most of the wonderful weather while it's here.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Review

2009-06-29T13:12:00.000-07:00

Don't waste your time or money!

How's that for a short, to the point review? Really, I should be telling myself "I told you so!" I hate summer action movies and I thought the first Transformers was lame, so I don't know why I went to see the second one.

Here's the rational behind my decision to see this movie. We had free movie tickets and my husband and I were really wanting to get out of the house by ourselves, so we decided to use our freebies. There were only a few options that we were even considering. I checked out Entertainment Weekly to see what they rated everything and Transformers actually got a B! I thought, hey, maybe it won't be that bad. So, we decided to see it.

My confidence in, and a little of my love for Entertainment Weekly has been decreased. They haven't steered me wrong before and I am sorely disappointed in them.

If you do happen to like mindless action, over glorified CGI, explosions, gags geared toward pubescent boys, and contrived plots, then this movie's for you. If not, find a better way to spend your money.

A note to Michael Bay: We know you can make movies with endless CGI, explosions, sexy women etc. Why don't you man up and make a movie that is actually smart. Spend a little less money on CGI and TNT and buy yourself some good writers that will give you intelligent, intricate plots and 3 dimensional characters. Summer action movies do not have to be mind-less dribble, Dark Knight proved that. Please make better movies!

They're Back!

2009-06-24T14:04:00.001-07:00

Another week of obsessive grocery shopping is ahead of me. There are great sales and double coupons this week at Albertson's.

Today I got:

And a bottle of Spray 'n Wash that was hiding under a chair.

I did this in 2 trips and spent $17.50! Original price $74.46. Oh Yeah!

I plan on going back a few more times throughout the rest of the week to snag a few things for free (salad dressing, pasta, gum, pretzels, ice cream). How I love double coupons!

And just so you don't think that our family lives on junk, here's what I got at Buy Low this morning:

1 Seedless Watermelon

1 Cantaloupe

4 Fuji apples

4 peaches

2 lbs Strawberries

1 bunch celery

1 lb carrots

1 bunch Green Onions

1 Cucumber

3 crowns broccoli

1 head lettuce

4 onions

All for $10.37! I love Buy Low's Wednesday produce deals - it's always a madhouse there (especially when I'm trying to maneuver one of the car shopping carts) - but it's so worth it.

Blogging in Comfort

2009-06-24T00:54:00.000-07:00

As I type this I am sitting in our recliner which is situated right in front of our desktop computer at the desk. Now, this came about because our old desk chair was the most uncomfortable chair ever made. I bought it 10 years ago, while I was in college, and my main requisite for every purchase was: it's cheap! On top of that it broke a little while ago and while we fixed it more or less (my hubby's handy!) the back is still a little crooked, which does nothing to help it's comfort factor.

Between blogging, facebook, coupon / deal blogs, TV shows, e-mail etc I've been spending a lot of time in that uber-uncomfortable chair.

One day I decided enough was a enough. I drug our recliner over to the desk, pulled the lever, placed the keyboard in my lap and was in heaven.

Yes, it looks bizarre to have a recliner pulled up to a desk. Yes, everyone who comes over questions us about it. And yes, it's a little weird. But, it sure beats forking over a couple hundred dollars to get a nice, comfortable office chair. It works for us.

I'm participating in Works for Me Wednesdays over at We are THAT Family.

Old Navy Shopping Spree

2009-06-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

Today was an exciting day in our little house. Both Fred and I scored $75 off $100 coupons from oldnavyweekly.com! We went to Old Navy after dinner and had a great time shopping. Fred really needed new clothes - he has worn a hole in the knee of his only pair of jeans (too much rough housing with Hunter :o) And he only had 1 pair of shorts and a handful of shirts. On top of the coupons, all men's clothing is half off right now, so he really scored. He got:

2 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of khaki cargo pants, 1 pair of khaki cargo shorts, 1 pair of swim trunks, 3 polo shirts, 1 t shirt, 1 athletic shirt...

all for $32.59! (Original price $213.09)

I didn't need clothes as badly as Fred, but I did still need some - I've been sleeping in sweats (which is hot!) and only have about 7 shirts that fit my still-nursing-post-pregnancy body. Here's what I got:

3 shirts, 1 pair of shorts, 1 pair of capris, 1 pair of yoga shorts, 1 pair of sandals...

all for $30.72! (Originally $113.97)

In total we spent $63.31 on $327.06 worth of merchandise. Now that feels good.

Getting the coupons was really easy this week thanks to a wonderful blog: Thrifty Northwest Mom. She has a chat room up on her site that people use on the days that the coupons will re-set. She has a bunch of regular readers that she's made moderators and have the ability to ring a bell when the coupons reset on oldnavyweekly.com. She even has people stationed on military bases around the world as moderators so that there's always people awake, in case the coupons reset in the middle of the night (which has happened). You just leave your computer on with the volume up and you'll hear the bell when the site is up.

A bunch of her readers also have an add-on for Mozilla Firefox called check for change. It will check a website every 15 seconds to see if it's changed and will notify you when it does.

And there's also a website that has a picture of part of the coupon site that changes 1-5 minutes before the actual coupon site loads (the link isn't working now, but just change the number in the url to "17" and that'll be next weeks media page). So, people monitor that site and when it changes you know the coupons will be up soon. Today they rang the bell when the media site changed, which gave us all time to RUN to our computers (it was quite hysterical really). And then when the site is up, people post in the chat room where the coupons are located, in case you're having a hard time finding them yourself.

Really it is all the most amazing system - it means that you don't have to sit in front of your computer hitting F5 repeatedly - you can go about your life and you'll be notified when the site is up. This all may seem totally over board and completely crazy, but we're not talking about any old coupons here - these are amazing, high value coupons that we're able to get because of this whole set up. If you haven't jumped on the crazy train yet, you should - it's a lot of fun and you get amazing deals out of it. I've done this for a few weeks now, and have used a lot of different sites to help me out and this week has been the easiest by far. If you want to get in on these amazing coupons, you really should check out the Thrift NW mom blog - it's the best way to go.

My Little Boy Does a Frugal Momma Proud

2009-06-18T15:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Hunter and I were in the back yard grilling some cantaloupe for dinner (yum!). There was a small plastic plate that was accidentally left out there after our last picnic and when our landlord came to mow (on their big riding mowers) they shredded it up a bit. Hunter found the plate and said "Oh, no. Momma we need to fix this".

This comment may not seem all that remarkable, but I was so proud of him - rather than saying we need to throw the broken disposable plate away (and in turn get a new one), his first thought was to fix it. That's right! We don't just throw away broken things in our house - we fix them up and make them work!

I almost didn't want to explain to him that we weren't going to fix this plate and that it just needed to be thrown away. Hopefully I haven't derailed my own teachings.

Fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without! Thanks for being a good example my little man.

Going with the Flow - a Laundry Schedule that Revolves Around...

2009-06-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

Bed wetting :o)

My 3 year old has been potty trained for several months now. However he still has occasional accidents at nap time (we still put him diapers at night). My old laundry schedule "dictated" that I wash sheets on Thursdays and I did just that, every Thursday. I like doing 1 load of laundry a day and I like having a schedule to work with. And I really like clean sheets.

But, after being frustrated too many times when my son decided to have a nap time bed wetting accident right after I washed his sheets, I decided that my laundry schedule would now revolve around him. If he happens to wet his bed, I'll wash his sheets right then and there. And I'll wait to wash them until it happens again - whether it be 2 days or 2 weeks.

Eventually he'll get better at this and I'll go back to my normal schedule, but for right now it's much easier to just go with it and not try to swim upstream. It works for me.

I'm participating in Works for Me Wednesdays at We Are That Family (which is a hilarious blog, btw)

BYU Museum of Art

2009-06-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend my sister and brother-in-law were in town from San Diego. Our original plan for Saturday was to spend it at Veteran's Memorial Pool. But, the thunderstorms derailed those plans, so we came up with a plan B and decided to got museum hopping on campus.

We started at the Museum of Art, which has a couple of really fun exhibits right now. The first is by Walter Wick - creator of the I Spy books (and other fun things too). We had such a great time looking at all of his work - finding all of the hidden stuff, trying to figure out the optical illusions etc. His work is so whimsical, enchanting and delightful - you feel like a kid again. Hunter was pretty entertained by it all too. He is a little young to fully appreciate it - but a lot of the paintings contained objects that he knew, so he had a fun time helping us find things too. This exhibit will be at the MOA until August 1st.

The second exhibit that we spent some time in is the Dan Steinhilber exhibit. He's a modern artist that creates sculptures out of everyday objects, like hangers, balloons, pipes, trash bags, and duck sauce packets. He had some pretty cool stuff. Our favorite was the packing peanuts with the floor fans - it looked really cool. Hunter loved it. The problem is that the fans don't blow all the time - there is a schedule posted on the wall that says when they're supposed to turn on. The girl in the gift shop told us to ask the guard to turn them on so we could see it and not wait around for the next time. Well, it turns out that my brother knew where the button was, so he turned them on for us. And then we got yelled at by the security guard - he was really grouchy - I doubt he would've turned it on for us even if we asked. When this happened it was only a couple minutes from when they were supposed to be on, so we hung around until that time. Well, the time came and went with no fans, so we moved on. Right as we were leaving the exhibit the guard walked back in, waited until we were gone and then turned on the fans. So mean! He was on a serious power trip. I tried to run back in with Hunter so he could see it, but the fans had already turned off. Aside from the obnoxious security guard, we thought the exhibit was pretty cool. This exhibit will be at the MOA until August 22nd.

I love going to the MOA because 1) it's Free! and 2) they always have great exhibits and I always have such a great time. If you're looking for a fun and cheap way to beat the heat (in our case, beat the rain) this summer, you should really check out these exhibits. Just watch out for grumpy security guards.

Albertson's Doublers

2009-06-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

Here's what I got with my delightful Albertson's "Twice the Value" coupons:

Original price: $15.42

I paid: $2.24!

I heart Walgreens (6/15/09)

2009-06-15T08:05:00.001-07:00

The late night / early morning employees at Walgreens and I are BFFs :o). They are so nice and are always so happy to see me. And I'm always happy to see them - my morning just isn't quite right when someone else is working. Which is not always the case - I know a lot of Walgreens employees who hate working Mondays (not Sundays, we're in Utah) because it brings in all of the coupon shoppers. There are some seriously deranged coupon shoppers out there who seem to think that anything they can do to get a deal is o.k. even if it is outright stealing. Like buying items, getting the Register Rewards, returning the items and keeping the RRs! That really happens - I can't believe some one would stoop that low. I think the Walgreens employees are happy to see me because I am courteous to them, I follow the rules, I keep my transactions small (in size and number), and I don't get greedy. Today, when my cashier handed me a $3 RR after I only spent $1.73 he told me that he's always happy to see me turn a profit. He's just that nice! I think I'll write a e-mail to Walgreens corporate office letting them know just how much I like these guys.

Anyways, here's what I got:

I spent $1.73, the total retail price of this is $16.05. Plus, I have $3 Register Rewards to use later. I had actually planned to get a couple more things, but after receiving our ad yesterday I realized that a lot of the sales weren't going on in our area - bummer! I need to stop planning my shopping trips based on the full ad scans on-line because we never get the full ad here.

Squeal!

2009-06-14T08:46:00.000-07:00

Let the fun begin!!!!!

Netflix Rocks!

2009-06-10T21:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know we're like a century behind the rest of the world, but we just signed up for Netflix. It's just a free 1 month trial and we probably won't be keeping it after that. So, we are determined to get our money's worth! :o) We waited until Fred was done with the LSAT so that we would be able to veg out as much as possible.

It has been so fun. We received our first movies today (we requested them Monday night) - that's less than 2 days handling time. What's the first movie we received? The Devil Wears Prada, which is being watched as I type. Which should give you a clue as to who requested it (not Amber) and who's watching it (not Amber). :o) Silly, silly.

And there are hundreds of movies and TV shows that you can stream on-line, in addition to the movies you get in the mail. We're going to try to watch the first 2 seasons of Heros (the 3rd is available on Hulu).

I have a feeling there's going to be a whole lotta nothing going on at our house during the next month. If you wanna get in on the vegging with us, we have another free month offer code I can send ya.

Albertson's Double Coupon Wrap Up

2009-06-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

It is a sad day for me - the end of Albertson's Double Coupons Week. Yes, there will be occasional double coupons in the newspaper, but nothing like this week, where they were right there, in the add, and I could get more each time I went to the store.

At the end of this week, we spent $26.06 on $169.71 worth of groceries (56 items)! I am totally spoiled now, regular old coupon shopping will be pretty boring now. To be honest, some of it was spent on frivolous things like pudding and crackers. But, that's one of the perks of coupon shopping - you can afford to get those non-essentials because you are paying pennies on the dollar for them. Fred is now in 7th heaven because we have so much snack food in our house. We never used to have any snack food in our house - we couldn't afford it. But, now that were using coupons (in combination with sales) we can really load up on the junk :/ Which I don't really like, but it does make me happy to see Fred so happy.

Family Temple Outing

2009-06-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, after naps and dinner, we went to the temple as a family to walk around. It was so wonderful. We are definitely going to make it a regular event for our family.

Speaking of temples, we need to get tickets to see the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. We had a great time going to the Draper, UT temple open house, although I wish Hunter had been a little more reverent. We'll work on it before going this next time. I know Hunter won't remember much about the Open House, but hopefully he will remember how he felt and all this exposure to temples will be the beginning of his testimony. We are so blessed to live near so many temples - I want to be sure to make the most of it while we're living here.

LSAT

2009-06-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

Right now, Fred is taking the LSAT. He's been preparing on and off for months - juggling work and family time with LSAT studying is hard (especially when he owns his own business). He was so excited to go take it today, he was ready to go about an hour early and was getting so antsy waiting :o). I know he'll do great. Luckily, if he's not happy with his score, he still has 2 more chances to take it before the next admission deadline. Good Luck babe!

Celebrating SAHMs

2009-06-06T13:48:00.000-07:00

I haven't quite finished this book, yet, but I wanted to tell everyone how much I love it! My wonderful mom gave it to me for Mother's Day (perfect gift, I'd say). It really celebrates being a stay at home mom. Every time I open it up and read it I feel so inspired, motivated, uplifted, grateful, honored, blessed, important etc. I read a little each day and it gives me just what I need to carry on through the all of the stress, chaos, monotony etc that is part of life as a stay at home mom. I absolutely love this book. I will probably read it over and over again. Anytime I feel like I just can't make it, I'll pick it up and find the word of encouragement to help me get through the day. I highly recommend every SAHM read this book - it will remind you that you have the best job in the whole world!

Got Cheese?

2009-06-05T13:57:00.001-07:00

There have been deals galore on cheese lately and I don't know about you, but I have a ton of cheese in my house right now. If you want a tasty way to use up some of that cheese, visit here for a yummy twist on a traditional grilled cheese sandwich.

Waffle Breakfast Sandwiches

2009-06-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

Here's another recipe that uses the phenomenally priced frozen Kashi waffles. My inspiration for this sandwich was the McGriddle at McDonald's - which is pretty darn tasty. My version is a lot nicer on the wallet and waistline. See the recipe here.

Kashi 7 Grain Waffles - on Price Cut at Target for $1.77, used $1.50 coupon here - total $.22 / box (6 waffles), total for 2 waffles - $.07 (*This deal is still going on!*)

Kraft Sharp Cheddar Cheese - $2.09 for 8 oz bag at Target, used $1.00 printable coupon and $1/2 Target coupon - total $.59 for 8 oz, used 1 oz - total $.07

Oscar Mayer Deli Sliced Ham - on Price Cut at Target for $2.99 each, used $.75 printable coupon, and $1 / 2 Target Coupon - total $1.74, used 4 slices - total $.23

Maple Syrup - $1.75 / bottle at Walmart, used Tablespoon - total - $.04

Egg - $.50 / dozen medium at Walmart (price matched from Buy Low), used 1 - total $.04

Grand Total for 1 serving: $.45!!!!!

Don't think that you can only have this sandwich for breakfast. We have stuff like this all the time for dinner. Pair it with some sweet potatoes hash and fruit and it's a very balanced meal.

Cucumber Cantaloupe Chicken Salad

2009-06-04T20:58:00.000-07:00

Our family loves this salad - Fred was so excited when he saw what we were having for dinner tonight. I love it because, well it's tasty, but also because I can do the actual cooking (of the chicken) at night and I don't heat up the house during the day time. Get the recipe here.

Here's how the cost breaks down:

Chicken - $1.79 / lb, about $1.08 / chicken breast, used 3 - total $3.24

Cantaloupe - $.20 / lb at Buy Low - total $.57

Cucumber - $.59 each at Smith's

Yogurt - used Yoplait Yo+, $2.69 / 4, used $1.00 coupon here, used $1.00 cellfire coupon - total $.69 for 4, used 2, total - $.35

Mayonnaise - $1.99 at Target, used $1.00 coupon and $1.00 Target Coupon here - total Free

Tarragon - approximate cost $.50

Sourdough Bread - $1.99 at Smith's = $.15 / slice, used 4 - total $0.60

Grand Total - $5.85 for 4 servings, $1.46 for each serving

One Note - this salad does not keep well, so only make what you'll eat right away.

If you only had $0.60 to spend at the gorcery store...

2009-06-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

What could you get?

Could you get this:

YOU could, if you combined sales with coupons and doubled those coupons. YOU could do this too.

btw, regular price of this is $15.04.

Keeping Kids Entertained at the Gorcery Store

2009-06-04T13:44:00.001-07:00

My kids and I have been spending some extra time in grocery stores lately and while, we've never had any meltdowns, I thought I'd pass a long some tips and tricks to keeping your kids happy while you're shopping. Some I've used myself, and others I haven't, but think they're great ideas. Several of these came from Family Fun magazine (you should check it out)

1. Create a shopping list just for your kids. I did this for Hunter and he enjoys using it for about 10 minutes and then he's done. But, if your kids are older, and have longer attention spans, they will probably enjoy it more.

2. Give them each a small amount of money to buy a treat for themselves. Encourage them to weigh their options and pick the best deal (not just the first thing they see)

3. Make a grocery store scavenger hunt with a small prize for the person that finds everything first. (The items on the scavenger hunt list don't have to be items on your grocery list - make it tricky)

4. Have them talk to Grandma while you're walking through the store.

5. If your kids are little and still riding in the cart, go to the library first and pick out a new book that they can look at while shopping.

6. If your kids are older, make it into a competition. Divide the list in half and have a race to see who can finish first. Just make sure your list is very explicit so that the kids know exactly what you're looking for.

7. Play the alphabet game (like you do on road trips). Find labels that start with every letter, from A-Z. Have them work as a team, there will be less bickering that way.

8. Involve your kids in planning and cooking meals. When they have a say in what's going in the cart (and on the table), they'll be much more interested in shopping.

9. Involve your kids. Have them run the calculator. Ask them what flavors they want. Make one of them the list master and call out the next item on the list.

10. Take time to discuss nutrition as you go. As you grab something, talk about what food group is belongs in, what nutritional benefits it has etc.

There are probably many more great ideas out there, these are just a few to get you thinking. Keep changing things up - kids love new games and activities. When I am shopping by myself with the kids, I always go in the morning. The stores are slow and the checkers haven't been working very long. So everyone is a lot happier and more tolerant when it takes 5 minutes to unload the cart because my son insists on doing it himself. I also plan everything out before hand, that way I'm not standing in the aisle trying to decide what to get and trying to keep the kids happy too. Plus, when you plan everything out, you'll spend less time in the store, which is always helpful.

Remember that emotions are contagious. If you're not happy to be grocery shopping, your kids won't be happy either (and you'll be even unhappier because of it). If you decide to make it something fun, it will be. There will always be highs and lows (as always), but you can maximize the highs and minimize the lows.

Free Fish Tacos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-06-04T13:17:00.001-07:00

As a San Diego girl, I was practically raised on Rubio's Fish Tacos. Every time I'm home, Rubio's is one of the mandatory stops. I pretty much love everything on their menu. Being that the nearest Rubio's is 15 minutes away, in American Fork, and that we generally don't eat out, we rarely go. But, this Saturday, June 6th, from 3:00pm - 6:00pm they are giving away a free fish taco to every customer! I can't wait!

Check locations here

Thanks Utah Deal Diva!

Strawberry Pecan Chicken Salad Sandwich

2009-06-03T23:30:00.000-07:00

I got the inspiration for this sandwich from the Strawberry Fields salad at TGIFridays. Since strawberries were so cheap this week, I wanted to incorporate them into a meal, and not just eat them on the side. So, this is what I came up with - you can find the recipe here.

Strawberries - $.88 / lb at Walmart (only $.99 at Buy Low this week) - total $.88

Pecans - $1.26 / bag at Walmart

Green Onions - $.50 at Walmart, used 4 - total $.20

Mayonnaise - Price $1.99, used $1 coupon and $1 Target coupon here - total FREE!

Balsamic Vinaigrette- on Price Cut at Target for $1.59, used $1 coupon and $.50 Target coupon - total $.09, used 2 Tbs - basically FREE

Sourdough Bread - $1.99 at Smith's = $.15 / slice, used 8 - total $1.20

Lettuce - $1.49 at Smith's, used 8 leafs - total $.50

Grand Total - $4.04 for 4 servings, $1.01 for each serving

One note - the chicken salad does not keep well for the next day (the pecans loose their crunch and the strawberries get mushy and turn everything pink). So, only make what you'll eat right away.

Inaugural Albertson's Double Coupon Shopping

2009-06-03T22:10:00.000-07:00

Today was the first time that I've used Albertson's Double Coupons and boy was it exciting and exhausting at the same time. I think I did pretty well for myself. Check it out:

My total for all this: $10.16!!!!! Regular Price: $74.25. How awesome is that?! I've heard rumors that Albertson's will be placing double coupons in their ads for the next 4 weeks. It makes me tired just thinking about it.

After a day like today, I really regret all the years of paying full price for groceries - I could have saved so much money over the years. Oh well, lesson learned, and moving on.

I also went to Buy Low today and got this:

for $13.20! If you haven't been to Buy Low on a Wednesday morning for their produce deals you should really check it out. But be warned - half the city of Provo is there scoring deals too. It is busy! But, they are usually very well stocked and are ready for the crowds.

Stay tuned for some yummy recipes using some of the ingredients I scored today...

Oh, and check out other Albertson's Double deals at Krazy Coupon Lady.

Blueberry Waffles with Lemon Curd, Hashbrowns and Cheesy Eggs

2009-06-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

I love having breakfast for dinner. We do this 2-3 times a month with all different types of yummy breakfast foods. This one is admittedly one of our more simple ones, but I wanted to highlight some of the great deals that I got recently. Get the recipe here.

Kashi Waffles - on Price Cut at Target for $1.77, used $1.50 coupon here - total $.22 / box (6 waffles), total for 8 waffles - $.29 (*This deal is still going on!*)

Hash browns - on sale at Smith's for $.99 (30 oz bag) - total $.99

Eggs - on Roll Back at Walmart for $1.00 / dozen, used 8 - total $.66

Pepper jack cheese - $2.09 for 8 oz bag at Target, used $1.00 printable coupon and $1/2 Target coupon - total $.59 for 8 oz, used 1/3 - total $.19

Lemons - $1.90 / bag at Walmart, used 4 - total $.76

Eggs - on Roll Back at Walmart for $1.00 / dozen, used 5 - total $.42

Sugar - purchased 10lb bag at Macey's for $9.99 - cost of 1 cup - $.26

Butter - $2.14 / lb at Walmart, used 1/2 stick - total - $.27

Green Onions - $.50 at Walmart, used 3 - total $.15

Salt, pepper, and oil - negligible cost

Grand Total - $3.99 for 4 servings, $1 for each serving

A few notes...

Making lemon curd is so easy and so much cheaper than buying it in the store (I think it's like $3 for a small jar) I happened to have lemons and egg yolks left over from some cupcakes (one recipe needed egg whites, and I hate wasting food!) and decided that lemon curd would go great with the blueberry waffles and would dress them up a little. The British often put lemon curd on blueberry scones at tea time. While, a frozen blueberry waffle is no scone, it is still really tasty! Fred said it tasted like lemon meringue pie :o)

It is so much cheaper to make hash browns from scratch, using real potatoes (especially with potatoes being so cheap at Smith's right now). But they are a lot of work, and since the frozen ones were so cheap, I decided it was worth it to save myself a little time and energy.

This really isn't a nutrient dense meal. Pair it with a green smoothie to get a good helping of fruits and veggies.

Walgreens and Rite Aid Deals

2009-06-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

This morning, at Walgreens, I got:

I paid $9.95. I will submit for a $6.99 rebate on the shampoo. So, this all cost me $2.96. Plus I got 2 $2 Register Rewards that I can use later. Regular price on all this is: $30.75.

Even if you don't really shop at Walgreens, you should head in this week. The Organix shampoo is buy one get one free and there are still a bunch that have try me free hangers. So, you could get 2 free bottles of shampoo or conditioner. We really like this shampoo and Fred was excited that I was able to snag some more.

I also got this at Rite Aid:

I paid $15.85. I will also get $15 back in rebates and a bag filled with $40 worth of samples through Rite Aid's single check rebate programs. So, this cost me $.85! Regular price on this is $37.96.

Free Burt's Bees

2009-06-01T07:41:00.000-07:00

Burt's Bees is giving away 25,000 lip balms in 25 days! They are giving out 1,000 each day. Go here to sign up. The give away could start anytime between 9 a.m EDT and 12 noon EDT, so keep checking back to see if it has started. If you miss it today - you can always try again tomorrow.

I got one today!

I have the most wonderful husband!

2009-05-30T21:27:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I do :o)

Aside from all of his general awesomeness (which is a lot) he went above and beyond for me today. I was up VERY late last night baking cupcakes for a wedding reception today. I went to bed exhausted, leaving a mountain of dishes in the kitchen (we don't have a dishwasher).

I was pretty tired this morning, so after I fed Grant, Fred watched the kids so that I could go back to sleep. But, he didn't stop there. He washed all of the dishes, which was A LOT. He folded the laundry that had been sitting in the dryer for 2 days. And he took out the trash and picked up the house. All the while, keeping an eye on Hunter and Grant.

It was such a wonderful surprise to wake up and find the house in such pristine condition. I am a very lucky girl!

I got my free chocolate

2009-05-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

I posted about Mars free chocolate coupons a couple of weeks ago here. Well, I got my first coupon in the mail today! I was able to snag another one on Friday too (each household can get up to 4)

Go here every Friday at 9am EST to get yours!

Great Smith's Deals

2009-05-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

I went to Smith's yesterday as was able to get all this for $6.59! Regular price: $21.88 - total savings of 74%! What makes this even better is that I also got 2 $1 catalinas and an invitation to complete a survey. I did the survey (it was kinda long) and they will be sending me a check for $5. Sweet!

I've already told you about the great country time lemonade deal, but the Kraft Deluxe Mac & Cheese deal is pretty sweet too. The boxes of Kraft Deluxe Mac & Cheese are priced at $1.61 / box. There is a $1.00 coupon here (print it off asap - it may be gone after the end of this month). Which makes each box only $.61, which is a great deal. But, it gets even better. When you buy 2, you get a $1 catalina to use later. Awesomeness - I love it!

BLTTA Sandwiches

2009-05-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

As a child, my mom let us chose anything we wanted to have for our dinner on our birthday. I remember many years choosing to have BLT sandwiches. I absolutely love them. This one is healthier and kicked up a couple notches in flavor. Check out the recipe here

Bread - $1.73 at Walmart = $.09 / slice, used 8 - total $.72

Jenny-O Turkey Bacon - $2.00 at Walmart = $.09 / slice, used 8 - total - $.72

Lettuce - $1.49 at Smith's, used 4 leafs - approximate total $0.25

Roma Tomatoes - $.33 / lb at Walmart, total for 2 tomatoes - $0.14

Oscar Mayer Sliced Turkey - on Price Cut at Target for $2.99 each, used $.75 printable coupon, and $1 / 2 Target Coupon - total $1.74

Avocado - on sale at Walmart for $.50 each, used 2 - total $1.00

Pickles - had them in the fridge, I diced up one spear, that's gotta only cost about $.20

Green Onions - $.50 at Walmart, used 1 - total $.05

Grand Total - $4.82 for 4 servings, $1.20 for each serving

A few notes...

I used turkey bacon (and no mayonnaise for that matter) to make the sandwich healthier. I know turkey bacon is nothing like real bacon, but the sandwich is so tasty, that you don't really miss it (well, maybe a teensy, tiny bit :o)

Walmart consistently has really cheap price on avocados. However, they are almost always under ripe and sometimes over ripe - they are never perfectly ripe and ready to eat that day. So, buy them under ripe - green and hard. Avocados ripen up beautifully after they've been picked. You just have to plan ahead and not have your heart set on eating them the day you get them. Sometimes, I'll place them in my fruit bowl next to bananas, which emit pheromones that speed ripening. When stored at room temperature, the avocados will be ready to eat in a few days. If they ripe and you're not ready to eat them yet, put them in the fridge - this really slows them down and they'll be good for a while in there (probably up to a week).

Chipotle Pineapple Roast Beef Sandwiches

2009-05-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

These yummy sandwiches have a great combination of salty, sweet, smokey, and spicy flavors. I love serving sandwiches during the summer because it requires minimal cooking. Below I list what I spent on the ingredients and how I made this meal frugally. You can find the recipe here.

Sandwich:

Sara Lee Wheat Hamburger Buns - $3.22 for 8 - $.40 each (they're pricey buns, but they're whole grain, so it's worth the extra cost for me) - total $1.60

Oscar Mayer Roast Beef - on Price Cut at Target for $2.99 each, used $.75 printable coupon, and $1 / 2 Target Coupon - total $1.74

Dole Sliced Pineapple - $1.00 at Walmart, used $.50 coupon - total $.50

Kraft Mayonnaise - $1.99 at Target, used $1.00 off coupon here, and $1 off Target coupon here - total Free!!! (this deal is still going on, so you should definitely get in on this if you haven't yet)

Chipotle Peppers - $1.76 at Walmart, used 1 pepper - approximate total $.22

Red Leaf Lettuce - $1.49 at Smith's, used 8 leafs - approximate total $.50

Potato Wedges:

Potatoes - 10/b bag at Smith's $1.79, used 4, approximate total - $.20

Ketchup - free with coupon from this book

Cooking Spray - negligible cost

Salt and Pepper - negligible cost

Grand Total: $4.76 for 4 servings, $1.19 for each serving

Free Ice Cream!!!!!

2009-05-27T17:35:00.000-07:00

There are 2 great free events coming up.

First, on Saturday (5/30) from 11 am - 4pm Walmart is having free Ice Cream Day! While supplies last you can get your choice of the following full size servings:

1.57 fl. oz Dibs Snack Bag

2.4 fl. oz. Blue Bunny Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola Bar

4 oz. Ben & Jerry’s Flipped Out Cup.

It looks like all the Walmarts in Utah are participating. Go here to see if your store is participating.

Second, on Wednesday, June 3rd from 8pm - close get a free 10 oz. Root Beer Float at Sonic Drive-in. Every Sonic is Participating.

Yay for free treats!

Lemonade Anyone?

2009-05-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

This post is for anyone that has a Smith's grocery store nearby.

They have a killer deal on Country Time Lemonade right now. The 8 quart canisters are only $.99 each - which is an amazing deal by itself. But, it gets even better. There is a $1.50 / 2 coupon here which makes each canister only $.25! (You can print off the coupon twice)

I just bought 4 of them, which normally would have cost $16 + tax (they're $3.99 each normally), but I only paid $1.08 total! I am set on Lemonade for the rest of the summer :o)

This is the second week of this sale, so I don't know how much longer they will have them in stock. So if you want some cheap lemonade, hurry, hurry, hurry!

UPDATE: There will be a $1 off your next order catalina running from 5/29 - 6/11 when you buy 2 drink mixes. They will be on sale at least until Tuesday, June 2nd (I don't know if they will be on sale beyond this current sale period). So, if you wait another day to get them, Smith's will actually pay you to come take product off their shelves :o). If you will be using 2 coupons (buying 4 canisters) you need to do them in separate transactions so that you will be able to get the catalina twice. I sure hope they still have this in stock because I really want to in on this deal!

Food For Frugal Foodies

2009-05-26T22:51:00.000-07:00

I've started another blog called "Food for Frugal Foodies". I decided to start it about a month ago after seeing a lot of bland (and some out right disgusting) meals on some of the money saving blogs I follow. I want to showcase some of the tasty meals that I create with my frugal finds. My first recipe for Pineapple Poppy Seed Pasta Salad is here.

I love making pasta salads during the summer - I make dozens of different recipes. We're not talking the tri-color rotini pasta with grape tomatoes, cheese cubes and broccoli tossed with Italian Salad dressing. We're talking really yummy and unique pasta salads. Pasta salads are great in the summer because they're served cold, which is always refreshing on a hot day. I can make them early in the day before it gets too warm, so I'm not heating up the house during the hottest part of the day. I love being able to prep them ahead of time, it makes the post-nap / pre-dinner time a lot easier.

Here's the breakdown of what I spent on the ingredients:

Chicken - on sale at Smith's for $.69 / lb - total $2.35

Pasta - on Price Cut at Target for $1.00 / box, used $.75 off coupon - total $.25

Celery - on sale at Smith's for $0.99, used half - total $.50

Green Onions - on Rollback at Walmart for $.50, used 1/4 - total $.12

Dole Crushed Pineapple - $1.00 at Walmart, used $.50 off coupon - total $.50

Salad Dressing - on Price Cut at Target for $1.59, used $1.00 off coupon here and $.50 off Target coupon - total $.09

Grand Total: $3.81 for 6 servings (that's only $.64 / serving). Pair it with some seasonal fruits and veggies and you have a very frugal, and tasty, meal.

Freebies

2009-05-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

I came back from vacation and had all of this free stuff waiting for me in my mail:

It's hard tell what everything is but there's a reusable shopping bag, a Schick razor, 3 shampoo and conditioner samples (2 Aveeno, 1 John Freida), 5 coloring and activity books, a saws-all blade (for Fred), a hanging file folder, a sample of Emergen-C, a sample of Omega-3, tons of coupons (including one for a free bottle of ketchup), a sample of Nivea boday wash, a potty training DVD, 25 free prints from Shutterfly (we did have to pay a couple of bucks in shipping for this), 3 perfume samples and a few random stickers.

I love getting freebies in the mail! It's so easy too - filling out your name and address, which takes 10 seconds. I don't even do any of the ones where you have to participate in surveys, complete offers or sign up for other programs (you can get lots of great freebies that way, but it's just not worth the time and effort for me). Be sure that you have a special e-mail address to use for this stuff so that you don't get spam in your regular e-mail account.

If you're not signing up for freebies - you really should :o)

The Scorceress by Michael Scott

2009-05-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

I am very excited about this book being released tomorrow:

But, I will have to be patient, because we will be checking it out from the Provo library and are currently #21 in line (they have lots of copies, so hopefully it will only take a month or so).

The Sorceress is the third book in the series. The first 2 are The Alchemyst and The Magician.

I'm not usually a huge fan of the fantasy genre in general, but I've really enjoyed these books. They're young adult - so they're fast, easy reads. They're set in the modern day and correlate events and places in our society and history with the fantasy story lines. It's fun and interesting. He's a great storyteller - he doesn't waste time setting things up - he just gets in on the action.

If you're looking for a fun summer read, I highly recommend checking them out.

Lost in Translation

2009-05-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

Before we went on vacation, we went to Jumpin' Jacks in Springville for their free admission customer appreciation day. We had a great time, you can read about it here (if you don't have access to my kids blog, but want to, just let me know - most of the fun stuff is over there)

While Hunter was bouncing around like a mad man, Fred and I had a good laugh at this warning label. (Hopefully it's big enough that you can see the pictures)

What we see is: No scissors, no sunglasses, no women, no first aid, no watches, no superheros with sidekicks, no dead people, no dogs, no food, and no shoes.

I think something was lost in translation (it's a Chinese product) because I have no idea what half those pictures are supposed to mean. What do you think they mean?

Swagbucks

2009-05-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

When I started following money saving blogs a few months ago, I noticed that all of the sites talked about Swagbucks. So, I decided to give it a try.

Swagbucks is a site that pays you for your internet searches. Their site is powered by Google and Ask, so the results are pretty good. When you search the internet using their site you are randomly awarded "swagbucks". You don't get one for every search you do, but I'd say it averages out to be about 1 out of 10 searches receives swagbucks (1, 2, 5, or 10).

Once you accrue enough swagbucks you can trade them in for prizes. My favorite, and the most popular, is Amazon gift cards. 45 swagbucks earns you a $5 gift card. I just requested my first gift card :o). It took me about 2 months to accumulate enough swagbucks, so at this rate, by the end of the year, I'll have 4-5 $5 amazon gift cards (which will be perfect for Christmas presents). I don't do a lot of internet searches, so I'm earning these at a slower rate, I know some people who earn swagbucks a lot faster than I do.

Like I said about YouData, you won't make a ton of money doing this. But you will make some money, and every little bit helps. It's especially great when you're able to get something for free by simply doing what you already do (ie searching the web).

The search results aren't sorted and ranked like ones through Google, so they aren't as easy to sift through. But, I usually can find what I'm looking for. And if I can't, I simply type "Google" into the Swagbucks search field and I'm able to search there. I've earned several swagbucks by simply going to Google's homepage through Swagbucks.

I downloaded the toolbar so that it is easier to use and I remember to search using Swagbucks, instead of automatically going to Google.

It is really a great way to earn some extra $ with very little extra work. You should check it out - click on the button on the side of my blog.

You Data Review

2009-05-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I signed up for this website called You Data. Basically, it is a website where companies pay you to click onto their websites.

First you create an account. If I remember correctly you only need a user name and e-mail address to sign up - they don't ask for a lot of personal information. You can then go ahead and fill out a survey which will help You Data send you to the websites that you are most interested in.

After you've created a profile, you simply load up the advertisements they have available to you. Then You click on the links and it takes you to a companies website. They are all legit websites and I have not encountered any problems with viruses.

You get paid for every site you visit. This is not a get-rich-quick program - you will make a few bucks the first few weeks after you sign up, and then it will trail off a bit. Right now, I make anywhere between $.50 - $1.00 a week doing this. Which really seems like nothing. But, it literally takes 2 minutes to do this and at the end of the year I will have made $30 - $50. That will be great to put towards Christmas presents!

You get paid via paypal - they deposit it directly into your account automatically. I've just left my money in there and will allow it to accumulate until the end of the year, then I'll have Christmas presents for a couple of people free!

It is a really, simple painless, although not extremely lucrative, way to make a little extra money.

Off to the Happiest Place on Earth

2009-05-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

I am beyond excited for our vacation next week. I have so much to do before then, that it's hard to let myself get caught up in the excitment while I still have so much left to take care of.

On the itenerary:

My sweet sister is going to babysit the boys tomorrow night so that Fred and I can go to the temple together (that hasn't happened in over a year). We're going to Disneyland on Monday and Tuesday (and maybe Thursday - we'll see how exhausted we are). And we're going to the beach sometime.

It will be a great vacation - but right now, I need to fucus on the tasks at hand...

Shopping This Week

2009-05-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

Despite going out of town tomorrow for a week, I had to get some grocery shopping in before we left. After the Kraft coupon bonanza earlier in the week, there were some sales that I just couldn't pass up.

I made a stop at Target where I got this:

for $39.03! Originally this would have cost me $93.36. Plus I got a $5 gift card to use later. Their shelves were really cleared out - there were out of a lot of things that I really wanted to get. There were a couple things that I should've asked for a rain check on, but it didn't occur to me until later (I'm still new to this whole bargain grocery shopping game).

I also stopped at Smith's were I got $28.81 worth of food for $12.44 (plus I have $3.75 in catalinas to use later. I got 6 bottles Kraft BBQ sauce, 5 pack Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, 1 pack Capri Sun, bag of shredded potatoes, Post Trail Mix Crunch cereal, and 2 whole chickens. No pictures - I was too tired and just wanted to get the food put away! Smith's has these great little shopping carts for kids and Hunter LOVES them!

And I went to Albertson's and was extremely disappointed because they were out of a lot of the promotional items. They NEVER seem to stock up for these sales - it's really frustrating. But, I did get $23.36 worth of food for $6.36 (and I have $3.99 coming back in a rebate) I got 2 packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, 6 tubs of Betty Crocker Frosting, and 1 bottle of Pert Plus shampoo (I'll try anything that's free after rebate, and this one's actually a money maker!)

Total out of pocket this week: $57.88, retail amount $145.53. Pretty good - I happy anytime I save more than I spend.

As fun as it is to do all of this great coupon shopping, it will be nice to forget about it for a week while we're on vacation - it's tiring!

Fred & Amber Peña's Family Story

Are Coupons Worth It?

January Budget Wrap Up

Eating From the Pantry Wrap Up

Our Swagbucks Booty

Help for Haiti

Eating from the Pantry Week 1 Wrap Up

Eating From the Pantry (well, mostly)...

Merry Christmas!

Albertson's Doubles and Rite Aid deals

Things have been very quite around here lately...

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown Review

Fun and Easy Fall Craft

Fred's 28th Birthday

Fall in the Provo Canyon

Review of Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood by Jim and Charles Fray

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins Review

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Review

Rockin' Rite Aid

Wonderful Walgreens

Super Exciting Baby Einstein DVD Deals

Weekly Monday Morning Shopping Trip...

It's The Little Things...

5 Guys Burgers and Fries

Makin' Money at Walgreens and Rite Aid

I ♥ Case Lot Sales!

Monday Morning Madness

BYU Football Starts with a Bang

Lots of Veggies from Albertson's

How I love thee, Swagbucks!

Target and Walmart in one Night - Totally Different Experiences

See What I Mean?!

Mommyhood Lessons

Rite Aid and Target Deals

Who Says You Have To Play By The Rules?

Birthday Boy!

Target Freebies and Cheapies

Making Lemonade out of Lemons

Book Review: Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

More great Albies Deals

Kraft Freebies at Albies

Harnessing The Mighty Power of the Electron - The Easiest Way to Polish Sterling Silver

Marathon Shopping Day

Confessions...

Charming Disneyland Paris Picture

My Best Shopping Excursion Ever!

Albertson's - 87% savings!

Family Reading Time

Donation Time Again

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Review

What Do You Spend Your Money On? Things or Experiences?

Smith's and Albertson's Shopping Trips

Fun with Shaving Cream and Food Coloring

Happy 7-11 day!

Fun Things in This Month's Family Fun Magazine

Another free Amazon Gift Card

Great Shopping Day

My Child or My Twin?

Hunger Games

Summer's Simple Pleasures

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Review

They're Back!

Blogging in Comfort

Old Navy Shopping Spree

My Little Boy Does a Frugal Momma Proud

Going with the Flow - a Laundry Schedule that Revolves Around...

BYU Museum of Art

Albertson's Doublers

I heart Walgreens (6/15/09)

*Squeal!*

Netflix Rocks!

Albertson's Double Coupon Wrap Up

Family Temple Outing

LSAT

Celebrating SAHMs

Got Cheese?

Waffle Breakfast Sandwiches

Cucumber Cantaloupe Chicken Salad

If you only had $0.60 to spend at the gorcery store...

Keeping Kids Entertained at the Gorcery Store

Squeal!