Quilt finished!!

As a wedding gift to one of my college roommates, I made this quilt. It was truly a labor of love as it has taken me an embarrassing number of months to complete it. I hand quilt, and while it doesn't take that long to do once I get started, being in school and teaching takes a lot of my time, and my ability to sit down and concentrate on it dwindles. But with school out, I was determined to finish so I can present it to her as a (late) anniversary gift. I'm not sure I should even admit this, but her wedding was in January. Of 2007. Better late than never, right?!

What I got for the price of a gumball...

I made my CVS list with some trepidation, knowing that I can't always find the items I'm looking for, particularly the "free after ECB items." So I went in this morning knowing that I might have to go to two or even three stores before I got everything on my list. But, lo and behold, the first one had everything!! I'll go again this week to get some of the July deals, but I needed to go today because my Crest coupon expires today.

So I got:

• 1 tube of Crest toothpaste (my favorite, 'cause I really don't NEED toothpaste!)
• 1 AccuCheck diabetes monitor (to donate)
• 1 Soleil razor
  
• 1 4-pack of Soleil razor cartridges
  
• 1 bottle of Banana Boat sunscreen
  
• 1 tube of Physician's Formula mascara
  

My total before coupons was $42.94.
My total after coupons was $30.19.
I paid $30 in ECBs.
I paid $0.25 OOP.
I got back $25.98 in ECBs.

This is how long my receipt was (in addition to the ECBs, it also printed off two CVS coupons):


Pretty good for a quarter!

Running again!

Finally recovered from my knee injury, today I ran without stopping for the first time since my trip! I'm nearly through with the Couch to 5k program and loving every minute of it! Except for the dreaded heat, I would consider doing a 4th of July 5k in my town. But, ugh! It is SO hot. I'd rather wait for September or October. Plus, I'm not sure I'm quite ready yet - I'd like to be consistently running 15 miles/week again before I do a race.

In other news, I'll be finished with my 5th class in grad school next week. I'm working on the finishing touches of my term paper, due Monday, and next Thursday will be our final class. Then, class #6 begins right on its heels. Not much of a summer break! I'm hoping to take three classes in the fall and three in the spring to be finished by May 2009! I'd like to hang my matching diploma next to Nick's. That way maybe he'll stop teasing me about my lack of higher education!!

Meal plan (Changes made)

Here is my meal plan for the week of Thursday, June 26 - Thursday, July 3. Everything listed I already have all the ingredients for, so my grocery store run today will be just to pick up the deals.

• Thursday - Chicken and cheese quesadillas, black beans, corn
• Friday - Out to eat
• Saturday - calzones, salad
• Sunday - turkey burgers and hot dogs, homemade mac and cheese, baked beans for lunch, pizza for dinner
• Monday - marinated pork chops, brown rice, green beans
  
• Tuesday - poppyseed chicken, rice/noodles, salad
• Wednesday - waffles, bacon, peaches
• Thursday - teriyaki chicken, brown rice, broccoli

Summer project

One of my goals this summer is to get some window treatments for this window:

(Pretty plain, huh?)

I decided, with the help of my good friend Annette, to do a cornice board. A couple of months ago I found some fabric that I really liked:



and today Annette and her husband and I went to Home Depot to get the necessary materials:



Annette's husband was particularly helpful in a) deciphering what exactly we needed and b) carrying and transporting the 10' pieces of wood (Thanks!).

Now it was pretty painful to go to a store that does not take coupons and buy things that were not on sale. But I managed to get through it and am just about ready to start building. I've got to get a few more things at a craft store before we can begin, but the plan is for Nick to cut the boards to the correct size and then Annette and I will begin work on putting the fabric on the boards.

Tuesday savings at CVS and Kroger

I had about $40 left in my grocery budget for the month, but other than the essentials (which is really just milk), I have everything I need to last us for 6 more days. However, Kroger has some great deals on items this week so I decided to stock up a bit. On my way, I swung by CVS to pick up my weekly deals. Pictured is everything I bought at both places.

Here's what I got:

CVS -

• 2 tubes of Colgate Total Advanced toothpaste
• 8 Soy Joy bars
• 1 roll of Mentos (to get my total where I needed so I could pay the lowest OOP)

Total before coupons: $14.77
Total after coupons: $9.77 (before tax)
Used $9 in ECBs, paid $0.95 OOP and got $12 ECBs for next time

Now you may be thinking, "does she really NEED more toothpaste and bars made with soy?" and the answer would be no, not really. However, I made money off of this particular deal and I had two ECBs that are expiring this week so I needed to spend them in some way. I plan to bring the soy bars to share at church for breakfast and give the toothpaste to charity.

Oh, and (don't look, Emily) I also got two coupons that printed off on my receipt that will be helpful in future deals: a $3/$15 skin care coupon and a $1/CVS brand panty liners.

Kroger:

• Senseo coffee - $1.50 coupon
  
• 4 packs Oscar Mayer hot dogs - store sale=BOGO; 4 $1.00 coupons
  
• 9 Lawry's marinades - store sale = 10/$10; 9 $1.00 coupons, making them free
  
• 3 4-roll packs of Cottonelle toilet paper - 3 $0.50 coupons
  
• 2 bags of Healthy Life cat food - 2 coupons for a free pouch
  
• 2 Smart Ones frozen entrees - store sale= $2 each
• 1 container cat food - 1 coupon for a free pouch
  

Total before coupons: $62.01
Total after coupons: $13.73
For a savings percentage of 78% (if I did my math correctly, which is actually highly doubtful - but at any rate, I saved a bunch of money)

So I'm still under budget for the month: $26.70 left and I got a bunch of stuff that will carry into next month's menu plan.

Welcome home, Nick!!

My husband is home!! Yay! He was away this weekend playing golf and camping in Texas and Oklahoma with some college friends. Hence my sleepovers at Emily's and my parents' houses. I hate being alone at night! Last night Nick's parents and I went to the airport to get him. There is a lot to remember at an airport. We parked in Zone B, Section Q, Row 2, came in door N-5, met Nick at the baggage pickup lane 1. I had to repeat a lot of that to myself to even remember it! But we successfully got his baggage, found our car, and got home safely. He claims this is an annual trip. I'm saying it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience!!

Girls' night!

I spent the night at Emily's house. We clipped coupons, watched a girl movie, and ate popcorn (and of course went to Target and found great deals!! This picture was taken while we watched a movie. Caleb seemed to enjoy it too, at least for the first twelve minutes.

MORE savings at Target!

Emily and I took a trip to Target (with her kids too) to grab some good deals.

I bought:

• 6 Reach toothbrushes - free after coupons
• 7 Oral B floss - free after coupons
• 2 Powerade Zeros - $0.04 after coupons
• A hodgepodge of pads, liners and bandaids - free after coupons
• A hair clip - free after overage from coupons on other products!

My total was $30.90 but I only spent $1.79, which was the tax on the items for a savings of 95%!!

Meal Plan

I'm two days late posting my meal plan, but here it is:

Saturday - at Emily's house
Sunday - at Emily's house
Monday - chicken Caesar salad in shells
Tuesday - biscuits w/sausage gravy, scrambled eggs, fruit salad (moved from last week)
Wednesday - oven baked chicken, baked potatoes, broccoli
Thursday - chicken and cheese quesadillas, black beans

50% savings at Publix

I had SUCH a fun trip to Publix today. My total before coupons was $83.35 and I watched the total drop on the screen down to $41.56. My savings was $41.79, so I was half and half. The lady behind me in line was watching and said, "Wow. That is impressive." Here is what I got:

No coupons for:

• Hamburger buns
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Tortillas
• Broccoli
• 2 potatoes
• Short Cuts chicken
• 1/2 gallon milk
• 1 quart milk
• Dozen eggs
• 2 Sunday papers
• 2 pork chops

Had coupons for:

• Fusion razor (I had a Publix coupon and a manufacturer's coupons, which took $6 off the price)
• 10 boxes Barilla pasta (yes you read that correctly - w/the sale and my coupons they were $0.10 a box)
• 4 boxes Barber chicken breasts ($1.25/box after coupons for 2 chicken breasts per box)
• Lipton Tea To Go
• Whole Fruit Sorbet

I also had a $5/$35 purchase. That is not too shabby.

Monthly budget check in:
$204.54 spent
$45.46 left

Target, PetSmart, and CVS

I had a great day shopping yesterday. First, I went to Super Target to take advantage of some excellent deals as well as pick up a few things for Nick's trip. I purchased:

• Asiago focaccia bread = $3.29 - $1.00 coupon
• 4 slices of Asiago cheese, 4 of Havarti, and 4 of Gouda = $3.16 - $2.00 coupon
• 4 Oral B Floss = $3.88 - $4.00 coupons
• 4 Energizer D batteries = $5.54 - $1.00 coupon
• 100 Ziploc sandwich bags = $4.00 - $3.00 coupon
• 2 32-oz Powerades = $1.58 - $1.50 coupon
• Joint Juice = $0.99 - $1.00
• Headphones for Nick's mp3 player = $12.99
• Cat litter bags = $6.59
• Conair hairbrush = $3.99

At Petsmart:

• Natural Choice cat food (4 lb bag) = $10.99 - $10.99 coupon!

At CVS:

• Jergens lotion = $2.15 - $2.00 coupon (this happened to be on clearance, so I was surprised by how good this deal was)
• 2 Oral B Cross Action Power toothbrushes = $11.98 - $5.99 coupon + $6 ECB

My total before coupons at all three stores: $71.13
My total after coupons: $33.65

I do believe (despite my poor math skills) that is around 50% savings! Not too shabby!!

Recovering nicely

Nick just offered to take me out to dinner so I can recover from my "rough day". What a sweet husband!

I'm tired

I had a rough day. A "rough day" of shopping and eating lunch with my good friend Renae and talking. Phew! I need a nap! Maybe this is where those bon bons come into play, huh? I guess if this is a rough day, I'd hate to see what would happen if I worked full time! But I don't know, something about walking in the sun and talking the day away has sapped all my energy. I'm exhausted (but in a good way)! It was great to see her (she lives far far away) and catch up, and fun to window shop as well.

My shadow

"I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me..."

This line from the Robert Louis Stevenson poem makes me think of Scout, my faithful little guard cat. I'm not sure whether she wants the company or just wants to know what I'm doing at all times, but she is never far away from me during the day. She follows me around the house and plops down to sleep whenever I sit down somewhere. When I get up to go into another room, it takes her about ten seconds before she is right behind me, checking up to make sure I'm close. Of course, that all changes when other people come over to visit. I'm pretty sure that only one or two people have seen her for more than 2 or 3 seconds as she streaks up the stairs to hide under the bed until they leave. Dumb cat.

To be fair, here is a picture of Boo, our other cat. She is not quite so attached to me, but does show up at all the right times for meals or when her back needs a good scratch. Most of the rest of the day, she can be found curled up in a chair or on a windowsill checking out what is going on outside. This isn't the best picture, but I'd have to go find her to get a better one, and Boo only can be found when she wants to be found.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

We had my parents, siblings, and grandmother over for a cookout to celebrate Father's Day for my dad. Of course, we were also celebrating his birthday. And my parent's wedding anniversary. No, we don't just squish them all together because we don't want to see them that often. His birthday is conveniently on June 18, which normally falls very close to (sometimes on) Father's Day. To top it off, he and my mom got married on June 18th, which is handy for him to remember their anniversary. Nick often laments that we should have done that so he could remember ours! The only unfortunate thing for him is that all his presents are lumped together (kind of like people who are born near Christmas). So we all try to get him more than one thing and he always gets 2 cards from everyone. Family tradition holds that one is a funny card and one a serious card (though Amanda didn't get that message this year - both of hers were pretty amusing).

We had a dinner of hamburgers and hot dog, homemade french fries and baked beans and then this ice cream cake: which was soooooo good!!

Happy Father's Day/Birthday/Anniversary, Daddy!!!

Trip to the Georgia Aquarium

We went to the Georgia Aquarium today with Dave and Emily and the kids, and then to Centennial Park and the CNN Center for lunch. It was quite the morning seeing all those "firsh", as Caleb calls them. At least this time the crowds had died down. The first time we went we could barely walk, let alone see any of the exhibits. It was much more enjoyable this time around. Nick, who used to have a happy trigger finger on the camera, didn't get ANY pictures in the aquarium. In fact, this one was taken by Emily. I call it "the blindingly pale duo." We're like superheros who blind bad guys with our super white pasty skin. There should be a comic book written about it.

Meal Plan Thursday

Thursday - hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, fruit salad
Friday - taco salads
Saturday - hamburgers, oven fries, baked beans
Sunday - FFY (fend for yourself) for lunch, pizza for dinner
Monday - oven baked chicken, pasta, salad
Tuesday - scrambled eggs, biscuits with sausage gravy
Wednesday - out to eat

Grocery budget check in - spent $133.80, left in budget $166.20.

Bon bons? I think not!!

Nick likes to tease that since I don't have a full time job (and even less of one in the summers) and no children to look after that my days consist of putting my feet up, watching movies, and eating bon bons. (Incidentally, I'm not entirely sure what a bon bon is.)

So to set the record straight on what it is I do during the day, here is the list of things I have done today so far (and it is 2:30pm):

• picked up Nick's dry cleaning (yes, I am not as good as actually ironing his shirts MYSELF, but that is mainly because he likes the way they do it - which is not wrinkly)
• ran to the grocery store for a can of cream of mushroom soup because the only can I had expired in October 2007 (oops - gotta add pantry cleaning to my to do list pretty soon!)
• put dinner in the Crock Pot - beef stroganoff (which smells fantastic right now, I might add)
• met for an hour with a group from my Management class and worked on a group project that is due tomorrow
• organized and wrote the paper for the group project that is due tomorrow
• went to Walmart to get a few things, including a lightbulb for the kitchen...
• ...changed the lightbulb in the kitchen (I swear I have to do that weekly)
• cleaned all three bathrooms (always a delightful task)
• practiced the piano for Sunday
• filed all the bills and shredded receipts
• planned the grocery list for next week
• planned the menu for the next two weeks
• cleaned up cat barf (LOVE doing that)
• hung up all of Nick's new shirts that he got yesterday (why do they feel the need to package men's dress shirts as if to permanently place them in that folded position - this alone took 20 minutes to get all the pins and tissue paper and cardboard out)
• watered my flowers so that they will live for another day
• wrapped all the birthday and Father's Day presents that I got yesterday

I know Nick really does appreciate me and the fact that his house is (usually) (fairly) clean and everything gets done. But I just thought I'd prove it. ;)

Where is my brain?

I was getting ready to go to Target for some Father's Day shopping and some milk, and I was talking to Nick on the phone while collecting all the necessary coupons and lists. I jumped in the car still chatting and started down the road. All of a sudden the phone cut off like he had hung up on me or something. I looked down and realized I was talking on the HOME phone and not my cell phone. Oops!

CVS

Went to CVS.

Got some fun stuff.

Spent next to nothing.

'Nuff said.

:)

Whirlwind Wedding Weekend

Whew! Nick and I got back last night from a very long weekend in which we drove 700 miles to two different weddings but never actually saw any "I do's!" The first was my cousin's wedding. She and her new husband exchanged vows on the top of a mountain in North Carolina to which only immediate family went. But we went to the reception that night, driving 5 hours to get there! It was very nice, and good to see my family.

We left the reception at 8:30 that night, driving 5 hours west to get part of the way to Chattanooga, where the other wedding was held earlier that day. We stayed overnight and then got up early yesterday morning to drive the rest of the way. The plan was to go to church and then head to the bride's family's house, some of Nick's close friends (what a lot of apostrophes in that sentence!). We enjoyed a delicious spaghetti lunch and some fun times recalling college stories with Nick's old roommates, and then headed home in the late afternoon.

Needless to say, we are SO tired today. Only one of us had to go to work, though, and it wasn't me! I think Nick is already asleep as I type this!

Tired but productive

Class ended early last night, at 10:45, so I got a bit more sleep than I anticipated I would. 11:15 is WAY too late for a class to go, in my opinion (unfortunately, they did not consult me when they were making the schedule). I got my first assignment for the class, a 2 page paper and 60 pages of reading, which I am planning to tackle later today.

This morning I went to Target, one of my all time favorite stores, for a deal on razors that I simply could not pass up. Nick's favorite razors are Gillette Fusion razors, which of course are also the most expensive disposable razors out there, regularly priced at $9.99 for 1 razor and 1 replacement blade. I keep telling him to grow a beard.

So at Target today they were offering a sale on their Fusion razors for $9.44 each and if you bought 2 you would get a $10 Target gift card! Wouldn't you know it? I had 4 $4 off coupons for those suckers! So I had to make a trip out there. On their endcap they had a display and they were on sale for $7.99 instead of $9.44 like their ad said! Even better! Of course, they sneaked in a couple of the ones that would NOT trigger the $10 gift card, but I read the small print carefully and got 4 of the correct kind.

For good measure, I threw in another Scotch fur grabber since I had two coupons for that as well. You can never pick up enough fur around my house (I write as my giant fur machine sleeps in my lap).

At the register, here were my transactions:

Transaction #1:

2 Fusion Phenom Power razors @ $7.99 each
- 2 $4 off coupons
+ tax
= $8.40
and I got my $10 Target gift card (already I'm ahead)

Transaction #2:

2 Fusion Phenom Power razors @ $7.99 each
- 2 $4 off coupons
1 Scotch fur grabber @ $9.99
- 2 $4 off coupons (one Target, one manufacturer's)
+ tax
= $10.81
I paid with my 1st gift card and $0.81 and got ANOTHER $10 Target gift card.

When I called Nick to tell him about it, surprisingly all he wanted to know was the bottom line (the beauty is in the details in my opinion!) which is that Target paid me $0.79 to take home 4 (very expensive) razors and a fur picker upper.

I'm happy.

To celebrate I went to the gym and ran, and am now ready to start working on that paper!

In class again

I've assumed the position. This is the chair and headset I'm glued to two nights a week for the next month in my Administration and Management of Libraries course. Much as I enjoy being in class, my rear end does ache a bit by the end of the night.

Flowers on my front porch

These are the beautiful flowers on my front porch, which are miraculously still alive even though I've had them for several weeks now. I have a black thumb and normally spell disaster even for the "easy to care for plants." But so far I've managed not to commit planticide on these beauties. I figured I should take a picture now before something does happen!

Meal plan for the week

• Thursday - Chicken ranch flatbread (this is really pizza, but Nick likes it to be called "flatbread" so as not to confuse him because to him, pizza has pepperoni and a red sauce), salad
• Friday - Turkey burgers, oven fries, baked beans
• Saturday - at a wedding reception
• Sunday - Pizza
• Monday - Cheesy chicken bundles, broccoli, noodles
• Tuesday - Pork chops, brown rice, salad
• Wednesday - Crock Pot beef stroganoff, noodles, green beans
• Thursday - Hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, fruit salad

Pool time and CVS'ing

This morning two of my friends came over with their children to play in our neighborhood pool. We had fun in the water (it is hot, hot, hot here) and enjoyed lunch in the shade by the pool. Of course, none of us remembered to bring our cameras to snap a picture of our morning.

HOWEVER, I did get a picture today...


...so not to worry!! This cost me $0.38 at CVS today. I bought:

2 Smart Rinse mouthwashes - $3.49 each, used $1.00 coupon for each, got back $6.98 ECBs
2 Swiffer Sweepers wet cloths - $5.99 each, used $1.00/2 coupon, got back $5 ECBs
Bag of cotton balls (I was out of these and needed to get my total above $20 to use a $4/$20 coupon) - $1.69

I also went to Joann's Fabrics and bought cornices to build some curtains for my family room. I will post before and after pictures once I complete the task. My friend Annette will be helping me to do this since she is an expert curtain maker. :)

Lunch at the Olive Garden

I had lunch with my sister today at the Olive Garden. I took her out for her birthday, which was a couple of weeks ago, but since we are both teachers, it works better to go out in the summer time. We had a great time and enjoyed the unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks. Yum! I tried to get her to go next door to CVS and get in on the fun. No go this time. We did go try on bathing suits. That is one of my least favorite activities, but at least doing it with her made it more fun. She got two - I didn't find any I liked.

The rest of my day is going to focus on two things: quilting and cleaning. I need to clean out my dresser and closet and get it more organized. I'm constantly forgetting what I have in there. Maybe I'll even find a bathing suit that fits! Plus, there are a couple of bathrooms that need attention. Also, I need to work my quilt which has been sadly neglected. It is a wedding present for a friend who got married in January of 2007. I'm so ashamed.

Fun at my favorite store

I had SO much fun today at CVS. As you can see from the picture, I made out like a bandit. I purchased:

3 9-roll packs of toilet paper
5 bags Chex Mix
2 2-packs of Oral-B Indicator toothbrushes
2 bottles of Dove body wash
2 boxes of CVS brand bandaids
2 packs of Duracell batteries
2 sticks of Brut deodorant
1 Fusion men's razor

All in all, I spent $3.66 in a total of 4 transactions. I paid for the rest using my Extra Care Bucks and at the end of the day, still have more of those than when I went in this morning. It was a good day at CVS!

I felt a bit guilty at the fourth store, because by the time I left I felt like I was stealing! But the way I see it, I NEVER went into CVS before I started participating in the Extra Care Bucks program, so now that I do, I spend more money there then I ever would have otherwise, no matter how little it is!!

Anniversary Pic

Here is our picture before we went out Saturday night. It was very funny trying to take it by ourselves. This is the version that was the best, though it isn't spectacular. Stay tuned for a post about my deals for the day later on....