My Birthday!

I never made it to Farm Fresh the other day.  By the time I got off work, I was exhausted, and nothing was so hot that I couldn't live without.

Today is my birthday.  Yay!  (I get VERY excited about birthdays, don't mind me! ;-)  I was excited about everything I got in the mail in way of free things, but it got even better this morning.  I checked my e-mail and had a whole new slew of coupons.  Aaaaah, what a great day! ;-)  I've mentioned a few things that I got, but let me tell you, even if you have everything go into a junk e-mail account, you should sign up for stores' newsletters!  I got things from Victoria's Secret, The Limited, Starbucks, Ben & Jerry's, Coldstone, Dairy Queen, Carraba's, Sears, etc.  That's just what I can remember.

I went to Target this morning after my mom and I went to Peninsula Pet Pantry's yard, book, and bake sale.  I got a couple of books and made a donation.  Back to Target--it was a madhouse!  However, it still was better than Wal-Mart.  My Target has a lot of things on clearance right now, and I've gotten some good deals this week.  Pictures later, but I got Woolite Dark Wash for around $5, marked down from $11.  I bought 3 bottles.  I use that on my dress pants, because, well, as much as I pay for them, they better stay looking good!  There were also some other odds and ends things.  There were still a ton of Halloween things left today, so I'm hoping for a good clearance selection come Monday.  Or so I can at least snag plates and napkins cheap for next year.  I'm not so much interested in the candy, mainly because come this evening I will have had 3 birthday cakes and will need to lay off sugar for the next year or so to make up for it.  Ha!

Besides that, I didn't set foot in a drug store this week.  I went to Target and I did drop in Kroger, but the trip wasn't real successful.  As in, the only thing I really remember buying was bananas.  See, not real exciting. :-)

I'm off to read my mail.  And then watch Hoarders.  Yay.  My sister bought me season 1 for my birthday.  Such a good sister!!

MIA

I realize I've been MIA this week.  Is it already Wednesday?  I shopped Friday and Saturday and was like a zombie on Sunday.  Years ago I went with one of my friends on a shopping trip where we hit 6 malls in 1 day.  This year my mom, sister, and I hit 4 malls in 2 days, and it took an extra day to recover.  Ha!

I'm heading out to Farm Fresh this evening after work.  My refrigerator doesn't look bad, but I'm having my family over for Halloween dinner, so I need to pick up some things for that.  I went to Target on Monday and stocked up on a few things--I'll talk about that later.

Hope the week is treating you well!

A Wreck and Recipes

Nothing exciting on the home front.  My husband and I were rear-ended in my car on Saturday.  Last time we were rear-ended he was driving my car, too.  I told him to mess up his own!  He did--once.

Insurance, car rentals, car repairs, what fun.  No one was hurt, thankfully, just inconvenienced.

I'm trying to not spend money this week since I'm going shopping this weekend.  I did buy myself a birthday present from my husband this past Sunday--a wireless printer.  I have a laptop and having to go connect with the printer every single time was old.  Too much exercise, anyway.  This one also has a scanner in it, so I can help my dad scan all the magazine articles that he's been collecting forever.  So happy early birthday to me! :-)

My mom, sister, and I are going to Richmond Friday and Saturday for girls' time for my birthday.  It's going to be cool weather, pretty sights, great shopping, lots of fun.  I'll be sure to share pictures!

We've been doing good eating at home this week.  Granted, it's only Tuesday, but that's besides the point.  I made potato soup last night, we're having chicken, green beans, and french fries tonight, sweet and sour meatballs with some kind of potato side tomorrow, and probably the rest of the potato soup Thursday night.  Guess who's still trying to think of ways to use all those potatoes she bought?

In the meantime, laundry awaits me today, so I'm off to do that.  Hope everyone's having a great week!

Picking Up a Pumpkin

The free pumpkins were a good size.  You just had to sign your life away to get one, but that's besides the fact.  No, not really, you just had to sign an info sheet and tell them how you found out about it.

The little patch:

That's Daisy, the Vomiting Princess on the right.

Highway made sure there were no pumpkin pieces going to waste on the kitchen floor while Jimmy was carving out the pumpkin.

The finished product, which obviously needs a dentist.

It Was All Going So Well...

Today was a good day at work.  I got to the early meeting on time, I got my work done, I didn't eat another cupcake.  Then I left work and went to try out a new hair salon where walk-ins are welcome.  I didn't have to wait at all and got a great, cute haircut!  I got home and my dogs were happy to see me and my house was somewhat cleaned (Jimmy was off today).  I got some nice things in the mail and only 1 bill.  That was for the Sunday newspaper that brings my coupons so I don't mind seeing that bill.  I checked my e-mail in peace...

Then I got up to go to the bathroom and it was all over.  Daisy, my female dog (I'll have to find the picture of when she was a strawberry for Halloween to post) woke up vomiting this morning and although the back door was open while I was in the bedroom checking my e-mail, she vomited ALL over the living room floor.  For some reason, 1 day a month she vomits all day long, seems pitiful, and then the next day is completely over it.  Thankfully the living room floor is tile, only I then remembered my mop was broken.  I'm not sure why I still have it as I hate when people keep things that don't work, but I digress.  Four Swiffer Wet Jet pads later and I decided I needed a real, honest to goodness mop.

That, of course, meant a trip to Target.  I think Target was beginning to miss me, anyway.  Needless to say, one mop turned into 24 items and $79.  I did save $35, though!  I had found that our dog treat pile was getting low and I had a coupon from Purina that's going to expire in a couple of weeks, so I got those.  They had Woolite dark wash on clearance for $7.62 so I got some more of that as I only have about 2 more loads left in my current bottle.  I decided to get a replacement pad for the mop I bought which was $5.  The mop was $10.  Guess who threw things in the buggy without looking at the price when I got to the mop aisle?  Why is the replacement so expensive?  Heck, I'd put so much else in my buggy I was just happy I had remembered the mop!

I check out, feeling pretty happy, and then I notice it's gotten dark outside.  It's raining.  There went my cute, professionally styled hair in about 20 seconds.  So my picking out a  free pumpkin pictures are no longer going to be as wonderful as I imagined.  (By the way, since I posted that yesterday I got an e-mail today saying they are only giving away the free pumpkins on Friday evenings now.  I'm not sure if that's because they're running out of pumpkins or because there wasn't much interest.)

I guess I really do have a Friday Fails story now!

Fall Tour

I finally broke out my fall decorations today.  Take a tour of my living room with me.

I got these candles at Yankee Candle last year.  They're white, but when the wax starts dripping it drips red, like blood.

I got this at TJ Maxx.  I love their holiday selections.  There are also smiling ghosts on here.  Nice and happy. :-)

So cute.  I got these at CVS this year.  This is what they are supposed to look like.  Jimmy likes to move the accessories around.

This is the magazine rack I snagged for $12 on clearance.  I watched this baby for quite a while.  Can you believe the original price was $120?  And that it's still $60 on their website?  Sheesh!  Now if I can get him to move the tv stand so it can sit nicely, that would be great.

This was a treat at work today, made at the Hilton Bakery.  There were some cute cupcakes!  This was definitely the least pretty of the bunch (but still really pretty!), but it's red velvet, so I wasn't going to pass it up!  I didn't have my camera at work to get a shot of the rest.

Hope you've enjoyed your tour!

We're going to get our free pumpkin at Peninsula Town Center tomorrow.  The picture in the e-mail (above) shows full size pumpkins, so we'll see what they actually give us.

Pumpkin Patch in Town Square

October 8th - October 31st

Monday - Friday 6:00 - 8:00 PM
 Saturday - Sunday 2:00 - 6:00 PM

Visit our Pumpkin Patch in Town Square! One free pumpkin per guest.

"I Think I Have a Fear of Touching Raw Vegetables"

Jimmy's grocery trip was mostly successful.  He let me know he got everything on the list except the vegetables.  He calls me and tells me "I think I have a fear of touching raw vegetables."  What in the world?  He tells me he picked up something and immediately started itching all over.  Ends up it was collards, so I told him to just not pick them up.  He is allergic to mango skin, so this is believable, but I guess he thought he had a fear of it because it was so immediate.  Silly Jimmy.

Then he told me this old lady had to laugh at him.  He called me at work to ask what kind of cake mix to get since they didn't have German chocolate.  I did put on the list that he could get whatever kind if they didn't have it, but he told the lady after he got off the phone that he wanted to check with me so he didn't get beaten when he got home.  The lady laughed and looked at his list and coupons and asked did he now appreciate his wife more?

I didn't get pictures of everything.  There are two bags of potatoes (I guess he could touch them since they were in bags already), two cans of cinnamon rolls, and two cans of crescent rolls that didn't make the pictures.

Excuse the mess in the background.  I wish I had a good excuse for it, but I really don't. :-)

He saved $19.30 with coupons and paid $49.90 out of pocket.

I didn't specify a couple of things so he got the more expensive versions, but did tell me that had I not specified Old El Paso refried beans on the list he could have gotten me the store brand cheaper.

I won't break it all down because it's a lot, but I'm happy I got a break from grocery shopping one week!  He did so well I might have to send him again...

Empty Refrigerator

 

I am way behind on shopping this week.  Monday afternoon was busy, yesterday I was in bed with a migraine, I work late today, here's hoping I get some done tomorrow.  Thankfully, Rite Aid is really the only place on my list.  And Farm Fresh.

Farm Fresh, however, is Jimmy's job today.  We are completely out of milk.  I have given him a list with coupons attached, so I'll let you know later how it goes. ;-)  Remember they are doubling coupons up to $1 today, and they have had some great deals lately!  Don't buy all the milk before Jimmy gets there, though!

My refrigerator looks kind of empty.  I think it's because he finally drank the rest of the Sobe.  That was tucked into every nook and cranny.  Also, he's eaten down some of the yogurt.  My shelves need to be full again!

He did go to get some rice out of the cabinet yesterday and said, "Wow, I didn't know we had all this food down here!"  And I wanted to say, "Wow, welcome to this house!  You're in charge of dinner for a week."  But I didn't. :-)

Who, Me?

MIA?  Me?  Ha!  I had a list of things I needed to run and get Saturday, but nothing on that list got accomplished.  It was all good, though, as they didn't get done because I was tired from doing two charity walks.  I'd much rather do good that way as nothing on my list was for other people!

First, my mom, sister, and I headed up to Richmond for the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) walk.  It was a sunny (hot) day, with the best turnout yet (over 800 people)!

Then I came home and tried to take a nap.  You'd think with football on that would have been easy.  I mean, it puts me to sleep at night when my husband is watching it.  But, no, no nap for me.  Later that evening my mom, sister, and I again headed out with my coworkers for the Light the Night Leukemia and Lymphoma Walk.  This time it was at City Center in Newport News.  Such a pretty place.

Yesterday I cut coupons, vacuumed every inch of my living room, dining room, and kitchen (it is all tile), vacuumed the guest room and am still unsuccessfully trying to get the smell of dog vomit out of there (thanks, Daisy).  I need to clean the rest of my downstairs so I can have a professional come out and clean it.

The only good thing I have found is a Refresh Air candle I bought on clearance at Target a while back.  It does what it says--it is odor neutralizing.  At least while burning, and you know what, as long as I can buy some more, I'm happy until I get that professional out here.  I have Blooming Orchid.

Ooooh, and I finally found some Seventh Generation Free and Clear products!  When in Richmond I remembered there was a Whole Foods, so we stopped there and I got two bottles.  That should hopefully last me until we go back up to Richmond for birthday weekend in two weeks.  I'm going to do a big stock up then.  I used their store locator on the SG website, but only one store actually had any Free and Clear products, and those were dish soap and laundry detergent.

The plan today is to make it to Rite Aid, CVS, and Target after work, so if all goes according to plan, I'll have trip details later.  We'll see. ;-)

Friday Already?

And I don't mean already like I'm bummed!  This week has been a whirlwind.  I vaguely remember it involving a money-making trip to Rite Aid, a so-so trip to Farm Fresh, asparagus, lots of cereal, and lots of work.  Yep, that's about it in a nutshell.  Pictures later. :)

Doing Good

With October being Breast Cancer Awareness month (among other things: National Liver Awareness Month, Celiac Awareness, Healthy Lung Month, National Orthodontic Health, National Down Syndrome Awareness, National Spina Bifida Awareness, Lupus Awareness, Rett Syndrome Awareness Month, BackCare Awareness Week, and Mental Illness Awareness Week, as well as World Mental Health Day, National Depression Screening Day, Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, World Food Day, International Osteoporosis Day, and International Stuttering Awareness Day -- source),
SC Johnson is giving you the chance to show your support and in turn they will show theirs.  You can "Pink Your Profile" on Facebook, and for every picture that is "pinked" they will donate $1.00 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Fall Is Definitely Here

Ummm, BRRR!  Fall hit with a vengeance!  Time to switch out the clothes in my closet and put away the flip flops.  Yipee!

You do realize now, that there are less than 100 days until Christmas, right?  How's it coming along?  I need to pull out my winter decorations and take inventory of the Christmas gifts I bought on clearance last year and packed up with the decorations.  I've been buying small things throughout the year so my bank account doesn't go crazy all at once.  I keep all the gifts together, make a list of what I have, and then wait until the last minute to wrap them.  I get credit for at least buying early, right?  Actually, I put off wrapping presents.  Call me crazy, but I like looking at what I've bought people.  To be honest, I just like everything about this time of year.  Especially if there is snow. :-)

This afternoon my mom and I are going Christmas shopping.  Well, she's going birthday shopping, but I'm doing Christmas shopping.  I haven't been able to find the item I'm looking for for my sister, so I'm hoping a different mall will have it.  I'm not sure if this is something carried all the time or not, so I'd just feel better getting it now, assuming I can find it.

Okay, I'll cut back on the caffeine and go to work now.

Hitting the Sales

The yard sale went well.  The rain stopped long enough to have a great day.  It came back again yesterday and today.  Thursday morning the schools had a 2 hour delay because of the rain.  My house is getting back to normal, so I'm happy about that!

After work today, I ran by CVS and Target. 

First, you will notice that I'm in a snacking mood today.  Don't judge.  PMS happens.

All Crayola at CVS is B1G1 50% off this week.  I've been looking at this 3D Sidewalk Chalk at Target for a while now for Jimmy's cousin for Christmas.  (We'll not talk about then I went to Target and all their Crayola chalk items are on clearance.)

The dry erase crayons are probably going to be better received than dry erase markers, so I got those to go with the $2 dry erase removable sticky pad I found clearanced at Target a couple of weeks ago.

All in all, with my $5/$25 coupon I spent $16.04 out of pocket and got back a $9 ECB for the Revlon.

I forgot to take my ECBs from last week with me, so I had a higher out of pocket.  It happens.

Where was the glass cleaner when I had a coupon last month?

The Spongebob and Diego books were clearanced to .88 cents each.  Again, going in kids' Christmas presents.

Funny thing about the Golden Grahams:

12 oz was $2.54

16 oz was $2.39

These were the regular prices, not that one was on sale.  Obviously, I bought the 16 oz.

Select ice cream items are Buy 5, get a $5 giftcard.

Since I was going to buy 1, why not buy 5?

Remember, we're not judging. ;)

I am running to Rite Aid tomorrow.  I'm going out to dinner with friends tonight, and my Rite Aid seems to close really early.  I was going to go earlier but didn't have my Up Rewards with me.  The story of my unorganized day.

Luckily there are about 5 Rite Aids in a 2 mile radius of me (not kidding!), so I think I'll be able to get the Schick razors, Nivea chapstick and Viva Paper towels.  I'm hoping anyway.

I'd been saving my $2 Video Values coupon for Banana Boat sunscreen until it goes on clearance.  I skipped a couple of weeks at RA and when I went back in at the end of last week they only had 4 bottles of sunscreen left.  Total.  Of course those were RA brand, so my coupons weren't any good, but I was amazed at how quickly the sunscreen was scooped up.  I didn't pursue more than one store as it was going to be a good deal if they had it, but not a search around for it.  However, the deals this week definitely will be!