Sew what?

I am so done with scrapbooking & stamping!  I’ve been doing it for over ten years and have SO MUCH STUFF!  Over the last two years I’ve been paring down my collection and still have a lot.  I just gave some away to my mom and a friend, and will get more out on Ebay or Craigslist. 

My new hobby?? Sewing!  Last time I used a sewing machine was in 7th grade home ec, so I am looking forward to learning something new.  My mom has an old (80s) machine that she is going to give me this week.  I also signed up for some classes at Joann’s for next month.  Yesterday, while running errands, I stopped by there and spent two whole hours (I only had the baby with me, so I was virtually uninterrupted) just looking at the materials.  FUN!  My first class project will be a pillowcase.  I found some cute fabric and will make this for Katie.  I’ll post a picture when I complete the project. 

I’m looking forward to making things for the kids, and also for my husband’s magic endeavors.  I downloaded this darling pattern off of etsy to make dresses for the girls.  What do you think??

 

My CVS Trip

My CVS trip today:

Dove shampoo $4.00 (-1.50 coupon)
Dove conditioner $4.00 (-1.50 coupon)
Dove Lotion $7.00 (-1.50 coupon)
Egg Dye Kit $2.99
Candy Bar $.89
Candy Bar $.89

SubTotal $19.77
Less $5.00 coupon (buy $15, get $5 off – printed on my receipt the other day)
Less $4.99 ECB from last purchase
Less $5.00 ECB from last purchase
Less the Dove coupons above ($4.50)

Subtotal $.28
Tax $.23
TOTAL = $.51 Yes, that’s all I spent out of pocket.
Not only that, I got $5.00 ECB’s back for next time for purchasing $15.00 worth of Dove products.

Just wanted to let you all know that it CAN work to your advantage!

Saving money one coupon at a time.

Today at Stater Bros. I spent $41.84 and saved $39.88. Not bad. Even better was spending 39.96 at Ralphs and saving $55.42. Whoo hoo! I even got register coupons back for about $3.50 AND will get cash back from Ralphs for about $6.50 just on todays transactions. I’ll be off to Target later to get a few very cheap and/or free items.

A few of the sites helping me are:

• www.thegrocerygame.com
• www.hotcouponworld.com
• www.momsneedtoknow.com

Yeah, the couponing takes extra time, but since I’m a stay at home mom, I MAKE the time.  Cutting costs are part of my job.

Also, in these hard times many stores are accepting expired coupons.  My husband found a coupon for Harbor Freight that expired yesterday, and he called and spoke to the manager who said he would accept it as long as he brought it in.  (20% makes a difference!)  Also, many restaurants are doing the same (Pat & Oscars to name just one), so it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Anyone else want to share their ideas?

Saving $$ on groceries

Just went grocery shopping… 

• Staters subtotal was $118.85, paid $64.31 (46%)
• Ralphs subtotal was $123.32, paid $51.19 (59%)

I even got a few freebies!

If you sign up, use my email as a referral:  jenefur at yahoo dot com

Also, another bloggy mom friend of mine has a lot of stores from back east on her blog, as well as CVS, Rite Aid & Walgreens where she breaks down the weekly savings & freebies.  Her site is http://www.momsneedtoknow.com/

That’s all – just trying to share the love when we all could use an extra few bucks in our checkbooks.

My new creation

I came up with my own crock pot concoction yesterday and it was GREAT! 

I had some stew meat which I browned with some onion salt, then threw in the CP.  Then I chopped up a few carrots, celery and potatoes and added them in with a can of beef broth and a can of tomato sauce, some oregano, thyme and pepper.  After it cooked for a few hours, I boiled some barley and added that in as well.  It ended up being REALLY thick after the barley sucked up most of the juice, so I added one more can of beef broth.  Since we went out to eat with the family last night, we didn’t get a chance to eat it, but I had some for breakfast alright, and it was SO tasty!  Even Andrew approved when he had some for lunch.  I guess I’d call it Beef Barley Stew, as it was still pretty thick and not soupy at all.  I could probably have added another can of tomato sauce or beef broth, but the final product was too good to mess with.  I can’t wait to make it again.  It was about $6.00 for all of the ingredients.

If I remember, I’ll take a picture before it’s eaten up, and post the actual recipe so it’s easier to read.

Mo Money, Mo Money, Mo Money!

When you’re poor like me, you find any way to get some money.  I’ve spent the better part of this morning filling out rebate forms that I never got around to.  This should bring in a $30 for a tool the hubby bought a few months ago, a $10 gas card (for getting my oil changed at Jiffy Lube) and $68 in unclaimed property (from my old auto insurance).  I had heard on the news last year about the unclaimed property thing and just forgot about it after the baby/move/etc.  But it is MUCH needed now and glad I can tap into it!

Here is a link for the California site for unclaimed property.  To look up a different state, do a search for your state’s controller and UCP or Unclaimed Property.  Good luck!!

Also, if you have an unforgotten rebate, call the company.  Ours was in Iowa, and even though the rebate period ended over a month ago, the rep was nice enough to resend me a form and give me an address & contact person to send it to.

We’re all winners!

Well, I actually won something!  I entered Katie’s doodle into Curly’s contest, and since she loved them all so much, we all won an Envirosax.  Also, an Envirosax distributor has given us a discount code for $3 off a set of 5 through May 31st! 

I’ve been trying to buy some reusable bags at Stater Bros, but everytime I go, they are out, so now I will have my own set of 5 PLUS my freebie!  Here is the set I just ordered. 

If you want to get yourself a set, go to Bright & Bold and enter DOODLE as the coupon code. 

Thanks again to Curly & Hayden!

One Penny

The Queen Mum will be happy to hear that I spent a penny at CVS yesterday and brought home 4 toothbrushes and a box of Betty Crocker brownie mix. In that purchase I earned about $13 in ECBs as well!

ps… No jokes about me needing 4 toothbrushes after eating the brownies to keep my yuck mouth clean!

To My Fellow CVS-ers

Their latest promo from online:

You always get 2% back in Extra Bucks every time you shop. Now you can earn Triple Extra Bucks Rewards through June 6th, on almost everything you purchase. Plus get FREE shipping!*

To take advantage of this offer, make sure to enter your ExtraCare^® card number in the Savings Opportunities section at Checkout.

This should help us with our penny-pinching!

What’s New

Well, the funeral is over.  It was a very nice service and I got to see many loved ones.  Back to normal life, I guess!  Here is my current to do list:

1. Reschedule dental appointments.  Yuck.
2. Get this house back into shape.  After first being sick, then spending time scanning photos and making boards for the funeral, I really need to catch up!
3. Call my friend and wish her a happy birthday.  I almost forgot with all of the drama going on!
4. Post some more Stampin’ Up! rubber stamp sets on Ebay.  I am really cutting down my collection.  It’s so overwhelming when you have too many supplies, and limited time to make something!  I already got rid of 50 sets last summer, and I have about 30 more that are ready to go.
5. Start on the scrapbook for my friend’s wedding present.
6. Call Subway and report their bathroom door.  We stopped by to take Katie to the bathroom last night, and when I opened the door it slammed on her head and she has a giant goose egg on her temple!
7. Finish my book… I’ve been reading it forever!
8. Actually use my Grocery Game list.  I signed up and right after my grandpa passed away, and I have yet to go through my coupons and print a list to shop with.
9. Go to a new restaurant and use my buy 1 get 1 free meal… I just got my new Entertainment Guide and there are so many restaurants around here I didn’t know about!
10. Scrub the cradle crap off baby’s head.  I’ve done this a few times with baby oil and a tooth brush, but it keeps coming back.

So there you go.  Nothing too exciting, but life goes on as usual.

For Pete’s Sake!

I am sick AGAIN!  I’ve had to cancel my dds appt and Grant’s 4mo checkup.  So that is why I haven’t posted and/or commented.  Thank goodness the hubby took Katie to Home Depot with him tonight, so it’s just me and the baby (who is sleeping in his crib already.)   Also, the house is a wreck with 4 days worth of dishes in the sink and spreading out to the stove.  Nice.

Time to curl up on the couch and moan.

The Grocery Game

Ok, I’m signing up for The Grocery Game to give it a try, but for the life of me, I can’t remember who on my blog list wrote about it, and after trying to scour your sites have come up empty handed.  Make yourself known!  When I signed up, they want me to put in the email address of my referer so YOU can get your free weeks.  Give yourself up so you can get your free stuff.  *ps, I seem to recall quite a few of you doing this, so first come first serve, girls.

As for the rest of you, I’m going to try this out.  I’ll give you some updates, and if you decide to join, for pete’s sake, use me as your referral!!

Savin’ some dough at the CVS

My girl Mindi wrote about how she’s paying next to nothing down at the CVS, so I thought I’d try my hand at it.  I just got $76.46 worth of crap stuff for $26.76.

How you ask?

• I transferred a prescription to their pharmacy and they gave me a $25 gift card.
• I went online and registered my CVS ExtraCare Cars and got a coupon for $4.00 off my $20 purchase.
• I bought several items on sale in conjunction with some coupons I had (sale savings=$15.70, coupon savings=$9.00)

ALSO, because I bought two toothbrushes for $4.99 each using their Extra Buck Offer, they gave me the money I paid back in the form of an in-store coupon (EXTRA BUCKS) which makes them FREE!

AND, they have an offer if you buy 3 greeting cards, you get a stuffed bunny rabbit for FREE!

This was my first go at this, and I bought some items that weren’t on sale because I needed them (but had I NOT bought those items, my total would have been about $4.) Now next time I go, I have $9.98 towards my purchase.

So there you go.  Apparently Rite Aid and Walgreens have the same type of deals, and how conevenient for me, there are all three stores on opposite corners near my house!

My new apron!

I’ve been wanting to buy an apron for my uniform as a homemaker, but haven’t had the money to get a really cute one.  Then I remembered I had some cash in my paypal account.  Yippy!! I found one I loved on Etsy.com and just got it in the mail.  It is so beautiful, I have to post the link in case any of my readers wants to get one!

Momo’s Retro Fashions

And here is a picture of the lovely apron.  (That’s not me modeling… it was the photo from the etsy page.)

I think for Katie’s birthday, I will get her one too, so she can help me in the kitchen.

This second picture has been added for morethananelectrician’s benefit.  She must have gotten back into the house just in time to save the apple crisp!