I am so excited!!!!!! I have one my first blog award! Thanks so much to Deb at Life with Birk -http://lifewithbirk.blogspot.com/ Check out her blog.... it is so much fun to read! Thanks Deb!


*Here are the award rules:
List 7 things that you love and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers you love.Be sure to tag them and let them know they have won!You can copy the picture of the award and put it on your sideboard letting the whole world know.....you are KREATIV!

7 Things I Love
1. Jesus Christ
2. My hubby and kids
3. Sleeping in on Saturday mornings
4. The smell of fresh cut grass
5. listening to Christian Radio
6. an empty laundry basket
7. hearing my kids laugh


7 of my Favorite Blogs I'd like to pass this award on to:
1. Queen of Good Intentions
2. All things Southern
3. The Dynamic Duo
4. Little Wonders
5. Putting God First Place
6. So Lovely Creations
7. The Nifty Thrifty Homemaker

Don't forget to either e-mail your favorite bloggers or comment them to let them know they have won!

Happy Weekend!

Kroger Finds

Here is my latest Kroger trip. This was my first trip in a while, I had several coupons I wanted to use before they expired.

Here is the quick summary.........

Total before coupons: $55.97

Total savings with coupons: $26.05

Total OOP: $29.92

Another Challenge!

Well,,,, I have another challenge for you...... go to http://www.redenvelopeproject.org/ and check it out.

Matters of the Heart

My daughter is in the Character Club in her online school and has been given an assignment to do something nice for another person. She was given a few web sites to look at and after looking over them, they touched my heart so deeply that I had to pass them on. After reading some of these stories..... how can you not want to do something special for them.

First is http://www.colorasmile.org/ Kids can color pictures and mail them in to be given to nursing homes and meals on wheels.

Second is http://www.makeachildsmile.org/ Kids can color pictures and email children that are sick. Some of these children are terminally ill.

Third is http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1024.html Kids can pick a picture, a message and email them to our troops overseas.

Take the time to check these sites out..... Put someone else first. You will be glad you did. :)

No Kid Hungry

Domino Sugar is a presenting sponsor or the Great American Bake Sale - No kid Hungry campaign. You can hold a bake sale with your family, friends,or neighbors and help raise funds to help provide after school and summer meals to children that are at risk of hunger in your community.

Registration begins on March 1, 2009. For more information go to www..greatamericanbakesale.org/domino You can also look on the back of any Domino sugar bag for the info. This is right up my daughters ally... she loves to bake. Sounds like a great community project for the kiddos!

Sometimes I wonder why!!!!

School was so difficult today...... I am really feeling the pressure of this thing called home school! Both of the kiddos subjects are getting so hard! I mean, I am a college graduate and some of the material I have never seen. School is soooo different from when I was in their ages. I am having to learn it with them!
I have days like these every now and them.... makes me want to ship them off down the road to the public school...then... the Lord gently reminds me why I am doing this and that he will never leave me to do it by myself. Here is the big reason why I home school.....

Aren't they the cutest?!!!!!

Tomorrow is a new day and God's mercies are new every morning!!!!
Enough complaining!!!

Baby it's COLD outside!

Last week the weather here was rather chilly. I love to have soup for supper on those cold nights! I had bought some Fire Roasted tomatoes last week and decided to try my hand at making an Italian style soup. Believe it or not, I just went with the ingredients in my head and it turned out sooooo yummy..... my hubby loved it and he is not a big soup lover!
Here's the ingredients......

Italian Vegetable Soup

2 regular cans Fire Roasted Tomatoes (I used Muir Glenn)
2-3 whole Squash, quartered
2-3 whole Zucchini, quartered(more or less of each for your taste)
1 lb. Italian sausage (I used Jimmy Dean)

1 cup water (I use the tomatoe cans and get all the good out of them!)

Brown Italian Sausage, drain ( I rinsed it under warm water to remove more fat)
Add both cans of Tomatoes, squash and zucchini. Add salt and Pepper to taste.

Update

My hubby and I went on our late Valentine Date on Sat. We had a great time and the food was great! We actually talked about something other than the kiddos! It was nice to have time away and relax.
After our meal we went to Publix for a few deals. My hubby was really impressed and doesn't think I am so obsessed now. He actually found a few deals that I didn't notice!
Overall, we had a great weekend.

Finally Friday!!!!!!

Thank goodness it is finally Friday..... in more ways than one I look so forward to Fridays. For one, my husband is in such a better mood on the weekends. I would love for them to last longer!!

My honey asked me out on a date tomorrow night! We are going out for a late Valentine dinner. With us being at my parents house last weekend, we were not able to celebrate like we would have liked. We have not been out to eat by ourselves in over 2 years. Hopefully we won't just sit and stare at each other!!!!

I hope you are excited about your weekend!

HAPPY WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jill Savage Post

I just read a wonderful email from Jill Savage about making your home "welcoming" to your family. It totally reinforces why I stay at home for my family, and gave me a huge pep talk!!!! I need those a lot!
Go to http://www.jillsavage.org/ and scroll down until you see Wednesday's words of encouragement.
I hope you will receive a blessing from reading it!

Getting it together!

We are on Winter Break from school this week and my kiddos are still snoozing..... We stayed up late because there was a bad storm moving through. They are a little scared when storms come through.... last Mothers Day a tornado came through and caused a huge tree to fall on my sister-in-laws house. They had to move out for 2 -3 months for repairs to be done. The kids remember all the fun they had and doesn't want the same for us. Unfortunately, we do live surrounded by trees!
Anyway,,,,,,, I am getting my shopping list together for tomorrow! I plan to hit CVS for the Neutragena (sp) deal and then to Publix for their BOGOs.
This coupon thing has really become a way of life now.... I can hardly stand to buy anything with out a coupon! My kiddos even find them in the store for me. I walk right by them and they find them! Just the other day my DS found some..... they beam with pride when they bring them to me!
Enough rambling.... hope you have a glorious day!

I'm Back!

My family and I had a GREAT weekend away! On Saturday we went to the parade....the rain held off long enough for the parade and for us to walk around and see all the booths that were set up.
My daughters favorite was the FSU Marine Biologist booth. Four FSU students had a water tank set up with all kinds of different "sea animals" for the kids to touch and hold. My daughter played in that tank for almost 1 hour..... she was shrivelled when I made her let some other kids have their turn. She was not afraid at all.... she held starfish, sea cucumbers, fiddler crabs, sea urchins and a horseshoe crab. My son, being the brave sole that he is, would not touch any of them! His dad was so proud! Sorry honey, I wouldn't touch the sea cucumber with a 10 foot pole either.
It was great to see my parents and have a little break. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.....


Here is the gang waiting on the parade to start....

Here is my baby girl playing with a star fish.... notice my baby boy in the background having nothing to do with it!!

Free Starbucks sample

Have you heard about the new Starbucks Via Ready Brew? It is their version on Instant Coffee.... I heard about it on the radio today.
Go to http://www.starbucksstore.com/ to request your free sample. I am not a instant coffee fan but Starbucks is really talking this up so I thought I would give it a try. I can't pass up a free sample.....can you?

My family and I will be taking a much needed break this weekend. I will not have access to a computer at all! How will I survive? I know that my husband will be pleased! That is enough of a Valentine for him!

I wanted to go ahead and post my Happy Valentine to you! I hope that you will take the time to show your Valentines that you really do love them and appreciate them. Candy and cards are nice but the gifts that mean the most to me are gifts that cannot be bought. Just a "I love you, Mom" or my husband holding my hand. That is enough for me! I don't need the candy anyway.... it goes straight to my hips!!!!! Always remember, time goes by so fast and life can change in an instance. Your kids will not be kids forever. I know that I have taken so much for granted in my life, and I plan to take more notice of what God has blessed me with. Everything I have is a blessing from him.

I plan on doing a few things this Valentines Day... I was excited when I realized it was on a Saturday . I get to spend Valentines with my husband, son, daughter and my Momma and Daddy! All day with my Valentines!!!! How great is that! We are planning on going to a Valentines Day Parade... it is so much fun to see the kids get so excited to grab candy off of the road! Their little eyes just light up!

I hope that you will take the time to tell your loved ones how much you love and appreciate them. Time goes my so fast and life can change in an instance.

Here are a few things I plan to do with my Valentines:
1. Tell them I love them.
2. Hug them tight.
3. Go out of my way to make their day special.
4. Tell them one reason why I love them so much.
5. Thank God for the blessing of having them in my life.

So, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! I hope it is special!!!!!

Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday

For those who do not know....

Today is Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. Lincoln is my kiddos favorite President. I have several activities planned to honor his birthday today. There is a web cast scheduled for 1:30 at history.com. Hopefully my computer will not act up like it did this morning. I will be upset if we can't join in.

We have done several units about President Lincoln and we learn something new each time. My daughter and I were at Barnes and Noble this weekend and spent about an hour looking through Biography books about Lincoln. It was so neat to see actual photographs of him. He was a fascinating President.

Over the next few days, through Presidents Day, the History Channel will be airing several shows about Lincoln. You can visit historychannel.com for more info.

MSNBC has an article that is interesting. This link is http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29113853/?GT1=43001 It is very interesting.

I will let you know how our celebration goes!

Publix - Kimberly Clark items/Publix gift card

Yesterday was the only day I could make it by Publix to get the Kimberly Clark items I needed to qualify for the Publix gift card. The form has to be postmarked by TODAY! I think it was worth my time!

Here is the breakdown....

1 gallon Publix milk- 2.99

1 jello Chocolate pudding - 1.00

1 Keebler pie crust - 1.09

.36/lb Plum tomato - 1.49/lb- .54

6 rolls Viva Paper towels - 1.89ea./11.34/6- used 6/$1 off PC , 2/ .75/MC, .40/IC off 2, and .75/2 MC= = 2.26 for 6 rolls!

2 6pk Cottonelle bath tissue- 3.99 ea/7.98/2- used 2/.75 PC and 2/.50 MC = 4.23/2 -(I usually get Cottonelle free.... but I used this to go toward my /$10 Publix gift card)

Lipton Decaf. tea bags BOGO/ 3.99/2 = 2.00 ea.

Goodnight pants/Jumbo Pack- 16.99- used $2.00/PC and $1.00/IC- 13.99

1 jar Publix spaghetti sauce- 1.79ea

I also used $7.99 CVS ECB on this transaction!

Total before savings: $55.16

Total savings in coupons/store savings: $27.69

Total OOP: $27.47

A little high for my taste but... I will get a $10.00 Publix gift card from buying $35.00 worth of Kimberly Clark products! That way I can stomach it better. The Goodnights alone are almost $17!

This was a confusing trip for me.... the check out lady did not know Publix's policies on coupons and was totally confused! Thankfully the Manager was bagging groceries right beside where I was checking out. He was very nice,,,, unfortunately, I can not say the same about the check out lady.... she must have been having a bad day!

You never know who's watching......

It is so amazing to me how actions speak louder than words! I have been clipping coupons and blogging for deals for about 4 months now. I am still new, but things seem to make sense to me now. My kids have been watching me do this coupon thing for a while, finding coupons, clipping ect. I really didn't think either one would be interested in helping me..... boy was I wrong!

My daughter ,9 yrs old, and I have been doing a lot of the coupon shopping together lately. She calls herself my assistant! She helps me clip coupons, puts them in order in my folder, she runs and gets the camera when we get home and organizes the set up for the picture. The other day we were at Publix (which, by the way has always been my favorite grocery store..... it is now my daughters favorite also!!) and I did not realize what she was doing. I had my head in the game plan at hand and she was scouting around for coupons that where in the store! She found several and even found the green savings booklet that it our a Publix..... I had just walked by it and did not even see it!

At first my kids thought that I was stealing from the stores! With us being a home school family this has be such a great math lesson and life lesson for them. My daughter has really taken to the idea. She finds it challenging and exciting like her Mom. She also was hooked when I explained to her that the only way we were able to sign her up for Rec. Softball this year was because we had saved so much on our grocery bill...... That was all it took!!!!

I have really enjoyed this time with my daughter. We talk and laugh and have the best time. We will talk about more than coupons..... she is always on her best behavior and uses those manners so politely. She calls it a Mommy/ Daughter date. I will take it!

So, with all that said.... you never know who is watching what you do....... I really was surprised when my daughter was so excited about helping. Being Frugal is contagious!!

Yummy Mini Meat Loaves

Last week I found a great deal on some ground beef and decided to make up some mini meat loaves, meatballs, and a few pounds of ground beef to put in the freezer. I already used part of the mini meat loaves when my dear husband came home late Sat. night wanting something for supper. I took them out of the freezer, defrosted them, put them in the oven, and TAADAA.... a nice home cooked meal waiting on him when he walked in the door.
I found the mini meatloaf recipe in the Feb. 2009 issue of Better Homes and Gardens. I thought I would share it because my kiddos loved it also. It is really easy and very yummy and my kids actually ate it! The next time I make this up to freeze, I am going to throw in some shredded carrots...... just to get some extra veggies in hidden under the kids noses!!!

Mini Meat Loafs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup Pasta Sauce - I used Ragu spagetti sauce - it was yummy
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs - I used instant oatmeal
1 teaspoon tried basil
1/4 teaspooon salt
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese (4 0z.)

Preheat oven to 450*. In a large bowl combine egg, 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce, bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon basil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add beef and 1/2 cup of the cheese: mix well. Divide beef mixture into four equal parts. Shape each into a small oval. Place in a 9x13 baking pan. Spoon on remaining pasta sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until internal temperature registers 160*.

Leave me a comment it you decide to try it..... I would love to hear from you!

New Publix Trip

It is kinda hard to see but here goes...... (click on the picture to make it larger)

2 bags wise cheese doodles BOGO 2.99/2 - $1.50ea. - used 2 $1.00/IC - .50ea.
4 Betty Crocker fruit snacks BOGO 2.59/2 - $1.30ea-used 2 .75/2 IC - .82ea.
Uncle Ben's wild rice BOGO 1.49/2-.75ea-used 2/$1.00 IC - profit of .25ea.
Farm Rich French Toast BOGO 3.29/2 -1.64ea.- used 1 $1.00 MC - $1.14ea.
Frank's hot sauce - $1.50 - used .50 MC - .50ea.
6 Idahoan Instant Potatoes-.50 ea used 2/.75 off 3 IC - .25ea.
4 Yoplait YoPlus- $2.00ea- used 4/1.50 off .50ea.
1 gallon milk - $2.99 ( haven't seen it this cheap in a while!)
1 5lb.publix charcoal $2.79
1 Publix Tater Bites $2.00
1 pk. beef for stew- $4.87
1 publix premium ice cream - $3.00

Total Vendor Coupons= $ 12.50
Total store coupons= $1.50
Advertised savings= $20.99

Total before coupons= $64.92
Total savings= $34.99
Total OOP= $29.93
A little higher than I like,,,, I am spoiled I guess!

Go visit http://fiddledeedeeblog.blogspot.com/ for great Publix Coupon match ups. Thanks Sarah!

Small (but exciting) Publix find!

I made a quick trip to Publix this Saturday and look what I got.......

2 bags Chex Mix BOGO - $2.55/2 - used 2 $1 off IC - .29 each

2 Bags Snack Time Pretzels BOGO - $3.19/2 - used 2 $1 off IC - .60 each

2 boxes Quacker granola bars BOGO - $2.99/2 - used 2 .50 Target coupons - .50each

2 cans Hunts tomatoes BOGO - $1.39/2 - used $1/2 MC - .20 each

4 boxes Velveeta Cheese BOGO - $3.59/2 - used 4 $1 off IC - .80 each

I was also able to use a $4.50 register reward from Walgreens.

Total before coupons... $35.03

Total Manufacturer coupons... $13.50

Total store coupon.... $1.00 (Target)

Total advertised store savings.... $17.24

used Walgreens RR .... $4.50

Total savings.... $31.74

Total OOP...... $3.29!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I had had more time I would have scored more..... my hubby and kids were with me.... need I say more?!

You can visit Fiddledeedee.blog.blogspot.com for more Publix deals.

Neat Cooking Website!

I decided to take a long soak in the ole whirlpool tonight and catch up on a couple of magazines that have been laying around the house. I came across a neat website in the Better Homes and Gardens magazine. It is called MixingBowl.com . If you like to cook and enjoy finding new recipes, check it out...... There are diff. groups you can join depending on your interest. It looks like a lot of fun!

Heads up at Kroger

I also went to Kroger today..... we have a Publix and Kroger across the street from each other. I happened to go down the household cleaner isle and found a few deals and thought I would share.

*Lysol neutra air was packaged with two cans together making it $2.99/2.
I used 2 BOGO MC (up to $2.99) and got 4 cans for $2.99. That makes them .75 each!

*Lysol Toilet bowl cleaner was marked down on clearance for $1.29 ea. I used 1- .75 MC and got it for .54!

*Lysol Disinfecting Wipes on clearance for $1.64 ea. I used a Kroger BOGO coupon and got 2 for .84 ea. Even if you do not have the Kroger coupon.....it is a great deal....

* This was my nightmare...... the check out lady didn't want to give this to me and then very reluctantly and hatefully went ahead and still messed it up!!!!!

Air wick freshener is on sale for $1.00 each. I had 2/B2G2 free coupons.... that would mean buy 4 get 4 right...... not so simple for my check out lady.....
After going to the customer service desk and having that lady be rood to me also....... I finally got
8 cans of air wick for .50 ea. It might not have really been worth the hassle (my mother-in-law uses this stuff and I was thinking of her!)....... but in the end it worked out....... needless to say.... that Kroger will not see me darken their doors again!
Thankfully there is a nicer Kroger that I can visit! They made me feel like I was doing them wrong..... I had real coupons and using them how they were printed. This was the first time I have had any trouble so I guess I should be thankful!

Latest Publix trip

My daughter had a dental appointment today so I hit the Publix while we were out..... I think I did pretty good...

Here is the breakdown:

1 yellow onion =.64

1 red onion =.94

celery= 1.49

bag of spinach= 2.79

carrots =.89

2 boxes honey combs BOGO 3.89 = 1.95 ea. - used $1.00 off 2 MC - made them $1.45 a box.

2 boxes fruity pebbles BOGO 3.89 = 1.95 ea. - used $1.00 off 2 MC- made them $1.45 a box.

2 cans hunts crushed tomatoes= 2/$3.00 -used $1.00 off 2 MC - made them $1.00 a can.

elbow macaroni =.75

8 yoplait yogurt .50 ea = 4.00- used coupon and got them for .25 ea.

1 gallon milk =3.19

2 packs Dole Apple/caramel fruit cups BOGO= 2.27=1.14 ea. used $1.oo off 2 MC - made them .64 each.

OTHER COUPONS USED:

$2 off $5 produce from Food lion

total savings in vendor coupons = $6.00

total in advertised savings = $11.56

total advantage buy savings = .78

total savings = $18.34

Total before coupons = $42.97

less total savings = $18.34

Total OOP = $24.63

UPDATE!!!

Well, after over a month...... I finally have shelving for my "deals"! My hubby finally found the time to put them up this weekend. Now I can keep up with what I have.... thanks honey!

Welcome Tonka!!

Yeah!!!! My favorite sis-in-law ( inside joke) is officially on the coupon journey with me! Hang on Tonja..... we are going to have fun..... maybe we can go off on that long needed weekend without the men with all the money we are going to save!!!!!
I love you and glad your a blogger now!