Yesterday's shopping

After I got satellite radio yesterday, I decided that I would just do a little shopping. I started out by going to CVS. I really didn't do that great, but I did get some things that I really needed. I bought 3 John Frieda hair care products. If you bought $15 you got back $5 ECBs. My hair is naturally curly and I really like the Frizz Ease products since they don't make my hair feel like hay. If your hair is curly, you know what I am talking about. I had $4 worth of coupons from my past 2 All You magazines. I also got 2 travel packs of Goody's head ache powders on sale for $1.29 but you got $1.29 back in ECBs, so free. I spent $13.xx OOP, but got back $7.58 in ECBs. I then went to Linen's 'N Things. The store is going out of business, so everything is on sale 10-40% off. I bought some curtains that were 40% off, an attachment for my Kitchenaid stand mixer 20% off and a Yankee Candle Company candle all for under $100. Not too bad. I was in desperate need for some curtains for the bedroom to block out the sunlight for sleeping during the day. Then I went to the Galleria to Belk. I bought 1 pair of Lucky brand bermuda shorts, and two pairs of capri pants for $47.78. All items were originally $58 and were on clearance. I had a $40 gift card so I only paid the $7.78. Great deals!!! I did hit a lot of other stores, but didn't find anything else I couldn't live without.

Great Day

What a great day today! I got the satellite radio installed without any problems today. I went shopping and got some great deals. I'll post those later. I ran into my BFF in the Galleria without expecting it, and then I got home and signed in to find that I won an award!!! The Twisted Sister award for a wicked sense of humor and sisterhood It's from Terri @ http://bamabargains.blogspot.com/. I love her blog and got my first sample today after signing up for like everyone that she has listed lately. Pretty cool!!! I have thoroughly enjoyed having my blog and meeting new people via the "blogosphere."
So, now I am going to pass this award along to some friends who make me laugh too:
Heather @ http://lifeasafoshee.blogspot.com/,
Jillian @ beautifullybittersweets.blogspot.com,
Courtney @ dailydessertydollops.blogspot.com,
So ladies, enjoy your award!!!!

Free for birthday

Thanks to a few of my blogger friends (Trina and Terri), I signed up for some freebies for my birthday. So far I have gotten: $10 card from Victorias Secret and White House Black Market, Free Burritos at Qdoba and Salsaritas, Coupons from O'Charley's, Captain D's and Brusters. YEAH!

YEAH FOOTBALL!!

Tonight, college football starts. YEAH!!! I am really excited and can't wait for the season to get in gear. Kent's a Georgia fan and I'm Alabama so it is always interesting. I can only hope that Sat when we play Clemson, we start the season out right. We watched College football live last night and now I am sitting here watching it again in wait of the South Carolina game. Kent just got back with some shrimp, so let the games begin...

Wasted morning

So today, I had an appt at Best Buy to get the satellite radio installed. We bought the stuff on this past Friday-6 days ago. I get there and the dude tells me that they don't have the adapters for my kind of car, it will cost another $15 and he will have to go and get it from Homewood before he can start. We were told on Friday upon making this appt that it would take about 1 hour. I worked last night and they don't open until 10am. I don't work tonight so I thought that I could tough it out and stay up, no big deal. Well, that is until I walked around the shopping center, went in every single store "browsing" for 2 hours and went back into best buy. I chose to sit in the home theater section and watch some Spiderman 2 in a really comfortable chair. They then proceed to tell me that they gave them the wrong adapter for my car and it will be days before they can get the right one. WHAT!!!! I have just wasted all morning and have nothing but a few clearance items from Target! He then proceeds to try to reschedule, and I let him know that I go back to work on Monday, and my husband is having surgery Friday of next week. Just when are they going to get this part in? He says that he might could have it in tomorrow, he could just go pick it up himself. I am normally a pretty easy going person, but I have had this appt for 6 days, they knew then what kind of car I drove. That means that they have had 6 days to get the adapter they needed. Am I wrong? I have also just wasted my morning walking around a shopping center. Not that I really had anything to do, just the principle. Here's hopeing that when I get there in the morning, everything goes quickly and I won't have to walk around forever just wasting my time.

Working :(

While I love my job, I do not love being at work when I am supposed to be off. Oh well I guess that's what I get for not working 3 of my regular days. BOOOO HOOOOO!!! We had a great trip this weekend and from what I've heard, I missed A LOT by being off on my regular weekend. Sorry to leave you stranded guys! Kent would claim that I slept the entire way-there and back. I would say that I got bored listening to his talk radio mess, listened to my Ipod, watched the 3 episodes of Gossip Girl that are on it and maybe napped a total of 2 hours. It's a 6-7 hour drive. That's not bad!!! He was busy flipping through the stations on our new Sirius satellite radio. It's being installed in my car on Thurs. He also bought the boombox that it hooks into, so on Sat morning when we left we had a detour to WalMart to get an adapter so we could plug it in and listen to it in the car. GHETTO!!!!!!! But fun...for him.
I also found out today, that he has found my secret stock pile cabinet. I cleaned out the guest bathroom cabinet last week and started stashing all of my extra goods in it. I mean, there were 2 towels and 2 magazines under there. We rarely ever have house guests. We live like "a thousand" miles away from our families. That bathroom is rarely used. I figured it was the perfect place to stash my goods. Robbin and I are always talking coupons and bargains. She thinks I'm hilarious and tells me if Kent calls she is going to tell him there is toothpaste for $1, I better go get some. He calles, she jokes, he proceeds to tell her that he found juice in the bathroom cabinet and that might be a little too far. HAHAHA!!! When you get Juicy Juice for less than a buck, I am going to buy as many as I have coupons for. This coming from the man who drank an entire bottle of V8 Fusion last night in less than 30 minutes. Whatev!!! He is amazed at the fact that I am getting this stuff cheap, he just doesn't understand the need to stockpile. Oh well, it will be alright. If there is a natural disater, we will have enough toothpaste, dish washing liquid, juice, and shampoo for the entire subdivision.
All of this to say, I am at work and I would rather be at home....poor me...

Another thing I love...

As my BFF says, I will be going to Tennessee to "be a redneck" for the weekend. We are leaving bright and early in the morning to go to the NASCAR race in Bristol, TN. I am pretty excited! Bristol tickets are always sold out and Kent has some great connections! For those of you who don't know us, We love NASCAR!!! I went with my dad about 8 years ago to Talladega because he had gotten some free tickets and since he didn't have anyone to go with him, I told him I would. Well, I got hooked. (And I married someone who loves it more than I do.) As a child, I always thought that it was absolutely ridiculous to sit in front of the TV and watch cars driving around in circles. I would've rather watched paint dry! My grandfather always watched the races and when we were over there, we would always go to another room because we just thought that it was stupid. I must say, that actually going to the race made all of the difference in the world. The adrenaline makes you have such a rush especially when they yell out "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!" The crowd goes wild. It's fun!!! I've also seen several celebrities throughout these weekends-Will Ferrell, Jessica Alba, Carrie Underwood, several American Idol contestants to name a few. Honestly, I have seen some sights though. It is know to some people (Heather) it's known as a redneck's sport though. The old saying "to each his own" definitely applies to enjoying yourself. I have so many pictures of complete strangers looking ridiculous-like having a 24 shaved into the back of your head, spray painting your favorite driver's number on your chest, rolling a joint in the daylight when there are cops about 10 rows away from you, licking the mustard bottle, then handing it to the next family member, etc. It all makes for some great scrapbooking memories and stories to tell to friends. It is also a very patriotic sport. How many other sporting events pray prior to the start, have a moment of silence, and have a fly over at the end of the National Anthem. There are many good times that I have spent laughing and enjoying myself during a race weekend. So far, we have been to Talladega countless times, Lowe's the last 3 years for Memorial Day weekend, Bristol-this will be twice, and Daytona once. So, for my girls at work, I will be sad to have to work next week without you, and I know that you will all miss me terribly this weekend HAHA!!! Have a great weekend though, I know that I will! :)
Mary

Publix is awesome!

Last night at work, I went over the Publix sales for the week. Thanks to my great sister in law, I had a lot of coupons from the previous weeks papers. The only think that I bought that I didn't have a coupon for was some hamburger meat. It was on sale though. Here's my goods:

2 Ken's dressings BOGO

2 Ken's marinades BOGO

2 I can't believe it's not butter BOGO

3 Orville Redenbacher popcorns BOGO

1 All small & mighty $3.99

1 loaf bread BOGO

2 Juicy Juice

2 V8 Splash

3 Lysol cleaners

2 pkg lean ground beef

1 bottle mustard

Total coupons: $18.15

Publix ad spec & Adv buy savings: $25.28

Total OOP: $27.63

Total savings of 61%

Yeah!!!!

Things I Love....@ this moment

On my way to work tonight, I was just thinking about being thankful. We had a great service at church tonight, and if you are like me, you get a "church high" after leaving. I truly think that I need Wed nights to come around more often so that my attitude stays positive and in the right frame. Especially on my work week. I am normally sleep deprived, ill, and have that "don't mess with me" attitude. I just thought that I would post a top 10 of the things that I am most thankful for and love at this time of my life.

1. God & my church-My favorite time to go to church is on Wed nights. I just love the time of worship and prayer. There is never a time that I feel the presence of the Lord move so much. I think that I tear up every week during our special prayer time, and leave with that "church high."

2. My husband- I love to go on weekend trips with him. He sent me a short, unexpected email at the beginning of this week and you have no idea how that made my day. I LOVE HIM!!!! I thank God for our relationship. We are so incredibly different it astounds me, but it totally works. We are going out of town this weekend! YEAH!!!

3. My family-All of my family, my husband's family. We don't live that close but the time that we spend together really is wonderful!!

4. Friends-I am very close to a lot of girls that I work with. I have been blessed beyond measure to work with Godly women. We all have our moments of frustration and generally not wanting to work, but we (for the most part) all get along so well. I also have many friends from school that still keep in touch and get together for lunch.

5. My ipod touch- Technology is wonderful!!! I love the fact that I can get on the internet anywhere that has WiFi and download a song in like a minute!

6. My car-can we say 27-30 mpg. Thank you Jesus I do not have my old vehicle with gas prices in the millions. :)

7. The Olympics-I am truly entertained by the swimming (GO Michael Phelps!), gymnastics, diving and beach volleyball. Most of the events that I love are now over though. Go USA!

8. Coupons-I have a new addiction that I consider very healthy. At least to my checkbook. I was having a conversation with my mother the other day about my new way of shopping. I think she was flabergasted! I was always the one that would just go and shop, never really caring what I spent. Now that we have a financial advisor (something about typing that makes me want to stick my nose in the air) I have become more aware. I am completely addicted!

9. Movies- I am a subscriber to Netflix and I love to watch movies on my off week. I am a mystery shopper at my local theater. I also love to go to the movies during the day to catch a "chick-flick" that I know Kent would die before he would go see. It's only $5.50 before 5pm so it's really pretty cheap. At least it's better than going to the mall and spending only God knows what on things I don't really need.

10. Ice cream- My fave at the moment is Key Lime Pie from Bruster's. I almost cried when I saw that the one by my house closed. But then again, when the drive through guy knows you by name, it's probably not a bad thing it closed.

Shoppin' & Savin' Day

I am submitting this on the Publix Super Savers @ http://fiddledeedeeblog.blogspot.com/
My Publix deals are at the end of this blog. Check out Sarah's blog to see what other people saved!!!

Monday is normally my least favorite day of the week. I work 7 on 7 off night shift and one Monday is my first day back, like today, or the other is trying to get as little sleep possible and still function in order to get back on the right sleeping pattern. Well, today has been great!!!

I spent $44.65 OOP today at 5 different stores, and I feel as though I did great!!! I started by going to my new favorite CVS. It's maybe 3 miles farther away, but it is new and everything is always labeled for the right sale! The cashiers are always impressed too!! The middle stack is my CVS loot:

2- 3 packs Ivory bar soap

4- Crest toothpaste

1- Puffs kleenex

coupons used:

1-$2/10 CVS coupon

2-$.25 Ivory soap

1-$1/2 Crest (I had another one that I forgot to use, Oh well.)

1-$.25 Puffs

$5 ECB

OOP cost $3.24, saved $13.22

I also earned back $5 ECBs with the Ivory and the Crest and a coupon printed out for a $.99 picture CD.

Then I went to the new Publix across the street, but we will get to that one last. I then went to Rite-Aid. (Stack on the left)

1-Windex Multi Surface vinegar found on clearance $1.74

2-4 pk Ocelo sponges $.99 each

1- Crest $3.19

coupons:

$.75 Windex

$1/2 Ocelo sponge packs

OOP cost: $5.71 , but will get back $3.19 for the Crest as a rebate, so $2.52.

Then, about a mile down the road is a Walgreens. Of course I stopped and here's what the stack on the right cost me:

2-Dove Shampoo (the 33% more free bottles) 2/$4.99

1-Schick Quattro razor $3

coupons:

$2 Dove shampoo

$2 Schick razor

total OOP: $4.63 saved $7.99

Okay, now for my Publix loot:

Like I said before, I went to Publix across the street from CVS. They were out of the Shout. When I stopped by Walgreens guess what was across the street, another Publix. I thought I would see if they had the Shout. I am not crazy. All of the stores are less than a 10 minute drive from my house depending on how you go, interstate, backroads, there are many ways to get back to my house so I really didn't drive that far away!!!

1st stop:

2-Ruffles chips BOGO

3-pks banquet sausages

1 pk flour tortillas

2-Bird's Eye frozen veggie packs

2 pks of Edwards pies BOGO

2-Vlasic pickles BOGO
1.72 lb apples

2 pk BIC pencils

2 cans Bush's Grilling Beans BOGO

Publix brand facial tissue (this weeks penny item)

OOP cost: $26.14

total savings: $22.61

2nd store:

2-Shout BOGO

1-Pledge (which I thought was on sale, but wasn't)

coupons: 2-$.75 Shout and 1-$1 Pledge

OOP: $4.93, saved $5.38

I call this SUCCESS!!!!! I love shopping this way!!!

Seriously II!!!!!!!

I realize that this picture does not do the true extent of my story very well, but I will explain: A few posts back I expressed my aggrivation about my neighbor mowing into my yard. Well, yes, yesterday it happened again. This door is to the storage room on the back of our house. Dude mowed to the right side of the concrete slab in front of it. Right at the window edge. I just thought that I would share the true extent of my frustration. Hubby is outside right now mowing so that it all evens out. AAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Fun with Aubrey

Yesterday, I got to keep my niece for a couple of hours, just us. It was blissful!!! My mom keeps her while my sister and brother in law are at work, but my parents were going to Auburn for Ashley's (other sister) open house at work. They left around 1:30 and we played and played. She didn't take her usual afternoon nap though. I think that she was just having too much fun with her favorite aunt!!! :) She has learned how to pitch a fit though. I laughed so hard at her. She got mad when a friend left that she stood at the door, looking out crying then proceeded to throw herself in the floor. That had me rolling. She looked at me like I was crazy and she thought that she should get her way. She also loved to get into my mother's tupperware cabinet and play with the bowls. Forget all of the toys and stuff she got at her birthday party. Throw this little one a Tupperware party and she can go all day!!! She is such a precious little one and I am so glad that I got to have her all to myself for a couple of hours!!!

Thoughts

Okay, so yesterday I found out that one of my friends from high school had a heart attack. WHAT!?! I am 25 (26 in 3 weeks if anyone wants to get me a gift:))!!!! At 25 I should not have to worry about one of my classmates having a heart attack!!! Sometimes, I think that my life is just passing by. I take my life in stride most of the time. I am not one to let things really get to me, and I am a genuinely happy person, most of the time. But really-a heart attack-serious business.

I had lunch with another high school friend today. She found out that it was due to a blood clot, which was probably caused by the medication he is on for his thyroid problem. I just can't imagine. I thank God that I am healthy. I have never been diagnosed with anything and the only medication that I am on is my birth control and the occasional Goody's for a headache.

There are moments in our lives that make us think and reevaluate. This is one of those moments. I will continue to pray for P, a quick and full recovery. I can't imagine being in a position where I thought that I was dying because of the pain I was in. I pray that God would give him peace of mind and he will be able to go back to his everyday life without any lasting effects.

Shopping Trip

***Update***

I made a CVS and Publix run this morning. I really wasn't that impressed with the ECB items this week, but decided that since I will be attending 2 baby showers in the next couple of months, I could do the Johnson and Johnson deal. Here is what my loot is from CVS:

5 Johnson and Johnson products @ $2.99 each

1 Soleil Razor @ 4.99

1 Soleil refil @ 4.99

1 Alavert @ $5.99

Used $10 in MFC

1 CVS $2/$10 coupon

ECBs $11.58

OOP cost $7.96

Earned $3.00 in ECBs and a coupon for $3 off picture DVD

I need to spend $7 on JJ product to get the $5 ECBs. I ran out of my JJ coupons, so I will go back at some point this week.

Publix:

Somehow, I have lost my receipt from the time I drove home until now. (Strange, I know.) I am recapping what I can remember. It's not totally accurate, but quite close.

4 Old El Paso Dinner Kits BOGO

4 Nature's Valley granola bars BOGO

2 BC fruit snacks BOGO

1 Simply Orange @ 2/$6

1 Simply Apple @ 2/$6

1 Baked Lays

1 Onion Dip

1 Cheerios Snack Mix

2 Peter Pan Peanut Butter BOGO

1 can red beans

I did get a couple of things that weren't on sale, but when you go to the grocery store hungry, chips and onion dip look really good. And the beans are for the red beans and rice I plan to cook tomorrow.
I used $6.00 in MFC, Ad spec savings of $18.44 and I spent $28.78 OOP. Total savings of $24.44

Not too bad for someone who is hungry.

***I am always interested in seeing what the prices of these products are at other places and if I bought them somewhere else, would my savings be as good. Today I went to Walmart to get some spray paint. I didn't really have anything else to do, so I went throughout the store to find out if I bought these items here, what would I have spent. (I lead a really exciting life:)) At CVS, the items would have been $33.05 and my items from Publix would have cost me $42.77.

Wonderful!!! That made my day.

My Upcoming Week

Well, I don't think that any of you know this, but... I LOVE the Olympics!!!! I am so incredibly excited that this is my off week and I will be glued to my TV all week. I plan to be completely useless for the most part, so if anyone has a day off and would like to join me in my quest of uselessness, just let me know and you can join me. I did DVR the past few nights and will have to catch up on the opening ceremonies and the few segments that I missed when I was on my way to work. I also want to fit in going to the movies and watching the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I am looking forward to it!!!

Seriously!!!!

Just need to vent:
I live in a subdivision where my neighbor is ultimately about 10 feet from me. Well, my neighbor's roomate has started cutting the grass as part of his living fee. When he started, everything was as normal. Now, he is mowing into OUR yard. Five mower widths in the front yard. Past my front porch mind you. Yesterday, I mowed the front yard to try to even it out. It was a little wet, so I didn't tackle the back since it is so much thicker than the front. Today, I go to our back yard, and he has mowed past our bedroom window. WHY!?! What are we going to do? I thought about buying some spray paint and painting the property line or maybe if I bought a No Trespassing sign, he would get the clue? I don't know, but seriously, if you live in a subdivision know where your lines are and if you are going to mow a third of your neighbors yard, just go ahead and do the whole thing. It would make a lot more sense. Seriously!!!!!!!!

Great Recipe!

This past weekend Hubby decided that he would look online to find us something to cook. He found a recipe on allrecipes.com that we tried and it was delish!!!! Here it is:

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/3 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup beer, room temperature
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pound medium shrimp - peeled and deveined
salt to taste


DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, stir together the garlic powder, onion powder, basil, thyme, rosemary, cayenne pepper and paprika. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple of minutes. Season with the spice mixture and continue to cook and stir for a few minutes. Pour in the beer and Worcestershire sauce; simmer until shrimp is cooked through, about 1 more minute. Taste and season with salt before serving.

Another CVS run

This morning when I got off of work, I stopped by a different CVS. I had printed some Children's Advil coupons at work to use on the special. This I will classify as my best yet. Here is my loot:
2 Cover Girl powders on sale BOGO
2 Johnson's buddies soap $0.99 each
2 Children's Advil $5.79 each
2 Sure Deodorant on sale BOGO
My coupons:
BOGO Cover Girl face product, making the powders free
$1.98 off of the Johnson's buddies products=free
2-$1/1 Children's Advil=$9.58
2-$1/1 Sure deodorant=$0.69
Used $11.50 in ECBS making my total negative $0.21
Therefore I added a pack of gum and pain $1.07 OOP
Earning $11.58 back in ECBs for the Advil.
I Heart CVS!!!!!

CVS Run

Okay, so I didn't post anything last week about CVS because all I really did was restock my medicine cabinet with Tylenol, Benadryl and Neosporin. I earned $10 ECBs from this that I used this am when I went to CVS. Remember, I am a beginner, but I am really proud. This is what I did:
2 bottles of Dawn $0.88
2 Crest with Scope $2.49 each
2 Colgate $2.99 each
2 Cover Girl powders
1 Oral B advantage toothbrush
1 Gillete Fusion Phantom razor
1 CVS Hand Sanitizer
Coupons:
My Hand Sanitizer was my free product for the month of August.
Used $16.99 MFC
ECBs $10.99
OOP total: $15.62
Earned $11.50 back in ECBs
I ended up getting the wrong Cover Girl powder so I ended up paying for one. I didn't notice this until just now. :( All in all, my cabinet is stocked with some toothpaste!!! And not too bad for what I got.