Kohls.com 80% off sale!

 

Kohl’s has all of their seasonal items on major discounts right now.  I just bought 8 kitchen towels for Christmas presents next year for under $3 total.  This includes FREE SHIPPING!  There’s lots of other great deals on apparel & other items as well.  Use codes nocharge (free shipping) & extra20 (20% off extra!) for added discounts.  Also, if you belong to shopathome.com (or if you sign up there) you can get an extra 4% cash back in that account.  Hurry though because quantities are limited!!!

my world will never be the same

One month ago yesterday, my mom unexpectadly passed away. The last month has been the hardest month of my life. I can't seem to grasp the fact that she's really not here anymore. Thankfully, it has been a very hectic month and I think that has helped to keep my mind off of it as much as possible. My mom was my best friend. I told her everything. We spoke on the phone about 5 times a day and we usually visited each other at least once a day (a year ago we moved a block away from my parent's house). She loved her grandchildren most. She would beg to have my 3 year old son overnight all the time. She spoiled them rotten. My daughter would only go by grandma, nobody else. It saddens me so much to know that they will probably not remember her for the most part. Christmas was her favorite time of year. She always went above and beyond for all of it. She loved to buy gifts for everyone and always only wanted a thank you, nothing more. She loved to cook... her pasta salads, desserts, dips, etc. She loved to throw parties. I miss you so much mom. If I can only be half as good of a mom to my kids, I will be satisfied. My world will never be the same.

Preparedness Pantry

Here’s a great website to check out:

Lots of good stuff on there that everyone should check out :)

$1.50 for 7500 sheets of paper!!!

 

I just found this deal tonight and couldn’t pass it up.  We’re running low on paper for our printer so I had to jump on this.  Through Office Max you can order (or go to the store and buy) 3 packs of 2,500 sheets of white copy paper for $16.99 each.  You’ll get the same amount back on a Max Perks card (which you can obtain for a simple business (if you sell on Ebay, use that as your business!)  You’ll still have to pay tax on it but if you order online, you can get a free shipping code for orders over 50 by doing a simple search on swagbucks.com and THEN use the website ebates.com to purchase the paper through and you’ll end up earning 3% back on your entire purchase making it $1.50 for the paper.  If you’re new to ebates, you’ll receive the $5 sign up bonus and this could actually MAKE you money.  Can’t wait to get my paper :)

10/14/09 Haul

 

 

So I started off the week telling my husband that I wasn’t going to do grocery shopping at all… lol… yeah right!  This deal came up and I just couldn’t pass it up!!!!!  I got everything here:

for $5.98!!!  It actually could have been lower had I used another computer to print off more $1 off coupons instead of the 40 cent ones I had but hey, I’m not complaining.  I am tempted to go back tonight but I doubt I’ll have time.  Tonight I’m making my last wedding cake of the year!!!  It’s going to be a beautiful 3 tier fall leaves marble cake (chocolate frosting).  Last night I also talked with the Wilton Instructor at Hobby Lobby and she wants to put my county fair cake on display at the store!!!  I’m excited to get it out of my basement and where people can see it. 

Mr. Pumpkinhead

We made pumpkins today using spare parts from Mr. Potato Head.  It’s nice because we can change them up whenever we want from now till Halloween and they look SO cute sitting on the porch.

Shopping Trip 10/6/2009

 

I was hoping to stay away from all stores this week (after splurging this past weekend at the mall – blech!) But I realized I had to go use up one of my WIC checks so I might as well take advantage of some deals, right?  I hit up Walgreens, Festival Foods & Kohl’s.  At Walgreens I got 50 pictures for $5… this included a few for my daycare parents, some for my husband to put on his toolbox at work, some for my parents and of course, some for myself.  I also got 2 packs of Trident layers gum (new) for $FREE!!!  lol… I got 2 boxes of Jello for 25 cents each and a few other great deals. 

At Festival I used up my WIC check.  Yes, we qualify for WIC, just barely.  I take advantage of it because of all the milk.  We go through a lot of milk in this house and it is a tremendous help to have WIC.  I do not look forward to the day when we don’t qualify (which will most likely be very soon).  While at the store I also brought lots of coupons… we got a bunch of cereals for $1.68 a piece (Fruity Pebbles & Honeycombs – hubby’s fave), pasta sauces for $0.89, bananas for $0.19 lb., etc. 

So for all of the “groceries” yesterday, I spent a total of $26.36 which was well under our norm of $50 a week and still under my predicted $30 for the week. 

Then came Kohl’s.  I was a bit worried about going there for a purse.  Kohl’s does run good deals but they are a bit higher priced than I normally like to spend.  I really needed a purse.  My little purse just isn’t doing it for me anymore and I need more room.  I finally found one and of course, there was no tag on it.  Nothing.  Not even a barcode or anything.  There were no others like it (and yes, I found it on the clearance rack).  So I went to checkout and they had to try to find a matching one… they found a similar one (with a different strap) and took the price off of there which was $10.40 on sale.  Regular price was $52.  Then came my mom’s handy dandy percentage off coupon for 30% off!  So it ended up being $7.64.  I saved $44.72!!!

I started keeping track of what I spend and what I save September 27, 2009 (this includes EVERYTHING – eating out, gas, groceries, etc.) and so far, I’ve spent $475.37 which seems like a lot but I have saved $364.16!!!  That’s 77% savings!!!  Alright, I am done… lol…

Piggly Wiggly Score!

 

Today I was checking out the ads for the grocery stores and I noticed a great deal at Piggly Wiggly.  They had on sale some cereal, yogurts, granola bars & fruit snacks for $1.50 each when you buy 10 total.  Not only this but when you spend $5 on this deal, you get a free gallon of milk soooo.. I pulled out my coupons and started matching them up.  I ended up with this when I left the store:

2 boxes of Cheerios

4 boxes of Lucky Charms

2 boxes of Fruit by the Foot

1 box of fruit snacks

3 boxes of granola bars

2 – 4 packs of yo-plus yogurt

2 boxes of gogurts

4 – 6 packs of trix yogurts

2 gallons of 1% milk

2 gallons of 2% milk

and my grand total was $17.30!!!  That’s $0.72 a piece (including milk!)  WHOO!  I feel like I won the lottery!  lol… just had to share… the deal is only good until tomorrow.  Wednesday they start a new ad.  It was nice to clear out some of those coupons as well!

I Dream of Cakes

 

I really do.  I’ve baked and decorated just over 100 cakes since beginning my “journey” 3 1/2 years ago.  I’m still not completely confident in what I do but I’m getting better.  I still plan waaay ahead of time in doing these cakes, especially when they’re for a paying client.  I stress so much over these cakes that I tend to dream about them the night before I decorate.  I say “stress” but I really do love it.  They give me a challenge.  Everyone tells me that I should open a bakery but bakeries also mean making breads, donuts, etc. and I’m just not into that.  I wish I could just do cakes and a few at that… not that I would be tied up constantly.  I hate being away from my kids.  Maybe once they get bigger and I train them to do cakes, we can open up our own cake shop like Charm City Cakes and charge $1,000 minimum per order… lol… we can dream, right?

I have another cake coming up in mid-October and then I’m taking a break until after Christmas.  I’m looking forward to the break… the holidays will be crazy around here and I plan to go full force into Christmas.  We’re breaking out all the candy molds and recipes to make gift baskets this year.  All of my wrapping is done and I would say 90% of the shopping is as well.  I’m waiting on the previews of Black Friday to come out to see what kind of deals we can score on.  Time to watch Nemo with my kids and do some more cake dreams… sweet dreams everyone :)

Steals & Deals!!! 9/22/09

There are just so many great deals out there, I would love to share them with some of you!  Sooo… I’m going to make frequent posts about what I find online and hopefully you can take advantage of these as well!

$3 OFF Sara Lee Pre Sliced Deli Meats – Just sign up to become a fan on facebook of these delicious meats and you’ll get a coupon in your email!  Super easy and I can’t see them costing much more than the $3 so look how cheap it’ll be!!!

FREE Museum Admission 9/26

You read right, FREE!  Check this website to find a museum near you that will be accepting these.  Simply fill out the admission card form and print one off.  It’s good for you and a guest!  I plan on taking my son to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum to check out the cool submarine!

FREE Meal in Vegas 9/30

Oh how I wish I could use this deal!  Unfortunately, I’m stuck here in Wisconsin :( so those of you lucky enough to be in Vegas (or live there!) check this out!  The first 400 in the door on September 30, 2009 from 11am-3pm will get a free buffet with this coupon!  Enjoy!

So there you go!

Good Mail Day!

I love the days when you don’t get bills!  After returning from a 2 mile walk (3 kids on a double stroller) to a rummage sale (I scored a stainless steel garbage can for 75 cents!!!  Those retail for $30+!!!) I checked my mail and there was something from US Bank which made me think “YUCK, my credit card bill…” lol… much to my surprise, it was a gift card to Hobby Lobby!!!  I finally reached my rewards bonus and got my prize!  So… thanks to booking Disney World, buying 2 new sets of tires for our vehicles, Halloween costumes, a laptop and various other items, I will now be going to Hobby Lobby to shop :)  There was also a package at my door with my new towels from Kohl’s… I’m SO excited to get new towels!  And for 6 of them, it only costed me $8 total (that’s WITH shipping!)  Whoo!  Good day so far!

Wipee’s

 

I’ve been using cloth diapers since April.  Dominic wore them for about 2 months until he was potty trained and Lucy has been wearing them since then.  They’re a bit of a PITA but the money saved is unbelievable.  I figured I spent about $200 on my “stash” which is what I would’ve spent on disposables up until about now so any money I save now is clear and free.  I’ve been having to buy a lot of wipes though.  It seems I use these more than ever.  They’re great for spills, dirty faces/hands/knees, etc.  Even though I buy the “value pack” to save money, it’s still money wasted IMO.  Sooo… I made my own.  My lovely husband does not know this yet and I’m not really sure how thrilled he will be about it.  I figured for the wet changes, these will be great.  Any of the “dirtier” diapers may take the disposable wipes.  I got the cutest pattern at Hobby Lobby for these and only spent $3 for 16 wipes which will probably get us through 4 days (the same amount of time our fuzzibunz last us so they can all go in the wash together.  Here’s pictures:

I made a little spray to make the wipes moist using baby shampoo, oil & water. 

Fizzy Bath Bomb Cupcakes

http://www.makeandtakes.com/fizzy-bath-bomb-cupcakes

These are just TOO cute!  I love the look of them.  Check out the website for more great ideas… fantastic creativity!  I wish I had more time… I would definitely add these to my gift baskets!

The New Bookshelves!!!

My Freezer Stash

I really want to do the “Once a Month Cooking” that I posted previously about.  In order to do this, I have come to terms with the fact that I need to clear out of my freezer first.  We need to eat everything that I have been keeping in there and we need to defrost the one in the basement before I can even dream of starting this cooking adventure.  So, last night I took inventory.  I thought my husband was going to die when he saw everything lined up on our counters from the freezer upstairs alone.  In a way, I was horrified but this could probably be a blessing in disguise.  After going through it all, we probably won’t have to spend more than $10 a week in groceries for the next 2 months (not including my husbands pizza infatuation).  We have a full size freezer in the basement as well as the regular one on top of our fridge upstairs.  Here’s a list of everything I counted:

Breads
6 Zucchini Bread Loaves
65 Waffles
1 Package of Bagels
8 Slices Parmesan Garlic Toast
4 Slices Texas Toast
5 Packages of Hamburger Buns

Vegetables
2 Bags of Sweet Corn
6 Stir Fry Mixes
3 Bags of Green Beans
2 Mexican Style Mixes
1 Peppers Mix
1 Fiesta Style Mix
1 Onion Mix
1 Asian Mix
1 Bag of Caribbean Blend (broccoli, carrots, green beans & peppers)
2 Bags of French Fries
3 Meals of Garlic Mashed Potatoes
1 Bag of Hashbrowns
1 Bag of Chopped Green Peppers

Fruits
2 Bags of Strawberries
Bag of Mixed Fruit

Treats
Box of Popsicles
2 Gallons of Vanilla Ice Cream
6 Strawberry Cupcakes

Meat
1 Package of Ribs on a Stick
Bag of Meatballs (a few left in the bag upstairs)
Chuck Roast
3 Pounds of Ground Beef
2 Pounds of Bacon
6 Packs of Hot Dogs
14 Hot Dogs in a Bag
4 Hot Dogs from Meat Factory
Small Bowl of Sloppy Joe Mix
1 Pack of Bologna
Sirloin Steak  Hamburger Patties
Lentil Taco Mixture
Ham Bone

Chicken
6.25 Pounds of Skinless/Bonless Chicken Breasts
2 Bags of Dino Nuggets
1 Pound of Ground Turkey
Whole Chicken

Seafood
4 Pounds of Crab Legs
1/2 Bag of Fish Sticks
Brown Trout Fillet
2 Catfish Fillets
3 Packs of Blue Gills
3 Pieces of Parmesan Tilapia

Cheese
4 Packs of Kraft Cheese Singles
3 Bags of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Now I will have the lovely task of making up meal plans for the next few months using these things (and a few other ingredients)… wish me luck!!!

Once a Month Cooking – Too Good To Be True!

What a GREAT idea!!!  I always feel like I spend at least an hour or more a day just cooking.  I really HATE that.  lol… it makes me feel like I’m wasting my time!  I love to have food ready so that I can just pop it in the microwave and eat BUT I can’t stand eating those tv dinners.  Leftovers are great but there’s still that initial cooking of the food only days prior so that you can have leftovers and you get sick of them pretty quick.  It’s a lot harder with our family since my husband is such a picky eater and rarely eats what we’re having.

I found this website:  http://onceamonthmom.com and this lady ROCKS!  She comes up with menus, recipes & shopping lists for you to do once a month cooking.  Everything is figured out for you and here’s the real kicker… it’s FREE!!!  I am so tempted to get started but I need to clear out my freezer first and defrost soooo we’re working on that this month.  I didn’t plan on having a $10 a week grocery bill but it looks like that’s what we’re trying for in the month of September.  Hopefully by November, I can try one of these plans that she puts together.

Gutter Bookshelves

I saw this idea awhile back and just LOVED it.  I had to talk my husband into it but after finding pictures online, he’s onboard.  I went to Menard’s to check on prices today and they have a great sale going on: 10 feet of vinyl or aluminum rain gutters for only $0.99 after the mail in rebate.  I plan to get 2 of these sections this week, have my wonderful hubby cut them into thirds and install them in each of the kid’s rooms.  We’ll have plenty of book storage and what I love about it the most is that the books are all on display… not just thrown in the bottom of a toy box to be covered by other toys.  Yippee!

Here’s the link if you’d like to copy this idea as well:

FamilyFun: Rain Gutter Bookshelves - and More Family Fun

Grocery Trip

Last night I made a trip to the grocery store (actually 2 of them). Our budget for groceries is a little bigger for this week since we’re having a birthday party this week for our daughter so it’s a little more than normal but I think I did pretty good with all of the coupons and deals. Here’s how it broke down:

Copps

32 Items (including 4 lbs. of crab legs, 10 packs of hamburger buns, ice cream, fruit, hot dogs, pizzas & cereal plus a few other misc. items)

Total Regular Cost: $99.79

What I paid after coupons: $50.93

Festival Foods

31 Items (including 15 pizzas for my picky husband, cereal, hot dogs, bologna, lunchables-normally I wouldn’t buy these but they were only $1 so I got 2; cheese & butter)

Total Regular Cost: $95.28

What I paid after coupons: $62.52

---------------------------------------------------------------

Total cost if I hadn’t used coupons: $195.07

What I actually paid: $113.45

What I saved: $81.62

Sooo… even though, the grocery trip is OVER double what I usually spend in a normal week, we did get a lot for freezing (pizzas, hot dogs, bologna, cheese, crab legs-YUM!) and hopefully we’ll be able to do another month coming up with only $10 trips to the stores again (those are great months!)

Free Stuff!!!

If you don’t know about Swagbucks yet, you have GOT to sign up for it!  It is free and simple to do.  Just use swagbucks.com for doing all of your web browsing.  They have a simple toolbar you can download or go to the site to do your searches (just like google or yahoo).  You get points for some searches (usually two searches a day will turn up 1-3 points each).  These ‘swagbucks’ add up quick and then you can cash them in for prizes… there are gift cards, cash (paypal), and all kinds of neat gear.  Why not use swagbucks to search?  It’s free and you’ll get stuff for doing it!  Here’s the address if you’re interested in signing up: http://swagbucks.com/refer/budafam

I’ve been using the site since June and have racked up over $15 for free from Amazon.com (you can buy TONS of stuff there!)  I’m saving it up for Christmas gifts!

First Time

Here’s my first blog entry.  I usually say everything I need to on Facebook but thought this would be kinda nice to keep track (kinda like a journal of sorts).  Life is so busy, here I’ll be able to keep track of crafts, cakes, daycare, money saving tips & more.  It’ll be a hodge podge of blogging… lol.  So thanks for visiting and reading my first!  Many more to come!