Extreme Couponing

Disclaimer: I am not an extreme couponer.

Phew.

I'm glad I made that clear before I continued.

I spent my morning clipping coupons.  Store coupons, manufacturer coupons and internet coupons.  I got my stash ready and made my way to the store.  I knew going into the store that when I would be rung up that my total would not be zero.  I was okay with that, but I was trying something new today...stacking coupons.

Stacking coupons - that's when you combine store coupons and manufacturer coupons to get even better deals.  I've always been afraid to do this.  Fear that it wouldn't ring up.  Fear that I'd hold up 10 people in line and get dirty looks.  Fear that the clerk wouldn't know how to ring up coupons.  Fear that I'd be told I was an idiot and couldn't stack coupons.  Not today.  I walked in with coupons organized and list in hand.

As I was being rung up, I saw my total going up and up and I felt dread in my belly...what had I done?  Did I really need two bags of chocolate chips (I actually did, it was a condition of one of my coupons) and before I knew it, everything was accounted for.  I shakily handed over my coupons and saw the clerk go to work.  It wasn't bad at all.  It was actually exciting!  All but 2 of my manufacturer coupons even doubled! DOUBLED!  Madness I tell you.

I felt like buying another newspaper and doing it all over again!

I saved $70 off of my total.

I was one of those people who shook my head at that extreme couponing show, but I totally get it.  Can't wait for next week's ads to do it all over again!

Back to School Shopping

I think this is the first year I've done back to school shopping without Kaitlyn.

These days, she's too cool to hang out with us at home days before she's due to start school, so naturally she's at her friend's house.  She'd been there since yesterday morning and we probably won't see her until sometime tomorrow, maybe.

I probably bought way more than I should have and probably bought things she doesn't even need.  Like crayons.  8th graders need crayons right?  They were only like $0.74 so it was a total bargain...and she'll use them, maybe.

I figured out the problem with back to school shopping....places like Walmart (where I did my shopping) offer such great prices on everything that you feel everything is a bargain and therefore you must buy 1043 of them.  We bought a bag of mechanical pencils (20 count) for $1.49.  Really?  Is she really going to go through 20 mechanical pencils?  To top that off, I bought lead refills because they were only $0.99.  So not only will she not use the 20 pencils, she probably won't use all the lead either.  The real problem though is that I simply can't help myself.  I went down the aisle and just tossed things in.  By the time we were being rung up, I realized that I added about 10 portfolio folders.  10.  She could have probably used 3, maybe 4 but 10?

All in all, I spent too much money, bought things that aren't needed and still can't help but think that I forgot to get something.

I think I need help.

Getting Ready

Before I start my rant, has it really been this long since I've blogged?  The last post says February 14, that can't be right, can it?  Nearly two months ago.  Had I not failed Project 365 then, I most certainly would have by now :)

Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

The husband is in Chicago, attending a cousin's wedding.  Normally that means a carefree weekend with the kiddos except for the fact that when he returns on Monday, he's arriving with my MIL.  Immediately my weekend has done a 180.  The house needs a scrub down from top to bottom, in every room.  The new bed we bought (for my MIL to sleep in) has no sheets.  We have no laundry detergent and enough laundry to fill the entire weekend.  I need to buy groceries, so there's food to eat next week while she's here and the list goes on and on.

So, today will consist of going out and buying anything/everything we need and then coming home and getting to work.

This last week has been hectic and busy and I'm glad it's over.  I worked overtime on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  On Thursday and Friday, Kaitlyn had a dance recital each night - and was fantastic.  Nick left for Chicago on Friday, I saw an old friend and had our tub refinished, all in the same day.

On top of everything else, I have a wedding to get in shape for.  I have about a 4 month countdown window.

Wish me luck :)

Something different...

I'm laying in bed, posting to this blog using an iPad. I've got to say, it's actually pretty cool and very convenient. Lightweight and easy to use.

Decided to see just how easy this would be so I know what to do when I'm taking a break from angry birds :)

Project 365: EPIC FAIL

Man, did I set myself up for failure or what?

Project 365 was successful for what, 6 days?  How embarrassing!  I honestly wanted to succeed this one, but deep down, I knew....I knew it wouldn't happen, but I thought if I had the 4 of you who read this have something to look forward to, who were counting on me, that I would!

 Did the 4 of you really believe that? :o)

Now that that's out of the way....it's been a while.

There's not a whole lot to report...just some observations...

Work has been interesting, to say the least...
Kids are good....the munchkin is getting into everything!  To make matters worse, he's climbing everywhere.
I refuse to buy $9 underwear, it's not even that expensive at VS!
Shedding for the Wedding is an awesome title for a TV show
Got a new washing machine, hella cheap
Excited to switch back to Verizon - it'll mean no more dropped calls, no static, a brand new iPhone!
At this point, I've donated $50 to my sisters in the weight loss challenge as I haven't really done anything and weigh in is soon

Alright folks, more updates soon!

Project 365: Day 5

So, I'm going to cheat a little bit here.  This isn't a picture I took, but rather a couple of pictures of the kiddos that were taken by a co-worker who likes to dabble in photography.  I think they came out pretty good, especially the ones of the child that was cooperative.  One child, small, male, just over a year old, had a complete meltdown on photo day.  It explains why there's only about 4 pictures of him, and one of them, he's crying.

Anyway, here are my two favorites:

and

I think I've figured out the ONLY solution to the technical difficulties I've been having lately.  The cord to my iPhone is janky and my DSLR is way to huge to carry around; it's just not practical.  So, the solution is to go out and buy a simple point and shoot.  One that I can toss into my purse and use whenever I please.

Now it's just time to convince the husband ; )

Project 365: Technical Difficulties

I know this may seem like an excuse, but my cable for my iPhone won't connect to the laptop for me to upload days 3 and 4!

Since I can't post the pictures at this moment, let me tell you, they are AWESOME!

Day three was a picture of Owen running away from Wrigley when Wrigley was in the kitchen last night.  It's basically a dark shot, with Wrigley's head and a blur of Owen's head.

Day four is a shot today of Owen playing at the doctor's office.  Before the complete meltdown.

Which brings me to taking kiddos to the doctor.  So I tell my boss I need to come in late to take the boy to the Dr. for a check up.  You know the game telephone?  Keep that in mind...

I walk into work, and everyone comes up to me very concerned, wanting to know if my kid is ok and maybe I should take the whole day...When I tell them it's just a check up, I get this face of oh, ok.  They seem almost embarrased for asking.

It's kind of nice to know that people are genuinely concerned with things that happen in my life, I guess.

Today was a nightmare day though, it seems as if maybe I should have taken the day off.  I had so much to do, and so much I forgot to do and then to top it off, the person who is supposed to be helping me know how to do things, seems to not like me?  It's a strange and strained relationship it seems.

On the plus side, I walked to Subway for lunch.  It was nice to get out of the office and get fresh air, I might take a walk around the block every day.  It also helps with the whole be fit and healthy thing.

Here's to looking on the bright side!

Project 365: Day 3

As I lay in bed trying to get the boy asleep I have unsuccessfully tried to update this blog on my phone.

Picture 3 will be uploaded tomorrow.

Project 365: Already a failure?

So to the three of you that read this blog and my husband, Project 365 has already been a failure...or has it?

Granted, I didn't post a picture and blog yesterday, but I did take a picture.  I also took a picture today, so it's only a half failure : )

There's really no excuse for not posting yesterday, so I won't try to come up with one.  Instead, let's get started:

Day 1

This is what the house has been looking like for the past 3-4 weeks.  Giant tree.  GIANT.  I asked the husband and daughter to get a nice modest tree.  We've been buying baby trees the last few years, so I knew they wanted a tall tree.  I never expected this giant tree.  It was so full.  I was told, it was because we had a decent year and we should go all out.  What the husband and daughter failed to realize was that we have a 1 year old in the house, who like to grab ornaments.  You can kind of see it in this picture, but the tree is only decorated from the middle on up.  There are no ornaments on the bottom half of the tree and barely any lights.  So, we have this giant tree and can't even use it to its fullest.

A couple of things, in case you were wondering:  Husband is green, I'm red, daughter is purple, son is blue.  Also, I think World's Wildest Police Chases was on TV.

Now, onto today, Day 2:

Just like that, it's all gone.  It was my day to sleep in and when I woke up it was all gone.  It's not like I woke up at noon, I woke up at 9AM.  It was all put away.  I was kind of sad it was gone, but then I was so delighted!  No more baby eating pine needles, no more squeezing by to get to part of the couch, no more 1/4 of my living room gone.  And the best part?  I didn't have to deal with putting any of it away!

So now, I will put forth a better effort on Project 365.

Know this, if I don't post everyday, I will be taking pictures!