Y'all know how much I like the $5 dinners site. She doing another great giveaway that I wanted to tell you about. 10 winners will receive 10 coupons each for free cans of Swanson chicken breast. Enter HERE. Good luck!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
$5 dinners giveaway
Y'all know how much I like the $5 dinners site. She doing another great giveaway that I wanted to tell you about. 10 winners will receive 10 coupons each for free cans of Swanson chicken breast. Enter HERE. Good luck!
Santa Fe Soup
This recipe is something I make a lot. It's easy, it's cheap, and it feeds a lot of people (or a couple of people a lot of times). I've seen variations of this recipe on the internet, but this is the way I make it. I got this recipe from a friend about 10 years ago. She got it from her sister. I don't know where her sister got it, but I'm glad she passed it on. I've also passed it on. To a lot of people. I haven't met anyone yet who doesn't like it. I hope you'll like it too.
Santa Fe Soup
1 pound ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
1 onion (chopped)
1 can of Rotel tomatoes with chilies
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can northern beans
1 can black beans
Brown your ground beef, drain off the fat and return to the pot. Add the chopped up onion and cook a little bit more., then add the taco seasoning and stir it up real good.
Open all the cans of stuff, but don't drain them, and pour them in the pot. See, I told you this was easy.
Stir it up real good again and bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat and let it simmer about 45 minutes or until you get really hungry and don't want to wait any more.
Put it in a bowl and add some shredded cheese of your choice and sour cream if you like. Grab some tortilla chips and om nom nom. (That's lolspeak for eat it up!)
Santa Fe Soup
1 pound ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
1 onion (chopped)
1 can of Rotel tomatoes with chilies
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can northern beans
1 can black beans
Brown your ground beef, drain off the fat and return to the pot. Add the chopped up onion and cook a little bit more., then add the taco seasoning and stir it up real good.
Open all the cans of stuff, but don't drain them, and pour them in the pot. See, I told you this was easy.
Stir it up real good again and bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat and let it simmer about 45 minutes or until you get really hungry and don't want to wait any more.
Put it in a bowl and add some shredded cheese of your choice and sour cream if you like. Grab some tortilla chips and om nom nom. (That's lolspeak for eat it up!)
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
FAIL
***WARNING***CONTENT MAY BE OFFENSIVE***
Like many of you probably do, I read a lot of the blogs I subscribe to in my Google reader. Well, the other day I was reading along like I usually do and came to a post from PassiveAggressiveNotes.com. If you're not familiar with it, it consists of user submitted, passive aggressive notes. Some were written to the users who submit them, other are found. I think a lot of them are pretty funny. Maybe it's because I'm a bit passive aggressive myself, or maybe it's just because I have a weird sense of humor. Here's the post as it appeared on the website. Here's the post as it appeared in my Google Reader:
(Click image for larger view.)
Did ya look real close at the Google Ad at the bottom. Yeah it's a shopping ad for boys dick.
I don't know how many of you have sick and twisted senses of humor like I do, but I'm guessing a few of you may have heard about the humor blog, FAIL Blog. When I saw that ad, all I could think was "Google Ad FAIL." I think I'll go see if I can figure out how to submit this to FAIL Blog now. Thank you, that is all.
Like many of you probably do, I read a lot of the blogs I subscribe to in my Google reader. Well, the other day I was reading along like I usually do and came to a post from PassiveAggressiveNotes.com. If you're not familiar with it, it consists of user submitted, passive aggressive notes. Some were written to the users who submit them, other are found. I think a lot of them are pretty funny. Maybe it's because I'm a bit passive aggressive myself, or maybe it's just because I have a weird sense of humor. Here's the post as it appeared on the website. Here's the post as it appeared in my Google Reader:
(Click image for larger view.)
Did ya look real close at the Google Ad at the bottom. Yeah it's a shopping ad for boys dick.I don't know how many of you have sick and twisted senses of humor like I do, but I'm guessing a few of you may have heard about the humor blog, FAIL Blog. When I saw that ad, all I could think was "Google Ad FAIL." I think I'll go see if I can figure out how to submit this to FAIL Blog now. Thank you, that is all.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Menu Plan Monday
Here's the menu plan for January 26 - February 1.
Breakfasts:
Cold cereal, oatmeal, grits & toast, Fiber One bars
Lunches:
Leftovers, sandwiches, soup
Suppers:
Monday - Red beans and rice with cornbread (ended up cooking that last night and we have lots of leftovers).
Tuesday - Santa Fe Soup (This is a really easy recipe, I'll try to post it Tuesday.)
Wednesday - Chicken club ring
Thursday - Hamburger Helper
Friday - Fiesta Lime Chicken
Saturday - Breakfast for supper: Pancakes, sausage, eggs
Sunday - Mr. McHacker won't be here for supper, so I'll probably just eat cereal :-)
Sunday, January 25, 2009
I've seen 149 out of 239 films
One of the blogs I lurk is Valley Life in Alaska. It's a good one, check it out. So anyway, she did this post about how many of these movies you've seen. I like movies and I've seen a lot of them, so I thought this would be a fun post to do. Like she said, it's another way to get to know each other. If you would like, copy and paste the list and delete and add the (x) where appropriate for you.
(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
(x) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
Total so far: 10
(x) The Princess Bride
(x) Anchorman
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
(x) Saw
(x) Saw II
() White Noise
() White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
() The Princess Diaries
() The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 18
(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
() Scream 3
(x) Scary Movie
(x) Scary Movie 2
() Scary Movie 3
() Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
() American Wedding
() American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 24
(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
(x) Resident Evil 1
(x) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
() Little Black Book
(x) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 33
(x) Finding Nemo
(x) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
(x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
() White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
() 13 Going on 30 (Suddenly 30)
(x) I, Robot
() Robots
Total so far: 40
(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
() Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
() Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
() KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
(x) Eight Crazy Nights
(x) Joe Dirt
() KING KONG (2003)
Total so far: 48
() A Cinderella Story
(x) The Terminal
() The Lizzie McGuire Movie
() Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
() Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
(x) Final Destination 2
(x) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
(x) The Ring
() The Ring 2
() Surviving X-MAS
(x) Flubber
Total so far: 55
(x) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
() Ghost Ship
(x) From Hell
(x) Hellboy
(x) Secret Window
() I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
() The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 62
(x) The Day After Tomorrow
() Child’s Play
() Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
() Just Married
() Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
() Coach Carter
() The Grudge
() The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
() Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 68
(x) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys 2
(x) Joy Ride
(x) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean’s Eleven
(x) Ocean’s Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremacy
() Lone Star
(x) Bedazzled
() Predator I
() Predator II
() The Fog
(x) Ice Age
(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
() Curious George
Total so far: 79
(x) Independence Day
() Cujo
() A Bronx Tale
() Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(x) ET
(x) Children of the Corn
() My Bosses Daughter
() Maid in Manhattan
() War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 85
() Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She’s All That
() Calendar Girls
(x) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
() Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 96
(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
(x) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
() Sky High
(x) Jeepers Creepers
() Jeepers Creepers 2
() Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
(x) Reign of Fire
(x) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
() Cruel Intentions 2
() The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
Total so far: 109
() Swimfan
() Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
() The Notebook
() K-Pax
() Krippendorf’s Tribe
(x) A Walk to Remember
() Ice Castles
() Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 112
(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 118
() Baseketball
() Hostel
() Waiting for Guffman
() House of 1000 Corpses
() Devils Reject
(x) Elf
(x) Highlander
() Mothman Prophecies
() American History X
() Three
Total so Far: 120
() The Jacket
(x) Kung Fu Hustle
(x) Shaolin Soccer
() Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
() Willard
Total so far: 126
() High Tension
() Club Dread
(x) Hulk
(x) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
() Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days later
() Orgazmo
() Phantasm
(x) Waterworld
Total so far: 131
(x) Kill Bill vol 1
(x) Kill Bill vol 2
() Mortal Kombat
() Wolf Creek
() Kingdom of Heaven
() The Hills Have Eyes
() I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
() The Last House on the Left
() Re-Animator
(x) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 134
(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
() Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
() Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 140
(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
() Animatrix
(x) Evil Dead
(x) Evil Dead 2
(x) Team America: World Police
(x) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
(x) Hannibal
Total so far: 149
Now Add them up and…
Put “I’ve seen … out of 239 films” in the subject line and repost it.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Menu Plan Monday
It's late, but hey, it's still Monday :-)
Breakfasts: cold cereal, oatmeal, Fiber One bars
Lunches: Sandwiches, soup, or leftovers
Suppers:
Monday - Southwest quiche, french fries (I know I make this a lot, but we like it).
Tuesday - Hamburger Helper, broccoli with cheese sauce
Wednesday - Chicken, rice, broccoli & cheese casserole
Thursday - Hamburgers, french fries
Friday - Red beans and rice with sausage
Saturday - Chicken Spaghetti, french bread
Sunday - Hamburger steak with gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole
Yeah, I know it's not very healthy, but it's better than fast food!
Breakfasts: cold cereal, oatmeal, Fiber One bars
Lunches: Sandwiches, soup, or leftovers
Suppers:
Monday - Southwest quiche, french fries (I know I make this a lot, but we like it).
Tuesday - Hamburger Helper, broccoli with cheese sauce
Wednesday - Chicken, rice, broccoli & cheese casserole
Thursday - Hamburgers, french fries
Friday - Red beans and rice with sausage
Saturday - Chicken Spaghetti, french bread
Sunday - Hamburger steak with gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole
Yeah, I know it's not very healthy, but it's better than fast food!
Lemonade Award
I recently started following a really great blog called Cheap by Choice. She's a fellow Mississippi blogger, who likes to save money, and shares lots of great tips for couponing and finding deals, on her website. And, Cheap by Choice was so kind to give me the Lemonade Award! I'm not sure I really deserve it, thanks so much!
The Lemonade Award is passed on to 10 people who have shown a great attitude or gratitude this week. I'd like to pass this one on to these blogs (in no particular order).
1. 50's Housewife
2. Dr. Wifey
3. Gitzen Girl
4. I Hate Whine
5. Views from Buzzard Roost
6. Deanna's Corner
7. My Boy and Me
8. Pleasant Drive
9. Tassie and her Random Thoughts
10. just write (This is my cousin, and one of my favorite people in the whole world. She's an unbelievably wonderful person and really deserves this award. She has a lovely way with words.)
"Do you know that special blogger that somehow finds a way to make lemonade out of the lemons life hands them? They are that certain blogger that is grateful for what has been given to them in this life? I do! And that is what this award is all about!
1. 50's Housewife
2. Dr. Wifey
3. Gitzen Girl
4. I Hate Whine
5. Views from Buzzard Roost
6. Deanna's Corner
7. My Boy and Me
8. Pleasant Drive
9. Tassie and her Random Thoughts
10. just write (This is my cousin, and one of my favorite people in the whole world. She's an unbelievably wonderful person and really deserves this award. She has a lovely way with words.)
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Last week's shopping trip
I should have already had this posted days ago, but the truth is I've been avoiding it. On purpose. I kind of went over my budget, and I hate to admit it.
I thought I could shop once a week. I think I might be wrong. I usually plan a month's worth of meals, then just do one major shopping trip a month to get what is needed for the meals, and just buy stuff like milk and bread when we run out. Now that I'm couponing, I feel like I NEED to shop every week so I don't miss a deal. It's driving me crazy.
I went to CVS, Walgreen's, Walmart, Dollar Tree, and Kroger all in the same day, (then Piggly Wiggly the next day). I bought a lot of stuff and spent a lot of money. I didn't take pictures because I had a raging headache when I got home and just wanted to get it put away so I could sleep.
Here are my totals:
CVS:
Suave deodorant - $2.00
Advil - $9.99 minus $1 MFG coupon = $8.99
Kotex - $3.69 minus $1 MFG coupon = $2. 69
Total = $14.78
Saved = $2.39
ECB earned = $1.00
Walgreen's: (WAG)
2 boxes Fiber One bars - $4.00 minus 2 $1.00 MFG coupons = $2.00
Lysol Wipes - $3.79 Buy one get one free (BOGO), minus $1 MFG = 2 for $2.79
Peter Pan Peanut Butter - $3.49 BOGO = 2 for $3.49
2 Glade air fresheners - $.89 each with WAG coupon, minus $1 MFG coupon = 2 for $0.89
Kleenex - $0.89 with WAG coupon
Bounty Basics Paper Towels - $0.89 with WAG coupon
Total = $11.88
Saved = $17.18
Walmart:
I'm not going to list everything from here because it was mainly just store brand food stuff with no great deals.
Total: $62.44
Dollar Tree:
Sandwich bags, wax paper, lime juice, minced garlic, tortilla chips, scrubber sponge, clearance Christmas candy (.25)
Total: $6.69
Kroger: I did get some good deals here, so I'll list it. Everything was on sale except for the milk, eggs, and rolls.
Honey Nut Cheerios - 3 $8, minus $1 MFG coupon = $7.00
Kroger red beans - $1.39
Healthy Choice Fresh Mixer - $3.29, minus $1 MFG coupon = $2.29
Hamburger Helper - 3 boxes @ $1 each, minus $1/3 MFG coupon = 3/ $2.00
Kroger shredded cheese - 4 @ $2.00 each = $8.00
Kroger crescent rolls - $1.67
Kroger gallon milk - $3.97
Activia yogurt - $2.00, minus $1 MFG = $1.00
Kroger sour cream - $0.99
Kroger eggs - $1.61
Green Giant frozen boxed vegetables - 4 @ 1.00 each, minus $.50/2 coupon, $1/2 coupon, and bonus coupon loaded onto Kroger card from website = 4/ $2.00
3 Lean Cuisines - $1.88 each, minus catalina coupon $1/3 = 3/ $4.64
Onions - $2.00
Potatoes - $2.00
Saltine crackers - $1.25
2 small packages Kroger honey turkey lunch meat - $0.29 each = $0.58
Kroger smoked sausage = $2.50
Kroger sandwich bread - $1.00
Total: $50.09
Total saved: $32.54
Got catalina coupons for $1/6 Lean Cuisine, and $1.50 on 4 General Mills cereals
Piggly Wiggly: When I decided to bake cookies and make Mr. McHacker's birthday cake, I realized I was out of brown sugar and shortening, things I needed for cookies and cake. So I went to the Pig cause it's the closest
Total: $6.08
Total for all stores: $151.96
Year to date total spent: $211.53
Year to date left in budget: 1608.47
Year to date savings using Manufacturer's coupons: $21.25
That makes me $59.86 over budget for January. See what I mean? Everything I bought was stuff we needed, and I'm so used to buying enough to last a month at a time, it's hard trying to change. *Driving me crazy.* So I'm not sure what to do. Do I continue to buy things of they are really cheap and a great deal, or do I not spend any more money until next month?(We have enough food to do that). Does it matter how much I spend monthly, as long as I'm within budget at the end of the year?
I know I'm new at this, so I'm hoping that I will get better at finding deals and using coupons. I'm off to browse the forums at Hot Coupon World and hope I can learn something!
I thought I could shop once a week. I think I might be wrong. I usually plan a month's worth of meals, then just do one major shopping trip a month to get what is needed for the meals, and just buy stuff like milk and bread when we run out. Now that I'm couponing, I feel like I NEED to shop every week so I don't miss a deal. It's driving me crazy.
I went to CVS, Walgreen's, Walmart, Dollar Tree, and Kroger all in the same day, (then Piggly Wiggly the next day). I bought a lot of stuff and spent a lot of money. I didn't take pictures because I had a raging headache when I got home and just wanted to get it put away so I could sleep.
Here are my totals:
CVS:
Suave deodorant - $2.00
Advil - $9.99 minus $1 MFG coupon = $8.99
Kotex - $3.69 minus $1 MFG coupon = $2. 69
Total = $14.78
Saved = $2.39
ECB earned = $1.00
Walgreen's: (WAG)
2 boxes Fiber One bars - $4.00 minus 2 $1.00 MFG coupons = $2.00
Lysol Wipes - $3.79 Buy one get one free (BOGO), minus $1 MFG = 2 for $2.79
Peter Pan Peanut Butter - $3.49 BOGO = 2 for $3.49
2 Glade air fresheners - $.89 each with WAG coupon, minus $1 MFG coupon = 2 for $0.89
Kleenex - $0.89 with WAG coupon
Bounty Basics Paper Towels - $0.89 with WAG coupon
Total = $11.88
Saved = $17.18
Walmart:
I'm not going to list everything from here because it was mainly just store brand food stuff with no great deals.
Total: $62.44
Dollar Tree:
Sandwich bags, wax paper, lime juice, minced garlic, tortilla chips, scrubber sponge, clearance Christmas candy (.25)
Total: $6.69
Kroger: I did get some good deals here, so I'll list it. Everything was on sale except for the milk, eggs, and rolls.
Honey Nut Cheerios - 3 $8, minus $1 MFG coupon = $7.00
Kroger red beans - $1.39
Healthy Choice Fresh Mixer - $3.29, minus $1 MFG coupon = $2.29
Hamburger Helper - 3 boxes @ $1 each, minus $1/3 MFG coupon = 3/ $2.00
Kroger shredded cheese - 4 @ $2.00 each = $8.00
Kroger crescent rolls - $1.67
Kroger gallon milk - $3.97
Activia yogurt - $2.00, minus $1 MFG = $1.00
Kroger sour cream - $0.99
Kroger eggs - $1.61
Green Giant frozen boxed vegetables - 4 @ 1.00 each, minus $.50/2 coupon, $1/2 coupon, and bonus coupon loaded onto Kroger card from website = 4/ $2.00
3 Lean Cuisines - $1.88 each, minus catalina coupon $1/3 = 3/ $4.64
Onions - $2.00
Potatoes - $2.00
Saltine crackers - $1.25
2 small packages Kroger honey turkey lunch meat - $0.29 each = $0.58
Kroger smoked sausage = $2.50
Kroger sandwich bread - $1.00
Total: $50.09
Total saved: $32.54
Got catalina coupons for $1/6 Lean Cuisine, and $1.50 on 4 General Mills cereals
Piggly Wiggly: When I decided to bake cookies and make Mr. McHacker's birthday cake, I realized I was out of brown sugar and shortening, things I needed for cookies and cake. So I went to the Pig cause it's the closest
Total: $6.08
Total for all stores: $151.96
Year to date total spent: $211.53
Year to date left in budget: 1608.47
Year to date savings using Manufacturer's coupons: $21.25
That makes me $59.86 over budget for January. See what I mean? Everything I bought was stuff we needed, and I'm so used to buying enough to last a month at a time, it's hard trying to change. *Driving me crazy.* So I'm not sure what to do. Do I continue to buy things of they are really cheap and a great deal, or do I not spend any more money until next month?(We have enough food to do that). Does it matter how much I spend monthly, as long as I'm within budget at the end of the year?
I know I'm new at this, so I'm hoping that I will get better at finding deals and using coupons. I'm off to browse the forums at Hot Coupon World and hope I can learn something!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Happy Birthday
Yesterday was Mr. McHacker's birthday, though he informed me last night that it would still be his birthday until the opening of the next business day, and since Monday is a holiday, we'll be celebrating around here till Tuesday morning.
Happie Burfday babby!!!
Have I mentioned that we are huge geeks and one of our favorite shows is Battlestar Galactica? Well we finally finished watching all of the DVDs of the past episodes in preparation for last night, the first new episode in a long time. Since we're saving money where we can, we don't have cable, so we went over to our friends' place and watched it with them and had a sort of birthday party for Mr. McHacker. I made chicken spaghetti (like this but I add a can of Rotel and leave out the bell pepper and pimento).
I also made him a birthday cake. Bless my sweet husband's heart. I wanted to make a really cool cake with the Battlestar Galactica emblem on it, like this:
But I didn't have time to do it like I wanted. So this is what he got instead:
For some reason, in the BSG universe, corners are cut off of books, papers, etc., that's why I cut off the corners. And frakking, well, you can learn about that word here.
So even though it wasn't beautiful, Mr. McHacker loved it. And I love him.
Happie Burfday babby!!!
Have I mentioned that we are huge geeks and one of our favorite shows is Battlestar Galactica? Well we finally finished watching all of the DVDs of the past episodes in preparation for last night, the first new episode in a long time. Since we're saving money where we can, we don't have cable, so we went over to our friends' place and watched it with them and had a sort of birthday party for Mr. McHacker. I made chicken spaghetti (like this but I add a can of Rotel and leave out the bell pepper and pimento).
I also made him a birthday cake. Bless my sweet husband's heart. I wanted to make a really cool cake with the Battlestar Galactica emblem on it, like this:
But I didn't have time to do it like I wanted. So this is what he got instead:
For some reason, in the BSG universe, corners are cut off of books, papers, etc., that's why I cut off the corners. And frakking, well, you can learn about that word here.So even though it wasn't beautiful, Mr. McHacker loved it. And I love him.
JANE4girls giveaway
I have some stuff to post later, but I wanted to go ahead and post this while I was thinking about it. You all know how I'm trying to save more money this year right? Well one of the blogs that I started reading has some really great information, tips, etc., for using coupons and being thrifty. It's called JANE4girls. You should check it out, she's amazing with the coupons!
She also has a giveaway going on right now for a set of reusable bags, called hotSACKS, that would be great for grocery shopping. Go ahead and take a look at her site, and enter the giveaway.
She also has a giveaway going on right now for a set of reusable bags, called hotSACKS, that would be great for grocery shopping. Go ahead and take a look at her site, and enter the giveaway.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Free bottle of Suave
In case any of you haven't heard about this, Suave is giving away coupons for a free bottle of any Suave shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, styling aid, body wash, or body lotion (up to $3.00). All you have to do is SIGN UP HERE, and they will mail you a coupon in a couple of weeks. This offer is good for TODAY ONLY, so don't wait.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Delurking Day
When I went over to Jenn's blog today, I saw that it was Delurking Day. I had not heard of this, but I think it's a great idea. So if you're reading this, leave a comment, I'd love to visit your blog or know what you think about mine.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Kroger shopping trip
Mr. McHacker and I did a little shopping at Kroger today so I thought I would post a pic and keep track of my total spent so far this year. My goal is $35 a week, with 52 weeks in a year, that makes my yearly budget $1820 for groceries. I hope I will actually spend a lot less than that once I get the hang of the couponing stuff a little better.
Today's purchases:
Bacon - sale@ $2.50
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts - sale $1.97 lb - 2 packages (14 breasts in all) = $13.71
Kroger ground beef (not in the picture)- 5 lbs @ $9.20
2 packs Kroger cheese @ 2/$5
2 Lean Cuisine @ $1.88 each minus $1off 2 coupon = $2.76
Kroger milk @ $2.19
Colgate toothpaste - sale $1.50 minus $0.75 coupon = $0.75
Kellogg's cereal - sale 3/$8 - buy 3 get $4 off = $4.00
Kroger eggs - sale 3/$4 = $1.34
tax = $3.30
coupon savings =$5.75
savings using Kroger card = $24.03
Today's total = $44.75
Year to date total spending = $59.57
Year to date left in budget = $1760.43
Today's savings wasn't nearly as good as I wanted it to be. Since I'm just getting started with coupons, I don't really have a good stash built up yet. Hopefully that will continue to get better. I wish my Kroger would double coupons, but they don't. They do take the internet printable ones though. And I just found out that Piggly Wiggly will double coupons up to $0.50, so I'm going to start getting their sale paper every week and see if I can find some good deals there. The grocery store sale papers come out here on Wednesdays, so I'm planning another grocery trip later in the week, hopefully with more savings than today.
Today's purchases:
Bacon - sale@ $2.50
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts - sale $1.97 lb - 2 packages (14 breasts in all) = $13.71
Kroger ground beef (not in the picture)- 5 lbs @ $9.20
2 packs Kroger cheese @ 2/$5
2 Lean Cuisine @ $1.88 each minus $1off 2 coupon = $2.76
Kroger milk @ $2.19
Colgate toothpaste - sale $1.50 minus $0.75 coupon = $0.75
Kellogg's cereal - sale 3/$8 - buy 3 get $4 off = $4.00
Kroger eggs - sale 3/$4 = $1.34
tax = $3.30
coupon savings =$5.75
savings using Kroger card = $24.03
Today's total = $44.75
Year to date total spending = $59.57
Year to date left in budget = $1760.43
Today's savings wasn't nearly as good as I wanted it to be. Since I'm just getting started with coupons, I don't really have a good stash built up yet. Hopefully that will continue to get better. I wish my Kroger would double coupons, but they don't. They do take the internet printable ones though. And I just found out that Piggly Wiggly will double coupons up to $0.50, so I'm going to start getting their sale paper every week and see if I can find some good deals there. The grocery store sale papers come out here on Wednesdays, so I'm planning another grocery trip later in the week, hopefully with more savings than today.
Lunch tote giveaway at $5 dinners
$5 Dinners is doing another giveaway that I thought you all might be interested in. It's for a really cute lunch tote. Go check it out, and good luck!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Google searches
I was just thinking that I wished I had something to post about. But not much has been going on around here these days. Then I remembered this post that I started and never posted. So here ya go...
I was looking at my Feedjit Live stats and found that some people get to my site by searching for some funny/strange stuff on google.
I had no idea that so many people would find my blog because of the post I wrote about my crazy Aunt Margie's mishap with a coconut pie.
I was looking at my Feedjit Live stats and found that some people get to my site by searching for some funny/strange stuff on google.
I had no idea that so many people would find my blog because of the post I wrote about my crazy Aunt Margie's mishap with a coconut pie.
- fingernail crystals
- food for fingernail
- i eat finger nails in my sandwiches
- fingernail found in food
No, I don't want to share HIM!
- i want to share my husband
- share my husband
- sharing my husband blog
This just makes me laugh, cause I think about that scene from the Boondocks.
- feed her the cheddar biscuits
I hope my recipes helped these folks out. :-)
- southwest quiche
- southwest quiche recipe
- southwest hashbrown quiche ( I don't think my recipe was what they were looking for).
- fannie farmer chicken pot pie
Not so funny, but they must've went through LOTS of pages before finding mine.
- rocky horror picture show audience participation
- rocky horror picture show mississippi
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
I'm a couponer
I'm sure y'all have figured out by now that I like saving money and finding bargains, right? Well, I've always been a "casual coupon user," using a coupon if I happen to come across one, but never really seriously using them. Until now.
One of my goals for this year is to spend only $35 a week on groceries and items like shampoo, dish soap, and stuff like that, consumables I guess you would say. I know to meet that goal, I'm gonna have to be one thrifty b*tch. That's where the coupons come in. I've been reading all these blogs of these ladies that save ridiculous amounts of money this way and thinking "I can do this!" I can't even explain how freakin' excited I am about saving money this way! It's kind of like a game to me. I think it's a sickness maybe.
So anyway, I went on my first "serious couponing" trip to Walgreen's yesterday, and am so excited about all the money I saved that I just had to make a post about it.
In the picture:
Arm & Hammer laundry detergent - Buy One Get One Free @ 6.99
Electrasol tabs - sale 3.49 minus 2.50 with MFG coupon= .99
Softsoap - Walgreen's coupon making it .99 minus .50 with MFG coupon = .49
Palmolive - sale 1.79 minus 1.00 with MFG coupon = .79
Hunt's tomato sauce - Walgreen's coupon making it 3/$1 minus 1.00 with MFG coupon = FREE
Progresso soup - Walgreen's coupon making it 4/$5 minus .50 with MFG coupon = 4.50
Pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream - sale 3.00 minus 3.00 with MFG = FREE
Total cost of today's trip = $14.82
Not too bad for a newbie I think.
Do any of you do the coupon thing?
One of my goals for this year is to spend only $35 a week on groceries and items like shampoo, dish soap, and stuff like that, consumables I guess you would say. I know to meet that goal, I'm gonna have to be one thrifty b*tch. That's where the coupons come in. I've been reading all these blogs of these ladies that save ridiculous amounts of money this way and thinking "I can do this!" I can't even explain how freakin' excited I am about saving money this way! It's kind of like a game to me. I think it's a sickness maybe.
So anyway, I went on my first "serious couponing" trip to Walgreen's yesterday, and am so excited about all the money I saved that I just had to make a post about it.
In the picture:
Arm & Hammer laundry detergent - Buy One Get One Free @ 6.99
Electrasol tabs - sale 3.49 minus 2.50 with MFG coupon= .99
Softsoap - Walgreen's coupon making it .99 minus .50 with MFG coupon = .49
Palmolive - sale 1.79 minus 1.00 with MFG coupon = .79
Hunt's tomato sauce - Walgreen's coupon making it 3/$1 minus 1.00 with MFG coupon = FREE
Progresso soup - Walgreen's coupon making it 4/$5 minus .50 with MFG coupon = 4.50
Pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream - sale 3.00 minus 3.00 with MFG = FREE
Total cost of today's trip = $14.82
Not too bad for a newbie I think.
Do any of you do the coupon thing?
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Random thoughts
I don't have a well put together post today. Just thought I'd write down some of the things floating around and bumping into each other in my head.
The other night, Saturday I guess it was, I finally saw Twilight. Tassie, who is an awesomely fun, great person that I haven't seen in forever but read her every blog post, called me up and said she was going to see it again for the 6th time (yes 6, that's not a typo), with another friend and asked if I would like to see it too. Well, y'all know I don't get out much, so I jumped at the opportunity. And as much as I hated to admit it, I really liked the movie. I didn't want to like it, but I did. Usually when something gets all hyped up and everybody and their mama like it, I run the other way. I guess it's the nonconformist in me screaming "I don't want to be like everybody else!" But alas, I guess I am like everybody else. Of course I want to see how the story of Bella and Edward continues, so I'm listening to the audio book on my mp3 player while I clean.
Speaking of cleaning, I've started doing the Flylady stuff again. I'm really serious about it this time. I even put together a Control Journal and everything. But right now I'm still decluttering, and boy do we have a lot of clutter. We also have too small of a space for all of the stuff we really do need. But I'm making the best of it and really am trying not to complain about the smallness of our apartment anymore. That will be the last time I say anything about it. For a while anyway. Or at least until I get pissed off about it again. Anyhoo.....
Today is my final counseling appointment. I've been going to my counselor, who is wonderful, since August of '07 when work and life became so overwhelming that I didn't know what to do. She's helped me a lot, more than I can say really, but hopefully this will be the last time I see her. I haven't taken any medication for depression or anxiety since October (yes, my doctor approved it) and my last counseling appointment was in October, so we scheduled this appointment because she wanted to see how I'm doing, off of medication. I'm doing great. I've finally learned to get my priorities straight and to do what's best for myself rather than do what I think is supposed to be done or to do what I think others expect of me. Sure, I have a bad day here and there, but so does everybody else. Life is good and I'm excited about the future - those are things I couldn't say a year ago.
I guess I've rambled enough, I need to go declutter and listen to some more Twilight! I hope you are all having a great day!
The other night, Saturday I guess it was, I finally saw Twilight. Tassie, who is an awesomely fun, great person that I haven't seen in forever but read her every blog post, called me up and said she was going to see it again for the 6th time (yes 6, that's not a typo), with another friend and asked if I would like to see it too. Well, y'all know I don't get out much, so I jumped at the opportunity. And as much as I hated to admit it, I really liked the movie. I didn't want to like it, but I did. Usually when something gets all hyped up and everybody and their mama like it, I run the other way. I guess it's the nonconformist in me screaming "I don't want to be like everybody else!" But alas, I guess I am like everybody else. Of course I want to see how the story of Bella and Edward continues, so I'm listening to the audio book on my mp3 player while I clean.
Speaking of cleaning, I've started doing the Flylady stuff again. I'm really serious about it this time. I even put together a Control Journal and everything. But right now I'm still decluttering, and boy do we have a lot of clutter. We also have too small of a space for all of the stuff we really do need. But I'm making the best of it and really am trying not to complain about the smallness of our apartment anymore. That will be the last time I say anything about it. For a while anyway. Or at least until I get pissed off about it again. Anyhoo.....
Today is my final counseling appointment. I've been going to my counselor, who is wonderful, since August of '07 when work and life became so overwhelming that I didn't know what to do. She's helped me a lot, more than I can say really, but hopefully this will be the last time I see her. I haven't taken any medication for depression or anxiety since October (yes, my doctor approved it) and my last counseling appointment was in October, so we scheduled this appointment because she wanted to see how I'm doing, off of medication. I'm doing great. I've finally learned to get my priorities straight and to do what's best for myself rather than do what I think is supposed to be done or to do what I think others expect of me. Sure, I have a bad day here and there, but so does everybody else. Life is good and I'm excited about the future - those are things I couldn't say a year ago.
I guess I've rambled enough, I need to go declutter and listen to some more Twilight! I hope you are all having a great day!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
$25 Kroger Giftcard giveaway
I don't know if any of you are familiar with fivedollardinners.com or not, but I wanted to let you know she is giving away a $25 Kroger gift card. $5 Dinners is a great site. She does a cost analysis of each meal and has lots of meals you can make for $5 or less. Go check it out.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Silly Saturday picture
This is my nephew Q. I posted about him one time before. He usually wears his hair in cornrow style braids, but on Christmas Eve and day, he had it down. Boy that kid's got a lot of hair! I just love this kid!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Pajamas
See, no more aprons today. The members of my family who didn't get an apron for Christmas, got pajamas.
The pattern is Simplicity 9871, and was a really easy pattern to use. I would even call it foolproof.
The pants were all made from repurposed sheets, of course. What else would I use ;-) For the tops, I bought a pack of Fruit of the Loom T-shirts and appliquéd initials or stuff to the front.
These were for my 9 year old niece.
My two youngest nephews got these. I love the monkey fabric. My youngest sister also got a similar pair of pants, and a red shirt to go with it, but I forgot to take a picture of hers. Somehow, none of little sister's stuff got photographed.
These were for my 14 year old niece. Well, she's not exactly my niece, she's sort of my sister's foster child, but I love her like she's my niece.
These were for my oldest nephew, he'll be 14 this month.
More crafty stuff later. Have a great day!
The pattern is Simplicity 9871, and was a really easy pattern to use. I would even call it foolproof.
The pants were all made from repurposed sheets, of course. What else would I use ;-) For the tops, I bought a pack of Fruit of the Loom T-shirts and appliquéd initials or stuff to the front.
These were for my 9 year old niece.
My two youngest nephews got these. I love the monkey fabric. My youngest sister also got a similar pair of pants, and a red shirt to go with it, but I forgot to take a picture of hers. Somehow, none of little sister's stuff got photographed.
These were for my 14 year old niece. Well, she's not exactly my niece, she's sort of my sister's foster child, but I love her like she's my niece.
These were for my oldest nephew, he'll be 14 this month.
More crafty stuff later. Have a great day!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Apron's for Mom and Dad
More aprons. Are y'all tired of them yet? Tomorrow will be pajamas.
Mom McHacker's favorite color is yellow, so I had to make her something yellow that she would really like. The main part of the apron is a repurposed tablecloth, and the black accents are from a pair of pants that came from a hand-me-down pants suit that I never wore. The pants were quite hideous, but the fabric looks much better as part of this apron. Thankfully she really loved it :-)
This is a tool belt apron I made for Dad McHacker. He's always working on something and I thought it might be handy for him to have an apron to hold tools and the like. It's made from a pair of repurposed Levi's jeans. I designed the pattern myself (as you can probably tell). Oh, and when sewing denim, get the Coats and Clark extra strong thread for jeans. It's really good stuff.
Happy New Year everyone! I hope today starts off a wonderful year for you.
Mom McHacker's favorite color is yellow, so I had to make her something yellow that she would really like. The main part of the apron is a repurposed tablecloth, and the black accents are from a pair of pants that came from a hand-me-down pants suit that I never wore. The pants were quite hideous, but the fabric looks much better as part of this apron. Thankfully she really loved it :-)
This is a tool belt apron I made for Dad McHacker. He's always working on something and I thought it might be handy for him to have an apron to hold tools and the like. It's made from a pair of repurposed Levi's jeans. I designed the pattern myself (as you can probably tell). Oh, and when sewing denim, get the Coats and Clark extra strong thread for jeans. It's really good stuff.
Happy New Year everyone! I hope today starts off a wonderful year for you.
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