Quick: grab your printable diaper coupons!

If you haven't printed them yet, stop what you're doing right now and get yourself over to the Coupons.com widget in my right sidebar. There are two awesome diaper coupons available:-$5 off one Huggies Gentle Care product, and -$3 off one Huggies Natural Fit product. Both coupons have photos of diaper packages on them.

To get yours, click on the blue & gray box (just below my Fight FOCA button) where it says "See all coupons". Then, check the boxes of the two diaper coupons, and a third coupon of your choice (to avoid wasting paper). Then, click print- that's all there is to it!

Coupon Giveaway Winner

And the winner of my coupon giveaway is... comment #12: Rhonda!

rg______@yahoo.com said...
I'd love to share your coupons!
Thanks
Rhonda

The winner was chosen using the highly scientific method of asking my five year-old to pick a number between one and nineteen (total number of entries). :)

Rhonda, please email me with your snail mail address so I can get your coupons in the mail.

Reminder: It's Red Envelope time!

Don't forget to get your red envelopes in the mail today! If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out my prior post, or, visit the Red Envelope Campaign site. Let's flood the White House with red! :)

The Bargains Were Few, But Good

Nothing too exciting in the sales fliers this week for me... luckily we didn't need much. Here are the highlights of what I got today during my shopping trip:

Kroger:

• stocked up on $1 bags of frozen veggies
• Diaper deal: two bags of Kroger brand Comforts Diapers, regularly $6.99, on sale for $5.99, minus the printable $3 coupon here (can print twice)= $2.99 per bag. Thanks to Frugal in Virginia for that deal.
• Mucinex: at the risk of TMI, let me tell you-- this stuff is worth even paying full price if I have to. But... Kroger had it on sale for $9.99. At the pharmacy counter (where they needed my id to sell it to me) there was a tear pad with a $2 coupon. So, for a grand total of $7.99, I got a bargain AND I'll be able to breathe right for the first time in a week! :)

Save A Lot:

• Found a tear pad coupon: buy five side dish packets (noodles, rice- $1 each) and get a free package of smoked sausage. Since both items were on my list, this was a good deal for me.

As I said, nothing too exciting today... but still, a few good deals in the mix!

Don't forget to enter my coupon giveaway~

deadline is 7pm this Friday!

Coupon Giveaway

I'm cleaning out my coupon files and finding that I have plenty to spare, so I've decided to have a little giveaway here. I'll send one lucky winner an envelope full of my surplus coupons from various sources-- newspaper, magazines, tear pads, and whatever else I have. ;)

Standard giveaway entries apply:

• Comment on this post to enter, and please make sure I have some way to contact you.
• Subscribe to my feed (or follow me on Blogger) and leave a separate comment telling me that you did so for a second entry.
• Post about this giveaway on your blog and leave the link here in a separate comment for a third entry.
  

I'll pick the winner Friday evening (2/27) around 7pm Ohio time and post it here. This giveaway is now closed. The winner was Rhonda, comment #12.

Thanks to Mandie for the great graphic!

Entertainment Book: $4.50...no, wait, FREE!

I just discovered the Cashbaq site, thanks to Wendi @ The Freebie Blogger. Her post gave me the details on this deal:

• Sign up for Cashbaq (all that's required is your email & a password) and you are automatically credited $5.
• Order an Entertainment Book through Cashbaq's link (located on the lower right side of the main page), and you will receive another $10 in your Cashbaq account. My understanding is that the credit will appear once the transaction has cleared with your credit card company.
• Since the Entertainment Book for my area was discounted to $19.50 with free shipping, this was a good deal. I've paid full price for this book in the past, and found it to be well worth the full price cost of $30-35!
• But wait... it got even better. If you check "automatic renewal" on the Entertainment site, you get another $5 off. I hesitated a little on this one, worried that the automatic renewal might be difficult to cancel. But in the end I decided to go for it-- I don't have a problem marking things "return to sender" if they give me any trouble next year!
• Final out of pocket cost: $14.50.... but I'll get a $10 credit on Cashbaq for this purchase, plus my $5 credit for joining, meaning that I basically got it for FREE! Edited to add: earlier I'd posted this, happily reporting that my cost was only $4.50, but forgetting that the additional credit actually made it free! I actually made $.50 on the purchase!

As I said, full credit for this deal goes to Wendi- I'm just sharing it here because it was such a bargain for my family. I'd been waiting around for a good deal on this year's Entertainment Book, and this is the best deal I've found anywhere.

From the little bit of poking around I did on the Cashbaq site, I think I'm going to find a lot of other bargains there, too. You can choose to be paid by check or by Paypal, and they seem to have deals with many of the stores I regularly visit online.

NOTE: In the interest of full disclosure: yes, I get a few cents if you join Cashbaq through my link-- that's why it's linked up every time I mention it! ;)

ProLife Red Envelope Campaign

I LOVE this idea and I'll definitely be participating! There's a push to get as many of these in the mail as possible the weekend of February 28th.

From the Red Envelope Campaign:

The idea is simple. Bombard the White House with red envelopes to remind President Obama that the majority of Americans do not support his abortion policy.

You can participate easily, as often as you want. Just send an empty red envelope to the address below.

Address it to:

• President Barack Obama
• The White House
• 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
• Washington, DC 20500
  

Seal it and write the following message on the back:
This envelope represents one child who died in abortion. It is empty because that life was not allowed to offer anything to the world. Life begins with conception.

How easy is that? I love the image of thousands of red envelopes flooding the mail room at the White House.

If you don't have a red envelope, here are a couple of easy templates that you could use: here, here, and here. Make one out of construction paper, scrapbook paper, whatever. Just make it and get it in the mail the weekend of February 28th!

Sunday Scrappin'

TA-DA's: This week I can finally share a very belated Christmas gift that I finally got to deliver to my friend Sarah~ this cute little jar, filled with foot-shaped paper clips. It was fun to make and didn't take long at all to put together.

I also worked on altering my personal planner, but I don't have any finished photos to show yet. I had used regular adhesive to attach some pieces to the front cover, and they promptly came off after one day in my purse. It's back to the drawing board on that one!

TO-DO's: Finish up my planner and get busy on the scrapbook pages I keep meaning to do but never seem to quite get around to doing.

If you do any sort of paper crafts, I hope you'll join us for Sunday Scrappin'.... even if, like me (the hostess!), you post after Sunday! LOL!

Happy Valentine's Day

We don't really do Valentine's Day at my house in terms of the commercial stuff, like cards and flowers. DH and I have just never gotten into those "Hallmark holidays" like Valentine's Day or Sweetest Day. Instead, I'll make a special dinner for our family, and the kids and I will make some kind of heart-shaped dessert. However you spend it.... have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Thanks to Mandie for the great graphic!

This bloggy meeting will come to order...

... and there are two issues to discuss on our agenda this morning:

~ First, if you've stopped by from Works for Me Wednesday, hello! My post for today is one I actually published on Saturday- Homemade Hand Lotion. It definitely worked for me, so I thought it was worth linking it up with WFMW!

~Second, is anyone else having trouble with the pictures within my blog posts? I see the whole photos when I view my blog through my reader, but when I visit my actual blog, many of the photos are only partially showing up. I'm not sure if that's something to do with my computer or if others are seeing that, too--?? More importantly, does anyone know what's causing this or how to fix it?

Meeting adjourned. Whose turn was it to bring the donuts? ;)

Tuesday Scrappin'

Ta Da: I can finally share a gift set I'd created since I gave it to the intended recepient last week. I used THIS template once again to create another notepad set. The outer folder is double sided cardstock, and I stamped the plain red side with a Stampin' Up wheel.

The inside contains a mini legal pad, which I also ran the wheel over just for a little extra decoration.

The pens are so easy, but I love how they look. To create: take an RSVP pen, unscrew the end, remove ink, insert a piece of rolled up 3 1/2" x 7/8" card stock, replace pen parts, and you're done. Very easy!

To Do: This week I really want to get some pages done in my daughter's scrapbook- I have pieces and parts picked out, but nothing put together. I also need to make a birthday card and design a new cover for my personal planner.
P.S. I'm linking this post up with my Sunday Scrappin' meme.... yep, I'm a few days late, but, hey, it's my meme, and I'm OK with that. ;)

Judging by Psalm 14:1...

A funny story shared by my cousin George:

An atheist created a case against the Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter and Passover holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring,"Case dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant."

The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned."

P.S. No, it's not a true story... but it makes a point, doesn't it? ;)

Homemade Hand Lotion

Edited 2/11/09: After I posted this on Saturday, I realized that it would make a great WFMW tip, so I'm bumping this post up today and linking it up there. Check out Works for Me Wednesday for more great tips!

I've read about it online various places, and it's been on my to-try list forever, so this week I finally did it-- I made hand lotion! Now, for you purists, I didn't exactly make it from scratch, it's just a matter of a combining of pre-made products. Happily, those simple ingredients combine to create a super hydrating potion that is working wonders on my so-dry-they-bleed fingers.

There are variations on this recipe all over the internet (in a thread at SCS, a similar one posted on RecipeZaar, etc). The basic recipe I used here is in bold, with notes I how I actually did it in italics.

Homemade Hand Lotion: Amy's Way

• 2 9oz. bottles baby lotion Instead, I used one 16oz. bottle of store-brand night time baby lotion, because I love lavender and wanted that scent.
• 1 jar vaseline I used about half of the large size, store-brand jar. I softened it in the microwave for about 20 seconds to make it easier to blend.
• 1 16oz. jar Vitamin E cream Try as I might, I couldn't find the cream anywhere in my local stores. So, I subbed about 2/3 of a container of Vitamin E Oil , found in the vitamin aisle.
  

Combine ingredients with mixer in a metal bowl. Do not use plastic as it will absorb the scent and foods prepared in those plastic containers will taste like lotion. I actually used an old warehouse sized sour cream container, with the intent to recycle it afterwards, so I wasn't concerned about the lingering scent. I used my hand mixer to combine it, and washed the beaters immediately afterwards.

The results? A great lotion that really hydrates dry skin!

Two notes: first, I had a few lumps of petroleum jelly in my final product, so next time I'll make sure it's blended better. Second, it's a little sticky, and it takes a minute or two to completely soak into your skin. I just apply it at bedtime, so it doesn't bother me, but it might bother some people. Since I used Vitamin E Oil rather than cream, that might account for the sticky factor.

I spooned samples of this lotion into tiny square containers that I found 10/$1 at the Dollar Tree and passed them out to co-workers. Everyone seemed to enjoy the lotion, and I still have plenty to use myself. I'll definitely be making this again!

Small Successes

I stumbled across this Small Successes meme a few weeks ago and just loved the idea: share three small things that you got right this week. What a neat meme- it's both a way to reflect on your own week, and a way go out and encourage other moms. Check it out and join in with your own small successes!

Here are some small things that I got right this week:

1. This week I enjoyed thrift shopping, and I didn't come home with any unnecessary junk. It is so tempting to pile extra things in the cart when I see a good deal (like the $.50 clothes I found on Monday), even if that color/cut/item isn't exactly what we need. Countless times in the past I've brought something home from a thrift store only to have it wind up going directly into my outgoing donation bag. Not this week!
2. I cleared off the craft room floor. I had started to tackle the boxes and stacks of supplies that are stored in that room a few weeks ago, then got busy with other things and left my sorted piles all over the floor. I took an hour or so and cleared up the mess this week.
3. I finally made and shared the homemade hand lotion that I've been meaning to try. (I'll be sharing the recipe and results here on Saturday.) I made up a batch over the weekend, then spooned samples into containers ( found them 10/$1 at the Dollar Tree) and took it to work to share with my coworkers. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and I got to mark one more thing off of my giant list of projects that I want to try. :)
   
   

Fourth Photo Tag

My bloggy friend Carolyn tagged me a while back, and I'm finally getting around to playing this one. :) The idea is that you look in the fourth photo file on your computer, and post the fourth photo you find- no fair cheating or rearranging the photos!It just happens that the fourth folder on my home computer is a bunch of photos I took at work (nursing home) in June 2007 when we were creating a website. This one happens to be a resident's room that was in the process of being renovated- it had been gutted at this point. You'll be happy to know that the room now has walls (LOL!), new curtains, new lights, and new furniture, and the resident has long since moved back into his room.

I'm tagging.... YOU! If you'd like to play along, please leave a comment here and consider yourself tagged! :)

WFMW: coupons beyond the newspaper

The Sunday paper is a great source of coupons, but often, they aren't high-dollar amounts, or, they aren't for items my family would normally purchase. I've found several ways to get coupons on those items that we do use:

Print coupons of your choice online. Use the box in my right sidebar to print coupons from Coupons.com, a great source. These coupons change at the beginning of each month, so it pays to check the site regularly.

Visit the websites of your favorite products and sign up for their special offers. My email regularly contains special sales offers (I have a special email account set aside for this purpose) and my snail mail on Monday contained the following:

1. A JoAnn Fabrics preferred customer sale booklet with several coupons
2. a coupon from Boost Kids Drink for a free 6 pack (up to $14.99)
3. a flier from Little Crow Foods with six coupons
4. a flier from Ollie's Bargain Outlet with a special customer discount

And last but not least, if you haven't heard of All You magazine, go pick up a copy! The only place that I know of to purchase single issues is WalMart. The purchase price of the magazine is always more than paid for with the coupons found inside. Don't believe me? Check out Bargain Briana's All You coupon database.

Getting coupons I can use outside of what the newspaper offers... it definitely works for me! Visit Rocks in my Dryer for more great tips.

CVS: my deals on family favorites

I ran to CVS yesterday to pick up a couple of sale items:

Here's the run down:

• 2 boxes cereal: on sale 2/$5 -$1.50/2 coupon
• 1 lady speed stick~ sale price $2.50 - $.75 coupon
• 2 packs Irish Spring soap~ sale price @2.00 each -.50 coupon
• 2 boxes Alka Seltzer cold medicine~ $6.29 and $5.49 ~ sale price: buy 1 get 1 free - $1 coupon
• 2 boxes Tylenol ~ sale price $2.99 each - $1 coupon on each one

Total retail cost: $42.97

-sale price savings = - $18.44

-coupons = -$ 5.75

-used two ECB's = -$8.00

TOTAL OUT OF POCKET= $10.78

That's less than just the cold medicines alone!

Now, this is not the best I've ever done at CVS, but, all of these are the name brand items that we prefer, and all were significantly reduced in price. These are the kinds of deals that really make couponing worth it for me!

Edited on Saturday 2/7 to link up with The Centsible Sawyer's "CVS Superstars". Check it out to see the great deals others have scored this week at CVS!

My Thrifty Monday

Mondays are my favorite day to go thrifting- DS and I head out for the afternoon when DD gets on the kindergarten bus. My favorite local thrift store offers a deal on Mondays- anything tagged with the color of the day is only $.50. It's a great store normally, with better prices than Goodwill, but on Mondays it's even better. Then, if I have time, I head a few miles past that store and hit up another good thrift store, which offers 25% off on Mondays.

At the first store today I got: 3 pairs of *maternity pants (*Those are for my SISTER, not me! Do you think thrifted maternity clothes counts as a birthday present?!), a skirt, a raincoat for DS, a t-shirt for DS, a pair of overalls for DD, soccer shorts for DD, and two blouses for myself. Grand total? $9.32! I was very happy with that trip!

The second store wasn't as good, and it was very crowded today, which was frustrating. Still, I didn't make out too badly there... a pair of denim capris ($2.99) and a spring sweater for myself ($1.99), a pair of Winnie the Pooh overall shorts for DD ($.99), a pair of Osh Kosh overall shorts for DS ($.69), a Raggedy Ann tin ($.09), and a small Cookie Monster toy ($.09) that DS picked out (not pictured). The tin will go in the kids' bathroom upstairs, which is decorated in Raggedy Ann & Andy. The small toy? Well, let's just say that .09 was well spent in keeping DS occupied in the cart while I shopped! :)

After thrifting I ran through the WalGreen's drive-through to pick up a prescription, and then I hit CVS for a few deals. Come back tomorrow to see how my CVS deals went... and in the meantime, I'd love to hear about YOUR latest thrift store finds!