"Excuse me, but those don't double..."

I made my first trip to our local Harris Teeter for Super Double coupon week last night, and I didn't do great, but I didn't do poorly either. The Fayetteville Harris Teeter is not one to frequently restock hot items (like the Leland store did), so I guess unless you're there to beat the doors down at 7am on Wednesday morning, you're just out of luck. I ended up only using 16 of my 20 allowable coupons last night, but I was able to give tips and tricks to shoppers along the way. Grocery shopping would take half as much time if I didn't feel like I was somewhat obliged to help the clueless people clutching coupons in every aisle :)

I must have explained HT's rules and the "coupon game" 10 times last night - "No, you can only use 3 on any given item." "Here, see how this smaller package gives you a greater margin of savings?" "Just because that item is pictured doesn't mean that it's the only thing covered by the coupon....if it says "ANY" such-and-such product, you're free to go." and, my absolute favorite (to some people who I had been talking coupons with in the store...they decided to go for it by pulling the blinkies in the Pillsbury refrigerated bread section...) "Excuse me, but those don't double." (I then, of course, proceeded to tell them that coupons that begin in "5" double while those that begin with "9" never do. I also told them how you can go to Food Lion and pull their blinkies and then bring them to Harris Teeter.)

(UGH...Just lost my list that I had typed due to a Blogger error...not typing it again!)

Total Spent: $24.92
Total Saved: $54.83

Have a great day!


All my love,

Shopping at Walmart with Coupons

This will just be a quick post, but it has some points in it that I thought of while I was cleaning out my coupon book at Wal-Mart the other night.


1) W-M stocks just about EVERYTHING! You know those coupons that have been living in your book for months because you simply can't find the product??? You can probably find them there AND they'll probably be at a good price.

2) You can use as many coupons on an individual item as you would like. Harris Teeter only accepts 3 identical coupons. I used 9 tuna coupons at W-M the other night and walked out with 9 pouches of tuna for $.39 each. Not quite as good as a triples deal, but better than letting those coupons expire on 9/30/10 without being used!

3) Your margin of savings will be lower. It's about  50/50 shot as to whether the Great Value brand or the brand name item plus coupon will be cheaper. You win some; you lose some!

4) It's ESSENTIAL to carry a copy of W-M's coupon policy with you. I had it pulled up on my Blackberry the other night because I forgot to bring my printout and I almost had to use it. The cashier wasn't sure about accepting the blinkies I had pulled from Food Lion, but, thankfully, we were able to get it straightened out without me having to "prove" I was correct.

I hope that something here will help one of you save money! Have a great weekend!!!

All my love,

It's SUPER DOUBLES again...

and slacker me just went for the 1st time this morning.... :-/ There was just an overwhelming amount of work that I needed to do to my coupon book to get it back up to date and I was procrastinating! Last night, though, I made myself sit down and do it, so when I crawled into bed a little before midnight, I knew exactly what my plan was for today!!!

Here's the breakdown of deals I found:

*Hamburger/Tuna Helper (6) - Sale price $1/ea - $.75/3 coupon (doubled to $1.50 off 3) = $1.50/3 or $.50 ea
*Cinnamon Toast Crunch (2) - $2.50/ea - $1 off 2 coupon (doubled to $2) = $3/2 or $1.50ea
*Lucky Charms (2) - $2.50/ea - $1 off 2 coupon (doubled to $2) = $3/2 or $1.50ea
*Cheerios (2) - $2.50/ea - $1 off 2 coupon (doubled to $2) = $3/2 or $1.50ea
*Betty Crocker pouch potatoes - $.79 - $.40 coupon (doubled to $.79) = FREE
*Good Earth boxed dinner (2) - $3.50ea - 2 $1.00 off coupons (doubled to $2 off) = $3/2 or $1.50ea
*Progresso Soups (4) - $5.18 or $1.29/.30ea - $1.00 off 4 coupon (doubled to $2 off) = $.79/.80ea
*Campbell Chunky (2) - $1.25ea (and there was a coupon involved here, but I don't remember the amount :( )
*Smucker's Jelly ($2.75)+ Jif to Go peanut butter ($1.99) - $4.74 - $1 coupon (doubled to $2) = $2.74
*Chef Boyardee (3) - $1/ea - $.35/3 coupon (doubled to $.70) = $2.30 or $.76/.77ea
*Mini chocolate moon pies - $2.00 - $.55 coupon (doubled to $1.10) = $.90
*Libby's pineapple chunks - $1.85ea - $1/2 coupon = $1.70 or $.85ea
*Reduced angus chuck steak - $2.87
*Reduced angus chuck stear - $2.99
*HT Whole Chicken ($.59/lb) - $3.16
*Reduced HT "Pick of the Chicken" - $3.88
*Reduced HT "Pick of the Chicken" - $4.28
*Reduced italian sausage - $2.83
*Reduced apple assortment - $1.54
*Green grapes ($.99/lb) - $2.06
*Reduced bananas - $.95
*Romaine lettuce - $2.49
*Yellow onions - $2.99
*Baby bella mushrooms - $2.79
*HT Whole Grain bread - $.77
*Tombstone Pizza (2) - $6.67 - $1/2 coupon (doubled to $2) = $4.47 or $2.33ea
*Green Giant boxed veggies (6) - $.99ea
*Danactive yogurt (2) - $1.99ea - 2 $1 off coupons (doubled to $1.99) = FREE
*Activia yogurt (2) - $1.99ea - 2 $1 off coupons (doubled to $1.99) = FREE
*HT dozen eggs - $.79
*HT whole milk - $3.19
*Off the Bone lunchmeat - $3.50 - $1 off coupon (doubled to $2) = $1.50

And...because I purchased 20 General Mills products - $6.00 off at the register. Also rec'd catalinas for $3 and $2 off next purchase.

GRAND TOTAL SPENT - $74.34
GRAND TOTAL SAVED - $91.01 (<--and this does NOT factor in a lot of the reduced meats/produce I purchased!!!) :)

Abby and I will probably make a go at it one more time tomorrow...I hope that you have all had a great Super Double week thus far!

All my love,

I didn't even plan the last one:

Good morning everyone!!!!

I have a super deal to share with you (and a few other things!). This week at Harris Teeter, MOST Kellogg's products are 50% off. Also, if you purchase 10 Kellogg's products, it will trigger a catalina (read: those coupons that print off at the register and are handed to you with your receipt) for $10 off your next shopping purchase. (SWEEEEEEET!)


Confession - The girls and I didn't go on Wednesday to take full advantage of this deal. I prefer to just stay home a lot when it's so hot out, but when we were forced to go out on Thursday to drop off our rent check, I decided to swing through the HT. By then, most of the REALLY good priced cereals were gone :( We made the best of it though, and came out alright in the end!!!

Just for the purpose of the final total, there was a box of Cheerios that did not make the image above. It was on sale for $2 and I had a $.50 coupon that doubled to $1.00, making the Cheerios $1.00! There also was a container of Welch's White Grape Juice. It was on sale for $3.00 and I had a $.75 coupon that doubled to $1.50, making the juice's final price $1.50.

• All-Bran - $2.17 - $1 coupon = $1.17
• Special K Protein - $1.74 + Special K Chocolate - $1.75 = $3.49 - $1/2 coupon = $2.49 or $1.25/$1.24 per box
• Mini-Wheats (2) - $2.00/ea - $1/2 coupon = $3 or $1.50 per box
• Kellogg's Pop Tarts (5) - 3 boxes rang at $1.09 and 2 at $1.10, so $5.47 total; 2 coupons applicable to this, each worth $1 = Final total of $3.47 or $.69 per box

The final total of my bill after tax was $13.00 AND I got a $10 catalina, so basically, I got all of that for $3.

Now here's the kicker ... the one I didn't even plan!!!! When I got home and was putting away my Pop Tarts, I noticed a promo on the boxes involving codes for different flavors. I flipped a box over and discovered that if you buy 5 different flavors of Pop Tarts (which I did) and put the codes into their web site, they'll send you coupons for 2 free boxes of Pop Tarts!!!! *happy dance*

A few other frugality-related things I've managed recently:

• At the outlets the other day, I went into Izod and bought my dad a $60 golf shirt for $5!!! It was on clearance for ~$10 (they were getting rid of their summer inventory...I guess they don't realize that we golf in short sleeves pretty much year-round here in the Carolinas???) and when I got to the register, there was a promo for $5 off if you texted a certain combination to their corporate store. Since I already pay for unlimited data and texting on my phone, I really had nothing to lose and, so, at the register, I stood there and texted the numbers and then waited for the return message so I could get my $5 off! :)
• Speaking of maximizing your data plan on your phone - I never pay for Red Box rentals (unless I don't take it back after one day). I stand in front of the kiosk with my phone, looking for rental codes. I just keep inputting codes until I happen across one that works! :)
• At Food Lion last week, they had a few good deals that I couldn't resist! While there, I was perusing through their meat section and noticed that one of the big hams they had was set to "expire" the next day. I picked it up, took it to the meat clerk and said "Were you going to mark this down today??? It's sell-by date is tomorrow." He whipped out his label-maker and stuck another sticker on it!!!! I got a $27 ham for about $7.50! Sometimes, I just can't help myself :) And you should always ask about things like this too! The worst they can say is "no."

I hope that you have enjoyed reading this blog and that some tip will stick with you!

All my love,

Container Gardening ROCKS!!!

Good morning everyone,

I took pictures of our container garden last night so that you could all see the growth we've had!

See how the cucumber trails down the steps??? We have seen a lot of growth on this plant, but very minimal signs of fruiting. I was starting to think this was going to be a dud year for cucumbers, until I found THIS:

Here's our super squash plant!!! Apparently these things do very well in half-barrel planters!

This squash has been minimally productive...I think it took the bees awhile to find our plants. We have a lot of flowering, but pollination has been an issue:

Here's my only producing zucchini plant - so far, so good!

Here's a side-by-side of our strawberry and jalapeno pepper plants. We're still collecting strawberries almost daily from that plant, and our jalapeno pepper plant is really doing well in a container of that size!

We transplanted all but 3 green bell pepper plants out of this planter, and these 3 have been producing peppers for several weeks now. I tend to pick them before they grow to grocery store size because I don't want them over-ripening.

Here are our 3 bean plants. They've given us beans for a few nights, but I'm not thrilled with their growth. Next year, I will try them in a container that has more depth than a window box.

We've had a few grape tomatoes ripen thus far, and plenty of blooms that indicate more are on the way. We have harvested no bigger tomatoes though, and I would likely not use this planter for this purpose again next year...I'll just plant my bigger tomatoes in something else and cage them like always...

This is what we refer to as the "down garden." In the back left corner, I am experimenting with a cucumber plant to see if it bears fruit better in the ground vs. in a container. In the front right, we moved the scraggly zucchini plant down and it has flourished in a new home! We may even get meaningful production off of this plant soon!

I hope that you enjoy the container garden update!!!! :) I will try to write more later this week about other goings-on in our lives!

All my love,

By Popular Demand...

Good afternoon everyone!!!! I hope that everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend!

Today, I am pleased to share my dad's recipe for Smoked Cheddar and Jalapeno Bacon Meatloaf!!!

Smoked Cheddar And Jalapeno Bacon Meatloaf

1 1/2 pounds premium ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
3 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup diced jalapenos
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. Cowboy Flavor Seasoning
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp. Mexican oregano
3/4 cup shredded smoked cheddar cheese
1 cup diced onion

For topping:
4 slices uncooked bacon
1/4 cup ketchup

Mix all the ingredients except the ketchup and bacon in a large mixing bowl. Place into a loaf pan or a round pie plate. Spread ketchup over the meat and lay the bacon on the top. Bake in 350 oven or a Dutch oven for 1 hour.

Enjoy!!!! 

All my love,

5 Years Ago...

...at 5:54am, my life changed forever. My priorities were shifted around, my life was turned upside-down, and my heart began to grow outside of my body. I gave birth to a beautiful little girl and we named her Katelyn Elizabeth. Katelyn immediately became a wonderful addition to our life. She has spent the last 5 years growing and learning, and getting ready for the biggest step in her life - starting kindergarten!

At Birth

 1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

 3rd Birthday

 4th Birthday

 Recently

I hope that you all enjoyed the photographic walk back down memory lane as much as I did!!! I find it so hard to believe that the little baby in the first picture (the one that I wasn't even sure how to care for!!!) has learned to walk, to talk, her colors, to count, to read, to do math, to love science, to negotiate, to do monkey bars, to make her own PB&J sandwiches, and to bring joy to everyone she comes into contact with. Katelyn has a heart of gold and is always there to give a hug to anyone in need. She and her sister have developed an extremely close bond since Abby was born and Katelyn is always looking out for her sister's best interest. 

I'm going to have to wrap this up now, as we have a birthday celebration to kick off, but I wanted to just take a moment to share with you that my baby girl is now 5 years old!!!!

All my love,

Grow babies, grow!!!

Good evening everyone!!!

The pictures above just provide a quick update to our garden. If you look closely, you'll see some baby veggies and some of the grown vegetables that the girls have harvested. It looks like we are closing in on having daily fresh produce at dinner!!!! YUM YUM!!!


Also, I would like to mention something else that's growing right now and that would be the Lynch Station Pumpkin Patch!!! You can check it out on Facebook at this link or you can follow the progress throughout the summer here on my blog. Here are some of the most recent pictures:

This effort has been a major undertaking for my Dad - he set this patch up while on short-term disability leave from his job after his stroke. Justin and I are both cheering him on with this venture and we hope for BIG pumpkins by fall!!!!

Moving on to the other side of my family, I am trying to help my mom and step-dad sell their 1984 Ford TravelCraft 27' motor home. It has a 460 cubic inch engine, over-sized automatic transmission, cooler for towing, a large awning, and almost new tires. They've given it many upgrades and it's well-kept and clean. This RV will sleep 6. It has new brakes, radiator, water pump, belts, and hoses. Also, it has an over-sized refrigerator, roof A/C, gas furnace, gas hot water, new holding tanks and valves. There is no generator, but wiring in place (they used a portable generator). The engine has 75,536 miles on it. They are asking $7,500 and the vehicle is located in central Virginia. Email me if you're interested in finding out more!

That about wraps it up for this update...I hope that you all have a wonderful week and find many ways to beat the heat!

All my love,

Container Garden Update

Good evening everyone!

I took new pictures of the back porch garden today, and I think you'll be amazed at the growth since my last update! We have harvested a LOT of strawberries already and we have 2 zucchini sprouts growing. I also see some yellow blooms on our grape tomato plant as well as some tiny jalapeno pepper buds on that plant. The girls and I separated the green bell pepper plants this afternoon, and left 3 in the container in the back of the house and moved 6 more to containers in the front of the house (I'm not counting on those making it though - I think the neighborhood stray animals eat my plants in the front...now that I think about it, maybe I should throw some habaneros up there just for fun ;-) ).

Here's what we have now:

Our 2 baby zucchinis

Yellow crookneck squash

Mystery plant (I think it's another yellow squash plant)

Cucumber plant (I can actually see where its vine snapped and then healed! Very cool!)

Green beans (We'll be harvesting these shortly)

These are the green bell pepper plants that we separated late this afternoon.

See the small yellow blooms on our grape tomato plant???

A complete look at our Upsy-Downsy planter

The "scraggly" zucchini plant is finally catching up!

We have the strawberry plant on the left and the jalapeno pepper plant on the right.

The girls and I put Miracle-Gro on all of the plants again this evening and we are very excited to see all of the baby vegetables making appearances!

Thanks for following our plants!!! I hope that you all have a great week; I should be blogging later this week about the Lynch Station Pumpkin Patch!


All my love,