Best Deals Yet!

I went home for a week and the whole time I was there I was worried I was missing out on some great deals. I was so glad to find out that I had not really missed much. Albertson's had doubles in the Sunday paper again and some good mix and match deals. Last night I figured out how I could get the best deals and then went to bed. I woke at 6:30 this morning just itching to get to the store before they ran out of something that I needed for my scenario. I got there at 7 and sure enough they were out of the toilet paper. I was bummed!! The doubles expired tomorrow and they don't get a shipment in on Monday night. I had them call another store and they were out too. So I went home. Then while feeding the kiddos I remembered another store not too far away. I called and...they had some in stock!!! I made the kids eat FAST and we rushed off to shop. So, here is what I was so excited about.
Toilet Paper and Paper Towels!!!! Is that sad? I don't think so. Here's the breakdown.

4 packs of Angel Soft Toilet paper (16 rolls)
5 Sparkle paper towels
2- 24 packs of Wet Ones wet wipes
1 Whole Fruit bars

The total came to $1.50 + $1.29 tax = $2.79
The coupons and instant savings came to $34.28
That is a huge saving to me!!! Oh yeah, I walked away Happy!!!

We also hit some of the Back to School Sales. We got pencil sharpeners and ruled index cards for $.25 each at Staples. We got water color paints, tape, and glue sticks from Target for great deals too. If I hadn't bought two dresses and some fun water toys for the kids our shopping trip today would have cost less than $10. I've been giddy about it all day!

Does you washing machine smell?(giveaway)

Bear with me, I just love giveaways. Condo Blues is having a giveaway for Smelly Washer. It is used to get rid of any odor that lingers in your washing machine. So, if you find yourself with this problem, go over there and sign up too.

Giveaway for all you crafty folks

There is a new blogger in blog land and she is having a giveaway. I know, I am all about giveaways lately. Who wouldn't be when there are so many great ones going on.
Anyway head over to Life of Lyssie to enter her giveaway.

Kendee Watches giveaway

Kendee Watches is giving away a watch. I actually have a watch similar to this with the beads and silver and such. I love them!!! They are so darling and can match or add an accent color to an outfit. So, head on over to Make it and Love it for a chance to win. But hurry, it ends tonight.

TJ Maxx or Marshalls giveaway

No, I am not the one giving these away. But, I want to win, so I am blogging about it to get my one entry.
Frills, Fluff, and Trucks is giving away a gift card to either store. Go here to enter. And good luck. May the luckiest blogger win.

And the Winners are...

Sorry to be so late on this. We have been sick and slow to do anything around here. But, Little Lady helped me draw the three winners this afternoon. She wanted to keep going and draw each name. I told her that was fine, but I could only give gifts to the first three. Now she wants to give presents to all of her friends. Well, here they are.

Congratulations!! Please email me at tvlady82@gmail.com with you shipping address and your gift selection.
Thanks everyone for supporting my first giveaway and for spreading the word about it.

Happy Birthday!! GIVEAWAY!!!!

Today is a very special day. Today is Heather's birthday. I love this gal to pieces. I am also terrible with getting cards or gifts to people for their birthday. Then, I had an idea; a great idea, I hoped. Then I got really busy and forgot to follow through on my idea before her birthday. Then I checked Heather's blog today and she had used my idea. So, though it may seem like copying, I hope Heather will enjoy her gift.
Now for the gift part. I am hosting a giveaway to Heather's store the House of Envy. I will give three readers either one frame or two sets of magnets. This giveaway will be open until midnight on Tuesday June 23rd and is only open to US shipping addresses.
The rules:
For one entry go to House of Envy and look around. Let me know what you would like if you won. Be sure to leave an email address so I can contact you.
Okay, that is really the only way to enter.
I will draw random winners Wednesday morning and let them know. They will have two days to respond or I draw again.
Good Luck!
Happy Birthday Heather!!

Giveaways



I love entering giveaways. Tip Junkie is doing a huge one every day. So, if you like them too, then head over there and try to win.


Deals again!

Albertson's had a deal where you spend X amount and get a $X catelina(the thing that prints off with the receipt) off your next purchase. They also had three double your coupon value coupons. So, I took advantage tonight. I always end up going at 10pm cuz it takes me hours in the evening after kiddos go to bed to figure out how to get the best deal I can. Well, here is what I ended up with.

Golden Grahams
Trix cereal
Cocoa Puffs
Fiber One Bars
2 Suddenly Salads
Bertolli Pasta sauce
All Small N' Mights Detergent
Skippy peanut butter
Wishbone dressing
2 Trix yougurts
2 Steamers

I did this in two transactions of $15 each to be able to get the $5 catelina. Neither receipt says what the total was before all the discounts (frustrating), but the total for the first was $12.93 after all the discounts and coupons. The second was only $5.92. And I got another $5 catelina.
Here is where I don't use my brain when it comes to shopping and coupons.

I got some Lysol cleaning products too. I did them first to get them out of the way. They came to$5.51 after my coupons. When I got home I realized that if I had done them last I could have used my second catelina and gotten them for $.51. Now that would have been really cool!
My shopping trip cost me $24.36 and I get $.05 off my gas next time I fill up.

Giddy over dancing

I am not a big reality show fan. I prefer crime shows that offer a little mystery to solve. But I LOVE Dancing with the Stars. I cannot get enough of this show. And I have seriously enjoyed this season, especially the last half. There were some disappointments. Ty Murray should not have outlasted Chuck Wicks and Lil' Kim. But those things can happen when voting is included with the results. So, we viewers have to roll with those punches. I absolutely loved the final three. Melissa Rycroft, Gilles Marini, and Shawn Johnson were the three I thought to be the most talented. They were all so entertaining! As it came down to the final show I really wanted Gilles or Shawn to win.
And after last nights dances and tonight's dance I really wanted Shawn to win. And she did!!! Yeah!!! She was so good and really deserved to take home the coveted Mirror Ball. Anyway, I am ecstatic so I thought I would share!! Can't wait for next season!

Grocery Deals

I have been cutting out coupons for a few months now. I use them every once in a while, but I have not gotten a really good deal until now.
Albertsons was having one of their "buy this many and we'll take this much off" promotions and so I dug through my coupons and tried to get some great deals. This is what I ended up with

5 Suddenly Salads-1.25 each
2 boxes Fruit Roll ups-2.50 each
1 Tub Frosting-1.67
4 Muffin Mixes-2.50 each
3 Brownie Mixes-2.50 each
4 Grands Rolls-1.67 each
3 Crescent Rolls-2.50 each
2 Cinnamon Rolls-2.50 each
1 Large Yoplait Yogurt-2.50
1 Box Pizza Rolls-1.67

Total without any deals-53.77

Total after deals and coupons-29.01

Now, that may not seem like the greatest deal around, but I was sure happy about it. Most of those were things that I like to get, but are normally too expensive for me to justify. My kiddos devour pasta salad and muffins, so right there I was stoked. The pizza rolls and fruit roll ups were just a plus.

Decent human being

I think Not!

We went to the Mall the other day for dinner and some time out of the house. We parked in a lot that is usually not crowded so we don't have to walk as far to the entrance. We had a good dinner, bought the kiddos some new shoes, and enjoyed our time out together. I reached the car first and saw the above scene. I was shocked! How did this happen? Who did this? Did they leave a note? All these questions come at me at once. There was a car parked next to ours with some people inside. I asked them if they saw anything. "no." So there we have it. Left with a lot of questions and a broken turn signal. We figure that some one was coming around the corner trying to park in the first stall. We were parked in the second. They didn't make the turn and hit our car. And instead of doing the right thing and letting us know, they just left. Not a decent human being! Luckily it still works and we have it taped into place. Looks bad, but it works.

From 30s to 70s

We have had the occasional days of April showers, like the saying goes. Then one day a very light shower turned into this.

It just so happened that that was the day I had to go out and run errands. The snow we got this day paled in comparison to what we woke up to the next morning. Somewhere around 8 more inches! Little Lady found her snow boots and enjoyed a few hours of snow before the sun got to it. By afternoon all the snow was gone. The next day we were in the high 60s and expecting to get hotter. Utah really goes have weird weather.

Volleyball Season

I love to play volleyball. I have played since I was twelve. However, I had to take a break from volleyball when I had kids. This made me a little sad, especially since volleyball is something that Eric and I really enjoy doing together. Well when we moved into our home in this new little town, I noticed a sigh advertising City League Volleyball. I called right away only to be told that the ad was for young girls. The older ladies volleyball was not to start until February.
Now I was faced with a dilemma. I really wanted my kids to be around two years apart. That would mean getting pregnant at the end of '08 or early '09. Well, being pregnant and playing volleyball does not really work for me; I tried it with Little Lady and was very sick.
So, it was either volleyball or pregnancy.
I chose to put off the next baby for a few months and do a little something for myself and I am LOVING it!!!
We had a great volleyball team. I made my sister Jana sign up with me. She is a great player. Because of our age difference we have not ever really played together. It was so much fun playing with her! The rest of our team was made up of all the ladies that signed up on their own. We called ourselves the Eclecticats. We used our first games to get a feel for how each of us played. By the second week we were on fire! We played really well the whole season. I believe we only lost three games. For tournament we were placed in the top bracket. We started our games at 6:00. It was double elimination. We lost our first game and had about a 20 min. break before playing again. We won all of our games after that. Around 10pm we were playing the first of two Championship games. The team we were playing had not lost yet, so we would have to beat them twice. We had just played 9 games in a row and they had just come from an hour break. Needless to say, we were exhausted! We played really well, but we lost in the first game. I was so glad. I did not want to have to play another game that night. By the time the evening was over it was 11 pm. My whole body hurt, especially my feet.
We did so AWESOME for a group of ladies who never played together before!! We got 2nd place!

I'm still a teen at heart.

I grew up loving many "old" musicals and cheesy romantic chick flicks. So when HSM, HSM2, and HSM3 came out I was ecstatic. Finally, back to the good old musicals. They have their flaws, but overall they were very entertaining, and enjoyable to watch.

Nickelodeon decided they wanted in on the musical scene and came up with

So, once again let me stress that I love cheesy musicals. Now let me tell you I TOTALLY enjoyed Spectacular. It wasn't as good in the character development area as HSM, but I really liked it.
Now for the best news. it may be in a Redbox near you. So, if you are looking for a cute feel good movie complete with singing and dancing for only a buck, check this one out. And let me know what you think about it.

Disguises

Did I spell that right? I hope so. Anyway, on to the point. I tend some kids a few times a week and I love how small things can hold their attention for extended periods of time. One day we got into the many hats that we have in our closet. They each had a difficult time liking the one that they got, so I told them that they were more than just hats, they were disguises. Then I explained what disguises were. They loved the idea of a hat turning them into someone else.

In this picture, one is a skiier, one is an Eskimo, and one is a smowman builder. We also had summer hats and baseball hats. They all took turns being something else. They had a lot of fun coming up with their own identity each time they traded hats.

Dressing up and Playing dress up

Little Lady got two new dresses the other day. The pink one was a little big so we had it set aside and she wore the green one. Little Man decided that he wanted to try on one too. He looks so cute .
They then took turns dancing.

Little Man's is a little blurry because all he knows how to do is twirl in circles. He is really good at it though. The he waited patiently for his turn and clapped for his sister as she showed off her dance moves.

It was the best of times, It was the worst of times...

Well, maybe not "of times", but that works for our past four days.

Eric and I both had a birthday.

There was fine dining, wonderful gifts, and a surprise getaway for the weekend. Overall, our week of birthdays turned out very well.

Now for the worst.

Once again Little Man looks like he fell asleep peacefully on his daddy. But wait, notice the towel? This was taken at 10 pm after having thrown up multiple times. No child should have to suffer through that at such a young age. He had no clue what was going on. All he could do was cry and call for his mommy. It breaks my heart just thinking about it. Luckily, this bug only lasts long enough to make you sick once. By morning he was feeling much better.

Fast forward two days. After having returned from a lovely evening away from home, we discover our Little Lady is complaining of an upset stomach. She had witnessed Little Man's sick episode, so we thought maybe she was exaggerating a little when she would run to the toilet and cough then spit as though she had thrown up. After seeing this many times, and her claims of being well enough to play outside, we figured it was just an act.

Lesson learned: Nothing regarding sickness and small children is ever an act.

You guessed it. Little Lady threw up right before going to bed. She has been through this before, but it is never a pleasant experience. She slept well through the might and I am hoping this illness is no longer lingering.

Well, here's to more of the best of times and a little less of the worst.

I'm an 80's child, Are you??

I got this off of a random blog I read and I had to share it. I LOVE/LOVED the 80's and almost all of the following applied to me. See how many apply to you and bring back some great memories too.

You Know You Grew Up In the 80's if:
1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE.

(And I always thought it was spelled 'Psyche!')

2. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton

3. You know that 'WOAH' comes from Joey on Blossom

4. If you ever watched 'Fraggle Rock'
5. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
6. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.

7. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.

8. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.

9. You played the game 'MASH'(Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House)

10. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.

11. You know the profound meaning of ' WAX ON , WAX OFF'

12. You wanted to be a Goonie.

13. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (some of us...head-to-toe)

14. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted.

15. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.

16. You took lunch boxes to school...and traded Garbage Pailkids in the schoolyard.

17. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.

18. You still get the urge to say 'NOT' after every sentence.

19. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.

21. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.
22. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying 'I know you are, but what am I?'

23. You remember 'I've fallen and I can't get up'

24. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.

25. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
26. You remember boom boxes and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.

27. You remember watching both Gremlins movies.

28. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.

29. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.

30. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even flinch when people refer to them as 'NKOTB'

31. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on 'Saved By The Bell,' The ORIGINAL class.

32. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
33. You just sang those words to yourself.
34. You still sing 'We are the World'

35. You tight rolled your jeans.

36. You owned a bannana clip.

37. You remember 'Where's the Beef?'

38. You used to (and probably still do)
say 'What you talkin' 'bout Willis?'

39. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you!

PASS THIS ON TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS WHO GREW UP IN THE 80's

I give, You give

I am so glad that I finally have a blog so I can participate in all the great things that other bloggers are doing. My friend Heather posted a unique giveaway on her blog and I will do the same.
Here is how it works:

The first 5 to respond to this win something from me.

BUT YOU HAVE TO DO THIS:

Re post this to your own blog & offer the same thing to your first 5 responders.

The 1st 5 who re post it to their own blog will get something made by me!

My choice.

For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! I am new at making things, so I am using you as my guinea pigs.

2- What I create will be just for you.

3- It'll be done this year- no guarantees on when this year, but sometime in 2009.

4- You have no clue what it's going to be. The possibilities are endless.

5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did, win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it! Sounds like fun, right? So, let's play!

Let the blogging fun begin!

Well, here goes. Blog post numero uno!!! Are you as excited as I am?!?! I thought I'd start with a very random yet adorable picture of my son. He has been doing this lately while waiting for his sister to fall asleep; the downside to sharing a room.

Isn't he the cutest thing ever. Now is when the fun begins for the parents. Here is what I came down to after checking on his sister.

He can even talk while watching tv and sleeping. That is some talent he's got.

Well that was fun. Now on to something a little more serious; my blog rules. I love blogs. However, I do not like having mine and my children's personal information out there for anyone to see. So on my blog I have created names for my children. I would appreciate it if you would refrain from using their real names if you make any comments on my blog. Thanks so much.

Kristi