Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Gardening Update!

Hubby and my Dad were out in the gardens all afternoon yesterday.  YAY!  I am so excited that they were able to finish getting most of the garden in.  They had to revamp the fourth bed completely but we will be able to get most of what we wanted worked in to other areas of the yard/gardens.

The fourth bed has the following:
Zucchini, Squash, and Potatoes.

We have a small bed that is near our retaining wall that we will also be creating a strawberry patch in.  We will be making it a two tier bed.  The top tier will have strawberries and the bottom tier (for this year) will have watermelon and pumpkin in.  I will also be pot planting my herb garden, which was supposed to go into the fourth bed, we just didn't have enough room in it.

I am hoping to get some pictures taken today but it is super windy and I am not sure I am up to fighting the wind to get those pictures today...lol.  :)

I feel so blessed that my Hubby and Dad were able to get so much work done yesterday.   Now if the wind would just die down a bit we could mulch the beds with the grass clippings like we had planned.

On a side note: I did a little coupon trip yesterday to our local grocery.  They were tripling coupons for the day that were $0.50 and less, so I could potentially save $1.50 per $0.50 coupon.  :)  They also had ketchup on sale for $1.99.  I had a $0.50 coupon, tripled to $1.50, making each 40oz bottle of ketchup $0.49 each!  YAY!  I also picked up 6 marinades for $0.79 each.  I spent $8.73 and saved over $22!  About 72% in savings.  :)  And I will have ketchup for a long while.  :)

Hope you all had a great weekend.  I am off to rest for the last 30 minutes of naptime.  :)
<3 Alison

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Gardening!

That is what today has been about.  :)

This morning Hubby and I loaded the kids in the van and headed to a local greenhouse to pick out our plants.  The ones I planted earlier this spring didn't work out so well so we just went with the ones at the greenhouse.

I was very impressed with the selection first off.  The plants looked very healthy and the prices were great! We bought tomatoes, peppers, onions, cucumbers, a pumpkin, a watermelon, squash, zucchini, potatoes, and probably a couple of other things I cannot remember.  We also picked up some flowers, in hopes that it helps deter the deer from snacking on our veggies, petunias, snapdragons and alyssum.
These are the plants that we picked up!  :)

I am also planting a few things from seed; lettuce, carrots, peas and green beans.  I am very excited to get this all in the ground and start our growing season.

Our first raised bed will have the following items:

Row 1: Alyssum, Petunias, and Snapdragons.
Row 2: Peas, Cucumbers, and Green Beans.
Row 3: Lettuce, Onions, and Carrots.

That is the garden that I got planted today.  I am bushed but am really excited about having Stuffed Peppers for dinner so I better get on that.  :)

Our second raised bed will have:

Row 1: Bell Peppers
Row 2: Tomatoes

Our third raised bed will have:

Row 1: Tomatoes
Row 2: Tomatoes

Our fourth raised bed will have:

Section 1: Squash
Section 2: Zucchini
Section 3 Potaotes
Section 4: Pumpkin
Section 5: Watermelon
Section 6: Herb Garden
This bed is configured differently because of the kinds of vegetables we are planting.

Our herb garden will have:
Basil, Chives, Oregano, Cilantro, Thyme and Rosemary.  I wanted to plant dill but couldn't find any at the places we stopped today.

That is our garden!  :)  I can't wait until it is all finished so that we can reap what we have sown.  :)

<3 Alison

Friday, May 27, 2011

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

I am so excited that we have a 3 day weekend coming up!  YAY!
This weekend is going to be filled with planting.  Over the last month or so Hubby has put together four raised bed gardens for me.  So I have some very nice places to plant my garden this year.

We are planning on planting some tomatoes (can you say spaghetti sauce???), peppers, onions, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots, potatoes, squash, and zucchini.  I can't wait to start harvesting them...guess I better get them planted first!  :)

If you recall I had tried to start my own seedlings this year.  Well, they started off really well and then well, I kept forgetting about them.  :(  My poor preggo brain just couldn't handle remembering one more thing...so I will be heading out to a local place to pick up some plants for our garden.

On Monday there is a parade here in town that we are looking forward to going to.  The kids love parades and we love the sense of community that surrounds them.  Then my parents are coming down.  They will likely be helping us finish up the planting and we will be having a cookout.  Burgers and hot dogs on the grill, chips, beans, watermelon, pasta salad, rhubarb crisp....ahhhh, sounds so good my mouth is watering!

What are your plans for this Memorial Day weekend?  I would love to hear about them!

<3 Alison

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

I've been away

And I really need to get back into the groove of things.

Hubby was gone M-F last week so I spent that week just surviving.  My sister and niece came at the end of the week and gave me some much needed relief.  And since then we have been working on getting back to normal.

I am 33 weeks pregnant now and measuring a couple of weeks ahead, the doctors are not concerned and being I have delivered all of my other kids early I am not concerned either.  I still cannot believe that I am this close to having Baby D in my arms.  It seems like yesterday that I found out we were moving and that I was pregnant!  Apparently that was about 33 weeks ago...lol.

While my sister was here, she helped me get our bedroom ready for baby.  Baby will be sleeping in our bedroom for a while until she gets the hang of sleeping through the night to make night time feeding easier.  I have a co-sleeper all set up for her, he clothes are washed, folded and put away, and she has a bunch of cloth diapers just waiting for her.  Now if Hubby and I could decide what to bring her home it that would be great.  I bought a cute outfit but Hubby doesn't care for it so I will have to see what else I can find for her to wear.

Butterfly had her last day of preschool last week and they had a little program.  It was so cute.  Each of the kids told us what their favorite part of preschool was.  Then the each received a certificate of completion.  My sister, niece and in-laws were all able to attend.  It was adorable.  :)  Abby had been growing a flower at school (and might I add it did much better at school than it is doing at home) and it was beautiful.  With any luck I can keep it going.  :)



This week the girls are heading to church all week to attend VBS.  They are having a great time!  I am loving the stories that they come home and tell me.  Their favorite is The Good Shepard.  I can't wait to hear the full song that goes with that story.   They sing bits and pieces of it to me each day.  :)  Bubby is loving the one on one time with Mom and Dad while the girls are gone.  He is so entertaining and ALL boy.  :)

This weekend we are going to be planting our garden!  I am so excited!  I hope that my plants are going to tolerate the transplant.  If not we will be doing some more plant purchasing.  I already know that I need to buy pepper plants (as none of the seeds I planted grew) and a couple of other things didn't grow either.  But we will see how it goes.

Well that is the update for now.  I hope to be able to update you on the garden late in the weekend/early in the week next week.

<3 Alison

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Two days down, three to go

The last two days have gone rather well.  I am very pleased with the way the kids have been, which has made it easier on me.

Yesterday we went to the park with some new friends and had a picnic lunch.  It was so much fun!  The playground was just the right size for ALL of my kids.  Everyone of them could use it, without much assistance from me.  Which I know sounds terrible but I am 32 weeks preggers and can't lift any of them so I am not a whole lot of help when it comes to playing on the playground.  Short of pushing them on the swing I can't do anything...lol.

After the park we headed up to see MiMi and PopPop.  They are heading to Arizona to see my cousin graduate and we thought it would be nice to see them before they left.  So we spent the afternoon hanging out with them and then had some KFC for dinner.  MiMi gave the kiddos bath and we headed home.  We had a great time.

Now today is going to be a bit slower, but that is a good thing too.  Butterfly has preschool today (her last official day) and is going to be bringing her teachers their gifts.  She is so excited!  I think we will just kind of hang out today.  I have some laundry and dishes that need to be done so that will be the bulk of my day.

Tonight will be the first night that I don't have something to occupy my time so I will start working on my baby projects.  The receiving blankets and I have 2 quilts to work on, mine and a friends.  Hopefully I can get this all done before Baby D makes her arrival. :)

Hope you are all having a fabulous week!  Happy Wednesday!  
<3 Alison

Monday, May 16, 2011

I need to keep busy this week...

So I better get on with it!  Hubby just left for the week.  He is heading out of the country and that makes me nervous.  So, in order to keep my sanity this week I need to keep busy.  I am hoping for a couple of nice days so that the kids and I can check out a couple of local parks.  My sister will be here on Thursday so I just need to make it until then without another adult in the house.  I can do this!  :D

I think part of this week I will be working on planning Bee's birthday party, she turns 4 this year!  She has decided that a Sweet Shoppe would be a fun theme.  We can have little jars of candy that people can fill their own goody bags with candies.  I can make cupcakes (one of my favorite things to make!) and we can have ice cream sundaes.  This theme is RIGHT up Bee's alley.  :)

Then I have a couple of quilts I need to work on, so that should fill up my evenings after the kiddos go to bed.  Maybe I can even get Baby D's receiving blankets sewn up!  That would be fabulous.

So what do you all have planned this week?  Maybe I can keep busy by reading what you are all doing!

I will keep you all updated on what I get done this week and hopefully have some pictures to go along with the updates.  :)

<3 Alison

Friday, May 13, 2011

Are you tired of my coupon trips yet? and other updates...

I will keep this one short but I am just so excited about it I had to share.  :)  I did a shopping trip tonight and I saved, 54% on my entire trip!  My highlight was getting 10 Carefree pantyliners and 4 boxes of Precise Patch by Tylenol for a grand total of $3.88.  WOOHOOO!

I think the more that I coupon the better I am getting at finding the sales and the more fun I am having with it.  I am very happy with what I have accomplished so far in my couponing adventures.

Hubby was gone most of this week so things were a bit crazy here and he will be gone all of next week so, again, things will be crazy.  I am really hoping that I can find something to do to keep us occupied.  My sister is coming down on Thursday and Friday to help me out and will be here through the weekend.  I am really excited.  She is a couponer as well so I hope we can do some couponing at some point.  :)

A quick update on my pregnancy, I went in for my regular appointment this week and found out I am measuring about 2 weeks ahead, which is ok since I tend to have my kids 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 weeks early.  I thought I felt bigger...lol.  :)  I am having more pregnancy related issues, nothing serious, just things I haven't experienced in my other pregnancies, this time around.  Things like night waking, swollen feet, and the like...see all things that most pregnant women face during all of their pregnancies...I was spared with the first three and now I think this baby is making up for it...lol.

I am hoping to be able to get a few maternity items to last me for the last few weeks of this pregnancy but I am torn as what to get.  I want whatever it is to be able to be worn after the baby is born for a bit so I don't have to buy that awkward in between size.

I am hoping to get some freezer meals made soon, but I will have to have them stored at my parents house until the baby is born.  My in laws butchered a couple of cows (a cow and a steer I believe) and so our big freezer is FILLED with beef right now and our little freezer has all of our other freezer stuff in it.  But by the time the baby is born we will have a good dent in the big freezer, especially if it warms up, then we will be having burgers and steaks a TON...we LOVE grilled burgers and steaks (and hey, it is good for my iron levels too...lol!)

That is about it for now.  Hope you all are doing fabulously!  Sorry that my posts have been so sporadic. Just trying to survive life right now.

<3 Alison

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Chicago!

What a fun couple of days I had!  Hubby had some business to attend to in Chicago on Monday morning so I thought I would tag a long.  We packed up the kids and sent them to Grandma and Grandpa's (as well as the dog) and dropped them off on Saturday.  Sunday morning we left for Chicago.  When we arrived we had time before dinner to take in some of the sites.

We walked from our hotel down to Navy Pier.  It was so much fun.  We thought that we might want to enjoy the sites from a higher perspective and started to go check out the ferris wheel.  When it occurred to me...I am pregnant...I probably cannot ride the ferris wheel.  And I was right.  The sign said, Do Not Ride if you are:...pregnant.  Sigh.  Ok, so maybe we will do that next time we are in Chicago.  :)
Me and my belly
Beautiful skyscape

We got to take a walk all the way around the pier.  It was beautiful!  Then, it started getting chilly so we headed to the inside.  There were some BEAUTIFUL stained glass work on display.  I loved getting a chance to see them and to snap some quick pictures of them as well.






Then it was off to dinner.  We decided that Bubba Gump was the place for us.  It was so much fun!  I loved it.  I had a fun cherry lemonade (I like to say I purchased the cup and got the drink for free...lol!).  The cup lit up in lots of different colors.  Hubby and I shared an appetizer (popcorn shrimp anyone?) and then had our entree's.  I had the "Bucket of Boat Trash" and Hubby had Lt. Dan's Drunken Shrimp.  Both were VERY good.  I would totally have a "Bucket of Boat Trash" again.  :)
If you wanted your waiter to stop you flipped the sign to STOP FOREST STOP

My "Bucket of Boat Trash"

Lt Dan's Drunken Shrimp

Then we had to top it off with dessert.  So, a strawberry shortcake (for one!) was what we shared.  It was SO yummy!  But we were so full we knew it best if we only ordered one...lol.

Then it was off to our hotel for some shut eye.
View from one of our windows (we had windows on 3 sides of our hotel room).

Our bed room at the hotel...yep, had to bring the snoogle!  :)

On Monday morning, Hubby had some business to attend to so that left me with some time to take a walk and look around.  I headed to a couple of places that I thought I could get some pictures of some flowers and things, but the flowers all looked half dead.  So, instead I headed to a nearby Starbucks and grabbed a cup of coffee and then walked down to the river.  I sat down and returned some calls.  By the time I was done returning calls Hubby was finished with what he needed to do and we were able to go see Millennium Park.

I loved walking around Millennium Park.  It was very beautiful.  We saw some fabulous flowers and the ever popular Bean.
Fountain at Millennium Park

Beautiful Flower bed at Millennium Park

The Bean

Ooh look!  There we are!  :)

And again!

LOVE the way these flowers looked.

One of my favorite trees we saw.

One of the sculptures at the park...my favorite one...lol

By the time we were done at the park it was time to check out of our hotel.  I must have been tired as when I sat down in the chair in our hotel room I dozed off.  Hubby woke me as we had to leave.

Before we headed out we had one last stop to make, Lincoln Park Zoo.  The fun thing about Lincoln Park Zoo is that it is free!  We just had to pay for parking, which for us was about $17 for a few hours.  We grabbed lunch at the zoo (typical food and typical zoo costs) and got to see some animals that our zoo in Columbus didn't have.  That was a lot of fun for us.  :)


This is a pygmy hippo.  This little one kept trying to find a way out through the edge of the tank.

Ahhh, the giraffe!

Love these little guys.  They were so cute and active!

Awwww, aren't we cute?

Beautiful tulips

We got to take in a training session at the seal house.  The seals were pretty amazing.

I love this guy.  Not sure why...just really liked him...lol.

Sally the camel had 2 humps....

And the Zebra...fitting we end on this one don't you think?

Then it was time to make the long trek back home.  I think my favorite part of our trip was the time I got to spend with my Hubby.  We got to talk about a lot of things and just enjoy spending time together.  We had grabbed some old CD's from when we were in high school and listened to those.  It was so much fun!  When Hubby and I were dating he had made me several mixed CD's and we got a chance to listen to those.  What memories those brought.

Hubby left this morning for a business trip and  has another one next week so I am very glad we got to spend that time together.

I hope you all had a GREAT weekend!  It is time for me to catch up on some house work!
<3 Alison

Friday, May 6, 2011

Muffins Muffins everywhere!


I ended up finding just enough energy to make all three kinds of muffins today!  YAY!  My kitchen is a mess but I got all the muffins baked!  :)  YUM!

And of course I *had* to sample them.  :)   So, here we go.  

Banana chocolate chip muffins...very yummy. I would like them a little more banana-y so maybe add a little more banana next time.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins...drool...oh excuse me!  They are super yummy!  Nothing to change there.  :)

Apple Cream Cheese Muffins...soooo good, even though I forgot to add the shredded apple.  OOPS!  Let's just blame my pregnant brain shall we?  lol!  I did add extra applesauce (just thought I should, no rhyme or reason) so that might have saved the flavor. 

Overall, I am VERY happy with the muffins I got made today.  They will be enjoyed for a little while at least.  :)

Now to get packing!  Hubby and I are heading to Chicago on Sunday!  YAY!

And in case I don't post again, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!
<3 Alison

PS...Here is the recipe for those fabulous Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.  I found my recipe on All Recipes.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
  1. 3/4 cup white sugar
  2. 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  3. 2 eggs
  4. 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
  5. 1/4 cup water
  6. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  7. 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  8. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  9. 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  10. 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  11. 1/4 teaspoon salt
  12. 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  13. 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.
  2. Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.
  3. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.


    Pardon my silence

    I am preparing for my hubby to be gone quite a bit in the next two weeks so I have been very quiet.  He will be going on two separate business trips and I will be at home with the three kiddos.  I am trying to get my couponing trips in now so that I can try and avoid taking all three kids with me on a big outing....which could really test my sanity,  lol!  :)

    Today is going to be a muffin making day.  Hoping to get several different kinds made.  Probably some banana chocolate chip and some apple cream cheese.  Perhaps, if I am lucky, I will get some pumpkin chocolate chip done too.  

    Here are the first two recipes that I am going to be making.  :)  Enjoy!

    Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
    1 egg
    2 cups Original Bisquick® mix
    1 ¼ cups mashed very ripe bananas (2 to 3 medium)
    ⅓ cup sugar
    3 tablespoons vegetable oil
    ⅓ cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
    1
    Heat oven to 400ºF. Place paper baking cup in each of 12 regular-size muffin cups, or grease bottoms only of muffin cups.
    2
    Beat egg slightly in medium bowl; stir in remaining ingredients just until moistened. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
    3
    Bake about 15 minutes or until golden brown.


    Apple Cream Cheese Muffins
    ¾ cup packed brown sugar
    1 ¾ cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
    1 teaspoon baking powder
    ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    ½ teaspoon salt
    2 eggs, beaten
    ⅔ cup oil
    ¼ cup applesauce
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    1 large apple, peeled, shredded (about 1 cup)
    ⅓ cup cream cheese (from 8-oz package)
    Streusel
    3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
    2 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
    1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened
    1. 1Heat oven to 350°F. Line 15 muffin cups with paper baking cups. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar in the muffins for filling.
    2. 2
      In large bowl with electric mixer, mix remaining brown sugar for muffins, 1 3/4 cups flour, the baking powder, cinnamon and salt on low speed until mixed. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the beaten egg for filling. Add oil, applesauce, vanilla and remaining egg to flour mixture. Beat on medium speed until mixed. With spoon, stir in apple.
    3. 3
      In small bowl, mix cream cheese, the reserved 1 tablespoon brown sugar and reserved 1 tablespoon egg. Fill muffin cups slightly less than half full of batter. Top each with 1 teaspoon cream cheese mixture. Top with spoonful of remaining batter to fill cups 2/3 full. In small bowl, mix all streusel ingredients; sprinkle over batter.
    4. 4
      Bake 22 to 26 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan. Cool slightly, about 10 minutes.

    Wednesday, May 4, 2011

    Preparations for a Couponing Trip

    I thought this might be helpful to some of you who are beginning to coupon just like I am.  And for those who are more experienced I would LOVE to hear your secrets!

    I have been using primarily two websites to help with my preparations, www.thekrazycouponlady.com and www.coupondivas.com.  They have been invaluable to me!  They do match ups for me so I can see what I need quickly and then can go off of that.

    I use all of my stores' online ads and regular ads posted on line so I don't have to run to the store every 2 seconds (costly in time and gas when you live 30 min from most of the stores).  So I check out Hy-Vee, Wal-Mart, Walgreen's, Fareway, and Sunshine Foods.

    Coupondivas.com is currently my favorite website.  They make is SO convenient to look at the match-ups.  I can also print a list right from their site.  I do have to, however, write at the top of my list where the list is for, since that isn't printed.

    Here is how I start my couponing process.  I make a list of meals that I want to make over the course of a week (or in this weeks case 2 weeks).  I then figure out what I need to add to what I have on hand to prepare each of said meals.  It is then that I go to my couponing sites and find out what is on sale.  I find out what I can get for cheaper whether it is cheese, tortillas, soups, or even produce!

    I then take a look at what else is on sale and I have a coupon for.  It could be things like toothpaste, toothbrushes, dish detergent, hand soap, feminine hygiene products, snack foods, paper products, toilet paper, school supplies and kids games.  If the price is right (which usually means little to no out of pocket for me) I will go pick it up.  Here is my catch though, if my family won't use it (like Yakisoba noodles) I won't buy it.  I will pass those coupons on to someone else who might use them.  I just can't justify the time and energy as well as the space it would take up to purchase things that my family won't use.  I will buy multiples of the same item (check out my last couponing post).  My thought behind that is, if I can't use it by the expiration date I will donate it to someone who will.  I right now have 7 tubes of kids toothpaste that I know I won't use by the expiration date next year sometime (I only have 1 kiddo who uses that kid right now, the others are still swallowing their toothpaste...lol) so I will find a friend who wants/needs some or give them to a women's and children's shelter or our local food shelf.

    So whatever I buy my family will use at some point or another.  I want to be purchasing things that won't be going bad (like paper towels, toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, toothbrushes, deoderant, etc) because if I can get them next to nothing I won't have to spend $3 a bottle for shampoo when we run out because I will have gotten it for cheap and it will be waiting for us in the basement.  Make sense?

    Here are some things that I try and keep in mind when I am coupon shopping.  :)

    -Make sure to print and keep the coupon policy for each store you shop at with you when you coupon.  That way if you or the cashier have a question you have the answer in front of you.
    -Check the coupon policies often!  They will often change with little to no warning.
    -Make sure you know what dates the sales are good through.  If you go too early or too late all of your prep work will go down the drain.
    -Take your time!  This goes for reading your coupons to reading your in store ads to shopping.  Even the smallest word can change how a coupon will apply.
    -Make a list.  List what you need, how much is costs, what coupons you have for the item, how many of the item you need and what the final cost should be.  This will keep you on budget!

    Ok, well I think that is a good enough start for now.  :)  Let me know if you have any questions or tips for me!  I am always ready to learn!  :D
    <3 Alison

    Latest Coupon Trip

    Last night I headed out to do my coupon trip.  I had 5 stores on my list.  Wal-Mart, Fareway, Dollar General, Walgreen's and Hy-Vee.  I started with Wal-Mart...that trip was a bust.  I didn't read my coupon well enough to realize I couldn't get what I needed for the price I wanted so I left with nothing in hand.

    Fareway was much more successful.  I found 2 things that were on my Wal-Mart list on sale at Fareway and with my coupon they were great deals!  :)

    Dollar General was a good trip too.  Picked up some feminine hygeine products that were on sale and that I had $1 off coupons on.  I figure those things don't go bad so why not...lol.

    Walgreen's was my favorite store.  I am beginning to REALLY like Walgreen's.  I had two items on my list for Walgreen's; Pantene Pro-V and Dawn.  I went and picked up my shampoo and conditioner and my Dawn and headed to the register.  I was waiting in line when a worker said she could help next in line (aka:  ME!) at cosmetics.  So I walked over (ok so at this point it was more of a waddle...I had already been thru 3 stores...come on...lol) and she helped me out.  Not only did she help me but she helped me figure out the Register Rewards program that they have.  She made sure that I got as many RR as I could!  Multiple trasnactions yes, having an employee explain how they work and how to use them, priceless!  She was SO sweet!  I will be doing much more shopping at our Walgreen's.

    Then off to Hy-Vee.  This is where I was going to be doing the bulk of my shopping.  Their advertised prices were cheaper than Fareway and Wal-Mart for the items that were on my grocery list that I didn't have coupons for so I headed there.   I found many good deals and even got to find a few extra deals that I DID have coupons for and were on sale.  I love it when that happens.

    I spent about $183 and saved myself $83.  That is a 31% savings!  YAY!  I am so excited!  My goal each time I shop is to now save between 20 and 25% so I surpassed my goal.  I still have one more store to hit (as I forgot a couple of items on my list, go figure) but I expect to do just as well there.  :)

    I am working on a post of how I gather my information and how I shop to try and help you guys get started couponing too.  I really love it!  Hopefully the post will be ready by the end of the week.

    <3 Alison

    Monday, May 2, 2011

    Couponing, again...lol!

    On Friday the family and I headed to our nearest Target.  We were having dinner with some family and took the opportunity to do some couponing at Target as well, since we don't get to one very often any more (I know, shock of all shocks, you can no longer find me in Target any day of the week...lol!).

    I had a general idea of what I wanted to look at and pick up.  But I knew there were deals at Target that weren't in their add, since I had been reading chatter about them on the different websites that I follow.  So I just kinda went with it.  And I think I did pretty well, if I do say so myself.  :)

    Here are a few pictures of what we picked up and how much we saved.  :)  These items are all things that we use.  My view on couponing is it isn't really a deal if you aren't going to use it.  So I only clip/keep coupons that I know that we are going to use.  Then I won't get stuck with 4000 boxes of Yakisoba noodles that we won't ever eat, free or not...we won't be eating them.  I will let someone else have those coupons and then they can eat them, lol.  :)


    1 - 5 pack of 0-3 month onesies (they were on clearance for $0.66!!!), 7 boxes of dish detergent, 6 bottles of body wash, 6 packs of panty liners, 12 boxes of Granola Thins, 7 bottles of kid toothpaste, 5 bottles of adult toothpaste, 1 tube Butt Paste, 6 kids toothbrushes, 1 pack of pacis, and 12 containers of floss.


    Our receipt!  :)


    Our savings and total! :)

    I think we did pretty well with this trip.  I saved well over what I spent, and that is what I was hoping to do.  When the total got to the top I was worried that we would be putting items back on the shelf but to my great surprise we did pretty well and saved a ton.  I am still getting the hang of this couponing thing but I think I can make this work.  :)  In the long run, I am hoping that we will be able to use the products that we pick up excess of to help those who need it most.  We hope to be able to drop things off at the food shelf and local shelters as well.  

    Happy Couponing Everyone! :)
    <3 Alison

    Gardening!

    This last weekend was full of getting our gardens ready.  Well, let me be more specific...we are actually building our gardens.  :)  We are putting together four raised bed gardens.  I will have a nice area to plant my tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, and many more things.

    Hubby and his Dad and brother were working so hard on Saturday to get as much done as they could.  We have three beds full assembled and in place and one that we need to finish (we ran out of lumber and screws...go figure!  lol!).  Hubby still has to fill the last two beds with fresh dirt from the farm (thanks again to my father in law!) and some manure (again, it comes in very handy to know someone who has a farm!).

    Here is what our progress looks like.

    Our pile of dirt.


    And here are my seedlings!  I am going to be transplanting them into their own little peet pots this week.  I was going to get it done this weekend but it just didn't happen...lol.


    So this is the start to my garden!  :)  What do you think...other than it is time to water my seedlings...lol.  :)

    Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!
    <3 Alison