Ol' Trusty

In this day and age, things are not built to last. The life span for technology is pretty short, and we constantly have to replace our electronic gadgets. Except for one. Meet this bad boy, our little stalker. I purchased this old Tetris game in college for road trips with our soccer team. I could not afford any of the hand held nintendo's so I went to Target and bought this. I played it quite a bit in college on those road trips and pretty much forgot about it until the year P and I were married.

As we were combining our things, P found this and was hooked. I am not one to brag, but I am going to right now. I am crazy good at Tetris. I think it is my Type A personality, but I can play that game for hours and get to the highest levels.

Now, it has become P's game. This little guy lives in the restroom and gets used on a daily basis. I have tried to throw him out, but P always grabs it before it goes. We got him a new one, and he didn't like it, he tossed it aside and went back to old trusty, Lil' Blue. This guy will not die. He has played it in the bathtub and dropped it in the water. He took it apart, let it sit in rice to absorb the water, and put it back together. This thing must have 9 lives because no matter what happens, it keeps on workin'.

It is now a running joke with friends, they look forward to playing Tetris when they come over.

 

Friday Confessions

Here are my Friday Confessions. I am blogging via my iPad for the first time, so if there are any issues, please let me know.

 

1. I wore a skirt with unshaved legs this week.

2. I ate an entire pizza in less than 12 hours.

3. I ate some gold fish and when I got to the bottom of the bag, I pulled the lift it to my mouth and catch all the crumbs move. 

4. We have watched 4 Twilight movies in 2 days, yet my todo list is longer than its ever been.

5. I am team Jacob.

 

Fess up what have you done wrong this week.

The Motherload

Here she is ladies and gents, the mother load of my couponing experience. Yeeehawww.
This past weekend, I drove down to central Texas to hang out with my family while P was out of town on a business trip. Saturday morning after my run, my mom and I combined our coupons with the sales, and ended up shopping at Target and Walgreens.

We got a ton of stuff for our stockpiles. Here is a breakdown of what we purchased:

10 packs of laundry detergent
Pasta and sauce for the food bank
Toilet Paper
Trash bags
6 packs of razors
Light bulbs
3 packs of dog food
Soap
Tea
Coffee
Bottled Water (3 packs still in the car)
Foil

Drum roll please.......savings of almost 100.00, plus a gift card to Target, and a 10.00 rebate check coming to us!
The best deal we found was the detergent was buy one get one free at Walgreens. We had coupons for the detergent so we got 2 for 4.99!

T'was an awesome shopping trip!

Friday Confessions

Here are my weekly confessions:

1. I ran out of clean socks, so I rewore dirty ones several times this week.
2. I finish all of my meals before P.
3. I openly stared at a woman changing in her car as we sat in bumper to bumper traffic.
4. I ate an entire box of Morning Star chick-n-patties in less than 12 hours.

What did you do wrong this week?

Where Credit is Due

Sometimes it is so easy to overlook the things that people closest to us do. We see the flaws, or the things we want them to change or do better, do more, do less, or do differently. Yesterday, P and I were discussing Veganism with a friend, and how we are transitioning our lives to a different, healthier lifestyle. As we were talking, I basically threw P under the bus and told our friend how much less meat I eat now, and how I really am working to do more, and that P is coming around to it much more slowly. As we continued to chat and I shared some tips, ideas, and recipes, P joined back in the conversation and commented how different he feels now that he is of dairy. I basically did a double take.

It is true, P is off dairy, and I have not asked him about it nor have I given him much credit for it at all. Over a month ago I was making my grocery list, and I asked P if he needed more milk, and he responded no. I asked again the next week, and P said no again. I think I questioned him a few times, but I didn't think much of it. Rather than boast about it and make a huge deal, P just quietly began to remove dairy from his diet. He didn't make a scene, he didn't tell me, preach at me, or try to convince me to do it, he just did it. That's the difference between P and I. I want to talk about it, convince others that my way is correct, and get credit for doing it. Where I can be loud, boisterous, and judgy, P is quiet, humble, and wants to take action and is not concerned with getting the credit.

As I have thought about this past few days, I have come to realize, it is more than just being off dairy that P does with looking for credit, he does a lot, and I never thank him nor acknowledge it. On the weekends, I do the laundry and deep clean the house. If P is gone, or taking a nap, I make sure to tell him how much I did because he needs to know ho much I do around here, and isn't he grateful for me. I am really good about getting the house cleaned on the weekends. What I am not so great about is keeping it clean during the week. Every day I carry no less than 4 bags with me. A purse, work bag, lunch, and my workout bag. When I get home in the evenings, I dump the bags right in the middle of the floor, and am content to leave them there until the next morning. P comes behind me and picks up my junk and puts it away. Everyday this happens, and never once have I thanked him. Just thinking about it now gives me a sinking feeling in my stomach, realizing how often I fail to say thank you.

That's just how he is, and WHO he is. He spends most of his days looking for opportunities to serve other people and never seeks recognition for the things he does. The longer we are married, the more I realize that I truly married up. He is out of my league and I have no idea what I did to deserve getting such a good husband.

What are some things your loved ones do that you never give them credit for?

Oreo's on top and in the middle

Holy Yumm-oley. Yes that is a word. I made these amazing babies twice during the week of Easter, and each time they disappeared within a matter of hours. They are so goooooood. Make them for yourself and be prepared to slip into some elastic pants because you will eat them all. Or, make them for your next gathering and be prepared to have on an big skirt with lots of room for expansion, and get and get ready for a big ego boots, because you will get so many compliments and people will rave about them.

I cannot remember where I found this recipe, so I can't remember who to give credit to. And don't let my awesome photography skills deter you from making them, they really do look very pretty!

2 packs of Oreos

1 pack of cream cheese

1 box French Vanilla cake

1 Tub icing of your choice

1. In a food processor, process 1/2 of the Oreo's

2.Combine crumbled Oreo's and cream cheese in a large bowl and mix by hand

3. Make small balls about the size of a golf ball out of mixture and freeze for 20 minutes

4. Make cake using directions on box

5. Line cupcake tin with cupcake paper

6. Fill about an inch of each container with batter

7. Add one ball to each cup and then cover with remaining batter.

8. Bake

9. Let cool and then ice with frosting

10. Enjoy!!!

These things are so dang addicting!!! If you make them, let me know how they turn out.

Friday Confessions

Here are my weekly confessions

1. I ate a fermented orange.
2. I didn't put make up on a quarter of my face because I was too busy trying to read something while getting ready.
3. I have been caught staring at a guy at the gym because he looks EXACTLY like Leonard.
4. I wore two different color socks and it was super obvious, and someone pointed it out.
5. We decided to do a no spend April. We both ended up with new shoes last weekend.

All right, fess up, what have you done wrong this week?

The Simple Gal's Guide: Coupons

As you know, I am a couponer. I tend to brag about my deals, and I want everyone to know about what I got, because I think it is so much fun, and I want You to find the same deals or better! I don't think I will ever stop using coupons. Even if I had millions of dollars, I would probably still use coupons. There is something so exciting about getting something for free, or for pennies on the dollar. It is really rewarding!
Every time I post about my shopping trips, I always get comments from you lovely chicka's about how you can't find deals, or don't have the time, or the brain power to coupon. Ladies, all of that ends today! I am sending ya'llto school, couponing school. Here is the Simple Gal's Guide to: Couponing. It is simple, and trust me, if I can do it, you can do it.

Step 1: Getting and organizing your coupons.
A. Buy a paper and pull out the inserts. Every week I go through the inserts and clip the coupons for items that I would typically buy. (I.E.-Soap, detergent, pickles, bread, Soy Milk, Salad dressing, etc.) Then I take the insert and put it in a file folder with the date listed, and keep it in the box below.

Step 2: File your coupons

I file the coupons that I have clipped in my accordion file that I keep in my purse. This way I have the coupons with me at all times.

Step 3: Finding the Deals

A. I do not do any of the work myself! I find out about the deals by using couponing websites. There are HUNDREDS of them. Each site tells you the store to go to, and the coupon to use with the date that coupon came out. So, I either go my accordion file and pull the coupon, or if I have not cut it out yet, I go to my file box pull out the appropriate flyer and clip away. Or, I print the coupon off line, and most sites give you the link to find the coupon.

B.I use 2 couponing website, My Frugal Adventures and The Krazy Coupon Lady. I have them in my google reader and I scan each entry and decide if it is a deal that I want to go after.

C. Finally, I write down the deals on a sheet of paper and I put the coupons into an envelope with the name of the store written on it. When I have time in the week, I head to the store, whip out my envelope with my list and coupons in it, shop quickly.

Step 4: Brag about your purchases!

That's it ladies, that is how I do my couponing. It takes about 4 hours a week. I scan the websites a couple times a day, usually in the morning, at lunch, and in the evening when I surf the web.

Here are my final tips:

1. Pick the stores you want to shop at and get really really good at shopping there. I found for our situation and location I shop at CVS, Target, and Walmart. I miss out on a lot of deals because I don't want to run around shopping at 10 different stores each week, I just don't have the time for that.

2. Use green bags. CVS and Target give you a discount for using your own bags. Target takes .5 for every bag you use, and CVS gives you .25 cents off every time you bring in a bag.

3. Shop at Target. If you go to the Target website, you can print store coupons there. The great thing about Target is that they allow you to use a Target store coupon and a manufactures coupon on the same item. Not many stores do that. For example, if I printed a coupon from the Target website for Colgate toothpaste and I had a coupon from the paper for Colgate toothpaste, I could use them both on the same item and get double savings!

4. Read the fine print.

5. Don't stress out, it is really not that hard!

I hope that is clear. Please email me if you have any questions about couponing.

Super Saver

I don't know about you, but I really really like couponing. I know I have said before that it is like a high for me, but it really is. I ran to Target this morning to redeem some of my coupons and I was very excited to add these cleaning and house hold products to my stockpile. My total before coupons was about 25.00, but after all my coupons, I only paid 9.80! Yahoo for savings!!!

Have you had any successful couponing lately?

Friday Confessions

Here are my weekly confessions:

1.I am trying to cut out sugar from my diet. I had large amounts of chocolate every single day this week.
2. I am trying to cut out sugar from my diet. I made a massive amount of cupcakes yesterday.
3. I am trying to cut out sugar from my diet. I didn't eat any cupcakes, but I ate copious amounts of batter.
4. I was mad at P and the first words out of my mouth when we talked on the phone were "I'm really pissed off."
5. I cussed four times yesterday as I sat in traffic.

That feels better now to get it off my chest. Fess up friends, what did you do wrong this week? Don't make me feel like the only bad girl this week.

Twister

Today was insane. If you have not heard, there were about 12 tornado's in Dallas today. The destruction is horrible, and as I sit here watching the news, I am blown away by the power of mother nature. No matter what we do, what we create, and how strong we think we are, in the big scheme of things we are tiny.

I work at one of the tallest buddings in the United States. During lunch we turned on the t.v. and the news broke in and issued a tornado watch. We blew it off until we heard the sirens blaring from the streets 51 stories below. Suddenly, we jumped into action and had to start removing over 3,000 people from a building that is over a million square feet into the basement. I was stationed in the interior of the building in the command center and I watched people continue to run down the stairs and pack into the elevators nervously. As I sat there watching the monitors, I looked up and thought about the thousands of tons of steel, concrete, and materials above my head, I was struck with the thought and realization of my own mortality.

In the end, we have no control over our surrounding and circumstances. I closed my eyes and prayed for the people, the building, and that the Lord give me a peace that would transcend all understanding.

Hug your kids, your parents, your spouse, neighbor, or dog. Call your grandma and tell her you love her.

Have you ever had an experience like this? How did you respond?

Money Maker

This past weekend, P and I opened up our own black market side business.

We had a garage sale. Our apartment complex hosted a community wide garage sale and I was super pumped about it. I spent many hours this past week going through our junk and labeling and pricing everything.

I woke up before 6:00 A.M. and started setting up the garage for the start of the sale at 8:00 A.M. and it was awesome. And by awesome, I mean it was so much fun when no one showed up to our garage during the first hour. And by awesome, I mean out of a 3 hour stint in the garage, we had 7 people come by our little black market booth. And by awesome, I mean that we sold so much of our junk and made a whopping $40.00. And by awesome, I mean that 40.00 will probably buy about a square inch of our dream home one day! Yes, it was awesome!!

Have you ever had a garage sale? Did ya'll make any money?