12-31-11

11:20am

Well it's 4 days before my colonoscopy, something
I've never had done before. Starting today
I cannot eat corn, popcorn, nuts, seeds or beans.
And for any pain I can only take Tylenol,
no ibuprofen, naproxin or other OTC pain
meds. Boy this sounds like it's going to be fun.
Me and mom are going to get my bowel prep kit
now. I've heard too many stories about colonoscopies
and people usually say the prep the day before
is the worst part. The day before the colonoscopy
I have to start drinking the bowel cleaning
meds at 5:00pm to 9:00pm. It will be a total
of 96 ounces of liquid in 4 hours time. How
do people drink all that stuff or not throw it up?


-------------------------------------------------------


2:00pm


Left to go get prescriptions and are just now getting home.
We went to Walgreens to pick up mom's prescription
and to get mine. Well, they didn't have my prescription
in stock. They even called other Walgreens which didn't
have it either. So we ended up going to Kroger.
The pharmacy and the store area was packed today.
We had to wait 40 minutes to get the prescription
and that didn't include another 20 or so minutes
to wait in the pharmacy line to pick it up.

While waiting and walking around Kroger Tony called
and wanted me to stop by Dollar Tree to pick up some
batteries. We never pay stupid money for batteries
and will always go to Dollar Tree, Family Dollar
or Big Lots to buy batteries at a fraction of the cost.
So today I bought 4 packs of AA batteries,
8 in each pack for $1 each along with a pack
of two 9 volts for $1.00. Not even sure you
could of bought 1 pack of batteries at Kroger
for the amount I spent on 5 packages at Dollar Tree.


---------------------------------------------------


2:10pm

I never got lasagnas made yesterday with all
the house cleaning I was doing. So I might work
on that today if I find time.
I did manage to get a ham in the crock pot.
Usually for New Years I have a pork roast.
This year will be a ham instead.

I did up the ham the same as I did
for Christmas.
I slathered on a mix of honey mustard and maple syrup
to coat it. Then I coated it in brown sugar
and sprinkled allspice seasoning on top and put
it in a crock with a couple cups of water and
added Better Than Bouillion.


Well I'm going to eat a late lunch.
Mom bought some Kroger deli chicken wings for
us and we're having them with bleu cheese dressing,
and a baked potato topped with butter, salt,
parmesan & real bacon bits.


----------------------------------------------------------------


4:15pm

Got all the lasagnas made for the freezer.
I've been in pain most of the time making it.
We don't have any Tylenol and I had to send
Tony out for some. But anyway I managed to
get three made with the ingredients I had on hand.

2 1/2 pounds hamburger (free)
3 cans of tomato sauce, only 2 pictured (.39 cents x'3 is $1.17)
1 can diced tomatoes with juice (.59 cents)
1 jar spaghetti sauce ($1.00)
1 pound box lasagna noodles (.89 cents)
1/2 box barilla lasagna noodles, not pictured (free)
garlic (.05 cents)
Italian grinder seasoning (free)
1 large container cottage cheese ($2.00)
1 1/2 pkgs, 3 cups, mozarella cheese ($3.00)

TOTAL COST to make 3 pans of lasagna- $8.70
each large pan is 2 meals or 16 servings
small pan is 1 meal or 4 servings

5 meals for $1.74 a meal or .43 cents a serving

I've been a cooking fool today, lol.

I think I did a pretty good job at making
lasagnas at this price. A Stouffer's lasagna
is about $10 to $15 each at the store!!


Now let's see if I feel like cleaning out my bathroom
closet and the cabinet under my sink.
This was on the list of my things I wanted
to get done today. I took some Tylenol and
it doesn't work no where as good as ibuprofen does.
It only takes the edge off the pain and doesn't
take it away completely.


-----------------------------------------------------------


5:00pm

Ok change of plans. My energy has run out so I think
I'm gonna go lay down and take a nap. When your whole
body feels like it's inflamed your best bet is
to just rest.


----------------------------------------------------------


8:40pm

I ended up taking a three hour nap!
Got up and had a ham sandwich then decided
I wanted something sweet. Just now started making
a roll of those Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies. Mmmm Good!
Oh, I didn't tell ya, today while in Kroger and had
40 minutes to walk around the store to kill time, I priced the
chocolate chip cookie dough at $4.39 a roll!!
I guessed they were about $3.00 a roll.
$4.39 a roll x's ten is $43.90 regular.
I paid $4.90 after the manager special and coupons for 10 rolls.
A savings of $39.00!!


---------------------------------------------------------


10:55pm

Ahh, I took a hot bath to soak the achy, breaky muscles.
Hey, check out my new tattoo, lol.



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12-30-11

Homemade Ketchup & Mustard recipe.

Homemade Mayonnaise recipe.


----------------------------------------------------------


Homemade liquid laundry soap


I've been using this recipe from the Duggar's family
for more than a year now. It has helped very much
to cut the cost of buying laundry soap from
the store which can be expensive.
It seems a little expensive at first purchasing
the Arm & Hammer washing soda and the Borax
but let me tell ya those two items will make
many batches of laundry soap. They have lasted
me more than a year. Sometimes I add a 1/2 cup
of Oxi Clean to the batch. A similar kind of
Oxi Clean can be found at Dollar Tree.
I add this as a little booster to getting clothes
clean. Or, sometimes I'll purchase a small bottle
of liquid Tide (when on sale and bought
with a coupon of course) and add it in to the
soap mix as an extra booster. It also helps to
keep it from gelling as much and it gives it
a nice smell.

I have found the Arm & Hammer washing soda
at Meijers. The Zote soap, another kind of
laundry bar soap, can also be found there as well.
The Fels-Naptha bar laundry soap can be found at Kroger.
They run around $1.00 or a little more a bar.
I usually cut the bar in half or thirds
to use in each batch.

I think I have figured that to make this soap
with just the regular ingredients and
the Oxy Clean costs about $1.00 a bucket!
I make about 4 buckets a year.
And I usually add about a 1/2 cup per load.


As for fabric softener I buy the Suavitel brand.
I can usually find it at Walgreens on sale
for buy 1 get 1 free, about $3 for 2 bottles.
I realize these are smaller bottles but I still
stretch them out to make them last.
I find that Suavitel has a nice scent that
usually lasts on my clothes and blankets.
The directions on them say to fill the bottle
lid a couple times for a large or super capacity
load. My washer is super capacity. I only fill
the bottle lid once, then fill the rest
of the fabric softener dispenser on my washing
machine with water. It works just fine
and I have no static on my clothes.

Some people dump their liquid fabric softener
into a bucket then fill it with another bottle
or two of water. Then they cut up sponges
and throw them into the bucket. When drying
clothes, take out one sponge, wring it out,
then toss it in your dryer like a dryer sheet.
Or you could use a wash cloth instead of sponges
in a certain color
so that you know which one is your homemade
dryer sheet.

When looking at how many loads
a bottle of fabric softener or a box or
bottle of laundry detergent does I have found
it usually refers to if you are doing
small loads. I do full capacity loads
to save time and money. Don't run your
machines only half full. Wait til you get
a full load to run them. It will save you money
in the long run!

If you do large loads of laundry and don't make
your own detergent, then experiment a little.
Try a large load with a small cup of detergent.
I'll bet you'll find it works almost as good
as a full size cup.


--------------------------------------------------


10:15am

Breakfast/Brunch

Breakfast Quesadillas


I made this one up. I got the idea since
so many fast food joints are now offering
breakfast burritos. So to save money I am
making my own at home only I think it's
easier to make quesadillas than trying to
get the filling to stay in a wrapped burrito.
Same thing to me, burritos are rolled and quesadillas
are folded over in half.

For starters I peeled and diced up 4 small
potatoes. I added about 1/4 cup Italian dressing
to a skillet and fried them up. I sprinkled
a little onion powder on them. Kids don't like
onions on some things so I found a way to still
get some onion flavor.
(.50 cents- potatoes are Extra Value and
come in a 10 pound bag for $2.88)


In another skillet I fried up a roll of sausage in a
with a little water. The water
helps to pull the fat off the sausage and
helps to get it crumbly instead of staying
in big chunks. When draining I still run
more hot water over the sausage to remove
even more grease. Add to the potatoes.
($1.00 from Save-A-Lot)

Next add 4 eggs to the potato sausage mix.
Stir til cooked.
(.32 cents- Walgreens eggs are .99 cents a dozen)


Now in the skillet you used to fry sausage,
place a tortilla.
(extra value tortillas from Kroger $1.19)
On half of the tortilla
add a little sprinkle of
cheese, top with your breakfast filling,
then another sprinkling of cheese.
While the cheese adds flavor it also
acts as the "glue" to hold the tortilla
together.
Fold tortilla over top of filling and fry
each side in skillet til golden brown.
(1/2 cup Kroger shredded cheese .50 cents,
comes in a 2 cup bag for $2.00 on sale)

Serve with salsa,
or in my case because I don't
have any, I'll serve with ranch dressing
and some hot sauce :0) or
Ketchup for the kids,

Total cost to make 10 breakfast quesadillas-
$3.51
or .35 cents a serving

Put remaining leftover quesadillas in freezer.
Warm in microwave when you need a quick breakfast.


--------------------------------------------------------


11:35am


I keep hearing about everyone's new year's resolutions.
So sitting here thinking about what mine would be.
Probably nothing really out of the ordinary,
to save money, try not to impulse buy unless there
is a very good reason to having that item,
to get these bleep de bleep doctor bills
paid off and try to get better to not have as
much in the next year. I still rant and rave that
our insurance is outrageous each month and even
with insurance it's putting us broke to pay
off the doctor, hospital and prescriptions.
I hear people say all the time it's a good thing
we have insurance so it doesn't cost as much.
What the heck is good about having insurance?
It still costs a fortune with having it
and is putting us broke. This is the brokest
we have been in about 7 years all because
of the doctor bills!! Our insurance went up
an additional $100 to $200 a month,
our copays went up $5, a trip to the er copay
went up $100 and our deductible went up $100.



-----------------------------------------------------


11:45am


Ok all depressing crap aside. I'm sitting here working
on my blog at the dining room table. My child, sitting
on the couch in the living room decides to bombard me
with a full round of nerf darts, which was getting
annoying. The last round of darts was flying by my
head and over my computer and you are not going
to believe this but one hit me in the nose and STUCK.
I swear I did not deliberately put it there.
I raised up from my computer screen to look at
Jonathan and said, uh, do you mind. He lost it.
I was shot from across the room and this is where
the nerf dart stuck. The kids thought it was hilarious
and wanted to take a picture.
Can you see other darts sitting on my hoodie
behind me from where he shot about 20 of them at me?!
Is it time for them to go back to school yet????



-----------------------------------------------------


1:00pm

Took a very small load of scrap metal over
to the Recycling Exchange.
We had 5 pounds of aluminum (.50 cents/lb),
12 pounds brass ($1.40/lb.),
3 pounds of copper ($2.45/lb).

We made $26.66 on what little scrap metal
you see in the pictures below.


It wasn't much, probably the least amount
we've ever taken at one time.
But that little bit put some cash in the
bank account. Money that can be put towards
a free tank of gas for the week.
Every little bit helps and this scrap
metal would have otherwise been thrown
away at my hubby's work. Now he's got
all the other maintenance guys saving
their scrap plumbing and such in a bucket
in the shop for him.



------------------------------------------------------

12-29-11

11:00am

Still working on laundry. I've gotten most of the clothes
washed and put away and are now working on blankets
and towels.

While I just made a big pot of ham & bean soup
yesterday I am working on the next crock pot meal.
I'm trying to stay one step ahead of the game.
You never know when someone will be sick
and don't feel like cooking. Eating out
gets costly over time so I like to get some
meals made up ahead of time and put into the
freezer. You still get a homemade meal
even though you are taking from the
freezer and just warming it up.

Today I will be making salisbury steak with
a tomato gravy. It'll be served with some
mashed potatoes and a canned veggie of some sort.

1.5 to 2 pounds hamburger (free)
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup bread crumbs (.75 cents)
1 egg (.08 cents)
1 can tomato soup (.25 cents)
1 single serve can tomato juice (free)
dehydrated onions (free)
beef boullion (.05 cents)
worcestershire sauce (.05 cents)
liquid smoke (.05 cents)
mustard (free)
salt & pepper
onion powder

Combine hamburger, bread crumbs & egg then form
into patties and fry in skillet. Remove and drain grease.

Add remaining ingredients to skillet and bring to
just before boil point. Add a slurry of 1 tablespoon
of cornstarch to 1 tablespoon of water if tomato
gravy isn't thick enough. I also found a little
bit of leftover bbq sauce that I threw in there
as well.


Serve over mashed potatoes ($1.00)

Total cost to make- $2.28


--------------------------------------------------------


12:15pm

Ham & Bean Soup




Salisbury Steak




------------------------------------------------------------


3:00pm

Well I now know why we don't take vacations
during the Winter months or Christmas season,
it's boring being cooped up inside with nothing
to do.

I was waiting on a load of laundry to finish
when I decided to slap a little yellow paint
on one of the walls in my laundry room
just to see what it would look like.
It wasn't done with a roller or anything like
that so it would need another coat for sure.
It's still wet.



----------------------------------------------------


4:45pm


Got hungry and made me a cheap snack.
I took a 1 1/2 pound jar of applesauce .59 cents
and added a packet of strawberry Kool Aid to it
.10 cents and made flavored applesauce for .69 cents.
No need to buy the strawberry or berry flavored
applesauce that could cost more when you can
make your own.

You could also use this and spread out on
a tray in your dehydrator and make fruit pleather
aka fruit roll ups.



-----------------------------------------------------------


7:30pm

Supper

I ended up with 6 servings.
2 of those got dished up individually
for the freezer for Tony's lunches at work.



I make our own individual entrees for lunches throughout
the week. Much cheaper, healthier and more filling
than buying those Budget Entrees for .99 cents each!
All it takes is a few leftovers from a meal to make one.
I always try to make a little bit more each
time I make supper so I have another serving
to put back in the freezer.


Tomorrow I plan to make a couple lasagnas.
One to eat tomorrow and one or two for the freezer.

Then I was sitting here trying to figure out
other meals and this is what I came up with-

Sausage, egg, cheese & potato burritos

Cabbage Roll soup-
I have leftover tomato gravy from tonight's
supper that will go towards this soup.

Fried cabbage with potatoes & sausage.

12-28-11

9:00am

Just crawled out of bed. I must have slept
on my back most of the night because it
was everything I could do just to get out
of bed. Having back spasms this morning.
Hoping it clears up because I have a crap
load of laundry to get done still.


-------------------------------------------------------


Free subscription to Super Street car magazine!


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2:45pm

Been spending my day doing laundry and rearranging
my laundry room. Some day I'd like to paint my laundry
room. I have some yellow paint that I got one time that I
didn't like for our living room and ended up getting
another color. I'd like to use that color in the
laundry room to make it a little more cheerful down
there instead of feeling like a dungeon.


I got the ham and beans in the crock pot just now.

-1 large can cream of chicken soup (.79 cents)
-1 large can of water
-1 packet of sausage flavored country gravy mix- ($1.19)
-1/3 pkg stir fry veggies (it was the only veggies
I could find to throw in the soup that sounded good)
-leftover ham with bone (free)
-ham broth from making the ham in the crock (free)
It had water, ham juices, chicken boullion.
-onion powder
-5 kinds of beans, 1/3 cup of each
(most beans were free) .25 cents

TOTAL COST to make a large crock pot full of bean soup
$2.83


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5:00pm

Ham & Bean soup's still in the crock. I'm gonna
let it cook through this evening then put it
in the fridge for tomorrow.

Tonight's supper is something simple-
Pigs in blanket and mac & cheese.

-mac n cheese .75 cents
-can of biscuits cut into quarters .60 cents
-package of lil smokies $2.50 wrap biscuits around them & bake

TOTAL COST- $3.85
4 servings @ .96 cents a serving.


--------------------------------------------------


I don't know too much about mp3 players or phones
that play music as I pretty much have basic stuff.
The kids each got an mp3 player for Christmas
and I have found a way to download music onto them for free.

For starters you want to have the folder pulled
up of files contained on your mp3 full screen.

Next find your downloaded files on your computer.
Reduce size of screen by clicking the box next to the
x at the top of the screen. You don't want to click
it completely off you don't want the screen
to be full size.

Go to VidToMP3

Then go to YouTube
and find a video of a song you like.
Once you find a song video you like copy and paste
the address into the vidtomp3 space on their website
and follow the instructions to download.

Next find the mp3 song name in your download folder on
your computer. Click with mouse and start to move
it off the screen. It will now move it over
to the file folder for your mp3 on the screen under it.
It then loads to your mp3 player when you do this.

Don't know if this makes any sense but it worked for
me and I'm not computer, cell phone or an mp3 player guru!


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9:00pm

Nothing says lovin' like warm chocolate chip cookies
from the oven. That's one of the best .49 cents
spent on that cookie dough. Slice, bake and eat.
Doesn't get much simpler than that.

Still working on laundry and have been all day.
I've got about 1 1/2 loads left to do then
I might start on blankets. Might as well
since vacation time for hubby doesn't come
very often during the Christmas season so will
take advantage of it and try to get things done.

I have felt half way decent. Stomach cramps
aren't what they used to be and neither is the
tiredness, thank God! Still have restroom
problems to put it nicely and still take
ibuprofen for muscle aches and pains.
But I have been up running around doing
things while I don't feel too bad because
I never know when this crap will take a turn
for the worst. It has come and gone three
times in the past year and when it hits
it could stay for many weeks. And don't let
me forget to mention that the last three times
I ended up in the ER dehydrated, twice with
very low potassium levels. This time around
they checked my potassium and it was normal.
I've been trying really hard to eat things
with potassium in them and it seems to be working.
I still have a colonoscopy on January 4th.
The reason is because it will still eventually
keep coming back and I need medications to
keep it away for as long as possible before
the next episode. Kinda sucks they couldn't
have gotten me in this week, which they tried.
Being the new year for my appointment means
I have to meet my deductible first before
the insurance will start paying on any
doctor bills like this. I've told you are
insurance went up to $600 a month, well
our copay for hospital and maybe specialists
also went up from $200 to $300.

12-27-11

10:50am

2 days after Christmas and the house is still wiped out.
And here I sit looking over the war zone, staring out
the window at the gloomy, rainy day that is supposed
to turn to snow by tomorrow. Boy, this really makes
me want to get up and start cleaning. I'm not quite
sure where to start other than to pop a couple
ibuprofen so I don't feel the pain. So I sit
here and survey the damage. Maybe I should
start with laundry considering I'm two days overdue
with getting that done. Then I'd like to start taking
down the Christmas tree and decorations. It's been up
since the day after Thanksgiving so a month is long enough.
I know many people keep them up til the New Year but if
you have a small home it sure helps to get any needed
space back by putting these things away just so you
don't feel like you are living out of a box.


---------------------------------------------------


1:00pm

Having ham for lunch again. We've had it three
days now and don't think we could tire from it!
The way I made the ham this year has been the best.
I put it in the crock with 1-2 tsps of Better Than
Bouillion mixed with water to cover the bottom.
I slathered it up with some maple syrup
and honey mustard mixed then coated the outside
of it with brown sugar and sprinkled allspice
all over it then cooked it for 4-5 hours on high.

Now 3 days later I have saved all the juice
and broth from the ham and will cook the ham
bone up in a pot with 2 sausage flavored
country gravy mixes . I'll divide the pot into two.
One will be used for ham and bean soup,
the other for potato soup. This will probably
happen tomorrow since I have so much to do today.
Still working on getting the house put back together.
We've got the decorations and tree taken down just
have to start hauling everything to the basement
throwing some loads of laundry in between trips
down there.


-----------------------------------------------


3:00pm

Working on tomorrow's supper and/or lunch.
I found 5 different bags of beans in the pantry.
I used 1/3 cup from each bag and have
them soaking in a pot with a little baking soda.
Tomorrow after soaking I'll add in some
chicken broth, ham broth, ham pieces and
the sausage flavored country gravy.




----------------------------------------------------


I'm not sure if I posted about a new store coming
soon or not. The old Good Will store on Morse
Rd. near Big Lots is going to be another Roses store!
There's one already on 161 and Karl Rd.
We went there to do a little Christmas shopping but
didn't really get a chance to check the whole
store out. I saw in their ad that they had
my Scott's toilet paper for $1 cheaper than
Kroger or Meijer.


----------------------------------------------------


6:30pm

This evening we made a run over to Tony's work
to get rid of some Christmas trash.
While in that area I wanted to stop by the
Henderson Rd. Kroger to see if they had
any mark downs. Once again I found better
food deals than I did any Christmas items.

4- 12 packs Kroger diet cola
was $2.50 each
paid $1.29 each

Three of those 12 packs are mom's. I always call
her when I'm out shopping and find a good deal
to see if she wants me to pick her up things
when I find them.



My next deal I found was almost 2 pound rolls
of Pillsbury chocolate chip cookie dough.
I've seen them marked down at other Kroger stores
for $1.49. Henderson Rd. Kroger had them for
.99 cents each. That's a really good price but
to sweeten the deal I found a blinkie coupon
machine with $1.00 off 2 Pillsbury cookie dough.
That made 2 rolls of dough .98 cents for 2 or .49 cents each!
I'm sure these rolls are around $2.50 to $3 normally.
I bought all 10 rolls of chocolate chip cookie
dough they had. They also had gingerbread and a roll
of peppermint.
I plan on putting them all in the freezer.
You couldn't buy a dry cookie mix for .50 cents
let alone the ingredients to make cookies
for that much!!



At reg. price $3.00 x's 10 is $30.00
Manager special price .99 x's 10 is $9.90
minus $5 worth of coupons $4.90

Total saved by waiting for mark downs and using coupons-
$25.10!!

----------------------------------------------------------


Being vacation time and all we splurged and got
2 Donatos pizzas tonight. One double pepperoni
and one supreme. BUT my splurge was still a deal.
I got both pizzas at Kroger. They are usually
$10 each but are on sale right now
2 for $10, $5 each. Cheaper than delivery or pick up
at around $10 or more a single pizza. Heck it's the same price
as a Little Ceaser pizza but with more toppings.


--------------------------------------------------------

12-26-11

4:00pm

Me and mom went out for a little bit to see
if we could find any Christmas mark downs.
Most things were 50% off. I didn't get
much in the way of Christmas mark downs
because I'd like to wait til things go
to 75% off in a week or two. I only
have $15 from my Christmas money from mom to spend
on after Christmas sales.

I did find these village people for
.50 cents a two pack. They are
for Christopher and I'm putting them
back til next Christmas. I got them
for when he gets his HO Train set,
set up in the basement. I figured it
was too expensive to go to a train store
to buy houses and such for the train
layout so will use Christmas villages,
people, trees and what not for it instead.
It's about the same scale.
The manager at Dollar General said
he's never seen these leftover after Christmas
to make it to be marked down.


I had more luck finding grocery mark downs at Kroger today.
Ever since they moved their manager specials from
the front of the store to the back people don't
know they are there and I've been finding lots
more deals. I spent $28 on groceries for this week.
This was from the grocery budget not my after
Christmas sales money.

These items are not in the pictures and I paid
full price for them-

10 pound bag of potatoes $2.88
2 two liters Kroger pop $1.50
2 pkgs sausage flavored country gravy $2.80

The rest is manager specials-




5- 1 pound 4 oz cans of pineapple
was $1.10
paid .59 cents each

2- 1 pound 10 oz cans cream of chicken
was $1.49
paid .79 cents each

3- 1 pound 8 oz jars chunky applesauce
was $1.19
paid .59 cents each





15.5 oz can white kidney beans
was .99 cents
paid .49 cents

3- 14.5 oz cans tomato sauce
was .69 cents
paid .39 cents each

1- 14.5 oz Kroger diced tomatoes
was .73 cents
paid .39 cents

1- 14.5 oz Hunts diced tomatoes
was $1.08
paid .59 cents

2- 14 oz sauer kraut
was $1.09
paid .59 cents each

1- can of black olives
was $1.29
paid .69 cents

1- Campbell's chicken noodle soup
was .76 cents
paid .39 cents

1- can mixed vegetables
was .73 cents
paid .39 cents

1- 15.25 ounce canned fruit cocktail
was $1.08
paid .59 cents

1- can of chicken broth
was .60 cents
paid .29 cents





2 pound bag of powdered sugar
was $2.00
paid .99 cents

4 boxes Jello pumpkin spice pudding
was ?
paid .25 cents each

1 pound box lasagna noodles
was $1.76
paid .89 cents

2- 12 oz boxes rainbow pasta
was $1.39
paid .69 cents each





2- boxes 160 count tissues
was $1.43
paid .69 cents each

1- 32 oz multi surface cleaner
was $1.79
paid .79 cents

1- 28 oz Ultra Gain dish soap
was $2.29
paid $1.19


----------------------------------------------------



Me and mom stopped in Meijer to check out
their Christmas mark downs. I didn't find anything
nor did mom. Mom did get me a box of kitty litter
and said it was kitty's christmas gift.
I decided to try something new and went
with the small box of Arm & Hammer brand
for $5.99. The 20 pound box was $7.99
but I wanted to try the smaller box first.

I get home and see on Facebook where
if you buy the 20 pound box there is
a printable coupon along with a
Try It For Free rebate up to $8.99
I should've listened to mom and went
with getting the 20 pound box.
Figures I see this rebate and coupon now
that I've already purchased it.

12-25-11

12:30pm


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I finally got to bed around 3:00 - 3:30pm.
Not sure how I am going with little sleep.
We got up at 8:00am.

Getting ready to serve lunch. Got the
ham warming up in the crock pot, got
toffee cookie bars made this morning
and got an ice cream cake frosted.

Well I am going to go for now.
If I am still awake later this evening
I'll post pictures/videos from our Christmas
with the family.


--------------------------------------------------------------


7:30pm

I laid down and took a 4 hour nap. While I felt
pretty good today the tiredness finally took over.
Considering I was awake for 19.5 hours yesterday
without a nap that's understandable.
I feel so much more relaxed now that it's over
with and don't even care if the house is a little messy.

Mom's ready to go out tomorrow and do some
after Christmas shopping. Not sure how I'm going
to do that with very little money. I usually do it
every year with her.

Pictures from our Christmas-
I usually don't post how much I spent
on our Christmas but since it's been
a rough Christmas money wise for us
I thought I would add what I paid for things.
I managed to somehow
pull it off and are so proud of being
able to make this a merry Christmas for everyone
on very little money!!

This is not everything everyone got!







Call of Duty MW3 for XBox 360- free with
gift cards from doing surveys along with
the other 2 games!


Full Auto game (free)


Resident Evil Game (free)



Wendy's t-shirts gotten free from Facebook.



Train Simulator (free)


1 of three shirts and a pair of jean shorts
I got from Dollar General for $1 each.


Railroad calendar (free) & new black polo shirt $1.
They boys each got 2 new shirts and each a new pair of
pants for $1 each. Damien also got a new t-shirt $1.



Jonathan's guitar amp. $4 to $5 at a yard sale.
A coworker gave us a free cord to attach the
electric guitar to it. (guitar was something we
found at Tony's work)


Digital picture key chain new in package.
Got for .50 cents at a church sale.



Radio controlled car ($2 at a church sale)
Each boy got a 4g with video mp3 player with headphones.
(free from doing surveys)


Basketball
(free Tony found at work)


Dual motorcycle hothweels hyper wheels.
(free from Kroger thank you bonus)
Dart board
(free from Tony's boss)
The other mp3 player
(free from doing surveys)


Cooling fan for laptop
(free from gift cards from Tony's work)
Cookie headphones, each boy got a pair.
(free from gift cards from Tony's work)


7 VHS American Railroads set $4
(from flea market)


Rifle & pistol BB gun set.
Plus a bottle off BB's not shown.
(free with gift cards from Tony's work)


Badminton set.
$3.50 Meijer clearance sale and used
Damien's store employee discount.


Bod cologne gift set .75 cents.
Meijer after Christmas mark down from last year.


Each boy got a flashlight with batteries.
Free with coupons at Walmart.


BMX bicycle
(free Tony found at work.
Spent about $3 for a new inner tube)


2 electric scooters with chargers.
($5 each at a yard sale)


Open face reel.
($3.50 Meijer's clearance bin plus
Damien's employee discount)


Shick Hydro 5 razor with travel case.
Not shown Shick bottle of shaving cream.
Both free with Kroger coupons.


Norelco rechargable shaver with charger.
(free. Found in an apartment at Tony's work)


Picture frame
($1.00 from yard sale)


The boys & hubby.


Dinner

Mom brought most things. I made the ham (free)
made the toffee cookies (about $2 for ingredients) and
and made ice cream cake ($1.50).
Party tray with meat, cheese & crackers.
(was $15 marked down to $5.99 at Kroger)




Mom and Don


Christmas lunch.


Mom's gifts.

Glitter angel musical snow globe.
(free)


Glass beaded necklace & bracelet set
(.50 cents for both at a yard sale)


Beaded necklace
(.50 cents yard sale)


Beaded blue necklace
(.50 cents yard sale)
Avon's Night Magic cream
(.25 cents yard sale not pictured)



Grandpa
OSU jacket
($8.00 from the thrift store)



Mom

Photo of me and my brother from Thanksgiving.
(8x10 photo from Walgreens $1.00
Picture frame from Dollar General for $2)