My "CVScapades" (My sister coined that term...I love it)

It was a very good day.

Everything in this picture, all $192.05 worth cost me a total of $20.74. My out of pocket would have been much less, if I had broken up the Right Guard purchases into about 3 more transactions, but it was Thanksgiving after all and I did have other things to do. I still walked out with only paying slightly over 20 bucks and have $35.00 in Extra Care Bucks for my next shopping trip.

Here is just what is in the picture in case you can't make it all out:

5 Right Guard Professional Strength Deodorants (these alone would have cost $40.00!)

3 packages of 3 each Dial Soap

1 Aussie Shampoo

1 Aussie conditioner

3 Gatorade G2

2 Maybelline Mineral Power (liquid make up)

1 Gover Girl Liquid make up

1 Cover Girl pressed powder

2 Colgate Total toothpaste

2 Loreal Lip Juice Lip Gloss

2 Sally Hansen Maximum Growth Nail polish

1 Johnson's Soft Lotion

1 Garnier Make Up removing cloths

1 King size Hershey Bar

1 Shick Titanium Trimmers

1 package of 2 each 5 Hour Energy Shots

2 packages of Phillip's ipod ear buds



I did start with $35.00 in Extra Bucks, so I had a good way to start my shopping spree. I also had $8.00 in manufacturer's coupons. I did 4 different transactions, and like I said, if I had split up my last purchase I would have spent less. I am not beating myself up though over this. I am quite pleased.

The store was out of the Bic Soliel razors that were in the sale ad for today though. Actually, they had one on their shelf and a gal in front of me got it. No problem...I have 4 in my stockpile.

I guess I should also include CVS with what I am thankful for this year, but not necessarily just CVS. I actually am thankful for this whole new way of shopping. Stockpiling, couponing, and matching ads has really boosted our budget!

These Things I Know For Sure

I am writing this post on Thanksgiving Eve. it is late, 11:09 now and I know I will still be up for a while. A cheesecake is finishing its last 10 minutes in the oven and then it has to cool for one hour before going in the fridge for the night. It is a delicious recipe and oldest son wanted to make it with me, so I waited until later tonight when we could do it together. My "famous" broccoli and rice is put together for tomorrow and will bake after we arrive at husband's folks.

I have some time alone now to reflect and compose this post.

My thoughts are so deep right now. As I think back on these last 6 months, I KNOW I have much to be thankful for.

Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day will be the 6 month anniversary of my heart attack. The event which began the chain of events that will shape the rest of my life.

These things I know for sure:

1. God is faithful.
I guess I have known that in my head for quite some time, I have read the Bible enough to see that fact repeated in scripture. I have heard others proclaim that time and again when they have gone through crisis. I guess though, that it was never made more real to me than it has been in the last 6 months. There were so many events, and not just in my own life, but in the family as a whole, that might cause some to doubt God. In each situation though, even ones that did not turn out how we would want, God proved that He is right there, every step of the way.

2. My Husband is incredible.
Most every marriage vow includes the phrase. "for better or worse". I just don't think that when you are standing at the altar that you really think that time will come. Might I just be real and say that even though God was and is faithful, I would have never chosen these last 6 months. I cannot think many people would choose a heart attack, followed by cancer, followed by an emergency surgery, followed by a breast biopsy. Worse came all at once for us and my husband was my biggest ally. He was my support, my nurse, my advocate, my encouragement and my love. I cannot thank him enough for loving me in such a way.
I remember one particular moment that will always be etched in my mind: We were at the local emergency room when my neck had suddenly swelled. I was so afraid, and I was not handling it very well, I was crying and scared. I feared what was going to happen as I was struggling to breathe. My husband was at the end of the bed and to calm myself I just had to stare into his eyes and lean on his courage for a moment. He stood there and returned my focus. He was keeping his eyes fixed on mine to give me the support I needed. They quickly gave me a medication which knocked me out, but I remember the love and encouragement in his eyes. Oh how I love this man.

3. Family means everything.
I am blessed to have two sons. They were there the day of my heart attack at my bedside. They were there the day of my cancer surgery. They have encouraged me along the way. They are a sweet motivation and a huge reason to "press on".

My sister has gone over and above the call of duty and made so many trips to the hospital and to my home to care for me, to visit me and to love me. She and I have been close for a very long time, but the way we feel about each other now is amazing. Since the day of my heart attack we do not end a single phone conversation without telling each other "I love you". It is that important because we now know how fragile life really is. When the time ever comes that God separates us we will have no regrets.

My brothers have made countless calls to check up on me and several of them were able to make trips to the hospital to see me. I am so blessed.

My husband's family means the world to me and have been there through it all with many phone calls, visits, and prayers. They traveled many miles to be with me and have shown so much love, even though each of them had been dealt some pretty serious things in their own lives and families.

Husband's parents have loved me as their own ever since I married into this family and these last 6 months were no exception.
These were hard months for them as well, but that never stopped them from showing concern for me.

4. Friends are icing on the cake.
We are such a blessed people. It is not enough that the God of the Universe loves us and calls us His own, not enough that He puts us in an amazing support system known as the family, but He sprinkles our lives with friends to top everything off. What can I possibly say to all of my friends to express my thanks? I never wanted for anything. Meals, housework, yard-work, errands, visits, you name it and it was provided. Many things were provided before I even expressed a need. The prayers and phone calls helped carry me through each day and the cards poured in. During the "heart attack" period I received 79 cards, during the "cancer" period I received well over 100. I have kept every one, they are such encouragement. I have had church friends, school friends, old friends, and very new friends all rally around and shower me with love.

5. This world is not my home.
I think the most important thing I know for sure is just that. This world is not really my home. I now know life is fragile, that life can turn on a dime and be completely different in just one heartbeat. As much as I love life and love my husband, family and friends, I know that we are all here for such a short time. The God of the Universe knows that as well and thankfully made a plan for all of us to live forever. The salvation that I have in my life is the one thing I am truly most thankful for. Yes, even more than everything else I have lived through in the last 6 months. That more important even than waking up this morning breathing, I have an assurance of eternal life.


As I finish typing I am noticing that now it is indeed the 27th, the 6th month anniversary mark. After all I have gone through in those 6 months, I may not really know much, but those things I know for sure. I truly do have much to be thankful for.

I got my answer

I am not eligible for the clinical trial. The doctor's office told me tonight that because of a previous cancer (thyroid) that I am not eligible. You would have thought that this doctor would have known that this would eliminate me. So there is my answer. I still do not know though if he will choose to do anything else for me or just monitor me with mammograms.

Something to Think About

This has been a very good weekend and it is only Saturday night. Sunday is still coming, and that is my favorite day! I will blog more about the weekend tomorrow. Too much for one post.

Here though is what I need to think about:

On Friday, I had two doctor appointments before we headed south on our little get-away. One of the appointments was with my oncologist. Now, to clarify, I do not have an oncologist for the thyroid cancer I had. Don't need one, they got it all. This oncologist is for the cancer I did not have. Confusing? Yeah, a little. I have seen an oncologist twice for the breast issue. It was not cancer, rather some odd little cells that seem to increase your chances of getting cancer. I am over the 20% mark as far as lifetime risks go for getting breast cancer, and to him that seems to be a big deal. He is very interested in getting me in a clinical trial for a new use of a current drug. There is a drug that is being shown as effective in women who already have advanced breast cancer, but as of yet they do not know for sure if it could prevent breast cancer in women that are just at a higher risk. That is where I come in.

Here is the deal, there is not much out there to try for me anyway, and this drug is not yet available in my instance, so this might be my best shot at a treatment plan. The current popular "preventative" drug has side effects that would not be good for someone like me with a previous heart attack. I am not naming drug names here on purpose. Last time I did that I was given a comment on this blog by a drug company spy or something like that, and I would rather not have commercial endorsements on this blog unless I am the one making them. I do know the name of the drug and plan to research it carefully before accepting any offer that comes my way. There are a lot of questions I would want answered before I would agree as well.

I am going to research that drug now, but I ask that you say a prayer for me for wisdom. I might not even get invited to join in, and I would take that as an answer from God. I should know by about Tuesday.

My other appointment was for my annual "female" visit. I see a nurse practitioner that husband and I both love. She is very good. She had not seen me for a year so she was a bit taken back by all that has happened.

Lazy Me

So sorry to all of you die hards out there, I have slacked off this week. I am not really sure how many readers I have anymore though because I don't get too many comments these days. That's okay.

This has been a busy week. I am focusing on getting into the groove of walking on my treadmill ( 2 nights in a row!) , plus I have had 2 doctor appointments so far this week and 2 more to go. Everything is fine, I just have so many follow-up appointments. I have a feeling that for a while anyway that I will be frequenting the doctor's offices.

This weekend husband and I are running away from home. Well, just one night, but it is still good to get away. I have 2 doctor appointments in the big city to our west on Friday afternoon, and afterwards we are traveling south a ways to spend the night. We will get up the next morning, drive a bit more, and visit two different nieces. One of them (farmwife) has 4 children, all adorable, and we have never seen the house they built.
The other niece lives even further south and her sweet daughter is celebrating her first birthday on Saturday. I will get to get away with my husband and love on great nieces and nephews all at the same time. Pretty good day I must say.

I don't know about you, but I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving this year.

Another Medical Dilemma

I discovered today that I may indeed have another medical issue.
It happens every Sunday morning.

My eyes leak.

Today they started during the opening song, continued throughout all of the worship music and then started really leaking during the sermon. One might wonder if the subject matter of how God gets us through tough times has anything to do with this problem, but I just know that this is happening with regularity. They get started and for some reason don't stop.

I will keep you posted.

I hope you are not thinking that I seriously think this is a medical issue. I know it is not. I know it is the result of the blessings of a Good God, and that He has literally carried me these last 6 months. Worship service is a time that I truly turn my thoughts and my praise over to God and I am truly humbled at His blessings in my own life. I do not know why He has blessed me so, I have done nothing more than anyone else to deserve this. I just know that I am truly grateful. Not knowing how to express this gratefulness causes my eyes to just leak uncontrollably.

I can think of worse issues.

$20.00 Marathon

This should make a believer out of you!

Granted, the following was all possible due to the careful use of coupons, rain-checks, a gift card, store sales, CVS Extra Care Bucks, and Walgreen's Register Rewards.

Really, all those deals had to merge to make this all possible.

This is what I got today for just under $20.00:

CVS:

3 big city papers

1 Loreal Age Perfect Moisturizer ($15.99--free after extra care bucks)

2 packs of 3 each, Arthritis Relief Well Patches (free, due to a rain-check)

2 bottles of Revlon Nail Polish

(I left CVS with $18.00 in new extra care bucks for the next big deal)

Dollar General:

4 Air-Wick Freshmatic Kits (these are $11.99 at Walmart, but only $6.00 at Dollar General, I had $5.00 coupons)

2 Lysol Neutra Air Freshmatics (same deal as above and I had $5.00 coupons)

Walgreens:

2 gallons of milk

4 packages of cheddar cheese, (shredded 8 oz)

4 bottles of Suave shampoo

2 small cans of French's French Fried Onions

The grand total for all 3 stores was under $20.00. It was a very good day.

That is how I stockpile!

Plus the papers are chock full of good coupons this week to allow me to stretch our dollars even further.

My sister will get good use of some the air fresheners, she has a number of cats and likes to keep her house fresh. (She does an excellent job by the way)

I love my coupons.

Cleaning Frenzy

I must admit that I have not put in a day like today for quite a while. Oh, about 6 months to be exact. Today I started cleaning and for a while I felt like Forest Gump when he just started running and never stopped. I eventually did stop, but I accomplished so much.

Today I :

-cleaned the kitchen and swept and mopped the floor

-stripped two beds and washed all the bedding

-re-made our bed, (oldest son can put his own back together)

-cleaned the bedroom and vacuumed

-cleaned the bathroom and mopped that floor

-sorted through a mound of paperwork in my dining room and cleaned it well

-straightened up the rest of the house

-washed/ dried the kitchen and bathroom throw rugs

-washed two other loads of clothes


That was truly a huge day for me, I did not quite finish. Husband will vacuum the rest of the house tomorrow. I still have some laundry to fold, but my my the house is pretty much all clean at once, and I did the most in one day that I have done since before the heart attack. It actually felt pretty good to dig in like that and have the stamina to work so hard. I tell ya, things are getting better and better!

Workouts

I was finally able to get back on the treadmill tonight after 3 weeks of healing from my stupid human trick. I am not completely healed, and in fact there is still quite a bit to heal. I do not cringe with every movement of my foot though, and actually it felt quite good. I only went for just under 25 minutes, but it got my blood pumping and I enjoyed it.

Physical therapy for my shoulders went well also, although they do like to make me work. I was on two different contraptions tonight, and then did additional exercises before she let me go. I have homework as well and I am already noticing a big difference in my right arm, the left is still weaker, but it is coming around.

Life is good.

An Open Letter of Apology

Now, I admit, that most of you who read this will have no idea what this post is about, but some of you will know very well. Read carefully.

This is an open letter to Karen.

Dear Karen,

Please forgive me for being so self absorbed as of late. I admit I have not kept up with those dear to your heart. I have selfishly been writing on my own blog about all of my own troubles and have just not taken the time to read about your precious friends. I used to keep up with you and I knew every heartache that the Baxters felt. I remember well when Kari had the terrible problems with her first husband and the joy that Ryan brought into her life. I wept with Ashley as she struggled to find herself and when she was pushing Landon away, even while I knew he was the best thing for her. I hurt so much for John and Elizabeth when they were trying desperately to find Dane or even to put a name on their firstborn son. How tragic that Elizabeth did not live long enough to see the desire of her heart come to be fulfilled. I followed you closely when Haley nearly drowned and the sorrow that event brought. I watched as Luke has wavered in his faith and in relationships. I have wished so much that Erin and her family could be closer to the rest and not so far away. I cried with the rest of you when Ashley and Landon's baby did not beat the odds and left this earth as soon as she came. I have seen the changes in Brooke and her husband as their faith has grown.

You see Karen, I did do a good job keeping up with you for so long. Remember, I rejoiced when Katie and Dane finally were able to get married and I felt the disappointment she felt with the closing of the CKT. You know that I have admired along with you, the great faith and influence the Flannigans have had in the Bloomington area. What neat people they are.

I am just so sorry that I have neglected you as of late. When I had my heart attack last May it is like I just let the entire Baxter clan go. How can we do that with friends? I know that "Someday" I should read up on your friends and surely I will not let the "Sunset" on these wonderful people. It is just that "Someday" and the "Sunset" are so far out of my mind.

Please Karen, forgive me and be patient with me. I have not even asked my friends how the Baxters are doing because I honestly want to find out for myself. Will you give me another chance?



****Okay, enough already. Please do not put the Baxter family or anyone else mentioned in this post on your church prayer list. Do not ask me how they are doing, and please don't think I have been one big heel of a friend to let a family go through so much and not keep up with them.

The Baxters are a fictitious family. Well, sometimes I wonder, because as many of my friends will attest, we "know" them so well. It is just that I have not kept up in my reading of the books about this family, written by Karen Kingsbury. I have read the first 12 books , however due to my own drama have just not managed to read books 13 and 14. I know, I am a terrible person to abandon them at this point and I beg from all of you die-hards (you know who you are) ( Reta, Kelley, Chel, Sue, etc., etc.,) my forgiveness.

23 Years Ago Today

What a wonderful day.

The days leading up to November 10, 1985 were not so wonderful. Our oldest son was 22 months old at the time and had been having problems with recurring pneumonia. This bout landed him in the hospital for a total of 5 days. I was 9 months pregnant, yet managed to stay a few nights in the hospital with oldest. He had gone in on a Monday and by Thursday I noticed something strange. I was suspicious that I would soon be in labor due to some tale tell signs, and the nurses on the floor decided I needed a roll away bed to sleep on rather than a recliner. I slept okay that night, but after seeing the doctor the next morning I was sent home to my own bed and instructed to get some rest because labor was in fact, imminent. Mother in law spent that night with oldest and by the next morning he was able to come home. What relief when we were able to get home with him on Saturday. That day was a frustrating one though, because although he was home, he still was a sick little boy. Our washing machine decided to break that day as well, sending a huge puddle of water across our entire laundry room. Ever notice how misery loves company and there never is just one thing going wrong at a time?

Finally we all went to sleep that night and rested fairly well. Even though the next day was Sunday it was decided that we would all stay home from church. Oldest was not allowed to go out in public yet, and we could not figure out who should stay home with him. If I had stayed home by myself with him, then there would be a problem if I went into labor. If husband stayed home, then I would have to drive to church alone, creating another potential problem if I went into labor. So we all stayed home, and tried to "rest up" for the next big event.

Sure enough...at about 1:00 pm, I was stepping out of the shower and noticed that my water broke. Before long we were at the hospital and while my water had indeed broken, no labor pains accompanied that event. We spent a few hours waiting in a labor room while our doctor decided the course of action. Finally it was decided that I would be induced and our sweet baby boy was born just before 10:00 pm.

I was thrilled. Many people wondered if we had wanted a girl the second time around, and in some ways I thought I would have. But I will try to tell you where exactly my heart was. Our oldest had already brought us so much joy and having a son was in every way a wonderful experience. I had nothing to relate to as far as a daughter was concerned and I knew that there was no way our joy could be any greater had we had a girl. There was nothing sweeter to my ears than hearing first of all that this baby was perfect, and then that it was another boy.
Over the years this child has continued to fill our days with joy and laughter. He has taught us much through his generous, loving spirit, has amazed us with his creative, intelligent mind, and had blessed us time and again by his love of, and unique outlook on life. The relationship that he and his brother share has warmed my heart and has made me proud to see that they are not only brothers, but best of friends.


Happy Birthday Youngest!
I pray that this day has brought you joy as you have brought to us!

Another Busy Weekend

No real time to post today, but tomorrow's post is already planned. I have been busy all weekend. A special program on Friday night, an overnight stay with my sister which included a marathon Christmas shopping trip, and today we are off to visit youngest because tomorrow is his birthday.

See ya tomorrow.....

Unexpected Tears

I don't know if you have ever read "The Last Leaf" , the old short story by O. Henry, but it was brought to my mind today and has made quite an impact.

Today at school our class was heading down the hall to go to the gym to attend an honor assembly. When we rounded the first corner and passed by the glass enclosed courtyard I could see leaves fluttering by. Although there are no trees in that courtyard the wind had caused quite a mass of leaves swirling around. Out of the blue I thought of that short story, and equally as surprising, my eyes welled up with tears. I was glad that I was bringing up the rear of the line because those tears would have been hard to explain. I am actually still processing what brought them on.

To make that short story even shorter, and in no way do it justice, I will give a brief description in case you are not familiar with it. I may not be completely accurate with my version of this wonderful story, but you will get the main idea. If you are able, track it down and read it.

In the story 2 friends, both artists share a studio apartment in a building where other artists have chosen to live. One of the friends is seriously stricken with pneumonia and has convinced herself that she will surely die. The doctor knows that she has given up and tells the other friend how grave the situation is because of that fact. The woman with pneumonia even convinces herself that she will die as the last leaf falls from the ivy vine outside their apartment window. Not able to convince her otherwise, her friend pulls the shade so the sick friend will at least stop looking out the window and counting the leaves. Another artist in the building comes to visit then paints a few hours while both women are sleeping. The next day the sick woman begs her friend to raise the blind and notices that one leaf is still hanging on. All day and all night the leaf remains, even through a blustery wind and rain. This convinces the sick woman that she has been foolish to give up, and if that leaf can hang on, then she can as well. Immediately she starts eating and becoming better.

They later find out that their other friend has died suddenly in the hospital of pneumonia after having it just 2 days. A discovery is soon made of a ladder outside their window, and what they thought was the last leaf hanging on the vine was actually a painting of such placed lovingly in the window by their friend after the last leaf really fell. It was felt that he contracted pneumonia while out in that rain to place the painting against their window.

Why did that make me cry suddenly? The more I have processed it today I have drawn these conclusions for myself:

1. Attitude is everything. This woman did not believe she would make it and convinced herself of that fact.

I realize that I have had both a heart attack and cancer in the last 5 months and I truly believe that having faith and trying to have a positive attitude has helped tremendously. I need a positive attitude now as well to get through any lingering pain issues.

2. Friends make a huge difference. If it were up to her, in her darkest hour, this woman would have given up. She convinced herself that she would die, but her friends would not let her have her way.

I was surrounded by friends and family that offered me strength when mine was wavering. They offered encouragement when I was low. They gave me a gift of a "last leaf" in so many ways. Whatever my needs were, they were met.

3. God uses many things to get our attention. We need to be close enough to hear Him whisper, and close enough to see a message from a swirling bit of leaves when He wants to tell us something. I was so taken back by the sudden tears. I am not usually like that. It was as if God was saying, "Anita, pay attention, this is another one of my teachable moments, please don't miss what I am trying to tell you."

4. We / I need to be the type of friend that discovers what a person really, really needs to get through a situation and go out of the way to provide it.

What type of "last leaf" could we offer?

Frugality 101

If you have been reading me for a while then you know that my posting will vary from frugality, to personal issues, to random thoughts. Lately I am on my frugal kick again, so that is what you get. My coupons are finally clipped, sorted and filed, so I am feeling armed and ready to "spend money to save money". I have a few more deals in my head and coupons ready for action.

**** Note: some of these things might be a repeat of things I have said before, but I have had some new requests for my best tips, so here we go again****

I want to go over what I have found to be my number one way to consistently save at the grocery or pharmacy (other than staying home)

The number one thing that had drastically reduced our spending is the smart use of coupons!

My old way of using coupons:
Make grocery list, try to pick as many sale items or store brands as possible, then use any coupons I could for that list. Spend $85.00 at the store and then come home and gloat about saving $4.00 with coupons.

My new way of using coupons:

Buy multiple copies of big city papers, beg for additional copies of coupons from your friends and then clip ALL coupons, even ones I do not think I will use. I then make my lists BASED on my coupons! Go to the store, spend $26.00 and come home and gloat (shoot, I gloat in the checkout lane) about saving $45.00 with coupons!

I no longer shop with a long grocery list of things we "need" because of the way I stockpile, I rarely run out of things other than milk. I make my list based on my best coupons matched to the best sale and stock up on whatever that deal is. One week it is pasta, one week cereal, then another it might be toothpaste. Eventually my shelves are stocked with a number of items all bought dirt cheap! (remember I will not pay anything for toothpaste anymore)

If you missed my post about coupon sorting and filing, then click here and check out how I manage my coupons.

I am sure if you looked in my cart at WalMart you would wonder why I shop the way I do. The other night I bought 6 packages of various pasta because I had great coupons. Those go on the stockpile and I will not pay full price for pasta for a very long time.

If you missed my stockpile post, then click here and here. I can tell you that since that was posted in July the items have changed somewhat because of things we have consumed or donated, and other items have replaced them, but I am just about as stocked now as I was then. Just the actual inventory has changed. I may have slowed down a bit through all of my health issues, but the shelves are far from bare.

Since that post we have been able to donate many many items and before shopping this way we never had extra to give and could not afford to go out and buy things for others. Plus, as I have said before, I LOVE shopping in my basement when we want toothpaste, shampoo, cereal, or various other items.

I do not want to bore you with my shopping frenzy, but I just cannot tell you what a blessing this change has been for my family. I never ever thought that by buying brand names and using coupons we would be able to save so much. I never thought that our over all budget would improve and that we would finally be actually saving more in the bank than before.

Want more frugality posts? Any specific topics ? If I don't have the answer I probably know of a blog to point you to.

Physical Therapy

Today after school was my first therapy session. It went pretty well. I have some exercises to do this week that do not seem too difficult. The therapist did say that I had considerable weakness in my shoulders and upper arms. Some of that she feels is a nerve situation and that it might take a very long time to completely regenerate. She explained my neck stiffness and told me some things I could do to help with that. She also had me close my eyes and found that there is still a large portion of my neck that feels pressure but no sensitivity. I will go twice a week for the next month and then reevaluate my situation. She was gentle which I liked and said that in my case there is no need for painful therapy. So, no physical terrorist here. It was interesting though because all this time I have noticed the weakness mostly in my right arm and shoulder, but when she did all of her tests and measurements she found my left arm and shoulder are quite a bit weaker. I guess since I am right handed I just did not pay much attention to the left side.

How far would you go?

Okay-- I went back to WalMart tonight because I was in the area and asked them about my coupons that were not deducted from my total. They told me on the phone last night that I would have 5 days to go there and settle on this receipt. So, I thought I would give it a shot. Yep, she was right, I have 5 days, only she did not tell me that the accounting girl I needed to talk to leaves at 3:00 pm. Jeepers. I cannot get there before 3:00. She told me to call tomorrow and they would try to figure something out. I would let it go, but $9.00 seems to be a lot, especially since I am trying to be frugal.

Shop-a-holic

Boy, did I shop tonight.

It started at Walgreens where I was very successful at obtaining a few free items (two 20 count packages of Celestial Seasonings Tea, and 4 packages of Wrigley's gum due to a store sale, store coupons, and manufacturer's coupons ) and a few very cheap things due to coupons. Later I went to WalMart, where I spent more than I usually do, but stocked up on many things very cheap plus about 7 free things and bought 2 big bags of dog food. Even with my huge stockpile there are things we use often and when the deal matches up with the right coupon, I will buy it. I also hit Dollar General, mostly for my sister. You won't believe what I did for her, well, maybe you will. Remember that husband graciously sorted my coupons yesterday? I asked him to pitch any that had expired and any that would expire very soon. Well, sister tells me tonight of a great deal at Dollar General where you could get the $11.00 Lysol Neutra Air kit for a buck -- if you had the right coupon which would expire tonight. Guess what I did for her? I dug through my trash and found 3 of them which husband had pitched. Lucky for me, he had placed the expired coupons in a newly emptied Kleenex box, so it was easy for me to pull them out of the trash. I am not going through it anymore though. That amazing husband of mine carted me off to D.G. so I could buy those for her, only I am keeping one. I think I am entitled.

We also went to Menards where I got a free flashlight and some marked down Halloween candy for school. Our only other stop was Office Max where I purchased 2 ink cartridges with my Max Perks bonus.

Yikes....I just checked my receipt and the 3 best coupons at WalMart did not come off, and I handed those to the girl one by one. That is a total of $9.00 that did not come off. My tendency is stew and dwell on things like this, but husband says to let it go. Not sure if I can do that. I did call them and they told me I had 5 days to go back and that accounting would find that error. Hmmm.

I think the only things we possibly need in this house right now might be a bag of potato chips and a pound or two of ground beef. I can't really say we need those though, because we certainly will not starve without them.

Back in The Saddle Again

I am a coupon junkie.

Today while coughing and snorting I decided one thing I can do is to get my coupons organized and ready for my shopping pleasure. I am half way there. All my coupons are clipped and husband has graciously been updating my coupon file by pulling all of the expired coupons. You would not believe how far behind I was...I did a terrible thing, I had to throw away two entire coupon inserts because I had let the entire things expire! Shame on me! However, in my defense, they were duplicates of some that I had used to my advantage. Once I am totally filed I will be hitting the bargains. I already have plans for Walgreens and WalMart this week so that I can use some of my prize coupons and I might just post a picture again of my finds. Remember when I used to do that? I do not want to do that with every shopping trip, but every now and then will be fun.

Oh- by the way... I have updated my link lists on my side bar. I deleted a few of my frugal sites because they were becoming a bit disappointing, I added one that helps me a ton--you can click on it to find out what coupons will be upcoming in the Sunday inserts. Usually by Thursday of each week you can go to Coupon Clippers and find out what the big city papers will have. You can buy coupons from that site as well, but I have never done that. I just use that site to decide if I want to buy extra papers based on my needs and if so, how many papers.

I so want to get completely well so that I can host a coupon class. Actually more than just a coupon class...I want to share all the amazing money saving tips that I have learned in the last 8-9 months since I have been following those blogs. I wish I had been keeping track like some do of the number of coupons used and the exact amount of money I have saved. I do know that our debts have been going down consistently while we have been able to save more money than before. I just really watch my spending now, and the more I watch it, the more I want to watch it!

I also have added links to folks I really know. I used to have most of those on my side bar, but deleted them one time. You can drop by those sites and tell them I sent you.

Yawn.....

It is 2:14 AM as I type this.

The bad thing about not being able to sleep tonight is that I have to repeat one whole hour due to the time change. I should have seen this coming though, I slept most of Saturday due to a return of cold symptoms and it was inevitable that I would not sleep tonight. Seriously, I got out of bed at 10:00, got dressed, took my mother-in-law to the grocery then came home, watched the rest of a tv movie, then crawled back in bed for 3 hours, got up and did very little, Husband and I dined on a gourmet meal of grilled cheese and tomato soup and then watched a bit of television before we put in a movie. The latest Indiana Jones movie was sitting on the entertainment center from Netflix for a few days and needed to be watched, I made it about 1/3 of the way and then returned to bed before 9:00. By 1:00 I was coughing and aching and returned to the tv. Television is funny on time change nights, one hour shows are listed on the cable as running from 1:00-1:00. Can't say I ever saw that before. Don't you feel bad too for the people who work the night shift tonight? They have to work an extra hour. I hope they get paid well for that!

Church is up in the air for the morning. I am ready for a long stretch of not missing church. Before all of my health issues I think I had only missed church about twice in the last year and those were times we were out of town. I just do not routinely miss church. I don't like missing. Maybe if I can return to bed soon I will be okay.