Saturday, April 30, 2011

Day 175 of 365

We didn't crawl into bed until about 2 last night.  Woke up around 7 but didn't manage to leave the bedroom until after 9.  It was nice to get some quiet time with my honey.  Got to have one of those deep talks that in the end always makes people closer.  I love that man.  I am so glad that he came into my life. 

Friday, April 29, 2011

Day 174 of 365

Per Emily's request, I woke her at 4:30 this morning so we could watch the Royal Wedding together.  It was a very sweet thing to get to share with her.  It started me thinking about her own wedding.  Someday, hopefully at least a decade, possibly two, from now, I will be helping that beautiful little girl prepare for her wedding.  Over the past month of so, as so much detail has been discussed about the Royal Wedding, Emily has talked about what she hopes for some day.  Describing the flowers, the dress, the bridesmaids dresses, the kinds of cakes she likes, I watch her and see her eyes all lit up.  She is my princess!  As beautiful as the Prince's new bride was this morning, I can't imagine that my angel girl will look even one bit less gorgeous on her big day.  I love you, sweetheart!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Day 173 of 365

Tonight's post will be a private one so I am simply posting this as placeholder.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Day 172 of 365

Ever had one of those days where you are darned if you do and darned if you don't?  Well this is one of those times.  Honestly, there have been times before when I would get upset about it, but this is NOT one of those times.  In fact, I saw it coming before it ever happened.  So when my prediction came true this even I didn't get upset, I just sat back smiled, laughed and said "I told you that would happen."  Some people are just so dang predictable. 

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Day 171 of 365

Well I got a little more sleep last night so that helped, but I woke up with a terrible migraine.  Just one of those days.  Bill came to visit while I was working on organizing my coupon binder.  It was nice to sit and visit with him.  I did finish my binder so that made me feel accomplished.  I made a HUGE chef salad with the leftover ham so we had a yummy supper.  I did reconnect with an old friend today and played catch up.  Hadn't talked to him in 8 years so there was a lot of catching up to do.  Glad to hear he is happy, healthy and married lol.  Emmy Lou decided to lay in her bed and watch a movie tonight then fall asleep early.  Honey and I were just watching  stuff on the royal family.  It's interesting to learn how it all works :)

Monday, April 25, 2011

Day 170 of 365

What a long day!  I certainly didn't want to crawl out of bed this morning when that alarm went off.  Thought I might try for a nap today but that didn't happen either.  Between multiple calls from family and a call from Miss Emmy to bring her some medicine to school for her tooth owie, it just wasn't meant to be.  I did get to have a nice talk with Kyle tonight after he surprised me by letting me know that he will be coming for Mother's Day.  He couldn't have made me happier.  Then he told me he has finally nailed down where he wants to be after he graduates and that gave me some huge relief.  Going to crawl into bed and try and get some sleep.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Day 169 of 365

We had a full day, for sure!  Enjoyed having Miss Lizzy here as it is always fun to see the girls having such a great time together.  It was a day filled laughter, singing, candy, napping and driving.  Now I think I better hurry up and hit the hay as 6 AM is going to come VERY VERY early tomorrow....oops, today!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Day 168 of 365

Slept in late this morning in the arms of the man that I love.  Managed to crawl out of bed around 9 and made a batch of cinnamon rolls for breakfast then got started cooking Easter dinner.  Spent the next 4 hours making a ham, homemade au gratin potatoes, southern style green beans, carrots, deviled eggs and rolls.  A good dinner was had by all.  Then a little later we had sponge cake with strawberries and whipped cream. We all sat down and dyed Easter eggs, which was great fun!  If you have never used those Eggaround shrink wrap things, I highly recommend you try them some time.  It was funny to watch them shrink.  We are easily amused :)  We played Scrabble Slam and I started sorting my coupons into my binder so they can be more easily seen.  Right now my honey is taking a shower and then I think we are going to hit the hay.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Day 167 of 365

Lizzy and I spent the morning together, then we picked up Jim and Emmy and headed to Waco.  The girls and I had some girl time together while getting our toes done, then ran some errands with our honey.  Got my scripts transferred over to Walgreens at a HUGE savings.  Picked up some great bargains at CVS as well.  Managed to get $74 worth of Physician's Formula makeup for under $5!  Picked up a few free toothbrushes and floss.  Came home and grilled some yummy steaks and hung out for the rest of the evening.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Long day but Jim and Miss Lizzy made it back safely. Going to be a fun day tomorrow.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

I was here today.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Day 164 of 365

One month ago we left on our first cruise.  It seems like it has been almost a year!  I miss it terribly, but that is not the point of this post.  While we were away, my brother, his wife and my mother came and stayed in our home to watch after my angel girl.  When they left, I discovered that my big brother (by almost 7 years in age) had left one of his shirts behind.  I threw it in the wash and folded it as it came out.  Then a couple of days later I needed a shirt and grabbed that one.  It has now become my favorite knock around shirt.  It's comfy!  I don't know if I love it because it is comfy, because it belong(ED) to my bro or because it gives me a glimpse into what it would be like if I had a boyfriend (lover, husband...insert whatever term you choose to use) whose clothes were bigger than my own.  I have never dated anyone that was bigger than me.  One that was the same size and I snagged some of his stuff once in awhile.  For whatever reason I like it, I do.  I have worn it a couple of times a week over the past month.  When I put it on I think of my big brother and smile.  Let this serve as official notice...you aren't getting your shirt back big bro...sorry :)

Monday, April 18, 2011

Day 163 of 365

Why is it that some days, no matter how much you do, you look around and feel like you have done nothing?  Oh yes, today is one of those days.  The good thing about days like these...you get to go to sleep at night, wake up in the morning and give it another shot.  Every 24 hours we get a do over...and who said you have to leave childish beliefs behind when you grow up?

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Day 162 of 365

Enjoyed another wonderful day with my honey.  Since today was Sunday and the new Walgreen's ad came out, we decided to double up on our trip to Valera to pick up the angel girl. 

Here is our total haul:

The total for everything before coupons, sale prices and Register Rewards would have been $307.64.  Because of sale prices and coupons we saved $161.52 and paid $146.12 but walked away with $21 in Register Rewards to be used on the next transaction.

The breakdown...we paid full price for this:




10 12-packs of cokes, 6 rolls tape, 4 tubes toothpaste, 2 bottles Saw Palmetto, 2 packs duracell :) , 1 Tresemme Shampoo and one condition, 1 can hairspray, 6 cans veggies, 8 cans soup and 4 bottles of Dawn.

Then we got all of this for FREE:
2 bottles Burt's Bees Lotion, 3 tubes Burt's Bee's lip balm, 3 bottles Fructis Conditioner, 1 bottle Fructis smoothing milk, 4 bottle Head and Shoulders Shampoo, 4 bottles Head and Shoulders conditioner, 3 boxes Nasogel (a money maker as they were on sale for $4.99 with a $1 coupon then you got $5 back in RR!), 4 packs Goody's hair accessories, 5 king size hershey bars, 4 Russell Stover eggs, Mascara and Eyeshadow




Today's transactions will add $77 to our vacation fund!  That means in 2 weeks time we have added over $224 to our vacation fund and didn't really even feel it :)

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Day 161 of 365

Today was our second Walgreen's couponing run. Here is our haul:




The total for everything before coupons, sale prices and register rewards would have been $161.57.  Because of sales and coupons, we saved $79.90, spending $81.67 out of pocket.  To break it down, it was like we paid full price for this:



4 plain t shirts, 2 boxes hair color, 2 bottle laundry soap, 2 lysol toilet bowl cleaner, 2 cans almonds and 4 packs razors.

And got this for FREE:



6 packs easter grass, 6 packs plastic eggs, 6 bags jelly beans, 2 chocolate bunnies, 5 boxes jello, 16 pencils, 2 packs pantiliners, 8 big bags Easter Chocolate candy and 6 butterfinger eggs.

We saved $27 in coupons at HEB today and another $3 at Walmart where we finished out the Easter basket stuff that wasn't listed above.  Our grand total coupon savings today amounted to $63 which we will add to our vacation fund :)

Friday, April 15, 2011

Day 160 of 365

Made it home safe and sound after taking my angel girl to Valera. Already miss her but hoping she has a great weekend.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Day 159 of 365

Had a relatively productive day.  Got some laundry done, some dishes done, cooked supper, played spades with my Daddy, straightened up the living room.  Just everyday chores, nothing special.  Tomorrow we will leave for Valera to take Emmy for her weekend in Crane.  I sure miss that cutie when she is gone.  Hoping to pick up some more plants for the yard, both veggie and flowers.  We picked some up at the greenhouse a couple of weeks ago and my honey worked very hard to get them all planted and take care of the yard.  Things are looking beautiful!

Don't have too much to say this evening, will post more tomorrow I hope.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Day 158 of 365

My little girl looked so pretty and so tall today!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Day 157 of 365

Found the perfect pretty dress for Em's school pictures tomorrow.  Can't wait to see how she looks in the morning.  She's always beautiful to me but the dress is really gorgeous!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Day 156 of 365

Had a great day today.  Enjoyed some together time.  Made a yummy 8 layer salad.  Clipped more coupons.  Loved on my Emmy and my honey.  Did some chores around the house.  It was a nice day :)

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Day 155 of 365

Are you there, God?  It's me, Liz.  Please keep him safe.  Let Your will lay heavy on his heart and guide him in the choices he needs to make.  You know how they can change the course of his future, help him to make the choice that is right for him.  Thank you.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Day 154 of 365

Today has been most productive!  We crawled out of bed a little after 8 after some snuggle time ;).  Then we all had a bowl of cereal and hit the ground running.  Jim has been working out in the yard cleaning out flower beds and edging.  Emily straightened up her room (which thank goodness she has been keeping pretty neat on her own) and helped to straighten up the living room and bathroom.  I emptied the dishwasher, filled it again, ran the washer, organized and put away our new purchases from yesterday as well as a small stockpile we already had so we can see what we have in there.  I also cut and filed my new coupons, entered all my mycokerewards codes and am about to get started doing all the surveys on my Walgreens receipts for last night.  Not bad for only having been up and at it for a couple of hours.  After I do the receipts I will reboot the laundry and fold and put away what is done.

Today is opening day of the little league field that is literally a stone's throw from our back yard so we have all been taking peeks out at the goings on.  Emily's girlfriend, Audrey, is playing LL so she went to watch her. 

A little later we will take a movie break and then at 3, Emily's girlfriend, Shyanne, is coming to stay the night.  Should make for an eventful evening :)

Friday, April 8, 2011

Day 153 of 365

Walgreen's coupon trip #1

After I had a hot dinner date with my honey and a cute little blonde, we hit Walgreen's for our first coupon trip. In 10 separate transactions we acquired all of this:
Which amounted to:
7 tubes of toothpaste
3 toothbrushes
4 men's body wash
2 women's body wash
5 men's deodorant
2 packages of women's razors (6 total)
1 men's razor (with free body wash and shave gel included)
1 can shaving gel
1 bottle mouth rinse
1 dawn dishwashing liquid
2 Rimmel Eyeliner
3 cans olives
2 packages gum
1 box envelopes
4 bars of soap

The total amount of this would have been $158.14 but was on sale for $131.79.  After using coupons and Register Rewards, the total out of pocket expense was $74.54 with a total savings of $83.60.

Now that amount sounds like a lot, and it is until you look at it like this. Everything in the picture below are all things that we would have paid full price for and used without a coupon for about $70 plus tax:


So if we were buying all of the things above and paid full price (no coupons) for it.  Then we got all of the items in the picture below TOTALLY FREE.  That's right FREE!


On top of that, I still have $5 in Register Rewards to get the ball rolling next week!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Day 152 of 365

I used to use coupons when I was way younger, then somehow I got out of the habit...until now!  Tomorrow I am planning to make my debut as a Walgreens RR and coupon shopper.  Have my list planned out and organized for 10 different transactions to maximize our savings.  We are planning on putting the difference of what we paid from what the total would been regular price into a special account for vacations :)  I hope I get the hang of this quick.  I can feel the "gentle" rocking of the ship calling my name again already.  Will post a pick in the next couple of days showing how my Walgreens hall goes!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Day 151 of 365

I really really abhor waking up in a rush.  It's pretty much my biggest pet peeve as the rest of the day always feels off.  Well that is the kind of day that has started in our home.  I woke at 5:11 to visit the little girl's room then climbed back in bed, knowing my cell alarm would be going off in about 45 minutes.  Two hours later I sat straight up in bed to see the clock read 7:14.  GRRRRR.  I HATE my phone.  Okay I don't hate it, but I hate the fact that this is my 4th one of these because they keep replacing it for shutting off at random times.  Next month I will be able to upgrade it, but I guess until then I will have to start using a regular alarm clock as a back up.  The upside of this is knowing that I can get Jim and Emily work and school ready in a matter of 15 minutes including dressed, groomed, fed, tested and out the door.  Thanks for taking our angel girl to school on your way to work.  I love you!

Now to try and make my internal motor slow back down and try to smooth out the rest of the day :)

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Day 150 of 365

I had a semi productive day.  Did some dishes, some laundry, cut all my coupons and filed them, cleaned half my desk and ran an errand for my mija.  Played catch up with a friend, framed a couple of pictures, beat my honey's score in Globs, did Emily's badges for last week.  Yeah that's enough.  I am yawning in a huge way so think I will go snuggle up with my baby on the couch :)

Monday, April 4, 2011

Day 149 of 365

Today is a private special day for my honey and me.  Just wanted him to know I remembered and enjoyed our evening last night.  I love you!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Day 148 of 365

Breakfast this morning was at Sister's.  It was nice to share our Sunday morning tradition with Zach this time.  I sure have enjoyed having him here and miss him like crazy when he is gone.  I am really looking forward to getting more time with him this summer.  Weekends pass way too quickly and the ones he are here are too few and far between :(  Have the drive this evening, then going to cheer on my angel girl in the morning before she heads off to school.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Day 147 of 365

Woke up and Zachman wanted Melli's for breakfast.  It's funny how you move away from some place and then when you come back to visit you think of all the places you want to eat that you miss.  For supper I made Ribeyes, roasted corn and baked potatoes :)  Zach asked his mommy to grill a mammal lol.  Off to enjoy him :)

Friday, April 1, 2011

Day 146 of 365

I am so excited!  I finally get Zach for the weekend :)  It isn't often that he gets a free weekend and I am really looking forward to it!