So Excited!

I can't even begin to tell you how:

a) I should be doing other work, ie. tax return, CC school prep, cleaning, laundry, thinking of what to fix for dinner, the list goes on and on!

b) here I sit jumping from one website to another to "occupy" my time (this is my attempt to avoid the likes of "a" above!)

c) I'm SOOOOOO stinkin' excited. Why you ask, well, it's b/c while doing "b" I ran across a gem of a site. See here: http://bakingbites.com/2005/10/thin-minties/

now d) I am sooo looking forward to getting to the grocer's b/c I need some peppermint extract and some dark chocolate!! Yum Yum Yum!

This is by far one of my favorite cookies to purchase. Little did I know that I can make my own at home!

I'm a happy happy girl. (While thinking of "c" of course, and here comes my sad face as I admit that "a" really should be done!)

Feeling "Q"key!

Walgreens:

Gillette Fusion Razor... 8.99 with 4.00 RR and 4.00 Q... .99
Tylenol & Motrin for kids...12.48 with 3.00 RR and 3.00 Q...6.48 or 2.16 ea.
Bumble Bee Tuna... regular price 1.19 WAGS Q .69 ea. purchased 5 with 1.00 Q off 5=2.45 or .49 cents each
Canned Salmon... regular price 3.49 WAGS Q 2.98 for 2 or 1.49 ea.

Total OOP: 19.90 with 7.00 RR like paying 12.90 for 34.40 worth of product

Target:

Honey Nut Cheerios... 2.75 ad. special... 1.00 GM Q & .50 Target Q... 1.25
Gillette Body Wash... 3.54- 1.00 MFR Q, .75 cent Target Q and free body wash Q... 1.75 MM
Gillette Deo... 3.24-1.00 MFR Q, ... 2.24 but only .49 cents after above savings
Dog Treats...2.39 ad. special.... .75 MFR Q and 1.00 Target Q.... .64
Olay Products (3) @ 5.50 = 16.50-3.00 MRF Q's -5.00 Gift Card-15.00 Olay Rebate= 6.50 MM
Quaker True Delights (4) @ 2.00 ea. ad. special, plus 1 box was free as ad. special-2.25 in Q's and .50 Target Q= 3.25 for 4 boxes or .81 cents each

Total OOP: 19.13 with 5.00 GC and 15.00 Olay Rebate made .87 cents at Target today!!

Publix:

Pocket Portfolios... 2/.25 purchased 4 for .50 cents
Progresso Bread Crumbs BOGO @ 1.95.... got 4 @ 3.90 - 1.00 off 4= 2.90 for 4 or .73 cents each
Johnson Buddies... 1.09 each/ purchased 2 @ 2.18 -2.00 off Q = .18 cents for 2 or .09 cents each
Coles Bread BOGO @ 2.29... got 2 for 2.29- 1.00 Q's= 1.29 cents for 2 or .90 cents each
Frusion Smoothie 2/5.00... got 2 with BOGO coupon and 2.00 Q's= .50 for 2 or .25 cents each
Coffee Mate Creamer 3/5.00.... got 1 with .75 Q= .92
Smuckers Uncrustables 3/6.00.... got 1 with .55 Publix Q= 1.45
Claritin... ad. special 17.99 minus 4.00 Publix Q and 4.00 MFR= 9.99

Total OOP: 17.73 with 32.84 in Savings!

If this looks confusing, it's b/c I didn't take time to publish this correctly! I just needed to get it down so I could have record and so that hubby could see the benefits, the receipts can be a little overwhelming if you don't know what you're looking at, lol.

I had fun and am looking forward to saving more in the very near future!!!

Off to Guitar!

What kind of day will today be?

Well, we had a mini sleep over last night. The little girl that slept over might as well be related to our family. I think the girls have been together every weekend since the end of January. Which is great, they get along well and we have very similar families. So, this morning I wanted to have a different breakfast. I decided to pull out the handy Southern Living Cookbook. I've had this cookbook since 2000 and honestly can't see myself without it! I'll probably still have it when I'm 88, Lord willing! I found a delightful recipe this morning for Applesauce Doughnut Holes. Yumm. So, that's what we had. I gave the kids two different custard cups, one filled with powdered sugar and the other with cinnamon-sugar, for dipping. They went over well, now I'm just wondering if they will all crash and burn in a few hours, lol. So, we are headed out to the park ASAP. Hope your day has started will and will finish in the same way!!

Who Knew?

I suppose this post will very possibly show my novice approach to all things culinary, or possibly shed some light on something that you didn't know either. In my attempt to make a "PJ" requested breakfast this morning, I realized that I was out of brown sugar. The request was oatmeal. When I was a child, my favorite type was Maple and Brown Sugar. So, this is what I typically make for my family. We don't purchase the instant kind mainly b/c of price, but also b/c you can do so much more with a container of plain rolled oats that you just can't do with a package of pre-flavored oatmeal. So, as the milk was boiling and the oats began to soak up the sweet goodness, I quickly jumped online to find a substitute for brown sugar. Low and behold, I found a recipe to make just that. Now here's where you may be saying, DUH, I knew that, but for me, this was eye opening. You see, since we are on a budget and all of my grocery money has already been spent for the week, I was thinking I'd just have to steer clear of any recipes that required this ingredient. Now however, I can make brown sugar to my hearts content (or at least until I run out of the white sugar and molasses). For those of you interested in the recipe, here it is: http://frugalliving.about.com/od/foodsavings/ht/Brown-Sugar.htm

Here is a picture of our finished "products". Ummmm, enjoy your day, I know we will!

Now if I could just find a recipe to make ziplock baggies, and self rising flour! lol

Home Sweet (smelling) Home (made bread)

Of all the "Comfort" foods, none smells as sweet and comforting as homemade bread! (sigh) I tried my hand at "half whole wheat" last night. I'm back on my "Hillbilly Housewife" budgeting for meals and making bread is part of this plan. I use the overnight family bread recipe-slightly tweaked. The recipe puts out 4 loaves of sweet smelling, grab the knife and soft butter because my mouth is watering, kind of bread. Here is a picture of 3 of the 4 loaves I pulled from the oven just moments ago.

How my boys stay occupied for HOURS...

WARNING: watching the following video may induce nausea and dizziness!!! lol

Family Addition

Introducing............. Lola!?



For months now Moo has been obsessed with pets. And really just obsessed with other peoples pets, not ours mind you. Of course we have a dog, who tends to run away every chance he gets, still he is ours and Moo has no interest in him. Well, to make a looooooooooooooooooooooong story less looooooooooooong, I'll just say it this way... a friends hamster had pups. (That's the only term I can find for "baby" hamsters) So, today we brought home a new little bundle of fluff which was lovingly named "Lola." We'll see how long this lasts, my guess is less than a week and she'll be *wishing* for some other pet to give her affections too.

Monday, Monday, la la, la la la la

Well, here goes my "attempt" at blogging, again. We just returned home from a beautiful wedding in Georgia. The weather, not so great, the company, spectacular! We drove for what seemed like eternity. It's amazing how 1 person can make or break the trip. Sweet little PJ just wasn't digging the whole car ride. We stopped 3 times before we even made it out of the Sunshine State! The entire trip is approximately 445 miles away. It's highly possible to make it in 7 hours or under, depending on the speed at which you travel. We left home at 8:30ish and didn't arrive to our intended destination until 4:30. Did ya get that? That would be 8 hours, give or take a few minutes. Here's the sad part... we only stopped for gasoline once. Sigh. It gets better... we had snacks coming out of our ears. Drinks, sandwiches, chips, crackers, cookies, Rice Krispy Treats, you name it, we probably had it. So, that means the only reason, other than stopping once for gas that we even *needed* to stop was to relieve ourselves. Let's see, a 7 hour trip, I'd say really going once when we get gas, and maybe just maybe stopping to go one other time?? Yeah, so basically we spent 7 hours traveling, and 1 hour stopping-thinking of traveling of course! Once we arrived we had a wonderful time! The wedding was beautiful and we all had a good laugh and a good cry during the ceremony. PJ was trying to tell Mooski that she was dropping flower petals on the ground as he walked down the aisle. Rev and PJ were supposed to ring bells announcing the brides arrival... Rev practically ran down the aisle with his bell and Moo smiled beautifully as she did her Flower Girl thing. But poor ol' PJ. When sister kept walking and people began to chuckle, he continued to make his way to me, but he was sure NOT to step on any of the petals that had just been left laying all over the floor. Once he reached me, he was sure to tell me exactly what had just happened! lol... It was priceless. Then, the minister gave out a touching speech that honored the spouses that had recently passed, giving us all a good cry. It was lovely. Of course, now that we're home, we must get back into our routine. I've already had to get onto the boys for getting into a little trouble this morning. I'm so blessed to have a household full of chaos and cuddles!!!