Operation $40K

We had a VERY busy Saturday! It started early with me getting Ms Sarah ready for her dance class, right before I had to leave as I had a Holiday vendor event in another town. I left her with Daddy in charge who got her to dance, fed her and then took her to my Mom's for a few hours so he could go to work. She helped Grumpie (Grammie's husband) shovel several inches of the freshly fallen snow, then they went out for lunch and got back just as I got there to pick her up. From there we got ready to pick up MY Grandma (Sarah's Great Grandma) and treat her to dinner at one of her favorite places: Olive Garden. I LOVE their pasta e fagoli soup and haven't been able to recreate it at home successfully yet (darn it)! Before you even ask...I used gift cards! Dinner was our treat as she had gotten tickets for the three of us to see the Nutcracker ballet...one of our cousins was dancing in it - she is about 2 years older than my Sarah. The kids all did a super job, the costumes we...

It's just that time of year now where a pot of soup a week makes the house smell fantastic and is a yummy meal with a salad and a little bread. This is another crock pot special, dump it in and let it rip - enjoy the rewards at the end of the day! Who doesn't love cooking like that??! You COULD make your own noodles -- it really isn't that hard. My mom and I have a noodle session coming up and I will share it with you. If you don't want to go that route look for Reames noodles in your freezer section. Seriously - they don't get mushy, look home made and are even kosher! Just check out their ingredients: flour, eggs, water. It doesn't get much simpler than that! If you go to their website, you will see a $.50 coupon - print a few off and try it yourself =) (no, I wasn't paid to endorse them...LOL!) Here is the soup - we are making it this next week. It IS a bit more detailed than the potato soup I shared with you, but it is SOOOOO worth it! Ingredients: 1/2 l...

This Wednesday, my little Sarah earned her orange belt in Karate...this was HUGE! The munchkins are presented their belts in front of the bigger kids and the bigger kids clap for them to cheer them on. You should have seen her little face! =) So, we were going to celebrate with her favorite Chinese food - chicken fried rice. (I know, not exactly exotic but she loves it). We walk over to the place that is close to the karate studio and get our order. When we get home, I grab a muscle relaxer - I was really starting to hurt from the snow storm was was coming...then we rip into the dinner. They put white rice in the bag instead of the fried rice. (sigh) I now have a crying little girl on what was supposed to be a happy little celebration... So I called and they won't deliver, they offer a credit. Try explaining a credit to a 4 year old... So, I get creative and make a butterfly shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwich and fairy chips. =) That did the trick and everything was bliss agai...

I never finished my November accountability for the food! Tuesday, we dug through our gift card pile and picked a winner! Cracker Barrel seemed like a great place to go on a chilly night - we could visit that warm fire that they always keep going. We dined well, even shared a piece of pie ala mode for dessert and had to pay $6 out of pocket, and that included tip! On the way home, we stopped at Sentry quick for a few things: milk and toilet paper. HOW I ran out of TP is beyond me -- It turned out that I had two large packs of paper towels in the basement instead a one with one pack of TP. (gggrrrrrrrr.....) Sentry came to $10.83 SOOOOO, let's do November's math: $100 -9.92 - first Target run ------- $90.08 -17.83 - second Target run ------ $72.15 -4.72 (Shopko deals) -3.26 (this week) -12.03 (Noodles n Company meal) ------ $52.14 -20.11 for Girls Gone Wild Weekend... ------ $32.03 -$3.83 for Copps week 2 ------ $28.20 -$4.58 for Copp's week 3 ------ $23.62 to go! -$6 for di...

There are a ton of ways to get free items...review websites are a great way! They review an item, and then offer a giveaway. The Klauer Review is a blog from one of my friends - and she reviews a LOT of different items. Recently, she did a new product called Batter Blaster. Doesn't that just SOUND cool? =) It's a cool concept! Batter inside a can that you just sqeeze out...and, the next thing you know, you have pancakes! I will tell you what I think later as I won the drawing on her blog for this and got my coupon for a FREE bottle of this...I can't wait to try it and you know, I love things FREE! =)

OK -- I don't remember entering this contest but this is what I learned: Dear HERSHEY®'S Cookie Exchange Party Host,Congratulations - you were chosen to host one of 1,000 HERSHEY®'S Cookie Exchange Parties this holiday season! We hope you are looking forward to your party this December. We're excited to help you start planning with a HERSHEY®'S party pack, complete with all the necessities to throw the ultimate cookie exchange. You can expect your party pack to arrive in the mail within the next few weeks. If you have not received your party pack by Friday, December 3rd, please e-mail Samantha Flynn at hersheyscookies@jsha.com. It includes: • Three bags of HERSHEY®'S KISSES® Brand Milk Chocolates • One canister of HERSHEY®'S Cocoa • One package of BETTY CROCKER® Sugar Cookie Mix • A HERSHEY®'S Cookies apron as a "thank you" gift for hosting • New and classic recipe cards for guests to create their very own HERSHEY®'S Cookies recipe book (fo...

I was driving home from a Multi Vendor holiday open house that we did at an assisted living facility this afternoon...and thinking of all the neat octogenarians that I got to visit with in that four hour window. The radio station that proudly plays holiday music 24/7 from about a week before thanksgiving right up until New Years was on...with good old Bing belting out White Christmas. I fresh air coming through the vents of the TupperMobile and I can tell a skunk had fairly recently given his best as he lost his attack on a moving four wheel target. Strangely, I have always loved that musky smell. It goes back to being a young kid and having my pet Westie get nailed squarely but a striped critter when we were up north at a cabin. I loved that dog... I'll Be Home For Christmas started up - and I realized that I would be. A three day festival between my Mom & Pops, then my In-laws, then my Dad & Stepmother's all becomes a fantastic opportunity to watch the joy and magic o...

That has been my rule for fresh produce and it seems to generate the most questions for me. =) It is easy to eat fresh fruits and veggies for that price point - here is a simple list from just Sentry Foods, right out of their sale flier: Iceberg head Lettuce $.89 each (weigh them on the scale to get a heavier one - is has more lettuce!) Roma Tomatoes $.89/# Gala, Red or Golden Delicious Apples $.99/# Bananas are ALWAYS under my price point. Now let's look at Copp's: Bananas.. Gala or Fuji apples $.99/# Rio Red Grapefruit $.69/# Extra fancy navel Oranges $.70/# Cub Foods: Bananas... That's it. They are pretty high priced on produce this week Aldi's: (did you know this is owned by the same company that owns Trader Joe's?) Bananas... Grapefruit. $0.29 each...2 should = 1 # Tangerines. $0.43/# Pineapple. $1.69 each. We have seen these cheaper but it should be 2# +. Navel Oranges. $0.50/# It looks like citrus is the hot buy right now - and good timing too if you are like...

and that means Printable coupons are all in the process of re-setting! =) Use your Swagbucks account to print off your Coupons.com set, there is Redplum.com, Smartsource.com and don't forget Target.com! I didn't see any for produce or bread like we have the last few months - but they have 27 pages of fun!

This is a GREAT idea that I saw on MOney Saving Mom -- oneof her readers (Amy) sent it in. Have an overflowing stockpile or just want to clean out some of your extras before Christmas? Here’s a great idea that Amy emailed in: Once anyone has couponed for six months or more, you usually find you have a healthy stockpile of items. Recently, I approached my friend Esther about the idea of a Stockpile Swap. We decided on a date, time and location and began to organize this unique event! We planned our swap on a weeknight, when most people were available. We used many different venues to advertise for the event, such as Facebook, Esther’s blog, and our church newsletter. Each person was asked to bring ten new, unopened grocery, cleaning or toiletry items. We made these terms very clear. We also asked each participant to check expiration dates and double-check that the items had never been opened or used. Many people brought more than ten items, which just made the selection better. Some peo...

So we were out running errands as a family and it was about that time that we are all supposed to be having lunch...Our last stop was the post office, which was pretty close to Taco Bell. It's Taco Tuesday! Who wants a taco for lunch? (Say's me). I do! (Says the hubster). I do! (Says me). I don't! (Says little Ms Sarah) Even if we get you one with DINOSAUR meat??!! (Say's me. The evil Mom who knows that she is on a HUGE dinosaur kick right now and just made 5 very fine dinosaurs out of her Legos today...) I do! (Says Sarah). (Insert very satisfied Mamma grin here). I don't know what happened to the receipt but know we handed over $3 and got change back for our three hard shell beauties and then headed home to have them for a light lunch (we are going out for dinner tonight). It is SIMPLY AMAZING how one taco had a big "D" on the wrapper so we knew which one was the Dino Special ... Let's keep me honest on the math: Here is the monthly total $100 -9.92 ...

I thought I would quickly crunch a few numbers for you (and me)! I thought I would quickly crunch a few numbers for you (and me)! It's been a while since I have done this (late September, I think). So let's take a look at what's happened: two children's resale events, a bunch of Tupperware parties, Holiday vendor events, got the kiddo back into school, a week long Trick Or Treat fest, and shuttling the little miss to dance classes and karate lessons, along with helping get my Father In Law through his colon cancer surgery. (He is doing VERY well!) A few surprises like a $600 hospital bill, dead water heater ($800), large chiropractor bill (don't even get me started on this one...) , and the money I had budgeted for Black Friday shopping lets me add another $2,400 to add to my fund. Add that to my total and I have $18,065 in the bank! This boils down to an average of $460 a week so far in savings...not too shabby when a lot of people don't save $460 a month! Not ...

I LOVE the Sunday Newspapers -- for the color funny pages, piles of store circulars and coupon inserts! Dear hubby likes the boring, black and white pages and thanks me for pulling the rest of the crap out before her gets it (LOL)! It was funny this Sunday - looking thru everything...nadda. When you research and plan, and find GREAT deals on Black Friday, even the amazing offers on Cyber Monday can't offer me anything to part with more of my cash! Let's talk groceries... **Cub Foods has some nice offerings - but nothing exciting. **Aldi's had butter for under $2.50 a pound - but I expect better deals in the next week or so. **Copp's has only a 4 day flier - it will be interesting to see what they come out with on Thursday! They DO have the awesome cereal day again, if you are running low -where you can get free milk and eggs, besides the instant $10 off. I DID see Copp's had a deal where you get an iTunes gift card pack (3 $10 cards) for $30 and then get $5 back in ...

Turkey week is here! It's about keeping things simple since I am making a few things to take to the family dinner and have a 25# turkey taking up what seems like half of my refrigerator, LOL! Here is the list: Breakfast will include: -English Muffin Sandwiches -cold cereal -Scrambled eggs and sausage links -oatmeal (It's getting colder...) Lunches as normal (sandwiches, soup, left overs, tappas plates) and for dinner... Monday - Red Beans and Rice with smoked sausage - never made it last week Tuesday - Using a gift card and eatting out! Wednesday - Spaghetti Thursday - Creamed Chip Beef over toast points with glazed carrots Friday - Fridge Clean Out! Saturday - crock pot Beef Noodle Soup soup** I will share the recipe this week! Sunday - shredded chicken on a bun with pasta salad What are you going to feed YOUR family this week?

It's funny - I have been teaching a simple crisp recipe at Tupperware parties for almost 20 years 1 can pie filling 1 box cake mix 1 stick melted butter Put them in the pan, in that order, and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. I saw a friend post this version on the Scrapfreak boards and had to try it! My first thoughts: it is a pumpkin custard with a sweet streusel topping. YUM! Here is the recipe -- I served it for Thanksgiving and found that it was sweet with a nice and crunchy top! I served it with French Vanilla Cool Whip...but ice cream would have been good too! Pumpkin Crisp 1 box yellow cake mix 1 can pumpkin 1 1/2 cups sugar 3 eggs 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1 can evaporated milk 2 sticks of butter or margarine chopped nuts Mix pumpkin, sugar, eggs, pumpkin spice and milk until well blended. Pour into greased 9 x 13 cake pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix over pumpkin mixture. Melt butter and drizzle over cake mix. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Great with c...