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Archive for August, 2011

squeeeeze

August 30th, 2011 at 06:13 pm

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 984.47
RX total = 246.32
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,437.98

I bought my size 16 incentive pants on August 3rd. At that time I could barely get them to the top of my thighs. I tried them on this morning and I was able to just squeeeze into them. Very tight, but completly on. I was shocked! I usually weigh on Sunday and Wednesday and the weight loss has slowed in month 4. I've only lost 3 lbs so far this month, but I've felt smaller, so decided to try the pants on just to see, I never, ever expected to get into them with only a 3 lb loss. I take my measurements the first of every month so I will be excited to see what they are on Thursday.

I went to Safeway this morning for produce and to pick up 2 prescriptions. Prescriptions cost $9.20.

I got 5 large tubes of Colgate toothpaste to donate. They were free after coupons. I don't know how toothpaste companies ever make money on toothpaste. It's always free. I've given away over 50 tubes so far this year.

I also got 4 trial size boxes of Tide for free and 4 pouches of Starkist tuna for .50/each. I'll give 2 of the tunas to my oldest niece and keep the other 2.

I was reading money saving mom this morning and they have a super cool way of making art for your walls from toilet paper tubes - check this out

Text is http://moneysavingmom.com/2011/08/do-it-yourself-faux-metal-wall-art-from-toilet-paper-rolls.html and Link is
http://moneysavingmom.com/2011/08/do-it-yourself-faux-metal-...

I finished reading my book Live Wire by Lora Leigh. Romance - very good.

fast results

August 29th, 2011 at 08:47 pm

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 971.47
RX total = 246.32
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,424.98

I already got my blood test results from Friday. That was super fast.

Cholesterol = 228 - a little high
Triglycerides = 153 - a little high
HDL = 48 - a little low
VLDL = 31 - perfect
LDL = 149 - a lot high
T. Chol/HDL ratio = 4.8 - a little high

This gives me a baseline. I will recheck in 3 months and see if there is any improvement. I know my HDL and Triglycerides have improved from the last test.

I went over to my sisters this morning to drop off coupons for free greek yogurt and the Minute Maid frozen cherry lemonades I got for them. On the way back I stopped at Walmart to pick up some deals using yesterdays coupons.

Walmart has an 8-lb box of hamburger patties on sale for $16.98. 32 ct or .53/each. It's 75/25 fat and that's a really good price for patties. I got 1 box.

I got 8 pouches of Idaho instant potatoes for .17/each that I will donate to the food pantry.

I got 5 free trial size pouches of Cascade dishwashing tabs. That's 15 washes. I used the coupons from yesterday's P&G insert.

I used the $10 Walmart gift card I got in the mail from My Points last week to pay for part of it. Spent $8.57.

I finished reading the library book Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich. Mystery - very good.

good coupon week

August 28th, 2011 at 06:04 pm

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 964.47
RX total = 246.32
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,417.98

Lots of good coupons in the paper this week so I went to the 7-11 and got 2 more papers. With these coupons I know I can get very cheap/free dishwashing tabs, paper towels, and Tide, plus I see other coupons that may get me free stuff depending on sales.

Stopped at Walgreens for this weeks moneymaker. Buy 1 28-ct box of Estroven for $10 and get a $10 register reward. I had a $3 coupon so after taxes I made $2.33. I got 2 boxes and will donate both to the food pantry.

My steak from last night was really good. I marinated it in olive oil and red wine first and then added garlic, salt and pepper and seared it for 3 minutes on each side and finished it in the oven at 450 for 15 minutes. I like my steak well-done.

I finished reading my book Cutting Loose by Tara Janzen. Romance - very good.

B@S = Big Ass Salad

August 27th, 2011 at 06:35 pm

I've been eating a lot of Big Ass Salads the last few weeks for lunch. I start with a homemade dressing. The base is salt and pepper and balsalmic vingegar. Then I add olive oil or sunflower oil or mayonaisse depending on what I feel like that day. I add a large handful of spinach and about 4 cups of romaine.

Next come the veggies and egg. I usually add a hard-boiled egg, onion and tomatoes. I may add celery and/or radishes if I have them.

Meat can be any of the following, ham, pepperoni, leftover roast chicken breast, turkey deli meat, tuna, ground beef, or shrimp sauteed in butter.

Finally I might add some slivered almonds, walnuts or sunflower seeds. Makes a huge salad and very tasty and filling, I don't want to eat again for several hours.

Today I woke up late so only eating 2 meals. For dinner I'll have one of the steaks I got yesterday and green beans with salsa, a small salad and watermelon for dessert. Sounds good to me. Smile

I finished reading the library book Promises Revealed by Sarah McCarthy. Romance - very good.

$2.39/gal gas and $2.33/lb sirloin steak

August 26th, 2011 at 07:48 pm

I went in town this morning to get my blood test, next time I have to go I will take another route though. The directions the computer gave me took me way out of the way if I had known exactly where it was. There is a much faster way from my house. Live and Learn Smile

The lab place was 1 block from a super Target so went in and got a loaf of apple fritter bread for mom and 2 of the Archer Farms brand of sliced ham. 1 for me and 1 for mom. If you haven't tried this brand (Target brand) of ham, it is very good.

I drove right by the King Soopers gas station and got gas. I had a $1/gal off for transferring a prescription. I filled up my 2 5-gal gas cans and my tank. Paid $2.39 after the discount and got just over 19 gals, saved $19.11 on gas. Paid with a credit card that's giving 5% back on gas this quarter.

Stopped at a Walgreens in town and got another 6 of the .39 cent Scotch bubble mailers.

Last stop was Albertsons on the way home. They had a sale buy 1 get 2 free petite sirloin steaks. The steaks looked really nice. They come in approx. 2 lb packs. You pay for the most expensive package and the other 2 are free. So I got around 6 lbs of steak for $14.33. Each package has 4 or 5 steaks in it. I plan to cook the whole package tomorrow night. I'll eat it for 2/3 days and freeze the rest. Paid with a discounted gift card.

I finished reading my book A Purple Place for Dying by J.D. MacDonald. Mystery - very good. This is the last of this series, I've reread all of them now and have decided not to keep anymore so they go in the used bookstore box. That clears up one bookshelf, but more are coming in everyday to refill it Smile

Thursday errands

August 25th, 2011 at 07:30 pm

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 944.47
RX total = 227.20
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,378.86

Ran several errands this morning. First stop was Walgreens where I got 6 more Scotch bubble mailers for .39/each and a tube of Colgate Pro-Sensitive toothpaste that I will donate to the food pantry. The tooth paste was on sale for 4.99. I had a $1.50 coupon and got back a $4 RR. So I made a few cents on it after taxes.

Next stop was Safeway. I got 3 trial size boxes of Tide for free. 2 Starkist tuna pouches for .50/each. 2 6.4 oz tubes of Colgate toothpaste for free and a lb of Primo Taglio deli turkey for $5.99. I spent $7.23. The toothpaste goes to the food pantry.

At the library 18 holds came in. I had to bring in a bag to carry them all. Most weeks I get 3 - 5 holds then all the sudden they all show up at once. It's a good thing I can renew most of them twice. I already have several checked out so I'm behind on reading the library books.

Next up was King Soopers. I spent $10.56 after using $55.47 in coupons. $2.77 of the $10.56 was for items to donate to the food pantry. I had a coupon for $10/$50 at Safeway, but King Soopers takes those. I also used the 2 $10 gift cards I got from buying cereal last month, so that was $30 of the $55 in coupons I used.

I got 5 cans of Spaghettios for .29/each, 2 bottles Lawry's marinade for free, 3 free 2ct packages GUM Crayola toothbrushes and a can of Del Monte tomatoes for .49 to donate to the food pantry.

I got a package of 8 ct Jif to Go for my oldest niece using a free item coupon and I got 3 free 4ct packages of Minute Maid frozen Cherry limeades to give to my youngest niece.

For myself I got a bunch of radishes, 2 red onions, 3 tomatoes, a bunch of spinach, 2 bottles of Nature's Bounty CoQ10 (BOGO + $6 coupons + 50% more/per bottle + $5 back when you spend $30), 2 doz Land O Lakes eggs, and 2 5 ct boxes Atkins bars.

On the way out of King Soopers I got a free movie from the Redbox machine using a promo code.

I finished reading my book Sizzle by Julie Garwood. Romance - very good.

DirectLabs

August 24th, 2011 at 06:31 pm

I've been wanting to get my cholesterol/triglycerides checked out since I've been on this new way of eating for 3 months now and have been waiting for Walgreens to get their machine working. It's been 3 weeks. So yesterday I read about a place called DirectLabs where you can order medical tests for yourself online and then take the order to a LabCorp. I checked it out and the nearest LabCorp is only 20 miles away. They have a locator on the site and it will even give you driving directions - pretty cool.

The lipid panel test was $29, Walgreens was $35, plus before checking out I checked retailmenot and they had a coupon code to take $3 off. So $26 for the test.
They also have a deal where you can set up your appt online, so now I have an sppt for Fri morning at 9 am to get the test done. It takes 8 - 10 days to get the results.

I'd like to get my thyroid tested sometime too, that was $100 something. I have a high deductible on my insurance and this is a lot cheaper than going to a dr and paying for an appt to get a prescription to get the labwork and then going back to the dr for the results. There are lots of websites that help you interpret the results. If it's bad I can set up a dr appt then.

I got a $10 gift card to Walmart in the mail yesterday from MyPoints along with 4 books I ordered from Amazon and a $7 coupon to NatureMade.

On our walk this morning mom and I saw a daddy deer, a mommy deer and 2 baby deers. Very cute.

I finished reading my book Crazy Wild by Tara Janzen. Romance - very good.

American History

August 21st, 2011 at 06:37 pm

I just finished watchin a course on early American history thru the 49ers. I got it from the library and it was excellent. The teacher was guy who teaches high school in CA. There was thirty 30-minute lectures. For each lecture he dressed up as a different character of the time period and spoke with that accent. He wasn't a famous character, but was familiar with famous characters, for instance George Washingtons secretary or Mark Twain's brother. He would tell a little bit about the common man's life during the time discussed and then talk about the main issues of the time. Quite entertaining. I bet his students love him.

There was a big fire in the foothills near me for the last couple of days. You could see it from my house. They had it mostly contained yesterday and then we got a big rainstorm last night. Almost 2 hours of rain, which really helped. Glad it's out now. I hate to see the mountains burn.

I finished reading the library book What Angels Fear by C.S. Harris. Mystery - pretty good.

free eggs

August 18th, 2011 at 08:29 pm

I went to Walmart and King Soopers this morning. I got free Eggsland eggs at King Soopers because they were marked wrong.

I got 10 cans of spaghettio's for .29/each. 8 packages of Idaho instant potatoes for .24/each. And 2 2ct packages GUM kids toothbrushes to donate to the food pantry.

I had alot more stuff even though it's only been 10 days since my last visit so I dropped off 8 more sacks at the Food pantry. Plus I wanted to get the school supplies there while they are still needed. School starts next week here.

Super hot again today, but supposed to rain later on.

I finished reading the library book Cast in Chaos by Michelle Sagara. Sci/Fi - excellent series.

cowboys and aliens

August 17th, 2011 at 06:23 pm

I took my youngest niece to see Cowboys and Aliens yesterday. We both liked it. I used my last free movie coupon from buying cereal last month. I spent $5 for her ticket.

We went to Red Robin for lunch. I got a mushroom burger and a side salad. Removed the bun from the burger. It was good.

We went bday shopping for her. Her bday is next month. She wanted this thing that plugs into her car and plays her iPod thru the FM radio @50, earplugs @15 and then we went to Wet Seal and got 4 pieces of clothes for @25. They were on clearance buy 1 get 1 for .01 cent. I have about $10 left and will get her a small gift card to Walgreens, so she can get fancy shampoo or skin stuff that she likes Smile

Also stopped in at Borders which has everything at 50%. Got 3 expensive books for $25.

On the way to pick her up, I stopped at Staples to get some school supplies to donate, plus pick up some things for me. Our local food pantry is basically the focal point for all of the charitable groups in my small town. They collect food, personal care, household, health care items, toys for xmas, clothes and school supplies all in one place. That's nice for me.

At Staples I had a coupon for 300 address labels for free - normally $9.99. I also got 2 packages of copy paper and 1 package of photo paper for .50/each after rebate. The photo paper will go to my mom.

Staples had 1 subject notebooks on sale for .01/each. I got 6 of those and a 7 ct package of mechanical pencils that were free after rebate. All of that will be donated.

I spent $25.92 and will get a $24.46 rebate check and mom will give me $.50 for the photo paper. I paid with an 8% discounted gift card and turned in 5 ink cartridges.

Walgreens has the Tru2Go blood glucose monitor free after rebate this week. $9.99. It comes with 10 free strips so I got one and tried it this morning. I really like it, needs a very small amount of blood to test, but it's 3 points higher than my Ultra mini monitor. The monitor itself is really small too, about the size of a silver dollar, so easy to carry around with you. 10 test strips is worth around $7. I'll get the rebate and I might get another monitor and have my mom send in a rebate form for it.

I got a $2 rebate check in the mail, but can't figure out what it was for. Usually it says on the check what you sent in for. Ah well, I'll cash it Smile

I finished reading my book One Fearful Yellow Eye by John D. MacDonald. Mystery - very good.

Why We Get Fat -book Review

August 12th, 2011 at 06:08 pm

I recently finished reading the library book Why We Get Fat And What To Do About It by Gary Taubes. I thought it was really good. It basically details the history on how government policy was formed around the theories of low-fat, high-carbs is good for peoples health regardless of the science that doesn't back up those theories. The following quotes are from Amazon. Well worth reading to decide for yourself.

"The most important point of the book is that all those public recommendations -- the food pyramid, the "eat food, not too much" approach, everything we know about a balanced lifestyle -- is founded on the premise of Calories In vs. Calories Out. That we get fat because we eat too many calories, or we don't burn enough of them through movement. But this is nonsense. It's not just wrong, it is actually not a statement about what causes obesity at all (or heart disease, cancer or diabetes, for that matter.) It is, in Taubes' words, a "junior high level mistake," because it tells us nothing about fat accumulation. If we get fat, by definition we have taken in more calories than we've put out -- but WHY we took in those calories, or didn't burn them, is the key point. "

"Taubes reviews the scientific literature (rather than the popular press) and presents a conclusion that was common knowledge before WWII, and heresy afterward: we get fat because our fat cells have become disregulated and are taking nutrients that should be available to other tissues. Like a tumor, the cells live for themselves rather than in balance with the rest of the body. And since those nutrients aren't available, we become hungry and tired. Therefore we eat more, and move less. "

"While Taubes acknowledges that exercise seems to be good for us for a variety of reasons, weight control isn't one of them. Study after study conducted by proponents of exercise have admitted that they see no compelling evidence for exercise as a weight-loss tool. And it makes sense if you throw out the calories in/calories out model of why we get fat. If we're fat because our fat tissues are starving the rest of our cells of fuel, exercise is just going to make us hungrier and more tired, not leaner and more fit. (It's worth noting that according to Taubes, in the 1930s obese patients were treated with bed rest.) "

I ordered 7 books from Amazon this morning and paid $0.00. I had $80 in swagbucks and when I was signing out they offered me another $40 if I signed up for the Amazon gift card. So I did that.

$66.29 - total of 7 paperbacks
-9.93 - free shipping
-7.99 - 4 for 3 promotion
-----
$48.37 in free books used $8.37 of my swagbucks total

I finished reading the library book Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn. Romance - very good.

$60 in the mail

August 10th, 2011 at 07:39 pm

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 841.01
RX total = 227.20
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,275.40

I got $60 in the mail today. A $40 rewards check from my mastercard and 2 $10 Kellogs Discover cards for buying cereal last month.

I got a haircut at Great Clips this morning. I had a coupon for $7.99 so I paid $10 and saved $4.

I picked up a prescription at King Soopers. It was a transfer so I got another $1 off gas rewards. That will save me $20 in gas. The prescription cost $1.60

It's only 60 degrees so had a really nice walk this morning.

I watched Predators last night from Netflix. I liked it. I'm almost out of movies in my Netflix queue. I think I'll probably cancel it next month and just use Redbox until I get behind in movie watching again.

I got 2 more $5 Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks today also.

I finished reading the library book Invincible by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Paranormal - very good.

free produce

August 8th, 2011 at 09:22 pm

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 837.01
RX total = 227.20
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,271.4

I dropped off 6 bags of groceries and stuff at the food pantry this afternoon. 91 items valued at $106.54. I spent $10.09.

Stopped by the local library and the weedy lot in front has tons of Indian paintbrushes. Those are my favorite wildflowers.

Went to Safeway for free produce. I got 2 bags of Fresh Express salad, 2 bags coleslaw, 3 tomatoes, a bag of celery and some cherries. Cost was $10.55, but I had a coupon for $3/$10 produce purchase so I paid $7.55 using the gift card I got last month for transferring prescriptions. Still have around $13 on the card.

Finished reading the library book The Jefferson Key by Steve Berry. Thriller - very good.

Pirates of the Caribean

August 7th, 2011 at 07:54 pm

I met a friend at the cheap theater to see Pirates of the Caribean yesterday. Used to call it the dollar theater, but it costs $1.75 for a ticket now, so can't call it that anymore Smile

We both liked the movie. Tons of people there though, didn't care for that. We went to Applebee's for lunch afterwards. I got a spinach and shrimp salad, which was really good - spent $10.75.

Before meeting at the theater I stopped at the big library in town and got several books and about 50 back issues of magazines. I love reading magazines.

I also went to the used book store and traded in a bag of books.

The dollar store up on my end of town went out of business. I saw there was one by the theater and since I was early I went in. They had a frozen foods section. I've never seen a dollar store with a frozen food section. I got some furniture polish, which even Walmart brand is $3, so that was cheap. I rarely see this under $2. And I also got some plastic wrap. Another item I rarely see a good sale on.

I finished reading the library book Hit List by Laurell K. Hamilton. Paranormal - excellent.

incentive pants

August 3rd, 2011 at 07:18 pm

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 822.01
RX total = 219.65
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,248.85

Yesterday mom and I went in town to shop. I went to Kmart to get some new jeans. I've been buying the same style jeans there for over 10 years. I needed a new pair in the size I wear now, which is a size 18. Mom was not happy to learn I'm fitting in a size 18 now. Not because she's unhappy about my wearing that size, but because that's the size she wears. I weigh quite a bit more than she does, but I carry my weight in my stomach and she puts hers on her butt.

I also wanted to get a pair of size 16 and 14 pants as incentives. I like to try the next size down on every few weeks to see if I'm making progress. They didn't have those sizes in the women's section so I had to shop in the normal people section - woohoo! It may be big normal, but it's normal or will be as soon as I can fit into the 16's. Smile

I used the Sear's gift card I bought at Safeway a few months ago that gave me $10 off my groceries when I bought a $50 gift card. I was over by .27

Also went to Party City. I had a coupon for $10/$50 which I gave to my mom. She said she didn't think she could spend that much. $100 later... Anyways she saved $10 with the coupon.

We went to Bed, Bath and Beyond where I got a new silicone oven liner. Mine wore out after 5 or 6 years. It was $10 and I used a 20% off coupon and paid with a 8% discounted gift card.

We had lunch at Ruby Tuesday's and I had a coupon for a free salad bar with purchase of the entre, so I saved $2.99 on that. Spent $11.27 also paid with a 10% discounted gift card.

I decided to go ahead and get the AARP membership. It's $16/year. I keep borrowing mom's card to get deals at Walgreens so I figure it will at least pay for itself.

I transferred a prescription to King Soopers and got another $1 off gas reward. I gave it to my dad since I don't need gas this month.

I finished reading the library book Legacies by L.E. Modesitt Jr. Sci/Fi - very good.

3 year anniversary

August 2nd, 2011 at 01:03 am

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 815.02
RX total = 219.65
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,241.86

I retired 3 years ago today - yipee! I have loved all of it, even the times I was in the hospital - that would have been so much harder if I had to work.

Today is also my sisters birthday. My niece drove down from collage and dad took all of us to Cheddar's for lunch. It was ok - I had the lemon pepper chicken. I didn't think it was that special, but it's new here.

I got several more items free today from yesterday's coupons. Walmart has trial size Cascade action pack dishwashing tabs that have 3 tabs in each pouch for .97. There was a coupon for $1 in yesterday's paper so free and paid part of the taxes on it. I actually bought 2 extra papers yesterday because the coupons were so good. I get 2 subscriptions and mom give me what she doesn't want.

I also got 3 trial size Degree deodorant, 3 boxes of BenGay cream, and 2 12 ct Bic razors for free from Walmart. All the coupons had overage so they paid for all the taxes too. All of these items go to the food pantry.

At King Soopers I got another 3 tubes of Colgate and 3 bottles of Ivory body wash for free using yesterday's coupons. I did pay taxes on them but got another $2 coupon to use on my next order for the Crest so came out ahead. All of these go to the food pantry too.

Walmart had their 5 lb chubs of hamburger marked down from $11 to $7.69. I got 2 chubs and came home and made a bunch of hamburger patties and froze them.

I finished reading the library book Pick Another Checkout Lane Honey by Joanie Demer. Non-Fiction - ok. The part about how to decode the barcodes on coupons was interesting, but I'll never remember it. I think some of the other books I've read like this are better. Like How to Shop for Free and Shop Smart, Save More