Sunday, February 27, 2011

Happy Birthday J!


Today is my son J's 4th birthday. He came into this world in his own way- breach with a cord prolapse that neccesitated an emergency C-section and gave us a huge scare. We should have know he would always do his own thing. He has an amazing sense of self and fierce independance which runs all through my Dad's side of the family. If J doesn't want to do something, he won't or he'll do it his own way. He is curious, funny, intelligent, stubborn, kind, loving and my little shadow. I sometimes look at him and wonder how I helped create this amazing little person with the massive big blue eyes. I cannot wait to see what he'll do in the future!


I love you J, with all my heart and I am so glad I am your Mom. The day you came into our lives was such a blessing. You will always be my little baby!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Publix Trip 2/24/2011- 53% Savings



This was an interesting week as I had to buy a lot of items that weren't on sale. I was going to make a birthday cake for my youngest son's birthday and I ran out of a lot of the ingredients so that bumped up my totals a bit. I was able to get two packages of dental floss, a bag of rice (food donation), a can of Manwich and a pack of pudding for free thanks to coupons. I also had my first "You paid how little/saved that much/how do you do it?" reaction from a stranger which was really cool. :)


I was able to add to my frozen foods stockpile- with Lent coming up the Gorton's deal was especially welcome. I was pleased that freezer bags went on sale, I got the big savings by stacking those coupons. The buy one Doritos get Pepsi Max free coupon really came in handy thanks to the Publix BOGO on Doritos, I was able to get both items for $.77. Now that my oldest son has decided that school lunches aren't as awesome as he thought he is taking his lunch to school a lot more and Doritos are his favorite chip. The husband is an obsessive Diet Coke drinker (as evidenced by the three packs of Diet Coke in the back) but I am more than happy to try the Pepsi Max. I am super excited and the fruits and veggies are starting to get cheaper, the strawberry deal alone was like heaven as we LOVE our strawberries. Publix produce will have to tide us over until the farmer's market by our house opens at the end of May so every little bit helps.

Weekly Breakdown
64 items
Pre-coupon cost: $184.71
Manufacturer coupons: 24.25
Store coupons: 6.65
Special price savings: 58.13
Total Savings: 89.03 or 53%
Free Items: 5
Final Price: $87.65




Coupons and Shopping

I am one of those women you see at the grocery store who has the list and the binder full of coupons; the lady who you don't want to be behind at the checkout counter as I have a stack of coupons. I am the lady who can buy $200 worth of food for $80. Yes, I am a coupon warrior. Don't get me confused with the people on the documentaries, I don't clear shelves or have a grocery store in my garage and we do actually eat normal food. I just like the thrill of saving a ton of money by combining little pieces of paper with store sales. I look at coupons like little slips of cash and I know I wouldn't turn down a person who was offering me .50 cents here or $1 there. Believe me, the savings are worth the weird looks.

I usually do my shopping on Thursday at Publix because that is the day the store offers the 1 penny item and I like to have groceries for the weekend. I enjoy cooking and we don't eat out much in our family so I have to shop weekly. I'll occasionally hit Kroger if they are having a particularly great sale and CVS is an amazing place to save money some weeks but my heart beats the most for Publix. I don't have the time or the patience to scour the circulars other than to give a brief once over so I use some really great sites, I love these ladies as they save me a ton of money:

http://www.blogger.com/www.couponmom.com
http://www.southernsavers.com/
http://www.iheartpublix.com/

Every time I shop I'll post a picture of my purchases, savings and any special deals that led to the savings (free products, coupon stacking, etc.). I am passionate about saving money and I want you to feel the same way!

Who do you think you are?

I love the phrase that serves as a title for this post because it has so many meanings for just a simple phrase. It can be audacious, deep, condescending and cruel but in my case, well, it is probably all four. I am still working on the answer to this question but I don't think I'll ever be satisfied because I am a work in progress. How Oprah was that answer?

Ok, this is who I think I am:

36 years old
Friend
Wife of 8 years
Mother of two boys
Lover of books, movies and music
Veteran of a 30 year fight against anxiety and depression
Coupon clipper and money saver
Sarcastic, funny yet extremely shy
Warrior for a kid with Sensory Integration Disorder and a neurotypical child
Free Range parent
A person working on better health and fitness and against the pull of the couch
Former NYer in a past life (never having lived there in this one but feeling like I should)
Politically aware but not full of hatred
Spiritual, religious but private with both
Introverted
...and many, many more things.

What will you find here? Well, that is the easy question to answer. I'll talk about my life, my family, my coupon savings, food and recipes, what it is like to struggle with panic disorder/anxiety/depression, my diet and exercise and politics. Basically everything under the sun and whatever I want to write about when I plop myself down in front of the computer.

No I am not another Mommyblogger and no I am not doing this for fame, fortune or money. Really I am doing this because I have a lot to say but not a lot of people to say it to in my real life. I know I am a little behind the times and I know that everyone has a blog these days. Just saying the word blog makes me feel dirty. What can I say, I do things on my own schedule. Look, I just recently became addicted to the show "Arrested Development" and that went off the air in 2006. Once I finish this I am going to check out a little iceberg movie I've heard a lot about- I believe it is called "Titanic"? Kidding folks.

Welcome to my little slice of mind. Don't be scared.