Monday, September 22, 2008

ultrasound!!!!! :D

ok, so i went for my first ultrasound today and it was AWESOME! :) we got to see the baby moving all over the place, as well as hear the heartbeat (171)! i'm measuring right on schedule, so that's good to know, and there is DEFINITELY only 1 baby in there. i had to put that in print for all the nay-sayers out there. :P anyways, everything looks good and the baby is doing well. here are the pictures they gave me b/c i know everyone is dying to see! :)

Photobucket
Photobucket

next ultrasound will be in december sometime - hopefully the liitle one will cooperate and let us see if it's a boy or girl! we're hoping girl, but would love another boy too - send all your pink dust our way!

cvs again!

ok, so dh decided to help cash in on the savings, so we got him a card too. . . i wasn't sure if it'd work, but it did, so happy day! so, between the 2 of us, here's what we got--

dh: 1 trip to the register - 5 bottles propel (1 liter), 2 crest pro-health rinse (250 mL), 1 adidas men's deodorant. used 75 cent off coupons for the mouthwash and $1 off for the deodorant. paid $14.29 and saved $8.45. got back 11 ecb's. (saving them for another trip to the store)

me: 2 trips to the register--

1) same as dh's trip, only i also used a $2 off $10 cvs coupon (they were suspicious about it and weren't sure if it was legit, so dh didn't wanna push it by trying to use one too). i paid $12.15 and saved $10.45. got back 11 ecb's.

2) 1 bottle selsun blue, 2 vaseline intensive care body lotions, 3 reese's fast break bars. used $1.25 off coupons for lotions, plus another $2 off $10 cvs coupon. also used all my ecb's from the previous order paid 8 cents, saved $18.17. got 1 ecb to use next time. :)

here's my stuff--

Photobucket

we did pretty well, imho. we have $12 between the 2 of us that we can use next time, and we got stuff that we'll definietly use in the future. :)

Friday, September 19, 2008

triple coupons = happy evelyn!

ok, so this weekend harris teeter is tripling coupons worth up to 99 cents! i've spent the past week getting organized for this and it's paid off! i still have to go back for a few more things, but i did very well today. i thought their policy was that you could only use 20 coupons at a time, but you could go through the line as many times as you like; however, it turns out that you're limited to 20 coupons per household per day at each particular store. . . i found this out on my 5th trip through the checkout. oh well. anyways here's what i got and how much it cost--

1) 4 mrs. dash marinades, 10 canisters oatmeal (18 oz.), 8 lipton/knorr sides, 10 oz. bottle french's worchstershire sauce, 1 box pillsbury brownie mix. used these coupons, all of which were trippled: 75 cents off mrs. dash marinades (4), 50 cents off quaker oatmeal 18 oz. or larger (10), 60 cents off 2 knorr sides (4), 35 cents off french's worchestershire sauce, 40 cents off pillsbury brownie mix. oatmeal was on sale 2 for $3. i paid $7.99 and saved $51.25.

2) 4 betty crocker cookie mixes, 2 pillsbury reduced sugar cake mixes, 2 pillsbury reduced sugar frostings, 10 packs always pantiliners (20 ct.). coupons: 40 cents off betty crocker cookie mix (4), 40 cents off pillsbury reduced sugar cake mix OR frosting (4), 50 cents off any always pantiliner (10). i paid $6.84 and saved $21.50.

3) 1 smart balance cooking spray, 2 hungry jack pancake mix (32 oz.), 17 g.u.m. toothbrushes. coupons: 50 cents off any smart balance product (1), 55 cents off any hungry jack pancake mix or syrup (2), 75 cents off any g.u.m. toothbrush. i spent $3.92 and saved $43.05

4) 8 boxes quaker chewy granola bars, 2 boxes nature valley granola bars, 10 bottles dawn direct foam, 8 cans ortega diced green chilies (4 oz.). coupons: 75 cents off any 2 boxes quaker chewy granola bars (4), 50 cents off any nature valley granola bars (2), 50 cents off any dawn direct foam or dawn simple pleasures (10), 75 cents off any 2 ortega products (4). the quaker granola bars were on sale for 2/$4. i paid $25.45 and saved $70.19.

5) 4 hunt's snack packs (4-packs), 10 wishbone italian salad dressings (8 oz.), 8 pillsbury crescent rolls (4 oz. packages). coupons: 30 cents off any 2 snack pack products, 60 cents off wishbone salad dressing (thee were specific dressings, i just got the cheapest one allowed by the coupon), 35 cents off any pillsbury crescent roll. snack packs were on sale 5 for $5. i paid $ 5.86 and saved $31.32.

in all, i spent $51.06 and saved $217.31. i got $268.37 worth of stuff, meaning i saved 81%!!!!! VERY happy evelyn! here's a picture--

Photobucket

the best part is that now we have a really good supply of non-perishable foods in case we ever need to live off what we've got in the house. i'd been feeling the need to have food storage for the last few months and was worried we wouldn't be able to fit it into our budget, but we have! we have enough stuff in there that i feel ok about not buying stuff for it every paycheck now. i'd like to get some more protein items in there, maybe a few more fruits and veggies, but it's sufficient for survival and that's what's important.

when i'd finished putting things away today and was looking at it, i got all teary-eyed! it surprised me. . . it feels good though, to have done something so simple to be prepared and to know that we've followed the prophet's counsel. and since i won't be buying as much stuff for our food storage now, our grocery bills should decrease dramatically - and that'll help IMMENSELY. we want to start paying on my student loans before they begin to collect interest, and this is gonna be a huge help it getting us there. i know it won't get paid off before i start earning interest, but every little bit will help.

the kmart here is also running a special till next weekend - they're doubling coupons worth up to $2! i went the other day and was pretty happy w/ my "purchases". . . i put it in quotes b/c i didn't pay anything. . . i got 4 bottles of dove conditioner and 1 bottle of sunsilk gel, but w/ the coupons i had, i ended up owing nothing. it was pretty sweet. i'm planning to go back again, maybe this afternoon. . . i'm hoping they've restocked their pert plus b/c those will be free as well. . . and they have cascadian farms frozen veggies for $2.23, but w/ my coupons for $1, when they double, i'll only pay 23 cents per bag! happy day! anyways, i'm pretty excited about all the deals that i've gotten this week. . . i probably won't post about the rest of the stuff i get, but you get the idea. when i go back to harris teeter tomorrow, i'm planning to get 3 boxes of smucker's uncrustables, 2 packages of dannon activia yogurt, and 2 tubs of land o lakes margarine. . . at kmart, i'll get whatever i can for less than $10 total. . . it'll probably be mostly toiletries and frozen veggies, but that's ok. . . anyways, my hands are starting to hurt and i should get some lunch into myself and trevor. . .

Friday, September 12, 2008

hit cvs - it's been a while. . .

ok, so it's been a while since i've seen any deals on anything we needed and had coupons for AND had the money for me to get extra stuff, but i finally got back to cvs. i did really well this time! here's what i got--

1) 5 right guard xtreme, 6 progresso soups. 5 coupons for $1 off right guard, plus 3 peelies for 55 cents each; 3 coupons for 50 cents off 2 cans progresso soup. (right guard got $2 ecb each; soups were b1g1) paid $16.83, saved $29.56. got $10 ecb.
2) 10 tubes colgate toothpaste (various types, i just got what they still had on the shelf), 10 lady speed sticks (also various kinds, again, i got what was available). 10 coupons for 75 cents off colgate; 10 coupons for $1 off lady speed stick. (colgate toothpastes and mennen deodorants on sale b1g1). used $10 ecb from previous purchase. paid $6.51, saved $54.80.

it totaled $23.34 out of pocket w/ a savings of $84.36! so i got $107.70 worth of stuff! :D and we'll SO never have to buy toothpaste again! (b/c in addition to what i bought today, we already had like 15 or 20 tubes at home. . . ) anyways, here's my haul--

Photobucket

also, i was kicking myself afterwards b/c i had $4 off $20 coupon for cvs at home, plus the $2 off $10 you can print off. . . poo. . .

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

new house

ok, so i finally got around to taking pictures of our new house to post. . . here you go!

front yard--
Photobucket Image Hosting

living room--
Photobucket Image Hosting
Photobucket Image Hosting

dining room--
Photobucket Image Hosting

kitchen (still messy b/c i don't have enough cabinet space to put everything)--
Photobucket Image Hosting

trevor's room--
(from doorway)
Photobucket Image Hosting

(from corner w/ chair)
Photobucket Image Hosting

trevor's bathroom (love, love, love the shower curtain!)--
Photobucket Image Hosting

master bedroom/bathroom (sorry about the mess, i took these in the midst of my hurricane packing panic)--
Photobucket Image Hosting
Photobucket Image Hosting
Photobucket Image Hosting

there's also the 3rd bedroom, but it's still a mess w/ boxes that have yet to be unpacked. it'll be the new baby's room when spring comes, so once it's done, i'll post pictures of it too. . . but that probably won't be till after new year's. . .