Images from the Sunroom

foot stool

antique table

painting from steviewren

The sunroom is one of my favorite places in our home. I love the colors and the simplicity. I hope you enjoyed this small home tour.

Garden Update

squash, zucchini, and cumber

Our summer vegetable garden is around six weeks old and it is growing wonderfully!

squash blooms are beautiful, but you can only see them in the early morning before the sun's rays hit them

I have plucked this basil back a least four times

a lovely lavendar bloom from our bush beans

our okra are growing very tall and they now have several pods on them

very, very tall tomatoes

I can't wait to eat it!

yummy pole beans

I hope to have some picture of actual veggies on my next update.

My First CVS Trip!

For the last two months I have been interested in trying to play the "drugstore grocery game," especially after we found out we were pregnant and would be needing lots of diapers. Well today I played the first hand in my new pastime. And I went straight to the "jack-pot."

Transaction #1
1 Pampers Cruisers @ 7.99
1 Pampers wipes @ 2.99
1 Listerine Smart Rinse @ 3.49
1 Listerine Smart Rinse @ 3.49
-------------------------------
-3$/15 CVS coupon
-2$/2 Pampers
-1$/1 Listerine
-1$/1 Listerine
Total: $12.46/ECB (Extra Care Bucks) earned: $6.98 (Listerine 3.49x2)

Transaction #2
2 Pampers Cruisers @ 7.99
-------------------------------
-3$/15 CVS coupon
-2$/2 Pampers
-$6.98 ECB (from above transaction)
Total: $4.60/ECB earned: $5.00 (buy $20 Pampers)

Transaction #3
2 Pampers Cruisers @ 7.99
-------------------------------
-3$/15 CVS coupon
-2$/2 Pampers
-$5.00 ECB (from above transaction)
Total: $6.78

Total spent OOP (out of pocket): $ 23.84

I would have to say that I did pretty good for my first trip, especially since all of the diapers (175) alone would have cost over $50 dollars at Target or Wal-mart!

If you are considering the "drugstore grocery game," here are some helpful links:

- CVS 101
- CVS coupons
- CVS deals this week

Is There Such A Thing As To Much Baby Knowledge?

Books we have purchased so far, mainly for the excitement of it all!

I'm thinking the answer is yes. Or at least that is what everyone is telling me. Many people say not to read to much. Others say read as much as you can so you will be "adequately prepared." My decision: read as much as I want when I want. I mean it's all fun to read and think about. Who doesn't want to know what is going on in their womb.

A sweet gift from Taylor.

We arrived home from church today and I found this book/journal laying on my bed with a white bow on top. My sweet husband/father-to-be purchased it for me. Honestly I hadn't really thought about keeping a journal (mainly because I am to cheap to buy one), but I am thrilled and blessed to have a husband who is so thoughtful. Thank you, Taylor, you are a wonderful husband and you will be a wonderful father!

This is today's journal entry!

This book/journal is great because it tells you what is going on each day with your baby and you can journal your own thoughts in it.

If anyone has any suggestions for books or other insightful information about pregnancy and babies, please let me know.

Celebrating My Second Month of Coupons

All of these items were bought with coupons.

Each item cost $.00 cents (plus tax)!

Here is the breakdown: (+ means what I was credited; if I don't have a link to the coupon it means the coupon came from the Sunday paper or online and is now expired)

4 boxes of Live Active Cereal (48 oz) @ +.02 cents per box
25 bars Johnson and Johnson Buddies soap @+.06 cents per soap
6 packages of Huggies Baby Wipes (96) @ +.01 cent per package
5 boxes of Zantac (40 pills) @ +1.02 dollars per box
2 boxes of Scotch Brite toilet scrubbers @ .00 cents
12 boxes of Kotex pads (216) @ .00 cents per box
6 Clean and Clear Facial Scrubs @ +1.01 dollars per tube
2 Clinic Happy Perfumes @ .00 cents per bottles
1 Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal (12 oz) @ .00 cents per box
2 boxes of Hello Kitty Band-Aids (20) @ +.01 cent per box
4 All Small & Mighty detergent (8 loads) @ +.01 cent per bottle
1 Herbal Essence Shampoo (trial size) @ +.01 cent per bottle
1 Herbal Essence Conditioner (trial size) @ +.01 cent per bottle
1 Frizz-ease Mousse (trial size) @ +.01 cent per bottle
1 Adidas Deodorant (2.8 oz) @ .00 cents per bottle
1 Joint Juice (16.9 oz) @ +.82 cents per bottle
25 boxes of Royal Jello @ .00 cents per box
3 tubes of KY @ +.40 cents per tube
30 Archer Farms Ground Coffee (52.5 oz) @ +.01 per bag
Total:$ +++15.57
Estimated cost for these items: $ 168.64

Because I actually made 15.57 dollars, I decided to include a picture of everything I was able to buy with the overage money.

All of these items were bought with coupons.

Each item cost .99 cents or less (plus tax)!

Here is the breakdown: ( - means what I spent; if I don't have a link to the coupon it means the coupon came from the Sunday paper or online and is now expired)

3 Ocelo sponges (26) @ -.14 cents per package
6 Flamless candles @ -.99 cents per candle
5 bags of Lays Cracker Crisps @ -.50 cents per bag
4 Degree Deodorant @ -.50 cents per bottle
4 Bushes Grillin Beans @ -.25 cents per can
2 Childrens tooth brushes @ -.38 cents a brush
2 Smucker's Magic Shell @ -.25 cents a bottle
1 box of Couscoss @ -.25 cents a box
Total: $---13.37
Estimated cost for these items: $ 88.57

So you do the math 15.57-13.37=
Total $+++2.2o
Estimated cost for all items in both pictures: $ 257.21

YES, coupons really work ! (Check out my first month of savings here)

If you are now considering using coupons, check out some of these wonderful "Money Savings Blogs" for links to great coupons and tons of free samples!

Money Savings Blogs

• The Thrifty Soaper
• A Garden of Blessings
• More Than Enough
• Budget Helpers
• The Grocery Cart Challenge
  

I'm Back!!!

Sorry I have been absent from the blogging world for 13 days. It has been a busy two weeks.

The first week I was trying to finish the school year at work and pack for a fun holiday beach trip.

This past week I have been overwhelmed and excited with some BIG NEWS...

I'm Pregnant!

We found out this past Sunday while on our beach trip. Needless to say, I forgot to take any pictures of the beach. I am 4 weeks! I think this will make my due date around the 6th of February, but we will see what the doctor says.

I hope now that I am off work for summer break, I will be able to keep up with my blogging more consistently. However, there my be a few more posts about babies and children now that they are in our near future!

If you have any tips or advice for a first time pregnant woman, please leave me a comment!

This Week's Shopping!!!

This is my shopping for the week of May 11-17 th! My goal is to only spend $50 dollars a week. I spent a grand total of $58.23 on all of these items, slightly over budget, but I am simply thrilled at what I was able to buy and stock up on.

Each of these items cost between $2 and 3 per item!

Each of these items cost between .50-.99 cents!!

Each of these items was absolutely totally FREE!!!

Total spent: $ 58.23
Total saved with the help of coupons: $103.15

(Maybe this does not look like a lot of complete meals but because I have been stocking up on food and toiletry items for about four months, I really didn't need any other food items)

I love coupons!

Taylor's Birthday

My husband's birthday was this past weekend. We had lots of fun. First, I made him a special birthday breakfast. However, I did not have any birthday napkins on hand so I had to make do. LOL.

He requested that we go fishing for a fun birthday activity.

We drove to a nearby lake and rented a small boat. We attempted to catch a fish for about four hours, but instead all we caught was quality time together.

HaHaHaHaHa

A very tall pink strawberry cake for the birthday boy!


I love you, Taylor. I can't wait to spend many more birthdays together!

Supper Sample Sunday!

These are the free samples that I received in the mail this week!

Go to The Thrifty Soaper to see other people who have received samples this week.

Having Fun with Wedding Gifts

My husband and I went to a wedding over the weekend. The wedding was for one of Taylor's co-workers. Normally I don't give theme gifts, but this idea just popped in my head and sounded like fun.

Over the last couple of months I have made a tasty dish, Malaysian Chicken Pizza. My wonderful sister-in-law gave me the recipe that was published in Cooking Light.

Taylor's co-worker had a chance to taste the pizza when he took some leftovers for lunch one day. The co-worker loved it and kept asking Taylor when I was going to cook it again. Of course I felt very flattered, although I just followed the recipe. Anyway, I decided to give the happy couple a pizza stone, holder, pizza cutter, two of the liquid ingredients, and the yummy recipe for the pizza.

The pizza is wonderful. Especially if you enjoy ethnic food, which I do! If you try this wonderful dish, let me know what you think.


Malaysian Chicken Pizza

Ingredients

3/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
Cooking spray
1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat, reduced-sodium Swiss cheese (such as Alpine Lace)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 (12-inch) Basic Pizza Crust
1/4 cup chopped green onions

Preparation

Preheat oven to 500°.

Combine first 8 ingredients in a bowl; stir well with a whisk.

Heat a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add chicken, and sauté 2 minutes. Remove chicken from pan.

Pour rice vinegar mixture into pan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook mixture 6 minutes or until slightly thickened. Return chicken to pan; cook 1 minute or until chicken is done. (Mixture will be consistency of thick syrup.)

Sprinkle cheeses over prepared crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border, and top with chicken mixture. Bake at 500° for 12 minutes on bottom rack in oven. Sprinkle with green onions. Place pizza on a cutting board; let stand 5 minutes.

Yield

6 servings

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 293(22% from fat); FAT 7.3g (sat 2.9g,mono 2.6g,poly 1.2g); PROTEIN 18.2g; CHOLESTEROL 33mg; CALCIUM 151mg; SODIUM 487mg; FIBER 1.8g; IRON 2.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 38.3g Jill Melton , Cooking Light, MAY 2002

Supper Sample Sunday!

These are the free samples that I received in the mail this week!

Go to The Thrifty Soaper to see other people who have received samples this week.

Out of State Family Wedding

The Church

The Doors

The Simple Beauty

The Design

The Sun's Light

Taylor's Reflection

The attire

The Cousins

The Flowers

The Food

Celebrating One Month of Coupons

All of these items were bought with coupons.
Each item cost .14 cents or was free!

This post is dedicated to my first month of using coupons. For several months, I have pondered over the long debate: Do coupons really work? and Should I even waste my time?

Well the great debate is finally over! COUPONS REALLY WORK!


As I mentioned above, each of these items was .14 cents or free. Here is the breakdown: (+ means what I was credited; - means what I spent)

14 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal (203 oz) @ +.02 cents per box
9 bars Johnson and Johnson Buddies soap @ .00 cents per soap
10 packages of Clean Team wipes (620) @ -.14 cents per package
15 packages of Ocelo sponges (26) @ -.14 cents per package
6 bottles of Bath and Body Works soap (52.5 oz) @ .00 cents per bottle
2 boxes of Zantac (16 pills) @ +1.02 dollars per box
3 boxes of Scotch Brite toliet scrubbers @ .00 cents
(3 handles and 12 scrubbers) per box

Total: $ 1.18
Estimated cost for all items: $ 151.05

So YES, coupons really work and I should definitely "waste" my time!

If you are now considering if you should "waste" you time, check out some of these wonderful "Money Savings Blogs" for links to great coupons and tons of free samples!

Money Savings Blogs

• The Thrifty Soaper
• A Garden of Blessings
• More Than Enough
• Budget Helpers
• The Grocery Cart Challenge