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So here is a really good purchase I made at Albertsons this past week;
This deal probably would go all the way til Tuesday (Dec. 15, 2009)
Buy $15 in Betty Crocker products. Get a $5 voucher.
I bought 10 progresso Soups @ $1 each= $10
2 free progresso broths (1 free broth when you but 5 progresso soups) = $0
1 Betty Crocker potatos $1
2 Nature Valley Nut Cluster $2.49 each = $4.98
1 Check Mix $1.49
Total before coupons= $16.47
Use 3 $1.10 off of 3 Progresso soups found on coupons.com
Use 1 .50 off 2 Progresso Soup found in the 11/15(?) SmartSource insert
Use 2 $1off Nature Valley Clusters coupons from coupons.com
Use 1 .50 off Chex Mix coupon also found on coupons.com
Use 1 .40 off Betty Crocker potatos (excluding potato buds) coupon also found on coupons.com
My Albertsons also let me use 2 .50 off Progresso broth coupons
= $8.77
subtract $5 from the voucher you will get towards your next purchase. Everything listed above will = $3.77
WOW! What a deal! 
I found an awesome deal at Walgreens last night and I thought I would share it with you all. They have a BOGO on their Organix shampoo. (Southern CA here) and there was a little tag on my shampoo that said try us for free. Limit one per household. So I ended up getting 2 free organix(c) shampoo for FREE! Now this is a steal of a deal that even my hubby could love.
I had wanted to do this with MoneySavingMom and FishMama but I got sick and therefore am about 2 days behind. But I am determind to do something. My freezer is kind of small so I am not sure exactly what I can/will be doing but here is a basic idea;
2 Batches of GF Pumpkin pancakes
Pumpkin Puree (in the oven as I type)
Egg salad for this week
4 Chicken Tetrazinni a bit tweaked though so we can eat it GF
3 batches of Cream of Chicken GF style
GF Granola (adapted)
Yogurt
2 dinners of slow-cooked pepper steak
1 batch of oven-baked rice (makes a LOT!)
And I have a pot of beans soaking. I should have done something besides just pinto but oh well.
And thats probably all I’ll have freezer room for. LOL. So I’m starting with that and we’ll just go from there. 
So I’m doning my apron and off I go!
Its that time of year when we pull out our sweaters, coats and start thinging about fall and Christmas. YAY! I love this time of year. So re-energizing. Its almost Nov. and I cant believe how warm its been for this time of year. I am sitting here in a tank-top for pete sake.
So since its our favorite time of year, I thought I would share some crafty ideas for Christmas gifts!
For Sewing;
Nice Childrens gift
Piggy Bank Purse
Table Runner
Easy Tag Toy
Much more tutorials can be found on;
Sew Mama Sew
If you knit/crochet;
Rivalry is always the best place to look for great patterns. However if your just starting out and want some quick, simple ideas here are a few;
Easy Knitted Dishcloth
A crocheted Scrubbie
Knitted scarf
Another idea is the whole Mason Jar Goodies. YOu can find all sorts of recipe for the mason jars. Even SOUPS!
An all time favorite is of course the snowman soup; you can find a recipe here;
Snowman soup Gift Jar
For those that like to do online gift shopping I have included a few favorite websites that are from my family and friends alike.
Author- Chautona havig, Christian Fiction and a new Child series coming NOV.
Mainly Grains- Healthy alternative for food baskets!
Daddy’s Little Princess- Modest clothing for girls at affordable prices.
Sweet Marmalade- Crafty items all handcrafted, wood and more!
Little Sassy Cowgirl and Buckaroo- Horse clothes, prairie dresses and more
Laura’s Lathers and more~ Soap and Lotions, ah every girls dream
Suthern Sundries~ Wonderful handmade soap, Bath and Body and more.
Mary Kay Consultant~ Cari Shepherd is a friend and a consultant. Great stocking stuffer ideas.
UnOrdinary Photography- Lisa is also a friend and if you live nearby maybe she can help out with your Christmas photos.
These are just a few that I can think of. Etsy is FILLEd with handmade goodies and always help the crafty workers like us. I will add more as I find them. There is always too my own store-
CottagePrimrose
Thank you for stopping by today! Please leave a comment as I always enjoy hearing from my readers.
My sister in law recently shared with me something she is doing with a few other ladies and I thought it was such a cool idea that I would share it with you.
She said that they have this group that makes a meal once a month x how ever many people that are in that group. So for example she has a group of I think 11 ladies. And once a month they all meet and exchange food. You make 1 meal for yourself + 10 others (if you have 11. However that would work for you).
It doesnt have to be elaborate. She made taco meat. Another gal could make spaghetti sauce. So and and so forth. Once a month cooking brought to a different level. You make one meal but you get a veriety of meals through someone else’s baking. I love this idea!
Look at this post for a conservative way to freeze meals.
Hope this will be useful for you all.
In Our area right now (so. Ca) Staples is having a 50% off paper product. I got a case of paper for $35. Now, you put the money up front and you use your rewards card and at the end of your period they send you a check.
Is it worth it? Lets see;
$17.50 for a case of 5000 sheets of paper. A 500 page package from Walmart costs me $3.50. 5000 pages would = $35. So there is no savings between Walmart and Staples at this point. But since prices are sliced in half right now. Its $17.50 less than what I woudl normally pay. And since I’m printing a lot right now its worth it to me.
Also to take into concideration. Storing. Will it get ruined being stored away if you wont use it for several several years?
So I’ve had Money Saving Mom bookmarked for months. But I’ll gladly admit, all the coupon codes were so confusing. What was the Smart Source they were talking about? What about RedPlum? Everything was so confusing even though is was so clear to others! Finally I decided just to sit down, read and do it. I spent 1 1/2 hours reading everything, I read steps to take and wrote it down so I would go prepared; See, proof!
What I didnt take a picture of was the scattered coupons that was too embarrasing even for me.
I woke up the next day and called long distance to my friend Cathe, who is the frugal queen in my book! She is a lifesaver. In 15 minutes everything was clear and I was more encouraged to try this.
Here is what I came home with-
I dont have a before calculation but that whole lot there totals $14.15 – $1.50 if I can learn how submit my rebate.
$14 right there is totally worth it for those diapers. The band aids ended up free. (or $1 if you count the fact that I had to buy the children’s activity booklet to get them but still 3 boxes for $1. I know I’ll be using them up quickly)
The fraps were $1 for the larger oz size. YES! Wow. That’ll last me a few days I hope. LOL. Walgreens I paid more but I had more in rewards. While I paid $14.15, I had a $4 register reward slip (which uses like a gift card for my next visit) so those ended up being $10. I paid for the cambells soup about .30 each. The fraps I had 4 on $4 (1 I gave to my brother for helping me out) So we’re at $4.30 that leaves $5.70 for the diapers. Divide by 2 leaves $2.85 per diaper. If I figure out this rebate it’ll end up being $2.15 a package. WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO! YES! Jennie, I hope your reading this. Go get some! 
The other stuff was free from Rite Aid. Put your money out but you’ll get it back in Rebate. I think I put out $19. After coupons. I messed up on that. I actually could have made money if I had remembered the $5 off coupon of purchase $25 or more. Doh!
Ok, so is it worth it to you?
Remember to check out Money Saving Mom for more tips. If you have a CVS or Target there are some great freebies going on.
Anne Shirley’s motto; “Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it” is about to become my weeks motto. I hope to remember that everytime I fail this week. What a cheeful way to start this post. Let me take a step back.
Its starting to turn fall. While nature is dying and casting away I am renewed and full of energy. My body is sneezing at the change in the weather but I’m rearin’ to go. This week I’m starting on a theory I have. I am seeing if my lil ones will kind of pick up in their attitude and behavior issues if I feed them on schedule. Usually they start to whine, I deal with it then I give em a little something. They have David’s metabolism and NEVER EvER get full. No matter how much protien I give em. No matter how I balance it with fiber and carbohydrates. Yes, we’ve tried it all. They just burn their food fast. So I’m trying to feed them every 3 hours. With some help of family and friends I’ve put a little snack menu for them. I have a bottle of juice that I’ll delude with water and some fresh homemade goat yogurt with veggies like carrots and zuccini. Carbs and protien. I have celery, PB and raisins, I have cheese and fruit, and I have homemade trail mix with finely chopped walnuts, raisins and I’m hoping to make GF oat granola. It’ll take me all day tomorrow to prepare this and at the end of the week I may say… this is so not worth it. But I’m gonna give it a try. Who knows, maybe someone else will find this helpful.
My own personal goal is to way cut back the sugar. I eat sugar under stress and pressure. I have been under that a lot lately with my whole back issues. 2 chiropracter visits in 1 week and no change to the stabbing pain I’m getting. You know its bad when you walk and drive like an S shape. No one can figure out why. So anyway, I made a betty crocker GF cookie mix. The box says it makes 20. I made 48. I divided em up into 2 cookies a bag. And these arent dinkie quarter size cookies. Nope. They are lid size cookies. mmmmm. I added peanut butter 1/4 cup to mine and let them cook a bit longer. Added protein and my hubby says they arent as sweet. A + for him. I labeled em Monday, Tuesday and so forth with the calories on them. I’m hoping that if I miss Tuesday’s or another day that it’ll give me the butler kick I need. Who wants their hubby to see missing zip lock bags!
Its time to start the fall garden. I’m thinking with starting on Sugar Snap Peas. YAY!
Its a brand new day……….
I know, why am I writting this review? Well, I thought I would share my opinion. I’m told I’m very opinionated.
So, these ordorless glad trash bag, do they really work? Yes
Are they worth the $$? Here is my review on that question;
We use to have a small trash can for our kitchen. We use everything up. HArdly ever have dinner scraps, whatever food scraps we do have, they either get composted (banana peels, peach pits, etc) or freezed to be dumped later (ie, bacon fat, cause we really dont wanna reuse that, moldy cheese, etc). With our little 2 gallon trash can we were emptying it maybe once a day when we started having 2 little ones in diapers. Not only that, the odor was getting horrific. We upgraded to a 10 gallon trash can with a lid. But even still, it was still causing odors. Maybe because it was being emptied 1 a week or 2 a week. Once winter comes it will be even less than that 1 every 2 weeks. Anway, normal trash bags + a sniffle pouch (also known as sachet pouch) was not cutting it. I cannot stand Glade or sprays like that. So I see this commercial for the new Glad ordorless bags and though, “why not. It cant make it any worse right?”
I am impressed. If you have a small family like we do, and do not take your trash out often its definetly worth the money. Definetly. It can make your kitchen smell like a department store but I’m ok with that. Not a problem. Just pointing out that fact though.
I was talking to Mumsie about the Glad Bags. She said, “even if you dont need persay for your house (they take trash out once a day. What do you expect with a family of 10) it would be great for outside trash odors as well. Your neighbors might love you for it. ” Hmmm, now thats a thought!
So, that is my review. Definetly worth the money here. We will be making the switchover. I’m frugal. Its garbage right? Its all going? I wont spend the money on those hold-it-all bags. I dont need them. And on the occasion that I do. I’ll just double bag it. But these, yes I will spend the $$ for them.
So, I’ve been wanting to get a haircut for months. Finally I could stand it no longer and did an internet search on cutting you own hair. I had a lot of sceptical look and comments. But now, once they see my haircut and how we did it, they are floored… in a good way. I saved $90 doing this myself.
Using this method, I ended up with this look;
