Kid in a Candy Shop

It's 8:30 a.m. and I have just completed my garden work for the day.  I came into the house looking as if I had just walked out of the shower.  This heat and humidity makes life hard!

I will admit though, that I am much like a kid in a candy shop.  I get so excited to see what is growing and what is ready to pick.  I am amazed that I can pick cucumbers one day and go out the next day and pick more.  There seems to be no end in sight.

I am a little disappointed in my squash this year.  It is not producing as well as it has in the past but my tomatoes are making up for it.  They are completely loaded and the largest plant I have is one that came up on it's own in the compost bed.  The "critters" are out now too.  I found my first horn worm yesterday and I have collected 2 caterpillars eating tomatoes.  They all became snacks for the chickens!

My biggest garden concern is that my green beans and tomatoes will all start coming in the week that I am gone to camp with the boys.  You know, I put so much tears and sweat into that garden that I hate to miss any of it!

I guess there is no point worrying about the future.  I will be gone that week and that's that.  For today - it's pickle making time!

$79.21 FREE...thanks CVS

I finally had a few minutes yesterday to sit down and look at Sunday's ads and organize my coupons again.  The coupons have been pretty neglected lately!  I knew that I did not really need anything from Kroger this week so I just looked at Walgreens and CVS.

I started by looking for items that I know we need and checking for coupons on those items.  I then circled the picture in the ad so I would not forget when I got to the store.  I also wrote x2 or x3, etc if I planned on buying multiples of an item.  I pulled all of my coupons and paper clipped them to the front of the ad.

Today I made it to CVS and I think this was my best purchase to date!  I began in the pharmacy.  I had a coupon that offered a $25 gift card for any new or transferred prescription.  I transfered one of mine that only costs $2 to fill and I got the gift card.

I  purchased the following:
6 Dove Deoderant 2/$5 - I used 4 coupons for $2 off.  I recd $5 ECB for spending $15 - final cost $2
2 Old Spice Deoderant $3.99 each but had BOGO plus I used 2 $1 off coupons and rec'd $2 ECB - final cost $FREE
2 Tampax @ $2.97 each minus 2 coupons for $2 off - final cost $.97 each
Dawn Dish detergent on sale for $1 minus $1 coupon = FREE

You get the idea... I used my ECB's from my previous purchases and by the time I was finished the total due was $11.35.  I paid using my FREE $25 gift card and I rec'd $12 back in ECB's for next time.

I do believe CVS has surpassed Walgreens as my favorite place to shop.  Today has certainly renewed my enthusiasm for coupons!

Oh, To Blog Again

Roma Tomatoes

It has been a while since I have sat down to blog.  In fact, I feel like I rarely have time to sit down and do anything!  I will take a few minutes to tell you what has been going on.

A lot of my mornings are spent in the garden.  It looks like I will have a bumper crop this year!  Everything looks really healthy and is growing well.  You can see a picture of my Roma tomatoes at the top.  I have already begun picking yellow squash, blueberries and blackberries.  I have a few tomatoes that are starting to turn pink too.  It is so exciting to watch things grow!  If I could, I would post pictures of all of my baby vegetables for you to see but I am sure you would not be as excited over them as I am.

My husband and oldest son have kept me busy the last two weeks sewing "period correct" costumes for them.  They are both members of FCF (Frontiersman Camping Fellowship).  This is where grown men dress up in garb from the 1800's.  Personally, I don't understand why anyone would want to do this but they enjoy it.  I finally finished all of their requests and sent them packing on an FCF camping trip.

We added a new member of the family last Sunday.  A friend brought over a half chihuahua/ half poodle puppy.  He is all of 1.06 lbs (note - not 1.6 but 1.06).  I know his exact weight because of our emergency run to the vet Tuesday morning.  But let me back up a little.  I had decided not to get another dog yet because I am still struggling with the death of Prancer.  Cissy brought this little pup over with the understanding they would take him home if we didn't want him.  Well, I didn't particulary want him, even though he's a doll, but Doug and the boys were already in love so he stayed.  Monday morning I took him outside and he immediately went to sniff of our downspout.  As soon as he reached his nose up, a wasp flew out and stung him on the back.  The poor baby cried and rolled on the ground.  He didn't know what had happened to him.  Tuesday morning he decided to wake up at 4 a.m. and not go back to sleep.  Josh finally got up around 6 and I handed the dog over to him so I could take a shower.  As soon as I headed to my room I heard the puppy cry and Josh yelling for his Dad!  The pup had jumped out of Josh's arms and landed on the concrete porch. Doug checked him out and decided he probably had a broken leg.  So, off the the vet we go!  He stayed at the vet all day.  They originally told me he had a broken humorous and would be in a splint and bed rest for 6 weeks!  By the end of the day they had decided he was not broken at all but had a dislocated shoulder and would not need a splint.  He would have to be kept in a kennel for 2 weeks and only allowed out to go potty.

Now, it's Thursday and "Scrappy (Doo)" is getting along well.  He is such a well-behaved little dog considering he is locked away in his kennel.  He whines to tell me he needs to go out and he quickly does his business.  He loves to chew on my hair every chance he gets and wags when spoken to.  He cries for a few minutes when I put him back in his kennel but then he settles down and is quiet for hours.  It's amazing!

Last night Blake had a friend over to spend the night.  He went home around 2.  Now, all is quiet in the house....just the clicking of the keyboard.  I am trying to decide what to do next.  Do I take advantage of the quiet house and take a nap, sit down to all of the paperwork that I need to do, or go back and work in the garden again.... I guess I will have to decide soon.

Want to try E-Mealz?

One of my favorite sites is ChaChing on a Shoestring.  She posts all of the great weekly and daily deals floating around the web.  I have signed up to her email, twitter and facebook so I don't miss anything!  You can check out her site using the link in this blog or click the button on the right side of the page.

Right now you can sign up for a chance to win a 3 month subscription to E-Mealz.  I have been reading about them and would really like to try it out. 

So go ahead...Check out all of the links and see if you can save your family some more money!

Garden Update

My garden is my sanctuary.  I love it there.  It is quiet.  It is peaceful. It is beautiful to watch.  I look at it in awe every year as a seed that I planted turns into a plant, produces flowers and then fruit.  It's amazing.  I think that if I ever lose the magic in seeing a plant burst through the ground I will hang up my garden hoe and find a new hobby.

Some one asked me yesterday what I had planted and I was amazed when I wrote it all down.  I have Tomatoes, Okra, Purple hull peas, Green Beans, Squash, Zucchini, and Pattypan Squash, Cucumbers, Lipstick Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers, Watermelon, Cantelope, Eggplant, Sweet Potatoes, Red Potatoes, Lettuce,  Cilantro, mint, parsley, pineapple sage, basil, lavendar, chives, leeks
In fruits in have figs, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries (well, those that the chickens didn't eat), apples, peaches, plums, and pears.

If everything grows well we will have a lot of food in the pantry this fall!  If I can ever afford a fence in the back yard I will buy a cow and I wouldn't have to go to the grocery store at all.  Wouldn't that be great?!

My newest project is honey bees.  I spent about an hour working on the brood boxes today.  Our bees come in May 22.  I can't wait!  We won't have any honey this year but we will next year.  I will keep you updated on the progress.

Monthly Planning

Do you take any thought of what happened this past month and what you would like to see change during the next month? I really have not been much of a planner. I just take each day as it comes and then wait for the next one. I am learning that by making a conscious decision to “pay attention” that I feel I have more control over my life and I am able to make small changes that impact us in big ways.

This entire blog started because I realized I had no idea how much money we spent a month on food and I really didn’t do anything to save any money in that area. So, I began paying attention. I started keeping receipts and learning how much money we were spending. I learned to use coupons and maximize sales and now our food budget is under $200 a month for a family of 4.

I have also started menu planning. Now this is not something I am consistent with so one of my goals is to do this every week. This is a priority because when I get busy and tired I just give in and say ok…we can go out and eat while we are in town. This is counterproductive! By menu planning, I have everything I need for the week already at the house and I don’t have to look around and try to come up with something appetizing. I’ve done it in advance! I can even use slow days around the house as time to prepare some of the foods in advance.

Want to know my biggest goal for May? Exercise! Yep, that dirty word. We were doing so good at the beginning of the year. We were eating healthy and exercising. The whole family was feeling better and was excited about our progress and then the rug was pulled out from under us. We (and by we, I mean me) are just now beginning to deal with the deaths in the family this year and I guess move forward. The first step in moving forward is taking care of ourselves. So Monday our new treadmill arrives. I have warned the family that with the arrival of the treadmill comes the arrival of our healthy lifestyle.

What is the biggest change you would like to see in your house this month? Take a moment to think about it and determine a way to change it! Talk about it with your family and get them on board with you. You will see how good it feels to be actively accomplishing something rather than be pulled along by life!

Rain Days

Ok, so we all know it's coming, right?  The forecast says rain beginning today (Friday) and ending Monday.  They are predicting 5-8 inches of rain, hail, and possibly tornadoes. So, how are you going to spend your weekend?

This morning I ran to town to do all of my errands so I don't have to get out again until this is over.  I'll be honest, I have every intention of sitting down, reading my magazines that I never have a chance to open, and then taking a long, well-deserved nap!  After that, well, that's when the work begins again.

I have done a quick inventory of my freezer and pantry.  In the freezer I have flounder, crab meat, and chicken breast strips.  I am going to create next week's menu around these items and extras that are in the pantry.  I am already planning on Chicken Cacciatore.  I will have to look around and see what I want to do with the flounder and crab meat.  I have lots of frozen veggies that will fill out the rest of the menu.

Just so you know...my grocery budget for this month was $149!  That is really great considering I really did not do much with coupons.  My savings for the month was only 30%.  This just goes to show you that you can still feed your family well on a budget even if you don't have time to devote to coupons. 

Next month I am planning on getting back to the coupons and see how much I can save!

The next blog...MONTHLY PLANNING!