$2.00 Sharpies - I likey!

So there is a coupon out for a cool package of sharpies for $2.00 at Office Max. You can visit Money Saving Mom and scroll down to print in out! It is only good thru March 1st though. Anyhoo - I sent Roon on the the coupon mission to Office Depot. See - Office Depot is cool and matches the competition like that. So Roon calls me from the store and says, is this $2.00 off or is it $2.00 for the entire pack? I said entire pack - and he says you know these things are $22.99 - yep I know. He says "Ok I am working the courage up to go to customer service." Viola Success! Yep Office Depot - that Rocks!

Here are the little beauties below!

Oh - How I love coupons!

Today - I got some amazing deals and I even scored some free oranges. Fruit Y'all! I had a .35 cent off coupon off Sunkist oranges and Kroger had Oranges on sale (Sunkist) for 10 for 1.00 so I actually got them for negative $.05! Rock On!

I went to CVS and got a fusion phenom razor and used a $4 off manufacture coupon. I combined that with my already earned Extra Care Bucks (ECB) - so I got that for negative .01 cent after you factor in the $6.00 ECB I earned on that purchase!

I went to Tom Thumb and did the savings rally again. Let's just say I have a whole lotta diced tomato's!

I saw this link online for $5 Iams coupon that will be mailed to you. Click here to sign up to have the coupon mailed to you too! I got this from one of my favorite coupon sites Refund Cents. You have to pay to join this site but I think it has been WELL worth the money!

Cute Little Bean Story

Bean has a friend at school that has invited her to his soccer games. He made sure to let me know that she was invited when I picked her up. It is just so cute to see how excited he was to invite her. So I talked to the little boy's Mom about it, and she told me that does not surprise her in the least as her son loves to talk about Bean after school!

So we asked Bean why she thought this little boy invited her to his games and she responded "Because he LOOOOVES me!" So funny coming from a four year old! Boy - the teenage years are going to be fun!

The Results of the Elfa Makeover

Our linen closet was in sad shape....and this before picture does not do it justice as I had already emptied out about half of the stuff when I remembered I needed to snap a picture. The shelves were about 9 inches deep and just did not hold anything well! Everything was always falling off and I had to jump and throw stuff up to make the top shelf! So I present to you the before and after...and yes I need all those kleenex! Oh and my new Elfa shelves range in size from 20 inches to 12 inches deep - Love it!

Menu Planning Monday

Monday – Red Beans/Rice with Sausage , Green Beans and Biscuit

Tuesday – Lemon Pepper Chicken with Noodles

Wednesday – Chicken Tortilla Soup

Thursday – Crock Pot Stuffed Peppers

Friday – Shrimp with Angel Hair Pasta

Saturday – out or leftovers

Sunday – Spaghetti with Meatballs

Savings Rally! Woo HOO!

Above is a picture of one of my trips to Tom Thumb this week. They have a deal going where if you buy 25 items you get a $20 off your next order coupon. I used my $10 coupon leftover from last week's Sara Lee deal to roll into this deal so my initial investment was low!

Once you get the $20 off coupon on your next order - you can roll the deal again and again! Happy Shopping.

Now this says love!

Juicy ribeye steaks cooked by Roon! The picture shows the steaks marinating in goodness! He had to use the broiler cause we were out of propane for the grill - but they were sure yummy! The smoke detectors only went off three times or so! The dish was accompanied by asparagus, couscous, and french bread. Roon had bought truffles for desert. Yummy all the way round.

Happy heart day!

I have an oven...now I need a bun (or maybe two)

My fertility Doctor told me that today...he cracks me up! Great news after another saline sonogram (the catheter needle thing I am so over by the way) I am ready for IVF! My cervix and uterus are looking good. I am excited, but I admit I am alternating between pure joy and pure unbridled panic mode. I can't believe it is finally going to happen. I am trying to not freak myself out, but the IVF manual alone is enough to make my head spin 360 degrees.

I don't have my calendar and medicine schedule yet, but it looks like I will have embryo transfer around the 1st of April, and should know if (thinking when) I am pregnant by April 17. This will happen right around Easter...so that really hit me. It feels like this whole journey is coming full circle as my appendix ruptured Easter morning, 15 years ago. I feel that this is surely God's timing and what a perfect time for this all to happen. So please be praying for us...I will keep you posted as I get more details!

Caution….I am far more

systematic on the inside than I appear on the outside sometimes. I love order, files, coding, and organizing things….problem is that sometimes I don’t follow through. So even though I file all my receipts by month in my accordion file…you may never know if you have ever seen my car. My car is my portable dumping ground. Every time I clean my car, it turns out I needed something I took out. I will have order in the car one day…but that day is not today. This was one of my weekend projects. Isn’t it all beautiful like? I have filed our owners manual’s and warranty certificates in clear pockets in a three ring binder. This makes me happy on the inside! This is a handy idea I saw somewhere…but of course I can’t remember where. It is alphabetized so if I ever need an appliance manual or have warranty issue…I know where to go. On future purchases, I intend to keep the original receipt so I know when the item was purchased and from where.

I might need a deli meat intervention!

Okay just kidding! Sara Lee is running a promotion (for the last two weeks) at Tom Thumb if you buy 5 items you get a $10 catalina coupon to use on your next order. So I invested and bought 5 sausages for $12.50. (I know what you are thinking...don't worry I bought the lite sausage - so the weight loss is still moving forward!) So you invest the first $10 or so dollars and you rinse and repeat the deal....I have a freezer and fridge filled with deli meat, sausage, bread, pound cake and hot dogs! I tried to vary it up this time as during the promotion last year - the checkers all started to call me the "hot dog lady." That title stuck for a long time - so I want to mix it up and maybe they can call me "Sara Lee Princess." HaHa! Anyways - I am so blessed!

I have also rocked it at CVS this week - although I don't have any pictures for ya - sorry. I think I have earned close to $80 Extra Care Bucks this week. I heart me some CVS! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and be sure to visit Money Saving Mom for more savings and story's from people like me! The picture below is just one of my Tom Thumb run's...I got all that for $.75 - earned another $10 coupon - and earned airline miles on top of that! Yipee!

The Bean's got talent!

Today at dance class the dance teacher complemented me on Bean - her hair skills of all things. The teacher was amazed that Bean can put her own pony tail in the back of her hair...yep I say proudly...not realizing that all just turned four year olds don't do this. The dance teacher told me some of her 1st and second graders still can't do it!

Well I knew she was talented and all....I guess it all started from her Barbie obsession at age two...and now that she has a big Barbie head to practice on she is honing her skills. I bet by age 5 - she wants to do her hair all by herself...sniff sniff, my baby is growing up so fast!

I heart Chuck E Cheese…(no that is not a typo!)

As Bean and I were grooving to the A-Ha Song – Take On Me – redone by the Chuck E Cheese chorus…I could not help but smile. Then when Jasper (a dog – not sure how he is related to Chuck E) came on and sang the Patsy Cline – Crazy – I could not help but feel a deep connection to the adorable Chuck E and gang. We both danced center stage and had our cool groovy selves plastered all over the Chuck E Cheese screens!

Also their games – all one token each! How cool is that? There is nothing quite like seeing 30 tickets fly out of a machine to make you feel pure joy!

I know…I know…I NEVER thought I would say this or write it, but I do love that place!
Granted it was a Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. when we arrived and we had the ENTIRE place to ourselves – the ENTIRE – time we were there – so my view point is slightly skewed right now. I am sure if I had a repeat of the Saturday night torture session that I had a couple years back – I may have to change my mind…oh yes that was the time there was a line to get in, no seating, at least 500 kids (with about 15 parents in sight) and a noise level that was on par with any Aerosmith concert, oh and Bean at just shy of two years old decided to pull a kid almost twice her size off the teletubby ride…ah I digress…Let’s think about the happy times! Ok I am back and today I sure loved me some Chuck E Cheese.

So - we were just as confused as before.......

After we watched LOST! But it was so good - was it not. Who are the other Oceanic Six that Hurley was talking about? Why/How did they make it back to the States? Why was Charlie talking to Hurley? Who needs Hurley's help? AHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why did Ben say that if those rescuers come that "Every single living person on this island will die." Roon pointed out the word "living"...are some of these people dead already? I know that has been a theory posted on the net before.

Just three more days till a new episode.

You know you are sick....

When you can't even read the Sunday Sales Ad for CVS!! I love the Sunday Sales ad and coupons!!

I started to feel bad after our extravaganza at the Container Store....30% off Elfa equals happy new linen closet for me! I will take before and after pictures.

We had an array of snack food for Superbowl planned - but the food lost its appeal early on for me. As 8:00 p.m. neared the rumble in the jungle (my stomach) started to go haywire! I rolled around in bed for the next several hours in agony. I could not sleep - so I saw the upset with the NY Giants and attempted to get my coupon journeys planned....that was a no-go, felt worse!

At just shy of midnight I started to throw up and I immediately felt better. My stomach is better today, but I am taking it easy and only eating light foods. It is still a big under the weather. I hope it is not the stomach virus. I think it could be the Dairy Queen dipped cone - that is the only thing I had different from the rest of the family. I pray that this does not spread thru the house and it was caused by the cone. I think my habit for dipped cones might be cured by this.