I went to my first couponing class

Our local library was holding a free couponing class this week. I thought maybe I can learn a thing or two...so I went. That was 2 hrs of my time I will never get back, lol. One of these classes would have been extremely helpful when I first started. But in true me fashion I've learnt the hard way on how to do couponing. I've even went over some friends houses to teach them what I know. I pay less than a dollar on all health and beauty products that includes make-up and my cabinet of first aid. My cabinet of first aid is huge. It has every type of band-aid, gauze, wraps, heating patches, ointments, things to help with minor colds to things that help with congestion and allergies. My family gives me a symptom and I go to the cabinet (we are all in shock and awe of the cabinet).

Okay so moving on I'm going to give a few tips that I've learned that might help someone else out there:

1. Shop ahead of time not when you're out of the item. Plan, plan.
2. A coupon is most valuable when you combine it with a sale. Bonus is if an item is on clearance or if your store doubles coupons/and has a sale.
3. It's okay to have multiply transactions. Examples: Some stores have a 12 cpn. limit per transaction so at these stores I divide my items up and usually have 4 transactions., The stores that have register rewards or extra bucks (which is cpn that prints out say $4 off your next purchase) again multiple transaction so I can use them in one trip but multiply transactions.
4. I have a list ahead of time for each store and I check each product before I go to see if there is any mail in rebates for the items.
5. I enter at least one giveaway a day, and I sign up for free samples at least once a day.
6. Donate. This has become one of my favorite things.
   
7. Don't clear a shelf, be courteous. If you need multiply of a said item order it online and have it shipped to the store so you can still get the sale but not clear a shelf.
8. Just because you have a coupon doesn't mean you have to use it. Remember you're trying to save your family money not use coupons.
9. Stacking coupons is simple it is a store coupon and a manufacture coupon. A coupon will say manufacture next to the expiration date or have a store name. Example dollar general has $1 off say shampoo plus there is a manufacture coupon in Sunday's paper for $2 off the same shampoo you can use both of them to get a total of $3 off combine that with a sale you are talking pennies for shampoo.
   
10. Have fun and don't get frustrated. Every store has a coupon policy check their websites and if you are confused about something go to customer service and ask them.
    

The Pre Holiday Plan

Okay the blog post will probably be all over the map so try to bear with me. My coupon world is out of control...kinda. It's gotten huge! I donate my expired coupons to a military organization that gives them to military families and can be used for up to 6 months. I send an entire manila envelope every 2 wks. I also talked to our local food bank to see items they are low on and donate there once a month. (I can get so much food for free anymore or super cheap like less than a quarter.) A side note here: the local food bank is at the church I meet at for my weight loss group. Some of the ladies were paying attention to me (of course I didn't notice) and asked how I was able to donate so much food every month. I told them about the coupons and that almost all the food I donate is pretty close to free. They have now began to donate all the Sunday paper coupons to me to continue helping with the food bank. Because I have so many of the same coupons I have to do multiple transactions at almost every store I go in. Which means more time has to put into planning.

With Maddie being involved in so much with the royalty court there is more people involved in our lives, which brings up Christmas gifts??. It's too hard to narrow down so we made a list of people and searched the homemade gift ideas and have included 24 people the total price for the homemade gifts was $7. (Pat Catan's had a great sale at the beginning of Nov. plus me & Heather combined our purchases to be able to use a bigger coupon.) We decided to go with clear bulbs paint their names on them and add scrap ribbon inside them. I think they turned out really cute. She is also attaching special name cards with why they are special to her. One of her teachers is also on the list. The kids don't usually do teachers at the high school level, because one there is too many teachers and two it's not cool. But this one teacher has made a big impact on Maddie and she feels it's important to acknowledge that. I found a Christmas mug on clearance for 46 cents and we filled it with hot chocolate packets (free) and some of my peppermint chocolate coffee stirrers that the kids say taste great with the hot chocolate and wrapped it in cellophane. Looks cute!!

On the line of saving and coupons Brian and Brandon love the auctions in their free time. Me and Brandon do the auctions online @ Listia, which is super cool. It's with credits not cash. The seller usually pays the shipping (postal service and the flat rates are awesome right now).

All the extended family shopping is done for Christmas and the plan is to finish my kids and the grandbaby up on black friday.

I found a really cool Thanksgiving idea on pinrest with a thankful tree and adding leaves everyday in November for things you are thankful for. The kids weren't hip on the idea at first but they've come around. I love it!! I'm thinking of doing a Christmas tree for December of giving. With the idea of giving of your time, giving a word of encouragement. That type of thing. I think it's especially important as they get older to focus on others sometimes instead of all the holiday rush rush.

An additional side note that I don't know if I previously mentioned was the weight group that I previously belonged to left our town because of a business decision. It was hard on those of us who attended regularly. We were able to form our own group that isn't as structured but helps one another by discussing healthier choices talking about different exercises yet still weighing in every week. It's completely different but is still working.

I Need To Write A Book

Yeah, I think I should write a book. Not one of those profound insight books, or wise wisdom books, and definitely not a fairy tale book either. I think I'll title it "Not For The Faint Of Heart" by yours truly. The book will contain the crazy things that roll into my life and I push back out of my life. It will have the crazy things that kids say and do. I know there are tons of books out there like that. Those are the cute things that children say and do that have innocence to them. Mine will focus on the crazy little stunts that teenagers try, and conversations that we have to repeating have that they should know better.

So many people say "we've all been there". I agree that anyone with teenagers have traveled down a raising teenagers path; however there are so many detours that the path looks slightly different for everyone. I've been keeping a journal lately of "conversations, stunts, moments that make me proud, moments that I want to pull my hair out, moments that make me say where have the years gone, and above all are the questions these bright minded children come up with."

As always the teens are keeping me hopping. My weight loss is back on track. My migraines have returned with their little counterpart shingle pain and I'm doing my best to deal with them and keep stress at bay. Holidays are creeping up and time seems to go by faster and faster.

Sharing some of the rest of my daily life

It's easy to type about the festivals and I always have plenty of nice photos to go with that. This post will be about the rest of our daily activities.

Maddie...yeah her schedule is packed. She got her driver's license on her first try had more than her needed hours and had been driving on her permit for almost a year. (That being said my insurance is insane now.) Yes, I have let her drive alone since she got them. Here is how it works: she takes me on a "qualifying" trip, as long as she does fine she's aloud to drive that far without me. So at this point I let her drive to norwalk, oberlin, and amherst. Route 2 still freaks me out, and Sandusky she might have to "qualify" with her dad. One step at a time (for me). She has a full class schedule that she's struggling with, and of course let's not forget about the boyfriend.

Brandon...oh my lovely 14 yr old son. He will argue with me about anything. He has all honor classes this year. He works hard IF there is something he wants in return, any yard work or outside work he's your young man. If it's in the house forget it. He's super smart and talks over my head a lot. He started shaving, and that deep voice keeps getting deeper. He's breaking out of his quiet phase slowly. He's turning into a young man, and to be honest I'm in uncharted territory. He is my child that likes to discuss and even debate topics. He constantly keeps me thinking. He's trying out for the freshman bb team this year and has been conditioning for it for months now, we'll see how that goes.

My spouse...working, working. His new thing is attending auctions. Him and Brandon go as often as they can. I think they like being at these things more than actually buying things, which is okay with me.

Me...exhausted. The shingles returned again, and I'm just now coming off the anti-viral. They think they may have returned so quickly because of "stress" yeah okay. I was able to start weening off my bp medication, so far so good. My weight loss is maintaining nothing additional to report. My couponing is a stress release at this point. On average I'm able to save at least 50%, and have freebies rolling in the mailbox daily. I have quite a bit of Christmas shopping done, and even started wrapping already. My daily planner is full constantly, since the latest shingle out break I have entered in "rest" time slots even "rest" days.

Antique Festival

The Antique Festival was held in Millerburg. It was on the same exact day as the Wollybear Festival. The original plan was to "split" the court, meaning half go to one and half to the other. The Wollybear is so close that the rest of the court attended that one, and Maddie, myself, and the director attended The Antique. It is located in Holmes Co. in the heart of amish country. It was a beautiful autumn day! All the colors were in bloom. The rest of the court had the float for the day, and the local car dealership was having a huge sale that day so we were out of a convertible. So in true Maddie fashion we took good ole "Bertha" the pick up truck with some hay bales in the back with a blanket over them and off we went.

We are starting to rotate the dresses...or simply put each dress speaks for itself and depending on the weather, the day, and the festival we pick. The blue dress wore only once for the basket festival has a train with it, and Maddie got sick the day she wore it (so she thinks it's bad luck for now) so it hasn't been let out of the closet. If the day has bad weather or Maddie has a lot of walking etc to do she will always pick the purple one. (She says she can move in this one) The day had lots of walking and most of the girls would be wearing "the hoop" dresses, so she going against the grain picked the purple one.

The day started with a tour of a historic Victorian house (amazing), and then we went to this ranch that reminded you of anything but a ranch. (There were no animals, only scenic views and a gorgeous lodge) One of the highlights to the food menu was this insane cinnamon roll (that I should have passed on). It tasted like a pastry. It looked like a large cinnamon roll, but didn't taste like anything I've ever baked. This festival she was able to meet royalty from more of your southern towns in Ohio.

The parade was a lot shorter than the previous ones we'd been too, which was great. This was my first parade that I've drove in. (Just my opinion, but I think throwing candy at a parade should be done away with) I've never felt that way before, but constantly stopping because children are running in front of you scared me to death. I had "the ladies in red hats" float in front of me which is always my favorite. The float behind us was comical. It was for "the rooter man" (plumbing) and it was an old fashion out house with a clothes line on it and everyone dressed in overalls doing some type of jig dancing. I had a hard time not laughing seeing them out my rear view mirror, Maddie had an even harder time keeping her royal smile and wave without busting out laughing.

Needless to say we made it back home to start resting before the wollybear parade even ended.

Grape Jamboree

The grape jamboree...beautiful. I posted previously about the free rooms we got on this trip. Now here's the rest of the trip. The grape jamboree was held September 24 in Geneva On The Lake...now I stress the on the lake part because onstar directions had to be very exact. It was an enormous festival. The parade itself was 3 1/2 hrs. long. There was courts that traveled more than 4 hrs to attend this festival. Since it was an 1 1/2 for us we decided to spend the night and make it a little get away. (Great choice) My darling son stayed out home with Grami staying with him and popping in and out throughout the day on Sunday. This trip was a battle with him all the way. His best friend was having his belated birthday party and EVERYONE was going to be there, so in the end we caved in and let him stay at home and attend the party with Grami in charge.

Maddie was joined with her 1st attendant so they were able to hang out and have a good time. The breakfast was this lavish affair with the works served. Each girl was given a complimentary bottle of grape juice from one of the local vineyards, which they got to tour after the breakfast. The breakfast was at this gorgeous lodge overlooking the lake. Now I've seen the lake my whole life and for some reason it looked amazing that day. It wasn't dirty and yuck like I've seen it so many times before.

The parade was divided up with the royalty based on who belonged to the Ohio festival committee and who didn't. We didn't (the cost to belong to the organization is out of our courts budget). Some of the breakfast/luncheons you must belong or can't attend. So with this lovely divide it was nice to see the festivals we can attend with no hassle.

It was a long day, but worth it. It was the first parade besides our own that Brian was able to attend, which made it even that much more delightful. After the parade we snagged some homemade grape ice cream, that was really good. (Kinda like the cantaloupe ice cream at the melon fest, but in grape.) Me and Maddie slept all the way home thanks to onstar being my husband's co-pilot.

Volunteering and donations

Madeline is not a stranger to volunteering, and donating items or time she's great at. Asking for donations is a whole other ball game. Part of her job as queen is to do just that, but now she wears crown and sash to do these things. She doesn't like to draw attention to herself at these events, but it goes with the territory. We try to get as many family and friends involved as we can. Some of the recent things were the breast cancer walk, buddy walk, pumpkin donation drive, family fun fest, and the quick ten minute phone calls that say " I need help doing....".

Catching up on some of the festivals

I feel the need to try and catch up on a few of the festivals we've hit in the last month or so. I know there seem to be little or no pixs of Brandon. He's going through that I don't want my photo being taken phase AGAIN, and a lot of the festivals lately he has been opting out of. He's uses his alone time to catch up on homework, help me out with laundry, and from the looks of things when I get home pretty much relax.

Moving on to the festivals...first up after melon fest. was the Clyde Fair. The rest of the court was busy doing other commitments that day so it was just Maddie & I. They had this insane breakfast that was all southern cooking...that's right gravy & biscuits were there. It was a smaller breakfast meaning only a handful of courts were there that day. The festival itself was very laid back and had a racing theme to the day. There was so much hay and straw bails that I'm convinced that I'm allergic to one of these. By the time we left my eyes were puffy and I sneezed all the way home.

This was one of those festivals that next year we as a family will probably attend.

Another thing that I'm picking up at these events is ideas...when I leave these things my mind is racing with hundreds of ideas for all sorts of things. (I started carrying a small notepad just to jot some of these down.) Maddie is starting to make friends with a lot of these girls that she sees over and over again. One of these is the queen from Brunswick court Maria. The other picture is her and the Clyde queen, Hailey.

The Free Hotel Rooms

Yes, I know some of you cringe when I say I got anything for free. And yet others want to know how I get some of these things for free. While yet another small percent constantly say if I didn't have to work full-time I could do that too. Whatever. For those of wanting to know how I did this read on.

Part of the freebies come from "points". I collect points every time I use my debit card as credit, I collect points for entering codes from my husband's soda pop, and my husband collected points on all his over the road lodging. These points programs take about ten minutes of time to enroll if you read everything and ask questions, otherwise it would be about 3 minutes if you type fast.

That being said my husband had collected enough points for items or free hotel rooms. We figured we would use these for vacations or get aways. So this weekend we used his points for 2 rooms, both of them were free.

They were beautiful rooms at the Holiday Inn. I couldn't have asked for a better stay. They were not like so many of the hotels around here, and the staff was actually nice.

Some other freebies or great deals of the weekend was my gas that again I used my giant eagles cents off and was able to get gas for 3.02 a gallon. A 16 x 20 poster of the the court for free w/a coupon. 20 free pictures w/a sale and coupon. Plus all the free samples I received in the mail.

All that being said I'm still paying on the hospital and doctor bills from the shingles episode this summer.

Taking A Deep Breath

For some reason lately I have been going full steam ahead. I feel like I have to remind myself to breathe. With everything going on my priorities are changing, meaning that I have to get one thing done right now and push other things back. I have always been the type of person to work on several projects at a time so that I don't have things hit deadlines back to back. It has always been simpler and less stressful for me. Lately I have so many things needing the right now attention that I can only focus on literally one thing at a time. It's a very different mindset for me.

People always say "enjoy" this or that. I'm trying...oohh I'm trying. I have less time it seems everyday. I'm hitting deadlines, but barely. Everything has a calendar time and appointment expect my workouts (so I gave it a time slot on my calendar, and a nap time.) A good night sleep is great, when that can happen. I use to say when the kids were little "oh when they get older I will be able to sleep through the night" blah blah. It's not the case. They are teenagers!! They come alive when the sun goes down, so every bump in the night I'm constantly waking up to just to make sure they are sleeping etc. The weekends exhaust me, so come Monday I am wiped out.

I have so many things to blog about, hopefully I'll get to them sometime this week. (I speak as if it was Monday, and it's already WEDNESDAY). Well I'm off to spend the day in the service department, just for the standard maintenance on my car. (I'm carrying my bag of things I need to do with me) Have a great day all!!

Milan Melon Fest

I know I'm a little behind on this post, but sometimes it takes awhile for things to settle in. I haven't been to the melon festival in years. I'm not a big one for having little mini reunions here's why. For some reason unknown to myself I have a terrible problem recognizing and remembering people from twenty years ago. And it seems that I come off as being snobby and rude, which we all know I'm not. Usually when I run into someone and they recognize me I spend the conversation trying to figure out who they are.

So I returned kicking and screaming to the melon fest this year, because of my dear daughter. It was a very long day. The morning started off with a tour of milan for the royalty followed by a luncheon, and the parade. The surprising thing to me was the way my daughter viewed a town that I ran around in my youth. She was fascinated with Thomas Edison's birthplace, delighted to see the festival in a town square, everything seemed 'fancy' to her. (A huge sigh from me here) Are you kidding me??? So I paused, put everything I always knew and viewed this riveting town through her eyes. (I can not begin to tell you how hard this was for me.) I did get excited to see the band, but being in a different phase of my life I cheered and hollered when our school's band came through.

How am I getting free stuff at stores?

I'm getting some emails lately asking me how am I getting free stuff?

• Well first off I sign up for a ton of free samples and get them through the mail.
• If I really like a product I send the company an email saying just that, and sometimes they send me coupons to use on the said product.
• I belong to a few sites that I actually get a voucher for a company's product try it and send them my review of the product.
• The big question is how am I getting free things at the everyday stores. The answer is kinda simple I have coupons I know all the sale prices and coupon policies at the area stores making a lot of the products "free".

Now I'm starting to get at a point where I'm making a few cents on some of these products. At certain stores I will have a $1 off coupon and the item will be like 94 cents making a profit of 6 cents to use towards other items I'm purchasing. The other big thing right now at a few of the drug stores that have money off coupons they give you towards the next purchase. For these stores I usually have 3 different transactions and these extra vouchers left over. Today I was on my game and had $60 worth of products that I ended up paying a little over $8 for.

I know it seems hard to believe, but if you are in doubt ask my kids. For that matter mom has went shopping with me and it does exhaust her, but even she is impressed at the savings.

The other question is do I use all my coupons? Nope, not even close. When they expire I send them to military families that can use expired coupons for up to 6 months after the expiration.

In The Land of Teenagers

I have great kids...that being said they are still teenagers. My hair has to be dyed faithfully (the hair that isn't falling out) some would say it's because of my age...I say it's because of the teenagers. I journal more now than when I was a teen, sure it relieves stress, but I also can't wait to show it to my grandkids about how their parents behaved, lol.

It was never a big surprise to me that I raise my kids differently than a lot of parents. That being said I think they tell me way too much about the teenage world. Some things I think I'd be better off not knowing. I am constantly reminding them at the start of their stories "remember I am your parent first not your school buddy". I am preparing them not just to survive this world, but to thrive in it. I'm teaching them to deal with disappointment, life's unfairness, finding balance, working hard, and about a thousand other life lessons that I never thought about.

It's easy to get swept up in their drama, life's drama, and all the other craziness of life. Usually I can keep the balance pretty good making sure to find some workout time to keep stress at bay and have some me time. Lately I got a little less me time, a little less cleaning time, and a standstill at my weight loss. I am a huge organizer and when my schedule gets out of control it shows all over my life. I was able to fill in all the calendar events times and places and said 'no' to events I just can't fit in right now, gave the fridges a deep cleaning and have started my fall cleaning. THIS has somehow put a much needed balance into my world and doesn't make all the teens drama get to me nearly as much.

The photo is a paddle-boat rental at the wellington metro park. My friend had her son & daughter in law's baby shower at the park. I was blown away with how beautiful it was. It was indoors in the air. The room had full size glass windows to see right out at the paddle-boats and the beautiful scenery. I didn't know any of the parks had a place like this, and that it was so close to us.

Twilight Zone...or so I think

The last two weeks seem to be straight out of one of those old black and white Alfred Hitchcock movies. When I watched this as a kid it did a couple of things one half way through I was like "what?, huh?" or it took me to the very end and left me shaking my head. This in general, now that I think about it, describes teenagers.

We've had festivals left and right, exciting things happening at school and not so exciting, we've cried through most of the drivers ed which ended up just fine (as I said it would), we've seen huge growths and some immature moments that leave you thinking 'are you 5 yrs old again?', I've had some couponing trips that leave me impressed with myself which of course get squashed by a larger bill here and there, and we've thrown in some unexpected trips to JoAnne fabrics for sewing items that walmart just doesn't carry.

Now all of this being said I've been catching myself capturing some brief moments in time to see some great things and meet some great people that ordinary don't ever come up in the middle of crazy busy life. I met an 85 yr. old man today with his walker and stool sitting alone in the shade waiting on the parade. I stopped and took a sip of water and began talking with him. It was one of those conversations that make you stop and listen to every word like you were a child listening to a great story. The other day I got a phone call from a lady from book club asking me if I had a few hours to spare to help her set up a lunch she'd already prepared for the workers out at habitat for humanity. I went with her and was blessed from start to finish, within those blessings I met a 93 yr. old man...he asked me to hand him his pliers that he'd left on the truck...he was up on a ladder.

Through all the crazies there is a spot of shade or a glass of tea that brings time to a small stand still to let you enjoy a moment of "awe".

The return of the chubby girl posts

Yes, I know. I'm not as chubby as I once was (still have the 50lbs off, but no more than that) but I still fall in the chubby girl group. Here are some new revelations that I've observed particularly in the exercise world:

1. Just because you are working out doesn't mean you can wear spandex. Here's a guideline if you can still see the cellulite pockets on your back side don't wear them period.
   
2. If you are going to the gym wear your good bra...I don't want to keep my eyes closed the whole time I'm on the treadmill.
3. Know your limits. Just because skinny girl can run 5 miles doesn't mean you can...yet.
4. The floaties at the pool are for working out not to save your life. Before you float to the top chubby girl will take on a lot of water and sink.
5. And basically because it bears to be repeated leave those holy sweatpants at home before going to the store.