Waiting on Spring

Spring is just around the corner. I keep reminding myself of this. The snow has been beautiful to look at this year wonderful pictures to take of the snow hanging on the trees. That being said I'm ready for spring.

Loving This One

II am all about trying a new product for our household. I do have my favorites though that I try to stick with. That being said when I printed off a coupon for a new multi-surface cleaner I was hesitate to say the least. I thought well if there is a good sale maybe I'll give it a try. There was a sale that with the coupon made it cheaper to try a new cleaner then stick with my usual brand. I bought the cleaner but have had it on my shelf for awhile. Yesterday was it's debut.

The product is Seventh Generation Multi-Surface Cleaner!! Seventh Generation I knew was better for the environment, less chemicals, and all this other positive stuff. Of course I would love all these things and usually I thought it was too expensive or I didn't think it would clean as well as my usual brand that had a high concentrate smell to it. I couldn't have been more wrong. First off we already knew the price was better if we just paid attention, but the big question was how does it clean? It cleaned better than any other product I've had in the past. No harsh smell, no extra scrubbing power, no doubts that it was working great. The real test came in cleaning the bathroom. Usually I have to turn the vent blower on when I clean the bathroom because the cleaning smell in such a small place worries me and causes a headache. (which I definitely don't need when I'm cleaning) This product eliminated the whole smell process, and cleaned BETTER than my usual brand. There was no soaking or leaving it on for 30 minutes to get a better clean. Spray and clean...it was that easy. I used less product, which better for the environment & better on saving more money. Let's not forget I spend less time cleaning, which is a HUGE plus for me.

Great job seventh generation on making a great product!! 

Some Changes

It has been almost a year since my last post. That being said let's bring on a new and better year. My blog this year is going to cover a lot of the in's and out's of my world. I started this blog years ago to keep my family updated on everything going on....I will continue with this. I will be adding some couponing greatness, some new discoveries, products I think are well worth the money, services that are important to our family, some bizarre daily life stuff, ongoing rebate information, our book club book of the month, and some other interest to me stuff. Buckle up your seat belts and lets take a ride through 2013!!!

Family updates: Madeline graduates this June (approx. 5 months), Brandon will be getting his license this year (my last child to teach driving too, YEAH!!), and Heather & Casey are busy raising my full of life grandsons (Gabe who will turn 5 this year, and Gideon & Lucas who will celebrate their 1st birthday). Brian & I will continue to be in awe of the family we created so long ago.

Okay let's get to what everyone that I have ran into the last few months has been asking...the couponing. Let's start at the very beginning for those of you starting out, and for those of you who still can't wrap your mind around all of it. I will tell you how I do it, and you have to decide what works best for you. I leave my house with my keys, my purse, my water, and my coupon binder. The binder is a 2 inch 3 ring binder that you find with school supplies. Cashiers roll their eyes when they see the binder, and people stop me to ask me where something is located in a store or just stare. Think of it like a giant grocery shopping list.
 
Let's break down exactly how this binder helps me keep things organized for my store trips. The picture you see here is my ads for the week. I clip them to the inside front cover for reference checks or price matching if need be. I include every store within a 30 mile radius of my home. Different store run different sale dates so pay attention. (Some start on Sun or Mon or Tues etc.) If there is a store that is within my radius but doesn't mail a flyer for the week or isn't included in the Sunday paper I go to their website make an online shopping list with the store name, address, and sale dates and print that one out. (Walmart will accept this for price matching, but Target will not.) It also helps me to know exactly what store are carrying what and what is on sale. I also check a lot of blogs out too, but you have to be careful because sometimes the blog is giving you California prices and a lot of the time it's not our states prices. 

Moving on...I divide the binder with different tabs for quick finding. My tab system is the system that I have found that works for me (EVERYONE is different) My tabs are: Misc, personal care, meds & make-up, health bars, cleaning, box food, refridge food, frozen food, other food, hair care, pets, and baby items. The sleeves that I use to hold the coupons are baseball card inserts. I check expiration dates on the coupons every 2 weeks.

After I clear out the expired coupons I have all my new coupons clipped and in piles by their tabs to insert into the binder. (I highly recommend inserting coupons in weekly so you don't get behind.) Constantly paying attention to the expiration dates. I usually shop every two weeks so if there is a coupon that isn't expired but will expire before my shopping date I take them out and paperclip them to the side just in case I need them before then. 

Some stores have there own coupons too which you can use that coupon plus a manufactures coupon. The picture is kinda hard to see, but next to the expiration date it will say manufacture or will give the store name. These coupons I keep in a blue pencil pouch thingy that stay in my purse. 

All this being said keep a few things in mind. I didn't get this way over night and neither will you. When I first started out I did a few coupons in an envelope in my purse. I also couldn't buy any extras because I needed every dime for my family's needs. I started with $5 to start on the stockpile. As time went on I learned to shop sales, specials, and the coupons so I always had an item on hand and wasn't at the mercy of the high price of the stores for the products I needed.       

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.

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.