Lots of Giveaways over at Texas Couponers Anonymous

Kristi at Texas Couponers Anonymous has some great giveaways going on right now, including a Protect-a-Bed Mattress Protector and Skoy cleaning cloths. She's also got a giveaway for a Couponizer, Zookhooks set, and a Crown Bindery Home Management System. GO check them out and enter to win!

Helpful (Money-Saving) Husband

i frequently hear from other women that a) their husbands are embarassed to use coupons and don't want to be with them when the wives are using them, b) their husbands think it's ridiculous to use coupons and that it can't possibly save that much, and/or c) their husbands just think it's too big of a hassle to use coupons.

i'm so grateful that M is just the opposite. not that he clips coupons himself, but he supports me in using them, he goes to the store with me when i'm using coupons (and usually he has pockets on his shirt so he gets to hold the ones i know we're using), he is amazed by how little we pay for groceries and household items now, and he brags to all his friends about how awesome i am for saving all this money! he even thinks to pick up coupons from the blinkie machines when he sees them and i'm not with him.

now, i'm not saying that it's not dangerous to send him to the store by himself, because it is! he is irresistably attracted to the meat section and to really, really expensive steaks! but now he asks me where certain items are on sale this week and he waits until stuff is at a sale price. for example, he participates in several BBQ cook-offs during the summer months, for which he buys 2 slabs of pork ribs, 2 briskets and maybe 1 chicken for EACH. at non-sale prices, ribs and brisket aren't cheap. however, i had noticed that just before each of the major holiday weekends, and sometimes in between, one or both items went on sale for a really, really good price. so instead of just picking up these items while he was out, he waited until i found a great sale, and then we stocked up so he had enough for all of his cook-offs.

before i started couponing, M and i would go to the grocery store every sunday after church, load up a huge cart of stuff, and shell out anywhere from $100-250. i think about that now, and i'm just appalled! that didn't even include things like cat food, that we don't buy at the grocery store. in the entire 3rd quarter of this year, we only spent $291.11 for all groceries, household items, pet supplies and even some gifts. for 2009 so far in total, it's just $1209.72, almost half of which was in the 1st quarter when i was still learning. and don't think that we're starving or only eating beans and rice! M would never stand for that - he's a carnivore who has to have meat at every meal! we have a huge upright freezer, and a small chest freezer, in addition to the freezer portion of our fridge, and all are completely full. and they're full of good stuff - lots of meat of various kinds, frozen veggies, pasta, and hordes of ice cream (M can plow through a whole carton in 2 days!) we've not changed what we eat, we've only changed how we buy it.

thanks M for being the best husband ever.

Twenty minute Simple Skirt Tutorial AND GIVEAWAY!!!!

Twenty minute Simple Skirt Tutorial AND GIVEAWAY!!!!

I stumbled across this super-easy looking skirt tutorial, and it only uses one yard of fabric! what a super project for those of us like me who prefer "instant gratification" sewing, and have a huge fabric stash on hand. i think i'll whip up one of these for dinner, after i do a bit of housecleaning!

DIY Chinese

photo by www.thaiawayhome.com


After hanging out with M at his BBQ cook-off this weekend, and thus eating lots and lots and lots of meat, I was kind of "beefed" out. So, for dinner last night, I made stir-fried rice, using some leftover pork tenderloin I had diced and put in the freezer two weeks ago after we'd eaten our fill of pork at the time. I also had M stop at the store and pick up some eggroll wrappers so we could make some of those to go with dinner.

Stir-fried rice - total cost=$2.40
Eggrolls - total cost=$3.52

For less than 6 bucks, we both had dinner, I just ate the leftover fried rice and 2 eggrolls for lunch, and we still have 8 or 9 eggrolls for later!!!

Verdict - This was a very easy, very inexpensive, very tasty dinner we can add to our list of "meals to make again."

Note: The picture is not wat we made. We ate it all, so no pics! I'll try to take a picture of the leftover eggrolls and post it later if we don't devour them too quickly.

The Thrifty Mama has a great giveaway!

The Thrifty Mama has a great giveaway going on over on her blog right now. She's giving away a $100 Home Depot gift card to one lucky winner! I've been following her blog for a while now, and recently read about her dad building her a raised bed garden. Now I'm trying to get M to build me one!

Why I Love my Crockpot!

for several months now, i've been wanting to try a recipe i saw online for indian butter chicken. tuesday night i had butter chicken at a restaurant with some friends, and it was so yummy that i decided i must try it at home. i planned to make it yesterday, but realized too late i didn't have either the coconut milk or the yougurt. this turned out to be a mistake in my favor. today is a completely nasty weather day - dark skies, pouring down rain, thunder, lightning. but i left work early, made a successful stop at walgreens (before the great deluge started!), and came home. my house smells like delicious indian spices, and now i'm in my pjs, curled up on the couch with three napping cats within sight range. after i finish this post, i have a library book to read, and soon i'll have a huge plate of butter chicken, and i won't even have to share since M is away on business!

Great Week at Wags!

i didn't expect to be making so many trips to walgreens this week, but the register rewards weekly and monthly deals have just been too good to pass up! the picture shows my combined loot for the week so far, except for a trip on monday, which included 6 bags of hershey's easter candy.

i had three coupons to get free Bayer glucometers, so i used those, and each purchase spit out a RR for a free Crest Pro-Health toothpaste. thanks to stephanie i knew that there were special packages of crest that also included a FREE mouthrinse! i was able to use two of my three free crest RRs on those packages!

most of this haul will get donated to friends, family or people in need. the gum goes to the secretary where i work. blood glucometers go to diabetic family members, or if they're stocked up, i'll donate to a senior organization. the johnson & johnson products were cheap fillers after coupons, and are for a cousin who is due to have a baby girl in the next few weeks. the hairbands go to my mom for her and my greandmother, and also as little gifties for little girl relatives. the toothpaste will likely go to a women's shelter, as we have plenty! the toothbrushes, hair clips (cheap filler items!), and the chapsticks will be put in my christmas box to be used as stocking stuffers! i also got a box of assorted easter stickers to put back for next year!