I LOVE saving money. One of my biggest areas of not totally watching how much I spend is at the grocery store. I am always in search of a great deal and use coupons frequently - but my problem lies within the fact that I buy more than we need, averaging about $170 every two weeks on groceries.
The other day I was in search of coupons on the internet when I came across this blog - The Krazy Coupon Lady, and I'm telling you, this blog is filled with deals. My favorite part of the site is the grocery store match-up, where she posts advertised sales from leading chains with coupons she finds either online or in the paper, and tells you how much you're saving, etc. I shop at Fry's (which is also known as Kroger and Smith's, among other names) and today I sat down, looked at the match-up, printed coupons, and *gasp* - planned 14 meals for the next two weeks and made a list. So instead of my over buying and overspending, I spent $117. That's nearly a $60 savings, which if you break it down, is $63.50 a week. What I saved is a whole week of groceries.
She also posts match-ups for CVS, Target, and Walgreens. I've learned that I don't need to buy all my things from one place. Before I went grocery shopping, I hit up Target and used coupons I had to buy things they had on sale - cat litter and dish washer tablets. The tablets were on sale for $3.99 and I had a $1 off coupon that was mailed to me from here the Home Made Simple website. Every few months they will mail out a coupon book full with coupons for cleaning products.
One of the things I've learned since moving out to AZ where everything is more expensive - never buy anything that isn't on sale or you don't have a coupon for. It really saves you money in the long run. Another great thing about Fry's? For every $100 you spend, you get $.10 off gasoline. So I make sure I use that too.
Anyway, I was just really excited about my savings and since my husband seemed not so interested, I thought I'd blog about it. Have a great day!!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
From Small Space to Large Space.
If there's anything I've learned in the past three months since becoming a homeowner is that it's expensive. My husband and I went from an 800 square foot apartment to a house more than double that. And now I am finding I need more furniture. Yesterday the hubby and I made a stop at Lowes since we had a gift card from my parents as a housewarming gift. We'd decided long ago that we wanted an outdoor fire pit. We looked around, and a few caught my eye. But we decided to get a chiminea instead, which are very popular out here. Here is a picture of the one we bought:
So that's one thing off the list of things we need to buy! In my kitchen, there is a counter that overhangs into the dining room, so now we need bar stools. These are the ones I'm considering:
I like the red because that is the color theme we are going for in the kitchen, and I also wanted stools with backs on them. The material is microfiber, which I know is a good fabric for cat owners. While I like them a lot, the hubby is not sold on them (yet!).
Another piece of furniture we need - a table for the front entry way. It really needs one, it is so empty by the door! I really like this one from Target:
Nothing fancy - just something to put there!
There are so many other things we want to buy - patio furniture, a grill, and God knows what else. It's expensive moving from a smaller place to a larger place and buying the furniture to fill it up. I keep telling myself that it doesn't all have to happen at once. I can buy a piece here, buy a piece there, and one day it will all come together!
So that's one thing off the list of things we need to buy! In my kitchen, there is a counter that overhangs into the dining room, so now we need bar stools. These are the ones I'm considering:
I like the red because that is the color theme we are going for in the kitchen, and I also wanted stools with backs on them. The material is microfiber, which I know is a good fabric for cat owners. While I like them a lot, the hubby is not sold on them (yet!).Another piece of furniture we need - a table for the front entry way. It really needs one, it is so empty by the door! I really like this one from Target:
Nothing fancy - just something to put there!There are so many other things we want to buy - patio furniture, a grill, and God knows what else. It's expensive moving from a smaller place to a larger place and buying the furniture to fill it up. I keep telling myself that it doesn't all have to happen at once. I can buy a piece here, buy a piece there, and one day it will all come together!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
So Over It.
After our experience this year, I am pretty much over traveling, or rather flying! On Sunday the 20th, the hubby and I headed up to Phoenix to stay in a hotel since our flight left at 6:30am the next morning and we weren't sure about traffic & making the three hour drive so early! The day started off fine, the airport wasn't too busy, security wasn't a nightmare, and we waited only a little bit before they started boarding. Then it got bad. Our flight took off 30 minutes late, but I wasn't too upset since we had a 2 hour layover in Minneapolis/St. Paul. About an hour into the flight, a flight attendant came over the PA and asked if there was a doctor on board. Apparently, a older man in his 60's had collapsed near the bathroom. He had an oxygen tank, and as he was walking out of the bathroom, the tubing got caught in the door, cutting off oxygen, and causing him to pass out & fall. The flight attendants and a nurse gave him CPR & mouth to mouth for about 30 minutes, when the pilot finally came over the PA to announce that we were making an emergency landing in Denver so the man could get medical help. Yeah, I was annoyed, but I couldn't be mad, it wasn't his fault. So we landed and proceeded to sit there for almost 2 hours while were waiting to re-fuel and be taxied onto the runway again. Long story short, we missed our connecting flight and ended up home almost 2 hours later than planned.
The time home was wonderful though! I got to meet my nephew who is six months now, and is oh-so-adorable. He is a a happy baby for the most part and has the cutest little grin! I love him so much already :] I also got to meet up with Bestie while in the Mitten. Her husband grew up about an hour away from me, so they drove down and we went to lunch. And it felt like we’d never been separated. It felt good to talk to someone who understands me and I can be myself around. And of course, her baby is becoming a boy! He will be two in February and he has changed so much since I last saw him! Along with that, it was good to be around my family, especially my sisters who I love dearly and miss so much.
As if getting my Michigan weren’t annoying enough, I would soon find out that the trip home would be 10x worse. Our flight was supposed to leave Chicago at 6pm, so we of course arrived 2 hours early, went through security fairly fast, and were waiting for the plane to arrive, when an announcement came over the PA: Our flight coming from Atlanta, was being diverted to Indianapolis due to the weather in Chicago, which wasn’t bad AT ALL. They said they couldn’t keep the runway clear from snow, which I don’t understand because it was barely coming down. As soon as they announced this, I knew we were in for a long night, as our we only had a 40min layover and our connection flight was the last one out of Atlanta to Phoenix that night. They immediately rebooked us for a flight out of Atlanta the next day at 1:30pm – a whole 16 hours later than our other flight. I was seriously annoyed, but what could I do? Nothing. We kept getting updates saying our plane would land in an hour, oh then another hour, and on and on. Our flight finally landed at about 10pm. But then the flight attendants had worked their allotted hours and we needed a new crew, who had to fly from O’Hare, which took and hour. It’s in the same city for crying out loud! After much waiting, we finally boarded the plane and took off at 1:30am, arriving in Atlanta at 3:30am. We hadn’t eaten dinner, because we didn’t know when we would board and didn’t want to miss the call to board, and when we got to Atlanta, of course everything was closed. We ended up sleeping on benches on the airport; it was pointless to go to a hotel only to check out seven or eight hours later. The only plus to our big mishap – we got to sit in first class on our 4 hour flight to Phoenix. Free movies, a meal, and larger seats – if I could, I would always fly first class! It was so nice. We finally made it to Phoenix and then had to drive 3 hours home, ate dinner, and went to bed since my husband had to be up at 4:45am for work.
I could understand having a traveling mishap on our way there, but to have such luck on both travel days? Like I said, I am over traveling…until next year :]
Hope everyone had a safe holiday, and here’s to a new year!
The time home was wonderful though! I got to meet my nephew who is six months now, and is oh-so-adorable. He is a a happy baby for the most part and has the cutest little grin! I love him so much already :] I also got to meet up with Bestie while in the Mitten. Her husband grew up about an hour away from me, so they drove down and we went to lunch. And it felt like we’d never been separated. It felt good to talk to someone who understands me and I can be myself around. And of course, her baby is becoming a boy! He will be two in February and he has changed so much since I last saw him! Along with that, it was good to be around my family, especially my sisters who I love dearly and miss so much.
As if getting my Michigan weren’t annoying enough, I would soon find out that the trip home would be 10x worse. Our flight was supposed to leave Chicago at 6pm, so we of course arrived 2 hours early, went through security fairly fast, and were waiting for the plane to arrive, when an announcement came over the PA: Our flight coming from Atlanta, was being diverted to Indianapolis due to the weather in Chicago, which wasn’t bad AT ALL. They said they couldn’t keep the runway clear from snow, which I don’t understand because it was barely coming down. As soon as they announced this, I knew we were in for a long night, as our we only had a 40min layover and our connection flight was the last one out of Atlanta to Phoenix that night. They immediately rebooked us for a flight out of Atlanta the next day at 1:30pm – a whole 16 hours later than our other flight. I was seriously annoyed, but what could I do? Nothing. We kept getting updates saying our plane would land in an hour, oh then another hour, and on and on. Our flight finally landed at about 10pm. But then the flight attendants had worked their allotted hours and we needed a new crew, who had to fly from O’Hare, which took and hour. It’s in the same city for crying out loud! After much waiting, we finally boarded the plane and took off at 1:30am, arriving in Atlanta at 3:30am. We hadn’t eaten dinner, because we didn’t know when we would board and didn’t want to miss the call to board, and when we got to Atlanta, of course everything was closed. We ended up sleeping on benches on the airport; it was pointless to go to a hotel only to check out seven or eight hours later. The only plus to our big mishap – we got to sit in first class on our 4 hour flight to Phoenix. Free movies, a meal, and larger seats – if I could, I would always fly first class! It was so nice. We finally made it to Phoenix and then had to drive 3 hours home, ate dinner, and went to bed since my husband had to be up at 4:45am for work.
I could understand having a traveling mishap on our way there, but to have such luck on both travel days? Like I said, I am over traveling…until next year :]
Hope everyone had a safe holiday, and here’s to a new year!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Home for the Holidays.
In a week, my husband and I will be traveling to Michigan to spend the holiday with my family (we alternate every year). We will fly into Chicago on the 21st and take the train to Michigan City, IN, where my dad will pick us up. He usually picks us up from the airport, but my sister and her husband and baby are coming in that day too, and there won't be enough room in the car for all of us. We're staying until the 26th, so it should be a good time.
I am looking forward to the snow, even though people think I'm crazy for it! I love snow on Christmas. I hated it when I lived there, but when you live in parts of the country where snow is rare, you kind of miss it - and I do! I'm sure after a week of the white stuff, I'll be ready to come back to Arizona and 60+ degree weather.
I am also looking forward to being with my family! I haven't seen them since my sisters baby shower in April - and that was only for a weekend! So to be together for longer will be nice! I am also excited to meet my nephew! My sister Heather gave birth in May and that was around the time my husband was getting out of the Army, so I wasn't able to make it out there to meet Gavin. Also, my besties hubby grew up an hour away from me, so she's going to come down and see me for a day. I have missed her!
There is so much to look forward to, and just one thing that I know will drive me crazy - people asking me when my husband and I are going to have a baby. That question happens every time we go to either one of our families homes. I find the question rude and really none of anyones business. We're still in our twenties, for crying out loud. But I will do what I always do, just smile and pretend that it doesn't bother me :]
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Copy Cat.
I got this from Sarah, whose blog I love and I decided to be a copy cat :] This was actually kind of fun....and if you're just coming across my blog, my husband is Jenry prounounced Henry. The J in Spanish sounds like an H.
♥ What are your middle names?
Elizabeth & Jose.
♥ How long have you been together?
6 & 1/2 years.
♥ How did you meet?
I had gotten deployed to Iraq and he was already there with the rest of my unit. He was our units generator mechanic. We became really good friends and then it turned into more.
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Three months.
♥ Who asked who out?
We both liked each other so we just decided one day to be boyfriend & girlfriend (hey, we were 19& 20 years old, haha).
♥ How old are each of you?
Jenry is 25, I am 25.
♥ Do you have any children together?
Nope.
♥ What about pets?
Three cats, which he claims none of. He is not a cat person, but he's starting to come around.
♥ Did you go to the same school?
No.
♥ Are you from the same home town?
No. I am from St. Joseph, Michigan and he was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to New York City when he was seven.
♥ Who is the smartest?
Schoolwise- me. Useless facts - him.
♥ Who is the most sensitive?
We both are, but I probably am moreso than him.
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
We don't eat out a lot, but we really enjoy an authentic Mexican restaurant here called La Casita.
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Aside from Iraq to America, when we drove from Michigan to Arizona.
♥ Who has the worst temper?
I'd say I have the worst temper of the two of us.
♥ Who does the cooking?
I do almost all the cooking, but he will occasionally make things.
♥ Who is more social?
We are both homebodies, but he is really quiet until you get to know him, I can make friends with almost anyone.
♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Me, me, me! I am obsessive about cleaning and I enjoy cleaning. Jenry doesn't really care, although he likes DVD's, CD's, and books to be alphabetized.
♥ Who is the more stubborn?
Ohh, that's a toughie, but I'd say him.
♥ Who hogs the bed?
Neither one of us, we usually fall asleep cuddling and stay pretty close the whole night, he does steal covers every now and then.
♥ Who wakes up earlier?
We wake up at the same time on the weekdays, but weekends I am usually up between 7:30- 9:00 and he sleeps in till 10:00 or 11:00.
♥ Where was your first date?
We were in Iraq, it was not a standard dating situation, haha.
♥ Who has the bigger family?
We have the same size immediate family, but my extended family is bigger.
♥ Favorite memories?
Going to New Yok City for the first time and crossing the George Washington Bridge and when he took me to the Bronx Zoo. Also when he came home from Iraq, it was always exciting.
♥ Do you get flowers often?
Yes, and while I appreciate them, I tell him he doesn't have to spend $80 to have flowers delivered, just buy some at the store, haha.
♥ How do you spend the holidays?
We alternate Christmas and we used to go to my home for Thanksgiving since it was closer, but now we stay out here fpr Thanksgiving.
♥ Who is more jealous?
Him! Especially when he was in Iraq.
♥ Who eats more?
Him, even though you'd never tell by looking at him.
♥ Who does/ did the laundry?
Me. I could never trust him to separate the colors, haha.
♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Him with technical stuff, me with html type stuff.
♥ Who drives when you are together?
Me. Always.
♥ Who plays an instrument?
We both played the drums in 5th grade :]
♥ Do you share the same taste in music?
I like all his music, he doesn't like all mine, especially country.
♥ Who exercises more?
Neither one of us. Was him, but not since he got out of the Army.
♥ Who eats better?
Me, because I have to watch what I eat. He could eat anything and stay the same.
♥ Who's more romantic?
I'd say we're even steven.
♥ Who wears the pants in the relationship?
I think most women do :]
♥ Who snores loudest?
I don't snore, Jenry does if he's sick.
♥ Is there anything you both share/enjoy?
Lots of things, we have a lot in common.
♥ Who takes more pictures?
I guess I do.
♥ Who cries the most?
Me. PMS gets to me ;]
♥ What are your middle names?
Elizabeth & Jose.
♥ How long have you been together?
6 & 1/2 years.
♥ How did you meet?
I had gotten deployed to Iraq and he was already there with the rest of my unit. He was our units generator mechanic. We became really good friends and then it turned into more.
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Three months.
♥ Who asked who out?
We both liked each other so we just decided one day to be boyfriend & girlfriend (hey, we were 19& 20 years old, haha).
♥ How old are each of you?
Jenry is 25, I am 25.
♥ Do you have any children together?
Nope.
♥ What about pets?
Three cats, which he claims none of. He is not a cat person, but he's starting to come around.
♥ Did you go to the same school?
No.
♥ Are you from the same home town?
No. I am from St. Joseph, Michigan and he was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to New York City when he was seven.
♥ Who is the smartest?
Schoolwise- me. Useless facts - him.
♥ Who is the most sensitive?
We both are, but I probably am moreso than him.
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
We don't eat out a lot, but we really enjoy an authentic Mexican restaurant here called La Casita.
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Aside from Iraq to America, when we drove from Michigan to Arizona.
♥ Who has the worst temper?
I'd say I have the worst temper of the two of us.
♥ Who does the cooking?
I do almost all the cooking, but he will occasionally make things.
♥ Who is more social?
We are both homebodies, but he is really quiet until you get to know him, I can make friends with almost anyone.
♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Me, me, me! I am obsessive about cleaning and I enjoy cleaning. Jenry doesn't really care, although he likes DVD's, CD's, and books to be alphabetized.
♥ Who is the more stubborn?
Ohh, that's a toughie, but I'd say him.
♥ Who hogs the bed?
Neither one of us, we usually fall asleep cuddling and stay pretty close the whole night, he does steal covers every now and then.
♥ Who wakes up earlier?
We wake up at the same time on the weekdays, but weekends I am usually up between 7:30- 9:00 and he sleeps in till 10:00 or 11:00.
♥ Where was your first date?
We were in Iraq, it was not a standard dating situation, haha.
♥ Who has the bigger family?
We have the same size immediate family, but my extended family is bigger.
♥ Favorite memories?
Going to New Yok City for the first time and crossing the George Washington Bridge and when he took me to the Bronx Zoo. Also when he came home from Iraq, it was always exciting.
♥ Do you get flowers often?
Yes, and while I appreciate them, I tell him he doesn't have to spend $80 to have flowers delivered, just buy some at the store, haha.
♥ How do you spend the holidays?
We alternate Christmas and we used to go to my home for Thanksgiving since it was closer, but now we stay out here fpr Thanksgiving.
♥ Who is more jealous?
Him! Especially when he was in Iraq.
♥ Who eats more?
Him, even though you'd never tell by looking at him.
♥ Who does/ did the laundry?
Me. I could never trust him to separate the colors, haha.
♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Him with technical stuff, me with html type stuff.
♥ Who drives when you are together?
Me. Always.
♥ Who plays an instrument?
We both played the drums in 5th grade :]
♥ Do you share the same taste in music?
I like all his music, he doesn't like all mine, especially country.
♥ Who exercises more?
Neither one of us. Was him, but not since he got out of the Army.
♥ Who eats better?
Me, because I have to watch what I eat. He could eat anything and stay the same.
♥ Who's more romantic?
I'd say we're even steven.
♥ Who wears the pants in the relationship?
I think most women do :]
♥ Who snores loudest?
I don't snore, Jenry does if he's sick.
♥ Is there anything you both share/enjoy?
Lots of things, we have a lot in common.
♥ Who takes more pictures?
I guess I do.
♥ Who cries the most?
Me. PMS gets to me ;]
Monday, November 30, 2009
Holiday Weight.
In 2006, I lost 30 pounds, but gained back 20 of them. In 2007, I was determined to lose those 20 pounds, and then some - and I did, about 75 pounds. After that weight loss, I gained about 5 pounds back and I try to stay around that weight. I used to be a compulsive weigh-er, stepping on my scale every morning. It was torture, since my digital scale shows ounces as well as pounds and weight fluctuates. Anyway, I didn't have my scale from June until we got our stuff 2 weeks ago - and I hadn't stepped on my scale. Not that I was scared to, but I'd gone 5 months without it and judging my weight strictly on how I felt. Meaning when I ate bad, I felt heavier and when I ate good, I felt better. I do a loose version of Weight Watchers - the program I used to lose all the weight. Basically I'll go a week of splurging a few times, and then 2 weeks strictly on Weight Watchers. I am trying to maintain, not lose anymore weight (as of right now).
But today I decided to weigh myself. I heard on the radio this morning that people tend to weigh themselves less during the holidays, for fear of what the scale might say, I guess. So I decided to not be afraid of the scale (even though Thanksgiving was just a few days ago). So I pulled out the scale and weighed myself. I gained 1 pound since the last time I weighed myself, which had to have been in May or June. But I was really proud of myself. I used to rely on that thing to validate my good feelings about myself - but now I know I don't need a scale to tell me how I'm doing. I can do it on my own! As a former fat girl, keeping the weight off for more than a year, this is a huge accomplishment.
I plan to not weigh myself for a while, because I don't need to. Not anymore.
But today I decided to weigh myself. I heard on the radio this morning that people tend to weigh themselves less during the holidays, for fear of what the scale might say, I guess. So I decided to not be afraid of the scale (even though Thanksgiving was just a few days ago). So I pulled out the scale and weighed myself. I gained 1 pound since the last time I weighed myself, which had to have been in May or June. But I was really proud of myself. I used to rely on that thing to validate my good feelings about myself - but now I know I don't need a scale to tell me how I'm doing. I can do it on my own! As a former fat girl, keeping the weight off for more than a year, this is a huge accomplishment.
I plan to not weigh myself for a while, because I don't need to. Not anymore.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
It's the Simple Things
I had the best weekend - and we didn't do much of anything at all! On Thursday, the hubby and I went over to Tyler & Alexis' house for dinner, and Tyler's mother came into town from San Diego to join us. We had a traditional dinner and of course desert. Then us girls watched The Taking of Pelham 123 while the boys headed to the theater to see Ninja Assassin. I was very happy that they went together so that I wouldn't have to go see it later, haha. Not my kind of movie. Afterwards, we came home and had a low key weekend. I watched hockey on both Friday and Saturday (and the hubby even watched with me on Saturday). The hubby also made us ommlettes on Saturday for breakfast. He can't very many things, but ommlettes he does amazingly at!
On Saturday night, after the hockey game, the hubby made the mistake of turning on GSN - The Game Show Network. I wasn't aware we had this channel and I happen to love it! So last night we watched a few shows on there and for some reason, it was really enjoyable.
He kept asking me what I wanted to do all weekend, and I would tell him I truly just wanted to be at home with him. I definitely did not want to face the Black Friday crowds and I'm perfectly content to sit at home, next to him. So even though we didn't do much of anything, I had a fanatastic weekend.
Hope everyone else had a great one too!
On Saturday night, after the hockey game, the hubby made the mistake of turning on GSN - The Game Show Network. I wasn't aware we had this channel and I happen to love it! So last night we watched a few shows on there and for some reason, it was really enjoyable.
He kept asking me what I wanted to do all weekend, and I would tell him I truly just wanted to be at home with him. I definitely did not want to face the Black Friday crowds and I'm perfectly content to sit at home, next to him. So even though we didn't do much of anything, I had a fanatastic weekend.
Hope everyone else had a great one too!
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