I wish that wiper blades were standardized — you know, one size for compact, one for mid-size, one for SUV, etc. Last week when it was really cold, one of the wipers had frozen to the windshield (and of course, the wipers were accidently left on, so – POOF! – the wiper blade came right off. I had to navigate the wide world of truck accessories and sure I found what I was looking for, but I don’t know. Seems to me those kinds of things should be a lot easier to find than they are. Or maybe I’m just lazy? Maybe a little bit of both when it comes to car maintenance, LOL.
Month: January 2008
CVS Deals
During my freshman year in college I worked at CVS. This was long before rewards cards were very popular, and instead there would be tons of store coupons in the weekly sales flyer. I remember customers who would use the store coupons combined with sales and manufacturers’ coupons and rake in amazing savings. For whatever reason, after I graduated from college and moved on I didn’t really do a lot of CVS shopping. But since I’ve started reading Money Saving Mom I’ve been inspired to see how well I can do at the “CVS Game.” And for my first time shopping there (and not just running in for something quick) in years, I am pretty happy with the results.
I bought:
- 1 Soft & Dri deoderant @ $2.50 (sale), plus I used a $1 coupon
- 2 8-packs of Poland Spring Aquapods @ 2/$5 (sale), plus a $1 coupon (printable here) – rec’d $2 ECB (Extra Care Bucks)
- 1 bottle of Palmolive dish soap @ $1.49 (sale), plus a .25 coupon – rec’d $1 ECB
- 1 bottle of Garnier Fructis shampoo @ $2.99 (sale) – rec’d $2 ECB
- 1 tube of Colgate Toothpaste @ $2.99 (sale), plus a $1 coupon – rec’d $2 ECB
- 1 bottle of Excederin @ $1.99 (sale), plus a $2 coupon – rec’d $1 ECB
- 1 Soy Joy bar @ $1.00 (sale), plus coupon for free bar
- 1 Hallmark card @ 2.69
On top of the coupons mentioned above, I used a $4/$20 CVS coupon, and $2 ECB from a previous shopping trip. My total out of pocket (including tax) was $9.33. According to my receipt I saved $20.31. Plus, I got back $8 in ECBs to use at my next trip. If I continue to do this right and rack up the ECBs (along with purchasing sale items and using coupons), I’ll pay even less out of pocket next time.
If it doesn’t make sense to you, here are a couple tutorials:
Sure it took me a little time to organize my list and coupons, but I did it during down-time at work. As for the coupon-clipping, it’s something that I actually enjoy and I do it either Sunday night while watching TV or Monday morning when Noah gets up (because seriously folks – what else are you going to be doing at 5 AM? 😉 ) I found it to be worth my while, and hopefully you will too!
Arts & Crafts Storage – Help!
This is my first time participating in Works For Me Wednesday, and it’s a “backwards” edition. That is, instead of me giving you a tip, I’m going to ask a question and hopefully you, dear readers, can offer some advice. And what perfect timing because I have a huge problem with arts & crafts storage. Over the past few months, Jake has really gotten into arts & crafts which thrills me! I’ve also started accumulating a lot of supplies — egg cartons, pipe cleaners, foam stickers, paper, markers, glitter glue, small craft kits, you name it. My current storage solution is… well, less than ideal. Crayons and coloring books are in the cupboard under the fish tank (this way Noah can easily get at them too), and everything else that should be out of Noah’s reach basically gets thrown into a tote bag that I put in the laundry closet. This worked OK for a while, but now the tote bag is just a huge mess of stuff and in order to find anything, the entire bag needs to be dumped out:
Any storage ideas? The hard part is separating out the stuff that I don’t want my two-year-old’s hands on. I’d prefer to use what I already have (though you probably guessed that!), and I have plenty of baskets, plastic “shoebox” containers, etc. But I am open to any and all suggestions!
My Little Angel
A couple weeks before Christmas, the Kindergarten CCD class was supposed to put on their Nativity play. Unfortunately it had to be rescheduled due to a snow storm, so instead it was held this past Sunday. (And that was Epiphany so that was a nice day for it as well.) Jake was assigned the role of Angel Gabriel and he did a great job! No wonder he kept telling us his arms were sore after the classes where they practiced — his poor little arms were held up in one way or another during most of the program! The kids were all super cute (two older students read the passages). I have more photos over on Flickr, but they’re marked Friends & Family only, so if I don’t have you listed as one of my contacts, just add me and unless I have no idea who you are, I will more than likely add you back.
After the play there was coffee and juice and baked goods. (I made apple-gingerbread cake.) My parents and Drew’s mom and aunt all came down (and up, depending on location) for it, so that was nice. I think we had the biggest turn out of all the families! Interestingly, very few dads were there Drew noticed. I know it’s just a silly little play, but I can’t imagine missing it. I mean, do it for your kid, whether or not you’re particularly religious, you know? But I digress…
Since it was still quite early even after cake and coffee (just 10 AM), we decided to go out for breakfast and we tried the Double-O Grille. Now, the restaurant has been open for way over a year, but we’ve shyed away from it and we can’t remember why. I think maybe when I was part of a local moms group, they went there for a “Mom’s Night Out” and had bad service or something. Well, I’m glad we decided to give it a shot because it was great! The music was loud enough to make it kid-friendly (we had no idea how many other kids were in there!), but not too loud; you could still easily have conversations. The food was fantastic and the prices were reasonable. Drew had the crab cakes benedict and I had a veggie omelette and we split (something we almost always do). The omelette was stuffed with spinach, onions, peppers, eggplant, and zucchini. The crab cakes benedict was delicious as well. Two generously-sized crab cakes (lots of crab, too — not just filler), perfectly poached eggs, and a yummy Hollandaise sauce. We’ll be giving them a shot for dinner one night!
It was a really great way to spend a Sunday!
January Thaw
There are two seasonal diversions that can ease the bite of any winter. One is the January thaw. The other is the seed catalogues.
— Hal Borland, American Journalist
Well, I haven’t received any seed catalogs in the mail yet, but between yesterday and today I am really enjoying the January thaw! It’s currently in the low 60s and the warm weather makes me want to load some jam band music onto my ipod and go for a nice long walk, breathing in the fresh air. Of course, I’m working today so that won’t happen, but it’s a nice thought 🙂 Yesterday I cracked open the windows and aired out the house. I’m enjoying it while it’s here because I know it won’t last. According to the weather report, next week we’ll be back in the low-to-mid 30s again. But I guess if it were this lovely all the time we wouldn’t appreciate it as much.
This Week’s Eats
Monday: Meatballs & whole-wheat spaghetti, tossed salad
Tuesday: Split pea & barley soup
Wednesday: Chicken & eggplant casserole (from SB Cookbook)
Thursday: Crab royale (from SB Cookbook), tossed salad
Friday: Broccoli noodle soup – recipe follows (Jake has been begging me to make it)
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Out? Or else London Broil, maybe
Broccoli Noodle Soup
1 pkg (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli
1 oz. angel hair pasta, broken into small pieces
2-3 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. flour
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup milk
1/8 tsp. pepper
6 oz. processed cheese (Velveeta), cubed
1/2 cup sour creamCook both the broccoli and pasta according to package directions; drain. In a large saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in the chicken broth, milk, and pepper until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted. Stir in the broccoli, pasta, and sour cream; heat through (do not boil). Yield: 4-5 servings
Wine Cork Wreath
You can’t copyright an idea, right? Right! Well, this is one idea that I love. I was browsing through the Wine Enthusiast catlog online and came across this clever wreath made entirely of wine corks (save for the bow, of course). A couple months ago I finally started saving all of my corks (oh, to think of how many I’d thrown away!) in anticipation of some kind of craft project. I was thinking more along the lines of a trivet or (literal) corkboard, but this… oh, this is the one. I imagine that by the end of the summer I should have accumulated enough corks to make my own version. Of course, if you don’t drink wine it’s much cheaper to just buy the one they have for sale! But Drew and I do drink a lot of wine, so I’ll just continue saving up my corks. I think what will make the wreath even cooler will be the fact that I’ll be able to look at each cork and remember special events when we had special bottles. Just thought I’d share!
The DVD Stash
Just like I have a yarn stash, Drew has a DVD stash. OK, technically they’re ours, but just as I cannot pass by a craft store without at least looking, he cannot pass by a store that sells movies without at least looking. We don’t really rent because we tend to watch movies several times. Plus we like having a selection of films we haven’t seen yet so when the mood strikes, we can go and pick one out. A month or two ago we picked up “Pan’s Labyrinth” and we haven’t watched it yet, but I really want to. I just read that Guillermo del Toro has a new movie out called “The Orphanage” which sounds really good. And I think I finally have my brain capacity back at the level where I can handle subtitles, too 🙂
Economic Musings
So I was thinking about the crappy housing market now that we’re officially off of it, and wondering if businesses face the same challenges in this terrible economy. Just like when you’re selling your house and have it appraised, business do much the same thing. Obviously, large corporations have teams of accountants and lawyers and they probably have annual business valuations, but it has to be a challenge for small businesses as their definition of “business value” is a lot different… I know, this is probably a boring topic but I’ve been immersed in NPR and Democracy Now and thinking about business and economics all morning.
New Dishcloth Swap
As I type this it is 15 degrees outside, so a “Defeat the Winter Doldrums” Dishcloth Swap sounds like just the thing I need! I love participating in these dishcloths swaps because they’re quick, easy, and fun. Sign-ups for this round will begin on January 11th. I already have some great ideas for items to include in my swap package! If you are interested, check out this post for all the details!