Couponing - this weeks good experience

Well I'm still learning and trying this coupon thing.  I am bound and determined to save money wherever I can.  So every day I spend a little time looking for coupons and deals to use when I go shopping.  I usually go on Tuesdays but didn't have time.  So when I stopped at Walgreen's to get some cough medicine for my daughter I bought Sunday's paper.  That was nice because it had some coupons I used.  Then in Tuesday's mail came more coupons.  So I think I will shopping on Wednesdays from now on in order to have all the coupons on hand that I can.

This weeks grocery list wasn't big.  We are going out of town for a couple days so I don't want to buy a lot and it is the end of the month and I only had $50 left in my grocery budget.

So I stocked up using my coupons and price matching.  I bought 2 boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (with the car in them) for my daughter, 1 box of  Cheerios, 1 box of Trix and 2 boxes of Fiber One cereals.  I bought 4 boxes of Nature Valley granola bars, 1 box princess gummy snacks for Sarah, 2 bags of Kraft shredded cheese, Kraft string cheese, broccoli and a dove 3 pack.  I price matched on the cheese and got it cheaper than the great value cheese and used coupons on the cereal and granola bars and my bill was $50.68.

How awesome is that.  I couldn't have been happier.  With the price matching and coupons I save almost $10.  I realize that some people can save more but I'm still learning and I'll take $10 in saving any day.  Each week I hope to get better and better.

Now for the best part.  Since I went shopping today and didn't have a specific time I didn't ask my friend to go.  I went solo today and it turned out all right.  I found a younger cashier who was a lot friendlier.  I started the whole thing with the price matching to get it out of the way.  Told her I had coupons and let her do her thing.  When we got to the coupons I asked her a question and she was very nice and helpful and ran them.  She didn't get frustrated or upset with me but was willing to help me out.  I really enjoyed it.

And for any of you here in Owasso who might not have heard yet, the Reasor's meat sale is this weekend.  I was really looking forward to going but I will be spending time in Idaho with family so I figure I am getting the better deal.  Have fun shopping the meat sale though.

Busy but good week

Well things have been busy.  I like it when things are busy with things that I like to do. 

Monday I had a crash course in couponing. 

Tuesday we went to the library and then to Walmart to put my couponing knowledge to use.  I added up my savings and I figure I saved at least 28 dollars but then if you add the fact hat I bought a lot of things that were already on sale then I saved even more.  It was actually a lot of fun.  Tuesday night we went and bought a couple planters, dirt and two tomato plants and we planted our first tomato plants.  We have seeds for some herbs and other veggies but didn't want to plant them in the dark.  It will be a Thursday or Friday evening activity.  I also realized that Yana is now 3 months old.  Time has just flown by.

Wednesday we went to the zoo.  We have some friends here who go to the zoo often and they invited us to go and it was great.

There is a statue of a turtle and it is a great place to take pictures.  Here is my daughter with a few of her friends riding the turtle.  Sarah did not want to get off of the turtle.  We saw monkeys, the owl, the cheetah, giraffe, elephant and penguins.  It was a lot of fun and I think we will make it a weekly visit.  It was a beautiful day. 

Later when Josh got home we blew up a ball for Sarah.  Now this isn't just any ball.  It was a gift from her grandparents and she can play IN the ball.  It took forever to blow up.  This thing is huge and will not fit in the house.  It is purely an outside toy.  It looks so fun that I want to play in it...if I would only fit.

This is them in the ball.  I wasn't here to see it so we will play today but it looks like lots of fun.

This is what it looks like from the outside.  Sarah wanted to take the ball in her room last night but then there would be no room for her.  We are thinking about taking it to the pool when it opens up.  It could be a lot of fun.

Today we have a playgroup this morning.  Sarah likes to go and play and I like to sit and visit with the other moms.  Then a couple of my Laurels who are going to BYU-Idaho will be coming by for help with their schedule.  Josh needs a haircut and if we have time we will plant the rest of our garden

Friday I would like to go to Joann's.  They opened up their store in it's new location and I am excited to see it.  I want to sew and I need to get my homework done for this week.  I need to interview my parents, write a paper from the interview, watch a couple video clips, write another paper, read two chapters, take a quiz, and do a self assessment quiz.  I can't wait for this semester to over with.

Saturday afternoon a couple of my Laurels will be coming over with their prom dresses and we will be taking measurements and making preparations to put sleeves on their beautiful dresses.  Then at 7 there is a Young Women broadcast and I am really excited to go to that.  Then Sunday is church and relax.

This week has been so busy and I'm loving it.  If I didn't have my homework it would be an even better week.  I have 2 table runners started and I just need to sandwich them, free motion stitch them and then bind them.  I could do most of it in one day if I didn't have to spend my free time doing homework.  So hopefully I can get them finished next week and get them up for you to see.  I'm excited to get table runners in my store.

I hope that you are all having a wonderful week.

Wednesday Recipe - Zucchini Bread

Yum!!  I love zucchini bread.  I haven't actually made it since being at home.  We used to always make it out of fresh grown zucchini from our garden.  Since being married I haven't made it.  I have been craving it lately so I think I'll break down and buy some zucchini and make some.  So here is the recipe.

Zucchini Bread

Mix together:

2 C Sugar

3 Eggs

1 C Oil

Add:

2 C grated uncooked, unpeeled zucchini

3 Tsp Vanilla

3 C sifted flour

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Soda

3 Tsp Cinnamon

1/4 Tsp Baking powder

Bake at 350 for 55 minutes to 1 hour.  It makes 2 loaves.

You can freeze grated zucchini for later use if you have too much.

I hope that you try this and would love to hear your thoughts on this recipe.

My first time Couponing

A year or two ago I tried to get into coupons and tried for about a week.  Needless to say I didn't understand how anyone saved lots of money.  After living here in Owasso I have made some good friends and one of them is really into couponing.  So I started asking questions and she offered to teach me.  She knows I usually shop on Tuesdays because we usually see each other at the grocery store, so she invited me over yesterday and gave me the crash course. 

I thought I understood everything until this morning when I was working on my grocery list - combining coupons with it.  So I started asking her more questions and she even offered to go shopping when I did in order to help me.  One of the things I really wanted to do was price match a sale going on at target for diapers.  2 jumbo diaper packs for $16.   Then I had 2 Target coupons for $2.50 and then my friend gave me a coupon for a dollar.  So it turned out that I got 2 packages of 50 so 100 diapers for $10.00.  I thought that was a good deal.  My other favorite save was when I saw that Target had their Similac formula on sale for 19.99 when it is usually 23.99.  I also had a coupon for $5 off of my similac.  So I got my large similac formula for $14.99 which is I think the price of the small similac cans.  I was having a lot of fun saving money to be honest.

The problem that I had was getting up to the cashier.  I had jokingly asked my friend if they were like dogs and could sense fear or in my case the "I'm not sure what I'm doing" feeling.  She laughed and I was just so happy that she was coming with me.  I was so much happier that she was there when the cashier got testy with me.  She kept telling me that she couldn't do all the things I wanted for the diapers and I would have given in.  She called over the manager who explained that it was ok to do and then left.  The cashier then couldn't figure out how to do it and got even more upset and then when I went to give her all my coupons at the end she get sassy and said I had already gotten almost everything for free and I'm thinking.....uh not even close but I'm going to do what it takes to get some good deals.  I bought several more thins and still stayed in my budget and that is what I as aiming for. 

It was so ice to save money and to learn new thing. I'm exited to keep saving money so I can start adding more food to my food storage.

I am setting a new goal.

Thank you for following my last goal.  I had wanted to lose 6 pounds by my sister in laws wedding.  Well, her wedding came, was beautiful, and is over.  Did I make my goal?  Yes I did.  I lost 6 pounds exactly.  I was 6 pounds lighter the day before we left for her wedding. 

Ok so now I am officially under the 200 pound marker and happy to finally be there.  I still have at least 30 pounds to go to get where I want to be.  So I am setting a new goal.  I have another wedding that we will be attending on the 1st of April.  I want to be at least another 4 pounds down by then.  I have a week and a half so that is roughly 2 pounds a week.  I can do it.  I am feeling better and hopefully tomorrow I will be back to normal.

My game plan is that I want to eat the right portions at eat meal and have snacks in between my meals.  I also want to exercise every day.  I want to run at least 3 times a week and do my kettle bell workout at least 3 times a week.  Other than that I just need to be active everyday.

So I want to be two pounds lighter a week from today.  I'll let you know if I make that small goal.  Good luck to everyone who is trying to lose weight.  Feel free to share tips and ideas or your favorite healthy recipes with us.

Today is Thursday?

Ok so ya I have been sick and so has my husband and daughter.  I have completely lost track of what day it is.  I just realized this morning that today is Thursday which means that yesterday was Wednesday and I forgot to share a recipe.  So although today is Thursday I am pretending that it is Wednesday.

Today the weather is a little cloud covered and it has me thinking of soup and as I have gone through my recipe box I saw my Chicken and Dumpling soup that my Step mother makes.

Chicken and Dumpling Soup

4 C Water/4 Chicken bouillon cubes

Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Pepper, Salt

3-4 Chicken Breasts cubed and fried

Simmer above ingredients for at least 30 minutes up to 2 hours.

2 Cans Cream of Mushroom soup

Add 1 pkg Grandma's Frozen noodles or 5 C dry noodles

Make dumplings and Cook.

Dumplings:

1 C Flour

2 Tsp Baking Powder

1/2 Tsp Sugar

1/2 Tsp Salt

1 Tbsp oil

1/2 C milk

Make into 8-10 Dumplings.  Cook on top of soup for 15 minutes.

Do not remove the lid.

This is really good and although you may think it weird you can add molasses and it adds a whole new wonderful flavor.

I hope that you enjoy.

Latest project finished and Sarah's 3rd birthday

This is the project that I have been working on for the last couple of months.  My mother in law, husband and myself picked this pattern and then we went and bought the material.  I had never worked on a quilt like this before.  All the quilts I had done to this point were blocks sewn together.  This quilt was very different.  It was one square in the center and then I just sewed a little more on to make a larger square.  It was a lot of fun.  I then free motion stitched it.  I did better on this quilt than I have on any of them so far.  You know what they say "Practice makes perfect."

I bought a sheet set at walmart and used the straight sheet for the back of the quilt.  I have a few things left that I want to do to the pillowcases as well.

So now that their quilt is finished I will miss working on this quilt but I will move on to the table runners that I have planned. 

We also celebrated my daughters birthday a little early.  After the wedding on Saturday we got together with our family and opened some of her gifts.

She received some very cute clothing.  She also got some fun musical books.  Sunday after we finally made it home after two flights we opened a couple more presents sent from other family members.  It was good to see family.  We really miss them.

Project completed - pictures to come Monday

Well I have finished my latest project.  Unfortunately I can't show you pictures until Monday.  It turned out better than I had hoped and I'm really excited for it.  Now that it is finished I can start on the table runners I said I would sew.  I will also post pictures of the material for the upcoming table runners.

I'm very excited to be sewing these table runners.  I will also have more bibs coming.  These ones are blue or brown.  I also have some grocery sack holders that I will post as soon as I buy some string to finish them.  Lots of upcoming smaller projects and it should be fun.

Today my husband, two daughters and myself are flying to St. George for my husband's sister's wedding.  We are really excited.  We will be back on Sunday.  Since I am going out of town I wont have time to upload the pictures until Monday.

I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend.  I know that we will have a good one.

Wednesday's recipe - Cheesy Chicken and rice

A couple Christmas's ago I recieved a recipe box with recipes in it.  It was a Campbell's recipe holder.  I really enjoy it and have made several of the dishes that are in it.  One of the ones that I really like is the Cheesy Chicken and Rice Back dish.  It is really easy and really good.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake

1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 1/3 C water

3/4 C uncooked white rice

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

4-6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 C shredded cheese

2 C fresh or frozen veggies

Mix everything except the chicken ad cheese in a 12x8x2 pan

(I just use my normal cake pan)

Place chicken on top and season chicken with additional pepper and  seasonings you like.

Cover with tin foil and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

Uncover and sprinkle with cheese.

See how easy.  It has everything you need ...protein, starch and veggies.  Quick easy and very yummy.  I hope you all enjoy.

Goal continues.....

Well I started jogging again the week before last and I was being careful with how much sweets I ate and I lost weight last week.  I lost about two pounds.  Pretty good since my goal was for a 1 1/2 pounds a week.  I just need to lose another 3 to get below 200 and that was what I wanted to do by the end of this goal.  So I'm really going to be good this week.  Last week I didn't jog at all because things kept coming up.  It is amazing how fast life can get busy and how hard it is to keep up.

My sister in law gets married on Saturday and I'm really trying to hard to get into those size 14 pants.  They are still snug but I hope if I do really good this week they will fit.  The one thing I decided though was that if they fit but weren't comfortable I would wait until they were comfortable.  I want to be comfortable at her wedding and while visiting and I don't like that poured into the pants look.

This week is going to be so busy I'm already having a hard time keeping up.  I will be getting up with my husband again and eating breakfast with him and then I'll start to get things done.  Hopefully with the extra 2 hours I'll be able to get everything done.

I will let everyone know how things go this week Monday after the wedding.  I hope that you all have a wonderful week and are able to reach your goals and get everything done on your lists.  Good Luck to all of us...

A busy day and a new bib!

Today has been a wonderfully busy day.  Tonight I have invited all the laurels over to hang out.  So you know what that means.  Guests are coming and I need to clean the house at least a little bit.  So we wake up and eat and the day begins.  We cleaned the kitchen by gathering the garbages in the house and taking out the main garbage.  We wipe the counters down and clean off the table.  We do the dishes and unload the dishwasher.  We clean out the fridge and then move onto the rest of the house.  We even stopped to take a break.  The break was taking things to the post office.

After lunch there is more cleaning.  Dusting, vacuuming, laundry, organizing.  Really I'm not just doing this for the girls coming tonight.  My house needs cleaned and I haven't been keeping up on it as well as I should have.  The girls just give me an excuse to catch up. 

After getting things organized and off the counters and the table I am once again reminded how much I like a clean house where I can see the counter tops.  The house smells clean and looks good.  So now I'm sitting here telling everyone that my house is now clean again.

I am also blogging here today to tell you all that I have posted another bib to my store.  The striped ones from Wednesday are gone.  They are all very cute and this new bib is turned the other direction to save the cute little birds that are on it. 

I hope that you all have a wonderful afternoon and a wonderful weekend.  I think we will be getting rain.

Time to go check on the bread....

Honey Wheat Bread

I just learned how to make bread....Ok so I can make bread in my bread machine but what do I do if I'm living out of my food storage and can't use my bread mixer?  I had mentioned this to one of my friends.  She had learned a couple years ago and said that she would teach me how.  So this morning I went to her house and learned how to make Honey Wheat Bread.  It was so easy.

Honey Wheat Bread

2.5 C warm water & 1 Tbsp Lemon juice

1 Tbsp Yeast

1/4 C honey

1/8 C oil

5-6 C Flour (1/2 of each wheat and white)

1/2 Tbsp Salt

Butter

2 bread pans

In mixer pour water and yeast.  Then add each ingredient one at a time.

Add the salt after about 2 cups flour.

Add one cup of flour at a time alternating between white and wheat until it sticks together and pulls away from the sides of the pan.

After it is mixed form into a ball in the pan and cover with a towel and let rise for 1 hr.

Divide in two and shape.  Place in bread pans.

Cover with towel and let rise for another 1/2 hour.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Take out and spread butter on the tops.

This recipe was originally for 4 loaves so you can double it and get 4 loaves.  My friend would usually place one in a gallon baggie and put it in the freezer for later and eat one with her family.  You can take it out of the freezer later, thaw and it tastes like fresh bread.

It is really good and really easy to make.  While the bread is rising and cooking it leaves plenty of time for other things.