switching focus

hmmm. switching foci? not sure what the correct word is, but i am planning to blog less about shopping deals, and more about my psycho head.

part of the reason for the switch is that shaw's has decided to turn a profit instead of give away food constantly (effin' jerks. what nerve). also, i have about 20 bottles of body wash, kids' shampoo, toothpaste, umpteen razors, enough tampax to last a normal person until menopause. i'm decidely not normal, so my tampax stash might last me a year. i'll spare you the gorey details, but i'm sure you can imagine the grossosity. yeah, i made up a word. it's my blog. i got the power.

but the biggest reason for the switch is that i am exhausted. and grouchy. and blah. and sad a lot. that pretty much describes my whole life, but i am not willing to let it be the summary of my life. i need to get it all out, and as wife, mom, and working business owner, there isn't a lot of room for venting or outlets for blowing off life.

journaling is a small way to get it all out there so it rattles around in your head a bit less. i always journaled as a young person--i had all those padded blank books that the bookstores sell, at least they use to. i wonder if i still have any of them. i know i saved them for many years because they were so personal. i would be packing for a move to college or to my first home, or my second, and i would think i should just get rid of them. then i would read them, and i remember thinking that i just could not throw them out. what a betrayal to that poor girl who wrote them! her heart and soul were in them.

fast forward 15 years, and i do believe i probably tossed them. in my deadened state of mind, i'm sure i did. nothing really seems important to me anymore. certainly not anything having to do with ME.

i'm trying to switch that focus most of all, and give myself a little credit. we'll see how it goes.

cleanliness is next to Godliness...

the deals aren't cranking like they once were, but i did manage to hit it big today.

i spent a whopping $5.36 on all that you see, plus a little something chocolate that seems to have disappeared...

the kids shampoo was 3 for $5.00, and when you spend $10.00 on suave items at CVS this week, you earn $3 in extrabucks. i also had $1.00 off 3 coupons for these. the head and shoulders was $4.99, generated $2.00 in extrabucks, and i had a buy one get one free coupon.

the nutrigrain bars were 2 for $5.00. i had $1.00 coupons for each box, and i used the extrabucks from the suave transactions so i spent NOTHING on all four boxes. abby eats one of these bars every day, so she's good for a month! and that makes her a happy girl...

it's been a long time since rock 'n roll...

i've been plugging along clipping my monopoly money and scoring some deals. some really good deals, actually. but nothing wonderfully fantastic. and my best friend, shaw's, has been a real stingy jerk lately. hence, the lack of posts over the past two months. (well, that and life got a little crazy in that time period.)

today i ran out to do my cvs shopping for next week. (((did you know they start their sales on saturday nights? and that you can shop last week's and this week's deals in the same trip? so sweet of them!))) i also hit my nemesis, the dreaded stop 'n shop, or as i like to call it, stop 'n drop all your money. although, i may need to give them a new nick name, as they have impressed me with some decent deals lately.

my cvs run was as good a score as i've ever had there!
1st transaction:
1 razor at 9.97 less 4.00 coupon and 5 ECB
i spent 1.03 and earned another 5 ECB.

2nd transaction:
1 kellogg's frosted wheat at 3.33
3 packs cvs diapers on clearance at 2.49 each
2 nutrigrain bars at $3.33 each less 1.00 coupon
2 tampax pearl at 2.97 each less 2.00 coupons for each (so, .97 each)

after coupons, i spent .41

i used a $5 off $15 purchase, the 5 ECB from the 1st transaction, and 13 ECB's. i also earned 7 additional ECB's, AND the nutrigrain boxes have $10 worth of coupons for kellogg's products and fresh fruit (great coupons)!

stop 'n shop was the real success story, though:
3 clorox bleach at 3/$5 less 1.00 coupon
3 bags of pretzels at 2.50 less 1.10 coupons (so, 1.40 each)
2 boxes of honeycomb cereal at 1.67 each less 1.00 coupon (so, 1.17 each)

i spent 10.73. eh? what's so great about that? look closely at the honeycomb boxes. closer. see it? each box has a child's ticket for 6 flags inside. those suckers are worth 34.99 each, baby!

my kids have no idea what an awesome mother they have. no idea.

bathing suit shopping...

since it was a balmy 50 degrees a couple of times this week, i'm practically packing the beach bags. never mind that it's positively frigid today - i am in denial about that.

i lurve to buy the kids' new bathing suits and sandals. i can not adequately explain the joy it brings me. perhaps it's the promise of warm sunny days in the sand at silver beach that brings on the euphoria.

it also could be that kids' suits are so stinkin' cute.

maybe it's the navy shipping bag with the words "lands end" emblazened on it that makes me so happy. it has become somewhat of a ritual of mine to purchase sandals and suits from lands end every year. i can't explain it.

or maybe, the giddiness derives from just this:

it never gets old...

shaw's sales just keep getting better! there are no less than three big catalina deals going on now, and several smaller deals as well. add in a produce "pick 4" and corresponding coupons for guacamole (yee-um!), and i'm almost giddy. i love me a good deal!

i've been to shaw's a few times since friday, but here is the most recent trip, where my cash out amounts to a whopping $3.36:

2 capri sun (retail 2.99, sale 1.99 each)
2 dixie paper plates (retail 4.99, 3.89 each w/ coupon)
1 dixie napkins (retail 2.59, free w/ coupon)
2 tampax (retail 5.99, sale 2.50, 1.50 each w/ coupons)
4 crest spiderman toothpaste (retail 3.29, sale 2.29, 1.29 each w/ coupons)
4 crest kids toothpaste (retail 2.99, sale 2.29, 1.29 each w/ coupons) [donated 1]
2 toothbrushes (retail 2.99, sale 2.29, 1.15 each w/ B1G1 coupon)
1 wesson oil (retail 3.99, sale 2.99)
3 ketchups (retail 1.99, sale .79 each) [donated 1]
2 cocoas (retail 2.19 each) [donated 1)
1 dannon yogurt (retail 2.99, sale 2.29, 1.29 each w/ coupon)

TOTAL retail: 81.22
TOTAL sale price: 56.74
less clipped coupons: 18.38
less catalina coupons: 15.00
ORDER TOTAL: 23.36
Catalinas produced: 20.00
TOTAL: 3.36

not a bad morning's work. i'm almost done shopping this week, but i'll be heading back once more to stock up on kraft shredded cheese for .24 a bag...i can't resist!

i love food so much, i take pictures of it....

the well at shaw's has been VERY dry for the past few weeks. i didn't mind so much, as i had budgeted very little for groceries this month in an attempt to save some money for my big trip (yay!), and just to clear the cupboards a little for the next shaw's free-for-all. and boy, what a week this is adding up to be! my total cash spent on the items in this picture was $22.56. huh? did she say $22.56?

here's the breakdown with retail price each, then sale price, then price after coupons:

TRANSACTION 1: "the money maker"
this transaction generated $30.50 in catalina coupons, which i used in transaction 2.

6 kleenex (1.99, B1G1/.99, .83)
3 chex mix bars (3.49, 2.49, 1.49)
4 brownie mixes (2.89, 2.49, 1.74)
2 frosting tubs (2.19, 1.49, .49)
2 cake mixes (2.89, .99, .99)
4 ice cream (5.99, B1G1/2.99, 1.99)
6 fruit snacks (2.49, 2.49, 1.99)
6 frozen waffles (2.19, 1.49, 1.49)

TOTAL retail: 94.77
TOTAL sale price: 64.22
less clipped coupons: 22.00
less catalina coupons: 20.00
TOTAL SPENT: 22.22

TRANSACTION 2:
2 40 count tampax (5.99, 2.50, 1.50)
2 1/2 lbs bananas (1.68)
1 dozen eggs (2.19)
2+ pounds chicken (5.43)
2 bags baby carrots (2.00)
3 pounds beef (5.97)
1 iceberg lettuce (1.59)
4 pounds coffee (5.49, BIGI/2.75, 1.75)

TOTAL retail: 66.89
TOTAL sale price: 30.84
less catalina coupons: 30.50
TOTAL SPENT: .34

there you have it. nice and easy with a little help from my friends and the good folks at shaw's. stay tuned for more good deals next week...

chi-town!

i love it when a plan comes together! i am so looking forward to getting away to the windy city with the girls. of course, i wish we were going tomorrow. but the flight and the hotel are booked for april 30th, so i'll have to trudge through until then.

we have no definite game plan in place as of yet, but we're likely going to see a few sites, and laugh a whole lot.

i felt a bit guilty spending the money, but it will be SO worth it. and thanks to the fine folks at shaw's, i can save the cost of the trip in just a few months of grocery shopping. more on that later...