GUESS WHAT?

I'M PREGNANT!!!

Don't believe it, umm because I didn't!! It wasn't planned at all, but my hubby and I have been married 11 years and we're excited!! check out the baby.. 7 weeks. I'm due June 20th!!

Meal Preparation Stores

okay.. here goes. I have a confession. This is NOT something I would normally condone as "saving" money. I know that if I set my mind to it, got organized and cooked these meals at home myself that I would probably be able to do it for less than half the cost.... here goes.

I'm addicted to a meal preparation service.

It started quite innocent actually. My sister works 12 hour shifts and wanted to make sure her kids were eating healthy when she wasn't home early enough to cook for them. She wanted something that she could take out the day before to thaw and that her older son could make for his little brother without burning down the house. She then found meal preparation services!! Since then she has changed the company she goes to, however, the idea is the same and she walks out with 12 family sized meals each with 6 portions.. so 72 meals in all. Each serving comes out roughly to 2.78, I know we super couponers can get most of the ingredients to make these type meals for less.. I am sure of it.

As you may have noticed I haven't been posting my hounds recently. I just don't have the time or energy to hound much and when I do, I have no time to blog them. Instead I've sorta changed my blog.

anyhooo.. last week I finally broke down (after deciding to have the same meal I've cooked 4 times already this month) and checked out the website for the store my sister goes to. After reviewing their site and a few sites for other stores in my area, I found that this store has the best deal. One set price AND they give you sides for free. They are included. Other places they were not.
SIMPLY HOMEMADE My husband decided to go with me at the last minute and it was actually like a date! It was really cool. Since we went together, the 2 hour window in which it normally takes to make all 12 meals took only 45 minutes. It was so much fun. Each of our 12 meals is actually 6 portions so really we got 72 meals put together in under 45 minutes. No chopping, no cutting, no dirty dishes. Everything in Ziplock bags and in my freezer in an hour.

Here is how it basically works (at this store anyway). You walk in, wash your hands, put your hair up, get a drink if you would like, get an apron then go from station to station building your meals. Each station has a full letter size recipe cards that have dummy proof instructions such as: open lower refrigerator and get small ziplock bag of grapes. Umm yeah I can do this. Any seasoning or ingredient has the correct measuring cup/spoon already sitting IN IT, ready waiting for you. All you have to do is follow the directions!! The best part is you can choose how much onion or pepper to put in your meal. Great recipes too.

Since I went I've been researching other stores in my area, I've found MINDFUL MEALS that even allows you to upgrade to Organic meats. I really like this store because you can order as little as 6 meals but everything is individually priced. Also the prices are a little higher per meal than Simply Homemade and it's a farther drive from my house. On the flip side, on their home page they advertise "Grab and Go"meals that are lower priced. That would be great when you are on your way home from work and just don't feel like cooking. Instead of pizza, it would be a healthy meal.

I think DINNER BY DESIGN is the most popular in our area, it was the only one I had heard before I went myself. They offer coupons in the Entertainment book and are located in other areas/states other than the greater Chicagoland area. I did meet a lady at Simply Homemade who was preparing her meals at a station next to me. She told me she started going to Dinner by Design years ago, but she had switched simply because Simply Homemade gives the sides for free. Less to think about and more food for the same price. Makes sense to me.

This store GOURMET IN A DAY only has 1 store in the Chicago area, however, they are offering free preparation this month. Meaning you can stop in and pick up your meals already prepared. I really like preparing mine, but hey.. to each their own summer is a busy time of year.

Some of these stores offer free desserts, delivery, free extras if you host a party there.. a party? yeah a party.. almost like a tupperware party or a tastefully simple party only your guests sign up for their meals and pay before the party. You show up with drinks and music and prepare meals together. Sounds fun to me.

Check out a few of the stores in your area HERE

Okay so as I said, I don't think this is super cost effective versus when I am hounding and eating out of my stockpile for super cheap and free... BUT my husband and I went out for dinner a few weekends ago and got burritos. Our bill? $52 for 2 people!! yes, between drinks, dessert, and tip we spent $52. Total insanity. So paying $204 for 72 meals is cheap in comparison. In telling other people about this they figure that I will save on time with grocery shopping and dishes, money on wasted food I'll never eat, and peace of mind that we are eating healthier.

Let me know what you think, have you tried one of these stores in your area? Any tips?

Food Clubs ~N~ such

OKAY.. what is your HONEST opinion of food clubs? Seriously here peeps? I had a Sam's club card YEARS ago and could not walk out of that place WITHOUT spending a minimum of $100. Normally that was just for the 4-5 things on my list. Yes, I was buying in bulk and normally what I was buying I would have enough of for month.. so was my 3 trips per year worth the club price. I didn't think so and cancelled. There are other food type clubs out there... I thought I'd give a shout out to a few of them.


SCHWANS WEBSITE HERE
Looking for free food? Who isn't? Schwans is hosting a Free Food giveaway promotion starts 8/1/2009. Complete details regarding this offer will be available on www.schwans.com/free on 8/1.

Schwans is awesome, and comes to your home!



GORDON FOOD SERVICE Also called GFS.

website here I stumbled upon this club purely by accident. I drive past one in my home town from time to time and finally stopped in. I don't think they deliver to your home, they do to businesses. Their stores are small the size of maybe an Aldi, but no "club" membership is needed.


ANGEL FOOD MINISTRIES website here
this is great because they come once per month and offer great packages. It's really great in the summer because they offer grill packages filled with different meats. You do have to purchase a basic package to buy the "extra" packages but it's worth it. I did blog about it here last year.


SAMS CLUB website here
I was a huge huge huge fan of Sam's when my son was first born. His father was running his own business and we bought a majority of the cleaning products from Sams as well as diapers and food. That was 15 years ago. Since I did get another membership for maybe 2 years and found I just wasn't saving all that much.


COSTCO

website here I've never had a Costco membership, but I have thought about getting one. I noticed that their gas is always cheaper although it's sort of out of my way just to go for gas. I know plenty of people who have "food club memberships" and it seems a majority of them have Costco over Sams.

1 year 15 days DEBT FREE!!

I was so focused on my nephews “golden birthday” I totally skipped it.. a very important day in my life. It was the first anniversary of being debt free for my husband and I.. May 17th 2009 marked that day. I just can not believe it took me until today June 2nd to realize this. But I'm looking back and realizing that the way I view money, the way I treat money, the way I spend money has really evolved.

Today I am still debt free, I do use my ONE credit card with the maximum limit of $1500 once per month for ONE item. Usually this item is a more pricey item from $600-$1200. One month we bought a new bed mattress and box spring, the next we bought an expensive nice bike for my husband. Next month we are finally moving into THIS century and getting a lap top computer. My son has had a lap top for almost 2 years but it's time that we leave the old clunky desk top turned off and move up in the world. Each month I pay this credit card off in full, some months even paying off what would be due the following payment period. We feel this is our way of contributing back to the economy.

What has shocked me was one specific amount of money. I am leaving on a womens retreat this weekend. A friend I have known for around 5 years has invited me every time this retreat comes back to our area. It happens twice per year. Each year I say it's “too much money for a weekend” this year I actually looked at the price and thought “wow they lowered the price, probably because of the economy and NOW I CAN AFFORD IT, I'M GOING” I talked with my husband about it and he was very supportive.

I wrote out the check, mailed it, got my confirmation of receipt and made my plans to take Friday off so I can get there on time. This week I went walking with the friend who has invited me over and over and I had some specific questions for her. I asked her “how much was it in past years?” and she said “yikes they raised the price this retreat!” and here was me “WHHHHAATTT REALLY??” I seriously couldn't believe it.. I actually was walking next to her silent thinking “how did I miss that?” The answer is quite obvious. This year I am not unemployed and I am not in debt. The amount is affordable to me. Plain. Simple.

I have found that my husband and I are much “looser” with spending. I'm not couponing hardly at all.. I do shop at Woodmans and Aldi the two cheapest stores in my area, however, he'll run to pick up beer and snacks for poker games and just run to Jewel and spend whatever. We eat out a ton more than we were and if my son calls needing money I don't hesitate to slap $20-$40 on his debit card without even asking too much detail why he needs it. As I write this, I'm realizing I need to pull those reigns back in and control our outward/unnecessary spending before it becomes an issue once again.

I am so glad I found the groups I did and moved in a positive cash flow direction. My life is easier, the stress levels are considerably lower in my life and my husbands. Our marriage is stronger, however, my husband still has yet to take over the finances as he promised he would in past years. “once everything is paid off then I'll do it” he said that time and time again. Here we are but the difference is, I enjoy paying the bills and looking at our balances from month to month. Paying my property taxes was actually exciting because the money has been there, waiting in a savings account for me to transfer it, write a check, mail it and be done. Now, I think I would miss doing our bills. I would miss the happiness I feel now versus the depression I once felt every time I opened up our checking account on line. It seemed hopeless.

If you missed them, I wrote two segments explaining how we paid off our debt. I didn't give exact amounts but it was the jist of the story. You can read them
part one here and part two here. Enjoy

FREE ICE CREAM & HOT DOGS + great organic valley & slim fast coupons

HOT DOGS thanks to MIDGET MOMMA for this link!

BLUE BUNNY ICE CREAM thanks to my very own yahoo email for that! lol! ;)

ORGANIC VALLEY COUPONS thanks to SHOPLIFTING WITH PERMISSION for those great coupons!!


Surving the stores has great instructions to get
SLIM FAST COUPONS!!!

fyi on my last post re: vacation deals

Okay.. something came to mind after Katie posted a comment about the tricks to getting great vacation/airfare deals.

To answer Katie's question, We stayed at the Grand Oasis Punta Cana. Come check it out HERE.

OKAYYYYYY BUTTTTTTTT this is one of my biggest pet peeves in life.. seriously.. not sure why this rubs me the wrong way, grates on me, gets under my skin... *sigh* and I've heard it on SEVERAL occasions from several separate couples.

Couples go to resorts and come back and immediately book at that exact resort again for the next year... AND WORSE try to push that THIS EXACT RESORT IS THE BEST EVER! There will never be another resort that beats this one they've been to.. yeah well I've got NEWS PEOPLE.... they are all DEAD wrong!

My husband and I have found that between ourselves, relatives, and friends each resort as long as it has a good rating (Apple vacations this would be a 4 red apple or above) are pretty much the same. The one thing we do look for is a resort that has a buffet, a grill on the beach, an Italian restaurant, on other specific restaurant, and room service. Other than that we do look for resorts that offer a few bars plus a swim up bar. Those are just our specs.

We do "google" the resort before booking just to make sure the place didn't get super bad reviews, or that it's under construction, or there is just something that would make our stay terribly horrible. From the reviews on line we've gotten ideas on where to book our rooms, what to upgrade to, what not to upgrade to, what extras to bring for example beach towels {the ones there smelled like mildew} OTC meds/sunblock {the ones there were super expensive} etc.

So really, maybe we aren't that picky of people and me being as frugal as I've been my entire life may make this easier on us... but really.. if you want a vacation, if you just want to get away, lay on a beach, read a book, get drunk, dance, have a hot guy serve you drinks at the beach all day.. a majority of these resorts are fine and dandy!

Whew I feel better! lol! Hope this little rant helps in your next vacation search!

WIN FREE EDY'S ICE CREAM FOR YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD!!

Hey guys.. sorry I've been MIA again. I *just* heard Edy's is doing their "why my neighborhood rocks" block party contest again this year. I won 2 years ago and also convinced a few of my neighbors to enter. My neighborhood was lucky enough that we had 2 winners, myself and one other neighborhood so we got double the ice cream and products.

Basically to enter, write a story about your neighborhood and enter it to EDY'S ICE CREAM BLOCK PARTY. It's easy to enter and surprisingly I won.

About 4 days before my party I recieved a box filled with dry ice and I believe 12 different selections of Edy's slow churned ice cream.

me and the other winner in our neighborhood Erika

MY FREEZER


It's worth it to write up something about your neighborhood and at least try.. plus it's a good excuse to get people out of their houses to eat some yummy free ice cream! :)

What do you bring for POT LUCKS?

Okay.. everyone out there has their "signature dish" that they bring to pot lucks, pig out days, fat days, whatever you wanna call them.. depending on where this is being held, work, a families house for a special occasion, at church, or at a club meeting. There is one dish that you *always* make either because you love it or because you aren't allowed to come without it. I have a few and they've changed over the years. Not sure why but I do try to mix them up. Here are a few I've done over the years.

7 layer salad
1 1/2 heads lettuce shredded
8-10 green onion's chopped
3 carrot's shredded
4 hard boiled eggs sliced
small bag frozen peas (just dump in)
1lb cooked & crumbled bacon
8 oz shredded cheese cheese
dressing - mix 2 cups of mayo with 2-3 T lemon juice and dillweed.
put the dressing on top, spread around. add a little shredded cheese and a few green onions on top for garnish. Right before digging in mix the dressing into the salad otherwise you got wise guys eating just the dressing/top and a bunch of lettuce at the bottom.

PRETZEL SALAD
you can do this one with other flavors like raspberry as well.

Brushetta
okay I learned this one from an old Italian mama type from New York. It turns out super yummy and it's easy.
cube up tomatoes (I use PLUM tomatoes)
salt
pepper
fresh garlic
olive oil
basil

this is all by sight. I fill a bowl with the tomatoes then drizzle around some olive oil. next I put about 2 teaspoons of garlic in and add in the salt/pepper/basil last. It's all about how you like it.
I get french bread and slice it up and then toast it. I like to make this at least 8hours before servings so the flavors blend. Super garlic but ooh so yummy!

layered taco dip
in a 9x13 pan
large can refried beans
1 container guacamole
1 container sour cream
1 container salsa
8 oz shredded cheese
tomatoes, green onions, olives sprinkled on top.
easy, yummy, gone




VEGGIE PIZZA
I don't make this as neat as this picture looks. I normally just chop the veggies up very fine and throw them on top. I usually do carrot, green pepper, white onion, broccoli and then I put shredded cheese on top.

If missed my MASHED POTATO BAR post go back and check it out. This is one I learned from a neighbor of mine. Super great, super easy, super yummy, super crowd pleaser.

Sausages
I use sausage sliced up in chunks or the little cocktail wieners. throw it all in the crock pot with equal amounts of grape jelly and chili sauce. Let it "cook" through on low maybe 1-2 hours depends on how done you want them. Put a ladle out and toothpicks with little plate. Easy.


Okay.. so what are your signature dishes? What do you bring? What is easy and cheap? What do we have in our stockpiles that we could bring?

you are now in the SMART CIRCLE!!

okay there it is... another place we can find AWESOME deals. I was introduced to this marketing company about 18 months ago when a sales guy came into my office and offered me 4 oil changes for $30 at NTB! Plus, the punch cards had other offers like 20% off other services such as new struts, brakes, etc and free tire repair. The cards just expired at the end of January, I had over a year to use these cards. I bought one for each car plus bought some for family/friends for Christmas.

THE SMART CIRLCE

♪MOM SONG♫

If you haven't seen this IT'S TIME YOU DO!! dedicated to all the moms out there!

wanna be sick?

my keys came out of the ignition today.. each and every time I started it... sick

I saved another $500 on my new car!

Okay here it is.. I'm laying it out there. Everyone from Dave Ramsey to Suzie Orman would be screaming their head off at me for buying a brand new car. I agree with their reasoning on WHY to buy used cars, I know it's true that the minute you drive a new car off the lot it's value decreases immediately. My personal reasons for buying a new car are mainly the fact that I hate buying other people's problems. I know that other people do not maintain their cars as I would and in fact without www.carfax.com most people would have no clue how many times their pre-owned vehicles had been bought/sold/auctioned, in accidents, in floods, had major work done to them etc.

When my husband started badgering me YEARS ago that as soon as his car was paid off that I was buying a new car. I just didn't see the reasoning in going back into debt to buy another car when we just got out of debt. So I started scrimping and saving as much as I could to buy a new car. Unfortunately, my car didn't make the cut and I bought a car a few months shy of having the full payment which is fine because I have a home equity loan that I've kept open. I figured I would just borrow the remaining balance and pay it back in the next couple months as fast as possible. This is a win/win situation because borrowing against this home equity line helps my credit because we've closed all of our credit cards except one, and the one we kept we lowered our balance on. Many people do not know that closing accounts HURTS your credit. Also, creditors want to see that you have between 3-5 active revolving accounts. Other than my mortgage we have used nothing for months. I finally broke down and started using our one credit card for small purchases that could be paid off each month.

Okay so as soon as my husband started searching Carmax over and over and over looking for a car that I would like, was reasonably new with low miles I knew that if I didn't take some control he would wind up trying to persuade me just to buy a car so the deed was over with. (sorry but he thinks his truck is going to die any day now and me being in line for the next car was hindering his dreams of buying a Dodge Challenger in the next few years HA). Friday during the day and then Friday night I realized my key issue had gone from bad to worse. It was now taking between 4-8 hours to get that darn key out of the ignition.

My son and I started surfing a few more sites and as soon as I realized that the Avenger was going for only a couple thousand dollars more BRAND NEW versus the used cars that my husband was looking at.. I started actually warming up to the idea. Then I saw that Dodge had a new LIFETIME power train warranty and I started reading and realized UNLESS you are the first owner of the vehicle this warranty is null and void. I buy my cars to drive them into the ground. I buy new so I can get every mile I paid for and drive them into the ground so I can get penny I spent. This is just my personal thinking. Then, I saw that Dodge had employee pricing plus a local dealer added on a few other rebates.

We went in, got the car on Saturday and came home and then I realized I never got a rebate I had seen advertised on my Credit Unions website. I had mentioned it to my sales guy and he said he would look into it for me because I couldn't remember the exact details. After spending 6 hours there, driving multiple cars, deciding on what to do that $500 actually left my brain. I called dealership on Monday and talked to the Sales Manager and he told me I had to get a loan through my credit union. He said he would still allow the deal and not put my paperwork through if I could get this done in the next couple days.

I called my credit union early this morning and actually was able to get it done before noon today. I asked to leave work at 4pm, drove home got my husband and drove out to the credit union to sign docs and get our check. Then we drove out to the dealership, signed new docs, got a free car wash (yes my car was already dirty, stupid Chicago winters), and got home within 2 hours. Not bad.

So.. this is how I got the $500 (and you can get) or even $1,000 on a brand new Chysler or GM car http://www.lovemycreditunion.org/ has joined up with credit unions around the country and this deal lasts until June 30th 2009. If you happen to be in the market for a new car, check it out.. or pass it on. Okay Okay.. and before you get too jumpy YES I did have to get a loan for my car through my credit union to get this $500 bonus rebate, HOWEVER, I fully intend on paying it off as quickly as possible. If I can continue to keep our spending down we'll have it paid off in 4 months so I'm not too concerned.

a cartoon, my own cake wrecks, and super SPENDING Saturday.

well.. I got this cartoon from Jackie over at Mommy on a Debt Free Mission she also has a story about having to fight for her coupon rights... *sigh* so very frustration to me to read that other people have the same issues.. actually now that I think about it I'm not sure if that is a comfort to me to know that I'm not alone in that and the actual frustrating scenario is how so many glide through the SAME transactions I've tried with no issues what so ever.

Anyway.. go check out her page.

Also in the spirit of "cake wrecks" I have a few pics.. let me start with a bit of background. I live close to the small town of Woodstock Illinois where they filmed the movie "Groundhog Day". This town gets a little "into" the actual holiday because of that movie.


So last night after dinner my mom, my son, my husband and I all went to Super Wal-Mart. My son and husband needed jeans (really bad) and this is what we found (of course in addition to jeans, t-shirts, some thingy for my car to plug in my sons IPOD to, and some benadryl.




yeah not quite sure exactly what they were getting at here, and whom is going to buy these AND eat them.. but Punxsutawney Phil never looked so... soooo.. errrr.. welll ummm for lack of better words poopie!!

and on to the best news of all...


I broke down and got a new car! amazing huh? I found out Dodge was doing Employee pricing, plus all sorts of rebates, sooo out we went late Friday night exactly 15 minutes before they closed and looked at a few cars. We went back yesterday morning and drove and drove and drove and lunched and talked and played devils advocate, and fought and talked, and laughed and made shadow animals and finally after 6 hours I drove away in this....

2009 Dodge Avenger SXT
of course as always I don't feel I got the best deal I could have (that happens every time I buy a car). The very worst part is that I miss my old car already. I have been driving a 2000 Dodge Stratus. It has 106,000 miles on it and I've never had a single problem with that car until the key issue. Little stuff here and there, but always easily fixable and things that cost $300 or less to fix. That car was always dependable, never had it not start on me (except the other morning). So I kept that car which is now sitting in my garage and my new car has to sit outside. I'm trying to decide what to do with my old car. I guess I'll wait for my dad to come back from his snow bird southwest sun ranch and help me figure this thing out.

procrastination sunday... UPDATED

hmm this is more like every day of the week for me, so not so sure what it is about today that it's actually bugging me.. but here is the list of things I HAD to get done this weekend. I was sick this week with a monster cold so yesterday I wound up lounging around the house all day, took shower around 7pm and then did a few errands.. but none of them actually made a dent in what I needed to get done this weekend. Here is my list.

1. Jewel. They are having their awesome buy 4 for $19.99 meats again this week. I have $20 in CATS burning a whole in my pocket along with a list of a few necessities we need for the house. Drove past 2 Jewels last night but didn't want to get out of the car again.
I went to Jewel and snoozed and loozed (or something like that) I got there and all the meat deals I wanted to pull were already taken! *sigh* I could have gone with all ground beef and pork.. but that's all I got in my freezer now!

2. Woodmans. This store is on the other side of town. Winds up being a 30 minute drive. I was within 5 minutes of it last night on the same road, but didn't want to drive that far south out of my way of the other errands we were doing. There are a few WW necessity items I need from there.
ACCOMPLISHED

3. Laundry. I am notorious for doing laundry and just leaving it in front of my dryer. I wear wrinkled clothes to work, to parties, to baptisms.. doesn't matter. Downy wrinkle release is my best friend and I actually wind up making my own once the bottle is gone. I have about 7 loads of laundry currently sitting on top of my bed waiting to be folded or hung. My sheets are in the dryer, my mattress pad is being washed right now.
shhhhhh my husband is actually watching tv and cleaning our bedroom which is where all the laundry is....

4. Kitchen. I have a full load of dishes that is clean and just needs to be put away. I also have a full double sink that is double deep of dirty dishes that need to put in the dishwasher.
umm yeah.. emptied the dishes, refilled the dishwasher, started the dishwasher but my kitchen is STILL a wreck. I started pulling out all the things I want to sell at our garage sale this spring so kitchen appliances pieces are all over the place...

5. Bathrooms. Both bathrooms are disgusting. enough said. I just finished the upstairs ones in it's entirety and actually the downstairs isn't as bad and it's only a toilet and sink.
never touched the downstairs bathroom.. it's attached to the kitchen and it's only 9:30.. hmm

6. Bills. I normally pay them so far ahead of schedule, I forgot about one that was laying on the computer room floor in a stack of stuff to be recycled. Imagine that. I just wrote it out (I tried to pay it on line and realized I would have to PAY to pay it on line and decided the stamp was cheaper). But I did pay all my other bills (some of which I found in that same stack of recycling) that I had ahead of time on line. The ones that HAVE to be mailed will wait another week. IN the mean time I will "File" them in my recycle stack.
just as far as I was when I wrote this, but I did accomplish it today.

7. Car. I have to drop my mom's car off today.
yeah nope, read below...

8. Shovel. I have to shovel my mom's driveway today in order to drop off her car. However, it's NEGATIVE 2 right now and the foot of snow on her driveway isn't going anywhere. Luckily I talked to my sister and she's gonna have a plow guy come tomorrow so dropping off my mom's car and shoveling have actually been stricken from my list.. however now I have to find time before Tuesday night to drop off her car and check the house before she goes home.. I should add to the list PRAYER because I'm gonna need it when I walk in her house and find all her pipes have burst, the house has been ransacked, and my Porsche is missing.
yeah nope... going with my sisters plan although it was warmer than I thought.. it was 8 degrees around 4pm but the windchill was negative something..

9. Bed shopping. This is something my hubbie and I have been talking about since July folks. It hasn't happened since July, it probably won't happen today.
HA HA HA HA HA SNORT

10. Coupons. I quit cutting out the coupons and just clip right from the inserts because I plain just don't have time. I still have the old ones, probably all expired to send out to the military. I need to go through those envelopes to make sure I don't have any I could use still. I also need to go through all my inserts, make them neat, write the dates on the front and put them in order. Also I need to get the ones that are dead out of here too.
umm I found the coupons I needed for my shops today.. yeah that's it.
11. Work. I brought about 2 hours of work home.
ACCOMPLISHED

12. Dress. I ordered my bridesmaid dress last month and it came in 2 weeks ago already. I need to pick that up. The wedding isn't until July so maybe I could fit bed shopping and my dress pick up together for my 11th anniversary July 3rd. lol! The dress shop is only 20 minutes from my house.. doh!
right there with my bed shopping!

13. Mail. bills. enough said.
ACCOMPLISHED


Any ideas for me? How would you organize this list? have you ever been a procrastinator and how did you overcome your obsession with blogging and FB long enough to stop procrastinating and get some work done? Is there FB/Blogging/web surfing rehab?

**so I accomplished 7 (6 1/2 because I have to go back to Jewel before Wednesday) of the 13 things and 2 others my sister/husband will help me with tomorrow that being the car & the driveway.

bye bye 1st l♥ve... it's time 4 something BETTER!!

Hello, my name is Melissa and I'm a smoothieholic. As I sit typing this my outside temp in the Chicago burbs is -2 degrees and windchill is around -17 but ALAS I'm sipping a mocha frap I made right here at home all for probably less than 10 cents and 54 calories. It's a weight watcher dream.

Let me just start by saying that my sister had moved briefly out of state in the early 90's. This was right about the time that smoothies were the "new thing" on the west coast. She came home, told me about them and then showed me how to make them. This was something NEW to me and so was born my smoothie and anything smoothie like obsession. My obsession of course leads to other obsessions. Finding the perfect fruits, yogurts, mixes, powders, ice, spices to make the perfect tasting smoothies.. but it doesn't end there.. in the obsession has also been the hunt to find the perfect smoothie making machine.

My poor mother, I can't tell you how many blenders we've been through since smoothies came to Chi-town via my sister. It's been more than a few I'd say, and since I've been married and living on my own over 10 years now it's been a few more in our house as well. My house is where blenders come to die, some commit suicide even before the box is opened. Every person who "thinks" they have a great blender is usually proven wrong when I hit them up for some "girlie" drinks or a smoothie.

Anyyyyywhooo so this brings me to my current dilemma... the last few weeks I've been having to "speed blend" my smoothies because my very favorite Back to Basics ORIGINAL smoothie maker has been leaking AND not chopping ice very well.

As you can see with this model there is a spicket however no lip at the top to pour from. The spicket is set higher than the blades, therefore, there is always a good 4-8oz of smoothie left on the bottom. Once you try to turn the container upside down it never comes out neatly. Also, my model doesn't even have a handle on the back to hold it. I'm pretty sure I have their FIRST model they made. I can only remember that we got it at Service Merchandise and I stole it fair and square once I moved out.

My mom has since gone out and bought this Back to Basics smoothie maker. When it came out a few years ago it was a little pricier. I can't find the exact model my mom got, but you can see Back to Basics and other brands that jumped on the smoothie blender band wagon have learned from the original mistakes. They've moved the spicket down, added a lip/spout, and added a handle. Also I've noticed that the stick for mixing on my mom's newer model actually is shorter. My original model they made too long and if you weren't careful you would wind up with chunks of plastic in your food. Not fun or yummy.

Okay.. so we all stay up late and watch infomercials.. and we all dream that every infomercial product is the ANSWER to our prayers.. the steamer is going to clean everything perfectly, my house is going to be spotless and germless. You have to use the steamer in order for any of that to happen.. just bringing one into ones home doesn't render said house spotless or germless, however, through the magic of tv you don't get to see how much a pain it is to use this or that product. Setting it up, cleaning it, you can't feel the weight of it, or how cheaply made it is.. blah blah blah.. soooo I think you all know where I'm going.. what other infomercial has ANYTHING to do with blender.. ahhhh of course Magic Bullet.

Of course, I remember a few months back there was Magic Bullet's on sale/clearance at Walgreens for like $5 or some insanely cheap price and of course I never once checked any of my stores. No clue why. All I know is that this week I started looking into them and finding out, price wise I just couldn't give in. They are over $60.

Last night I went to pick up my bra's from JcPenney I had ordered (all clearance of course $11.99 each plus I used a coupon code, picked them up myself to avoid shipping fees and used mrrebates to get 3% back) and on my way out from JcPenney I grabbed a few of their small catalogs. This morning I started browsing through them and the first thing I noticed was this set.

It was in the catalog for $29.99. I tried to order it on line and get some coupon codes but nothing was working. Instead Tim and I had errands to run and a new JcPenney store just opened in our area so I figured we could stop in and grab it. I grabbed one and went to scan to make sure it was priced at $29.99 in the store, NOPE $39.99 what??? so I go to the checkout, explain the situation and they tell me to go back to the catalog service desk to get checked out. I wasn't in the mood, I was hot and tired (I've been sick this week) but I drudged back there and the catalog lady was awesome, gave it to me for the $29.99 price and even let me PHYSICALLY twist her arm joking around with me. (hardyyy har har)

So we stopped for a quick Panera yummmy dinner and came home and I wanted some dessert. But what else.. a mocha frap! lol! Let's give this thing a TEST RUN. OOOHhh myyyyy, I don't know how I lived WITHOUT this piece of heaven in my home up until this day. Of course, the blades are new and sharp, the pieces are all new and right on my counter BUT here is what I've noticed already that I love about this. I NOW know why they sell the Magic Bullets in sets of two because I want one for work.

Set up is a breeze. It's super tiny and living in a townhome with not the biggest cabinets I could keep this on the counter without taking up too much space OR easily put this away each time. I've already mentally taken my smoothie maker and my blender out of my kitchen. I won't be needing EITHER of them after today.

I was able to take the actual glass I'd be drinking my frap from and make it IN THE GLASS. #1 I don't have to do a ton of dishes!!! the container, the glass, the lid, the blade, the blending stick, and the rubber stopper all had to be cleaned each time I made anything. Not to mention the spicket should be cleaned out as well because honestly how knows what could be lurking in there. #2 NO GUESS WORK. I usually stand there trying to figure out just how much the current ingredients that are in the bottom of my smoothie maker will make. Will it fill the glass I want it to fill? Will it not be enough? This time, I poured my Almond Breeze in the bottom, added ice, powder creamer, splenda, sugar free choc syrup then threw the blade on, twisted and put it on the base. It blended itself in about 20 seconds.

Once I was done, I took the blade off, rinsed it off under hot water and left it on a towel to dry. No taking apart the whole assembly, no wiping the counter down from the spicket leaking or the rubber seal leaking from underneath. This will also not be taking up 1/4 of my dishwasher space either. I usually clean it out myself but each time I wash a load I throw the entire assembly in there for a deep clean. I'm not using the little lip rings that cover the top only because I always grab a straw to drink them from and I figure it's just another dish I don't need to wash.

Okay so since I got home I realized not only can I get rid of my 2 big blenders, but also my hand stick mixer set, my old quesadilla maker (I got the new George Foreman 360 for Chrismas) which also means I can get rid of my old George Foreman grill that the plates don't come out from and is impossible to clean!! This mixer is so great it's even cleaned out my cabinets, I can't say that about the steamer we bought though!

....and for your listening enjoyment... IS THIS LOVE?

God, I could use a little push...

I'm feeling a need for positive in my life.. I just watched a small segment of Oprah's show today.. her talking with Demi and Ashton about the change in not only America but the World. the words "we are in this together" have very much touched me tonight.

But here is my cyber pat on the back to try to push me into seeing that I need to start moving in this direction FORWARD in 2009. I actually said out loud today that I didn't accomplish anything while I was off 9 months. I'm still in awe that I let those days slide by without slapping myself and saying "wake up girl you'll never get these days back" BUT then something deep inside me says I did right by myself. Maybe it was a good time for me to stop and smell the roses so I could say I once spent some time to myself.. not sure.

Last Thursday marked my 2nd check at my new/old job. Again the check in it's entirity and a big portion of my husbands check from the week prior went to savings.. this made me think.. where was I a year ago financially????

I know a year ago I was still in debt. I know a year ago I was working 2 jobs, my husband too. I know a year ago I saw my son for probably an hour every other weekend and most of that time was spent eating with him or just not talking or interacting with him because I was so exhausted all the time from working. I know a year ago I was moving in the right direction (financially). I know a year ago I had *just* found out I was going to be laid off come March. But, once I checked my bank on line and found out just where I was financially a year ago, I nearly threw up. seriously.

A year ago (this week) I was over $25,000 in debt. so basically I paid off almost $26,000 in 4 months time. I still don't know how we did it.. but today my credit cards are paid off (except for the bridesmaid dress I put on my credit card ONLY to earn the points for it which I will be paying off with my husbands check this Friday). Last Thursday I deposited enough money into my regular savings to meet a personal goal of my own. It was something I was striving for.. and then tonight to look at my NEGATIVE HUGE balance from a year ago.. and just the screen before seeing the savings as of today... I'm wowed by myself.

Sorry I know I need to get over myself, but right now... "God I could use a little push" just point me in the right direction and I can do the rest.

Any other pushes needed out there in cyberspace???

sending free cookies to the soliders

Okay, it's not totally free.. BUT all you pay is shipping!! It's a local (to me) place but I'm sure they would be willing to accomodate to others around the country.

If you or any relatives/friends have anyone over in Iraq/Afghainstan Piece-a-Cake bakery in East Dundee Illinois will send them FREE cookies. You have to pay the shipping which is $20 for APO $25 for FPO. Anyway, they send them 75 an assortment of those huge sugar cookies of smilie faces, hearts, flags, etc. All you need is the soliders address there and you can even include a short message if you like.

Anyway you can order them a few different ways. Stop in Piece-a-Cake at 304 N River Street in East Dundee Illinois. It's on the same street as Bandito's. Call in an order with your credit card. Phone 847-836-6703. Fax in an oder with your credit card 847-836-0626. Order them via the net at http://www.piece-a-cake-bakery.com/ or email at cakeb1@aol.com

I have sent several batches to my cousin in Iraq who is actually in Afghanistan right now. The first time he said he got an assortment of brownies, cookies, and treats like rice crispy treats. I've also sent them to friends as well and they all reported back the box was big enough to share with a large group.
story from the local paper about this bakery

more 2 ♥ & hate

Okay.. here it is.. the Shick Intuition. I admit, this isn't even my razor, I stole this pic off photobucket. I got my Shick Intuition a few months ago free in the mail. I got a few coupons with it but never intended to ever use it. My sister uses it and LOVES them. Hasn't bought another razor since.. but I never saw the point considering the price. Even the few times since I have started hounding that I could have basically gotten them free I haven't.

Of course, one day I was in a big hurry and had to shave that day. So I figured since my sister had said how awesome and time saving they are I would at least the one I got for free. Yeah.. UMMMMM LOVE AT FIRST SHAVE! For real! I couldn't believe how in love with this shaver I became after just the first use. It was like crack, crack for all of those who hate to shave... crack for those of us who hate to take the time to shave... crack for those of us who hate lather up in the shower and by the time you got yourself lathered the shower water has taken half of it away...

So I actually started lQQking for deals on them or at least the refills. There was none that week or the next few weeks coming up, but then I used it a few more times and realized I HATE THIS THING! lol! Before I started hounding I would use the same razor for months. I started hounding and getting them for free so now I use the same replacement head for probably 2 weeks. I don't shave every day in the summer, probably every other day. This summer was even less because I wasn't working and actually didn't wear shorts until almost July. Now here I am using the same head for the 3rd shave and already I can feel the blades rubbing against my skin. By the next shave it was almost not even worth it, there wasn't enough lotion around the head to really get a good shave without almost hurting myself. So basically I got 4 shaves out of it.. is it worth it?

Have you used this? Do you like it? Tips? Comments?

too good to NOT share! video and a 20% off Ulta coupon!!

okay guys FrugalSuz posted this video and said it was her twin.. I've watched this video like 4 dozen times because first of all the lady looks like someone I know.. secondly, my husband and I have actually done that before because some of the deals I swear they are going to stop me on the way out. Anyway.. check this out!!

frugalsuz's twin

ALSO I got a coupon for 20% off your transaction total at Ulta emailed me to me today. It's good from Jan 15th-19th. It's a friends/family deal that includes one salon service but does not include clearance or Chanel fragrances. Anyway.. it was emailed to me and I can't figure out how to post it, so instead here is a link to slick deals where it's posted Enjoy!!

great and not so great things about 2008

Well.. I guess this would be an amazingly appropriate time for me to explore some awesome things about 2008... GOOD AND BAD.

Here is 2008 summed up, funny I just rattled this off to 2 co-workers today.. all in all I feel like a failure on some parts but in other areas feel as if I've accomplished more in one year than any other year of my life.

♥paid off $30,000 in 6 months. my story is outlined here and the 2nd part continued here
♥found out January 2008 that I would be laid off by March 2008. later they extended that date to April 11th 2008. Had our HR come in and explain unemployment to us, our benefits, severance, etc. Had another company come in and help us do our resumes and prepare for interviewing.
♥May 2008 I am laid off and my husband work drops hours down to 32 hours. His final checks after taxes, health/dental/vision, 401k blah blah blah is not much more than my unemployment checks.
♥June 2008 out of necessity I start learning grocery gaming/couponing/hounding. It took me awhile and I'm still learning, but I've gotten some great deals since and have learned so much about myself and my money.
♥September 5th 2008 my husband gets laid off!! ughhh.. he gets unemployment and severance and luckily found another job within 3 weeks. He only wound up getting 3 weeks of unemployment in the end.. but oh well.
♥October 2008 my husband starts his new job and I learn to live off his new checks (they are bigger because there is no insurance/401k taken out yet) so I start saving as much money as I can and start building an amazing (to me) emergency fund. This of course will change with his insurance now kicking in as well as 401k.
♥December 12th 2008, my boss calls me in for a meeting and asks me to come back to work MONDAY!! I went back the next week after a few snafu's and having to change around a ton of plans etc.
♥TODAY DECEMBER 31ST 2008 I got my first check from my new company and EVERY DIME went to savings. I had not one bill that has to be paid.

~I gained an amazing amount of weight in the last 18 months basically. I must get back on WW immediately. I can not believe I was off for basically 9 months and did no biking, hardly any walking, no running, walked the dog just once a day.
~I wasted an unbelievable amount of time not getting much done this year. I'm not sure how the days slid by so quickly at home, but they did.
~My parents paid for me to take medical transcription classes on line. I completed the medical terminology portion in the first few weeks I was off but after that I was concentrating so hard on saving money that I never did get any of my medical transcription done. I feel so bad about that.
~I got rid of our gym membership after not going for 6 months and bought a treadmill which now sits with about an inch of quarry dust on it in my garage. *sigh*

Okay... now I have to admit.. Unemployment DID have it's benefits. I was home to help numerous neighbors with their animals over the summer and house sit. I felt good being able to help them all.

I was home to help a friend who wound up with Guillian Barre Syndrome explained here with her kids. At first her mother was living in her home 24/7 so I went over to help her mom. I figured I could at least give her a break. Once she came home from the hospital then I was able to watch the kids while she went for physical therapy so her mom could return to her own household life.

I also was able to spend some time with my son, my husband, family, and friends. This was good, but also had some stress related because of the financial situation. Hanging out sometimes requires spending ca$h, so I was pretty honest with people about finances and letting them know I couldn't join them for dinner at fancy restaurants or go down town or travel. It just wasn't in the cards.

Okay I had a ton more to write here but seriously I can't even think of the things I wanted to touch on. Basically, a majority of the people I personally know had a pretty stinky 2008. I can't wait to kiss this year goodbye and am looking forward to a POSITIVE 2009.