Thought of the Day

" Better be wise by the misfortunes of others than by your own."

Author Unknown

FINALLY FRIDAY

TGIF

It's Friday!
It's Mother's Day Weekend!
All I ask for is 1 day of sun and no rain.

Have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday!

Thrifty and Neat Blog Entries Found This Week

1) Lazy Man's Indoor Smores - This made me so hungry!

2) Poem Gift For Teachers - Thrifty gift for end of the year!

3) Tips for Reusing Items - I love the repurposed 6 pack holder.

4) A Space to Call Your Own - Everyone needs one of these.

5) Inexpensive Gift Ideas - Great list to choose from.

6) How to Make Craft Flowers - A great list with videos on making flowers.

7) Small and Useful Items to Own - A great list of items to always keep on hand.

NATURES BREATHTAKING PICTURE

The beautiful view from my front porch Wednesday afternoon.

Thought of the Day

"Nothing will come of nothing."

William Shakespeare

FREE 60-DAY PASS TO BJS WHOLESALE CLUB

Ever stop to realize how much you work to pay for a week’s worth of business clothes? Sometimes you have to ditch the thought of buying a new outfit from a leading department store, but that doesn’t mean you can’t look good at work. Frugal fashion for the workplace is easier to find than you may think.

BJ’s Wholesale Club offers stylish clothing at a fraction of the department store prices. And you don’t have to buy in bulk – a dozen dresses to get a deal? You can find an entire outfit for under $25! From Liz Claiborne, Nine West, Izod, August Silk, Ronni Nicole, Dockers, Larry Levine and AK sport, to share a few name brands, BJ’s carries a wide assortment of wear-to-work attire such as dress shirts, blouses, skirts, dresses and pants.

Click here for a free 60 day pass with full member benefits and absolutely no surcharge that can be printed out for in-club use. .

You can find a location near you here.

What Did You Get for FREE This Week?

Here is my list of freebies that I have found in my mailbox this week:

FREE TV Guide

FREE Dove Go Fresh Deodorant Sample

Glad Trash Bag Sample

Parenting Magazine

FREE Pack of Trident Gum

Homemade Simple coupon booklet from Procter & Gamble(over $30 in savings with coupon for free Cascade rinse agent)
Caress Body Wash Sample

Better Homes and Garden Magazine

Better Than Ears Dog Treat Sample

FREE Crest Toothpaste Sample

Babiesrus/Toysrus Coupon

Habitat for Humanity Store Coupon - Since I made a donation

Did you get any goodies?

Lone Star - Mother's Day Special

Thought of the Day

"Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they be executed!"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

FREE Sample of Pull Ups

Click here to order.

You have a couple of choices to choose from.

DON'T FORGET - TODAY ONLY!!

GIVEAWAY WINNERS

The winners for the Macaroni Grill Gift Baskets are:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

1 - Heidi
10 - Soccer Mom
23 - Dneese26
Timestamp: 2009-05-06 01:10:34 UTC

Each winner has been emailed and has 48 hours to respond.

Thanks to everyone for participating.

I should have another giveaway soon.

CVS TRIP - 04/05/09

I sent my husband to CVS yesterday with coupons and ECBs. I was very proud of him. He found an Adidas Deodorant for $1.25 so we made money.

Purchased:
1 - Charmin Ultra - $5.88, .25 coupon, Earned 1.00 ECB
2 - Adidas Deodorant - $3.99 each, Earned $3 ECB x 2
1 - Adidas Deodorant - $1.25, Earned $3 ECB (Money Maker)

Total - $15.11
Coupons - .25
ECBs Used $14.28
Total OOP - .64 incl. tax
Earned - $10.00 in ECBs

Thought of the Day

"Do or do not. There no try."

Yoda

FREE KFC 2 pc Grilled Chicken Meal - Thanks to Oprah

Click here to print your coupon. I got the coupon to print 4 times. It is available to print now through 9:59 pm CDT on May 6th.

BEST OATMEAL COOKIE RECIPE

Ingredients:

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 -1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup water

1 egg

3 cups oatmeal

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1-1/2 tsp salt

1 cup choc. chips, raisins, butterscotch morsels (your choice)

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together oatmeal, flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together shortening, sugars, vanilla, water and egg. Add the flour mixture a little at a time until blended. Add choc. chips, raisins, butterscotch (your choice). Put tsp size dough balls 2 inches apart on cold baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Remove from baking sheets and cool completely.

FREE SAMPLE OF ALWAYS INFINITY

Click here for your FREE sample.

FREE Sample of Cottonelle Ultra

Click here for your FREE sample of Cottonelle tissue and wipes.

WALGREENS - MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL

This can be used online or in the store. Wednesday, May 6 ONLY!

Thought of the Day

"Don't get too comfortable with who you are at any given time - you may miss the opportunity to become who you want to be."

WAYS I SAVED MONEY IN APRIL

- Used Coupons and Planned Every Shopping Trip

- Compared Gas Prices before purchasing

- Payton's Easter Dress - 50% off plus used a 20% coupon

- No heat for 21 days :)

- Washed 9 loads of laundry with FREE samples of laundry detergent

- Made sure unused lights were off at all times.

- Used FREE shampoo/conditioner for appr. 16 showers.

- Limited my trips to CVS and Walgreens.

- Donated old stove to Habitat for Humanity - $100 tax deduction

- Cleaned ou my Closet - Added items to yard sale pile and made a donation to the Goodwill - $75 tax deduction

- Always tried to take the shortest route when traveling.

- Purchased 2 Christmas gifts that was 75% off.

- When purchasing airline ticket for Matt, I used ebates and my credit card that earns cash back

- Dinner Out - Ruby Tuesday

Used B1G1F coupon

Used $25 gift card

OOP - Tip only

Thought of the Day

"Take chances, make mistakes. That's how you grow."

Mary Tyler Moore

Thought of the Day

Smile, god loves you.

Thought of the Day

A penny saved is a penny earned.

FINALLY FRIDAY

Yeahhhhhhhhh It's Friday!!!!

Can you tell that I am happy that the weekend is here? It has been such a long week. For some reason, I have had several sleepless nights and it has caught up with me today. I would really love to take an afternoon nap.

Have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday!

Thrifty and Neat Blog Entries Found This Week

1) Tips for Dealing with Teen Money Issues - Great tips.

2) Decorating Thrifty ... 20 Ways Saved on Decorating Her Daughters Bedroom - Her room is adorable and I love the way she did it for almost nothing.

3) How to Make Pico De Gallo - Sounds great and a great to get in your veggies.

4) Emotional Benefits to Becoming Debit Free - Great article.

5) Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas - Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week, this list may come in handy and give you some ideas.

6) Chocolate Bread Pudding with White Chocolate Sauce - This has got to be good. It was has white chocolate sauce.

FREE Sample of Crest Whitestrips Advanced Seal

Click here to order.

FREE SAMPLES FROM VIVEMEJOR

Click here to order a FREE Sample of Hellman's Light Mayonnaise, Caress Skinwear Collection, New Degree Fine Fragrance Collection, and Ponds Rejuveness Cream.

Thought of the Day

"When real people fall down in life, they get right back up and keep walking."

Sarah Jessica Parker

Thoughtful Thursday

I am giving away FREE food. Click here for your chance to win.

What Did You Get for FREE This Week?

My list of freebies this week:

Rachael Ray Nutrish Dog Food Sample

FREE TV Guide Issue

Babiesrus Coupons

FREE Garden Magazine

FREE More Magazine

FREE Woman's Day Magazine

FREE Country Living Magazine

Did you have any goodies in your mailbox this week?

Thought of the Day

"Never limit yourself because of others' limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination."

Mae Jemison

ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL "WHAT'S FOR DINNER" GIVEAWAY

This is one of my favorite giveaways!! Who doesn't love a big bowl of great tasting pasta. Thanks to My Blog Spark and Romano's Macaroni Grill for offering me a chance to try their new great meals and letting me have 3 "What's For Dinner" gift baskets to share with my readers. This giveaway includes a sample of the Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken Pasta variety- Three coupons for you to try the other varieties the next time you visit your local grocer, a colander, a serving spoon and a cheese grater.

I am not a huge fan of boxed pasta dinners. I do fix them sometimes just because they are quick and simple to make. I made the Creamy Basil pasta last night and I was very impressed. It smelled great and it was a success at my house. I did not think it tasted like a boxed pasta meal. Each kit includes everything you need for a great meal except for the meat. All you have to do is add one pound of chicken or your choice of proteins such as shrimp or Italian sausage. Varieties of Romano's Macaroni Grill Restaurant Favorites dinner kits include Garlic & Herb Chicken Penne, Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken & Pasta, Chicken Alfredo with Linguine and Chicken Marsala with Linguine.

For more information and a $1 coupon please visit their website here.

To Enter The Giveaway:

Leave me a comment telling what your biggest struggle is in preparing dinner for you family.

For An Additional Entry:

- Follow my Blog. (1 additional entry)

- Post about this giveaway on your blog. (1 additional entry)

- Follow me on Twitter. (1 additional entry)

Leave a comment for each additonal letting me know what you did.

MAKE SURE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IS INCLUDED!

This giveaway will close Tuesday, May 5 at 9pm. The winners will be notified on Wednesday. The winners will be chosen random. You will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is only valid for residents of the US.

Good luck!!

THRIFTY TIP FOR APPLIANCES

I finally saved enough money last month to purchase a new stove for my kitchen. My new stove is black, my dishwasher is black, and my microwave is black. Everything matched except for my refrigerator. I made a trip to Lowe's over the weekend to admire their new, unaffordable black refrigerators. I found one that I loved for a whopping $1398. Of course, I wanted everything to match so I came up with a GREAT idea.

New Stove - $1398
Black Appliance Paint - $4.29 a can We used 2 cans = $ 8.58 plus tax
Saved - $ 1389.42




BEFORE:

AFTER:

The process did take a few hours. We had to completely empty the refrigerator to move it outside. (Perfect time to clean it from top to bottom.) We only applied to coats of paint = 2 cans. The ONLY problem we had........Payton got upset when it came time for snack. She came to the kitchen wanting juice and when she saw the refrigerator gone, she cried. She thought her juice was gone forever!

Thought of the Day

"Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others."

Robert Louis Stevenson

FREE HALLMARK MOTHER'S DAY CARD

Choose and design a FREE Mother's Day Card and Hallmark will mail it for you for FREE. Click here to order and use Coupon Code APRILCARD at checkout. You do need to be a registered Hallmark user. They have lots of cards to choose from.

A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words

MY SUMMER SALAD - PREVIOUS POST

I originally posted this August 8, 2008 but thought it would be a great time to post again.

My Summer Salad

I only make this in the summer.

tomato (from my garden)
cucumber (from my garden)
croutons
onion (not always)
basil (from my garden)
sometimes pasta
and anything else you would like to include
Ranch dressing

I love fresh vegetables and I make this at least 4 -5 times a week and include it with any meal and sometimes just as a snack. My salad does not include lettuce. The freshness of the tomatoes and cucumbers makes me not want lettuce. No specific amounts, just what you prefer. Place it together in a bowl and mix with Ranch salad dressing.

Thought of the Day

"The only failures is not to try."

George Clooney

MY NEW CRAFT, WRAPPING, AND SCRAPBOOKING AREA

On a Finally Friday post several weeks ago, I told you that I was working a weekend project. Below is what I have finally accomplished. It is amazing the things you do to stay busy while your husband is away.

BEFORE:

AFTER: A NEW CRAFT AREA

Most of the items you use see I already had. The picture on the right is my wrapping section. I did buy the 2 larger bins for $15 each. I already the smaller one. I have all of my gift bags (I don't need to purchase any for the next 50 years), tissue paper, bows, ribbons etc. in the 2 larger ones and the smaller one contains scrapbooking items. In the corner, you can see my wrapping paper with some boxes.

In the picture on the right, I did have to purchase 1 shelf, brackets and all hardware from Lowes for $25. I also had to purchase the table. I found it at Wal-Mart on sale for $28. I had all of the accessories pictured.

Total Amount Spent - $ 83 and several hours of my time to organize my closet to make room for this area. You would not believe the amount of time I spend in this area now. The $83 was well worth it.

Thought of the Day

"One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats."
Iris Murdoch

Thought of the Day

"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment."

Jim Rohn

Thought of the Day

"Expect nothing. LIve frugally on surprise."

Alice Walker

FINALLY FRIDAY

Yeahhhhhh its Friday!! Weather forecast for this weekend is Sunny and the high is 85-88 for both Saturday and Sunday.

Guess what I will be doing?? Yard work!! I have so much I need to do. I have a Honey To Do List for my hubby too. I'm sure he will be so happy to see it.

Have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday!!

Thrifty and Neat Blog Entries Found This Week

1) Reuse and Stock up -Easter Candy - I have never thought of using holiday candy this way.

2) Chocolate Chip Cookies Bars - These sound wonderful!!

3) Tips on Going Green to Save Green - Great ideas.

4) 8 Ways to Have a Fun Girls Night In without Spending a lot of Money - They all sound fun to me!! Which one is your favorite?

5) Turn Your Paper Clutter into Creative Stationery Gifts - Great ideas that I will definitely try.