For those who haven't seen my other tattoos, here are a few of them:
This is the rest of my left arm before he finished coloring it in
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Tattoo Time!
I'm working toward a sleeve on my left arm. I had more work done last night. Rosetta is one of the Disney fairies. I just love Disney-style fairies. They look so pixie-ish and cute. Not just like a woman with wings. I'll be going back for another fairy on the back of my arm in December.
For those who haven't seen my other tattoos, here are a few of them:
This is the rest of my left arm before he finished coloring it in
For those who haven't seen my other tattoos, here are a few of them:
This is the rest of my left arm before he finished coloring it in
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Super-Couponing
Well, with the way prices are, I've begun doing this again. It's really pretty easy, so I don't know why I ever stopped. I joined The Grocery Game again to re-familiarize myself with the stores' sale cycles and am slowly building up my coupon collection again.
I thought I'd post some of my recent activity:
11-10-08 Jewel
Total Before Savings (TBS): 131.68...32 items
Preffered Card Savings (PCS): 16.23
Manufacturer Coupons (MC): 3.60
Store Coupons (SC): 24.04
Total Savings (TS): 43.87
Out of Pocket (OOP): 87.81
11-11-08 Jewel
TBS: 35.60...13 items
PCS: 9.39
Avenu Savings (AS): 5.00
MC: 1.05
TS: 15.44
OOP: 20.16
11-16-08 Jewel
TBS: 23.52...8 items
PCS: 10.25
AS: 1.00
MC: 3.95
TS: 15.20
OOP: 8.32
Now the following are several transactions I had in the same day. Yes...I will go back into a store several times if it will benefit me. Jewel was having some great deals where you purchased specific products and received Catalina coupons good toward you next purchase. The General Mills deal gave me 3-$5 coupons and a coupon for 4.50 toward milk (you save the entire amount even if the milk costs less) when I bought 10 qualifying products. You can't use all the $5 coupons at once, hence the multiple trips. The ConAgra deal gave me a $10 coupon for my next purchase if i bought $20 in qualifying products. But the key here is that it was the SHELF PRICE that counts toward the $20...not the sale price!
11-18-08 Jewel #1
TBS: 54.74...21 items
PCS: 16.20
MC: 5.90
TS: 22.10
OOP: 32.64
I actually made money on this transaction. For the ConAgra deal, I bought 9 Swiss Miss Hot Chocolates on sale for $1 each ($9 total). Since the shelf price is $2.35 each, my $10 Catalina printed! They paid me $1 to take home 9 boxes of hot chocolate! Plus I got 2 bottles of vinegar for free. They were on sale for $1 each and I had 2-$1 coupons.
11-18-08 Jewel #2
TBS: 35.66...7 items
PCS: 2.40
MC: 20.20 (used $19.50 in Catalinas plus other coupons)
SC: 12.91 (sirloin steaks and chicken breast were buy 1 get 1 free with store coupons)
TS: 35.51
OOP: 15 CENTS!
11-18-08 Jewel #3
TBS: 11.29...4 items
PCS: 3.80
MC: 8.50 ($5 Catalina plus other coupons)
TS: 10.30
OOP: 99 CENTS!
11-18-08 Jewel #4
TBS: 7.37...3 items had to buy cookies for PTA at full price :(
PCS: .70
MC: 5.00 (my last $5 Catalina)
TS: 5.70
OOP: 1.67
11-20-08 Ultra
TBS: 30.76...16 items
MC: 2.00
SC: 5.21
Sales Discounts (SD): 3.87
TS: 11.08
OOP: 19.68 between SC and MC, I managed to get 4 boxes of cereal for $1.08 each!
11-11-08 Walgreens
TBS: 60.23
SC: 16.16
SD: 11.37
MC: 4.80
TS: 32.33
OOP: 27.93
11-16-08 Walgreens
TBS: 65.71
SD: 13.98
OP: 51.73 I got 2 free toys!
11-17-08 Walgreens
TBS: 89.75
SC: 21.85
SD: 14.71
MC: 40.76
OOP: 48.99
11-17-08 Walgreens
TBS: 63.18
SC: 15.76
SD: 10.00
MC: 4.10
TS: 29.86
OOP: 33.32
11-18-08 Walmart
TBS: 56.77
MC: 14.16
OOP: 42.61
Sooooooooo...in the last couple weeks, my OOP has been $383.87. This includes grocery, household and MANY Christmas presents. My TS have been $295.29. The total for groceries only is $177.43 My freezer is full, my pantry is stocked (including 17 boxes of cereal) and my medicine cabinet is overflowing. I could probably get by for the next month without buying a thing.
I thought I'd post some of my recent activity:
11-10-08 Jewel
Total Before Savings (TBS): 131.68...32 items
Preffered Card Savings (PCS): 16.23
Manufacturer Coupons (MC): 3.60
Store Coupons (SC): 24.04
Total Savings (TS): 43.87
Out of Pocket (OOP): 87.81
11-11-08 Jewel
TBS: 35.60...13 items
PCS: 9.39
Avenu Savings (AS): 5.00
MC: 1.05
TS: 15.44
OOP: 20.16
11-16-08 Jewel
TBS: 23.52...8 items
PCS: 10.25
AS: 1.00
MC: 3.95
TS: 15.20
OOP: 8.32
Now the following are several transactions I had in the same day. Yes...I will go back into a store several times if it will benefit me. Jewel was having some great deals where you purchased specific products and received Catalina coupons good toward you next purchase. The General Mills deal gave me 3-$5 coupons and a coupon for 4.50 toward milk (you save the entire amount even if the milk costs less) when I bought 10 qualifying products. You can't use all the $5 coupons at once, hence the multiple trips. The ConAgra deal gave me a $10 coupon for my next purchase if i bought $20 in qualifying products. But the key here is that it was the SHELF PRICE that counts toward the $20...not the sale price!
11-18-08 Jewel #1
TBS: 54.74...21 items
PCS: 16.20
MC: 5.90
TS: 22.10
OOP: 32.64
I actually made money on this transaction. For the ConAgra deal, I bought 9 Swiss Miss Hot Chocolates on sale for $1 each ($9 total). Since the shelf price is $2.35 each, my $10 Catalina printed! They paid me $1 to take home 9 boxes of hot chocolate! Plus I got 2 bottles of vinegar for free. They were on sale for $1 each and I had 2-$1 coupons.
11-18-08 Jewel #2
TBS: 35.66...7 items
PCS: 2.40
MC: 20.20 (used $19.50 in Catalinas plus other coupons)
SC: 12.91 (sirloin steaks and chicken breast were buy 1 get 1 free with store coupons)
TS: 35.51
OOP: 15 CENTS!
11-18-08 Jewel #3
TBS: 11.29...4 items
PCS: 3.80
MC: 8.50 ($5 Catalina plus other coupons)
TS: 10.30
OOP: 99 CENTS!
11-18-08 Jewel #4
TBS: 7.37...3 items had to buy cookies for PTA at full price :(
PCS: .70
MC: 5.00 (my last $5 Catalina)
TS: 5.70
OOP: 1.67
11-20-08 Ultra
TBS: 30.76...16 items
MC: 2.00
SC: 5.21
Sales Discounts (SD): 3.87
TS: 11.08
OOP: 19.68 between SC and MC, I managed to get 4 boxes of cereal for $1.08 each!
11-11-08 Walgreens
TBS: 60.23
SC: 16.16
SD: 11.37
MC: 4.80
TS: 32.33
OOP: 27.93
11-16-08 Walgreens
TBS: 65.71
SD: 13.98
OP: 51.73 I got 2 free toys!
11-17-08 Walgreens
TBS: 89.75
SC: 21.85
SD: 14.71
MC: 40.76
OOP: 48.99
11-17-08 Walgreens
TBS: 63.18
SC: 15.76
SD: 10.00
MC: 4.10
TS: 29.86
OOP: 33.32
11-18-08 Walmart
TBS: 56.77
MC: 14.16
OOP: 42.61
Sooooooooo...in the last couple weeks, my OOP has been $383.87. This includes grocery, household and MANY Christmas presents. My TS have been $295.29. The total for groceries only is $177.43 My freezer is full, my pantry is stocked (including 17 boxes of cereal) and my medicine cabinet is overflowing. I could probably get by for the next month without buying a thing.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Kitty Litter Cake
I made this for the second Halloween party I went to. Looks disgusting, but tastes delicious!
The recipe---it's a cinch!
The recipe---it's a cinch!
My Halloween Costumes
I had two parties this year and a girl can't wear the same thing twice, right?
Party #1--Ms. Pacman.
My friend went as my ghost.
Party #2--Lady Scarecrow; Andrea came as a crow. I made both costumes and was pretty happy with the outcome. I won $100 that night for my scarecrow costume!
A better look at my hat
Party #1--Ms. Pacman.
My friend went as my ghost.
Party #2--Lady Scarecrow; Andrea came as a crow. I made both costumes and was pretty happy with the outcome. I won $100 that night for my scarecrow costume!
A better look at my hat
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Scrapbooking Weekend
Twice a year, my mom, aunt, cousin and I go to a scrapbooking weekend. It's held at a beautiful inn alongside a lake in Michigan. Our fall trip proved to be very productive. We worked into the night on Friday and Saturday and up until we left on Sunday afternoon. The food, once again, was delicious.
The view of the lake was gorgeous on this perfect weekend
The side and back view of the inn
The room where we were hard at work all weekend
And last, but not least, my favorite page
The view of the lake was gorgeous on this perfect weekend
The side and back view of the inn
The room where we were hard at work all weekend
And last, but not least, my favorite page
Monday, September 29, 2008
Decoupage Hat Box
My friend, Jody, had a birthday this past weekend. She recently moved to Southern Illinois by herself while her husband sells their house up here. A friend and I wanted to get her something for her birthday to help keep her occupied with all of this time to herself now. I went to Joann's and picked up loads of scrapbooking materials...paper, stickers, etc....along with lots of other little crafty items to keep her busy. I wanted to put it all in a special container that she could use again. I found a plain paper mache hat box and decided to decorate it according to her style so she could later use it as a keepsake box.
Well, anyone who knows me knows that I can never just quickly throw something together. I originally was going to just decoupage some cute phrases to the box. I painted the box to give a pretty background, sponging in blue, pink and white:
Then I decided that the inside needed decorating (this is where the madness begins). I cut pieces of fabric and glued them to the inside of the box;
I applied a layer of Mod Podge over the fabric:
After I cut words, phrases and pictures from magazines, I pasted them to the outside of the box. That didn't seem to complete the look I wanted, so I took some ribbon out and glued it to the box and then glued buttons to the top. I applied a layer of Mod Podge to then entire outside of the box and let it dry over night:
It took me a total of 6 hours to finish the box, not including drying. It was worth every minute, though, because she loved it!
I also decided to make her a card, too, but that's a story for another day...
Well, anyone who knows me knows that I can never just quickly throw something together. I originally was going to just decoupage some cute phrases to the box. I painted the box to give a pretty background, sponging in blue, pink and white:
Then I decided that the inside needed decorating (this is where the madness begins). I cut pieces of fabric and glued them to the inside of the box;
I applied a layer of Mod Podge over the fabric:
After I cut words, phrases and pictures from magazines, I pasted them to the outside of the box. That didn't seem to complete the look I wanted, so I took some ribbon out and glued it to the box and then glued buttons to the top. I applied a layer of Mod Podge to then entire outside of the box and let it dry over night:
It took me a total of 6 hours to finish the box, not including drying. It was worth every minute, though, because she loved it!
I also decided to make her a card, too, but that's a story for another day...
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Elvis has left the building!
We arrived in Las Vegas on Wednesday night, went to our room to get settled in, then immediately headed down to the casinos. John won $100 right off the bat!
We prefer to stay downtown rather than on the strip. Everything is much closer together so it's easier to go from place to place without having to walk forever.
Our hotel:
Some of the downtown area:
The canopy above where they show light shows every hour in the evening (notice the rocketship):
The pool at our hotel had a shark tank right in the middle of it! There was also a slide going right into the tank:
On Thursday, we headed to the strip to do some shopping, sightseeing and gambling.
Inside the Venetian:
I can't remember where this is, but thought the waterfall was pretty:
The boobie lady at Treasure Island:
This is a chopper we saw inside one of the casinos:
We rented a a brand new Mustang convertible while we were there. We tried to rent a motorcycle but, due to the Las Vegas River Run, we were unable to get one.
On Friday, we took a ride out to the Valley of Fire:
The Mouse's Tank:
On Saturday, we came back home. Our plane was delayed about an hour, while we were sitting in it, but the pilot managed to make up some of the lost time in flight.
We prefer to stay downtown rather than on the strip. Everything is much closer together so it's easier to go from place to place without having to walk forever.
Our hotel:
Some of the downtown area:
The canopy above where they show light shows every hour in the evening (notice the rocketship):
The pool at our hotel had a shark tank right in the middle of it! There was also a slide going right into the tank:
On Thursday, we headed to the strip to do some shopping, sightseeing and gambling.
Inside the Venetian:
I can't remember where this is, but thought the waterfall was pretty:
The boobie lady at Treasure Island:
This is a chopper we saw inside one of the casinos:
We rented a a brand new Mustang convertible while we were there. We tried to rent a motorcycle but, due to the Las Vegas River Run, we were unable to get one.
On Friday, we took a ride out to the Valley of Fire:
The Mouse's Tank:
On Saturday, we came back home. Our plane was delayed about an hour, while we were sitting in it, but the pilot managed to make up some of the lost time in flight.
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