Question of the day

Occasionally, I get questions asked that I'd like to address. Today's question is: "I go shopping on Wednesday and by the time I get there, the store is out of the items I wanted. What do you suggest?"

This is actually a good question. I will make several recommendations.

1 - If the sale is a really popular sale (like a General Mills, Campbells Soup, Quaker etc...), my suggestion is to know the dates of your sale (ex: the date the sale starts vs. ends). If you want the best selection you need to be to that store when it opens on the first day of the sale, to get the best selection. With the number of savvy shoppers out there, many people are looking over their ads and shopping for the same great buys you're after.

2 - Knowing that #1 is not possible for everyone the next thing I would suggest is knowing when the store you shop at gets their shipments in. If you know this information, you can try picking up these items after they have re-stocked their shelves.

3 - You can also pick up a raincheck for any missing items you may have wanted and could not pick up. If you have coupons that are associated with the purchase you need to make sure you buy these items with the raincheck and prior to your coupons expiring - otherwise you will only get the store deal and not the discount with the added coupons.

4 - You may also want to check at a 2nd store to see if you can pick up the items at a different location.

5 - Lastly - if you plan to buy a lot of a specific item, you can go to the customer service desk and inquire about ordering the number of items you'd like. This secures that you get these sale items and the number you want. *** Most stores will do a special order for you, but not all will.***

If you have specific questions that you'd like to ask - I'd love to hear them. Many people have good questions and this is a great way to address them. Feel free to email me at callmestacy@yahoo.com or leave a comment with a question.

This steal of a deal will be gone quickly...

Walmart has a couple of girls pajama's sets for $.97 a piece. Sizes are limited (I'm sure quantities are too).

Check out these links: Pink and Green (UPDATE: It looks like these are all gone - these kinds of deals go quickly)

I bought 2 pair for less than $2.00. I chose to have them shipped to my local Walmart, so there was no shipping fee.

These would make great gifts, sub-for-santa items or just to stock up. This was a deal that I just couldn't pass up! Get em quick before they're gone!

Ooey Gooey Easy Chocolate Chippers

I don't know what it is about this time of year, but I just want to bake. I guess it's that nostalgia of being at home when I was young and playing outside in the cool weather and then coming in to the smell of something yummy coming from the kitchen. Oh....the memories.

As promised I am posting my recipe for Easy Chocolate Chippers. I got a great deal on chocolate chips on a few weeks ago and decided today was the day for this yummy treat.

Remember these tasty morsels???

Easy Chocolate Chippers

2 1/2 C quick oats (or 2 3/4 old fashioned oats)

1 1/4 C flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp soda

In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together

1 C butter or margarine

3/4 C brown sugar

1/2 C sugar

1 egg

3 Tbsp water

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 bag of chocolate chips (I like a lot of chocolate chips - so I add the whole bag)

In a seperate bowl - cream together all the wet ingredients. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix well. Add the chocolate chips last, and stir with a spoon or spatula. Spoon cookie dough onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes. Makes 3 1/2 - 4 dozen.

They seem to stay moist and chewy longer when I use oatmeal. These are also good with different flavored chips (mint chips are another favorite). A yummy treat anytime. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does.

Spent $91.31, Saved $296.22, bought 113 items

This is my all time best savings ever!!! I didn't even know how much I had spent/saved until I got home. My husband was floored with the savings. This was a great sale at Albertsons. I did 8 different transactions of $30 (give or take) each. I had to take two different pictures in order for you to see it all.

18 boxes of Chex Cereal (my hubby's favorite - I'm dedicating this shopping trip to his favorite cereal)

10 Knorr pasta/rice sides

7 boxes of Progresso Chicken broth

16 jars of Skippy Peanut Butter

15 boxes of Hamburger/Chicken Helper (some of them are pictured below)

5 bottles of Suave Kids 2 in 1 shampoo/conditioner

1 bunch of bananas

1 bag of Breezers cough drops




12 bottles of Wish Bone dressing (Italian & Ranch)

5 boxes of Betty Crocker cake mix

10 Warm Delights

13 boxes of Macaroni Grill boxed dinners


All of this boils down to 113 items - paid $91.31, saved $296.22, each item was an average of $.81 - can't beat that.

I would not normally have bought this much, but my husband's office is competing with another company to donate the most food to the food bank. I think a lot of this and a lot of what is in storage will be donated.

For those of you who are wondering - yes - I did roll out of bed, no - I did not comb my hair or brush my teeth (wish I had though), yes - I'm crazy to do this, but I LOVE IT!!!!!

If you want to learn how I did this - contact me at callmestacy@yahoo.com

Did you see the Smith's ad this week?

It looks like both Smith's and Albertson's will be competing for shoppers this week. The Smiths ad is also loaded with lots of products and sales. It will be hard not to shop both of these sales.

Did you know that you can go to Smith's website and load P&G coupons onto your Fresh Values card? This works great because once you've loaded these coupons onto your card you can shop at Smith with or without coupons. If you have a paper coupon for the same item(s) that you've already loaded onto your Fresh Value's card you get double the savings at the register.

You can also visit this link to load more Kroger coupons onto your card for even more savings.

Here's to some great sales this week! Check in and let me know how you did at the grocery store this week.

Sizzling Albertsons sale - (probably the best sale of the year)

Well this is the week of the best sale Albertson's will probably have this year. If any of you have any 5% off coupons that you've earned, this may be a good sale to use it on. So here goes....this is a General Mills/Unilever sale starting 11/5/08. Me, along with many of you will be there in our pajamas to get the best selection and deals.

This may be a little confusing so I'll try to make it as simple as I can. The deal is when you buy $30 worth of GM/Unilever products you get a $15 catalina (coupon that prints at the register) off your next purchase. So if you have a cart full of stuff, buy $30 at a time so you will get multiple catalina's. If you buy your whole cart in one transaction - you will only get one $15 catalina. So if you break up your shopping trip you can use the first $15 catalina towards your next purchase and so on and so forth.....make sense?

I've had a sneak peak at the grocery list for this upcoming sale (most of you will get your ad's in tomorrow's mail), but there are quite a few 5 star items (almost every GM/Unilever product is a 5 star item).

Here are a few of the things you can expect to see:

All Laundry Detergent
Betty Crocker (brownie mix, cookie mix, frosting, hamburger helper, muffin mix, potatoes)
Bisquick
Chex Mix
Country Crock (spreads, side dish)
Degree deodorant
Dove (lotion, deodorant, shampoo/conditioner, soap)
General Mills cereal (Trix, Golden Grahams, Cheerios, Total Whole Grain, Chex)
Gold Medal Flour
Green Gian boxed veggies
Klondike
Knorr sides
Lipton (tea, rice/pasta sides, dry soup mix)
Pillsbury (toaster strudel, biscuits, cookies)
Pop Secret popcorn
Progresso (soup, broth)
Qtips
Ragu pasta sauce
Ramano's Macaroni Grill boxed meals
Skippy peanut butter
Slim Fast Optima bars
Suave (deodorant, lotion, shampoo/conditioner)
Totino's pizza rolls
Vaseline intensive care lotion
Wish-bone dressings
Yoplait (gogurt, kids multipack, trix)

Trust me - this is a sale you won't want to miss! You may want to start clipping your coupons tonight!!!! See you there on Wednesday morning - early!

Quick and easy nasal saline solution recipe

Hopefully you aren't suffering from the same crud that we have at my house. Now that there are no cold medications for our little ones (4 and under) to take, we're left with toughing in out. Last night we were supposed to gain an hour of sleep (through daylight savings). I think between my three kids - I was up every hour with one or the other of them. There was no extra hour of sleep for me!!! :(

I wanted to post a quick saline solution recipe to help relieve some of the stuffiness that kids get. My littlest hates it when I spray this up his nose, but it sure does clear him up for a little while. Enough that he can get to sleep.

I got this earlier this year when I went to an all night clinic thinking my littlest had an ear infection. I love the idea that it's homemade and it really saves $$ so I don't have to buy it from the store. The doctor gave us this jar and a really small syringe. I really didn't think it would work, but it clears my baby up.

Here's what the label says:

Nasal Saline

.2 (or .3) ml/cc in each nostril every hour as needed while awake. (The amounts .2 or .3 were for when my baby was about 4-6 months old. I still use this same amount - he's now 14 months. It seems to work pretty good. If you have an older child you may want to up the amounts slightly).

Mixture:

1/4 tsp salt in 6 oz of warm water.

Here's to the first cold of the season. Did I mention - I love this time of year, except when my kids get sick?

Pumpkin Seed Recipes

Happy Halloween! I've roasted pumpkin seeds in the past, but I haven't done it in a while. I decided I wanted to try it again this year - so my search for tasty recipes began. I haven't done any roasting yet, but wanted to post some recipes that sounded pretty good.

Cinnasweet Pumpkin Seeds (thanks to All Recipes)

4 cups pumpkin seeds, rinsed and dried
1/2 cup margarine, melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white sugar, divided

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Combine the pumpkin seeds, margarine, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl; stir to coat the seeds. Spread the seeds in a single layer in a 10x15 inch jelly roll pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes; stir and return to oven for 15 minutes more; remove from oven and sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over the seeds; stir to coat. Return to oven and bake another 15 minutes before removing again to sprinkle with remaining sugar and stirring. Bake another 15 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. Store leftover seeds in an airtight container.

Pumpkin Seeds with Cinnamon and Salt (thanks to All Recipes)

4 cups pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
vegetable oil cooking spray

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Grease a cookie sheet and spread the seeds out in an even layer. Lightly sprinkle with salt and cinnamon.
Bake for about 5 minutes, then stir the seeds. Season with salt and cinnamon again. Continue baking, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, or until seeds are toasted.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (thanks to All Recipes)

1 1/2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds
2 teaspoons butter, melted
1 pinch salt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Toss seeds in a bowl with the melted butter and salt. Spread the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown; stir occasionally.

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds (thanks to All Recipes)
1 1/2 tablespoons margarine, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
Combine the margarine, salt, garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce and pumpkin seeds. Mix thoroughly and place in shallow baking dish.
Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds (thanks to All Recipes)
2 cups pumpkin seeds, rinsed and dried
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 drops hot pepper sauce

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking pan with aluminum foil.
Stir together the pumpkin seeds and butter in a bowl. Add the salt, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and hot pepper sauce; stir. Spread the seeds in a single layer on the baking pan.
Bake in preheated oven until crispy, about 45 minutes.

Free Donuts - Krispy Kreme - Election Day

If you show up at your local Krispy Kreme on November 4th (Election Day) wearing your "I Voted" sticker, they will reward you with a free star shaped donut with sprinkles. There's nothing like a tasty treat after you've voted. For all of you who have done the early voting - hang onto your stickers and stop in (otherwise wait until the red light's on and pick up a free glazed one).

Not every grocery trip is worthy of a picture

I'm sure that as you go along you will have these kinds of shopping trips. I went to the store yesterday and it was just one of those trips. You know....the one's where everything you need is NOT on sale. I had one of those trips. I'm just here to say that not all sales are equal. I was a little discouraged yesterday. I spent $102.13 and only saved $53.14. Not one of my best trips to the store - I would have to say. But now that I have a grundle of candy, the chicken, carrots, noodles and celery for the soup I need to make for the trunk or treat, I've put all that behind me. I also picked up some new plastic bowls (for the kids - to match the ones I already have), sunflower seeds (for hubby), bread (just to have a couple of extra loaves)....etc.... I chose to go to Albertson's again and the up side to this trip was that I did earn another 5% off a future grocery trip (I have to use both of mine before the end of November). Let's hope that this upcoming sale at Albertson's (the one the mgr of my local Albertsons' said would be really, really good) is really worth it! I'm ready to cash in.

I just wanted to check in and let you know that even though I coupon well - this was not one of my shining moments and it happens to all of us. :(

Yummy Pumpkin Waffles with Caramel Syrup

Have I mentioned that I really like this season? It seems like I kind of take a break during the summer and I don't really cook as much. When you get that crisp chill in the air - it just makes me want to cook and bake. So here's a couple of things I've cooked up lately.

Pumpkin Waffles

(My husband's office had breakfast last week and this was a recipe someone in his office brought in)

Mix together:

2 1/2 C flour

1 T baking pdwr

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

Mix in a large bowl:

4 large eggs

2 C buttermilk (I added 1 Tbsp of lemon juice to 1 cup of milk to make buttermilk)

1/2 C brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 C pumpkin

1/4 C real melted butter

Add dry ingredients to wet and stir together.

Bake in waffle iron - this batter also works for pancakes.

Caramel Syrup

(I borrowed this recipe from Everyday Food Storage and boy it was delicious!!!)

3/4 C butter

1 1/2 C sugar

2 T light corn syrup

3/4 C buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla

Combine ingredients in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 5 minutes (it will rise and get frothy, use a deeper saucepan to allow for it to get bubbley).

I actually made these for dinner one night and my family inhaled them. They were quite a hit and we had about 4 waffles left over to breakfast the next morning. I hope you enjoy them too. It's a great way to use any extra pumpkin you may have left over from another recipe.

An easy creepy treat

I think I saw this idea on Family Fun's website last year. I want to send a treat with my son for his pre-school class and thought this would be a fun treat for my kids to assemble and one that any kid would also really like.
Here's all you need:

1 bag of suckers (Tootsie pops or Blow pops work good)

Googley eyes

Pipe cleaners

scissors

glue gun

Take 4 pipe cleaners and cut them in half. Use the (now shorter) set of 4 pipe cleaners and twist them around the base of the sucker, so you have 4 legs on each side. Next - bend the pipe cleaners into legs and spread them out. Lastly - hot glue the googley eyes onto the pipe cleaner and viola - you have a fun creepy treat to hand out. This was a great project for my kids to help out with. I'm all about fun and easy!

I could only find one bag of black pipe cleaners - so we compromised and used brown too. I think any color would be fun.

I'm always looking for some fun ideas - if you have any to share - let me know! Have fun making you're creepy treats!

Free Sample of Haydee Chocolate truffles

I came across this link today and quickly signed up. When you get there, the chocolates look delicious. I don't know how long this link will be good, so hurry and sign up before it's too late! I hope mine come soon - this is a treat that I may not be willing to share!

Rumor has it.....

Albertson's is planning a "really big" sale coming soon. I stopped into the Albertson's near my house and caught the store manager. As we were talking he told me that there is a major sale coming within the next couple of weeks. During our conversation he said that they have to order about 5 weeks in advance and that he had ordered for this big sale a couple of weeks ago. So my guess is within the next 2-3 weeks we should see something big from Albertson's. So hang tight - I know some sales are better than others. He wouldn't tell me what the sale was, but he compared it to the General Mills sale. Everyone ready for an early morning?

Also, I noticed that the store I visited had signs up advertising $.10 off each gallon of gas at their fuel station. So I filled up with gas today and paid $2.83 - best price I've seen in a really long time! Check your local Albertson's to see if they are participating. The sale goes from 10/24 - 10/26.

Free Pumpkin Carving patterns

As you may have noticed from previous blogs - I'm not the most creative person, but I sure like to try. I came across a few websites that are offering free pumpkin carving patterns. These are pretty easy to do (I've done them before). A couple of the websites even have some great tips for carving. Pick a good one!

Link 1

Link 2 (scroll to the bottom)

Link 3

Link 4 (scroll to the bottom)

Some of these sites have both free patterns and ones that you can buy. If you're creative enough, you could probably come up with some pretty good patterns of your own. Happy carving.

Halloween Wreath

Every now and then, I get this itching to be crafty. I really have no talent when it comes to scrapbooking or other cute crafty things, but once in a blue moon something I put together actually turns out pretty cute. I have to say I'm rather fond of my Halloween Wreath. I got the idea from the October issue of All You magazine (can only be purchased through subscription or at Walmart).

Here's what I started with:

• 1 styrofoam wreath
• 1 can black matte crafting spray paint
• A variety of fall silk flowers (they don't need to be Fall flowers - I bought them more for color - although tulips would look kind of silly in this type of arrangement)
• A few halloween embellishments
• 1 package of googly eyes
  

Take your foam wreath and spray paint it black (it doesn't have to be perfect - the flowers will cover a lot of it up)

Also spray your flowers black (don't spend a lot on flowers - you can get them at the dollar store). Better yet, you might be able to find a wreath that's already been put together at the DI or another 2nd hand store. All you would need to do is spray it black.

I also took and painted the little wooden embellishments and borrowed the kids glitter glue to jazz them up a bit.

Tip # 1: Make sure the area you are working in while spray painting is well ventilated. (I did it in the garage and only opened the garage door part way - I should have opened the whole door. I got a little light headed breathing all those fumes.).

Tip # 2: Use gloves (garden, surgical, yellow kitchen gloves - anything works) while spray painting. I jumped the gun and when out and sprayed away. I've got several finger nails that are still black with spray paint. I sprayed everything almost a week ago.

Tip # 3: Don't forget that hot glue gets really, really hot. I burned the tip of one of my fingers gluing the second flower on. In my mind I was reviewing glue gun safety as I sat down to start. Then all of the sudden there was a bunch of &*$%^#@*&^* being said!!!!

Here's the end result. The flowers don't need to be totally black - they just need to look like they are dying - they look good with muted colors. With a little hot glue and some time - this is what I put together.

Here's another shot of it sitting up. I plan to hang it on my front door. I took a couple of pictures of it out there, but it was too dark outside to pick up any of the detail. So just imagine this cute wreath on a door.

This was very simple to put together and just my caliber. No bow tying, no exactness, simple instructions and pretty inexpensive. If you have any cute or fun Halloween decorations I would love to see them. Send me a comment so I can check out your cute creations!

This is what happens when you don't go shopping in a couple of weeks....

Looking at the ads the last couple of weeks did not push me out the door to do any major shopping. Once I cleaned up my cold storage and did a little mental inventory, I was not rushing to the store for a lot of things. So this is what a couple of weeks of no shopping will do to you. You go to the store and you leave with one of everything!

I took my 6 year old daughter with me tonight. She broke both arms a couple of weeks ago (she parachuted out of a swing and landed with both arms straight out)....anywho she wanted to get out of the house because she was going a little stir crazy. So I took her along. You know it's a long shopping trip when you have to stop for a potty break in between!

This list is a little too long to itemize, but you can see that I nearly bought one (sometimes more) of everything at the store. I went to my favorite store - Albertson's this week.

I bought 85 items and paid $143.44 which

makes each item about $1.69. This is certainly not the best shopping trip I've had, but I did find some good buys. I bought a lot of things that I did not have coupons for this time. That's sometimes how shopping goes. Also knowing that I only picked up a few basic items in the last 2 weeks, doesn't make the dollar amount I spent today seem so bad.

I had to take 3 pictures just so you could see everything.

Remember a few weeks ago when Albertson's had a great sale on their Hershey's chocolate chips ($.70 a bag)? Well I cashed in on my rain check tonight as well. I really wanted to try their Cinnamon chips, but they didn't have any. It appears that people are still clearing the shelves because of their rain checks as well. Albertson's was allowing people to buy 40 per rain check. All I got was milk chocolate though. They were out of all the other flavors. Milk chocolate is my favorite anyway! I'm happy.

Yes - that is 20 bags of chocolate chips - I'm going to post my favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe in a blog coming soon. I can't wait to make some!

Don't forget to get a rain check on items the store is sold out of. Don't let the savings slip through your fingers. If it's a store you regularly visit, just plan to pick it up on a future shopping trip. Most stores will even allow you to place a special order if you're looking for a large amount. (I personally, would really like it if people would do this - instead of clearing the shelves - it makes other shoppers pretty frustrated to come into the store and find all the sale items gone).

Macaroni Grill dinner mixes in a box

Oh baby! Can I say YUMMY!!!!! I signed up with Pssst.... (it's part of General Mills) and they sent me a free box of Ramono's Macaroni Grill, creamy basil. The Macaroni Grill is one of my favorite restaurants to begin with (I wish I lived near one), but now to have these dinners in a box is great. I tried it out tonight and what a hit! My family loved it. I got about 5 good sized servings out of it. My husband is kind of partial to hamburger helper - but now I think I'll be stocking up on the good stuff. I will definatley be looking for these on sale.

You ought to sign up with Pssst.... to see what they send you in the mail. I would love to know what products you get and if they were good. It's always nice to know if a new product is worth trying or not.

Halloween Bread recipes (Rhodes Bake-n-serve)

I love to use Rhodes bake-n-serve bread/rolls. Maybe some of you caught the segment they did this week on Studio 5. It was pretty fun to watch and there were some mummy - I mean yummy ideas for spooky Halloween dishes.

Check out their site for more delicious recipes and ideas. There are some great ideas on the home page as well as in recipes and under sculpture (yummy mummy, autumn leaf, barn bat, chili handwitch, scaredy cat & spider dip bowl). Under basic they also have some bone chillin' breadsticks. Don't forget to look at the other tabs for more great recipes.

Yum....I can smell the bread cooking now, I love this time of year!

Boo'd Poems

I live in a neighborhood where every year we get Boo'd. I came across some fun poems if you wanted to start this in your neighborhood. I can not take credit for these cute poems, they came from other blogs.

The air is cool the season fall

Soon Halloween will come to all

The spooks are after things to do

In fact, a spook brought this to you

"BOO" is a shield from witching hour

Just hang it up and watch its power

On your front door is where it works

It wards off spooks and scary jerks

The treats that came with crypted note

Are yours to keep, enjoy them both

The power comes when friends like you

Will copy this and make it TWO

Then others here among our friends

Will give warm fuzzies that do not end

We'll all have smiles upon our face

No one will know who "BOO"ed whose places

Just one short day to work your spell

Or a big ZAP will strike your tail

And don't forget a nifty treat,

Like something cute or something sweet

Please join fun, let's really hear it

And spread some "BOO"s and Halloween spirit.

The Phantom has been here with a treat just for you,

He crept to your door in a fog misty blue.

This isn't a trick, this treat isn't for free,

Now it's your turn and the Phantom you'll be!

The Phantom loves treats and also loves rhymes.

Take you this paper and copy TWO times.

So he won't strike again, hang this on your window or door.

Take this and a treat and deliver TWO more

To a neighbor or friend in the black of the night.

Pound on their door, and give 'em a fright

Then by Halloween night, there surely should be

Phantoms on all of the doors that we see.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

BOO!
To our good friends on our street;
Our home's locations made us meet,
You now have been Boo'd, but who could we be?
We'll never tell,it's a secret you see.
We placed these goodies for you and yours
Then we ran fast after knocking the door!
Happy Halloween!
Place this Boo on your front door
And make sure you Boo two neighbors of yours!

You could put this with a cute Halloween picture and surprise neighbors and friends. If not, you could certainly do it to your own house and surprise your kids! (I was having problems with the spacing on this last poem - sorry)

Some Halloween Fun

I have to admit, I really love Halloween. I hate to dress up though (unless I could find a really cool Queen of Hearts costume from Alice in Wonderland - I think she's silly and mixed up, kinda like me). But I love that spooky feel, the crisp air, the leaves that change colors and the smell of the bucket of candy that you get when you're finished trick-or-treating (I know - silly huh, but it's true).

Another reason I love this time of year is because there are so many fun things to do. I'll list a few and if you have some ideas or things you'd like to share - I would love to hear from you too.
Note: This is not a complete list, I'm only listing things I am aware of, that's why there's an invitation to share what you know.

Day Farms (2500 W Gentile Rd, Layton 801.546.4316)
Pumpkin Patch Hayrides
Oct 10th - Oct 27th
*depending on pumpkin availability and weather conditions)
Mondays & Fridays 4pm to 7pm
Saturdays 1pm to 7pm
$5 per person (includes hayride & pumpkin)
1 & under are free

Black Island Farms (Syracuse) - Haunted corn maze, slides, food, farmers market and more (click here for coupon).

Cornbellys (Lehi) - pig races, cow train, cornbelly mountain, haunted maze, food and more (look for coupon link on website).

Pumpkin Walk - (Syracuse) - Free

Pumpkin Walk - (North Logan) - Free

Trick-or-Treat Street - Southtowne Expo Center (Salt Lake)

Gardner Village - (Salt Lake) - always fun things planned during the month of October

Watch for some more fun Fall/Halloween/October ideas....

Huge Shout Out

I have to send a HUGE THANK YOU to Tracie one of my dearest friends for helping me make my blog cuter than it was before. I still need to go in and add a few things and hopefully I'll be able to play with the backgrounds a bit, but she was a huge help. Tracie, Tonya - thanks for a fun GNO! Lets do it again, I loved the laughs and fun.

Also...... rumor has it that Tracie may even be interested in designing your blog. If you're interested check out her blog and send her a comment ;)

A huge load has been lifted

So if you go back and read my blog on August 25th (I'm embarrassed that it took me so long to get my act together), you'll see that my pantry/cold storage was seriously lacking in organization.

When you look at this - I want you to know that I started 1 year ago. I purchased things on sale, with coupons. I added a little bit to each shopping trip and this is where I am today.

Well I'm happy to report that both food and non food items have found a home. Take a look at my food storage. It took my husband and I about 2 1/2 hours to sort all this stuff and it still needs a little work - but I'm happy to have it up off the floor and in a place where I can see how much I have.

This is a picture from the back of my storage room (the door is toward the top right of the picture)

This is in the same spot looking left. I decided to put all my "daily/3-6 month" stuff along the left. Some of these fruit snacks and breakfast bars/granola bars still need a little organization.

This picture and the next are just close ups of my "daily/3-6 month supply" stuff. I'm still trying to label everything and also make sure it's FIFO'd (first in, first out).

This is a shot from the door of my cold storage (I put my soups first - it seems like I'm always going down for some). By the way - I have over 200 boxes/bags of cereal - yeah, I think we're set for a while.

This is all my paper products, bandaids, soap, detergent, shampoo/conditioner, baggies, tin foil, saran wrap, cleaning supplies etc.....

Along the right wall, I have all of my long term food storage. I have wheat, honey, powdered milk, sugar, rice, and cannery stuff.
Some more long term storage.

Lastly - this is my door, my floor (that you can now see) and the water barrels still empty of water. My husband is building some mini pallet things with casters on the bottom so that we can roll them and keep them up off the cement. We have 7 barrels - I guess this needs to be higher on the "honey-do-list."

I would have been a smarter shopper if I had known what my inventory was all along.

I hope I never have to rely on this food storage because of some disaster or layoff or anything like that, but I am very thankful to know that we have these reserves in case we need them. If you continue to plug away and buy things at their lowest prices your storage will build just like mine.

As you watch my future shopping trips, they probably won't be huge truckloads of stuff. What I am focusing on now is filling the holes in my storage.

Swedish Fish - Free Shirt

This is a really corny ad, but they are offering a free T-shirt. Enjoy your new T-shirt from Swedish Fish - a friend you can eat.

Cashin' In on the Blue Light Special

So I gathered my coupons and headed to Kmart on Thursday night. I just haven't had time to post my great finds until today. I was pretty impressed at what I got and the price I paid.

In total I paid $47.77! I'd say I got a pretty good haul (expecially candy for Halloween).


I don't remember the exact prices, but I do know what I got for free and what I paid less than a dollar for etc.. That's the way I'll list the items.

2 bags of Huggies


1 bag Little Swimmers


8 bags of candy ($1.50 a bag - lowest I've seen all season)

5 Scrubbing Bubbles Actions Scrubbers

$1 or LESS

1 tube of Colgate toothpaste

1 Dawn Dishwashing liquid pump

1 Greased Lightning cleaner

3 Sunsilk Shampoo/Conditioner

3 Dove Shampoo/Conditioner

FREE


3 Pert Shampoo/Conditioner

4 Gillette Shampoo/Conditioner

5 Juicy Juice (8 pk)

4 Hershey Dark Chocolate Bars



I have to admit - I'm addicted to finding deals. I hate to pay full price for anything!!!

Take a close look at these items, you may see some of them at a class near you. If you'd like me to teach you how I did this - contact me (callmestacy@yahoo.com) to set up a class. Trust me it's worth it! It's the best 30-60 minutes you'll spend learning in a long time.

NEWS FLASH!!!! Kmart is offering double coupons through 10/5/08

Update: The Layton store is honoring the double coupons

So I picked this info up from another blog (click on this link for more details - you will want them) and decided to call Kmart to find out if they were a participating store or not. I called and called the Layton store and no one will answer. So I called the Woods Cross store and they ARE participating. Before you jump in the car with all your coupons you need to call ahead to make sure your store is participating - not all of them are. I was also told by the Woods Cross store that you need to purchase your items at the customer service desk not through a regular line. I asked the Woods Cross store if Layton was participating and she said they were, but at this time I have still not gotten a hold of the Layton store.

Here's a link to another *blog. This lady has already been to Kmart and these are some of the deals she got.

I found a second *link with someone else's shopping finds. (*Please note: these blogs aren't neccessarily in Utah so original and sale prices may vary).

I am not a regular shopper at Kmart, so I don't know all the items they carry. Remember you can go to the Grocery Smarts website and in the drop down box search for coupons alphabetically. You can clip the things that you'd be interested in purchasing.

It gets even better. Here is a link for two, $5 coupons to Kmart. I had to sign up and I'm not sure how quick the turn around is, but I wouldn't wait.

This link is another coupons for $5 off you next purchase of $50. Valid 9/28 to 10/4 (in-store purchase only).

The sale runs from 10/1/08 - to 10/5/08. Double coupons are a rare treat in Utah. Take advantage of this great deal!!!!! Please post a comment if you come across any free deals or great finds. This is the kind of shopping that really puts a smile on my face!!!!

New Freebies - they're always fun to get

Schick Intuition Razor

Quaker Simple Harvest Granola Bar

Coupon Organizer - from Dollar General

Crest Whitening Expression toothpaste

Calvin Klein - Secret Obsession perfume

Redken Fresh Curls - calms frizz, helps detangle hair

Gain with Baking Soda

I always like getting a little surprise in my mailbox from time to time. It's even better when they send coupons with the freebie.

Another week, another shopping trip

When I first started couponing, I got a little frustrated because it seemed like I would always spend more than my savings on the grocery receipt. As I've continued to shop using coupons, I've learned a few tricks along the way and I have 5 months worth of coupons to go back through. I was so jealous of the blogs that I would read. Why couldn't I make this work like everyone else? The answer is - it takes time, you have to make mistakes to learn and you need multiple Sunday papers with coupons.

Here's my latest shopping trip.

7 pkgs of Angel Soft TP
2, 2 liters of Coke
6, 5 lb bags of C&H sugar
1 bag of Santitas chips
1 box of Wheat Thins (free)
4 Ken's Spray dressings (free)
2 loaves of Sara Lee white bread
1 bunch of bananas
1 bag of broccoli
5 Yoplait Yogurts
1 dozen eggs
1 pkg Trident gum
3 bags of Goldfish

Total = $47.33

Savings = $65.17

Average price per item $1.31

I also earned 5% off of one of my upcoming shopping trips. I hope they have some really good sales coming up - I think this next one (starting Wednesday) will be their case lot sale.

I hope to be posting a follow up to my "before" pictures soon. I finally organized my food storage (I'm just in the process of labeling things now and making sure it's FIFO'd - first in-first out).

I probably will never see a grocery receipt where my savings is less than I spent. I have the variety in my pantry that I need and I'm relying on that supply rather than running to the grocery store for odds and ends.

Newspaper Reminder

I know all too well.....it's work, homework, soccer games, football practice, dance lessons, church....you name it - the days all start to run together with all the activites people are trying to get to.

Ordering newspapers is not always a top priority, but it should be if you really plan to cash in on the savings. Let me help you get started. I can sell any paper in the state and would be glad to help you sign up. If you're interested in the Salt Lake papers, I can also offer you a discount on that subscription (assuming you are within their delivery area).

Grocery Smarts recommends one paper, per person in the household. The reasoning behind this is to allow you not only to consume what you buy, but to also allow you to fill your pantry with the "extra's" you pick up. Time is money, gas is money - so make your shopping trip count and stock up on the items your family will use. Watch your pantry grow and what you pull out of your wallet shrink. It is the best natural "high" you will ever get, knowing you saved more than you spent! It happens week after week after week.

If you've attended one of my classes you can call me using the number on the bottom of the grocery smarts guide you received. If not, email me at callmestacy@yahoo.com for pricing details.

The best part to subscribing to the newspaper is knowing that within 2-3 shopping trips you will have already paid for the cost of your subscription!

Ice Cream Social - Cold Stone Creamery

Don't forget that 9/25/08 is the Make-A-Wish, ice cream social at Cold Stone Creamery. Stop by for some yummy goodness. Check out the link for times and details.

Michael's coupon (50% off - one reg priced item)

My friend Tracie sent me this link for Michaels. The coupon is good from 9/22 to 9/27. I think she read my mind. I was just thinking that I could use some new Fall decorations and some fun kid crafts since we're off track for a few weeks. Have fun shopping - Thanks, Tracie!

Real Deals Home Decor Sale

The email I got said that if you bring in the email it is worth 20% off one item (excludes furniture, art and clearance - the email is the coupon). If you want to email me (use Real Deals in the title) I will forward the coupon to you callmestacy@yahoo.com. Below are the details of the sale. I love this store - I wish I could get there more often!

"Happy Birthday to You, We're Two
Real Deals on Home Decor in Layton Celebrates its 2nd Birthday and We want You to Join Us!! But if you can't make it to Layton we'll accept your COUPON in the Bountiful store. Thursday September 25th & Saturday September 27th Real Deals on Home Decor in Layton Will be Celebrating its 2nd Birthday Bountiful will also celebrate its Birthday by allowing you to use your coupon in the Bountiful store. But the Bountiful store will not have cake and prizes!!

Join us in Layton for:

*Free Birthday Gifts from us to you while supplies last.

*Close-out items at their lowest prices, this week only.
*Enter to Win our Birthday Present.
*Birthday Cake for EVERYONE.
*Bring in a New Real Deals customer and get $5.00 in Real Deals credit.

Layton1320 E HWY 193 Ste A8
Layton, UT 84040(801) 771-0422(Next to the Neighborhood Wal-Mart and Just East of the South HAFB Gate)

Real Deals on Home Decor

37 N Main St
Bountiful, UT 84010(801) 296-1301

Thursday September 25 from 10-6PM
Saturday September 27 from 10-3PM

ART IS ALSO IN-And its GORGEOUS!!!"

Ore-Ida Steam-n-Mash potatoes

Yuuuummmmmyyyy! I signed up with another website (She Speaks) and they asked me to participate in their Ore-Ida Steam-n-mash potatoes trial. They sent me a great package with 2 coupons for free bags of potatoes as well as a potato masher and some additional coupons to use or give away. I made turkey steaks a few nights ago and added these as a side. I used the plain Russet potatoes and they turned out great. All you have to do is put the frozen bag in your microwave and heat for the amount of time (10 minutes) indicated on the bag. Then I added some milk and butter and I made some gravy to go with it. Anyone who knows my husband, knows he's a real meat and potatoes kind of guy. My family was very pleased with the taste, and texture of the pototoes. I was even happier because I was running late and this was quick and easy to make.

The only down side to this product is that it only comes in one size. This bag would probably feed 4-5 people. And the price is a little high. If I could match a sale and the coupons together, it may be worth buying more.

Overall - I was very pleased with this product. In a pinch - I would definately buy more because it tasted so good. I am going to try the 3 cheese variety next.

They come in a variety of flavors:

• Russet Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Garlic Seasoned Potatoes
• Three Cheese Potatoes

She Speaks if a fun site to check out. Let me know what you think.

Deals at Target (75% off) - run don't walk!

So I went to Target this morning to check out the deals. Boy, oh boy did they have some good ones. All their school supplies are 75% off (notebooks, scissors, paper, markers, highlighters - whatever is left). That's not the best part though - all their backpacks are 75% off. I bought 2 for less than $10.00 (most were between $4-5). This would be a great time to replace that old ratty backpack that your child is still carrying around. Another great idea is to make one into a 72 hour kit or to have an extra backpack for soccer, dance, an overnighter etc....

They had a lot of "kid" type backpacks but they also had a lot that had wheels so you could pull, and there were plain ones as well.

So as I said above - RUN DON'T WALK - these won't last long!

Campbells/MOM shopping trip

Okay - I didn't get up at the crack of dawn today. I just couldn't drag myself out of bed. I got to the store at about 9:30 after all the kids were dropped off at school. I think I did pretty good, but I also noticed some pretty good deals at the Macey's case lot. I may also have to pick up a few neccessities there too.

So here's what I got and I'm really glad I showed up when I did because I was notified that there would NOT be any rainchecks on this sale. I did not read the fine print, so if any of you were waiting to pick up some of these items, it may be hit or miss when you get there.

I spent $44.81 and saved $86.39. I also got a bunch of Campbells bonus labels to send with my daugther to school.

Here's my run down.


1 bunch of banana's (the one year old has decided he really likes banana's)
1 pkg Chips Ahoy (the cookies were part of an in-ad coupon)
1 pkg of Oreo's (look for the packages for $1.00 of a gallon of milk)
8 microwaveable tomato soups (love these with grilled cheese!)
20 cans tomato soup
4 cans cream of mushroom
6 cans of spaghettios
8 bottles of Pace Salsa
1 bottle of Tree top apple juice (free with $25 purchase - in ad coupon)
4 bottles of V8 splash (mmmm....these are pretty tasty)
8 bags of Malt-o-meal cereal

Not to bad for a shopping trip with a 1 year old (in and out). Hopefully you'll be able to find the items you're looking for as well. Check out the Macey's case lot as well!

Campbells/Malt-o-meal sale - another early morning for some (See new update)

Here's another Albertson's special. For those of you needing to stock up on Campbells soup or Malt-o-meal cereal this is the sale for you. Unfortunately in order to get the best selection this is another sale you may want to plan on getting up early for. The Campbells soup sale only happens once a year. You will see the soup go on sale throughout the cooler months, but this is probably going to be one of the best prices you'll see it at. I'm starting to sort through my coupons now. I'm probably going to be one of those early risers with bags under my eyes and dressed in my pj's. Oh - happy day, I need some tomato soup!

Update: Try these links for Malt-o-Meal coupons Link #1, Link #2, Link #3, Link #4, Link #5, Link #6, Link #7. I've already printed my coupons (I printed them several weeks ago), so I don't know if these are still active or that these specific items are on the sale. If you run across problems, leave me a comment so I can go in and delete any links that aren't working.

101 Things cookbook

Have you seen those cookbooks out there.....101 Things etc.... If you're interested the author of this cookbook (Stephanie Ashcraft) is giving away 10,000 free copies of 101 Things to do with Meatballs. Click on this link to get your free copy. I'm always looking for great recipes. I can't wait to get my copy!

Yea!!!! A new look

So if you've been reading, you know that this html stuff is totally foreign to me. I am not very savvy when it comes to figuring this stuff out. I finally had some time without the kids/hubby around to mess around and try and get this to work out. I like the background (thanks to the Cutest Blog on the Block), but you may see it changing from time to time. I hope you don't mind. I hate the same old, same old....... I hope you like the new look for now!

Singing the Praises to Albertson's

I had another great shopping trip. As I started to clip the coupons I didn't really think this was going to be that Wow, but it turned out really great after all.

My total was $79.07 and I saved $136.10. I purchased 69 items, making each item about $1.15 per item. For not thinking I was going to do well - I was more than pleasantly surprised.

Here's a rundown of what I got.

2 Gerber Graduates
3 Gerber baby food jars
1 Albertson's sour cream
6 Yoplait yogurts
3 bags of Nestly candybars (they were 3/$5 and I had 2, $1.00 off coupons - making each bag $1.00 - not bad)
2 Ore Ida steam mash (I had 2 coupons that would allow me to get each of them free. I will be blogging about this new campaign after I try them)
1 bag pizza rolls - Yea for box tops
2 Aunt Jemima pancake mixes
2 Aunt Jemima syrups
3, 8 pk Juicy Juice drinks (I had 2 coupons for $1.00 off each, along with the Albertson's promotion, it made each drink about $.20 for 100% juice)
1 bunch of bananas
2 canisters of regular Quaker quick oats
2 boxes of Quaker breakfast cookies (these are really good microwaved for a few seconds)
2 boxes of Quaker granola bites
3 boxes of Quaker granola bars
5 boxes of instant Quaker oats (Fruit & Cream)
1 bag of Albertson's chips
1 bag of Albertson's hot dog buns
1 head of cauliflower
6 bottles of spices (Albertson's and McCormick brands - basil, oregano, chili powder, garlic salt, onion powder, season salt)
5 bottles of soft soap (we go through a lot of soap)
3 boxes of Electrasol detergent (These came up at $.09 each - can't beat that!)
2 bags of Nestle chocolate chips
2 boxes of Albertson's Honey Oat flakes with strawberries
6 pkgs of Albertson's napkins (they even had some cute Halloween ones)
1 dozen eggs
1 4pk Scott's toilet paper (free)

These are the best buy's I came across. I got a raincheck for some of those Scrubbing bubbles action scrubbers. Along with the Albertson's promotion, I have some additional coupons to add to them.

Help with caselot price points

Crystal from Everyday Food Storage (a favorite blog to visit) sent me this chart with Costco prices on it. As this is the "season" for caselot sales, you may be wondering where the best prices are. By checking out this link you can compare prices from Costco to the caselot sale you are looking at. Remember that a lot of the local grocery stores put their store brands on sale and not so many of the name brands. You may not find an exact match on the Costco list, but it will at least give you an idea of pricing.



As I've searched some blogs I came across some prices for Macey's caselot that will start next Wednesday the 17th.

WF Granulated Sugar, 25lb bag $8.99

WF Tomatoes 14.5-15oz asst. $.49 (Case of 24 $11.76)

WF Soup Chick Noodle & Tomato 10.75 oz. $.49 (Case of 24 $11.76)

WF Instant Oatmeal $.99 (Case of 12 $11.88)

WF Fruit 30oz. Cocktail, Peaches or Pears $.99 (Case of 12 $11.88)

WF Corn Flakes 18 oz. $.99 (Case or 12 $11.88)

Campbell's Cream Soup 10oz Asst. $.69 (Case of 24 $16.56)

WF Mandarin Oranges 11 oz. $.39 (Case of 12 $11.88)

WF Tuna 6 oz. $.69 (Case of 48 $33.12)

WF Tomato Juice or Vegatable Cocktail 46 oz. $.99 (Case of 12 $11.88)

WF Tomato Sauce 8 oz. $.19 (Case of 48 $9.12)

WF Ketchup 24 oz. upright or 20 oz. upside down $.88, (Case of 12 $10.56, Case of 16 $14.08)

WF Powdered or Brown Sugar 32 oz. $1.09 (Case of 12 $13.08)

WF Pancake Syrup 128 oz. $4.79 (Case of 4 $19.16)

Harvest King Gold Medal Flour 50 lb. $16.99

WF Brownie Mix 20oz. $.99 (Case of 12 $11.88)

WF Clover Honey 80 oz. $7.99 (Case of 6 $47.94)

Suave or VO5 Shampoo or Conditoner 15 oz. $.79

WF 24pk Half Liter Drinking Water $2.99

WF Toilet Paper 36 Roll or Paper Towel 15 Rolls $6.99

According to Savvy Shopper Deals the items in red are supposed to be pretty good deals. Good luck as you case lot shop.

Point of Reference

I often get questions on what's considered a good buy. One way to tell is by checking out the shopping list for the week at your favorite store on Grocery Smarts website. Anything that is a 5 star item is definatley something you want to stock up on (assuming it's something you'll use). A 4 star item is still pretty good and a 3 star item is an okay deal. I would not encourage you to buy anything that is a 2 or 1 star item (they rarely make the list anyway).

I also came across another list on Google that is a reference list. I'm not sure who the original publisher of the list was, but as far as I can tell these prices are pretty consistent with what I've been seeing.

Remember:

5 star - stock up
4 star - still a pretty good deal (stock up with a few if you absolutely need it)
3 star - average price

Febreze Noticeables - Wal Mart

Jennifer attended one of the classes I taught a few weeks ago and sent me this tip. She said that in the Sept 7-13th ad, Wal Mart had Febreze Noticeables (you plug in and they put out a nice fragrance) on sale for $5.97. She did a little research and found a coupon in the P&G 8/31 for $5.00 off. Wow - $.97 is a pretty good deal! Jennifer - Thanks for the great tip!

If you come across something great that you'd like to share - I'd love to pass it along....

Big Quaker Sale starts today

Unfortunatley, I was not able to get to the store first thing this morning. As I've been watching the blogs about the sale, things are going quickly. If you aren't able to make it this afternoon, I would probably wait a day or two before trying again. Hopefully the stores will be able to re-stock and have all the items you want (this will be me - I'll try in a day or two). Good luck to you! I hope you find all the things you're after. I know the Electrasol is going fast - especially with such good coupons out there. Share your trip with me - let me know how you faired!

Update to Easy Bakeware

So I got another confirmation email today saying that indeed I did sign up for all those things. The email was very easy to follow and provided a number to call if I wanted to cancel . This is what it said:

So take advantage of your At Home Rewards+ benefits during your 7-day trial membership period. We invite you to use our services for the full 7-day trial period. If within 7 days you don't feel that our services and benefits are everything we say they are, simply call us toll-free at 877-636-6858 to cancel your membership. At Home Rewards+ will automatically charge the membership fee to your card at the end of your 7-day trial period and, unless you call to cancel, at the then-current fee each new membership month.

I called the number and the automated system took me through the cancellation process - I never spoke to a live person. I guess we'll just wait and see if I get my free bags or not.

Sometimes offers like these are a little frustrating because either the stuff you have to read is a mile long or they pretend to be something they are not by offering you something for free.

Once again - I'll keep you posted! I guess if I get the free items, it may not be so bad after all.

Easy Bakeware

So my other good friend Tonya sent me this link to a website called Easy Bakeware. Not only are they offering free bakeware, but other things as well. You get to pick one item for free and they will ship it to you for $1.00. I chose the stay fresh bags (as seen on TV). I've always been interested to see if they really work.

This was a copy of the "fine print" that showed below after I ordered.

If you accepted the Passport to Fun+ / At Home Rewards+ / Simply You offer, you will receive a welcome email shortly with instructions on how to begin accessing your members-only benefits with trial membership. After your 7-day FREE trial period, $14.95 per month will be automatically charged to your credit/debit card as per the offer details.

I honestly have no idea if I accepted the things above. I did get a copy of my receipt after ordering, but I don't remember reading anything about the offers above. The website did have a phone number that I will call tomorrow to make sure I don't get charged the above rate. Hopefully I will still get my free item.

phone: 1-800-509-0176 email: customer_service@easybakeware.com business hours: mon-fri 9am to 4pm est

I wanted to post this info so you knew what you were getting into. I will keep you posted on the automatic charge.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

So Tracie (my really good friend) took a look at my blog and got the dates to show up! I have no idea how she did it, but I'm absolutely thrilled. This blog is actually a test blog as well to see if the dates show up for me.

Tracie - thanks a ton! Several people have requested that I put the dates on and I could never get it to work right. Duh......I guess it's a user problem.

I'm pushing the publish button......let's see what happens!!!

Free Coldstone ice cream scoop on 9/25/08 (posted 9/6/08)

Yuuuummmmmyyy - it's a small scoop, but it's ice cream. Who doesn't love ice cream? It will go from 5-8 pm. Click on this link for more info.

Surprise a new look

I will admit right here and now, I have no idea how to make my blog really cute. I would love to do that, but have not invested the time into doing it. Maybe one day one of my really good blogger friends with cute pages (you know who you are) will take pity on me and help me convert over :)

Anyway - I wanted to see if this would actually post the date in the header. I know that would be very helpful for me as well as others. So here's to a new beginning (Cheers!)

Note: As you can see - by changing templates this still did not solve my problem. So I'm still on a quest to resolve this issue. Anyone? Anyone?

Help on getting the dates to appear on my blogs

I can sniff out a good deal just about anywhere, but I sure can't figure out how to put the dates on my blog entries. I've tried going back through all the settings etc...to get the dates to show up and they won't. When I go back it shows that the date has been selected, but the date does not show up.

So I'm calling on any of you that are more savvy than me to help me figure this out. If any of you are super smart and know the answer, I would be greatly appreciative. I have even posted this question out there to google, but did not get a response.

I know there is someone out there that is really smart with this stuff and will have the answer (I hope!!!).

If so please email me at callmestacy@yahoo.com Thanks so much!!!

Brrrriiinnngggg - yes that was my alarm clock going off at 5:45 am

Okay - so I was one of those crazy people at Albertson's at 6:00 am. I was dressed in yesterday's outfit, my hair was matted and I was digging the no make-up look. At least I wasn't the only crazy coupon shopper there at that time!!! As I got started I kept asking myself, is this really worth it??? Of course it was - check out what I got....

2 boxes of cinnamon rolls

2 boxes of Bisquick

2 Pillsbury orange rolls

3 Pillsbury cresent rolls

6 boxes of Gogurt

2 Betty crocker cookie bags

8 boxes of Toaster Strudel

3 boxes of Cheerios

3 boxes of Reese's Puffs

9 boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch

6 boxes of Cookie Crisp

11 boxes of fruit snacks

I spent a total of $67.11 and saved $158.96!!!! I bought a total of 62 items making each item an average of $1.08. I think this is one of the best shopping trips I've ever had. The store was pretty well stocked as I was leaving, I think Albertson's is prepared for this sale. Good luck to those of you heading out to take advantage of some pretty good deals.

Last weeks shopping trip (posting it a little late)

I know, why post last week's shopping trip? I'm not sure why other than I got a lot of stuff for a pretty good deal. I wouldn't say this is the best shopping trip I've ever had, but I did okay. Plus it took me a while to "pose" all my food. I could sure use some classes in making a pretty arrangement of food (not one of my best talents).

As you can see I bought a lot of stuff (we had a birthday party on Labor day - my baby turned 1 a few days prior).

Sometimes these pictures don't show as much detail as I would like so I'll run down most of it.

10 yogurts

1 Kraft cheese slices

3 French's mustard (Yea!!! I got some for food storage)

2 containers of muffins (8 total -great sale, $1.99 each at Kaysville Albertson's during their grand re-opening)

4 Sara Lee bread loaves (again great deal $1.00 each)

3 cans Del Monte pineapple

1 container of grape tomatoes

1 box popsicles

2 1/2 gallon ice creams

1 pkg pepperoni

1 pkg canadian bacon

2 bags of candy corn (I have to buy at least one each Fall season)

1 bag of variety chocolate candy (Hershey's)

1 box corn dogs

1 watermelon

4 single serve Kraft mac-n-cheese

4 boxes Honey Bunches of Oats

1 box saltines

2 bags of fritos

1 bag of cheetos

1 gallon oj

2, 6 pk Dove bar soap

6 Dove shampoo/conditioner

2 Dove body wash

1 can of cheese

Okay now that I think I got everything - I paid $128.72 and saved $93.39. I also got $7.00 off my next shopping trip.

Now I think I'll wrap things up - cut a few coupons and show up at the crack of dawn like everyone else to get the best items at the General Mills sale starting tomorrow at Albertsons! See you there :)

Cock-a-doodle-do and stocking up!

So did everyone print your general mills/pillsbury/betty crocker online coupons in August? Are you all ready for Albertson's big General Mills sale tomorrow? I hate to say this, but if you want the best selection you will probably want to be at Albertson's bright and early. This is a pretty big sale and there are a lot of coupon ready people out there!!!

Also, Smiths is having their caselot sale. This is a great time to start stocking your pantry. Looks like they have lots of things to choose from.

Hopefully you all received your ads in the mail today. If not - you can click on the links to the right (scroll down a little - Favorite websites) to check out their online ads.

TIP: I read a variety of different blogs and some of the advice that was posted out there was to write down all the ingredients to 10-15 of your families favorite meals. Next, always keep those key ingredients on hand so you will always have those wonderful meals that your family enjoys the most!

Regardless of where you decide to shop this week - I would love to hear about the great deals you come by! I will probably end up shopping both Albertson's and Smiths. Don't forget that Macey's caselot will be coming up 9/17.