(43-222) Pennies In MY Pocket

I am a big fan of symmetry.  It makes me happy when things fall in line, or when something positive happens and it coincides with something else. I'm particularly pleased when I come up with a blog idea that relates back to something that I have written about previously.  I suppose it's because I feel like I'm expanding on an idea or thought that I've shared before and I'm crazy about the continuity. 

When I posted "100 MORE Random Things About Me," # 11 was I get great joy out of using a coupon; and today I TOTALLY did.  To the tune of $52.38 in savings.  OK, OK, not all of the $52.38 was due to coupons; BUT I did use a lot more than I usually do and coupled with buying items that were already on sale; I managed to save MORE than half of what I spent.  Woohoo!!

Today I fancied myself quite the domestic goddess; if I do say so myself.  I balanced my check book; paid bills, did laundry, cleaned my kitchen, dropped off my City of Peoria bill, vacuumed, got a hair cut, and went to the supermarket; where this big,(yes) HUGE savings occurred. 

Now although I typically review all of the flyers before I go to the grocery store; and I attempt to arm myself with as many coupons as possible; today was an extraordinarily, lucky day for me; because I found things that were on sale, that I actually needed; AND I had coupons for many of them.  So even though I don't typically buy Bounty paper towel - when I only had to pay seven cents for a roll; I sure did.  I also had a coupon for Kroger brand waffles, and they were on sale for .99 so I bought a box of ten for .54 rather than Eggo for $2 something.  Honey Nut Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch were on sale for $1.97 each and I had a coupon for $1.00 off 2 boxes; so I added those to my cart.  I had a coupon for Charmin (which I don't usually buy) and it was on sale; so when all was said and done; a 12 pack cost less than the same quantity of the store's brand.  Shall I go on??  I typically pay about $3.50 for the spray that I use to give that scrunchy, curl to my hair.  Fry's had it on sale 2 for $5.00 and I had a $1.00 off coupon; SCORE!  Dawn dish detergent was on sale for $1.99 and I had a .25 coupon that they took $1.00 off for; making the dish soap a mere .99; I also had a coupon for .75 off of finish power tabs; they took off $1.00 from the sale price of $5.29 for 32 tabs; so I paid only $4.29.  Safeway had the same on sale for $4.99 and I thought that was good; but I'll take the additional .70 savings; thank you. Another impressive purchase, was Tropicana Orange juice.  It was on sale for $2.49 and I had a $1 coupon for that too.  SWEET! I could go on; you know I could, but the last coupon that I'll tell you about was my biggest savings of all.  During the soccer season, the sister of one of Luis' players was selling a coupon book for $20 and it had at least $20 worth of savings for Fry's alone; so we thought that any additional coupons would just be a bonus.  Tonight I used the first of my Fry's coupons from the book and got $5 off of my total purchase. OH JOY!  I was giddy all the way home as I recalled the checker saying, your total is $94.97 and your total savings was $52.38  I couldn't wait to tell Luis.

I've always admired people who can save money through "Coupon Sense." I tried it for a couple of months, many years ago; but I just didn't have the time to go to all of the different markets.  Now that Fry's is honoring competitor's coupons, it's a lot easier for me to save money. YAY Fry's!

I still have a little more shopping to do for the week, because Fry's doesn't price match like Super Wal-mart does. I honestly don't mind going to one more store though; because it will ensure that I keep more pennies in my pocket. I like that!
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING             

(43-152) They Did It Again...

Today was another, absolutely, amazing day.  The weather was glorious; and since Luis had the day off, we were able to spend the day together and we got an extraordinary amount of errands done.  I wouldn't want to bore you by naming all of the stores that we visited, but I am So impressed with all that we accomplished; I feel compelled to share (OK, boast.)
 
We started at Old Navy, (though we made no purchases there today.)  We then went to Kohl's, where Nicky got a new pair of Adidas sneakers, ON SALE; and I used the last of a birthday gift card on 2 marvelous, necklaces.  We went to Ross, hoping to find a scrapbook for Lyndzi's drawings, but there were none to be had.; so we walked up to Payless, to get new school shoes for Kelsie.  I was psyched when I found a pair of shoes, on sale for $7, and ecstatic when I was informed at the register that the shoes had been marked down to $3.  The girls also got a 6 pack of slendiferous, neon socks for just $6.99.  Our next stop was Super Target, where we bought 2 stash cubes / ottomans that were on sale for $15 each.  Nicky used gift card money to buy a Club Penguin air hockey game that he's been looking for and Lyndzi used some of her gift card money for a Yoshi figurine.  The fam sat in the car as I ran into Lane Bryant; since they were having a buy 2 bras get 2 free sale; and this was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up.  Next stop, Super Wal-Mart, because they had been advertising Mario All-Stars and the kids wanted to buy it with their gift card.  Unfortunately the store was out of them, so we moved on to our next destination; Fry's.  We did some grocery shopping; (rather quickly I think;) and we were finally ready to head back home; after we stopped at our brand new Dunkin Donuts for some free Iced coffee; and a doughnut for each of the kids.  Not bad for five hours; I think.  We were out and about, we made some really good purchases; but most of all; we were together.

Luis and I cooked dinner; and once we'd finished eating;  the girls and I had to go to a different Target than the one we'd been to earlier;  because Luis had realized that the 2 stash box / ottomans that we'd purchased, were not the same.  Since I knew that an exchange was inevitable, it was something that I needed to take care of right away (that's just how I am;) and so as much as I didn't want to go back out; to Target we went.  While we went to Target, Luis and Nicky went to the .99 Store, because Nicky needed C batteries for his air hockey game.

Once I was finally back home; I called my friend Dawn, because we'd been playing phone tag for a number of days and I knew that she would be available this evening because she was snowed in.  Just a few minutes into our conversation, Lyndzi came to me to tell me that Kelsie had scratched Nicky's new game and he was very upset.  I called a teary eyed kelsie over and she explained, as always that she "didn't mean to."  But nonetheless, she had.  I told her that she and Nicky were going to have to figure out how to solve this.  I told her that if Nicky was upset with her, than she needed to speak to him about the situation.  Dawnie could hear my conversation with the girls and she told me that she thought I had handled the situation well.  I explained that if i would have gotten involved and solved the problem for them; they would never learn how to solve a problem for themselves; and I thought that this was something that they could handle on their own; and Dawnie wholeheartedly agreed.

I went on to enjoy my conversation with Dawn and shortly thereafter, Kelsie reappeared.  She informed me that Nicky had told her that since she had scratched his game seven times; she was not allowed to play the game for seven days.  I said "that sounds fair; "  and I asked if she thought that it was fair.  And she agreed.

In case I haven't mentioned it in like the past five minutes; I am SO incredibly proud of my kids!  I think that Nicky was wise and just, in determining Kelsie's punishment; and I think that the fact that Kelsie believes this as well, speaks volumes about both of them.

Sometimes kids will surprise you with how much they are capable of;  but in order for them and you, to see how adept they are; we have to offer them opportunities to show us what they can do.  Had they really not been able to resolve this on their own, of course I would have stepped in to help; but I think that they handled the situation beautifully and they all feel very successful, which is extremely important for them, in developing self confidence and knowing that they CAN solve problems.

As a mom, it was my privilege to see what proficient problem solvers they're becoming.  No one raised their voices, or their hands and they were able to peacefully reconcile the matter.  What can I say; they did it again... and I knew that they could!
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING               

                                                                            

(43-103) Nothing Much

Just a typical Sunday here at the Ramos household.  I slept in till 8, (well, that's sleeping in for me, since I'm up for work at 445.)  I had coffee, looked through the supermarket flyers, made a grocery list (which of course I left home when I went to the store.)  I did three loads of laundry and loaded the dishwasher; and in the process I got a terrible spasm in my back.  What the heck?  Thankfully I've never had back problems; but this spasm was a doozie!!  I get spasms in my calves from time to time, but usually when I'm sleeping; but to get this out of the blue back spasm; now THAT was unexpected.

Because I'm a trooper, with a high tolerance for pain; I toughed it out and took the girls to Kohl's.  We got a couple of great deals for them; went home for lunch, and then Lyndzi and I headed to our second Kohl's of the day, because there was a shirt that she was after but they didn't have her size at our first store; AND I needed to get a pair of pants for Kels and they were out of her size at the first store too.

I came home, folded some laundry; and then Luis and I went to Fry's.  I got some more great deals, used the Albertson's $10 off a $100 purchase coupon, and then they had a $10 coupon of their own that I didn't know about, but my checker applied.  I stocked up on toothpaste, butter and water; which brought me an additional savings.  And for anyone who's interested; they do have Capri Sun on sale again for $1.49   When all was said and done, I had saved about $76 dollars; Luis was quite impressed, and so I was doubly happy.

Yup, just pretty run of the mill here for me; but sometimes run of the mill is OK.  I'd take run of the mill over drama ANY DAY.  To me, if you have a day when nothing goes wrong; then it's a good day.  I remember a couple of months after I'd gotten married and we were living in Orlando; I was talking to a friend who was  single and living in New York.  My friend asked what was new; I said "nothing much," and she seemed very disappointed.  I explained that nothing being new was definitely better than something being wrong.  We spoke a lot less frequently after this and our conversations were very different because I didn't have stories of going out and meeting people like she did; but I had happiness and contentment, which was all I ever wanted. 

I have to laugh at the "kids" that I see who are in such a rush to grow up.  They want to accelerate everything in their life; and I want to say "would you like to pay my credit card bill, because here's where growing up gets ya."  And of course I remember how it was as a kid and you fantasized about having a boyfriend, or a husband and a house of your own; and now I'm here; and really it is great; but so were the other parts of my life too.  I loved high school, had a great time in college and my early twenties were a blast; but I think that it's all of these experiences accumulated together that allow me to enjoy and treasure exactly where I am now; having a run of the mill, nothing exciting to report Sunday.  If you rush through all of your experiences, then you'll never be able to appreciate your life..  So my advice to everyone who's in a rush is; stop and smell the roses.  Take the good with the bad, and know that in the long run, each experience is going to make you who you are.  If I'd never had a bad relationship with a boyfriend or a friend; then I wouldn't be able to appreciate how blessed I am to have the husband that I do; or the friends that I cherish.  Here's another big lesson; NOT everyone is for EVERYONE.  Find friends who are like you and remember that quality is a lot more important than quantity; in every aspect of your life.  OK, not quite sure how I got on this soapbox, and I think that it's time for me to get down.  I wish you a peaceful week, with nothing much going on.                                                   

Till next time...

Queen of EVERYTHING