Monday: Leftover tacos
Tuesday: Pita Pizzas
Wednesday: Sandwiches or soup
Thursday: Salmon and veggies
Friday: Fend for yourself (Blake is a chaperone for the jr. high dance and I am hosting a scrapbooking party)
Saturday: Baked chicken and veggies
Sunday: BBQ chicken pizza
I will have to do a little shopping this week, but my goal is to keep it below $50! Head over to orgjunkie for more menu plan monday!
Well, here are the CVS deals I've managed to get since I learned about the CVS game.
Week 1: Maybeline eyeshadow $5.39 out of pocket
Earned $5.39 in ECB's
I had to start somewhere!!!
Week 2: Venus Embrace Razor $9.99
Gatorade G2 drink $1.29
I used the $5.39 I earned in ECB's and only paid $6.98 out of
pocket
Earned $7.29 in ECB's
Week 3: Easter candy $0.99 per bag (I bought 2)
Colgate toothpaste $2.99 used $1/1 coupon
Colgate toothpaste $2.99 used $1/1 coupon
I had forgotten my ECB's and didn't realize it until I went to pay
so I spent $6.54 out of pocket
Earned $4.00 in ECB's
I now have $11.29 in ECB's and am gearing up for next weeks deals. I was really trying to figure out a way to make the $30 in product and earn $15 in ECB's work for me, but couldn't make it work. Maybe there will be some awesome deals next week and I can really do great!!!
My goal this week was to send a letter with a handmade card. Well, I wrote my letter last night, but had to use a notecard I already had. We had a busy weekend at Winterfest with our youth group, so I didn't have a chance to make a card. The great thing is that I've kept up with writing my letters for three weeks!!!
Monday: Pizza (I am spending the day planning my 10 year high school reunion, so I will not feel like cooking)
Tuesday: Baked Salmon, brown rice, and asparagus
Wednesday: Soup
Thursday: Tacos (we will have a group of college students over for dinner)
Friday: Baked chicken, potatoes, and green beans
Saturday: BBQ chicken pizza
Sunday: Chicken parmesan
I'm trying to stretch what is in my pantry this week. I should only have to shop for milk and stuff for Tacos Thursday night.
Head over to orgjunkie.com for more menus!!
I have to take some time to brag on my husband for last night. First of all, you must know that he is not very fond of Valentine's Day (the word "hate" has been used). I, on the other hand, love everything about it. I don't care if it is commercialized, and think it is a day to show someone how much you love them. Yes, I do understand you should be doing that all the time, and I strive to do that in my life, but I get caught up in all the hoopla just the same. I knew we had reservations for my favorite restaurant in our town, but had no idea that he had other surprises up his sleeve. When I got home from work, there were paper hearts cut out leading up from our basement to the laundry room. On the back of each heart he had written a reason he loved me. Yes, this made me cry. It was incredible to see on paper things I didn't realize meant so much to him. When I finished reading the hearts and walked in upstairs, he handed me a bag with the new Colbie Cailiett CD in it. I had mentioned that I really liked her two songs on the radio, and he ran with it!! We then get ready and head over to Mauricio's for our dinner reservations. I had dropped off a gift for Blake to be left on our table, but little did I know, he had done the same thing. The owner of the restaurant walks over with a rose and a card and gives them to me!! The card was the sweetest. Even though, he didn't spend much money (he thinks things are way over-priced on Valentine's Day), it was the perfect gift!! I've added some pictures of what he did for me to brag a little more! I hope you enjoy them!
One thing I am enjoying about this blog is that it keeps me accountable. Last week I posted that I would be sending a hand-written card out each week to someone. So, Tuesday is the day I've picked for my cards to go out. I've been using some cute notecards that I purchased, but my goal is to start sending out hand-made cards. Check out my other blog to see some of the cards I make. I actually sell them at a boutique store in our town, so I rarely make any for me to use anymore! My goal next week is to use a handmade card (and post a picture of it here)! Check back to see if I make my goal!!
I stuck to my menu plan last night and make the teriyaki salmon, and it was delicious!!! I'm not sure Blake liked the mandarin oranges on top of it, but it made a great presentation. It was super-easy to put together too! I highly recommend trying this recipe!!!
Since I went on a ranting fit yesterday after my CVS experience, I feel compelled to post an update. I went to the CVS across town on my way home from work and they had one item that I needed and was able to get for "free" after ECB's! So, now I'm ready for next week. My goal is to get one item that I can get for free after ECB, but is less than what I have in ECB's (make sense?). This way I can grow my ECB's and work toward getting groceries for free!!
I've been reading a lot of information on saving money through CVS, so I thought I would start small and give it a try. I found one thing in the sale paper that I needed that would have been free after the ECB's. So, I lunch today, off I go to begin my wonderful journey of saving money and being a smart shopper! I was so proud of myself for researching this all out and making an informed decsion on saving our hard earned money. Well, apparently everyone else in this town has the exact same idea because the one product I went in to buy was completely gone! Does everyone know about the CVS deals? Am I the last one to catch on, so I'm out of luck?? I'm assuming that people buy more than the one thing they need and stock up on like a one year supply so that those of us who want to buy one thing haven't got a chance. Well, I'm not going to give up yet! I'll be there the first day the sale flyer comes out next week!! The one good thing I am learning is to look for coupons, and I did manage to get my foundation (that I was out of) this morning for 40% off!! I never looked for things to be on sale before. I've always been a Wal-mart girl, but I'm slowly learning that I can get some better deals if I search it out!!
Here is my first works for me Wednesday post!! I really enjoy photography, and have recently upgraded from the Canon tii film camera to the Canon Digital Rebel XTI. What worked for me was buying it online at beachcamera.com. I only needed to body of the camera because my lenses for the Rebel film camera worked on the digital XTI. This site had some of the best deals (that were real and not a bait and switch like some sites I came across). So, if you're in the market for a good deal on a camera, check it out, it worked for me! For more ideas, head over to rocks in my dryer.
So, I've been trying to decide on a main topic for my blog. You know, something I really enjoy and can share with others (if anyone is even reading this). This is what I have come up with...letters. No, not the alphabet, but hand-written letters mailed to friends and family. I was told once that I had a gift for writing encouraging letters (long time ago, and still not sure if that is true). Whether it is true or not, I think anyone can be encouraged by getting a letter in the mail. I truly believe it is more personal and thoughtful than sending an e-mail or message on myspace or facebook. One of my goals for the new year is to be more encouraging and try to mail at least one hand-written letter a week. Maybe this can be something that spreads over the blogging world!?!? How incredible would it be to know that each Tuesday, dozens (maybe hundreds) of letters were being mailed out to friends and family for no reason but to simply encourage one another!! I guess I better be thinking of who my letter is going to today! So I will stop typing and start writing!!
