Success at CVS Trip #3

Last night as I was browsing the CVS deals for the week, I stumbled upon a $3/$15 (that means $3 off a purchase of $15 or more) coupon for CVS that expired yesterday! So I had to use it!! Here is my deal that turned out REALLY sweet!

1 box Alavert: 5.99
1 tube Skin Effects pimple cream: 9.99
Coupons: 

$3/$15 CVS
$2 off Skin Effects (CVS beauty magazine)
$4 off Alavert
$3.50 ECBs
**BONUS** I found a CVS coupon for $2 off any Alavert product on top of the price scanner. (*NOTE* Always scan your card at the price scanner usually located near the front of the store for bonus CVS coupons!)
ARE YOU READY FOR THIS!?!?
   
OOP: $1.49
ECB's EARNED: $8!!!

YAY!
I will say that they almost didn't take my $3/$15 coupon b/c the bar code on the coupon didn't match the bar code on my card. They ended up just keying it in themselves. Same with the Alavert coupon I found on the price scanner. I was a little nervous there for a minute, but all turned out well!

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince

I haven't decided whether I should be excited or not.  Nevertheless, coming this November, the sixth movie installment of Harry Potter based on the book series by J.K. Rowling will appear in theaters.  I will say to all of you skeptics out there, that I stayed away from Harry Potter when it initially hit the scene.  I wasn't a big recreational reader at the time, and all the fuss about it teaching children about witchcraft and sorcery was enough for me to just stay away.  But as I grew older, I not only began to think a little bit for myself, but also became a more recreational reader.  Put the two together, and I really needed a good book series.  A good friend of mine, Day Smith, was a big Harry Potter fan.  She so sweetly agreed to be a bridesmaid in my wedding BEFORE she found out that the final book, The Deathly Hallows, would come out that very day.  Anyways, all of the excitement got me interested.  I got to thinking, I am a grown woman who is very founded in her beliefs, a children's book is not going to shake me up!  So I began reading, and I was immediately addicted.  J.K. Rowling has such a talent for developing characters and plot and setting and weaving it all together into this unpredictable web of a story.  Let's be honest with ourselves...how many times have you read a book and NOT been able to predict the ending of it by the time you got there?  Aside from the classics, I myself have not read many.  But she NEVER ceased to astonish me with her twists and turns.  Not to mention the way she made me HATE certain characters and LOVE others.  I laughed out loud, I cried real tears, I found myself actually CARING about these FICTIONAL characters.  I can say that I have never read a book that had me so involved in its story.  Lucky for me, all of the books were out when I started reading, so I read them all back to back in about 1 month!  I definitely have a new favorite author and series.  And as for the mumbo jumbo about being unsuitable for children based on the witchcraft and wizardy...that is hogwash.  The only reason I would say it is unsuitable for young children is because there is a level of violence in it that might scare children.  The book is CLEARLY fictional...and very good fiction at that.  So after I read these fascinating books, I was thrilled to find out that there were movies to go along with them.  I borrowed all 5 that were out at the time from my cousin Neil.  Then I forced Michael to watch them with me.  I wanted him to understand why I was so obsessed with reading these books.  I wanted him to enjoy the story and love the characters I loved and despise those that I despised.  Well...the movies did NOT help me meet my goal.  They were okay.  But so much of the plot is left out!  There are just some things that cannot be conveyed on a movie screen. THIS brings me to the reason I am wary of getting excited about the Half-Blood Prince coming out in November.  I do think that the movies have gotten increasingly better with each one, so maybe this one will shock and amaze even the truest Harry Potter fan.  I still think the only way to truly appreciate and understand this story completely is to read the books!  I am begging Michael to do so.  First I have to purchase my own copy!  (if anyone needs to get me a present for anything...hint hint)  Enough rambling.  You can watch the movie trailer here.   

Blogs that Might Pique Your Interest

I am sorry that it has been a few days since I've posted. I got a book that I've been waiting on from the library, so those of you that know me well know what I've been doing for the last 48 hours.



ANYWAYS, I thought I would share with you some of the blogs that I find interesting. I have a few main categories that I look at: Christian blogs, Friends & Family, MSU, and Saving Money. You can find all of the friends and family blogs listed to the right. Here are the other blogs that I enjoy:



In the Christian Section:

Albert Mohler's Blog: http://www.albertmohler.com/

This is the president of Southwestern Seminary in Louisville, KY. His posts are mostly commentaries about events in the world today. I find them interesting.



Pinelake Church's Life Journal Blog: http://pinelake.org/blogs/lifejournal

These posts are made by staff members at Pinelake in Brandon, MS. They use the lifejournal format that I introduce in a previous post.



For State Fans:

Inside Mississippi State Sports with Gregg Ellis:

He writes articles for papers in Mississippi focusing on MSU athletics. Reading his blog helps me hold conversations about MSU with Dad and Michael!



Saving Money:

MoneySavingMom:

This site gives practical advice and ways to save money. From grocery shopping tips to cooking from scratch. She is currently doing a series on making money by blogging...very interesting!



The "Cents"ible Sawyer: http://www.thecentsiblesawyer.blogspot.com/

This is the site that got me started on CVS. She also posts on deals at many other stores, give-aways, places to find coupons, etc.



The Simple Dollar:

The writer of this blog quit his full time job to write for his blog. He is full of great ideas on how to save a little money. He is a Dave Ramsey Supporter. He reviews finance books weekly.



Wise Bread:

Similar to The Simple Dollar except that many different writers post to the blog. I must admist that these posts are sometimes not "Christian" in that they are not always going to support the same moral/ethical things we believe in. Just be warned. You have to filter the good from the bad.



RANDOM:

The McNulty Quads:

A mother chronicles her journey raising quads. I don't see how she has the time to post, but she does an amazing job!



The Gerwer babies:

Another mother writing about her journey raising quads. These babies are younger.



I hope you can find at least one blog out of my list that you enjoy. Refer to my post about feeds to find out how you can recieve updates from multiple blogs on one site!

Semi-Successful CVS Trip #2

So on Sunday afternoon, I plotted out my plans and trucked it on down to CVS. I am trying to keep it simple here at the beginning. Here was my plan:
Buy: 1 Colgate toothpaste using a $1.00 off coupon and earning 2 ECBs
1 Crest toothpaste using a 75 cents off coupon and earning 1.50 ECBs
2 Oral-B Inicator Toothbrushes with a $1 off 2 items coupon and
earning 4 ECBS
This should have made my total around 4.75 OOP after using the 3.99 in ECBs I already had and earn me 7.50 in ECBs in return.

Well well well...here is how it went down. I got all my items, gave them my coupons, ECBs, etc. and the price comes to within 8 cents of my prediction. I am excited. Then I only got 3.50 in ECBs back. I said hold on...I am supposed to get 2 ECBs each for these toothbrushes...that is 4 ECBs I am missing. I tell the cashier. I pull out the August ECB flier and show her it on the page. This is how it reads: Buy Oral-B Indicator or Advantage Value Pack Toothbrush 4 pk. get $2 extra bucks. This led me to belive that I could buy 1 Indicator OR I could buy the 4 pk of Advantage. Well it is not so. You must buy the 4 pk. of either one. So, alas, the ambiguous fine print got me. But DO NOT FEAR...I have a plan. I will tell you about it after I make sure it works. I don't want to look stupid if it doesn't!! All in all it was still a good buy. All four items would normally cost around $10-12 and I got it for $4.80. AMAZING! Have you tried CVS? Leave a comment of your adventures, questions, or thoughts.

The Bread Making Site

Click HERE to get complete directions and pictures for making homemade bread.

Thank you Katie for helping me!

WOW! I am getting so talented!

I AM EMPLOYED!!!!

I got a job! YAY! I will be tutoring children at the All Church Home for Children in downtown Fort Worth Monday through Thursday from 2 - 6 p.m. I couldn't be happier! I prayed for a job, and God has blessed me way beyond my expectations!! Praise the Lord for HE is good!

Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

Bread Making Extravaganza

Yesterday, Kristy and Deanna came over and we made homemade bread! Wow! Aren't we cool! We followed a recipe on the Simple Dollar blog. I don't know how to post handy dandy links on here, so if someone would kindly educate me, I will get that up for you!

We had a rather good time as you can tell from the many pictures!!