Free @ CVS + Made 9 bucks!

That $15 worth of extrabucks and a mypoints gift card? Well, I told ya I would roll it, and I did :) Here is what I got

Transaction one (first cvs store bc they were out of everything else)
(1) Revlon nail polish @ $4.99 paid with a $5 extracare buck (didn't even charge tax) Got back $4 extracare bucks

Transaction two (second store)
2 Revlon nail polish @4.99 each = 9.98 Paid with $10 mypoints gift card
Got back $8 in extracare bucks

Transaction three
(2) softsoap body washes @ 2 for $7
(1) 50 ounce purex laundry detergent @$1.98
MINUS $1 off any purex =$7.98
used the $8 in extrabucks form previous transaction to pay for it all
FREE + made back $5 on the 2 softsoaps (deal was buy 2 @ $7 and make $5 extrabucks).

So everything above was FREE just for rolling my store credits!
I now have (1) ecb $4 and (1) ecb $5
I made $9 to take everything out of the store:)

Of course I had to splurge and by myself the new revlon colorburst lipgloss in hot pink. I loved it so much from the sample I recieved in the mail that I purchased it at the full $8 :) haha.

Wonder what I will use the $9 on next week? ;)

All this for .83 @ Harris Teeter!

Here is how:

Luigi's Italian Ice (on sale buy one get one) for $3.49
Starkist Tuna $3.34 for 2
Oral B tooth Brushes 99 cent x 2 - 1.98

Total before coupons = $8.81
Minus .50 coupon (in Sunday ad inserts a few weeks ago) for Italian Ice that tripled to 1.50 off x 2 (used two coupons) =3 off 3.49 = .49 for two or 24 cent each

Minus .50 coupon (internet printable off starkist.com) for tuna that tripled to 1.50 off x 2 (used two coupons)-$3 off $3.34 = .34 for two or .17 each

Minus .75 coupon for oral b tooth brush (in p&g home mailer) (won't triple bc there would be overage and HT does not allow overages so it rounded down) - 2 tooth brushes for FREE!!

.49 +.34 = .83!! :) Everything else I had coupons for was gone.

Coupon deals this week (that I have/will partake in):

I have to admit, I have been discouraged stepping into most stores once the sales ads hit. It used to be I'd go in and get my items with my one set of coupons and the shelves would be hearty.

Now when I go first thing in the morning I find that the shelves in the only two stores I really coupon at (CVS & Harris Teeter) are bare first thing. I know some people have multiple coupons and stock up. I guess I am just jealous I never even get the chance to use my one coupon ;) But, as they say in the coupon cyber world "the early bird gets the worm".

Some how even though I get there very early, I usually miss out.

All I have done this week was the purex laundry detergent @ CVS.
Okay, I should admit it, I am a hypocrit according to my above statement, because I infact used 3 purex coupons.

CVS has a sale on the 50 ounce Purex laundry detergent bottles for $1.98.
I used a $1 off purex coupon in one of the ad inserts from a couple of weeks ago, making my 3 laundry detergents .98 a piece.

Since I didn't have any coupons to use on other extrabuck earning deals @ CVS this week, I decided that was all I would get..UNTIL I checked my mailbox this afternoon:

I redeemed my mypoints.com points for a $10 CVS card. Then I also had a $5 beauty club extra buck print out for me on the coupon center. I plan to hit up CVS in the morning and roll that money like you wouldn't believe :) So tomorrow I will show you how I roll this combined total of $15 and get tons of things FREE and make money back! (Hint: includes revlon nail polish, softsoap body wash, one more bottle of purex etc..Have to do it when you have 2 kids and are on a limited income).

Not only did I get that in the mail, Ore-Ida sent a coupon for a FREE bag of sweet potato fries, via their facebook page. Oh my, lucky day for me!

Did anyone else coupon this week? Or do you plan to? Please share your deals in the comments :) By the way I am almost done with this new craigslist dresser project I have taken on for my daughter. I am LOVING craigslist and refurbishing stuff! Why buy new when you can make it new for CHEAP? ;)

Bamboo is evil :) (or atleast hard to eradicate, if at all possible).

If you have read my posts before pertaining to bamboo, you probably know by now it is like a weed. For some ungodly reason it's classified as a grass, but it's the hardest wood I've ever had to cut down. (well, I am lying, mostly Doug cuts it with a machete).
(Below photos are from our yard):








I on the other hand? I mow them over as they pop up. They are pretty much impossible to get rid of. No herbicide kills them, no amount of cutting down kills the rhizomes, burning doesn't do a thing, NOTHING HELPS. Of course the bamboo society recommended cutting down all the mother plants (good luck finding that when we have thousands behind our yard etc). So the plan is to cut it all down, and starve the rhizomes. They say you have to be vigilant or it will not go away.

I personally find this to be the biggest nightmare as a home owner (yard wise). Bamboo is so hardy it grows through ANYTHING. It has grown through a HUGE oak tree log laying in the back and split it right in half. When we had a big pool up one year it grew right through the liner with thousands of gallons of water pressure a top it.

When you read that bamboo is sustainable, they aren't lying (whomever they are). Bamboo is a beast! THANKFULLY for us it only seems to grow during one and a half seasons. (I can't remember) I am pretty sure it started late spring and ends mid summer. All I know is in fall and winter it isn't growing. THANK YOU, LORD :)

One week I ran over 100 culms of baby bamboo canes.

Two days later there were 100 more.

3 days later there were 60.

Bamboo is crazy!

Today Doug chopped down a ton of the large stalks in our yard.

We are planning to see if anyone will buy them for a buck a pop off craigslist. (make lemons out of lemonaide right)? I mean I see canes of bamboo bundled in fives for ten bucks at target. Our canes are HUGE in comparison.

Either way, I just want it gone. We plan to take down all stalks in our yard, this way as they grow we can just keep mowing them down. Unfortunatley for us, we will never control the rhizomes since the canes are now behind our property and in a neighbors yard.

Dear readers, whatever you do, before buying a home, get an inspection, note if there are any bamboo canes cut, and STEER CLEAR! It's a nightmare. We were duped as the previous owners withheld this from us and did not disclose it.

My only concern is if it will grow in the crawlspace. Preventative measures say to dig and pour a concrete barrier, and as much work as it is? Well, it's worth it and we may do that to save the house from bamboo. If it can grow through a tree log, a huge pool filled with water, who is to say if god forbid it gets in the crawlspace it won't grow through pipes or subfloor? I pray that isn't the case, but the stuff is pretty insane.

Wish us luck!

Harris Teeter Triple Coupons Trip!

This is crazy! Harris Teeter had triple coupons today (any coupon up to 98 cent tripled at the register). Of course I had my list and planned late last night, banked 3 hours of sleep, got up early, took MiMi to school and headed on over to Harris Teeter.

In the past when I did this I would be one of the only few people in the store. Today it was slam packed. Everything that was a sale item was virtually already gone.

I did manage to get (2) 6 ct each packs of Luigi's Italian Ice for 24 cent each after coupons, Glad trash bags for 75 cent (after coupons) and some of my favorite tooth paste for 50 cents :)

Of course Ethan was being a screaming banshee and the only 2 year old screaming to his hearts content. I know, you're probably thinking, c'mon lady, he's 2, 2 year old do this sort of thing.

Oh, they do, believe me, I know first hand. Ethan screams bloody murder if he can't get the shopping cart's seat belt on. Then he screams bloody murder when he can't unbuckle it. He will sit there the entire shopping trip fussing about the seat belt. If we go to a store with Thomas the train toys, I better steer clear or he will throw a world war 3 temper tantrum like no body's business. Personally I am not humiliated I just kind of don't make eye contact with anyone and if I do pass someone I say something like "it's okay buddy, you're too big for the seat belt".

Other times I want to burry myself head first in a pile of dirt/sand/whatever.

MiMi on the other hand has always been a simple child. I don't know, boys must be a different ball game obviously. He's still his mama's little sugar though!

I haven't posted in a bit because blogger was down for a while. But I purchased another craigslist dresser. This thing was a BEAST, but you will probably be amazed once I do the reveal. I am not even going to post befores until it is all done, it's that exciting and that much of a difference.

I should also mention the seller was not the best and left me with rodent poo, roach casings and live spiders, (after I specifically asked if this was a storage item because I did not want to encounter this) and he assured me it was not. I also asked if it was solid wood, and again, he assured me it was. My surprise when Doug brought it home with is horrible veneer top (ack). I ended up replacing it witha real wood slab, but like I said, this one is a TOTAL trash to treasure.

And, in the future, should I do another craigslist refurbish, I WILL BE THE ONE to go see it in person. lol, but for 30 bucks I can't complain, it's a beauty now :D

I think after taxes my total was $2.20. The kids like the Italian Ice, so that was a positive. We are a struggling family so anytime we can get something so cheap, it's a good day in our household.

KRYLON Oil Rubbed Bronze Ceiling Fan Make Over!! PRETTY - PRETTY!!

I've been staring at this ceiling fan in our bedroom for the last 7 years. It's white, it's plain, it's brass. It's not the ugliest fixture our house has had, but it's not too modern either.

You should know by now, dear readers, I am too cheap to buy a new one just for aesthetic purposes. Refurbishing the old and making it new is my favorite thing to do! (We all know this cheapy cheaperson loves to save a buck or two, or 80)! New ceiling fans (the nice ones) run from 80 on up at Lowes. uh-uh not my kinda budget!

So check out what an under $4 can of oil rubbed bronze Krylon spray paint, and a $16 replacement light cover can do for this beast!

Before: Ignore the quality it was a cell pic. I asked Doug to take it down for me so I could clean and spray paint it. He was in a hurry to get back to his xbox, so I had no choice but to whip out the trusty cell phone. She's white, she's brassy..

Mid spray paint:
All I did was clean and dry the pieces, lay them on some scrap cardboard, and spray a few coats of Krylon's Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint on top (no primer, no scuffing up). I TRUST this brand, I have used it on everything from other light fixtures, to cabinet pulls and knobs with out incident:

Now, this is important, I bought the replacement glass piece at lowes, GET BIGGER, bigger will enhance the look of the ceiling fan! This was only $16 at Lowes. See the difference side by side?

Alright, so about 15 minutes later, the Krylon is super dry and you can reassemble the whole thing. AMAZING, right? You can totally REVAMP an ugly old ceiling fan in less than 40 minutes!

Total cost? $16 for the glass replacement light cover & $3.99 for a can of Krylon's Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint at Wal Mart. :)

This is the same can I used to do my dresser pulls seen in this blog:
Dresser Redo/Bedroom Redo
One can of Krylon goes the distance!

Happy Mother's Day all Mother's of the World :)

Happy Mother's Day to all you lovely woman! Both first time mothers, long time mothers, adoptive mothers, step mothers, and woman who treat other's children like your own. God bless you all :) !!

Where would the world be with out the great mother's of this world? I wish I had a photo book handy but I'd like to take the time to thank my own mother:

My mom is a lot like me, she's very reserved, semi anti social, but very polite and expressive when need be. My mom was a selfless mother. She often went with out just so we could have things. We weren't a rich family, we lived on a single income military household. My mom stayed at home and raised us. She always made sure we were read to every night, she took time to play with us even on days she probably didn't want to. She proudly displayed our ugly art work, let us have free roam outside to discover and enjoy a childhood with out much restriction. We could get dirty to our hearts content with out getting fussed at. Mom didn't get mad when we brought in random bugs or critters we found outside. She didn't hollar at us when we dragged the whole playroom into the living room before she woke up. She loved us. She was very shy and kept to herself, but she would be quick to turn on the you know what switch if someone messed with her babies. Mom is a full blooded German, who didn't speak a lick of english when she met my military father. She came to the United States upon marrying him and learned a whole new language on her own. She is possibly one of the smartest women I have ever met. I am not just saying this, she has so much common sense it's insane. (Too bad it didnt always rub off on me) hehe. I remember a time when my dad was in Korea and we stayed here. We were very broke, we went to grocery store and my mom got minimal groceries and picked me up an issue of a magazine I loved to read, "Teen". I was 14 at the time I believe. Anyway, when the register was done ringing up my mom was short on money and started to put food back. Rather than put my magazine back she put other things back. She told me it was important to read and she would do with out some other things.

I remember it made me sad to see her semi humiliated but also happy to know she cared so much about me. I remember my mom not having many friends and always saving her money. I remember during prom she would pull money out of her stash and buy each of us a dress.

There are so many reasons I love my mom, but the most important thing to me is that she was always there. She truly did devote her entire young adulthood to being a mom, she didnt go out and party or run the roads, she was a mom who was die hard and was going to be there for you no matter what. I can't say this has remained true throughout my adulthood, but I can say she does the best she can. I love her to pieces and I am blessed to have had her as my mother. Happy Mothers Day, Mom!!

My own mother's day has been wonderful, MiMi brought me home some "goodies" from school. This was particularly my favorite (mostly because she says I am 11 years younger than I really am) hehe:

Then she made me this gorgeous flower pen:

and an adorable pop up card:


I am blessed, and I hope I can be half as amazing a mother as my own was to me!!