All the News That's FIt to Print

I am still alive... mostly. THAT is a huge overly dramatic remark, but an honest one, nonetheless. I really thought when this whole arm thing happened that I would have a week or two of down time and then be on the mend and back in business, so to speak. Reality check. I am mending- this my husband and doctors have assured me. Repeatedly. I am also frustrated beyond all words. It has been nearly 8 weeks now and I am still only able to move my left arm at the shoulder joint about 3 or 4 inches from my body before I wish I hadn't. And this, I can only do a couple of times before the nerves rebel and my arm hangs limp and useless at my side. I am allowed to work- from home- in 15 minute increments- with thirty minutes rest between. I dare you to try that one. Did I mention how frustrating this is?

I have not been shopping. I have not even looked to see what sales might have come and gone. And, I have not found my neon green coupon binder. I have felt sorry for myself. I have become annoyed at myself when my building frustration veers into the waters of deep sadness. I have sat here, looking at cleaning tasks, farming tasks, and various general maintenance tasks going either undone, done haphazardly (by me), or stuffed into the "do later" column. My husband and family are a great help, but there is only so much more they can take on to do and fulfill the responsibilities of their jobs and schooling. See? Self pity leaking out, gumming up the works. Then, I think about all the ones out there dealing with REAL hardship, trials, and loss and I am ashamed of my bouts of self pity and morose countenance. I fractured my arm, not lost it for good.

I am getting better. This will end at some point and I will be back to normal; driving myself where I want to go, interacting with other humans when I get there, working, shopping, hanging with my friends... you get the picture. For now, I am finding solace in venturing out once a week with my husband on short errands. I worked for 3 hours today and actually accomplished something. I have a plan for working tomorrow, too. These small successes make me feel Good. Satisfied. And, Hopeful.

As for shopping, I am very grateful that I had a stockpile of grocery things from which to feed my family these past weeks. The supplies may be running thin, but I still have enough staples to last us a while. And, my sweet, helpful husband assisted me in cutting and sorting my stack of coupons, getting them ready for when I do feel able to hunt down those sales. My daughters bring me "gifts" of freebies from my mailbox most days, which brighten my days just that little bit more. And, I was able to sit here and type this: two handed, without my arm aching and my fingers going to pins and needles. It may not be much, but I will smile and be satisfied with that.

I will get back into the swing of things. I will count all my blessings and I will look forward to 2012 and all the adventure it will contain.

I hope this blog post finds you and yours in good health and calm spirits.
Talk with you all soon!
Sonja ♥

Ooops, I did it (again)...

...but I am determined to be back in the saddle soon!

Farm life is wonderful, to me. Really, Really. Even taking into account the daily rituals of cleaning several feeding and watering dishes and buckets, mucking various stalls, cleaning critters who often much prefer their originally dirty & stinky state. Even in the rain. Even with the worries of the impending snows of winter. Even with goats who possess a wondrous Houdini-esque ability to defy metal "cow" fencing supplemented with electrified taped ribbons. Even with the Fractured Neck of my Left Humerus bone I managed to sustain corralling my daughter's Quarter Horse, Jasmine, about 10 days ago. Thankfully, I broke my fall with the left side of my face (mostly my forehead and left eye area) and, obviously, my left shoulder and upper arm.

My youngest on Jasmine 2010

This latest injury- remember the torn right Anterior Talofibular Ligament in March sustained in an unprovoked attack from my dear Brother and Sister-In-Law's newly purchased home that I was assisting to paint, followed by totalling my pretty little brand new 2010 Nissan Versa in April which left me with a pinched nerve from a compressed C4/C5 disk in my neck?- has left me with very little ability to type with any amount of comfort physically, and mentally, in no condition to search for sales and compare coupons. In addition, being couch bound, drugged (legally, obviously), vision blurred, dazed and confused creates less than ideal circumstances for any planned shopping for Sonja. I am right handed, but having my left arm strapped across my torso, completely immobilized has been... let's say, inconvenient and uncomfortable (read that: experiencing bouts of extreme pain if I dared to move, followed by periods of dazed stupor). I am not the best patient. And, I cannot give enough thanks to my friends Cherie C. and my sweet niece, Micayla B. for sitting with me for hours, Kami H. for providing my family with a delicious meal, Helen H. for providing food stuffs for our family, and the act of kindness which touched my heart the most was that of Richard B, who taped the part my daughter had at a Christian meeting, which I was physically unable to attend. I am so blessed to have each of you and the many, many others like you in my life.

To add insult to injury... I can't find my coupon binder. I will admit, on days one through seven, I did not care- at all. Day eight? I started to completely freak out! I can deal with being out of work for a couple of weeks, doubling (at least) the time it takes to accomplish any household task, the forced inability to drive myself anywhere (still) or dress myself unaided, or the uselessness of attempting to put a ponytail in my hair one handed... but, this just will not do! I called out the troops, also known as my family to hunt high and low for it. It is nearly neon green; how hard can it be to spot? No success. I try to always look to the good in any situation, but I was hard pressed to find it here! Eventually, (and this is a work in progress) I am attempting to convince myself that most of those coupons probably expired at the end of October. And, that this is an opportunity to revamp my coupon binding sorting system. I still had 4 sets of inserts from the last weekend in October because I had not gotten the time to cut and file them, so they were still living in my desk. And, my kind and understanding friends come to my rescue in this, too. Mrs. Nancy R. brought me at least 6 insert sets from the November 5th paper. And, my most wondrous husband, Sean brought me 5 sets of this weekend's paper. These are all living in a plastic bag on my kitchen table at the time of this posting, but I have hope that more troops will rally to help me to get these sorted and filed properly.

My husband has done some shopping for our family this week. He shopped Rite Aid. All in all, he spent $8.72 to buy one package of Stayfree for free and 6 packs of Trident gum for .31¢ each. He made .50¢ on each of the eight tubes of Colgate toothpaste he purchased. He even found some with bonus packs of Colgate Dry Mouth Solution attached to four boxes of the Colgate. He purchased 2 bags of Candy Corn for .38¢ each and 1 bag of Cotton Candy for .25¢ on the clearance table. Lastly, he found five- 1 gallon buckets (new feed buckets for the goats), a dog brush, a dog travel water dish, and a bag of dog treats in the $1 section aisle, which became .90¢ each because of the 10% off level on our Wellness Card. Today, at Rite Aid, he picked up 6 packages of Orbits gum for free.





Ellie & Pepper in back. Leah & Rachel in front. Jedi on the right.

There are more sales on the horizon and though I may be slower these days, I will start posting again regularly. I have missed blogging and talking with all of you. In closing, I just have to include a picture of my completed goat herd. Miss Ellie (the black LaMancha doe) is pregnant already. We are anticipating the possibility of twins in the Spring and with them, milk for soaps, lotions, and homemade Cheeses! Twin does, Miss Rachel and Miss Leah (both white/tawny in color) and Miss Pepper (the brown doe) will all be attempted to be bred to Master Jedidiah next season. He is a good lad and we are sure he will throw handsome kids for us to sell next year after they are weaned.

Jedi ♥s cardboard boxes.

What has been going on with you all?
Sonja ♥

Freebies in my Mailbox

I love getting free samples in my mailbox! I mean, what's not to love about trying a new product before buying it? Or, having single size packets of products to leave out for visiting guests? Or, to pack in your carry on bag when you travel? Or, to use in hundreds of other useful ways? 

Today in my mailbox I received a lovely, little, feminine bag of goodies. Among these were samples for Ponds facial cleansing cloths, Tresemme Shampoo & Conditioner, Garnier Fructis Shampoo & Conditioner, John Freida Full Repair Shampoo, Conditioner, & Repair, L'Oreal Youth Code lotion, Burt's Bees facial cream and a coupon book with $20 in money saving coupons exclusive to Target.

In another packet, I received 2 pair of disposable underwear for women from TENA Women. It included a booket with helpful hints on dealing with adult incontinence. My Nana was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease many years ago. As her health deteriorates, sadly, this kind of product becomes more and more necessary. And, these products can be very expensive! I intend to keep this packet in my first aid/emergency bag in my vehicle. If I need them on an outing with Nana, they will be waiting, just in case.

A friend of mine gave me a tip about using baby diapers for absorbing domestic animal household "accidents". Perhaps, these would suit that purpose, too?

The last item in my mailbox was a sample of Biore facial cleanser. I have not actually used this product before, but I wanted to try it out. I love that now I can... for FREE!

I do not pay anything for samples. I find them very frequently available on facebook, couponing webpages, and blogs. Proctor & Gamble's program will send you free samples and coupons each quarter when you sign up. This quarter I am expecting to receive free samples of Crest 3D White Toothpaste, Crest 3D 2 Hour Whitening Strips, and Herbal Essense Shampoo and Conditioner. I was pleased to see some high value coupons for Tampax Pearl, CoverGirl NatureLuxe Foundation or Lip Balm, and Venus Pro Skin Moisure Rich system. Sign up Here. You can Sign up for Target Samples Here and Sign up for Walmart Samples Here.

What freebies came in your mailbox today?

Sonja ♥

Shaw's: $10 Catalina WYB $25, again

Retail Value: $39.38. Cost Out of Pocket $10. Catalina Earned $10.
Net Cost= FREE           100% Savings

Today was the last day for the $10 catalina when you buy (wyb) $25 in participating GM products. I already had a $10 catalina to use on this deal from my shopping trip last Friday and coupons to match this sale, so I wanted to try my hand at doing this deal another time. With coupons and catalina in hand, off to Shaw's I went.

In my first transaction, I decided to purchase 6 bags of Chex Mix. These were on sale for 2/$4. I had a coupon for $1/2 from a Sunday insert. This made them 2/$3. I purchased 4 bags of Betty Crocker Cookie mix on sale for 2/$4. I had (4) .40¢/1 manufacturer coupons (which doubled to .80¢/1) to bring these to $1.20/bag. Totino's Pizza Rolls were on my list and I used an online printable coupon of .40¢/2 (doubled to .80¢/2) to bring them to .60¢/box. And, I purchased (10) Yoplait yogurts on sale for 10/$6. I used a $1/10 coupon with these to being the total to 10/$5. Clearly, none of these prices were so AMAZING as to be MUST HAVES... until you consider the $10 catalina offer. My total before coupons/savings came to $28.00. After coupons and discounts, the total was $10. I paid $10 in cash and received a $10 On Your Next Order (OYNO) Catalina. Basically, everything I bought, was FREE.

Retail Value $31.18. Cost out of Pocket .62¢.
Net Cost .62¢           98% Savings

For my last transaction today, I flipped the $10 to purchase the Kibbles 'n Bits that I had gotten a rain check for on Tuesday. Kibbles 'n Bits were priced at $5.99 (which was even less expensive than was advertised previously. I don't know why, but I am not complaining!) and had a buy one, get one sale on them. This made them 2 bags for $5.99. I used (2) $1.50/1 manufacturer coupon from the Sunday insert to bring them down to $2.99 for 2 bags or $1.50 each (for the 3.6 pound bags). I did not want to use cash, so I needed to bring my balance to over the $10 mark. I added 2 bags of Chex Mix with the same coupons as above... and a twix candy bar at the register. My total came to $10.62. I paid with my $10 Catalina and .62¢ cash.

I really am very impressed with the Shaw's crew. Today, my cashier was Ethan and my bagger was Jill. She was so friendly and I appreciated that on a dreary, rainy day. There was a small snaffoo buying the Kibbles 'n Bits when the computer failed to register the buy one, get one sale. Ethan was great. I knew the amount on the register was too much, so I inquired about the price of the dog food and showed Ethan the sales flyer. He was so polite and professional. He called over his shift supervisor, Joyce who took one look and fixed the problem. Easy, easy. Problems will occasionally arise, but when they do, it is comforting to know that the cashiers are on your side, ready to help. Joyce even handed me a copy of next week's sales flyers early. I highly recommend the Bangor Shaw's store.

Starting tomorrow, there are going to be some good buy 3, get 3 sales. I am looking into taking advantage of the Classico pasta sauce. www.classico.com has a $1/1 printable coupon. You can print this twice. Quakes Rice Cakes are going to be on sale for $1 and they had some $1/3 peelies that will make these a fairly decent treat. Vitamin Water Zero is on sale for $1 with a bonus of (4) bottles when you buy (10), this makes them .71¢ each. I am going to look for a coupon for the Pillsbury Cake mix on sale for $1. I am also interested in the FREE MILK offer when you buy (4) participating GM cereals at 4/$10. There are several $1/2 coupons available for this offer, which would bring the cost to $8/4 boxes of cereal. When you consider that milk costs about $4/gallon, if you were going to need the milk anyway, it is like paying $1 for each box of cereal. Not too bad!

What sales caught your eye for next week?

Sonja ♥

Free Organic Cold Medicines at Rite Aid this week



(3) Duract Cough Quick Melt Tabs, (3) Organix Defense Cough Drops, (3) Blistex Cold & Flu Lip Balm, (3) Sucrets, (1) Similasan Kids Cold & Mucus Relief, (3) St. Joseph's 81mg aspirin, (1) Saline Soothers, (3) Fun Size Candies (These were "fillers" and sadly, they suffered some casualties on the drive home.) ALL for a total cost of $6.06.

So many people I know are interested in using all natural, organic foods and medicines for their families. The complaint I hear often, though, is that these items are more expensive, there are not coupons for them, and they rarely go on sale. These things are not true. At least, not entirely. I will admit that coupons for organic foods and medicines are more rare to come across than their counterparts, they are not entirely lacking. I was pleased to see that Rite Aid is carrying a larger selection of these items AND are offering them on sale, with RRs, and with Single Check Rebates (SCR). Because of the limits imposed on this sale, I called in some family and friends and with 3 wellness cards in hand, consider me ready.

My shopping trip today, as usual, took many transactions to complete. I was glad to be in Bucksport. The crew there is just wonderful. I hate to inconvenience other shoppers, so I try to give some advance notice to the store about my check out needs. When I let the manager know that I was going to check out in nine multiple transactions, she opened a register herself to assist me. This is the way they do at Bucksport's Rite Aid, every time.

I began with $2.50 on RRs from last week. In order to use as little of my out of pocket money, I started with purchasing (1) Organix Defense Cough Drop and (1) Blistex Cold & Flu Lip Balm for $2.99. I paid with $2.50rr and .64¢ cash. I received $1.49rr and $1.50rr. Next, I bought (1) Sucrets for $2.99. I paid with $1.49rr and $1.50rr and .15¢ cash (for the tax) and I earned $2rr. Then, I purchased (1) St. Joseph's 81mg aspirin for $4.99. I used $1/1 coupon from Sunday insert, $2rr and $2.24 cash and I received $4rr. Finally, I purchased (1) Duract Cough Quick Melt Tabs for $6.00. I paid with $4rr and $2.30 cash and I received $6rr. Total out of Pocket equalled $5.33 and I ended with $6rr, which gave me a net profit of .67¢. So far, so good.

At this point, I switched to a second card. Because I now had $6rr to work with, I did not need to make as many small transactions. For my first exchange, I purchased (1) Sucrets for $2.99, (1) Blistex Cold & Flu Lip Balm for $1.49 and (1) St. Joseph's Aspirin for $4.99. I used a $1/1 coupon for the aspirin, the $6rr, and $2.95 in cash. And, I received back $4rr, $2rr, and $1.49rr. Lastly, I used those RRs to purchase (1) Organix Cough Drops and (1) Duract Cough Quick Melt Tabs. I paid .39¢ cash and I received $1.49rr and $6rr. Total out of Pocket for this set of transactions totaled $3.34 and I now had $7.49rr. One last card to use to complete my shopping.

On the third card, I began with purchasing Sucrets, St. Joseph's Aspirin, and Organix Cough Drops. I flipped the $6rr and $1.49rr from my last purchase, a $1/1 coupon for the St. Joe's and added $1.46 cash from my wallet. I received $2rr, $4rr, and $1.50rr. This is where I needed a filler item. The last two items I planned on purchasing were going to cost me $7.49, so I would either use more money out of pocket and keep some RRs, or bring my total .01¢ over the RRs I had available to spend. The Twix were on sale for $1. This was not the cheapest option available, but Twix are absolutely, addictively, delicious, and that is what I opted to buy. I purchased (1) Duract and (1) Blistex Cold & Flu Lip Balm and (1) Twix "fun size" candy for $1.52 cash and my earned RRs. I received $6rr and $1.49rr back. The net total for this set of transactions was $2.98 cash and I finished with $7.49rr.

My RR shopping complete, all I had left to buy were items that would be free after the Single Check Rebate. In planning my shopping trip today, I had intended to buy (1) Zarbee's Natraflu Nighttime Cough & Sleep Drink ($6.99), but the store was out of stock on them. I was offered a rain check, which normally, I would accept, but I did not need this medicine immediately and I will be near another Rite Aid tomorrow, so I will check there first. I did buy the $1 Saline Soothers Moisturizing Nose Wipes and Similisan Cold Relief for Children for $3.99. The Saline Soothers was a complete freebie and I had a $1.75/1 Similisan coupon which made this item a .76¢ money maker.

I love SCR. It is a great way to turn coupons and RRs back into cash. Rite aid mails me a check each month for my rebates. I only use the single check rebate program on items I am getting free. Additionally, I use any left over RRs to pay for the cost to purchase the items and because I have also used a coupon when making the original purchase, most of the time, these become better than FREE. I just happily deposit the money into my checking account each month. Gotta love that!

I am waiting for the first sign of scratchy throat complaints to use the Organix Defense Cough Drops. They are sugar fee, gluten free and all organic. I am tempted to try the New Mint Chocolate flavored ones now- cold or no cold. Maybe, I better just have a mini Twix and call it a night instead.

Good night, all.

Sonja ♥

Rainy Day $20 Gift Card Give Away

Good Morning, Friends!

I woke this morning at 6am to find it still raining. It looks to clear tomorrow, but for now, it does not make the body feel much like being up and about, ready to take on the new day. I don't care for dreary days. So, I said to myself, "Self, we are going to need to do something special today."

I got a little excited about the Shaw's possibilities starting today, and organizing my sale strategy for that helped brighten my mood a bit, but then I thought... how about a contest???? There truly is more happiness in giving than receiving. I would love to give every reader an extra $20 to use for their shopping needs, but that would not be realistic. So, the next best thing is this:

I am entering every "follower" (aka Member) of this blog into a contest to win your choice of one $20 gift card to either Shaw's, Hannaford, Rite Aid, or Walgreen's.
To enter the contest, all you must do is this:

1. Simply scroll down and watch the right hand side to find the "Members" list. Click the "sign in" link and complete the easy sign in instructions. If you are already a member, no worries: no need to sign up, go on to step 2.

2. Once you are a "member", comment your choice of which gift card you would prefer to win in the comments section of this blog.

3. To gain a second chance to win, comment your gift card choice on our facebook post, also.

For complete contest rules, Please visit HERE.

Have a Happy Day, Everyone!
Sonja ♥

Apples Update

From twelve and one half (50 lb) bags of apples to apple cider, hard apple cider, apple wine, apple pie filling and apples to snack on. After, Sean and I pressed the apples at a congregation apple pressing party, it was time to start processing our bounty to savor over the cold winter months.

To prepare my traditional apple cider, I sterilized my equipment: large stock pot, water bath canner, covers, ladle, and jugs, and the cider in 8 quart batches. I added 1 tbsp of ground cinnamon and 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg to each batch. Using a plastic funnel made filling my jars easy, easy. I filled 7 gallons of cider. Sooooo delicious warm or cold. Once they cool on the counter (It is not safe to put warm or hot foods in the fridge or freezer. It can raise the internal temperature and cause foods to thaw in the freezer, or bacteria to grow in a warmer fridge environment) to room temperature, they are ready for the freezer. These can last for up to a year this way.

I am sending my husband's Dad and Mom and his Brother's family the quart jars which I canned in a hot water bath. Packed carefully and shipped overnight via UPS, they should arrive intact and be ready to be enjoyed or stored until colder weather.

My husband's Hard Cider takes somewhat less preparation at this stage. Pressed and poured into (2) five gallon glass carboys and (1) five gallon bucket, he topped them with air locks and wisely leaves them to do their fermentation thing. In about a week, he will rack and bottle them. Once more, leaving them be to age to perfected, drinkable goodness in about one month.

Sonja ♥



Personal Money Saving Strategies

For me, saving money, in all aspects of my living is important. So, I make the most of the many resources available. My top number of money saving strategies are:

1. Know the difference between your needs and your wants. "Need" is defined to be necessary; indicates that a course of action is desirable or necessary. Whereas, "want" is defined as to wish, crave, demand, or desire. This takes a lot of thought. When you understand the difference between needs and wants, your priorities change. Before you make a purchase, ask yourself questions like, Do I require this to make my life easier? Will this purchase take up precious time from more important things, like time with friends or family? Can I afford this? Will I have to work more hours to pay for it, again, robbing your time from more important things? Do I need it right now?

2. Friends & neighbors save coupon inserts for me. I always have multiples of each week's coupons and I never have to buy a Sunday paper. In return, I give them gifts from my bounty of freebies. I am not out anything because I decide what to gift. My cupboards remain stocked and I love that I can pass on the savings to others.

3. I plant a small garden each Spring. I love growing my own veggies. Beyond that, it saves tons of money on buying things that I can grow in my own yard. It saves on gas and my time: no driving to the store. It saves on trash in landfills because household scraps become organic compost. What I cannot use by the end of the season, I pick and can or freeze to enjoy through the winter.

4. Gleaning food. Keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities. Our community building often has food donated by a local Hannafords and each family is able to pick up a shopping bag of fruits and veggies, breads and desserts for free. Look at community boards to see what might be available in your community. If you live in an area with local farms or orchards, at the end of the season, many are willing to allow families to glean these or sell the produce at severely reduced rates rather than let the produce go to waste. It takes a bit of courage, but it never hurts to ask.

5. Keeping animals. We keep chickens for eggs. Most of our flock has been given to us. We watch the Uncle Henry's View Here and Craig's List View Here for hens who need a home. We keep enough to satisfy our family's need and we sell our excess to other families. It costs us to buy grain, true, but when we figure it all out. We make a profit of a few hundred dollars each year and we have an unlimited supply of the freshest, most delicious eggs we could eat. The chickens, also, keep down bugs in the yard. We will hatch a few clutches of chicks this spring to sell or replenish our flock. And, some folks supply Sunday dinner from their flock when their girls don't produce as much.

Feeding Leah and Rachel some treats.

Jedidiah playing with a box.

This year, we also started a small goat herd. We will sell the kids to cover the cost of grain and hay for the cooler months. And, we gain goat milk from the Nanny's. From this, we will make several kinds of cheese, including herbed goat cheese, feta cheese, mozzarella, and ricotta, goat's milk lotion and soap. We will have what we need to supply our family and will sell our excess which makes our Nanny's financially profitable. In addition, they are so loving and have such wonderful personalities, they bring joy into my life with their antics.

Note of caution: Keeping animals is not for everyone. There is work that goes into this hobby, mucking stalls, feeding, and keeping your animals healthy. It works for us, but be very thoughtful about what you are getting into before you invest in raising your own animals.

6. Buy the best quality things you can afford. My dear sister-in-law gave me this sage piece of wisdom and I keep it in mind. "We are too poor to buy cheap." It may sound like a contradiction, but if you have to replace a thing many times because it is of poor quality, where is the savings on that? Instead, if you are buying online, use coupon codes matched with sales to get great savings. Companies, such as www.CouponChief.com, are great resources for up-to-date coupon codes to use with sales at many high quality stores. Good quality items last and I have found that I can buy these for less than buying cheap brands by matching sales with good coupons. For instance, last week, I bought (12) bottles of Dove Shampoo and Conditioners. These regularly sell for more than $4/bottle. With the sale Rite Aid had and the coupon from a Sunday paper, I bought the 1st set of six for $5.50, which is .92¢/bottle and used the earned $5RR on the 2nd set of six to buy them ALL for .55¢. That is .09¢ per bottle. Compare with Alberto V05. This product does not work on my hair. I use more shampoo trying to clean my hair and the conditioner is next to useless for me. Why buy this inexpensive brand for .79¢-.99¢ a bottle when I can get a quality bottle of shampoo for so much less?

7. Use it up. Wear it out. Make do or do without. Reuse and Recycle what you can. Instead of throwing things out, can it be fixed or can it be repurposed? Be creative. An ornate head board to an unuseable, unfixable antique bed gets a fresh coat of paint, some polyurethane, and becomes a whimsical sign in the garden. Excess mortar from a household tiling project gets poured into a round cake pan, decorated with shells from the beach, and sets overnight into a lovely garden accent stone. Your local ReStore is full of second hand light fixtures, various types of tile, and other home improvement project needs for about 50% off regular retail.

7. Barter. Your friends and family are comprised of people who have gifts. Perhaps, one styles hair. Another is a thrifty shopper. Someone else you know is the "Pied Piper" of children and makes the perfect babysitter. Trade your resources for their expertise. One of my close friends raises chickens for meat. I do not. I trade bathroom supplies; shampoos, deodorants, tooth care items, hair color, etc.
-all of which I get for FREE- for what she has to trade- delicious home grown chickens ready for my freezer or Sunday night dinner table.

What strategies do you use most frequently to save money?

Sonja ♥

Apple Adventures

Fall means many delightful things. Among my favorite of them are leaves changing colors on the trees like an artist painting the world around us, bonfires with friends complete with marshmallows and steaming cups of hot chocolate, and APPLES. Delicious. Delightful. Delovely Apples. 

Two years ago, my husband and I picked 3 contractor bags of apples from a friend's tree and from this made 10 gallons of a sweet apple wine and several gallons of apple cider. This year, we were again blessed through a friend of my sister, Kelli to be allowed to glean apples from a cultivated orchard. On Wednesday, my husband and I picked and filled (8) 50lb grain bags with Cortlands, MacIntosh, Braeburns, Granny Smiths and Red Delicious. I have no idea if these bags hold 50 lbs of apples, but they certainly FELT like it when I tried bringing them to the car. I quickly decided that this was "man's work" and left it to my husband.

My Christian sister, Cheri and I canned 21 Quarts of apples into slices, spiced with cinnamon, sugar, lemon juice, and nutmeg for apple crisps and apple pies to warm our hearts and bellies in the cold months to come. I will put up a few more from these fruits gathered. I will be glad to share this recipe. Feel free to comment or email me to get it.

On Saturday, we are joining some Christian friends to enjoy an old fashioned apple pressing party. With this many apples, we will be able to enjoy them through the whole of winter. My husband, Sean, has every intention of using the (3) carboys he owns to age some into apple wine and hard cider. I will collect (10) gallons into containers, boil this, and pour it into clean plastic jugs to freeze. 

It feels so wonderful to prepare foods for my family to enjoy through the winter months. I love the feeling of accomplishment it gives me.

♥ Sonja

I just got home from helping Sean pick 2 more trees, which equaled 3 1/2 additional grain bags of apples! I am loving apples, but I am slightly concerned that we will be able to process this volume! I'll let you know how it goes! ♥

Target coupons via cell phone

I was pleasantly surprised to receive a text message yesterday from Target with these offers; which expire 9/2/11:

.50/1 Velveeta Cheesy Skillets
$1/2 Dannon yogurts 6 oz Activia selects or 5.3oz Oikos Greek yogurt
$1/1 Ziploc food storage bags
$5 off Women's denim
$5 off Xhilaration apparel item
$3 off 3 Gerber Sleep and Play Onesies

Just show the cashier the text message and let them scan the bar code.
Simple.

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♥ LOVE THAT! ♥

♥ Sonja

New Contest!

Hi Friends,
I am sponsoring a drawing beginning on March 15th for the prize package shown below:

Retail Value: More than $75.00, the Prize Includes:

(1) Gillette Venus Pro Skin Moisturizing Razor (3ct)

(1) Dove Cool Moisture Shampoo (12 oz)

(1) Dove Cool Moisture Conditioner (12 oz)

(1) Dove VisibleCare Softening Body Wash (10.1 oz)

(1) Degree Deodorant Invisible Solid (2.6oz)

(1) Colgate Total Advanced Toothpaste (4 oz)

(1) Colgate 360 Toothbrush (medium full)

(1) Veripur Hand Sanitizer Moisturizer (3 oz)

(1) Motrin PM (20 ct)

(1) Motrin (24 ct)

(1) Maalox Advanced Maximum Strength (90 ct)

(1) Coldcalm Homeopathic Medicine (60 tabs)

(1) Children’s Coldcalm (160 pellets)

(1) Ricola Cough Drops (19 ct)

(1) Facial Tissues (65 ct)

(4) Single Ply Bathroom Tissue Rolls (1000 sheets)

(1) Always Maxi Leak Guard PLUS (20 ct)

(1) Ajax with Bleach Powder Cleanser (14 oz)

(1) Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Soap (20 loads)

(1) Bowl Fresh Toilet Bowl Cleaner (4 weeks)

Check out the contest page to the right for all the details! ♥

                                                         ----------->

And, if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comment section below.
Hugs,
Sonja ♥

My Trial Walgreen's Trip (before my BIG trip on Thursday)

After work today, I decided to try my hand on a pre-sale run to Walgreens just to see if my plan will work before I attempt it in a larger scale on Thursday. When you are planning to spend nearly no money out of pocket, and are, in fact, planning on walking out of the store with nearly $40 in profit, it pays to be cautious and make sure everything is in order. It is easier on you and the cashier if you have your buying plan worked out and well organized, in advance.
 My 1st transaction was two bottles of Motrin PM, on sale for $3.00 each.
I used one $6/2 coupon. Total due .30 cents.
I received $3 RR

My 2nd transaction was one bottle of Baby Magic lotion, on sale for $3.00 each.
I used the $3 RR from the Motrin PM. Total due .15 cents.
I received $3 RR

My 3rd transaction was one Colgate toothpaste, on sale for $3.00 each. Since I was planning on using a $1/1 coupon (which would bring the balance due to $1.99 and I need it to be $3 before tax) I needed some filler items to total as close to $1.01 as I could find. I added one gallon of water, on sale for .69 cents and one bottle of peroxide, on sale for .33 cents. I used the $3 RR from the Baby Magic. Total due .17 cents.

I repeated all the transactions a 2nd time, substituting Clorox bleach, on sale for 1.29 cents instead of the water and peroxide for my last transaction. I wanted to split the fillers up a little because, seriously, how much peroxide can one person use?

In the end, I purchased 2 Colgate Toothpastes, 4 Motrin PM, 2 Baby Magic products, 1 gallon Water, 1 bottle Peroxide, and 1 bottle of Clorox bleach. I spent $1.36 out of my pocket and I received two $3.00 RRs. Profit $4.64

Also, when I purchased the two Motrin PMs, it triggered a catalina coupon for $2/1 Motrin PM (15 count or more). So, even if you don't have the $6/2 coupon, this is a money maker. You need to buy at least two of the products on sale for $3 with the $3 reward for this to work. The scenario:

T1: Buy two Motrin, spend $6.30, get $2 coupon and $3 RR
T2: Buy Baby Magic, use $3 RR, spend .15 cents
T3: Buy Motrin, use $2/1 coupon & Colgate, use $1/1 coupon, spend .30, receive two $3 RRs.
Total out of pocket $6.75, earn $6 RRs = cost .75 (tax)

 At this point, you can go back and forth as much as you want, just paying the tax. Just be sure not to pay for the product with its own RR or a new one will not print.


Happy shopping!