Hannaford Catalina Happiness

I was so excited about this deal that I almost forgot the bag of yogurts I purchased when I walked out of the store. Thankfully, my husband was less distracted than I and caught my error. My sale purchases would have been less exciting had I forgotten a bag at the register and then, had to turn around to retrieve them. Crisis averted, this is what happened.

I cashed my check at Hannaford last Friday because I needed to be at a friend's house early in the morning and was in town before the bank was to be open. I hate doing that, but it was a necessary evil for the day. This being so, I had a $2 rebate coming, if I spent $15 in groceries. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make this work for myself. I did not intend to spend this much money. I also had (2) $2 and (1) $1 catalinas in my wallet, and I had a catalina for $2 off Rachel Ray's Nutrish Dog Food. Keep in mind that for every 4 Hannaford My Essentials items I purchased, I would earn another $1 catalina.

I started by purchasing:
3- cans My Essentials Chicken Soups 2/$1
2- cans My Essentials Evaporated Milk (Sean wanted to make "snow cream" after the storm with the kids today) .99¢
2- cans My Essentials Green Beans 2/$1
2- cans My Essentials Peas 2/$1
2- cans My Essentials Corn 2/$1
1- 5 lb bag My Essentials Sugar $3.39 (needed it for the table wine Sean and I racked today)
13- My Essential Yogurts .45¢
Total Cost: $15.85 less $5 Catalinas= $10.85 out of pocket and I earned (1) $6 Catalina.
Net total spent $4.85

Then, I purchased 1 bag of Rachel Ray's Nutrish Dog Food for $8.49. Less $2/1 catalina which printed when I bought my last bag and $6 catalina equalled .92 cents out of pocket and I earned another $2/1 Catalina for Rachel Ray's Nutrish Dog Food.

I was very happy with this result.
How have you used the Hannaford Catalina Event?
Sonja ♥

Learning Each Day: Creating a Button for Your Blog

While I was searching around the internet for freebies and deals from other blog sites and webpages, I noticed that so many blogs had "buttons" which other bloggers could grab and post to their sites. Great idea, right? Obviously, I wanted one, too! But, how? I am pretty computer savvy. I know a little about HTML codes, uploading pictures, and the like, but I had never written code on my own. Where to start?

Where other than on the internet? I typed in " how to create blogger button" and was directed to a couple of related articles. I selected this one- Oikology 101 (Read article HERE) initially because it was written by someone who writes on the Blogger site. I chose wisely. The article was clearly written to be easily understood. I followed the directions and within minutes had my button posted to my blog.

There was one small glitch, which was my doing. I created my button using a print artist program and made a jpeg picture to upload to Photobucket. Oikology did tell me to make sure that I sized my project to 150x150, but I forgot to resize my jpeg before I uploaded it. Once, I checked my blog, I realized my error and simply resized my photo and uploaded it in the correct size.

Thanks, Oikology 101 for your help!

 Need a button for your blog? Now you know where to go for detailed instructions! Hope it helps, blogger friends!

Sonja ♥

Hannaford... More Catalina Purchases

Since I needed to bring my eldest son and eldest daughter into town to work today, I decided to go next door and attempt to roll the catalinas I earned a couple of days ago at the Hannaford in Hampden. I had (1) $2 and (1) $1 catalinas to start today.

I decided to buy (8) cans of My Essentials canned vegetables. The total came to $4. I paid with a $2 catalina, $2 cash, and I earned a $2 Catalina. 8 cans of vegetables for $2 equals .25¢ each can. Then, I purchased (2) cans of My Essentials chicken soup and (2) packages of My Essentials biscuits. The total came to $1.90. I paid with $1 catalina, .90¢ cash, and earned a $1 catalina. The soup cost .25¢ each and the biscuits cost .20¢ each.

I have to drive passed a Hannaford's tomorrow and I think I will purchase My Essentials Yogurt on sale for .45¢ each. I'm going to buy (8) yogurts for $3.60 and use (1) $2 catalina, $1.60 in cash, and earn a $2 catalina. Yogurt cups for .20¢? I can soooo live with that. Which makes me wonder....

According to Dannon Yogurt (and I assume if you can freeze Dannon's yogurt, you can freeze other brands, too.) Read the article yourself HERE.

Can DANNON yogurt be frozen?

It's okay to freeze yogurt, especially if you're packing yogurt for lunch the next day. However, when refrigerated cup yogurt is frozen it may not retain all of its live culture activity and the product may undergo some changes. These changes could include texture and/or taste changes. Because some individuals do not find these changes to their liking, it is recommended that you "test freeze" one cup or just a small sample from a 32 oz. container first, before freezing a large quantity...

Here is  fun snack idea- push a wooden stick into the center before freezing the cup.

I think there may be lots of yogurts moving in to live in my freezer, while this promotion is underway. My kids love yogurt. And, I love the idea a frozen yogurt as a treat.

Have any of you frozen yogurt before? What were the results?

Sonja ♥ 

I need 20 friends to help ME with this!

I want to get this FREE Smart Scrunch Bag and I can, if I refer only 20 friends.

You or your friends do not need to buy anything or do anything special.



1. Log in here: http://www.nomorerack.com/?cr=1150567 and I will get credit for you signing up. It costs you nothing. I need 20 friends to sign up to get one of these

2. Also, when you sign up, you’ll get a FREE $10 off $20 purchase credit when you use the code: P1070, if you decide to purchase something, but you do not need to.

Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it!
Sonja ♥

Restaurant Deal $100 in gift cards for $8.

So, as I was checking my facebook account, I noticed a post from a friend of mine about www.restaurants.com. While supplies last, they have a GREAT deal! Normally, you can purchase $25 gift certificates for $10, which is a pretty good deal. When you use the code PUMPKIN at the check out, you can get $25 gift certificates for only $2. SERIOUSLY!!!

I ordered a $25 gift certificate from Miguel's in Bangor for $2.
I ordered a $25 gift certificate from China King Chinese Restaurant in Augusta for $2.
I ordered a $25 gift certificate from Black Sheep Tavern in Bucksport for $2.
And, I ordered a $25 gift certificate from Twenty Milk Street at the Portland Regency Hotel and Spa in Portland for (you guessed it) $2.
Total spent (no tax) $8. And, there were many other offers available.

A couple of notes: signing up is FREE. You can either print your certificates when you have finished paying (either with your credit card or with your paypal account) or, you can log in to print them at your convenience later. There are minimum purchase limits on these coupons, so you will end up paying more than the gift certificate amount. And, the restaurants almost universally add a "gratuity" % to your order before the gift certificate amount is credited to the bill. I found them to be between 18%-20%.

Using Miguel's Restaurant as an example (It has a minimum purchase of $35 and a 20% gratuity added before the gift certificate is applied.) this is the scenerio I am hoping for:

Appetizer:
NACHOS - Our homemade chips covered with sizzling hot cheese & salsa 7.99

Dinner:
THE "PHILLY" - Fajita steak, cheese and poblano peppers 8.99 for me and
CHIMICHANGA - A crispy fried burrito with ranchero salsa 10.99 for Sean.

Our Meal Total is $30.97, add 20% gratuity= $37.16, less $25 gift certificate= $12.16 out of pocket. We could substitute desserts instead of the appetizer for the same price. And, I did not include an amount for beverages. Usually, my family orders water with lemon to drink with our meals. We might order a beverage, but probably not.

The final analysis is this, including the cost of the gift certificate ($2) and the cost out of pocket ($12.16), the meal total cost is $14.16, still 1/2 price of what the meal would cost without the gift certificate. I will update you after I attempt to use the gift certificates with reviews on the restaurants and my experience using the gift cards, but color this girl E-X-C-I-T-E-D! I smell some food adventures coming my way!

Thanks, Courtney M. for the tip!

Sonja♥

Freebie: Gooseberry Patch Cookie Swap Cookbook

Get a free Kindle download of the Gooseberry Patch Cookie Swap Cookbook for free on Amazon.com. You can get yours at this link:

Download your free Kindle Edition of the Gooseberry Patch Cookie Swap Cookbook now!

If you don't have a Kindle, you can click this link to download free Kindle Reading Apps.

Looks interesting! I don't have a Kindle, but I think I will download the Reading App. I love cookies. And, I am always interested in new recipes to try out on my willing family!

Sonja ♥

Hannafords My Essentials Catalina

With Hannaford's change in coupon policies, I honestly doubted my continued shopping there. I still look through the flyer that comes in the mail each week, because I don't want to miss a good sale, if one comes up- just in case. This week's flyer piqued my interest.

Hannaford's is offering catalinas based on purchasing their store brand, labeled "my essentials". For every four My Essential products you purchase, you earn a $1 catalina for use on your next order. You can earn up to a $10 catalina. As I mentioned, interesting. So, I looked at what was on sale that might make this deal worth my shopping at Hannaford's this week.

My Essentials canned vegetables are on sale for 2/$1. As are My Essentials chicken noodle and tomato soups. My Essentials refrigerated biscuits and yogurt are on sale for .45¢ each. You can mix and match My Essential items. Hmmmm....

The Scenerio:

Purchase 4 Biscuits= $1.80. Pay $1.80 cash and receive $1 Catalina back.
Purchase 4 Yogurts= $1.80. Pay .80¢ cash and $1 catalina, and receive $1 Catalina back.
Purchase 4 cans Vegetables= $2.00. Pay $1 cash and $1 Catalina, and receive $1 Catalina back.
Purchase 4 cans Soup= $2.00. Pay $1 cash and $1 Catalina and receive $1 Catalina back.

I like to use the catalinas to purchase low cost items that my family would use and that are on sale. Taking into consideration the catalinas earned, yogurt and biscuits on sale for .45¢ get marked down to merely .20¢. And, the price of canned vegetables and soup reduce from .50¢/can to .25¢/can.

You can do a total of 10 different transactions of four items (since the limit on this offer is $10). In the end, the net cost of the items are the same, but the amount you pay out of your pocket is significantly less. In this scenerio, purchasing all the items at once would cost $7.60 in cash and earn you a $4 catalina. This makes your net transaction $3.60. Using multiple transactions, the cost out of pocket would be reduced to $4.60 and you would still have $1 catalina to use another day for a net transaction of $3.60. I choose to use multiple transactions. It takes more time, but in the end, I spend nearly half as much cash from my wallet.

I have earned $3 in catalinas so far, but I plan to stop in when I go passed a Hannaford, again, this week. How about you?

Sonja ♥