Wow... I have neglected to keep up with my blog the past couple months. Life has been crazy, but you can't get rid of me that easily. I'm back, and I'm going to share my awesome Rite Aid trip from this morning.
Transaction 1 -
Pert Plus 2-in-1 $3.00
CoverGirl Mascara $8.99
CoverGirl Mascara $4.49
CoverGirl Foundation $7.99
CoverGirl Foundation $3.99
CoverGirl Blush $5.69
CoverGirl Blush $2.84
Used: $1/1 Pert coupon
2x $8/2 CoverGirl face coupon
2x $1/1 CoverGirl any product coupon
Total OOP $21.50, Received $2 +UP for Pert, $10 +UP for CoverGirl
Transaction 2 -
Prevacid 28 ct $21.99
Clearance Kids Sunglasses $1.74
2x Clearance Eclipse Gum
Clearance Orbit Gum (receipt is weird for gum, cashier entered them strange...)
Used: $4/1 Prevacid coupon
$2 +UP
$10 +UP
Total OOP $10.99, Received $10 +UP from Prevacid
Will be submitting a mail-in-rebate for Prevacid for $17.99 and a P&G mail-in-rebate for $10. And the CoverGirl cosmetics came with codes for Taylor Swift gear. I am getting 2 t-shirts, 2 keychains, and a journal for free!!
So total spent was $32.49. I have $10 left to spend at Rite Aid next week. I will be receiving $27.99 worth of rebates. And I will be getting the free goodies as well. Got 'paid' to purchase items we needed. All in all, a successful shopping trip! Definitely a change from the past few months at Rite Aid. =)
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
The End is Coming!
No, I'm not talking about the end of the world, a zombie apocalypse, or the supposed 'rapture'. I'm referring to the end of all things baby in this house. Monster is now working on potty training. For good. He's been back and forth about using the potty for almost a year now - some days using it almost exclusively, while other days he flat out refuses.
A week ago I hit a breaking point. I decided I was NOT going to buy anymore diapers (that's not entirely true, but I'll touch on that in a moment). Monster is almost three and a half now. He understands how to tell when he needs to go and whatnot, and he is definitely old enough to be done with diapers.
All things considered, he's been doing pretty well with it. We use underwear exclusively during the day. And during the night he wears a pull-up, as mama isn't quite ready to deal with the stresses of night training. A couple accidents (which are to be expected), but nothing too messy or untimely so far.
So this mama is happy dancing. I am so ready to be done with diapers. They're expensive, gross, and a big pain. They are the last remnant of the baby days, and I look forward to their departure. Once monster is completely done with diapers (day and night), we are throwing a party!
Coming up later this week... I found a potential way to make some extra scratch on the side online. I'm going to test it out and share my thoughts.
A week ago I hit a breaking point. I decided I was NOT going to buy anymore diapers (that's not entirely true, but I'll touch on that in a moment). Monster is almost three and a half now. He understands how to tell when he needs to go and whatnot, and he is definitely old enough to be done with diapers.
All things considered, he's been doing pretty well with it. We use underwear exclusively during the day. And during the night he wears a pull-up, as mama isn't quite ready to deal with the stresses of night training. A couple accidents (which are to be expected), but nothing too messy or untimely so far.
So this mama is happy dancing. I am so ready to be done with diapers. They're expensive, gross, and a big pain. They are the last remnant of the baby days, and I look forward to their departure. Once monster is completely done with diapers (day and night), we are throwing a party!
Coming up later this week... I found a potential way to make some extra scratch on the side online. I'm going to test it out and share my thoughts.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
When I Grow Up...
As monster is growing and getting closer to being in school, I am trying to figure out what I want to do as far as a career. I've had my ups and downs being a stay-at-home-mom, and I'm glad that I was able to be with monster for these early years, but I am just about ready to re-enter the working world. The only problem is - I have NO idea what I want to do.
While I enjoy doing many things, there isn't anything that I am particularly skilled at. Nothing that I can see myself doing regularly for any significant amount of my life. I get bored very easily. If I do the same thing for too long, I get burned out and want to have a change of scenery.
I wish that I had decided a career path before having monster. I wish I had done my schooling, got a degree, and knew what I wanted. Taking a break to stay home and then going back into the field would have been so much easier. I -could- go to school now (and I'd like to eventually, not sure what for though), but I don't want to have more school loans and debt for something I might tire of in the very near future.
Schooling for and a career in massage therapy has been in the back of my mind for a couple years now. And I've recently begun doing a lot more research on it. But I'm still very unsure. Maybe I'd be more suited for a career in the nonprofit sector. I love to help and connect with people. And I want my life (insignificant as it may be in the grand scheme of things) to positively impact the world in any way possible.
Why is it when you ask a young child, "What would you like to do when you grow up?" they know exactly what they want (even if they don't later pursue it)? But when you ask me, I don't have a clue. Eh, guess I'll figure it out someday...
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Happy Surprises
Let me start off by saying - I have the best husband in the world. All the ladies that think they have the greatest are sadly mistaken. Sorry, but they just don't hold a candle to my amazing hubs. Ok, fine... Other gals might have husbands that are great for them. And for that I am happy. But my husband is the absolute best for me, hands down. And I cannot imagine my life without him. He is my world.
Yesterday there was an unexpected knock on the door. The UPS man brought a package addressed to me. I wasn't expecting anything, so it caught me off-guard. I brought it inside and opened the personalized message. It read, "Because I love you. Because I appreciate everything you do. Because I respect who you are, and want you to be a happy panda. You're the best part of my world, and I'm thankful for you."
Like I said before my husband is the best. I love him with all my heart, and the love I have for him grows more each and every day. We have our ups, we have our downs. But through thick and thin he is there for me and loves me for who I am. And for that I am thankful.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Pizza Perfected
Sorry for the minor hiatus. Had a busy week and even busier weekend. Here's the pizza dough post I promised...
Ingredients (for two large pizzas)
Start off by chilling the flour in the refrigerator for an hour or two. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix ingredients together (I start with a metal spoon, then mix by hand) until equally distributed.
Split your dough into two equal pieces. If you are not feeding a large group, freeze one dough ball (they stay fresh for up to a month in the freezer). I stick mine into a freezer bag and spray some olive oil in there, works great. Take it out of the freezer the day before you plan to use it and place in refrigerator to thaw. Then let it sit out for an hour or two on the counter right before you plan to bake it.
Sprinkle the counter with flour, and then roll your dough ball in it. Work the extra flour into the dough until it is more manageable. Then roll the dough out to an even 1/8 - 1/4". Place your sauce and choice of toppings evenly over the pizza dough (and not too thick, or the center will remain doughy). Bake for 25-35 minutes, depending on how done your family prefers it.
Finding a good pizza dough recipe can be a long and daunting task. You find one that seems promising, but it ends up being too thick/thin/doughy/whatever. I know I tried several different recipes before finding one that we all really, really like. The original recipe can be found HERE.
The first time I made it, I followed the directions as closely as possible. But the next time I made a few changes. Each time since then I've tweaked it a bit here and there (not so much the ingredients, moreso the process) to make it the best for my family's tastes. Here's what I've come up with, and it's by far the best homemade pizza dough I've tried.
Ingredients (for two large pizzas)
4 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry active yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
1 3/4 cups cold water
Start off by chilling the flour in the refrigerator for an hour or two. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix ingredients together (I start with a metal spoon, then mix by hand) until equally distributed.
Split your dough into two equal pieces. If you are not feeding a large group, freeze one dough ball (they stay fresh for up to a month in the freezer). I stick mine into a freezer bag and spray some olive oil in there, works great. Take it out of the freezer the day before you plan to use it and place in refrigerator to thaw. Then let it sit out for an hour or two on the counter right before you plan to bake it.
Sprinkle the counter with flour, and then roll your dough ball in it. Work the extra flour into the dough until it is more manageable. Then roll the dough out to an even 1/8 - 1/4". Place your sauce and choice of toppings evenly over the pizza dough (and not too thick, or the center will remain doughy). Bake for 25-35 minutes, depending on how done your family prefers it.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
First BzzAgent Campaign - About.me
Completed my first BzzAgent campaign for a site called About.me, which is a social networking hub. You create a profile with About.me and you can connect your friends and readers to your Facebook page, Flickr account, Twitter page, or blog just by sharing a link to your About.me profile page.
The site itself is pretty easy to navigate. You are able to customize various aspects of your profile. Stock profile images to select from are slim pickings. So if you want something more interesting, it's definitely best to use a personal photograph. There is a 'biography' section, but not a lot of room to write much about yourself there.
The concept behind the site is pretty cool - connecting all your sites in one central location. But there are applications that currently do that (or very similar), so it's not particularly unique. However, there is definitely potential there.
It's worth checking out for sure. And if you sign up today they can receive a free pack of about.me business cards from MOO. Check my profile out: http://about.me/mamabearalit and sign up at about.me.
The site itself is pretty easy to navigate. You are able to customize various aspects of your profile. Stock profile images to select from are slim pickings. So if you want something more interesting, it's definitely best to use a personal photograph. There is a 'biography' section, but not a lot of room to write much about yourself there.
The concept behind the site is pretty cool - connecting all your sites in one central location. But there are applications that currently do that (or very similar), so it's not particularly unique. However, there is definitely potential there.
It's worth checking out for sure. And if you sign up today they can receive a free pack of about.me business cards from MOO. Check my profile out: http://about.me/mamabearalit and sign up at about.me.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Theme Song Tuesday
Such a blah morning. Not feeling too hot. Exhausted. No motivation to do anything whatsoever. So I bring you today's theme song...
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