$50 worth of groceries for FREE

The loot. :)

Being frugal appears to be a full time job from what I see on various blogs. I have never had the time nor patience to pursue such frugal living. However, since I am headed into the world of one income living, I need to be better about taking the time to get good deals.

I saw this deal on a friends Facebook page:

$50 worth of FREE groceries delivered for FREE at Safeway.com

Too good to be true?

So I set forth to follow the simple instructions. The only thing is, the selection of groceries isn't *that* exciting. It only works out to be a good deal if you do the BOGO deals.

So here's what I got.....

Oscar Mayer Bacon Center Cut Smokehouse Thick Sliced......$7.69 x2 = $15.38
3lbs Ranchers Reserve Beef Chuck Pot Roast Boneless...........$14.37 x2=$28.74
Safeway Rice Crispy Cereal..........................................................$3.29 x2= $6.58

Grand Total........................................................................................................$50.70

Promo Code CJSAVINGS................................................................. $15.00 credit & Free Shipping
ShopatHome.com cash back..............................................................$9 PLUS $5 if it's your first time signing up!!! (Click on the ShopatHome.com link to sign up and give me a free credit of $5 pleaseandthankyou)
Buy One Get One Free Savings............................................................$25.35

Are you totally confused yet and/or slightly dizzy? I am....

Okay, so here's the math...

$50.70
-$15.00
-$14 (Shop at Home Cash Back)
-$25.35 (BOGO savings)
-----------------------------------
Grand Total of +3.65

I MADE $3.65 on this transaction!!! What the heck??!?!

Disclaimer to my husband...I might just get a little obsessed with this frugal living thing.

Now, the bottom line is the bacon was NOT a good deal, I mean over $7 for bacon in general is highway robbery. But it was free. There weren't a lot of things to choose from but I am stoked about the roasts and stoked about the bacon too really, we found a yummy way to cook it (recipe here) when we went on our Sunriver vacation and it will be great when we have friends or family over for breakfast.

I didn't *need* rice crispies but Emersyn likes them and I might make some rice crispy treats while my family is in town for the holidays since they are so yummy.

AND the groceries are being delivered for free. Crazy, huh?

Blog Hop- Anything that feels good! :)

Today's blog hop theme is rather vague....it's pretty much anything that makes you feel good, like a story, joke, picture, etc. Well, there are couple things lately that have made ME feel good so here they are!!!

1) Saving money!!!!

Look at all this loot! Courtesy of Rite Aid ad this week in the paper.

Allergen Block $9.99
Simply Saline for Children $3.99
Simply Saline for Adults $3.99
Comtrex Cold & Sinus $3.99
Breathe Again $7.99
Honey Lemon Natural Throat Drops $2.49
Gentle Nature Eczema Cream $8.49
TOTAL

$41.93

But did I pay $41.93 for all this stuff?? NO!! After my rebate comes in the mail (and I have done it before; it's legit) my grand total for this pile of products will be $5.49. Everything was free, except for the eczema cream that had a $3 rebate off of $8.49.

I realize that posting a picture of such exciting items like saline spray might qualify me for dork status. I am alright with that. At least I am a thrifty dork! :) I actually went into Rite Aid to look for Benadryl for Emersyn (they had none for babies, darn it) and then saw all this free stuff and had to have it. I don't even know what the Allergen Block does but heck, it was $9.99 regularly so it has to be good for something right?? Hee hee.

2) Sweet little girls watching a fire in the fireplace while cuddling with their teddy bear makes me happy which makes me feel good. :)

3) Cooking dinner for my husband makes me happy!!!! Last night I tried a slow cooker recipe and it turned out simply delicious. This picture doesn't look the most appetizing, I will be the first to admit. But it tasted fantastic and made my house smell like a home. :)

Slow Cooker Chicken Recipe:

Chicken Breasts (I used three medium sized ones)

1 Can of Cream of Chicken (can be lowfat)

1 Can of Cream of Celery (can be lowfat)

3 stalks of celery chopped up

One bag of mini carrots

One packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix mixed with 2 cups of water

Toss all ingredients into slow cooker and let it work it's magic! You can serve over rice or pasta. I think next time I make it, I might toss in some yellow potatoes to use as a side. Its really flavorful and even Brett liked the carrots and he normally hates veggies (pray for him). Last night I just made acorn squash as a side.

Maple Roasted Acorn Squash

2 Acorn Squash, halved and seeded

Coarse Salt and Ground Pepper

Italian Seasoning

4 Tablespoons of Butter

4 Tablespoons of Maple Syrup (you can also use honey)

Grated Romano or Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 450. Place squash, cut side up, on a baking sheet lined with foil. Season with salt and pepper. Place 1-2 TBSP butter in each cavity and 1 TBSP syrup. Sprinkle herbs in cavity. Roast for one hour or until very tender...baste at least twice during cooking. Top with cheese. I forgot to do the cheese last night but it was still soooooo good. Brett didn't love it. He said it was a texture thing.

Other things this week that make me happy/feel good: finding out that Brett gets THREE weeks of vacation at work starting next year, hallelujah!!!; watching Emersyn take 8ish steps last night and sharing the special moment with my mom and brother via Skype; all the amazing things I am learning in my Esther bible study and girls book club; and the fact that Fall is here, the leaves are changing and I am more in love with my husband then ever!!

What is making you happy this week? :)

Early Morning Bargain Hunters

This morning Emersyn went on her first garage sale-ing adventure. Doesn't she look excited? It was an early morning for us, met up with our friends at 8:30am. Emersyn, like her mama, isn't a morning person. But we made it with a little help from our friends at Starbucks. 

Upon arriving at the neighborhood garage sale, I realized that I didn't have my stroller, doh!! Amancia was a SAINT and had her husband borrow a stroller from their neighbors and bring it over. I was relieved, we walked around for about 10 minutes with me holding Emersyn and my back and arms were starting to feel the burn. 

After Amancia's husband dropped off the stroller, I had him snap a picture of us to commemorate the moment. We can never get pictures all together, someone is usually chasing someone else or behind the camera.

I didn't score too many great deals, although I did get some Veggie Tales CD's and a Sesame Street CD. I popped one in on the way home and Emersyn liked it so much that she decided to get a second wind and resisted her morning nap. She is so naughty. :) 

I am looking forward to more garage sale-ing. I just need to get to bed earlier!!

Thursday Ramblings

Friends, my heart is heavy. The beauty of blogging is that the world is free to see how you live, what's on your mind, etc. The bummer of blogging can be that the world is free to see how you live, what's on your mind, etc. Translation = there are only so many details that can be discussed on my blog, not knowing who for sure is reading it. :) But you know what? That is okay? If I were truly free to vent on here it might be tempting to wallow in self pity, take on a victim mentality, seek affirmation from all of you while slandering the "offending party". Instead, I will keep praying about this "thorn" and repeat to myself, "for when I am weak, then I am strong". I must be getting really strong because I sure feel weak. Brett and I haven't been sleeping well this week, have had upset stomachs, just overall feelings of stress. And we don't get stressed easily, life is too short to waste time and emotions on silly things like worry. I want what's best in this situation, I don't want my pride to get in the way (which is SO easier said then done at times), and I want the Lord to intervene. Ugh. It is just no fun in the meantime. Your prayers are appreciated. :)

But you know what IS fun???? Finding good deals on Craigslist!!! Look what Brett brought home the other day on his way home from work.....

How cute is this??? For a whopping $10!!!!!!

The family selling the bikes had twins so there were two bikes. Brett bought them both, $10/each. They were just so cute and we figured that we could give one to one of Emersyn's little friends or we could keep one at our house so that when her little friends come over, they can ride bikes together. Of course, Emersyn is NO where near being able to ride these trikes. We put her on it for fun and her feet aren't even CLOSE to the pedals. Still, it was such a good deal, too good of a deal to pass up in fact!! I thought these pics were really cute, Brett took them. He is a great photographer, I love his patience for our camera. I need to take some notes in that department.

Something else that is fun: we signed up Emersyn for SWIMMING LESSONS!!!!!! Oh my word, how cute is she going to be in the pool with the other babies!??! Clearly the cutest!!! Her lessons start at the end of June are are 30 minutes, twice a week. Brett is going to be in the pool with her on Tuesdays and I will do Thursdays. We are so so excited. Emersyn's first activity!!!!! I loved signing her up and seeing her name on the registration. I still can't believe that she is mine.

My mom left town yesterday, which was sad of course, but she is coming back for Emersyn's birthday so that is something to look forward to!!! Shortly after my mom left, my friend Tiffany and her little boy Riley came over to our house and are staying with us for a few days. Tiffany watched Ems yesterday afternoon and it sounds like they had a good time. It is crazy observing Riley and knowing that Emersyn isn't far from his age at all, he just turned 12 months. He is a doll and I SO wish that we lived closer so that I could watch him grow up but the magic of digital pictures and blogging will have to be good enough. Last night Tiffany and I went out to dinner and had a girls night while Brett stayed home with the babies. While I was at dinner, Brett texted me and said "Just looking at Ems makes me like you more". I nearly melted into a pile of goo, words of affirmation are probably my BIGGEST love language. It was just too sweet and I love my husband so much. Tiffany and I went to Gustav's, one of our favorite places. We had Chicken Schnitzel with potato pancaks. A M A Z I N G. It was fun to chat and catch up with each other. We got home around 9 and then watched "So You Think You Can Dance" with Brett. Love that show!!!!

Today Emersyn is with her future BFF, Sanjana Georgette and her mama, Miss Amancia. They are having SO much fun, I am sure, and for that my heart is happy. Emersyn just loves being around other kids and it is healthy for her to have good social interaction. I know she is in good care today and there is no better feeling as a mama.

Happy Thursday everyone!!!!