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Friday, February 27, 2009

Freebie Friday

This edition is about babies, pre-teens, potty training and free food! Everyone is covered...

Free Kashi frozen entree- sign up online and get a free coupon. Thanks Adrien for this find :)

Free Potty Training DVD- I will be starting this in a couple months with Madeline. That really means my baby is growing up :(

Free Jonas Brothers Download- as a mother of a pre-teen this is a must and can easily make your daughter think you are "cool" (Is cool still a word they use?)

Free Taylor Swift Love Song Download- another pre-teen favorite, well even a mommy favorite.

Free Pure and Clean face wash - speaking of pre-teen this is also something we must have to keep the pimples away.

Free BPA Free Reuseable bottle - Love it, we love water bottles in this house. I don't like to waste money on bottled water we use our own tap water. The only thing you have to submit 5 emails to pass along the offer too. I used my 5 family emails.

Free Cheese - All you have to do is send them your blog address and home address and they will send it to you. Then you can blog about it! I love cheese I can't wait for my free sample I want the brie, I look forward to a post with a yummy baked brie recipe.

Free Baby Blanket and Plush- personally this is the best freebie this week. Wow, this looks like a nice product for little one's. If you don't have kids only a pet your little animal can have a snuggle blanket :)

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Thursday, February 26, 2009

Thirfty Thursday and Kitchen Update

When I am doing the family laundry I always find loose change in the washing machine or hear them banging around in the dryer. In my house the family knows if it's left in the pocket's it is mommy's.

As I was hopping blogs I came across this cute idea from Domestic Divas Fancy blog. So I had to make one for myself.

I took a used candle jar, oh it still smells so good and turned it into this: Moms Tip Jar!!



Update on my frugal kitchen redo:
We got our breakdown from Lowe's.... did you know Lowe's added on $450 as the middle man. So I went online to Formica.com and found a registered installer. That lead me to a new company that is a home builder that also does countertops. They came out today to measure and gave us an estimate which came to $950 for the counters and install. They also bid the tile work which is $250! So we can get the counters and tile backsplash done cheaper than the counters only at Lowe's YEAH!!!
This weekend we will be removing the old counters ourselves (look for photos). Then on Monday our new counters should be here!

This past weekend my hubby was out shopping at Lowe's and found this... a new stainless trashcan. It was on sale from $90 to $30! Way to go!!
The little one's seem to think it is a drum.

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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Wasteless Wednesday- Must Read for Parents!

My loss will be your gain.... this past weekend my youngest daughter came down with pink eye. So I immediately call the doctor we go in for a visit and fill the prescription. Did you know the pink eye medication is $60!!!!! It is the smallest bottle ever maybe 25 drops are in that little expensive bottle. I don't even buy wrinkle cream for $60. So about $200 later (visit and medication) I found out about this....It is less than $10 and you can buy it at your local drug store!!!! To make it worse for myself ... I found a coupon for $1 off. To make me feel better about my expensive purchase I decided that if maybe I can save a reader some hard earned money it would make it better.

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A MEDICAL DOCTOR THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE

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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Tuesdays Tip- Reader Feature

Today is my first reader feature! I am very excited to be sharing Angela's tips.

Pampers Points:
  • She collects points from diapers and wipes and enters them on Pampers’ website under “Gifts to Grow”.
  • With the points you can purchase: Best Buy, Build-A-Bear, Macy’s, L.L. Bean, or Legos gift cards, 20 page story book, Photo Cards or 200 4x6 photos from Shutterfly or a Sears Portrait Studio Collage.
Angela used her points for Christmas cards this year and also earned a custom photo book and highlighted her son's first year of life! Knowing how much these things cost I estimate she saved at least $80 right there! Take a look at some of her custom pages from her book.. what a beautiful family she has :) :


Coca-Cola Points- (News to me)
She also collects points from Coca-Cola products, they have Coke Rewards for Coke coupons, magazine subscriptions, Blockbuster coupons, or Snapfish photos. Can you believe we drink a case of Diet Coke a week and I have never looked inside the box??? The is a frugal foul for me!

Thank you Angela for sharing your frugal ways! If any one else would like to be featured on their frugal ways please email me at jen@frugaljen.com

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Monday, February 23, 2009

More Free Food

Free Sub Sandwich at Quizno's http://www.millionsubs.com/index.php

They are giving away 1 million free subs. Just sign up for their email list and then get a link to print your free sub!

So this week we already have a free sub and free taco's at Jack in the Box on Tuesday!

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Menu Monday

I found a great recipe for Chicken Enchiladas online last week we loved it! This was our fancy Sunday dinner meal. Have I told you about our family night on Sundays? We sit in the dining room and get out our china and we all discuss the coming week and go over the Sunday readings at church. Then we follow it up with a board game. We also unplug the phones and dedicate 1 night to our family uninterrupted.

This week we have....

Monday- Spaghetti and meatballs (we didn't get to this last week) with garlic bread

Tuesday- yummy leftovers from our Sunday chicken enchiladas

Wednesday- Ash Wednesday we will be attending mass (day of fasting)

Thursday- Grilled Chicken Sandwiches (Pilgrim's Pride frozen chicken breast cooked then topped with BBQ sauce, cheese and bacon) and French Fries

Friday- Fish Sticks and Tator Tots (No more pizza Friday's during lent we do not eat meat on Friday's during this time)

I hope to get a photo of my new haircut this week. My little one is sick so we are stuck in the house so that means no makeup for me but.... my hair looks great!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Free Taco's

Whenever I find free food, I post it fast!

Print a coupon for 2 free taco's from Jack In the Box for Tuesday the 24th. http://coupon.hangintherejack.com/two-tacos.php#

When I was in high school I would get their tacos and put ranch dressing on top. Oh how I used to put Ranch on EVERYTHING!

Enjoy!

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Friday, February 20, 2009

Freebie Friday

I am getting a mommy makeover today... a hair cut! It is time for a cut when my hair is always up in a pony tail. Looking at a friends blog I found a photo of me in the background with a mommy tail and realized I really needed a cut! Personally a hair cut makes me feel great ... I get away from the little one's for one hour and have someone play with my hair then I leave and look great. Too bad I can never do my hair as well as my stylist... On to the good stuff... the good coupons are back! I've got some good one's for you this week:

Free Starbucks Ready Brew - my husband loves coffee this will make a nice little cup for him. I can even put it in his Starbucks coffee mug :)

Free Viva Paper Towel- this is my regular paper towel brand. They cost a little more but they tear apart in smaller pieces so you use less and they are great at picking up spills.

Free Huggies with Shea Butter Wipes - these wipes smell so good! This would be a great sample size to keep in your purse for messy mess. I discovered that baby wipes take off eye makeup great.

Free Victoria's Secret Pink Body Lotion- this is a printable coupon you redeem at the store. I love when they have their annual bra sale! Splurge Worthy!

Free Mabeline Makeup Sample- I use this brand for my powder foundation for my daily wear. I don't use a heavy foundation unless I am getting all fixed up and right now that is only on Sunday when we go to church.

2 Free Issues of Family Circle Magazine - I normally don't put up magazine samples because somehow you get a bill in the mail... well at least that is my experience. But this is 2 issues with NO additional obligation.

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Thursday, February 19, 2009

Boxed Wine- Error

Update to post on boxed wine: My husband (Posh Josh) pointed out that the boxed wine holds 4 bottles not 3. I will blame my error on drinking while blogging :)

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Thrifty Thursday - Boxed Wine

I am a mom of 3 kids. I stay at home with them and I've been happily married for 8 years. Yes..... I like to drink red wine at night. I say it is for my heart but honestly it is my reward for a hard days work.

Let me see... I am a vintage reserve type of girl on a Boone's Farm budget! Well, we have found a wonderful happy medium. We discovered Boxed wine, yes really we did! You get 3 bottles worth in one sealed box no waste. Some nights you need more than others :)

Here are my favorite boxed wines:

Black Box Wine - My favorite is the Cabernet, but we've also tried and enjoyed the Shiraz and Merlot. I purchase mine at Wal-mart it is about $20.

Turning Leaf Merlot- this isn't quite as good as Black Box but it is cheaper. I can get this for $16 for a box. I've only tried the Merlot.


Least Favorite:

I want to give a thumbs down to: Wine Cube Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the box you can buy at Super Target. They even have some cute box covers honestly is bad! I threw the box out not even finishing it. But then again that is just my taste. Cost $14





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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Wasteless Wednesday

Introducing...... my new custom signature......

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I would like to thank McMommy (my favorite blog to read, she has such an entertaining writing style NEVER boring)... she had a contest for a custom designed signature provided by Jennisa over at Once Upon a Blog (this girl has designed McMommy, MckMama, Steece's Pieces and Kelly's Korner some of my other fav's). I feel very lucky to have a little bit of her design!

I admit I've had blog envy seeing other blogs with these great signatures now I have one!!

This brings me to post my purpose for Frugal Fabulous....

I want to share my fun frugal ways and help others to realize Frugal doesn't have to be frumpy and cheap, Frugal can be Fabulous. I save money and still have fabulous things! With the current economic state and continued layoffs I want to provide easy ways for families to save with little time involved. There are many more ways then simply cutting back at the grocery store and those are the ways I want to share.

So keep on reading, I am thrilled to have 50 readers! You all encourage and inspire me! Remember ... when you visit I love to see comments and I enjoy hearing ways you save too.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Tuesday's Tip- Birthday Party Gifts

This past weekend we attended a birthday party. With 3 children we have many parties to attend and they all add up... in order to keep the cost low we do some special little frugal touches.

Tip #1: Most of you probably bag recycle, what mom doesn't. We have a huge plastic tote full of gift bags. So I always have one to pull out. However... I seem to have more girly bags then boy bags. So for the boy parties we decorate our own. I find a printable coloring sheet online with the party theme and my son colors the photo and we attach to the bag to a plain colored bag. So we save $$ by not buying a new bag and we use the color sheet as the card. I don't buy kids cards because they just get thrown away that saves a few $$$.

Tip #2. Now the gift purchase.... I have a present stash. I would photograph it but I don't want anyone to see the gifts.... When I run across great deals on gift items I buy them and put in my stash. If I don't have a good gift in my stash I simply drive down the road to Ross, they have the best selection of kids gifts. Some items they carry at Target and Wal-mart but at least 50% off. Gotta love Ross!

Tip #3. Crafty Moms can always make a gift. I've given many of my custom wall signs. It is affordable for me but most of all special for those who receive.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Menu Monday

I am in a cooking rut, anyone else get this way. So as you can see my recipes are easy this week. I wish I could just do take out food all week but since that isn't going to happen here is our menu:

Monday: Nana's Taco Soup in the crockpot - I am modifying this recipe from my normal by adding in Hunts Roasted Diced Tomato's. Sounds like a good change.

Tuesday: Leftover Taco Soup and Nacho's

Wednesday: Bacon Cheeseburgers (Frozen lean ones bought with coupon) and Baked Tator Tots (we skipped this one last week we ate out at Chili's)

Thursday: Spaghetti and Meatballs (I still have a huge freezer bag full of meatballs from the last time I made this recipe) I am using prego roasted Parmesan sauce.

Friday: Make your own pizza or grilled chicken sandwiches. Honestly I am getting tired of pizza, I never thought I would say that.

Check out more great meal plan monday's on www.orgjunkie.com

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Our Frugal Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day! Our family is planning an evening at home. We are splurging tonight by ordering pizza. Normally we make our own but I have declared it a cooking break day for myself. Sometimes mom needs a break from the kitchen

We pre-ordered 2 heart shaped take a bake pizza's from Papa Murphy's they were $6 each! So for $12 minus the $2 off coupon I have = $10 pizza take out! So splurging and eating out is still FRUGAL FABULOUS!


For dessert my husband and son bought this lovely yummy cookie cake for me, but we will all share:



Hope you and your family have a great Valentine's Day! Give your loved one's some extra hugs and kisses today :)

Friday, February 13, 2009

Freebie Friday


Heinz Baby Club- free samples and tote bag

Free Hot Chocolate- I would love some hot chocolate if the weather here in Texas started to act seasonable cold not 70 degree... but I love warm weather. (I got this freebie from Frugal Finds)

Clairol Perfect 10 Hair- I always need help with my hair so let's try open to first 500 entries.

Nico-Derm CQ- any smokers out there that want to quit, give this a try. I've lost a family member and a close friends mother to lung cancer. Time to kick the cancer sticks.

Blue Bell Ice Cream Offers- this is not a freebie but any blue bell ice cream lover knows any coupon is incrediable. They never send out coupons... but now they do. Check it out! I just printed $1 off coupon. I am saving this for my daughters birthday party in March.


Buy One Get One Free at TGIFridays - This will be one of eating out meals in the next week. Our family of 5 can get two entree's and share. Wow, we could get out for about $12.

Giveaway Sites:

I found a FABULOUS giveaway blog this week. You have to check it out http://www.classymommy.com/ click on giveaways. They have so many and great one's. Hopefully one day I will win something on this site.

http://freebies4mom.com/ This is a site I have been visiting for a while and entering their giveaways. If you have an extra couple minutes enter some giveaways and mark them as a favorite.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Thrifty Thursday- Kitchen Redo Update

I need your input.... I want to have some great giveaways for my readers. We all love free stuff! Most of all I want to have products you want. I am going to contact the companies and try to get freebies or coupons for my readers.

What would you like to see? For example you all know how much I love salsa I would enjoy getting a coupon for free Pace Salsa.

Are their any crafty ladies out there that want more exposure to their products I could do a feature giveaway for you too.

Update on my Kitchen Redo:
  • Lowe's is coming out to measure today the final dimensions. My hubby negotiated an additional 15% off the countertops and all the appliances after they were already on sale.
  • We chose the Formica brand laminate in Mineral Jet color in the Radiance collection we are having them installed instead of us doing it estimated $1100
  • We purchased a 8 inch depth sink for $80 listed price $144
  • Moen Facuet for $82 listed price $98
  • GE cooktop $185 list price $258
  • Broan Venthood $176 retail $213 (this model but in 36 inch)
  • Slate backsplash - we still need to purchase estimated cost $125

Original Budget: $1,500

Spent so far: $1,623.... yes we have an overage of $123 but that is ok we have decided to choose some products that are more mid ranged price not the cheapest model. I also upgraded to the most expensive kind of laminate and we chose to have installed instead of installing ourselves (a $400 upgrade).

I am very excited that my kitchen should be done in a few weeks. I will post photos as soon as progress is being made!!! I can't wait for the big reveal. Remember this is what is looks like now:

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Wasteless Wednesday

Oh how I love the smell of candles... I always have some scent glowing in my house. Candles relax me during my hectic day with the kids.

We go through candles very fast so I tried something new... I purchased small votive candles and put them in a candle jar that I had already used up. Then I put them together on my candle warmer. It worked great!

The votive candles are so much cheaper than the large one's and all I really want is the smell and the candle warmer also eliminates the burning and the fire that attracts the kids to investigate. My oldest once burnt her hair blowing out a candle.

My favorite scents are vanilla, coffee, and cake smells. You see the theme .... food!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

FREE Chick-fil-a

Dallas/ Ft. Worth Chick-Fil-A restaurants are having a "Snack Attack" this week. Local stores are offering free snacks from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Wednesday: Free Ice Cream
Thursday: Free Snack Cup
Friday: Free Brownie

We got our free fries today, sorry I just found about!

Tuesdays Tip

Work with what you've got... that has been a longtime mantra of mine. We purchased a home about 2 years ago that we consider a fixer upper. The house was still in 1990 the year it was built. So over the last 2 years we have brought it up 19 years. We are still working on it...

This is the photo after my mini makeover in our master bathroom. What did I do?
  • Bought the iron chandelier in Canton for $24
  • Put up IKEA roman shades $20 ($10 each)
  • Re textured the walls with leftover drywall compound from kitchen texturing FREE
  • Repainted with leftover paint from the master bedroom. FREE
  • Bought a few accessories from IKEA $20
  • So for less than $75 I made over my bathroom!
This is our master bathroom before my mini makeover. What a difference pure white lightbulbs make for the lighting and changing the wall color, oh and.... opening the windows. My next project in the bathroom is to paint the cabinets with a dark gel stain. Look for those photos to come in the next month or so.

We do hope to completely gut the bathroom in the future. We have this dream bath envisioned but right now we are working with what we've got!

Monday, February 9, 2009

Menu Monday

We had a wonderful weekend out of town with family. Lots of yummy meals lots of calories now back home and back to our schedule!

Monday: Brisket (Sadlers Brand) Baked Tator Tots (Frozen Wal-mart brand) with Stubbs BBQ Sauce (the best sauce just like a smokehouse)

Tuesday: Leftover Brisket (Salad for Jen)

Wednesday: Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders, Mashed Potato's and Corn

Thursday: Bacon Cheeseburgers and French Fries (Grilled Chicken for Jen)

Friday: Out to eat for Valentine's Day and our Anniversary! PF Changs, yum!

I've mentioned in previous post that I am dieting you might wonder.... how with this menu. well I eat a small portions and almost everything I make is baked so tator tots are not fried and burgers are grilled and I get the 90% lean meat. I try to still enjoy eating and being healthy. Really it isn't a diet just a way of life and still enjoying my meals.

What's your favorite meal you are planning this week?

Friday, February 6, 2009

Freebie Friday

Announcing the Freebie BellaBowz Giveaway!

And the winner is .......... Emily Pfaff!!!

Now on to Freebie Friday:
Napoleon Perdis Lip Gloss ($25 value)- if you join the Gloss Posse (remember use your freebie email) they mail you a coupon then you take to ULTA and redeem. When I signed up it said it would take 7 days to mail voucher. I love free makeup!

Emergen C Sample- Linsey from AZ, this one's for you! Just click on the free sample bubble.

Total Cranberry Crunch- we love Total cereal and cranberry crunch sounds great! I like to make easy granola bars with total cereal instead of rice crispies. Yummy!

Free energy supplement- they claim the worlds best energy protein supplement. Well I need energy so hurry and send fast!

Benefiber- free sample of their "on the go" products. Do you know their website has a recipe for Benefiber Corn and Black Bean Salsa?? Really? Wouldn't your guests be pleased they can increase their digestive health with your dip.

Metamucil- it appears we have a theme going for the samples. The new year, new you for your health. Don't worry by March we will be having samples of grease filled snacks and alcohol.

Glade Air Freshener Gift Pack- this offer is for the first 10,000 entries. Hurry and sign up. FYI about me... I change my Glade Plug-In's with the seasons, For Winter- the Cinnamon Apple, Spring- French Vanilla, Summer- Tropical (Orange pack) Fall- Vanilla again. I love glade plug-ins!

Free Jack in the Box Curly Fries- OK I am going out on a limb with this. I write this post yesterday Thursday and the link was not up yet. It is supposed to appear today and you print a coupon and redeem on Feb 10th (my anniversary how sweet). If it is not up and working tomorrow then this will not appear.

Funny Freebie's of the week-

Free Black Cloud Decal..... no there is more this is an ammunition company the slogan "Drop Ducks Like Rain" .... yeah that would be really cute on my mommy van. If you want this offer you probably would like the 2 free issue's to knife world too!

Free Sample of XyliMelts- Suffering from dry mouth? This melt will last up to 6 hours. OK... I am visualizing this one

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Thrifty Thursday- Valentines Day

Valentines day is around the corner... here are some great frugal ideas for your loved one.

Couple's Special Valentine:

  1. Custom Music CD- burn a CD with songs that remind you of him. My husband did this for me several years ago and put it in my car so when I started it our first dance song played from our wedding.
  2. Plan a Special Date- at home or your favorite restaurant. My favorite is at home after the kids go to sleep or they are away. Pull out your china and candles. Spaghetti and Meathearts, instead of rolling meatballs into a ball use small heart cookie cutters to make hearts. Here is a great meatball recipe. Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert.
  3. Love Bar- Write love note and wrap around a chocolate candy bar and seal with a sticker.
  4. Valentine's Coupons- find some great printables here.


For the Family on Valentine's Day

  1. Special Placemats with that Special Dinner- We decorate construction paper and get it laminated at the local teachers store for about 50 cents. The kids pull out the placemats each year and get so excited. (we do this for all the holidays)
  2. Heart Cookies and Sweets- there is something very comforting about having cookies in the cookie jar we make cookies at least once a month. Let the kids decorate one for each member of the family then put the special cookies in personalized paper lunch bag for each person.
  3. Coupons- make coupons for the kids: one free bed making, laundry pass, park pass. They can also make some for mommy and daddy: dish duty, hugs, and cleaning chores.
  4. Handmade cards- get out the craft supplies and let your kids design their own special card for mommy and daddy. I keep all my kids special creations in a big box with their names labeled so that one day they can . Here is a great site for printable cards for your kids to color and decorate.

Still want more ideas.... this is my favorite site for family fun!

Today is the last day to enter the bow contest! Don't forget to enter!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

My First Blog Giveaway!

Post #99 time to celebrate ! I am so excited to have my first blog giveaway... my friend Jenny who makes Bella Bowz has given me a Valentine's bow to giveaway to one of my FABULOUS readers. The winner can choose to have this bow mounted on a french barrette, alligator clip, or red crochet headband.

Jenny has one more deal for my readers.... subscribe or follow BellaBowz and get 10% off your next order!


Ways to To Enter (Leave me a comment for each way you enter, you could have 4 entries) :
  • Leave a comment tell me your favorite Valentine Candy

  • Get an Extra entry by Following or subscribing to my blog or tell me you already follow

  • Post the contest on your blog (then leave a comment)

  • Get your third entry by Tweeting about this giveaway (then leave a comment)

The contest ends on Thursday (February 5th at 9:00 pm CST) I will select a winner by a random number generator then announce. The bow will be mailed out and to you with time to spare for your little Valentine.

Here is my littlest Valentine with her custom BellaBowz! You have to check our BellaBowz fabulous bows. I give her my FrugalJen seal of approval, they are SO SPLURGE WORTHY!

Tuesdays Tip

With 3 kids we always have baby wipes around the house. So what else do we use them for?


Cleaning baseboards... once a month the kids get the wipes out and wipe down all the baseboards. They each have their own little area's. I like the wipes because they don't leave paper residue like paper towels. They even get excited to clean the baseboards.

A large box of wipes is at least a dollar cheaper than the small package of furniture wipes and they both do the same thing! No sticky residue from the baby wipes just nice and clean.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Free Breakfast at Denny's

Make plans for breakfast or brunch tomorrow!
Find a location near you www.dennys.com

Menu Monday-Recipe Queso

Updated: I wanted to share this recipe with the recipe swap on Grocery Cart Challenge. What a great site!

Yesterday I experimented and made a new queso, my own made up recipe, put all my favorites in... it was soooo good! Here is how to do it:

Jen's Taco Queso
-1 pound of Velvetta
-1 can of rotel (blended with the blender... I don't like chunks)
-1 can of refriend beans
-1 can of black beans rinsed and drained
- 1/2 packet of taco seasoning
- 8 oz of sour cream
-1/2 pound of cooked ground beef

Melt and serve with chips it is so creamy and yummy.

This is our dinner menu:

Monday: Spaghetti & Meatballs with garlic bread (this is my first try making meatballs)

Tuesday: Crockpot Salsa Chicken in tortilla's with a side of rice and beans

Wednesday: Grilled Chicken Sandwich and Tator Tot's

Thursday: Pilgrims Pride Buffalo Chicken Tenders (got them with a free coupon, I had a bad experience so they mailed me free coupons), Mashed Potato's and Corn

Friday: Make your own Pizza

For more Menu Planning Monday visit http://www.orgjunkie.com/

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Home Improvement Coupons

We have had a weekend of more appliance shopping... I am actually getting tired of this ready to just have it done with!!

We did not purchase yet we are waiting for our 10% off coupons to come in the mail so we can save some $$.

Any home improvement projects get some coupons here:
Search Ebay- ton's for $1
Lowes

Anyone have any extra Lowe's or Home Depot coupons?