Starting Basics of Couponing

I used to be a big couponer, I did it for a while and built a amazing stock pile. Now that I have been out of the game a while, and our stock pile is beginning to dwindle, I am highly considering restarting. With couponing it is the same principle that applies to nearly everything in life, the more work you put into the greater the reward. My trips were never the 'extreme' kind where I got huge amounts for pennies, but on average I would save 50 to 75 percent on my trips. So if you like the sound of spending 25 to 50 dollars instead of $100, then couponing may be for you! Normally I am a bit of a cheater and I use several websites to do my weekly match ups for me, so all I have to do it pick and chose the items I want to buy, pull out my coupons and head out the door! But let first start with where to find coupons.

The primary source for coupons is going to be your Sunday Newspaper. Fairly simple, around here they range from $1.50 to $2.00 per paper. Some times if you have a Dollar Tree in your area they sell the paper for only a buck! I ideally recommend buying two papers every Sunday to start. This will get you two of each coupon. To be fully honest you really have to do this for about a month until they start matching up with sale items. So for about four weeks, you will buy these papers. If you are lucky sometimes you can dumpster dive at the local newspaper office and get these coupon inserts free!

The next source is printable coupons. There are a variety of sites out there that you can print from. here are the following ones I use:
www.smartsource.com
www.redplum.com
www.coupons.com
There may be more out there, but these are my primary sources. These allow you to print 3 of each coupon from one computer. Printer doesn't matter, you just use a different computer and you can print 3 more. Also they DO NOT have to be in color! Print in black and white and save some money there.

Your final source is more random. You can find them as little tags on bottles, on boxes, in boxes with products, or at those little sample tables at stores. Random coupons companies give out to entice you to buy something new NOW.

My advice as your first step into your coupon adventure is just start buy using coupons on things you buy everyday. If you are wondering if a coupon exists for an item you want to buy you can find out here on the Coupon Data Base. You can search and it will tell you where to find it if there is one.

Everyone wants to coupon to save money, but to get started it is a small investment, in time and money. My first few coupon trips were not huge or thrilling, but the longer I did it the more I saved. I easily made up any extra money I spend that first month by month three. This is something that can take up as little or as much of your time as you please. There are MANY groups and websites that can help guide you and point you in the right direction. Google and Youtube are your friends!!

April Update

April has been a crazy roller coaster ride! We are dealing with legal issues with the previous owner of our home, which has been a drain on us money wise. We are also in the process finally of filing my divorce. With everything in motion we will be able to have our small private wedding this fall. We decided to have a private ceremony this time so that we may save up and have a large beautiful ceremony later. Plus I want us all to go on a group honey moon with the kids to Disney Land! Justin and I are kids are heart.

Aries is growing so fast! He is now ten months old and almost walking. He takes little steps all by himself and stands alone as much as he can! I am so proud. He has 4 teeth now and will eat anything you feed him. The greatest joy in my life is watching him play and grow. He has such a unique personality too. Crazy, funny, and just wild. He is so attached to his Grandma and Daddy too.

Another big leap is I decided to start selling Passion Parties! I still remember so much from when my mother did it years ago, and I have gotten a head start on it. I am on track with the Fast Track Program and have been really successful so far! I have a small party this weekend and several coming up at the end of May. Life is going so well for us and Passion Parties has made it even better!

We are also planning a huge garage sale this coming weekend, to help raise some extra money to go toward our legal fees, wedding, and hopefully our Iowa trip.

What We Look For in a Home

So in December we got approved for a home loan and have been house shopping. Now we have put a offer down on a home and are currently working toward getting it. I wanted to share what exactly my family looks for in their perfect home and why. What does our home need?

1. Three or more bedrooms, with the potential to add more. We have Justin and I, Jeremy, and Aries currently. I am hoping to have a daughter eventually, and her to have her own room as well.
2. Parking for at least 3 or more cars at once. Actually this needs to be parking for 5 or more cars at once. We currently own 3 cars, and I want to buy a RV in the future. Also when Kim comes to visit she will need a place to park.
3.MUST be off street parking. My van was totaled while parked on the street. So no street parking.
4. Has to have a decently large back yard. Has to have room for a swing set for Aries, a trampoline, a 12x12 garden space, and a area to grill.
5. The yard must be able to be fenced in. I want to be able to have a safe environment for my son and dogs.
6. A front yard is required. I don't want to live in a house basically right up against the street. The noise is awful. I would like to be able to hold a yard sale in the front yard as well.
7. The kitchen must be open and large. I own a lot of cooking tools, such as toaster oven, coffee maker, 3 different steamers, two crock pots, and tons of other items. Plus I believe in stocking and stock up food. I also have a full size stand up freezer and chest freezer.
8. The bathroom has to have a lot of storage for towels, soaps and etc, or there must be another place to store these items, like a linen closet.
9. There must be two bathrooms, or at least two toilets. There is nothing more horrible then someone have to take a poop while you are in the shower. It ruins it.
10. Must have a barn or garage for us to store our outdoor tools and items. It must also be big enough to pull in one car so we can work on them at home.
11. The house must have an area besides the living room for me to store my crafts. I have a lot and they need their own area.

Holiday Organization

Merry Christmas! Well, a few days ago anyways. Now that the holidays are over it is time to pack up all the pretty decor for next year. The first few days after Christmas I spend hitting up several stores to find great deals on wrapping paper, boxes, general decor, and some gifts for holidays in the next few months. This year I got 50 cent rolls of wrapping paper, I paid $5.25 for 30 pretty gift boxes, and unsure of how many or how much I spent on plain ones. We do gift boxes for adults when possible, because we tie closed with curling ribbon, and reuse the boxes each year, saving money and the environment. I got a few cute ornaments to add to our collection and a new star for the tree for only $5.

The tote pictured above is a new addition to our storage. A key factor in my opinion. No matter how we stored our wrapping paper it always got squished. Always. So we got three of these nice containers with clip on lids. The one pictured has roughly 30 rolls of wrapping paper in it, and I think I could squeeze a couple more in. I have another about half full of misc holiday wrap, like for birthdays. 

This year we expanded from one tote of lights to two totes! I got some cute lighted garland for sale. This year I also printed off labels from my computer to show the holiday and the contents.

We actually have 3 of these smaller totes full of ornaments. Most of them are plastic, but some are still glass. Keeping them in smaller containers like this we don't use any wrap or padding, and they don't get broken. Plus since the totes say ornaments on them, people know to handle them carefully.

Another new addition this year was this card tote I got at Meijers. It was only $6. I labeled the top and front, and it worth the money already. I found random partial packs the cards all over in the Christmas decor. I was able to throw away all those packs, saving space, and easily find them all in one space.

We own a lot of just random decor too. Things such as stockings, stocking hooks, wall hangings, tree skirts, glass figurines, lawn decor, rugs, and place mats. So total we have two of these larger totes full.

Sadly, although everything you see is all organized, and ready to be put away for another year, I am positive there is more Christmas decor hidden in my storage unit, just waiting to be discovered. 

Diapers!

If you have no guessed by the picture yet, this post is about diapers! I know, very exciting right?

Well, as a first time Mom, I have been thrown into the wide world of diapers. At first all the shiny packages show equal promise of butt coverage. But as you can see above all brands are a little different. So here are the current 5 brands in my home!

Number One

Target Brand Diapers

I was recommended these through a family member. The cost is only slightly more then the cheapest diapers, which are WalMarts Parents Choice Diapers. These run bigger. All the diapers pictured above are size ONE diapers. So these offer more coverage overall. Also when they get wet they don't seem to get puffy like normal diapers do. So far these are the only diapers I have ever seen not get puffy when wet. They also feature the color changing stripe when wet.

Number Two

Pampers

I happen to get these on sale. Over all a good diaper, that I have not had any issues with. The second largest diaper really. Being a name brand diaper, they are more on the expensive side as well.

Number Three

Huggies

Now with Huggies I bought a ton on sale and they have given me issues. They have a strong tendency to leak out the top if they are not put on super tight. Keep in mind I do have a boy, and this may not be the issue with a girl. Also if left on for extended wear, they kinda pill up on the outside. This doesn't cause any actual problems, but I guess it may under extreme circumstances. I have a bunch of them, and I intend on using them, we just have to put them on a little extra tight.

Number Four

Luvs

Now Luvs have worked well for us, but I do recommend them if you have a longer thinner baby. These diapers are smaller, but longer. They also have really great stretch around the legs so that it fits well down there. 

Number Five

Comforts

Comforts are sold at Kroger, and I am not sure if they are only sold there. But they were given to me at my baby shower and I love them. The product is true to its name and it is a very comfortable diaper that has never given us a problem. These are also a medium cost diaper, a little more then store brand, but much less then name brand. These also run the smallest in comparison to the other diapers listed here. 

Now I know I didn't list Parents Choice Diapers here, because I didn't have one on hand to picture. These are great quality diapers, and as far as I have found the cheapest. I use these as a default diaper, unless I am given or buy another brand on sale.

Kroger Coupon Trip 6-19-13

Another Kroger Coupon Trip!

Basically this time I went in for some last minute bargains before the buy 4 save $4 sale is over. Plus I only have 8 more days until I deliver my baby, so maybe only one more trip after this until I am on bed rest with the baby. This was a pretty good trip with it being $62.67 in retail, and only paying $20.35 out of pocket. That is a 67% savings, as well as $6 in catalinas I got for my next purchase. The savings percent would have been higher on this trip, but we decided to take advantage of this weeks buy 10 get 5 free sale, which was all the canned goods in the picture and the two boxes of Mac and Cheese. 

The two different CAT's I got back were from buying the Oscar Mayer Bologna, buy 4 get a $3 CAT. I got two Bacon and two Turkey this trip and threw them in the freezer. The other $3 CAT I got was from buying the Bayer Low Dose Aspirin. I basically am not a big fan of them, but the CAT makes them free, and my roommate and boyfriend will use them, so a win win!

As ALWAYS all my coupon match ups were done on Kroger Krazy, please feel free to check it out, the lady that runs the site is AWESOME.

OH! I got so excited at the register to find out that my Krogers is a high doubler!! Which means ANY coupon I have over 50 cents automatically becomes 99 cents at the register! How cool is that? Any thing under 50 cents just plain doubles, but I was under the impression my local Kroger was a low doubler, and anything over 50 cents just stayed the same! 

Most of all I couldn't have had such a good shopping trip if it were not for my wonderful boyfriend, Justin. He is so helpful and great at helping me keep totals and balances right for all my trips.

Krogers Coupon Trip 6-11-13

Made  BIG Krogers coupon trip today! Very happy with how it turned out! The retail on this was $110.29 and I only paid $37.46! I am gonna post some details on how I got this deal, but for the most part I just picked and chose which items I wanted from the match up on Kroger Krazys. So please feel free to check out her site and get yourself some bargains too! Just click the link above.

Now nearly half my purchase cost was the pop. It is on sale three 12 packs for $9.00. I ended up with 6 of the 12 packs(for $18) and used $4 in newspaper coupons, making it 6 of the 12 packs for only $14. Which is pretty awesome at $2.33 per 12 pack of name brand pop. Which to my surprise each 12 pack of Dr. Pepper 10 came with a free redbox rental! So we basically get $2.56 in free stuff (redbox in my area is up to $1.28 a night per movie).

The Airwick Freshmatic was FREE, after sale and coupon, and then the refills after sale and coupon cost me  $3.98. So for the entire set up, I paid $3.98 which normally retails for $9.97.

The 4 Smart Balance Butters I paid 84 cents each for in the end, because my Kroger retails them at $2.59 each, instead of the lower estimate I got from Kroger Krazys. That's still a HUGE savings, so not a big deal to me.

The Pampers baby wipes (72 count) retailed at $2.49 each, after sale and my coupons I paid 49 cents each, and got two packs. Trust me, if I had more coupons I would have gotten more!

Now before every coupon trip I write out a detailed list of what items I am getting, along with the appropriate price before and after coupons. This way if there is a price difference, which happens, I can adjust my trip and decide if the discount is still enough to buy the item. This trip worked out very well, considering it was pretty complicated. First off Kroger is have a buy 4 participating items, get $4 off your purchase sale, so if I wanted the discount I needed to get my items in sets of 4. One item I had planned to buy my Kroger did not carry, so there went 2 items off my transaction, which threw it off. But later on in the trip another pair of items I learned were not in the sale, so it evened out, only 4 items I didn't get. Had it been different, say I had 3 sale items, I would have had to make that hard choice, do I get something I didn't plan to get, just to get my $4 off? Or do I put 3 items back? I am very happy this trip went so smoothly and if I can gather up another list of items I may make another round this week, since this sale is pretty awesome.

Couponing!

So I have decided to take up extreme couponing. I have taken several steps to prepare myself for this, and feel I have finally started and wanted to share my experience!

At first I thought I could just clip some coupons and head to the store and the deals would rain! LOL. Wrong. To save a decent amount, besides maybe a dollar or two on a huge shopping trip it takes careful planing,clipping, and organizing. Once I realized this, I decided to ask for help. I talked to a few friends and then hit the jack pot with Tiffany Phillips, AKA, Money Saving Mom of 5. You can check out her blog here: http://www.moneysavingmomof5.org/
She is your everyday mom, with the knowledge and skills you need to coupon like a pro! Also she teaches classes on it too! I went to her class in Bellefountaine, Ohio on Feb 16th. You pay $5.00, it pays for the huge packet you get, and helps cover her gas. She drives all over and teaches these classes, and is always available to answer any questions you may have. Visit the link on her blog to find out her class schedule, and go if you want to learn! Her class cleared up so many questions and confusion I had and between the packet she gives out and the notes I took during the class, I felt ten times more prepared to go out and get a bargain.

So my obvious first step was I took the Coupon Class. This helped me line up my other steps to get me rolling.
Next I organized a list of the prime stores I planned to shop at. Most of which required membership/reward cards. Before now I was very much guilty of getting everything from Wal-Mart. From now on, I won't hardly be going there because that is just not where the coupon bargains are!
After that I bought  two Sunday papers, and set a alarm in my phone to remember to get one next Sunday. I easily forget these and they are very important. I am missing out on deals this week, because I don't have the coupon inserts from the paper.
So after I got my stores in order, and have my first set of coupons, I set down and reviewed several blogs that post coupon comparisons, and planned a trip. I lined up my coupons with products and locations, and was ready to roll.
Then finally I went on my first trip, only to one store, it was hard not having those other coupons to make a trip to all the stores. So I settled on Walgreens.
I got food and some bathroom items, and between coupons and sales I saved 67%. Which I was pretty proud of for my first trip out.

It is gonna take me a week or two to really get into the groove of it and have big savings on a regular basis, but I know if I stick to it I can.
Oh and I am helping others because any expired coupons I don't use I can send to families in the military over seas and they can use them!

30 Things I want my kids to know about me Part 5

Wow, some serious spam and rude comments on my last post. Awesome. Well, to those of you out there, if you don't like, don't come back! I write this blog because it makes me happy, not to please any one else.

NOW! To continue on with the list!

Question Number 14:
Describe 5 Weaknesses and Strengths you have.
Weaknesses:
1. I am forgiving. I always think there is the best in people, so people end up using me and throwing me aside. Especially family.
2. I literally have no upper body strength. I can only lift about 40 pounds over my head. I am hoping lifting a baby everyday as they grow may finally help that though.
3. I have severe anxiety. Most people with this condition do not consider it a weakness, but I do. It has gotten worse as I have gotten older and honestly, I miss the days where I wasn't afraid to make phone calls or go new places.
4. I overload myself. I have a tendency to think I can take on more then I can possibly handle and I spread myself too thin. Some times I can balance the chaos and some times it kills me.
5. I am addicted to acquireing objects. Not exactly buying, although I love to shop! Not stealing, I am just rally good at always getting things for free! Which is bad when you come from a long line of hoarders.
Strengths
1.I am ambitious. If I want some thing I am always willing to work hard to get it, and there are some things in life that only hard work will get you.
2. I am creative. Whether it is making art or figuring out ways to save money or be greener, I use my creativity to think out side the box and find a better solution.
3. I am a multitasker. I do well with more the one focus at a time. As long as I don't over load myself I enjoy doing many things at once, or having various projects to work on.
4. I am caring. I love to help people. I enjoy volunteer work. I would nurture a sick animal in a heartbeat.
5. My greatest strength is my ability to walk away from the worst and over come it. Through hard times in bad I have always found a inner strength to carry on.

Question Number 15:
Describe when you knew your spouse was the one or how I fell in love.
This is really one of my favorite questions so far! I fell in love with Justin the day I met him. It was love at first site. Now don't get me wrong, we didn't start drooling over each other or nothing like that, but it was definitely big smiles and giggles all day. We had a afternoon date, where we went out to eat. We didn't eat, because we were both too nervous to. We went back to his place to hang out and listen to music and stuff, and he asked me to be his girlfriend. I felt such a strong connection with him I said yes, and I may have been really super thrilled he asked too. I had gone through probably 6 to 10 guys in the past 6 months, nothing serious, just a date or two and then over. I was really starting to think there were no guys out there that wanted to settle down and be serious. I had a great career, home and job, I just wanted some one to share it all with. Justin showed up and it was like a dream come true. Things weren't always perfect, but we worked through them, and he NEVER gave up on me. So, is there true love at first site? Yes, there is.

Question Number 16:
What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?
Not necessarily in this order:
1. Bought my first home at 21.(Don't own it now, but I lived there for 2 happy years)
2. Finally getting pregnant at 25.(After two long years of trying)
3. Graduating High School after being kicked out my senior year for being injured. Not to mention my family degrading me, calling me a high school drop out.
4. Learning to love ME. After being made fun of by people I went to school with and family, it took me a long time to learn to love myself, and be proud to be me, and I finally am.
5.Adopting my first 'child' Coco. If you don't have a pet you deeply love you won't understand, but Coco will always be more then a dog to me. She was my training kid. We are really close and bonded and I don't care if I am homeless, I promise to always take care of my baby. She is the reason I know I will be a good mom when the time comes.

Question Number 17:
What is the thing you most wish you were great at?
Well, one of two things, I always wanted to be a great singer. I am ok, but not amazing. The other would be I wish I had gotten a serious college education, and had a real career in marketing and business. 

Question Number 18:
What do you think your spouse loves most about you?
I think he loves either the fact I love him for who he is or that I am smart. Up until recently, I was the one deciding and solving 99% of all our problems. Life is like a puzzle and he knows he can depend on me to figure out how it best goes together.

Question Number 19:
How did you feel the moment you became a parent?
The baby isn't here yet, but the moment the doctor said I was pregnant my whole world changed. It was like everything went from black and white to rainbows of color. I instantly had mommy vision. I saw cars and thought of if a carseat would fit in there, or would that be safe for my teen to be driving? I no longer saw the menu at the restaurant as what ever sounded good, it was what healthy? Do they offer a good kids menu? In the last three months I have been thinking about college money and buying his or her first car. Before, it would be me thinking of making crafts or jewelry and maybe looking for a flea market to sell my stuff. Or what could me and Justin do together this weekend. But now it isn't about me anymore. The moment I became a parent, I opened my eyes to a new world, a world for three instead of two.

Question Number 20:
Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.
1. Not sure on a specific year or age, besides between the ages of 4 and 7. Every Thanks Giving and Christmas was a really awesome time at my house. Me and my brother were basically the only grand kids so holidays were celebrated at our house. My mom always went all out, huge meal, tons of decor, and tons of presents and family every where. I will never forget having such an awesome holiday and I hope I can provide my kids with the same.
2. I remember one time our back yard flooded, I want to say in the fall. The leaves had fallen off the trees and there was just enough moisture left in them that they coated the ground and it rained a lot, and it made it hard for the ground to absorb the water. So there was a foot to two feet of water in our back yard, and I played in it with my brother and step siblings, and it was just a awesome weird experience. 
3. When I was in kindergarten or first grade in the summer my mom had me lay down for a nap and she laid down for a nap.Before she went to lay down I asked her to open my window. I wasn't strong enough to open it myself and I had plans. As soon as she laid down I shut my bedroom door and popped the screen out of my window and got out. I went next door, a house my mom used to live in and used as storage, broke into there and got a kite out. I flew it all after noon. Then I put it back. But when I got home I didn't realize I couldn't get back in the window and had to go in the front door. It was a adventure, and my mom was pissed. Looking back now, I think I was a pretty clever kid.

Christmas Time

Once again Christmas has rolled around on us. The year has flown by and we are putting up trees and shopping like mad! I think I finally have all my shopping done. I wrapped it up on Black Friday. I would love to write a blog on the Black Friday deals I got, but 90% of the are Christmas gifts, and cannot be revealed until December 25th. So, that being said, this blog is going to be about just Christmas sadly. First off, I already had a head start in my wrapping and used a ton of gift boxes I purchased last year marked down after the holidays.

That is my huge stack of wrapped gifts, all for Chris, Jeremy, and Justin. I still have a lot more wrapping to do before I am finished and I am custom making a few gifts as well. So I have a lot do do before I am done, but I am excited to see what everyone thinks of their gifts this year. Last year we were really tight and Christmas just wasn't that great. I also have my tree up and decorated, but I want to add some more ornaments before I take pictures. This year is a blue and silver theme.

November!

Wow, it is so crazy November is already here! I had a pretty good October, with the minor exception of Jeremy losing his new job. But I went and got my nails done for the first time!

I love how they turned out! Things are going well and I am deep into my Christmas shopping. I already have gifts for everyone in my household. I have no idea what to buy my brother and sister! I dont really know what they are into. I did purchase several Halloween markdowns today, but I have to say my favorite is the pumpkin piggy bank I got.

It was only $5 at Target!

Floor Down!

Well, thanks again to my awesome neighbors/lot managers, we have our new floor boards put down in the house! It needs some small tweeking and stuff, but already looks ten times better. We also made two car loads from the old house today and it is nearly empty. I got the bathroom nearly all put together. So it is looking great. I will be hanging curtains in place of three doors tomorrow, just as a temporary fix until we get new doors to put in place. Got both dinning tables put in the kitchen and most of the dishes are put away. The window seal is nearly done, which is good because it is supposed to rain the next few days. This house has so much storage which is great, I just have to get things put away. I ran three loads of laundry and folded and put away two from yesterday.
I took the kids to a church event today to get them free school supplies and free school clothes. Then we went back an hour later because at the end of the event they let you take as much as you want. So me and Mickey got tons of new stuff and Holden got a few things. He is very picky about his clothes. Just like his brother.
I also hit up a bunch of yard sales. I was able to get Chris three more pairs of jeans and four really cool Tshirts. I got me a tshirt that had Yoshi on it. I also got some seriously awesome shoes, I may have to post pictures of them later.
I think we should be able to catch up with everything for the most part tomorrow. We plan on having a huge yard sale. We have a lot of stuff that just needs to go and some stuff to give away. So next saturday, 9am to 5pm. My place!

Facebook Group

Well, today was a extremely productive and interesting day. First off I worked at Pratt. I had a great day there. Their office is filled with really nice people. Then after work I got to go to the Champaign County Fair with Justin. We had a great time and bought two ceramics to take home and paint. Mine is a cat and dog leaning against each other, while Justins is a awesome dragon! We had fun and I ate too many deep fried pickles. I brought home and large cookie and some cotton candy to enjoy later. Justin bought fresh pulled taffy.
I already started to paint Justin's dragon. I am doing a black base coat and then working from there. I already know what colors I want to do for mine. Also I started a facebook group for buy, sale, trade, and etc in my area. Mostly meaning Champaign County, but the surrounding areas too. I have a bunch of stuff in my shed I would like to give away and I would like to have a yard sale too. Then I also have stuff I am looking for too. I kinda hope the connection will help me meet people from the area too. Tomorrow, we go to start some deep cleaning on the trailer because the power should be on!

Super Bargain!

These are my latest super bargains from WalMart! I got all three of these sleepers from Walmart brand new marked down. The first one I got while I was in South Carolina and payed a dollar for it. It is a size 3 to 6 month. The other two are a size 0 to 3 months, and were the biggest deal of all. The one in the center was only 15 cents! Then the one on the right was only 30 cents! So I was thrilled to get these sleepers, because I love Halloween!!

Super Bargain Shopping Trip!

Okay, so I had a little time today to make it out to Walmart thanks to my friend Jeremy. The roads are really snowy and bad so he was nice enough to drive me out there. They were having a big sale on the Miley Cyrus/ Max Azria line of clothes, Valentines Day clothes, and some other odds and ends they had. So I went and got myself some really nice stuff really cheap! I ended up spending roughly $45 and I came home and added up the tag value WITHOUT tax which came to $235!! That means I saved $190! Which for some of the tags I couldn't find the full price but a previous mark down price only. So that means I saved even more, I just don't know how much. This was a AWESOME trip over all!! I also got a outfit for my mom and for my little brother!


This is a sexy bomber jacket for only $3, when it was orginally $20!

These jeans were orginally $15 each and I got two pairs for only $3 each. One pair for me and my mom.

These two sets are sweatshirt/jackets with Tshirts, and I paid only $3 each! The one is Betty Boop and the other is Tinker Bell.

Then these three shirts I paid only $1 each and they are from the Miley Cyrus/ Max Azria line, very cute, and I am going to wear a thin strap tank underneath.

Changes

Wow, it has been a long time since I have written, but that's okay. I have been super busy with a lot of different things! First off Coco's puppies will be nine weeks old on Sunday and they are still for sale! As well as Egypt, who is eight months old this month. We couldn't get our basement fixed at our old house, so we decided moving was the best option. After being given a long run around, we were able to get financed to buy a three bedroom manufactured home at the Sunrise Terrace Mobile Home park. The house has to stay here for four years, after that we plan on moving it to some land we plan on buying between now and then. We moved in here the last week of September, and so far I love it here. We are building custom shelves into the living room wall, so we have a nice place to store all our movies in there. I have been working on sanding and staining the wood myself. Chris is the builder and puts it all together. I think I am going to put one big shelf in my bedroom as well, for all my books. The master bedroom has a large garden tub that looks like a hot tub! I love all the space we have here. Plus they gave us our own space to store my car. Justin finally got me to go to one of this Pokemon tournaments with him. I played and had a blast. We are planning on going back again.
The house is still a moving mess for the most part. I don't work at Wal-Mart anymore. I got fired for stupid reasons, which was proven since I get unemployment from them. I still work at the library, but I am looking for a desk job at a hotel preferably. My Lyme's is up and down right now, I haven't finished transferring all my paper work yet so I can see my family doctor, instead of the dude in Grinnel who was ripping us off. I have been having big issues with putting things off lately, I know about things I have to get done, but I just seem to forget until I am in bed at night. It is very frustrating. I have been working on it.
A couple of days ago, we decided to take on a special needs dog. Her name is Lulu and she came from a drug house. She is ten weeks old and can't walk. Basically our goal is in the next six months is to teach her how to walk and be a normal dog her age. She is a sweet white terrier mix. She is always so happy too. Today we got her to play with all the puppies and it was pretty fun. We did have one couple come and look at buying one of the puppies today, but they said they would have to think about it. They were looking for a smaller chihuahua then these. Mine at the biggest are only ten pounds, but then I guess they were looking for something tiny. I really need to get at least one sold because I am taking Coco in to get fixed in a week and a half. So I could really use the money for that.
My family has the flu, so I am avoiding them for now. I have started my Christmas shopping. Everyday is a challenge to unpack more and get stuff done!

Almost Free

Well, I have been inspired by some one who is a dick! I often write reviews of businesses I like on the Yahoo! business review. Well, some jerk decided that he doesn't like my positive review of the business. So I am going to do a in depth review on here of the experience I had at the store.
Almost Free
Located at 415 E Euclid Ave, Des Moines, IA 50313
Phone number is (515) 883-2888
I haven't been but a handful of times, but every time I go I wish I could come back more often. I live a good distance away from there so I really can't get there often. The last time I went my boyfriend found two really awesome older games he had been looking for. We hadn't been able to afford these games used at a local store because they were nearly $30 each! We got them at Almost Free for only $4.00 each. We noticed that they had brand new VHS movies for only 5o cents each. Which we still watch them and I have family that does too! I collect a certain time of cat figurine, it has to look a certain way to fit into my collection and they are very hard to find. They actually had three there and they were even willing to negotiate on the price. Now I promise this is a very honest review! The store was a little hot, and it may have been a little dusty. The stuff they had for sale though was in good shape, and for the prices it was a nice store. No, you aren't going to get a super organized Wal-Mart setting. It is a little disorderly, but it makes it fun to explore. They also had a large box of free items out front. They have a good variety of brand new, used, and very used items. It is a good place to shop if you don't have a huge wallet. Every where I go I am looking for a bargain. I got two huge rolls of shelf paper there one time I went for only a dollar. I would go back, and I highly recommend this place to my friends and family.

I just finished watching Seven Pounds with Justin. I enjoyed it more toward the end (where I cried my eyes out). The entire movie is a major clueless mystery, until you get to about the last 15 to 20 minutes of it. Then it all comes together in a amazing sense of heart wrenching loss and giving all at once. During the entire movie, I really didn't like it, but once the end came, I loved it. I really believe that one person can make a difference in the world. They don't have to die to do it like he did in the movie, there are so many things.
In a way this really hit close to home. The woman in the movie is dieing from a bad heart, and almost my entire family is suffering from a disease that they may not be able to afford to live with. That's why I am doing what I can to help them raise money to help pay for their medical expenses so they can live full healthy lives. My mom has started a fundraiser call Phoneraiser. Basically all they have to do is gather used ink cartridges and old cell phones. We can mail them into this company which will then recycle them, and pay us. All the money my mom makes will go toward paying for their medical treatment. My mom also sells homemade baked goods. We are having a bake sale at Clothing Without Walls on May 16th, 9:30am-12:30pm.

Yard Sales and Flea Markets

Nothing feels better then finding that perfect item to complete your collection or give that final look to a rooms decor. When searching for a particular item you will need to do a little research into where you will want to bargain hunt. Your local paper should have listings of yard sales weekly, although some papers only list addresses, detailed listings are ideal. Once you find your listings take a highlighter and mark ones that have either the item you are looking for or similar items. To help with this try to group like things together. If you are looking for toddler toys, and they list toddler clothes, there is a high chance they will have what you are looking for. Yard sales vary, but with a entire town to discover, you have a greater chance of finding what you need. Depending on the size of the town you plan to bargain hunt in, it may take you only a few hours to up to several. Yard sales can begin as early as 5am, and be open as late as eight or nine at night. So you will want to prioritize your list based on three things, the items for sale, the hours open, and location. Once you have a few sales you have decided you must hit, then look through your list and see what the hours are for each, the earlier you hit a yard sale the better you are at getting what you want. Also keep in mind that hitting the end of a yard sale isn't a bad thing at all, usually that's when the seller is eager to get rid of left over merchandise at lower prices. Often if you buy some thing they will even give away items. This can be great if you are just out and about to discover a new treasure. Now if you have a variety of sales to hit that are open for longer hours, then try to divide up your shopping area into sections, and make a loop out of your trip. If you save on gas that's a extra couple of dollars you can spend on something fun. Flea markets usually run in two different types. There is the type that is like a yard sale, and you can often find a variety of bargains, but you never really know what you will find. The other type is more of a location where vender's come together and sell products they got cheaply at whole sale price. These kinds you will find quality items but at a decent price. Once again, unless it has some sort of theme, you never really know what you will find. Some flea markets do charge a entrance fee, which usually isn't much. Depending on how nice the place is that the flea market is located really helps you determine what price range of items you are looking for, and the reason behind that is booth rent. Some places many only charge a tiny rent, while others can be outrageous. So you have to keep in mind that the vendor is trying to earn back that rent, and make a profit. Outdoor markets are usually on the less expensive side, while indoor markets are more of a high end. So when choosing a market to shop, review your budget, and shop wisely. Whether you chose a day at local yard sales, or a trip to a quaint flea market, I can almost guarantee you will find something you just can't live without.

New Things

Well, not much new has really been happening. Just working on the same things. But I have been talking with my mom about some volunteer work she is doing and I am very interested in. We are doing a Kids with Cancer camp day on June 14th. Basically that day is for the kids and their parents to come and see the camp and we will have a big carnival with games and stuff. They need a lot of volunteers. So if any one wants to volunteer, my mom is driving everyone down there. I am really excited about helping. We will be running the games and stuff. Then my mom is going to be collecting pop tops. She said she could find all kinds of other volunteer opportunities for me as well. So I am very excited. I want to be involved. This is a pretty meaningful thing. I am going to try to get others involved too. Then I am very anxious about this years farmers market, which will be every Tuesday. It starts on June 1st. This year you can sell anything handmade, instead of just food! So I am going to be making lots of things. Plus mom is going to be having tons of stuff as well. So I am very much looking forward to it all. I haven't decided what I am going to make yet, but I am going to try to make a variety of things to sell.