Living IN Canaan

100 Reasons to Get Rid of It

Great article on clutter busting from Martha Stewart
Very practical and encouraging.

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Getting Started (Again!) CVS-ing

Okay, I am a coupon LOVER!  I cannot even express to you the joy that it gives me to get something for nothing, or even better to make a profit to take a product out of a store.  The 2 best places to do this are CVS and Walgreens.  Around the end of October, I suffered a little bit of coupon burn-out and my coupon box disintegrated into utter disarray. 
Last night, my sweet husband helped me get motivated and pitched in to clip and organize what seemed like a million coupons.
The thing to remember about getting started as a mega-couponer (or getting restarted, as the case may be) is that it costs a bit more out of pocket to begin with and then, once you have your stash of rebate cash, Register Reward and Extra Care Bucks, you are no longer using your out of pocket money.  In the coupon world, this is called rolling it over.  For instance, you buy a product for $4.  You pay for this product with your own money.  You then recieve $4 worth of Extra Care Bucks printed from the register.  Now you not only have the product you purchased, but you have $4 to spend on the next great deal that gives you Extra Care Bucks.  I say all this to say, "Don't get too discouraged at first.  Start small.  Start one drug store at a time."
I made my first CVS trip this afternoon.  It was not as exciting as I had planned because our CVS is about to relocate into a nice, new, freestanding building and they are not re-stocking their shelves.

Today's first CVS trip looked something like this:
1 box Hershey's Chocolate Popcorn-90% Christmas Clearance     .49
1 package of Christmas Tree Tinsel-90% Christmas Clearance  .29
2 packages of Christmas Stickers-90% Christmas Clearance   .30
1 St Ives Lotion    2.99 - $2 printable coupon=  2.00
1 St Ives Apricot Scrub ( I LOVE this stuff!)  2.99 - $2 printable coupon= 2.00
3 Valentine's Cards  2.97
1 Nasogel  7.99- $2 printable coupon= 5.99
Total Before Coupons  $18.02
Total After Coupons  $12.02
Total OOP after Taxes $13.28
Total Extra Care Bucks Earned $10.99
Total Spent $ 2.29

Pretty Good!  The register also printed me of a $5 off of any $15 purchase.  That will be a little extra cash in my pocket, as well. 
If you are interested in learning more, head over here.  She gives great listings of deals and good information for beginners.

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A Couple of Freebies

Free sample of Quaker Chocolate here
Free Handmade Soap here

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Aloha Friday

The blogosphere is so much fun.  There are so many fun, beautiful, and/or creative blogs out there.  I found this one today:  An Island Life. It really is a cutie!

Each Friday, she posts a fun, quick question to answer.  This week her questions is "What is your dream job?"  If you want to participate, head over to An Island Life and answer her question.

Don't forget to leave a comment here and answer my Aloha Friday question.

What was your favorite stuffed animal growing up?

Mine was a dog who was covered in rainbow colors.  His name was Lolli-Pup.  He even had a little purple T-Shirt with his name on it! 

 

Think Thin Thursdays

Okay, the only way accountability works is if you are really honest.  I did terrible...absolutely terrible...this week.  I think I kept my food journal like 2 1/2 day.  It was awful and I have no good excuse.  I keep thinking that I wil feel overwhelmingly motivated to change my bad habit and what I realized yesterday, as I was procrastinating writing this post, was that it isn't about how I "feel."  It is about just doing it whether I feel like it or not.  So, that being said, I am going to restate the same goals that I had last week and give it another go.  I am also going to expand on my food journal goal. (Hat Tip to some of my sweet commenters.)  It is so horrible that I can't do just a few simple things! 
Goals for the Week of January 15-January 22:
1) Weigh myself.
2) Make a food journal.  Decorate it.  Make it something I like!  Add some motivational quotes, clippings, etc to it.  AND write down EVERYTHING I eat.
3) Drink some water.
4) Take my vitamins.

If you want to read more Think Thin Thursday posts, head over here.

Bridgette's challenge for the week was to name a website that helps on our weight loss/getting healthy journey.  I love Dotti's Weight Loss Zone.  Even if you are not a loyal Weight Watcher, her message boards are phenomenal and supportive.  I also like the Low Carb forum here.  It is very active and there is a lot of good information. 

See ya next week, girlies!

Free Bottle of Suave

Just click here, fill out the form, and Suave will mail you a coupon for a free bottle of shampoo.
This is good TODAY ONLY! (1/14/09)

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Some Freebies and Coupons

You can sign up for 1000s of freebies on the web.  I only sign up for things 1)I will use; 2)I would like to try, and 3) I am relatively sure are not scams.  All lot of the name brand samples come with high dollar coupons.  That alone is worth it.  Make sure you have some kind of dummy e-mail address because signing up for freebies will inevitably increase your spam.  Just get a yahoo or gmail email account and use that address for the sign up, separate from main e-mail account(s).
I will be posting these here and there!  It is fun to get mail!

Free Sample of Febreeze Workout Odor Eliminator

Border's 25% Off Coupon

Free Sample of Quaker Rice Snacks

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The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY January 12, 2009...

Outside My Window...a humming streetlight and cold (for Mississippi) dark air.

I am thinking...about how I want to be more faithful about blogging.

I am thankful for...a cozy bed and a snuggly pug dog.

From the learning rooms...We are planning for a unit on space that is supplemented by the
wonderful bag of goodies from Stennis Space Center.

From the kitchen...Tonight brought us spicy taco soup and tortilla chips.  It was
so warm and filling for a house of cold bellies.

I am wearing...a pink, knit, long sleeve, night gown.

I am creating...a prettied-up notebook for my Life makeover.

I am going...to sleep very soon.

I am reading...blogs and Drums of Autumn.

I am hoping...that I can stick to my Think Thin Thursday goals.

I am hearing...Paul fixing a co-workers computer.

Around the house...We are recovering from a week long cold with lots
of laundry and sprucing up with Dreft fabric spray (I love that stuff!)

One of my favorite things...High Thread count, 100% cotton sheets

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
Gymnastics, Planning for Friday's Girl Scout Meeting, and a park day with our homeschool
group buddies.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...
My sleeping baby who doesn't want to stop wearing 'Santa's Little Helper" PJs!

Go to Peggy's to see more Daybook Entries!

Coupon Giveaway and Great Frugal Blog

I just discovered Dot's couponing blog.  It is really great and full of really useful information for all of the coupon queen's out there.  I am striving for coupon queen status but I think I am still just a princess.  If you don't know about all of the great deals you can get at Walgreen's and CVS, you just don't know what you are missing. 

Dot is also overwhelmed by her coupon stash and is GIVING AWAY her extras.  Go quick!

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Pops For Bloggy Love

This is the cutest idea for a little bloggy treat to give to your favorite blog owners (and there is a great contest too)!  Go read about it over at The Not-So Blog Blog and send some bloggy love to your favorite reads!  I just think these kinds of things are so much fun.  This is probably part of a recurring theme in  my life.  I loved to collect cute erasers when I was in grade school , and little Hello Kitty notepads, and stationery, and stickers.  Who am I kidding?  I still love all that stuff! 

My first pop award is going to The Southern Housewife, cause I just love her blog!