For Bill

If you haven't read about Bill, you can read about it on my Crockpot Cruise blog post: Not a happy anniversary.

This is a poem I wrote several years ago:


Forever
Stuck in time, forever a teen
Never growing up,
Somehow it seems
That time has flown by,
The years have gone fast
But I remember the past.
Watching my children,
Remembering my own childhood,
Brothers and sisters
Should grow old together.
But you’re gone forever.
Stuck in time,
Forever a teen.

Bill and my sister Kristie at my grandparent's house

Plastic red tablecloths for 25 cents each

Today I was in United picking up a few things that were on sale and looked through the Christmas clearance bins at the front. They had red plastic tablecloths marked down to 25 cents. I bought all 8 of them. I can use one for our Valentine's party, and they are super handy just to have around.

Nescafe Free Sample Review: Peppermint Mocha

A while back, through the All You magazine, I signed up to get some free samples of Nescafe instant coffee. I got them yesterday and I tried the first one this morning: peppermint mocha. Oh my goodness! It was wonderful! It was so easy to heat the water in the microwave and just stir it in and it tasted really yummy. If you like coffee and want something easy and yummy to have on hand, I highly recommend trying the Nescafe Peppermint Mocha!

Wal-Mart Deals 12-29-11

I had to go into Enid today to deposit a check, so I went into Wal-Mart. I had some $2 Excedrin coupons I was wanting to use. I got 6 bottles of Excedrin for $1.24 each. They were $3.24 and I had $2 off coupons. Want to know something funny that I have noticed? Excedrin Migraine and Extra Strength Excedrin have the exact same active ingredients in them in the same amounts (acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine), but the Excedrin Migraine costs more! The "migraine" medicine was $3.68.

I also got some mini-muffin liners that were 1/2 price because they were "holiday" muffin liners. The gold ones are the nice foil muffin liners, and the red ones are just red with white dots. I figure the kids aren't going to care what their muffins are in and I seem to have a hard time finding mini-muffin liners when I need them. So I stocked up.

Found any good deals?

Anyone found any good after-holiday deals? I haven't been out shopping, but I'm anxious to hear about your great deals. Be sure and e-mail them to me if you've found any and I'll share them on the blog!

United Sale Ad: December 28th-January 3rd

This week at United:

Totino's Pizzas: 4/$5 instantly save $1 off four, making them 4/$4.

Boneless, skinless chicken breast: $1.69 a pound

Keebler club or townhouse crackers: 2/$5, use with $1 off two coupon, making them 2/$4

Green Giant canned vegetables: 59 cents each. Use with 50 cents off two coupon to get for 34 cents a can

General Mills Chex cereals: 2/$5, use with $1 off two coupon, making them 2/$4

Jumbo Food's Ad: December 28th-January 3rd

On sale this week at Jumbo's:

Bone-in split fryer breasts: 97 cents a pound

Eat Smart veggie tray: $6.99
Eat Smart meat and cheese tray: $9.99
Hormel turkey, ham, and cheese tray: $9.99
Hormel Cheeseball tray: $11.99
Hormel supreme party tray: $14.99

Coke & Dr. Pepper 20 packs: $4.98

Alka-Seltzer Plus Cough & Cold relief: $5.09, use with $2 off coupons to get them for $3.09

After Christmas Sales

Now is the time to start looking for stuff to put back for next year. The last couple of years I have scored really cute gift boxes or bags for 1/2 off right after Christmas and put them back for the next year. I don't care for wrapping gifts, so I love having bags or boxes to use!

If you can find plain or solid colored ones, they can be used throughout the year.

If you have willpower (which I don't have much of, LOL), buy Christmas candy on markdown and use the reds for Valentine activities/treat bags and the greens for St. Patrick's Day.

Be sure and share your great finds with me at Tracy.Hinton@gmail.com and I'll post them on the blog. Send the details and pictures (if you have some).

K-Mart Ad December 26th-31st

This week at K-Mart:

All their holiday storage stuff is on sale. If you need storage containers, check it out. Who cares if they are red? LOL.

2 Liter Pepsi, 10/$10

General Mills cereals: 4/$10

Shop your way Rewards members: get a $5 K-Mart award card if you buy 4 or more Hershey's pieces, drops, or mini's (on sale 4/$10). Get a $5 K-Mart award card when you spend $25 on Planter's or Nabisco products (Nabisco crackers are on sale 2/$4, Planter's nuts 2/$6). Get a $5 K-Mart Reward card when you spend $20 on Quaker products. Quaker cereals are on sale 4/$10.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas to you all! Hope you are all having a wonderful and blessed holiday with your families.

Review of Idahoan Cheesy Hash Brown potatoes

This week, Tom, Tasha, and I tried the free box of Idahoan FarmHouse Fix'n Cheesy Hash Browns.

And well...honestly, I was underwhelmed. I mean, they were okay and we ate them. But they seemed kind of bland to me. I cannot really say what they needed, but they needed something. More seasoning, perhaps? I can definitely say that I will not be going out and buying them again.

Walgreen's weekly ad December 25th-31st

Coming up at Walgreen's:

Digital photo prints, 9 cents each with order of 100 or more. Use code Merry9

Store coupon for 12 pack Pepsi products: 3/$10

Store coupon for 8 oz Folger's Instant Coffee: $4.99. Use with $1 off 2 Folgers 3 oz or larger coffee to get for $4.49 each. I haven't bought instant coffee in forever, so I really don't know if this is a good deal.

Store coupon for Ajax dish liquid, 89 cents each

Robitussin and Advil cold products: $5.99. There were recently $1 coupons on these, making them $4.99

12 pack Cottonelle bath tissue, pre-priced $5, there were 75 cent off coupons in All You magazine recently which would make these $4.25 each.

Folger's coffee. Classic roast (11.3 oz), Black Silk (10.3 oz.): $3.49. Classic Decaf (11.3 oz): $4.49. Limit 2. In-store coupons for 50 cents off making them $2.99 and $3.99. Use with $1 off 2 3 oz or larger Folger's manufacturer coupons to get for: $2.49 and $3.49 each.

Swagbucks Holiday Bucks

Swagbucks is currently doing Holiday Bucks. If you collect all 5 by Monday night you get a 12 Swagbuck bonus. I didn't have very good luck with the Halloween or Thanksgiving Holiday bucks, but maybe I'll have better luck with the Christmas ones!

Have you tried Swagbucks yet?

Finally went to the Doctor

Since my Christmas vacation started a couple of days early, I decided to go to the doctor yesterday. Luckily, they had a cancellation and I got right in. No bronchitis! Praise God! But I did have a sinus infection. She gave me steroid pills (to dry up the snot-her words, LOL), antibiotics, prescription cough medicine (with Sudafed and narcotic cough syrup). I don't know if it's the steroids or the Sudafed but I am WIDE awake at 4:00 a.m., been up about an hour. LOL. Either way, I already seem to be feeling better (afraid to brag on it too soon. HA!).

Are you ready for Christmas?

Is everyone ready for Christmas? I just finished wrapping the last of the gifts. I hope. Well, actually I only wrapped a couple, the rest I used gift boxes and gift bags and envelopes. LOL.

The next few days are going to be super busy for me and I don't know how much I'll be on here. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Jumbo Foods Ad December 21st-27th

This week at Jumbo's:

Coke/Dr. Pepper 20 packs: $4.98

County Fair Brown & Serve rolls: 99 cents

John Morrel cocktail smokies: 2/$4

Green Giant vegetables, 69 cents a can. Use with 50 cents off two coupon to get for 44 cents each

Aldi Produce specials December 21st-27th

1 # broccoli crowns: 99 cents

10# bag of potatoes: $1.49

Celery: 69 cents

3# bag of sweet potatoes: 99 cents

4# bag of oranges: $1.39

Gold pineapple: 99 cents

United Sale Ad: December 21st-27th

This week at United:

Best Choice butter quarters: $1.99

12 pack Pepsi products: 3/$9.99

Best Choice Brown & Serve rolls: 99 cents

Libby's canned vegetables:59 cents each. use with $1 off 4 coupon to get them for 34 cents each.

Best Choice all purpose flour: 99 cents

Bird's Eye frozen vegetables: $1, use with 50 cent off two coupon to get for 75 cents a bag

Sara Lee 100% whole wheat bread: $1.79

Keebler or Kellogg snack crackers: 2/$4, use with $1 off two Keebler coupons to get for 2/$3

Best Choice canned pumpkin: $1

Need a last minute Christmas gift?

I still have 3 coupon binders left, $15 each! Let me know if you need one!

Walgreen's Ad: I apologize

I apologize, but I just did not get to the Walgreen's ad yet. Not feeling well and going non-stop the last week and a half has about done me in. So, you guys might want to check it out:

Walgreen's Weekly Ad: December 18th-24th

Jumbo's One Day Sales Saturday, December 17th, 2011

Today at Jumbo's one day sale, they have:

Extra lean ground beef: $1.99 a pound

Gevalia ground coffee, 12 oz., all flavors, $5.49

Kraft Miracle Whip, 40 oz., original only, $3.99

Jumbo Hamburger buns, 8 ct. 79 cents

Well...may have spoke too soon

I may have spoke too soon about getting over this junk without bronchitis. I've had a really deep cough the last few days and I am not feeling that great. Boo!

Share your great deals!

Remember if you want to share your great deals, e-mail pictures (if you want to) and details to me at Tracy.Hinton@gmail.com and I will post them on the blog.

Food Pyramid 12-15

After our Victim's Impact Panel meeting in Stillwater last night, we hit Food Pyramid. I spent $8.62 and got:

4 cans of Dole Tropical Fruit, on sale for 99 cents a can. I had 50 cent off coupons that doubled, making them 49 cents a can.

4 cans of Libby's fruit cocktail and 4 cans of Libby's peaches, on sale for $1.19 a pound. With my $1 off two coupon, that made them .69 cents each.

My best deal of the night: 4 cans of Green Giant green beans, on sale for 45 cents a can. With 50 cents off two coupons that doubled, that made them free plus I made 5 cents each! I kind of thought that the coupons would just double up to the amount of the green beans, so I was pleasantly surprised that it took off the extra few cents!

Fridays are Mega Swagbucks Day!

Remember, if you do Swagbucks, Fridays are "Mega Swagbucks Day" where you have a chance to win bigger Swagbucks when you perform searches.

Idahoan FarmHouseFix'ns O'Brien Hash Brown potatoes review

This week, Tom & I tried the free Idahoan FarmHouseFix'ns O'Brien Hash Brown potatoes that we got a while back. We both really liked the flavor and they were very easy to make. You just added milk, boiling water, and margarine, and baked them. However, they were supposed to have green peppers and onions in them and neither one of us could really taste the peppers or onions. That was kind of disappointing. So I don't think I would go out and buy that particular box. Fresh hash brown potatoes with fresh green peppers and onions are much better!

Aldi produce specials December 14th-20th

Broccoli crowns: 99 cents a pound
10# bag of potatoes: $1.69
Celery: 69 cents each
3# bag of sweet potatoes: 99 cents (making them 33 cents a pound)
Gold Pineapple: 99 cents
It also says they have oranges on sale for $1.39 for a 3# bag

Food Pyramid December 14th-20th

If you are going to be near a Food Pyramid grocery store this week, they have their Green Giant canned vegetables on sale for 45 cents a can! Combine that with the 50 cent off two cans of Green Giant vegetables (which they will double) and you could score some free veggies! Obviously, it's probably not worth going way out of your way to do it, but if you're near one anyway, check it out! I'll be in Stillwater Thursday night, so if we have time, maybe we'll run by there.

They also have Best Choice Sugar, 4# bag for $1.69 (limit of one)

Jumbo Foods Ad December 14th-20th

Some of the stuff on sale this week at Jumbo's:

Coke & Dr. Pepper 20 packs: $4.98

8# bag of potatoes: $1.98

John Morrel cocktail smokies: 2/$4

Green Giant canned vegetables 69 cents a can. Use with 50 cents off two coupon to get them for 44 cents a can

United Sale Ad: December 14th-20th

Some of the things on sale at United this week:

Coke & Dr. Pepper products: $4.99

Best Choice canned vegetables: 39 cents a can

Bird's Eye vegetables: $1, use with 50 cent off two coupon to get for 75 cents each

Best Choice Brown & Serve rolls: 99 cents

United

Several weeks ago (the first weekend of October), I did a promotion at United where if you bought $20 worth of certain items and cut the UPC's off and sent them in along with the receipt, you'd get a $6 United gift card back. After almost 12 weeks of waiting, I finally got the card at the end of last week! It's not huge, but it will buy a few things, especially if I use coupons to stretch it!

FINALLY!

After almost two weeks of this sinus/cold stuff, I woke up this morning with at least a little bit of energy! I hope that means it's about over. I'm still stuffy, but not quite as bad. This was one of the worst colds I've had in a long time. But you want to know what was wonderful about it? It didn't turn into bronchitis like almost every cold I used to get would. Yay for having an airway that isn't blocked! LOL!

Progresso Chicken Cheese Enchilada soup review

I got this soup for the first time a while back on sale with coupons (of course. LOL). Anyway, it is some of the best soup I have ever had! Tom & I both loved it. It is very flavorful and has just a bit of a spicy taste. It has chunks of chicken breast in it and is very creamy. If you like soups, definitely try this one! We've had it twice now and loved it both times! Additionally, if gluten allergies are a problem in your home, this soup is gluten free!

Idahoan boxed potatoes review: Loaded baked potato flavor

I had a coupon to try these for free from the All You magazine. So I got them last month and we tried them earlier this week. Tom & I both really liked them. They had a great flavor and they were super easy to make. We chose to bake them since I had an interview to fill a child care spot that night, that way they could just back while I was talking to the potential clients. If you like scalloped or au gratin potatoes, I highly recommend trying these!

Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the box. But I have some Idahoan hash brown flavors to try (for free!) next and I'll be sure and take pictures of those for when I review them.

Coupon Class in Enid

I will be having a coupon class in Enid at the Child Care Resource and Referral office at 129 N. University Place in Enid. It will be Saturday, January 7th at 10:00 a.m.! The class is free, but please register by calling me at 580 747 6396 or through e-mailing me at Tracy.Hinton@gmail.com.

Walgreen's Weekly Ad December 11th-17th

Walgreen's weekly ad for December 11th-17th.

Earn Jingle Cash to spend the next week on qualifying $30 purchases.
For spending
$30, get $5
$50, get $10
$75, get $15
$100, get $20

They have toys, buy one at $6.99, get the second one free

Store coupon for Russel Stover Christmas candy, 39 cents each (great stocking stuffers)

Duracell batteries on sale for $9.99 (16 pack AA or AAA coppertop, 8 pack C or D, 4 pack 9 Volt, Ultra 12 pack AA or AAA) Buy 2 or more participating Duracell batteries, get $5 Register Reward. Buy one participating and get a $2 Register Reward.

Store coupon for Progresso Soups, 4/$5, use with $1 off 4 cans coupon to get them for $1 each.

General Mills cereals, 2/$4 or $2.99 each

Store coupon for money holders: 4/$1

Remember, Fridays are Mega Swagbucks Day!

Remember, if you use Swagbucks, Fridays are Mega Swagbucks Day! I already got 29 Swagbucks for doing a search this morning!

I wanted to say thanks to those of you who have signed up under me. When you get swagbucks for doing searches, I get them too! Thanks to you I have 71 extra swagbucks (so far) from your searches!

And if you haven't signed up for Swagbucks and want to, send me your e-mail address to Tracy.Hinton@gmail.com and I'll send you a referral!

Atwood's Tax Free Discount Sale: Saturday, December 10th

On Saturday December 10th, Atwood's will be giving a discount equal to the amount of all city, county, and state sales tax. In Enid that would be about an 8.35% discount.

Dollar General Coupon $5 off $25 Saturday December 10th

This Saturday, December 10th, you can use a $5 off $25 purchase at Dollar General coupon to save some $'s at Dollar General. Print it out from the Dollar General website.

Reminder: Coupon Binders for Sale!

Remember, I have coupon binders for sale, $15 each. I have 4 left at this price. You get the binder, 16 nine slot baseball card pages, 2 four slot pages, and 2 three slot pages. You also get 15 labeled dividers and a content page. It is set up so you can organize it the way that works best for you.

Actual binder may vary:

Aldi December 7th-13th

This week at Aldi:

Appleton Farms spiral sliced half ham: $1.69 a pound
Butterball whole turkey: $1.09 a pound

Produce specials (you can price match these at Wal-Mart)
Texas grapegruit: 29 cents each
4# bag of oranges: $1.39
2# bag of honeycrisp apples: $1.98
2# bag of pears: 99 cents
3# bag of fuji, gala, golden delicious, granny smith, or red delicious apples: $1.49

Wednesday special meat buy: Tyson fresh premium young chicken: 69 cents a pound

United Sale Ad: December 7th-13th

This week at United:
16 oz. Hiland butter, $1.99

Buy 5 participating Kraft products, get $5 off: shredded or chunk cheese, Philadelphia cooking cream, sliced cheese, Parmesan cheese, Velveeta

20 pack Coke & Dr. Pepper products: $4.99

16 oz. Best Choice frozen vegetables: 79 cents

Best Choice liquid hand soap: 79 cents

Best Choice all purpose or self rising flour: 99 cents

Green Giant canned vegetables: 5/$3 (60 cents each), use with 50 cents off two to get for 35 cents a can.

Jumbo Foods December 7th-13th

This week at Jumbo's:

Hormel Spiral Cut half or whole ham: $1.88 a pound

Bird's Eye vegetables, 10-16 oz: $1.09, use with 50 cents off two coupons to get for 84 cents each

8 oz Best Choice whipped topping: 69 cents each

Campbell's gravy: 69 cents each. Use with 25 cents off 4 cans coupon to get for 63 cents each.

3 Day sale (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday: Dec. 8-10)
Best Choice canned vegetables: 39 cents a can

3# bag yellow onions: $1.29

Pillsbury Grands biscuits: 2/$3. With 40 cents off 3 coupons to get for $1.37 each

Shark Electric Steam Mop review

During the Wal-Mart Black Friday sale (actually Thanksgiving night), I bought a Shark electronic steam mop for $38. I had been wanting something like it for a while because my floors get so nasty. I had put it off because they were pretty pricey and I was afraid it was something that I wouldn't use.

Anyway after a couple of weeks I have to say, I'm pretty impressed. It works really well and my floor looks really nice after I use it. It's not anymore trouble than using a mop and bucket and in some ways easier. What I like most about it is that the floor is almost immediately dry so I don't have to worry about someone falling and it doesn't use chemicals so I don't have to worry about using it when the kids are here. I have found that if I come across a tough spot that doesn't come up that if I hold the mop over it for a moment and let the steam work it will usually come on up. It's not noisy so I don't have to worry about it scaring the kids.

Complaints about it. Well, it doesn't stand up very well. So when I try to put water in it, it's kind of awkward to try and hold it with one hand while pouring the water in with the other. The electric cord is good and long but it also gets in the way a bit. Hopefully as I use it more, I'll get more adept at it.

K-Mart deal

Last week I noticed that one of my pairs of sweat pants that I wear to work in during the winter were getting pretty worn and I had spilled bleach on another pair. So I went to K-Mart to see if they had some. I like the Joe Boxer brand that they carry. They are fuzzy and warm and have pockets in them. They had some and they were on sale for $8.99 (normally $11.99). I had a $3 off coupon (from the Post cereal I bought) so I got them for $7.49 a pair.

Coupon Binders for Sale

I have coupon binders for sale, $15 each. I have 4 left at this price. The next batch may be more depending on how much I get the next group of binders for. Pictures below (actual binder may vary).

Not feeling great

Well, I was fighting off a cold all week and it finally won. I feel lousy which is why I got nothing written yesterday. I took it easy and did nothing pretty much all day long.

More on Coupons by Dede

Well, I wrote about ordering coupons from Coupons by Dede a while back and how they made a slight mistake in my order. I heard back from them on Monday, November 21st saying they would ship out my coupons and give me a store credit. As of Friday, December 2nd I had not got the coupons yet so I e-mailed again. Today I got a response saying that there was a "delay" in shipping out my order and they would get them in the mail tomorrow. She sent me a gift certificate for $1.50. I guess that's my "store credit". Anyway, right now I"m not feeling very impressed with them. I'll probably order again just to see how it goes though. I realize that with everything they do, it's probably inevitable that they'll make mistakes. So...I'll keep you posted!

Friday's are MSBD

Fridays are MSDB: Mega Swagbucks Day at Swagbucks. That means that you have a chance of winning higher amounts when you do searches. Earlier today I got 26 Swagbucks from doing an online search!

Walgreen's Weekly Ad December 4th-10th

Starting Sunday at Walgreen's:

Next week you can earn Jingle Cash at Walgreen's to use on a $30 qualifying purchase the next week.

Store coupon for Royal Gelatin: 5/$1

Store coupon for Domino sugar: $2.29 for a 4# bag. I'm pretty sure that there have been coupons out for that (or coming out this Sunday and I saw them in the sneak peek).

Hershey's & Cadbury Candy, 4/$10 (or $2.99 each), get a $5 coupon towards your next Hershey's purchase when you buy $10 worth.

Store coupon for taper candles: 3/$1 (limit 9 total)

Store coupon for Sharpie markers: 29 cents each (limit 5)

Thera-Flu: 2/$10 and there is a $4 off two coupon coming out on Sunday making it 2/$6

This was a huge ad and I know I missed some stuff. I'll look over it again and see if I can catch it. Be sure and check out the sneak peek ad online!

CK's Deals

My friend CK shared her deals from this week with us:

Had a super great shopping night!

Homeland has limes for .14 each!
I got a giant jar of pickles on sale for 2.79, for 1.79 with my coupon
Organic granola bars and cereal are 2.50 a box with my coupon 1.50
Sargento sliced cheese deli style for 2.99 for 1.99 with my coupon
some canned tomatoes for .25 for three cans and some diced tomatoes with green chilis for free, (they paid me .74 to take em home)
Libby's vegetables in a can for .09/can
Kraft mac and cheese for .20 a box
Saved a total of $82 at homeland in 5 transactions

Comped some great stuff at walmart plus used $40 in coupons, so i saved a bundle there too! Comped avacados for .25 with the Aldi ad
Grapes for .79/pound with the Aldi ad
Braeburn apples for 1.19/lb with the Marvin's ad
Cabbage for .49/pound with the food pyramid ad
Some toilet paper for 6.99 with the kmart ad.

All of the canned foods are for the needy at christmas. I'm pretty excited! :O) Yeah coupons!

Ways to earn points on Swagbucks!

There are several ways to earn points on Swagbucks and probably more that I don't know about yet.

Searches: Use their search box to conduct internet searches (like you would with Google, etc.) and you will randomly be awarded points.

Daily Polls: Each day there is a different poll, you get one swagbuck for voting in it.

NOSO: No obligation Special Offers. Follow the links, fill out the ones you're interested in and skip the rest (I frequently just go through and skip them all). That's usually good for 2-3 points.

Games: There are a whole bunch of games. Some of them are pretty fun. If you enter tournaments you get chances to win big amounts of points, but it costs you points to enter, so you are kind of taking a chance. If you like games and just want to play games, you'll randomly be awarded points at the end of some of the games.

Swagbucks TV: You can watch short videos on Swagbucks TV and your "swag meter" will go up. Once you've reached 100%, you'll receive swagbucks.

Check your Swagbucks inbox: You'll get periodic special offers there. Several of them are really simple like watching a short video and answering a question about it.

Sign up to follow them on Twitter, they send out swag codes that you can enter to get swag bucks.

Follow the Swagbucks blog.

If you use Swagbucks and I've missed anything really obvious, please let me know!

You should try Swagbucks!

Yes, I'm pushing Swagbucks again! LOL. It is really awesome, if you don't believe me, ask some of my friend who use it. If you don't use it, then send me an e-mail at Tracy.Hinton@gmail.com and I'll send you a referral link (I get points when my referrals do searches).

Do you have other great sites that you like to use? Please share them with me! If you will write a paragraph about it, I will post it on the blog. And if I don't use it already, I'll sign up!

Hooray for cold medicine and coupons

Well, everyone around me has a snotty nose and now I have it too. ICK! Thankfully I'm stocked up on cold medicine that I got with coupons so that's a real blessing! On that note, if you have any of the Alka Seltzer Plus $2 off coupons that you won't use, I will use them so please send them my way!