Going Bananas

I mentioned in my last post how I initially went a little crazy with the coupons.
That may be a slight understatement.
You see, when I first started, Target was running a coupon special for 1lb. of free bananas. I discovered that I could print out as many Target coupons as I wanted from Hot Coupon World, and everbody here was on a banana kick anyway.
The girls came with me and we'd each buy 1 pound of bananas - and usually only be charged a couple of pennies (it's hard to weigh out exactly one pound of bananas!).
Now, the bananas weren't the only items I was buying at Target, so I wasn't making special, single-item trips. I usually did my weekly shopping at least one of the times. At the time their single-size artisan breads were also free with a coupon, as were single-serving Cheerios cups.
We went to Target so many times over the next several weeks that I think the sales people recognized us. I know the managers at a couple SuperTargets probably wanted to duck and cover when they saw me coming - apparently Target is notorious for not knowing it's own coupon policies and I started carrying the official corporate coupon policy in my purse!
Anyway, I probably "bought" more than 48 lbs of free or nearly free bananas during that promotion. And yes, that is a lot of bananas, but I have a great banana bread recipe that freezes well, so I don't think I threw away any overripe bananas.
I also have a lot of the mini-artisan bread loaves in my freezer. They make great garlic bread! We also are heavily stocked with our free single-serving Cheerios cups. Each holds about 1 1/2 cups of cereal, so it takes only 3 to make Cheerios treats - a favorite snack item around here.
No sooner had the Target promotion ended than I discovered HyVee had a one week only coupon for 1 lb. of free bananas. Chalk up another 10 lbs. during that week!
Alas, no one has free bananas right now, but that's really okay. The girls were starting to cringe when I called out "Who wants to go to Target?" and we're all pretty tired of bananas.
You may not think it was worth it, but I'm glad to have saved the $25-$30.
Plus, it's a real kick to walk out of a store with "free" merchandise.

The plan

I've been working hard at managing our finances this year, but in the last 6 weeks or so I have really ratcheted-up the cost-saving strategies at my disposal.
I joined Swagbucks and have earned almost $15 in Amazon gift cards. Likewise, I opened an Amazon rewards Visa and by using it judiciously to pay some of our monthly expenses (and of course paying off the balance each month) I now have $125 in Amazon gift cards. I'm trying to earn enough gift cards to buy Zachary the Kindle he wants for Christmas without having to spend much "actual" money.
I've been reading lots of coupon sites and really working store sales. I'll never save as much as some people do on their food budget since I buy very little processed, prepackaged food, but have found that I now typically save 20% to 30% at the grocery store. I spent the last two months building up a stock pile of food and toiletry items, so now I can pick and choose only the best deals.
The freezers are full of local fruits, veggies, homemade sauces, and bread from the day old bread store. Sunday I bought 16 loaves of whole grain bread for just over $10. I always have bread in the freezer and never find myself having to run out to the store to buy a loaf for $3 or more.
I still do all my cooking and baking from scratch, which I know saves us loads of money. Tastes better and is better for us, too.
I worked out a plan this weekend that shows it is possible to pay off our credit card debt and our car loan in one year. While it's possible, I'm not sure how likely it is, as I didn't figure in college tuition, but I'm encouraged nonetheless.
I've been playing the prescription transfer game, so far garnering $75 in Hy Vee gift cards just for transferring our prescriptions. Once I'm done at HyVee, I plan to transfer 4 prescriptions to Kmart for another $100 in gift cards. I love our small pharmacy, but they understand why we do this and welcome us (and our money!) back with open arms. Of course it would be better not to have any prescriptions to transfer, but our fate has dictated otherwise, I'm afraid.
All of this takes a lot of effort and a fair amount of time, but it's definitely worth it. We've saved hundreds in the last two months - about $700 in fact - just by watching for sales, cutting coupons, and practicing frugality.

Now that I'm stocked-up, I've decided to only spend $50 a week this month on groceries and toiletries. Our month starts on the 26th, and so far, so good. Since I'm mostly shopping from the freezer, I decided to make a weekly menu plan.


Sunday: Chicken chili burritos and sweet corn
Monday: Rebaked potatoes, green beans, salad, pumpkin pie
Tuesday: Lentil Chili, veggie platter, corn meal muffins
Wednesday: Veggie-beef stew over cheesy polenta, fresh veggies, gingerbread and applesauce
Thursday: Garlic pasta, steamed broccoli, fresh tomatoes, french bread
Friday: Pesto, sliced tomatoes, garlic bread, apple pie
Saturday: Whole wheat pasta with ricotta cheese sauce, mixed cooked veggies, garlic and rosemary focaccia
It's hard for me to stick to a menu plan, but if I stay flexible I probably won't resist too much.

I must admit I went a little crazy with the coupons at first and my girls are tired of being my coupon accomplices. They're still willing to head to Walgreen's with me or to Target or HyVee when I need a couple extra buyers, but now I try not to ask more than once a week!

Neglected

Sometimes there are things you mean to do; I mean, really and truly intend to follow through on, but somehow you just don't quite meet your goals.
No, I'm not talking about keeping my exponentially-increasing gray hair under control, though I certainly need to decide what to do about it once and for all.. You see, maintaining the high-lights and low-lights in my hair requires professional dyeing every 5 weeks or so. Add to that a trim and eye brow mowing wax, and we're talking second mortgage here.
Or I guess, in my case, third mortgage.
Is there even such a thing?
But I digress.
No, I'm referring to my poor, lonely, post-less blog.
It seems that once I got derailed I just couldn't quite climb back up on that horse.
How's that for a mixed metaphor?
I enjoy writing my blog, even though I don't exactly have a "readership." Just a couple of friends and an occasional relative. So I guess I'm not doing it for an audience.
I think I enjoy expressing myself in writing, relating the rather mundane happenings of a middle aged wife, mother and zoo keeper.
So, basically I do it for myself.
I think it's therapeutic.
I also, however, do it for my kids, especially my youngest, who is my biggest blog fan.
Melissa reminds me almost daily that I haven't posted. She will often go back and reread my blog from beginning to end.
She thinks I'm funny.
And that is about the greatest compliment a mom could receive from her preteen daughter.

Beautiful...

Um...

Yeah.

Poor baby

It's no fun recuperating from surgery.

You have to wear goofy medical paraphernalia.

Your mom makes fun of you, calling you "AstroDog" and "CosmicCanine."

You need help getting up on the furniture because your "lampshade" collar keeps getting caught on the edge of the couch.

The doctor makes you wear a t-shirt and its hard to drink out of your water bowl, let alone chew a bone.

But worst of all?

You have to stay inside and watch all the other dogs get to play.

Sweet boy

Wally is in surgery right now. He has age-related fat tumors (hey, don't we all?), one of which could start to make walking uncomfortable. I know he'll be fine, but I can't help but worry about him. He's my Wally-dolly.

I love our veterinarian, though. Wally is freakishly scared of the vet clinic and tends to be a fearful dog anyway. Knowing this, they didn't make us drop him off as early this morning as is usual for surgeries. Instead, the office called to let us know when to bring him in.

I so appreciate this concern for my honey-dog.

And I hope he's okay.

Not again... please

So, we survived.
Mostly.
Zach is back at school and almost back to full-strength. Sarah is still battling headaches, though the severity has decreased.
Now all we have to fear is H1N1. I hear that universities are sending sick students home to recuperate.
I'd like to question the fairness wisdom of that medical decision.
My oldest son, a senior at a local university, decided to forgo the misery commeraderie of the dorms and live at home this semester. His daily activities take him from a campus full of germ-ridden young adults, to coffee shops, work, and a myriad of volunteer events, not to mention church on Sundays.
My oldest daughter is a junior at the local pathogen cesspool high school, mingling daily with perhaps even more greatly germ-ridden adolescents, eating her homemade lunch in a cafeteria (really, how often do they wash those tables?), riding a city bus, and hanging out with theater kids, no less.
Youngest daughter, while homeschooled, associates with a much smaller number of people, but generally accompanies me on errands around the city.
Think Walmart, folks.
Dearest husband, of course, not only works in a building with hundreds of other people, but regularly travels to other states, sometimes even breathing the recirculated air on the corporate jet.
There have already been several cases of H1N1 at Zach's school. He's already had a horrible cold, so H1N1 infection is likely only a matter of time.
My question is, if he gets H1N1 and they send him home, does that mean the entire family must stay home until total infection and recuperation are complete? If not, won't the flu spread more quickly to other institutions (another university, a high school, a major seed company, Walmart)?
I had the flu once, years ago.
It was 1997 and I was nearly 8 months pregnant with Melissa. It was early February and my husband had left for a 12-day business trip to Hawaii.
I was home with our then nine-year-old, 7-year-old, and 3-year-old.
Did I mention we also were remodeling the basement?
Yeah.
I'm not bitter.
Anymore.
Anyway, first one son, then the other, came down with the flu. As the oldest began to recover, the youngest fell ill.
It was a fun time.
By the time Michael got home from his trip, not only was I exhausted and even more pregnant, I came down with the flu.
I don't think I've ever been so sick.
I spent nearly a week in bed and darling husband had to miss 5 days of work. I had barely recovered from the flu when I developed a horrible sinus infection.
I have received an annual flu shot ever since, vowing to do all I can to prevent ever being that sick again.
But now, there's this new version.
Oh, I'll get the immunization, as will everyone in my family who is eligible.
But it somehow doesn't seem fair to send what will amount to a typhoid-Mary into my house.
Of course, I wouldn't want Zach to be away at school, lying ill in a dorm room with no one to take care of him.
It's just that the thought of being that sick again, even all these years later, is a little frightening.
At least this time I have friends who'll leave Kleenex and soup on my front doorstep.
Right, guys?