More Pinterest Inspirations.

A month ago, I posted about some inspiration I've gotten from pinterest.  Looking back, I now realize that I haven't done any of those things - although I am on the look out for a clasping spaghetti holder.  (Any ideas where I can find one?  I've check Target, Wal-Mart, and Dollar Tree.  Saw some at a flea market but they were 5 bucks a pop!)

Anyway, I have some other inspirations from pinterest that I have actually followed through with, and I wanted to share those.  Makes me feel like I've done something productive.  First, pantry storage.

The Inspiration

Extra Storage

My version: 

I hung a shoe organizer - not made but bought from Target - onto the back of the pantry door.  It's great for holding baking items, jars, and other loose items like cereal bars and packages of pb crackers.  Josh even admitted to liking this addition today - although it does take some getting used to.  I love having this extra storage space.  It makes the rest of the pantry easy to organize, too!

Second - Pumpkin cookies with caramel icing.  Good gracious these things are amazingly wonderful, moist, and will be a regular during the fall season.  Nom, nom, nom.

The Inspiration

Pumpkin Cookies

My version:

I love the messy frosting.  The cookies are good by themselves.  Just good, not outstanding.  But the frosting...oh the frosting.  It makes these cookies irresistible!  If you click the link above for the recipe, the originator suggest flattening out the top of the cookies with a glass, which I did not do - thus the extra messiness of mine.  I will try to remember to do that the next time I make these.  I also added chocolate chips to half the batter, and those are even better than the others.  Might try white chocolate chips next time.  

Pinterest Inspirations

After my trip to Michael's I wanted to share a few inspiration pictures I've gotten from pinterest.  If you're not on www.pinterest.com yet, I highly suggest it!  There's all kinds of great crafting ides, recipes, and funny pictures, too!  Think of it as bookmarking meets social media meets pictures.  Let's get to it!

http://toriejayne.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-baking-pretties.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TorieJayne+%28Torie+Jayne%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

I must buy a couple spaghetti jars as holders for all my cupcake holders.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/79405859/alabama-crimson-tide-grapevine-wreath?ref=sr_gallery_2&ga_search_type=all&ga_includes%5B0%5D=tags&ga_search_query=alabama+wreaths&ga_page=2&ga_facet=

I will make my own football wreath.  I like the ribbon around this one, but mine will be a house divided wreath.  (Maybe add a basketball along with the football.)   This is also the reason I bought the ceramic elephant.  Must find a ceramic wildcat and spray paint both.

http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2011/06/chocolate-custard.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LynnsKitchenAdventures+%28Lynn%27s+Kitchen+Adventures%29

I now own my own ramekins, so I will make this custard!  I actually follow Lynn's blog on google reader and she has a ton of great recipes on her site.  She even has a big allergy section for gluten-free and peanut-free items.  And there are a few other ramekin desserts - which I also look forward to trying.

Coupons for Montgomery Advertiser 10-16

I'm telling ya, I'm starting to get a little crazy with the posts!  But I thought this morning, with the help of www.sundaycouponpreview.com, I would share a little about the coupons I received in today's paper (October 16).

There were supposed to be four inserts in the paper - Smart Source, Red Plum, Procter & Gamble, and Target. The Montgomery Advertiser delivered to my house only had the Smart Source and Red Plum.  Below is a full listing of all the coupons available if you were to get the full inserts.  Coupons that I actually received are in blue at the top of the list.  There are some regional coupons as well that I received that were not on the list.  Those are in green below.  You will note, the full inserts give a TON more coupons than what the Montgomery Advertiser actually carries.  The Birmingham News is often a better paper to buy.  They do not carry the full inserts either, but they do have much more, usually.  This morning I went on a trek to find the Birmingham News - but was unsuccessful in finding one that actually had any coupon inserts.  And I probably made Josh late for a conference by conducting my search.  :(  Hopefully in future weeks, I will have both papers for a coupon comparison!

Smart Source

Air Wick Save $1/1 Flip & Fresh (11/27)
Finesse Save $1/1 product (1/30/12)
Philips Save $25/1 Sonicare DiamondClean, FlexCare+ or FlexCare rechargeables toothbrush (1/31/12)
Philips Save $5/1 Sonicare product; handle or brushhead (1/31/12)
Tyson Save $1/1 Any’tizers wings (1/16/12)
V8 Save $1/2 Splash 46oz+ (11/27)

Field Save $.50 on any Hot dogs, bacon, or lunchmeat
Land O Lakes Save $.50 on any 1 package of Land o Lakes buttery taste spread products
Steak and Shake coupons

4-Way Save $1.50/1 nasal product (1/13/12)
Act Save $1/1 16.9oz+ bottle (11/26)
Alpine Lace Save $1/1 deli cheese 1lb (11/30)
Alpine Lace Save $1/2 deli cheese packages (11/30)
Arm & Hammer Save $1/2 laundry products (12/11)
Barber Foods Save $1/1 product (11/26)
Bausch+Lomb Save $5/1 Ocuvite product (1/31/12)
Benefiber Save $1/1 product (12/31)
Benefiber Save $2/1 Stick Pack (12/31)
Bic Save $1/1 disposable razor ets (11/13)
Bissell Save $1/1 carpet cleaning powder or cleaning foam (12/25)
Blue Diamond Save $1/2 Almond Breeze almondmilk chilled or shelf-stable (1/31/12)
Blue Diamond Save $1/2 almonds 6oz+ cans (1/31/12)
Blue Diamond Save $1/2 Nut Thins or Nut Chips 4.25oz (1/31/12)
Bufferin Save $2/1 130ct Low Dose product (12/31)
Bufferin Save $3/1 130ct product (12/31)
Clear Care Save $1/1 12oz+ Cleaning and Disinfecting solution (11/26)
Clear Care Save $3/1 twin pack Cleaning and Disinfecting solution (11/26)
Comtrex Save $1/1 Cold & Cough (12/31)
El Monterey Save $.50/1 family pack burriots (1/31/12)
El Monterey Save $.75/1 Mexican snacks (1/31/12)
Everybody’s Nuts Save $1/1 bag (12/31)
Excedrin Save $.75/1 20ct+ product dnd (12/3)
Excedrin Save $1.50/1 80ct+ product dnd (12/3)
Filippo Berio Save $1/1 olive oil (12/31)
Freshpet Save $1.50/1 Dog Joy Treats for Dogs dnd (1/8/12)
Freshpet Save $2/1 Select Roasted Meals for Cats & Dogs dnd (1/8/12)
Gas-X Save $1/1 Prevention (12/11)
Gas-X Save $1/1 product (12/11)
GenTeal Save $1.50/1 (2/29/12)
Hershey’s Save $1.50/3 snack size bags of Reese’s, Kit Kat, Hershey’s, York, Almond Joy, Mounds or Twizzlers 9oz-22oz (10/31)
Imagine Save $1/1 broth, stock, soup or gravy (1/31/12)
Johnsonville Save $.50/1 Italian Sausage (12/31)
Keri Save $2/1 lotion (12/31)
Luster Save $1.50/1 White 7, Power White or Sensitive (12/31)
Luster Save $5/1 1 Hour White (12/31)
Maalox Advanced Save $1/1 product (1/14/12)
Maalox Advanced Save $2.50/2 products (1/14/12)
Nestle Save $.60/1 Nesquik powder (1/15/12)
NoDoz Save $1/1 product 36ct (12/31)
Oxy Save $1/1 product (12/31)
Oxy Save $3/1 Clinical product (12/31)
Play-Doh Save $1/1 Halloween bag 20ct (10/31)
Playtex Save $1/1 36ct+ feminine care item (12/17) (Target coupon)
Prego Save $.75/2 Italian Sauce (12/31)
Prevacid 24HR Save $7/2 products (11/12)
Purina Get 2 free 10oz Beneful Prepared Meals with purchase of 7llb+ (12/31) (Target coupon)
Scotch Save $2/1 Fur Fighter Pet Hair Sweeper starter kit (11/30)
Scotch-Brite Save $.50/1 Botanical Disinfecting Wipes (11/30)
Simply Sensible Save $1/1 fresh entree (1/31/12)
Snapware Save $3/1 food or home storage product (12/31)
Softlips Save $1/2 products (12/31)
Stayfree Save $1/1 288ct+ feminine care item (12/17) (Target coupon)
Triaminic Save $1/1 Fever Reducer Pain Reliever product dnd (12/31)
Triaminic Save $3/2 products dnd (12/31)
Ultimate Flora Save $2/1 Probiotic (12/31)
Vagistat Save $2/1 Vagistat-1 or Vagistast-3 (12/31)
Welch’s Save $.75/1 64oz Refrigerated Fruit Juice Cocktail or 59oz Healthy Start 100% Juice (1/31/12)

Red Plum Insert 10-16

Suave Save $.25/1 deodorant (11/13)
Suave Save $.50/2 Kids shampoo, conditioner or detangler products (11/13)
Suave Save $.50/2 Men shampoo, conditioner or styling products (11/13)
Suave Save $.50/2 Professionals shampoo, conditioner or styling products (11/13)
Suave Save $1.50/2 body lotion product 18oz+ (11/13)
Suave B2G1 free body wash up to Save $3 (11/13)
DiGiorno Save $1.25/1 Pizza & Wyngz, Pizza & Cookies or Pizza & Breadsticks (11/16)
Temptations Save $.50/1 Treats For Cats (11/26)

Ballpark Save $.75 on 1 package of Deli Style Beef Franks
Ballpark Save $.75 on 2 packages of Ball Park Products
Domino Save $.50 on 1 4 lb. or 5 lb. granulated sugar
Domino Save $.50 on 2 1 lb. boxes of brown or confectioner’s sugar
Hillshire Farm Save $.35 on any 1 package of lunch meat
Hillshire Farm Save $.75 on any two packages of smoked sausage

Abreva Save $3/1 product (12/31)
Azumaya Save $.55/1 tofu product (1/31/12)
Azumaya Save $1.25/2 tofu product (1/31/12)
Breathe Right Save $1.50/1 12ct or smaller (12/31)
Breathe Right Save $2/1 26ct+ (12/31)
C&H Save $.40/1 24oz Organic or 32oz Washed Raw sugar (12/31)
C&H Save $.50/1 4 or 5lb granulated sugar (12/31)
Caltrate Save $2/1 Gummy Bites (11/27)
Centrum Save $3/1 Specialist multivitamin (11/13)
Garnier Save $2/1 Herbashine (11/27)
Marcal Save $1/1 Small Steps towel 8 roll+ or bath tissue 12 roll+ or Save $1/2 napkins (11/20)
Nature’s Bounty Save $1/1 vitamin or supplement (11/30)
Nestle Save $1/2 fun size bags of Halloween candy 11.5oz+ (10/31)
ProNutrients Save $3/1 supplement (11/13)
ProNutrients Save $5/1 Probiotic supplement (11/13)
Purina Save $1/2 dog snacks (1/16/12)
Rimmel Save $1/1 London product (12/31)
Rimmel Save $1/1 Moisture Renew lip product (12/31)
Schick Save $.75/1 Hydro shave gel (11/13)
Schick Save $2/1 Hydro razor (11/13)
Schick Save $2/1 Hydro refill (11/13)
SuperPretzel Save $.50/1 Soft Pretzel product (11/26)
Tio Pepe’s Save $.50/1 Churros product (11/26)
Wisk Save $2/1 laundry detergent 45oz+ (11/6)
Wonka Save $1/2 fun size bags or Halloween candy 9oz+ (10/31)

Target Insert - not in Montgomery Advertiser

Axe Save $1/1 hair care item; shampoo or conditioner ETS
Axe Save $1/1 hair styling item ETS
Axe Save $1/1 personal care item; bodyspray or deodorant ETS
Axe Save $1/1 shower gel ETS
Best Foods/Hellmann’s Save $1/2 9oz+ mayonnaise items
Degree Save $1/1 deodorant ETS
Dove Save $1/1 Men+Care body wash ETS
Dove Save $2/2 4 or 8-pack Men+Care body & face bars ETS
Dove Save $2/2 Men+Care deodorants ets
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! Save $.75/2 items
Lever 2000 Save $1/1 personal care item; 6 to 12pk bar soap or 18oz body wash
Pond’s Save $1.50/1 facial care item ETS
Q-Tips Save $1/1 357ct_ cotton swabs
Skippy Save $.75/2 15oz+ peanut butters
Suave Save $1/1 Professionals men hair styling item ETS
Suave Save $1/2 Men 12oz body washes ETS
Suave Save $1/2 Professionals men shampoos ETS
Vaseline Save $2/2 3.1oz+ lotions (Manu. coupon)
Wish-Bone Save $.75/2 7oz+ salad dressings

Proctor and Gamble insert - not in Montgomery Advertiser or on sundaycouponpreview.com

Michael's - Under $20.00

My second post in as many days!  Something must have gotten into me!

Since I've started "hard-core" couponing, I really enjoy scouring the clearance sections at stores.  And because of pinterest, I'm getting a ton of crafting ideas.  Which leads me to my Michael's trip today.  I've found the best way to save money at Michael's is to sign-up for their e-mail list.  I think you can do this one their website.  If not, the sales clerk is supposed to ask you when you check out if you would like to sign-up, and it really is a quick process.  Wait for them to e-mail out a 20% off everything coupon and also take a couple of the 40% off one regular price item coupons - just in case there happens to be something full price that catches your eye.  Honestly though, so much of what they have is on sale, it can sometimes be difficult for me to find something I want even with a 40% off coupon.

Here's my stash from today.

Two cute scarecrows on stakes.  This will go out front under a group of trees we have (or they might be the neighbor's trees.  They're really close to the property line and we're just not sure).  On sale for 3.99.  I already have the brother and sister to these guys in the house sitting on a shelf.  

5 cupcake liner sets at a buck a piece - snowman, Santa, wreath, sled, and Halloween

2 cranberry colored ramekins for 99 cents a piece - so excited to make some goodies in these!

1 ceramic elephant for 79 cents - will spray paint this guy for a wreath idea

2 bags of jingle bells at 1.49 - is this a good price?  no idea, but they will be used for Christmas crafting

1 package of 3 footballs for 99 cents - also for the wreath

1 blue canister - only a penny!!!

Later, I'll share some inspiration from pinterest and what I hope to do with some of these craft items.  For now, it's time to be a tom boy, go eat some BBQ, and watch football!

Halloween Candy (and extra candy for us)

I would love to make a living off blogging.  Here recently, it's become my brainstorming topic.  I think I have one of those every few months.  It's normally just that - a brainstorm about how I can make money by doing something I really, really enjoy.  But to make a living at blogging, that means that I have to DO it!  I've been a little absent from the blog world lately.

So, to get back on the right track, here's my latest shopping trip.

CVS and Walgreens

At CVS I bought: 

2 bags of Pretzel M&Ms

1 bag regular M&Ms

1 bag fun size Snickers

1 bag fun size Milky Way

I used 4.00 in man qs, a 4 ECB from a few weeks ago, and a 2 ECB quarterly bonus

Total before coupons and deals: 21.55 (before tax)

Total after coupons and deals: 2.50 (before tax)

Percent saved: 88%

ECBs remaining: 3 and 1 (from green bag tag)

At Walgreen's I bought:

1 small bottle of clorox

1 Carmex healing lotion

1 Nestle Nips candy 

1 small caramel (filler)

I used a 1.00 man q on the lotion, Walgreen's q for the Nips, and $3 Register Reward from last trip.

Total before coupons and deals: 14.46

Total after coupons and deals: 6.86

Percent saved: 53%

Register Rewards remaining: $4.00

Somehow I went to buy Halloween candy and ended up with much more candy for myself.  Can I hand out the Nips you think?  Maybe if we get desperate?  Or does that automatically scar our house forever as "the-house-where-they-hand-out-hard-candy?"  I'm very excited!  This is the first year I've ever lived in a subdivision for Halloween, and I think it will be so much fun to hand out candy!  It's a big deal - I have to build up a good candy reputation.  :)  No weird black/orange covered chewy-taffy-like things here!

Now, back to this making money by blogging thing...feel free to leave comments and suggestions on how it can be done.  I know there are people out there who do it, and it would be pretty cool to join their ranks.  I'm thinking something along the lines of a "I'm No Martha Stewart - My Journey through Reviving Home-making."  

CVS - Under 5 bucks

I had $4 ECBs that expired today and another $5 ECB from the Beauty Club at CVS (spend 50 on beauty products, get 5 ECBs - sign up at the CVS website).  That worked out to make a pretty good deal for me on this shopping trip.  And for once, I only stopped at one place!!

Here's what I got:

1 box RepHresh feminine products

1 double-pack saline solution

2 packs Ziploc sandwich bags (1.00 man q)

1 St. Joseph aspirin (1.00 man q)

1 package of Skittles (already in hubby's belly at time of picture taking)

Total before coupons and sales: 25.64

Total after coupons and sales: 3.48

Percent saved: 86%

Total out of pocket (includes sales tax): 4.78

ECBs remaining: 2.00

I'd say it was a pretty good little stop, mainly for stock-pile items.  But Josh was completely out of contact solution, and I will soon need more sandwich bags for taking my lunch.  I broke this up into two transactions - used my 9 ECBs on the tampons and contact solution, got 6.79 in ECBs back.  Bought the aspirin and sandwich bags, but I had to buy something else in order to use all my coupons and the 6.79 ECB.  So I got a little treat for the hubby, too!  

I've really been slowing down on my drug store shopping here lately.  Rite Aid and Walgreen's can both seem like too much work, sometimes.  And our stockpile of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and deodorants is getting pretty large, so I only buy more if they are free or next to free.  Might make for some good donations here soon, too.  

And can I just say, I'm so ridiculously excited it is the weekend.  I plan to sleep very late on Saturday (which is basically 8 o'clock for us) and then enjoy a relaxing day, ending with a UK victory over the Cards.  GO CATS!!!

September 11, 2011

It's been ten years.  Today, we commemorate those we lost in the largest terrorist attack on our country.  Josh and I spent the morning re-watching original footage from NBC and ABC from each plane crash and the building collapses. Before church, we watched the memorial...the people placing flowers in the names of their loved ones and the reading of the names, which took hours.  We also spent some time watching football, but this evening we watched the CBS special - footage from one Ladder of the NYPD.  It has been a very emotional day for me, one in which the magnitude of the attacks has really sunken in for the first time.

It may sound crazy to say that, because I watched the attacks live in my US History class and in other classes that day.  My biggest memory though of my feelings makes me ashamed.  I don't know if I was just a selfish kid at that time, or if I overall felt like I was watching a movie.  But I remember being upset that sporting events were canceled.  If memory serves me, the volleyball team was scheduled to play our biggest rivals, East Jessamine, that week.  And all I wanted to do was play.  I also remember basically scoffing at other people who were scared, who wanted to leave school to see family.  I am very ashamed of those reactions.  Today re-watching everything, I can't believe that I was so heartless.

The things that are most striking to me after watching are the amount of children who never met or truly knew their parents/uncles/grandparents.  So many children in my own family - this event will be to them as Pearl Harbor is to me, something that you talk to older people in your family about but never get a deep understanding of what it means/meant for our country.

The heroic nature of so many that day, too, is still sinking in.  Footage on the CBS special shows the firefighters who simply walked into that building and without questioning started to walk up the stairs.  There was a job to be done, and they were going to do it.  There are people who died in a field in Pennsylvania.  They sat there on that plane - confronted by their own mortality in a way we can all only imagine - and decided to take action.

Then there is the contrast of pure evil and pure love.  The people who flew those planes were humans like you and me.  They overtook the plane...they flew it decidedly and expertly.  They saw the buildings in front of them.  They had plenty of time to go back on their decision, and they fully knew the damage and destruction tat would occur.  Pure evil.

But the pure love is shown in the outpouring of support, love, patriotism, volunteerism, and courage that was shown after the attacks.  People helped their neighbors and cared for them more.  More hugs were shared between family members, and we stopped taking a lot of things for granted.

I will always remember this day, and I will continue to watch and read and learn more as this attack continues to sink in with me.  I would love to one day visit the memorial and the museum.  And I hope to share the lessons of that day ten years ago with other generations.

So what are you memories of that day?  What are your stories?

Cooking with Oreos.

Yesterday was the first Saturday of football season.  And to celebrate, I did some baking...with Oreos.  With some of the blogs that I follow and pinterest.com, I keep seeing recipes for baked goods where you put something inside of something else.  Like a snickers bar in the bottom of a cupcake. 

And then I saw this: http://thesloupfamily.blogspot.com/2011/02/ultimate-cookie.html

It inspired me to try the recipe.  Here's how mine turned out:

Warning: Have a mug of milk handy when these are ready.  They are basically three cookies in one.  They are ginormous, but oh so amazingly good, too.

 Then I got a little bit creative on my own (although I'm sure there are other recipes/blogs out there with other recipes for this) and made brownies with oreos in the middle.  Yum, yum, yum.

It's really nice when the brownies have cooled mostly.  The oreos are still warm and oh so delightful.

Cross-section shot.  Will definitely have to make these again for bigger gatherings.

Faster Internet = More Shopping Blogs!!!

I'm excited people!  We got MUCH faster internet the other night.  Josh ordered it as I was attempting to watch the UK pros vs. Dominican Republic by streaming on WKYT.  The picture was much clearer halfway through.  I've got a sweet guy, that one.  And this means it will be much faster to upload pictures, so I'll be back to my crazy couponing and blogging ways!

Tonight, I stopped at the big three drugstores.  It was a classic Mary shopping trip.  I needed to use up some ECBs, Up Rewards, and Register Rewards before the expiration date.  Just getting me into the stores made me spend almost 35 buckaroos - and all we really needed was milk and women's deodorant!  But, I did also save 67.21.  And after sitting down to inspect my receipts, I forgot to give the Rite Aid lady 3 dollars worth of coupons!!  And the Walgreen's guy should have taken off 2.20 more than he did with one of my coupons.  Again, classic Mary with not checking until I'm already home.

Oh well, let's get to the good part.  Here's all my loot!

At CVS I got:

4 packs of Diet Mountain Dew

2 Gatorade Fit Series Recover juices

1 20-count box of bandaids

1 Revlon nail polish (like the one Jessica Alba uses, yeah, I'm cool)

1 Hershey's cookies and cream bar

1 caramel (33 cents - had to use it to get my total above 25 bucks)

After coupons and sales I paid: 14.73

Saved: 64%

Earned: 9 ECBs for next time

At Walgreen's I got:

1 Dove body wash

1 Dove shampoo

1 Dove Leave-in conditioner cream (for the 'fro)

1 Dove women's deodorant

2 Dove men's deodorant (B1G1)

After coupons and sales I paid: 7.82

Saved: 76%

Earned: 5 Register Reward for next time

At Rite Aide I got:

4 packs of Scunchis hair bands (I should be set for about 5 years now)

1 Playtex tampons

2 Mentos gum

1 Skim milk

After coupons and sales I paid: 12.22

Saved: 60%

Earned: 2 Up Rewards for next time

Also, you'll note the LifeSouth bag in the picture.  Connected to the handle is a little green leaf (hanging between the Dove body wash and shampoo).  This is called a CVS Green bag tag and it's a little way to earn some extra Extra Care Bucks.  Each day that you bring in your own bag and buy something, they will scan your green bag tag.  Every fourth scan, the computer will print out a $1 ECB.  I don't know that I've seen any other company do this.  (Aldi might have something where you save a nickel for every bag you bring in, but we don't have Aldi down here.)  If you have heard, please let me know.

Let me state now, I am not a greenie.  I do not believe that humans are lice to our planet, and I believe that man-made global warming is a huge governmental/commercial scam.  So, I'm not one who trumpets using my own bags when I go into a store.  I have all kinds of plastic bags from various shopping trips in my pantry right now and most will get reused for some purpose.  However, I am willing to bring my own bag to a store if it is profitable.  And in this instance, it is profitable for me with earning an ECB, and it is profitable for the store because they have found a way to get me coming back week after week.  It's smart - so I participate.  :)  I wanted to share that little tidbit with you so that you can profit too.

There is a one time fee to buy the green bag tag.  It's 1.00.  Often, CVS will run specials on the green bag tag.  Just the other day I got a coupon at the scan machine for 50 cents off.  Other times, they will run a promotion where you get $1.00 ECB when you buy the green bag tag.  The only conditions are - you can only scan once per day, even if doing multiple transactions, and you have to remember to take your bag in!

Look forward to more posts soon!  (And maybe even a few more rants!)  :)

Our backyard and "garden"

In March, we were so excited to buy our first home.  And it has been absolutely wonderful to be home owners.  We can fire up the smoker and the grill whenever we want (without cops stopping by) and there aren't any dogs waking us up at 7:00 every single morning.  

But one thing I'm not sure we really grasped was just how crazy our backyard was.  Here's some pictures from the yard on closing day...

That overgrowth in the back corner was actually two trees that were being suffocated by the vine, a couple honeysuckle bushes, and 4-5 other bushes.  While taking it down, we actually found a tennis ball and football caught up in the entire mess. 

The grass was mostly dormant at this point...the crab grass that is.  That's basically all that we had back there.

At the bottom of the steps and going up to the fence on both sides of the house were little dog trails.  Previous owners had two bulldogs that really wore down the grass that was there.

Underneath our pine grove were some unnamed bushes.  And the vines were starting to takeover here too.

A full view of the yard.  Lots of brown spots, dog trails, and crab grass.

Since we bought the house, Josh has been working his butt off to make the place look better.  I don't know that I've ever seen someone work so hard on a lawn.  (Have I mentioned the I have an amazing husband, because I definitely do.)  And through his hard work, here's where we are now.  

A view of the yard from the top of the hill.  Notice that all the brush is gone from under the grove of pine trees and there's hardly anything left in the back left corner.  (And our teeny little veggie patch.  :)  )  But the best part is all the green grass that we have!  Our yard is now at least 1/3 bermuda, which is so very exciting!  Plus, there's no dog trail going down the hill!

Another view of the yard from the bottom of the steps.  We had a very big area that was only crab grass.  Josh has worked extremely hard to get it all tilled under, and he's seeded that area so that we'll have even more bermuda very soon!  There's a few patches already growing in there.  This is a better view, too of the back left corner.  No more overgrowth at all!

And, as stated in the post title, here's our little "garden."  We can't really decide what to call it.  Vegetable patch, garden, small area where we're trying to grow just a couple things?  We got started very late in the season, so we only planted an ice box watermelon, squash, zucchini, and two different varieties of strawberries.  And just yesterday we saw something that looks very promising...

Our first little watermelon!  Look how cute and tiny the thing is!  I am thrilled to see this because I was very afraid we weren't going to have anything come out of the garden at all.  But there's still promise!  Just gotta let the thing grow now. 

4th of July Review and baking

This year for the weekend of the 4th of July we went up to Memphis.  We had a wonderful time with our gracious hosts, John and Kathy Tucker, and spent some time over at Mrs. Nancy Walker's house too.  The guys had far too much fun with the paddle boat.  :)  And the catfish fry...amazing!

For Mrs. Walker's get-together, I tried my hand at making some cupcakes.  And let me give credit here...I found this idea on a blog I follow - Inside BruCrew Life.  This woman has truly mastered the art of baking...and if you want some unique dessert ideas, definitely check out her site.  But be prepared because her ideas are so scrumptious and wonderful, you'll want to try all of them (but your waistline might not be ready for it).  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Here's her original post for Firecracker Cupcakes: http://insidebrucrewlife.blogspot.com/2011/06/firecracker-cupcakes.html

Isn't her blog so cute?  Her pictures are about 1,000 times better than mine, but here's my attempt at the cupcakes. 

I just used some red sprinkles to go on top of the icing.  I attempted to make stars and stripes but...well, nobody's perfect.

And the inside of one.  Again, check out the original blog for more appealing pictures.  I joked that instead of patriotic cupcakes, mine became a tribute to Bubblicious Cotton Candy bubble gum.  But they were definitely yummy!  Just make sure you use a true blue and red food coloring for the batters.  :)

Let me back-track a little too.  On Friday that weekend, we got to hang out with some of our neighbors.  They are wonderful people, and they got to have the first batch of my Firecracker/Cotton Candy cupcakes.  Saturday we traveled up to Memphis for the Catfish fry.  Sunday and Monday we stayed with the Tuckers - went to their church and enjoyed lots and lots of amazing food.  Central BBQ is a great Memphis restaurant.  (i'm drooling a little just thinking about it.)

On the way back home, we stopped into Starkville, MS, to visit some of old stomping grounds and see a friend for a cookout.  On the drive from Starkville to Montgomery we got to fireworks here and there, which was pretty cool.  It was really a great extended weekend (I vote for lots and lots more of those!), and I learned a great new idea for baking!

The Power of Cash

Back to blogging!  Sorry for my long break, but I'm back with a new plan to save money!  It's all about the power of cash (and coupons).  This idea started (kinda) with the All You magazine Grocery Challenge.  The challenge is to spend just 25 bucks per family member per week on groceries for 4 weeks.  I signed up for the challenge, but really didn't do so well at all.  In the first week, I spent something like 80 bucks.  :( 

But, the challenge did help me figure out one of my biggest issues.  I always shop with my debit card, always!  I can't even remember the last time that I carried cash with me on a regular basis.  By using the card, though, if I went over the weekly budget of 50 bucks, it was no big deal.  I always had more than that in my checking account, so I would just spend it.  Now though, I have decided to take cash with me into the grocery stores...and only 50 bucks.  The power of cash is that it forced me to sit down and plan everything out - absolutely no splurge purchases and if something was more than I thought it would be, it stayed on the shelf.  And I'm budgeting for tax, too.  Crazy that I've lived in Alabama for a year and a half now, but I always forget about that pesky 9.5 - 10% sales tax, even on groceries. 

Now, the breakdown of my first under 50 dollar grocery trip!

Publix

What I got:

1 gallon of milk

1 package frozen Tyson mini-chicken sandwiches

1 package ground beef (burgers were already on grill at time of picture-taking)

1 package frozen Perdue chicken breasts

1 package Lance crackers

1 16 oz package Kraft shredded cheese

3 boxes Pop-tarts

1 carton strawberries

1 12-roll package Cottonelle toilet paper

1 notebook

1 box Kashi cookies

1 box Kashi cereal

1 box Kashi cereal bars

1 Coffee House creamer

1 pint Blue Bell ice cream

1 package Hillshire Farm roast beef

Used:

5.00/55.00 purchase Winn Dixie coupon (competitor)

1 free Coffee House Breve creamer mq

1 free pint Blue Bell ice cream mq

1 Free Kashi cookie wyb Kashi cereal and cereal bars sq

1 2.00 off Kashi mq (recyclebank reward)

1 1.00 off two Kashi cookies/crackers/bars mq

1 1.00 off Cottonelle sq

1 .50 off Cottonelle mq (doubled)

1 .75 off gallon milk mq

1 1.00 off 1 lb of cheese mq

1 .55 off Lance crackers mq

1 .35 off Hillshire farm lunch meat mq (doubled)

1 1.00 off Tyson chicken sandwiches mq

1 .50 off Driscoll's strawberries mq (doubled)

1 2.00 off 3 Pop-tarts mq

Total before coupons/sales/tax: 73.75

Total after coupons/sales but before tax: 36.59

Saved: 50%

Total spent (including tax) 41.73

Winn Dixie

What I got:

2 brownie mixes

1 Strawberry cake mix

1 carton of 18 eggs

1 package steak (for country fried steak)

Used:

2 50 cents off Duncan Hines boxed product coupon

1 B2 Duncan Hines products, G1 brownie or cake mix free coupon

Total before coupons and tax: 14.02

Total after coupons (still before tax): 5.40

Saved: 61%

Total including taxes: 6.24

Overall savings: 52%

Total spent: 47.97

I was really very proud of myself that I was able to make it under 50 bucks.  It did make me nervous though to see the totals before any of the coupons scanned...knowing that I wasn't going to use a debit card for back-up!  Hubby seemed pretty happy too, especially since there's a good amount of things in this trip that will really make for good meals!