Friday, August 29, 2008

Favorite Recipe Friday

I am going to start a new trend called "Favorite Recipe Friday". Every Friday I will share a favorite recipe and I ask that you share yours with myself and other readers as well. Just click on Comments below and leave yours for all to see! That way we will all be well-fed and happy :) Today's recipe is my DH's favorite Lemon Squares, from Betty Crockers 40th Anniversary Cookbook:
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Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup margarine or butter (I always use real butter when I bake) - softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons grated fresh lemon peel, if desired (I omit)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs

Heat oven to 350. Mix flour, butter, and powdered sugar together. Press into an ungreased 8X8 or 9X9 baking pan, building up 1/2 around the edges. Bake 20 minutes. Beat remaining ingredients for about 3-4 minutes. Pour over hot crust. Bake an additional 25 minutes, or until no indentation remains when the center is lightly touched. Cool and then sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into squares. I especially enjoy these cold from the fridge :)

Tony Stewart's biggest fan

Evan just may be Tony Stewart's biggest little fan. Here he is next to Tony's trailer at Nascar Speed Street in Charlotte back in May.
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He also got to sit in the #20 car
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and make a #20 wooden model.
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And lastly, here he is at Universal CityWalk in Orlando outside the Nascar cafe. Love the face in this one!
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Back to school

Sorry I sort of fell off the face of the earth these past few weeks! We just finished our first week back to school and that is always an adjustment. Here are a few pics of the kids before they headed off for their first day. Evan is in 1st grade, Hannah is in 4th, and Madison is in 6th (middle school- gasp!). So far so good!
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Thursday, August 14, 2008

Beach Bound!

We are leaving today for a long weekend at the beach. Our neighbors' parents have a cottage in Cherry Grove, just north of Myrtle Beach, and they were nice enough to invite us along. Evan is best buddies with their little boy, they were in the same Kindergarten class last year. And my girls just adore their 2 year old daughter. The kids should have a blast and hopefully they will keep each other busy enough that us grownups can relax a bit. We shall see LOL. I'll post some pics when we get back.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Live & Learn

Today's lesson is "Live and Learn", followed second by "Don't let your husband make decisions about your preteens hair".

My 9 year old daughter has been bugging us to let her get her hair highlighted. I kept saying no way, but dh finally caved and said yes. In an effort to not spend 8 million dollars (these days 75 seems like 8 million to me LOL) on a 9 year olds hair, I opted to try to do it myself. Now, you KNOW where this is going.....

Put it this way, when we were done, we could not go out in public. The kit I bought at the beauty supply store was apparently a bleach kit (recommended to me by the saleswoman no less!) and my daughter's light brown hair was now platinum with brown spots where I'd missed LOL. We quickly put it into a ponytail, covered it with a ball cap and headed to the salon at the local mall. Two hours later, she looks fine. Whew! I had to cough up $110 plus a tip (Gulp!) for the fix. They had to do a full foil highlight, her whole entire head. But it looks cute and she is happy.

I guess another moral is sometimes it pays to pay. I tried to save money and ended up spending twice as much as I would have if I'd gone to the salon in the first place. She could have had a partial foil done for around $50, but the BIG FIX cost me BIG TIME. As I said, Live & Learn :)

Thursday, August 7, 2008

FREE bag of IAMS dog or cat food

Click HERE to get a FREE bag of Iams dog food or cat food.

Website I LOVE!

Just discovered this website a few weeks ago and I love it! It's called A Year Of Crockpotting. The author has resolved to use her crockpot every single day in 2008. I can't believe some of the things she manages to create in that thing LOL. I do love my crockpot and have resolved to try and use it more as there is nothing better than having dinner accounted for at 9 a.m. However, I never seemed to get beyond the basic pot roast, BBQ chicken, and pulled pork. Stephanie creates masterpieces such as chicken cordon bleu, chocolate mousse, and even Chex Mix all with the crockpot. Amazing. Check it out, you'll be digging yours out of the pantry to try these recipes.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

SCORE at Walgreens today!

I am not a huge Walgreens fan as they can be picky-icky about coupons sometimes and who needs THAT drama LOL, but this week I did VERY well. Here is what I bought:

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And here are the details so you can do it too!

4 boxes Kelloggs cereal on sale 4/$10
- 2 X $1/2 coupons from Sundays paper
Get $5 Register Rewards back!

4 boxes Nutrigrain bars on sale 4/$10
-2 X $1/2 coupons from Sundays paper
Get $5 Register Rewards back!

3 boxes Pop Tarts + 2 boxes Rice Krispie Treats on sale 5/$10
-2 X $1/2 coupons from Sundays paper
Get $5 Register Rewards back!

Then...with those $15 in Register Rewards, I bought:

2 bottles of Windex on sale 2/$5
-2X $1 coupon

2 bottles of Pledge w/bonus duster on sale 2/$6
-B1G1 coupon
-$1 off coupon

2 Scrubbing Bubbles shower cleaner refills on sale 2/$6
-$2/2 coupon

5 lb bag Domino sugar on sale $1.99 w/in-ad coupon
-$0.25 coupon

JIF peanut butter on sale 3/$5 w/in-ad coupon
-$0.55 coupon

2 Nips hard candy on sale 3/$2 w/in-ad coupon

2 Papermate pens 10 pk on sale for $0.09 w/in-ad coupon

My total out of pocket today was $23.95. I will get a $10 Mail In Rebate from Kelloggs for buying 10 items on 1 receipt (this was in Sundays paper) and Walgreens has Mail In Rebates on the cleaning supplies totalling $7, so once I recieve my rebates, my total spent is just $6.95! PLUS I developed a one time use camera for FREE today with in-ad coupon! SCORE!

CVS Deals this week 8/3-8/9

GREAT deals this week at CVS!

First off, there is a NEW $2/$10 printable coupon!! Click HERE, go to page 30 of the online magazine and there it is! The best news is that it is valid until 9/28, so print off a bunch of them LOL.

Here is what I was able to score this week:

CoverGirl makeup is BOGO, and there was a BOGO coupon in Sundays paper, making both FREE. I had DH pick up an extra paper, so I got 4 free.

Pert Plus 2-in-1 Shampoo is BOGO, and there are coupons out there (one in Sundays paper, a few from previous weeks) for $2 off. Use 2 coupons and get both FREE. I used 4 coupons and got 4 free bottles.

NutraNail nail strengthener (My daughter has been wanting some LOL to help her nails grow. Ummm, maybe if you didn't BITE them!) is $5.99 each and there is a printable coupon for $3 off 2 HERE. Then you get $3 ecb back for each, making total cost just $1.50 each. My store had bonus twin packs, so I actually ended up with 4 bottles for $3 total.

MONEY MAKER! Childrens Advil 4 oz liquid or .5 oz. infant drops are $5.79 and you get $5.79 back in ecbs. Use this $1 off coupon to make it a money maker. Limit 1.

MONEY MAKER! Colgate Total Advanced toothpaste is $2.99, and you get $2 ecb back. Use this $1.50 off coupon to make it a money maker. Limit 2.

Gillette Fusion razor is $9.99, and you get $3 ecb back. I used a $4 off coupon from Sundays paper and paid just $2.99. DH really needed a razor, so this was great price!

Happy CVSing!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

FREE Film Developing at Walgreens TOMORROW!

Tomorrow only (Wednesday, August 6th) you can get 1 roll of film or one time use camera developed at Walgreens for FREE with this coupon. Hannah used a one time use camera on her last day of school, so we will finally get that developed LOL. It's sad that it takes a freebie to get mom off her butt to develop it!