Post "Extreme Coupon" coupon shopping.

I was an "extreme couponer" before there was such a thing. I had two freezers in the basement (and the one attached to the fridge in the kitchen) and 4 or 5 shelving units. People would come to my house and leave with TONS of stuff.

We're not broke, but this couple of weeks are tight because of school fees, clothes, supplies, haircuts, etc. SO I dedicated this morning to coupon match-ups and what not. I did no where close to where I used to, but for someone who only had internet coupons and sale ads, I did OK.
Total to start $115.46
After coupons $85.43
Saved $30.30. which is good, but not great.
To sweeten the deal though, I earned $0.97/gallon (up to 20 gallons) in fuel rewards $19.40
Total after all discounts/fuel rewards $66.03
Almost 50% off! Yay!

Pictures of "the good 'ol days"

I Love UPS.......

I live in the middle of no where. I have amazon prime, I order as much as I can online. If I could order fresh groceries like so many others can, I would. I recently ordered from walmart.com for my kids school supplies. The way this stuff ships makes no sense. I had a box with 3 boxes of crayons (I paid $0.50 a box for the crayons) arrive via FedEx ground. Seems like a waste of free shipping. That's why so many people have to pay stupid high shipping. People like me place big orders then stores ship items in multiple packages. I know my UPS guy, his name is Marvin. He visits me at least 2-3 days a week. If I am expecting something good, I let him know. This man will be tipped well at Christmas!

I'm signed up for some ups program where I get email notifications of packages arriving. Sometimes I win stuff or get picked for free reviews and I don't know so I like to know if something is arriving.

Today I recieved an email that I would have a package delivered tomorrow. Before you look at the picture, take note, I live 20 minutes from Quincy, IL and yes, it says "destination scan".

Stupid Reporters - GAH!!

OK, I'm not the roller derby expert that knows everything, but I reffed for two seasons, played a little. A local reporter wrote up an article. I'm going to post bits, my parts are in red and corrections. :)

Unlike a regular game, or "bout," the scrimmage included six men and two girls. The men were either Iowa City clinicians or local men training to be referees.

A regulation game consists of two teams that each field 4 blockers and 1 jammer per jam. There are all womens, all mens, and co-ed teams. It depends on the rule set you are following. 

Prior to the actual scrimmage, the referee checked each player for foreign objects. He mostly disallowed ornamental pieces of metal that could accidentally injure someone if two players collided.
You left out, he was checking safety equipment.

 One player on each side, designated as the "jammer" and wearing a star on her helmet cover, is allowed to score by earning a point for each member of the opposing team that she passes on the rink.
It's called a track, and the jammer can also score on players that did not make it onto the track as well as players in the penalty box. 

The other players link up and form a "jam" to block the opposing jammer from passing them or to help their jammer advance. The teams play offense and defense simultaneously.

They form a pack, not a jam. 

Full article: http://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/article/20140722/Opinion/140729842#ixzz38yEV2Cvi

24 hour Fire Phone Review

Amazon Fire Phone Review

**I paid full price ($200 with 2 year contract) I am NOT being compensated in any way!!

I'm not usually a pre-order phone type of person but this phone peaked my interest and I had the upgrade available on AT&T (the only carrier that provides service for this phone).

My initial thoughts on the phone::

• The phone works excellent! Call quality is great, ability to have service is great. I live in a dead zone, my Galaxy S4 frequently went off network for calls and texts. Never  mind attempting to get 4G data inside my house. 
• The apps are OK but lacking big time. I use Bank of America and the app is not available, even the kindle fire app for BOA is not available. Nor is the powerschool app that my kids school uses. I can do everything on the browser except deposit checks. I have an ipad so I can still use that to make the mobile deposits (which is good because BOA closed the physical locations closest to me).
• The picture/camera quality is great! The various settings for the camera are easy to find and use.
• There's no back button. This was driving me nuts. Then I realized, if I swipe up, it works as a back button. :)
• There's no notification light (or I haven't figured out how to turn it on). This is a pain trying to figure out if there's a reason to take the phone off sleep mode.
• You can change the volume for a set period of time (3 hours). This would be nice for those times when you just need turn the ringer off for a short time (dinner, movies, class).
• The mayday button is cool. I could not figure out how to delete unwanted text messages so I hit the mayday button. It's odd seeing the person you are talking to. Amazon claims they can't see you but I have a feeling they probably can. The man that I talked to was nice and helpful. He was "drawing"
  on my screen to walk me through everything. This is a nice feature to have.

Overall, I am happy with the phone for now. I figure I will either fall in love with it or hate it in a week. We'll see once the romance wears off. I'll post once I decide how I really feel about the phone. 

Thank you Keurig!

Good morning it is, in the land of Lima.

So, a few days ago I received and email from Keurig. I've been an owner for years. This email was along the lines of "email us if you'd like to help kids get clean water & you get a free brewer". Well, mine is old and not as fast as it once was (probably needs cleaned). I decided I would email back, sure, I'd host a small party with some friends, help out a charity, and get a new brewer.

So what would a person do with two brewers you may be asking, well, as it turns out we wanted a small coffee maker for the camper. These are not small, but for free, I will gladly put the old brewer in the camper and the new one will go in the house kitchen.

Low-and-behold - I got selected to host a #brewviewgive party!!

Bright and early (8am) Fed Ex Dropped this wonderful package on my doorstep! (There's still another package on the way with 5 (5 count) sample boxes of beverages that I selected. I don't know too much about this party that I'm supposed to host just yet, but I'm excited and happy. :)

Thank you Keurig!

NEW ARM & HAMMER™ Truly Radiant™

I receive products to try from time to time, this is one I received from Smiley360. I will be trying out & reviewing the toothbrush and toothpaste over the next week. In the mean time, click below to download your $.50 off coupon!

ARM & HAMMER™

Truly Radiant™ Toothpaste

There’s a lot of talk about teeth whitening these days, but a radiant smile is so much more than that. This revolutionary new toothpaste does much more than just whiten, it goes beyond the surface to strengthen, clean and repair tooth enamel for a radiant smile in just 5 days!*

• Whitens, strengthens and repairs tooth enamel
• Unique formula combines pure ARM & HAMMER™ Baking Soda, Active Calcium, Fluoride and Peroxide
• Clinically proven to beautify teeth
• Restores gloss and luster
• Removes stains better than the leading whitening toothpaste**

*Data on file.

** When used as directed for 5 days

ARM & HAMMER™ Spinbrush Truly Radiant™ Deep Clean Battery Toothbrush

Unlike ordinary brushes, our new Truly Radiant™ battery-powered toothbrush is designed to give you the brilliant whitening you want, and the deep cleaning you need for a beautiful, more radiant smile, guaranteed or your money back.

• Elongated all-access bristles
• Removes 100% more plaque*
• Removes 5X more hard-to-reach plaque*
• Dual-Action brush head
• Special bristles designed to whiten teeth
• Fraction of the cost of competitive rechargeable brushes

*vs. a manual toothbrush

Important Links:

Visit us on TrulyRadiant.com for special offers, product information and Truly Radiant Tips from Alison Sweeney!

“Like” us on Facebook for special offers, news and to let us know how you are living Truly Radiant!

YUMMY!!! Homemade Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins

JALAPENO CORNBREAD MUFFINS

Prep Time15 minutes

Cook Time15 minutes

Total Time30 minutes

Yield10 muffins

INGREDIENTS

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon honey

2 jalapenos, seeded and diced

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

• 
  
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda and salt.
• In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, butter, sugar, eggs and honey. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist. 
• I scoop out half the batter at this point. My youngest doesn't like spicy.
• Add jalapenos and cheese, and gently toss to combine.
• Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray. Place into oven and bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

NOTES

I only get 10 muffins because I fill my pans almost full.

I also do scoop half the mix out before adding jalapenos. You can add them earlier if your family enjoys spicy.

Adapted from http://damndelicious.net/

Staples Notebook Deal - NO Coupons needed!

OK, I'm not ready for school to start, I have no idea what's on the kids lists, but I do know every year we need these notebooks!

You can get 24 Notebooks for $4.34 (depending on tax) SHIPPED to your house! I know the notebooks normally go a little cheaper, but then I have to pay for gas to go into town (Right now it's about $5 each way for me to drive into Quincy).

Go to:

http://www.staples.com/Staples-1-Subject-Notebook-8-inch-x-10-1-2-inch/product_321463
Add 24 and checkout.. price will reduce to $4.08


If that doesn't work.
1. Go to staples.com
2. Click "order by item#" under search engine
3. Type in item # 321463 and quantity 24
4. Hit Add to cart

Ya, I totally did this......

I grew up living in a city of about 140,000 people. I was in girl scouts, did the camp thing a few times. My mom was not a camper. She dated a guy that had an RV, but that's as close to camping as she ever got. That being said, the woman loved to eat (Like weighing 350lbs loved to eat).

We were poor growing up so snacks were a treat. A bag of marshmallows could be used for umpteen things. One night mom decided to "roast" marshmallows on the stove top. It was a gas stove, so there was a flame.

I've burnt enough stuff in my life on my electric stove that I knew it put off heat beyond the glowing red.

I wanted roasted marshmallows, like BAD. I now live in the sticks and can build a fire whenever I want to. I didn't want to build a fire for a couple of marshmallows.

I roasted them over the glowing red of my electric stove top.

Totally worth it & a win in my book!