Bargain Seeker on the Prowl

Last night I did a little bargain shopping and here are the results:

Walmart:

3 Valley Fresh Steamers = $3.81 - $3.00 (coupons) = .81

2 Fusion Razors = $9.88 - $8.00 (coupons) = $1.88

Febreze Starter Kits = $11.94 - $10.00 (coupons) = $1.94

Nestle Good Start = $11.97 - $11.00 (coupon/check) = .97

Aleve 200 ct. = 13.77 - $13.77 (coupon/free) = .00

Ore Ida Steam N Mash = $3.44 - $3.44 (coupon/free) = .00

Walgreens:

2 Glade Wisp air fresheners = $11.98 - $10.00 (coupons) = $1.98

Visine 0.5 oz = $3.99 - $5.00 (coupons) = -$1.01

Glade 4 oz candle = $1.99 - $2.00 (coupon/rebate) = -.01

3 Trident Splash Gum = $2.00 - $1.65 (coupons) = .35

Kroger:

2 Hot Pockets = $3.34 - $2.00 (coupons) = $1.34

Totals:

Before coupons = $78.11

After coupons = $8.25

The products pictured above include razors (stocking stuffers), Trident gum (stocking stuffers), Nestle formula (niece is having a baby), Glade Wisp (Christmas gifts), Febreze starter kits (Christmas Gifts), and the rest will be used by my family.

I received the Ore Ida Steam n Mash coupon from SheSpeaks as a trial product, the Aleve coupon from writing to the manufacturer and bragging on their product, and the Nestle coupon/check from signing up to receive offers from Nestle. The rest of the coupons were from our local inserts, All You magazine and in-ad coupons.

Bowl of names:

Sweet husband drawing:

And the winner is:

Michele from Mommy Matters!! Congratulations Michele!!

Thanks to all who entered and look for more drawings in the future!

John Frieda’s Luxurious Volume sample. (Walmart)

Kotex Sample. (Walmart)

Carefree Sample. (Walmart)

Benefiber Single-Serve Sample. (Walmart)

Nicorette 20-count starter pack. (Walmart)

Goodnites boxer sample. (Walmart)

King’s Hawaiian Bread (excludes 4-pack rolls) .40/1 coupon. You can print OR have it mailed to you by clicking on the “help” tab at the bottom of the opened page.

Print only: Totino’s Pizza Rolls $1.00/1 here.

Sucrets $2.00 mail in rebate form. Expires 01/31/2009

Michele from Mommy Matters tagged me to list 6 quirks of mine. It did not take me too long to come up with them (unfortunately).

1. I was SO happy to read that someone else (Michele) has the same quirk as I do when it comes to showering. I have a specific order in which I bathe and if I do not follow this order, I feel as though I have forgotten something and sometimes will start all over again.

2. If I fix myself a glass of something to drink, I cannot drink from it if I feel that someone over the age of about 2 has taken a drink from my glass. I will pour it out and put the glass in the dishwasher and fix another drink.

3. I cannot sit and watch a movie without doing something else, too. I will crochet, write down recipes, surf the internet, or fold laundry. My hands have to be busy.

4. I speak my thoughts, often! I keep a running list (of things to do) in my head at all times and will often speak out loud what I am thinking, sometimes in the company of others who look at me like I have grown two heads because it does not pertain to what we are talking about currently.

5. I don’t know if this is a quirk but, my husband and I both talk in our sleep (to each other). If he is working on a truck in a dream, he acts it out and I usually hand him the tools or at least help him search for the right one until I wake up enough to realize we were both asleep.

6. I am a deep sleeper and once slept through a tornado. However, let one of the kids whisper “mama” and I am up and alert and the same with crying, regurgitation sounds or coughing (from the kids). T.V. noise, phone ringing, rowdy kids, 4-wheelers, lawnmower, I sleep through all of that noise with no problem.

Well, those are some of my quirks. I am now going to tag Michelle and Suzette.

Tomorrow is the day I draw the winner of 2 bars of homemade goat’s milk soap!! You can enter by leaving a comment on this post here. Contest is open to all within the United States.

Michelle and I arrived at our booth space at approximately 6 a.m. and with the help of our wonderful husbands, started unloading and setting up our booth. It was a bit chilly, but felt wonderful as we rushed around putting up our canopies and setting up our tables.

My husband took these pictures of me and Michelle before the actual public started coming into the Square. We are busy setting up our tables, but stopped for a moment for a photo together. 

Michelle and her husband built our sign which sat out in front of our booth and I think it is just adorable!

This photo is of our craft fair neighbors. I loved how friendly the atmosphere was here! Everyone pitched in to help everyone else with their booth set-up and take-down.

A photo of the Heritage Festival Parade which signaled the opening of the festival to the public. The children were all dressed in costumes and were so cute riding their bikes, walking by, and/or being pulled in wagons. (I love small towns!!!)

And of course, the festival would not have been complete without the staged bank robbery/shoot-out at high noon.

The festival drew a huge crowd of people and the Chamber/City of Covington did a great job of putting all of the activities together.

As for how we did at the festival and was it worth our time to set up a booth, yes. We had such a great time together as well as talking with all of the people stopping by our tables. We sold quite a few products, answered many questions and received a lot of compliments. This was the first craft fair for both me and Michelle and we learned a lot from participating. Would we do it again? Yes, absolutely!

Wow, tomorrow is the Heritage Festival in Covington, Tn. from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. You can read more about the Festival here. I believe I am ready for it, or at least I HOPE I am ready for it. This is my first craft fair and I was not nervous about it until now.

I keep questioning myself and my products, though I have made candles and tarts for over 5 years now and I am proud of my product, I just wonder if anyone else will be interested. I do host a yearly Holiday Open House and do quite well with the small crowd of folks who come to this, however there are going to be MANY MORE people at the Festival.

I want to thank my husband and children for being such good sports during my frantic pace of creating products and taking over the kitchen with my crafting supplies. I looked at my husband last night around  11 p.m and just thought to ask if he and the kids had eaten dinner. Thankfully, my husband is such a darling and understands my preoccupation at the moment. He and the kids threw together a dinner and ate it in the living room as there is no room in the kitchen or at the dinner table.

However, I must confess, I am having a blast getting ready for this craft fair, but I don’t think I could do it TOO often. Next time, I will give myself more time to prepare.

Anyway, if any of you are in the area tomorrow, please stop by and say hello! We are going to be in booth #71 and Michelle and I, both, love to meet new people.

I also want to add my thanks to my daughter for managing the laundry and dishes this week as well as my son who has performed numerous errands for me for supplies. I love you both very much!!

Ok, I seem to be worrying a few blogger friends of mine who have emailed me asking if I am okay, due to my ranting about the economy and (stupidity) of all that is going on around us at the moment. I am taking the hint and toning it down a bit.

I would like to express the compassion I am experiencing for the folks who are being affected the most by this crisis, from losing their jobs, higher prices, and feelings of impotency of how to deal with this situation that is indeed new to many whom have never experienced a recession.

I am encouraging those around me to use coupons, shop for deals, create a stockpile of sale items in order to beat out the sales cycle along with planning trips in order to conserve fuel consumption. I am also encouraging yard sale shopping along with seeking out local crafters/artists in order to get better value for their hard-earned money and to help their local economy.

If you have any other suggestions for us as individuals to do in order to cushion the effects of this economy, I would love to hear them. My ranting is finished and I am now on a path of action.

Don’t forget to leave a comment here in order to enter my drawing for 2 free 4 oz homemade soaps!

Yes, Senator Schumer, I am furious because no one is being held accountable, other than the American people through no choice of their own, for this financial crisis.

I am furious because the government is rushing in to rescue failing banks due to their own stupidity, carelessness and greed.

I am furious that as always the ones in charge of running this country continue to cause hardships for the working class by making them “pay” for any and all mistakes made by an elite group of bankers, CEOs, etc. who do not have to be accountable for the choices they make.

Worried about my 401k? Absolutely not. Why? Even though I have not LOST any money as of yet, the value of my dollar is definitely not worth what it was a year ago. As money is being pumped into the economy to prop up/bail-out these financial wizards (insert sarcasm), my 401k will be worthless come time for me to retire as the rates will NEVER keep up with the increased cost of living due to these bail-outs and so I consider my investments already GONE.. poof, vanished, does not exist any longer.

Do I have any solutions for these problems? NO. Do YOU have any actual credible solutions for these problems? NO. We may be buying some time, but hard times are coming. How can the long-term ramifications of this proposed bail-out cause anything but hard times for the American people?

Will I continue to pay my taxes? Absolutely. Why? Because I actually abide by the rules set in place by our government unlike certain others who can count on a bail-out in their time of greed. However, I will also choose to spend my hard-earned money where it will benefit the AVERAGE American person the most.

Furious? Oh yes.

(P.S.)  As if I could ever believe that a politician could actually CARE about the hardships average American families face. It makes for good political speeches, but actions speak louder. The worst thing the average, working-class American can do is depend on the government to take care of them. We the American people will be okay because we are built strong with a will to survive anything thrown at us, including from our own government.

This contest is now over. Thanks to all who entered!!

I am counting down the days to my first craft fair with my friend, Michelle, who is just as excited as I am. I have been researching craft fairs in order to find tips and advice from those who have “been there, done that.” To anyone who has participated in craft fairs, all advice/tips are welcome!!

Yesterday, I worked with Michelle to create a website to promote her products. You can visit her site here. I am so impressed by her art as well as her imagination!! She has whimsical scrapbook pages and embellishments of which I have never seen sold in stores. She seems surprised that I describe her personality as being bold and colorful, but it suits her.

To kick-off my new venture, I am holding a drawing for two homemade, goat milk, 4 oz bars of soap, scented to the winners’ preference from my list of available scents, however my choice of color, unless the winner prefers a white bar of soap. To enter, just leave a comment on this post. The drawing will be held on October 11, 2008. The winner will be notified by email and posted on my blog. Unfortunately at this time I can only ship within the United States, but eventually I will expand to other areas, so this drawing is only open to people who live within the U.S. (sorry)