DEALS AND MORE DEALS

Last week was not only full of good food and good laugh it was also full of good bargains. As a couponer I was excited for all the great deals that were out for people to grab. This year I wasn't so much into going to the malls. My sole purpose was to head on to our nearest Walgreens to score some serious deals. What made it more fun was I had my cousin to tag along with me. I taught her a few of the ropes and she picked up pretty quick. We had such a great time. My cousin was having a blast and so were her little girls. You wouldn't believe the screaming and the running around in our house the day of Thanksgiving and after.

We did go to the mall still since my cousin wanted to do some retail shopping specially with no sales tax in our state. We got to the mall afternoon of black friday. The Mall was still packed and people were still running around trying to catch good deals. I dread to think what it must have been like the morning the Mall opened up. There were more people out shopping this year than last. My cousin bought a couple things for her kids and I also got tempted. Yes, I to get tempted. With so many transaction going on It made me wonder. If the cast registry could say something they would probably call for a time out. With all the many transaction being dealt they better have a good receipt printer like the Epson TM-T88V. I am one of those people who is very anal about my receipt. For sure a whole bunch of people will be keeping track of their receipt just in case some of their purchases have to be returned. My cousin and I have already put our receipt in our wallet. I'll probably still have my receipt until next year,lol. This years Thanksgiving was amazing. Not only did a get to shop for the first time as a couponer but I also had the pleasure of sharing the experience with a fellow couponer who happens to be my cousin.

TURKEY AFTERMATH

I am so exhausted. My cousins family just left last night before 12 midnight. They were going to stay one more night but decided against it. Her husband wanted to be on the road so that they won't hit to much traffic. They had a long drive ahead of them going to Chicago. I hated seeing them go but in a way I gave a sigh of relief. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want to get rid of them but I wanted to rest, lol. The few days that they spent with us was great. My cousin and I had so much fun, we connected in a different way this time. I guess its because we are both mom and marred. We talked about a lot of things ranging from our kids, our husband, our childhood and most of all our couponing, lol. Yes, my cousin was ecstatic to find out I was already couponing. She is more of a newbie than me so I taught her some of the things I learn along the way. It was a great few days and I can't wait to have them here again. Now, I just need a few days to recharge my batteries. I don't feel like blogging at all. All I want to do is go to sleep for a week and not do any chores! How was your Thanksgiving?

A TIME TO THANK

Just a quick note :

Happy Thanksgiving to all of us. Let us take this time to reflect. To say what we are thankful for. I am thankful for my family, and for all the hardship that we have surpassed. I thank my family for taking the time to come down and celebrate Thanksgiving with us. It means a lot to me.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

SO MUCH TO DO, SO LITTLE TIME

A few more to go and its going to be Thanksgiving. Its our turn this year to host the Thanksgiving dinner at our house. Its going to be a loooooooong few days for me. I have so much to do but with very little time. I won't be online much as I have to clean, organized, go food shopping and cook before Thanksgiving. This is going to be extra special for me this year. Why? My cousin and her family from Chicago are driving down. She is also picking up her parents and sister is New York. Its going to be a full house. My kids are already very excited to see their cousins. I feel so overwhelmed and stressed. I just want things to be perfect, but perfection is to much to ask, lol. I am really looking forward to having my side of the family again. The last time they were here was 3 years ago also for Thanksgiving. I just hope my family will have a great time!

NEED GLASSES

Its been literally days since I indulged in my latest addiction, couponing. What's great about couponing for me is I get to kill two birds with one stone. I am saving and I am also getting my exercise. How? I walk like 2o minutes going and coming home. The only thing that really sucks is when I see a great deal but the store is no longer a walking distance. I have to rely on my MIL or husband to drive me around, most likely my MIL. She is an angel and is literally my driver, takes me where I go. However, she hasn't taken me out as of late. Her glasses have been bothering her. As a retiree and depending on her social security she is on a tight budget. With that I was off in search for decent glasses at an affordable price. One that stood out is www.glasses.com where they work with renowned lens specialist, has competitive pricing and most importantly with a 24/7 customer service and free standard shipping. Now I haven't really ordered anything but I would not hesitate to recommend an online store when I see a 24/7 customer service.

I have checked it out and it seems to have an easy layout and system of browsing and ordering. They even have the virtual try me on. Where you can upload your photo and try on as many glasses as you want. That is a big deal. You can now see for yourself what you would look like. Check out the picture below, thats me trying on one of the glasses. I tried on the Paolo Visconti GLU05 with the matte brown frame for $49. Not only do they sell frames, they also have a varied selection of womens sunglasses which I think is great. I am actually on the lookout for a new pair of sunglasses specially with the winter months coming. Check them out and try the Virtual try-on to see which glasses is for you, I did!!

COUPONS GALORE

I have been neglecting and procrastinating on writing post on my blog. I have just been so busy as of late and almost all my time is spent couponing. Its almost like a full time job and I have to keep track of all the coupon online and print them out. If my printer could talk it would probably tell me to give it a breather,lol. Since I started couponing almost 2 months ago I have used over 500 sheets of paper and used so much ink.
I have also clipped a whole bunch or coupons from news paper inserts and magazines. I never understood why those women who are on the Extreme Couponing show why they do this. Its the high and adrenaline rush that keeps you addicted. You feel your heart racing and pumping, your hands gets so cold and clammy when you see those numbers go higher and higher. You wonder how your are going to pay for it and start to get all nervous and scared. Then as you hand in your coupons you pray that you have a smooth transaction. The first beep of the coupon being scanned is like a tranquilizer. Calming you down little by little and then when you see that you have cut the cost to more than 50-90% , that is where you get a rush, an adrenaline rush like no other. It makes you smile from the inside.

Couponing is not as easy as it seems. It takes skills, concentration and keen eye for a good bargain for it to work. I am still a newbie and I do not claim to be good at it yet. But with trial and error and support from other couponeers I will become successful. In almost two months of couponing my stockpile has grown and will keep growing,lol.. Next time I will post a picture of my growing stockpile, lol

GRANDPA ON ALL SOULS DAY

This post is for my Grandpa who died last July,2011. He was the rock in the family. A man who was not afraid of honest hard work. A man who dedicated his life taking care of his family. Lolo instilled good values in me. I miss him so much and until now, I still can't grasp the enormity that he is gone. I know he is with our creator but deep inside I have not fully accepted it. As we were driving into the development yesterday when all of a sudden I felt like crying. Missing him so much is painfully. Crying was my outlet when I found out about his death a few months ago. So much tears was shed for him but it wasn't enough. It will probably hit me hard when I go home and visit my grandparents house. The thought that he won't be eating with us, laughing with us and sharing stories with us. I miss you so much Lo, it hurts. But I know you are looking down on us. At least I have a lot of memories to remember you by. I will miss you forever!

IN THE AIR

Its November and the air smells like Christmas already. I can almost hear the sleigh bell from Santa's ride. Trick or treat went without a hitch. We had both girls this year they had a good time. They also got more candies this year than last. It was a colder than last year but that didn't stop my girls from knocking on doors and saying "trick or treat". We brought along flashlights so we can see the kids and light their way. Did you go trick or treat with your kids? I think going as a group is much better, its more fun and more eyes on the kids.

WILL I FIGURE IT OUT?

Finally after a more than a week I got a call from my cousin apologizing for the cancelled family visit. She happened to call on Ralph and Kaitlyn's Birthday. What was funny about this call was she called me by accident. She was trying to get hold of someone else but dialed my number instead, lol. With her being so busy home schooling her two kids and running an online business I wonder which calling services she has. To my knowledge she has clients from Europe and other countries. And with her husband being computer savvy I am pretty confident she has the right calling services. I wonder how those things work. Is it the same as Skype? I haven't even figured out how to do conference call on our house phone. At least I finally figured out how to do conference call on my iPhone,lol.

DONE AND DONE

The weather in the past few weeks have been totally crazy. One minute we are still having Summer life weather and the next its raining cats and dogs or its freezing like a sun of a gun! I was hoping and wishing for a long winter but the day we closed our pool for this season was a big indication that the warm weather will not be sticking around for long. At least we got our pool covered and winterized without any incident, lol. The only thing that made covering and winterizing the pool hard was the safety pool fence around it. It kind of got in the way or putting the tarp on but we managed it and both Ralph and I gave a big sigh of relief! The kids were sad that they will no longer be swimming but they are looking forward to the winter months while I am most certainly not!!!!

CELEBRATION FOR TWO

Today two important people shared not only a special relationship afforded by a father and daughter but they both share the same birthday. To this day I still can't believe that our youngest was born on her daddy's birthday. Both of them will never forget each others birthday. The only person missing in this photo is our oldest Kayla. She was at her moms for the weekend. It would have been extra special has she been there to celebrate with her dad and younger sister.

To my husband and daughter, Happy Birthday and I hope that Ralph had a good time even though he didn't get anything. Like I always say to him every year on his birthday and special holidays " Kaitlyn is my gift to you for the next 18 years!"..... And to my princess bruiser, I hope you had a blast on your special day!

NO SHOW

I was right! My cousin and her family didn't show up. I am not upset or anything but I was hoping for a call from her to let me know if they were coming or not. Good thing I called my Aunt and was told that they did visit her in NY but they had a very tight schedule and had to leave. Oh well, there is always a next time. Now that October visit is out I wonder if a November visit would happen. Possibly on Thanksgiving? We haven't even decided yet where to have this years Thanksgiving. Will we be hosting this year or will it be at Angelo's house. I have got to ask who is hosting so plans can be made and I can do my Thanksgiving shopping properly. October is almost coming to an end and preparation need to be done. Will you be hosting this years Thanksgiving?

COMING OR WHAT?

Have you ever had family relative say they will visit you on a certain month but don't show up? It's happening to me. Well,I should say it looks like it may happen to me. I still haven't heard anything from my cousin in Chicago about her supposed visit this week. According to her she will be coming down before Kaitlyn's birthday which also happens to be her god daughter. I guess half of me is sad and half is a little relieved. Don't take the relived part in a bad way. I love having family over, its just her two kids are allergic to many things including our dog. They have had a lot of allergy scare since her kids were born. Lucky for the kids their mom is a Registered Nurse she has also done her research and read a lot of site probably including food allergies austin. She is very well informed and very well prepared when coming to visit me. They bring their food for the kids as they have special diet. Her kids are great but I feel scared of having them here in my house. I don't want them to get sick. No matter how much I clean the dog hair will still be around and I can't very well get rid of our family dog nor keep him cooped up in the in-law suite. I had better call her tomorrow and find out what going on.

HOME WITH A LITTLE DIVA

Having kids makes for a very interesting, fun,frustrating and patience trying day. Its either a hit or miss days with the kids. You can have a great and fun day one minute and the next you have a screaming kid on your hands. I thought that being a stay at home mom is easy but its not. Being a stay at home mom is a full time job. I used to be embarrass about being a SAHM but now I am proud to say it.

One of the many things I enjoy doing with my youngest while her big sister is in school is taking a video or her. She enjoys dancing, singing and just doing normal things a 3 year old would do. So I am always ready to snap a picture or take a video. Kaitlyn tells me now to record a video of her. With her dad always busy working its important that I share milestones and activities with him via videos and pictures. Having a smartphone has its advantages since I can go online and upload videos on you tube and posting it on FB with just a touch of a finger. I have heard of youtube downloader but have not tried it yet. My phone is overrun with so many picture and photos. If the youtube downloader works like they say it does I would download it in a heart beat. Anyway, I must log off. My eyes are starting to give up on me and just wants to see the back of my eyelids. Goodnight peeps!!

WALK THE WALK

Its Monday again tomorrow. The weekend is over. At least we got a visit from Ralph's brother Angelo. My girls were so excited to see their Aunt Debbie . She loves and dotes on the kids, spoils them rotten too. The kids and I also had a little adventure where we walked to the nearest Walmart in our area. It was about a 5-10 minute walk from our house. We had a great time talking and laughing. They didn't not mind the walk and surprisingly neither did my lover extremities. Walking and I have not been great friends for a few years. Just as of late I have been walking more and more going to another store which is about 5 minute walk from our house. I am going to keep walking to those stores until it gets to cold. Let me tell you this, walking did really good for my bum, just ask my grinning husband,lol