Cruise 2009 (211 photos), by Amber Redfern

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More Shopping! More Savings!

Whew! It has been a busy shopping week but I have found TONS of great deals!! Here's my roundup so far:

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At Publix on Monday, I spent $5.80 on $63.80 worth of items. Since we're trying to cook dinner more often, the Voila meals come in handy (and they were $2.99 of this total)

2 boxes of Milk Bones (pd $0.50 each..reg $2.50 each)
2 boxes Betty Crocker brownie mix (pd $0.49 each..reg $2.59 each)
2 bottles Lysol cleaner (pd $0.59 each..reg $3.19 each)
1 can Pam spray (pd $0.94..reg $3.29)
2 boxes Yoplait Fiber One (pd $0.25 each..reg $2.50 each)
2 bags Birds Eye Voila pasta meals (pd $1.49 each..reg $4.99 each)
2 boxes Green Giant frozen veggies (FREE)
2 packages of Immaculate Baking cookie dough (pd $0.54 each..reg $3.09 each)
3 bottles Coffee Mate liquid creamer (pd $0.16 each..reg $1.99 each)
2 boxes Bayer ( FREE...made $1.54)
1 box Alka Seltzer (FREE..made $0.51)
2 boxes Midol (FREE..made $0.62)
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That afternoon, Brandon and I made an unusual stop at K-Mart after work. We dont generally make a habit of going to K-Mart because the service is horrible, the prices are always wrong, and it's just a miserable experience. But this week they were doing a special coupon event that I couldn't pass up!

At K-mart, between our two transactions, we spent: $2.09 for $40.13 worth of items. Due to a price scan error that I didn't catch when checking out, I spent about $0.40 more than I had planned for an item but I still think it turned out to be a great trip! Since Brandon was such a good sport about going with me and helping, I let him buy a bag of cheese curls (which were $1.25..so without him I would have only spent $0.84 but I wouldn't have had as much FUN!)

3 bags of Whiskas cat food (FREE..reg $3.99 each)
2 bottles Gillette body wash (FREE..reg $4.00 each)
1 package Bic razors (FREE..reg $3.49)
1 box Hartz dog bones (FREE..reg $3.99)
1 package Stayfree maxi (FREE..reg $3.59)
1 Pedigree Dentastix (was supposed to be free but paid $0.29..reg $4.29)
1 Lysol Neutra Air (paid $0.55..reg $3.55)
1 bag Cheese Curls (paid $1.25)
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After K-Mart, I made a trip to CVS because they had the contact solution that Brandon uses on sale. I spent $8.99 for $21.47 worth of items. The Complete Contact Solution was $8.99 and you earned $8.99 in ExtraCare Bucks..so with the purchase of a $0.99 pack of gum (which earned $0.99 ECBs!) I was able to buy 2 bottles of Complete Solution and a pack of gum for less than what ONE bottle would have normally cost!
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(WHEW!...told you it was a busy week..)

I went back to K-Mart yesterday to pick up a few things I really needed..unfortunately, they were my regular "big ticket items" that I have to buy several times a month (cat litter and dog food). So my total wasn't anything spectacular. I spent $13.48 for $29.47 worth of items.

1 Tidy Cat litter (pd $4.99..reg $9.99 but was on sale for $6.99)
20lb bag Pedigree (pd $8..reg $16 but was on sale for $12.00)
1 Clean & Clear cleanser (pd $0.49..reg $4.49)
1 package Bic razors (FREE..reg $3.49)
1 Right Guard (FREE..reg $2.50)
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AND FINALLY....
my BEST PURCHASE OF THE WEEK
(and possibly of ALL TIME!)

A few weeks ago, Rite Aid had a rebate offer on Biore skin care products. I had my shopping trip all planned..only to find that they were sold out of all of the items I needed when I got there! So I got a rain check. Little did I know this would aid in my best shopping trip! The only downfall to Rite Aid is that their rebates come in the form of a check in the mail, rather than immediately applying towards your checkout. So, I cant immediately reap the benefits.

My balance due at the register was $13.72 but I'll get a rebate check for $5.50 so my total out of pocket expense will be $8.22. My total retail value was $132.34.

(I did make one major mistake which has caused me to not be eligible for an additional $15 rebate..which would have allowed me to MAKE $6.78 on this purchase..but I'll save those tears for another day and just be happy with the deal I DID get)

6 boxes Biore Pore Cleansing Strips
(reg $7.99-$9.99 each.. various size/quantity due to low stock in store)

6 bottles various Biore Cleansers (all FREE..reg $7.99 each)
2 Oral-B toothbrushes (pd $0.15 each..reg $3.49 each)
1 Gillette Fusion Power razor (FREE..reg $10.49)
1 box Gillette Fusion cartridge packs (reg $14.99)
Then I had five "$5 off purchase of $___" that I could use so that's another $25 off.

On that trip I saved about $125!
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My weekly totals (so far...):

Total out of pocket expense: $38.58
Total retail value: $287.21

Update

We got a Wii Fit! While I did good about using it regularly for the first week, I think my pets use it a little more often than I do now.


I took Harli, my cousin, to the UGA Gym Meet! GA won and we had tons of fun!




Brandon dressed Rupert and Tonka appropriately for Saint Patrick's Day. I stepped right over Rupert, laying in the hall, without even noticing. I'm a bad mommy.

Shopping on Penny Item Day!

In addition to their weekly BOGO specials, their coupon stacking policy and their great customer service, Publix has a weekly Penny Item. Every Wednesday they have a Publix brand item that can be purchased for $0.01 as long as you spend $10 (BEFORE coupons!).

This week the item was Publix paper towels so I stopped on the way home from work to pick up a few things that were on sale.

Retail: $58.75
Paid: $7.76 (plus tax)
Saved: $50.99

Includes:
2 boxes Muellers Pasta (reg $1.39 each)
2 bags Fast Fixin' Popcorn Chicken (reg $5.99 each)
Publix paper towels (reg $1.34)
2 bags Wise potato chips (reg $2.99 each)
Prego Heart Smart sauce (reg $2.07)
2 bottles V8 Fusion (reg $3.99 each)
Johnson & Johnson travel First Aid kit (they finally restocked this item!..reg $1.47)
2 cans Lysol Neutra-Air Sanitizing Spray (reg $3.59 each)
3 bottles All Small and Mighty liquid detergent (reg $5.99 each, paid $1 each...will do a total of 96 loads of laundry!!)

All in all [in all] (get it??..because I purchased a bunch of All! hahaha) I think it was a pretty good shopping trip!

Shopping Trip, March 15th

After a recent shopping trip to Kroger, I remembered why I switched to Publix! While I was able to find some good deals at Kroger, it was not worth the headache..the store is always packed with college students who have no courtesy and seemingly little common sense!

This was my first "coupon shopping" attempt at Kroger, and I was completely unprepared. It was a last minute decision so I didn't have any store coupons or electronic coupons. Despite this,
I still think I came out pretty well.

Retail: $60.45
Paid: $23.62 (plus tax)

Includes:
7 Powerade ($0.49 each!)
Ziplock bags
4 bags Sargento cheese ($.99 each!)
Perdue Chicken
4 bottles Ken's Salad dressing
Pepperoni
Lettuce
24 count Deep Park water ($2.99)

After Kroger, I stopped at Publix to pick up a few additional things I needed/wanted. What a difference! I will stick to good ol' Publix from now on!

Retail: $38.28
Paid: $7.88 (plus tax)

Includes:
2 Sobe Life Waters ($.50 each..reg $1.49 each)
2 lbs Land o Frost Turkey ($.99 each..reg $4.49 each)
2 four packs Yoplait Yo Plus yogurt ($.25 each..reg $2.50 each)
2 Oscar Mayer Sub Lunchables ($.25 each..reg $2 each)
2 boxes Del Monte Fruit Chillers ($.66 each..reg $2.75 each)
Quaker Cheddar Rice Cakes ($2.99)
Scotties Lotion Facial Tissue Cube (FREE..reg $1.25)
2 bottles Sundown Naturals Folic Acid vitamins (MADE $.42..reg $3.79 each)

I think I've done pretty good at only buying things we NEED or will use..but it never fails..I clean out the 'fridge and end up throwing away a ton of perfectly good food. This time it was so sad that I actually took a picture of the items I threw out. (hoping that admitting how much I wasted would encourage me to not be so wasteful!)

Includes:
Two bags of salad
Sargento Salad Finisher
Gallon of milk
Half used Coffee Mate liquid creamer (honey bun flavor!)
Half used package of Oscar Mayer turkey lunch meat
Container of Trix yogurt
Packages of chopped onion and peppers
A pound of ground beef that I put in a container and froze..then thawed to use..but never used

Camping!

Yay for good weather!!

We were able to take our first camping trip this past weekend! Monday was a furlough day for us so it was a long weekend. The weather during the day was in the mid/high 60s and in the high 20s at night. We left work early on Friday, loaded the car up and headed off!



Brandon and I reserved a campsite at Hard Labor Creek State Park in Rutledge, GA. There weren't many other people there, as this was the first weekend this year with decent weather.


Rupert and Tonka went with us, so we made sure to find a site that had a big open area nearby. The one we ended up choosing was huge- there was plenty of room for a camper and a tent. (too bad we only have a tent...)


Brandon's family ended up booking a cabin in the park as well. His younger brother, Trenton, started Spring Break this week and was eager to get out and do something. There was a two night minimum stay requirement so they stayed Saturday and Sunday. The cabin wasn't as large as the ones we rented last year at another park, but it was still very nice. Trenton was able to bring a friend so while Brandon and his step-father golfed on Sunday, the rest of us walked around the park and enjoyed the weather.

We packed heaters, our tv (they have cable hookups at the campsites), dvd player and Wii. Brandon and I took the dogs on some of the nature trails and I walked them along the lake edge. Rupert and Tonka had a really good time but were excited to get back to their home, their yard and their beds!

Boots, Bangs and Bargains!

I'm in such a grumpy mood today and sometimes 'blogging' can be therapeutic.


February 25th was our "anniversary" of the day we became boyfriend and girlfriend. (just saying that makes me feel like I'm in middle school again..) This year marked our 8th year together! Technically we met and became good friends in 1997 but we didn't become "official" until my senior year of high school which was 2002. We celebrated by going out to dinner, and he surprised me with the pair of rain boots I have been wanting. A few weeks ago he set out on a mission to buy some for me, because we were getting a lot of snow/rain and he was tired of hearing me complain about my pants leg getting wet. (the joy of being short..) Turns out, every other person in Athens must have had the same idea because every single store was sold out. Brandon went to 8 different stores and no one had any. So..he ordered some and had them delivered just in time for our anniversary. How sweet!

As my 'gift' to him, I got my hair cut! I have been wanting to try something new for a while now but haven't had the guts to go through with it. Brandon has been encouraging me to get bangs, saying he thought it would look good. Having grown up with bangs and hating them, I was very skeptical. But- I went that day and surprised him when I got home. Believe it or not, I actually like my new bangs. I think the image everyone has when they think of the word is more like thick and heavy whereas I went light and airy. I dont have any good pictures yet, as I am still trying to figure out just how to fix them. (it seems as if every day they turn out looking differently than the day before!)


My coupon shopping trips have continued..I actually went out in the snow yesterday, just to pick up a few things before the new sales begin. This time my retail value was approx $75 and my out of pocket expense was approx $22 plus tax. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention and didn't realized that they failed to scan one of my $2 off coupons until I got home. Shucks.

I picked up a 17.5 lb bag of Iams dog food and a big bag of cat food which together would have normally cost $24.18 by itself! Plus:
2 things of Right Guard deodorant
1 Sure deodorant
2 bags of Green Giant Steamers
5 packs of Pedigree DentaSticks (dog treats)
2 boxes of Uncrustables
2 boxes of Texas Toast garlic bread
2 Oscar Mayer Deli Creations
2 bags of Friskies Party Mix (cat treats)



Since we had a Snow Day and got to leave work early, I was able to do my shopping and head home with enough time to still catch the Ellen show! The rest of the evening was spent cuddling on the couch and watching American Idol, while Rupert and Tonka snuggled on the floor.

Overdue Update

Wow- it's been a while! While it doesn't seem like I've done a lot, I started looking through recent photos and realized I've been a little busier than I thought!

Let's see....Christmas was nice. I love tree-shopping with Brandon's family. We go to Jack's Tree Farm every year and all pick out our own trees. Unfortunately, this year's tree didn't hold up quite as long as in the previous years; I actually took it down BEFORE New Years which doesn't usually happen.












My mom was surprised with a puppy for her birthday this year..a tiny little Maltese named Cody. My stepsister breeds and raises them so she gifted one to mom in honor of the big 5-0! Cody is now an adorable part of our family who is spoiled rotten!I realize I am going all out of order here...it all seems so long ago!

In November, my little Madelyn turned 3! She's 3 years old already..I cant believe it! This also means we have owned our house for three years as well. (I was finalizing the contract documents while sitting in the waiting room of the hospital as she was being born!) While I didn't get to attend her birthday party, I did visit her shortly after to see her perform in her first Christmas play!At some point towards the end of 2009, Brandon and I went camping on our own. We're used to joining my parents when they go, which means they're there to cook for us, provide anything we may have forgotten, etc. This time we loaded up our car AND our two 70+lb dogs, and headed off! We had a perfect site that connected to a trail through the woods, which was perfect for Rupert and Tonka. Unfortunately, it ended up raining almost the entire time we were there. Luckily, our tent is huge and we had cable hook-ups, so it really wasn't that bad. The weather is beginning to warm up again now, so maybe we'll be able to start planning another trip soon!

In January, I won tickets through a local radio station for a concert being played here in Athens. The performance was by Elliott Yamin, a former American Idol contestant. While I wouldn't consider myself a 'fan', I do like a few of his songs that have made it to the radio. Since I had never been a concert before though, I was super excited! We spent the evening at a wonderful venue called the Melting Point, where we had dinner and enjoyed the show. More than anything, I think Brandon and I loved the building! It has all of the old, industrial type charm that we love; exposed brick walls, huge windows, duct work showing, etc. It was an excellent date night; something we really needed and enjoyed! (the music was actually really good, too!)

Perhaps the best news from the month of January is that we FINALLY finished our kitchen floors! Our house was basically new construction when we purchased it, but the floors were a very basic, vinyl sheet tile. So, when one of the naughty dogs (puppy age) caused a little tear in it, we were eager to tear it up and replace it. We bounced around all kinds of ideas- lay slate tile, stain the concrete, install hardwoods, etc- and ended up just putting it off for a year or more. We finally decided to just lay an 'upgraded' laminate tile for now..if we decide to upgrade again for selling purposes, at least it wont be damaged at all. It's so nice to not look at plain ol' concrete anymore!













Moving on to February...
For the past two years, we have taken a cruise in February as our 'annual vacation'. This year we decided to use our funds a little differently and pay off a few things, so we forfeited our trip. It was a hard decision because we have had SO MUCH FUN on our cruises, but it made the most sense. Instead, we took a last minute trip to Greenville, SC during Super Bowl weekend. We visited Greenville about a year ago and were surprised at how much we loved it! There's a great 'downtown' area with a park, rushing river, suspension bridge, and all kinds of shopping/eating/etc. We woke up one more and just decided - Lets go! - so we headed off. We ended up getting a beautiful hotel room RIGHT on the river, overlooking my FAVORITE building ever! When we were last in town, they were having an event in this old brick, open air building, right on the river. It was all lit up and had gorgeous archways..I fell in love! On this trip, we actually were able to go inside and absorb all of the old character- we both talked about how perfect it would be to get married there!
I did a little research on the building, named the Wyche Pavilion, and learned it used to be part of the Dukes Mayo factory.




It's now owned by a restaurant next door, Larkins on the River, and is rented out for special events. There's a super cute little amphitheater, waterfall, and patio area too...again, the PERFECT place!
While we were in Greenville, we went to a placed called Color Clay Cafe. Years ago, when we would visit Myrtle Beach on a regular basis, we would make a point to go to Wired and Fired, a 'paint your own pottery' place. Since we haven't been back, I was beyond ready to paint some pottery! This place in Greenville is like a little coffee shop, bakery, and pottery place all in one. We both chose to paint dog bowls; one for Rupert and one for Tonka. After we leave, they fire them and glaze them, then ship them to us. It's always so fun to see the before and after because the colors looks so different!

The dogs love eating out of them and seem to know which one is theirs!

After much anticipation, Athens GA finally got snow this year!! While the predictions varied from "flurries" to "possible 4 inches of snow", we all knew it was coming. The schools closed early and we all went home to play. Luckily this year the power stayed on!

Thanks to a coworker, I have been introduced to the world of coupons. During the past few weeks, I have been buying the paper, consulting blogs/websites, and printing coupons online. We dont spend a lot of money on groceries as it is (since neither of us really cook), but it has been nice to get $75 worth of stuff for $8. Believe it or not, you dont have to put in a lot of time..there are experts online who do all the hard work for you! My pantry is stocked and I have been able to build up supplies of things you always need at some point; deodrant, toothpaste, Lysol, etc. Here's a pic from one of my recent shopping trips (total spent, $8.72):

I think that just about sums up my past few months. I have every intention of updating on a more frequent basis! Here are a few random pictures, just for fun!