Mamavation Monday 2/28

Wow last Monday of February. I can't believe time has flown so far this year.

No weight loss to report, it's been staying within the same range, mainly because I've not scheduled some time for me to work out very much lately. But I'm reworking my schedule to add all of my new responsiblities so that I can get more workouts in. We are getting a treadmill soon (as soon as the tax refund comes in) so it will be a lot easier. Nap time (time which is usually set aside for working out) have not been working out.

That's all for this week. Hopefully next week I can report at least some loss :)

Valentine's Day has gone

And thank goodness for that. I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day. Haven't been in quite a while. It used to be because I spent so many years alone on the holiday. But then I realized that it's just a stupid holiday that business' such as Walmart, Pro Flowers, Hallmark try to use so that people will spend money to show their affection towards someone else. (Can you see that I was bitter because I didn't receive a Valentine for many years). And I still hold true to the fact. Plus it costs money that plenty of people in today's economy do not have. If you want to tell/show someone you love them, why not do it every day. Why not do it in inexpensive ways? Don't feel like you have to be forced into buying a bunch of pink/red items to tell someone you care about them one day a year, just do it every day.

As I talked with my dear friend on last Thursday's show of Enlisted Spouse Radio about this topic, she mentioned to me about a couple that does a check up of sorts on their marriage for Valentine's Day. I thought this was a wonderful idea. Taking an assessment of how things are going with your relationship would be a great way to see how you both feel about things, and to see if there are areas that need improving. While yes, it is hard to talk about things in a relationship at times, wouldn't it be great to 'look under the hood' and make sure that everything is running smoothly, and if not discuss ways to try to fix it? I know that is something I am working towards. I'm finally going to read Red Hot Monogamy by Bill and Pam Farrel. (I've had the book for years, so I might as well read it). Maybe that can be the maintance for our marriage this year.

But all in all, while I may not be a fan of Valentine's Day, it's still a holiday that many people choose to celebrate. It may help some people to say what they can't say at any other time. I, personally, am not a fan of pink or red, so I really hate going to the store and seeing the colors and look forward to when it's over and Spring and Easter stuff arrive. But I hope that you had a wonderful day with your significant other (if they were home) or that you were told how loved and treasured you are.

My Super Doubles Harris Teeter trip

So this week is Harris Teeter's Super Doubles That means they will double a coupon up to $1.98. So a $1.50 coupon become $3.00. YAY. Here's how my trip went today (for the most part).

Hamburger Helpers 10 for $10. I bought 3, had a coupon for $.75 off 3, so it was $1.50 off 3. I got one and a half for free.
Betty Crocker Potatoes 5 for $5. I bought 4, had coupons for $.50 off two, so it was $1 off 2, so I got 2 for free.
Macaroni Grill box meals 2 for $7. I had a $1 off coupon, so it was $5 for both.
Multi-Grain Cheerios 2 for $5. I had a $.75 off one coupon so it was $1.50 off one box, so it was $1 for the box.
Golden Grams 3 for $6. I had two coupons for $.50 off one. so it was $1 off each. So each box was $1 a box.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch 2 for $5. Had a $.55 off one, so it was $1.10 off  or $1.40 per box.
Totinos Pizza 3 for $5 or $1.67 each. Had a coupon for $.75 off two which was $1.50 off 2, making one of them $.17.
Green Giant veggies 10 for $10. Had a coupon for $1 off 5 to make it $2 off 5, so 2 of them were free.
Activia Yogart 2 for $4. I had coupons for $1 off one, which made it $2 off one, so both were free.
Totinos Pizza Rolls. They were $2.19 each, B2G3 free. I had a coupon for $.40 off two. So they were $.71 each. or $3.58 for all 5.
Ken's Marinade. It was regular price $3.35. I had $1 off coupon which meant $2 off or $1.35.  (I've never tried them but we like to marinade chicken so we'll see. )
Harris Teeter Cheese $2.65 each. B1G1 Free. So it was $1.32 each.
Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls. $2.29. Had a coupon for a free one.
HT soda 5 for $4, I bought 2.

Also they have a special if you purchase 20 items from Betty Crocker/General Mills and you get $6 off instantly.

Total spent $27.73. Saved $73.65.  My total purchase was $101.38, so a savings of 73%. OMG My best one yet. YAY.

Mamavation Monday 2/7

Well it's the day after the Super Bowl.... How did you do? It wasn't the greatest day for me since I had a pretty big lunch (including rolls) but it was better than I thought.

So this past week started out great. I was on track for two days with the Biggest Loser Challenge on Wii, but then I got side tracked since lil D had class and then storytime and then other things came up. But we did get out and walk, but I didn't do as well as I had hoped when I started off strong early in the week. But that week is over, time to focus on this week and the plans that we have.

Our menu plan is going into another overhaul. I've been reading some books about meal planning (and related shopping/couponing ideas) so we are going to add those. Plus I'm getting my menu plan into a Google Document so I can post it and people can see it. Maybe that will keep me accountable. Today is supposed to be the warmest day of the week so hopefully we'll get out to the park and walk out some of our winter blues. And this week I'm planning on walking every day with Biggest Loser, while Lil D plays with his toys (I can make a space in our kitchen and work out there hopefully so that it doesn't get in his way, or he in mine.)

So this week's blogging carnival is sponsored by Chef's Requested. I love their products. We made some of their 100 calorie steaks for dinner a few weeks ago, and they were wonderful. They are sponsoring the carnival and they are even having a Twitter Party on 2/10 with Bookieboo herself. So make sure to stop by Mamavation's website to get all the info.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful week this week. And Congrats to our Moms who have made it through week 3. You ladies rock!! See ya'll on Twitter.

RED movie review

Ok so I am a huge fan of Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman, so to see them in a movie together was wonderful. And throw in Mary Louise Parker you can't go wrong. We watched the movie RED the other day and I laughed my butt off. It was great.



With lots of action and lots of comedy, it was a great movie to watch. The premise is

Frank (Willis) is a former black-ops CIA agent living a quiet life alone... until the day a hit squad shows up to kill him. With his identity compromised, Frank reassembles his old team Joe (Freeman), Marvin (Malkovich) and Victoria (Mirren) and sets out to prove that they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Stand back and watch the bullets fly in this explosive action-comedy that critics call a rip-roaring good time. (taken from Amazon.com)

Helen Mirren kicks major butt with a gun, a nice white dress and some combat boots. She is truly an amazing actress and can pull of any role that is given to her. John Malkovich is a great comedy relief as Marvin, a retired agent who has a fear of 'wires' and knows the government is out to get him (even if they are or aren't).  I don't want to give too much a way, but if you like some action with a good splash of laughter, this is a great movie for you. Red (which stands for Retired: Extremely Dangerous) has violent scenes and is not suitable for all ages. But I had to get a laugh at the amount of bullets that they used. And when wonder where all of the high spending goes.... over use of bullets. J/K (well I don't really know lol)

Budget oh budget

Not one of the words that I'm sure plenty of us like to hear, but it's such an important thing. When you have one income, or even when you have two incomes, you really need to budget. I was very bad with my money before I met my husband. I would go out to eat all the time, and just waste money on food. But when you have a family and a small income you have to set priorities and make sure things are paid. We had a large amount of debt to clear up and I'm happy to say that it's almost all paid (minus my student loans for 5 years of college which once we get everything else paid those will be paid on again). It wasn't easy but it was doable.

I've learned that we have to write everything down so we can see where our money is going and make changes where needed. We went out for lunch one day and we weren't able to complete the purchase because we had no money in our account. (We don't have any credit cards because of our past debt problems so our bank account is the only source of money). From that point on I started tracking where everything went and how much we had so that we wouldn't let that happen again. It's been going great and we've not had any more problems like that since. But we see that we did spend on things that weren't needs, like going out to eat several times a week when we would go to the grocery store and spend upwards of $100. So that has came down. Like I said in my other post, we did get rid of cable for the time being, and may revisit that once again. But it is not a need. Paying our bills, getting out of debt, and buying needs like food and clothing became our priority and building up a savings. We have big dreams for our new house, and that of course takes money. So every little bit we have going toward that end.  I will be posting more about this topic (since my wonderful friend has encouraged me to do so) and I hope to share with you more about our budget and what we do to live with what we have.

The Portable Pediatrician ~Giveaway

The Portable Pediatrician

By: William M.D., Martha Sears R.N., Robert M.D., James Sears, M.D., Peter Sears M.D.

Imagine you are up at three o'clock in the morning with a sick child. Wouldn't it be nice to have expert advice readily at hand to help get you through the night? Encyclopedic in scope, THE PORTABLE PEDIATRICIAN features timely and practical information on every childhood illness and emergency, including when to call the doctor, what reassuring signs can help you know your child is okay, how to treat your child at home, and much more-all in a convenient A-to-Z format. Among the scores of topics covered:

teething; sprains and broken bones; nosebleeds; measles; ear infections; choking; rashes; colic; headaches; eating disorders; fever; hip pain; warts; allergies; obesity; seizures; Asperger's Syndrome; bronchitis; masturbation; sunburns; pneumonia; speech delay; lice; vomiting; asthma; heart defects; blisters; sleep problems; and more.

The Searses guide parents and caregivers from a child's infancy through the teen years, teaching them what to expect at regular checkups as well as how to boost a child's well-being, devise a family health plan, work effectively with their pediatrician, and more. Distinguished by the Searses' trademark comprehensiveness, reliability, and accessible, comforting one, this book is a must-have for all families who want to keep their children healthy and happy.

Giveaway information:

-I have one copy for giveaway
-Only residents of the U.S. or Canada are eligible to win
-No P.O. Boxes, please.
-Winners will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if they win the same title in two or more contests, they will receive only one copy of the title (or one set in the case of grouped giveaways) in the mail. 

Ways to enter(leave a comment for each entry):

 Follow me on Twitter
Become a fan of my blog on Facebook
Follow me on Google Friend Connect
 Follow me by Network Blogs. 

Tweet about this giveaway and link back to this post.

Giveaway will end February 19, 2011.

Disclaimer: I have not yet reviewed this book but I am hosting this giveaway from Hachette Book Group, who will provide the winner with their copy of the book.