Great buys at Walgreens

So I admit, I am addicted to Walgreens. Is there a 12 step program that I can attend? We live about 30 minutes from Walgreens- well, we live about 3o minutes away from any of the big stores. Today I gathered up my coupons and register rewards and found some good deals!

Tuff drawstring garbage bags 2.50
Goody elastic hair bands 2.99 and you get a 2.00 Register Reward
Rimmel nail polish 40% off, making it 2.09 plus I had a 1.00 coupon
Reach toothbrushes 99 cents with in ad coupon, but I also had a 3.00/3 coupon making these FREE!

I love having awesome cashiers that are coupon friendly! There are 2 at this particular store that let me do multiple transactions without getting huffy. They even help me go thru my stacks of register rewards to help keep my out of pocket low. Today I split my items up into 2 transactions. I was distracted and really not thinking. Had I split them up into 3 or 4 transactions my cost would have only been a few dollars. I spent 4.xx on the first transaction and got a $2 RR, then the second was $6.22! I never spend that much, and the cashier noticed and asked if i had more coupons. haha! She must know me pretty well! But the machine did spit out a $2 RR so I still did ok. I did go back through the line and buy 6 more toothbrushes and 2 rice krispie treats for a total of about 1.50. Overall, I got 9 toothbrushes for FREE with the coupons.
Walgreens has some great deals if you are a couponer. I love reading about the great finds that others discover! My stockpile is huge mostly in part due to the Walgreens deals. I am always getting free shampoo , razors, toothpaste, toothbrushes, bar soap, and feminine products. I can't believe that I used to pay full price for this stuff and not even think twice about it. Now, I almost hardly ever pay full price for health and beauty stuff, and when I do, I am always wondering if I could get it cheaper somewhere else. I guess that is just the mentality of a couponer.
Friends, if you are reading this....don't be surprised when I start passing off my great finds to you! My stockpile is growing out of control, and so you might be getting some of these items for your birthdays or holiday gifts !

Yikes!

Ok, so I have to admit that I am the worst blogger ever! I guess time has just gotten away from me and I just now realized that it has been 2 months since I last posted. BAD BAD Blogger! Please forgive me!
So not much new has been going on. It is still summer time and it has been pretty warm here.

My garden has grown a ton. I have grown a few mammoth sized zucchini. My plant gave birth to a hefty 4 lb 7 ounce baby! It was about 2 feet long! It was huge. I kept it on the counter for a few days so that I could decide what to use it for. I kept it mainly for home protection. I figured that if we had an intruder, I could grab the beast and use it as a baseball bat. Or, I could use it as a shield to protect myself! I ended up turning that gigantic thing into 10 cups of shreds and stuck them in the freezer so that I could use them later on for breads and treats. If it wasn't so late, and so dark, I would snag a picture to post. Someone leave me a comment and remind me to post that picture!

How is your summer going? Anything new and exciting happening? August is almost over, and September looks like it will be a busy month! We have birthdays to celebrate, a sorority convention to plan and host, my aunt visiting from California, and then a wedding to attend on the coast. Did I mention I turn the big 3-0 also? YIKES!!!

What have I been up to?

I know it has been a while since I last posted. Everything is going fine, just that life has gotten busy and my time at the computer occupied with studying or mindless wandering.



The weather has been hot, and the garden has grown a ton! I picked some more lettuce, and I was able to get 4 cups of basil leaves. They turned into a wonderful pesto sauce!! I can't wait until the plants produce enough leaves for more. I will post pictures of the garden later this week after I pull the weeds around the beds. I don't want to show you all how lazy I have gotten with the chore of pulling weeds.


As for the inside of our house, I decided that I didn't like to look of the pantry. It is not very big, but as you can see it is a big cluttered mess! It looks like a bunch of junk. Medicine, spices, snacks, pans, and yes, 3 cans of Febreeze and a can of Lysol. Also found some cup of noodles, popcorn, packing tape, dice, shot glass, movie money, and on and on. Here is the before shot:



I cleaned up all of the shelves, and did some MAJOR organization. I was able to get rid of a bunch of junk. Even after making things look organized, I wanted a way to hide it all. It just looks sloppy. I had some leftover curtain rods, and an odd sized long curtain (only 1) leftover from a couple of moves ago. I think it does this kitchen well. What do you think?

Home again Home again

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Long Beach, WA. The weather was decent, no rain, and a little bit of blue sky! You can't ask for more when you are on the coast. We spent one morning checking out 2 old litehouses.
We also hiked down into Dead Man's Cove. The name is kinda scary for such a beautiful place Do you think it looks scary? I don't It was so pretty!
We ate a lot of ice cream, visited with Brad's family, and spent time exploring. There are so many things to do while in Washington state, and we have only seen a few! Hopefully this summer we can go back to the beach and check out the things that we missed, like the cranberry bogs and the kite museum.
My garden is doing good. I will post more pictures soon, once I start getting some tomaters. I seriously need to do some yardowork before I take more pictures. The weeds and goatheads are out of control!!
For those that follow my blog (yes, I know there are only 3 of you :) ), what is your favorite thing to do at the beach, or favorite places at the beach to check out?

I'm back, but not for long.

I got back from my trip to California last nite. I drove down- it takes anywhere from 10-11 hours depending on how many times you stop to get gas and eat. I had a good visit with my aunt and my grandma. I met some interesting people in the nursing home. Heard my grama tell the aide to "tell the old bag to shut it". She was irritated with her roomate that depends ALL of your attention. I saw a turtle cross the highway, I ran over a snake, and saw an old tree covered with hundreds of shoes along the highway in Oregon. I really could get used to having someone pump my gas for me, but I don't think I will move to Oregon just for that.
We are leaving for Long Beach tomorrow, so I won't be on here much. I will try to sneak some pictures in of the trips when I get home! Have a safe and happy weekend!

Garden pics

Here are a few pics of my raised bed garden. Everything is slow to grow- except for the lettuce. I have to pick it every other day or else it just goes wild! Good thing we like salads! We had some cold weather last nite, so I am hoping that the tomatoes weren't harmed. I guess I will find out this summer when I have a plant with no tomaters growing on it. 

These planter boxes were easy and inexpensive to make. We used cedar fence panels from Home Depot (less than $2 a panel). If I had to guess, I would say the wood and materials for the 4 boxes were less than $20 total. Pretty cheap. The dirt, not so cheap. I did buy everything at different times, and I didn't keep track of the cost. But I do know that we will be able to reuse the soil and only have to add a little bit more next time we plant. I would bet that I have way more money invested into this project than we will ever get out of it. Good thing we aren't doing it to save money- I want fresh veggies right outside of my door. I want to be able to share with others, or try growing something that I might not normally eat.

From left to right we have celery and zucchini, mixed peppers ( jalapeno, green, and sweet colored peppers), tomatoes, basil, lettuce, and onions and garlic. I can't wait for the garlic. I am planning on roasting it in the oven and using it for spreads and dips. Or, I may just eat it plain with some bread. :)

I <3 the crockpot!

Here is a little something that I whipped up for dinner tonight. If you like a dinner that doesn't take a lot of time or thought, this is the recipe for you! This makes enough for 2 people for dinner, with some leftovers.

Honey Crockpot Ribs

2-3 lbs boneless country style pork ribs (or whatever other kind you like)

1 small onion, sliced thin

1 cup bbq sauce

1/3 cup honey

a few drops of hot sauce

Spray the inside of your crock pot with Pam spray. This helps when you have to clean it up after dinner!

Spread the meat out . Top with the sliced onions. 

Mix the honey, bbq sauce, and a few drops of hot sauce ( we used Tabasco) in a bowl. Spoon or pour over the ribs. Cover, and let cook on low for 7-9 hours. Depending on the size of your crock, it may take less time. 

These won't be spicy unless you add a ton of hot sauce. I couldn't really taste it all the last time we made them. If you use the boneless country style ribs, these will just about fall apart when you try to scoop them out. They are very tasty!