Free Fresh Eggs

I've never had fresh from the farm eggs before. Usually they come all nice and packed in a carton at the grocery store. A co-worker of mine has a small farm and raises chickens for eggs. She sells the eggs for $3 a dozen and often brings them up to the office for her co-workers to buy. The demand is high for them apparently! Anyway, yesterday she brought some up. They were really small eggs, and she gave them to another co-worker. Apparently these eggs are from her Mom's chickens (Mom is out of town so these were just stacking up) and they always lay these really small ones.

Most everyone wants the larger eggs (more standard size), so she gave these away. I managed to get 9 of them. I brought them home (because I just LOVE free food and I'd been wanting to try the fresh eggs anyway). I boiled one up last night to put on my spinach salad. And OMG! Store bought eggs just don't hold a candle to the truly farm fresh, organic, cage free eggs. Wow. Just WOW.

She's made a definite believer out of me. Now to just fit a regular fix into my budget....

Finals Week

The end of the Princess's first year in college is rapidly coming to an end. Finals are this week. Historically, finals have NOT been the Princess's friend. I'm hoping she will buck that trend this time around. She's definitely taking it seriously, a bit stressed, but studying her behind off. She had to work quite a bit this weekend, but had a rare Saturday night off..... so she spent that studying. And studying some more. I've been doing my part making sure she has good food and a relaxing and stress free study environment. (Yes, I got in her room and cleaned and reorganized Saturday afternoon while she was at work).

I will also be making her a good hearty breakfast this morning.... that does NOT happen often around here. In general, neither of us are big breakfast eaters.... we tend to prefer waiting until after we've been up a couple of hours to eat anything. She requested that I make bacon and eggs this morning. Before work. Ugh. But I shall do so.... with a smile on my face. Or a semi-smile. It is still way early.

So wish her luck!!! And me too.... finals week still stresses me out!!!

Huge Grocery Shopping Without A Huge Bill

I had managed to go a full two weeks without doing a "big" grocery shopping. I had been to Publix, but that was really just for deal shopping, so we were really runing low on stuff. This was actually probably the most I ever spent at Aldi in a single trip, but still WAY less than I would have spent anywhere else. So, here is what I got:

1 Kitchen Garbage Bags (40 ct)
2 Pounds Tilapia Filets
1 French Bread Pizza
2 Pierogies
4 Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese (these were clearanced)
1 Bagged Spinach
3 Pounds Chicken Breasts
2 Flour Tortillas
Pears
1 Shredded Cheddar
1 Turkey Bacon
1 Ham Lunch Meat
1 Sweet Peas
2 French Cut Green Beans
2 Dog Biscuits
2 Light Sour Cream
1 "Slim Fast" 4 Pack
2 Wheat Thins
1 Slivered Almonds
1 Deli Cheese
1 Parmesan Chese
1 Margarine
1 Dozen Eggs
1 Pesto Sauce
Bananas
Sweet Potatoes
1 Risotto
2 Diet Cranberry Juice
1 1/2 Gallon Milk
1 Protein Bars
2 Tomato Soup
1 Tortilla Chips

Spent: $85.98 (YIKES!)

Our New Favorite Game

The new favorite game around here is "Keep The Stick Away From Mom". It consists of me picking up a stick and throwing it. Thing 2 then goes to retrieve it. Then Thing 2 runs back to me. And then past me. Then all over the yard, stopping sometimes to chew it up. And then runs around some more.

This is what happens when I finally get the stick back:

Doesn't happen often!!!! Have a Happy Wednesday!!!!!

I'm Whooped

It seems I've been playing catch-up in the yard since Spring started busting out all over. Usually, in January and February, when we have nice days, I get stuff done in the yard in preparation for Spring. With my Mom's accident, that didn't happen this year as all of the "nice" weekend days were spent helping her. So, my yard has been a mess. Flowers are struggling to get up amid weeds that have just taken OVER.

Most of this weekend has been spent cutting grass, weeding, weedeating, transplanting, pruning.... oh, and killing a couple of snakes. Normally, I'm a live and let live kind of girl, however, when that first snake reared its ugly head.... I went into full screaming girl mode, and well, I won that round. My neighbor came running across the street to see what was wrong. I have to admit, that it wasn't a poisonous snake (at least according to my neighbor), but I wasn't going to wait and find out. He told me to yell for him if I came across another and he'd take care of it (without killing it).

Well, lo and behold, I came across another.... and I wasn't sure if it was the same kind as the first. So I screamed again.... and hollered.... and did a OMGI'mfreakingout dance. But my neighbor didn't come running. So, the second snake met the same sad fate as the first. I feel a bit guilty, but since a much larger version found its way into my kitchen last year and GOT AWAY...... well, I just don't have warm fuzzy feelings about those slithering critters.

On the bright side though --- I got a LOT done. I've got sore muscles, sore hands and numerous scratches, bumps and bruises. All in all, a GREAT weekend.  Hopefully I can do a full press again next weekend and have it really shining when EVERYTHING starts blooming next month. How was YOUR weekend?

Finally Getting Back To It

The past week has been really busy and then not so busy.... I had a couple of old friends come into town, so I spent some time with them.... and then I got sick. So I've been pretty tied up in one way or another. Yesterday, I finally got back into a rhythm. Got a ton of yardwork done, and then managed to get some grocery shopping done. I must admit that I am woefully behind on my coupon clipping, however, I did manage to get some pretty good deals yesterday, thanks to Publix Store Coupons combined with their sales and a few manufacturers coupons. So, here is what I picked up there:

2 12 Pack Angel Soft Double Roll Toilet Tissue
2 Skintimate Shave Gels (20% More Bonus Size)
4 Yoplait Greek Yogurt (I usually get my Greek Yogurt at Aldi for .89, but coupons doubled at Publix made these .75 each even without a sale price)
1 Bic Soleil Razor (+2 Bonus Pack)
2 16 oz Kraft Cheese

Spent: $24.86
Saved: $23.09 or 48%

And, actually, I saved an additional .54 in sales tax thanks to $6 worth of Publix Store Coupons, because for some reason that I do not understand, sales tax is NOT charged on the the portion of the products covered by Store Coupons. I don't understand why not, but I'll take it!

54% at Publix

This is the first time in ages I've made it to Publix to get the Penny Item on Wednesday -- and it was a good day for it because the Penny Item was the Publix Deluxe Mac & Cheese. That always goes over bit around here. This wasn't a huge shopping for me, but I did fill in some gaps we needed. And by the way, this was the first time we tried the Velveeta Skillets --- not a fan.... I was very disappointed considering how much they cost --- thank GOODNESS I waited for a BOGO sale with a coupon as I really was NOT impressed.

Anyway, this is what I picked up:

1 4 Pack Slim Fast
2 Kraft Fresh Takes
1 Publix Cheesy Deluxe (Penny Item)
1 Finish Dishwasher Detergent
2 Velveeta Cheesy Skillets
3 International Delight Coffee Creamer
2 Ken's Salad Dressings
5 Campbell's Soup

Spent: $24.29
Saved: $28.18 or 54%

All Is Well

The storms that came through yesterday afternoon, weren't pretty. A lot of house rattling thunder, a ton of rain, but by the time they got to us.... well, they weren't packing the punch that they had in Mississippi. For that, I am grateful.

I am a wee bit embarrassed to have left work early for what amounted to a big thunderstorm, but I'm also happy that I didn't have to drive home in it. I do get concerned though that with big huge buildup for storms that end up being not much, we will become less vigilant when the big ones really do come through. That can be dangerous. But I guess each person needs to be responsible for their own vigilance in those times.

So, back to work for me today, with a great big "YEA!" that this storm was NOTHING like almost two years ago.

It Is April In Alabama.....

And that means severe weather, and quite possibly tornadoes. And today looks to be a day for them.
I don't think we will see anything quite like we did back on April 27, 2011 , but as an Alabamian, you can't help but feel uneasy when they start warning about the weather several days in advance.

It is just after 2 pm, and all of the local schools have already let out for the day. The Princess is at home, as her school suspended classes at 1... and she had Biology at 1 (I know she's heartbroken... not). My office is basically a ghost town as everyone with school aged children have already left to be home with them. As for me, I'm supposed to be here til five.  But I really don't want to get caught driving home in what looks to be some horrible weather. Possible tornadoes, straight line winds, tons of rain, hail, lightning, thunder, etc., etc..... this particular system has already played havoc in more western areas of the country.

So, here I sit watching the radar, and praying that today does not end up like that horrible day back in 2011. Wish us luck.

Saving Again At Publix

This particular grocery shopping took me way too long based on how much I got -- AND I took a really blurry picture! Oh Well, it is what it is. So, this defnitely isn't my best every trip, but it will work. Here is what I got:

1 Cheeze-It
1 Slim Fast 4 Pack
1 Diana's Babies Frozen Chocolate Covered Bananas
2 Publix 2 Liter Soft Drinks
2 Glade Candles
2 Crystal Light
2 Yoplait Yogurt
3 Beech Nut Baby Food
1 Nectresse Sweetener Packets
1 Duncan Hines Frosting Creations Flavor Packet
2 Playtex Tampons
1 Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice
2 Shout Laundry Pre-Treater

Spent: $37.28
Saved: $31.89 or 47%

 

I Caved Way Too Early

I blame it on sleeplessness. Or just being hot. Or not thinking well at half past midnight. But, last night I woke up and was miserably hot. I tried to ignore it, but couldn't go back to sleep. I got up and looked at the thermostat. It was 76 in the house. I caved. I flipped the AC on. And bumped it down to kick on.

I crawled back into bed and slept EVER so much better. I'll be stronger tonight. I hope.

How I Spent My Saturday

About six years I went through a class with our local police deparment called Citizens Police Academy. Basically, it was a once a week for twelve weeks class that gave us an "inside" look at what goes on with our local PD, in our town and what "really" happens --- outside of what you see on TV. It covered everything from finances to forensics, narcotics to DUI, tactical team to cybercrime, "routine" traffic stops (sometimes, there ain't no such thing) to firearms. It was well worth the time it took and the cost? Well, it was free!!!! I really enjoyed the class and ended up becoming an active member of the alumni organization.

We meet once a month for continuing ed and serve in a volunteer capacity for the Police Deparment at different community events throughout the year. Every few months, a new class goes through the program, and one of the most anticipated classes is "Range Day". As alums, we get to also go and participate. We shoot a variety of firearms all under the watchful eye of EXCELLENT instructors who put safety and respect for guns first at all times.

In the pic above I'm shooting a M16, but I also shot a MP5, a Glock 40 and a 12 Gauge Shotgun. The bruise I have from the recoil of the shotgun is not likely to go away anytime soon. And honestly, that gun was too big and too heavy for me to handle with any real accuracy. I handled the others a LOT better.

Anyway, that's how I spent the most gorgeous Saturday of the year so far. What did you do?

Publix Shopping For The Week

This was a pretty quick trip to Publix --- I had to pick up a bottle of wine because that was my contribution for a family dinner! (Love it when its that easy!) So, I picked up some other things too.
I had some good coupons, but some stuff just wasn't on a great sale.... oh well.

So, here is what I got:

2 International Delight Coffee Creamers
4 Rondele Garclic Cheese
1 Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice
2 Campbells Soup
1 Lysol Cleaner
1 Duncan Hines Frosting Creations Frosting
1 Duncan Hines Frosting Creations Flavoring
1 Chobani Greek Yogurt
1 Slim Fast 4 Pack
1 Quaker Oatmeal
2 Duncan Hines Cake Mix
1 Pam Cooking Spray
2 Kraft Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese
1 Ragu Alfredo Sauce
Wine

Spent: $ 42.50
Saved $40.31 or 49% - Not bad considering the vino!

Just Chilling Out Tonight

Think she wants something?????

Y'all have a fabulous night!

Aldi This Week

When times get hectic and my coupon shopping starts slacking off -- thank GOODNESS I've got Aldi to keep my grocery budget under control. I went in this weekend and picket up a few groceries to get us through:

1 Red Pepper/Tomato Soup
1 Cheese Sandwich Crackers
2 Lucky Charms Cereal Bars
2 Cream Cheese
Sweet Potatoes
Bananas
1 Family Size Tomato Soup
4 Veggie Pasta
1 Cream of Potato Soup
1 Italian Diced Tomatoes
1 Vitality Cereal Bar
1 "Tastes Like Butter" Tub
3 Light Alfredo Sauces
1 Mozzarella
Asparagus
2 Thin Wheat Crackers
Milk
1 Raspberry Sherbet

Spent: $35.52