Less Bookworm, more bookparasite...

I get to out-nerd a nerd :)

Keely over at The Un-Mom just tagged me with a little 'Bookworm' meme. The rules are:

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 56.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next two to five sentences.
5. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book or the intellectual one. Pick the Closest.
6. Tag five people to do the same.

I had a similar problem to Keely's....most of the books within close range are of the Sandra Boynton/Dr. Seuss ilk...not really long enough to earn a place in this game. And yes, the only adult readables within grabbing distance of my perch on the sofa are...drum roll....graphic novels. Nerds 'R' Us, folks.

Anyway, here's my contribution...don't ask me "Y" ;)

"You can call me V.
The Lord is my Shepherd, therefore I can lack nothing: He shall feed me in green pasture and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort"
"Phone Bunny Etheridge. Get him out of bed. And whatsizname at the Finger."

And for this little adventure, I'll tag the following folks...
Kadi at Womb at the InnSane
Jen at Cheaper than Therapy
Lydia at On the Verge
Kelly at The Neurotic Mom
Tena at Punky Monkey's

Menu Plan Monday - Dec 1st

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanskgiving...and for those who braved the Black Friday crowds, I hope you escaped with all of your appendages still attached.

We're doing really well sticking to the menu - this past week was easy because there were so many nights we planned for leftovers or eating somewhere other than home. But all of the recipes were successful, especially the Oatmeal-Cornflake cookies...I ended up baking SIX batches before the week was done. I scored some cranberries on sale and chopped two cups of those in the food processor for some of the cookies - they didn't add a lot of flavor but made them look VERY Christmasy! I was thinking chopped dates and nuts might be pretty good too...

Here's our plan for the week - don't forget to visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for more inspiration and to post your own menu! Also - I've added a MPM calendar in my sidebar - let me know what you think!

monday - Leftovers night - free!

tuesday - Autumn Chowder, homemade rolls ($4.85 for 6 servings)

wednesday - Homemade Hawaiian pizza (with pineapple and bacon) ($3.74 for 8 servings)

thursday - Slow cooker chicken and dumplings using these biscuits for the dumplings ($3.16 for 6 servings)

friday - Ham and cheese oven omelette using this recipe and leftover ham, toast ($3.15 for 6 servings)

saturday - Chicken leg quarters from this sale with Italian dressing marinade, veggie, rice ($4.23 for 4 servings)

sunday - Dinner at the in-laws! Free night!

Shaw's Deals

If you live near a Shaw's, this week is a GREAT week to stock up your freezer! Shaw's is running a two day meat sale on Sunday and Monday only...I'm planning on being there when they open, as the flyer states "while quantities last", which means they won't do rainchecks if they run out. Here's my game plan:

Fresh Chicken leg quarters - $0.49/lb - 3 pound packages, I will be picking up 4 packages.

Shaw's fresh Italian sausages - $1.99/lb - usually in 1 pound packages. I still have 3 pounds from the last time I bought at this price, so I'll probably only get 3 more.

Shaw's 80% lean ground beef - $1.99/lb - any size package. I haven't seen it at this price in a long while so I will probably pick up 8 pounds. Some will be made into burgers, some will be browned and frozen, and some I will put into meatloaf-sized portions.

Eye Round Roast - Buy One get one free - Whether I buy or not will depend on the price. If it's more than $5 per pound at regular price, it's more than I'm willing to pay. I'd love to see these in $5 roast sizes, then I will definitely buy two!

They are also running a promotion where you spend $20 on selected P&G products, and get a $5 catalina off your next purchase plus 5 free Redbox rentals - a total $10 value! This is a great way to use up the last of your P&G coupons from the November insert that will be expiring on Sunday. Just a few examples:

Dunkin Donuts coffee - $5.99 per bag, use $2.00 off 2 P&G coupon
Folgers Coffee - $5.99 per canister, use $1.00 off 2 P&G coupon
Crest Pro Health Rinse - 2/$7 - use two $1.00 off 1 any Crest Rinse P&G coupon
Herbal Essences hair care - Buy one get one free - use $2 off 2 P&G coupon
Puffs Ultra facial tissue - 5/$5 - use $1 off 3 P&G coupon

Head over to CouponMom to see the actual discount amounts and applicable coupons!

I've been buzzed!

Erin over at The Mom Buzz gave me a fly-by today! If you haven't checked her site out - you are missing the party...she does great reviews and giveaways, and she highlights awesome mom blogs...I'm honored to have been considered "Buzzworthy". Thanks Erin!

She reminded me of something though...I finally found some archived copies of my "Bricklaying" series, and I will be re-posting those over the next few weeks, along with a few other key posts from the old site that I managed to recover. So keep watching! And as always, if you have questions or suggestions just drop me a line :)

Black Friday at CVS

I don't usually do anything with Black Friday shopping, I just don't have the patience for the mad rush of it all. But CVS's Black Friday sale started ON Thanksgiving, and there happened to be a 24 hour CVS on the way home from my Dad's house, so I figured I'd see what I could do. I was pretty proud - I knew what I'd buy but didn't really plan out the transactions until I got to the register!

Here's how the transactions went down:

Transaction #1
1 Energizer Max 16 pack AA batteries $10
1 Energizer Max 16 pack AAA batteries $10
1 20 oz Pepsi $1.59 (hubby was thirsty and waiting patiently in the car!)
used: $5/$25 coupon - the kid at the register put it through even though I didn't quite make $25
used: $6.98 ECB's
Total OOP: $10.06--Total ECBs $10.00

Transaction #2
1 Aussie shampoo $2.99
1 Aussie conditioner $2.99
2 BIC Soleil razors $5.99 each
used 1 Aussie coupon $1.00
used 2 Bic Soleil coupons $3.00 each
Used $10 ECBs
Total OOP: $1.01--Total ECBs $17.96 (11.98 from the razors, $5.98 from the Aussie products)

Transaction #3
1 Cover Girl Smoothers Pressed Powder $5.99
1 Cover Girl Smoothers foundation $7.99
1 Garnier Nutritioniste cleansing towelettes $5.99
2 Hershey bars 2/$1.00
used 2 Cover Girl coupons $1.00 each
used 1 Garnier skincare coupon $1.00
Used $17.96 ECBs
Total OOP would have been $0.01 but the kid at the register was so excited for me, he grabbed a penny out of the give one, take one dish---Total ECB's $19.97

Grand Total OOP: $11.07
Total saved: $59.72
ECBs to roll over $19.96
Total profit - $8.89

I could have done even better, I had a couple of Energizer coupons at home that were on the kitchen table instead of in my binder, and I only had 1 Aussie coupon because I didn't buy an extra paper that week. This sale runs through Saturday, and then we're into the new sales flyer and December ECB deals!! Yay!

MomDot Blog Party - Day 10

It's DAY TEN at the MomDot Blog Party! Today is brought to you by Organic Blankees (Natural fiber blankets - even couch size!), Huddy Buddy (Sweet tees for the kiddos), and BabyLegs (I LOVE THESE!!! Leg/arm warmers in awesome designs!)

Yeah yeah, I know...I skipped Day 9. I never really got any weird gifts and I've been lucky enough to never have to regift anything (except when we would do Yankee swaps, where regifting is Standard Operating Procedure...Billy the Big Mouth Bass has made many an appearance). So I'm starting up again with today's question:

Day 10: Do you decorate for the Holidays? Do you have a themed Christmas tree? Share pics! Do you think there is such a thing as OVER decorating?

I mentioned my unhealthy addiction to Christmas in my first blog party post. So asking me if I decorate for Christmas is like asking Martha Stewart if she can do something useful in the kitchen. Duh. By next week this time, the Christmas tree will be in its rightful place, and I will be plotting the ideal placement for the miles of lights, garland and other foofery that adorns my house this time of year.

Since we live in an apartment, I haven't yet graduated to the level of lawn displays and outdoor lights, but I make the most of what I've got. Every room has a touch of Christmas to it. I have a village, a manger, and a trio of Santa-head mugs that belonged to my mom. Every Christmas card we get finds a home along the archway between our living and dining room. And everyone - yes, EVERYONE - gets a santa hat.

We definitely don't have a themed tree - someday I would love to do that, but I have so many ideas for trees I'd need a LOT more room to put them up!!! Our decorations range from homemade ornaments from my and my husband's elementary school days, to commemorative ornaments (anniversaries, baby's first, yearly keepsakes), to goofy stuff that only has meaning to us (we have a slave Leia on the tree. 'Nuff said.) I like it that way though - looking at our tree is really a window into our family and our personalities!

Do I think decorating can go overboard? Of course I do. If you can't walk through your yard without tripping over a plastic glowing statue....if your house can be positively identified from space...if tiptoeing through your living room threatens to cause an avalanche of figurines, stuffies, and/or village houses...if your house is so decorated that the color red is actually burned into your retinas...if you are finding fake snow in your underwear....

Other than that, you're good! :)

Black Friday starts early at Amazon!

You read that correctly - Amazon.com is starting its Black Friday specials early!!! Just visit their special Black Friday sale page and start raking in the goods!

They will also be featuring special Gold Box hourly deals from midnight to 11PM PST so check back often!