4/7 Expressions

What a day!  I stayed home and took my daughter to the doctor - she has an ear infection from some virus?  To use up the potatoes - I boiled them last night and 1/2 became a potato salad and the other 1/2 became yummy potato soup.  My husband finished our taxes "early" - they are done - just need the once over and we should mail them out Monday.  Looks like we owe the Feds and get $ back from the State.  Be on the look for Tax deals and freebies next week and the following Monday.  Already, we have scheduled - a free fondue dinner, free ice cream from Ben & Jerrys, free ice cream sundae from Maggie Moos - still waiting to see what else.  (None of this good for weight loss - but it will be eaten in moderation :)  Since I had to pick up a prescription for my daughter, I stopped at Publix with a bunch of coupons - I got a bunch of juices, etc. for $10 - and "saved" $27 with sales and coupons.  Then to Wal-mart - used my giftcard from credit card points to buy $10 in gas and picked up a free Kit Kat and my daughter used the coupon for a free Mt. Dew.  Then to Wal-mart to round out the shopping with the rest of the gift card.  Total "out of pocket" - $13 to include a DVD to watch.

4/6 Expressions

Today's mail freebie:  I redeemed free codes on Disney Rewards for a Bambi puzzle - it came today.  It will make a nice donation around the holidays - or an addition to a child's gift.  The realtor we are working with for the short sale is very frustrating to work with.  We are going to ask her to check status again and make a decision as to whether we want to withdraw our offer and look at other properties with another realtor.

4/5 Expressions

Today, I went to a training seminar for work - they served wonderful teas, coffee and soft drink - so, I didn not have to provide my own :)  Then the rental management agency called - the renter cleared their checks and has been approved to lease our property :)

4/4 Expressions

Mailbag:  Today in the mail, I got a free Banana Soy Joy bar, sample of Victoria's Secret's Bombshell, my $25 Wal-mart Giftcard (credit card point redemption), and free magazines - like Family Circle.  I took vacation time to leave work early as the weather is turning really scary - mainly - I was afraid of the hail - I do not want my car dinged-up.  And while I could be doing a whole lot of frugal things - I am just relaxing.  Oh, and not a freebie - but we got one of the NWT dresses I "won" on shopgoodwill.com - and it is gorgeous.

4/3 Expressions

This afternoon, we finally made it to Lowes with the $10 off $50 coupon.  Our lawn mower has been on its last leg for the last couple of years.  So, we thought we'd look to see what was available.  The Troy Built push mowers were marked $3XX - but there was one marked down to $160 because a front tire was slightly bent - that's the one we got with the coupon and leftover money on the Lowes Tax Refund giftcard - we still have a bit more - which I hope to use on stain.  Wouldn't you know it, another $10 off $50 coupon kicked out on the bottom of the receipt - but it expires tomorrow.  Then to Staples - for under $2 with reward coupon, we got 48 mechanical pencils and a notebook.  It is such a gorgeous day - Lowes was packed.  Oh yeah, I cashed in some mypoints for a $10 Panera gift card.

4/2 Expressions

Today was a beautiful day!  I got the grape plants planted and the veggie seeds too.  Tomorrow, I hope to plant the herb and flower seeds.  We took my daughter's adoptive grandmother to the mall and had pizza with a $5 off $10 coupon and then watch "Red Riding Hood" at matinee prices.  We had a nice time. Tomorrow, we plan to make lunch for the recuperating relative and have a homemade lunch there.  Oh, my daughter's adoptive grandmother made her a nice tin of bon-bons.  My daughter offered some to us - they were wonderful - bad for losing weight - but I savored one anyway :)

4/1 Expressions

Happy April Fool's Day :)  Sad news is, I was hoping our vacant rental would be rented today - but, the realtor said she doesn't have an application yet - she said she has been showing it and expects one soon.  For much brighter news - and I hope I don't jinx it, the stock market has a nice jump this morning.  The short sale realtor said we should hear something today - we shall see.  We are seriously considering withdrawing our offer.  We are wondering if the bank is seriously considering our offer - because the last offer we made - the bank countered and we walked.  My husband is diligently working on our taxes - generally, we do not receive a refund, so we really don't have much incentive to do them "early".  Of course it would be nice to just break even and not owe - or even get something back . . . but I am not counting on it.  This week, I am hoping to buy the minium for groceries only - I am talking about spending as little as possible because I would like to prevent food waste and eat up what we have in the fridge, freezer, and the pantry.  There's a $10 off $50 coupon at Lowe's I'd like to use in conjunction with my giftcard - so, I may go ahead and buy my stain for the cabinets today.  Since Staples is in the same complex, I am thinking of using the $10 rewards to buy back-up school supplies for my daughter - mechanical pencils and the like.  I was going to buy a few more garden items from Lowe's - but won't be.  Last night, while surfing the web, I came across and offer to buy $75 worth of Organic veggie seeds (surprise packages) for $4.99.  So, I hope to be adventurous.  This weekend, I mainly have cleaning and organizing in mind - but my daughter got a call from her adoptive grandmother . . . we may plan something with her this weekend.  She is such a sweet lady and great influence on my daughter.