Dinner Rescue: Chick-fil-A

Last night Hubby & I were in desperate need of a dinner rescue! No, it's not because I tried a new recipe and it was awful and it wasn't because Hubby over-cooked something on the grill...we actually had a very nice dinner planned complete with filet mignon, twice-baked potatoes, green beans, and grilled bread. Seriously...yum!



However, life had different plans for us as today is the extension deadline for individuals and partnerships in regards to their 2009 tax return. So...Hubby ended up working much later than expected at the office. He called to discuss dinner options and nothing was really all that appealing. So...with Chick-Fil-A only about a 15 minute drive for me and with it being on Hubby's way home from work I decided to surprise him by just meeting him there.


Well, the surprise didn't work as well as I'd hoped because I didn't get there in time---so I ended up just telling Hubby to meet me there...he was absolutely thrilled with the idea. So...we ended up having a gourmet meal of chicken nuggets & waffle fries. Chick-Fil-A thanks for being so yummy that you made up for a missed steak & potatoes meal at home!



The night couldn't have been much better, dinner at Chick-Fil-A, a walk with Bogey, and then last week's Biggest Loser on DVR (yes, we're behind)...complete with a bowl of ice cream.

Thrifty Tuesdays

With my adventures into the world of coupons, Register Rewards, & weekly sales, I've decided to chronicle my best deals each week. I'm certainly still learning the ways of a true couponer, but this week I had some major successes!

For the best deal of the week it was a toss-up between my trip to Dillons or my trip to Walgreens. Walgreens won out simply due to overall out of pocket expenses. However, Dillons still deserves a mention. They had Philadelphia Cream Cheese on sale for $0.88 when you bought 10. With the Dillon's plus card you automatically got $5 any 10 item purchase...I also had a $5 coupon off any 5 Kraft food items. Well...that comes out to 10 free packages of cream cheese with a little bit of money left over. I had to buy a few other things including a dog bone for Bogey that conveniently didn't get put in my sack. Ughhh...I hate it when that happens. If the gas wouldn't cost me just as much as the bone I would drive back to get it...oh well!

So, now on to the big, big savings of the week! At Walgreens I was able to purchase 4 cans of Swanson chicken broth, 2 cans of Edge Shaving Cream, 2 tubes of Crest Pro Health toothpaste, 2 sticks of Right Guard Deodorant and a package of Halls Refresh cough drops for....

!!$3.61!!

With a combination of coupons, Register Rewards, & the weekly Walgreens ad I was able to save over $24.00 and I still have $1.50 left in Register Rewards for next week!

Wow! I think I'll definitely keep up with my coupon clipping...it's bound to get even better as I get more practice!

Buzz Lightyear, Mizzou Tigers, & a Twisty Baby

This weekend, like most others, was full of fun celebrations and time with friends & family. Friday started off wonderful as Hubby & I both took off work a few hours early to go and pick up the most recent addition to our backyard, another new tree...but more on that in a bit.

We got home just in time to clean up and head to a combined birthday party for Hubby's nephews, Hunter & Jackson. They both celebrate birthdays in October and with Hubby's parents living out of state it works best to just have a combined party. We had a great evening full of lots of quality time with Buzz Lightyear, Legos, & Brobi from Yo Gabba Gabba. (I tried out the collage feature in Picasa and I'm in love! It's perfect & I don't have to upload all the photos individually---you like?)

Some photos from the evening...we got Hunter some new Legos (Buzz Lightyear of course) and Jackson his first Radio Flyer scooter.

Saturday was work for me in the morning as I volunteered to work so my dad could go play golf with Hubby, his dad, & my grandpa. I think they had a great time & the weather was gorgeous! I made a trip to the grocery store with coupons in hand...I had some things that I HAD to buy and didn't have coupons but it was still a good outing!

After some time for relaxing I headed out to a baby shower for my friend Tacy. We went to high school together and she's actually 1 of 4 of my girlfriends who's expecting! She's due on Halloween and is seriously adorable! She's having a little boy & graduated from Mizzou so the shower was a tailgate party! Such a cute theme & the hostesses did a great job with everything!

She got some adorable stuff for precious Reed who will be here very soon! The picture on the top left is a group shot of the hometown friends. I'm on the far left, Jacinda is next and is due in March, Cheryl is next and due in April, Tacy--the guest of honor--, and Charity who already has 2 precious boys! Seriously, no pressure for us!

After the shower I headed back for a quick dinner with Hubby's family, followed up by more Lego construction at our house. This time Buzz's starship was on the assembly line...I even got to help to speed up the process a bit!

Today after church we planted our new tree...a Twisty Baby Locust tree. It's a decorative tree that grows in an irregular way, with twists & turns coming from all directions. It was unseasonably warm today so it was quite the job but Hubby & I worked quickly and had it in the ground and all set in no time! Bogey certainly loved the attention in the backyard & even learned to retrieve his ball from the big hole!

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing before heading to another great night at small group. After small group I had my first solo trip to Walgreens with my coupons. It was an incredibly successful week! I'll be back with some details later this week...it was a good enough trip to deserve it's own post!

34 years & counting...

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Thanks for sharing your love with us throughout the years. You give us such confidence in what true love should look like & how even after 34 years it's still romantic to take dance lessons!

Love you both!

Racking up the Savings...

Practically since Hubby & I started dating, we've discussed the fact that I don't really have a hobby. Sure, I love to read and I love to shop and I love to do all sort of other things, most of which end up costing money that I don't really feel like I should be spending. Well, as of a week ago I think I found a hobby that won't cost more than about $3 a week but will actually make us a whole lot more money than that!

Yep, I'm venturing into the world of couponing. Now, I'm fairly sure that I won't become one of those crazy (but incredibly smart) ladies who are able to get $150 in groceries for like $0.25--but since I really do enjoy shopping I figured this would be a good way to make a game of it. With some help from a high school friend & Money Saving Mom I started researching what was possible and I think I'm totally going to get the hang of this. To start, my friend recommended buying our local paper and one other paper that is available for purchase locally which is from a larger metro area. Those 2 papers cost me about $3 total.

Armed with my coupons from the Sunday papers along with those from some on-line sites I started formulating my plan. I met up with my friend Megan and she gave me some pointers on what to buy and on how to check out. She was amazing & only spent $14 but saved $83.91. On my first coupon-toting trip to Walgreens (or WAGS as those in the coupon game call it) I spent about $38 but saved $46!!! Wow!

I'm new to this so I forgot to take a picture of my loot, but here's what I walked away with for $38...2 Shick men's razors with an extra refill in each (so 4 razors total), 1 5 lb bag of Gold Medal Flour, 2 boxes Fiber One cereal bars, 1 package Ponds makeup remover wipes, 2 EOS lipgloss, 2 Dove Bath Wash for Women, 2 Dove Bath Wash for Men, 1 Old Spice Deodorant, & 1 Bausch & Lomb Contact Solution.

Seriously, if I had paid full price for that my total out of pocket expense would have been at least double! Everything I purchased are items we currently use; maybe not the exact brand but I didn't buy anything that won't be put to use almost immediately. In addition, everything I bought except for the deodorant and contact solution was either free or extremely discounted after all my coupons and Register Rewards.

I'm by no means an expert, but I'm learning and I can't wait to see the results. Of course I have a bit of an incentive. Hubby says that I get to keep the difference between our new grocery/household expense and our previous monthly average for those same items! Hopefully I'll be able to fund my other favorite hobby...shopping for clothes & shoes!

Weekend Rewind

Fall has finally arrived. The weather was absolutely gorgeous...and honestly, a little bit chilly at times! It was definitely a welcome break from the craziness of last weekend.

Friday night we did pizza & a movie with some friends of ours. It's actually one of Nick's colleagues and his wife and it was our first double date with them. We had a wonderful time & I was wishing we had chosen to do something other than watch a movie so we could just hang out and chat all night. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps was the movie of choice & while it wasn't completely horrible, it got a little long in parts & was honestly a little hard to follow if you weren't completely up to speed on all the financial lingo. We still had a great time & hope to have many more double dates with the Yount's in the future.

Saturday meant work for me & class for Hubby. I was also in charge of picking my parents up from the airport as they were due back home from a week-long trip to Yosemite National Park. We were able to come home a chill for a bit before it was time for my grandpa's birthday party. About 18 of us met up at Zio's for dinner & cake and had a great time.

Most of us...not the greatest picture, but the best my aunt could do from the end of the table!

My fabulous grandparents...and the best cake flavor ever: Chocolate cake with homemade cream cheese icing--a family requirement!

Our family has the tendency to be a little loud & our poor waiter was the only one assigned to 18 of us! He did a fantastic job & was even gifted a piece of cake...he was SOOO happy!

After dinner, Hubby & I along with my cousin and his girlfriend headed back to our house for a relaxing night of college football. We considered going to a local sports bar to hang out, but eventually decided on our house. I'm so glad we made that decision--we were actually able to watch the game and enjoy some great conversation as well.

Today we had church, followed by a quick lunch, and then plenty of yardwork. The yard hadn't been mowed in 2 weeks and was in desperate need! I also said goodbye to many of the annuals I had in pots...they were just looking tired & I decided that petunias, snapdragons, & sweet potato vine just looked a little odd with a couple of mums. So now the mums are in and it's looking a lot like fall around here!

With the early service at church, we were able to do all that and still have a couple hours to just veg out before small group. We had another fabulous small group meeting & a great walk with Bogey. Now it's time to actually be productive and get some chores done....laundry and dishes to be exact!

It's time for another week...here we go!

Double Trouble

Or maybe with Hubby it was Triple Trouble...either way, we had the chance to babysit Hubby's precious nephews last night. Hunter will be 5 in October while Jackson will be 2 in a few days as well. We only had them for a few hours, but had a good time. Thankfully the weather was gorgeous so we were able to spend quite a bit of time outside.

We started with the standard dinner of pepperoni pizza before heading outside for some playtime with Bogey. Jackson wasn't too sure of this monster dog that just wanted to lick him; yet, he wanted to be right in on the action.

Love this, Jackson's on the loveseat staying away from Bogey, and Hubby's trying to keep Bogey away from the softball so he can pass it on to Hunter to throw. I, of course, was behind the camera and being of absolutely no help!

Jackson preferred to be in Aunt L's arms rather than being down near Bogey.

After fetch we went for a walk in our neighborhood.

Jackson loved being pushed around the the stroller

Silly Hunter, monkey boy!

After the walk, Hubby built an awesome fire & we introduced the boys to roasting marshmallows. Isn't that what aunts & uncles are supposed to do? Introduce your nieces and nephews to dangerous things like fire & fill them full of sweets like "smarshmallows"?

Hunter absolutely loved the fire, & watching the paper burn. Supposedly the fire was so big that Mamaw could probably see the smoke signals in Michigan--well maybe not quite, but it was a nice fire & an adorable thought.

Hubby & Hunter are best buds...of course Hunter decided to strangel Hubby at one point...

But then he was back to his sweet self...love, love, love this photo!

Hunter was very proud of his smarshmallows--even if they were only slightly warm!

Jackson even got in on the fun...I just love watching Hubby with these two--he's going to be a fabulous daddy one of these days!

After Hubby extinguished the fire, we spent the rest of the evening with Legos building houses, forts, & cars. It was a fabulous evening, but let me just say...Hubby & I were exhausted after just a couple of hours. We were definitely more than ready for bed when the clock hit 10:00pm!