September To-Do List -- Recap

You may recall that I posted a September To-Do List at the beginning of the month.

My thinking was to challenge myself to complete these items by posting them here.

Here's how my list turned out:

September To-Do List

Around the house:

-Clean off my side of closet shelves in order to Done
-Get shoe boxes labeled and in closet I'm not sure whether to mark this as done or not done...I did get my shoes in the shoeboxes labeled with super sticky post it notes. Which proceeded to fall off. And my shoes are still half as messy as when I started. I don't know if this is going to be a solution to my shoe mess or not.
-Go through clothes on rocking chair I managed to fill a large trash bag with clothes to get rid of. I now need to clean out my dresser drawers to make room for what's left.
-Organize coupon binder Done! I'm super happy now that my coupons are once again organized. It makes finding what I'm looking for so much easier.

In addition, I was able to completely clean up my desk area as well as the drawers of my nightstand. Woohoo - two more things I won't have to do!

On the crafty side

-Make up new Awana dues boxes Done - I had to actually do these twice as I first tried to use Mod Podge and it didn't turn out, so I tore them apart and redid them.
-Paint the pot for kitchen utensils as well as some clothes pins Not Done :(
-Figure out clothes pin kitchen holder idea Not Done :( I think I'm scared to try out the spray paint I bought. I need to do this!
-Finish up Menu Plan printables and upload post Done

In the Kitchen

-Try one new recipe each week Three out of four!
-Week one – Broccoli Chicken Casserole
-Week two – Crockpot Chicken Marsala
-Week four – Quicker than delivery Pizza

Spiritually

-Continue memorizing Romans 12 I slacked a bit on this - I still have a few verses to go.
-Work on Changed Into His Image daily I didn't do too well here either - I really need to take a closer look at my priorities as my spiritual progress was really lacking this month.

I don't like all that red! But I do like the green!

It's time to start thinking about my October To-Do List. What items am I procrastinating on? What new things would I like to try? What really needs to be done?

I challenge you to make up a monthly to-do list also! Not for the things you already know you will do, but to challenge yourself to get some extra/fun/new things done.

Bargain Shopping Update

This week's bargain shopping went about as I had expected.

I was able to complete my Rite Aid shopping without any problems. That's two weeks in a row with happy Rite Aid shopping! I was able to complete the Olay deal and I stocked up on cat food. I don't know if better deals come along on cat food as I've never needed it before, so I figured this was a good enough price for now. I bought 30 cans, which will last for a while and I can now keep an eye out for better deals.

CVS was out of the Vitality toothbrushes, but I was able to get a raincheck. I hope they get new stock in before the coupon expires as I'm wanting to try out this toothbrush. I'll have to check back next week and see.

I did go to Walgreens, too. I walked in the store, walked around, and walked back out. Although they had lots of free after RR offers, I still would have had to pay tax for stuff I didn't need or want. So I bought nothing at Walgreens this week.

I did pop into Target for some shredded cheese. They have Kraft cheese on sale for $2 and I used two of the $5/5 coupon to get 10 packages of cheese for $1 each. While the girl was scanning the cheese, the catalina machine printed out a $1.50 Kraft coupon, which she grabbed and scanned before I was able to give her my coupons. I was wondering if that might cause a problem, but she took my two coupons also and I ended up paying $8.50 for 10 packages of cheese. Those babies are now snuggled in my freezer until I have need of them.

That's the sum of my sales/coupon deals for the week.

Did you score any great deals?

Menu Plan Monday 09/27/10

Each week I take the time to plan out what we will be having for dinner every night. Since I cooked up a 4-month freezer cooking session before school started, my menu planning is really easy. I have 5 of the 7 nights covered - in the freezer and ready to be baked/thrown in the crockpot/grilled/etc. So all I have to come up with is two menu ideas each week. And if I’m struggling, I can always plan a night out. Or breakfast for dinner. Or something else that is just as easy. But even when I don’t have freezer-ready meals, I find that menu planning is a MUST!

I try to cook one new recipe each week. I enjoy trying new recipes, but my family gets a tad bit weary of ‘new’ if I do it too often. Especially if the ‘new’ recipes don’t turn out as tasty as I thought they would be. :)

This next week is an easy week as I am planning a pizza night for Wednesday as we will be gone all day. Our ‘new’ recipe will be Chicken Broccoli Alfredo.

Here’s what we will be eating this week:

Monday – Oriental Pork Chops, Brown Rice, Salad
Tuesday – Parmesan Chicken, Roasted Potatoes
Wednesday – Pizza
Thursday – Chicken Enchilada Casserole, Beans
Friday – Chicken Broccoli Alfredo, Rolls
Saturday – Swedish Meatballs over pasta, Salad
Sunday – Ranch Chicken, Baked Potatoes

Our ‘new’ recipe last week was Quicker Than Delivery Pizza. I liked the idea of a no-rise crust and I had everything in the pantry for this. I made two pizzas and two breadstick pizzas.

I hate to say it, but I’m a pizza snob. Once upon a time, we used to own a pizza parlour and I am usually pretty critical of pizza, whether made at home, from frozen, or from a pizza place. The recipe I used tonight was just okay. The crust was a lot like frozen pizza crust – it was tasteless and too thin. But it was super easy so I’ll keep it around until I find a better one.

Don’t forget to head over here to download some free printable Menu Plans!

As usual, I'm linking up with Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday!

So what’s on your menu this week?

Bargains I'm 'Chasing' This Week

As I've stated before, this is not a 'Deal Blog'. I don't currently have the time or desire to blog about all of the deals out there. If you are looking for the best drugstore and grocery deals of the week, there are a ton of blogs out there that will detail them for you. I follow quite a few myself and I also read at Slickdeals. For the next few weeks, I will also post links to my favorite deal blogs at the end of my 'Bargains' post.

Here are the deals I will be chasing this week:

Rite Aid

Olay is on sale this week buy one get one 50% off. And if you buy $30 you get $10 in UPRewards. I’ll match this with the coupon ‘buy two moisturizers, get eye roller free’.

I actually didn’t get this coupon in my Sunday inserts, so when I heard about it, I checked on ebay and bid on a listing for 10 of these coupons and 10 $1 off Olay coupons. I paid less than $2 for the lot. I have had good luck ordering coupons on ebay, but to get a decent price, you need to order them before the sale begins – otherwise everyone is wanting them and the prices go up.

I want to do this deal for two reasons – I am almost out of moisturizer and the deal is a small moneymaker even after tax. Added to that, I can use this purchase toward the rebate that Proctor & Gamble has out where if you buy $50 in P&G products, they will send you a $110 value coupon book. There’s also talk of a new Olay rebate coming with this week’s inserts, so that might be something also.

21.99 Olay eye roller
4.25 Olay moisturizer at 50%
7.64 Olay moisturizer at 90% (My current wellness discount is 10%)
=33.88 + 3.13 tax
-$5/25 Rite Aid coupon
-$1/10 Wellness skin care coupon
-$19.99 Max value of free eye roller coupon
-$2 (2) $1 Olay coupons
=9.02
-$6 UPRewards from last week
=3.02 oop
Get back $10 in UPRewards

My second transaction will be for items I need – not the best prices one can find, but still pretty good – and if I don’t buy toilet paper and paper towels this week, someone’s gonna’ be in trouble!

$12 (30) cans Friskies Cat food
$5.49 Bounty Basic Paper Towels
$5.49 Charmin Bath Tissue
$1.25 Theater style candy (Julu Bees, Julu Fruits or Red Raspberries)
.88 Now and Laters
=25.11 + 2.32 tax
-5/25 Rite Aid Coupon
-2 (2) $1/15 Friskie mq
-$1 charmin mq
-$1 bounty mq
=18.43
-$10 UPRewards from previous purchase
=8.43 oop
Get back $6.88 in UPRewards ($3 Friskies, $1 Charmin, $1 Bounty, $1.88 candy)

If I do this second transaction twice, I will have purchased over $50 in P$G products in all three transactions and I can send in for the coupon book rebate – but I’ll wait to see if Olay comes up with a better rebate.

Not a money making week, but lots of product with a low oop.

Target

Kraft cheese is on sale for $2 (shredded or chunk)
Use $5/5 printable coupon
=$1 each

Walgreens

Although there are several free after RR sales this week, none of them excite me. I don’t have any RR that I need to roll, so I think I might skip Walgreens this week.

CVS

I may grab one of the Oral-B Vitality Rechargable Toothbrushes for hubby. They are on sale for $23 with $13 ECBs and there is supposed to be a $10 coupon in this weeks inserts. If I get the coupon, it will be free after ECBs. The limit is two, so I’ll think about doing this. I do have some ECBs to use toward this, so we’ll see.

If I decide to do it, here’s what my transactions will look like:

$23 Vitality
$5.49 Charmin
=28.49 + 2.64 tax
-$5/25 (This coupon is expired but I think my store will still take it)
-$10 Vitality mq
-$1 Charmin mq
=15.13
Use $6 ECBs
-9.13 oop
Get back $13 ECBs

$23 Vitality + 2.13 tax
=25.13
-10 Vitality mq
=15.13
-13 ECBs
=2.13
Get back $13 ECBs

If I do shop CVS this week, I won't do the 2nd Rite Aid transaction twice. Either way, I'll have over $50 in P&G Products so I will definitely send in for the rebate.

Not a killer week - but I'll have enough cat food and toilet paper to last for a while. :)

Here are links to my two favorite deal blogs:

Coupons, Deals & More

My Frugal Adventures

So what are your must-do deals of the week?

Free Printable Menu Planners

Since I make up a menu plan each week, I decided to create a printable menu plan that I could print out - something I made myself and that would give me a bit of variety each week.

I played around a bit and came up with these:


It is a bit hard to see the background in these small pictures, but it looks like this:



Since I find menu planning such a great help, I would love it if having a printable menu plan helps you to jump on board and start planning your weekly menus. So....I decided to offer these printables to any of my followers who wants them! Not a follower? Easy, just click on the 'Follow' button!

Then click here and your download should start immediately.

I hope you enjoy these! And I hope you find menu planning as helpful as I do!

Linking to the following link parties:

Show & Share Day

Hooking Up With House of Hepworths

Garlic Dijon Chicken - A "Dump" Chicken Recipe

This is one of the 'dump' recipes I made during my last freezer session. A 'dump' recipe is just what it sounds like - just dump all of the ingredients into a ziplock bag and freeze. There are many to be found online - just google 'dump chicken recipes' and you will find a variety of different ideas.

I don't know where I found this one, so if you know who I can credit, please let me know.

Garlic Dijon Chicken

4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 Cloves Minced Garlic
4 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
2 Tablespoons Lime Juice

Combine the garlic, mustard, and lime juice in a ziplock bag. Add chicken and let marinate for several hours. **I freeze it at this point. The chicken will marinate as it thaws.** Cook or grill as desired. I usually bake it at 350 degrees for 35-40minutes or until done.

I really liked how this came out. It had the right amount of flavor - not too strong and not too subtle.

I will definitely include it in future freezer sessions!

Bargain Shopping Update

Whew!

I'm tired from all the running around I did today after work....but what a great bargain day!

I found everything I was looking for plus a few extra items.

At Walgreens, my favorite cashier had saved her coupon inserts for me! Isn't that sweet? I ended up with 4 Gain Dish Detergents, 6 cans of Cream of Chicken soup, and 4 Butterfinger bars (like I really need those, huh?).

I love the CVS I shop at - they happily honored my expired ECBs even though they expired over a month ago! So I picked up some soda, deodorant, and a few other things to use them up. Got back $4 in ECBs for future trips.

Now, I will admit I was dreading Rite Aid. I seem to always have problems using coupons at both of the Rite Aids that I shop at and my plans for today involved lots of coupons. I was also worried about finding enough of the items I wanted to buy so I could use my $5/$25 coupons.

Well, I ended up with the nicest two cashiers I have ever had at Rite Aid! I did have to shop at both stores, but I found everything I had planned to buy! I also got some cheap coffee for work.

I ended up with 4 John Freida shampoos, 2 Bounty paper towels, 14 Quaker Oatmeals, 2 Coffees, 2 Listerine, 2 Crest, 4 A&H Spinbrushes (these I stuck away for stocking stuffers), 2 A&H toothpaste, 1 Swiss Miss, and 1 Sensodyne.

I spent $11.85 - have $6 in UPRewards to use and will get back $6 in rebates.

Not too shabby!

I'm really trying to buy only things we will actually use. I have a closet full of stuff that I've picked up cheap or free and I really don't want any more stuff that will just be sitting in a closet. Anyone need any Dulcolax?