Christmas at Home

After a few weeks in the sunny south, we arrived home two weeks before Christmas.  Having left the day after Thanksgiving, I had not been able to decorate the house for the Christmas holidays (I love decorating for Christmas)!  I decided that as  soon  as we got back home, the bins were getting lugged out of storage, and the tree, lights, garlands, and etc., were coming out and resuming their places.  Thus, last Monday afternoon, we pulled into our driveway, unpacked our belongings from the trailer and headed out to find “the perfect tree.” 

Question:  How many stores did we have to visit before we found anything but a Charlie Brown special?

Answer: Four!  I was amazed!  At each successive store we visited, my hopes grew smaller.  One large retailer had a total of four trees left!  Well, of course, we could have bought a ten foot tree and then hacked off about four feet so it would fit in our living room, but that is not my idea of a good tree, let alone a perfect one!

Thankfully, my longsuffering husband was involved in the quest, and was willing to chauffeur me all around town.  We finally found a great selection at Home Depot, and while Paul went to find a cart of some kind, I held up a prospective tree and asked the kids, “What do you think about this one?”  Josiah, in his pre-adolescent wisdom said, “Um, I don’t know.  They all look about the same to me!”  Out of the mouth of babes…

Meanwhile, the temperature had dropped considerably, and we (I say we, but in all actuality, it was just I, since Paul and the kids wimped out and went inside the store to wait) were shivering in the garden center section of the store, waiting for the one elusive employee that could trim the tree down and net it.  Apparently, that takes a special kind of skill.  I think the ability also entitles you to extra long coffee breaks.  We waited in the howling wind for at least twenty minutes before the employee came sauntering in, wiping the doughnut crumbs from her lips, and eyed the line of people waiting to get their tree trimmed.  Yes – there was a line.  Even at this late date, there was more than one family without a Christmas tree!  Unbelievable! 

After we stuffed the tree into the back of our truck and I packed my two ice blocks, otherwise known as feet, into the truck, we headed for home like a barn-sour horse.  I dragged out the decorations and remembered that half of my lights had died last year.  Crud.  The lights have to go on first, wouldn’t you know.  I decided that fixing dinner was the better part of valor, and that you can bear almost anything on a full stomach.  So the decorating was put on hold temporarily while I nourished our bodies and souls with hot dogs.  Hey, cut me some slack – the fridge was pretty empty after being gone for two weeks!

As soon as I finished my tube steak, I jumped in the truck,  accompanied by Esther, and we headed to that great retailer, the ubiquitous Walmart.  You know, the store that sells everything.  Except white indoor Christmas lights.  Seriously… they had none.  Frantic that my evening of decorating was in peril, I dashed off to my favorite store – CVS.  While I browsed their limited selection, Esther pointed out that the lights were BOGO, saving me a costly error.  So, in the end, we got twice the lights at a store closer to home.  Whatever. :)

The kids love decorating.  The Christmas music blares while they hang all the ornaments on one side of the tree, clustered thickly like forbidden fruit.  They shriek and dance around the room, causing me to fear for the safety of my precious ornaments. 

Once the lights were on, decorating began in earnest, and the kids worked extra hard and fast, because at the end of the tree decorating process, they know their favorite part is next – the Fisher Price nativity set.  I bought it years ago when Josiah was a baby, and we only get it out at Christmas.  I guess that is what keeps it special.  Having a toy that you can only play with a few weeks out of the year is pretty memorable. 

It was quite late by the time we finished, because of all the delays, and they were all tired and ready for bed after the long day.  I cleaned up the boxes and bins, and put them back in the closet and returned to the living room to view our handiwork.  Ahhhhh!  Beautiful.  This will also show you what our living room looks like after the renovations we made.

Before: concrete floors covered with paint spray and freshly painted trim

The stone thing in the corner has been a rather difficult obstacle to overcome in my interior decorating.  It used to house some kind of wood burning stove, but that is ancient history.  It became our tool central for several months, and, I must admit, only the last vestiges were cleared away when we brought out the Christmas decorations (yikes)!

However, this is what it looks like right now.  Notice my wall collage in the making just behind the tree.  I plan to fill the whole space with pictures of different sizes and shapes.  I’ve got a pretty good start, but I still have several pictures left to mount on the wall.

 

The stone corner is now home to the much-beloved nativity set.  I love it!  There is plenty of room for them to re-enact the Christmas story on the ledge – just like a little stage!

I am looking forward to a very merry Christmas in our lovely new home! 

Wrong Side

Have you ever gotten up on the wrong side of bed, figuratively speaking?  I seem to have managed to do that twice in  two days.  Sunday started off on the wrong foot when I ended up with one of the worst hair days I have had since junior high.  It was a cross between a poodle with its tail in the electric socket and Don King (for all you 80’s junkies).  And I only had about 30 minutes to do damage control!  Thank goodness, I was presentable for church in time.  I won’t be trying that particular hair styling tip  again anytime in the near future (Thanks, Laine-but it just doesn’t work for short hair! lol).

Monday was just a bad day from the get-go.  I got up late, and was hurrying so I could make it to Curves.  I could not find my keys.  Now, this is unusual for me.  I always know where my keys are.  Let’s face it, there are only so many places you can put your keys in a 36’ trailer!  I searched high and low, and enlisted all of my children and husband in the search.  I even offered a reward to the one who found the keys.  Now these keys are not low visibility, either  - not like two keys on a single ring.  No, my keys are a ponderous weight of metal and plastic.  There are four rings, eleven keys, a car “beeper,” and twenty-four store/library/loyalty cards on it.  I cannot close my fist around it.  I just couldn’t imagine where they were. 
On a whim, I went over to the church, and there, next to the computer where I had been working the night before, were my keys.  I was so relieved!  Nothing gets me out of kilter like not having things where they should be!  OCD, I guess. :)
The kids were taking forever to do their homework, and I was excessively frustrated with – well, everything!  Then I decided I really needed to get my MS driver’s license.  So, I gathered my papers and went downtown.  I couldn’t find the DMV.  Then, when I finally located the office, I had to sit for a long time.  I showed the lady my papers, and she told me I didn’t have the right ones!  I had grabbed the wrong ones!  I was ready to cry.  The only reason I didn’t was because I knew my picture would look worse with red eyes and nose and blotchy cheeks, so I kept it under control.  I had to go back out to the truck to get the right papers.  Another wait, then I got my license! I was glad to get back home.  :)


This is my latest CVS deal.  I went shopping hoping that some retail therapy would counter my crummy day.  It worked!  The Physicians Formula lip gloss was a bonus deal.  This week, if you buy $10 of PF, you get $7 ECB.  The lip gloss was $9.99 and had a $3 peelie coupon on the front! Woo hoo!  The UP2U gum was on sale for $.99 and I had $1 coupons!  All of this was totally free!  Yay!  I even made $1 by using my green bag tag, so all in all, I made a profit on this transaction.  The PF deal is a limit of one, but the gum has no limit on how many you can buy.  Fresh breath coming up!

Great Deal

The last two weeks, CVS has had a Nivea deal that I am excited about.  Winter is hard on everyone’s lips, with the cold, dry air chapping them until they crack, if you aren’t careful.  Some lip balms are more effective than others, moisturizing as well as blocking harmful winds.  Nivea is one of the best lip balms I have used.

 

The deal at CVS is this: buy $10 of Nivea, get $3 Extra Bucks.  The Lip balm is 2/$5.  Here is how the deal works out.

4 – lip balms = $10

2- $3/2 lip care Nivea coupons

OOP= $4

EB earned =$3

Net cost – $.25 each

 

The best part about this deal is that you can do it at least twice this week (I will find out if it is more than that tomorrow when I go to CVS).  Better yet, the deal will be on next week, too, if you need some time to find those Nivea coupons!  Now is a great time to stock up on lip balm for all this cold weather!

 

By the way, you can do the Nivea deal at least three times this week! 2/15

Getting Back on Track

The past six weeks or so have been non-stop crazy for me, and as I look ahead, it doesn’t seem to get any better.  Sometimes I sit in my messy trailer (see last week’s post) and sigh for the times when my house was clean, my kids were happy, and I was much skinnier.  Those days are gone forever – well, hopefully not the happy children part (although some days I wonder how they all got up on the wrong side of the bed)!  At one point, I was sooooooo organized I make myself sick just thinking about it.  What happened?!?  That was in the days before I started home schooling.  Now life is a free-for-all of events, last-minute trips, unplanned visits, and the usual mayhem (that would be school, meals, housework, grocery shopping, and church services).

Two different times last week, I went into my local Kroger, and stumbled upon some awesome deals.  I was lugging my coupon binder, so of course, I knew I had whatever coupons I needed to snag these tremendous deals for next to nothing.  The problem was, I had not cut out any coupons for (dare I say it?) months.   I muttered to myself as I shuffled and pawed through the inserts, knowing that the coupons were there, but finally gave up in disgust.  I knew I had to get organized again – at least in that part of my life.  After the kids went to bed, I began cutting out the coupons.  It took me three successive nights to wade through the twenty-three (yes, I said twenty-three) inserts.  My binder is no longer bulging, and the zipper will now close easily, but the work is not yet done!  I now have to sort all of those little papers into “findable” categories.  Hopefully, It will not take me three more nights!

In spite of my lack of coupon organization, I was able to get a few great deals at Kroger.  Of course, when I was sorting the coupons, I found some that would have made an even better deal, but I am trying not to kick myself over that any more.  I did get several items for just pennies.  I needed conditioner (I only use Pantene) for the girls and myself, but was trying to hold out for a sale at CVS or Kroger.  The bottles of Pantene conditioner that I found in the Manager’s special cart were marked $1.69 – great price!  Add to that the $3/2 Pantene coupon, I got those babies for only $.19 each!  Happy dance!  I also got two Aveeno hair care products for $.09 each!  I was totally inspired to get back on track with my coupons for this year.  There is so much money to save!

Last week, I also had a great trip to CVS.  Josiah has to take Zyrtec every day, and that stuff isn’t cheap.  I registered at www.zyrtec.com for their Zyrtec Rewards program.  Once every month I can print out two high-dollar coupons for Zyrtec (up to seven dollars off of one bottle) using the code off of the previous bottle.  I had a $4 off of any $20 allergy relief purchase from CVS, and, paired with the two $4 coupons(off of a 40ct bottle), I was prepared to make a great deal.  The problem was that the 30 ct. bottles were the ones on sale at CVS for $18.99.  They also qualified for the $10 CVS Cash Card (buy $30, get $10).  I searched through the bottles, and found two 30 ct. bottles with 10 extra pills, making them not only valid for the sale, but for the coupon as well!  I was thanking the Lord for that deal!  So here is what I paid:

2 40 ct. Zyrtec – $37.98
2-$4 off coupons – $8
1- $4/20 CVS coupon – $4
OOP- $25.98
Received $10 CVS cash card
Total cost – $15.98 for 80 Zyrtec 

Woo hoo!  I had some other good deals there, but that one really turned my crank.  The Lord knew we needed the medication, and He worked it all out for me.  Next time, I plan to have the $7 coupons!  Look out, CVS – here I come! :)

Day of Deals

Some days I just get on a roll with the whole saving/coupon/deal thing.  I fell off the coupon wagon this past summer, much to my chagrin, and was spending too much at the grocery store and everywhere else, as a matter of fact. 
Last week, I paid my girls to cut out all my coupons (20 inserts – that’s how far behind I was).  After paying them per insert, I knew I had to save some serious bucks to make up for my generosity.  A lot of my coupons were about to expire on the 31st, so I had to move quickly.  CVS was my first stop, and boy, did I ever have a good time making my deals!  I bought enough shampoo and conditioner to keep us all clean for several months, some lotion, and quite a bit of makeup.  I used a ton of coupons and earned three $10 Visa gift cards, too!  It was definitely worth the time spent figuring out my deals.  I came home, fed the family lunch, and then headed off to my next favorite store – Kroger!
Kroger is having a Mega Event this week, so I grabbed my binder and started systematically going through the aisles.  I had been praying that some of the items we needed would be on sale, and my prayers were answered!  I had a cart so full I could barely steer it, and I ended up saving 50% of my entire bill by using coupons along with my store savings card!  Woo hoo!  My family always enjoys it when we have plenty of food in the house.  I enjoy the thrill of the hunt, as I call it.  I didn’t take pictures this time, because I was in a hurry to get it put away before dinner. 
What has been your best coupon deal lately? I love hearing about good deals, even when they eclipse mine at times (sigh – I saw an awesome CVS deal posted right after I got home from the store.  I could have done better had I seen if before going, but, that’s okay – I think!).

Fall Decorating

Okay – I admit it.  I love decorating.  It doesn’t matter what season, I browse through ideas, websites, and blogs thinking, “That is so ________ (beautiful, cute, easy, etc.).  I could do that!”  Most of the time, I do not get a chance to decorate because of the limited space in the RV.  however, when we are home, look out!  I started gathering fall decor items last year when they all went on clearance at CVS for 80-90% off.  This year, they are decorating my living room and giving it such a cheery fall look.

This cute fall wreath greets all the guests who come to our door.  (Do not look too closely at the roller-painted green door, courtesy of the previous owner – repainting it is on the to-do list, but not very high up right now!)  I bought the wreath on clearance for $4.99


These cute little scarecrows sit just inside the door next to my hutch.  I got them on clearance at CVS for less than $3.50 last year.  The little pumpkin was also on clearance for less than $1.


These little guys are on top of my piano,  I think they are funny, with their little fat bodies and big smiles.  I think they ended up being $.50 each on clearance. 


This sign hangs on the front of my hutch.  I think people get a real kick out of giving me things that say something about crows.  Crows do eat free at our house – almost every meal!  Well, except for the fact the Daddy Crow has to pay for the groceries!

And last, but not least, this is my favorite pumpkin.  I got it at CVS on clearance for $1.49.  I just love the way the leaves are woven through the framework of the pumpkin.
That’s about the extent of my fall decorations this year, since by the time I get back to the house, it will be time to decorate for Christmas.  I really get excited about that!  What is your favorite decorating season?