Frugal Friday, The Sprout Edition

Do you like sprouts?

We like sprouts on sandwiches, sprouts on salads, sprouts on noodles, and sprout salad.

Inspired by high prices on sprouts at our grocery store, and this post:

http://dudewheresthestove.wordpress.com/2008/07/06/lentil-okonomiyaki/

we decided to "make" our own sprouts.

How?

1. buy 1 bag of lentils (70 cents)

2. soak lentils in a glass bowl near natural light (covered) for 24 hours

3. rinse lentils, leave uncovered near natural light

The results?

Almost free sprouts.

YUM.

see how yummy they look below

get more Frugal Friday ideas at Biblical Womanhood

http://biblicalwomanhoodblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/frugal-friday-how-to-live-on-beans-and.html

Wordless Wednesday--8 month Attitude!

8 month Attitude!

join in at 5 minutesformom.com

CVS 9/21

I haven't posted about my CVS trips in awhile--I've actually been going (shock!) less frequently. My stockpile is sustaining our shampoo and shaving needs:-)

That said, CVS lured me in with a 5/30 coupon yesterday (sent to my e-mail inbox on Thursday).

2 Huggies Mega Packs

1 package of Gerber Organic Pears

1 Nivea for Men Bodywash

-5/30

-1 huggies from insert

-1 huggies from insert

-1 Nivea from free sample received from Walmart

-ECBs

Total: 22.00 Out of Pocket

ECBs Earned: 14.99 (for huggies and Nivea)

Not too bad, but not my best trip ever!

The Nivea is a money maker if you have a coupon from an insert or sample--it is 4.99, receive 4.99 ECBs--with the 1.00 coupon, pay 3.99 and earn 4.99. I love being paid to take items off the shelves!

How did you do last week? What are your scenarios this week? I'd love to hear from you in the comments section.

Thirsty Thursday

I'm joining in on Thirsty Thursday, over at "a little birdie told me..." http://birdiesaystweet.blogspot.com/

I'm sure many of you have made this recipe for a wedding or baby shower, but if not--it is a must try! My niece and nephews enjoy having this along with our Thanksgiving or Christmas meals as well. My Grandmother likes to make it for New Year's Eve. It is SO easy, but SO tasty.

2 ingredients: Any Flavor of Sherbert and Sprite (you can use ginger ale or 7-up)

Mix together in a pretty punchbowl until frothy, serve and enjoy:-)

What are your suggestions for Thirsty Thursday? Check out the Pumpkin Spice Latte and share your recipes at http://birdiesaystweet.blogspot.com/2008/09/thirsty-thursday_18.html.

Spotted at CVS--More Clearance Deals!

-cloth lined wicker storage baskets--2.99

-3 piece marble ice cream set (think marble slab or cold stone)--4.99

-alarm clocks--2.99

-food choppers--3.99

-plastic baseball bats/balls--.39

-glass photo coasters--3.33

Any great finds at your neighborhood CVS?

The large Flavor Ice boxes were half off--$7.49. A large sticker on the box indicates it will generate $5.00 in ECB when purchased--good through 12/31/08. Sadly, no ECBs printed. According to the manager since the item is being discontinued, the ECB offer is no longer valid. Any idea if this is right according to corporate policy?

Wordless Wednesday

Our baby koala, just hours old (over 8 months ago!). Perfection.

join in at 5minutesformom.com

Re-use it, Baby!

Check out these 2 great posts by Mercedes at http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/!

If you have a little one around, you'll have plenty of these "materials" to re-use.

http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/2008/09/uses-for-baby-food-containers.html

http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/2008/09/uses-baby-wipes-tubs.html

Ike

My area of Texas survived without a hit from Ike, but our neighbors to the southeast were not so fortunate.

If you are in an un-impacted area of Texas, and have a stockpile, consider putting together a box for your local drop off point.


We have many hurting evacuees in our town. Please pray for all who are suffering from Hurricane Ike's destruction.

Toolin' Up Tuesday

My favorite tool this week? The drinking straw--a simple, yet genious invention!

I discovered my little guy likes to drink from a straw. On a tip from my friend Margie, I tried this tactic: get a bit of water in the straw (with your finger) and let the little ones suck it out. He's not too sure about a sippy cup yet, so we gave this a shot. He LOVES it.

What does this allow me to do?

Eat dinner at a restaurant: a sip for him, a bite for me, a sip for him, a bite for me....you get the idea. I got to enjoy a couple of hot meals this weekend!

What are your favorite kid-related tools? What are your favorite non-kid related tools that make life easier?

Join in the fun at www.lifeasmom.com!

Ike and Blog Absence

We are headed out of town this weekend for a funeral, just as Hurricane Ike is heading in to Texas and Louisiana....please say a prayer that it weakens (or dissolves)!

I'm hoping all the weather predictions are wrong regarding how strong this storm will be...my prayers are especially with those on the coast.

Have a safe weekend!

**For those safe from the storm, looking for great deals--check out some of my favorite blogs by clicking on the buttons on the left side of the screen. Happy Shopping!**

90% off--CVS Summer Clearance

Go check it out, and hurry!

My local store was almost cleaned out, but I found a few deals--all for .99 or less!

An inflatable swimming pool was still marked 9.99--I asked about it, and the manager sold it to me for .99!

Have you found any great clearance deals?

Fabulous Freebies

Prior to my money saving adventures, I had no idea how many free samples were available. The companys often include coupons with the free sample, so if you like the product you can purchase it for a discounted price.

Check out the post from Mercedes at commonsensewithmoney.com:

http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/2008/09/five-freebies-for-you.html

Erin at couponcravings.com also has some great freebies listed:

http://www.couponcravings.com/2008/09/freebies-round-up.html

Happy Sampling!

Money Maker at CVS

Thanks to moneysavingmom.com for this great tip!

September monthly ECB deal running at CVS: Buy any AMBI product, get $3 ECBs (limit 3).

If you can find the soap for $1.99, it is reportedly producing a $3 ECB!

Has anyone tried this deal? Is it working for you?

Start Saving, Step #3

Start Saving, Step #3

Subscribe and Gather!

Subscribe to your local newspaper. You can often find "deals" for subscriptions. I subscribe only to the Sunday paper, and paid 20.00 for 20 weeks! The weekly coupon inserts will help you save a lot more than what you are paying out to receive the newspaper.

Gather--We live in suburbia, and also receive the free community paper once a week. Our community paper also has coupon inserts! If your neighbors don't clip coupons, but subscribe to the newspaper ask for their inserts. And, the local grocery store has extra copies of the community paper--with additional inserts. If you have a community paper with coupon inserts--ask your neighbors if you can gather these, as well!

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Experienced Coupon-ers: How do you gather extra coupons? Please share your tips in the comments section!

Problem=Dry Lips? A Free Solution.

I've been slow to post the last few days, as I was enjoying the long holiday weekend chasing baby koala around, as he's learned to crawl!
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I wanted to share with you a quick CVS scenario for this week:

Covergirl WetSlicks Amazemint are on sale for 5.99, earn 5.99 ECB
use: buy one covergirl lip product from the newspaper insert 08/31
use: 1.00 off any covergirl product from the newspaper insert 08/31

Pay 5.40, earn 5.99 ecb--and get 2 lip glosses!

Alyssa has a different take on this scenario at kingdomfirstmom.com (I went with the lip gloss scenario as I prefer the gloss) where you will save even more!

Check out her post here:

http://www.kingdomfirstmom.com/2008/08/cvs-5-challenge-august-31st-september.html

Happy Shopping!