The Wii, isn’t that a funny name?!

I have played with friends and families Wii’s, but I never thought I would get my own. My husband surprised me for Christmas. He has enjoyed it as much as me though.

It comes with the Sports game, but my husband got the new Super Mario Bros. It is really neat. Two players can play at the same time, on the same screen!!

It’s been a while since the last update, but I want to make an effort to post more often. I saw just a post on BakingBites.com telling how what she got for Christmas. I just commented and it reminded me that I need to get back into doing this.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday. Most people go back to work tomorrow, but my husband and I decided that we wanted to take off work tomorrow too, so we have one more day off work.

Once again, I received way too much for Christmas. Our family (it’s large because it’s a very branch-y family tree) goes bananas! My husband surprised me with a Nintendo Wii and Mario game, my mom got me some kitchen stuff, earrings, and some cash. My step-mom’s family got me running, sewing, and kitchen stuff. My in-laws got me running and baking stuff! Way too generous!

This year I really used the Amazon Wish List and told 3 families about it. I got one duplicate because people don’t realize that if you don’t buy it from Amazon, you can still click an option that says something about purchasing it somewhere else. But all in all, it worked really well. People had ideas of what to get for me and I got what I wanted for the most part. Win-Win, thanks Amazon.com!

Just found this blog post from Common Sense with Money about CVS’s new Green Reusable Shopping bag program. If you pay $0.99 for this tag and after 4 purchases with the tag and your own reusable bag, you get $1 ECB!

Saw this guest post on Deal Seeking Mom’s site about Coupons.

I agree with all 6 points from Shelly. Especially #3, where I cut/organize coupons while watching tv with my husband. He used to make fun of me (not really, but I could tell that he made some judgments), but now he sees the savings.

It’s been a while since the last post, but here it is.  A good trip to Kroger tonight, for their $5 off 10 Nestle/Kraft items. Spent under $12 for all the stuff below.

Kraft Bagelfuls: 1.99 - $1 off internet coupon - .50 instant savings = .49

Another Bagelfuls for .49

Skinny Cow Bar (6 ct). 2.99 - $1 off internet coupon - .50 instant savings = 1.49

Nestle Dough in Tub 3.99 - $1 off internet coupon - .50 instant savings = 2.49

2 Packages of Kraft Cheese 1.99 each - $1 off 2 - 1.00 instant savings = .98

Nestle Tollhouse 2.99 - .50 off coupon got doubles - .50 instant savings = 1.49

2 Velvetta Cups 2.00 - BOGO Free coupon - .50 instant savings = .50

Ritz Crackers 2.49  - .50 instant savings = 2.00

Ritz Cheese Crackers 3.29  - Free coupon for buying Ritz Crackers = FREE

Wheat Thins 2.49 - 1.00 coupon - - .50 instant savings = 1.00

Thanks for several websites that helped me make my list and find coupons:

Faithful Provisions

My Penny Pile

Just got back from Kroger. I have been wanting to hit their Mega Deal this week.

I spent less than $6, even after tax! The Deal was $5 off when you buy 10 items from their list of promotions. Combining that with their sale prices and coupons, I think I did well.

The only thing I didn’t have a coupon on was the Brownie Mix (.89 after the deal)

Soft Soap Hand Soap: 1.50 -.40 off printable coupon doubled= .20 after the deal
4 Sobe Lifewaters- Had 2 BOGO Free coupons, Paid .49 each for 2.
Kellogg’s Mini Wheats, on sale for 2.79, had a $1 off coupon, and paid 1.29 after the deal.
Keebler Fudge Cookies, on sale for 1.99, had a $1 off coupon, and paid .49 after the deal.
SmartBalance Butter, on sale for 1.99, had a $1 off coupon, and paid .49 after the deal.
2 Listerines 500ML, on sale for 3.00 each, had 2 $2 off coupons, and paid .50 each after the deal.
Cheerios Snack Mix, on sale for 1.99, had a $0.50 off coupon that double, and paid .49 after the deal.

My 2 transactions at CVS for week of 7/05/09:
First transaction

• Post Trail Mix Crunch, Shredded Wheat: 13-17oz cereal - 3/$10

Get $5 ECB/3 (Limit 1)
$2 Internet Coupon- Post Trail Mix Crunch Trail Mix Crunch Cereal
$1/2 coupon for Shredded Wheat from 6/21
$2 for 3 boxes after coupons/ECBs

• Dawn dish liquid 10.3oz - 2/$2

Get $1/2 ECB Limit 1
Coupon- Dawn Save $0.25 on any one product 7/5 PG
Coupon- Dawn Save $1, in Kroger insert
Overage of .50 + 2 FREE bottles of Dawn after coupon/ecb

Second transaction

• Febreze Spend $10 Get $5 ECB (Limit 5)

Scenario #2:
2 Febreze Noticeables 6.50×2 = $13.00
1 Febreze Air Effects $3.00
1 Febreze Fabric Refresher $5.00
= 21.00
Used 2 coupons for $4.00 off = total of 8.00 Noticeables coupons from 2 of today’s paper
Used 3.00 off/FREE air effects wyb refresher coupon
Used 1 coupon for $0.50 off Fabric Refresher, can’t remember where I got it.
Paid $9.50
Got back $10.00 ECBs
= .50 Overage for $21 of products

I came across yet another neat giveaway tonight. It’s from Common Sense with Money.

Crocs has sponsered a $50 gift certificate. All you need to do is:

1) Visit Crocs.com and check out the all of the cute designs. Then come back to the blog and share which one model and in which color you would get if you won this giveaway.

2)For up to three additional entries, share the giveaway with others on your blog, Facebook or Twitter.

Enter now

I won a Sansa SlotRadio last month from Blissfully Domestic, along with some other toys. The SlotRadio was one item that I was most excited about and the first for me to play with. It retails for $99 and comes with a pre-loaded music card.

I got it out of the package and followed the instructions to charge it. It comes with a slot Music card pre-loaded with 1,000 songs! I had the slot Radio mix (Billboard chart toppers from Country, Contempory, R&B/Hip Hop, Alternative, Rock, and Workout).  I had a little trouble figuring out which way the little card goes, but once it’s in, I don’t think you need to take it out, so it’s fine.

It has a screen that shows the category and song. It scrolls to show the next song too. You can move between category playlists or stay in the same and move through that list. One of my favorite parts is that you can listen to the FM radio!!! This is something that I have really really wanted. Having my iPod is great, but sometimes I want to listen to the radio. I probably listen to the radio on here just as much as I listen to the songs.

It has a clip that stays on pretty good and I even wore it on the elliptical at the gym today. I just realized that there is a gel sleeve that you can put around it. It says a battery life of 13 hours. I don’t use it for hours at a time, but it has lasted a long time on one charge.

This would be really good for someone who:

• Wants to listen to music or the radio, on the go
• Doesn’t want to worry about hooking it up the computer to load music
• Doesn’t want to buy songs or have a subscription.

I have seen 2 ads for this (Walmart and RadioShack, I think) recently for Father’s Day. For dads that aren’t into Apple iPods/iPhones,  I think this would be a good idea. Or for someone else who doesn’t want to bother with iTunes. You just charge it, slide to either Play or Radio.

Thanks again Blissfully Domestic.

I just got the Baker’s Edge Nonstick Edge Brownie Pan. I ordered it as a gift for my father-in-law as he loves the brownies with corners and edges. But then I thought that I should also make a batch for him to have right away. Oh wait, maybe I should make a practice batch. Is that bad??

Features of the pan:

• TWO edges on EVERY brownie- 2 brownies have 3 edges, I think
• Circulates heat evenly- Fewer undercooked middles and burned edges
• Sized to fit regular box mixes and recipes for 9”x9” or 9”x13” pans
• Nonstick coating and round, easy-to-clean corners
• Spatula and recipes/instructions insert included

Here’s what you get (pan, spatula, and instructions/recipes):

Here’s how to pour it (I just tried to pour it evenly):

Finished pouring and in the oven:

Finished baking (It was a little uneven, but after cutting you couldn’t tell):

After cooled and first piece cut:

Yummy:

It was neat, although it was a little expensive since the pans probably aren’t mass produced. It seems to be a good, heavy aluminum pan. It was a gift and I would have spent that much anyway on something that he probably won’t be this excited out. For those that love the edges on brownies, this is a good pan for you!