Category Archives: Holidaze

Dec 18 2011

Recyling Christmas: The Frugal Me

I’m a little late this year, but I try to send Christmas cards every year.  I’ve posted about this in year’s past, but I think it’s important, especially during a time when we are more focused on impersonal tweets, Facebook posts, and emails because they are convenient and quick.  But they are not personal and are easily forgotten.  Who prints out an email and hangs it around the doorway or over the mantel?

Today, most would say its a waste of paper and therefore a waste of money.  In the current economic shape of the US Postal Service, I’m sure postal workers see it differently.  Christmas cards require stamps and put mail in the system, both of which help the postal service when you look at the big picture. 

Most importantly, we all still like to get mail in the mailbox, don’t we? I know I do.  It may just be a card with a signature, but that’s fine with me.  At least someone out there took the time to think about me and to address a card to me!  And I enjoy hanging them around the doorway of our living room.  And after the holidays, I keep them – and this is the main purpose of this post!

I have tons and tons and tons and tons…and tons!  of old Christmas cards from year’s past that I have kept.  I rarely go back and read them, and have always been set on finding a purpose for them.  If you Google “recyle old Christmas cards,” you’ll find instructions on making small boxes or tree ornaments, along with lots of other suggestions on what to do with them.  Although I didn’t use Google for help, I did come up with a way to recycle a few of my own this year. 

Gift name tags!

Yep!  I put a few of the cards to use simply by cutting off the front of the card with the picture on it, trimming off the corners or cutting them into shapes, and using them as large name tags for Christmas gifts.  They turned out great.  Even my mother was impressed with the idea. Most of them I left as a large rectangle shape, complete with message and picture, and just folded them in half and wrote the name on them, especially when the gift was larger.

Since I only give gifts to my immediate family, I only used up about ten cards.  I still have tons more, probably enough for name tags for the next ten years at least!  Upon writing this post, I paid a trip over to Google to read about some of the other uses for greeting cards that I’ve mentioned.  The most impressive one I found was turning them into ornaments, specifically this craft project from Martha Stewart herself.

I like the 3-dimensional shape of these ornaments and would even consider making a bunch of these to give as gifts or to attach to the top of gifts as decoration.

To add to this recycling post, we all reuse gift bags and tissue paper, right?  Mostly to reuse as gift bags themselves again and again.  They are definitely the “gift” that keeps giving.

What about you?  Do you send cards?  Do you recycle them?  What other ways do you recyle Christmas?

Dec 17 2011

The Pope Family Christmas

Tonight was the annual Christmas dinner for my mother’s side of the family.  It’s always the Saturday before Christmas and is held in a Baptist church gymnasium.  It has not been held at anyone’s house since I was a child because the family is too large.  There were close to 40 people there tonight.  This is the first time I have been able to attend in at least five or six years.

Not only is it tradition, but it is also important because my mother’s mother, my grandmother, turned ninety this year.  I don’t have an accurate count of how many grandchildren or great grandchildren there are.  But I do know there are at least two great great grandchildren already. 

In attendance tonight were all five of grandmother’s children, ten of her grandchildren, and five of her great grandchildren (one of which was just a few months old), and of course, Grandmother herself.  The rest were spouses and friends.

The dinner is a spread you can’t even imagine: turkey, dressing, lasagna, meatballs, ham, corn, peas, greenbean casserole, macaroni, slaw, salads, more casseroles, and an array of other things that I couldn’t fit on my plate even after two trips.  There are just as many desserts from cakes and cookies to pies and ambrosia.

After dinner we had a Dirty Santa gift exchange with all the men and women together. Years ago we always drew names, or the sexes exchanged separately.  A few years everyone only bought for Grandma.  This year, it was Dirty Santa again but with everyone combined.  Let’s just say that when you get a popcorn tin, chances are you are stuck with it.  And there were several. When it came my turn, I took the popcorn tin that my mother had already opened so that she could open another gift.  Towels, washcloths, a country ham, a mini chopper, a pocket knife (the gift I brought), a mitted ice scraper, and a back massager were the main items that switched hands quite a bit.

Overall, it was a great night, and is sadly the only night of the year that I see many of my relatives.  And a few I have not seen since the last dinner I attended. We grow up.  We grow apart.  And we start family and traditions of our own.  But one night of the year, at least, we are family coming together again.

Dec 14 2011

2012 Resolutions …

A few posts ago I did a 2011 Resolutions Revisited post.  I promised I’d list my new resolutions for 2012, so here’s what I have so far…

#1. Lose weight.  Yep, this is probably number one on everyone’s list. As you know, it was on last year’s list too.  I’ve lost 26 lbs so far for 2011 and have unfortunately hit that stopping point where I just can’t get anymore to fall off.  I haven’t had a weight loss since July 22nd.  Thankfully, I haven’t had a gain either though.  But next year’s goal is just 23 lbs!  That’s just under 2 lbs a month.  February 13th will be my one year anniversary that I started back to the gym.  I’d love to drop 5 lbs by then.

#2. Save money.  Again, another one on everyone’s list I’m sure, but next year is my year to focus on that.  My goal is to put $2,500 in savings before Black Friday 2012.  I never have any money during the holidays, so next year I’m going to change that.

#3. Pay off debt.  I’m probably sounding like a broken record, right?  Because this is probably on everyone’s list too.  But I’m going to put some focus here and blog about it a bit too.  And this will help with number two. More about it later as I set to work on it….credit cards, student loan, all that headache.

#4. Focus more on my bookstore review blog. I started the STL Bookstore Review site last year.  I even tried to get Heidi Glaus at KSDK interested to no avail.  My goal was to visit one store a month, but I fell short of that goal even though I did review 16 stores for the year total, three of which are now closed Borders stores.  That’s okay!  I’m going to try to double that number of stores next year which equals about 3 stores a month!

And that’s it (so far) for the year.  Notice there’s no couponing goal.  I’ve done that two years in a row.  2011′s goal was to try to best last year, but I came out even.  I also wanted to spend less on groceries, but went over this year. So with the focus on saving money, I’ll hopefully spend less.  I’m still going to coupon a bit to help with that, but I will be buying smarter and buying less in 2012. More about this in my next coupon recap post at the end of the year.

And no reading goal next year.  I read all the time, that’s a given.  I usually average 30 to 40 books a year.  I’ll still review books and keep track of what I read, but I’m not setting a goal for 2012.

No blogging goal either.  I blog all the time, and will complete my goal this year of posting something every day.  But, I’m not going to try that again next year, so my blog posts in 2012 will be a tad bit more random and definitely not every day.

And lastly, no writing goal.  I write every day.  That’s a given.  I don’t want to set a goal for next year because I don’t like the pressure.

And that’s it!  What are your goals so far for next year?

Dec 7 2011

Take a sad Cheesecake and make it better…

I tried a new cheesecake recipe – white chocolate raspberry – for Thanksgiving this year and had been meaning to share it here on the site, but time just keeps slipping away during the holidays. I found this recipe online somewhere but immediately noticed it was practically the same as my simple cheesecake recipe that I started using last year.

2 Packs of Cream Cheese
3 eggs  (the recipe for the raspberry cheesecake only calls for 2 eggs)
2/3 cup Sugar  (the recipe for the raspberry cheesecake calls for 1/2 cup)
1 tbsp of Vanilla (the recipe for the raspberry cheesecake says 1 tsp.)
1 Premade Pie Crust  (Graham for the regular cheesecake, chocolate for the raspberry cheesecake)

Mix all and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

Besides the few differences I’ve noted above, you add 2 squares of melted white baker’s chocolate to the batter.  This is roughly 1/4 of a cup.  I used melted white chocolate chips in mine.

The topping is just raspberry preserves, store bought and from a jar, that you spread on top after the cake has cooled.  And then you drizzle melted chocolate over the top. The actual recipe calls for Smuckers.

J didn’t care much for the raspberry topping itself.  It was a name brand I’d never tasted or bought before, something from the top shelf and a bit on the pricey side. I thought it tasted okay, and even better the next day.  None of the cake certainly went to waste.

But the point of my post is that I actually liked the flavor of the white chocolate in the batter and I think I’ll probably start adding some melted chips to other cheesecakes I make that might not even call for it.  It wasn’t a heavy white chocolate flavor, but actually a nice smooth creamy flavor.

The recipe is super simple overall for cheesecake making, which I always thought required a lot more work than this.  Enjoy!

Dec 2 2011

2011 Resolutions Revisited

How are you 2011 resolutions shaping up? Here’s the link to mine which I posted on December 31st last year.

No. 1 was to get back in the gym!  Done!  I started back on February 13th and have lost 26 lbs to date.  These last few months have been rough, especially now that the holidays are here, and as you know from Wednesday’s post I’m still pushing myself to lose 10 more lbs by the end of the year.  I’m quite proud that I’ve stayed on track with this resolution this year.

No. 2 was to read 50 books. I’m at 33 books for pleasure reading.  Here’s the list. I said I was going to include them, but I didn’t count my LLBR review books because a lot of times I’m speed reading those. I’m definitely over 50 if I did count all of them.  I’ve also read a few kids books for reviews which I’m not counting either.  But, for the sake of this resolution, I’m pretty satisfied with the results.  If I counted EVERY book, then I met my goal.

No. 3 was to blog more.  Done!  I accepted a WordPress challenge this year to post something every day to my blog, and I’ve done just that!

No. 4 was actually part of No. 3.  Though I haven’t visited a store since October, my STL Bookstore Review is still going strong.

No. 5 was a pie challenge.  I wanted to try a new pie recipe each month. Sadly, this resolution died in April.  Oh well…. it probably would have hurt the weight loss goal anyway.  Nothing lost here.

No. 6 was couponing!  As you know if you read my blog, I definitely stayed loyal to this one. I haven’t reached my $1500 savings goal and I probably won’t, but I’m still happy with the results.  I’ve saved $1082.69 in coupons so far this year.  I’ll probably end the year at $1200 which is exactly where I was last year.

No. 7 was to save more money by spending less on groceries.  Uh oh!  I just added up my total for the year and right now I’m exactly $27 over what I spent last year.  With one month still to go, I’m definitely going to be over but at least it’s not by much.

So there you have it!  Not bad for 2011, huh?  So, what am I doing for 2012 you ask?  Check back later this year to find out.

Nov 26 2011

Our Version Of Black Friday Shopping!

Neither of us have ever been into Black Friday Shopping.  First, I hate getting up early.  Second, I hate crowds, and mobs of crazy shoppers even more. All the stories of people being pepper sprayed, robbed, or shot at while out shopping on Friday turn me off even more.  Lastly, I never have any money by the time Black Friday rolls around.

For the past few years, it’s been our tradition to wait and go out later in the day.  We’ll make a few stops at various places we might want to go, but one place is Global Foods Market in Kirkwood. Yep, for the last three years we’ve hit an import grocery store on Black Friday.

Although it’s just down the road a few miles, we only go on Black Friday.  It’s a fun shopping experience that we enjoy, especially when it comes to looking at all the strange foods and trying to pronounce their names. But the trip wouldn’t be complete with buying some things.  Here’s just what we picked up…

Sesame Covered Peanuts

Three Boxes of Oolong Tea

1 box of Christmas Tea

1 Tin of loose leaf Oolong Tea

1 box of Ginger Tea  (yep, we love us some tea and the store has a huge selection)

Fresh Deli Meats – Roast Beef and Ham

Fresh Deli Cheeses

Pita Bread Pockets

Fresh Parmesan Cheese

A Jar of Artichoke Sauce  (We’re going to make dip with it and the cheese.)

Sour Cherry Jam

Wine

Jewish Deli Mustard

A Head of Lettuce (to go with everything else we got to make sandwiches)

Chili Sauce

Hummus

2 Boxes of Tea Cookies

We probably spent a good hour or so in there just going up and down every aisle and ogling over everything. But it was a fun day as always.  After the grocery store, we stopped in at Marshalls and picked up a blanket we’d been wanting.  Then we headed home and made us a couple of sandwiches for lunch which were quite yummy.  That mustard was amazing!

Nov 24 2011

Thankful

I wanted to write a post today about things I’m not thankful for.  I got to thinking about composing a list of things that bother me and the first one was impatience. Then I thought about how I also hate selfishness.  I think the two kind of go hand in hand, especially during the holidays when people are fighting over the last $6 waffle iron at Wal~Mart or stealing flat screen televisions out of each others’ shopping carts. Tis the season to give…and to get, I guess!  That’s about where my list ended.

I wanted to fuss about people on their cell phones, people who don’t use their blinkers, people who cut me off in traffic, people who talk too much, people who complain too much, people who get too much time in the headlines than they deserve (Kardashians, Beber, Sandusky, etc.). However, I quickly realized that no one really cares about that kind of stuff and it would be a waist of time for me to even go into it.  All of those things are what drive all of us nuts everyday and we already spend too much time venting about them anyway.  Things aren’t going to change. It just requires a little bit of patience and a lot of un-selfishness to be able to deal with them, right?

So, instead, it looks like this will turn into a post of things I am thankful for as it rightfully should be. So here we go…

  • I am very thankful that I have a job that I enjoy.  After seven years at the same place, I still enjoy going to work everyday.  During this time in our economy when so many people are out of work, I feel very fortunate. I am fortunate.
  • Thanks to my job, I have today off.  And tomorrow too.  There was a time when I had to work the holidays, just like everyone else in retail out there.  I don’t miss it.  I am thankful that I get to enjoy the holidays the way they should be enjoyed…at home with good food and family.  Good times.
  • Thanks to my job, I have a warm home, a warm bed, warm food, and warm clothes. In comparison to the rate of homeless people in this country, that makes me a millionaire.
  • I am thankful for my life partner. We have been together for 8 years, and it hasn’t always been roses. Despite how sappy it may sound, he is the love of my life, my best friend, and the reason I wake up every morning.  For me, he is what makes our house a home.
  • I am thankful for health. Many of my friends and coworkers have not been as fortunate this year.  They have seen sickness and death amongst their families this year. While we experienced a health scare in our own home early this year, things are looking up for us.
  • I am thankful I still have both of my parents.  Again, so many of my friends and coworkers are not so lucky. And some have even lost parents this year. I read a book once that said when you lose your parents, you lose your audience. I agree with that. And I am happy that both my Mom and Dad are still sitting in the front row.
  • I am thankful for my family.  Both immediate and extended. Both blood and bond. Though 3 hours away, they are always close at heart.
  • Of course, I’m thankful for books and for my passion for them.  They enrich my life and I mean it when I say it’s a love affair that I hope will never end.
  • I am thankful for technology. Thanks to matters like Facebook, I have had so much fun connecting with friends (new and old) and family members throughout the year. Just a few days ago we experienced the birth of a child practically in real time thanks to texting and Facebook.  What a wonderful experience!  We often take things like cell phones and computers for granted, but just consider how rich they make our lives and how convenient they are.
  • I am thankful for my pets…all 5 of them.  No matter how horrible my day went, there’s always  a happy face eager to see me when I get home.  Love, love, love, love, love.
  • Last, but not least, I’m thankful for age.  If there’s anything, besides wrinkles and grey hair, that I’ve learned from it, it’s patience and altruism.

What are you thankful for?

 

Nov 19 2011

Thanksgiving Shopping – Round 3

It’s Turkey Time!  I went turkey hunting for the best deal and I found one! Yep! Finally bought the turkey, and you won’t believe where!  Target! 

Yep, that’s right, Target!  We were shopping there last weekend and noticed Butterball Turkeys were on sale for just .97 cents a lb. I decided to do some price comparisons first before snatching up a turkey, but since the sale ends today (11/19/11), I’d have to work fast.

Schnucks had Butterball at $1.19 a lb.  It seems they were really pushing Honeysuckle which was their best deal. SnS was $1.18 a lb on Butterball, but would price match the competition on Honeysuckle.  So, Target was getting my business on Butterball this year.

I went there Thursday on lunch and found the Turkey freezer empty.  I was unable to find any employees in the grocery section to assist, so I marched through the stock room door and yelled out “Excuse me!”  Yep, I totally became one of those pain in the arse customers, but it worked.  Someone came right over and told me they were unpacking more turkeys right then.

I got a 19 lb Butterball for just $18.87!  Oh, but the fun doesn’t stop there!

 I had a $3.00 coupon off Butterball if I bought 4 other Thanksgiving products which included Philsbury Canned Rolls, Heinz Gravy, and Stovetop.  I picked up to cans of Crescent Rolls at $1.99 each.  I had a .40 cent coupon off 2  for those.  I picked up one box of Stove Top and  one jar of Heinz Gravy – each on sale for .89 cents each.  No coupons, but I had already used coupons on these products earlier in the month.  This was just extra that we needed or will donate!

Before leaving, I noticed Post Cereal was on sale for just $2.74 each and I had a coupon for $1.00 off 2 boxes.  So I grabbed that and headed for the door because I was on my lunch break and still had to get the turkey home.

I spent $26.82 total – what I normally would have spent on the turkey alone! 

I saved $15.14 total.

$4.40 was from coupons, .10 cents was from bringing in my own bags (Don’t forget Target will give you .5 cents off for each of your own reusable bags you bring in!), and the rest was from the Turkey, Gravy, and Stuffing being on sale. 

I rushed home, got the turkey put in the fridge, and still had enough time to stop at Mickey D’s and celebrate with a McRib!  And I made it back to work on time!

Since this was a special trip, I’m counting all of this (coupon and sales) on my Thanksgiving total and on my coupon total for the year!

My Thanksgiving Savings total is now $53.60!  And I’ve still got a bit more shopping to do!  More to follow….

Nov 18 2011

Thanksgiving Shopping – Round 2

Yesterday I posted about the start of my Thanksgiving shopping.  It continued on Thursday with my early trip to Shop N Save for $10 off $50 Thursday. 

Apparently everyone else had the same idea I did since it’s the week before Thanksgiving!  The store was definitely a bit more crowded at 7am than usual, but I was still able to get in and out in about 30 minutes – enough time to get home, put everything away, and leave for work by 8am. I’m not Superman; I just happen to live less than a mile from the grocery store!

On these days at SnS, my plan is always to buy only $50 worth and try to limit myself to only items that I have a coupon for as well.  Here are a few of the Thanksgiving items that I picked up, all on sale, which I also had coupons for:

Aluminum Foil $2.98 (.50 cent coupon)
Turkey Ove Bags $2.00 (.50 cent coupon)
Libby’s Green Beans .67 cents each ($1.00 coupon off 4 cans)
Campbell’s Mushroom Soup .75 cents each (.25 cents coupon off 4 cans)
Swanson Broth .58 cents each (.50 cents coupon off 4 cans)
Pam Cooking Spray $2.50 (.75 cents coupon)
Keebler Pie Crusts $1.50 each ($1.00 coupon off 3)
King’s Hawaiian Rolls $2.50 each ($1.00 coupon off 2)
Country Crock Mashed Potatos $2.98 each ($1.00 coupon off 2)

I also picked up 16 Yoplait Yogurts at .64 cents each and 2 coupons for a total of $1.40 off.

Along with this a just a few other non-sale items which I didn’t have coupons for, I spent $40.80 total.  I saved the $10.00 off $50, had $7.00 total in coupons, and saved an additional $13.23 from sale items for a total of $30.23 saved. I don’t usually count the sale portion in my coupon total for the year, but I will be adding the other $17.00 to it!

This brings my Thanksgiving savings to a total of $38.46 though!

No turkey you ask?  Don’t fret.  I will tell you tomorrow where the turkey is coming from and who has the best deal!

Nov 17 2011

WAGs World! Party Time! Excellent!

I started my Thanksgiving shopping on Wednesday!  Have you started?  This consisted of spending about 30 minutes on Tuesday night searching the ads to see who had the best deals on things I needed.  And I also spent time clipping and organizing coupons.

I have a stack of coupons for the grocery store, which I plan to hit tomorrow because my local Shop N Save is having $10 Thursday (Spend $50 and get $10 off).  I usually go in and buy only items I have coupons for and which will total up to $50, and then I get out of there!  I’m hoping to save at at least an extra $10 in coupons alone tomorrow.

I also have a stack of coupons for Target this year.  Believe it or not, now that they are carrying groceries they do have a few items with better prices than the other places.  But I’m not going to tell you what they are!

Today I grabbed the stack for Walgreens and made a special trip in before heading to work. Here’s what I bought:

1 4.5 oz. box of Cheezits at .79 cents on sale

1 10 oz. box of Wheat Thins $2.99 on sale

1 9.5 oz. box of Tricuits $2.01 on sale

2 Boxes of Keebler Club Crackers $2.50 each on sale

2 Cans of Emerald Almonds $5.99 on sale/and buy one get one free

2 Boxes of Ziploc Bags $2.00 each on sale

2 French’s Onions $1.99 each on sale

I had coupons for all of these products, including a WAGs coupon for the onions and 2 coupons from the Sunday paper for the onions as well.  Since I had to buy 2 of some items to satisfy my coupon, that helped equal out the number of coupons I had so I could save more on the onions. At Walgreens, you can’t have more coupons than the number of items you have.

Here’s what I saved:
.98 cent WAGS coupon
$15.73 from sales
$4.75 in regular coupons
_________________________
$21.46 total saved

I spent just $20.08! So, I actually saved more than I spent! I love it when that happens.

What specials are you taking advantage of for Thanksgiving? In 2008, this was the time of year I started couponing and it’s what convinced me to keep doing it!