National Couponers Convention

Just when I thought I had reached a certain level of couponing geeky-ness, I found the National Couponers Convention not far from us.

I contemplated attending this convention but ultimately decided against it. But then, Couponers United had a ticket give-away for the convention and I happened to win 2 tickets to my (but not so much my husband's) delight.

It was an informative event, particularly for those who are looking to learn more about couponing.

It was not exactly on my bucket list, but it was worth attending.

Sunsets & Memories

Do you ever just stand in awe of nature? Sunsets always do it for me.

Sunrises do, too. Although, not being a morning person, I don't see as many sunrises as I do sunsets.

I had the pleasure of visiting a neighbor from my childhood home located in Rochester, NY. Her youngest child is a daughter that is my age. We grew up together and made so many memories in our neighborhood.

Wife of her late husband, mother of 3, grandmother of 6, she retired in a quiet community on the Gulf side of Florida. Her home is a quiet hideaway a few miles from the beach.

Being newly married, I was anxious for her to meet my husband. I appreciate her perspective so much more as an adult than I did as a kid. She not only watched me grow up but poured into me throughout my life.

During our visit, we went one evening in pursuit of a sunset. While driving, we could see the red sun plunging into the horizon. Once we got out of the car and landed on the beach, the sun was gone. The colors were still breathtaking.

Our visit was a wonderful time sharing memories of the neighborhood. She is a lovely woman that I am so fortunate to have known for so long. One whom I will cherish forever.

Work Social Events

Sometimes I have social anxiety when it comes to socializing with coworkers. If I go to dinner with one coworker, that's one thing. Being at a group event, is where the potential disaster comes in to play. After all, I have to see these people again on a daily basis. If I get caught doing or saying something awkward, seeing them daily will make things difficult. 

Recently, a group of female coworkers organized an outing to a male revue.

I’m not sure who came up with the idea for this social (meaning: not work related) outing. I was not invited although I heard about this social event.

One coworker is a friend of mine who was interested in going to this event. Turns out, it’s a fundraiser for some cause (philanthropy at its finest). She knows me well enough that there was zero doubt in her mind that this would be any interest to me. We talked about it taking place, in general, and in non-specific terms. I kept my opinion to myself because I knew that she already knew how I felt about it.

Later, another coworker mentioned that she had heard about this outing, had not been invited, and had no interest in going. I echoed her feeling on the matter. Although we were chatting about this outing, I started to drift away mentally, pondering this situation.

My internal dialogue looked like this: I wonder why weren’t we invited. I'm not interested but wasn’t invited. I am not feeling hurt or left out but now I’m curious as to why we were not invited. What made the difference?

Once my mind returned to a conscious level of active participation in this conversation, I blurted out: “part of living above reproach is being beyond approach.”

We both stopped and tried to swallow this statement. It took us both by surprise. The only thing I was sure of was that it didn’t come from me.

I'm still chewing on this statement. 

“Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach….” 1 Timothy 3:2 NIV (emphasis mine).

Birthday Deals

I never was one to make a big deal of my birthday until the last few years. After having so many struggles and challenges, I take the time to celebrate being fearfully and wonderfully made.

I tend to think of my birthday in terms of a month long celebration, especially when there are so many freebies!

It's as simple as creating an account with various retailers and restaurants and allowing them to send you emails. You'll start receiving birthday freebies at the beginning of your birthday month (some earlier than that!).

Some of these freebies are truly "no purchase necessary" while others require a purchase.

I have other friends that do the same and fortunately we all have different birthday months. We all act as the "plus 1" for the required purchase for a birthday freebie. For example, the terms of the freebie may be get a free meal when another meal is purchased. We choose the restaurants that we'd like to accompany our friend for her birthday, divide, and conquer. It's one of the few occasions where "using" someone is delightful because it's a celebration everyone enjoys. I, lovingly, call ourselves "coupon floozies."

Here are the birthday freebies I like:

FOOD:

Arby’s—free milkshake

Coldstone Creamery—BOGO ice cream*

Denny’s—free breakfast*

Dunkin Donuts—free drink*

Einstein bagels—free egg sandwich*

Friendly’s—free  sundae

IHOP—free pancakes*

Olive Garden—free appetizer or dessert

Panera—free pastry*

Red Robin—free burger*

Ruby Tuesday—free burger*

Starbucks—free drink*

Texas Roadhouse—free appetizer or dessert

TGIFridays—free meal*

NON-FOOD:

Charming Charlie—$5 coupon (see previous post)*

DSW—$5 coupon*

Payless shoes—30% off

Sephora—free makeup item

This is NOT an exhaustive list of all the birthday freebies out there. These are just some of my favorites.

*Offers that I took advantage of this year. 

Couponing: Gas Card Deal

I've talked a lot about Publix in this blog when employing the true couponing method. They have great products and even better sales.

One of my favorite promotions is the gas card deal. If you spend $50 worth of groceries, you can get a $50 gas card for only $40. Saving $10 on fuel? Yes, please! I'm going to buy fuel anyway and if I can save on the ever fluctuating prices, it's a bonus!

The key to this deal is getting to the $50 grocery bill--not hard to do! Publix has a policy that this $50 amount is BEFORE coupons. Music to my ears!!!

The shopping trip pictured below was over $100 of groceries (before coupons) which entitled me to 2 gas cards each worth $50.

Here is the end result:

I spent a total of $147 after coupons. I got $100 in gas cards. I saved $84 (including the $10 off each gas card). That means I spent $67 on groceries and $80 on gas cards.

Furthermore, I bought $131 worth in groceries but paid $67. In addition to $80 in gas cards worth $100.

The total value is $231 and I paid $147. That's a lot of savings (and a lot of fuel)!

Cheetos with a Fork?

Yep I do this. I don't know how this habit got started. I remember doing this as a teenager though.

Why? Simple! I don't like my fingers getting orange. That's the only answer I have to this eating craze of mine. First world problems. 

Anytime I have eaten this way, people act very concerned, unnerved even. I can see the wheels turning as they assess my mental stability. It's almost amusing. 

There's a science method to it actually. Metal forks break Cheetos and the. You're left with crumbs. Plastic forks are flexible enough that the Cheeto fits between the tines. It takes practice but I'm not sure I'd go as far as calling it skill. 

Couponing: Ice Cream

My husband's favorite food is ice cream. I am not one that keeps ice cream around much. He has sweet (literally) talked me into changing this decision and we now have ice cream frequently in the house.

I don't typically shop at Winn Dixie but they do have some good sales that I take advantage of now and again.

They had a good sale on...you guessed it...ice cream novelties. My husband does not discriminate when it comes to ice cream.

Here is the sale:

$2.99 for Mayfield ice cream novelties BOGO
-2 coupons for $1 off a Mayfield box of novelties
= $0.99 for 2 boxes!!!

Hubby is happy + budget friendly = WINN - WINN (see what I did there?)