Coupon Excitement

Hey y'all! If you've been following us and paying attention, you know we're all about a good deal. Matter of fact, I told y'all about one just last night (Bzz) - I'm building up to even more. Anyway, because we're in to deals, it was just a  matter of time before we got into couponing. No, we're not Extreme about it, but we're pretty efficient at it nowadays. We have a system that seems to work so well that we saved almost $50 during one of our shopping trips. Great right? Yeah, we thought so and became even more vigilant about it.

That was a few months ago ... fast forward to this past weekend. I went on a shopping trip (a small one), but I left the store without spending 1 cent!!! Seriously, everything was free because a sista got into couponing and actually keeping up with the sites for the FREE deals. Y'all hear me. I get FREE stuff. So yeah, now I'm all about this couponing stuff now. Still not going Extreme, but more than willing to give out my system. You want on? Well, here ya go.

Here's an excerpt from an email I sent to one of my girls cause she actually came through for my face-to-face "How to Start Couponing" spiel.

Wait, first: Sign-up for them, but know that a lot of sites have the same coupons. I sign-up for those few that aren't the same or the items I plan to get that may need more than 1 coupon (rare, but it happens).

Kroger Plus kroger.com - I know you already have this, but make sure to check back often because they randomly have things that they don't necessarily advertise. And right now they have the Free Friday Downloads. You have to go to the site to download whatever is free for the week.

MPerks https://mperks.meijer.com/mperks - Most printed coupons are manufacturer so you can use them here too. Mperks also has their own coupons similar to the Kroger Plus ones - digital. And they just got a sort of Rewards program in which you can earn personalized rewards - I don't shop there enough to be successful at this, but that's because Kroger is more convenient.

CellFire cellfire.com - More digital coupons for your Kroger Card. They just added a few more stores (RiteAid, Hiller's, & DeCA [<- no idea what this is]) and they do have some printable coupons.

SavingStar savingstar.com - Just found this one so I can't vouch, but I did sign-up. I'll update you on this one as I figure out more about it. You don't get an immediate return though so I'm not so sure about it.

SmartSource smartsource.com - Generally, these are mostly the same as the printable ones that come in the paper. This is why I said you don't need to buy a paper. :)

Coupons.com coupons.com - I think you said you may already be signed up. If not, make sure to sign-up. There are digital and printable ones. There are also coupon codes for things other than groceries so check 'em out.

P&G pgeveryday.com - Sign-up. You get coupons more-so for household/cleaning, but yeah. They also have digital ones.

Valpak valpak.com - Coupons for a whole bunch of stuff (groceries, clothes, restaurants, etc.); some digital, but I think most are printable and there are coupon codes.

SO you're welcome for this. Feel free to let me know of any sites or sources you have for getting the BEST deals around.

Bzz: Frontera Wine

Hey Folks: I just wanted to give you all a heads up. I’m a BzzAgent.

What’s that, you ask? HA! It’s awesome. I get to try things out for FREE or a GREAT DISCOUNT. In return, I take on the role of pretty much a worker bee :) I spread the word, bzz-ing all over about the latest, greatest product that has graced our house through me being a bzzagent. I’m quick to post about it on twitter and even quicker to pass out coupons that I have to get my friends & family in on these great products deals. If you haven’t received one, you haven’t been around at the right time.

Anyway, my most recent one was a Frontera At-Home Wine Tasting. We saved $5 off two bottles of Frontera Pinot Noir &/or Moscato. We bought one of each so here’s our review.

Frontera Pinot Noir:

Jason (not necessarily a red wine drinker): Surprisingly tasty for a red wine.
Me: Pretty Delish. I’d buy it again.

Frontera Moscato:

Jason: Not all that great.
Me: It was along the lines of most Moscato to me. I'm not a big Moscato fan though so I suppose that's not saying much. I'm more of a red wine gal myself.
We had friends over when we popped the Moscato bottle open & they enjoyed it so you should go taste for yourself.

Frontera Brand:

For the price, we would definitely try this brand again. We were very surprised by the tastes of these given the regular price of the wine. Our rebate made it even better!

I already passed out my rebate coupons, but there will be more so stay tuned until my next bzz ...

{... OOOORRRRR you could sign up to become a bzzagent yourself at www.bzzagent.com.}

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P.S. I, of course, have to respond to my husband's delightful letter at another date. Y'all know how we do - can't be normal about anything. Plus he surprised me so I'll have to wait him out til he's not thinking about it anymore. Heh heh heh ... Still on that challenge flow even though I've been slacking. This one is "hard yo!"

Dear -ME-

Good day my friends,

As I sit and write this post, I reflected back on what we stand for (Table TalkN).  It’s quite simple, “Everything is on the table. Nothing is left unsaid. Join the conversation.”  That’s pretty direct and to the point.  Every post I have written and posted has been to the general public.  Sharing a story or 2, telling you of my most recent experience and/or thoughts.  While this post is not by any means private, it is directed at one person.  The person who has stolen my heart, got caught doing it, and refused to give it back.  This is my letter to my wife:

Dear -ME-

They say time flies when you’re having fun, but what about when you’re doing more?  While we haven’t reached the 7 year marriage point, I’m pretty confident I won’t EVER get the itch!  I am having too much fun every day that I wake up next to you.  We always seem to find things to talk about, and even when we don’t agree, we do agree that we each have a valid point.

You have given so much of yourself to me, more than you would anyone else and for that, I thank you.  You have allowed me to enter into that dark recess of your heart and allowed me to comfort you when you’re sad, laugh with you when you're happy and sit with you, when you just want to be quiet.

And even though you claim to be the “mean one” of the two of us, it’s relative.  Because, no matter how hard you try, you can’t help but to give love to everyone you come into contact with.  They may not like what you are saying (self included) but it always comes from a place of love and I appreciate that.

You said the other day, that you feel for our son because he loves so hard and it might cause him to get hurt as he grows.  He learned that from you ya know?!  The reasons that he has such a big heart is because of you.  He may have gotten his million dollar smile from me, :-D  but he loves like his “mommy”.  I thank you for bringing another level of your love to me.  You continue to find ways (whether intentional or not) to show me how much you love me.

Let it also be known, that you inspire me.  The reasons that I do what I do is so that you can be happy & taken care of.  I was hanging with some of my friends the other night and they were speaking about their wives (nothing bad) but just talking about what they (the wives) do that they (the husbands) like.  And one asked, “if they do “xyz” do the husbands reciprocate?”  I couldn't help to think that I’m so glad that our relationship is not like that.  It’s not an “if, then” relationship.  We do for each other because we genuinely want to do nice things.  I don’t work out for all the traditional reasons, I know that you appreciate that I’m in shape. (Maybe a little ego plays a part, but it’s not a big part...)

So as I sit here, reflecting back on the past 8 years of my life (1 year without you and 7 with you in my life) my admiration and gratitude for you continues to grow. I realize that I may have “found you”, but you chose me, and for that, I thank you!

I love you, always!

j-d-m

Been Awhile

It's been awhile since I last did a post. Yes, I'm still doing the challenge. Just haven't had the energy to post. Life transitions are draining for me, but it's cool. I'll be back soon. I actually have quite a bit of writing to get out from the past week or so. How long has it been anyway? Oh well, I'll get better.

You'll read about my Tea Experiments, Coupon Excitement, Gallie and more ...

Friday Night Jazz

Here's a glimpse into how we spend some of our Summer Friday nights.

Come on out & join the fun at the Canton Color Tour Jazz Series.

Best Friends - Toddler Style

Have you ever had a friend that you’re just excited to see?!

Lil man has a friend like that. It is very heartwarming that he has found a friend that is just as excited to see him as he is to see him. They run to each other like they haven’t just seen each other the other day. I mean it’s like a movie scene to see these two running towards each other. Then they cry when we must separate them for any reason (dinner, bath/bed time, rain, etc) and we all cringe to have to be the parent to initiate it. We try to work together and plan around each other.

The other great thing about this is that we like our lil man’s best friend’s parents too. They’re cool peeps and we love that they’re our neighbors and the parents of his lil friend. The kids are both around the same age (friend recently turned 3) so we’re looking forward to them attending school and just growing up together. Fun times ahead!!

{... excerpt from today’s thoughts as the kiddies played a lil longer than planned in their battery operated vehicles}

New Phone Day

Today (or by the time y'all read - yesterday), I got a new phone. Woo hoo! If you know me well enough, you know that it was an exciting day. Productive only in the respect that I spent the day getting to know my new phone, my new Life Companion- that's what it calls it self. For now, I call it Gallie - not very creative, I know - but I may rename it after it has been fully integrated into my life, our life.

Lil Man hasn't gotten acclimated with Gallie just yet, but there's always a "cheese" ready:

{... an excerpt from today's antics}