Vocalpoint - Free Motts for Tots!

Are you a member of Vocalpoint? You should be! Sign up here and get yourself a free Motts for Tots! You have to register with Vocalpoint first. If you aren't familiar with Vocalpoint, it's a site where you can take small surveys, try new products, etc. and share with other members your thoughts.

Summer!

Well, I guess I've been out having too much fun! The past few weeks have been so much fun and the next few weeks don't appear to be any less entertaining. I've been to the beach, the Cubs game, in a parade...the list goes on! Super fun!

On my summer bucket list was to blog more often, as well as try lots of fun new recipes and share with you. Well, unless you call putting relish instead of ketchup on my hot dog down at the baseball fields a new recipe..I've failed miserably. I did manage to make a mean panzanella salad and a bruscetta platter last weekend that got rave reviews, so I feel like I haven't failed myself miserably yet. There is still at least 6 more weeks of summer vacation left. I'm on it!!!

Stay tuned....I've got to do something coupon-y or food-ie soon!

Great Weekend!

It has turned out to be a really nice weekend. Thursday morning started out with big storms and massive rain. Check out our flooded street...(ironic that there is a boat parked across the street, huh?)

Thursday night, Brian and I went to see Kenny Chesney. It was his Father's Day gift (and maybe just a little bit for me, too..haha). I had no idea until around 3pm that day that Uncle Kracker was opening for him. Holy Smokes...UNCLE KRACKER!!!! If you know me, you know I have a bit of a thing for him. I was stoked!!! Even though it was like 52-freaking-degrees, it was still fun! I'm getting old, though. Kenny didn't even come on until 9PM. Maybe if I wasn't frozen by 7:30, I would have had a better attitude. Anyhow...it was still fun! And Uncle-Freaking-Kracker was there!!!! I tried to get some pictures with my phone, but I didn't really get anything good.

Friday was just a lazy day. It was nice because we didn't even leave the house all day. I had one of those total ADD days. You know, the kind where you start something and then it's a domino effect? It was 3:30PM and I was going to make homemade pizza for dinner. Aurelio's uses dried mushrooms on their pizza and Brian really likes it. So, I'm making my list for the store and open the cabinet to see if we have mushrooms. Ugh....I swear, this cabinet hasn't been cleaned out once since we moved here eight years ago. You know what's next, right? Yep...I then decide that the cabinet needs to be cleared out and re-organized right there at that moment. So out everything comes.....

So I successfully threw out a boatload of spices, seasonings, 1/3 used pudding packs (for my Mom's awesome Pecan Coffee Cake) and all sorts of other random items. I'm a happy camper now. I can see what's in there! And yes...we had mushrooms. TWO packs! However, by this time, it was well past the time to begin dinner. I know.......it's shocking that I would get side-tracked on 15 other things before the cabinet was done. We got some carry-out from Cilantro with a gift card we've had forever. Productive day!!

Saturday Jack had a game and then it was off to the Oyster's house for their annual Bean Bag Tourney. We had so much fun! While the guys were playing bags, the girls wound up playing Kick The Can with the kids out in front. I hid in a bush for what seemed like FOREVER and I'm pretty sure I had bugs and who knows what else in my hair by the end of that game! It was all worth it, though! We had some good food, fun times and Brian even won 3rd place in the bags tourney. Unfortunately, Jack's game didn't go so well. He got a couple of nice hits, though. And of course the time I'm actually standing by the plate with the camera, he gets a walk! Oh well..here is a picture of Jack watching the ball...haha!

And finally, today...Sunday. Made some blueberry pancakes for breakfast, some cupcakes for no particular reason, and now that it's been established how many packages of dried mushrooms I have, we were finally able to have that homemade pizza for dinner tonight. Jack rolled out all the dough for me. It thought maybe that would be an incentive to actually eat some. No dice. That kid is so damn picky!!!!

And that's it....after heading down to Izaak to catch a game, I'm home. And i'm tired! G'Nite!!

Yummy! Roasted Tomatoes with Pesto

I made this the other night and even Brian, who isn't a big fan of tomatoes, really liked it. It's a Barefoot Contessa recipe and it was a hit!

Slice Roma tomatoes into discs and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and dried oregano. Roast at 450 for 12 min. Then place a dollop of pesto on top and some grated Parmesan cheese. Roast an additional 10 min or until they are golden and bubbly.

School's Out For Summer!

I've been a bit bummed that I haven't been able to post in the last couple of months. I'm going to make a point to do so every day or two.

There, I said it. Now since it's been said...it MUST happen!!!!!

Wastin' Away Again....

Well, it's about time! Finally, the margarita man himself, Jimmy Buffett has finally announced when his circus will hit Toyota Park this summer!!! August 23rd! Mark your calendars! Now we can finally plan the rest of our summer! Tickets go on sale Monday morning at 10AM. Yay!!!! I'm looking forward to planning. It's always a GREAT time. This will be my 21st JB show.

Shopping Without Coupons....Ugh.

While I'm not a person who won't buy something unless there is a coupon attached to it somehow, I rarely have a shopping experience where there are no coupons involved at all. I had one of those today. Yuck! $56 at Target!!! I didn't even buy all that much. Such is life.

Ugh.

A couple of years ago, I donated the lovely pink plaid couch from the Dolton house to the BHS Library. It was in my back room and it needed a new home....and the library was looking for some donated furniture for a reading area. A win for everyone!

As I was walking through the library this morning, I noticed someone had made their mark on it. And yes, I'm 13...and while it was wrong, I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a small chuckle out of it.

Before School CVS

This is for you, Cousin Lisa! :)

I hit up the CVS this morning on my way in to score some free deodorant and free pop. CVS is selling Dove Men's deodorant (only the ones with the gray caps) $2 each. Print off the Dove Men's deodorant coupon from coupons.com (go to the personal care section) and you've got it for free!

2 Dove Deodorants - $4.00 (used 2 $2/1 printables)
1 Diet Dr. Pepper - $1.69 (took off $2 for liking them on Facebook)
1 Bag of Jelly Beans - .99 (I had no coupon for this. I heart jelly beans...'tis the season)

Out of pocket price....$1.12 (.44 of which was tax!) Not bad!

Do You Tanga?

I heart Tanga! It's a site that has some cool daily deals. They update their deals every night around 8PM. There is always a cool t-shirt, as well as a magazine deal. I've gotten some decent magazine deals on this site, as well as my favorite "Bazinga" (shout out to Sheldon from Big Bang Theory) t-shirt.

They are doing a sweepstakes right now for St. Patrick's Day that will give you a year supply of Lucky Charms and $100 in scratch off tickets. Fun! Why not enter? Click the link below!

http://www.getsubmit.com/enter/sweepstakes_refer/132/2504

Good Luck!

Happy Pulaski Day!

Well, I still am unsure as to the significance of Casimir Pulaski (other than a N/S main drag being named after him), but I am thankful for his contributions to the City of Chicago. And I am also thankful of the day off! Yay!

Last week was crazy. Nicky Finn was sick, I had a dental issue, and I had my T-Ball manager/coach meeting. Busy, busy, busy!

Today, I'm vowing to invite people to follow me on my blog. I don't want to become some big name in blogging, but I can post deals, stories, general announcements....right?

Progressive Wrap-Up

Another successful progressive dinner last night! We stuffed ourselves silly with...

Cajun Crab Dip
Cajun Shrimp Cocktail
Skewered Cajun Dusted Shrimp & Chicken
Mushrooms with Crostini
Red Beans & Rice
Cajun Shepherd's Pie
Jambalaya
Homemade Biscuits with Honey Butter
Bailey's Cheesecake
King Cake Cupcakes with Root Beer Frosting (pictured above)

Sweet Jesus...we were STUFFED!!!!! We washed it all down with French Martinis, Hurricanes, Bloody Marys and Irish Eyes (Sort of a Bailey's milkshake). Sooooo yummy!! Thank you to Dave & Sarah, Pam & Ed, Carolyn & Randy, and Chris & Scott for your delish creations!

We already have our next one planned! BBQ!!!! Can't wait. I am the last stop with a BBQ dessert! Yay!!

Free Tissue and Cough Drops at Walgreen's!

Walgreen's sells some sort of Vick's cough drops for .99 and if you use the $1 off any Vick's product from the 1/16 PG, that makes them free! But..there is supposed to be a coupon in tomorrow's paper that will give you a free box of Puff's with any Vick's product purchase.

Progressive Dinner Tonight!

Tonight we are taking part in a progressive dinner. At the end of the summer last year, we planned one with a group of friends for December. That one was such a success, that we planned another one! Our house was a stop on the last one, but not this one. Even though we are not a stop, I'm still going to provide some goodies! I entered to win a House Party a few months ago sponsored by Zatarain's. I was going to have my own party, but I'm going to bully my Mardi Gras party in with our progressive, since most of the evening is Cajun inspired, anyhow!

Zatarain's sent me a fun box filled with all sorts of goodies! The sent a huge bag of Mardi Gras beads, a bunch of masks, some of their most popular products to make and try, as well as coupons to share with friends. I'm going to make some Red Beans and Rice, as well as some King Cake Cupcakes. I have some fun things planned for us as well! I'll update with some fun pictures and maybe some video of us doing the "Second Line" tomorrow!

Stockpile...

I spent a few minutes this weekend trying to organize my little couponing stockpile. Here is a geeky picture.

My Marketing class watched some excerpts from that show "Extreme Couponing" last week. Once I revealed that I had a stockpile, I was immediately accused of being a hoarder. I promised them I'd take a picture to prove otherwise. So..here it is. Not crazy...right???

Who Knew?

Who knew it would be so easy to re-schedule jury duty? I was supposed to call later this afternoon to get the verdict on whether or not I was to report for my civic duty tomorrow. While I do think the idea of being on a jury is sorta cool, I just don't have the energy for that right now. So..I had all of my ducks in a row, my story all planned out, and ready to plead my case to whoever was lucky enough to be on the other end when I called today. Turns out, it's an automated system. All I had to do was press #1 and the ever-so-cheerful automated voice on the other end said "Your request has been approved". Who woulda thunk it??

Mornin'!

So...this is my first blog post. It has become an obsession of mine these days...reading random blogs. Most of the blogs I am glued to contain tutorials for projects/ideas that even if I had an infinite amount of time, I would never be able to complete. I have zero need for a paisley-fabric-covered-recycled-milk jug that will turn into a nifty paint brush holder. However, I can't take my eyes off the project and at some point, I will figure out an immediate need for a paisley-fabric-covered-recycled-milk jug that will turn into a nifty paint brush holder.

So, let's get started!!!

Not much on the big agenda today, which is nice. Jack has hockey this morning and winter workouts for baseball this evening. A whole lot of nothing is going on in-between. Lots of school stuff to try to accomplish today, so obviously I should spend the morning starting a blog :)

I think I'm going to put a pork roast in the slow cooker with some BBQ Sauce so we can have some Pulled Pork Sammy's for dinner tonight. I also need to get my papers. Those of you who know me best, know I'm a coupon geek. I think I may just pick up two or three today.