HAPPY BIRTHDAY SABRINA!

Yes, Sabrina shares her birthday with tax due day . . . but it makes it easy to remember!

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sabrina!

I signed up for this digi-scrap designer contest!

Oh don't worry - I'll be providing appropriate links when I complete the first challenge. They don't begin until May 1 though.

New Bradley Photos

After losing my camera's battery charger, I broke down and bought another . . . so with batteries loaded, new clothing and a gorgeous day . . . we had a mini shoot. My little boy is getting so big!!

Jeremy's First Scrimmage with the Maniax

As most of you probably know, Jeremy has joined a football team - Middletown Maniax. They had their first scrimmage today and unfortunately lost by a point . . . bummer. Of course, I took some photos and wanted to share!

His jersey isn't in yet - he'll be number 60. If anyone wants to come watch him play, most games will be free and I'll let you know the schedule when I get it.

A New Hobby . . . Couponing

Seriously . . . I'm becoming obsessive about it!! This week, I went shopping armed with coupons and a copy of Giant's coupon policy (in case the cashier didn't believe it was possible). I saved $90.97 with coupons. Yes NINETY DOLLARS!!

And I bought stuff we actually use like peanut butter, brown sugar, pasta, spaghetti sauce and obviously a lot more!

Ok - so here's my strategy and oh yes, there is some planning involved. I get coupons from the Sunday paper (next week I will buy two papers), magazines, and online. The online coupons are probably my biggest source. I have a laser printer, so it is very affordable to print them out. I print out the max allowed - sometimes this is five coupons but sometimes only two.

I visit these sites to find them: www.couponmom.com, www.smartsource.com, www.ecoupons.com and www.couponbug.com. There is some overlap in the coupons, but I'll print the max allowed. Then each week, I spend about an hour visiting manufacturers websites, where you will almost always find free coupons, such as www.landolakes.com and www.pillsbury.com. There is a great forum at www.couponmom.com where readers provide links to new and varying coupon offers too. I also google specific coupons i.e. "produce coupons." I found several for Dole salad greens this way!

Now, you need to know your store's coupon policy as they do vary. I shop Giant for the bulk of my large grocery trips. They have a flyer in Sunday's paper that provides six coupons to TRIPLE ones you take with you - this is a freebie - use it. They double coupons up to $1.00 - so any coupon between $0.50 and $0.99 will be adjusted to give you a dollar off! A $0.35 coupon will net you $0.70 in savings. However, you may also use multiple coupons per purchase up to the item price. They will double the first, but not subsequent. Note though that the cashier's usually override and double it anyway (I don't think they understand the policy).

For example . . . I have three $1.00 off coupons for a bag of dog treats that is priced at $2.93 each. I give them three coupons and save $2.93 - the purchase price - IT'S A FREEBIE!!

I also watch the store sales and combine them with the coupon offer. If the coupon won't expire for a while, then I may hold it until the item goes on bonus buy to amp up my savings or until I need the item.

The cashier admitted that in his year's employment - this was the most coupons he'd ever seen for one trip (smile). If you approach it like a game or challenge . . . it's fun!

So . . . . dear family and friends . . . if you don't use coupons - please give me the one's out of your Sunday paper!

What fun!

I found this online style sheet designer thingeee . . .


Romantic Easter Ensemble - by DesigningLori on Polyvore.com


Coffee Break - by DesigningLori on Polyvore.com

This could get addictive really fast. Click on the image to create yours or to find shopping links!

New Photos of Knox, Onyx and Jeremy

We recently heard from Noreen, who we purchased Knox from . . . I wanted to share some updated photos of Knox - so off we went to the backyard this afternoon to try a doggie photo shoot. She has his mother AND a brother and sister . . . that's a lot of Rott!

Now keep in mind, he is eight months old now and weighing in at a whopping 100 pounds! He is still mostly a giant puppy though. He learns quickly and is so loving and responsive. Him and Onyx are the best of friends. They go nuts if separated now . . .

Of course, I had to get a couple shots of Jeremy too . . . he's not the most cooperative model (grrrr). Uncle Max wants some for his photo wall, so he let me play a bit. These are my two favorites:

Jamie's World . . .

Because inquiring minds want to know . . . Jamie's home in pictures . . .

Today when I picked him up, he was happy to let me take photos of his residence . . . here is Jamie introducing the front of the house . . . a row home in Carlisle:

His bedroom . . . uh, he was excited to show me how CLEAN it was today . . . it is SO CLEAN that he got a star for it!!

And finally the backyard which is begging for my mom to come plant flowers or vegetables in . . . I'm guessing mowing will be on his chore list this summer!

Of course, I had to take the opportunity to get a couple more shots of my sweet boy who I am SO PROUD OF!!

I figured out Photoshop Elements!

Ok - sorta . . . I figured out the layers portion and how to use premade scrapbook templates.

Here are the first three that I did . . .





Oh yeah . . . what do you think of the new blog header? It was a freebie from House of Three.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Bradley worked it for me . . . he wore a pink shirt with a red hoodie and red beanie hat that I bought for the occasion. Jamie joined in too!