These are a few of my favourite things: CVS-ing

Did you know that I've saved over $1500 shopping at CVS so far this year? And most of the stuff I've "bought", I haven't paid a dime for. Nooooo, it's not called the 5 finger disount, it's CVS-ing!

If you're not cheap like me, you may have no idea what that term means. Basically, it's shopping at CVS using their Extracare Card to get Extracare Bucks (ECBs) which you in turn use to buy stuff at CVS for almost no money out of your pocket. Let me explain:

In their Sunday circular, CVS lists things that are on sale, some of which they offer you Extracare Bucks for buying. For example: a tube of Colgate toothpaste will be listed on sale for $2.50, and you get $2 in ECBs back, therefore making said toothpaste 50 cents (although you have to pay the whole $2.50 up front). But wait, there's more!

If you have a $1.00 manufacturer's coupon, CVS is basically paying YOU 50 cents to buy that toothpaste. Even better, by using your CVS card, you get coupons printed on your receipt that can be used alongside the manufacturer's coupon (this is called stacking coupons). So if I also had a CVS coupon for $1.00 off that same toothpaste, CVS is now "paying" me $1.50 to buy it.

Oh, but it gets better. If you sign up to receive emails from the CVS Extracare program, they email $4 off $20 coupons out every two weeks or so. So what I do, is look through the circular and see what items offer me the best return (that are free or close to free after the ECBs, or better than free if I'm using a CVS or manufacturer's coupon). I add up the items I wat to buy, making sure I can use my $4 off $20 coupon. If the total amount of ECBs I get back is pretty close to the amount I'll be spending, then I'm set to go shopping!

Since I have a pretty big stash of ECBs (I've been doing this for quite awhile), I use those to pay for the items... confused? Here's what I did last week:

These are all the items I bought on my last trip.

The Aveeno conditioner was $6.49. I had a $1 off coupon and got back $2 ECBs
The Aquafresh was $2.99. I had a $1 coupon, a $1 CVS coupon, and got back $2 ECBs
The razor was $9.99. I had a $4 coupon and got back $5 ECB
The toothbrush was $1. I had a $1 coupon and got back $1 ECB
The cream was $7.99. I had a $1 coupon and got back $7 in ECBs

My total came to $28.46. I also had a $5 off when you spend $25 store coupon (you should always give this coupon first, before all you manufacterer's coupons). After coupons, my total came to $15.46. I used my ECBs from my stash, and received $17 back in ECBs. So, they paid me to take all these items off of their hands. Pretty cool, eh?

Now, not every week is that good, and yes it takes time to go through the circular and match up your coupons, but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy. There are also websites out there that will tell you what the best deals are and what coupons to use, but I prefer to do it myself.

I've actually had to curtail my CVS-ing because I now have a stash of about 50 toothbrushes, 20+ tubes of toothpaste, probably close to 50 razors and more that I've paid next to nothing for. I've actually started donating some of my stash to shelters and other organizations because I'm running out of room to store it all.

Whew, that was a long post, and if you've made it to the end, I commend you! Enjoy the spoils of your CVS-ing!

These are a few of my favourite things: Musical Edition

As a Mom of a toddler, I don't really get to hear what's new in the world of music these days. The only place I really get to listen to music is in the car and even then I'm either bopping along to some Raffi, or trying to drown out Elise's I-want-out-of-this carseat-now screams with talk radio. I've also never found a station here that suits my rather eclectic taste in music.

I do have an I Pod, and I listen to it in the car whenever I remember to bring it with me - which is never. But if you were to browse through all the artists I have on there, you would easily be able to tell that my favourite band is, by far, the Hothouse Flowers.

It's okay if you haven't heard of them, or their name only rings a very faint bell. One of the things I love about them is the fact they fly under the musical radar. They've been together forever (or 1985 to be more precise), and started out busking on the streets on Dublin. Some of the faces have changed over the years, but Liam (lead singer) and Fiachna (guitar), who have known each other since childhood, have remain the constants in the band. You can read more about the band here.

A friend once asked me what it is about these guys that I love so much, and I had a hard time answering that question. Mostly because the list is long. Part of it is they are amazing musicians and put on an incredible show. Their love for what they do is so obvious up on stage. Liam plays a collection of instruments including bodhran (Irish drum), and the didgeridoo. Both Liam and Fiachna speak and sing in Gaelic.

They are also wonderful people. I've had the chance to get to know them a bit, and even hang out with them, and the way they treat their fans makes me love them even more. The last time I got to see them was on my birthday in 2006. Fred and I were in NYC, and the Flowers were doing a boat cruise that night. I had seem them about a month prior and had mentioned that Fred and I were going to come to New York to see them for my birthday.

Well, they had retained to bit of knowledge and about 15 minutes into their first set, they announced to the crowd that it was my birthday and had the entire boat sing Happy Birthday. Best. Birthday. Ever.

But most of all, it's their music. Their style cannot be put into a box. You could classify them as rock/pop, but they are so much more. Their sound is infused with soul, gospel and traditional Irish music. Whatever it is; it makes me happy. It soothes me. It nourishes my soul, and the lyrics sometimes feel like they were written just for me.

Why, you ask, am I blabbering on like an idiot about my favourite band? Only because Fred, Elise and I are going to see them in Kansas City at the KC Irish Festival! I can't wait to introduce Elise to them. Her middle name, Rian, is the name of Liam's first solo album.

Anyway, if you're looking for me on September 5th or 6th, I'll be grooving to some amazing music with my husband and little girl. Come join me if you're in the area!

The return of These are a Few of my Favourite Things; This time it's personal

I'm not famous, so I don't really have any fear that semi-embarrassing (or totally embarrassing, for that matter) pictures of me will show up on the net where vast quantities of people could see them. I really don't have any pictures out there to be embarrassed of, save for some "hairstyles-of-the-80s" class pictures.

Anyway, this website is hilarious. Called Awkward Family Photos, I think the name speaks for itself.

And if I ever find pictures of me on there, I will hunt down the guilty party and make you watch The Collective Works of Elise Doing Various Stuff. Total run-time: about 20 million hours.

You have been warned.

These are a Few of My Favourite Things: Episode 3

There are some words that flat-out make me laugh. You'll notice I use them a lot on my blog. Words like vomit, groin, crap-sandwich and jerkwad are guaranteed to get a chuckle out of me. I also like to use the word "suck" a lot. As in "that sucks", or "suck-tacular", or "they are the suckiest bunch of suckers that ever sucked".

That's why when I saw a website entitled "You Suck at Craigslist", I just had to check it out. Basically it's a website of postings taken from Craigslist that are funny, poorly written, or just plain bizarre. There are some wacked-out people traipsing around this country... check out this post and see if I'm lying.

These are a few of my Favourite Things vs. Godzilla

Again, a reminder as to why I do these: I have opinions... lots of them. And when I find something I love... I mean really, almost-as-good-as-chocolate love, I feel compelled to shout about it from the rooftops. So I've decided to post about them every now and again. I receive no compensation from these things/website/places/people, but would gladly welcome whatever they would like to send my way. I like presents.

I don't have a lot of free time on my hands, but when I do (Elise is napping and I should be cleaning/starting dinner/laundry, but instead I'm wasting time on the Internet), I love to check out websites that make me laugh. And this one, well... oh my.

It's called "It's Lovely! I'll Take It!" and it chronicles the weird, the crazy, and the wild Real Estate listings that can be found on the Internet. The writer captions the pictures with wonderful, sarcastic humour, and even provides a link to the full listing... you know, just in case a house with blood-stained carpeting is right up your alley.

As I was reading through some older posts, I came across this one. Rarely do I actually laugh out loud, but I had tears running down my face. I think I may have even guffawed. I'm book-marking that post for when I'm having a bad day and am in desperate need of a laugh.

The Revenge of These are a few of my Favourite Things

My explanation as to why I do these: As I've stated in a previous post, I have opinions... lots of them. And when I find something I love... I mean really, almost-as-good-as-chocolate love, I feel compelled to shout about it from the rooftops. So I've decided to post about them every now and again. I receive no compensation from these things/website/places/people, but would gladly welcome whatever they would like to send my way. I like presents.

I bet people who fancy themselves to be culinary experts detest the crockpot and everything it stands for. They probably view it as the redheaded step-child of the kitchen. Being a redhead, I don't really understand that phrase. These days, most people want to be a redhead. But I've wandered a bit off-topic...

I don't remember how I stumbled upon this blog, but I love it, and everything it stands for. These days, what do most people complain about being short of? Time and money. This website helps you save both. It's called A Year of Crockpotting because the author made a resolution last New Year's to use her crockpot every day in 2008.

So far I've tried two recipes; Chicken Soup (I tweaked it a bit and made it before I went to bed, letting it simmer though the night - my house smelled amazing!), and yogurt. Yes I did. I made yogurt in my crockpot. It was pretty cool. And way cheaper than buying Yobaby.

She gives good detailed instructions as well as pictures of the ingredients she used and what her final product looked like. She also includes her verdict, and is pretty honest about it. I find her writing to be funny and entertaining too.

So dust off your crockpot and simmer up something good!

Son of These are a Few of My Favourite Things

Sadly I don't really have time to peruse this website anymore, but Television Without Pity is one of my all-time favourites. Their slogan is "Spare the Snark, Spoil the Networks", and their thing is doing recaps of TV shows and movies. With heaping amounts of glorious sarcasm. Gobs and gobs of sarcasm, actually. So much that I think the writers must have done an intensive course on it at some point in their lives. Which is all fine by me. There is the occasional bad word here and there, so if that offends you, best to leave it alone. But if you have a spare 20 minutes, check it out and read a recap of your favourite show. I challenge you not to laugh.

These are a few of my Favourite Things: Elise Edition

Boy oh boy do I love Jamba Juice. One day I surprised my Momma by grabbing the straw from her drink and started drinking all by myself! Now Momma always shares her Jamba Juice with me. My favourite is the Citrus Squeeze because that's what she always gets. Their apple cinnamon pretzel is good too!

Hooray for Jamba Juice!

These are a few of my Favourite Things Part 3

Oh man, I have a new favourite show. It's called Hopkins and it airs on ABC Thursdays at 9 pm (CST). It's a six part series that follows caregivers at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital and offers a look at life working inside a busy urban hospital, as well as the impact this high pressure profession can have on doctors' personal lives. The footage is very raw, and very personal. If you're the least bit squeamish, then it's probably not for you. But if you're like me, and the field of medicine fascinates you, I recommend you give it a watch. Unfortunately, there's only one episode left, which will air next Thursday, but you can catch up by watching previous episodes online here.

These are a few of my Favourite Things Part 2

I was talking to a neighbour of mine the other day. We were complaining about the lack of good, fresh fruit here in Texas. She's from California. You know, the California where oranges leap off their trees, roll up to your front door, and knock on it while yelling, "Eat me! Eat me!" That's how fresh the fruit is. I told her I was so glad that a Sprouts Market opened up in Southlake. Can you believe that she had never heard of it? Neither could I, so I decided to post about it.

Fresh fruit is a must for me... I am addicted to it. And Sprouts is my pusher. Their fruit and veggies are a lot better quality than what you'll find at the grocery store. And most often, a lot cheaper. They have a pretty good organic selection too. I've been buying the produce I use to make Elise's food from Sprouts and I've been pretty happy with the quality. I think you can see that Elise likes it too!

My favourite day at Sprouts is Wednesday, or Double Ad Day. This is where the advertised prices from last week, and the ones from this week are good... all on the same day! It's twice the amount of stuff on sale. You can check them out at www.sprouts.com.

Now if you'll excuse me, I think I hear my strawberries screaming to be let out of the fridge.

These are a few of my Favourite Things

As I've stated in a previous post, I have opinions... lots of them. And when I find something I love... I mean really, almost-as-good-as-chocolate love, I feel compelled to shout about it from the rooftops. So I've decided to post about them every now and again. I receive no compensation from these things/website/places/people, but would gladly welcome whatever they would like to send my way. I like presents.

Very rarely does anything touch my funny bone enough to make me laugh out loud, but this website will do it almost every time. It's called Stuff Christians Like, and it's a list of some of the weird, bizarre, funny things and traditions about the Christian faith. Learn about "side hugs", or how to find out how metrosexual your worship leader is. But it's not just the humour that I appreciate, the author also has some very wise and insightful writing too. Check it out at: http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!