Round 2...my iPad ate my blog entry! Wrote it all up and went to hit Publish, then nothing! It disappeared! Guess i have to stick with posting from my good old Macbook Air, at least the web layout autosaves so I don't lose everything!
I coupon for the everyday person, not the person with the extreme stockpiles that cost nothing except for hours upon hours of time and energy. I coupon within reason, spending a short time each week on my couponing, not letting it take over my life.
My husband and I are a bit tight on funds right now, we are working on paying off our debt so we can buy a house in the next couple of years. As I only work part time, I use couponing as a way to help pay the bills.
To get my coupons, I visit Coupons.com and Target store coupons weekly. I also occasionally go to Smartsource and Save.com (Redplum), however I often have difficulty printing from these sites as I use a Mac (my only complaint about Apple). I also get hand-me-down coupon fliers from the paper from my parents (my mom cuts out the coupons she wants, I get the leftovers), as well as the occaisional flier from work. I subscribe to The Krazy Coupon Lady and The Extreme Coupon Professors as guides to seeing some of the best deals. Some of the stores are not relevant as we do not have them in NH, but it helps to see what prices are possible.
I organize my coupons in a binder with baseball card sleeves and tabbed dividers that separate them into categories (frozen, fridge, grocery, snacks, household, personal, medicine, and pet). I leave the coupons in the sleeve until I actually place the item into the cart, then I move the coupon to the little flap at the front of the binder.
To find deals, I take our weekly grocery list and the sales fliers for the local supermarkets (Shaws, Hannaford, Market Basket) and Target. I match up the coupons to the items on the list, then I make another list separated by which store I want to buy which item at depending on the sales. The default store is Walmart because they normally have the lowest prices, with the exception of fresh foods like veggies, fruit, seafood, meat and deli (a quality thing, not a price thing).
This week was particularly successful for me. I saved 47% ($13.21) at Target, 37% ($20.05) at Shaws, and 23% ($6.00) at Market Basket. These numbers aren't astonishing, but they also don't include how much I saved regarding sale versus regular price items. It still comes close to $40....which is a nice chunk of change, especially these days when every little bit helps!
My best deals this week were:
-Kotex Pads $2.19 for 40-48ct package (Shaws on sale for 4.29 for a 40-48ct box and buy 2 get 1 free, coupon for $2 off 2)
- Glade Scented Oil Warmer $0.57 (Target, coupon $1 off 1)
- Glade Scented Oil Warmer refills $2.50 for 2 (Target, on sale for $4.50, manufacturer coupon $1 off 2, store coupon $1 off 2)
- Prince Pasta Portions $0.38 box (Market Basket, on sale for $0.88, coupon $1 off 2)
It was very enjoyable having the time and motivation to do couponing. Hopefully, I can continue!
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Meds are a wonderful thing
I posted a while ago about my struggle with depression and my visit with the psychiatrist. Its been a couple months now, and the change is awesome! I was prescribed a medication and it is amazing how it changed my daily life. I am actually happy. I actually talk to people and act social. I have almost no side effects, other than I now sleep 7-8 hours instead of 10+.
Its been a noticed difference at work. For the first time in ever, my work review actually said I had a positive attitude! It was like hell froze over; I am never seen as positive, especially at work. I am getting along with everyone. My interactions with passengers have improved. My job is so much fun. I hope things keep going well for me, it's a nice, needed change.
Its been a noticed difference at work. For the first time in ever, my work review actually said I had a positive attitude! It was like hell froze over; I am never seen as positive, especially at work. I am getting along with everyone. My interactions with passengers have improved. My job is so much fun. I hope things keep going well for me, it's a nice, needed change.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Snowmobiling
For Christmas, my husband got me a 2 hour snowmobile adventure for the 2 of us out of Lincoln, NH at a place called Outback Kayak. I haven't been snowmobiling in years, too many years. It is one of my all time favorite activities, ranks right up there with horseback riding and riding my Vespa.
We made a nice weekend out of it. Taking back roads from Dover, we headed up to Conway. He wanted to check out Moat Mountain Brewery for lunch. We had some yummy BBQ and he got to try out some new beers. Then we went to downtown Conway, stopping to see the trains and go to Zeb's Country Store. After some gelato we headed to the outlet mall.
My stupid depression kicked in and I was fustrated because I had picked the wrong shoes so my feet were killing me. It was really putting a damper on our getaway, so I ended up picking up a new pair of sneakers just to make myself more comfortable. I am mad that I spent the money as I am trying to be good, plus I really need to get rid of a lot of stuff, not add to it. I am hoping soon I will get the motivation to purge my clothes and crafts so I can stop feeling so cluttered.
Anyways, back to the happier stuff. We headed over to the hotel (Comfort Inn) in Lincoln and dropped off our overnight bags. It was getting close to dinner time so after searching Yelp, we decided to try Woodstock Station. Dinner was very good. I would like to go again and try some of the other offerings.
After a nice swim in the pool, we went to bed early.
I was very happy with our experience at OutBack Kayak. They were very friendly and nice. I was extremely happy to find out they had Polaris snowmobiles!! They are my favorite as they were what I used to ride. The trails were easy, but that is to be expected on a guided ride. We got to ride in the White Mountain National Forest. It was a ton of fun. I didn't want it to end!
It was nice to get away for a little break.
We made a nice weekend out of it. Taking back roads from Dover, we headed up to Conway. He wanted to check out Moat Mountain Brewery for lunch. We had some yummy BBQ and he got to try out some new beers. Then we went to downtown Conway, stopping to see the trains and go to Zeb's Country Store. After some gelato we headed to the outlet mall.
My stupid depression kicked in and I was fustrated because I had picked the wrong shoes so my feet were killing me. It was really putting a damper on our getaway, so I ended up picking up a new pair of sneakers just to make myself more comfortable. I am mad that I spent the money as I am trying to be good, plus I really need to get rid of a lot of stuff, not add to it. I am hoping soon I will get the motivation to purge my clothes and crafts so I can stop feeling so cluttered.
Anyways, back to the happier stuff. We headed over to the hotel (Comfort Inn) in Lincoln and dropped off our overnight bags. It was getting close to dinner time so after searching Yelp, we decided to try Woodstock Station. Dinner was very good. I would like to go again and try some of the other offerings.
After a nice swim in the pool, we went to bed early.
It was nice to get away for a little break.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Poked and prodded
Spent basically the whole day at the doctors office. Had a routine physical, which was not so routine. Since when do they make you strip down and wear that much too awkward "coverup" from the beginning of the appointment? My former doctor office only made you undress when it was time for every girls favorite exam...Weird. I did get some enjoyment out of the appointment thanks to my heart. The doctor took my blood pressure (oddly both numbers were under 100...) and my pulse...he then quickly had the nurse hook me up to an EKG. I had to laugh, new to me docs are thrown by my pulse. It has been tested multiple times, just to have a normal result. But I don't share this until the test Is done, just in case I can finally get an answer.
Got my supply of radiation from the X-rays today...hips and knees. Both have been acting up, making it painful to walk, especially after sitting for a while. My former good knee is now as painful as my bad knee. Yay. Not really sure what to expect or what I will do as I need my right leg to drive, and I can't be missing work. I need all the hours I can get especially with the awful new schedule. I'll have to see what the new orthopedist says.
Then was my first appointment with a psychiatrist. Obviously, those of you who know me on Facebook know that I have severe depression. It causes me to write things that I definitely shouldn't be airing on the world wide interwebs, or at least not the way i phrase it in my psychotic state. It has been barely managed with some meds, which had ceased function. So I tried some different meds, which made me gag almost constantly over the least little thing. Not happening. So off I went. On nothing but my screwed up brain chemistry. Well, my brain chemistry really doesn't like me; in fact its one step away from trying to kill me. The only time I am ok is at work, other than that I am a blob, laying in bed, watching tv and accomplishing nothing at all, even things I should be doing, like chores. Not a good thing. And definitely not fair on my sweet husband who does far too much. So the appointment was made to seek help.
The new doctor was nice. He is doing a program at my regular doctors office as a consultant. He asked a bunch of questions about my past. And discussed medications. He is trying me on one that targets more than just one part of the brain chemistry affected by depression. I did like that he said I have a good job in that it forces me to be social, so that was nice to hear. I did not like that he said exercise is a good help in the treatment of depression. How is someone who is so beyond depressed and in pain supposed to get her ass out of bed to do that? He did recommend a pool and water aerobics...which would be a lesser form of evil. We'll see. I go back in a month. What I would really like would be to go back to therapy, I think being able to talk things out would be a help as well. He also suggested folic acid to help...and no I'm not pregnant, I guess it helps with depression symptoms.
So right now I'm feeling a bit more hopeful than I was before the appointment. He seems to think that the right meds will really make a difference. Now, to find the right meds....and hopefully fight this awful depression disease.
Got my supply of radiation from the X-rays today...hips and knees. Both have been acting up, making it painful to walk, especially after sitting for a while. My former good knee is now as painful as my bad knee. Yay. Not really sure what to expect or what I will do as I need my right leg to drive, and I can't be missing work. I need all the hours I can get especially with the awful new schedule. I'll have to see what the new orthopedist says.
Then was my first appointment with a psychiatrist. Obviously, those of you who know me on Facebook know that I have severe depression. It causes me to write things that I definitely shouldn't be airing on the world wide interwebs, or at least not the way i phrase it in my psychotic state. It has been barely managed with some meds, which had ceased function. So I tried some different meds, which made me gag almost constantly over the least little thing. Not happening. So off I went. On nothing but my screwed up brain chemistry. Well, my brain chemistry really doesn't like me; in fact its one step away from trying to kill me. The only time I am ok is at work, other than that I am a blob, laying in bed, watching tv and accomplishing nothing at all, even things I should be doing, like chores. Not a good thing. And definitely not fair on my sweet husband who does far too much. So the appointment was made to seek help.
The new doctor was nice. He is doing a program at my regular doctors office as a consultant. He asked a bunch of questions about my past. And discussed medications. He is trying me on one that targets more than just one part of the brain chemistry affected by depression. I did like that he said I have a good job in that it forces me to be social, so that was nice to hear. I did not like that he said exercise is a good help in the treatment of depression. How is someone who is so beyond depressed and in pain supposed to get her ass out of bed to do that? He did recommend a pool and water aerobics...which would be a lesser form of evil. We'll see. I go back in a month. What I would really like would be to go back to therapy, I think being able to talk things out would be a help as well. He also suggested folic acid to help...and no I'm not pregnant, I guess it helps with depression symptoms.
So right now I'm feeling a bit more hopeful than I was before the appointment. He seems to think that the right meds will really make a difference. Now, to find the right meds....and hopefully fight this awful depression disease.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Getting out of bed...
If you do not have to go to work, or have an appointment, or really anything to do, what gets you out of bed at a decent time?
For me, I can't seem to find any reason to get out of the bed unless I have work or an appointment. I will go to sleep at 10pm and wake up between 8am and 10am. Maybe I'll change out of my PJs into comfy clothes, but I am still in bed. I give the cat their meds (yes, for the next week both kitties are on meds...one oral syringe, the other ointment in the ear) but then back laying down on the bed. I watch TV. I make a simple lunch which I then proceed to eat, you guessed it, in bed, laying down. I then lay in bed and watch TV until its time to go to work. I don;t even bother to get one of the dozen DVDs I have yet to watch, I just watch whatever show is on reruns that I feel like watching. Mindless stupid TV. I procrastinate any chores until the last minute and they only get done if assigned on the "chore board" I had him set up for me.
I go to work. I feel ok, I enjoy my job. I'm lazy and don't walk any further than I have to most days, I have often called the office from the bus in the yard rather than walk back to the office (it's really not that far). I drive my bus, rarely do I get out of the seat unless forced to by a needy passenger or to assist a wheelchair passenger. Doesn't matter if the shift is 2 hours or 8 hours...I don't move unless I have to.
I am thinking, well I know, this is definately not a healthy way to live. Luckily, I don't just lay here and eat a bunch of food all day, I stick with lunch and dinner and maybe a snack for breakfast. But I don't move.
But how do I get out of bed? I have no where to go. Nothing appeals to me other than laying here. I am most comfortable laying down. I actually struggle to eat at home sitting on the table. My husband eats like a human at the desk, and I eat like I don;t even know, laying down in bed. It's pathetic. People my age should want to get out and do things. My new schedule has made this issue even worse as I usually don't go to work until after 3pm and am home again by 7pm. I don't feel like i have time to do anything before work, when I actually have hours, especially if I got my lazy ass out of bed.
I have been diagnosed with depression, and I am on a new medication which has made my relationship better and me more level with my mood. However it has not gotten my lazy ass motivated to get out of bed.
I dunno what to do. It's a pathetic, unhealthy existence.
For me, I can't seem to find any reason to get out of the bed unless I have work or an appointment. I will go to sleep at 10pm and wake up between 8am and 10am. Maybe I'll change out of my PJs into comfy clothes, but I am still in bed. I give the cat their meds (yes, for the next week both kitties are on meds...one oral syringe, the other ointment in the ear) but then back laying down on the bed. I watch TV. I make a simple lunch which I then proceed to eat, you guessed it, in bed, laying down. I then lay in bed and watch TV until its time to go to work. I don;t even bother to get one of the dozen DVDs I have yet to watch, I just watch whatever show is on reruns that I feel like watching. Mindless stupid TV. I procrastinate any chores until the last minute and they only get done if assigned on the "chore board" I had him set up for me.
I go to work. I feel ok, I enjoy my job. I'm lazy and don't walk any further than I have to most days, I have often called the office from the bus in the yard rather than walk back to the office (it's really not that far). I drive my bus, rarely do I get out of the seat unless forced to by a needy passenger or to assist a wheelchair passenger. Doesn't matter if the shift is 2 hours or 8 hours...I don't move unless I have to.
I am thinking, well I know, this is definately not a healthy way to live. Luckily, I don't just lay here and eat a bunch of food all day, I stick with lunch and dinner and maybe a snack for breakfast. But I don't move.
But how do I get out of bed? I have no where to go. Nothing appeals to me other than laying here. I am most comfortable laying down. I actually struggle to eat at home sitting on the table. My husband eats like a human at the desk, and I eat like I don;t even know, laying down in bed. It's pathetic. People my age should want to get out and do things. My new schedule has made this issue even worse as I usually don't go to work until after 3pm and am home again by 7pm. I don't feel like i have time to do anything before work, when I actually have hours, especially if I got my lazy ass out of bed.
I have been diagnosed with depression, and I am on a new medication which has made my relationship better and me more level with my mood. However it has not gotten my lazy ass motivated to get out of bed.
I dunno what to do. It's a pathetic, unhealthy existence.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Palmolive Fresh Infusions Review: It's so sudsy!!
If you didn't already know, I am a member of Influenster, which means I am randomly selected to try new products. In order to continue receiving products, I have simple tasks to complete, like take a photo on Instagram, post to Facebook, write a blog entry....so here I am.
My latest product is Palmolive Fresh Infusions dish washing detergent. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact I got 3 full size bottles to try!
Of course, the first thing I did was smell each of the varieties. My favorite was the Lime Basil and Lemon Thyme. The Ginger White Tea is my hubby's favorite. He is the one who does the dishes, so his liked are important. He says that they suds up very nicely, more than most detergents. The grease cutting power is average. I know when I used it yesterday to soak a pan, it foamed up nice, but the best part was that it had a nice smell to it. It wasn't overpowering, but it covered up the smell of the junk in the pan, which is very important to me as I now have a very sensitive stomach/gag reflex.
The one thing I noticed is the labels don't match. Consistency is important, but these are a new product, so maybe they are testing out different designs. I prefer the label on the lemon and green tea ones. Its more balanced than the one on the Lime one. I do like the overall label design with it being clear with the pictures on it. The bottles are nice too, they are attractive to have displayed by the sink.
I'd definitely purchase this product again, and recommend it to my friends to try.
My latest product is Palmolive Fresh Infusions dish washing detergent. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact I got 3 full size bottles to try!
The one thing I noticed is the labels don't match. Consistency is important, but these are a new product, so maybe they are testing out different designs. I prefer the label on the lemon and green tea ones. Its more balanced than the one on the Lime one. I do like the overall label design with it being clear with the pictures on it. The bottles are nice too, they are attractive to have displayed by the sink.
I'd definitely purchase this product again, and recommend it to my friends to try.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Obligatory New Year Post
As is written all over everyone's Facebook page, Happy New Year! With that being said, now is the time for the expected year end review and preview of upcoming events.
2012. It should have been the best year ever. I got a dream car in Dec 2011. I had a wedding coming up in October 2012. I started the year with 2 jobs I enjoyed most of the time. Yup, definitely should have been an amazing year. Sadly, it didn't turn out that way due to my awesome brain chemistry being off. I spent a good portion of the year being miserable and sad and moody.
I lost my job driving school bus and was not told the reason behind it, although I have my suspicions that Facebook played a part in it which is beyond wrong as I was always an excellent employee and did my job better than a lot of the other drivers there. What happens outside of work should not play any part in my job, especially as it was never ever shown to affect my job. Of course, it didn't help my bosses boss didn't like me because I wouldn't work in Maine. Anyways, it really sucks because I do love driving school buses. It did teach me that I should have stuck to my original plan of no coworkers on Facebook.
My dream car has turned out ok, except the windshield cracked after a storm due to weird temperature changes. And now it has some serious issues with moisture on the interior, which I am not sure if it is related to the windshield or a more significant problem. I am now completely paranoid my windshield channel is rotting away as I speak. However, I cannot replace the windshield until inspection because I have extremely bad luck with windshields and if I fix it now, it will be cracked again before inspection and I definitely do not have the money to replace it twice (and no, I do not get free windshields through my insurance, so stop asking! I went through 2 or 3 on my Liberty). Other than this issue, my Fiat is a blast to drive. I will love it again once these problems are fixed.
The wedding. That should have been the happiest time of my life. Most every girl dreams of their wedding day. Once again, due to my awesomely horrible brain chemistry and hormone levels, it was not nearly as romantic and awesome as it should have been if I had been not suffering from severe depression. Don't get me wrong, I have an awesome husband and I do not regret marrying him or anything at all like that, I just wish I had been a hell of a lot happier, romantic, and nicer to be around.
I finally got the guinea pig I have been wanting for years since my first one died. At first it was great. She is really the sweetest piggy you could ask for. But lately the smell has been getting to me. With my change in medication I have been very nauseous and sensitive to smell. Ben says that she doesn't smell, but I can't stand it. Makes me soooo nauseous, even right after cleaning her cage with all fresh clean supplies. Now I don't know what to do. I can't deal with the smell.
I find a new fun thing to do, ride my Vespa. Of course, I found out it has some damage to the shaft connecting the engine to the transmission, and it fell over a few weeks after I bought it and scratched the paint. It is spending the winter at the body shop then the place I bought it. In the end, hopefully it will be like new and treat me well this upcoming season.
Yeah, so 2012 was not so good. All the good stuff was overshadowed by the bad stuff.
2013. Not starting out so well. The new schedule at work is really leaving me short on hours. I do ok with 20 hours a week, but right now, I have 8, and there are very limited available routes that I can cover because if it starts too early I fall asleep behind the wheel, and due to his hours, I can't be working late either.
I am struggling with a switch in my medication. The withdrawal and side effects are kicking my ass right now. I am hoping it will be all worth it and I can get back to being happy.
Hopefully things will get better and i can actually have positive entries.
2012. It should have been the best year ever. I got a dream car in Dec 2011. I had a wedding coming up in October 2012. I started the year with 2 jobs I enjoyed most of the time. Yup, definitely should have been an amazing year. Sadly, it didn't turn out that way due to my awesome brain chemistry being off. I spent a good portion of the year being miserable and sad and moody.
I lost my job driving school bus and was not told the reason behind it, although I have my suspicions that Facebook played a part in it which is beyond wrong as I was always an excellent employee and did my job better than a lot of the other drivers there. What happens outside of work should not play any part in my job, especially as it was never ever shown to affect my job. Of course, it didn't help my bosses boss didn't like me because I wouldn't work in Maine. Anyways, it really sucks because I do love driving school buses. It did teach me that I should have stuck to my original plan of no coworkers on Facebook.
My dream car has turned out ok, except the windshield cracked after a storm due to weird temperature changes. And now it has some serious issues with moisture on the interior, which I am not sure if it is related to the windshield or a more significant problem. I am now completely paranoid my windshield channel is rotting away as I speak. However, I cannot replace the windshield until inspection because I have extremely bad luck with windshields and if I fix it now, it will be cracked again before inspection and I definitely do not have the money to replace it twice (and no, I do not get free windshields through my insurance, so stop asking! I went through 2 or 3 on my Liberty). Other than this issue, my Fiat is a blast to drive. I will love it again once these problems are fixed.
The wedding. That should have been the happiest time of my life. Most every girl dreams of their wedding day. Once again, due to my awesomely horrible brain chemistry and hormone levels, it was not nearly as romantic and awesome as it should have been if I had been not suffering from severe depression. Don't get me wrong, I have an awesome husband and I do not regret marrying him or anything at all like that, I just wish I had been a hell of a lot happier, romantic, and nicer to be around.
I finally got the guinea pig I have been wanting for years since my first one died. At first it was great. She is really the sweetest piggy you could ask for. But lately the smell has been getting to me. With my change in medication I have been very nauseous and sensitive to smell. Ben says that she doesn't smell, but I can't stand it. Makes me soooo nauseous, even right after cleaning her cage with all fresh clean supplies. Now I don't know what to do. I can't deal with the smell.
I find a new fun thing to do, ride my Vespa. Of course, I found out it has some damage to the shaft connecting the engine to the transmission, and it fell over a few weeks after I bought it and scratched the paint. It is spending the winter at the body shop then the place I bought it. In the end, hopefully it will be like new and treat me well this upcoming season.
Yeah, so 2012 was not so good. All the good stuff was overshadowed by the bad stuff.
2013. Not starting out so well. The new schedule at work is really leaving me short on hours. I do ok with 20 hours a week, but right now, I have 8, and there are very limited available routes that I can cover because if it starts too early I fall asleep behind the wheel, and due to his hours, I can't be working late either.
I am struggling with a switch in my medication. The withdrawal and side effects are kicking my ass right now. I am hoping it will be all worth it and I can get back to being happy.
Hopefully things will get better and i can actually have positive entries.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)