Getting Ready to Move

For those that have lived threw this last move with me I apologize for re-hashing it again My husband and I were given an opportunity to rent the house my husband lived in while he attended high school. He and I did not take the decision lightly because there was work that needed to be done and we would be renting from his dad. After lots of evaluating we decided to take him up on the offer.  We were leaving a single wide older mobile home, it was no longer healthy for us to live there. We were moving into a home that was built in 1947 and is made of cinder block. Yes you read correctly, my home is made of cinder block. For the most part it doesn't make a huge difference except when I want to hang items on the wall. Not all of the walls are cinder but 95% of them are.

In order to move into said house we needed to do a "few" minor repairs and paint. The rooms were all different colors and I couldn't tell you the last time the place had been cleaned. Below are a few before pics.

This is one of the living room walls.  Below is another. When we sprayed them with a degreaser all the nicotine and dirt ran down the wall like a river. 

Living room wall

The kitchen is off the living room and that connects to the "laundry" area and the bathroom. My daughter loves this feature because she can run in circles, now if it would just tire her out.

 

My kitchen. There is only a little counter space and that is where the sink is. Gas stove (woohoo for me) and some built in cabinets for a pantry and storage of dishes.

This is the hallway/laundry area. Gotta love that green it is everywhere.

This is looking into the bathroom. The bathroom is the only room in the house that didn't get painted. I kinda like the color but honestly by the time it was the bathroom's turn I was way over painting. 

This lovely hole was deemed "not so bad" by our landlord. But lets just say that portion of the floor was rotten and my wee one could have fallen through and gone directly into the utility basement. Um yeah didn't make me a happy camper. 

The other bedrooms were painted a purple and blue in color. The blue made the room very dark, I forgot to take pictures of the before of the other two rooms. Over the course of the next couple of posts I'll show you how far we've come. 

A huge thank you to my partner in crime, her mom and husband. Without their assistance somethings would not have gotten done or would have taken me 10 times longer to get them accomplished.

P&G Coupon Booklet

I know I find I keep coming back to the same reliable items. Some of which are P&G. Go sign up to receive $35 in coupons via mail. They are usually good for a couple of months and usually double.

The P&G Booklet is called Gather Together and should arrive in about 6 weeks.

Thanks Southern Savers!

Harris Teeter Super Doubles Trip

It's days like today that renew my faith in coupons and saving money. Harris Teeter is having their Super Doubles. That means that they will double coupons upto a $1.98 face value. Granted there is a 20 coupon limit but if done right you can make it worth your while.  It also pays to be a member of their EVIC program. Some items would have had overage but H.T. doesn't allow overage, I'll take free.  Below is a breakdown of todays trip.

 

Product	Qty	Price	EVIC	Sub-total	MFG	Double	ZVR	OOP
Betty Crocker Potatoes	2	$    0.77		$           1.54	$       0.80	$      0.80		FREE
Lays Potato Chips	2	$    2.14		$           4.28				$    4.28
Mueller Bowties	1	$    1.00		$           1.00	$       0.55	$      0.55		FREE
Tide Detergent (100 oz)	1	$  11.99		$         11.99	$       2.00		$  2.00	$    7.99
Kikoman Teriyaki Sauce	1	$    2.59		$           2.59	$       1.00	$      1.00		$    0.59
Honey Bunches of Oats	2	$    2.50	$  0.53	$           3.94	$       2.00	$      2.00		FREE
Pantene Shampoo	2	$    3.50		$           7.00	$       3.00		$  3.00	$    1.00
Listerine Cool Mint	1	$    3.99		$           3.99	$       1.00	$      1.00		$    1.99
Herbal Essence Mousse	1	$    2.99		$           2.99	$       1.00	$      1.00		$    0.99
Fructis Mousse	1	$    2.99		$           2.99	$       1.00	$      1.00		$    0.99
H.T. Chicken Breast	1	$    8.58	$  5.72	$           2.86				$    2.86
H.T. Chicken Breast	1	$    8.18	$  5.46	$           2.72				$    2.72
H.T. Chicken Breast	1	$    8.28	$  5.52	$           2.76				$    2.76
Yellow Onion	1	$    1.00		$           1.00				$    1.00
Bagels	1	$    2.24		$           2.24				$    2.24
Sargento Cheese	4	$    2.00		$           8.00	$       2.00	$      2.00		$    4.00
Breakstone Sour Cream	1	$    1.00		$           1.00				$    1.00
Chobani Greek Yogurt	5	$    1.00		$           5.00	$       0.30	$      0.30		$    4.40
Nivea Lip for Men	1	$    1.50		$           1.50	$       1.00	$      1.00		FREE
Nivea Lip	1	$    1.50		$           1.50	$       1.00	$      1.00		FREE
Nivea Lip w/Shimmer	2	$    1.50		$           3.00	$       3.00			FREE

 

Total Before Card:$132.25

Vic Savings: $48.34

Online Vic Savings (ZVR):$5

Coupon Savings: 33.08

OOP plus tax: $45.82

Total Savings: 65%

How'd y'all do?

Resolutions

The last couple months of the year of 2011 seemed to go by in a whirlwind. Thanksgiving came and went. Pretty quickly, especially since I cooked Thanksgiving dinner in a toaster oven. Yup, you read right, I cooked Turkey Day dinner in a toaster oven. We had moved, and didn't realize the oven didn't work until I was trying to bake something a couple days before. The top of my stop worked, its gas, so I could cook on the stove top but not bake. So, we, my sister and I, made the turkey breast in toast oven and then the rolls, and while we ate the apple pie baked. I did state that the only pie I am making going forward is going to be a lemon meringue with graham cracker crust. I ended up just eating the pie filling, I don't like pie crust.
Then came the end of the school semester and the stress that brings. Glad when that ended. We, my sister and I, had a cookie day at her house. Then my partner in crime had a cookie day, my oven was fixed but her kitchen is bigger. Before you knew it was Christmas.  It was a good but crazy Christmas. Caroline has enjoyed everything she has received. She enjoys the loud noisy toys the best. Typical 21 month old. :)
So the new year washes away last year "regrets" and brings a new untarnished sense of wonder. I typically don't make resolutions but I am making promises that I plan on keeping.  Promises are harder to break than a resolution, or at least in my brain. I promise myself to become healthy and to post more often on the blog in addition to being a better parent and spouse. I want also continue to do well in my education.