First Shopping Trip of 2011 - January 8

Publix hotdog buns

$0.97

Publix hamburger buns

$0.97

Publix honeywheat bread

$1.67

Jala ice cream bars (3 boxes) - regular price $3.99... BOGO sale

$5.99
Coupons - $3.00
Total - $2.99

Pillsbury Grands! biscuits (2 cans) - regular price $1.89

$2.00
Coupons - $1.00
Total - $1.00

Pillsbury cinnamon rolls (2 cans)

$4.58
Coupons - $2.00
Total - $2.58

Pepperidge Farm Deli Flat buns - regular price $2.99... BOGO sale

$1.50

Eggs - 1 1/2 dozen

$2.55

Pepto Bismol - regular price $3.69... 20% off

$2.95
Coupons - $1.00
Total - $1.95

Greek Yogurt Veggie Dips (4 tubs) - regular price $2.99... BOGO sale

$5.98
Coupons - $4.00
Total - $1.98

Ronzoni Pasta (8 boxes) - regular price $1.79... BOGO sale

$7.16
Coupons - $4.00
Total - $3.16

Kraft Mac & Cheese (2 boxes)

$2.34
Coupons - $0.50
Total - $1.84

Jennie-O turkey burgers - Regular price $7.99

$4.00

Green Giant frozen creamed spinach (2 boxes) - Regular price $1.66

$2.00
Coupons - $2.00
Total - Free

Friendship Sour Cream

$1.85
Coupon - $1.00
Total - $0.85

Swiffer duster - Regular price $4.99

$4.00
Coupon - $1.00
Total - $3.00

Boca frozen veggie patties (4 boxes) - Regular price $3.35... BOGO sale

$6.70
Coupons - $2.00
Total - $4.70

Egg Beaters (2 cartons) - Regular price $2.79... BOGO sale

$2.79

Smart Balance milk (2 cartons) - Regular price $3.59... 2/$5 sale

$5.00
Coupons - $1.50
Total - $3.50

Chow Mein Noodles - Regular price $0.75... BOGO sale

$1.50

Starbucks Frappuccino 4-pack (3 packs) - Regular price $5.99... B2G1 sale

$11.98
Coupons -$3.00
$8.98

Boneless chicken breast - $1.99 per pound (total savings of $8.60)

$7.44

Boston butt roast - savings of $1.89

$6.18

Ground turkey - savings of $0.93

$3.31

London Broil - savings of $1.15

$4.59

Peter Pan peanut butter - Regular price $2.49... BOGO sale

$2.49
Coupons - $2.00
Total - $0.49

Success boil-in-bag rice - Regular price $2.39

$1.99
Coupon - $1.00
Total - $0.99

Curly's BBQ pork - Regular price $5.69... BOGO sale

$2.85

Fresh Mixers - Regular price $2.99... 2/$5.00 sale

$10.00
Coupons - $6.00
Total - $4.00

Texas Toast croutons (2 bags)

$1.98
Coupons - $2.00
Total - ($0.02)

Campbell's Spaghetti-O's (4 cans) - Regular price $1.45

$4.09
Coupons - $1.60
Total - $2.49

Publix 12-pack sodas (3 packs)

$7.50

Publix Water - Regular price $4.49

$3.99
Coupon - $0.50
Total - $3.49

Total Spent (before tax) - $100.78
Total Saved - $112.65
Percent Saved - 53%

Drug Store Shopping

CVS

Bounty 8 pack of paper towels - $6.97 regular price - $9.99
coupon - $0.50
total - $6.47

Clairol Nice & Easy - 2 for $5.97 each - $11.94 regular price - $7.99 each
coupons - $4.00
total - $7.94

Crest toothpaste - $2.75 regular price - $3.49
coupon - $1.00
total - $1.75

Dawn hand care dish soap - 2 for $0.97 each - $1.94 regular price - $1.69
coupons - $1.00
total - $0.94

Puffs Plus - 2 for $0.97 each - $1.94 regular price - $2.18
coupons - $0.50
total - $1.44

Toy Story 3 (w/ $25 in P&G products) - $3.99 regular price - $19.99

Total Spent with tax $25.48 Total coupons $7.00 Total saved $34.66



Rite-Aid (I did this in 4 transactions)

3 - 8 Pack fun size candies
Reese's, Snickers & Butterfinger - $3.00 regular price - $1.99 each
coupons - $1.00
Rite-Aid any purchase coupon - $1.00
total - $1.00

Total w/ tax - $1.10 Got Back - $1.00 UP reward

Chock Full O Nuts Coffee - 2 for $2.99 each - $5.98 regular price - $4.49 each
coupons - $1.50
Rite-Aid any purchase coupon - $1.00
UP reward - $1.00
total - $2.48

Total w/ tax - $2.88 Got Back - $2.00 UP reward

H&S Shampoo and Conditioner - 2 for $7.00 regular price - $5.99 each
coupons - $2.00
Rite-Aid any purchase coupon - $1.00
UP reward - $2.00
total - $2.00

Total w/ tax - $2.50 Got Back - $2.00 UP reward

1 Gardettos, 2 Chex Mix, 3 Bugles - $9.00 regular price - $2.99 each
coupons - $3.00
total for 6 - $6.00

Gillette deodorant - 2 for $7.00 regular price - $4.99 each
coupons - $4.00
total - $3.00

Colgate Total - 2 for $2.79 regular price - $2.79 each
coupons - $4.00
total - ($1.21)

$4 of $20 purchase coupon
$2 UP rewards

Total w/ tax - $3.27 Got back - $3.00 UP rewards

M&M Fun Size bags (8 pack) - $0.99 regular price - $1.99
(18 pack) - $1.99 regular price - $3.99
UP rewards - $2.00
total - $0.98

Total w/ tax - $1.28

Total spent at Rite-Aid - $11.03 Total saved - $69.69 UP rewards left - $1.00

Thursday Shopping Trip!

I love buying groceries! Yesterday I went to Publix and Winn-Dixie to hit up the sales.

Here is what I got at Publix...




Cole's Frozen Toast and Breadsticks- 4 for $5.58
coupons - $4.00
total for 4 - $1.58 regular price for 4 - $11.16

Kraft (1 pound) Shredded Mozzarella - $3.99
(1 pound) Shredded Cheddar - $3.99
coupons - $4.00
total for 2 pounds of shredded cheese - $3.98 regular price for 2 - $11.58

Kraft Deli Slice Swiss - $3.29
Deli Slice Colby Jack - $3.29
coupons - $4.00
total for 2 - $2.58 regular price for 2 - $6.58

Pillsbury Grands Canned Biscuits - 4 for $5.00
coupons - $1.20
total for 4 - $3.80 regular price for 4 - $7.56

Coffee Mate 16 0z. creamer - 4 for $6.67
coupons - $6.00
total for 4 - $0.67 regular price for 4 - $9.15

Gorton Shrimp & Fish - 2 for $7.49
coupons - $4.00
total for 2 - $3.49 regular price for 2 - $14.98

Philadelphia Cream Cheese - 2 for $4.18
coupons - $4.00
total for 2 - $0.18 regular price for 2 - $4.18

Totino's Pizza Rolls - 2 for $3.95
coupons - $1.60
total for 2 - $2.35 regular price for 2 - $7.90

Tyson Any'tizers Chicken - 2 for $8.99
coupons - $2.00
total for 2 - $6.99 regular price for 2 - $17.98

Country Crock Spread - $2.89
coupon - $0.80
total - $2.09 regular price - $2.89

Boston Butt Roast (4 lb.) - $8.20
savings - $2.47 regular price - $10.67

Breakstone's Sour Cream - 2 for $2.50
coupons - $3.00
total for 2 - ($0.50) regular price - $2.50

Eggs - $1.29

Fruit2Day - $1.50
coupon - $0.55
total - $0.95 regular price - $2.99

Simply Apple - $3.00
Simply Limeade - $2.50
coupons - $2.00
total for 2 - $3.50 regular price for 2 - $6.88

Ball Park Franks - 2 for $5.98
coupons - $2.00
total for 2 - $3.98 regular price for 2 - $5.98

Kellogg's Froot Loops - 2 for $3.99
Corn Pops - 2 for $3.99
coupons - $3.00
total for 4 - $4.98 regular price for 2 - $15.96

Hefty One Zip Quart Bags - 4 for $4.58
coupons - $2.00
total for 4 - $2.58 regular price for 4 - $9.16

Fuze Drinks - 15 for $15.00
coupons - $6.00
total for 15 - $9.00 regular price for 15 - $23.85

Red Potatoes (5 lb.) - $2.99
savings - $1.00 regular price - $3.99

Corn (6 ears) - $3.00
savings - $1.50 regular price for 6 - $4.50

Healthy Harvest Pasta - 2 for $1.79
coupons - $2.00
total for 2 - ($0.21) regular price for 2 - $5.36

Taco Bell Dinner Kit - $1.35 regular price - $2.69

Water Maid Rice (1 lb) - 2 for $2.38
coupons - $2.00
total for 2 - $0.38 regular price for 2 $2.38

Nestle Miniature Chocolates - $4.50
coupon - $2.00
total - $2.50 regular price - $8.99

Johnson & Johnson Lotion - 2 for $7.78
coupons - $5.00
total for 2 - $2.78 regular price for 2 - $7.78

Kraft Velveeta (16 oz.) - 2 for $3.85
coupons - $3.00
total for 2 - $0.85 regular price for 2 - $7.70

Total Bill - $87.09 Total Coupons - $64.15 Total Savings $139.41



And this is what I got at Winn-Dixie...



Golden Flake Barbecue Chips - $3.96

A&W Cream Soda - $1.69
free with purchase of chips - $1.69
total - $0.00

Bread - $1.69

Armour Meatballs - 2 for $4.99
coupons - $1.10
total for 2 - $3.89 regular price for 2 - $9.98

Boneless Chicken Breasts - $8.31 regular price - $15.84

Ground Beef - $15.47 regular price - $21.29

Boneless Pork Chops - $7.17 regular price - $13.37

Bryan Lil Smokies - 2 for $3.99
coupons - $2.00
total for 2 - $1.99 regular price for 2 - $7.98

WD Spices - 4 for $6.78 regular price for 4 - $11.76

Kraft BBQ Sauce - $1.69
WD BBQ Sauce - $1.39
free with purchase of Kraft - $1.39
total for 2 - $1.69 regular price for 2 - $3.08

WD Cooking Spray - $2.39
WD savings - $0.60
total - $1.79

Hormel Chili Master - 2 for $2.59
coupons - $1.50
total for 2 - $1.09 regular price for 2 - $5.18

Hormel Chicken Breast - 4 for $7.18
coupons - $1.50
total for 4 - $5.68 regular price for 4 - $14.36

General Mills Lucky Charms - 2 for $3.79
Honey Nut Cheerios - 2 for $4.29
Reese's Puffs - 2 for $3.99
coupons - $3.00
total for 6 - $9.07 regular price for 6 - $24.14

Total Bill - $69.60 Total Coupons - $9.10 Total Savings $68.13



That was a fun shopping day!!

Sorry this post is so long...

Couponing

So I've become addicted to couponing. Seriously, who doesn't love saving money? I plan my grocery trips on southernsavers.com. I want to start posting my savings here on my blog... Look out for it this Friday!

The Bystander Effect

The bystander effect is a social psychological phenomenon in which individuals are less likely to offer help in an emergency situation when other people are present. The probability of help is inversely proportional to the number of bystanders. In other words, the greater number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help. (Wikipedia)

I remembered studying about this in psychology when we were talking at emerge tonight. We were discussing our responsibility as Christians to help the poor and needy. I think so many of us have the mentality that somebody else will do it, that nobody is really doing anything. I know that there are Christians out there who are doing that part of their job. But it doesn't seem like the church as a whole is. I know I am guilty of it, and I don't know the statistics, but I would think there would be less of a problem if we all did our part.

This doesn't just apply to giving to the needy. What about sharing our faith? It isn't called the Great Commission for nothing. How many times have you not shared your faith because you thought, maybe someone else will or already has? What does it matter? Somebody approached me the other day with the intent of sharing Jesus with me. I already know Jesus, but it was so encouraging. I wish I had more boldness, and I think it comes the more you share with people. I had a dream a couple weeks ago that the world was about to be destroyed. It was very dramatic like in the movie Armageddon or something. But I was in a car with some strangers and I had this urgency to share the gospel with them. I felt so convicted when I woke up, because we should always have that urgency.

I pray that I never pass up a chance to tell someone about Jesus because maybe somebody else will do it instead. I challenge you and me to quit the Bible belt mentality that everyone around you has heard about Jesus. Just because they have heard of "Christians" doesn't mean they have seen the true Jesus. Show people Jesus in the way you live your life, but also tell them what He has done for you, and what He did for the whole world.

Broken Toe

About two months ago I was helping set up for VBS at Woodland Hills and I was running up the stairs from the basement two at a time. Well I mis-stepped and kicked the stair. I knew immediately that my toe was broken. I actually yelled out "AAAH, I just broke my toe!" Well, nobody really believed me until they saw it all swollen and bruised the next day. I didn't have health insurance then so I just took the advice of my wise nurse friends and buddy taped it. See, I'm not very good at being consistent though, and I only buddy taped it 3 or 4 times off and on for maybe a week. But I didn't think it was a problem because it quit hurting and it wasn't long before I could walk like normal with no pain.

The hike I told y'all about two posts ago aggravated this deceivingly unhealed break. I've been walking around with an aggravating pain in my foot for two weeks now. It isn't excruciating, it just hurts when I put pressure on it, so I decided to go to the doctor today. I know they can't really do anything for a broken toe, but I just wanted some expert advice on how to take care of it and I guess to confirm what was wrong with it.

Now I get to wear this sexy velcro boot on my foot for 7-10 days and if it still isn't better I get to go back to the doctor.

Yay me!

It's Physics

A University professor at a well known institution of higher learning challenged his students with this question. "Did God create everything that exists?"

A student bravely replied, "Yes he did!"

"God created everything?" The professor asked.

"Yes sir, he certainly did," the student replied.

The professor answered, "If God created everything; then God created evil. And, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then we can assume God is evil."

The student became quiet and did not respond to the professor's hypothetical definition.. The professor, quite pleased with himself, boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "May I ask you a question, Professor?"

"Of course", replied the professor.

The student stood up and asked, "Professor does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?"

The other students snickered at the young man's question.

The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Everybody or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460 F) is the total absence of heat; and all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat." The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact, we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present." Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course, as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily examples of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist, sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat, or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down…

Today was adventurous... to say the least! I’m not even sure where to begin. Let me just start by saying that we left Bessemer and headed to Tuscaloosa to go to Gulf Shores. In case you aren’t familiar with the map of Alabama, Gulf Shores is south of Bessemer, and Tuscaloosa is due West.

Here are some things we saw on our excursion through Nowhere, Alabama:

There was a funeral home that was made from two trailers put together.

We came across a farm that had monument that said “Farm of Distinction”. Mandie and I were so curious as to what kind of farm that could be. As soon as I could get a few bars on my phone, I googled it. We found out that this monument meant that the farm was a winner of a yearly competition. Any farm in Alabama is eligible to enter this competition. If you are interested, I can send you the link. Or you can just hop on Hwy 5 and head south.

Jill gave us a lesson on cows. From what I understand, spotted cows are used for their milk, and solid cows are used for beef. I always thought that the ones with horns are used for making babies. From the babies that are born, the girls are for milk, and the boys are for beef. I do not claim to be a cow expert though.

We also discussed different shapes of clouds and Joe’s new discovery of a beach specific cloud… and Pentecostal buns.

My two bottles of water kicked in a couple hours into the trip. Of course, when you are in Nowhere, Alabama there is nowhere to pee. At first I was fine with passing up the shady gas stations, but I got to the point that I was willing to pee behind a tree. With every gas station we passed, Jill would point out that the next town was only 5 miles away. So I waited 5 miles, then 6 more, then 9 more. Mandie’s urge pee had already come and gone. Finally we came to a town that had a dollar general and a Chinese buffet, so we knew there would be a decent gas station. I was unbuckled and ready to jump and roll at the first one, when Jill said, “let’s go on up a little further so I can get a drink.” The power went out when we were peeing… come to find out Jill just flipped the switch for a second. Jesus took the wheel and kept me and Mandie from leaving the lights out on her.

We rode behind a logging truck forever, and we finally caught a stretch of road that was clear, so Jill sped up and went around him. As she was going 80 down the highway she said, “Y’all, what if there is a cop up here?” Almost right after she said that a car passing us flashed her lights at us, and we slowed down. Sure enough, not very far ahead was a state trooper. We kept thanking the lady that gave us warning.

According to “the map” we had “20 minutes” left in the trip and we noticed that the directions included riding on a ferry. Mandie questioned whether a ferry would still be running after dark. Haha, we laughed it off. Jill had “toll” on the brain… and we saw signs that led to the toll and the ferry. We saw another sign saying that the ferry closes at 6:30. At this point we decided to stop for directions. There was a lady walking to her car at a Ma & Pa market. Jill said “let’s ask this lady” when we got closer and saw her face, we all said IN UNISON “naw, she don’t speak English” and kept right on rollin to a parking place. Jill ran into the grocery store and asked for directions. The cashier said, “WHERE are you going? Honey, that ferry shuts down at 6:30… you have to go back to the interstate and get off at Gulf Shores Parkway.” This was the parkway we were trying to avoid this whole trip.

We finally made it to the parkway, stopped at Lamberts to eat. We didn’t have to wait because it was 9:00 at this point… which means that it took us 5 ½ hours to get there… so back when we thought we had “20 minutes” left. We really had 2 hours counting the detour. We had all the fixin’s and hot rolls we could eat.

Then came another scary stretch of our adventure. I just want to say that Google and GPS are not always reliable. We ended up at a dead end road in front of a cemetery because google gave us an address that didn’t exist and the GPS lady was telling us to turn right when all you could do was turn left. We didn’t need all this at 11:00 at night. On our way back to a well-lit area to get the directions from the trunk, we stumbled upon our condos. It’s kinda weird being in a big tourist area in the off season, because everything feels so much more secluded and sketchy. Prime example: 2 – 1980’s ish , tinted window Cadillac’s and a beat up Blazer were in the parking lot across from our building.

It was so nice to finally be here. And, our condo is amazing! The lights were on, and music was playing on the cd player. The décor here is not beachy at all, it is beautiful and feels very homey. I have a king bed all to myself! And there are stainless steel and granite in the kitchen. There is ceramic tile floors, and high ceilings. Not to mention, a private bathroom for each bedroom, and a walk-in closet that you could fit a bed in. There are flat screen TV’s in every room. Mandie and I were watching TV in the living room with our feet propped on the coffee table. The coffee table had fresh flowers that from my angle looked like they were blocking Mandie’s view to the TV. When I asked her if she could see, she said, “it actually looks like they are blocking your view.” I said that’s weird and she said “That must be physics, I mean geometry.”

I never thought I would learn so much from one trip down Highway 5.