Update on contest

You guys are so awesome! I just wanted to thank you all so much for the great suggestions you've made for the gifts for the ladies at Lafayette House for Valentine's Day. I have already received so many outstanding ideas- over 50 entries are in for the drawing so far!


If we reach 100 entries, I'll add more to the give-away to make the prize a little bit sweeter! So, in addition to the 7 Yes To Carrots items you're already playing for, I'll throw in a Yes To Carrots Facial Cleanser! So let's see if we can reach 100- keep up the great work, my friends!

Sparkling bathrooms galore!

If there's one thing I can say about learning how to "hardcore coupon", it's that there should never be any reason or excuse to have a dirty bathroom for as long as I live! The SC Johnson company has been oh-so-generous with their coupons as of late, and yesterday I decided to take advantage of said coupons and match them with the coordinating sales at Walgreen's. Here's what I brought home:


I separated this out into 4 transactions at the register and the totals look like this:

Total spent out of pocket: $7.50 (pd. w/ gift card from December Easy Saver Rebate)
Total Register Rewards Earned: $20.00
Total earned toward January Easy Saver Rebate: $10.00
Total Savings: $114.01
Total applied to "W" Card: $2.40

So when all is said and done, I still have a $10 Register Reward (from Pepsi) in my wallet, have the $2.40 to use on future transactions, and will have $10 coming back to me at the end of the month in rebates! The $7.50 out-of-pocket was taken from my gift card- so NO CASH was used! I like shopping trips like this! Here's the merchandise list:

7 12-packs of Pepsi Products
2 4-packs Walgreen's light bulbs
4 Revlon Shiny Shimmer Lip Gloss (for V-Day bags)
2 Revlon Cuticle Trimmers (for V-Day bags)
4 Colgate Toothpaste (for V-Day bags)
2 Wal-Born
2 Walgreen's version of Mucinex
1 bottle of Walgreen's Nighttime Cough/Cold
2 Dark & Lovely Hair Color (for V-Day bags)
2 Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaners w/bleach
2 Tubs of Lysol Wipes
2 cans of Scrubbing Bubbles
4 bottles of Fantastik
2 Glade Freshening Sprays

The Pepsi products are $3 per 12-pack this week. The advertised sale is: buy 5 @ $3 ($15), get a $5 register reward, so final result is 5/$10. If you buy 7 instead of 5 to bump your total up to at least $20, you get a $10 register reward. Throw in 7 $1 off coupons, you end up with 94 cans of pop for around $4! I plan on doing this again (at least a couple of times!) before the sale ends- IF there is enough stock in which to choose from. The bad thing is, I don't even drink any of the varieties I brought home...but they'll be great for BJ's lunchbox or for when we have company.

Today's plan: Another Walgreen's trip- even though I have sworn I'd never step foot in the Webb City, Mo store again....today I must. I'm returning some make-up that didn't ring up correctly last week. So I might as well grab a bargain or two while I'm in there, right? After that, I'm off to Dillon's grocery to see what kind of damage I can do with their 10/$10 sale!

I would love to hear what you're shopping for this week! Please share your great bargains by leaving a comment on this post.

Valentine's Day Contest/Giveaway!

"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, as long as ever you can." - John Wesley

VALENTINE'S DAY CONTEST
(Rules posted below)

THE PRIZE
Who would like to get their hands on this?! If you haven't yet had the opportunity to try the Yes To Carrots line, here's your chance! The products are wonderful- and so good for your skin, too! The winner will receive: Yes To Carrots Shampoo, Shower Gel, Body Butter, Body Mist, Body Lotion, 3-pack Lip Balm, and a travel pack in a zippered pouch. Approximate retail value- $60.00! You'll LOVE it!



THE DETAILS

Two weeks ago, I had a nice long chat with the person in charge of donations (Amy) for The Lafayette House in Joplin. For those of you unfamiliar, the Lafayette House is a shelter for women who are victims of domestic violence. Often the residents arrive with only the clothes on their back, having no time to even pack a suitcase.


BJ and I had an idea: since I was accumulating a LOT of really nice (and free!) make-up and nail polish, maybe it would be good to make some little "goodie bags" for the ladies at Lafayette for Valentine's Day. Amy agreed and gave us the thumbs-up- so it's a go!


This is where I need your help.....I could use some suggestions from my readers on what items you think would be nice in these goodie bags. As of now, they each will contain a nail polish, a lipstick or lip gloss, a tube of mascara, a small hand lotion, a box of Russell Stover chocolates (Christmas clearance, but they are wrapped in red paper, so still great for V-day!) and some Garnier shampoo and conditioner.


According to Amy, the shelter averages around 23 women at any given time, but the actual number varies daily...so I'm planning on making 30 bags just to be sure to have enough. I will also need to have something put together for the children who may be there with their mothers- so I'm planning on 15-20 bags suitable for kids. (I have not yet purchased bags, as I'm not sure of the size we'll need. One thought I have is to simply cut cardboard for a "base" to put the items on and use clear cellophane to wrap around and gather at the top with ribbon. If we do this, I'm very flexible on the size of items used.)


I am needing ideas for either free or very low-cost items...something you've seen while out shopping, something we have a great coupon for that would be appropriate, etc. Remember, I need ideas for the ladies as well as their children!


Anyone interested in participating? Here's how it's going to work:

THE RULES

1. Contest is open to everyone!

2. Submission dates are 1/13/09 through 1/23/09

3. For every new and unique idea you submit, your name will be placed in a drawing- the more fresh ideas you have, the better chance you have of winning! Be sure to read all comments so submissions aren't duplicated. Enter as often as you wish!

4. Submissions/ideas MUST be made by commenting to this post via the blog, that way all entries will be viewable by all participants. (Please note: If you use Vista and find you are unable to submit your entry, you may email me at: polyesterprincess@suddenlink.net and I will post it for you.)

5. The winner will be announced on 1/24/09. If the winner is local, we will make arrangements for you to receive your prize. If the winner is one of my out-of-town/state readers, I'll mail your prize to you on 1/26/09!

6. Remember! If I don't know you, and you don't put a name and email address with your entries, there will be no way I can award the prize to you! Now is not the time to be anonymous!

Let's make this fun and play nice! It's for a good cause, and many people will thank you for your help!

Excuses, excuses.....

Trying to come up with the best excuse for my long blogging-absence is more difficult than I thought it would be! I think it happens to most everyone at some point in time... things are coasting along just fine and then a few busy days hit you square in the face, and then the guilt sets in..."I haven't blogged...must write a blog...find the time to blog...don't want to blog..." and before you know it more days go by and more events from "life" slam you against the proverbial brick wall. When enough time passes, you begin to think it's too late to go back and start again- that you've now become the "fickle blogger" that doesn't post regularly and drops off the face of the blogosphere for long periods of time.


Always taught that "Honesty is the Best Policy", I've decided to come clean! Several factors contributed to my disappearance...


1. After "The Great Diaper Week", shopping was somewhat bleak for a few weeks- not much to report!


2. I made a new friend- her name is Sciatic Nerve. I'm not sure how she found me, but she's the type of friend that just showed up one fateful day and has attached herself to my hip. She's rather annoying and has now overstayed her welcome. I can't even sit down at the computer without her nagging me! I've politely asked her to just go away and leave me alone, but she has thus-far refused my requests. I guess the time has come for me to be rude and lay down the law. (Official notice to Ms. Nerve: "You're such a pain in the ass- go away and give me my life back!" hahaha- get it? Pain in the...okay, okay.)


3. BJ's hours were drastically cut at work WITH NO NOTICE just a few weeks before Christmas, and of course that hit us hard. I found myself really depressed and feeling somewhat hopeless. Blogging became the last thing on my mind. Things now seem to be resuming to a state of normalcy, so I'm hoping the financial gloominess continues to dissipate.


4. We had a steady stream of visiting guests for what seemed like weeks over Christmas! Just as one wave went home, another wave came knocking at the door! Don't take that the wrong way... I LOVE having family and friends here, but it does get chaotic at times.


5. Pure laziness. Yep, it happens to the best of us- I cannot lie!


So, here I am- on my knees- trying to redeem myself to you, my loyal and faithful reader. I shall make no promises indicating there will never be a future unexplained hiatus, as I have no crystal ball- BUT, I'll do my best to post regularly again! Let's see how much money we can save in 2009!