Wordless Wednesday

We have bunnies.

For more WW go here or here.

Time for Tea

My mom has come to stay the night with me so we have decided to sit down and have a cup of tea before bed. Tonight we are drinking Celestial Seasonings Organic Mango Darjeeling.Let me just tell you this is a wonderful tea. I love darjeeling and the Mango adds a lovely fruity flavor to it. My Mom said it was the best cup of tea that she has had in a long time. My Mom and I gave this tea out at a Tea for the ladies at church on Saturday but this was our first ime to taste it. I will blog about the Tea soon ( for those that have been asking) and share some photos of the wonderful day.

Healthy You Check-In

My week has been going well despite eating out quite a bit. I am trying to make good choices and not snack all day long. I did not weigh in last week as I was trying to get my daughter into the doctor for a non-stop cough she had due to her allergies. I may have been down a pound so I still have some ground to make up. I wish I could say I am making great progress but that is just not the case. My determination seems to have left me and I am trying to find ways to get it back. I am always inspired to read about people doing so well and I remember those days. I just need to get back there.

This past week it has been 2 years that I have been doing Weight Watchers. I can proudly say that I am 85 lbs. lighter than I was then. Most of that came in the first year and this past year I have been stumbling along. The good news is that the weight is still off. Whenever I start to get down I just remind my self of where I was then. I hope you all have a good week.

The Great Gathering Giveaway

Make sure you mark your calender for the Great Gathering Giveaway over at BeCentsAble starting next Monday. Several of the Grocery Gathering Blogs have got together and are giving away several items with a grand prize of $100. You can get all the details here.

The Grocery Gathering~ Meijer

April 27~May 3

Meijer Brand 10/$10 (11th item free)

8ct. Toaster Pastries
10ct. waffles

Breakfast Entrees

Premium White chicken in Water

White Hot Dog or Hamburger buns

Blended Vegetables 16 oz. bag

Crystal Quenchers 4/20 oz bottles

Spring water 6/.5 liter bottles

Fruit in Juice or syrup 14.5-15.25oz.

Crescent rolls 8oz. tube

Cinnamon Rolls 12.4oz tube

Pizza crust 10oz. tube

Salad dressing 16oz. bottle

Croutons 5oz.

Pasta Sauce 26oz. jar

Pretzels

Cheese Treats

Corn Chips

Microwave Popcorn 3ct. box

Bread Crumbs

Stuffing

Season and coating Mix

Fruit snacks

Paper Towels 1 big roll.

Syrup

Garlic Mini loaf

Mini Pizza bagel Snacks

Skillet Basics

Boxed Potatoes

Applesauce 24-25oz. jar

Old fashioned Bread

Frozen Lemonade, Pink Lemonade, Limeade, Fruit Punch 12oz.

Old Fashioned Cookies

Facial tissue

Frosting 16oz.

Brownie Mix 19.8oz.

Salsa

Lock and Storage Freezer Bags, Quart or Gallon 10-20 ct.

Liquid Hand Soap

Other Deals

Softsoap Bodywash 2/$7
$1.00 coupon 04-27 S

$2.50 a bottle

Ladies 24/7 Speed Stick Deodorant $2.12

$1.00 coupon 04-27 S

$1.12 per stick

Buy 5 or more Colgate, Palmolive, Softsoap, Speed Stick or Irish Spring Brand products and get $5 off your next visit.

Visine Eye Drops $1 off

$2.00 off coupon here

Hillshire Farms smoked Sausage BOGO

Hormel Fully Cooked Entrees $3.99

Be sure to visit BeCentsAble for deals from your favorite store.

Super Saving Saturday~ CVS

I didn't do much shopping this week but I did make a run to CVS for some much needed allergy medicine. I bought:

1 18 count box of Alevert

1 bottle of Children's Claritin

1 Speed Stick Deodorant

1 Jergens Natural Glow lotion

1 Jergens Natural Glow Facial Moisturizer

1 bottle John Freida leave in conditioner.

I spent $1.63 out of pocket and used $22.99 in ECB. I received $12.99 back in ECB. May savings was $43.22.

I love the Jergens Natural Glow lotion. It was well worth using my ECB for. After you use it for a week and you have a great tan look without having to expose yourself to the sun. I have tried other brands and this is the best I have found.

To see how others have saved visit BeCentsAble or Money Saving Mom.

Meijer Two Day Super Sale

In case you haven't heard Meijer is having a Super Sale Friday and Saturday. There are a few good deals.

• Meijer Ground Beef from Sirloin-$2.39 per pound.
• 2 liter Pepsi products-88 cents
• Meijer Apple Juice-4/$5
• Keebler Fudge Shoppe Cookies-BOGO
• South Beach Bars-1/2 off

You can check out my weekly Meijer deals here.

Silk Soy Milk

I recently received coupon for a free sample of Silk SoyMilk as a Bzzz Agent. I have to say I wasn't thrilled to try it because I have never been a huge fan of soymilk. I tried the vanilla and it is pretty good. I thought I just might try it in my tea to see how it tastes. I love it. It gives your tea sweet flavor mixed with vanilla. I found I didn't even have to add sweetener with it. If you may just want to give it a try with your next cup of tea. You just might agree with me.

Look for Silk with Green caps that can be turned into Green Energy. Make sure you visit them and check it out.

Wordless Wednesday

Cosmic Power

For more WW go here or here.

Healthy You Check-In

Okay, I knew my weigh-in would be bad last Thursday. I was up 3.6 lbs. I am alright with that but hoped that I would get right back on track. I had a bad weekend though. I am not normally a stress eater but this weekend I really was. I can't say I remember many times that I used food for comfort but this weekend that was the case. I got some awful news about a friend having cancer and it really hit me hard. I am sure some of it was combined with the fact that my period was about to start so I was very emotional and I always get a bad case if the munchies. The two together proved to be disaster.

I have started walking outside again. I walk just short of 4 miles. I love it. It is my favorite part of the day. I love to walk by myself and use the time and reflect or plan my days ahead. It is so nice get back to that routine. This year I may even switch up my route a bit and go a little further.

I hope you all have a great week.

The Grocery Gathering

Meijer Deals April 20-April 26

Ekrich Smoked or Polish sausage BOGO

Meijer Naturals Cleaning Supplies BOGO

Aunt Millie's Homestyle Bread or Hot dog/Hamburger Buns $2.99 BOGO.

35 coupon(doubled) 04-13 RP

.79 per loaf w/2 coupons

Thomas English Muffins BOGO

Doritos 12.25 oz. bag BOGO

Hormel Fully Cooked Entrees BOGO

Yoplait Yogurt 10/$6
.40/6 coupon(doubled)03-30 S or .50 coupon here.

.47 each when you buy 6

Sargento Cheese 5-8 oz package 1/2 price.

.55/2 coupon 04-20 RP

Dial Handsoap .99

.30 coupon (doubled)

.39 cents per bottle

10/$10 Items Get 11th free

Ragu Pasta sauce 16-26.3 oz.

Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Pasta

Betty Crocker Cake Mix

Little Debbie's Sweet Cakes

Meijer Sour cream

Meijer Marinade sauce

Kellog's Good to Go Cereal

Banquet Brown 'N Serve Breakfast Links

Combos snacks

Michelina's Entrees

Hamburger Helper

.50/2 coupon (doubled)

.80/3 coupon here.

.50 each for 2 boxes or 3 for .74 cents each.

Tostino's Pizza Rolls.

40 coupon (doubled)

.20 cents per box

Meijer clear Cutlery

Meijer Ibuprofen 50 ct.

Gatorade 32 oz. bottles

Be sure to visit the Monday gathering at BeCentsAble to find grocery deals at your favorite stores.

Super Saving Saturday~CVS

I haven't been to CVS in 3 weeks so it was good to get back in the swing of things. Here is what I bought .

2 Benefiber Chewables- $6.49 each ($2 coupons)

2 Lip balms- $2.49

1 gift bag- $1.49

1 V05 Shampoo-.66 ($1 CVS coupon)

1 Honey Nut Cheerios-$1.50

After coupons and ECB's I spent $2.29 and got $21 back in ECB's. Of those $6 were from my Winter spending.

To see how others have saved visit Money Saving Mom or BeCentsAble.

Meijer Mealbox

On Mondays I feature the Meijer Deals for the week here. Meijer has recently come out a new site called Meijer Mealbox. You can build a customized shopping list from the weekly sales or from the hundreds of recipes that they have available. The best part is if you create an account with Meijer you can print out coupons for Meijer brand items. It also has a meal planner that you can drag recipes to and then print out. This site is in a beta stage so there could be changes. It is designed for the Grand Rapid stores but I believe the coupons should work at any Meijer store. If you shop at Meijer regularly you will want to check this out.

For more frugal ideas visit Biblical Womanhood.

My Girls

It has been a while since I have posted a Thankful Thursday. It is not that I have nothing to be thankful for but I have been away. I made 2 trips. One to Alabama to visit my dear friend Rachel and her family. The second to California to visit my friend Carmelita who is like a sister to me. I went to see her so I could visit my new "nephew". So today I am thankful for these two wonderful friends and sisters in Christ that God has provided me with. I love them both for the love they show to me and the lights they shine for Jesus. These are my two dearest friends and I am so thankful for the time I was able to spend with them. I am thankful that even after long absences we pick up right where we left off and our friendships continue to grow. They both share my love for tea and I am thankful that I got to "go for tea" with both of them and spend some special time together. Thank you both for loving me with the love of the Lord.

For more Thankful Thursday vist Sting My Heart.

Tetley Tea

Tetley Tea has long been one of my favorite Black teas. Before you could buy it in this country I used to bring several boxes at a time back from Britain. Good news you can go here and get a free sample. You might just get hooked.

Thanks to Money Saving Mom for this freebie.

* This offer is no longer available.

Wordless Wednesday

Ahh! Jamba Juice

For more WW go here or here.

Healthy You Check-In

I don't have too much to report as a check in. I have been out of town for two weeks and have not really worried about the choices I made. I did try to make healthy choices but that was not always on option. I have not been on the scale but my guess is that I probably am up four or five pounds. I am going to use this as a time to refocus and have a fresh start to get my last 20 lbs off.

I am looking forward to my 4 mile walks outside again. It won't be long and I will be in full swing. I am hoping to start this week if I can get some nice evenings. I haven't exercised much at all the past 2 weeks, with the exception of bouncing a baby. I have noticed in my muscle tone so it is time to get busy with my weights again. I am looking forward to Spring and a new spring in my step.

The Grocery Gathering

Meijer April 13-April 19

Hillshire farms Smoked Sausage or Brats B1G1

Meijer Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts B1G1

Aunt Millie's Bread (Italian or Whole wheat)B1G1
.35 coupon (doubled) 04-13 RP


Red Baron Pizza 4/$11
$1/2 04-06 S
2 pizzas for $4.50

Sunbeam bread B1G1

Kool-Aid drink Mix B1G1

Aquafina Drinking Water $3.99
Buy 2 get a 6pack of Aquafina Alive

Cinnamon Life cereal 21 oz. 2/$5
$1.00 coupon here
$1.50 per box.

Splenda 33% off
.75 coupon Splenda No Calorie Sweetener 03-09 RP
$1.00 coupon Splenda Sugar Blend or Brown Sugar Blend 03-09 RP

Dannon Light n Fit 0% Plus 4 pack
$1.00 coupon 03-02s
$1.00 per pack


Jell-O Ready to Eat Pudding
.55 coupon 04-06 S
$1.95 per pack

Kraft Barbecue Sauce half off

Freshlike Vegetables 5/$5

Stouffer's Dinners half off

Capri Sun fruit drinks 3/$5
Buy 3 get a Nabisco Snack Tray Free on your next visit.


General Mills Cheerios 8.9 oz 3/$6
Buy 3 get 1 Yoplait Kids Yogurt 6 pack free on your next visit.
$1/2 coupon 04-06 S
$1.50 per box

Bic soleil Razors 4 ct 2/$8
$2.00 coupon 04-13 S
$2.00 per pack.

Softsoap Elements Handsoap .99
.70 coupon 03-30 S
.29 per bottle .

For More savings be sure to visit the Monday Gathering at Be CentsAble.

The Grocery Gathering

For those of you looking for my Meijer post,I have just returned home from a being out of town. As a result I am behind in getting up my Meijer post for the deals this week. I will try to get it up as soon as possible tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

Wordless Wedneday

The perfect place for my tea loving Emma!

For more WW go here or here.

My Reason for Not Posting

I am out in California visiting my best friend and her new little baby. I wanted to share with you the very cute reason for not posting. Sorry I couldn't get the picture to rotate. I am on a foreign computer to me.

The Grocery Gathering

Meijer April 6- April 12

Let me start by saying that I am away from home so I apologize for the delay. I also do not have my normal resources so I may be missing some deals.

General Mills Cereal 4/$12
Buy 4 and get $$4 off at the register
$1/2 coupon 04-06S
There are also .55 coupons here.

Campbell's Healthy Request Chunky Soup 4/$6
.50/2 coupon 02-03S (doubled)
$1 per can

Hormel Fully cooked Entrees $5
$1 coupon 02-17S
$4 each

Bob Evans Express Sausage 2/$3

Aunt Millie's Healthy Goodness Bread $1

Campbell's Chicken Noodle or Tomato Soup 10/$5
.40/4 coupon 03-02S (doubled)
.30 cents per can when you buy 4

Smuckers Preserves 18 oz. 2/$4
.35 coupon 02-03RP (doubled)
$1.30 per jar

Rice a Roni 5/$5
If they include the Nature's Way there is a coupon here for .50cents
If these are on sale they would be free after doubled. Note Meijer will only double 2 of the same coupon.

Birds-eye Steamfresh Vegetables 3/$4
03-09S $1/2
.84 cents per package

Buy any 3 Clorox, Glad or Hidden Valley Ranch products and get $3 off your next visit.

For more deals at your favorite grocery stores visit the Monday Gathering at BeCentsAble.

Where I Get My Coupons

Recently I had a reader ask for advice on how she can obtain coupons since her local area does not have a Sunday paper. I thought I would share with you the sources that I use to get my coupons. I do buy the Sunday paper but it is not my only source. I should mention that I recently noticed that our local paper The Ann Arbor News has less coupons than the Detroit paper. Even though they have the same inserts they contain different coupons. Needless to say I am now buying the Detroit paper. I also

• Buy coupons on ebay- there are many listings out there and it is a great way to get started.
• Ask my friends and family who don't use coupons for their inserts.
• Send off for free samples which many times will include a coupon.
• Look for coupons on store displays and in magazine inserts.

There are also many great sites online where you can print coupons. Make sure you check with your local grocery store to see if they accept printed coupons.

• Coupons.com
• Red Plum Coupons
• Smart Source Coupons
• The Coupon Mom

You can also visit the website of an item you are looking for to see if they offer a coupon. I hope this helps. Happy coupon hunting.

Super Saving Saturday~Kroger

We have been out of town most of the week so I really didn't do much shopping at all. I wanted to take advantage of the deals at Kroger this week so I made a quick trip there. For those of you that don't know they are having a 10 Item Mega Event. I bought 24 items, spent $15.38 and saved $43.96. This is a 74% savings. The milk was not in the sale and the Weight Watchers ice cream was a treat for me.

To see how others have saved visit Money Savings Mom or BeCentsAble.

Nice Matters Award

I was given this award yesterday by Lynn at The Hungry Little Caterpillar . Lynn was one of the first people to visit my blog back in January and I have been following her weight loss progress since then. She has been an inspiration to me to not give up. I have to admit that I don't post as much these days about weight loss but I so enjoy reading and keeping up with Lynn and a few other weight loss blogs. Thanks Lynn!

Discount Prescriptions

More and more corporations are offering programs to help their customers save money on health care services. Below are a few such programs we've chosen to highlight.
Free Antibiotics at Meijer

Meijer Information
Meijer's free prescripion program covers leading, oral generic antibiotics with focusing on the prescriptions most often prescribed to children. At Meijer, the following prescription medications are free with your doctor's prescription, regardless of insurance or co-pay:
Amoxicillin
Cephalexin
SMZ-TMP
Ciprofloxacin
Ampicillin
Penicillin VK
Erythromycin
You must pick up your prescription in person at a Meijer store. There is a maximum of 14 days' supply at normal oral dosages. The program excludes extended release formulations. The list of medications covered by the program are subject to change.

$4 Generic Prescriptions at Kroger
Kroger Discount Information

$4 Generic Prescriptions at Walmart
Walmart Discount Prescription Info
See list of covered drugs here.

CVS Pharmacy Senior Discount Program
CVS Healthcare Savings Info
Health Savings Pass is CVS service that provides people, age 50 or older, with discounts on important healthcare services including prescriptions, hearing, dental and vision.

For more frugal ideas be sure to visit Biblical Womanhood.

Wordless Wednesday

A visit to the Space and Rocket Center

For more WW visit here or here.

Healthy You Check-In

I am on vacation which is always a hard time for me to stay on track but I have been trying not to eat to badly but it is not always easy to make the best choices. I will accept whatever the scale says when I get home. I will miss two weeks of weighing in so I may have some ground to make up.

I was up .2lbs. at my last weigh in so I still have not made it out of the 160's and being away for two weeks may make it hard to get there in April. I will evaluate my goals when I get back to my normal routine.

I am visiting with my two best friends. I am in Alabama now and fly to California on Sunday. Spending this time with my friends will do a load of good for my mental health which is also very important to me.