Have you ever been invited to something, albeit casually invited, only to unexpectedly find out you were “uninvited”? It kinda sucks huh? Not a good feeling at all. To be honest, I actually teared up a bit when telling Philip the story. My feelings were hurt.

The other day, I was present for a conversation that I probably wasn’t intended to hear. What I came away with was that a party was taking place the next day. I had originally been told that Quentin and Gavin were invited to that party. Funny thing is, we never heard a word about it and were never officially invited. I had helped by designing an invitation for this party which, coincidentally, was rejected for a different party theme. I have no problem with that though, I understand that things change. Party themes are party themes, no big deal! However, please don’t tell me you’re going to invite my kids and then cowardly leave us out. Philip and I both felt very sad for the boys! Good thing they are too young to understand.

I have to point out that the invite was verbal and did not come from the Mom of the child having the birthday. I’m not really close to the Mom of the birthday girl. The friend that I designed the invitation for was helping to throw the party and she mentioned that we were invited.  If it wasn’t my friend’s place to invite us, I wish she wouldn’t have!  I realize she may have just been trying to be nice, but if she was really my friend, shouldn’t she have had the balls to follow up with me? To close the loop? Just tell me that they wanted to keep the party small and let me down easy! Instead of letting me find out the way I did.  A slap in the face!

I told Philip I have always felt that the one Mom didn’t really care for me. I have no idea why. I have my conspiracy theories though, because I’m paranoid like that! For all I know, it could have been something I unconsciously said or did. I just know I’m not cut out for trying to “run with the Mommy pack”. I have a few friends and that’s great! I don’t need dozens of “friends” and I’m not much of a “networker”. I don’t need to accumulate friends like points.

I’ll tell you this, there are aspects of this SAHM thing that come with the territory, but really aren’t cool at all. Like the politics with other Mothers. I hate politics, in any kind of form. I’m also too old for drama. Been there, done that (in my 20’s). Back then life was all about the drama.  Looking back, I laugh and think, what was all the fuss about? I don’t even talk to any of those people I hung out with then! Yet at the time it felt like the end of the world when there would be a falling out. Thank goodness for growing up!

Sorry for the rant. It’s one of those weeks! I guess there is always drama to be had, right? If it’s not Moms, it’s bitchy admins at work. Heh :) …  Moe, if you’re reading this, you know I LOVE you girl! Even if you ARE a bitchy admin ;)

I’ve become quite an avid coupon user (read: totally & completely hooked on it). Once you start to learn all the tips/tricks and find yourself some good resources, couponing can become a little bit of an OBSESSION! I think I’ve officially entered the “Crazy Coupon Lady” phase and I have the giant coupon binder to prove it! I seriously get so freakin’ excited about saving big money and stockpiling items my family needs. Four months ago, when I quit my job to become a SAHM, couponing was a way to still purchase the items we need/want within a drastically reduced budget. Now, couponing is a way of life and every day I get a little better at scoring awesome deals. But rather than just jabber on about how much I totally rock for couponing, I’ll show you an example of a couple of recent shopping trips.

Before I do that, here’s a brief rundown of some of the couponing “lingo” I use in this post. For a more comprehensive list, go here:

- B1G1F = “Buy One Get One Free”
- Q or CPN = Coupon
- MQ or MFR = Manufacturers Coupon
- BC = Before Coupons
- OOP = Out of Pocket (actual cash paid)

Target shopping trip - 9/25/2009

TARGET
Total BC = $26.99
Total OOP = $3.67 !!!
Saved = $23.32 (or 86%)

The breakdown:

Scotch Lint Roller – sale priced $2.19
- $1 Target CPN
- $1 MFR (Yes! You can “stack” a Target coupon with a Manufacturer coupon!)
= $0.19

Wonka Gummies – $1.59
- $1 Target CPN (a treat, AKA: bribe, for my boys to get them to behave during this trip)
= $0.59

Purina One Dry Cat Food – $5.89 x 2
- $2 Target CPN (used 2 Qs)
- $3 MFR (used 2 Qs)
= $0.89 ea. (x2 = $1.78)

Fancy Feast Appetizers – $1.29 x 8
- B1G1F Target CPN (used 4 Qs)
- B1G1F MFR (used 4 Qs)
= 2 FREE (x4 = 8 FREE)

Walmart trip - 9/25/2009

WALMART
Total BC = $47.79
Total OOP = $23.63
Total Saved = $24.16 (or 50%)

The breakdown:

Glade Sense & Spray Starter Kit – on rollback for $5.00 x 2
- $4 MFR (used 2 Qs)
= $1.00 ea. (x2 = $2.00)

Ajax Anti-bacterial Dish Liquid – $1.78
- $1 MFR
= $0.78

Nature Valley Nut Clusters w/Almonds – $2.28 x 2
- $1.60 MFR (used 2 Qs)
= $0.68 ea. (x2 = $1.36)

Hot Wheels Cars – $0.92 (x2 = $1.84)
No CPN, another bribe for the boys. When you have both a 2 and 1 year old with you, “whatever works”, works! Dum-dums help too!

Cottonelle Soothing Clean Wipes – $1.98 x 4
- B1G1F MFR (used 2 Qs)
= $0.99 ea. (x4 = $3.96)

Colgate Total Plus Whitening Toothpaste 2-pack – $3.00
- $1 MFR
= $2.00 for 2

Pull-ups Flushable Wipes – $1.64 x 4
- $2/2 MFR (use 2 Qs)
= $0.64 ea. (x4 = $2.56)

Wet Ones Travel Pack – $0.97 (x2 = $1.94)
No CPN for these

Spiderman Mini-Poster/Sticker – $0.50 on clearance

Listerine Total Care Mouthwash – on rollback for $5.00
- $2 MFR
= $3.00

Scrapbooking 3D-Dots – $1.50
No CPN

I forgot to give the cashier a $1 CPN for the Ajax, but in the end I made out anyway because he accidentally rang up one of the $2 CPNs twice. He knew it too and let is slide because it was “too late” to fix it. The Walmart trip wasn’t quite as lucrative as the Target trip, but 50% ain’t nothing to scoff at!

These are just two examples of countless similar shopping trips. So how do I get all my coupons? How do I know how to match up MFR and store specific coupons to get the best deals? I print LOTS of internet printable coupons in addition to the inserts in the Sunday paper. I visit many couponing blogs every day that give fabulous tips and tricks! I have myself SUPER organized (more on that in another post). Lastly, I have family/friends who save & send coupons to me as well. If you go to the “Links” section at the top of the page, you’ll see I have 20+ “Money Saving Sites” listed, but these are by far the Top 5 blogs I visit:

LOVE THESE MONEY SAVING BLOGS:
- A Thrifty Mom
- It’s Hip to Save!
- Cha-ching on a Shoestring
- Coupon Gal
- Common Sense With Money

And of course, the following sites are stalked often, if not weekly:

INTERNET COUPONS:
- Coupons.com
- P&G eSAVER
- RedPlum.com
- Shortcuts.com
- SmartSource.com
- Target Coupon Generator

Happy shopping!

Ok, here’s the freebie I was talking about. I’ve seen wine bottle hang tags for sale on Etsy and wanted to take a stab at making one myself. This is my first, but I’m hoping to make more. They’re pretty easy to make and a really cute way to quickly dress up a wine bottle that you plan on gifting or taking to a dinner party…

Halloween Wine Bottle Hang Tag

You can download the PDF file by clicking HERE. I left a blank spot near the top so that you may embellish it with ribbon or whatever you like. I used a thin black ribbon to make a bow and glued on a purple gem stone. Aleene’s Tacky Glue did the trick!

Recommended: use a paper cutter!

I recommend that you use a paper cutter, if you have one, to get the straightest lines when cutting the tags out.

For best results use a craft punch

If you’re good at cutting circles out, go for it! Me? Not so much! For best results, I used a 1.75″ circle craft punch. You can get them in all sizes at Joann’s (use a 50% off coupon!). I have Marvy, Fiskars and EK Success punches in several sizes/styles. I definitely prefer/recommend the EK Success punches! You can typically get a punch for $10 bucks or less when using a 40% or 50% off coupon.

So there you go! Happy (early) Halloween! Now, let’s go DRINK some wine! ;)