Weekly Shopping Trip--Savings $160.56

I did my major grocery shopping last week before the stores(and me) really started getting very busy with the holiday rush.  I was planning on just needing to stop in the stores long enough to keep milk in the house but found out that I was going to be hosting the family Christmas day dinner at my house.  Which meant that my plans of no more shopping until the beginning of the new year was not going to happen!  I made a stop at Gordon Food Service rather than going to a local grocery store and spent $20.15 after my 5% discount($1.01) to grab a 7.37lb spiral ham at $1.61/lb, 3lbs shredded hashbrowns, 2lbs baby carrots, and 500ct muffin paper liners that I needed to make it through the holidays.  I didn't include the Gordon's run in the totals below because I am not sure how much(if any) of it will be reimbursed by my family.

Not only did I make to my regular grocery stores but I went to the bread outlet and made my monthly run to Sam's Club.

Here is the breakdown of the last major shopping of 2009:

Aunt Millie's Bakery Outlet:

• 2 pkgs brown n serve rolls $1.58 (reg. $1.89 each)
• 6 pkgs 8ct. hamburg buns $4.14 (reg. $1.99 each)
• 2 pkgs 12 ct powdered sugar donuts $1.49 (reg. $2.89 each)
• 4 loaves sandwich bread $3.56 (reg. $1.69 each)

Total OOP: $10.77

Total Savings: $17.49

Total without going to the outlet: $28.26

Meijer: 

• 5.68 lbs split chicken breasts $5.62
• 23.05 lbs boneless/skinless chicken breasts $38.95
• 2 pkgs cream cheese 88¢
• 4 dozen eggs $2.97
• 2 lbs cheese $3.96
• 1 lb shredded cheese $1.98
• 2 bottles apple juice $2.34
• 2 jars applesauce $2.34
• 1 box toaster strudel 89¢
• 1 pkg Pillsbury Simply cookie dough 99¢
• 2 pkgs Pillsbury cookie dough $1.98
• 2 bottles Ocean Spray juice $3.56
• 1 bag pretzels $2.49
• 1 bag Reames egg noodles $2.24
• 3-12 pk Dr. Pepper $11.22 (with bottle deposit)
• 2 bags Lays potato chips $3.98
• 1 box popcorn shrimp $3.99
• 2 bags dark chocolate M&Ms $3.00
• 2 bags peanut holiday M&Ms $3.00
• 1 block Velveeta cheese $3.74
• 4 boxes brown n serve sausage links $4.00
• 2 pkgs lil' smokie sausages $4.00
• 4lbs boneless skinless chicken tenders $7.99

Total OOP after $1 off shopping order cpn: $115.05

Total Savings: $82.23

Total without sales and coupons: $197.28

Family Fare: 

• 6 Totinos pizza $7.00
• 1 family pk. Gortons fish fillets $5.59
• 4 bags frozen corn $2.61
• 1/2 gallon buttermilk $2.59
• 4 tubes Pillsbury crescent rolls $5.28
• 4 tubes Pillsbury cinnamon rolls $5.26
• 16 cans DelMonte veggies $8.04
• 6 boxes Kleenex $8.54(with tax)
• 2 bags Betty Crocker cookie mix $2.53
• 2 pks Chi Chi snacker salsa $2.58
• 4 boxes Jello instant chocolate pudding $2.40
• .68 lbs thin cut top round steak $2.47
• 9.46lbs ground beef $16.93
• 2 boxes Pillsbury cake mix $1.76
• 16lbs potatoes $2.99
• 2 gallons milk $4.00
• 2 containers Breyers icecream $4.54

Total OOP after $3.90 bottle refund: $81.21

Total Savings: $60.84

Total without sales and coupons: $142.05

Grand Total OOP: $207.03

Grand Total Savings: $160.56

Grand Total without sales, bread outlets, and coupons: $367.59

This post is linked to: 

• Shopping Round Up at The Grocery Cart Challenge!

1 Corithians 13---Christmas Version

I was looking through my archives and found this poem that I posted a couple of years ago when I was just getting my blog started.  It really still speaks to my heart, so I decided to repost it and share it again with everyone. We can bake cookies, cook extravagant meals, decorate the house inside(every room!) and out for the Christmas and totally forget what our focus should be not just during the holiday season but all year long! We need to keep our focus on the real Reason for the season! Christ came as a baby so that He could give us the ultimate gift of love by dying on the cross for our sins! Merry Christmas to you and your family!!

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows,

strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls,

but do not show love to my family,

I’m just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen,

baking dozens of Christmas cookies,

preparing gourmet meals and arranging

a beautifully adorned table at mealtime:

I’m just another cook.

If I work at a soup kitchen,

carol in the nursing home,

and give all that I have to charity;

but do not show love to my family,

it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels

and crocheted snowflakes,

attend a myriad of holiday parties

and sing in the choir’s cantata

but do not focus on Christ,I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love does not envy another’s home

that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love does not yell at the kids to get out of the way,

but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love does not give only to those who are able

to give in return; but rejoices in giving

to those who cannot.

Love bears all things,

believes all things,

hopes all things,

and endures all things.

Love never fails.

Video games will break,

pearl necklaces will be lost,

golf clubs will rust,

but giving the gift of love will endure.

~~~~Author Unknown~~~~

Home Looks Like Christmas!

Welcome to my home!!!!

This is a fresh swag of greens and berries that is gracing my front door. 

Here is our nativity set.  We have it on shelf over our window in our living room.  It is one of the first things someone would see walking into the room.  

Here is a poinsettia flower arrangement that I put together myself that I have setting on my desk.

Here is our fresh cut tree.  We get a fresh cut tree every year. We decorate it with white lights and various silver, red, and gold ornaments.  We also have several special ornaments, like Hallmark's baby's first Christmas that are adorning our tree.

We have snowman that are starting to appear on our tree too!  The snowman ornament on the left is a snowman family that we got when we just had four kids!  The snowman ornament on the right is a glass ornament and it came in a set with five others and they are scattered around on our tree. 

Here is another swag that we have setting on our entertainment center.  Also on the entertainment center is our stack of Christmas CDs that we listen to often during the holidays.

Phillips, Craig, and Dean's Christmas CD is one of my favorites while hubby loves the Ray Coniff singers!

I love having the simple decorations around the house! The basket of pine cones and the winter scene tins are just few of the simple decorations that you will find around my house.  These decorations are such that I can leave up through the winter months without feeling like they are just "Christmas decorations".

This year I add a few things to my decorations in my living room.  These items are on the top of a bookcase.  There is the ceramic Christmas bell that I made with my Grandma, who has passed away, when I was five. There is a bunch of poinsettia flowers and snowman.  The ceramic church in the picture was my hubby's Grandma's, who also has passed away and it was given to us because we were the only other ones in the family that actually went to church. The picture of the man in uniform is my hubby's Grandfather who served in World War II.  This picture was taken back during the war. I love having this picture part of the decorations because it reminds me to pray for our current men and women in the armed forces that are at home and abroad!


Thank you for stopping by my home today!  I hope that you enjoyed your visit!

This post is linked to: 

• Christmas Tour of Homes with the Nester  at Nesting Place!
• Home for the Holidays at Southern Hospitality!
• Holiday House Tour  at Hooked on Houses!
• Christmas Tree Party at Thrifty Decor Chick!

Weekly Shopping Trip--Savings $37.96

This week, I did something unintentionally! I forgot to take my coupon folder with me when I went shopping!  I only needed a few items and there was only a couple of things that I needed with my coupons so it wasn't too bad.  However, not having my coupon folder made me think more on whether I really needed to get the item or if I just wanted it to stockpile.  I guess you even could say that I saved myself more money than what I actually did on paper by not getting items "just because".

Also with my pantry looking like this...
and my upright stand alone freezer looking about the same, I figured there wasn't much to get this week in the grocery department in order to have enough food to feed the family for the week.

So with that picture in mind, here is what I purchased this week to finish stretching what I already have on hand:

Meijer:

• 2.28 lbs bananas $1.00
• 1 lb baby carrots $1.29
• 4 dozen eggs $4.46
• 2 gallons milk $4.58
• 2 lbs shredded hashbrowns $5.38
• 3 boxes markdown bakery donuts $7.75
• 3 loaves Aunt Millie's bread $2.00
• 1 container Dean's moose track ice cream $2.79
• 4 pkgs Eckrich smoky links $9.16
• 2 loaves Coles garlic toast $2.00
• 3lbs apples $1.00
• 4 boxes pizza rolls $4.00
• 2 bags sandwich bags $2.00
• 2 cans Campbells tomato soup $1.18

Total OOP: $48.71

Total Savings: $21.19

Total without sales: $69.90

Family Fare: 

• 2 pkgs flour tortillas $3.48
• 1 gallon milk $2.49
• 6 lbs boneless/skinless chicken breasts $9.99
• 1lb Kraft Mozzarella cheese $2.19
• 2 bottles(64oz) Indian Summer apple juice $2.59

Total OOP: $20.74

Total Savings: $16.77

Total without sales: $37.51

Grand Total OOP: $69.45

Grand Total Savings: $37.96

Grand Total without sales $107.41

This post is linked to:

• Super Savings Saturday at MoneySavingMom!
• Shopping Round Up at The Grocery Cart Challenge!

Menu Plan Monday 12/6-12/12

Last week’s menu plans went well!  We had friends, who are unemployed, over for dinner on Friday night.  I made homemade pizza!  I made my dough in my bread machine.  Oh was it good!  I made it with half whole wheat flour and everyone enjoyed it!

I did grocery shopping this past week!  I finally was able to find some pork that actually looked good!  We like to have a variety of meat and we haven’t pork for over a month because I was just not finding any that didn’t look all fatty. I also was able to snag some meat that was markdown by 80%!

This week’s meals are some of the family favorites.  We are having a new furnace, A/C unit and water heater installed on Monday and Tuesday so those meals might end up getting changed due to having gas available to run the stove or not.  It will be nice to have heat all the time rather than 25% of the time.

For this week’s lunches that are for the kids and me! Unless we are having leftovers, our lunches are served with apple slices or carrot sticks along with fruit juice or water.  Hubby usually takes a dinner leftover along with various snacks for his work lunch so I don’t take the time to plan his lunches.  

A special thanks to Laura-Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday! Need help with your menus; go check the over 300 other delicious meal plans that have been linked at Laura-Organizing Junkie's site or look down in my right sidebar for my menu suggestion lists!

Sunday (12-6)

Breakfast: eggs, sausage, hash browns, and jiffy muffins

Lunch: leftover spaghetti dinner with garlic toast

Dinner:  Arby’s

Snack: snack basket

Monday (12-7)

Breakfast: cereal and muffins

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner: creamy chicken served over egg noodles and green peas as a side

Snack: snack basket

Tuesday (12-8)

Breakfast:  waffles and sausage

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner:  pork chops, served with rice, green beans and crescent rolls

Snack: snack basket

Wednesday (12-9)

Breakfast:  bagels and cereal

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner:  Taco Bar

Snack: snack basket

Thursday (12-10)

Breakfast:  Pancakes (from freezer) and sausage

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner: chicken rice soup served with homemade bread

Snack: snack basket

Friday (12-11)

Breakfast:  cereal and toast

Lunch: sandwich & chips

Dinner: beef gravy served over egg noodles and peas as a side

Snack: ice cream night

Saturday (12-12)

Breakfast:  Your Choice

Lunch: ????

Dinner: chicken club sandwiches served with fries and carrot sticks

Snack: popcorn