Happy Holidays...

Perhaps you are wondering where the deals are? The freebies? The too hot to believe deals?

Christmas and a lingering throat issue have taken up all of my free time since 7 am on Tuesday, December 22 until today. Relatives and friends visiting from afar, children to take to see movies (The Frog Princess is really cute), and just trying to find the floor after Santa visited.

The web has started to show deals again and this blog will be back in action as soon as possible. In the meantime, if you find a great deal, why not email the information to me and I will post it? sanderdrei@gmail.com

May your days continue to be merry and bright and may all your wishes for 2009 come true!

Peace, Love and Happiness from our blog to your home!

Economizing, is it really worth it?

Over the past month, I have tried coupons, keeping my eye out for deals, and just trying to be a bit more economical than my usual dash in and dash out to any store and just grab what I find.

The interesting thing is that it really is worth it! My three goals this month were:

1. Save some money.
2. Stretch my grocery budget so that some of it can eat the rising gas costs.
3. See if you can really score free stuff with coupons.

This is what I've found:

1. We have saved hundreds of dollars on shopping alone and with all the rebates that I have sent in for, I have $298 coming back to my savings account. One of the best things I have discovered on this journey is the Single Check Rebate from RiteAid and Register Rewards from Walgreens. Free stuff and money in my pocket!

2. The hunt is just part of the fun. The find is so sweet!

3. I can't believe that I ever thought that couponing was not for me. It is a pain to have a million coupons in my binder, but when I find a sweet deal for free or near free, my budget swells and leaves more room for fun stuff.

As a side benefit: With tons of research, I have 65% of my Christmas gifts done for free (or just for shipping). Thus, all the money I usually spend on some gifts is freed up for other things, like life.

I say, happy couponing and bring it on!

3 small kids+tons of sweat= Half Marathon Bling Bling

This past year my blog has been sporadically updated. The reason is that I was training for the Walt Disney World Half Marathon which took place on the 10th of January. Though the half marathon is not the longest of races, please keep in mind that when I initially signed hubby and myself up for this task I had never run a mile in my life, never mind 13.1. With determination and trepidation, a trainer was found, a gym was revisited and a new hobby was to become part of me.

Running is not for the faint of heart I have learned. It is a life commitment. A new drug. A fun way to bond with others. A community unto itself. It is an escape from the hectic life of two pre-schoolers and one toddler.

In preparation for the big event, several smaller races were run. Completed. Finished. Who cares about timing at this point? Because let's be honest. A 36 year old completely out of shape woman was happy to just be able to run without collapsing.

Today, my second year as a runner starts. It is an anniversary of sorts. And one that was completely my doing. Other than my husband and three kids, there was a lot of emotional support, but not a whole lot of outside help that was not paid for. The fall was full of runny noses and a treadmill was purchased that is now used for training for our next races and hopefully the VT covered bridges half marathon in 2010. And who know? Perhaps we will actually finish the marathon before we hit 40.