Is it on sale?

I hate to buy anything without a coupon or if it isn’t on a really good sale.  I love to clearance shop at Kohl’s.  They have the best discounts and I refuse to buy anything there that isn’t on sale because it will most likely go on sale in a week or so.  Even when I get a coupon in the mail from them I make sure what I am buying is also on sale. 

We buy Jake’s diapers at Babies R’ Us because we can get the most for our money but today I didn’t want to take the drive so I bought a small package at Wal-Mart.  Then when I got home I flipped through my Parenting magazine and found an Amazon.com coupon for buying diapers from them.  It was for 20% off plus free 2 day shipping.  Of course it was only good for 1 unit but I got the same ones I usually buy for about $10 cheaper.  Good deal to me and I don’t have to drive to the store! 

I had to buy some grow lights for work and I was telling my boss about the deal I found online and he looked at me like I was weird.  I got them at Amazon.com and did the free super saver shipping which says takes 5-9 days, but I got the light in 3 days so it worked out great.

I try to remember to use www.ebates.com for buying online.  I don’t always remember to use them, but when I do I always look for the store that gives me the best cash back reward.

I also started looking at www.groupon.com for the daily deals.  I just bought my first one for Stir Crazy. 

The only time I don’t use coupons is at the grocery store which I know seems weird.  I used to clip coupons all the time, but I never kept up with them and then they were expired.  But I do look to see if anything on my list is on sale.  There are certain items that I refuse to buy generic for, but I’ll give it a try most of the time and then decide.  I just got Jamie into this habit, but that might have been a mistake.  Cherry Vanilla Diet Pepsi was on sale at our local grocery store for $0.98/12 pack and we now have a dozen 12 packs in our house.  It tastes okay and all, but Jamie doesn’t understand that he shouldn’t increase his soda habit just because they were only $0.08/can.  It’s not really saving as much when he drinks twice as many. 

Chocolate pound cake

I got a new bundt pan for my birthday so I decided to make a chocolate pound cake.  I didn’t think the size of the pan was smaller than a 10” tube pan and it ended up overflowing in the oven.  When it was finished baking I cut off the overflowing part and then flipped it over.  It looks very pretty!  I am bringing it to my company picnic today so I don’t know how it tastes yet, but I am sure it will be yummy.

 

I got this apron while shopping in Lake Geneva last week.  Isn’t it cute!

 

I should have realized right away that there was too much batter in the pan!

  The top picture is before powdered sugar and the flash made it look lighter in color.  The bottom picture is without a flash and closer to the color it actually looks.

Lake Delavan

We spent this past week at a house on Lake Delavan.  Jamie’s family was there and we had a few guests throughout the week as well.  I didn’t always have my camera with me, but I did take a few photos of the week.

The second day we were there we took Jake to Great Clips to get his first “professional” hair cut.  He did pretty good when we were able to keep his attention away from the hair stylist. 

 

I love this picture!  He’s pretending to talk on the phone.  Too cute!

He got a sucker when it was all over.  He did such a good job!

We ate breakfast together each morning.  The other baby is Michael, the son of Chris’s good friends Michael & Erica.

There was a water balloon fight!

 

We watched movies outside with a projector on a white sheet.  We also brought the fire pit to enjoy each night.  We watched The Great Outdoors, Batman Begins and Indiana Jones: The last crusade.

The four cousins took a bath together.  They love Jake!

The last night we had lobster, mussels and ribs for dinner.  Yummy!

 

Jamie and I enjoyed spending time with his family.  It was a great week and we look forward to doing this again next year.

Time to clean up and go home!

Farmer’s Market

This morning Jake and I went to the Hartford Farmer’s Market.  This was our first time there even though we have lived here for 6 years.  We bought a huge onion & cucumber, cauliflower, tomato, baking apples, green beans, a loaf of dill rye bread and three plants to help fill in the garden.  In total this all came to around $20. 

Microorganisms and methods for treating poultry

This past week I received two letters.  One from Patent Awards and one from U.S. Patent Services both congratulating me on being awarded patent number 7,754,469!  The patent is for Microorganisms and methods for treating poultry.  Obviously, this was for work and nothing too exciting except that I am one of the five inventors on the patent. 

Birthdays

So my birthday is coming up in a couple weeks and I have no idea what I want.  Okay, that’s not entirely true, there are plenty of things that I want. 

I want include a new refrigerator, but that’s about $1200 too expensive.  I want a stamped concrete patio in the backyard, but that’s between $6-10K too expensive.  I thought about getting a bike, but I’m afraid I won’t use it much, just like the Wii Jamie bought me last year for my birthday that I’ve used only 3 times.  I would like to go to the Brewer’s game, but it is a day game and I would have to find someone willing to take time off work to go.

And of course there is the obvious that I always want, breakfast in bed, flowers, a nice dinner and a relaxing evening, but with Jamie working on call that week, it’s just not going to happen (maybe the flowers).

However, I do know about one birthday present.  My Mom is taking me to see Wicked which I am super excited about.  Jamie would never take me and I wouldn’t want to be embarrassed by his snoring anyways. 

Birthday’s just aren’t like they used to be.  During grade school it was all about the party with friends, sleepovers and the latest craze (Popples, friendship bracelets, NKOTB, CDs, etc…).  These days I’ll be happy with a phone call or a card.  Where did it all change? 

Out with the old, in with the new

Today I came home from work and my new dishwasher was installed!  It is so pretty!  Here’s the old one:

And here’s the new one:

So much better, and fancy looking.  There is a lot more space with out the center sprayer.  It is also much quieter.  Now I don’t have to turn the volume up on the tv while running it. 

Last weekend Jamie did quite a bit to the bathroom.  The new drywall went up, the walls were painted with texture, then actual paint and he laid the tile.  The tile still needs to be grouted, but it is all ready for him when he finds the time.  It’s getting there.

No pictures of the new hot water heater… it really isn’t very exciting to look at.