Penny Pinching

cracker-jack…when a dime bought something good?

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I just went shopping with my sister Laurie and believe me–I witnessed a pro in action. This chicky is really a coupon queen. She bought name brand stuff–that I never even look at because it’s too expensive–and paid pennies on the dollar. No kidding. The register rang up $88.00 and she only paid $37.00. Less than HALF. I had to keep reminding myself to snap my mouth back shut. I was speechless and you know that is a rare thing.

mr-bubble

...when bathtime cost 49 cents?

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So, I’m tired of being too busy to use coupons–because, quite frankly, I can’t afford to be too busy. When my dollar won’t stretch to afford all that I have in the cart–I have always put things back. Well, not anymore! I’m going to pull out my trusty coupons and take all that loot home.

Now if I could only figure out how.

milk-duds

…the big box cost 15 cents?

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So I asked her if she would do a little coupon class for all of us would-be penny pinchers–if I promised to make brownies or something…

…and she agreed. WAHOO!

So are you ready to be amazing? Who is interested?

Let me know in the “reply” section below and we’ll pick an evening in the next few weeks and post it here. It will be fabulous! For those of you interested–but out of the area–we’ll post the highlights here as well, so you can join the “Wise Women of the Mountain Coupon Club,” from a distance. This will be so fun!

New Year’s Goal #10

I will be more careful with the money I make in order to stretch it farther.

Attention!

We will be announcing the next Gracious Giveaway—

Friday January 30

This one will be great so don’t miss it!

Want a hint? Here’s a riddle…

two-palm-treesphoto by: pic in the sky

Where are the Two Palms located?

heh, heh, heh…

Cookie Packs

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With Valentine’s Day just a few weeks away, I wanted to show you a sweet way to give an easy treat to your friends.

First, make the Oatmeal Farm Cookies and let them cool.

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Then decorate pink and purple dvd keepers with Valentine stickers and slip a cookie into each one. Next, punch a little hole in the upper corner and thread curly ribbon through to add some sparkle.

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Aren’t they cute? And since the cookies are in a plastic envelope, they will stay fresh for a day or two, so it’s perfect for neighbors, co-workers or best friends. In fact, this little treat is so easy to make–you could give it to anyone who deserves a little extra sweetness this Valentine’s Day.

Oatmeal Farm Cookies


I realize that yesterday, the post was all about being healthy and strong for the winter, and now something strange has come over me. There seem to be cookies coming out of the oven. But it’s not my fault. If you were to look out the window this very minute, you would see that it’s snowing and raining in turns outside. And anyone can tell you that the only thing to do when it’s snowing or raining outside is to bake lots and lots of cookies…inside.

So you see–it can’t be helped.

Oatmeal Farm Cookies

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups oats
1-3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix milk and lemon juice together in a small cup. Mix brown sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Shape into 1-1/2 inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten cookies with bottom of glass dipped in water. Bake about 9-10 minutes.
Oatmeal Farm Cookies
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1 cup butter
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 4 cups oats
  • 1-3/4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¾ tsp. salt
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Mix milk and lemon juice together in a small cup.
  3. Mix brown sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla.
  4. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
  5. Shape into 1-1/2 inch balls.
  6. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
  7. Flatten cookies with bottom of glass dipped in water.
  8. Bake about 9-10 minutes.

To Your Health…

I don’t know about you, but when there’s a new baby in the building–like that pretty thing shown above–we all get a little bit nutty about washing our hands and using antibacterial sanitizers, and keeping sick people about 22 miles away and, well– generally doing everything we can do to keep ourselves healthy in order to keep her healthy.

My dear friend Lynnette gave us a huge tip a while back that has helped a ton to keep the sniffles away. Believe it or not, it is cranberries! Yeah, I know. Those funny little sour things we string with popcorn and hang on the Christmas tree. But did you know that they are a very potent antiviral as well? That means they are beneficial to your resistance of viruses. Beat that. Here’s more info if you don’t believe me.

This time of year, it’s good to know something that really helps but of course, you have to eat them to get the benefits, not just hang them around your neck. Problem is–have you ever chomped good and hard into a cranberry? If so, you know they are almost too sour to eat–certainly too sour to enjoy.

The good news is that if you toss the bag of berries in the freezer overnight, they become the perfect add-in to your favorite fruit smoothie. And believe it or not–whipped up this way, they actually taste fabulous!

If I were you, I’d go grab some cranberries from your produce section before they’re gone for the season. It’s worth it.

New Year’s Goal #9

To eat more healthily and cut wayyyy back on sugar–so that I can be here to play with my babies for a long, long time.