Laura's CVS Haul

Great deals at CVS this week. I wanted to keep my bill as low as possible, so using coupons I got:

1 full size essence of beauty hand sanitizer
1 starburst
1 Gain dishwasing liquid

Total $.06

Extreme Couponing... No good news?

Why Extreme Couponing could be bad:

1) Real couponing is about getting what your family can use before it goes bad. Whenever I stockpile, I only get nonperishables. Things that don’t go bad for months- boxed dinners, frozen food, canned goods, etc. It’s stupid to buy 35 bottles of medicine- if you’re really using that many just in your family, you need to visit a doctor. Seriously.

2) The ONLY things I buy cheap or free to stockpile more than others is deodorant, toothpaste, cat litter, and shampoo. Why? Because my church’s cold weather shelter needs the toiletries for homeless people and a local animal center uses the litter. Why not get it and give it to them when it’s no cost to me? Otherwise, I’m just taking products off the shelf that I know won’t be used in my house. We only have two adults- the only things it makes a ton of sense to stockpile is razors, toilet paper, body wash, trash bags, etc.

3) I don’t want to be a hoarder. I feel like this show could be giving a bad name to people who are fairly trying to use coupons to save their family money. The money I save allows me to have a bigger budget for fun things, paying bills, or acquiring perishables like milk on a more regular basis. I don’t want to have a basement stocked with stuff that we can’t ever use. I’m sorry but even with a big family there is NO way those people are using that many products. They simply have to be giving it away.

4) If the show has cut out the part where these people are giving it away, that’s a shame. It’s really wonderful to use coupons to acquire products for those in need, but I also feel like it’s a travesty to empty grocery store shelves. Your neighbors might need some of that product, too! Why get 50 when it will take you five years to use that? If you’re not giving it away, you are WASTING PRODUCT. End of story. You’ll also waste product by sending the message to the company that tons of people are buying this product and so they need to make more. That means more wasted product sitting on the shelves next month because you’ve contributed a bizarre supply/demand message to the company.

5) I’m afraid stores or companies might realize that there are some crazies out there just simply buying too much and abusing the system. I’m personally grateful that certain stores like Rite Aid and Target have awesome policies allowing you to stack manufacturer and store coupons, which can be great on a buy one get on free deal. But in this economy do we really need to encourage these companies to be more frugal with coupons?

Laura's List of Cheapies

Here's a list of things, that if combining coupons, store discounts, sales, and buy one get one free, you should never pay more than half price for: Shaving cream Soap Body wash Body lotion Face wash Razors (do not buy cartridges unless they are a major steal) --> (This is one of my favorite tips, we never buy razor cartridges and just buy new razors on sale) Deodorant Eyeliner Hairspray and all hair products aside from dyes Toothpaste Mouthwash So this is probably the majority of your toiletries, right? I regularly get the brand names I like from CVS or Rite Aid extremely cheap or free. When there's a deal, I maximize the savings by getting as many as allowed and rolling register rewards from week to week. For example, let's say I earned $10 CVS Extra Care Bucks last week buying Almay Foundation. This week Old Spice Body wash is buy one get one free. I can use a coupon on Old Spice plus those ECB's (which are like cash in this sense) to purchase the body wash. I add the bodywash to my stockpile in my upstairs closet and we get it out as we need it. That means once I stockpile something I dont have to buy it for 2-6 months (depending on how much I bought) and I saved the maximum amount on it! Keep your eye out for weekly circulars. Although people often think drugstores are overpriced, you will do the BEST at these stores by rolling rewards, weekly coupons from the store, and adding coupons to sales. Trust me!

Swing Dancing at Glen Echo

I'm a few posts behind where I wanted to be, but I wanted to share a new and exciting activity for couples to do. We've been looking for more ways to incorporate physical activity into some of our dates, and this one turned out really well!


Over the last year in graduate school, I've noticed that if I make a wrong turn on the way home I end up at this strange place that looks like the set of a 1950's horror movie. On a trip home from DC, John was curious about what this place was, so we decided to stop and check it out. While the rest of the park was silent, many people were filing towards one building, so we followed them. As it turns out, this was Glen Echo park and there is swing dancing with live music every weekend! We sat and watched for about twenty minutes, noting how good some of the people dancing at the front of the ballroom were. We decided to come back at some point and try it for ourselves.


This last weekend John's family came to visit so we all went swing dancing. It was great! They provide a one hour lesson that teaches you a 7 step combination beforehand, and the live music was wonderful! We all had a great time and will definitely be returning! We danced for about three hours, so this is definitely a workout!

Great Spring Cleaning idea!

Spring is almost here! Looking to get rid of stuff? I know that after our move last year, I am dying to unload some of this stuff for when we inevitably move the next time! Plus, we've (and mostly me..) have accumulated a lot of clothing and items over the years that I'm sure could be put to good use. We get these mailers at our house all the time and I'm jumping on the chance to donate (easily) to the Vietnam Vets of America. They come and pick up all your stuff outside your house, leave you a tax receipt, and you're done!! Just schedule a pickup. So much easier than dragging it to Goodwill, waiting in line for a tax receipt, etc.


Head on over to http://www.vvapickup.org/ today to schedule your pickup!!

My birthday

My wonderful boyfriend took me out for my 25th birthday and we had a blast! We have several upcoming things on our calendar that I'll share later, but here is a photo from my birthday this year!

Miss America

Well, I haven't posted in months. And that's certainly because over the last several months my schedule has been a nightmare, and within that time I've realized a lot of things that are important to me- along with realizing some things that need to be completely trashed. I'm in the process of making some major changes to my life, but this week I felt like coming back to blogging because a very dear friend, Katie Uze, is currently at the Miss America pageant.

Over my years in pageants, of course there are a few "bad apples" (and that's the case in any group of people) but Katie is truly one of the most genuine and lovable people out there. We first met competing together our very first year (2007-2008) and ended up sharing a car partner at the Miss Virginia pageant. Katie is incredible on and off the pageant stage, and it's easy for me to feel genuinely excited for her as she works towards a dream this week. She's very deserving of this entire experience and is, in my mind, the ideal Miss America: relatable, fun-loving, carrying a strong message, smart, funny, and sweet. If she doesn't win, it's fully Miss America's loss.


Miss America can be a total crapshoot. You can work your butt off and it's just not in the cards for you. It's the same way I view Miss Virginia: it's impossible to feel like you failed when you accomplished so many other things along the way you will cherish for a long time. However, only one girl each year can have that experience and the timing just might not be right. I'm proud of Katie no matter what (although I highly suspect she will win a swimsuit award in Las Vegas) and feel lucky to have become a friend over our time in pageants together.


Go Katie!

TSO

One of the most exciting things John and I did this year was receive tickets to go watch Transiberian Orchestra in Pennsylvania. John's brother, Joseph, got the tickets and treated us all to a spectacular show! It was one of the best concerts I have ever seen. Some people made the mistake of thinking the show was over at intermission. The concert was a good three hours but my favorite part of the show actually came after intermission, when a good portion of the crowd thinned out and the music was the personal creation of TSO. We had a blast, and the band was excellent at working with the crowd and raising interest in each song. The lights were also amazing! I highly recommend this concert to anyone who likes rock music or even classical- you will be amazing at how great it sounds fused together!

Oh, Canada!

I recently had the awesome opportunity to travel to an international conference on Motherhood in Toronto, Canada! This was my first trip to Canada and also my first time experiencing Niagara Falls! Lucky enough, we actually visited the Falls on the last day it was open for the boats. This was also John's first time traveling to Niagara, and we're also planning another trip back!

One of the great things about this conference is that I got linked up with many other people in the field through this organization, and I have an upcoming book chapter to be published in Winter 2011 as a result of the connections made. We also got to go see Second City, a hilarious comedy show (which had come to my college, and, in fact, adopted a Randolph Macon girl into one of their tours because of her great sense of humor). The show was great and although the trip was short, it was a blast! There is so much to do there and I can definitely see why it's such a great honeymoon destination!

Baltimore Comic COn

I have been extremely, extremely busy- to a level I have never personally experienced before. I am a full time graduate student and a full time employee- meaning I literally drive from maryland to virginia and back three days a week and use my weekends to catch up. In any case, I have several posts coming but only get to work on them in my rare free time. So the first overdue post is for the Baltimore Comic Con, which I attended in costume a few weeks ago. They had a costume contest and although I did not win, I had a great time attending and having pictures taken with many people attending the event. In fact, the costume contest was kind of a bust because it lasted over four hours and there were people who clearly had a lot of time and money to invest in their costumes!

A few quick updates

It's been so long since I've posted, but my new schedule is very hectic and the weekends of summer have been extremely full so far! The remainder of this month is no different.


-I've officially entered another dimension of time management, as I'm now working a full-time job on top of working on my PhD. My mother and I are working on a project to be presented at an international conference on motherhood in Canada this fall, I'm writing a chapter for upcoming book about motherhood advocacy organizations, and in general adjusting to life as a researcher/student/employee.

-I'm preparing for a whole new kind of contest at the end of August. When my boyfriend asked if we could attend the Baltimore Comic-Con, at first I was thinking this wouldn't be very fun for me. Until I decided to enter the costume contest (last year's winner received a $1,000 cash prize). Over the course of college due to my busy schedule, positive outlook, and many hats I wore, I earned the nickname wonder woman from many friends. After learning more about this famous female superhero, my boyfriend and I decided there was no one more perfect to go as. Wonder Woman is a curvy Amazon who carries a lasso of truth. She fit me perfectly! So John and I have spent weeks perfecting a costume and makeup for this event. I am sure people will want their picture taken with wonder woman, too! I even have the blue eyes to match!

-Finally, finally, finally, two very important things are happening in my life. I've waited so long for both and I can finally afford them! Years ago my eye doctor told me the only cure to my constant eye infections and now inability to wear contact lenses was Lasik. I'm having the procedure right before Comic Con and couldn't be more excited to have glasses-free vision.

And... I'm buying a car! I'll reveal that later, but for now I am still driving the trust 1984 Cavalier. I've decided that things built in the 80's are just made to last, because she's still going strong!

Miss Virginia 2010

This last month has been a complete whirlwind for me, involving a lot of stress, moving, new adventures, and some very exciting things on the horizon. I feel bad for not posting this sooner, but just over a week ago, one of my favorite pageant friends won Miss Virginia. I have to say, it's much, much harder to watch and support someone than it is to be in the pageant. I was cheering loudly for my friends Shannon Oliver and Katie Uze, and every time either one of them came on stage, I felt like vomiting. I crossed all fingers and toes that they would do their best. I am so proud of both of them- they each won a preliminary award and made the top five.

When they announced that Katie Uze was the new Miss Virginia, I shrieked for over twenty seconds and then called Katie's phone to leave her a crying voicemail of how proud of her I was. There are literally no words to describe how genuine, funny, and dedicated Katie is. She will be an incredible Miss Virginia and I'm so proud of her! Katie and Shannon have been two of my friends that I first met during Miss Virginia 2008 and we have stayed close and in support of one another ever since. Would you believe both Katie and Shannon drove over 4 hours to watch me compete at Miss Hill City? So, I figure it's time to return that favor and head out to Vegas to watch Katie compete for Miss America!

Congratulations to someone who really deserves it!