I found a great blog designer in Nicole at  The Pixel Boutique and I’ve been patiently awaiting my scheduled work session with her.  Well, it has begun!!  We are working on the new layout for SuperJenn and I’m so thrilled with what she is working up for me…and I KNOW you will be too!

I’m going back to a three column format…I’ve tried magazine style and it just isn’t for me…I’m a simple girl and a straight feed has always drawn my attention when I’m blog hopping…so I’m headed back to the simple life.

What can you expect from me besides a pretty new face?  Well to start with, you can expect LOADS of free stuff!!  When I have a launch day set, we will begin a week long giveaway extravaganza!  I’ve got gift cards and breast feeding supplies…Weight Watchers goodies, coupon binders, EnviroSax…the list goes on.  You will just stay tuned to see.

And after the party has ended? What then?  I’ve got deals for you.  Lots, and lots of deals.  You may have been following my posts at Shop Talk with Jenn and Julie over at the Lawrence Journal World OnLine… that is only a fraction of what I’ve got in store.  Even though we are still sweating through our shirts here in Kansas, I can say without a doubt that gift giving season is right around the corner…just a couple of months more.  What better way than to shop some stellar deals now…either to stock up on gifts…or to save money to shop later?  From groceries to gifts to supplies for your house and clothes for those kids who won’t stop growing…I’ll do my best to find you some great buys.

Contrary to popular belief…I don’t spend ALL of my time shopping and looking for deals.  I knit, I bake, I even read.  But most of all…I’m a mommy.  I like to talk about my kids.  A lot.  You will find posts that talk about my kids, my mommy musings and I’ll make you look at pictures of my kids and both my culinary and confectionery feats in the kitchen.

Once in a while…and ONLY once in a while…I will do a review.  Most often if it is a product that I’m using in my home and I think its very cool.  I made a decision a while back not to schlep for free stuff.  I’ve got enough “stuff” in my life it’s time to pare down.  Rest assured that I will always be honest with what I write here, and if I’m paid to write something you will most assuredly be told.

And finally, you are going to hear about Lawrence.   I’ve grown to love this little place I call home over the past 12 years.  I’m passionate about the community I’m raising my children in and I want to do my part to help out.  My part is, apparently, opening my big mouth and sharing with you what it needs.  I have combined my love of the coupon and my need to be philanthropic… and I have raised ungodly amounts of supplies for local charitable organizations.  I’m going to pester ask  you to do the same. I also hope to be a free space for local non-profs to share their news with the community.

All right here on these little pages.  All I need is just a little more time.

Stay tuned and I will keep you updated…and so very soon we will kick off this ride once again.

Which leads me to today’s post.  Even though I’ve not been using this as a viable blogging option, I’m happy to have the format in this instance.

I’ve found that the difference between blogging here and blogging in a public forum like the Lawrence Journal World is that here people seem to understand each other.  We understand how this works: sharing deals and ideas, writing about the things that are important to us and all with a modicum of respect and understanding of each other’s differences.  There, I find that anonymity leads to not only bad manners, but blatantly vile behavior.

Last week was a particularly difficult week at Shop Talk.  I was called names, I was told that as a woman, I was making the “real working women” look bad and making their lives harder.  I discovered that one of the nasty “anonymous” posters is a friend.

What got under my skin the most was, however, being accused of plagiarism.  It was a ludicrous accusation: first I was told that I cut and paste, then I was accused of copying an entire post from Crystal at Money Saving Mom.  The post was cited and I was told to “beware” as the poster would continue to call me out on “these behaviors”.

Blogging is a huge universe.  It is also a close knit society.  Many of the women who blog about coupons and deals I refer to as “friend”.  Some of them I’ve had a play date with.  Even more than that are the women I’ve met at conferences and shared meals and drinks with.  I respect them all.  I would never splog from them.

Many blogs are on mailing lists with large companies.  We get notifications on coupons and upcoming deals. We are members of affiliate programs that send out emails to notify us of deals.  We all get basically the same information.  You will notice that the majority of the information you find is not unique to one blog or another.  You will find the odd blogger, like Jaycie at Coupon Geek, or Keri Lyn at She Saved, who look high and low for a unique deal.  But basically, they are all the same.  The difference is that we all write to different audiences.  I will try, but I’m not sure there are THAT many unique and creative ways to announce that Body Wash is on sale.

There I’ve said it.  I don’t plagiarise.  I couldn’t if I tried, my mom’s an English teacher.

And that post of Crystal’s that was cited last week by an “anonymous” poster on Shop Talk?  The one I supposedly copied word for word?  It wasn’t even for a store that we have in Lawrence.

Like the unprepared individual that I am, I hadn’t yet perused the fliers for the week so I asked the cashier exactly what three days the sale would encompass.  She let me in on it and I said “That is so great!  There are some great $1 Juicy Juice coupons out there!” in the chatty way that my mom used to converse with clerks, waitresses and the general public that would make me DIE of embarrassment. 

She very quickly frowned at me and snapped “We can’t take coupons that are more than the price of the item”  I took a step back and said “Oh, you can just take them down can’t you?” She said “Absolutely not!” (In a not nice, what are you up to kind of way).  She launched into the fact that it was corporate policy and I could write them if I had a problem with it.  I tried to say “Oh. that must be a new policy” but thought better of it.

When I got to the car I looked up the HyVee coupon policy and noticed that it had been changed effective March 30, 2010.  In addition to no longer reducing coupons to the actual price of the item, HyVee will no longer be accepting coupons that have “FREE” items in them.  This includes B1G1 coupons or “FREE” coupons that manufacturers give out when they sponsor events and conferences.

Another fantastic new policy is that individual store managers can disallow any coupon they want to.  Any coupon that comes out that the manager feels is too high dollar, they can decide their store will not be accepting it.

In a economic situation where more and more individuals are using coupons to help stretch the money that their family spends on groceries, why would one of the more expensive grocery chains chose to install a more restrictive coupon policy?

I understand that with increased use of coupons, coupon fraud becomes an issue.  I hardly believe that restricting the use of coupons in what appears to me to be an attempt to discourage “couponers” from shopping at their store is the way to go.  Why not train staff to take an extra minute to actually read the coupon being used.  Why not train the staff on how to reduce coupons?  In this couponers humble experience I would bet that the amount of times a manager has to be called over to deal with a coupon that is $0.01 over the amount of the item is “annoying” and easier to deal with by eliminating the situation.  Why not train your employees how to handle these situations?

I did very little shopping at HyVee to start with.  Their prices are higher, their really good sales are few and far between and often when you get the product on sale it is less than you had hoped for.  This new shun of coupon use pretty much seals the deal for me.  You can bet I won’t be shopping there anytime soon.

Lucky for me three stores in town price match!

 Turns out I was wrong and all of the $1 coupons are for $1/2… which makes them completely usable at HyVee…so all of her snottiness conversation was for nothing.  I did learn something, however, and I’m glad I did.  I support the stores that support the consumer. 

The Juicy Juice I mentioned that is on 3 day sale for $0.99 is actually the 46oz size, not the 64oz size listed in the paper. The coupons for $1/2 can be found HERE and HERE.  You will find a number of related coupons at these sites as well for similar Juicy Juice products for $1/1.  This makes the juice $0.50/ea which is a great price on Juicy Juice. Completely stockpile – worthy.

 You can bet your coupon stash I’ll be price matching mine at Target.

This is a receipt from one of my actual shopping trips!

If you live in the general vicinity of Lawrence, KS and you are interested in saving some money for your family…this might just be for you!

I have been teaching coupon classes in Lawrence and the surrounding areas for over six months now, sharing my knowledge and tricks to help people get the most out of their coupons and their hard earned money!

Here is the information you need if you are interested in having me teach a class for you:

Where are the classes?  Occasionally I will teach a “public” class that is scheduled and open to anyone.  These are few and far between because people seem to find the “home classes” more appealing.  I will schedule the class and take pre-registration via this website.

A “home class” is much like the home parties we all attend where we SPEND tons of money on cute trinkets, yummy food or good smelling candles.  You provide the location and at least 4 attendees and I will come and do the class at your home, church or office space.

How Much Do These Classes Cost?  The public classes are $35/person and the home parties are $25/person with a 4 person minimum.  All classes are pre-paid via paypal.

What Do I Get for My Money?  Good question!  You get a 2 hour class where I teach  you the ins and outs of how coupons work, how to match them with sales and how to stretch your dollar as far as you possibly can.  There is a take home booklet and complete access to me after the class for asking questions and getting help on your individual shopping trips.  Who am I to think I can ask you to pay me to teach  you?  I’m a blogger, a mom, and a conscious shopper.  I’ve been couponing and saving money for my family for 2 years now.  I write for our local paper each week and share deals with them and on FaceBook as well.  I’ve reduced my family’s budget from $900/mo for a family of four to $300/mo for a family of five.

Why Would I PAY Money to SAVE Money?  Another good question.  This class will give you information that will make what you find on the Internet more helpful.  If your weekly shopping trips are $100 or higher you will most likely SAVE the cost of the class in your first trip, if you use what I’ve taught you.  That’s just the first week!

If you are interested in booking one of these classes, or you want to be put on a list to contact when a public class is scheduled please feel free to EMAIL ME.

I look forward to sharing with you!

I have been clipping coupons, shopping deals and blogging it for over a year now.  I have reduced my family’s grocery/supply budget from a whopping $900/mo to $300/mo.  We currently have enough food storage on hand to hold us over for at least a month if for some reason our budget was restricted.  In addition to blogging about my frugal ways I am co-founder of the Wii Mommies, a virtual fitness support blog and forum and I write a weekly blog for the Lawrence Journal World: Shop Talk with Jenn and Julie.

While I would love it…I just couldn’t bore you all with yet ANOTHER picture of my kids…I need variety.  I committed to this thought last week…and forgot to take an interesting pic of anything else.  So you get a pic of my iPhone.  Well, the case.  I think its cool.  It was only $5 shipped…cause I like a deal.

Feel free to leave you linky if you, to have a(n) (almost) Wordless Wednesday.

I take Monday and Friday mornings to shop online write.  It is strange how obsessive what a creature of habit I am; I always write in the Bistro at Dillon’s and I always sit in the same place.  Today (yeah that’s right…its Monday) I didn’t get here until lunch time AND my table was taken.  I’m at the wrong end of the room and I’m facing the wrong direction and I can’t write a decent post because I keep checking every 5 minutes to see if the table is empty.  And yet… it managed to change occupants without me realizing it.  DAMN.

My friend Julie is in a bad way and I don’t know how to help her.

My mind is so clear.  You know how in Star Wars when they want to run around in a space ship they have to push these buttons and the big metal doors slide open…and you can see how “strong” the doors are because they have jagged interlocking sides…but when they push these buttons the doors slide open with ease…these big, heavy, metal doors?  Yeah…that’s how I feel.  These big, heavy, metal doors in my head just slid open.  Its amazing.  I can think through things that need to be done…I can get them done (mostly).

Top of my list…putting my house back together.  As in…its a GIANT mess.  I’m really lucky I have babysitters who are kind enough to pretend not to notice…or at least not comment on it when they come over….and they keep coming over.

My daughter likes to run around naked.  She’s 2.  It would be okay with me if she were potty trained.  She’s not.

SuperBaby has grown leaps and bounds in the past 2 weeks…it is crazy weird.  He’s like a whole different baby…but I still like him.

I don’t like typing on my netbook.  The keyboard is too small.  This disappoints me.

I’m not on my netbook now.

I loathe the picture that I got taken for my passport.  Its a good thing that sucker will get used very sparsely.

My husband showed me a picture of me flashing him underwater, in a bikini…from a trip we took to Mexico to watch his brother and SIL get married.  That would have been in 2003? (Sorry if I got that wrong Aly!) I thought I was fat back then.  I’d give anything to look like that again (and it wasn’t that great…).

My husband got a fluid trainer so he could ride inside.  He’s trying to get back in cycling shape so he can visit a friend in CA this summer and go riding for a week.  I bought risers for my wii balance board.  I think the best way to get these things used is to have a competition: See who uses theirs least most in the next month.

I now have to buy SuperBoy’s clothes in the Big Boy section…not in the section that houses baby and toddler clothes.  This makes me cry.  I cried when I realized I had to move from the baby section to the toddler section…in the middle of the store I started bawling.  At least this time I made it to the van.

My family is headed to Nebraska for Easter.  All of my cousin’s kids will be there…we will only be short my sister’s family and her daughter…otherwise we would have all TEN great grandkids together.  I can’t wait to take some pictures.  I hope my kids don’t scream.  What would be REALLY awesome would be if they started playing the game where they chase each other all over the house screaming and yelling at the top of their lungs…and it inspires the other six to do the same thing.  There isn’t anyway anyone could blame me…right?

If you are Random…and its Tuesday…please feel free to Link Up!  I’ll do my best to visit and comment back   Can’t promise it will be Tuesday…some other Random day perhaps…but I’ll be there.  In the meantime…be sure to check out Keeley, The UnMom, Queen of things Random.

If you have a Wordless Wednesday to share, please feel free to link up so I can be sure to visit you as well!

Last week I stated that I was stepping up to the plate and taking my big girl meds.  That was week 1 in 3 weeks of easing them into my system.  This week should prove to be much easier.

I’ve made another decision.  Its time to take off the Big Girl Panties.  Ryan is six months old and I’m still wearing maternity underwear and maternity pants.  Thaaaat’s right.  Its hideous.  Its annoying…and its embarrassing.  So I went to Target and bought myself some old fashioned, normal people jeans.  I sucked it up and didn’t look at only peeked at the size….just bought some jeans.  You know what…when I tried them on they didn’t look half bad.  I’m wearing them today… turns out I bought a size too big! YEAH ME! (Boo on wasting the money)…Turns out these are the “stretch” jeans…so once I had them on for a few minutes I’m hiking them up because they’ve stretched out. I also dug around in the very back of my dresser drawer and discovered that I DO still have underwear that wasn’t made to accommodate a stretched out belly. (I haven’t had the guts to try them on yet.)

Not only did I buy new jeans…but I bought some shirts…and they aren’t maternity either.  They aren’t even nursing shirts!  I’m feeling sassy….I might go buy a regular bra whose cups don’t clip and pull down for little beings to suck your life’s strength from you.  They still make those, right?

I went to the eye doctor to resolve this issue I have with my eyes that doesn’t allow me to wear my contacts.  My 4 yo actually asked me when I was going to stop wearing my glasses and “Look like a real mom” again.  Seriously?  He’s right.  That’s what sucks.  I’m having some issues with the optometrist being a MORON … but hopefully in the next 10 days I’ll be back in my contacts.

I broke out the E.L.F. bronzer and blush I got at BLOGHER that has has been sitting in my make up drawer for …um… too long.  I put it on. Slowly its all coming back to me… I DO remember, after all, how to apply make-up.  I’m starting to see the chic I used to be instead of the total and complete embodiment  of the stereotypical barefoot and pregnant housewife.

Know what else? I’m going on a date.  With my husband.  With NO KIDS…at a restaurant that doesn’t even have a kids menu.  Then…we’re going to have drinks.  Not the sippy cup kind…the sip until you’re drunk kind.

Don’t worry.  In the past this attitude, combined with date night would have ended with me getting knocked up….AGAIN.  But not this time.  My loving husband had “The Big Snip” about as soon as we finished counting Super Baby’s 10 fingers and 10 toes.

Are you random? Its not hard to be more random than ME….but link up here so I can visit … then be sure to check out the Queen of Random, Keeley at The UnMom!

My apologies for the extreme disappointment suffered by all of the porn lovers and spammers directed here by Googles false reaction to the title of this post.

$1.50 Off any Benedryl Product Printable Coupon IE (FF) (excludes trial sizes)

$4 Off any two Benedryl Products Printable Coupon IE (FF) (excludes trial sizes)

Here’s a scenario you can run at Walgreens this week:

Benedryl Perfect Measure Spoons for $4.98 at Walgreens
*Buy 2 and use $4/2 Benedryl Products Printable Coupon
FINAL PRICE = $5.98. You’ll also receive a $5 Register Reward to use on your next purchase. (It’s like paying $.98 for two after coupon and RR.)

I love the perfect measure spoons because they aren’t messy and I can carry them in my bag.  My oldest has a pretty severe cat allergy as well as hay fever so we just never know when Benedryl will come in handy. 

Thanks for the heads up Coupon Geek!

Not the best picture I could ask for but I thought we should commemorate the event!  We had some professional pictures taken two weeks ago, hopefully I’ll have those to share soon!