3-2-1 - NO BLOG!

Thats right, my blogging days as Mrs. Bargain Hunting Wife are coming to an end! I can't write 2 blogs, heck, I can barely write 1 blog. And while I'm good at using coupons and finding deals, I'm horrible at writing them up. This blog causes me stress because I feel like its never good enough. So I'm not going to worry about it any more.

If you are my single faithful reader (shout out to Brooke!), you can still follow my happenings at www.xanga.com/firewillconsume. I've had that blog since I was in collage and let me tell you, some of the drama that unfolded in 2006 is pretty juicy. So if you are craving a soap opera, start in April 2006 and see what happens.

I'll still follow your blogs and comment, but I'll use my joint google account, so if you see Brent & Katie leaving you a comment, rest assured, its not a crazy stalker. Its me!

Love to ya all!
Kate

Menu Planning Monday!

Last weeks' menu went off well, lets see what this week has in store.

Yesterday I made the crock-pot ladies Buffalo Chicken Soup. It was spicy but so good! I put in together in the morning and then around 8 pm we came home and dinner was done and delicious. Love that kind of cooking!

Monday: NOTHING!! Its our Night Out For Ladies at church, so Hubby is having guys over for a game of Risk (snooze). I gave him $10 towards pizza or whatever they get.

Tuesday: Chicken, Broccoli, Rice casserole. I'm getting my hair done (!!!) so Hubby will be cooking this, I made it last month and froze it, so its pop it in and we'll eat when I get home!

Wednesday: A car meal! Hopefully leftover casserole or it will be a sandwich.

Thursday: Another car meal! Probably Tuna Mac.

Friday: A real meal! But I can't think that far ahead :(

Things I love Thursday...er...Friday

A day late but who cares. I love my Garmin Forerunner 50 every day of the week!! I have been lusting over a Garmin for some time now. I love running but have no way to keep track of my stats! Outdoor runs meant either retracing a route with my car or trying to remember where it was I ran and using mapmyrun.com to figure the distance. But I still had no way to know how far I was running as I ran, my time, pace, heart rate or mile splits. ARGH! To a runner these are the world.

So I started checking out more running blogs and discovered something called Garmin. Isn't Garmin a GPS system. Oh it is and more! The Garmin Forerunner 205, 305 and 405 are GPS enabled, my Garmy 50 is not. Why you may ask? Well because during frigid, slick winter I run on a treadmill in our basement that doesn't keep track of stats. The Forerunner 50 comes with a foot pod to track your distance (like a much better pedometer).

Since this was out of our price range for Christmas gifts, Hubby got his parents and brother to chip in and make my wish come true. I seriously almost wet myself when I opened the box and saw Garmy in all her glory. He even got me the optional heart rate monitor *squeal* I then proceeded to spend the rest of Christmas Day with Garmy and the booklet getting everything set up.

Its an awesome gift and it makes my running so much more fun and motivating since I can always try and beat myself. The worst part? Instantly knowing that I'm not as fast or haven't ran as far as I hoped. Ugh, what do you mean I've only ran 3 miles? I THINK I'M DYING!!!

Hubby and I after I finished a race. I finished 3rd overall and 2nd in my age group. It was a small race.

Hubby and I a few hours later at his buddy's wedding. Hubby was an usher. Look how well we clean up!

Head over to the Diaper Diaries to check out what other bloggers love!

Menu Planning Monday

It is Menu Planning Monday and I'm once again doing this! I tried not doing it and it was crazy and resulted in getting pizza for dinner way more than I care to admit. This week is busy, so a couple dinners will be eaten in the car. For more menu plans and recipes, check out Laura at the Org Junkie!

Monday: Tuna Casserole and apples. This is eaten in the car between work and the Servent Leader meeting at church.

Tuesday: Chili and corn bread. I'm going to make the chili meatless since beans are so high in protien and are frugal. Hopefully the corn bread will soften the blow for my meat loving hubby!

Wednesday: Another dinner in the car between work and Wednesday Night church. Hopefully it is leftover chili!

Thursday: Another dinner in the car between work and dodge ball. Not sure yet, probably a sandwich and then a snack when we get home.

Friday: A real dinner, at home, around the table!!! *squeals in delight* I think that beef tips n gravy over mashed potatoes sounds pretty good to me.


Tuna Casserole (this was SO frugal!)
Make 1 box of mac n cheese (bought when on sale B3G3). Stir in a tin/pack of tuna (used $1off Q, paid $0.08!!) and 1/2 bag of frozen veggies. Stir well and heat through.

Two on the Town

Hubby and I used some of our Christmas Money to purchase a Two on the Town card! The card was $20 and contains TONS of offers and savings! We literally only have to use it twice and we'd save more than the cost of the card.

We are looking forward to date nights using the Buy One Get One Free offers from various resturants, reduced hotel stays, BOGOF movie tickets and Hubby is SO excited about the BOGOF golf offers. He already had the calender out and was trying to schedule golf outings.

When I was younger my sisters and I would frequently chip in (when you are 13, 10 and 7, $20 is a HUGE amount) and get this card for our parents as a Christmas gift.

Not sure if other areas have these cards, but they would be a great thing to look into for super savings and fun in 2009!!

See Ya Later 2008!

We're having a New Year's Party over at the Roost. Head on over to check out other people's walk through the past year.

We started off 2008 by impulsively painting our living room green. Not the green I had planned on it, but hey, it works!

Next up was my birthday. Hubby planned a day of surprised that included my sister and our friend from Texas. My gift was a heart shaped locket with my married monogram on it.

The highlight of the year was our wedding! Here are Hubby and I both grinning like maniacs because we just couldn't keep the joy inside.

We got tickets to a Detroit Tiger's game as a wedding present, so Hubby had to make an orange and blue sombraro to wear the game. We had a blast!

In July I got first place and set a course record in the Athena division of a local 5k run. I was so excited!

Here we are at Hubby's State Championship Bump n Race. He literally raced the wheels right off the car!

Top Row: Sister Emily, Me, Sister Hannah. Bottom Row: Great Grandma and Grandma. This picture sums up the amount of time and energy I put into creating better bonds in our family.

Wine tasting with friends. This was a big deal for me because I'm not super social around people I don't know well and these are Hubby's friends. But I got along with them very well (maybe it was the wine) and now we consider ourselves close friends.

We adopted a new cat into our family. Here is Red peeking in the window, watching me cook.

Jon, Me and Hubby around the Christmas Tree. Jon is Hubby's BFF and lived with us for 2 months until he moved to Canada.

Coupons & Deals!

Last night I went through my coupon box and pulled out everything that expires on December 31, 2008. I was gripped by a moment of panic, OH MY GOSH, I can't let ALL these coupons go to waste! Then I calmed down and picked out the ones for stuff I could get for cheap/free or that I needed the product.

Today I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some of those items. I had 4 $1 off coupons and 1 buy one get one free coupon for Starkist Tuna Packets. They were $1.08 each, so for $1.40, I got 6 packets of Starkist Tuna! They also had South Beach Granola Bars with Protien on roll back for $2, perfect since I had a $2 coupon! I also snagged 3 free packs of Kotex by using 3 $1 off coupons.

I also stopped at McDonald's to redeem my coupon for a free mocha, no purchase necessary. I ordered at the drive through and said I had a coupon for a free one. There was a pause then the employee said the machine was broken, so I couldn't have my free mocha. Hmmm, is this suspecious to anyone or am I just paranoid??

My last stop was Walgreens where I got a Santa hat for $0.79 and the FAR Orajel Cold Sore medicine.