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Archive for October, 2012

Grateful for No Damage

October 30th, 2012 at 03:56 pm

I feel so lucky to have survived the storm with relative ease. I haven't done a full roof check (wind is still going a bit), but it looks like I survived unscathed. Thee is a small tree at the back of my property (on the farmer's land) that fell, but that can just be pushed bak into the farmer's field.

I did not even lose electricity. The wind last night was nearly hurricane strength. I ended up sleeping on the first floor due to the noise & shaking.

Today, driving restrictions are being lifted, but I am choosing to stay home & allow the power & county trucks room to do their job.

Plenty of people in the area are without power, there is wind damage, but for the most part, we lucked out.

Yesterday, I did not complete much on my to-do list. However, I did earn the last of the 5 $5 AGC from Swagbucks for October. I am already working to earn for November. I also entered into mycokerewards & requested another free 12 pack coupon.

So for today, in the midst of horror movies and dvr catch up, I plan on getting several things completed.

Preparing for Sandy - great start to my Staycation

October 28th, 2012 at 06:42 pm

I have the upcoming week off from work ... just in time for the Hurricane. Oh well, my only hope is that electricity does not go off at the house & I can get my To-Do list taken care of.

If the electricity DOES go out, then I am prepared to be a bit bored Smile We are going to be getting more of this storm in my area than I remember having of a hurricane. Flooding and winds are the primary issue.

Of course, everyone around here is panicking. This state is NOT organized at all. Schools have closed already for Monday & Tuesday.

In preperation, I bought some canned goods, snacks, salad stuff - all of which can be consumed without electricity. I did not buy water, but filled my BPA free/aluminum water bottles as well as 3 pitchers (1 water, 1 lemonade, and 1 cherry limeade). I should note that I have a LOT of water bottles Smile

I did all the dishes & laundry, have plenty of cat food & litter. Pulled the trashcans up to the house (townhouse, no garage). I covered the basement windows with their covering and am leaving stones on top to secure them.

I will fill the bathtub with water for cleaning, ect. I have a flashlight, many candles & lighters.

I am charging my computer, my cell phone, my mp3 and my kindle. I have books, puzzles, soduku and a list of to-dos that can be completed in the light of day Smile

wishing everyone a safe week!

Money In, Freebies in, Money Out :)

October 24th, 2012 at 12:46 am

Sold a free to me Breadmaker on Craigslist for $15. Received $10 cash for ordering a book on Amazon for my mom's friend using my Amazon credits from my credit card rewards. So $25 in

Then I spent $7.99 for a stainles steel roasting pan (I am hosting Thanksgiving!). Great deal, good quality & brand. Free ship to store and I paid out of my holiday funds.

In other news, I got a lot of junk mail in the mail today, but I also received a FREE makeup purse, target coupons, perfume samples, 3 sets of shampoo & conditioner samples, and a jergens lotion sample. Yay freebies!

Upcoming Staycation - Plans for To-do's and FUN!

October 21st, 2012 at 03:05 am

The last week of Oct/first few days of November, I am on vacation from work. I am looking to get some fun and some projects completed. I've just started thinking about what I want to do, so I am getting a list started.

FUN:
see a few movies (Free with fandango bucks)
rent Redbox movie (free with codes)
Hike at state park ($3)
Lunch with mom with Groupon ($10 max)
Read newest book in a series I read
Movie marathon with friend (free/redbox)
Halloween Trick or Treaters - LOVE this!!
Try new healthy recipes
Dye hair fun new color
mani/pedi
listen to a few new bands that I like - get the cds Smile

PROJECTS:
Paint all door knobs
Winterize Windows - plastic
Master Financial List
Open new safety deposit box
Put up some Craigslist items
Groom cats (not so fun)
Wrap Christmas gifts
finish main Christmas shopping
Put together 'favors' for bf's bday
Paint vases (cheap ones) for decoration
Spot treat carpet - potentially rent carpet steamer
Visit Flea market for cookie tins - spraypaint & use for storage projects/gifts
Potentially paint downstairs bathroom vanity
Paint light switches/electric plates
Frame wallpaper sames for wall art in bathroom
Frame old tshirts for BF to put in spare room art
Decorate for Thanksgiving (hosting this year!)
Make grocery bag dispensers (for bathroom - use bags to line trashcans)
Deep clean the house (prepping for holidays)

Saturday Randomness

October 21st, 2012 at 01:15 am

I went to my step-niece's cheerleading this morning, ran some errands then came home & have been fighting a migraine all day. In the fits of energy that I had today, I did few fun things.

I am using one of the two closets in the spare bedroom for the storage of gifts, wrapping paper, ect. I didn't want to just leave them on the floor or the shelf, so yesterday, I brought home 2 printer paper boxes from work (free). They are ugly though, so I bought a sturdy gift wrap from the dollar store ($1) the other day.



Today, I wrapped them up & made them pretty. There is plenty of paper leftover AND the inner core of the wrapping paper roll is craft paper, which I will be using to 'wrap' my coaster gifts with. Well worth the dollar & now that I know that the inner part is usable paper too, I am buying another roll or 2 a I plan on making a couple more of these. Double win!





I also took inventory of the freezer, pantry & fridge. I am going to work on a meal plan tomorrow.

Other than these 2 projects, I have been napping, watching tv and going through emails.

2012 Freebies So Far!

October 16th, 2012 at 10:35 pm

I am really glad that I have been tracking freebies, online earning, ect for the year! I did not include gifts, but so far, I have obtained:

$15 Pier 1 Gift Certificate
9 Free 12 packs of coca-cola
12 pack condoms
48 AAA batteries
$105.54 Amazon credit
Yves St Laurant Makeup bag plus dozen samples
$504.07 in cash/checks
3 Band outdoor concert
Vitamin water
2 travel size contact solution & cases
toothbrush, toothpaste & floss
full size hershey bar
misc food
$100 in gas cards
glasses cleaner
12 personalized Greeting Cards
3 large reusable Grocery bags
$20 in Groupon promotions (free Groupon money)
dozen hair care samples
keychain flashlight
pedometer
5 kindle books
1 year Shoprunner membership
Memory stick
$5 MP3 credit at Amazon
$5 Video credit at Amazon
1 full size bottle OPI nail polish
pens
photo keychain
20 redbox codes
$40 Regal gift cards
Meal at Ruby Tuesday
T-shirt
$125 Walmart gift cards
2 water bottles

WOW that is a lot!

Getting Thing Done!

October 11th, 2012 at 02:46 am

After a long period of inactivity due to heavy social schedule, plus lack of energy that I have been attributing to the thyroid, I FINALLY have energy to get things done.

Sunday, my family, my boyfriend & I took both my nephew and the bf's nephew to the PA Renn Faire. I spent quite a bit, but it was so worth it. We really had a great time!

Monday, I stayed home & started in on getting things done. This mostly consisted of napping then organizing the kitchen/pantry now that my Roommate moved out. The boyfriend is moving in Dec 1st,but in the mean time, I can clean, organize & enjoy having the house to myself!

In the last week, based on some promos I found - I earned 18 Redbox credits. I used 2 over the weekend.

I am pickingup some ideas on Pinterest. Tonight,I painted my keys with nail polish to make it easier to tell them apart. I have a house key, a screen door key, key to my parents, key to my work desk, key to the mailbox and a few misc ones.

Here's a quick of the final paint job! As you can see, I love different colors Smile



Between yesterday & today, I worked full days then:
-Cancelled lawn guy (now that the broken foot is officially healed)
-signed up for 2013 Medical from work
-Called in a prescription refill
-returned books to the library
-picked up a window sealing kit at the dollar store & 1 organizational tote for the kitchen
-relisted several items on craigslist
-Cleaned out fridge(had to - there was a big cherry limeade spill) and then cleaned the kitchen, wiped down cabinets, counters, ect and washed the kitchen floor. Also polished the kitchen table
-Cancelled subscribe & save deal that I got on Amazon
for toilet paper
-ordered a book on amazon for my mom in that same deal (she'll be paying me back)
-requested 2 $5 Amazon gift cards from swagbucks
-requested reimbursement from insurance for prescriptions paid out of pocket
-picked up prescription
-made appointment with guy of Craigslist to sell my old mower (now I use the reel mower)
-Put several items to sell on my county's Classifieds group on facebook
-obtained 40 MyCokeRewards from a friend off the Classifieds (I use these rewards for soda coupons). The boyfriend and a friend collect them for me. I am always looking for more codes though!
- started wrapping my coaster gifts for christmas
-updated new points into my coke awards
-Waiting for $10 earnings to hit my InboxDollars account so I can request my $40 payout. I earned it by ordering 3 bottles of wine for total of $15.01. These will be used for holiday partys and were already on my to-buy list
-working on swagbucks - want to get to another 450 points
-finish laundry
-fold laundry
-put out Halloween decorations
-watched Netflix movie
-made dinner at home

Tomorrow, I am doing a (cheap) dinner and a (free) movie with a friend. So my to-do list is much smaller:

1. 10/15 budget
2. 10/31 budget
3. 11/15 budget
4. budget after BF moves in (paying 1/2)
5. Have fun with friend!