Just a sandwich....and some stats!

I have been on this gluten free diet for one month now and its been tough!!  The three things I have been craving the most have been cookies, pizza and a sandwich.  OK, I should say dreaming about, thinking about and imagining eating all of it! Well, I took care of the cookie craving and the choc chip cookies have been heaven!  Tonight I had a turkey and cheese sandwich and it was a party in my mouth!  It was so good, I had to take a picture! 

I have to tell you, the gluten free bread I bought tastes awful by itself!  I let my kids try it and they told me that they feel sorry for me-ha, ha,ha!  I have to send a big thank you to the lady that told me to butter and toast the bread first in a pan...that makes all the difference in the world!  This weekend I'm having gluten free pizza and I'm beside myself with excitement, oh, and I get to see family for Easter too ....

OK, on to the stats!  I had a lot of people ask me about my household "stash" from all my couponing.   There have been a lot of great deals for health and beauty and laundry items lately, so I'll give those numbers...keep in mind that even thought these numbers seem insane, there are 6 people in my house, I donate items to charity and I try to keep about 6 months to a years worth of products on hand (only for HBA and laundry items) food is a different story!

Currently in the rotation...
Laundry soap- 14 bottles or 404 loads
Dryer sheets-3 boxes or 140 loads
Dishwasher pacs-6 boxes or 120 loads
Disinfecting wipes-12 canisters or 420 wipes
Deodorant-19
Toothpaste-19 tubes
Body wash-45 bottles
Shampoo/conditioner-45 Bottles
Shave gel-19 cans
and the kids favorite...boxes of cereal-25
And everything I either got for free or for less than $1 each!!!  I'm not like the people on tv that get everything for free but I do pretty well I think.  If I can get a deal I stock up, and of course, I follow the rules for each store.  And to answer the question "how much time do you spend couponing each week?"  I usually do a big shopping trip every two weeks so on the shopping week I spend anywhere from 2 to 8 hours matching sales and coupons, clipping and writing a detailed list of all transactions and all totals so I know before I get to the store how much I am spending.  Put it this way, I can fill the backseat and the hatch of my Ford Escape for $150 to $200.  When I say fill, I mean no one can ride in the backseat only me and one other person can go!

Have a Happy Easter!!

Linking up with Live a Colorful Life-Really Random Thursday

Life goes on...

It's funny how life changes in a matter of a few days...  A lot has happened since my last post, some things make me sad, some make me happy and some just make me irritated!

Here's what makes me sad and happy...My sister in law left me on Tuesday to make her dreams come true. What is she doing?  She is Hiking The Appalachian Trail as a thru hiker!  All by herself with only herself to rely on!

 

This is the route she's taking and she started a blog for family and friends to follow her along the way Hiking The Appalachian Trail.  As of today she's hiked 31 miles and plans on doing 11 miles tomorrow.  I am happy that she is doing something she has been dreaming about but I miss her sooo much, she's my best buddy and a big part of my life!  And yes we do have the same first name, just spelled different!  I spent the last night before she left making pee pee rags (yes, it's what you think they are), hemming pants, taking in waist bands and making a new pouch for her SPOT gps tracker.  I have to remember she's having the time of her life and that is what counts!  GO, Jenni!!!  Love you LOTS!

Another girl that makes me happy is my daughter...she is 15 and in track right now.  At her track meet yesterday she took 30 seconds off her time from the previous race!  She runs the 1600 meter which equals a mile and she ran it in 6:56!  She also runs the 4X800 meter with three other girls and loves it!  And she is going to Prom for the first time this year and my mom is making her dress and its gorgeous!  I have been waiting for this day since she was born!  She is my girly girl and I love dressing her up and she loves it too!  

Now the irritating...Gluten free!  I refuse to pay the insane prices for "gluten free" labeled products!  A lot of items I found that don't have "gluten free" advertised on the label, and are gluten free, are priced great, but if it says "gluten free" on the front it will cost 3 to 6 times as much!  Bread for example-I can get a loaf of store brand at the local grocery for $1.49 for a 24 ounce loaf(for the rest of the family), gluten free bread is $6.15 for a 12 ounce loaf!  I refuse to make someone rich off of my unfortunate medical issues!  They can all kiss my @$*!!! I am doing OK on my gluten free journey, done my way!  And I'm dropping weight and I feel GREAT, no more pain or feeling sick 24-7!!!  There, I feel somewhat better now...sorry for the rant!

And life goes on....

Linking with Live a colorful Life

Sewing Room Essentials

It's not what you think, I don't drink it!  I'm going to use it for pressing!  I was reading some of the Friday Finishes on Crazy Mom Quilts and found this hilarious Finish and immediately sent the Hubby a text to pick up some cheap vodka for me...

• 1 part vodka
• 2 parts water
• add scent of your choice (I'm going to do lavender-2 drops essential oil) to spray bottle
• Shake, spray and press

She says it works like Best Press!  This one liter bottle cost me only $7.55 with tax so that means I can make about 101 ounces of pressing spray for only $7.55-that ends up being only .07 per ounce!  One 16 ounce bottle of Best Press is about $8.00 each!  Awesome savings!

Happy Quilting!!

What?!?!

From the maker of Halls Cough Drops...

Let's hear your battle cry.

The show must go on. Or work.

Bet on yourself.

Put a little strut in it.

Even my cough drops are inspiring!  What will they think of next?

Mommy Elephants-Finished!!

These last few weeks have been rough for me!  I lost my quilting mojo, had some ongoing health issues get worse, the kids-the hubby and me are busy, busy, busy going in different directions!  But this week has been a turn around for me.  I went to the doctor and he had me start a gluten free diet and for the first time in years I have felt good!   I'm still learning the ropes for gluten free cooking and reading every food label before I eat but since I feel so much better, I'm cool with it!  My youngest son says I'm in a better mood this week...ouch I did not realize that, hope I will be forgiven!

  And I finally finished the Mommy Elephants quilt!

Can you believe I took this picture in the dark?  (I have an external flash that I bounce off the ceiling) My kids were amazed.
Here's a close up...

The quilting is almost like the Baby Elephants quilt.  These will be going to Maine for my sis-in-laws friend and baby sometime this week!

The next big project will be cleaning and organizing my sewing room!

Happy Quilting everyone!

Linking up with Finish it up Friday at Crazy mom Quilts and Can I Get a Whoop Whoop Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Really Random Thursday

This week has been crazy!  My kids have been going in all different directions, my hubby is in EMT training/classes, I had to go to a seminar in Madison for my job and on Monday I had to go to the doctor.  My doc had me start a gluten free diet and it has been hard.  I can't eat 95% of the food in my pantry!  And there is not much available gluten free food in the small town I live in so a shopping trip is in order!  I hope I can find coupons for this new food!  I also have to read ALL ingredient labels for ALL food I eat!  Goodbye cookies, cake, pie, bread, all the things I love!  I will miss you immensely, more than you know.  My kids have also shared their yucky cold with me, so that's the cherry on top of this crazy week!

Anyhow, on to the the fun stuff!   Here's a sneak peek at what I am working on...I will have a finish for Friday!

Mommy Elephants turned out awesome and I want to keep it too!  Happy quilting everyone!



Linking up with Really Random Thursday at Live a Colorful Life 

5 Minute Scarf

Go from this...

To this in five minutes!

As mentioned before I work in retail at a fun store (World of Variety) and I learned how to make these scarves when this new yarn came in this week.  I've been showing anyone and everyone how to make them since.  My boss sent me home with a skein to make one for my daughter to wear to school, it really took about five minutes!  Here's the link Learn how to make a hand chain scarf and its fun too!  I have some ideas for this method and some fabric!

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict 

Finished Baby Elephants

It's done!!!!  And it makes me so happy, but I still have to quilt and bind the Mommy Elephants quilt.

For the quilting lines, I used a decorative wavy stitch to soften all the hard straight lines and I LOVE how it turned out...

Here is the backing...

Of course, it had to be polka dots!  I'm not sure which side I love more, the front or the back, actually I love it ALL!  I think I found my quilting mojo again!  That makes me Happy, Happy, Happy!!!

Also I have other good news...my town now has its very own quilt shop!  Again, Happy, Happy, Happy!!!  They opened today!

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish It Up Friday