Nifty Thrifty Nessa

Sesame Street Live= Fun, Fun Fun!

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 17:00:00 +0000

(photo: Courtesy of 918moms.com)

Thanks to 918moms.com, I was able to take my daughter to her very first LIVE Sesame Street show where she was able to meet & greet with Elmo and Cookie Monster before the show (pictured above), and watch all of her favorite characters from Sesame Street perform. Here are some memories from her big evening that we got to share with her cousin and my sister-in-law. Enjoy!

Waiting for the show to start. They were so excited!

The Big Stage where they were about to perform!

Teaching kids to be healthy by song and dance. Loved the music!

Overall, we had a blast. I actually have over 100 pictures on another camera, but cannot find my cord to upload pictures so thankfully I snapped a few on my phone. If you have the chance to go this weekend, I strongly encourage you to! They still have tickets available for purchase so head over to 918moms.com to get yours and have a great time like we did!

3 Redbox Rentals for only $1!

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 03:53:00 +0000

Redbox is one of my favorite places to get movies. They have so many great incentives and this one I present to you today is nothing short of amazing! Get 3 Redbox Rentals for only $1!! This is only good through tomorrow (12/14), so get it now. Woohoo!

Don't Forget to Enter!

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000

You can win an amazing customized magnetic miniature wall art! Just go to my blog post about the Wall Art featured on the MoneySavingQueen.com and enter for your chance to win! There are lots of ways to get bonus entries.. plus I have improved the primary way to enter the giveaway. It's super easy!

Now there's no reason not to enter!

Image: Francesco Marino / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

918 Mom on the Move!

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 02:49:00 +0000

I have some exciting news! I have been featured as this week's Mom on the Move at 918moms.com. What an honor! If you want, head over to 918moms.com and check it out and learn more about my story of being a mom on the move!

New Campaign by Bzz Agent- What's Cheap Today

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 19:07:00 +0000

So Bzzagent has invted me to try out this new website to help you to save on all of your Black Friday and holiday shopping, Called CheapToday.com. Check it out and let me know what you think!

My $5 WalMart Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 05:12:00 +0000

I am not a fan of Walmart. If you have read my previous posts I hardly step foot in that place since I began couponing a year ago. In my opinion and experience, it's really hard to find GREAT deals there with coupons, plus I feel that Wal Mart's staff is not very knowledgeable about coupons. I feel like a criminal EVERY TIME I am in there.

Ugh.

So, when I received this $5 gift card in the mail a few weeks ago (they remodeled the one in my neighborhood- that's how I obtained the giftcard), I wanted to overcome the pain that WalMart brings me every time I step foot in the door. I decided that I would take this small gift and make a challenge for myself.

Get as much stuff you can with this $5 gift card using coupons.

Easy? Not really. Doable? YES!

Here's what I got. Great job, Nessa!

All of this cost me EXACTLY $5.00 (after tax). Crazy, huh? If you don't believe me, I can take a picture of my receipt and post it on here later.. just let me know. :)

Here's the breakdown of prices.

FREE items (wow- you can get FREE items at Walmart- unbelievable!):

Idahoan Potatoes
Advil
Cottonelle Wipes
Coffee Mate Creamers

The rest were close-to-free items

Hungry Man dinners- $.98 ea (the husband was very happy about this)
Quaker Oatmeal boxes- $.66 ea

See? It is totally doable and I was quite proud of myself. Pat on the back!

Share with me your best deals at Wal Mart. I would love to hear your stories!

Cooking from your Stockpile- Casserole Style!

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 21:08:00 +0000

This week's cooking from your stockpile is giving homage to CASSEROLES! We all love a good casserole now and then. You basically just toss the ingredients into a pan, throw it in the oven and Tah-Dah! A meal in a pan!

This week I made a Make-Ahead Breakfast casserole. This means you can make this the night before and throw it in the oven about 30 minutes right before you serve it. This not only saves time, but stress from having to rush around the kitchen early in the morning to feed your hungry family.

So here's the lowdown on the ingredients

(and what I paid for them, of course!):

One Roll of Sausage ($.99 at Homeland)
1/2 Doz. Eggs (.99/doz at Homeland)
2 Green Peppers (FREE! at Target)
2 cups of Shredded cheese ($1.10)
1 bag of Frozen hashrowns (.80 at Target)
2 cups milk ($.50 or so worth out of the gallon)
Total cost for this meal= $4.38. (FYI- this would feed well over a family of 4)

Preheat your oven to 375.

Take the roll of sausage and fry in a frying pan. Drain and let cool. Set aside.

Take bag of frozen hash-browns and spread it in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Dice bell peppers (make them small so they will cook thoroughly) and sprinkle them on top of hash browns.

Sprinkle half of the cheese over the hash-browns and peppers.

Once the sausage has been cooled, spread it on top of the ingredients already in the pan. Then layer the rest of the cheese on top of the sausage.

Crack all eggs into a mixing bowl. Pour in milk and whisk until all egg yolks have been broken and completely mixed with the milk.

After you mix the eggs, pour it into the pan. It should look something like this:

Put it in the oven and bake for about 20-30 minutes or the egg has cooked completely.

My husband was the one who took it out, but he made sure it was done by taking a toothpick and inserting it into the middle until it came out clean.

After it's fully cooked, serve and enjoy! Yumm!

So, what are your favorite casserole recipes you like to make with your stockpile?

Coupon Lingo-- One Coupon Per Purchase

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:31:00 +0000

I was recently confronted with a little coupon dilemma that I wanted to share with you all and explain the lingo to those who may not know.

Yesterday, I went into Staples because they had their Avery Removable Labels on sale for $1. Before going to the store, I went to the Avery website and printed 10 $1/1 coupons for this exact item (Go to the Money Saving Queen forums to discover more about this awesome deal!). The sale combined with the coupon made the item free, which is what you look for when you are a hard-core couponer. The more free stuff, the better!

I walked up to the register, handed the cashier my 10 products and then handed him my 10 coupons. He scanned one of the coupons, looked at the stack, read the coupon on top and the conversation went a little like this:

Cashier:"Unfortunately, we cannot accept all of these coupons. This coupon says one coupon per purchase."

Me: "That means one coupon per item. The coupon is for $1 off one Avery Removable Label product. I have 10 products and 10 coupons."

Cashier: "Ma'am, that's not what that means. You cannot stack these coupons like this. Staples does not allow stacking."

Me (and I am chuckling on the inside at this point): "What I am doing is not considered stacking. Can I please speak to a manager?"

So then the rest of the story is this: the manager comes up, tells the cashier if they scan then it checks out fine.

The cashier's demeanor changed completely from when I first walked up to the register to when I walked out the door. And it is just so frustrating to be seen as a "criminal" when I do all of my coupon-ing honestly.

I think the world will be such a happier place if these places would be educated on coupons. I mean, after all, they take the coupons. They should know how they work.

So here's a lesson on coupon lingo (Staples cashier: If you're reading this, I dedicate this post to you).

One coupon per purchase simply means one coupon per the discount posted on the coupon. So if the coupon says $1 off Any Avery Removable Label product, that means I can use ONE coupon per ONE item. If I have 10 of the same coupons, I can purchase 10 of the same items. If the coupon was one per order, the coupon would most likely say something like, "one coupon per transaction"

I am not making this up, this is the truth. You can Google it (or Swagbucks it if you want to earn points for free stuff! woohoo!) There are tons of websites that will tell you the same thing.

If you are caught in this position at a store, feel free to ask a manager. If they deny your coupons, respectfully decline their product and take your business elsewhere. After all, it's their loss. :)

Cooking from your Stockpile

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:26:00 +0000

I have been an avid coupon-er for about a year now. Since I discovered the Money Saving Queen's ways of saving, I have been traveling on this awesome journey and have never looked back. I have learned so many great things to stay frugal along the way. One of those ways has been Stockpiling.

When you get in the swing of the whole coupon-ing thing you will begin to fill your cabinets. This is GREAT because you don't have to make any last minute-type of runs to the store where you will be paying full price for dinner. You can just run into your pantry, grab your items and WAH-LAH!! Dinner!

And that's exactly what I did today. And you know what? This whole meal (including dessert) cost me (drumroll please!!!) less than 5 bucks!!! Start the sirens, drop the confetti! That's an amazing deal for a home-cooked meal for a family of 3!

So, do you want to know what I put together? Get your salivary glands flowing 'cause here we go!

Pork Roast with carrots, onions and Seasoning. Total cost- $1.99

I had a Hormel seasoned Pork Roast I purchased from Homeland for only $1.99 with coupon that I pulled out of the freezer. I stuck it directly into the crockpot. No thawing necessary!

On Friday I went to Target and got the fresh carrots and onions for FREE! I just cleaned and chopped them in half and put them around the roast.

I then put about a cup of water in the bottom of the pot and sprinkled salt and pepper on the top. I will probably let it cook about 6 hours. It will be tender and yummy and so tasty!

But we can't forget dessert!

Peach Cobbler (Some people call this dump cake. Whatever it's called- it's delicious!). Total Cost- $2

I found a can of peach filling in the cabinet and remembered I had a white cake mix as well. You pour the can of filling into a 8x8 pan and then dump the cake mix on top. Take the ENTIRE stick of butter (trust me- use the entire stick.The taste will be AMAZING and it will help crisp it up like a cobbler), cut them into little pads and layer them over the cake mix.

Preheat your oven to 350 and bake for about 45 minutes. Slap some ice cream on top or eat as is. It's SOOO good!!

What are some of your favorite stockpile meals that you cook in the crockpot?

My SWEET WalMart find!

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:54:00 +0000

I am not a big fan of WalMart- at all. Since I began using coupons, I barely step foot in the place. I know, I feel like a heathen not going there on a regular basis like the rest of America, but I find much better deals at the more "expensive" stores (more on that later).

However, I did make a quick run to buy some last minute items for a Scentsy party I had on Friday. I also needed to buy a gift for my nephew's 8th birthday the next day, so I perused the toy isle for the right gift.

Little did I know that I would find an AWESOME toy deal!

I got Toy Story 3 figurines for $1 a piece! Yes, a buck! Uno! I couldn't believe it! These buggers sell for $7 normally, so I hit the jackpot when I found these!

That particular WalMart also had a Clearance tent outside since they are renovating the inside. There were a ton of other great deals for people to gobble up.

If you live in the Tulsa area, head over to the WalMart at Admiral and Memorial. You won't regret it!

Creative Princess Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:24:00 +0000

Love free stuff??

Yea, me too!

And you know what? If you answered YES then today's your lucky day!

Wanna know why? Well let me tell you........

The Creative Princess, (my fellow Money Saving Queen princess turned great friend) is having a very special, very girly giveaway!! If you win, you will receive over $75 worth of girly stuff that she created herself. See, I told you she was creative!!

So I urge you, my frugal friends, to head over to her Facebook page and enter to win.

And while you're at it, like her FB page too, ok? And check out her Etsy store. She has a lot of great frugal things to offer!!

[Free!] Homemade Bubbles

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 23:42:00 +0000

This evening my husband took my daughter outside to play with bubbles. Just a few moments after they shut the door, they came back inside and said that the bubbles were no good and we would have to buy more. Being the frugally-minded person of the bunch, I looked up a recipe for bubbles, grabbed the few items I needed (I already had them in my stockpile thanks to coupons!), and away I went! I just reused the container that the other bubbles came in and Wah-lah! Free bubbles! Now my daughter and my wallet are very happy! :)

Want to know how I made these frugally-fabulous bubbles? Well here's the recipe:

1 cup water

2 tablespoons light Karo Syrup or 2 tablespoons glycerin

4 tablespoons dish washing liquid

Mix together and enjoy. :)

Happy Bubble Blowing!

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:35:00 +0000

I've had a lot of people ask me how I organize my coupon binder-- so I thought I would post a little vlog about it!!!
It really helps to have all of your coupons organized by category. It helps your time in the store go much quicker when you can navigate through your coupons with ease. I have found the binder method so much easier rather than using an accordian file, but if you enjoy the according method then more power to ya! Use whatever works for you!!!

So here's a little glimpse into my coupon life-- enjoy!!!

A New Year- A New Motivation!

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 05:25:00 +0000

Well Happy 2010 everyone! This has been a great year so far! I feel my life is more focused and I am ready to see what God has in store for me this year!

I have decided to dedicate this blog to the deals I find by using coupons! I hope doing so will motivate me to keep you all updated on my family life as well! So I guess you will just get a whole buffet of topics from me. :)

I want to start off by posting some deals I got today from Homeland and Target. These trips have been my most successful to date and I thank God and the 918 Coupon Queen (918couponqueen.com) for the blessings they have poured out on my life because of coupons!

Please watch the 1st video. This will show you all the deals I got at Homeland this week. The Homeland in Tulsa doubles coupons-- so that's why I was able to get all this stuff so cheap! My total for this trip was around $15 dollars.

I then heard that Target got a HUGE shipment of the WeightWatcher SmartOnes and clearanced some of them out to .48 a piece. Some of the boxes had peelies that were $4.00 off 10 and then I had 4 Manufacturer coupons that equaled $4.00 off 20 of them. I got all of them for FREE and only had to pay tax! My total for all 40 was $1.64.

I also got some GREAT coupons in the mail today! Please watch the video. The Coke coupons were from Recycle Bank , the StarKist coupons were from VocalPoint and the NesCafe samples were from the Taster's Choice website! I love free stuff!!

I must say that today has been the best deal-finding day for me so far! Thank God for coupons!!!

Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:59:00 +0000

So "Mother Nature" decided to dump almost a foot of snow on Tulsa in less than 8 hours!

I went to a Preteen leadership conference at the church on Saturday at 9 am and it started snowing. By 2 pm I was trudging through the snow trying to get in my little car with a one-foot snow drift on the driver's-side door.

It was the perfect snow for snowballs and snowmen and at church this morning it made my heart melt (along with the snow because it is almost gone now) when the children were telling their stories of their first-ever homemade snowmen.

Growing up in Ohio, you take advantage of all the snow and just pass it off as a normal, every-year thing. Here in Oklahoma it is like a freak of nature to get anything past 2 inches.

I am so happy we had a day where the kids could go out and enjoy one of God's beauties. I am even more happy it won't stay around for weeks on end like it does in Ohio :)

Hangin' Tough!!

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:27:00 +0000

So laugh it up..........................

.....I went to the new kids on the block concert!!!!!!

Many people's response to me telling them I was going to their concert was like, "oh.... that's cool....*chuckle under breath*"

But let me tell you people.. it was probably one of the BEST concerts I have ever seen! They know how to entertain a crowd! They moved all over the stage, performed in the middle of the floor seats (where I sat, of course) and had TWO, count them - TWO encore performances (complete with green and white confetti)!

They sang their old songs (which are the ones I know) and some of their new songs.. it was great from beginning to end..

And I am not afraid to tell you all that I WENT TO THE NKOTB CONCERT!!! woohoo!

Oh.... Rachel said that at the end of the show girls were throwing bras and panties at them.. and they were kicking them back into the crowd! hahaha! Hilarious! I don't know why I didn't notice that.. but Rachel sure did get a laugh or two out of seeing that!

How Time Flies

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:47:00 +0000

So a lot has gone on since the last post (Halloween.. yikes)! Christmas came and went, Victoria's birthday came and went, my sister-in-law Ruth Ann had her baby, and Nathan's birthday came and went.... most of those in the month of February! These last few months have made me realize how blessed I am to have a great family and a great support system.

I applied to the OU college of nursing Accelerated program that begins in June of this year. Although I did not get in (tear), I did get put on their alternate list. So there still is a chance! I also applied to two other programs for the fall.. so hopefully they will chose me for at least one of the three.. I will take whatever I can get!

Church is going well! God has placed me into a lot of roles that I never thought I would play. Handbells, Nursery duty, and teaching puppets has me very busy! I was able to sing in a trio with two other girls over Christmas, and will be singing in another trio (with the same gals) during our Easter service! My friend and I are excited about another event coming up to unite the women of our age together. It's going to be called SPICE Night and we have a blog up and running! visit spicenight.blogspot.com for more info!

Well it's time for me to pull an all-nighter at work, so I better get going.. I hope to get some recent pics of Tori up here soon! Speaking of which, she has now slept in a big girl bed for two nights in a row and we are working on potty training.. life flies by so fast when you're having fun!!

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:21:00 +0000

Testing my new signature! Did it work?

Happy Belated Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 05:02:00 +0000

I FINALLY got pictures uploaded to the computer from the Halloween festivities. Just thought I would share a few pics from that. Victoria was a lady bug and some of her costume was homemade! I must say that I am quite proud of myself. Thanks to Rachel for letting me borrow some of her girls' dress up accessories! They worked out great! (don't let me forget to give them back to you!!)

Not a very lady-like lady bug! she did not want her pic taken!

Aunt Jennifer feeding her the oh-so-healthy cotton candy.. Bad Aunt Jeh-phur!

I was the momma bug!

I want mama!!!

Yes, I am training my child to wear heels ALREADY!! lol

Welcome Isaac Jase!

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:38:00 +0000

My brother and sister-in-law welcomed their third child (2nd son) into the family yesterday at 4:59 EST! Isaac Jase was 8 lbs 14 oz and 23 inches long!! Congrats Josh and Julie! I love you guys and wish I were there with you!!

The "Punchin" Patch

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:28:00 +0000

Last evening the Roberts' family and my dad and his wife all went to Carmichael's Pumpkin Patch (Punchin' Patch according to cousin Abygail) for fall pictures, petting animals and to buy roasted peanuts and fresh fudge (mmmm!). Here are some pics for you all to enjoy. It was a great night- it didn't rain like they said it would and it was a beautiful, cool evening!! I love fall!!

This economy is giving me nightmares!

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:55:00 +0000

I know absolutely nothing about Wall Street, stocks, bonds, or anything like that but this economy crap is making me so insane that I am dreaming about it. Last night I dreamed that the Dow went up 400 points, so then gas went up and I was bummed. Well guess what was on the news when I woke up? "Dow jumps 500 points!"
Hmm, kind of weird.
Anyway I guess the good news out of all of this nonsense is that Nathan filled up his tank for only 24 bucks! That was a first in a LONG time!
I guess all of this has me wondering about the future and the end times and all of that stuff. I know this market crash doesn't mean that Jesus will be coming back today or tomorrow, but we are getting a lot closer to that time. It makes me think about my life and what I am doing to glorify God's kingdom-- well, not a whole lot.
Guess I need to get a move on.

How time flies

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:21:00 +0000

It is just amazing to me how much stuff Victoria understands now. She is starting to have little "mini-conversations" and understands a lot of things that I say to her.

Yesterday we went to the park and she looked at me, motioned for me with her hand and said, "Mommy! Mere! (come here)"

Then today when I was taking her to Rachel's before class she said,
Victoria: "Mommy!"
Me: "What baby?"
Victoria: "I see puppies?"
Me: No not right now, the puppies are at home. We are on our way to see Karis and Brielle.
Victoria: Ble-elle!!! (Brielle)

It may not seem like much to you, but I just think it's amazing! I never thought I would enjoy this age, but put aside all the tantrums and this is really a cool age because I can actually interact with my child and talk to her as if she was a little adult!

Mommy's little helper

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 02:52:00 +0000

So I thought I would post a few pics and videos to show you that Victoria loves to help me sweep the floor. She's my little helper! It is just too cute!

Tulsa State Fair

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 03:45:00 +0000

So today Victoria and I went to the Tulsa State Fair with Rachel and her two girls. Rachel is a girl from church who I have befriended over the past couple of months. Her husband is the children's pastor and they have been a part of the church for about a year and a half. She's a stay-at-home mom who craves adult interaction (like me) so we have become pretty close since we can both relate to each other!

We basically went to the fair to take the kids to see the animals and of course, eat the greasy fair food! And that is exactly what we did. We saw the cows (insert Victoria's "moo" sound) and I think Victoria was in total shock. I don't think she expected cows to be that big! She started to whimper a little bit as we were watching them walk by, acting like they were getting ready to trample her.

(look at Victoria's not-so-happy expression and the cows in the background)

We then found a petting zoo (more like a "stick-your-hand-through-a-fence and hope-they-come-up-to-you zoo) and it was cute to see all the kids "try" to interact with the animals. There was a giraffe and two camels and all different types of exotic animals.

Overall, it was a fun day. The girls had a blast and Rachel and I got to have a lot of heart-to-hearts. Playdates are so much fun!!