The new "First Dog"

For the record this is what I think the Obama family should get as their new dog.

He's not mine - but my spoiled rotten dog is of the same breed - different color.

He's a Chinese Crested Powderpuff. Now, when you go to google him -this powderpuff word is an important one, and also what is most fascinating about this breed.

There are two "varieties" of this breed - the hairless and the powderpuff. Both varieties are born in the same litters, though the powderpuff is genetically recessive it suffers less genetic problems in life than the hairless variety. (i.e. teeth problems, hip problems etc.)

More importantly for our president-elect it makes the short list of dogs that are possibly hypoallergenic. I say possibly because there really is no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog - just one that doesn't bother a sensitive person. Like my husband for example - he is VERY allergic to cats and we recently discovered the short-haired dogs - hypothesized from trial and error around our friends Basset Hound.

Another plus? NO SHEDDING!!! The only time I find dog hair around my house is when we are trying to put off paying $50-$60 for grooming and letting our pup's hair grow far too long and out of control. It also starts to get matted at that point....and then we give in and cough up the coin!

I am a total neat/clean freak and CANNOT EVER, EVER have a dog that sheds. I would die! (And so might my husband....medically speaking)

Chinese Crested's are also GREAT apartment dogs - they do not require a lot of exercise at all, are small in size 10-13 lbs is average I think, and are great with kids and people!!

Without further ado - I introduce to you our lovable, huggable and oh so quirky pup - Armani! (this was 3 1/2 years ago!)

I think this would make a great dog for the Obama family don't you? Now - how the heck do I get them to read my blog?

Shortcuts, Cellfire and E-Saver - OH MY!

A reader - BREE asked what SCUTS meant in my post yesterday - NOT a silly question at all. I need to make a post with all of the acronyms and such - it's in the works, just not ready to be published JUST yet.

SCuts is my shortened version of "Shortcuts" a website where you can load grocery coupons onto your Kroger card - I think there may be other participating stores now....check it out over here.

The beauty of it all is you can use these electronic coupons together with paper coupons - it's like legal "stacking" - using two coupons on one item. Awesome huh?

There are also other sites with different coupons. Cellfire requires a text message or two to get it set up but it's TOTALLY worth it, they have really great coupons from time to time.

And the other is the P&G E-saver site. P&G usually has some pretty good coupons in the Sunday inserts and so stack it with these and you get lots of free or cheap stuff.

Off the top of my head I've gotten 2 Free Herbal Essences, 2 Free Olay body washes, 1 free+ major overage Febreeze Noticeables, 2 Free bundles or bar soap (I can't remember what kind.....it was back in August I think......)

These are definitely worth checking out!

Super Savings Saturday - A Few Thanksgiving Essentials

I just simply COULD NOT take a pic of my huge haul from Publix - it was all melting and getting warm, and I had to spend a few moments with K before whipping something up for dinner.

I re-created my Kroger trip however. Read highlights form both trips here.

Kroger brand spiral ham $1.99/lb = $19.16

2 boxes Pillsbury pie crusts @2/$5.00 = 5.00- .50/2 (doubled to $1 + .50 scuts = 2/3.50 (not great but I NEEDED these)

Pillsbury Crescents 3/$5 = 1.67 - .35 + .50 scuts = .47

Kroger Bar or shredded cheese 3/$5 - got 6 of the 2% Cheddar, will shred it myself in the food processor

4 bags Cascadian farms organic edamame @2/$5 = $10 - $4 (4 $1.00 q)= $6.00 PLUS I got back TWO $2.00 OYNO catalinas - making the bags .50 ea. (I'm going back for more of this deal.......K LOVES edamame!)

2 cans Reddi Whip @2.00 ea = 4.00 - (2) .50 (doubled to 1.00) + (2) 1.00 scuts= FREE

1 Herbal Essences Shampoo and 1 Herbal Essences Conditioner @ 2.49 ea = 4.98 - $3/2 + $2/2 esaver = .02 OVERAGE!

6 Johnson's Buddies @1.09 ea= 6.64 -6.00 (2 - 3.00 catalina coupons) = .09 ea!

2 boxes Chex Cereal @2/5 - $1/2 + $1/2 scuts = 1.50ea (again not the greatest but I needed these for Muddy Buddies)

I also got some marked down bananas earlier in the week. I sliced and froze them for baking or for Banana Peanut Butter smoothies (YUMMY!)
Recipe found over at Money Saving Mom
3/4 to 1 cup sliced frozen bananas
1 cup milk
1-2 Tbsp natural peanut butter

The Mother Letter Project

Let's pay it forward today....

Read the original post over at Rocks in My Dryer.

Instead of gifts this Christmas this couple decided to exchange handmade, heartfelt gifts for each other and sending as much as they could to the humanitarian effort in a village in Africa where"Danny" had visited.

And so began The Mother Letter Project.

"Danny" has decided to get together a collection of letters, from mothers to mothers to encourage his wife on the journey of motherhood. Share your concerns, wisdom, insights - share your mother story.

If you send a "Dear Mother" letter by Christmas, you will recieve a copy of Mother Letters after it has been compiled.
Please let's all help encourage each other during a time which is not always so easy!
And then we need to get some sort of award together for Sweetest Husband of the Year!!!

Thanksgiving Menu

We're not having that many people over for Thanksgiving Day, but my Brother-in-Law will be here and a few friends so we're doing a pretty traditional full spread. Here's what we're having - recipes and pictures to follow.

Appertizers

Pumpernickel Bread Bowl with Vegetable Dip*

Cheese/Crackers/Pepperoni Tray

Pillsbury Savorings (Buffalo Chicken and Pepperoni & Mozzarella) - got these for $1/box @Publix a few weeks ago.

Dinner
Spiral Sliced Ham

Deep Fried Turkey

Cornbread Stuffing (from a bag)

Cranberry Sauce (I will try this recipe - but I did buy a can of the icky gross wobbly jelly kind in case anyone really wants it. Even though he won't be here my Step-Dad wouldn't be happy without it!)

Gravy (from a jar cause we're deep frying...)

Pumpkin Rolls

Green Vegetable - TBD (to be determined - I'm thinking Green Beans - K loves them)

Sweet Potato Casserole*

Mashed Potatoes (I got 4 boxes of the Idahoan ones for free - so that's what we're serving - I personally hate mashed white potatoes)

Dessert
Apple Pie (w/vanilla ice cream)*

Pumpkin Pie (w/ whipped cream)*

Turkey Cookies - K and I are going to have SO much fun making these - she loves candy corn!

*Recipes to follow in another post. I can't link to them beacause they are MY recipes. Well, sort of, I'm sure somewhere along the way I used someone's recipe to start with and then tweaked and tweaked unti lit came out just right.....but they're mine now!

My (non-baking) shopping day

Well I didn't get any baking done today at all. But my husband volunteered to watch K this afternoon so I could hit Kroger and Publix to score some deals for Turkey day.... and some chex mix for my addiction.....

My trips were not within my normal grocery budget - it was seperate money we decided to spend on special Thanksgiving preparations. So my total purchase amount was a bit high relative to the amount of stuff I got - but I was throughly pleased after leaving Publix. I spent around $90 but my total savings at Publix ...... $189.54! Whoo Hoo! I wish I had taken a picture but it definately would have taken too long.... I got home at 5:00 and had to spend a few mintues with K before cooking something for us to eat for dinner. Even if it was only a Bird's Eye Voila meal!

Highlights of my two trips were:

Kroger brand spiral ham $1.99/lb = $19.16
2 boxes Pillsbury pie crusts @2/$5.00 = 5.00- .50/2 (doubled to $1 + .50 scuts = 2/3.50 (not great but I NEEDED these)
Pillsbury Crescents 3/$5 = 1.67 - .35 + .50 scuts = .47
Kroger Bar or shredded cheese 3/$5 - got 6 of the 2% Cheddar, will shred it myself in the food processor
4 bags Cascadian farms organic edamame @2/$5 = $10 - $4 (4 $1.00 q)= $6.00 PLUS I got back TWO $2.00 OYNO catalinas - making the bags .50 ea. (I'm going back for more of this deal.......K LOVES edamame!)
2 cans Reddi Whip @2.00 ea = 4.00 - (2) .50 (doubled to 1.00) + (2) 1.00 scuts= FREE
1 Herbal Essences Shampoo and 1 Herbal Essences Conditioner @ 2.49 ea = 4.98 - $3/2 + $2/2 esaver = .02 OVERAGE!

I Can't Believe Its Not Butter! BOGO (save up to $2.49) = 1.20 - $1 IP= .20!!
$1/1 printable atCoupons
$.50/1 printable at Print Your Coupon
Cranberries or Florida Navel Oranges 4-lb bag BOGO (save up to $2.99) =$1.50
Sun-Maid Raisins BOGO (save up to $3.69) = 3.49/2- 1/2 = 2.49/2 or 1.25 ea.
Triscuits BOGO = 2.75/2 - $1/2 IP = 1.75/2 or .88 ea.
$1/2 printable Kraft - The Tale of the Magical Crackers
Chex Mix BOGO (save up to $2.55) = 1.27 -.50(doubled to $1) = .27
Betty Crocker Potatoes BOGO (save up to $1.59) =.80- .35 (doubled to .70) = .10
or .80 -.40 printable Coupons = FREE
Uncle Ben's Rice BOGO (save up to $1.99) = 1.99/2 - .72/2 = 1.24/2 or .62 ea.
Sweet Potatoes = .43/lb
Butterball Frozen Turkey .99/lb - I got a bird that was about 11.7 or so lbs. It was about $11.60. BUT I had a coupon Butterball sent me (for a complaint about some ground turkey) for $10 off and 1 Butterball item. So turkey this year cost me about $1.60! That's what I'm talking about!!


A quick note - it seems my prices in-store are a bit lower than the "save up to " prices. May be different in your area!

Works for me Wednesday

Works for meWednesday is a "blog carnival" (explained here)
Mine is a little late today but what work for me right now is.....
Tofu! (nope, not a joke!)
It has to be the one thing my picky two year old will eat almost every single time I put it in front of her.....
I buy the packages of extra firm tofu, open, drain and store in water in tupperware for up to 10 days!
Every other day or so I cut off about 1/5 of the "block" make nice little postage stamp sized bites out of it and she gobbles it up. It is also really easy to pack it and take it with me if we are going to be away from home at lunch time and I don't want to buy fast food and/or feed my baby junk.

I've also made tofu nuggets - which I actually rather enjoy!

1 block firm or extra firm tofu
2 eggs (or whites)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup wheat germ
EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

mix wheat germ and parmesan cheese to make the "breading"
cut tofu into strips or desired size/shape
dip in beaten egg
roll in "breading"
light fry in frying pan with a little EVOO
serve warm

I use this "breading" on fish too - tilapia mostly! YUM YUM