More Gas savings this week!

With the gas prices going up I was super excited to see the $10.00 off gas card coupon in the Publix weekly add this week! And this time the coupon is for any $50.00 gas card not just B.P.! I was able to get 3 $50.00 Hess gas gift cards. And I only paid $120.00 for them. I chose Hess because it is closer and usually a little less per gallon that B.P. So there is a savings of 20% on gas!! I will most likely try and get a couple more before the sale ends. Essentially I am using our gas budget to prepaying for our gas by getting the gas gift cards at the grocery store. So this will be about a month and a half for us!

So now on to the groceries!

The total before sales and coupons would have been $168.99. The total out of pocket $20.30, for a saving of 88%!!

Here is what I got...

12- birds eye frozen veggies .89 each I used manufactures coupons for $1.00 off 4 and Publix store coupons for $1.00 off 2 making them .05 each!

4- Yoplait smoothie bags $2.50 each I used Publix store coupon for $1.00 off 2 and manufactures coupons for $1.00 off 1 making them $1.00 each

1- egg beaters $1.67 I used a Publix store coupon for .75 and a manufactures coupon for a free egg beater. Making it an OVERAGE OF .75!

12- 2 litters soda BOGO $1.89 I used manufactures coupons for $1.00 off 2 making them .44 each

10- Propel waters .50 each I used manufactures for $1.00 off 2 making them FREE!

4- Voskos Yogurt $1.00 each I used manufactures coupons for $1.00 off making them FREE!

1lb- Strawberries $1.67 I used a manufactures coupon for $1.00 making them .67

2.05lb Oranges $1.69 I used a manufactures coupon for $1.00 making them .69

1.75lb- Bananas $1.21 I used a manufactures coupon for $1.00 making them .21

4- Honey Bunches of Oats w/Raisins BOGO $3.91 I used manufactures coupons for $1.00 off each making them .95 each

6- Raisin Bran Crunch BOGO $3.99 I used Target store coupons for $1.00 off 3 and manufactures coupons for .70 off each making them .96 each

24- Sargento Shredded Cheese $2.00 I used Publix store coupons for $1.50 off each and manufactures coupons for $1.00 off 2 making them all FREE!!

With Al being a huge cheese fan, and the girls and I also liking it, we use a lot of cheese. So to get it free is HUGE in this house! Also the 2 litters will be perfect to send with the girls for an AWANA overnight lock in next week!

So because the total before coupons was over $75.00 they allowed me to use 3 of the gas coupons. And the manager said it was fine to do them all at once and there was no need to break it into separate transactions. I was ready to do them into 3 transactions but it was nice doing it all at once!
And I also found out that you can use Albertsons store coupons at the Publix I go to, This is news to me so I am super excited about that possibility!! It is the little things that get me excited!!

Latest AWANA Grand Prix Race Cars and Results

Well, that time of year has stunk up on us again. Yep... It's AWANA Grand Prix time, and we were totally unprepared.

We just got the girls' cars about 2 weeks before our race deadline. And the girls weren't sure what they wanted to do with their cars, so they sat there for... oh... about 2 weeks. And then, Friday night, they realized they HAD to do something, or they weren't going to be able to compete with their cars at our AWANA group.

So, Friday night, they busted their little booties, and finished up their cars.

Keeley ended up going for a Lemony Snickets book design for her AWANA car. The cover of the book opens up on the car to reveal the table of contents inside. We had a buddy cut off the top, because I didn't have the tools to do it. She then added some book spine tape, to tape the top of the book onto the bottom block of wood. And then Keeley went through the painstaking process of painting everything so that it would look like a book. Unfortunately, I was hoping we could do the cover in color, but our printer cartridge only had black and white. Thank goodness Keeley is a very laid-back personality type, so she was happy to go with the lack of color.





Kait, went to the other extreme, and built what looked like a bunch of legos put together in a car shaped block. Her AWANA car was super bright and colorful. And from a distance, it actually looked like legos stuck together.




We thought we might have a chance at getting some design trophies... maybe? Even that was a little iffy, because the girls didn't have as much time to put their cars together as they had in the past. We definitely weren't sure how they would do in the speed department.

However, their results came out great. They did quite well with their AWANA Grand Prix entries for this year. Both of them got design trophies from their groups. And they both got speed trophies. Thankfully, we didn't have a tremendous amount of competitors, but hey... the girls were super excited to do so well again. Especially after our dismal results at last year's AWANA grand prix.

Great job to the Speer girls! I am SUPER proud of them for nailing it once again.
Al

• Awana Grand Prix Results from a few years ago.
• AWANA Grand Prix beauties
• Our cute AWANA Grand Prix car designs
  

Great sales at Publix this week

Wow, what a great week for sales this week!
Let me get right to it. The total before sales and coupons would have been $174.36. After sales and coupons I paid $6.01 out of pocket. That is a total saving of 97%! And I got a ton! In addition to the coupons listed below, I also used 2 Winn Dixie store coupons for $5.00 off $30.00 purchase. So that took off $10.00 right from the start! Great way to start I'd say!
Here it all is...

20- canned Green Giant Veggies. BOGO $1.29 I used Publix store coupons for $1.00 off 4 and a $5.00 off 20. Making them .14 each
20- cans Progresso Black beans .66 I used Publix store coupon for $1.00 off 4 and a $5.00 off 20 making them .16 each
16- cans Tomato sauce .33 each I used manufactures coupons for .45 off 3, Publix store coupons for $5.00 20. See below.
4- Frozen Green giant veggies. $1.00 used manufactures coupons for .50 off each and this finished the 20 things needed for the Publix store coupon of $5.00 off 20. Making it .48 for all the frozen veggies and canned tomato sauce.
8- Wishbone salad dressings $2.89 BOGO I used Target store coupons for $1.50 off 2 and manufactures coupons for $1.00 off 2 Making them .19 each.

2- Lays Chips $3.99 BOGO No coupons used making them 1.99 each

6- Buitoni Pasta $2.19 BOGO I used a manufactures coupons for $1.00 making them .10 each

8- Sargento Shredded cheese. $2.00 I used Publix store coupons for $1.50 off 1 and manufactures coupons for .50 off 2 making them .25 each

3- Kashi cereals $2.50 I used manufactures coupons for $2.00 off 1 and $1.00 off 1 making them .83 each

1- bunch bananas $1.44. I used a manufactures coupon for $3.00 off fruit when you buy 3 Kashi cereals making them FREE with $1.56 overage!

1- bag broccoli $1.00 No coupons used for this

4- Graham Crackers $3.99 BOGO I used a Target store coupon for $1.00 off 2 and manufactures coupons for $1.00 off 2 making them .99 each

4- Scrubbing bubbles bathroom cleaner $2.00 I used Publix store coupon for $2.00 off 2 and manufactures coupons for $2.00 off one making them FREE with a total OVERAGE of $2.00
That is 97 items for only $6.01. Or to put it another way 6 cents for each item I purchased!
These sales are so good I may have to take some more time to look and see what else I can come up with. But I don't think I did too bad for this weeks grocery budget!

a couple of good grocery weeks!

I never did find the time to write about last weeks trip so I thought I would add it in with this weeks. I know that it does not look like much but it was a great trip with lots of overage!
The total before sales and coupons was $127.04 after I paid $6.18. That is a savings of 96%!!
Here is what I got...

12- Boxes Special K cereal BOGO $3.99 used a Target store coupon for $1.00/2 6 manufactures coupons for BOGO and 3 Manufactures coupons for $1.00/2 Making the all FREE with a total OVERAGE of $9.00!! Most of this will be donated to food bank!
2- Boxes Cinnamon Life Cereal BOGO $4.39 used Target store coupon $1.00/2 making them $1.69 each
2- Boxes Oatmeal Squares Cereal BOGO $4.39 used Target store coupon for $1.00/2 Making them $1.69 each
4- Jars Peter Pan Peanut butter BOGO $2.49 used a Publix store coupon for $1.00/1 and manufactures coupon for .50/1 making them FREE with a total OVERAGE of $1.02!
2- Bags Planters trail mix BOGO $1.99 used a Target store coupon for $1.00/1 Makingthem FREE
9- Healthy Harvest pasta BOGO $1.31 used a manufactures coupon for $1.00/2 making them .15 each
2- Oreo cookies $2.50 each Used a Target store coupon for $1.00/2 Making them $2.00 each
1- Bunch Broccoli $2.00 (no coupon used)
3lb Bag Oranges $2.50 (no coupon used)
3lb Pears $2.97 (no coupon used)
2- Packs boneless chicken breast $1.99lb used a Publix store coupon and a Winn Dixie store coupon for $1.00 any chicken purchase. Making them both $2.37 or about .73/lb

I was also able to go back later in the week and get 8 more boxes of Special K Cereal. I did not have quite as much overage as the first time because I did not have any more Target coupons. I still had some and was able to use it on a rain check items that I had.

Then this week, the total before sales and coupons was $105.15 and after I paid $13.27. Total savings of 88%!
The great thing about this trip was the garbage bags! They are so stinking expensive! If I had not used any coupons, even with the sales price, they alone would have been $11.00. CRAZY!
Here is everything...

2.5 lbs Red Apples $1.00/lb I used Target store coupons for $1.00 off Produce when you buy Kraft Singles making them only .42 or .16/lb
4- Sundown Vitamins $2.99 used a Publix store coupon for $6.00/2 and manufactures coupons for $1.00/1 making them FREE with an OVERAGE of $4.04!
2- Kraft Singles $2.00 (no coupon used)
2- Kraft Shredded Cheese $2.00 used Target store coupons for .75/1 manufactures coupons for .50/1 making them .75 each
4- Welches grape Juice BOGO $3.25 used manufactures coupons for $1.00/1 making them .62 each
6- Jimmy Dean D-Light sandwiches BOGO $5.87 used manufactures coupons for $2.50/1 making them .43 each
4- Power of fruit boxes BOGO $3.39 used manufactures coupons for $1.00/1 making them .69 each
2- Glad Kitchen Garbage Bags $5.49 used Target store coupons for $1.00/1 and manufactures coupons for $3.00/1 making them $1.49 each

If you add up both weeks the totals would have been $232.19. I only paid $19.45. Under $20.00 for 2 weeks worth of grocery shopping! A 92% savings. WOW!

Interesting new computer technology

I normally don't spend a lot of time looking at new technologies, and commenting on them. However, I somehow stumbled onto this video tonight, and wanted to share it with you. I believe this is the future of computer technology.

The first 5 minutes of the video are pretty standard ideas that we've seen or heard about lately. Starting at about 5:30 minutes into the video, you'll see some pretty astonishing new ways to look at computer technology. At 6:30 minutes it gets really interesting.

He calls it the Sixthsense.



Anyhow, I mostly wanted to share it with you. In case you don't see stuff like this too often. And to get your thoughts on what he shares about the future of computing.
I was pretty amazed. I think you might be too.

Al

The Many Faces of Lowery Park Zoo

Well, it's been almost a month ago, but I wanted to share a bit of our time our for Keeley's birthday. She turned 9 back in November, and wanted to head out to the zoo for her event for the day.

We have heard a tremendous amount about Tampa's Lowery Park Zoo, but we've never gone. So, we decided this would be a great day to get out there. On top of that... when you go on your birthday, to the zoo, you get in for free. That was a great price for us, so we took them up on that offer.

The Lowry Park Zoo turned out to be in an interesting part of Tampa. It definitely wasn't like riding up in the West Hills in Portland. This is a much older, more established part of town. There are lots of interesting homes and individuals hanging out as you drive down to the zoo. There was plenty of parking for us, which was also a bit of a shocker. You almost can't go to any 'hot spot' in the this state and expect to find easy parking. However, we parked quickly, and had a relatively short walk to the entrance.

The Lowry Zoo is actually a pretty popular zoo, and has been rated as a top zoo by Parents magazine. And it's pretty easy to see why. We arrived to the zoo pretty late, probably around 11, and we stayed until it closed. It seemed like we were walking from exhibit to exhibit and we still missed a couple of the animals. We didn't miss out on too many, but it just felt like we had to hurry to get through everything. So, it's a pretty large zoo, and you will probably need an entire day to see the whole park.

I think the 'best' part of this zoo is the proximity you have to the animals. I don't know if it's just old, or if the entire zoo was designed to feel this way... but there are LOTS of very close encounters you can have with the animals. And that, I think, is what makes Lowry Park so amazing and popular.

• Feeding giraffe
• Riding camel
• Leaning over the penguin wall
• And who knows what else we didn't experience
  

Here are a few pictures from our time at the Lowery Park Zoo.

What a HAUL!

Wow this weeks add was great for our family! I got so much stuff that it even prompted the checker to say that she wants to start couponing! And this weeks shopping included out Christmas ham and a couple treats!
So before sales and coupons this would have cost $231.60. And After, what I paid, was just $37.83! That is a whopping savings of $193.77 or 94%.
And lets add another blessing on top of it. I paid with a gift card that I won from a Gatorade/Publix sweepstakes and received in the mail a couple days ago. So technically there was absolutely nothing out of my pocket for all this! And I still have some left on my winning gift card! God is amazing!!
And now time for the photo and rundown of all that is there.

8- bags Oreida Hash Browns BOGO $2.39 used Target coupons for $2.00/2, .46 each

4- Philadelphia cream cheese $1.25 used target coupons for .50/2 and a manufactures coupons
for $1.00 each making them FREE

2- Reddi Whip whip cream topping $2.39 used manufactures coupons for .50 each $1.89 each

16- Nestle Toll House Cookie dough $2.79 BOGO used manufactures coupons for $1.00 each
making them .39 each

1- 5lb bag potatoes $2.50 used a $1.00 manufactures making it $1.50

4- 2 liters Coke $1.79 B2G1 used Target coupon for B3G1 and a Manufactures coupon for
BOGO making them .44 each

4- Bottles Sundown vitamins $2.99 each used store coupons for $3.00/1 and manufactures
coupons for $1.00/1 Making them FREE with $4.04 OVERAGE

4- Boxes 4 way Nasal spray $3.99 each used store coupons for $5.00/2 and manufactures
coupons for $2.00 each making them FREE with $2.04 OVERAGE

2- gallons Publix Sweet Tea $2.39 BOGO making them 1.19 each

4- Boxes Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa $1.99 BOGO used store coupons for $1.00/1 and
Manufactures coupons for $1.99/1 making them FREE with $7.98 OVERAGE!

2- Boxes Captian crunch cereal $4.49 BOGO used manufactured coupons for .50/1 making them
$1.74 each
4- Planters Peanuts $3.19 BOGO used Target store coupons for $2.00/2 and Manufactures
coupons for $2.00/2 making them FREE with an OVERAGE of $1.62

2- Wheat Thins $3.39 BOGO used Target store coupons for $1.00/2 and manufactures
coupons for $1.50/2 making them .44 each

2- Triscuits $3.39 BOGO used Target store coupons for $1.00/2 and manufactures coupons for
$1.50/2 making them .44 each

2- Coffee Mate creamers $2.50 each used manufactures coupons for $1.00/1 making them
$1.50 each

2- Froot Loops Cereal $3.99 BOGO used manufactures coupons for .70/1 making them $1.29
each

2- Kraft Salad Dressings $3.19 BOGO used Target store coupons for .50/1 and manufactures
coupon for $1.00/2 making them .59 each

2- Dole Pineapple $1.69 BOGO used manufactures coupon for .55/2 making them .57 each

2- 4 packs Starbucks Frappuccino $4.99 used a store coupon for $2.00/2 and manufactures
coupons for $1.00/1 making them $1.99 each

2- Wesson oils $3.59 BOGO used manufactures coupons for .40/1 making them $1.39 each

1- 8.33lb Ham 1.59lb making it $12.05

Wow, That is what I call a Haul!