Living Large on a Limited Budget
Couponers may claim that learning how to coupon is easy, but we sure do have some lingo that is not so easy to understand, don’t we?
The other day, I found myself thinking, “What if couponers used all of our lingo in conversation the same way we write and read it on blogs?”
This video is what I came up with.
So…is couponing really as easy as ABC? What do YOU think?
In this family, we are big fans of fun, football, and frugality – and not necessarily in that order. So when I think about Football Party Ideas, I a) get really excited and b) try to come up with FUN ideas that are cost-effective and simple enough to throw together on a Sunday afternoon.
The fact that DiGiorno Pizza is on rollback at Walmart for $4.50 was enough to get my wheels turning for a get-together we had last weekend. And thus, The First Annual DiGiorno Pizza Bowl was born.
OH – even better – hurry and print a Buy Two Get One FREE DiGiorno Pizza Coupon, which will make them just $3 each when you buy three.
Rollback Price – Can you say, “SCORE?!”
So how does a DiGiorno Pizza Bowl work, you ask?
It’s simple:
I popped four pizzas (a.k.a. The Players) into the oven when I got home from church. My game plan was simple: be prepared to feed the hungry masses in as short a time as possible. I thought it was pretty awesome that I could fit all four pizzas in the oven.
Way to go, boys!
Seriously. Don’t you just want to reach into the computer and eat this up?
Object of the game? Eat pizza. Watch Football. Vote for your favorites.
That is a DiGiorno Pizza Bowl, my friends.
So hard to choose an MVP with choices like this.
This is fun stuff. We each took turns voting for our favorite team and our favorite pizza on these cute little chalkboards. Because football needs a little bit more cute and little, don’t you think?
In the end, we had one very happy Denver fan and one very sad San Francisco fan.
And a whole house full of happy pizza fans.
But you know what they say? It’s not whether you win or lose…
It’s how you play the game.
Want to hold your own first annual DiGiorno Pizza Bowl during the Big Game? Here are a few more fun ideas for you:
Heading Home from the Bus Stop
Yesterday was a big day in our house. It was the first day of first grade for my oldest son, Griffin. Since Kindergarten is only half day where we live, it seemed like a pretty big milestone for us.
My sister has always had the tradition of baking a fresh, gooey batch of Pumpkin Chip Cookies to celebrate the first day of school for her four growing children. So I decided to steal borrow the idea for myself and begin a new tradition in our house.
My Mom tells the story that this was the only recipe that she knew how to make when she got married. And really…if there was only one recipe I could bake, I think I might just choose this one.
I’ve shared the recipe with you before, but here’s a re-cap in case you’d like to steal borrow it. (Thanks to my sister for writing it up for us!)
Pumpkin Chip Cookies
Drop from teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. (I like mine a little gooey, but you might prefer them a little more well done.)
Warning: You may or may not be able to eat an entire plate of these cookies in one sitting because you may or may not convince yourself that they are healthy due to the addition of pumpkin, which is a vegetable afterall. (Or is it a fruit?) Either way, it’s gotta be healthy, right?
Just sayin’…
Just thought I’d give a little glimpse into why things have been rather quiet around here today. I’ve been making these little guys for a certain 7 year old’s birthday party.
We had a few casualties due to an inexperienced baked goods driver…but most of the birds and pigs survived the trip. And they were a hit with the elementary crowd. (They don’t look too happy about it though, do they?)
In spite of previous cake-making snafu’s, this one was overall a success. I love a recipe that is hard to mess up!
All I know is that I got a BIG hug from the birthday boy, so that’s a victory in my book.
You can find the step-by-step tutorial here.
I am a big fan of traditions.
And not just on the holidays.
So recently we started a new, simple Saturday morning tradition. (Ok…so maybe it’s a when-Mommy-has-gone-shopping-at-ALDI-that-week-tradition. But that still counts, right?)
I grabbed a can of ALDI Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls one week just for fun. Turns out they are super yummy. (And super easy to make…which during this season of life is HIGH on my priority list.)
And for $2.39, what’s not to love?
They taste even better in my back yard with a big mug of hot coffee.
The only thing that would make this more fun? If you were my neighbor, and stopped by to say hello on Saturday morning. We could sit in my backyard swing and enjoy this little bit of perfection together!
Oh well…I promise to enjoy a bite for you. 🙂
Once I considered what my personal goals were for the summer of 2012, it was time to make a plan for success.
Setting up for Success:
It’s really important to me that I don’t try to tackle too much this summer. I think summer should allow for some ‘down-time’ not to mention life is just a little bit crazy right now!
For each of my goals, I needed to ask myself, “What can I do to help myself succeed?”
For example, one of my goals is to run a 5k this summer. So my first step was to sign up for a local race. It’s a simple step, but it takes me to the next level and makes it much harder to back out now. (Especially since I had to pay to sign up and every bone in my frugal body is opposed to wasting money!)
I also asked a friend to join me in the race. This gives me another level of accountability, but also will hopefully make the training even more fun!
One of my goals for my boys is to start daily chores this summer. I want to keep this simple and fun, so I purchased a chore chart on Etsy that will give them a basic chore or two to check off each morning.
Simple Strategies:
I also asked myself, “What strategies can I use this summer to keep a semblance of order around the house?”
I’ll be honest. Keeping the house immaculate did not make it on my list of goals. I’ve learned with each of my boys, that the ‘newborn stage’ limits my ability to keep the house as clean as I would like. (In fact, so does the ‘toddler stage’ and the ‘pre-schooler stage’ and the…well, you understand, right?)
But one simple strategy I plan to use is the ‘timer method’. Each day (or maybe MOST days!) I plan to set the timer for a certain number of minutes to accomplish one task–cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, laundry, etc. I hope that this method will keep our house from exploding and my brain somewhat sane!
Now Onto the FUN part:
I’ll be honest. I’m excited about my personal goals–but not nearly as excited as I am about what’s coming up next! Next week I plan to share my Project Summer 2012 FREE and FUN list with you. I can’t wait to share all of the ways that you can find free activities for you and your kids this summer. I’ll even offer a downloadable planner to help you strategize how to make the most of your summer!
How about you? Have you written down any goals for your summer yet? Why not take some time this week to ask yourself what is your next step to help yourself succeed. Feel free to share them in the comments too!
Welcome to my new series, Project Summer 2012!
As I shared last week, my goal is to share ideas, tips and strategies to make summer meaningful, memorable and fun. (Because isn’t that what summer is meant to be?)
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking through what I’d like this summer to look like. With a newborn and the two older boys home from school, I know life will look a little different for us. But I want to be intentional about our time–both the personal goals and the fun activities we have planned.
To begin, I sat down and wrote out a few personal goals for myself and my kids.
Did I mention that I’m keeping things simple? I’m not planning on running any marathons. I have three very simple personal goals. But for me, there’s nothing like getting goals down on paper. Somehow that keeps me accountable to work toward accomplishing them.
Oh–and sharing them with you may help with the whole accountability thing too! Feel free to ask me how I’m doing from time to time, ok?
How about you? Have you considered what goals you’d like to set for your summer? Have you written them down? Why not grab a pen and a notebook and jot a few down right now? Feel free to share them in the comments too!
There’s something I love about a Fresh Start. A Clean Slate. New Beginnings.
And somehow Summer feels like the perfect time to start new.
Would you like to join me?
Beginning next week, I am going to introduce a new series on the blog called, “Project Summer 2012”. My goal is to share ideas, tips and strategies to make summer meaningful, memorable and fun.
No doubt, I will share my downfalls and ‘what-not-to-do’ tips with you as well. With a new baby and both older boys home from school, it’s going to be an entirely new ‘normal’ for us. But that’s okay. It’s all part of the fun.
I’m also very excited about sharing my “Free Summer Fun List’ with you again. It’s going to be chock full of ideas and FREE events that will serve as summer boredom busters.
So will you join me? If so, come back next week and prepare for PROJECT SUMMER 2012!
