Well, I made my first foray into the world of CVS Extra Bucks this evening. I got the above items for $28.05 while saving $34.72. Yeah! I saved more than I spent! I must admit though that I also learned a few things:
1. Be careful about getting your hopes set too high on matching Manufacturer's Coupons with in-store deals. I had $7 worth of coupons which I thought I was going to be able to match up with these items only to find that they were the wrong size or something.
2. Don't count on items which will be "Free" after Extra Bucks being there when you get to the store. Everybody else wants those, too. :o}
3. Aldi and Walmart's everyday prices, store brands, and "ordinary" brands like Suave are pretty stiff competition against even "great" sales at drug stores and regular grocery stores. Yes, according to CVS, I "saved" nearly $35 this evening; however, that means I would have spent $63 for 60 diapers, 4 bottles of shampoo/conditioner, 1 can of mousse, 4 boxes of feminine items, and 1 stick of deodorant. Those same items in the brands I usually buy would have cost me about $38-40 at Walmart. So in reality, I "saved" about $10. Not too bad, but I'm not completely sure it was worth as much time as I spent on it this afternoon.
4. I think there's a learning curve to couponing, and I haven't humped it yet. :o)
Happy Thursday!
For me, the blossoms of spring are a wonderful reminder of the new life we enjoy in Christ!
If in this life only we have hope in Christ,
Daddy's little helper in action . . .
Chris got a couple banks of switches wired up and some drywall installed, as well as half of the can lights installed in the kitchen. We also nailed up outlet boxes and started running some of the wire for those as well. 
I love these pics! They're peeking through the hole for the switches. :o)
Our crew is actually returning next week to help with the finishing stuff (like drywall, paint, and floors.) After much consideration, it seemed to be the best allocation of resources, and they were more than willing to make the drive again (actually, they were more willing to offer than we were to ask! What a family!) So, Round 2, coming up!
Well, I made my first foray into the world of CVS Extra Bucks this evening. I got the above items for $28.05 while saving $34.72. Yeah! I saved more than I spent! I must admit though that I also learned a few things:
Uncle Bryan the Spaceman
Grandpa's Assembly Crew
Cleanup Detail
Mommy's Barber Shop is open for business (and none too soon!)
Working very hard
Working even harder! :o)
Grandpa likes holes.
Grandpa likes fire. 
Grandma does not like wallpaper!
Two cute kiddoes posing for some mugshots!
The best Uncle Bryan and Aunt Janie in the whole wide world!
Grandpa the Cleaning Wonder!
All good things must come to an end!
We are so thankful for all of our family! What a blessing!! 
Thanks, Bryan!
5+ years of decaying leaves!
Which then had to be tarped and carried!
Our last load of leaves from the front drive!!! 
These pictures can't give a complete perspective, but we probably tarped over a hundred loads of leaves and dumped all of them in one of these two VERY large piles!
We also trimmed the shrubbery around the house, although I didn't get much of that in pictures.
By Thursday afternoon we were getting rather tired of carrying leaves, so we decided to go play in (err, umm, clean up . . .) the creek for a change of pace! :o)
For the record, Jenny prefers clippers and loppers to weedwhackers. I lasted all of about 90-seconds with this one!
Now that was fun!
