Rise and Shine 9/28 - Grateful for stop lights, pumpkin puree and marinara gone bad

Good morning! Is anyone else glad it’s Friday?

Yesterday my son had his annual check-up at the doctor. All looks great and I found myself feeling extra grateful last night for healthy kids. Something I think is easy to take for granted. It’s so easy to get frustrated when we catch a cold and so much harder to find gratefulness in a day without the sniffles and a strong, healthy body.

I think gratefulness is the easiest thing someone can do for their wellbeing (my official MD opinion of course). As we head into Thanksgiving it’ll probably be something I write about more often. In my experience, it’s hard to be mad, sad or frustrated when you’re feeling grateful. You can be grateful for anything.  One-year ago in September, I wrote this post – Grateful for Stoplights: The Power of Gratitude and it’s still true for me, hope it resonates with you. What are you grateful for?

Yesterday I made homemade pumpkin puree – if you missed it last night,  you can check out my homemade pumpkin puree post here. I’m not entirely sure it’s worth it, but I’m glad I tried it.

I have two great giveaways going right now, head over and enter: 

• Enter to win a $50 Kohl’s gift card
• Enter to win a night stay with 18 holes of golf at the Resort at the Mountain (Mt. Hood area, Oregon)

COUPONS

Have you been printing all these crazy high-value razor coupons? Apparently Schick wants your business – yesterday they released a coupon for $2 off your purchase of any Schick Infusion Razor or refill – this comes on the heels of lots of other razor coupons. Print what you can and I’ll let you know when I find a good sale. There are only three days left in September so if you see any you coupons you want to print, I would do so before October 1 and they reset or disappear.

There are only three more days to sign up for the FREE Coupons.com annual membership (ends at the end of the month). A new coupon popped up for members for $1.25 off any one pack or 2 pack Munchkin Click Lock cup.

I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tomorrow (Saturday) night. With four coupon inserts in our paper on Sunday morning it will be like Christmas. We should see a Smart Source, Red Plum, P&G and Moment to Save insert. I am most certainly running out in my pajamas and bumble bee slippers Sunday morning to buy additional papers. How many papers do you think you’ll get?

Oh and to make it even more exciting we should ALSO have Albertsons DOUBLER coupons on Sunday. Our Albertsons superstar Jennifer went to the store yesterday to scope out in-store unadvertised doubler deals. There are 47 advertised deals and 67 unadvertised deals. 9 free and 49 deals are $1 or less. Expect them to be posted before 6:30 a.m. this morning. She already updated the Albertsons weekly in-ad deals here with doubler scenarios. 🙂

Print a coupon for $0.25 off any Angel Soft toilet paper. Normally not worth the cost of ink and paper to print – but great if your store rounds up or you can double it. It has NO size restrictions, so you could use it on a 4-pack, which are usually $1 on sale. Expires 10/27/12.

Don’t miss this super coupon for 25% off your entire order at Michael’s craft store. You can use it on sale items but you cannot use it on clearance. After the park last night (see meal planning) we went to Michaels and did some shopping for crafts for the kids.

Print a coupon for $10 off your $20 Body Shop purchase! Valid September 27 – 30.

FAVORITE DEALS

It’s $5 Friday at Safeway! There are some great deals today, check out our Safeway match-ups for the details. We will also have a $5 Friday post going up later today.

FREE coffee TODAY at participating 7-11 stores – and as a side note, next time you’re at a convenience store go inside and look for coupons. I rarely go inside, since I pay for my gas at the pump usually, but convenience stores are often good sources for coupons! Make sure they aren’t expired and they are manufacturer coupons.

Today only, subscribe to Weight Watchers Magazine for only $4.50 per year (67% off)! You can order up to 4 years at this price! Just enter coupon code QUEENBEE at checkout. This offer expires at Friday 09/28/12 11:59 p.m. EST.

RECIPES & MEAL PLANNING

Last night we ate dinner at the park. We had a coupon for a FREE Little Caesar’s Hot & Ready pizza so we picked that up and high tailed it to the park, where the kids played and I read a magazine in the sun – at the end of September! It was 75 degrees and gorgeous. Hot & Ready pizzas are not my favorite, but it was free and I think it tastes a lot better when you don’t pay for it and when you don’t have to clean up pizza sauce from your dining room floor.

I finally made homemade marinara yesterday in the crockpot. It simmered for 10 hours on low. It tastes like crap. I didn’t use a recipe because I  couldn’t find one where you just throw the tomatoes, without going through the hassle of peeling and deseeding them first. I really didn’t want to peel and deseed them first – so I was hopeful my made-up recipe would work. But I think the seeds and skin might have been the reason it turned out so bitter? I didn’t have the heart to throw it out, so it’s in the fridge waiting to be redeemed somehow. Any ideas?

Here’s what I did – I rough chopped tomatoes, minced six garlic cloves (I know it’s a ton), 1/8 cup italian seasoning, 1/8 olive oil and 1/3 cup fresh basil, with a little salt. It was like bruschetta without the bread. At the end I pureed it with an immersion blender, so it was all smooth and creamy . .  .and blah.

I have no idea what’s for dinner tonight. I’m planning a movie night with the kids, complete with popcorn cooked on the stove (do you make stove top, air popped or microwave popcorn at your house?), so we’ll probably eat something light for dinner. What’s for dinner at your place?

FOR THE LOCAL NW FOLKS

Got kids? The LMNOP Consignment Sale is this weekend! September 28, 29, 30 at the Thurston County Fairgrounds Sokolik Building! Learn more about the sale here.

What else is going on this weekend?

ONLINE DISCOUNTS & PROMO CODES

Catherine’s – 72 Hour Sale, 40% Off New Arrivals, Extra 50% Off Clearance – use promo code 72HOURCA at checkout. FREE shipping to store.

Amazon Gold Box deal of the day today: Jamie Oliver by T-fal C942SA64 Nonstick Hard Anodized Thermo-Spot Heat Indicator 10-Piece Cookware Set, Black –  – $59.99 (reg. $179.99), ships FREE. Available today only, while supplies last.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

September 29 – FREE coffee from Krispy Kreme, September 29. Don’t worry, we’ll remind you.
September 29 – National Parks FREE admission
October 3 – FREE Thai Chicken from Panda Express

What are your plans today?