Menu Plan Monday - 11/30/2009

I’m back. My schedule has been crazy lately. My fiancé has been doing much of the cooking. I make him a list of the “meats” we have and have him do that part. Once I get home, I match up a side item with the meal. It’s worked for us. However, this week he will be working further from home and will not make it home before me. It means back to menu planning to avoid dinner-time meltdown. I don’t want to leave my kids without dinner on their plates or let them find their own sugary less than healthy dinner.

1. Turkey Shepherds pie w/Thanksgiving Leftovers

2. Homemade Pizza

3. Open Face Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches (WW Comfort Classic Cookbook)

4. Ham & Bean Soup w/Thanksgiving Leftovers

5. Caribbean Chicken, Southwest Black Bean Salad (Kids – Homemade chicken strips and French fries)

6. Honey Pork Chops, sweet potato fries, salad

To see other menu plans, visit I'm an Organized Junkie.

Walgreens: December Coupon Booklet

Walgreens has a new coupon booklet out that you should look for in-store. It has over $160 in savings in it. For a detailed list of all the coupons in the booklet, you can check it out at I Heart Wags!

Free Holiday Music Downloads

Oprah is offering two free holiday music downloads: Andrea Bocelli & Mary J. Blige's duet "What Child Is This" and Sugarland's "Silent Night." The offer expires December 1, 2009 at 11 pm CT.

Walgreens: FREE 8x10 Photo Collage TODAY ONLY

Walgreens Photo is offering a free 8x10 photo collage for free TODAY ONLY (November 27, 2009) with a coupon code.

You'll need it, so get it here: FINDJOY. Pick it up at your local Walgreens and avoid having to pay shipping. W

Go here to get started.

COSI - Free Admission on Sunday, December 6, 2009

COSI's Community Open House is Sunday, December 6, 2009 from 10:00am - 7:00pm and it's FREE! Visit all of COSI and catch a movie on the 7-story Extreme Screen Theater. Bring your friends, family, and neighbors - for FREE! It's a great way to check out the museum.

Bob Evans - Free Slice of Pumpkin Pie 11/27/09 - 11/29/09

Are you headed to Bob Evan's this weekend? You can print a coupon here for a FREE slice of pumpkin pie. Take a break from shopping to enjoy a pie of pumpkin pie and caramel mocha.

Coupon good November 27 - 29, 2009.

Reminder: No Coupon Inserts - 11/29/09

Just a reminder that there will not be any coupons in the Sunday, November 29, 2009 newspaper due to the Thanksgiving holiday. However, you can purchase coupons that you need at The Coupon Clippers.

The Children's Place: Early Bird Sale - Extra 20% Off

The Children's Place is having an online Early Bird Sale. You can save big on select items - $10 denim and $5 tops. Shipping is a flat fee of $5. Use EARLYBIRD9 to save an additional 20%!

In addition, you can make your purchase through Ebates to earn 3% back on your purchase, 4% back if you shop through Upromise, or 3% through Mr. Rebate. Who doesn't like earning money back on their purchases?

Big Lots: Thanksgiving Day Deals

Big Lots will have select Playstation 2 games on sale Thanksgiving Day for just $5!

Another good buy that I saw was the Little Tikes Cook 'n Learn Interactive Kitchen for $39.00.

If you spend $50 or more, you will receive a coupon for $10 off your next purchase. Get there early for the best selection! Click here to check out there ad.

Walgreens: $5/$25 Coupon - Valid Sunday, November 22 - Monday, November 23

Walgreens has released a $5/$25 coupon that's valid Sunday, November 22 - Monday, November 23. In addition to the $5/$25 coupon, there are also extra Walgreens coupons that you can print from their website here.

Meijer "Why Wait" Sale - Saturday, November 21, 2009

Meijer is having a "Why Wait" Sale on November 21, 2009. Here are the deals that I saw. You can view the full ad here.

Quaker Chewy Granola Bars $1.69 ($1.00/2 10-11-09 RP or $1.00/2 printable)
Quaker Cap 'N Crunch or Life Cereal $1.69
Sargento Shredded Cheese $2.69 ($1.00/2 11-15-09 SS)
Pepperidge Farm Layer Cakes $1.88
Fritos or Cheetos $1.50
Frito Canned Dip $1.50
Meijer Microwave Popcorn $0.94
Plumrose Sliced Bacon $1.67
Bob Evans Fresh Pork Rolled Sausage $1.79 ($1.00/2 11-8-09 SS or $0.25/1 11-8-09 SS)
Purex Liquid Laundry Detergent (limit 2) $2.29 ($1.00/2 10-4-09 SS or $0.35/1 10-4-09 SS)

Event: Lowe's Build & Grow Clinic - Saturday, November 21, 2009

Lowe's Build & Grow Clinics will be a snowman on Saturday, November 21, 2009 from 10:00am-11:00pm. Be sure to register for the event. Many of the local Lowe's have made it mandatory because of the number of families taking advantage of this free event.

Toys R Us - 2 Day Sale - $1.99 Mr. Potato Head

Toys R Us is having another 2 day sale today and tomorrow. Mr. Potato Head is on sale for just $3.99. There is a coupon at coupons.com link on my left-hand sidebar for $2.00/1. Print it before you head out and get Mr. Potato Head for just $1.99!

Click here to see the other items that are on sale.

Coupon Inserts for 11/22/09

There will be 1 Smart Source insert in your paper this Sunday - November 22, 2009. What a dull week for coupons!

Remember that when you purchase your paper from the store, you are not guaranteed coupon inserts. I would check each paper before purchasing multiples. Or save money and trees, purchase only the coupons you need at The Coupon Clippers.

Weigh In - 11/14/09

Today was another good weigh in. I weighed in down 1.4 pounds! As the receptionist put it, "You're back and on a roll!" I think she's right.

This week I ran on the treadmill and did strength training everyday. It felt good each time. It also helped me since I had an extremely busy and stressful week at work. Instead of eating, I exercised and cleared my mind in the process. After exercising, I had enough energy to get household chores done before going to bed. In the past few months, I would be so tired from work all I wanted to do is eat then go to bed.

This week I'll be adding in more veggies. Over the past couple weeks, I have really lacked in the veggie eating. I have been eating healthy and haven't been snacking as much as usual. Hopefully as things slow down again at work, I don't pick up on the snacking again.

That's all I have for now since I'll be back this weekend to report another weigh in...

Weight Watcher Weight Loss (Updated on Saturday)

Goal #5	40
Weight Loss (since 3/11/09)	-32.8

Keebler: $10.00 Toy Voucher

Here is a really great offer from Keebler! You can get a $10.00 toy voucher (in the form of a check) when you purchase 5 specially marked Keebler products. You can read the entire list of included products on the form right here. This offer is good through December 31, 2010.

Hershey's 2010 Baking Calendar

You can go here to print a rebate form for a free 2010 calendar from Hershey’s. It has 12 dThe great part about the offer is the $4 in coupons that's in it.

To get the calendar you’ll need to mail the rebate form with 4 UPC Symbols from Hershey’s, Reese’s, or Heath Baking Chips, Hershey’s Baking Bars or Cocoa.

Yankee Candle - Buy 2, Get 2 Coupon

Yankee Candle has released this coupon good for two free large jar candels when you buy two regular priced large jar candles!

Toys R Us - 2 Day Sale & Other Great Deals

2 Day Sale: Friday 11/13/09 and Saturday 11/14/09. You can check out the ad here. Some of the sale items are only available “late” Friday (3:00 pm – midnight) and early Saturday (7:00 am – 1:00 pm).

• Here's quite a deal. If you are going to Target and have the Toys R Us ad, purchase a Leapfrog Alphabet Pal for just $0.49. Don't have kids? Donate it to Toys For Tots. Take that entire sales flier and go to Target using the Alphabet Leapfrog $10 off coupon for the same item HERE. Target prices matches the $10.49 Toys R Us price and will accept coupons on price matched items. You will score this deal for only $0.49!! Thanks for sharing Mojo Savings!
  

Heading to Toys R Us? In this week's regular ad, they had some great deals on games. If you purchase $25.00 in eligible games, you get a $10 gift card FREE! PLUS qualifying games are eligible for this rebate.

Walmart: $100 Gift Card with Purchase of Blackberry

Walmart is having some very sweet deal in-store only on Blackberry phones starting Saturday, November 14, 2009 (8:00am) thru Friday, November 20, 2009. Get a $100 Walmart Gift Card with every BlackBerry Phone purchase plus 2 year service contract. You can choose from 4 different carriers - Verizon, At&t, Sprint or T-Mobile.

I've been wanting a Blackberry for months...maybe I can talk my fiance' into an early Christmas present...

Weigh In Update

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted my weigh in. Here's how the last couple of weigh in's break down:

10/24: +0.6
10/31: +0.8
11/7: -1.6

I'm 3.4 pounds away from lowest I was on Weight Watchers which was back in August (the week of the county fair). I'm thinking this week will be another loss (wish me luck, please).

I had a little bit of an issue on Halloween. I was so busy getting ready for trick-or-treat that I had forgotten to eat dinner...only had a sandwich that day. This is how I felt at the end of the evening... I drank a few drinks on an empty stomach. Two days after all my puking, my youngest son got sick. I was off from work for 2 days. During those 2 days, I was able to clear my head. I decided it was time to make a few changes. I did just that... I've exercised nearly everyday day since, made better choices in my beverages have only been drinking water) and watching portion sizes as well as healthy meals. I have been weighing in at Weight Watchers but haven't actually started attending the meetings again. I'm working on that and hope to be back to them in the next week or so.

The holidays are just around the corner and I am working on making my family's holiday favorites a little healthier. I still plan on doing all my normal holiday baking. One thing that will be different with my baking this year is that I won't be enjoying as much of it. Last year and past years, I have enjoyed a little more than I should because of my sweet tooth. I loved sweets - not so much these days. I have made a rule that if I resort back to my sweet tooth, with the peanut butter fudge weakness that I have, I have to get up before work each day for a week and run 2 miles. These two miles would be addition to my daily workout. I have a hard time getting up at 4:30 as it is. I don't want to have to get up at 3:45 or 4:00 for a week so I'll be sure to keep my sweet tooth in check even if it means a lot of brushing my teeth.

What are you doing to stay on track during the holidays? Do you have a plan for holiday parties?


Weight Watcher Weight Loss (Updated on Saturday)

Goal #5	40
Weight Loss (since 3/11/09)	-31.2

Inbox Dollars - $5 Sign-up Bonus

Have you signed up for Inbox Dollars yet? It's an easy way to earn money. It's not a huge moneymaker, but you may pocket a little extra spending money. There's a $5 incentive just for signing up. I do recommend creating an email account dedicated to these emails. You are paid for reading emails, taking surveys, playing games or shopping.

Coinstar Holiday '09 Bonus - Free $10 Gift Card Offer

It's that time again...

Have you tried Coinstar? It's a coin counting machine. The service is free when you turn your coins into gift cards and/or eCerts. Now through December 6th when you try the Free Coin Counting option and cash in $40 or more, they’ll send you a $10 holiday bonus. All you have to do is send in the official claim form from bottom portion of your receipt. Complete the claim form in its entirety and mail it to: Coinstar Holiday 09 Bonus Offer, PO Box 6112, Douglas, AZ 85655-6112. You will receive a $10 gift card. There is a limit of one per name, address or household. Click here to find a location near you.

Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic - 30% off Coupon

From Thursday November 12th through Sunday November 15th you can get 30% off your purchase at GAP, Old Navy or Banana Republic with this coupon.

Remember, Old Navy has outerwear for 50% off this week!

Event: Santa's Workshop @ The Knack - Saturday, December 5, 2009

On Saturday, December 5, 2009 from 10:00am - 1:00pm The Knack at Michaels will be hosting a FREE Family Event - Santa's Workshop. Your child will get to make great gifts plus there is a FREE demo on the American Girl Crafts Paper Chain Friendship Bracelet. While supplies last

Event: Lowe's Build & Grow Clinic - Saturday, November 14, 2009

Lowe's Build & Grow Clinics will be making a #48 garage on Saturday, November 14, 2009 from 10:00am-11:00pm. Be sure to register for the event. Many of the local Lowe's have made it mandatory because of the number of families taking advantage of this free event.If you attended the event last year around this time, your child might still have the #48 race car and semi-truck that would go great with this garage.

Coupon Inserts for 11/15/2009

There will be 3 inserts being in your paper this Sunday - November 15, 2009. They are 2 Red Plum and 1 Smart Source inserts which means LOTS of coupons! There will be Huggies, Fiber One, Green Giant, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, and many more.

Remember that when you purchase your paper from the store, you are not guaranteed coupon inserts. I would check each paper before purchasing multiples. Or save money and trees, purchase only the coupons you need at The Coupon Clippers.

Veteran's Day Freebies

Outback Steakhouse - a free bloomin' onion and a drink for vets and active-duty military members on Wednesday, November 11th.

Applebee's - a free entree for vets and active-duty military members from 11 a.m. 'til midnight on Wednesday, November 11th.

Krispy Kreme- free donuts to vets and current military all day on Wednesday, November 11th.

Golden Corral - free meal for Veterans on Monday, November 16th from 5pm to 9pm

Big Lots: $10 Nintendo Wii & DS Games - Week of 11/8/09 -11/14/09

Big Lots will have select Nintendo Wii and DS games on sale starting tomorrow (Sunday, November 8, 2009) for just $10!

There will other toys that are just $10 too like:

Trio Crazy Creatures
Hot Wheel Playsets
Lincoln Logs
31” Kicktail Skateboards
A few Dora and Diego toys

If you haven't started your Christmas shopping, tomorrow might be the day. Get there early for the best selection! Click here to check out there ad.

Hot Walmart Deal - XBox 360 Arcade Console

Have you heard the buzz about Walmart’s pre-black Friday sale this Saturday (November 7, 2009)? On Saturday, 11/7/09, Walmart will be having a sale on the XBox 360 Arcade Console. It is priced at $199, the normal selling price, and you get a $100 Walmart gift card to go with it! The sale starts at 8:00am. I’m sure these will be limited and go fast so be there early if you REALLY want one.

Coupon Inserts for 11/8/2009

There will be 2 inserts being in your paper this Sunday - November 8, 2009. They are a Red Plum and Smart Source inserts.

Remember that when you purchase your paper from the store, you are not guaranteed coupon inserts. I would check each paper before purchasing multiples. Or save money and trees, purchase only the coupons you need at The Coupon Clippers.

Old Navy: $1 Scarves!!

Old Navy is having an Outerwear Sale. Outerwear is on sale for up to 50%. On Saturday, November 7th, they will have doorbuster $1 Performance fleece scarves for adults and kids. This price is good all day and limited to 5. What a perfect time to stock up!

Bally's Total Fitness: Free 7-day Pass

Still haven't tried Bally's? Give it a try free for 7 days!

IKEA: $1 Swedish Meatball Meal - November 7-10, 2009

Stop by IKEA Saturday, November 7 - Tuesday, November 10, 2009, for this meaty offer while supplies last.

$1 Swedish Meatball Meal - Comes with 10-pieces of mouth-watering Swedish Meatballs.

Click here for more information.

Free Music Dowloads from Campbell's Labels for Education

Click here to download your free copy of Kate & Kacey's 'Dreaming Love' and Crosby Loggins' 'Time to Move'.

Free Thanksgiving Recipe Ebook

Event: Home Depot Kids Workshop - November 7, 2009

The Home Depot Kids Workshop for November will take place this weekend.

November 7th @ Home Depot – 9am-noon: Trivet
Mark you calendars for the December workshop as well. It will be held December 5th from 9am -noon. The kids will be making wagons.

Sam's Club: Holiday Taste of Sam's Club - November 20-22, 2009

Whether it's the annual family affair, a carry-in at the office, or a friend get-together, Sam's Club would like to help you plan the perfect even that goes perfectly with any budget. Friday, November 20-22, 2009 from 11am - 6pm, Sam's will be hosting a Holiday Taste of Sam's Club event. Click here to find a location near you.

There will be lots of sampling going on...

Friday, November 20th
Member's Mark Boneless Spiral Ham
Green Bean Casserole (made with Del Monte Green Beans, French's French Fried Onions, Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup)
Delice de France Double Creme Brie
5/8-inch Italian Meatballs
Crunchmaster Gluten-Free Multi-Grain Crackers
The Cheesecake Factory Original Cheesecake

Saturday, November 21st
Frenched Lamb Racks
Fresh Asparagus
SeaPak Mini Crab Cakes
Ghirardelli Candy Dipping Kit

Sunday, November 23rd
Member's Mark Jumbo Cooked Shrimp
The Snack Factory Original Pretzel Crisps

Free Music Download: Carrie Underwood's "Change"

Click here to download a free copy of Carrie Underwood's "Change". To claim free download, you will need to enter the code: CHANGE. Supplies are limited.