be with you when you are wandering around an overcrowded park in 90+ weather with no breeze and humidity so high the air is wet.  Oh did I mention the fire ant bites covering my feet.

I live with 2 Star Wars nuts, 1 little dork and 1 biggie sized dork and they wanted to go to the first weekend of Star Wars weekends.  The lines were long, the people were smelly (I need to set up a deodorant stand) but we had fun.

Shawn got to see Storm Troopers or Clone Troopers don’t ask me which are which and the dorks have both gone to bed.  LOL

  And the other ones (notice they have fins on their heads)…

plus a few Star Wars celebrities make fools of themselves.  What more could a mother ask for?  Well maybe shade, shorter lines, a park full of happy children, fewer overbearing parents talking to me when I’m hot and sweaty, and the wisdom to bring deodorant with me to share next time. 

We had a good time and will probably go back next Friday one more time before our passes get blacked out for the summer.  I hope you guys are out there saving lots of money cause I’m not feeling like I am doing all that I should be.  Fear not faithful followers I haven’t fallen off the savings wagon I’ll be firmly seated again tomorrow with the promise of much quieter week where I can focus.

We spent too much money yesterday but we did save quite a bit so I guess that helps.  We headed to Jetty Park to watch the last Atlantis launch.  We packed a lunch and drinks so that we didn’t have to buy anything while we were there to help offset the gas and parking fees.

But I have to say it was worth it.  We got to watch the shuttle go up, listen to the roar (both from the shuttle and the crowd) and Shawn was the only one that caught a fish.  Unfortunately he couldn’t set the hook daddy says it was about 12” Shawn says it was “huuuuuuuuuuge”.

So today we get back to the savings and cleaning.  My pink eye is clearing up and I really need to get the house back in shape.  Dishes and laundry for some reason don’t do themselves.

A friend of mine entered her daughter in a photo competition and I was hoping that you could please vote for her. 
She has a had a rough year and they are still trying to figure out exactly what illness Miss Lily has.  She’s been poked and prodded more times than any little girl should ever and her mommy has been dealing with doctors that can’t tell her what is wrong with her daughter.
Please follow this Link and vote for Lily you can vote once a day but the link changes everyday.  I’ll post the new link tomorrow.
Thanks for reading and for voting Lily and her mommy could really use the vacation that comes with winning.

Fridays link is here http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/id/7/w/19/y/2010?page=86

I just cashed in for a $6.30 Amazon GiftCard today through Opinion Outpost.  It only took doing a couple of surveys to get to that point and only a few minutes each time. 

If you haven’t signed up for Opinion Outpost yet click on the link above and sign up today.  You can’t beat free money and if you aren’t interested in Amazon Giftcards they also will just mail you a check as soon as you get to $5.

I hope that you all have a wonderful day.  Shawn and I are off to Epcot today we’ve been going every year since he was born.  I just love going this time of year since the Flower and Garden Festival is going on, however this year it’s going to probably be a bit warmer than normal.

They will be building this cute little planter at Lowes tomorrow from 10 to 11 am.  Don’t forget to sign up online tonight so that your little ones have a spot. 

Each child receives a project to build, an apron, nametag, and a patch and certificate when they complete their project.  Because this is a planter they may also receive a small flower to plant in it.

and probably samples.

Sign up now to get offers and coupons!!!!

Below are a few links to places I visit to earn a little bit more.

Inbox Dollars pays you to click on emails, it's not much but it adds up quick. I recommend setting up a different email if you sign up for these things. I have one for just paid emails and surveys.





Send Earnings is just like Inbox Dollars more free money!!






These two are alike and also pay for reading emails.

I use all of the above and have never had any problems. I take a few minutes everyday and "read" my emails and get paid for it. None of these sites are get rich quick schemes but in my mind every penny helps and those pennies add up quickly.

Eco-Friendly Gardening Do it Herself class at Home Depot on 6/3 from 7-8:30pm, I am so there.  Be sure to sign up first though to guarantee a spot.

I’m going to be writing a piece about saving at Walmart but I thought I should start with the different types of savers that I know of.  Don’t worry if you haven’t made it to queen/king status yet if you keep at it you’ll be a queen saver before you know

The coupon queen is the big saver, she’s the friend you turn to when you need coupon help.  She also has the best garage sales selling stash stuff and probably donates lots and lots of stuff to food banks and shelters.  This is the way to save the most money but you need to be willing to devote a little effort to save.

• This involves collecting coupons and treating them like money (since they are).  You also check all the sales, stockpile when you find rock bottom prices and almost never pay full price for anything.
• If this is what you want to be keep reading you’ll learn more ways to save then you ever thought possible.  If you are already a coupon queen start commenting more I have lots of coupon newbies reading that could use your experience.

A coupon princess is someone who wants to save and is aspiring to be the queen.  She is focusing on her grocery bill and trying to save as much as she can on that bill.

• If you are at this step you are clipping coupons for items you use and trying to save at the grocery store.  You think the queen is a little crazy but you secretly want to be just like her after all she just left paying pennies on the dollar and said something about never paying for toothpaste.

The lady in waiting wants to save but to be honest she doesn’t have the desire to really save.  She sits by and listens to tales from the queen and princess with jealousy for their savings but is convinced she is doing everything she can.  A lady in waiting thinks that just because she shops at Walmart she is saving the most money.

• If you are a lady in waiting and really want to better your position in the royal coupon castle stick around.  I’m going to be addressing your Walmart beliefs later today. 
• I know lots of ladies that seem to think it’s just to much work to become higher royalty and if you are one of them please reconsider.  Couponing doesn’t really take that much time at all especially considering what you can save.

Then there are the court jesters.  They complain about prices and say they wish they could save money but don’t plan on making any effort to do so.  Jesters want for everything but don’t want to do anything to make it happen.  If you are a Jester I’m guessing you mistyped something to end up here.  Jesters would be wise to remember though that anything in life worth having is worth working for.  Saving money now will help give you more to spend later in life or to pay for the things that are really important now.

Purina® A Difference You Can See

Click above to sign up for a free Hat and Quarterly Coupons from Purina

Last night I made a big batch of what we’ll call Italian slop it has a different name but as I got older I realized it wasn’t exactly PC.  LOL  It was nearly free to make and makes a ton so we’ll be having it for dinner again tonight.  Here’s the recipe for all of you inquiring minds

• 1lb ground beef (mine was about $1 when I bought it)
• 1lb italian sausage (free at Winn Dixie last month)
• 2 lbs of elbow macaroni (free at Publix all the time)
• 2-3 jars of spaghetti sauce (really cheap at Publix  .75)
• Mozzarella Cheese (.50 for a block a month ago)
• Cook up the beef and sausage.  Boil the pasta.  Add the pasta, meat, and sauce to a big pan or your crockpot and cook for awhile.   Right before serving add the grated cheese and stir really really well.  Serve, eat and enjoy.

So anyways that cost me about $2.25 and we’ll have enough food for at least 4 meals.  Twice this week and I’ll freeze the rest for next week.

Today I had to take Shawn to the doctors we left with 2 prescriptions.  $15 for the doc visit and $4 for the scripts.  Since we were there I had to buy some knock off kid’s Tylenol (darn recalls) for his fever and a couple gatorades.  I spent another $7 at CVS.  UGH

Then we headed to the new Staples.  They are having their grand opening sale today and had sent out $20 off a $20 purchase coupon last week.  I got a frame, Crayola Twistables, and 2 pks of HP Paper.  I spent $2.12 and I should be able to get $11 in refunds for the paper.  I love money makers!!!  Since we were out there I finally went into Verizon and got my phone fixed well actually I got a new charger and that should fix it.

JCPenney’s had sent out $10 off coupons and my neighbors don’t seem to read any ads before they throw them in the recycling so I picked out a few extras and used 3 of them today.  I got a new pair of flip flops since mine have had it for $3.20, 2 quick dry towels for $2.12 and 2 pairs of shorts for Shawn for $4.26

So today was spendy but I got some things we needed and I am done shopping for the week.  The only thing that I didn’t get done today was getting the batteries replaced in 2 watches.  The woman at Penney’s said that Walmart does it and it would be much cheaper.

Now that May has finally started it’s time to get back to the business of saving.  Since I’m a stay at home mom I’m making it my mission to save as much as possible to help fund our savings.  I went over my goals the other day they are a rough sketch but they are a start.

Yesterday started my mission to achieve those goals.  Unfortunately a sick little boy and me and Dave still battling colds can be hard on a budget.  Yesterday I spent almost $20 at Publix on lots of meal starters, juice boxes, a Powerade for the sick boy and a cookie for him too.  The starters will give me something easy to make with the meat that I already have frozen.

I also went to Walgreens yesterday I spent less than $5 and left with 2 shaving creams, 1 pack of floss picks and an Easy Mac cup for the little man that refuses to eat anything but Mac and Cheese.

This morning I went to the newspaper box hoping to avoid using gas and paying tax on my newspapers but it had yesterday’s papers in it.  Sometimes I wonder about the paper guy around here, lol so I loaded Shawn into the car and we headed to the gas station where I got 4 papers, 1 24oz free coffee, and 2 donuts for $7.xx  I told you being sick is wearing on a budget.  Thankfully the donuts were BOGO so I got on and Shawn was quite happy to have one.  I was actually just happy that he wanted something other than mac and cheese.

Between the warm weather and us all having fevers we’ve had the A/C on more than I would like.  I’m hoping to get a couple loads of laundry done today and maybe put them outside to dry and save $1 on the dryer.  Maybe I’ll even get caught up on dishes but I make no promises there. 

I will also be planning out a trip for tomorrow.  There is a Staples nearby that is having a grand opening and sent out a $20 off $20 purchase coupon good only for tomorrow so I’ll be headed there tomorrow and I want to make sure I do all my errands in one trip to save on gas so I’m going through the ads and coupons today.  I found a couple of $10 off coupons for Penney’s which is on the way to Staples so I’ll be stopping there too.

Feel free to let me know what you are doing to save money.  Remember every little bit helps everything from coupons to flipping off the lights helps you save.