This is crazy stuff! I am kind of shocked because I really did not believe the predictions of snow.
Here is my neighbors’ house:
We probably won’t see snow like this again for many years to come.
****update: 1/28/14. ^^^Apparently I was wrong. It wasn’t years but only a couple days before we got it again! Lol.
It has been too rainy to take the “ta-da!” After pics….so here are a few older pics I neglected to post earlier. We finished most of the work before Christmas and did the finishing right before New Year’s Day! Whoo! Talk about busy!
Anyway, I am waiting for the rain to clear, then I will clean the trash out of the yard and post some good pictures! I am going to put them in before/after collages.
I had a friend loan me this neat little book. It is basically an early scrapbook from the years 1894 – 1931, it’s a history of the Presbyterian Church here in Alexandria Louisiana. It was written by Mrs. B. L. Price, the pastor’s wife in the early years of the church’s history.
What makes this little work so neat, is Mrs. B. L. Price gathered photographs of all the major contributors to the First Presbyterian Church here in Alexandria. She took pictures of the Sunday school teachers, church members, deacons, etc. in front of their homes. She also gave a little snippet about their personality, interests and church involvement.
There are only two of these small leather bound, scrapbooks and existence. One, my friend has, and the other one is owned by the family of a long time past member of the church. Here are a few examples of the pages. Enjoy!
I am off for the summer, but I came in to work while Vivian is at Grandma’s house, to help out my employer. I was flipping through the Cenla Focus and saw my picture…hahaha. This totally cracked me up. I knew the photographer was buzzing around but I didn’t know who he was or the picture was going to go. This cracks me up on several different levels. Firstly, because people are probably wondering “Who is this chick?”….secondly, because I lend a whole new definition to the term “white”; and thirdly because right under me is my beloved friend, R. R. Sr. The man who called me up, cussed me out and slammed the phone down in my ear. Shame, shame. Let’s just say I was new to town, I had no idea who this family was and I was not trying to make their life miserable, I was just concerned about my neighborhood.
Anyway…it was my laugh for the day.
Andrea
1,100 boxes of cereal? 20 jars of pickles? Who needs all that? To hoard it? To give it away? Neither of these are good reasons to spend 6 hours of my precious time planning for a strategic strike. Multiple transactions? NO WAY! Not only would that make me grumpy, it would make the sales clerk and the people behind me grumpy too.
Some people enjoy the challenge of finding items and working the system to get it at the lowest cost possible by checking out in multiple transactions. While many say there is nothing wrong with this, I for one do not have the time to check out at the register in multiple transactions, nor do I care to store all the stuff that I got for “free” or for next to nothing. Not to mention, I know this statement will probably have people up in arms, but why buy so many items? Your are depriving other people from enjoying a sale too. Nothing annoys me more than seeing people clear the shelves. I had coupons too that I wanted to use, but now that you bought 100 boxes of the same cereal, I cannot use my coupon. More and more stores are starting to limit multiple coupons and just last week, Kroger posted a sign at each register that said that they will NOT do multiple transactions. I think that this will be a continued trend by stores. I also noted that many coupons say: Limit one per transaction, per person. Or, not subject to doubling, etc.
I think the funniest thing I hear extreme couponers say is: “Well, when it gets close to expiration or if I bought a lot, then I just ‘bless’ someone else with it, or donate it to a food bank.” While this is admirable, how can this be a savings to you if you are not consuming it personally? I would prefer to focus on brands I normally buy and things I normally eat and buy somewhat normal quantities. For me, this system works a lot better for me.
I was going to write a longer post on this subject, but I found that so many others have already beaten me to it. So, without further ado, visit these great bloggers for their take on the extreme coupon craze. I will give you a hint, they think the same thing that I do:
Extreme Couponing, Is It Worth It?
Response to TLC’s Extreme Couponing
I love this quote: “In regards to the show, for many that watched this will be their first taste of couponing and will only cement their fears: that couponing is an overindulgent, irresponsible, and rude practice.”
Extreme Couponing: Not A Reality
A quote from the above link:
“First pretty much everything you saw tonight can’t be done in most grocery stores.
Forget extreme couponing, let’s just talk about using coupons and using them wisely. The very last link I posted above, the woman gives sound advice. It is something I do already: Pick one store you are comfortable with, start small and once you get used to it, you can expand to buying more than 2 weeks to a month’s worth of groceries at a time. The strategy is very simple and does not take hours of preparation. By being loyal to one store, you start seeing the pattern of sales and will know when things will come up for sale. If you sign up for a loyalty card, I use Kroger for example, they send you weekly emails about what is on sale and you can also load digital coupons right on to your card. How easy is that? That is a little less clipping to do. I log in online, add coupons that I know I will use. It will also let you make a grocery list based on the sales paper, then you can print it at the end and it will print your grocery list, as well as a list of what coupons you have pre-loaded so you won’t forget. Easy as pie.
Another thing, Kroger sends me coupons based on products I buy frequently and they also send coupons for store brand items. SAVINGS! I buy a lot of Kroger store brand items…with an added coupon…this makes it worthwhile to shop there. I also get $10 off of $100 purchase coupons, $3 off $15 from the meat department and you can use all of them in a single transaction. I went to Kroger last week and I bought two weeks worth of groceries. Granted we are a small family of three. My total was $138. I used several paper coupons, as well as my pre-loaded digital coupons. I also bought as much as I could on sale. Some of my items were not on sale, but I am brand loyal to a couple things due to allergies, so I did pay full price. But, the savings from other items evened it out. Also P&G sends saver coupons and Kroger has a buy 10 participating items and you get $5 off. After using a combination of my Kroger card, digital coupons, paper coupons and store coupons, my total was $84.63 and $10 was Historical Association lemonade stuff (lemon, limes, frozen lemonade and gallos of water) that I got reimbursed for. You can see that I bought pretty much normal items in normal quantities. Here is my receipt:
I will point out my favorite savings:
The steak, pork chops and chicken were all on sale. I bought all three, they were already half off, then I used a $3.00 off coupon that Kroger sent me for the meat department and I had an extra coupon specifically for $1.00 off the chicken. I saved $4.00 on top of the sale prices.
I had a coupon that printed at the register the last time I was at the store that if I bought 4 Pilsbury, General Mills or (can’t remember other brand), items, that I would get $2 off. So I bought 3 cans of Pilsbury biscuits (we eat the like crazy), they were on SALE for $1 each, and I bought one box of instant potatoes, also on sale for $1.69. So my total was $4.69. And I got a $2.00 off coupon good for my next grocery visit. Which I used last night to buy dog food, which NEVER goes on sale. I am not going to say it was “like” paying $2.69 because that phrase irritates me. I did pay $4.69 and took my bonus coupon and used it on another item that I know never goes on sale but I have to buy anyway.
I bought some Herbal essence spray gel which also usually doesn’t go on sale. It was $2.94. I forgot I loaded an ecoupon on my card for it about a month ago, so it was a bonus to get the .60 off! A nice surprise. That is why it is good to go and load the new coupons on things you normally buy every week when they send the email even if you do not need it immediately, still load it. They usually do not expire for 60 days.
CLOSE YOUR EYES MEN! Playtex, which normally is $4.99 a box, went on sale for $2.53 a box. I had a $1.00 coupon and only paid $1.53! Also, at register, it gave me a $2.00 coupon on my next purchase of 2 boxes of Playtex. I will hold on to this until they go on sale again.
Arm and Hammer Detergent (the perfume and dye free, the ONLY one I can use) went on sale for $3.99, normally $5.99. I had a $1 coupon, so my final price was $2.99. I also had coupons for Tide, but Tide was not on sale. It does go on sale at a deep discount twice a year. I will hold on to this coupon until it does. These are the only two detergents that I can use.
You don’t have to sacrifice little things that you like either. I like Haribo gummy bears. MY FAVORITE! I noticed they were on sale 10 for $10 (you don’t have to buy 10 by the way, they are still only a dollar each if you elect to buy lesser quantities). They were $1, which is .39 off. I also had a coupon for .30 off and my final price was .70. Those were some good gummy bears!
Due to my allergies and Vivian’s slight lactose intolerance (she still drinks some milk), we generally buy a lot of soy milk or almond milk. Whatever is cheapest at the time. The Almond Breeze was on sale for $2.99, normally $3.59 and I had a $1 off coupon that I saved waiting on it to go on sale. My finally cost was $1.99 for a gallon. Not shabby.
You will notice that a lot of the items were not on sale and those items I generally buy anyway. A common misperception is that people who use coupons buy brands they do not normally buy. This is not true in my case. I do buy some of the better brands because of allergies. And sometimes, if it is cheaper to buy the better brand over the store brand, heck yeah! I will buy the better brand.
I like to drink Folgers Colombian Dark Roast. I know that it is hard to get a coupon for Folgers products. So, I generally hold on to Folgers coupons when I get them and wait for Kroger to put it on sale (which they do once a month, you better check the sales paper!!!). Any other brands that I normally buy, I ALWAYS, ALWAYS, check their websites or the coupon websites to see if they have any coupons for those items. I have to buy them anyway, it doesn’t hurt to search for corresponding coupons. I also am signed up to receive manufacturer coupons from CouponMom.com and I get an email weekly with new coupons. I print the ones I will most likely use and leave the rest. I do not get the sales paper, I do not get the Sunday paper. I do not get coupons from the paper. I am able to save money without a subscription to the paper. I more likely than not, didn’t get my paper. Someone would pick it up because the lady was always late delivering it. So, it was not worth the money for the subscription. Also, I count the $15 for the subscription into the final cost of the items. Was it worth paying $15 for the coupons? In my case it generally was not because I could get the same coupons through other means. If you live in a bigger city with a bigger market, this would probably benefit you. It does not benefit me in Alexandria, Louisiana. 🙂
I have lots more to say, but will maybe continue in another post later. I will be having a coupon class soon and will announce the date and location. I have another friend who coupons a completely different way. She has a larger family and she has subscriptions to paper coupons. She has a great way of saving money and knows all the rules about doubling and tripling coupons. I am going to get her to tell her strategy. The bottom line regarding couponing is: You have to find what works for YOU.
This is definitely one of the best times to have an old house…iron fences, columns and nice backgrounds galore for pictures.
Vivian took all of the pictures of me and Steven. She did a great job. She is going to be a great little photographer when she grows up. 🙂 She is reading this as I type it…hehe
Happy Easter!
KJV: Matthew 28:5-6
And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
"House of the Leaning Pole"
Has a certain ring to it! We have kicked around ideas for a good name for our house. We have also thought about renaming our house versus naming it by last name of the original owner. BUT, I think “House of the Leaning Pole” is definitely descriptive. Everyone knows where my house is…its the one with the big leaning pole out front. This is a very old picture. Almost 4 years old. I swiped it from Google Earth. Since this picture, we had a bad ice storm and it caused the pole to crack at the base and it is leaning even farther now. I am informed that it is AT&Ts pole and I am further informed that AT&T has been notified about it. I just hope it does not fall over onto my house or fence.
Come on AT&T….please come and replace this pole????? 😀 Please????? It will save me the embarrasment of naming my house something dumb. We don’t want that.
Andrea
You might remember my post about suffering a shock from receiving a $4,700 utility bill which, thankfully, turned out to be a clerical error. This month I suffered an equal shock by receiving a $110 utility bill which was NOT a clerical error! Thank God! Such extremes! Hehe….
The $110 utility bill is not very surprising. My house has ceilings of 13 feet, and heat rises, so in early spring, my house is pleasant as the natural design of the house keeps things pretty cool. It is in the winter when I pay through the nose. Hopefully, upcoming improvements, which includes an insulation project and solar panels (still investigating a good firm), will help lower the heating bills in the winter.
Happy Friday everyone!
Andrea
I bet none of you knew about one of the greatest natural wonders in Alexandria! This natural phenomenon occurs about 3 times a year and is quite consistent. What am I talking about? A water geyser! Of course!
Geyser
Friday I arrived home and received a knock on my door from the mailman who told me I had water in my yard. So, I went out to the side of the house and noted a small, sprinkler type spray coming from the ground. So, I walked over (not too close) to see what it was and to make sure it was not sewer. We have had sewer blockage problems lately and have had the city out to clean out the block twice this past month. I smelled chlorine, so I knew it was clean water. I stuck my hand in the grass and there was a big hole in the ground. Sticking my hand in the ground changed it from small sprinkle to a shooting geyser. I went from getting my grass watered to a free pressure wash for my house!
I had to laugh while calling the plumber. With old houses its one thing or another. So, one of our friends came out and looked at it. The old cast iron pipe cracked. After 100 years it just finally gave out. In under an hour it was fixed and everything was back to normal. One side of my house looks really clean.
This phenomenon is quite predictable. If you drive by next week, you might catch another geyser…albeit in another area of the lawn. Check back and don’t miss it!
Andrea
Oh my….this is usually the time of year that I dust my blog off and then tackle about 10 projects at the same time. 🙂 This year is no exception. I have accepted the nomination of Vice President of the Historical Association of Central Louisiana. Thank you for your faith in me. Among some of my duties, I will be writing a couple National Register nominations this year and working with property owners regarding tax incentives and rehabilitation of their properties. I also have my property to work on and submission of a NR nomination is forthcoming in that area. I finally have everything straight with the SHPO (State Historic Preservation Office) regarding what they need from me and what I need to do.
My laundry room and kitchen are being “finished” by a carpenter as we speak. Steven and I just ran out of steam labor wise and have been too involved in other things to get it finished. So, we hired a good friend and excellent carpenter to come and finish what we started.
In adoption news, our home study was finalized yesterday. All of the paperwork that our social worker needed from Mississippi came in and we can finally move forward with completing our dossier and sending our documents to China. Within the next thirty days I hope! National Register nominations pale in comparison with submitting a dossier to the Chinese Government! Wow!
Many good things are in the works!!! It is spring! My favorite time of year. I am ready to rock Cenla!
Andrea
Perpetual Renovator 