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Thursday 15 September 2011

Great Deal on Homeschool Magazines

Here is a great deal that The Old School House is offering on their back issues. 

http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=20111

The link is for the Canadian price but once there you can click for US if you are in the states.

I think I am going to treat myself to some.  They'll be wonderful to have this winter when I want to curl up & read something.

Tuesday 26 July 2011

What Next??

Well, now, what's next?

I have 17 weeks & 4 days in with no Pepsi!!!  Yay!  I think I would like to try to go popless and avoid pop altogether.  I'm on vacation right now so it's not going too well.  My goal after vacation is to try to see if I can skip all pop.  The one thing that I think will be difficult is that fact that certain foods just seem to taste better with pop.  There is nothing else holding me back from quitting.  There is no nutritional value in pop. None!  So why put chemicals in my body that are not necessary?  Habit...plain old habit!  If I can conquer the Pepsi habit then anything seems possible. 

I honestly feel like I can accomplish anything right now.  I feel like I have climbed a mountain and now that I can see the view I want more.  More to this life!

I've been inspired by two people on my Facebook.  Neither of them know the other.  Both have set lifestyle goals and reached them.

The first is a homeschooling mom of 6 who has been heavy ever since I can remember.  Last year she saw pictures of herself at a family gathering and decided she wanted to get healthy & lose some weight before she turned 50.  She did it!!

The other is a 30 year old firefighter who decided he wanted to get back into body building after being out of it for a number of years.  He worked hard and worked out on days when he probably felt like doing something else.  Actually, I know he would have rather skipped it.  His Facebook status told us all...but he did it anyway!  He recently competed in 2 competitions and placed 2nd & 3rd!! 

So, as I approach my 40th birthday with extra weight, I want to regain my health.  What all this will include will be a discovery all its own...and I am looking forward to the journey.

Monday 18 July 2011

Shout Out for Resolve!!

As I mentioned in a previous post I bought a couple of new products that I had coupons for.  Normally, I wouldn't buy something just because I have a coupon.

Anyway, while at Walmart I noticed that they had Resolve Stain Remover for a reasonable price and I had a $1.00 off coupon.  Why not give it a try?  I am so glad I did!  Our son came home from camp with grass stains on both pairs of jeans he had taken with him.  Jeans that are not even a month old yet!  I read the instructions, followed them and voila!  I cannot tell you how amazed I was that the stains came out.  NEVER has a product worked like that!  There was no sign or trace of grass stains.  NONE!! 

My husband has some seriously stained work pants that I am going to use the Resolve on just for fun and see what happens.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Saturday 16 July 2011

113 Days!!

As of today, I have been Pepsi Free for 113 days!!  That's huge for me! 

I was addicted!!!  That is putting it mildly.  I could easily drink 2 liters a day, no problem.  Then it hurt me and it hit me hard.  Pepsi was not my friend...it's nobody's friend. (It tastes so good though!!)  The caffine I was taking in was aggrivating my Lupus, making my sleep patterns irregular, dehydrating me, making me edgy, causing weight gain, bloating me & generally making me miserable.  Enough!  I had had enough!  No more!  So I quit! 

Was it easy? Yes & No.

I had tried to quit a number of times before but always ending up back on the bottle.  Addicted!  BUT finally I had hit a wall like no other I've ever hit.  I had had enough of feeling like death warmed over.  I finally realized just how awful the Pepsi/caffine made me feel.  I also realized...well I guess I knew all along...that I wasn't drinking enough water and that wasn't making matters any better.  So, in answer to the question was it easy, yes it was!  At that point I just wanted to feel better.  I wanted to feel human and alive.  So I said no more. 

Then, at weeks 9, 10 & 11, when I was feeling better than I had in a long time, I started to crave Pepsi again.  I had never gone this long without it.  So if I was going to slip up this would've been the perfect oppourtunity.  Luckily, I could remember just how disgusting it made me feel and I knew if I had made it that far then I could tough it out. So, no, during those weeks I struggled.

I had tried to quit before and always suffered the withdrawl effects but I have to say this go-round it was surprisingly painless.  I was sure to drink plenty of water to keep hydrated.

So here's to 113 days...and counting!!

What goals can I set for myself next?

Wednesday 13 July 2011

Summer Means Homeschool Planning for Next Year

As I've yattered on in previous posts, I am on vacation but I still need to take a little time to get some homeschool subjects tackled for the next school year. 

I brought grammar and world history with me.  We are going to use Building English Skills for grammar and writing.  The outline I was given starts the year with one and ends the year with the other.  I didn't like that much so I divided it up into grammar AND writing to be done each day.  That way we can take more time with both and not be rushing at the end of the year.

The world history that I am looking at is History of the World by Abeka.  It was given to me so I am still looking at it and deciding.  The only thing missing is the student text but it looks like the teacher's book will work fine.  Now to see if I can find an outline for it.

We are using Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra for math which I pre-ordered at our homeschooling conference in the spring so that should be waiting for us when we get home.

We are using Apologia for Science.  They include a list (by modules) of materials needed for the experiments so I'd like to get a head start on gathering everything.  It's pretty much basic items that we have around the house but I will need to buy some things.  I plan to designate a container for those items so when we are ready for an experiment we know just where to look.

Well enough talking and typing about it!  I should be reading and writing about it! :)

Canadian Couponing

I joined a Canadian Couponing group online.  Well, I guess it is more than just a couponing group.  They also update about contests, freebies & rebates.

One of the great things about the group is the fact that members can post coupons they don't want and ask for coupons they are looking for.  I was able to get $93.00 worth of coupons, that someone else doesn't need, that I will use.  All I had to do was send her 2 postage stamps for every $10 in coupons I wanted.  So I mailed away 18 new, unused postage stamps and she will send me my coupons.  Yay!!  Can't wait!!

Tuesday 12 July 2011

Deals! Deals! & More Deals!!

I'm on vacation but that didn't stop me from couponing!!

Today I bought 8 bottles (250ml) Old Spice & Gillette shower gel @ $2.00 each and I had $10.00 in coupons so I only paid $4.00 for 7 bottles...less than a .60 cents per bottle!!

I bought a couple of products that I hadn't tried before.  Since I had a coupon and the final price was reasonable I decided to give it a try.  One was Tide to Go pen ...$3.97- $1.00 coupon & the other was Resolve stain Remover...I think it was $4 or $5 with a $1.00 coupon making it $3 or $4

I have searched high & low to find Iams trial size dog food and finally, while vacationing in another province, I found it!!!!!!  $1.99 a bag and I had 3x $2.00 off any size bag so I got 3 bags of it for FREE!!!  Sadly, our dog passed away on May1 of this year but I will either donate it to the animal shelter, food bank or to family or friend who have a dog.

Hmmmm....what else did I use a coupon on...Ladies shave gel $1.50 used a $1.00 off coupon making it .50 cents, can of cat food .98 cents used a .50 cents off coupon making it .48 cents.  I also bought a small pack of Pampers baby wipes $2.47 minus a $1.00 coupon and I bought a larger tub of Huggies baby wipes $3.47 minus a $1.00 coupon.  These are great for us as we are on vacation and it's nice to have something to wash our hands with while travelling.

The deals aren't over yet folks!

I stumbled upon a Dollar store that was going out of business and I got a package of Crayola markers, 2 packages of Student Reward pockets & 2 packages of party favors for my son's upcoming birthday party...all 30 % off . I only paid a bit over $5.00

And the deal of the day is....drum roll please!!!

Carlton cards was selling their overstocked cards 5/$1.00.  Mother's day, Father's day, Graduation, Easter, Valentine's day & Christmas.  I stocked up!!  I bought 20 cards that totaled over $107.00 after tax but I paid only $4.60 after tax!  That's about a 96% savings!  Now that's HUGE!