Being Prepared, Thinking Ahead, Saving LOTS of money!

I will say that I shop a LOT! Now that doesn't mean I buy a lot but I think you have to be out there to find the deals and snag the deals.

I do not buy stuff to randomly buy stuff because that does not save us any money. However, there are some things that I know we are going to use and I might as well stock up at a killer price while I can.

I always check out Target and Walmart several weeks after school starts pretty much around Labor Day. SCORE! See the notebooks? $.10 each at Target! The bigger 5 subject notebooks I was able to get for $1.37 each! Now one thing I know is my kids will need more throughout the year and if we still have some left next year even better!

We also needs lots of paper and folders. The folders I was able to get for $.05 each and the notebook paper for $.18 each!!

Ok so the pic is upside down but here are some pencil pouches that I picked up for $.75 each which were 75% off! I bought several because the kids need them and I also may give them to my Christmas Angels with some school supplies to go along with their cool gifts!

So anywho... to snag the deals you have to be out to grab the deals. So just pop in and out with an agenda to not buy anything that you won't use and to not buy anything that isn't clearance. It is surely a scoping trip! I try to sit on it a day or so to make sure I don't impulse buy but there are some times when I just have to snag the deals!

Back to School

School has already started for us! Can you believe this? Well we go year round so they get about 6 weeks off in the summer and then back to school in July we went!

I just can't believe it! Here they are getting all grown up and starting into 6th and 8th grade!

Leave it to my youngest to wear a flannel shirt back to school in July in Arizona!

Like so many other people in need so are our schools. It is sad, it is crazy, and honestly it makes me angry to think that our teachers and schools do not have the supplies they need to help our kids learn.

This year in addition to the tissues, paper towels, pencils, extra paper, markers, and pens I also decided to send some cleaning supplies. I know they normally ask for sanitizing wipes and cleaners because they need these basic supplies for their classrooms!

This year I discovered a great line of non-toxic cleaners that really have changed the way I clean, do laundry, as well as just live our lives.

I sent in the Shaklee Basic H2 Organic Cleaner for each of the teachers my kids have this year.  This bottle of Basic H2 Organic Cleaner will last your teachers for a very long time. I have been using the same size bottle for the last 6 months and I have only used 1/4 of the bottle.

The Basic H2 Organic Cleaner would be the donation that keeps giving to the teachers all year long!

Shaklee also has Get Clean Germ Off Fragrance Free Wipes which are great cleaning wipes and cleans off germs!

Since my kiddos are in P.E. this year and they wash their uniforms or athletic uniforms I have also decided to donate some of the Shaklee Fresh Laundry Detergent and Get Clean Soft Fabric Fragrance Free Sheets. I know these products are safe and do not leave any harmful residue on the clothes.

So as we gear up for your new school year - think about what you are going to donate to your school, your teachers, your kids school year!

Are you a teacher? Send me an email to codyhaley106@gmail.com and I will send you a free sample of Shaklee Basic H2 Organic Cleaner for your class reunion!

LAST DAY!! LAST DAY!! LAST DAY!!

For what you ask?

A FREE Membership to Shaklee!!

I know you have seen me clean LOTS of stuff! It seems never ending and well I guess it is never ending. I swear my dang laundry procreates before I can get it into the washing machine!

Well Shaklee has a LOT of different items but they are all created with health in mind! Healthy Homes, Nutrition, Beauty, Weight Loss/Control, Baby Items and lots more!

I have tried many products! I am VERY happy with the nutrition line.

My hubby and I have been taking the Shaklee Vitalizer Essential Nutrition. There are different packs. The one pictured is really more suited for men but I have been taking them too because like you we like to test things before we invest our money in a product. There is a Vitalizer for Women that has added Iron as well as a Vitalizer Gold for those 50+ in age.

I have to say that we both are already feeling better and have more energy! Even my hubby (which has been a skeptic) said after about a week that he felt so much better, awake, energized!

I have been sick the last couple of months so I knew it is important as ever to make sure I am getting all the vitamins and nutrients to stay healthy. Just click above to take a moment to just check it out. Shaklee is the #1 Nutrition Company in the United States!

They come in these really cool packs for each day. The vitamins and minerals are released through their S.M.A.R.T delivery system. The nutrients are not released until they need to be in the right place in your digestive track.

We also have the Shaklee NutriFeron - this is a patented clinically proven system that activates your immune system defenses!

Do you want some Reusable Go Green Shopping Bags!? Shaklee has some awesome reusable bags! I bought a set of 6!

Here are some of my favorite products too! I love the Hair Products and Body Wash!  They have a light fresh scent! But even better they do not contain harmful chemicals.

Another one of my favorite products! The Get Clean Nature Bright is great for laundry stains and I have also used in my shampoo with the Basic H2 Organic All Purpose Cleaner and it works great!

So as you can tell, I love this stuff! I want you to just give it a try if you would like to try it out.

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY - to take advantage of the Free Membership with a $30 purchase (at member prices). There are no minimums to maintain your membership and the membership provides you with a 15% discount on the products.

Better yet, these products are healthy! They are non-toxic and I am so glad that I don't cough any more when I am trying to clean - especially in those tight places like the shower.

So just take 2 minutes to check it out HERE!!!!!



Savings, Cleaning, and Madness

Being a wife, a mother, a working mother, the list goes on and on. What doesn't change is HOW BUSY WE ARE!  It just seems the to-do list never ends. Part of this is because I will admit, I am type A, anal retentive, and over the top on some things. But I can't help that I just want my family to have the fullest life ever but on a budget!

I get asked a lot how I coupon, how do I get all the savings. Well.. Bottom line- it is a LOT of work. But it is work that pays off and pays us back!

It starts with LOTS of coupons.

My suggestion is to print your coupons off the Internet every week even if the items aren't on sale at the time. Normally the coupons do not expire for some time. I even print for items I may not normally buy because if I can get them free it is a great opportunity to try a new product or even get the products for free and donate them..

There are different websites I use to get coupons. Since I most shop at Fry's I also hit the blogs that give the details to the sales each week. I do try to link them up to my blog so you can visit the blogs as well. Here are a few I visit. Many of the blogs don't just highlight the stores I use, or stores on the West Coast - so make sure you check them out!

http://coupons.smartsource.com/smartsource/index.jsp?Link=5S2ZUA6PWPEPO

http://coupons.allyou.com/Couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=14803&nid=10&zid=rd17&cid=14549007&bid=ccr015uyfgtdke8936625310

http://coupons.target.com/mcp/pd.cfm?encp=bw3Edh8NsU3vzmfu%2BCqxk1gE5kAdfbx6dC45DH8m6FuvNQDwYVl3xOH31DkRj79yzb%2BSNmiA403U%0D%0Ak0Vud5AkAA%3D%3D&ref=nav_footer_coupons

http://dashingfordeals.com/

http://dealseekingmom.com/

These are just a few of the sites I visit. Again, I print every week because often time the coupons you get this week will be something that goes on sale in a few weeks.

I also buy a Sunday paper every week. I have read that the rule of thumb is to buy one paper for each person in your house.

Make sure you print out and know your stores coupon policy. For instance Fry's is really special. Right now they make all manufacturer coupons a dollar. They also will accept competitor coupons and they will let you stack one competitor coupon on top of a manufactorer coupon. This can create really big savings!

Here's a tip - If you have a buy one get one free (BOGO) coupon and a store is having a BOGO sale - both items end of being FREE!!

OK here's another little dirty secret. Sometimes I go coupon shopping! I know I am insane. If I am in town and pass a grocery store and I have a few minutes I will go in and walk the aisles and if I see any peely coupons or tear off coupons I will go ahead and get some of the coupons to build my grocery shopping list.

Start organizing those coupons!

I took a BIG binder and bought business card holders (my mom suggested baseball card holders, may  be better!) and then I organized them into sheets of relevant items. I tried to make it where I could at least see a picture to make it quicker to get through while I am at the store.

It is Madness I know!

I went shopping with my list - I detail it to the cents. I try to have it as accurate as possible. I bought $296.99 worth of groceries and paid $88.02! Just a little of what I bought was 16 bags of potato chips, 10 Vitamin waters, 2 Boxes rice krispies, bananas, bread, milk, 4 - 6pk Diet Coke bottles, Kitty litter, cat food,, dog food, 5 boxes of pasta, 2 Ragu, 2 packages of sandwhich meat, 18 Power bar, 2 boxes granola bars and MORE!

Well I have covered couponing and part of our madness! I will post another post soon about cleaning!

One thing I have done is switched all of my cleaning products and my laundry and dish cleaners over to Safe, Non-Toxic Shaklee! I love it! The products are so concentrated that it isn't expensive to switch over and it is healthier for your home and for our environment! Right now till May 20th if you buy $30 worth of products at member price you will get a free membership with No minimums to buy ever! I promise once you try it you will love it! Check out my site at http://lawsonshealthyliving.myshaklee.com/

My Home WAS Toxic

I honestly thought I was keeping a really clean home. I am very anal specific to having things cleaned a specific way. I want to know my house is clean and safe. Little did I realize that the cleaners I was using weren't so safe and I was actually making my breathing air worse for my family. If you have read my blog you know that not only do I have asthma but I have been having other lung issues.

I am super happy I found Shaklee and the natural, safe, non-toxic products. AND I found some great vitamins with Shaklee which already I am super happy to know I am building a healthy body to live in my healthy safe home!  PLEASE read this is super important!

A number of studies have pointed to an association between these toxic household fumes and childhood asthma, but I'd like to focus on one particularly good study on this topic that was published recently in the European Respiratory Journal (31: 54-57, 2008).

This study measured the household chemical exposure of 7,162 pregnant women in England and looked at the incidence of asthma in their children at age 8.5 years.

A maternal composite household chemical exposure (CHCE) score was derived by measuring the pregnant mother's exposure to a number of common household products known to contain toxic chemicals.

The household products used most frequently were disinfectants (87.4%), bleach (84.8%), aerosols (71.7%), air fresheners (68%), window cleaners (60.5%), carpet cleaners (35.3%) and pesticides/insecticides (21.2%).

For information on the toxic chemicals in these and other common household products visit:

http://www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/products.htm)

What does that mean to you and me?

It means that it is not enough to select household products that are safe for the environment.

We also need to select products that we use in our homes on the basis of their safety for us and our family - not just on the basis of cost and convenience.

This info is from Dr. Stephen G Chaney.

What should you do?

Start by getting rid of ALL of your toxic cleaners in your home.  Read all the labels.  Are there words you can’t pronounce?  Are these ingredients harmful to your health?

Ask your city were you can dispose of these chemicals.  Think about it,  if your city has special dumping requirements for these products, then why do you have them in your home?

Replace with natural, non-toxic cleaners that will not be harmful to your health or the health of our planet.  

 When you use Get Clean, you’re never simply cleaning. While you make your home cleaner, you can make your family healthier. You also make the planet healthier for other families as well.

Start enjoying a cleaner, healthier, greener home!

To order or for more information about Shaklee’s Get Clean Line, please visit my online Shaklee Shop today!

Dr. Stephen Chaney received his B.S. Degree in Chemistry from Duke University and his Ph.D. Degree in Biochemistry from UCLA. He is currently Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and the Department of Nutri- tion at the University of North Carolina where he teaches first year medical and dental students. He ran an active cancer re- search program for 37 years. He has published 97 papers and 12 reviews in peer-reviewed scientific journals as well as two chapters on nutrition for one of the leading biochemistry textbooks for medical students. He has been named “Basic Science Teacher of the Year” several times by the first year medical students and currently holds the Medical Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professorship for the period 2005 to 2009.

Car? Truck? Spoiled? I need help!

So I am a super lucky woman! I know that I am lucky, fortunate, and very blessed with all the things I have in my life and I am SO the luckiest to have my kids and my man! 

However, sometimes a girl needs wants to have a little something new! My husband and I have been debating getting a new vehicle. Now, we are really striving to keep our financial house in order. We feel like we do pretty good (I won't go all into that now maybe another blog later). But we made one decision that wasn't in our nature but we were stuck in a hard place. So currently I have a 2008 Red Jetta -

OK so this isn't my actual car but looks just like it - you get the picture!

My Jetta is paid down to where we are barely upside down on the loan (remember I said that we got into a spot before that we normally don't - so we are upside down). However, I have been making extra payments whenever I can to try to get it at least even with the market. So my car is 3 years old and I have 75,000 miles! Yes, high miles but up until 6 months ago I was driving 60 miles round trip just to work!

My husband has a 2004 Ford F150

Again - not our exact truck but pretty darn close!

(again - I know we are so lucky to have 2 super nice vehicles - so don't be going and judging me because I want something new lol! - well judge away I guess but still doesn't change I want something new!)

Now his truck is paid off but has about 108,000 miles on it. We have always said we don't want more than 1 car payment and we are actually trying to get to a point where we will not have any payment for a few years since we will have teenagers coming up in the next few years.

He has mentioned a few times about getting me a new vehicle (did I mention from time to time my AC doesn't want to kick in for about 10 minutes and remember I live in Southern AZ - can you say 110degrees in the summer?) So here poses my BIG dilemma!

Do I want to try to get a new vehicle and pay the heck out of it and get it paid off so we can then buy him a new truck? OR do I just try to pay my car off and get him a new truck?

Here are the 2 vehicles I am totally in love with! Now they are VERY different but as a mom I am sure some of you will be able to totally understand my line of thinking!

This is the 2011 Black KIA Sorento! This SUV has a third row option so you can sit 7 people! That is what I am in LOVE with about this vehicle! I think it is a sweet looking mid size SUV and sort of looks like a cross between the Lexus and Infinity SUV but not near the price. I have seen MSRP on the one with the third row for between 25K and up! I am not a girl that needs all the bells and whistles necessarily. But if I am going to get this vehicle I want the third row seating.

Here's a good pic but not in black but you get the idea!

The second vehicle that I LOVE was actually introduced to me by my man! So he is totally at fault for me wanting a new vehicle (well at least partially) I had never seen the Volkswagen CC before he pulled it up on the internet and showed me. This is totally opposite than the KIA Sorento!

Ever seen this car?

Something about the interior just sucks me in!

Depending on the features you want to get with this vehicle the 2011 Volkswagen CC Sport gets started at around 30K maybe could get a little cheaper if I went with the 2010 model, which I do like but the 2009 looks a little different.

So what's a girl to do? I want to hear what you would do? What do you think I should do? FYI - My husband LOVES the CC but he isn't a fan of the Sorento. I love both for different reasons. OR do I just pay the Jetta off and try to drive it till the wheels fall off and get my man a new truck?

Tween Bathroom - Loving It!

We have been in our house for 3 1/2 years now and other than changing the shower curtain a few times the kids bathroom has been pretty much the same. One of the struggles we have is that both Cody and Haley share the same bathroom so it has to be a neutral type of theme. I try to get them to compromise but Cody finally said, "whatever Haley wants" I told him to quit giving me a classic man answer. Ended up he did let her have more her way but we still tried to incorporate colors he would like as well.

Before- I had bought the letters and we painted them. The pictures are pictures the kids painted on these canvas and I framed them with frames I already had and painted black.

Black, White, Red, and Gray

Pictures of our family that lives far away. We did the prints in black and white to add to the color scheme.

We started cleaning. Oh and by the way, I am using up the cleaning supplies I have because I think I am going to switch over to Shaklee. Never heard of it? Well I hadn't but check it out at my friend Erin's Blog.(and I have some great info on mine as well!) I am finding that I am loving it and I bought the Gold Premier but you can also just sign up to be a Member which right now with a $30.00 purchase the membership fee of $19.95  is waived with no minimum to ever buy again (but I know you will love these products!). You see that 409 in the background - it is NO more! As soon as I started using that stuff I started coughing again!

Yes, we can't help but join the bandwagon we do love the Zebra print!

The little things can really make the look. So we bought the lime green shower hooks. We went with lime green because Cody liked it and we wanted to try to compromise.

I bought the ribbon but decided on a DIY to transform the q-tip holder.

Changing up the red picture frame mat to be lime green. Haley worked on this project.

I am sure you are wondering what this is. Well seems my kids like millions so many others struggle to remember some basic hygiene tasks. So I used a white board marker to make a to-do list on the medicine cabinet mirror.

We used the same ribbon and glue gun to pretty up this candle (for appearances only).

Still working and figuring it all out.

We are getting there.

It's looking good and coming together (notice my cutie kitty!)

Daily items (the buckets are from the dollar bin at Target)

No more red!

Click here to find out how to be a Member or a Distributor!

Free Membership with a $30.00 purchase. No requirements ever! Check this out for your health, your family's, and keeping our Earth Green!

Let's Celebrate Earth day this month of April!