i had such high hopes for this week. i was going to eat cleanly, do laundry, go jogging EVERY DAY… this week was the week that would make up for the other 51 weeks that i spend mired in guilt not doing any of the things on my “to do” list. this week was going to CHANGE EVERYTHING.
it started well.
i jogged, i cooked, i paid overdue medical bills. i wrote every day. i ate so many vegetables! Read the rest of this entry »
it’s no secret that i love me some free stuff. now i’ve proclaimed my love for vocalpoint many a time… as i have long considered it the king of the product testing/free shit sites with their seductive full size samples and fistfuls of high value coupons. except that lately, vocalpoint has left me a little cold. i mean how many boxes of kashi cereal can one girl really eat? oh, and the bounce dryer bar was just about the stupidest invention EVER. but i suppose even like 100 lame lowes coupons are better than a completely barren landscape. i had tried kraft first taste and pssst! but got a big fat delivery of BUNK. even myblogspark has forsaken me!
but a few months back, i saw a post on ilovetogossip regarding a service i had never heard about… bzzagent. basically it was the same old song and dance where they say they’ll send you free products, in exchange for tweeting that shit up, or writing about it on your blog. but then, all they offered me for like months and month was a crappy free redbox rental. boo! but a couple of weeks ago… THEY FINALLY SENT ME SOMETHING THAT I WANTED!
last week my coupons & “press kit” for thomas’ bagel thins arrived in the mail. a $4/1 coupon, 5 $1/1 coupons, some educational materials, and of course, not 1 but 3 bagel shaped magnets. it’s no secret that i’m in a perpetual state of vaguely trying to lose weight. i also have a deep and unquenchable lust for bagels. thus, a free bag of 110 calorie diet bagels seemed like an awesome idea. and in many ways, it was. here are 5 things i learned about bagel thins from my recent quality time alone with them: Read the rest of this entry »
was i supposed to be on some sort of cash diet or something? it was sort of like i blacked out and woke up in a ditch and all my money was gone, except for the part where that didn’t happen. bring on the carelessness! my attempts to majorly rein in my spending this month somehow completely derailed this week as i proceeded to make exception after exception after exception…
exception #1: sister and her husband came to visit from albany. delicious barbecue dinner (split with the boyfriend) -$50
exception #2: sister’s visit ran concurrently with my niece’s 2nd birthday. dora the explorer microphone -$15
exception #3: accidental impulse purchase of coveted belt at target while buying dora microphone- $16
exception #4: purchased gas for friend who keeps hauling my ass home from dance class- $20
exception #5: bought a compilation of oldies on itunes to sing in the car with my little sister (she’s a living oldies encyclopedia)- $27
total damage: $128 (on top of the allotted $50 i spent on tomfoolery earlier in the week).
looking back on them all, only the belt (which i do love and have been stalking for many months) counts in my mind as a true foible. gas, gifts, and time spent with loved ones (especially loved ones who live 5 hours and 11 minutes away and never visit) hardly qualify as mistakes, so why do i feel so guilty about it? it’s roughly the same feeling that i get whenever i cheat on a diet:
i am only very slightly overweight. but, i remember what it feels like to weigh 25 lbs. less, and i miss those days with great desperation and self criticism that indicates that i will never be happy in my current skin. i even know how to lose weight (what i should eat, how much exercise). however, whenever the part about sacrifice and sucking it up rolls around… i fold like the foldiest folding chair that ever folded. out roll the excuses about how i’m going to start tomorrow, had a hard day, or how a few more calories won’t hurt. i am the motherfucking excuse master. somewhere in my stupid head (even though i think i want otherwise), i know that i’m “not that fat”. i am normal and passable (acceptable even!) to most in a way that makes the urgency less um… urgent.
with money, i have a lot of debt, i have minimal savings (thank you stupid fucking roof), and i have a strong desire for financial freedom… but i also have enough income to pay my bills and go out on the town when i want to . as long as my bills are paid, i don’t HAVE to put any of that money toward my debt or my savings, and i don’t. there will always be an excuse to spend more and save less because i’m selfish and lazy and don’t want to give up any immediate quality of life- even if it means my quality of life will be infinitely better in the long run. i understand, but i don’t “get it”.
what is it about money and food (consumption!) that leave me so completely powerless and in a perpetual state of treading water? and furthermore, is there some sort of suze orman/jillian michaels hybrid (terrifying!) who will come to my house and scream at me to get real? i can see the problem so clearly, but the solution is nowhere to be found. it’s not as simple as “eat less” or “spend less”, that doesn’t work for me. but what will?
at some point this winter, i signed up to run a 5k. at the time, it seemed like june was terribly far away and that the exercise and diet required to be able to take on such a task were no real threat to my sedentary and butter-hoovering ways. well, it’s may 3rd today, and that gives me exactly 1 month to peel my ass off the couch and get moving. this realization crashed down on me this weekend when i received an email from the maine cancer foundation, letting me know that the race was on the 3rd, NOT the 25th as i had somehow randomly deluded myself into believing. and for emphasis, i had to break down and buy a pair of size 12 jeans (see below re: old navy binge), after my well broken in (and stretched out apparently) size 10s suffered a catastrophic crotch blowout. yep, i’m getting chunky and out of shape. yep, if i’m gonna haul this carcass 3.1 miles in 1 month, i should probably get it together.
for a little back story, i used to run all the time. 3-4 miles a few times a week in between yoga and pilates and other such fitness nonsense. i was in good shape, really good shape. and i was a size 6. ouch. ok, those size six days may be gone forever (time to inject at least a little reality into the situation), but the point is that i know how to be fit. i know how to exercise. i know how to run. i just have to remember how to get off my ass and do it.
fortuitously, the boyfriend also seems to finally be ready to get back into the groove (we fell for each other when we started running together a few years ago), and specifically requested that we try to eat some lower calorie food this week. we even went for a little jog around mackworth island on sunday morning. it was a rough 1.25 miles, but we didn’t have to stop, and both made it back to the car alive. i think that’s a good sign that we both still have a little running potential hidden underneath the fat. now we just need to keep it up.
after our jog, we hit the shaw’s for some healthy food buying. goodbye pot pie… cheesy polenta casserole… biscuits and gravy… hello fruits, vegetables, and lean protein. i’m feeling inspired by the coupon goddess and her summer slim down detox. and without any real coupon pre-planning, i still ended up picking up a few sweet (marginally healthy deals) this weekend.
healthy harvest pasta is on sale for $1.49, and with the $.75/1 coupon from the 4/11 smartsource doubled, i got 2 boxes for free.
land o’ lakes cage free eggs were $2.99 this week, and i had a $.50/1 from somewhere that made them a mere $2. almost as cheap as regular eggs!
lindsay olives recloseable tubs are currently $1.69, and with a $1/1 that i got in a recent newspaper insert, i snagged mine for $.69.
think thin bars are on sale for $1.99 (if you can call a $2 granola bar a sale…), but if you were able to snag those $.50/1 printables from a while back (now no longer available), you could have gotten them for $.99 each after doubling, which is almost reasonable! i got 3, and i’m really hoping that they’re not gross. (any thoughts?)
**UPDATE** the lovely lynn @ the portland penny pincher has alerted us to the fact that the $.50/1 think thin coupon is still active on their site!! also, it’s a PDF, so NO PRINT LIMIT!! eat up.
i also grabbed a couple of things at the super walmart…
if you haven’t signed up for kraft first taste yet, you totally need to. there’s a great $1/1 coupon off philadelphia cream cheese minis right now (philly has finally gotten into the 100 calorie game), and priced at $1.99, they’re definitely worth beta testing for $.99. did i mention that i’ll try pretty much anything once if it’s under $1?
lastly, if you were able to print all those great dvd coupons that were hanging out on coupons.com last month (no longer available), i scored a copy of in her shoes for $3. ok, kind of a sucky movie, but i looooooooves the crappy chick flicks. and for $3 (regularly $5 with a $2/1 coupon), i can afford to give it to goodwill in a few months when i decide that i’m embarrassed about buying it.
on a related (and less shameful) note, if anyone knows where i can get cheapy copies of some like it hot and the graduate for low low prices, i still have $2/1 coupons for those burning a hole in my coupon folder.
oh lent. as a lapsed catholic who’s been lapsed for longer than she was actually ever catholic in the first place (8th grade graduation from st. mary’s in augusta was the last time i went to church and never looked back), you wouldn’t think that the whole lent deal would be my thing. maybe it’s nostalgia for my nun-riddled past (remember that time that sister anne marie’s habit fell of in 3rd grade? priceless!)? wait no, definitely not.
it’s probably just that i am always willing and excited to “accept the physical challenge“, religious or secular. lent is like a game to me, a game of self-denial and physical/emotional limits (depending on what you’re giving up), with a built in team of players to provide the necessary solidarity to make giving up something that you love for 40 days actually kind of fun.
this year, on account of my fatness, i’m giving up sugar- or rather sweet food. i’m not going to go all nuts and not eat ketchup or anything just because it has a bit of high fructose corn syrup in it. but definitely no desserts, sugar cereals, vitamin waters, crappy girl drinks ending in -tini, bank lollipops, nothin. i have high hopes for how this next 40 days will affect my physical bottom line (as in my ass- currently stuffed sausage-style into double digit pants), as well as my financial bottom line. i’m pretty sure i spend a lot of money on garbage food (ancient m&ms from the flea market vending machine!), and not so garbage food (two fat cats!). much of it/most of it on impulse. people always whine about whole foods/whole paycheck being so expensive- but obesity has a pretty price tag of its own. *UPDATE* i just accidentally spent $14 at the whole foods on gelato, snackimals, vegan buffalo wings, and little lad’s herbal corn– I’M HOPELESS!
it’s ash wednesday people, and lent starts now (or on monday for those of us who don’t want our foxwoods trip ruined by abstaining from the dessert cart at the all-you-can-eat buffet ). anyone else on board for 40 days of something-less-ness?
it’s not secret that i’ve gotten fat this past year. almost 30 lbs. really. it’s a long and tragic story that doesn’t necessarily need to be shared right now, but the fact of the matter is that i need to be more diligent with what i stuff in my cramhole. despite the disappointing fare in this week’s shaw’s flier, i did still manage to score a few good deals. however, as the diet is to start tomorrow (and less calories invariably equals more money), i did end up spending more than i would have preferred. although all in the name of restoring my health (and my pants size).
the wins:
i managed to print 4 more $.55/1 coupons, got 4 more cans of old el paso green chiles (on sale for $1 each), and made $.40 profit.
i also printed out 2 old el paso heat and serve sides coupons for $.50/1 @ coupons.com to go along with the $1/1 coupon i clipped from the 1/3 smartsource. also on sale for $1 each, i got all 3 for free.
sadly, the breakstones sour cream was not on sale in my neck of the woods, but @ $1.79 with a $.55/1 coupon (also from coupons.com), $.69 for a 16 oz. container is still good stuff. (and i printed out an extra in the hope that i can get a better deal next week).
the classico alfredo sauce was also on sale this week for $1.99, so i put that buy one alfredo get one pasta sauce coupon from the 1/10 smartsource to work, and got them both for $1 each.
hostess 100 calorie packs were on sale for $2.69, and that $.75/1 coupon (again from coupons.com- nice work this week guys!) doubled to make them $1.19. score!
i also grabbed that free sack of yoplait smoothie mix. i don’t know where my blender is right now, but i’ll make it work. has anyone tried this shit yet? is it good?
i’m not sure why i included them in the picture, but the lipton soup mix (soon to be veggie dip with the sour cream) cost $1.69 with a $1/2 coupon from the 11/15 red plum (so old!). $1.19 each. not that great, but way cheaper than the marzetti dip singles that i’ve been buying for like $4 a pop.
i also took advantage of the free grapefruits when you buy two ocean spray grapefruit juices. not a great deal @ 2 for $5 with no coupon (that’s why i put it in the pile of shame picture), but i need to get more produce in my diet.
the rest was just random lunch and dinner accessories. $29.14 for $48.62 in groceries. considering i used to spend $80 a week on bullshit, i’ll take it!
broke 207 