Couponing is fun! Here's how to start......

The first thing to do is friend "Passion For Savings" on facebook. This site is awesome. She does coupon matchups each week based on the upcoming Sunday inserts and sales at each store. Look for a coupon database and see what inserts will be available in the paper (some weeks there are NO coupons and some weeks there are tons). If you want to get extreme - buy more papers. Here is a link to this week's coupons (this is a good week to get a couple papers!) Passion For Savings also has a Couponing 101 class for free on her website. http://www.sundaycouponpreview.com

The other facebook page that I use is "Heavenly Steals". She is really good about posting freebies and deals. Both of these pages also allow you to subscribe to newsletters to be delivered via email. There are a lot of couponing pages on facebook - just look for what works for you. With Heavenly Steals I have scored free panties - free razors, free lotions, lots of stuff - and not junk - good brand name items! She will also post Facebook deals that pop up - just be sure to jump on them as soon as you see them because they usually go fast.

Go to the websites of your favorite brand names (Olay, Shick, Campbells......) Often times they will have promotions and printable coupons available on their site. Printable coupons are all over the internet - just do a google search for them. I use Redplum, Smartsource, and Proctor & Gamble. These sites are the same companies that produce the Sunday inserts - so I know that their coupons are not fraudulant.

I do not stock pile due to space and the fact that I don't see a reason to do that. But I have been able to get one product ahead of our toiletries so that I know we will never run out of anything.

Phew! That's a lot of info - but there is a lot more. Just ask me anything - I will help you all I can!

Keep watching for more posts on couponing and organizing!

I'm baaaack!

Well, it has been close to a year since I have posted a new update on my blog. I guess time has just gotten away from me. Did you ever notice how the faster time goes, the faster time goes? It's crazy!

I am thinking about changing my blog a bit to suit my current ambitions and interests. Most likely - I will be blogging about parenting. It seems most of my world - other than work hours - revolves around making wise decisions when it comes to our daughter's future. In the last year - (which is only her first year as a teenager), we have dealt with more issues than I think I dealt with my whole career as a teen; But times have changed - and now more than ever we parents need to share our concerns, share our thoughts, and basically allow each other a good scream once in awhile.

So that is the direction I am going. I will warn you before I scream - I promise.

By the way - I am open to suggestions for a clever title for my new parenting blog. Stay tuned!

Differences Part 2

There were so many little things that were different in Europe. Here is a list of things that we compiled over the course of our trip.

They don't use mustard.

Driving 220 mph on the Autobahn.

We heard church bells at noon and 6 p.m. everyday - from all directions.

Restaurants only serve lunch until 2 p.m. - after that it's just beverages and snacks - no meals.

Ice is not common - you have to request it in your beverages.

No free drink refills anywhere.

You pay for a glass of water.

Windows open in.

Air conditioners are very uncommon.

Windows do not have screens.

Most cars are compact.

Roofs are made with a lot of different materials (ie: sea weed)

There are wind turbines every where.

Woman cover their legs and show more cleavage.

Weird bug bites

A pharmacy is only a pharmacy - no Walgreens or CVS type stores.

Men wear capris & carry bags.

Grocery stores do not provide bags (ever been to Aldis? Same thing everywhere in Europe.)

Fountain pens are used regularly.

Pornographic materials are right out front for all to see.

There were solar panels everywhere.

You have to pay to use most public toilets.

Light switches are buttons that you push.

Toilets have two buttons to flush - one for little stuff - and one for BIG stuff.

Europeans don't wear white sneakers unless they are exercising.

They have Mercedes taxis!

The birds sound different.

They have alot of bike paths between towns.

Sparkling water (like club soda) is a common beverage - most homes keep it on hand.

Plastic bottles can be redeemed for euros almost anywhere. They have a special machine that you put the bottle in - and it spits your euros out.

Now that you have information overload - I'll finish by saying that Europe has a lot of customs we should adopt here in America, especially the conservative ones. They do everything they can to save energy including having different toilet flushes for different size loads! No wonder their economy is - well - not like ours.

Differences

When we boarded the plane in Detroit - there were three customs agents standing there. They were picking people at random and frisking them. Ashley was so scared they were going to pick her. She clutched her stuffed dog and her bag and proceeded through the line of people. When we got to where the customs agents were - one of them (a lady) looked at her with a straight face and said, "may I see that dog please?" Ashley turned pale white - looked at me - and handed the lady her dog. The agent frisked the dog, handed it back to Ashley and winked at her. As we were walking away - the other agents were laughing. Apparently they like to freak kids out.

When we got to Germany - we walked off the plane. We got our luggage. We looked around. We actually asked a security guard where we should go. He pointed to the exit. No frisking, no declaring, no customs anything! We were dumb founded. We had prepared for anything and everything - and nothing happened. NOTHING! Until we came home - to our country of citizenship - where we have lived our entire lives. I tell you what - this country does not mess around in the airports. We should feel very safe.

When we walked off the plane - we entered a large - empty room. The only thing in there was 5 customs agents and 3 dogs. We were instructed to form a single file line against the wall. Every single person was looked up and down from head to toe. The dog sniffed every single person. If the dog sat down next to you - it wasn't because he liked you. We only saw this happen to one person. He was asked to step forward - the dog sniffed him again - and this time the dog moved on. PHEWWWWW!

When we got done with that - we got in a line to declare our purchases. We had everything itemized just like we were supposed to. We handed the papers to the customs agent - they stamped it - and we moved on..... to the next check. That went just as smoothly. So after three customs checks - we were able to leave the airport. Quite a difference from just a few short years ago when we pretty much just got our luggage and left.

There were a lot of other things that were different too. Look for part two of this post for that. My fingers are getting tired!

I'm taking a little break from sharing our trip to share this slide show. Ashley just turned 13. She is my pride and joy and she is turning into a beautiful young lady. Enjoy.

The North Sea, More Food, and Whatever else I feel like posting

Well - I just realized that a lot of the pics in the last post were already posted - so since I have time - I am going to do a random post of some other things we did on our trip.

We went to the North Sea, a very interesting place. When the tide goes out - it goes out miles. So all that is left is mud - lots and lots of mud. There are actually tour guides that will give "mud" tours. This is because if you don't know what you are doing - you can get stuck when the tide comes in. Here are some pictures of Ashley enjoying the North Sea Mud.

Then there were the festivals and again - the food. Here is a picture of me in a Drindl eating some sort of fish at a Bavarian Festival.

It was really good! Can you tell?

Here is Judith playing barmaid.

Of course we couldn't resist this photo opp.

And I think this pretzel is actually bigger than Ashley's head!

And last but not least here is Josh eating a Feuerwurst at a winefest. This was something that he was told he HAD to try. I think he liked it!

And if Castles are your thing....

We saw a lot of awesome castles in Germany. Many of them were under construction - which is probably an ongoing thing when you have a building that covers 5 acres and is 800 years old!

This one was in Heidelberg. It was under major construction. But I did manage to get some really cool shots. I love taking pictures of abstract architecture.

I accidentally got this guy's profile in my picture. He's kinda cute though isn't he?

We also visited this castle - but I don't remember what city it was in.

And this is the Swan Castle. This is on the grounds of Neuschwanstein. Neuschwanstein is the castle that was the model for The Disney Castle.

Unfortuantely the pictures we took of Neuschwanstein are on Judith's camera. I will post them as soon as we get them transferred.

Just one last thing.

This made us laugh everytime. "Exit" signs in Europe are as such......

Pronounced just like it sounds!!!!!!