(almost) Free for me this week

I did O-K this week with shopping but I was preoccupied with getting my Avon order in to really get out there and find the deals. But it just seemed like there wasn't much too exciting at King Soopers this week. Here's what I ended up with...

The Pull-Ups came from a free coupon that I got when I "hosted" (it's in parentheses because the party didn't officially happen due to lack of interest) a Pull-Ups House Party. The thing with it is that I acutally ended up making money on it. The Pull Ups are on sale this week for $8.99 but when she entered in the coupon value she entered in the regular price of $9.77 so I made .78 on it. :)

We don't usually buy canned cat food but the Iams were in the discount bin for .38 each. I had a BOGO coupon so they ended up being .19 a piece. It will be a nice little treat for the kitties. Speaking of treats, The Goodlife Recipe treats were also in the markdown bin for only .89. I had a dollar off coupon so I made .11 on them!! ALWAYS check the markdown areas, you never know what you'll find!!!

The Ragu was a free coupon that I recieved from King Soopers, in the mail. I LOVE the coupons they send me. It's rare to get a free one, but I am SOOO happy when I do. I made money on that one too. With the buy 10 participating items and get $3 off sale this week, the Ragu was $1.25. They (again) gave me the original price back for the coupon, which was $1.55...giving me .30 back. I love being paid to take items home!

The Sure deoderant was .50. They are on sale for $2 this week and I had a $1.50 coupon. Not free, but not bad either!

Lastly, the Pure Protien bar was on sale for $1 and I had a .50 coupon that doubled to make it free! AND it's peanut butter marshmallow flavor, YUM!!

I'm hoping to hit Albertson's in the next couple days. They have a bunch of coupons in their ad and you can stack manufacturer coupons with those making some good deals (especially when they are doubling and tripling coupons!)

The good in me

I been selling Avon for less than a month and I can already tell a change in my mindset. I won't go into the nervousness and concern I feel about failing, but what I will go into is how I currently feel about me.
 I'm not going to say that I'm a new woman with a new attitude (que music)...that my self-esteem issues are fixed or that I've dropped 15 pounds (although I have lost 5 now) and I'm smokin' hot. But now that I've become an Avon rep. I realize that taking care of myself on the outside has helped me a little on the inside. I think I'm talking in circles so let me explain...

When I go out in public I always have Avon with me. I have some perfume samples and my business cards  in my purse, and I ALWAYS have a few of the current campaign books on me. I'm not one of those people who feels comfortable just walking up to a stranger and asking them about Avon, but if the opportunity arises I want to make sure I'm prepared to hand them a business card and a book. With that said, I want to make sure that my appearance reflects my business. I want someone to look at me and think, "ya, she's stylish and cute, I'd buy Avon from her"...or maybe even, "her makeup is cute, she smells good, I want to be like her." I know that's a stretch, but I can shoot for that, right??

It's made me think about what I wear when I go out in public. Not that I'm dressed up all the time, but if I'm throwing on a t-shirt then it should be a cute fitted one. I make sure my toenail polish isn't chipped and I hope that my hair looks like I tried (hence the haircut tomorrow, but more on that another time). It's made me care more about how I present myself and THAT is a huge step towards believing in myself. It's a good thing!!
I know there are many people who are perfectly happy with throwing on their sweatpants and running to the grocery store, and if they're happy then I don't judge. It's just not me. I've never wanted to become a frumpy mom. I always knew that I was going to get myself down to my pre-pregnancy weight, one way or another, and I'm not a sweatpants and baggy t-shirt person. Yes, I have my comfy pants that I wear around the house, some days, but I don't go out that way. If I don't take the time to take care of myself, then why should anyone else care about me either. I may not be that cutey young mom, but I want to be that cool mom. I firmly believe that Avon is helping me maintain that goal. Now, if I can just get some more customers I'd be even better....  ;)

How do people do it?

I just want to nap.

I've expressed, a few different times, my feelings of inadaquacy when it comes to being a wife and mother. I sit here, on this dreary Monday, feeling just that.

I have piles of things to do and NO motivation to do any of it. I told Jim, last night, that I figured I would feel that way today, after the busy weekend, and I was right. On the good side, I am doing laundry (the last of 4 loads is in the washer right now) and I did clean off some toys that I purchased at garage sales (some of which have been waiting to be cleaned off for a couple weeks now). However, my car is still full of the boxes of garage sale items that I didn't sell over the weekend and I just do NOT have the omph to unload right now. My Avon stuff needs to be organized, as well as the rest of my desk and my kitchen cupboards are starting to explode.

I know I have high standards for myself, my family and my house, so what is messy to me may look just fine to someone else. But there is no denying that there are some really messy spots in this house right now.

I highly admire people who juggle 20 things at once and do them well. Those people that have to be busy all the time and are good at it! I wish I were one of those people. Are those people on some sort of medication? Are they high on coffee and other forms of caffine? I need their secret!! Are you one of those people? Can you please share your motivation? Even if I feel the motivation stirring inside of me, my body is fighting back and winning over my mind. Ugh, I'm tired of being lazy.

Free (or near free) for me Friday

I just got back from the store for the week and had a pretty good trip. I didn't need much, but I had a few things on my list and some kind of "fun" items to pick up. I saved 54% this week so I'm pleased.

All this is from King Soopers. The Sunkist was on sale for $1 and I had two 50 cent coupons, hence they were free since Kings always doubles coupons. The Sobe was not free but was on sale for 88 cents. I had 3 BOGO coupons so I got them for 44 cents a piece. The Lifesavers were also not free, but http://www.coupons.com/ has $1 off of 2 coupon, so those were 50 cents a piece...and I love them. They are perfect for me to have on hand now when I'm talking to people about Avon...you'd buy from me if my breath was minty fresh, wouldn't you? ;)

The Dove was free for me. On sale for $2 and I had two $2 off coupons. The Fiber One yogurts were in the markdown area because they are expiring in 3 days. Marked at 89 cents a piece, I made 11 cents profit on them because I had two 50 cent coupons. AND since I'm trying to lose weight, they will be great snacks.

These were my freebies in the mail this week. The Cascade, Pantene and Iams came from my P&G sampler that I signed up to recieve (Oh, there was a Metamucel packet in there as well, I forgot that in the picture). There were also coupons in there as well. LOVE those! The Secret came from a Walmart freebie (GREAT for traveling) and the Revlon came from a Walgreens promotion. I love getting freebies in the mail.

Ever wonder what to do with free items you recieve (or "buy") and can't use. DONATE THEM! Local food banks and shelters would love your donations...and it didn't cost you a dime. :)