Blame it on the pregnancy, blame it on the chaotic holidays approaching, blame it on the insanity of having this many kids and attempting my law degree at the same time... blame it on the moon if you want. Regardless, I am on a rampage to get this house TOTALLY organized before Thanksgiving. Topic of the day: the deep freeze and regular freezer. My fridge doesn't get used much, so it stays organized, but with all of the stocking up I have done lately my deep freeze looks like a bomb went off! Can anyone give me tips or input on how to best get it organized and utilize the space the best? HELP PLEASE!

This is my first try at a Works for Me Wednesday post. The topic I have chosen is homemade chicken broth. With the holidays fast approaching, I sat down to make my list and realized that over the next two months we would need a minimum of 8 cans of chicken broth. That's a lot of money to a frugal mommy! We were making King Ranch Chicken that day, and I decided to see how much chicken broth I could make just using from the one chicken that we were going to boil that day. I was amazed. For just a little bit longer cook time and throwing the bones into the pot instead of the trash, we were able to freeze the equivalent of 4 cans of chicken broth. It took very little effort, and saved us money. I just cooled it, took the fat off the top, and froze it in 2 can portions. Another added bonus... none of the nasty added salt! :) Works for me!

I went to Dillon's (part of the Kroger chain) yesterday. I had my list set up all nice and neat, and wouldn't you know it... there were all kinds of great deals to mess my numbers up! ;) I didn't complain though! Here's what all I got:

six 8 packs of Go-Gurt
six pounds of Jimmy Dean Sausage
two containers of liquid Purex laundry detergent
three nail saver sponges
one Macaroni Grill pasta dinner
one Betty Crocker coconut pecan icing
one Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix
one Live Active brown sugar and pecan oatmeal
one Colgate Total Whitening toothpaste
one loaf of Sara Lee bread
two Pillsbury crescent rolls
one Pillsbury cinnamon rolls

Grand total: a whopping $24.02 including tax

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This blog started out as a place for me to put a few funny stories and memories to share with friends and family. Then I started posting a deal or sweepstakes here and there, and it has evolved to a mind blowing number of hits. Since I have had a recent upswing in the number of readers, I have decided to update the layout and look of this blog. I will also try to post more often and share some of the great deals I have found. If you have anything in particular you would like to see, please let me know and I will try to incorporate it.

It amazes me that when things SEEM to be at their worst, a light shines through. I was stressing really bad today over money. I checked my mail this evening almost in tears, and was shocked at what I found. My "little bit here" and "little bit there" on rebates is REALLY paying off. I had a grand total of $88.99 in rebate checks and a prepaid visa in my mailbox from different rebate deals I had done in the last month or two. I was shocked. When I do these deals, it doesn't seem like much, but when it all rolls in at once it is amazing how it adds up. I spent MUCH less than that total because my out of pocket budget is $20 a month and I have yet to go over it. Thank you to everyone who shares these awesome deals... you helped light up my whole month!

Where I grew up, there was no such thing as fall. You had hot as hell summer, pretty hot summer, winter, and then the process repeated. I have been amazed this year watching the trees turn vibrant colors. It is absolutely stunning. I am so glad we have relocated. Our kids are actuallyg going to grow up knowing the 4 seasons!