The thing about elevators

is that sometimes they get stuck.  And if you have my kind of luck, they get stuck with you in it.  With a 2 year old.  And melting milk.  For a really loooong time.  Let me explain.

This is our elevator.  I use this elevator quite frequently.  Especially when unloading emergency hurricane supplies like 6 gallons and 2 cases of bottled water, rope, and a hack saw.  You know, just in case  the hurricane hits and we get trapped in our condo and have to chop our way out of the attic with a hacksaw and hope a boat floats by so we can lasso it in with our rope.  Just kidding about the rope and hacksaw, although it might be a good idea to have on hand in case of an emergency.  Like our first hurricane, Ida.  Right? 

Anyway, bottled water is very heavy so I thought to save some time and my back by just hopping a ride in the elevator with everything - including my 2 year old.  We were riding merrily up until the elevator stopped between floors.  No big deal, I thought. Just press the button 3 again and it will get moving.

Um, not exactly.  I pressed it over and over and over again until my finger started hurting.  And I tried pulling and pushing the little red button at the bottom.  No luck.

Now, I'm starting to get just a little nervous.  After all this is a tiny little elevator and I don't like closed in spaces.  And we're stuck between the second and third floors where I can't reach either doorknob.  And I'm scared of heights.  So the idea of being trapped in an elevator and then plummeting to the ground is just slightly upsetting to me.

But no reason to panic just yet,  I decided to just press the alarm button and see what happens.  BRRRRNNNG!  It was really loud.  Not a good idea with a 2 year old.

Now I'm really starting to get a little anxious.  Then I see this.

Instant relief.  All I had to do is pick up the phone and it should call the homeowner's association or watchman or someone who can get me out!

 

Do you see this!?!?  There's a phone in the elevator presumably for calling help when you get trapped and it's not hooked up to anything!!!  Wow.

Now I'm really starting to get freaked.  The elevator is shrinking by the second, we're still trapped between floors, pushing buttons doesn't work, the phone's attached just for decoration, no phone numbers can be found anywhere inside and there's no way to climb out the top.  Oh, and Grace is starting to freak, too. 

So I break down and call David.  His suggestion?  Dial 9-1-1.  Um, no.  Not when my sister is a dispatcher and would never let me live it down.  So I did the next best thing.  I start banging on the doors and yelling "Help!  Help!  We're stuck in the elevator!"  Grace chimed in and yelled "Help!  We stuck!  We stuck in ella-bay-tor!"  And guess what?  It worked.  A neighbor below us finally shut his door and the elevator started moving again.  Thank goodness. 

It's doubtful that we'll use the elevator again any time soon.

Hurricane Ida

We have a hurricane heading our way.  Wow.  Ida will be our first hurricane.  It's a little nerve-wracking, but kinda exciting too.  Really exciting, actually.  I bet I'll be able to get some really great photos.  I wonder if Ida will bring in any bigger fish from deeper waters?  Fishing might be fun.  Hurricane Ida is scheduled to hit us Tuesday.  The Hurricane Watch issued for our area anticipates the storm surge to be 5-7 feet. Hmmm.

Did I mention that our little condo is on the bay? And Tuesday is the day our movers are scheduled to deliver our furniture from Omaha.  14,000 pounds of furniture to be delivered.  And unloaded.  With lots to be stored in our garage.  All on Tuesday.  During a hurricane.  With 5-7 feet storm surges.  Ummm.  Maybe this is more nerve-wracking than exciting.  But still exciting.  Definitely exciting.  It is, after all, our first hurricane.

Fun Day!

It's so nice to finally be home with Grace.  Things are still pretty busy, though.  Today we went to "Fun Day" sponsored by the company David works for.  It was a lot of fun!

It was at a park in Mobile.

They rented these huge inflatable bouncy toys.

Grace and David bounced and bounced.

And Grace played peek-a-boo, too.

Grace even slid down the slide by herself.  She's so brave!

She had fun riding on the snail, too.

And climbing through the tunnels.

All that fun really worked up an appetite for hotdogs.

She was thirty, too.  She drank the whole bottle of water by herself.

It sure was a "Fun Day."

Contemplating life

Flying home is so much easier when you don't have a toddler sitting in your lap.

You can appreciate things like a stunning sunset.

It was spectacular and seemed to constantly change.

That's probably because we were flying east and the sun sets in the west.

In a matter of seconds it was dipping below the horizon.

It sure was nice having a quiet flight and being able to contemplate things like extraordinary sunsets, but I can't wait to get home to Grace and Chloe.  There's just no place like home and no one like family.  I've missed them both.

Coupon Game - WARNING: This is highly addictive

Now that I'm hooked I have a hard time paying full price for anything.

Here are the key points I've learned about saving lots of money using coupons...aka...my coupon game. I used to spend around $150 - $200 each week. Now I'm averaging under $50 buying the same things. It's amazing. My shoe budget has literally skyrocketed.

1. Don't use a coupon unless the item is on sale. You spend less money out of pocket and can afford to buy more, thus stockpiling.
2. Find out your store's coupon policy. Some stores will accept competitor coupons AND a manufacturer coupon for each item.
3. Stock up your pantry.
4. Buy the Sunday newspaper. There are always tons of coupons in the Sunday paper. Print additional coupons online.
5. Use big coupons for small items.
6. Let other people do some of the work for you.


Now, to go more in depth:

SAVE YOUR COUPONS UNTIL THE ITEM IS ON SALE

One of the most common misconceptions I previously had about coupons was to use them whenever I went to the grocery store. But to get the most bang from my coupon, I now save it until the item goes on sale!

For example: I'm a big cereal eater. The typical box of Kelloggs Special K Vanilla Almond (one of my favorites) runs about $3.99 a box. By waiting for Publix to put it in one of their Buy One Get One Free sales, I automatically save $3.99 when I buy two (my out of pocket expense is now $3.99 for two boxes). But if I use two coupons for $1 off each box while it's on sale, my out of pocket expense then drops to $1.99 for both boxes! Makes sense to save that coupon for when it really counts, doesn't it?

CHECK OUT YOUR STORE'S COUPON POLICY Just call the store and ask the store manager for this information.

Publix, for instance, accepts competitor coupons (Target, Walgreens, CVS, and RiteAid for my particular Publix). In addition, Publix will accept 1 store coupon (Publix or competitor) along with 1 manufacturer coupon per item.

For example: Kelloggs Special K cereal is BOGO (buy one get one free) sale for $3.99. If I have a Target coupon for $1 off 2 boxes of cereal and my two $1 off 1 box manufacturer coupons, then my out of pocket expense now drops from $1.99 from the previous example to $.99 for both boxes. WOW. That's only 50 cents per box when I was previously paying almost $4 a box!

STOCK UP YOUR PANTRY

Another important tip I have is to stock up your pantry with sale items whenever you can. The typical sales cycle I've found is roughly 6-8 weeks. That means that whatever is on sale today will go on sale again within another 6-8 weeks. If you can afford to buy extra and have the room to store it, it really pays to buy 6 weeks or so worth of items you can store.

Back to my cereal example. Special K regular price at $3.99 per box. I eat 1 box per week (to make the math simple, of course. I don't really eat a whole box each week. Usually.) If I buy one box each week over the next eight weeks, my out of pocket expense would be $31.92. But if I bought eight boxes while they're on sale using my Target coupons and manufacturer coupons (see previous example of $.99 for two boxes), I would pay $3.96 out of pocket (prior to taxes, of course). That's like paying for one box at regular price! Makes sense to stock up, huh?

WHERE TO GET YOUR COUPONS

1. From the Sunday paper. Trust me, it's worth the 2 bucks just for the coupon section. Last week the Mobile paper (much smaller than Omaha's) had over TWO HUNDRED dollars worth of coupons.

2. Online. My favorite sites are

http://www.redplum.com/
http://www.coupons.com/
http://www.smartsource.com/


LET OTHER PEOPLE DO SOME OF THE DIRTY WORK FOR YOU

Here are a couple of websites that match up the sales papers with coupons. This makes it very easy!

http://www.iheartsavingmoney.com/ This is a blog with everything from Old Navy coupons to grocery deals.

http://www.iheartsavingmoney.com/?cat=11 This is a link on the previous blog that is specific to WalMart deals - mainly grocery shopping. Like cooking a full Thanksgiving feast for only $20. Turkey included. She also has tabs for Walgreens (yes, she buys a lot of groceries and saves lots of money there) and Target.

http://www.savingwithamy.com/search/label/Walmart This is a link specific to Walmart.

http://easternshoremom.com/ This lady lives in Fairhope, AL and shows items specific to the Mobile and Eastern shore areas.

http://www.iheartsavingmoney.com/ This is specific to just Publix deals - which I LOVE!


ONE MORE TIP

One last tip that most people don't know - it's smarter to use a big coupon for a little item than big coupon for big item.

For example, I've never used Knox gelatin. In fact, I don't even know what Knox gelatin is for. BUT, there is currently a $4 off any Knox product coupon available online. I use that coupon and then buy the smallest box of gelatin possible for $1. Sounds like I'm wasting my coupon, right? WRONG! By using it on an item that costs less than the coupon, that overage is then applied to my total grocery bill. In other words, I'm getting $3 off all my groceries and a box of gelatin for free! Just be sure to read the print. Most of the time, the coupon states "8 ounce or larger," "excludes xxx size," etc.


SHOPPING MADE SIMPLE

First, I make my grocery list of MUST HAVES like milk, eggs, toilet paper, etc. Then I check out the sales ads - either online or from the mail flyers for anything that we typically would use and could stockpile - like laundry detergent. Next, I check for corresponding coupons I've clipped from the Sunday paper and online. Once I find a deal and coupons to go with them, I add those items to my grocery list. Then I head out with my list, an empty envelope, and my shopping folder!

My shopping folder is a small 3 ring binder (it actually used to be a recipe card holder). I bought some really cheap photo albums and ripped the covers off and put just the clear photo slots in my binder (after punching holes in the corner). Then I just slide my coupons in the photo slots as I get them and I have a tab for each grocery section: Dairy, Produce, Breads and Cereals, Boxed Goods, Canned Goods, Cleaners. That way I can just flip through my book as I go down each aisle in the grocery store and see what coupons I have and can use. As I add things to my grocery cart, I take the coupons out of the binder and put them into the empty envelope. That way checkout time is a breeze.

I hope you become as addictive as I am and start saving some money!

Packing up and moving out

After spending the weekend with Grace, we flew to Omaha Sunday afternoon.  Grace and Chloe spent another week with Queenie while we met the movers.

Our flight was pretty uneventful.

But it's kinda hard to take night pictures out a window while flying several hundred miles per hour.

I got up first thing Monday morning and took one last picture of our house.

And said goodbye to some of our neighbors.

Before we knew it, the movers arrived and started boxing things up.

They used a lot of boxes.

By the end of Tuesday, boxes were everywhere.

More boxes than I cared to count.

Boxes were literally stacked to the ceiling.

And our furniture was covered in shrink-wrap.

Then Wednesday morning rolled around and the truck arrived.

A truck with a 56 foot trailer to be exact.  That's a BIG truck.

It's a good thing it was so big because we filled it up.

The movers actually moved the truck to the side of the house so they could finish loading everything.  Then they drove out by 5pm.   Since we managed to fill the truck up from front to back top to bottom, the driver took it all straight down to Alabama the following week. 

Internet, interrupted

David and I are flying to Omaha later this afternoon to meet our movers first thing tomorrow morning.  We will be busy all week long packing and moving.  Unfortunately, we will not have internet access unless we go to a Starbucks or somewhere which is unlikely.  Therefore, I will be unable to post pictures from our cruise or Halloween until we get back home Saturday.  Hope you have a great week!