Black Friday

I did it, I joined the throngs of crazy people arising before the crack of dawn (some never went to bed I learned while standing in assorted lines) and hit the doorbuster sales on Friday.

I was able to get some great deals, but mostly it was the thrill of the hunt and the nostalgia of Black Friday's gone by that kept me standing in the ridiculous lines. I stood outside in the rain (and occassional snow) at Target. Then, after we finally were let in the store, you could barely move. I missed out on one deal that I was in search of, but was able to get the TomTom and the external hard drive I was after. I picked up a couple of other things and then stood in line for half an hour to pay. Then I headed to Kohl's, I picked up a few deals and then I stood in line for an hour to check out. I was going to go to a few other places, but stopped home and never got the get up and go to go back out.

Personal Lifestyle Planner Winner

Congratulations to Sarah J! She's the winner of the Personal Lifestyles Planner giveaway.

Thank you all for participating.

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Timestamp: 2009-11-26 03:13:09 UTC

Fat Burnin' Friday

Well, I must say, I am rather proud of myself. I had a holiday dinner with my family, Thanksgiving Day and eating out twice...and I lost weight! Yeah!

I think the secret to my success was planning. Before going out to dinner at The Melting Pot, I checked out their menu. I could see that there weren't many great choices, but I could moderate within the choices. I also ate smaller meals earlier in the day to conserve Points. We had the cheese fondue...I had just one bread cube, instead using veggies to dip. I ate all of my salad, dressing on the side. For our main course, we cooked in wine, which was healthier than the oil. I focused on eating the brocolli that came with our meal and gave my husband more than his half on the main course. I didn't skip dessert - I couldn't Milk Chocolate fondue with marshmallows, bananas, strawberries, brownies...oh my.

In planning, I also was on-line using Weight Watcher e-Tools. I used the recipe builder for my pie recipe and learned that each piece is 7 points. That way, I could count those points before I consumed them. I made sure to eat mostly vegetable dishes and had a taste size amount of most of the other choices at the family holiday meal. I still got to taste everything, but didn't go overboard on quanitities. To me, this was important because many of the dishes I only get at family potluck type meals.

I also stuck with my exercise plan (mostly). I got up each morning during the week and exercised, even on Thanksgiving. I misseed on Friday, I had to go shopping and couldn't get up earlier than that.

At my Weight Watchers weigh in last week, I lost 1#. I was pleased with that, since the holiday meal and the Melting Pot were both before the weigh in.

I now only have 24.6# to go. A loss this week of about 1.5# for the week. Now, I just need to survive all of the holiday parties coming up without gaining weight.

Samples and Freebies

Requested:
Nothing.

Received:
Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew
L'oreal EverPure Shampoo/Conditioner
Baseball Digest
Dentek Floss Picks
Coupons for DelMonte SunFresh or Orchard Select jar from VocalPoint

CVS Deals - 11/26

Amidst the fun-filled, family day on Thanksgiving, my daughter and I snuck out for a little bit of CVS-ing. She is so cute, she had to bring along her own list, including a pencil to mark what she got. While there, she carried around a little stuffed Snoopy toy and kept asking if we could get the puppy. I suggested that maybe she should put a stuffed puppy on her list for Santa. Then, during a walk-by of the toys, she inquired whether Santa could buy all of this stuff for her. It was a good trip...they actually had everything in stock, which surprised me slightly.

Transaction #1
1 - Tums 96ct
1 - Hershey Milk Chocolate Bar
3 - Herbal Essence (Shampoo, Conditioner, Styler)
2 - Colgate Total Toothpaste
1 - Colgate 360 Toothbrush
1 - Vaseline Sheer Infusion
1 - Softsoap Elements
1 - Degree Ultra Clear

-$5 $5/$30 CVS coupon
-$2 Tums CVS coupon from Flu Book
-$1 Herbal Essence Mfg coupon
-$2.99 Herbal Essence BOGO Mfg coupon
-$1 Colgate Total Mfg coupon
-$.75 Colgate Total Mfg coupon
-$1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush IP
-$1.50 Vaseline IP
-$.40 Softsoap Mfg coupon

Paid with $10 ECB and a $10 ECB adjusted down to $9.94. Paid $2.26 in tax. Earned $1, $.89, $6, $4, $2, $7.99, $4 and $4 ECB.

Transaction #2
1 - M&M King Size
1 - Colgate Dora Toothbrush (for my assistant)
1 - St. Ives Body Wash
1 - Phillips Headphones
1 - Irish Spring Bar Soap

-$.30 Irish Spring Mfg coupon

Paid with $.89, $1, $4, $4 and $6 ECBs from Transaction #1 and $1.34 OOP. Earned $1.59, $2, $3, and $6.99 ECBs.

So, I started with $20 in ECBs and finished with $27.57 in ECBs. My OOP, mostly tax, was $3.60. I netted $3.97 "profit".

For more deals, check out Super Savings Saturday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a wonderful, Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy the time with your family and give thanks for the joy and wonder in your life.

Target Sweepstakes

I don't usually enter or share many sweepstakes, but there is a two day sweepstakes going on at Target. Enter to win a $10,000 gift card drawing. In addition, you are eligible to win gift cards or could get a coupon for a free medium soda for this weekend. You can read terms and conditions on here.