I don't know about you but my summer went way too fast. The kids go back to school Monday. Youza!

In the last three weeks my only grocery purchases have been milk, bread, lemon juice and an onion. We have canned 2 bushels of tomatoes and 1 1/2 bushels of peaches. We have frozen squash, zucchini, tomatoes, carrots, blackberries, strawberries, peaches, jams, etc. I finally had to send my hubby today and he did a fab job of staying in our $50/wk budget. We had to divide duties. He did the grocery store and I took CK#1 to the dr. to discover she has a MAJOR case of poison ivy. We think she got it trekking through the fields of a Civil War battle site in Murfreesboro, TN. Lesson learned. No flip flops on historical site explorations.

The last couple of months have been a lot of fun in the blogging world. I have learned a lot and have a gained a tremendous appreciation for the moms who do this full time. My little summaries were 15 minutes snippets here and there that were fit in my schedule between football, volleyball, piano, swimming and dance. Now we are starting all over again. Now What??

Well, my blogging days are going to have to come to a stop for a while. I have to have a little procedure done that will include a fun recovery but no time for anything but the essentials. My food storage is good and my kids love to help with couponing so the deals won't stop for us but it will be limited. I will still be around if you want to call or email with questions. Good luck with school and all of your fun adventures. Tamara

Taking A Little Vacation

If you are new to couponing it might seem like you never want to leave your computer because you might just miss out on something. Just like any other hobby or job you have to fit it in with the rest of your life. My 3 CK's and I will be doing a little trekking over the next week trying to fit in the most fun we can before school starts again on the 17th. We love adventures and we have been to 20 states together and will add another new state (Virginia) to our list this time. The kids want to see all 50 states before I do. I have 8 left so they better hurry.

Keep up with my other favorite couponers with their links found at the right. Don't forget about tax free weekend in TN Aug 7-9.

Scope Outlast Free Sample

I love free samples. They are the perfect way to try new products and they usually come in sizes great to travel with. Walmart has a Scope Outlast sample here. Thanks Hip2save.

Office Max 3 Sharpies for 1 Penny Each

Here is a good one thanks to couponcravings. Sharpies for 1 penny at Office Max. Go here to print the coupon.

CVS & Staples

Today is Tuesday and it's the last day to get the school supplies that are free with ECB's. If your CVS is out of the sale items get the raincheck and you will still get the sale price and the ECB's. It addition to the school supplies this week there is a Soft Soap Body Soap and Blink Eye Drops that are free with ECB's. See couponmommie for links to coupons for these items that make them better than free.

I happened to be by Staples yesterday so I ran in and got the filler paper that is .01. Yes, .01 each for 120 sheets college or wide ruled. Limit 5. They have other things on sale including composition books for .50 ea. This filler paper offer is only good until WEDNESDAY! If you get the Sunday paper there is also a $10 gift card if you spend $50 offer coupon on the front page. This is great is you need to buy a backpack or some computer accessories.

What To Do After Canning 84 lbs Of Peaches?

My inner couponer was a little neglected this week because of all the canning from our garden and the mounds of peaches we picked. I only made it to CVS and had my hubby grab an onion and some hotdogs and the store for me.

So, Teresa and I have finished the peaches and it was time for me to browse my favorite deal sites. It looks to be a busy week. New coupons on coupons.com. Lots of good deals coming at CVS and Walgreens. Take a look any of the site linked at the right for lists.

If you haven't finished shopping for this week you might want to go and see if Target has any of their toys left that are on a killer sale. I saw many different posts about people stocking up on things for Christmas and bdays.

Do you feel like it is just too soon for school to start? We start in two weeks and before that we have friends coming for 4 days, a trip to Nashville for 2 days, a trip to Virginina for 4 days and my oldest CK turns 10.

Right now I just need to sit for a few minutes before I start the clean up process that must follow a sticky peach day:)

What was your favorite find this week?

Picking Peaches

After spending 12 years in the NW we learned that if you wait for it to stop raining you will not ever leave your house. You can do anything in the rain that you do without the rain:) So today, despite possibilities of rain, our little peach picking crew went on an adventure. My 3 CK's and two of their friends hopped in our Trailblazer and headed north of Knoxville to the Fruit and Berry Patch. We picked 1 1/2 bushels -about 84 lbs when I weighed them at home. We had the best time. There are a lot of peaches to be reached when you let an eight year old climb the tree or put a four year old on your shoulders. Can you believe that I forgot to take pictures?

After we picked our hearts out we stopped in the little store there on farm and had fresh fruit slushes. We tried the cherry/apple and the strawberry and it was pretty even favorites. If you want a good staycation or just a fun adventure head up to the kid friendly Fruit and Berry Patch at 4407 McCloud Rd., Knoxville, TN 37938. For farm updates call 865-922-3779 or go here.

My buddy Teresa is coming over tomorrow. Guess what we will be doing:)