Antiques Roadshow Amazing Collection

Check out this bit on a guy who started collecting Antique Chinese Rhinocerus Horn cups in the 1970s....$1.5 Million Dollars! Apparently the highest appraisal given on Antiques Roadshow USA ever.

Keep going to those yard sales!

Family Deals & Freebies, and Finally a Tomato!

Well, this week I ended up with a great deal on laundry detergent. I found a Purex sale for $3.99 and had a $3 off coupon (only one) so got one bottle for .99 cents. Later the same day my 17 year old stepson called advising the new job he had just started at a local drug store was offering $1 laundry detergent to staff members only due to an overstock. Details were sketchy but as he knows what a bargain hunter I am he thought of me first. Score! When he arrived carrying a case of 6 bottles of Gain for $6 I was so happy! At best I was hoping for no name brand. I sure hope he keeps me in mind for future deals. This amount of detergent should hold us over until our Spring move.

This year I only bought two garden plants - one tomato and one pepper. Grand total $5

This week my first tomato ripened on the vine. Hubby and I shared it with dinner and it was scrumpious. There are at least 3 more tomatoes hatching (ok so I am not a gardener) and one small pepper on the vine. There must be some kind of internal clock that as soon as you turn middle aged you have a need to garden (kind of like the having kids clock but much cheaper).

I also have at least one pea sprouting although there may be a fight over who gets to eat it: the gardener (me), hubby (who loves peas) or Chewy the hamster (our fresh pea loving fuzz ball).

Freebies this week include travel size Sensodyne and Dove conditioner.

And finally, a nice sunset shot view off the back balcony of our house.

Did I mention I have already exceeded our grocery budget this month? Darn yummy barbequed meat and cherries.

Edmonton Indy 2011

One of the things we will miss about being employed (yes there are a couple) are the fringe benefits. Hubby works in the media industry and we scored two tickets to the races this weekend at the Edmonton Indy including parking pass, meals and beverages.

Our free day in photos:

Driver Marco Andretti, #26, Team Andretti Autosport, Driver Tony Kanaan, #82, Team KV Racing Technology-Lotus

Driver Dario Franchitti, #10, Team Target Chip Ganassi Racing taking off from the pit. His wife, Ashley Judd obviously heard about the mosquitos here and was nowhere to be seen.

Driver Alex Tagliani, #77, Team Sam Schmidt Autosports. He was watching
the Indy Lights Race in the box next to us watching fellow
Team Sam Schmidt Autosports Driver Esteban Guerrieri #7 win the Indy Lights Race.

If you would like to see more of our day at the races click on my flickr photostream: getting a life

Extra Bodies

Yesterday I posted a bunch of nature photos. After blowing up the one of the flower I noticed there was a bunch of nature I missed the first time round. Do you see all the bug bodies? It looks like flower fuzz, until you see the bent legs on the stalk of the flower. Yick!

The Canadian Rockstar, The Beaver

A small beaver made an appearance in our back pond last night as hubby and I braved the mosquitos to take a walk to attempt to capture a photo of the new baby grebe (one of the three eggs produced).

No luck on the baby Grebe although there is a shot of Baby Grebe's Father (baby was hiding with Mom in the reeds), ducks, a small finch of some kind, red winged blackbirds (the female is the brown bird holding the dragonfly), and a small young beaver.

Nature is free so take a walk today! (and use bugspray)

The $16 Watermelon and $9.99 Cheez Wiz Story

I hate feeling ripped off at the grocery store. These days it seems easier than ever to blow your grocery budget.

Right before our trip to Costa Rica I was craving watermelon. As it is healthy for you I was going to cave to the craving. Four days to go before the trip I did not think I would be able to eat a whole watermelon. My grocery store, Sobeys, has half watermelons available. Unfortunately in a hurry I did not look at the price (they are counting on that). That week there was also a special on strawberries (shipped all the way from California) for .99 a pint. At the cash register I nearly had a heart attack. $8 for half a watermelon! The poor teenage girl did not know how to take my exclaimation "Are you kidding me! $16 for a whole watermelon! Please take that off my bill!" I refuse to be ripped off by grocery stores. I could almost air ship the damn watermelon from Central America cheaper. I went home with only my .99 strawberries.

A second incident at the same store this week has me intending to talk to the manager next time about their outrageous prices. Cheez whiz, that nasty processed cheese goup that hubby can't live without was on sale at multiple grocery stores this past week for $4.99. Unfortunately I missed the sale at Sobeys by one day (looked at the flier incorrectly) and got home with $9.99 Cheez Whiz. Not wanting to return to the store that night (note to self - look at the receipt before leaving the parking lot) the Cheez Whiz was left in the bag with receipt out of hubbys sight lest he open it in a midnight snack moment. The nice girl at customer services was very helpful but promptly told me they don't price match. Are you kidding me? So she accepted my return and I purchased a new bottle at Save On Foods for $4.99 on the way home from work (no extra gas involved but still expensive in my books).

So in a total refusal to be ripped off by Grocery Stores I intend to shop at three different grocery stores plus Walmart to keep within the grocery budget. Meat at Save On, Produce at Sobeys and everthing else wherever the sales are. And yes, the next time this happens I will be hunting down the manager to give him or her a piece of my mind.

One day, I hope to be a little more self sufficient growing fruit and veggies in a climate that has more than a 60 day growing season. Until that day, grocery store manager, you better watch out. I'm watching you.

Maximize the Airmiles

Tamarindo surfing beach

With time booked off in September to go househunting on Vancouver Island our air mile accounts were reviewed and we were 80 airmiles short of two plane tickets (this after already redeeming three air tickets earlier this year).

Today I managed to spend $76.03 and received 148 air miles at Safeway! A return ticket high season Edmonton to Victoria takes only 900 air miles (I am a gold collector and have accumulated 1700 just since February 2011).

Yes, I did end up paying higher prices than normal and splurged on some items (like Tropicana Orange Juice) but we get two free air tickets plus some groceries out of it.

Estimated savings? $650

How do I get so many air miles?
1. Buy gas at Shell
2. Have Air Miles Bank of Montreal Mastercard, use for everything, pay off every month with zero interest ($99 annual fee, 1 air mile per $15 spent)
3. Occasionally shop at Safeway with a view of collecting points on high point items only (their groceries generally cost more)
4. Occasionally eat out and collect at Boston Pizza

The best part? Even if you don't want to pay $99 for the mastercard you can still collect as a shopper for free. You can redeem for a wide variety of gift certificates if you don't travel. See airmiles.ca today for the best Canadian freebie of all.

June 2011 Grocery Tally, Coupons and more Costa Rica Photos

Grocery Budget for June 2011 $450.00 plus $10.41 left from May=$460.41
less $90 for travel days (applied towards travel budget) = $370.41

Actual: 359.29! $11.12 Carried forward to July.

Coupons used $14.48(year to date $279.96)


My worst month for coupon use this year. Fact: It is much easier to scout for bargains and use coupons when you have time. This month I had none!

Best deals this month:

Used clothes! Now at the six month mark for 2011 and my clothing budget is as follows:

$282 Spent
$136 in new clothing: red trench coat, bra, 3 pairs pantyhose and 1 shirt
$146 in used clothing: 4 pair shorts, 20 shirts and 1 fall jacket

I shopped a little more than expected in June for clothing to wear on my trip to Costa Rica but ended up with a lot of good summer clothes which will also be very useful on Vancouver Island with a much warmer climate.


My best buy of this month:
summer top that is non-wrinkle, was purchased for $2.50 and travels wonderfully as you can scrunch it up into a 2 x 2 inch ball for packing.

Even better, hubby says it is his new favorite shirt!

Freebies this month:
Triscuit Free Product Coupon
Nesquick Free Product Coupon
Stride Pack of gum

Costa Rica was such a memorable trip. I was able to meet up with friends over at Happier Than a Billionaire to discuss Nadine's new book and their four exciting years living in Costa Rica after selling all their belongings and Chiropractic businesses and moving to Costa Rica. It sounds like a pipe dream but four years later and they seem to have no regrets. They are healthier, happier and likely will live longer for the choice.

Our goal is similar. By June 2012 we hope to be mostly unemployed living on Vancouver Island. We will sell all our assets and downsize, choosing quality of life over career status.

I see hours of taking pictures in my future!

Costa Rica Paradise

I'm home from a wonderful relaxing holiday filled with nature, long walks on the beach with hubby, meeting new friends, and beautiful Tamarindo sunsets. Here is just a taste of some of the photos while I recouperate from some bug I picked up on the airplane home.

Two things I have absolutely no regrets on spending my money on:
1. Trip to Costa Rica
2. Buying the Canon EOS Rebel T3i new camera (best thing I have bought myself in the last 20 years!)

More posts regarding this magical place to come.