Gearing up for Halloween- Mexican Wrestling Costume

Kai came up to me a few months ago and handed me the cover to "Nacho Libre", saying, "I love this guy, he's a superhero."  So I decided to make him a Mexican Wrestler for Halloween. 

I have to admit, it is definitely one of the more interesting things I've sewn!

Here is the completed outfit.  I didn't photograph him with the forearm bands, but they're red with yellow lightning bolts to match his lightning bolt cape:

And here's one of the first pictures I took before I had added the velcro the the mask and started on the bodysuit (I've fixed the point above the nose on the mask):

Also been working on a few couponing trips.  I went out and did a few separate trips.  It was a high OOP (out of pocket), but I think the overall savings were awesome!

Target and Publix- $72.96

CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid- $77.07

CVS- $42.38

We are stocked up on laundry detergent for the foreseeable future, as well as ready to battle colds and change poopy butts.  I'm kind of liking the coupon thing.  It's almost like playing some kind of game.  Staring to build up a little teeny stockpile.  It's not much, but it's something. 

Chobani vs. Fage

A friend on my sewing forum (looking at you, Carole *wink*) had told me about Chobani and said that I needed to give it a shot.  I was pretty happy with my original yogurt, Fage, but I'm always up to try something new and potentially tasty.

In what might be remembered as the "Fight of the Century", Greek yogurt champions Chobani and Fage finally met today on Fage's home turf.
As they glared at each other, prepped for a fight... the lids literally came off.
Round 1- Yogurt
Chobani- Thick, creamy, smooth.  Delicious.
Fage- Thicker than it's opponent, smooth, more acidity.  Delicious as well.
Winner- Chobani.  It wasn't as thick, but the creamy smoothness beat out the competition.
Round 2- Fruit Puree
Chobani-  Thick chunks of fruit, located underneath the yogurt, sweet, yummy.
Fage- Smaller chunks of fruit, smoother puree, in it's own container so you can add as much as you'd like.
Winner- Fage.
Round 3- Overall Experience
Chobani- Super yummy yogurt.  The fruit was okay, but I dislike large chunks (makes me think of squishy eyeballs, never been able to eat big chunks without being grossed out).  Would definitely eat it again.
Fage- Good yogurt, fantastic fruit puree (smoother, less chunks).  I like how it is separated so you can add a little or a lot.
Winner- Fage!  Chobani is pretty awesome, though and I want to try the other flavors.  If Fage was gone, Chobani would easily take it's place.
The winner will take home a kiss from the judges...

As well as an all-expense-paid vacation to tummy resort for the next 24 hours.  (We'll just leave it at that.)

BTW, to get the good "lipstick" picture, I had to kiss all of the darned Fage yogurts I had bought.  I wanted a picture of an unopened one so I wasn't photographing "used" food.  Lol!  :)

Couponing Crazy

I'm sure many of you have seen that show, "Extreme Couponing" on TLC.  Well, a few weeks ago, I watched it and I got motivated.  I consider myself a relatively intelligent person (unless you are asking me a history question, in which case my eyes tend to glaze over and I may or may not pretend that a bug bit me in order to change the subject), and came to the conclusion that I'm sure many other have while watching the show.... I can do that.

I am not a toe-dipper when it comes to a new hobby.  Instead, I tend to just cannon-ball my way smack into the middle.  In this case, I didn't say that I'd like to start off by clipping a few coupons.  Oh no.  I immediately started blazing through coupon websites, then hopped on Amazon and ordered a binder, baseball card protectors (a.k.a. "coupon pockets"), detailed tab dividers, you-name-it.  When Sunday rolled around, I didn't just buy a single paper.... I bought seven.

I felt like a crazy mad scientist or some kind of villian plotting a robbery while I scoured the coupon websites and came up with my list and plan for my maiden coupon voyage.  I finally had a plan and hit the stores.

Goodies from my first trip out last Wednesday. 

First trip was Rite Aid.  Broke it up into 3 transactions.  (It was going to be 2, but then I forgot the diapers and had to go back.  Oops!)

Trans 1-
8 CG items (7 blush, 1 bronzer). Buy one get one 50% off sale.  Coupled with 4 $8/2 MQ.
Scope Icy Mint Blast mouthwash. $4.  Used 1 $1.50/1 MQ.  Got $2.50 reward.
Dove Shampoo and Conditioner.  On sale 2/$7.  Used BOGO MQ and then $2/1 store coupon.
Oral B Toothbrush. $5.99.  Used $3.00 MQ. Get $2.99 rebate.
Crest Toothpaste. $2.59.  Used $1 MQ.  Get $1.60 rebate.
Paid $5.11 OOP.  Submitting for $4.59 rebate and got $2.50 reward.

Trans 2-
6 CG items.  BOGO 50% off sale.  Used 3 $8/2 MQ.  Earned $10 rewards (Pay $30, get $10 promo.)
3 Gatorades. $1.89  No coupon.  (Covergirl coupon overage.)
1 Energy Drink.  $1.99.  No coupon.  (CG coupon overage.)
Paid $2.51 OOP. (Used my $2.50 reward somewhere on those drinks.)  Earned $10 rewards.

Trans 3-
Pampers Easy ups.  On sale for $10.49.  Used $10 rewards from CG.  Paid $1.22 OOP, earned $2 rewards for Pampers purchase.

At this point, I was freaking out.  The cashier was laughing through the whole thing and whooping like you wouldn't believe.  There were no other customers so the two cashiers were both cheering as the total came down.  Think that I shocked my husband to the core.

Went to Target and did two transactions.
Trans 1 & 2.  (Identical transactions)
Transformer toy.  $9.99.  Used $5.00 MQ and $5.00 Target mobile coupon.
Olay- $5.99.  Used $3 MQ and $3 Target mobile coupon.
Colgate- $0.98.  Used $1 MQ.

All in all, the stuff was free, AND I got rebates on top of it, so I ended up getting paid in the end.  I just about had a heart attack during the process, but it was a lot of fun.

Since then, I've gone out and picked up a few more things with coupons.  Got five big bottles of Dr. Pepper at Wal-Mart for free (holding onto them for company or social functions, we don't drink soda), deodorant, gum, pantiliners, cold/flu stuff, and 5 bottles of laundry detergent.  I had to pay for the detergent, but it was only $1.97 a bottle for the super-concentrated stuff so I was happy.

Another random trip.  Gotta love free stuff!

My coupon binder is already exploding and I think I'm going to have to upgrade to something more capable of handling my coupon stash.  This is a little more fun than I thought it would be.  It is possible that I may be hooked, or it could be like many of my other hobbies and fall by the wayside after a few months.  We shall see.

In the meantime, I'm working on my kids' Halloween costumes.  Anyone else ready for Halloween?  What are your kiddos going as?