67 days

That's the number of days between today and January 1st.  I'm not stating this number for people to panic about the number of shopping days left before the holidays (yikes it's sneaking up on me since I am wrapping things up usually by now and I have done very little).  This is the time of the year that my plan is MAINTAIN my weight---lol.  At this time of the year with 4 holidays and tons of parties, happy hours etc it can be very easy to gain weight over this time frame.  I saw an article last year saying the average American gains 5 pounds!  Not me---if I lose weight in the next 67 days I am thrilled----but the goal at this time of the year is definitely to maintain!  :)  Who is with me? 

Cox Farms

Last week Brody and Lucas tore up Cox Farms!  They had a great time on the slides, the hayride and looking at the animals!  I bet they would have stayed there until they were kicked out if they could have!  lol  How cute are Brody and Lucas together?????  :)

Cheesy Chili Mac---HUGE HIT!

Someone told me about this recipe awhile ago (Tammy maybe?) and I pinned it on Pinterest but I hadn't ever made it........until now.  If you want to follow along with the recipe go HERE.

In the end this is a non packaged version of Hamburger Helper but sooooo much better!  It's also a "one pot" dish so you don't have to dirty a bunch of stuff.  I used ground turkey and use extra sharp cheddar that I shredded myself (I am trying to avoid the packaged cheese because the wood pulp freaks me out!).  The only other substitution......drumroll.......I used GF pasta and no one was the wiser!  Win!

Everyone loved it---Travis at first wasn't going to try it and then he did.......and was hooked.  He ate a whole bowl.  ;)

Next time I will add more chili powder for sure---it could use some spiciness.  :)

Super doubles started at Harris Teeter TODAY!

For those that aren't aware.......every now and then Harris Teeter will let you DOUBLE any coupon up to $2.  So a coupon that has a face value of $1.50 becomes $3 off!  This current round runs from today October 15th until midnight on October 21st.

Six out of my 10 deals today were using coupons from the paper or a magazine.  The other 4 were from www.coupons.com.  You can print coupons from coupons.com twice---these coupons I had I only printed once because I wasn't sure if the items would be a good deal until I got there.  :)  The best thing is to pair the double coupon with an e_vic price.  That can make items super cheap or FREE!

Here are my deals from today:

Frozen breakfast burritos 2 for $2 after e-vic---FREE after doubled coupon!

Suave conditioner $$2.99 after e-vic-----FREE after doubled coupon!!

Bush's chili beans--3 for $3 with e-vic----3 for $1 with the doubled coupon!  .33 a can!

Laughing Cow cheese---$2.49 with e-vic---.49 after the doubled coupon!  WOW!

Hunts petite diced tomatoes (we make a lot of chili in the fall/winter--perfect!)  4 for $5---4 for $3 after doubled coupon!  .75 a can---not the best price in the world but definitely a good discount!

Taco seasoning was 3 for $3 and 3 for $1 after the doubled coupon!  .33 a pack!  (we use taco seasoning in all of our chili)

Campbell's soup in a bag--I've never had it but thought it was worth a try with the coupon.  $3.19 and then $1.19 after the doubled coupon

Two chili powders (do you sense a theme here?  lol)  $4.58 for both---$1.08 for both after doubled coupon!  .54 each!

Reynolds baking cups $2.78 for both---$.78 for both after the doubled coupon!  .39 each!  They had the larger ones as well and those were a little cheaper but I chose t get the mini ones--perfect for holiday treats!

Weight watchers string cheese (I prefer this kind over others but it's usually very pricey!)  $4.69----$2.69 after the doubled coupon!

A bargain find........

Today I ran into my local Marshalls just to look around.  I never go into places like that with any real item or items I'm looking for---just looking for a good deal.  LOL  My mother-in-law Jamey goes into Marshalls, TJ Maxx etc all the time and finds great deals---normally I don't have the patience to look through some of the crap to find the diamond.  You know?

Anyway I was looking around this morning and found a TON of Virginia Tech dri-fit tees for boys!  They had baseball, football and some that just said Virginia Tech Hokies.  I found them in the clearance section, they looked like they ran very large (a medium looked BIG and most of Travis' tees are large/xl) and they had a BUNCH!  Here is the one I got Travis: