I need one of those voice recorders you can talk in to when you get ideas. Because all morning, I’ve been thinking of things to blog about, then when I sit down at the keyboard I can’t think of anything!

Ciel just made a video

Ciel [...]]]> no, SNL fans, not Amy Poehler! It’s just lil ol’ me ….

I need one of those voice recorders you can talk in to when you get ideas. Because all morning, I’ve been thinking of things to blog about, then when I sit down at the keyboard I can’t think of anything!

Ciel just made a video

Ciel … again from Vikki Baptiste on Vimeo.

The weather is starting to look a little more spring-like – there are some lilies starting to poke their little leaves up out of the ground. I don’t know when they first appeared, but I wonder if it was during the last warm spell, and if so – would they have been harmed when the weather turned icy again?

I think that the danger of frost is over, though the offical “last frost day”, from a gardening point of view, is around May 20. So, I have to look at some websites and seed packets to see if I can start some seeds inside and be able to transplant them out when the time is right.

We still have lots of seeds left from last year – some are appropriate for planting at the start of the season, and some are late season crops. I have to bear in mind that we need to plan for the community garden, as well as our own back yard!

I really want to expand our square foot gardens this year, but the initial outlay is fairly cost prohibitive. When I think of the overall savings in produce costs, it’s definitely worth it, but you just have to have that money for the initial outlay.

I’ve also signed up for a CSA this year, at Henry’s Farm. For a great price you get fresh, local, organic produce for 26 weeks of the year. As it says on Henry’s site – No GMOs, Pesticides, Herbicides, or Synthetic Fertilizers – you can’t beat that! I can pick up my box weekly at a local church, and there is usually extra produce for sale, either from Henry’s farm or from a neighboring farm. Either way, I know I’m getting quality, locally-grown product that is safe to eat. And that’s the bottom line!

This is another situation where the money has to be paid up front. And I was so very lucky that Henry allowed me to pay in installments because in today’s economy, it’s not easy just to come up with a chunk of change at a moment’s notice! I signed up for Henry’s CSA last year, and really forgot about it until he sent an email a couple of weeks back saying that he was starting to go through his 2008 customer list to see who was still “in”, and to be ready to be included if you were on the waiting list. I didn’t expect the “it’s your turn!” email, to be truthful! But I’m so glad I did. I can supplement what we grow ourselves with Henry’s produce – and he says on his website that he had over 630 varieties of seed this year, so I’m pretty sure that he’s not growing the same as me!

My “extreme couponing” is going well! As an example, yesterday I went to Walgreens, I spent $1.18 and came home with 1 Garnier Fructis shampoo, 1 Garnier Fructis conditioner, Sambucol (homeopathic) cold & flu remedy, 1 Oral B toothbrush and a bottle of Suave conditioner. After manufacturers coupons and in-store savings, my total out of pocket was .25c, plus .93c tax. That’s a saving of $27.20.

Jewel-Osco was almost as profitable – 2 pks Kraft Bagel-fuls, 2  Kraft Singles, 3 Kraft 2% cheese sticks and a nozzle for my hose – total cost inc. tax $30.17 – after coupons & Jewel card savings, I paid $3.42.

When people ask me “are you saving money?”, sometimes they’re surprised when I say no. And the truth is, for the first couple of months – maybe even three months – I won’t see a huge saving. This is because I have to stockpile. Where I used to spend $100 a week or more on my grocery order, I may be spending $60, and only buying a few products. That is my stockpile. If I buy 60 cans of soup, you can bet I’m not going to buy soup again for over a year!

Right now, I have a stockpile of toothpaste, deodorant, soap, paper towels, toilet paper, popcorn, hot chocolate, liquid hand soap, canned tomatoes, Healthy Choice soup, cheese (a freezer full!), Excedrin and Advil – and smaller stockpiles of a number of other goodies. Wanna come shop in my basement? LOL!

Kimberly (www.retirewithcoupons.com) has been doing this for a long time, and has the logistics down – she has an annual grocery shopping budget of $1500 for a family of 5. Right now, I’d be happy spending $50 a week ($2,600 a year) on groceries. I can work on a lower goal next year once I have all the tricks of the trade under my belt!

The girls are playing outside in the garden, I’m about to go out and see if the compost pile is defrosted yet.

Later!