10 on tuesday

1. Last week Doron's mom was visiting from Israel, so my parents took us all out to eat at our favorite Japanese steakhouse. It's one of those restaurants where everyone sits around a teppanyaki table and the chef cooks in front of you.

It's amazing how quicky fine dining can turn into a gag-fest when your 2-year old loudly announces "I FIND GUM!!!" and proceeds to pull a huge glob off the underneath side of the table.

2. After the chewing gum faux paux, the aforementioned two-year old is able to redeem herself by catching a shrimp in her mouth just like the guys. (No kidding).



3. I've become quite the couponer lately thanks to TLC's Extreme Couponing. I've always used coupons here and there, but I didn't realize there was a science to it. I've been studying various blogs to learn how to do it right. Check out one of my recent trips.


Guess how much I paid for all the products shown above?? $7.42 total!!! See those razors standing up on the right side? Those are $10.00 razors, and I paid 89 cents each for them! See the yellow boxes of fish oil in the back? Walgreens paid ME $2.00 for each box I took!

4. If you're curious how it's done, here's an example. See the 2 shampoos and 1 conditioner below? I paid 46 cents TOTAL for the three! (I should have used a lego man or something for scale. It's hard to tell, but these bottles are huge!)


Here's how I got all THREE for 46 cents:
Each bottle was $5.99, for a total of $18.00
I had 2 $3.00 coupons (printed from Target's website) and 2 $2.00 coupons (from the Sunday paper).
Now my total is 3 bottles for $8.00
Target had a promotion where if you buy three John Frieda products, you get a $5.00 gift card back.
Now my total is 3 bottles for $3.00 (Actually $3.46 after tax).
When I paid, the cash register generated a $3.00 coupon for my next John Frieda product which I will definitely use.
So the total for 3 bottles is $.46! Woot!

We only use organic bath products so this was a little out of my comfort zone, but it's reeeeally hard to pass up products at this price. I won't use these on the kids...just for me and Doron. (And yes, Doron is happily using his poisonous Nivea shaving gel pictured above).

5. Someone stop me now because I will go on for hours about how much money I saved on each particular item at each particular store.

Other family members have gotten on board.


6. I'd forgotten about this picture I took a couple weeks ago. I didn't post it because I was using my 50mm f/1.4 and my aperture was too wide causing my focus to be softer than I like.
Sometimes I do this while taking a picture to get TT to look at me:


Perhaps my pictures would be sharper if I wasn't holding my camera with one hand and bonking myself on the head with my lens cap with the other. Something to think about.

7. While I'm not opposed to dolls being anatomically correct, with 2 boys in the house I'm seriously re-considering my recent purchase of the little Disney princesses with interchangeable outfits. WOW.

8. Last week we took a trip to the Omaha Zoo. We're not avid zoo-goers, so it had been a year since our last visit. I asked TT what animal she was excited to see and she said a dragon. Yep, we better get her to a zoo pronto.

{A special thank you to the white-throated monitor who was an acceptable substitute for the much anticipated dragon).

9. I'm not sure the animals were ready for my tiny tornado whirling through the zoo like a maniac.


Many were caught off guard.


Some eyed her warily.


Some cowered in fear.




10. But others...


...just plain weren't impressed.


So those were our happenings for the week. What's new with you? :-)
Have a great Tuesday! ♥