I thought the stores were crazy yesterday!

this is just a quick post as much for my own entertainment as anything. So far the winter storm has mostly been ice. They say we got about 1 1/2 inches of snow last night (you folks up north can just quit laughing :) ) but the rest has a beautifully glistening COATING of ice! You know that feeling you get that is like living in an ice cube!? That's what is happening here. So far Lex. has been OK (knock on wood) but several surrounding counties are losing electric do to the trees coming down. Lex. had an ice storm come through that dropped 2 inches of ice on everything several years ago and just our side of the street was without power for 8 days. Now a lot of times there are things you can do to "make do" in that situation but my Mom was living here at the time and she is on an oxygen concentrator. Needless to say no I'm not having fun today. Anyways enough of my yabbering about our weather. I've got to do some digging around on the web to see if I can find anything that might help us all. I haven't done any shopping this week so nothing exciting happening there. Hope everyone stays warm!

Sun. Jan. something, coupons for hours and oh look it's snowing outside and we are in for a winter storm.

"RUN! HURRY! THEY ARE ALMOST OUT!"
Those are the words I hear echoing in the trees when Lexingtonians see one tiny snow flake coming out of the sky! For some reason here in central KY everyone has this mad desire to go wipe out every grocery store of beans, milk, bread and toilet paper as if they are going to starve in this mighty blizzard that is about to bestowed upon us! Never mind the fact that 90% of us will get up in the morning and trudge through the dreaded 1/4" of snow that we might get lucky enough to actually have on the ground to go to work! I really do get a kick out of going to the store at times like this just to watch people! Art, my other half is from up state NY and gets a very BIG kick out of all this adventure! Oh look it's starting to stick! Better go fill up the truck! LOL
I spent about 5 or 6 hours earlier today basically clipping coupons and sorting for the binder and the one's I want to mail out on my train. The last couple of weeks I have been very blessed with friends bringing me extra inserts and somehow I was completely overwhelmed with what I had! However I am caught up (for the most part as it always seems there are some coupon gremlins hiding more from me). I've been pretty lazy today but that's ok. It's been gray outside and the three of us have just hung out together. I sat down here to dig around and see if anyone had started posting deals they had located for the week and came across this blog from Pancakes/Diary of a new American. I ended up getting lost just reading about a few adventures she has had since coming to America. I can't imagine the culture shock of actually moving to a new country although I have visited several others. The difference was that I knew I would be returning home. It sounds as though she is loving life and her family and I think that's wonderful. Check it out if your willing to look at American life through her eyes and laugh at yourself!

Tax time! Ewwwwwwwyyyyyyy!

Well it is that time again. Tax time! Fortunately most of us get money back instead of having to pay which is great! But even if you are on the receiving end of the money it is still a nerve racking hassle for most people. Yes I know some people are just born tax savvy but HAH not me! Years ago I went to those services that are out there down the street. I refuse to give them any credit at all so that's why I don't mention names. Now mind you there are some time's that they SHOULD be used to help protect yourself but even then I don't agree with the national chains. I myself love Turbo Tax. I actually use Intuits free online version called Tax Freedom. It is free depending on a few different factors including yearly income but I'm sure many people fit into the criteria. I have been very successful with it and it helps me to save the most possible and find deductions that I don't know about.
There is another program from Intuit that I like called It's Deductible. This is great for tracking all forms of donations! That includes all those wonderful free shampoo's, conditioner's, deodorant and toothpastes! Did you know that that stuff is a tax deduction? I love being able to donate to charities and it's a bonus if you can deduct it! It's Deductible is based on the IRS guidelines and helps to protect YOU from being audited!
Now I'm sitting here looking at what used to be my living room and now has become tornado central (remember we have a toddler!) I still get amazed at how many different places you can find crayons! Hope everyone has a great day!

Something more than coupons!

I couldn't help but laugh as I typed the title of this blog. What, there is something more than coupons? How can that be!!?? Well when I'm walking into Krogers or Meijer stores and I don't have my coupon binder the clerks get very worried about me! Actually had one ask me one time if I had misplaced it somewhere in the store and not realize it!
However today I do want to mention a web site that I think could be very helpful for many people. She also has a national radio show called The Kim Komando Show. You can find her site here. She is truly a digital goddess and guru! From free security software to explaining the latest electronics out there her site is definitely one you need to put into favorites. On this page I have found some valuable information from online jobs to making money from your photography. I know there are a few of you out there that love your camera's so I would recommend you check this out for some ideas.