A Trip to Rite Aid and CVS

I got some great deals at Rite Aid and CVS this week!  I only purchased items for which I had a coupon (or two) and only bought items that we need and will use.  (Yes, I know we don't NEED the coffee and chocolate but they were completely FREE with coupons!)

$17.17 for all this! (Possibly, $12.17.  I have to wait and see if I get a rebate for part of it.)

4 bottles of Pantene

4 bottles of Head & Shoulders

4 bottles of Gillette body wash

4 tubes of toothpaste

4 toothbrushes

2 Gillette Pro-Glide razors

2 bottles of John Frieda Full Repair 

2 bottles of Renu

2 cans of Seattle's Best Iced Coffee

1 Hershey bar

That's an average of $.60 per item.  (or $.42 per item if I get the rebate)

Get some great samples and savings on Motts for Tots at:

www.vocalpoint.com/mottsfortots

Thanks to Vocalpoint!

Natural Remedy for Allergies and the Common Cold

Well, it's that time of year again.  The itchy eyes, runny nose, and sore throat are back again.  It tends to stay away during the winter months but as soon as the weather gets warmer, they're ba-ack!  So a few years ago, my mother and sister turned me onto my new favorite remedy...  

The Neti Pot  

You use a saline solution (you can buy packets at the store or make your own).  You use the neti pot to pour the solution in one nostril and let it drain out the other.  It sounds weird but it really works to clean out your sinuses.  You just have to make sure you breathe through your mouth or you'll swallow it, not fun.

I've noticed that when I use my neti pot, my throat doesn't hurt as much, if at all, and my nose is cleared for a while.  The nice thing about the neti pot is that you can use it as many times in a day as you want.  With medicine you have to be careful not to take too much in a day or you can really harm yourself.  It is also perfectly safe to use during pregnancy and breastfeeding when you have to limit the types of medication you use.  There are days when I use my neti pot up to six times.

Coffee in an Instant

So, as you may have figured out, I love coffee!  My sister-in-law (my husband's brother's wife) shares this love, as well as the love of chocolate.  We have great bonding over coffee and chocolate.  Anyway, since they live about 10 hours away from us by car, we don't get to see them very often, which makes me sad.  So at Thanksgiving we sent our Christmas presents for them with my mother-in-law and father-in-law and they sent theirs to us this past weekend through the in-laws as well.  

This is what I got, a Starbucks Via Ready Brew mug.  It is a 10 oz. travel mug that holds 6 Via Ready Brew packets on the bottom so, as long as you refill the mug with packets, you always have coffee available if you have your mug with you.  All you have to do is empty the packet in the mug and fill it with hot water up to the fill line.  To put the packets in the storage compartment, you just unscrew the bottom and put them in.  Then just put the bottom back on.  This is very convenient if you want a cup of coffee but only have access to hot water.  I love that you don't have to worry about finding a packet of instant coffee because it's already in the mug.  I've also found the Starbucks Via Ready Brew to be the highest quality instant coffee I've ever had.  It's not as good as brewed but it's not bad at all.  It doesn't taste burnt like some of the other brands.  You can get three different kinds:  Columbia (Medium), Italian Roast (Extra Bold), and Decaf Italian Roast (Extra Bold). 

While I love my Melitta Ready Set Joe, I can see that this mug will also be useful for those times when I don't have even 5 minutes to make a cup of coffee but really want one.

Ready, Set, JOE!!!

I have been searching for months for a one-cup coffee maker that just sits on the mug and brews it right into the cup.  The reason I wanted one is because I'm the only one in our house who drinks coffee and I don't always want to brew more than just a cup.  While I like my french press, I don't always have coarsely ground coffee on hand (and I don't want to wake the children by using the grinder) and I'm not a huge fan of cleaning it.  So I wanted something that would be easy to use for when I just want one cup with minimal clean-up.

I finally found one online in December by Melitta.  It's called the "Ready, Set, Joe" and it got pretty good reviews.  It's top-rack dishwasher safe and fits most mugs.  They sell it for $3 -$7 online and then, of course, you have to pay for the shipping which is usually at least $5.  I didn't want to pay that much so when I saw it on the Kitchen Collection website I decided to go to our local store to see if they have it.  Unfortunately, they didn't but they did say they'd order it.  I called every few weeks to see if it was in and finally last week it was!  So I went over there and got one for $2.99 plus tax.  I wanted black but all they had was red.  Oh well, it's just a kitchen gadget.  It doesn't really matter what color it is.

So I used it for the first time today and it works very well.  All you need is a #2 cone filter, some coffee, and some boiling water and you're good to go.  

So once you put the cone on your mug, put in a filter.  Then put the amount of coffee grounds you like in the filter.  Pour the boiling water over the grounds in a circular motion.  You can watch the coffee filter into your mug through the openings at the bottom of the cone.  This helps you to make sure it does not overflow out of the mug.

When the cup is full to your liking, remove the cone and your coffee is ready.