More Coupon Shopping this Week

Haven't blogged for a while. I've been so busy cleaning up the house and getting rid of things we don't need the last few weeks. My mom gave us half of her Thanksgiving turkey and lots of other goodies so our fridge is really full. We resisted the temptation of Black Friday shopping and well, I don't think we missed any must-have deals.

So now that we've been gone for a while, we are ready to get back to the action and do a little mini shopping this week. Here are some great deals this week.

Walmart:

Green Giant Steamer $1 ea
-$1/1 coupon
Free

Ouchless Ponytail Holder $1.46 ea
-$2/1 coupon
$0.54 overage each

Arm and Hammer baking soda $0.46 ea
-$1/2 coupon
$-0.08/2

Kroger:

Colgate Toothpaste $2.06
-$0.75/1 coupon
-$1/1 cellfire coupon
$0.06 each

Walgreen:

All 2x Ultra Laundry Detergent (12 load size)
$1.79 with WAG coupon
-$1/1 printable coupon
$0.79 each

If I see any more great deals this week, I will add it to this post so come back to check~

Swagbucks

Have you heard about Swagbucks? I just got an e-mail from a friend about it. Basically it's a search engine that earns you $$ every time you do a search. Since I do a lot of searches online, it's a nice way to earn a gift card or two every month. Here's how it works. You earn points everytime you perform one of the four following:

1) Search - Each time you use the Swagbucks search engine which you can download as a toolbar, you have a chance to win either 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 points.

2) Shop - For every $5 you spend, you earn 1 Swagbuck. This can be another way to add up points if you plan to do a lot of online shopping this holiday season.

3) Invite friends - For each person you refer, every time they win points, you win the same number of points! You can earn up to 100 pts per friend you refer. This can add up nicely in the long run.

4) Go Green - If you have old cell phones or mp3 players, you can earn Swagbucks by trading them in. I happen to have an old Nokia 6100 cell phone which I don't use anymore. It will get me about 20 swagbucks. Not bad at all.

What can I get for the points I accumulate?

There are lots of prizes you can claim. For example, here are some gift cards you can claim. I like gift cards because they're like cash. I am especially interested in the Amazon GCs because they require low points so 90 points can get you $10. Not bad at all. We also shop a lot at Target so I am interested in the $20 Target GC as well.

45 points = $5 AmazonGC
50 points = $5 Starbucks GC
99 = $5 Subway GC
115 = $10 Barnes & Noble GC
145 = $15 iTunes GC
220 = $20 Target GC
270 = $25 Disney.com GC
350 = $25 Exon Mobile GC

If you're interested, here's how to sign up! Swagbucks

Keep those paws warm

Skittles, our 4 month old cat loves heat. She used to sit on my notebook keypad or on my husband's PC unit at night when the temperature drops. As soon as I get up from my desk to pour myself a hot drink, my cat would hop on my laptop and plant herself firmly on the spot, refusing to budge until I drag her off paw by paw. Finally, I had this moment of "ah ha" and came up with the idea of making her a thermo pad/bed out of an old puffy jacket.



The concept is pretty simple. I got the idea from one of those self-warming pads for pets that I saw online. I was curious what made the pad "self-warming" and after some online research found that the material they used was mylar. Mylar is really cheap. They sell it as thermo blanket for camping/outdoor recue and they also use it to make car sunshade. As the weather gets colder, this is a DIY project that you can tackle. It's not hard and your pet will love it. One thing you need to know for this project is how to sew, either by hand or with a machine. I didn't have a sewing machine at the time so I hand sewed the whole thing. It actually wasn't too bad.

Here's the instruction: How to Make a Thermo Cat/Dog Bed from Puffy Jacket. Try to follow the instruction if you can. If not, as long as you get the idea and can sew the basic structure together securly and neatly, you can make it any shape you want as long as your cat and dog can squeeze inside the thing. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.

Savvier at being frugal

Today, we got some pretty good deals at Kroger. Here's what we got for $3.43 OOP after coupons and Mega Sale $5 back for 10 special purchase items.

Kroger Mega Sale items:

Nestle Carnation Evaporated Milk : $0.50 ea after MS discount - $1 off 2 coupon = 8 free cans (using 4 coupons)
Gold Medal Unbleached All Purpose : $1.50 ea after MS discount - $1 off coupon (it says for whole wheat only but they let me use it for unbleached so YMMV) = $0.50 for 5 lb flour
Quaker Quakes Rice Snacks = $0.50 ea after MS discount

Kroger Non Mega Sale items:

Eggland's Best : 2.69- $0.35 off coupon x 3 (11/9 insert) = $1.64
Kroger Peeled Baby Carrots 32 oz : $0.79 (manager's special)

Total = $3.43 after coupons and Mega Sale discount


Compared to last year, we've definitely scaled down on the amount of coupon shopping that we do this year. Like many coupon shoppers, we came to realize that time spent looking for and clipping coupons as well as planning transactions and trips add up. Sometimes, we see a deal and say to ourselves ok we have to go get it today before the deal ends or the item sells out. Trying to catch a deal often means more frequent shopping trips to the grocery store costing us both gas and time. We used to justify these trips by saying yeah but we saved so much money in the end. True, but why stress yourself out if there are smarter ways to get the job done. Now we plan purchases around the things that we need, not just what's on sale. We also decided to start using cash and not credit card to make our purchases. This, in addition to cutting down on the number of shopping trips we make, definitely help us keep track of both money and time. Now we have more time to do the things that we enjoy like cuddling on the couch with a hot cup of chocolate and a good book, watching movies at home on weekends, and chasing the cat down as she tries to run away with my hair band ...

Neat Image

I am still playing around with Neat Image to reduce the graininess on pictures that were taken a while back. If you haven't heard of this software, Neat Image reduces noise created by digital cameras. The demo version of this software, which is what I use, is free. Here's the before and after results. The difference is quite striking. Click to enlarge.

Before


After

Plan for this year

The last couple of days I've been in hiding. I am ok really. Through all the ups and downs, I still believe I made the right decision in taking time off. Now that I get a year to myself, I've finally decide to utilize this time to do the things that I love.

1. Blog / Write - I always wanted to blog more but never had time. This year, I have the perfect opportunity to blog about whatever I want and add real content to this site.

2. Read - I am a real compulsive reader and there are lots of books on my reading list. I am also going to re-read my medical textbooks. If I set up a schedule every day I should be able to get lots of reading done this year.

3. Photography - J and I are planning to get a nicer SLR camera and selling the old one we have. I did a lot of smudge cleanup yesterday using Adobe Photoshop. Examples include ant and sunset picture above and icon on main page with little guy being crushed by stethoscope. Ain't that a good use for my stethoscope :p

4. Vector art - I want to learn how to make vector art using Photoshop Illustrator. Once I get the hang of it, I could submit my work to Shutterstock.

5. Write music - Still have to do some heavy editing using Overture and replay and re-record the pieces. I have the keyboard set up and everything.

6. Travel - J and I are setting aside some fund for traveling. Really excited. Will elaborate on this later.

In a way, I hope this year I get to do all the things I've always wanted to do. Medicine is a lifelong commitment and requires a lot of sacrifice, no doubt about it. In this profession, we keep telling ourselves ok 4 more years to go, 3 more years, 2 more years. Well, sometimes, you just can't keep putting things off. I am doing this for myself and I have no regrets or apologies. I know my parents may not understand but that's ok with me. For the longest time, I felt that I needed their approval in order to be happy. Now, I finally realized what I want. This is my life and this is what I want. Yes, I chose to go into medicine, and I thought choosing medicine meant giving up art. Now I know I will always be an artist. That doesn't mean I can't be a good physician, or vice versa. I need to find a balance between art and medicine. That's what I want to do for myself this year.

Jellyfish

In the sea of pressed suits and shining white coats, a jellyfish swims - a tiny creature floating tenaciously on the waves, vulnerable yet resilient in its translucent beauty. Welcome to the world of medicine, home of the big fishes. For some, it is playground of the great sharks and marlins. For others, the natural inclination and finesse essential for greatness seems elusive. Deep inside, we fear betraying the inner glows that makes us seem fragile and vulnerable. So who are we? you ask. We are artists in medicine. In our passion for the art of medicine, we began the transformation of a lifetime. Through cathartic journey of self-doubt and denial, we arrive after countless defeats and setbacks. Some say we do it for money, for status, for parents. For those of us who believe strongly in the cause, we know we do it for the love of life. Medicine allows us rare glimpses into life's many miracles and beauties. We see more in medicine than our peers, sometimes too much. For all our individual failures and inadequacies, we bring different perspectives and unique sensitivities to medicine. Through our own struggles and defeat, we come to care deeply for those who suffer. We become the voices of our patients. Through us, medicine finds its lost tradition in art, its heart for humanity. So fear not jellyfish, in your lonely struggle out in the lonely seas. If you look around, there are many of us glowing out in the fierce waves. Together, we are an army of individuals who stand firm in our belief in a nontraditional approach to medicine. One day, white coat in hand and morning team in tow, you too will be at the helm steering your ship on the rough seas. That day will come soon enough, if you keep persisting. And when it does, remember the journey that brought us all here.

A New Start

It's hard to believe that my last blog entry was written over half a year ago. Looking back, so much has happened during this time. Yes I've been busy but one can only come up with so many excuses. During this time, one of the toughest decisions I made was to take a year off from school to sort through things in life. That's to put things simply, of course. The real reason is a lot more complicated and is something I am still trying to figure out. I guess that's how life is. I used to think that life is a long journey filled with one milestone after another. Now, I see life in more cyclical terms. What I mean is, I think no matter where we go, what we become and achieve, we cannot escape from who we truly are. The little girl who grew up in the countryside, chasing butterflies, that was me and still is. This carefree child has been hiding inside of me all these years, holding her breathe waiting for the right moment to come running out of hiding. In the midst of this aseptic existence that has become my world, I could still hear deep inside the whispers of summer breeze and promises of monsoon rain to come. I am afraid, still am, of being free and vulnerable. I have not yet found a compromise. I lost my balance and fell, only to realize that I could not have fallen since I never did walk. Now this! What an expanse of emptiness and potential. I feel the trembling exhilaration of a caged bird set free. To what height could I soar and to what depth could I fall? I want to know. For to live and have not lived, that is the real tragedy of the modern life. I traded in my shining new sports car for an old model-T. This is my personal odyssey in search of the familiar sounds and faces of a disappearing world.

El Paso Desert Landscape

Here are some pictures my husband and I took 2 weeks ago when we went walking around the neighborhood. It was such a nice day and we got some nice shots because of the great lighting. Hope you enjoy the El Paso desert scenery as much as we did!

Night Float Week

I've been on night float all week long for OB/Gyn rotation. Honestly, it's been such a rough week. I can't talk about the specifics but some of the deliveries have been really tough. As a medical student, my responsibilities are limited but I still feel the weight of things. Around the hospital, there's always a lot of finger pointing when anything goes wrong and no one really does anything about it. Anyways, I learned a lot this week in terms of what is my responsibility and what isn't. Sometimes we just have to learn to be smart and protect ourselves while protecting the right of our patients. Ultimately, I don't want to lose sight of why I am doing what I am doing. When we see the tears of joy in the eyes of our patients, we understand that this is what is most important. It's going to be a tough road ahead but I just want to remind myself from time to time that ultimately, we have to do what we believe is right, no matter how much pressure and prejudice we face in the workplace. Some things aren't our fault and there is nothing we can do to change the outcome. Understanding this simple fact allows me to divert my energy elsewhere rather than waste time worrying and losing sleep. On the bright side, I helped deliver around 15 babies this week. Last night we received 16 babies and I delivered 4 of them. There was this tiny one with a big head that cries really loud. He was so precious and reminds me of a peanut. We can hear him all the way down the hallway. Anyway, all the babies are super cute. I haven't seen one that wasn't cute. As to what I want to be, the answer is I don't know yet. I really don't know. Whatever I am good at and also happen to like. I think patient interaction is really important to me and so I want to choose a field that allows me to follow my patients and get to know them rather than just performing procedures. Alright, I am going to bed now. Have to switch back to day schedule for next week. Shelf exam is coming up so it's time to buckle down and study!

BTW, someone left me a message!! I think it's SVB over at Digerati Life. Coolness. I never thought anyone would be interested in my blog. I guess when you're just starting off, any little positive encouragement goes a long way. That really made my day :) So if you happen to stumble upon my site, please leave a friendly message or two. I promise I will get a real kick out of it. And come back from time to time because I do blog in b/w night calls and PMS :)

Funny thing I read & random musings...

I don't know why I think it's so funny but reading this old blog entry from The Digerati Life made me laugh so hard (I know I should be studying but it's weekend and I feel entitled to my half day of idleness).

Curb Appeal: One Of My Best Investments Yet Or How I Turned $80 Into $5,000 With Minimal Risk

Hehe... I like people with a weird sense of humor who think outside of the box. Seriously, it's true that sometimes money does grow on trees. You just have to know where to look. Sometimes, it's not much further than your own backyard.

On to another topic. So I am suppose to get a haircut today. I know some of my classmates get $70-80 haircuts (ahem, you know who you are). Sure a nice haircut does make a big difference, especially in a professional setting. Some really great haircuts are definitely worth what you pay for but that's not always true. Some expensive haircuts can make you wish you were bald (nothing wrong with that either if that's what you prefer). I've heard some horror stories from people. It's like OMG, what happened.... oh $#@#?? BTW, I give everyone in my family free haircuts and I am pretty good at it too I might add (although I am the meticulous type who takes forever). It's something I really enjoy. Same goes for writing, painting, reading, cooking, photography.... Sometimes our schedule get so hectic we end up missing out on the little things that make life more enjoyable.

I was just reading Trent's blog over at the Simple Dollar. I really admire this guy who has it all figured out in terms of knowing what he wants to accomplish in a day and making the time for things that truly matter in life, not just money. His blog is like a treasure chest of practical advice for the everyday man/woman struggling to find the right financial strategy and life perspective. For me, this one's a must read.

Twelve Invaluable Life Money Hacks : Little Daily Steps for Finding the Money and Time to Get Things Done

Now, I know it won't be easy to put it all into practice, and it won't be the same system for everyone. However, just being conscientious in sticking to a more structured format will allow me to do more of the little things that I love to do in life. Not a bad trade off really. This is definitely something for me to think about and more importantly, implement in my life.

Exhausting Day....

Today I spent a good part of the late afternoon and evening doing grocery shopping. I find it pretty exhausting to shop with a budget. Although it would be much easier to just shop on the go, I am trying to curb my monthly grocery bill by developing more conscientious spending habits. One problem I have with budgeting is that sometimes you end up spending a lot of time and energy keeping track of what you spend and how much you have left.

This is why I thought to myself whether gift cards or prepaid visa/master cards could come in handy in tracking spending. I don't really purchase GCs that often, so I read up on the risks associated with gift card purchase (see gift card fraud on scambusters.org).

"If you buy Gift Cards from a display rack that has various store cards you may become a victim of theft. Crooks are now jotting down the card numbers in the store and then wait a few days and call to see how much of a balance they have on the card. Once they find the card is "activated," they go online and start shopping. You may want to purchase your card from a customer service person, where they do not have the Gift Cards viewable to the public."

Although prepaid cards like Visa/Mastercards are safer to use. There are drawbacks as well, mainly a monthly maintenance fee associated with the prepaid cards ( prepaidcardguide.com). You get charged for using the card to make ATM withdrawals as well. Good news is if you lose the card they will replace it for you for free, which is good if your card gets stolen. But protection level may vary with different cards.

So I guess the GC/prepaid card idea is out. For the time being, I'll stick with my BOA MyAccess debit card. It's free and since I am enrolled in Keep the Change program, every transaction get rounded up to whole dollar values and the extra funds automatically transfer to my Savings Account. BOA then matches the amount transfered to savings dollar for dollar (100%) at the end of the year for transfers made in the first 3 months. After 3 months, the match amount drops to 5% . I guess it's not too bad although I am sure they're still making money off of me. Considering their savings interest rate is so low, this is probably the only way for them to get me to put my money in their savings account as oppose to putting it in FNBO savings (their interest rate just went from 5% to 4.5%). Oh well, you can't win in everything and even if you do, nothing good lasts forever.

As to time management, my goal is to strive to make as few trips to the grocery store as possible next month. Grocery shopping here in El Paso is such a hassle. No matter where you go (supermarket, drug store, post office...) and what time of the day you go, there is always a line. You can bet on it. When DH comes, we will make one trip to SuperTarget on the East side and do all the shopping in one day. Fewer trips means less headache and less time wasted staring at tabloid magazines and overpriced chewing gums. And as an added bonus, this also means fewer transactions to track and easier budgeting.

Insane Week in the Hospital

Ok, before I start my rant and rave. Here's the fabulous pizza my DH made last week!!! As for me, I'll be making lemon bar and madeleines this weekend. Yum yum...

So here's an overview of my totally crazy week. I was suppose to be in Ob/Gyn OR this week but for some reason things have sort of ground to a halt in the hospital lately. Monday was MLK holiday so we had the day off. Tuesday and Wednesday I was hoping to scrub in on at least one surgery (I am not the biggest OR fan but sometimes you do get really cool cases). As luck would have it, there simply weren't enough patients to go around so I didn't get to scrub in on any OR case. But nothing compares to what happened yesterday. So as I was leaving the house at 5:00am, I realized I had forgot my hospital ID. I was going to go back and get it but since I was in a rush I decided it wasn't worth the trouble. By the time I got to the hospital, it was already 5:30 am. As I was walking up to the back entrance, I saw 2 armed police officers. One looked like he was carrying a rifle. I was like huh?!? what's going on?? Since I didn't have my ID and the back door was locked, I sort of waved at the guys signaling that I didn't have my card. To make a long story short, I had to drive all the way back home to get my ID :( So this is what happened ... Bizarre, yes. But hey this is El Paso. I heard that they shut down the border a couple years back when President Bush visited and there were no patients in triage all day. The residents really enjoyed their day off! To wrap off a totally insane week, the residents will be taking their CREOG exam today (7 hrs!) so no morning rounds and no grand rounds for us third years. That means I have all of Friday off and that's why I am sitting here sipping juice and catching up on blogging :) Can't believe it! Two 3 day weekends in a row. I had better make darn good use of my free weekend to catch up on cooking, eating, sleeping, and reading...

To follow up on the previous blog on pesticides, you can download and print a little card that lists pesticide levels on different produce at Foodnews.org. This way you have a handy reference next time you go grocery shopping.

Last but not least, here's a really cool video I saw today on how to save $$ and the environment with every flush!! Interesting idea. I might give it a try ;)

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend~~

Sunday Afternoon Blog

Yay... this is my first blog. I am so excited!! It's going to be so much fun~~

So... it's a nice and cozy Sunday afternoon here in El Paso. I am sitting here trying to figure out how to make broccoli soup. For some reason I thought broccoli contains very high level of pesticide. Well, I looked it up and it says broccoli is among the group of veges & fruits with lowest level of pesticide.

It seems that with some produce it's better to buy organic. Commercial fruit wash reagents (Environne and Vitanet) are available online if you want to try to wash the pesticide off. You can also make your own wash with dilute detergent. Just rinse the vege and fruit in warm water containing dilute detergent x 5-10 sec and wash with clean water. I might try that next time.

Well, since I am doing the chart tomorrow morning for round, I am going to have to get up at 3am. That means going to bed by 9pm tonight. I need to go work out later this afternoon so I'll be able to fall asleep tonight.

BTW, for those with GERD or occasional heart burn, here's a $5 off coupon for Zantac. Walgreen sells the 8 count 150 mg Zantac (Ranitidine) package for $5 so that means FREE OTC heartburn med. I tried it and it works pretty well. There's a warning label for people who are allergic to Ranitidine or have had allergic reactions to other acid reducers.

Okie that's it for now. Will update later~ I really enjoyed blogging my very first Cheap Medicine blog entry.