I love a good bargain! A couple years ago I did The Grocery Game, took a couple years off, and now I’m back into it! I’m so glad I signed up again, I love saving money! Albertson’s had a great deal this week. They had couple money-back catalina promotions so I did three transactions.

The first transaction I got:

5 boxes of Fruit Gushers

With the sale and coupons I paid $4.80 (including tax). I got back a $3.50 catalina.

__________

The second transaction I did the same:

5 boxes of Fruit Gushers

With the sale and coupons I paid $4.30 (including tax). I got back a $3.50 catalina.

__________

The third transaction I got:

6 Pantene Hairsprays

4 Pantene Shampoos/Conditioners

3 bottles of ketchup

1 bottle of Dawn dishwasher liquid

They had a “buy $30 of certain products and get back a $10 catalina” promotion. So I used the 2 $3.50 catalinas I just earned, and with the sale and coupons I paid 13.99. Plus I got a $10 catalina for next time!

So, the total for all of this would have been $84.46 and I only paid $23.09 with a $10 catalina! So in essence, I really only paid $13.09! Awesome!!

Hmmm…I haven’t done a lot, but there’s a lot that I would love to do!

Instructions: The post is a list of 99 random things. Bold the ones that you yourself have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disney World
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

We are seeing some signs of spring! Our grass is starting to turn green and we’re getting some tiny buds on our trees and bushes! I can’t wait until my weeping cherry and lilac trees start to bloom! I love this time of year!

I’ve written up a tutorial on how to achieve this effect over at my website, OpenScrapbook. If you’re not a member yet, you should be!! We have great tutorials for photography, photoshop and digital scrapbooking! Plus fun papers, textures and actions just for members! And… if you’ve seen my Photo Veils lately, you can get them 50% off if you’re a member! How cool is that?!!

Yesterday Aaron and I went for a drive and a hike in the foothills. It was threatening to rain all day and we had some sprinkles here and there but nothing too wet! We hiked for about 15 minutes up a snowy road to the top of one of the hills. On the hill to my left and behind, there were a bunch of elk. There were probably around 30 of them… Aaron was in heaven! So we watched them for a little while and then I came over to this spot to take some pictures of the valley. Aaron wasn’t too far away, just down the hill a bit to look for elk sheds.

Just as I was taking these photos, I heard a loud sound… I thought it was the elk making noise, but a second later there were more. They were high-pitched howling noises! Aaron came running up the hill and told me we need to go now! Terror and absolute fear took over me! He said they were wolves and a lot of them! I have never been so scared! We had no gun or any way to defend ourselves. I had no idea wolves would be down this low. I always thought they’d be up in the mountains more. So we made sure they weren’t coming our way (they were on the back side of the opposite hill we were on) and we got the heck out of there!

I had nightmares last night… I was so scared! I didn’t get many more pictures after that, I wasn’t going to get out of the truck!

My lilac bush is sprouting these sweet little buds! I love this one, it looks like a butterfly. I love it when I find little surprises in nature! I’ve noticed most of my photos lately have brown and grey tones… I am so ready for the green and color to come!!

I used a couple of my Photo Veils on this:

Northern Lights set to Overlay at 100%

Summer Lily set to Soft Light at 40%.

Get them here!

This week at I Heart Faces the theme is hands! I love this picture. I caught Summer playing on the piano one day in January. I love her sweet, chubby little hands making sweet music!

Signs of Spring! Yay!

So, Autumn brings me a pair of pajama bottoms this morning and tells tells me to cut off the legs because they have holes in the knees. I cut them off and tell her to throw the scraps away. She pauses for a minute, then tells me she wants to make a dress for her Calm-Down Bear! So I cut some holes in the sides for sleeves and put the scrap on her care bear. She then tells me to make one for Summer’s Calm-Down Bear too! So the two Calm-Down Bears have matching dresses! Aren’t they so cute! So, do you want me to make you a dress now? I’m available…

On both photos, I used my newly released Photo Veils from the Simplicity Collection! They are so fast and easy to use! I whipped these two photos out in less than a minute! Check them out… you will love them!!

The Simplicity Collection is priced at $35 and includes 30 original Photo Veils. Members of OpenScrapbook receive a 50% discount on all digital products in our shop! Membership is only $15 a month and includes access to photography and digital scrapbooking tutorials, exclusive brushes, actions and textures, color palettes, special deals and more!

I’ve whipped up a few before and afters for you to see what Photo Veils can do! Each of these edits took me less than a minute to complete! That’s how quick and simple these are! They work the best in the Soft Light blending mode, which is what I’ve used in most of these samples. Experiment and try different blending modes to create a custom look!

Pixie Kisses – Soft Light blending mode – 100% Opacity

Salmon Salad Surprise! – Soft Light blending mode – 40% Opacity

Northern Lights – Soft Light blending mode – 100% Opacity

Grass Stains – Soft Light blending mode – 50% Opacity

Marigold – Soft Light blending mode – 100% Opacity

Summer Lily – Soft Light blending mode – 70% Opacity

Honey Crisp – Soft Light blending mode – 100% Opacity

History – Soft Light blending mode – 70% Opacity

Autumn Blaze – Soft Light blending mode – 20% Opacity

Serenity – Soft Light blending mode – 100% Opacity

Pixe Kisses – Soft Light blending mode – 40% Opacity

Marigold – Soft Light blending mode – 50% Opacity

Whisper – Soft Light blending mode – 100% Opacity

Ice – Overlay blending mode – 70% Opacity

Middle Image:  Brave – Soft Light blending mode – 100% Opacity

Mountain Sunset – Soft Light blending mode – 20% Opacity

Last Image:  Winter Jasmine – Soft Light blending mode – 75% Opacity

Repose – Soft Light blending mode – 50% Opacity