Keratosis Pilaris: i.e. chicken skin

Our skin is our largest organ.  So it stands to reason that it's so hard to take care of it.  Before I got pregnant I had beautiful smooth clear skin; during my pregnancy my upper arms started to get red spots and raised bumps.  7 years later I'm still battling this problem.  My Mom found an article that finally explained to me what is causing this and possibly how to rectify it.  It's called Keratosis Pilaris or Chicken Skin because it looks like goose bumps except they don't go away. 

Once I knew what I was dealing with I was able to look it up on the internet.  I found this article from helpforKP.com :

Half the Population Has Keratosis Pilaris

And Most of Them Don't Know It

Keratosis Pilaris (KP) is a very common skin condition often referred to as "chicken skin". If you have keratosis pilaris, you are not alone. Worldwide, keratosis pilaris affects an estimated 40 to 50% of the adult population and approximately 50 to 80% of all adolescents. Varying in degree, cases of KP can range from minimal to severe.

Most people with keratosis pilaris don't know they have it. While KP resembles goosebumps, it is characterized by the appearance of small, rough bumps on the skin. Primarily, it appears on the back and outer sides of the upper arms, but can also occur on thighs and buttocks or any body part except palms or soles. (Often confused with acne.)

Keratosis pilaris is unsightly but completely harmless. KP tends to be worse during the winter months or other times of low humidity when the skin dries out. It may also occur and/or worsen among pregnant women or show up after childbirth.

I just purchased two products from DERMAdoctor from their KP Duty Line.  I using applied both for the first time today.  The lotion is non greasy and absorbs quickly leaving your skin silky smooth and the scrub, althought pricey, feels great and you use very little.  Literally I dipped my finger tip in it and used that for my entire upper arm. 

My son has it on his legs and arms and hates any lotions or creams.  While he was sleeping I massaged some into his legs and it was absorbed in seconds.  When he woke up he had no idea I had done it.  I'm going to continue this nightly to see if it alleviates the bumps since I find him scratching them from time to time and then he has little scabs on his legs.

Saturday February 26, 2011

Wow I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post.  
Last Friday we headed up to my parents on Long Island in NY.  Unfortunately Bob couldn't make the trip with us due to work obligations.  Jake had off on Monday for Presidents day so it was nice to have an extra day to visit. 

Jake was really excited to see Grandma & Grandpa and his Aunt, Uncle & Cousin.  We don't get to visit that often so we've recently started using Skype to keep in touch and "see" each other.

Unfortunately allergies started hitting us on the drive up and we were under the weather for the whole visit.  But it all worked out.  Jake got to play with his 2 year old Cousin and they had a blast together.  Saturday Grandpa and Jake went to see Gnomio and Juliet in 3D and they both loved it.  Mom & I got to spend some quality time together doing what we do best  SHOPPING.  We hit Marshall's and got to browse at our leisure.  We have one in MD but I have a hard time getting there; plus it's way more fun to shop with my Mom.

Last time we went I found these Kinetic Go Green Food Storage containers, they're BPA free & FDA approved and recyclable.  They nest inside each other with the covers on (they snap closed on all four sides for an airtight seal) this way I don't have a cabinet full of mismatched covers and they save space. 



This time we found a 2 pack of water/juice pitchers (68 oz ea) for $9.99 and a  7 piece Food Storage set for $24.99.  The one I purchased stores in a 328 oz Container with a Handle.  The other 6 containers are all rectangular : two 37 oz, one 31.7 oz, one 21 oz, one 12 oz, one 10 oz.
I find these don't discolor or cloud like the disposable kind.  I plan on storing brown sugar, cane sugar and other dry goods in them in my pantry which should help me organize and find items when I need them as well as keeping them fresh. 






To save money I buy frozen 100% juice concentrate; now I can get rid of my old pitchers, which probably contain  BPA, and use these safer pitchers.  They'll fit on my refrigerator door or the shelf and take up less space as they're narrow and a bit taller than a standard pitcher.


I used to buy off brand or dollar store storage containers  and quickly found they cost me more money in the long run as I had to replace them more often. 

I've learned that even though I want to save money and spend less sometimes you need to spend a few dollars more on items that are used daily.  They last longer and end up saving you money in the long run.

My Mom bought some pitchers as well, she needed to replace the old shelf one my Dad has been using for his green tea.  

I bought Jake a couple of new pairs of sneakers and some socks but we had to go return them the next morning since he didn't like the way they felt.  Jake has a tactile issue and we have a difficult time finding clothing items and shoes that he'll wear.  He's 7 1/2 and we just recently got him to start wearing socks, but that's a whole other story for another post.

The rest of our visit we just hung out at home.  We ordered in Chinese food which is a New York  must.  Chinese food in MD is definately not up to par with New York. Usually I have Pizza & a Pastrami sandwich from Ben's but we weren't up to going out to eat.

Monday morning we headed home in between snow storms.  We were sad to leave but wanted to get home safely and missed Daddy/Husband.  Jake & I will head back up North over the summer for a longer visit.  We enjoyed our visit and miss our family very much.  It makes the time we spend together that much more precious.

Is it really only Tuesday?

Happy day after Valentines Day/weekend.  
Sometimes I feel that Tuesdays are harder than Mondays.   We make so many promises to ourselves over the weekend about what we're going to do on Monday that when we don't get a chance to do them all Tuesday morning we berate ourselves about it and give up. 

Especially after a holiday where we may have spent a little more money than we intended to and it sidetracks our saving plans for the next few weeks.  To offset these little speedbumps in life it's a good idea to squirrel away a few extra dollars, whether it's in a separate bank account or the "Girl's Night Out" fund Jar on the kitchen counter.  Saving money for a "rainy day" can seem like an insurmountable task, especially if you set a goal amount.  What I've come to realize is doing it a little bit at a time makes it much easier.  Even if you start with $.25 a week and then try to increase it by adding $.25 to it every week (i.e. week 1 $.25, week 2 $.50, week 3 $.75) pay yourself first and don't try to jump start it by throwing in $5 or $10 in the beginning as you'll only find yourself reaching into the proverbial cookie jar when funds are running low.   The idea is to slowly learn how to live without that deposit amount and get used to living on what's left.  Once you reach your goal amount then continue to put in your final amount until you double the savings balance.  

We like to use ING Direct as our "don't touch" savings account.  We send a set amount to that account every month when my Husband gets paid and are using those fund to try and reach our goal.  We buy Certificates of Deposit every month we can.  Our Ultimate goal is to have 12 months of mortgage payments and living expenses in CD's that mature every month of the year. 

Holy Hershey Bars, Kmart Clearance

Got a call from my Girlfriend a little while ago.  She wanted to know if I got her page, I hadn't and was so glad she called when I heard what she had to say.

She went to Kmart and they have 6 packs of the big 1.55 ounce Hershey Bars on Clearance for A DOLLAR a pack.

I headed right over and they had a lot left, they're on a rack at the front of the store.

I bought 6 packs (36 bars) for $6.36 OOP (total Out Of Pocket)

Rite Aid great Colgate Toothpaste deal for week of 2/13/2011

Just checked the Rite Aid circular that starts 2/13/2011 and I'm glad I didn't buy Colgate toothpaste yet. Just saw the Total and Senstive are $3.50 with $3.50 UP re/wards. There is a 2 UPS per household limit.

I have 2 $1 off coupons that expire on the 19th.
My OOP (Out Of Pocket) will be $5 for 2 and I'll get back $7 in UPS.


Well just realized one of my coupons expired. So I can buy 1 for $3.50 get $1 off and pay $2.50. Get $3.50 ups and buy another one which will be free and get another $3.50 UPS back. Actually this works out better anyway. I'll get 2 for $2.50 and still have $3.50 in UPS left.

"Lightbulb moment" really I can get 3rd one for free and have spent $2.50 OOP for 3.  Now I'm actually glad one of the coupons was expired.

How to organize your coupons

For a while now I've been clipping every coupon out of the coupon inserts and filing the ones for products I use and putting the rest in a baggie to share with friends.  I'm rethinking that process as it's taking me way too much time.  Now that I'm working part time, my set up time is limited.  I'm going back to clipping the ones for products I use regularly, writing the date of the insert on the front page in black marker and saving them in a folder or box.  This way if I see a deal mentioned on one of the forums I read and they have the insert name and date I can find it easily.

The way you keep your coupons is really a matter of personal preference and affordability.  I used to have a big file book, kind of like a check keeper but notebook size.  That turned out to be too big for me and it didn't have enough dividers for all my categories; I ended up having 20 labeled envelopes in there as well and it became a huge mess.

I've gone back to using the smaller check holders.  I decided to use two of them, one for food and one for everything else.  I have found I'm able to find food coupons better when I organized them by brand name since those items are usually found together.  The non food are organized by categories.  Hair, Face/Body, Teeth, Laundry, Paper good/storage..... this new system has been working nicely.

Before shopping I go over the circulars and make a list for each store and clip the circular and coupons and shopping list I intend to use there all together.  I do take my coupon holders in case I see an item that I have a coupon for at a good price.

My shopping list will have the store name on top and I list each item to buy, quantity, price, how many coupons & the value of each coupon and any store bonuses I should receive at checkout.  So for the most part I know how much I should be spending before I even get to the store.  This is a great way to budget as well.

Giant Shopping Trip 2-6-11

Todays trip took me to the Giant Supermarket

I am quickly learning that the more organized I am the more money I save.

It pays to save your coupons for a sale:

2 $1 off two Cheerios  2/$6  bought 4

2 $1 off 3 Birdseye Steamfresh   $10/10  bought 6

1 $.75 off 2 gogurt    2/$5  bought 1

2 $.75 off when buy both Betty Crocker Cake mix & frosting  $10/10  & 3/$5 frosting  bought 2 of each

1 $1 off 6 roll or more of Bounty     9.99   Bought 1 but realized when got home it rang as $15.99, either I bought the wrong one or there was a mistake

2 $.75 off Tabasco sauce   $10/10  Money Maker  bought 2  made $1

1 $1 off  Kelloggs Wheaties  coupon worked for Kelloggs Raisin bran   2/$4  bought the last 2 in the store

Flavored Thomas' english muffins   2/$6  no coupon

Quakes Rice Cakes  $10/10  bought 6 and Catalina printed for $2 off after I scanned and I was able to use it on this order

2 Kraft Easy Mac  $3.29 each  no coupon

 2 $1 off Ronzoni Garden pasta & 1 $1/2 Ronzoni Smart Taste coupons  4 Ronzoni smart Taste pasta  $1.50 each

3 cans minced clams  3/$5 no coupon

1 $1/2 Kens Salad Dressing   bought 2 Kens Dressing  $2.50 each

2 $.75 off  Kraft slices  bought 2  @ 2/$5

1 $1 off Philadelphia Cream Cheeze Mini's  coupon took for 2 Philadelphia Cream Cheese 8 oz packages  $1.99 each 

Bunch of Sunflowers  $7.99 no coupon

Total was $119.06  before coupons and store savings  had $25 worth of coupons and received $.98 Personal Thanks savings

Total Savings  $44.33

Final Total $74.73

43 items with an average price per item of $1.77

2 day savings total of $166.33

Total spent

$277.66

Giant Eagle shopping trip today

Well I'm just back from my first really big shopping trip.  Had all my coupons organized and ready to go.  Dropped my son in the Eagles Nest and headed around the store to see what damage I could do.  This was my 20% off my entire purchase trip so I was prepared to see a big number on the register.  I had coupons for almost all the items I purchased except for the meat and poultry and a few dairy items. 

I used the self checkout and didn't initially scan my Giant Eagle card and I took a photo of the register screen before I scanned it in.

The total was $323.23, that's the most I have ever purchased (except for at Costco).  Then I scanned in my card and all the store discounts came off:

Store discounts brought my total down to $284.70.   I started scanning in my coupons and got to the last two when the register froze up :lol: that's the first time something like that has happened to me.  The Manager had to reboot the computer and take me over to his register to load up my order and enter the last two coupons and deduct my 20% discount.

My grand total for 93 items including $50 worth of meat & poultry and 21 cans of Campbells soups was $201.59.  I was giddy and on cloud nine with my two shopping carts piled high with groceries.

Next time I'll have a better acounting of the actual coupons I used and item matchups.  But to sum it up I used $33.40 in coupons and my 20% off (the discount eligible purchase was $248.55) came to $49.71.
Plus I received Catalina's; 15 box tops coupon, $.75 off Campbells Chunky soup, $.75 off Select Harvest soup, and $1.00 off Danimals coolision yogurt.  My average was about $2.71 an item.

Mail Call Saturday 2-5-2011

Just hit the mailbox and found a few surprises:
Free Bloomberg Business Week Magazine
Free Blood Glucose and Cholesterol Screening from Rite Aid
Giant Eagle survey where I can win a $100 gift card
And the icing on the cake..... a manilla envelope stuffed to full with coupon inserts from my Mom in New York

Just got back from the gym and am getting ready to dive into a pile of coupons and scour my Grocery & Drug Store Circulars for my shopping trips today

Recent RiteAid Shopping Trip

Here's a good example of one of my shopping trips, I carefully planned what I was going to purchase and how many transactions to maximize my savings:

Rite aid purchase 1-11-11 in Frederick MD:

FYI you can use your earned up rewards in the same trip just do two transactions

Purchase 1

Scrubbing Bubbles Mega shower foamer & Scrubbing bubbles toilet cleaner (2 for $7)

Palmolive dish detergent (2 for $5)

Found $2 off 2 on Foamer container

$2 off Palmolive coupon

Rite Aid deal buy $12 of these items and get $4 up rewards

Final cost of $8 plus $4 up rewards

Secret deodarant 2 for $8 plus $2 up

Bought 3 with a buy 2 get one free

plus $1 P&G Secret coupon

Final cost 3 for $7 plus $2 up

Gain dish detergent on sale for $.89

$1 Gain P&G coupon

final cost profit of $.11

Total Cost 14.89  plus  tax and received $6 up rewards

Purchase 2

2 Ziploc Sandwich bags 50ct  2 for $4

coupon $1.25  =  $2.75

2 Bounty Basic Paper towels   $.89 each

coupon $1 = $.78

BOGO free Bandaid & Neosporin (mix and match)

Neosporin .5 oz $5.99

45 ct Bandaid sport $4.99 (free)

coupon $1.50 when buying both Bandaid & neosporitn

=  $4.49

Merchandise Total $8.02 

Used $6 up rewards from purchase 1 and $1 up reward from a previous purchase.

Final price $1.02 plus tax

Total for $41.65 worth of merchandise

$15.91 plus sales tax

Savings of $25.74

To coupon or not to coupon, that is the question

If you've found your way here to my blog then you're on the right path.  Those little pieces of paper can add up to big savings if you use them correctly. 

One of the keys to saving is not to buy things just because you have a coupon.  If you're not going to use it any money you "saved" won't be realized if it goes to waste.   You need to be cautious when buying items with rebates and register rewards like CVS rewards and Rite Aid UPS.  If you're the type of person that forgets to send in the rebate or doesn't use the register rewards then again you're not saving money.  I don't count my savings on a product where I get an UP reward (Rite Aid UP rewards are an instant rebate that prints out on your receipt to use on your next purchase) because I haven't saved anything until I use it on a product.  I count my savings on the purchase I use it with.

You can find coupons in many different places; some are on the actual product and are nicknamed peelies, in magazines, newspapers, in your mailbox, on the internet and directly from the manufacturer.

I've been pleasantly surprised by the amount of coupons received in the mail from manufacturers just for sending them an email telling them how I feel about their product.  I sent on to a company called Bar S and received at $5 product coupon and 5 $1 coupons.

Just today I received an email from company that I wrote to about a year ago; they are about to produce their radio commercials and loved my letter so much that they want me to be the real life Mom in their commercials.  So you never know what can happen when you sit down and write a note.

The internet is an amazing resource for saving money.  There are a wealth of websites online where you can print coupons for free (never pay to sign up with a website).

I will be adding more links to my favorite sites on the sidebar of my blog.