Author: Cheryl
•9:44 PM

Summary - Jan gives Michael the news that Dunder Mifflin cannot have both a Stamford and a Scranton branch. So there will be downsizing. all the office is concerned on who will go. This episode introduces Ryan to the office.

Oh My Lord Moment - Jan is holding a small meeting in Michael's office with Michael and Pam taking notes. Michael takes a call during the meeting from Todd Packer, obnoxious sales rep and one of Michael's friends. Todd unaware that Jan in the room says "Hey you big queer.......(when talking about Jan), hey Michael does the carpet match the drapes?" Michael says "Oh that is horrifying."

Semi-Oh My Lord Moment - Michael pretending to play a prank on Pam in front of Ryan. Michael accuses Pam of stealing post-it notes and has to fire her. Knowing Pam in the future it is hard to believe that she fell for this one, considering how bad a liar Michael is and how he is kinda laughing through the whole thing. But she does and when she finds out he is kidding she calls him "a jerk", which is one of the only time Pam calls Michael names.

Dwight - We see the first prank played between Jim and Dwight. Jim puts Dwights stapler in Jello. When Dwight insists Michael do something about him, Jim feigns his normal innocence.

My opinion - Well since this is the first episode and was shot months before the rest of the show began there are mostly appearance differences. Michael's hair is the most obvious to me. He has it slicked straight back which actually makes him look older, more of a slimy type of boss and somewhat balding. After that episode Steve Carell wears his hair on the show more like he wears it in real life which makes him look younger, and not so slick and suave.

Everyone looks less made up and more plain. Pam is insanely timid in the first episode as compared to even other ones in the first season where she seems to gain more confidence.

Jim and Pam - You find out that Pam doesn't want to spend her whole life being a receptionist and wants to be an illustrator. We find out Jim likes her drawings and knows her favorite flavor of yogurt, mixed berry. It doesn't take a genius to find out from this episode that he has quite a crush on her, and when he tries to get her to go out with the whole staff that evening, we are introduced to her fiance Roy, who doesn't seem to care about doing anything that Pam wants to. The first of Jim's many frustrations with her relationship is shown in the end of this episode.

Not much happens with the downsizing, that is for a much later show. And you don't get to see the supporting cast very much. The show ends unlike any other episode in the future; with Jim putting Michael's World's Best Boss cup in jello and the show playing out the theme music. But it was a nice way to introduce everyone.
Author: Cheryl
•8:45 PM
On the eve of the first of September we begin the official countdown to The Office premiere. This is my favorite show of all time and a big hit in our household. With the writer's strike last year, I suffered immensely at having an abbreviated season. I am hoping for a long full season, with plenty of inappropriate comments, over the top conference room meetings, Dwight Dwight Dwight, and a little bit of Jam to make it all sweet.

I would have loved to have reviewed each episode from the day it premiered, but I didn't have a blog then. So I thought I would recap them all now and get some of you caught up in what should be a staple tv show in your household.

Also The Office Season 4 dvd comes out on September 2nd, a must buy for all the blooper and extra footage.

The Office follows the behaviors, situations and antics of the employees of Dunder Mifflin, a mid-level paper supply company in Scranton, PA. It is shot in documentary style and has no live audience. So you actually have to be intelligent and figure out for yourself what is funny.

The cast of characters:

Michael Scott (Steve Carell) is the Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin Scranton. Is an expert at saying the wrong things at the wrong time. On a constant mission to be everyone's friend and accidentally alienating them at the same time.

Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) is the Assistant To The Regional Manager. An uptight, over the top beet farmer, with a passion for Lord of The Rings and being a Lackawanna County volunteer sheriff.

Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) is the cute office sales rep, who loves to play pranks on Dwight and has a secret crush on the receptionist.

Pam Beesley (Jenna Fischer) is the aforementioned receptionist at Dunder Mifflin. She timid, lacks self-confidence, loves to draw and is engaged to warehouse employee Roy for over three years.

Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey) is a Dunder Mifflin accountant, who is rigid, very religious, a serious worker and having a secret relationship with Dwight Schrute.

Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez) is another DM accountant, who tolerates Michael's antics, and is in the closet from the rest of the office.

Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner) is the last of the three DM accountants, a goofy, child like man, who loves strippers, sports gambling and eating candy.

Creed Bratton (Creed Bratton) DM quality control/hippie/thief/shiester/man of some of the strangest comments on the planet. Doesn't remember anyone's name.

Meredith Palmer (Kate Flannery) is the office alcoholic. Known to flash at company parties and drink hand sanitizers for the alcohol content.

Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling) is dippy, airy, celebrity obsessed customer service rep. Constantly clinging to office boyfriend, Ryan.

Ryan Howard (B.J. Novak) is the company temporary employee. A business college student who can't figure out how he got stuck at DM. The object of Michael Scott's affection.

Jan Levinson (Melora Hardin) is Michael's boss, and the deflector of many of Michael's inappropriate antics.

Roy Anderson (David Denman) is a warehouse employee who has been engaged to Pam Beesley for over three years, and lacking in attentiveness to her.

Darryl Philbin (Craig Robinson) is the warehouse manager. A man who enjoys teaching Michael imaginary hood phrases.

Stanley Hudson (Leslie David Baker), as Michael once called him something like "A Sassy, loveable, older black gentleman". Lives for pretzel day and crossword puzzles.

Phyllis Lapin (Phyllis Smith) is the older female sales rep with a love for Bob Vance of Vance Refrigeration, Dunder Mifflin's business neighbor.

Toby Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein) is the dreary and worn out human resources employee. The employee Michael loves to hate, as he constantly gets in the way of Michael's inappropriate ideas.
Author: Cheryl
•1:31 PM

Well this is a four day weekend for me. And with not alot of coupons in this week's papers, it game me more free time to come up with some deals and to have more time to make trips to CVS.

Today I made two trips. First one to my favorite CVS, where I was out to get the Suave body wash and the free Atkins bars. I like to get over to the store on Sunday's around 9am. But due to sleeping in a bit late I didn't get there until 10 am, and low and behold someone wiped them out of the Atkins bars. So we just stuck with the Suave body wash.

6 Suave body washes $2.00 each = $12.00

Total = $12.00

Coupons
(3) Buy one get one free on Suave body washes
(2) .75 cents off Suave body wash (I didn't have one more, darn)
(1) $2.00 off any purchase of $10.00 at CVS

ECB's used $2.00

Total out of pocket $1.06
Earned $4.00 in ECB's

So I have tons more body washes now and I have plenty of my husband's favorite kind, the coconut scent.


Then on my way back from my favorite CVS, I hit the other store that I am not that much of a big fan of. They are a busier store, so they run out of stuff more, and they don't always have everything entered into their system on time. But I was determined to find those Atkins bars, since they were free. Well I found out they have a much better clearance section than my usual store.

7 Atkins bars $1.00 = $7.00
1 bag of 250 ct. flexible straws $1.50 (clearance 75 % off) = .50 cents
6 Bonnie Bell chapsticks .75 (clearance 75 % off) .25 cents = $1.50

Total = $9.00

Coupons
(7) $1.00 off Atkins bars

Used no ECB's (I left them in the car, yikes)
Total out of pocket $2.00
No ECB's

I was still happy with this take. I got bars for my husband's lunches and tons of chapstick. A staple in my purse. I have several more trips planned for the rest of my long weekend. Its nice to have this free time.

Author: Cheryl
•8:24 PM

Well, its almost September, which is a good thing, cause I am very tired of watching reruns. I want my favorite shows back on with new episodes, and I want it now.

I always have so many comments and opinions after I see my favorite shows but had nowhere and no one to share it with, until now. I am going to recap each of my shows after their airing and give you my thoughts on the episode. Ones I will be reviewing - The Office, My Name Is Earl, and The Girls Next Door. I know, where the heck did The Girls Next Door come from in that list. Its my ultimate guilty pleasure.

I do not like any reality show where there are immunity idols, tribes, voting people off the island or out of the house. The only reality shows I like are the documentary style ones that follow people around and The Girls Next Door is like watching three Barbies, its just fun.

But I would love you to contribute. Do you have a favorite show that you would like to recap after each new episode, maybe Lost, or Gossip Girl, or 24? Let me know and you might get to be the guest blogger on my site for your show.
Author: Cheryl
•8:15 AM
The winner of our coupon giveaway is Honey. I will be contacting her today by e-mail to get her address so I can start sending her the coupons. Congratulations. Thanks to everyone for entering.
Author: Cheryl
•7:17 PM

Some things I call "4 Star Stockups". The things in our household we can't have enough of and am very excited to stock up when the situation happens. Some of those include dog and cat food, cat litter, bath wipes, Scotch lint rollers and last but not least tampons.

Not a beautiful topic, but needed none the less. When I first started CVS'ing I wasn't doing too well at getting a nice stock of them. But after a bit they started to accumulate bit by bit. What would help my stock get even bigger is if CVS would ever increase their limits on the good tp deals. Most of the time the limit is 1 or 2. So my stock keeps building slowly.

This week was the week of the period, as all of CVS'ers were joking about. Thank dog I got a woman cashier this week, and didn't traumatize a poor teenage boy at ringing up this catch.

2 boxes 40 ct OB tampons = $9.00
1 box Playtex Gentle Glide tampons = $4.99
1 box Kotex Lightday Liners = $1.49

Total = $15.48

Coupons
(1)$1.00 off any Kotex product
(2)$1.50 off any OB tampon
(1)$2.00 off any purchase of $10.00 at CVS

ECB's used $8.00

Total out of pocket paid $1.48
Earned $9.49 in ECB's

Mistake made here, as I forgot one of my coupons, so it should be have been only .48 cents, but I won't nitpick as it still wasn't a bad deal.
Author: Cheryl
•9:48 AM
Ahhh where did we leave off, pizza, yum, yes, deep dish pizza at Uno's. So after we stuffed our faces, we went home and rested up. Later that evening we ate at this great little place called Take Five, where everything on the menu was $5.00 and I thought it was very good.

The next morning after getting some coffee we set out for a busy day. We headed over to Navy Pier. Which is a pier with a shopping mall, food court, movie theater, amusement park, etc, etc, etc. This place was packed with stuff to do and was again beautiful and clean, a constant in what I saw of Chicago.

This was the view behind me as we were walking from the parking garage to the pier. It has been my wallpaper on my computer for days. What gorgeous buildings there. On the walk there, we saw kids playing near these cool fountains and people taking a Segway class, which I had never seen in person before.


We were starving when we got to Navy Pier so we stopped in the food court to get a hot dog. I can't remember for the life of me what was the name of the stand we stopped by, but they have every kind of hot dog under the sun. My dad, brother and husband got the Chicago dog and I tried the Michigan dog, which was loaded with sauerkraut and a spicy mustard. Both were delicious.


Our main purpose to go to Navy Pier was to see The Dark Knight at the Imax theater there. The shows were sold out, so good thing we ordered ours online about a week before we got there. During the line to wait for the theater to open, we were subjected to listening to a pirate show on a nearby stage in the mall and about 500 screaming children loving it. My poor husband, between the sold out crowd (he hates to see movies with lots of people) and the screaming kids I thought he was going to leave.

The Imax screen was incredible and huge. The theater was very nice, but I was cold in there. But the biggest shocker of all was the sold out crowd did not say one peep during the whole movie. My husband was thrilled. Everyone was entranced by the film and the screen. I was absolutely blown away. I thought the movie was fantastic and everyone in it was amazing. For how long it is, I didn't notice one bit. There was always action to keep you busy and you never felt like they were stretching it. The coolest thing was a majority of the movie was shot in Chicago. So after we left we were picking out places from the movie as we were seeing it in person.

The next day the Chicago Cubs were home for a game. We didn't really want to spend the money for tickets but wanted to see what the action is like. So my husband, dad and I took another walk down to Wrigley Field. It was absolutely packed, but everyone was really great. We bought some Cubs souvenirs, had lunch at a great Mexican tapas restaurant called Moe's Cantina and bought some chocolate at Nuts on Clark to help satisfy my sweet tooth.


Right across the street from Wrigley's Field is a McDonald's. I was the first one to notice that they had a huge egg outside in the parking lot. I swore when we first got there that I saw that it was cracked open, but later the first day we went by it again and it was closed. I think my dad and husband thought I was nuts. So when we went to the game on Friday it was open. I guess it stays open long enough for breakfast there and then closes up. I had to take a picture, it was so cool. Later that night we ate at Charlie's Ale House, a very nice pub type restaurant with good comfort food.



Author: Cheryl
•8:42 AM
I found out on i heart cvs this morning that vyrlmkt is now making all the coupons printed out from Facebook invalid. Seems they couldn't handle the influx of people printing them, are saying now some printed them illegally. Since they don't know how to handle this, they are making all the coupons invalid, lovely!! :(

I will have to remove these from the giveaway and shred all the ones I have. Thankfully I only used one of these before this happened. I will still of course include all the other coupons I have offered for the full four months. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Author: Cheryl
•3:20 PM

I love to enter contests on sites. But I thought it was time that I share the love and have one in return.

As you can see from the picture above I have alot of furbabies. But the one thing I don't need when cutting out coupons are human baby or kids related coupons; diapers, wipes, Johnsons, kids yogurts, lunchables, etc. So alot of them sit in a pile until I can't find anyone to give them to and then they go in the trash. I thought I would now put them to good use. If randomly selected, I will send you any baby coupons I get for the next 4 months, up until December 31st. As a bonus I will throw in there other coupons I tend to avoid (vitamins, sanitary pads, etc.), and at least one each of the Facebook internet coupons that everyone is having a hard time getting now (one is for $6.00 off Pantene).

Please leave a comment along with your e-mail address and I will have the computer randomly pick someone. No postage or anything to pay, I will take care of that each time I send a new stack to you. I do buy several papers to get my coupons, so it won't just be one of each.

Good luck to you mommas!!! I will pick a winner by August 25th.
Author: Cheryl
•9:00 PM

I got two bags full of stuff I really can use. I mean it is good to have Lamisil foot powder on hand in case you need it. But this is stuff that gets used daily in our house.

Probably ever other Sunday my mom goes with me on my CVS trip. We usually hit the grocery store afterwards. But for some reason when she goes with me I do really well in getting lots of product. It annoys her, but she doesn't want to put in the time to cut coupons and figure out deals. So every once in a while I give her a little gift bag of stuff from my stockpile. She also knows never to buy toothpaste. That I will keep her in stock of that for a lifetime.

I also find that I haven't been going to CVS as much as I would like. I used to go 3 to 4 times a week. But on top of my full time job, I find that I have more and more things filling up my little bit of free time and I just can't get over there more than once, if I'm lucky twice. So I try to make my trips good ones.

My deal this week.

6 Suave body washes 3 for $5.00 = $10.00
3 Hunt's snack packs (for my husband's lunches) was supposed to be 4 for $5.00, but they only had 3 left in stock = $3.75
5 Crest toothpastes $1.99 each = $9.95
1 Dove Skin Vitalizer = $9.99
2 Classic Cherry Chapsticks = $3.98

Total = $37.67

Coupons
(3) Buy one get one free Suave body washes (called BOGO's)
(3) $.75 off Suave body washes
(5) $1.00 off Crest toothpaste
(1) $3.50 off Dove Skin Vitalizer
(1) Free Chapstick Classic (got coupon through Facebook)
(1) $3.00 off any purchase of $15.00 at CVS

ECB's used $15.00
Total out of pocket paid $2.04 (had to add the 2nd chapstick as a filler, should have picked a slightly cheaper filler
Made $8.00 in ECB's

Not a moneymaker, but I had quite a bit of ECB's to use and it got me a ton of stuff I need, so its worth it. I would love to go one more time this week, but we will see if my schedule permits.
Author: Cheryl
•1:28 PM

Well I told you before how much I love my stash of razors. So I was excited when the last pack ran out and it was time to open a new type of razor. I decided to go with another disposable brand. I'm weird, and like to save the non-disposable ones for last. Kind of like when I eat my dinner and always save the carbs for last.

I chose the Schick Xtreme 3 Comfort Plus. Immediately upon opening I noticed the difference in this from the Schick Quattro. The Xtreme is much lighter, and I have to say it felt cheaply made next to the Quattro. Well it is a cheaper razor, it runs around $5.49. You get 4 instead of 3 razors and each razor only has 3 blades. But we pressed on.


The major difference I experienced between the Quattro and Xtreme was the feel of the shave. The Quattro felt so soft that it felt like it wasn't getting a single hair off my leg until I felt it with my hands. The Xtreme you felt the slight pull of the hairs and that light scraping sound and feeling. Now most of you would run from a razor when you hear this, but I actually like that sound. It makes me feel like it is actually doing something. And it passed the over the knee test, in my opinion the hardest place to shave without cutting yourself.

I felt my legs after using the Xtreme and they were very smooth. The razors of the Quattro seem more enclosed and the conditioning strip much bigger, which is why you get a more gentler shave. But the Xtreme still did the job in getting your legs smooth.

So if you are looking for a cheaper disposable this is a pretty good one. Definitely something I wouldn't have a problem with buying in the future.

Author: Cheryl
•2:45 PM
So much has gone on in the short period of time that we have been home from Chicago, I hope I can do the recap of my trip justice. We went to Chicago for four days to visit my brother and see the sights. My brother said he lived four blocks from Wrigley Field but little did I know how beautiful the neighborhood around the field would be. The homes were all incredible, brick or stone single homes with tons of character and charm. People take great care of them. My husband and I were in awe, it was our dream neighborhood. This shot was across the street from my brother's apartment. The house on the left was my favorite of all.


My brother has a 7 month old dog named Bailey. He adopted him from a shelter, which my brother knew he had to do or I would have drove all the way to Chicago and strangled him (adopt, don't buy your pets kids). One of my main reasons for the trip was to meet Bailey and his two cats Fiyiero and Marius (strays he took in). When we got there, Bailey was a ton of energy as any 7 month old puppy would be. So my brother wanted me to go with him to the dog beach. Yes, dog beach.



Montrose Beach is a must for any dog lover living in Chicago or even visiting. It was immaculate. The water blue and beautiful and the dogs plentiful. They were having a ball in the water and chasing each other around. I was in dog lovers heaven. I only wish I had my dog, Zamboni, who was way back in NJ staying with her grandmom.


The beach is fenced in on two sides and around the back. The water is not that deep where the dog beach is. It is definitely a place where you don't want to wear your good clothes. Dogs zooming by kicking up sand, soaking wet and drooling with excitement. My brother, dad and I all went and were quite a bit messy when we got home but happy.


The whole trip my husband and I couldn't get over an amazing and clean body of water being all along a beautiful city. Now this is the kind of city I could get used to. Made me sad to come home to NJ's grey/brown water.

My brother also showed us a smaller dog park off of the beach. There were no other dogs there but Bailey, my brother and I had fun playing fetch with a ball. I was just amazed at all the places they had for dogs there. I can barely find a dog park near me yet alone several.



Now for most travelers to Chicago a trip to Wrigley Field is a high on the list . But when your accommodations are four blocks away its an absolute must. After the dog park, my husband I took a walk there. No matter what everyone says about it just being in the middle of a town or neighborhood, you still aren't prepared for it. Store, store, house, house, WRIGLEY FIELD!!! It was really cool to be near such a classic stadium. We would come back again later in the trip


Walking around the back of the field you come upon the homes or condo buildings that have bleachers on the top of their roofs. I had heard about this, but it is very cool to see in person. My brother told me that the owners of the buildings have to pay the team for the seats they fill during the game. It looked like an amazing place to see the game and the houses were again beautiful.


Later that evening after getting a much needed shower, we decided we had to have our first piece of a Chicago tradition, deep dish pizza. My husband chose Giordano's. The place was pretty packed, but we managed to get a seat right away. The pizza's are cooked to order, so you have to wait about 30 minutes. But in my opinion it was well worth it. As my husband says, "This is not pizza, its quiche". But he thought it was good. It is so different from regular flat NY style pizza. I always leaned towards Sicilian pizza when in Scotto's at home so thick crust was definitely for me.


Part II, we have a view inside the city, Navy Pier, The Dark Knight, and authentic Chicago hot dogs.

Author: Cheryl
•4:15 PM

We spent most of the day yesterday at the Renaissance Faire. It was a really nice time and great event to get my husband's mind off of the stress of the week.

Since we got home late I had to put together my CVS shopping this morning as quick as I could, which usually means I will not do well at it. But boy did I do good.

3 bags of Dove Minis $3.00 each = $9.00
1 bag of M&M's dark = $2.00
1 Lamisil foot spray = $7.59
1 Lamisil foot powder = $7.59
1 CVS 100ct aspirin = $1.99

Total = $28.17

Coupons
(3) $1.50 off any bag of Dove candies
(1) .75 cents off any bag of M&M's dark
(2) $4.00 off any Lamisil product
(1) get a bottle of CVS aspirin free ($1.99 limit)
(1) $3.00 off any purchase of $15.00 or more at CVS

ECB's used $9.99
Total out of pocket paid ZERO DOLLARS!!!!
And I made $15.00 in ECB's ($5.00 when you buy $10.00 of selected candy, and $10.00 when you buy two Lamisil products).

So I made a $5.00 profit and no out of pocket. The cashiers at my CVS are fantastic and my favorite one was there for this momentous occasion. I have never had zero out of pocket. As he was putting the coupons through he said I think you are going to have a freebie here.
Author: Cheryl
•6:04 PM
What was supposed to be a week of posting pictures of our trip to Chicago, didn't turn out as we expected.

My husband's father, my beloved father-in-law, passed away suddenly on Tuesday. And I wish I could be as prolific as my husband is with words, but I feel I just can't phrase how we all feel or what a cool man he was.

My father in law and me had this quite understanding with each other. We would give each other just the right looks and we both got the joke or the comment or how each other was feeling. It was so easy to adore him as he always reminded me so much of his son, my husband. Yes, I was guilty of sneaking him desserts on holidays but we were so much more.

All I can do now is honor him, take care of his son and his wife, and help them both through this horrible time. But I will miss him so much myself, as he was so much a father to me when I went through almost losing my own dad.

Love you Dad Mac.
Author: Cheryl
•6:37 PM

Well I got back from Chicago on Saturday and I will post soon all about my trip and post lots of pictures.

I spent most of Sunday doing laundry and going through all my new coupons and new ads. I had off today, Monday, so I wanted to hit CVS for the new deals this week.

5 Oral B Advantage toothbrushes $2.49 each = $12.45
1 Gillette Fusion Power Razor $9.99

Total $22.44

Coupons
(5) $1.00 off Oral B Advantage Toothbrushes
(1) $4.00 off Gillette Fusion Razor
(1) $3.00 off any purchase of $15.00 at CVS (this coupon expired on 7/20/08, but my CVS takes any expired coupons for a month!!!!)

ECB's used $10.00
Total out of pocket paid $1.17
And made $10.50 in ECB's ($1.50 in ECB's for each toothbrush, and $3.00 in ECB's for the Fusion razor)

I made .50 cents, which as long as I make something that makes me happy. I also got alot of new coupons on my receipt with this visit. Including a free bottle of CVS aspirin.

I had figured out two deals so I went back to CVS later this afternoon to do another purchase.

4 bags of Gold Emblem (CVS Brand) peanut butter filled pretzels (great for my husband's lunches) .99 cents each = total$3.96
2 Colgate Total Advanced toothpaste $2.99 = $5.98
1 Almay Bright Eyes Concealer $8.99

Total $18.93

Coupons
(2) $1.00 off 2 bags of Gold Emblem pretzels, nuts or chips (CVS coupon)
(2) $1.00 off Colgate Total
(1) $1.00 off Colgate Total (CVS coupon)
(1) $1.00 off any Almay cosmetic
(1) $2.00 off any Almay cosmetic (CVS coupon)
(1) $3.00 off any purchase of $15.00 at CVS

ECB's used $7.00
Total out of pocket with tax $.93
Made $9.00 in ECB's ($2.00 in ECB's for each toothpaste, and $5.00 in ECB's for Almay Bright Eyes.

So I made a $2.00 profit!! So not a bad day at all. Except I have to go back to work tomorrow, yuck!!!