Is it 2011 already???

It’s a good thing I didn’t set any resolutions this year huh? If I had they most certainly would have included things like working out and posting more, both of which haven’t been done.

I do, however; have some things I would like to accomplish this year, for this blog and my own personal home. And even though it doesn’t seem like it one of them will be posting on a regular basis. I can’t promise an every day post but I’m shooting for good content at the very least once a week. Now that we’ve hit six months with Owen things in our home are finally starting to settle down and I feel I can once again devote time to On Our Way and getting our finances back on track. I won’t lie they have taken a back burner these last few months and it shows.

I was feeling a little “over whelmed” with how often some blogs post and my inability to keep up with them, but over time I have realized that while the sheer number of post on other blogs have gone up actual content has not. I want to provide the readers of OnOurWay useful content.

So what are my goals for this year

I plan to spend 2011 getting our finances back together which includes:
- Increasing our emergency back to $7,000
- Opening a Roth IRA
- Continuing to save for important things (Owen's education and a car fund)
- We also need to work on paying off our student loans this year. I hope to be able to get one fully paid off.

But of course I want to do more than just work on finances this year. I also want to spend a significant amount of time reducing the clutter in our lives, on a physical and mental basis. Each month I plan to pick a part of my life and clean it out. I’ll share each area and hope you’ll join me in paring down.

So lets get started….

New Cinnamon Burst Cheerios

Pretend there is a super amazing video embedded right here.



Because there should be, had everything gone as planned, of course you know it never does.
Myblogspark.com and Cheerios sent me a package of their new Cinnamon Burst Cheerios and a flip so I could tell you all about their new product. I’ve spent the last two days trying to get my video off the camera. Trust me it isn’t a problem with the camera it is all user error I’m sure. I’ve uploaded videos before, I know I can do it. Maybe it’s the fatigue of still not sleeping through the night, apparently no one has told little Owen that the hours of 10pm – 8am are for sleeping.

Anyway, video aside let’s talk about the new Cinnamon Burst Cheerios.
We eat a lot of dry cereal here, well let me rephrase that, I eat a lot of cereal. It’s simple, easy to make and even easier to eat, especially when you have a five month old who demands constant attention. I love that the new Cinnamon Burst Cheerios is flavored with real cinnamon; so many products found on store shelves in today’s market cannot make the same claims. For the many of us out there who are trying to make sure we eat more “real” foods it is a definite selling point.

Then there are the other perks, the ones that are found under the label Nutritional Facts. Over the last year I’ve been paying much more attention to this side the box on the products we eat. One cup of Cinnamon Burst Cheerios contains 110 calories. Sodium; a very important ingredient for us right now runs in at 125mg, so much lower than many other products. Seriously take a look at some of the sodium content of your favorite foods, I bet you’ll look at your cupboards much differently afterward. Yet, the new Cheerios doesn’t just boaster low calories and sodium; you can also find 5 grams of fiber in each cup, that’s 20% of your daily value. We look for products that offer 3 or more grams of fiber when shopping so it is nice to know just once cup of Cheerios meets those requirements.

But don’t just take my word for it. Give the new Cheerios a look the next time you’re in the store. Compare the side bar to that of the cereal you normally buy, I bet you’ll be surprised at what you see. And should you take a box home to try you won’t be disappointed with the flavor.

I also promise I’ll keep working on that video and once I get it up I’ll leave a link of where you can find my in-depth look into the cardboard box.



You know I would never endorse a product here if I didn’t actually find it enjoyable even though there was also a sample sent, but per disclaimers I need to make that known.

Have a shutter filled Christmas this year!

Have you heard? Bloggers of all sized and topic blogs are eligible to receive 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly In order to qualify you have to write a post about your Shutterfly experience and then spread the word. If you would like to participate in this promotion you can find out more information here. I wouldn’t write a post about their products if I didn’t think they were great so please know that even though I hope to qualify for this promotion all my comments are 100% pure. OnOurWay would not and will not endorse a product I feel to be inferior.

Now on to my Shutterfly review.
I’ve been using Shutterfly for quite a few years and have always loved their products, in fact they are the main reason I gave up scrapbooking. It is so much cheaper, cleaner, and quicker to design and order a Shutterfly photo book than it is to sit around all day designing and making scrapbook pages. Plus, to sweeten the deal even more Shutterfly often has great sales or coupon codes floating around that I can use to create a photo book or other product for much less than I used to spend on scrapbooking supplies. I love to pass them out for Christmas presents and have documented all our vacations, wedding, and now new baby in Shutterfly albums.

Last year for Christmas we used Shutterfly to create our holiday cards and used a picture of our adorable puppy with Santa. This year with our new addition to the family I plan to pick a card that will allow us to display more than one picture. Right now I am loving this card from the Flat Stationary card selection. It is the 5x5 classic red square Christmas card. I love the modern square shape and the simplicity in the design. I want people to be looking at the pictures of our adorable son and I know that with Shutterfly quality printing the pictures will come out looking great. I like knowing that when we use a photo card from Shutterfly people will take notice of the cards we send and enjoy them for more than just the holiday season. My grandmother hangs them on her fridge to enjoy our pictures year round. Having a great card to send to friends and family makes paying the forty-four cents worth it, especially for a frugal family like ours.
It is super easy to make your own Shutterfly holiday card or photo book to use this holiday season. To get you started use a few of the links below to view all the different designs available to you, I know you’ll be sure to find something you love.
Christmas Cards – includes photo and stationary cards
Thanksgiving cards
Hanukkah Cards
Religious Christmas card options
Christmas address labels to really complete the project

Have you used Shutterfly for any holiday photo projects? What did you think?

Friday Finds - August 20th

Owen is officially one month old today!
We're made it a full month so we'll celebrating by getting his picture taken and taking extra naps.

To make your Friday special take a few moments to check out the following great post by other sites out there this week.


the Hierarchy of Cleaning at The Small note book

I love Trent's opinions on How not to Fail at Frugality at the Simple Dollar

This Ten minute challenge from Holly at Mommies with Cents will come in handy with a new baby in the house.

Love this easy craft from Scribbit on Growing a head - think cheap chia pet

The cause of all my commotion

I said I'd share what has been causing all the upheaval in the OnOurWay household and here he is...





Owen Joseph
7/20/10


We had an "interesting" delivery and first few weeks home but it looks like everyone is on the mend. I can't wait till things can get back to their new normal. I've officially quit my job and am ready to do the whole stay at home Mom thing for a few years. I'm excited to start the whole new Journey we're about to embark on, and of course you'll be getting updates. We'll still be couponing, saving money as we can at home, but also hopefully adding a whole new green lifestyle to our way of life. As always it's going to be an interesting ride.

Kroger Giveaway Winner!

The winner of our $25 Kroger gift card was...


Richelle

who said:

I usually save nearly as much as I spend, especially with one of their great promotions. So if I spend $50 I usually save close to $50.


Richelle has been contacted and her gift card is on its way.

Keep checking back for more great giveaways right here at OnOurWay

Another great Giveaway!

Things are finally starting to get back to normal in the OnOurWay household… I’ll have major updates on what caused all the commotion at a later date. With getting back into the flow of things around here I also want to get back into the flow of things on the blogosphere as well, but give me a little bit these things take time you know.

Thanks again to Kroger, General Mills, Kimberly Clark, and MyBlogSpark the readers of OnOurWay have a chance to win a $25 gift card to any Kroger or Kroger family store. This card should be used during their latest promotion to help you maximize your savings even more.

I know I love when Kroger runs their 10/$10 or buy 8 save $4 promotions and their current “Add up the Savings Event” has lots of great deals for you to stock up on your favorite items until August 21st.

For every 8 participating items you purchase you’ll save $4 off your grocery bill, and you get to select from great brands like Cheerios, Yoplait Yogurt, Pillsbury Cookies, Kleenex, Huggies, Betty Crocker brownies, Cottonelle and Lucky Charms… truly something for everyone.

And check out the links below to see some great deals you can get this week and an ad match up.
Jane4Girls has a stock up deal on Granola Bars

Mommies with Cents has the Kroger coupon match up

Some of the great deals I’ll be looking for when I visit Kroger later this week are:

Kroger eggs 10/$10
Kroger Bread 10/$10
Kroger Peanut Butter 10/$10
Purex $1.99


Save $4 when you buy 8 participating products (prices shown reflect discount)
Sobe $.49
Tuna $.49
Hamburger Helper $.99
Betty Crocker Potatoes $.99
Powerade $.49


You can also use all your new products to get a head start on Box Tops for your school. Right now when you register at www.rewardyourschool.com you receive 5 bonus Box Tops and many custom offers for bonus tops.
Right now offers include:
Buy any 4 Box Top products and get 10 bonus tops
Buy any 8 Box tops and get 25 bonus tops


So on to the giveaway! There are three ways to enter and you can do so until Saturday the 14th at midnight. We’ll pick a winner Sunday.

1.Leave a comment below stating how much you normally save when shopping at Kroger

2.Follow OnOurWay on facebook - Make sure and leave a comment in the post letting me know you did

3.Sign up for the OnOurWay Rss feed (link above) - Make sure and leave a comment in the post letting me know you did

4.Tweet, blog or facebook about this giveaway and leave me a link to where I can find it.



The gift card and all information pertaining to this giveaway was provided by The Kroger Family of Stores, General Mills and Kimberly Clark through MyBlogSpark