Brrr!!! It was chilly (dare I say cold?) on my run this morning!

30* left me chilled to the bone and my thighs bright red when I got back this morning.

Despite the cold, I had a running buddy to keep me company! I ran with another teacher this morning, and it was so nice to talk to someone else who “gets” my current struggles with my job.

We covered 7 miles in about 60 minutes.

My Garmin died half-way through because the battery went dead. I didn’t realize how often I’m going to have to charge it?!?!

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I love a good deal and found quite a few while shopping this weekend! [Good deals are one of those "little things" in life that make me happy. ]

Locals: I found these at the Target in South Anchorage.

FYI: One should always walk down the back-end of aisles in Target to find the good deals!

Back-to-school things are on sale.

Granted this planner does go from August 2011 – July 2012, but I’ve only missed a few months. Plus it is super cute.

I always wanted these nice Five-Star notebooks as a kid, but they were always so darn expensive!

This was a steal of a deal!

This Listerine was on sale, and it had a coupon attached to it for $1 off.

Good Earth tea is now at Target!

And I think they forgot to mark up the price! This was only $3.29. [Everything is more in Alaska because of the extra shipping costs due to the distance the products have to travel---or this is what I'm told.]

I paid over $5.00 at Fred Meyer—although it is currently $3.50 with a coupon at Fred Meyer.

I picked up three boxes; I can’t wait to try these new (to me) flavors.

Craig already has this water bottle, but he is notorious for loosing things like this, so now I have a back-up. [This does not give you permission to loose it though, Honey. ]

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I also learned a few things during this shopping trip.

Just because it is the brand name product, does not mean it is the most expensive item.

Somehow these Puffs facial tissues were cheaper than the store brand! I’ll take it!

Buying food items in the bulk section of the grocery store is not always the cheapest way to go.

This trail mix was nearly half the cost of trail mix in the bulk section at Fred Meyer (where I buy my groceries).

Since this was primarily chocolate and didn’t have a lot of “healthiness” to it, I diluted it down with other nuts and dried fruit:

walnuts + almonds + cashews + dried cranberries + raisins + banana chips

Just because something isn’t on sale doesn’t mean it is the best deal.

This gum wasn’t on sale, but it was cheaper than some of the varieties on sale.

[FYI: This is my favorite brand and flavor of gum!]

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Question

What advice can you offer for finding a good deal?