Happily Home

Recording My New CD

2012-01-26T16:38:00.000-08:00

I don't have much to say other than, I'm traveling to Nashville with my group, Crossfire to record our first studio project tomorrow!!!

Here is a glimpse of the album cover.....

Needless to say, I'm thrilled to get to be doing this FINALLY! It's been a long time coming to actually be in a real studio in Nashville recording a REAL project with a REAL, WELL KNOWN producer (Eddie Crook) and singing really good songs, including one that I WROTE!
God is really opening doors and I couldn't be more grateful! I can't wait to let ya'll know how it goes and to get you some info on how you can get "Crucify" when it comes out sometime in February!

Please keep me and my family in your prayers!

WOOHOO!!!!!!

What is Fun?

2012-01-14T12:07:00.000-08:00

I've realized, after a pretty crappy week, that I don't have any FUN in my life...the things that I like to do, that brings me pleasure, excitement, joy, make me smile, or gives me something to look forward to. Sure there are things that I REALLY enjoy doing and look forward to, like services at my church Quest and I have a great time with the girls from my Life Group (my church's name for small groups), or singing with my group, Crossfire. But what do I do for fun? Just for me? And sadly, the answer is, I'm not even sure what fun is?

I've heard evangelist, Joyce Meyer talk about balance a lot in her teachings (I love, love, love her!), and that fun and enjoyment should really be a part of your Christian walk. And if you're not having some fun, in a balanced way, that you need to start! So I got to thinking, "What do I do for fun? What is fun exactly?" I haven't had it in so long, that I don't even know what I enjoy anymore. So sad, huh? One problem is that over the years, I've just become kind of a stick in the mud. I don't even want to participate in things that other people find "fun." Is it because I'm a fuddy duddy or because I just don't find amusement in some of the things other people do? Or maybe it's that I don't have the energy to put on a fake smile and pretend like I'm having fun. I REALLY hate that. I'd rather be the stick in the mud than be fake and pretend like I'm enjoying myself. It's not good to lie. And not wanting to participate isn't a negative thing, although it can seem to be. It's just that one would like to be alone sometimes rather than pretend to be amused even when the crowd insists they, "Join in the fun!" I respect a person more for just being who they are, even if they're "no fun." Don't you?

So, in going back to the question, "What is fun?" I thought I would list some things that I enjoy. I'm not sure I'd categorize them as WHOOHOO! fun, but I do enjoy doing these things, as odd as they may be.

#1. Spending alone time with my hubby, on dates or otherwise (wink). He is by far my favorite person and my bestest friend. He makes me laugh and I can talk about things with him that I can't talk to anyone else about. He likes me for me and I can be "fun" or a "fuddy duddy" and he loves me anyway. We have a LOT of FUN! And we DO NOT have enough alone time together. So that one could be ramped up a bit for sure!

#2. Taking a nice drive while listening to music. Gas prices prohibit much of this anymore. And NONE since my car has been on the skids. I have 4 bad tires, a dead battery and expired tags. Can't do much driving which is sad, because it's the one thing I REALLY enjoy doing.

#3. Traveling. I love seeing new places and just being on the road. Haven't done much of that in years!We soooo need a vacation!

#4. Eating GOOD food at GOOD restaurants. And Golden Corral and Chili's does not qualify as good in my book. There's nothing like a really good steak or an amazing pasta dish or scrumptious seafood or salad. We ate at Chili's last night and I couldn't even finish my dinner, it was so gross. I was just sad, longing for really good, good quality food. Sigh.

#5. Visiting friends. I love just on a whim, having a friend on my mind and then popping in to see them or visit with them over coffee. I don't have very many friends, but the ones I do care about, I love to spend time with. There are many friends that I left behind when we moved from Knoxville, Tennessee and I miss them terribly sometimes.

#6. Giving. When you know someone really wants or needs something and you know that you can provide that for them or give it to them as a gift (especially without them knowing), that is FUN! But with our budget so strapped, I can't find a lot left over to be able to give the way I'd like, which makes me sad.

#7. Sparring and joking with like-minded people! I am a kidder! I love to joke, kid and spar with others who also like to do the same. Now, some people are just mean in their sarcasm, but I am light-hearted and just like to be around others who also have dry, light-hearted, sarcastic personalities like I do. People who get me and my sense of humor and appreciate it. I need more of those people in my life. :)

#8. Seeing a really funny movie...I love to laugh!

#9. And nothing is more fun to me than performing/singing. Nothing brings me greater joy or greater fulfillment than singing...especially for other people. I'm doing this more in my life, which makes me glad, but if I could do it every day, I'd be one happy girl!

So, as I read over this list, I see a lot of things that I enjoy that I'm not doing. And I also see a lot of excuses. But there are real, tangible reasons why I can't do the things I like to do. Unfortunately fun, a lot of times, costs money and that's something we just don't have a lot of right now. But while I'm not necessarily the "funnest" person, I am incredibly optimistic! I know it won't be this way forever! And in prayer, my circumstances will change...I just know it! I will just pray that God helps me be balanced and shows me ways to bring more fun into my life, because right now, I'm not having enough and it's getting depressing.
But hey, sex with my hubby is still free, right? And that's really fun...I just need to do more of that!!! :)

Our 15 Year Anniversary!

2011-12-23T21:52:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that my husband and I celebrated our 15 year anniversary the other day. It was a wonderful day. To be quite honest, it was uneventful for the most part. We didn't do a big celebration or exchange gifts or eat out at a fancy restaurant or take a lavish vacation. We took our daughter out to eat with us at a local restaurant and came home and pretty much went to bed and crashed.

But my husband did send me an unexpected letter....a long one too! I mean, it was more than a couple of sentences, it was several actual paragraphs! lol Maybe your husbands write you long love letters but it's rare that mine does. So, getting a nice long note from him was a special treat! And the coolest thing was that he made me this lovely powerpoint with our song, "Musicbox" by Mariah Carey. I cried when I saw it, it was so beautiful! Sometimes I don't give him enough credit...he really is still a romantic and knows how to make me feel loved and special. This year has been a trying one and I sooo needed reminding.

Thank you my wonderful husband for loving me for me and for being so faithful and trustworthy. For being a hard worker and a great provider. For being patient when it's not easy to show patience. For being an unbelievable father and for truly helping take a lot of the load off my shoulders when I need a sanity break. What would I do without your selflessness, your commitment, your forgiveness, your patience, your sense of humor and your willingness to love me no matter what. I can't wait for the next 15!

Another TIGHT Christmas Budget and Some Perspective

2011-12-13T17:14:00.000-08:00

I was just reading over a post I did last year on this and was reminded that again this year, our Christmas budget will be super tight! And this year, it's a little more uncomfortable because the little one now understands the whole "Santa brings you toys" thing. So, she actually asked for certain items. I'm still keeping to a $50 budget for her, which I think is plenty for a 3 year old and a $10 or so budget for all the of "the cousins (there are 8). That may not seem like a lot, but for us, it's a stretch. But I feel like I've been frugal and have watched the sales, been patient and will have some nice little gifts for everyone. I'm thanking God for helping me understand couponing. Because I have been diligent in finding good deals this year, I will also have gifts for all the adults as well (there are 10 of them).

I know what some of you may be thinking. "Why stress over trying to get gifts for everyone when it puts a strain on your family?" But to me, this isn't a stress. It used to be, let me tell ya! But I've changed my mind set and my attitude. I've always loved to give. It brings me a lot of joy. But worrying about not being able to afford nice items for extended family bothered me a little. I would love to give them the world! We are so blessed with WONDERFUL families, I just wanted to show them how much we appreciated and loved them! But I know now that that's not how you show love. Duh....So now, instead of stressing that the gift isn't nice enough, I thank God that He's blessed us so, that we're able to give anything at all. I ask Him to help me love more and give more of myself to the ones I love. Those are the things that last. Not a silly gift bag with a silly present inside that is just tossed aside after the newness has worn off. Love, kindness, gratitude, peace, joy, grace, patience, those are the things that last. And I'm learning to give more of those things.

I thank God for such abundance in my life. I feel so rich!

You see, the majority of the world would see me as wealthy. I imagine what it would be like if I could somehow scoop up my quarter acre and my 1600 square foot ranch style home and set it in the middle of some poor village in India. Those people would think we were the richest people in town! My house may seem small at times, but if you stand it against a little shanty type shack with a dirt floor, made out of sticks and plastic remnants? I'm quite ashamed to even think of murmuring one word of complaint about needing more closet space ever again! And what if one of those homeless, hungry children wandered into my house? I imagine they would think they were in a palace!

They would see a brightly lit Christmas tree, a mantel decorated to the hilt with colored lights, candies and ceramic gingerbread houses I've collected over the years. They'd smell cookies baking and see mugs of hot chocolate on the festive dining room table. They'd hear lively Christmas music blaring from the "All Christmas, all the time" station on my radio. They'd see little $10 children's gifts piled under the tree and feel the cozy warmth from the electric thermostat. Can you imagine? They'd feel like they died and went to heaven! And I complain? I feel bad because my gift costs only $10 instead of $15? I complain because we have to make the leftovers stretch a couple of days and can't just throw away and waste what we don't eat? My mind is tired from trying to figure out what I'm going to cook for all the different potlucks I have to attend (4 so far) because I just can't go out and get the ingredients to make the dishes I really want to make that will impress everyone? Even though God has blessed me with so much that I have made dishes for every event and everyone has raved about the dishes I did make, creative and inexpensive as they were. I feel just disgusted at the thought that one complaint has left my lips, although I've tried not to. I just want to shout from the rooftops, "THANK YOU WONDERFUL GOD!!! WE HAVE SO MUCH, IT'S OVERFLOWING!!! FORGIVE ME FOR NOT THANKING YOU MORE THAN I DO! YOU ARE JUST SO GOOD!!!!"

So, please. This Christmas, even if you feel like you have less than you've EVER had in your life, stop, take a look around and actually see your wealth. Because you have it! Do you have a roof over your head? A bed to sleep in? Lights on, water running (or not? Most people around the world do not)? There may or may not even be presents under the tree. But you. You are wealthy. Stop and take a minute to thank God for lavishly providing for you. Because He has. Be at peace and rest because He's so good to you. He is.

Santa!!!

2011-12-03T13:58:00.000-08:00

Today we took little G to see Santa Claus. She was super apprehensive

(as you can see from the really fake, "not so sure about this" smile!),

but finally felt comfortable enough to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas, which is.....

A purple Figit Friend. For a long time she wanted the green one, but she's changed her mind. I don't understand this toy, but my husband thinks it's awesome! My mother has already gotten her the purple one. I hope I figure out how to play with it...

Lalaloopsy.

Now this is more up my alley. I like dolls. And apparently she likes this one.

I found them on sale at Meijer and got her one for $17.

Most places I've seen have them for $19 and above.

And the weirdest of all, the Xia Xia crab (pronounced, "Sha-Sha"). This is supposed to be like a hermit crab thing with interchangeable shells and houses etc. But we just got her the one (the one pictured as a matter of fact). Every time the commercial comes on she squeals and jumps up and down! It's hilarious! I personally don't get this toy either, but she thinks it's really cool.

This is her posing and cheesing in front of the

big Christmas tree at the shopping center where Santa was.

And posing with mama...

I'm just soooo excited about Christmas this year! This is the first year she really knows what's going on and is looking forward to a visit from "Santa!" But if the truth be told, I think I'm more excited than she is!

Harvest Hymn

2011-11-24T07:23:00.000-08:00

Come Ye Thankful People Come
Words by: Henry Alford, Music by: George Elvey

Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home;
All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied;
Come to God’s own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home.

All the world is God’s own field, fruit unto His praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown unto joy or sorrow grown.
First the blade and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest, grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be.
For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take His harvest home;

From His field shall in that day all offenses purge away,
Giving angels charge at last in the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store in His garner evermore.
Even so, Lord, quickly come, bring Thy final harvest home;

Gather Thou Thy people in, free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified, in Thy garner to abide;
Come, with all Thine angels come, raise the glorious harvest home.

What is YOUR "Fake Jesus?"

2011-11-23T09:39:00.000-08:00

This weekend at Quest, my Pastor, Pete Hise talked about why Jesus was so polarizing. How in every situation, one group could see Him one way, and another group could see Him completely differently. Take for instance when He stood in the gap for the adulterous woman who was about to be stoned. She, and I'm sure others saw Him as a marvelous hero, riding in and enacting justice for those treated unjustly! But then there were others who were infuriated that He would oppose the law. At His claims that He could absolve sin. That HE was indeed God in the flesh! Wherever He was, He caused a stir. You were either for Him or against Him. There was never an in-between.

And isn't it that way today? If it's not, then it should be. Even He said that he despised those who were luke warm. If you're comfortable with Jesus, then you should look into your heart and ask, "Why?" Jesus demands our all, that we actually be His servant and a servant to others. He continually grows us, molds us and shapes us. We are to always be on a path to be more like Him. And "becoming" like Jesus means looking at our own imperfections and inadequacies which is NEVER comfortable.

I've been experiencing this "refining through the fire" myself the past few years. Confronting the ugly and the dark inside myself and giving it to Him. It's been painful, hard, uncomfortable and even exhausting at times. But I want to know Him and be like Him, so all the dark has no place in a heart that's filled with Him...filled with the Light! And even the midst of the messiness, He's given me forgiveness and peace and a feeling of purity like I can't even explain. You know how you feel after a nice hot bath? When you get into your robe or your pj's and snuggle into bed, clean and refreshed? That's how He's made me feel. He's washed me clean and I can rest in Him. Please don't misunderstand. There's a difference in THIS rest (His rest) and being "comfortable" in Jesus. He promises to give us rest and peace. But He never promises to be neat and tidy and make us comfortable. Do you see the difference?

Here is a list from Pastor Pete's blog that explain some of the "fake," "comfortable" Jesuses that we have grown accustomed to....

Pastor Pete says....

Whatever other pictures you’ve had of your “fake jesus,” whether it’s…

Happiness jesus… (here to meet your needs, do as you’d like & make your life happy)
Homespun jesus (a jesus you’ve crafted out of what your grandmother always told you mixed in with your own ideas)
Fix-Me jesus… (a genie always ready to come fix you up & make you all better)
Green jesus… (more concerned with saving the planet than rescuing people)
Right Wing jesus… (who shockingly always votes republican & who always agrees with you)
Co-dependenant jesus… (who perpetuates your emotional brokenness)

I want to challenge you to become so discontent with the “fake jesus” you’ve crafted to meet your needs that you would pitch him forever. Whoever he is, if he’s not the Jesus we read about in the pages of scripture, he is an imposter and he will ultimately leave you disappointed or disillusioned.

These may be tough to look at. I must say that in the past, I've fostered a mixture of "home-spun jesus," "happiness jesus" and "right wing jesus." I am a republican, but Jesus isn't! He is God. My family matters to me and their teaching about Jesus was good for me, but He is NOT my family's opinion of Him. I am His child ultimately and have to get to know Him for myself. And Jesus loves me and wants what's best for me, but that doesn't mean His WILL will always make me happy. On the contrary, what has been His will for me in the past has usually turned my world upside down! And while it was upsetting at the the time and did NOT make me happy in many instances, in time, I realized it was for the best and did agree with me over time. Funny. When we actually let Him be God, we may find ourselves amazed at what He can do with our lives! I've found He does a much better job!

What is my view of Jesus now?

I would have to say, "Transformer, Redeemer Jesus!" He is my, "I'll give you everything I have for just a moment with You Jesus." He is my, "If I never get another thing that I want, YOU are enough" Jesus. He is my, "I am nothing and You are everything" Jesus. He is my "WOW! I will NEVER be like You or even remotely good enough for You but you WANT me anyway?" Jesus. He is my "I will never be done thanking You for what You did for me on the cross!" Jesus. He is my God and my best friend all at the same time.

This understanding of Him did not come overnight. And I'm sure that my view of Him will change and grow, as I change and grow. But my prayer is that I'm never finished changing and growing and striving to understand Him more and be more like Him.

Are you satisfied where you are? Is Jesus not meeting your expectations? Are you disappointed with Him or disillusioned by what you thought He was supposed to be or do for you? Then you may not know the real Jesus Christ. Because He is FAR from disappointing and He shoots straight...straight to your heart, in a very personal way. There's no reason to be confused or disillusioned by Him EVER!

What is your view of Jesus? Have you been fostering a fake Jesus? The only way to know is to get in THE WORD and find out for yourself. Ask Him to show you who He is...and He will. I promise you that!

So Much to Tell You!

2011-11-15T13:05:00.000-08:00

I have not been able to blog for a while, due to a busted laptop and no internet connection. But I'm still here! And I've been busy! I have to much to catch you up on that I don't even know where to start, but I start I shall.
This is the least of all the exciting stuff going on, but coupon deals are always fun to chat about, so this is a start.

I got everything pictured here for $1.19 (except for the outlet cover...lol) at Rite-Aid!

The toothpaste was from a raincheck I received last week when they were "free.". The lady didn't know what she was doing really concerning their coupon policy. But she gave them to me for free, which is never a bad thing. We also needed TP, so I got a 4 roll pack for $1.00, but got it for free as well because if you bought the Orbit gum for a dollar (and I always love to have gum on hand), you got a dollar back, which I used to pay for the TP. So in all, I spent $1.19. AWESOME!

I can't wait to share more with you in upcoming posts about all that is going on in my life.
How have you been? Drop me a line and tell me. My email is over there-------------------------->

Until next time!

Blog Envy

2011-09-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

I'm a little jealous today. Sure, I'm no "professional blogger," but I do like to write and I do want my blog to look nice and professional. But it doesn't. It's pretty lousy.

I'm feeling some blog envy after perusing "The Pioneer Woman's" blog. I must admit, I'd barely even heard of her (except from a friend who's a huge fan of her cookbook and made us some yummy cinnamon rolls from it), but I'm in love with her new show on the Food Network. It's "must see TV" for me on Saturday morning! She seems pretty down to earth and fun. However, I find that after watching it, I'm more attuned to my shortcomings and I spend the rest of the day either in a sad stupor of self-loathing, or madly trying to cook a delicious, Pioneer worthy meal for my family. It could go either way. Although the more I learn about her, the more I'm deciding that she's got to be other worldly, so I shouldn't compare myself at all, since I am a mere mortal and all. I mean, she home schools, helps run a ranch, takes care of a large family, is a photographer, author and (which brings me back around to the point) writes an incredible blog chock FULL of amazing information and recipes. I was looking at it thinking, "Maintaining this blog alone must be a full time job! How does she do it?" As well as, "Um, my blog pretty much sucks."

So, just sitting here staring at my generic, stock, blogger template and wishing I had the patience to learn code and design my own. Or the patience to learn how to cut and paste code from those free, make a "cute blog" sites. I've tried and I never can do it right. Maybe I should just outsource this task!
If you design cute blogs and want to donate your genius to my humble site, I'm willing to promote the heck out of your services! (hint) :)

I'm also bummed about my stagnant numbers...I've been holding at 64 followers for like a year now. Again, I'm certainly not a professional blogger. But 64? After 3 years of doing this, I would at least like to have 100! If you're reading this and have never followed...please? follow me?
So, forgive this whiny post. I promise to get out of this blog envying funk soon. :(

Those Who Have Been Forgiven Much, Forgive Much

2011-09-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

My pastor, Pete Hise says this all the time. I'm not sure if it's his quote or came from somewhere else, but it doesn't really matter. Every time I hear it I feel a well spring of joy in my heart!

This weekend's message, from the series, "30 Days to Live" was on forgiveness. But the amazing "God thing" was that even before he even mentioned forgiveness in his message, because of someone else's testimony, I had a breakthrough, and forgave someone who hurt me deeply, and I had been angry with for a long time. You see, at our church, when you are ready, you are encouraged to share your testimony, your past before Jesus, as ugly as it may be. Not only for your own freedom (Rev 12:11), but so that others will see your example and be spurred on to perhaps follow. And I did.

One young lady stood on the stage and testified that while it took a long time, she was able to forgive the man who raped her and dodged any sort of jail time over it. Now she prays for him to be saved and has real love and compassion for him in her heart. She even purchased a seat for this man in our church's auditorium and wrote his name under the carpet where the seat is located. Is that just not the most beautiful picture you've ever seen? Does this mean she excuses what he did? No way! But it means that she is now free from the bitterness, the hate, the rage and all the things the enemy would have used to to destroy her own heart. She can look at him with love, the way Christ looks at us.

Another man and his wife stood up as well. And for the first time in public, he shared about his infidelity and how his wife, seeing his brokenness, immediately forgave him. Was the road hard? Yes! Were there wounds and scars? Yes! Were there trust issues? Yes. There still are. But her testimony was that Jesus gave her the capacity to love him (even though he hurt her deeply) and forgive him.

I know I have been forgiven much as well. So, when I thought of the person who hurt me, I saw them completely differently after those testimonies. How could I, whom Christ has forgiven, withhold forgiveness from someone else? I cannot. And I don't anymore. This person (in my heart) is absolved and set free. And I now see them the way Christ sees them...with love.

And the cool thing is...now? I'm the one who feels so free.

God is so good.

Grocery Store Score and a Little Rolo Theif!

2011-09-15T17:02:00.000-07:00

I love it when you go to the grocery store to use your coupons and you end up saving way more than you had anticipated!

I stopped by Kroger early this morning to pick up a few things, when I noticed a display of Old Spice and Gillette body washes on sale for $1.50. Now, every couponer knows that there is a PLETHORA of coupons out there for these products, so I knew I could get them for a good deal (as if I even need any more men's body wash...I have a whole stock pile of the stuff!).

So after going to pick up my daughter from school (and back home to retrieve my coupon binder), I headed back out to Kroger to get the body wash. I had 2 $1.00 off coupons for each of the brands as well as a BOGO for each. So, with the body washes being $1.50 each, I was expecting to only have to pay $1.00 for all four...pretty good deal, right? I also promised my sleepy, fussy 3 year old that she could have the Cheetos she was begging for if she would just walk through the store nicely (my fuse has been very short lately and a tantrum would have made me explode! So, the Cheetos was a necessary compromise!).

So, we got to the check out with the 4 body washes and a snack bag of Cheetos that were, with tax, $1.06 (I know...for shame!!!). When the cashier rang everything up with the coupons, she said, "Well, it looks like we owe you $2.54! I was like, huh? How? I mean, sure I used coupons, but I also had another purchase. She was just as confused as I was, but didn't seem to care. If the register said it, it was so. And I wish I could explain to you what my receipt said. I was really confused reading it as well. I didn't argue and gladly accepted my $2.54 credit in cash!

However, my giddiness over just walking out of the store with money back in my pocket was short lived. As I turned to gather up my little darling, I noticed her quickly stuffing a handful of Rolo candies in her mouth and the wrappers back in the candy stand! I was mortified (not only by her actions, but also by the price of those stinkin' candies! $0.97!)! Sure she's tried to steal candy before, but I've always quickly thwarted those attempts and explained that we do not take things from the store without scanning them and paying for them! But the fact that she was trying to stash the evidence before I turned around was just baffling to me. How did she know to do that? When I scolded her, she just looked at me like it was a perfectly normal thing to pick up candy off the shelf at the store and just eat it! I might even agree with her...I mean, she is just 3. But then stashing the evidence? Wow! Anyone who argues that people aren't born with a sin nature has to be just absolutely blind! Just the other day we had to have a long discussion about what the truth is, because she lied right to my face...she's 3! I'm not sure why I'm surprised, but she is in fact, my little angel. It's hard watching her do wrong. I guess I should just get used to it though. No one is perfect and my daughter is human and WILL make mistakes. I'm trying very hard right now to pray through how to handle and discipline, early, these tests from her. I try to keep in mind her age. She's still learning. But she's also smart and knows what she can get away with and what mama really fumes over (pooping in the floor, right in front of me out of spite, for one!).

How did you handle the early years when your child disobeyed or started doing wrong things that needed a consequence that could only be delivered by you?

Our First Family Movie

2011-08-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

This is a long overdue post, but I came across the pics I took that day (some of them have mysteriously vanished), meaning to blog about it and decided to go ahead and do a post (for posterity...lol).

This summer, we took G to see her first movie in a real theater. We saw the new Winnie the Pooh because it was well, Winnie the Pooh and because it was only an hour or so long. Any longer and we would have had to tie her down, because she became very restless.

The movie was sweet, as I expected it would be. And she enjoyed eating popcorn from a big bucket. We mostly enjoyed watching her reaction to the "big screen." And mom and dad learned a big lesson...DO NOT pay full price for kids movies. It was close to $30 bucks for all of us to go, which is ridiculous! So, if there are any more kid flicks in our future, they will be seen at the dollar theater only!

But we had a great time and will remember her first movie forever!

I got my ticket!!!

Mommy and G!

A Look At A Typical Grocery Run

2011-08-27T10:10:00.000-07:00

I did my biweekly shopping trip yesterday and spent right at $85.00. I know because I took $100 in cash out of my husband's paycheck, designated specifically for groceries for 2 weeks, and I have $15.00 left.

I'm giving this, Dave Ramsey inspired cash method a try because I'm trying to be a little more disciplined and aware of grocery spending. When the $100 is gone, that's it. No more shopping...period. If we're out of milk, so be it. If we use the last slice of bread 3 days early, oh well! I'm just tired of making trips to the store all the time, thinking that I'm doing so well on my budget. When in actuality, it's WAY off because of all the extra little trips. So, $100, spent over two weeks ($200 a month, tops!) is all I get. And this trip, I still have $15 left in case we run out of bread and milk!

I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but with some planning, coupons and comparison shopping at several grocery stores, you can so make it work! I know people who do a great job of feeding their families with a lot less. The trick is to not buy junk food, soda, a lot of packaged foods and mixes, to try to buy meat on sale and to try to cook from scratch. Now, you'll see below that I do in fact have a few packaged, ready-made items, but they were such a good deal, I could not pass them up.

Here's a couple of pics of what I purchased. I looked at sales fliers from 2 different stores and tried to get some good deals at each. Keep in mind, I have my pantry stocked pretty well now. That's something I've been working on for a while. So, with these groceries, I'm able to make lots of meals, mostly from scratch.

Notice, I got a lot of fresh fruit. Meijer had a lot of their produce on sale, so I took advantage!

So here's what $85 looks like....

-8 Totinos Pizzas (I usually don't purchase these because they're too expensive. I can make little pizzas for lunch for the little one using tortillas for much less. But with coupons and an in-store catalina, these ended up being only $0.56 a piece. You can't beat that!)

-1 bag of Tyson Chicken nuggets- (I usually don't buy these either, but with a coupon, they were only $2.99. And G will eat them when I make something "yucky" for dinner).

-3 pkgs of split chicken breasts, $1.29lb

-5lbs of ground beef, $2.00lb

-2 pkgs thick cut bacon (which I cut in half when I cook bacon. So for us, it will work for 4 breakfasts! I do waffles on Saturday mornings and a big breakfast with homemade biscuits and gravy on Sunday....yum!)

-1 pkg pepperoni (for homemade pizzas!)

-1lb of sausage ($.99 with coupon)

-bananas

-3lb bag of apples

-red grapes and green grapes (at $0.99 a pound, I splurged and got two bags! They are RARELY that cheap!)

-Two containers of strawberries, 2/$4 (I will freeze these for smoothies!)

-1 head of lettuce

-1 head of cabbage (I never buy cabbage, but for some reason, I am craving it. Can't wait to cook some up!)

-1 bag of onions

-1 bunch of celery

-2 bags of baby carrots ($1 each)

-1 bag of raisins (not on sale, but I have been wanting homemade oatmeal raisin cookies)

-10 pkgs Ramen noodles ($0.10 a piece! G and I split one for lunch quite a bit. Can't beat lunch for a nickel!)

-1, 4lb bag of sugar

-lemon pepper seasoning ($1.00)

-Jif peanut butter (with a $1.00 off Q)

-Smuckers jelly (also with a $1.00 off Q)

-Big container of vinegar (for recipes and for cleaning)

-Dawn dish detergent (with coupon, it was $0.59!)

-6 pack of Brawny paper towels ($4.99 with Q)

I also love this time of year because people are so generous and are practically BEGGING you to take some of their garden produce off of their hands! A good friend of mine gave me a bunch of gorgeous tomatoes which I'm going to blanch, peel, chop and freeze. And my neighbor's pear tree has already been a real treat to partake of (he said to take as much as we wanted because he doesn't like pears...go figure?). I gathered about 30 or so pears (mostly that had fallen to the ground) and let them ripen on various window sills! ha! We've been enjoying them peeled and sliced primarily. They are sooo juicy and delicious! But I made a rustic pear tart for a get together the other night that was delish! And last night I used the rest of them for a warm and comforting pear crisp. It was so good, I didn't even miss the ice cream (well, maybe I missed it a little). :)

I'm working on a menu for the next two weeks that I'll post in the next day or so.
How much do you spend on groceries a week? A month? I'm interested to know what other people do.
Have a great, blessed weekend!

First Day of Preschool

2011-08-24T07:34:00.000-07:00

She was ready!!!!

I didn't cry today. Even though it was my baby girl's first day of preschool. I did my crying yesterday, telling her how big and grown up she was. They look at you like you're crazy when you start boohooing all over them for no reason at all! ha! Except my baby, with her sweet heart, puts her hand to my cheek and says, "Mommy sad?" And of course I say, "No, baby. Mommy's not sad. Mommy is happy. These are happy tears. Mommy is sooo proud of you!" And she asks in her sweet little 3 year old voice, "You proud of me?" Ah. If she only knew how full my heart really was...of pride, of joy, of hope. She is such a treasure. I hope I she knows.

A pic from the preschool Open House.

We're waiting in the lobby.

Playing and singing, "Five Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed"

on the class' smart board. Too cool!

Mommy and G posing at Open House!

The First Day of Preschool!

That little face is so beautiful!

My big girl....she was just a baby yesterday. :(

Stretching a Dollar

2011-08-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

I must admit, I don't know much about this concept. But I'm learning. I know I'm forevermore talking about being better at sticking to a budget, but all one can do is learn, move forward, fall, mess up and get back up again.

Essentially, stretching a dollar simply means that you try to get the most out of your money. For instance, you aren't getting a lot for your dollar when you drop $50-60 bucks in one weekend eating out (like we often do), when you can get more by spending that money on real groceries that will make 15-18 meals instead of spending it on just 3!Not smart, I know.

Like I said, I'm by no means an expert, but here are a few ways I try to stretch a dollar. And trust me, none of these are original ideas. Many of them are borrowed. Like I said, I learn a lot from you guys out there in blog world! But here are a few that I've put into practice none the less.

1. I use up what I have in the kitchen to make meals. I seriously have come to a point where I'm just sick of wasting food. I've easily wasted thousands of dollars in food over my adult life and it just makes me ill to think how much I could have saved by being a little more conscious of it. But I'm doing better. Because, I've found that nothing is more satisfying than taking a bunch of leftovers and turning it into something delicious for my family! I did this just tonight (for myself). I took my last potato, my last egg and some leeks that were about to go bad and made a frittata type thing. Maybe it was more like a hash? Whatever...it was amazingly good! And I didn't spend an extra dime by running out to grab a quick burger or whatever.

2, I use coupons. Nothing says stretching a dollar like allowing the manufacturer of a product or the grocery store to front the costs for the stuff you're buying. If you do your homework and put some effort into it, you can literally walk in with pocket change and a handful of coupons and walk out with a cart full of groceries. I know, because I've done it! Talk about fun!

3. I reuse Ziploc bags. This may seem a little odd, but I learned this from my grandmother, who always washed them out with hot water and a little bleach. Those little boogers are expensive! Especially the zipper kind (which is what I prefer)! So, why not just wash them out? She also reuses tin pans, butter containers, brown paper bags (she uses them for her trash. Why? I'm not sure. She just always has. I guess because they fit her super old trash container), and bread bags (she stores her fresh popped popcorn in them...tied with a twist tie! lol) and aluminum foil. I've tried reusing foil, but I just gave up. I just rip it all to pieces and get frustrated! lol

4. I stay home. It's easy to stretch out a full tank of today's crazy expensive gas over a week or even two if you just stay home and don't make unnecessary trips. I'm the queen of this. I love to just get out and drive. But I've learned to just keep the car parked and find other things to do besides burn gas running the roads.

5. I cut things in half. Anything that can be cut in half, I rip right down the center (except toilet paper)! For example, baby wipes, paper towels and dryer sheets are just as good most of the time if they're halved (with the exception of baby wipes and a really messy diaper!).

6. I learned to use my freezer. Sure it took 10 years or so of my adult life, but I finally realized that leftovers could go in the freezer and be used later. So, that big pot of spaghetti or veggie soup that we didn't finish could be frozen and eaten again later. I know...DUH!

7. I use cloth napkins. Why waste paper towels at dinner time when a cloth napkin does a better job and can be washed and reused? And I don't wash them after each use either. Of course I do if they get particularly soiled, but for the most part, they do not, so I just reuse them a few times before they go in the wash. Besides, cloth napkins add a little something nice and special to dinner time.

8. I use honey to cleanse my face. This is a new one I'm trying. But I read on a blog recently that honey has all kinds of benefits for your skin, including antiseptic, moisturizing and drying properties. I know, it sounds weird. Moisturizing and drying at the same time? But yes, it does! My skin has been looking so smooth and fresh since I've been using honey. I mean, Cleopatra did it. She full on bathed in honey! And I bet she didn't even know it was a great way to stretch her beauty dollar! To learn more go here.

9. I use water to clean my floor. A lot of flooring manufacturers recommend this anyway, so I'm not sure why I've been using harsh cleansers all these years. And what a waste of money using the Swiffer is! Sure it's convenient and it smells good. I do miss it sometimes. But those bottles of cleanser and the cloths are just ridiculously expensive! So, I've been utilizing water and my steam mop to do my floors and I love it! I also just get on my hands and knees with a rag and clean them. It's a great workout and you can see all the stuff that's hanging out down low that you often miss with a mop.

10. I use less laundry detergent or make my own. A box of laundry detergent come with an ENORMOUS scoop! I've always thought it was too bit. I use half or less of that scoop and my clothes come out just fine. I've also made my own detergent which I like a lot. But I've been getting good deals lately with coupons, which is cheaper than making it myself.

11. I use newspaper to clean windows and mirrors. I had never heard of this before. But once while I was visiting a friend, she started cleaning her front door glass with Windex and newspaper. And the glass sparkled! She said that her mother always did this to save paper towels (those older ladies are the queens of stretching a dollar!). So, when I have newspaper around, I whip it out and clean windows with it.

12. We drink tap water for the most part. Sure I like a good bottled water like the next person. But it's expensive and the thought of all those bottles going into the trash really bugs me. I keep water in a pitcher in the fridge with some sliced lemon. It tastes great. I know a lot of you would be concerned about the chemicals in tap water, but I am not one of those people. :)

13. We have date nights at home. I believe in date nights as much as the next person. But if it starts to become a burdensome expense because of babysitter expenses and for the cost of dinner or an activity, etc, then I think it can hurt more than help. Since moving to a new town, with no babysitter available, we've learned to make due with snuggles on the couch, watching a good movie or relaxing and talking in the hot tub (our new house came with one!) at night. Talk about stretching your electricity dollar! ha! That's all I'm going to say about that.

14. I don't go to stores or the mall. There's no better way to stretch (or better yet, preserve) your hard earned dollars then to NOT spend it at all! I stay out of clothing stores, toy stores and the mall. I like to shop, don't get me wrong. I mean, please. I am of the female sex! ;) But it's just best if I don't go at all. Because it's inevitable that I will buy something. I even stay away from thrift stores, the Goodwill and yard sales unless I'm looking for something specific, because I easily become enticed by all the cheap stuff that I don't need! However, buying gently used, perfectly good items is a tremendous money saver! I'm currently looking for a working bread machine and CD player/boombox, if you happen to see any. ;)

How do you stretch your dollars? I'd love to learn some of your tips and tricks!

Need to Clear My Head....

2011-07-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

Have you ever felt like you have so many balls in the air, trying to juggle, juggle, juggle that you have no hope of keeping them up for very long, let alone continue to juggle well.

That's sort of how I'm feeling now....like I have so much going on, so much that I'm trying to do and that I'm not good at any of it.

I need to get some clarity and get rid of all the cloudiness in my head.

What would you, my faithful friends, recommend?

What do you do when you need to clear your head and reevaluate your priorities?

Happy to be Cleaning (believe it or not!)

2011-07-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning EXCITED, and you won't believe what it was about.

Believe it or not, I woke up excited to get to clean my house today and I just had to share with ya'll!

Now, if you follow this blog, or know me at all, you are in shock and awe right now because you know I HATE to clean and work around the house. It is on my short list of areas where I struggle. I know I should clean and keep up my home. I don't work for heaven's sake! But it still remains an area that is difficult for me. But God has given me some revelation in this area and is changing my heart. It is a work in progress, but I have finally gotten a piece of the puzzle in place and it feels good!

Now, keep in mind, I did say "a piece" of the puzzle. I still don't have the habits I desire to have (i.e. keeping the laundry folded and put away, keeping the dishes done, being really organized) down pat, but I have been consistently on track with one habit. And that is, doing a good clean sweep (pun intended) of my home on Thursdays.

I had a friend who told me once that she cleaned her house on Thursday evenings after work (I was working at the time) so she could get it all out of the way and enjoy her weekend. I thought that was a really good idea, but I never implemented it. But this past year, my daily schedule and outside commitments sort of dictated that Thursday would be the day when I would get my cleaning done. I have Bible study with my small group at church on Monday mornings, I attend a networking meeting on Tuesday mornings, Wednesday is free, Thursday is free and on Fridays I attend my MOPS meetings. This will all start back in full force in August, with the addition of my daughter attending preschool 4 days a week. And this summer, I've gotten in the habit of working really hard on Thursdays to get my house cleaning done....and I love it!

Here are the chores I try to get completed on Thursdays...

-Sweep and steam mop all floors (90% of my home has wood laminate or vinyl). Since my mom let me borrow her steam mop, I have been keeping my floors really clean because I love it THAT MUCH! This one activity takes the most time, but it's fun (did I for real just say that?).

-Give the kitchen a good scrub down. Wipe down all appliances and microwave and canisters. Move objects on the counters out of the way and wipe behind and under them. "Fluff" everything and make it pretty and put something in the crock-pot so I don't mess up my shiny stove top!

-Wash the kitchen and bathroom rugs. They are roughly the same color (red), so I wash them together.

-Vacuum the large rugs in the dining room and family room.

-Windex the front and back door glass, the bathroom mirrors, the glass end tables and TV stand in the family room.

-Dust the piano, dining room table, china cabinet, and the master bedroom furniture.

-Straighten up master bedroom (as well as possible. My husband has his "stuff" laid out and ordered the way he wants it, messy as it may be, so I try not to bother it) and sweep and mop in there as well.

-Clean the bathroom. Empty trash, wipe down vanity, scrub the toilet, clean and scrub the tub, wash hand towels and wash-clothes.

-As well as keeping up with a 3 year old who pulls stuff back out as fast as I can pick it up, make her lunches and drinks, take her to the potty endless times, nurse boo-boos, administer medicines and whatever else comes up...which could be and has been just about everything (who, as I write this is tugging on my sleeve to read her a book...see what I mean? haha).

Now, I realize this is a lot to do in one day. But I like taking one day and getting it done. And the truth is, we all know that it doesn't stay nice and pretty for long with a preschooler in the house! The maintenance of a clean house is an EVERY DAY chore. But the good thing is, I've kept the house picked up pretty well this week, so there's not as much "pre-cleaning" to do before I actually start the real cleaning.

Now, the Fly Lady would suggest breaking this up and doing a little every day, but I just don't operate that way I guess. However, I do like her suggestions for monthly "zone cleaning." Which is deep cleaning in certain areas in your home. For example, the kitchen would be broken down into small pieces (cleaning out the fridge, dusting and polishing the cabinets, organizing drawers, dusting baseboards, etc.) to deep clean for 15 minutes a day for a month. This helps you get the things done that we sometimes forget (I mean, when was the last time you cleaned your baseboards? I don't know either! haha).

But for me, every other day besides Thursday, I'm going to work on organizing. There are boxes and boxes of stuff that needs to be dealt with, my daughter's overflowing toy situation, the ever present laundry issue and whatever else comes up.

At any rate, I am excited today and ready to get crackin'! Woohoo for a clean house!

I'm Still HERE! and Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies

2011-07-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone...long time no see!

I'm still here actually, I've just been a blog slacker! We've done so much this summer, I just haven't been keeping you filled in. I feel bad because I haven't even gotten around to getting G's 2nd birthday pics on here. It was a sweet little party too. I will soon enough, but I think I'll start with our trip to Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg Tennessee. Have you ever been? It's a really great aquarium and she had a blast!

I was a little worried about her getting away from us, as I forgot to pack her stroller. But she did great just walking around. She didn't even want to be held very much, which is good because she's getting soooo heavy! I'm a little worried about her. Her doctor says that a 4 year old should weight about 40 lbs and my 3 year old weighs 52 lbs! She's particularly tall for her age too, but still....52 lbs?! The only thing I can figure that might be packing on the pounds is too much apple juice. Although I've always cut it with water, she still drinks it all day. Her pediatrician said that she shouldn't have ANY drinks with sugar...NONE! Just milk and water flavored with orange or lemon slices.

I'm just not sure what's up? When I was a kid, I had full sugar Kool-Aid all day, as well as soda (RC Cola to be exact) and I WAS NOT particularly active. My mom kept chips, cookies, Little Debbie snack cakes, sugar cereal and ice cream in the house all the time. And of course, we ate it. I stayed indoors almost all the time and I was always skinny. So was my husband. So, I'm not sure why my little one is on the chubby side? I love her regardless, but as a mother, I'm concerned about her health obviously. Most people just say to give her time and she will probably thin out, so I'm hopeful that will be the case. In the meantime, I'm just going to have to watch her diet and activity level a little more closely. We don't eat out very much (a lot LESS than a lot of other families I know) and we don't keep sweets and junk food around the house. For instance, so far today she has had for breakfast, a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios with 2% milk, lunch, Mac-N-Cheese leftover from last night and for a snack, apple slices with low fat cream cheese flavored with a little brown sugar and cinnamon. For dinner we will have some sort of pasta side dish with baked chicken tenders. That's pretty much going to be it for her. So, if you have any suggestions, advice, or encouragement, I'd love to hear it...but keep it nice!

At any rate, here are some pics from the Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. ENJOY!

Summer Memories

2011-06-05T16:50:00.000-07:00

I know it's not officially Summer, but when it's 90 degrees outside, bugs are biting, kids are jumping in the pool, and ice cream melts faster than you can eat it, in my opinion, it's pretty much Summer!

We are already enjoying one of Summer's great pleasures, the ice cream cone! My grandfather Dewey Nelson (we called him Papaw), used to take us kids to get a "frozen custard" as he called it. That's the old timey way of saying "vanilla soft-serve." But I believe I like "frozen custard" better! Back then they were only a quarter a cone. And he said that they were only $.10 when he was a kid. He loved them and would treat us every once in a while (he'd have to ask my grandmother for some change because she kept all the money! lol).

It was so fun piling up in his big ol' truck that smelled like motor oil and coal dust. He didn't care if we got ice cream on the seats or anything. My grandfather was one of the kindest, sweet spirited, easiest to be around people I believe I've ever known. And he loved his grand kids!

I only wish Gabby could have known him. She would have adored him. But we'll all meet in Heaven one day.

And of course, there will be ice cream in Heaven!

p.s. Does my blog have cooties or something? I haven't gotten even one comment in WEEKS!

12 Things We Did to Save $$$ When We Had a Baby

2011-06-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

I was just sitting here watching the infomercial for the new 'Baby Bullet' from "Magic Bullet' and was kinda jealous that they didn't have that when I was making my own baby food. It's so cute! But that got me thinking about how much money we saved making our own baby food (not to mention the little jars that didn't get thrown in the trash...I hated that!) and some of the other ways we saved back when my now 3 YEAR OLD (wow!) was a baby. We were unexpectedly thrown into having to make it on ONE INCOME and had to adjust our spending habits and FAST! And I'm proud to say that we didn't use one credit card, take out one loan, or go broke. God provided! But we also got a little bit frugal and learned to manage our resources better. I still have a long way to go, but learning the lessons of frugality made what seemed impossible at the time, very possible.

None of these things are new ideas, but they are things that surprisingly a lot of folks just don't do. So, I thought I'd share our list with you. And I must say that several of these ideas came from my friend Heather over at Want What You Have. She and her blog were a lifesaver for me during this time!

12. Used Wal-Mart brand formula. At first we were buying the ridiculously expensive Similac brand. We tried the Wal-Mart brand (because it was HALF the price of Similac) once and it seemed to make her sick. So I sadly put it back in the cupboard and thought I'd never use it again. But a few weeks later, we tried it and she seemed to do just fine with it. So we kept buying it and she kept drinking it until we stopped using formula. Saved us TONS of money! So my advice is, if it made them sick once, don't give up. Try again later. They may be able to tolerate it over time. Or use coupons. Now that I'm a couponer, I notice great sales on formula all the time. Just keep a watch out and be proactive and you can get your name brand formula pretty cheap.

11. Did not shop for needless baby stuff for nearly a year. I know it's hard for a new mom to exercise restraint when they see those darling outfits at Babies R-US or that HAVE TO HAVE baby item (i.e. wipe warmers...everyone said we just had to have one, but that just seemed like a total waste of money to me), but I made myself NOT shop. In fact, I didn't even go to the baby aisles, just so I wouldn't be tempted. I knew that back at my house I had TONS of beautiful clothes, tons of toys and blankets and all the baby stuff I needed, all from my baby showers (I still have so much gratitude in my heart for all those that blessed us!) so I just didn't buy anything.

10. Stopped going out to eat. Before we had our daughter, we ate out for dinner at least 3 times a week, sometimes more. That doesn't even count my EVERY DAY Chik-Fil-A breakfast stop before work for the 3 pack Chicken Minis and 2 large OJs while I was preggers! On one income, eating out all the time is just not feasible and it's just no fun with a fussy or demanding baby in tow. So, we just didn't go out and ate nice dinners at home.

9. Sold clothes in the big consignment sales from the TONS of clothes I got from her 7 baby showers (made 200 bucks from just one sale!).

8. Participated in a church clothes swap. Took in clothes and was allowed to swap those for newer ones that fit, all for FREE. I mostly got warm winter type clothes for wearing around the house (sweat pants and sweat shirts, turtlenecks, sweaters, etc).

7.Made baby food from canned and frozen vegetables and fruits and froze them in ice trays.

6. Bought low sugar apple sauce in BIG jars and spooned out smaller portions instead of buying the expensive tiny baby food jars of apple sauce.

5. Did not buy those expensive "kiddie meals" in the containers (the ones in the baby food aisle) when she was old enough for table food. I fed her from THE TABLE! She ate what we ate.

4. When I would go have her picture made for that special package price of $9.99, I would stick to the package for $9.99 and not let them talk me into the more expensive portraits. A little discipline goes a long way! I didn't do this for one sitting and spent over $200! Lesson learned.

3. Made my own laundry soap. I loved making it, especially with Ivory soap. I love that smell! But lately, I have found that if I use coupons when certain brands of detergent go on sale, I can get some really good bargains (I was not a couponer back when my daughter was a baby).

2. Graciously accepted hand-me-downs from friends and family. People are sometimes anxious and very willing to get rid of their kids' old clothes and toys. Just let them know you're interested and most of the time they're GLAD to let you have it!

1. Used cloth diapers. My sis-in-law made and gave us TONS of diapers so I didn't have to buy even one! What a blessing and what a money saver!

Count Your Blessings, Name Then One by One....

2011-05-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

...count your blessings see what God has done! And so the song goes. So I thought I'd do a post on just how many crazy and wonderful blessings we've received this year. It's hard to feel down about how tight your budget is, etc. when you sit down and make a detailed list of what you DO have to be thankful for. So here is one such list.

My husband manages a hotel and brings home stuff all the time. Of course the hotel collects a lot of items that get left behind and end up in the lost and found. Those items are tagged, bagged and kept safe there for 90 days just in case the owner calls to claim it. Sometimes they do, but a lot of times, they do not. He has practically racked up an entire wardrobe just from businessmen who are poor at packing! lol And another perk is that it's at his discretion whether or not to throw out old items that are no longer used or give them away or keep them. He has done all of these. But sometimes, he keeps them. One such item that I am amazingly grateful for is a huge case of trash bags that he brought home one evening. The hotel had changed all their trash cans, and these particular bags no longer fit, so the leftover case he had on hand, he just brought home. This case, no joke, is going to last me a good year or better. I've only used maybe a third of those bags in 6 months. Not having to buy trash bags for a year? That's a HUGE blessing in my book ya'll! Not to mention a huge savings!

Other freebies to note...

Clothes: 3 pants (2 Ralph Lauren, 1 Banana Republic) 2 sport coats, 1 dress shirt, 1 wind breaker, 1 Ralph Lauren knit pullover, 2 pair of leather shoes.

Appliances: 1 really nice iron, 1 35" tv (they were going to throw out), 1 32" flat screen tv (also was going to be tossed), several old computer monitors.

Misc: 1 diamond(ique) ladies watch (very pretty), 1 Kodak EZ share camera, 2 red chenille decorator pillows, and probably so many more things I can't even remember. Mostly all needing to be replaced due to hotel upgrades or change in decor...all of which would have just been tossed out. But they found a nice home here. WHAT A BLESSING!

You May Want to Stand Up For This!

2011-05-19T08:46:00.001-07:00

I posted this on my diet and exercise blog (link to the right of the page), but it's so important that I wanted to post here as well. Please read the info all the way through...a light bulb may go on for you as well!

Via: Medical Billing And Coding

Have a Laugh on Me...This Video is So Funny!

2011-05-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

I've needed some laughter today and this video cracked me up! Which is counter productive, because I'm trying to GET RID of wrinkles...oh well. I guess I need to break out my Pampered Chef spatulas!!!

My Sweet Angel is 3 Today!

2011-05-12T05:22:00.000-07:00

My husband made the video below of our daughter for her 3rd birthday. It is just precious (good job honey!). The song on the video is actually the inspiration for her name (I try not to use her name on this blog too often, but oh well...). We couldn't think of ANYTHING for months! And finally, when I was about 6 months pregnant, it came to me (with a little help from High School Musical..lol) and I rushed home and made my husband put in the album with that song on it. We both got a little teary and just knew....GABRIELLA! You'll see what I mean. It's a beautiful song. He sings it to her every night before she goes to bed and she knows practically all of the words herself!!!

Our little "G-baby" is a light. Everywhere she goes, since she was a newborn, she has always gotten noticed and people smile when they meet her. Then, it was because of her thick head of dark brown hair. She got a lot of attention for that. Now, it's because of her long blonde hair and adorable smile. She's friendly and talks to people which melts their heart. Her middle name really says it all...she's just a JOY!

Happy birthday my little baby. I am the luckiest mommy in the world! May you be blessed on this day, your birthday and for all the days to come. Your mommy and daddy love you more than anything!

My New Monday Meme! And a Revealing Video...

2011-05-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!
I have been wanting to begin a weekly meme for a while now, but really didn't have any ideas. But just this morning I had a GIANT revelation from something the Holy Spirit whispered to me.

As I was giving G a bath, I looked around the bathroom and noticed the clothes and towels in the floor and my hair dryer, curling iron and brushes, etc. left out on the vanity and was struck by how long that stuff had been just left out. Now, this is common place ya'll, so I wasn't surprised or anything. But I had the prompting to just take the extra 5 seconds, and put away my hair things and throw that pile of clothes in the washing machine. And as I had that thought, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, "Be mindful of your home." I stopped what I was doing and just listened. But that was all I heard..."Be mindful." This was an amazing revelation because I am so NOT mindful of hardly ANYTHING that I should be doing, especially around the house. I can step over stuff in the floor, stare at dirty dishes in the sink, and sift through the same pile of unfolded clothes in the laundry room for days (months) and it not phase me. But that's a major problem...being numb to it all points to way deeper issues. Not sure what those are at the moment, but that's not the point. The point is to start small and take some ACTION. The Holy Spirit, in His non-condemning, uplifting way just spoke to me exactly what I needed to hear. That I should just have these things at the forefront of my mind and not ignore it any longer. So, I'm asking Him to help me do this and I'm starting a dialogue about it here. I'm also putting in some action steps...that's where the video comes in.

This video captures my worst room. The room that causes me the most frustration and stress (it has since I was a kid). And that is THE LAUNDRY ROOM! It's a disaster...it always is. I've never conquered keeping up with this one daily chore (or any for that matter) and I know that if I can, it will by all means clear up a lot of stress, save time and energy and just be better all around for my whole family. We are ALL stressed by it. But I know as the home maker, it's my job to deal with it. And the truth is, I want to deal with it. I want to get control over this and WIN!

So, I'm kicking off the launch of my new Monday meme with an honest look at my most disastrous room and my plan to get it under control.

And the name of my new meme?

Drumroll........

Mindful Mondays!!!!!

What, in your life is sort of a weak area for you that you could be more mindful of? I want you to share!!!
Blog on Mondays with a link back here to "Happily Home" about what you're trying to be mindful of today or this week. Share your struggles and your successes. I have a feeling I'm not the only one. :)

Now, I have no idea how to set up a meme or link back and forth the right way (I'm sure there's a right way), but please just bear with me and we'll work out the kinks and figure this out together! In the meantime, leave a comment and a link to your blog and I'll figure it all out (if any of you already know how to do this, please FEEL FREE to email me and clue me in!).

Hope to hear from you!!!!

Ignore that the title says "Part 2." I couldn't get "Part 1" to upload. But it wasn't important anyway.

Some Really Great Unexpected Deals at Kroger Today

2011-05-06T19:23:00.000-07:00

Great day visiting the grocery store today. I had no intention of getting the things I got (I only went there for butter), but it seemed sort of meant to be...cuz I got some GREAT DEALS!

I still haven't finished my weekly grocery list for Kroger, but I'm going to try to keep it at under $60 for the week. Kroger has a LOT of deals that I could use with my coupons, but I'm going to focus on getting meats this time around because they have some great prices this week and I'm stocked in other areas.

But I was walking around and saw this angel food cake on sale for $0.99.

Great deal right???

I just had to get it, but I was worried it was going to be stale. So I thought, what better to moisten it up a bit but some strawberries? I wasn't after those either, but I decided to check the prices Kroger had on them this week. As I made my way over, the sign above the strawberries said, $1.66 but when I got to them, they all had stickers that said, $0.99!!!!

(sorry it's a little blurry)

I couldn't believe it! So I picked up five quarts. One for the angel cake, one for snacking and the rest for freezing.

And the best way to slice them? The Pampered Chef Egg Slicer Plus. I don't think it's called that anymore. And I know it's redesigned (I have the old-school one). But it's one of my all time favorite kitchen tools! So quick and easy!

And look at how perfect the slices are.

LOVE IT!

I also got a roll of Scotch brand packing tape that was on clearance for $1.36 and I had a dollar off coupon! CHEAP!

So, while I only intended to get butter, I came away with so many more GREAT DEALS! So blessed!

Easter 2011...A Really Great Weekend!

2011-04-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

This Easter weekend was uniquely special this year. I'm not sure why? It just seemed like everyone in the family was happy to be together. We experienced a death in our family last week, a few days before Good Friday, so I think maybe we were just really thankful to have each other to enjoy one more year!

G doing her "pageant pose!" She's so cute!!!

The grandparents (and great-grandparent) seemed so happy to spend time with little G. She played and played and played. She's so happy there, that instead of wringing my hands, wondering who was going to babysit her when both of us have to work Wednesday, I just decided to leave her with my parents and let them have a good long visit with her. She doesn't even seem to miss us, she's having so much fun!

Bobby participated in a "cross-walk" to help raise money for Speed The Light. He walked 13 miles (and got a blistering sunburn) with a group of about 100 people (20 or so finished the entire 13 miles) and carried the cross himself several times. He also almost got hit by a car while he was towing the cross, but came away without a scratch! I guess you couldn't not be blessed and protected from danger if you were physically carrying a big ol' cross! The angels were certainly with him!

He also went to a big Christian rock concert with his sister to see Newsboys and Disciple.

They always have fun together at those things! I'm glad she goes with him, because it's not my very favorite way to spend an evening...but they enjoy it, so that makes me happy!

Daddy was at the concert, baby was visiting his parents, so I spent the evening taking a nice, long uninterrupted NAP! And it was a great, restful nap too. I fell asleep in my mother's room which has one of those big, loud floor fans that puts me into a trance or something! I sleep so good when that thing's runnin'! I wish I had one in my own room, but I'd be afraid I wouldn't hear G in the middle of the night if something were wrong, so I make the sacrifice to sleep lightly for her. (do you hear the violins?)

And on Sunday, we all got up early and went to church with my family.

Baby G right before we left. I was so proud of the deal I got on this dress! I found it at Macy's on clearance for $14.99! It had a giant crinoline underneath and a big satin bow around the waist. It was a really nice dress! It wouldn't have been my first choice, but a dress becomes a lot cuter when it's only $14.99 and all the others around it are $49.99! ha!

My sister got her the pretty little white

shrug which set it off perfectly!

I sang a couple of songs and later the kids hunted Easter eggs in the mud! It's funny. This church asks folks to bring in 2 dozen real hard-boiled eggs...not plastic ones, but real ones that you have to dye and decorate yourself!!! I think they might be the only church in America that still hides real eggs on Easter! But you know, I think it's a little more special. It certainly was when we were kids. And you have egg salad for days to boot! ha!

The big Easter egg hunt!

G with her little cousin right after...

Bobby's sister made a fantastic dinner and of course we stuffed ourselves! And the kids hid more eggs and played!

Playing with the cousins after our 2nd dinner of the day!

It's so nice to have a kid of my own to enjoy during the holidays!

So here I am, a day later in my nice, quiet house, reflecting on how good Jesus is and what an expensive price He paid for us, so that we could have life, and that more abundantly! Thank you Father for this beautiful, abundantly good life you've given me! What a gift!

Earth Day...A Big, Fat Distraction!

2011-04-22T07:20:00.000-07:00

I've been sitting here this morning, having a little breakfast and watching cartoons with my daughter on Nickolodeon and Disney Channel. Every other commercial is about "earth" and how she takes care of us..."She's round, cuddly and friendly too...and she gives life for me and you!" Oh my gosh! PUH-LEEZE! Cuddly? The earth "cuddly and friendly?" (tell that to the people over in Japan!) This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! What angers me is that the powers that be are putting crap out there like this for PRESCHOOLERS! The younger the better I guess. Next they'll be creating earth mobiles and earth teething toys for infants (they probably already have!).

I'm a little ticked off. I mean, of ALL days, or weekends to celebrate "earth day" why did they have to pick Easter weekend? As if the big fluffy pink bunny wasn't bad enough, they have to throw in the "cute, cuddly earth" for kids to idolize? And I don't think for a second that that was done by accident. It was by design. Someone is very jealous of Jesus.

The truth is, it's all a big fat DISTRACTION. To take our focus off of this most Holy Day! Good Friday...the day Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world! And on Sunday, lots of "earth week" activities will commence. The planting of trees, the picking up of trash along the beaches, the speeches, the rallies. The protests against oil companies, car emissions, cow flatulence. And lots of t-shirts, buttons and pins all declaring love and gratitude for "Mother Earth." Lots of good will, lots of focus on what is seemingly righteous work. But is this focus displaced?

There will also be those who will be bowing their heads in humble gratitude for something altogether different. They realize that a great price was paid for them that they can never repay...that they've not been asked to repay. You see, we were expensive. Very expensive. The price for us had to be paid with blood. The purest, most powerful life giving blood available. It had to come from God Himself. And He did it. He who was good and perfect and blameless became sin and defeated it on the CROSS and He died. He was buried and that was that, so it seemed. But Jesus PROVED who He said He was...He was God, the one with power over sin and death and He actually raised Himself from the dead and became alive again! Wow! And right now, He sits, ALIVE at the right hand of His Father in Heaven!

That's what millions of us will be reflecting on, talking about, singing about! The fact that God loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die in our place so we could be with Him.

But why can't you celebrate both? You might be wondering. Why do you have to be so hard-nosed about it...so uncool? What's wrong with celebrating "Earth Day?" God created the earth after all!

I would say that Christians, because the Word commands us to, celebrate Earth Day EVERY DAY! We are called to be good stewards of the earth and to take care of God's glorious creation (this world really is WONDROUS!). We reflect on these things all the time (if we're not, we need to be asking God to help us see how we can do a better job of that). But we don't worship and revere the creation, we worship and revere the CREATOR. Doing it any other way is backward. So, to take the holiest of days away from God to focus on that which was created by God is just foolish. And anyone with an ounce of discernment sees the folly in this. It is a distraction. It's meant by the enemy to take our focus off of Jesus Christ and onto something else...anything else. He wants the worship. He is stealing the worship away from Jesus and disguising it as the righteous act of "taking care of Mother Earth." He thinks he's clever.

But he gets no glory from me. I see right through this ploy to steal worship from my precious Jesus. And he, nor his "earth day" will get any of my focus, my time, nor my attention.

Call me crazy, call me uncool, call me a religious zealot...I don't care. But one thing you won't call me is a fool! I'm keeping my eyes fixed on the CROSS!

I will not be distracted!

Suggestions????

2011-04-18T19:01:00.000-07:00

I want to link up with a weekly meme. Can ya'll recommend any? I want it to be fun, easy, not involve a lot of self-reflection or taking pictures of tablescapes or decorating. And you can add cleaning or housekeeping to that list too. Something fun? Any ideas?

FREE Nivea Body Wash At Walmart!

2011-04-16T22:06:00.000-07:00

I hope you got a paper today (Sunday) and found the $3.00 off Nivea body wash in the Red Plum circular! Because Walmart has it on sale for $3.00 (per Paul at iheartthemart). I actually got these coupons (one for men's body wash and one for women's body wash) on Wednesday in the mail, so when I saw that they were going to be free, I jumped up and went to Walmart to check it out (I had to get diapers too, so I didn't make a special trip just for free body wash!).

Not only were the women's body washes for sale, the were rolled back to $2.97! So I actually got $0.03 back in overage!

Am hoping my husband can get me several papers (he manages a hotel and has the front desk clerk save us the leftovers) so I can stock up on more. It really is fun getting stuff for FREE! woohoo!

90 Day Challenge!

2011-04-11T19:26:00.000-07:00

You can do anything for 6 weeks! And come hail or high water, I'm going to eat right and exercise 5-6 days a week for 90 days...no excuses! I've got nothing to lose and everything to gain!

I'll keep you posted here and on my new blog "I Am My Own Success Story!"

Stay up to date on my progress with weigh ins (eek!), measurements (double eek!), progress pics, stories of the highs and stories of the lows and an the inside "scoop" on what I'm doing! (heehee)

Don't Toss That Salad!

2011-04-07T18:48:00.000-07:00

So, when was the last time you went in your back yard, yanked up some weeds and took them into the kitchen and cooked them up? Yeah, me neither! I don't think I've EVER done that...except for today!

I didn't "toss" that handful of dandelion weeds I pulled from the yard, I "tossed" them into a salad and wilted up a few! ha! This was so fun today ya'll, I'm totally into getting a garden going now!
In the garden (the folks who lived here before us left one intact...we haven't done such a great job keeping it up) there are what I thought were spring onions coming up, so I decided to dig a few. And come to find out, they weren't onions at all, but immature garlic! When I started cutting them up I thought they smelled like garlic and after a little research found out that they were in fact garlic bulbs that hadn't matured yet but looked more like a green onion with green tops and a small single bulb at the end. I rinsed them all and had a real mess of them! Not quite sure what to do with the rest actually!



                            Anyone have any ideas or recipes?

But anyway, I decided to take some of my tender dandelion greens and the garlic and wilt them down in a little olive oil like my grandmother used to do (except she used bacon fat). IT WAS SO GOOD! The only thing that would have made it better would have been to have a big slice of warm cornbread. But it was yummy nonetheless! A light, perfect little afternoon snack.



                       I even cooked them in a cast iron skillet!
                                             AUTHENTIC!

It left me with a really satisfying feeling that I forged around and pulled together a nice, healthy FREE lunch from the good earth with my own hands.

In other news, G had a lot of fun playing in her makeshift water table. I'm too cheap to buy a real one. So to keep her from playing in a bucket full of dirty rain water, I pulled out a plastic tote, filled it with warm water and set it out. I gave her cups to play with but she wanted to play with rocks. She kept throwing the same heavy rock into the water over and over. It was funny.

I, on the other hand, was happy to just put my feet up in the warm sun...it's about time!

$0.50 Lunch for 2 and a Step in the Right Direction

2011-04-06T10:40:00.000-07:00

Today my 2 year old daughter was watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and they were all staring at a big bucket of spaghetti (that's about all of the storyline I caught). The next thing I know, she comes to me saying, "Mommy I want sketti!" She wouldn't drop it.

I had planned on getting in the car and taking a little drive to get some lunch out on this sunny day. I've been feeling a little down all morning...nothing serious. It's just things aren't going how I've planned (don't you hate that?!) and I'm a little confused about some decisions I need to make. It's kinda weighing me down. And when I feel this way, my first reaction is to jump in the car and head to a fast food restaurant. When really, I just need to stay home, deal with the actual emotions I'm feeling and save the money! Sure I justify it by saying, "Oh it's a pretty day, lets jump in the car and enjoy it. Besides, I have a coupon for a free whatever."But deep down inside, I know it's the wrong thing to do.

So after a serious inner struggle, "Should I, shouldn't I?" My daughter was still asking for spaghetti, so I decided to stay home and just make spaghetti for heaven's sake! As I stood in the kitchen preparing the food, I immediately began to feel better because of the good decision I made to actually stay home. Could this be what happiness is? One good choice after another that just adds up to one great day you can be happy with? Sure, I consider myself a pretty good person who makes pretty good choices. But it's those daily ones that are easy to overlook because they're not "big sins" or "actually wrong," that can weigh heavy on you over time.

The decision to take a nap instead of finish the laundry (then you have no clean clothes the next day and stress about it), deciding to eat out when you have perfectly good food at home to cook (then you wonder how your money just seemed to pour through your hands that month), messing around online too long instead of playing with your bored and lonely child (and you wonder why they throw a major hissy fit for attention when you won't even look up from your facebook page). It's the little things, ya know?

Sure, no one is perfect and we're going to decide to do things we want sometimes, instead of what we need to do. But it's a balance. And lately, the scales have been tipped on the wants side a lot more around here and I've been feeling miserable.

Anyway, as I was making the spaghetti, I realized that I was using items I had gotten couponing. The spaghetti was part of the deal from Kroger where I stocked up and got 32 boxes completely FREE!

The other was a can of Hunts tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano already added (I almost always try to buy cans of tomatoes with seasonings already in them).

The tomatoes were $0.50 I believe.

I blitzed the tomatoes up in the Magic Bullet thingy (the off brand version we got for Christmas...works just as well!) with a little salt and a little sugar (to cut the acidity of the tomatoes) and heated the sauce on the stove. When the spaghetti was done, I added a little olive oil for flavor and mixed the spaghetti with the sauce and added a few dashes of Parmesan cheese on top. It was yummy and my daughter ate every single bite!

I am so proud of myself for creating a great little (low-cal) lunch for 2 for just $0.50! It feels good to do the right thing. Going to try to do that a few more times and we'll see just how good I feel by the end of the week!

Mommy Fall Down, Go Boom!

2011-04-05T19:24:00.000-07:00

Well, the Spring Cleaning isn't going as planned. :(
Bummer!

I was on the right path on Sunday and Monday, but then the unexpected happened and threw me completely off my game!

I FELL IN A POOL OF PEE-PEE!

Oh yes, your eyes are reading that correctly...urine. Go ahead...laugh...get it out of your system! :)

It sounds funny enough, but I really hurt myself! See, I was coming down the hall from, believe it or not, flushing some pee-pee for the baby who had just pottied (but obviously not completely in the potty). I promised her some candy and as we headed to get it, my foot hit a puddle of pee and I fell, but on the way down, I hit my head on the door frame (the temple area) and it really hurt. It was throbbing and pounding so, I was worried for a minute there. Oh, and G? When I fell honey, she took off for the hills and didn't look back! She was some help! ha! When I finally got up, I was just in so much pain that all I wanted to do was lay down. But I know that if you hit your head, you shouldn't lay down and sleep. That could be dangerous. But other than having a throbbing headache and sore head, I felt ok...just needed some rest. Luckily G went right to sleep and napped for 3 hours...VERY RARE these days! But oh how I took advantage of it! You just never know folks. I could have really hurt myself. What if I had hit my head a little harder and blacked out or something? My husband didn't get home for another 6 hours! My baby would have been alone with a mother who was unconscious! What a terrifying thought! Things can go from good to BAD in an instant...you just never know. Nobody wakes up in the morning with even the idea that their head is going to come smack in contact with a wood door frame! I'm so thankful that it wasn't worse. I really do believe that angels were looking out for me!

But since yesterday, I just haven't been in the mood to do any kind of deep cleaning, which is frustrating. My one week this spring to get some things done and I have a setback. I hate that!

With that said, I hope I feel more in the mood tomorrow because my one goal, if I get nothing else accomplished, is to get my laundry room under control because the clothes situation is out of control!

Spring Break For Some, Spring Cleaning For Me!

2011-04-03T07:03:00.000-07:00

It's spring break here in the Bluegrass! I do private tutoring in several counties and they're all out of school at the same time next week, so I will have a nice break as well! That means no lesson planning, no paperwork, no researching lessons online and no driving to and fro to my students' homes and schools. Ahhh...a nice week at home to do some cleaning. I just got to thinking...what do people actually do for spring cleaning?

Around my house growing up, my mother would give all the windows a good washing, shampoo the carpets and try to clean out and organize the closets. I think that's a good place to start if you're house is generally in order to begin with. But mine is not unfortunately. I'm spending today (all of Sunday), just getting the Mt. Vesuvius of clothes in my laundry room folded and put away. My daughter's room is a toys disaster, my spare bedroom is essentially a junk room that needs a complete overhaul and my bedroom closets and dresser drawers need cleaned out and organized, as well as the winter clothes put away and our spring and summer clothes bought out (if it would ever warm up!).

I'm going to be posting before and after pics of my progress this week, so stay tuned! First on the list, getting the laundry room cleaned out and organized! See pics tomorrow!

In the meantime, let me know....what do you do to "Spring Clean?"

Singing at Knoxville Christian Center, "Mercy Seat"

2011-03-31T08:57:00.000-07:00

Video of me singing "Mercy Seat" (cannot find the writer or I would include their name). The first time I heard this song was at the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Florida in 1995. How I found myself there was nothing short of a "God thing." All I know is what I saw there, this real, infilling of the Holy Spirit all over the room...I just had to have it! I wanted what those people had!

Anyway, when I heard this song, and saw literally HUNDREDS of people rush to the altar to meet Jesus, I was moved so, that I never forgot it. I never wanted to sing this song because it just felt too holy for me to take on, but someone gave me the track and I decided to give it a try. Mostly because this is how I've been feeling lately, that people need to know about my Jesus and how they can have the incredible love that I have, that they don't have to do this life alone!

In this video, I'm looking at the words quite a bit because I had just learned it and wanted to get it right. But in the future, I won't be staring down so much! lol Enjoy!

What Do You Want in Life? Do the Hard Work to Figure it Out!

2011-03-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

I hear all the time (and have complained myself) that it's hard to eat right because healthy food is too expensive! Well, I would agree. The mark-up on fresh fruits and vegetables and organic items is greater. But what does that have to do with anything? SERIOUSLY. What does that have to do with you having the things you want? In this case, healthy food and a healthier lifestyle for you and for your family. What is keeping you from the things you want? Because it's certainly not the grocery store! Could it be that you are getting in your own way? I know I started this post off by talking about health food because that's an area I'm wanting to change right now, but really, I'm applying that question to EVERYTHING in our lives that we say we want, but aren't taking for ourselves (and I'm not talking about material things here).

One thing I realized recently is that I have the power to do whatever I want and make the life I want (all within God's will of course...we can't do ANYTHING out of His will and it be successful. That's why prayer and spending time with Him is PARAMOUNT in this process of self-examination! The beauty is, He begins to tell you who you are, which is so much greater than you ever dreamed you could be...oh how He loves us!). And SO DO YOU! That means that sometimes, when things seem impossible, passionate, smart, resourceful, creative people get busy making the things that they care about happen in their lives!

Now, in all honesty, I haven't always felt this way or had this surge of empowerment. Quite honestly, for most of my adult life, I've felt like a victim in many areas. One, being my weight. I've always felt like something was wrong with me, that I was just predisposed to this body and my attitudes about hating exercise, hating health food, hating the whole idea of just not having what I wanted, when I wanted it! Self-deprivation? NEVER!

But over the past year and a half, I've really done some serious self-examination and asked myself what it was I really wanted (this is hard, deep, intensive work, that can't be done overnight). What I really want is the right to just have that bowl of ice cream at midnight? Seriously? A year ago, my answer would have been, "Yes, it is!" I mean, how shallow. How immature (but that's the flesh for ya! a screaming, crying, little baby!)! But now, I don't feel that way so much. What I really want is to lay my head down at night feeling satisfied and at peace. Do you see the difference? Before, I was bound by my craving and desire for immediate gratification, but now, I'm becoming more content with just peace, and the long lasting, real satisfaction that goes along with it. Peace with the decisions I made that day, peace with myself, peace knowing that I did all I could to be the best me I could be.

That sounds easy enough, right? We all want peace, right? Well, no, I don't think we do. Some people want to worry and wring their hands, as if that's more righteous than letting God have it already! And sadly, they pretty much hate themselves, which leads to them enacting even more destruction in their lives. And the thing is, I don't think these people even know or get it yet. Their eyes just aren't opened to their own fallacies. I know, because mine were not either and I pretty much hated myself too. Sure, I lived a pretty peaceful life (I'm not one for drama), but there was always a war raging inside me of regret, self-hate, blame, finger pointing, fear, worry...but a cool complacency about it all. A mask and a fake smile that told the world, "I'm perfectly fine," but a garbage heap of lies and fear on the inside. And I say I HATE hypocrisy?!

So, I've been taking a real look at all of this over the past year. It all started with my "sahmbie" blog, but even after the year I gave myself to write about it, I still found that I hadn't dealt with a lot of my issues (that's a buzz word right now, used to encompass a great deal of things, but the TRUTH is, it's called "pain." You have to deal with the pain. And examining the pain is harder to endure and look at than the ever hollow buzz phrase, "I just have issues." That's just another mask.).

And what I've come up with (not that I'm done, discovering), is that I am no wimp! I've let a lot of things from my past dictate to me a lot of lies. But when I look deep within and let God speak to me about who I really am, I see some really amazing things! It's hard to trust that, because it means I have to start walking in that excellence. And quite honestly, it's easier to walk in the muddiness of who I've been all these years than to be that person...that God made me (is that a real statement or what? How many of you can relate?!). But how I really long to be that person. And the thing is God sees me as that person and is probably perplexed when I make decisions that don't reflect what she would do...the real me. My prayer is that I start to see myself that way! But I have discovered that circumstances and my supposed "reality" have nothing to do with me having the things I really want in life, nothing at all. It all takes time, but I can be, become, have, do ALL of the things God has for me and has made me to be. And one of them is NOT this unhealthy, tired, muddling, fat person (among other things) that I am now.

Friends, I could go on for days about what I've uncovered on this road of self-discovery, but I won't. ha! I will however, keep you posted on my progress and how God is strengthening and changing me along the way.

Just know that you are fearfully and wonderfully made by the hands of the One who crafted...

...Jupiter

...the rings of Saturn

...Mt. Kilimanjaro

...the Grand Canyon

...The Great Barrier Reef

...and the Hawaiian Sunset.

But He says that YOU are His greatest creation. YOU have His very Spirit dwelling inside of you and if you've asked Him to live there, His own Son, Jesus Christ grafted into your heart and DNA. You are a new creation in Christ and filled with His strength and power...NOTHING can stand against YOU! He loves you and is helping you and is guiding your every step. His hands and arms are always open and His power is always available. Go to Him and ask Him to tell you who you really are...

if you're really ready to know.

My Name In Lights!

2011-03-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

This may be the first time I've ever seen my name on a marquis! Singing here tomorrow and passed by on our way to the Kroger to get G a cup (we forgot her sippy! EEK!). Bobby and I were both giggling with excitement! So, we whipped back around and pulled up to snap a pic! We thought the addition of "inspirational singer" was a nice touch! TOO FUN! Next on the bucket list....to hear one of my songs playing on the radio! That would be awesome!

First Salon Hair Cut!

2011-03-25T13:33:00.000-07:00

I went to get a trim today from my good friend Kristi at the JC Studio in Versailles, KY. She did a great job! But my little G decided to hop up in the chair when I was finished and wanted a hair cut too! So we took advantage of her cooperation and Kristi clipped a little off the ends to trim it up a bit! She even let Kristi comb it out...that's HUGE!

This isn't her very first haircut. I actually, out of frustration, hacked about 4 inches off several moths ago (she NEVER lets me comb it out without a fight!). But I left it jagged and uneven. My mom tried to even it up too, but it still wasn't great. So, to have a real stylist trim it up was a treat. Thank you Kristi for being such a good friend and for being so giving! We love you and will be back!

Rest In Peace Liz

2011-03-23T19:06:00.000-07:00

Of all the movie stars, she was my favorite. To me she had the perfect face and perfect dark

brunette hair. I'm glad she had a good long life. Every time I see "White Diamonds" sitting on my

grandmothers vanity, I will think of her.

Something Must Be Done!

2011-03-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

Felt like a big ol' loser today at the park! It's sad when your little one is yelling, "Come on Mommy, come on!" because she wants you to come play with her, but you're too exhausted to move an inch from the bench! I did play with her for about 10 minutes, but that's all I could take before I was huffing and puffing and ready for a break. So sad. I know this. It seemed easier even one year ago, but I think my age, coupled with this obesity is catching up with me. My knees ache, my hip joints hurt, my back is always tight and sore, and the worse thing, I am out of breath almost all the time. I think to myself, "I'm too young to feel so old!" In my heart I feel 18, but my body feels ancient! Guys...it's time to change this, it really is just time. But I'm hesitant to talk about it. Because as soon as I do, it seems like I give up just as quickly as I get started. Feeling defeated time after time after time makes a person not want to even try again. I just don't have the energy. But try I must...for me and for my precious little one!

On a happier note, she was in a little fashion show my parent's local mall was having. My sister works at a department store and the workers at all the clothing stores there dress their children in the store's apparel and hold a Spring fashion show. My little G wore a fluffy pink and silver Easter dress and her older cousin Ashley wore a really pretty blue dress with silver high heel shoes. Thankfully Ashley walked with G down the runway or who knows what would have happened! When it was time to exit the stage, she (G) turned around and wanted to do it all again. She LOVED the stage a little too much! IAshley had to drag her to the stairs and I had to physically remove her from the stage. Yeah...fun for all! But she was cute, and that's all that mattered.

Getting ready in the mirrors....

Grammy brushing her hair.

Hugging Nana after the big show...

See...after the show, she wanted BACK on stage and played there for like 15 minutes!

Her First Poopie!

2011-03-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

HIP-HIP HOORAY!

After months and months of cajoling, persuading, asking, BEGGING, our almost 3 year old daughter FINALLY poo-pooed in the potty (I have pictures, but I thought I'd spare you)!!!!

We had been working on peeing in the potty all day (she's been doing this for a while now. It's amazing what new found control one has over this function when one realized that pee in a potty means a few M&Ms in hand!), so she was running around with no diaper because she has trouble with her pants and with underwear. Anyway, she was quietly sitting on the couch eating a snack of sliced strawberries, watching her new favorite show, "Bubble Guppies," and just quietly got up, walked over to her potty, sat down and went #2!!! I was so thrilled I could have peed my own pants!

I promised her that if she pooed in the potty that we would get her a Mickey Mouse doll from the Disney Store (because she loved them when she and her daddy were in there a while back). So we packed up, picked up daddy from work and all headed to the Disney Store for the Mickey Mouse doll. They were 2 for $15, so we also got her the Goofy, because she couldn't decide and loved them both!

Here she is with her little bag in hand,

in front of a big Mickey Mouse!

So excited and proud! We hope it continues...she could be potty trained by her third birthday! That would be a blessing!

"Discipline Your Image!"

2011-03-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

This video has been overwhelmingly inspirational to me. I've really been listening to "marketing experts" when they talk about making sure you have the right "image" and it made me think of the ULTIMATE PACKAGE...

REX KWON DO!

So lets DO THIS! Let's

DISCIPLINE OUR IMAGE!!!!
"Forget About It!"
(sorry it's bad quality...but it's still hilarious! Napoleon Dynamite is one of my favorite movies!)

What are You Willing To Do For Your Children?

2011-03-08T14:53:00.000-08:00

I've been feeling some conviction lately...

I've been thinking about my role as a mother and what that means beyond the sort of mundane dailiness of what it takes to care for my daughter. Do I pray enough for her...for her future? And while I want every nice thing for my daughter, I know that the nicest clothes, the latest, greatest toys, belonging to the best playgroups having just the right friends, being a part of just the right activities doesn't add up to a hill of beans where her eternity is concerned! Yet, do I take that literally? Am I doing things that outwardly make me seem like a good mother, that others can brag about or marvel at? Sometimes it seems that way. Or am I in my prayer closet, in secret, praying for her. No one sees that. If they could, would I do it more? Just questions I'm asking of my own heart. So far, I'm not liking what I see. But I'm seeking better for my daughter.

Do I pray enough for her health? What about her school experience? Will I have equipped her to handle mean kids, judging teachers, failure, being gracious when she has successes, to do her very best? And her teenage years? Will she be good and kind to others? Will she be liked? Will she have some talents and/or abilities that make her feel special...that keep her out of trouble? Will she allow boys, as I did, to take advantage of her, hurt her? Or will she be a strong young woman with unshakable character? Will she marry a wonderful young man and have beautiful children of her own?

See, knowing what I know about the Kingdom of God, I don't believe all these things are left to chance. What if RIGHT NOW, when she's just 2 years old, we start to do something IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM to shape our daughter's future?

What if my husband and I fasted and prayed specifically for our daughter each week, consistently? What kind of battles could be fought and won in the spiritual? I will probably never know this side of Heaven, but Daniel gives us a clue as to what spiritual warfare happens on our behalf when we fast and pray...

Daniel 10:1-14
¹ "In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war.The understanding of the message came to him in a vision. ² At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. ³ I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.
⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, ⁵ I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶ His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.
⁷ I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. ⁸ So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. ⁹ Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.
¹⁰ A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. ¹¹ He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
¹² Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. ¹³ But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come."

I am so excited by what the angel said, "From the first day....your prayers were heard!" And right then he went to battle on Daniel's behalf! If we start fasting and praying now for our daughter, what battles might the great angels be fighting for her? She may never have to endure some of the evil things that kids today experience. Giving up a day of food a week so that my child can have a more victorious life seems like a pretty small price to pay to me!

The book, Night Light for Parents by Dr. James and Shirley Dobson, is a daily devotional meant to be read with your spouse together at night. I have his other book Night Light which is for couples, but am interested in getting the one for parents as well because there seems to be some amazing wisdom there. They talk about praying and fasting specifically for your children in a section called, "Passing on the Faith,"

SATURDAY
Divine Help
Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17, NKJV

"When confronted with the awesome responsibilities of parenthood, not to mention the incredible evil in today's world, it's no surprise that many parents feel an urgent need to pray continually for their children. When Danae was about three years old, Jim and I realized that as parents we needed divine help. We began fasting and praying for Danae, and later for Ryan, almost every week (a practice that I continue to this day). Our prayer went something like this: "Lord, give us the wisdom to raise the precious children You have loaned to us, and above all else, help us bring them to the feet of Jesus. This is more important to us than our health or our work or our finances. What we ask most fervently is that the circle be unbroken when we meet in heaven."
God has not only heard this prayer, but also blessed it in ways we never anticipated. Our prayer time has become a project that Jim and I enjoy together, drawing us closer to each other as we draw closer to God. In addition, the act of fasting each week serves as an important reminder of our priorities: It's difficult to forget your highest values when one day out of seven is spent focusing entirely on them. Finally, our children were influenced by these acts of discipline. When they observed us fasting or praying, it gave us the opportunity to explain why we did these things, how much we loved them, and how much we loved and trusted the Lord.
God hears and honors,in His perfect timing, our petitions on behalf of our children. If you want the very best for your sons and daughters, I urge you to call on the greatest power in the universe in frequent prayer."
SMD

What great advice! And what a challenge for us all!

Here's another quote that I came across this week from the book, Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders...

"The emerging leader eats right, stands tall, and prepares himself to wage spiritual warfare. He will without reluctance undertake the unpleasant task that others avoid or the hidden duty that others evade because it wins no public applause."

Fasting and praying isn't popular. In fact, most folks think you're down right LOONEY TUNES if you do it regularly. But as we've seen from the book of Daniel, it is a powerful weapon we have against our enemy, one we as the Church do not utilize enough. Why? Maybe because it's meant to be done in secret..no one sees it...you don't get applause for it. The moms on the playground don't see the hours you spent on your knees before your Heavenly Father, shedding tears for your child on an empty stomach. The other parents thinks you're weird because you politely refuse the breakfast casserole each week at playgroup. Your friends think you're dissing them because you turned them down, yet again for dinner out. Your coworkers look at you in disbelief as you only order an iced tea when the company is paying for a business lunch! No, you're not going to get any applause or a standing ovation for fasting and praying for your child. But as a spiritual leader over her/him, are you still willing to make the sacrifice?

But God knows what you're doing...

"But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly." Matthew 6:6

And our reward (here on earth at least) will be a child who is blessed and protected beyond what we could ever ask or think!

What do you say?

A Brand New FUN, Christ-Centrered Online Magazine for Women!

2011-03-05T20:19:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to help spread the word about the launch of Transformed Magazine! An online forum, birthed from the desire to give women a positive, Christ centered resource. The creators felt that instead of women reading a magazine that left them feeling fat, ugly and like they didn't measure up, they would create something that felt more like a community of women who could inspire and uplift each other, while also helping them to become more aware.

I LOVE the "Justice" section of the magazine, which highlights issues around the world that are not often addressed. For instance, Transformed brings awareness to a ministry called A21 and a cause near and dear to my own heart, which is sexual slavery and human trafficking. A21 works to free women in the billion dollar sex slave industry all over the world. Did you know that human trafficking is the 2nd largest network of organized crime in the world? I mean, the commodity they are dealing in are flesh and blood human beings! This disgusts me to the core. It's so amazing to know that there are organizations on the front lines helping to bring an end to this evil! But I digress...back to the magazine.

In addition to making us more aware of the serious issues, they talk about the things that we girls love too...fashion, beauty, recipes, even sex! But not the "Cosmo way," God's way!

It's a great resource and will be a refreshing read when you have some time to yourself. I am also honored to say that I know the founder and creator of this magazine,

Jamie-Lea Drury, one of the sweetest girls I've ever met, with an adorable little son and talented husband. They are a beautiful family and are such a blessing to me and to our church. I'm so proud of her and the work she's done, bringing us Transformed Magazine! Way to go Jamie-Lea for seeing the vision God gave you REALIZED!

Keep up the good work and we'll keep reading.

Please go HERE to subscribe and support them!

Cutting Costs Where We Can...

2011-03-01T12:45:00.000-08:00

Savings are EVERYWHERE! Not only have I been couponing and seeing that if you know what to look for, you can get a lot of things at a deep discount or FREE, but I have been encouraged to seek deals elsewhere as well.

A gentleman in my networking group who is a State Farm agent mentioned that people are finding that State Farm is able to save them money, especially on auto insurance. We have been with Safeco for years and never thought we'd find a better rate for our auto insurance. But sure enough, the quote we got from State Farm will be $50 less a month, with $100,000 MORE in coverage! WOW!

We also started wondering why we were paying $120 a month for cable and internet when we were getting fliers in the mail saying that Direct TV was only $39 a month, with free additional cable boxes, free HD and just as many channels as we were currently getting with Time Warner Cable. They charge for HD (which my husband enjoys), only give us one cable box, charge extra for the package that includes Nick Jr. (which G enjoys) and the internet is pretty expensive too. I will be searching for a better provider there as well. My preference is, we do without TV altogether and use rabbit ears for FREE TV, but we are going to be saving a bunch so I can't complain too much! Also, my husband mentioned the other day that he was interested in seeing if we could get an even LOWER rate on our mortgage. So, I have another friend who is a mortgage broker who is going to check on that for me.

I would like to save BIG on heating costs this coming winter as well. I don't know about you guys, but I have a bad feeling about our economic future as a country. Call me a Henny Penney, but I don't think it's a bad thing to be cautious and prepared. I can't help but think that next winter is going to be even worse than this one with regards to heating bills. Our heating bill more than doubled and is STILL over $300! I am very interested in getting my fireplace going the old fashioned way...by burning wood to heat my home! We have a nice fireplace and all, but the previous owners put in a temporary gas line to large propane tank out back (not one of those giant ones) so that they could have fires for decoration I guess? But I want to remove that line and use the fireplace for burning wood again. I would like to add an insert with a blower so it could heat the entire house.

That would save on heating bills for sure.
But where to get fire wood?

Taking a Deep Breath...

2011-02-27T20:00:00.000-08:00

I've got so much on my plate and on my mind that I feel like I'm paralyzed instead of invigorated. When I get like this, it's hard for me to even think . My mind feels cluttered and I can't focus on anything, let alone actually get something accomplished!

My pastor said something the other day that stuck with me that went something like this, "Satan pushes you, Jesus leads you." I feel rather "pushed" lately. And anytime you feel condemnation or guilt, it's not of God, but from your enemy. And I recognize this for me right now. I'm feeling so much pressure to do so many things that I'm not used to doing and I'm not allowing myself to acclimate slowly. I'm stopping this madness NOW.

This week, I am only doing things that I want to do and nothing more. And that doesn't mean laying on the couch eating bonbons either. I can't think of anything worse actually!

I want to turn on the radio in the morning, make a cup of coffee, pray, sing, read a little and be productive around the house.
I want to play with my daughter.
I want to do a little business, make some phone calls, reconnect with some folks and send some cards.
I want to have a hot dinner waiting for my husband when he comes home.
I want to fold clothes and get my laundry room organized.
I want to take 15 minutes a day this week and declutter my spare bedroom.

I do not want to be on the road every day this week. Gas is expensive, I want to be home and save money.
I do not want to do anything I don't want to do.
I do not want to complicate my life this week.

So here is my tentative schedule for the week, minus a few appointments I have....

Monday
Not going to go to my life group meeting, but am going to take the morning and get a running start on getting my home in order.
10-12am Work on tutoring paperwork and lesson plans.
12-2pm Put dinner together, shower, get G and myself ready to go
3-7pm Tutoring
10-10:30pm Listen in to team call for my business (can't wait to hear Jordan talk about his experience at the Oscar's tonight!)

Tuesday
8-9:30am Business networking meeting
9:30-10:30 Coffee with a member of our group
Rest of the day, work on folding and putting away the laundry

Wednesday
More of the same...working around the house.
3-4pm Tutoring
Home the rest of the evening

Thursday
Home all day

Friday
Home during the day
6:30-9:00 Group practice

Saturday
DAY OF REST AND FUN!
Church @ 6

Sunday
Coupon work
Lesson planning

I hope that getting my house in order FIRST will then allow me to feel a little less flustered and cluttered and I can get back to some other important things. But first things first. If my house isn't in order, nothing will be.

Surprise! A New Look!

2011-02-24T19:33:00.000-08:00

Call it a midlife crisis, call it a fantasy of my husband's, call it whatever you want.

But here is my NEW LOOK!
LONG HAIR!!!!

A while back I was admiring this girl at my church who had GORGEOUS, long brunette hair that always looked incredible! One day I just went up to her and told her how beautiful it was and that I had always wanted long hair and just could never grow it out. She was like, "Girl, these are just extensions. I just clip them in. They're like $50 bucks at Sally's." She was so forthcoming and just cool about it. But the crazy thing is, I didn't believe her. They just looked so natural. Then she proceeded to show me where they were clipped in, etc. I was like, "No, no! I don't want to know! You need to keep some mystery girl!" And we laughed about it.

So the next week, I pointed her out to my husband and told him that her long gorgeous hair was mostly extensions! He couldn't believe it either. Then I proceeded to tell him that they came from Sally's etc. etc.

So, you will never guess what he got me for Valentines Day...A SALLY'S GIFT CARD FOR $50! He just thought it would be fun for me to try them. And of course, he himself wanted to see what it was like having a wifey with long gorgeous hair (so I guess you could say that gift was mostly for him! LOL). So I thought, ok...for fun, I'll try them out.

For about a week, I watched youtube videos with girls who showed you how to put them in and style them. They made it look so easy! I was actually really depressed about it if I were being honest. You see, I don't only have very fine, thin hair, I have thinning hair and have experienced quite a bit of hair loss over the past 15 years or so. And much more since having my daughter. So, needless to say, I'm pretty self-conscious about my hair. I'm never happy with it. When I grow it out, it just looks stringy and wicked witch-like, and when I cut it short, it just doesn't suit me. And styling it so that you don't see my baldness so much is pretty exhausting. So, I didn't want to get my hopes up that my hair would actually look as awesome as those girls in the youtube videos. It couldn't possibly! But I bit the bullet and decided to go for it anyway. If anything, for my husband, who had his hopes up, I think.

So, I made my way to Sally's and looked around and found a set of human hair extensions on sale for $49.99! Then the sales associate held up a swatch called "Sedona" to my hair and it was a PERFECT MATCH! It was actually very weird how perfect it was...our jaws were on the floor! So I bought them and some clips (because you have to sew on your own clips) and brought them home!

After painstakingly sewing on the clips, washing and styling them, it was finally time to put them in. I could tell right away that I needed to trim them some...they were way too long. So I gave them a trim (about 2 inches) and tried again. And low and behold, they looked AMAZING! My husband couldn't believe it. I saw a little twinkle in his eye and a big smile come across his face when I emerged from the bathroom to unveil the new do! He loves it!

I showed up at church with them in and no one, not even my life group friends could figure out what I had done differently. They were like, "You look different somehow?" When I told them about my hair, they couldn't get over what a match they were and how they looked so natural!

I had some reservations about even telling, because I am s0 self-conscious and don't want people staring at and studying my hair! But I thought, if the girl at church, the girls on youtube, and even Kathy Ireland (she spoke at my company's convention last October and confessed that she was wearing hair extensions!) can boldly share it with the world, then I could just be honest and put it out there! However, I did have one girl who said, "You're the only while girl I've ever known with hair extensions!" And I corrected her and said, "Ha! That's what you think! There are many right here in this church!"

So, needless to say, I've been having fun with my new, longer tresses. I still think they may need a couple more inches taken off to be just right, but for now, the long hair is a blast. Especially for someone like me who could NEVER have long, thick hair.

So....what do you think?

And let me encourage you. If you've ever wanted to try something fun to change up your look, try clip in, human hair extensions. They cost less than a new color or highlights from the salon I can promise you that! And you can wash them, use products on them, blow dry them, color them, perm them, style them...anything you can do with your hair, you can do to your extensions! Let me know if you do!

We Had a SUPER Valentines Day!

2011-02-15T07:53:00.001-08:00

There are just those precious moments in a marriage...those little jewels that you hold on to and treasure. This Valentines weekend will be one for the record books and one that I will cherish for years to come. Not so much for the AMAZING meal we had at Pappa Deaux's in Cincinnati, or for the alone time during our little getaway at the Hampton Inn, but for the way my husband attended to my needs. He was so thoughtful and went above and beyond!

The days leading up to the weekend were really stressful and I didn't get as much done as I had hoped. The day my parents were to arrive to take care of the little one, I was pretty much in a mad dash to get everything done that I had put off. Not cool, but that's pretty much how I roll (put everything off 'til the last minute!). I didn't expect my husband to help me. I mean, why should he? He works all week and this was the ONE thing I had to do, get the house ready for when my parents arrived. Maybe he sensed I was really stressed about it, I'm not sure, but on Saturday, he just jumped right in and did WHATEVER I needed. The only job I gave him was to clean our bedroom and he did that very well. But on top of that, he washed, folded and put away 3 or 4 loads of towels, took G to run some errands, to get her out of my way while I cleaned, and to get things that I needed. He also swept the patio, carried out bags of trash, and kept up with G so she wasn't in my way, without one complaint or objection!

That was the amazing part. That he didn't condemn me for not having it all done and doing what I ALWAYS do...stressing everyone out by leaving it 'til the last minute. Instead he was gracious, helpful and did things that needed to be done without having to be asked. He was just precious to me. Then on our trip, he insisted I get whatever I wanted at the restaurant, waited on me hand and foot at the hotel and told me over and over how much he loved me and why. WOW! I'm still reeling from all the lavish attention! I just don't deserve it. But somehow, he decides to give it so freely anyway.

I told him before we ever got married and still mean it today, that his love is the closest thing to Jesus love that I've ever known. Because he loved (loves) me when I was unlovable.

What an amazing Valentines Day...I'll never forget it.

Lots of Grocery and Drug Store Deals!

2011-02-11T12:47:00.000-08:00

I bought a lot of fresh fruit and a few cleaning necessities (like smooth top range cleaner (expensive), but here are some of the savings highlights...
(the totals don't reflect everything listed. These are just some of the better deals).

Rite Aid

Bounty Paper Towels (6)
$.52 each (BOGO and w/coupons)

Mentos (4)
FREE (w/ coupons)

Gilette Men's Deodorant (4)
$.50 each (Coupons for BOGO and after +Up Rewards)

Finesse Shampoo (2)
$.50 each (after +Up Rewards)

Paid...$19.43
Saved...$12.42! (not including the +Up rewards!)

Kroger

Chi Chi's Tortillas (3)
$.88 (after coupons)

4 pack Activia Yogurt (1)
$.88 (after coupon)

Frozen vegetables (8)
$.88 each

Kroger canned vegetables (9)
$.50 each

Kroger canned black and kidney beans (3)
$.68 each

10 lb bag of Russet Potatoes (1 bag)
$2.92

Kroger milk (1)
$2.09

Kroger Extra Large Eggs (1)
$1.59

Kroger white bread (1)
$.88

Hormel Pepperoni (2)
$1.23 (after coupons)

Starkist Tuna (2)
$.69 each

Body Wash (w/free lotion samples attached) (2)
$2.50 each (on closeout)

Secret Deodorant (2)
FREE! (w/purchase of body wash)

Paid...$63.80
Saved...$25.46!

Meijer

Peter Pan Peanut Butter (2)
$.89 each (after coupon)

Welch's Squeezable Jelly (2)
$1.16 each (after peel off "save now" coupon)

Snack Pack Pudding (4)
$.75 each (after buy 3 get one FREE coupon)

Lysol Sprays (2)
$1.50 each (after coupon)

Hillshire Farms Deli Sliced Turkey (2)
$3.99 each (after coupons)

Gain Dish Detergent (1)
$1.50 (after coupon...BUT THIS IS GOING TO BE $.88 THIS WEEK AT CVS WITH COUPONS. LUCKILY I HAVE 2 MORE!)

Mangoes (4)
$5.00 (this was a treat).

Red Grapes (1 bunch)
$.99 a lb.

Cortland Apples (1 bag)
$3.99 (for a 3lb bag)

Paid...$39.33
Saved...$16.34!

Total Savings Today...$54.22!

Ode to Generic Handsoap

2011-02-09T07:33:00.000-08:00

Dear $.88 bottle of generic hand soap, you have served me well!

I bought you because I had two empty bottles from Bath and Body Works that make the foamy soap and I knew that I didn't have to throw them out because I could fill them with 2 thirds water and one third soap and they would be as good as new! Thanks to you, dear generic hand soap,
I was able to refill those bottles 4 times!

You were such a good value and saved my family a lot of $$$!

Now you are gone and I have to replace you, but I just wanted you to know that you were the first and I will always remember you!

(I LOVE this money saving trick!)

One SWEET Winner!

2011-02-08T09:38:00.000-08:00

Wrote all the names of those who commented on my 200th post giveaway down on slips of paper and then drew one out.

And the winner is....KY Kathy! Way to go Kathy! Can you believe you've won TWO of my giveaways in a row? lol You are one lucky lady!

Thank you to Kathy and to you all for being such faithful readers and FRIENDS!

Caution for the Future and an Important Question, "Are You an Ant or a Grasshopper?"

2011-02-06T10:28:00.000-08:00

Have you ever felt a sense of "urgency" before? Like if you didn't get on the thing that was tugging at you, that you'd totally miss the boat or miss an opportunity or be in trouble if you didn't act quickly? Well, that's how I'm feeling lately about our family's finances. We are not in any kind of trouble whatsoever (so don't worry family members who read my blog), but for some reason, I feel that if we were to have one or two crises, or some sort of unexpected expense, that our whole financial situation would be in jeopardy. I think a lot of families feel that way or are right on the cusp of that. That if the car broke down or someone had an unexpected stay in the hospital or the furnace went out, that a seriously high repair bill or medical bill would put them in a hole that would take months to crawl out of. Why? Because studies show that fewer than 4 out of 10 families DO NOT have a savings (us included). It's hard to admit that, because I know what the Bible says about God blessing your storehouse (your savings...and He can't bless it if you don't have one!). Not that we couldn't save, we absolutely could. But we just don't for no other reason than laziness, I guess. And it's time to change that.

I have a lot of personal reasons for feeling this urgency, none of which I will go into here. But I just realize that time does not stop. We are not getting any younger and there will be a time when we are older and tired or sick or unable to work and will have nothing to fall back on.

It reminds me of Aesop's sobering tale of the ant and the grasshopper. While the grasshopper spent the warm months singing and making merry, the ant worked to store up food for the winter. When the cold months came, the ant was snug in its nest with plenty to eat and the grasshopper found himself starving and dying. When he asked the ant for assistance, the ant rebuked him for his idleness and turned him away.

I know we spent a good many years (our 20's) making a lot of merry and not doing a better job planning and saving. I think a lot of young couples do that. But now, in my mid-thirties, I realize that NOW is the time to act and to get our storehouse filled, for when times get hard and for some reason, I feel like that ARE going to get hard...for all of us.

The Smurf storehouse.
If little blue mythological cartoons have enough sense
store things up for the future, then why shouldn't I? (heehee)

So, I've been reading about and analyzing money saving strategies and I have come to a conclusion. You can't just clip coupons and turn the thermostat down and try to get the best cell phone plan available. There has to be a COMPLETE mind shift in the way we think about how we live our lives, what we deserve, what we accept and what we desire for our lives. Do we need to purchase those items? Are there better alternative heat sources that I haven't looked into? Do I really even need a cell phone that can access the internet?

I've had the attitude, "Well, it's just money...may as well enjoy it while we have it." But that is foolish and destructive and doesn't at all honor God's will for us to be good stewards of our resources. Shame on me for being so foolish. God forgive me! Instead, my attitude should be that of gratitude and thankfulness, not wasting one gift that God has given me. But so often I do. I waste so much, and that has to stop.

Material things are not important. Are they fun? YES! Is shopping fun? Absolutely! But what will having that fun right now in the moment cost you down the road? Is being disabled at 55, on a fixed income, with an electric bill that DOUBLED this month, having to choose between paying that and buying groceries because you can't afford both, fun? NO...IT'S NOT. But that's the reality for a lot of people I know right now. And the thing that keeps gnawing at me is that it does not have to be this way for those of us who are coming up. God blesses us and takes care of us and gives us MORE than we need. It is up to us to use those gifts wisely and to use a little foresight. To save and put some away for the inevitable "rainy day." And to not be one of those people in perpetual bondage to debt, collectors, worry and fear. God wants us to be free from that. And He will make a way. I just know too many people who have batten down the hatches, put their heads down, gotten to work and have emerged stronger, financially solid, and FREE! With God's help, a mind shift and a little bit of self deprivation (which is freeing as well actually), it is TOTALLY DOABLE!

I want that for us. Are we in a lot of debt? No. We got rid of credit cards and high interest loans a long time ago. But do we have some debts that should have been handled better and taken more seriously (i.e. student loans, medical bills)? Yes. And it's time to tighten our belts and get to work on being free from them. Not only am I feeling a tug or urgency, I'm feeling a conviction to do something about it. And from what I've learned in the past about how God deals with us, that conviction will only make me more miserable and more unsettled until I begin to do something about it. God does not guilt us or condemn us, but He allows us to see the ugliness of our own sin and when He is in us, that sin is unbearable. Until it's out, we can have no peace. Am I right here? Have any of you ever felt this way too? I would imagine so.

So I will keep reading and learning and soaking up all the information I can to begin to make better financial choices for our family.

The first step to it all is KNOWING where we are. Ignoring your bills and obligations doesn't help anything. I learned a cool thought
from a friend in my life group. That all dark things brought into the light have to die. So those bills shoved in a drawer need to come on out and see the light of day! They need to be looked at, dealt with and eradicated, smallest to largest. That's my first goal. Get it out there and LOOK at it for crying out loud.

My second step is going to be, to look at what we don't need around the house. And cable is looking like a pretty good victim about now. We soooo don't need cable. We pick up local channels just fine with digital rabbit ears, including PBS, which has great cartoons for the little one during the day. So why are we spending $100+ on it every month needlessly? I'm not sure why...but getting my hubby to agree to this one will be tough. Maybe now that the Super Bowl is over and he got to watch it in HD, he can agree to let go. We'll see. :)

All I know is that I feel like hard times, they're a comin', and I want to be prepared!

A "SWEET" 200th Post Giveaway!!!

2011-02-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

Actually it's my 203rd post, but who's counting. ha!

I would like to send one of my SWEET readers a very SWEET TREAT!

It could be.....

CANDY...

or Cookies...

or Brownies...

or a Valentine treat!

I haven't decided yet. But whatever it is, it won't be nearly as sweet as you my dear readers. I love you and am so thankful for your friendship and support of this blog!

LEAVE A COMMENT TO ENTER!

I will choose a winner one week from today...Tuesday, February 7th!

FOR LADIES ONLY!!! Some Fun Valentines Day Ideas For You and Your Hubby!

2011-01-31T20:08:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Jennifer Degler, a clinical psychologist, author, expert on female sexuality and life coach here locally. She spoke to my MOPS group about a topic that is seriously important to married couples, but is hardly ever addressed in the Christian community...and that is SEX!

Jennifer Degler, Ph.D.

I'm not sure why it's not talked about more. Do pastors and leaders not think married couples do it? I mean, duh...we all do it! And if we're not doing it, I would say that's something that needs to be addressed. Because a healthy sex life in marriage is important. Again I say, "DUH!" (haha).

I loved the way she approached the subject...Biblically, clinically, professionally, tastefully but with humor and a whole lot of straight talk! I learned a lot actually (she even had diagrams...eek!). I won't go into that here, but there were some things I did not know about the female body. And that was one of her points. That there are A LOT of women who DON'T know a lot about their own bodies (and are afraid to ask or don't know what to ask) and therefore don't even know how to enjoy sex. So sad. It's 2011 for heavens sake!

I'm doing this post for Valentines Day a little early because I wanted to let ya'll in on some fun that you can maybe try in the next couple of weeks! I receive Dr. Degler's "Dare of the Month" from her website, "CWIVES" (Christian Wives). The dares are "suggestions" or "ideas" for married couples who want to spice up their marriages. Her Valentines dare is so fun. I'm not going to give it away because I want all of you to sign up to receive them too! (You can also follow her on facebook, HERE.)

And don't feel like you have to report back or let me know how it went...that would be a little TMI! (haha)
But HAVE FUN!

Gratitude Kicks Depression's Butt!

2011-01-30T10:13:00.000-08:00

JUST finished putting all the Christmas stuff away. When I first put it away, I really just moved it from the main living space of the house, out to the sun room. I didn't actually put any of the decorations back in the storage bins. So, It's all been piled up out there since the first of the year.

But the past couple of sunny days has motivated me to get the stuff cleared out so I can start sitting out there more. That's what it's there for right? To enjoy!

I've been feeling really depressed lately and I wonder if a lot of has to do with the weather? It's been so gloomy! Normally I enjoy gloomy days (weird I know), but for some reason, it's just been affecting me negatively the past few months. So I thought to myself, "You have a sun room that makes you happy when you're out there, so get out and use it!" Then it sort of hit me. That blaming the weather, or some sort of external force wasn't the answer at all. Usually, the answers to how we're feeling can be found in our own hearts. I realized that I was being complacent in showing gratitude for my home and for my blessings.

I sort of chastised myself for not being more thankful. I've always wanted a sun room or would have even settled for a screened in porch. And now, I actually have a beautiful one! But I hardly ever go out there. I asked God to forgive me for not being more grateful and told him how happy that sun room made me and thanked Him for it. He gave it to me as a very special gift and I had forgotten what that meant to me.

I must say that I have been guilty of taking my beautiful home for granted quite a bit. God has blessed me with so many luxuries that I don't know where to start to thank Him! So many things that I prayed specifically for, or secretly wished for in my heart, I NOW HAVE! But too often, my home is neglected, which doesn't really reflect that I'm thankful for it. I guess my actions speak more to me feeling entitled to it, so I don't take care of it the way I should.

I've heard it said that it's hard to be depressed when you have a heart full of gratitude. So, that's how I'm going to choose to look at the week. Immensely grateful for my messy house that I have to privilege to take care of! And even now, I feel the sadness and gloominess lifting. Praising God and thanking Him for His blessings really does lift your spirits!

Maybe I can start the day out in my beautiful sun room, that gets the lovely morning sun, singing praises to God! I can't think of anything nicer actually....

"...the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness!" Isaiah 61:3

I Saved Over HALF!

2011-01-28T14:44:00.000-08:00

I just made a jaunt to Kroger to try to use up some more coupons and take advantage of the Mega Event and did pretty well I think!

I had 4 more, "Buy 4, get $1 off" of Progresso Soup, so I bought 16 (this was a mega event item).

Then, I had a coupon for "buy 3 Hunts tomatoes get $.45 off" which doubles at Kroger for $.90 off (this was also a mega event item).
.
To get the Mega Event $5 off at checkout bonus, you have to buy 10 items in one transaction.

So I threw in one more mega event item (Kraft mac n cheese) to make that transaction 20 items, to have taken $10 off!

So, after the coupons and the mega event discount, those items totaled right around $16.00 (for 16 cans of soup, 3 cans of Hunts tomatoes and one container of instant mac and cheese).

Then I had some coupons for some Kroger sale items that were not part of the mega event. They had 1/2 gallons of Turkey Hill tea buy 4 for $5.00 (which is $1.25 a piece). I had buy 2 get $1.00 off, so they ended up being $.75 a piece.

I also had some coupons for some Healthy Choice

Publish Post

and Marie Callendar dinners that were 2 for $4.00. I had a coupon for buy 2 get a $1 off, so they ended up being $1.50 a piece.

So, in all, I spent about 20 bucks and some change and saved 21 bucks and some change!

Pretty awesome.

I guess it will be soup for lunch for me for the next few weeks! ha!

The Simple Things...

2011-01-25T05:40:00.000-08:00

This is one of my very favorite songs and lessons. Its pretty little melody makes me smile...

To listen to Simple Gifts from Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copeland, go HERE.

"Simple Gifts"

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight
'Till by turning, turning we come round right.

A simple paper hat. She played with it for hours!

What is Your Plan B?

2011-01-21T06:03:00.000-08:00

I've just been thinking about something..."JOB STABILITY." USA Today reports that nearly 300,000 couples, who both used to have jobs, now both find themselves unemployed.
I wonder if they had a "Plan B" in place.

I've had so many close personal friends and family members who have lost jobs over the past couple of years and it's been just devastating to their families. Their job was the only source of income for them and when it was gone, they had nothing to fall back on. So with this in mind, I'm wondering, why more people don't take personal responsibility for their financial situation, instead of solely depending on job stability? Because if we know anything, we know there's no such thing as "job stability." Have you ever read the paperwork before you signed your name on the dotted line before taking that job? Every one I've ever read says, "...this position may be terminated at any time or for any reason, without explanation." YEAH, IT REALLY DOES SAY THAT...DID YOU FORGET OR SOMETHING? With that in mind, knowing your job could be gone at any time. And having seen proof of that all around us, why aren't more of us doing something about the "just in case" that happens to me, what do we have in place to keep us afloat?

I've been reading a lot lately about people who are very proactive in how they save their money...

Resourceful in how they bring in different streams of income...

and most importantly, how they've learned that sticking to a plan over time, whatever it may be and not expecting "instant gratification" pays off in the end.

Let's take my friend Heather over at Want What You Have for example. She and her family went from close to $500,000 in debt (I believe that's correct), to completely DEBT FREE! Heather is an EXPERT at managing her families' finances and has learned that a frugal lifestyle and being happy with what you have brings peace, financial stability and more joy to her families' lives. But one thing Heather does, that I find fascinating, is she has made THOUSANDS of dollars selling items on ebay, and this is how she (among many other things) contributes to bringing in income to the household and paying off debt. Her husband works for himself and according to Heather, makes a modest income, but they were still able to pay off all of their debts (including their home) and live a very comfortable life with savings in the bank to boot! There's no reason why any one of us couldn't have the same if we were just better stewards of what we have.

I also think about the MANY people I know who have gotten a clue and started their own business that they work on a very part time basis from home, in addition to their full time job. This is a great choice for busy families, busy stay-at-home moms and those who want to earn extra income to pay for vacations, for their child's after school activities, for family "fun money," for the "date night" fund, to help pay off debt, student loans, or to help with household expenses. I have an aunt who sells cosmetics in addition to working full time in a school cafeteria. She works on her cosmetics business very part time, and solely to help pay their car and homeowners insurance. She does all this from home. What other part time job has THAT perk?

Take for example some good friends of mine (and my business partners) who were very successful in corporate America, but gave it all up to start their own insurance agency. They soon built it up to the same 6 figure income they were enjoying at the corporate job. Then, they purchased SendOutCards (my business) to use as a tool to send cards of appreciation more easily to their insurance customers, because they hated hand writing cards every week! They soon began to see the income potential available through SendOutCards and decided to start building it full time. In about 2 years time, they built SendOutCards to a 6 figure yearly income for themselves. Now they only work their insurance business on a referral basis and ONLY do SendOutCards. It took some time and some hard work, but they built and incredible, always growing team of thousands in just a few years. That residual income will always be there whether they go to work or not! Now that's a PLAN B!

I also have a long time friend from high school who has been with AVON for close to 15 years. She has steadily built up a client base over the years and sells around $20,000 a year! Again, she does this from home on a very part time basis as she works her full time job as a hair dresser. She said that she averages around $400-500 a month in commission, which equals to close to $6,000 a year!

What could you do with an extra $6K a year? Pay off a credit card? Take some classes to finish up your degree? Take an AWESOME vacation without thinking twice about how much it will cost? Remodel a bathroom or the kitchen? There's a lot I can think of that I could do! And she was telling me that the two or three top sellers in her district do $40,000-$50,000 in sales a month and are receiving close to half of those sales in commission...EACH MONTH!!! Did they do that in a year, or even 2 or 3? Probably not. It takes TIME and CONSISTENT EFFORT to make good money and be successful in the direct sales or network marketing industry.

Another good friend of mine, Missy, a wife, mother of 4, stay-at-home mom and Pampered Chef consultant can attest to that! Last year (2009...I'm anxious to hear the stats for 2010!), her income from her Pampered Chef business was over $32,000!!! That's how much I made a year as a teacher for crying out loud!!! But she did it, on a part time basis, working from home, around HER and HER family's schedule, doing a few parties and catalog shows a week! Did this happen overnight? No way! Her income grew steadily every year, for 8 years. Again, it took building a customer base, staying in contact with those people and TIME and CONSISTENT EFFORT! And do you know what? If her husband lost his job tomorrow, they would have her incredible business to fall back on...THEIR PLAN B!

So why don't more people do this? I think a lot of people try it out, but they don't stick to it. They don't see instant results, instant sales, the BIG BUCKS right away and then think it doesn't work or that it's flawed in some way. This business model is not flawed, it's the people who have given up who have given it a bad name. But honestly, I don't know of ANYONE who has stuck to a business like this, whether it be AVON, or Mary Kay or Pampered Chef or SendOutCards who have not been successful if they just stuck to it.

My first introduction to this was a lady I worked for when I was about 20 years old. She ran a hair salon, tanning bed (I worked in her tanning bed business) and a well stocked Mary Kay counter all from her home (additions to the house to accommodate all the businesses...not from her actual living space! LOL). But she told me that when she did her income taxes, that she made more money from her Mary Kay business than from the hair salon and tanning beds combined! I was amazed! But she had been selling it for many years and had built it up...she had even earned the coveted pink car!

So what am I trying to say here? I'm trying to provide you with real life examples of people who have taken charge of their situations and are actually making money. I've told you about all types of incomes that range from those making 10's of thousands a month, to those who are making a few thousand, to those who just want a few hundred dollars extra a month. It doesn't matter what your goals are, building your own business, in addition to your full time job is just a good idea. Because if you lost that job tomorrow (which is very possible in this economy), what income would you have coming in to help with your living expenses? Not trying to worry anyone, just asking.....

What is your PLAN B?

If you want more info on my no-brainer, genius idea business, click here to learn more and try out my product for free.

14 Reasons Why I'm Crazy About My Husband!

2011-01-19T20:23:00.000-08:00

14. Can we all just agree...he's pretty cute!

(so is she!)

13. He makes me laugh.

(in his favorite Christmas present...his new Hoodie Footies! lol)

12. He lets me be as evil as I want to be when I PMSing. In fact, he kind of laughs about it. He brought me a candy bar the other night...I know. Awwww!

11. He works VERY hard!

10. He puts the needs of his family before his own a great deal of the time.

9. He willingly puts in to practice things that would make this statement true..."Happy wife, happy life!"

8. He rarely complains...even though I give him AMPLE reason to do so!!!

7. He's a giver...

6. He does his own laundry and ironing.

5. I do not have to pick up after him (for the most part).

4. He's a very forgiving human being.

3. He's crazy in love with another little lady and helps me with her without question or complaint...I really never even have to ask. He just does.

2. We got married very young. We've gone through all our growing pains together and he's still HERE!

(very young indeed..me, 21 and he was 19!)

1. He's super crazy about me!

There are lots more reasons, but none that are appropriate to write about or discuss with the whole world! LOL

I love you baby!

Salad and Water

2011-01-17T16:09:00.000-08:00

ARE DIVINE!

There's nothing yummier (especially when you're in the mood for it) than a big plate of salad and a big glass of ice water to wash it down.

I've always loved salad, even as a kid, but don't eat it nearly enough. I have one of those weird memories...you know, the kind that sticks with you throughout all eternity for one reason or another? Anyway, many years ago I saw an interview with Jennifer Aniston when she was right in the thick of her "Friends" fame. She was saying that she was a creature of habit and that her routine never varies much. She said that during the filming of "Friends," she had eaten the same Cobb Salad every single day for like 5 years! She said some days she may vary it and tell them to add cucumber, or no bacon today or whatever, but yeah...the same salad everyday. She said something to the effect of, when she found something that worked for her, she usually just stuck with it. I believe she's a famous, "low or no-carb" kinda girl, so I can see why she would say a Cobb Salad works...except for the veg, there's hardly any carbs in it at all. And it's a really satisfying meal.

I don't think I could eat a Cobb Salad every day, but I do enjoy it and made one for myself tonight, minus the avocado and chicken.

Mine had iceberg lettuce, tomato, cucumber, boiled egg, crumbled bacon, salt, pepper and blue cheese dressing.

Now, I'm going to have a slice of pizza! HA!

I Might Be Able to Get the Couponing Thing After All!

2011-01-13T18:42:00.000-08:00

I went to Kroger this evening and scored some serious deals! They are having a meat sale, so I stocked up. And I tried the whole matching up my coupons with the store sales. And what do you know? I scored some good deals and some FREE stuff!!! WOOHOO!

My total was $72.59 and my receipt says that with my store card and coupons, I saved $40.72! Pretty awesome!

I also unknowingly bought 10 of their mega items, which took
$5.00 off of the total.

This trip, I bought fresh vegetables like celery, onion, carrots, cucumber and lettuce. And a 5lb bag of Fugi apples for $3.99 which is about $.80 a pound.

In all, the fresh fruit and veg totaled $13.02

Now for the meat deals...

Split, Bone-In Chicken Breasts were $.99lb

Chicken Leg Quarters were $.49lb for a 10lb bag, which totaled $4.90. But you could say that I got it for FREE because of the $5.00 credit from the mega savings promotion!

Pork Loin was either $1.49lb or $1.89lb...I don't remember. But either is a good deal.

So, in all I spent $12.32 which is pretty awesome for like 15lbs of meat!

Then I bought a few things that weren't necessarily on sale so that I could make for a recipe for my MOPS breakfast tomorrow, but I bought the store brands to try to keep the costs down, which is no big deal.

But I also got some things for FREE using coupons!!! Too cool!

I had a bunch of Colgate coupons, so I thought I'd just check and see if it was on sale, and it was, 10 for $10. Which at Kroger, means it's $1.00. I had two $.50 off any Colgate toothpaste coupons which at Kroger doubles. So each coupon was worth $1.00, meaning both tubes were FREE!!!
I also needed butter and had a $.50 off coupon for Best Life spread. When I got to Kroger, Best Life was also 10 for $10, so with the coupon, it was FREE! (it's really fun to write FREE in all caps! LOL) I may even have another one in my coupon stash,
so I'm going back to get more if I do!

I also got yogurts for about $.25 a container using coupons as well as some frozen items like Toaster Strudel, Green Giant veg, Lean Cuisines and Banquet Chicken Nuggets for about $1.50 or less a piece using coupons.

SUH-WEET!

There certainly is quite a feeling of accomplishment when you can get something for free or nearly free. It makes me want to work a little harder to find the best deals.

I also dug out a binder and bought some of those baseball card sleeves and some dividers to place my coupons in so that I can get organized.

I'm on a roll folks!

Clipping Coupons...A Love/Hate Relationship

2011-01-10T19:27:00.000-08:00

One thing I've found is that clipping coupons is totally REPOSEFUL. It's really relaxing to sit on the couch with my circulars, flip through the great coupons, take out my sharp scissors, clip away and dream of getting a great deal or something FREE with those little slips of paper!

How many times has that happened?
NEVER!

While the act of clipping the coupons is fun and relaxing, actually making them work for me is seriously stressful! I just feel lost, like I don't know where to begin. I know there are websites that do the work for you, cross referencing the store sales fliers with available coupons for the best deals. But a lot of those services charge a monthly fee. And my objective is to SAVE money, not spend it on something I could easily do myself. But it's not easy. The folks I do know personally who are super couponers spend a lot of time online and at the stores searching out the best deals. It really is a time investment if you want to learn to do this right.

But I just don't get how it all works? It seems like when I get to the store, the price of the name brand product with a coupon is still more expensive than just buying the store brand. I also think it's more expensive to buy processed prepackaged food than it is to just make certain things yourself. For example, why would I buy a jar of Ragu with a coupon that saves me a few pennies when it's just cheaper and healthier to make my own sauce with a can of store brand tomatoes, a $.30 can of tomato paste, half a green pepper, half an onion, a couple cloves of garlic, salt, pepper and spices? And it tastes better too! Although I would like to get in on getting those boxes and boxes of free pasta that everyone talks about. I can see how that works. Right now Barilla pasta is $1.00 a box at Kroger. If you had a $.50 off coupon, which Kroger doubles, then it would be free! I'm all about easy math like that. But once it gets complicated with mixing and matching and earning bucks and points etc. then I get lost. So, back to the pasta...does anybody have any Barilla coupons or know where I could find some? :)

If I had someone to sit with me and go through the fliers, help me match up the coupons and then walk me through the store to show me how to take advantage of the great deals (especially at Rite Aid), then I think I could learn how to do it. But I'm not going to pay for it!

Could any of you offer some suggestions, favorite websites, advice, ANYTHING?

10 Things I Hate About Walmart

2011-01-07T08:54:00.000-08:00

I hate going to Walmart. And here are a few reasons why...

10. The prepackaged "fresh fruit" has some sort of additive on it that renders it completely inedible! I bought fruit salad in a container the other day and there was some sort of chemical on there (I'm guessing to keep the fruit from turning brown) and it was so harsh that it burned my mouth! It wasn't lemon juice, that's for sure. But whatever it was, it made the fruit so disgusting that I couldn't even finish one chunk of melon. I threw the whole thing away, essentially throwing close to 3 bucks into the trash. Not cool.

9. They often don't have some of the grocery items I'm looking for.

8. When you need assistance, tracking someone down is nearly impossible. Why? Because you have to trek all over the gigantic store to find someone and by the time you've hauled yourself over to customer service, you forget why you even needed help in the first place.

7. None of the associates, except for the greeter at the front, even speak to you (for the most part. If you are that exceptional cashier or customer service rep. that is friendly, kudos to you...we notice!). Managers are especially unfriendly (and unavailable) in my experience.

6. The aisle (at my Walmart) that says "calendars and planners" has nothing but notebooks and Crayola paraphernalia and not one calendar or planner is to be found. In fact, I couldn't find a daily planner anywhere in the whole store!

5. Trying to dodge the plethora of people in motorized shopping carts. I'm not talking about those of you who truly need them...the handicapped, the disabled, the elderly. But in my experience, it looks like there are quite a few that do not and could actually use the exercise of walking around Walmart!

4. I hate that they now have an entire room, right by the door no less, full of those brightly colored rides and games. When I was a kid, there was like, one gum ball machine and one mechanical pony ride. Now they have whole rooms of "Chuckie Cheese-esque" rides and games? As if we didn't spend enough money on worthless crap? Now you want us to plunk quarters into those stupid machines? And the shameless part is you position it right by the door so mothers with children HAVE to pass it as they walk out. You know they just call out to little children, "Look how fun it is in here! Scream, NOW, as loud as you can, then throw yourself on the ground because you're not going to take another step until your mother agrees to bring you in here! She'll be so embarrassed, she'll do it just to shut you up! Do it NOW!!" Like I said, SHAMELESS!

3. Items are often not placed in a spot that would make sense to the customer. For instance in my Walmart (and all of these complaints are generally related to this particular Walmart) the cleaning supplies are not located in the grocery section. They are a few aisles over, where the household items are. You'd think they'd make life easier for us, the customer, by putting the cleaning supplies in an aisle that is convenient to get to while we're doing our grocery shopping. But no. Again, we're not fooled by the shameless ploy to lure us over into another section of the store to entice us to buy something over there.

2. It's too big!

1. You can never leave without spending more than you intended to!

New Year, New You

2011-01-02T10:14:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone! It's just January 2nd and already I'm feeling so hopeful for the possibilities 2011 holds!

I've heard a lot of people use the old addage, "Now I have a clean slate!" But can you really wipe the slate clean and start over? I've wondered if you really can. I mean, good or bad, so much of who you are is tied up in your past, right? What can a new year do for you anyway? Is change really possible? I'm not convinced that a new year can mean a new you. Granted, I don't believe that we should hold on to the past, I firmly believe that it does nothing but hinder us, and that we should put it away. But so many people (myself included) look to a new year to bring them a miracle. But as we all know, you don't get those very often. You have to put in the work to get your change.

What I'm more interested in is what a new day can mean for me. I mean, a day is a bite size piece, not the whole enchilada! What if we changed our thinking from the whole, "It's a new year, so I have a clean slate and can make a big change in my life," to "today is a new day, I'm going to make a change today?" I mean, that lines up with the Word, right?

"His mercies are new every morning." Lam. 3:23

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23

"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Matthew 6:34

"This is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it".
Psalm 118:24

"Jesus said, "don't be anxious for tomorrow, look at the lilies of the field, they don't toil or spin and yet even Solomon was not robed as beautifully as they."
Matthew 5:8

I can make a change more easily in a day than I can making a resolution to change for the whole year! The Bible advocates the day. Not to look to the past because no good comes from it and not looking to the future because we aren't guaranteed the future.

But we have today.

I heard Joyce Meyer the other day talking about faithfulness. She said that being faithful is simply finding out what's right, and doing it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. God says that if you can be found faithful with little, then you can be trusted with much. So why do we wait until January one to make changes? Why don't we try to be faithful for one hour or for one day? For example saying, "This hour, I'm going to stay off of facebook," if you have some kind of bad computer habit. Or, for one day, "I'm going to make the effort to put anything I touch in it's proper place," if you have a messy house. Or, for this day, "I'm going to make the time to exercise," and then you do it! If you do that over and over and over (because it's the right thing to do), then you will have made a real change in your life. But you're only choosing to do it that day, not looking to a whole year to miraculously find your change. Because I can guarantee, when December 31 rolls around, you're going to be disappointed...again.

So that's what I'm looking to do. Concentrate on today. What kind of change can I make in 24 hours versus, what can I do in 365 days? Seems like a no brainer to me!

So how 'bout we just say,
"NEW DAY, NEW ME!"

A Great 200 Calorie Breakfast (My Favorite!)

2010-12-31T08:29:00.001-08:00

I first saw Paula Deen make this on Food Network. She told the story of how she would make this for her sons as they were growing up and that it was one of their favorites. I tried it myself, and decided that oh my gosh, it was incredible! She called it "toad in a hole" or "frog in a hole" or something. But I've also heard it called "eggs in a basket." Whatever it's called, it's my absolute favorite breakfast and can you believe, only 225 calories!

My favorite thing is sopping up the runny yellow center with the surrounding bread. The weird thing is, if I'm eating a fried egg by itself, it has to be well done. I hate the runny yolk. But for some reason, I love it runny this way. Go figure?

I also take the cut out piece of bread and toast that in the pan as well and smear a little bit of strawberry jam on it (about 25 calories) for the perfect little breakfast! Try it...for you and for your kids!!!

How I make this... (and I looked up the calories on all the ingredients I used and it came out to be 225 cal.)

-Spray pan with cooking spray
-Butter both sides of a slice of bread
-Cut out a circle or heart shape with a cookie cutter (or whatever...I use a drinking glass most of the time)
-Place the slice of bread with the hole in the pan.
-Break an egg into the hole (salt and pepper to taste)
-Turn bread and egg once the egg has set
-Continue to cook on the other side for another 2 to 3 minutes.
-Turn onto a plate
-Place the cut out piece of bread in the pan to toast on both sides
-Smear with a teaspoon of strawberry jam and serve with the egg and toast.

ENJOY!

10 Things I Love About My Daughter

2010-12-30T10:57:00.000-08:00

Here are 10 of my favorite things about my baby girl! It's hard to narrow it down to just 10, because there's easily A MILLION things I love about my daughter, but here are some of the ones that stand out in my mind.

10. I love how her little toddler feet sound as she's running and stomping through the house. It's a "joyful noise" for sure!

9. I love her face...everything about it.

8. I love when she wants me to hold her. Now, after a full day of this, around 8 or 9pm, it starts getting old. But when she runs up and asks, "Hold you, hold you?!" It melts my heart, even if I do hear it a hundred times a day!

7. I love her tooshie. It's arguably one of the fattest baby bums I've ever seen and oh so squeezable! She definitely did not get this from me! But her little dimpled tooshie is sooooo flippin' cute!

6. I love her little turned up nose. It was such a surprise to see that nose when she came out, because it didn't look like anyone in my family. But it was a pleasant surprise because it is adorable!

5. I love it when sometimes she comes up to me unexpectedly, pats me on the shoulder or touches my face and says, "Don't worry mommy." She's only 2, so the fact that she's so intuitive amazes me. Because when she does that, it has often been something I needed to hear!

4. I love that she concentrates and can remember things so well. Just from playing with some of her little learning toys and from us talking about them from time to time, she could say and recognize all her letters and numbers by 20 months old. It was incredible! And from Dora and Kai Lan, she can say many words in Spanish and Chinese. We usually don't figure out what she's saying unless we happen to catch it on one of the shows. For example, she was always saying this word that sounded something like, "chee-cho" and we never knew what in the world she was saying. Until one day we were watching "Ni Hao Kai Lan" and they were talking about balloons and calling them, "chee-cho" (or the Chinese version of chee-cho). My husband and I looked at each other and said, "Ah, that's chee-cho...it means BALLOON!" We were amazed because she usually knows exactly what she's talking about, it's mom and dad that take a while to catch on! LOL

3. She is so funny and a performer. She sings, she dances, she twirls around, she likes to kid around and laugh. Being around her is uplifting!

2. She loves to lay in my arms like a baby, all wrapped up in her favorite "soff blayket" (that is actually MY pink Snuggie that's she's adopted as her own) and snuggle in quiet as a mouse (because babies don't talk!). I don't want her to get big! :(

1. And lastly...I love that I'm her favorite person. I don't know how long this will last. I hope I have endless years, but for now, I'm soaking in every minute of it! Sure, the literal hanging onto my legs when I try to walk because she wants to go everywhere I go, the crying when I leave the house without her, constantly wanting to be in my lap, wanting my undivided attention at all times can wear on me...and does. But I also know that this is a time to be cherished. I don't even want to think about the day when she doesn't want mommy as much but I know it will happen before I know it. So, for now, I'm going to enjoy being her favorite, because she's my favorite too.

Singing This Weekend

2010-12-29T12:25:00.000-08:00

I will be singing this weekend in Knoxville, TN at the Knoxville Christian Center for their annual New Years Eve service. They have communion and a candlelight ceremony that really is a beautiful way to bring in the New Year.

Aaron Wilburn will be there for the first hour or so. He is a HILARIOUS Christian comedian and always has the place in stitches! I will be singing at 11pm for about 30 minutes, which will lead into the candlelight and communion and prayer time for the new year.

I would love to see you there!!!

I'm Not Waiting!

2010-12-26T19:15:00.001-08:00

How do you feel on December 26th? Do you feel relieved? Glad it's all over? Underwhelmed? Even more stressed at the new mess? Annoyed at the loud toys? Not looking forward to putting up all the Christmas stuff? Or sad that it's all over and not looking forward to the new year?

Well, on December 26, all I feel is STUFFED! I feel like if I see one more dessert, one more slice of turkey covered in gravy, one more spoonful of green bean casserole, that I'm going to puke! I've eaten cookies and sweets for weeks now and Christmas just about did me in! I'M OVER FOOD!!!

Blech!!!

So that's why I'm not waiting for January one to start eating healthy and exercising, I'm starting NOW!

I'm actually looking forward to salads
and grilled chicken and vegetables.

...and breaking a sweat!

BRING IT ON!!!

Not sure what kind of plan that I'm going to do. But as the saying goes, "If you fail to plan you plan to fail." So, I need to come up with something. All I know is the first thing I'm doing tomorrow is sorting through all the clothes that are too big for me, bagging them up and getting rid of them; Starting with my two favorite pair of jeans that are so big, I can roll down them down twice and stick both my arms down the front! It is soooo annoying wearing them because they fall down all the time, but they're my nicest two pair.

This isn't me, but this is about what I
go through everyday in my jeans!

I have other jeans that are just a smidge too tight that I can wear uncomfortably, and losing 10 pounds or so would just do the trick I think. Then, when those get too big, I'll treat myself to a new pair! That will be fun!

Isn't it strange how we hang on to clothes that don't fit? Either ones that are too small, or too big, like we're waiting for our bodies to magically fit into them? Why do we leave them hanging in our closets? Do we enjoy depressing ourselves? They don't fit, they take up room in the closet, a lot of times they're out of style and they just do nothing for us! Isn't it time that we just let them go? What are we hoping for? To stay fat? To get fatter so they'll fit? Or to magically lose weight so they'll fit? Now, I do believe in having a goal dress or holding on to that one pair of skinny jeans you look forward to wearing again. But a whole closet full? That's just sad. And hey, I'm preaching to myself here. I have clothes that are too big (as a cushion) and too small (as a pipe dream) that I hold on to, so I'm guilty as well. But my banner for the year is going to read, "Do the uncomfortable thing!" Anything that I know is right, but feels uncomfortable, I'm going to MAKE myself do! Doing the easy thing has not served me, so it's now time to turn that around and do the hard thing. Throwing out my clothes won't be easy, but it's what I must do to move forward. And forward is the only direction I am accepting this year!

On the agenda for tomorrow then? Clean out the closet, purge some old clothes and prepare for a new start.
Sounds good to me!

A Well Worn Path to My Heart...New Again!

2010-12-23T11:01:00.000-08:00

I've seen this cartoon a million times (well at least 35). I plan my schedule around it every year. I just love its simplicity and the way it makes a point without being "preachy."

I watched it the same way I always do, knowing exactly what scene is coming up next, exactly how the characters are going to react. That comes with seeing it a million (35) times. But this year, there were some things that I caught that I had never noticed before. And the simple little cartoon, which has made a well worn path to my heart, for the first time, made me cry.

I always make sure I try to catch the opening. This is one of my favorite scenes. The kids skating whimsically to "Christmas Time Is Here."
It's just enchanting.

But my eyes and ears started to perk up when Charlie Brown was contemplating why he was so down during Christmas.

Was it just the rampant commercialism, that his own dog was participating in, that was getting him down? Why was he looking for deeper meaning? I mean, isn't that what Christmas is all about? Presents, toys, Santa, shopping, parties, busyness? There's nothing in our secular world that would suggest that we look for ANYTHING else. That IS Christmas. Right? But obviously, Charlie Brown knew that something was missing...he just couldn't put his finger on it.
I think a lot of people feel that way.

Then Charlie Brown get the chance to direct the school play,
a chagrin to many in the group.
But no one would listen to him or his direction. What were they?

Loud
Busy
Oblivious
Disconnected

They were doing their own thing. They were caught up in CHRISTMAS for crying out loud!

Then comes the fiasco with the little tree, everyone's inattention and in his frustration, Charlie Brown finally loses his cool and exclaims!
"Isn't there anyone who knows what
CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT???"

And Linus simply says,
"Sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about."
And he proceeds to tell the King James Bible version of the
Christmas story.
But what struck me for the first time was this...

Everyone was so busy before. But while he spoke of the "...babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger," everyone stopped. They were still and they were quiet. They listened...and they got it.

And this is where I lost it. When he walks over and says,
"That's what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown."
I FINALLY GOT IT!

Those 8 words pierced my heart.
That is what Christmas is all about,
"...the Savior which is Christ the Lord!"
And that, "...Joy which shall be to all people" is the sweet spirit that came over the kids and caused them to finally want to
"Be Christmas" from their heart, instead of selfishly participating
in the hollow, empty, busy side of it all.

They all joined together and they all began to sing.

Why?

What is this spirit of goodwill and peace and joy and giving that comes over people this time of year?
Linus proclaimed it, and it is a PROMISE from God...
The angel of the Lord (His messenger) said,
"Behold, I bring you tidings of GREAT JOY which shall be to
ALL PEOPLE."

Angels don't just do or say whatever they want you know. They are created to worship and serve God Himself. So, this message came directly from Him, for the world. That Jesus, for all time, will be a GREAT JOY to ALL PEOPLE. Not just those people...ALL PEOPLE!
He is the gift. He is still the gift.
Still the JOY that can make your heart leap even when
everything around you looks grim. He is still the reason why, during this time of year, that people seem united in spirit. It's not by chance or because of "Tis the season and Ho, ho, ho."
It's because His Holy Spirit is real and you can feel it, right now!
Still! 2,000 years after the fact!

Charlie Brown was searching for something. And the Word of God gave him the answers he was looking for.
The answer was and is Jesus Christ. The baby that God sent as a gift to you and me.

He got it. I got it too.
My prayer is that YOU will also get it and let the
REAL Spirit of Christmas live inside your heart.

Many Blessings to you this season,
from my family to yours!

Sad at Christmas (my heart's desire)

2010-12-20T05:55:00.000-08:00

Christmas season has been very joyful for me in a lot of ways. I got all my decorating done right after Thanksgiving and the house has felt so warm and festive for weeks now. I also got all my shopping done in November, minus the crowds and hustle and bustle and haven't even had to think about shopping this whole season! I've been invited to sing at several different places, which always brings joy to my heart. I participated in a fun cookie swap (made almost 20 dozen cookies!) and a big ol' CRAFT DAY with my life group, among other fun, festive things. But one aspect has made me very sad and there's not a whole lot I can do about it.

You see, there have been so many in need this year. A lot of close personal friends or family who are out of work, who are struggling just to put food on the table, who just cannot justify spending extra on gifts for their kids, have really needed me this year and I just haven't been able to help.

This weighs so heavy on my heart. You see, I am a giver. If I can't give when someone is in need, it literally breaks my heart. The reason I can't do a lot about it is because we, ourselves, are watching every penny and since I'm not the one who works a full time job or manages our finances, I can't just give away random amounts of cash (although that's exactly what I'd like to do!).

But in my opinion, being on a tight budget is no excuse for being tight fisted.

I believe when we relax and open our hands, not only are we more free to give, but are then open to receive blessing back from God.

It's a promise. Luke 6:38 says, "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." That means that if you give with a teaspoon, you'll be given back a teaspoon in blessings. But if you give with a big ol' bucket, you'll be given a big ol' bucket's worth of blessing back. And while I believe a lot of that is monetary, I believe a great deal of that means that you have greater joy and peace. When you live with open hands and not clenched fists, and live with the mentality that it's not yours to begin with, it's all God's, then you experience a freedom that is unlike any other. Worry leaves you and you begin to trust your Provider to do just that...PROVIDE.

I don't worry much. I am one of those people that just trusts. It gets on a lot of people's nerves actually. But I can't find any other way that God commands us to be. He says to trust Him, so I do. He says that worry doesn't add a day to your life, so I don't. I don't see any middle ground. Am I perfect? No way! I still worry sometimes (I'm a mother after all) and sometimes I don't completely trust. But I will say that to worry about money is something I rarely do. God has proven Himself faithful too many times for me to do that!

Which brings me to why I'm sad that I can't give the way I want to this year. I haven't been trusting Him to bless my business and I haven't been working hard enough to see any of the seed that I've planted produce. I've been lazy. There...I said it. I've just been plain ol' lazy. And now, I'm seeing the consequence of that laziness.

The consequence is apparent when my small group leader calls and tells me that a member of our group has no groceries in the house and that the kids have no Christmas presents, could I give something to help, and I have to say no. Oh my gosh, that tears me up inside! It makes me sick and I feel so ashamed of myself. It's my heart's desire to be the BIGGEST giver I know and to not be able to give what I would like really hurts (although I talked to my husband and we were able to give a little to help). I want to be the one who can write a $500 check for her kids to have presents under the tree or fill up 2 big grocery carts at Kroger so that the family will have groceries in the house.

I don't just want to have a successful business so I can earn trips or a car or make a lot of money or because I want to pay off student loans or put on an addition to the house. Because it's not all about me, but it's about being used as a vessel for God to fill up and then pour out to others.

So I guess the next question is, how do a make sure I never go another Christmas feeling this helpless to, well, help?! I don't ever want to feel this way again.

I will ponder and pray on this for a few days and update you
on what ideas God gives me.

"Lord, bless me and make me a blessing!"

And although I have not been able to give the way I would like this Christmas, I did participate in our church's food and toy drive. I made up a box of nonperishable food and gave away an art set that I had bought for my daughter for Christmas. Our church had a goal to make up our city's food bank's 30,000 pound deficit. We had two weeks to bring in 30,000 pounds of food and fill a tractor trailer with toys. After the first week, it didn't seem like we would make it because there was only a couple thousand pounds brought in, but in literally the last hours of the deadline, ALL the food came in and the goal was met! It was an amazing miracle!

Check out my pastor's blog for pictures of that miracle and what
"Being Christmas" is all about!

My Perfect Vegetable Soup

2010-12-16T14:51:00.000-08:00

Although I know many of our ideas of "perfect" are going to vary, this recipe suits me and my family just fine! I also would have probably used a few ribs of celery when I made this, but I didn't have it on hand. And you know what? I didn't even miss it. So, I may just leave it out from now on.

Vegetable Soup

1 bag of frozen veg. (green beans, peas, carrots, corn)
1/2 onion, chopped
3 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 can of corn, drained (we like corn)
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can of Campbell's Tomato Soup (plus one can of water)
1 box of beef broth
2 T sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil until potatoes are tender. Turn to low and let simmer for 30 minutes (we like our veg. really tender).

We serve it with oyster crackers, peanut butter sandwiches and big glass of cold milk!!!

Perfect on this, a cold, freezing, foggy day!

Here are the Incredible Stats!!!

2010-12-16T07:44:00.000-08:00

This came from my good friend Steven Burgess and I just had to repost it!

2,409,540 expressions of Love and Kindness were sent out through greeting cards in the last 16 days!

YOU were making the world a better place by sending 104.6 cards EVERY SECOND!

The power of love cannot be stopped!
Keep going AMERICA! Show the world that we are STILL the MOST Loving, Giving nation on the PLANET EARTH!

JOY TO THE WORLD!!!

After much deliberation, here is the card we chose to send out this year. It felt the most appropriate. We're so thankful for all the blessings God has given us this year!

Visit MY SITE for more info on this card system!

Christmas Craft Day!

2010-12-09T10:15:00.001-08:00

My Life Group (what we call our small groups at my church) got together on Tuesday, supplies in hand, to GET OUR CRAFT ON! There was TONS of stuff and lots to do. I basically spent most of my time chasing around my darling daughter, but I did do a couple of fun little crafts.

The reason they call them "Life Groups" is because it's people, doing life together. And nothing is more fun or inspiring than doing life with these ladies. They are amazing women of God and I love them all very much!

Here's a pic of me cheezin'! Also in the pic are
lovely ladies, Angie and Emily

Here's Cynthia parked at the stove making candles. She brought in a gigantic block of wax and kept chipping away at it with a hammer when she wanted to melt another piece! It was funny and loud!

Another pic of Cynthia and peeking in is her daughter. Our group leader Kristen is also getting her craft on in the background. She said that she likes doing craft day because she loves us of course, but because she can get all her teacher gifts, etc. done at one time.

These are only a few of the candles we (Cynthia) made.
There were several more!

Sarah's adorable little daughter, Sophia providing some entertainment!

A big thank you goes out to our weekly hostess, Heather, who provides such a warm, welcoming home for us all to meet in every week. She is the consummate hostess, always cooking for us, and treating her guests like they were family. And her home was all decked out for Christmas!
She's pretty awesome!

Some of My Favorite Childhood Christmas Presents Remembered

2010-12-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

Can you remember a few of those really SPECIAL presents that appeared under your tree on Christmas morning? I thought I'd share a few of mine with you...

This little plush Smurfette, I remember very well. I didn't necessarily ask for her, but I remember getting up very early...at like 3 a.m. and seeing her under the tree, then curling up with her on the couch.

It was my habit every Christmas to get up in the middle of the night, take a peek at the toys, then go back to bed. My mom cured me of this by the time I was a preteen by wrapping all of our "Santa" presents so we couldn't see them. It took all the fun out of Christmas for me after that!

This was one of my fave gifts of all times and it got PLENTY of use, I'll tell ya that! Thousands of hours I would venture to guess!
I got this phone when I was 12 or 13 and I kept it all through high school and college.
MISS YOU RED CONAIR PHONE :(

Ahhh, the Barbies!
I remember this one very well! I had gotten up early once again and saw her under the tree. But there were two, one for me and one for my sister. The tags on them said that the one for me was silver and the one for my sister was gold. I wanted the gold one, so I switched the tags! Oh well, the early bird gets the worm I guess! lol

I loved Pink and Pretty Barbie!

This was a really special Peaches and Cream Barbie...I played with her for years.

Every girl in the whole world (well at least in my world) had a Panda Coin ring. I didn't usually get the "must have" stuff for Christmas, especially if it was expensive, but I did get one of these. I felt so special!

I soooo wanted to be Jem (still do! ha!) and loved this doll with her light up ear rings! TRULY OUTRAGEOUS!

I loved this little Hollie Hobbie doll and slept with her for years!

This wasn't necessarily a "special" gift, but a memorable one. I actually found my "fake" Cabbage Patch weeks before Christmas upstairs at my grandmother's house, in a plastic bag and that's the memorable part, having my snooping actually pay off! I can't remember being incredibly disappointed by getting a "fake" Cabbage Patch doll that year that they were THE hot toy of the world, because my parents already told us, "No way!" They weren't spending that much on a doll! But I remember appreciating the fact that they tried to get us something, even if it wasn't the real deal.

This was another really special "teen" gift that I kept forever...my white "cube" clock radio! I remember finding a top 40 station from a town that was like 2 hours away and feeling like I was in heaven! I specifically remember laying in bed hearing Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" on this little radio for the first time and thinking it was such a cool song! I'd also sit in my room and make little mix tapes (did you ever do that?) from songs I'd hear on this radio. Ahh...good times!

What were some of your favorites?

Kids (aka.Tazmanian Devils) and Boredom

2010-12-01T08:04:00.000-08:00

My house cleaning days are the hardest.

On Wednesdays and Thursdays, I try to work in the mornings on chores around the house; getting the laundry caught up, washing the bed linens, cleaning and vacuuming bedrooms, sweeping and mopping the floors and any of the other million things that need to be done around a busy family's home. But I find that on these days, when I'm the busiest around the house, my little angel baby of a daughter takes off her sweet little wings and finds her little devil horns! It seems like every 5 minutes she's into something else! She spins through each and every room I've already cleaned, Tazmanian devil style, and proceeds to undo all the order I worked so hard to bring! It's maddening!

Like today, while putting away laundry in the back of the house, I hear, "Help! I stuck! I stuck!" It doesn't sound extremely urgent, so I go ahead and finish what I'm doing. When I do finally get back to the living room, from which she was bellowing, I discover that all the couch cushions are off the couch...I mean SECTIONAL! Replacing the cushions on a regular couch is hard enough, but replacing sectional cushions is a real task! They're all different sizes and shapes and some of them are big and cumbersome. It's seriously annoying putting it back together. I'm not sure what the whole "I'm stuck" thing was ever about, but it looks like she got unstuck on her own! UGH!

And that's just a small part of my whirlwind of a day. She pulls out every toy, goes through every drawer and pretty much gets into any and everything she's NOT supposed to get into while I'm busy cleaning (I so miss the playpen, bouncy seat, baby swing days!).

Now, I know that she's just bored and that she's also used to getting mommy's undivided attention every other hour of the day, so she's just acting out. I totally get it. I'm just not sure at this point how to handle this. She's not the kind of kid you can just set at a table with crayons and paper and ask her to color or draw. Or give her a few puzzles and books to keep her occupied.
NO WAY! The walls would become the canvas for her crayons and the puzzle pieces would all end up down the register vents! It's almost to the point where I'd like to find a sitter a couple of days a week just so I can get my cleaning done in peace (that isn't going to happen)! But I know a lot of you moms do it every day with many more kids than I have, so your advice on how to keep her out of trouble when I'm busy would be sooooo appreciated!

One Great Weekend!!!

2010-11-29T10:34:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving was really special! Not only was it my birthday (this is the year I start lying about my age), but the food was extra awesome this year and my husband and I went away for a couple of days for a little R&R and FUN!

Here are some pics....

We started Thanksgiving Day off at Mamaw Flornia's house
(my grandmother). She's 82 and as feisty as ever!
We always eat there first, around noon and (most) my mother's side
of the family gathers there every year.
My mother makes the most incredible stuffing and turkey gravy in the world! I've been known to carry it with me to other people's houses to eat it there. Rude, I know, but necessary because none compares
to hers and I only get it once or twice a year, so why not
eat it as many times as I can?!
This is my mamaw (yes, we spell it like we say it) with my niece Ashley, my nephew Alex and of course, Gabs.

Next we headed to Bobby's family's for MORE food. His sister and her husband made the most delicious ham and a fried turkey smothered in a honey, butter, pecan sauce...UH-MAY-ZING! This is their daughter Zoe.

We snapped a few more pics of us...

So this is my favorite "after Thanksgiving Dinner" activity...THE NAP!
My child finally decided to take a little snooze around 4:30pm. She climbed up in my lap and laid her head on my chest and just fell out! Which was a good thing, because I was about ready to fall out myself! And we did for about an hour or so.

So, all I wanted for my birthday was a weekend away with my sweetie...so I sort of took it upon myself to make that happen! lol
But I did it all in secret as a surprise for HIM. I know, it's supposed to work the other way around, but I wanted to do this! So, to let him in on it, I sent him this card...
This was the front...

And this was the inside...pretty clever huh?
He was so excited when he opened it!
YES! SCORE!!!

The next day, my sweetie and I drove down to Knoxville, from Eastern Kentucky to celebrate my birthday and see the Tennesse/Kentucky game. I arranged the whole thing of course, surprising him with tickets and booking the hotel. He LOVED it! He loves his Vols and hadn't gotten to see them play all season, so I was definitely his favorite person this weekend!
But on Friday night, we went to a movie ("Love and Other Drugs") and to eat at my favorite Japanese steak house, "Misaki." YUMMY!
These two pics were taken at the restaurant.

So in love!!!

Then on Saturday, it was off to Neyland Stadium to see the Tennessee Volunteers play the Kentucky Wildcats! This stadium is awesome! It's one of the largest college stadiums in the country and when it's filled to the gills with nothing but orange, it's just delicious!
But man was it cold! The temp was in the low 40's and when the shade came over our side of the stadium, I JUST ABOUT FROZE!
But a big, giant $5 cup of hot chocolate warmed me right up...yeah I know...5 bucks!!!??? But I would have paid $10 I was so cold! lol

This was an important game because TN has beat KY 26 (now 27) times in a row! So not only did we want to continue our winning streak, this game would have made us "bowl eligible." Which it did, cuz WE WON!

Can you believe these seats?!
We were 3rd row, 45 yard line!!!
I scored tickets from a (generous) friend of Bobby's
that wanted to give him his season tickets.
So kind of him because Bobby was
OVER THE MOON getting to sit there and see his
Vols bring home a victory!!!

And so was I, seeing him so happy!

I got my birthday wish...a wonderful, fun time, just me and my baby!

Thanksgiving....

2010-11-23T09:33:00.001-08:00

I AM THANKFUL

When I'm Away

2010-11-20T19:47:00.000-08:00

I had to travel today to sing in a wedding (it was beautiful), so I left my DD to hold down the fort and (the hardest part) keep up with the little munchkin!

So this is what my babies do when I'm away...

They roll around in the grass...

And have a ball!

IS SHE NOT THE CUTEST THING EVER???!!!!
SOMETIMES I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE'S MINE!

A Good Sign

2010-11-16T19:35:00.000-08:00

I had a really great time last night at a Holiday Open House, hosted by Betsy with Discovery Toys. I, of course, represented SendOutCards and had a lot of incredible feedback and met some really wonderful ladies.

Other companies represented at this open house were Pampered Chef, 31 Gifts, Discovery Toys, Tastefully Simple, Creative Memories, Stella and Dot and Scentsy. If I learned anything last night, it's that MLM and direct sales is stronger than ever (despite some negative feedback I got today from someone opposed to this business model). Lots of smart, normal, creative, entrepreneurial minded people out there are finding that supplementing their current job with a side income stream via owning their own home-based business is still a popular and doable option for them and their families. I was so encouraged to see that! If you don't believe me, read Robert Kiyosaki's (the author of the best seller, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad") book, "The Business of the 21st Century" which is all about network marketing being a viable, profitable option for people in today's market.

read a free chapter here....
http://thebusinessofthe21stcentury.com/pdfs/DBCh1.pdf

But I was discouraged by some things as well. A lot of these ladies, in fact most of them, were teachers or had been teachers at one time (myself included). They were supplementing their teacher salaries by working in these businesses on the side. I was saddened by that for some reason. I still think it's a great option..maybe even the best option to own and work one of these businesses as opposed to going out and getting a part time job. But a teacher shouldn't have to I guess is what I'm trying to say. I have a soft spot for teachers obviously and think their salaries, comparatively, are a joke and a shame!

One lady's story really touched me. She had actually been trying to get a teaching job for 2 years and is currently a long term substitute teacher making about $60 a day. Her husband lost his job, they have a 2 year old baby and can't make their mortgage. She told me that last summer she spent $400 on professionally crafted resume's and sent them out to over 100 schools, and she didn't even get one call, one email or even a single bite. The same happened the year before as well. I know how that feels for sure. I didn't spend quite as much on getting resume's out there when I lost my job, but I did spend well over $100 both summers I was out pounding the pavement. It's disheartening and can really crush your spirit when you're looking for work and can't find it. Especially when you have those blasted student loans circling over your head like hungry buzzards!

I was just struck by the fact that I believe I am doing EXACTLY the right thing in owning my own home-based business. If I did try to go out right now and find a job in my field, the likelihood of me actually getting one is slim to none. The general consensus around these parts is that you have to be a part of the "good ol' boy" network to find a job teaching in the public schools. And you have to have a masters degree here, of which I do not. So, yeah...it doesn't look good.

Owning my own business, especially in these tough times has its benefits. No one can fire me, I'm not constantly evaluated, I don't have a boss or catty, competitive work colleagues, I'm not going to be cut because of budget issues and I don't have to spend the best hours of my day working for someone else...I spend those hours with my child and a few hours building my business and income. That's exciting and feels so freeing! Now, I'm not going to say that me replacing a teachers salary (as meager as it may be) is an easy task. In this industry it takes time and it takes work. I'm under no illusions about that and I don't want to give anyone else that impression either. If you don't think it will take work and time, you're wrong. All good things in life come with hard work and dedication, and a healthy income from a business in this industry is no exception. But it will come. I believe that with all of my heart.

So, being at that open house was a good thing for me and confirmed a lot of questions I had been asking myself. It was a little whisper from God just saying, "Be still." No matter what, I know He's still taking care of me and He's still got me under His wing.

Quick Shout Out 'Bout Christmas Cards

2010-11-14T09:26:00.000-08:00

Here are some quick facts about Christmas cards and how sending them with me will be
easier, faster, cheaper, and more efficient!

Do you buy a box of Christmas or holiday cards for like $2 bucks at the Family Dollar and sort of dread the time and effort it's going to take to write in them, dig out your family and friends' addresses, address them the envelopes, put a stamp on each one and then haul them off to the post office? I used to do that. My cards were sort of boring and actually getting them ready and getting them out was seriously no fun!

But now that I have a little one of my own and want to share something a little more special around the holidays, I've found that this new card sending system not only makes my life a WHOLE lot easier, it's really fun. I can get creative with my cards in a way I never have before and I'm so excited to send them out this year!!!

So here are a couple of questions...

In lieu of cards, do you send out those typed pages on Christmasy paper with a couple of family pictures printed on them that tell about your family's year? How long did that take? Maybe not as long as hand writing in Christmas cards, but it still took a lot of effort I'm sure...but did it have that sort of "specialness" factor that made your family and friends decide to file it away because it was such a nice keepsake? Probably not.

Do you send those Walgreens or Walmart photo postcard things? With the envelopes, they are $12.99 per set of 20 (from walgreens.com), which is about $.65 per card. Not bad I guess, but they're postcards essentially. And for a postcard, that's not a great value.

walgreens.com also does a nicer 5x7 folded card with pics, but they're $1.99 a piece! Crazy!

Folks....THERE IS A BETTER WAY THAN ALL OF THESE PUT TOGETHER!!!

My beautiful 5x7 folded card, with an envelope,
that can be highly customized is only .$62!!!
(add as many pictures as you want for a one time charge of $.31)
Can you believe that???
And I haven't even gotten to the best part
that makes this such a great value!!!

*You never have to leave your house to send these cards. In fact, you can send them right from your laptop while sitting on your own couch!
*You have over 3,000 holiday cards to choose from...or you can customize your own!
*You can add as many pictures as you want for just $.31!
*You buy your $.44 stamps right on the site...you don't have to go to the post office!

Here's the really sweet part!
We print them...
We stuff them...
We stamp them...

We mail them for you...

AND YOU'RE DONE!!!
Your cards took just a couple of minutes, so you can quit stressing and
move on to cookie baking and decorating and shopping and family fun!

And that's just Christmas cards ya'll. Imagine having that kind of value and convenience for ALL your card sending needs...birthday invitations, birthday and anniversary cards, Thank You's, sympathy cards, get well soon cards, congratulation cards (I'm starting to sound like Bubba from Forrest Gump..."shrimp salad, shrimp scampi, shrimp kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp on toast...." LOL).

If you're interested in this system, email me (angiethecardlady@gmail.com) and I'd be glad to share more with you You can also try sending out a card by clicking this link and my automated system will set up a gift account for you to try our service for free.

Thank You and HAPPY CARD SENDING!!!

Christmas Budget

2010-11-08T19:48:00.000-08:00

So, this is the year! This is the first time we are taking Christmas shopping for our little girl seriously. Before you gasp in astonishment because we have somehow deprived her, remember, she's just two. Her first Christmas she was just 7 months old, so needless to say there wasn't much to get her besides a few little musical toys and a couple of stuffed animals. Then last year, we got her a dancing Brobee (from Yo Gabba Gabba), and 3 or 4 learning type toys. The rest of her gifts came from family. I'm just so grateful that we have such a generous family that just love to buy for her for Christmas. Not that our family has a lot of money or shower her with gifts, but when you have a large family, and everyone does a little, it adds up to a lot for each kid. But this is the first year that we've been thinking about what we are going to get her for Christmas and it's throwing me for a loop.

This year, our budget is TIGHT! We have made it clear to all the adults (who we usually buy for) that we aren't exchanging gifts with them this year and to PLEASE not buy anything for us. I'm also wondering how or what kind of budget we're going to have for the other kids in the family (7 to be exact). I want to get them all something (remember the everyone doing a little adds up to a lot thing) because I love them and don't get to give to them any other time of the year, but I just don't know what they'd like? I'm usually the really boring aunt that buys every kid a couple of books for Christmas, but who knows what I'll do this year. Whatever it is, it can't cost a lot.

So back to the budget for little G....We've been perusing the toy fliers (I'm really impressed that the big box stores have put out some nice catalog type things this year) and I've been jotting down ideas of things that I think she may like. But I'm sort of getting hung up on what to budget for her gifts. What is a general rule of thumb for buying your child Christmas presents? My first thought was $100...a nice, big, round number. But my husband was like, "Uh, no, we can't do that!" So, I threw out $50 and he said that that was more like it. So what do you think? Is $50 for your 2 year old for Christmas too little or too much. I know it's a personal decision that one has to make according to their family's needs, but I'm just wondering what some of you are doing or what you have done in the past.

I do have a little list going of things that I know she'll be happy with.

I think she would love a doctor's kit.

I also want to get her an art easel. These are pretty expensive, so I'm not sure how that will work out.

I also want to get her some dress up clothes,

some play-doh,
some bongo drums,

and some art supplies (I know...weird list).

But since the papers came out, I have fallen love with the Fur-Real walking kitty. And Target has it with their coupon for only $9.99. She loves kitty cats, so I think it could be a favorite.

And I'm seriously considering getting her her first Candyland. Walmart has it for only $5, and Toys R Us has it for $1 (with rebates...but who wants to fool with that). I know she's only two, but I think I want it more for me than her, so whatever. ha!

So, let me know. What is your budget this year? Are you feeling a pinch this Christmas? Do you buy gifts for all the kids in your family? If so, what are some of the things you get them? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Cow-Ween!

2010-11-02T21:06:00.002-07:00

Blogging and computer time in general has just been no fun the past few weeks. The screen I'm working off of is in black and white and only nine inches (or less), so needless to say, it's been quite a challenge. And this one ordeal has brought me to the realization that I need glasses...ugh! So yeah...fun to be had by all! (needless to say, it's fixed now, hence the post! LOL)

With that being said, Halloween or "Cow-Ween" as my daughter says WAS pretty fun! She dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and was just precious. My mother actually made the dress a few years ago for my niece, so we just reused it for G (the second Halloween we've done this!). She had the perfect long light brown hair to be put in little pigtails and I had a small wooden basket that she calls a "picnic" and red glittery shoes (with blue socks) to finish it off. She was adorable! I'm terrible for not taking more pics, but the batteries in my camera were dead, so oh well.

Here are a few that we did capture! Hope your "Cow-Ween" was just as fun!

This was Sunday, "Cow-ween" day.
We were invited to sing at a Living Water Church in Williamson, WV and
asked Bobby's sister to come help out with G.
She did a pretty awesome job as you can see! ha! Love ya Charis!!!

Contest Winner!

2010-10-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

There were 4 comments/entries for my 50 follower giveaway, so I wrote all the names down, folded them up, put them in a bag and drew one at random. And the winner is......

KY Kathy!!!!

Kathy does not have a blog to link up to, but she is a faithful follower and friend. So, congratulations to you! And I will get your Starbucks gift card out to you tomorrow!!!

But in this contest, everyone is a winner, because everyone gets some "happy mail" from me! A thank you card for entering, and a chance to send out some love and appreciation to someone you care about with a beautiful greeting card...for free! You know how much greeting cards cost now a days, so seriously, take advantage of this!

Thanks everyone for entering! I'll be seeing you soon around blog world!!!!

50 FOLLOWERS GIVEAWAY!!!

2010-10-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

Yay! I have 50 followers!

Thank you all for keeping up with me and my life. So many of you have come to be real, treasured friends that I feel like I've known for years. And that means more to me than you could know!

At what other time in history would we have ever been able to make the real time connections we're able to make via the internet? This really is a special time and I'm so thankful for this online community of wonderful women (and men) with whom I can share my life!

So in the spirit of sharing, I'd like to offer a few little goodies as a token of my appreciation!

To everyone who posts a comment, I want to send you a REAL thank you card (it's kinda my thang). When was the last time you got some happy mail?And when I send it to you, there will be info inside on how you can then send a free card to someone you care about. So we can all just share, share, share and spread the love around!!!

Of you who post a comment, I will draw the name of one person to win a Starbucks gift card so that you can have a little treat on me! I'll announce the winner a week from today!

Many continued blessings to you and lots of growth to our blogs!!!

CHEERS!!!

What's in My Family Room Floor???

2010-10-20T08:06:00.000-07:00

I've been "sick as a dawg" this week (you have to say it that way to get the full effect). Although I've had a couple of bursts of energy and have done a few household chores, for the most part, I've been camped out on the couch. For some reason, my daughter has been extra good this week. She's usually a typical, rowdy two year old, but maybe she senses that I'm not at my best, so she's toned it down a little. With that being said, she's still been dragging every little thing she can think of into the family room, right in front of me. Maybe to taunt me, I don't know...It's no fun being sick, but being sick and staring at all that crap on the floor, knowing that YOU'RE going to be the one to have to pick it up? Now that's just cruel!

Here's a list of said items on the floor as we speak...

2 year old girl
various plastic items from her play kitchen (croissant, hamburger patty, birthday cake, wieners, toast)
ice cream scoop
a pair of my tennis shoes
a skirt
a canvas shopping bag
spiral notebook,
Baby Eeyore
several books
a big plastic container that holds blocks (the blocks are in fact dumped out in her room)
toy blender
my broom (which she calls, "Ka-ween," meaning "Halloween")
a couple of DVD cases
scrapbook stickers
colorforms
a fork
a puzzle
a piggy bank
a tea pot
and some trash....

Anyone want to help a sistah out? I'm too sick to care.....