Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Shout Out

Had to write and give a shout out to Z@ppos! I ordered some new running shoes from them yesterday at 2:30 pm....and selected their free shipping option (I think it is supposed to take 5 days or so) that they always have. A few hours later I got an email that they were upgrading my shipping options free of charge. My doorbell rang a few minutes ago and lo and behold...my shoes had arrived. Less than 26 hours later! Did I mention shipping was FREE???? They also have free shipping on the return and great customer service (we have used them multiple times). Thought I'd share my great experience. 

Also, I updated a few links/blogs on the sidebar. Check them out if you are bored. I'll probably be adding more in the next few days/weeks.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

The Fatherless

This weekend my husband and I were invited to an an  fundraising gala, An Orphan's Ticket Home. We were invited by a couple in our church, and went with some other friends of ours who are adopting as well. It was an amazing and powerful night. I can't stop thinking about the night, the things that were said, and mainly, the orphans...the fatherless. 

The evening started out with praise and worship by the Billy Foote Band. WOW! That about sums up their talent. His wife is the lead singer and MAN can she sing. She has probably one of the best female voices I have ever heard. Go take a listen to them. You will be blown away! The head of the band told an illustration that one of his friends had told him. His friend grew up during the time of the holocaust. His town was one of the places that the trains stopped in on their way to the concentration camps. This man grew up hearing the screams and pleading of the Jewish people on the trains...begging for food, for water...anything. Apparently, even in church they could hear the screams and moans of the people on their way to the concentration camps...and to drown out the sound, they sang louder. Billy Foote's point in telling the story was that today there are millions and millions of orphans in the world; here and abroad. Are we as a church listening to these orphans and helping? Are we doing something to better the situation or are we just singing louder in our comfortable churches and ignoring their cries? 

Next Tom Davis spoke about how we as Christians are called to care for the widows and the fatherless. He showed this video...and I think it speaks for itself. I think I want to adopt them all! At the end of the evening I got into the car and cried...for the orphans, for the fatherless. One important point Tom Davis made, however, continues to stick with me. Many people feel like I do; overwhelmed, that there is little hope, little that something one person or one family can do to truly make a difference. He said, however, that rather than let this feeling of hopelessness lull us into complacency, and rather than it let us do nothing and ignore the cries, we should take one, small step toward helping the fatherless. We don't necessarily have to send gobs of money to an orphanage (while that would be great) or adopt several children (while that would also be great). We can send our prayers to the orphans, we can pray that God would show us how He wants us to be involved, and/or we can donate our time/resources to a variety of organizations that promote helping the orphans. 

To finish off the night, the President of America World Adoption spoke on how their agency is trying to raise money to help identify children in orphanages for adoption. He said that many of the children in orphanages are not eligible for adoption, simply because they do not have a birth certificate. Someone needs to do an investigation on that child's history in order to get them a birth certificate to either find relatives, or an adoptive family. This gala (and there were only about 200 people there!) ended up raising over $25,000 to help fund social workers and others in foreign countries who can help investigate these children and hopefully eventually find families. 

Let's hear the voices of the orphans around the world and take that first step toward helping the fatherless.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Beauty Advice Needed

I need some beauty advice. I am looking for a face soap that I can use BOTH for cleaning my face and for removing my eye makeup. I have tried a lot of different liquid face cleansers, bar soaps, expensive and cheap, but have not found "the one" yet. Anyone have any recommendations???
Sunday, October 19, 2008

Thanks, Angie!


I got a birthday gift in the mail on Friday. Look at this awesome handspun yarn from Angie! I absolutely love it. She continues to amaze me with her knitting related skills. I have been knitting for longer, but she has blown by me in her abilities. She suggested a hat for this yarn...I think it would be perfect!

Thanks Ang!


Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Blog Facelift

For those of you reading this only in Google Reader (which I highly recommend you sign up for if you don't already!), I changed the look of my blog...finally! I love my new background...especially because it was FREE!!! Check out the Cutest Blog on the Block website for free background downloads.
Friday, October 10, 2008

Why God wants us to be like children...

My son has a new hobby. He loves to play our little xylophone style piano and belt out songs that he knows. He also prays before each song (why?? No idea!). It is so cute...let me give you an example: 
-"say prayer to Jesus"
and he bows his head and says
-"Dear Jesus, Thank you for go to the park. Amen!"
then he will bang away on random keys while he sings one of his favorite songs (Deep and Wide, Jesus loves the little children, or even Wheels on the Bus). Between each song he bows his little head and says another prayer to Jesus before singing the next song. 

The other day I was watching him do this and chuckling to myself. I thought "oh, how cute, he prays before each song". It was SO endearing, but I almost thought, silly...Then I realized...it isn't silly AT ALL! That is what God WANTS us to do! Be like children SO much, that we pray before each song, before each little thing that we do. I needed to learn this lesson from my son!
Friday, October 3, 2008

Best Voice EVER

Found this video on YouTube of a Third Day concert we went to last year. They did taping for their DVD at the concert. Anyway, Mac Powell, lead singer has the best voice EVER in my opinion. Have a listen for yourself! 

Also, this is a hint of where we get to go this weekend for a little prebirthday present for me!!! Woohoo!!! Third Day, Jars of Clay, Switchfoot......

Monday, September 1, 2008

Never thought I'd hear myself say

I thought I'd start a little "series" on my blog. I'd like to call it "Things I never thought I'd hear myself say as a mother". I have been thinking about posting some of the random things I tell my son. Apparently "Parents" magazine has a similar series, but I swear I thought of it first! :)

So, here are a couple of things I never thought I'd say

"Eat your hot dog and your Cheetos and then you can have some cake". Um yeah, hello....cuz dinner is clearly the healthier choice than cake

"Stop eating your (styrofoam) cup!" When I noticed that his drink cup had three bite shaped moons missing from it. I couldn't find the remainder of the cup at first, so I assumed he had actually swallowed the styrofoam. Thankfully he didn't!

How about you moms out there?
Thursday, August 21, 2008

I cannot lie...

I know, I STINK at keeping up with this blog lately. After many of you getting mad at me I thought I'd actually post something! Some friends and I were discussing random songs...and I got to thinking about songs that are pretty much guaranteed to get me out on the dance floor at weddings. Some I am not proud of, but sometimes you just can't help dancing to the beat!

SO

Songs Guaranteed to get me dancing at a wedding:
1. Baby got back
2. Brass Monkey
3. Boot Scootin' Boogie
4. Ice Ice Baby
5. Ride Wit Me
6. Pour Some Sugar on Me

(like I said I am NOT proud) :) 

What are your songs you just can't help but dance to?
Thursday, June 26, 2008

75

75...it is the number of books that I have marked "to-read" on my Goodreads list. As if I need any more! I was looking on the Goodreads website and found a posting where someone asked "what 5 books you must read before you die?". So, what I want to know is what are YOUR top 5 books that you would recommend reading before you die? I know my number one is obviously the Bible...but other than that I don't know! Too many good choices! If I had to choose right now without giving it TOO much thought...I'd say...in no particular order 

The Bible
Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl
Pride and Prejudice
Little Women
Harry Potter (#1)..if for no other reason than to see what all the hype is about! 

Tell me yours! 
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The Bee-ah Song

Conversation with my two-year-old today:

Him- "Mama, sing the Bee-ah song"
Me- "Sing what??"
Him- " Sing the Bee-ah song"
Me- "what?" NO IDEA what he is talking about
        "you sing the bee-ah song"
Him- "The bee-ah bee-ah eee. That ...for me.....Bee-ah, bee-ah, eee"
Me- "OH! The B-I-B-L-E.....yes, that's the book for me..."

It was so cute! Probably much cuter than it comes out in print.
Sunday, May 11, 2008

Happy Mother's Day!

I wanted to wish a happy Mother's day to all of the moms and soon-to-be moms out there who read my blog! I know I have been blessed to be the mom of a wonderful, silly little 2-year-old. It is truly one of the best and hardest jobs out there! I wouldn't trade it for the world. It gives me a new appreciation for my mom (whom I already love dearly!). Happy Mother's day mom!

We don't have too much planned for today, although my hubby promised to take me out to dinner so I wouldn't have to cook- yay! He also gave me a gift certificate to get a pedicure at a great nail place here. I know I will enjoy it!

What are you up to today? Anything fun or relaxing?
Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Look what I got free today




Well, after a couple of slow bargain weeks, I finally got some CVS deals today. I got all that you see above (not that I need anymore Venus razors or toothpaste, but that is beside the point!) for FREE using manufacturers coupons and extra care bucks...and I ended up with the same amount of extra care bucks that I started with. Gotta love that!!! 
Monday, April 28, 2008

Confessions of a tea purchaser

I have a problem. I love to buy tea. Weird huh, considering that I LOVE LOVE LOVE my coffee with my yummy creamer, and I rarely drink tea. However, I can't seem to resist continuing to buy tea. I think I am hoarding it for some unseen event in the future when all of the tea supplies in the world are depleted. Don't worry...if that happens, I'll share with you. (I also seem to have an insane amount of shampoo, toothpaste and excedrin, but that's a story for another day) Anyway, there was a period of time when I could not go to the grocery store without purchasing a new kind of tea. I have since sworn off tea buying, but it continues to tempt me. I must use up some of my stash before I buy any new tea though! 

Some of my favorites:
Any brand of Ginger peach
Lady Grey tea with cream and sugar

Any tea lovers want to tempt me with their favorites? Anyone else hoard something and not know why?

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

A Few favs

A few of my new favorite things I had to share:

- I am loving this show. I caught up with it while the writer's were all on strike. ABC has all episodes on their website which is great. It is a cute, funny show that is just good fun. Plus I love all of the supporting characters; especially Suki from Gilmore Girls who plays Samantha's friend. You'll have to check it out. It is a great 20 minute distraction from life. :)

- I really love her blog lately. Just makes me laugh. Especially this post

-We got some GREAT frozen blueberries the other day from here. It is a farm in Oregon that ships to other parts of the country. We also got some frozen raspberries and salmon. All very yummy, but the blueberries taste like candy. I have to ration my 2 year old so he doesn't eat too many.  I have been making a smoothie almost everyday! Thanks Jessica for doing our order with this company!

-This is my favorite type of Starbucks coffee. Just FYI. Not a new favorite, just had to add something coffee related somewhere in my list of favorites. I have a wonderful sister-in-law who works at Starbucks and periodically surprises me with a some in my mailbox.

Anyone else have any new favorites??

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Outsmarted



This blog is really not supposed to be about my little monkey son, but since we are living in Quarantineville, I have little else to write about this weekend! Every morning I let my son watch a movie while I shower. The past week or so I got out of the shower and I would hear a banging noise every few seconds. I could never figure out what he was doing. Inevitably I would go into the living room and he would be sitting in his chair innocently. Today the mystery was solved when he walked up to our magnetized tv stand and gave it a big kick (which produced a loud bang). Sure enough, the door swung open and he began to play with the DVDs. So much for child-proofing!!!!
Saturday, April 5, 2008

New Diagnosis

Well, the self-made diagnosis of hand food and mouth started to look a little dicey yesterday when the rash went all up and down my sons legs and lower torso. After waiting all day for a call back from the pediatrics clinic and never receiving one, we emailed photos of his rash to our doctor who is also a friend of ours. He consulted with several other doctor friends of his. The diagnosis? Chicken Pox!!!! He's been vaccinated too, so I guess that's why the rash isn't too terrible or too itchy. How weird. We're going in to see him on Monday, so we'll see what he says then. I'm hoping that the quarantine will be lifted then! Today we got out because our friends wanted their children to be exposed, so that was nice for us!
Thursday, April 3, 2008

ANOTHER addition to the day

Note to self: Don't post about your day until it is done.

Just figured out that I'm pretty sure my son has hand, foot, and mouth disease!

Ack!

An addition to my day

Yeah, so, it wasn't in my daily schedule, but gonna have to add 
"backed over our garbage can on my way to the grocery store" to the list of things I did today!

Whoops!

Today I...

(Warning: non-exciting post, it has just been a while so I felt like I should post SOMETHING!)

Got up at 6:45 (typical waking hour of my 2-year-old). About once every 6 months I get to sleep until 7:30, which basically I think he does to give me false hope of it happening more often.

Went outside with above-mentioned 2-year-old to just "quick take out the trash". Spent the next 30-40 minutes walking around the neighborhood in my pjs while my son pushed his toy airplane up and down the sidewalks while I said "mama's hungry, let's go inside" and he ignored me. Then he made ME sit on his airplane while he attempted to push it. I can only imagine what the neighbors were thinking when they saw that.

Showered, dressed while my son watched Monsters Inc (his first time seeing it....don't worry I didn't let him sit and watch the whole thing!)

Met with our home warranty guy to see if he could fix a few minor things. Most things he can't fix, but some he can (all minor cometic things)

Went to the local children's museum. A very cute and fun place. Don't let the name "museum" fool you. It is like an indoor play area with a mini grocery store, tents, hospital, rocket ship, etc. All hands on and kid centered. Not like adult museums with lots of boring signs.

Ate a picnic outside at museum.

Came home, put my son down for a nap.

Checked email, read blogs, made my bed, emptied trash, (yes a little bit of cleaning, I know, it happens).

Made dinner for a family in our church going through a lot right now. I made my famous beef and bean enchiladas. I say they are famous because whenever we make a meal for anyone (had a baby, surgery, etc) they get the enchiladas. Easy and yummy and freeze well! 

Met the Terminix guy.

After Terminix guy leaves I'll probably hunt for my $3 off 2 Huggies Clean team wipes and go to the grocery store to get some free wipes and some miscellaneous grocery items.

Then make our dinner...I think I'm going to make some chicken with pears (recipe from an old real simple). After dinner and my son's bedtime I'll go running with a friend.

Not a terribly exciting, but that's my day!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Free Starbucks!!

Got this link off of Money Saving Mom's website for a free sample of Starbucks coffee. WOO HOO!!! This is so meant for me. So go here and register your information, then answer a short survey and you get free coffee in 6 to 8 weeks! Now that's a great deal!
Sunday, March 23, 2008

Shopping Lessons Learned

I went shopping yesterday for a little bit and last weekend for a little bit for some clothes for myself. I was not very successful, but I did learn a few "lessons" along the way that I'd like to share.

1. I will never (NEVER) try on another pair of Bermuda shorts. If you are shopping with me, and see me pick them up to try on...please, please stop me. Don't let me waste my time. No matter how cute these look on other people, they DO NOT look cute on me. No matter how many different brands I try on. No matter how many stores I go to.

2. Medium is the new Small (especially in those stores that cater to high schoolers). 

3. Shopping with my squirrelly two-year-old is likely preferable to shopping on a Saturday afternoon in our local shopping mall. Way way way too many people (especially during spring break/holy week). I got one of the last carts at Target!

4. I still have no idea how to shop for my post baby (or should I say 2 years post baby) body. In my mind I am still teeny...until I try on clothes meant for teeny people!

5. I fear that the day when I am too old to shop in the "teen" section is rapidly approaching.

6. I have hit the stage where it is much more fun (much easier and more successful too) to shop for my child than it is for myself. 

7. I still like to shop, despite all of this!!! 
Friday, March 21, 2008

The Ultimate "Bargain"

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted! We've been busy! I did do some bargain hunting last weekend...as did some friends of mine, so I'll post about that maybe tomorrow or something. 

Today though, in light of Easter on Sunday, I want to tell you about the BEST bargain I have ever gotten. Yes, it is BETTER than paying no money for 4 bars of soap and getting $4 to spend the next time you shop. BETTER than my favorite CVS bargains, and believe it or not, BETTER than the time I bought 4 pkgs of Robitussin cough drops and got $100 Visa card!!!!

What is this bargain?? It was Jesus, taking on my sins and dying on the cross for me so that I could have ETERNAL life in heaven instead of spending an eternity in Hell. All I had to do was believe in Him and accept Him as my Lord and savior. Talk about a bargain!!!!!! To add icing to the cake, I get to live my life with Him by my side. He comforts me in times of sorrow and blesses me with undeserved blessings. Yeah, I'd say this is MUCH better than any bargain CVS could ever have.

May you have a wonderful Easter weekend!



Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Favorite CD/Download

Hey! I thought for a change of pace (I know some of you are thinking "finally!!") from the couponing I want to know what you are listening to a lot lately! Are you listening to a favorite CD or favorite download a lot? Which ones?

I typically listen to books on CD or children's songs (Veggie Tales, Curious George...etc) but every once in a while I pull out a CD.

I am listening to a CD by a Christian group called Selah, specifically the CD called Greatest Hymns. Their voices are absolutely INCREDIBLE. I recommend that you give them a listen
here
Just scroll down and you will see a list of songs from this album. Click the play button next to the song to listen.

Another CD I LOVE is actually a Christmas album. I know, how weird is that to listen to Christmas music in March?? I promise these songs don't sound like Christmas music. They are awesome. It is Third Day's Christmas Offerings CD. We had the opportunity to go to this concert this past December and it was SO SO SO AWESOME!! Have a listen
here.

Now it is your turn! What is on your Ipod/in your CD player?
Sunday, March 9, 2008

Today's trip



Just returned from my weekly (okay, sometimes more than weekly) CVS and Walgreens trip. I actually bought some things we needed...like the shave gel, the gum, and the little Disney washcloths. The Disney washclothes are birthday gifts for a kids bday party next weekend. The rest of the stuff...well, it was essentially free! I spent 1.50 out of pocket on all of this!!!

I did find one "no brainer deal" for this week. If you got the Sunday paper there is a coupon for buy one get one free trident gum in one of the coupon inserts. At walgreens this week there is a coupon in the weekly Walgreens ad for buy one get one free trident gum. So, you can get 2 packs of gum totally free! I bought some pomegranate blueberry gum which is really yummy!

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Coupons = clean water

Just got an email that for every coupon from the Proctor and Gamble ad (comes in the Sunday paper the first Sunday of the month) that is redeemed in March or April they will donate 1 liter of clean drinking water to needy people in third world countries. Pretty cool! Read about it here.


Monday, March 3, 2008

The Weekend Haul

Had a fairly successful bargain shopping trip this weekend. My first stop was Walgreens where I bought what you see below. There were a few hang-ups, but thanks to some helpful employees, I got the deals I went in for!!! 


I did several different transactions. The first few I did were the Olay bar soap deal. Walgreens has a deal this week where you buy 2 pkgs of the Olay bar soap and you get $4 back in "Register Rewards" which are like money to use the next time you shop. Well, I had 6 coupons for $2 off each pkg of bar soap, meaning I got the soap for FREE and then got $4 back. A GREAT deal! I then did the deal where you buy 6 of any certain items listed (including the herbal essences/olay body wash) and get $12 back in Register rewards. This got a little complicated because for some reason the computer wouldn't recognize it. I recommend that if you do this deal you get 6 of the same item for it. It is reported that if you buy 6 of the small (trial size?) Pantene and spend something like $8 you will still get the $12 register rewards. I also bought vitamins which are free after rebate this week, and Kotex pads which were on clearance for $1.60 ish and I had a $1 off coupon.



CVS has some good monthly deals as well as weekly deals. If you are just getting into CVS shopping make sure you pick up a flier at the store which lists their monthly Extra Care Buck deals. More toothpaste...just what we needed...I think that brings our total up to 7 unopened boxes! 

I know some of you ventured out to CVS and Walgreens! Tell us about your deals!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Couponing Lessons #1 and #2

I thought I'd start a little "series" here at IRSBC with some couponing lessons that I have learned in the short time I've been doing it. So, today the first lesson is:
1. Save all of your coupons. 
- I know this goes against everything others have told you...they say, don't buy something you don't need, just because you have a coupon for it. However, I say save ALL of your coupons...see lesson 2
2. Be willing to buy something you don't need in order to get money toward things you do need.
- This one is a little tricky to wrap your mind around, so I'll give you some examples
.
Okay, first example...six tubes of KY Jelly and 2 pkg of Monistat cooling wipes. Now, I know what you are thinking, but NO, these are truly items that I will not use (stop, I mean it). So, I know you are thinking "then WHY did you buy so much of this stuff if you don't use it". Well, here is why! I had 6 coupons for the KY and 2 coupons for the monistat. The coupon value was greater than the price of the item, meaning I got $1 overage for each item. I bought these along with my groceries for the week, so by buying these items I saved $8 on my grocery bill!!! (Boy did I also feel bad for the 15 year old boy who scanned all of my KY Jelly!)

Here's another example. This one I did at CVS. I definitely don't need 8 bottles of 6-hour energy (well, most days I don't!), nor do I need "Dry Mouth" mouthwash. I spend somewhere around $12 on these items and got back $24 dollars to use on my next shopping trip! So, in other words, I made $12 to spend at CVS on something I do use, like diapers. Get it???

Hope these lessons help some! Look for more "lessons learned" posts periodically!

Oh, and if anyone wants any KY jelly or energy drinks...let me know! :)

Friday, February 22, 2008

Give Thanks

Just sitting in our office with sunshine coming through the window and feeling happy and blessed.

I'm thankful for:
The beautiful sun
My wonderful family
A day off
Playgroup with friends
Coffee with yummy creamer


What are you thankful for today??
Tuesday, February 19, 2008

How Often Do you Pray?

I am involved with an international Bible study called Bible Study Fellowship (BSF for short). Some of you may have heard of it. Each week we study part of the Bible. Everyday we are given verses to read with questions to go along with them. When we have our weekly meeting we first meet in small groups and go over our answers to our questions. Then we get together in a large group (Ours has maybe 100 or so women) and hear a speaker do an in depth look at the verses we read throughout the week. 

This year we are studying the book of Matthew, which is one of the books that documents Jesus' life from birth to death to resurrection. During Jesus' life, he was incredibly busy! He was constantly healing people and preaching, feeding the poor, etc. Yet throughout the entire book, before he is about to do anything he PRAYS. In fact, sometimes he prays all night long. 

This week our speaker asked us how often in a 24 hour period (how many minutes...) do we spend in prayer. Yikes, I am sad to say that while I pray throughout my day and before bed, it really does not amount to much!!! This is one thing I really need to work on. I mean...if Jesus, who was SO busy each day he was alive, still found time to pray, and prayed often...it CLEARLY must be important and we should do it too!!! 

So how about you? How much of your day is spent in prayer?? Will you work on increasing that? I know I'm going to!
Monday, February 18, 2008

No longer a virgin

To CVS that is.....


Here is the CVS loot that my friend Melissa got today! It was her first CVS bargain hunting trip and she did awesome! She got all of that stuff (worth over 50 bucks) for just over 25 bucks! Way to go Melissa!!! I think she's hooked. I like to say that all it takes is one hit of a great bargain and you're addicted! 

Here's how Melissa did it:

I had $1.50 coupons for each of the diapers making them $7.49 each and the $4 off $20 (CVS issued coupon).  i also had 1 dollar off the sunsilk, which was buy one get one free.  the batteries were also buy one get one free.  i got the diapers and toilet paper which gave me my ecb (Extra Care Bucks...these print out on the bottom of your receipt and you can use them on any future purchase), then with that i got everything else (soap, face scrub, sunsilk hair stuff, batteries) and paid out of pocket $0.74 for the starbursts because i had a negative total and i guess she couldn't give me a nickle back.  :) 


Friday, February 15, 2008

Can I Persuade you?



To join in on the Persuasion book club discussion happening over at Simply Serina?? I confess I haven't read it in a few years. I meant to catch up this week, but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe during nap time today (when I really should be cleaning..hee hee).
I am looking forward to reading some in my awesome antique copy that I found at Goodwill a year ago. There is no copyright date, but the inscription that someone wrote after their name says "1910".  Here are a couple of photos of it. Isn't it cool?



I love how the pages don't line up on the edges and the tissue paper over the drawings. Makes me feel very Jane Austeny just holding the book!


Wednesday, February 13, 2008

I love oatmeal...when it's free



A quick little post to show you my "bargain high" of the day. 7 boxes of Quaker Simple Harvest oatmeal, 1 container of old fashioned oats, 2 boxes of granola bars...grand total...40 cents. Yes, that's right! 40 CENTS for ALL of that!!! Woohoo! I love couponing! 

Have I talked anyone else into doing it too???


Sunday, February 10, 2008

The Loot



Made a run to CVS and Walgreens today to get some great bargains. I spent $2.69 out of pocket on all of this!!! The Playtex tampons were on clearance at Walgreens for $1.69 and I had $1 off coupons for them. The Kotex pads were on clearance for about the same price and I had $2 off coupons for them, meaning overage! The chapstick was $2 at Walgreens, then I used a $1 Walgreens coupon and got a $2 printout to use the next time I shop at Walgreens. The CVS run was good too! The only thing I really needed was the milk, but I can always use the toothpaste too. For .69 out of pocket I cant argue with getting all of the rest of the stuff for free!!! If you haven't started clipping those coupons and doing some deals, you'd better get going!!! 

I thought throughout my posts I'd try to highlight some "no-brainer" deals...deals that you don't have to do major brainwork to do. The "no-brainer" deal for this week is to buy the Chapstick naturals chapstick from Walgreens. In their weekly ad they have a chapstick coupon which makes it .99...then you get a $2 "register reward" that prints out after you check out. Basically it is $2 to use the next time you shop. So the end results are that you make $1 on chapstick!

Happy bargaining!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Good fish recipes


In an effort to eat healthier, I've been trying to incorporate one serving of fish into our meals each week. Plus, fish tend to be easy and fast to cook. I have found a couple of really tasty recipes that I thought you guys would enjoy! 

The one you see pictured above is for an Orange Salmon. I got the recipe from my mother-in-law. It is very easy and yummy!

Orange Salmon Grill
1/3 cup honey
2T olive oil
1/2 cup orange juice
1T orange zest
1.5 T lemon juice
2T red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
2 garlic cloves (crushed...I use minced)
1T mustard
1/4 tsp salt

Heat broiler on low. Sprinkle salmon with salt, pepper, and 11 crushed fennel seeds (optional fennel seeds). Bring glaze ingredients to a boil in small sauce pan and simmer 7 minutes. Baste salmon with glaze. Cook for 5-10 minutes until done, basting salmon throughout cooking time. 

Another recipe we have really enjoyed is the following tilapia recipe. Tilapia is a white fish with a very light flavor. We often find it frozen in individual packets in our freezer section of the grocery store. The following recipe is courtesy of my sister-in-law.

Zesty Tilapia Fillets
4 tilapia fillets
olive oil cooking spray
1.5 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
dash of tabasco (optional)

Spray broiling pan with olive oil. Combine remaining ingredients and spoon over fish. Should be a paste-like texture. Broil about 4 inches from heat for 5-10 minutes depending on thickness of fish, until it flakes easily with a fork

Anyone else have any good fish recipes? Let me know if you try these and how you like them too!

Enjoy!

Persuasion Online Book Club

Anyone ever read Jane Austen??? I admit to being a fan of hers. In fact, when I was pregnant and bored out of my mind I divided my time knitting and reading Jane Austen books. Persuasion was one of my favorites. My friend Serina is hosting an online book club on the book persuasion. It begins next week...so get your books and start reading!

Anyone going to join?
Sunday, February 3, 2008

Mystery Kitchen Tool


My sister-in-law emailed me with a question about this little object. She says that she inherited it from her husband's grandmother and that it is a kitchen tool. She has no idea what it is. She said it is porcelain and has a bunch of tiny raised bumps on it. Zesting a lemon with it did not prove to be successful, so it isn't that. Any guesses??? My guess is a soap dish, but that doesn't explain the circular hole at the top. What do you think?
Friday, February 1, 2008

To Do List

This weekend I hope to...

- finish my February scrapbook page for my scrapbook calendar (!)
- start reading some of the books I checked out from the library
- choose pictures to enlarge for some frames I have already bought
   (and enlarge them at CVS where you can get two 8x10s for 99 cents this week using their Buy         one get one free deal and two manufacturer coupons)
- clean our master bathroom (yeah right!)
- plan some trips throughout the year


What is on your list of things to do this weekend??


Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Random Food Favorites

Thought I'd post a little list of some of my favorites in some different food categories:

Salad Dressing: Ken's Steakhouse Lite Caesar Dressing
Coffee Creamer: Int'l Delight "Hershey's Chocolate Caramel" creamer
(drink at your own risk...may prevent losing any baby weight..ever)
Crackers: Kashi TLC 7 grain or honey whole grain (or whatever they are called)
Yogurt: Stoneyfield Farm Vanilla
(I eat it in the morning with frozen raspberries, dry oatmeal, sliced almonds...yum!)
Granola Bars: Again, kashi...something like honey nut chewy? 
Pickles: Meijer dill pickles
Junk food: Planters Cheese balls (do they still make these?)
Cookies: Lofthouse with the frosting...mmmmmmm


I have many more favorites....these are just a few for now. What are some of YOUR favorite brands???? 
Saturday, January 26, 2008

Off to Walgreens

Today only at Walgreens their "Easy Saver" books overlap. These are checkbook sized booklets they keep at the front of the store near their current ads. Each month a new book comes out with coupons and rebates in them. Well, it has been reported that there is the overlap of a day on these...so some really good deals to be had.

Here's what I am going to do...
L'Oreal HIP Makeup is on sale for Buy one get one free.
Buy Two $6.99 eyeshadows.
You are allowed to use coupons for Both items and you are allowed to combine Manufacturer coupons with store coupons...so...
Spend $6.99 on 2 eyeshadows, use two $2 off manufacturer coupons from a recent insert in the paper, use 2 $2 off coupons from the easy saver catalog.

Get 2 FREE eyeshadows, plus OVERAGE...money to use on something else you buy.

Another deal....
Garnier Fructisse Shampoo is on sale. There is a January $1.5o ES coupon and a $1 mnf coupon. Pay .45 cents out of pocket...use the overage on the eyeshadow to pay for the shampoo...still have some overage left..buy some gum?

In the end, 2 free eyeshadows, free shampoo, and free gum! 

I hope they are all in stock so I can do these great deals!!!! 
Friday, January 25, 2008

Check out these deals...

Most end tomorrow, but click on the Money Saving Mom link on the sidebar. She has some really great deals listed from the past few days. Lots of grocery store deals, pharmacy deals, etc. Let me know if you get any! I may have to do the CVS M&M deal (I've done it once already this week, but didn't have the coupon...) and maybe the Walgreens makeup deal! 

There are UFOs...

All over my house!!! UFOs is the knitter/crafter term for Unfinished Objects, and MAN do I have a lot of them. I seem to have NO problem starting projects (definitely no problem BUYING the stuff to do the projects); however, I have a problem seeing the project through to the end. 

For example:
My perfect-fitting pair of socks...oh wait, I still need to knit one more sock!

Another unfinished sock...

That will never be finished. Check out how huge it is in comparison to my perfect-fitting sock! I need to rip it out but it hurts my heart too much!

A baby hat...for a baby that was born a while ago...

A mini-album about our Thanksgiving...what you see is all that is completed.


Not to mention the 4 picture frames that are awaiting prints to be selected and enlarged so they can be hung on the wall, the balls and balls of yarn for projects that I haven't even begun, and the 5-10 scrapbook pages that are sitting half done in my scrapbooking room! Sigh! 

Maybe I should cut myself off from starting a new project until I have finished some of these. 

Nah! 
Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Can't stop crying...

because I am laughing SO hard! 


warning: Some somewhat inappropriate, but most are just plain funny! 

(I predict Brian B and Meghan will enjoy this more than anyone else I know!) 


Monday, January 21, 2008

Recent Reads

Those of you who know me, know that I LOVE to read. I am constantly reading magazines, listening to books on tape, or at the library getting new books. I read while I'm brushing my teeth, using the facilities, taking a bath, eating breakfast...you get the picture! I tend to read mainly fiction books, but occasionally venture into non-fiction. The problem that I have discovered with getting motivated to read non-fiction books is that I feel smarter merely by buying them and putting them on my shelves! Almost like I learn through osmosis. As a result I have a lot of really good titles sitting on my shelves that make me feel smart or make me a better person just by looking at them! Anyone else have this problem? 

Recently I have been reading a couple of non-fiction books that I'm enjoying so far. The first is Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas. I started reading this book last night and it seems pretty good. The premise is that marriage is not for our happiness and romance only, it is primarily designed to make us holy. A very different perspective than one we are given these days. So far it looks a lot at how loving our spouse can help deepen our love for God. So far very interesting. I'm only about 50 pages into it, so I'll let you know what I think when I am finished. Looks like it will be one of those "convicting" books! 

Another book that I'm reading is called The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. It was lent to my by one of my teacher-friends, but as a mother I am finding it very motivating! It talks about how to read-aloud to kids, why, and gives some new ideas on how to connect stories with everyday life.

This weekend I finished a fiction book Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos. This was a beautiful novel about families and love. The author has a different rhythm to her writing that took a little getting used to, but I really liked once I got used to it. The author was very descriptive and almost poetical. One of my favorite quotes from the book was "Maybe love comes in at the eyes, but not nearly as much as it comes in at the ears". An interesting thought.

What have you been reading lately? Anything really great, fiction or non? 

P.S I've signed up for goodreads...and will post a little button on the sidebar for it as soon as I figure out how!
Saturday, January 19, 2008

And the Winner is.....

Shari (or Mom, as I like to call her)!!! 

Well, it turned out to be a three way tie for the winner...with Shari, Katie, and Catherine guessing 2 of the 5 questions correctly. Sorry Melissa and Kurt...you guys tied for last with one correct each! Shari, you will be getting a package of goodies (think chocolate!!!) in the mail soon! 

The answers were:
1. E :spent $10.76 out of pocket on the hand sanitizers, candles, etc. Never fear though...I will be getting a $10 rebate in the mail for those hand sanitizers, courtesy of Walgreens.
2. A: spent .11 on the sippy cup, garb bags, tooth brush, glucose tester, etc all at CVS due to some CVS sales, but mainly with my Extra Care Bucks (more on these later.
3. D: spent 9.62 out of pocket at CVS using manufacturer coupons as well as Extra Care Bucks. Could have spent more like $2 but did the deals in the wrong order. Oh well, still a good deal!
4. A: spent .50 cents out of pocket at WalMart using manufacturer coupons (from internet and Sunday paper)
5. A: spent NOTHING out of pocket for these items using manufacturer coupons at the local grocery store and WalMart.

Thanks for guessing to all. I hope this peaks your curiosity!!! Look for a post in the next day or two on how to start couponing and getting some of these good deals too!!! Also, check out money Saving Mom's website for some great tutorials and links on how to start couponing and which stores offer good deals. Most importantly, make sure to get the Sunday paper this week and save ALL of the coupons (even ones you don't think you need) so that we can do some good deals together this week!!

Time's UP!

Time's up for the contest! Winner will be announced later tonight! Stay tuned!
Thursday, January 17, 2008

Couponing Quiz

Can you guess??????



I promised more posts, so here's a little quiz for you to get you reading my blog again and to entice you to keep reading!!! I'm also attempting to tempt you to join me in my latest hobby, couponing. So, quiz time....I'm posting several pictures and I want you to guess how much I spent out of pocket on each photo. I will be giving a small prize to the person who guesses the most correct. If there is a tie, then I'll have a drawing between the tie-breakers. 
Oh, also....I have changed the commenting feature, so you should be able to post without having a Google ID. Good luck! Contest ends Saturday at noon eastern time!!! 

Now for the quiz:

For each photo you need to answer how much I spent out of pocket. Choose one answer for each question.
A. less than $1
B. Between $1.01 and $2
C. Between $2.01 and $5
D. Between $5.01 and $10
E. $10.01 or more
Question 1

How much did I spend on: 2 glade scented oil candles, 5 Walgreens hand sanitizers, 2 bottles of some sort of fancy vitamins, one box of children's Dimetapp, and one mini highlighter (too cute to resist buying)?


Question 2
How much did I spend on: 1 Ascencia Breeze blood glucose tester, 1 box garbage bags, 1 bag teeth flossers, 2 toothbrushes, 1 sippy cup?

Question 3

How much did I spend on: 2 boxes HN Cheerios, 2 boxes granola bars, 3 bottles soft soap, 1 bottle palmolive, 1 pkg excedrin, 2 pkgs of Kotex maxi pads, 2 tubes lip gloss, and 1 can of Redken texturizing spray?
Question 4

How much did I spend on: 1 box Kashi crackers, 1 bottle Huggies kids hand soap, 1 jar PB?
Question 5
How much did I spend on: 1 box kleenex, 1 pkg Kotex, 5 Johnson's buddy bars kid soap, 1 jar PB?


Best of luck to you all! 
Wednesday, January 16, 2008

I'm Back!!!

Well, so sorry to tempt you all with a new blog, and then not post! My intention was to post much more often than this...unfortunately that was not my computer's intention! It decided to die on us last week, so we have spent the week shopping for a new computer. It's been driving me crazy not to be online! So...please check back frequently! I promise to redeem this rocky start! 

Friday, January 4, 2008

Here goes....

Well, here it goes! I'm finally in the blogging world! Hmmm, actually, to be more acurate, I've been in the blogging world for a long time, just more as a commenter/lurker/stalker :). Now I finally have my own blog and I can spend even MORE time procrastinating those things I should be doing (like cleaning).


Basically, I'm starting this blog as a way to write about my many, varied hobbies. I am completely addicted to scrapbooking, knitting, reading, taking pictures, shopping (yes, it's a hobby!), and most recently, couponing. I spend a lot of free time doing these things, as well as hanging out with friends and family, talking to friends and family...and a little bit of free time doing those OTHER obligatory things that make a household run (grocery shopping, errands, cleaning....).


So anyway, welcome and a big




















from me to you!

About Me

I am a sinner who has been chosen by God and redeemed by the death and resurrection of his son Jesus. I am a full-time wife and mom, though I hope to someday return to my job as an SLP. I love photography, coffee, reading, and adoption. I hate to clean, but sometimes do it anyway!

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