I'm Tired

~Pretty flowers in freshly mulched bed~

I think that when Monday rolls around I will be glad to get back to school so I can sit down!  I have had a very busy week.  I am so glad though to have accomplished as much as we have.  No major work in the house like we did last year, but I have gotten a lot done in the way of cleaning, pitching, organizing, and yard work. (plus enough bargain hunting to sustain me for a few days)

This is the run down of the week:

  

• Made many trips to Kmart for double coupon madness(whoo-hoo)
  
• A visit to several stores in my sister's town (oh yeah, I visited my sister too)
  
• A major de-junking of the basement (more to go--ALWAYS more to go)
  
• My winter clothes are packed away in suitcases and spring has arrived in my closet
  
• Finished raking fall leaves out of the flowerbeds
  
• Mulch spread on 3/4  of the flower beds and borders--had not mulched for about 4 years
  
• (We bought 45 bags of mulch! Started out with 25 and realized soon that was not going to cut it--I know we should have bought by the yard, to be more frugal, but we got a good price and  convenience  won out this time) 
  
• --Plan to finish mulching tomorrow
  
• Hosed down the porch and patio and purchased two new chairs for the front porch
  
• Moved the treadmill from the sun-room into my new "multi-purpose" room
  
• Deep cleaned youngest' bedroom
• Made 3 batches of homemade waffles and  froze 23 divided up in freezer bags
• Helped a friend take a meal to friends at the hospital in a nearby town
• Laundry is caught up, the freezer and pantry are full,  so tomorrow when husband gets off work we will go out on the town (for us that would consist of dinner and a movie at best, but it is a night out)

I have had a good week, even though it has not been the lay on the beach type of break.  I was so limited last summer when it came to working around my house , that it actually feels good to do all of this again.  I did not work in my yard at all last year due to health reasons  after planting a few things in my garden.  Friends helped with everything else,  and it sure does feel good to play in the dirt again. 

Waffles on a Weekday?

Too bad my boys are not home this morning!  They might even rise up and call me blessed. Well, probably not.  I did get very ambitious though and make homemade waffles.  I found an incredible whole-wheat, overnight recipe here.  You will have to check out that blog.  This lady could come cook for me anytime!  

This waffle batter is so cool because you mix it up the night before and put it in the fridge where it does its magic.  Then the next morning you heat the waffle iron, and whalla!  (how do you spell that?)  *****correction*****"whalla" is actually "voila" with a schwa over the letter a (not that I know how to type the schwa)******(thanks Aunt D.) 

Next time though I will double the recipe.  I was hoping for many more so I could freeze quite a few for when the boys are home.  This made 8 waffles.  My waffle-maker makes 7 inch round waffles, which are not very big.  Husband and I loved them this morning and each ate one and a half.  I have 5 for the freezer.   I love that the whole wheat is not overpowering so that you can still taste your syrup.  I am thinking that while the waffle maker is sitting in the kitchen (it lives in the basement) I might just make up a double batch and let them work their magic during the day. It only takes a few minutes to make each one so I might just do that.   

We could have waffles for supper...

Last Trip?

K Mart Haul
Only $5.57 this time for over $60.00 worth of goodies.  My grand total for the K Mart deals has come to $34.76 out of pocket for over $190 worth of various household items.   I could have easily spent $35.00 on about 7 things with my old way of shopping.  I totaled 78 items at roughly  45 cents per item. 

Here is what I bought:

3 Pledge duster refills

2 Glade oil candle refills

2 boxes Brownie mix

2 reduced fat Pringles

3 Gillette body wash

2 Vaseline lotion for men

1 Sure deodorant

3 double packs of Oral B toothbrushes

1 Nature's Source window cleaner

Frugality through the Year

I decided to go backwards in my "Frugal Living" posts and I realized that I have been doing this super-coupon stuff for just over one year.  My first real CVS post was on March 16 of last year.  I sure have learned a lot and sure have changed what I spend.  I remember when I would spend $4.00 (ouch) on one box of cereal, and actually paid for toothpaste and toothbrushes.   I still have a lot to learn compared to some of the blogs I read, but in reality, we all find our spot and what level works for us.  I am pretty much at my level.  

Maybe I do need counseling...

No, I am sharing this loot. 

I spent a bit more on this trip to KMart.  A grand total of $22.75.  For both trips I am under $30.00.   Not much needed at the grocery this week, so I will still come in cheap for the week.  Even shopping at the Kroger Mega Sale  when I visit my sister should not break the bank.  However, I am also about out of good coupons, so my trip to visit my sister's  KMart will be quite paltry compared to this.  

Here is the list, only I am not taking the time to breakdown the prices.  If you need a list of ideas to get you started, go here.  She even tells you which insert to find your coupon. 

I purchased:

6 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch (husband LOVES his nightly cereal)

5 Suave body wash (believe it or not, I was getting low on the girly stuff)

2 Gillette body wash

4 Glade oil candle refills (good deal on those, already have the holder)

2 Soft Scrub Scrubby Pads (anxious to try those)

2 Pledge duster refills (I was glad to see those for the holder I snagged earlier, and I didn't know the coupon worked on these, but it clearly stated any multi-surface product)

4 more packages of Oral B toothbrushes

1 Lysol toilet bowl cleaner

2 Vaseline body lotions

1 Nature's Source cleaner

4 more Sure deodorants

Whew.  Gotta go put it all away.  Don't be surprised if you are a benefactor of a goodie box in the near future...

KMart Double Coupons

KMart was very good to me!

Everything in this picture came to $6.44 !  

That sure helps the budget!  

Click on the picture of the receipt to make it easier to read!

They are doubling your coupons up to a $2.00 face value this week at certain KMart stores, and lucky for me, mine is one of them.  A $2.00 coupon means $4.00 off !  ( up to the purchase price- they won't give an overage) Many of my items were free!  You can only use 4 of the same coupon in each transaction, so I will be back later this week.  I have a lot of coupons. 

I was bummed that they did not carry Mentos gum in the single packs because I have good coupons for those, but I am visiting my sister later this week and we will check out her KMart. I can always get it cheap (but not free)  at WalMart though.  

Here is what all I ran off with, and the prices I paid:

4 packs of 2 each Oral B toothbrushes (free)

1  3pack of Trident (free)

4 Sure deodorants (free)

4 Gillette Body Wash (.49 each)

4 Fuse drinks (.50 each)

2 Super Stack cans of Pringles (.89 each)

1 box of Lipton tea bags (1.59)

2 Band-Aid fabric bandages (1.29 each)

1 Glade candle (.50)

2 Luden's cough drops (free)

1 bottle Greased Lightening (.49)

1 Pledge duster (free)

1 St. Joseph 81 mg aspirin (.39)

1 Johnson & Johnson first aid to go kits (free)

1 Johnson & Johnson fabric tape (free)

Over $70.00 worth of goodies for $6.44!  If you plan to go , you need to go to KMart's web site and sign up for email notices first because you get a $5.00 off of $50.00 coupon.  Use that first in your transaction, then use all of your other coupons.   That $5.00 coupon helped with all of the items that did not come out free.  

Fun way to start my spring break!

Dancing in The Rain

I just love it when God gets my attention.  

A couple of posts ago I told you all that I miss that intimacy that I felt with God during my health crisis.  I was pretty much beating myself up over it.

 Well,  just this past Monday night I was with my girlfriends and one wisely told me not to feel bad because she felt that was  just a special time when God just gave me more, basically because I needed it.  She said that even though we are strong Christians, those intimate moments are reserved for times like that.  

 I chewed on that for a few days, ( I am like that, I must have a processing delay because I have to think about things for a while)

 Anyway,  I likened that statement to thinking of a parent. Thinking of a parent  who although has lots of children and loves them all equally,  the sick one gets to sit on their lap.  Thus, the sick one obviously feels a special connection at that moment in time  to that parent.  

Now if that revelation was not enough to make me "get it", God did it again. 

 This morning in church, it was almost as if God whispered, "Anita, it's not raining." 

 You may think I am crazy, and what in the world does that mean?  So, I will try to explain my train of thought this way. 

Remember when you were little, and playing or dancing in the rain was actually a fun thing to do?   My boys would beg to go out in the rain.  I was always the worried mom, thinking that a stray bolt of lightening would jump out of the sprinkles and hit my boys.  I was mostly too cautious to let them enjoy the hidden blessing in a rain storm.  I did give in at one point, and encouraged them to enjoy the rain.  I even  have the picture to prove it:

Look at those faces.  Do they care that it is raining?  

No, they knew how to "dance" in the rain.   They knew that special feeling , that although there might very well be a storm approaching, they had no control over it, and might as well do the best they could in that moment. 

I am thinking that maybe, for a brief moment in time, I remembered that as well.  That although there were "storms" all around me.  I  sought comfort up on God's lap, and at times He encouraged me to go out and dance.  

But to make God's point clear in my life now, I have to realize that it is no longer raining.  I have been very blessed with my recoveries and right now it is not raining in my life.  While I still may enjoy the "dance",  (I still enjoy my relationship with God just as much now as ever) it is not the same as when you dance in the rain.    

That is a special combination of events.  Dancing outside on a sunny day is wonderful, but not nearly the same as facing a storm and enjoying the dance in-spite of the circumstances. 

The following picture is a sign that my sister made for me at Christmas.  I loved it then, but just now the depth of those words are sinking in.  ( I told you I have a delay.  God just works on me that way.)

 

So, I guess I get it.  I can rejoice that I have a great relationship with God right now, when things are clear.  Yet, I can also have the knowledge that if that storm ever rolls back in, that I can crawl to Him, and ask to sit on His lap because I need it.   He will be there to pick me up or hold my hand.  

He will supply whatever I need, and we will dance. 

Welcome to my Blog

I would like to welcome the E.P. "Coupon Class" to my blog.  (ha)  I do like to talk about my coupon deals, huh?  Just to give you a few notes about my blog:  I am slowly adding labels to all of my past blogs, so if you want to pull up all  of  my frugal living posts you will soon be able to.  It is a work in progress.  My blog is just a small reflection of my life, the more you visit, the more you will get to know me.  The blog will rotate from my deals, my health issues of past, my walk with God, and my family news.   So, pull up a chair, get a cup of coffee (cheaper if you make it at home) and stay a while. 

Not sure where this will take me...

I have been, as I said wrestling with God on a few issues lately.  I just have not felt like I could sit down and put it all into words.  Here goes.  

Warning--this post will not be an upbeat, "look what I bought" kind of post, so continue reading at your own risk.  

Issue #1 :

There is a little girl at our church that is in the midst of a terrible battle with cancer.  She is not even two years old and has endured more than most of us will ever see in a lifetime.  What began as a rare liver cancer has progressed to her lungs and she is fighting for her life.  Her mom keeps a blog  which truly humbles me as I read her updates.  My mind and my knowledge of God tells me that I should not think this way, but my heart hurts and wonders why this little girl is so gravely ill.  More precisely, why was I blessed so much in the last year?  Why did I survive both a heart attack and a rare and serious form of thyroid cancer in a 4 month span?  Why did I dodge the breast cancer scare just a month after that?  I KNOW I should not question these things, but to be completely honest, there is some survivor's guilt going on here.  Why did I get along so well, and this precious little girl is struggling so?  I keep going back to the scripture which tells me that His ways are not my ways. 

 I am not even sure what my ways would be in this situation, and  I guess this is where trust comes in.   I do know that God is in control and that all the days of our lives are numbered,  but until those question marks straighten up I will still wonder. (see the quote at the top of my blog- -something to hold on to- -) 

If you have a special scripture to share with me here, feel free, just be sensitive to the fact that I already know that I  should not feel this way.  My heart just hurts for her and her family, and those feelings lead me to this thinking .  

Issue #2

I am going to be really honest here and tell you that I have struggled with this for some time. 

 I will set this one up this way:

Imagine you are the parent of a quite independent child.  That child rarely calls, rarely visits, and  does not come to you for much advice, because they prefer to handle things on their own. They live each day, pretty much without your help.   Now, at the same time, there is no doubt in your mind, or theirs for that matter, that they truly love you.  There is no rebellion here, just an independence that prevents them from communicating much.  When a serious issue occurs though , they will call and visit more frequently.  

This is where I came in.  I have become that independent child and I hate it. 

 I am speaking spiritually here, and if you know me well, then you know that my earthly parents have been gone a very long time.   My relationship with God however, is not at all where I want it to be. 

When I was dealing with my previous health issues I was so very dependent on God.  There was nothing I could "fix" on my own and I cried out to him moment by moment.  The song,  "I Need Thee Every Hour"  became a life song for my husband and I .  I looked for wisdom from God everywhere.  I listened and I truly felt He spoke to me.  I picked up wisdom in songs, conversations with friends and family, scriptures, and little things throughout each day.  I hungered for Him.  I needed Him to fill my days and my nights. Especially my nights.  I was taught so many lessons about waiting, trusting, and knowing that things would be okay.  One way or another, things would be okay. 

Where did that longing go?  Now, before I have the nay-sayers telling me that God is just a crutch,  I do not believe that for a minute.  I know that it is because of my everyday relationship with God that led me to cling to Him tighter during my storms.  But, truth be told, I want that deep hunger again.  

I do not want cancer again,  but I want the dependency of God once more.  Part of me tells me that the fact that I am wrestling with this is stirring up those longings once again anyway.  I just want to get back to that feeling where I lived as if  God was truly everything.  

I was asked last week if I wanted cancer again, to which I said no.  Then I was asked if I wish it never happened.  That was not so easy to answer, because of what I just revealed.  I learned so much about God during that time, was blessed so greatly by God, by friends, and by my family.  It would be sad to have not experienced those blessings in a lifetime. 

I am not sure I will have a quick resolve to either of these issues.  I am just the type of person that until I write about them, they stay all bottled up and will fester all the more.   I covet your prayers though as I do work through these. 

My Sister Said I Need to Update...

I am not really sure if I still have any readers out there, (no comments to speak of)  but I guess I don't really blog just for others to see anyway.

My life has been busy lately.  I have been busy re-doing oldest' room since he moved away.  The temptation was there to knock down a wall and make our bedroom much bigger, but instead we opted for some very nice used furniture,  and a few new items to turn it into a guest room.  We still want to move my treadmill into that room, but I have a very large treadmill that will need to be partially dismantled before it can fit down the hall.  That room has actually taken up quite a few of my evenings.  Oldest came home last weekend and waded through much of his earthly possessions and we threw out quite a lot.  I cannot imagine where he got his pack-rat tendencies from. (ha)

The picture shows some of the furniture we bought.  The chair is actually a single hide-a-bed, and the ottoman lifts for storage (great for the bedding).   The table by the chair was also part of my used furniture deal, as were two others.  I bought the lamp at Big Lots.   The little desk that is in the corner of the picture was also purchased at Big Lots.  I have since re-arranged and tweaked the rest of the room.   This might not be my fabric of choice, but the price was right and the furniture is in excellent shape.

I have also been busy loving Walgreen's this week.  I have made money over and over again in my various transactions.  It is so fun to go in, spend $8.00 and have them give you a $10.00 store coupon.  I have "made" about $12.00 this week on my deals.  Plus the good thing is that I have not spent one penny out of pocket to do it.  I have used my Walgreen's rebate money that was put on my gift card each time. Nothing out of pocket, plus a profit works for me.  The thing is I have purchased a wide rage of items including several grocery items.  

Other than that, our lives are pretty much the same.  I have really been wrestling with God on some issues lately, but that is reserved for another post.  I just don't know if I am ready to be so raw right now. 

 

Gotta Love It

Don't you love it when your kids actually listen to advice?  Oldest is trying to be frugal and is really watching his pennies since he is looking for a job.  He called a while ago to tell me how well he did with his grocery shopping this week.  He went to Aldi for most everything and  will only stop at the pricey store for just a few things to round out his needs for the week.  I am happy that my frugal ways are being followed.  Keep it up oldest!

Eleven and Counting.

I have been away from home 11 nights in a row.  I will be gone tonight.  The thing is, there is not one thing on that list of outings that I would sacrifice. I have been with my girlfriends, my high school girls, my church small group, best friends, visited my former college to see our friend's son play in his senior game, been with my boys, and with my husband. In reality I am grateful that my life is so full.  

Last night we celebrated oldest son's 25th birthday.  His actual birthday was on Thursday, and we did see him that night briefly, but last night we went to the town where he lives and took him, our youngest son, and 3 friends out to supper.  It was yummy, and we had a great time. 

The downside of all of this. I am old. 

My body and my house have taken a huge toll while I have been out having fun.  Most of my outings have required eating out, and a just few times in a row can play tricks on your hips!  Also, I am just tired. Last night in the car I thought I would sleep all the way home.  I think I did sleep a little, but not restfully.  Oh boy, this morning I guess I made up for that.  I got up a few minutes with husband, and then went back to bed.  I slept until 10:00 am!  That is unusual for me.  Even on weekends I often get up at 6:00 or 6:30 and stay up.  My body was surely craving this sleep.  

Now, on to my house.  It is not completely filthy, but if you are like me, when you are in and each evening things don't always get put back where they go.  I have spent about 30 minutes just picking up and returning things to their homes, and have much more to return.   Laundry has been a  huge  issue all week so that will have to be resolved at some point today.  

I am NOT complaining.  As I said, I love the events of the past week and a half.  It is just that so many hit all at once.  I do have the power to say no, but chose not to .  

Tomorrow however is another day...we plan on attending church and then I think we will lock the doors, throw away the keys to the house and car (we will be forced to stay inside that way) and STAY home.  Actually most of next week is looking promising to a homebody like me. 

Yummy Yummy!

You might remember that a while back I took advantage of the great deal on chocolate covered macadamia nuts at Walgreens.  Well, I have used regular macadamia nuts with white chocolate chips to make cookies and had thought about using some of these chocolate covered ones for the same purpose.  

Low and behold...one of my favorite blogs beat me to it!  You can click here to see what I mean.

(You will love her blog by the way, it is fascinating.  She starts the year with an $800.00 budget for herself and 3 girls.  This $800.00 is her total budget for all food, toiletries, dining out, and more.  She is far superior to me when it comes to obtaining coupons and getting the big deals.) 

 

  Anyway, back to the cookies.   I decided to go ahead and instead of using her recipe, I  just used my regular chocolate chip cookie recipe.  They are amazing if I may say so myself.  I also made some of my husband's favorite "chocolate chip cookies, without the chocolate chips".  Basically, we call them a brown sugar cookie and he loves them.  I just make a few cookie sheets full of these before adding the chips.  They are pictured as well.  

I still have at least 5 more bags of the macadamia nuts, so we can have yummy cookies again and again.  These cost just 50 cents a bag, which are much cheaper than even the cheapest chocolate chips, and so much more yummy!  

I am Impressed

I do not give too many product endorsements, basically because no one pays me to do so.  

I must say though that I am impressed with these "green bags".  I purchased them with some of my Extra Care Bucks at CVS, so they were at no cost to me.  I figured that way I didn't have anything to lose.  I have used them for most all of my produce and have been pleased with everything.  I am most pleased with the fact that I am not throwing away a single banana!  They are staying perfect for at least a week. I ate the last one from a bunch after 8 days.  

So if you want a frugal tip that really does seem to work, buy these or get them free and stop throwing away food. 

Moment of Truth

After bragging about my cheap week, I decided to go ahead and make a Wal-Mart run.  I had some very good coupons for pet items and Quaker Rice snacks, plus some other coupons that I did not want to waste.  I spent $36.00 (started at $73.00 before my coupons).  Plus, I will get $7.00 back from my sister for pet items I bought for her cats.  Those coupons expired today and that was a main reason I went ahead and did the Wal Mart run this week.  So I still came in under $50.00 total for household spending.  Not bad at all.  

I just needed to get that off my chest...

I've Hit a New Low

For weekly spending that is!

My out of pocket spending for this entire week has only been $20.37 !   

Now, in order to accomplish that I have used coupons, Extra Care Bucks, gift cards (that were free money for transferring prescriptions) and a Walgreens' Register Reward.  I also bought the groceries at Save A Lot, which sure helps the budget. 

Cool thing is....after my Walgreens' purchases today, I am getting back $29.67 in rebates that will be loaded to my Walgreens' gift card!  

So, in summary, everything pictured, plus 2 gallons of milk , 4 Glade Candles, and the items in my previous picture, were all purchased for $20.37 out of pocket.  

Now to be fair, we did have a supper of take out last night.  I have had a nasty cold brewing this week so husband picked up sandwiches and fries to bring home.  He spent about $8.00 total.  Even adding that into the total, we have done very well.

I even "grew" my Extra Care Bucks at CVS due to coupons and now have $32.00 in those sitting in my wallet.   I will probably use some just on milk this month to continue to keep my spending low. 

I have enough chocolate and cold medicine to get me through my current bug and I am set on most everything else.  I can sit back, enjoy the stockpile, and wait on the best deals to come to me!   

The Bucket List

Tonight husband and I hunkered down and watched a movie together. 

 I was really hunkered down, I was wrapped up in my Snuggie (yes, I have one thanks to my father in law) and another blanket on top of that one.  This nasty cold was making me freeze.  Another thing about this cold:  husband picked us up some sandwiches for supper (pizza burgers from a favorite restaurant), and I could hardly taste mine.  What a waste.

Anyway, back to my point of this post. 

 We watched The Bucket List.  I am not a fan of Jack Nicholson, in fact, I even avoid his movies. However,  I had heard from a few people that this one was good so we put it in our Netflix queue.   I must say that it is a good movie.  Made me sad though.  Also made me think about my own "bucket list", rather the fact that I don't have one.  That movie makes me wish I did though.  The last year makes you think about that stuff.  Now, I realize that I am not in the same boat (thankfully) as the guys in the movie, but I still wonder what I would like to do.  

I wonder, is that something you have ever thought about?

Wally is back

If you are a long time reader of my blog, you will know that two years ago the class penguin came to visit.  He stayed during Super-bowl weekend and we had some great adventures.  Well, he is back tonight and although we are not having any really big adventures tonight, he did jump in my CVS picture.  (What a ham).

I did do pretty well at CVS tonight.  I purchased everything after coupons and a $6.00 Extra Care Buck for $4.10.   That was put on a gift card that I still have from transferring a prescription (free money) so nothing out of my pocket.  I "made" money and earned back $12.49 in new Extra Care Bucks.  

My goal for February is not how much I save, but how little I spend and although this is only the 3rd, I am doing fantastic...I have spent NOTHING.  I have both CVS and Walgreens' gift cards so those will help me do some deals and not spend any real money.   We have quite a few gift cards right now from Christmas gifts and deals so I should not have to spend much at all if I choose to tap into those this month.   I am anxious to track my spending and see how far I can go on very little.  We will need a few things here and there, so I am not really setting a spending limit.  Things will come up, but I want to see how little I can actually spend out of pocket.  

Maybe "Wally" will learn something.

Sorry I have been lost...

in Facebook.   I know, I have seen it before.  Once you start on Facebook, you just get swallowed up and it sucks all your time away.  Seriously, it is keeping me busy right now because I am building my list of friends  and I am accepting, confirming and requesting friends right and left.  I am over 30 now in less than 24 hours.  I think the thing has a mind of its own and just kinda snowballs once you get started.

I am fine though with taking a bit of time to develop my friends list because after last year I am anxious to reach out to as many of my friends as possible to stay in contact.  Family and friends are our best possession and we need to keep in touch, and any new way to keep in touch is a good idea.  Youngest son wonders if this old mom can keep up with a Myspace,  Facebook, my blog, email, and well, life for that matter.  We will see.   I do have about 773 (just a guess, but probably more accurate than not) coupons to clip and file and probably as many to weed out that are expired so I admit I am a bit behind.  I already was behind with the coupons though.  

Now, to be fair to me, I have accomplished a decent amount of things for a Monday night.  

I have:

• emptied the dishwasher
• reloaded the dishwasher
• cooked supper
• cleaned up after supper
• folded a load of "whites"
• started a load of dark clothes
• hung a load of darks from the dryer
• washed a load of whites
• put whites in dryer
• paid bills, and caught up the checkbook
• washed chairpads from kitchen chairs and hung them to dry 
• taken a bath
• tried to watch "Jon and Kate Plus 8" (cable did something funky)

All of that , plus add about 30 names to my friends on Facebook.   Whew.  I just made myself tired.  

I really did want to pull a few coupons out for some of this week's deals, but that can wait until tomorrow. 

Random Thoughts

I find that other than bargain posts I just don't have much to blog about these days.  I have some things I have been thinking about of a serious nature, but I am not quite ready to put that into words as of yet.  I  am afraid though that soon those thoughts will have to get out. 

Things are just pretty normal around here.  Our house is quiet and our lives quite uneventful.  Both boys are gone, once again giving us an  empty nest.  Oldest is living with a roommate in another town, and he has a job interview tomorrow. (Pray please)  This would not be a dream job, but in this economy you cannot be too choosy.   Youngest is back at school.

Both of my boys are making me so proud with their "frugal" ways.  Oldest is learning to shop wisely, asking me about current deals, and going to Aldi for his groceries.  Youngest called to tell me about a major retailer of men's suits that is closing the store in his college town and he purchased a suit and dress shirt for under $50.00.  How about that?  All this frugal stuff and posting about bargains is helping my boys spend wisely!  If only I had know all these tricks when I was their ages!

Husband and I are enjoying a few quite evenings here and there and it is amazing how much easier the house is to maintain.  If I could only get all of my coupons in order I would feel really good! 

After all of my health issues we have finally returned to our work with the high school youth and are very anxious to see where God takes us with that!

So, there are my random thoughts for the day.