It's official, I have become my mother!

If you had known my mother, then you would know that I am proud to become her in any way I can. However, I used to get so mad and not understand her logic when it came to grocery shopping. My mother would go to the grocery and come home with what I thought was the most ridiculous assortment of items. I mean, who needs 19 pounds of chicken all at once, but no hamburger, and why would anyone purchase 6 packages of napkins, and no potato chips to use them with?
Guess what I did this week? Yep. I bought 6 packages of napkins so I could use coupons and get them for 47 cents each, and today I bought 19 pounds of chicken for 79 cents a pound. I finally get it. Buy what is on sale, or what you have the coupons for, buy lots of it, and round out the stockpile one way at a time. A few weeks ago it was pork ribs and Grillin’ Beans. Next week maybe I will get that hamburger. Eventually our freezer and pantry will have a vast assortment of sale items and we will be sitting pretty. Actually, I already am sitting pretty and this is finally paying off. Because there is little we "need" at any given time, I can focus on the sale items and keep my cost low. My weekly shopping came in under my lofty goal of $50.00 this week, including a few trips to Walgreens.
As a side note to my Walgreens’ trip, I finally had one of those golden moments while shopping. Walgreens actually paid me money! I bought 4 bags of Dove Chocolate, and two packs of Trident. I had multiple coupons, plus a $3.00 register reward. When all was said and done, the clerk said, “Looks like we owe you on that one.” She handed me back $1.61 ! That was a first for me, and I am still giddy inside.
So, Mother, I hope I have made you proud. You taught me how to spend wisely. It just took me a while to put it into practice.

Update!!

Quick post tonight. My brother the traveling carpenter has returned! By the end of this weekend our bathroom should be completed other than paint! I am turning summersaults inside as I type this! Soon I should have pictures to post.

For Tyler

I had a request to post again, and to include this picture. I have not updated for a while because I have been too busy shopping. The above items (sorry about the poor angle, the other end of the table was full of scattered coupons) cost a total of $35.51. They would have cost $111.16 before tax. I took advantage of coupons, store rebates, Walgreens' Register Rewards and sales. I went to 5 stores in one big outing to save gas by planning my route and doing it all at once. I will not go into detail on what coupon I used and how each deal played out, but I will tell you what that $35.51 actually bought. Of the items on this list, 10 were totally free after good coupons.

4 boxes Liv Active Cereal
4 boxes Nilla Wafers (husband's one addiction)
2 pks. spaghetti
2 one pound pks of bacon
2 one pound pack of sausage links
2 pks Dove Chocolate
2 Act II Popcorn
1 Large J&J cotton swabs
5 Brownie mix
1 Tyson Fajita Kit
1 clear rinse for dishwasher
1 Rubbermaid container
1 Zantac
1 feminine product
1 qt strawberries
1 3 pk Trident
2 jars seedless jam
2 toaster pastries
2 3 1/2 pound peanut butter
1 vegetable oil
1 Bertoli Pasta Sauce pouch
1 Bertoli Pasta Sauce jar
1 6 pk root-beer
1 frozen hash browns
1 bby carrots
2 frozen peas
2 Ortega Taco Seasoning mixes


This does however take a LOT of work. I am finding that to do this well and consistently, I need about 2 hours a night for coupon clipping, organizing, research on the internet to see where the deals are, planning my shopping trips, pulling together necessary coupons, and actually shopping. I am not complaining. This is basically a second job. Many, many people who work in education moonlight on the side. I am moonlighting in my own home and making money by saving money. I can look at the above list and pick out about 10 (or less depending on what I pick out) of the 47 items and my $35.00 would have normally only gone that far. Now I have stretched our money further than i thought possible. I averaged about .74 cents per item, which would basically be a good deal on any one of them.

Today however, my mind must focus on the household . I must catch up on cleaning and organizing. I am behind in my coupon filing, and tomorrow is another day of coupons. The cycle continues.

Springtime!

This is our FREE Redbud tree.
You know I love free things.
Isn't it pretty?
Each year at this time, this tree makes me smile. It was given to me by the teacher that I work with. I think it was about seven years ago. It is actually two trees, the original plus its smaller offshoot. Husband and I went into my friend's woods and dug this up, and then re-planted it.



Just a shot of my front flower bed with the spring blooms in all their splendor. I love spring.

Still shopping after all these deals...

You knew I could not be done for the week, didn't you? I even enlisted husband to go along for the thrill of the deal. Our first stop was Menards where we returned a bunch of stuff left over from our remodeling blitz. That netted us about $21.00 to work with if necessary. While there we used an $8.00 store rebate and picked up some grocery items. Who would think that Menards has a pretty decent grocery stock? I bought crackers, spaghetti sauce, a 10 pack of the mini bags of popcorn, and 2 things of cheese sauce . We only spent 90 cents over our $8.00 rebate. After that we went to Walgreens to do the Aveeno deal once more. Not bad. I "borrowed" some of the money we got aback at Menards and purchased 4 Aveeno moisturizers. After coupons I spent just over $7.00, but received a $10.00 register reward. I will use that for next week's milk. It is fun to "make" money while shopping. On to CVS for 4 toothbrushes and 4 boxes of Kleenex. After coupons and Extra Bucks, I had a negative balance so we had to grab a candy bar. We paid .35 cents there and made 4 more Extra Bucks.

Tomorrow, I must sit down and work on my coupon stash. It is a mess. My house needs some attention as well. This newfound part-time job of coupon-ing, CVS-ing, and rebating, takes away from some of my regular duties.

Oldest is visiting youngest this weekend and I will take advantage of the house to myself.

1492 was good year, but bad for the budget

I am $14.92 OVER budget. Okay, I might adjust the $50.00 a bit. Maybe I will keep that as a goal though and try really hard to attain it. I am still a newbie, so I know I made some mistakes this week. (Didn't really need to buy the two Renuzits just to get the free spray) That could have saved me some. I will learn. I took advantage of a grocery store grand opening though today and bought 11 pounds of country style ribs (already vacuum packed for the freezer in small batches) and a few other great deals. This is where it really gets tricky though, because it is only Thursday and I might have to refrain from all shopping in order to not go over anymore. Yikes. CVS will surely be calling me come Sunday. Good thing I have those Extra Bucks.

Good News

I am happy to report, that in today's mail, husband and I received a two night's-stay voucher for our choice of rooms at the hotel we just visited for our anniversary. The trouble we had with "elephants" overhead netted us an additional stay. We have up to one year to use it.

$7.83 to go...

Not sure I can do it. I know, it was a lofty goal anyway.

After church tonight, husband and I went to the grocery. Armed in coupons, although not many, I purchased the following:

10 bottles of Powerade,
24 pack of Dasani water
3 cans of Bush's Grillin' Beans
18 eggs
8 pack of Scott towels
4 pound bag of oranges

A coupon gave us the water for free after the purchase of the 10 Powerade bottles. (these were on sale .99 for the 32 ounce)

I had $1 coupons for each of the cans of beans, and a $1 coupon for the paper towels.

I still spent $19.94

I might not make it...I have one more store to hit tomorrow and hoped to purchase some meat and bagged salad on sale there. I might up my budget by $5.00 to take advantage of a $3.00 off of $15.00 coupon. I will let you know...

Hey-Hey-Hey- I'm a Believer !

(click to enlarge if you wish)

Not pictured:

1 case of 24 bottles of water
1 17 pound bag of Fit and Trim dog food
(too heavy to hoist up on the table)

How much for all of this? A grand total of $27.86

I went to three stores. At CVS I actually made three transactions. One just to buy the magazine for 99 cents because it has a $2.00 coupon I wanted. Then I bought the rest of my CVS items. I walked in with $27.00 in Extra Care Bucks, spent some of them, used a lot of coupons, and spent $5.63 out of my pocket for 3 Alavert, 5 Body Washes, 1 facial scrub, 2 shampoos, 2 conditioners, and the water. I left CVS with $39.00 in Extra Care Bucks. Very profitable trip. I then went on to Wal-Mart where I bought the dog food, beans, hot dogs, Renuzits , Renuzit Sprays, and Rubbermaid containers. I spent $21.94 there and once again, I used some very nice coupons. Then my last stop was Walgreens. I used a $10.00 register reward and a few coupons there and bought the 2 milks, 2 cheeses, and 2 mascaras. I only spent 29 cents!

My new goal for the week is to start with $50.00 on Tuesday when husband gets paid and make it last for an entire week. All of my CVS, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, and grocery shopping must come out of this. I am not counting the $5.63 spent tonight at CVS only because that was with left over money in my purse. My total that I am counting is $22.23 from Wal-Mart and Walgreens. I have $27.77 left for the week. I will report in to let you know how I do. I have a planned trip to another grocery later this week, but I do not need much. Actually, I do not NEED anything. But I will take advantage of some sales and coupons to maintain the stockpile.

My goal with all of this is to actually see tangible benefits. We want to reduce our debt and if I maintain a $50.00 weekly budget I should be able to put even more against our debts. This all still blows me away. By learning the tricks of CVS alone I am able to go in with $5.00 and instead of getting one thing my family needs, I can walk out with 12 things that my family will need eventually. By maintaining a stockpile I am reducing my chances of ever going in to get that "one thing" we need, which would probably be at regular price.

Saturday savings and frustrations

Today proved to be bit frustrating, and a bit exciting.

Early this morning, we drove 40 miles to take our car to the dealer because it needed an under-warranty repair. We were assured on Tuesday when husband set up the appointment that they did indeed have the necessary part in stock and that it should be a relatively quick fix. Well, guess what…no part in stock. They knew we were coming, they knew what the problem was, and they knew we lived 40 miles away. Like I said, it was a bit frustrating. So, another trip must be made this week to return the car to the dealer. It just would have been nice if they had called to say they no longer had that part and that we might want to reschedule.

I was able to put an old saying into practice though; I turned a “lemon day” into a “lemonade day”. A trip to Target after leaving the dealership was the kicker; I purchased $77.00 worth of things for $16.00 out of pocket. I had a pouch full of coupons and stopped at the service desk first to make sure that they would not limit me before I got to the register with that many coupons. On most every item I purchased I was able to use two coupons, one manufacturer and one printable Target coupon. Oh how fun it is to double up that way, making quite a few of my items free. The checkout girl and the checkout manager that came to help her (I said I had a LOT of coupons) were both impressed. I purchased a wide variety of items, dog food, sponges, granola bars, cinnamon bread (yum), and more.

I have now stocked our shelves to the point that I can sit back now and wait for the sweetest deals to come to me. I do not have to settle for a just good deal on something because the need is no longer there. I will wait, and if an item is free or nearly free I will pick it up.

Since returning home today I have been quite busy, playing catch up in my house, fixing tonight’s supper and preparing lasagna to put in the oven after church tomorrow. We usually seem to eat out on Sundays but with all of the good deals I am getting it makes sense to be frugal in this area as well and plan our meals to avoid eating out.

I am already looking forward to church tomorrow. I love our involvement with the high school youth and look forward each week to seeing “my girls”. I have the same girl group every Sunday in our youth hour and they are the ones that meet with me in my home every other Wednesday night. Husband meets with the same group of guys each Sunday as well. I know that husband and I are supposed to be the “leaders” and are supposed to help impart some bit of wisdom upon these students, but it is amazing how much we are gaining in the process.

Hope you enjoy your Sunday!

27 CENTS OOP !

( That would be "out of pocket" for you non bargainese speaking readers)

Okay, I know I said I would take a break this week, but this was a deal of deals. I just happened to be at my CVS at the perfect time. The basket sets were on clearance 90 % off which made them 99 cents each! The M&Ms are buy one get one free at $3.29. After my $5.00 Extra Care Buck I was able to only spend 27 cents! Not sure how they did the math on that one, because I thought I would need to pay more in tax, but that is how it played out. After CVS I went to Walgreens and bought a few items to put back for Christmas because I had amazing coupons for them and a $10.00 register reward . Great trip there as well, $38.29 in merchandise for only $ 4.21 out of my pocket. I cannot post that picture though because other than 2 packs of gum, the rest are for Christmas gifts.

I am now in semi retirement mode though, because there really isn't anything I can justify buying and I will just hold on to my remaining $18.00 in Extra Care Bucks until the new monthly deals come out in May. Lucky for me my bucks do not expire until May 9th.

In other news, my house needs my attention. I will be working each evening this week to try to make my home a haven and get a better grip on some much needed organizing. My girl group from church comes over Wednesday night and I need to be ready for them.

So the rest of you have my blessing to spend your heart out at CVS this week, you will not be affecting my bargain hunting in any way. Clean their shelves off if you want, my own shelves are full! Once May hits though , back off!

FREE FREE FREE

I love getting stuff for free.
Let me re-phrase that.
I LOVE getting stuff for free!
This has been a very good week. So good in fact, that I cannot name all my free stuff. Just for your sake though, I will try:


17 trial size bottles of Old Spice Body Wash -I had awesome coupons and they will be used for college goodie bags

4 bags of Malt O' Meal dry bagged cereal - once again, awesome coupons

2 big tubes of Aqua Fresh Advanced toothpaste - coupons plus great sale = free

Scotch Brite Toilet Scruber Kit (okay, I got more than one) - you guessed it, due to awesome coupons

Plus I was able to get a great Bath and Body Works item for free with a purchase ( I bought a small gift bag for a buck)

Very profitable week for me in the Freebie department.

Today I went to visit my sister and we bargain hunted all day. After hitting Wal-Mart, Bath and Body Works, and a few other stops we spent a great deal of time and really not too much money on a stock up sale at Kroger. Now personally, I think that Kroger is generally a tad expensive, but it seems they pulled out all the stops for the current sale. When I combined their sales with my coupons I did very well.


I will say though that even a bargain hunting pro must rest every now and then. My freezer, pantry, and cupboards are full and overflowing. My concentration for a while will be on very specific items and not on each and every grand deal. Although I may have to go through a 12 step program if I do not nab at least a few bargains this next week .

I actually had planned on painting a room in my house today, but those dang bargains were calling...

MAJOR UPDATES !

I have just completed updating since Easter. So that you won't miss any of my updating , be sure and check the older posts when you finish this page. I have "reported" on our anniversary, our home improvements, and my latest adventure in bargain shopping. Enjoy catching up on my life!

30 Years and Counting!

This past weekend I had the great pleasure of running away with my husband to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary a bit early! We went to St. Louis for the weekend, had an incredible room for two nights ( thanks partially to a special gift), did lots of shopping, lots of eating, and took in a Cardinals' baseball game!

They won!
Just for us, I am sure.

My husband and I do not "get out" much, so to have a hotel suite this big and incredible was a real treat. We have a tiny bedroom at home, no master suite here, and I don't think my brother can help us much with that.

I must say I feel so blessed to have had the good fortune of being married to this amazing man for 30 years (tomorrow). God has blessed my life beyond what I could imagine and life has been sweet. We have two incredible sons and have carved out a simple, yet amazing life here on earth. My husband means more to me with each year, and I cannot wait to see what the next 30 will bring!

our fancy suite

The view when you enter the suite-


Looking to the left from the door, you can see the bathroom and jacuzzi area-



The sitting area -


The sleeping area-

Home Improvements

We accomplished much during my spring break when my brother came here to "live" with us for nearly a week. He is so talented when it comes to anything home improvement related. A few jobs did not get completed, and some small ones did not even get started, but we are quite proud of the ones that we did complete!

Bathroom Progress....

This is still a work in progress. Much has been done, much yet to do. The first picture shows our old bathroom decor, notice NO SHOWER ! Just a tub with a hand held shower spray. The sponge painting was done about 9 years ago, so it is time for a change. Ya think?

The new floor is a high quality linoleum that my brother GAVE me. It is perfect for our small bathroom.

The remaining "after" pictures will have to wait. We do have a tub in now, but the plumbing is not completed to the shower, the sink and stool are both in as well. Once the shower surround is in, we can trim the bathroom out and paint. I have my wallpaper border, but I am waiting on the shower curtain I ordered before I buy paint. We are at a standstill for a while though because my brother has gone home (-bummer, it is pretty nice having a live-in carpenter) and our other helper is not available just yet. Anyone out there just love remodeling?

Plumbing Progress

No pictures for this, but we did replace the main water valve to our house. We had to wait on the city to turn the water off and then replace the valve. That was a much needed job to get crossed off the to-do list!

Living Room Progress

Our living room had some old damage to the dry-walled ceiling due to a leak in the roof before we got our new roof. We also had some damage on the walls due to having such an old house and lots of settling over the years. This project is completed and I love the new paint color!

Kitchen Progress

Our Kitchen wall had the same problem as our dining room wall. A window air conditioner decided to do most of its dripping inward instead of to the outside. This has happened before. Next summer we will replace that A/C unit along with the dining room unit. This time we decided to repair the wall differently, I have mudded and sanded in the past, but decided to use Wainscoting on the lower portion of the kitchen wall. We carried the Wainscoting around to west wall as well. We are quite happy with the way it turned out.

Dining Room Progress

This area was water damaged by a leaking window air conditioner. We thought that the A/C was dripping outside as it should because we could see a drip. We did not know that the bulk of the moisture was actually dripping into our window sill. Thus, much damage to our sill and surrounding area. This job is completely finished. My brother had to do some major rebuilding of the window sill. It required painting the entire room, which was fine. I am still deciding on the paint color. I think I want it a bit darker. That will have to wait a few weeks though.

Bargains Galore!

WHEW !

Tonight I did my weekly shopping both at Walgreens and CVS. I will not break down each item as far as exact sale price, coupon amounts , and Extra Care Bucks spent , but I will give you the totals. For everything in the picture, my before sale prices total would be $185.25 . Not good enough for me. My store sale prices before my coupons and Extra Care Bucks would be, $144.00. Still not good enough. My actual total after all my coupons, and the Extra Care Bucks I used for the CVS items, was just $24.97 for everything in the picture ! Plus, I left the CVS with $23.00 in new Extra Care Bucks, and the Pepcid has a $5.50 rebate. Not bad I say. I am spending on average, a total of about $10.00 - $15.00 (combined) at these two stores each week. Some weeks it is just a couple of bucks. Tonight was one of my my most expensive weeks. At these two stores I am purchasing all my health and beauty items, cleaning products, laundry items, and even food items (when Walgreens and CVS have a sale I like and products I will use). My actual grocery store spending has shrunk considerably because none of these items are coming from the grocery. It is amazing how little you spend when all you buy is actual food. Yes, I have stockpiles now of health and beauty items, but I will not have to go out and pay full price for any of our essentials. I have also shared quite a few items since I have been shopping this way, and it is quite fun to be able to do so.

So here is what I was able to purchase for $24.97:

3- Boxes of Kleenex
4 -Air Wick Freshmatic Minis ( these are normally $9.99 each at Walgreens)
2- Satin Care Shave Gel
1 -Swiffer Duster Long Handle Kit
1- Swiffer Dusters Refill
1 -Febreze Noticable
1 -Febreze Fabric Refresher Spray
1 -Febreze Air Effects Spray
1 -Johnson's Baby Powder
2- Lady's Degree Deodorant
4 -Pepcid 25 count EZ Chews (amazing deal here, coupon, plus sale price, plus Extra Care Bucks, plus a $5.50 mail in rebate)
1 -Aquafresh Advanced toothpaste
3 -packages of 3 each Venus Disposable Razors ( I have decided that blades are far too expensive right now, and that a good deal on disposables saves me money...sorry enviornment)
1 -Gillette Fusion Power Razor
2- Sunsilk Hydra TLC creme
1- Sunsilk Daring Volume Plumping Creme


This has become my second job, and it is amazing how you can save when you work at it a little.

Easter 2008

What a wonderful Easter.

Did you celebrate our Lord’s resurrection?

Our morning service was wonderful. Husband sang in the choir and it was amazing as usual. After church we went to husband’s parents for a delicious dinner. I made desserts and have way too much left over, so if you want, stop by for a piece of cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, or apple pie.

Both of our sons were with us because yesterday afternoon I could not stand the thought of youngest spending Easter alone in his apartment and going to Easter services alone, so I sent oldest to go pick him up and bring him home. My heart is full because of the meaning of the day, and having my family together.

Tomorrow we dig into our remodeling projects and repairs throughout the house. I took one picture of the bathroom and will post the before and after when it is completed. It might be a while though because I learned yesterday that the shower curtain I ordered is on back order. I will take a picture when it is all finished and decorated.

I have found many bargains since my last post but I am choosing not to post and gloat about each one. Lets just say I have been very successful and am learning the art of CVSing. There are many web sites, which could teach you these tricks much better than I, so I won’t go into all the details.

I will try to keep you updated this week on all the work progress. You might say a prayer that husband, my brother, and I have a peaceful week of what could be quite stressful.

Count Down

Spring break here I come...it is getting very close! Tomorrow is a long day though, parent- teacher conferences all evening and then again Thursday morning, and then I am off! We will be doing pretty intensive remodeling next week, but I will be happy to be off work for a while.
Tonight I have spent the evening doing some much needed organizing of some paperwork, and I am trying to perfect my coupon storage system. I think I am close to having the system I want, and might even post pictures someday soon. I am becoming addicted to this coupon/rebate game and I need to get it under control and in some in some system of organization quickly.
Not much else tonight. I am tired and need to get to bed early. Good night all.

Sunday Savings

I know we are supposed to rest on Sunday, but I think God approves of frugality, so here is hoping I am a little bit pleasing to God. I shopped today.

I decided to use my free $30.00 gift card from CVS and put it to use on today's deals. I still spent some out of pocket, but the total was $123.71 before my gift card, coupons, and B1G1 offers. With all of these I managed to whittle the total down to $37.65. The sweet part is that I received back a total of $ 36.95 in Extra Care Bucks to use on next Sunday's specials. So in reality my out of pocket is as good as ... drum roll please.... just .68 cents for the entire lot!!! I would break down each item and its corresponding deal, but I must try to contain my bragging just a bit, so I will not go into details. If any of you want to know the specifics on any item you see here, I will explain the formula for getting the best price. Thing is, I am still learning. I have just realized the importance of keeping all coupons until their expiration date whether you think they are for an item you really want or not. Sooner or later a deal will come through which would allow you to stack up coupons and offers and get that item that you did not think you wanted for nearly free. I plan on using some of my deals for ministry. I already know of someone that my husband and I plan on putting a gift basket together for. I also realized that by looking at the picture you might think our house must really stink, because there are multiple sprays, and scented thingies for the home. Not to worry, I will share, youngest has an apartment you know...


My Walgreen's deals were not so impressive as far as quantity because I just could not think of any other profitable deals. I did purchase two vitamins and two blushes, each were B1G1 and I had coupons for 3 of the 4 purchases. The original total was about $23.00 and with the combination of deals I spent $7.63, however, I will get an $8.00 rebate on the vitamins so I was money ahead on that one.

That will be all of my shopping until next week when the new flyers come out.. so save your coupons for me, I am working on the title for the heavyweight coupon queen .

Update!!

Tonight I went back to Walgreen's and bought 1, concealer and 1 liquid makeup for a total cost of .08 cents! Let the gloating continue.

More exciting news...

For the last 21 years we have lived without a shower. Just a tub. We did use a hand held shower so that we could spray our hair, but that was the extent of our showering. I know, that is almost as bad as when I was a little girl and had to walk the path to the outhouse. Well, today my very talented brother came to see us and scope out the jobs from my "to do" list that he is helping us with in a few weeks. Thanks to our youngest son, we have come up with a way for this brother to assist us in installing a real, authentic shower in our small bathroom! I am so excited. In just about 2 weeks we will have a shower! He is also helping us with a long list of needed home repairs that are necessary whether we sell or stay. I have watched HGTV enough to know the things that help a house to sell and a shower is pretty high on that list, not to mention all the other jobs. It will be a busy and tiring spring break, but we will be very pleased when it is all done! Now I need to pick out the wall color and a cute shower curtain, rugs, towels, and decorative items...the list goes on. This will be where very talented sister will have to come into the picture to help me. Gee, if you blend all the talents of my family (bargain hunter me, decorator sister, carpenter brother, and the rest of us,) we could open a pretty neat business. Cheap-O-Decorating and Home Repair R US .

I will soon take before pictures of our bathroom, so that I can post them along with after shots. I am so excited!

Pardon me while I boast, gloat, brag, and just down right show off!

I love bargains!

I love it even more that I am getting better and better at obtaining them. I just returned from a very successful shopping trip. Who cares if gas is $3.50 a gallon, I just made up for it in one trip!
You may need at least a master’s degree to keep up with me here, but this has to be my shining moment of shopping-hood.
Walgreen’s: 1st Bargain-- This week Jane Cosmetics are on sale B1G1 free, they also accept the $2.00 off coupons which were found on the internet on each item. This allowed me to purchase $9.48 worth of cosmetics for 99 cents.
2nd Bargain-- Oust was on sale for 2/$5.00 with a rebate on each can for $1.00. It gets better…one can had a $1.00 off coupon, plus I had a B1G1 free coupon (again, from the internet). Walgreen’s lets you use both coupons, so after my coupons and the coming rebate, they will pay me 50 cents to purchase 2 cans of OUST! (I have two boys, we use a lot of OUST)

My next adventure was at CVS-- I again had some nifty internet coupons, one was for a $30.00 gift card when you transfer a prescription. My prescription needed filled anyway and it cost me my usual $25.00. However, they gave me a $30.00 gift card. So, I came out $5.00 ahead on that one. Then on to general merchandise… I had a $5.00 off a $15.00 dollar purchase coupon (internet) and I had a $10.00 off coupon from my Extra Care Card. I also had just received a print out coupon for a free toothbrush from my pharmacy transaction. I then purchased a Garnier shampoo and conditioner, 2 cans of macadamia nuts on clearance, a can of mixed nuts also on clearance, a box of Oreo Cakesters, (clearance) a bag of my favorite candy, my free toothbrush, and something personal. These items cost me a grand total of $1.51! Cool thing is, I also received $4.00 back in Extra Care Bucks due to purchasing the shampoo and conditioner. I would have come out even better if I had any manufacturer’s coupons, but I missed the boat on that one. So I would say this was a very profitable shopping trip!

One might call me a bargain nerd, but if so, I will wear that title proudly. It gives me a type of “high” to successfully nab these bargains and there are worse things to get high on!

I need to send kudos to Queen Mother for linking me to a new site that helps you to find these bargains, although I was already “on to” some of them.
Go to: http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ and check them out.

Okay, gloating over. Have a cheap day!

Cheesecake update

Sorry ya'll...the cheesecake evidently went alright with pizza. There are just 3 pieces left out of 24 when. Let's have a virtual cheesecake party. I will take a bite, and you can imagine how it tastes. Ready......

Count the word "cheesecake"

It is late as I type this, really late when you factor in “spring ahead” into the equation. I am trying to pass some time while cheesecakes are baking and cooling. Tomorrow night we are having our small group Bible study at our house and I got the bright idea to make cheesecakes. That was before I decided to spend all evening shopping out of town with my friend. Not to worry, it will all work out and I will just have some late quiet time while I wait. I am new to the wonderful world of cheesecake. Those of you, who know me, know I love to bake. However, I had not attempted cheesecake until a couple of months ago, and then only after my sister came up to give me a lesson. We are talking REAL cheesecake here. Not that no-bake variety. This is the authentic New York style cream cheesecake. Four packages of cream cheese, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream mixed together into a creamy, yummy smooth cheesecake. This is an excellent recipe, straight from Junior’s in Brooklyn. My sister has been making this delicious dessert for a long time, but I was always a bit intimidated by the process. She taught me well, and now I feel it is “a piece of cake”. Pun intended. The very odd thing is, and please do not gag at this…is that I am also making the main course for our small group (we like to eat). We are having homemade pizza before cheesecake. I know, that sounds really strange, but if you think of it as an Italian meal followed by a small sliver of cheesecake it does not sound so bad. I may have a lot left over if it does not go well, so come on over if you want some.

A bug in the rug...or at least in the house

Sometimes the men are just too competitive. I said I was sick. I stayed home from work on Monday. Well, now husband has decided to be sick as well. Only thing is, he is sicker than I was. Some things you just don’t need to win. He went from zero to miserable in about 12 hours, and I sent him to the walk-in clinic today. That is something quite rare for him to agree to so early in a sickness. He has drugs, he should get better, and soon, I hope. However, I will let him win this one and shall not get sick again.

My life as it stands today...

Today I am home from school with the remnants of a migraine/viral thing. I am far too used to migraines, but they usually do not make my body feel like a truck hit it. This time I am thinking a bug entered my body and decided to play havoc with my bones, stomach, head, and whatever else it decided to get its grimy little self involved with. I am feeling a bit better as I type and did manage to just now get out of my pajamas for the first time in about 42 hours.

Oldest is away visiting youngest and then heading to the big city to visit with friends, his aunt and uncle, and hopefully looking for a real job. He has not been successful as of yet in his pursuit. Make that a matter of prayer if you will,

We are still pursuing the housing situation, and we have met with someone to further our understanding of how this all might come to be. An appointment with the owner is being arranged so we can ask some questions about the “bones” of the house. I am not holding my breath, but I will say the whole idea is becoming more appealing. There is much to do to our current home before we would be ready to sell though. I do not mean major renovations, but quite a few little jobs that unfortunately have been neglected and need our attention all at once. However, I am blessed to have a brother that is gifted in all things carpentry related, so that should help. We may also need to have a work party to finish all of the little tasks.

My girl group from church has been meeting again with a slightly different format and a few new members. I will say that I truly missed our evenings together and am glad to be meeting again with these incredible girls. Being a “mentor” to high school girls sure helps to keep you on your toes and makes you want to authentically “walk the walk” in front of them. We are planning to do our own book club of The Shack and learn through this beautiful work of fiction some real truths of what a loving God we have.

I will try to post more often, because honestly, it is a good release for me to process some of my thoughts and clarify others. I just get so distracted and busy being busy.

Just, as I have said before, don’t hold your breath.

House Hunters

I’m baaa-ack.

Okay, that was cheesy, but it has been a while. I have a huge prayer request for all who are inclined to bend God’s ear. Tonight, my husband, oldest son, mother-in-law, father-in-law and myself all went to look at a house. For about 3 years now we have entertained the idea of purchasing a place where we all could live in perfect harmony. Husband and I have felt that due to their ages and other circumstance it would be much nicer if we could live closer to his parents, and we are talking much closer, like a door or two apart rather than miles. A place we looked at tonight seems to fit the bill. It includes a huge very nice apartment and a huge house. The house is currently converted into a duplex, (well, almost a 4-plex) and would need to be turned back into the single family home that it was originally. This is very doable, and could possibly work for all of us with room to spare for lots of family to come visit. The main house alone has approximately 14 rooms (I actually lost track, there were so many rooms) not including 3 full baths. It also has 2 full kitchens, and 1 kitchenette. If I counted correctly, there are 7 bedrooms in the main house. The outer apartment is built at one end of a huge, make that HUGE garage. The apartment has a full kitchen, living/dining area, one and a half baths and a huge bedroom. There are a few other out buildings for storage and another 4 bay garage attached to the main house. The yard is nice and secluded in the back. Husband was truly on cloud 9 as he inspected all of the garages. There are enough garage spaces to easily park 10 cars inside. On the downside, the main kitchen in the house is smaller than I would like, but with all of the other kitchens I guess I could use one for baking and one for cooking and still have one for corn prep and other preserving. Seriously, it would be easy enough to store the lesser-used items in one of the other kitchens. And while we would convert the house back to a single-family home, the kitchens would probably stay as they are in case of future need, and their locations would not be a problem. The basement kitchenette would always come in handy.
There is just a lot to think about, a lot to do in our current home before we would be able to sell it, and a lot of prayers to be prayed.
So, I will end my first blog of the year with a plea for your prayers for all of us. Pray that we will know if this is God’s will for all of us, and that we are at peace with whatever is decided.

Dreary Days and Random Thoughts

It is dreary and gloomy as I write today. Husband is doing that which he does best on Sunday afternoon: snoring away in the recliner, the cat and dog are both napping peacefully, and I alone am awake and somewhat alert. The weekend has been a good one.

Friday night we went to our small group party from church. I love these people. They are some of those that I hold very dear to my heart. We went to the home of one of the couples in our group and I should tell you that this couple defines the word hospitality. Their home is a delight and quite the winter wonderland. I know they must start decorating for Christmas in September. I think we counted 6 fully decorated trees with countless other decorations, too many to count but such a treat to see. This couple decided that this dinner would be their gift to us and said that none of us were to bring anything. We walked in to a true feast of ham, noodles, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, (hungry yet?) fruit salad, local famous steak house rolls, plus - pumpkin pie, apple pie, coconut pie, and pecan pie. Other than the rolls, which everyone locally loves, everything was made by scratch and by love. What gracious wonderful people these two are. I wish you all could be so lucky as to share a meal in their home. This was one of those nights when the party starts at 6:00 and before you know it you look at your watch and it is 10:00. The room was filled with both laughter and tears as the evening progressed and I left with a full heart knowing that I am loved. It is good to share life with those that know you best and love you anyway.

On Saturday I admit I was pretty lazy, as it too was a dreary day. Oldest son was busy getting things together for a trip to visit youngest for a few days so I helped with his preparations and made brownies and gathered food and supplies to send to the apartment. Saturday evening husband and I did some Christmas shopping and spent the rest of the evening at home.

Today after church we grabbed a quick bite and made another trip to the mall. You know how purchasing one item sometimes snowballs? Well, last night I purchased a holiday type blouse to wear to husband’s company dinner tonight. I was sure I would wear this with my black dressy pants and was quite proud of the bargain I found. The problem is that when I returned home and tried on my ensemble I discovered that my black dressy pants would probably fall off if I wore them and that might not be appropriate at the company dinner. So, today it was a trip to the mall for black dressy pants in a size that fits. I had not intended on a complete outfit, but now that I have it I wonder if I should press for new jewelry, shoes, and a purse to match? No.

With all the parties and shopping going on I realize that the Christmas rush is upon us, but I vow to cherish every moment this year as the gift it is to me. The gift of friends, family, church programs, and even school programs (although they can’t say it) all point to the reason we celebrate: the birth of a baby over 2000 years ago who came to give us relationship with His Father.

If I get too busy and do not write again before Christmas (I am known for long intervals) please know if you are reading this then you are more than likely very dear to me. My desire is that you would also take time this year and remember this baby, which is Jesus Christ our Lord.

May I have a full order of sleep please?

December is upon us ready or not. Actually, I am ahead of the game. I have done well on shopping, (never did the find missing gift) and most of my decorating is complete. I would still like to hang a few wreaths outside, but I am a wimp in the cold so they might not get done this year. Saturday I spent the entire day at home doing the basics that had been neglected. Oldest helped all day until the house was clean and tidy and the laundry all caught up.
Saturday night I spent most of the night on the couch with very little sleep. Husband’s snoring combined with a blossoming migraine do not mix well. I even had to hide the living room clock because in the middle of a migraine the battery powered tick-tock sounds much like a repetitive gong.

On Sunday we ventured 3 ½ hours south to see our newest great niece. We had hoped to combine that trip with a visit to Farm Wife and her family, but they were fighting colds and not up for company. It was a long hard trip due to relentless rain and a problem with the wiper switch on our car. After such a long trip we were only able to stay about one hour. Fortunately the rain stopped on the way home. We got in relatively early and I went to bed by 9:30.
It was a sweet visit though. I wish I could post a picture but I am not sure how my niece would feel about that.

Sunday night brought the return of the migraine. I took today off from work and have felt pretty blah most of the day. A day off in early December could be so productive, but not when you are wiped out from two nights of a pounding head and no sleep. I feel better this evening so hopefully I will return to school tomorrow.

I plan on finishing the book The Shack for my second time tonight and then going to bed early. Hopefully the gongs will stay quiet for me tonight and I will sleep peacefully.

Missing gift

I am sad to say that the missing gift is still in hiding. I did however go out tonight to purchase the same item over again. If the original is found it can be returned. At least I am not going nuts about it anymore.

Book review

** I wish that Blogger would allow me to underline book titles, please know that I tried**


I know I run the risk of not many people seeing this post because I have been so random with this blog, but I am writing about something today that I am very passionate about. I am writing my book review of the book, The Shack, by William P. Young (or Paul Young as he goes by in his non-writing life)

First I should say that fiction is not my genre of choice. I am normally a “baby” theological type reader with an occasional Karen Kingsbury thrown in as an escape. However, when I do read my usual fare I will even fluctuate on my preferred authors. If I am wanting something a bit light, but with a good lesson or two and some pretty witty sayings I will pick up something by Max Lucado. Then, if I choose to go just a bit deeper I will turn to John Ortberg, I always enjoy the analogies that he weaves into his lessons. And when I think I can handle the even deeper stuff I bravely pick up something by Philip Yancy, although sometimes I find my self re-reading a passage or two and thinking, “What was that again?”

I sometimes find though that all of these authors share a common theme: Do this or that and you will be a better Christian. Memorize these cute alliterative sayings or take these steps and you will finally have a deeper relationship with God. Well, I guess I am not much for all the steps involved (patience is not one of my virtues) because I just want to jump to the end result and have a deeper relationship with God.

This book, The Shack, has simply blown me away. This book seems to have been written by Max Lucado, John Ortberg, Philip Yancy, and GOD all at once. Not to sound sacrilegious there, but there is something about this book that makes me wonder how any human on this earth could have such knowledge and depth of insight. I think Paul’s prayer for the Philippians (Philippians 1:9) was answered in William P. Young, because he has a great handle on what love and relationship are supposed to look like. I will say that I know this book, or any book for that matter can never replace or be a substitute for The Bible, but I also know that this book has done more for my understanding of who God is and has increased my desire to know Him more that any book other than the Bible ever has.

I will not get into anything here that would spoil the plot, but I will say that this book is so much more than the fiction story that underlines its main purpose. This is not “fluff fiction”. This is a very purposeful work of fiction written in order to reveal great truths. William P. Young is an incredibly gifted author and has challenged my thinking and understanding beyond what I could imagine. He has caused me to think about things I thought I knew and has me seeking to know even more.

At times you may feel this book is a difficult read, and I agree that the plot is a tough one to deal with. Further reading causes you to realize that such a plot is necessary to fully understand the main theme of the book. I am currently on my second reading and feel I will immediately read it again when I am finished. The worst part about this book, is I want to share it with everyone, yet I am selfishly reading it again and do not want to part with it. I very smartly took the advice of others from the get go and ordered two copies. This has allowed me to keep one and share one. I have since ordered three more copies and I know I will soon order more. I urge any of you to just go to Amazon.com or theshackbook.com and read the reviews, then go ahead and order 10 or 12 copies. It is that good.

It's about time

I have decided that it is time for my quarterly post. I really wish I would do this more often. Perhaps something will put me in a permanent mood. It has been brought to my attention that people really do check every now and then to see if I have updated, so if you are one of the few who care, here goes.

So much has happened since I last wrote.

When you last heard from me oldest son was half way through his 6-month adventure in Amsterdam. He is now home. Very recently I might add. He flew home on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I know, that is a terrible day to fly, but he wanted to surprise Grandma and Grandpa. Surprise them he did! It was a pretty exciting day. We had even kept his secret from younger brother and that was a fun revelation. Oldest truly lived an adventure and has realized that Amsterdam is a city of both beauty and ugliness. There is much in that city that we as Christians just do not understand, and I am very proud of our son for his willingness to put himself in a position of ministry for these last 6-months. Now he is to starting the process of finding a real job. Pray for him as he works on his resume and begins his search.

Youngest son is doing well in his apartment in his college town. He lives with two other guys and I am very pleased with the way he keeps his place neat and tidy. He has done great in his classes this semester and is trying to figure out his schedule for the next one.


Another update is that I am a great-aunt again. My sister’s daughter gave birth to her baby girl on the evening before Thanksgiving. This makes number 65 for me as far as a total of all nieces, nephews and greats (plus one great-great) on my side and my husband’s combined.

Now, for my current events: Tonight I have spent my evening much like a raving lunatic because I have misplaced something of value. One of the Christmas gifts that I had purchased early has gone AWOL. I have searched thoroughly tonight and cannot find it. Replacing it would not necessarily break the bank, but it makes me very frustrated to think that I have lost a gift. I fear that I actually threw it away with a bunch of shopping bags that I decided I did not need. I hate it when I get in this situation because I start thinking it is the end of the world if I do not find it. I need to just let it go, and move on. It can be replaced. Husband tells me to forget about it and then start looking fresh tomorrow night. I am sure I will look again tomorrow night, but husband does not know what he is asking when he suggests that I forget about it tonight. I do know that God has many other things to deal with this evening, but I still feel that he loves me enough to care about my stress when something is lost. I need to turn this over to him and be done with it.

Okay, that is it for tonight. I am already planning my next post, and perhaps you will not have to wait three months to read it. Hopefully, I will report on the missing Christmas gift.

Labor Days

Husband and I are off in about an hour for our annual Labor Day trip to the Cincinnati area for a softball tournament. We have a great time with about 40 of our friends. We save all of our pocket change for the entire year and it will completely cover our hotel and expenses. I highly recommend this method of saving for an annual event. If you are diligent about not spending any change and pay cash for most of what you buy instead of writing checks you will accumulate a lot of change.

And, for another type of "Labor Day", I want to take some time here and brag about my sister. Once again, she has out done herself. She will be a grandma for the first time in November. Her only daughter, my niece, is expecting a baby girl. My sister had some antique furniture just waiting for something special to bring it back to life, and, what could be more special than your first grandchild? I am posting pictures of the nursery and pretty much every item you see was a gift from my sister. Every piece of furniture was refinished, painted, commissioned or readied. Every fabric item: curtains, beddings, (both crib and single bed) the quilt on the wall, the mobile, and even the back rest cushion in the crib was designed and hand made by my sister. This was truly a labor of love. My niece knows how fortunate she is, and how much her mother loves her. This little one will soon realize it as well!

Well, that is all for now, we have last minute details to finalize. Youngest is on his way home for the weekend to baby-sit the animals, eat our food, and do his laundry. Soon, we are outta here!

Whew! Here goes!

Exhale.

I am updating. Take a big breath though when you finish because it could be a while before my next entry.

Okay, I really really want to do this blogging thing. I just get so caught up in the mundane and I forget there are people out there who actually like mundane! So here goes, some mundane, some insane and some (What else rhymes?? Too much pressure for that.) lame (?)…details of my life.

First for the updates.

Oldest son is still in Amsterdam. I am really missing him right now. It has been nearly 3 months. He loves it. He is making friends, going places and learning all the ins and outs of the Hostel business. There are some areas he would rather not work though, he really does not like being the night man and being in charge of the place in the wee hours of the night. He is not too fond of reception duty either. If you know him, you know his personality and being the front man at a reception desk is not exactly his cup of tea. He loves tea though. Just thought I would throw that in. He does okay with café duties and the sleeper job is not so bad. He actually stays at the hostel, has duties for part of the night, and then gets to sleep there the rest of his shift. I could do okay getting paid to sleep. Only, he actually does not get paid. He will though, starting next month. He will draw a whopping monthly salary of almost $60.00 (U.S. Dollar). I guess we cannot feel sorry for him though; he is living in Europe with free room and board. He thinks he will be coming home sometime late November. He had thought of staying longer, but probably won’t.

Youngest son is living in an apartment in his college town with two other guys. I really like his two roommates. One of them just feels like another son because I know him so well and like him so much. I get pretty neat phone calls. Such as, “Mom how do you know when the waffles are done in this waffle maker?” And, “ Mom, tell me again how you cook your frozen corn on the cob”. Now, that is a tricky question because I do cook corn strange. I learned years ago from an old cookbook to add lemon juice and sugar (equal parts, about 2 TBS each and NO salt) to the pot of water. It sounds strange but the corn is always delicious. So, he had to be sure his would taste like his mom’s. He is excited about his classes this year, excited about living in his apartment, and quite honestly he is happier than I have seen him for a while. He recently obtained his driver’s license for those of you who might be wondering. He was holding out like I did until after turning 21.

So, both boys are happy, and that makes Mom really happy. It also makes Dad happy. When children and Mom and Dad are all happy it is a good thing.

So, now we are on to me. I had a pretty good summer. I accomplished a few of the tasks I had planned, but not all. There is one looming task in my house that I really need to take care of, but have not found the motivation as of yet. Perhaps I will take care of it someday.

I have returned to school and our class seems like a good one this year. 14 kids so far, which might seem small by some standards, but we have challenging students and a very small room. I have been praying that God will use me in a special way this year and that I can be a blessing to these kids.

Currently I am reading a very good book, "God is Closer Than You Think" ( I wish blogger would let me underline that title, I will just have to use quotes) by John Ortburg. It is reminding me to live in the moment and to meet God right there. He is already in the moment you know, we just forget to look for him. I recommend it highly.
I have not done as well as I had hoped in the Bible reading department. That is always a goal of mine. I want to do better.

I know there is a lot more to update, but this will have to do for tonight. I can’t catch up the last 2 months all in one shot. So, hang on for more to come. Some pictures will come as well.

You should probably inhale now. Take your time.

Don't hold your breath...

I am returning to blogdom. Do not under any circumstances though hold your breath between posts...
More later

One month down...

Oldest son left for Amsterdam exactly one month ago today. He has already learned much, met many people, and has left his comfort zone behind. I must say that I am so very happy for him and the things he has done so far. For those that know his timid nature, he has really stepped up and has taken on various duties much unlike him. He has taught a small group Bible study, has worked the reception desk, and is meeting and hanging out with many new friends. When I think of how rich his life will be after this experience it makes my heart truly happy.

On the other hand, I really am missing him. I am blessed to have very close relationships with both of my boys. They are becoming amazing young gentlemen that I enjoy spending time with. This communication age that we are in has really helped, in that it has always been so easy to email, phone, or instant message them. Oldest and I seem to catch each other online about every other day. There is a seven-hour time difference from here to Amsterdam, so that makes conversations interesting. I usually start by saying “good morning”, then I realize it is not morning for him.

He has not taken many digital photos as of yet. I was hoping to post a few pictures every now and then to show you all some amazing sites of the Netherlands. He did take a bike ride to the beach about a week ago and shot this picture on his way. Can’t really prove it is from Amsterdam though. He has a thing for miniature horses; they make him laugh, so it was natural for him to take this picture. I will post some other pictures when they come my way.

Technically he has 5 more months to go, but is already thinking he might try to stay longer. I say, go for it. He is living one of his dreams right now, and there are not many of us who truly get to accomplish that.

Date Night

Tonight was “date night”, but of a different type. Youngest son and I went out for the evening. Husband is away on a church elder field trip of sorts, so that left youngest and I alone for the night. While I am busy reading “To Kill A Mockingbird” and really wanted to finish it tonight and move on to another classic, I decided a night out with youngest would be wise. We went out to eat and then to the movie, “Evan Almighty”. Now, I will say that I had reservations about this movie and was afraid that it might compromise my beliefs, but on the contrary, it reinforced them. It is a delightful, fun, movie that has many lessons to remind us of how God wants us to live. Go see it.

I was also very thankful to spend the evening with youngest. He is such a neat guy. I know there won’t be a lot of date nights in our future (at least not with each other) , so I am grateful for these moment we do have.

And the Award for "Most Experienced Aunt" goes to...

Me!
With the addition of Farm Wife’s new Bitsy into the family, and in the tradition of Farm Wife’s animal count, I thought I would stop and do my own tally. Mine, however is the tally of nieces and nephews. Sad to say, I cannot just come up with this number off the top of my head. I actually had to plot a crude graph on paper and put tally marks under all of husband’s siblings and mine. Here goes:

Husband’s Side:

3 Nieces
3 Nephews

3 Great Nieces
4 Great Nephews

My Side:

12 Nieces
9 Nephews

17 Great Nieces
12 Great Nephews

1 Great-Great Niece

Grand total of Nieces and Nephews for Husband and I ………..64 !! Plus, I am pleased to say that one of my nieces is expecting in late November! We might even hit 100 before you know it!

I think I should have a new title, like Most Supreme Aunt, or Greatest of All Aunts, Most Experienced Aunt. Surely there is a title more fitting to be had than just “Aunt”.

Fruits of my labor

This is the earlier described dining room table and my newly designed dining room to accomodate my church pew which was a birthday gift from husband a couple of years ago. My sister decided we should actually use it for seating.

They sure are cute when they are little

I know these creatures can be a gardener's nightmare. However, when youngest son found this last night before mowing, we sure did enjoy it for a few miutes before releasing it.

I am not a good stripper

Well, let me explain.

For the past week I have been working on our antique dining room table. It was getting quite sad looking and needed sanded, stained, and a few coats of polyurethane. I was getting along peachy until I noticed that one half of the table lacked the luster and shine of the other half. Panic set in and I was about to wonder if I had messed the table up forever. Thanks to the wise counsel of a brother-in-law and my friendly neighborhood paint store I am now well on my way to a beautiful table. For those taking notes, I believe you should always do business with the neighborhood father and son businesses when possible. My particular guys are brilliant when it comes to anything pertaining to wood or paint and have saved me on several occasions. Some may think that the prices in these small stores are too high compared to the “mega-marts” out there, but you will never match their knowledge and customer service. The man GAVE me enough of a product to use which was the remedy to my problem. Last week he worked until he could blend a stain color, which matched my antique table exactly.

So, thanks to those smarter that me, I am learning to strip, and re-finish, and eventually my projects will be completed.

EXTRAordinary life

It has been hard to come back to blogging after experiencing the pain that my friend has gone through this last week. I feel guilty knowing that my life has changed little in the last week, while hers will never be the same.

I will say this; we all take way too much for granted. Part of me thinks that my everyday life is not worthy of writing about; while another part of me now realizes that my everyday life is not only worthy of writing about, but also worthy of celebrating. We all need to come to this realization and enjoy every part of our lives.

I have had a good week. I have spent each day with cherished family or friends. The events of this past week have helped me to realize just how important those moments have been.

Sunday was Father's day, and while my own Father has been gone for many years, I have an incredible relationship with my Father-in-law. We spent Sunday at their house and were reminded of the gift we have been given. My husband has always had a precious relationship with his parents and I am bleessed to have married into this.

On Monday night I went out to eat with my amazing group of girlfriends. How fortunate I am to have this circle of friends. We are not able to get together often, yet when we do, we have loads of fun. The eight of us all belong to the same church and share our faith. We are truly sisters.

Tuesday afternoon, I spent lying on a raft in the pool of one of those friends. Just soaking up some sun, catching up on family, and laying aside the cares of this world.

On Wednesday, My sister, brother, and sister-in-law came to visit. I do not get to see this brother and his wife enough. Every time I do though, I am reminded of the miracle in his life. He is a heart transplant recipient. While he is nearly 70 years old, his heart is much younger. He recently celebrated his 7th "birthday". The four of us met another brother for lunch and had a wonderful visit.

Thursday found me having lunch again, this time with my dear friend and co-worker. She is the teacher in the class where I assist. I have been truly blessed by being able to work along side of her for the last 10 years. Not everyone can be as lucky as I to be able to not only get along with, but to cherish the person you work the closest with.

Then, on Thursday afternoon my friend Chrissy came to visit. We just sat for an hour and a half in my living room talking. She has a long road ahead of her and I still ask for prayers for her. I am reminded every time I am near her what an amazing young woman she is.

Today, Friday, I spent the morning with my husband and youngest son going to yard sales. Okay, I know that is not for everyone, but it is something we like. There seems to be buried treasure waiting to be found, and we enjoy the thrill of the hunt.

This evening, his best friend from college is spending the night; we all went out to eat. I love it when my boys have friends over. I try to spoil them and make them feel truly at home.

Tomorrow, I will travel the one-hour to my sister’s and to go to a ladies’ brunch at her church. I will also get to see my niece and spend time with each of them.

You see, I am so very blessed. God has put incredible people in my “ordinary” life, and spending time with them will never seem ordinary again.

Now, I realize that we are not always able to have a week where we are free for lunches, visits, lounging in a pool or trekking around to yard sales. I also realize that my having the summer off from work makes this type of week possible. I just ask that when these moments present themselves that you intentionally be in the moment. Enjoy the company of those dear to you while you can.

I urge you all to take stock of the relationships you have in your life. Make it a point to spend time with those you can, and to call those you can’t spend time with. Do not take anyone or anything in your life for granted.

I also must take advantage of this moment and ask that you also take stock of the relationship you have with the Lord. If this most important relationship is not where it should be, then do what you can now to make it right. I know that it is my relationship with God that enhances all of my other relationships. He makes my “ordinary” life extraordinary!

For Chrissy with love

Tonight was an extremely sad night. We spent the evening at the funeral home for an 18-year-old young man. Seeing the pain in the eyes of his mom, dad, and sister was something that will be etched in my mind for a long time. More than possibly 100 schoolmates came in groups of 3-5 into the funeral home. Big burly boys were reduced to tears in a matter of minutes. They just stood for over an hour, almost a huddled mass of teenagers; silent and staring, and then every few moments, breaking this silence, someone would erupt into deep piercing sobs.

In another room a video played on a loop to repeat throughout the night. Images of this young man’s life were visible for all to watch. Eighteen years compressed into a few minutes. Those that knew him would laugh, cry, and remember him well. Those who never met him, but knew the family, would watch and wish for more. Wishing for the lost chance to know the boy behind the photographs.

My eyes would sometimes gravitate over to where the mom was standing, and at times I did not know what kept her on her feet. Then I would see the daughter, holding her mother's face in her hands and comforting her. This daughter worked the room, being brave and strong and supportive for everyone, for her mom, for her dad, and for her brother's best friend. She is an amazing girl. Some might wonder what is it that keeps her going? But I know the answer to that one. She is totally and completely in love with Jesus and it just oozes out of her. She is just doing what Jesus would do, what Jesus did do actually, because even with His own heart breaking at the death of His friend, Lazarus, Jesus comforted others.

I am so fortunate to have her in my life. You see, she is one of “my” girls. Most every Wednesday night during the school year, she was one of the girls who graced my home with her wisdom, her passion for the Lord, and her laughter. That infectious laughter is silent for the moment. She has suffered the terrible loss of her only sibling, her brother. He was just a little over a year older than her, and they were best friends. She loved him completely and unconditionally.

When I lay down to sleep tonight I know my mind will be filled with images of this evening. Of grief in a room so thick you could nearly see it lingering in the air. Of teenagers facing the horrible fact that death does not care if you are eighty or eighteen. Of a mother and a father grieving so deeply in the loss of their firstborn, their only son. Of friends searching for the right words and realizing that there are no right words. Of hugs that were so tight that you knew they were not only hugging bodies, but hugging their souls as well. And, of a girl, much too young to suffer such a loss.

My mind will be filled with prayers for this family as well. I ask you to pray for them also. Tomorrow morning they will see this boy’s face for the last time on this earth. They will say their goodbyes and their tomorrows will never be the same. They will need strength from many and the boundless love of God to carry them through.

Summer Job?

I love summer.

I am off work, but in many ways I work harder.

I have started right in this morning doing all sorts of things. So far today I have:

~Woke up early with husband, fixed him some toast and saw him off to work
~Made the bed.
~Ironed 8 pieces of my clothing (Last week I re- configured my closet and added a lower bar- twice the room for clothes, and since it is all fresh and nice inside with new paint I am motivated to keep my clothes nice as well.)
~Started the dishwasher...boy, that was hard work- ha!
~Walked outside for 25 minutes
~Put two coats of polyurethane on my newly re-stained dining room table (it was getting ugly looking. Third coat will go on later today.
~Watered all my plants
~Washed the car, only to discover there is a problem with a rear window, it has fallen and can’t get up! (Nice thing to discover when you are washing the car!)

Soon, husband will be home for lunch, then I am going out to lunch with girlfriends, and afterwards I am taking 5 skirts that I can once again wear to Mother in Law’s house. She will help me mark them because I have decided I no longer like the long skirt length. I am just too short. I am going to have them marked just at the knee, but not over.
I love it when I am highly motivated!


** Just to let you know, oldest son is doing great in Amsterdam! He is meeting lots of people and doing great things. This is just what he needed to get out of his shell a bit! He was thrown in with a bunch of kids near his age and no one knew each other. It is easier for him to meet people like that when they are all "equal" and no cliques or groups are already established. Continue to pray for him. I am praying that he is having the time of his life and that God stretches him in many ways. I do wish he would email some pictures or update his sites. So far, I have no proof that he is really in Amsterdamthough, he could be in New Jersey for all I know!

Girl's Day Out

Today I traveled the one-hour drive to my hometown to visit my sister and my niece, who is expecting her first child. We spent the day first going to resale shops, because we are all bargain hunters and are trying to make the most of our money. At two shops I managed to purchase a total of 5 items. Now that both my sister and I have lost weight, shopping for clothing is once again fun. Well, except for the fact that we are so close to the same size right now, that it makes finding the best bargain a trick. Especially when you both spy the same item at the same time. Finding a top for 3.49 seemed like a fantastic buy. It was a fantastic buy, until after our tasty lunch when we went to Kohl’s and found that their clearance sale blew the resale shop’s prices out of the water. Tee shirts for $2.40, before an additional 15% off, and slacks for $3.60! I am quite happy right now at the amount of clothing I purchased with very little damage to our budget!

It was a good day: good shopping, good lunch, and good visiting. These past few days have been full of wonderful visits with family that I just do not see enough. My summer is turning out just fine. I am missing oldest son though while he is away, but I am so happy for him that it takes the edge off.

Youngest son is in a happy place right now as well. His new computer speakers arrived today and provide quite a nice sound. He is working this summer with his dad, but really needs an additional job.

Well, a short post for now, but I at least am posting. Must figure out supper.

Remember me?

I am the world’s worst blogger. I did start with good intentions. Maybe now that school is out (did you hear me scream yippee?) I will do this with some regularity.

So, at this point the major events that I had been awaiting have passed. Oldest son has graduated college, actually walking in the ceremonies from two colleges on the same day, and receiving two degrees. The graduation party was wonderful with many good friends coming to see him and wish him well. He also has left for his trip to Amsterdam. We took him to the airport on Tuesday, and while I held it together during our goodbyes, I did start crying immediately afterwards. Ironically, God provided a diversion though when we got lost in the airport as we were trying to leave. And I have only cried once since then. The communication age has been a huge blessing though, as we have emailed a few times and instant messaged as well. He is doing well, adjusting to his position and is anxiously awaiting a bike, which will be provided for him when one is available.

Youngest son is home for the summer and has worked hard to get his room just how he likes it, including all 300 plus books which he has collected. Somehow my boys have acquired the collecting gene, which is not necessarily a good thing when you long for less clutter. Although, I am not really referring to their collections as clutter.

So, please hang in with me. I will get back into this blogging and just might surprise you all with my words of wisdom.