F*R*E*E

Every now and then I just have to gloat. These were all free this week at CVS. (No, I did not use my boys to distract the clerk while I walked out with them) Actually, they were advertised buy one get one free, plus I had 7 B1G1free coupons, so they were all free. I do not plan on eating them all. I plan on saving them for school. We like to reward our class with goodies every now and then.

Cardiac Rehab

Those are two words I was unfamiliar with until about a month ago.

I have begun my rehab program. Basically it is an exercise program with some teaching on diet and lifestyles mixed in. I am going three days a week, and each session should get a bit longer until I reach the level of exercise that my heart needs. I am on a heart monitor the entire time, so they know if my heart rate is too fast, too slow, etc. My main observation though is this: I am the minority. I am in a class with about eight 65-70 year old men. Instead of "Sweatin' to the oldies" , I am Sweatin' WITH the oldies! This really makes you think I WAS too young to have a heart attack.

Life is short

I have not updated for a week and I am sorry about that. I am in a strange mood right now, partly depressed, partly ashamed, but mostly humbled. Let me explain. During my “recovery” I have spent probably too much time on my computer. I surf blogs, looking for bargain hunters like myself and then out of some twisted sense of curiosity I then go to the sidebars and start looking at the blogs those people look at. What is up with that? Part of me tells me it is weird enough to go to the blogs of people I don’t know, and then even weirder to move on to the blogs of people THEY don’t know. But I guess that is the nature of blogs.

Today, while doing this, I came upon a blog that has profoundly affected me. Some of my readers will know who I am talking about when I mention the recording group Selah. They are a Christian group with some of the sweetest music this side of Heaven. I did not know until today the sorrow surrounding one of the members and his family. The name of the blog is “Bring the Rain”, and is written by the wife of one of the members of the group. She has a true gift of writing and truly writes from her heart. She chronicles the life and death of their 4th daughter and then the unexpected death of their nephew just 7 weeks later. It is a beautiful yet extremely difficult read. Go here if you wish to read her story. I would recommend that you go to the left side bar and start at the beginning of the blog and read forward that way. Give yourself some time.

What does all this say to me?

1. Life is short. I realized that when I stared the possibility of death in the face one month ago. However, I am 51 years old. I have lived a good life; I have shared this journey with precious people and have been blessed. I cannot take things for granted any more. None of us know what tomorrow means. It does not matter if you are 51 or just a few hours, months, or years old. An old Wayne Watson song holds the line, “death is no respecter of age”. That line is so true, but is so ignored.

2. God is still God. I do not understand much about Him. I do not, or never will in this life understand why babies die, nor will I ever try to explain it. I cannot. I just know that God is God. He is there in the midst of our pain. I believe with all my heart, that God aches when things like these happen. His plan did not include babies dying.

3. While it may be important to be wise stewards of the things God has given us, I think the real question God will ask is not, “What did you do with the things I have given you” but “What did you do with the people I gave you?” I like bargains, I like going to CVS and getting things for pennies. However, that is NOT the focus of my life. God does not care if I spent two dollars or twenty this month, but He does care how I treat people. God has put family, friends, even strangers in my path for a reason. Am I using my time on this earth wisely, to show them love in various ways?

Sometimes I just get full of myself. I know, having a heart attack has caused me to be a bit self-focused as of late, but maybe that is just the opposite of what it should have caused. Maybe, just maybe, this heart attack is to give me a wake up call. Life IS short. Perhaps the lesson to be learned here is to spend more of it with Him, more of it with others, less focused on ourselves.

God is Good~But we Already Know That!

Good news.

Double good news that is.

Yesterday I had my second heart catheterization. They were suspecting a stent failure and went in to check it out. Everything was fine! The stent was working like a charm, nothing else was a problem and I came home later in the day. You have to lay very still for a few hours following this procedure, so I snoozed a lot and waited till time to go home.

What happened between the time of the failed stress test and the good report today? God happened, that is what. You need to know if you do not already, that I take serious the power of prayer. There were many prayers going up for me this week.

I slept well last night for the most part but at 3:00 AM I woke up praying. I actually think I was praying in my sleep because as soon as I realized I was awake I was already praying. What for? For my sister. She had a major test this week and was one that could bring devastating news. I do not want any more devastating news. Today husband and I decided to make the one hour trip to go be with her when she got the news. The doctor said they would call her when they got the report, but that she would have to go into the office to hear the outcome. She has done so much for me these last few weeks and I just felt compelled to be with her. I was feeling fine and it is not a bad trip. After about 20 minutes on the road we got a call on the cell phone. She had heard from the doctor by phone and the news was good! So our trip turned into a time of celebration!

God is indeed good.

Now the tough question.

Would I still proclaim that God is good even if the news had been bad?

I would like to say that I would because I have walked those dark roads before. Actually many times before. I have lived through the deaths of both parents by the time I was 23, lost a brother, a niece, suffered a miscarriage, had a house fire, and walked through the dark days of my mother in law's stroke. The events of recent weeks have been compounded beyond belief. God has held me through all of these times and has taught me that I did not have to go through them alone.

Just like Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego proclaimed: "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, we want you to know , O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." ( Daniel 3: 17-18 NIV) This verse has become one of Husband's very favorite verses. The phrase "even if He does not" comes to mind often when I am praying for something that I am sure I know the answer for. When I let God be God, I always win.

I knew that God was able to answer my prayers how I wanted, but even if He did not, I would still love and serve Him, because He has shown me He would see me through anything.

Growing Weeds

Lately with my heart ailments it seems all I have been growing around here is weeds. My flower beds were overgrown, my garden practically needed mowed, and my bushes were hitting you in the face when you walked by. Today changed all of that. Two angels, (one is actually named Angel) showed up at my house and spent two hours, trimming, weeding, sprucing up , and returning my yard to a much better state. What a huge blessing. I am the one that usually does the yard work other than mowing and for right now I am prohibited. It was getting to me though. I did not plant flowers this year to save some money, so there were no flowers to tend to, but everything else is 100 times better. I have said it before, I am so very blessed.

Is summer supposed to be crummy?

Sometimes I get discouraged. I try to be upbeat on this blog and tell you happy things, share great bargains, and sometimes sweet and funny experiences in my life. Today I am sad, scared, and down. Can I be raw? I think I am asking myself that question as well as any readers that may stumble over to this site.

I did not get good news yesterday at my cardiologist follow-up appointment. I should back up and tell you that I spent Tuesday evening in the local hospital. I experienced upper back pain early in the evening and after a few phone calls to an advisory nurse, husband took me in to the ER. Of course, they checked for a new heart attack, but the EKG and heart enzymes checked out good, even so, the tests continued. First an X-Ray, then a CAT scan of my heart. After being seen by a couple of doctors and an assistant, I was told that first, I had a previously undetected heart murmur, a leaky valve, and possibly a stent failure. I was released the next day, and followed up with a stress test yesterday morning. Let me say this about that, Why would anyone purposely do that to a person? This was a “pharmacological stress test”, meaning no treadmill, just drugs that mock a stressed heart. I will just refer to that as “heart attack in a syringe”. It was an awful test. I developed nausea, my chest hurt, and I had a general feeling of death. Two weeks after a heart attack is much too soon to re-live those feelings. Needless to say, I flunked this test. Literally. When I arrived at the cardiologist’s office that afternoon he informed me that I had indeed failed the test. Which means, there is an 85% chance that there is still a significant blockage on that artery. Which could mean a possible stent failure. What do they do now? Go back in for a second look. I am scheduled for another heart catheterization this next week. If they find a problem they will fix it then, if they do not, I will go home and pursue the back pain further.

It was not the news we had hoped to hear. Might I also stress that this has been a really crummy 2-½ weeks. To think, I was anxious for summer break. Let me fill you in on the rest of the story and in so doing I will invite you to my pity party. The following are all in addition to my recent problems.

1. The day of my heart attack husband’s family was to attend the funeral of husband’s 53-year-old cousin. However due to various reasons below, none were able to attend.

2. A much loved niece of ours is pregnant. Yes, this is a good thing, but she has had a major case of “all day sickness” which is a serious damper to the life they are used to. This is a woman who loves taking care of her husband, making delicious homemade jams and bread, and helping others every chance she gets. These days she barely can get out of bed to even smell bread, much less eat any.

3. Father in law suffered a stroke the night before my heart attack. It seriously affected his walking ability and he spent 2 weeks in a rehab center learning to walk. Husband and I were not able to offer the assistance we would have liked due to my situation. He is home now and doing much better, but there are still issues.

Not enough you say?

Well,

4. Husband’s brother has just been newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes does not run in this family. When you suddenly have a blood sugar level of 600 it is not a good thing. He has had two hospitalizations this week. His wife, our sister in law had been here caring for father in law.

5. My precious sister has a new medical concern and will undergo a serious test this week. She has been setting all of her concerns aside and has been making weekly visits (2 visits this week) to care for me in much appreciated ways.

Add to all of that the general stress of moving a son home for the summer, finding places for all of the new stuff in the house, re arranging bedrooms (I did nothing) and getting through each day while learning to live with heart disease.

I fear even numbering these items because I know the nature of numbers…there is always one more.

So, might I ask you all to lift this family in your prayers?

Now, to be really fair, I must turn and focus on the positive. I have to get that out as well. We have been blessed beyond measure with help from wonderful friends through our church. We have had delicious meals, help with the boy’s rooms, had our refrigerator cleaned out (yippee), and have had offers for practically every need we have. People are so good to us. We are truly seeing God with skin on right now and that is what has gotten us through these crummy weeks. I am being honest, these have been crummy weeks. However, God has blessed us and is bringing us through them.

$5.24

You can tell that the 'ole ticker is doing better.

I'm baaaack.

These were deals that were just too good to pass up. I went to both Walgreen's and CVS, and through numeral transactions I purchased all of the following for $5.24 out of pocket! $5.24 sure goes farther than it used to. I did use quite a few ECB's, a $5.00 register reward, plus a lot of manufacturer's coupons to arrive at my small amount of actual money spent.




In case you can't make it all out:

1 Gallon of milk
7 boxes of cereal
6 cans of Nivea shave gel
3 rolls of Reynold's Wrap
3 bottles of Maalox chewables
4 boxes Band-Aids
1 Nivea Body Wash
1 Electrosol Tablets
1 package cotton swabs
1 Huggies baby wash
1 4 pack razor blades

That will most all go into the stock pile, the Band Aids and some shave gel will go to college care packages. With my old way of shopping I would have spent more on the razor blades alone, because I would have not bought them until we were out and then I would not have caught a sale or a coupon. Today I took advantage of a sale, a coupon, and Extra Care Bucks. I still have over $24.00 in Extra Care Bucks because I earned them on most all of my CVS purchases.

Blessings

I have mentioned before that I am really blessed. Let me just say that the events of the last week have caused me to realize that in a very profound way.

I could not have imagined how many people would reach out to my family and I to show their love in so many ways.

On the day of my heart attack I had 35 visitors between the two hospitals. Now, to be fair I am counting my husband and sons and they probably do not really count as visitors. People showed up, some briefly to express their love and concern. Many drove quite a distance to be near me. What a huge blessing to be surrounded by so many that I count precious in my life.

Since I have been home from the hospital I have received many cards and phone calls, I have had delicious meals delivered to my door, and have had help to clean my house and work to help get my son’s room ready to accept all of the college and apartment items we had just brought home.

It is quite humbling to have so much attention and expressions of love and it is showing me perfectly how God’s people can reach out to show His love to others. If you have the opportunity to spread this type of love to anyone in need, let me just tell you how very much it is appreciated.

Chapter Two ~ Heart Attack

If you have not read the previous post, you might want to scroll down and read that first.

This is a very important part in the events of the last week. I want to tell you a bit about the particulars of my heart attack. After my stint was inserted the cardiologist met with husband and sons. He showed the video of my heart pumping and showed before and after shots of where the stint was inserted. The video showed the front left portion of my heart not working and clearly showing damage. The left ventricle showed an ejection fraction (the amount of blood pumped out of the heart) of only 40%. Normal is 50 or above. The doctor told husband that this number of 40% would never get better, but because of the stint, it should not get worse.

The next day the Echo Cardiogram was preformed on my heart and showed quite a different story. The left front portion was clearly working, and the ejection fraction was now at 56 % ! The cardiologist asked, "How can this be?" I know how, and the next day when he repeated to me that he did not have an answer for that, I told him, "I have a good God." GOD IS GOOD. I do not know why I had a heart attack, but through this event in my life, He is being glorified. I want everyone to know that God still works in our lives today performing miracles and doing what we cannot imagine. All last month at church our minister has reminded us of Ephesians 3:20, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine." That verse has always been a favorite "life verse" of mine, now I know another reason it is so precious.

Heart Attack !?!?

The extra pronunciation marks are for disbelief. It is still surreal. I had a heart attack. It occurred on Tuesday morning, May 27th shortly after school began. Now, I can look back and see the signs that led up to this moment, but first I will tell you the events of that day.

My day started out normally, I was almost glad to get up and go to school because we only had 2 ½ days left till summer break. I was sitting at my table in the class while the teacher I work with was explaining the day to everyone. Suddenly, I began to have some slight indigestion; I had experienced that the day before so I really thought nothing of it. I left the room to go to the copy machine down the hall and while there the chest pain began. It was located in one very definite spot just to the left center of my chest. It made me want to hold my hand there, but it still was not severe. I walked back to the class room and told the teacher right away that I was not feeling right. By this time my lower left arm felt achy, much like if you had been doing lots of yard work or painting. She asked me if I wanted her to call the nurse, but I declined. She then asked if I wanted to go see the nurse, I said I better and started walking down the hall. We have a huge building. I estimate the walk to the nurse’s office at over a city block. I made it about half way and began to get just a little short of breath. I knew by this time that this could possibly be “the real thing” although I don’t think I fully accepted that fact. I saw an open classroom with the teacher sitting inside, but her class was at one of their special periods. I walked in, took a seat and asked her to call the nurse. (All of our classrooms have telephones, which was a huge blessing.) Without even waiting on the nurse, I asked her to call my husband, and then an ambulance. Before the ambulance came I developed one more symptom, that of a dull pain in the upper middle of my back. Five symptoms all-together, one building on the previous: indigestion, chest pain, pain in my arm, slight shortness of breath, and upper back pain. Shortly the ambulance came and I was on the ride for my life. My heart attack was quickly diagnosed in the ambulance due to the EKG, so I knew in minutes that this was the real thing. When we arrived at the hospital my husband was already there, the doctor and ER staff knew of my true condition because of the ambulance report so they were ready and waiting. My husband did not know as of yet. I could not tell him, so it was a few minutes until the nurse told him that this was a true heart attack. Our boys arrived shortly and I was the one that told them. I was very impressed by the speed and quality of care from my local hospital. My own doctor was consulted by phone and instructed them to air lift me to a larger hospital to our west. Talk about adventure. By that time my pain was under control and I actually enjoyed the ride. The next hospital was completely prepared for me, as they were ready and waiting in the cath lab to do the angiogram and to insert a stint. Shortly I was wheeled into my room which was a “step down’ unit from ICU. I did not come home until yesterday (Friday) due to some set backs. Having your heart rate drop to 30 is not a good thing. One other time it dropped to 40. Both times can be attributed to drugs that I was placed on at the time. I am on restrictions, mostly common sense after a heart attack type stuff. My cardiologist does not seem to be a dictator, and when I asked him what type of diet I should be on, he said, “ If it is good for you, eat lots, if it is not good for you, not so much.” However, I was visited by a nutritionist and was instructed in a little more detail about what to avoid.

I have to take it easy for a few weeks, then I return to the doctor and follow that up with a few weeks of cardio rehab. So, most of my summer has been planned out for me. There is more I want to share about all of this, but this has taken too long so I will hold the rest till later.

Bottom line- I am alive !!!!

Bathroom ~ Before / After

The first two pictures show the 11 year old sponge painting, and a color scheme that could promote nightmares. I must say I am much happier with the calm, homey look we have now. Remember, I have a very small bathroom, with a window in the middle of the main wall. I think we did the best with what we had to work with. I love it.

Some of the pictures are a bit washed out due to the flash, so the color does not show up. You will have to scroll down and see the color and imagine it on all the walls.

I am waiting on a few "pretties" for the finishing touches, and I am going tomorrow to look for towels. I have NEVER had a complete set of matching towels for a bathroom, so I will check into that.

I am tired, but happy.

The last two pictures show the wall color closer to how it really looks.
I am not sure I like the configuration of items on this "toilet" wall, but the shelf is already hung and it is too hard to change. I might play around with the star magazine basket when I get my other "pretties".

I am so blessed

The first picture is of the group of high school girls from church that I am fortunate enough to spend time with. They meet at my home every other week and we sit together during youth hour on Sunday mornings. I love these girls. They bring laughter into my life and at the same time keep me accountable in my Christian walk.
The second group is of another silly group of girls. (Sadly, one could not make it at our monthly girls night out, but in this picture the rest of us are enjoying our new rain bonnets, courtesy of one of the girls.) This group also brings laughter into my life and keeps me accountable.
I boast a lot on this blog about my bargains and my good deals, but this is what my life is really all about. While I might be establishing a reputation for bargain hunting and deal catching, the things that will matter most are relationships. My relationship to Christ and to people are what I really want my reputation to be based on.

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.