REAL Couponing...Week One

Okay, so I have been playing around with coupons for months...maybe longer. I would casually go though the Sunday paper and clip what I think I might use and put them away until I need them. I have read over and over how you can really save (even make) money for your family by really researching and using the coupons to get the maxium for your dollars. I began to think about the extra money that I could put in savings, use for family outings, or better yet give to help others if I would just simply put the coupon system to work.

If you do not like planning...don't even bother with coupons. If you are not careful you will end up buying things you don't need or even spend MORE money my not looking for the best price/deal...shopping around.

One thing that helped me decided to go for this "life-style" was when I lucked-up on a few websites that help with the planning. These sites help to put the deals right at your fingertips and make is easier to get organized.

I suggest that you start clipping coupons a few weeks before you want to begin super-saving. See, the manufacture coupons ALONE won't save you very much. You need to use the coupons when the items are on sale and in combination with other coupons to get the greatest discount. There are many different ideas about ways to organize your coupons. I don't like the binder method because I don't want to be in the store flipping through coupons. I have an according folder I keep all my coupons in...by week. Before I shop, I compare sales prices with the coupons I have and place the coupons I need for each store in an envelop. I also take along coupons of items that I "might" use if the price is right.


I am not going too deep into the vocabulary in this post. You can read up on this on the websites I give you and soon you will know the lingo. If you have questions about each store's coupon policy you can goggle that or check their website, but you need to know...

Wal-Mart: 

• will take mfg coupons only (can be printed from online), 
• matches any competior's advertised price except BOGO

Publix: a

• ads run Wed-Wed and 
• they have great BOGO (can use TWO coupons; one for each item), 
• they have great 10/$10 buys and you DO NOT have to but 10 to get them for $1!,
• they STACK coupons or allow you to use a store + mfg coupon, the accept competitor's coupons, 
• they double all coupons up to $.50 (so a $/50 coupon is really worth $1.00 off!)

CVS:

• has great sales!!, 
• ads run Sun to Sun, 
• has a rewards club that gives you extra cupons, 
• has Extra Bucks that you earn on product and can spend on anything in store

Before I show you this week's buys I want to give a disclaimer. I am a coupon newbie. I have short-term as well as long term goals for couponing. This week, I did not spend any more $$ that I usually do for shopping. I did however "stock-up" on some items so that in the near future...I will be able to have lower weekly grocery bills :) yeah!!!

Week One: Publix

One two items here were purchased that were not "on sale" or with a coupon, or BOTH!

Gain: on sale $9.50, coupon $3 =$7.50

Motts: BOGO 

Scotts 12pk TP: on sale $7, coupon $1.50 = $5.50

Slim Jim's: on sale 2/$6, 2 coupons $1 = $2.00 ea

Dove's new Body Wash: on sale $5.19, target coupon $1.50, mfg coupon $1= $2.69

Luzianne Tea: BOGO

Publix Ginger Ale: BOGO= 2 for $.86

Del Monte Fruit Cups: 10/$10, 2 $1/2 coupons = $.50 each

Juicy Juice: $1.50/2 coupon = $2.25 each

Truvia Sweetener: on sale $1,99, coupon $.50 (which doubles)= $.99

Publix Bread= $.89

Grapes= $1.99/lb

Hillshire Farm Lunch Meat: $1.00 coupon = $1.98

Toaster Strudel: coupon $1/2

Cantaloup= on sale 2/$3.00

Ballpark Franks= on sale 2/$6, coupon $.50 (which doubles) = $2.50 each

Kraft Cheese: On Sale 2/$4, target coupon $1.50/2, 2mfg coupon $.50 each (which doubled)= $.25 each

Boston Butt: on sale $2.39/lb

Cresent Rolls: coupon $.50/2

Shrimp: on sale $4.99/lb

Ragu Spaghetti Sauce: BOGO

Spaghetti noodles: $.79

Alfredo noodles:$.99

Success Rice: coupon $1.00/2

DentaStix: publix coupon $1.00, mfg coupon $1.00= $1.34

All together I spent $120. I saved $89.19!!!

I am happy. I could have gotten a better deal on the Scott's TP if I watch the CVS sales (I still have a coupon and I am watching!) but we needed TP! I could not tell everyone to stay on the toilet until the sale!!

A Few things I learned this week...

**Check prices: ex. DentaStix are $2.49 at our Walmart. The price was $3.34 at Publix. Without the "competitor" coupon it would have been cheaper for me to get these at WM than Publix.

**Stock Up: avoid buying things you don't use or need. But if a good deal on an non-perishable comes up...snatch them! (ex. spaghetti sauce)

**Don't be too brand loyal. Sometimes you have to "switch brands" to save. Don't forget to check the store brands they may be cheaper than the name brand WITH a coupon!

Sites you need to visit:

The Krazy Coupon Lady

My Four "Big" Meals for the Week are:

Spaghetti with toast and green beans/or salad

Garlic Shrimp Linguine with cheese grits and salad

Homemade HotPockets (using crescent rolls) Ham & Cheese

Pot Roast with carrots, onions, and potatoes

Must Love Dogs...

In our family, we believe that you must love dogs!

I know some folks are "cat people" but to me there is nothing quite a nice as having a Fido to love!

I think you must love dogs because...

Dogs Love You

Dogs Follow You

Dogs Explore with You

Dogs Wait for You

Dogs Ramble with You

Dogs Make You Wonder About Things

Dogs Entertain Themselves When You're Busy

Dogs Look for Ways to Make You Happy

Dogs Play Make-Believe Without Ever Questioning Your Sanity

Dogs Want to Work For the Price of a Petting

Dogs Just Make You Feel Good Inside

All These Things...

These words have been in my heart a lot the past few days. 

We have just closed out the scheduled services for our Spring Revival at church. From the atmosphere, I feel like revival is far from over! This is true for me especially! I was so touched by each and every service and am grateful for having experienced each blessing.

Matthew 6:33 states "But seek first the kingdom for God and His righteousness, and all these things hall be added to you."

That's a well know verse. I mean it is probably right up there with one of the first scriptures I memorized. Remember in this post when I confessed to you guys that I had been selfish and tried to control various aspects of my life. Knowing full well that God was hoping I would just give it all to Him to work out? And then in my last post I took the time to tell you how blessed I was for the peace that God had put in my heart. 

Now I feel its time to reveal a little more about what God is doing in my heart. If you go back a read blogs from the past several years you will see that over and over I have made statements like :"God is about to move" or "changes are in store for my family." I was reading over these this weekend and I was struck by the fact that some of those times (although I was fully expecting God to move) I did not ALLOW Him to much of anything. 

Well, I'm ready. I was reminded that the BEST feeling in life is when I remember that my life is not my own and I should just give it to Him already!!! That's what I am ready to do. Give Him my life. Not just my marriage, not just my talents, not just my kids, not just my money, not just my time, MY LIFE...all of it. I am at a point where I not only know but BELIEVE that I might as well not have life if I am not going to give it to Him. I mean in my head I know that I can do nothing that comes anywhere close to what He can do with me. 

I have hobbies, interest, and goals for my family. I love to live in the country. I mean, I go to neighborhoods and I think how nice the homes are but geez-louise to not be able to take the dogs out half-dressed, or allow the kids to romp partially unsupervised. Who would want to live where you could NOT hear coyotes for goodness sakes! I like to hunt. I mean, if I lived anywhere else I would have to (gasp) drive somewhere to hunt. That would seriouly limit the time that Justin and I could spend in the woods. I like to train my labs. Where could I go that I could have space not just for them to live but to train them??

Y'all may be laughing at me right now but this is seriously thoughts I have. Then I think about money. I mean, IF anything were to ever happen to mine or Justin's jobs what is out there for us to do? I mean we have to have clothes. We have to have food. We have to have all of these things...

That is when it hit me! Re-read Matthew 6:33 again!

Duh! If you start reading in Matthem 6:25 you find instructions not to worry. If God gives you a something to do to serve Him you should not stop and ask what will I eat? what will I drink? what will happen to my body? what will I wear? The end of verse 25 says, "Is not life more than food and the body more that clothing?" 

God brought me into this world. He gave me a set of abilities. He saved me (redeemed me), He set me apart for His use (sanctified me),  and He has kept me (prospered me). All things He promised He would do if I trusted Him. Personally, I think it is about time that I start REALLY living out Matthew 6:33

"Seek Ye First the kingdom of God..."

For me, right now, today, this means seeking out what direction He wants me to go. Be listening, watching, and waiting for Him to let me know what I should do and then........

Jump, go, do, be, share, love....what ever verb is approrate for the task He sets before me. 

I! AM! READY!

I will not stop to consider all these things (as listed above). I will believe...

"and all these things will be added unto you!"

Father, please help me to find what it is You have for me to do. Help me to see that nothing in life has value unless you are at the center of it. Give me strength to face those who might be negative and keep me focused on seeking FIRST Your kingdom and your righteousness. amen

Peaceful

Lately, times of turmoil have found their way into my life. Noting major...just tons of little things that when added together seem to equal stress. I know that stress is my enemy. Or maybe stress is just a weapon of my enemy. Either way I know that God has plans to prosper me. {For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11} To me, this has nothing to do with money, station in life, or even health. I think God is referring to spiritual prosperity which includes the cultivation of the Fruit of the Spirit in my life. 

I learned a long time ago that inside of me {and each soul, I believe} lies a fertile field. A place where God plans to create a mighty harvest of love, joy, peace...just to name a few. Often our sin-nature confuses us into believing that this empty field is destined to be filled with hobbies, careers, family, and even things..."stuff." Sometimes we settle in our lives for this "stuff" rather that allowing God to use this space to honor Him and therefore filling every desire with an everlasting goodness!

Of all of these things that God working out in my life I have been particularly focused on the peace that He has provided. All of the stresses that are in my life, when examined, are found to be things that I {not God} brought into my life.  The little things in life that seem to pile up and make me want to hide my head in the ground are actually works of God! Yes, I believe He is using these things to teach me to be more peaceful.

In peace I will lie down and sleep,
   for you alone, LORD,
   make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8

Its just like I have mentioned before with trials in life, God can use everything in our lives to gain glory...if we let Him! I know that changes are coming for my family. Justin and I are standing together on faith that no matter what direction our lives are headed it is the perfect will of God. We are peaceful about the future. Actually we are kind of excited!

The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace. Psalm 29:11

I don't want to mislead you and make you think that we never worry. Never have conversations that begin with, "What are we gonna do if..." because we do! We worry, we cry, we even stress. But that is when we pray and hold fast to Jeremiah 29:11 and know that

no matter where we live or work, 

no matter what we have to eat, 

no matter how much gas cost,

no matter how our children preform in school, 

no matter how good our retrievers are trained,

no matter if all the clothes/dishes are washed, 

NO MATTER WHAT 

our lives are in His hands! 

It is the act of trusting, of acting on faith, that honors God and makes the harvest of our lives so pleasing to Him. I am working hard to act on faith and have peace today!

So my prayer today is the words of Philippians 4:7

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

Pondering Love...

This is my husband...my love...

He is everything you might imagine. Wonderful, strong, handsome, kind, and very loving. It is an honor to be called his wife. I love the picture above. It so captures him. He is a not a big fan of being photographed so when I catch one like this I cherish it.

I could not begin to describe all the ways he loves me. I know that he loves me no matter what. It is a type of love that mirrors the type of love that God has for me. Most people do not realize that marriage was designed by God to help us become better Believers. It was made to be work because through this type of love both parties learn so much about themselves. Being so close to someone helps you identify the areas of life in which you are in need of improvement. You practice love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control...just to name a few. Its not like Justin says,"Hey, you need more kindness today" but God sometimes uses our circumstances to teach me just that!

I'm not sure if you guys know this but Justin and I do just about everything together. We are blessed to enjoy the same interest of which serving God, loving each other, raising God-loving and kind children, having labs, and hunting top the list! I have realized that not all couples have this type of relationship which is fine. But, it makes me respect Justin that much more for truly letting me into "his" world.

The Bible tells me that I was made to be his helper. I pray that I live up to that title. I pray that my very existence makes his journey easier.

Our almost-nine year marriage has been blessed beyond belief. I love to quote Psalm 126:3 "The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy!" I feel that this verse was written just for me! It applies to so many different aspects of my life; including my marriage.

I am not sure I conveyed any of my feelings in this post. I just love that man SO much and I want the world to know that I have THE.BEST.HUSBAND...EVER :)

Happy Birthday Sawyer!

Five years ago today Justin and I were welcoming our second child and first son into the world. We were discovering the amazing way God provides exactly the amount of love you need when you need it! Its funny how in those early years I would get caught up in things like his weight, how much he was eating, what he was eating and all those wonderful things you think about it the early years. He had a lot of things to overcome to become the little man that he is today. It is not easy on an 18-24 month old to be separated from your mom, dad, as sister like he was. Thankfully, he made it though those hard times.

Today, he is an unpredictiable, hilerious, thoughtful, serious, fun-loving little man!

Sawyer,

It has been a joy to call you our son! You are truly one of the most interesting people that I know. We are so proud of you on so many levels. Just yesterday, you made me simle when you put you dollar, that someone gave you for your birthday, into the offering at church. From the day you were born, we have loved you. No matter where life may take you, we always will! We know that you will make us proud with your contibution to the world. We know that God has a plan for you and He made you for great things. We are honored that He chose us to help guide you to this purpose. Thank you for being you!

Sawyer with his birthday present Luna! He was so suprised. He kept saying "my own dog!" We made the right choice we know for SURE!

Welcome Luna! We know you will take good care of Sawyer!

A prayerful and honest post...

At the current moment I am upset, hurt, maybe even a little heartbroken. Usually this would NOT be the time that I would write a post for fear that I might write something I would later regret. However, I feel led so here goes...

A few moments ago, I got word that someone was bad-mouthing our Wilms Warrior Team t-shirts for this year's Relay For Life (as seen here). It seems that the theme "Cancer...Happy Trails To You" is unclear. I want to clarify its meaning. I have not idea who started these statements but I feel in my heart that it was someone who is hurting. Someone struggling to deal with the crazy roller-coaster emotions that cancer evokes; emotions I know all to well. I feel that the words CANCER and HAPPY in the same sentence seem like an oxymoron to this person and may have even offended them. They seemed to think that there is nothing happy about cancer and I can see their point. I would never hope to offend someone who is dealing with cancer so I want to be clear.

Anytime I have ever heard the song "Happy Trails" used it is to tell someone/something goodbye. In my design of the shirt I hoped to relay this message TO cancer. Goodbye, so long, get lost...may we NEVER meet again.

I did want the shirt to be uplifting. Because that is something that people dealing with cancer need. Trust me...I know.

Maybe this person does not really know me. Maybe they see my beautiful, intelligent, glasses wearing, no front tooth having, kindergarten daughter and think..."sure they are happy, cancer is all over for them." Maybe they don't know that there is a hole in my heart and in the heart of my family where this disease took my father 3 months after his 40th birthday. Maybe they don't know what it is like to hear "she has a mass on her kidney" or "there is a high chance she might die in surgery"....maybe they just don't know.

Maybe they can't see anything HAPPY about this...

or this...

but I can!

If this person is hurting I want them to know that I am praying for them, whoever they are. That they will allow God to come into their lives so that they can once again experience the happiness in the world around them. Cancer and what it does to those we love is NOT HAPPY. However, I am a happy person because God has blessed me...the chief of all sinners.

Supporting Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society is something that is very special for my family. One of the small reasons we participate is so that we can show Carys what it means to be involved and give back. We try to make her a big part of our team. Our t-shirt are always inspired by her and in honor of her fight. This year she wanted a western theme so that she could wear her cowboy boots. We have happy looking children on our shirts because she wanted them there. The shirt was not ment to imply that cancer or its journey are happy.

I hope that this person will join us at the event. I must warn them that if they do not want to see people having FUN or being HAPPY while fighting cancer they might not want to come. Relay is designed to inspire Hope and Joy for people dealing with cancer and the possibility of ending cancer forever!  That is the message of our shirt and I pray that message comes shinning through. 

What have I gotten myself into???

It all started a few months ago. Carys came home saying that there was going to be a beauty pageant at her school. I have never even considered putting who I know to be the most beautiful girl in the world in a pageant. I always said that if she REALLY wanted to, she could. I am not aganist pageants, I just want to be sure that it is for fun and that she KNOWS that she is beautiful!

Well, she asked...and I attempted to get her not to do it. I told her how she would have to get up in front of everyone. See, Carys can be very outgoing when she is comfortable with all the people who are around, but she is also like her Daddy and can be a little leary of large groups of people.

But no, she was persistant. We went to pick out the dress. I only had a few guidelines and I let her have fun trying them on and picking out "the one." She loves the show "Say Yes to the Dress" so this was like a dream come true for her. Then she decided all on her own to ask Leah Downs and Meagan Watkins to help her get her hair and makeup done. This was another part of the experience that Carys LOVED!

 Of course she looked like an angel but I was still not sure how she would do on stage.

  

Needless to say she did well and had a BLAST!



Oh my, now she has been bitten by the bug! What have I gotten myself into???

Relay for Life...

So it is that time of year again. To raise awareness for a cause that is very, very dear to me; cancer research. The American Cancer Society does a great job of raising money to fund research to help put an end to this terrible epidemic. I call it that not because of research figures that I have, but because of experience. Last night I began making a list of all of the people that I relay for. I sounds like a pitiful thing to say..."My father and daughter had cancer." But folks...that is just the tip of the iceberg for the ways that cancer has effected MY little ole life. I have grandparents, aunts, uncles, church family, and close friends who have been effected. That does not even count all of the people that we met through Carys' journey! I want to lead my children my example that you should not wait until someone you know is diagnosed to take action and you should ALWAYS work hard to help those who helped you in troubled time. So, if you must know THIS is why I Relay...

Our team...the Wilms Warriors are in the process of fundraising to try and meet our goal of $3000 this year. We are on our way and I MUST say thank you to everyone who has pitched in so far! If you would like you can visit our team page Wilms Warriors and sign up to be on our team. You do not have to live close to help in this way. You can raise funds and enter them all on-line. You can also follow this link to make a one-time donation to help us reach our goal.

Another way to help is to purchase one of our 2011 Team T-shirts. You can help us fight cancer with research $$, support those currently fighting the war with cancer, honor Carys Jo...all with a $10.00 t-shirt!



Full Back Design



Front Pocket Design

 If you would like to order a shirt, email me at cham4him@gmail.com asap. We will be ordering soon. They come in Youth M-L and Adult S-XL for $10. Adult 2XL-3XL are $12 each.

If you can please help us support this cause we hold so dear!