Savings this Week!

If you know me personally , you know that I like to score great deals. My goal is to always spend less than I save…in just about all areas. I also want to get things we will use. Just because something is on sale does not mean it is a good deal. I generally shop at Publix because I really think that I get the most for my money there. This week was no exception. I am so excited to link to Fiddledeedeemom and her Super Savers post for a couple reasons. The first is because I get the chance to look at how other people save money (and hopefully learn some new tricks!). The other reason is because she finds the MOST awesome deals and can match them with coupons. I am able to save some great money when I read her posts!

Here is my trip from this morning:

I purchased the following:

2 – Publix Gallon Milk
1 – Conecuh County Sausage
2 – packs Perdue Chicken
2 – Motts Tots Apple Juice
2 – Mentos Gum
4 – Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Pecans
2 – Juicy Juice
1 – Publix Paper Towels (today’s penny item)
2 – Back to Nature Cinnamon Sticks
1 – Back to Nature Peanut Butter Cookies
2 – Back to Nature Mint Cream Cookies
1 – Lipton Pyramid Tea Bags
4 – Boxes (4 sticks each) Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter Sticks
2 – Cheeze It Whole Grain Boxes
2 – Reusable Bags (free with cereal purchases)
2 – Reese Puff Cereal
2 – Cookie Crisp Cereal
1 – Rice Krispies Cereal
4 – 20oz. bottles of Sobe Life Water

BEST DEALS:
Rice Krispies were free thanks to a coupon!
The Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter were $0.15 each after the BOGO sale and the $1 coupons that were in a dispenser near the butter!
Back to Nature Items: $0.44 each after BOBO and coupons!

Total Spent: $40.59 plus taxes

Total Saved: $80.75!!!

What about you?

I have a few vices in my life right now. Currently my Top 5 are as follows:

Chocolate Covered Almonds

The Entire Twilight Series

Listening to all types of music, new and old

So happy this is back on the air!!!

Top Chef Masters rocked! Can’t wait to see this season in Vegas!

What about you? What are your vices?

Planes, DR and a life change

July 24, 1999

I boarded a plane in Nashville. I was bound for Santo Domingo with a layover in Miami. I would be joined by over 100 people as i arrived in the Dominican Republic for a nine day mission trip. I was aware of the stories of how trips like this were life changing. I had been given the chance to serve both domestically as well as in Mexico at this point. I always came home with new perspective and my heart a little heavier for the people I left.

As I boarded my plane in Miami I was feeling a little anxious. I am not too peaceful when it comes to take off and landing of a big metal thing in the air.

I found my seat and sat down. I was in a window seat.There in the aisle seat sat a guy. I knew by his t-shirt we would be serving together in DR. We talked and it seemed that the conversation was easy to maintain. After arriving in the Dominican I found his face again. It seemed we were running in the same circle of friends. His smile was a welcome addition to my day filled with new faces, unknowns, sweat and tears.

And his smile is still a welcome addition to my day!

We recently celebrated our ‘10 year anniversary of the day we met’. As one person said, most people don’t remember the exact day they met….but we do. And I treasure it.

Here is how he surprised me to celebrate the night! With a Note in Facebook!

My wife might’ve beat me to FB to announce the anniversary of our meeting 10 years ago today, but I had her fooled when I left the house this morning. Until she finds herself reading this, she’ll think I forgot. Well, it was July 24th 1999. I had flown from Nashville to Miami headed toward the Dominican Republic for 9 days of diggin’ holes, bending rebar, and a number of other things associated with building a hospital and repairing a playground. In Miami, I boarded AA flight 1187 seat 22b (aisle seat), Jennifer had seat 22a (window seat). She was stuck with me. We spent the next 9 days serving together. 3 months later we were engaged. A year after that we were married. The rest is blessed history.

So, no I didn’t forget. In fact I hope she reads this soon cuz she’s got to get things ready for the sitter so we can go out and celebrate tonight. I’m guessing when she reads this she is either amazed or stressed, or amazingly stressed.

Happy 10 yrs ago I met you today Shuga!
Thanks be to God.

I agree, thanks be to God. He brought into my life the most thoughtful man who is a perfect balance for me.  Life seems so much more full since I met you.

When I met Heath I never thought that I would really be ‘worth’ loving. I felt so damaged and easily disposed. He change that for me. He allowed me to be valuable and gave me confidence in myself. I am such a different person since he came into my life.

10 years later, still celebrating each other!

Clinging to Hope

A friend of ours lost their dad yesterday.

A few weeks ago, the man was diagnosed with lung cancer…that had spread. The doctors gave him 3 weeks to live. He didn’t make it that long

I was shocked when I heard the news Monday morning that he had passed. It seemed so sudden.

Having walked through cancer with my mom, my heart felt a little extra heavy as I sorted through the emotion that flooded my mind.

I can still remember sitting in this little room with my dad and the doctor. I can remember hearing the doctor say the words ‘it does not look good’. It was the second surgery within a few weeks and the cancer was not changing. The doctor said many more sentences but I could not even begin to tell you one word he said after that. It wasn’t until the end of the conversation that I began to listen again. He said something that has stuck with me for years now.

He said ‘but we do have Hope.

I knew in that instant that he was not talking about medicines or doctors or facilities. He was talking about Christ.

And that in that moment, I had to choose. Hope or despair. It sure sounds simple right now but in that moment it felt like a war raging in my heart as I grappled with the idea of turning to a God that had allowed us to sit in this room or wallow in pity and anger at the same God who brought us here.

What I did not realize was that I was making a choice that would create a moment that would define me. A moment that would turn my world upside down and bring me not just to my knees but on my face before a God that held me through my questions. And fears. And anger. And hurt. And love. And peace.

And He holds me still. He holds me when those emotions rush back in my mind and heart and tears fill my eyes.

I had months to prepare. I prepared for the joys and heartaches. I walked the corridors of hospitals with uncertantiy of the future. I held the phone and shed so many tears with my family and friends as we simply hung to Hope together. I prepared for what life would look like and took advantage of my mom’s good days. And then slowly, her good days last longer. She was able to be home more than at the hospital. Somehow, after several months of living in the unknown, what seemed impossible came to be reality. And she is still here today.

However, had the day come where I had to say good bye to her, I am sure that I would still be clinging to Hope. Because hope is not really an emotion. It is a choice.

And even know, I cling to Hope. I am not sure that is always at the forefront of my mind anymore but I do know that I feel it is ingrained in my DNA to cling to Him. I don’t know how else to really function.

And it is that Hope that makes me know that whatever the future, I have a God that embraces me.

Finding my way back

May 5, 2009.

It was the last time I blogged.

It seems like years ago.

And I have no idea where to begin!

I am not even sure if people are still wanting to read

So much has happened in the last few months.

I have learned some lessons, both easily and some that involved tears.

Most of all, I feel that I am entering a new season of life. Some chapters are ending. I am learning be content with that. New stories are being written and I am enjoying the way the words and actions are coming together.

Count me back…still not sure how I will articulate all that is happening but I know that I am ready to share!

See you tomrorow!

Word to your Mother Contest!

I don’t post about too many contests on my blog. I am making an exception today, though. There are two reasons for this:

The Bomb Mom Contest

1. I really like these shirts and I think they are awesome!

2. Did I mention I really like these shirts?

My blog ‘friend’ Elizabeth created this t-shirt line that I think is great! I already have my shirt and I love it. But I have to be honest and tell you that I had such a hard time choosing just one! So, in hopes of getting my second favorite I am blogging for an extra 5 entries!

These are great for you if you are a mom or gifts for others.

Check them out, they are the bomb!

Publix Trip May 4

Today was another great day at publix! I knew that I needed to purchase things like meat and milk but I was determined the get as much for my money as possible. The challenge for met his week was that I was not able to print coupons from the internet. I had to get creative!!

Here is what I bought:
1 – family size bag Tostitos Chips
1 – Tostitos Cheese Dip
1 – Box Capri Sun
3 – Juicy Juice Immunity Juices
2 – All Small & Mighty Detergent
4 – Old El Paso Taco Kits
2 – Old El Paso Taco Seasoning
3 – Reese’s Puff Cereal
1 – Loaf of Bread
2 – Progresso Bread Crumbs
1 – Cascade Detergent
1 – Kid Essentials by Boost Drinks
1 – Gallon Milk
1 – Gallon Publix Organge Juice
1 – 1/2 Gallon Deli Tea (penny item)
1 – Deli Creations box lunch
1 – Yoplait Kid’s Yogurt 6 pack
2 – Danimals Drinkable Yogurt 6 packs
2 – Klondike Ice Cream 6 packs
1 – French Toast Sticks
1 – Family Pack of Chicken Breasts
1 – Pack of Sausage
1 – 1 1/2 pounds ground beef

Total before savings: $136.76 plus tax

Total Saved with coupons and sales: $67.16 plus tax

Total Spent: $69.60 plus tax

Sometimes to go forward

Sometimes to go forward you have to go back to where you came from. I have to be honest with you all that I do not keep in touch with many of my high school friends. Maybe 2 or 3 I still talk to but that is it. The reason for this may or may not have had something to do with a boy, a break up and people taking sides. I chose to just not deal with the petty drama around those times and I moved on. Lately, Facebook and Myspace have had me evaluating those ‘friends’ as they often send friend requests. Sometimes I leave a friend request waiting for days or even weeks as I really try to decide if I am ready to let them into my virtual world.

Recently, the facebook world brought back into my life Marysol. Now, just to set the record straight, she missed a good portion of that drama and it was just distance and age (because in high school 2 years is like a decade) that separated us. She and her husband, DeWet, were the ones to lead the Cape to Cairo Challenge and currently reside in South Africa. However, they are in the states for a few weeks and I had the chance to squeeze in a lunch with her. I say squeeze because I know she wants to visit family and tons of people were pulling at her. I want to tell you that I learned new things about her while we sat for a little over an hour.

* Living in South Africa is not just a ‘job’ it is her home. She talks about it with possibilities and she has s park in her eye as she shares about how she would like to raise a family there.
* The people matter to her…and not just for a month to two. In fact, her exact words to me were ‘we want to work ourselves out of a job here’. She and her husband believe that their calling is to train the local people how to share the gospel and disciple other people.
*Humility emits from her as she shared with me how God continued to provide for them.
* Community is just as important there as it is here…maybe even more so. She tells me that while they have a vacuum it is rarely at their house. Instead it floats from one place to another so that everyone can use it. The same is true with a muffin tin. Imagine the relationships that are formed from that!

More importantly, I learned that it is ok to ‘go back’. Sometimes I get so caught up in the pain and let downs of life that I refuse to go back and see the joy and gifts that God has brought into my life. And it is just not high school but life in general. The baggage from life’s hurts and disappointments can weigh so heavy that I miss the great things that happened in those moments. The fact is, had that boy not come into my life and then been out of my life I would never had appreciated Heath and I would never have known who my true friends were. I would never have had to struggle with finding myself but I also would not be as confident as I am today. Sometimes you just have to ‘go back’ in order to realize that those moments are what took you forward.

What moments did you experience life’s hurts/pain and what did you gain ?

This week’s Publix trip

Ok, I know the picture is not the best (that is what happens when your camera batteries need to be recharged and you have to use your phone!). Regardless, I had a great trip at Publix today. And you local girls, this sales goes for a week and a half so you might be able to snag some of these deals this week.

Here were some of the best deals I got:

4 – 8 packs of 20 oz gatorade @ 2.99 each! They are on sale right now for 4.99 and there are a bunch of coupons peel offs on the packages for $2/1. The best part is that I can use these at the ball park!

12 – 20 oz Vitamin Water @ 0.00: The special this week is buy 2, get one free. I had a three 1/1 coupons I was going to use and only get three. However, when I got to the case that held them there were 0.50/1 coupons (which doubled to 1/1) and I took 9 of those coupons combined with my 3. I paid nothing out of pocket!!

3 – reusable bags for free…actually I made money on these. There are coupons all over General Mills and Betty Crocker items that if you buy 2 participating items you get a free reusable bag. The mashed potatoes are included. I bought 6 boxes of potatoes (On sale B1G1) and then bought three bags. The bags are on sale for 0.80/piece but the coupon takes off $1….so you make 0.20 a bag!

2 – Yoplait Kids Yogurts for 0.00!! Again, I actually made money on these as I had 2 coupons for 1.50/1 and the total cost of the yogurt (because they are B1G1) was 2.69. I made 0.31 on that!

Here is the rest of my stuff:

1 – Lil Debbies Brownies

1 – 12 pack Cottonelle Toilet Paper (on sale for 6.99 and used a 1/1 coupon)

2 – Quaker Granola Bars (B1G1)

4 – Sargento Cheeses (these are B1G1 and there were coupons on them to save 0.75 off 2)

1 – Publix bleach (penny item)

2 – Motts Juices (B1G1)

1 – 5lb bag of sugar

1 – Loaf of bread

1 – dozen eggs

1 – Gallon milk

1 – pack of Conecuh County Sausage

Total Before coupons/sales: $114.57

Total Saved: $68.53

Total Spent: 46.06

Where do you shop to save and how do you find the savings?

The Cape to Cairo $5 Challenge!

I want to start this post off with this: I think God is a creative God. He not only created sunsets and seasons but he made a donkey talk and healed a blind man with mud made from his own spit. It that is not creative then I have no clue what is!

Since I firmly believe that we are made in his image it is only fitting that we be creative too…especially when it is about sharing His word with others.

That is where the Cape to Cairo Challenge comes in. Marysol and DeWet posted a video on their blog here but if you can’t see the video here is a quick rundown of what they are wanting to support:

“If you still haven’t heard about this, let us break it down for you quickly. This will also serve as a quick notes for those of you that can’t see the video. There is small-grassroots-pioneer Bible school in Egypt that we are friends with. Its nothing fancy, its the grunt work of Bible training. Its the kind of thing we love to get behind. They are in need of about $6,000 or it will shut down. We realize that is huge amount. We are not even thinking we can meet all of that. So we are thinking small, like $5. And asking God to multiply it by getting perfect strangers to give and share this all over the internet. What happens when people all over the world give $5? They don’t know enough people. We have been there ourselves. Big project, who do you ask to help? So we felt God ask us to put it out to everyone we know and get the blogosphere behind this. Its called networking and advocating on behalf of those who can’t. Part of why we blog is to help connect people with ways they can be a part of the day-to-day things God is doing in Africa. We believe the Arabic speaking world is crucial to missions on the continent and the planet. We don’t want to see this school shut down. So as we work in the Southern Part of Africa, we are wanting to send a huge gift of love and support by April 1st, 2009 to the North. Thus the Cape to Cairo Challenge.”

They also just found out that someone right now is willing to double all donations received up to $500 total! So your $5 becomes $10.

Sometimes I think we sit at our computers and wonder how we can make a difference in the world or we just think that we could never take the time or money to another country….this is the perfect time to be part of the sharing!

Go here for more information about how to give and about Marysol and De Wet and their ministry in Africa!