I Didn't Do It

There are certain things that do not happen in this household. They just don't.

For example, we did not let our 5-month old eat a coaster from Ruby Tuesday last night because it kept her from screaming.

I did not find pieces of cardboard in her poopy diaper today.

Stephen did not yank on our faucet so hard today the top flew off and water sprayed everywhere, drenching him and our kitchen.

We would never laugh so loud that we'd almost scare Brianna if the aforementioned incident did take place.

I did not let Bri lick a lollipop I had because I know she likes cherry-flavored things.

Stephen did not let her lick the lid of his Mountain Dew can.

I did not put her in a sling designed for a newborn yesterday because it was the only thing that would keep her quiet for a few minutes.

I did not put her in her bouncer seat in the bathroom today and then turn the blow-dryer on and leave her to fall asleep.

Never.

Drugstore Deals

On Saturday, Stephen took me out for a rare treat. He took me to Belk (they were having a supposedly huge sale) and then to get Little Caesar's for dinner. The reason we went to Belk is only because I had two gift cards there and I never go there. Okay so technically Brianna has two gift cards there, but seriously, they don't sell anything useful for babies there like sheets or diapers or anything, so as her mother, I took control of her finances. I tried on 12 things, came out with 5, and talked myself down to 2. Yesterday I was going through my bag to check the receipt and everything (you should always check your receipts!!) I realized they had overcharged me! Each shirt I bought was on sale for $10.99 and 40% off of that, so they each should have cost $6.59. Turns out that one was supposed to cost $8.99 and that's what I was charged. So obviously today I set out to get my money back! Since it was their mistake I was sure to get a couple of bucks back (every dollar counts!) Well, I'm not sure what the girl did when she did the return but I got $4.31 back. I mean, 4 bucks is a lot of money, so I'm happy.

Rite Aid Rebates this week are pretty good. Our Rite Aids don't allow "stacking" (you can only use one coupon per item you purchase) so my deals aren't as good as they could have been.

Gillette Fusion Razor -

• Regular price - $9.99
• Sale price - $9.00
• Minus $5.00 rebate
• Minus $4.00 coupon
• Final price - free.

Softsoap body wash (15 oz)

• Regular price - $4.99
• Sale price - $3.99
• Minus $2.00 store coupon
• Minus $1.00 coupon
• Final price - $0.99

Crest toothpaste (4 oz)

• Regular price - $3.79
• Sale price - $2.69
• Minus $2.69 rebate
  
• Minus $0.75 coupon
• Final price - free

I used the money I earned from Rite Aid last month to pay for these. So my total purchase price for these items was $9.15 but I'll earn $7.69 in rebates, so out of pocket I would have paid $1.46 for these items.

This week at Walgreens the savings are very good again, especially if you have a good amount of Register Rewards to use (which I had $12.50 of). There were a couple of things which I may go back and get but I'm not really worried about. I didn't take note of the regular prices for these items, so I only have the sale prices.

Hunt's tomato sauce
Use a Walgreens coupon from the store ad to get an 8 oz can of tomato sauce for $0.39. This is a great price and you can get up to 3.

Toilet bowl cleaner
Use a Walgreens coupon from the store ad to get one toilet bowl cleaner for $0.39. I don't know if that's a good price or not (I'm expecting it's not a bad price) but for example, I got one just to put in our upstairs toilet which I don't clean as often as our downstairs bathrooms. So it was a good deal for me.

Chapstick

• Sale price - $2.99
• Minus Register Rewards (RR) - $3.00
• Final price - free

Apple juice
On sale right now for $1.67. This is a great price on juice and you can get up to three!

Herbal Essence conditioner

• Sale price - $2.99
• Minus $1.00 coupon
• Minus RR - $3.00
• Final price - free

Dentek floss picks

• Sale price - $2.00
• Minus $1.00 coupon
• Minus RR - $2.00
• Final price - free

Gillette Venus Razor

• Regular price - $11.49
• Sale price - $7.99
• Minus $2.00 coupon
• Minus RR - $4.00
• Final price - $1.99

Gillette Fusion Razor

• Regular price - $9.99
• Sale price - $8.99
• Minus $4.00 coupon
• Minus $2.00 coupon
• Minus RR - $6.00
• Final price - free

Oral-B toothbrush

• Sale price - $3.00
• Minus $0.75 coupon
• Minus RR - $3.00
• Final price - free

Halls cough drops

• Regular price - $2.99
• Sale price - $1.00
• Minus RR - $1.00
• Final price - free

Vaseline lotion

• Sale price - $6.99
• Minus $1.25 coupon
• Minus $1.25 coupon
• Minus RR - $7.00
• Final price - free

So the thing about Register Rewards is that you pay up front and get coupons back which you can use to purchase anything in the store on your next visit. So out of pocket, I paid $15.73, saved $37.59 with coupons, and got $23 in Register Rewards (I was supposed to get $29 but I got home and realized I made it home with one less coupon than I was supposed to.)

We decided to go out to eat tonight which is like a once-a-month kind of thing for us. We had a coupon for Ruby Tuesday that was Buy One, Get One Free entree, and we also had a $25 gift card, so we decided to pair them up to eat for free. Also, side note. I have learned to do this at places that have an incredible salad bar. Because I looooove salad, but I'm not a salad-for-a-main-course kind of girl, as soon as the waiter brings our food, I will immediately ask for a box. Then I can go on and put my dinner in the box (usually a huge hamburger) and then I can eat plates and plates of salad and french fries and not feel like I have to eat my huge burger too. And also, if it's a salad bar, go on back up right before you leave and get another helping of salad and put it in a box as well. I mean, you did pay for it. So anyway, we were feeling pretty good because Stephen got a steak that was like $18 or something (crazy!!) and I got this huge burger plus three gigantic servings of salad (I really love their salad bar) and then we paid with our gift card because our meal was only $22... and lo and behold, the card said $25 on it but it actually had $50 on it!! Sweet! We will wait for another BOGO offer from Ruby Tuesday and make our way back there. It is my favorite restaurant!

Anyway it was a really great day altogether! Brianna did really well in the restaurant, but it probably also helped that it was like 6:00 and we were the only people under 75 in there. I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds!

P.S. Sorry to all those reading this blog who have no interest in my thriftiness. If you are looking for pictures of Brianna, you might want to head over here because I haven't taken pictures of her in forever! I know, I am a bad mother and blah blah blah but if you haven't noticed, playing with a baby is much more fun when you don't have a huge metal brick hanging off your wrist. If you are looking for information about our life these days, this is it! Sorry to disappoint but maybe soon something interesting will happen around here!

P.P.S. Speaking of something interesting, the one interesting thing that has happened was Claire's baptism. So I will blog about that later since your eyes are probably tearing up right now from the length of this post.

Good Deals!

Today has been such a good day! When I save money, I always get really excited. But you probably know that by now.

This morning Brianna and I were going to go to yard sales and then work a couple of hours. We went to one yard sale and it started misting, so at the second one I left Brianna in the car and just jumped out to see if they had anything good. They had some cookbooks for $1 but nothing spectacular. By that time it really started pouring so rather than make myself soaking wet for no good reason, we went on to work. After I got a lot done there (she was happy there so I wanted to work as long as possible) we headed off toward Harris Teeter. There are a couple of good deals there this week, especially if you're an e-Vic member.

I walked out of Harris Teeter with a 5-lb bag of potatoes for $0.97 and 5 cans of Progresso soup for $0.71 each. Woot woot! Normally Progresso is too expensive for us and we really don't need it but with the sale (Buy 2 Get 3 Free) and coupon ($0.50 doubled) it was cheaper than the store brand.

I was already feeling good about those purchases (I mean, that means I can make some more cheesy potato skins and mashed potatoes) but as I passed by a yard sale we had stopped at on the way to work, it looked like everyone was still outside. At 3:30?? As mom said, they must have been desperate! Like I said in reply, that's what I was hoping!!! I got out of the car and the girl said, "Hey, you're back!" I said, "Yeah, I wanted to see if you were wanting to get rid of any of the cookbooks." She gave an exhausted sigh and said, "Sure - you can have 'em all for $2.00."

And that's how I got 19 cookbooks for $0.11 a piece.

P.S. Tonight we are getting Little Caesar's and watching movies! I love Saturdays! And I made fruit leather today so if you are interested in that watch for the recipe over on my recipe blog.

Frugaloholic

In order to prepare for next Tuesday's gathering (we can talk about that later when things are more "firm"), I really paid attention to my shopping today. So that I can keep all of this in my head but not waste the paper writing it down, I'm typing up my experiences from grocery shopping today. That way you guys can see why I buy certain items and what coupons I found were useful.

First stop - Walgreens
Now, the thing about Walgreens was, I didn't really need anything. But I had some Walgreens coupons that would expire soon, so my plan was to use my Walgreens coupons to purchase something that would give me more coupons in return.

The first good deal was Campbell soups. I use condensed soups a lot in recipes, especially cream of mushroom. But 95% of the time it's cheaper to buy store brand soups. And guess what - they taste just the same! Imagine that! At Walgreens, Campbell's condensed soup is normally $1.59. It was on sale for $0.89 a can, but I had a $0.40 coupon off of two. That would make each soup $0.69 each, which is a better deal than store brand soups (usually around $0.80 per can).

Then I bought a Thermacare heat wrap. I never buy these things - EXPENSIVE!!! But with one purchase ($2.49 sale price) I would get $2.50 back in Walgreens coupons which I can use on any future purchase at Walgreens. I also used a $1.00 coupon so I actually paid $1.49 for it and still got back $2.50.

Lastly, I bought some conditioner. It was on the "ethnic" aisle - I'm not sure if that really matters for my hair, but the reason I bought it is because I would get back $6 in Walgreens coupons for a future purchase. As I left the store though, I thought I had paid too much. When I went back inside, it turned out that the cashier had not put through one of my coupons. During the process of trying to refund me the correct amount, the computer messed up, so in the end the manager gave me an extra $6 in Walgreens coupons. Sweet!

Next stop - Food Lion
This week Food Lion is having some BIG savings! As Stephen said when I got home, "Well, we've got plenty of starches to last us!"

I bought Food Lion brand lasagna noodles because we love lasagna around here, and I know I'll use them. They are normally $1.99 but were on sale for $1.35. All other types of Food Lion brand pasta were on sale for $0.59 so I bought a 1-lb box of elbow macaroni and three 1-lb boxes of spaghetti (we eat a TON of spaghetti!!) Then it was off to the Mac and Cheese! Food Lion brand macaroni and cheese is on sale this week for $0.10 (normally $0.87). Seriously - when I saw that in the advertisement I was sure it was a misprint!! But no! So of course I bought 10 of those. A couple immediately went to a guy at work who is getting ready to have surgery. I figured mac and cheese from a box is something his son can cook for him. :) Then I found a couple of jars of baby food that were on sale. Normally I would pass right by these but they were only $0.35 each and don't expire until 11/10. Certainly Brianna will be eating more than breastmilk by then. Lastly I bought cooking butter because I use it all the time. It's normally $3.29 for 4 sticks but it was buy one get one free, making one package $1.65. Then I used a $1.50 coupon making it roughly $0.15. AWESOME!! So for 18 items I spent $5.77. I saved $13.49 and only used one coupon! The guy behind me in line actually said, "Whoa! She got awwwl thayat fer under six dollers!?" (He was country but knew a good deal when he saw one!)

Last stop - Rite Aid
Rite Aid is usually the place I know I'm gonna go every week. But this month their sales and rebates have not been stellar. Because I use "rollovers" at Rite Aid (I spend the money I make at Rite Aid only at Rite Aid) I decided to splurge on a new toothpaste. I'm definitely not picky about toothpaste but I do love trying new kinds! Aquafresh has a new toothpaste out and Rite Aid had a rebate for it. So it is normally $4.39 (and by the way, who in the world pays that much for toothpaste? I will hardly buy a shirt for $4.39!!) and it was on sale for $3.49. Then I had a coupon for $1.00 off and a $1.50 rebate on it. That means it was $0.99 which I normally wouldn't pay for toothpaste but like I said, I felt like splurging.

By the way, if you save your receipts from Rite Aid from 9/13/09 to 10/17/09 you can send the information to Rite Aid and get a check back (plus any rebate offers you are completing!) So save your receipts!

More Coupons

I went back for more triple coupons yesterday and today. This is from today's trip:


I got a lot of the same items, particularly because General Mills has a promotion right now where if you buy 15 GM products you get $5 off automatically. Well, that is EASY because we eat a ton of GM products!! So... yesterday this is how I did.

Pillsbury Savorings - Regular price $4.49. I paid $1.35.
Total cereal - Regular price $4.29. I paid $0.75.
Baby Orajel - Regular price $5.99. I paid $3.74.
Hormel Compleats meal - Regular price $2.69. I paid $0.44.
Pillsbury crescent rolls - Regular price $2.39. I paid $1.40.
Crisco canola oil - Regular price $4.49. I paid $1.34.
Fiber One bars - Regular price $3.45. I paid $0.50.
Land O Lakes butter - Regular price $2.25. I paid $0.60.

And I got more Nature Valley bars, Pillsbury pizza crust, Totinos pizza rolls and fruit snacks. I spent $17 and saved $48.

Today I went back after church for my last trip.

Tic Tac Chills - Regular price $1.69. I paid nothing.
Mahatma rice - Regular price $1.49. I paid nothing.
Green Giant veggies - Regular price $1.29. I paid $0.52 for each.
Wacky Mac - Regular price $1.59. I paid nothing.
Burleson honey - Regular price $3.99. I paid $1.64.
Starkist tuna - Regular price $1.59. I paid nothing.
Bumblebee tuna packets - Regular price $1.99. I paid $0.34.
McCain french fries - Regular price $3.49. I paid $1.24.
Excedrin - Regular price $4.79. I paid $2.54.

And I got more Warm Delights, Pop Tarts, another Jimmy Dean breakfast entree, and 5 more boxes of Totinos pizza rolls. I spent $15 and saved $42.

I think that's my last run. I'm just about out of coupons!!

Triples Number Two

Yesterday mom said that she used to lay out everything she had bought at triple coupons for dad to see, and she'd say, "I got ALL THIS for $X.xx!" Well, I do that sometimes with Stephen but most things I get need to be frozen or refrigerated so he doesn't get the full effect. So I took a picture today of what I got:

Betty Crocker Warm Delights (2) - Regular price $2.59. I paid $0.17.
Mop N Glo - Regular price $3.79. I paid $0.74.
Kelloggs Poptarts - Regular price $2.19. I paid $0.54.
Special K Bars - Regular price $3.29. I paid $0.25.
Suave bodywash (3) - Regular price $2.39 each. I paid $0.33 each.
Comet cleaner - Regular price $1.19. I paid nothing.
Pillsbury Toaster Strudels - Regular price $2.95. I paid $0.50.
Marie Callendar frozen dinner - Regular price $4.39. I paid $0.25.
Totinos Pizza Rolls (5) - Regular price $2.29. I paid $0.68 each.
Sweet Sue chicken and dumplings - Regular price $2.99. I paid $0.25.
Eggo Blueberry waffles - Regular price $2.79. I paid $0.97.
Land o Frost 1 lb ham - Regular price $4.99. I paid $2.34.
Fruit Gushers (2) - Regular price $2.89. I paid $1.25.
Betty Crocker frosting - Regular price $1.99. I paid nothing.
Nature Valley granola bars - Regular price $3.25. I paid $1.00.
Fiber One toaster pastries - Regular price $2.55. I paid $0.25.

All in all, I spent $11 and saved $56! Probably my best run ever!

Triples

We finally made it to triple coupons! Better late than never!!

Betty Crocker Warm Delights - Regular price $1.99. I paid $0.17.
Betty Crocker frosting - Regular price $1.99. I paid nothing.
Lawry's garlic salt - Regular price $1.55. I paid $0.05.
Viva paper towels - Regular price $2.49. I paid nothing.
Kellogg's Pop Tars - Regular price $2.19. I paid $0.54.
Wishbone salad dressing - Regular price $2.75. I paid nothing.
Spray N Wash - Regular price $3.49. I paid $0.24.
Bumblebee Tuna Packets - Regular price $1.99. I paid $0.49.
Edge shaving gel - Regular price $2.99. I paid $0.74.
Jimmy Dean breakfast entree - Regular price $2.99. I paid $0.25.
Green Giant veggies - Regular price $1.90. I paid $0.25.
Pillsbury pizza crust - Regular price $2.79. I paid $1.14.
Hormel pepperoni - Regular price $3.99. I paid $1.35.

Total: Spent $10, saved $43. Yay!

Sleeping

Last night I couldn't sleep because I was so excited about triple coupons. I tried everything to get my restless mind to slow down - reading, working on a puzzle, counting... I finally fell asleep around midnight. I popped up at 7:00 am ready to go! Because surely Brianna would wake up soon and we could head off to triple coupons! Because she is like a little alarm clock who always wakes up at 7:00 am and plus she went to bed early last night!

At 7:20 I decided to bake the cake I'm making for lunch today.

At 7:30 I decided to take a shower.

At 8:00 I decided to fold some laundry and eat a brownie for breakfast.

At 8:15 I started matching up my coupons to the sales paper which I never have time to do.

It is 8:44 and that child is still blissfully asleep! What in the WORLD is she thinking!? I feel like I am on crack I am so restless. I mean, doesn't she know that the Warm Delights go fast and they are on sale this week? Doesn't she know that I have the car packed and ready to go?

Just last night I was complaining to Stephen about how "backed up" I am. I had two loads of laundry to fold, a cake to bake for lunch, was feeding Brianna, trying to clean up from dinner, and trying to piece back her car seat that I had taken apart bolt by bolt because she pooped in it AT CHICK FIL-A yesterday.

Now I have nothing to do and I am frustrated with my 5-month old for sleeping in. Oh, the irony.

Ready

I'm ready for triple coupons to start at Harris Teeter tomorrow!!

I have my coupons ready:

And my rainchecks, just in case!

And my slowly growing price book!

I can't wait! Also tomorrow is lunch with mom and dad, and youth group tomorrow night, so it will be a very good day!

Today was a lot of fun because Brianna and I met Jenn and Claire for lunch at Chick Fil-A. We had just a few spurts of fuss between the two of them, but at least Jenn and I can find comfort in the fact that neither baby is perfect in public.

After lunch, I made a trip to Walgreens to buy a few items on sale. What I ended up with were savings so good I immediately called Jenn and mom to have them share in my excitement! And like a good sister and mother, they acted completely interested and excited for me! Now I'm going to share it here, partly because mom said to and partly because I feel like it will make up for my triple coupons tomorrow if I don't do so well.

Purchased:
4 rolls of toilet paper
3 boxes of Kleenex
3 rolls of paper towels
1 bottle of Listerine
1 brownie

Total amount spent: $1.67

Now, this is the funny part. With all my coupons, I actually saved too much money and the coupons wouldn't go through. I had to purchase the brownie (right beside the register) just so the transaction would complete! And another funny thing I realized when showing this to Stephen tonight - my total before taxes was a mere $0.92. Then a sales tax of $0.75 was tacked on - almost as much as my entire purchase price! Isn't that crazy?? So funny. So I spent $1.67 and saved $13.30. Oh, and got $2 in coupons for my next visit. It definitely put me in the mood for triple coupons!

P.S. Last week at Walgreens I had another great buy. They had Palmolive dishwashing soap on sale from $1.99 to $0.99 and I had a $1.00 coupon. Since it ended up being $0.00, I had to pay taxes on NOTHING! I got it for $0.08!! Hilarious!

Ocean Isle 2009

Well, we're back from our very first family vacation. We went to Ocean Isle Beach for our anniversary over Labor Day weekend. It was not only Brianna's first vacation, but the first time we'd all three be sleeping in such close quarters in many, many weeks. We weren't sure how that was going to go over. We had ordered a Pack 'N' Play for our room for Brianna to sleep in, but I didn't think that was going to work. She doesn't like staying in our Pack 'N' Play for any extended amount of time. We ended up having two queen beds in our room, so she slept in one and we slept in one.

Saturday, the first day we were there, was pretty uneventful. We got there in the afternoon, so by the time we ate lunch and fed Brianna and unpacked, it was almost time to meet the Kirbys over in Calabash for dinner! So we lounged a bit, watching TV and vegging out. That night we met Matt, Jenn, and Claire at Dockside for some AWESOME seafood! It was really good, and nice to get out and venture around to see what was near us. Unfortunately, we happened upon a multitude of thrift shops - all closed or getting ready to be - and the only day we were going to have for shopping was Sunday! Darn! Anyway, dinner that night was so much fun, even when Brianna threw a hissy fit. Brianna has really become grabby lately, and she used that technique when faced with Claire. So they got to know each other really well!

Saturday we did go down to the beach pretty early. We wanted to buy an umbrella from our hotel for the day, so Bri wouldn't be stuck out in the sun. Unfortunately, it was really overcast - the water was FREEZING - and the wind was insane. We stuck it out for probably 45 minutes or an hour, but you could tell Bri just wasn't happy with the wind, and it was really too cool to lay out or swim anyway. We opted to go back to our room and hang out until lunchtime.








At lunchtime, we got sandwiches from Subway and headed off to a local vineyard - Silver Coast Winery. We knew they had a picnic area, so we skipped the tour and wine tasting and went straight for the food! Afterwards, we walked through the vineyard. They have a thing at this particular vineyard where you can pick your own muscadine grapes (which just happen to be my very favorite!) for just $1.00 a pound! They gave us a box to fill. I definitely overestimated my picking abilities, because by the time I was done we barely had a pound. The guy told us to fill our box with however much we wanted, but I didn't want to be greedy because I'm the only one in the house who will eat them. Yummylicious!!





That evening, we went back to the beach because it had stormed earlier (bye bye umbrella from the hotel) so everything was much calmer. This time, I had the Bjorn in tow, which made Brianna very happy. We walked in one direction for about 45 minutes, and then Stephen went back to the hotel to get the camera while Bri and I picked up seashells for Nenah. We also watched a little turtle struggle in the sand until I got too depressed watching him. I hope he made it back to the ocean but I'm not sure - he might have become a dog's snack before making it back. That night we went to a local pizzeria for dinner - Joey O's - and it was very much like Bob's Pizza here in Southern Pines!





Sunday morning we headed back home. We were home by lunchtime and started getting things together to have a cookout. It was delicious, except that Brianna fussed all night long. I thought it was because she hadn't napped since noon and it was 7:30pm, but Stephen thought her stomach was bothering her. Well, we never bothered to buy gas drops for her, so we went out on an adventure, thinking if nothing else, riding around town would soothe her. NOT. She cried the whole way to Food Lion, who we found does not carry infant gas drops. (What???) She cried to Rite Aid, who carries gas drops but was out of stock. And then she cried to Walgreens where we found an abundance of brands of gas drops - thank you Lord!! I rode home with her in the back seat, where I gave her one dose just in case it was her stomach that hurt. But as soon as I started holding her hand and singing "Michelle" by the Beatles (replace "Michelle" with "Bri-bell") she quieted down immediately. She was then quiet throughout the rest of the ride, her bath with Stephen, her bottle, and nursing. Then she slept for ten hours, ate for 30 minutes, and slept another two hours, ate another 30 minutes or so, and slept another 1 1/2 hours. Unfortunately that last nap took place in my arms, so I got nothing done except I watched a movie. But nothing around here is really that important anyway. I just wanted her to get caught up on sleep, bless her heart!!

Making soup now while she's in the Johnny Jump-Up so I better go before she gets fussy!!

Stained Glass

I've been meaning to put these pictures up for a long time. A coworker of mine, Buck, made this stained glass picture for Brianna's room. He never told me the theme of it or anything until he gave it to me, and I loved it at first sight! The bottom of the frame says "God is oh so close." It's right above the glider where I rock Brianna and read to her, and I think it's the perfect place for it.



I was cleaning out some old files on my computer today and came across a poem I wrote about five years ago. I just thought I would post it here. Keep in mind, I never claimed to be a writer, but I really like the idea behind this poem. So don't critique, if you don't like it, then that's fine!!

"Finally"
I'm riding over the waves without any protection.
I'm being tossed around, limbs flailing, and I look up - waiting for You to save me - to get me out of this.
I go under.
Sputtering, half mad, half afraid, I scream, "Where are You? You can do everything and yet my drowning is going unnoticed!"
For a split second, the scene is almost serene with the sounds of waves crashing, gulls cooing, and the slight breeze.
The skyscraper wave hits me from behind, knocking my feet over my head.
Upside down. I should be used to this feeling.
My eyes close and I quit resisting. I begin to skin, my arms raised over my head, my face wearing a mask of tranquility.
I take one last look to my side, but instead of murkiness, I see a stream of light hitting the palm of Your hand.
I lunge for You, and we soar to the surface together.
"Finally!" I cry.
Your somber reply is, "Yes. Finally you realized I was beside you the whole time. Finally you paid attention. Finally you reached out for me. Finally you recognized that's all it ever took."

100 Things

I've been meaning to do this for ages. Kathy cross-stitched this for Brianna's room. I am more than impressed, and I think it's one of the most fun things I've ever seen!!



And before I get on to my blog topic, I'd like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! to Jenn and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! to me and Stephen! Four years has flown by. It has been a blast, and every year gets better and better!

Now. I have wanting to start this for a long time so I finally am. You may have heard of this guy Dave who set a goal to own only 100 things. I am constantly thinking of how much "stuff" we have. I feel like I'm always looking at things and shaking my head... why do we have that? Do we really need two of these? Etc.

But I really need more than 100 possessions.

So my goal is to get rid of 100 possessions. I'm going to keep track of the things I'm getting rid of and how I get rid of them. I will count trashing an item if it's something I have been holding on to ("I'll fix this someday!"), and I'll count things I sell and give away. I will not count anything already in my bags for giveaway.

I'm pretty excited about this! It might sound easy to you, but I don't think it will be quite that simple. I'll try to update about it as often as I can. Wish me luck!

A lazy blog

From Jenn's blog:

Outside my window...I can see the neighbor's kids running on the golf course after the golfers finish the hole.
I am thinking…how grateful I am for a husband who babysits while I work, and boxes of baby items still being given to me.
I am thankful for…mom instilling in me the art of being frugal.
From the kitchen…I just fried squash and okra while snacking on homemade chocolate chip cookies and Smores balls. Not the healthiest meal ever!
I am wearing…a cute glittery top and my skinny jeans! Hooray!
I am creating…a new post for my recipe blog about the Smores balls I made tonight.
I am going…to have to finish my lesson before church tomorrow night!
I am reading…"If You're Going to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat" by John Ortberg.
I am praying…that the H1N1 doesn't spread any further on Ft. Bragg.
I am hearing…Stephen showing Brianna how to play Batman on the PS3.
Around the house…I'm just trying to keep the dust less than an inch thick.
One of my favorite things…coming home from church on Sundays, eating lunch with Stephen and Brianna, and playing a rowdy board game even though I usually lose.
A few plans for the rest of the week…eating lunch with mom, celebrating mine and Stephen's 4 year anniversary, going to the beach for our first vacation in several months, a Calabash date with a favorite family.