Prayer-Am I doing this right???

Every Sunday night a group of 20/30 somethings meet to develop our leadership skills and to get to know ourselves..others and most importantly God better. We wrapped up the first section about ourselves. I really enjoyed hearing others' testimonies and I even enjoyed talking about myself...selfish I know. The next step is getting to know God. I have to admit I thought this might get a bit boring. Again selfish. Then when we were handed the Westminster "shorter" Catechism, my fears were confirmed...until we started to dive in. I had no idea what this Westminster Catechism was. To me it sounded like something from long ago and had no relevancy for me today(there I go being selfish again).After going over a few of the first points in this Catechism..we somehow got into a debate on prayer. Really didn't know there was anything to debate...but let me tell you there were some very different views. Mind you I did not say one word during this debate...I know shocking! When I am not 100% certain about the subject being discussed I do not say anything. Which causes me not to say much at all...ever...because well I am not that smart. One girl in the class said that the "debate" was great and that we needed it...it causes us to look deeper into what we truly believe...something I have been working on. It is true...debate is great..not when it gets heated and ugly...but a civil debate on the truth is ok. But then I thought well what does God's Word say about prayer? There is only one side right? The right side? God's Word. I think maybe debate is the wrong term. It was just a difference in our own personal way we pray. Are you a specific prayer-er??? Are your prayers more general..less specific???

I came across this photo this week..that God wanted me to see..I am sure of:

The debate was about generalizing your prayer vs. being specific. I can see fault in both sides..but it was something I never really thought about. I took everything in..had no real stance on it...but it remained heavy on my heart. Was I praying wrong? For me..I pray both ways. Sometimes I just don't have the words..like the little girl above. Sometimes my prayer is simple.."Lord, do your thang!". God already knows what it is that we need or what we desire. That is what is so wonderful. I don't have to be specific if I do not know what it is I should pray. But if we remain in God's Word, as he tells us in John 15:7, "pray and it will be given to you". Does that mean that whatever we desire will be given to us? No, God knows our heart..he knows what is best and the outcome of the prayer may not be exactly what we pray for, but better. I think we can all attest to that as believers. So, now back to the other type of prayer...specific prayers. I immediately saw a danger in this for myself. If you are not praying in accordance to God's will, but out of your own selfish desires, I can see where we could get upset when the specific prayer is answered in a different way and we miss it or it is not answered at all. I think the underlying truth in this all is that if we are in God's word and not praying selfishly then it doesn't matter how general or specific our prayers are. AMEN!

I came across a series of podcasts from a pastor by the name of Jack Hibbs titled, "Suffering, Prayer and the Will of God". He touched on the subject of prayer. I really enjoyed what he had to say about those who pray for their own glory or to draw attention on themselves. He spoke of a woman who was sick. In James 5:13-18 it talks about those who are sick to call upon the elders and have them lay hands on them and they will be healed. This woman called upon the elders and she was not healed. One of the elders mentioned to her if it were possible if she was living in sin??? She was a little perturbed by that question and went home and continued to get sicker. She then realized that she had hate in her heart for another member of the church and had thought horrible thoughts about this woman for nearly 30 years. It had made her ill. She was living in sin. She confessed her sin to God and was healed. In the past I had a hard time with this...but I found the difference. There is sinning and then there is living in sin. We have a daily battle with sin...choosing to remain in that sin will cost us. I hesitate to even write about this because who am I to judge someone??? I believe that God gave this truth to me and it is in His word right there in James. "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective"-James 5:16. Sometimes we are ill because of our sin...there I said it...God's word says it. The issue I had was though does it affect others in our lives...like our children...grandchildren...unfortunately yes. Generational sin is so huge! If you have not confessed those sins and made known those sins of the generational sins before you than you need to. Even if you do not sin those sins...make them known...walk away from any temptation that might bring you to that place of sin that has plagued your family.

I love this from restoringyourlife.org:

"How it works. When a person has sinned, that sin stands in need of being confessed. If the person doesn’t confess it, then his children must confess it in order to break the generational pattern. Like an “outstanding” debt, the person’s sin “hangs out there,” impacting his descendants, until it is addressed through confession and cleared away. We are not required to take responsibility for our ancestors’ sins, but we are to acknowledge and confess their sin. (We agree with God that they were wrong and that God was right.) God asks us to accept responsibility for our own sin and to repent and be humbled. Understand that the passing down of iniquity (sin) is just that – the passing down of iniquity (sin). My parents’ sin does not become my sin, until I have made the choice to sin myself in the same way."

 God loves you. He loves you so much that he disciplines you. Now that I have a child I understand this. Spankings are good. They are a consequence for our bad actions. They keep us from harm. They are a reminder. Know what you are dealing with as far as generational sins and ask God to guide you away from those evils. 

Ok...back to prayer:) Jack Hibbs also talks about the person who commands God when they are praying. Or wills something for someone. You are not God...stop trying to take His job away. He is able and can do all things. Father knows best. Take yourself out of it. Also, Jack warns about the person who treats prayer as an announcement of hopelessness. Again that prayer turns inward and the focus is on the person...woe is me type of prayer...and does not serve any good. There is also the person who prays and really is just gossiping.  I am sure you have heard the person when you are going around the circle say, "Please pray for Susie...she is having some difficulties with her marriage that she came to me about and just really needs prayer". Meanwhile Susie went to this "friend" seeking help and did not want her issues to be shared at the women's bible study for all to hear.

To sum it all up. When we are in God's word and His word abides in us then our prayers will be pleasing to him. Yield to God...make your requests known to Him and if you do not know what to pray at that time..that is ok..He is God He knows...He just wants to hear from His children.

Anchors Aweigh

We have lived in our home for 2 years now..and for two years the wall above my couch in my family room has remained naked! I am trying to not buy things on an impulse just because it is inexpensive. I have learned from my mistakes and have slowly started to edit out all the impulse buys that just were not what I was looking for. Soooo...that is the reason why my walls remain bare. I saw a picture on The Lettered Cottage via Pinterest that sparked a feeling of happiness and my DIY meter went off. I knew I could do it..even with my limited talents in painting. Here is the inspiration picture....

See that black and white striped umbrella painting<3

I loved the umbrella idea but my Family Room is Nautical decor. So..then I thought..oooooo...I can do a beach umbrella. Then one day I thought why not do an anchor????? I LOVE anchors and I remembered that I saw a cute anchor graphic on The Graphics Fairy blog. I printed it out and was ready to get all the supplies I needed. I happened to tell my sister and she just happened to have a 30x40 canvas laying around(nice to have an artist in the fam...thanks sis). So she brought me the canvas and all the paint and supplies and I got to work. 

I used 2 inch painters tape to mark off my stripes. I wanted 2 inch stripes so it worked out perfectly. I was tempted to just leave the tape up and not paint at all...too bad I didn't have dark gray tape!

Painted 8 stripes in a dark gray (Acrylic Paint)

Took me about an hour to paint the stripes...I had a tiny brush and it took a few coats.

I decided to free hand the anchor. It isn't perfect...but close enough:)

Taadaaa...my free art work(sorry for the horrible pic...my camera needs to retire).

Anchors Aweigh(always thought it was away???)...this is a Navy term..."Aweigh" means that that action has been completed. Very fitting....my Anchor Art is Aweigh:).
****Entering this post into The CSI Project....

Pin Crazy-Savory Edition

I thought I would do Part 2 to my baking post about all the Pins I have tried from Pinterest. If you are like me you go through cooking ruts. I feel like I have about 10 recipes that get put in the rotation each month and I need some variety ever so often to get out of the cooking rut. Pinterest is a great source for new recipes. I have also found it is a great source for some BAD recipes. Here are a few Hits and a few misses.

HITS:

Garlic Cheese Wontons

Caprese Grilled Cheese(I added spinach and bacon) made for my mama's bday

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana made for my preggo bestie

Parmesan Honey Pork Roast Crock pot recipe-Super Easy and Delish

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken This is soooo good! I ran out of basil and used wilted spinach!

So..there you have it. These are all winners in my recipe book! Now...for the losers..I only have three so that is not bad...but these were all nasty in flavor or lit my oven on fire...both no bueno and will NOT be making these again. If you see these pics on Pinterest....DO NOT PIN.

Misses:

Claimed to be the best Beef Stroganoff Crock Pot recipe:(

yeah that was on fire...in my oven...I think I actually immediately deleted the pin because I can not find it. I believe it had soy sauce and garlic which apparently my oven did not like. I would like to say this may be due to my evil oven and so it may not be a bad recipe. 

I forgot to mention my bad baking pins..so I will add this one to finish it all off. This picture looked so good. I was excited because I was having the girls over for craft night and I had all the ingredients. It had a flour taste and just was not good at all. Total bummer....I don't know if I will ever learn to not try new recipes on guests...sorry friends!

You win some...You lose some. I think overall there have been more winners than losers and I am still loving Pinterest. Happy baking and cooking!

Pin Crazy!!!!

Most of the human population... or at least the female population...knows of Pinterest by now. Many have heeded the advice of other females to stay away..others have succumbed to the temptation of Pinterest and now spends late hours pinning away. I am one of those who has been pinning for awhile now and am pulling everyone in with me! I felt that I was pinning away but not actually putting any of them to use. So, I began to try a few recipes and some were great..some were huge failures.Side note..why are there so many bad recipes out there???? and why do i choose so many of them to make??? It is giving me a complex and I am a trained Chef...or at least I thought I was..now I am not to sure I ever went to Culinary School..based on the way some of these recipes are turning out for me. Ok..anyways...there are some good recipes and great craft ideas, home ideas, cleaning ideas..though I don't really care to try those tips out:).

I wanted to share with you a few ideas that worked for me!

Banana Pudding in Mason Jars...made for Mom's Bday!

Neapolitan Cupcake-Made for Dessert Auction

Cinnamon Crescent Rolls

Pecan Bars-Made for Christmas..mmmm

Smores Cookie!

Well...that was a lot of sweet pins! I will make another post about the more savory dishes I have tried. Don't be fooled by the pretty pictures on Pinterest. Sometimes the ones that look not so appetizing are the best recipes. Those people lack in photography skills(like this girl) but do not lack in their cooking/baking skills:). Enjoy and let me know if you try any of these...or share your favorite pin that you have tested out!

Chic for Cheap Tablescape-Mom's Bday

Yesterday was my mom's birthday and my sister and I had her over to my house to have lunch! I was gone all weekend for our Women's Retreat in beautiful Orange County. I knew that I would not have time to set the table up yesterday morning as my mom would be there at 11:30 and I had to work. So, I set up most of the table before I left for Retreat. I chose to do a garden theme..being that my mom loves to garden and she wanted some new herbs for her garden. I actually used her gift as the centerpiece! I placed a natural runner down the middle of my dining room table then added a bamboo place mat and cream and green plates to add to the greenery of the herbs that I placed in a large basket and in pots down the table. I also bought my mom a black finial to add to her garden and placed that in the table as well and then added in some clay pots and a few butterflies:)

 

For the placecards I used an idea I saw on Pinterest. The original version used a large can and added in a soda bottle..napkin..utensils..etc. Would be super cute for a picnic! I had just made Chicken Tortilla Soup and had a ton of smaller cans left over and thought it would be cute to do a smaller version. I removed the can label... cut out a piece of scrapbook paper to fit and used a glue stick to adhere. Then I took a label and wrote each guests name on them.Added their napkin and utensils and they were complete. Chic and Cheap!

What was on the menu..you ask???? Caprese Paninis...Pasta Salad and Banana Pudding.The recipe for the Caprese Paninis was again found on Pinterest (oh, wow I love thee Pinterest) as well as the Banana Pudding:) I had some small mason jars that I layered with the Vanilla Wafers(from Sprouts..go get them now...they are the best ever!!!!)..then bananas..vanilla custard and repeat and then topped it off with some homemade whipped cream..mmmmm. 

I added bacon and spinach to our sandwiches:) and my end product did not look pretty so I am only showing a pic of the ingredients!

                                                                Happy Birthday Mom!

Chic for Cheap

I looooove table settings. I grew up in a home where my mom always had the table set even if it was just a normal Tuesday night family dinner. In today's society..paper plates, plastic forks and red Solo cups are a staple. I am not hatin' on Solo...some days it is very much appreciated...but I love setting a table up with my finest china and silver. Although, my china is from Wal-Mart and Silverware is well..not silver...I pretend I am classy like that. One of my favorite events every year is our Christmas Brunch at church. The host of the table gets to decorate a table for the ladies that will join her. I have so much fun thinking about the table setting for the next year... the minute the brunch is over. Being that it is mid-February I of course already have everything for my table setting in December...that's normal right???
Since, I am not hosting fancy dinner parties every week(totally would if I had the money) I decided the best way to express this love of tablescapes is to blog about it. Being that it is Valentine's Day I thought I would gather some chic ideas on the cheap to decorate your own Valentine's Day table.
Last year I found the site www.efavormart.com. If you are planning a wedding this is an awesome site to find things on the cheap. I used them for my Sugar Plum Fairy Tablescape at this years' Christmas Brunch. I wanted to find a ballerina slipper pink satin table runner and napkins and they had just what I was looking for. The satin 20x20 napkins were only 3.25 for 5 and the 12x108 runner was 2.18. I think this pink satin would add a lot to a pretty in pink Valentine's day table setting!

Another site I love to use when I am buying for a larger table setting is Oriental Trading Company. I spied the cutest heart shaped mirrors when looking through their catalog for my son's birthday party supplies. I saw the 6 in size first and then discovered they had a 10 inch which would be perfect for a charger underneath your dessert plate..bowl..etc.  You could even write your guests' name on each one with a mirror marker seen below...or if it is just you and your Valentine write a love note....

So...now we have the runner..napkins...place card idea/charger for a dessert party. I am going to pretend that I am going to set a table for my sweetheart and I and that I am serving his favorite peach cobbler:). My favorite place to look for bowls...plates..cups..etc are antique stores or even my cupboards. Most people have serving dishes on hand. Think outside of the box. Use a goblet to serve your dessert in or even a cute teacup if you are serving ice cream or pudding. Also...if you have some nice silverware, use that as well..if not again go to an Antique store and get a few pieces..different styles even...different is good. Designers always say not to buy a matching set of furniture....mix it up...same goes with table settings. It adds a creative and unique flair:). I found these spoons and dishes on Etsy

Now we need a centerpiece which is in my opinion what makes the table. A few small frames of you and your Valentine would be sweet or your favorite song lyrics...poem...verse....etc printed out from your own printer(chic and cheap). Here are some centerpiece ideas that I thought would be easy to do on a low budget.........

found here This would be cute with the heart mirrors underneath.You can find similar letters at Joanns.

These are silk flowers in various sized vases and water

Last, but not least your guests or Valentine need a favor to leave with. Everyone loves a present and it makes a great reminder of the event.Today I watched The Nate Berkus show and my favorite party planner was on, Colin Cowie(who by the way has a new wedding site....eeeekkkkk). He found beautiful lacquered boxes and put in some Godiva Chocolates as a favor for his guests. To keep costs down you could make your own truffles! That may seem like too much work..but trust me it is not as hard as they look. Nate had a Chocolate master on his show today as well who made some truffles...here is the recipe.Placing these is cellophane and tying with some pink ribbon will do the trick.
****Update..just saw these while browsing...you can wrap the chocolates in crepe paper...so sweet:)

Via

So, there you have it a few Chic Valentine's Day table setting ideas for cheap.Hope your day is filled with lots of love and truffles!!!!!

****Side note...while searching for the recipe from Nate's show I saw that his show will not be returning for a third season:(...I am so devastated...yes devastated!!!! Although it took a little bit for Nate to get his groove his show is now so informative and the best show design wise on tv. I don't understand why shows like this last..while others like design on a dime...who are not good a design at all go on forever....sad day:(. Hopefully they put his show on DVD so I can watch it for years to come.

Master Bedroom Budget Makeover

In less than a month we will have been in our home for two years. In those two years I have tried to nail down my style. During this process I have realized that I have major issues. I can not make a decision to save my live. I think it is because I have made poor decisions(design wise) :) in the past and I am so afraid to make more. I have to say many times I go into a store with certain items in mind...but usually am willing to browse and see what is available. Then I see a clearance section or that famous red tag at Target and all plans go out the window. I think to myself..."oh yeah, this will totally work in my room"...when in reality it doesn't and I end up making myself like it simply because it is 75% off! Then I am left with a room and items that I really don't love. 

Design is a hobby. I am in no way calling myself an expert in design. I read blogs, magazines...watch HGTV and Nate Berkus everyday. If I could I would relinquish all control to Candice Olson and be one happy girl. Although...I would ask her if I could go shopping with her. I do enjoy the whole process but I lose focus too easily. Another factor to my deign dilemma(side note...totally have been misspelling that word for years) is that I want the space to reflect my families tastes...not just mine. So...with all that said my Master Bedroom was last in line to be "designed". I love the Hollywood Regency look...but it can get a bit too gawwdddyyy. And The Hubs would definitely not like it. So I took a more traditional palette of Gold, White, Cream, Grey and a shade of blue/green that I have no idea what to call. For the most part those are all neutral colors...the blue/green color just adds that pop of color my room needed. Just a few short days ago my accent color was Navy but then I saw this room on Pinterest:

Gorgeous!!!!!!! If someone knows that color..please let me know:)

It caught my eye..one because I love poufs! Two because my nightstands look very similar to those pictured. I also have a sunburst that I made that I thought would look great above our bed. So...out went my Navy lampshades and a few other small accessories and then the search was on to find accessories around my house in that color. I found one little box that had a gold starfish that my sister gave me for Christmas filled with wonderfully smelling soaps(thanks sis). The box has a little more blue than this color above, but that is ok..I think that pillow in the pic also has more blue in it than the wall color..so I can mix that in as well.I traded out the Navy shades for a similar color shade in the pic and also traded out my greyish silver curtains for some curtains(that I already had) that were the same color as my lamp shades(I have an issue with buying lamps and shades and never buying ones that match so I have a craft room full of them). This immediately lightened up the room...but they were a bit boring so I headed to Joann's were I had already looked at trim for my lampshades previously. Now that I have this new color I looked in the blue/green section of trim and to my surprise found an Ikat trim that had not only that color up there^^^^^ but also Navy and Gold. Can I just express to you my love for Ikat!!??!! If I was fabulous I would have Ikat wallpaper...everywhere. Ok...focus Summer...where was I????? Oh yes trim for the lamp shades. Unfortunately, there was only 2.5 yards left but I made it work..just adding it on the bottom edge...here is another really bad taken by me..oy...Erica...Val (my photog friends) if you are reading this...#1 thank you...#2 don't laugh...#3 HELP:).

Hard to see but that is Ikat<3

Those beautiful lamps are from my Mom and sister....an early birthday present...that they got me last month...and my birthday is in July...what???? that is how we do it:) They were too fab to pass up. Today I found a wood plaque with a chrysanthemum(I think) carved out in the new color and some knobs...at Joanns! They were 60% off. I ended up mounting the knobs on the plaque to use as my necklace hanger. 

Those sheets I found too today. I was on a mission to find sheets today, if nothing else. We only have one set and there was a big hole in them from washing them so much and getting thin. I ended up finding these grey striped ones at Target on clearance(uh-oh) for only 23.99...I bought two sets. They are a great color and they came with a flat, fitted and two shams..but as always I am second guessing my choice..for now they stay. I still after two years have no comforter and I really don't even want to talk about this...this post is already way tooooo long:). That is the next step. 

As I mentioned before I went around my house grabbing accessories in gold, that color^^^^ and the others. I really needed a tray for a top my dresser for all the items that come from The Hubs pockets each day and my perfume and such. I was so happy when I caught my gold tray out of the corner of my eye... that I had bought after Christmas. I picked up two because I loved them so much...and for only 7.50ea they were a steal. Ok...I really so have issues with stuff on clearance....this is getting ridiculous...but sometimes it is cute...seeeee:

Bad pic again but that is my lovely tray.

So all in all I am very happy with my design on a dime Master Bedroom so far. Once it is complete I want to do a break down of what everything cost:). I will post a final pic of the room...for now it is still in need of some key pieces like bedding and a bench. I want to add some fabric or trim to the curtains to add some color to them. I also need a few pieces of art work and that will be difficult for me to choose but I know I am not in a rush and I will try not to let those clearance stickers tempt me:).

Saving at CVS

 

I wanted to share some tips and tricks on couponing at CVS. CVS is my favorite drug store to use coupons at. It seems to be super easy to use coupons there. There are a lot of great promotions each week that you can stack with store coupons and Manufacturer coupons to get many items for free. I know the most about CVS and their policies but I am still not an expert. I will show you how I only spent a few dollars on the products in the picture above!

First off…you need to have a CVS card. This will keep track of all your purchases and will allow you to get all the Extra Care Bucks(will talk about that in a bit) and keeps track of other savings. The cashier will almost always ask you for your card..but make sure to remember..it is a big help in saving at CVS. The first thing I do when I shop at CVS is go straight to the Red Coupon Machine. It is an amazing machine that prints out a few coupons each week with just a swipe of your CVS card. A few coupons will print out like a receipt and are usually good for a few days and sometimes longer. Some sites know which coupons are printing each week and a simple Google search should allow you to find them if you want to know ahead of time. I like to print these first because sometimes there are some surprises and make my transactions even better than I anticipated.

Now to take a few steps back and discuss how to plan your trip. I rarely plan my own trips. If I have some time then I will start from scratch and match coupons with the deals going on but I usually check with all the coupon sites that I follow and see their matchups for CVS each week. KCL(The Krazy Coupon Lady) has a great matchup each week found here. They also have a CVS 101 found on the same link that you should read first to know the CVS coupon policy.

The key to shopping at CVS is to get items where you will get Extra Care Bucks(ECB). These are printed on the bottom of your receipt. You don’t get this savings right away..it is for your next transaction. If you prefer to roll your transactions you can do it all in one trip. So, you would be doing a few transaction all in one trip..instead of waiting to use those ECB on another trip at a later time. I am too chicken to do the rolling. I found that many times other couponers already cleared the shelves and I have to redo my game plan so that is hard to adjust. I just hold onto my ECB for another trip.

Let me show you an example with the items in the picture above.

I bought:

1 Colgate Advance Toothpaste- 4.69…on sale for 2.77 plus 1.00 ECB which would make it 1.77(I take into account the ECB even though I won’t use them until the next shopping trip) plus I had a –1.00 MFR(manufacturer)… coupon for Colgate Advance…so the grand total for the toothpaste was .77cents

1 Almay Mascara 8.79….on sale for 5.99 plus 3.00ECB minus 2.00 MFR coupon making it .99cents. Now this was a bummer because there was also supposed to be a 3.00 coupon that printed from the Coupon Machine but I did not get it and forgot about it until after..but .99 is still a great price. Now, if I would have had the 3.00 store coupon as well it would have been…5.99-2.00MFR making it 3.99 minus the 3.00 store coupon making it .99 oop(out of pocket) and I would have also received the 3 ECB making it a 2.01 MM(money maker)…bummer

1 Carmex Moisture Plus 3.29 on sale for 1.50. I used a coupon from the previous week that I got from the Coupon Machine for –1.50 off making it free!!!!!

3 American Greeting cards…this is my favorite promotion CVS does. I have a large stack of free cards! When you buy three you get 3ECB…and it works on their .99cent cards. So I bought 3 for .99ea making it 2.97…there ended up being a –2.00/3 cards MFR Coupon that came out and so I paid .97cents and got back 3ECB!!!!!! Score!

Finally I bought 1 package of Huggies diapers. They were 12.49(crazy) on sale for 9.50…I messed up and thought I was getting 1 ECB but you had to buy two..another mistake gotta be careful. Anyways, I also had a –2.00 MFR coupon making it 7.50. This is not a great deal but I had a 5.00ECB from the previous week that I applied to this transaction.

Let me break it down a little better

Colgate 1.77oop

Almay 3.99oop

3 Amer. Greeting Cards .97oop

Carmex-free dtmp(don’t touch my pockets)

Huggies 7.50oop

total……14.23 minus the 5ECB from previous trip equals 9.23 then I received 7ECB making my total trip 2.23 plus tax!!!! Now if I would have got that extra coupon for the Almay I would have made money but oh well 2.23 for a transaction that included diapers is alright by me.

This is not all the ins and out of CVS but I hope it helps. Any questions just ask!!!!

Slow Down Old Man

     I have had the urge to run lately. I have had the urge to jog lately. I have had the urge to walk lately. Ok, there we go...that is more like it. There is no denying that I am out of shape! I ache from head to toe. Now I do realize that I am getting up there in age. In just six months I will be the big 30!!! All kidding aside I should not get winded from walking up a small set of stairs. It shouldn't take a few minutes to figure out how on earth am I going to get up off the floor. But...it does and that stinks. 

     With my 30 birthday looming about I can't help but think about how I have wasted my 20's being fat. I look at all the cute clothes that I could and should be wearing but am so far from ever looking good in them. A fat person has noooooo business wearing skinny jeans. It just isn't right. I hate talking about my weight. I try to ignore it and tell myself that I am fine. That I am much happier being lazy and drinking my Dr.Pepper, than I would ever be skinny, WRONG. It is not just about the clothes..but honestly that is a big part of it. It is also just about feeling healthy and being able to sleep comfortably and do thing without getting winded after a minute. So.....back to this urge I have had to walk. I live steps away from one of the prettiest streets in Riverside for walking. It has a walking trail and historic plaques along the way(which I found are good to pretend like you are reading...but really are just trying to catch your breath after you decide to pick up the pace and jog and quickly realize that you are not ready for that). So, today being Monday and it being a New Year and all, I decided no more excuses I am going for a walk. I can't tell you how beautiful it was this morning. It just rained yesterday so it was so fresh smelling outside. It was really cold which is what I like when I walk because I get super hot after about 30 seconds into any activity. I had my mace in hand and my phone. I realized that it was a holiday so there may be a few more people out...but I only passed a few friendly walkers/runners/bikers. I was feeling pretty good....until....I hear a brisk walker coming up behind me. From the sound of the quick steps of this walker I figured the walker to be a young female. I did a quick look behind to make sure it wasn't someone that was going to try to take me down or anything but I was too late the brisk walker was already passing me. I get a look at this person and ummmm...welllllll....it was an old man:(. An old man in jeans and a wind breaker just passed up this 29 year old girl!!! I have to say he did have professional walking headphones on and black leather gloves that made him look like a pro. His lack of running pants threw me off though. I am pretty sure he has been at this for a long time but, I could totally beat him at a race if I wanted to.I saw a grin on his face as he passed by me and I think I gave him a bit of confidence and so I backed down. I let him win this time..but old man if we ever meet again...in like 2 weeks I totally will crush you...better get those running pants on sir! 

     Anyways...back to reality...I feel great mentally... my shins are burning like fire though. I really need new running shoes. My plan is to run/jog/walk Monday through Friday.  Then I will see what else I can do in addition to that. It is all about baby steps for me. Looking forward to this journey of the new healthier me.

Year of Savings

   I am sure many of you are aware that I started couponing last year. Mid April to be exact. If you are not a friend on Facebook..you may not know. I decided with the new year that I am going to kick it up a notch. It is only twelve days in and I have saved quite a bit. I have to say it is a time sucker. So, with that said...I felt a little discouraged as I felt I would have to give up a few things. It has always been a struggle to find the time to coupon. It is a long process if you want to start a stock pile. So, I had to re-do my game plan. Last year I made the mistake of not keeping my coupons organized in a way that worked for me. So I need to get my binder together and make it work for me. I would forget about many coupons and would lose some as they were all over the place in my office and kitchen. 

   I also realized that many times the coupons listed on sites were different from my coupons. Coupons vary by region and I would make my list, have my plan and go to clip and I would have a coupon for fifty cents of instead of a dollar (ohhhh the horror). I really need to search out that deals myself and not rely on the websites completely. The sites are amazing for those of us that do not have time..but sometimes by the time a deal is posted the products are gone. I have discovered some crazy couponers in my area. One lady was doing the same deal as I was. I spotted her from the next aisle over in CVS. She was clearing the self of the Dawn dish soap that was on sale.....ugggghhhh. She finally left and when I went over to get my three she had only left one! The nerve! I had to redo my plan on the fly and ended up being able to do it..but that could have ruined my whole deal. This was on a Sunday night and I realized if there was a good deal that I had to go on Sundays when the deal started. Sometimes that is not possible and I will just have to hope that it is still there when I can make it or just skip the deal. 

   Couponing can get a little addicting and I do not want that. I love getting a great deal...but if I obsess over it than I need to check myself...before I wreck myself(sorry had to do it). Soooooo....with all that said... I made a quarterly/yearly plan. I wrote down what I expected to need to buy this year. There are always surprise items that I don't know about in advanced....but there are many items that I know I will need every year. For example, I know I need diapers for the little one (hopefully not for long). I need toiletries like deodorant...shampoo/conditioner...soap..etc. There are also events such as birthdays and baby showers that I know about. This is going to be a big year for babies..so if there are items I can stock up on and bless my friends who are having children than that would be great!!! I love the deal that CVS had for awhile on their American Greeting cards. If you bought 3 you would get 3.00 back for a future purchase. So, I would buy 3 of the .99 cards and they would be free. I have around 12 cards and it is perfect for this year to use for bday cards...baby showers..etc. I am a planner so couponing is a great thing to use my planning skills on. If this seems too much you can plan a month in advanced or whatever suits you best. 

Another issue with kicking up my couponing game is the space it requires. I already have too much stuff and not enough space. The Hubs and I took on a New Year project and tackled our garage. It freed up a lot of space and The Hubs even said I could have some area for my stock pile..how sweet:). Currently, I have a little spot in my hall closet and some space in my bathroom. I have not started a stockpile of food because I simply do not have the room in my tiny pantry..if you could even call it that. 

    I decided also to blog more about couponing. I love to blog but it is time consuming so I figured I could blog about couponing and kill two birds with one stone that way!So be on the look out for some tip and trick on couponing and hopefully you have a great year of savings.

Catching Up

I LOVE New Years Day! I am a planner and organizer(not to be confused with a cleaner). It excites me to no end to come up with my New Year budget and plan the year's events. Now that I coupon I really have to step up my game. With that being said...I am still way behind. Christmas comes the same time every year....and every year I can't believe how fast it got here and how fast it went. Tonight Shane and I finally caught up on our Christmas Shows. My house is still a wreck from the Christmas tornado. All decorations were already put away a few days after Christmas, but there are still empty toy boxes and Christmas Tree needles spread throughout my home. 

Our Real Tree:)

About this time I want to get rid of everything. While I was on vacation(for 11 days:)) The Hubs and I decided to clean out the garage. That took up 3 of my 11 days and we still have one full day worth of work left!!! What a chore. I realized we just have so much STUFF. I happily put together a couple boxes of things to donate and filled up many trash cans full of well..trash. The time off was so needed. We received many blessings at the end of 2011. First one..we received a free Christmas Tree this year from some friends from church. We were not going to be able to get one this year since we were not going to get paid until a few days before Christmas and we realized it just wasn't going to work. God heard my cries(more like whining) and blessed us with the prettiest Christmas tree we have ever had! I went to Target that day and got a pathetic looking FAKE tree...gasp!!!! It was shorter than I but it was way skinnier...so it had that going for it. I seriously wanted to cry..but I told myself that a least I have something to hang Shane's ornaments on as well as all my childhood ornaments. I thought alot of nasty thoughts and was mad at everyone...then God quickly reminded me that He is good and that I need to stop with the woe is me attitude and remember that He is the Reason for the Season..not my beautiful real tree. Funny how Jesus gave me a gift on His own birthday...that Jesus is something else I tell ya!

Shane admiring our little fake tree:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On to blessing #2. Free Disneyland tickets!!!! As we all know you could either buy a new car or go to Disneyland. Ugghhh..it is so expensive. Our friends offered free tickets for Scott and I(Shane is still free). We were all set to go the Monday after Christmas. How exciting. All our closest friends were going...then we got the phone call Christmas Eve. Scott's dad was awaiting an ambulance as he could not breathe! Our worst nightmare. We were sort of prepared as he always seems to want to spend his holidays in the hospital! He had not been feeling well for weeks. Lonnnnnnnggggg story short God is AWESOME(there He goes again being so good) and Gary is now home from the hospital. His kidney's were to blame. While he was in the hospital he had various surgeries/test/procedures done. He has a long road ahead of him so I ask if you would continue to pray for him and my mother in law Jan as she now has to become a nurse. It will be hard on us all but we are so thankful we have the opportunity to have him here still(blessing #3)..it was a scary time but God never failed us.

Ok...back to blessing #2..after Gary was improving so much each day...we asked if we could still use the tickets for Disneyland and went late last Thursday. It was so crowded the first hour or two..but it was so fun to see Shane's face light up at all the wonder that is Disneyland. Of course. he loved the Buzz ride where he got to shoot Zurg. His first souvineer was a replica of the gun he shot on the ride:)

I was so glad we were able to spend some quality time with Shane. To top off his awesome Christmas and Disneyland night...he was also invited to go to Toy Story 3 on Ice for free(blessing#4) with his buddy Jacob! They got to watch it from box seats and have a bunch of snacks and a super fun day! 

The Boys..I mean Buzz 1 and 2 waiting to go see Toy Story 3 on Ice!

What a way to end 2011 and begin 2012. May God bless you and send you a Happy New Year!!!!