More couponing tips

I guess you can tell that I have been avoiding blogging lately. It appears that I have a bit a "writer's block" and I'm not even a real writer. So I am making myself blog tonight to try to get over it.

I have really been studying and doing this couponing thing. Last week, I saved right under $100 on grocery items. We don't eat a lot of processed foods so I think my initial plan of cutting our grocery bill by 70% may be a little ambitious. However, I am good if I can cut it by at least 50%. I am including toiletries and household supplies in my grocery bill. I want to add to the "couponing tips" list that I blogged last time. Here are a few more tips to follow when couponing:

*Do not use the coupons in the Sunday paper on the day or week they come out. Typically, these items will go on sale in about 2-3 weeks. That's how you get the most bang for your buck.

*Sign up with www.southernsavers.com and www.savingwithamy.com. These two websites will send you the best deals each week and how to combine the coupons to get the most bang for your buck.

*You can use one store coupon and one manufacturer's coupon on one item. The Publix near me will accept all store coupons not just Publix.

*Introduce yourself to the store manager at the store you plan to shop and ask him/her to explain the store's coupon policy. Often times, the manager can make the policy. So, policies can vary from store to store.

Hopefully, I will get past my "writer's block" soon and will blog about the changes taking place in my life right now. Until then...enjoy the tips! I would love to hear about any couponing successes this week. Send me a comment below!

What a wonderful day

It's Friday which means it's my day off! I LOVE taking Fridays off for many reasons. The main one is because I get the house all to myself. It's quiet! The TV is off! I have taken the past 2 Fridays to thoroughly enjoy my morning time and also get some "special" cleaning done. During my morning time today, I made a wonderful breakfast and ate it while reading from my Sony Reader. Then I cleaned the downstairs. My "special" cleaning was pulling the stove out and cleaning under it! Ewwww! It's a gas stove so, luckily, I didn't explode the house.

Then I went to my couponing class tonight with my friend. LOVED IT!!! So, my first tip to everyone is gather your coupons. There are many ways but here are a few:
*Go to the stores and pull all of the coupons from the isle in those "blinking" machines. These coupons are actually referred to as "blinkies".
*Get the Sunday paper. DON'T cut all of the coupons out. Put a sticky note on it with the date and put the whole coupon insert in an accordion file.
*Go online to various websites such as coupons.com. There are printable coupons online. If you have certain products that you buy, google coupons for them. You can find a coupon for most all products.

Now these are just a few ideas. I have other websites and ideas. I'll post more later.

Last, tomorrow is the HOT 100. This is a 100 mile bike ride. However, you don't have to do the whole 100 miles. I am riding the 33 mile route and my hubby is doing the 66 mile route. Keep us in your prayers!!!

Please post a comment below!

Being REAL

First, I gained 1.2 lbs this week. *Sigh* It really stinks but I can't change it...so...I am accepting it and moving on. Two factors worked against me this week: 1) I didn't do very well with my eating plan. I had way too many "treats" and way too many carbs, 2) I worked out more than I have been. One is a good thing and one is not so good. But, like I said, I am moving on. I can't change the past. I can just do better this week.

***Warning: This is me being real! If you can't handle it, stop reading now.***

I am a recovering perfectionist and control freak. Most days I do pretty well. Other days I revert back to my old ways. Last night at church, our leader talked about leaving old behaviors, hurts, "baggage", and anything else that God asked us to leave behind. If God asked us to do something, that we should do it on trust and faith in him alone. We should not ask why but we should just do it because God is our leader and we are his followers. We should follow on blind faith. That his plan is better than ours and he knows what he is doing. Well, if you know any perfectionists and/or control freaks, that's not easy! Our leader asked us to take some time and meditate. At this time, she prayed and asked us to ask God what he wants us to leave. Because I still "slip" up at times, I took control and started asking God..."Do you want me to leave this? Oh, or is it that? No, it's probably this" (you get the picture). Then a soft voice says to "Shut up". Oops, sorry God! So I sit there quietly, trying oh so hard to sit quietly, and listen for Him. Finally, he says "Get out of my way". Huh?

My hubby and I have been out of sync lately. His business is slow right now. I think he should be doing X,Y,Z. When he doesn't, I am let down. A couple of weeks ago, we had strong "discussion". I realized that I have certain expectations of "what a man should be and do". He finally said to "Write it out for me. Let me know what your expectations are." What I also hear, not sure what words were used, was that he may not agree or be able to meet my expectations but he wants to see what they are.

Now, with all of that being said, I realized that I was trying to be God. I wanted him to be my version of man. So, God was kindly asking me to "Get out of His way" because He had work to do and I was messing it up. So, as hard as it will be for me, I am going on blind faith. I am going to trust that God can do what I can not. I'm scared...because I can't control it. I am scared...because I don't know what is on the other side or how it will "look". But...I am going to trust because he really does know better than me.

If you are still reading, please leave a comment below.

These are a few of my favorite things

My husband and I are doing a bike race on Saturday. Tonight we went for about a 10 mile ride for training. At one point we were flying down a hill at about 25 miles an hour. It was such a rush...and so scary too! If you have ever seen a racing bike, the tires are so very skinny. One mistake and I would have been a goner! Luckily, I wasn't thinking about that. I was completely and totally enjoying the moment! It took me back to childhood when we would ride our bikes EVERYWHERE. We would go flying down a hill with our hands in the air just enjoying the wind blowing in our hair. I think this is one of my favorite things. When we got to the bottom of the hill, there was a gentleman mowing his grass. The smell of fresh cut grass is another one of my favorite things. I felt about 12 years old tonight...with no worries and no responsibility! *Sigh*

So...it got me thinking about more of my favorite things. Here's what I have come up with:
*The sounds of children's laughter
*The crisp air of fall
*Laying in the bed with one of my daughter having "pillow talk"
*That feeling when you first realize that you love someone
*A bubble bath, a glass of wine, a good book, and no interruptions
*When my husband rubs my feet
*My favorite time of day is right when I get home from work. My husband is cooking dinner (He cooks because he is VERY good at it and I am VERY bad at it. Don't judge!)and the kiddos are talking about their day.
*The feeling of pride and accomplishment when you cross the finish line
*The sound of waves crashing
*The smell of my husband when he has just had a shower
*Snuggling up on a snowy day with my family, a fire, a good movies, and good snacks

I am sure that I could go on and on and on. I leave it there for now. I would love to hear what some of yours are. Please leave a comment below to tell me some of your favorite things.

Less of Me

So, first, I want to say that I am starting this couponing thingy and I am soooo excited. We had our first grocery store coupon trip today. I saved $10. Now, I know that's not a lot but it's a start. I have been reading up on the Internet today about it. I will share what I learn as I get the hang of it. I am learning that I can save up to 75% on groceries if I do it right. More to come on that later.

This morning I was cleaning the house before church. As I was cleaning, I was letting my mind wander to random thoughts. The one that I finally stuck on was that I wish that I could be a little less of me sometimes. I have a very strong personality. I have often thought that I wish that I could be less of me and more of what God wants me to be. I meet women who appear to have this peace and serenity about them. It's almost a calming effect, and it makes you crave time with them. Like, if you spend enough time with them, that whatever they "have" will rub off on you. Then, we went to church. The last song of service was a Jeremy Camp song called Empty Me. Below is the chorus to the song:

Holy Fire burn away,
my desire for anything
that is not of you and is of me.
I want more of you and less of me.

Hmmm...do you think someone was talking to me this morning???

BEST DAY EVA!!!

Ok, so...I am off work tomorrow...AND...it is going to be the BEST DAY EVA! I have been thinking about it, planning it, and dreaming about it. Now, it's not like I am a total workaholic or ANYTHING like that BUT...it's the first day off with no kids at home! That means: 1) it will be quiet, 2)anything that I clean will stay clean for more than 5 minutes, and 3)there will be no cartoony shows on!!!

These are the things that I want to do:
*Take my time with morning devotional and prayer
*Workout
*Get a pedicure
*Straighten up the whole house
*Hang out with my friend Rachel at her pool
*Go to the movies with my friend Cindy
*Hand out lottery tickets to strangers (This is for my Random Acts of Kindness challenge. I think it will be fun because it's Friday the 13th)
*Run some errands
*Clean out my office closet
*Plan next week's menu
*Make grocery list
*Make work schedule for next week
*Make budget for next week

Not sure that I will get all of that done but I definitely want to do all of the fun stuff FIRST! Then, if there is time, I will do the responsible stuff. It is Friday after all. So, I have the weekend for all of the boring stuff.

Oh, BTW, pray for us on Saturday. My hubby, my oldest daughter, and I are running a 5K. I am so proud of my oldest daughter for doing this!

Guess I need to go to bed so that I can be rested for THE BEST DAY EVA!!!

Perspective

Have you ever seen that picture where if you look at it one way it's a young woman but look at it a different way it's an old lady? To me, that's a good example of perspective. It's the old adage of the glass is half empty or half full. I think perspective is so important with the climate of our economy. It's very easy to allow the gloom and doom attitude to get you down...or running in fear!

Perspective is also important in relationships. Every person has his/her own beliefs that can contradict another person's beliefs. Does that make one person right and the other one wrong? Not necessarily. Often, arguments occur because each person's perspective is different. Once again, does that make one person right and the other one wrong? Maybe. It depends on the incident. Just because I BELIEVE I am right, doesn't mean that I am...and it doesn't mean I am wrong either. My hope is that, when faced with an adverse situation, that I can see another person's perspective. Basically, put myself in someone else's shoes. Hopefully, it will help me be more compassionate, understanding, and considerate to others.

The only thing that I ask is that you do the same for me.

Random Acts of Kindness

I have often been told that giving to others helps you take your focus off of your own problems. There's a lot going on in my life right now. So, instead of allowing these things to get me down, I am going to take this wonderful advice. One of my 2010 wishes was to perform one random act of kindness a day. Truthfully, I keep forgetting to remember this. Starting now, I am going to look and think of ways to commit random acts of kindness.

I know what you're thinking..."It's not random if it's planned". While this is true, I still think that ideas will help me to keep focused. For any of you that are reading this, I challenge you to focus on random acts of kindness. I also understand, when you do something nice for others, that you are not supposed to talk about it. However, I am encouraging you to report back with some of the acts that you perform. It will be interesting to see how creative you can get.

Below are some ideas that might help:
1) Pay for the meal for the person in line behind you at a drive-thru
2) Pull your neighbors trash can back to their house on trash day after it has been emptied
3) Pick up trash on the side of the road
4) Give a stranger a compliment
5) Let someone cut in line in front of you in traffic or at the grocery store
6) Leave a flower on someone's windshield with a kind note
7) Send a handwritten card to a friend letting them know what their friendship means to you
8) Buy a lottery ticket for a stranger
9) Stop and help someone whose car has broken down
10) Hand out water at the Greenway
11) Buy someone's meal anonymously at a restaurant
12) Give a huge tip when they least expect it
13) Compliment an employee to his/her manager for a job well done
14) Hug at least 5 people today
15) Compliment a colleague for excellence

As much as I would love to say that these are selfless acts, performing Random Acts of Kindness are a way of doing to others what you would like others to do to you. You know the saying...what goes around, comes around! Why not make positive things come back around to you?

***Here's the how to join the challenge: Become a follower of my blog and write a comment with your RAK.

Contradiction

I can be such a contradiction some times. I can be happy and sad at the same time. I can be confident and insecure. I can be brave and scared. What does that say about me? Is that how most people feel? Is that a woman thing?

I have made many big decisions in my life in the past 1 1/2 years. I am very happy, confident, and sure about these decisions. I am also sad, insecure, and unsure about them. Some times decisions that one makes in their life are difficult ones, and often necessary. The decisions that I have made have given me more peace than I have had in many years, and some times they keep me up at night. My mind and heart battle at times. Often, I have to listen to what my mind is saying to protect my heart. I am not one that can allow my heart to lead me. Yet, my heart leads me to make decisions.

Like I said...I am such a contradiction!