They say all good things must end, someday...

For all intents and purposes, summer vacation is over. *sad face*

The girls came home today after being in Tifton for almost two weeks. I'm pretty sure they were gone more than they were here this summer. We checked the mail and found postcards from the school with their teacher assignments on it. If that's not a sign that summer is over, then I don't know what is.

Technically school doesn't start for them until the 12th, but there's already a shift in the winds. Earlier bedtimes (for me especially!), sorting of school supplies, back-to-school haircuts and picking out back-to-school clothes; all rituals that tell you that the long lazy days are over.

I'm pretty sure this is the fastest summer on record. It was busy, but not in a really-great-we-had-so-much-fun way. We've had TWO car accidents to contend with (did I forget to mention here that a window in my van was broken the same week James wrecked his car?), which meant a lot of hurry-up-and-wait-ing all summer long. We purchased two vehicles to replace James' car (it's a long story). It seems ridiculous that we now own four vehicles for two drivers. (Two and a half of those vehicles work, but that's another long story.) People keep telling me that having four cars around is a good thing because Madeline will be driving in just three years.

Three years?!!??

It seems like a long way off *now*, but if this summer is any indication on the passage of time, then it will be here before I know it.

P.S.- Could this post HAVE anymore parenthesis?? I think not.

Anxiety in a Nutshell

Tonight is the premiere of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. I love Harry Potter- the books, the movies, the websites, all of it. My family also love Harry Potter. It's something we share and has created a lifetime of memories for us. For the first time, we have tickets to see a HP premiere at midnight. We are SUPER DOOPER EXCITED!!!

However, I am also scared out of mind.

The crowds, will we get good seats, will I be able to stay awake, what happens if our car is broken into in the theatre parking lot, will the bathrooms run out of toilet paper, do I have enough time to help the girls get their costumes together AND go grocery shopping, will I be able to sit through the Deathly Hallows 1 and Deathly Hallows 2 double feature, maybe I should just stay home and go see it later when the crowds are smaller.

This is what it's like to have General Anxiety and Panic Disorder.

Worrying CONTINUOUSLY about something you are both looking forward to and dreading more than anything in the world. It makes no sense, isn't logical, is a pain in the arse and you know this, but there absolutely nothing you can do about it but breathe deeply (over and over), pray, meditate, take your medicine, and refuse to deny yourself a fun and meaningful experience with your family.

The Things We Do

I'm sitting at the library using a public computer because Bella wants to go to the Anime/Manga program starting in a little bit. The lady two seats down can't hear that her phone with the world's most annoying ringtone has been ringing for a solid minute because she has headphones on. I'm still trying to get past a migraine that hit me with a vengeance yesterday afternoon. Madeline wants to make a robe for the Harry Potter premiere on Friday and begged me to take her to Hobby Lobby to buy some black fabric. I'm just as interested to see how this project turns out because 1) I don't sew and 2) she doesn't have a pattern. She's ambitious and confident, though. More power to her.

So while I'd like to be home in a semi-dark room with a hot rice bag over my eyes, instead I'm being a mom.

GAH! The cell phone just went off AGAIN. I may commit murder and plead temporary insanity and show the judge this blog post as proof of the duress I was under.

I *Heart* My Family

Everyone minus Mallory

Yesterday, my entire family was together for the first time since May 2010. Oh, we've almost all been together a few times since then, but usually one or two people were missing.

I love my family, but I don't feel the need to celebrate Every.Single.Life.Event with them. I don't like being around a large group of people socially for an extended amount of time. It's a flaw, I know, but that's just how I roll. But at any rate, we were all together yesterday for MASSIVE FIREWORKS.

We are a loud bunch. I mean REALLY loud. You'd think all of us were deaf, and not just Dad, Jaws and Mom. But how can you complain with half of the shreiks are because small children are being happily entertained by Uncle Matthew pretending to eat their ribs? Only a monster would be annoyed by that. ;)

In addition to the family being there, there were at least five people who I didn't know. That's the way it is at the compound; someone is always inviting a friend along for the fun. And in this case, an invited friend invited someone else to come along, too! My parents just roll with it, though. (Me? I prefer to have a person's complete dossier before they come through the door. How have I ever made any friends? It boggles the mind.)

In addition to being loud and way too friendly, we also like to eat. Yesterday it was a variety of random but tasty foods. Evidently Mom was cooking French Toast for the masses today. My mom's French Toast is TO DIE FOR. If I was ever about to be executed (for a crime I didn't commit, naturally) I'd probably request that French Toast as my last meal. Along with some Zaxby's, a good salad and a chocolate chip cheesecake. Just in case you were wondering!

Being around my family can be exhausting, but they are pretty awesome.

And I Am Telling Yooooooouuuuu.....

....I'm not ready for it to be July. No no no noooooo.....

I think I would really like some spaghetti for dinner tonight. With meatballs. But i think I might be too lazy to make it. I know, I know: how hard is it? Boil water, cook pasta, heat jar of Prego with frozen meatballs. Woe is me and my first world problems.

Tomorrow Jaws and I are headed over to Tifton to party like it's 1999. Actually, we're pikcing up the girls and the dog, grilling out and shooting off a massive amount of fireworks. Woo-hoo! If you hear of crazy wildfires in south Georgia, you'll know why. Given that a whole generation of grandchildren were almost wiped out the *last* time we did massive fireworks, it should be a good time.

All this introspective navel-gazing is making my head hurt.

The other day I told someone I was going to be 33 this year. I was wrong. I'm going to be 34. That, in turn, made Jaws upset because *he* thought he was going to be 37 this year. He's not. He's going to be 38. As in, two years from the dreaded 4-0. Poor guy.

Our 15th anniversary is this year, too. Crazy. As in 15 years we've been making each other crazy as well as being crazy in love.

Today I realized that I am not cute. I have never been cute. I will never be cute. Classic? Sure. Comfortable? Yes. But cute? No. I won't be cute. My house won't be cute. Cute is beyond my reach. And another dream bites the dust. (Not really. Well, kind of. I mean, I wouldn't mind having a cute house. But that would probably mean worrying about having curtains and decent furniture instead of making sure I have adequate bookshelf space.) I think the best I can hope for is neat. That's not too bad, I guess.

I have to start thinking about dinner now. Jaws complained that there was never any FOOD for him last summer. This summer, I have really made an effort to make sure there is FOOD for him, as opposed to munchies the girls and I would be happy to live off of from June till August. Tonight we are having BIG SALADS. I have lots of fresh veggies, and there will also be bacon, cheese and croutons. Tasty. I am making dessert, too. Strawberries and blueberries mixed with Honey Greek yogurt topped with crunbled shortbread cookies.

It will all be tasty, but not cute.

Life With Tweens

I love my girls. They are truly awesome. If I could have hand-picked my children I would have picked them.

Our relationship is changing. Madeline is less than three months away from turning 13. Isabella will be 12 on her next birthday. They are closer to being adults than they are to being babies. I see them stretching their wings, finding their own way, making their own choices. And I'm happy for them. I really am.

I've always tried to be aware and appreciate whatever age they happened to be at, so I don't wish that the time hasn't passed as quickly as it has. I just want them to be ready to face what's ahead of them. I'm proud of the way they seem to be walking the narrow bridge between childhood and the teen years; not too fast, not too slow, and with confidence and determination.

I see more of THEM and less of me and their father. Sometimes when I see "us" in "them" it makes me sad and frustrated, because it's not the qualities I wanted to pass on. (A little more determination and a little less stubborness would have been nice.) Mostly I feel happy, because they are MY PEOPLE, and they always will be. But they are their own people too, and that's a good thing.

Good Bye, I'm Moving to the BIG CITY

I was doing great, keeping calm and carrying on and all, when on Saturday our lawn guy put a rock through my van window. Did you know that auto insurance is not like medical insurance, in that once you meet your deductible you are good for a year?? No, with auto insurance you have to meet the deductible EACH AND EVERY INCIDENT!!

Luckily, I know a glass guy. A benefit of small town living- I have a personal glass guy! I called him up and told him my sob story, and he told me that he would order my glass and have it installed by Tuesday, and $50 cheaper than the insurance company recommended where we would get a "discount".

So now I have new glass, and we have also settled with the insurance company on James' car. All that's left is to find him some new wheels. And if we have any more car trouble this summer the title of my post will absolutely true.

In other news, we hosted a birthday party at our house last night, and it was a rousing success. In sadder news, now that all of these people have been to our house they will move, because that's what ALWAYS happens when we make friends. Sorry, Albany.

In other other news, I'm making Sloppy Joes for dinner. They will be tasty, because I'm *pretty* sure I make the very best Sloppy Joes ever.

Keeping Calm and Carrying On

If you know me well, then you know this has been my motto for about two years now. This was truly a week for me to KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON. James got into a minor fender bender on Monday. Fortunately he wasn't hurt. Unfortunately it wasn't minor enough, because the insurance company has decided to total it out. :/

I hate dealing with car issues. It's just SUCH A PAIN. It causes me a lot of anxiety and stress, simply because we depend on our vehicles so much. But short of moving somewhere where I can rely strictly on public transportation, there's really nothing I can do about it.

So I'm keeping calm and carrying on. Yay, me!

In other news, Lulu finally got all her lady bits removed this week. This makes me very happy. I may not do a lot of things right, but I spay and neuter my pets, by golly! Bob Barker would be so proud. She's recovering nicely from the surgery. She's been a bit mellow (but wouldn't you if you just had your belly cut open?).

After I picked her up from the vet I dropped her off at the groomer's for her first haircut. She looks so naked now! I had to laugh when the groomer brought her out, though, because she had bows on her ears and a bandana around her neck. Her BFF Lexi was waiting for her when she got home. (Lexi's mom is at Girls Camp with Madeline, and her dad was out of town for work.) These two pups play so good together! Lexi had to immediatly investigate Lulu's scar, and they even tried to share Lexi's crate last night. Awww....

Madeline comes home from camp tomorrow. I hope she had a great experience. I personally didn't "do" Girls Camp except as an adult, and only then because I had to. ;) Bella can hardly wait to go next year. I'm glad she's excited!

The Mom Prayer

As I send my baby off to Girls Camp today, I keep thinking of something that Tina Fey wrote in her HILARIOUS, AMAZING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING BOOK Bossypants. (Be warned, there is a bit of salty language, but even my own mother has used salty language in times of deep, deep distress.)

The Mother’s Prayer for Its Daughter

First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered, May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her

When crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels.

What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen. Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.

“My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

Amen.

Tina Fey, Bossypants, 2011

Suuuuuuummmeerrrrrrtiiiiiiiiiimmmeee.......

(Imagine me singing that in my best Lena Horne voice. Sounds, amazing, doesn't it?)

--- The girls have been out of school one whole week and we are in FULL-ON summer mode. Lazy mornings, good books, cold drinks, late dinners, getting in some body of water as often as possible. I feel bad that Jaws has to go to work. Oh well. Someone has to bring home the bacon (although I will happily fry it up in the pan. It's BLT weather, baby!).

--- Speaking of babies, Madeline is headed to Girls Camp next week for the first time. GIRLS CAMP PEOPLE!! I feel old. My other baby brought down the house and slammed the door on Fifth grade by bringing home STRAIGHT A's on her final report card. BOO-to-the-YAH. After all the struggles we've had this year I feel gloriously vindicated.

--- I just looked at the temp on Weather Bug. It's 101 degrees today. On June 1st. Breaking records all over the place. Luckily the humidity is only 28%, making it feel like "only" 104 degrees. I shudder to think of what the weather will feel like on Friday when it's supposed to be hotter and humid-er. (Or MORE HUMID for you grammar nuts.)

--- My brother and his family are moving to Alabama this weekend. Boo! Why does he need a "career"? I need my nieces and nephews around to amuse me!! Luckily, I like the state of Alabama, redneck-married-cousinss-jokes aside. It's a pretty state, it's not landlocked, and you can buy fireworks year round.

--- I have read nine books since school ended for me on the 13th. Deeply, deeply satisfying. I love reading. It's so entertaining! I have also cleaned out my pantry, closet, playroom and dresser drawers. Also satisfying, but not nearly as entertaining. (Although re-reading notebooks and journals from high school is ALWAYS entertaining. I had forgotten how much bad poetry I wrote at one point. Did I throw it away? No way, Jose!)

I think I'll go eat some watermelon before I take the girls to church tonight. Then I might eat some ice cream. Because it's summer and all.

Guys and Dolls

Last night I took the girls to see Theatre Albany's production of Guys and Dolls. It was actually the dress rehersal, and we got to go for free. The music teacher at Bella's school was the Musical Director for the show. We ran into him at Sam's Club last Saturday and he invited us to the performance. How awesome is it to know people who know people??!!?? Benefit of small town living, indeed!

The show started at eight and the curtain didn't come down until almost 10:30, so they are probably pretty tired today. Oh well. They can just sleep through whatever movie is being shown in class today, because heaven knows they probably aren't doing anything with 2 1/2 days of school left! ;)

The Clines came with us, but Jaws stayed home to enjoy a much-needed "All By Himself Guy Time". I keep trying to think of thing for the Clines to do here in town so they won't move to North Carolina. ;)

I had seen the show before, but the girls hadn't. It was fun to listen to their reactions, and even MORE fun to hear them make suggestions/compare it to the two shows they have been involved in. (They're seasoned vets, you know. ;D) The best part was when it was time for intermission and Bella asked me what we were supposed to do during intermission. At first I was confused, but then I realized that she had never been in an *audience* during intermission- she had only ever been in the cast! Hee!

Decompressing

That pretty much sums up my state right now. I'm decompressing. It's something I have to do before I can move on to the next thing, whatever that might be. Summer is rapidly approaching (although you'd never know it by the weather for the past four days- lows in the 40's and highs in the 70's! In south Georgia! In the middle of May!), but before I can fully enjoy it, I have to process this school year.

I will admit it- this was not my personal best year teaching. It was challenging, and I learned a lot (about myself, about balance, about how to be a better teacher, what mistakes I don't want to make again) but it was flat-out draining. So I have to let it go so I can have a good summer and recharge my batteries for next year. I do a lot of deep breathing and meditation. It's one of the many coping mechanisms I've learned over the years in dealing with my anxieties. It's a way to "let go", which I think is pretty vital in for a healthy mental state.

We have all of these blow-up Letter People that we use in my classroom. There are 26 of the suckers, and the air has to be let out of all of them so they can be packed away for the summer, or else the pressure of the air will cause the seems to burst. It's really hard, as you have to simultaneously squeeze the air valve while pushing on the Letter Person to squeeze out all of the air. But that's what it's like for me when I have to decompress. It's hard work, but if I don't do it I know I'll burst.

Here's to not bursting for the next 2 1/2 months.

OH HAPPY DAY!

For the past month, I have been overly occupied with some stuff. Stressful stuff. Important stuff. Stuff that kept me awake at night and mainlining carbs, dark chocolate and Dr. Pepper during the day.

So you know how I have that anxiety problem?? That didn't exactly help me deal with this stuff very well. Such is life, though. If you don't know the trials, you can't appreciate the joy; It's only after the rain has passed that you appreciate the sunshine; insert comforting homily that helps you get through the day.

But today, TODAY, everything is bright and shiny and the weight on my shoulders feels ten times lighter. You see, CRCT test scores came back today. Stupid, stupid five days worth of standardizing testing scores that, in Fifth grade, are an all-or-nothing deal; if you don't pass the CRCT, you don't go into Sixth grade. Period.

See this girl right here???


She's smart and funny and creative and energetic and a fabulous person in general who, like her equally talented, funny, smart, etc mother, happens to struggle in math. Math is our Waterloo. It's our Spanish Armada attacking the English Navy. It's our Custer's Last Stand. (You get the idea.) We don't need ONE day of STUPID STANDARDIZED testing in math to judge our worth. But sadly the state of Georgia doesn't agree. So she's been prepping all stinking year. Getting extra help and tutoring. Working on extra math work over every holiday break the entire school year. Sweating and cursing the entire time. (Well, I was cursing. Bella doesn't curse, but I expect she will start sometime around the time she encounters Trigonometry.)

Three days into the RIDICULOUS, STUPID, IDIOTIC standardized testing and it was finally time for the math portion. Oy vey. The stress. The worry. The fear. On all of us. No 11 year old should feel that much pressure.

And then, today. TODAY. The test scores come home. Passing grade! A COMFORTABLE passing grade!! No more worry!! No more stress. We are the RUssians, beating back Napolean! We are the English Navy and a fearful hurricane! We are multiple Indian tribes kicking Custer's arse!!!!

But then I remember my baby is going into Middle School in the fall. MIDDLE SCHOOL. She's so little. And young! The worrying starts all over again.

Y Halo Thar Blog!

April went by in a haze of Spring Break, realizing that preschool graduation was only 2 1/2 weeks after Spring Break and my kids weren't ready, (commence MAJOR panicking) my co-teacher's father getting seriously ill and me dealing with a round-robin of subs (thank heavens my friend Jamie was available- she knew a lot of the songs we were singing; thank you Primary Songbook!) Easter parties, Easter, car malfunctions derailing Easter, stupid state-mandated CRCT testing, graduation itself and a big field trip. Then to top it all off I got a cold. I'm glad it's over and done.

Next week is my last week of school for the year. Suh-weet. They did great in our preschool graduation- seriously, they were awesome. I love the little buggers but I'm *tired*. May brings family stuff (birthdays and baby showers) the Family Reunion, more graduations, end of the year parties, Honors Days, more field trips, packing up parts of my classroom and for some reason teachers keep assigning MAJOR projects. WHy not just give the kids a test and be done with it. Let's not get creative and overthink it here at the end, shall we?

But I know why you're here. You want to know about my couponing exploits, don't you?? Yeah you do!!

I tried to keep up with everything by taking pictures of all of my shopping hauls, but it got to be a pain. And I'm lazy. Still the picks are on my harddrive, and what kind of couponer/blogger would I be if I didn't share them with you? A lousy one!

This was a CVS purchase. Total cost was $38.84, but I spent 14.91 Out of Pocket (OOP). One thing that I learned during this whole "WILL COUPONING REALLY SAVE ME ANY MONEY?" thing was about razors. I don't know if y'all realize this, but razors are NOT cheap! We have four people in this house using razors, so we tend to go through them. James doesn't like electric shavers and disposable razors tear us his face. The brand of razor he uses currently isn't even a fancy-scmancy five blade deal, but a refill pack of 8 cartridges costs almost $20. On one of the couponing sites I frequent it said that in order to get the best deals on razors, watch for sales and coupons for ANY razor and then buy the refills as they are on sale.

I don't know why I didn't think of that before, but it was seriously a revalation for me. I was SHOCKED to see how many sales AND coupons on razors and/or catridges there were over the course of the month. So now we have a stockpile of five different kinds of razors and probably 40 or so refill cartridges, and I only spent about $25 OOP. In the future I can look for sales and stock up the catridges as necessary without worrying about the brand of razor because we most likely already have it! And how sad is this? We have a razor basket in the closet to store the razors when we are out of refills.


Another CVS run. $99.21 in product, 35.69 OOP.


This is from a BIG Publix run. At first I was really concentrating on getting out of the store with spending as little as possible. That is still my overall goal, but it's not the only thing I'm concentrating on now. We've never had a huge amount of food storage. Years of moving and living with family never made it really practical. But now that we are settled, it's important to start building up those supplies.

We lucked out that, in April, we had an extra paycheck. I decided to concentrate on stocking up on as much as I could for during April and May since I won't have a paycheck again until September once school is out. I'll worry about the bottom line during the summer and stock up now while we have the financial means.



So this Publix run was $397.24 in product and $222.24 OOP. And as you can see, that included meat, fresh produce and dairy items. Madeline had to pose with the receipt to show you how long it was!


What's the bottom line, though? I estimated that I spend between $400-$500 a month on groceries, household supplies, healt and beauty stuff, etc. I definitely went past that! But as I said, I decided to focus on stocking up as much as I could.

At CVS I got $693.76 worth of product, but I spent $249.51. My math skills are horrid, but I think that's a savings of 75%, and I have $20 in Extra Care Bucks that rolled over to May. I don't think I did too bad.

One awesome thing that came out of all this is that I got most of my household and health and beauty supplies at CVS. Normally, this is the stuff I would buy at Target, along with all sorts of other things that would find its way into my buggy! That didn't happen at CVS, so I saved money that way, too. If I had bought everything at regular price, or even on sale, the prices would have definitely been more at CVS. But because I 1)watched the sales 2)combined with coupons and 3) used Extra Care Bucks, I spent less that I would have at Target. We now have a GREAT supply of soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, razors, shampoo, toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies and over-the-counter medicine.

At Publix I got $1341.64 worth of product, but I spent $782.67 out of pocket. Included in this total is cat and dog food, which I normally would have bought at Target, but because of coupons and sales I ended up buying at Publix. At the end of the month my fridge was full, the pets have extra food, our chest freezer was well-stocked and the pantry has more in it than it ever has before.

My grand total between both stores was $1032.18 OOP, (and I got close to $2000 worth of product) almost double what I estimated I would spend in a month. Do I want that total to go down?? Absolutely!! But I'm fairly confident we could eat a nutrious and varied diet for the next month and not spend more than another $25 on fresh produce, milk and bread. But most importantly, WE WOULDN'T RUN OUT OF TOILET PAPER!!!!

So the big question becomes: IS COUPONING WORTH IT?? In the short term, I bought more and spent more that I normally would have, but I wanted to build our supplies. I didn't "rob Peter to pay Paul" in order to afford it, either. I went to the stores more often that I would have (usually I would only go every two weeks, when payday comes around), but knowing there would be sales I wanted to take advantage of made me 1)plan my budget better and 2) plan my grocery lists and menus. These are all good things.

What about the time I spent cutting, searching, printing, planning and organizing all thouse coupons?? At first it wasn't hard because I didn't have a lot of coupons. Now that I know 'how to play the game', so to speak, I have a *LOT* more. Consequently it takes me more time to get ready to go to the store. I estimate at least 10 hours a week, maybe 15.

Luckily both Publix and CVS list on your receipt how much you saved, just in coupons, in addition to how much you saved altogether. I think this is a pretty good gauge of seeing if the "time" is worth the "money".

All total, my savings on coupons alone came to $435.41. Let's say I spent 10 hours a week for the five weeks in April. That means for every hour I spent "couponing" I "made" $8.70. Frankly, that's more than I make at my REAl job, LOL!!!

I'm definitely not an EXTREME COUPONER (and most of those people are abusing the system) but I think I've made a good start.

Am I Not Mormon Woman??

Yes, yes I am. Which means, by definition, I need to be thrifty and resourceful and not spendy and lazy. A couple of the ladies in my ward have really gotten into the whole couponing thing (**waves to those who might be lurking**. Feel free to say hi!!) I'm lacking in hobbies right now, so I figured what the heck- I'll give it a shot and see if I can really manage to save mucho dinero.

I laid down some ground rules for myself:

1: I would only shop at Publix, CVS and Target.
Publix is my grocery store of choice, as is Target for 'house stuff', like soap and toothpaste, and since they just built a new CVS closer to my house, it's now worth my while to make a special trip there to take advantage of their sales and Extra Care Bucks. I have no desire to spend hours in Wal-Mart just on the hope I could save $5. At some point, my time and dignity are worth more than money. And while there is a Winn-Dixie fairly close to me, I really don't want to spend a whole driving around town to all the other grocery stores. So the BIG THREE it is.

B: In spite of the size of my arse, I really do try and limit the amount of processed foods I buy. You can stop laughing now. As I scanned the couponing blogs, it seemed to me a lot of people were buying a lot of (in my opinion) junk food, just because it only cost 25 cents. Some people have the willpower to limit themselves to just one small treat a day. I don't. My husband doesn't. My children don't. If it's in the house, we'll eat it, and probably pretty quickly, too. (An open bag of M&Ms lasts approximately 5.6 minutes.)

To combat this I decided that I would only buy "treats" if they were on sale AND I had a coupon AND it would be something that I would possibly buy anyway. (For example, Chips Ahoy cookies are pretty good, but not as good as a homemade chocolate chip cookie. So I don't buy them ever because they will always be a disappointment. Oreos, on the other hand...)

Thirdly: I would ignore what seems to be a cardinal rule of couponing- forget brand loyalty.
Here's the dealio: I like the stuff I like. Some stuff just doesn't work as good as other stuff. There are two kinds of deodorant that work for me; Degree Powder Fresh and Arm & Hammer Baby Powder scent. I spend my mornings wrestling preschoolers. It's hot outside 8 months out of the year. These are the ONLY two deodorants I've found that keep me from sweating like excessively AND keep me from smelling like a bum who lives under a highway overpass.

Along those lines, I have a *very* sensitive nose. VERY. Ask Jaws. He will confirm. So there are some things I just won't use because, to me, they stink. Also, Bella has sensitive skin and allergies. You know what makes her break out in a rash and itchy eyes? Most lotions. You know what doesn't? The not cheap (read: expensive)bottle of lotion I order from Basa Body. I also refuse to use cheap (not inexpensive, mind you, but cheap) toilet paper. I just don't want to fool around, ya know? So, I'm not stressing about brand loyalty. I'll just do the best I can.

Soooooooo, with all that in mind, I set out to start couponing.

So far I've done three trips with couponing in mind. I went online to Southern Savers, matched up the sales with my coupons and made my shopping lists. I've been twice to Publix and once to CVS.

I typically do "major" grocery shopping every two weeks and spend anywhere from $125-$200 for our family of four. I probably spend another $75-$100 a month on health and beauty stuff and household-y items. I typically watch for the sales and only by that kind of stuff when it's on sale, but if you're out of tampons you're out of tampons, right? Mother Nature doesn't wait for a sale! ;D But I know that since I'm keeping track of what I'm buying with couponing, I'll be able to do better at REALLY stocking up when something is at a great price without robbing the budget in other places.

My first Publix trip was a big one. I went last Thursday afternoon. It had been at least three weeks since I had done 'major' shopping, and we were out of a lot of our basics. I also bought a lot of stuff I would typically have bought at Target, but because it was on sale at Publix *and* I had coupons, I spent the money there.

I know you aren't a REAL COUPONER unless you unpack everything on your kitchen table and take a picture of it all, but there was so much stuff (not to mentio I didn't get around to unpacking it all until two days later) that you'll have to take my word for it.

I got $283.68 worth of products. After coupons and store sales, I spent 182.19 out of pocket. That includes produce, deli items, dairy, meat, etc. No joke, my receipt was FOUR FEET LONG! Bar soap was on CRAZY sale, so I now have 36 bars of soap. We should be good for a month or two. LOL If I didn't go grocery shopping (for food) for the rest of the month, I'd only need to replace bread, milk and some fresh produce. For me, not too bad.

Next I went to CVS, where I DID take a picture!! LOL


Got $101.70 worth of product, spent $25.38 out of pocket, plus I got $18.50 in Extra Care Bucks to spend next time. Some people like to do multiple transactions in order to roll their ECBs into their purchases and walk out spending only a few dollars (or even just a few cents!) out of pocket. I'm not one of those people. ;D I'll just save it for next time, thanks very much! Even at their sale prices, the toilet paper and the Tide came to almost $25 before coupons by themselves, so this trip was DEFINTELY a money saver!!

My second Publix trip was today. It was much smaller, but I still did pretty well.


I got $104.54 worth of product, but only spent 52.57 out of pocket. I have to 'fess up, though. I bought a lot more processed stuff that I would have had it not been on sale+coupon. See those Milano cookies? 75 cents each. The Jello puddings were $1.50 each. But the girls have some major testing at school this month, so I figured they deserved a little something special for their lunches.

So to wrap it up in a more concise fashion, so far I have saved money. I imagine now that I've got a decent coupon supply going I will continue to save money as long as I match up the coupons with the sales. My biggest hope is that I will get really good at this and save money over the summer.

Keeping It Real

Ahhh....Sping Break. I've been waiting for you too long and now you're finally here! We tentively had some plans as a family, but Madeline got a better offer from a friend and she abandoned us. Bella decided she would head over to Tifton since Madeline was gone, because Tifton is always more fun that Albany! I thought we had at least another year or so before we became obsolete, but the time is here, I guess. *sad face*

I decided to take advantage of having two less people in the house and do some deep-ish cleaning. James cleaned the carpet and I attacked the kitchen. However, in the interest of KEEPING IT REAL, I took pictures of things I haven't done (and to be perfectly honest, probabaly won't any time soon).

I hate dusting. It's a waste of time. It just comes back and this time of year it brings pollen with it(especially if you like to keep your windows open, which I do). DOWN WITH DUSTING!!!




The food side of the laundry room is pretty organized, but the laundry/storage side? Not so much.


I despair of the craft closet. In spite of my best efforts, it's always messy. Darn kids, it's their fault!


Preschool books in the playroom I need to put away. These are the books I've ordered and/or used since December. I'll probably clean it up in June. There are probably two hundread books in those stacks. I have plans of cataloging them all, but probably won't complete that task until sometime in 2015.




It took me ten minutes to find a pair of matching flip-flops the other day. Pitiful.


I seriously have no idea why all this STUFF is piled up on this shelf. It has no business being there. But Have I done anything about it? No.


Other things I haven't done but should? Windexing the front windows where the cats and dog press their noses, mopping the kitchen floor (the red clay blends in with the tile quite nicely) and cleaning the shelves in the top of my closet.

Just keepin' it real.

Whinging Wednesday

A few days ago I posted on Facebook that I used to think Spring was one of my favorite seasons, but now I know that it is most definitely NOT. (For the record, the order is 1) Fall 2)Summer 3)Winter 4)Spring).

Yes, the renewal of the earth is lovely and the cool mornings and mild afternoons are nice. But the renewal of the earth brings a metric ton of pollen, and the cool mornings and mild afternoons last few about two weeks (sometime between Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day) before the stiffling heat and humidity make their triumphant debut.

And there's always SO MUCH TO DO. Weeding the flower beds, mowing the lawn, getting the garden ready, changing out the bed linens and clothes from winter stuff to summer stuff, spring cleaning; the chores go ON and ON and ON FOR-EV-ERRRRRRRRRR. I just want to curl up with a book. (But I must take advantage of the two weeks of beautifulness outside! Or else I feel guilty! And I hate feeling guilty!)

And then there's preschool. I hate spring at preschool because
1) everyone (including the kiddies) has spring fever and Spring Break never gets here fast enough, nor does it last long enough
2) graduation is looming (and that's a LOT of work too!) and
3) T-BALL.

****DISCLAIMER*****
This is WHINGING WEDNESDAY, a time when I can hyperbolically complain about whatever has my knickers in a twist on that given day. It is not a judgment about you. (Okay, maybe a *leetle*.) But seriously, take everything I say with a grain of salt.
*****END DISCALIMER*****

Let me tell you the evils of T-Ball as it pertains to children between the ages of 4 and 8. For some reason, "ball" practice seems to happen 3-4 nights a week. It's been my experience that these practices are later in the evening. And you know how soccer and football games are typically played on Saturday mornings? Not ball. They have weeknight games, and usually more than one a week! Kids who are playing ball get home late, eat dinner late, get to bed late, wake up grouchy and still tired and invariably come to school in the most rotten of moods and their behavio shows it.

With eight years of teaching experience under my belt I can raise my hand to the heavens and SWEAR this doesn't happen in the fall with soccer and football. It doesn't happen in the winter with basketball. It doesn't happen in the spring with soccer or swimming. IT ONLY HAPPENS IN THE SPRING WITH KIDS WHO PLAY BALL.

One year, most of my class was on the smae T-Ball team. Their practices and/or games (and sometimes they had BOTH on one day!) were on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Wednesdays and Fridays, February-April, we had at least ONE kid fall asleep in class on those days after practice/games. Sometimes it was more than one. It was awful.

I think a lot of it has to do with the structure of ball. Yes, you play with a team, but there is so much pressure on the kid as an individual. Throwing and catching and hitting are great skills, but I have tons of hitting and throwing behavior problems at school and almost NO kicking problems. And lets face it, compared to soccer and football kids running up and down a field, ball kids aren't getting quite as much exercise. There's a lot of standing around and waiting, you know what I mean? So these kids are all pumped up and there's very little *physical* way of releasing it. Hence, tired kids and behavior problems galore at school the next day.

Don't get me wrong- I *LOVE* baseball as a sport. (Go Braves!) But I'm telling you- younger kids aren't getting much out of it at all. I want to plead with my parents sometimes, "Please wait until your little darling is older! They will enjoy it more, and so will you, and you won't have to have these little chats with me each afternoon about the bad choices your child made today!" I am alsways happy when ball is over and done with (only two more weeks! I can make it!).

And I hate spring because the sun is still shining when I need to go to bed. BOO DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME!!!!

In conclusion, Le Sacre du Printemps and Vivaldi aside, Spring holds no particular charms for me.

Although, I am looking forward to the return of gardenias.

Third Person Thursday

Back in December she won a raffle for a handmade quilt.

She emailed the quilt maker with some colors that she liked and told the quilter to surprise her with the end result. Every few weeks the quilter would send an email updating her on the progress, until last week the quilter told her it was in the mail.

When she opened the package, her breath was taken away. The quilt was gorgeous. The colors were perfect. The size was perfect for snuggling up in on a rainy (or not so rainy) day. The thickness and weight were exactly what she wanted. If she had been there in person, picking out fabrics and laying out the pattern, it could not have been more perfect. (In fact, it probably would have been worse as she tends to get overwhelmed with color choices and design schemes and so forth.)

It reminded her of another perfect quilt that is no longer with her. That quilt was made by her grandmother. It was a crazy patchwork, with no rhyme or reason to the color or fabric selection. It was on her bed from the time she was 13 until the time it was lost in a move at the age of 22. She wept over the loss of that quilt. She knows it seems silly, crying over a quilt, especially one that was starting to get worn and threadbare with use. But she doesn't care. In the eleven years since it went missing, no other blanket has ever felt as good as that quilt did.

She knows that quilts are often used as metaphors when people are speaking of feeling the Holy Spirit at work in your life; warm, enveloping, conforting. It's a good metaphor, she thinks. The arrival of this new perfect quilt just happened to coincide with some crazy deep soul searching she had been doing. She thinks she'll spend some time wrapped up in love, just as she did so many years before.

A-HA!!! (And not the Norwegian Pop Group)

I HAVE HAD AN EPIPHANY, PEOPLE!!!

I know no one likes reading "Woe is me" blog posts, but if that's how you're feeling then what else can you say? For a few weeks now, I've been trying to get to the root of exactly *WHY* I've been feeling this way, because believe it or not, I don't like mopey me and more than you do.

And then tonight, while listening to the rain and trying to get the dog to go out without me having to go with her, IT HIT ME.

I HAVEN'T ACCOMPLISHED ANYTHING PERSONALLY THIS YEAR!

Let me explain. By this time last year, some of my writing had been published in a magazine and on a biggish LDS blog. I had contributed a few pieces to the AMAZING Betsy Bird's blog in reference to her Top 100 Children's Book poll and I knew they would be published in the spring. My creative juices were flowing.

Right now?? Not so much. So clearly I need to do something creative and exciting. But what??????? I've been wanting to learn how to play "Jesus Loves Me" on the guitar so I can accompany my preschool class for our graduation. I have no idea how to play the guitar, though. I need to find a teacher. This can be my project!