Mark the Calendar!

I am posting 2 days in a row! My dad would always say "mark the calendar" whenever we did something remarkable. Sadly, it was usually something like taking out the trash without reminders, lol.

Yesterday I told you about my little shopping obsession. I am not sure you can call it "shopping" if I don't spend money, or very little money. Not only am I saving lots of money and filling up the pantry but there is plenty of man training going on too. The boys are helping me clip and organize my coupons and I take them along occasionally so they can see the pay-off. They have become tough critics lately. If I spend more than $5 out of pocket they call me a slacker!

If you know anything at all about Greg and the boys, then you know they LOVE cereal. We go through some serious cereal and at $4-$5 a box, it could quickly put us in the poor house. When I find a good deal I stock up. This is part of our stash at the moment....

Yep, 30 boxes! None more than $1/box. I give it a month, maybe less, before it is all eaten.

This basket of snacks was completely free. Somehow they taste better than usual ;).

Over the last month I have stocked up a years worth of dish washer detergent, loads of body wash, deodorant, toothpaste and shampoo. Most of it free. You can't be brand picky if you want the best deals. Lucky for me, Greg and the boys eat or use just about anything.

This is my freebie basket I told you about. It is time to empty it out so I can start again.

It is a bit time consuming but so worth it. The lessons the boys are learning are priceless. Kaleb asked me the other day why I give stuff away rather than sell it to make money. We had a great conversation about using our gifts/talents/resources to bless others. We have taught them to tithe but giving goes beyond that. And giving isn't just about $.

We have gotten some good laughs from talking about the trunk of treasures I will gather for them when they go off to college. I hope I am that mom that other boys in the dorm love because of all the cool care packages.

Their only complaint is that they can't score these kinds of deals at Dick's or Gander Mountain.

Until next time...

Best of Intentions

I wish there was a direct line from my mind to this blog! I have "written" some pretty incredible stuff these last two months, too bad it never materialized so you could read it! I would tell you I am getting to it but then I would just be heaping guilt onto myself every time I think about what I didn't do.

So, here are some random things from our house...

**Greg has come and gone to session #2 of doctoral work in Charlotte. A trip to the ER (while out of town) turned up a very large, impassible kidney stone. He has now had 2 "surgical" procedures and has one more to go. He is a real trooper!

**Josh is anxiously waiting to find out if he will be accepted to the Student Conservation Association for this coming summer. If he is, he will be gone for a month long trip to who knows where, doing who knows what with who knows who. We're still thinking it's a good thing.

**Kaleb is now a hockey player. YIKES! I never thought I would see that day. He will be playing on the school's modified team and because ice time is so precious around these parts his practices won't start until mid March and games will be April-June. You know what that means? I get to freeze my butt off even in the summer, lol!

**My job is going well, but with a new governor who know if I will have a job for long. I am all for cutting spending, reducing our governmental overhead, balancing our state budget, cutting waste. I just hope I am not the "waste".

**Watching the news and reading the papers makes me depressed. Gas is going up, wars are breaking out everywhere, people are out of work, things cost more but incomes are shrinking. What is a girl to do? Especially when so much of it seems beyond my control. Well, pray for one. Second...coupon. I have become a bit obsessive of late with shopping sales, clipping coupons, looking for ways to save. I am all about free these days... free shampoo, free toothpaste, free food. This is one thing you may hear more about from me. If I can't keep the prices from rising and I can't make my income go up, then I will work the system to squeeze out what I can. The cool thing is that I have gotten so many free, or nearly free, items lately that I am giving the excess to others. I have a freebie basket on the counter and when it gets full it goes with me to work to share with my co-workers or the food pantry at church. Maybe someone else will be less crunched as a result. There are a few blogs that post great information on making the most of sales, check them out if you'd like.

http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/

http://moneysavingmom.com/

http://www.couponsforyourfamily.com/

http://www.givemeneither.com/

**The dog is still a pain

**I am sick, no, make that SICK of winter! Greg and the boys do not share my sentiment.

**I miss my old friends more that anyone will ever know. There is a part of me that feels dead and I know it is due to the lack of girl time. That makes me so sad.

**Our oven is messed up so I can't even make cookies to feed my depression, lol.

**God is still God and He is still good!

That's all for now, the boys and I have gotta run to church.