Couponing: Lesson 2

So... Did everyone have fun putting together your binder? Clipping your coupons, and organizing them? Well.... I DID!

The pencil pouch is a great place for scissers, calculator, and store coupons.

The pile is getting big!

Make sure you fold you coupons so that you can see the important information...

The next thing you need to know is... what IS a really good rock bottom price for something?

Click here for an excellent guideline... and put it in your binder.

Now if you heeded my warning, you didn't run to the store with your coupons yet...

If you DID, let me guess what happened....

Wisk laundry detergent for 6.99 with a 2.00 off coupon makes it $4.99 but the generic is only 3.99! ARGGHHHH Couponing is stupid!

Am I Right?

This is where patience comes in... and a change to your ways of shopping...

I had 2.00 off 1 bottle of Wisk laundry detergent coupons... and they sat in my binder, and sat and sat and sat until one fateful day when they were on sale for $3.35 per bottle less my 2.00 off coupon and wha-lah I paid 1.35 for a bottle of laundry detergent!

Now - THIS is when you do NOT buy one bottle, you buy as many as the store will allow with as many coupons as you possess, why? Because you USE laundry detergent, and in 2 weeks when you need another bottle, it will NOT be on sale and you WILL pay 5-7 dollars for it. If you buy several, then by the time your stock has gotten low, something else will be at a rock bottom price. Get it? I was able to buy 5 bottles of detergent for what someone would normally spend on one!

Your goal this week, do your regular shopping but find 3-5 totally amazing rock bottom deals and by enough of that product that will last you a few cycles. Then next week do the same, as time goes on and you start learning how and when to buy certian products... You will get more bang for your buck.

Helpful sources:

http://www.krazycouponlady.com/

http://www.southernsavers.com/

http://www.time2saveworkshop.com/

Couponing: Lesson 1

Ok Folks... Do you really wanna learn how to coupon?

Things you MUST have to get started...

First:
One 3 ring binder
One set of baseball card holders, found at walmart with the pokemon/baseball cards.

Second:
There will be 4 coupon inserts in this Sunday's paper... Get MORE than ONE! If you are in a single house hold, at least buy 2, if you have a family of 4, buy 5.

Third:
Download these dividers to organize the coupons... You will spend the the MOST time setting up your binder the first time and then less and less there after. (if you happen to be of the Male persuasion, You can create something a little more masculine)

Sunday, right after church, and your belly is full, Cut clip and organize... One tip, take all the like coupons, (page one from each insert) Line then up and cut once... You follow me?

Ok, Once that is done, DO NOT run to the store yet... We will talk again on Monday. Have a great weekend!

Mom, Dad, Kids...

Somethings going on right now...
Talked to my Dad, asked how he was doing... "not great, I hurt all over, and am in a lot of pain". At the same time he is elusive about the cirrhosis, almost as though if he admits to it, then we will find out he drinks too much. I really think he doesn't think we know.
So hubby's upbringing is that of a story book, so I sent him a text (yes a text) asking if he had ever heard of al-anon, he replied, "WHO'S that?" sigh... I explained that it was a support group for family members of alcholics, and that I was thinking about going... I'm not sure he quite understands.
Funny thing is, I wouldn't have even told him if I didn't need to explain where I was going... Telling him that I wanted to go, took me weeks to get the courage to mention it. I also realized if that was that hard for me, I can't imagine how hard it would be for my dad to try AA.

Enough of that for now...

I broke my pinky toe Sunday, I WILL spare you pictures. I was reaching for something on the back of the kitchen counter, pulled my arm forward and knocked my hubby's foot log, 37lb mag lite flashlight on my toe. It was swollen and purple in 60 seconds. I still can't get shoes on and have been wearing flip flops to work... Really wish I had a pedicure recently!

My girls are in Florida with O'ma (my mom) she took them to the mall for some school shopping and texted me and asked
O'Ma - "What happened to my princesses? They want ugly clunky shoes"
Me - "The princess spell was broken when they hit puberty"
O'Ma - "That's why they kept the Disney princess locked in the tower for so long"

Haha YES! I just want to lock mine in the tower 1 week a month... Good Grief!

Giveaway...

Hey ladies... One of my fellow bloggers is having an amazing giveaway!

It's an entire set of thirtyone.com goodies... If you comment, or follow her (she is trying to reach 100) you will be entered to win. Hurry up, you only have a few days left!

Click here to enter.

Delivery

I heart Snail Mail...

I'm Back!!!

I was on vacation last week, I should have told you guys... but on top of getting ready for vacation, my in-laws blessed me with their presence up until the DAY WE LEFT! I was getting work stuff ready and still digesting the news about my dad's health.

Enjoy some vacation photos... It's Monday, my first day back and I am running behind...

Worthy enough?

In January 1984, as my parents were tucking me into bed, they announced that they were getting a divorce. It was the first time I saw my dad cry. The next day it was the first time I realized that not all dad's drink.
In April 1984 my mom was remarried and we moved to a new town.
In July 1984, Not to be outdone by my mom, my dad remarried and moved his new family into my old house.
In Septemeber I entered the middle school, and on top of going through the normal pains of adolsence, I was the first person I ever heard of who's parents got divorced and remarried, and had step-parent, step-siblings, new grandparents and aunt and uncles... the whole thing was quite confusing.
I received a flyer to sign up for big brother/big sister... OH how I wanted someone to talk to, other than my m - o - m. I mean really, what could she POSSIBLY understand??? Unfornatually, it required a parents permission to sign up. When I mentioned it, my mom was appalled! I was told my life was not SO BAD... there are alot of people out there with it much worse than you... I can't say that I disagreed, but it didn't make the hurt I was going through any less. I believed that I could be taking the place of someone who "really" needed it.
Fast Forward 7 yrs...
My step dad was drinking and driving and killed in a car accident.
Fast Forward 20 yrs...
I have looked up alanon many times over the years, but could never get myself to actually go... The same feelings from 1984 emerged, that i didn't have it AS bad as some, and my grief/saddness wasn't worthy of attending.
The desire to connect and attend is stronger then it's ever been. I have looked up meetings, mapquested the locations, checked my schedule... but, what if I show up, share my story/grief/experience and the others, the ones who REALLY need it look at me and say... "That's it? That's all you got? Please sister, you don't know HOW good you had it" and once again my feelings are dismissed as invalid.

Dad

Just to let you know, I finally heard from my friend in Qatar... She has had no technology access, and when she finally got email access, she had a million to go through... So she is there, safe and sound...

Just when I though I could breathe easier about that... I got a sucker punch to the gut.
Juy 1st - May dad called, he wanted to tell me that he had a bunch of tests and surgery/procedure done the week before. He wasn't going to tell me anything until he got the results of the test, but my step-mom slipped and mentioned something to my brother. He knew I'd be upset if I heard second-hand (and he was right) so he wanted to let me know that it took place, but he was not going to tell me what he had done, not until the results came back in another week. Since he's 64, I'm thinking prostate...
July 8th - I waited all day for his call, at 5pm on my wayto show a house I decide to call. He won't tell me, and hands the phone off to my step-mom. He has cirrhosis of the liver. He is already coughing up blood, and...
...and unless he makes and extreme lifestyle change, the disease will progress very quickly.
I can assure you he has no plans to make any changes, and more than anything in the world, what breaks my heart more than anything...I just wish he valued his life as much as I value his life.

Uhhh

I'm not really prepared for 2 posts in a row...

Since yesterday's post was "reflective" today will be not so deep.

My friend moved to Doha, Qatar, her flight left on July 4th, and I have yet to hear from her. All I want is a simple "Yes we landed" "yes we arrived safely" SOMETHING!

We haven't lived near each other in years, but we have always had the same schedule, so we talked in the morning during our commute to work at least 3 times a week.

Now she is 7 hours ahead of us, so at 7am, when I am driving to work, it is 2pm there and she'll be working, at 5pm when I am driving home it will be midnight her time.

I miss her more than she knows. Sigh.

Ok ok ok, I'm whining...

My babies come home from Ohio on Sunday, I am excited to see them... In fact, they even made me laugh today...
It seems Little P left her facebook open, so Teen A updated her status to " I like poop" Several hours and tons of strange comments later Little P Wrote "Sister, Im a gonna kill you!"
Bahahahaaaaa

Long weekends...

I completely missed my monday post, and then let tuesday slip through my fingers as well. So you get to hear from me today and (hopefully) again tomorrow! Yipee!

So... I only had ONE person respond to my "What's the most amazing thing you ever saw?" question. Wow... Did you read what she wrote in the comments? You should.

I have seen some amazing sights in my life, historic buildings, natural wonders, and the birth of my babies. But while I was thinking about my own question, it came to this... What have I had an opportunity to see that most others have not. The answer then became clear.

2003, I worked at Kennedy Space Center, I watched my first Shuttle Launch from work, the closest you can get... It was spectacular. Unfornatually that same shuttle never returned. Months and months after the recovery and investigation, employees were given an opportunity few people could imagine. You see, each piece of the shuttle was returned to KSC and placed in a warehouse where a grid was taped out on the floor, each piece was retured to it's original location within the grid. We got to tour the wreckage. It was very emotional.

As you are walking around the grid of wreckage, there are notes to explain what you are looking at, and then as I came around a corner, I saw something that I will never forget, and brought me to tears. They displayed the whiteboard where the children and spouses wrote notes to their loved ones. I can't remember the specific words, but there was adult handwriting to "Be Safe" and childrens handwriting "I'll miss you daddy"

The sight of the Shuttle Columbia left me speechless, the haunting words of the surviving family members brought me to tears.

- Rick D. Husband - Commander
- William C. McCool - Pilot
- Michael P. Anderson
- David M. Brown
- Kalpana Chawla
- Laurel Clark
- Ilan Ramon - first Israeli in space