Harris Teeter Triple Coupon Trips

So, I made 3 trips over Thursday and Friday to Harris Teeter with coupons in hand. I got a lot of items for .25-.75. On the first trip I spent $38.03 and saved $36.88. Some of the good deals I got on that trip were ziploc bags and containers, scotch brite sponges, salsa, cheese puffs, toilet paper, windex, peanut butter, and dish washing detergent.

The 2nd trip was $27.01 with a savings of $35.97. Good deals included - more salsa, rice, mrs dash, paper towels, soap, splenda, croutons, deodorant, tooth paste (3 tubes). If it weren't for the Weber Grinder that I got which I paid $6.50 for with $1.50 in savings, the total would have been more impressive with the total being only about $20 for 19 items.

On the 3rd trip a lot of the shelves were bare and some of the deals that I was most looking forward to were not available any longer. Next time I will do better and take the coupons with the best deals on the first trip. Those coupon zealots with the baseball card type notebooks had already wiped those "free" and "nearly free" items out. I still got good savings though and spent only $43.11 with a savings of $46.95. Some of the items that I got were shaving cream, more deodarant, condensed milk, bacon bits, worcestershire sauce, shout, and shampoo.

Wow - what great deals!

A Sad Day at Our House

During the night last night our dalmatian Logan died. We knew it was coming but it didn't make it any easier. Brent got Logan at the end of 1995 when we were seniors in high school. Logan quickly endeared himself to Brent and his mom and it was clear that he wasn't going to be an outside dog! Logan preferred to either sleep in "his" recliner or with Brent. When Brent wasn't at home he tried to sleep with Karen, but that didn't go over too well. Karen used to work hard on her "city" garden as I called it. Once when I was at there house, she had excitedly picked one green pepper and I think 1 tomato and placed them on the air conditioning unit. A little later one of us realized that Logan had enjoyed the fruits of her labor!! That was the first that we knew, I think, how much he loved vegetables! He especially loved lettuce. When I would make salads he would always anxiously await the pieces that I dropped on the floor. He also LOVED ice from the ice machine in the refrigerator. Once, Brent and I thought that it was a great idea to take Logan to the fireworks. It was fun...until they began! Logan was terrified and Brent had to carry him all the way back up the hill to where the truck was!

When Brent and I got married, Logan quickly adjusted to our new life, but he still felt that he should get to sleep with Brent! That was fine until Nolan came along...then our bed got just too crowded and I finally convinced Brent that we HAD to get a bigger bed. When Brent began working for EMS I did enjoy having Logan to keep me company and keep me from being scared. In the spring and fall, when we had problems with mice in the house, Logan was the one that always "rescued" me from them when Brent wasn't home. He was really good at finding and killing the pests for me! After Nolan was born, I had a little difficulty in keeping up with whose name I was trying to say. For a long time, I called Nolan - Logan and Logan - Nolan. Logan was so curious of Nolan when he was first born. He would get on the recliner and look over to watch me when I was changing Nolan...I guess to make sure that I was doing it right!

Up until about 2 - 3 years ago, Logan was really not very friendly to many people. In fact, he was quite mean to most people and most people were terrified of him. He was just protective of those that he loved!

When Nolan began crawling we had to begin letting Logan stay outside a lot of the time, because we were afraid that he was going to hurt Nolan. By the time Elijah was born, Logan had pretty much become an outdoor dog...whether he liked it or not. Our house just wasn't big enough to accomodate 2 adults, 2 kids, and a large dog.

Logan has really been quite sick for the last couple of years. If you've been to our house, you could tell. Logan lived a good long life and we enjoyed every minute of his time with us. We will always remember the good memories! But Nolan reminded us today that..."it's okay, because all dogs go to heaven".

Teacher Workshop

On Saturday I spent the morning at church at a teacher workshop led by the lady, Sally Frazier, who is the author of the Sunday school curriculum that we use at Jericho. I knew that I liked the material, but I am even more excited about it now after attending the workshop on Saturday. About a year ago, we switched to the Faith Foundations curriculum for our Kindergarten - Middle School classes. This material is designed to take the students through the entire Bible by the time they reach the end of the curriculum. It is very purposeful and well thought out. It does require a lot of work initially and then once the group repeats then it is not as much work the following times around. If your congregation is looking for new Sunday school material, I highly recommend that you check this out.

Beach pictures...

Here are a couple more pictures from our trip to the beach a couple of weeks ago. I wish we were still there! Actually, I can't complain because the boys and I are going down to the beach on Sunday to spend a couple of days with my dad, stepmom, Chevy, and Maddy. We are looking forward to a few days with them.

Edisto Island Seashells

When my mom and I visited Edisto Island, this is what the beaches looked like at the state park. Isn't it amazing how many shells are on this beach? This is part of what made me love this place! I can't wait to go back.

I mentioned awhile back that my mom and I picked up lots of seashells on our visit to Edisto Island. I finally have some pictures to show you the shells. They are so beautiful. Everytime I see seashells like this I think about the amazing world that God has created for us to enjoy! We have a few ideas for the shells. I have put some around the flowers on my deck. Mom has used two of the larger conch shells to put indoor plants in.

New Animals at our house.

As I mentioned in a previous post, we have been expecting to get some new fainting goats. This week my dad was nice enough to take time out of his crazy schedule to bring them over to us. He even threw in an extra bonus - 2 "little" pigs. He calls them little...I don't see any little about them but he says they will get bigger. So, no we have 2 pigs and 6 additional goats in our family. That makes 7 fainting goats in our family and 5 additional ones that do not faint.

4th of July

In Mocksville for the 4th of July there is always a tractor parade. This year my uncle Larry and my step dad Bill both drove their tractors in the parade. Nolan rode with Larry, Susie, Averi, Sonya, Brian, and Grant. Elijah rode with Papaw and Grandma. I didn't get to go because I worked that day. They also got to ride on a

man's homemade train...isn't it neat?

PICKLES!

Through today I have made more than 100 jars of pickles in the last several weeks - I told you these cucumbers were slowing me down from doing anything else! I have made dill, garlic dill, bread and butter, hot dill, and red hot cinnamon pickles. I have another batch of cucumbers in my refrigerator now. Once I get those canned, I think I have enough pickles for the year. What do you think??

And the Shofar Blew by Francine Rivers

I haven't read a book by Francine Rivers that didn't give me something new to think about and this book is no different.

This book explores several topics - listening to God's call to us through his Word and the Holy Spirit primarily. The book is about a minister who has plans to "build" a church that everyone will be proud of. As "his" church grows, it gets farther and farther away from God's message. Everyone in his life that tries to help the minister get back on the right path is ignored. This is a great book to make you think about having the right priorities in life and taking time to really consider what God wants for your life.

I will be the first to admit that I don't always give enough time or credit to listening to what God wants for my life. A friend of mine has a 3 day rule and she gives herself 3 days to pray about something before she makes a decision. This is one of the ways that she allows the Holy Spirit to prompt her to make decisions that God is leading for her to make. I am an impulsive person a lot of times...an idea comes to me and then I feel that right at that moment I have to research it, tell everyone about it, plan it out, and put it into action. Thankfully, God still finds a way to get through to me usually and prompt me, but in reading this book I've realized that maybe I should be a little less impulsive and a little more drawn to prayer and scripture and waiting. Don't get me wrong, I think that my personality is good in situations because I get really excited about things that I want to do and I'm sure that gets other people motivated, but still I need to give time for the Holy Spirit and God's word to lead me to make the decisions that are best.

On that note, I must admit that I am shamefully behind in my daily Bible reading. At least the books that I read are primarily spiritually-oriented so that I still can use my "noggin" and think about what God wants, but that is NO substitute for God's Word. I am not going to try to "catch up" and finish my Bible by the end of the year...I probably wouldn't take time to understand what I am reading if I did that. But, I am going to make a conscious effort to start where I left off and finish reading through the entire Bible..even it it takes me all the way through 2009.

Pure and Honest Kids

Some friends of mine - mother and daughter - opened an online children's boutique about a year ago called Pure and Honest Kids. I am excited to say that today I got a postcard from them in the mail and they are having a warehouse sale next week - same days as the HT triple coupon sale - July 27-27 - with prices up to 80% off. I will definitely make a stop at the sale b/c they sale high end designer brand children's clothing. The regular priced items are not in my budget for my kids' clothing, but I did purchase some Daily Tea items last year for the boys and they were cute and awesome! I can't wait to go to this sale. If you have kids, I recommend that you make a visit to Mocksville next week to visit this sale!

Get your Coupons Ready!

I want to make sure that all of you know that from it is almost triple coupon time again at Harris Teeter. Next Thursday - Saturday (July 24-27) Harris Teeter will be tripling coupons that are .99 or less. You can use 20 coupons at a time. If you are going to do this, you need to go with a plan - take a list of which coupons you plan to use on that trip. Have a few extra coupons b/c usually by the time you get there they will be out of some items. If you want to really get the best deals, look at next week's sales paper on Wednesday to see which items are already on sale. IF you have coupons for those items, then you can get those items for nearly free!

Some of you may think that I am absolutely insane but I LOVE to make my money go farther each month. God has blessed us with our incomes and I feel that we should use what He has given us wisely.

Last time I went to Harris Teeter 4 times during the 3 days. I wasn't so sure if I had really done too great of a job, but with what I bought I hardly had to go to the grocery store for the next month, so YES, it was worth the time and effort.

So, if you want to add a little fun to the grocery shopping - play the triple coupons next week!

The Closer

Last night was the season premiere of one of my favorite television shows - The Closer. It was a great episode and I appreciated it even more because I haven't gotten to watch a show on television in a LONG time. I was so sleepy but I made it through the entire episode without falling asleep!

Yard Sales

Do you like to go to yard sales? Have you ever been to a yard sale? Have you ever had a yard sale? Or, do you hate yard sales? Think the idea of buying other people's junk is awful?

My grandmother LOVED to go to yard sales on Saturdays. On most Saturdays growing up, we (my mother, brother, and I) spent the morning taking my grandmother ("Maw") to yard sales. It wasn't until recently that I realized that my mother had been doing this with my grandmother since she was in her 20's. As a child, I enjoyed going to yard sales. As a teenager, I still liked them, but I was always afraid that someone I know might SEE me so I would always look out of the car before getting out. Sometimes I would sit in the car during that time in my life! I also fondly remember that my brother and I used to think it was funny when my grandmother would unknowingly buy "stylish" clothes from yard sales and wear them to work in the garden. The item I remember most was a pink Polo brand shirt and my brother and I always got a good laugh when we would see her wearing this shirt! She had no clue that in our eyes it was too stylish to be wearing just to work in the garden! My grandmother has passed away but my mom and I still enjoy going to yard sales together. Perhaps it is partly because of the tradition and remembering the times that we did this with Maw. Nolan has learned to enjoy going to yard sales. Several years ago before we had even gotten out of the car, he had spotted a western play set that he wanted. It was a dollar or so and he played with that toy more than most other toys he's ever had! I think that he appreciates the fact that most anything he picks out he can get! Elijah is just catching on this year and learning that he can find "treasures" at yard sales!

We do not go to yard sales every Saturday but we like to go at least a couple of times during the nice weather. This morning there were a couple of "good-sounding" sales in the area so we thought we would check them out. All but one of them turned out to be "not-so good" for us. At one, though, I got quite a bit of items for only $20 - 2 real t-ball bats, 2 boxes of canning jars, a toaster oven (for the camper), 4 books (yes, more books!), 1 book with sounds (for Elijah), a toy car wash/auto repair shop (Nolan picked this out for Elijah), a super hero figure (for Nolan), a dress, 7 shirts (Gap, American Eagle, Old Navy, Aeropostale), a pair of pants for work, a Nike bookbag, 2 kitchen utensils, and, last of all, a brand new Vidalia Chop Wizard (my favorite!!). My grandmother would be proud of me, don't you think???

A Day with Nolan

On Tuesday of this week I took the day off to spend with Nolan. We had a great day. We started the day by going to the movies for the Summer Movie Clubhouse and saw Hook. Neither of us had seen this movie and we really enjoyed it. Next, we went to Wendy's and got lunch and then took it by my work to eat with my friend Debbie. Then, we went to the public library for the Summer Reading Program. Flow's Circus was performing and it was fun! Nolan really enjoyed it. Finally, we went by LA Murph's...one of my favorite places in the whole world...and got some "yummies" as Nolan called them. We each got a sugar cookie. We had a great day together. Nolan said on the way home that when he thought that he and I should do something fun he would say to himself - "No we just spent a whole day together!" He's so funny! I love my boys so much!

Stuff about US

So, I've been a little slack with my blogging lately. It's certainly not because I've been doing housework either because my house sure is a mess. It's not because I've been reading because I'm still working on the same book that I started right after we returned from the beach. Thinking back since we've been back, I don't really know WHAT we've been doing with our time...except for picking cucumbers and making pickles! Brent and I have been working. The boys started back to Kountry Kids and are working on making that adjustment. Elijah loves it but he is very hot and tired by the end of the day. He is sleeping better at night though. His teacher said he takes a 2 1/2- 3 hour nap every day but he is still exhausted when we pick them up. Nolan is getting adjusted - he is with the school kids now so he is still learning the ropes! He has been reading a lot of books this summer and I think he will be happier when school starts again and he gets to see his friends. His friend, Claire, is going to be at a different school this year though so he's a little sad about that.

We have been enjoying time together at home in the evenings since returning from the beach. It is nice that my work schedule is a little more "normal" now so I get home a little earlier in the evenings. Brent and I have been enjoying the potatoes, squash, corn, and cucumbers from the garden. It is nice when I don't have to spend so much money at the grocery store. I have made 60 jars of pickles so far - bread and butter, dill, and garlic dill. I am going to make some more tonight and who knows how many jars I will have by the end of the summer. I would love to sell them but I don't know who I would sell them to. I also have a recipe for zucchini relish that I was thinking of making a batch of for canning but I just don't know... It won't be long until the green beans and okra are ready and then I will have to work on canning green beans.

Logan, our dalmatian that is ~12 years old, is not doing so well these days. He is on medicine daily for his kidneys, he can't hear much anymore, and he just isn't himself. We are sad to see him declining but we have had him a LONG time.

We will soon be adding some new fainting goats to our family. I will have to be sure and put plenty of pictures up for you to see! And, yes, they really do faint! It is hilarious to watch! I promise it doesn't hurt them...it's just something about their genetics that makes them fall over and "faint" when they are startled.

Nolan really wants a hamster but I just don't know where we would put it. I have promised him that he can get one when we build a house. He is okay with that but who knows how long it will be until that day comes!

Something very sad happened within our church family this week - our minister's son died (not sure what the cause was yet) and he was around my brother's age. That has been hard for me personally because it brought back a lot of memories of those days when my brother first died. I really do miss him. There are days when I don't really think about it, but there are other days when I can't stop thinking about how much I miss him and how much I wish that I could talk to him again. Maybe I will have something that I can pass on to the Torpys' from my experience...I'm not sure, but at least I will understand some of what they are going through and feeling.

Out N About Treesort

Brent and I saw this place on the travel channel one night this week. It would be a cool place to go on vacation. It's a little far away...but I just think it would be so much fun and it would be a great way to create MEMORIES!! What do you think? Would you like to stay at this place?

Can you spot the real ones?

A friend of mine put this on her blog awhile ago and I thought it was a cool idea, so I asked her if it would be okay if I copied her. She said...Of Course! So, here it is -

Below are pictures of houses - some are real houses that actually exist and some are fake pictures. Your job is to look at them and decide which ones are real and which ones are not. Post your answers in the comment section. In a few days, I will post the answers! Good Luck!

Quote

God has not made a little universe. He has made the wide stretches of space and has put there all the flaming hosts we see at night, all the planets, stars, and galaxies. Wherever we go, let us remind ourselves that God has made everything we see...And not only did God make it all, but He is present.
-- Francis A. Schaeffer

Saturdays...

Don't you just love Saturdays? I do. It is nice to have a day of being at home. Today I had a productive day but I have enjoyed it. I got to sleep until nearly 8 (late for me since the boys usually wake up at 6:30 or so!). When Brent got home from work (he works 8a - 8a), we had a nice breakfast. I went to church and took Angel Food orders, went to Wal-mart to pick up a few items, had lunch with our good friends, and then made pickles with my mother. We canned about 36 pints and 4 quarts...some dill and some bread and butter. And guess what?? There will be plenty more cucumbers this week. Additionally, I got to talk on the phone with one of my good friends and have washed and folded so many clothes. The boys have enjoyed getting to be home and I have enjoyed getting a few things done! Now we are getting ready to go eat Mexican food...one of our favorite types of meals.

I am so thankful that God gives me days to be at home! I am also thankful for our bountiful garden! It is gives us lots of yummy food to eat and enjoy throughout the coming year.

9th Anniversary (last week!)

While on our vacation this past week, Brent and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary! I can't believe that it has been 9 years since we said our wedding vows. In the past 9 years we have had some good and bad things happen, but we have experienced them all together. I love my husband so much. He is my other half...without him I would feel incomplete. It is amazing how God led us together. If you don't know, Brent and I met in the 7th grade...started dating in our senior year of high school, dated until January of 1998 when Brent proposed to me. Then, we married on a hot Saturday afternoon, June 26th, 1999.

Brent - You are so wonderful and kind and good and I am so blessed to be your wife!! I am looking forward to spending the rest of our lives together!

On Thursday night, Brent and I went to Broadway on the Beach and walked around for awhile. Then, we went out to eat at Senor Frogs...a restaurant that I have been wanting to go to, but have never had the opportunity. The atmosphere was fun...the food was good...and we had a great evening! We ordered a really cool dish that is designed for 2 to share. It was interesting and good!

I love you Brent and I had a great time on our anniversary!

Fun Signs

While walking around a Broadway at the Beach, Brent and I noticed some fun signs around the place. I took pictures of two of them -