There was a Facebook trend this month of people posting one thing they're thankful for on each day in November. I decided to wait and compile mine all in one place. In this season of my life, it's very easy to grumble and complain about my situation. So for me, it's even more personal and a way for me to see how truly blessed I am in this life. Some of them might seem trivial, but they enhance my happiness and well being!
I am thankful for...
1. my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who died on the cross to save me from my sins
2. my amazing, sweet, and thoughtful perfect match Jamie
3. my mom and brother: my longest support system
4. my in-laws, who have welcomed me with open arms
5. my extended family: grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles
6. my friends both near and far: always in my heart, and frequently on my mind
7. Jamie having a job that allows me to take the time to find a place where I am happy
8. sales and coupons, so we can live on a smaller budget
9. music (specifically a cappella), Spotify and iTunes
10. television on DVD, so I can buy and rewatch my favorite shows at one time
11. the internet
12. V8 V-Fusion and Naked fruit juice
13. Dial Nutriskin Lotion w/aloe vera
14. wintry candles
15. movies and books to keep me entertained and escape
16. Facebook; I would never be able to keep in touch with people otherwise
17. chicken fingers & french fries (or mashed potatoes)
18. dishwashers and washing machines & dryers
19. Exercise TV
20. Entertainment Weekly
21. online shopping
22. Time Warner On Demand
23. weekends
24. Covergirl Natureluxe gloss balm
25. restaurants
26. subbing allowing me to visit many different schools and find where I might fit
27. Gamecock football (and baseball)
28. Popsecret Homestyle popcorn
29. Target
30. comfy jeans & scarves
And, just to clarify, I am thankful to GOD for all of these things. I
find it interesting to see those who are openly agnostic or atheist say
that they are thankful. Who are they thanking?
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Help The Cocktails!
You've read before about my college a cappella group, The Cocktails. Well, they are releasing their second CD next month! They are trying to raise money to pay for the last bit of production so they don't have to pay for it out of pocket.
I know many of us are strapped for cash these days, but any little bit can help, even if just $1 or $5. If they don't raise the full amount of the project by the due date (Dec 3), then they don't get ANY of the money.
Please click on the link below to donate and help keep the Cocktails legacy alive!
Another Round CD- Kickstarter
I know many of us are strapped for cash these days, but any little bit can help, even if just $1 or $5. If they don't raise the full amount of the project by the due date (Dec 3), then they don't get ANY of the money.
Please click on the link below to donate and help keep the Cocktails legacy alive!
Another Round CD- Kickstarter
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Three Musketeers
I finally got a chance to see the movie Bridesmaids this weekend. While I definitely found it funny, I could have done without some of the gross out humor (although Jamie loved it). Anyway, it made me reflect on my own wedding party and how thankful I was that all my girls got along so well! Unfortunately, none of them live in Columbia, and two live out of state.
BUT, I was fortunate enough to get a visit from my Cin and Court recently after not seeing them since the wedding. Oh how I enjoyed it. Whenever we do get to see each other, it's like no time has passed. That's one of the things I love about our friendship. We've been friends since our freshman year of college and watched each other become adults! I am so thankful for these two and wanted to share with you all, since it was a special visit for me.
A little then and now for your viewing pleasure:
I'm pretty sure I had the best looking bridesmaids ever!
BUT, I was fortunate enough to get a visit from my Cin and Court recently after not seeing them since the wedding. Oh how I enjoyed it. Whenever we do get to see each other, it's like no time has passed. That's one of the things I love about our friendship. We've been friends since our freshman year of college and watched each other become adults! I am so thankful for these two and wanted to share with you all, since it was a special visit for me.
A little then and now for your viewing pleasure:
 | |||
| 2004 |
 | ||||||||
| 2010 |
I'm pretty sure I had the best looking bridesmaids ever!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Savvy Saving
As you all have learned, I am really enjoying grocery savings these days. I saved 60% at Publix and 53% at Kroger yesterday! However, due to the fact that we technically are a one income household these days, I wanted to share other ways we are trying to save as well... and maybe they will help you too!
FOOD:
Let's start with groceries, just because I have had more questions since my previous savings posts. I want to make one thing clear: you don't have to coupon to save money on groceries! If you don't want to deal with that hassle, because it can be time consuming, just focus on shopping the sale items. You'll automatically save 20-30% just based on that. However, if you do want to find coupons, a great place is the internet. You don't always have to go buy the newspaper every Sunday. Here are some places for you to check out:
Coupon sites: coupons.com
redplum.com
couponnetwork.com
smartsource.com
Grocery sites: Just about every grocery store now has printable coupons or electronic coupons that are specific to them. Target, Kroger, Publix, Food Lion, and even Walmart are some examples.
Product sites: Many products now have somewhere on their site for promotions. You can usually get a handful of coupons, maybe more if you're lucky.
Facebook: It's not a bad idea to "like" your favorite products' pages, so that you will be notified when they put up coupons or free samples for their products.
Samples: Free samples often come with coupons for the full size versions of the product. The best part is that you get to try the product for free first! A good place to find these is http://www.heyitsfree.net They pull them from all over the internet and put them in one place. Even better, you can sign up for their daily digest, where they will send you one email a day that lists all the free samples for the day. (I also happen to know the guy that runs this site, and he doesn't post anything that makes you "do" something for the freebie)
CLOTHES/HOUSEHOLD:
I rarely go clothes shopping these days, but when I do, I make sure that I have some kind of discount in hand. Lots of major stores allow you to sign up for emails from them, and some of those contain coupons for percentages off or dollars off a certain amount. Facebook is also great for getting high value coupons. Old Navy has been great lately, with 30% off a single item, or 20% off an entire purchase.
Online shopping is also great for this. There are coupon codes or promotional codes for tons of websites. A couple of weeks ago, Jamie was shopping for new checks. The ones he wanted were over $20. I suggested we do a Google search for promo code. We found one, plugged it in, and suddenly the checks were only six or seven dollars! It really is worth it to take the short time to search on the internet to see if you can find a discount. It can save you so much money!
UTILITIES:
We have been looking for so many little ways to save that would add up, and one of those places is through utilities. Many of these have been stated over and over, but we can always use a refresher!
Electricity/Water: Handwash dishes as much as possible, and only run the dishwasher if you have a full load. Only run the washing machine with a full load, and wash with cold water instead of warm or hot. Keep the thermostat at 68 (fall/winter) or 78 (spring/summer). Use sunlight as late into the day as possible. Open the blinds!
Cable/Internet/Phone: Take a look at what you're using and what you can cut back on. We watch a lot of television (or I do anyway) in our house, so we are considering switching from Time Warner Cable to AT&T U-Verse. It's cheaper, for more services. We also have our phone plan with AT&T, so bundling is a good option. We saved a good bit of money switching to the same cell phone carrier.
ENTERTAINMENT:
Lots of daily deal sites have popped up in the past couple of years. Living Social and Groupon are two of the biggest. You can save 50% or more on restaurants and other entertainment. Restaurant.com also allows you to buy gift certificates at a fraction of their worth.
If you like movies, obviously actually going to the big screen isn't a great option for the price. Netflix's monthly DVD charge for one at a time, or streaming option is less than the price of one movie ticket. If you don't watch movies often, but still want to see them once in a while, Redbox or Blockbuster kiosks are cheap for a movie night at home. You can even find free rental codes online, making it an even better deal!
Free music streaming can be found courtesy of Spotify, Pandora, IHeartRadio, YouTube, and many other places on the internet.
Don't forget about the public library! Not only do they have tons of books (duh) and magazines, but they have lots of movies and CDs too!
Whew! That was a lot of information to absorb! I hope it was helpful and you found at least one new thing you can try. What do you think? What are some ways that you save?
FOOD:
Let's start with groceries, just because I have had more questions since my previous savings posts. I want to make one thing clear: you don't have to coupon to save money on groceries! If you don't want to deal with that hassle, because it can be time consuming, just focus on shopping the sale items. You'll automatically save 20-30% just based on that. However, if you do want to find coupons, a great place is the internet. You don't always have to go buy the newspaper every Sunday. Here are some places for you to check out:
Coupon sites: coupons.com
redplum.com
couponnetwork.com
smartsource.com
Grocery sites: Just about every grocery store now has printable coupons or electronic coupons that are specific to them. Target, Kroger, Publix, Food Lion, and even Walmart are some examples.
Product sites: Many products now have somewhere on their site for promotions. You can usually get a handful of coupons, maybe more if you're lucky.
Facebook: It's not a bad idea to "like" your favorite products' pages, so that you will be notified when they put up coupons or free samples for their products.
Samples: Free samples often come with coupons for the full size versions of the product. The best part is that you get to try the product for free first! A good place to find these is http://www.heyitsfree.net They pull them from all over the internet and put them in one place. Even better, you can sign up for their daily digest, where they will send you one email a day that lists all the free samples for the day. (I also happen to know the guy that runs this site, and he doesn't post anything that makes you "do" something for the freebie)
CLOTHES/HOUSEHOLD:
I rarely go clothes shopping these days, but when I do, I make sure that I have some kind of discount in hand. Lots of major stores allow you to sign up for emails from them, and some of those contain coupons for percentages off or dollars off a certain amount. Facebook is also great for getting high value coupons. Old Navy has been great lately, with 30% off a single item, or 20% off an entire purchase.
Online shopping is also great for this. There are coupon codes or promotional codes for tons of websites. A couple of weeks ago, Jamie was shopping for new checks. The ones he wanted were over $20. I suggested we do a Google search for promo code. We found one, plugged it in, and suddenly the checks were only six or seven dollars! It really is worth it to take the short time to search on the internet to see if you can find a discount. It can save you so much money!
UTILITIES:
We have been looking for so many little ways to save that would add up, and one of those places is through utilities. Many of these have been stated over and over, but we can always use a refresher!
Electricity/Water: Handwash dishes as much as possible, and only run the dishwasher if you have a full load. Only run the washing machine with a full load, and wash with cold water instead of warm or hot. Keep the thermostat at 68 (fall/winter) or 78 (spring/summer). Use sunlight as late into the day as possible. Open the blinds!
Cable/Internet/Phone: Take a look at what you're using and what you can cut back on. We watch a lot of television (or I do anyway) in our house, so we are considering switching from Time Warner Cable to AT&T U-Verse. It's cheaper, for more services. We also have our phone plan with AT&T, so bundling is a good option. We saved a good bit of money switching to the same cell phone carrier.
ENTERTAINMENT:
Lots of daily deal sites have popped up in the past couple of years. Living Social and Groupon are two of the biggest. You can save 50% or more on restaurants and other entertainment. Restaurant.com also allows you to buy gift certificates at a fraction of their worth.
If you like movies, obviously actually going to the big screen isn't a great option for the price. Netflix's monthly DVD charge for one at a time, or streaming option is less than the price of one movie ticket. If you don't watch movies often, but still want to see them once in a while, Redbox or Blockbuster kiosks are cheap for a movie night at home. You can even find free rental codes online, making it an even better deal!
Free music streaming can be found courtesy of Spotify, Pandora, IHeartRadio, YouTube, and many other places on the internet.
Don't forget about the public library! Not only do they have tons of books (duh) and magazines, but they have lots of movies and CDs too!
Whew! That was a lot of information to absorb! I hope it was helpful and you found at least one new thing you can try. What do you think? What are some ways that you save?
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
October Recap
October has come and gone, and was actually quite eventful, so here's a quick overview of life!
What's Your Happy? October brought the state fair, which didn't really help me as I've been trying to eat healthier. But the fried mushrooms and funnel cake was soooo good! However, the drive from our house to the fairgrounds, that normally takes twenty minutes max, took TWO HOURS. Bumper to bumper traffic, no free parking by the time I got there: so frustrating. I was meeting my mom, my friend Amy, and her mom Genie. They had already been walking around for almost two hours by the time I arrived. Luckily, the fried food and cute furry animals helped me calm down :-)
My Easter Lily Lily was always considered "my" cat, even though she stayed at my mom's house. We got her from the Humane Society when she was just a few weeks old; she was the one reaching out for us through the cage! We should have known then that she would be quite the feisty one. I may be the only one who would ever refer to her as "sweet," as she bit Jamie every time he came to visit! A couple of weeks ago, the vet discovered a cancerous tumor, after my brother noticed her stomach swelling. Lily was almost 14 years old, so rather than an aggressive surgery, which would require a leg amputation, they elected to put her to sleep. I will dearly miss my precious kitty, even when she drove me nuts!
4th Graders Even though I've only been working about once a week, I seem to be subbing for a lot of fourth graders! They've been good classes, thankfully, but it reminds me why I picked Early Childhood over Elementary. The little ones act as if they need you more, and are more demonstrative of their love for you. I was in a kindergarten class the other week, and they kept calling me to help them (Mrs. C!) and would come up and hug me for no reason. They were so precious, I would have taken over their class in an instant!
Journey Westward Troy finally made it to Oregon this month. He and his friends are living in a suburb of Portland, which seems like a cool city. I'm proud of him for picking up and completely changing his world! Can't wait to see the gorgeous landscape pictures, which are sure to come.
The Reading Teacher I mentioned a few weeks ago that I took the Praxis exam for "Teaching Reading." I am proud to announce that I passed with flying colors and am now in the process of adding a literacy certification to my teaching certificate. Yahoo!
Boo! It's Halloween! Jamie and I elected not to dress up for Halloween this year. How could we top the Fraggles anyway? I spent my Halloween Monday at my old stomping grounds. The ghost of Mrs. Cashatt came back! I got to read to Regi's class and then go visit some of my former coworkers. It was so nice to see everyone; I've missed them! Then I came home and watched Escape to Witch Mountain and Return from Witch Mountain. I used to watch them all the time as a kid, and thought they would be appropriate for the holiday. It also kept me occupied, as we had NO trick or treaters! Oh well, I didn't buy much candy anyway ;-)
What's Your Happy? October brought the state fair, which didn't really help me as I've been trying to eat healthier. But the fried mushrooms and funnel cake was soooo good! However, the drive from our house to the fairgrounds, that normally takes twenty minutes max, took TWO HOURS. Bumper to bumper traffic, no free parking by the time I got there: so frustrating. I was meeting my mom, my friend Amy, and her mom Genie. They had already been walking around for almost two hours by the time I arrived. Luckily, the fried food and cute furry animals helped me calm down :-)
My Easter Lily Lily was always considered "my" cat, even though she stayed at my mom's house. We got her from the Humane Society when she was just a few weeks old; she was the one reaching out for us through the cage! We should have known then that she would be quite the feisty one. I may be the only one who would ever refer to her as "sweet," as she bit Jamie every time he came to visit! A couple of weeks ago, the vet discovered a cancerous tumor, after my brother noticed her stomach swelling. Lily was almost 14 years old, so rather than an aggressive surgery, which would require a leg amputation, they elected to put her to sleep. I will dearly miss my precious kitty, even when she drove me nuts!
 | |
| Look at those big Siamese ears as a kitten! |
 |
| I loved my kitty! |
4th Graders Even though I've only been working about once a week, I seem to be subbing for a lot of fourth graders! They've been good classes, thankfully, but it reminds me why I picked Early Childhood over Elementary. The little ones act as if they need you more, and are more demonstrative of their love for you. I was in a kindergarten class the other week, and they kept calling me to help them (Mrs. C!) and would come up and hug me for no reason. They were so precious, I would have taken over their class in an instant!
Journey Westward Troy finally made it to Oregon this month. He and his friends are living in a suburb of Portland, which seems like a cool city. I'm proud of him for picking up and completely changing his world! Can't wait to see the gorgeous landscape pictures, which are sure to come.
The Reading Teacher I mentioned a few weeks ago that I took the Praxis exam for "Teaching Reading." I am proud to announce that I passed with flying colors and am now in the process of adding a literacy certification to my teaching certificate. Yahoo!
Boo! It's Halloween! Jamie and I elected not to dress up for Halloween this year. How could we top the Fraggles anyway? I spent my Halloween Monday at my old stomping grounds. The ghost of Mrs. Cashatt came back! I got to read to Regi's class and then go visit some of my former coworkers. It was so nice to see everyone; I've missed them! Then I came home and watched Escape to Witch Mountain and Return from Witch Mountain. I used to watch them all the time as a kid, and thought they would be appropriate for the holiday. It also kept me occupied, as we had NO trick or treaters! Oh well, I didn't buy much candy anyway ;-)
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