Revolution Money Exchange

You may have heard of Revolution Money Exchange - an online banking program similar to Paypal. Some of the features of this program include:

• It's free to collect online payments from buyers with Money Exchange
• Sending and receiving payments between accountholders is FREE
• Online transfers to and from your bank account are FREE
• Get $10.00 for accounts you refer up to $500
• If you sign up before April 15th, you will receive a $25.00 BONUS!

The best part is this last feature - if you sign up BEFORE April 15th - you will receive $25.00! I did it and it only took me a few minutes to sign up and after they verified it was me, I got my $25.00!!

They also have this great referral program which allows you to refer others and receive $10 per referral (up to $500!) Click on the button above or below to use me as your referral and I'll split my $10.00 fee with you once I get it - I'll just transfer it to your Revolution Money Exchange account!

End of Tradition

My grandmother is 16 years older than my mother. My mother is 20 years older than me. I am 20 years older than my twin daughters. One of my twins is 16 years older than her first born.

My daughters are now 20 years old. They are both happily married. Felicia has 2 boys and has been married for 4 years. Praise God!
Tina has a darling 16-mo-old daughter and has been married for 2 years. Thank you Jesus!

As they got closer to their 20th birthday the pressure was on...which one was going to get pregnant and carry on the "tradition" of having a birthday 20 years apart from their child? Neither one of them wanted another child right now but neither one of them wanted to see this tradition go by the wayside either. Tina had a little scare back in January where she thought she was pregnant....she wasn't very happy about it no matter how much I talked about children being a blessing from God and how great a mom she is - she didn't want to hear it! Haha

We've now reached the point of no return - the tradition has ended.

Toon-ful Tuesday

We can enjoy life more abundantly when we maintain a close relationship with Jesus. But if we are apart from Him, we become vulnerable to the thief, who would seek steal, kill, and destroy.

Square Foot Garden

Greg left town today on a business trip to South FL for a week. While he is away Dakota and I are going to attempt to build a garden. We've never done this before - I've been wanting to do this as a homeschool project the last several years but have never quite been able to get off my duff and get it started. However, I was encouraged after reading about Frugal Dad's Square Foot Garden Project and decided this was the year we were JUST GONNA DO IT! Stay tuned for pictures and progress report....

What a way to go!

Thanks to Gimundo for this news story...

Couple Married for 75 Years Pass Away on the Same Day
05/04/2008

J.C. and Josie Cox got married on Christmas Day, 1932. It wasn't the most convenient time for a wedding, and they had some trouble getting someone to officiate the ceremony: "They went up to a pastor's door and knocked on the door," Lesha Grimm, one of the Coxs' granddaughters, told WFAA. "He didn't marry them, so they went to another pastor's house."

Nonetheless, the young couple was determined to be together – and so they remained, inseparable through thick and thin, for 75 years.

The couple followed their impulsive wedding ceremony with a honeymoon trip to deliver a load of chickens to a farm. Though their relationship wasn't always the height of romance, their bond was awe-inspiring: The couple went through all of life's ups and downs together, living in the same two-bedroom house in Fort Worth, Texas, for over 50 years.

As J.C. and Josie grew older, their health began to suffer. Josie was losing her sight, and J.C. "couldn't hear real well," said Grimm. Luckily, J.C.'s deafness didn't cause much trouble for the couple: "He didn't talk much anyway," said Marla Williamson, another of the Cox's granddaughters. "His way of socializing with you was to share Dr Pepper."

When the aging couple entered a nursing home together last month, Josie insisted on caring for her husband just as she always had, despite her limitations. Religiously, she ironed his pants and shirts for him every day, so that he could dress the way he liked.

"She was going to make sure - even though he never went anywhere - his clothes were going to be starched," said Grimm.

Last week, J.C. died of complications from pneumonia. Josie lay in bed beside him, holding his hand as he slipped away.

Josie herself suffered from heart problems, and days earlier, doctors had said she didn't have long to live. It seemed like her beloved husband's death was too much for her to take: For five hours after his death, she lay in her bed, grieving and unable to move. Her grandchildren surrounded her.

"You know, Grannie, we're going to be OK," Williamson, whispered in her ear. "Paw and your children are waiting for you. It's OK. You can leave." Moments later, Josie closed her eyes for the last time.

"When he passed away he didn't say a lot, but he went and she went with him," Grimm told The Star-Telegram.

"To me, he was saying to her, 'C'mon, let's go.'"

FREE Excedrin & 5.00 EB from CVS

This is PERFECT if you are new to CVS shopping because you can get some EB's (ExtraBucks) with no out of pocket money & no Sunday coupons needed either!!

Here's what you do-

Print out 2 Exederin coupons at www.smartsource.com
Print out 2 Exederin coupons at www.coupons.com
Print out 1 Exedrin coupon at http://www.excedrin.com/offers.shtml

Go to CVS and purchase 5 bottles of Excerdrin 24 ct.
Hand over 5 coupons
Get back $5 in EB's

CVS Deals for 4/6-4/12

Here's some deals you can get this week at CVS (and this is assuming you got the coupon inserts from the 4/6 newspaper - there were 3 of them - Redplum, Valassis, and Proctor & Gamble.)--

Work each "deal" up to at least $20.00 so you can use your $4/$20 coupon (shown below)
Bliss Chocolate, Cadbury Miniatures 2/$6.00 - earn $2 EB
Go here for $1.00 off coupon for Hershey's Bliss chocolate
Cheerios Twin Pack 7.99 - earn $4 EB
1.00 off coupon from 4/6 insert
Excedrin Tablets 1.99 - earn $1 EB - purchase 2
Go here for $2.00 off Excedrin coupons. (can print 2 coupons)
Johnson's Softcream lotion or bodywash - $4.99 and up - earn $2 EB
Go here for 1.00 off Johnson's Softlotion, Softwash or Softoil products.

Total before coupons $22.96
Use $4/$20 coupon
Use $1.00 Hershey's coupon
Use $1.00 off Cheerios coupon
Use (2) $2.00 off Excedrin coupons
Use $1.00 Johnson's coupon
Total after coupons = $10.96 Earned $10.00 in Extra Bucks

Purchase $10 of Febreze products earn $5 EB
Febreze Noticeables Starter Kit - 6.99
(2) Febreze Air Effects 2/5.00
Use coupons from 4/6 Sunday insert - Buy 1 Noticeables, Get 1 Air Effects Free (-2.50)

Purchase $10 of Swiffer Sweeper Starter Kits or Refills earn $5 EB
Swiffer Refills 5.99 - purchase 2 if you have the Swiffer Sweeper already
Swiffer Refills 5.99
Use coupon from Sunday insert $1.00 off 2 Refills

Total before coupons = 23.97
Use $4/$20 coupon
Use Febreeze coupon -2.50
Use Swiffer coupon - 1.00
Use EB from above -10.00
Total after coupons/EB = $6.47 Earned 10 EB


Purchase $15.00 of these products (Dove, Sunsilk, Caress, Vaseline, Lever2000) get $5 EB back
(2) Dove creme oil Body Wash 5.99 x 2
Go here for a $2.00 off coupon for Dove Body Wash.
(1) Sunsilk Hair Care Product 3.49
Go here for $1.50 off any Sunsilk Creme hair product.
(2) Degree deodorants 2/$5.00
Use coupons from 4/6 Sunday insert -1.00, -1.50

Excedrin Migraine 1.99 Earn 1.00 EB
Go here for a $2.00 off coupon for Excedrin Migraine

Total before coupons = 22.46
Use $4/$20 coupon
Use Dove coupons -4.00
Use Sunsilk coupon - 1.50
Use Degree coupon - 1.00
Use Degree coupon -1.50
Use Excedrin coupon -2.00
Use $5.00 EB from
Total after coupons/EB = $3.46 Will earn 6 EB + 5EB (left over) = 11 EB

There are TWO CoverGirl Makeup Deals going on right now at CVS - with the coupons you can work them together.

Weekly Deal
**Purchase $20 of any CoverGirl Products and get $10 EB**

Monthly Deal
**Buy CoverGirl Advanced Radiance ($10.99) or
TruBlend Whipped Foundation ($9.49) get $6 EB**
**Buy CoverGirl Incredifull or TruShine Lipcolor get $3 EB**

The coupons that came out in the 4/6 Sunday's insert were these:
#1 $1.00 off any Cover Girl Queen product
#2 $1.00 off any Cover Girl product
#3 FREE CoverGirl face product with purchase of any Covergirl foundation

Here's a suggestion:
Purchase CoverGirl TruBlend Whipped Foundation (Monthly Deal) at $9.49 Earn 6.00 EB
Use coupon #3 (above)
For your FREE product - pick up something in the (Weekly Deal) for $6.99
Pick up 2 more CoverGirl items x 6.99 in the (Weekly Deal) section
Use coupons #1 & #2 (above)
or if you picked up more than one Sunday paper and have multiple coupons to use, then repeat the steps using your FREE coupon and purchasing the TruBlend Whipped Foundation.

Total before coupons = 30.46
Use $4/$20 coupon
Use FREE product coupon
Use 1.00 off coupon
Use 1.00 off coupon
Use EB - 11 EB
Total after coupons/EB - 6.47 Earned 16.00 EB


Baby stuff is on sale this week - Buy $25.00 worth and get $10 EB back
Go here for Johnson's Baby Products coupons.
Go here, here and here for Gerber baby products coupons.


Go here for a $4.00 off $20.00 purchase. You can print this multiple times.

Pantene Pro-V stylers are on sale 3/$12.00 - earn $4.00 EB
Go here for 2.00 off coupons for Pantene ProV Stylers (you can choose a PDF file of 6 per sheet or 4 per sheet)

I hope this will help you with some deal ideals. Let me know some of your deals you managed this week!!

Freebies

Reusable Shopping Tote - from Earthbound Farm
have to complete a short quiz first










Bic Products for Educators when you join the "Teach Our Kids Club"


Free Bibles - King James Version or American Standard Version
You can request up to 3 Bibles.

Address Labels - from Current










SAMPLES
Caress Brazilian Exotic Oil Infusions Body Wash

Dove Hair Care

Glutten free samples - must sign up for newsletter

Stetson cologne

Lavera & Lavere - Organic skin products - have to call a number to request a catalog or samples.

Redken for curly hair

3M Print to Last Paper - free sample pack of paper

Dove Body Lotion

Redken for Men Outplay Texture Hair putty

Walgreen's Deals 4/6-4/12

On page 11 in the sales flyer this week there is an ad for Aveeno products
Buy 2- Get $2 RR (Register Rewards), Buy 3- Get $5 RR, Buy 4 or more - Get $10 RR
The lowest priced item is $2.39 so if you purchase 4 of those the total would be $9.56 and you would get $10 RR **Moneymaker** Plus there are coupons from a Sunday insert!

Free After Rebate All Month

* Aquafresh Extreme Clean Polishing Action OR Advanced 2x Whitening Toothpaste
USE coupon: Aquafresh Premium Toothbrush, any $1/1 (5-3-08) SS-4/6

* Colgate 360 Clean OR Deep Clean manual toothbrush
USE: Colgate Adult or Kid’s Manual Toothbrush, any .75/1 (4-26-08) SS-3/30

* Just For Men Touch of Gray haircolor

* Tums QuikPak 24 dose

* jane Be Pure Mineral Blush OR Kabuki Brush
USE: Jane or Jane Be Pure Mineral Cosmetics item, any full size $2/1 (4-30-08)

* Wal-Zyr 24 Hour Allergy Relief 5 tablets

* Wal-itin Tablets 30pk

EasySaver Rebates

* Scott Bathroom Tissue, 12 rolls 2/$14 - $2/2 rebate #30 = 2/$12
Must purchase 2 for this rebate
USE: Scott bath tissue, 12-pack $1/1 or (2) 6-packs, (3) 4-packs, or (12) single rolls (4-27-08) SS1-3/16
Scott Extra Soft bath tissue, any 4-pack or larger $1/1 (4-27-08) SS1-3/16
Final Price: 2/$10

* Air Wick Ultra Freshmatic Mini $9 - $3 rebate #37 = $6
USE: Air Wick Freshmatic Ultra $4/1 printable at www.airwick.us (click on coupons at the bottom)
Air Wick Freshmatic Starter Kit, any $4 (5-6-08) SS-4/6
Final Price: $2

* Glade Scented Oil Candles Refill 2/$5 - $2 rebate #31 = 2/$3
This rebate is for $1 per item - rebate limit of 4 for up to $4 in savings
USE: Glade Scented Oil Candles refill packs, any Buy 2 Get 1 FREE, up to $3.49 value (4-26-08) SS2-3/16
Glade Scented Oil Candles refill pack FREE (up to $3.49 value) when you buy any Glade Scented Oil Candles holder (4-26-08) SS2-3/16 **see below for Candle rebate**
Final Price: 3/$2 - 4/$2

* Glade Scented Oil Candle $5 - $2 rebate #32 = $3
USE: Glade Scented Oil Candles refill pack FREE (up to $3.49 value) when you buy any Glade Scented Oil Candles holder (4-26-08) SS2-3/16 **see above for Refill rebate**
Final Price: $2 for 1 holder and 1 refill
Best Deal:
Buy 1 Holder ($5) and 4 Refills ($2.50 each)
- B2G1 refill coupon = $2.50 off
- buy holder, get free refill coupon = $2.50 off
- 1 holder rebate #32 = $2
- 4 refill rebates #31 at $1 each = $4
Final Price: $4 for 1 holder and 4 refills

* Electrasol 12-pack or Jet Dry 2/$6 - $2 rebate #27 = 2/$4
this rebate is for $1 off each item - rebate limit of 2 for up to $2 savings
USE: Electrasol 2in1 Gelpacs, 3in1 Powerball Tabs or Dual Action Tabs Automatic Dishwasher Detergent .75/1 (4-12-08) SS-3/9
Electrasol 2in1 Gelpacs, 3in1 Powerball or Dual Action Tabs .75 (5-10-08) SS-4/6
Jet-Dry Rinse Agent, any .40/1 (5-3-08) SS-3/9
Final Price: 2/$2.50 - 2/$3.20


EasySaver Coupons

* Hershey's Nuggets or Reeses/Kisses/Rolo assortment 2/$4 - $1/2 ES coupon pg.7 = 2/$3

* Garnier Nutrisse Hair Color $7 - $2 ES coupon pg.8 = $5
USE: Garnier Nutrisse Hair Color or Multi-Lights Kit, any $2 (7-31-08) V-4/6
Final Price: $3

* Benadryl 20-24ct, 4oz Liquid or 10pk Strips or Sudafed 10-24ct $4 - $1 ES coupon pg.18 or pg.21 = $3
USE: Benadryl Allergy product, any excluding trial size $1/1 (9-30-08) V-3/16
Benadryl Children’s Allergy Product, any excluding trial size $1/1 (5-31-08) V-3/16
Sudafed or Sudafed PE product, any excluding trial size $1/1 (9-30-08) V-3/16
Final Price: $2


7-Day Coupons

* Wrigley's Original Gum 15-17 piece 3/$2
USE: Wrigley’s Spearmint, Big Red, Doublemint, Juicy Fruit or Winterfresh Gum, any 17-stick pack Buy 1 Get 1 FREE, max. value $1.19 (4-20-08) SS-1/20
Final Price: 2/.15 - 2/.67

* Wrigley's Extra Gum 15-17 piece 3/$2 - .99/3 ES coupon pg. 5 = 3/$1.01
USE: Extra 15-stick pack, Buy 1 Get 1 FREE, max. value $1.19 (6-30-08) SS-3/30
The best deal here would be to buy 4 using 2 B1G1 coupons
Final Price: FREE - 4/.33

* FREE One-Hour Film Developing Wednesday, 4/9 only
limit 1 free roll

* Photo CD .99



Buy 1, Get 1 Free

* Blue Diamond Almonds 2/$3.29
USE: Blue Diamond Almonds, any 6 oz. or larger cans $1/3 (6-9-08) SS-3/9
Blue Diamond Almonds, any 6 oz. or larger cans .75/2 (4-20-08) SS-1/20
Blue Diamond Bold Almonds, any 6 oz. or larger cans .75/2 (4-20-08) SS-1/20
Final Price: 2/$2.54 - 4/$5.58

* Air Wick Freshmatic Mini 2/$9.99
USE: Air Wick Freshmatic Mini $4/1 printable at www.airwick.us (click on coupons at the bottom)
Air Wick Freshmatic Starter Kit, any $4 (5-6-08) SS-4/6
Final Price: 2/$1.99 - 2/$5.99

* Ecotrin Low Strength Aspirin 45ct 2/$2.99
USE: Ecotrin product $1/1 (4-30-08) SS-1/27
Final Price: 2/.99 - 2/$1.99


Register Rewards

* Coke product 12-packs 4/$12 - $2 RR = 4/$10

* Crest Whitestrips 56pk $20 - $10 RR = $10
USE: Crest Whitestrips Premium, Premium Plus, Daily Multicare, etc. $5 (5-31-08) P&G-4/6 **RIGHT KIND?*
Final Price: $5

* Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste, Pro-Health Mouthwash 500ml or Glide Dental Floss 3/$9 - $3 RR = 3/$6
USE: Crest toothpaste, any 4.1 oz. or larger .50/1 (4-30-08) V-3/16
Crest MultiCare Whitening, Extra Whitening, Vivid White, etc. Toothpaste, any 4.1 oz.+ $1/1 (5-31-08) P&G-4/6
Crest Rinses, any 473mL+ .75/2 (5-31-08) P&G-4/6
Final Price: 3/$3 - 3/$4.75

* Gillette Mach 3 or Venus Disposable Razors 3-pack $6 - $3 RR = $3
USE: Mach3 Disposables, CustomPlus3, Sensor3, Daisy3, or Venus Disposables $2 (5-31-08) P&G-4/6
Final Price: $1

SS = super saver coupon book
V= Valassis coupon insert
RR = Register Rewards

Converted my husband to CVS shopping!!

My husband has been tolerant of my "addiction" to CVS the last two months - in other words, he doesn't really care one way or another....he earns the money and I try my best to make it spread as far as possible. He has always been one to run into Wal-mart or Winn-Dixie and pick up whatever he needs when he needs it. I've been trying to stay one step ahead of him for two months now as well as telling him to let me know when he needs something (IN ADVANCE) so I can keep my eye out for it. So far I've been pretty good at keeping him out of the stores - been supplying all his needs.

He is preparing for an out-of-town trip this next week and began telling me this past week some things he wanted me to pick up for him for his trip. I kept telling him I will get them at CVS this weekend. This morning I treated him to breakfast at Cracker Barrel (a pleasant surprise for him) and after getting the oil changed in the truck we headed to CVS. He came in the store after I had already been in there about 10 minutes and my shopping cart had quite a few items in it.

He remarked "Good gracious hon, what's with all that stuff!!??"

I told him "Just sit back and watch me work...I got all your items plus more. You're going to like this."

I got all of this and only spent $6.86 cash out of my pocket and I have $5.00 Extra Bucks left!!

Here's how I did it:
Purchase #1
(5) CVS Rapid Release 24 ct pain relief gelcaps @ 3.99 each
(1) Colgate 360 Sonic toothbrush 6.99
Total before coupons/ExtraBucks = 26.94

Used this coupon - $4.00 off $20.00 purchase (scroll down to 2nd thread)
Had $12.99 ExtraBucks from last months purchases
Earned $9.00 ExtraBucks from 2% Winter Rebate program

Grand Total + tax = .95
Earned 19.95 ExtraBucks for medicine and 3.00 EB for toothbrush

Purchase #2
Lubriderm lotion 6.99 used 1.00 off coupon
(4) Softsoap Spa body wash 4.99 each
Huggies travel wipes 1.79
Total before coupons/EB = 28.74

Used another $4/20.00 coupon
Used EB from above purchase - 22.95

Grand total + tax = .93
Earned 19.96 EB for Softsoap & 1.00 for Lubriderm lotion

Purchase #3
(2) Fructis Shampoo 3.99 each - used 2 $1.00 off coupons
Fructis Hairspray 3.99
Fructis Spray Gel 3.99
Stetson Cologne (husband's last minute purchase - lol) 11.49

Total before coupons/EB = 27.45
Used coupons 2.00 off
Used EB from above purchase 20.96

Grand total + tax = 4.98
Earned $5.00 EB for Fructis purchase

The sad thing about this is I actually had another $4/20.00 coupon in the truck but it was pouring rain and I really didn't want to run out there just to get that coupon. I know I'll use it next time.

Greg kept saying "You gotta me kidding me!"

As we were leaving I asked him "You see NOW why I enjoy doing this so much??" LOL

CVS Update - Numbers Game

I am a "Numbers" person when it comes to saving money. I want to see it in black and white. I have to prove to myself that I REALLY am saving money to make it worthwhile the effort I'm putting into continuing this CVS shopping game. Especially because I am enjoying this wayyyyy too much sometimes!

I had some free time yesterday afternoon (because Dakota spent the afternoon and then the entire evening at a friend's house) so I pulled out my receipts from CVS over the last 2 months and put them into an Excel spreadsheet and this is what I discovered.

I started doing my CVS shopping 2/5/08 so I had exactly 2 months worth of receipts to use.

My total out-of-pocket cash spent = $170.11
My coupons used = $58.52
My Extracare bucks earned = $143.96
My Extracare bucks spent = $111.97

Total spent between cash & Extracare bucks = $282.08
Merchandise Value = $326.86

So, after looking at it in black & white I would say YES it is very much worth it!!!! Whoohooo!!!

One Touch

This song "One Touch" by Nicole C. Mullen has really touched me lately. The lyrics are below the video.


Been ostracized for 12 years
I'm used to being alone
Spent everything I had
And now it's gone
I'm used to being put down
My issues tell it all
My only hope is anchored
In this fall

Chorus
If I could just touch the hem of His garment
I know I'd be made whole
If I could just press my way through this madness
His love would heal my soul
If only one touch

So many people calling
How could He ever know
That just a brush of Him
Would stop the flow
If he knew would He rebuke me
Or shame me to the crowd
Well I'm desperate 'cause it's never or it's now

Chorus

Suddenly He turned around
He said somebody has unleashed my power
Well, Frightened and embarrassed I bowed
You see I told Him of my troubles
And how...

I had to touch the Hem of His garment
And I know I've been made whole
And how I had pressed my way through the madness
And His love has healed my soul

Then with one word He touched the hem of my garment
And you know I've been made whole
And somehow He pressed His way through my madness
And His love has healed my soul

I tell you He touched me
He reached way down and touched me
When no one else would touch me
Jesus, shol' 'nough He touched me...
And I know I've been made whole

Bath & Body Works

I went to Bath & Body Works today and used this coupon and paid a total of $1.08 for these two items!! Whoohoooo - what a deal! You can get a great deal too but you have to do it before April 12th! That's when the coupon expires.

The small lotion was on sale for $1.00 and the coupon states that with ANY purchase you can get a FREE product (up to an $11.00 value) - since the Body Spray was $10.50 - it was my FREE item.

Progress Report - March 2008

At the beginning of March I posted the goals I was working on for our family this year. Here's a progress report for those goals:

• Cook more meals at home - this I DID do! But I didn't get our food budget below $350. I think this was due to a couple of events that took place during the month...a birthday, Easter and me going out of town for the conference. We spent $402.52 on groceries and $200.00 on eating out - so this is going to require a LOT more persistence and hard work this month. There are NO trips, birthdays or holidays to deal with so it will be much easier.
• I was able to put some money away towards the Emergency Fund - $160.00
• I made $100.00 payment towards credit card

This doesn't seem like much but in March we made two car payments so hopefully in April we'll be able to put more towards the credit card and Emergency Fund.

April Fool's Day

As I was cooking dinner last night I was thinking about a way I could prank my dear husband for April Fool's Day. I didn't tell Dakota it was April 1st yesterday so I wouldn't be subject to his "pranks" all day but I really wanted to GET Greg.

He had called and told me he was going to be a little late coming home because he needed to stop by his mother's house to pick up some stuff she had bought for us on a recent trip she took. I had finished dinner and was sitting down eating when Greg called me again. I thought he was calling to tell me he was on his way home from his mom's house. Instead he said, in a very somber voice, "I'm going to be a little late...I've been in an accident." Immediately my heart started beating quicker and I was firing off the questions "Are you okay? How's the truck? Did you get rear-ended? Did you cause it? Do you need me to come get you?" He's answering the questions one after another and I said "Okay, I'm going to come get you" and then he says "Elisa...April Fools!!!" I coulda killed him!

As hard as I was trying to come up with an idea to get him - I NEVER even thought he was "getting" me!!

The Cheesecake Factory

Last week I shared with you that I was going on a trip this past weekend with 15 other women to Jacksonville to see Beth Moore at a conference. We left early Friday morning and drove 6 hours to get there. After checking into the hotel and resting for a couple hours we went to an early dinner (4:30) at Outback Steakhouse. I had a delicious meal of grilled scallops and veggies - I don't eat red meat so I always choose chicken or seafood. It was outstanding!

The conference that evening was wonderful. There were 14, 500 women gathered together in one place - that's a whole lotta estrogen!! By the time we finished dinner, drove there and got parked the place was packed...we had to sit up in the nosebleed section. It was fine though because there were huge screens set up everywhere and we could see everything great. The only problem was getting up there. We saw a long, long line waiting to use the elevator. Around the corner were the stairs. One of my friends had the brilliant idea for us to use the stairs. As our group of 16 headed to the stairs the line of 100+ women waiting to use the elevator began following us! We all climbed 5 flights of stairs - we did that Friday night and Saturday morning - 4 times. By Sunday morning (in church) most of us were so sore we could barely move!!

Okay back to the MAIN reason of this post...THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY...I have never been there before! Oh my heart! We went there Friday night after the program. This was the most delicious piece of cheesecake I have ever had in my entire life. I bought a Frozen Iced Mango to drink and a piece of Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cheesecake. I was on a sugar high until 2:00 a.m. I don't eat too much sugar and sweets anymore since I've lost a lot of weight over the last 3 years - so this was definitely a treat for me!

CVS - end of March

I had a few CVS coupons that were going to be expiring yesterday, the last day of March, that I really wanted to use but I just couldn't find the time to put together a shopping list. Dakota and I ran out to Wal-Mart last night to pick up a few clothing items he needed (tshirts, socks, etc - the boy is growing like a weed!) and on the way home I told him I just wanted to run into CVS real quick and see what "damage" I could do. I really hated running in there unprepared without a list/coupons pre-sorted but I hate more than anything NOT using these valuable coupons (worth $11.00.) I had my coupon organizer with me and we were only in there for about 20 minutes - I was thrilled with my purchases!

Softsoap Spa Body Wash - $4.99 (earned $4.99 back in Extra Bucks)
Clean & Clear Deep Cleansing $5.49 (spent $15.00 in these products; earned $5.00 EB)
Clean & Clear Morning Glow Moisturizer $6.99
Clean & Clear Steam Soft In-Shower Facial $6.99
Playskool Cottony Cloths Baby Wipes 240 ct $7.49 (earned $3.oo back in EB)

Used these coupons:
1.00 off Baby Wipes
3.00 off $15.00 CVS Beauty Products
3.00 off CVS Acne Product
5.00 off $15.00 purchase
6.00 Extra Bucks left over from previous week

Total before coupons $31.95
total after coupons $13.95
EB earned $12.99

This morning when I turned my computer on there was a nice email from CVS letting me know my 2% Winter Rebate Extra Bucks was ready to be printed and that was $9.00!!! Now I have $21.99 to spend in Extra Bucks

Toon-ful Tuesday

Our hope and our faith can work together to bring God's purposes to reality in this earth, but the motivation behind our hoping and believing should be love; love for God ,love for His people, and love for the world.

Ministering to Women

I forgot to mention how last Monday night's "Meet and Greet" went at church. I always get so worked up and nervous about these things but there was a decent turn-out. Everyone that showed up had a great time and encouraged me to plan more of these events. Our church is growing so rapidly and people just don't know one another.

I scheduled a "Women's Ministry Planning Meeting" to be held before church last night to see who was interested in helping me with the Women's Ministry. I've been doing it alone for the last year and a half but now that the church has gotten so big it's more than I can handle on my own. I was exhausted from my trip to Jacksonville (to the Beth Moore conference on Friday and Saturday) and was regretting my decision to have this meeting yesterday; but I ended up having another good turn-out for this meeting too! There were 10 women who showed up with ideas in mind and ready to get started right away! This is exciting!!

One thing we talked about is how important it is to reach out to all women around us, no matter how "mature" a Christian they are or whether they are a first-time guest. We all go through stages in life where we deal with those tugs of self-doubt and insecurities the devil whispers in our ear. He makes us believe that everyone else is getting invited to functions and purposely leaving us out. He makes us believe that everyone is laughing at us or talking about us or they will make fun of something we say so we just need to keep our mouths shut.

The reality is, when you are thinking like that you are making the focus all about "YOU" instead of about "OTHERS" where the focus should be. It's time to get off the "me, I, my, mine" pity wagon and get out there and see how you can help "OTHERS" by loving, encouraging and supporting them....it's amazing what happens when your focus shifts to other people instead of yourself.

Thoughts for the day

The last couple of weeks has been extremely busy for some reason. I seem to be running in so many directions but never actually going anywhere. I don't like it when life gets like that. Greg has been working late hours so we haven't seen each other too much. He's had a big project at work he's been working on that finally finished up this week - Praise God - so perhaps things will get back to "normal" (whatever that is?) and slow down a little.

Tina, Bryant and baby Bailee flew into town yesterday afternoon. We met them at CiCi's Pizza for a late lunch. They don't have a CiCi's in CA and Bryant was craving their pizza. As soon as Bailee saw Uncle Dakota she reached for him and wrapped her precious little arms around his neck and wouldn't let go. He kept trying to put her down because she would get heavy and she would cry for him. She LOVES her Uncle Dakota! I forgot my camera (GASP!!) so these pictures were taken with my cellphone.I tried to give Uncle Dakota a break by holding Bailee for a few minutes. She wasn't interested in me though and she kept looking over my shoulder for her Uncle!! To keep her entertained I took a dozen pictures of her and let her look at them. She loves to say "cheeseeeeee." They do learn young don't they?
Bryant's mom is getting remarried on Saturday. She hasn't been married in a long time. This will be a big change for her because she is extremely independent! Tina has been taking cake decorating classes in CA and loving it so she is going to bake the cake for the informal wedding. this was the cake Tina made last week at her class. She and Bryant don't want to eat all the sugar/calories from these cakes she is making every week so she delivers the cakes to the barracks at the Marine Base where Bryant works. The guys love it!!

I am leaving in the morning with a group of 11 girlfriends from church for a road trip to Jacksonville. It's about a 6 hour drive. We are going to a Beth Moore conference for the weekend. I love doing Beth Moore Bible studies but this will be my first time seeing her in person.

Dakota has his annual eye appointment in the morning. He's been wearing glasses since he was 3-yrs-old. When we went to his appt last year he asked his doctor about wearing contacts. The doctor said he would like for Dakota to be a couple years older or at least to the point where he is taking care of himself (his hygiene) without being told by me or dad because wearing contacts is a big responsibility. I'm not sure if that was the incentive or if Dakota is just reaching the age where it matters to him but this last 6 months he has gotten much better about taking care of himself. I very rarely have to tell him to take a shower or brush his teeth. Most of the time these days I'm telling him to "GET OUT OF THE SHOWER!" He's even taken to wearing deodorant and cologne now before he leaves the house.

When I told him last month that he was going to his eye doctor this month he said he was going to ask him again about contacts. I told him I would give my approval this time because he has showed great improvement this last year and I was proud of him. I'm not going to be at his appointment now though because I am going out of town. My mom is going to be taking Dakota. I can't imagine him without his glasses. He wears them all the time. He can't see without them - he has double-vision so he never takes them off. Not even when he falls asleep. We have to go remove them from his face after he has fallen asleep or they stay on all night. He doesn't like to wake up and not be able to see anything in the middle of the night. If he is allowed to get contacts tomorrow this will definitely be different!

Walgreen's 4-day coupons

Go here to get Walgreen's coupons for these items:
4-pack C or D size Batteries - .99
Maxwell House Coffee (Rich Original or French Roast) - $2.79
SanDisk 512 MB Secure Digital Memory Card - $4.99
3-pk Scotch Magic or Gift Wrap Tape - .99
Zori Sandals (Flip-Flops) - .99

Online Photo Offer Only
25 Bonus 4x6 prints with coupon code 25FREE when you buy 25 or more thru March 29th.

Blogging for Money

Do you like to blog? How about picking up some extra money while you're at it? Bloggerwave is a company that pays you to blog. I just signed up with Bloggerwave and while I blog my normal random way I am also keeping an eye on the job board for a job I might be interested in blogging about. I blog - I make money. That easy!
bloggerwave

Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock

Alrighty, so I told you last week that Dakota received a late Christmas gift from his grandparents - a Wii - that had been backordered and FINALLY came in right?

Well, on Friday Dakota and I went shopping with grandma (i.e. - my mom) all day long and grandma purchased Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock for our new Wii. Greg & I had played this on the marriage retreat back in February and loved it! I had been trying to decide whether to purchase Rock Band or Guitar Hero for our Xbox 360 ever since we came back from the retreat. This is Greg (on the Marriage Retreat in FEB) - around midnight - still working on one song he was trying to master. We all stayed up late taking turns playing different songs.

Here I am (in FEB) taking a stab at it...at first I didn't want to try because it looked so difficult. Once I tried the first song, I was hooked!


I am not quick to jump into big purchases like this. I have to ask around and get opinions from people who currently have these items to find out which one they prefer and why and then I like to watch sales flyers and check eBay to see if I can ever catch something like this on sale. Since Dakota knows I'm like this and he refers to me as a "cheapskate" (a term I'm very proud of... thank you very much!) he started putting the bug in my ear the moment he opened his Wii.

"Mom, wouldn't it be great to have that Guitar Hero game now?"

"Mom, maybe we could just ride up to EB Games to check out the price and see if they have refurbished games that are cheaper than Wal-mart's games? And you could even use your discount card there mom!" Helpful little booger ain't he?

Well you can imagine how truly excited he was when grandma came to his "rescue" again and purchased this game for him last Friday. We spent the whole weekend competing against each other, trying to outdo one another's scores. This is a fun game! Dakota is kicking our butts in it too! His fingers get to going so fast - I don't know how he keeps up as well as he does.

Hillary's oops?

Looks like ol' Hillary needs to get her facts straight before speaking to the press...

Toon-ful Tuesday

There is certainly nothing wrong with investing in the stock market. But an investment of our time in the Work of God will yield more certain rewards.

Reaching Out

Here I sit, less than 12 hours from a "Meet and Greet" I scheduled for tonight for women who have recently joined the church or who have been visiting lately. The stomach flutters have begun as well as the shaky hands. I always hope and pray that each time I do events like this it will get easier...but it doesn't. I guess if it did then I would be relying on my own strength and not God's strength to get me through this.

Philippians 4:13 "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."

I sent out an email last week to the ladies of the church reminding them about the "Meet and Greet" and asking them to bring a dessert with them and to let me know if they planned on attending. I never know what the response is going to be like when I plan events for the Women's Ministry. I'm normally a very optimistic person, except in this area...I always expect the worst and I'm genuinely surprised when there's a good turnout!

At church yesterday the pastor really pushed this "Meet and Greet" and talked about how important it is for the women to come out get to know one another (if they are new here) so I am anxious about this evening and praying that God will use me to reach out to those women looking to fit in somewhere.

Colorful Easter Eggs

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter! I meant to post this yesterday but I never got online so I'll post it today. Check out these BEAUTIFUL Easter eggs!

Wii

Dakota received a late Christmas present from his grandparents this week - a Nintendo Wii. It had been backordered and finally arrived yesterday afternoon. We knew it was going to come in one day but we didn't tell Dakota about it because the anticipation would have been too much for him - and he would have driven me crazy everyday asking "Is it here yet?"

He has his fair share of these video game systems - thanks to grandparents who dote on him! - but I must say this is by far my favorite game system! I can't play all those other things he plays (Xbox, playstation, etc) because frankly, I'm just not that coordinated with the controller. But when we set this system up yesterday and started playing the sports games that came with it - we had a blast!
We couldn't wait for his daddy to get home from work so Dakota could challenge him to baseball, tennis and bowling. Greg got home around 7:00 and sat at the table with me eating his dinner and telling me about his day at work. The whole time Dakota is prancing around, chomping at the bit for daddy to finish so "they" can play. When Greg was finished he told Dakota he would watch him for a few minutes. I told Dakota "here, I'll play against you - let's play tennis."
Greg sat down on the couch and watched us serve 2 times and he jumped up and said "Okay, my turn!" LOL - that's all it took - he was ready to play!
I watched those two play through tennis, baseball and nine rounds of golf for 2 hours last night. By the time Greg said he had to go to bed, Dakota had worked up a sweat! They had so much fun playing with this. We are going to our favorite game store today, Game Stop, to see what inexpensive games we can pick up to play this weekend.

Grandchildren

One of my twin daughters lives in Hawaii with her Navy husband and their two sons, Allan & Nathan (my grandsons.) It's been right at a year since I've seen them. This is the longest we've gone without seeing one another. I've been missing them a lot lately.

Before they moved to Hawaii they lived in Sugar Grove, WV which was a 12-14 hour drive from where I live. But I made that drive several times a year because I love spending time with my daughter and her boys. When her youngest son was 9 mos old he was put in the hospital for 3 days and tested for leukemia, cancer, cerebal palsy and assorted other diseases because he was "failing to thrive" at the time. My mother and I dropped everything and drove straight through the night to get up there to be with them to watch Allan and offer support. It's so hard dealing with them living so far away now and realizing it's been a year since I've seen my sweet grandsons.
This is Allan as he looks now - his mommy cut all his hair off so he could look like his daddy. This was the day he had his adenoids removed a month or so back. He handled things pretty well. He just turned 4 in December and he'll be starting school in Hawaii this year.
This is mommy's boy Nathan. He'll be turning 3 in July. After he scared us when he was 9 mos old by "failing to thrive" and not gaining weight for several months all of a sudden after much prayer his blood work and tests began showing up normal and he perfectly fine now. He's a little ham now!
This is Allan last January (2007) at the beach here in FL. He was so used to all the snow in West Virginia and being able to make snow angels that when he saw the white sand we have at the beach he dropped down and began making "snow" angels. He hurt his head though because this "snow" wasn't as soft as the snow in WV!
This is what Nathan looked like the last time I saw him last January - he was so little! I can't believe how much he has grown up this last year. He is chattering away now and will talk to me on the phone and on the computer webcam. I am still praying I'll be able to get out to Hawaii to see Felicia, Will and the boys this summer.

Walgreen's Shopping 3/20

Look what I got from Walgreen's today for $14.16!! I am so excited about this! I know you are probably looking at this picture and thinking "BIG WHOOP!" but to me this is terrific! My husband inhales peanut M&M's and popcorn - he LOVES them so I HAVE to keep them in stock - no matter what the cost...know what I mean?! So when I can find them at a terrific deal I stock up.

Same thing with candles...hubby is gonna buy them no matter what the cost so I better keep them around and when I can find an awesome deal like this I am doing cartwheels!

My splurge in this deal was the gallon of splenda-sweetened tea - it was 2.49. This was poor planning on my part. I almost always carry bottled water with me wherever I go but I forgot to grab one before I left the house. I shouldn't have purchased the tea but I was positively famished and had planned on running through a drive-through for a drink on my way home anyway and when I saw the tea I "just had to have it - so I bought it."

Anyway, you still have a couple of days to take advantage of some of these deals so I wanted to share them with you.

• Raisin Bran & Raisin Bran Crunch are on sale for 1.99 each - I used this coupon and got $3.00 off 3 boxes.

• M&M's are on sale for 2/$5.00 and I used 2 coupons - one inside the March EasySaver Rebate book which gave me $2.00 off and 1 from the Sunday coupon insert which gave me another $1.00 off.
  

• Basic Paper Towels - there was a coupon in the Walgreen flyer this week for .79/roll and I used another coupon for .25 off each roll

• Glade Wisp Flameless Candle - on sale $5.99 - used this coupon for $5.00 off - will also mail in the Easy Saver Rebate to receive $2.00 back

• Orville Redenbacher popcorn - $2.49 box - used a coupon for .40 off - purchased this to complete Easy Saver Rebate #49 which will allow me to receive a $5.00 rebate for spending $10.00 on food products.

My total before coupons: $31.11
My total after coupons: $14.16