http://30daygivingchallenge.com/

I came across this and have decided to participate. It may not be by great financial means, but hopefully this 30 days of giving will push me to give more of myself. My personal goal is just to be more self-less and give more time to God, my husband, my children, my family, and my friends. And to focus on a verse that I always post at the end of my "Freecycle" emails...

... "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." Luke 3:11 NIV

...Giving from what we have been given.


These 1st two days, Monday and Tuesday, I plan on simply going through our house and getting ready bags of things to donate, things to list on freecycle or craigslist, things to sell and donate the money, etc. And getting some more ideas ready for future days. Feel free to share ideas and I'll add them to my list if they're not already on it!

Beach Trip 2010

Flying the kite...


Bethany LOVED playing in the sand!

If you're interested in earning Rewards by helping market research, there's a great company that allows you to do just that. I've been participating in it for quite some time now and I'm on my way to picking out my first (earned) reward! Nielson Homescan is a program from the same "Nielson" ratings that monitor TV viewing habits. The Homescan program monitors participants' shopping habits. And you earn rewards for being a homescan member.

Here are just a few of the rewards this year...







If you're interested in joining, click HERE to learn more!

Fun at Dinner & the Rodeo

Bethany loves spicey foods...obviously. She was doing this for a while, so that's when I decided to get the camera out. Then after I put the camera away, she kept dipping for quite a while...it was amazing. Wish I had it timed!



Then we went to the Rodeo. Bethany loved the children's barnyard. Raegan didn't like the sawdust getting in her sandals. Bethany loved the goats. She wasn't afraid of them at all. She ran towards them shrieking, and they ran away!


Bethany liked the Puppet Show, especially the raccoons. Raegan, eh...just didn't know what to think about it, but she did like the funnel cake.


Then this is waiting on the rodeo to start, silly pictures.



On the way home, Raegan asked where we were going? Then says before I have time to answer, Are we going to McDonald's? No... Chick-fil-A? No.... Double Dave's? No...... Chinese? No..... LOL Apparently we go out to eat way too much!

Spring is Coming, Planting time!

Well we went ahead and started some seeds a week or so ago... And I GROSSLY underestimated the number of egg cartons I would need. SOOOOooooo, we only had room for Green Beans and Collards (we did Raegan's Cantaloupe previously in pots). And of course, I did those before I realized I wasn't going to have enough egg cartons for all of my seeds, which means I didn't start the seeds I needed to instead of the ones that could have waited...Oh well...too late!

So, we really need winter to be over, so I can plant these starters SOON!

3/15/10 Raegan's Cantaloupe:
3/18/10 Raegan's Cantaloupe:
3/18/10 Green Bean Plants:
3/19/10 Green Been Plants: (Yes that much more in just one day!) Sooooo, if you need a few green bean plants for your garden, I may just have a few extra!

Note to self for next year, "You don't have to plant EVERY seed...save them!"

Beth Moore Signing

Don't know if any of you are Beth Moore readers, but she will be in The Woodlands @ Sam's Club this Saturday 1:00pm-2:00pm signing a book that looks very good! A subject I'm sort of silently passionate about...I long for loved ones, family and friends, and ME included to throw out insecurity and love and appreciate the person God made them to be!

If you can't read the picture, click HERE.

I don't normally post about my shopping trips, because I don't want my blog to become another one of those blogs all about deals. But I just had to post about my Kroger trip today because it was pretty good. And if you're skeptical of using coupons and stockpiling or if you just don't want to take the time to do it, I just have to say...it's worth it. It doesn't take that much time and in the end you will save your family LOTS! Here's the breakdown:


Transaction #1:

Milk $2.48
Kroger 24 pk Bottled Water $2.50
Tidy Cat 10lb Cat Litter $1.99 (Had $1.00 Coupon, but it had the Target emblem on it from printing it on their website and they wouldn't take the coupon)
(9) I Can't Believe it's Not Butter $1.49-$1.00 Qs
(3) Philadelphia Cream Cheese $1.49-$1.25/3 Q
(3) Pillsbury Toaster Strudels-(1) 35c Q and (2) $1.00 Qs-55c Cellfire Q
(3) French's Mustards $1.69-(3) 35c Qs
Kroger Italian Dressing $1.24
(3) Chex Mix Chocolate $1.99-(2) 50c Shortcut Qs-50c Cellfire Q-(3) 50c Qs
(2) Kroger Reusable Bags (1 insulated) (Not Pictured)
(5) Kraft Easy Mac & Cheese $1.00-$1.00/5 Q
(2) Solo Cups $1.99-$1.00 Q-75c Q
(3) Rotel $.90-(3) 30c Qs
Quaker Chewy Granola Bars $1.99-55c Q
(3) Fiber One Snack Bars-(3) 40c Qs-40c Cellfire Q
(2) Capri Sun $1.99-$1.00/2 Q
(2) Quilted Northern TP $5.99-(2) $1.00 Qs

-$20 Mega Sale Savings

Out of Pocket: $30.34 (But I'm using the Kraft Easy Mac & the Capri Sun for a $20 Kraft Rebate, so will get that back.)

Transaction #2:

(3) Chex Mix Chocolate $1.99-(3) 50c Qs
(3) Rotel $.90-(3) 30c Qs
(2) French's Mustard $1.69-(2) 35c Qs
Post Raisin Bran $2.69-$2.00 Q
(2) Kraft Easy Mac (for filler) $1.00

-$5.00 Mega Sale Savings

Out of Pocket: $0.28

Transaction #3:

Chex Mix Chocolate $1.99-50c Q
(3) French's Mustard $1.69-(3) 35c Qs
(2) Capri Sun $1.99-$1.00/2 Q (plus I'll get back more from the Kraft Rebate for these)
(3) Rotel $.90-(3) 30c Qs
I can't Believe it's not butter $1.49-$1.00 Q

Out of Pocket: $2.35

Total Out of Pocket for 66 items: $32.97 (minus what I'll get back on the $20 Kraft Rebate!)

That's 50 cents per item (and that includes Toilet Paper!!)! It's definitely worth it!

If you want to start couponing and/or stockpiling there are numerous resources to help you get started!

For Walgreens, CVS, Wal-Mart & Target I watch these blogs to find out their weekly deals:

http://www.stlmommy.com/
http://www.nicolesnickels.com/

For Kroger I usually watch these blogs:

http://jane4girls800dollarannualbudget.blogspot.com/
http://katycouponers.blogspot.com/

But you can also get deals for all of these stores in forums on these two couponing websites:

http://hotcouponworld.com/
http://www.afullcup.com/