Coupon Newbie- My $30 Goal

Let me first admit that I am not the greatest with math.  So when it comes to coupons I am a bit slow with  figuring all this stuff out.  With all the new tv shows on extreme couponing and classes popping here and there, I have decided I want to give it all a try.  If anything I save a few dollars, right? 

My sister, Sarah, has a knack for saving money with coupons.  She gets really excited about what is in the paper and how she can use it.  When I use coupons I get this sense of "Take that you money grabbing store. I just saved 50 cents!"  Yes, I get excited too when I use them too. 

Before             After

The thing I don't get is how do you figure it all out.  Who has the best deal, then how to match it other stores and then use the coupons at the perfect time.  It kind of gives me a headache. 

I would love to use coupons more often.  I recently have made my husband start buying the Sunday newspaper but when I look at the coupons, I do not see anything that my family uses.  Then I just end up recycling it all.  Its a bit discouraging.  But I am going to give it a month and see how I do. 

And since it is Sunday the first thing I am going to do is buy a newspaper.  My goal is to see if I can save at least thirty dollars.  Remember I, up to now, use maybe one or two coupons once in a blue moon to save 50 cents.  So thirty smackers will be a big deal to me.

If you have any coupon tips for me, please share them.  I could use all the help I can get!

The youtube video above is great.  Take a few minutes to check it out.  To me it makes couponing seem managable.  Good luck and Happy Money Saving.

Enough to drive a woman insane!

What a week it has been!  Last Friday I was able to be by my younger sister's side as she gave birth to my nephew.  What a beautiful event it was.  I was even able to cut the cord.  I may have participated in four births but never got to see the business end.  I am so thankful she let me be a part of that day.  My nephew however, has a congenital heart defect. He has transposition of the great arteries.  Basically they are flipped flopped and the oxygenated blood isn't getting out to the rest of his body the way it should.  He will be having open heart surgery to correct it this coming Tuesday.  I ask that you pray for him or send well wishes his way.  He is doing well right now but the surgery is a must.  He is such delicious little baby. 

Yesterday my husband had an appointment with an ENT.  He has a tumor near his parotid gland (saliva gland).  Due to the location of the tumor my husband will have surgery sometime this summer.  The ENT is almost positive that it is not malignant but that it should come out.  The surgery will include a large incision down the side of my husband's face (seen the movie Face Off, anyone?) and will involve a major facial nerve. If the nerve is cut or injured he could lose function in the right side of his face (think Anthony Hopkins in Legends of the Fall).  The ENT assured us that it was rare for that to occur but was still a risk. 

Add to all of this the fact that I am trying to finish LPN clinicals and it has been stressing me out since last week we had so much homework it was ridiculous.  I am ready for a break. 

When it rains it pours at my house. 

So this morning I woke up at 5am because my body is used to it from getting up early for clinical days.  I could not fall back asleep so I decided to read for awhile.  The book was wonderful but the end was so emotional.  I could barely read I was crying so hard.  Between the story line, my nephew and my husband I emotionally vomitted right there in the family room.  I could not stop crying for anything.  This went on for two hours.  My husband saw me and laughed. I was covered in tissues and my eyes were red. Tear streaks stained m cheeks and I had that weird crying gasp.  What a way to start the morning.

I am glad it is now the weekend.  I am hoping it is a calm one but I won't get my hopes up.  God, won't give us what we can't handle, right?  I am wondering if he has me confused with someone else.

12 Years of Wedded Bliss

June 12, 1999 with my family!

Twelve years ago I married my husband, Jason.  Although, we didn't realize it at the time, we were so young. I was only 21. We had a simple, but beautiful wedding and went to Disney World for our honeymoon.  Through out our 12 years we have had many ups and downs as all marriages do.  We have four beautiful children who bless our lives and drive us crazy every single day.  We have fought, laughed, cried and supported each other.  Jason was my rock when my mom passed away unexpectedly 10 years ago.  He is my best friend in every sense of the term.  He understands me like no one else.  He accepts me for what I am- a vampire, alien, loving freak who has a huge fan girl crush on Jared Leto.  He also puts up with my non-stop listening of 30 Seconds to Mars.

We love being silly together!

I really can't ask for someone better.  And it is really hard for me to put into words just exactly how I feel about this incredible man.  I will do my best to return all the love he has given me. I look forward to all that we will experience in the future.  He makes every day of my life special and filled to the brim with love.

12 years and this is what we have to show for it. Complete Happiness!

 

Finally its Friday!!!

I am so happy today is Friday.  Today I do not have class or a clinical.  Three of my darling chitlens are elsewhere so its just me and my 7 year old daughter.  She is still asleep which means I am enjoying the peace and quiet.  This week has so not been fun.  My husband had surgery on Tuesday.  It was minor but he was in a lot of pain because of it.  I started clinicals this week.  I hate the first day of clinicals.  Its like starting a new job over an over again.  So this week has been hectic.  But now it is Friday and I am determined to make it a ton of fun.

Once I get my grocery shopping complete and some housework accomplished I plan on spending the day in our pool with my children.  We will have a few of their friends and their moms come over to join us.  Then this evening I will make a fantastic dinner and after that go watch my son play baseball.

This weekend my husband and I will celebrate our 12 year anniversary.  We don't have big plans but do plan on spending time just the two of us.

I really don't have much to write.  I just wanted to share how thankful I am that I have a bit of downtime this weekend to enjoy my life.  I hope you do too.

Oh, and a little bit of a Jared Leto Update cause I am obsessed... He tweeted me back last night!!!!  Ok that's it.  Thanks for letting me be such a fan girl!

Get Inked!

Ever since I saw "Son In Law" with Pauly Shore, I knew that I wanted a tattoo.  That was many years ago.  Many.  Now I am (*cough cough*) thirty-three years old and I have yet to get my first tattoo.  When I was 19 I had my belly button pierced but that was the extent of my wildness.  Now I really want one, well, two! 

My sister, Sarah, is the ink queen in our family.  I remember ratting her out to Dad by accident.  Oops.  Sorry about that by the way, sis!  One night in Pigeon Forge, TN we were going to get tattoos but the weather turned bad and we had to get to our cabin before the back roads became to slippery to drive on.  We were so ready.  I was bummed out. 

Why do I want a tattoo?  I can't explain it really.  I just do.  I know exactly what I want and where I want to get it.  I want something that means so much to me.  A symbol of love and life.  I also want something fun, which I will get on my ankle.  If you have read any of my blog posts lately then you know I am a huge 30 Seconds to Mars fan.  Tomorrow, has been dubbed Mars Tattoo Day, by Jared Leto.  Before you roll yours eyes, and feel free to roll your eyes because I cannot see them nor care if you do.... Their music is really inspiring and I love it.  I plan to get the triad on my right inner ankle.  There is a picture below.  It will be small.

 

 

I used to judge people based on their tattoos.  I admit I think some are a bit outrageous and insane but who am I to judge.  Their tattoos could have incredible meaning to them.  Or it could also be the result of a drunken episode during spring break.  Who knows.  Who really cares?  

I will not be able to get my Mars Tattoo tomorrow on the official day but I will eventually get it.  I will also get my super important one as well.  Some day! 

This look, however, will not work for me.  I'm more of a zebra print kind of girl!

Toy Donations and Guilt

This afternoon I bribed my children to clean their bedrooms.  Ya, I know, not the best parenting but so worth it.  Bedroom cleaning was complete with black bags filled with toys that my children no longer play with.  I am ecstatic that my children did not put up much of a fight to donate their older toys.  However, I am the one with toy guilt.  I admit that I have seen all the Toy Story movies and I cannot help but wonder if these toys are like Woody and Buzz (reserve my padded room now, I know).  For the most part my children take great care of their toys but there are also the ones that get broken and thrown away.  I try to donate as much as possible.  If my kids no longer want it maybe another child will. Tomorrow we will load up the mini van and take the toys to Goodwill. If anything my children are learning to donate what they will no longer use and to recycle what can still be used.  As for me I will hear in my sleep tonight, "Next week's yard sale fodder for sure."

Domestic Engineer

Wow, I haven't been on here in forever. The past month has been really hectic.  So here are a few updates before I get into my actual post.

• I am no longer vegan but keep thinking I should go back on it.  It's really hard in the area that I live in to find healthy produce.  
• I walked at graduation for LPN degree.  Now I am taking the summer exit which is very intense.
• I am panicked about find a job that I will enjoy once I finish class and take my boards.
• The house is a disaster, the kids will get out of school soon, and I am frustrated with small town life.  Nothing new there really!

Now that you are a bit caught up here is today's post...

Resume writing.  Bleh, but I have to do it.  No, seriously, it was homework assignment.  Part of the LPN summer exit is Trends.  We discuss transitioning from student to professional.  So last night I had to type up a cover letter and resume.  To be honest it was incredibly sucky.  Our instructor told us to keep the resume on one sheet of paper.  Really?  How do you do that and get everything important on it?  Well, I did my best and its still on two sheets.

Here is the good part.  Like many of you I was a stay at home mom.  But I have to account for this time on my resume.  I put down Domestic Engineer.  My instructor did mention this in class and I ran with it.  Think about what you do as a mom whether you are stay at home or not.  We are busy!  So here are a few of the responsibilities I added to my resume:

Health and Safety
Event Planner
Environmental Specialist
Behavioral Consultant
Chef
Here is what I would have added if I had more space:
Financial Manager
Magician
Fluent in baby talk up to pre-teen
Buyer
Chauffeur
Counselor
Mob Control
Sex Godess

 Those are the few I could come up with.   I know there are many more.  If you have some other ones please share them.

The moral here is don't down play your time as a stay at home mom.  You used many special skills to keep your family running smoothly.  They don't need to know that laundry was piled high up my "laundry stairs" or that my spare bedroom is for "hidden chaos".  The house didn't fall in did it?  Nope.  I was able to work with four sometimes very uncooperative little people.  These skills are very important to any profession.

Now, if I could just find a good paying position.  I would hire a maid to take care of my "laundry stairs" and "hidden chaos"!