The Red E

Things have been crazy in my life lately.  After my business trip and coming home with the flu and bronchitis...things went to crap.  It took FOREVER to feel better, my house fell apart, my husband had started a surprise garage redo while I was gone, I had a product launch at work (never ending nightmare), a Spring Market event at a local Y, a huge order from one of my shops, and then a staggering feeling of slowly sinking in quicksand while there was a flood about to drown me.  Do you ever feel that way?

I'm currently running on empty.  I've poured myself out and can't quite get refilled past the red E.  My soul, my body, my heart, my creativity....empty

This isn't a post to be poor little ole me, it's just frank honesty.  It's letting you women out there know...you're not alone.  You can have a husband and friends and even kids and still feel like you're going it alone.  You don't even have to have a husband and kids to feel like this.  I keep hanging on to Isaiah 40:30-31

Even youths shall faint and be weary,
   and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
   they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
   they shall walk and not faint.

I've resolved to take more time for myself...more like I've been assigned to...you know whatever it takes.  I deliberately laid down for a bit after work the other day before I went to get my son (granted I was mad and it wasn't as relaxing as I wanted, but I laid down for myself dang it), I went yard saleing in my subdivision with my friend Kelly and our kids for like 3 hrs on Saturday, I have been knitting on my shawl, I've been "forcing" my son to sleep in his bed (Lordy I just need some space). 

I have work to do on myself, and though it's my heart to pour myself out for others...there does come a point when you have nothing left to give when you don't take time for yourself.

So if you're feeling like me, your assignment, deliberately be kind to yourself.  And it's ok if your first thought was that you might lock yourself in a closet for 20 minutes and count that a kindness...that was my first thought too!  Women weren't meant to be completely self sustaining...every one grows weary....be kind to yourself, don't be harsh, and gather your strength from God, because He doesn't have a red E.

So where do I find these good deals???

I know it seems like it has been ages since my last post.  I think I'm coming back to the land of the living and functioning from having the flu and bronchitis.  Two things I NEVER want to have again in my life!  My house has not yet recovered, my laundry is sadly behind, my dishwasher hasn't quite caught up, and there is chocolate milk on my sheets (it looks disturbingly like poop, just in case you wondered...thanks Roman) but I haven't stopped couponing!

This past week, my bill would have been $311...EEK!  We walked out spending only $120 out of pocket!  Once I subtracted taxes and the produce and milk, for which I didn't have coupons, I only spent $66!  Talk about an exciting trip.  I was, however, sweating and snapping at Jasen in the checkout line...he was in my way, ok?!  I analyzed my perspiration and snarkiness afterwards over lunch and realized that though I know I'm going to save A TON of money, I'm not the couponer who knows what I will be spending before the cashier tells me.  It's kinda like playing the lottery for me. . .I'm nervous about hitting the jackpot and how big...or little it will be.  But, thankfully, this is about the only stressful part.  So don't fret if you overspend...I have a secret...grocery stores take returns!!  You might want to wear a baseball hat and dark sunglasses because it is kinda embarrassing to be returning 15 cans of chicken broth because you went a little overboard...been there and done that, but they take it back...so stop stressing, ok?

So down to the good stuff...Here are my favorite sites that I routinely read for coupons, tips, sales, and ideas.  Each one has their own great thing, but at the risk of another huge post and no pictures...I'll try to keep it short :)

Couponing to Disney:  This site is great, she gives great sale notifications, as well as shows you how to always be getting samples or coupons in your mailbox.  All of her savings go toward their trips to Disney for their family.  She's pretty amazing.  She has great explanations and stories.  She also has a section on how much they are saving by not eating out as well as getting skinny for their next trip!
Southern Savers:  This is the site that I LURVE. . .she takes the weekly grocery store sales and makes them into printable shipping lists...as though that wasn't enough, she links ALL the printable coupons and where they appeared in the circulars, right there in the list for you!  All you have to do is click and print.  That is MY kind of site.  She also posts about great sales for all kinds of things too.  I really like her tutorials on how to get started and this is where I would point you if you need some step by step directions.
Money Saving Mom:  She is really good not only linking sales, but great with ideas and how to incorporate your family into your savings as well as teach your children about it.  She also has some AMAZING recipies and meal plans too!
The Thrifty Mama:  She links sales and coupons and has lots of natural and green ideas and sales links as well.
Deal Seeking Mom:  Great deals and commentaries
I Heart Publix:  A great resource for Publix deals and information.  They post a lot of things that you may find useful if you have Publix near by.
Totally Target:  This site is great...everything about Target and has a weekly list of things that are $1 and under!

Truly...these are the ONLY places that I get my sales and coupons...there are some of you are hyperventilating and others who are thinking "that's not that bad" You don't have to do them all!  A lot of them post the same sales but have different concentrations on their sites. . .find the ones that fit your personality for scoping out sales in general, but I recommend Southern Savers hands down for grocery store couponing...I haven't found a better place for making your grocery store list for sales.

Stay tuned for the next post "To have a Freezer or not have a Freezer...that is the question"  In the mean time, rock your own style for couponing and take it one step at a time. . .if you get overwhelmed, take a step back, you will get the hang of it and find the right balance for your family!

Yes, I'm still alive and blogging!

Hey all, I'm so sorry for being MIA as of late...I went out of town to Las Vegas for a business trip...whoo hooo...however, instead of coming back with the planned 50k, I returned with the flu and bronchitis.  Yeah, not my preferred souvenir for sure.

I have lots of stuff to post, especially about couponing, since that has been a hot topic.  I will get it up as soon as I can!

XOXO

Manifesto Part Two....

Ok, so I'm confessing...I got a wave of butterflies when I brought this up to pen a new post...I had 58 views on my little ole blog yesterday and picked up one new follower.  Totally a humbling experience.  I have several blogs that I follow and they talk about how they love their readers, and comments totally make their day, blah, blah, blah...I rolled my eyes until today.  Ahem, so thank you all so much for coming by, even if you just read it once, it means a lot to me and is so humbling...in a weird and very showing up for your final in your underwear kind of way.

So a couple of clarifications...

• I want to reiterate that I don't personally go and pull all the ads for grocery stores etc...I rely upon my hero from Southern Savers to do that. 
• I DO subscribe to the Sunday paper. 
• You are generally limited to two prints per coupon online.  Don't let that stop you from clicking on every link to see if you can print more.  All they can do is say no.
• The rule above applies to per IP address...basically meaning per computer.  If there is something that is a really good sale or I really want a lot of, I may or may not print my limit on my computer and my husbands...just sayin'...
• Obviously storage is VERY important.  My pantry is laughably tiny.  Thankfully we have this little space under our stairs in the garage where this shelving fits perfectly and we house the family grocery store. 

Now on to the logistics...I'm ALWAYS very interested in finding out EXACTLY how someone does something successful...EXACTLY.  So I don't want to overwhelm you but you're about to get a lot of information.

How do you keep track of coupons?

1. Coupon Binder was my first foray into coupon organization.  A large three ring binder, baseball card holders, and dividers.  Here is a link to an example that links you to this example so you can see both women's inputs.  I liked it because I could see everything, but I HATED folding my coupons, running out of space, and if it got turned over they fell out everywhere.
2. You can also use the Coupon Binder method above, but NOT clip your coupons out of the coupon booklets until you need them.  You can just date the front of the flier and file it for use when you need it.  I did this method for a while, but found that it got messy, I got lazy, and it ended up not being very organized for me.
3. I have recently started with My Coupon Keeper and I have to say I love it.  So you can do this method with anything you want...I've seen it done with shoe boxes, accordion files, and index card holders...I chose to pay for this one because, as you can see, I've been through many iterations of organization.  I liked that this one has very durable materials, it is wide enough to accommodate larger coupons (like the ones from online) without folding them, you can reorganize your filing system on the fly, it already employed the folder system for shopping so I kinda felt on the same wave length with the creator (and the folder is little too).

How do you decide what coupons to clip and what not to?

• From the Sunday paper, I clip pretty much everything, with my new system.  With the exception of animal food and refrigerated coffee creamer (though I'm kicking myself because it's on sale and would be just a few cents...but I DON'T NEED IT and don't have anyone to give it to...see how this gets out of control?) I clip it all.  There is the possibility that I might buy it if the price is right and the coupons are there and it's on sale.  There is no wasted effort with a snip or two more of the scissors and to file it away. . .and I KNOW I have it if I see the opportunity.
• Web Coupons...I usually only print the ones that are matched up in the ads.  I often will run across things that I buy with frequency and print those too so I already have them.

Where all do you shop?

•  I really only shop at Publix.  Mainly because I don't have time to go to the other places.  They carry out my groceries, smile, I understand their sales, and weirdly, they are brightly lit (I know, who puts that in their requirements for a grocery store...)
• Jasen totally prefers Kroger and has done well on his couponing adventures...don't tell him I just posted that for the world to see, please!  :)
• I REALLY want to take the next step and start going to Rite Aid or Walgreens because I've seen some bloggers post some amazing deals they have gotten there and have spent little or nothing or even MADE money.
• I tried to start taking advantage of Target deals, but I very much had an epic FAIL at my first attempt.  I spent way more money than I'd anticipated, ended up returning most of my stuff (I know, it WAS kind of embarrassing) and didn't get as much money back as I'd expected.  I have more studying to do. . .and don't be put off by my experience.  I'm a bit slow on the uptake sometimes with these things just because of how I think about them...and I'm sure my expectations are WAY off too :)

Ok, that is a lot of information for this post...what questions do you have? 

Couponing Manifesto

I recently posted on Facebook about some amazing grocery savings I had and received lots of questions about it.  A light went off in my head, after my epic response disappeared, that I should format it into a blog post!  Tada!  Not only am I sharing my experience I have simultaneously roped you unsuspecting readers into navigating to my brand new baby blog for some cursory oohs and ahhhs. . .muahahahaha.  Ahem. . .So now on to why you're really here. . .a couponing best practice sharing!

So I have always suffered from sever buyers remorse, even at the grocery store.  When I was newly married I would come home crying because I felt like I had spent too much money at the grocery store...poor Jasen.  Probably about 2 years ago, I was shopping at Kroger and saw a lady with this HUGE binder checking out and she handed the cashier a stack of coupons, and I watched in awe as her enormous total (that had made me break out in hives) dwindle to hardly anything.  I checked out as quickly as I could, and I'm not ashamed to say, I stalked that lady down in the parking lot!  I gave her my information and asked her to contact me because I would like to learn more; I felt like in light of the whole parking lot stalking she might feel safer in control of that exchange, because at this point I wanted to follow her home and make her my guru).  Thankfully she emailed me and shared some of her secrets.  Shortly after, I saw a friend's FB post on her couponing and I was hooked.  I'm a TOTAL sucker for a deal and for saving money.  If there was a sash and some badges I could put on there and wear around, I totally would. 

You don't have to invest in anything super crazy to get started, because you can quickly over complicate a very easy thing (I have an amazing talent for doing just that).  I started with a binder and some baseball card holder things (clear plastic page protectors)...there are several other methods of organization, and I'm currently on to a different one, but we can talk about that later.  I would say the BEST first stop is www.southernsavers.com.  She is amazing.  On the top of her page she has a tab that is labeled "Learn to Coupon".  She walks you through step by step what to do.  The REALLY beauty of her site, to me, is that she takes the circulars and sales for the grocery stores each week (Publix, Kroger, Walmart, and Target are the main ones) and lists everything out, tells you what coupons are available from the paper and what the date was and which circular, then she also links you to the ones available online, and THEN gives you a rough estimate of how much your item will be after coupons.  Then it gets even better, she has little boxes you can check and make your grocery list right from her page, and print out all the coupon link ups too!

My favorite and most beneficial store is Publix.  I know that many women I was talking to on FB only have Kroger and Walmart available for grocery shopping.  I have a friend who feels she does WAY better on deals at Kroger than at Publix, and I feel the opposite.  I really think it comes down to how you process the sales and the savings etc. . .

Strategy is important.  Here is what I do to maximize my savings.  I pull the sales each week for my grocery store of choice and make my list of things that are on sale that I need or will need.  I generally ONLY shop for the items that are on sale with minimal items that are not on sale on my list.  Once I have my list and all my coupons printed and cut, I go through and determine how many of each item I will be purchasing based on my coupon number.  I do my best to max out my purchase with the number of coupons I have each week.  I really like a stock pile and based on my experience if they are listed on the lists, and she has lots of coupons listed, and the end result is cheap...I'm going to buy as much as I can because if I have the coupons chances are those items aren't going to be going back on sale before those coupons run out. . .at least I haven't reached the level of mania to track that part. 

I have read lots of comments from people on couponing blogs about how they don't want to alter their buying habits just because it is on sale or not buy junk etc etc...I really haven't altered anything other than the money I spent.  Do I sometimes buy brands I wouldn't normally or items I wouldn't because it IS on sale and next to nothing yes...but if I'm not going to use it, I donate it.  For example, Publix had a sale this week on Totinos Pizzas, they ended up being like $.25 each...I try not to feed my family those kinds of things with frequency, but for that price, I bought like 20 to stock up in the freezer for a another time (like the next year)...yeah, sometimes you get funny looks with your buggy piled high with frozen pizzas, covering up all the healthy food beneath, and your 3 year old practicing his evil laugh at all the people you pass...but those funny looks turn into parking lot stalkers after they have seen your grocery bill.

.....to be continued......

I'm a terrible blogger...I know...I'm sorry...

I know, I know, my new years resolution is already sadly lagging behind. . .you know the REALLY sad thing?  I find myself THINKING in blog post form.  Hey, it's a step up from thinking in facebook status form, right?  The SADDEST thing?  I can't think of a single thing to say in this post, ha! 

So here are some updates...

• We have a new 55" TV...it's obscene and beautiful.  And I'm waiting with baited breath for my rebates to come back so I don't have to box it back up to send it back, sobbing.
• We moved our old flat tv to our bedroom: LOVE IT.  It's totally like being at the theater in my bed!
• Roman has fully discovered Batman and went to school today in his batman PJ top with a cape.  I couldn't help it.
• He still likes boodies.
• He's now 3, which just blows my mind and he FULLY knows how to push my buttons, though when told he's pushing my buttons he replies with, "Buttons, where are you buttons, Mommy?  Where do I push?"  Jasen laughs and I just roll my eyes, what else can I do?
• A psudo-Spring has arrived and they can't figure out the temperature in my building at work...so by noon I'm sweating like I'm in an Ashley Judd movie.
• I have discovered the dough cycle on my bread machine...can I say HEAVEN!?!?  I can make some GORGEOUS french bread and I can't seem to stop baking.  Seriously, I had to run out to buy more flour as a snow storm was moving in because I didn't want to be snowed in without having enough flour to bake...it's THAT bad.

That's about all for now.  I promise that my posts will be more frequent and more thoughtful.  I hope people are reading ;)

Happy Valentines Day!
XOXO

How do they do it?

How do these bloggers who religiously post do it and still have a functioning life?  I mean I have to admit, I'm somewhat constantly drafting a post in my head and am excited to have a few minutes to put something down, but between having a full time job that goes from nothing to crisis in a matter of minutes, to a full time mommy with a very intense 3 year old, a house, a husband, a side business, and don't forget the pleasure reading, blog surfing, and web shopping that one also must do...I mean how do you find time to post.

I've got to establish some good habits, as it is my goal to have a post every day ideally if not every other, that would only marginally be acceptable.  Right now, I just can't wait to get off work and go pick up my little man and snuggle and kiss and sniff him...yes, you read that right, sniff him.  I've had an obsession with smells since I was a child.  When I was little I had to have a blanket not for the feel and the security of the touch...but the smell.  The instant it stopped smelling like "home" which is the smell of Tide detergent and Bounce fabric softener, it had to be washed to refresh that smell.  Even now, if my husband comes home not smelling right I make him bathe and change!  He borrowed someone else's undershirt for work one day and not 1 minute after sitting next to him, I noticed the change in smell.  He even had the nerve to suggest that maybe we change it up, 'cause he liked the smell...I had a mini panic attack.

So even now, I ADORE smells...they are so sensual to me.  I love the way my husband smells, dirty or clean, like a man and his own smell on his skin. . .I LOVE how Roman smells too...this is kinda gross, but I even love how his slobber smells...he has a blankie, and it's for the tactile security, but I just love smelling that baby slobber on it.  And on my goodness, when he's been playing outside, the smell of boy and dirt and fresh air...there is NOTHING better!