COUPONS !!

I know I am not made of money. So, I have been taking great pride in the fact that I have been saving money and NOT paying full price for items at the grocery store. As an example, last night, I saved over $65 in coupons and free offers. My turkey was free, and I also got a FREE gallon of milk because I bought 3 boxes of cereal (and yes, I had a coupon for every one of them).  Now, do I see myself as being one of those people who have entire stores in their house...probably not. However, anytime I can save a penny here or there, great!

Here are some links for you to print out coupons should you choose to play along too:

www.livingrichwithcoupons.com
www.coupons.com
www.smartsource.com
www.redplum.com

Sunday Dinner

Today, I kept it simple..last night I cooked dinner for friends of ours who still don't have power. We had a nice turkey dinner, and all of the fixings. It was the least I could do for friends who needed a hot shower and a nice, home-cooked meal. Needless to say, we had leftovers. So, leftover turkey dinner it was. Let the sleepiness begin...

Hope everyone made it safe and sound through Hurricane Sandy. I know there a still a lot of people without power, basic necessities, or worse, have lost their entire homes.  All of you are in my thoughts and prayers!

Restore The Jersey Shore

This week has proven to be extremely trying for everyone on the East Coast. I am a Jersey girl who has traded in her teased to Jesus hair and gold jewelery for t-shirts, jeans and boots here in PA. However, like the saying goes, "you can the girl out of Jersey, but you can't take the Jersey out of the girl".  I spent a lot of time down the shore in my lifetime and I can't believe my eyes from the news footage just at Seaside Heights alone.  My heart goes out to everyone who has lost so much during Hurricane Sandy.

Although I might not be able to help down the shore, what all of us can do is make monetary donations.  Please make donations to the American Red Cross to help. Any amount will help!! Below is the link to make it easier for you....I have also included the link to the Salvation Army who is also accepting donations.

www.redcross.org

www.salvationarmyusa.org

What I Cooked For Sunday Dinner

To make my life easier, I try and use my Crock-Pot (from Kohls, link below) to cook Sunday dinner. Tonight, I put in a large pork loin and marinated it with garlic, salt, pepper and Italian salad dressing (best marinade for multiple foods). I let that cook on low all day long. I paired it with french style green beans, French's fried onions and Campbell's cream of mushroom soup.

Here's the recepie:
2 cans of french style green beans
1 can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup of milk
French's fried onions

Mix all ingredients, bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. When done, add some additional onions for some additional crunch.

My kids love this side dish, and it's a great way to get them to eat their veggies!!


Crock-Pot 6 1/2-Qt. Programmable Touchscreen Slowcooker (Google Affiliate Ad)

Best Shopping Ever!

I have to share this fantastic experience from today! We are bracing for Frankenstorm, the "storm of the century" and was dreading going to the food store today, knowing how crazy busy it was going to be.  However, I was smart enough to remember that my local ShopRite now offers "shop at home". Simply put, I order what I want online, then they go and shop for the items, bag it, put it in cold storage until I come pick it up and pay for it. There is a nominal fee ($10), but it is soooooo worth it!  My time is worth more than that. It was brilliant. I was able to stay home, get done what I needed to get done and when I went to pick up my order, I was literally in the store, paid for my order, and packed it in the van in less than 15 minutes!!

Did I mention this was at SHOPRITE! I knew they offered this service, but it only just started at my SHOPRITE store!

AAAhhh....

      It has been a really long week! Finally, I have a few quiet moments at home alone..yes, alone. Hubby is hunting, and the kids are at a friends house. Heck, I haven't even seen the cat!
      Moms, let's face it, we are all super busy every day. Whether you work full time out of the home or not, we are all busy. Every now and again, we need to find time to just settle down, take a deep breath, and say, aaahhh...

Blah, Blah, Blah

Had an utterly miserable day at work today. I definetly had no patience today and when I can normally keep my cool, I completely lost it. I got pulled into a meeting for my input, which was fine, and I appreciated the nod to people wanting my opinion. However, when it was over, other co-workers had asked me about the meeting and I took it personally when they didn't agree with the topic, like I was being chastised for the actions of others. So, yes, I'm NOT perfect, and I snapped at them. Although, I make no apologies about not keeping a cooler head, I do recognize that I could have handled it differently. That's all I am going to say about the topic.

On a lighter note (always have to leave on a positive note), my kids are doing great in school this year, working hard, getting good grades, and I couldn't be more proud of them and all of their achievements! Love, Mom

Great Advice

My current college instructor posted this today and I found it appropriate for those of us who are super busy!

Said (Sid) NikkhahUOP; Online & Southern California Campusesprofsaid@email.phoenix.edu

Imagine there is a bank which credits your account each morning with $86,400, carries over no balance from day to day, allows you to keep no cash balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of the amount you failed to use during the day.

What would you do? Draw out every cent , of course! Well, everyone has such a bank. Its name is TIME!!!! Each morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off as lost whatever of this time you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the records of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back! There is no drawing against "tomorrow." You must live in the present of today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success. The clock is running. Make the most of today.....

To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed his final exam.

To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of ONE DAY, ask a daily wage laborer who has five kids to feed.

To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask the person who has just missed the train.

To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask the person who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of ONE MILLI-SECOND, ask the person who has won a gold medal.

Treasure every moment that you have. Time is a coin you can spend only once. Use it, invest it, make it count, and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special...special enough to have your time...and remember time waits for no one. Grab it and use it wisely day after day!!

Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have. You will treasure it even more when you can share it with someone special.

 

Sunday Dinner

Tonight was just simple whole wheat spaghetti and homemade sauce. Things were just way too busy today between laundry, homework and a final exam (that I totally bombed) to even think about making a gourmet meal. Let's not forget the haircuts that had to be given....Enjoy your upcoming week!

Slow Down

So apparently, I've forgotten the art of delegation. I have been so busy this week with work, the last week of school, scouts, and on and on, that I forgot how to delegate things. I have been trying to squeeze time in to clean the house, do the laundry that I have been forgetting to ask for help. Let's face it though, how many of us super-moms actually ask for help. We're super, we don't need help, right? That would be admitting failure.....No it doesn't! All of us need help and we need to recognize that it's OK to slow down, and ask for help. If we spend all of our time trying to do everything for everyone else, we will have nothing left for ourselves (and our spouses, wink wink). Having said that, I slept in today and figure the kids can handle breakfast and the dishes that follow!

No Lessons Learned Here!

Ok, so apparently, I have not mastered the word, "no". I guess I need to go back in time and pay attention to my daughter when she was 3. Now SHE had that word down perfectly!  Ha Ha.

I found myself reverting back to my old ways...our Our GS troop was not able to meet at our normal location this week due to a conflict, so there I am, taking a breath and saying "well, I guess we can have the meeting at my house". Well, it's for a good cause. Any time we can get a group of pre-teen girls together and do something productive that helps them feel good about themselves and learn to help others, is SO worth it! 

What I cooked Sunday

Tonight, I'm making venison meatballs simmering in homemade spaghetti sauce. My family happens to enjoy venison, especially when it was from our hunting adventures and even more so when I cook them in sauce I made from scratch and canned myself. Now, this might not be enjoyable for everyone, if you don't like venison, but we do. 

Enjoy!

Military Moms Need Help Too

It pains me to no end that my sister lives half way across the country with my 2 nieces while by brother-in-law is getting ready to leave for Afghanistan (again). I wish I lived closer so I could help her out when she needs it. However, there is a great program for spouses of deployed military personnel. One such example is Outdoor Edge, MN. (see link below). It may seem simple, but my sister needed help with her bicycle, and Outdoor Edge fixed her bike for FREE!  What a great gesture! From a big sister, I say THANK YOU! I wish more companies paid it forward and offered such services!  You all should be VERY proud of yourselves, we are!

http://OutdoorEdgeMN.com

Sunday Dinner

So, I have decided I will write what I cook every Sunday for dinner. As it is, I love to cook and meal time is very important to my family and I. I try really hard to have sit down dinners every night, but there are those rare occassions that we have to improvise due to activities. However, Sundays are reserved for a full sit down dinner.

Having said that, tonight's meal was homemade chicken pot pie, (yes kids, with the chicken!) and corn muffins from scratch. Yes, there is an ongoing joke about Mom remembering the chicken because one time I totally forgot to add the chicken in the chicken pot pie. So, as you can imagine, my children, God love them, NEVER let me forget about it. It's all good though, because it will always be a fun memory for our family and that is what makes our dinner time special. So, I don't mind some fun at my expense....

Saying "NO" and Feeling Guilty

I have to say, I accomplished a great feat for me this week. Amongst the chaos of having two kids with Strep throat and the second week in of a Statistics class, I said "no" to something. (and will admit, am feeling really guilty about it). BUT, for the past 7 years at work, I have been the representative within my department to coordinate holiday donations for our local Head Start program. Although, I truly feel that it is a great opportunity to help out other families in our area, it is a lot of work. I spend hours of collecting gifts, buying gifts from money donations, and then having to wrap everything. Whew...with everything else going on in my life, I have declined to participate this year, but did offer up the names of others who may be able to help out this year. Hopefully, someone else will be able to fill in this year. I am just hoping I don't feel guilty for too much longer.

Get Ready for Flu Season!! Vaccinate TODAY

Home

Sanofi Pasteur Begins Shipping Fluzone® Influenza Virus Vaccine in the U.S. July 16, 2012 The first lots of Fluzone vaccine have been shipped to U.S. health care providers following Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensure of the 2012-2013 formulation. This initial shipment represents the first of more than 60 million doses of seasonal influenza vaccine the company plans to deliver to health care providers in the U.S. this influenza season. The US CDC recommends health care providers to begin offering influenza vaccine as soon as the vaccine becomes available and continue vaccination efforts throughout the entire influenza season. Read the press release Top of page

See also ... The Lancet: World's First Efficacy Results for Sanofi Pasteur Dengue Vaccine Candidate First vaccinations with Sanofi Pasteur’s inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) in Japan US Senior Organization Supports CDC Flu Vaccination Recommendations World Hepatitis Day – July 28, 2012 HIV – Sanofi Pasteur endorses the Collaboration for HIV/AIDS Immunological Therapy (CHAIT)

My Week....

So I have spent my week so far, going to the doctor not once, but twice for my two middle schoolers who have strep throat. So, what was I to do...of course made homemade chicken noodle soup. On top of that..I have to get shots of steroids in my lower back tomorrow for a severly pinched sciatic nerve that has been reaking havoc on my left leg for 5 months now! Not that I'm afraid of needles or anything, I'm just nervous with it being my back. I am quite confident that I have been driving everyone around me crazy with the amount of pain I have been in because it hurts to walk, hurts to sit, and bend over to tie my shoes, yeah, forget that! Thank God for slip on shoes!!

Great Advice!

Sssh, Don't Tell The Kids

Ok, so this has been a really hectic weekend. Made homemade spaghetti sauce and salsa, then canned it. Spent hours in the car driving around, kids' soccer pics..I didn't even do my homework yet today. BUT, don't tell the kids, but I'm actually sitting in the living room, candles lit enjoying a really big glass of Moscato wine. I figure, if I be really quiet, nobody will interrupt me, so sshhh, don't tell the kids. Happy Sunday!!

Happy Hectic Is Good

WOW!  Isn't it funny how some things just work out. It has been an absolutely crazy week!  Going to work after a holiday weekend is nuts! To top that off, the kids had a soccer game in the middle week versus the weekend, plus, I started another class this week.

Ok...now the fun stuff...I am super excited about our wedding planning process. We are visiting our first reception location in 2 weeks. Yes, I know it's a year and a half away, but I believe in proper planning. No sense in waiting until the last minute. We both want to do this right and have taken every step of the way slowly. So....we will take our time in planning everything.  However, wedding planning can be hectic as well, but it's still a happy hectic and well worth it!

Choices

A very good friend once told me that "everything is a choice". And, although we have debated over this thought multiple times, sometimes I will agree. As an example, we can either choose to be happy, or choose to be miserable. Having said that, today I choose to be happy. Life is too short and it takes way too much energy to be miserable and cranky.

As I say this, I realize I have so much to be happy for. I have my health, my beautiful children, my fantastic hubby to be, and all of the wonderful people that the good Lord has brought into my life for one reason or another. Not to mention the beautiful sunrise I was able to see this morning. So, as the choices we make define us as a person, I choose to be happy.............Enjoy!

Working Woman Frustration!

My future husband and I are both very hardworking people, as we both come from a long line of hard workers. So, what I am about to discuss boggles my mind. Forgive me, I am frustrated and need to get this off my chest!  It absolutely makes me crazy to see other people sitting at home, sucking off the system just because they can. Now, let me explain further. I am NOT talking about those people who have worked their entire adult lives, and have been given no choice but to take an early retirement. You are home, collecting unemployment....good for you, you DESERVE it, you've EARNED it.  I am also NOT talking about those people who are fortunate enough to be able to stay home because their spouse has an excellent job that affords the family to have that lifestyle, or also those people who are home with their families because their spouse is off on deployment. I know how difficult that can be.  However, I AM talking about those people (men and women) who manipulate the system because they can. Those are the people who will work for the minimum amount of time it takes to replenish their unemployment benefits, and then leave work with the intent to stay home as long as they can and milk off the system. And the worst part is, WE pay for it in the long run. Again, if you are unemployed but are actively looking for work, you are not included in this rant either. I am just sick and tired of working my tail off to pay for everyone else who does NOT deserve it. It's like those women who divorce their husbands after years of marriage and feel they deserve alimony. Why? Because you have been living off what your husband worked so hard for..I mean really. You should be ashamed of yourself. Get up and go get a job and support yourself! 
Too many of us are taken advantage of every single day and it just needs to stop.

Back To School Insanity!

Monday was my children's first day back to school, as I'm sure some of your children's as well. As my expectations would prove, both kids (in the same grade) came home with their lists of "required materials" from their respective teachers. (5 teachers per child). As I stated, I expected to have a shopping list from the teachers. What I did NOT expect was the $100 I was paying at the register at the end of the trip. (This was over 2 days, because of course, on the first trip, I forgot some things and had to go back for more).

So, here's my questions....first, what about those parents' who cannot afford to purchase all of these things? Will those kids be penalized for not being able to get those items? WHERE on Earth do the school taxes go? I mean it's not like we have new schools to pay for.  As a matter of fact, we just laid off teachers and closed one of the elementary schools. So, where does the money go? And, what ever happened to just having a notebook and a pen? Since when do the kids now have to have individual binders, plus the notebooks, plus highlighters and sharpies AND flash drives? I mean really?  Furthermore, it would have been nice to receive these shopping lists in the mail a few weeks ago when the schedules came out. It would have given us parents an opportunity to spread this purchase out over a few weeks.

Give Yourself Permission To Have Fun

Josh and I spent the weekend camping with dear friends of ours. Here is everyone else trying to determine the most logical move in our "Ladies vs. Men Checkers". Of course you will not see me in the picture due to my self image issues, but that's another blog for another day.  However, as hectic as everyday life is, (between our 2 families, there are 12 of us) every once in a while, it's Ok to sneak away, without the kids and have some adult fun times! We were also lucky enough to meet up with other friends I work with who were at the same campground that weekend and just ate, drank, told funny stories and laughed out loud. You know, the kind of laughter where you lose your breath and start crying...yeah, that kind. So, I encourage all of you to try that once in a while. It's like therapy!

My Morning View

Take tiny moments and enjoy a beautiful sunrise to a new day. Happy Friday!

Simply Exhausted!

I know I am not the only woman / mother who feels this way. I don't know if it is expectations I set on myself, or those set by society. As a woman / mother who works full time, goes to school and participates in my children's activities, I am exhausted! My problem...I haven't really learned yet how to say "no". When my daughter's Girl Scout troop needed a new leader..yup, you guessed it, I volunteered. When my son's Boy Scout troop asked me to be on their council, yup, again, I said yes. In my justification, it's for my kids who are only young once and I want to set good examples for them. I want to know in my heart that I have done everything I can to be a good role model for both of my kids, regardless of what it does to me emotionally and physically.  I now understand why I walk around all day talking to myself....so I don't forget anything. It gets so crazy that today I got our dinner ready ahead of time (so proud of myself) and put it in the Crock Pot...and then halfway here on my way to work, I realized I forgot to turn it on! Argh....Oh well, tomorrow is another day. Be well and thanks for reading  :-D