Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by this fantastic lady! You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.


This is most definitely not my first "Not Me! Monday!". I have not been reading MckMama's posts for weeks now and I certainly have not wanted to post all this time but yet haven't. Not me!

This morning there is no way that I set my alarm for 6, only to push the snooze button and roll out of bed at 6:40. I would never do that.

And, after arriving at work, I did not spend the whole day thinking about how nice it would be to be curled up in my bed. I was certainly wide awake and ready to take on the world! I also did not butcher my way through a conversation with a hispanic family and hope that I really understood half of what I thought I heard.

When I got home, I of course stayed completely off the computer and immediately started my housework. I then proceeded to make a gourmet 7 course dinner, which I kept perfectly warm until Husband came home. There is no way that I googled a recipe for pork chops, picked the easiest one, dumped a can of soup on top of 4 pork chops, stuck it in the oven and called it good! Absolutely not!

To end the day, I spent the evening reading great literature and poetry and enhancing my literary capabilities. I would never watch spend my time watching party of five episodes and surfing the internet. Not me!

What about you?

Less is More

I'm afraid if I start rambling too much, it might turn into whining.

It's been a long day.

I've been thinking lately about how LESS really can be MORE. In more ways than one.

Here are some things I want to use less of, so that I can have more of them:
-soap
-shampoo
-paper towels (though I'm toying with getting rid of them all together)
-money (I guess that's kind of a "duh" one)
-fabric softener sheets
-toothpaste
-gas for the car
-butter
-hairspray
-cleaning supplies
-laundry detergent
-electricity
-toilet paper

By reading the above list, it sure sounds like I plan to have a dirty house and family! Yeozers. That's not what I mean at all, but simply that I want to learn how to use those things wisely, and as sparingly as possible, without sacrificing cleanliness.

Just a concept I'm working on.

On the other hand - I'm also trying to figure out why I feel so badly that I'm not involved in more? I am completely confident that God has called me to help my Husband as he makes his way through school. I am completely confident that I can glorify God while doing my job. I am completely crazy about the hobbies and friends that I give my spare time to. So why do I feel bad when I don't sign up for that extra committee at work? Or when I don't want to go to another bible study because I'd rather stay home with my Husband, even while he's studying?

I don't think God wants me to feel this way. I hear Him saying Beloved Daughter, Rest in Me. Your worth comes from Me. Let Me fill you. You are Mine.

Now if only I can let it sink in...

Less is More.

A box of Life

Grrr...

I am so annoyed!

Can you tell?

We had another rollar coaster day with the foster care agency today. I won't go through it all comment by comment like last time, but let's just say we went from them offering us 2 infants for a year placement (which we decided not to take) to a respite care placement of 2 sibs for the next 48 hours (which we decided to take, as this is what we really have wanted to do anyway), to me frantically re-arranging my work schedule and getting the house ready for a 3 and 10-year-old, to me calling the caseworker because I hadn't gotten a confirmation call yet and finding out that the parents had cancelled the need for respite care an hour prior. And this occured as I was pulling chocolate chip cookies out of the oven (so that the house would smell homey as the kiddos arrived).

ok - I'm done whining. Pretty much. It's not anyone's fault; it's just hard for me to ride this rollar coaster. I want so badly to do this, and my emotions get caught up in it when I think it's going to actually happen. And then when I get let down, I fall hard.

Husband has been great. He has let me vent and just wallow this evening. And now I think I will go to bed, as I have to go back to work tomorrow after making a big deal about being off to take care of the 3-year-old. They were all so excited for me. I was excited for me. For us.

Good thing God knows better then me!

(Side note, Husband got 1st place on an optional math test he took at his college...1st place out of the whole school! He takes the 2nd part this weekend. I think I married a genius!)

A Snowy Saturday

Today has been a good day overall. Interesting for sure. A day of many dimensions.

This morning we went and picked up our monthly order from Angel Food Ministries (see here for where I first introduced this ministry). I was planning to take a picture but discovered that the camera batteries that were charging all night weren't actually charging. I am absolutely in love with this ministry. Husband has started volunteering there and he says that the Spirit of Servanthood that exists there is just incredible. They even have a new Allergen Free package of breaded meats (without gluten). We're going to try that package next month.

Speaking of trying new things, we did get a chance to try the new laundry soap, but as the aforementioned camera battery was depleted, there are no pictures yet. We washed a load of whites with it first, and it worked fairly well. No one has started itching yet! Next will be load of lights or towels...I'm slowly trying it out with each type of clothing for fear I'll ruin something. Seems to get things pretty clean too, though I think I'll keep adding bleach to the white loads.

After picking up the food this morning, we proceeded to spend 7 hours doing taxes. I am so glad we are pretty much done! Last year it was right down to the wire. I'm definitely not a big fan of doing taxes, but TurboTax is pretty helpful. I guess there's a free online version you can use, but I really enjoy being able to transfer the info from last year to this year. I will say this - doing your taxes together is definitely a marriage builder. Husband and I always know that it's going to be "stressful", so we try and plan fun breaks, snacks, or other ways to keep the tensions low. It doesn't always work. But it is good for us, and I foresee we'll keep doing them this way as long as we can.

To treat ourselves after the taxes were done, Husband played an hour of chess on the computer (I love my "nerd") and I was blessed to be able to take a nap to relieve the headache that I accumulated while doing the taxes. Then we were off to church where they held a date night and showed the new movie, Fireproof. If you haven't seen it, you definitely should! Every time I see it, I am reminded and refocused on things that are needed to make a marriage not only work, but to have a "fireproof marriage". I think God is really going to use this movie in big ways! I would love to get the Love Dare book and try it out in our marriage. It's neat to see couples watching the movie, especially couples who have been married all different lengths of time, and wonder what they're thinking about. I think it encourages all of us to put more effort into our marriage, and to let the love that God shows us be the love that we show our spouses. My heart goes out to each person that sees this film and is touched.

If you're reading this Husband - I pray that God will teach me how to love you more and more every single day!

Tomorrow is Sunday. Church and then recovering from taxes by catching up on housework. Sounds fun, doesn't it? :)

Oh, and it snowed today.

Homemade Laundry Soap

I found this recipe a long time ago on this site. I finally got the time and motivation to try it!

The website does a much better job of showing pictures and instructions. It came out to pennies per load though when you do the math. And my Kroger stocked all the ingredients! Of course, my cameral stopped working before I could take the last picture. It has to gel for 24 hours first anyway...so finished product pictures to come! Husband is the particular one though when it comes to laundry...so to be a "keeper" it will have to pass his test first!

Anyone else have a homeade laundry soap recipe they like?

Swagbucks

I started the adventure of Swagbucks today...let's see how this works! I've heard good things from other frugal women!

Coupon Thoughts

Coupon Lessons

Some things I've learned by making "coupon mistakes" in the past couple months:

-When doing the "Buy 10, get 1 free" count your 10 items SEVERAL TIMES (double checking with the flyer to make sure they are the right items).

-Unfold all coupons completely to make sure they are not for a certain store (unless your store accepts competitors coupons).

-I have started to split up "multiples" of the same coupon in the pile of coupons. I find less coupons get missed that way and coupons don't accidently stick together.

-Self checkouts are not ideal for a pile of coupons. Not at Kroger or Meijer.

-Double check expiration dates right before checking out. I've been known to miss a few by adding them to my pile at the last minute.

So that's what I've learned. Hope you find it useful!

Ethical Couponing?

This is something that's been on my heart for a while now. As I've entered the "world of frugality", and started using more coupons, I've become more aware that this issue of "ethical couponing" even existed. When I look at some of the bargains that people are able to get, I sometimes wonder how they did it. Many of these people honestly matched coupons with incredibly good deals and came by the bargain honestly. But let's face it - there are ways to be un-ethical with your coupons, and get away with it. And so I've been forced to re-evaluate some of the ways I look at couponing. These are some of the questions I've asked myself:

-Should I use a coupon for something other than what it specifically is labeled for, even if I know it will go through?

-Should I hope that a store doubles a coupon even if it says "do not double"

-Should I be stacking my e-coupons and my paper coupons? See here for more information.

-Should I ask the clerk to do something dishonest with my coupons/saving, or let them if they would like to "help me out"? (i.e. use an extra coupon)


As I contemplate these questions, I just have to come back to the fact that we have a Righteous God. And while He lavishes with His Grace; He expects us to live and move towards Holiness with each breath. And so, if I recognize that these actions are not Glorifying, then I sadden Him with my "great bargaining". I would much rather praise Him with my "almost as great bargaining"!

I would simply encourage you to examine your actions as you "coupon" this week.

May you find it a Holy action!