I'm not cheap, I promise....

My NEW favorite thing to do is coupon...I LOVE getting the sunday paper, and LOVE sitting down on Tuesday afternoons to plan out my Wed morning shopping trip.

This past week, I did the best I have done yet for what I got! Since I've been doing this a few weeks now, my stockpile has gotten pretty big! This week, I didn't buy any meat or produce because we still have a good amount of meat in the freezer and we had some carrots and kiwi left over from last week. 

A little about my planning....

I have a binder where I keep all of my coupons..I have a clear insert for each week. When I get Red Plum, Smart Source, and P & G inserts out of the Sunday paper, I immediately put them in the week they belong. 

On Tuesdays, I go to a couple places including coupons.com and Target to look at all the printable coupons. Once I print those out, I place them in the envelopes they would go in.

I follow Southern Savers...On Tuesday afternoons Jenny list the deals for Publix. I go through, look at what I need or will use, see what coupons I have, and write those items down on a piece of paper with the price. Once I finish going through her list, I create a printable grocery list from her site so that I know when I go into Publix, I can see exactly the products I need to get instead of looking through all of my coupons. By writing down the prices, I'm able to see how much I will end up spending with the coupons.

SO this week, was a GREAT week! Kaz usually takes soup, sandwiches, sometimes left overs[BUT he likes to eat those for breakfast so he doesn't have any left for lunch], etc for lunch. This week was great as far as soups!

Here's what I got:

Stuff Bought

[2] 84 pack BOXES of Pampers Diapers[FOR 2 BOXES OF THESE AT WAL-MART It's $50. I got 2 boxes + 2 pampers wipes(for free) for $28.98]

[5] packs of Huggies & Pampers Wipes

[20] Cans of Progessive Soup

[4] Containers of Progressive Chicken Broth

[4] boxes of Betty Crocker Brownie Mix

[4] containers of Bertolli Alfredo Sauce

[1] Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup

[2] Reese Cups

[1] Dawn Dish Liquid

[4] Ball Park Franks

[4] Packs of Sargento Cheese[I got these for .50 each!]

Total Bill at Publix: $167.29

Total Spent  at Publix: $68.63

Total Savings Today at Publix: $$98.66

I went to Wal-Mart and checked all the prices AND IF I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN ALL OF THIS AT WAL-MART THE TOTAL WOULD HAVE BEEN: $147.32

If Kaz took 1 soup a day to work, that would be enough for a whole month ALTHOUGH that won't happen, so I expect those soups will last about 2 months. I shouldn't have to buy chicken brothe and brownie mix for a good couple of months! I understand the stockpile now:)

So, I also tried out CVS this week...I've been skeptical and overwhelmed but I tried it! Worked out great!

Here's what I got:

[2] Colgate sensitive toothpaste[the only kind I can use] for $2.79 each and got back $7.58 in Extra Care Bucks.

[1] Lady Speed Stick Deo for $2 and I got $2 in Extra Care Bucks

Total Spent $7.40, ECB $9.78

I've already planned out next weeks trip to CVS...Here's what it looks like.

[2] Cologate Total toothpaste[Kaz's uses this kind]. $2 each with coupon, and I get $4 ECB. So my ECB will go down to $5.78 + the $4 I get from this trip so I will walk away spending $ZERO and still have $9.78 in ECB!

I NOW LOVE CVS!

AND LASTLY....Kaz and I had dinner with our good friends The Schuermann's last night over in Mount Pleasant, so before we left I decided to check out Harris Teeter's deals[since we don't have one close to us].

Here's what I got:

[2] Chi Chi's salsa[$.49 for both]

[1] Kraft single cheese[FREE]

[2] Green Giant frozen veggies[FREE]

[2] Heft Storage bags[$2.99]

Total Bill $20

Spent $4

SAVED $16

Can't beat that...ALTHOUGH, I personally like Publix better than Harris Teeter. The one that I went to was very tricky on what was on sale and what wasn't. For instance, they advertised Nestle Tollhouse Ultimate Cookie Dough for $1.99[No specification on what kind]. BUT in the store it was only the white macadamia nut. All the others were $3.98! Tricky...

SO I do love couponing now, and wish I would have started a long time ago. My goal now is to stay under $50 a week for groceries and CVS. I think I can do it:)

If you have any favorite couponing sites, tips, etc. I would love to see them!

pitiful....

I honestly can't believe this happened.....I'm shocked! I'm in pretty good shape, run 4-5 a week, etc...

I did 8 MINUTES, yes that's it, 8 MINUTES of Ab ripper X[P90X] on Monday before my run. I'm used to doing abs, just not these abs. 

I was sore yesterday BUT NOT IN MY ABS....A muscle[something beside the hip flexor] was sore [right where my hip and leg connects]...

Yesterday, I ran thinking it would help but as the day went on, I got sorer and sorer AND it got harder and harder to move!

Last night, I could hardly sleep....I couldn't lay on my back with my feet straight, turning back and forth about killed me and today I'm walking like THIS:

photo credit

Actually, walking this way feels the best! I can't believe HOW SORE I am...AND it's NOT even in my abs! Kaz told me to stretch, stretch, stretch today...He said DO NOT run. I should be relieved but I think I would rather run than stretch! HaHa!

HOPEFULLY, this thing passes quickly! It's about to kill me. I think, I WILL NOT be doing ab ripper X again for awhile and WILL stick to my NORMAL routine!

quirky quirks....

I love Betty White!

My favorite time to eat Rice crispy treats are when they are hot!

Since working from home, I wear my pjs all day unless I have to go somewhere.

I lure Miley in from outside with a trail of goldfish, EVERYDAY.

I'm just like a baby... I fight sleep. At night, I lay in bed and look on Facebook, ENews, play tetris, etc. until I'm bored and have to go to sleep. Once I'm out, I'm out!

I don't use the dishwasher... Ours works perfectly fine but I like to hand wash the dishes... Weird, I know!

I'm always thinking of planning a trip. I plan at least 2-3 a week in my mind.

I have become out of shape since the half marathon. I struggle to run 3 miles now!

My hair determines how I feel about myself. I make it curly when I'm in a hurry and end up hating it... If I wear it in a ponytail, I have to somehow cover the back of my neck. I don't like it...

My new favorite show is Teen Mom. I'm amazed at these girls... If only they could see they have so much potential.

I don't answer phone numbers I don't know... But as soon as they stop calling, I look the # up on the iPhone app numbers.

I have to organize the refrigerator at least once a week. Everything has to be in it's place!

I double and triple check everything...the oven, things that have been plugged in, and the door. Then after I've checked, I ask kaz too...

Getting the Sunday paper has now become one of my favorite things thanks to the coupons!

I am horrible at spelling and grammar[if you haven’t already noticed on this blog!]. Kaz always corrects my English...The main word is cents. I say 25 cent...I also thought for the longest time that “learnt” was a word. I used it in several of my English papers in college until my professor finally corrected me!

It’s rare that I drink water, lemonade, soda, out of a regular glass at home. I’m obsessed with glasses and buy them even though I don’t need them. It’s not uncommon to find me drinking diet coke out of a wine glass or lemonade out of a martini glass even when company is over!

When I go home to visit my parents or make a trip to Columbia, I will not stop to use the bathroom unless I absolutely have too...I usually carry a drink with me on the road and an hour into it have to go. Instead of stopping, I hold it, and torture myself the whole way. Why? I have no idea....

I often eat horrible things for breakfast including ice cream bars or now my new latest trend 100 calorie Mister Salty Chocolate Pretzels...Great nutrition for breakfast huh?

I asked Kaz if he could think of anymore quirky quirks and he said, “Miss, that about sums it up. You are one priceless, perfect, one-of-a-kind lady:)” He’s a sweety!

Do any of these quirky quirks sound like you, or am I completely CRAZY? 

a different kind of valentines...

I'm always thinking of different picture ideas for Valentines Day, other holidays, etc to send to Kaz and my parents because I know it will make them laugh. This year, I had to do something really good and funny! So this is what I came up with...HaHa!

Now, don't think I dress Miley up everyday because I do not! I'm in no way being serious when I do it, it's only for fun! BUT she LOVES it! This dog could wear costumes EVERYDAY and be perfectly happy. It's the CRAZIEST thing I've ever seen! One Halloween I bought her a hotdog costume that I got for $2. Anytime I would pull it out, not just her tail would start wagging, but her whole back side would start twisting! She's an interesting one that Miley!

Anyway, Happy Valentines Day!

a canceled party & adoption update....

Kaz and I found out back in November that a birth mom had selected us! She is due in June...The last 3 months have been a whirlwind of emotions...Everything seemed to be working out perfectly! We were able to go with her to all of her doctors appointments...We heard the babies heartbeat for the first time with her, and this past Wed we found out the gender of the baby...a little boy. We have kept this a secret for several reasons...One being the birth mom could change her mind at any time..

After each appointment, Liz and Todd have met us for lunch to hear all the details and celebrate...

For a few weeks, I have had planned a gender reveal party for our family and close friends. It has been such an exciting time...

Wed night after the appointment, Kaz and I both started feeling like something was wrong....something didn't seem right. On Thursday and Friday, we found out the birth mom is no longer sure if she wishes to continue down the adoption path. We will be going back on the waiting list tomorrow...

It's been a sad weekend...I'm not going to lie. BUT we both have a peace from the Lord that this is His plan. We felt called down the path with this birth mom and BOTH said the day we got the phone call that if she did change her mind, then it was a step that the Lord wanted us to go through to bring us closer to our baby. We have invested a lot of our heart, emotions, time, etc with the birth mom over the last few months and we have truly enjoyed getting to know her...It's sad, but we know the Lord has a plan. We ARE GOING TO FIGHT to trust that this is a part of it.

The party would have been incredible...I had tons of candy! I had planned to have a pink and blue table...I was very proud of the decorations so I wanted to post just a few pictures...

Keep praying for us...We are both excited but scared at the same time...

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you, and NOT to harm you. Plans to give you HOPE and a future.

on the road....

I'm on the road for the next few days...Charleston, Columbia, Charlotte, back to Charleston, back to Columbia, and then finally back home to Charleston! Busy, Busy, Busy BUT I get to see good friends AND meet my 2 newest cousins[twins]! I'll be back in a few days!

pregnancy & adoption thoughts...

I have a bad habit of playing on my phone in the middle of the night when I wake up...Even if I get up to go to the bathroom, I usually check out facebook, my email, etc. Last night was no different....I was looking on facebook and I came across a writeup from a girl whom I’m friends with on facebook but don’t really know[We’ve met once]. The writeup was about her pregnancy...She’s been married maybe 6 months and she wrote a story about how easy it was to get pregnant. They tried 1 time. As I read it, I began to get kind of mad...Not because I’m not pregnant, but because I just don’t understand how it can be so easy for some people and so hard for others....When I really think about mine and Kaz’s story, I feel like it’s kind of easy compared to other people and even some friends we know. We chose not to go down roads of infertility treatment...that was our choice and one we have never regretted. To be honest, I don’t know that we will ever go down those roads...Not because we don’t agree with them, because we haven’t felt called down those paths. 

I never would have imagined that it would be so hard to start our family...I hear stories of  moms who are 17, have 3 children, can’t take care of the children she has, and gets pregnant again....Everything in me wants to scream! BUT the truth is, without those women adoptions would never happen. Adoption was never an option for me...If I had gotten pregnant, I don’t know that it ever would be...Even though the waiting hasn’t been easy, it’s been worth it. Adoption is different...You can’t understand it, until you’ve been in it...BUT BOY, am I glad I’m in it. I have no idea how or if the Lord will increase our family over the years, but however it is I’m excited! I hate hearing, “Once you adopt, you’ll get pregnant...” Adoption is NOT the answer to getting pregnant. The Lord is....If HE wants it, then nothing can stop it BUT adoption is NOT the cure. 

All of this was to say, that even though we are on this adoption road, my emotions and sin still play a large role in how I view pregnancy. I still get upset when I find out friends are pregnant, I still cry because at times it seems like the waiting will never end, and at times I still want a baby RIGHT NOW. BUT the Lord HAS BROUGHT me a LONG WAY....3 weeks ago, I was on my way home and had to stop by Wal-Mart for a few things...Over the last 5 months, my body and cycle have somehow changed to “normal”. That HAS NEVER happened especially on its own. That month, things changed again to “my normal”. I had been feeling so out of control because everything in me DID NOT want to be pregnant BUT it was definitely a possibility...I had to take a test, just for my peace of mind. I came home, Kaz saw it, and was just as shocked as I was that I would actually take it. I haven’t bought a pregnancy test in at least 2 years...I just COULDN’T buy them....I said, I have to take this for my peace of mind BUT I’M PRAYING it says NO. After a few minutes, sure enough it said NO. Kaz and I did the HAPPY DANCE. That in itself, showed both of us JUST HOW EXCITED we are about the adoption. FOR ONCE, I didn’t cry to a negative test...Sad thoughts didn’t even cross my mind. The Lord has us on this journey for a reason....This baby IS so special....He/or she has been prayed for SO MUCH...THERE HAS TO BE BIG PLANS in store for he/or she and our family. That gets me excited EVERY day....

To HIM be the glory FOREVER and EVER....

fun times and good friends...

Recently, I was able to get away for a few days for some family & girl time! Me, my mom, and dad spent pretty much the whole day shopping in Columbia! [My dad had so much fun:)] We drug him from store to store! We also were able to see Mr. Billy again...He is so sweet! He said, "So I heard Leroy died...Did you cry?" I said, "Yes, I did a little bit." He said," Well, thats what any person should do. It's only right. Now you can just remember all the memories you had with him." He's a sweetie! While we were there, his wife, Mrs. Sarah came! I LOVE spending time with the Browns....

The next day, I went to spend a few days with Liz and Todd. I've been promising Liz I would come stay with her JUST BECAUSE! I always tend to stay when I have photoshoots in Columbia, so this time was just because...We had a BLAST! We honestly did, well really nothing! We played Tetris on the Wii for literally hours! I'm a very competitive person...so once I saw Liz was better than me, the game was on! We stayed up talking until after mid-night and then could hardly function the next morning! 

We also booked 30 minute massages/30 minute facials at Tonic Day Spa in Columbia that we bought through Groupon. It was SO RELAXING! 

We had such a fun time together as always!

coupons and saving money....

I've recently started couponing...This is my 3rd week. I kept saying all last year that I was going to start, but let's face it, I had NO extra time to coupon with working at Seacoast and photography full time! Kaz and I have been HUGE Wal-Mart shoppers since we moved back to Charleston 3 years ago. Honestly, because we live RIGHT BEHIND Wal-Mart. It's so easy to go there at any time during the day because it's so close! Our weekly budget has pretty consistently been $75 a week. I thought that was pretty good, BUT after talking to friends who have children and spend less than $50 a week I SOON realized we needed to make some changes! 

I talked to my friends Liz and Blythe about couponing because they both use Southern Savers and know more about coupons than I do! After talking to them, and spending about 6 hours on it the last 3 weeks I'm happy to say that I'm officially beginning to coupon AND I LOVE it! 

Ideally, I would like to get out budget down to around $40-$50 a week. There are some things we are not willing to sacrifice on, which are carrots[for juicing-about 10 pounds a week], other fruits, and at least 1 meat a week for Kaz. I'm not a big frozen foods person such a chicken tenders, nuggets, pizza rolls, etc so stuff like that doesn't interest me. BUT in the last 2 weeks I've been able to get SOME REALLY good stuff and have spent a total of $106 on groceries in the last 2 weeks. Thats a savings of $44 from our normal budget. Right now, I'm in the stocking up stage. I ONLY BUY what I know we will use...I don't buy just because it's a good deal. I'm sure it will take a couple more weeks of stocking up before I can get the $ to where I want it in a week, but that's ok. 

I'm doing all of my shopping at Publix! I had no idea how great of a store they were! Our Publix takes other store coupons and doubles coupons up to $.50. Each week I have gone to the same register...The cashier is a young guy and the bagger is an older man. I love that they know me now...This morning the older guy said, "Do you think you will do as well as you did last week?". I thought it was special that he remembered me AND HOW GOOD I did:)

DON'T WORRY....I'm not going to post EVERY week my grocery buys, BUT I will show you my last 2 weeks!

This week[Total bill $112, spent $59, SAVINGS of $53]...Angel Soft toilet paper, Palmolive dish soap, saltine crackers, Windex, 2 Lysol wipes, 4 cans rotel, 2 packs toll house cookie dough, Lipton soup, 2 packs Kraft shredded cheese, 3 packs of pasta, 2 packs hot dogs, 2 packs hotdog/hamburger buns, 2 boxes Ritz crackers, 2 boxes Tricuits, and 1 pack of Huggies diapers[for $5] :) OH AND 4lbs of Ribs...

The household stuff was what I was most excited about! 

 Last weeks bill[Bill $103, spent $47, SAVINGS of $56] 10lbs carrots, 2 packs of paper plates, 1 roll of Scott paper towels, 8 cans of tuna, 1 cantaloupe, 2 bags chex mix, 2 bags Doritos, 1 can Newman salsa, 2 bottles A1 sauce, 4 bottles Kraft bbq sauce, 6 cans Cambells Chunky soups, 2 containers of deli meat, 2 packs of Publix hummus, 2 lbs london broil, and 2 Reese cups. 

SO COUPONING is what I'm doing every tuesday afternoon, and going to Publix every Wed morning:) That's my new routine! Kaz and I buy the sunday paper to get Red Plum and Smart Source Coupons and then I go to the following websites to print other coupons:

Coupons.com

Target

Do you have any couponing tips?

i miss the rains down in Africa...

Kaz and I were talking a couple days ago about our trip in college to South Africa. I LOVE thinking and talking about that trip. Sometimes it doesn't seem real that we actually got to live in South Africa for 3 months...It was such a growing summer for both of us, but ALSO a crazy, fun summer. We got to see SO MUCH of South Africa and have memories that we never forget...Here are a few pictures I found AND some of the CRAZY things we saw! We used to sing this song while we were there....I'm singing it today....I miss the rains down in Africa:(

Our whole group...

 We all lived in one house! It got pretty interesting at times:)

the beautiful children.... 

 We camped out in Kruger National Park for one week. Hyenas would walk the fence at night beside our tents.....it was TOO CLOSE of quarters for me:)

 YES, we WERE this CLOSE! 

The boys used to play this game...They would line up just like this AND LET another person kick them in the rear end with a soccer ball! As soon as I find the video I have, I will post it! It's hilarious! 

I told you it got interesting:)