The Spoon and the Shovel

Farewell Address

2009-04-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

Well, folks. It's been great fun. I've gotten some writing in and some deals up. I've enjoyed my first blogging experience.

But it's time to move on. I mean, literally move on--to Mexico, to be precise. We'd like to be there by the end of next month. I'll link you to the details on the whole thing later, but this post is about this blog.

There will be lots of traveling, packing, insurance shopping (probably the hardest thing ever invented), and good-bye-saying between now and departure. And somewhere in there I have to spend $36.46 in CVS cash.

Since I expect to be more busy as a missionary and there aren't any Walgreenses in Mexico (I checked), I'm going to call it quits here. But before I do, let me inform those of you who have been here a while or personally know me that the toddler has added "Wahgeens" to his vocabulary just in time.

Of course, shopping wasn't the only thing to be written about here. It was actually ancillary in my mind to what gives me more enjoyment--writing about Christ and His kingdom. The conserving resources theme included monetary resources, but I especially wanted any readers I had to be concerned with conserving lessons from preaching or reading.

That's the writing I hope to improve throughout my life. So I am glad my husband has agreed to give me some air time on his blog every now and then. He set it up only recently, and (since we're not there yet) there isn't much information up at this point, but here's the link if you want to keep up with us.

Thank you so much for coming!

Walgreens Battle Plan 03.10.09

2009-03-10T10:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, if this works, it'll be a great deal.

$30- 3 Huggies diapers
$12.99- 1 Sambucol (never used it; buying it for the overage; comes recommended by Deborah)
$3.99- 1 Wal-Zyr
$2.99- 1 Walgreens Headache medicine

Subtract my coupons:
$10 Register Reward (from the last time I did the Huggies thing yesterday) By the way, I'm going to try using it though I've been warned against it. The cashier yesterday was UP on the Walgreens' policies and programs. She warned the lady in front of me not to use her $1 RR on the same product that generated it because it might not print another one. But when I asked her after mine printed, she looked at it and said, "If it doesn't say the product name on it, it will be fine. If it's a Walgreens coupon, it shouldn't make a difference." Now that she mentions it, it does seem like some RR's do say something like, "Thank you for buying [whatever]. Here's a dollar." Makes sense then.
2 $5 Huggies coupons
$3 Huggies coupon
$4 Sambucol coupon
$10 Sambucol ESQ

That's 6 items, 6 coupons. There's another urban legend I found to be true yesterday. I had always thought, "Walgreens never cares if I have more coupons than items." But it did yesterday, and my cashier understood the message she received whereas previous cahsiers haven't. It all made sense why I've had cashiers just bumfuzzled when the register tells them, "Coupon exceeds amount of items." They (and I) have just looked back and forth at the screen and the coupon. We were thinking "amount" means "amount." What "amount" means is "number." "Number of coupons exceeds number of items" would be a clearer error message, but my cashier knew what it was talking about. She made a few suggestions about which coupon I may want to eliminate, but I had been around enough blogs to be a step ahead of her. "I'll just buy these three gums for $.99. That adds one coupon and three items, right?" I think I may have impressed her. Especially when I whipped out the ol' Easy Saver Gift Card. She realized that, though she may be a pro, she wasn't dealing with a rookie.

At any rate, today I'll be better prepared. I'm using the Sambucol as overage, but that gives me another 2 coupons and 1 item. Hence, the monthly freebies today.

So, my total after coupons should be $15.97 (with tax).
And I should get back $7.67 on the gift card and $10 in RR's.
Which means, that if all goes as planned I get 3 packs of diapers (all I'm really going for) for $8.30 (I don't count RR's twice; if I pay with them, I can't count the ones I get back, right?)

We'll see if they have any size 4 Huggies left.

A Whole New Way to Think

2009-03-05T13:22:00.000-08:00

"Things aren't always what they seem" is a pretty worn-out cliche, but the concept still intrigues. Much of fictional literature relies on the revelation at the end of the story that what the reader assumed was completely incorrect. Sidney Carton was capable of selfless sacrifice, Mr. Darcy had a great personality, Hester Prynne's lover was the minister, and on and on.

Yet even with our confidence that appearance isn't everything, we are consistently shocked to find that our powers of observation failed . . . again. Here is an example that has captured my thoughts for a few days.

Several years ago, I looked into an open coffin. Inside was the body of young man. In so many ways, he was just starting life. He had just graduated from high school. He never knew college, marriage, fatherhood, retirement . . . His life was swallowed up. By death.

That was the appearance. Here's the truth. He was (and all of us are) mortal. That means "killable." Without meaning to be morbid, I'll remind us that there are thousands of substances, objects, and events that could potentially end our lives. We're killable. But that young man isn't.

I didn't come up with this. In 2 Corinthians 5:4 the apostle Paul says, "For while we are still in this tent, we groan . . . so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life." It's talking about dying. The tent is our body. While we're in it, we're mortal. When we're not, when we've put it off, we aren't.

Wait. Who's "we?" Who groans? Paul's audience. Unquestionably they are assumed to be followers of Christ. Four verses later Paul refers to being "away from the body" as being "at home with the Lord." He is quite clear that not everyone's future home is with the Lord. But it could be. His aim in all this is to "persuade others." Persuade them of what? Persuade them to "be reconciled to God."

How then are we "reconciled to God?" We've got to exchange with Christ. We need what He has, and He took what hinders us. "For our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

If you trade with Christ, you are reconciled to God. Your home is with the Lord. It's not here. So while you appear to be at home, you're away. And when you're gone, you're home.

So the young man in the coffin. We were heartbroken that he was no longer with us. But many who knew him felt sure he had traded his sin for Christ's righteousness. He was a follower of Christ. So, although it appeared that life was swallowed up in death, in reality what was killable was swallowed up by never-ending life.

Walgreens Battle Plan 03.05.09

2009-03-05T12:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, Mama. This would be a good week to make it to Walgreens.

Here's my plan (in no particular order):

Ritz Crackers (on sale B1G1 free for $1.99)
-$2/2 Nabisco coupon
Blink eye drops $7.99
-$2 coupon in Sunday's paper
Colgate toothpaste $3.49
-$.75 coupon
Vaseline Intensive Rescue Something Lotion (supposedly) $2.69
-$1.50 coupon
Revlon tweezers (if they're $2)
-$1 ESQ
-$1 Revlon coupon
2 Sunsilk shampoo (allegedly) $1 clearance
-$2/2 coupon
And, if I get the nerve to plop 8 trial-sized deodorants on the counter, 8 Dove deodorants $7.91
-$1.50/2 coupon

I should recieve:
$7.99 for the Blink
$3.49 for the toothpaste
$2 for the lotion
$10 for the Dove

If all goes as planned, I'll pay $16.33 for the above and receive back in Register Rewards $23.48. Now, if I'm smart, I won't buy everything at once. I'll use my Rewards from the Blink to buy the deodorant, and so on. Since I'll probably need some stuff to bring me up to the amount of the Reward, I just might be persuaded to throw in. . .

2 Starbucks chocolates (if they have any left) $4 each
-$6/2 ESQ

Maybe (:-)

It Doesn't Seem Right

2009-03-02T15:54:00.000-08:00

To be so attached to a grocery store just seems abnormal. But I LOVE the place. I mean, lots of stores have cheesy mottos, but at Publix, "shopping IS a pleasure."

Paul got a cookie, got to drive a cart. It went well. Now for my trophy. I wish I would have taken a picture, but well, it's a long story. Oh, you want to hear it? Well, this a blog, after all. What better place to share every detail of my life? Okay. It snowed today, and my husband got to go to work late since the bank didn't open until 11:00 on account of the icy roads. After playing in the snow with the kid, we had a late breakfast. But still I knew that was a long time ago, not getting a lunch break and all. So when I got home from Publix, it was like 4:55, and I knew I had to get started on the fried chicken right away since it would take like 45 minutes to cook. So, I turned on the grease, powdered up the chicken, and then put the groceries away. Meanwhile serving Paul a small snack since he hadn't had much since breakfast either. Can you imagine taking time right then to pose my groceries? Anyway, I'm no Keren. She's the queen, but here are the highlights:

Getting paid nine cents to buy tomatoes
70-cent bread
Two and a half pounds of bananas for $.67
The penny item was WELCH'S GRAPE JUICE! Not to totally rub it in to those of you who ended up with organic toilet paper, but this was the coolest penny item ever.

I got a rain check on the yogurt, so I'm looking forward to letting that purchase supplement another trip.

Check it out:
Actual retail price: $47.58
My cost: $13.81
My "savings": 71%

As always, thanks go out to Sarah at Fiddledeedee without whose help I never would have discovered how much a person can enjoy a grocery store.

Absolutely Never Again. Perhaps.

2009-02-21T09:25:00.000-08:00

All the way through Bloom, I told Paul, "We're never doing this again." I admit, I may have said it partially for the benefit of some workers stocking shelves. But then I realized that I had a bad attitude, and it's not their fault really.

But duh. The second day of Triple Coupon Weekend after I had seen it promoted on like four blogs. What coupons do you think EVERYONE in the store had? What was I thinking dragging my poor little toddler out and expecting him to be good when I was having a hard time being good? No sour cream, no cottage cheese, no peanut butter, TWO Knorrs sides, ONLY turkey pot pie Campbells Chunky Fully Loaded, no Betty Crocker Supreme brownie mix. Okay. You see why I was chiding myself for driving all the way to Greer to triple my coupons. I felt like they had just announced a hurricane watch.

At the height of my resolve NEVER to enter another Bloom during Triple Coupon Weekend, I ring up a $16.46 purchase for $4.78.

Well. Maybe I'll try to go on Friday next time.

YardFest 2009 Anecdotes, Part 3

2009-02-20T07:17:00.000-08:00

This was just wild. Guy comes up, starts looking at the seminary-level books Ben (as I mentioned, he's my sister's brother-in-law) has available. This reminds him of a study in astronomy he's been doing lately. So he and Ben strike up a conversation. Afterwords Ben (who was great about trying to pitch his stuff to potential buyers) encouraged the man to look around at the rest of the products offered. So the guy goes over to the electronics department and takes a look at the printers. (I believe I've alluded previously to the fact that there were five available.) He then produces from the inside of a printer a genuine one-hundred dollar bill.

"Whose printer was this one?" was the incredulous question of one of the day's employees.

"Ben's," was the reply.

So the dude was about to sell off for like five bucks a printer in which was stashed a hundred dollars. Not even kidding. He still doesn't remember putting it there.

So Honest Abe left the yard sale, not having purchased anything, but with a spotlessly clean conscience . . . You know. I should have at least offered him a Rice Krispy treat.

YardFest 2009 Anecdotes, Part 2

2009-02-19T08:11:00.000-08:00

Lady arrives as we're packing up. Begins to peruse merchandise lying around.

Ben (my sister's brother-in-law): You need a computer printer? (We've got no fewer than 5 to choose from.)

Customer: If I knew about computers, you think I'd be shoppin' at yard sales?

Well, I mean . . . some people think it's fun.

Same lady.

Me: How about a free Valentine treat for the road?

Customer: Oh thank you. That's nice! I need it like a hole in the head, though.

You probably had to be there. But I thought it was a great way to end the day.

Monday

2009-02-18T11:28:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, is it too late to hang a moose rack about Monday?

Okay. Well. I will anyway. I didn't even want to go. It was Presidents' Day. Jon was off all day. We sat at home and hung out. It was like 5:45, and I wasn't really in the mood to shop. But I had heard that the Publix penny item was carbonated, so I really wanted to spend ten dollars there. So, I loaded up the kid, left Jon to get some much-needed stuff done, and headed out to CVS and Publix.

I had to spend $7.99 in Extra Bucks at CVS since they had expired the day before. I asked her really nicely. So anyway, long story short, I pick up 2 Colgates for $2.99 each and 2 Neutragena bars that I heard here would be a good deal. I used two $1.50 Colgate coupons. My total ended up being: the $7.99 plus $1.21 on my CVS gift card I got for getting a new prescription filled there. So I get back: $5.98 for the toothpaste, $10 for the soap, and $10 for doing a survey for them online back in January. Not bad.

Publix, briefly. I got 2 gallons of milk, 2 coffee creamers, 2 boxes of Ritz crackers, 2 boxes of Lipton tea bags, and a Valley Fresh Steamer plus the Publix soda for $9.06. No, no. You don't understand. That's with the milk being $2.99 each and the crackers being $1.50 apiece. Those things add up to $8.98. Now you see what a deal this was. You can see more at Fiddledeedee. Thanks. It was a happy Presidents' Day.

YardFest 2009, Debriefing

2009-02-18T10:51:00.000-08:00

Well. The brilliant coupon idea . . . wasn't. But it's not like there was any overhead involved.

The hot dog output was offset by one philanthropist, bringing our hot dog bottom line to negative $7.

The treats paid for themselves since we sold 6. So we did a little better than break even on those.

Total Gross (for us): $103
Overhead: $18.93 (That's signs, a marker, and food ingredients)
Net: $84.07

But about the hot dogs. Look. We're not throwing them away. The unused packs of hot dogs and buns are safely tucked away in the freezer waiting to lower a grocery bill in future weeks. Plus, being at my house, it was my job to feed the folks who participated. If you count what we used and take away the dollar contributed to the cause, I figure I fed 10 people (2 of them were toddlers, but they ate their share) for $2.20. So, don't feel sorry for us on the hot dogs. It was fine.

And. If I can add my own commentary here. If you are contemplating holding a yard sale of your own, and all you plan to spread around your yard are clothes and wrapping paper, don't bother.

Firearms, flashlights, half-empty cans of air freshener (of all things), portable electronic devices, cleaning supplies from Walgreens, anything--regardless of what it is or whether anyone even knows what it is--with a sticker reading "FREE"--these things are what make yard sales a success.

That's what I learned.

YardFest 2009 Anecdotes, Part 1

2009-02-17T14:49:00.000-08:00

Guy at Sale: "Hey, you've got this portable CD player marked 75 cents, and the headphones are a dollar. What's up with that? The headphones should be cheaper."

My Husband (totally kidding): "Well, alright. How about 75 for the headphones and a dollar for the CD player?"

Guy: "Okay."

Hands over a buck seventy-five.

Guy: "Wait. That was the same."

Big smiles all around. No hard feelings.

My husband: "Tell you what. If the CD player doesn't work for you, you can bring it back."

The end.

YardFest 2009, Part 2

2009-02-11T13:53:00.000-08:00

The weather continues ominous.

But it's only Wednesday. Today was run-around day. Not much was accomplished toward the yard sale except buying another piece of poster board for signs.

Progress thus far:
Identified nearly everything we want to sell.
Priced nearly everything we want to sell.
Recruited fellow participants from far and near.
Purchased hot dogs and dessert ingredients.
Made 3 signs.
Discovered it is against county ordinance to post said signs on utility poles. (Like everyone else does. But. If everyone else jumped off a cliff. . .)
Diagrammed intended yard layout for the set-up crew, i.e. other participants and me.

Progress not yet made:
Tomorrow's house day. I intend to stay here until late afternoon. No grocery stores. No drug stores. No doctor appointments. Just stay here, enjoy Paul, hopefully depose James II (see here, if that's bizarre to you), clean the house for company, move all the yard sale stuff that will fit into the laundry room, close the laundry room door and pretend it's not part of our house until Saturday. The goal is to be ready to set up by the end of Thursday so I can devote Friday to sign posting (still brainstorming on that one--ideas?) and dessert making.

Oh yeah. My brilliant idea. Okay. I confess. I probably built this up a little too much. I've never seen it done, but I have no doubt that my fellow Frugal-Blog-Goers have done this at every yard sale they've held. Drum roll please. I'm selling coupons. I clipped them, categorized them, bundled them, and priced them. They're the coupons I didn't think I would use from this past Sunday's paper. Like dog food. Think it'll work?

YardFest 2009, Part 1

2009-02-10T10:33:00.000-08:00

How about a series? Sound fun? Okay. I'll run a short series of live updates on the progress of my yard sale.

Ad. For those of you in my area (you know who you are), be sure to tell your friends and family to stop by at 8:00 on the 14th for the best merchandise, or at 11:30 or so for the hot dogs. . . or both. End of ad.

I'm having a Valentines Day yard sale. I'll be selling, in addition to the usual yard sale staples, heart-shaped treats and cookies with red sprinkles. We're also planning to grill up a few hot dogs at lunch time.

A friend of mine, "Hi Deborah!" is coming along and contributing some of her items. Which is a huge plus, because, though we've got way more than necessity demands, we've had only four years in smallish dwellings to accumulate. It wouldn't be a very large wing-ding if I was by myself. But with some help from Deborah and my sister, it's going to be quite respectable.

So far I've spent $16.96 on advertising and food. I think I'm done, but I'll let you know.

Yard sale advice for me, anyone?

Next up: My brilliant (I hope) idea that I've never seen anyone else do.

Bi-Yo

2009-02-09T13:22:00.000-08:00

Okay, so Paul has gotten used to grocery stores. His favorite is Bi-Lo. I'm not sure if that's because he gets a balloon when we go there, or if it's because he can pronounce it. We pulled into a grocery store parking lot this morning (not Bi-Lo, but cut him some slack; he can't read yet), and he starts chanting, "Bi, Bi, Biiiiiiii-Yo! Bi, Bi, Biiiiiiiiiii-Yo!" It was hysterical. At least I thought so. Maybe you had to be there.

Publix Strikes Again

2009-02-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

I'd miss the place if I couldn't go one week. Let me tell you, I love surprises. Baked beans. I don't buy baked beans. I make baked beans. But hey. They'll go great with our pork roast this week. (I didn't get the pork roast at Publix; that's a semi-funny story.)

I did get at Publix:
2 boxes of French toast sticks
2 gallons of milk
a box of cereal
a bag of potatoes
a box of cake mix
2 coffee creamers
2 Campbells Select Harvest soups
2 cans of ORGANIC tomato sauce (can you believe it?)
Parenthesis. My rule about organic is, "Get it if it's cheaper." Which means I never get anything "organic." However, if we're technical, it's basically all organic. Let's take my normal cheap tomato sauce. If "organic" means (and it does) [characteristic of, pertaining to, or derived from living organisms], then, if it grew, it's organic. Okay? Let's move on. End parenthesis.
and the baked beans.

This came to $20.75 before coupons.

After my $8.40 in coupons which were:
2 French toast stick coupons
1 Frosted Mini Wheat coupon
1 Pillsbury Reduced Sugar Cake mix coupon (RP 1/11)
1 Campbells Select Harvest coupon (SS 1/4)
2 Coffee Mate coupons
2 Muir Glen coupons

My total was $12.35.

Now, about the tomato sauces. They cost $.85. That's outrageous. It's like 30 cents at Aldi. But I needed tomato sauce. And I had these $1 coupons. I've never done this at a grocery store before (just drug stores), but I got them to pay me 30 cents to buy organic tomato sauce. This is so fun.

So, for the statisticians out there, here's what I "saved." If I had waltzed in there another week when this stuff wasn't on sale and bought it without coupons (which I never would have done, but go with me here), I would have spent $35.18. As it is I spent $12.35. That's a savings of . . . 65%. Wahoo!

Thanks, Sarah at Fiddledeedee, for all the Publix info!

Taco Soup

2009-01-30T12:32:00.000-08:00

I'm in the process of concocting taco soup while I type. It's not hard. It's actually super, super easy. Easier than tacos themselves if such a thing were possible. Here's the scoop.

How I Do It:
1. Rinse around 1.5 to 2 cups of dried beans in a colander.
2. Dump the beans in the crock pot, salt them (like 1.5 tsp.), and cover them by an inch or so in water.
3. Cook them on low if you need them to take a while or high if you're in a hurry. It makes almost no difference.
4. Check periodically to make sure the water isn't all absorbed. If it is, add more.
5. Once the beans are done, add these things--
a. A pound of browned ground beef
b. A couple cans of diced tomatoes, undrained
c. A can of Rotel tomatoes or tomatoes with chilies, undrained (if I've got this)
d. 2 cans of undrained corn
e. A pack of taco seasoning
6. Stir it all together, and cook it for like 4 hours on high or all day on low. I mean, you guys know crock pots. No one sets a timer.
7. Serve with grated cheese on top and tortilla chips on the side. I personally use my spoon only for directing the soup to the chip.

"Suggestions" The Original Recipe Calls For That I Ignore:
1. They say to use 2 cans of kidney beans and 2 cans of pinto beans in lieu of cooking your own beans.
2. They say to add a pack of ranch dressing mix. I had bought a pack before I made this the first time, but once I started putting things together, I noticed the pack was open or something, so I did without, and we liked it. So I've decided not to mess with a good thing. I don't like ranch dressing anyway, so I'm just as happy.

There you have it.

Well, maybe he's not ready yet.

2009-01-28T06:48:00.000-08:00

I didn't marry my husband for his vast theological library. I really didn't. But I do love reading. I get really absorbed in whatever I'm reading. That statement is true almost without exception. I've been known to get fascinated with the back of a cereal box if it's got a catchy introduction. I plow through books, determined to get to the end, wrap it up in my mind, and move on to the next one.

Enter Baby. Enough said.

So, now I've got a new favorite thing. My MP3 player. I gave up trying to get a good picture of it, but you all know what one looks like. I load stuff on there, hook it up to these cheap speakers we bought at Ross, put the whole get-up on top of the fridge, and I've got a home audio system that fills the entire kitchen with the sound of educational literature . . . if the dishwasher isn't making too much noise.

I've listened to sermon series my pastor preached before I began attending. (His sermons are available here, by the way.) I've listened to some seminary courses available for free download at various evangelical schools. And I've gotten several things from librivox.org. What a great idea. Someday, when I'm not planning my day's activities around naps, I'm going to volunteer for this organization. These people volunteer to record public-domain books and upload them to this site. So people like me can pick what we'd like to "read" and hear it broadcast on our refrigerators.

It's a great set-up. I used to think it would somehow have an educational effect on my 17-month-old, but those delusions were shot down yesterday. I was multitasking in the kitchen--figuring out how to cut up a chicken while getting caught up on the Battle of Sedgemoor from The History of England from the Accession of James II. Wouldn't it be great, thought I, if British history becomes a passion for this little guy as a result of hearing this entire multi-volume work read by dedicated Libravox volunteers? Then reality struck, as I looked up to see whether he was taking notes, and discovered, to my dismay, the following sight.

Ah well. Maybe we'll try something more on his age level next. I wonder if Libravox does Dr. Seuss.

On Poverty

2009-01-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

Throughout history, let's face it, every period has had its "haves" and its "have nots." Sometimes some "haves" let the "have nots" have it. I'm not saying that being a "have" makes a person rude, cruel, arrogant, elitist, or whatever scathing epithets economic philosophers have hurled at them for generations. But if a rude, arrogant, cruel elitist happened to be a "have" in most historical epochs, woe be to the "have nots" under his control. Scorn and ridicule toward the "have nots" peppered the conversation of the "haves" if they discussed them at all.

Well, times have changed. They have improved for the most part. If you live in this country, you're a "have." No questions asked. But if you isolate the US, you'll find "haves" and "have nots" here to.

Where am I going with this? Here's my thesis: Frugal "have nots" must take care not to think and behave with the snobbishness so detested in the worst of the "haves."

Huh? Okay, here's the background. Yesterday, my husband comes home from his job holding a printout of his W-2. It's tax time, and it turns out that the government isn't going to keep any of the money they had withheld from his paycheck throughout the year. That must mean we fall below some line they've set.

I started thinking that this isn't exactly what I think of when I picture poverty. Granted, we don't have cable, but we've got high speed internet, 2 vehicles, a house, a kid, a stay-at-home mom, 7 bags of Hersheys Bliss in the cabinet, and a box of this expensive Barbour Foods frozen chicken Parmesan in the freezer.

How do I respond to this? I experienced a moment of gratitude for all the Lord has blessed us with. We don't feel impoverished by any means. And I realized that part of what He has used to make our income accomplish so much is the generosity of our wonderful family.

But then, I lapsed into snobbishness. I began thinking of the calls that are broadcast on the Dave Ramsey radio show. "Hi, I only make $4,000 a month, and my wife brings in like $2,500, and we'd love for her to stay home with the baby that's on the way, but I don't know if we can make it happen." I feel like calling myself and saying, "Let me introduce you to a coupon." But that's kind of sarcastic, isn't it?

I've spent some time on money-saving blogs, and one thing that kind of nebulously made me uncomfortable in the comments and occasionally the posts I finally put my finger on. The "have nots" can sometimes look with condescending haughtiness on the "haves" who don't carefully save and economize. "Look how much stuff I have on such a small income!" And the inference is, "What's your problem?"

The bottom line is we don't know other people's situations. We do better to thank God for His faithfulness in providing our needs. And should He choose to send prosperity above and beyond what we can use ourselves, let's look for ways to share with "have less-es" in our lives . . . or maybe even with "haves mores" who may just need some kindness rather than condescension.

Publix Keeps Me Coming Back for More. . . Cookies

2009-01-26T13:52:00.000-08:00

Deborah suggested I join the Publix cookie club. Well, I'm not technically in the club, I guess. That would be Paul. Believe me, he's the one who eats the cookies. But having him in the club makes Publix a happier place for me. If your little Cookie Monster is not in the club, initiation is easy. Just pull a hungry little kid up (in a vroom-vroom cart if you can find one) to the bakery and ask for a cookie card. They'll dole out a cookie and punch the card. Once the card is all punched, you can enter it in a drawing for a big cookie. So your little one munches while you shop. Or at least until you get out of the produce section.

After we picked up our, that is his, cookie, we found the following groceries:
3 toaster strudels
1 Coffee Mate creamer
a pack of .59 a pound chicken legs
2 cans of Rotel tomatoes
2 boxes of Keebler cookies or "Teetees! Teetees!" (this is where the cookie club loot came in especially handy)
and the penny item was a big roll of paper towels

All for the low, low price of $7.89.
Which, they tell me, is a savings of $17.15. That would mean that I "saved" 69% by getting sale stuff and using coupons. And if I had to recommend one thing, I would say to get the tomatoes. They work great for taco soup, and you make money if you use the coupon from the Advantage flier in conjuction with the .30/1 manufacturer coupon from last week's (I think) insert.

That's my super savings. I've never been so attached to a grocery store. I love this place.

Oh. You want to know how to make taco soup? Okay, we'll see what we can do. Stay tuned.

Routine Take 2

2009-01-26T05:26:00.000-08:00

Now, about the green marker. As you can see, "Write a blog post" has not been markered lately. But for those of you still hanging in, here's the promised Green Marker System detailed for your edification.

I have this small white board with magnets stuck to my fridge. On top of the fridge (among other things, ahee) is a green dry erase marker we got when Office either Depot or Max was offering a full rebate on a pack of dry erase markers. The others are still in a drawer. For some reason we started with green.

So anyhow, here's the innovative plan. I take a couple of minutes at the beginning of the day listing on the white board the stuff I want to do that day. The official rule is "You have to finish it that day if it's on the board." The real rule is "You may not erase it until it's done, even it takes all week to get to it." Either way, the stuff usually gets done, because who wants a green testimony to her procrastination staring her in the face every time she goes to get the milk?

That's what I do. And I find that just having a basic idea of where I'd like the house and life in general to be at the end of the day contributes significantly to accomplishing more and staying on task. And erasing stuff is way fun.

Routine

2009-01-16T05:05:00.000-08:00

Can't live with it; can't live without it. When I coast, I long for it; when I'm in a rut, I seek to cast it off. It's what we strive for until we actually attain it. How many more pithy cliches can I use?

I got to thinking about my routine when I read this post yesterday. [Side note] I know people don't mean it this way, but when someone says, "I'm a little unconventional," I hear, "I'm more innovative than you." So, I'm not going to say that. I'm going to say that no one will write a book about the way I structure my days. It's probably very conventional, actually. It's just that no one talks about it because it's not the way in which organized people recommend the rest of us live.

So, maybe you're the "Wash on Monday, Iron on Tuesday" type. I thought I was until I became a stay-at-homer. Then it's like, "But I washed last Monday. . . and Thursday and Saturday. There's not enough to wash today. But I never did iron on Tuesday. But the baby will pull the cord and kill himself by dragging a heavy piece of searing hot metal on his head. I have to wait until he's asleep. I've been here all day. Can't we get out of the house and take a walk or something? I feel like the little guy is all trapped. Besides, there's that stuff at CVS that would be free after extra bucks. My day would go so much smoother if I had a routine. But if I had a routine, stuff would be monotonous." I sound like Charlie Brown.

So, the best routine for me is more like this:
Get up
Have a time in the Word while drinking a hot beverage
Take a shower
Prepare breakfast/pack a lunch
Do anything that requires Paul be asleep
Get Paul up, changed, dressed
Feed him breakfast
Go from there

Now, it's the "go from there" that's flexible. That's where the green marker (free after rebate) comes in. But I've got to have material for later, so that's when we'll explain the green marker system of organization.

Stepping Heavenward

2009-01-15T07:17:00.000-08:00

I have just finished reading the biography of Elizabeth Prentiss, author of the hymn, "More Love to Thee." It is a well written book by Sharon James that gives an honest account of the life of this godly woman. It praises her duly while providing helpful analysis of her writings as well as some of her viewpoints.

Elizabeth Prentiss sought in her life to grow in her love for her Savior as her most famous hymn describes. A friend of hers wrote of her:

Believing in Christ was to her not so much a duty as the deepest joy of her life, heightening all other joys, and she was not satisfied until her friends shared with her in this experience. She believed it to be attainable by all, founded on a complete submitting of the human to the Divine will in all things, great and small (Elizabeth Prentiss, 'More Love to Thee', by Sharon James pp. 208-9).

I would definitely commend the biography to you, but if you are limited to one Prentiss book, I would suggest her own work, Stepping Heavenward. I have read this book three times through, and each time I found more to identify with. Though it is written and set in the 19th century, the emotions and reactions displayed and experienced by the heroine are so characteristic of the way women think, that I believe any Christian woman would benefit from the godly, practical wisdom in it.

If reading more good literature was a resolution for 2009, I would like to try to convince you to add Prentiss's Stepping Heavenward to your list.

Conserving the Necessary

2009-01-14T08:17:00.000-08:00

"Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching . . . has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her" Luke 10:39, 42.

One of the things we are eager to conserve is time. This was a topic for our retreat. But what do we do with all that time we save? What gets left out? Too often, we concluded, the one necessary thing is neglected. Sitting at Jesus's feet is either cut short, hurried through, or skipped altogether.

Why does this happen? We discussed a number of motivations that drive our decisions. Ultimately, people do what is important to them. Claiming to value doing something is empty unless the thing is done. These heart issues must be confronted and corrected if the one needful thing is to be done in our day.

Practically, though, why do we fail to spend time in communion with our God every day? A very simple, obvious, but talked-around reason is that we don't get up early enough in the morning to do all that must be done. No one at work will ask my husband, "So, did you pray this morning?" But if he's not wearing a tie or his hair isn't combed, people will know. There are days that, quite frankly, no one would know the difference if I stayed in my PJs until I went to bed again, but there are pressing things to be done, and I've got to make the most of this time of sleeping crib confinement.

So, readership. I'll let you in on our decision. We've decided to try out for membership in the 5:15 club. We made it up (Well, actually, we just renamed it; the idea is heavily plagiarized from this blog.), so you wouldn't think it would be hard to gain charter membership. Well, it is. You can't be a member unless you actually get up at 5:15. We're still auditioning.

The encouraging news is that 1) though it's a little sporadic, we've not slipped backward every day, 2) though we've not yet hit the 5:15 mark, we've been able to have a time in the Word and in prayer in the mornings (but we'd like to do some more other stuff too).

It seems like everyone agrees--the first few hours of the day are the most strategic. They contain the best time for personal devotion as well as some key crib time. By God's grace we plan to keep striving to reclaim some more early morning hours for profitable use.

My Morning Marathon

2009-01-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

All right, so it wasn't really that long of a thing, but I did go to four stores in a row. Okay, fine. I just wanted all the words to start with "m." Once I had "My Morning" up there, it would have been disappointing to say something like, "My Morning of Shopping at Four Stores."

But, you'd like me to get on with it?

First we went to Walgreens. All we did there was buy a paper. Perhaps I'll tell you about the paper delivery woes later if I think it's interesting enough. I'd hate to bore you. Paul was fine. He didn't even need a cart.
$0.88

Next we went to Publix. That was also fun since they had a "vroom, vroom" cart available. Those deals are here, and Publix is cool.
$5.67

Then we hit Aldi. All these places are like 3 feet from each other, by the way. (Okay. I hope you noticed the exaggeration. But they are really close together and close to my house. I could actually walk to all of them, but the frozen stuff would melt on the way home.) Aldi was still Aldi. Same guy who reminds me of this guy I know from California rang me up. He's my favorite cashier, I think, because, like James in California, he really knows his stuff. He exudes confidence in his realm--which in his case is groceries, inventory, and cash registers. Someone asks him a "backroom" question every single time I see him there, and he fires off the answer the way my mother-in-law would rattle off the Tarheels' starting line-up. Unlike James, he probably doesn't make like half a million dollars a year. I guess that's the difference in being an expert in groceries versus computer programming. But I really like the guy. I'd pick his line even if it's got the most people. At Aldi, it really doesn't matter how long the line is. By the time you get your stuff on the conveyor belt, you're racing to shove your cart next to the card keypad so the ringer-upper might be talked into putting the groceries in your cart instead of the one in front of you so you don't have to transfer your toddler in order to haul stuff to your car. But I digress. By the way, the other ringer-uppers are very nice too. I wouldn't want to give the wrong impression. I just feel like I know "James." But I still digress.
$18.55

Bi-Lo was the last stop. They advertised ground beef for $1.99 a pound. We haven't had ground beef in the house for weeks because I was waiting for a sale, so I decided I really owed it to my husband to make spaghetti this week. "I'll get one pound." I told myself. "I'm sure it will go on a better sale later." But after seeing that Publix and Aldi were both a whole dollar more, I started to look forward to getting "just one pound." Well, duh. They don't sell one pound of meat for $1.99. The one-pounds were $2.49. You had to get like five-ish all packaged together to get the $1.99 price. But I was well under what I was planning to spend for the week, and ground beef was all I had come to Bi-Lo for, so I got it. And boy was I glad. Paul had been good in all the stores, and when we checked out at this last one, the Bi-Lo lady gave him four stickers and a balloon. I was ever-so-grateful. Paul loves stickers and balloons.
Bi-Lo: $8.97
Paul's refusal to let go of the balloon string in the van: Priceless.

Grocery Total for the (hopefully) week (that is to say, not counting the newspaper, which was on the gift card anyway): $33.19

I'm nowhere near Keren's mad skills, but I'll content myself with the knowledge that I did not forget the coffee filters at Aldi.

Publix has outdone itself.

2009-01-12T13:25:00.000-08:00

So we all know I like Publix. I go on Mondays because I like surprises. I get it from my mom. So, I waited for Monday to get my Barber Foods chicken, 2 boxes of Special K, and 2 Pepperidge Farm Texas Toasts.

Now, to be fair, I never would have paid regular price for any of that. I would have probably suppressed a chuckle if I saw someone actually plunk down five bucks for one of those boxes of TWO tiny stuffed chicken breasts. But they are really good, and for $1.50, I'll spring. So, when I say I saved whatever, I didn't really. Okay? Let's just be honest. Take the cereal, for example. I didn't save $2.99. I would eat Cream of Wheat every day before I'd pay four bucks for a box of cereal. I saved like 89 cents. If Special K hadn't been a dollar a box at Publix, I would have gotten Happy Harvest or Special Sunshine or whatever Aldi calls their cereal. But savings are much higher if you take the receipt's word for it, so I'll tell you what it said.

Reguar Price for my stuff: $27.29
My Price for my stuff: $5.67
Savings! 79%

But when I say they outdid themselves, I mean this. I ask the clerk, "Do you have the penny item here, or should I go to customer service?" She's got it there. What does she grab? A box a hot chocolate packs. I think, "Oh cool. This is way better than Saltines. . ." But I don't get to finish my thought before she grabs another box of hot chocolate packs. Let me get this straight. I just lowered my bill by $6 in manufacturer coupons, and you are selling me hot chocolate for half a cent a box? You are so nice! Like I said, I love surprises. The penny deal will keep me coming.

That's my Publix super savings.

His Record for Mine

2009-01-12T05:31:00.000-08:00

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

We had our usual singing and prayer and giving. The first song was "No Other Plea" translated into Spanish. A re-translation is:
My faith rests in Jesus and in His redemption.
Believing only in Him, I have salvation.
I need not do any work, nor observe any rite.
It is enough for me that Jesus died--died in my place.

It may have been that song, but the Lord used something in that service to stir my husband's heart. Before the message, I was blessed by the testimony of our friend. He has left for his country by now--that was his last Sunday. He was baptized last night and left immediately after. This man heard last week of the death of his sister and his nephew. His mother is critically injured, and he must go to be with her. His first words of testimony were, "I want to thank the Lord for what is happening in my life."

Then the sermon. Jon approached the front with usual seriousness. Then he said, "I'm struggling in my heart. I have prepared a sermon, but the Lord has brought to my mind this verse, and I can't ignore the fact that God wants me to urge you to consider the seriousness of what we've been talking about this morning. Please turn to 2 Corinthians 5:21."

I began praying. It's an unusual thing (rightly so) for someone to do in his native language. But Jon had never before preached in Spanish without a manuscript. He was now about to preach without an outline. But I knew he knew and loved this verse well, and I had heard him eloquently urge Spanish-speakers to accept the Gospel. This verse is Gospel. Good news for any sinner. Still. I prayed, and I knew he was praying, and God answered.

Picture a record stained and dirty, full of infractions of God's law. That's all you've got to present to a righteous Judge. It will never work. Nothing that filthy will be accepted. God demands better than that. All right. How about a record that looks fine? A smudge here or there, but it is covered in good things too? What is that going to look like to God? Actually, it's not up for debate. The answer is "Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it" (James 2:10). The answer is, they look the same. You can't hold it up to God and say, "This is what I've got," and expect an entrance. It's got to be perfect.

So without Christ, we need to stop there. We really do. We need to stop there for a minute and think about the utter despair we should feel on our own.

Now the Scripture. There is Someone with a perfect record. But He was already in heaven. He didn't need an entrance. He never knew sin. But He left. And He lived. And He died. And He never knew sin. And for those moments on the cross when the Father abandoned Him, my record was right there. On Him. Being dealt the full weight of God's wrath. He never knew sin, but He was made to be sin right then. He was made to be my sin. He had my record right then. And He paid for it in full.

So what happens to me? I do know sin. I know it every day. Before Christ, it's all I knew. If you're still before Christ, it's all you know. Your record before Christ intervenes is unacceptable. But His is perfect. And I've got it.

And you can have it. God will make you "IN HIM the righteousness of God." In the sight of God, will you trade records with Christ?

Pausing to Savor What is Lasting

2009-01-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

On a blog dedicated to conserving what is valuable, I believe this post about a most precious resource is fitting. But first some background.

Last weekend we spent away, just the two of us, in Galax, VA. What is there to see in Galax? Well, with no offense at all intended to the Galaxians, I can confidently say that we didn't go there to see the Galaxical sights, and we were not disappointed. We got a book at a nice little shop on Main Street, and we enjoyed the local Applebee's, but, despite the fact that Galax can boast of being the "World Capital of Old Time Gospel Music," the town's major source of revenue is likely not tourism. . . unless we missed something. Which is possible, because we didn't venture out of our cabin much. The point of our getaway was not to drink in local flavor.

We mapped out our own version of a couple retreat. I've seen this kind of thing promoted some since we've come back, but until then I thought it was an original idea. We came up with our own program.

It was a very refreshing time to cherish what we love most on earth--God's Word and each other. We blocked out an hour at a time to talk through our goals for this year and assess our past progress in several areas of life. We even had a session on finances and were amazed really at the way the Lord has provided for us. It was amusing (and encouraging) to see how drastically our grocery bills had been reduced since I started looking at "my blogs." But most of all, we were eager to begin 2009 as more aggressive givers after seeing the abundance with which the Lord has blessed us.

As fun as the financial session was--that one was my job, and I indulged myself by providing a brief PowerPoint show replete with charts and pictures--we both greatly needed and greatly benefited from the times of intense spiritual discussion. "Let's do this for a while every week," was a unanimous decision. While for most of life it is profitable to savor fleeting moments and make the most of conserving the valuable "as you go," it is also profitable, at times, to devote yourself to intentionally savoring what will last forever.

*Special thanks to my in-laws. This whole thing really must be attributed to their consistent and urgent injunctions dating all the way back to before Paul had stopped nursing to "Go someplace and let us keep Paul." But seriously, Paul had a great time drinking all his milk with chocolate and being dragged around in his new waggon every time he so much as looked its direction. Thanks, guys! We couldn't have done it without you.

What $1.16 Buys

2009-01-07T11:51:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon. My New Year's Resolution was not to post more often on this blog, but maybe my resolve in other areas will spill over and you'll hear from me a little more.

But no use dwelling on the past. I got:

a box of tissues
a bottle of dish soap
a bottle of shampoo
and a pint of Ben and Jerry's

for $1.16.

I even got confused at the register, so I'm not sure I could explain it. But the ice cream was free. I wish you could have seen my husband's face when I said, "Would you rather have cookies or ice cream for dessert?" at lunch today. (Now this was in code--a mixture of Spanglish and spelling--since the 17-month-old wasn't granted suffrage on Wednesday's dessert vote. Soon the Spanglish will be useless, but we'll talk about that later.)

So anyway, then he said, "What kind of ice cream?"
"Ben and Jerry's peanut butter cup," I replied to the king of all peanut butter lovers.

That's when I wish you could have seen his face.

So, I'll tell you what coupons I used, but there was too much ringing and re-ringing for me to be sure what was going on. But it was $1.16, and that was about what I expected, so hey.

Okay, $3 Ben and Jerry's coupon (I'm sure you've seen this one floating around. I'd link to it, but I've heard it's gone. I'm learning to be selective in my coupon printing as well as learning to jump on the one's I want. I didn't realize at first that the printables run out.)
$1 Garnier coupon
$2 Garnier ESQ
2 in-ad Qs for Puff and Palmolive.

Happy day.

I'm Afraid Even Walgreens Disappoints

2008-12-22T12:39:00.000-08:00

So, I found online all these claims that WGs would give me 3 8x10 photos. Sweet. I ordered three cute ones we had in our computer, but upon arriving, they informed me that only one would be free. I knew they'd probably run the deal again, so I turned down the offer to take home the other 2 for just $2.50 each. If reading the fine print would have helped, I'd be advising myself to do that next time. Oh well. No way will I bad-mouth them for only one free picture though. ;-)

Alas, I arrived this morning an hour and three minutes after they opened and was too late to pick up a free hairdryer. Oh well. I have two already. I was going to use this one as a gift . . . sometime.

There's always next week, eh? The fun continues. . .

CVS Super Sales

2008-12-22T12:34:00.000-08:00

I wasn't at the store at midnight. I might have considered it if I had really thought about it, but I didn't really know until yesterday, and I wasn't going to go then. So I ended up with Halls cough drops, Crest toothpaste, and Listerine. All for $0.38. Not complaining, not complaining. How'd you do?

Part 2-And Then the Sun Arose

2008-12-16T13:37:00.001-08:00

It wasn't there! I had risked the ire of the cashier only to have another transaction fall flat? It was then that I fell apart. (By the way, if you're lost, see Part 1-"It was a dark and rainy night. . .") "Why do I even bother to do this! It never turns out how I plan."

My astonished husband assured me everything would be fine.

Fine! How could anything possibly be fine when we were sitting in a car full of 7 bags of $3 candy we'd never tried, that we didn't need, and we never would have given a passing glance to if they weren't going to be FREE? And no Extra Care Bucks to show for them. And my coupons were gone. The realization of what had gone wrong slowly rattled into clarity in my befuzzled brain. Not only were the Clusters not part of the deal--of course, it all makes sense now! Neither were the Reeses Pieces.

And here is where the Extra Care Plan really shines. The card. I didn't have to use the same receipt or buy all the candy at once. I have a card. (At least I used to have a card. But Jon still had a copy of the card, and he would give me his if we never found my keys. Which we did. But that's another, much shorter, story.) And by means of this card, any cash register in any CVS in the country remembers me, knows my name, and retains a record of my purchases.
In short, we could go home. I'd fix the whole mess later.

I was still somewhat irked that we had just paid full price ($3.99) for a bag of Reese Pieces that clearly stated they were 2/$4. I'm sure they were labeled that way. I just know they were. But that doesn't matter any more.

I returned Friday to my CVS. The one with the really, really nice clerks. I was prepared to do something only people like you, my readers, will understand. I was going to attempt to return a $4 bag of candy so I could buy $2 worth of candy so I could get $10 back.
To bring my story to a happy conclusion, it not only worked like a charm, it restored my confidence in the general helpful, cheerful character of CVS employees. I had two of the very nicest to assist me in my little adventure that day. And it will be to the Taylors CVS that I take as much of my future CVS buisness as I can.

It was a dark and rainy night. . .

2008-12-12T12:21:00.000-08:00

So. It never goes quite as planned, does it? At least I don't think it does. But, though I really thought all was lost at one point, it turned out just fine in the end. Dramatic? Yeah, well, you should have been there. My husband should have been ruing the day I ever heard of the Extra Care Program. But he was really nice. And, as fairness demands me to add, he was right; and I was wrong. But it sure looked bleak.

Here's what happened. We had to go after church on Wednesday, since we were getting this little gift for Thursday (which incidentally we forgot on Thursday, so the recipient never would have known the difference, but that's neither here nor there), and it was raining, and it was late. So we had to go to the CVS which is opened 24 hours, not the one right on the way. I had my list planned. I even dropped a hint that Jon stay in the car with the baby so we didn't have to haul him in and out of the car seat. Once again, he was right, and. . . you get the idea. I rarely just "run in" to a CVS; something always throws off my plan or looks different from the ad or something. This night was no exception.
So I got the candy. Jon kept saying, "One more time, how will this be free?" I got 5 bags of Bliss, 1 bag of Reeses Clusters (because the coupon showed Reeses Clusters; my fatal mistake was assuming the ad also did), and a bag of Reeses Pieces that I still would declare to you were marked 2/$4. Perfect. $20 exactly. Doesn't usually work that way on "Spend $xx, get $y Extra Bucks" deals.
Now to find the contact solution and Powerade so my total will be over $15. (Insert disappointed cartoon music here, you know "Wamp, wamp, wamp, waaaaamp.") No contact solution. A nine-dollar monkey wrench at 9:30 at night with a restless one-year-old and an admittedly understanding husband who is not quite in the same Extra Care zone can cause things to fly apart. But it didn't. After locating the Powerade, I was about to say, "Forget it. I'll spend my $15 later," when Jon says from behind the ad of all places, "Hey, you could get handsoap here. You get $3 back. Well, we needed handsoap, and I knew for a fact I did not have SoftSoap coupons at home to mock me when I returned after having not had them with me, so I jumped.
We checked out. The cashier insisted that I hand her my Extra Bucks along with my coupons. I was momentarily nervous about whether that would throw off my beautiful $4/$20, but it didn't. The total was $5.36 even after the $15 ECB--well over what I expected it to be. That should have impelled me to stay right by the register until I had figured out exactly what happened. But I knew I was getting lots of Extra Bucks back so I allowed two things to lull me into complacency: 1) The receipt was a mile long; I knew the Hershey deal must have been successful, 2) The cashier was not at her perkiest at 9:30, and appeared to wish me and my coupon-using self anywhere but in front of her register. I was intimidated, and I thanked her most politely for her help (she hadn't seen anything yet, I'm afraid) and ducked through the rain to my car.
Whereupon I devoured my receipt as I always do to figure out just how I'd faired. (Cheesey dramatic music "Dun, dun, Duuuuuuuuuun") We got the soap, we got the Powerade. . .no $10 for the Hershey.
"We've got to go back!"
"No way."
"No, no. We never would have bought all that candy if it wasn't super cheap! Oh no, and the lady doesn't want to see me again!"
As the car is U-turning on 291, "Want me to do it? I don't know what I'm doing."
Slight pause. It's tempting, but he's right. "No. I'll go in," I said flatly, wishing I'd never heard the word "deal."
Sheepishly I approach the counter. "Umm, I must have misread the sign. These Clusters were right next to the other candy. . . but can I exchange them for the other kind that qualifies for the Extra Bucks?"
"Only the ones marked go with the deal."
Knowing it would be impolite to point out that I had as good as just said that very thing to her, I said an innocuous, "Yeah. Would it be all right if I return these and get the other kind?"
"Yeah. I can do a refund and then you can buy the other kind. Only the ones that say they go with the deal really work."
By this time, I was beginning to feel that perhaps this would be a good time to play dumb. I had a suspicion I was as familiar with the oft-referred to "deal" as she, but prudence seemed to support a meek, "Yeah." Because, you see, I failed to mention earlier that we were nearly late to church on account of a desperate search for my key ring. So I didn't even have my card. I had used the bigger one that Jon carries, but he now had that in the car with Paul.
"I, umm, left my card in the car. . ."
I was not rewarded with the customary "No problem; how about a phone number!" I am used to hearing from CVS cashiers. Rather I got a dubious, "We can try a phone number."
Endeavoring not to feel that I was suspected of putting one over on her, I responded with my husbands cell-phone number (our main contact).
Tappity, tappity. "Nope."
"Oh." (She'll never take back the Clusters.) "Okay, how about [my cell phone number]?"
It worked. I felt like a "not guilty" verdict had been handed down. She gave me the money for the Clusters in cash, rang up the Bliss, received three of the dollars she had just handed me, printed out another mondo receipt, and bid me a fond farewell.
Back in the car, I triumphantly pulled out the new receipt and searched for the $10 Hershey Extra Bucks. . .

That's enough for one post, I think. I'll be back later with . . . the rest of the story.

CVS Battle Plan 12.10.08

2008-12-10T12:51:00.000-08:00

I don't usually spend too much time posting about CVS here because my mom doesn't have any she can go to. So I just make my little lists and head there when they've got smashing deals. They haven't passed up WGs in my opinion, but I would be remiss not to check them out every week. I've got a $15 ECB that's kind of hard to spend and still get a good return, but I think I can do it this week. Here's what I'm hoping to buy:

$18 6 bags of Hershey Bliss candy
$2 4 other Hershey candies that are 2/$1
$8.99 Complete contact solution (I don't wear contacts, but my sisters do)
$1.59 PowerAde
_____________________________
$30.58

Minus
$4/$20 CVS coupon that was e-mailed to me
3 $2.50/2 Hershey Bliss coupons
$2 Complete IPQ here
_______________________
$13.50

So I get to use my $15 ECB since the total will be $17.08 (plus tax).
Then my friend the register will spit out $20.58 in ECBs. I love it when I come out on top! And imagine all that candy around here!!

Walgreens Battle Plan 12.10.08

2008-12-10T12:21:00.000-08:00

It's shaping up to be a good one. Right when I needed laundry detergent too. I had to ask my college student sisters to bring their own last time. Only they don't have their own. Go figure. But we had enough for last week, but it'd be pushing it for this week. So, you'll rejoice with me that I'm picking up:

4 Arm and Hammer laundry detergents for 5.96 (details here). I didn't bother to go to another computer to get 2 more printables, so I'm settling for getting my soap for $.96 rather than getting paid $1.04 to buy it. I know. . . I'm a pushover.

So that'll be the first Walgreens. Did I mention I get $5 in Register Rewards from that soap deal. Okay, so I had the hardest time coming up with enough stuff to cost $5, but by throwing in a treat or two and a necessity I have no coupons for, I came up with:

$2.99 2 Nestle ice creams
$4.99 2 Maybelline lip sticks
$2.50 Sure deodorant
$2 Scotch tape
$2.50 chicken wings
$.99 (hopefully) Walgreens brand hand soap--we're fresh out
$.99 Reynolds wrap (after in-ad coupon; don't know the price before)
_______________________________
$16.96 (before tax)

Minus
2 $4 Maybelline lip make-up coupons (12/7 insert)
$1 Sure coupon here
$1 Reynolds foil coupon (11/16 insert)
$1.50 Sure ESQ
_______________________________
$11.50

For a grand total on the register of $5.46 (plus applicable taxes). Which I will spend my Register Rewards to obtain, leaving my gift card $.46 (plus tax) lighter. Okay, and on the tax thing, I know how to calculate sales tax, but in my state, they don't charge sales tax for food, and I'm really not sure if that includes ice cream, and besides that leaves me with all kinds of nonterminating decimals or whatever, so just mentally tack on around 6% of my original $16.96 to the final $.46 total, kay?

So for the whole day, folks, I'm planning to plunk down $6.42 plus tax for the above products. Except that on account of the tape I can expect another $2.20 to find its way to my gift card when all is said and done. So let's call it $4.22 (plus tax, which is roughly $.84) for just. . .yeah, boatloads of merchandise. What a blessing! And right when I needed laundry detergent. . .

My Glorious Dress

2008-12-08T08:08:00.000-08:00

Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
’Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.

Bold shall I stand in Thy great day;
For who aught to my charge shall lay?
Fully absolved through these I am
From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.

-Nikolaus von Zinzendorf

Last night's sermon focused my attention on the righteousness of Christ. His impeccable life has been attested to by impartial observers like Pilot and enemies like the Pharisees, Judas, and the unsuccessful false witnesses drummed up to testify against Jesus. Even the great infidel Thomas Payne admits that Christ's morality is above reproach. Actually, have you ever heard anyone claim that Jesus was a bad man?

Christ's apostles testify again and again of His perfection. Though they are quite candid about detailing their own failings and sinfulness as well as that of their fellow workers in some cases, no one has one negative incident in Christ's life to relate. After three years of close scrutiny, not one time does a Gospel writer report anything Jesus did requiring Him to ask anyone's pardon.

By far, however, the most convincing testimony for those of us who plan to be arrayed in Jesus's righteousness in the midst of flaming worlds is that of the Father Himself. "This is my Beloved Son with whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17).

Do you have this irreproachable righteousness as your glorious dress?

Back from vacation

2008-12-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

Howdy. Vacation was great, if not exactly as expected. Ever had to quietly slip off the stage of a wedding due to sudden illness? Oh. Well, I have. Thankfully another bridesmaid thought to follow me down before I made off with the groom's ring.

Anyway. California is still itself and still home to some great people. (One fewer now that the wedding is over and she moved out this way, but who's counting?) So, the only problem was being there on November 28 with way too much to do to consider ducking into a drugstore for merchandise that was being handed out for the taking. And there aren't any CVSes for miles and miles. But I'm over it. I've got a stack of coupons to cut, enter, and file, and a whole week to enjoy drugstores to my heart's content.

And now, I have even more reason to be stockpiling toiletries, but more about that later.

Week Off

2008-11-25T12:36:00.001-08:00

I know, if you're here, you're thinking, "You just took more than a week off. What gives?" Well, frankly, there hasn't been much I've been compelled to blog. I used to try to come up with a post a day, and that was fun. And challenging. But I've fallen down on the job lately, and I'm okay with that. But I do intend to keep up blogging intermittently for a while here. Although, there are some life changes ahead that will significantly alter the blog's contents. But hopefully resource conservation will continue to be a goal of mine.

But by "week off" I mean a week off of Walgreens. And CVS, and any other coupon/deal/stock-up that might be available. I'm leaving town tomorrow, and I'll be way too busy the rest of this week packing, flying, rehearsing, and Maid-of-Honoring to think about CVS. If there were any where I'm going--which there aren't. There are Walgreenses, but who wants to lug free household goods across the country in limited luggage space? Oh wait. That's what I'm doing with the stuff I picked up for my mom out here. Well, anyway. I'm planning to skip it next week at any rate. I'm even leaving my coupon binder at my house.

And here's a funny thing I've noticed about myself. Having a bunch of coupons totally changes the way I shop, even when they're not with me. We were in Target Friday night, and I'm like, "Under no circumstances will I purchase anything. I don't have my coupons." (But then we did get a good deal on Starbucks coffee, but I know I don't have Starbucks coupons. I'd remember that.)

I think it will be like that next week. "Oh. What a great price on shampoo. It'd be free if I had. . ." Oh well. There's always the week after, right?

And, this other bit of miscellany for Deborah's benefit: I used every cent of my gift card this month. All $108.76 from September and October was consumed on various necessaries (mostly cheese, I think). But the good news is, I spent only $1.04 out of pocket on . . . uhh, cheese on Saturday, and I shouldn't have to shop at Walgreens until I get my November reload. I'll have to be careful in December. I haven't even checked out those deals yet.

Okay, hopefully that gets us all caught up. I'll see you all next month!

Clean Day

2008-11-13T07:59:00.000-08:00

We're not overly ambitious on Clean Day. As you can see, we had some challenges to begin with.

(By the way, this is the "Making your Home a Haven Challenge" for those of you just tuning in.) I called it "Vacuum and Mop Day" thinking that would make my 15-month-old more into it. Since mopping is his favorite pastime. No seriously. It really is. See?

So anyway, it was a grouch morning for him, despite all the mopping and vacuuming and playing of Baby Einstein peppy music and my serenading him with today's variation on the well-known Hoops and Yoyo anthem "Happy Sunny Day."

Though not what I would describe as dripping profundity, the song has the advantage of being an easy text to memorize, and it is adaptable to any weather I've tried it out on. For example. Today is one of those gloriously rainy, cool-leafy-colored fall days that invites one to enjoy home and family. So the song goes:
"It's a happy rainy day, happy rainy day, happy rainy day (ad infinitum)
And we're playing the accordion!"
Again the subtle brilliance of the song is that one need not actually be playing the accordion to enjoy the happiness of the rainy . . . or sunny, or cloudy, or windy, or whatever day one is currently experiencing. Incidentally, if one has never seen the e-card, one is quite mystified, I have no doubt.

But I digress. So it's only (much needed) morning nap time, and we've already done three-fifths of the list items. The other ones I must needs begin anon as Paul is unable to assist in coupon filing or list/menu making. Hmm. There's bound to be something else to clean. . .

Home a Haven

2008-11-12T09:46:00.001-08:00

Here's a time- and sanity-conserving week of workouts I decided to participate in. (I'm a couple of days behind, and I probably won't have many pictures, but you can look at other people's.)

The "Making your Home a Haven" challenge is going on at The Homespun Heart. This blogger makes me feel like a neanderthal house-keeper (in a very gentle, loving way). To call her Martha Stewart appears to be something of an insult. But we'll never grow if we don't challenge ourselves, so I've subscribed to her feed to see if I can learn something. (Currently, I have curtains on exactly one window in my home; Monica makes her own decorations for the music stand of her piano.)

This particular challenge caught my attention, and I decided to join in. Today for me was "Tidy Day." With a little help from Paul, I bulldozed through my list by lunch-time. Well, I have one computer thing left to do and the laundry to fold, but after that I have the afternoon to add to the Tidy List and maybe start on the Clean List. But I'd also like to take a walk with Paul. We'll see how things go.

So, I'd encourage you to hop over to Monica's blog, and see how her week of Home-Haven making is going. I love haven-like homes, and I know it's worth the effort!

Walgreens Debriefing 11.7.08

2008-11-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

I hadn't darkened the door of a Walgreens in several days, but I landed some deals tonight. I present them below:

2 Almay mascaras (and I urge my readers who have not yet purchased their free mascaras to do so this week as they are on sale B1G1 free)
2 Wrigley gums
2 Celestial Seasonings Sleepy Time teas
2 packages of Schick Quattro razors (my college-student sisters will flip)
Total: $39.63 (w/tax)
And whoops. I just realized that one of the razor packs was not on sale, so I paid like $2.30 more than I wanted to. My bad.

Minus:
2 $1/1 Almay coupons
1 B1G1 Wrigley MQ
1 B1G1 Wrigley Walgreens Q
1 $1/1 Celestial Seasonings MQ
1 $1/2 Celestial Seasonings ESQ
1 Schick B1G1 MQ
1 Schick $2/1 MQ
1 Schick $3/1 ESQ

Final Total: $7.56

And the rebate on the mascara after the bonus is $7.69.

Thirteen cents profit!

From a Cow Pasture

2008-11-05T10:13:00.001-08:00

"Well," I started. The thought had brought me comfort all morning, but how does it sound in response to a request for cheering up? "Well, you know Nero once ruled a country."

Happy thought indeed. So did Hitler. So did Ronald Reagan, and Bloody Mary, and Queen Elizabeth, and Louis XIV, and Solomon, and Sennacherib. How did they get there? Ask another monarch named Nebuchadnezzar. He knows.

As this ancient monarch was thinking he had attained to his greatness because of might, brilliance, and strength, the Most High decreed for him a change. One with little hope. Seven years in a field with grass for his meals, dew for his bedding, and cattle for his companions were appointed for him. And all this by his own insane choice. The king would lose his reason.

And so it happened just as the Most High declared. And then comes what I consider the most amazing event in the account. Nebuchadnezzar regained his mental capacities and returned to his palace where he was greeted as the king, restored to his throne, and consulted for advice. Imagine being a dignitary in the Babylonian royal court. Day after day you approach the palace and see the deranged former king arrayed in a cloak of shimmering vegetation with his regal hair resembling eagles' feathers. With a sigh you pass by and think of the glory he once had as you wonder what could have overcome him, and you shudder with a vague fear that perhaps you too could be so afflicted. But gradually the sight loses its horror as you grow accustomed to the king-turned-beast and proceed with matters of state.

Then one day, unaccountably, there is no beast-man crawling around the pasture with the contented cattle. As you shrug and turn to enter the palace, you are greeted by a larger-than-normal crowd of courtiers and attendants paying no attention whatsoever to you. For they are showering their king with words of welcome and expressions of delight at his return. Your own heart swells in gratitude as you think of the many pressing questions which his majesty is now fit to resolve. Great is Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon!

So what was his experience all about anyway? How would he respond to the election of one whose patriotism, experience, compassion, and wisdom have been demonstrably questionable at best? I think Nebuchadnezzar would have us pause before crediting a fawning media or an uninformed, change-thirsty populace. You see, he learned the hard way that "the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men." Nebuchadnezzar would say now as he said then:

His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, "What have you done?"

And I suppose the king of Babylon would have us follow his example even now and "praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; andthose who walk in pride he is able to humble."

(Account and quotations taken from Daniel 4.)

Walgreens October Summary

2008-10-25T13:59:00.000-07:00

According to my calculations, I have paid Walgreens a whopping $58.29 this month. All but $1.76 was on my gift card and Register Rewards. Walgreens should be adding $39.02 to my gift card next month.

Must have been all the cheap cheese and coffee creamer. I'll try to do better next month. :-)

Walgreens Debriefing 10.25.08

2008-10-25T13:39:00.000-07:00

Well, it did not turn out quite like I was hoping. I went to three Walgreenses, and none had the Pert Plus. So, since Paul was protesting every time I buckled him in the car seat, after getting him out, locking the car, going into the store, making a bee line for the shampoo aisle, sighing, heading back out of the store, unlocking the car, and strapping him in TWICE, I relented and just got other stuff. Besides, I didn't know where any more Walgreenses were beyond that one. Additionally, the Benefiber deal either was over my head, or it wasn't a great deal after all. The $7.99 stick packs (that I had a $5 coupon for) didn't qualify for the Register Rewards. Beyond that, I couldn't make head or tail of what was part of the deal and the what the coupons would cover, and after $7.99 each, it ceased to be a money-maker, so I skipped that too, which put me totally off kilter when it came to getting $20 worth of stuff. This is what I came up with on the spot:

2 pistachios $5
4 M&M bags $10
Rimmel foundation $7.49
And, okay. I wasn't going to buy this. I'll never use it. I mean I'll never use it. Ever. Not only will I not use it, my husband will not ever let me use it. Not only will I not use this product that I would not be allowed to use but wouldn't use anyway, I don't know a (pardon the redundancy) single solitary individual among all my acquaintance who would ever use this. But they pushed me to it. They did not have in stock what I was going to buy. I had to do it to get up to $20 and still make money. So I rolled my eyes and bought the:
6-Hour Energy Burst shot thingie $3.99 (If you want it, leave a comment, and we'll talk.)

I presented them with the following coupons:
4 $1/2 M&Ms (2 MQs and 2 ESQs)
$1 Rimmel
$5/$20 e-mail coupon

So I paid $16.87.

This month I'll get back $12.63. Next month, I can expect $5.50.

That's $18.13. So I wound up making a bit today, $1.26 to be exact. And just maybe I'll meet someone without a lot of energy who will be thrilled to have the 6-hour deal.

Walgreens Battle Plan B 10.24.08

2008-10-24T12:33:00.001-07:00

The last Battle Plan should still work. I'm just not doing it. I did get a coupon, and I didn't realize that it's Double Dipping Days already. I guess I should pay better attention. So here's what I really plan to do:

Pert Plus 3.49
3 Benefiber 23.97
Rimmel 7.49
2 Pistachios 5.00 (because, I think I've mentioned, I love these)
4 bags peanut butter M&M's 10.00 (see above)
Total $52.95 w/ tax

Total Qs ($30.50)
$2 Pert MQ
3 $2 Benefiber MQ
$1 Rimmel MQ
2 $1/2 M&M MQ
$2.50 Pert ESQ
3 $5 Benefiber ESQ
2 $1/2 M&M ESQ
After Coupons: $22.45
$5/$20 WQ
Total if all goes as planned: $17.45

$8 RR
$8.23 October ESR
$5.50 November ESR

Final Total: $4.28 profit.

Wahoo!

[To find out how it all turned out, see the debriefing here.]

Walgreens Battle Plan 10.22.08

2008-10-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, I took a week off last week because there wasn't anything that warranted a trip. I couldn't come up with enough to justify using the $5/$25 coupon I was e-mailed. But I'm planning to go this week, and it's shaping up to be exciting. I'll wait until the weekend in case they send out another $/$$ coupon. I may still have a hard time coming up with a post-coupon total of $20 or whatever, but we'll see what the e-mail box holds and go from there. But even without one, my plan is simple and oh so satisfying. (By the way, my mother-in-law is into Benefiber. I don't think she's tried the flavored variety, but what better time to try something new, right?)

$3.49 Pert Plus
$23.97 (3) Benefiber
$7.49 Rimmel

Minus. . .
$2 Pert MQ
$2 Benefiber MQ
$1 Rimmel MQ
$2.50 Pert ESQ
3 $5 Benfiber ESQ
___________________________________
Equals $10.55 (w/ tax)

Then they give me $8, then I send off for another $8.23 or so for a grand total of . . .

$5.68 profit.

Tah dah!

Isaiah 24

2008-10-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

This chapter starts what is known as the "little Apocalypse" in the Bible. The following chapters unveil some of God's plan for the entire world. It is little in comparison to the larger Apocalypse of the book of Revelation which ends the Bible. "Apocalypse," I learned last night, means "unveiling."

Chapter 24 describes destruction. "The LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants." There will be a great leveling of the distinctions among people that we find so hard to ignore now. As the rich and poor, influential and insignificant, captain and crewman alike sank beneath the waters of the Atlantic the night the Titanic went down--so the entire population of earth will experience the same fate when God deals with His earth as He has every right to do. The chapter uses words like "mourns," "withers," "languish," "suffer," "scorch," and "desolation."

Why?

they have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.

What? What laws? What statutes? What commandments?

Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). This is a law.

A man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). A binding statute. Any variation is a violation.

The covenant? Pastor noted that the most likely is this one:
God's side: I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth (Genesis 9:11).
Man's side: Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man (Genesis 9:6).
God has and will keep His side of the covenant. Man has utterly failed to keep his.

Guilty on all counts.

The coming devastation is just. The God Who executes the judgment is glorified in His justice. Glorified! Given honor and praise. And worship. Reverent, intense, genuine worship. It is written.

They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
over the majesty of the LORD they shout from the west.
Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD;
in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
of glory to the Righteous One.

Let me plead with you. Be among those who give praise. "Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath maysoon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!" (Psalm 2:12).

[Unless otherwise noted, all references are from Isaiah 24, English Standard Version.]

Sisters

2008-10-17T06:38:00.000-07:00

I have lots of sisters. Two of them go to college in my town. I love having them here. They love having me here. They, I have no doubt, also love the fact that they can pick up free. . .whatever they need from my hall closet. Though sometimes they betray their amusement at the whole scheme. Apparently it's a sister thing.

I recently found out about my friend's blog, Saving in Greenville. Since she doesn't give her name on the blog, I'll make one up for her. How about . . . Cordelia. Cordelia is a perfectly elegant name. Anyway, my sister Laura is friends with Cordelia's sister Mary Beth, and Laura was telling us about her conversation with Mary Beth the other day:

L: My sister has gotten into shopping at--
MB: Drug stores, right? Mine too!
L: She has like this stash of shampoo and--
MB: Yeah, and tons of toiletries. Cordelia had this huge supply, and then last year, she decided to have a yard sale, and you know what she did? She SOLD it all! I was like, "Why did you do that! That was my stash of toiletries!"
L: Yeah, my sister started this blog.
MB: MINE TOO!

Maybe they could start a support group. "Sisters of Drugstore Junkies United" or something. Oh well. She really appreciates it deep down, I'm sure. ;-)

Ezekiel 16

2008-10-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

I read a story yesterday—a story sad, wonderful, and all too true.

There was a man walking in a field alone when he heard a pitiful sound. It was the sound of newborn baby. The man stopped and stared. This child, a girl, had been born moments ago it appeared. But no one was around. The child had been delivered and cast, unwanted, into a vacant field to die in her blood. The man decided to give the child life. He took the girl away from the field and saw to it that she was able to live.

Many years later, the man encountered this girl, now a woman, again. She had grown up, but her appearance remained undesirable. She lived in poverty with no hope of advancement in life. But the man had other plans for this woman. Though she had nothing to commend herself, he took her as his wife and clothed her in the finest of apparel and gave her many jewels and ornaments of love. Silver and gold, rubies and diamonds adorned the once neglected and bloody body. You see, this man was the king. He had unlimited resources at his disposal for honoring his beloved. And she was honored above all other women in the kingdom. Clothed in the finery of royalty, she possessed a beauty unrivaled by any. She began to notice the admiring looks of many others besides her king.

How wonderful to be sought after! She began at first to try to attract the attention of passing men. When she met with success in this venture, she was spurred on to greater and greater improprieties, until, at last, she was not content to live in the palace with her husband and king. She preferred the company of the worthless and vile. She drank in their adoration and bawdy professions of infatuation. She disregarded the king’s attempts to draw her back to her home.

Messengers were dispatched from the palace. “My lady, our gracious and kind king requests that you reject the lovers whom you are now pursuing. Return to your husband and he will receive you again.”

But the messengers returned to the king bewildered. “My lord, she will not come. She loves her liaisons too much to return to your care. My lord. I shrink from describing to you her debauched condition. She plays the harlot with anyone who will have her. Nothing is too low for her to engage in. My lord, it is not as though she has need of provisions and thereby must sell herself. You have promised to provide all she needs and more. And she takes no money. No, my king. She—my lord, how shall I tell you? She takes nothing from them but rather bribes her lovers to come to her. It is your silver and your gold she gives away in this fashion. Your majesty, will, I suppose, reject her from being queen. She will, no doubt be destroyed as many others who have not done as much.”

The covenant stood. The king had made her a promise. Go again. Warn her of the end of her ways!

“My lady?”
“What do you want?”
“My lady, you are transgressing against your king. Shall he not destroy you?”
“The king has said nothing.”
“Nothing, my lady? He sends again and again to urge you to return, to warn you of your impending destruction! Has he not cut off many others whose wickedness did not exceed your own?”
And with a toss of her head and short laugh, the queen dismissed the warning, “I am the chosen of the king. He could not destroy me. He will not. I will go on just as I am. If he wishes me to stop, he must stop me.”

Time passed. Messengers spoke again and again to the queen. They returned every time with heavy hearts to report still more atrocities.
“My lord? The queen—I cannot continue.” His voice broke into sobs.
Another spoke up, “She bore you a son, your majesty. The child was rightfully yours.”
“Yes, was!” began a third, more vehemently than the other two. “The wicked woman you loved and honored so has slain your child. With her own hands she has sacrificed him to her gods.”
“At the urging of her lovers,” was the heartbroken conclusion.

The messengers knew the end of the queen. Her ways would lead her to a pit out of which she could never climb until she reached the very lowest point. The king had no choice but to allow the lovers, who all along had wanted nothing but her riches, to ravage her until she was bereft of every joy she had ever known. Every joy but one. The love of her husband, her king, remained unchanged through all her treachery. And some day, the king knew, after her unfaithfulness had been completed, she would return. And to the awe of the messengers and the servants, he would forgive her. He would restore her to more prominence than she had before. And all the world would worship and adore a King so loving, so faithful to His promises.

The King is Yahweh. He chose for Himself a nation. The nation behaved like the queen. And Yahweh will restore her; He will make her beautiful and splendid once again. But in that day, she will not turn to others. She will have a new heart and an unfailing loyalty to her Beloved.

And here the story cannot, nor can any one story, contain the whole of the truth of the situation. Because the King is infinite. And His plan extends beyond an unfaithful ethic group. He deserves to be worshiped by all peoples of every language. He has determined to bring poor, vile sinners of every kind into His great banquet hall. And the story of the queen is held up to those people groups as a gleaming example of the richness of the faithfulness of the covenant of a God who will forgive the worst of treacheries and will pardon all iniquity and sin for any who come to take shelter in His abundant righteousness.

A Bandit

2008-10-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

My mom has an expression to describe my experience Tuesday. Ever heard it said that someone "made out like a bandit"? While, in this day of politically correct hypersensitivity, I should probably shrink from using such a phrase in print lest I either a) offend someone who has a bandit in his/her immediate circle of relations, b) can trace her/his lineage back far enough to conger up a bandit of a most notorious kind, c) would him/her-self shrink from using the term "bandit" in a derogatory manner lest we influence school children to discriminate against bandits in their future hiring practices, I use it out of the strong persuasion that it is the only phrase that does justice to the accomplishments of two days ago.

Now that I have offended the sensibilities of both bandits' rights activists and run-on sentence-eschewing English teachers alike, allow me to explain to the rest of my audience the conquests I was so happy to make.

Rite Aid: Tons of free stuff is available for the taking at Rite Aid. They even had a shelf devoted to free merchandise right in the front of the store. Please see this post at Money Saving Mom to see if there is anything that strikes your fancy. I picked up:
ChapStick (for which I happen to receive a free after mail-in-rebate form in my last edition of the Sunday paper, 10/12/08)
SoftLips lip balm (I love this stuff)
Comtrex cold medicine
Sucrets throat lozenges

I paid $12.68, and they'll add $11.96 to my monthly check. (Then, of course, there's the $1.99 rebate to wait for as well. Even with the postage stamp, there's a slight return on investment in addition to the products.)

CVS: 3 coupons and some ECB deals landed me:
CoverGirl foundation, which I didn't need, but it made possible the free. . .
CoverGirl powder, which I did need
Colgate toothpaste, because, believe it or not, our surplus is almost depleted.
for a grand total of $6.99 in ECBs and $.47 in actual money with $5 in ECBs generated. I calculate the cost of the products at $2.46. I really did need the powder.

Publix: I saved the best for last. I got three things.
2 bags of New England coffee
1 box containing 2 Barber Foods chicken cordon bleus (is that how you make that dish plural?)
All the above items were by-one-get-one-free. I used 2 $1.50/1 coupons for the coffee and a $1/1 for the chicken. Now, I never would have bought any of that stuff without coupons and sales, though I might have wished to. Still it's fun to detail the "savings" since I have this blog as an outlet for that, so here they are:
Regular price would have been $16.57
I paid $3.79.
Is that a 77% "savings"? I think I calculated that correctly. I think I left math teachers out of those whose sence of propriety I injured. Can one of you help me out if I erred?

Prayer for Others

2008-10-15T08:20:00.000-07:00

I love the idea of praying in the Bible's words. Yesterday I read a prayer I don't think I had prayed before. Wouldn't you love to know that someone is praying this for you?

That you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light (Colossians 1:9-12).

It goes on, contrasting the Light just mentioned with the domain of darkness in which I used to dwell. It gives all the credit to God and His dear Son. It extols the greatness and wonder of a Savior so magnificent that I am entirely unable to comprehend the depth of wonder and the height of ecstasy that the apostle experienced in conveying the Spirit's words about the incomparable Christ. I must read it again. And yet again. And still I despair of ever truly coming to an understanding that does justice to the truth. And so I am reminded of my need for prayer.

A Christian Response to Trouble

2008-10-10T06:33:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night at prayer meeting, Pastor Minnick encouraged us about the future. There seems to be much ahead to fear. If things do continue to spiral down economically, we could face lean times such as many in this country are totally unfamiliar with. His tone was not pessimistic. His hope does not lie in the "spirit of the great people of this great country" or the "fundamentals of the economy." He is able to do as the Bible does and look the worst in the face. So what if "the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines"? What happens if "the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food"? How will I take it if "the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls"?

That's poverty, you know. That's a depression like we've never seen in this land. But we've seen footage of it in other lands. And, if you're like me, you watched the news and saw the starving children and huddled refugees and war-torn families crowding around a truck for hours waiting for one bag of sustenence and thought, "How do people go through that?" Perhaps you took it a step further and thought, "I could never handle that." But people do. And they handle it in different ways.

But God's people can respond in a way that is completely unexpected. Really, they can. Look the worst in the face. Don't dwell on doom and gloom, but seriously for a few moments contemplate your absolute worst fears and dread about the financial situation. Then call to mind the promises of God. Was He serious when He said, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things"? Can we actually expect "all these things will be added to you" to hold up in this century? If you arrive at a Bible answer to that kind of question, you will, with the ancient prophet, "exult in the LORD" and "rejoice in the God of [your] salvation."

(Bible quotations taken from Habakkuk 3:17-18 and Matthew 6:32-33.)

Walgreens Debriefing 10.09.08

2008-10-09T19:25:00.000-07:00

Here's how it all turned out:

I did get the cheap cheese. I did not get the coffee creamer because the coupon website said enough was enough. See, I already got 2 creamers Monday. Anyway, I found another scented oil candle coupon, so I got 2 of those. My Crest manufacturer coupon didn't fly, so I tossed out the Crest toothpaste. And the Visine rang up for $4.49 instead of $3.99, but $.50 Visine is nothing to complain about.

So I ended up forking over $9 in Register Rewards and $3.48 on my gift card. (That's $12.48. I'm sure you knew that already.)

But Walgreens has already given me the first installment of my return in the form of a $3 Register Reward and $7.15 is on the way. (I'm over here really trying to figure out what went wrong on my math on the last post. I think I multiplied by 1.5 instead of 1.1 to get the bonus amount. Sorry about that.)

So I acquired the above products for $2.33, and Glade has promised me another $5.99 if I'll send the right paperwork. I'll certainly take it.

Walgreens Battle Plan 10.09.08

2008-10-09T06:14:00.000-07:00

This one goes out to my mom in CA. Hi Mama!

I realized that posting on Saturday doesn't give her a whole lot of time to run into town and take advantage of my Walgreens tips . . . not that she seems to really need my help anymore. (Side note: My mother-in-law just called to ask, "Which store was it that had the automatic shower cleaner I wanted to get?" See, I left her the $5 coupon from her insert after telling her how cool mine is and how cheap it would be at Walgreens after her rebate. [Contented sigh.])

Okay, here's what I want to do:

$1.99 Glade jar candle
$5.99 Wisp Flameless candle
$3.99 Glade Scented Oil candle
$3.99 Fresh Brush Max Kit
$1.99 Crest toothpaste
$3.99 Visine
$3.00 2 CoffeeMate creamers
$3.00 2 Deerfield Farm cheese packs
______________________________
$29.26 after tax on the non-food items

MINUS the following coupons:
$1 Glade jar candle
$5 Wisp Candle
$2 Scented Oil candle
$3 Max Fresh Kit
$2 Visine (that I found out about here)
$1 Crest toothpaste
(2) $1 CoffeeMate creamer
$2 Visine Walgreens ad coupon
$1 Crest Easy Saver coupon
_______________________________
$10.27

I'll pay them that (including $9 in Register Rewards). Then they'll hand me $3 in Walgreens cash. Then later I'll ask them for more money. Which they'll give me. To the tune of:
$1 for the jar candle
$2 for the scented oil candle
$1.50 for the Max Fresh Kit
10% of all that.

Which equals: $9.85

Hang on. I've got one more source of income here. I then will mail off for a full rebate on the purchase price of the Wisp Flameless Candle, which incidentally is $5.99. Bringing my total refund (in a number of weeks, I realize) to $14.84.

Which means that, even factoring in the price of the postage stamp, I make $4.17 this week. And besides, I challenge you to find cheese that cheap anywhere else.

(You may be wondering what I'm going to do with all this air freshener. I hate air freshener. But it's candles. Every hostess likes candles. I'm going to wrap them up and save them for those times when it would be nice to have a little something to give for a housewarming or something to stick into a bridal shower gift. You know. That kind of thing. I don't plan to buy cans of air freshener or even "plug-ins" even if they're free. Since, as I said, I can't stand the stuff.)

Psalm 37

2008-10-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

This Psalm is a study in contrasts. The righteous is instructed on the end of his ways compared with the wicked man's. I have read this Psalm many times and drawn encouragement from the many admonitions to rest in the Lord and not fret because of the prosperity of the wicked. The Lord's promise to make things right in the end is comforting as it assures the believer that God is aware and in control of every event in the entire global scheme of things.

Sunday evening, however, another nuance of the Psalm taught me. Pastor Vincent was preaching, and he pointed out that, though the text may hastily be read as a triumphant gloating over the demise of evil in the face of God's intervention, the words really convey a much more sober tone. The psalmist uses expressions like "You will look carefully for his place and he will not be there," and "I have seen a wicked, violent man spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil. Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more; I sought for him, but he could not be found."

While God's control over the present and the assurance of the revelation of His ultimate triumph in the end should bring delight and satisfaction to the hearts of true believers, there should be in every child of God a desire to see, not the destruction of sinners, but their deliverance.

Transition

2008-10-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

Coupons are appearing in my dreams. I've seen lots and lots of them in the last few days. My family went and stayed with my husband's parents for the weekend. My mother-in-law doesn't clip coupons, but she very kindly saves her Sunday inserts for me. So, I had a big stack of inserts to cut out. I still haven't entered them all into Coupon Central.

To add to the excitement, I'm changing my whole system. I'll still use Coupon Central, but for finding filed coupons, I'm moving from this:

to this:

I like my binder. My husband thinks it's ugly, but he likes the "money" stored inside, so he puts up with it . . . as long as he doesn't actually have to carry it through a store. I learned the binder system primarily through Sarah at Fiddledeedee, my Publix deals resource.

Now back to organizing!

My All-Time Favorite Thing about Publix

2008-10-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

Again, I really like Publix. I went there last night, and I bought (according to the regular prices of things) $31.98 worth of groceries for $10.96. That's a savings of 65.73% for those of you who are interested. My coupons alone amounted to $6.35. It was fun.

But my all-time favorite feature of Publix is one we took advantage of just last week, actually. Free prescriptions. My baby had an ear infection and was prescribed amoxicillin. Daddy just went in to the Publix pharmacy and walked out with the medicine and a little measuring dropper thing, and the receipt read a big fat $0.00. It's a blessing, really.

I just talked with a friend of mine who shops at Publix and everything, but she didn't know about the program. It would have saved them some recently too. So I thought I'd pass the news along to the rest of the Publix Super Savers. The details are here.

A Nifty Report

2008-10-02T17:36:00.000-07:00

The next button on the Coupon Central main menu is "Coupons Expiring This Week." This report is useful for those really good coupons I definitely want to use, but I'm waiting for a good sale. If no sales have come up, but I want to use the coupon before it expires, this menu helps me out if I check it. It's set up to spit out all coupons in the database whose expiration date is anytime, between "today" and a week from then. I actually haven't used it much, but it does come in handy at times.

How?

2008-10-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

How can Mrs. Sarah Boardman, settled indefinitely in a "little bamboo hut, . . . so frail that it could be cut open, as Mrs. Boardman says, with a pair of scissors," in the middle of a jungle full of hissing snakes, howling wild animals, and bandits robbing them of their valuables--how can she say this?

"We are in excellent health, and as happy as is it possible for two human beings to be upon earth. It is our earnest desire to live, labor, and die among this people."

The simple answer is that she did not derrive her soul satisfaction from her situation, but from her Savior. Her appeal to her sister, I am sure she would repeat to all of us.

"Oh if you are a child of God, how great is your happiness; you can think of death without fear. The troubles and griefs of life do not distress you as they do the poor worldling, who looks only to the enjoyments of this life for comfort. If a Christian, you have sweet foretastes of that joy which is unspeakable and inconceivable by mortals. Though a sinner still, you feel that your sins are pardoned, and that through the merits of a crucified Saviour you will at last be accepted of God. I would fondly hope, my dear sister, that this is your happy case. But if not, oh who can tell your dreadful danger? . . . Oh, my sister, reflect. . . . If you have not yet turned to the Saviour, delay no longer."

I urge you, my sisters, reflect.

(Quotations taken from The Three Mrs. Judsons, Arabella Stuart, Particular Baptist Press, 2001, pp. 145, 155-156, emphasis mine.)

If you'll indulge me. . .

2008-09-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'd like to share the contents of an e-mail I received from my fave drugstore. Fanfare please.

To summarize, it informed me that my Easy Saver Gift Card will shortly be credited $69.73.

After going through my records, I noted that I put $25.99 on our credit card and $29.97 on my gift card during the month of September. For those of you without a calculator-like brain like my husband's, that's $55.96. That's an impressive $13.77 in income for last month. But you have to remember that I bought waaaay more than the rebate stuff (meaning that in addition to the income, I've got some products to show for it . . . Well, I've got them, my college-student sister ended up with lots of them, I ate most of the M&Ms already, it's all the same, right?)

The way I see it, unless Walgreens majorly cranks out some killer deals in the next couple of years, I'm to the point where I have no excuse for ever giving them another cent. I hope they're okay with that.

Isaiah 23 Vanity Fair Overthrown

2008-09-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 23 is about the fall of Tyre. After a brief description of the response of its citizens, the chapter proceeds to explain the cause for Tyre's fall by indicting the city for its excesses and materialism. Pastor Minnick noted that the descriptions of Tyre's wares closely resemble what is bought and sold in John Bunyan's Vanity Fair. It is possible that this chapter and others describing Tyre's commerce were on his mind as he wrote the Vanity Fair scene in The Pilgrim's Progress.

At any rate, God was determined to humble Tyre on account of her greed and materialism. So many parallels to our country were evident. But just as I sat there mentally "tsk, tsk-ing" the greed on Wall Street and the glitziness of a society that flaunts automobiles they'll never come close to actually owning, houses they can't really afford, and expensive THINGS they didn't actually give money for, the application was placed in my lap. The Bible addresses an admonition to people preoccupied with money in opposite ways. See, there are those who greedily store up too much, and then there are those who are anxious that they might not have enough. Both responses to money are wrong, because no one can slave for two masters. God and wealth are both full-time employers. No one has ever slaved for them both, and no one ever will.

Here's my lesson. So, I don't see myself on either end of the money-slaving scale. But I was reminded of my position of being "on top of the heap" when it comes to possessions. Who cares how much stuff I've got; very, very few Americans can rank themselves anywhere else on the global economic heap. And what I sat there thinking was, "Where's the sacrifice in moving down just a few notches to spend my life as a missionary? Who says I deserve my top spot? The Bible is telling me of the tremendous blessing there is in working in a church full of poor people." Don't tell the poor guy to fend for himself while you find a good place for the potential donor. Serve the poor who can't pay you back, because their Redeemer is strong. If I busy myself with the affairs of the rich for my whole life, there is a strong possibility that I'll never encounter anyone in need of a cup of cold water.

Remember Who made the promise, "He shall not lose his reward."

[The audio of this sermon is available for purchase here.]

How it turned out

2008-09-27T13:47:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I'm not quite $7.59 richer, but look at all the M&Ms! I promise one of them was an accident. It really was. I'd be $2.00 better off if that guy hadn't sneaked in. It's a long story. . . But this is my blog. I'll go ahead and tell it. I thought that the October coupon applied only to Halloween bags (which I despise, by the way). So I loaded 4 bags of Halloween peanut butter M&Ms into my basket. Then I went and hid while I tore out the appropriate October coupons (another long story, but it's not very interesting), and I noticed that it did not have to be Halloween bags. So I loaded up my basket with 4 normal, much more attractive bags and returned all (or so I thought) of the ugly Halloween bags. I know. The bag style is way too big of a deal to me. Anyhow, I ended up missing one, buying 5 bags of M&Ms instead of 4, and not catching it until I got home. My husband assured me that it was okay; I need not return the delinquent bag. He was confident we could put it to good use.

Anyway, here's how it turned out. They had everything I wanted, so I got:
2 Lipton teas
5 (growl) bags of M&Ms
3 Garnier Fructis shampoos
1 Pert Plus
1 Nivea men's body wash
2 bags of pistachios (which I love)
1 LypSyl lip balm
1 Revlon nail polish.
Used $27.50 worth of coupons.
Used $20 in RRs; put $6.88 on the gift card to finish it up and paid the remaining $6.52.
That's $33.40.
I'll get back (if the Pert Plus thing works) $34.28 in Walgreens cash of one kind or another.
(Incidentally, if the Pert thing doesn't fly, it's $30.44. Still nothing to complain about, you know? The Pert itself was still free on account of the $4.50 in coupons I used for a $3.49 item.)

To see the details on the cost per item and the coupons used, go here (one post down).

It all comes down to this. . .

2008-09-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

Here's my Walgreens plan. I'm hoping to find the last few free-this-month things. I've got to spend 2 $10 RRs, and hopefully take advantage of at least one "double dipping deal." We'll see how it goes.

$ 1.99-LypSyl lip balm
4. 79-Revlon nail polish
4. 99-Nivea for Men body wash
3.79-Pert Plus
20.97-3 Garnier Fructis shampoos/conditioners
5.00-2 pistachios bags
5. 00-2 boxes Lipton tea
__________________________________
$46.53

Minus:
$ 2.00 Revlon coupon
1.00 Nivea coupon
2.50 Walgreens October Easy Saver coupon
2.00 Pert Plus coupon (from before I was keeping track of which insert it came from)
(3) 3.00 Fructis Walgreens OES coupons
(3) 1.00 Fructis coupons (from various inserts)
.50 Lipton coupon
5.00 for $5/$20 Walgreens coupon
___________________________________
Total: $21.53 ($20 of which will, incidentally, be paid in Register Rewards)

Rebate amount (if the Pert Plus thing works): $28.12 (after 10% bonus)
Register Rewards: $1

That's $7.59 in Walgreens cash richer than I was when I started.

Edited to add: If you want to see the happy ending, go here (one post up).

Ezekiel 16

2008-09-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

Walgreens Caveats

2008-09-25T09:06:00.001-07:00

The point is that you beat the system. All I can figure Walgreens has realized is:
1. If we tout stuff as free, people will come into our stores and buy all kinds of other (overpriced) stuff in addition to the free stuff, so we'll still make money selling light bulbs and greeting cards and whatever to folks who think they're getting great deals, but they really care more about one-stop shopping.
2. If we tout stuff as free, people will buy it and then continue to buy it (here, hopefully) when it's not free
3. If we tout stuff as free, people will buy it and then forget to request the rebate. Then we'll sell them all kinds of things they never would have bought if they weren't "free."

That's my theory, anyway. But even if I'm wrong, doing the 3 things above will ruin the deals. By all means, use drugstore coupons and sales to get stuff that's not free but really turn out to be good deals to combine with your rebate or rewards stuff and so cut down on your grocery or WalMart bills (as I've done). But here are my rules: If I don't need it, I won't get it even if it's $0.15, unless it helps me get a better deal on something else. If it's free, and I don't need it, I'll think very carefully about buying it from somewhere that doesn't tack on 10%. Because, why pay even 6% of the price of something I will never use or even find someone to give it to? Kay? I'd suggest keeping track somehow of what you spend, and what they give you back and what you have to show for it. That way, you can have a big picture in several months of whether this game is saving you money or slowly using up funds on stuff you never would have bought without the Easy Saver Rebate program.

So keep good records each week. Which won't be hard, because it's really fun to tell people exactly what you paid for a trunk-full of goods and then inform them of what you'll be getting back.

What would you say?

2008-09-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

What if you received this letter?

I have now to ask whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure to a heathen land, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death?

Not exactly persuasive, is it? But the writer, Mr. Adoniram Judson, continues:

Can you consent to all this, for the sake of Him who left His heavenly home and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing immortal souls; for the sake of Zion and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with a crown of righteousness brightened by the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?

When I read that, I went from thinking, "How could her father have said 'Yes'?" to "How could he have said 'No'?"

(Quotations taken from The Three Mrs. Judsons by Arabella Stuart, Particular Baptist Press, 2001, pp. 7-8.)

Coupon Central, Part 2: Entering Coupons

2008-09-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

In the last post in this series, I did little more than admit to the world that I have nerdish tendencies when it comes to organizing pieces of paper. I really hate paper for the most part. If it can be on a CD or a thumb drive or the Internet or the laptop's memory, that's where it belongs. My dream is to scan most of my kids' artwork and display it proudly as the wallpaper on the desktop. But I digress.

My distaste for paper doesn't stop when it comes to coupons, but what can you do? I've heard that some stores have this iPod, phone, store membership card, download, coupon thing that is totally electronic. I haven't looked into it. I don't have an iPod or whatever you need, and my phone doesn't connect to the Internet, so I'll stick with paper until I get the concept more. At any rate, pulling out the paper and handing it over still works when it comes to cash and the glossy paper money that comes in the Sunday edition.

BUT, that doesn't mean I'm thrilled with shuffling through wads of paper to find what I need. I do it, but I try to minimize it. So I enter them in my database. Here's the form I use to enter them:

I really do take the whole stack I just clipped and type the relevant information into the laptop before filing them in the accordion folder. I've gotten pretty fast at it. Now all the information I might want to search later is in a table somewhere, and I can bring it up and find what I need. But that's for a later post.

Publix

2008-09-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

I really like Publix. They are super close to where I live, and they are such a pleasant place to shop. Believe me, I love the prices at Aldi, but Publix makes one remember the days when (as a child a good many years ago) I would see cashiers pull your groceries out of the cart for you and another person would put the groceries in the bags for you and would walk you to your car and put them in the trunk for you. I could actually take or leave the bagger dude coming to the car with me, and I do put my own groceries on the conveyor belt, but there is a bagger dude at any rate, and if I've got more than one bag, he will offer to take them to the car for me.

So, I've enjoyed Fiddledeedee and the Publix Super Savers series (say that five times). I was really happy with my last trip to Publix for a number of reasons:

1. The race-car cart. Okay. This had its drawbacks to be sure, but I really wish I had a picture. My 13-month-old rode in the cart with a steering wheel for the first time in his life, and he is hooked. Let's just be honest, the cart is the size of a small continent, but come on. Would you trade hearing your little guy make motor noises as you maneuver through the aisles for a smaller turning radius?
2. The Advantage Buys. Factoring in coupons, I got some good deals (which I'll detail in coming paragraphs).
3. They doubled one of my coupons.
4. The bananas were the same price as Walmart's.

I failed to take a picture, but for
3 packs of buns,
2 18-count Chinet crystal tumblers,
1 200-count Dixie napkins,
a head of Romaine,
a loaf of bread,
2.93 pounds of bananas,
Hershey's caramel topping (for the bananas . . . and ice cream of course),
Kraft Singles Select cheese, and
2 pounds of carrots
my total came to $20.27.
After
2 $1/1 Chinet coupons,
1 Singles Select coupon, and
1 Dixie coupon (which was doubled; still don't know why),
my final total was $16.72. Not too shabby.
Coupon savings: $3.55
Advantage Buy savings: $2.86
Total savings (not to insult you, but they add it up for you on the receipt): $6.41

Isaiah 22

2008-09-22T09:53:00.001-07:00

He wanted us to leave disturbed. That's what he said. I believe he accomplished his purpose. But more importantly, I believe God did a powerfully disturbing work in many hearts. I know I was sobered a great deal.

Isaiah 22 is a reprimand to celebrating civilians. Sennacherib's army has been destroyed without a bow shot or a sword thrust. One day the entire city of Jerusalem and her outlying areas are under siege with ramps and battering rams all around; the next morning, instead of troops, corpses surround the city. How would you respond? Probably like the Judeans--parties, feast, and loud celebrations. This is where the phrase, "Eat and drink for tomorrow we may die" comes from.

But Isaiah says, "No. What are you thinking? Have you not learned anything from those of your own people who died so ingloriously while under siege? God has called you to weeping, not to feasting!"

What follows is a sobering oracle to two men. One is an unscrupulous steward who abuses his power and seeks to make a legacy for himself. The other is a faithful counselor to Judah. Guess which one God wants them to trust in for security. The answer, of course, is neither. What does a nation do when it is faced with impending (financial) disaster? What if the economic house of cards falls? "Trust in the Holy One of Israel alone, for He only is salvation."

But what will God be calling us to if the government does indeed contrive a bail-out that grants a reprieve and sends the stockmarket skyrocketing? Feasting? Partying? Self-congratulations on barely missing disaster? Or weeping and wearing of sackcloth for the sins that brought on the disaster in the first place? "Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4).

We're in!

2008-09-19T13:38:00.001-07:00

LifeForce, here we come. I was so schlude* of my husband yesterday. He passed the goals test with flying colors. Losing 15 pounds since the last appointment was especially impressive. We opted for Five Guys Burgers and Fries in lieu of pizza, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. Jon keeps saying it was all me since I made up the charts and stopped making desserts so much, but it's not like I can go out and run for him.

So, we're official LifeForce Phase 2 members which means that the $60 credit should start rolling in any time. Wahoo!

*Schlude: (adj.) feeling a "pride" that is not of the sinful, puffed-up variety; taking proper pleasure in the accomplishments of another while acknowledging that all good things ultimately come from God

Folder's Big Adventure

2008-09-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a fat little green coupon folder. There was nothing especially attractive about it. It was just a small accordion-style folder with a stretchy strap to keep the flap closed. But the folder's owner was very fond of it. She took Folder with her into every drug store, grocery store, convenience store, hardware store, department store, and discount store she went to. Folder always got a warm, fluttery feeling when his owner would whip him out on an aisle of one of the stores (Walgreen's was his favorite) and begin filing through for just the right coupon. Most of the time, even Folder didn't know what she was looking for, and certainly no one else could have followed her train of thought as she happened to catch a glimpse of a yellow sale ad taped to a shelf. Even if she tried to explain how buying the ZipFizz would actually save her $3 off her transaction, the response was usually, "I'll take your word for it."

Folder got used to the quick transfers from purse to cart handle, out of Baby's Herculean grip, onto the floor, back to cart handle for half a second before being set unceremoniously on an empty portion of a shelf for some serious fileage. But always he would leave the store safely tucked into his owner's humongous purse that also served as a diaper bag, smiling softly to himself as he thought of all the money he had had so noble a part in saving his owner.

One day Folder got to ride with the owner's entire family to a very cool grocery store. The owners didn't usually shop there because their prices were so much higher than Aldi's, but today was TRIPLE COUPON DAY at the fancy grocery store. Folder was so excited. He never got out at Aldi, but at the fancy grocery store, he was pulled out at almost every stop. You see, this purchase would be especially complicated because the store allowed only 6 coupons per transaction. So Folder's owner and her husband were checking out separately with different coupons. All this made for loads of excitement. Folder's owner had made a list on the Internet from the store's ad of the things that were a good deal and that she had a coupon for. The store let them print this list at a special kiosk, so it saved the owners from using their own paper.

With list in one hand and Folder in the other the owner and her family navigated the fancy grocery store making the most they could of Triple Coupon Day and the store's plentiful B1G1 sales. The last stop was the juice aisle to get a certain brand of pomegranate juice. Since it was the last stop, the owners were both preoccupied with distributing the right products to the right cart and lining up the corresponding coupons. Folder chuckled to himself as he envisioned how happy his owners would be when they looked at the receipts and saw what their savings had been. He also wished he could do something to entertain the baby who was getting restless.

It must have been the confusion of transferring items; maybe it was the fact that the juice on sale and the intended coupon did not coincide as originally planned; or maybe it was the baby's eagerness for the cart to start rolling again. Whatever it was, Folder watched in silent dismay as both his owners and the baby pulled out of the juice aisle and headed for the check-out to triple the piddly few coupons they clutched in their hands while he sat there stuffed full of hundreds more.

Folder could not have known what was happening back at the owners' house. How they glibly made the entire trip home not even noticing his absence from his usual place in the humongous diaper bag purse. All through an entire Sunday, Folder knew it would not be likely that he would be missed. Rarely did his owner utilize him on that day. Folder would have been relieved to see the utter dismay and even horror on the face of his beloved owner when at last, on Monday, the sickening truth dawned upon her, "I left my Coupon Folder in Bloom!"

In great loneliness Folder sat at the lost and found at the fancy grocery store, ignorant that at that very moment, his owner, with heart pounding, was making a call to Barbara at Bloom. In response to Barbara's inquiry as to how she could make the owner happy, the owner began to explain her loss. Folder whiled away the hours in the store safe waiting for the less and less likely arrival of his owner. How could he have know that the owner's husband was working in a different location than normal and absolutely could not swing by that day? How could Folder have possibly anticipated a return to a normal schedule the following day that would result in the happy reunion with the owner's husband, and at the end of the work day, with his beloved owner herself? But that is exactly what happened to Folder.

And if Folder could talk, I suppose his bit of wisdom for all of us would be, "I suppose you'll be more careful now, won't you?"

My Life as a Seed

2008-09-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

But someone will say, "How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?" You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own (1 Corinthians 15:35-38).

This passage and the following verses give so much material to stimulate the imagination! We will be raised one day (or at least, if we don't die before the Lord's return, we will be changed). So, if we are not now what we one day will be, what will we be like? It sounds like Paul is urging us to think way beyond anything we are accustomed to in this life. What we will be when we see our Savior as He is so far surpasses what we currently are, that the change can be compared to a seed and its plant. Seeds are unremarkable. Seeds are basically the same on the outside as other seeds. Seeds are buried. But what comes to life? Oh, here we have beauty, variety, something useful, something to display!

Now, I'm thinking about the beauty we have on this world. There are talented, intelligent, gifted, generous, noble, and beautiful people. But, Christians, we're seeds. Just wait until we're planted and spring up with joy unspeakable! Think for a moment of what a whole garden of us will look like! There's Moses. Over here, Job. Paul, James, Augustine, Luther, Newton, Spurgeon. Me, you. The folks in your church. Thomas Kelly got it right:
Then we shall be where we would be,
Then we shall be what we should be,
Things that are not now, nor could be,
Soon shall be our own.

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality (1 Corinthians 15:51-53).

I am a nerd.

2008-09-16T09:04:00.001-07:00

No, no. I really am. Ready?

I have all my coupons organized in an Access database. There. I've said it.

See, I had the wonderful experience of working in an office for the first three years after I got married. I learned tons of stuff about all kinds of things. One of those things was navigating my way through Access. Now, I wouldn't market myself as being able to build databases, but I do know how to use the little "Help Paper Clip," and I came up with a coupon database.

I'm still not sure whether it saves a ton of time, but I believe it helps me get deals I would have otherwise missed. Here's what I can do with my database (since I've set it up to spit out alphabetized reports):

I sit at the computer and look at on-line ads for drugstores (CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid). When I see a deal I'm interested in, I can just click over to Coupon Central and see if I can make it a better deal. No shuffling, flipping, or searching. I'll give more details as I go along, but I thought I'd share my confession of nerdhood so we can get that out of the way. Here's what my main menu looks like:

Pretty nifty, huh?

Isaiah 21

2008-09-15T08:27:00.000-07:00

Part of what encouraged me to begin blogging was this post by Nicole Whitacre on Girl Talk. She shares how the Lord has worked in her heart about meditating on Sunday's message(s) the following day. I am often guilty of forgetting quickly (or not fully processing at all) the messages God gives me through His ministers. I thought that writing about them on Mondays would help me, not only to share what God provides for me, but also to keep it for myself in a more memorable form. Of all the good gifts brought to me on a proverbial shovel, preaching is most certainly of utmost value. How ungrateful of me to treat it as worthless.

The Lord has blessed us with a wonderful church in our area. My pastor is a very careful Bible expositor. Several months ago, the Lord laid on his heart to preach a series of messages on the book of Isaiah. Now, when Pastor Minnick preaches through a book, like any good Bible expositor, he does not feel at liberty to omit passages he comes to for any reason. If there were any good reasons to skip a chapter, he basically admitted to us last evening that Isaiah 21 would have several. But the blessing of the message was the more vivid for the realization that God Himself had placed this obscure passage in this long prophetic book "for our instruction" (1 Cor. 10:11).

The passage predicts a horrifying overthrow of the kingdom of Babylon. Isaiah's vision is not even detailed, merely the prophet's reaction to it. To make things more baffling, the timing of the event prophesied is unclear. However, God had spoken these things to drive home to His people Israel the message of the whole prophesy, "Trust in the Holy One of Israel alone, for He only is salvation." Though Israel may have been tempted to trust Babylon for security, God assures His people that Babylon is only as strong as the true Sovereign of the Universe allows her to be.

In the end, a remarkable application for God's people today is found in Isaiah's response to the destruction of these wicked people. Isaiah is stunned and physically sickened by what he sees will happen to them. Pastor urged God's people present in the service to have a real compassion for the fate of lost people. God has told us what destruction will befall those who fail to turn to Christ for salvation, and we ought not glibly go about our lives unmoved by the certain terror that will befall them. May God help me be a more fervent evangelist as I dwell on the judgment that awaits my neighbors.

My Moose Rack

2008-09-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

Well, here's how it actually turned out. Kind of differently than I'd planned due to their being out of some stuff (it's what you risk when you wait for the weekend coupon), but with a little patience from my 13-month-old, we worked out a Plan B in the store and ended up with the following:

$19.99 A Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner Starter Kit (impressive name, no?)
$7.99 Walgreens acid reducing tablets
$1.98 (2) Turtle-flavored Chex Mixes (low-fat, they claim)
$11.97 (3) Children's Dimetapps
$4.49 Crest Pro-Health mouthwash
$2.00 The socks we talked about
$1.49 (Ahee) Some really cute summer clearance flip-flops
-$6.00 (3) Dimetapp coupons
-$1.00 Chex coupon (Now that I look at the receipt, it appears that I got credit for only one rather than their adjusting down both to $1.98. Not complaining, just saying.)
-$5.00 Shower cleaner thing coupon
-$10/$40 Walgreens coupon
-$2.00 Register Rewards
_________________________
Total $28.79 (The Register Rewards counted toward the payment, not the coupons. I'm not inclined to do the math it would require to figure out what tax would have been to do it otherwise. But it's all on the up-and-up, I promise.)

So then I walked out of the store with the above merchandise along with $10 RR for the Dimetapp, $10 for the shower sprayer cleaner thing (I'd love to install it in our shower, but it would make a great. . .sorry, "shower" gift too. Hee, hee.), and $4.50 for the mouthwash. That's $24.50 if Saxon Math did it's job on me.

I'm not done, though. Chalk up another $8.79 to the gift card for next month for the acid tablets. (I love adding the 10% bonus right away.)

So, I'm about $4.50 richer in Walgreens cash than I was yesterday. That sound you hear is NOT me complaining.

And what I call the really good news is that we've got a long way to go before we've bought all the free stuff for this month.

Adding to the Shovel

2008-09-12T08:20:00.000-07:00

We all know how important it is to stay physically in shape. All kinds of benefits, right? I mean there are (obviously) physical benefits, some say emotional benefits, probably social benefits if you have a good running partner, and so on. But sometimes, lots of times really, the greatest motivator to anything comes in the form of monetary benefits. Kind of telling about our natures to be sure. But there it is.

So, after fairly active high school and college years, my husband (the coolest guy on earth) and I settled into a more sedentary early married life. Our occasional bursts of "Let's exercise more" were easy to transition in and out of. We could kind of do what we wanted as long as work schedules and seminary paper due dates permitted.

Enter Baby. Now, he's a fitness program all his own, don't get me wrong. Just turn him loose and decide you're going to follow every step he takes, and you'll see your own steps racking up right quick. But he does require constant supervision. So "Hey, let's go running" doesn't work any more. It's now, "Hey, let's one of us go running." Not as easy to get the workouts in now that it takes twice as long for us both to get it done. And we've all heard about broad-daylight abductions of joggers. And the excuses continue to pile up.

But there are ways to get with it and not throw out the gift of physical health that God has blessed us with. And one thing He has used to put some extra icing on the cake, or fat-free dressing on the salad rather, is LifeForce. Good ol' LifeForce, the employee wellness incentive program at my husband's work. And what an incentive. I believe it comes out to like $60 per month savings on insurance premiums, which are deducted from his paycheck. Sweet. So while we're still careful with our spoons, it's always nice to keep more on the shovel from the get-go (as they say).

So, we instituted a little friendly competition, complete with a spreadsheet, to motivate our continued progress im preparation for the big LifeForce Do-You-Meet-The-Benchmarks appointment this coming Thursday. I think we're good, but we'll see. If they give him the ticket to "Phase 2," there will be great rejoicing. We'll probably go out for pizza. Somewhere with a salad bar, no doubt.

Friday seems to be a good day to update the whole (potential) world on who's winning said friendly competition. I'll give some more details in the coming weeks (maybe even screen shots of our spreadsheets, who knows?) on just how we get points. I mean, after the big appointment, we need some additional accountability. The whole potential world would work, I guess.

This Week's Anticipated Walgreens Trip

2008-09-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, and now for the Walgreens deals we mentioned earlier. I decided to wait for the weekend to see if they send out a coupon, and I was rewarded. I at first thought, "Well, no way this week. I'll never come up with $40 since it has to be $40 after coupons and before tax." But I did it. I have the columns of ciphers on an old envelope to prove it. If all goes as planned, here's what I'll get:

$2.00 Socks (I've never bought socks at a drugstore before, but I'll check them out. We need socks.)
$3.79 Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber
$2.49 Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner
$2.49 Scrubbing Bubbles wipes
$2.49 Pledge product of some kind
$11.97 3 bottles of Dimetapp
$4.49 Crest Pro-Health mouthwash
$1.98 2 Chex Mix(es)
$7.99 Walgreens brand acid reducing tablets
$3.99 Excedrin
$9.99 Living Solutions vacuum bag
__________________________________
$54.90 plus tax

-$2.75 Action Scrubber coupon
-$1 Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner coupon
-$1 Scrubbing Bubbles wipes coupon
-$1 Pledge product coupon
-(3) $2 Dimatapp coupons
-(2) $1 Chex coupon (probably only $1.98 after they adjust it)
_____________________________________________
Final Total $41.17
-$10/$40 Walgreens Coupon
_____________________________________________
Final, Final total $31.17 plus tax (which I'll pay for entirely with Register Rewards and my gift card)

But wait. Of course it gets better. After I hand over the total above, the machine next to the register will print me $19.49 in Walgreens cash to be used in the next 2 weeks however I see fit, because I bought the Scrubbing Bubbles and Pledge stuff ($5), the Dimetapp ($10), and the mouthwash ($4.49).

Then I'll go home and type my receipt information into our computer, and that will assure my getting added to my gift card a whopping $21.97 for buying the acid tablets ($7.99), the Excedrin ($3.99), and the vacuum bags ($9.99--if you're curious about this one, see MoneySavingMom's post about it here). And that's not counting the 10% bonus.

So let's do the math. I pay them (roughly, since I'm not sure when tax gets figured): $33.04

They pay me (and let's tack on the 10% bonus just for kicks): $43.65

I'll take it. And that's not even all the free stuff for this month. Hooray! I'm particularly pumped about the vacuum storage bag.

Walgreens and Why I Like It

2008-09-11T06:47:00.001-07:00

All over the coupon, money-saving, frugal blogs (at least the couple I've frequented), CVS is the big hero. And they may have started the whole thing. I have no idea. But I'd like to say a word on Walgreens's behalf. (By the way, the Chicago Manual of Style stipulates the " 's " after a proper noun ending in "s." I'm not sure I'm a huge fan either, but after editing some according to Chicago, it's hard to flout their authority. So, try not to let it bug you. I did it on purpose.) At any rate, I'd like to go on record as saying that for the three months or so that I've done the drug store thing, I've found more out-and-out free things at Walgreens than anywhere else. Plus, you absolutely cannot beat the 10% bonus. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I am indebted for this information to the tutorial and subsequent "deal updates" I've read on MoneySavingMom. She (the aforementioned mom) provides an in-depth guide to Walgreens shopping on her website.

By "in-depth," I mean really in-depth. If you've avoided drugstores like the plague because they are always more expensive than WalMart, you're smart. They are. Unless you're selective. But I digress. If you're not familiar with drugstores like Walgreens, you might get lost in her terminology. I'd advise you to get a copy of the Easy Saver Catalog and see for yourself what the store is doing. Skip the first half with coupons for a moment and peruse the Rebate Items. The first several will likely be stuff touted as "free." If you're willing to think about it like Walgreens, the stuff is actually free. No really, it is. Here's what happens:
1. You buy the stuff with actual money
2. You go home, create an account at walgreens.com and enter the receipt information
3. You repeat steps 1 and 2 until the end of the month
4. You request (via walgreens.com) that your rebate be put on a Walgreens gift card
5. You wait several weeks
6. You check your account numerous times during those weeks to see what progress has been made on your rebate's return to you
7. You receive in the mail a genuine Walgreens gift card

"How much is my gift card for?" you ask. Well, for the moment, let's suppose you bought only the stuff touted in the catalog as free. And that you used no coupons, and that the total price of everything for the month was $20. (Now adjusting for my state's 6% sales tax, that should come to $21.20.) Since Walgreens will tack on 10% of your rebate amount, your gift card will be good for $22. So, if you adjust for sales tax, what just happened is that you received $20-worth (which is debatable, I know, but stick with me) of necessary or fun products for -$0.80. You're 80 cents ahead of where you were before you started shopping there.

Now it gets fun. What if, say, Proctor and Gamble want to help you buy something they make? So they issue a coupon. So you buy something touted as free from the catalog. You pay Walgreens $4, P&G (by means of a coupon) pays Walgreens $1, and Walgreens pays you $5.50. It's intense. If you like Sudoku, you'll go for this.

That's Walgreens.

(By the way, since this is my blog, I get to share another, more sappy reason I love drugstores. My husband and I had our first date at, among other places, a CVS. Okay. We were actually going to breakfast, but we had to get some pictures developed first, so we dropped them at the drugstore. We had a few left on my roll--and I admit I wanted a picture or two of both of us--so we had the store clerk snap a few. Henceforth in our dating, we tried to get a picture in a drugstore near every major major attraction we visited. Everyone together now . . . "Awwwww!")

That Nothing Be Lost

2008-09-09T16:56:00.000-07:00

I know my generation is not characteristically conscientious about conserving resources. My grandparents' generation is. I imagine that there have been people in every generation who took their possessions for granted, glibly presuming upon replacing things with little sacrifice on their part. But they have historically been in the minority. Today, however, it is difficult to find someone (other than our grandparents) who understands the mindset of Mrs. Jonathan Edwards.

In the Memoirs of Jonathan Edwards, the author makes this observation:

She was conscientiously careful that nothing should be wasted and lost; and often when she herself took care to save any thing of trifling value, or directed her children or others to do so, or when she saw them waste any thing, she would repeat the words of our Saviour--"That nothing be lost;" which words she said she often thought of, as containing a maxim worth remembering, especially when considered as the reason alleged by Christ, why his disciples should gather up the fragments of that bread which he had just before created with a word (The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 1, Hendrickson 2005, p. lxxxvii).

Not only do these sentences reveal something of Sarah Edwards's good stewardship of resources, but they impressed me with her astute biblical application. How many times have I read those verses and skimmed over that quotation of Christ as ancillary to the "real" lesson of the recorded event? Necessary to advance the action, but not really pertinent to what was being communicated. And not just that narrative, but dozens more in Scripture are written for my admonition.

The challenge for me in this passage from the life of Mrs. Edwards is to see that nothing of God's gifts of resources or of instruction be lost on me.

Getting Started

2008-09-09T08:03:00.000-07:00

I intend that this website will turn out to be a web log in it's most obvious sense. I do not harbor any notion that many people in the world (particularly those I've never met) actually care about my daily activities, and most of those that do probably should be spending more time on their own. I have, however, come to the conclusion that maintaining a web log can be profitable to me for a number of reasons.

First of all, it provides some measure of accountability in my own devotional life. I intend to share regularly what I have learned in hearing the Word of God preached and in reading it for myself. In order to share truth with anyone, I must first understand it. Therefore I believe that taking time to digest truth enough to then present it in a logical format will be a help to me in my own spiritual growth.
Along those lines, I believe it is profitable to think through things enough to be able to write about them. Some of the things I intend to share will come from my own reading, and currently I am working through the memoirs of Jonathan Edwards. Something helpful about Edwards's practice that I would like to incorporate into my own life is his control over his thoughts. When he left his house to walk by himself in the field, he would determine ahead of time, even writing it down, what he would think about. I began to think of the hours I have wasted in useless thought that could have been spent in meditation on Scripture or better articulating to myself the truths of the gospel and God's work in me. Writing is a tangible way of controlling and organizing thoughts.

I enjoy writing, I enjoy communication, and I must improve at both throughout my life.

That being said, I do intend that the subject matter of this blog be practical as it represents what I do at this stage of my life. Our family blog is a great way for my parents and other relations who live away from us to keep up with how our son is growing up. This blog will be a great way for my mom to keep up with what's on sale at Walgreens. I'll talk about how I use coupons, save money, and enjoy myself way too much in the process. I would see all these other money-saving coupon bloggers posting pictures of their drugstore trips, and I would go, "Wow. They really need to get a life." Then I went to a drugstore and bought like $35.17 worth of merchandise, and typed it into my computer which told me to expect like $37.24 back in the mail, and I went, "Hmm. I wish I could tell my husband just how great a deal we just got. But I just did. He's already sat through the detailed list and been impressed. Who else cares? Let's see. . ." And then I realized why people put pictures on the internet. It's like mounting a moose rack. Only your virtual trophy room has seemingly unlimited space, and your local drugstores keep cranking out the ads, and the season lasts all year.

So about spoons and shovels. Appreciating what my husband brings in materially is an obvious applicaiton. But not throwing out, or treating as worthless, anything God gives me is commendable in His sight. Sunday sermons, devotional reading, mental powers, and financial resources should be conserved and highly valued as provisions from the Father of Lights.