How to Stretch Your Dollar: Find a Couponing Buddy

One of the things that has really helped me since I began couponing is having a friend who is doing it too.
My sister-in-law Maria and I started couponing around the same time. It has been great to have someone to talk to about certain deals and bounce ideas and questions off of. And the best part about having a coupon buddy? We share coupons! I save the coupons I don't want, and she does the same, and then we exchange them. It works out great!

So if you are new to couponing like we are, find a friend or relative who coupons too. It's great to have a little "support system."

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Here are my savings for the week of 6/5/2011:

Walgreens: Saved $20.43
Giant Eagle: Saved $32.46
Olive Garden coupon: Saved $4

Total Saved this week: $56.99
(About 40% savings)

Total saved since May 22: $117.72

My Big News!

Today is finally the day that I can reveal my big news! I have probably built it up way too much, but to me it's very exciting, and will change my life in many ways.

So here it is: Through lots of prayer, discussion, and encouragement from Luke and my family, I have made the decision to quit my job as a teaching paraprofessional, and go back to school full time next year to pursue my master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. Starting next fall, I will be attending The University of Akron! I finally got my acceptance letter in the mail on Friday, so it can be made official.
The program will take three years to complete because I have to go back for one year of post-baccalaureate classes (or undergrad classes) to get me caught up and immersed in the program. Then next January, I will apply to their graduate program for the following year, and then it will be two years of graduate school.

While I'm going to school, I plan to substitute teach at the school where I used to work on all the days I don't have classes. And I may be looking into getting some kind of campus job or assistantship too (an assistantship would be a research job for the college in my field, and would pay for my school, plus a little extra. So this would obviously be ideal!)

There are a lot of reasons for this change, and I am going to walk through them as quickly as possible:

First of all, I like teaching, but I don't love it enough to do it for the rest of my life. It takes a really special kind of person to be a teacher, and it just doesn't come naturally to me. I'm not intimidating enough to the kids (as bad as that sounds) and they don't respect me enough in a whole-class situation. I've been unhappy in my job for a long time, and I've been praying that God would give me the strength and direction to take a leap of faith. And He has!

The reason I chose Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) is because I've always been interested in it. Basically what an SLP does is provide evaluation and remediation services to those with delays in their speech, fluency, comprehension, expressive language, oral motor skills, and swallowing. It is a lot more medical than what I'm doing now obviously, and I think I will absolutely love it. If I continue to work in a school setting as an SLP, I will be able to work one-on-one or in small groups, and that is what I really love to do. I love to be able to see the progress that way, and I think it will be very rewarding!

Another reason we decided that this would be a good idea was because it would be much better for us in the long run. I have been out of college for four years, and still don't have a full-time teaching job. The job market is very bleak in my area for teachers. Along with that is the fact that teachers are very underpaid, in my opinion, and have to pretty much devote all of their time to their job. Anyone who complains because teachers have summers off is crazy. You should see what they go through the other 40 weeks of the year! Anyway, I'll step off of my soapbox. With Senate Bill 5 threatening to pass in Ohio, teachers would lose their collective bargaining rights, and would be paid based on merit. I won't get into all the reasons why this is wrong in my opinion, but let's just say it makes me want to get as far away from the teaching profession as possible.

Unlike teaching, the job market for SLPs is wide open. They are highly in demand right now, and our school psychologist went as far as to say that any SLP with a pulse could find a job. Also, the pay is much higher and I can't deny the fact that that played a part in my decision-making. As an SLP, I will have many opportunities to work part time once we have children, and that is a big plus for me.

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know that my biggest dream in life is to be a mom, and a stay-at-home mom at that. I feel like we were planning our lives out in preparation of that for the past year or so. But our plans are not always God's plans, at least not right now. And it has been the hardest lesson of my life to learn, but it has been made abundantly clear to us (and I don't feel comfortable going into all the reasons at this time) that that is not in the cards for us right now. So I'm not going to just sit around, moping. I'm going to try to make something positive come out of a sad situation.

Wow, that was a lot! I'm sure I'll be writing more about this as the months go by, but I think I've written enough for one day! I'm very excited for my future, and I hope the next three years go as quickly as possible, because I know they are probably going to be very difficult!

Summer Reading

Here's what my view has looked like for a good portion of this week:

I was sitting behind the computer at the church library, getting more books entered into our electronic system, and out on the shelves for a few hours each day.

I have always loved the atmosphere of a library. It's just so peaceful when it's quiet and filled with so many books! As I was sitting there working on things, it obviously put me in the mood to read. Just last night, I spent hours and hours reading. And even though I have three books at home I wanted to read, I couldn't help but check out one book for myself at the library, too.

In honor of the library opening and my passion for reading, today I thought I'd make a list of all the books I hope to read this summer.

1. Here Burns my Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs

This book took forever to get into. I've literally been reading it since March. By about page 200, I was finally interested, and since then, I haven't been able to put it down. It's a historical fiction novel set in Edinburgh, Scotland in the mid 1700s. I won't give too much away, but it is based upon the Old Testament story of Ruth and Naomi. I plan to finish it today!

2. Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge

I read "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge last winter when I found it for $1 in a thrift store. It was great, and helped me see into the male psyche. When I was unloading books from boxes yesterday at the library, I came across this gem. I knew I had to check it out, because I had heard so many great things about it! I believe it's about women and embracing our femininity.

3. So Long, Insecurity by Beth Moore

I decided to read this book because when it came out, the Christian blogger community was just abuzz about it. I can't wait to read my first Beth Moore book, and I know it's going to be amazing.

4. Something Blue by Emily Griffin
I read "Something Borrowed" this winter, and couldn't put it down. I knew I had to read the sequel, "Something Blue!"

5-9: The rest of the books in the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (from The Prisoner of Azkaban on)
I've been planning to read these for years, and just haven't gotten around to it. So I'm making it a priority this summer! I want to finish before the last movie comes out.

10. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
I found this book at a thrift store for $.50. I had heard great things about it, and obviously couldn't pass it up at that price! I bought it in January, but I'm glad I finally have time to read it now that school's out.

11. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory
This Philippa Gregory story comes chronologically next in line after "The Other Boleyn Girl." I read both "The Constant Princess" and "The Other Boleyn Girl" about two years ago, and LOVED THEM! TOBG is now my favorite book of all time. I found "The Boleyn Inheritance" at Goodwill for a couple dollars (are you seeing a theme here? I don't buy books at full price :-P) and it's just been sitting on my bookshelf for months! I can't wait to read it :-)

12. The Shack by William P. Young
I read half of this book awhile ago, and I'm not sure why I never finished it! I tend to be ADD with my reading, and I read more than one book at a time, so most likely I got too caught up reading something else and never finished it. It's such an interesting story, and really makes you think. So I definitely need to see how it ends!

That's 12 books...one for each week. It remains to be seen whether or not I can read that many books! But with all my free time, It's possible.

Oh, and there are a few more books I'd love to read again if I get the chance:
I watched the trailer for Breaking Dawn: Part I and got sooo excited, I just HAD to read the whole series again. It comes out in November, I believe, so maybe I'll have time to read them in the fall.

What's on your summer reading list?

Things Marriage has Taught Me

**Just a little aside before I get into the meat of this post...Luke and I got married almost three years ago, and had never received any of our wedding photos. Two years ago, we filed a police report along with 10 other brides. Our photographer was brought in front of a grand jury, and somehow they found her not guilty. It has been such a frustrating situation and we felt like the justice system had failed us (even as minor as this situation probably seemed to them). By this time, almost three years later, I had almost completely forgotten about it, thinking it was just something I would have to make peace with and move on from. I was never going to see those pictures. So when I got the call last night that the pictures were in our possession, I almost had a heart attack. I guess my mother-in-law has been in contact with the photographer and trying to meet with her for a long time. And somehow, she did it!! Thank you so much, Patty!!! You have no idea how much this means to me, and what a surprise blessing it was!!!

Looking through the pictures has made me think about all that marriage is, and all that I've learned in the short three years of ours. So today, this post is dedicated to marriage. I am no expert since I only have a few years under my belt, but even those three short years have taught me so much.

There may be a few wedding photos weaved into this post, just because I'm so excited to have them! **

The first thing that marriage has taught me is to pick my battles.

"Better to live on a corner of a roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife" ~Proverbs 21:9
"Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife" ~Proverbs 21:19
"A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm" ~Proverbs 27:15

Are there things that Luke does that sometimes annoy me? Of course. And there are things about me that annoy him right back. The key is to let the small things go. If Luke forgets to put the trash out on Wednesday night, that is probably not something I need to nag him about. It may annoy me, but it's not the end of the world. If he would rather stay in after a long week than go out on a date with me, I need to just let it go instead of making him feel guilty about it. And I'm sure there are hundreds of things that I do that Luke lets slide by, too.

Of course, if something major is going on, it needs to be addressed. But don't sweat the small stuff.

Just this morning, I was working outside, weeding and cleaning some things up. All of a sudden, a little nagging thought crept into my head. I tried to dismiss it, but it kept growing like a tumor. Before I knew it, I was fuming, and I immediately messaged Luke about the situation because I just didn't think I could wait until he got home.

About ten minutes after sending that message, I started to feel totally guilty. I knew I had just spoken out of anger, and had made something a bigger issue than it should have been. It's so easy to do that! Especially when you're living with someone and spending so much time with them. But next time I hope to cool down and really think about the issue. I need to determine whether it's something that really needs to be addressed, or if it's something that I'm just being naggy and nitpicky about. Because the last thing I want to be is a nagging wife.

Another thing I've learned is to keep my temper in check

"My dear brothers and sisters take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry" ~James 1:19

I have to admit that I can have a raging temper at times. I mean, I'm a woman and I have mood swings! And as women, I feel like a lot of times it's easy to blame PMS. Especially for me, because I've been plagued with hormone imbalances and lots of "Female issues" which throw my emotions way off. (Another story for another day :-P). But even though PMS is a real problem, I think we use it as a cop-out every now and then.

I am certainly not perfect when it comes to controlling my anger, but I've learned a few tricks to keep it in check. First of all, when I can feel myself getting angry for a stupid reason, I try to take a little time-out for myself. I will go downstairs (since Luke is usually upstairs in the living room) and read a book or put on a TV show just to distance myself for a little while. Usually after a few moments, I can see the situation more clearly, and THEN go address Luke about it. Instead of in the heat of the moment and my emotions. It helps me not to say things I'm going to regret.

At the same time, I try not to completely bury my emotions and just shut everything away. Because I've done that before, and all that does is cause things to build up until they all erupt like a volcano one day when Luke least expects it. I've had to work on finding a balance, and am still not quite there yet.
Date nights are important!

When Luke and I were dating, we spent almost all of our free time together. We went out to movies, sporting events, shopping, out to dinner...anything you could think of. But it's different when you're married. You live together, so not every moment together is necessarily quality time anymore. It's easy to take the time together for granted, because there's so much of it! But we've found that it is so important to continue to date after you get married, too! I look forward to date nights even more now that we're married, especially since my love language is quality time.

Luke and I were trying to have a date night every week, but that has sort of started to slip now that life has become busy again. However, I'm happy to report that we have a date planned tomorrow night complete with dinner at Olive Garden and a movie. I'm excited!

Don't be Judgmental. Convictions will differ.

"How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brothers' eye." ~ Matthew 7:4-5

I believe that God made every person unique, so we all have different convictions about different things. For example, I feel convicted not to swear, but I know other Christian people who see nothing wrong with it as long as you don't put the Lord's name into it. Another example would be that I feel okay going to see certain R-rated movies, but I know some Christians who would never do that. And that's okay. As long as we are all earnestly seeking God and trying to live for Him, we don't need to worry about the small stuff.

All that to say that in marriage, there will be differences in opinion and convictions, even if you are both Christians and "equally yoked." If there is something my husband does that I don't necessarily agree with (and I'm not talking about major, black and white things here), if I nag him about it, is that really going to make him want to stop? No way! It will make him mad, and make him want to do it all the more out of spite. It's human nature! So if there is ever a difference in opinion about whether something is "right" or "wrong," I try to give my opinion once, pray about it, and then let it go. God is the only one who should be making my husband feel convicted about something. Not me. That is not our place as wives. If we do start trying to make our husbands feel guilty, we become nagging wives, and our husbands will start to resent us.


I'm sure there will be more posts like these as the years go on. Marriage is constantly changing, and I learn new things each day. The bad thing is that lessons in marriage are usually learned the hard way. But if you seek God first, you can make it through just about ANYTHING. I've had friends who have survived major and constant fights, threats of divorce, and even infidelity because they followed and trusted in God, and He has completely restored their marriages. You have to take divorce out as an option! (of course, there are exceptions like in the cases of abuse and sometimes infidelity....but that's another topic completely).

Married ladies, what are the most important things you've learned about marriage?

What I'm Cooking Wednesday: Roasted Garlic Rosemary Potatoes

On Sunday night, I was feeling adventurous and decided I'd just throw some things together and make a side dish to go along with the chicken we were having for dinner. I had seen a recipe for garlic rosemary potatoes not too long ago that looked good, and I decided to try to make it from memory, adding a few of my own ingredients here and there. So here is my version of...

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1/4 c olive oil
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp rosemary
6-7 medium sized red potatoes, chopped into bite-sized chunks
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/4 of a medium sized onion, cut into slices and separated
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic, and rosemary. Stir until well-mixed.
3. Combine the potatoes, onion, and pepper. Put them into the olive oil mix. toss until completely covered.
3. Pour everything into a shallow baking dish. Put into oven, and cook for approximately 50 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft when tested with a fork.

We ate the potatoes with ketchup, and thought they were pretty good! A nice little side dish.

Past Wednesdays:
Christmas Treats
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Chicken Stir Fry
Bacon Alfredo Casserole
Parsley Potatoes
Semi-Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Southwestern Chili
Easy Lemon Pie
Pork Tenderloin
Potato Soup
Shamrock Cupcakes
Saucy Mexican Chicken
Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies
Rachel Ray's Pretzel-Crusted Chicken
Deviled Eggs
Truffles and Cake Balls
Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
Olive Garden Copycat Salad

Welcome to the Library!

I've wanted to help with the church library for a long time. I love reading, and it seemed like the perfect place to work.

About a year-and-a-half-ago, our old church librarian needed help with some things before our church construction began, so I started going in about once a week to help her and a few other ladies with figuring out our inventory.

Fast forward to this fall when the church started to need to make plans for our new library (for the year our church was in construction, we simply packed all our books away in storage, and didn't have a library). Our old librarian "retired" from her position, and I was excited to be asked to be the assistant to the head of the new library!

Immediately, we ordered a computer program so that we could have our books and resources listed and checked out electronically. Members of the library committee (who were all awesome, and included my aunt, mother-in-law, and my dad as our official tech guy, along with a few others) then had to take boxes of the books home, put a bar code sticker on each one, file the book's information on the program, type in the matching barcode, and then export it to our church's database. (This sounds incredibly boring. haha) It was a lot of work, and I think I built some muscles carrying so many boxes of books this spring! But I enjoyed it, although I wanted to stop every time I saw a book that looked interesting to read it :-P

Our next step was to set up the new, beautiful library. I think the library is the most beautiful room in our new building. We have high ceilings, a gorgeous light fixture made out of remnants from the stained glass window in our old sanctuary, and three, amazing, floor-to-ceiling windows.

On our committee, we had someone appointed to be the decorator, and she did such a beautiful job! I am so excited, and seriously could spend all my free time in there because it has such a beautiful, peaceful feel now.

Last Sunday was our library's grand opening! I am so excited that we have the library up and running again! We have plans to purchase a lot more nonfiction books and resources (and some fiction too), and I can't wait to watch our collection grow with books that will strengthen people in their walks with God.That is the main purpose of the library, after all.

Enough rambling...nobody but me probably cares about all that :-P But anyway, here is a tour of our new, beautiful library (keep in mind that with the huge windows taking over one whole wall, it's almost impossible to get a good picture in there with that lighting)

The stained-glass windows on the wall in the picture above are also from our old sanctuary

Kathy, our decorator, set up these cute, little endcaps to display new releases or other books of note.

This is our main desk check-out station. To check a book out, patrons just type in their name, and scan the barcode sticker on the inside cover.

This is the back wall of the room, where a second check out station is found. There's a sink there in case we want to have coffee or something for the patrons, and also a little basket to drop off book donations (we already have boxes and boxes to go through...people donate a LOT of books to a church library!)

These are our two main bookcases with a table in the middle. The closest bookcase is only halfway filled, because we actually have about 15 boxes of books left to enter, but we ran out of bar code labels. So that is our project for this week.

That's pretty much it! I'm so excited for the future of our church library. My prayer is that many lives are touched, walks with the Lord are strengthened, and hearts are changed through the pages in this room.

Nothin's Sweeter Than Summertime

Here I am...at home on my first day of summer. It hadn't quite hit me yet until this morning that school's out! On Saturday, I was shopping with my mom and sister, and all of a sudden I remembered I didn't have to return to work on Monday, and I started feeling pretty giddy. I love summer, and everything that goes along with it.

This summer is going to be especially exciting! There are lots of fun things I'm looking forward to, like...

• Julie's bachelorette party this Saturday! We are going to have a fun girls' night in, and I can't wait!
• Julie's wedding on June 25! I can't believe my little sister is getting married! But I'm so happy for her, and can't wait to celebrate with her that day.
• The 4th of July.
• Our 3-year wedding anniversary on July 12. I'm trying to talk Luke into going on a little weekend getaway or something. We've had a stressful year, and I think we deserve it :-)
• Trip(s) to Cedar Point. This is obviously a summer tradition, and it's our favorite local place to go. Plus, they are getting a new ride this year, and we can't wait to try it!
• 
• Camping. I've already heard about possible plans to go on a young marrieds camping trip with the people from our church. This would be most of the people from our old connect group, and I think we'd have a blast!
• Indians games. I can't wait to go, eat a hot dog, watch the Indians win, and hopefully watch fireworks afterward.
• Lounging by the pool, getting my tan on...or burn :-P
• Summer movies. I love cooling off in the air conditioning of a movie theater while I watch a great movie...especially if it's a cheap matinee ;-) As I mentioned before, we went to see Insidious on Saturday. It was so scary, but such a good movie!
  
• The fair. The Canfield Fair is at the very end of the summer, and I love going to it! It's fun to see all there is to see there.

Well, this summer is looking great, and I know I'm going to enjoy every minute :-) I also hope to be productive, and Julie and I are trying to start our own Etsy shop. We'll see how that goes, I guess!

It's been awhile since I've been excited on a Monday, but today I am! So happy Monday!