Saving the Moola

Yeah, long time no blog. :) I've been busy people. My back is FINALLY starting to feel better after the wreck. We've got a pontoon boat that we have completely gutted and rebuilt. It is almost done, but that is a post for another day.

I have really gotten back into couponing. I am a sales freak and I have really not been doing what I should lately to save money. Right now I am just trying to figure out how to organize my coupons better. So, if you have a process or good ideas....let me know! I want to tell about a few things that I've gotten deals on the past 2 days.

I have been struggling with the back and have been on medication for a while now. I noticed that Rite Aid has in their sales paper where if you transfer a prescription, they will give you a $25 gift card. Well, just so happens I had two prescriptions that I could transfer so after paying $10 for those, I received $50 to spend in the store. Woohoo! I ended up purchasing a few items that they had on sale. Suave Shampoo/Conditioner for 77 cents a bottle and some Ragu and pasta. I spent about $9 I believe of my gift card money!!!

Today, I went to CVS. I had $6 in reward money that I needed to use, plus Boyfriend had a $20 gift card that he received when he got a prescription filled. I had those and another coupon for $1 off a Colgate Toothbrush. This is what I got...

6 jars of Ragu (spent $10 with $3 rebate or coupon for next visit)
3 Colgate toothbrushes (spent $10.50 with $5 rebate for next visit)
2 Colgate Toothpaste (spent $2.99, it was a buy one get one)
I then used my $1 coupon and my $6 in rebates. My grand total was $17.94 which I proceeded to use the FREE gift card for!!! So, all of this I got for FREE!!! Now, I love that. Plus, I received $8 in more rebates. And some other misc. coupons they gave me for other items.

So, what I need to know from the ladies are more used to doing these things, how are you organizing your coupons? I can already see that I need a place to store my purchases :)

I'm still alive...barely!!!

Let's see where to begin? I guess resolutions and I'll explain where I have been....



One was to blog weekly. Well, I went out of town that weekend with sick Emma and she took her medication like a champ. Then, when we got back I was busy with work and Boyfriend got back in town after a weeklong trip. So, we had some catching up to do. Well, during the catching up, it was decided that we would move in together. So, my single mommy life with two became a single mommy and a single daddy with four!!! So, we've been busy with life with four. Not to mention I had to pack and clean and move out of my apartment. Which would not have been too bad, if a lady hadn't rear ended me.



Diet & exercise. I was limited with my back, but I started Saturday with walking. Went camping and hiking this weekend. I hiked on Sunday, but didn't do anything yesterday. But I did fix me a healthy meal and brought my lunch to work today. So, there ya go! I am trying to get ready for lake season!!!



Reading my Bible. I have failed miserably! I stopped reading when we went out of town in January. :( But maybe I will get back to looking for a devotional of sorts.



So, there it is with me. It has been a crazy 6 weeks. But I am unpacked. The kids are doing fabulously. I am happy and so is Boyfriend. It can be crazy with 4 kids (9, 6, 5, and 3 years old) but we all have fun. And the best time of the evening is after everyone has bathed and we have a little family time before bed times start to arrive. Life is definitely good.



Here is to hoping I do better with the blogging. :)



Oh I did order Turbo Jams last week. Hope to get it in the mail tomorrow!!!

Resolutions and Sick Kids

What a title! I'll be shocked if you decide to continue reading this entry with a title like that. :) My last entry I spoke about New Years Resolutions. So, I need to update my progress. The blog thing is happening. Not sure how often I will update. Maybe once a week at least? But I hate to put a time on it. But I think I will strive for once a week. My resolution is to at least keep up with it.

My second one...the most important one to me is the reading the Bible. I've succeeded thus far. I read at night before I go to bed. I'm just going along with my Bible's daily reading outline. So far it is good, but I think I'm going to tweak it a bit. I just really want to get more out of it. So, maybe a Bible study would be more appropriate. My big thing is to be reading the Bible daily. Yes, I said I wanted to read it through, but I just don't feel like I'm getting much out of just reading it. And which is more important...saying I've read the Bible through in a year or saying that I read the Bible daily AND got something out of it? I'm thinking the latter.

Ok, so the third one. Eat better and excercise. Hahaha!! I started the detox diet on Saturday. It ended the same day. LOL! It was HORRIBLE!!! I was starving! And I haven't ate as well as I should, but I figure if I make small changes it will still be for the good. Now, have I excercised? Not unless you call running in to get the fast food. LOL! Tonight though, I think I'll do my strength training. Who knows, maybe I'll do some cardio today. ;)

Onto sick kids. I have one. Lucy Goosey (Emma) has had a cough for about a week now. Last night I noticed she had some gunk draining from her left eye. I was thinking, uh oh, ear infection. This morning she wakes up crying about her ear. :( So, me thinks yep, ear infection. We have a dr appointment in about an hour. Hopefully, it will all turn out well cause we head out of town on Friday for a weekend trip. So, she has to get better!!!

Off to grab a banana and to look for a Bible study. :)

Just a day late...

I have thought of several New Year's resolutions for the year 2009. Many of them, the first one being starting a blog and carrying through with it. Well, I'm only a day late. But that's typical of me. To decide to start something and spend all the effort pondering it, that by the time it starts...well, my momentum slacks. Wednesday (December 31st) I spent all day trying to name my blog. Seriously....all day. After many emails with friends...Chronicles of a Small Town Southern Belle was born. So, here we are...just a day late.

My second resolution, and one I am really going to strive to keep, is to read the Bible through in a year. So far, that is the ONLY one that I started on time. Of course, I haven't had my reading today. ;) I have read the Bible through once. Back in 2005. I hope to read and get a little more out of it this year. I am secretly dreading Numbers. I just get so tired in that chapter of all the numbers. :)

My third resolution is to eat better and try to work out more than I did last year. Yes, I have about 10 pounds that I would like to lose, but more importantly I would rather start eating for the health benefits than to shed pounds. But hey, who am I kidding, it would be nice to see that scale go down just a tad...and to be able to fit into my jeans without sucking in. Tomorrow I begin my detox diet. I hate to say diet, but I only have to do it for a week.

Well, I guess that is it for this first post. I have baby dolls to play with!