A Tragic End

I've been contemplating not continuing this blog.  Originally when I had the idea, I thought I would write about all things homemaking and share my heart about things that really matter about our job as mother and wife.  While I am constantly writing these more thoughtful, heartfelt posts in my mind, they rarely, if ever, get typed out for you to read.  It seems that I have made this blog idea of mine into a way to show you what coupons I used and what I plan to feed my family with an occasional house keeping post.  There is a small part of me that never sits to write what I ponder because of the busyness of my life and keeping my family blog my first blogging priority.  There is a tiny part of me though that never puts these words out there for you because I feel inadequate at times to convey my heart the way that I want to.  The minute I hit "publish" I wish I had said things more eloquently or I'm concerned that I might be misunderstood and inadvertently give wrong impressions.

Last week my mom had an acquaintance who was notified that her young daughter in Atlanta was dying in the hospital.  Her daughter had had a minor cosmetic surgery, unbeknownst to her mother, and had contracted an infection from the surgery that was taking over her vital organs quickly.  Within a day or 2, this young girl died.  I found the obituary on line and saw her beautiful picture.  She was only 28 with a 2 year old daughter who will not have the privilege of being raised by her mom.  This story stuck hard in my mind.  I won't use words in this post that might be found through a google search, but this young, beautiful girl had a cosmetic surgery that is probably the most common of cosmetic surgeries among women today.  I'm sure if she had known the outcome of that "lifting and enlargening" surgery, she would have taken the "smaller" life to be a mom to her daughter, a daughter to her mom & dad, a sister and a friend to others.

I would probably say that 99.9% of women and girls are unhappy with one or more things about their body - I am no exception.  I've actually had some pretty strong issues with this area.  Last year I would have told you that I was a chronic dieter.  Last winter I went to a Bible study that changed my heart.  My friend began a ministry years ago called Finding Balance after her struggle with eating disorders.  She led the Bible study and we went through her materials that pinpointed the issues with food that we dealt with.  The unexpected thing was that all of the participants did not have eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia but just the same thing I struggled with....constantly wanting to change their weight and be that number on the scale or that size of jeans that was ingrained in their minds.  My friend has now launched a program called "More Than a Number (> #)."  Their conference will be in my area in just a week.  Check it out.

I tell you this not because I found freedom and now I love my body and lost those 20 lbs that I wanted to lose because neither of those things happened.  I tell you this because I am now fully aware of the traps that Satan has set before me (and all women) to desire skinny, beautiful and voluptuousness.  It's everywhere we look - advertisements, television, movies, magazines, social gatherings, schools, and even churches.

Had that beautiful, young mom known she was more than a number on a scale or a size of her undergarment and been able to be aware of Satan's lies and rebuke them, she'd be tucking her little girl in tonight.  I'm not judging any of you who have had cosmetic surgeries, so please don't mistake me.  I just want to encourage you as children of God to test your thoughts about outward beauty with God's word.  Weigh your motives as you try that new diet.  Are you on a quest for good health (which is Biblical) or in search of a model's body to shine in a tiny swimsuit?  Do you pursue righteousness with the passion that you count calories?  It's the heart that matters. 

If you struggle in this way, as I do, I encourage you to go to Finding Balance and sign up for their daily devotional.  It's very short but gives you something to chew on daily that can help you keep your focus on your inward beauty.

Forgive me for writing so much if you came to this blog to see what I got free at Walgreens this week.  BUT if you benefited from hearing my heart, let me know and I just might do it again. 

My Best Mother's Day Present

My little peanut 60 pound daughter was born 10 years ago today on Mother's Day. My best present ever.

Here's her cake she chose...one of my favorites too. Toffee Brownie Trifle on page 118 of my Check Plus for the Fatherless cookbooks. Get your cookbook from my friend at A Pure Religion and help her bring her daughter home from China this month. 

Good Week for Freebies

 Walgreens had another super week of freebies.  Everything you see above was FREE.  Breathe Right was the only thing that I had a coupon for, making $1 profit from purchasing it.  There was one other freebie - an 8 pk box of Walgreens tampons, but my store was out of them.  Head out and grab you some freebies before Sunday!

CVS had this razor for 49 cents, Kleenex for 74 cents and Mitchum for 99 cents.  I also tried to get a 5 count box of Zyrtec, but they were out.  More good savings to grab!

May Menu Plan

 Did you think I dropped off the face of the earth?  I certainly have won the inconsistent blogger award.  Life's just been busy and I continue to blog in my brain but never take the time to actually make it happen at my computer.  Thanks for being patient with me.

I took a break from coupons last week and the photo above shows you my meal plan for May.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my Menu Calendar.  Having a busy soccer season has made it a bit crazy for supper time, but I cook what I can to take on the road and switch things up a bit.  If you were wondering why nothing is planned for the last week of the month, it's because last month I planned so many meals and didn't really have much flexibility on empty days that I had lots of meal plans left over.  This last week will account for that shifting that will probably occur as the school year wraps up.

Below is a super, duper yummy recipe that we made.  We still have whole chickens in our freezer from when we raised chickens to butcher 2 years ago.  This recipe took some advanced planning but it was well worth it.  The Fish Sticks were eating it off the bone before I even placed the bird on the table.  It was that good!  Try it!

Lots of Freebies

Lots of great deals at Walgreens this week.  If you have never shopped Walgreens, this is the week!

Sleepright Nasal Breathing Aid - FREE
Nexcare bandages - FREE
Crest Pro Mouth Rinse - FREE + 50 cent money maker with coupon
Oral B toothbrush - FREE
Morton Epson Salt - FREE
Allergease Herbal Supplement - FREE
A&W 10 - FREE
U by Kotex - $1.50
Ban Deodorant - 91 cents each
Aquafresh - 99 cents

Half of these deals were FREE with Register Rewards, so no couponing necessary to get the great deal.  You pay up front, they print you a RR to use as cash within the next 2 weeks.  It's that simple!  Go grab some before Sunday.

I've been getting low on paper products, but CVS is great about running deals on paper products.  They had Proctor and Gamble products with "spend $30, get $10 back" deal.  Matched with coupons, it was a deal to stock up on.  I got 3 packs of Charmin for about $3.50 each.  Kleenex were about 60 cents each.  Dawn was 41 cents each.  Colgate was FREE and lipstick was $1.69.

CVS Run

I only went to CVS this week.  Here's what I got:

Xtra detergent - 99 cents
Stride Gum - 2 for FREE
Infusion Shampoo/Conditioner - 2 for 50 cents each
Right Guard - 2 for 75 cents each
Mitchum  - 2 for 99 cents each

They had Easter candy on clearance for 75% off.  I've been using M&M's in homeschool for rewards and incentives so for $1.05 per bag, I grabbed 6.  Jelly beans came to 29 cents per bag (great for homeschool too), Pez was 44 cents each and the solid 18 oz. chocolate bunny was $1.25.  I figured that if I pay a couple of bucks for a 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips than an 18 oz. bunny was a good deal. My plan is to chop it up to use for baking cookies.

Two of my bags of M&M's are coconut M&M's.  I love coconut and never have had any problems with the flavor or texture.  My Man, on the other hand, only detests a couple foods I can think of.  Beets, coconut and liver are the only things that come to mind.  I'm convinced it's genetic as my FIL doesn't like it and now my firstborn is joining their bandwagon of coconut haters.  I used to think it was a texture thing with shredded coconut, but when I gave him ONE M&M and watched the entire drama of gagging, choking, spitting and yelling that he performed after he chewed it, I came to the conclusion that coconut all together is just not one of his favorites.  :)  He actually told me he would rather have eaten bat poop than that one coconut M&M.  Guess I have to eat the bag by myself now.

The Joys of Jello Remembered

 

Do any of you have grandmas like mine who used to serve Jello several times a week?

I think we've forgotten the joys of Jello.

(Watch it wiggle.  See it jiggle.  Cool and fruity.  Jello Brand gelatin.)  Sing with me.

Last week I made Mandarin Orange Jello for the Fish Sticks for snack and they loved it.  Can you imagine how much they would have loved it more if I had added a dollup of whipped cream on the top like my Mimi used to?

 Anyone have one of these vintage Jello recipe books like me?  I love looking through this thing and laughing at what a hit gelatin used to be.

 Anyone remember the famous Tupperware Jello molds?  Do any of these desserts look familiar?  They are screaming church potluck to me.  They were a favorite of mine for sure.

These were the ones that totally crack me up. I love to show the Fish Sticks these photos.  Shrimp inside Jello as an appetizer?  Vegetable trio...Jello with celery, carrots, apples.  Yep, I remember eating them all.  Not necessarily enjoying them all because who wants Jello with vegetables when you can have Jello with whipped cream.

So I encourage you today.  Share some Jello knowledge with your kids.  Tell them of a day when you ate celery and parsley in your Jello.  Then make a dish of yummy Jello with them.  One of my Fish Sticks favorite Jello dishes is when we make all 6 colors of the rainbow and make a plate with a scoop of each and a whipped cream cloud!  Can't beat that!