Snow Days in Georgia

A few weeks ago, we experienced a wonderful thing in Georgia...SNOW! We were blessed with about five inches and we LOVED every minute of it! Of course, we weren't totally prepared as we didn't really have the appropriate outfits. Hence, the mismatched clothing, no warm hats or snow boots. :) Caroline had been watching so many movies about 'snowmen', so she was super excited to build her own. She was great at rolling the snow into balls and loved throwing snowballs at us. We had tons of fun with our good friends down the street, Daniel and John. Excuse the pictures........they are in REVERSE order. ;)

The second day...the snow is melting, but is still lots of fun!
Not happy posing with her great snowman! We used brocolli for eyes, carrot nose, and tomatoes for the mouth...yep, we had extra veggies at the house.

Loving the snow!

Throwing a snowball at me!

Gathering up her 'ammo'...

I love this picture because you can see the snow really falling down.

Caroline is making her first snowball!

Running in the backyard with the first drops of snow, notice the giant 'snowball...aka soccer ball' in Caroline's hands. Peaches LOVES playing ball!

Helping Peanut get the snow off her back! Poor Peanut was NOT impressed with the snowfall!

Caroline is yelling, "It's snowing, Moooommmmyy!!!"

Caroline Cuteness

Caroline's hair was fixed, but she spent the afternoon at "Aunt Issy's" house...the bows are MIA!
Posing with her cheese in a Creation for Caroline Original
Love this picture!

I love how you can see her double dimples...reminds me of my dad's! :)

Pure Sweetness!

And We're Back!

Caroline and I are back from visiting my family this past week. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed being pampered by my mom and Gene (aka Nana and Papa). As you all know, we got hit by a snowstorm so that delayed our trip by a night. Caroline and I traveled to Nashville and then spent the night in a hotel. We had so much fun...a girl's night!

Caroline was spoiled rotten by Nana and Papa. She had a constant play companion and had everyone 'on call'. I was able to spend time learning/working my mom's new embroidery and sewing machine. Unfortunately, I am taking it to the repair center because something is wrong with the computer screen. I can't wait to start monogramming all her ribbons and shirts, after all, a girl can't live in the South without monogramming!

Since I have been back home, I have hit the ground running. I have a super busy week with a HUGE consignment sale (I'm working 12 hours), a tennis match, the teacher appreciation luncheon (postponed) on Friday and dogsitting my sister's two dogs. I am also trying to get my coupons organized for the Publix Italian Days Sale. We will be stocking up on Progresso Soup, Pillsbury Bread, and Whole Wheat Pasta. At 15cents a box (after coupon), I urge you to buy several boxes and donate them to the Food Pantry!!! Of course, once I get my coupons in order and shop, it will be time to gather the next batch.

I am trying a new recipe this week and I can't wait to post the recipe. My mom fixed it for us and it was YUMMY! I have most of the ingredients in my stockpile, but will be buying a few needed items. I'm also substituting turkey breast for hamburger meat. Since my week is so busy, I'm trying to cook as much ahead of time, to help reduce stress. Tonight, I cooked a honey glazed spiral sliced ham and veggies. It made enough for sandwiches and dinner tomorrow night. It was my first time to cook a ham and I must say, I was quite pleased (not to mention the fact I only paid $8 for a 10 pound ham at Kroger, just made it better).

We celebrated Valentine's Day with Caroline and just loved on her! We gave her some DVD's, candy, cookies, puzzles, and a new furry hat/mitten set. She was so sweet when she opened her gifts. I told her it was "I Love You Day" and these were 'just because we loved you'. She grabbed me and hugged me so tight. So SWEET!

Okay, enough rambling...pictures of Caroline soon!! I promise!

And we're off...

Caroline and I are at my mom's house this week. I am learning how to work my mother's embroidery machine and Caroline is getting spoiled rotten. I don't have internet access here, so if you are looking for me, I'll be home this weekend.

This past weekend in Georgia, we experienced about 5 inches of snow!!! Wahoo!!! Caroline loved it and I can't wait to show you pictures of her cute snowman and her 'winter' outfits.

Have a great week and I'll be back posting pictures and coupon deals when I return. :)

Helping Out Our Neighbors with Coupons

Since I have been couponing, I have racked up quite the stash of vitamins and Bayer Glucose Monitors. As a matter of fact, they are 'breeding' in my guest bedroom closet. These are items that I have 'bought' because they gave me overage to pay for my real groceries. But, what do you do when you have so many vitamins and Bayer monitors that you don't know what to do with them? I have been feeling very guilty for having so much stuff and not using them. It's wasteful, greedy, and not to mention taking up space.

I already donate my extra food to the local food pantry Helping In His Name, but have not been able to find a place to donate medical supplies... Until now!

Hands of Hope is in our 'backyard', located at the Henry County Medical Center. They provide free medical care to the low income and uninsured residents of Henry County. I called them this week to ask if they could use the glucose monitors and vitamins. The receptionist was very sweet and very grateful. I had Tim drop them off for me since I was at school all week. He had 50 monitors and 5 bags full of vitamins. He said they were so 'taken back' by the generosity and couldn't believe that someone thought of them.

I was very proud that I could do something to help. I coupon because it helps my family, so I was glad that my couponing skills were helping others. These people are OUR neighbors and with the state of the economy, these people could be someone you KNOW.

I would like to challenge everyone who reads my blog and coupons to take that extra step. Don't just simply get rid of your extras, make sure you are donating them to a place that uses them. For instance, instead of taking your extra shampoo/nail clippers/body wash to Goodwill or throwing them away, take them to the Food Pantry. Did you know that if you are on food stamps, you're not able to use the food stamps to buy toiletry items? Again, with the state of our economy, why not donate these items to people who are in need.

My plan is to put together a box/bag of items that will be donated at the end of each month. Do I know what will be in the bag? Of course not. If I'm buying 'three' items, I'll buy 'four' and put the fourth in the bag. I will also make an extra effort to shop at CVS more. Almost every week, you are able to get 'free' toothpaste/toothbrushes/shampoo/bodywash, etc..., so why not take the extra ten minutes to do this? Since I have stopped working, I'm not able to write checks each month to donate, but I can use my resources and thriftiness to still do my part. Will you?

What is it?

Something must be wrong with me....I'm cleaning and washing dishes! If you know me, you know that this IS something I HATE doing. I must be pregnant??? Just joking!

It's a Hard KNOX life....

I am LOVING the $4.00 Knox coupon that was in the paper a few weeks ago! It is really helping me keep my grocery spending to a minimum and has been instrumental in helping me buy teacher appreciation items. BUT, I went today and saw a sign posted that said, "We are no longer accepting this coupon for any other item besides the item pictured. Thanks, Mgmt" WHAT!!!!

The coupon wording CLEARLY states "ANY KNOX PRODUCT"! So, I came home and typed up a complaint to Publix headquarters. We shall see what they say and I'll be sure to report back to you.

Chili's Salsa Recipe

I posted this recipe back in August, but I thought it was worthy of a repost. I made this for my tennis match and it was a hit! It's super easy and due to stockpiling, I had all the ingredients (other than the jalapeno) in my fridge or pantry.

Chili's Salsa Recipe:

1 can (14 1/2 oz) of tomatoes, not drained
1 can Rotel (I used the lime/cilantro mixture)
1/4 cup yellow onion (diced)
4 tsp jalapenos
1/2 to 3/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cilantro
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp lime juice

Mix all ingredients and blend in blender until 'salsa' consistency. Serve with tortilla chips.

OUT OF COFFEE!!! Kinda...

I am a lover of coffee! Always have been and probably always will! It helps me get up in the morning and nothing beats the smell of brewing coffee filtering into the bedroom from the kitchen! When I was teaching, my students used to know "don't talk to Mrs. Rose until she finishes her coffee" and I even had one kindergarten student ask "Mrs. Rose, did you have your coffee this morning because you are awfully crabby!" Yep, I am COFFEE LOVER! I ALWAYS have plenty of coffee in stock and I don't know if I've ever been out.

This morning, Caroline and I woke up at 10:15. My eyes are super swollen and my body is aching. It was a ROUGH night and I think we went to sleep when normal people were getting up. :( Anyway, Tim had a tennis match this morning and I knew I could count on him to have the coffee made (he almost always does!). I ventured into the kitchen to find the filter in the pot, nothing on and 6 bags of unopened coffee on the counter. WHAT? Why did he do this? Is this some sick joke?? I walked closer to find all the bags were whole bean and not ground. Why is this a problem??? Well, I don't have a grinder!! YIKES!!!!! My body is so tired, eyes swollen, I survived a hellacious night and now I CAN'T HAVE MY COFFEE!!!!!

I bet I know what I buy today at the store! Do you??

It's 9:05 PM

Okay, my dear blogger friends, it's 9:05 PM and I am sitting in my bed watching Lost (my FAVORITE show!), snacking on free popcorn, and listening to Caroline cry in her room. It's been one of those weeks. Caroline has been sick since last Wednesday and is on some major medicine. We've been doing breathing treatments every 4 hours around the clock, an inhaler for her seasonal asthma twice a day, and is now taking an oral steroid for five days. Yep, you read all that right...'little one' is super sick.

So, in order to help Caroline get better, I ventured into the Herbal Planet to pick up some herbal meds. I am now giving her probiotics (which I highly recommend), silver shield (seems to be over priced and not effective), and ivy leaf syrup (somewhat soothing) for her cough. I honestly haven't noticed a huge difference with the herbal meds, other than the probiotics. I have been mixing the probiotics in her milk, juice, or applesauce for the last several days. Her bowels are regularly moving (HUGE improvement) and I am sold on the benefits!

In other news, I've been putting Caroline to bed around 8ish and it seems to be helping. Ondrea, you were right about the 'getting up at the same time'. It's been hard this past week since she's been majorly coughing, but she does seem to 'go to sleep' a bit earlier; I AM SUPER thankful!

I am asking you to pray for Caroline's health. She's been so sick and the medicine is not seeming to help and is changing her little personality. I definitely don't like the 'new personality'. She's becoming quite the sassafrass and her emotions are highly sensitive. One "Mommy Look" will send her over the edge and then I am in my room crying due to the temper tantrum.

I must go now as the new Lost is coming on and I MUST concentrate. ;)

Maggiano's Giveaway! YUMMY!

Michelle over at I Heart Saving Money (notice the new button on the sidebar) is hosting an awesome giveaway! She is offering one lucky reader a $50 gift certificate to Maggiano's! Can you say YUMMY? Maggiano's is one of my FAVORITE restaurants and as I am typing this, my stomach is growling. ;) I LOVE the Rigatoni "D" and the Maggiano's Salad. As a matter of fact, I may suggest we go here to eat for my birthday (hint, hint Tim!). Anyway, for a chance to win this giveaway head over here to read all about it! Yep, it's that easy!