Put Me In Coach....

I'm adopting the phrase, "Put me in coach, I'm ready to play..." as one of my new sayings. I really hate making resolutions, since I usually break them within the first month. :( I have only kept one and I am proud to say that I have gone 15 years without drinking soda. I honestly don't miss it...but anyway...back to my point.

As you know, the economy tanked out about the time we were finishing up our adoption (not to mention the extra expenses added onto our CRAZY adoption). It was a horrible time to be a stay at home mom, but it was a VERY important decision to help with Caroline's adjustment into our family and we were financially able to do this. As a way of saving money, I began clipping coupons. Little did I know how our lives were going to change with this new 'hobby'. We were paying VERY LITTLE for our groceries and were eating filet mignon at least once a week! As time went on, the 'free' newspapers started dwindling and my patience/energy started going down too. Clipping coupons became a HUGE chore since I was obsessed with it!! I kinda just stopped....yes, it was sad! I was still mindful of what I purchased but wasn't saving the obscene amounts of money like in the past.

Now that I am back to work, I can't even remember the last time I bought a paper. Finances are tighter and extra time is nonexistent. So, I decided my "Put Me In Coach..." moment will be to begin clipping coupons AGAIN. I bought two papers on Sunday and will start out slow and easy. I DO NOT have the time to run all over the place for the best deals. My stockpile will not be trophy-worthy, but I WILL start saving money again. I have even planned my grocery lists for this week and next week at Publix. As usual, I am VERY excited to see how much money just a few coupons can save me. It's about time to get back in the game...

I wish that I could stay accountable to this by taking pictures of my purchases/deals once again, but TIME is of the essence and I have NO extra time. I'm still having a difficult time balancing my work/home/Caroline/tennis and I just don't think I could do that. I'll see what I can manage to come up with since accountability is VERY important. Stay tuned and let's see how many 'points' I'll be able to score.

The Bunko Babes

As part of my New Year's Resolutions, I committed to reading at least 30 books in a year. Crazy, right? Book 1 is finished and I must say it was an easy read. :)

The Bunko Babes by Leah Starr Baker was just what the doctor ordered! On Thursday night, we had our monthly Bunco (yes, I spell it with a 'c' but both are correct) gathering and the hostess brought this book to share. I flipped it over, read the back cover and announced that I was borrowing it! I sat down on Friday afternoon and finished it Friday night! I was expecting a 'juicy' novel about the trials of the "Babes", instead I received a refreshing approach to the meaning of true friendship and an invaluable lesson of Scripture.

If you play Bunco, this is a must read. :) Even if you don't play Bunco but have a group of girlfriends, then this is for you too.

A New Year means new thoughts and plans

Do you ever sit down at the computer with tons of stuff to blog about, but then immediately get writer's block? I swear this has been happening to me for the last month! I sit down and then realize that I have nothing worthwhile to say! So, I'm just going to start typing and praying that this post makes a bit of sense. :)

Wow! Can you believe it's actually 2010? I vividly remember when it was 1999 and everyone thought the world was going to end!! LOL! Since it is a new year, I decided to update the look of my blog and type up a few thoughts/plans for 2010.

• Last year, I promised that I would type up our adoption story, and for the most part, I did. I will finish the story soon.
• I need to do better on my couponing. I have fallen off the wagon a bit and need to get back on it! Unfortunately, a Sunday has already passed and I didn't buy a paper. Not off to a good start...
• I plan on tracking my savings this year. I started doing this last year and found my calendar where I wrote down the numbers. It was quite an impressive start and I would like to do it again. Maybe I can last three months this year...
• Each week I would like to cook something in my crockpot. I have already used my crockpot once so I'm actually off to a great start! However, the verdict is still out on the tastiness....we'll see tonight.
• Reading books. Oh, how I used to be an avid reader. I would sit down with a book and finish it before the sun came up the next day. Yes, I am a freakishly fast reader. However, since I started working and then having Caroline, reading has been put on the backburner. I would love to see myself reading at least thirty new books this year. I guess since we are on a budget, that would mean getting a library card...anyone have an idea on how to get one of those???
• Running....yes, I said running. I started out doing awesome with this, but then I got sick right before Christmas. I didn't even have the strength to get out of bed much less run in the frigid weather. So, I need to get back. I would like to find a small (very short) race to participate in this spring. It would help with the accountability.
• Turning off the television more....this is a big one for us. We are horrible at leaving the television on, even when we aren't watching it. It's like we need the background noise. So, I plan on being more aware of this and just exactly how much tv Caroline watches. She doesn't watch tons, but I definitely know she could cut back.

Okay, if you are still here after all of the randomness, thank you! These were just some thoughts that were circling around in my brain and I thought I should at least try to type them up. I hope you guys have a wonderful new year and I would love to hear some of ya'll's (can you tell I'm from the South?) thoughts for the upcoming year.