Coupon Clipping Continues

As some of you may know, I have gone a little coupon crazy lately.

And the mania continues.

McDonald's has, of course, any size drink for one dollar. Andrew and I go there on days when we eat lunch together. We have actually developed a pretty neat little system. We pack our own lunches. We park in the McDonald's parking lot. He runs in and buys two large drinks (although, if you wanted to be really thrifty, you could buy one drink and share it between two people. But therein lies this problem: Andrew loves sweet tea; it makes me want to throw up.) We sit in our car, in the parking lot, and eat our packed lunches. Then, when we have finished our lunch, and before we leave the parking lot, Andrew goes back into McDonald's and gets refills for each of us. Cheating the system? Possibly. Slightly.

I say all of that to say this: This week, if you purchase a drink from McDonald's, there is a sticker attached to the cup. The sticker is good for either a free 12 oz fruit smoothie, or a free 12 oz frappe. Andrew and I each got a drink; thus, we received two coupons.

The deals do not stop there. I discovered a wonderful blog that offers free printable coupons. The author posts anywhere from two to ten or more coupons each day. I have discovered something about these coupons though. If you print and use coupons ONLY for things you would need to purchase anyway, with or without a coupon, then the coupons truly do save you money. But if you tend to purchase items simply because you have a coupon for those items, then this blog might be a deathtrap for you.

So, before clicking here, consider yourself warned.

Speaking of discovering new blogs, here are some photos from a blog that is new to me! I stumbled upon it recently, and love Kate's taste. She provides inspiration, tutorials on DIY projects, step- by- step pictures, and before and after shots!




Enjoy your Wednesday.

Have a smoothie.

A Thought to End the Day

"Love is extravagant in the price it is willing to pay, the time it is willing to give, the hardship it is willing to endure, and the strength it is willing to spend. Love never thinks in terms of "how little", but always in terms of "how much." Love gives, love knows, and love lasts." - Joni Eareckson Tada

Quick Recap

After having taken such a hiatus from blogging, this blank screen, just waiting to be typed on, is quite intimidating. There is a lot in my head that I would love to share, but I am struggling to articulate all of those thoughts into actual words.


I think I will start with a list.

Short.
Sweet.
To the point.


Here are some things I have done since my last post, in no particular order:


Begun moving into a new apartment.




Watched fireworks with three of my favorite people.




Baked some cakes.





Baked lots of cupcakes.



Ruined even more cupcakes.... It's a long story.

Attempted grilling.

And failed.

Pretty miserably. Not a long story, but a sad one. No pictures.

Decorated cookies.



Did not fail.

Caught up with friends.

Mostly via bridal showers.




Played the travel version of Connect 4 (which I was given at one of the afore mentioned bridal showers), while not actually traveling.

Rescued blackberries from the dark depths of the forest.

And put them into cobbler... A feat that ended up being much more difficult than it sounds, or that it should have been.

Gotten in sync with nature.

That happened while I was in the dark depths of the forest picking blackberries.

Or, more accurately, while I was standing on a path, near the edge of the forest, picking blackberries.

But close enough.

Unfortunately, there is no photographic evidence of this endeavor, as I was much to busy fighting off forest beasts (aka: bugs) to care anything about taking pictures.

There was, at one point, other evidence that blackberries were actually picked; however, said evidence got eaten.

But back to the list.

Finished pre-marital counseling. Thank God.

Started going to a new church, with my soon-to-be-new husband.

Paid more bills than I have ever had to pay before.

And to this, I also say, "Thank you, God," because that means we had money with which to pay bills.

Opened a new savings account.

Been happier than I ever remember being.

Ever.

And that is saying something, because I am generally a pretty darn happy girl.



Since my job is fairly new, several people have been interested in knowing what I make.



So here goes another list; a list of what I have made so far.



I have made lots of mistakes.

I have made time.

I have made contacts.

I have made friends.

I have made phone calls. Lots of them. Many of which go unanswered and unreturned.

Lots of referrals.

Lots of home visits.

A few hospital visits.



Now, what do I hope to make?

As cliche as it sounds, I hope to make a difference. I hope to make a small, positive impact on the people with whom I come in contact each day. I hope to make their lives a little bit easier, a little bit sweeter.

This is a hope I carry with me, not only in regards to work, but in regards to everyday life... and in regards toevery person that I meet, or live life with, whether I walk past them in the parking lot for a moment, stand behind them in the check out line for three minutes, or come home to them at the end of each day.

I want to make people feel significant.

Because they are.

Have a happy weekend.

A New Week

"Give me understanding, and I will keep your law, and obey it with all my heart.
Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.
Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.
Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to Your word."
- Psalm 119: 34-37

I often require some degree of understanding before feeling satisfied or comfortable. My faith is sometimes contingent upon my level of understanding; thus, my level of trust fluctuates as my level of understanding changes: understanding of a situation, understanding of a consequence or outcome, understanding of a particular event or circumstance. In other words, if my understanding of something is greater, my "faith" is also greater, and visa versa. And that is not faith in God at all; that is faith in my own human knowledge and understanding. My obedience of, and faith in, the Word of God should not be dependent upon my own understanding.

In order even to begin to grasp the greatness of the Almighty, I must turn my eyes from things of this world. My heart must be focused solely on Christ. And that cannot happen when I am in the way. When my focus is on me, it cannot be on Christ also. When my focus is on Christ, my life will change. My relationships will change. My work and work ethic will change. When I focus on Christ, my actions toward others will be like those of Christ. My words will be encouraging and truthful, as Christ is. And I will love others with the same love that Christ loves me. But this cannot happen while I am pursuing my own happiness; my own selfish gain. My life must change. I must be willing to sacrifice my comfort, my home, my pride, my concerns. I must be able to let go of myself in surrender to the Lord. Until this happens, my heart cannot be turned away from this world and toward the statues of Christ.

Anything that is not of God, anything that is not for the glory of His Kingdom, is worthless. Everything is a lesser thing compared to Him.

My heart breaks when I reflect upon the many worthless things that distract me from Christ each day: What will I wear? What will I eat for lunch? When will I finish a particular assignment or task? How long will I have to stay at Ms. So-and- so's house that I hate going to so much because it smells awful and she does not clean up after her animals? What will I do with my free time this weekend? When is the next time I get paid? These things are so trivial. And they all focus on one thing; they all focus on me.

As I go into a new week, I am going to begin praying for a new focus: a focus on Christ. I simply do not matter all that much. Nothing in my life matters as much as my relationship with my Savior. Nothing is worth hurting that relationship. There is no circumstance or event that is more important than that relationship. There is nothing important enough to interfere with my time with Him.

Passing the Time

Today was just one of those days... Not a bad day, but one of those days when I am fairly certain that all forty-something of my clients collaborated in an effort to completely avoid me. Not one person I called today bothered to call me back. I usually have the opposite problem: a select few clients call over and over and over again, multiple times a day, sometimes for specific reasons, but most often, just to chat. No one must have been feeling very chatty today. I spent the day staring longingly at my telephone willing it to ring.

In my desperation, I turned to blog hopping. This was a temptation that I managed to resist for hours before finally giving in. But, really, my sanity depended on it. I was at my wit's end. Not to mention, I had fallen behind since the weekend anyway. :)

So, here are a few of my favorite finds:

Joy the Baker's wedding cake endeavor is hilariously entertaining. And, I do not know how she does it, but somehow, it is educational as well. She spent the entire week planning and preparing this cake, and that week was not spent in vain! The finished product looks absolutely splendid! The best part? She provides such clear, detailed instructions that I now feel empowered! Her step-by-step instructions, which she provides starting from the very beginning of the LONG process, and continuing all the way to the very end, are easy to read, funny to read, and actually incredibly helpful (say I, who have yet to actually attempt a wedding cake on my own).


Seleta, from Simply Seleta, takes readers through her journey of revamping her foyer. The end result is incredible! I am in awe of how someone can be so creative and so organized as to creative a space that is totally livable, practical, and functional... and adorable at the same time! Everything has its proper place, and each proper place is stunning. My favorite thing? The hanging wall pocket unit, which is actually two units, so if you are decorating and organizing on a smaller scale, you have the option of just having two pockets versus four.

And this picture just makes me happy. For me, a popsicle is a happy memory: a memory of summer, of childhood, of simplicity. When I was a little girl, my mom kept freezer pops in the freezer all summer 'round... And my sister and I ate them by the dozens. My favorite flavors were the pink and the blue. My least favorite were the purple and orange. I used to try to save all the juice for last, so that I could drink it when I got to the end of the popsicle.

from here

On the Prowl

I posted this picture a while back, but I am mentioning it again now in order to let it be known that I am searching high and low for this picture.

Starting...

Now.

Andrew is moving into our new apartment on July first. And I have the PERFECT place for this picture.

There is a breaker box in the kitchen. Yes, it is a complete eyesore, but it will be incredibly easy to cover up with any piece of artwork, a calender, a chalkboard, etc. The possibilities are endless.

While I have a few ideas for what I would like to put there (since I am fairly certain Andrew does not care one iota), Audrey is definitely my first choice.

After a brief internet search, I was able to find this picture here, at Owens Archive, available in different sizes. But I am not yet ready to give up hope that I can find it elsewhere for a more affordable price... I will be tearing the flea market apart next weekend in my valiant effort to find Audrey and put her in my kitchen!



I will leave you with this, which would also be appropriate in a kitchen:

Happy FATHERS' DAY

The first time I came across this website, I was incredibly touched. The photographs are gorgeous; the words of the writer are even more so. Please look at this when you have time to truly reflect, to think upon your own life, and upon that of your father.

There are so many different kinds of dads: Good ones, bad ones, quiet ones, loud ones, silly ones, serious ones, athletic ones, bookish ones, old ones, young ones, ones that leave, ones that stick around, ones that are alcoholics, ones that are in prison, ones that attend every birthday party and softball game their children ever have, ones that plan every birthday party their children ever have, ones that coach every softball game their children ever play, ones that never make it to the softball games because they are too busy working, ones that never make it to any softball games because they live states away, ones that never make it to any softball games because they are serving our country overseas, ones that are unemployed, ones that are homeless. The list could continue.

But a dad is a dad.

And a dad is to be cherished... No matter what stage of life he is in,
no matter what physical condition he is in, and no matter what state of mind he is in.

"Honor your father and mother- which is the first commandment with a promise-"
Ephesians 6:2