Called to Serve

Robert (the one next to me) had his farewell today! Awesome meeting...horrible pictures! The sun was right in our faces!
Look at Jace!
These will be classic funny pics sometime in the future!
Good luck Rob, we love you!

Long time, no deal

All of this for 96 cents!
All of this for $1.60 (Free frosting and grapes for 54cents a pound! Woohoo for coupon overage!)

Splurging

Why is it that really unhealthy food is what not only sounds good, but actually tastes good to me right now?

Papa John's (although, let's admit, good no matter if pregnant or not)- I just ordered 3 large pizzas! I know, I know.

Chicken Nuggets

Taquitos with Queso Dip

and last and maybe even least

Mac and Cheese!

This baby must be a junk eater! Oh, and it is an expensive eater. I do not normally eat these things.

Our Weekend!

Justin's bday present to me was the Phantom of the Opera! It was so good and so fun! Thanks for a fantastic time sweetheart!

Halloween. Do you see any smiles?

Cuz, I don't.

Why so serious! (my bro. Jace was Batman)

Blake was Thomas and Justin was a "jock"

Look, Mom, candy- and I am still not smiling.

Basically Blake thought being Thomas was great and everything else was a disaster due to an owie on his hand. He would not even go with my brother trick or treating because of it.

I need a jogging stroller by tomorrow for the weekend

Anyone able to lend it to me just for a couple of days?

Carving Poh-kins

Woo Hoo

(Pardon my pregnant yucky look)

love this

The FIRE!

So excited!

Cabela's

For Family Home evening we went to Cabela's. Blake wanted to have Laban for FHE, but we persuaded him to go here instead. He ran around the store like a mad man, and I videoed it, but I think I will not post those. But here are some shots of the cool animals.

Go Cougs!
The whole store is awesome and Blake and Dad finally took me to go see it. It is kind of their thing :)

Long Time No See

Justin has been gone for so long. Sure he comes home to sleep, but he rarely even gets a chance to eat dinner with us anymore. I probably see him for about half an hour a day, right at bed time. He leaves about 6am and gets home about 10:30pm. Give or take an hour or so. Medical school is tough, but I have never thought that we are doing the wrong thing, so that helps. We also have a ton of great friends to help keep me busy (well, I do, Justin does not have time for friends :( ).
Miss you babe!

good deals at walgreens

Peanut butter for 1.27 ea
pasta sauce for 1.37 ea.... not amazing, but I got $8 back for buying 8, so it was kinda like paying $. 45 each!
The Quaker oatmeal, was 2 for 5, but I got $5 if I spent 10, so it was more like 4 for $5.

Huggies, I got for 18-6 in coupons and I used the $8 I got from the ragu, so only $4 for the two packs!!!

Free bandaids, gum was 25 cents, but I got a buck back, so almost like free plus overage. Chapstick paid for itself and the lotion paid for itself plus I had a coupon to make it even better!

So total I paid 46.64, but I got $28 back... not too bad. BTW, that gum is mmmmmmm mmmm good!

Possibly the best birthday EVER!!!

I got a piano!
Justin is taking me to PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!!!! YIPEEEE!

Lots of fun gifts

Lots of family!
Yummy food.
Excellent weather!

and finding out this!!!!
I know it is super early to be telling, but let's face it- when you have been trying for a year and a half you just need people to know! So- yep! A great birthday!

I was talking to Justin and deciding on whether he should study now and push bedtime for Blake off for a little bit, or if we should do bedtime and then study. I asked, "So, now or later?"

Blake quietly interjected- "Later"

A few things...

It has been a while since I posted a good deal (I did not shop for like 2 weeks- I know GASP!)

My featured deal was the veggies. I got 12 bags for 80 cents! I also got free fabric softener. Frozen pizza- I know, I know- but it was only .38 cents each (I think it should have been free looking back at it now- but whatev.) Everything else was just at a really good price.
Fall has arrived here and I LOVE IT! We actually had to put on pants and a jacket in the morning.

Our Fall garden. The zucchini and cucumbers are growing like crazy. We do have sprouts of spinach, so we will see.

Just one more picture to prove it was chilly outside:)

Home Depot Super Star!

Blake had a blast making this fun firehouse bank. He was not sure about the hammering part. I think he felt like it was not working when he did it, so he always gave it to me. But he helped put the nails in the holes.

His favorite part: THE APRON!

He is currently wearing it. On Saturday he took a nap in it and I had to force him to take it off at night. I love Home Depot. Who does not love free awesome projects for kids?

Third RS project

This is the third project we will be doing at enrichment.

It includes all 4 blocks and is about 8in. by 12in.

This project is $7.00

I think you will like it...

Twilight mini sign- $2.00

Team Edward Mini set- $4.00

Team Jacob Mini set- $4.00

Relief Society Craft Night (mini super saturday)

I am so excited to be doing our ward's craft night this year. It is Nov. 5th, a Thursday-hence the "mini" at 6:30 at the church, for those in the ward. Due to the day and time, we will only be doing 3 projects, but FUN ones nonetheless.

We will be etching our names into glass dishes! No more losing them or mixing them up at potluck functions or drop-off dinners.

The glass etching is $2.50

We will also be making a wood sign that is based off of the scripture "Establish a house of prayer, fasting, faith....etc." It is 10in by 24 in and I love it.

This project is $18.00

Project #3- still needs a picture! Check back soon.

**If you are not in the ward or cannot make it to our fun night, but would still like to participate, please feel free to leave a comment and we can set something up!

I'm Hungry

Me- I am hungry
Blake- Go get your some dinner
Me- But what should I have?
B- Toast
Me-Ok
B- Yep, it's ok, you can have some.

Halloween Card Exchange

Tatum provided a tag for us to make.
Tasha's


Brooke's

Bethany's

Melody's

Ronnelle's

Mine

Christine's

Tatum's

And Sarah made a cute card that I already used! Sorry about not taking a picture.

Who does not love a good shower?!?

Me, Joslyn, Elise

My food layout, mmmmmmm.

The buffet! Yep, chocolate + strawberries = yummy!

Lots of gifts!

I think it was a success and I loved the food I made. You know it was good when everyone asked for the recipe!

Congrats Jos!

Walmart deals

51.58 for 7.58! Wahoo! And that is some good extra virgin olive oil.

still sad about it

I am still sad about Michael Jackson's death. About death in general. It seems like many celebs are passing away lately. Whether or not they were good people, they were certainly influential. I just get so sad seeing that legacy change from a living legend to just a legend. I usually do not obsess over these things for so long after a death, but every time I see a tribute or something to them (like tonight on the Emmy awards) I feel like crying- or actually do.

So much of my love for music/entertainment was shaped by those people.

I am still sad about it.

craftswithasideofyou

Harvest/Boo/Luck Set (the 2 images below are on the reverse of the image above)

$7.00

Summer Couplet $7.50

Merry and Bright Couplet

$7.50

Leaves are Falling All Around Couplet

$7.50

Joy/Boo Reversible Block Set (the above image is the reverse side of the below image)

$3.00

Twilight!

So excited!!!
http://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialTwilightFilm

back to life, back to reality

Well, the regular life has come back to us. Justin is back in school and working his brains out! And, I am back at teaching preschool! This year my entire class if full of girls! Talk about a change for me. A good one though. Today we had a hair doing party during play time. Something that never happens around here!

Along with school comes a regular schedule, a full day of events and a NEW HOUSE. (well, sort of).

I rearrange my house each preschool day! Not too bad, and I keep a cleaner home when i move my couches so often :)

Some of the perks I get for working with kids!

4 seasons reversible blocks!

4 seasons reversible blocks

includes: 12 blocks with 4 seasons

$12.00

He has grown a foot or two!

Robert, my brother, got his mission call to serve for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He will be reporting on Nov. 18th to the MTC and then will serve in the Salta, Argentina mission!

Justin and I both called it! We both guessed it would be Argentina! So excited for Rob, and will miss him terribly!

another great candy giveaway

http://followingthepapertrail.blogspot.com/

This lady is GOOD! Scroll down to see her butterfly album! Memorizing.

Vinyl Lettering

UPDATED PRICING!!!

Vinyl lettering available.

Vinyl lettering for your walls or projects is available in these fonts. Click on the image to enlarge.

The colors are above.

Vinyl will be sold as follows:

Height of less than 3in.- $0.25 an inch (Ex. 2in. X 12in. = $3.00)

Height of 3in. to less than 6in.- $0.40 an inch (Ex. 4in. X 10in. = $4.00)

Height of 6in. to 12in.- $0.50 an inch (Ex. 6in X 18in. = $9.00)

As always, if you have a design in mind or have a picture of something, I can probably create that for you. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

* Not sure what vinyl lettering is?
stick figures of your family on the car window
sentiment on your wall
personalization to your keepsakes

So- the no spend challenge is over!

That was hard, and I did not do perfect, but I for sure held back. For the month of August, I spent 330.35. This includes grocery, clothing, dates, vacation, wedding, a bachelorette party and a baby shower!
I think I did OK, considering the circumstances. Still, I could have done much better.
So-even though I spent that much, I saved 480.48. Anytime my savings are more than my money spent I am happy.

I am still going to be more careful this month, but I feel a bit more free now. I shouldn't feel that way, but I do :)

Just wanted to point out that YTD I have gotten 1372 items for FREE! I would list them- but, uh, yeah.

Personalized I am a Child of God wall hanging

Personalized I am a Child of God

wall hanging 8 X 10 (frame included) - $18.00

Under the "I am a Child of God" will be the First, Middle, Last name of baby and height and weight.

Under the "And He has sent me here" will be the date and time of birth.

Under the "Has given me an earthly home" will be the city and state of birth.

Under the "With Parents kind and dear" will be the first and last names of parents.

Frame can be plain wood, white or choice of color to match stitching.

Frame can stand or be hung.

Available in "pinks and purples" or "blues and greens"

If you have a specific color scheme wanted, let me know and I will create that for you.

***Accent images in this project may slightly be altered

Diaper Cakes

1 tier LadyBug Cake- Cake topper includes to Gerber bottles and Johnson's Buddies Soap

$10.00
3 tier Bumble Bee Cake- Cake topper includes 2 Gerber bottles, Johnson's Buddies soap and Johnson's cotton swabs.
$18.00

Hosting a shower anytime soon? Just need a gift? Here is a sample of some diaper cakes I make.

New items on my Etsy

I am adding items to my collection on my Etsy store.

If you live in town, call or email me for orders so you do not have to pay for shipping!

Faith, Hope, Charity Tiles 6 x 6 $12.00 (easels not included)

Easels are $1.50 a piece

I Hope They Call Me on a Mission- $5.00

CTR- $5.00



Daughter of a King-$5.00





The three above are available in most any color. So feel free to personalize them.

Black and White Magnet Board 12 x 12 (comes with mounting strips and 2 magnets) $12.00 SOLD

Brown and Green Magnet Board 11 x 14 (comes with mounting hardware and 3 matching magnets) $15.00

Crafts with a Side of You

UPDATE!! Email me with your order. justmons @ hotmail . com

Introducing my latest endeavor. I am starting to sell crafts. I am calling it Crafts with a Side of You because many of the crafts are custom to the buyer. Here are a few sneak previews. I will be selling on Etsy soon, but thought I would give family and friends first pick.

Keep checking for more crafts to come!

My Halloween line

Each set found below.

Family Home Evening Chart $12.00

Each star can be customized with the names of each member of the family. The stars are movable. Customize your colors too!

Mummy Man $6.00

Spooky Ghost Set $8.00

Boo! Accent Set $12.00 - Currently Sold Out

This Families Are Forever Sign (6in. X 24in.) is customized with your Last Name.

$12.00

Available in coordinating colors that match your home.

Please email or comment to place an order. For those of you out of town shipping will be arranged through the USPS.

It's September!?!

Anyone else baffled by this?

Best Ever by a long shot!

Retail 121.96
Total OOP: 3.89
That is right, only taxes for me! Everything here is FREE! Including the KFC meal.

My favorite was shopping at Target. It totalled at like 92 bucks and slowly made it down to 1.89. At that point I still had like 4 bucks left in coupons, but it would not take them because it would have lowered it to be under ZERO! So I said, " I think I can handle 2 bucks for this!" SOOO awesome.
I made money at CVS and Walgreens. SO fun!

ALL DAY LONG!

SCRAPBOOKING! So much fun. The pictures above are from McKaylee's album, the ones below are from mine. I love girls day full of scrapping.

I think it is my favorite of today

Another fav.

Our work space. Pictures do not even come close to the real deal.

Cannot wait for another one.

Dang, I am good!

Retail value of 52.32, and I got it all for 18.25

All of the toilet paper and paper towels were FREE!

All 8 ears of corn were 1 buck!

All 12 candy bars were FREE!

The game was 1.49

2 of the Trix cereals were .39 each

The other cereals ranged from .89-1.39

The cheese got me the worst, 5 bucks!

By the way, this shopping trip sent me over $4000 of savings this year!

out of the mouth of babes

Blake told Dad today...

B- I'm gonna get married in the temple
J- You are? That's great!
B- Ya, I am gonna get married to a grill in the temple like you!

Sooo hilarious!

Diaper Cake

My cousin is having her first baby girl! I am throwing a shower for her along with my other cousin. This is the diaper cake I made for the centerpiece/gift! Her crib bedding is Chocolate, Red and Yellow. Her name is going to be Kaylin, hence the K.

Yipee!

5 Gerber bottles, 5 Johnson&Johnson soap buddies, 4-15piece sidewalk chalk, 5 bowls of cereal, 2 boxes of Quaker pancake mix, 12 folders, 2 speedstick deoderants, 6 Scotch tapes, 3 loafs of artisan bread, a pack of stickers and a rug for a grand total of $3.16.
4 rebates in the mail!

YIPEE!

Slide Rock

We had a combined YW/YM activity up in Sedona at Slide Rock. I have to admit that I was not totally stoked to go, mostly cuz I heard that people can get hurt and that the water is cold. However, I HAD A BLAST! Do not get me wrong, the water was freezing, but in a worth it kind of way. I have proof of me sliding down, but none of my cliff jumping. Although, I have a few youth and a leader to vouch for me! It was so fun!

Youth

Shannon

More youth

Kim

Kim

Bro. Grant

Bro McLaws

Bro McLaws

We did it!

The rocks were so slippery from moss, that we HAD to crawl.

I was not afraid, I was FREEZING!

Emily
Trying to get used to the water- images do not seem to portray the freezingness of it all. When we arrived, they reported that the water temperature was 66!!!!!!!!!
Some of our youth
Ariella and Julia climbing up to our "camp" spot
Once a poser, always a poser- Mariyah, Ely and Andrea

Noah and the Ark

Blake

helped me with these freebies (actually, all above for 7.50)

telling Dad to say cheese for the camera

looking really sad, but secretly loving the fort Mom made for him last night. We watched a movie in it and stayed up late, then had a sleep over. (Well, I left when he was out)


Blake has put up with a lot from me this week! I love you pal!

Thanks Grandma!

Blake got a special gift for $5 McDonalds' Bucks from Grandma McCoy. He loved going there! If you can't tell from his mouth, he is YELLING cheese (not smiling cheese)! Thanks Grandma.

Another awesome buy!

Retail value of 63.12

Cost after coupons 18.12

got $9 in Kmart money

and $10 in gift card

Kinda feels like Free!

Breakdown:

4 scotch tape dispensers- free

8 waters- free

2 packs of pens- .58 total

2 packs of highlighters- .38 total

1 4pk. pudding- free

2 ziplock bag packs- 1.00 total

5 rice krispies- 1.25 total

4 pops- 5.00 total

4 apple jacks- 5.00 total

soap- free

got 3 bucks in Kmart money, for spending over 25 on certain items (done 3 times)

will get 2 $5 gift cards on the cereals

Candy?

Yes, blog candy. Giveaways! Free Stuff! I guess candy would fit huh!
I just entered for my first candy. I hope I get it.

withagrin.blogspot.com

Can you tell I love free!?!

GREAT DEAL!

All of this... 3.35!

And in the mail we got rebates and survey payments for 56.35! Wahoo!

Third week of no spending

This is HARD! I have so many things that I really want to buy, and useful things too. But, I told myself unless it was free or necessary, I would refrain. So, I did.
This week I spent a grand total of 34.07.
I did buy a great find for preschool, that was approx. 25 bucks, but again that was pretty necessary. So, for normal things, I only spent 9.07.

I cannot wait until September is here... hopefully I do not undo all of my self control.

Some more freebies!

All together worth 31 dollars. But, for me... free!

Whilst watching Scrubs...

... I made and completed a paper bag album.
So easy and sooo cute.

I like how there are so many places for tags, pictures and journaling.

Well, there she is! All finished within a season of Scrubs!

5 years since this...

YAY! I love these girls! Such good times.

The reunion was made possible by Megan! Congrats.

Courtney, Me, Emily, Lyndsi, Shelly

Thanks for a fun trip down memory lane!

4 years for us!

(our view)

We started it here and celebrated it here!

LAS VEGAS
Us at the Las Vegas Temple!
Thanks babe for a great get away!

2nd week on NO spend challenge

Well, we celebrated our anniversary and went to a wedding in Vegas!
So, spending was not totally controlled, but it was controlled.

Hotel for 2 nights -a whopping 43 bucks!
Appetizer, Dinner for 2 and Dessert - FREE! (I know, I am soo good)
2 movie tickets to see Harry Potter- 3.50 ( I had 12 dollars of movie credit)

So I did spend over 100 dollars on a bachelorette party, wedding gift and a couple of quick trips to some fast food.

All in all for a vacation, I think I did OK.
Next week I will be tame though.

First week into no spending challenge

While these items are not completely necessary, they are completely free. So, I thought that would be ok.

Feelin' Grateful!

For grandparents!

For the fact that everyone was once a kid (my dad included)

More grandparents, and for being great examples of getting an education!

For fantastic parents! (Oh and so good looking too- I have to be grateful for the genes I inherited- even if some are not great, I do have pretty good hair!)

For being a girl! I love being one!

For a sweet boy, and for sleep! Geesh! I love sleep.

For family! Both sides are FAN-TA-STIC!

For siblings choosing good mates! No in-law drama for us!

Most of all, gratitude to a loving Heavenly Father, who knows exactly what I need even if I think it is not going so great all the time!

Monica's Mini School

Only a little bit and this area will be filled with preschoolers! Only a few spots left!

Challenge for Monica

Do not spend any money on anything not totally necessary!

Let's see how I do for the month of August. I should be able to do it fine, because of my large stockpile, but sometimes I can get out of hand.

As requested

Look here for an overview on how I do the coupon thing. As always feel free to contact me directly for more info.

I know, I know

but who can beat free? Actually, I can! I made money on this one!!!

School supplies and a picture DVD (with music) all for free.

Oh, and dinner was free too. KFC 2 pc. meal (complete with biscut and drink)

Woohoo!

closer to 30, not 20!

Thanks for being so cute!
Thanks for coming from a good family!

Thanks for being a good example!

Thanks for being ambitious and wanting to be spontaneous.

(Homemade Strawberry Rhubarb pie- all Justin)

Thanks for being a hard worker.

Thanks for being silly!

Thanks for being a good dad!

Thanks for taking me to the temple, and posing for this picture even though you hated it and told me how stupid it was going to look the whole time! :)

Love you babe!

Happy Birthday

Anyone need salad dressing?

Seriously! If you live in AZ I have tons of kraft salad dressing that I got for free! Lots more than pictured here. Do not feel ashamed to ask, I need to make more space available. So if you need some, call or comment, cuz in a couple of weeks I will probably head to the food bank.

(I also have TONS of cereal too if you need or want, BBQ sauce and pasta... seriously let me know)

But in case you are wondering, the above picture cost a grand total of 5.43 (the strawberries were 5.00)


New to my wall! Cost me about 10 bucks total.


Blake loves his new bike, but it is SO hot to ride outside :)

While you can have any of my dressing, I cannot part with the juice. It is consumed by a crazy 2 year old on a regular basis.
(I do not condone this behavior, but during dinner, Blake just grabbed the jug and started chugging. I thought it was hilarious)

AZ shopping

This picture should have cost me 92.12.

But after coupons and rebates, 4.62

This, all free!! Boy do I love shopping in AZ.

Back at it

5 6X8 photobooks absolutely free!
(because the photo dept. loved me they threw in a free 8X10)
2 note books
5 folders
1 pack of pens
2 scissors

FREE!! ( well I paid .34 in taxes)

I'm a SuRVivOR

of Camp LoMia!

Home....

for a couple of days.
I am headed for girls camp tomorrow morning. In the mean time, here are some pics from Spokane!

We were taken to a theme park in Northern Idaho. Grandma bought Blake some cotton candy!

Jordan, Connie and John


Look at that HUGE diaper!

US

The whole family

More pictures next week!

Tribute to...

...an amazing artist and a troubled life.
Michael Jackson
1958-2009

Spoky Oaky!

Blake loves being with Grandma and Grandpa. He also loves being in WASHINGTON. We got out one of Justin's old toys, a tepee, and Blake loves to play in it. However, Blake is afraid of the "little man" inside. Apparently, Blake now has a great imagination. Luckily, though, we have laughed about it enough that the "little man" is kind of a funny man and not a scary one anymore.

Blake loves to swing with Grandpa!

How cute is that face?!

Now we cannot wait for Uncle Garrett to come home from Chile!

4 1/2 months and I did it!

I met my goal, well, I actually surpassed it. Some may have noticed the ticker I have up top that keeps track of how much I am saving with coupons. I had a goal to save 2640. This is the amount the government thinks is sufficient for our size of family to live on for a year. I wanted to see if I could save that much in the course of one year and I did it in less than half!

I started in February. I saved 275.72 that month. I was really happy about it too! Then March, I saved 642.09! April, 903.58 and May 704.44! Then so far in the 8 days of June, I have saved 235.33 already!


I am sooo stoked! Not only does it feel good to save that much, but it feels good that I spent way less than I actually spent! I have only spent 1337.21. This includes all of our groceries, baby stuff, dates and clothes. For grocery alone we only spent 399.73 since April! Oh yeah, and part of the 1337.21 was our huge grill! So that was way out of the norm!


So, here is the shopping trip that put me up and over my goal! Kmart doubles coupons up to 2bucks, so essentially 4 dollars off!

6 lotions cost only 2.94 total

6 Shave gel only 2.94 total

Cereals only .99 a box

4 deodorants only .76 total

free paper plates

free candy

3 4pk snack packs only 1.57 total

my makeup only 3 bucks

lots more! But what a great save.

I spent 67.60 but got 2 free movie tickets and 35 dollars worth of Kmart money! I'd say pretty good~!

I'm officially 1/4 of a doctor

It's offcial, I'm a second year!

I got my final grade in just shy of 2 weeks after finals and I decided to show you all what I've been up to for the past 30 weeks. In just 30 weeks I took 72.40 credit hours and I read through every single page of notes you see in these pictures at least 2 times and probably more. I then took tests on the material and I supposedly know anywhere between 87 %and 90% of this stuff! (I have a GPA higher than a B+ average but lower than an A- so who really knows?) Hopefully I can remember it for next year and boards. Anyway, here are some pictures of this stuff.

Here are all the notes and books of all the stuff we studied: Biochemistry, Physiology, Neuroscience, Anatomy, Histology, Embryology, Clinical Medicine, Human Behavior (Psych), OMM, and I took an elective of Medical Spanish (it was a joke).

Here are just the notes. Over a foot of paper! Its been a real kick in the pants and from what I hear next year only gets better! Anyway, I'm just hanging out for a while and then things start getting busy again in July with volunteer stuff and other things I have going on at the school and then in September I'm back at it. One more year of books and then I get to start playing doctor. I can't wait.

Plethora of Pictures

Free plus I made 2 bucks!!!
We went to feed the ducks at the pond. These are weird Red ones.

Blake loves to feed the birds.

Those geese honked in your face for the bread.

Mohawk Duck

So peaceful at this time of the day!

Lots of tomatoes coming

Unfortunately we had a death in our garden. Those two spots on the left were just starting to bloom watermelon vines. Blake ripped them out! We had been working on those for over 2 months! Still trying to hold back the tears on that one.

One HUGE zucchini

3.05

Yesterday morning I looked outside to find this. Justin- SLEEPING--- on CONCRETE. He was like this for over an hour.

Blake caring for Dad.

I had my Young Women's Presidency and their families over for a BBQ and swimming. The kids had lots of fun!

I love this one. One pool, 6 kids.

Free bread, pasta and cheap mustard and grapes!

Prayers for JJ

For any of you who know JJ, he is pretty much a brother to my family. He was recently involved in a bombing (He currently serves in Afghanistan).

This is from an email from his mother.

He was involved in an IED explosion to the humvee he was in. 4 of his friends were killed. He has 2 broken legs, a broken arm, broken back - says he isn't paralyzed. He is waiting to be transferred from the AirForce hospital in Afghanistan where he's had one surgery to Germany where he may undergo more surgery and after he's stabilyzed there, will be sent to Walter Reed in Washington DC. Evidently he was very lucky from the reports I've received.

A bunch of us are fasting this Sunday for him! Keep him in your prayers!

19.72

Free Mayo, face scrub, razors, drinks and some cereal. Saved 42.12.

One more of the wedding

So as you can imagine weddings are hard work, and when finished the people who were a part of it are exhausted. Well, here is my brother, Jace...

A picture says a 1000 words!

Summer Movies!

They have a summer program for kids here where there are 10 movies during the summer that you can see for 5 bucks! So we jumped on it. Blake did not watch the whole movie but he loved the chairs and the lighted stairs.

I love these pics! He is totally falling into the chair.

Free Rice, Deoderant, and much more!!!

Not pictured are 2 gallons of milk already put away.

I got 16 pkg. of rice for free.

6 deoderants for free

1 Peanut Butter for free

4 kraft dressings for free

2 Easy Macs for free

also...

that huge bage of bananas for 49cents

the popcorn was a dollar each, but i got 10 dollars back for my next shopping trip.

The kraft cheese? 29 cents each!!!

Anyway, everything together was 30.89 (saved 77.95) and I got 10 bucks for the next time.

Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Michaelson

Ryan and Corrie Michaelson!!!
Look at that dress!
Such a beautiful bride.

McKaylee and I

Blake holding my bouquet

The Michaelson Group

YAY!

At the Reception

Me and Justin

Daddy-o and Kays

Robert and Kays

Jace and the goods!

Corrie (featuring the tables/centerpieces)

Ryan and Dad

Cool Boys

The Ladies

Congrats! It was sooo fun, but 2 year olds are not made for weddings!

How much you ask?

$20, Nope!


$10, Nope!

$5, Nope!

$1.23???

NOPE

Absolutely FREE???

YEP! Totally free!
That is
1 lb. Strawberries
6 Hershey chocolate bars
1 rolo bag
1 hershey mixed bag
20 Schik razors
1 18lb. bag of charcoal
6 seasonings
4 toothbrushes
4 St. Ives face scrub
5 ramen lunches


This picture does not include the 27.7 lbs. of ground beef that I got! 93% beef for 1.77 a lb. But I had 5 dollars off so essentially got it for 1.59 a lb.
Why so much you ask???
Because, out with the old......

And in with the NEW!! This is Justin's most favorite thing in the world. One side is charcoal and the other is propane. (we got it mostly for our food storage/supplies)

Other things I want to post about....

School is out for the summer!

My little boys!

Blake really wanted to keep this, but we said it wanted to go back to its own home.

YAY!

Don't you wish?

That you could have gotten in on my craft it forward? Here is what I have been working on ...

Blake was helping too!

Good new is.... one more person can join the craft it forward. See my post below for details!

I voted....

did you?

"No... I'm Superman"

So Blake has had a lot of bread today. A slice here and there and tonight he was eating a pancake in his hand for a snack.
I said to him "Blake, I think you are a bread man"

Blake corrected me, "No, I'm Superman!"


Now how cute is that?!

Yep, 40 cents!

Everything was free except for the salad dressings- they were a whopping 8 cents each!

Scrapping with Sure Cuts A Lot!

One of my good friends, Emily, told me about this wonderful software that allows you to cut anything from your computer on the cricut machine! This is awesome because think of all of the fonts out there. And images! Do not let me get started! So here are the first ones I have done.

This actually did not use anything, just me and scissors.

So take a look at that cow!

this is a close up of the cursive text. Cool huh!

How about that Barn, notice how it connects with the words?

Thanks Emily for giving me a new favorite scrapbooking tool!

My Idol of Choice!

SOOooooooo Happy he is in the finals!

Babies having babies?

I caught Blake practicing the art of diaper changing today! What a crack up.

Mother's Day 2009

Love him!

A little redemption

for what I spent last time :)

14.59- Retail value of 110.20

for 4 Wheat Thins

4 Ritz Crackers

4 Graham Crackers

4 Crystal Light powders

10 granola snacks

8 Hershey's Bliss Candy Bars

1 Nabisco Snacks

6 Banana Boat Sunscreens

4 Mayonaises

4 pk. Wet Swiffer refills

2 pk. Dry Swiffer refills

2 saltines

Purple items were absolutely free! Other highlights are 50 cent boxes of Ritz and 49 cent tubs of Mayo.

I also could have done better, but forgot a few coupons :(

What have I done?

I just dropped over 100 dollars on food!!!!!

I had the missionaries over tonight, which I had somewhat forgotten about. Then Justin informed me that btwn. 15-20 people would be joining us for a BBQ at our house on Saturday! So I ran to the store and expected to be way over budget, I thought maybe 70, so when I saw triple digits! AHHHH!

This goes to show that a little bit of prep saves you TONS! Now who does not think that coupons are not worth the hassle.

Luckily, 1. the food tonight was excellent. Fajitas MMMMMMM! 2. I was way under last month. 3. Justin gave blood today and Blue Belle ice cream gives coupons called a pint for a pint! Is that not cute! So free yummy ice cream headin' our way!

CRAFT IT FWD!

Craft It Forward!
The first 5 people to leave a comment on this blog will receive something made by me. However there are some limitations:
1. I make no guarantee that you will like what I make.
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It will be done this year.
4. You have not a clue what it is going to be; poetry, shoes, bags or a little invention of my own. I may even bake something and mail it you! Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. It may blow your mind!

Here's the catch... if you choose to do this, you must post this on your blog and be ready to make something for five people too. This will be fun! And, when you receive the fabulous item I make you, you must post a picture of it on your blog. Or if you don't have a blog, send me a photo and I will post it! Ready....Set....Comment!

Bountiful Blessings

Spare me a moment while I record my thoughts on how blessed we are. I have been thinking about the economy problems lately and keep coming to the conclusion that we will be fine how ever things turn out because we have always been cared for in the past. What is interesting is we are poorer now than ever and we seem to have more than we have ever had. (One great blessing of being poor is you can't really lose the money/job you never had).
We are constantly being blessed with opportunities to live a comfortable life. My heart goes out to those in desperate times and I hope to see a change come soon. I also hope my family and my life will prove worthy of the blessings we have and also prove to help those who are in those struggling times. Many of our friends have been affected by the economy and I am always impressed by their continued faith that eveything will work out, that God's will will be done and that they will be happy during the hard times. Good luck to those in these situations and may they find the peace they need by turning to the Lord who gave them everything that may have been lost.

Something specifc we have been blessed with is a garden that is actually producing. We are so proud of this little thing in the corner of our home.

peas and beans
onions

tomatoes

watermelons

zucchini

It is so fulfilling to watch this thing grow!

It is also fulfilling to watch this little guy grow!

Blake enjoying some ice cream from Sonic (my fav!)

Who knew ice cream could be so yummy (uhhh, duh, everyone knows that)

One of the greatest blessings we have!

UPDATE: 77 cents!

With sales, giftcards and coupons combined, I snagged this for 47 cents! Not too bad :)

UPDATE: just came back from fry's. Spent $0.30 on 7 pkgs of toliet paper and 6 bags of quaker rice cakes! No picture, but I am SOOOOOOOO happy!

9.47 for 98.23

18 salad dressings
6 quaker rice cakes
5 oreo stix
4 capri suns
12 McCormick seasonings
2 bag Mission tortillas
6 airhead extremes
5 deodorants
4 Skippy PB
2 tubs of butter
2 tabascos
3 bags peas
12 bottles of water!

I basically paid tax. Almost everything was free! I think I spent 30 cents for the mst expensive item!

Monica's Mini School

I am now enrolling for Fall 2009 preschool classes! Please go to my website to find out more about the upcoming year, tuition and to request an enrollment form!

Feel free to pass the word along to those you know who have children ages 3-5 yrs.

At least once a day...

this happens!

Maybe it is not as large of a spill, but it usually involves something sticky or smelly!

But you have to admit, it is hard to get mad at the little guy!

What a Great Day!!!

I got a text last night that I did not have to work today! So I had lots of time to get things done!!!

The dishes are finished, the counters clean. I went shopping and now Blake is taking a nap (something that happens only rarely now).

So, I had to share my great savings today. I know I just posted yesterday about shopping, but this one rocked!!!

Retail of 57.22 but only spent 22.11 total> BUT, here is what was SOOOO awesome about it.

Safeway was for the pasta sauces and the egg noodles. I got 12 sauces at $2, but used $1 worth of coupons for each and got the 12 for $12. However, I got BACK $2 (gift card/catalina print out) for every two. So I got 6 $2 print outs from the sauce. Plus if you purchased $30 worth of selected items, you got a $10 print off.

So I left Safeway with $22 worth of print-offs and only spent 13.25.

Then, at Basha's I got ALL 12 of the Barilla noodles for free! (on sale for $1, but had $.50 coupons that were doubled) The 6 Sunny D's were only $3 total. And the sugar was $.78 after my coupons!

SOOOOOO AWESOME!

I love building my food storage. I actually made a special order with the Safeway manager for 60 of the pasta sauces, and will probably donate most of it to the food bank, or something. Couponing allows me to not only save and stock up, but it allows my to pass the savings along to those who need some help!

WHat a great day!

$2.15

6 stayfree pkgs.
2 colgate toothpaste
18pk. scunci
2 bags bliss chocolates
6 nivea lip glosses
1 chapstick
1 mouthwash
1 body scrub
1 fiberchoice tablets
1 shave gel

Retail value before coupons:
72.37

Coupons used:
67.19

Gift card used:
5.28

Cash out of pocket:
2.15


PS - I also received 25.57 in money towards my next purchase, and will receive a rebate of 8 dollars for the mouthwash!!!

EBATES.COM - Check this out!!

Go HERE to sign up for this awesome FREE online rebate site. If you purchase things online, you can get rebates for the items you buy. This is very cool! I like it because I purchase certain things regularly (like ink) online. I will always go through ebates first so that I can get cash back on my purchases!

Great shopping trip!

No picture, because I already put the food away. However, I did get some awesome deals.

7 boxes of Kellogg's cereal, and 3 gallons of milk for 4.93!

They had a deal where if you bought 7 cereals you got 3 milks free, but I had 9 bucks of coupons for the cereal so it was even better!

I got 27.16 bucks worth of high quality bacon for free.

They had a buy one get 2 free deal.

In the past few weeks I have also snagged some FREE>>>>
Covergirl foundation
pringles
olay soap
candy bars
bread
pledge spray
vitamin water
deoderant
garden tools and
a calculator!

Fun Fun!

So much... So little time!!!

We have had a busy week! Justin's parents and grandparents flew in for Spring Break! Both are from up north and needed some sunny days! Blake was very excited to have them here. In fact, I do not even think I spent half an hour with him everyday.

We did lots of shopping, relaxing, food, fun and more relaxing! They watched Blake for me while I worked, which was an awesome help and Blake had a blast with them.

We also went to the Easter pageant put on by the church at the Mesa Temple. It is so good. If you live in AZ check it out!!! While in Mesa, we stopped by the Orange Patch to get some Orange Honey.
Justin also showed them his school and we got a 4 generation pic there.

One of the coolest things we did was go to Kohl's wher we purchased 460 dollars owrth of merchandise for 64!!!

Come visit us again!!!

HOW TO COUPON

(there is a post below a bit more specific to the latest deal I got at Target too)

I thought I would post with an overview of how I do coupons. It may be long. You can call with any questions too.

Here are the best websites out there. ( this is somewhat for Arizonan's, but can be applied nationally...the key is finding a site that sorts for your state)

Pinchingyourpennies.com is a great one for grocery stores. I think you register, but it is free and really easy. Once you go there I mostly focus on http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=20 this part of the site. As you can see, there are links for each store. "Frys 3/18-3/24" or "safeway 3/18-3/24" and so on. If you open those up they provide a list of what is on sale that week and match it with the coupons needed.

EX: this is from this weeks Fry's list

Colgate Toothpaste – 1.00 each (this is the item on sale)
Use: Colgate Adult or Kid's Toothpaste, any 4 oz. or larger .75/1 (5-31-09) SS-2/22
Colgate Total Toothpaste, any 4 oz. or larger .75/1 (4-4-09) SS-3/15(these are the coupons available to use from the paper)
FINAL PRICE: FREE (this is the price after coupons for the item)

So, you get the idea? I usually copy and paste each of the lists onto a word document and then delete the ones I am not interested in. As you can see though, some items are for free when you use a coupon with it! Pretty cool for stocking up on items.

Another thing you will need to know is when the coupon is listed it says Colgate Adult or Kid's Toothpaste, any 4 oz. or larger .75/1 (5-31-09) SS-2/22 so .75/1 means you get 75 cents off per item, the date in parentheses is the expiration date of the coupon and then the "SS-2/22" is where the coupon can be found.
Now, SS= the smartsource insert. RP= the redplum insert. PG= the procter and gamble insert and LV= la vos (it is the spanish version) soyou will not have that. the date next to it is the Sunday it came out. So SS-2/22 is the Smartsource insert from February 22nd.

So then I figure out my list and cut the coupons needed for that store. I have a little coupon folder thing in my purse so that each store has its own pocket and I am not fumbling at the cashiers stand.

Now, if you need something else at the store and you are curious if there is a coupon for that. You can go through pinchingyourpennies.com to the "Coupon List" link. Then select AZ as your state and a database of coupons are there Here is the link directly to AZ's coupons... ( http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/CouponList_AZ.php ) Press ctrl+f and then type in the item you want to look up. It will then highlight the item in the list if it is available.

EX: I want to buy some popcorn. So I go to the list, press ctrl+f and type in popcorn. I then see that there is
1. Betty Crocker Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn, any flavor or variety boxes .50/2 (4-19-09) SS-3/8
2. Betty Crocker Pop-Secret Microwave Popcorn, any flavor or variety boxes .50/2 (3-22-09) SS1-2/8
3. Smart Balance Popcorn $1/2 (4-30-09) RP-2/1

3 coupons available for popcorn. So I can choose to use those.

Now, go shopping.

There are also printable coupons available on line. Coupons.com is a great place to start. you can print off up to 2 times for each coupon.

Other websites to check out for deals in and out of other grocery stores:

Moneysavingmom.com
hip2save.blogspot.com

These ones give great ideas and help you do deals at CVS and Walgreens. if you go to moneysavingmom.com, on the right there is a link for CVS 101 and walgreens 101. She explains how those stores work with the deals they have.

I used to avoid those stores because they are regularly so expensive, but now I shop there at least weekly and often get free stuff doing it.

***Cautions to couponing.
It will take a bit of time at first and you have to start gathering and keeping your coupon inserts from the paper. The first few weeks may not be as rewarding because you have not built up a good stash.

Do no buy things just because there are coupons for it. Even spending 50 cents for a great deal is more than you would have spent if you originally would have passed it by,.

You may have a few annoyed people when you whip out a lot of coupons, do not let that discourage you from saving.

If the cash register gets it wrong or you thought it was going to be a better deal, then do not hesitate to ask them to void it and start over again if necessary.


NOW, one thing I do because it is worth it. I get 6 papers every Sunday. Why? because then instead of getting one free tube of toothpaste, I get 6. I have only been doing this since Feb. and I have already gotten over 70 items for free. So it is worth the extra money.
https://subscribe.azcentral.com/circpromos/promopages/pinchingyourpennies.php Here is a link for a good deal at getting extra papers. you do not have to get 6, but you can get up to that if you want.

OK, so if you are thinking this is not worth the time, let me tell you what I have gotten so far to make you really believe me!

ALL OF THESE WHERE ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!

Colgate Toothbrush
Scrubbing Bubbles Spray
Windex Wipes
Windex Spray
Contact Solution
Revelon Lip Gloss
Zucol Lozenges
Fructis Wonder Waves
Thermacare Heat wrap
Cottonelle TP (4pack)
Betty Crocker Frosting
Betty Crocker Cookie Mix
Trident Gum
Glade sprays
Yes 2 Carrots Lip Balm
Jergens Lotion
Colgate Toothpaste
Payday Bar
Cookies n Cream bar
Butterfinger
quiznos sub
tacos
quiznos sub
nails
Kotex Pads
Frosted Mini Wheats
Renuzit spray
Cascade Rinse
Potting Soil 1 cu ft
4 ft stake
Reynolds Wrap
Reach toothbrush
sambulco cold and flu
colgate total toothpaste
Winterfresh gum
Gillette Razor
zone bars
Dental Floss
Reach toothbrush
Vaseline lotion
Extra strength headache relief
Revlon eyeshadow
blink tears
Renuzit spray
Cottonelle TP (4pack)
dole salad kit
johnsons buddies soap
butter ball broth
thingamajig candy bar
Garnier Nutrisse hair color
pantene pro-v conditioner
Martha Stewart Living Mag
johnsons buddies soap
zone bars
gillette body wash
foam paintbrushes
12 pk. Highlighters
sambulco cold and flu
crest radiance
colgate total toothpaste
maybelline mascara
Colgate Toothpaste
Martha Stewart Living Mag
crest toothpaste
Glucerna cereal
Speed stick deodorant
garnier nutrisse gel
cheetos
quaker rice cakes
quaker granola bars
ohs cereal
Martha Stewart Living Mag
cheetos
johnsons buddies soap
archers farm bread
roast
roast
roast
roast
gillette body wash
salsa con queso
zone bars

That was just the free stuff, and did not include deals like paying pennies for other items.

Please call with any questions. if it is really worth your time, I would be to get together and show you what I do to save.

Good luck

Monica