Back at it...again. And flexbreak.

Decided I need to start blogging again. I'm def going to revamp the blog and update it and start afresh! It needs to happen.

Where better to start than today, since was awesome. Was able to meet Karena and Katrina from Tone It Up, the work out plan/mentors that I follow. Was really neat, got some cute pics. This year's bikini series has been way better having my TIU buddy, my beautiful, fit sister-in-law, Erin. Love having thy accountability and someone to go the distance with me. It's made it way more fun! Got to meet some other ladies that I've only known through cyber world and hoping to connect with even more of them in the future.

Later in the day, we spent time with our Pastor and his wife. Just another few of our favorite peeps. Really can't put into words the blessing they and the rest of our church family are. Had a great din and convo at Cheesecake Factory and we're just now home and settling into bed at like 1030 pm. I'm wiped.

One of my favorite parts of today was my #flexbreak in the dressing room (accompanied by my husband and my army of tiny people) at Lorna Jane (totally worth of it's own blog.  Let's just say Lululemon has some stiff competition for my heart and my husband's wallet) MamaLaughlin and SkinnyMeg started this trend and I think it's hilarious to see flexbreak pics in random places. So flex, snap, post and hash. #flexbreak

Make sure you find me on Instagram @psap_tiu

Proud Mommy Moment

I signed up to help in Madison's Kindergarten class on Wednesdays and today was my first day.  All the kids were pretty well behaved and were a joy getting to work with and help.  I sat at a table and helped them make "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See?" books of their own.  So much fun!

Madison really just made my heart happy today.  She is such a beautiful little person on the inside and out.  She makes me so proud.  She was more than happy to include the new girl in their play time at recess and she was so sweet to her friends. She can be a little bossy at home with her brother and sister, but at school she was very inclusive, helpful and sweet.  She followed directions from the teacher and today she happened to be the line leader.  Even at the young age of 5, I see so many leadership qualities in her.  She definitely knows how to rally the troops.  I also learned she was placed in the highest reading group.  Not gonna lie, pretty stoked about that.

On top of all this, she loves Jesus at such a young age and I'm looking forward to watching her grow more in Him and come to even more of an understanding of who He is and his purpose for her life.

I'm not one to constantly brag about ever move my kid makes, but today I am just abundantly blessed and wanted to share what the Lord is doing in my little Madison's life.  Today was also great validation of the choices Josh and I have made for our kids.  Seems like most of them were met with opposition whether it was to not put them in pre-school, daycare or to do homeschooling or this extra-curricular vs that one.  Everyone's kids are different and we made the right choices for ours. Every child is unique and will learn differently from other kids.  I would totally encourage parents to never think there is a cookie cutter way to educate your child and to look into all the different options available today, there are SO many!

Super proud of my little girl today and it was so much fun to see such different personalities of all the little people.  All of them so unique and precious.  Go hug the little people in your life and let them know you are proud of them!

Unexpected Blessing

I have definitely been feeling a little down still about not being in our own home, especially w/ the holidays coming quickly upon us.  As we drove home from dinner, I pondered: Am I just being materialistic and ungrateful for what the Lord has blessed us with? Don't get me wrong, I know I'm blessed.  We have someone who has opened their home to us, healthy babies, a growing business, an amazing church family, and wonderful family and friends.  We moved out of our own home into other's thinking we'd be in our own house in 6-8 months. Wrong. God has changed our game plan a few times and here we are almost 2 years later. :(

Tonight our friend Rob stopped by and shared some stuff that really humbled me and encouraged me.  Josh and I were both super blessed by the time and conversation with him.  There is something about talking with fellow believers about God's word, reading scripture, praying together, just having Christ as the foundation of a friendship that brings so much joy to my heart.  God continues to surround us with more and more godly friendships. Priceless.  

Isaiah 43:1-4

 But now, this is what the LORD says—
   he who created you, Jacob,
   he who formed you, Israel: 

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
   I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
   I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
   they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
   you will not be burned;
   the flames will not set you ablaze.
 For I am the LORD your God,
   the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
   Cush and Seba in your stead.
 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
   and because I love you.

Isaiah 43:1-4

I had these great plans to recap my weekend in this blog and talk about some of things I've been pondering, but then I heard this verse in a James MacDonald message about insecurity and decided I would just post this and be meditating on it this week.  

God's love blows me away, humbles me and brings tears to my eyes.  

9/11 thoughts

Looking at all the pictures from 9/11, it still seems surreal.  It makes me ill how many innocent people died that day and even more ill thinking about all the firefighters that ran INTO that building, no clue it would come down.  If only they could have just evacuated it, but it is what it is and here we are 10 years later.  I still bawl like a baby watching the replays of the attacks, hearing the stories.  Gives me great joy and relief that this September 11th Osama is no longer walking this earth. I'm so proud to be an American and I'm so grateful for all men and women who have served our country in any way, shape and form.  And thank you to President George W. Bush for not being a coward in the wake of terror, you are one of the greatest this country has ever seen. Words cannot express.

Thank You.

What is my deal??

So last weekend I washed my blackberry in the washing machine. Awesome.  Our Pastor had an older, extra blackberry that I could have to use.  A few days later we realized I was eligible for an early upgrade so I ordered a new phone set to come on Tuesday.  A Samsung Fascinate.  It has pretty good reviews.  So as luck would have I dropped my loaner phone into my coffee. Seriously?? I am demented.  I feel so bad because we were gonna give it back to my Pastor so the next idiot to wash their phone could borrow it, but I had to be that idiot TWICE.  I have 3 kids and yet I was the one who ruined 2 phones in ONE week.  #whaddyagonnado?

The girls are with my Dad tonight and I miss them.  It's nice to get a break and I know they have a blast, but I always start to miss them like crazy when they're gone.

Today Josh worked a full day and had, Rob Jewel, work with him and he is quickly becoming a good friend.  Can't even begin to describe how blessed we have been in the friend department in the last couple years.  We had us some Gina's pizza tonight and I popped into my favorite boutique that's right there, Pretty In Pink Boutique.  Holly, the owner, was telling me she is having a girl's night out event on Thursday, Sept. 15th.  I missed the last one and def wanna go to this one, any other takers?? Some Gina's and then some "perusing"...notice I didn't say "shop". Shannon, I know you wanna go...Gina's...nom nom nom. I got 2 tops there tonight and if I wasn't already typing this straight from my bed I would totally take pictures and put them up, they are the short boxy tees.  One in charcoal, the other teal.  I really want this top:

Ok, well I better go to bed or I'll be hatin' life tomorrow...

I ain't no quitter...

...however, I am also not a 'juicer'. My last sips of my lunch juice were pure torture to get down my throat. I don't know how anyone does that for 10 days, let alone some 30 or 60. BLEH! So I took my juicer back to Target and had me some Gina's Pizza then headed to Disneyland with the family. That sounded way more appealing than choking down one more of those heinous drinks and feeling like I could kill someone at any given second. I. Needed. Coffee. Yep, I'm weak and addicted to food. Oh well, at least I'm honest.

I am definitely feeling challenged to start cooking healthier meals for the family, although when I cook, they are pretty decent. I use lots of ground turkey and we eat poultry and veggies, but I want to fins a cookbook with healthy recipes for kids that I sneak some micronutrients into stuff that tastes good to them. My little Levi is hooked on Almond Milk and will hardly touch the regular stuff. My girls will drink it, too, but don't care either way.

In other bits of news, Madison's first week of school was awesome. She loves it and I LOVE that it's only 3 days a week.

We also bought a truck this weekend. Hooray! We've been sharing one vehicle for almost 3 years. It's been rough. We named her 'Ruby' and she's Fab.

That's it for today. Ignore my last post. That was very impulsive. Usually, I'm very aware of my limitations, clearly I was a little overzealous. We're just gonna pretend it never happened. Back to my cup of coffee. G'night! xoxo

Juicing, Day 1

I was going to do a post leading into today, but I didn't have time so here we are on Day 1 of juicing. Our Pastor let us borrow his documentary called "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead." Pretty self-explanatory, right? Check out the link to hear more about Joe's story. I decided that I would like to do the 10 Day Juice fast. Not so much for the purposes of weight loss (although I wont complain if I lose a few), but more just to reboot my system and do a cleanse. The juice isn't as heinous and I was anticipating it was going to be and I'm just about finished with my morning glass. I already miss coffee that's for sure. Feels good knowing I'm putting some super healthy nutrients into my body tho. It's probably going to go into shock. I bought the Juiceman Juicer at Target last night. It looks like this:

The recipe for the juice is:

1 cucumber

6 Kale leaves

1/2 a lemon

4 celery stalks

2 green apples

1 piece of ginger

Bottom's up!

Folder Fanatic

Over the last couple of years I have developed this fondness for folders. Pretty folders, psychadelic folders, functional folders, etc. You know what I'm talking about?? A lot of times you can get a pack of 3 in the $1 section at Target. I use them for alllll sorts of things. For example, when were getting ready to go see our tax lady I had all our business/tax info all organized in a pretty little folder, I have one going for my sister's bridal shower, Madison's school stuff, etc. I usually write on the tabs in pencil so when I'm done needing a space for relevant papers I can erase and go onto the next project/idea/paperwork/whatever! Anywho, was picking up some more back to school stuff for M yesterday and I was in folder fantasyland! I don't typically buy the type of folder that opens and has pockets and no tab, HOWEVER, I fell in love and they are a poly type material which is WAY more durable. I just had to have them, take a picture of them and share them with you here!

i LOVE cute office supplies! any other funky folder fans out there??

I also picked up a cute new calendar. Levi mistook my other for his doodle pad -_- shucks, darn had to buy a new one, with flowers on it =] I also bought new pens to along with. We have so much going on on our calendar I like to use colored pens to decipher between all the activity at a glance! I started using this system when I was busy with Creative Memories, we'd use colored dots. I prefer my pastel pens.

My color code is as follows (I know you are DYING to know):

Black: Commercial Appts

Green: Residential Appts.

Pink: Personal Appts

Blue: Church Functions

Purple: Special Days (Birthdays, Anniversaries, etc.)

It just makes it easier to tell what is going on where instead of all these different things being written in black. The husband is good about using his phone, I'm old school. I need to see it and write it down.

It gave me warm fuzzies to share all this with you! Deep down I am part nerd, for sure.

Money Matters Monday

Anyone that knows me or has a read a few of my blogs will quickly find that Finances is one of my favoriteeee subjects, contrary to a lot of folks! I love to talk about spending money, saving money, couponing, great products for a great price, debt, investing, etc. SO - I've decided to start Money Matters Monday that will keep you updated on our personal financial journey and anything else that remotely has to do with money!

Now that you are dialed in, on with our first post!

1. My girlfriend, Erika, and I were at Nordstrom Rack last week and they were having some KILLER deals. I bought a cream babydoll blouse, regular $56 - I paid 8.70. I bought a couple of other things and one of those was a last minute impulse buy that I have been beyond thrilled with. As I was waiting in line to check out there was a display of compacts. I was out of mine and had been for quite some time, I was half-masked every time I left the house. This as allll about to change. It was a brand I didn't recognize and I didnt have time to check it was the best color for my frosty white skin, but nevertheless I grabbed one in the shade 'Laurel Nude' and checked out. Being over a week into using it I can confirm I am 110% satisfied with my $10 purchase of a Palladio compact.

I just don't have $25 to spend on a compact, $10 is my kinda price. I love how it's light, but not too light that it doesn't keep my face looking smooth and good all day. I went to an August wedding on Saturday and by 11:30pm when I got home, my makeup still looked good, usually it's halfway down my face and I look like the joker. If you're in the market to try some new cosmetics I would highly recommend checking them out. If you click on 'Palladio', you can learn more about their products.

2. We've been looking to reach an income goal for the month for the past couple of months and we've come with just a few hundred dollars of each month! Hopefully August is the month we blast through that ceiling! So important to set goals for yourself and write them down so you stay focused and intentional!

That's all I've got for you on money this Monday, hopeful by next Monday we'll have more developments in the paying off of the student loan! woo!

Weekend Recap: Harvest Crusades and a wedding!

This weekend was jam-packed! I'm going to try and get in as much detail and pcs as possible without spending a kajillion years on here! So friday night we had quite the crew and headed to Five Guys, a new favorite, and then to the Harvest Crusade at Angel Stadium. Our church got involved this year and I was privileged to be the church coordinator for our church aka the go between and bring the info to get our church involved and pumped. So grateful to the people who stepped and volunteered and also to those who have been praying! Kutless, David Crowder Band and Crystal Lewis all performed, it was an unbelievable time of worship. Friday there were 3045 professions of faith! To God be the Glory!

Here's a pic of me and the girls, we're missing Kristy. She was a lifesaver this weekend!

On Saturday, we attended Josh's cousin's wedding. I had a great time getting ready with Haylie. Even though, they stayed with Nana, Haylie and I still primped together. I truly LOVE having daughters. They are just the most precious little people to be around. Love how pure and innocent they are. Their girliness is the cutest thing EVER.

Madison and I also found time to goof off in the car. LOL




The wedding was held in Yorba Linda, but the reception was at the Queen Mary. I had never been there before so I was pretty stoked! The food was pretty good and the bride and groom are pretty entertaining so it was a lot of fun! So excited for them, congrats Jason and Marie! Bummed I didn't get a shot of them, but hopefully I can snag one from someone else later.




And then there was today, Sunday. It was simply amazing. God did his thang. Broke people's hearts. Pastor Charlie knows how to bring it. He lays down the truth, but always in love. So much healing and forgiveness happened today. I can't thank the Lord enough for what he's doing.

Only down side to church was my little Madison got whacked in the face by a ruler, fortunately it didn't hit her eyeball. Ay, kids.


Tonight we went to the crusade again. Over 4000 people made professions of faith. Loved being more apart of the crusade this year, such a blessing.

I have so many deep thoughts from this weekend, but I'll save those for another post! Lookin forward to everyone else's weekend recaps!

10 things that made me happy this week

1. Our growing group for the crusade!

2. My gf Cassandra bringing me a whole bag of Jose's coffee!

3. Diamond Studded Linings

4. Meeting with my mentor.

5. New 8 o'clock bedtimes for the kids. For some reason I though it was child abuse to put them to bed before like 9. Glad that was cleared up.

6. Prayer Night - Every word spoke was for me. Psalm 34

7. Reading a Proverbs a day. I'm on day 11 and so far it's all about using wisdom, seeking wisdom, wisdom wisdom wisdom. I love it, I def need those daily reminders to do things God's way and not my own way.

8. $1750 to the student loan and its under 20k!!!

9. Watching my kids kiss & hug and not try and kill each other.

10. Cleaning the carpets in 2 rooms. LOVE clean carpet!!! best part is that Josh and I did it together. Love being married to my best friend. God couldn't have possibly given me a better partner to go thru life with!

Wednesdayness

Today's post is brought to you by Chick-fil-A wi-fi!

Chick-fil-A just added a new item to their breakfast menu: Oatmeal!! Yum! I had it for the first time this morning and quite enjoyed it. I usually do not care for oatmeal other than the stuff I make at home, but I thought this was pretty good and will def be ordering again. Sidenote: Why did the people with the extremely unhappy baby have to pick the only table behind the girl working on a laptop when the restaurant is completely empty?? Come on, people. I'm moving, brb.

Ok, I'm back. I don't know about you, but being smack dab in the middle of the summer hasn't exactly made me excited about cooking. So I got this dandy idea to start cooking in bulk when I do cook. So last week I made 4 lasagnas and froze them. It was my first attempt at lasagna and it was pretty good. My friend Cassandra gave me lots of tips, she makes a PHENOMENAL lasagna. I think next time I'll add a leeetle more sauce, but other that it was pretty good.

This has been an interesting time in my life. God is stretching me and growing me. It's been very humbling. I was telling my husband, I feel so weak at times, but I know that God's strength is totally carrying me. The Lord has just surrounded us with so many people that are encouraging, that are praying and also sharing so much wisdom with us, especially when it comes to marriage and raising kids. It's been such a blessing. Even the new blogs I have been following have been blessings. I LOVE hearing about other's homeschooling experiences and also about their faith in Christ and adventures with their husbands and/or family. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

Just got a call from a new customer while I'm sitting at cfa...lol. I'm good on the phone, but sometimes I get so frazzled. Kids screamin and I'm trying to sound professional while I'm violently shooing children off! haha. God has definitely continued to abundantly bless Pristine Solutions. I can remember exactly where I was at when God put it on my heart that we should start our own business. We had NO CLUE what to even do and it all felt so overwhelming to me!! Now here we are 3 years later running our own business full time! Proverbs 16:9 says 'In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.' True Story.

The Harvest Crusades are this weekend! Be praying for those that don't know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior that they would hear the gospel and and come into a relationship with their Creator. I bawl every year at the crusades. Tears of joy!! Joy that those people are someone's answered prayer and they are now going to spend eternity in heaven. It's an experience like no other.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week!!

Good news bear

Not gonna lie it's been a rough 2 weeks, but this is a blog focused on the blessings of the last week.

Just put another $800 towards the student loan! yay!

Garage sale tomorrow and all that is going to the student loan!

Saw a loan officer to get a forecast on 'Home Buying 2012' and it was good! Yes, its a club, feel free to join.

Lot's of good news for people around me =]

The Lord is at work so much in our family!

Harvest Crusade is right around the corner!

Our business is still booming, I give ALL the credit to the Lord.

Definitely going up the mountain has been rough, but I have linked arms with some amazing girls who have poured out love, support and godly counsel. These are the things that friendships that last a lifetime are built on.

The girls are swimming like crazy, LOVE LOVE LOVE watching them swim! Seeing them work towards a goal and accomplish it has been EASILY one of the most joyful moments in life thus far. I'm so absurdly proud of them!!

My husband - he is always a joy. I am blessed.

Spent time with other family.

Mr. Handsome is more handsome than ever. He's talking so much and he is so cuddly. He will grab my face and plant a kiss right on my lips and hold it there. Priceless.

There truly were so many little blessings throughout the week. Too many to mention and some to personal to mention. God is so good. I will praise him in this storm.

Break my heart for what breaks yours.

So apparently God making us more like Him can be an ugly process on the outside. ::sigh::

It's been a very humbling week and quite frankly I'm stuffed from humble pie. Be careful what you pray for, that's for sure. It's actually been 2 weeks of some serious answers to prayer. Sometimes the answers don't come wrapped in a pretty little box and necessarily the way I'd deliver, but I'm not God and his ways are sovereign so that's that. Definitely just taking the days one at a time and coming to terms with the stuff the Lord is revealing my life that has to be dealt with. I am surrounded by some seriously godly women who have been such encouragements in my life. I watch them as wives, mothers, friends, mentors and I so desire to be that kind of godly woman, but it's going to take some work to get there, but I'm in for the long haul. I'm thankful God loves us enough to not leave us where we are at and he gives us the tools we need to move forward. God has been so faithful the last few weeks to send some specific women into my life to give me constructive criticism, encouragement and reminders of what God's word says. Two of which stood out were Psalms 27 & Proverbs 29. Psalms 27's theme is God offering hope for today and hope for the future. Unwavering confidence in God is our antidote for fear and loneliness. Proverbs 29 also spoke so much to me and raised questions like "What kind of climate are you setting for the people you lead?" & "What significant adjustments have been on hold in your life for too long?" ~ Definitely some serious thoughts to ponder there. I hope I can read this in a year and be able to say I'm not where I was then by the Grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. Tomorrow is going to be hard, but my desire is to please the Lord and do what he calls me to do no matter what.

Break my heart for what breaks yours.

Back to school & Crafts

Today we had the girls' friend, Faith over. We went to the nursery and picked out some plants, then did some baking at home. Strawberry Rhubarb pie that is! Yummo! After that we had some lunch, we headed to chick-fil-a for an Icedream Cone and then to Michael's. At Michael's we picked up some terra cotta pots and patio paint. When we got home and Madison and Faith painted their pots. They turned out so adorable. We got out the hot glue gun and glued some buttons on them, too. I wish I had gotten a picture of Faith's, she drew a vine with blue flowers, it was precious! We filled it with soil and put some grape tomato seeds in it. Madison painted a flower and we put a red button for the pollen in the middle and then she did a butterfly and we used 2 black buttons at the antennae. She loves to do crafts!

Later in the evening we ran some errands and we ended up getting Madison her backpack for school. It's adorable and she was stoked, too! So much peace about the choice we've made about education. Tomorrow we go to turn in all the rest of the paperwork to finish up the enrollment process. Eeek!!

Millsap Haps

Idk why, but for the most part I have just lost the zest to blog lately and I LOVE writing. I really do have lots to write about and I think that's part of the problem - I get overwhelmed.

God has been doing some amazings things in our life, that's for sure. He's definitely blessing our business. That's been really exciting to see doors opened and for it to grow. I def give all the credit to the Lord because he has opened doors that could have def never been opened by us.

We're so blessed to be at the church we are at. I love love love my Lakeshore family. We've made amazing friends, grown in our walk with the Lord, watched our kids get nurtured, been surrounded by love and support. They truly are our family.

Madison is getting ready to start Kindergarten, I got her all registered online a few minutes ago actually. CAN NOT believe she is starting Kindergarten. Wow. I've also been planning a bridal shower and bachelorette part for my seester who is getting married in October. Ohmygoodness. Can't believe that's happening either! Bridal shower is hawaiian themed and the Bachelorette party is an overnighter in Palm Springs, poolside.

We're still crankin' down on our debt! This week we've put a little over $900 towards one of the student loans! About $600 more to go and we'll be under $20k for that one! I feel like that's a milestone! We are actually going to see Dave Ramsey this fall! We are more than stoked! And today my friend, Erika, bought her ticket and she is coming with. I can't tell you how much I love having friends that love Dave as much as I do and actually apply his principles. It's such a warm and fuzzy feeling I can't explain. It honestly blows my mind when people don't love Dave as much as I do. What's not to love?! haha

It's been an interesting few months. I've def had some moments where I've been "If I could just have this (insert material item that will make life all better), I'd be stoked" mostly that blank spot is a house AND a 2nd vehicle, preferably a truck. We're still sharing a car and it's not easy trying to get your kids involved but having to coordinate with the husby who is crankin out work like it's nobody's business. Summer is extremely busy for us, praise God, but's crazy with one car. And I'm sure our own home is an easy one to understand, but I know God's plans are wayyy bigger than our own and he has been so ridiculously good to us, I have no room to question his how's or why's.

He has been answering so many little prayers lately. Such a great reminder that a big God still cares about our little day to day things. And these have been very specific prayers. I have a friend that has recently started seeing a counselor while they are working through some tough times and I prayed specifically that this counselor would be a godly person and influence on them. Few days later, we were talking and they shared that they discovered their counselor was Christian and gave them scriptures to encourage them. "He loves us, oh how he loves us..." Thanks Lord for hearing the prayers of your children. He is so good! Also gives me the strength and encouragement to continue praying for requests that haven't been answered yet.

If you are praying for us, please do keep the 2nd vehicle in prayer. We are just trusting God will make a way and we can still continue to be faithful in paying down our debt.

10 things that make me Happy the past week

(I've never done one of these posts, but I'm quite fond of reading others so why not!)

1. Salvation

2. Short road trips w/good friends

3. Craigslist sales

4. New Clients

5. Creme Brulee Coffeemate

6. 1.49 for Silk Almond Milk

7. Owl City's new song: In Christ Alone

8. Another $520 to the student loan

9. Beach with my family and some godly women and their awesome kids

10. Finally ordering my daughter's birth certificates. I'm not behind or anything LOL

#438

That number is where this blog falls on my list of things to do! haha!! However, there was a popular demand for it! So after getting the ads in the mail on Tuesday I decided that I def needed to take a trip to Ralph's. The sale was too good to pass up. So this morning I still had PILES of coupons to go thru and clip so I took a couple hours to do that. Then I pulled out the ones I had that matched up with the Ralph's ad. I don't typically shop at Ralph's, but every once in a while I can go in there and get a STEAL if you plan right. So the big deal at Ralphs this week was the buy 10 item's get an extra $5 off all 10. There wasn't anything I needed right this second, but it was all things I use and stocking up at this sale price was a good idea! I had coupons for EVERY item I went in for. Before you go make sure you have your Ralph's card, coupons, list, reusable bags (5 pts a bag) AND you SHELL gas receipt! yes, Shell gas! You get double the points, more points = more coupons. ALSO, you can take your Ralph's receipt to select shell stations and get .10 off each gallon. So when I went in, they didnt have the quantity of items I needed, I meticulously planned my list to buy exactly 40 of the super sale items. So I had to restructure my game plan a little. I also needed to make sure I hit $75 AFTER I put my card thru to be able to use my $5 off $75 purchase Ralph's coupon. REMEMBER: It ONLY has to be $75 with your card PRE-Coupons, not after. ps. Ralph's doubles ALL coupons UP TO $1.

So I walked out with the following with the final price PER item after coupon:

3 Loreal Shampoo's (.99)

2 Loreal Conditioners(.99)

3 half gallons of Silk Almond Milk (1.49)

5 Sunny Delights (.99, no coupon tho)

9 cans of Pringles (.66)

1 bag of Kettle Chips (1.49)

4 Bottles of Wisk (1.49)

4 Tic-Tacs (FREE)

5 Three Muskateers Bars (.33)

11 tubes of toothpaste (FREE)

Scotch Brite sponges (1.49)

Lloyd's Bbq Chicken (2.99)

Ground Turkey (3.99)

There really are no tricks. I have access to quite a few coupons. I have 5 Sunday papers delivered to my door and I collect coupons from about 6-8 other individuals. I also print some coupons Once I have all my coupons, I just pay attention to the ads. Obviously I don't use coupons on EVERYTHING! There's seems to be a huge misunderstanding of couponing out there. Just because you don't see any fresh produce in this list doesn't mean we don't eat it! We have our own garden in our backyard with tomatoes, eggplant, artichokes, spices, etc. and we go to Henry's for other produce. What you are seeing here is the fact that I pay NOTHING for toothpaste, don't you brush your teeth? And do you wash your clothes? Now, I don't usually buy that many chips, but since it's summer Pringle's are a crowd favorite for beach trips! Ok, well I'm sure there are other questions. Feel free to post your questions about anything couponing and I will do my best to answer with what I've learned thus far in my next blog which will be a Q&A blog about it!

Oh my total was $37.96; my savings overall was $152!! =]

What you've all been waiting for!

Well, maybe not all of you but some of you! Truth is coupons are everywhere and I had been to many of these sites in the past, but frankly I was too lazy. Not anymore. I'm determined to cut our grocery budget, especially with the price of gas. Tonight I went into Vons and they had select boxes of General Mills cereals on sale for $2.99. If you bought 4, then you get $4 off all 4 boxes, bringing the price to $1.99. I had a .55 coupon for Cheerios and another .55 for for Trix and then I had a $1 off 2 more general mills cereals. At Vons, their coupons double up to $1, BUT they only let you double one per same coupon. I had a gang load of the Cheerios ones, but I could only double one, but I still had a Trix one. Anyway, I still save and EXTRA $3 with the coupons. It's really important to watch the ads that come so can get double whammies like that. I'm still learning, too.

I just dedicated time to googling stuff that I wanted i.e. Silk, General Mills, etc...Most of the legit will make you download a little coupon thingy. That's to help with printing them properly. Here's some coupons on the Betty Crocker site. Also, you can call or email companies and they might just send you some coupons. My girlfriend uses enfamil formula, but receives tons of gerber coupons. Not helpful. So she called enfamil and they sent her out a bunch! And if you've ever bought formula and gotten some of their coupons that are in check form, you KNOW how valuable those can be!

Here's another one: Coupons.com Seems self-explanatory. I wish had a detailed road map, but it's just about looking around. Pairing them up with the sales. Contact companies. Also, go "LIKE" your favorite brands on FB (their legit fan page, of course), wouldn't surprise me if they put out coupons every once in awhile. Check slickdeals everyday. That's where I got a $5 off $10 purchase at Ulta. On top of their buy 2 get 2 free! Happy hunting and do share your deals with us!

Try this one, too! Looks amazing,I just found and am exploring!