Day 3 and 4 - giving challenge

On day 3, I felt led to give a cashier one of the gifts I had recieved in a demonstration earlier in the day. It was this really cool kitchen gizmo. I had a chance to tell her about the challenge I was participating in, and she was pretty excited about the gizmo. She's looking forward to sharing it with her foster granddaughter.

On day 4, I gave Chad a chance to nap with the kids in the afternoon while I ran errands for us all (mailing packages, getting Craigslist items, enrolling the kids in swimming lessons). He was grateful for the nap. I really need one too. I also got 2 more big boxes of items to give to ACS. They were really thankful for the other items I brought.

Its a blessing to be a blessing. :-)
M

Day 2 - Giving Challenge

This is hard. I don't like keeping track of "doing good", but I hope this is an encouragement to you. I didn't have time to go to the thrift store with the boxes yesterday, so I will do that today. Instead, I'm letting you know what I really ended up doing on day one. I did remember to pray for God to tell me what to do - what to give.

I ended up giving in two ways,
- one with Chad's closet. I took the closet organizing stuff I bought from Bed Bath and Beyond (originally for myself) and re-org'd his closet. I've been working pretty hard at upgrading his wardrobe since we moved to Seattle. This will make it waaaaay easier for him to find his clothes in the morning, and keep his stuff organized.
- The other was more spirit-led I think. I was at Fred Meyer and an associate was helpful. I felt led to write out a nice comment card and drop it off at the customer service counter. I know how much those things mean to management.

GIving Challenge

I am participating in this this month. I encourage you to participate in whichever measure you can.

Today is day 1 - finally getting rid of 3 boxes of donations for the American Cancer Society thrift store. ACS is one of my favorite charities. I worked for them in Lynchburg when I was a student at Liberty University. I also have friends and family that have dealt with cancer, so their research is important to me.

This will be a de-cluttering, and sharing month for us. We'll be giving away clothes that are too small for our kids, toys that can be a blessing to another child(ren), clothes that Chad and I simply do not need and other items. We have been so blessed, this is a small way that we can be a blessing to others.

In Him,
Marie A.

Veggie tales download

Today, my favorite deal is from www.fatwallet.com : Free VeggieTales download



The Incredible Singing Christmas Tree

Zulily today

AWESOME deals at http://www.zulily.com/ today. If you've not been on zulily.com - PLEASE sign up using this link - http://www.zulily.com/invite/marie so that I can get you as a referred friend.

Tot Spot Cafe membership in Woodinville

First, for those of you work at home parental units who have kiddos, and live within driving distance of Woodinville - you'll LOVE this deal at the Tot Spot Cafe. Go to the company website for the Cafe to see all they have to offer.

Today on Zulily.com you can get unlimited visits for your entire family for a month for $35!! Just the thought of that makes me giddy. Additional Perks include -

•Free WiFi

•Play groups by age

•Monitored play area

•Top quality toys

•Hosted activities

•Scheduled "guests" to entertain the kiddos

•Room Monitors pre-screened with years of experience

We know what you're thinking, and the answer is "Yes." They have hand sanitizer and wipes surrounding the whole play area, not to mention the fact that the owner sanitizes all the toys on a regular basis.

Once you create an account - go to "Today's Events" at the top of the page and scroll to the bottom of the list of offers. Choose Seattle or Tot Spot Cafe to get the info on this deal.

If you need it, here's a direct link to the deal - http://www.zulily.com/index.php/totspotcafe.html

Another deal of note for those who aren't in the PacNW is the Outside baby Black and Gray cooler backpack for under $45 (normally $80). Every review I've found for this product has been very positive. I think it'd be great for road trips and picnics with the twinks.

Lastly - if you have an order that is over $50 (before tax and shipping) use coupon code GAF78565 for $5 off.

Let me know how you do!

UPDATED CVS Coupon

April 1-24 Rite Aid Giftcard link has been updated!

I waited to post this because I wanted to verify a couple of things for you.

I checked with my local CVS and verified that they will take this Rite Aid coupon 100% of the time. They will honor it for new prescriptions (even though it says tranfers) and for transfered prescriptions.

They will also honor up to one coupon per patient. SO, if you have twins (like me) or more than one person in your family who needs a prescription filled, you can score more than one giftcard each day.  I have gotten $75 in giftcards before when picking up 3 prescriptions - one for each kid + my husband.

If you want to make sure your CVS accepts this coupon, I'd recommend you stop by your local CVS (or call) and ask to speak to the head of the Pharmacy Department. Ask about this coupon and if they will accept it as a competitor's coupon.

Yay for free money!
M

Lessons from Losses

I miss all my friends from my previous job. But I don’t know how to approach them again. I loved working where I was from April 2005 to October 2008, but I haven’t talked to many of my dearest friends from the office since my last day there.

So, now I look at today. After about 15 months of wrestling with God about it, my heart is filled with forgiveness.

The fact is: I screwed up, I was not clear enough with them about my return.

I should NOT have said I was not sure about coming back, if I was really intending to come back.

So, to all my dear friends at Fellowship Technologies (read: long lost family) with whom I have lost touch – I MISS YOU. I love all of you from the bottom of my heart.

Please forgive me for not keeping in touch while I was dealing with all of this.

I did not want it to turn into gossip. I do not want to make any of you think negatively about anyone who was involved in the story above. I have mad-respect for the people who run that company. It’s HARD to be a Christian and a businessman at the same time. I learned a lot from my experiences at the company, and I am learning even more through my MBA program. I pray for their leadership to have wisdom as they continue doing what they are doing. I pray for their customers, too. I pray for all of you who work there. I look forward to spending eternity with you.

Please keep in touch.

In Him,

Marie (Barrington) Armitage

So proud of my hubby

Day 3 of our Stay-cation
I was cleaning out the car this afternoon - vaccuum and all - when my DH came out of the house and told me he was jonesing for some Arizona Sweet Tea. Could he PLEEEEEAASASE have my blessing to use a CVS giftcard to pick one up for free??

Of course you can - but take these coupons with you and pick up some Right Guard because of this deal I found online. So, I sent my husband with 2 $1.50/1 coupons and asked him to pick up the Right Guard when he goes to CVS. Also, I had a $5 ECB, so here is what I suggested he do -
Get 2 Right Guard Deoderants
Price 2 for $5
Less $3 in coupons ($1.50 * 2)
Cost $2 for deoderant
and get something else worth $3 or more. Use the ECB and the giftcard to pay.

He went to CVS and saved over $15!!!
Here's what he ended up doing

Got 2 Right Guard Deoderants
 - Priced 2 for $5!
Less $3 in coupons ($1.50 * 2)
Cost $0 for deoderant

Got 2 boxes of multigrain cheerios
 - Priced 2 for $4.99
Less $5 in ECB's
Cost -$.01 for the cereal

Got 1 Arizona Sweet Tea for $.99
Got $2 back in ECB's
Total cost - $.99!!! Not bad for his first time couponing.

He came home with a HUGE smile on his face and said that NOW he gets it.


I taped the receipt up on the wall.

:-)

New Month- New CVS Gift-Card coupon to print

You'll want to print out and keep one of these in your wallet or purse
**$25 gift card coupon (with any prescription) exp. 3/31**
(I know it is for Rite-Aid)

This month I scored 2 $25 CVS giftcards by presenting one of these beauties when I went to pick-up prescriptions. My CVS pharmacy will take ANY competitors coupon and treat it as their own.

**I have pointed out to the pharmacy manager that this says it is for a transfer - and the manager still said that he would honor it for new prescriptions.

Check your CVS - It doesn't hurt to ask!

Read about how I always get paid $25 to get my prescriptions refilled.

Entertainment Book Deal

entertainmentbook.com/sale

This is a great price for one of my favorite coupon books. I love my Entertainment Book. I keep it in the car with me, and rarely purchase restaurant food without it.

My Hubby and I use the B1G1 dinners for date nights.

For you Burleson-ites and Fort Worth-ers - You can enjoy $6 Movie Tavern coupons, B1G1 Sonic and Arby's coupons plus a bunch more.

FREE Early Childhood resource

I was on the Kelloggs website getting some coupons and found these Cool Coloring pages - just print and you have some fun educational activities with your little ones!

Today is a great printable coupon day. Couponing 101 has all the links .

My favorite ways to save money

Since I have been doing this Work at Home Mommy thing for about a year now, I figured it was time I share some of my favorite tips on how to save money. Here you go -

1. Never pay for handsoap.
Right now Kroger has softsoap handsoap on sale for $.88 each. Go Here and print out the coupon for $.35 cents off (It's on the bottom right, and mistakenly says .40 off, but it prints out as .35).
Kroger will triple your 35 cent coupon (making it $1.05 off) even though the soap costs $.88. Thanks to Printable Coupons and Deals for supplying this link.

2. Always get a $25 giftcard when filling prescriptions
Click Here for the Rite Aid Transfer Coupon website. Keep 1 or 2 of these in your purse or wallet for the next time you have to pick up a prescription.

I almost always go to CVS to get my prescriptions filled because they ALWAYS honor competitors coupons in the pharmacy. CVS considers Rite Aid a competitor (even though there are none in TX). Each month, RiteAid.com has a new $25 giftcard coupon online for each transfered prescription. CVS has ALWAYS honored this coupon for new prescriptions from me. I have even pointed the fine print out to the CVS Pharmacy Manager, and he has graciously approved this coupon as one they honor with new prescriptions. The coupon usually expires at the end of the month, which causes me to have to search for it whenever I have a prescription that needs to be filled.

3. Buy a Double Pack of Sunday Papers whenever they are available.
Then I take out the coupons (Red Plum, Smartsource, General Mills, Proctor & Gamble) and put them all together in a file folder labeled with that Sunday's date on it. I learned this method from ChaChing on a Shoestring. She organizes hers by type (Smartsource vs. RedPlum), whereas, I organize mine by week. That website has done a lot in the way of helping me learn to save $ since I became a surprise SAHM in 2009. Click Here for her filing method.

Blessings,
Marie A

Helping Haiti

I've been blessed by all of the bloggers sharing how they are going to help the Haitian people. There are so many ministries and non-profit organizations trying to help that little country. I prayed over the past couple of days since I normally run to aid anyone in need.

I encourage anyone who reads this to please pray for those people in Haiti - and for the aid that is going there to get to the people that need it.

If you are looking for an organization to give to - that is responsible and led by the Holy Spirit - I can't recommend CrossWorld missions enough.

Personally, my family and I have been strong supporters of Crossworld Missions for years. The organization is amazing, spirit-led, country empowering. That's one of the attributes I love about this organization. They have missionaries, a seminary, and a school in Haiti and are keeping their website updated on how to pray or give.

Please join me in praying for the missionaries of CrossWorld specifically. If you are led to give monetarily, there is an opportunity to do so on their website.

Bonus Fundraiser:

I will donate 25% of all my Arbonne sales to CrossWorld missions for Haiti. Please purchase items on http://www.dfw.myarbonne.com/ or by contacting me via email Marie (at) myarbonne.com

I will be finishing up an MBA program in the next 17 weeks. I will be raising money for Haiti until I graduate at the end of May. I'll keep info on how the Haiti fundraiser is going in the sidebar (I have to figure out how to do that). I'll also keep you posted on how I'm striving to save money and keep managing our home.

January Goals

Last year, I started posting my quarterly goals, and only did so for the second quarter. I worked all year on number #1. The goal of getting Chad to take more vitamins/eat more veggies. I think a lot can be said for buy-in on that one. Just like the corporate world, you cannot make anyone do anything you want just so you can reach your own goals. They need to see the WIIFM (What's in it for me). And they have to "buy-in" to the idea.

Ultimately, I was able to get chad to reduce his coffee consumption by adding FRS to his diet, and he is drinking a small V8 juice at work everyday. He takes the Hybrid Vitamins, but not regularly.

The other 2 goals were reached and exceeded for us. I've reduced our weekly budget to under $80/week including disposable diapers. AND the kids ate almost all home-made babyfood for their first year.

Now we get into the first year of toddlerhood. What are my goals?
*** To enjoy this year. ***

I've heard people and seen people and been the person who has not been nice to toddlers. I want my kids to see how much I love them, how proud I am of them, and let them be babies for this last bit of their infancy.

I know that isn't a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) goal, but it is still a goal for me. :-)

so here are my goals (in no particular order)
1. Prioritize my marriage (plan date nights, keep a list of sitters)
2. Enjoy my kiddos (let them be kids, laugh with them, cuddle and play with them)
3. Finish my MBA by May 23, 2010
4. Successfully kickoff my at home business June 2010

Produce Price matches - 11/4 - 11/10

Apples 88 cents/lb WA extra fancy,
Red Delicious,
Golden Delicious
Braeburn
Corn 3 for $1 Ears of Corn
Navel Oranges 98 cents/lb
Avocados 2 for $1 Hass Avocado
Russet Potatoes $2.98 3lb bag
Asparagus $2.75 lb
Cranberries 12 oz. bag
Cilantro 2 for 88 cents


Russet Potatoes 99 cents/ 5lb bag
Navel Oranges 69 cents/lb
Grapefruit 69 cents/lb Texas Rio Star
Pears 99 cents/lb D’Anjou
Red Bartlett
Green Bartlett
Golden Bosc
Tomatoes (OTV) 1.99/lb Tomatoes on the vine
Red Globe Grapes 1.79/lb With seeds
Black Seedless grapes $1.99/lb seedless
Sweet Yellow Onions 99 cents/lb
Hass Avocado 4 for $5
Tangerines 1.99/lb California Fairchild
Lettuce 4 for $5 Garden Fresh Lettuce

Potatoes 1.99/lb 3lb bag Yukon Gold
Apples 2.99/lb 5lb bag Red,
Granny,
Gala
Tomatoes (OTV) 2.99/lb On the vine
Baby carrots 2 for $5 2lb bag
Oranges 2.99/ea 4lb bag
Pineapple 2.99/ea
Mushrooms 1.99/ea 8oz pkg Sliced white
Sliced brown
Bell Peppers 2 for $3 Red Peppers
Yellow Peppers
Seedless black grapes 2.99/lb
Pears 1.69/lb Red Bartlett
Bosc
Walnut Halves 2.99/ea 9oz pkg
Whole natural almonds 2.99/ea 8.5 oz
Navel Oranges 79 cents/lb From California

Apples 87 cents/lb Lg. Red Delicious
Bartlett Pears
Tangerines 3.77/ea 3lb bag Seedless
Bell Peppers $1/ea Red Bell
Sweet yellow
Orange
Grapefruit 4 for $1 Small size, Texas
Blueberries 2 for $5 4.4oz pkg
Shelled nuts 3.77/ea 12-16oz Pecans
Walnuts
Almonds
HH tomatoes 1.99/lb Lg. Beefsteak Hot House tomatoes
Mushrooms 2 for $4 10oz pkg Jumbo Texan Stuffer
Broccoli 1.29/lb Crowns
Pomegranates 2 for $4 POM Wonderful
Mustard Greens 2 for $1 Collard
Turnip

Apples 88 cents/lb Gala
Pomegranates 2 for 2.99 Jumbo
Apples 1.99/lb Honeycrisp
Grapefruit 99 cents/ea Jumbo Texas Grapefruit
Watermelon 3.99/ea Dulcinea Purehart seedless
Avocados 2 for $3 Large Hass
Tomatoes (OTV) 1.99/lb On the vine
Blueberries 2 for $6 6oz pkg

CVS trip

I couldn't help it. I went to CVS after going to the movies with Corinne yesterday. We saw FAME. Loved it. Then I went to CVS and cashed in on their Tide Deal. I bought the following:

4 Bounce Dryer Bars = $4 ea
3 Tide Stain Release Tabs = $4 Ea
2 5" scissors (I had a raincheck for $2.99 ECB on each) = $2.99
1 24 pack of pencils (another raincheck for $1.99 ECB) = $1.99
1 CVS Acidophilus capsules = $5
Total before discounts = $41

Less:
1 $5/$25 CVS Coupon
3 $1.50 off 1 and 1 $2.50 off 1 for Bounce Dryer Bars from the mailer
3 $1/1 Tide Stain Release from a blinkie in the store
1 $5 ECB from a previous shopping trip
1 $7.40 in CVS giftcards from prescription refills
Total after discounts, just over $13

Plus, I got $18 back in ECB's.

Yay! It feels good to get some good deals after so long of not being out there shopping. Now I need to pull it back a little.

I didn't really NEED that much Tide stuff. The stain release capsules are awesome, but we don't use dryer sheets. HMPH. Maybe they go in the stockpile for bartering? Also, the school supplies just went into my school supply stockpile.

I hope CVS has some good deals over the next couple of weeks before my ECB's expire.

Compassion Question

The Lord has been teaching our family a lot about how we are supposed to exercise compassion with our neighbors. Jesus said the most important thing was for us to love the Lord our God with all our heart soul mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. My question is: **when can you stop being compassionate and still be in Christ?** I am really feeling taken advantage of by a few of our neighbors that we are practicing compassion with.

I know I'm stressed about the actions of people who are going through A LOT. Consequently, they are not keeping their word, which is disappointing to say the least. I am also cognizant of my own failings and grace given me by the LORD. I know there have been times I haven't kept my word, and people have practiced compassion with me. I guess my real question is about boundaries with these relationships.

How can i exercise boundaries without seeming uncompassionate? Maybe this is the maternal instinct in me - just trying to take care of everyone. Maybe that is what has made me so willing to keep giving and giving until I've reached this point. My mom was sort of a martyr. She always gave of herself, even to the detriment of her health. I'd like to prevent the "to the detriment of my health" thing.

Advice appreciated.

Daily to-do list

I've never been a "list person", but have found this daily checklist to be super helpful to me. I keep it taped to my bathroom mirror.

Things to do after I pray:
Take vitamins/pills (AM)
Wash face (AM/PM)
Brush teeth (AM/PM)
Empty dishwasher (AM)
run clothes washer
Shop online (for grocery deals)
Arbonne*
MBA*
Cook
print/cut coupons
clean house
catagorize mail
empty dryer/fold clothes
exercise
call Mom
call Father-in-law
call friends
shop for groceries
fill dishwasher (PM)
move stuff to dryer, run dryer (PM)

Now, I do not get to all of these things before I go to bed each night - but it sure helps when I am sleep deprived, but have energy to do something around the house. I can't tell you how many days I've forgotten to take my vitamins or even wash my face. Taking care of twins is hard. See anything I missed?

Marie

Refrigerator/Freezer

Ok, now I am on the hunt for a refrigerator/freezer or standing freezer for our garage. We have one, but it is a small deep freezer and it usually overfull and hard to sort through. Since I am going back to school next month, I am trying to make sure we have meals prepared beforehand. It would be nice if I could stockpile in a way that saves us money and is easy to access. That way, we can also still eat healthy, even though I am not going to have enough time on a daily basis to cook.

Here's the catch. My goal is to get one for free. I have posted on Freecycle, and am asking people to keep their eyes open if they hear of anyone trying to get rid of one. I've been on the hunt for a couple of weeks now. We will see what happens. I'm not picky - and technically - it is not a NEED, so we aren't going to purchase one. We have other things we are budgeting for.

I'll keep you posted on my journey.

Old School Photo Storage Deal

So, I know, its been a while. I am still hunting for cool deals, and trying to hone my Home Management skills. This week we have been spring cleaning. This was my favorite deal so far - and it happens to fit in with my spring cleaning tasks. I was able to purchase 4 of these photo storage boxes at Michaels.
They are on sale 2 for $5, so if I figure out other uses for them, I will probably go back and purchase some more. If I do that, I will try to take some of those Michael's coupons from the Sunday paper so I can get an even better deal.

I ended up getting 2 solid brown, 1 solid white, and 1 solid black. There were a bunch of funky patterns, but I didn't feel that daring when I was out today.

The cashier said they will be on sale through Saturday.