fighting the fight

You know the saying "be a lover, not a fighter"...well, I don't necessarily agree with this saying because I am a fighter...

I am a fighter for the people that I love
I am a fighter for the truth
I am a fighter of asthma
I am a fighter for self confidence
I am a fighter for justice
I am a fighter for self worth
I am a fighter for standing up for what I believe in
I am a fighter for friendship
I am a fighter for children
I am a fighter for respect
I am a fighter for love
I am a fighter for me

Whether or not these statements reign true today, at one point in my life I was (and quite possibly still) fighting for these things. People don't typically think that people like me with a bubbly, outgoing personality who almost always has a smile on her face is allowed to have a bad day. But, I do. And today was one of those "terrible no good very bad days" but I have to pick myself up and keep fighting the fight. And today, I'm fighting the fight for myself and for Mark. To me, this saying means "fight for the things that you love" and that's exactly what I'm gonna do.

sleepless nights

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed that you couldnt sleep? That was me last night.

I had so much going on in my brain that it was so hard for me to focus enough to actually fall asleep. I had a to-do list generating at 100 mph, 4532 ideas for the class that I am teaching this summer at Sr. High Camp and then I had about 29 different scenerios in which my job and camp schedule could possibly happen with me having my cake (gluten free, please) and eating it too. Everything about the latter scares me the most. I don't think I could actually afford to quit my job (even though its the worst) because I am thankful that I do have a job but on the other hand, I'm not happy - none of my co-workers are happy so it's nice to know that I'm not in this alone - and it's causing me stress, misery, illness...the list could go on. But...I NEED to be at camp (and I WILL be at camp) I just hope that I can please everyone involved in this situation, including myself.

So, I'm off, too possibly get a good's nights rest...wish me luck!

Peace, hugs & smiles,
J

proud couponers

I used to keep my couponing a big secret and only my family and my boyfriend knew about it because I thought I would get made fun of. I recently was able to share my love of coupons (and saving) with two of my very close friends. Fast forward to today...I just received a text from one of those friends telling me that she was able to get $93 bucks worth of groceries for $59 dollars. I am sooooo very proud of her. It's expensive to live, let alone living as a college student in grad school while doing an unpaid internship so mad props to you, Alicia for jumping on the coupon bandwagon and saving a TON of money and having "food for the rest of your life" haha.

In addition to coupons, I loooove getting free money in the mail. Okay, okay, it's not a $10 bill that comes in the mail but Kohl's sends me $10 cards all the time. It's a gift card for $10 off any purchase which means that you can technically get $10 worth of items for free - I like to keep my OOP (out of pocket) cost down as much as possible so I tend to go for cheaper items. On Friday, I went to Kohl's to see what I could scrounge up for $10. I needed another rug for the kitchen so I picked one up for $7.99 (originally $24.99) and then I found a pair of Xbox 360 boxers for Mark on clearance for $2.80 (originally $14.00) . I was able to get $38.99 worth of merchandise for .85 cents. Yes, you heard it right .85 cents. Thank you Kohl's!!

Have any of you scored some pretty sweet deals on anything??

Peace, hugs & smiles,

J

voiceless

i've lost my blogging voice....for now.
i hope to have it back tomorrow.
maybe. cross your fingers.

Happy Earth Day!

In honor of Earth Day, I'll tell you what I did to make the planet a little more "green"...

• I took a 5 minute shower (they are usually 1o minutes)
• I didn't turn on any lights until 10 pm (easy to do when you are gone all day)
• I took the last of my plastic bags to Kroger to be recycled
• I used fabric bags for all of my grocery purchases this evening
• I watched the number of pages I printed today at work
• I haven't turned the TV on all day
• I went to work this morning with wet hair (which means I didn't use the blow dryer)
• I cooked a vegetarian dinner and had a vegetarian lunch (that I packed). I am not a vegetarian but eating meat actually hurts the planet. (You can help curb carbon emissions in the livestock industry if you cut back on eating meat once a week)
• I went the speed limit everywhere I went today (you actually burn less gas if you go 60 mph or less)

Here are some things that I do everyday that makes an impact on the planet:

• I don't drink bottled water. Instead I use reusable aluminium bottles, or nalgene bottles
• I pack my lunch everyday in a bag made of recyclable materials
• I only start the dishwasher when every inch of it is full and I literally cannot fit another knife in it
• I re-wear pants, cardigans, sweatshirts, etc. so I don't have as much laundry to do all the time (don't worry, I change my underwear everyday) :)
• I recycle when I can. It's hard to do when you live in an apartment with not a whole lot of extra space and no one to give you or pick up a recycling bin
• I pick up litter whenever I see it and I do not litter
• Some of my cleaning products are environmentally friendly (some of them are not, but I'm working on it)
• Most of my bills automatically come out of my checking account and I can view statements online so I am not using any extra paper by getting bills and statements in the mail
• I practice the 4 R's (reduce, reuse, recycle, re-wear)

By no means am I trying to save the planet by myself but I try to do my part one "greener" thing at a time and one day at a time to help protect the Earth so that one day my kids can have a much cleaner planet than what we are living in today. What things have you done today to help save the Earth? What are some things that you do everyday to be a little more "green"? Happy Earth Day y'all. I hope you try and make...
Peace, hugs, and smiles,

J

financially smart

If you know me, you know that I like to use coupons. A LOT! If you don't know me, you will soon find out. It's not something that I really have to do but it's something that I choose to do. Plus, the high you get from walking out of a store knowing you just purchased $150 dollars worth of items and only spent $4 out of your pocket is AMAZING! (And yes, this very situation happened to me at Walgreens last year - thanks to my trusty ole coupons). Every Sunday (except the ones that don't have coupon inserts), I grab 2 papers from the gas station down the road and I head home to clip and flip (clip the coupons and flip through the ads). I buy two so that if i find a great sale I can stock up. If I spend less than $4 on 2 newspapers, I only have to use 4 - .50 off coupons to get my money back (the stores that I shop at double my coupons up to a $1) Many non-couponers may think that coupons are for those financially strapped or poor. I say coupons are for those that are financially smart. Why in the world would you give your hard earned money away when you know you can save HUGE if you just take a little bit of time. Even if you don’t coupon in a big way, take the time to scan your ads and cut some coupons out. If you are an occasional couponer, you may not notice the savings with just a stop here or there, but if you were to record all of your coupons, I am sure you’d be amazed; I am. I even had a friend call me the other day with all the excitement in the world because it was her first time using coupons AND she saved 7 bucks and some change - I think that's totally awesome!! If you really want to see the outcome of saving with coupons, join with me in trying something new that I have been doing: take the money you save by using coupons and store cards (Kroger, Giant Eagle...) and put that into your savings account (you will find the amount you save on your receipt). Trust me, it adds up quickly and really, you wouldn't be missing any money from your checking account because you would have initially spent that money on your groceries IF you weren't using coupons anyway. Happy Couponing!!!

Peace, hugs, and smiles,
J

arrive hungry

Yesterday, I was told about a Beth Moore Bible Study that was taking place at our Beavercreek Branch and I was kind of skeptical to go. One, I have never actually been to or a part of a bible study so I didn't know what to expect. Two, I didn't think it was for me...EVER and three, Bible studies sound so lame.

I say this with all the "happy" in my heart and soul that one, I have now attended and been a part of a bible study. Two, it is for me and three, it's totally not lame. It's not your typical, "lets sit in a circle and read scriptures to each other out of the bible and talk about it". This is deeper than that and more personal. I look forward to going every Tuesday as I feel, and as Beth Moore states that I am "ordained by God to be in this bible study" simply because life is hard and there are things in my life now that I struggle with (but I'm not staying there) and this is the perfect time for me to be a part of moving closer to God. I will attend weekly and I will arrive hungry.

Peace, hugs, and smiles,
J