Savings!

I was inspired this weekend when I was able to take a one-day shopping seminar with a woman who I love and admire dearly. I was fired up about shopping again so I headed to Publix yesterday afternoon for some great deals! Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the items. :( I DO have a picture of my Siah showing off how long the receipt is. I am going to try to remember the best deals and tell you what those were. :) My entire kitchen table was covered with the following:

2 packages of rosetto pasta

4 boxes of pepperidge farm texas toast

1 barber's french onion dip

2 helluva sour cream onion dips

3 pillsbury frostings (.42 with coupons)

6 healthy request cream of mushroom soups (healthy request doesn't have msg & the others do)

8 healthy request cream of chicken soups

2 muir glen organic tomato pastes (these were free plus overage with coupons)

3 CFL lightbulbs (these were .89 each!!!)

2 kiwi (free with coupon)

1 keebler pie crust

4-2 quart casserole pans with lids

2-3 quart casserole pans with lids

1 white grape juice

6 bags of salad

5lbs of bartlett pears (free with coupon)

4 boxes of green giant veggies

1 small frozen vegetable lasagna ($1 with coupon)

2 pillsbury crescent rolls

1 pillsbury pizza crust

1 hershey's strawberry syrup (my sweet son has been BEGGING me for this on every shopping trip and he has patiently waited for it to go on sale...I had to get this for him!!!)

2 packages of kotex pads (.95 with coupons)

1 package of publix sliced cheese (penny item)

2 packages of halls "naturals" cough drops (.99 with coupons)

2 newspapers (has anyone else noticed the price has gone up? dollar tree is now the cheapest...still $1)

Total Coupon savings: $59.78

Total Store Savings: $57.49

Total Savings: $117.27

Total spent out-of-pocket: $44.04!!!!

Friday Family Fun!!!

Well, I have to admit that we did not have a family night last Friday. We did spend some great family time on Sunday though and I thought I would share a few moments of it with you. I am amazed that the things that seem like chores to Edward and I are the activities that Josiah enjoys the most. :) We raked up this huge pile of leaves from our small front yard! It's amazing how fast the leaves accumulated in our yard...in a matter of 3 days.

Wednesday's Menu

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

I wish I could take credit for this one…it’s off of Bisquick’s website. It’s a great recipe..SUPER easy!

1 small bag of frozen mixed veggies, unthawed
1 chicken breast, cooked and cut up
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup bisquick
1 cup milk
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix veggies, chicken, salt, pepper, and soup in 9-in pie plate. In a separate bowl mix other ingredients and then pour them into pie place. Bake on 400 for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Friday's Family Night

Friday before last was a little different for us. We missed our traditional family night because I was at a women's retreat at our church (which was completely amazing). Edward and Josiah took that opportunity to have a fun guy's night. There are no pictures to show. :( Edward took Josiah to Moe's for dinner and that was a big hit. After dinner they came home, ate ice cream, watched an animated spiderman episode, and had a good round of sword-fighting. Josiah really treasures his time with Edward and they got to do some fun stuff that we would probably never do on family night. :)

Wednesday's Menu

The weather has been nice and cool in the evenings and hopefully you have had the chance to enjoy some yummy chili. What do you do with all of the leftovers? You can freeze them and save them for later or you can try one of the quick recipes below...

Chili Pie- Pour 4 cups extra chili in a deep pie or casserole dish. (Add one can corn or other mixed vegetables if you have a little less than 4 cups.) Prepare 1 recipe cornbread according to directions. Drip batter over chili. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until the cornbread is done. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese if desired.


Chili Dip- Make a delicious dip out of leftover chili by spreading a package of softened cream cheese in the bottom of a deep pie plate. Top with 2 cups of leftover chili and 1 cup of salsa. Sprinkle two cups of shredded cheddar cheese on top and bake in a 350 degree over for 30 minutes. Serve with crisp tortilla chips for dipping.

Did you vote today? If so, you can head out for some great freebies!!! All day today Chick-fil-a is giving FREE chicken sandwiches to those who voted and show their "I voted" sticker. I have already been to my local chick-fil-a and the sandwich was delicious! :) Once you are done with your sandwich you can head to Ben and Jerry's ice cream for a FREE scoop (between 5 and 8pm) and then to Krispy Kreme for a FREE star-shaped donut with your "I voted" sticker. Both Ben and Jerry's and Krispy Kreme have those details on their websites. I plan on heading over to Starbucks later for a FREE cup of coffee! I called my local Starbucks this morning and confirmed that everyone who shows their sticker will get a free cup of coffee! And...if you plan on heading near a Zoe's you can get a 10% discount with your sticker! I have a friend who just had lunch at Zoe's and was happy to get the discount there. Do you know of any other freebies today? If so, please share!!! Enjoy the rewards for voting!

America is at a crossroads

This post was done by a brother in Christ, Jeff. I stalk his blog weekly and always enjoy reading what he has to say because it's very thought provoking. He makes some great points in this post. I hope you will take time to read and pray.....


The Crossroads-


I don't think I've ever seen the political climate of America quite like this.


Tomorrow, Americans will go to the polls and vote. But I believe it is going to be much more than selecting a President, or even staffing the various offices of our federal, state and local governments for another few years.


The United States is at a crossroads.


And the scary thing is, the choices we have aren't all that clear.


This is the first time since I've had awareness of our political landscape that I've seen the political map so redrawn, and the demographics of our society so scrambled. The biggest example I see of this is of the evangelical Christian community. In the last election, it was widely known that conservative evangelical voters put George W. Bush over the top. Our choices seemed clear, and our base was solid. This time it is different. A combination of political disappointments and an increasing awareness of our social responsibilities have caused a larger number of evangelical voters to look at the other party this time--despite the gay marriage and abortion issues at stake. The map is redrawn, and the demographics are fragmented.


And yet--with this kind of a shift, you'd think Obama would be a shoo-in. After all, if evangelicals basically decided the last election, and now that voting bloc is fragmented, that alone should be enough to tilt the scales. Indeed, with a sitting Republican president as unpopular as Bush, one would think the run toward the Democrat candidate would be overwhelming, that Obama would easily have double digit leads. But he doesn't. After all the millions his campaign has spent, after all the media bending in his favor--although the polls show him ahead, it's astounding to me that the race is actually this close. Despite all the media spin, it's obvious that no one is willing to rule out a McCain victory. He's pulled it off before, and with worse poll numbers than these. So with a race this tight, and fragmented voting blocs--who is supporting McCain? It's apparent that a significant number of people from a wide range of demographics are NOT convinced that Obama is "the change we need." And yet--this time the choices just don't seem that clear. The pros and cons for each candidate make things much more muddy--to the point that I find there are actually a lot more "undecideds" among even Christian voters than I think anyone realizes. Even a day before the election.


The truth is--no one really knows what's going to happen tomorrow. We can hope for one outcome or the other--but we just don't know. And the scary thing is, there is so much at stake. A few too many votes for just the right combination of candidates and offices--and we could steer this nation closer to outright socialism than any of us would have thought possible four years ago. We could open the gates for a lot more than we are barganing for.


Obama in a stump speech said recently, "We are three days away from bringing fundamental change to the United States of America." Fundamental change. That means change at the foundations, not just a changing of methods. I don't think anyone realizes how deep that well goes.


I'm not meaning to use this post to stump for my candidate--although my readers already know who I'm voting for. I'm just saying we are at a crossroads, and it's very sobering.


Sarah wrote a thoughtful post today I'm still chewing on, about how she's learning as a Christian not to embrace empirical government values and not to be idolatrous about nationalism. But while I understand her point, I just want to say as a balancing point that I don't think it's necessarily idolatry to be patriotic, to love the nation you live in even though you are a citizen of a higher kingdom. I don't think it's a sin for me to love America the way I do, or to desire her best interests. It's a mixture and a mess, but the truth is, while Christianity was born in a hostile idolatrous empire called the Roman Empire--the United States was formed as an experiment in fairness and freedom, largely by professing Christians. I don't want to see this nation stray from her founding principles, because I think those principles are the very reason the U.S. has been such a force for good in the world. Who wouldn't want to see that continue?


There are those who may think I'm being too dramatic about this; I hope I am. But I don't think so. I feel like this could be a deciding point for America for decades, even centuries (if we last that long), and things have gotten so cloudy and muddled we could make a disastrous choice without even realizing what we're doing.


In fact, the reason I've chosen my candidate is not so much because of his political views, but because the other candidate, in my view, is throwing up more of a smokescreen here. It's the smokescreen, the confusion, that's got me suspicious about motives; so the one who blows the most smoke loses my vote. :)


Ultimately, if I read my Bible correctly, regardless of the vote--we are to accept the candidate who wins as God's choice in the matter. The only solace I really have is that God is still in control of the affairs of this world, and the part America will play in them.


So tomorrow, I will go to the crossroads and vote my conscience. I encourage all Americans to do the same. My prayer is not so much that my candidate wins, but that God will have His way. Because I have to admit that although my vote reflects what I believe to be the best choice--I do not see the big picture.


All through this election process, the only thing I've known to pray is:


"God, please give us the President we need--not necessarily the one we deserve. Let mercy triumph over judgment."


I hope that you will join me in this prayer.