MILK!

I just have to scream this... Milk is now over $3.50 a gallon here at WalMart - I think the price guy was putting it up to $3.78 when we were there this evening - I still got it at the "bargain" price just below...
When we were in Indy last week, I bought a gallon of milk for $1.98 at Marsh. Marsh is not a WalMart - Marsh is a VERY nice (not cheap) store.
Then tonight, I talked to my mom who just bought a gallon of milk for Grandma near Cleveland for... are you ready? $0.99! WHAT?????????????? Can you ship me some?
Just the never-ending saga of TRYING to find bargains...

Grocery Savings, Help Please!

So I am now on a renewed mission to spend less at the grocery store. I've recommitted myself to clipping coupons, reading ads, planning the menu by what is on sale, etc. I had kind of let those things go, simplifying life by doing my one-stop shopping at WalMart. But the Smart Shopping Lady (I blogged about her on November 12) got me motivated... that if I spent a little more time planning and searching out the bargains, I will save more money... I'm trying.
However, when I saw a friend's blog posting the "average" spent on groceries for a family of our size in the United States (http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/USDAFoodCost-Home.htm), I almost lost motivation. How discouraging! For a family of four with two children between the ages of six and eleven, the "thrifty" food plan monthly averages for 2009 are between $576.40 and $602.50. And that is just for food! We have a grocery envelope that we fund each month BELOW the "thrifty" food amount and it pretty much includes everything at WalMart: toilet paper, laundry detergent, dish detergent, makeup, soap, shampoo, cleaners, etc. Yes, we are down to bare cupboards and a bare refrigerator at the end of each month but we have a budget we have to stick to.
All of that to say, HELP! Friends have shared couponing/saving sites with me like:

• www.fiddledeedeemom.com
• www.hip2save.blogspot.com
• www.thefrugalgirls.com
• coupons.com
• www.smartsource.com

which are all great! But still... How do people who make less than Chris do it? I guess they don't have the Cedar Rapids debt... Also, what about all of these people who have their nails done, go to movies, go out to eat, do the Chuck E Cheese thing regularly, check out Disney World, etc. but make less than we do? How does that work? What am I missing? Seriously! We don't even RENT movies and our grocery budget has to be below the "thrifty" line. Really, I'm not complaining, I'm just not understanding!

Smart Shopping

Smart Shopping at its best: quick, easy, and successful... I'm going to start this method this Sunday... we'll see how I do!
www.smartshopping2009.com

The Rooms of a Woman's Heart

I am slowly working my way through Carol McLeod's The Rooms of a Woman's Heart and found a few passages I want to share. (This is the third time I've posted this - with something added each time.)

"Your impatience does not change the timing of God in your life, and when you being to compare yourself with those around you, God does not relent. God quietly and tenderly reminds you that He is God and His promises remain true." p. 52

"Actually, maybe we are the ones with a twisted sense of favor, because what we think is horrible just may turn out to be wonderful! When God visits us and informs us of His plan, what we do not understand may bring unspeakable joy! What messes up our well-laid plans and possibly a delightful time in our lives just may be His divine handiwork!" p. 70

"If I throw out a boat hook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God." p. 185-186 quoting E. Stanley Jones

Sleep Number

I love our bed! Almost every night when I lay down I say, usually aloud, "I love this bed!" But after having a really cheap hotel mattress for three nights, I appreciate it even more. I really can't say enough good things about this bed! I don't wake up stiff any more. I don't feel like an old lady at only 32 anymore. I sleep through the night now (as long as my bladder doesn't wake me up). It is just a wonderful bed and I needed to blog about it after my WONDERFUL night of sleep again last night! :)
www.selectcomfort.com

Homeschooling A Family's Journey

Another book I am reading right now is Homeschooling A Family's Journey. I just started this book about a family who never set out to homeschool but ended up homeschooling for several reasons, one so far that has really struck a chord with us. (Yes, we are homeschooling this year.) I will probably add to this post often so if it shows up at the top of my blog again, that's why!
Here are some quotes that we relate to all too well:

"But when we asked the teacher what kind of help she thought our daughter needed to improve she said, 'Why would you want to improve her performance? She's above average, isn't she?'"

Here is a part of the story they told when a test their daughter took had an obviously correct answer marked wrong:

"Yes, the answer is correct. But that's a fourth-grade answer, and your daughter is only in the second grade. She isn't supposed to know that yet."

And another quote, this one in regards to the parents' decision to homeschool:

"...that we could do worse than fail - we could refuse to try."

Wii Active

I splurged a couple weeks ago and bought Wii Active. I rationalized it by saying I'm done paying the monthly fee for Curves and only two months of Curves pays for this. (I haven't been using Curves because I don't have childcare beyond my work hours...) Wii Active is very fun! There is a lot of strength training and cardio. It is a great workout each time. You get a personal trainer that encourages you as you work out. Right now Chris and I are doing the "30 Day Challenge" which adds different activities each day and tracks calories burned, etc.
There are some frustrating parts of Wii Active though (but it is still COMPLETELY worth it). If you don't have the nunchuk held in your hand just right, you might get "yelled" at for not doing the exercise correctly. Or if you stop to wipe the sweat (boy, do you sweat with this!), it "yells" at you. But overall, it is a great workout! We can do it at home rain or shine, under a ceiling fan, and without childcare!

Turbo Dry Jet Dry

Yeah! Our plastic stuff is dry from the dishwasher! All those bowls and cups and measuring cups and plastic storage containers are dry! They don't have to sit out on a towel all day! Yeah! All of this thanks to Turbo Dry Jet-Dry Drying Agent! (We used to use just regular/original Jet-Dry.)http://www.finishdishwashing.com/product-finish-jet-dry-turbo-dry.php Yeah! (Can you tell this is exciting to us?!?!?!)

Modoc

I just finished a captivating book, "Modoc The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived." There were two pages I dog-eared because I just liked them. I thought I would share:

"Nature hears one voice and obeys it. That is why ten or ten thousand birds may rise from the surface of a lake at the same time and yet never touch one another. Man hears only his own voice. He constantly bumps into another." (p. 143)

Not that I'm one of those "one with nature" girls or that I am Hindu (as the person who said this is) but it just seemed very profound to me. As humans, we are so selfish and so busy worrying and thinking about ourselves that we bump into things. Birds listen to others and therefore can rise at the same time without collision...

"Oh, from time to time, I think about them all and what happened, but it's in the past now and the past gives us our strength, so to be sad about gaining strength is not very wise, is it?" (p. 275)

I just thought this was a good way to look at life. I'm not saying to ignore the past or to not ever feel sad, especially when there is very good reason to be sad, but that positive outlook is amazing! (I'm trying...)