A City Life For Me

Today our local consignment/resale store was running a special – fill a bag with as many clearance items as you can stuff, and it’s all $10.  I was considering skipping it since we don’t know if we’re having a boy or girl.  Since a friend was going, I decided to tag along and go for half boy & half girl items.  My friend is due on Sunday, and she is having a boy.  We were warned to be there early as there is a long line.  So we arrived at 9 am, an hour before opening, and stood outside in the hot humidity.  The bags were huge – probably 13 gallon trash bag size.  I didn’t even fill my bag, but I got a lot!  It was all summer items, but I got a lot of newborn onesies and some outfits that are bigger for next spring.  I also picked up some items for another friend at church who just had her first baby girl.   The boys clothes – About 7 onesies, 3 onesie/pant sets, two denim/overall sets, 6 miscellaneous items.   The girls ...

Today I am 30 weeks pregnant, 75% of the way there!  I still feel like I don’t look very pregnant, but it usually depends on what shirt I am wearing.  I had a pre-natal appointment on Monday.  Everything is going well.  After my next visit I will start going to the doctor every two weeks.  I scheduled a tour of the hospital today – I was lucky to get a slot on October 21, 2009, only two weeks before my due date!   People have been very generous to us, and I have picked up a lot of baby items very cheap.  Someone at church gave us a car seat (for when the baby is no longer in an infant seat).  Others have given diaper covers, money, the crib mattress, toys & teethers, a crib mobile, and maternity clothes.  I have a good stash of onesies and sleepers to get started.  Mom & Dad gave us the pram, which will double as our “bassinette” in the beginning.  A neighbor of the Hamilton's sent a crocheted afghan.  Ben is buildin...

Since we had a CVS open just around the corner, I have been able to save a lot of money on toiletries & beauty items.  I have read the stories of people getting several bags of items for just a few cents out-of-pocket.  I was anxious to accumulate enough Extra Care Bucks to do the same.  The sales have not been great the last couple of weeks…until yesterday.  I walked out of the store paying nothing out-of-pocket, and I saved $93.51 by combining sales, manufacturer coupons, and CVS coupons.    I transferred my pre-natal vitamin prescription to CVS, and they gave me a $25.00 gift card.  I paid $10.99 for the prescription.  I used $17 in Extra Care Bucks, and I spent $7.78 on the gift card.  I have been trying to build my ECB’s, and I was able to earn $19.77 by using only $7, and I still have $17 on my gift card.  Yeah for CVS!!!   I did three separate transactions in order to maximize my savings.  One of my transactions...

I never got around to canning salsa last year, so I was excited to give it a try this year.  I was able to find a box of canning tomatoes at the Farmer’s Market for only $10, and the onions & peppers cost another $10.  So far I have been able to squeeze this extra money out of my grocery budget.   Yesterday I chopped the onions, green peppers (2 of Ben’s favorite ingredients…JJJKJT), banana peppers, and chili peppers.  I had to roast the chili peppers first.  In Colorado we buy them already roasted, but here in Virginia they have never heard of that.  I just put them in the oven for 25 minutes at 425 degrees.  This is what they looked like:   I probably should have bought more, but I didn’t know exactly how many I needed, or how many batches of salsa I would get out of my tomatoes.  Ben likes spicy salsa, and I prefer the sweet.  I don’t have a stock pot big enough to do a double batch at one time, so I ended up doing two separ...

This has been a great month for freebies.  Last month was my best month since I started couponing, with grocery & toiletry savings of $241.39 – over half of our previous grocery budget.  With the opening of our new CVS Drug Store I have been able to snag some great deals & free items.  I am putting some stuff away for a couple of college care packages later, and also filling my pantry.   I got all of this for free: 1 Air Wick iMotion air freshener 1 Bic razor 1 Glade soy candle 1 Dove deodorant 3 Travel size Bath & Body Works 2 Travel size CVS lotions 1 Travel size “Pink” lotion 2 pkg. Bic mechanical pencils 4 pkg. Bic ink pens (Ben uses a lot of them at work) 4 pkg. Sharpie highlighters (2 not pictures) 2 pkg. socks from DSW – I had a $10 off of $10 purchase coupon and found these on the clearance rack.   I have also picked up several free grocery items, including 3 single-serve cereal bowls, 2 pouches tuna, really cheap Combos (4) ...

Otherwise known as camping to celebrate Ben’s birthday.  It was definitely an adventure!  Three weeks ago we made our camping reservations for First Landing State Park – just about 10 minutes from our house, on the beach of the Chesapeake Bay.    The weather did not cooperate with our camping reservation.  It has rained everyday this week.  When Ben checked the weather on Thursday he was encouraged that the weekend forecast was only a 40% chance of rain.   When Ben arrived at work on Friday morning, he discovered that he had appointments until 7 pm.  There were scattered showers during the day, but the downpour came around 5 pm.  Apparently God knew when it was going to rain, so He scheduled Ben to work late.  We arrived at our campsite around 7:30 pm, just as the rain stopped!  We were able to pitch the tent and start the fire.  By this time Baby was very hungry!   It was really a cool evening compared to the weat...

The hymn Does Jesus Care? was written in 1900 by a Methodist minister named Frank Ellsworth Graeff.  He was born in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania on December 19, 1860, and felt led into the pastoral ministry at an early age.  He became known as “Mr. Sunshine” or “the sunshine minister” because of his optimistic attitude.  C. Austin Miles, the author of the hymn In the Garden, wrote this about Pastor Graeff:   He is a spiritual optimist…his bright sun-shining disposition attracts him not only to children, but to all with whom he comes in contact.”   However, there was a point in Pastor Graeff’s life where all was not sunshine.  At one point he went through a terrible and heartbreaking trial which drove him into despair and hopelessness.  Frank Graeff wrote of that time,   My whole attitude had become one of despair and defeat; and because of this, I was living a life of unhappiness and failure. With each passing day, I fell deeper and deeper into ...

I just got this picture from Mom Hamilton and thought it was too cute!   Apparently Fezzik was helping Meredith!

I will be 27 weeks pregnant tomorrow.  I had a doctor’s checkup yesterday.  Everything is going well and progressing normally.  I recently had a glucose screening to check for gestational diabetes.  I’m fine – no diabetes here!  I have been experiencing an increase in appetite lately, along with a decrease in the ability to sleep at night.  The doctor said my body is getting prepped for all of the sleepless nights after baby arrives!  I have been craving salad and crushed ice.  Ben keeps hoping for something more exotic, or at 3 a.m. in the morning.  No luck!  Last Sunday I dreamed of biscuits and gravy, so at 3 a.m. I woke up and thawed out my sausage and then got up early to make biscuits & gravy for breakfast.  Of course…afterwards I felt sick!   I hit a couple of garage sales last weekend.  Actually, I dragged Ben out of bed at 7 a.m. on his one day off to take me to the garage sales.  What we found was ...