NEEEWWW YOOOOOOORRRRRRKKK

*insert Alicia Key's voice*

Last weekend was the weekend. The girls weekend. The Ramos family (Kyle's mom's side) girls weekend. In NEEEWWW YOOOOOOORRRRRRKKK.

Kyle's cousin, Meghan, lives there. So, she took us all in and was a WONDERFUL host!! We saw some of the popular sights & got to experience some special other things! And the top 5 highlights were.... (in no particular order)

1. Hanging out with the girls - I'm so blessed to have married into such a wonderful family!!



2. CBS Control Room - Meghan works in there for The Early Show so she took us in the studio to watch the live filming & then to the control room....and THAT is where the action is at! Her guy, Michael, is the director & it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen!! Next time you watch live TV pay attention to how much the camera angle changes...then picture someone standing behind a podium sounding like an auctioneer going nonstop "Camera 2 ready...camera 2 go. Camera 4 ready...camera 4 go...roll the internet video..." while other people are watching monitors...talking on headsets...screaming "15 seconds...wrap it up! say thank you!" And we missed the good part when they lost some film they needed....*insert explicits* I really can't explain it & give it justice...those people are awesome! I will not get angry during 5 minute commercial breaks ever again! (during live tv that is...haha) Oh...and we talked to Harry Smith for like 10 minutes...no big deal.

This picture doesn't really do justice!

3. The view - One word.....BREATHTAKING. Meghan's view from her apartment will leave you speechless! Their apartment is in Hoboken, NJ...which is just on the other side of the Hudson River from NYC. Her wall of windows displays the entire NYC skyline..from uptown to downtown. A-MAZING.
Uptown: (Empire State Building)



Downtown at Night: (where the WTC was)

That's right: Cruise ships leave right out their window...

Uptown during the day:


4. Wicked - FABULOUS!! I will never watch the Wizard of Oz the same way again. It was witty & brilliant! HIGHLY recommend! I'm considering getting tickets to see it again when it comes to St. Louis.


5. Carlo's Bake Shop - home of the "Cake Boss". That's right...he's located right in the heart of Hoboken & we had some wonderful treats from there! :) And the camera crew was upstairs filming!


2 Events Made Honorable Mention:
**Granny & Nannie and the Obama condoms. hahahahahahahahahaha

**Man getting hit by cab. (don't worry...it was his fault & he was ok enough to get up & cuss out the driver)

I'm going to live in New York or Chicago (or both) for at least a year. The end.

Put that in your pipe & smoke it!

I officially broke my record this morning....$52 of groceries for $8.12. That's right...eight dollars and twelve cents!! AAAAANNNNNDDDD I got $5 back for my next trip! Here's what I got:

I know what you're saying. "But Emily, there is so much there I don't need or wouldn't normally buy."

Let me explain. I am so stocked up on groceries (not ever going over $40 & staying around $25 the last few weeks) that all I really "needed" for next week was the water, bananas, Sweet-n-Low, and shredded cheese. These items would've cost me $7.78 if I would've bought them on their own....on sale. So why not spend $0.34 more & get all this plus $5 back?!?! Plus they had the 3lbs frozen chicken & 5lbs ham on sale for $5...great time to stock up! (plus I had a $1Q for the ham)

Here's how I did it. I try to only go to Shop-n-Save when they are doing their $10 off $50 Thursdays. (happens frequently) On average I spend about $22-$26 for $50 worth of groceries. Last week I spent $23 & got back a $15Q that expires on 11/17. Well, this Thursday was my only option to pair it with the $10off$50. I also had a $5 off $50Q in the Entertainment book.

So...I immediately was able to take off $30 & I had about $14 in Q. The Pillsbury items were the ones that gave me the $5 back...and I'm going bake them & put the items in our youth snack bar to try to prevent mine & Kyle's own fatness...:)

No blogging in October?!?!!

What happened to me?! I know all 3 of my readers are excited to finally see a post! I was told once that if I was consistent I'd have more readers...ha!

So here's an update of what's been going on in the lives of Kyle & Emily...

I am having a MUCH better year in middle school PE. My classes are soooo much better & I don't have NEAR as many "in your face", mouthy kids. This time last year I had already had to move students out of my class, call an ambulance, cursed at a student during a fight breakup, and been told "You WILL listen when I call your name Mrs. Parker" (and that was just one of many...) I don't dread going everyday and the year is already FLYING by compared to last.

Two weekends ago Kyle's family flew in to hang out. We had a great time shopping (well Valinda & I) and going to the Rams vs. Colts game. We loved, loved, loved watching Peyton!! Of course, they killed the Rams.


Texas Tech Red Raider Danny Amendola!




Valinda also got the EXCITING opportunity to shop a great deal at CVS with me. I got all this for $3.52 and got $10 back!!! (My total was $52 after sales but before coupons & it went down to $1.37 before tax!) Don't worry...I paid her with some deo for suffering through my coupons.


Another awesome deal I got last week...for $0.07 and $5 back!! (even w/o using gift cards I had already earned it would've only been $5.73!)


My parents came this past weekend to hang out. We had a wonderful time with them as well! (and more shopping!) Kyle took the youth to play Demolition Ball in St Louis & on our way over to hang out with them I stopped off at Target to show my dad that you CAN try on purses. :) Thanks to him for finding a full length mirror to assist me! And to my mom for helping me decide black or brown. The average American spends $24 on a Halloween costume....mine & Kyle's costume is now being carried around my shoulder! I forgot to get pictures!

Now I'm gonna go take care of Kyle...who has an ear infection...and as the doctor told him "It's swollen as s&#%!"

KMart

I had no intention of posting a pic anytime soon...but I had some extra time during my planning period yesterday & I decided to run over to KMart & see if the rumor I had heard was true - doubling any Q $2 or less...and it was!! I threw together some high dollar Q and came up with this:

TOTAL COST = $5.68 ($7.07 after tax)


**Special note to those who know how many boxes of cereal I currently have:
I made $0.50 on this cereal!! (and I'm giving away 2 boxes of it)

The most expensive item was the Clean & Clear moisturizer - it was $1.59. (everything else was FREE - $1)

EVEN BETTER!!! Today I unexpectedly found a $5 rebate (here) if you purchase 3 of any items by SC Johnson. Well, I got the 2 ziplocs & glade candles...so I get $5 back!! (and this rebate can be redeemed 3 times...I already have 4 receipts that I can use!!)

Family & Couponing

My parents and sister came to visit last weekend and we had a wonderful time!! Kyle & I are sooo blessed with 2 wonderful families!! My parents even got to experience Walgreens with me on Sunday AM. They were such good sports & helped me to do 3 transactions! :) I even think they learned why it's worth getting made fun of to use so many coupons!!!

Couponing really has been taking up a lot of my time. (this is nothing to new to most of you...haha) It seems so silly and truly is a small area that is preventing me from having margin, but nonetheless, it is one of the things.

I wanted to start posting the deals I get and where to get the coupons. (for the 2 people that may care! ha) But, I know that in my effort to create margin in my life this is one of the things I have to say no to even though I would enjoy doing it. I am NOT going to stop couponing because financially it has helped us tremendously. But, I have been overcomplicating the process in hopes of sharing with everyone...and that has ended.

Maybe I'll put a pic from time to time....share exceptionally great deals....or brag from time to time... (like how last week I got my grocery bill from $50 to $24) but for now...if you want to start filling up your pantry & toiletries closet on a CHEAP budget....here are the sites I use:

Coupon Sites:
RedPlum
Smart Source
Coupons.com

Blog Sites:
STL Mommy
DealFindingChik
Momsbyheart.net
My Frugal Adventures

I use the Sunday papers and online coupons. The blogs do great match-ups with various stores.

Info if online brick coupons aren't printing: here


And if you made it this far and still think I'm crazy...I'm ok with that! :)

Clashing Colors

We are in a "What Not to Wear" series at LifePoint and this last Sunday we talked about "Clashing Colors" and being too busy. I probably need to hear this message every week since I seem to always find myself in the same place - doing & focusing on a lot of "stuff" and not "being" in the current moment focusing on who and what is going on.

The biggest bonus of being a teacher is having summers off. This is WONDERFUL but for someone like me (routine-oriented, slightly OCD about things), going from basically no job to a full-time job is very difficult. I end up feeling very overwhelmed & busy...and I don't even have to grade papers!! (also my excuse for not blogging more often) This message was pretty much a slap in the face for me to wake up! I wish I could say I've already made all the changes needed....but I can't...but I can say I'm working on it...here are my notes below:


"What would it look like if we still accomplished good things in a less stressful environment?"

That question has stuck with me all week! It would look AMAZING! I'm not sure yet how I get to that point...but I'm working on it by trying to create margin in my life.

Margin is the space between your load and your limit. If you will have a meltdown if someone asks you to do one more thing...you have no margin. Having no margin is cheating God and every relationship around you. If you have no time & you aren't getting any rest...you are not being the person God created you to be. It stresses every relationship you have. You end up accomplishing less by trying to do more.

Think about your garage..or that one drawer. It is always working towards disorder. You have to be intentional at keeping it in order. Your life works just like this...you HAVE to be intentional at keeping it in order.

Benefits of margin:
1 - Peace of Mind
2 - Better Health
3 - Stronger Relationships
4 - Available for God to Use You

We constantly add, add, add and never take anything away. You have to cut a bush back to get it to flourish. We are the same way. We have to say no (even to some stuff we like) so we can cut the "stuff" in our lives back so that we can flourish.


So...what are you going to do to create margin in your life? Please feel free to leave any tips!! :)

Deals!

Ok...I had decided not to post anymore about coupons b/c I had more important things. BUT I am starting to see the snowball effect and I seriously felt guilty walking out of Target yesterday and not sharing. So...I'm posting them so you can see how awesome it can be & some information so IF you are interested you can use the same resources. If you could care less...come back another day for a different post!! :)

The most common question I get: "Do you really need that?" or "Would you normally buy that?" There are some things I wouldn't normally get & things I don't currently need...but for FREE or around $1 or <...I can't say no! And I haven't been over $40 a week yet!


Walgreens - Deals this Week!! Total - $3.33 (before Q = $22.20)

**used $11RR from previous purchases
**Glade Sense & Spray: $4Q here
-->$5.99 - $4Q = $1.99 & get $2RR (FREE!!)
**Trident: $1/2 here
**Sunday paper Q for soup (and they were on sale..I got both for $0.98)
**Airwick scented oils - Sunday paper or $1/2 here
-->On sale 2/$5
**Airwick Warmer $1.50 when you buy 2 refill oils here
-->Free warmer Q was attached at some stores
**Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Cleaner click here for $5Q - $7 seems to be gone :(
-->$9.99 - $7Q = $2.99 & get $3RR (FREE or $2)
(I had a BOGO free on the shower cleaner refills & they were on sale for $3.99...I went back & got these to have later for the cleaner..this Q was with the $7 one that is gone..there is a $1Q now)
Reeses were simply filler items to use Q
Check the blog links below for more Walgreens deals this week!

Target - Deals this Week!! Total - $1.18 (before Q = $25.43)

**used $5 gift card
**Fiber One - 5/$1Q on General Mills cereal here & used Q from coupons.com
-->all 5 boxes were $4.75. I used my $5 GC but got another one. (FREE - only reason I bought)
-->The regular kind had Q for BOGOfree on the yogurt I eat on the back!
**Glade Scented Tin $1.50Q found in tin (currently $1.66)
**Glade Tin Refills: Free w/ candle purchase Q here - use zip 90210
**SoftSoap Nutri Serums: $1Q -same link as above
-->sale @ my Target - $2.99 (found Target $1Q on floor to make $0.99)
**Renu FreshLens - $2Q here
-->Travel size - $1.52 (FREE! - under $2 @ WalMart too - I clicked back and printed 4x)
**Cinnabon: $1Q here & $0.50Q here
-->$2 - $1Q - $0.50Q = $0.50

Target 9/4 - Total = $3.34 (before Q = $25.34)

**$22 in Q - all from Sunday paper

WalMart 9/4 - Total = $1.58 (before Q = $10.58)

**2/$1Q - Klondike (sign up & print here - makes free)
**$3Q - Glade Soy Candle (click here & use area code 90210..may not be available anymore - makes free)
**$4Q - Air Wick from Sunday paper or find Q here

Saturday: Target, Walgreens, Shop-n-Save - Total = $12.57 (before Q= $49.61)

**Used $15 in Register Rewards from previous purchases
**I got back $16 in gift cards or RR to use next time! (so I actually made $3.50 this trip!)
**Glade Sense & Spray $4Q here
-->$5 at Walmart or Walgreens deal above - click the back button for 2Q)
**Wonderbread $0.55Q here
**Glade Scented Tin $1.50Q found in tin (currently $1.66)
**Glade Tin Refills: Free w/ candle purchase Q here - use zip 90210
**All: $1Q here
-->travel size @ Target is $0.85-$1.02
**used Kellogg's coupons from coupons.com and paired with $0.50Q from HotCouponWorld. + Target had a special last week on buy 4 Kelloggs products get $5 gift card back.
**Toothbrushes & Toothpaste were in Walgreens ad last week - they have offers sometimes were you get the item & the same amount back in RR. (which was the case here)
**Skittles were free but Q has expired

Coupon Sites:
RedPlum
Smart Source
Coupons.com

Blog Sites:
STL Mommy
DealFindingChik
Momsbyheart.net
Couponclippinmamma



ALWAYS CLICK THE BACK BUTTON WHEN PRINTING - IT WILL USUALLY LET YOU PRINT TWICE...SOMETIMES MORE! (on the Q other than the coupon sites above)

If you do decide to try these deals, you might ask me first how each store works. (especially Walgreens - or check out stlmommy.com..she has 101s on all the stores I use)