My craigslist encounter :)

So selling things on craiglist is new to me. As you know we got rid of Verizon so I figured I should sell my phone and use the money for that nice little cancellation fee they charge!

Well of course I had a phone that was free when upgraded and on Verizon's website it was only $50. So I put it up on craigslist for $25.

Someone wanted it that night... Great I though,t "I sold it too cheap!" I could have gotten MORE MONEY!!

Then I did a search online and saw that on Amazon this phone was selling for $3! Oh that got to me. I couldn't give this poor lady who is buying the phone for her daughter this phone for $25..

Then I remembered how Dave Ramsey talked about giving.. Truly giving not when it is conveinant for you. He told the story of a couple going into IHop and leaving a very generous tip. (I can't remember the amount but it was more than $100!) And it was all money that they had saved!

So I decided that I would give this phone to her.. So Riley and I are having fun singing songs and eating snacks in the car and a mom and daughter pull up. Shes got the money in her hand and as she hands me the money I tell her, " You know God has blessed me with so much in my life, I want to pass the blessing on to you!" I was nervous and excited and she paused the look on her face was so amazing. She was so grateful and her daughter was so excited!

It was a great feeling.. It made me think, "Why don't I do this more?"

And on this note... BIG NEWS!  You are now reading the blog of the OPERATIONS MANAGER for Habitat for Humanity in Genesee County!! WHoo HOooo...  God's plan amazes me so much and keeps me laughing as I always have moments where I think I know me better than he does.. and that is always proven WRONG!!
So a new chapter begins again!

Free Pasta and $.90 Hefty Bags:)

I have been in Tops.. oh every day since Monday this week! :) I have spent $27.. so it's not crazy, its just you can only use 10 coupons per day... Anyways these are some great coupons to print and use this week! Everyone needs pasta and Hefty Bags right???

Here's the deal at Tops


Hefty Slider Bags

Selected Varieties, Storage and Freezer Bags, 13-22 ct. pkg.

2 for$4

Use $.55/1 here doubled

You Pay: $.90

Muellers Pasta on sale $1

Sign up for a free $.55/1 coupon.

That doubled means FREE pasta! 

Yeah the formatting on this is messed up and I gotta go spend time with my husband !! 

Thanks Dave Ramsey, I now do not have cable :)

No smart phones, no cable, home made this, home made that... Not how I would have pictured my lifestyle 8 years ago when  I just started college and was set on being a " career woman." The funny thing is I think I get more excited seeing my grocery bill go from $80 to $25 with coupons, then seeing my name published with an article I wrote... It's interesting how these things happen.

This morning was different. We took our cable box in to Time Warner last night. A couple weeks ago we decided to get rid of Verizon and go with Straight Talk. These decisions are not because we are so strapped for cash they are because we are trying to pay off debt. My husband has been listening to Dave Ramsey on his way home from work and we have been putting forth much more effort into disciplining ourselves. Before Dave Ramsey we got rid of all our credit card debt, now with Dave Ramsey we are on a mission to pay off student loans, car loan, and our HOUSE! Which is crazy to me, but the truth is, we do not own this house... we are in debt to the bank... ugh...

We've done pretty good I must say so far in the last year especially with me not working.. but to get  debt paid off we are decided to go without the wants in life.

So what if I drop this phone the whole thing falls apart, or I can't talk to my mom while Im walking around in Walmart, or the fact that Ican't be connected to the Internet on it or I have to sort of keep an eye on how many texts Im sending...

It's all WORTH it! We are saving $80 a month with our phone, that's $960 a year! We were spending $1,680 a year just on our phones with Verizon and they were not even smart phones...

Couponing, I can not begin to tell you how much we are saving on our grocery bill. I can't believe how I walked into Walmart today and glanced at some of their prices and felt like it was so much compared to Tops sales matched with coupons.. I actually went to Aldi the other day and spent more money their than with my coupons...

Now we are saving  $360 a year by not having cable.    Which is not going to be easy but it's not forever and it's worth it and already I think this is gonna have an amazing positive impact on my family.

This morning was weird when I wanted to watch the news while I drank my coffee and Riley reads her books... But instead I drank my coffee and read books with Riley.

Last night the three of us were hanging out after dinner and it was routine to turn on the tv. Not because there was a show we wanted to watch just to have it on.

Today when I stopped to eat lunch I wanted to put the tv on.. but not because i wanted to watch something in particular I just wanted something to do while I ate.

Last night not having the tv on I felt so much closer to my husband. I think that I was using the tv to relax and kinda be in my own world, but now I feel like I can be relax and just be with my husband.

Im excited to see what's gonna happen without cable.  Im also excited to know I can still watch all my shows  ( except Master Chef! I gotta get Hulu Plus ( which soon we probably will for $7.99) "e!

It's an interesting thought to think we can get so many things from one source isn't?

It's an interesting thought to think we can get all we need from our one creator...

I'll leave ya with a couple of verses

"Every child of God can defeat the world, and our faith is what gives this victory. " 1 John 5:4

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." Proverbs 3:3

Why do I have to tell people about God?

My grandma is 76 years old.

 She  lives in her house alone.

Walks down her basement stairs every time she needs to get laundry done.

  Does water aerobics weekly.

Walks at the Y weekly

Stays very active at her senior center.

She takes the bus everywhere because she has never had a license.

 She’s an inspiration to me and I love her so much. The other day we were talking and she told me how she went to visit an old friend that lived across the street from her when her boys were young.  This lady had four children and 2 husbands. All her children and both husbands have died. She is almost 90 years old.  My grandma said what my heart was saying, “ It has to be the worst to lose your children.”

Then Grandma went on to say that day she felt ready. Ready to leave this earth and join her loves in heaven.  She said that she feels peace because all her children know the Lord.

I thought about that. And that’s exactly how I would feel. I want my daughter to know the Lord and I pray now that she does.   Last Sunday at church the message was how it is every Christians responsibility to tell others about God.  All the excuses we make mean nothing, we have a duty to fulfill, and many of us shy away from it. 

Which brings me back to my grandma.  Every time I had a new boyfriend or a new friend ( we moved around a lot so I made lots of friends!) she would ask me, “ Do they know the Lord?” It never mattered to her what religion they were, if they went to church every Sunday, she just wanted to know if they knew the Lord. Many times I would answer "well yeah so and so goes to church".. and I never realized until later in life how important that question is and that going to church every Sunday is not a free pass on knowing God.

My grandma is asking the most important question and how sad is it, if that every new person we meet who doesn’t know the Lord, we just pull out an excuse on why we can’t tell them about Jesus?

In college I told people that I was a Christian. Yet I didn’t give 100 percent of my life to God. I still liked to have control.  I was still exercising my freedom of being 750 miles away from my parents.  Yet my dad loves Jesus so much and because of him and my mom I had Jesus in my heart.  

But I kept my excuses handy in my pocket and never hesitated to use them when I felt there was a time I could have witnessed to someone. I wanted to get over the feelings of embarrassment and mostly the fear of not knowing enough. 

I worried that someone would ask me something I didn’t have an answer for and then I worried what they would think of me.  Mostly in college I wanted to start going to church because guilt was my motivator, and honestly that isn’t always the best motivator.  I was having a lot of convictions at the time. I was split 50/50. I wanted to be close with God and tell others but I didn’t want to give up bad habits that made me feel comfort and apart of something. 

So when I wanted to tell someone about God my actions swelled up in my throat and I felt ashamed.  But God didn’t give up on me.  He just used a more drastic approach… for me I was stubborn. There were 3 times when I was feeling convictions and  was involved in 3 car accidents. ( I will post these experiences next)

The truth is when we give our life to Jesus and just say YES! We are excited about the ways he has changed things in our lives, in us right? When we say Yes to God’s word, Yes to prayer, yes to worship, he works in us, and because of his love for us amazing things happen, some call them miracles.

Although we are not to judge others, we are meant to tell others about Jesus. The harsh truth is what will happen when you die? When Judgment day comes upon you?

  The best news is, God knows you. He will help you speak to others to overcome whatever excuses you find yourself digging for.  He allows us to start over every day, get another chance.  So today I’ll pray that I can find the right words, keep my eyes open for the opportunity when someone needs to hear that Jesus is their savior. If you’re feeling guilt like I was, confess you sin. Forgive yourself. Forgive others. Ask God to forgive you. Let him change your heart.  

Like most things the first time will feel crazy, and nerve racking and you may not say everything exactly how you hoped, but that’s ok. Because each time it gets easier and God will continue to work in your heart and you’ll be bringing others to heaven with you.

My dad and I had a great conversation the other day about heaven and being rewarded for what we do here on earth. He asked an interesting question, I’ll leave you with......

What happens when we get to heaven expecting to see a loved one and they are not there?

“When the son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels  with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepard separates the sheep from his goats. He will put the sheep on his right andgoats on his left. Then the King will say to those on His right, “ Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world….” Then He will say to those on his left, “ Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels”.. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life( Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46.

Apple & Eve juice $1.40 and great pierogie deal!

This week at Tops they have the 64 oz Apple and Eve Fruitables Juice on sale for $2.50. 
Use $.55/1 doubled at Tops here
Pay $1.40 :) each! 


Also  Tops has a deal going if you buy 3 boxes of Mrs. T's Whole Grain Pierogies you get a half gallon of Tops Ice cream free! 


Supposedly there will be a coupon for Mrs. T's   Pierogies in today's paper. 
Print (2) $1/1 coupons here
Buy (3) using 2 coupons pay $1.67 each! If there's one in today's paper for $1/1 you will pay $1.33 each!
You will also get 30 gas points and free icecream!! 

Nursing = Do I even have boobs anymore?

If you are a male, you not going to not want to read anymore..  If you do continue on, well I warned you… but you will defiantly get more information than you wanted about my boobs.

It’s rainy and cold and just dreary and it matches my mood perfectly. Although I should be feeling great because my daughter had an awesome doctor’s appointment and is now sleeping, I can’t help but throw my mommy jacket on the floor and complain about my so called womanhood. I say so called because after my experience today.. what’s left? J

Why do women have to go through so much when having a child? Think about it.  Not only does our world change our bodies change, everything changes and there is no going back…Do men understand every little thing that we go through when having these babies? Not to mention we still get a period every month?! And do we really need to remind them of how well that goes over every time?!

I nursed Riley for 15 months ( well almost 15 she stopped about 2 ½ weeks ago. )  I loved my boobs while I was pregnant and after the first couple months after she was born!  It felt great being in a C cup!

Today a very upsetting moment occurred.

 I tried on an A cup and it was a little too big!  Yep my first thought was it’s this brand.

 Then my second thought was how does this even make sense when Im wearing a b cup. 

Then I put on my old b cup bra and was horrified.. 

This bra was too big..  

Then I told myself I’m delirious from watching my baby get 2 shots..

So I sat down to finish my coffee thought about what just took place and did the unthinkable.  

I walked back into that bathroom determined something is not right and looked in the mirror with my shirt and bra off.. 

THE BIGGEST MISTAKE I’ve made today so far.. and it’s only 11:30a…

Don’t do this ladies.. It’s just setting yourself up for a disaster..

Got dressed got my coffee sat down and here I am.. baffled. 

They are the smaller then before I was pregnant….  How is that possible?

Well, there is another good thing about this day, at least I got my new a cup bras that are a tad too big on clearance for $4.00 each… If I’m gonna be wearing an a cup I better damn get them on clearance!!!  It did actually break my heart that the coupon I had was for a bra that was over the amount of $16.99… But I guess I can settle for buying something on clearance without a coupon, this one time J