Coupons! Coupons! Coupons!

Coupons! Coupons! Coupons! isn't really the best title for this blog post. It is more like Coupons x 1000! I have gotten behind on filing my coupons. It happens to the best of us. I get six papers on Sunday and they always come in an orange plastic bag. I've got about 30 newspaper filled orange bags in my closet. Jackson asked me when I was going to start coupon shopping again. Well, let's see...we've got toothpaste to last us until Jesus returns; we won't ever need toilet paper again; mascara - check; Tylenol PM - check. It seems the only thing we are out of is white sugar. Well, around here, that qualifies as an emergency.

My choices are: 1. Take a day this week (preferably before that store ads end on Wednesday) and organize the darn things. or 2. Recycle them all and quit.

Well, I am not a quitter! And, what can you do when your 12 year old wants you to start couponing again? So, Monday I will get myself organized and get to the store!

I have been organizing the coupons by clipping all of them and filing them by manufacturer. That is the BEST way to always have what you need. BUT, it is also very time consuming and with 30 papers worth of coupons I just don't think I am up to the task. So, I guess I'll file them by week and clip them as I need them.

If you are reading this (and I don't blame you if you aren't) and you coupon (yes, that is now a verb) and you file by week (possibly the only sane way to do it), how does it work for you?

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Doug is making fun of me. Okay, so "Mr. Telephone Man" isn't a Michael Jackson song. I still like it.

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librarything.com

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Switching Gears...

I am going to start blogging. Doug is always telling me I need to blog more. But, I'm going to be totally honest and tell you what I think about blogs. Who cares? There. I said it. Almost everyone has a blog and if I wander through cyberspace reading blogs, for the most part, my eyes glaze over and I find I am not growing or learning, I'm just wasting time. I have found some VERY helpful blogs but they are far and few between.

So, why am I going to give blogging a shot? For me. I am going to think of it as keeping a journal. I am also going to start doing some writing in a journal, but I hate having a lot of paper around and I LOVE throwing paper away. This way, I'll have a record that isn't cluttering up my life.

I am going to start educating myself. I will start by reading, writing and discussing. On a daily basis, as I'm reading, I'll be writing on paper. I anticipate blogging less often and it will be more of an overview of the things I'm writing on paper.

Now, to choose a book! I'm going to start a list of books that I want to own. Hmmm....maybe I'll put that here, too.

I guess I'm back on!

Well, how did the compact go last year? I did not stick with it 100%. And that is putting it mildly. BUT, I did learn a lot and our habits did change for the positive.

We are back on...(sorta) The reason: Vision Therapy! Yikes! I just wrote a check for $1288 for Vision Therapy for my boys. Hmmm...should we buy new stuff or make sure our kids can read? Okay, we'll pay for VT.

I'm praying that in 6 months I can tell you that I have voracious readers in my home and that I am off the compact wagon!

14 Years of Marriage

The past 14 years have flown by. Don't get me wrong...those first few years were looooong! Even though the time has flown by, it feels like we've been together forever - in that I'm-a-part-of-you-and-you're-a-part-of-me way.

Doug and I have both learned that there is no magical love that will keep people married for a lifetime. It takes hard work, determination and commitment. Oh, and a sense of humor!

I am definitely the stubborn one in this relationship. Doug has always been willing to work on himself rather than try to change me.

In the Seinfeld Episode, "The Andrea Doria" Elaine (referring to the bad breaker upper) says, "Well, you know when you break up, how you say things you don't mean? Well, he says the mean things you don't mean, but he means them. "

Not with Doug. He has never said a cruel word to me.

I'm one lucky girl!! Here's to 14 more happy years!!

Grammar...Oh Boy!

I need to whip out the School House Rock DVDs (or YouTubes). As I teach my kids I sometimes wonder what happened to me in school. I got good grades. But for some reason it seems I didn't retain anything. So now as I try to remember the parts of speech, I find myself singing, "Interjections (Hey!) show excitement (Yow!) or emotion (Ouch!)".

Thankfully, if I really get stumped and School House Rock doesn't help, I've always got mom!