30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 6

Today, I am thankful for God.  Growing up, I was fortunate enough to begin my walk with God at an early age that has continued into adulthood.  Those early years really set the foundation for the faith that I have now, and I was reminded of that as I watched my nephew being baptized today.  We couldn't be prouder of him.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 5

I am thankful for our friends and family who have showered their love, help, advice and gifts on us for A. We have been truly blessed.  When A. arrived, there wasn't anything we lacked or that wasn't provided for us.  As I finished writing thank you cards to our loved ones for the many visits & packages that have arrived since A. was born, I realized how many people are already a special part of his life, and how truly blessed we are to have such great friends and family.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 4

I am thankful for my crockpot.

I have never been a good cook, and I don't really like to cook.  To be honest, it always seemed like way too much work, and I don't eat a lot.  But, once I got married, not cooking for 2 of us wasn't really an option.  Since I get home from work anywhere from 2-4 hours before G., it makes sense that I'm the one to prepare dinner for us most nights.

So I started off with easy - and that's where my crockpot came in.  I have a beautiful, stoneware, 6 quart crockpot that I got as a Christmas present from my brother.  I began to look us easy recipes that I could prepare the night before and then let cook in the crockpot all day.

Since then, I have become a much better cook, and do venture outside of the crockpot for dinner.  However, I still love finding great new recipes that I can cook in the crockpot.  And on busy days like I have had for the last few weeks, a crockpot meal is a life saver!  Tonight's dinner = Green Chili Carnitas
And yes, I've been told that green chili's are not considered a pantry "staple ingredient" in other parts of the country, but here in the southwest it is!

Green Chili Carnitas
Ingredients
2 cups of chicken broth
Pork shoulder roast
1 onion, diced
1 14 oz can of green chili
Corn or flour tortillas
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

Toppings (optional)
Salsa
Cheese
Sour cream
Chopped green onions

Directions
Season pork roast with salt and pepper and place in crockpot.  Pour 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth into the crockpot and cook on low for 10-12 hours (on high 5-6 hours), or until pork roast is cooked and shreds easily.  Remove roast from crockpot and shred meat, removing any fat. Place shredded pork into a casserole dish or large cookware. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

While oven is heating, pour a tablespoon of olive oil into a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Saute diced yellow onion in olive oil until it turns golden.  Add in green chili and remaining 1/2 a cup of chicken broth and cook until mixture is heated through.  Add mixture to the shredded pork and mix thoroughly.  Place dish in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.

Serve on flour or corn tortilla's, and top with desired toppings.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 3

I am thankful for our beautiful "Fall" weather.  I am so thankful that A. and I can get out of the house and take walks during the day.  Our highs have been in the low 80's/high 70's the last few days with blue, clear, & sunny skies.  It isn't traditional "fall" weather, but right now, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 2

Yesterday I wrote about how much our lives have changed since A. was born. One way that I knew was going to be tough for me would be the amount of sleep I would get for quite a while. I need like a lot of sleep. I’ve always been one of those people who would sleep 9 hours a night to be fully functional. Needless to say, I haven’t been getting 9 hours of sleep a night for the past few weeks. At first it wasn’t so bad. I was hyped up on adrenaline and A. slept for hours on end and I could take naps. And G. was getting up with me every time that A. woke up and helped put him back to bed so I could go right back to sleep after A. ate. But as time went on, G. couldn’t keep up with being up all night and being at work all day as well. And since I could nap during the day, I told him he needed to stop getting up all the time with us and that I would wake him up if I needed him. Then, A. stopped sleeping as well during the day, became quite a bit fussier, and my naps disappeared. (I’m told that the first few weeks of a newborn’s life is truly a honeymoon period and that this is completely normal) After 6 weeks of only getting 3 hours of sleep in a row at most, I was running on empty.

 And then, A. went 7 hours between feedings, and I got 6 hours of sleep. I feel like a new woman-my tank is full again. I so am thankful for God’s perfect timing.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 1

A couple of years ago, my dear friend Heidi did a Blessings Calendar. I was inspired by the idea, but not nearly as creative or as crafty as she is! So this year, I'm committing to recognizing the blessings in my life by doing 30 days of thankfulness. Today is Day 1. I am so very blessed and thankful for my family. A few weeks ago, our beautiful baby boy was born, and our lives have been forever changed. G. is a wonderful husband and father, and A. is everything we could have hoped for. I am blessed indeed!

Coupons

I am not an extreme coupon-er. I do however, put effort into saving money for my family. And that means using coupons. I'm always surprised to hear people's responses when I tell them I do coupons. They range from....."I don't have time for that" to "Oh, I eat healthy. Coupons are only for processed foods" to "In the end, they don't really save you money. You end up buying more or buying things you don't need." Really? I don't have more time than others; I work, I volunteer, and spend time with friends and family. We also eat healthy, don't buy junk food, and don't have closets full of useless items. And we save about two thousand dollars a year using coupons and sales. That's right folks, thousands.

Here's how I do coupons. It does take me about 1-2 hours more per week. Since I usually save over $100 per week, I think that is time well spent. And let's face it- most of us watch at least that much TV each week that we could cut out if needed.

I use a website that helps me make my lists of what to buy. GroceryGame and CouponSense are a few websites out there, however there are others as well. You pay a small fee, usually $10-$15 a month for the website service. The website matches items on sale in a store, with store promotions, and then with manufacturer coupons as well. That way you are saving the most money on items because you are receiving discounts from all of possible sources. And, I don't have to figure it out. The websites show you exactly what coupon to cut out, and what the final price will be of the item after using the coupon. They even usually tell you whether it is a great buy, or if you might want to wait and buy it at a different time because the price is just "okay". The key is to buy in multiples when an item is on sale and you have a coupon. That way you are stocking up when it is super cheap, and won't run out and have to buy it later when it is more expensive. The websites also track fresh produce, meats, and other items that are a great deal to buy that week, but don't necessarily have a coupon to go with it.

Another benefit of using the websites is that you don't have to cut all the coupons out or worry about organizing your coupons. I simply pull the coupon inserts out of the Sunday newspaper, and file the inserts in an accordion file by week. The websites tell you which week the coupon you are wanting to use is in, and then I simply pull that coupon insert out and only cut out the coupon I need. This is a huge time-saver. I also limit myself to a few stores each week, even though some of the websites will give you lists from 5-10 stores, depending on the area you live.

Since the key is to try to buy in multiples when you can, you will want to have multiples of the same coupon. I order 2 Sunday papers to be delivered to my home. That way when an item is free, or very cheap I can get at least 2 of them and stock up. The websites usually recommend 3 papers each week. Often you can receive a discount on ordering the paper through the websites or when you order multiple Sunday papers, so it is much cheaper to do home delivery instead of buying the paper at the store.

Here's an example of a shopping trip I had at one store this week......

CVS Shopping Trip:

3 Jumbo Packages of Huggies Diapers - Regularly priced $11.50, on sale for $8.99. I had 2 $3 and 1 $1.50 manufacturers coupons from today's paper. Then, I had two CVS store coupons for $1 off Huggies, $3 CVS ExtraCare Bucks, and a CVS store coupon for $3 off a baby purchase of $15 or more. So far, my savings are $7.50 in store sales, $8 in store coupons, and $7.50 in manufacturing coupons.

Then, there was a store promotion to receive a $10 gas gift card when you purchased $30 of eligible items. These promotions are usually for a total price before you apply your coupons. So, 3 Jumbo packs of diapers brought my total to $26.97. I added an Airwick Freshmatic starter kit that I had a $4 off manufacturer coupon, bringing me above the $30 I needed to be able to receive the $10 gas gift card.

Although it sounds complicated to read it, the website I use told me exactly what to do and what coupons to use. Plus, I already knew what CVS store coupons I had.

At the end, this is what my savings looked like:

$15 in store discount savings

$8 in store coupons

$11.50 in manufacturer coupons

$34.50 in total savings

Subtotal - $14.46

That included a $10 free gas card. So you could also look at it like I got all of the items for $4.46 after paying for $10 worth of gas. Pretty good for about 100 diapers and an automatic air freshener.

I only purchased things I would use, none of the items involved processed foods, and it only took me about 45 minutes make my list, cut my coupons, go to the store, and come home. Happy shopping!