Shopping:
I had great success this week with finding more deals at Target. I already told you about my Glade holiday scents purchase where I got a $5 gift card for buying 5 products. In this week's ad, there was an offer for a free $10 gift card for any new or transferred prescription. I've been using Walgreen's for my prescription just because of the convenience, but I pay more there than I used to at Walmart. I wasn't completely sure if it would be cheaper at Target, but I figured it couldn't be any more expensive, so I transferred my prescription in order to get the $10 gift card. It turns out that my prescription is $2 cheaper at Target and they have the actual medicine I was prescribed instead of a similar one, which is what Walgreen's was giving me. So I paid $9 for my medicine and got a $10 gift card. I was very excited!
I read on Money Saving Mom about a Target coupon for $10 off 3 pairs of pajama bottoms. If you aren't familiar with Target coupons, you can visit their coupons website here. Target offers both store and manufacturer coupons on their website, which you can then print from your computer (much like Coupons.com). So I was at Target last night to pick up my prescription, and I just happened to look around the store for a while before leaving. I noticed there were a lot of pajamas on clearance, some of which were long pants (I had read about someone getting a great deal on clearance shorts with the coupon, but I wasn't interested in buying shorts this late in the year). After realizing that the pants were decently priced, I went home, printed the coupon, and went back to Target (I was determined to get this over with!). The pants were originally $9.99 each, on sale for $6.89 each. I used the $10 off 3 pairs coupon, and ended up paying $3.83 for each pair. Remember the gift cards I got this week? I used those to pay for my purchase. So in all, I actually got these pants for free with my gift cards from Target, but even if I did pay for them, I got 3 pairs of pajama pants for $11.49. I love pajamas and really wanted some new ones...and I definitely like the flannel/cotton kind. I felt very accomplished with my purchase.
I bought groceries Monday night, and spent $40. I got all the basic necessities for the week (milk, bread, etc.) and also bought a few things for next month. Kroger had the Stouffer's frozen lasagnas on sale for $5 each (usually they're closer to $7), and I used a $2 off coupon if you bought two, so I bought 2 lasagnas for $4 each. It's sad, but the few times I've made homemade lasagna it's taken so much time and it hasn't even been that great. Therefore, lasagna is our easy-dinner night. So I've got those in the freezer for either my monthly meal plan or an emergency dinner night. I also bought a bag of Ore-Ida hash browns for next month, since I make the Cheesy Potato Casserole at least once a month, and they were on sale this week. I also saved 10 cents on gas again this week because of the Kroger fuel points...but I still paid $2.64 per gallon. It's amazing how expensive gas is!
Cooking:
This week as I was making the Chicken & Rice Bake for dinner, I realized that I often grow very fond of certain items in my kitchen. Last week I discovered the glories of Nutella, which I am still having a love affair with. This week, I decided my favorite item of the week is Cavender's Greek seasoning. My Poppaw introduced me to it...I really don't know where he bought it, since I couldn't find it when I went grocery shopping, but it must be at either Food Lion or Kroger, since those are his favorite places to shop. I really like meat to be seasoned with something...I used to be a plain Jane when it came to food, and now I really enjoy full flavors. This seasoning is great on just about everything...chicken, beef, pork, vegetables, etc. I really like it on chicken and potatoes. It's a basic all-purpose seasoning, containing salt, black pepper, oregano, parsley, and some other stuff which they don't divulge on the label ("five other spices" is all it says...so if you have any allergies, I wouldn't recommend it). Anyway, this stuff is great (a little spicy in excess, which is what I prefer), so if you're looking for something new that can stand on its own in the world of seasonings, this is it.
Academic:
Even though I graduated back in May, I am still involved in attempting to publish a rewritten version of my Honors thesis. It's a long story, but basically my committee chair for my thesis decided it would be a good idea for me to adapt what I had written into a journal article and either present it at a state conference or publish it in an academic journal. We worked on it all through student teaching, which was difficult for me to balance, but we finally came up with something and submitted it to a journal. My thesis was originally written on teaching reading comprehension skills to students in the elementary grade levels. I love reading, and I am very passionate about helping others learn to love it, too. My thesis wasn't anything new; it was really a culmination of many different strategies that can be used with young students to help develop comprehension skills. I myself never really had a problem with this as a student, but I remember doing comprehension-building activities in school that were usually boring and consisted of highlighting the important information in a reading passage (so not fun!). So I researched other ways of teaching this to students, including various oral and collaborative activities that were more "fun" and interactive instead of just using a highlighter. Anyway, we adapted my thesis to incorporate 21st century skills. In my opinion, this label "21st century skills" is really just a new buzz-word in education that doesn't mean a whole lot. I guess it consists of teaching students to think critically, read for understanding, collaborate with others, etc. Basically, the goals of teaching anyway. They just have a new fancy label for it now. So we wrote this article, submitted it to a journal, and it was rejected with major corrections. I was not surprised by this at all; in fact, I was really expecting a rejection. Getting published is difficult anyway, and when you throw into the mix the fact that we adapted a 30-page thesis into a 3,000 word article in less than a month, on a topic that I didn't really understand in the first place, it's no wonder it was rejected. I figured that it was over; I wasn't too crazy about getting published (not a particular goal of mine), and on top of that I knew that Ellie would be born this fall anyway and figured I wouldn't have time to continue to pursue that endeavor. I put it out of my mind. We had a meeting scheduled in August to discuss the corrections made to our article, but I had to cancel because of Ellie's birth. We then rescheduled for this month and met yesterday. We looked over things and talked about ideas, but I still don't know where this is going. We are scheduled to present something in March at the Virginia State Reader's Association conference, but we don't even have an idea of what we're talking about yet. I just don't know where this is going, and it's difficult for me to participate since it's been 8 months since I even looked at my thesis, let alone the article we submitted for publication. Not sure where it's going to go, but I guess we'll see.
On a completely different and lighter note, I wanted to share what I'm currently reading. About a month ago I tried reading Ted Dekker's Circle series (Black, Red, White, and Green), which ended up being an amazing series that I couldn't put down. It was the first time I read anything by Ted Dekker, so I was very surprised at how good his books were. I am now reading Sinner, which is related to the Circle series. It's a great book! Definitely recommend it or the Circle series to anyone looking for a great can't-put-it-down reading experience.
Personal:
My final section for the day will be about what I have learned personally and spiritually this week. It's another long story, but basically Billy and I talked about how we each need more encouragement from each other. I thought I was the victim and that Billy was ignoring me, but in reality I was doing the same thing to him and we were both suffering because of it. It's amazing how easy it is to get caught up in your own thoughts and problems and completely forget about how your partner feels. Billy and I have very different personalities, but when it comes down to it, we both need the same thing in order to feel loved: encouragement. I need to know that what I do here at home is worthwhile and appreciated. I hate doing all of the chores and making our house clean and not getting a word of appreciation out of Billy. But at the same time, Billy needs to know that his hard work (10 hours a day) and commitment to providing for our family is worthwhile and appreciated. If I just act like it's his job and his responsibility to provide for us without thanking him for it, I am doing the thing I hate, which is not appreciating his efforts. After we talked about it and realized how we were both lacking in this area, I realized how important it is for me to not just check off things on my list every day, like doing my chores, reading the Bible and having devotions, and getting every little thing done. I really need to remember how important it is for me to encourage Billy in everything he does. This passage really helped me understand and take it to heart:
"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:11-18
I am learning so much about how to be a good wife, and I realized that it's not all about cleaning and cooking and taking care of Ellie, but that it also has a lot to do with how I interact with Billy and how I encourage him on a daily basis. It's definitely something I'll have to work on, but we're both trying to get better at this.
~Blessings to you and yours.....Kristen
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