A Quick Break

I'm sitting here with piles of clean laundry surrounding me, waiting to be put away in drawers, plus a kitchen that needs a major cleaning and floors that need Swiffering...but I just need a quick break to sit and reflect on the week.

I can't believe Christmas is two days away!  It's been such a whirlwind around here for the past week or two, and I'm so ready to just celebrate the holiday with my family and to have my husband off work.  I am so thankful for his job at Apple Ford...even though it's a commission-based job, Billy's been doing great with it.  He's the top salesman for the month and he'll be making a good commission, which I am so thankful for.  We were so worried that this wouldn't pan out, but God always provides and it's very obvious to us this month.

Another way God has clearly shown us His guidance this month has to do with our future.  You may have read the entry a few weeks ago about what Billy wanted to do with his life, and how I really wanted him to be able to start working toward his goal now, rather than wait until 2012.  Right after I wrote that entry, Billy met with the director of the Aviation Maintenance Technician Program (AMTP) at Liberty, and they discussed Billy's credentials, goals, and current plans.  By the grace of God, there was one spot open for this January.  Billy was initially planning on waiting until January of 2012 to get started in the program so that I could work as a teacher to support our family.  When he came home and told me about it, we prayed and asked God that He would show us His will and that we would know without a shadow of a doubt what He wanted us to do.  The more we sat on it and prayed about it, the more God showed us that this is His will.  Billy has been accepted into the program and will start school on January 3rd.  Praise the Lord!

This opportunity also brings with it a lot of questions and concerns about the next year.  We've been thinking and praying about how we're going to cover the cost of living with Billy being a full time student and not working.  I am so thankful for the fact that I will be babysitting starting in February or March, so that will bring some income.  In addition, I will be addressing envelopes, but I have no idea how much that will bring in.  I also have an interview with Tutor.com to become an online tutor.  I say interview, but really it's a mock tutoring session where I have to pretend I'm tutoring a student.  I'm really praying and hoping that this will work out, because it will be one more way for me to bring some money to our household without leaving home.  

I am so blessed to be able to stay home with Ellie right now, and I'm really hoping that I can continue to stay home with her.  Not that I want to be a stay at home mom forever, but I really feel like it's important for me to spend time with her when she's most vulnerable.  I want to at least be able to be at home with her until she learns to talk.  At least then she can tell me if something's wrong or what's happening during her day.  Even though I'll be working 3 part time jobs (if I get the tutoring job), it will all be from home and I can spend time with Ellie, which is my number one priority right now.

I did get a few deals this week, amazingly.  I really didn't expect much for this week since it's Christmas, but I did find some!

• I got a free bottle of Excedrin Migraine with a coupon I got in the mail
• I bought 4 quarts of ready to feed formula for 84 cents each (normally over $6 each)
• I found Ronzoni pasta for 50 cents each (used a 50 cent off 2 boxes coupon, which doubled to $1 at Kroger, and each box was $1)
• 2 free Milky Way bars (a small victory, I know, but we never buy candy and I thought, "Hey, they're free!"--by the way, I used a 50 cents off 2 bars coupon, which doubled to $1 at Kroger, and they were  on sale for 2 for $1)
• A box of ready to feed formula bottles (6 bottles, each 8 oz.).  These are great for when I need to feed Ellie on the go, because she can't use powdered formula (makes her throw up).  Normally $11 at Walgreen's, purchased for $6 (used a $5 off Similac coupon). 

I was pretty excited about my deals.  Billy went with me on Monday night to go grocery shopping, and he was really surprised at how much money I saved with sales and coupons.  I think he didn't realize how involved it is, but he told me he was impressed, which made me feel good!

Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, I wanted to do a quick plug for the new Walmart on Old Forest Rd. here in Lynchburg.  I went to the old Walmart earlier this week to buy some of the ready to feed quarts of formula, and the cashier told me I couldn't use more than one formula coupon in a transaction.  Granted, she was correct, because the coupon said "Limit 1 per transaction."  I never noticed it before, especially since I use those same coupons every time they pop up on Coupons.com and I've never had a problem.  I apologized and told her I hadn't noticed it said that, and asked if I could do multiple transactions at the register.  She promptly told me that no, I could not, and that I would have to go to separate registers for each transaction.  She seemed a little miffed that I was buying a quart of formula for 84 cents, when it's sale price was $3.84.  I told her it wasn't a problem for me to go to separate registers, and asked if I could have the formula back so that I could get in another line.  She told me no, that she would have to hold it until I found a register.  This didn't really make any sense to me, so I told her I was going to go back into the store to get something else and that I would come back after I got what I had forgotten earlier.  I couldn't find what I was looking for, so I just left because I was tired of listening to the lady.


Today, I went to the new Walmart with Billy to do a little last minute Christmas shopping and to pick up a few things, including the formula I didn't get at the old Walmart.  When I checked out, I handed the cashier 2 formula coupons for 2 quarts, and she scanned them and didn't mention anything about a limit on coupons.  She was also very polite and wished me a Merry Christmas.  I am so enamored with the new Walmart, I will definitely be avoiding the old one.

Last thing, and then I will stop writing and get back to my chores.  I tried a new recipe this week that was on Money Saving Mom, and it worked out great.  It's for Christmas candy....it's very easy, inexpensive, and so good!

Ingredients:
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 sleeve Saltine crackers
1 bag (approx. 12 oz.) of chocolate chips


Lay out crackers side by side on baking sheet (edges touching) so that you end up with a large rectangle of crackers.
Melt butter and brown sugar in saucepan until it's a uniform mixture.
Pour mixture over crackers (I smoothed it out a little after pouring to try to get an even layer on top).
Place baking sheet in oven at 350 degrees for 5 minutes (until mixture is bubbly on top).
Pour 2 cups (or one bag) of chocolate chips over crackers and let it sit for a few minutes until chocolate is melted.  Spread chocolate with a spatula.
Freeze 1 hour or until chocolate is hardened.  Break into pieces (like you would peanut brittle).  Freeze until ready to eat (it melts easily!).


This was so yummy, I bought more chocolate so I can make more tomorrow.  I love this stuff, it's definitely a new favorite!


Blessings to all of you, and Merry Christmas!