31 Days of Thankfulness: October 14th-17th 2015

With everything going on this week, I have gotten behind in my posts, so I am going to lump the rest of the week together here...

October 14th - Today I am thankful for coupons.  Several years ago, my husband lost his job, and we had to survive exclusively on my part-time salary.  That is when I discovered coupons and deal shopping, and I have never looked back.  I learned that I could get just about anything that we needed for free or very close to it.  Since then, deals have gotten fewer, rebates aren't as prevalent, and stores have changed their promotional programs a couple of times each, but every week, I still coupon and deal shop.  Without coupons, there are many times we would have probably gone hungry, or had dirty clothes.  Coupons allowed us to purchase what we needed, and even surplus that we were able to give away to others less fortunate.

October 15th - Today I am thankful for Joe's grandfather.  I grew up not knowing either of my grandfathers; they had both died before I was born.  When I got married, I got a whole new family in addition to my own, which included a grandfather.  Of course I was 21 when I got married, so a lot of the fun things you do with your granddad, I had already missed out on.  But, he still manages to build me up and make me feel good about myself and my decisions.  He also spoils Joe and I, and now Howard any chance he gets.

October 16th - Today I am thankful for cleaning.  Okay, now before everyone reaches thru the computer screen and smacks me, hear me out.  I LOVE cleaning, or more accurately I love being in a clean house.  Cleaning and decluttering relaxes me.  Being in a clean and organized house actually makes me calm.  Maybe it's because I grew up with my Grammie, who was always cleaning, and it's just what I'm use to, or I might be OCD, or both.  All I know is that when I am stressed out, or upset, I clean.  It calms me down, sometimes even cheers me up.  It gives me time to think things through, and solve problems, plus it leaves me with a clean house, and for that I am so thankful!

October 17th - Today I am thankful for humidifiers.  Let just say that everyone in the house is congested, and having a huge humidifier going all day is the only thing allowing us all to breathe.  And Howard has discovered boogers - for which I am not thankful ;-)

What are you thankful for today?

31 Days of Thankfulness: October 13th 2015

Today I am thankful for my ability to craft.  I don't claim to be an amazing or anything, but I do know my way around a craft room.  I can paint, draw, arrange flowers, and wield a glue gun with immense skill.  I've made cards, scrapbooked, embroidered, and sewn.  These skills have allowed me to express myself while relieving stress, as well as excel at my job.  Today I finished the last of the masks I needed to create for the Mascarade tea we are having here at the museum in a couple weeks.  Not only will each mask give a little fun and joy to the person wearing it, but I got to enjoy the process of creating it, and for this I am thankful.

31 Days of Thankfulness: October 12th 2015

Today I am thankful for a job that I LOVE!  Of course I have days when I wish I was rich and didn't have to go to work, but who doesn't?  Overall though, I love my job, it is the perfect combination of things that I like to do and things I am good at.  I give tours, label and organize the display cases, run the teas, work with volunteers, research, write, and decorate the house.  I have heard some interesting stories, answered some crazy questions, and met some wonderful people.  The job I have isn't what I was planning to do when I went to college, or even when I graduated, but I am certainly thankful that God closed all the doors he did to get me here.

Weekly Spending Report: 10/11-17/2015

This week I was able to score some great deals at CVS and Giant.  I was down to my last bottle of contact solution, so I was super happy to have a deal for that this week.  Joe was down to his last two boxes of granola bars, so he was thrilled with those as well.  Other than that we mostly just picked up the usually snack and breakfast foods, as we are still working our way slowly through our pantries and freezers.  It is amazing how much food you can shove in there and not realize it.  Anyway, here's how the shopping went this week...

• Sunday's CVS Trip: $11.68 oop, Earned $5 ECB's 

• Sunday's ALDI Trip: $24.44 oop (included but not pictured is 4 gallons of H2O)

• Sunday's Giant Trip: $45.01 oop, Earned $0.50 Saving Star Rebate (for the granola bars)

Total OOP: $81.13
Total Earned: $5.50
Total Remaining for October: $142.27

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