tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353671982024-03-27T19:53:34.413-04:00Soli Deo GloriaJustinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-88328736634065354642013-01-26T17:04:00.000-05:002013-01-26T17:05:35.597-05:00How to save yourself from daily store emails (in Gmail)A friend asked me what I do about retail store email lists that I'm on. Since I rarely buy items at full price, I'm a huge fan of coupons and sale emails... but I'm not a huge fan of seeing them daily and having to delete them, since I'm often only in the market for such items quarterly? yearly? Definitely not daily! And my time is too precious to waste deleting so much junk every day. So, I had the hair-brained idea to respond to her question with a step-by-step blog post... maybe it can help someone else, too. Essentially, what we're doing is setting up a filter for Gmail.<br />
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I started by doing a search using the email address the store emails come from. In this case, I'm creating one for my "daily deals" emails, and am starting with Half Off Depot. My search pulled up a few emails. If nothing pulls up, you may have used the wrong email address or something. If you chose to search by the store name, make sure nothing else pulls up with this search or you might miss other important emails.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4G3uUQUXuSm5IqPRgsfHyt5HXL-heQC9mTlGHYcGjZB90PT4SggllhyphenhyphenVZuoFtiFIlNDt5XI8uFY7LjQv-V-RuMO3Y4DiLJWtfejh0csCJnPcL67-fjvn61mv66i1Gq3KiGtEc/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-01-26+at+4.38.59+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="41" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4G3uUQUXuSm5IqPRgsfHyt5HXL-heQC9mTlGHYcGjZB90PT4SggllhyphenhyphenVZuoFtiFIlNDt5XI8uFY7LjQv-V-RuMO3Y4DiLJWtfejh0csCJnPcL67-fjvn61mv66i1Gq3KiGtEc/s320/Screen+shot+2013-01-26+at+4.38.59+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then, I clicked the small down arrow at the right of the search box, which opens a window like this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9zKqo1p7JglnBVkXtEaKxjsmO_hS2z26YRRheQtvcLaDG4RYZp3nwQqOONSEg3bH6BrtC9DXhZjaCaJJ0CBWOJpuXDicjNQq5ce5kwFGZTFAMgEqjLp63c6s9gJr8sDpZHH1c/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-01-26+at+4.39.20+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9zKqo1p7JglnBVkXtEaKxjsmO_hS2z26YRRheQtvcLaDG4RYZp3nwQqOONSEg3bH6BrtC9DXhZjaCaJJ0CBWOJpuXDicjNQq5ce5kwFGZTFAMgEqjLp63c6s9gJr8sDpZHH1c/s320/Screen+shot+2013-01-26+at+4.39.20+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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I could add more search details if needed, but most store ads shouldn't need any more than the email address. So then I clicked "Create filter with this search" at the bottom right, and got this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBL0XHlq3VXXe2tq8m9cgms_5bcDOU2oHzXk0GyKJGtbw-ka-EiiG1Pk2RGPOr7zGj2Pqvx1uuQKEv50aiW1gEJLiPe7H29HdAvVmIedHrb63thDvgElI5CJcLE9wdkh94_FU/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-01-26+at+4.40.08+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBL0XHlq3VXXe2tq8m9cgms_5bcDOU2oHzXk0GyKJGtbw-ka-EiiG1Pk2RGPOr7zGj2Pqvx1uuQKEv50aiW1gEJLiPe7H29HdAvVmIedHrb63thDvgElI5CJcLE9wdkh94_FU/s320/Screen+shot+2013-01-26+at+4.40.08+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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I clicked "Skip the Inbox" (which will keep them from accosting me daily), and "Apply the label" (which will allow me to find them when I want them). I already had a label called "Store Ads", but you can create one - using your name of choice - by selecting "New Label" from that little drop down box. This time, I created a sub label called "Daily Deals". You can choose to check the box at the bottom to automatically apply this filter to emails that are already in your inbox if you want... no real reason I didn't. Obviously, you could also select other options, but for the purposes here, I don't think any are necessary. Then click "Create filter."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXq-t51Towl1gsEI2c8lNI80su-rLhBKpWWlKPEQ4u-amuXuoGtU4EmZTQbB6DdZv7Ur4eTGzfK2HInfUI_4_MIMZjENXfk0Pvrz2HLaqC2w3-JysgWMmZ_Z18o-B3_GzTpZFP/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-01-26+at+4.53.28+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXq-t51Towl1gsEI2c8lNI80su-rLhBKpWWlKPEQ4u-amuXuoGtU4EmZTQbB6DdZv7Ur4eTGzfK2HInfUI_4_MIMZjENXfk0Pvrz2HLaqC2w3-JysgWMmZ_Z18o-B3_GzTpZFP/s320/Screen+shot+2013-01-26+at+4.53.28+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The above is my "Store ads" label. You can see that I got 25 emails from 4 stores in 9 days. Hence why I don't want them in my inbox! Since most of the time, the deals/coupons are only good for a week - max - usually every few days or so I click on my "Store ads" label, skim the titles, and delete all of them if I don't need them. But I could also leave them here indefinitely to search when I need something, or clear them out more or less often, as desired. Now that you've created the label, you can repeat as many times as you want to put as many stores in here as your heart desires. Groupon and Living Social are headed to my new "Daily Deals" label as soon as I post this!</div>
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Comments? Questions? Throw them at me and I'll do what I can to help.</div>
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Managing email-time-tidbits... Soli Deo Gloria.</div>
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<br />Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-60600381464145299532012-04-06T16:07:00.000-04:002012-04-06T16:07:18.526-04:00April showers bring May... vegetables?At least, I hope so! My parents came up from Florida this past weekend so my Mom could attend a bridal shower for my sister (with me, of course). Since it was my Spring Break, I convinced her to stick around for a few extra days and help me conquer a mini-dream of mine - planting a garden!<br />
My one attempt at vegetable gardening in the past was a complete flop. The blog post was entitled "The $50 Pepper". Granted - I never actually wrote the post, but the title alone should give you a hint. Basically, one lonely little green bell pepper plant in a too-small pot that struggled with bugs, fungus and who knows what else and ultimately I ate one small pepper that was about 2" long. That was it.<br />
So this year I decided to do it "right" - and do a raised bed.<br />
My husband has always hated the bushes that were under our bedroom windows (to the right in the picture below -- apparently we don't take many pics of the back of our house, since this one is from before we bought it!).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi471hyphenhyphen-da_p55gFnR1ASntFPTv95tvOhZho1Ca5u3Vj25Q7TFUwB-vJzEM9sjrzF3AqxpxpPXGrVDuxPriIPLThs37-eHvc-mx08IBNMNzsSQskHypjVeXNrrKFuIooz5Jyci_/s1600/DSC08615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi471hyphenhyphen-da_p55gFnR1ASntFPTv95tvOhZho1Ca5u3Vj25Q7TFUwB-vJzEM9sjrzF3AqxpxpPXGrVDuxPriIPLThs37-eHvc-mx08IBNMNzsSQskHypjVeXNrrKFuIooz5Jyci_/s320/DSC08615.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>It wasn't hard, then, for me to get permission (or help) pulling them up and putting a small raised bed in their place! The ground wasn't pure clay, since this was a "flower bed" in a previous life, but some tilling was definitely needed. We started with a hand tiller, but my neighbor was kind enough to let us borrow their little mechanical one, which did the job much better and faster.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAW70RNmFE384jOxYrMyeDwm_J3ktotiwnaPg99ynCV-QcuCvi816RRSXWWrG1RwpynGePx271cMYfaHM5vjqXMgWcTM5V_H1if4yZHcJr_z0TwH_v8qYCicByCHSZCjgJjrs6/s1600/2012-04-03_10-56-58_971.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAW70RNmFE384jOxYrMyeDwm_J3ktotiwnaPg99ynCV-QcuCvi816RRSXWWrG1RwpynGePx271cMYfaHM5vjqXMgWcTM5V_H1if4yZHcJr_z0TwH_v8qYCicByCHSZCjgJjrs6/s320/2012-04-03_10-56-58_971.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>A bit of online digging (pun intended) and Mom and I opted to use cinderblocks to mark off the bed. Easily adjustable (to expand next year, if this goes well), fairly inexpensive, and no worries about warping, rotting, or leeching chemicals like we'd have with wood. A few layers of newspaper theoretically serves as a bit of a weed barrier, but also will eventually compost and be good for the soil.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTaLh4pK_R2i0KmtowzCYGgO9GJyXifsHoDTNNR-ErmYtMSJ2n8zZCp49UKGCu02N4_RsN8MIABS8DvWCylJO6V8x-PJo2csMa9x51siHuQizi6dBgZjMnqoWaUGal9ylHlFwe/s1600/2012-04-03_13-26-50_858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTaLh4pK_R2i0KmtowzCYGgO9GJyXifsHoDTNNR-ErmYtMSJ2n8zZCp49UKGCu02N4_RsN8MIABS8DvWCylJO6V8x-PJo2csMa9x51siHuQizi6dBgZjMnqoWaUGal9ylHlFwe/s320/2012-04-03_13-26-50_858.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>We used half-blocks for the sides (7 on each side) and whole ones for the ends (3 each). This gives us a planting area of about 4'x8' - just perfect to start out! We added 5 cubic feet of regular top soil, 4.5 cubic feet of Miracle Grow Organic top soil/fertilizer, and 100 lbs of Black Kow composted cow manure (no, it doesn't stink). Should make for a nice, rich soil to grow things in!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiP2abLRu2u5zpxdnRVkVx6etnHSNvNT59OmUDReSKxVm4_tgR46lSJ3f3h55ZxcZNw7zmLGEZtKXXP9b7YF9ZXDjqaGrsKctm898I1qQ0RRu1oj-cs-zxxdaxmW045VXtzJkg/s1600/2012-04-03_18-09-13_507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiP2abLRu2u5zpxdnRVkVx6etnHSNvNT59OmUDReSKxVm4_tgR46lSJ3f3h55ZxcZNw7zmLGEZtKXXP9b7YF9ZXDjqaGrsKctm898I1qQ0RRu1oj-cs-zxxdaxmW045VXtzJkg/s320/2012-04-03_18-09-13_507.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>Now, what to plant? Several people we talked too said NOT to overplant or it would be counterproductive. Despite my rough first attempt, peppers were still on the top of my list since I like them, they are in the "dirty dozen" list so I try to eat them organically, and they are pricey. And everyone I've ever known who gardens grows tomatoes, so that sounded like another good place to start. And since we had room for a little something else, some green beans. Next year hopefully I'll start from seeds with everything, but not messing with that this year. We ended up buying 4 plants - a bush tomato, a cherry tomato, a green pepper, and an orange pepper - and some bush green bean seeds. Again, per our online exploring, we opted to plant 6 herbs in the "end caps" (oregano, parsley, basil, rosemary, mint and cilantro), and a few flowers in the small spaces in the side blocks to pretty it up a bit. Here I am with the finished product:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAyK9gPd0aASEh_8O3crcezS0MoR00GEVX56I9cy3ClZ4MkOXuubYsdGIdmW39GeXmvdUdmX5OIkLAP6UO4ZqvtkvpcIrJlV3tG_zMM_5Y0hZ7sEc1H91ZQZvt32aeB1a4est0/s1600/2012-04-04_10-37-44_592.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAyK9gPd0aASEh_8O3crcezS0MoR00GEVX56I9cy3ClZ4MkOXuubYsdGIdmW39GeXmvdUdmX5OIkLAP6UO4ZqvtkvpcIrJlV3tG_zMM_5Y0hZ7sEc1H91ZQZvt32aeB1a4est0/s320/2012-04-04_10-37-44_592.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>Total cost was probably around $170, (approx $30 for the cinder blocks, $45 for the various soils, $25 for a hand tiller, $5 for a new pair of gardening gloves, $60 for the plants/herbs/flowers/seeds). Pricier than I had planned, but considering that most of it won't need to be bought again next year, it's not too bad. Now I'm just praying the rabbits and deer stay away so I can get some real produce!<br />
Of course, how could I leave out a picture of our little champion who cheered us on while we worked?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFMZCUGSAMQb35OfLQ5RriMZvUv3KIT2u5MAbOfHdZrMW-Y9viOTBW7fcNRMy-ZTkvG3OXSDri5aM7Ff5FhTVocwvSY-aTyiLkkCfLWgYEYeFyxuLaLKeok4tCsjTquWxARFa8/s1600/2012-04-04_10-36-43_383.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFMZCUGSAMQb35OfLQ5RriMZvUv3KIT2u5MAbOfHdZrMW-Y9viOTBW7fcNRMy-ZTkvG3OXSDri5aM7Ff5FhTVocwvSY-aTyiLkkCfLWgYEYeFyxuLaLKeok4tCsjTquWxARFa8/s320/2012-04-04_10-36-43_383.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>Working the soil... Soli Deo Gloria.Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-22457683221237792232012-02-13T21:11:00.000-05:002012-02-13T21:11:36.448-05:00I see you!My sweet Ethan is nearing 9 months old already - and I can hardly believe it! He's a happy little guy and loves to smile and laugh. His list of solids/purees that he eats is growing, and so far there's nothing that he won't eat. I gave him a few Cheerios last week - what a hoot! The looks on his face as he "chews" them, and the cute little effort to get them in his mouth on his own. It never occurred to me while babysitting that eating Cheerios was a lesson in fine motor skills!<br />
Since about 6 months old, he's consistently slept 7pm-7:30am without a fuss. He had a stomach bug 2 weeks ago (my, was that terrible) and even slept great through that. And then last week, he suddenly decided he didn't want to sleep at bedtime. Some nights have been better than others, but it's been rough. I didn't realize how much I'd come to appreciate that time from 7-10/11 when I was awake but he was sleeping! Teething is perhaps the culprit? Or time to drop a nap? Who knows...<br />
Anyway - none of that was in the original mental draft of this post. What I really wanted to talk about was more "separation-anxiety" related. Ethan doesn't really have much - most of the time he's happy to be with anyone, especially if they're holding him - and I'm thankful for that. It's nice to have a break sometimes and for others to be able to enjoy him as well - and certainly makes going to work and leaving him in nursery a lot easier. But he DEFINITELY recognizes his Papá and Mamá. I can't tell you how many times I've seen him contentedly across the room, and when his eyes land on me, his face just lights up. And if Papá walks in the room, he reaches out for him and smiles. What joy it brings to my heart to see that sweet face and know that it's smiling because of me. To know that he loves and trusts me.<br />
And then the other day, it hit me. That must be what God feels when we rejoice in His presence. But more importantly, when I see His face, do I look like Ethan does when he sees me? When I hear His voice as I read Scripture, do I burst out in smiles? When I see His handiwork in Creation or see evidence of His sovereign hand in my life, do I giggle and reach towards Him? I'm not sure that I always do. And I'm even more certain that I don't have much separation anxiety. I don't cry as soon as I feel myself moving away from him, and I'm not generally "fussy" and yearning for His presence when I fail to spend time with Him. And if that's not shameful enough, my promised future in His unadulterated and eternal presence in Heaven rarely even enters my mind. Why, oh why? Lord, PLEASE, give me that anxiety to sit at your feet, and that joy that lights up my face when I see your glory - as well as the anxiousness for an even purer taste of You!<br />
Wanting to have separation anxiety... Soli Deo Gloria.Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-17677855476287627972012-01-06T17:03:00.000-05:002012-01-06T17:03:17.928-05:00HT Super-Dups - 1/6Today is "el Día de los Reyes" in Spain (or Three Kings' Day, or Epiphany). Our family across the pond has the day off and spent the day enjoying each other's company and opening gifts. We saved a few little gifts from Christmas to open today, but we haven't gotten around to it yet. My treat to myself, though, was to get back on the coupon wagon and hit up Harris Teeter's super doubles sales. It feels good! Here's what I came home with:<br />
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<ul><li>1 bottle Soft Scrub - $1.99</li>
<li>1 4oz can HT green chiles - 77¢</li>
<li>2 bags Snyders tortilla chips - $2</li>
<li>1 box Banana Nut Cheerios - $2.12</li>
<li>6 Clif bars - $4.10</li>
<li>1 8oz box Annie Chun brown rice noodles - $3.49 *no sale/QP for this one :(</li>
<li>4 boxes Honey Bunches of Oats cereal - 94¢</li>
<li>2 jugs HT premium orange juice - $4.54</li>
<li>10 Yoplait yogurts - $5</li>
<li>2 Chobani yogurts - 80¢</li>
<li>2 1/2 gals Smart Balance milk - $1.50</li>
<li>2 HT soda 2 ltrs - $1.74</li>
<li>tax - $1.10</li>
</ul>TOTAL: $30.09<br />
TOTAL SAVED: $38.90 = 56%<br />
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Definitely worth the trip. Now if I can keep the momentum going, but without buying so many deals that I blow the budget :)<br />
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Feeding my family on the cheap... Soli Deo Gloria.Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-8597596104308187272012-01-05T22:29:00.000-05:002012-01-05T22:29:22.796-05:00AO UpdateI realize that after many months of not blogging, the LAST topic anyone who reads this expected me to blog about would be my produce delivery :) However, I've been meaning to do this math again anyway, so I went ahead and figured I'd share it with the world while I was at it. Here's a picture of the box of organic produce that I received from <a href="http://theabsoluteorganics.com/">Absolute Organics</a> just today:<br />
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And here's the cost comparison if purchased at my local Harris Teeter:<br />
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<ul><li>head of cabbage - $2.07* (assuming it weighs 3 lbs - who knew they sold cabbage by the pound? and i'm too lazy to go weigh it now that i've put the scale away.)</li>
<li>3 kiwi - $2.37*</li>
<li>1.5 lbs banana - $1.50</li>
<li>2.5 lbs pink lady apples - $7.23</li>
<li>2 red navel oranges - $2</li>
<li>1 bunch kale - $2.49</li>
<li>2 yellow bell peppers - $5.58</li>
<li>4 lbs potatoes - $8</li>
</ul>TOTAL: $31.24 at HT and the * indicates that that item is not available organically. Not to mention that HT won't deliver to my doorstep. And I paid only $30 for 100% organic produce dropped at my door.<br />
I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever owned a cabbage before! I have no idea how this is going to work out, but I have 2 recipes that I'm interested in trying with it, so when I saw it on the list I decided to take a leap and go for it! Within the next week or two I hope to try Lynn's <a href="http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2012/01/coconut-milk-asian-noodle-soup.html">Coconut Milk Asian Noodle Soup</a> and Vonda's <a href="http://absoluteorganics.com/images/Spiced%20Cabbage%20and%20Apple%20Slaw.pdf">Spiced Cabbage and Apple Slaw</a>. And you can bet your bottom dollar that the kale and potatoes will end up in a <a href="http://absoluteorganics.com/images/Kale%20and%20Potato%20Spanish%20Tortilla.pdf">Kale and Potato Spanish Tortilla</a> on a day when I have plenty of time to be in the kitchen! <br />
So, nearly 2 years after starting to receive Absolute Organics deliveries, I'm still glad to be getting them and we're still eating more (clean) produce and saving money in the process... Soli Deo Gloria.Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-74784153689803163422011-05-14T20:36:00.004-04:002011-05-19T21:17:35.247-04:00The Kitchen - part 3But wait... I thought the kitchen was done? What is this all about? Dishwasher details? Nope, sorry. But I was right there with you as far as thinking this was done... until my family came to visit for Easter. Not exactly sure how it happened, but next thing I knew we were back at Lowe's - my parents, sister and her boyfriend included - looking at Formica colors, sinks, faucets, etc. Somehow we managed to convince my husband that granite is not the only option for a kitchen countertop, and that we could make a wonderful - and much more reasonably priced - change by simply picking new laminate. We picked a color (from the 4 colors of countertop that they carry in-stock) and thought we could install it ourselves, perhaps with the help of a handyman with a bit of experience.<br />
On their way out of town, Mom called her handyman, who gave her the name of a laminate installer buddy of his. Within a few days, "Bob the builder" (turns out he lives next door to a co-worker of mine whose young children lovingly gave him this nickname) was over to give us his thoughts. For various reasons, we couldn't use the in-stock pieces, but his price was very affordable, and his schedule was open enough to get us done before Baby, which was crucial since we were about 4 weeks from due date. Pro: we got to go back to the sample-board to pick a new color... great since I hadn't actually been 100% sold on the in-stock one we had picked. Con: we had to go back to the sample-board to pick a new color... this time, without the color-wise eyes of my family members in tow. We came up with the following options:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4XwHweQvsFEblwyhwRVzBOAtHjgAnRe3PQ6pMWipCAvm2_HNe2cGuzYh2CGEqc8jLMJ2ecaIbB8XRefYQbzBaPQP3H3Md7_fvZJXh_syQjWUU1B7J0SyiGwfo3GK-s6QmXkF/s1600/DSC_0326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4XwHweQvsFEblwyhwRVzBOAtHjgAnRe3PQ6pMWipCAvm2_HNe2cGuzYh2CGEqc8jLMJ2ecaIbB8XRefYQbzBaPQP3H3Md7_fvZJXh_syQjWUU1B7J0SyiGwfo3GK-s6QmXkF/s320/DSC_0326.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL7Kjj1x2eAGTca5EGZXCL7Ol6o61xqBdMGPKQOdI4BHJlcgA4dsIGsTf3GgjRTVX7rCzjpAW_f4Ef4ZbdOkusHL3FAKd8guSfOBFsdqQ8hi4hpv1SnzR95D3u3alduqAJmVMR/s1600/DSC_0327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL7Kjj1x2eAGTca5EGZXCL7Ol6o61xqBdMGPKQOdI4BHJlcgA4dsIGsTf3GgjRTVX7rCzjpAW_f4Ef4ZbdOkusHL3FAKd8guSfOBFsdqQ8hi4hpv1SnzR95D3u3alduqAJmVMR/s320/DSC_0327.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-15AsNzQyg68SWRQLBIvCWXFS6n0xjFdWgj2x0bRsPDPBuiVV2WlmK1obR0hav-Ym6uAe3utb0vV-fZzHrwatjnGmW_Yl3cqG6jxdspduu_8wmQn4TDit33nEFTRblCgUnZC/s1600/DSC_0328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-15AsNzQyg68SWRQLBIvCWXFS6n0xjFdWgj2x0bRsPDPBuiVV2WlmK1obR0hav-Ym6uAe3utb0vV-fZzHrwatjnGmW_Yl3cqG6jxdspduu_8wmQn4TDit33nEFTRblCgUnZC/s320/DSC_0328.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Didn't take too long to eliminate the middle option due to the distinct leaf pattern that I wasn't sure we wanted on as big a space as our kitchen counter (it was called "Frosted Leaves" after all). But then we got stuck. I wanted the lighter top color as I feared the lower would be too dark. Isaac wanted the darker color, fearing the other would be too similar to what we have and would show too many spots. We nagged votes from 2 family members... who were also split down the middle. Oh man. Headed out on the morning of my birthday to buy the new sink, faucet, disposal, etc. planning to poll my cousins that afternoon when they came over to celebrate, and hoping they'd break the tie. We stopped at the sample-board again, and (yeah God!) stumbled across another color we must have missed the first time around:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGDgLn4lFb79_RRQwPEstfsBahQMmjFueeMNmVFicodFEQClyEBEEtmm1-ej7G6xMhGABywLRYznbTSVIkQX4g_MmX2Xh5JDjFKz6_Gz9mtb6F9KzOPB6KZtj7yCEmYxSkcnZ/s1600/DSC_0330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGDgLn4lFb79_RRQwPEstfsBahQMmjFueeMNmVFicodFEQClyEBEEtmm1-ej7G6xMhGABywLRYznbTSVIkQX4g_MmX2Xh5JDjFKz6_Gz9mtb6F9KzOPB6KZtj7yCEmYxSkcnZ/s320/DSC_0330.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSpzdC-BJ8PE0OBDrtnuW7dM1Q3sTxjgZVUWlz9YjMbUWMVrVyt8Fi_AumwR-0RJ7c0GCD2GVpNo3Nk2QJmk_ZGJP_uPG6_Ot7BbJyQZv3gc26cXPMiBZPd95zks-LHethjMq/s1600/DSC_0331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSpzdC-BJ8PE0OBDrtnuW7dM1Q3sTxjgZVUWlz9YjMbUWMVrVyt8Fi_AumwR-0RJ7c0GCD2GVpNo3Nk2QJmk_ZGJP_uPG6_Ot7BbJyQZv3gc26cXPMiBZPd95zks-LHethjMq/s320/DSC_0331.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Though closer to the dark one, it was light enough that I thought it might be okay, and yet dark enough that Isaac felt comfortable. My cousins' votes, interestingly enough, had one going for either of the 2 lighter colors, and the other for either of the 2 darker! Thus, the middle ground won :) Isaac and I both felt good about it, and we had external confirmation that we weren't making a terrible mistake. By Friday, our buddy Bob was over and ready to get to work. He took it from this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WY1Gr3ULneFxxACptiuihBn6D_maT8Hb3Kw595vHWkVYM2I5AXdYys6GTaLaPR1RSqLxCfPheymnsIMo4ujyHJpkkG8b8VPk_xNhyoa_9jBB1pkVLsTTltOkeYT5Y3E9r9OU/s1600/DSC_0344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WY1Gr3ULneFxxACptiuihBn6D_maT8Hb3Kw595vHWkVYM2I5AXdYys6GTaLaPR1RSqLxCfPheymnsIMo4ujyHJpkkG8b8VPk_xNhyoa_9jBB1pkVLsTTltOkeYT5Y3E9r9OU/s320/DSC_0344.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
to this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPE-7Ays8YpFkM3JMjS5KA4hK0_-I7Y-Tz7LysaJnfI0F4fVAqpSya0kZ4yHoz0u1zXGVZ0jrMPqN5SnUAgi7jnSB6zP_8cKPu8uHoSfDW4bsHfN6zamlj8KerkOXGZZUyiaB5/s1600/DSC_0350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPE-7Ays8YpFkM3JMjS5KA4hK0_-I7Y-Tz7LysaJnfI0F4fVAqpSya0kZ4yHoz0u1zXGVZ0jrMPqN5SnUAgi7jnSB6zP_8cKPu8uHoSfDW4bsHfN6zamlj8KerkOXGZZUyiaB5/s320/DSC_0350.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
to this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbyQ0dYdVFU55eoMDiErpfXh6gua-l34tNVSpafCJTrKag5_iiMUnXvHGbxtHsOuK6CjvzTGbyxiPF4kv624uPWYl-cZSLp17SUi2gFDABPIsz66cW6z0iGguKVlMJQ14S1TJ/s1600/DSC_0353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbyQ0dYdVFU55eoMDiErpfXh6gua-l34tNVSpafCJTrKag5_iiMUnXvHGbxtHsOuK6CjvzTGbyxiPF4kv624uPWYl-cZSLp17SUi2gFDABPIsz66cW6z0iGguKVlMJQ14S1TJ/s320/DSC_0353.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> to this: <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilaqDY3CwsQoRGllohFcnezqge4y8d40a6eg-lisnbcEjnqAHTg-ZopDDm4E8RY8rcOvCbTzW90YyzJsn5WTprQlS7QteUTkw4NYsQR9QAhr8odWQ5CwlBTJkIhFKLPePINpst/s1600/DSC_0357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilaqDY3CwsQoRGllohFcnezqge4y8d40a6eg-lisnbcEjnqAHTg-ZopDDm4E8RY8rcOvCbTzW90YyzJsn5WTprQlS7QteUTkw4NYsQR9QAhr8odWQ5CwlBTJkIhFKLPePINpst/s320/DSC_0357.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
in about 36 hours (no worries, he went home to sleep for part of that time!). Wow. What a difference! I'll be honest, the darker countertop took a bit of getting used to. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOauIqnR71XCHOwmKFp2yYz0e0IyISYrRZbP1sMRAVuIERoZhaKvM_kED3A9AlT65TjaXSWnEgYio4k15XQGpXxu9FXAEnnO_-W7Ji_84IzeSuOrVQJHUMktArsBe52PviEmJy/s1600/DSC_0361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOauIqnR71XCHOwmKFp2yYz0e0IyISYrRZbP1sMRAVuIERoZhaKvM_kED3A9AlT65TjaXSWnEgYio4k15XQGpXxu9FXAEnnO_-W7Ji_84IzeSuOrVQJHUMktArsBe52PviEmJy/s320/DSC_0361.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> But the sink, faucet, and filtered water dispenser had me at hello :)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOhOiNOC4LqcKm7lMzvqpXEtW2wMqGirJ20gJJjFT92Cu_zCLIhAqnzvubodhNEZ5437RoHoxADjxqUH0A18m_cvV69obn-DBmfJAQtyW6aqA77MOAKbg8FojoBjjeFXKb4ru/s1600/DSC_0356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOhOiNOC4LqcKm7lMzvqpXEtW2wMqGirJ20gJJjFT92Cu_zCLIhAqnzvubodhNEZ5437RoHoxADjxqUH0A18m_cvV69obn-DBmfJAQtyW6aqA77MOAKbg8FojoBjjeFXKb4ru/s320/DSC_0356.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> In all it's completed glory:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutJ6xDCDNPPlRwx_iQWFMMum4eoYDVBqeGJ49jhTc7PafetZmVmNJD9eciJBjSEFfJQhRKtTHIPGsWaCQtiz0SG4yAgCEhZzyswt0rZpkpSqLjFE09DRlXtg9iliXFGVFiV_U/s1600/DSC_0354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutJ6xDCDNPPlRwx_iQWFMMum4eoYDVBqeGJ49jhTc7PafetZmVmNJD9eciJBjSEFfJQhRKtTHIPGsWaCQtiz0SG4yAgCEhZzyswt0rZpkpSqLjFE09DRlXtg9iliXFGVFiV_U/s320/DSC_0354.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJKWo0ANxyoD-8itvJUgaV6pOh-OXw_CuKQg-WsubvzSkpyZ8b2EsMGEsLy5NesVwCyV5UEQ4AagpSlULLCHB9Yi5yTZ-q5a6zay2riE6um_Yu06H4coBp24YCyzIy582_lfu/s1600/DSC_0355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJKWo0ANxyoD-8itvJUgaV6pOh-OXw_CuKQg-WsubvzSkpyZ8b2EsMGEsLy5NesVwCyV5UEQ4AagpSlULLCHB9Yi5yTZ-q5a6zay2riE6um_Yu06H4coBp24YCyzIy582_lfu/s320/DSC_0355.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
FINISHING the kitchen project... Soli Deo Gloria.Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-55839042994567770302011-05-11T19:20:00.002-04:002011-05-15T00:09:24.993-04:00Christmas in May!So much for being "back" to blogging. Oops. All kinds of posts in the works, but the long and short of it is that now that pre-baby prep is essentially finished, perhaps I can use some of my "down time" before his arrival to update this. No promises, since you see how well I did with that last time :)<br />
<br />
Anyway, no time like the present, and what's a post without pictures? After using my 10% off Amazon registry completion coupon, this is what I came home to today:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_l1U6EK8mOXceNckg43Mt1X7yRWR0hncVikuENVLebL1QhxzuVIzrVTarPNWawG3IstQklQWu2Syp0rxHe5GkCzYdcPi7lu-jvtGUc1i3CM0Ky5xKyIN-NY-kuL16DbcvqIX/s1600/DSC_0339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_l1U6EK8mOXceNckg43Mt1X7yRWR0hncVikuENVLebL1QhxzuVIzrVTarPNWawG3IstQklQWu2Syp0rxHe5GkCzYdcPi7lu-jvtGUc1i3CM0Ky5xKyIN-NY-kuL16DbcvqIX/s320/DSC_0339.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGjAGha250N7GnhzpGigbDU_YCeqKcQqgMLitJU6ZCbkQuFoJp_malCFYqxPUHZOVJ3NuKYQYHJ27rKtI6kG9aRmvnNIlzox1rbxhx7tL6xwPYuPDGSjFGaE6M4luJYohz0UR/s1600/DSC_0340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGjAGha250N7GnhzpGigbDU_YCeqKcQqgMLitJU6ZCbkQuFoJp_malCFYqxPUHZOVJ3NuKYQYHJ27rKtI6kG9aRmvnNIlzox1rbxhx7tL6xwPYuPDGSjFGaE6M4luJYohz0UR/s320/DSC_0340.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>Felt like just a little bit of Christmas, I tell you! Of course, I already knew what was in all these boxes, but still fun none-the-less. What was in them, you ask? I certainly wouldn't be so rude as to keep that a secret. Here you go:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6DItsUrvZaAEMfHL_cgTIc0TO2q1zuJ8ngikVrxRJSj4QH_DxaTWE4xsQxhza6mT5iTojMujPoukaRRoyfdtkFEX2lIqvXcg4qQY4UjXNXx_FWQdhskBYwebnjC77dHSaUSE/s1600/DSC_0341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6DItsUrvZaAEMfHL_cgTIc0TO2q1zuJ8ngikVrxRJSj4QH_DxaTWE4xsQxhza6mT5iTojMujPoukaRRoyfdtkFEX2lIqvXcg4qQY4UjXNXx_FWQdhskBYwebnjC77dHSaUSE/s320/DSC_0341.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What you see there is a Graco Travel Lite Stages playpen in Nottingham (to be used as bassinet & pack 'n play), some Seventh Generation wipes, a crib bedding set, some unbleached cotton cloth diapers, 2 Kissaluv's diaper pail liners and a pair of Lily Padz. Oh yeah, and an under-the-sink water filter. See - isn't that kinda like Christmas? I mean, if you have a baby on the way it is.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Shopping for baby... Soli Deo Gloria. </div>Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-31101644217162250252011-04-23T20:00:00.007-04:002011-05-19T20:35:55.983-04:00The Kitchen - part 2What I failed to mention at the end of the last post is that, when we decided to not renovate the whole kitchen, my hubby agreed to getting a new dishwasher. Ours still technically worked, but it was icky-looking on the inside and it gave me the heeby-jeebies to think about washing baby bottles in it. So at the end of my peaceful sleeping week, we were in Lowe's starting the dishwasher investigation, and Isaac stumbles across some clearance cabinets. Can't say I ever even knew they sold pre-made cabinets at home improvement stores. Next thing I knew, these puppies were sitting in our kitchen:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcrHH6zvBjCIfIK3TNQPRMdGvNPp6y18O46Zp6cUWG6oadYMZ9Gu_lwjqy75WPtc6yWL1at8oPLKLV2Yjbrb_sk0-AYOmG21BNe3F8rzSFXTnvTM1QiDU9YR982feNie3TG1n/s1600/DSC_0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcrHH6zvBjCIfIK3TNQPRMdGvNPp6y18O46Zp6cUWG6oadYMZ9Gu_lwjqy75WPtc6yWL1at8oPLKLV2Yjbrb_sk0-AYOmG21BNe3F8rzSFXTnvTM1QiDU9YR982feNie3TG1n/s320/DSC_0003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>At $4 each, they had our "renovation" plans started back up, and at a whole different level. Wow. So much for sleeping well! Had to bring the "design team" back in, evaluate whether it would look tacky to add new cabinets on top of our existing ones, how we'd get them to match (i.e. whether we felt comfortable painting them or not), and determine whether neighbor/cabinet guy would be interested in the project and at what price. In addition to the significant savings on cabinetry, another benefit to this option is that we would not be forced to replace the countertop at the same time. We could split the cost by doing the countertop in a few months/years/decades. We eventually decided to move forward, and by mid-April, our kitchen looked like this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkzqrrZ_Q4Hfxh86oMoOeF45EOnDvYKi7Dx8XzNGnUY4_UKmwKFXQtfMyJBm9QHFAdbcbyROtyccTE8wcB4ag3yWUdXRZ6zh8Zjd5p3ri4XKWjAHiDdH28JM2M49dwGA2urRXd/s1600/DSC_0206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkzqrrZ_Q4Hfxh86oMoOeF45EOnDvYKi7Dx8XzNGnUY4_UKmwKFXQtfMyJBm9QHFAdbcbyROtyccTE8wcB4ag3yWUdXRZ6zh8Zjd5p3ri4XKWjAHiDdH28JM2M49dwGA2urRXd/s320/DSC_0206.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>We saved so much that we were even able to add fun features like the shelves to the left of the sink, and the roll-out shelves to the right of the fridge! Now... how to make them look like one unit, rather than a hodge-podge of miscellany?<br />
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Mom and I were in a paint store preparing to paint nursery furniture (post forth-coming), and "happened" to overhear a lady ordering paint for her kitchen cabinets. Always on the ball, my Mom starting asking her questions, and turns out she was an interior designer and had a cabinet painter that she regularly recommended to her clients, who was also getting ready to have him paint her own cabinets! Wow. Again. We snagged his number and called him on the way back home.<br />
<br />
His price was very reasonable, and after painting (or assisting with) the nursery furniture, I was ready to never see another paint brush again, so we signed him up. We had picked a paint color back in phase 1, so that was easy-peasy at this point. Just a few days later, our kitchen looked like this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDlXvAYvWTVrFFhC1Z4ZLiVJAUcKfDr48jBWE_t3lpF_0frSgM5Pvuhg7tgOxcrl0sfbgKaMzBfmS0buESL02tLLmQNVAo1Pa3oNrD7aubQnar53CXf0i-R36_ogikIeNznpg/s1600/DSC_0266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDlXvAYvWTVrFFhC1Z4ZLiVJAUcKfDr48jBWE_t3lpF_0frSgM5Pvuhg7tgOxcrl0sfbgKaMzBfmS0buESL02tLLmQNVAo1Pa3oNrD7aubQnar53CXf0i-R36_ogikIeNznpg/s320/DSC_0266.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Crazy! We went out of town for the weekend to avoid the fumes from oil-based paint, and then came back to hang the doors. By Easter, we had this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyWbndrTy0ypsXYwXpFqfjY37xDf56MAOQdFRbNeHa2pyN8_owTvTDIiakxxnBhnkuZEtqMrlNch-r6-LBlwYGJDwGmc2cQA5j2XFo710bKYoellHeaLk1LN2iQxnIOCCzxgdS/s1600/DSC_0289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyWbndrTy0ypsXYwXpFqfjY37xDf56MAOQdFRbNeHa2pyN8_owTvTDIiakxxnBhnkuZEtqMrlNch-r6-LBlwYGJDwGmc2cQA5j2XFo710bKYoellHeaLk1LN2iQxnIOCCzxgdS/s320/DSC_0289.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>And just in case you forgot where we started:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ8ltW4I2m44Z_7GCZo7rzbniQwxQnfKRmIJJKk9ieLhsI0KffxTy9oWnAk33AWBbHL5n19StKceMAlXBPucId1xbdkkfCzcPnt_LlJEcPWbhvCX7ZYUD_AS0YwbUiLJql6UmP/s1600/DSC_0200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ8ltW4I2m44Z_7GCZo7rzbniQwxQnfKRmIJJKk9ieLhsI0KffxTy9oWnAk33AWBbHL5n19StKceMAlXBPucId1xbdkkfCzcPnt_LlJEcPWbhvCX7ZYUD_AS0YwbUiLJql6UmP/s320/DSC_0200.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Beautiful. Lovely. Wonderfully spacious and practical. Fresh and clean. Not orangey. Oh, so many ways to describe our "new" kitchen. (P.S. Did you note the new dishwasher from picture 3 to 4? My hubby still let me follow through on that one. We haven't done a great job of capturing photos of that, but maybe one of these days.) Essentially, I was in love, content, and not broke. And there was even time to spare before Baby's arrival! Life was good.<br />
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Going green (really)... Soli Deo Gloria.Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-11062320640547779262011-03-10T19:15:00.011-05:002011-05-19T19:55:44.141-04:00The Kitchen - part 1Get ready... this may be a long post (I mean, it's already long overdue, so why not just make it long as well, right?). Scratch that - I'm going to write it in phases, pre-dating it so you can see a basic timeline. Feel free to read it all, or just look at the pretty pictures :)<br />
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For Christmas this year, Isaac gave me a card that said we were going to renovate the kitchen. As that's something we've been talking about since we moved in but never felt like spending the money on, that was awesome and exciting! If it didn't happen now, one could safely assume it would "never" happen after Baby's arrival, so no time like the present. This is what we were starting with:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqK5sw0JPm6ajXHh7qtrprGUWYQdOHJngZstKUq0y5cDewGyqZPgEaHslacI8UBzPMrO8wEmRy5RvYCpwhEdJR0HkZdANFZF0xgMT3xM644sYnqY52SAXgbPZBjD6yf7O89YND/s1600/before1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqK5sw0JPm6ajXHh7qtrprGUWYQdOHJngZstKUq0y5cDewGyqZPgEaHslacI8UBzPMrO8wEmRy5RvYCpwhEdJR0HkZdANFZF0xgMT3xM644sYnqY52SAXgbPZBjD6yf7O89YND/s320/before1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9Lw1RQVIxZ6vA-BeQJD1Aka6j5_AjftvBQh-Z-l6rQTcOe4lSywRHtkCWqJoUCpmKuzXd4exK5BGEEYR8DAT3QcpPnn6pQNE17H_eOACVRP5ds6vuyJdBGrEONDDA-3Jdkrc/s1600/before2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9Lw1RQVIxZ6vA-BeQJD1Aka6j5_AjftvBQh-Z-l6rQTcOe4lSywRHtkCWqJoUCpmKuzXd4exK5BGEEYR8DAT3QcpPnn6pQNE17H_eOACVRP5ds6vuyJdBGrEONDDA-3Jdkrc/s320/before2.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FsJIOkopXvAh_-UXvX9wZNCRLB1fwpHgjglv2ds5auATVuD_rKQ02Ska8MmDhwUFdfm9_PbuI4J1Efsyp-TWpcTqMwldiNlhg4ECK1bY9SvqGqcvIaE37BEDOwkv_ogFLFdx/s1600/before3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FsJIOkopXvAh_-UXvX9wZNCRLB1fwpHgjglv2ds5auATVuD_rKQ02Ska8MmDhwUFdfm9_PbuI4J1Efsyp-TWpcTqMwldiNlhg4ECK1bY9SvqGqcvIaE37BEDOwkv_ogFLFdx/s320/before3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
My pet peeves were the orangy tone of the cabinets, and the essentially unusable (and poorly decorated) space above the cabinetry. My husband's was the white laminate.<br />
<br />
We had two contractors come to give us estimates, and essentially we discovered that our "budgets" were quite different... oopsies :) Lesson #1... at least minimally discuss budget with spouse BEFORE starting to get estimates. Then we found a neighbor who goes to our church who does custom cabinetry. Turns out, his price was in the same ballpark as the other folks, though of course it required us to track down our own countertop installer. And thus came our tour of granite shops. As it would be, we have expensive taste in granite. Who knew? <br />
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The whole thing snowballed into chaos - in an effort to find some clarity, we had several design-savvy friends (including my <a href="http://rileysittema.blogspot.com/">sister-in-law</a>) and a realtor friend come to give us ideas. Of course, that just led to more confusion, as they all had wonderful - but very different - suggestions.<br />
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In the midst of all this, and with Isaac spending 3-4 nights out of town with work for several weeks in a row, our fridge broke. Appliances were never part of the original plan, so that threw us for a loop. Praise the Lord, we found a 1-yr-old but unused fridge on Craigslist for essentially half-price. My "blog-friend" Kim had recently <a href="http://inashoe.com/2011/01/my-new-fridge/">purchased a new fridge</a>, and thus had done all the hard work for me, and the fridge on Craigslist met all the requirements. Wow. Total God thing. So with the help of some cousin-muscle, we brought this puppy home one Saturday in February:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCzz0OAGVHBO_VKWrdPZDbJ-rXEqzmm9NDGSvXVuGJ1vz5ZBteRqj2Hlrtw7TILfW6XsNoEgF2WsaqtmaEGJtV3OQmIcZDougSahV8JzcbD-tbQx7SyxjC09zVRFro4MPKsI-V/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCzz0OAGVHBO_VKWrdPZDbJ-rXEqzmm9NDGSvXVuGJ1vz5ZBteRqj2Hlrtw7TILfW6XsNoEgF2WsaqtmaEGJtV3OQmIcZDougSahV8JzcbD-tbQx7SyxjC09zVRFro4MPKsI-V/s320/DSC_0012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5OmkhlsgLBxu_zFitd7iby9L5W3LbB0dwbKvD4Hg8pyAsPnWwxJaczx6OI7NSd5-2YGVTmMazW0TCwqP3C0RwoLEUi_pjy_htdeSx4kW7JGsqB2PVuaTCNbW8v9HLY9mCas75/s1600/DSC_0010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5OmkhlsgLBxu_zFitd7iby9L5W3LbB0dwbKvD4Hg8pyAsPnWwxJaczx6OI7NSd5-2YGVTmMazW0TCwqP3C0RwoLEUi_pjy_htdeSx4kW7JGsqB2PVuaTCNbW8v9HLY9mCas75/s320/DSC_0010.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>Tax refund unexpectedly put to wonderful use :) We continued to mull, plan and investigate, all the while realizing that most projects would take 6-10 weeks (order or build cabinets, install, cut granite, install, etc) and that we were running out of time if we didn't want a half-completed kitchen when we headed off to the hospital for delivery. Add in some potential job changes which essentially served to remind us that we have no idea exactly how long we'll be in this house, and we finally came to the conclusion that the project was not meant to be at this time. We could have our dream kitchen for way too much money, or we could have a half-baked partial upgrade for more than we wanted to spend for something only half-baked. The Lord gave us peace, and I slept beautifully for a whole week!<br />
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Putting projects on hold... Soli Deo Gloria.Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-46858156979346619642010-12-09T13:27:00.000-05:002010-12-09T13:27:44.211-05:00Baby, I'm back!Anyone who actually reads this may have noticed a suspicious absence in new posts lately. Not that I've ever posted very regularly, but I generally try to post more than 1x/quarter! I'm going to "blame" my lack of posts on this little punk:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfkd2lwIjzAt_zzXDhzYjZipNSCSMEsEq7B8y69gCFcMHGWT5N_snk1Q6wbTP-kzeQCc9LfYmi0rcPHFS7y6CTs46bSV2D6uybza74rOPVgBd4o8MaB1PomiQ46uBLFlszhnez/s1600/12+weeks+-+no+name.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfkd2lwIjzAt_zzXDhzYjZipNSCSMEsEq7B8y69gCFcMHGWT5N_snk1Q6wbTP-kzeQCc9LfYmi0rcPHFS7y6CTs46bSV2D6uybza74rOPVgBd4o8MaB1PomiQ46uBLFlszhnez/s400/12+weeks+-+no+name.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Yeah! I'm at 16 weeks along today, and can't wait to meet this little guy/gal in late May! In the meantime, while I can't truly complain about nausea, I definitely had a few months there when I wasn't feeling so hot, definitely didn't have much of an appetite, and was hardly cooking or grocery shopping. So... no posts about good <s>steals </s>deals. Cancelled a few <a href="http://theabsoluteorganics.com/">Absolute Organics</a> deliveries, so no post about that. In fact, pretty much all I did when I got home from work was lay around on the couch and maybe throw in a load of laundry - so no posting about anything else either, since I didn't figure that my couch or belated laundry would interest even the most bored among you. And when I did start to feel better, we weren't quite ready to "go public" with this great news, and everything else felt too inane to post about, with this shocker at the forefront of my life!<br />
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Other than growing a baby, cooking a bit less, and sleeping a bit more, the rest of life is about the same. I continue to love my job, my husband, my house, my church and my friends (in no particular order). Hopefully Baby will let me cook, shop and blog a bit more now, so until next time...<br />
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Incubating an infant... Soli Deo Gloria.Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-76807969041773272662010-09-09T17:24:00.000-04:002010-09-09T17:24:07.232-04:00AO Price Check-UpIt's been a while since I've posted about my <a href="http://www.theabsoluteorganics.com/">Absolute Organics</a> deliveries, but have no fear - I still get them! Don't know what I'd do without them. Well, not completely correct... I DO know what I'd do without them, but it wouldn't be pretty (i.e. wouldn't eat nearly enough fruits & veggies).<br />
Anyway, no picture today (my kitchen is a bit of a mess), but I weighed and price-checked my goodies and have a list to share with you.<br />
<ul><li>2+ lbs plums = $5.75*</li>
<li>approx. 1 lb carrots = $1.49</li>
<li>1 dry pint cherry tomatoes = $4.64*</li>
<li>1 lb red onions = $1.99*</li>
<li>1/2 lb spinach = $5.58</li>
<li>1 small head Romaine lettuce = $2.99</li>
<li>4 lbs 6 oz Fuji apples = $12.20</li>
</ul>All prices are listed from my local Harris Teeter's website, and a * indicates that they don't seem to offer it organically, so the price is for non-organic. If my calculator adds correctly, that adds up to $34.64 - and mine was ALL organic and delivered straight to my door. Ummhmm. You know you want some. Go ahead, just call/email Vonda and she'll be happy to get you set up (if you live in her delivery area... sorry for those that don't!). Tell her you've got a brochure that says $10 off your first order (I'll give it to you next time I see you) and be sure to tell her that I sent you, too. I would love the free box of yumminess she'd send my way, just for you trying them out :)<br />
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Eating organic produce... Soli Deo GloriaJustinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-5757661401932183652010-08-31T23:16:00.000-04:002010-08-31T23:16:03.607-04:00Bi-Lo Clean SweepI most definitely should be in bed by now, but I'm practically too excited to sleep... which says something about me, I guess.<br />
<br />
Anyway, a while back (think a year-ish) Bi-Lo sent me several flyers with coupons for free grocery items. Each flyer would have 8 total coupons - 4 coupons for free food (usually for related items), and 4 for $8 off a $50 total purchase - and they'd each be good for a different week. Somewhere along the line (I think when a flyer arrived after one had already expired) I found out that they take them expired - no matter how late. So, I've saved most of them up until I had a need for the particular item. Many of the items I haven't yet had a need for (or, at least not when Bi-Lo was on the list for that week, or I remembered about the coupon, or whatever).<br />
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This afternoon I went to Bi-Lo for the first time in probably several months to grab a few good deals (primarily Organic Peaches for $1.79/lb). I wasn't getting much, so I almost didn't go, but with my hubby traveling, I've got plenty of free time and I went. While standing in line with my 3 items, I saw a sign that said "As of Sept. 1 we will only except Bi-Lo coupons that are less than 30 days expired." As it turns out, Sept. 1 is tomorrow - and all those freebie coupons are waaaay more than 30 days past due.<br />
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You can imagine where this is going, right? I headed home, grabbed the coupons, went to Back-to-School night for a few hours, and then back to Bi-Lo - at 9:30 at night. I grabbed all the free stuff, and a few extra items so I could hit the $50 and get $8 off (essentially scoring $8 more of free food - mostly organic stuff that I would hesitate to buy because of the price), and headed to the (oops!) only open register. My list:<br />
<ul><li>2 bags of Pirate's Bounty puffs</li>
<li>2 pouches of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice</li>
<li>1 loaf of Nature's Own Premium Specialty Multi-Grain bread</li>
<li>1 box of Strawberry Cereal Bars</li>
<li>1 8-ct bag of hamburger buns</li>
<li>12-ct brown-and-serve rolls</li>
<li>1 10-ct box of instant oatmeal</li>
<li>1 bottle of ketchup</li>
<li>50-ct heavy duty paper plates</li>
<li>1 8-oz bag of shredded cheese</li>
<li>1 lb of butter</li>
<li>4 yogurt cups</li>
<li>1 frozen pizza</li>
<li>1.5 qt Blueberry Cheesecake ice cream</li>
<li>1.33 lbs ground beef</li>
<li>4 lbs Earthbound Farm Organic Oranges</li>
<li>16 oz deli potato salad</li>
<li>1 small bag of Earthbound Farm dried mangos</li>
<li>1 small bag of Earthbound Farm dried plums</li>
</ul>Total: $60.13. <br />
I paid: $4.41.<br />
That's an average of 18¢ / item.<br />
I think that means I saved 93%.<br />
See why I couldn't sleep 'til I "shared" this with someone?<br />
I think burgers and ice cream will be on the menu for this weekend when our friends come in town for Labor Day. <br />
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Buying free food... Soli Deo Gloria.Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-6050551457661513222010-08-24T15:56:00.002-04:002010-08-24T15:56:00.383-04:00A wonderful new "trick"Stopped at EarthFare the other night... great store, too far away. BUT - it was right on the way home from our friends' house where we had been for dinner, so I couldn't NOT stop :) Didn't get much, but I had a coupon for a free pound of organic grapes (wonderful, since they're on the so-called <a href="http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214" target="_blank">dirty dozen</a> list), another for a free reusable lunch bag, and a third for $1.50 off some organic chicken. Needless to say, it was a pretty successful trip, savings-wise. <br />
<br />
So what's the trick, you ask? First, a bit of history: I found a recipe a while ago for Pork Chili Colorado since I had gotten some cheap pork (also at EarthFare, if I recall properly). I stuck the pork in the freezer since the recipe is more of a winter stew-type, and will pull it out this Fall when the weather is better for that sort of thing. The recipe, however, calls for 1/2 tsp of Ground Coriander. As it turns out, I don't have that particular spice, nor do I have room in my cabinet for any more spice jars. Not to mention, since I have "survived" without it for the full 3 years of my marriage, I wasn't too keen on spending $5 for a spice that I'm probably never going to use up. Being a "perfectionist" - especially when experimenting with new recipes, I wanted to make the recipe correctly. So, I decided to be modern and offer a trade on Facebook... I buy Basil, Parsley, Cinnamon and Garlic Powder at Costco, so I've got more than enough to trade. I got a few offers, but all the local ones were for Coriander Seed, not the ground kind. Having it mailed by a friend in California was somewhat appealing, until someone posted that EarthFare sells bulk spices - who knew such a concept existed? Sure enough. I came home with this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCF6evOUj-PRjVnlQMzgbfVEhv25mfp5f9a3C7Zrfj2Nv2sS5GbdPG9pXxBxVRemqn_kkqTLyaPriSkIPlFFjMaUm_rYtp-8En5qY_Soe-QZG91dwsLzw9fNbkzZatv9o3W0I4/s1600/DSC01263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCF6evOUj-PRjVnlQMzgbfVEhv25mfp5f9a3C7Zrfj2Nv2sS5GbdPG9pXxBxVRemqn_kkqTLyaPriSkIPlFFjMaUm_rYtp-8En5qY_Soe-QZG91dwsLzw9fNbkzZatv9o3W0I4/s320/DSC01263.JPG" /></a></div>They don't have actual measuring spoons there, but it's close enough to 1/2 tsp to work for me. And it cost 14¢! I will DEFINITELY be keeping that in mind for future spice needs that are not native to my pantry :)<br />
<br />
Buying bulk spices... Soli Deo GloriaJustinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-51636292832184556722010-08-22T17:23:00.006-04:002010-08-22T17:38:35.889-04:00Calendar for My ClassroomThis past week I ordered a personalized calendar for my classroom to give a bit of "cultura" to my students. I used my own pics (and some from Isaac), and then was able to put all the special school dates and student birthdays (just my 13 homeroom students) pre-printed right on the calendar. I started with August so it follows the school year. Here are the pictures that I used.<br />
Front cover:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghz5vzWxQIyvLlh4jWN2kV8Kt5psSMDY2uGWN0akqVBQWqw5pOLjm3amnARVsrUT6KOBerjpvguSjHAwXxxURbk-cBQjXEvEhXjl3jIzk4oTuoQ9IV00zJQBaCPCzoEEI-4SwN/s1600/0-other+fotitos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghz5vzWxQIyvLlh4jWN2kV8Kt5psSMDY2uGWN0akqVBQWqw5pOLjm3amnARVsrUT6KOBerjpvguSjHAwXxxURbk-cBQjXEvEhXjl3jIzk4oTuoQ9IV00zJQBaCPCzoEEI-4SwN/s320/0-other+fotitos.jpg" /></a></div>August:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYE3rOGmszv3RuVbGF3n1QugOR91E9pUopsfCW248R9tPg4eKQ12RQyG4MzV4T-RunokWTmXsQOHannfFQ-hioB56Dit5Aaqfun_75cDKtROr7dmzQ8OX5Jq3-W116-6sooyW-/s1600/1-santiago+bernabeu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYE3rOGmszv3RuVbGF3n1QugOR91E9pUopsfCW248R9tPg4eKQ12RQyG4MzV4T-RunokWTmXsQOHannfFQ-hioB56Dit5Aaqfun_75cDKtROr7dmzQ8OX5Jq3-W116-6sooyW-/s320/1-santiago+bernabeu.jpg" /></a></div>September:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhmLl76T6lXLHLtn-2h5ypsKQmegA9FTHezQnc-FkyVurO6tg4qLEu4Cw_x86eH2-YVghkgZKBLETqpJ7L8NuXL0iULzx6UEEIKpGoOsFZIrPTRQ2fSOyqHCx0TZpa8bbr6L6Y/s1600/2-colegio+Maria+Moliner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhmLl76T6lXLHLtn-2h5ypsKQmegA9FTHezQnc-FkyVurO6tg4qLEu4Cw_x86eH2-YVghkgZKBLETqpJ7L8NuXL0iULzx6UEEIKpGoOsFZIrPTRQ2fSOyqHCx0TZpa8bbr6L6Y/s320/2-colegio+Maria+Moliner.jpg" /></a></div>October:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QG9i6YwSx3pvo2YJ7u0i7x43qHdxC9jlXTorJ7VVex31MZYJBs9gcsSJ2hcJwtRbLWunSaHIK1Dda-Hl5oEy9rYpB_8W_BpyfKhPBbeIhFCcy3PGx4gX-eHap8IXyyUpdnpN/s1600/3-Barcience+Y+Toledo+enero+2006-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QG9i6YwSx3pvo2YJ7u0i7x43qHdxC9jlXTorJ7VVex31MZYJBs9gcsSJ2hcJwtRbLWunSaHIK1Dda-Hl5oEy9rYpB_8W_BpyfKhPBbeIhFCcy3PGx4gX-eHap8IXyyUpdnpN/s320/3-Barcience+Y+Toledo+enero+2006-1.jpg" /></a></div>November:<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCJjgFhcSZFnVFzx2T3DsBNTWyN55a-T-W2zccZeA9ddq_6BaLE8Ght5qQnvcrjtpPOr2N_i80GWaI9CNX9UhNrLyJ5U5bcSl8QuyiXQSROAg7G8P0a-50A_vikC0XccSd6Ht/s1600/4-Segovia+oct+05-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCJjgFhcSZFnVFzx2T3DsBNTWyN55a-T-W2zccZeA9ddq_6BaLE8Ght5qQnvcrjtpPOr2N_i80GWaI9CNX9UhNrLyJ5U5bcSl8QuyiXQSROAg7G8P0a-50A_vikC0XccSd6Ht/s320/4-Segovia+oct+05-1.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">December:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbQ4QiPeEhmiHm2fTWzyHBQJ2Co1jhEuAoeq5EIDoMEOjacfjgCsbMIjQNaBgcZJB5hU0G9b2e7E_wQBms1_mt3mZIQXp9Hhf4s_v3qrCr90FL1FbebHqsTzraxQjkQuD5ssq/s1600/5-cabalgata+de+los+reyes-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbQ4QiPeEhmiHm2fTWzyHBQJ2Co1jhEuAoeq5EIDoMEOjacfjgCsbMIjQNaBgcZJB5hU0G9b2e7E_wQBms1_mt3mZIQXp9Hhf4s_v3qrCr90FL1FbebHqsTzraxQjkQuD5ssq/s320/5-cabalgata+de+los+reyes-1.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">January:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIf29L7ixt5P1VwJwLqzArocxwJTbCOzMUAeZsvxjqaxigUcE7uwydr2bjNPMwHmomjDCLwOZJ4SfxVkUnkn7-uLE-k8KsH7ch4kMWfeEQLYtteq0S7vJyL0Mi0z2FASlW-q2W/s1600/6-Rupit-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIf29L7ixt5P1VwJwLqzArocxwJTbCOzMUAeZsvxjqaxigUcE7uwydr2bjNPMwHmomjDCLwOZJ4SfxVkUnkn7-uLE-k8KsH7ch4kMWfeEQLYtteq0S7vJyL0Mi0z2FASlW-q2W/s320/6-Rupit-2.jpg" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">February:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1FFCSdk1vKxMANAA4ucZBua_de9pngzvgtSchd4JYnQoths7bxpAA3NN_DfjeX2MYVPxLVni0fZbhcaDc7dVEV9FIY2yfRa-TitR6YQwdYh6GBk_vKkfmAB2etxukB-e1lU0-/s1600/7-Spain+Fotos-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1FFCSdk1vKxMANAA4ucZBua_de9pngzvgtSchd4JYnQoths7bxpAA3NN_DfjeX2MYVPxLVni0fZbhcaDc7dVEV9FIY2yfRa-TitR6YQwdYh6GBk_vKkfmAB2etxukB-e1lU0-/s320/7-Spain+Fotos-1.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">March:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVCw77oT4Wm9kV3AMYM8hRIvVt3xbI4sHwZ4lS4YJ0Uz-IrjUDpFQKfVbCfBlaxUPRIvYblK-mvPllglKPwYiIVehlUO4xLf5lOLLn_T5-Dpph43NF9cqOUzmpQEwZAmV_l6yk/s1600/8-Teleferico+y+faro+de+moncloa+-25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVCw77oT4Wm9kV3AMYM8hRIvVt3xbI4sHwZ4lS4YJ0Uz-IrjUDpFQKfVbCfBlaxUPRIvYblK-mvPllglKPwYiIVehlUO4xLf5lOLLn_T5-Dpph43NF9cqOUzmpQEwZAmV_l6yk/s320/8-Teleferico+y+faro+de+moncloa+-25.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">April:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmrpLxP0Ioft7qvO_B6ZbxStIs45x6NYFb25rO47RJnlnreYmXCXX7lEmna-0jFCscQ3HG_3kMyapp1LmVHFnH3ojgOUcvsSZG_5V1NiQlzqwq_5w6L3A6gQvMC_ir_9tMiazN/s1600/9-fotos+puente+diciembre+05-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmrpLxP0Ioft7qvO_B6ZbxStIs45x6NYFb25rO47RJnlnreYmXCXX7lEmna-0jFCscQ3HG_3kMyapp1LmVHFnH3ojgOUcvsSZG_5V1NiQlzqwq_5w6L3A6gQvMC_ir_9tMiazN/s320/9-fotos+puente+diciembre+05-1.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">May:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCa2x0g2Jdxdt1ufsdqVKBKUp3LZlYOjcTK-mvKq64mLaf1dFHa9Pf637QyurQkhB4vAxobDqBGMsIwSrfnhnTq9VzSNFWasbCSQN9H0X8c2-d6udIbbWTgC_t-nwDWgTgVS9s/s1600/10-020505+Sevilla+marta+y+demas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCa2x0g2Jdxdt1ufsdqVKBKUp3LZlYOjcTK-mvKq64mLaf1dFHa9Pf637QyurQkhB4vAxobDqBGMsIwSrfnhnTq9VzSNFWasbCSQN9H0X8c2-d6udIbbWTgC_t-nwDWgTgVS9s/s320/10-020505+Sevilla+marta+y+demas.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">June:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOatk0tIENhNoUnjCHWrkf38IssqwYmFUs5PGPhsV8ZHQjoEzQWx0urhIIsD9ybLr53fXpClhCOPNRyWIHVlEQ4NVdhZwYG8410yBUPRFhHX-ZkP62kSksEIaRFz_l9KF5DpNG/s1600/11-Salamanca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOatk0tIENhNoUnjCHWrkf38IssqwYmFUs5PGPhsV8ZHQjoEzQWx0urhIIsD9ybLr53fXpClhCOPNRyWIHVlEQ4NVdhZwYG8410yBUPRFhHX-ZkP62kSksEIaRFz_l9KF5DpNG/s320/11-Salamanca.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">July:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidXFXMr6NgC0K6cpHDSHJ2hpv4uaVaYiWD8RhDLE_eNn7Md8HcdVUYu7WsdGdsJ364xOdw8R8VipyqYyW-8cPf6rt09GkZxq5U1DnrABPwhmhBXHy7YuKAOmeNyPLerc3t2Pzs/s1600/12-Toledo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidXFXMr6NgC0K6cpHDSHJ2hpv4uaVaYiWD8RhDLE_eNn7Md8HcdVUYu7WsdGdsJ364xOdw8R8VipyqYyW-8cPf6rt09GkZxq5U1DnrABPwhmhBXHy7YuKAOmeNyPLerc3t2Pzs/s320/12-Toledo.jpg" /></a></div>Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-63528509095324599512010-08-22T15:46:00.000-04:002010-08-22T15:46:31.606-04:00What $20 can get youI guess I took the latter part of the summer off of blogging, even though it wasn't exactly intentional. Oops. I've got at least one post in my head, but haven't taken the time to get it out yet... but you still have to wait for that one :) Don't feel too bad, though. Most of what I would've written would probably have involved commentary about the TV show Bones, since I spent a good chunk of my free time this summer watching the first 4 seasons on Netflix. Now I've got to wait until October for season 5 to come out on DVD... argh.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I've also taken some time off from couponing a bit. Between 10 days of vacation (and the preceding days of clearing out the fridge), and then my husband's extensive business travel lately, I haven't been cooking much and thus haven't been shopping much. But with school starting up, I decided to stock up on some lunch snacks - especially when I saw the General Mills promotion on <a href="http://www.southernsavers.com/">Southern Savers</a>. Yes, I probably spent an hour finding the right coupons and trying to determine whether it was worth it or not to run the deal, but I'm totally thrilled that I did! Basically, a bunch of GM products were on sale, and if you bought 20 items, you got $6 off your order instantly. So... grab a bunch of items you've got coupons for, and it works out pretty well. Here's what I ended up with:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQqRpRUVQBNstW4QYMpnl0wmdj7C7E0P7qR02fxFy3w4K1My04t2n3eo2lvoH4qiY0ejLozKiEPa-nQSG6IBn7s_Sq_l3HOheMrfOb2r2Xwe0XIn22wAzavVViGWPcIXU219xq/s1600/DSC01262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQqRpRUVQBNstW4QYMpnl0wmdj7C7E0P7qR02fxFy3w4K1My04t2n3eo2lvoH4qiY0ejLozKiEPa-nQSG6IBn7s_Sq_l3HOheMrfOb2r2Xwe0XIn22wAzavVViGWPcIXU219xq/s320/DSC01262.JPG" /></a></div>Grand total: $20.00 (yeah, even... which is awesome in and of itself), and most of these items have BoxTops on them that give money to the school, which I love. The organic tomato paste was not part of the deal, but in working up the deal I found $0.75 coupons which doubled to $1.50... and since they're only $1.55 and I needed some anyway, I grabbed some nearly-free ORGANIC tomato paste - sweet! I also realize that most of these items are very NON-organic, but there is a convenience factor :) And they were cheap. Let's face it - 7 boxes of cereal, 5 boxes of granola bars, 4 boxes of fruit snacks, 4 4-pks of yogurt, and 2 cans of tomato paste = 22 items for $20. Who could turn that down? I think my receipt said I saved $40+.<br />
<br />
And it gets even better! The granola bars and fruit snacks had special promotions as well... buy 3, 4 or 5 and get coupons for $$ off your next purchase. So the 2-lb bag of frozen shrimp (normally $26) that was on sale for $8.65 ended up costing me a little over $3. See why I had to post? As one blogger I read would say - yeah, I took an hour to organize the coupons... but I saved over $60. That's like getting paid $60/hr :)<br />
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Saving money... Soli Deo GloriaJustinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-55979735004539540612010-06-25T09:36:00.000-04:002010-06-25T09:36:05.311-04:00Birds' Nests... for dinner?We tried something new for dinner last night, and since it was kinda fun, I thought I'd share. I came across this recipe for <a href="http://wholesomemommy.com/potato-zucchini-and-carrot-nests-with-eggs/">Potato, Zucchini, and Carrot 'Nests' with Eggs</a> while reading Denise's blog, Wholesome Mommy (formerly The Centsible Sawyer). I've been reading her blog for over a year probably, and I love the turn she's taken with it lately, focusing a bit less on general coupons/saving and more on eating healthy on a budget... I'm sure subconsciously she's affected my own healthy-eating focus over the last few months as well.<br />
Anyway, she posted this recipe a few days ago, and it's just my style - 6 ingredients! Since I received some zucchini last week from <a href="http://www.theabsoluteorganics.com/">Absolute Organics</a>, I figured now was a great time to try it out. Stopped by the store (on the way to see my cousin <a href="http://mimsies.wordpress.com/">Mimsies</a>, who I'm thrilled to have living nearby now!) to grab some Organic Russet potatoes, and whipped up these bad boys for dinner:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlhLwIuts_LyrtutnQRVEAWAanvoYYNoqvwf5FSD8Gu7Cj76ixvG3mbez4fQ9O34aHIuMiNC1TcPf9DOtbDE2eAoQF36vySnAeVcRpDD8wh327_QcY_iXxtvC0cL3Z0PerFvt/s1600/DSC01210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlhLwIuts_LyrtutnQRVEAWAanvoYYNoqvwf5FSD8Gu7Cj76ixvG3mbez4fQ9O34aHIuMiNC1TcPf9DOtbDE2eAoQF36vySnAeVcRpDD8wh327_QcY_iXxtvC0cL3Z0PerFvt/s320/DSC01210.JPG" /></a></div>We both liked them, and the recipe made just the right amount for the 2 of use for dinner with no side items (though we did try them with a little ketchup, which was also good). I'd only make a few changes to my preparation:<br />
<ol><li>I'd remember to add the salt to the veggies. - Not a big deal, as it can always be added later, but it saves some hassle at the plate if it's already got it.</li>
<li>I'd shred the potatoes immediately before cooking. - Since I cooked them after my <a href="http://www.queencitydancingqueen.com/">Zumba</a> class and didn't want to eat dinner too late, I shredded the veggies ahead of time, but then of course the potatoes took on that beautiful pinky-brown shade that they get when exposed to air so they didn't look as pretty as they could have.</li>
<li>I'd follow her baking time. - Having never baked eggs before, I wasn't sure what they were supposed to look like when they were cooked. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but after 11 mins they didn't look "done" to me, so I left them another 7 or so... and they were quite hard. Still tasty, but hard.</li>
<li>I'd probably make 5 nests instead of 4, and use 6 or 7 eggs. One more egg mixed in with the flour and veggies may have helped the "hashbrown" part to stick together more, and a 5th nest would require an extra egg for the center and make them each a little bit smaller and easier to flip.</li>
</ol>So there you have it. Buried vegetables + protein in a creative meal.<br />
<br />
Soli Deo Gloria.Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-12603938709872032292010-06-20T18:39:00.000-04:002010-06-20T18:39:36.595-04:00SplurgeI don't spend money often. However, Kohl's had some good sales this weekend (for Father's Day, I guess), and with a 20% off coupon that they emailed me, I decided to go see what I could find. Since I wasn't looking for anything in particular, I found plenty of things :) So I splurged a bit and bought some fun little decorations for the house. Want to see? I knew you would! Here you go:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqO-znzyvSoes0v9NW5JgvyVLhsS1ntEbqqPb91wFac-QAiL5AMBTGsf9mvZxU7dtfQxBZRFtZWrv7f82EPmYyQm8Wq29pt-QBpJr9ODLecIv3XGoxKeOsqmswgshb_5QS4yI6/s1600/DSC_0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqO-znzyvSoes0v9NW5JgvyVLhsS1ntEbqqPb91wFac-QAiL5AMBTGsf9mvZxU7dtfQxBZRFtZWrv7f82EPmYyQm8Wq29pt-QBpJr9ODLecIv3XGoxKeOsqmswgshb_5QS4yI6/s320/DSC_0006.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A new shirt</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMyikDinTXiAeZSc3L_sYuIIXLKxf08UaHkdbLkc4TxB2a3SyaFzosoACgx8r2HThMqx6-RdOnP3lWc53U6r_iwDk7uRK8XfcoODGCO-Y5KkzyKwOw0Htz085m6QY0uFw4MkN/s1600/DSC_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMyikDinTXiAeZSc3L_sYuIIXLKxf08UaHkdbLkc4TxB2a3SyaFzosoACgx8r2HThMqx6-RdOnP3lWc53U6r_iwDk7uRK8XfcoODGCO-Y5KkzyKwOw0Htz085m6QY0uFw4MkN/s320/DSC_0009.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A little decoration and reminder for the entryway</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODTxKe5ZRXgEU9J8fwLOfsU_uxwanMIc31bXUo3V07s3Qqie3Ct_-87V_1GwTKdQo8w1Ac2RYSidxuc2zzePJWbcD9U_82yVuU4J2YRmJss1sFwdYpUEP_Rk6RRDcvTGYxwU3/s1600/DSC_0011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODTxKe5ZRXgEU9J8fwLOfsU_uxwanMIc31bXUo3V07s3Qqie3Ct_-87V_1GwTKdQo8w1Ac2RYSidxuc2zzePJWbcD9U_82yVuU4J2YRmJss1sFwdYpUEP_Rk6RRDcvTGYxwU3/s320/DSC_0011.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A new decorative pillow for the guest bedroom:</div><div style="text-align: center;">Life takes us to unexpected places, love brings us home.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIcmQVfYDt-NR6aiJXeZJ_OoZExvpCV39zf0UV6pb84e-QYZ0WfM2Ob80zrJ74wuPW5b-Cnx3CHKSfcNqBbTF7kWMM5efgrMbpav9ZyS6RSqZ7C3vgNZ-qyTbwi6d4MfUsIRh/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIcmQVfYDt-NR6aiJXeZJ_OoZExvpCV39zf0UV6pb84e-QYZ0WfM2Ob80zrJ74wuPW5b-Cnx3CHKSfcNqBbTF7kWMM5efgrMbpav9ZyS6RSqZ7C3vgNZ-qyTbwi6d4MfUsIRh/s320/DSC_0012.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A reversible (and clean!) rug for the guest bathroom</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRg5XY7mYTI8m1G12mZOeV8IW0XIuu-C_RQWHDaSImUZZ4dHogugmfSf_9xrdwiTLRjgSHGvLknELePjNTbBzQQ13n29fI97wEpT9G1rYqd-4P9BPfdWU_AswugYN7u0b50yrI/s1600/DSC_0019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRg5XY7mYTI8m1G12mZOeV8IW0XIuu-C_RQWHDaSImUZZ4dHogugmfSf_9xrdwiTLRjgSHGvLknELePjNTbBzQQ13n29fI97wEpT9G1rYqd-4P9BPfdWU_AswugYN7u0b50yrI/s320/DSC_0019.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A frame: Live, Laugh, Love... the most important things in life aren't things</div><div style="text-align: center;">Now I just have to replace the beautiful models in the photos with my own beautiful family and friends!</div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm not the best at decorating - I truly don't mind blank walls - but I have to say that in the 24 hours or so that these things have been around, I'm enjoying them so far :) I guess a splurge from time to time is okay, right?</div><div style="text-align: left;">Soli Deo Gloria</div>Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-73801813782971650362010-06-16T20:43:00.001-04:002010-06-16T20:45:35.781-04:00Pizza Party!Since I love my sister-in-law and want to be <a href="http://rileysittema.blogspot.com/2010/06/day-late-and-dollar-short.html">just like her</a>, I'm posting this a few days late, and a few pictures short. My hubby and I had the privilege last Friday night of hosting a DiGiorno House Party. If you've never heard of <a href="http://houseparty.com/">HouseParty.com</a>, you're not alone - I just found out a few months ago. Basically, it's a marketing gig. Companies sponsor parties - Individuals apply to host parties - Companies mail cool stuff to the Individuals they select - Individuals host parties to show off the product - Everyone is happy.<br />
I received a party pack that included:<br />
<ul><li>6 coupons for FREE DiGiorno pizzas</li>
<li>15 guest coupons for $4 off a DiGiorno pizza</li>
<li>a pizza cutter</li>
<li>a chip clip</li>
<li>some World Cup country flag bandanas</li>
<li>some blow-up "bam-bams" (you know, those silly things people wave around at sports games)</li>
<li>some soccer-themed whistles</li>
<li>DiGiorno paper plates/napkins</li>
</ul>Since the party was to be held on the 1st day of the World Cup, clearly the host pack was soccer-themed. Unfortunately, they failed to take into consideration that the games were at 10 am and 2:30 pm - not quite party time on a Friday! Oh well... so we didn't watch a game. We still had plenty of fun! We had a great group of our friends show up, so pretty much everyone knew someone but still got to meet lots of new people. And we were a diverse group! We represented at least 8 countries: Spain, Peru, China, Ecuador, Mexico, Costa Rica, New Jersey, and the good ol' USA - haha :)<br />
We ate 9 pizzas (good thing most of them were free!), a bunch of chips & salsa/guac/spinach dip, and some ice cream. It was the 1st time I'd ever tried DiGiorno pizza, and I really liked it - but my favorite part was definitely having 20+ of my favorite people around, hopefully enjoying themselves and getting to know each other better. For those of you who couldn't make it... we missed you! Maybe HouseParty will give me another excuse to host in the upcoming months - I'd do it again in a heartbeat!<br />
I'll leave you with the one pic I remembered to take - BEFORE everyone showed up. Oops!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh762GpQI0jX-YlUDJy-kuBSiTVaNvYQjdFmO0w9pkW0OGHrfKR2zu5kolvo01rRgkqRyyctukUtaKmxpcSEPLvxDLghxpxvMtpZNAXeGuP9ODp_bwjveYu7GElN5V5T9rS7yWS/s1600/DSC01196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh762GpQI0jX-YlUDJy-kuBSiTVaNvYQjdFmO0w9pkW0OGHrfKR2zu5kolvo01rRgkqRyyctukUtaKmxpcSEPLvxDLghxpxvMtpZNAXeGuP9ODp_bwjveYu7GElN5V5T9rS7yWS/s200/DSC01196.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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Soli Deo Gloria...Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-64204163864028876792010-06-08T14:10:00.000-04:002010-06-08T14:10:45.712-04:00Mmm... lunch!Yeah for school being out! I finished up on Friday, had a fairly relaxing weekend, and am (of course) loving being out for the summer so far this week. Thankfully, I have been able to be rather productive so far - I even had the fleeting thought that I wasn't sure what I would do with the rest of the summer, since I'll probably finish everything on my list by tomorrow. <br />
HAHAHAHA. And then I remembered all the non-urgent stuff that I haven't done for the past X months that really should get done. I might need a few extra months of vacation to finish it all.<br />
Anyway, since I can, I thought I'd share my fun, non-lunchbox lunch that I just enjoyed. Really, it could work in a lunchbox, which almost makes it better. I started with <a href="http://www.naturesownbread.com/NAT_Recipes/Recipe.cfm?RecipeID=109">this</a> recipe for Creamy Apple & Carrot Roll-Ups that I stumbled across this morning. 5 ingredients - I can handle that! And I had them all on hand (organic apple and carrot thanks to <a href="http://www.theabsoluteorganics.com/">Absolute Organics</a>, of course). Don't tell Nature's Own, but I used tortillas that I had on hand instead of their bread. Even though it says "serves 4," I honestly figured I would end up eating it all... 'cuz that's how I roll. But alas! It was more filling than I thought. I used the big tortillas, so it made 2 and I've got 1 leftover for tomorrow. I ate the extra 1/2 carrot by itself, and the extra 1/2 apple I dipped in Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter that I got from EarthFare a few weeks ago. Yummy! Top it off with a <a href="http://www.pacificfoods.com/our-foods/simply-teas/simply-tea-wild-berry">Wild Berry Simply Tea</a> that I got for free with a coupon at EF (with a little sugar, since tea is too bitter for my tastes) and I'm a happy girl.<br />
Hope your lunch was as good as mine! I'm off to be productive again.<br />
<br />
Soli Deo Gloria...Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-22159524956791487192010-06-02T17:25:00.000-04:002010-06-02T17:25:38.174-04:00Look what the mailman dragged inI've always upheld that getting mail is fun. Granted, bills a little less so. And junk mail not so much either, but I don't get tons of either of those items... so getting mail is still fun. Especially on days like today.<br />
<br />
<ul><li>$10 off ANY purchase @ Kohl's</li>
<li>new black ink for my printer</li>
<li>a reusable grocery bag from Earthbound Farm</li>
<li>Earthbound Farm organic produce coupons</li>
<li>an aluminum Sigg water bottle </li>
<li>Avatar</li>
</ul><div>I paid for the ink (though not much, since I used Staples Rewards "money" that I got from recycling old ink cartridges). And technically I paid for Avatar, since we pay $10/month for Netflix. But everything else was free! The water bottle I won from a giveaway @ <a href="http://www.mummydeals.org/">MummyDeals</a>, the grocery bag and coupons I signed up for online during Earth week in April, and the Kohl's coupon was a straight-up surprise! I see $10 worth of free clothes off the clearance rack coming my way in the next few weeks!</div><div>Don't believe me? See here:</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGvH0CGnO8oEmuciHqUpo6MxrBrcz0dFlLkepEa-daqyUu66jlM5Lj2Ppk-8O8YQN1BtK1u8YF3IAcGZk-Mp-yGx7Jccwm5WbTi29SGGRDx0Yl9FwccmUvmhJaGSeSJWB8kxf/s1600/DSC01181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGvH0CGnO8oEmuciHqUpo6MxrBrcz0dFlLkepEa-daqyUu66jlM5Lj2Ppk-8O8YQN1BtK1u8YF3IAcGZk-Mp-yGx7Jccwm5WbTi29SGGRDx0Yl9FwccmUvmhJaGSeSJWB8kxf/s320/DSC01181.JPG" /></a></div>Soli Deo Gloria</div>Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-47225928367813338102010-05-20T18:05:00.000-04:002010-05-20T18:05:18.689-04:007th Abs. Org. DeliveryLife has been a little hectic lately (parents' move, end-of-school-year chaos), so forgive me for not posting about my last produce delivery. I'm excited about today's, and I've got some numbers for you - yeah for numbers!<br />
Since my last delivery, I turned another year older (remember the <a href="http://ninyadelrey.blogspot.com/2010/05/happy-birthday-to-me.html">deep freeze</a>?), and my parents were kind enough to gift me this <a href="http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=120840">Salter Digital Kitchen Scale</a>. My Mom never used a kitchen scale while I was growing up, but in the last several months I've felt like it would be handy to have. A friend said she loved her Salter, so I asked specifically for that one. I've used it several times (to weigh potatoes in this <a href="http://vegetarian-recipes.suite101.com/article.cfm/vegetarian_shepherds_pie_recipe">Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie</a> recipe, for example) and am very happy so far. Necessary? Of course not. Fun? Absolutely!<br />
Today I put it to good use and weighed my <a href="http://www.theabsoluteorganics.com/">Absolute Organics</a> produce. Here are the results:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>1 large and 2 small broccoli crowns (1 lb 9 oz)</li>
<li>1 lb 8 ozs bananas (4 ct)</li>
<li>1 head of lettuce</li>
<li>1 lb strawberries</li>
<li>7.75 oz white mushrooms</li>
<li>2.75 lbs apples</li>
<li>1 avocado</li>
<li>2 green bell peppers</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjTdfA7h2H7EnMBCqke-pdQik-PKJJZExQmTNhMaZT-iz6NXkOnwPGVCXcAmNpWuCcXxCHgJil_5puT1AsRm_jnYjrkwtJlRVxVdPw37tavpdtahYIhoZbhoCeNENZBwVSCDdl/s1600/0520001659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjTdfA7h2H7EnMBCqke-pdQik-PKJJZExQmTNhMaZT-iz6NXkOnwPGVCXcAmNpWuCcXxCHgJil_5puT1AsRm_jnYjrkwtJlRVxVdPw37tavpdtahYIhoZbhoCeNENZBwVSCDdl/s200/0520001659.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">weighing in action!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div>Then, I did my little trick and hit up <a href="http://www.harristeeter.com/shopping/express_lane/express_lane.aspx">Harris Teeter Express Lane</a> to check some prices. Here's what I found:</div><div><ul><li>Broccoli - $3.29/ea = $6.58</li>
<li>Bananas - 99¢/lb = $1.50</li>
<li>Lettuce - $2.99/head = $2.99</li>
<li>Strawberries - $3.99/lb = $3.99</li>
<li>*White Mushrooms - $3.49/lb = $1.69</li>
<li>Apples - $2.49/lb = $6.85</li>
<li>Avocado - $1.99/ea = $1.99</li>
<li>Green Peppers - $2.49/ea = $4.98</li>
</ul><div>This means that if I went to Harris Teeter and purchased the SAME amount of stuff, I'd have paid $30.57! And the mushrooms wouldn't even have been organic (it appears they don't sell fresh organic ones). WOW!! I was thrilled. This stuff was brought to my door for only $30. That means I saved 57¢, the gas to get to the store, and the excuse to not buy produce because it's too expensive. In case I had any doubts, I'm with AO for good. Thanks, Vonda and Steve!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Soli Deo Gloria</div></div>Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-33293325831335342592010-05-18T15:01:00.000-04:002010-05-18T15:01:00.683-04:00Spoils of CVSSaturday, after a quick trip to Winston-Salem for a wedding shower for one of my dear college friends, I swung by CVS in hopes of a few good "scores." I had been out of the CVS "loop" for a while (no great deals, good stockpile, and higher food spending due to healthier eating are the primary causes), but saw several potential deals and thought I'd try to snag them. Forgetting that the CVS nearest my house restocks on Friday night/Saturday morning (wow, it <i>has</i> been a long time), I was doubtful that I'd get much... but I ended up with EVERYTHING on my steals-list.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvYXVA3J3cRl3zzvL34KqYLmIX2lH_Tuex0OGKGQWbpzLz04RmKcX1N9CNGT9wzc9n6bRBSf3GZbuAW01aASVcSp6R4cV3vuVgWSbxpr3LeuknS8Q5aAWZWPImlw7Myfpmm8M/s1600/DSC01167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvYXVA3J3cRl3zzvL34KqYLmIX2lH_Tuex0OGKGQWbpzLz04RmKcX1N9CNGT9wzc9n6bRBSf3GZbuAW01aASVcSp6R4cV3vuVgWSbxpr3LeuknS8Q5aAWZWPImlw7Myfpmm8M/s400/DSC01167.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ul><li>2 Right Guard mens' deodorant > $2.49 ea = $5 - $3/2 QP = $2... $2 ea ECB = $2 <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">moneymaker</span></span></li>
<li>Stayfree > $3.79 - $2 QP = $1.79... $2 ECB = 21¢ <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">moneymaker</span></span></li>
<li>U by Kotex > $5 - $1 QP = $4... $4 ECB = <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffd966;">free</span></li>
<li>Carefree > $1 ea - 3 x $1 QP = <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;">free</span></li>
<li>Crest ProHealth toothpaste & Rinse (each) > $2.75 - 75¢ QP = $2... $4 ECB = $2 <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">moneymaker</span> ea</li>
<li>Purex 3-in-1 Laundry Detergent Sheets, 20ct > B1G1 @ $8.99 - 2 x $2 QP = $2.50 ea</li>
<li>Carmel candy > 33¢</li>
<li>reuseable bag (mine) to be able to scan Green Bag Tag > $1 ECB = <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">moneymaker</span></li>
</ul><div>I had no ECBs going in, but I shelled out less than $5.50 cash (which includes all the taxes, of course - I added the carmel candy in order to be able to use another ECB and not spend more OOP) and still have $6 in ECBs left to use next time I go in. Now THAT'S what I call a great trip to the store :)</div><div><br />
</div><div>Soli Deo Gloria</div>Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-83855755403806402832010-05-16T23:15:00.001-04:002010-05-16T23:16:29.861-04:00Ode to the GV houseIt's only fitting that it's a rainy evening... that's pretty much how my heart feels right now after taking my last walk through what has been my family's home for the last 7 years. With the official "closing" and key hand-over tomorrow at 9am, obviously it's completely empty now, but the rooms are somehow still terribly full of memories.<br />
<ul><li>The entryway foyer and circular staircase where we took countless family pictures and my sister's prom pics.</li>
<li>The dining room that was initially painted a hideous Pepto pink until Mom corrected the painters and they made it a much nicer shade of red. Tons of buffets were served in there, as were huge family/holiday meals. And more recently, our first non-wedding picture as a family of 7.</li>
<li>The "powder room" with the sink cabinet that I picked out at Transit Damaged Freight... my one claim-to-fame in the whole building process.</li>
<li>The hot tub where my boyfriend asked my dad for permission to marry me.</li>
<li>The "crawl space" that we had to wake up at the dreadfully early hour of 8:30am one holiday (Memorial Day?) morning to paint, and where a few years later we did P90X together as a family.</li>
<li>The basement guest bedroom that hosted several of my former youth leaders as they were in stages of transition, as well as my fiance when he first moved to the USA.</li>
<li>The funky angled section of the ceiling in the living room where Mom's friend painted "Soli Deo Gloria" in a beautiful calligraphy - only to later admit that she was dreadfully afraid of heights.</li>
<li>The amazing stone fireplace that served as family-Christmas-picture setting for us and at least one other family over the years.</li>
<li>The custom-made "picture frame" out of moulding in the entryway where we deliberated for the whole building process and at least a year after we moved in as to which Bible verse we should have put there (we found another friend/artist to paint it though, since it was even higher up!) and ended up with a sword and shield from Toledo, Spain.</li>
<li>The closet at the top of the back stairwell that was always full of extra school supplies, random fabric bolts for the curtains mom always wanted to make (and eventually did, mostly) and the pictures and albums that were always in a state of disarray.</li>
<li>The Media Room that inevitably ended up 10 degrees warmer than you wanted it by the time the movie was over.</li>
<li>The closets in my sister's and my rooms that were supposed to be square, but then had to be L-shaped because the architect had originally forgotten to include room for the ductwork.</li>
<li>My room - purple, because I love it - where I was sitting when my cute friend from Spain finally found a program that would work for us to audio-chat (Skype - before the video years), and the intercom system that I used to refuse to come down to dinner immediately that night because I was actually TALKing to him. </li>
<li>The built-in bookshelves that still didn't actually hold my entire collection. </li>
<li>The huge picture window that looked out onto the street (with no panes or screens, so the view was always crystal-clear), and the side window that overlooked the neighbor's lake.</li>
</ul><div>Clearly there's no sense bemoaning the end of an era - it certainly wasn't perfect, after all - but it is a reminder that we only walk through life once. Goal: to make sure it was a life worth living, full of love and honoring to the Lord. My prayer is that the house can continue to be used to minister to others in the future, in the same way it did in the past.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Now, I must look forward to the Lord's "plans to prosper [me] and not to harm [me], plans to give [me] a hope and a future" (Jer. 29:11b). If only those plans included calling in sick to work tomorrow... ;)</div><div><br />
</div><div>Soli Deo Gloria.</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div>Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-28521264230361118742010-05-01T14:52:00.000-04:002010-05-01T14:52:37.469-04:00Happy Birthday to me!I've had a hankering for a chest freezer for quite some time now... like 2 years. I kept suggesting it to Isaac, and his constant response was "what do 2 people need an extra freezer for?" And, on one hand, he was right. It definitely wasn't a <i>need</i>, but it most certainly was a <i>want</i>. I love the idea of "once a month cooking" and pulling stuff out of the freezer 24 hours before eating it with little to no work involved after coming home from a long day at school. I love the idea of buying items in bulk at Costco (or just when there's a good sale) and having them easily on hand when needed without having to pay full price. And lately, I love the idea of buying a whole, grass-fed cow (with some friends, of course!). Since <a href="http://www.centsible-sawyer.com/2010/03/organic-on-budget-beef.html">Denise</a> did such a good job of explaining why, I won't bother repeating it. <a href="http://www.eatwild.com/">EatWild</a> goes into a bit more detail and provides information on local farmers, too. Anyway, point being that I can only do so much OAMC and bulk buying with my one, small freezer... and buying a portion of a cow was completely out of the question!<br />
However, after something akin to pestering for about a year, I finally got into a grocery-shopping rhythm and decided that we could technically survive without one, so I let it go verbally and tucked it away as a future dream. Thus, you can imagine my awe when he brought me to the Sears Outlet store on South Boulevard while we were out running errands one Saturday, and told me he wanted to get me a freezer for my birthday (which was, at the time, 2 months away). They didn't have much selection, and I had a basic idea of sizing and pricing, so we left there empty-handed, but determined to keep our eyes and ears open. We even contact a buddy of ours who works for Electrolux... he ALMOST got us a really good deal on a test dummy or something, but some other employee claimed it first.<br />
Fast-forward to a week ago when Isaac said he wanted to extend our <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfhjg-_rcmZiJJ6NADApj-tGzG1Z0LFr0thfKDwYPe-a-1x5lq2O1ZfH9bRmahsNJ_knDQPg6fjesgjyomOdgPXJZbeovukjSrev7nwYqepjjEPC57-eMynA8fUZUFYR2E2lZcA/s1600-h/DSC_0193.bmp">office bookshelves</a>. I immediately jumped on Ebay to grab some 10% off coupons at Lowes to save moolah on the large-ish purchase. They arrived on Thursday, and you can bet that Friday evening he was antsy to go get the stair treads and flower pots needed to complete the project. Off to Lowe's we went. I figured we could check out the freezers while there, since we ended up with 5 coupons (for $3.25), and somehow we ended up in the clearance aisle. In God's amazing providence, we found <a href="http://www.lowes.com:80/pd_90724-2251-LFFC09M5HW_4294857903_4294937087?productId=3047202&pl=1&currentURL=/pl_Chest%2BFreezers_4294857903_4294937087_?cm_cr=Freezers%20and%20Ice%20Makers-_-Web%20Activity-_-Freezers%20and%20Ice%20Makers%20A1%20Activity%203.1.10-_-SC_Freezers%20%20Ice%20Makers_Area1-_-17645_1">this baby</a> chilling there... without a box. Apparently, a box is worth 20% - who knew? After the coupon, we ended up paying $187 for the freezer that was originally sold for $279. That's a 33% discount - and it was delivered today for free :) Yes, there is a little dent in the lid (I don't care), and no, it's not Energy Star compliant (bummed, but for the $3/yr in electric savings, it wasn't worth the extra $100+ upfront).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFmdF2NTmzHiUFIfS_h0nTtpt-GArB3JSwWFPxz51FZO4z1AUSQJdxeis3-NvbFaojVVXBWEschVO6HFHwb1mRSfRbF2FlZo3rNRxDZrQdvjsLX2UYCqIaZoqNueNwJDXCWmJ/s1600/DSC01154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFmdF2NTmzHiUFIfS_h0nTtpt-GArB3JSwWFPxz51FZO4z1AUSQJdxeis3-NvbFaojVVXBWEschVO6HFHwb1mRSfRbF2FlZo3rNRxDZrQdvjsLX2UYCqIaZoqNueNwJDXCWmJ/s320/DSC01154.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSArGVxwdFIhDeCgWGKXsQ2c-KrXPeYY-MUwvzDrGbbm9RzR0LrZ63UDKtw9hN_1VkVh7ZnFaUOJjZbUxaI1VCSDFcb3WK_AsJoLf6M8NnM1LA5rB7gdQl-1WSdN8GvBAGfdcU/s1600/DSC01156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSArGVxwdFIhDeCgWGKXsQ2c-KrXPeYY-MUwvzDrGbbm9RzR0LrZ63UDKtw9hN_1VkVh7ZnFaUOJjZbUxaI1VCSDFcb3WK_AsJoLf6M8NnM1LA5rB7gdQl-1WSdN8GvBAGfdcU/s320/DSC01156.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now, who wants to go in on a cow with me?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Soli Deo Gloria.</div>Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35367198.post-28412247400750454112010-04-26T20:45:00.000-04:002010-04-26T20:45:05.356-04:00PUR Faucet Filter Giveaway LinkWe have a PUR pitcher to filter our water, but I would love to have a faucet filter since the pitcher is always empty when I want to use it! I guess that means we forget to fill it, right? Well, anyway. When I mix up powdered drinks in my 2-qt pitcher, there's not enough water in the filtered pitcher to fill it, so I either have to wait to filter more or mix in some non-filtered water.<br />
However, every time I look at faucet filters, they're pricey, and I'm never sure if they'll be so in-the-way that it will drive me nuts. As a result, I've never taken the plunge. When I saw Clair's post and the opportunity to possibly win one, I knew I had to enter. And I got extra entries for posting this :) Feel free to enter <a href="http://www.mummydeals.org/2010/04/new-pur-faucet-mount-giveaway.html">here</a>, and if you win and don't want it, you can pass it on to me. Haha.<br />
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Soli Deo Gloria.Justinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11056496788035991990noreply@blogger.com0