Vlog?

It's my first diabetes vlog.  With special guests.... Justin and Franklin.

 

Friday Felicities

* Zoe turns ONE this weekend! 

* Fun picnic party tomorrow morning

* The latte in my hands

* My beautiful sister in law is due to have a baby girl any day now (hopefully not before Sat morning though!) 

* Gabe going to pre school next week!

* Starting my new job next week

* Beginning a Beth Moore Bible study soon

* My W@H friends

News! News!

I got a call this morning that I've been praying for a while to come!  The pre school that Gabriel has been on a waiting list for finally called!!  YAAAY!  Has anyone else ever felt like THEY were being interviewed by the prestigious pre school, instead of you interviewing THEM?  i.e.  

Director: "Ms. Cobourne do you bake brownies?" 

Me: "Umm, uh huh."

Director: "From a box or from scratch?"

Me: "Well, er..."

Director: "Do you have the ability to grow the cocoa beans organically and grind them fresh?"

Me:  "Ahhhhhh!!!!" 

OK, so I'm kidding, but I did find myself calling occasionally and informing them of my music education degree and how much I'd LOVE to come in and help show the pre schoolers the magical world of quarter notes and brightly colored rhythm sticks. (If you'd just make some space for my adorable child!!!)  HA! It must have worked!  

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we all adjust to our new schedules next week with new school and new jobs!  OH.. That's right... I didn't share about my new job yet! 

I am going to be teaching piano at a dance school that is expanding into a music school one day per week to start, and two days later this Fall.  I am a little nervous about leaving my Zoe, but I know she'll be a champ with her great babysitters....

Well... my son is putting fake tattoos on his adorable little baby sister so I must run for now! 

Love ya mean it! 

Publix Diaper Deal

OK, this worked out to be a pretty decent diaper deal that I just did at Publix. If you have these coupons, you might want to try it too!

1 Huggies Natural supreme diapers $16.99
1 Huggies Wipes 242 count (3 packs) $8.99
= $26 before coupons

- $5 when you buy both in circular at front of store
- $5 Huggies off from Publix Baby Club
- $1.50 Huggies wipes Publix Baby Club
- $1.50 Huggies manufacturer coupon (mailer)
- $1 Huggies wipes manufacturer coupon (mailer)
= $12 out of pocket Not Bad!

MY TV INTERVIEW!!!!!

And now, without any further au-du.... 

Ladies Man

I've been storytelling at church for a couple weeks now for the 3's and 4's classes.  Yesterday they learned that God is always with them, even when we need to be brave!  (Moses and the Red Sea).   I've REALLY enjoyed working with this age, especially the 4's.... their imaginations are REALLY taking off and they are so excited to learn! (Not to mention hilarious!)  

Anyways... my son Gabriel is in the older 3's class.  During the VBS closing program this summer, he spent half the song trying to talk to this cute little red headed girl.  Her name is Lily.  You can see what I mean here....

Well, yesterday during worship time at The Marina, (This is the time when all the 3's and 4's are combined into one big room)  Gabe kept trying to stand next to her, and talk to her again!  He ran over to me and said, "Mom!! Lily said I could dance with her!"   Then they started giggling and smiling at each other.   

When it was time to go back to their individual classrooms I saw Gabe run over to Lily's line and kiss her on the cheek!   WHAT?!?!?!    Ok, so on the one hand it was very, very adorable... on the other hand.... HE'S 3!!!  Ahhhhhhh!  What am I in for???   

I Deserve An Emmy

So did you see it?  (Incase you're new:  Our ABC Action News Station did a story on CVS Shopping and Saving Money and interviewed me and followed me to CVS...it aired last night)

  My friend Sonya emailed me saying that she had toothpicks in her eyes trying to stay up to watch it!!! HAHA!  ME TOO GIRL!   I thought the story was GREAT and INFORMATIVE and I hope they put it up on the website soon so I can link you all to it!  What a fun experience! 

P.S.   I got a job today! More on that later....   

Friday Felicities

*  Not getting much action from Tropical Storm Fay

*  Interview for teaching piano this afternoon

*  Being on TV Tonight!  Yippee!! 

*  Mom and Dad coming over to play with the kids today

*  Coffee

*  That I am blessed with diabetes technology

*  MY NEW BED!!! Hallelujah Thank you Jesus I wake up without back pain!

Update: Bread

I very well might turn INTO a loaf of whole wheat bread, because I am tempted to eat it ALL! (Though I won't do that to my poor diabetic body)

  This is AMAZING.  I wish I could bake some for the whole world to eat.  

Everyone go make this bread right now.  

Go!  

It's Official, I've Turned Into Betty Crocker

Well, we'll see in about two hours.  I am making my first loaf of home made whole wheat bread right now.  I got the recipe from a website that I really enjoy called Biblical Womanhood.  Anyways.... my bread maker that my mother in law gave me like two years ago is FINALLY getting some use!!  I am using the dough cycle and then I'll BAKE the bread in my oven, because it's suppose to turn out better that way.  I'm REALLLLY excited and hoping it turns out good because then I can just make all out bread and we can be even MORE FRUGAL! hee hee!  

It was pretty easy.  Here are the steps taken from the Biblical Womanhood website if you wanna have a go too! 

Homemade Wheat Bread

1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F.)
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons oil
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole-wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons dry yeast

Put all ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed. Set on dough cycle. When dough cycle is finished, take dough out and shape into a loaf in a greased bread pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

In other non-frugal news... we got a new bed!  It is a California King Serta something or other and it is absolutely heavenly.   Our other mattress was sinking in the middle and just not working for us.... especially since I'm a wimpy Mom who lets her 11 month old co-sleep with her when she wakes up screaming EVERY SINGLE NIGHT at 3:30 a.m.  *sigh*  

Now there's lots of room for our whole happy family.  hee hee hee.  

I have a job interview on Friday at a music school.  I'm pretty exciting and hoping it will be a good fit for me.  =)

Menu Planning Monday

Monday- Peach Asian Chicken, sticky rice, salad

This is so good!  I usually half the recipe if it's only my family eating it. 

Peach Asian Chicken (serves 6-8)

 1 jar peach jelly

1 cup BBQ sauce

4 Tbs soy sauce

1 green pepper, thin strips

1 onion, diced

2 cans sliced water chestnuts

6-8 chicken breasts halved

EVOO

Brown the chicken breasts in a sautee pan on both sides in EVOO

Mix together BBQ sauce, soy sauce, peach preserves and diced onion and pour over chicken

Sautee 40 minutes covered

Add green pepper and chestnuts last 10 minutes

Tuesday- Hamburger Helper, Veggies

Wednesday-  Grilled Chicken, Mashed Red Potatoes, Salad

Thursday- Spaghetti Bake, Homemade Bread, Salad

Friday- Steaks, Salad

Saturday- Leftovers, hotdogs, sandwiches

CVS Savings- HURRICANE EDITION 8/17/08

OK, so apparently we may be getting hit with a Cat. 1 or 2 Hurricane on Tuesday morning, so I thought I'd better go get a little more water and some batteries for our hurricane lamp and flashlights.  Zoe has a cold and runny nose, so I took advantage of the cheap Puffs tissues as well! 

I totally burned my ECB's and have none now... but oh well... whatcha gonna do?  

Transaction 1

2   4 pks. D batteries  Duracell     $10.58 

- $2 / $10 CVS coupon

- 2 .75 off Duracell from 8/3 Proctor and G insert

- $5 ECBs

= $2 out of pocket

Transaction 2

24 pack CVS water   $3.99

1 Colgate Total (and it had a free 360 toothbrush attached to it!         $3

2 Puffs        $.176  (.88 each)

2 Glades    $1.76   (.88 each)  

= 10.52

- $2 / $10 CVS ICP

- $1 Colgate CRT

- $1.50 Colgate manu coupon from recent insert

- BOGO Free Glade

- 2 .25 off Puffs

- $1 water CRT

= 3.64 Out of pocket

Not bad.... I'm prepared for a hurricane for less than $6 out of pocket!  Yippee!  

Now if only I could hire a lawn boy at CVS... I need to cut my grass before it starts raining!

Four Generations

L to R: My Mom Sherry, My Niece Aubree, Grandma McCarthy, My big sister Alisa, My daughter Zoe, and me

Can I just get a WOOT for what a fine bunch of women this is? 

I gotta say...my Grandma is pushing 90 and her legs are still lookin might good.  haha.  

My Grandma McCarthy has been loosing her memory due to dementia/Alzheimer's over the past four years since my Grandpa passed away.  It's been difficult for all of us to watch, but I guess that's just the circle of life or whatever you call it.  She didn't know who I was a couple weeks ago when I came to visit her.  I'm pretty sure she didn't know who my sister was either.  Ouch.  We just chatted anyways and tried to carry on as much of a conversation as we could.  

I try to hold on to those "good ole days" memories.... not even Alzheimer's can take those away from me!  Here are some of my favorite things that take me to my happy place....

 

Grandma and Grandpa lived on a lake and Grandpa would fish with us outside.  If we caught enough... Grandma would fry them up for dinner.  =)  

Grandma SHOULD have tried out for Jeopardy. She watched faithfully EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.  In fact, if I called them on the phone between 7:30-8:00 p.m.  I usually got yelled at.  

Grandma is a great example of a supportive mother and wife.  She always kept a tidy and clean house and her love for my Grandfather was never failing.   Their marriage was an example for all of their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.  

Both of my grandparents spent a lot of time with me growing up.  I have lots of memories playing cards and games around their kitchen table, taking walks into downtown Safety Harbor for a soda, fishing in the back yard, playing croquet, reading books, creating oil paintings and crafts, playing their organ, and perusing through the many family pictures they kept out in their living room. 

I treasure these memories in my heart closely and look forward to the many more memories I will make with my family in the days that God blesses me with in the future.  

Menu Planning....Tuesday?

Monday-  Baked Spaghetti, salads

Tuesday-  BBQ Pork Sandwiches, Salads

Wednesday-  Loaded Baked Potatoes, Veggies

Thursday-  Creamy Crock Pot Chicken over noodles

Friday- leftovers

Saturday- hot dogs, leftovers

My TV Debut!

Thank you so much to everyone who left comments on my last CVS post!  I appreciate it and thought about all of them.  Trust me, I was running transactions through my head until I thought my brain was going to explode this morning!  

    In the end, I decided to stick with my original plan that is listed below (even though it ate up some of my ECB's) and here is why.  I had to ask myself, "What is the goal of agreeing to do this interview?"  The answer was that I wanted to inspire Moms (or Dads!) who are frustrated with the rising gas and food prices to give the grocery game a try and see if it can help cut their food/household expenses!  I know, as a SAHM, if I saw someone on TV walk out of a store with three packages of diapers and two packages of baby soap for $6 out of pocket (and $5 to come back and spend next time!) I would say, "Umm... I need to figure out how to do that too!"    

     I know couponing and store programs like the Extra Care program has helped TREMENDOUSLY for us.  When I told Jackie Callaway that we had nearly cut our household budget in half over the past four months she was very surprised.   

    I am soooo excited about seeing this story air!  I did talk about such blogs as Money Saving Mom, FiddleDeeDee, and even my own blog during my interview.  Tom, the wondrous camera man, was very thorough in getting lots of great shots of the computer screens to edit into the story.   Jackie said she wasn't sure of an exact date, but she'd let me know... and I will be sure to let you all know when it will air on ABC Action News Tampa.   I'm pretty sure it will be at least a week from now and will post when I find out.   

    Our CVS trip was just amazing.  The managers and staff (Even the PHARMACY staff) were all awaiting our arrival with smiling faces and ridiculously good customer service.  If you ever want REALLY good customer service at CVS, just have someone with a huge camera follow you around the store.  HAHA!     

HELP!!

I am going to be interviewed by ABC Action News Consumer Reporter, Jackie Callaway, on Monday morning.  She is going to speak with me about CVS shopping and then shadow me as I shop at CVS.  These are the transactions that I am planning for next week, as I REALLY need diapers.  I am going to LOOSE ECB's doing this, but will spend minimal out of pocket.  Can you PROS let me know if you see something better?  I have all the Lamisil coupons for that deal, but I kinda want to keep it simple for the cameras, so it's easy to explain.  (I'm also afraid that if the store is out of something, I will be stuck and have to come up with a new deal on the spot! Know what I mean?)    I am very confident that they will not run out of Huggies. ;-)  

I've already reached the limit on the Infant's Advil deal too. 

TRANSACTION 1

2 Huggies  $18

- $2 /$10  CVS coupon

 - $ 3 Huggies  ( 2 / 1.50 off )

= $13

-11.58  ECB's

 =  1.42 OOP

 TRANSACTION 2

1 Huggies  $8.99

2 buddies  1.98

= $10.97

-       -$2 CVS

-       -$2 Buddies

-     -  $1.50 Huggies

= $5.50  OOP

Earn $5  ECB

For a total of $6.42 out of pocket for 3 packages of Huggies and 2 soaps.   I know this is insanely cheap, but I also read the blogs of those of you who only spend pennies!  Fire away with comments please!  =)   Thanks! 

LSF and INGAP

Click below for an interesting article I read linked to via Tu Diabetes on some possible new breakthroughs in diabetes therapy that have worked in mice.  Unfortunately, I'm not a mouse... but progress is always positive!  

Science Daily

I Never Read Porns

I had to write this one down so I didn't forget.  Too funny!

Gabe: *with mouth full of snack bar*   "Mom, I never read porns!!" 

Me: *spits orange juice all over MacBook Pro*   "Excuse me?"

Gabe: *says very strongly, but still with lots of snack bar in his mouth*  "I*Never*Read*Porns, because the neighbors get mad."

Me:  *refuses to believe what my ears are hearing from the mouth of my baby* "Gabe, swallow your food and tell me again."

Gabe:  *chew chew chew chew swallow*  "I never beep horns, because the neighbors get mad and come outside." 

Me: *whew deep breath*   "Yes, that's right.  Only Mommy beeps the horn of our car."  

Life is never dull over here.

Free Diapers From CVS....

I have an 11 month old pooing baby and a tight budget this week!  I just figured out how to get some free diapers!  Yippee!  Here's my CVS transaction ideas.  

Transaction #1

1 Pampers Jumbo pack   $8.88

2 Children's Advil            $5.79 each (11.58)

Total:  20.46

-$2/10 CVS coupon from online newspaper   (see babycheapskate.com link) 

-$2.50 off any $10 pain relief purchase CRT

-$1.50 /1 Pampers coupon from Proctor and Gamble insert 

-2 / $1 Children's Advil  (see Frugonomics101.blogspot.com  link) 

-9.99 ECB's from last week's Revlon make up deal

Total OOP:  about 2.47 cents  

ECB's earned- 11.58

Transaction 2

1 Easy Ups   8.88

1 gallon milk  3.99

1 Advantage toothbrush  $2.99

1 Colgate Advance toothpaste   $2.49

Total:   18.35

- $2/$10 

- $1 Oral B toothbrush

-$1.50 Colgate toothpaste (from August All You magazine 

-$1.50  Pampers

- $11.58 ECB's from Transaction 1

= $0.77

ECB's earned  $3.50  

Menu Planning Monday

Monday-  leftovers, rice, veggies

Tuesday-  Peach Chicken over rice

Wednesday-  Baked Spaghetti (freeze half), green beans 

Thursday- Leftovers

Friday- Crispy Talapia, mashed potatoes, veggies

Sat- leftovers

Yes, I know  lot of leftovers!  But I hate wasting food and have some 

5 Years Of Hunkalicious....

Eight years ago I began dating you.  I'm not sure how you convinced me that I should go on a date with you.  Maybe it was that pimped out Ford Ranger with the custom blue velvet interior that made me swoon.  Or maybe it was the bleached blonde head of yours.  Or maybe it was just the fact that you were hot and had a great singing voice.... yup, that was probably it.    ;)   

    Five years ago, tomorrow, I married you.  We've made it through some very very fun times and some incredibly rough times as well.  Through it all, I have fallen more in love with you each day.  Your ability to love others just absolutely amazes me.  Your desire to serve God, even when it isn't easily laid out for you, is incredible.  I'm so thankful to have a best friend who inspires me to show others the love of Christ in every situation.   

In five years we've gone from hiding a ferret in our little Bible college townhouse, to being homeowners with college degrees, two kids, and a Jack Russell Terrier.   With a world of learning and experiences in between, it's been a heck of a ride.  I pray for decades of more memories to make with you, but I thank God for each minute.    

I love you Justin.  Happy Anniversary.