Since I am substituting now, and have a lot of extra time on my hands during the day, I have a lot more time to read. I have started a list of books on the side of my blog. A listed book means I have finished it and feel comfortable about others reading it. If a book catches your eye and you're wondering about reading it, feel free to ask me on my blog, facebook, whatever! I'll send you a mini-review. :)

In the spirit of blantant copying, I'm taking Amanda's idea and making bulleted points....I have not the brain power after a long day of work to actually write an entire post about one topic. Thus:

• my husband got done from work early today and actually made dinner tonight. fish-sticks (yes, i keep them in the freezer, they're a throwback to my childhood!) and white rice. ahhhh....processed and bleached american comfort food! lol
• i worked at cracker barrel today and decided that since i was starving (thank you, job that barely allows you time to go to the bathroom, never mind bringing food to work like normal human beings) i was going to order myself strawberry shortcake off of the new dessert menu. i do believe i could eat some kind of strawberry/cream/sweetbread combination in very large quantities, daily, until the day that i die. which would probably be in 3 years if i actually did.
• i have been thinking a lot about the presidential elections, and the guy i thought i was going to vote for is actually no longer the guy i am going to vote for. i'm not sure which shocks me more, my initial thought of a candidiate or the one i am now probably going to vote for. and yes, i specifically said "guy." she is not even an option, thankyouverymuch. does anyone else out there just wish we had another option? i will probably be writing a lot more about this in the future, but that's all i'm typing about it for tonight.
• it also dawned on me yesterday (apparently this has been a week of awakenings?!) how odd substituting really is. i mean, seriously, in what other job are you given no orientation, no map of the building, no specific rules or guidelines to follow (other than "please don't let anyone bleed to death, hold anyone hostage, or blow up the school"), no training in the subject matter, no knowledge of anyone in the building's title, status, or position, and yet still expected to ensure that learning takes place? the thought hit me as i was teaching "desktop publishing" (the teacher left no lesson plans, class charts, or even the titles of the classes she was teaching, by the way). i was baffled yesterday by the absurdity of it all. so odd.
• i am reading the atonement child by francine rivers. this is the second book of hers that i've read - the first was redeeming love. i bawled like a baby over that one. i still think her writing is a little cheesy at times, but somehow so compelling. i can't seem to put it down.
• last but not least, we are still looking at houses.....we think we may have found a great one....we just need have our realtor take us inside first. ;)
• aren't you just dying for your stimulus check to just get here already?!
• the end. :)

It's Frugal Friday Time!

I am linking to Biblical Womanhood today because after all of my CVS posts this week, I have a few thoughts about how to make frugal gifts from your CVS purchases. Aren't I fancy? ;)

Graduation baskets:
For a high-school graduate like me who was going to college in the middle of the Ohio cornfields (yeah Cedarville!), without a car, this was such a blessing! My aunt's gift to me was a big plastic shower caddy (which I'm sure you could get at Wal-Mart or the dollar store for $3 or less) filled with all sorts of bath supplies! She loaded mine with shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, a toothbrush, a pretty washcloth, razors, shaving gel, lotion, and more. If you're like me and have a stockpile of toiletries, pick yourself up a caddy and maybe some nice lotion, and you have an easy gift that most graduates will really appreciate once they get to college and realize they're broke!

Wedding shower gifts:
A close family friend from my church did the cutest thing at one of my bridal showers. She composed a little story about Chris and I, and inserted words from everyday household products to "fit" with the story. I have the story filed away, but to give you an example of how she might have done it: "I hope you will "Snuggle" [dryer sheets] close together often." Or, "I know you will bring each other lots of "Joy" [dishwashing detergent] in the years to come!" I'm sure you could creatively think of your own story, or get ideas from the internet. It was SO cute - as she read, her daughters brought each of the items to me.

This would require a little more purchasing, but you could certainly supplement it with your CVS buys - candles, air fresheners, dishwashing detergent, etc. There are many little household items you can pick up at CVS, and just like my graduation basket, this was such a blessing to me when we moved to a new state after we got married and we were trying to save all the cash we could. I still have some of those items, almost two years later!



A little creativity goes a long way - and these gifts will be remembered for their thoughtfulness long after the party is over!

Today has been such a relaxing day. I woke up at 6:30 to make my dearest some breakfast before work. After waking up and accidentally dropping something in a toilet I had just peed in (i.e., a horrible way to begin a new day on earth!!), and then having about 3 million things in the kitchen fall because my eyes were half shut, and having the things stay on the ground because I was too grumpy to pick them up, I finally remembered the Good Reason I do not do this on a regular basis. I love my husband, but mornings have none of my love.

Anyway, I had a doctor's appointment today, which is why I wasn't able to work and thus the bold and (I thought!) magnanimous statement I had made to my husband last night about making him breakfast before a long day. I am happy to report that my doctor said my ear looks free of infection but that I have a slight swelling of the ear canal, which is probably why things are still a little muffled in that ear. (As far as she's concerned, I am basically healed! THANK YOU for praying for me! :)

My day scooted along quite nicely....grocery shopping, library, light housekeeping, etc.

About half an hour ago I went to Biblical Womanhood and read a post about Crystal's friend whose husband had suddenly died in a boating accident on Easter Sunday. I went to the woman's site, and I wanted to cry as I scrolled down through her last week or so of blogging. She was working on her house, she was a new member of her church, she had just gotten a great deal on her camera, she was killing mosquitos in her house, for goodness' sake.

And then, one day, her husband dies.

I cannot possibly help but take note of this. She lives in Australia on a farm, but her life has many overall similarities to mine. Building a life with her husband, writing about things that caught her eye or excited or frightened her. And then God takes her husband away.

And everything is over, or so it seems.

....................................................................



Of course I will continue to write about my life on this blog, and of course it will include my quirkly little interests like cooking and yes, buying stuff at CVS.

But can I please encourage you to take the time today to tell your husband (or wife) how much they mean to you? Thank God for the life that you have together. If you're fighting, fix it. If you've been meaning to do something kind, do it. If you haven't laughed together in a while, talk about old dating stories over dinner. Go get ice cream. Take a walk.

"Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. " James 4:14

Rejoice in the day the Lord has given you. I know this sounds horribly morbid, but the love of your life really and truly could, in God's providence, be gone tomorrow. You have no idea how long God has given them to you. Live and love to your fullest today!

For those of you who were praying for my ear, thank you! It actually started bleeding (for real) on Saturday and Sunday, but it hasn't bled significantly since yesterday morning. My mother-in-law is a nurse, and after talking to her and another nurse at church yesterday, I found out that (unfortunately) this is still actually a good thing - fluid is normal and means that my ear is still healing. I go back to the doctor on Wednesday, so I just ask that you continue to pray if God puts me in your mind! I have had issues with this ear since I was little, and already have slight hearing loss in it anyway....and as a musician I really want to keep good hearing in both ears.

Thanks you guys!

Remember that post back in February where I had spent a little over $30 at CVS? I said that it would be worth it to spend a little extra now, but since I was getting 41 ECB, I would make that stretch as far as I could? To encourage you to shop at CVS, here is a list of everything I have gotten since February 8:

• 4 Colgate toothpastes
• 2 Gillette Fusion razors (men)
• 2 boxes pantiliners
• Excedrin
• gum
• 2 3-packs Irish Springs soap
• Purell hand sanitizer
• 8 rolls paper towels
• 2 packages Mach 3 disposable razors (men)
• 2 bottles Crest mouthwash
• 2 packages cotton swabs
• 5 bottles of Vitamin C
• cough drops
• 2 boxes tissues
• gummy bears
• 2 Lypsyl lip glosses
• 2 Oral-B toothbrushes
• Venus Embrace razor (women)
• Maybelline lip gloss
• Listerine mouth wash
• 2 L'Oreal curling mousse bottles
• Pledge duster kit

The total amount of cash that has left my wallet is only $11.87. Plus, I still have $30 in ECB to spend, plus $2.50 on a CVS card (after today).

It really, truly works! And my total would probably be lower if I was even half-way decent at math in my head at the register ;).

It's that time again!

I had to share what I'd been getting at CVS lately:


This was from two weeks ago:

• All of the Vitamin C bottles are part of the March deal: pay 2.99, get 2.99 ECB (free for someone who's already paying with ECB)
• The razor was 9.99, minus my $4/off coupon, giving 6 ECB back (also free for me)
• The toothpastes were also 2.99 and giving 2.99 ECB, but I also had a coupon for $1/2, so they were free "with overage" as some people say.

So, I used $5 worth of coupons, paid with 22 ECB, and got 23.94 back in ECB! My oop expenses were $.93 (to cover tax, i guess?)

This was from last week:

• The L'Oreal mousse for my hair (I'm basically out, so this was awesome!) was B1G1 Free (4.99 for 2)
• The Maybelline Superstay Lip Gloss (which I am now in love with, by the way) was $8.99 but gave 8.99 ECB back (again, free for me)
• Listerine Mouthwash (technically "for kids" but Chris uses mouthwash daily, and this just has a "minty" taste, so I bought it) was 2.99, giving 2.99 back (free)
• Lypsyl was a March deal (pay 2.99 get 2.99 ECB back)
• The Pledge duster set had a rebate attached, so it will be free for me once I get my rebate check back (side note: I always cut out rebates from coupon books. If I can get the product completely free - minus the cost of a stamp - I usually will try it. It takes a while, but they do always send you a check - and once I even got some coupons included, too! This Pledge duster is great and I actually had fun (haha).

I used the $3/$15 "Beauty" coupon from Money Saving Mom. I gave them $21.93 in ECB and will receive $4.59 in the mail from my rebate, plus I immediately got 14.97 ECB back. Technically, I bought a toothbrush with this transaction that I thought would give me ECB back. It didn't, so I'm going to return it today (I will get 2.50 back for it on a CVS card). So, you could say my total was 17.34 in ECB, plus 2.12 oop, and 14.97 plus 2.50 plus 4.59 as money I am getting back. Is this confusing? It makes sense to me! :)

I think that if I could be a personal shopper at CVS, I would make it my full-time job. lol ;)