...and two months later...

...after a long and much needed writing hiatus during a long stretch of surgery, physical therapy, studying, among other stuff...I am now in the home stretch and ready to return to the writing world. 

I've had many great weeks of couponing recently, particularly at CVS. I've been gone a lot so I haven't done much grocery shopping, living instead off my stockpile, which has been rapidly growing.

CVS this week was about $2 oop & I got $19 ECBs back...here's what all I got:

-3 boxes of cereal

-Shampoo & conditioner

-2 Febreze fabric sprays

-2 Febreze air refreshers

-1 Febreze plug in

Pretty good week, huh?

I have a new music obsession. Audrey Assad. Definitely check her out. She's great, incredibly talented and has been great studying music.

I know it's common to hear it said that you don't know how much you have until it is gone. But guess what? It totally is true. And then small victories seem like huge wins, tiny steps feel like giant leaps forward. But it's hard to understand it until you go through it. And then once you go through it, though you might be changed, it's still hard to remember it all. 

Each day is a blessing, each moment is a gift. Life itself, as hard as it might possibly be, is beautiful, with it's ups and downs. My prayer for tonight is not to overlook showing the love of God to anyone. To anyone. Regardless of their size, status, situation, appearance, or even attitude.

Come take my hand with the faith I have given you

Comfort my heart with your heart to kindness to even the least of these

Cause every stranger I wait for your mercy

Now do not pass me by

Do not pass me by

Can you hear me cry?

Do not pass me by.

-A.A.

where's lauren?

Where, might you ask, have I been? And why are there no pictures in tonight's update??

And I would ask in return, long or short version?

Of course, you would say, give me the "not me" version (see www.mycharmingkids.net for more info)...oh, so much more fun to read and laugh about!

So here goes...

I did not find mold in my room this morning. Definitely not hiding behind my antique chair and old shutter that I so dearly love. And I did not find it in my bathrobe, with wet hair and no make-up. I did not proceed to go outside to investigate, definitely not still in my robe with the neighbors out. And even if I did, I did not leave the robe on once I started making phone calls and people were on their way over. I did not spend the entire day on the phone, since I do not like calling people!

I did not find out this evening that I need a new hard drive for my computer. I am not backing up my hard drive as we speak. And I am not backing it up as I eat my comfort food, ice cream, on my makeshift bed on the couch. Definitely never eating it straight out of the container! 

And I am not having surgery on Wednesday. And definitely not making plans for the rest of my week, forgetting that I'll be unable to walk. I am not going downtown at 7 a.m. tomorrow for pre-op and anesthesia stuff. No, not me!

Wishing it were already Friday...

beautiful day

Today was such a beautiful day that K, my roommate, and I, spent the entire day doing yard work outside. I am slightly burned/tanned, but she got a serious burn! We just didn't notice as we worked away!

We mulched...with the $2 Home Depot special :) This is our newly laid mulch and our freshly planted purple begonias. I'm not going to talk about the begonias--too many bad memories! Just imagine digging for 30 minutes in clay--for those tiny little spots of flowers!

I spent time watering my new tomato plant...look at how big it has already gotten! My better boy is getting bigger everyday and soon I'll have to get the tomato cage for it!

I sprayed Round-Up on all of our weeds. Within 2 hours, look at what happened!

Then, I finally got up the nerve to tackle the herb garden, with K at my side. We planted basil, cilantro, oregano and parsley. They are now lining our small patio in some cute green pots, and when I sat out there this evening reading a book (sadly not studying for the GRE), all I could smell was the basil. The plant on the left is another tomato plant, because after much discussion, we decided that one plant might not be enough. So there's our Bigger Boy, though he's much smaller right now!

I'm exhausted...what a marathon day! After dinner we cleaned out and reorganized the pantry, so it's more workable. But I am the good type of exhausted, where you know you've accomplished a lot. We still have a few projects to do--installing racks on the back of the pantry door & lights under the counters in the kitchen, and getting furniture to decorate our patio. I also need to pull up the weeds that are hopefully dead by now! My goal is to have most of that done by my surgery--in just about 2 weeks!

I've been attending a new church the past few weeks, and in the first few weeks I've been there, I've felt more plugged in and involved than in over four years at another church. I'm excited--that's the community aspect of church that I've been missing and I'm so glad to finally be discovering it.

I did go grocery shopping today, but I didn't do as well as hoped. First of all, I was exhausted and starving from the day, two things that make a bad combination. Also, I came across an incredible deal this weekend--99 cent/lb. boston butt. However, my meat was mismarked, and so I got 10 lbs. of meat for $3.88. Yeah, that's right! So, I let it cook all day in the slow cooker with some seasoned salt and by dinnertime tonight, the meat had fallen to pieces off the bone and was incredibly tender. However, I had to get the necessities for my dinner--buns, BBQ sauce and baked beans, none of which were on sale. I usually wouldn't cave and buy things not on sale and not without a coupon, but I was so tired that I just got it to be done.

So here's what I got for $18 this week at Publix: grapes, lettuce, buns, BBQ sauce, baked beans, pasta roni (3 boxes), 4 jars of peanut butter (best deal ever!), package of DenteStix (for Windy & Diamond), 6 pack of water, 1 can of soup, 1 jar of salsa, frozen dinner and some other things I can't remember right now. 

And my best deal of the weeks was Earth Day at Walgreens--I got my favorite color/brand hair dye (retails at $10/box), dish soap & chocolate covered marshmallows--all for $2! And the best part was I had a gift card from easy savers last month, so I paid NOTHING out of pocket! It was a fabulous day for me there!

planting

This morning I went in search of some plant food for my poor calla lily, which is just not blooming. 

I came out of Leaf & Petal with all the essentials for a tomato plant.

So tonight I worked on planting it so that I will have a lucrative tomato summer. I even went so far as to soak the pot in water before planting the tiny tomato plant in it.

If it dies, I'm going to be beyond ticked.

Here's my little tomato plant, pre-transplant into a 12" pot.

I'm now working on my herb garden. I've just got to get up the courage to buy all the supplies and plant them. I know I'll use the herbs all the time--if I don't kill them first!

best savings day yet

Let me tell you about a really cool place. It's called Children's Harbor Family Center, and it's a safe haven for sick children and their families during their stay at Children's Hospital. The idea is to care for the whole family, and it offers everything from a library to game rooms to a basketball court, sleeping rooms and even hot showers. It's a really incredible place, and if you get the chance to go or to help out, they would love to have you :)

There's my plug for the day. They're awesome there--the staff is friendly, the volunteers are fun and it's just overall a great idea.

Wicked was incredible. I'd love to see that again. At least 20 more times. It was worth every penny to see it, especially on the last show. The cast went a little crazy--especially Glinda--which made for a really comical first half.

And...

I think today may have won for my personal best savings day yet. 

Here's what I got...

-Chicken breasts

-Orange juice

-Bread

-3 Vitaminwaters

-3 boxes of Crystal light packets

-Salsa

-Teriyaki marinade

-2 things of vinegar

-Light bulb

-Cake mix

-2 cans of tomato sauce

-Bag

All for a grand total of $11! I saved $38.57 (saved over 75%)!

great deals...

Bruno's had triple coupon days this weekend, and I got some great deals. It made me quite happy that I did so well! I spent about $9 and saved around $30. I got things that I love, whether I need them or not! I know I can't remember everything off the top of my head, but here's what I remember: brownie mix, frosting, dishwasher cleaner, 2 cans of evaporated milk, bag of baked lays, poptarts, Pam, Lowry's seasoned salt, chocolate covered pretzels, vitamin water, powerade...that's about where my memory runs out. All in all, a great trip!

And UNC won, making my night pretty great all around! I got to watch the game with my leg propped up and ice on it...only about a month left until surgery!

No pictures tonight, I've got to get to studying for the GRE!

in the beginning...

I thought I might start off from the beginning, back in August when my world was turned upside down and I had no idea where to go. While at home, I searched craigslist for a possible roommates, and turned up several potentials--if I wanted a male roommate "with strings attached," living in a less-than-wonderful part of a town for a young woman or a plethora of other "ideal" living circumstances. 

Of course, God had much better plans for me, and provided me with the most adorable house to live in with two other girls. It was a total God-thing that I even found ou

t about them needing a roommate. I'm here until May 2010 (perhaps I'll explain where I'm going in an upcoming post). And so, we've begun to settle in and really decorate.

Here's a few pictures...it's a work in progress :)

My bedroom--small but sweet

My great furniture my parents refinished and made hardware for

My Beloved Chair

Dining Room

Kitchen

Living Room