Warning: Baby Fever Inducing Photo Ahead

I know I'm not the only one out there with baby fever, and I'm not trying to make it more difficult for any of us, but I had to share this photo.

This is baby Liam. Isn't he precious??

Sigh...be still, mothering instincts.

Oh yeah, and the photographer is pretty darn talented too, isn't she? You may remember her - Super Crafty Sister? Yep. She's pretty much amazing. But you already knew that, didn't you? :) In case you forgot, her blog is http://www.artistic-avenues.com/. Check her out.

Now back to trying to ignore my biological clock...tick...tock...

An Epiphany at JCPenny

I have a confession to make: I have been a clothes shopping snob. But what happened today may have changed me forever.

I'm not opposed to buying clothes at Salvation Army or Goodwill. But for some reason I have had a serious objection to buying clothes at JCPenny or Sears. No idea why - I just have.

Enter: my new job. My boss always looks super sharp. I often ask him where he got his shirt/tie/suit/whatever. His answer? Usually JCPenny. Say what?? I would have guessed Nordstroms. Or Brooks Brothers. Or...something not JCPenny.

My husband is starting his career in the financial services industry. He has a few good dress clothes, but can use a few a more. My boss wanted to stop at JCPenny today, and of course I never say no to shopping! What I found AMAZED me.

I got all this for $20.99.





Yep - that's 2 shirts and five ties. For $20.99.

The white shirt was the most expensive purchase of the day at $11.15, down from $42.00. But my husband could really use a new white shirt so there you go. It only gets better from here.

That purple shirt? Not all guys could pull it off, but my husband can! It was only $1.97!

And those ties? $1.30 each, down from $36.00/ea. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??? What's that? You want to see a close up? My pleasure! :)

Aren't they beautiful? The blue paisley one is my favorite. What's yours?

This is pretty beautiful too...my receipt!




Yes, that's right - "Your Total Savings Today: $237.38"

AMAZING.

I have seen the light. :)

A GREAT Deal on Huggies Baby Wipes at CVS!

If you have a baby, know someone who has a baby, or know someone who is going to have a baby, RUN to your nearest CVS. They have a GREAT deal going on right now!!




These refills (containing 216 wipes!) are currently ringing up for just $2.50! That's right! There won't be a sign for it (in fact the 2/$5 sign is on the smaller box of wipes) but just go ask for a price check, and these will show up as $2/5 as well!

My mom volunteers at Pregnancy Solutions, a place that helps teenage mothers and others during difficult times. She got a dozen of them! I bought two packs for my hairdresser who recently had a baby.

This is a GREAT deal. Let me know if you take advantage of it!

Miss Wonderful

Isn't this little baby girl the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Her name is Ilah, and her mother (once known as "An Atlanta Bride") is one of my favorite bloggers. Check out her fabulous blog, From Marriage to Motherhood, here.

Ahhh....it's pictures like this that make my baby fever thermometer go through the roof. :)

The Purpose Driven Life - What Drives Your Life?

My husband and I recently joined a pretty unconventional Bible study group. It is actually called The Encouragement Group and it meets via Facebook! (Told you it was unconventional!)




There are about 70 members from all over the country. We are reading the book A Purpose Driven Life together, and every day we comment on what we have learned from that day's chapter. We just started on Wednesday, so if you would like to join in the group, just go here. I'd love for some of my blogger friends to join! :)

Today's question is, "What drives your life?"

It took me a while to figure out what really drives my life. I would love to say, "service to others" or "service to God" but I know that's not the case. I even put my poor husband on the spot, asking him what he thinks drives me. But as soon as I asked him, it became clear to me.

I know what drives me - praise and affirmation from others. I always want people to like me, to approve of me and what I am doing. I become far too focused on pleasing others, and not pleasing God. Ultimately, what drives me is my own selfishness and self-centeredness. Ouch!

This quote seems to be speaking right to me: "You weren't put on earth to be remembered. You were put here to prepare for eternity." That's going on a sticky note in my office today. :)

Take a minute to think about that question and comment below - what drives YOUR life?

Being a Writer

What makes someone a writer?

In this age of technology, with "writers" being published throughout cyberspace at the click of a button, what truly defines a writer?

I have always had a dream to be a writer. But as I look back over the year of this blog, isn't that what I have become? In a manner of speaking? Granted, this is not the literary classic I would aspire to leave upon this world. It is filled with eye-catching photos, strategically placed to keep the attention of internet readers. It is filled with entirely too many ellipses, too many spaces, too many "emoticons".

But it is something. And if it is anything, I am a writer.

That is a powerful assertion. It has always been a goal, yet I don't feel I have arrived.

But who ever does?

As you may have noticed, I have been struggling with the direction of this blog now that I am married. What in my life is of interest to others? Do I talk about our financial struggles? Our "newlywed" successes and failures? Or do I back away from the personal nature of the blog and find a different voice? A different path?

I don't know yet. I am still trying to figure it out. I have thought about shutting down the blog. Moving on. But I am not ready to do that either. I feel as though I have gained something of a community here, and I'm not ready to leave. Not yet.

So thanks for sticking with me during this time of soul searching. Or blog searching. Or whatever you want to call it. I appreciate you all giving me the chance to be a writer, if only in a manner of speaking.

Six Months!

Can you believe it? Six months ago, I married the love of my life.






And I love him more and more every day.

Great Deal for Brides!!!

If you're like me, you have spent (or will be spending) hours writing the return address on every Save the Date, wedding invitation and thank you card you send out. That's a lot of writing!

Here is a great deal to save you time (and a hand cramp!)

A new hot freebie from Vistaprint - get 140 customized address labels for free when you pay $3.11 for shipping!!!

Here's how to get yours:

Go here and click on the "Stationary and Home Office" link on the left sidebar.

Now click on "Address Labels" to create your personalized labels.

That's it! Let me know if you take advantage of this great deal!

Words of Wisdom From My Mom

My mom has started blogging again! Her new blog address is http://diannesdilemmas.blogspot.com/. Please go check it out and show her some love!

I loved her post today. She shared some of her wisdom about "Junking", as my Grandma always calls it. Introducing...my Mom!

Junking

I was checking out at Goodwill the other day and the woman there commented about all the nice things that I had found. I replied that I had been taught by the best. It was at this moment that I realized that I had been given great knowledge that many people don't have. I'm going to try my best to explain what my mother taught me about junking from the time I was a little girl. There is to much to learn in one posting so this will become a regular weekly post taking you step by step on becoming an expert thrift shop shopper...

First rule...never call it junking in a store...I made the mistake of doing this once and almost got thrown out by the owner. I quickly explained that this was a term that my mother had used meaning that what other people thought of as junk we saw as treasures...maybe treasure hunting would be a better term to use.

Where to go....if you want to find good junk, oops..I mean treasures, then you have to go to good neighborhoods. Rich people throw out perfectly good things where the poorer sections tend to use things more before getting rid of them. This can be tricky because really good neighborhoods don't want a Goodwill or Salvation Army on their block, so you have to go to the neighborhoods that border them.

Consignment shops are more expensive than thrift shops. At these shops the owners remember how much they paid for the item and they want some of that money back. They are also paying the store owner to sell it for them. Good deals can be found at these stores but you are best to go to the middle class neighborhoods. This way you can get nice things without spending a ton of money. I love to go to consignment shops when I'm on vacation. You can find some real treasures this way.

So your assignment for this week is to go hunting to see what kind of stores are out there in your area. Don't venture into neighborhoods that you don't feel safe. Go with a friend ....treasure hunts are always more fun when you can share the experience...but a word of caution...these stores only have one of each item usually...nothing out there is worth breaking up a friendship for. Just be happy for your friends find and move on.

Do you like to go "junking"? Do you have any great "junking" stories or words of wisdom to share?

Publix Shopping 2/4-2/11

Hello! It's been a while. My apologies! I had a good week shopping at Publix, and I wanted to share my finds with you! These deals are in effect until next Wednesday or Thursday (depending on where you live). Go out and take advantage of these deals!

Lean Cuisines - 4/$10
-$1/4 coupon (printable)
Final price: $2.25/each (you can usually do better than this, but I really needed some!)

Voila! Meals (BOGO) - $4.79
-Use 2 $1/1 (printable)
Final price: $1.40/each!

Contessa Shrimp (50% off) - $3.49
-$2/1 (in newspaper or printable)
Final price: $1.49!

Sabra Classic Hummus -2/$5
-$1/1 coupon (in newspaper)
Final price: $1.50!

Lloyds Pork BBQ (BOGO) - $5.49
Use 2 $1/1 (in newspaper)
Final price: $1.75/each!

Velveeta (BOGO) - $3.85
Use 2 $1/1 (printable)
Final price: $0.92/each!

Breakstone Sour Cream - $0.99
$0.55/1 (newspaper)
Final price: $0.44!

Kraft Shredded Cheese - 2/$4
$1/2 (newspaper)
$1/2 (Publix coupon)
Use both!
Final price: $1.00/each!

Nabisco Crackers (BOGO) - $2.79
$2/2 (printable)
Final price $0.40/each!

Dixie Plates (BOGO) - $2.65
$0.55/1 (newspaper - even better if you have two of these!)
Final price: $1.05/each

These were some of the best deals I found. Let me know if you'd like any of the specific links!

All in all, I got $112.22 worth of groceries for $45.36! Gotta love that! :)