A Lotta Mo Betta

It's the end of another year. A new one is on it's heels. Time to assess and adjust. I'm not completely happy with the way my year has gone. I've broken promises to myself and others. Life has become a check list. I look forward to marking events off of my calendar, thinking I'll feel some relief or be able to rest when they're done, only to realize that another event is coming up. Before I know it, the year is over and I've essentially wished it away. I'm beginning to realize that time is very quickly slipping away, and the people I love most won't always be by my side.

Depressing, huh? Well, fear not! I've been working on a list of improvements that I'd like to make in 2012. I have a pretty lengthy list, so I hope I'm not setting myself up for failure by giving myself too many goals to achieve. A friend recommended a book to me a couple of months ago on Facebook when I was bemoaning the fast-paced life I felt myself in. Last night, I finally bought a digital copy for my iPad, and I'm anxious to find out whether it will help my cause. It's called "The Happiness Project". It chronicles the author's year-long quest to be a happier person. Not necessarily trying to find things to make her happy, but finding ways to appreciate the life she already has. To stop taking things and people for granted. I certainly feel that I could learn more about how to be satisfied and more content with the life God has granted me. I'm only a couple of chapters in, so I can't give a great review yet. However, I'm already feeling a connection to the author, Gretchen Rubin. I am disappointed that, when consulting "spiritual advisers", God wasn't on her list (though some Christian philosophers were), and she seems to be all about TAKING control of her life rather than GIVING it to God. I can tell there are benefits for me to gain by reading this book, though. I can add my own spiritual goals to help me attain a happier life. Since one of my goals is to write more, I'll hopefully give an update sharing what I learn.

I've been thinking about this for a couple of weeks, and this morning, I made my list of goals for the coming year (I LOVE making lists). I noticed there was a lot of "more" and "better". My hens and I use the phrase "A lotta mo betta" to show our approval of just about anything. I'm not sure who started it. Anywho, that's what I thought when I started reviewing my list. So no, the title of my post isn't in Latin, it's in Hen. Here's the list I came up with:

Pray and Read Scripture More: I decided to lump my first two goals together. I had two habits a couple of years ago that, I'm sorry to say, have fallen by the wayside. I'd like to pick them back up. First, I used to pray in the shower. It was my "prayer closet" in a sense. I take ridiculously long showers, so I had plenty of time to make it through my list of family and friends and have a pretty good daily conversation with God. Now, it's all I can do to say "hi" to Him about once a week. I'm ashamed of myself. I've almost given up telling people that I'm praying for them, because it's a flat out lie. I also had a habit of keeping my bible in the car with me and reading it Monday through Friday while I waited in the car rider line at my kids' school. I just don't see myself being one of those people that gets up early every morning to study and have my "quiet time" with God. This was one way I could get in some time with the scriptures. Lately, I seem to spend that time on my iPhone, checking my email and Facebook, or playing Words With Friends (darn you, technology). My lack of spiritual discipline is simply inexcusable.

Appreciate Tim/Marriage More: I don't know if this is true for you, but for Tim and I, 2011 has been an awful year for marriage. It seems every month has brought more news from both family and friends of another marriage that is collapsing. It has become frighteningly obvious to me that I'm taking my own marriage for granted. The way I'm doing this is mainly by failing to appreciate my husband. I want, no, NEED to tell Tim daily what an awesome man, husband and father he is instead of nagging him over things I feel he can improve on. I can't just assume that he's going to love me for the rest of my life without giving him reason to. Our marriage has to be a priority, or we could very well end up in the predicament that so many of our friends have found themselves in.

Be A Better Advocate For Pierce's Education: Pierce has been in Life Skills classes for a year and a half now. Many people have asked how that's going, what he's learning in there. I'm embarrassed to say that I honestly don't know. In another year and a half, he will be in high school. I've become complacent when it comes to Pierce's education. He's getting good grades and seems to be happy, so I've just trusted that things are going well. I've received invitations from teachers to come observe his classes, but I haven't taken them up on the offer. I need to know more about Pierce's school life and start planning for high school and beyond. It's just such a daunting, overwhelming task, that I keep putting it off. I can't ignore it anymore.

Have A Better Relationship With Reagan: Reagan will be 11 in just a few weeks. A preteen; YIKES. I must confess that my relationship with my parents during my teen years was not the best it could've been. I've desperately hoped that Reagan and I will navigate those waters better. I'm at an advantage, because her temperament is not exactly like mine was as a teen. She's been a pretty laid back, happy child. But, I can see that her personality is beginning to change with the oncoming hormones, and she is becoming a little more like me. Just like my relationship with Tim, I tend to nag and be critical of my daughter WAY more than I should. It's a very sad fact that I don't have a lot of time left with her here at home. I need to make this a more positive environment for her.

Be A Better Daughter, Sister and Friend: I don't have room to list every relationship I'd like to work on, so I think this pretty much covers it. After the death of a couple of friends this year, I've begun to realize just how precious the people closest to me really are.

Move More, Eat Less/Better: This is pretty self explanatory, really. I'm not going to give myself ridiculous goals like workout 20 minutes everyday, or go on a diet. However, I HAVE to do more than I'm doing now, which is nothing. I used to walk 3 or 4 times a week, and it's the only exercise I've ever really enjoyed. I need to get back in the habit. Also, I could use some portion control at dinner time. I could also change my bedtime snack routine. I don't know that I have the willpower to cut it out entirely, but I can at least find a healthier alternative than the sweet snack I crave every night.

Control Clutter Better: This is getting a little easier with a housekeeper coming in once a week. There are areas, though, that she doesn't touch that I'm going to have to tackle myself. One of these is my email inbox, and I've already begun working on it. It occurred to me this week that I get 25 to 30 emails every morning that I don't even read before deleting. These are mostly newsletters that I've signed up for over the past year in my quest for coupons. Over the last 3 days, I have unsubscribed myself from over 30! I also plan to go to digital magazine subscriptions. I have a stack of magazines that I haven't read that are just taking up space. With all the time I spend online and with my iPad, I have a much better chance of reading them digitally and pinning all the interesting recipes and gardening ideas on Pinterest.

Finish What We Start: My husband and I have a very bad habit. We love to start things, but have trouble finishing them. I don't know how to change this about ourselves, but I'd like to try and figure out a way.

Coupon More: I started out 2011 strong with my efforts to save money by couponing. During the summer, it became difficult to shop and keep up with coupons with the kids in tow. Eventually, I became kind of burned out. I'd like to get back into it, though. Ironically, one goal I have is to stop buying so many Groupons! I can't tell you how much money I've lost this year by buying a deal, forgetting about it, then having it expire on me. I at least need to make more of an effort to use them as soon as I buy them.

Learn About Our Finances: This is a goal that's long overdue. Tim and I certainly aren't getting any younger. If the unthinkable were to happen, and I was left to raise the kids alone, I'd have no idea where to find anything. That's a truly terrifying thought!

Work Harder To Maintain a Decent Yard: Boy, have I let our place go this year. I worked so hard on so many gardens around the house, and now it looks like I'll have to start over. I'm a person that is very easily overwhelmed when faced with a task. When I look at our 4 acres, I feel hopeless. Even my biggest efforts feel like a mere drop in the bucket. I have to shake myself free of this mentality and at least try to keep this place from looking so white-trash.

Read More: No explanation necessary. I just want to be a more well-read person and at least feel a little more intelligent.

Blog More: I feel bad that I haven't written much this year. I really enjoy it, and I feel a sense of pride once I'm done. It feels great to accomplish something other than sitting on the couch watching Netflix all day.

So, there you have it. It does seem a little ambitious, doesn't it? I can think of a couple more things to add, but they fall under the umbrella of goals I've already listed, so I'm just going to let this list stand. Feel free to ask me how things are going; maybe it'll help keep me accountable. Good luck with your own resolutions and have a happy and blessed 2012!

What Christmas Means To Me

Here I go again, stirring things up and asking for trouble. This is a post that I intended to write last Christmas but never got around to it. It's something that I've been wanting to get off my chest for a few years now. As I've pointed out many times in my musings, I was raised in the Church of Christ. I dearly love the CofC, and right now, I can't imagine ever worshipping with any other denomination. That being said, as an adult in the CofC, I began to question some of our traditions. In this way, I've made religion my own, and not "just my parents' religion". I think it is completely healthy to question, and I encourage everyone to discover for yourself what it is you truly believe. I sincerely hope that my family and other Christians from my childhood don't take this post as a slam against the Church of Christ.

As I was growing up, there was a firm belief in the Churches of Christ that Christmas should NOT be celebrated as the birth of Christ. One reason for this was that the specific birthdate of Christ is not given in the bible. Celebrating Christmas as Jesus' birthday would be in violation of the command to leave scripture as is; do not add to or take away from the word of God. I can't remember ever being given a "book, chapter and verse" for this command, but now that I'm researching, I've found a couple of scriptures in the OLD Testament (Deuteronomy 4:2, and Proverbs 30:5,6) and a scripture in Revelation pertaining specifically to the prophecies in that book (Revelation 22:18,19). The second reason for not celebrating the birth of Christ at Christmastime was that, according to scripture, we should not keep any holy days. Again, I can't remember any specific scripture being given to me, but I found one in Galatians (Galatians 4:10,11).

As a kid, we celebrated Christmas as that day that Santa Claus brings you presents. We had a tree, stockings, "Jingle Bells" and "Rudolph". All of the PAGAN aspects of this holiday, but none of the religious. We didn't sing traditional Christmas songs like "Joy To The World" or "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" or hear sermons about the birth of Christ at all during the month of December. I don't think I even knew what the term "Nativity" meant until high school. I can remember a sermon from a preacher one year giving us his list of reasons, based on research, that the world had it wrong. Jesus could't possibly have been born anywhere near December 25th, because it would've been too cold for the shepherds to be out in the fields that time of year, or something like that.

I remember vividly when my beliefs became known to all of my friends. Back in the 80's (and especially in the south), it wasn't yet completely taboo to talk about God in school. In the fifth grade, we were given a writing assignment: Write your version of The Christmas Story. In describing the assignment, our teacher said he was talking about the birth of Jesus. Naively, I raised my hand and said, " But I don't believe that's 'The Christmas Story'". The gasp from my classmates was audible. To them, I was the Anti-Christ! If I remember correctly, I still wrote about the birth of Christ, but I ended it with a paragraph about not believing this was the Christmas Story; that it was "against my religion" to believe this. Try as I might to explain why my family felt this way (like, we choose to celebrate Christ's birth EVERY day, not just at Christmas), I did not win a single person to the Kingdom of Christ. All they heard was that I didn't believe in The Christmas Story.

I can't remember exactly what point it was in my life when my beliefs about Christmas began to change. When Tim and I dated in high school, he invited me to his Baptist church's Christmas program, The Living Christmas Tree. In it, was a live Nativity scene. Boy, did I struggle to sit there for what I thought was a completely blasphemous performance. We had many arguments about this subject throughout our years of dating. Once we became engaged, Tim became a member of my church and we didn't argue about Christmas anymore. It wasn't until we moved to Nashville a few years later and began attending Antioch Church of Christ that I began to see that not all people in the Church of Christ held the belief that Jesus' birth was not to be celebrated at Christmas. We actually sang a few carols during the month of December and had at least one sermon about baby Jesus. One year (the memory is kind of hazy, because I can't recall if this was a sermon or just someone expressing his thoughts before the Lord's Supper), we heard a story from someone confessing his guilt about a situation similar to my story from fifth grade. He'd had a fight with a girl in school about Christmas not being Christ's birthday. Now as an adult, he mourned that he hadn't acted very Christ-like. The impression he left with her about the kind of Christian he was, was that he thought it was more important to argue about Christmas than it was to share the love of Christ. His confession had a huge impact on me.

I think the transforming of my mind has happened rather slowly. I choose to celebrate Christmas as the day that God came to live among us in flesh as a newborn baby. Born to a virgin, in a dirty stall. I think this has been a gradual shift for many in the Church of Christ. The church I grew up in now sings carols and talks about the Nativity during the month of December. My parents do as well. It really gripes me when I hear the old thinking in the CofC regarding Christmas. There are many that still hold fast to the old beliefs. I read a blog written just a couple of weeks ago proclaiming that if Christ had wanted to be a part of Christmas, He would've given us specific instructions in the bible that His birth was to be celebrated on December 25th every year. It even implied that people that celebrated Christ at Christmas don't celebrate Him the other 364 days a year. How presumptuous! All I know is that if the world chooses to celebrate Christ's birth during Christmastime, I think we should take this opportunity to spread the gospel to ears that are willing to hear, instead of debating timelines and scriptures. If we win more souls for the Kingdom at Christmastime, how can this approach be wrong? So, yes, I'm going to wish you a Merry CHRISTmas, and a Happy New Year!

The Week I Was Stoned

FORWARD:
I wrote this nearly a week ago. I was waiting to post it until I knew what the ending to the story would be. Yesterday, December 20th, an X-ray showed that the stone is GONE! I have no idea when it decided to vacate the premises. Instead of doing some editing, I decided to leave the post mostly as is. May you NEVER have a week like I just had!!

It was the Christmas season. So much to do. It was also our anniversary. I had spent the last 11 days giving little gifts to my husband in the tradition of "The 12 Days Of Christmas". I called it "The 12 Days Of Our Anniversary". (Someday, I hope to do a little post with all of the pictures of the gifts and notes I gave him) We were all set to spend the day together, celebrating our anniversary on December 12. At 4 am, I woke up in pain. I lay there, hoping it was gas or ovulation pain, but twenty minutes later, my panting and moaning woke Tim up. Tim had a coworker that had recently had kidney stones, so he suggested we go to the ER. Thus began our anniversary from Hell. I've posted about my kidney stone on Facebook ad nauseam, but I've learned a few things from this experience. So at the risk of a lynching from those that are sick to death of hearing about this, I thought I'd share my stones, er, pearls of wisdom.

Kidney stones have a horrible reputation. You go into a doctor's office or ER and even hint at "kidney stones", and you have the sympathy of everyone around you. No one doubts your pain for a second. If they haven't had one themselves, they have all heard the horror stories. They're nearly throwing pain pills at you. "How many do you want? Do you want the really strong stuff? We just want to make you as comfortable as possible." That's reassuring, but at the same time frightening. Just how bad is this going to get?

And speaking of horror stories...Just like your terrifying childbirth stories do nothing to comfort an expectant mother, so do your terrifying stories of passing a kidney stone told to one that has yet to pass theirs. Just sayin'. That said, yes, kidney stones are worse than labor, but allow me to explain why. 1. With labor and delivery you get an epidural. No epidural with kidney stones. 2. Contractions come in waves, with a contraction lasting about 30 seconds. Kidney stone pain is CONSTANT. There may be some days better than others, but mostly, you're in pain until the stone is passed (unless you're completely stoned on pain meds). 3. Childbirth occurs (most of the time) within a few hours or a day. Four days and 12 hours later, I have YET to birth this thing. Although, as I commented on Facebook, you don't have to figure out how to send a kidney stone to college, so I'll take the stone.

This was horrible timing, happening on our anniversary and so close to Christmas. But, it could've been worse. Just 12 hours before my pain began, I had returned from a girls weekend in the mountains. Miles away from an ER. Yikes! And though I love to savor my last few days of freedom before kids are out of school and that was ruined by this stupid stone, I never would've gotten the rest I needed had this happened a week later while the kids were home all day. Again, yikes!

Finally, I knew my husband was amazing, but I was reminded how much this week. He completely rearranged his schedule so that he could deliver kids to and from school while I was doped up on pain meds, and he NEVER complained. He's ever the optimist, so he tried to help me laugh at the absurdity of our situation. The night this all began, on our anniversary, his Facebook post read, "I think we were attacked by the irony police today. See, I was going to surprise Mel with dinner at Stoney River. We were going to have Rock Lobster. Then later we were going to go to the Cold Stone Creamery." Sure, it was completely unromantic, but it was freakin' hilarious. A kidney stone is the absolute worst anniversary gift I can imagine, but at the same time, it has reminded me of my husband's patient, loving, gentle spirit and the awesome marriage that I've been blessed with. Maybe this stupid stone was what we needed after all.

It's The Little Things

Yes, it has been a long time since my last post. One of these days, I'm going to get back into the habit of regular blogging. Aywho, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Last year, I posted a list of things I'm thankful for. I'd like to do that again this year, but with a twist. Since my list of serious blessings from last year still apply, I would just be repeating what's already been said. So instead, I'd like to list those minor, more trivial things in my life that bring me joy. By the way, I was inspired after I heard a DJ on the morning show I listen to ask his listeners to call in with their "silly blessings".

1. My sense of humor. In my humble opinion, I think I have a pretty good one. My husband's sense of humor is very similar to mine, so sometimes, all it takes is repeating some random TV or movie quote to crack us both up. Let's face it; to survive parenting (especially parenting an autistic child) you've got to be able to laugh in many situations.

2. Coffee. Do I really need to explain this one? I especially love the Starbucks Caramel Macchiato that my husband brings me every Saturday morning (when I'm in town, that is).

3. iTunes. I used to fantasize as a kid, when I recorded my mix tapes from the radio, that one day, I would have the infinite tape on which I could record the mix tape that would never end. iTunes gets pretty close to my childhood dream. I currently have 5,334 songs in iTunes, with 51 different playlists. I can put hundreds of songs in one list! My love of music leads me to the next item on my list...

4. The Bargain Bin at McKay's Used Books. Yes, they have books, which I love, but my favorite thing is the CDs you can find in their Bargain Bin. They get so many CDs, that they can't take the time to buff out the really scratched up ones. These go into the Bargain Bin. I've found CDs here anywhere from 92 cents to a nickel! Then, I take my finds to another CD trade store down the road where they will buff the scratches out for $1 a piece. You have to be a little picky. There are obviously some CDs that are beyond repair. But, I've found some great stuff. Like the Sleepless In Seattle Soundtrack for 5 cents! Harry Connick, Jr. CDs for 19 cents! When I'm done with them, I can trade them in for another pile. I'm getting music practically for free!

5. Netflix. I pay a little money each month, and I can catch up on entire series that I missed out on the first time around, such as Lost. I also get a huge library of movies, right at my fingertips.

6. Clean sheets. I love crawling into bed when my 400 thread count sheets have been freshly washed.

7. Long, hot showers. 'Nuff said.

8. Babysitting co-op. About once a month, we get free babysitting when we send our kids to a friends house. We reciprocate by keeping their kids on a different night. Our kids all like to play together, so it's a win-win for everyone!

9. Facebook. Such an easy and fun way to reconnect with old friends and get to know new ones better.

10. My irises and daffodils. I have a few thousand of both. They never let me down, and they are the most dependable plants I have. They just want to be divided every few years, but other than that, they are happy as clams. The best part? They were FREE, planted by the previous owner!

So, these were the first 10 things that popped into my head within about an hour's time. I know in the past I've mentioned posts that I would like to continue. It would be fun to keep this "silly blessings" thing up, but I obviously can't make any promises. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

In The Hot Seat

As I've probably said before, I sing with a fabulous group of ladies called the Metro Nashville Chorus. I've become rather involved: Not only am I in the chorus, but I'm also in a quartet, I'm on the music team, and I'm on the management team as the Membership Coordinator. As Membership Coordinator, I decided a fun way to get to know each other and get closer as a group was to do short, 5-minute long interviews at the end of rehearsals. I call these interviews "The Hot Seat". I usually start out with a couple of questions, then other chorus members chime in with their own burning questions. I record these interviews on my iPhone, and then type up the transcript for the member-only portion of the chorus website. Recently, I decided that it was time that I put myself in "The Hot Seat". There probably aren't any shocking revelations here, but I thought I'd share the interview with my Melmac readers. It also happens to be a quick and easy solution for a blog post. ;)

Q: Alrighty! Tonight, I am interviewing myself! So, first question: How long have you been in Nashville?

A: (Jumping over to sit on the stump) I've been in Nashville since '96, so that makes it 15 years.

Q: (JENNIFER PALUS) Where were you born?

A: Where was I born? I was born...I would do a Steve Martin bit, but I don't think everyone would get it. ("I was born a poor black child...") I was born in south Georgia, in Valdosta. And I only lived there for a couple of years and then moved to South Carolina. (BRIDGET WIETLISBACH: Military family?) No, no. So, raised in South Carolina.

Q: (DEBORAH MILLER) How did you find out about MNC?

A: That is a really, interesting, roundabout question. My husband actually worked with Michelle for a time, and in passing, Michelle had talked about chorus. I don't remember this, but Tim swears that he came home and said, "Hey, Michelle sings in this chorus, and I know you love to sing. Maybe you might want to do that sometime.". I really don't remember it. So, fast forward a couple of years later. Rachel is working at my kids' school. (RACHEL: Was) Well, at that time, was. And her assistant, or a substitute that was helping her at the time was Valerie McKnight, who went to church with me. Rachel got Valerie interested, and Valerie talked to me and said, "Oh, wouldn't this be cool if we both did this together?!". So, she dragged me here, and I'm still here, and Valerie is not. That was 2 years ago, so I've been here 2 years.

Q: (JENNIFER PALUS) What's your favorite non-barbershop song? Or kind of music?

A: Oh my. I am a rocker chick. (Like head-banging?) Not quite the head-banger; well, I like the hair bands from the 80's. That's probably as head-banging as I get. I'm a HUGE John Mayer fan. But, I have a vast array of music on my iPod, from Beethoven to Winger.

Q: (LAURA HAMMONS) You have music in your family, right?

A: Yes! My dad was a rebellious rocker back in the day, and was a drummer for a little rock band, garage band. (JENNIFER: And they were called The Who) Ha! Unfortunately, no. And my grandmother gave piano lessons, so it was kind of in the family.

Q: (CYNDI SPINDEN) Do you have a hobby other than singing?

A: I do! I love to scrapbook, though I haven't done it in a while. And I love to garden, and I haven't done that in a while, because 100 degree temperatures did not really tempt me to go outside and work. So, if you come to my house right now, my yard is a complete mess. (BRIDGET: But the inside of her house is beautiful!) Haha! Getting there, it's getting there.

Q: (KAT GREENE) Do you have any pets?

A: I have a very psychotic dog, that you've probably all heard about at some point; Satan, I mean, Midnight. And we have 2 cats. One that I rescued from the back yard last year just as an itty-bitty 5 day old kitten, abandoned by it's mother. (DENICE FRENCH: She fed it until the milk came out of it's eyes!)

Q: (GENA SALDANA) Best karaoke song?

A: Believe it or not, I have NEVER done karaoke (EVERYONE GASPS!!!) I've done Rock Band in someone's living room, but I've never gone out to a public karaoke bar.

Q: (GENA SALDANA) Sports? Are you into any kind of sports?

A: I am not a sports fan AT ALL. I don't get football. I will watch it with my husband if I have to; hockey, totally don't get. No. No. No sports.

Q: (JENNIFER PALUS) Are you a reader?A: Sometimes. (JENNIFER: What kind of books do you like to read?) Christian fiction. Harry Potter; love all of the Harry Potter books.

Q: (JENNIFER PALUS) Are you a writer?

A: I blog! Its www.musings-from-melmac.blogspot.com (JENNIFER: So you were born in a "blog cabin"?) Ah, yes. A blog cabin.

Alrighty! I think that's all I have for myself!

I hope to do a post in the near future about my experiences in chorus. (I'm playing with a title: "My Life In Sequins".) If you are of the female persuasion and love to sing, I encourage you to come check us out. You don't know what you're missing!

The Day The Earth Stood Still: Part 3

The prayer service started at 6:30. It would be short; the president would be addressing the nation at 7pm (central). I stayed in the nursery with Pierce and Reagan, because neither of them were in the mood to sit quietly. I could watch the service on a monitor. At seven, the men in the control room tried to get the president's address to come up on the big screens in the auditorium. It took a minute or two. I changed channels on the nursery monitor until I found it. It was so moving. I cried at this reference to the 23rd Psalm.

On the way home, it was strange to look up and see nothing but stars. No moving lights, not a single plane in the sky. We got home and put the kids to bed. Of course, Tim and I sat in front of the television for the rest of the evening. We were stunned to see the brilliant fire lighting up the NY skyline. There wasn't a lot of new information. Osama Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda terrorist group (based in Afghanistan) were the main suspects. It was too early to say for certain that he was responsible. Earlier in the day, there were reports of gun fire in Afghanistan, but the US denied having anything to do with it. It was too soon to declare war on them. Mostly, the images on TV were those I had seen all day. The plane slamming into the building, the buildings collapsing, people running for their lives, the Pentagon on fire, NYC covered in snow-like ash. It was surreal.

I felt such sorrow and heartbreak. I also had the unsettling feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop. I knew it wasn't over. As terrible as that day was, each day after was worse. The personal stories were coming out. The widows, the widowers, the orphaned children. About 400 firefighters were missing. Every reporter on the street was surrounded by people holding up pictures of their missing loved ones. There were answering machine messages left by people trapped in the WTC or passengers on the hijacked flights. I told Tim that if he had been in that situation, I wouldn't have wanted him to call me. I wouldn't want those final words to play over and over again in my head for the rest of my life. But, that's just me. Maybe people were comforted by hearing goodbyes from the people they loved. There was news that some of the passengers on Flight 93 (the one that crashed in Pennsylvania) knew they were supposed to become a weapon. They attacked the terrorists before the plane could reach its target. The pilot had already been killed, so these people knew that the plane would crash and they were going to die. The sadness was crushing. I wondered if I would ever stop crying. The president declared September 14th a National Day of Prayer. That day was also my 27th birthday. I watched the prayer service at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., overwhelmed with a mixture of grief and love for our country. Tim and I got a sitter that night so we could go out for my birthday, but we certainly didn't feel like celebrating. I don't even remember what we did.

There were hero stories that made me cry, too. Like the two men that carried a woman in her wheelchair down 86 floors of the World Trade Center. Two women that ran a daycare close to the WTC raced across town to safety on foot carrying 10 young children. Lines were 3 to 6 hours long for people donating blood. Everyone felt so patriotic. God and prayer were mentioned on national television by people who would usually do their best to avoid the subjects. I remember looking out of the car window four days after the attack and thinking how beautiful the scenery was and how blessed my family was to live in this country.

I could write so much more. But, I don't think I could say anything that isn't written in the memorabilia I've saved. Previous generations remember just what they were doing when Pearl Harbor was bombed, JFK was assassinated, or the space shuttle Challenger blew up. I know I'll never forget 9/11. I hope no one does.

The Day The Earth Stood Still: Part 2

Eyewitnesses were being interviewed one after another. The second plane was crashing into the tower over and over again. One thing I noticed was how blue the sky was. It was such a beautiful day in New York City. The black smoke just didn't belong in the picture. Finally, at 9:30 (central), I scooped up Reagan and ran to the car. I didn't want to miss anything. I cranked up the car and turned the station to 99.7 just in time to hear that tower #1 had just collapsed. There was a moment of silence, then Peter Jennings said only, "Good Lord". Chills raced down my spine. I felt compelled to see it for myself. I threw the car in park, grabbed Reagan and ran back inside. As I turned on the TV, the tower was collapsing again in a replay. The TV anchors searched for words. The World Trade Center, two of the tallest buildings in the world, was nothing but ash. I had to get to church.

On the way, I listened to a blur of witnesses. Then, as I got close to church, more breaking news. There were reports of a plane crash in Pennsylvania. It was now speculated that these planes had been hijacked. It seemed so odd that this plane had crashed in an empty field. Why hadn't they tried to hit something on the ground?

When I arrived at church, people were walking around like zombies. Several were crying. We exchanged stories: how we heard the news, how we reacted. I left Reagan in the nursery and walked down the hall to class with my friend, Kathy. There was a few minutes of complete panic when her phone rang, and she got a report that Camp David had been hit. I wouldn't find out until I got home later that this information was false. I remembered my cell phone in the car. What if the schools were cancelled and I needed to pick Pierce up early? I ran back to get it.

About 15 of us gathered. A couple of women spoke and read Bible passages, a couple prayed. We all cried. Then to end the class, we stood in a circle holding hands and each took a turn praying. I was so glad I went. I felt some peace.

My mind was filled with questions as I went to pick Pierce up from school. Would the teachers know? How much would they know? Would they ask me what I knew? I sat outside the school and composed myself. Pierce's teachers brought his class outside. They acted as if nothing was different. They didn't want the kids to get upset. On the ride home, Pierce chattered away, blissfully unaware.

As soon as I got home, I turned on the TV. Pierce was oblivious to what was happening. Each station speculated how many people had been killed. I had already prepared myself to hear about 10,000. It was too early to tell. Information was scrolling across the bottom of the screen. Malls were closed, churches all over Nashville were announcing prayer services. Tim worked downtown. There was a building a few blocks away from his office that had been evacuated because of a bomb threat. This happened to many buildings around town that day. For the first time all day, I put my head in my hands and cried. Tim called, but we didn't know what to say to each other. I put the kids down for naps, then went back to the TV. They were asking for blood donors. My blood is O+, and I knew it would be in demand. I called my friend, Tammy, from Ladies Class. She was an OB nurse, and I wanted to know how soon after having a baby I could donate blood. I got her machine, so I called the Red Cross. They told me one could give blood six weeks after giving birth. Reagan was 7-months-old. Tammy called later to answer my question. She wasn't worried about a lack of blood, she was more concerned that the blood wouldn't be needed. Very few were coming in injured, which meant the death toll would be big. She asked if I'd heard about our church's prayer service. I had seen it on TV. I called Tim to tell him I wanted us to go.

I had dinner warmed up when Tim got home. Reagan was napping and Pierce was at the table. We went to the living room. Tim saw the pictures for the first time. The WTC and the Pentagon continued to burn. A third building, tower #7, had collapsed at about 4:30. We watched the plane hit over and over. No matter how many times I saw it, the fireball and then the collapses, I was horrified. I couldn't wrap my brain around it. We clasped hands and cried. We ate in front of the TV. Tim blessed the food and thanked God for keeping us all safe. He said that one of his first impulses had been to go get Pierce from school, but he had decided Pierce would be safe there. We didn't have much time to talk. We gobbled down dinner and got the kids ready for church.

The Day The Earth Stood Still: Part 1

As I get older, it is unbelievable to me how very fast time goes by. In just a few short days, the world will acknowledge the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. Even though I was not directly affected by the events of that day, I find myself resisting the process of remembering. All of the stories, pictures and videos from that day and where the survivors are now strike a nerve in me that is still so raw, even after all of these years. The events took place during a time that I was dealing with some post-partem depression, and it's a place I don't like to visit. However, I believe strongly in archiving the family history. This is my generation's Pearl Harbor or JFK assassination. So, for my future generations, I wrote down the details of that day in the way it related to me and my family. I did this about 2 months after the attacks. In fact, I wrote it the day another plane crashed in New York in November 2001. It's a fairly long account, so I'm bringing it to you in three parts. I realize everyone is being reflective right now, so this is just one of millions of stories that are being told on such a significant anniversary. This story isn't special or unique; it's just mine.

November 12, 2001

Today, there was a plane crash in Queens, NY. No one knows right now if it was an accident or an act of terrorism. When I walked into the living room at 8:40 (central) this morning and saw the breaking news report, my heart sank. Black smoke billowed up from the ground and immediately I thought, "Please, God, not again!". I said a quick prayer and thought about the day two months ago when the world was changed forever. I have articles describing the historic events of that day, but I want to give my own account.

September 11, 2001. The day started like any other. I woke up around 7am. I really try to give my day to God, but when I first wake up, I start to think about everything that has to be done and get sidetracked. This day was different. Before getting out of bed, I thanked God for the day, and asked for protection for every member of my family. Then, I woke Pierce up and got him dressed for pre-school. I kissed Tim and Pierce goodbye, then got 7-month-old Reagan up and fed. Today was Tuesday; Ladies Bible Class day. I needed to shower and dress, but I decided to take the time to have some coffee and watch The Today Show on NBC. I think it was about 7:50 (central), and one of the Kennedys was being interviewed (I think it was Edward). I really wasn't interested in the interview, so I turned it to Fox. A cartoon was on, so I turned it to CBS. The top of the screen said, "BREAKING NEWS" and there was black smoke pouring out of a tall building. Bryant Gumble said that witnesses had reported a plane crashing into tower #1 of the World Trade Center. I was panicked! Preferring NBC, I kept turning it back there to see what they were saying. They were showing commercials. I couldn't figure out why they wouldn't be showing this. Finally, at 8 (central), Matt Lauer told of breaking news at the World Trade Center. They talked to a doorman at the Marriot Hotel, which was between towers #1 and #2. He said it looked like a small charter plane had hit the tower. Debris was falling and people were running. I just couldn't believe what a horrible accident this was! How could a pilot not see the WTC? It was 110 stories high! Katie Couric was talking to an NBC producer who called in from her cell phone at about 8:05. Suddenly, she screamed and said, "Oh my God, another one just hit!". A huge fireball rose from the second tower. I could hear Al Roker and others off camera gasp. The producer yelled into her cell phone, "Did you see that?!" Katie answered yes. My feet were frozen and my knees were locked. My brain couldn't process what I was seeing. I screamed over and over, "Oh my God, my God!". My next thought was, "This is it! The world is ending!". The Today Show anchors were at a loss for words. I decided to call my mother. I knew she couldn't do anything, but I just needed to hear her voice. She sounded groggy. I asked, "Are you watching this?". She said she was still in bed. I told her to turn on the TV. The WTC had just been hit by two small airplanes. She got the TV on just as NBC began to replay the second plane hitting. It took me a moment to realize that it was a replay and not a third plane hitting the towers. I tried to fill her in on what I knew, and the thought suddenly hit me: THIS WAS NO ACCIDENT. We both watched, stunned, she in SC and me in TN. After a few minutes, we hung up, hoping nothing worse would happen.

Ladies class! My first impulse was to stay home and watch the news coverage. Then, I knew that now more than ever, we needed to be together praying for our country. I tried to pull myself away from the TV. Katie Couric kept saying it was possible this wasn't an accident, but an act of terrorism. I yelled back, "Of course this is terrorism! Don't you see that?!". I finally carried the radio into our bathroom and turned it to 99.7 talk radio so I could get a shower. The station was airing ABC's live coverage. Peter Jennings was covering the story. A couple of minutes after I got in the shower, president George W. Bush made his first public statements. He was in Florida talking to second graders when everything began. He gave a brief synopsis of events. Then, he said that we would "hunt down the folks who committed this act". I felt reassured. A minute or two after he spoke, Peter Jennings said he had more breaking news. There were reports of smoke coming from the Pentagon. Once again, I panicked. This couldn't be happening! Sure enough, the Pentagon had also been hit by an airplane. For the first time ever, the FAA ordered all planes in the air to land at the closest airport. Then, US airports were to close indefinitely. By now, we knew that the planes that crashed were Boeings: 757s and 767s. Big planes. They just looked small beside the enormous World Trade Center.

I hurried out of the shower and ran back to the TV. Once again, I needed to hear a familiar voice. I knew Tim was in a meeting, but I called him on his cell phone. He was getting pretty sketchy details from phone calls to the other men in the meeting. I told him the Pentagon had been hit and that all US airports had been closed. He couldn't talk long, so we exchanged "I love you"s and hung up. I ran to get dressed and put on my makeup. I was in the living room getting things together for Ladies Class. It was about 9am (central). Someone was being interviewed on NBC. Matt Lauer interrupted and said, "Can we roll the tape back a little? I thought I just saw something fall from the side of tower #2.". Before the tape could be rolled back, the tower crumbled. It just pancaked; floor after floor until there was nothing but smoke. It was such a strong building. No one seemed to think it would come down. This was the first time I heard someone mention all of the firefighters that were inside the buildings helping people out. How many were in that building when it came down?

Blessed Are The Pure In Heart

April is Autism Awareness Month. It also happens to be the month in which our son, Pierce, celebrates his birthday. In less than two weeks, my boy will be (gulp)...a teenager. I can hardly believe it, though he's had acne and a mustache for months now.

Last week, Tim and I went to a meeting for parents of children that would be entering the 7th grade in the fall to learn about the church's youth group. As most parents would, I had some mixed emotions about being there. The youth program at our church is fantastic. Pierce is going to be surrounded by great kids and Godly adults during his teen years. However, I got a little sad when the youth minister began to talk about one of this group's main goals: To help our teens become mature disciples of Christ. This, for us, just isn't going to become a reality. I began to think about a parenting class that Tim and I attended at our former church some years ago. Parents of a child with Asperger's Syndrome made a guest appearance one week. Their son was a teenager, and they talked about some of the struggles they'd had as parents. When they asked for questions at the end of class, I raised my hand. I tearfully asked if their son had been baptized, and if he understood what it was all about. I should probably first give you a little background to explain why I asked this question. You see, I grew up in a Church Of Christ. There is a very strong belief that baptism is THE act that saves your soul. If you want to start a debate in the CofC, just pose this scenario: A man/woman makes the decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. They get in the car and head to the church where they will be baptized. However, on their way to the church building, they are killed in a horrible car accident. Will this person enter into Heaven, or be turned away at the pearly gates?

Pierce is nearly 13-years-old, and he still LOVES Veggie Tales, Blue's Clues, Dora The Explorer, and other such shows aimed at preschoolers. Honestly, he is obsessed with quoting lines from these shows. I won't lie; some days, it drives me absolutely CRAZY. I want him to love shows that a normal 13-year-old would watch. I want him to talk about cars and video games and other such stuff. I also want him to keep up with his peers at church and one day become a "mature disciple of Christ". One Sunday morning, when I was struggling to keep Pierce from talking out loud about Blue's Clues, I got a smack in the face. The sermon that day was, "Blessed Are The Pure In Heart". At one point, our minister started giving examples of kids with special needs and their innocent hearts and minds. I began to cry. Here I was, wanting my kid to be a normal teenager, when Jesus was looking into my child's heart and saying, "THIS is what I want!".

The answer those parents in that class years ago gave me was this: Yes, their child had been baptized, because he wanted to be. They didn't know if he fully understood Christ's sacrifice, but they believed he loved the Lord with all of his heart. It is not my intention today to debate baptism's role in a person's salvation. It is such a slippery slope, and I don't want to trip and roll all the way down. I'm simply telling you the thoughts that I've personally wrestled with. I did my time worrying about Pierce's soul. It's going to be so hard to see all of his friends mature and accept Christ, and I don't know if Pierce will ever "get" Christianity. But, if he never comes to us and asks to be dunked in a tub of water, I will not mourn. His heart is pure, which is just the way Jesus wants it. And if it's good enough for Jesus, then it's good enough for me.

I'm Not Who I Was

A week or two ago, I got an email notifying me that I'd been added to a new group on Facebook. It was a group for my high school graduating class of 1992. It seems it's time to start planning our 20th reunion. I have to be honest and say that the very thought of my upcoming reunion fills my heart with fear and dread. I'm sure I'm not the first, and I won't be the last to feel that way. I didn't go to my 10th reunion, but it wasn't because I had aged or put on weight. I didn't attend my 10th and don't want to go back for my 20th, because I don't like being reminded of the person I used to be.

There's a quote from the movie Hope Floats that has always stuck with me. It's at the very end; the little girl in the movie begins to narrate, then her mom takes over: "My dad says that childhood is the happiest time of my life. But, I think he's wrong. I think my mom's right. She says...Childhood is what you spend the rest of your life trying to overcome. ...Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it's the middle that counts the most". I've heard some people describe their youth as fun and carefree. For me, my teenage years were the most stressful of my entire life. Us grownups may look at our youth now and call their teen angst silly and trivial, but I'm here to tell you that I thought my drama was rather serious. I was never a very confident child, but in my teens I was plagued with a nearly crippling lack of self confidence. I was (and still am) a very introverted and shy person. I had people tell me that they tried to say "hello" to me in the halls, but I never heard them because I was looking at the floor and moving as quickly as I could to get to my next class. I didn't want to be in the hall any longer than I had to be. I had friends, great ones in fact, but I always felt awkward in social situations. I was ridiculously skinny, my body had no shape, my hair was thick and frizzy, and I had (have) a big, ugly nose. I did have some fun times. I loved music (it was the one thing I thought I was good at), so I was a band nerd. That certainly didn't help me win any popularity contests, though. Every August, I thought, "This is my year". The boys are going to notice me, and I might actually have a boyfriend. The popular kids won't treat me like a geek. Alas, every school year went the same as the one before. I'd fall head over heels in unrequited love with a couple of different guys only to have my heart broken over and over again when I would find out that they had absolutely no interest in me. I would get up the nerve to get involved in social events, only to try too hard and end up feeling like a fool. I hated school from the very first day of first grade. Because I was smart, I got pretty good grades but could've gotten great grades if I had made more of an effort. I was so easily overwhelmed with tests and homework. Honestly, though, I felt like school was a waste of my time. I didn't care about college, and I didn't want a career. Go ahead and call me old-fashioned, but all I really wanted was to fall in love, get married and be a mom. So, those 4 years of high school were pure torture. I was depressed most of the time. The anxiety of dealing with the pressures of school work and the desire to fit in kept me from eating breakfast in the mornings, because my stomach was a bundle of nerves. I also had constant tension headaches. I was a very angry and negative person. I was so jealous of the beautiful people. I had a very bad habit of talking about other people's faults, because, I guess, I thought that would make me look better. I felt that my station in life was unfair. Because of my behavior and the fact that I was very much the introvert and didn't come off as totally friendly, I heard rumors that many people thought I was a snob or a bitch.

Thankfully, God rescued me by sending Tim my way. He was in my Trig class my junior (his senior) year. We knew of each other because we ran in some of the same geeky circles. I took a chance (at my mother's prodding) and asked Tim to the Junior/Senior prom, and he said yes. We dated during that summer, but when he left for college, he suggested we should just be friends. He told me later that it had become very hard to be with someone as negative as I was. I realized that I had to make a change. In my letters to him, I stopped ranting about how much I hated life and tried to focus on the positives. I had loosened up a little at school, too. I was tired of trying so hard to fit in; if it hadn't happened by this my senior year, it wasn't going to happen. I opted for the more alternative, grunge clothing and music, instead of the preppy stuff everyone else was wearing and listening to. I managed to win Tim back. After I attended just one completely miserable year of college, Tim proposed and we made plans to get married that same year. I had a couple of friends try to council me. They told me I would regret dropping out of college and getting married at 19. I even ran into some fellow high school alumni, and when I told them I was getting married, their gaze dropped down to my abdomen. Some people assumed that if I was getting married this young, it must be a shotgun wedding! I don't know why the idea that we could actually be ready to make this commitment was so foreign! May be we were just more mature than others our age, I don't know.

Fast forward nearly 20 years to now. I'm a wife and mom like I always wanted to be. Yes, my life is stressful from time to time with marital and parenting issues. However, you couldn't pay me enough money to go back to high school even for a day. I have NEVER regretted dropping out of college or getting married at such a young age. I'm more comfortable in my own skin than I ever was in my adolescence. I still have my insecurities, but they aren't as crippling as they were years ago. I still feel awkward socially, but I try, and I don't beat myself up (too much, anyway) if I do something stupid. Tim has helped me to overcome so much of the negativity I used to be filled with. I'm a more positive person, for the most part. I understand now that some people just have the personality to be popular and loved more than others, and I shouldn't be envious of that. To those that I talked about in high school, I apologize. To those that thought I wanted nothing to do with you, I'm sorry I made you feel that way. Maybe you will see me at next year's reunion. It's something I will be praying about and psyching myself up for. After all, I have a year to prepare!

There is a song by Brandon Heath that sums things up rather well. I almost feel like he was in my head when he wrote this. I don't feel like I've totally arrived at being the person I want to be, but I'm so much closer than I was 20 years ago.

I'm Not Who I Was

I wish you could see me now
I wish I could show you how
I'm not who I was
I used to be mad at you
A little on the hurt side too
But I'm not who I was

I found my way around
To forgiving you
Some time ago
But I never got to tell you so

I found us in a photograph
I saw me and I had to laugh
You know, I'm not who I was
You were there, you were right above me
And I wonder if you ever loved me
Just for who I was

When the pain came back again
Like a bitter friend
It was all that I could do
To keep myself from blaming you

I reckon it's a funny thing
I figured out I can sing
Now I'm not who I was
I write about love and such
Maybe 'cause I want it so much
I'm not who I was

I was thinking maybe I
I should let you know
I am not the same
But I never did forget your name
Hello

Well the thing I find most amazing
In amazing grace
Is the chance to give it out
Maybe that's what love is all about

I wish you could see me now
I wish I could show you how
I'm not who I was

A Penny Saved...

Okay, so here is how I've been doing on my quest to save more money. I waited until today so I could report on January and February. I'll give you the total amount saved for the month, and then give some highlights of my best deals. I'm pretty stinkin' pleased with myself, but I know I have a LOT yet to learn, particularly the whole coupon stacking thing. You old pros out there may not be so impressed.

January Savings: $731.50
The best score was probably our new entertainment center. We went to World Market, because we like their stuff and they were having a 50% off sale on furniture. We found one we really liked, but the only one they had left was the floor model. They offered that one to us at an additional discount. So, the entertainment center that was $249 ended up costing us $90, a savings of $159! My other big money saving deals came from winter clearance sales at several different stores. For $200, I bought a winter wardrobe for both of my kids for next year! That wasn't shopping at Walmart, either. These deals came from Target, Gap, Old Navy, and The Children's Place. Heck, I even found a couple of things at Justice! My favorite find was a girl's fleece top marked down to 91 cents at Target. It had been part of a pajama set, and the pants were missing. I didn't even know it was pjs until I looked at the tag. It can definitely be worn as a cute Christmas shirt! The original retail cost of all of these clothes was over $514! I hadn't quite figured out how to get a lot of free stuff yet, but I did get some shampoo and conditioner free; 3 bottles, and I only paid the 20 cents tax! I'll explain this more in February.

February Savings: $816.27
This is the month that I started to figure out the drugstore game. At CVS and Rite Aid, they have deals every week that earn you cash back; sort of. I like to call it "Monopoly money". You get these vouchers printed off at the bottom of your receipt that you can use like cash towards your next purchase in the store. They can't be used on gift cards (learned that the hard way!), prescriptions, beer, tobacco, lottery tickets or stamps. Once you get a few of these vouchers, you can use them on deals in the store that will earn you MORE vouchers. So, you're getting free stuff with play money! I've become quite addicted to this game. The best tool I've found to help me find these deals and to help me with my coupons is a website called Southern Savers (southernsavers.com). Every week, they post the sales flier for the most common stores in the south, and then within that add, they tell you where to find the coupons you can use on the sale items. It saves me a ton of work! You can even print out a shopping list of the deals you want to purchase to take to the store with you. They give workshops all over the south, and I'd love to go to one the next time there's one in Nashville. Another website I like is Faithful Provisions (faithfulprovisions.com). Since it's based here in Nashville, their sales fliers are a little more accurate for the stores in my area.

I've gotten a number of items free this month. I usually get things that will work out to be free in the end even if it's things that my family won't use for two reasons. One reason is that these items usually earn you more vouchers to use next time, and the other is that I know a few organizations that I can donate them to. For instance, February was the month for free Colgate toothpaste. Tim and I use Crest, while the kids use the kid varieties of Colgate (those weren't on sale). So, I donated it to our Room In The Inn program. Some other items I got free this month from drugstores, grocery stores and other retail stores: candy bars, dish liquid, newspapers, tissues, feminine products, cake mix, deodorant, frozen veggies, 2-liter sodas, ibuprofen, 2 movies, a ladies top, Yankee Candle, and more!

So, friends, let me know your tricks of the trade! Maybe I can post monthly on things I'm learning and my successes and failures. I have other ramblings on life that I'd like to get back to posting as well, so expect a different subject in my next post. Later!

The Year Of Living Frugally

Before I get to the topic of my post, let me say, "Happy New Year"! I've obviously been slow to get back into the swing of things. Today marks the end of our first five-day school week since mid-December. To say I am sick of snow (heck; winter in general) is a ridiculous under-statement. So now, back to my original train of thought.

When it comes to shopping and saving money, I am a bit of an enigma. I hate to shop, but I love to save money. I am a bargain hunter, but I have my limits. Walmart can be a great place to find deals, but there are times I'd rather have my fingernails removed than suffer through the experience of shopping there just to save a few bucks. Case in point: One Saturday night, my husband and I had just finished a movie at 11:30, when it occured to me that we didn't have enough milk for breakfast. We have a Super Walmart that recently opened across the street, so I figured I'd just zip in there and pick up a gallon. Yeah. I stood in a line of about 10 people (all with buggies heaping with groceries, not a single one offering to let me go ahead with my ONE item) until after midnight. I vowed to never go there again that late at night. A couple of months later when I was in the same predicament, I went to the corner store and paid five dollars for a gallon of milk just to avoid the frustration that is Walmart.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if I have to work too hard to save money, it just doesn't seem worth the effort to me. I have tried couponing over the years, but it's never really clicked for me until recently. I do most of my shopping at Aldi. It's a chain of small grocery stores that sell generic brands really cheap. I couldn't see how using coupons on name brand items would save me more money than shopping at Aldi. It certainly seemed less time consuming to just shop there than taking the time to cut and sort coupons. One day, I ran across a website called Southern Savers. I learned that I've been going about this coupon thing all wrong. It wasn't enough to just cut coupons and take them to the store with me. I had to combine the coupons with the weekly sales! Most of you experienced couponers out there are probably smacking your foreheads and shouting a big ol' "DUH!!", but this was quite the revelation for me. It's becoming a fun game for me to see just how much money I can cut off of my grocery bill.

In January, I decided to start keeping a Savings Journal. I know I've missed a receipt or two, but I've done a pretty good job tracking my savings so far. In my next post, I'll let you take a peak. I'll tell you what has worked for me so far, and maybe you more experienced shoppers out there can give me a few pointers. I definitely have much to learn (I'd love to go to one of those Couponing 101 type classes that I've heard about). Maybe this can become a semi-regular topic for the blog.