using coupons that is
I've always been skeptical of the idea that people save a lot of money using coupons. I mean, you only get .25 off something that's $5.00 or get .50 off a product when you buy at least 3...come on, that's hardly worth the time and effort it takes to cut out the darn things, right?
However, the last couple of weeks, my mind has been completely changed. I've realized there's a whole world of people out there who use coupons, look for deals and savings and actually save a ton of money. There's tips and tricks that one must follow in order to actually become successful at it. I'm very, very new to all of it, but I'm already excited about what I've already saved.
For example, my recent purchases at CVS have been phenomenal.
I bought:
2 packs of Schick 4 ct. razor cartridges
2 36 count Lysol disinfectant wipes
1 bottle Complete Multi-Purpose Contact Solution
1 Christmas card
3 bottles Suave body wash
1 bottle 25.4 oz Garnier Fructis Shampoo
1 bottle 25.4 oz Garnier Fructis Conditioner
Before coupons, that total would be around 53.94 and that's not even including tax. However, MY total was only 26.54 and that is including tax!! After totaling up my savings, I couldn't believe it. All I did was use a few coupons that I had on a few of those products and used the extra care bucks that I received from those products. It's amazing!
So, I'm sold. This "game" is totally worth it and I will continue to use more coupons and spend the time to look for deals at the different stores.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Faith
As believers, we say that we completely trust and have faith in the Lord. We preach this from our pulpits and constantly remind those around us to just have faith. But, do we really live this out in our own lives on a daily basis? What about when life is hard or when "bad" things happen? For many or most of us, myself included, when those rough times come, for some reason all of this goes out the window. We suddenly find ourselves worried, fearful and anxious. We go into control-freak mode and want to take care of everything ourselves and quickly, too, before our lives are swung too far out of control.
But, why do we do this? When we read and study Scripture, God tells us there is no need to live like this! No matter what our worries are, we can rest assured that he's taking care of it all. All we have to do is let go and let Him take care of it instead of trying to ourselves. Below are some verses that help remind me of these truths:
Psalm 37:3-4 "Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."
Matthew 6:30-31 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore, do not be anxious saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' "
Mark 11:22-23 "And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him."
Psalm 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"
Phillippians 4:5-7 "Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
So, let's remember what God tells us to do when those hard times come. Let's show the world God's glory through every circumstance.
But, why do we do this? When we read and study Scripture, God tells us there is no need to live like this! No matter what our worries are, we can rest assured that he's taking care of it all. All we have to do is let go and let Him take care of it instead of trying to ourselves. Below are some verses that help remind me of these truths:
Psalm 37:3-4 "Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."
Matthew 6:30-31 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore, do not be anxious saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' "
Mark 11:22-23 "And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him."
Psalm 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"
Phillippians 4:5-7 "Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
So, let's remember what God tells us to do when those hard times come. Let's show the world God's glory through every circumstance.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Our Story
Brandon and I met for the very first time on February 19, 2009 at a lifegroup through Cityview Church. Little did I know that night that just a few months later, he would be my husband. Wow, that just blows my mind; God in His wonderful, sovereign grace amazes me everyday. After all that I’ve been through the last few years, I would never have dreamed it possible that he would bring me a guy as incredible as Brandon; But He did.
On February 22, we had our first “real” conversation during a group lunch after church. A couple of months later I found out that that lunch had been carefully orchestrated by our good friend Chenille Gaumer. Praise God for her as well as my sister-in-law, Angela! You see, Ang had told me about Brandon back in December, but it was just a brief mentioning to me and that was basically the end of it. Apparently the same had happened on Brandon’s end a few times as well, but he just wasn’t interested in being “set-up”.* When I started visiting Cityview in February, apparently Brandon noticed me, but didn’t know that I was the exact girl his friends had been trying to set him up with. After that conversation on the 22nd, I guess he decided to go for it, after the encouragement of everyone around him. Looking back on it, I had no idea this whole time what was going on. I didn’t know my name had ever been mentioned to him and had no idea what the whispers at lunch that day were all about; they were about me! Again, God blows me away. Later that week, Brandon posted a short message on my facebook wall which started a conversation that ended with him asking me out to coffee for that Saturday. That coffee date lasted 7 hours!! March 5th he took me out downtown for dinner and to walk around. Again, we had great conversation. I became more and more aware of just how incredible he was. I learned about his amazing testimony, his passions and where he felt like God was taking him. He shared with me what his intentions were with us, that he wanted to be careful and protect and guard my heart, he didn’t want to lead me on, he was praying about what God wanted for us...wow. March 9th he took me out to dinner and to Trinity Park (which is where he would ask me to be his wife 2 months later). That night, we officially became a couple. He knew that night that I was the one. *Side Note: My brother is the executive pastor at Cityview where Greg and Chenille Gaumer attend, as well as Brandon. Justin and Angela are good friends with Greg and Chenille and they’re good friends with Brandon, hence the attempt at “setting up” the two of us.
Within those next 2 weeks, I knew he was the one I wanted to marry. He was exactly who I prayed for and everything I wanted in a husband. There were no doubts or fears...it was amazing! In the next few weeks we started discussing marriage plans. Then, on May 9th, after a day of hanging out with friends and even our first “wedding” thing of tasting cakes, he took me to Trinity Park. We walked around a bit. We came to a really cool spot that overlooked downtown where he dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him. He then gave me a letter which he actually had written the night of March 9th, the night he realized I was the one.
Honestly, the next 3 months were a whirl-wind of wedding plans, pre-marital counseling, family events, (which included a trip in May to meet all of Brandon’s family and at the beginning of August for his annual family reunion) and learning and loving more and more about one another. Then, on August 8th, a day at one time in my life I wasn’t sure would ever come, I married the most amazing man I have ever met. I could look at him and think to myself, “I can’t believe I’m the one who gets to marry him; I can’t believe he chose me out of everyone else.” That was my dream to be able to honestly say that about whomever I married…..and my dream came true. The wedding and reception were everything I wanted them to be and everything went smoothly. We spent the next week in the beautiful Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We spent a lot of time just relaxing and enjoying one another’s company; I’ll never forget it. Then, on August 15th, we had another wedding reception in Indiana for all the family and friends who couldn’t make it to the wedding. Back home, we started the process of moving all of Brandon’s stuff into our new house, trying to get everything organized, started school and just adjusting to married life overall.
Now, almost 3 months later, I can’t believe how time has flown by! Some days, I stop and think, “Wow…I’m married. This is crazy.”…but all in a good way :)Growing up, little girls' thoughts are consumed sometimes of, “when I grow up"...and now I’m there! We’re excited about life and to see where God takes us in the future with finishing school, children, church planting, ministry opportunities, etc. Who knows where we’ll be but I know without a doubt God is good and faithful.
**Wedding Pics will be posted as soon as we receive them :)
On February 22, we had our first “real” conversation during a group lunch after church. A couple of months later I found out that that lunch had been carefully orchestrated by our good friend Chenille Gaumer. Praise God for her as well as my sister-in-law, Angela! You see, Ang had told me about Brandon back in December, but it was just a brief mentioning to me and that was basically the end of it. Apparently the same had happened on Brandon’s end a few times as well, but he just wasn’t interested in being “set-up”.* When I started visiting Cityview in February, apparently Brandon noticed me, but didn’t know that I was the exact girl his friends had been trying to set him up with. After that conversation on the 22nd, I guess he decided to go for it, after the encouragement of everyone around him. Looking back on it, I had no idea this whole time what was going on. I didn’t know my name had ever been mentioned to him and had no idea what the whispers at lunch that day were all about; they were about me! Again, God blows me away. Later that week, Brandon posted a short message on my facebook wall which started a conversation that ended with him asking me out to coffee for that Saturday. That coffee date lasted 7 hours!! March 5th he took me out downtown for dinner and to walk around. Again, we had great conversation. I became more and more aware of just how incredible he was. I learned about his amazing testimony, his passions and where he felt like God was taking him. He shared with me what his intentions were with us, that he wanted to be careful and protect and guard my heart, he didn’t want to lead me on, he was praying about what God wanted for us...wow. March 9th he took me out to dinner and to Trinity Park (which is where he would ask me to be his wife 2 months later). That night, we officially became a couple. He knew that night that I was the one. *Side Note: My brother is the executive pastor at Cityview where Greg and Chenille Gaumer attend, as well as Brandon. Justin and Angela are good friends with Greg and Chenille and they’re good friends with Brandon, hence the attempt at “setting up” the two of us.
Within those next 2 weeks, I knew he was the one I wanted to marry. He was exactly who I prayed for and everything I wanted in a husband. There were no doubts or fears...it was amazing! In the next few weeks we started discussing marriage plans. Then, on May 9th, after a day of hanging out with friends and even our first “wedding” thing of tasting cakes, he took me to Trinity Park. We walked around a bit. We came to a really cool spot that overlooked downtown where he dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him. He then gave me a letter which he actually had written the night of March 9th, the night he realized I was the one.
Honestly, the next 3 months were a whirl-wind of wedding plans, pre-marital counseling, family events, (which included a trip in May to meet all of Brandon’s family and at the beginning of August for his annual family reunion) and learning and loving more and more about one another. Then, on August 8th, a day at one time in my life I wasn’t sure would ever come, I married the most amazing man I have ever met. I could look at him and think to myself, “I can’t believe I’m the one who gets to marry him; I can’t believe he chose me out of everyone else.” That was my dream to be able to honestly say that about whomever I married…..and my dream came true. The wedding and reception were everything I wanted them to be and everything went smoothly. We spent the next week in the beautiful Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We spent a lot of time just relaxing and enjoying one another’s company; I’ll never forget it. Then, on August 15th, we had another wedding reception in Indiana for all the family and friends who couldn’t make it to the wedding. Back home, we started the process of moving all of Brandon’s stuff into our new house, trying to get everything organized, started school and just adjusting to married life overall.
Now, almost 3 months later, I can’t believe how time has flown by! Some days, I stop and think, “Wow…I’m married. This is crazy.”…but all in a good way :)Growing up, little girls' thoughts are consumed sometimes of, “when I grow up"...and now I’m there! We’re excited about life and to see where God takes us in the future with finishing school, children, church planting, ministry opportunities, etc. Who knows where we’ll be but I know without a doubt God is good and faithful.
**Wedding Pics will be posted as soon as we receive them :)
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Photo Editing
I have recently discovered 2 neat photo editing websites. I understand this isn't exactly a new concept but considering that I'm usually the last to learn about things, I'm pretty excited about this new discovery.
Yay for being bored at work which allowed me to find these great sites!!
Picnik.com is definitely my favorite. I'm pretty sure you can do most anything to your photos. Basic membership is free and the premium membership is $24.95 a year which allows you to have access to more of the effects and features of the site.
This website allows you to take a photo from this:
to this:
or from this:
to this:
I have no idea why anyone would want to do this to their picture, but still, you have that option.
The other website, phixr.com, is another good find. I don't like it quite as much as picnik, but I do like the red-eye feature better on this one and the before and after feature which allows you to see exactly what the difference will be side-by-side. This allowed me to subtlely enhance my photo by removing the red-eye and brightening it up a bit (pictured below)
Yay for being bored at work which allowed me to find these great sites!!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Hello Blogging World
For the last couple of years, I have followed the Bassett family blog to see cute pictures of my nieces and know what's going on in my brother's family. Over the last few months, I have started to read more and more blogs; some who belong to people I have never even met! I have become greatly intrigued by this online community therefore, I decided to join in myself. Blogs have served a lot of purposes for me. Some are very practical and reveal delicious recipes or tips on how to save money using coupons for groceries. Some are very deep and offer answers to theological questions. Some have shared stories that have made me laugh and some that have made me cry. By saying all of this, I don't know that I have much to offer on here, but I would sure like to give it a try. Even if that means it's just a place for me to post pictures that maybe only my parents and grandmother would be interested in viewing :D Sooo...hello blogging world!!
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