Extreme Couponing? No I'll just go to Aldi's.

I am absolutely amazed by what these women on TLC's Extreme Couponing can do.  I am inspired to be like these frugal divas.  There is only one problem: I am lazy, unorganized and barely a coherent grocery shopper.  I can't even remember to use one coupon that I have before it expires!  So I found an alternative to coupon clipping, extreme or otherwise: Aldi.  I love Aldi!  I was thinking that Aldi was like one of those cheap grocery stores where everything is generic and cheap but it tastes like its generic and cheap.  No NO No.  Aldi is a great little grocery store where all of the items are generic brands but the stuff tastes as good as, or BETTER than the name brands.  Seriously. 

I also made a big pot of Olive Garden's Toscano Soup from this recipe:
Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

It is Jason's Favorite and it turns out really good, we used a can of Spinach instead of Kale and used Half and Half instead of Heavy Whipping Cream.  It's Wonderful!

I was running low on my home-made frozen dinners so I made some tonight.

I start by seasoning and grilling some chicken breast on the Foreman, Jason and I made a big bowl of mashed potatoes and then added veggies out of the can,

Then into the freezer they go. 
Since I was grilling up the chicken I went ahead and got the meat ready for fajitas that we will have tomorrow night for supper.

This Labor Day spent laboring

    Today I went and helped out with my Granny's yard sale.  There weren't  a lot of bargain hunters out today but I was able to help pack everything up afterwards.  And Granny gave me this:

It may be the oldest sewing machine ever. I am so excited to have it. Granny gave me a crash course in using it, but when I got it home I couldn't figure out how to get the needle to pickup the bobbin thread (and I'm not sure if that even makes sense) so Mama came out and helped me with that. 

And I sewed two pieces of fabric together in a straight line... pretty proud about that.

I have also been working on an art project (for youth group) for the last week. Here is the original artwork done by Gabrielle (Oiseau-vert) :

This is my version of it on a 80" x 55" Poster.

What do you think?  By the way.  I did get permission from the original artist to use their work as inspiration, if anyone is wondering.

Busy Busy Busy

I enjoyed a very productive day off today.  I spent all day working on projects for youth group and spending quality time with Jason.  We completed this project today:

We got the image from a google image search for Cross Tattoos.  We printed the image onto a transparency and let the youth group trace the design onto the back of one of my billboard posters from work using the overhead projector.  Today I went over their outlines with permanent marker.  Then Jason and I painted the whole thing red.  We then touched up the cross with black Glossy paint.  I think it is just awesome.

I also started on a second project and I will post progress pictures when it is complete.

Spiritual Fruit Projects

Youth Group Project Fruits of the Spirit.

Can you guess which is which?

I feel like I should say that the ideas for each of these were from various google image searches, some from photographs, graphics drawings and paintings.

Update to entryway.

Okie Dokie.  Today I was able to spend most of the day working on our youth group space at church.  I painted one of the dressers, computer desk and book shelf.  I also started painting the mirror frame.  I'll post pictures as everything is finished with those.  I am trying to remember to do before and after pictures of each in order to show the progress.
J and I got to work together all afternoon and that was fun. He made supper, and I prepped some meals for the week.  I grilled a big pack of chicken on the Foreman and put it with veggies in plastic containers to place in the fridge/freezer. I haven't tried making my own frozen dinners before so I will let you know how that goes.  Together we folded and put away the laundry and I put our new over-the-door shoe organizer in the entryway closet to organize our hats, scarves, gloves and other things:

I am still in need of a mail sorter that I am trying to pickup at a Thrift store or yard sale.  I am absolutely in love with these entryways but I am also realistic about how much money we are able to spend on this small project.

Some of my favorites entryways/mudrooms from around the web:

The Goodwill Binge

I have always loved getting a great bargain. I love yardsales and thrift shops, curb alerts and freecycle.  I like to try to buy as many things as possible second-hand.  It is almost always less expensive and its also more eco-friendly than buying new. 
 As far as thrift stores go I love Goodwill.  I have been partial to one in Clarksville, Tn that is very organized with everything divided into categories and separated by size. My big concern with them is high prices.  This is donated second hand merchandise, there is no reason the prices should be retail or even half of retail in most cases.  I have actually seen items sell for more money than you could purchase them new on sale.  Ridiculous. There is also a Goodwill nearby at Hopkinsville, Kentucky that I visit less frequently because it is not categorized and sized like the Clarksville one.  However when you are really shopping for bargains low prices beat out convenience, and so to the Hopkinsville Goodwill I went.

I hit the mother load.  I don't know who was downsizing their wardrobe but Thank You very much.  I got 12 tops and 1 dress for $37. All really cute stuff.  I was very fortunate today.

Spare Bedroom Dresser

Update on my Epic Fail from yesterday.  My boss thought it was ridiculous that I thought I would get fired. She expressed that although it wasn't ideal, there were extenuating circumstances and that I was a great employee and that I needed to just keep working at getting my priorities and balance to where I needed them to be.  Good to know.

On another topic, I've been thinking about how to organize my drawers. I want my drawers to look like this:

It doesn't.  First of all, I have mostly brown, black, gray and white socks. Second until recently I have been "balling" them up, that is if they are even mated at all, and tossed in a drawer.

The dresser in my bedroom has 7 drawers 3 small across the top and then two rows of two at the bottom.

The Jewelry Organization on my dresser is for another day.  I have nightgowns in the top left drawer, Bras in the middle, Panties in top right.
Second row left to right  white socks colored / socks
Third row left to right     Sleeping shorts / pajama bottoms.
I am looking for frugal solutions for dresser drawer organization. Do you configure yours differently?

In the spare bedroom dresser I store my less frequently used items:

The First two drawers are for "fancy" panties & bras and also for tights and hosiery.  In the second picture we have sports bras, bathing suits, strapless bras and shape-wear. 

(Above) Third Drawer: Sports bras and active-wear

 

Plus a newly empty cabinet: What should I store in here?

I also just finished folding all of my sheet sets in my linen closet into bedsheet bundles thanks to the great direction in this Instructable:  

How-To-Fold-Bedsheet-Sets-into-a-Bedsheet-Bundle

Epic Fail

Today I messed up and I mean big time.  Last night I missed my bedtime by about an hour, getting to lay down around 2:00 am.  That's not normally a big deal but even after laying down I had some trouble falling asleep.  This isn't unusual for me to have trouble going to sleep because my mind just doesn't stop. I think think think think all the time. I was sure to set a bunch of alarms as I usually do. I was suppose to be at work at 9:30 today which means worst case scenario I need to be up by 8:30, and preferably by 7:45.

I woke up at 1:15 p.m.!!!!!!!!!!!!  Humiliation, Embarrassment, Disbelief, Shock, Anger can all describe the emotions that I felt when I looked at the clock.  I slept through 8, yes I said 8 alarms.  I am a store manager and the store is suppose to open at 1:00 on Sundays.  It takes me 30 minutes just to get to work.  I called the other manager to ask if she could run in and get the store open (she lives a few minutes away) while I made it there.  I arrived at 1:45 p.m.  4 hours and 15 minutes late for my scheduled shift. 

I am not the kind of person that does this kind of thing.  I have a good attitude, I am a hard worker, I give my best efforts because I believe at the end of the day I am working for God.  I recently, along with my husband, took over the youth group at our church.  I had known I was suppose to do it for a very long time but put it off because of my work schedule.  Finally I surrendered to it, but have been struggling managing both responsibilities.  My boss wanted (past tense after today) to make me a Training Store Manager in order to fast track me to be a DM.  I told her that I don't think I want that level of responsibility at this time.  Its not that I don't want to do well at work, I just want to make sure that God and His work I am to carry out is at the proper priority level.

I keep thinking, "Why didn't I wake up 20 minutes sooner, so at the least the other manager would have gotten there in enough time that the store didn't open late."
 
Am I struggling with something so much because its not what I am "called" to do?  This is just one small and brief example of the trials I have endured. 

I have always done well at work, moving up quickly, being a standout amongst my peers, and while I have definitely had key accomplishments I have had very low lows with my DM remarking, "It's like you can't catch a break." She told me that in 8 years she has never seen another manager go through so much craziness.  I have remained upbeat through it all, determined to persevere.  Now I just don't know.  Am I working against God's will for my life?  Am I suppose to tread on and endure?  I told God I would do whatever He wanted me to do, go wherever He wanted me to go.  I feel like He is pushing me in a different direction but how do I know for sure?

I trust God and will trust Him no matter what. I know He will provide.  I very well may get fired tomorrow or some time this week but I am trusting that it is all apart of His plan.  I feel bad for letting my boss down and possibly putting my family in a difficult financial spot, but its not like I've actually done anything wrong.  I wouldn't be terminated for poor performance my DM thinks I am awesome and my store's numbers show that we are performing well, top in the district and top 20 (out of 90) in the zone. 

I've been asking God to help me see what I need to do about managing my time.  I've been trying to organize and plan so that I can make the most out of my time and juggle work and church, youth group and family and I think He just gave me my answer, He created some more time for me.  I will keep working at being more organized and frugal (For sure, looks like we will need it) and clean and orderly.

I'll post a follow up tomorrow

Solutions for entryway

This is what our entryway looks like right now:

We have a closet and hooks, plus the little book shelf. But because 1)we are lazy,
b) we are always in a hurry and
choo-choo train) we have no organizational system
it ends up looking like this:

YIKES! Wow I am super embarrassed... but this is really how it ends up looking. Well, with maybe the exception of the pile of small boxes and junk in the bottom left corner; I had just dumped them out of a bag that I needed to put donated clothes in when I was cleaning out my closet.  However in its place are normally 5-6 or more pairs of shoes that come off as soon as I walk in the house.  

I need some creative and Very Thrifty solutions.  I need somewhere for the hats, scarves and other little wintery accessories to go.  

I need some system for sorting mail: Not a trash can.

Maybe a notepad for reminders or notes for Jason and I.

I'd like it to look nice too if at all possible. I've seen some great ideas from Martha Stewart, and from the Container Store and IKEA but am interested in what you think and what works for keeping you organized.

What I have learned in 3 days

    Today I got out of the house with makeup and deodorant applied and teeth brushed.
 Even better I made it to work on time.

Last night I almost made my 1:00 a.m. bedtime.  I was a little late getting off the computer (12:40ish) and I wanted to make sure to continue my habit of 20-30 minutes of  tidying up and prep for the next day before bed. I finished up some laundry, put some away. Picked up the living room, straightened my bathroom a bit and was in bed by 1:20ish.  I read for a while finishing the first two chapters of The Blessed Life by Robert Morris.  Which probably put me asleep by 2:30ish. 

I woke up this morning at 11:00 (getting 8.5 hours of sleep) and started getting ready for work.  Quick shower, Iron clothes, dressed, makeup, teeth, deodorant, Hair and grab something for lunch and supper and out the door.

On the way to work this morning I listened to a podcast lesson by Preacher Bob Coy on Finding favor with God.

I had a great day at work, talked with Jason on the way home and discovered that he had made supper (Pork roast, mashed potatoes and green beans) he had straightened and cleaned the living room, moved the internet router to the bedroom, and he was thinking about rearranging our bedroom.

Two hazards in the way of my journey to a more productive, less cluttered, more organized pleasant existence are 1. Having my laptop in the living room which keeps me up later at night and 2. Reclining sofa.  For whatever reason my reclining sofa is like that black hole of laziness that sucks my butt into it.  There is a reason there a brand of recliners called Lazyboys; just saying.


After helping J rearrange the bedroom to accommodate my computer desk which I am at right now, we also switched sides of the bed, mainly because I like being closest to the door.  How important is it to you to sleep on a certain side of the bed, and furthermore is it a certain side of the room or is it the side of the bed that matters, just curious?

Lastly I ate my supper at the kitchen table, continued my nightly laundry/pickup prep routine and ready now to play a little longer on the computer and read a little before bed.

Hours in a week.

Day Two of the transformed life and it went... okay. I didn't get up on time, that may be because I stayed up til 3 this morning working on some of my other goals and so I have set a bedtime for myself. It is currently set at 1:00 am and I want to eventually get it back to midnight and maybe even 11:00 but its about baby steps people.


I did a little bit of math today and figured that there are 168 hours in a week: 7 x 24 = 168
If I sleep 8 hours a night 6 days a week and give myself one "sleep-in day" a week at 10 hours I get,
6 x 8 = 48 & 48 + 10 = 58 I spend 58 hours a week sleeping.

For each work week I am required to work a minimum of 45 hours and usually average around 50.

I spend 5 hours and 15 minutes a week on personal care and hygiene.

Meals at home = 4 hours
Grocery Shopping = 2 hours
Chores/Errands = 5 hours
Commuting = 7 hours

Jason time = 14 hours
Family / Friend = 3 hours
Church = 7 hours
Youth Group Prep = 5 hours
Prayer/Study = 4 hours
Exercise = 3 hours

Add all these hours up and you get... 167.25.
Which leaves me 45 minutes a week for fun and leisure!!!

That is not gonna be okay.
Granted I can multitask some of this stuff. For example I do a lot of praying and listening to the word preached or praise during my commute and usually spend the drive home from work talking to Jason, so there is some overlapping there. But where else am I going wrong? Any thoughts?

Here we Go

I am determined to blog the truth about this transformation as it happens. I am not happy with how my life is going and am excited to make changes necessary to get things in order.

I told my DH tonight about how I was feeling and he agreed wholeheartedly. We both feel that we are too lazy. I am excited to start putting effort to make changes that will improve the quality of my life. I have a lot of things that I want to change. Here are some of the ways I want to be better:
1. Get to work, church etc on time
2. Maintain a clean home
3. Maintain a neat and organized home
4. Read a book every two weeks
5. Study, pray and meditate on God's word more (ultimately getting to several hours a week) outside of church
6. Pay all bills on time.
7. Eat at home more often (at the kitchen table).
8. Have makeup applied, teeth brushed, deodorant applied every time I leave the house (I sometimes apply makeup at work and carry deodorant in my purse in case I forget.)
9. Pay down doctors bills and credit card bills
10. Exercise 3 times a week minimum.
11. Attend at least two church services a week.
12. Build the Youth Ministry at church.
13. Make my bed every day.
14. Be more frugal.
15. Properly fold a fitted sheet.
16. reupholster a couch patchwork style
17. Learn to sew to do hems and alterations
18. Walk the dogs a few times a week
19. Maintain a budget
20. Live greener

These are just a handful of all the ways that I want to improve myself.
Tonight I cleaned out my closet of all the clothes that either didn't fit or weren't fit to wear and organized it by style (casual or dressy/tops/bottoms) by fabric (knit/woven) by length or sleeve length and by color. I did three loads of laundry, even putting everything away. I set out my outfit for tomorrow and even did a SHMILY for my DH by setting out his uniform for tomorrow too. Day 1 in a day of a very long journey.