Crafty Sunday :)

I love Sundays.  LOVE them.  I used to hate them, because I knew that it was my last day of freedom before the new school week started.  Now, I love them because I can't wait to go to church in the morning, and instead of dreading the next day, I'm thankful that God has given me another week of a wonderful life.  If you're looking for a church, or even if you're not and you just happen to be reading this, I hope I can persuade you to come to ours! It is a blessing every Sunday! To learn more, go to MFC's website - we attend a 'satellite' campus in Ripley of the main campus in St. Albans.  Today, a couple we know and their beautiful little girl came with us, and then we went out to eat.  I'm so thankful we have friends and even more that we have friends who go to church and have the same values we do.  Also, Maci came and sat beside me this morning too, and on her other side was CaSandra, which meant I got to snuggle Nolan again today! :)

It was a beautiful day here - warm with a perfect breeze - so of course I had the windows opened.  I semi-cleaned out our closets and took out the clothes that we haven't worn for a year.  That's how I decide what stays and what goes - if we didn't wear it this winter, we won't wear it next winter either.  I know my sisters love when I clean out my closet because it means 'new' clothes for them! haha!  After that, I decided to get to work on one of my Easter decorations I planned to make.  It turned out perfect and I think it looks so cute! Again, Tyler says it looks like our house is getting a little too cluttered, but I think it looks beautiful, and I hope you do too! :p

I made this banner from brown paper bag and then taped it to cardboard so it wouldn't be flimsy.  Then, I used a stamp to make the background and a paintbrush to paint the green letters on.  I punched holes in it, then strung the ribbon through.  Wow, that made it sound really easy but it seemed like it took hours.  I love how it looks, and I love what it stands for even more! :) I know Easter is a ways away, but it's never too early to start decorating for the next holiday!

 He is risen!

 My supplies

Adorable topiary bunnies :)

Tyler is SO busy lately....he's had to work like crazy, and now he's having to produce the DVDs he's recorded.  For anyone who doesn't know, Ty is a 'legal videographer'...basically he goes to depositions and records them, and then produces the DVDs and sends them to the lawyers.  Sounds simple when you hear it, but it's not - I don't understand the first thing when he tries to explain what he's doing.  He's swamped, and I have the pictures to prove it! :p

 (he's trying to make *anyone* feel sorry for him with this face - not working with me haha!)

Here is his pile of invoices that have to get finished - I'm so thankful I have a husband that works hard so I can have the things I want!

One more thing - 

 Spring is on its way! And....

How adorable is this dish?!?! :) Too adorable to actually use!!!

Have a good Monday! - It can be done!

One Chapter Ends, Another Begins!

Today was my last day of the dreaded Saturday clinical.  I will NOT miss getting up at 4:45am, but I WILL miss taking care of all the precious kids I got to see!  We brought food and had a 'mini-party' this morning, and here are a few pictures of my best friends :)

 All of us with our clinical instructor

Me and my very best friend Katie.  I wish we would have known each other when we were in high school; I know we would have been BFFs then too - we have twin brains! Haha

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After clinical, we all went to Fat Patty's to eat lunch.  If you're ever in Huntington and looking for a place to eat, go there. Immediately.  They have the best food EVER!  When I got home, we went to Tyler's aunt Kim's where I got to meet his cousin (Nathan and Natalie's) daughter Isla for the first time.  She is a DOLL.  For the first time in my life though, this baby wanted Tyler more than me! Haha!

 (Isla and Tyler - Don't you just want to squeeze her?! (She's scared of me, hence the 'look' :)

Not only did I get to see her, but I also got to hold (my) baby Nolan :) and play with Kensley and Nathan's other daughter Keilan.  I married into the most wonderful family with the most adorable kids!

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After that, we went to the Nazarene church for a 'critter dinner'....sounds appetizing, huh? Actually, the food there is DELICIOUS.  People make things that they harvest themselves - Tyler fried some of his turkey he killed last year, and some of the other items included moose, catfish, buffalo, deer, crawfish, and.......raccoon legs.  Yes, you heard me right...I didn't try those.  But overall, it is some of the best food, probably because you know what you're eating isn't 'processed' and 'enhanced', it's just plain old food, and boy is it good!

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I left there, and Gidgey and I went to 'Honey and Poppy's' (that's what mom and dad want to be called by their grandchildren someday - SO cute!)  I had to drop off some no-bakes to my favorite dad, and I picked up a coat for my favorite mom on clearance yesterday so I took it also.  Not to mention, my thirty-one order came in! SO excited!  Here's what I purchased:

 This is a bag/basket to put in the backseat of my car to be a 'catch-all' - I LOVE it!

 I'm not really big on the brown/pink scheme, but it looks so classy!

And....I bought the curling iron/straightening iron cover for when I go on trips - such a good idea! I can't wait to use it - hopefully next weekend on our ski trip to Canaan ;)

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And that brings me to now...I got home, and I got another package in the mail! (I know, you're probably thinking that I buy WAY too much stuff, but it's all really inexpensive, promise!)  Of course, my Etsy addiction just keeps on growing, and this was the purchase of the week!

 Badge clips for my Marshall hospital ID! (and yes, I have to get Katie what I get so we can match :)

I mean, it's personalized and adorable! How could I resist?

Happy Sunday - tomorrow! :)

A VERY Productive Shopping Day!

Today, I went shopping.  It is SO relaxing to me, to just go and look at stuff, and simply 'shop'.  Tyler can't comprehend how I can consider it fun, but I remind him how I feel the exact same way about sitting in a treestand doing absolutely nothing from before dawn till after dusk :p.  I went today to buy him a new 'business wardrobe', because he is wanting to get his dress shirts embroidered with his business logo to wear to jobs.  Well, it was a WONDERFUL excuse for me to do some retail therapy for myself too!

Yes, I'm excited about all the new things I got, but I'm even more excited about all the money that I saved today...I'll try not to bore you with the numbers, but I got some GREAT deals!  First, I went to JCPenney (because Ty has to have 'tall' shirts (his arms are amazingly long), and it's the only place that carries his size.  Well, before I went, I got online and printed off as many coupons as I could, including a $10 off with $25 purchase and 15% off complete purchase, and when I got to the register, the cashier had another $10 off coupon! I got 6 dress shirts/matching ties and 2 pair of dress pants for $135.67, saving $270.01 from sales and coupons...but on top of that, I used a $100 gift card we received for Christmas, so really I only paid $35.67! Woo-hoo!

My next stop was Target, where I got my favorite deal...I also printed coupons to take here before I left too...I found a $5.00 of any women's denim coupon and a 20% of Merona apparel coupon (you can have them too, here).  Well when I got there, ALL the Mossimo jeans were on sale for $4.98!!!! If you didn't catch what that means, it means my jeans were FREE!  I wish I would have taken more coupons because it would have been a great idea to go ahead and get some more for adopt-a-family or something like that.  Hmm, actually, I think I might just go back sometime soon, because the coupon is good until March 26 ;) (but I don't know how long they can keep $5 jeans in stock, so go get you some!) In all, I spent $25.36 at Target, but I don't know how much I saved because they don't put it on the receipt - I wish they did!

Finally, I went to Kohl's - I LOVE Kohl's - well, more like Kohl's clearance racks haha....but I got all kinds of clothes and jewelry that I CANNOT wait to wear!  And the best part is that it all was so cheap!  Of course, I had a 15% off everything coupon and then I had a $25 gift card, and my total was $53.43.  But the shocker was the 'total saved' - $442.00! Sheesh - I don't know why anyone would buy anything full price!!

Anyway, for everything I bought I only spent $123.46, and I would guess that normally everything I bought would have added up to close to $900....which is why I think I had a VERY productive shopping day! :)

(A Snippet of) My Week in Review

I know I haven't posted in a while - completely because I'm so swamped with schoolwork (which I should be doing right now too!), but I couldn't hold off any longer.  I just have a couple things that I want to post - none of which are worthy of a their own post, so I'll put them all here! 

I bought myself this *adorable* stethoscope cover last week, because the tubing on it sticks to the skin on my neck when I'm at the hospital and it's really annoying.  I also bought one (in zebra print :) for my best friend Katie for Valentine's day - nothing says 'love' like a stethoscope cover? :) - we get a lot of compliments!  If any of you reading this are nursing students (or nurses), here is the Etsy site that I ordered them from.

 Also, yesterday after clinical, I knew Tyler was busy doing 'guy stuff' with his friend, so I decided to go shopping :)  I did some returns, and then I went to Michaels because I had a coupon.  I have already started buying some of my Easter/Spring decorations (can't have enough of them!), and here are some pictures of what I bought yesterday:

These cute little birds were on clearance, and they were the perfect colors, so of course they came home with me.

And this wreath was too cute to leave there also!

I bought a lot of 'crafty' things, because I have some big ideas for handmade decorations, but we'll just have to see when I'll actually have time to get to them - will probably not be till spring break! Don't worry, I'll have more posts as I add things to my decor :)

Happy end of the weekend!

The Coupon Queen

This post is dedicated to my cousin CaSandra - who I am referring to as the 'Coupon Queen'.  I have always been the crazy girl who always has a coupon to anywhere and everywhere we go to eat amongst my friends, but CaSandra has taken it to a whole new, wonderful level :)...She clips coupons like crazy, and knows every way possible to save money wherever you go!  Last Wednesday, she dropped off a huge envelope of coupons that she had sorted through for me to take what I wanted out of, and then I passed it to my mom.  I didn't have time to get things organized, print coupons online and get my eCoupons loaded on to my Kroger card until Friday, so that's when I did my shopping.  Here is my receipt:

If you'll notice, I saved $37.13 and only paid $30.84 - I saved 56% of my whole bill by just 'couponing'!  There were multiple things that I got for free, and a few that I actually got PAID to 'buy'!  I have to watch though, and make sure I don't buy stuff I don't need just because I have a coupon.  It feels SO good walking out of the grocery store knowing you just paid less than half of what your purchases are worth :)

Go to CaSandra's blog here - she has WAY more info on how you can save big next time you go shopping!

Overflowing with love!

 I LOVE OUR LITTLE FAMILY!

 I know I can feel it, but in this picture you can see it. :)

It's Finally Here!

If you haven't noticed, I LOVE Valentine's Day, and it's finally here! This is a post filled with my day's happenings, and lots of pictures :) I had class this morning, then I came home and made these cookies for my mom and dad (no-bakes are his favorite), Tyler's mom and dad, and my Granny.  

 I went to the nursing home and visited with Granny for a while, then dropped Tom and Teresa's off at their house.  By that time, Tyler had gotten home from his job and we went to my mom and dad's for Valentine's Day dinner - my dad's most delicious spaghetti in the ENTIRE world! We had brownies, cookies, cake, and ice cream, then we opened presents:

As I always say, we are beyond blessed!  My mom and dad got Tyler candy and two Chuck Norris shirts, and they got me a thirty-one lunch bag (in a print that's not even released yet!) and gift card organizer, which I am IN LOVE with - I am obsessed with my gift cards!  Tom and Teresa got us candy and gifts cards to Bob Evans and Walmart (yay!).  Tyler did a great job this year - I got two picture frames and a candle - two of the top things you can never have enough of :)  We were doing our gifts on a budget this year, and I think I picked the perfect gift for him too - I got him his favorite candy - 5th Avenue candy bars, and a booklet of 52 coupons for various things - for example, one says 'good for a day in the great outdoors, doing the activity of your choice'...I have a feeling this coupon will go towards 'a day in the treestand' haha...but that's ok, as long as it's with my Valentine!

 So neat and....ORGANIZED!

My next item isn't necessarily for Valentine's Day, but I got it today.  Maci has been working on making me a 'custom' scarf and it's finally finished! It's gorgeous - I told her she should start selling these things - I'd pay money for it!

I just wanted to add in this picture from oh-so-many years ago...mom has been making it look like we were always so happy to get our picture taken on Valentine's Day...well I have proof otherwise :) Haha!

And finally, all this LOVE has really worn Baby G out! :) She sure does have a lot of it!

 Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day like I did - I have more love than I know what to do with! :)

Days 12 and 13

Today was our church Valentine's Day dinner after service this morning - we all went to Cedar Lakes for lunch and it was delicious!  Maci came to church with me this morning too and I love having someone to whisper jokes to during service...haha.  Then I came home and walked Gidgey, and then took a nap - I have had a WONDERFUL day! Not to mention the weather, which gives me hope that there really is a spring out there somewhere waiting to make me a happy person again :p...I have put off homework since yesterday after clinical, so that will probably consume most of my time after this because I have an exam on Tuesday (ugh).  But, on the bright side, I am wearing my favorite Valentine's day 'heart' socks and I am so ready for Tyler to take me on our date tomorrow night :) I am secretly hoping it will be to Olive Garden because that's my favorite restaurant, and mostly because I have a gift card AND a coupon LOL!

I didn't get time to post yesterday because I had clinical in the morning, then went to a thirty-one party in the afternoon, and then we went on a double date/movie night with our friends Jon and Lindsey, so here are my posts from yesterday and today:

This is probably the 'mushiest' thing I have ever done - when Tyler and I were in 11th grade, he went on a mission trip to Peru and I thought I was going to DIE without being able to see or talk to him for 2 weeks, so I made him a little book to read on the plane, etc.  Looking back, I think he should've made ME the book instead of the other way around, because 2 weeks didn't seem to phase him that much haha...

This is a page I had scribbled on, and as you can see was picturing what my name would be 'if' we got married...

 And the last page - this was the first time I told him I loved him :)

Next:

This is a picture of a 'toy' from Burger King - I worked there throughout high school and this was a toy that came in the kids meals...I had just written my name on it, probably while I was talking on the phone or something, and when I saw it laying on my desk a couple days later, Tyler had added the '-n- Ty' on it....obviously, I treasure the little things :p

Day 11

Gotta hurry, post, and get back to my paperwork for tomorrow!

 My Valentine's Day, 2009 loot!

 And my special chocolates from my dad :)

 And just because I felt like putting these on here....my friend Lindsey got married two weeks ago and she had a photobooth at the reception - Tyler and I decided to get our pictures taken, but there was a little girl in line behind us who was VERY anxious to have her turn....while we were in there, she kept yelling "are you finished yet?!?!" Well, when we got our pictures back, if you look very closely, you can see her peeking through the curtain in the second picture beside Tyler's arm! Haha! So cute!