Canning Ring Pumpkins

I can't say that I am much into the decorating area...paying money for something that you have to store for nine months of the year. Only to hope that it comes out in great shape next year. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so practical.

I knew when I saw this idea on my friend Cindy's blog, it was for me!

This project was absolutely free and the supplies can be used between now and next year and then quickly reassembled. 

Who knew that canning rings could be cute?! I took the rings and tied them together with yarn. I quickly put together four.

I then added a twig in the middle and cut out some leaves from scrap material. Love it! This is my kind of decorating! Free and doesn't take up space all year!

I linked up to The Shabby Nest.

God's Preparation of a Stubborn Heart

source

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Ps 37:23

I am thankful that God doesn't just throw me into a situation and say here is what I have for you to do, now go do it. He slowly (in my case, a lot of times, it is super slow) prepares my heart for the things that He would have me to do.

When I was a senior in high school if you would have asked me what I would be doing with my life in five or ten years, I would have told you that I would be married and have kids. How wrong was I :) And you know what, that is ok!

In college, I had a family that I called my family away from home. They were preparation for my future. In my family, my dad is older than my mom. My brother is older than his wife. That was just how things went because that is how my family did things. And family is always right, right?!

My family away from home the wife was older than her husband. Out of their five kids, four of the wives were older than their husbands. Little did I know that this was preparation for a change in my thinking!

God also had another preparation in store. I also had a roommate in college who was a nursing major. The year after she was my roommate, she started dating another nursing major guy. They went on to get married. I spend a lot of time with them and this helped me get rid of any stereotype about male nurses. Or probably more so, worrying what others would think of male nurses. They also got me ready for hearing nursing stories at the dinner table!

God's preparation in my heart allowed me to be ready when God brought along the guy that He would have me to marry. It pays to wait on what God has in store for me! God directed my steps in the way that He knew that He needed to in order for me to willingly accept His path. And the outcome could not be any better!

Looking back, can you see any way that God has prepared you for the steps that He would have you to take?

Goals: Week of September 24th

source

I can't believe that this is already the last full week of September...and fall. Where has time gone?

I have managed to get a good start on my week. I am amazed that when I am crunched for time, I manage to get things done. When I have all the time in the world, I can't get anything done. Procrastination seems to be my problem!

Last Weeks Goals:

1. Walk 10 miles- let's not talk about this one...
2. Finish reading Unstuck
3. Make applesauce
4. Finish Addison's bag
5. Find and kill a tomato worm- I tried and couldn't find it, but my tomatoes look better. Weird. 
6. Research Shopper's Compass
7. Fix headliner in my car

This Weeks Goals:

1. Clean the downstairs of our house
2. Organize coupons
3. Read 25 chapters of The Deposit Slip
4. Finish knitting dishcloth
5. Send my momma Usborne paper
6. Freeze peppers and dry tea
7. Enjoy some good quality family time

Are there any other procrastinators out there like me?!!!

DIY Ruffle Tote

I had this canvas bag tucked away calling for attention. None was being given. I tend to have a lot of those items just lurking in my closet...

A friend of mine, Lauren, posted a project that she made for her daughters. I decided that this would make a great project for my niece for Christmas. Don't tell her if you see her :)

I started the project, cutting strips of fabric from three different fabrics. My width was determined by the scraps that I had. My grandma-in-law passes on a lot of fun scraps to me. Mickey became my inspiration for this project!

I made these strips just a little longer than the width of the bag. 

I then basted across the tops of the fabric strips and then ruffled them to get them to fit nicely around the bag.

I lined up the strips and then sewed them on the bag, overlapping them to cover the sewing. 

I also used pinking shears to cut the bottom of the strips. Hopefully this will keep the strips from fraying. I also added some glitter ribbon around the top to hide where I sewed on the top ruffle. 

I am pretty pleased with how this bag turned out! The only thing, I might add a little flower to the top of the bag. 

Book Review: Unstuck by Cole and Ross

Unstuck presented the idea that some of us will get stuck in our spiritual lives. There will be times that we don't feel like we are going anywhere spiritually. 

The authors go on to say that there is no secret formula that we can follow in order to get ourselves back on track. We are pressed to spend time in God's Word and work on finding a solid relationship with Him. I love that this principle is what they draw success spiritually to.

The challenge presented in this book is to spend at least four days a week in God's Word. They even have passages in this book to work through. They said that this would be a great place to start for those who need to get unstuck. This book would be a great devotional guide for someone who is struggling to find their feet spiritually.

Thanks to Bethany House Publishers for allowing me to read this book. 

Goals: Week of September 17th

Source

I felt like I got a decent amount done last week, but need to check off that book that I didn't get read. I get to sub a few days this week which I am excited about. Also, doesn't make for the best at getting things done around the house!

Last Weeks Goals:

1. Walk 10 miles- made it 7 miles
2. Finish reading Unstuck
3. Make 10 headbands
4. Pick apples
5. Find out what all is in the area of Florida that we will be going
6. Try to sell books online
7. Go through fabric

This Weeks Goals:

1. Walk 10 miles
2. Finish reading Unstuck
3. Make applesauce
4. Finish Addison's bag
5. Find and kill a tomato worm- any volunteers who want to do this for me?!!!
6. Research Shopper's Compass
7. Fix headliner in my car

The Joys of Giving and Receiving

source

I had the chance to meet up with an awesome lady yesterday for a coupon class. She is the wonderful lady that we had affectionately called the bag lady. She delivers a bag to our house that includes coupons. And the best part is that it is free! I want to do a little checking into the company to see how they do what they do.

She told me that she had coupons for me when we were done. And man did she hook me up! I am going to share some of the wealth that she blessed me with with you. 

If you are interested in any of the coupons, let me know and I will send you some. If you don't know what coupons were in the paper, check out the Sunday Coupon Preview and look at the 9/9 Smart Source preview. There were two different inserts in this paper.

Land O'Lakes Coupons

Ok, so I never realized how expensive land o'lakes butter is. Contact land o'lakes and they will send you coupons to help you save some money. I received two, one for butter and one for margarine.

For me, I will keep buying my off brand aldi butter. Until a sale comes up!

Goals: Week of September 10th

Source

This week has been a little more busy for me. Good, just busy. I am trying to make good use of my time. At the same time, I am trying to enjoy the time that I have with my husband!

Last weeks goals:

1. Walk 10 miles- I made it 4.5 miles
2. Finish reading Unstuck
3. Create an email for those who took the coupon class
4. Sub on Thursday
5. Get SS Lesson ready
6. Pull weeds/ burn paper
7. Do 2 posts about contacting companies

This weeks goals:

1. Walk 10 miles
2. Finish reading Unstuck
3. Make 10 headbands
4. Pick apples
5. Find out what all is in the area of Florida that we will be going
6. Try to sell books online
7. Go through fabric

Lowe's $10 Off Any $10 Purchase Coupon

I love this deal! 

Sign up for My Lowe's and you will receive an email that will contain a coupon for $10 off any $10 purchase. 

What will you be purchasing with this coupon?

Coupons.com Savings Club

You can now sign up for a free year of coupons.com savings club. This will allow you to receive higher value coupons. To get the Free Year users must Use promo code: BIRTHDAY

You will have to enter credit card information, and you will have to cancel before the year is up. I like to schedule a google calendar reminder for things like this. 

 I am excited to see what kind of coupons this allows me to receive!

Has anyone been a member of savings club in the past. 

Odwalla Coupons

My husband introduced me to Odwalla juice. I actually just went and poured myself a cup of their juice as I was posting about this deal.

I contacted Odwalla and let them know that I liked their product. They sent me two coupons for $1 off any juice.

I have found that a lot of times the bigger bottles are marked down, at least at Kroger, making these a better deal than the smaller bottles.  

Now to finish off my cup of yummy juice!

Goals: Week of September 3

Source

I can hardly believe that it is September already. I also can't believe that one year ago last Saturday Scott asked me to be his wife. Life is fleeting right before my eyes. Even more reason to make sure that I am making good use of my time!

Last Weeks Goals

1. Walk 10 miles- only made it 4
2. Be ready to sub
3. Get everything ready to teach my coupon class
4. Have youth group activity
5. Finish half of a dishcloth-  I actually did about 3/4!
6. Finish skirt- My mom put the last buttonhole in for me. Thanks mom!
7. Clean closet

This Weeks Goals

1. Walk 10 miles
2. Finish reading Unstuck
3. Create an email for those who took the coupon class
4. Sub on Thursday
5. Get SS Lesson ready
6. Pull weeds/ burn paper
7. Do 2 posts about contacting companies