My little grand babies

My little grand babies

Monday, October 10, 2011
























Sage and Ian dug up the last two plants and got all of these below.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Nature's Bounty


There is nothing quite like fresh vegetables from the garden. This year my son built me a raised garden in my backyard. We filled it with some really awesome compost from a local composting coop and planted a number of vegetables. I was afraid it was too late in the season to get a good crop because we did not put our plants in till June and it is first week of October 2011 now.

We have harvested almost everything in it except the sweet potatoes. I have been wanting to dig them up from the ground, but have been trying to be patient and also wait till some of my grand kids could help me. Well, as you can see we have some really large sweet potatoes. The first picture is from only one plant. We planted 3 plants and have enough to last us for a while! We harvested about 31 between medium to very large, some measuring more than 10 inches in length and then about 12 what I will call fingerlings.

I have been reading up on when to harvest them since I have never planted them before and all of the videos I saw, the potatoes were nice size, but not as big as ours. I am wondering if I have stumbled onto something. I put tomato stakes in the middle of the plants so the vines would grow up instead of out (for space saving only) and I am wondering if the potatoes are bigger because all the energy went to one spot. If anyone knows anything about how sweet potatoes grow under ground please send me a comment.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

My second grocery run today

I made my second grocery run today and scored big! I visited Harris Teeter, CVS and Lowes Foods. I bought most from Harris Teeter. In all I snagged 2 eight packs of lance crackers, 2 jars of Mt. Olive pickles (that only cost .03 for both) and 5 Wishbone salad dressings, 5 Bertolli spaghetti sauces, 3 Bliss creamers, 2 Dove Men's body wash, 4 Dove shampoos, 7 Suave shampoo for kids, 1 Suave bad hair cowlick spray, 8 adult Suave shampoos, and 4 packs of Sargento shredded cheese and 1 Sargento string cheese snack.

In all I spent $38.52 and I saved $141.87! Plus, I received $6.00 in CVS extra bucks back at CVS!

Go out and save something or someone today!

Friday, October 7, 2011

My first coupon run at Harris Teeter for October

Tonight around 11pm it hit me that I had not done my Harris Teeter run. It involves lots of coupons and planning.

It helps that I always check www.southernsavers.com which is a great website for organizing your list. I decided I would use my 20 coupons on a few selected items that were going to be deeply discounted. I chose 10 boxes of Kelloggs Raisin Bran, 10 boxes of Barilla Pasta, 10 cans of Progresso Soup, 2 bottles of Tide detergent and 3 bags of Alexia Frozen fries (which are not pictured due to an error on my part). Oh yeah, one Suave shampoo for my husband who has been using mine since I haven't bought shampoo for him in a while. The shampoo was on sale but I did not have a coupon.

My total out of pocket was $37.12 however, that will be reduced to $27.14 once I return the Alexia Frozen fries. I mistakenly got the higher priced one and didn't realize it when I was at the register, because the very nice lady named Susan who rang me up said, 'Harris Teeter wasn't going to let me use all 5 coupons for 10 of my Barilla pasta because the pasta was buy 2 get 3 free.' Why do these stores make it so difficult? We didn't invent these coupons. The manufacturers make them and the stores get reimbursed for them. The store ads even tell us how to save by using coupons.

Anyway, the night manager straightened it all out and I did get to use them all. I did not go over my 20 coupon limit and I did have more than 20 items. Now the bottom line, I saved $79.32! If my mother were only alive....she would be so proud! She was a coupon queen before it ever became fashionable.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Holiday For Her



Do you ever wish their was a holiday for you? Well, every year in November at our church we have an event called, "Holiday for Her." It is a ladies only event. Each table is decorated in a different holiday. We have a special guest speaker and a very nice catered dinner. The men get all gussied up in their black and white, and serve the ladies. Wow!

In previous years we have had upwards of 500 women attend. I believe the first one I attended about 9 years ago had about half that amount.I can't remember all the names of our guest speakers, but they are always interesting and each year I feel so blessed by what the Lord has laid on their hearts. I have attended and hosted a table 9 years in a row. This year will be a little different because I will not be hosting a table, but will be sitting at my daughter's table instead. Each host provides all the decorations for her table including plates, goblets, etc. Even though each table is decorated in a different holiday, a few years I have opted out of an official holiday and just decorated with something I thought the ladies would enjoy.

I am always amazed at how creative people are and how lovely and diverse all the tables are, but the most important thing is how women are touched by the message God lays on the hearts of our speakers. I would encourage anyone out there who doesn't do this at their church to organize an event like this one. It is a great opportunity to invite a family member, a friend or a neighbor who may need a little pampering. I promise you and your guests will be blessed. Above is a picture of our table from 2009. I used flowers and a lots of candles. It is so nice, and every year I wished I had invited more people to attend. If you have any questions just leave a comment.


Sunday, October 2, 2011

The Greatest Tragedy

Today at church our pastor covered John 8:12-25. I took some notes and read along so I 'd like to share it with you.

Jesus was speaking with the Jewish Pharisees about who Jesus claimed to be. Jesus told them, "I am the light of the world." "Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." The Pharisees challenged Jesus saying he could testify as His own witness and that his testimony was valid. Jesus then told them that His testimony was valid because He knew where He came from and where He was going. He reminded them that in their holy scriptures it was written that the testimony of two men are valid, however, He said , "I am one who testifies for myself, my other witness is the Father, who sent me."

The tragedy to this is that without Jesus you will not be able to be where Jesus is when you die. Jesus told them "I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come." How sad it is to me as I think of some of my family and friends who don't know Jesus as their Savior.

Self righteousness will cause you to die in your sin. Worldliness will cause you to die in your sin. (In verse 23 Jesus says, "You are of this world; I am not of this world.") Unbelief and/or willful ignorance will cause you to die in your sins. Verse 24 Jesus told them , "I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins." And lastly, the Pharisees asked him, Who are you? Jesus replied, "I have much to say in judgement of you. But he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world." verse 25

They did not understand that he was referring to God the Father. Jesus then told them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man (the crucifixion on the cross), then you will know that I am the one I claim to be, and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him."

When Jesus was crucified there was 3 hours of total darkness that fell upon the earth. The holy veil in the Jewish temple where the priest went to sacrifice for forgiveness of sin for the Jewish people, was torn from top to bottom (not bottom to top). That was a sign that anyone can enter into the Lord's presence and ask forgiveness. Jesus made that possible for you and me.

I hope you will think about this and search your heart. Maybe you will consider asking Jesus to be Lord of your life. If not, the consequences of that decision are irreversible.