Coupon Notebook

At the request of my friends, here is a little more detail on my coupon notebook...

I purchased this notebook at Target, actually I purchased the inserts too at Target...

... the inserts I purchased are two sizes, one is a 5x7 top loading plastic cover sheet, and the second insert I purchased is a three pocket plastic page, that is used to typically hold business cards, each pocket is also top loading ....

... the very first page in my notebook is a 5x7 insert that holds my shopping list.... I think it is handy to have it right there in my notebook.

Following the Shopping List page, is where the coupon glory begins. As you can see in the picture above, some coupons are kept in the 3 part plastic insert, which are labeled by category.

The picture below is an example of the 5x7 plastic insert that is used to hold coupons for the categories I have an abundance of coupons for... ie: cleaning/diapers & wipes/etc...

The coupons categories that I have within my notebook are: Baking, Boxed Dinners, Canned Foods, Candy, Cereal, Cleaning (5x7 page), Beverages (5x7 page), Clothing, Dairy, Dessert, Diapers & Wipes (5x7 page), Dressing & Sauces, PB&J, Spices, Frozen, Health & Beauty(5x7 page), Fresh Produce, House Stuff, Bread, Meat (5x7 page), Medication & Pharmacy (5x7 page), Snacks (5x7 page)...

... the last two pages in my notebook are reserved for Gift Cards, Restaurant Coupons and Receipts.

All of the inserts are labeled with sticky tabs that I also purchased at Target.

The thing I like the most about my notebook is the size, it fits nicely in my purse and it isn't too small to keep all my coupons. I put it all together for under $15.00.

I hope you love your coupon cutting and collecting as much as I do! It sure has saved our family a lot of money!

Happy Savings!

Spring/Summer is here... at least at our house...

I am a warm weather woman... I LOVE the summer... I am starting to LOVE the spring...

I have never been good at keeping plants alive, praise Jesus I remembered to feed the dog for almost 5 years...

... I have planted some flowers ...

... taken a few more treasures out of the neighbors trash...

... added a little paint and a flower pot...

... and I now have a place to sit in the sun while Isaac plays outside. My next project is to figure out how to add a sand box or bucket or bowl to our outside play area...

What a great way to spend Monday...

The seals were fabulous... the weather was perfect... the flowers were beautiful...

... my son was happy... full with gold fish, fruit snacks, string cheese and juice boxes...

... the smiles were plenty and the laughter was pure, innocent and joyful...

... the memories are precious...

... and the afternoon following our time together was restful...

... it was delightful... Thank you JESUS for such a great day! I praise you for all the animals you created and the opportunity to see them!

SEALS ...

The stroller served many purposed during our time at the zoo... it was useful to carry and store our snacks, the camera, the many juice boxes and caffeinated beverages we brought with us, our sweat shirts and mama's purse... but it also served as a stool Isaac could stand on when he was a little too short, but didn't want to be held...

... he loved the seals... the breaks on the stroller were on the entire time, and he just stood there and watched them play in the water... he laughed, yelled and waved at them...

... they were precious, and I loved watching him enjoy them...

... again, we literally had the place to our selves, and we LOVED it...

...I am not sure the standing on the stroller idea would have worked with a lot of other people around...

Snacks, more flowers and a surprise!

We packed our own snacks, we ate our way around the zoo... literally...

... while we were walking and eating, I could not resist taking pictures of the flowers, as you already know... but look closely... as I took this picture... Isaac and I found a surprise!

Yep, as Isaac said... "A surprise bird... oh my... it's blue..."

Surprises are big right now at our house... fruit snacks are surprises, gold fish and juice boxes are surprises... we cannot get enough surprises in our house...

...or at the zoo!

More on the Zoo...

What can I say, it was a great morning, our morning at the zoo... it was peaceful, relaxing and just fun... pure, innocent fun...

... we enjoyed all of it, the flowers were beautiful...

... the animal poop was interesting to a two year old boy...

... who happened to also get an boo-boo while collecting sticks and other "treasures" ...

... the animals were out and playful...

... our experience at the zoo makes me want to go again, and again, and again...

Starbucks Drive Thru HERE I COME...

Note to self, this is not the day to miss the Starbucks drive thru line, which will include a GRANDE White Chocolate Mocha and possibly two slices of over priced Banana Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake, or the lunch time Mnt. Dew or the afternoon Pepsi...

I will not be attempting to make my own coffee this morning... I have to be out of the house, with the child, dressed and ready to deal with a "situation" that makes my blood boil by 8am... I will drive an hour to get to the place in which I will attempt to deal with this "situation" and hopefully not make things worse by my desire to simple see someone get what's coming to them... or what I think should come to them... Man, mean people suck!

Go here to check out a video/song about how I really feel... CLICK HERE

Jesus, please help me to keep my mouth shut, at least enough to let you get a word in edge wise... and please help me not to make this "situation" worse by the actions I desire to take simply out of anger...

PS: Happy Zoo pictures and memories to come... must focus on Monday, it was a good day...

Monkey Video

I couldn't get the Monkey Video to work... I am sure it has nothing to do with the long day I have in front of me tomorrow that I am attempting to mentally prepare for... I am sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I still am struggling to make my own cup of coffee at home, although I think it is more of a temperature issue not a taste issue, my coffee doesn't seem to be hot as it brews, which might require a new coffee pot to be purchased...

I am sure my lack of patience with technology has nothing to do with the fact that I am just plain frustrated... I am sure it is not my fault and I am positive I have attempted to up load the video with the most sound mind possible.

More Monkeys...

The monkeys were out and ready to play and Isaac couldn't have been happier!

We saw small monkeys and big monkeys.

He loved all of them...

... we even collected sticks for them... mostly because that is what we saw them eating, so Isaac thought it would be a good idea to collect sticks for them as we continued on our way ...

... what can I say, I can't resist this kid! I will post a fabulous monkey video later tonight!

Monkeys

Isaac wanted to see TWO things during our trip to the zoo... the BEARS and the MONKEYS!

And once he saw the monkeys... he took off running...

... the monkeys were a BIG hit, he LOVED them...

... he could not get enough of them, I tell ya, he couldn't get enough of them...

... we could have stayed there, with the monkeys, all day...

We're goin' on a bear hunt...

Isaac asked and asked and asked to find the bears...

... he wanted to go on a bear hunt... we even sang the song from our Music and Movement class...

... however, once we found the bears...

... someone didn't think they were as cool as he thought they'd be...

... bears can be scarey... we will have to visit them again... later...

Elephants

The elephants were a BIG hit...

...Isaac could not get over how BIG they were...

... mama couldn't get over all the pretty flowers...

... just so you know, when you are at the zoo, you must hold your own hand to stay safe... we wouldn't want to get lost... after all, holding your own hand is much safer than holding mama's hand or the side of the stroller... so why would I argue with him, right?