New Year's Resolutions

As many people do, I've made a few New Year's resolutions. The first one is to lose weight. I've had this as a resolution several times---somethimes I succeed and sometimes I don't. I'm currently within 5 pounds of my heaviest weight. I don't want to post my weight for the world to see, but I will say that I want to lose about 50 to 60 pounds. My lowest adult weight was in the summer of 2001 when I was 26. It was 50 pounds ago. Why did I gain it back? Well, to be honest, some family issues came along and I stuffed my face instead of telling people what I thought. By the spring of 2008, I had gained the 40 pounds back. I lost about 10 of that through a "Biggest Loser" contest at work. Then I met Vince and gained it back plus 10 to 15more----I have seriously eaten out more in the past 3.5 years than I did in the 33 previous years!

Well, this year HAS to be different. By June 23rd, 2011 I want to be 30 pounds thinner! I have a wedding dress to fit into! If that's not a goal, I don't know what is. However, I don't want this to be a quick fix. It has to be a lifestyle change. Vince is also wanting to lose some weight. He had no idea how many calories he concumed in a day until I showed him the calories he ate today and at Subway yesterday. (Not EVERYTHING at Subway is low calorie/low fat---meatball sub = 630 calories and 27 gramsof fat!) He doesn't like to eat first thing in the morning and doesn't have time for lunch most days. Therefore, he's famished by dinnertime at my house and sometimes snacks when he goes home.

Hopefully, we can keep each other motivated to lose weight and as Vince says "get into a shape other than round!"

My other goal is to save money and spend it wisely. I've not been using coupons as -dilengently as I used to. This is due to a few things: not as good of deals to be had, I have a good stockpile of what I need, not worth the gas money to make 50 cents on stuff I don't use. I sure miss the free Bayar meters that gave me $10 Register Rewards to use at Walgreens to get free stuff I needed! I've sure the diabetes clinic I donated the meters to misses it to. Oh well, maybe some more deals will pop up this yeat.

I have been finding some good deals on wedding things, but I'll save that for another post. I'm going to post more this year than I did last year! I'll also try to include a few pictures each time. Here's two today!

Lucky giving love to Ginger on the day she died 11/09/11:


Here's a picture of the engagement ring 11/05/11:

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

There have been so many changes in the past 3 months since my last post----both good and bad. The best thing and worst thing happened within the same week, just 4 days apart. On 11/5/11, my boyfriend of 3 years and 3 months proposed! On 11/9/11, I had to put my Chow, Ginger, to sleep. I will give more details on both later this week. Right now I want to share something I found in a newspaper when I was in college way back when. I cut it out and saved it. While looking for readings for the wedding, I went looking for it.

I Miss Her Already

It's never easy to see someone you love decline in health. I experienced it with my dad in 1997, my mom in 2008 and now it's happening again. This time it's with someone who can't verbally tell me how she feels. I have to just see it in her struggle to stand up and her slower paced walk. This time it's with my nearly 13 year old Chow, Ginger.





It really started, I guess about 5 years ago when she was seven and developed arthritis in her front legs. Thankfully, a visit to the vet and some medicine eased her pain and helped her get back to normal. A year old two later, her ears stared to look different. The vet explained that her digging her ears and shaking her head caused hemotomas and eventaually scar tissue. She looked a little different since her ears didn't raise the same anymore, but she didn't seem to notice. Her skin over the years has always seemed to be a mess. Every bath causes a hot spot. She's been on so many rounds of antibiotics that I've joked that she must be allergic to cats! I've tried the lamb and rice diet to see if it's a food allergy, but she eats cat food every chance she gets.

Around this time last year, she REALLY scared me! She was having trouble getting up in the mornings and any time she laid for a long period of time. I was terrified that she was near the end. Thankfully, once again, medicine did the trick. Half of a $2.50 pill every morning made all the difference in the world. She was literally better over night!

Right before Labor Day this year, I noticed she seemed to be slipping when she walked around the house. I thought it was due to her nails being too long. I had the trimmed when I took her to have her kennelled for the holiday weekend. When I picked her up a few days later, the vet mentioned that he had seen her wobble when she walked. I asked if she needed more arthritis medication. He shook his head and said it was her muscles getting weak. He also reminded me that she was getting old for a Chow...which I knew already.

She has her good days and bad days. One thing I have to give her credit for is that it may slow her down, but she keeps trying. She doesn't bounce through the house anymore (I miss that SO much!), but she still insists on visiting the yard next door every morning. One morning I planned on just taking her out to the cable on the porch, but she insisted on heading down the street. That wouldn't have been a problem if I were dressed in more that a bath sheet and flip flops! I'm glad the two houses next to me are vacant...I'm sure I was a sight. She was almost to the highway before I caught her. Not bad for a arthritic, weak-muscled dog! She might stagger, but she keeps trying. I love her determination.

My biggest worry is that I will have to make that final decision for her. I don't want to do that. It breaks my heart to even think about it. I don't want to lose her, but I'd rather she go in her sleep. I had to make that horrible decision for my last dog, Comet, and two cats that I had. I got Ginger when she was 8 weeks old. I've watch her grow from a tiny puppy to 55 poiunds of fur. I'll be with her until the end, but I don't want it to end! I hope she leaves this Earth peacefully in her sleep, but if she tells me she's not happy, I'll do what I have to do.

Until then, I plan to make her as happy as possible. That means slow walks up to the end of the block now instead of a mile or more. It means letting her have some cat food and human food now and then. It means car rides whenever I'm going on a quick trip or even a long ride just for her. I wish I had know that she liked car rides before she was 11 years old! I have a lot of regrets. I wish I could have done some things differently. I can't change that, but I can do my best for the rest of her life.


I got a an email a couple weeks ago that included the following link. I think it's a great idea for anyone with a beloved pet. Ginger and my 17 year old cat, Snowball, have both outlived Max and Salem who were only 8 and 7 when they died from cancer. You never know when their last day will be, so try to have a perfect day every once in a while.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/heavy_petting/2011/09/the_perfect_day.html?GT1=38001

What If Doctors Were Treated Like Teachers?

Someone forwarded this to me in an email today and I thought it was interesting enough to share.


"What If We Treated Doctors The Way We Treat Teachers? A good friend and colleague who is now in Chicago first gifted me with this parable. It's been in my thoughts lately as my wife pursues her medical degree. In fact, she and I have talked about this at length, and when making comparisons between how physicians and teachers are treated, she is just as astounded. Parallels are occasionally noted between medical training and education, especially the capstone clinical experiences present in both professions. Let us pretend that physicians of all specialties were held to similar measures of accountability and enveloped with the same kinds of discourses that we see in education reform debates. What might that look like, and how would the general public, in addition to doctors, feel about that? It would not take a skilled social scientist to observe that, despite exceptional achievements in treating disease and diagnostic technologies, for example, the medical profession is failing. It has failed in its tasks to disseminate good information about health, quash misconceptions, fight corporations and health lobbies that keep people sick, and prevent high rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, particularly in low-income populations. What do we do about this? Well, I have a few proposals listed in no particular order:

a.. We must begin to hold all physicians accountable, regardless of specialization, to certain quantifiable measures of health, namely cholesterol levels, blood pressure, weight, and BMI. All patients assigned to a physician must meet specific annual minimum standards of health. Bad doctors will be those who do not meet their patients' annual minimums, and they may be subject to certain penalties if the health scores of their patients do not improve in a reasonable amount of time.

a.. It will be mandatory for the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as all of the major governing bodies in medicine, to set a goal for reaching universal health and well-being in the United States. That is, a target year will be identified in which every person will achieve the ideal values in cholesterol, blood pressure, and BMI. Future targets may include assessments of mental health. A specific interval of time will also be determined to assess all patients for these values. Although pharmaceuticals may be used to stabilize or improve health outcomes, the patient must not be on any medications at the time of assessment unless approved by an official of the administrative body of the national health assessments.

a.. Quantifiable variables will be utilized to evaluate all practices and hospitals. All of this information will be made public. Additionally, medical schools will be evaluated based on the quantifiable health of patients in the care of their graduates. Medical schools will subsequently be ranked based on the health outcomes of their graduates' patients regardless of specialty. Given more advanced statistical models, these numbers could ultimately be used to assess the impact of pre-medical programs at the undergraduate level.

a.. In certain high needs areas, such as family practice, emergency medicine, or in practices in low income areas, alternative routes to being licensed will be provided. Moreover, data will determine what skills are necessary to impart in the curriculum of such programs. For instance, if a certain community prevails in specific medical conditions over others, then time will not be wasted covering rare conditions so that alternative programs can operate expeditiously.

a.. Barriers to participation will be lowered in certain instances, in the form of direct subsidies or significant tax exemptions, for the opening of small hospitals or short-term care centers by private organizations or motivated members of the community.

a.. Any hospital or practice is subject to a turnaround plan if minimum health requirements are not met. Should the facility not meet those requirements of minimum annual health, the entire staff will be terminated and reconstituted with more competent practitioners. Moreover, staff may be required to enroll in continuing medical education in advanced and remedial level re-licensing courses, including basic physics, chemistry, and biology.

a.. In addition to in- or out-of-network information and basic demographics, an online data warehouse will be established that will provide all health data and outcomes for every licensed physician in the United States, regardless of specialty. The individual physician's education, license information, and health outcomes of patients will be listed. Should in-network physicians be deemed unfit for local health care consumers, the Federal government, with matching funds by health providers, will offer subsidies for consumers to see other practitioners.

a.. Finally, a certain percentage of any and all physicians' patients will be assigned to them, care of those who qualify will be fully covered by providers. This will ensure adequate racial, income, and overall demographic diversity of clientele. The annual minimum health outcome data of these patients will also be included in the physician's overall quality.

Did I miss any? What if we indeed held doctors and other professionals to the same bloat and condescension that we currently hold teachers? I can predict some of the responses that physicians might make: "We can't control what our patients do or eat outside of our offices to maintain minimum levels of health. Also, these variables -- BMI, cholesterol, blood pressure -- are limited and don't adequately measure a healthy person. And one other thing, you can't expect us to be evaluated based on all patients equally, regardless of family history, poverty, and other complications."
As an educator, my sentiments exactly! "

Snow Day!

No work for me tomorrow! I love the snow! My outside tree looks great with the snowy background.

Shoes!

I got a great deal this week on a pair of shoes from JCPenney. I was informed of a coupon code for $10 off $10 or more purchase. Plus, FREE shipping for all shoes! WOW! I couldn't pass it up so I started looking at the clearanced shoes. I found a pair of red slides that are normally priced at $40.00, but I only payed $6.41!
Here's what I bought:


**********Editted on 9/24******Thanks to Pubbler's comment, I just order a pair of the same shoes in turquoise! $6.41 is a great price for a good pair of shoes!

Here's a picture of Lucky "protecting" another pair of my shoes!

Max's Final Resting Place

My sweet boy passed away last year, but I didn't get his marker up for a whole year. I bought it in October, just couldn't bring myself to put it out.



He has a nice shady spot under the tree in the back yard.



A close-up of the marker that I found on Ebay. I plan to put mulch around the tree and a little fence around that.


I love and miss you Max!

Shoes

My size 8 INSIDE Vince's size 13!

Book Giveaway on My Friend's Blog

Go to: http://easyfrugalliving.blogspot.com/2010/06/giveaway-2-of-new-be-thrifty-books.html and enter to win http://www.amazon.com/Be-Thrifty-Live-Better-Less/dp/0761156097/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Make sure to take a good look at Lisa's blog while you are there. She has a lot of thrifty idea!

Spring Break

The school where I work a two week long spring break. I thought I would get so much done....and I was WRONG! I've been so lazy!! I have gotten some things accomplished: taxes done, finally got new glasses--it's been 3 1/2 years. Today I'm waiting for the plumber to come back..yesterday didn't get my drains unclogged. Apparently I've got tree roots keeping water from leaving the house effiently. Great...there goes the extra tax refund I was getting back. It's not enough to have to call the plumber---he has to make TWO visits (please God, only two!). I planned on getting my house a good spring cleaning and get three reports done or close to it for work....have I done either? Uhhhh....not really. OK..time to get off here and get something done!

What a Great Boyfriend I Have!

Hey! What's going on up there???? I wanna see!



Over the weekend, Vince installed insulation in my attic. It may not sound like much, but since he's like 6'3 and the highest point of my attic is probably 4 ft. max it wasn't easy! Of course, nothing can be done in my house without a cat supervising. I had to move the ladder to keep Midnight out of the attic!















This last picture shows how little I started with and what I have now. BIG difference!

August Has Been a Busy Month!

I love my new job, but I'm exhausted! I've not been on the GC message board as much as I'd like. I'm still getting my coupons, but not hunting down the deals like I had been. I haven't even been to CVS this week! Saturday will be my last day working at Wal-Mart, so I'm looking forward to that. I still need to add up my coupon and ECB savings for the past month and a half....keeping my receipts, but too tired to add them up.

Just wanted everyone know I was still alive!

Life Just Keeps Getting Better and Better!

Remember all those great things I was so thankful for last Friday? Well, this morning I have another.....I got the job!!!!! I'm SO happy! I will start teaching Special Ed at the same school where I went to elementary school. I'm really excited about working in this building. I don't want to put any identifiying info on here, so I won't mention what's so special about the building, but if you have my email and would like to know, just drop me a line. For everybody else, let's just say that there's a lot of history there!

This afternoon I went to a nearby town where they had the Clydesdale horses. They are so beautiful!

Good Thing to Remember!

I found this online and thought I'd share!

The will of God will never take you,
Where the grace of God cannot keep you,
Where the arms of God cannot support you,
Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,
Where the power of God cannot endow you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the Spirit of God cannot work through you,
Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,
Where the army of God cannot protect you,
Where the hands of God cannot mold you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the love of God cannot enfold you,
Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you,
Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears,
Where the authority of God cannot overrule for you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,
Where the Word of God cannot feed you,
Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you,
Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.

“Everything happens for a purpose.
We may not see the wisdom of it all now but trust and believe
in the Lord that everything is for the best.”

The way to be anxious about nothing
is to be prayerful about everything.

Author Unknown

Paw It Forward!

Hello, this is Snowball taking over the blog. Our maid----uh, I mean mom---was taking her sweet time getting this posted so I thought I'd do it. Us cats wanted to thank Cory and her family over at Cory Cat Blog for the great package they sent!



We were so excited to get the package! It's the first time we've ever gotten something in the mail.



Soon as mom brought it in we all went after it! It smelled SO good! I found out why....CATNIP! Now I am a very high class girl and don't usually act silly, but well, catnip can make a girl do crazy things!



That little yellow fishy was a big hit....my brothers Coal and Midnight kept stealing it from each other. Mom needs to find some more so we can each have one.



For the first time ever, Mom was able to get a picture of all the boys together....I'm just out of range on the blue tote playing with the catnip!


Cory's mama even sent our mama a book! Wasn't that nice of her? It's called "Dewey". Maybe mama will read it to us since it's about a kitty cat. Mom said she'd have to wait until her class was over first. Oh, I can't forget to mention that Ginger the only doggie in the house full of cats even got a squeaky toy! She says "thank you for thinking of me!".


*Snowball whispers* Don't tell Ginger I said this, but she was scared of it! Mom squeaked it and went to give it to her and my silly dog-sister went and hid under mama's desk! She used to like those kind of toys when she was a puppy, but I guess she thinks she's too old for them now that she's ten. Oh well, mom said she'd "paw it forward" to her DBF's Weim, Amber. I've never met her, but mom tells me that Amber LOVES squeaky toys. Every time mom and Vince try to talk on the phone, Amber starts squeaking....she's SO jealous!

Ok, now here come's the fun part! Mama said for me to just copy exactly what Cory from Cory Cat Blog said so I wouldn't make any mistakes on how to play this game. Now I sure don't want to make a mistake on mom's blog........she'd never let me on the computer again! So here's Cory!

"This was all a part of Paw it Forward. It is now our turn to have fun pawing it forward to the next cat or dog blogger.

The guide to Paw it Forward is as follows: "The exchange focuses on doing an act of kindness without expecting anything in return other than that the recipient will, in their turn, pass the kindness along and 'pay it forward' in their own way.This is how it works...I am going to agree to send something fun, inspiring or uplifting to the first blog owner who posts a comment on this entry if you agree to paw it forward too. In turn you will then post about this on your blog, link to me, then send something to the first person who signs up to play along through your blog. There are no cost restraints, BUT don't go crazy! The little something you send can be something you made, bought, were given or found. No biggie, just a gift that will make the person smile. Maybe something unique from where you live? And, remember that kindness does not have to involve money; there are untold ways to help others every single day, everywhere you go - just look around". The rules were changed a little bit. We know that times are tough for a lot of people, and in the past the idea was to paw it forward to 3 bloggers. We are going to paw it forward to one and doing this might make it more playable for people. If you want to play with three people, it is your choice, or if you'd like to play with one or two people, that is also your choice. Keep the fun going and let me know if you want to play!"

Snowball: If you want to play, just be the first to leave us a comment saying so! We loved playing so much we already picked out some new toys to paw forward. Thanks for reading!

Why I Stockpile and Use Coupons

Now that this blog is linked to my facebook page and not just to the ladies at The Grocery Challenge, I feel that I should explain why and how I stockpile. I know that it looks and sounds a bit strange to those who do not shop the same way.


I really don't remember the first time I used coupons. I never remember my mom or dad using a coupon or stockpiling anything. I must have been started during college. I know my dorm had a table by the front door where you could leave or pick up coupons that were clipped out of the Sunday papers. I would look through them once a week or so to see what I could use. Then I got a subscription to the Sunday paper from Louisville (still has the best coupons around!). I also remember going to both Kroger and SuperWal-Mart for my grocery shopping. Kroger would double my coupons up to 50 cents, and at the time, they would take expired coupons.

When I started working summers at Wal-Mart, after my freshmen year in college, I started a mini stockpile I guess you could call it. I worked 25+ hours per week in the summer and only 15 hours at my work study during the school year. Therefore, I bought enough toiletries to last for entire the school year. That way I could use my employee discount PLUS coupons. I was then able to use my income during the school year for food and gasoline.

I continued using coupons and sales ads ever since then. However, the major stockpiling and going to CVS started a year ago this past February after I discovered the helpful ladies at The Grocery Challenge. I wish I'd started shopping at CVS years ago! There so many things that you can buy and get the whole amount back in Extra Care Bucks (CVS store credit type coupons).

You may have noticed two tickers at the top of my blog page. I have never kept track of how much I'd save with coupons, Extra Care Bucks, or Walgreen's Register Rewards. I thought I would keep track of it on here. I'm trying to see how long it takes to save $1,000 in coupons and $1.000 in ECBS and RRs. I've only been keep track for 15 days and already saved nearly $100! And I haven't speant a whole lot either. Here's a good story I found on MSN about saving money buying food inexpensively: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/the-dollar-food-pantry.aspx
Ok, now you know a little about HOW I do it. So WHY do I do it? Well, to be honest, some of it is because it's a challenge. I like to see how much I can get for so little. But the major part is because my paychecks are so erractic. During March and April my paychecks from school (at assistant pay, NOT teacher pay), were only for seven days each because of a two week long spring break. Ten day checks are pretty good, I can make that work. But four 7 day checks in a row was tough! Because of my HBA and food stockpile (haven't showed a picture of that yet) I could use those tiny checks to pay the bills and not worry about having food for me and the furbabies. All I really had to buy was perishables, dry cat food and Diet Cokes. I can never have enough dry cat food and Diet Cokes stockpiled!

Another reason why I stockpile is to help friends and family who need it. A month or so ago a family member and his three kids moved and were starting over. I could not help with money, but I could help with HBA products! Below is a picture of things I gathered up from my stockpile. I probably spent less than $5 on all of that!

I've Got a Busy Summer!

Summer school is almost over already! I've been meaning to post pictures of the classroom, but haven't had a chance. It's been a lot of fun. I've had 12 to 18 kids on most days. Last year, the most I ever had was NINE! I have the same type of theme each year, but it's amazing how different each year is because of the different students. I can't believe it's almost over. The last day will be next Thursday, July 2nd.

That very evening Vince and I will be going to his parents' farm for the weekend. I'm, as usual, looking forward to that. I didn't think I was going to be able to go since I normally work Saturdays at Wal-Mart. In April, I had asked for the 4th off and was denied. On our way home from the farm Memorial Day, DBF and I were talking about it and it hit me! The only way I could get the day off was if I wasn't available on Saturdays in July. Hmmm....I thought about it for a day or two and gave it a shot. So I changed my availabilty to Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in July and hurried up and turned it in. Well, the lady in personel accidently changed it for the last half of June too. OOPS, when I saw that I was scheduled Monday and Wednesdays during the school day I told them that I was under contract to teach summer school. They were very nice about it and took me off the schedule. I'm not scheduled to work at all until July 6th! I'll lose a couple days pay because of it, but at this point, my sanity is worth more than $120! It was so nice to have a regular two day weekend this past week!

I'm taking another class so I can keep my Kentucky teacher's certifcation. It just started last week and I already feel behind! It's only a five week course. There are two books that we have to read, which means about 60 pages of DULL reading per week. Plus, review five articles, journal entries each week about our text, discussion board entries each week. It's not a hard class, just time consuming. It will be over on July 17th. Just in time for me to help with my church's Vacation Bible School the next week!

Maybe after all that is over with, I can post more on here and organize my coupons better. I was going through some the other day and realized that I let a couple great coupons expire because I didn't clip them and put them in my little accordian file. I do have two new large accordian files that I can put whole inserts in. I haven't been clipping the coupons as much since I am usually busy Sunday afternoons. I hope that I can get everything accomplished by the time the regular school year starts on August 3rd!

Life is All About Choices

I've been having problems getting my stockpile pictures loaded. So in the meantime, I wanted to share something I got in a email. I've read it before, but thought some of you may have not seen it. It's a good reminder to not worry too much and look on the bright side.


READ THIS LET IT REALLY SINK IN - THEN CHOOSE .

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it!"

"You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"

He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or......you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood.
Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or...I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," he said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."

I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

He continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said John. "She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity.'"

Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude...I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34.

After all, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

So the choice now is to think positively or not

45 Life Lessons

Someone sent this to me in an email and it was too good not to share.

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Money Saving Challenge: Part One

I've saved money this week in several ways.

1. Warm temperatures meant no need for heat or A/C!


2. Line dried part of my laundry. Combine loads into extra-large loads whenever possible.


3. Combined errands as much as possible.


4. Today I bought two books of stamps (even though I already had two) to keep from buying them after the price hike.


5. I cashed a $120 check from three weeks of private tutoring.


6. I unplug the microwave and computer when not in use.

7. I spent two and a half hours mowing my yard instead of paying $30 for the neighbor's yard guy to do it.

8. Walked to local businesses instead of driving.

9. Used coupons and ECBs for nearly everything I've bought this week.


10. Printed 4 Qs for FREE KFC meals---DBF will be using two of them Friday night.


11. Tonight I printed 35 $1 off 12 pk Coke Q's.

12. I've fed my 10 cats, one dog and myself out of our stockpile which was purchased on sale and with Qs.

13. Stayed out of all stores (except CVS) since Saturday!


14. Found one coupon insert in Post Office trash can. Already saved 75 cents (on a gallon of milk) because of it.

15. DBF checked one WAGS and found no monitors so I won't have to go out of my way to check tomorrow.


That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there's probably more that I'm too tired to think of right now!