Can I be a better blogger?

There have been a lot of things going on in my life this year that have really taken me away from blogging. But, I am slowly learning to refocus and even though I would rather not focus on myself like I should I need to. So part of that is coming back to my blog. Even though I do not have a lot of readers the ones I have are very dear to my heart and I want to share our journey and what is going on. Things are always changing around here. Love to you all.

Coupons!

Okay so...for a few months I have been using coupons. I have had some great deals and some that were not so great. How often do you guys use coupons? I used to clip them (then forget them) and would get so irritated at myself. But, now I am more organized. That has been a huge help. Knowing what coupons I have then comparing it to what is on sale. Really, it makes things go more smoothly.
Also, I am learning that I should not just go to one store for everything. I can work it so that I drive past Walgreens and stop in and get certain things then the next day go the direction that will take me by another store. Most of the places I shop are on the same road it is a matter of being aware of the order I go in so food is not sitting in a 100 degree+ car.

This has allowed us to save on the majority of our food and health/beauty items and take that savings to Fresh Market or Whole Foods and buy things we consider a splurge like fresh seafood, bulk items, organic specialty items.

Okay so my best tip over all has been to ask about or get a copy of the stores coupon policy. This is great for a few reasons. You learn what coupons can be combined, how many like coupons you can use at one time, how much they double and if you are standing at the register and your checker misses or disputes something you can pull out the coupon policy for a helpful reminder. The best tip by far is to be poliet and calm because people want to work with you when you aren't acting like a lunatic.

Good luck with your shopping trip and let me know how it goes!

To facebook or not...that is the question.

So I have been really trying to refocus my priorities. What goals do we want to accomplish as a family and what goals have I set for myself (mostly weight loss related I am down 14 pounds y'all!) and what goals have I actually been able to reach? I look at my days. Work, the gym, home, and then there is social media. Now I do have twitter and I really like it. I feel like because I do not have many friends in real life on there with me and it is mostly celebs, authors, musicians, and artists I can keep that at arms length. But, facebook...man people put things on there that really bother me. So to facebook or not?

So I have brought this question up with a few people who, might I add, all acted like I had lost my mind. Let me just say I have had facebook for 7 years give or take. It isn't like I have not participated in enough get to know me quizzes, which Disney princess is most compatible with me, what is my ghetto name, hippie name, redneck name, and so on and so forth. I have been tagged in some really great pictures and some really really bad ones. I have put my heart into status updates and I have said some really crappy things there too. It was my voice...but for who and for what? Look. I am not saying I want to delete my account and never go back because I am sure I will. But, I learned I can just temporarily put my account on lock down. Should this be the plan?

The way I figure it is that if I deactivate the account and delete the app off my iPhone then I will be less temped to check it out and post etc. I want to go on a break from it and it is too tempting to have it at my finger tips. I feel like instead of a way to keep up with friends it has become a big distraction. Distracting me from being a better wife, sister, daughter, friend, and person. I feel like I let myself get too caught up in the drama on there and if I am trying to cut drama from my life wouldn't this be the next logical step? Again, I don't know that I want to be rid of it all together but for now it feels like a weight that could stand to be dropped.

So has anyone else taken a facebook vacation?

I guess I need to post something

Feel like I am not sure what to post. I will fill you in though. Our garden is producing some very beautiful lettuce and tomatoes. YUM! We also have elephant garlic coming up nicely. I will taking some of that garlic and chopping it up finely and adding olive oil and canning it to have fresh garlic all year. With all the tomatoes we have decided to make our own fresh tomato sauce with herbs and seasoning and can it as well. It will be nice to have things that are fresh and that we know all the things that go inside of it.

Jared and I took a drive through a local park and I had never seent his covered bridge before. It was such a treat! What a nice way to spend an hour driving around discovering new things about your town.

Daisy was getting lots of tummy scratching. She was in heaven!

Sorry it will not turn! But these are a few of my tomato plants. They are as tall as I am now. It is so great to have fresh tomatoes whenever I want.

Some of my spring blooms.                             

Lettuce! Again it will not turn but it is my romain lettuce. Did very well and produced so much.

Everyone who gets tagged must answer the following questions. Make it interesting!! And….GO!!!






Do you think you're hot?
Most days no but thanks to my husband I do feel closer to it than ever before. He is always telling me how beautiful I am so I know I feel good about myslef.


Upload a picture or wall paper that you are using at the moment.

One of my favorite pictures of us. Makes sitting at my computer all day a little better.




When was the last time you ate chicken?

I had homemade chicken fajitas for lunch yesterday. Very good.


The song/songs you listened to recently.
Adele, Usher, and Pink Floyd are the last three artists I heard on the radio on the way to work.


What were you thinking while doing this?
I wish I had more followers lol.




Do you have any nicknames? What are they?

It used to be LJ but then I got married....a lady at work calls me LA haha.
Jared and I use pet names often but mostly I get called Lauren.

Censie I did it! haha!

Gym Time.

Well. We did it. We joinned the gym. I feel great. Look. I sure can't lie and tell you that it has been an easy choice and that making myself go is easy. But, Jared and I are both looking for different things from this experiance. I want to lose weight and Jared is looking to bulk up a bit. We are wanting to...needing to be healthy. We have both been through so much over the past year. His surgery, buying a home, my thyroid deciding to try and give up on me, buying a new car, life, and everything that comes along with it. We need to get our body and mind right. This will be such a blessing. I think we were at our very best when we had a trainer and were going to the gym daily. Working out and eating right. We have to take the time to live right now because tomorrow is sure not promised.
Blessings to everyone and everyone get out there and walk in this amazing weather!

Rain!

My goodness the rain has been overwhelming the last few weeks. The storms, the water, the wind. My goodness. While tornadoes ripped through our state we were blessed enough to come out with no problems. Sadly, an entire town here was almost totally destroyed. Then only a few days later the rain came. It poured and poured so much. The space between our house and our neighbor had so much standing water we could not turn on the AC unit for fear it would be ruined. Our neighbor had to have water soaked up from inside his home as all his carpet was ruined which I know it must be frustrating. Our yard has so much standing water it is very difficult right now to even walk around in it because it would destroy the grass which we have worked hard to grow and make it look nice. The garden looks a bit like a pool. Just when things started to grow and perk up. Now the weather is sunny and dry and I hope that it will help the garden grow and perk back up.
On to other things. Life is good. Jared has been working so hard. I have been working to get the house clean and organized and making a list for the summer/
Gutters
Paint the house
Remulch flower beds
Replace anything that needs to be replaced(we have some wood along the trim by the roof that could use spruced up)

My next goal is to move inside and finish paiting and maybe get the guest room together and more like a guest room and less like a storage room! ha!

So blessed for sure. Ready for another vacation.
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