Our trip to Raleigh

We had a great trip to Raleigh, NC

We visited a Lego store and the kids got to make their own mini's which was soo much cooler than just grabbing a pack from walmart...they even made a custom one for their dad.

When selecting a hotel, we chose one that included breakfast

We visited a place called Frankie's and the kids rode motor boats and got soaked...then we went inside and played games...Galaga was one of my favorite games of all time next to the original Super Mario Bro game from Nintendo 

Our final big event in North Carolina was an invitation from Aunti P To attend the FHR

Black and White Banquet

It was a perfect excuse to dress up and......

Dance the night away!!!!!

We had a great and safe trip!

Now that we are back beginning Monday I am doing a pantry challenge for the next month because we need to save up for a trip to an upcoming family reunion exactly one month from now. Trips to the grocery store will be just for Wic items and i do have 35 bucks left for groceries. It should be interesting to see how this works out. Stay tuned to see how we do!!

Sharing ways we save

I am unsure how productive this last week would be considered.

My doctors visit with a new primary care landed me a standing appointment with a cardiologist at the same time.  I had to wear a heart monitor for 24 hours.  My heart rate is too low.  Thankfully the cardiologist doesn't think it is a major issue because of my age, but I have two more tests scheduled to be sure things are working as they should.  Then i had to go back to the primary care doctor because we had to finish the appointment I had with her....so 3 visits to the doctor in one week just for me....equals copays for each visit.

The second very large flop was my husband getting a speeding ticket totaling a whopping $129.00.

The final flop i can recall was our electric bill was 32.00 over my set budget.

I have still been following and participating with the facebook group for the 40 bags in 40 days challenge...and as we were decluttering, i sold a few pieces on a local facebook yard sale site for a total of 60.00.  It  is crazy that the uhaul truck we had when we moved here was packed so full that we still needed another trailer behind it...and now we have gotten rid of soo much. 

I don't think this will be frugal in the long run, but my son's birthday is next month.  He had expressed interest in lizards that my nephew has, so he gave him one with the cage set up and all. I was grateful because he got something he really wanted, and I didn't have to pay for it.....the lizard, cage and everything all at once would have been pricey, and I am trying to keep it simple this year.

My husband has worked 30 hours of overtime for the last two weeks.  That will help pay for upcoming events. (and that speeding ticket)

The water bill was $7.00 under budget

the kids picked wild blackberries while I was at a doctor's appointment they were with Aunti L and apparently these grow somewhere on her property.  Would you believe that in 33 years of life i cannot recall ever eating one.  Of course they washed them, i ate some, and to my surprise they were soooo delicious.  the kids ate some on ice cream

I can't wait till more are ripe and we can pick some more...i am going to put some in pancakes too.

In the kitchen this week we made spaghetti sauce.

That is all that I recall.  I am preparing to take the kids out of town this coming Monday the 23rd.  We are headed to North Carolina to spend time with Aunti P and her daughter Kayla.  Aunti P is traveling for business and we will meet and spend time with them.  I researched and found the most affordable hotel.  I also mapped the trip and know how much gas money I should need.  We will be taking snacks and lunch from home to minimize spending on food while we are in the car.  I have looked up the area, and found a free museum I can take the kids to, and we have planned one outing that will cost money, but I set a budget for it. 

How was your week?

As far as my prodigal issue, I am having trouble allowing forgiveness to be unconditional, as I discover new details.  I still need alot of prayer, and have been praying alot about the forgiveness part.  I am harboring bitterness which I know is not healthy.  Thanks for listening.

Sharing ways we save

well this week was a tough week emotionally, and my spouse and I spent a few minutes one night contemplating whether either of us thought our marriage was worth saving and persevering in.  Wednesday morning perspectives were new and arguments were over, and we decided it was indeed worth investing in and saving. 

In the weeks to come we are going to work on being more intentional with each other...including our kids and not just living in this house existing under the same roof.  We are going to work on having date nights.  I have talked with a friend who has agreed we would trade babysitting efforts so we could each have time with our husbands.  We are also reading articles on minimalism, and seeing what realistically applies to our family.  There will also be alot of praying.

Our financial efforts for the week were few.

*I saved all jars that I emptied either plastic or glass for reuse for gift giving or storage for things like pasta etc.

*Received a bag of clothes for my son and daughter in the sizes they can wear now!  Time to get rid of things we know are too small!

*We also participated in a building workshop that Home Depot hosted on Saturday

The home depot in our area hosts these workshops on the first Saturday of each month and the local Lowe's hosts one on the second Saturday of each month.  It may be worth looking into if you would like something to do with the little ones this summer.  Or maybe their dad can take them and have some special bonding time while you have me time :)

We talked about other financial things this week too...we are attending a family reunion in Delaware at the end of July, and we researched our cheapest travel options and determined that it is cheaper to camp then it is to stay in a hotel.  We also determined it is time to cut our cable cord and will be disconnecting it on Tuesday saving about 100.00 a month.  We have quite an extensive VHS and DvD collection and there is also redbox and the local library as well as trading movies with friends.  Here is to being more intentional and making more memories, i hope as an intact, interactive family. 

My final investment this week is in my health, I have an appointment with a doctor here in Florida finally, and I will be able to find out where I stand with my current diabetes treatment etc.  I want to know where I stand with my health, and move forward in some sort of healthy way.  I hope everyone had a great week.  In what ways did you save or invest in yourself or your family? I love hearing from you.  Don't be shy.

Prodigal Spouse?

I do like to share happy things, ways to save and things to craft on here, but blogging was also suppossed to be an outlet for me to write.  And today I am going to do just that....this is an ugly post.......so if you don't want to continue and only like the warm fuzzies of my life, you may not want to read on.


What do you do when you find out the one you love and have given more then 15 years to is lying.  When there is some sort of secret relationship he is hiding from you, making you feel guilty that you don't trust him when his actions don't support the trust he wants from you.

This morning all the pieces fell together and I know now who my husband has been talking to.  I don't know if it is a physical relationship or not, I don't know what they talk about but at this point, it is someone we had trouble with long before we got saved, and it is someone i asked him not to talk to, and certainly to promise he would never lie about it.  I desperately want to facebook the woman privately and ask her to stop communicating with my husband.  He has been hiding things and acting wierd since Easter.  I told him if I acted like that over my cell phone and texting he would be angry all he said was yep you are right.  He swore though he wasn't talking to anyone that the message he got yesterday was from some guy he works with...he is so full of it, i found the girl on face book. 

I confronted him, he admitted to one coversation a long time ago, said he never kept her number but when i matched the info in his phone to her facebook it just fits, i told him i knew what was going on and didn't appreciate the lie, and now he won't talk to me.  I guess we will see what happens when he comes home.  I know what God wants and it is this

Hold fast to the example of the father.  Remain faithful to God and to your covenant.I don't know if I am strong enough to do that though, I need so much prayer right now.  I know this battle is God's that only he will be able to change my spouse...but am i strong enough to be continually lied to, and to sit here and care for him and the kids and act like nothing is wrong.....I honestly don't know.

Even if it's not a physical relationship...there is lying and hiding and trust is broken.  Now I feel broken a little. I guess I should not be on here but in my Bible and in prayer.  I need some Godly counsel right now.

Sharing ways we Save

It has been two weeks since I was able to share what we have done to save.  Both of my kids have been sick...I actually had to keep my son out of school for a whole week because he had a bad bad case of strep throat, and was in so much pain and couldn't eat.....there was no way I was sending him to school like that. 

In the kitchen, we continue to make homemade tartar sauce......and we also made taco seasoning by combining spices we already had in the cupboard (been working on building that pantry)

We didn't go anywhere for two weeks.  saved a ton of gas.

I did have to take my son to an urgent care place called CareSpot, and they took great care of him and a grocery store here called Publix offers certain antibiotics for free and my sons prescribed medication was on that list....so score for free medicine.

Later in the week I had to take my son back to the doctor and since it was a follow up for the same illness he was originally seen for, the CareSpot did not charge me for his second visit.  I did have to pay for his medication this time, but it all worked out. 

A neighbor gave me an ace bandage to re-wrap my dogs splint.  I took him to the vet for a follow up appointment and I was not charged for his first check up since his broken leg.  We missed this weeks check up because of my son's illness so can you guess where i will be for the first part of the morning tomorrow?  I am asking for the Lord's will to be done, i really hope this confinement and splint will heal his leg.  If not I guess he will have to hop a long instead.....

Said no to a door to door salesperson trying to sell me some cleaner, i get that she was probably a college student trying to make money, the cleaner was 40.00 a bottle...she is like with all this does won't this just save you so much money....she asks how much do you spend on cleaners now....i was like honestly i think your stuff is cool, but we spend just pennies on cleaners because i use mostly vinegar and baking soda...no store bought stuff anymore...and her face fell...i felt bad...but i didn't need it, and buying it would have been counterproductive to our financial goals for the summer.

My husband went for a ride on the motorcycle and saw someone setting this table out for free, he told me about it and I picked it up in the car...it needs a really good cleaning and one chair needs a new cover on the seat pad...but that is it...my daughter was thrilled.

I did spend a little money this week, online shopping...for mothers day the kellogg's reward program gave me a free 20.00 credit for shutterfly, so I used it to make a small 5 by 7 photo book for my husband for father's day, and i got a special fridge magnet made, i just has to pay a few bucks for shipping.

I also ordered 4 books from barnes and noble, two are for my husband for father's day, and two are for my son for his birthday in July.  I got free shipping though for spending 25.00 and I got two big things we celebrate in the summer taken care of.  I also thought of a great way to celebrate my son's birthday at home, using things we already have here, and I think he will love it!  I will share more as it comes closer to time.

The final thing I remember doing was bartering my vacuum (that i don't use since our apartment flooded we have only tile flooring in every room now) with a couple that lives in the first apartment in our building for an ice cream maker they did not use anymore...and they also asked that I share the recipe we use to make laundry detergent.  I let a different neighbor have some and she shared the smell of it with everyone and they are in love with it!


That is all I can remember.  I hope each of you had a great couple of weeks.  Let me know how you did!  I love hearing from you.