Couponing, Valentines, Birthday, and Bulls

I'm fresh off of my first couponing experience last week.  While I definitely wouldn't call it a failure, I wouldn't call it the "success" that I had hoped for.  I ended up saving about 28% versus the 40% that was my original goal.  I found it a lot harder to coupon at just Wal-Mart, and unfortunately that's all I have to shop at.  However, I ended up saving a little over $40 off my total bill, so I was pretty pleased with that!  It took me a lot longer in Wal-Mart than I originally wanted, but when you're searching for the best deals, you really have to search!  Oh well...if it saves money then I'm all for it.  It didn't help that we had to get 4 checkers and a manager to get us to use a coupon that was worth $1.00 off and the item was only $.93 (which constitutes an 'overage' - coupon lingo).  This in itself took 10 minutes for 1 item!  Oh well...the item was free and I wasn't about to leave the store with out it :)

Valentines Day was a low key one for us.  While Wesley was at work I prepared a lovely steak dinner for the two of us, curled my hair, put on a fancy dress and heels, set the table with candles, and waited for him to arrive at the end of the day.  He was so surprised!  I loved it :)  I got him a new wool work hat that he's been needing and he got me a new shirt & a 'gardener' hat (for lack of better words - the hats with the huge wide flimsy brim on them that ladies wear to horse races...that kind).  I am in love with the hat!  At first I wasn't sold on it, but after putting it on I can't resist it anymore.  I can't wait to wear it to the horse races this spring in Miles City and to ropings this summer.

On Monday I celebrated my birthday by spending the entire day with my husband.  I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend my birthday than with him all day.  It was perfect.  We went to a bull sale in North Dakota (about 3 1/2 hours away) during the day [and got the ones we wanted - score!] and finished the evening by having a nice supper together at a steak house in Miles City.  It was the perfect end to the perfect day.  For my birthday Wesley got me a beautiful tooled 3D leather belt with a hint of bling on it.  It's one of those wide belts that you wear over tunics or dresses.  I love it!  I also got lots of new clothes from my family in Texas, and a new hair dryer, along with a few household items that I love.  It was fantastic :)  We love receiving gifts from my family in Texas.  There's always something for everyone, and its always something we don't normally buy for ourselves.  Its quite perfect! 

Since I don't have to sub any at the school this week I'm enjoying some quality laid back time with the puppies.  I've been able to clean my house earlier this week and cook suppers so I don't have to cook anymore the rest of the week - a plus for me!  I'm all about cooking in bulk and enjoying leftovers :)

Hope your week is going as well as ours is!

A new obession...

With me being a stay at home wife now, I'm constantly looking for ways to save money since we live on one income.  I've searched different ideas & I've come across one that particularly interests me.  When I say "particularly interests" me, I mean that I'm becoming borderline obsessed with it. 

Every day that I'm home I spend hours scouring the internet for the latest websites and deals and...COUPONS.  Yes, my latest obsession is couponing.  I. Am. Borderline Obsessed.  For real. 

Here's the catch - it is a lot harder for me to coupon than for someone in a bigger city because I'm stuck with just shopping at Wal-Mart (versus being able to price match different big name competitors).  But, I didn't let that stop me.  No, I researched ways to coupon solely at Wal-Mart, and tomorrow I'm going to try my first couponing experience at Wal-Mart.  I have over 90 coupons to take to the store with me tomorrow!  I'm so excited!  Now, I'm not saying for sure that I'm going to use all 90+ coupons, but this girl is gonna try.  My husband has warned me that I cannot become the hoarder of groceries like you see on those extreme couponing shows.  And I've agreed.  BUT, that doesn't mean that I can't start stock piling paper items & necessities.  Every little bit counts when you're on one budget, and even when you're not - who doesn't like to save money!? I surely do. 

Anyway, my sweet husband is going with me tomorrow to help me take in my first "haul" of items.  I don't expect it to be too big of a haul, and I'm going to be satisfied with myself if I can save about 30-40% off of my total bill.  With time, however, my goal is to save over 60% every time I go shopping.  So...WISH ME LUCK!  And more importantly, pray for my sweet husband who has agreed to go with me tomorrow as my partner in crime :)

Maternity Shoot continued...

As promised, here are some more pictures of my sister's maternity session we did while we were in Texas!

There are so many technical things wrong with this picture - the exposure, the lighting, etc.  But, I really loved my sister's look when I took this & I had to share it. It is as though she's looking to the future when the baby arrives.