Randoms. Isn't random in like 20 of my blog titles?

Has it been almost a week and a half since I last posted something? Wow. Here is the randomness of our life recently.

Our car’s check engine light has been on since driving out here in September. We haven't had the money to fix the car, so we just prayed it would still work until we got the money to fix it. Hooray for a tax refund and one of our friends that recommended a great garage to us. The best part is it is actually one block from our house. Translation? We didn't need anyone to help drop off the car and pick it up later that day. We just dropped it off, walked home, then walked back to pick it up. (And we had a great picnic at the park in the midst of that waiting for it to get fixed.) Not only that, it was about $500 cheaper than we thought it would be to get it fixed. HOORAY!!!

Batteries. We go through them like crazy. Does anyone else?

Now that I have been shopping out here for 8 months I feel like I am getting the hang of how things work for couponers here in New England. So here's the run down as if this is interesting to read about my life:

Yes. CVS is rocking awesome. You should miss it if you don't have one nearby.

I love Sav a lot for produce deals. Especially bananas at 3lbs/$1. The other cheapest I have seen bananas anywhere in MA is .59/lb. And that's in the markdown produce at Stop and Shop (where I get my other produce). They usually also have at least one type of apples here under .50 a lb. Much better than the usual 1.59/lb This is also where I finally saw Ramen Noodles for .10 a package. Everywhere else is .25 or more. My price point is .10. That means i won't pay more than .10 a package for Ramen and I USUALLY PAY LESS so poor Eric has been missing his Ramen as a quick lunch or snack.

Couponing definitely takes more work. I am vaguely remembering the perfect grocery smarts lists I used to use and rely on religiously, and now I am just used to my few blogs that do matchups- AND I have been doing some matchups of my own. (Since not all the deals listed are at my stores.) Thoughts to re-start my deals blog flare up every now and then when I feel like I am doing a whole matchup myself, but then I realize how selfish I am and how I only would want to post what I got at the store and not what other people might feel are good deals and I get over the feeling.

My beloved Shaws for Catalina sales is gone- but there are still deals to be had. I especially love going to Rite Aid or CVS on Friday or Saturday and ALL of the deals I am looking for are still there. That is definitely a huge upside.

Yard sales. Still fantastic. Today. Little tykes red wagon, $2. 2 pairs of shorts and a pair of church pants in excellent condition for Jack? $1.50. And that was on the high end of what I usually pay for kids clothes here. An unopened kite for Eric that he loves? .50.

My other favorite is with Eric getting a job, I now have a budget to work from! Which makes me very very happy. So I don’t feel guilty about spending $10 on one shopping trip now.

The. Weather. Has. Been. Glorious. Seriously. We are outside everyday and I have never enjoyed spring more in my life. I used to love Fall because it finally would cool down and I think Utah has glorious perfect weather in the fall. Whereas it's usually cold and rainy in the Spring in Utah, it is rainy here, but usually warm rainy, and we now have had two weeks of perfect weather. I think Spring might be my new Fall, and that makes me happy.

Getting everything organized. This is a big one for me. I did the clear out the clutter challenge with Money Saving Mom. I re-read some of my notes from an organization class I took last year, and am implementing many of the practices. Like OHIO- Only Handle it Once. (ie- read the mail by the recycle bin and immediately go through it and shred/recycle while it's in your hand.) Another that has been great is leave a room better than you came into it. You just used the bathroom? Take 15 extra seconds to straighten the towel and rug, wipe the sink around the base and take Jack's dirty pajama bottoms and put them in his hamper. This has been monumental to me in keeping the house clean with putting in minimal effort. I am also reading the book "A Perfect Mess"- The hidden benefits of disorder. How crammed closets, cluttered offices, and on- the fly- planning make the world a better place. by Eric Abrahamson and David H Freedman. I'll let you know how it goes.

With the amazing help of friends and family our house got back up to rentable conditions and we have a cute couple moving in soon that will hopefully be an asset to the neighborhood. I feel extremely blessed to have the new renters, and although this whole renting situation has created so much stress and we still aren't even close to getting back our stuff, and we probably won't get the money that they owe us, it's o.k. It has worked out so far, and I feel it will continue to. I have learned a lot, and been humbled incredibly as I have been served by some amazing people. There is a time to serve and a time to be served, and I feel I have cashed in on my being served part for the rest of my life. So you're all good, you don't have to ever serve me again. :) No really, I have it from here. (As I then get struck by lightening because I never learn that really God is in charge and not me. Oh Brooke)

Why do I care what other people think so much? I usually do fine most of the time letting go of what people think, but people I value highly I hate them seeing me at a weak moment, or thinking of me as a lesser person. It's really hard for me to let go of these instances actually. I even have been rejected completely by someone that meant a lot to me several months ago, and it still bothers me. I wonder if I have some obsessive compulsive tendencies since I can't let this go, and money things usually are hard for me to let go. For example if I pay $2 more for something than what I am expecting to pay, I have a hard time just saying it's o.k. it's only $2. I want to find out why it was $2 higher, if a coupon didn't scan, or a sale price didn't get entered, and even if I have left the store, the next time I go back I will talk to customer service about it. I guess when you're only paying $10, $2 more for groceries is a lot of money. But still, I should be able to let things go more easily than I do. (But if I recognize it the other way, like the store gave me too much off an item so I paid $2 less than i should have i talk to customer service too and give them their $2 back.)

I am really loving writing in my scripture blog. Although I get like 2 people reading it a day, which is not an underexaggeration, it has been such an uplifting and spiritually motivating experience for me that I'm not going to stop writing in it. Check it out, and let me know what you think. Maybe we'll soon be up to 4 readers a day!

And the best random of my whole post are these pictures. I want everyone to see how similar Jack and Avey look. It was hard to find a picture without Avey wearing a flower and looking pink and girly, but I hope you can appreciate their siblingness now. Can you tell the difference between all of them?

I love these kiddos. Even if they weren't so stinking cute!