Books

I love to read and thank my mother all the time for giving me that gift.  I am currently working my way through a very large body of work that consists of a 24 book series a 10 book series and 2 trilogies.  I have read the first trilogy and am now on book 24 and still looking for the second trilogy and 5 of the 10 book series.  The Author is Dana Fuller Ross and the series is called Wagons West.  It is a historical fiction (which I love since I LOVE history) that starts out with the first wagon train to leave New York for Oregon and it takes you on a journey of over 3000 miles then you follow the lives of the families up until around the time the arm and torch of the Statue of Liberty is delivered to America.  Some of the historical events include the Mexican War, several gold rushes, the Great Chicago fire, and I think Custers Last Stand is in book 24. 

 I have really enjoyed reading these books and of course since it is still a work of fiction I find myself constantly doing research to see exactly how things happened and their true time line.  I also enjoy learning more about life in the mid to late 1800's.  There is a little romance mixed in but not so much that men would not enjoy the books. 

Hopefully by the time I finish reading this large body of work my mom will have finished the Sookie Stackhouse books so I can start on them next.

What types of books do you enjoy reading?

Saving Money

As a single income military family of 4 we are always looking for new ways to save.  One of the ways we are trying to do this is by breaking down the grocery shopping from one large trip every pay day when the grocery stores are often insanely crowded to once a week when it is just me and Amelia since David is now in preschool in the mornings.  By doing this we are able to make a weekly meal plan based on the current sales and take better advantage of coupons and sales.  I also don't have to try to drag 2 kids around a grocery store so it takes me less time since i am not constantly telling them not to hit, no yelling, leave her toy alone..... you get the idea.  I also am able to go earlier so if I am going to the commissary I can get there and do my shopping during the early bird hour then check out once the open the full checkouts at 10am and get back off the Island before the Family Day crowds get to thick.

My husband was not on board with this idea at first because he was afraid that we would buy groceries the first week of the pay period then spend the rest of our money and not have anything to buy groceries the next week.  So in order to make sure this doesnt happen I allow $100 a week (my goal is to eventually be able to do it for even less) and to take the needed amount out at the beginning of the pay period and put it aside.   Another good thing about this method is it curbs those impulse buys because you have to make sure you have enough money to buy everything you NEED for the next week.

We have only done this for 1 pay period and it has worked so far and hopefully we will get even better at it with time.  We are still new to couponing and still learning the ropes and how to take the best advantage of sales and coupons.   

I would love to hear additional ideas on how to save money.   And if you live in the Beaufort,SC area and are interested in couponing I would love to meet up.