Well, Friends:  I am now a "big girl" in the blogging world.....I have my own website!!! Please join me over at:

www.crazylifeofkate.com

This my new blogging home!! See you (and your comments) there...

Here's my new "thing" of the year....couponing!  Yes, I have become a cheesy coupon mom.  I know many, many women who have mastered this art and I'm doing my best to learn, but I'm not quite there yet. Basically, coupons, by themselves, don't really save much.  But, when you start saving and organizing coupons, then combine them with store specials, then you can save some serious money!!  Our grocery budget used to be about $110 for enough food to feed our family for an entire week.  My goal is to cut that in half--$55 per week.  I could probably go even lower than that, but we'd have to start eating a lot of canned and boxed food, which is full of junk. Last week, I spent roughly $70, which is a step in the right direction. Anyway, if you have always been interested in saving money with coupons, but don't know where to start, here is a list of suggestions:

1. Get your Sunday newspaper.  Open it up and look for coupons books labeled "RedPlum," "SmartSource," and "PC&G (I think??)."  Cut out any coupons that you are even remotely interested in.
   
2. Buy a plastic bin large enough to store a year's worth of coupons. In mine, I have index cards that divide my coupons alphabetically, a pair of scissors, a small notepad for lists, and a pen. You don't have to worry about doing anything with these coupons yet, just start organizing a good supply.
3. Get "savings" cards from every store in your area. I have cards for Kroger, Food City, CVS, Food Lion, and Ingles. This, alone, can save you big money.
4. Spend an hour or so per week planning out a menu for that week. Make a list of what you will need and do not stray from it at the store.
   
5. Read this blog EVERY day: www.moneysavingmom.com . It will help you begin to match up the store specials with your coupons. Crystal, the author, also has several sources to help you get started
6. Eventually, your goals will be to pay close attention to store specials, match up coupons to every possible deal, plan your menu based on the deals, and be able plan ahead enough to buy things in bulk when they are on sale to save additional money. I'm not to this level yet, but I'm working on it. Also, you can also get more than one Sunday newspaper to clip additional coupons. My dad, who is a circulation manager for Arkansas' Newspaper, the Democrat Gazette, is (or should be) saving all the extra papers he gets on Sundays so that he can donate the inserts to me. Thanks, Dad!!
   

So, there you go! This has become really fun--sort of like a game for me.  I'll let you all know how I'm doing with it. Those of you out there who are already coupon kings and queens, can you share your wisdom? Please.....enlighten us!

Also, thanks for the nice responses to my "Low Blogging Self-Esteem" post! I want to make perfectly clear that I don't keep tabs on every person who comments and I don't expect every reader to comment on every post--though that would be nice :).  I just hate seeing 0 comments.  But, I am curious....some of you out there get 20 and 30 comments on every post....HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE???  Is there some sort of "secret blogging society" that you sign up to be apart of to get all those responses?  I don't even think I know 20 people who LIKE me, much less who want to comment on my blog!

Happy anniversary to my awesome parents, who have been married for 33 years today!!! Your life together has been such a testimony of God's grace!! I will always be thankful for what I've learned through you. I love you guys!

Hey, Friends! It's been awhile since I've posted some of my random thoughts.  Fortunately for you (or unfortunately, depending on what you think of me), many thoughts have been swirling around in my crazy mind, so read at your own risk. 

1. Knoxville Church Shootings:  Many of you have probably heard of the big shooting that took place at one of the many churches here in Knoxville.  It was so tragic!  As with everything, everyone has something to say about this. Everyone wants to blame somebody--usually somebody or something other than the actual shooter. Many people blame this on the influence of people like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and the like because the shooter happened to own some of their books.  Others blame the so-called lack of gun control in this area.  My favorite group, by far, has to be the loudmouthed groups of Christians who feel its THEIR job to remind everyone that this particular church target was not a Christian church.  This is usually the same group of people who love labeling events like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina as God's punishment to homosexuals.  Come on, People, are you serious?  I'm not saying that this particular church is right in what they believe, or that God doesn't use some natural and other disasters to get a message across.  But, what possible good do comments like this accomplish?  Do you just want to feel warm and cozy and better about yourself?  Good grief! What gets me more than anything is that these people love getting on tv, the radio, and the internet to spread their messages of pride and ignorance.  Heaven forbid we have compassion in times like these.  We wouldn't dare want to live out The Great Commission here.  God help us all!

2. Speaking of Christianity, I have been reading C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" for the first time this past week.  Lewis is one of those authors that I've always been reluctant to read because there is so much "hype" built up around him, especially among Christians. I feel the same way about Beth Moore, James Dobson, and Max Lucado, among others.  Hype usually equals mediocrity (at best), in my opinion. But, not in this case. This book is one of the most wonderful, enjoyable reads I've had in ages! Lewis is such an incredible writer who has an uncanny ability to explain very complicated thoughts in simple and straightforward ways.  Here's an example: In chapter 3 of the book, Lewis addresses those who question the divinity of Jesus.  The whole chapter is great, but this part sums it all up...