I'm alive.

Because God pours his love over me on a daily basis,

I'm alive.

Because Jesus died on the cross,

I'm alive.

I'm not worthy- but I'm grateful.

He's alive in me.

Simple wins.

Every year I swear I'll never buy easter grass ever again...and like a fool I always do.

Happy Easter.

saving grace.

Free yogurt really DOES taste better!

March has been a great month for saving on groceries.
I've paired my coupons with sales and I've saved more than $140.00
That's the deal, coupons alone wont get you that far, you have to wait for the sales.
My average is 30-40 % savings on most (planned) trips.
Twice this week I saved 50% at Publix!
I get really happy about that much savings.

The deals that really blew my mind were:8 oz. bags of Kraft cheese $0.66 each ( I got 6 bags)
(regular price is $2.98)

Chocolate cheerios $1.00 and Honey Nut $1.25
(regular price $4.00 per box )

Hellmann's $1.50
(regular price is about $5.00)

This is the one product Carlos specifically asked NOT to give up, no matter what the price...he happily deals with my experimental brands of bodywash and deodorant, but not his toothpaste. I am proud to say that since I started couponing, average cost has been about $1.00 a tube. Not bad for $4.00+ toothpaste.

i heart being a mom.

spring has sprung.

So spring break came and went quickly- a little too quickly.
We didn't have great weather, so we rented movies, went bowling, and to the arcade.
You may remember this post about Matthew's obsession with the claw game.
I cant believe it, but we actually won something.
It felt monumental and epic. For 13 seconds at least.

Later, as Matthew complained about fact that he only finished with enough tickets to get a laughy taffy. I had a mini-meltdown...righteous anger arose...I was outraged. I realized that I was in a casino for kids, and maybe should deal with his entitlement issues at a later time.
That's the thing with kids, they don't always appreciate the "big wins" for long enough- well Abraham does, sweet middle child.

Sure they stress me out.
Sure they're exhausting.
But I love having them home, I love seeing them be free spirits.
If only every week could be spring break.

But alas, it's back to the daily grind.
Back to working a bunch.
Back to packing lunches and homework.
Back to real life.

I close tonight at work, so I tried to make today kinda relaxing.
Alexandria and I went to lunch at a place with "gracious goodness" in their name, sounds relaxing, right?
We ordered a sandwich, a salad, side of fruit, 2 bags of chips, and 2 drinks...it was $25.00!
"gracious goodness" is an understatement- and not because the food was good.

And of course, my daughter only ate a few bites of the salad.

oh well.

how do you redeem the day after spending way to much on mediocre food?

you get your daughter a cupcake, so you can see this smile.

Yes, those are bright orange jeans.



She wears them with her zebra print Melissa's.
I love her!

More thoughts on vinyl.

My friend, Chris (the husband of my friend/co-worker and beautifully- pregnant Michelle) tried to reply to my 'saved' post, but he couldn't get it to work- he's not all that good with computers, bless him. (just kidding, he's brilliant, and funny.)

I enjoyed what he said, and how he said it. I'm all like "blah, blah, blah warm and fuzzy this & that." And he's all pristine.

"technical sub-debate?" I want one of those. LOL.

Anyway, here's his reply.

Thanks Chris!


"From a strictly technical perspective, I clearly and apologetically prefer digital formats to analog. There is a lot of technical sub-debate, especially regarding "the loudness war" (google it), but that's all beside the point.

As an experience, however, I definitely prefer vinyl to just about anything else. I like the tactile nature of picking a record, unsleeving it, and dropping the needle, but I also like that vinyl forces you to be more deliberate in what you listen to and when you listen to it. Any schmuck and shuffle up an album from iTunes and pipe it over the network to the house, but that sort of takes the soul out of the relationship between me and my music.

Vinyl is to digital audio what hand-written letter have become to email. It's archaic, inefficient, and inconvenient, but none of that matters. Sometimes, it's just plain *better*. Now I just need to get that turntable at the house back into some sort of working order.

I could go on for a while, but I'll shut up now. :) I smell a blog post on this in the near future."

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

saved

So, this morning, I've been listening to Bob Dylan 'Saved' on vinyl. I forgot how good vinyl sounds- so warm and cozy. The music just kinda sits on your chest. Like how you can feel a hug for a few minutes after it's over- you can feel the music. It's brings the experience of listening to music back, and you realize analog wasn't all that bad. Sure, digital is shiny and less resistant to ware, but it's not authentic. It's fancy and predictable. Digital might makes us feel smart, but does it make us feel special?

I think If I had a choice to be old vinyl or a new cd, I'd chose to be vinyl. Even though the bright and shiny things may get the first glance, there's a quiet confidence that comes with being tried and true.

Carlos and I always laugh at the line from 'Ocean's 11' that says, "I'm an analog player in a digital world." I think it's more profound than we realized. Young or old, new or used, we've got to be true to ourselves. Whether we find our treasures under the neon lights of big-box retail, or searching for hours in a secondhand store...just be real. Just be you.

Field trip with Matt.

ink.

The seahorse is taken from the crest of my memaw's beach club. Whenever I saw the seahorses, I knew I was almost there...still the drive down ponte vedra boulevard seemed like a million miles. Anticipation always built as we approached. My breath would catch as we would pass the club, 3 more houses down on the left and there it was- the cottage by the sea. The greeting was always the same- a hug with an air-kiss and a "hello darling." She was simply devine.
How I loved my memaw.

the legends we love.

So, Carlos called me to the backyard awhile ago.

I watched in awe as Abraham took victory laps around the backyard on his new bike.

He's gone from looking like a baby giraffe, trying to make peace with it's wobbly legs- to something more like a young stallion, gracefully strutting his stuff around in the afternoon glow.

Abraham's got a quality about him that's hard to put my finger on.

He's an old soul, he's a young legend,

he's the guy who ready can be anything he wants to be.

Yesterday, a commercial came on the radio about the Oscars.

The kids started talking about acceptance speeches.

Abraham said if he won an Oscar, he would thank Paul Bunyan, John Henry, and Johnny Appleseed. What can I say, he loves his folk heroes.

I always wonder what he'll be like in the future. All I can really figure so far is that he's gonna grow up, he'll break my heart a time or two, but he's going to be amazing. One day he's gonna leave home, but we're going to talk on the phone twice at least twice a week, and he'll probably send me yellow roses on my birthday. He'll call me the night before Thanksgiving, and announce he's bringing someone special to dinner. I won't like her at first...but she'll win me over when she reveals that she's gotten him to eat salad. We'll dance on his wedding day- just me and him. We'll have the sweetest talk out on that dance floor. Knowing him, he'll probably thank me for the bike I bought him when he was 10.

yup, that's my boy.

Better.

So today, I'm feeling better. It's amazing how heartsick you can be for your family or friends.

Two weeks ago, my bff's family dog was poisoned, leaving her kids devastated, it simply broke my heart. And this week has been a pretty bad one for my family.

In the midst of feeling like the world was crashing down- I realized how little we've actually have to deal with crisis, or heartbreak. We have our measure of dysfunction, just like the next family. But we have been so blessed. I'm proud to be a member of my family- If you've ever talked to me for more than 5 minutes, then you know how much I love them.

I mean it when I say I'd rather myself hurt than any of them. Seriously, I'd take it in a heartbeat, If only I could.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

cloudy day and sad songs.
coffee for breakfast just left my stomach feeling even more like a slushy mud puddle.
I wish I could paint a picture of what I see when I close my eyes- it might help somehow.
I wish I could run in a feild until my brain stops churning 'round and 'round.
I wish I had an oulet for this energy- it might relieve this pressure in my chest.

throb.
throb.
throb.

My heart is broken.