Good News/Bad News

I received the BEST news today! My brother is home. He's back in the U. S. with his family where he belongs. He and EVERY person in his unit who went to Iraq with him are home! WOW! That's a HUGE "Praise the Lord"! I have prayed for them every day since he left, and I want to say thank you to all of you who have been praying too.

Then the bad news. I was on the way to town today and the speedometer on my Suburban died! I went to the dealer and they said they will have to order the parts from a company who rebuilds them and replaces the whole instrument panel. $750.00 worth of work! Anyone want to contribute to the Kilmer Bail-Out Fund?!?! Plus, I have to avoid being pulled over while they order the parts and do the work.

Thanks Autumn!

My friend, Autumn, posted a challenge in January to chose a word that you wanted to be your motto for the year and I chose "simplify". I am on a mission this year to declutter my house, my life, and pay more attention to what is most important. Well, we spent this weekend getting our yard decluttered. Richard and I loaded up the trailer with an old hot water heater, a couple of lawn mowers, old cast iron plumbing that was in our house originally before we re-did all the plumbing, etc. Richard took it to town and sold it for $37.00. I'm just glad that it's gone, but the money is an added bonus! We also cleared out all the logs from a tree that we had cut down and finally got that part of the yard mowed again. Our yard looks great!

Another thing I need to thank Autumn for is posting all her wonderful shopping deals on her blog. I have always used coupons and thought that getting something for 50% off was a great deal. Well, after checking out sites like www.couponmom.com , I'm learning that free or close it free are even better deals! Here's what I've got this week:

Wal-Mart:
1 Eversave lint roller $0.97 - FREE + $0.03 back after $1 off coupon
1 travel size Colgate toothpaste $0.97 - FREE + $0.03 back after $1 off coupon
2 DVDs "Cheaper By the Dozen" (new version w/Steve Martin) and "All Dogs Go to Heaven"(cartoon) - on sale for $5 - $2.00 each after $3 off coupons for each

Target:
1 Dry Idea deodorant - on sale for $2 - FREE after $2 off coupon
1 bag Halls cough drops $1.19 - $0.19 cents after $1 off coupon
1 Johnson & Johnson First Aid Kit $0.97 - FREE + $0.03 back after $1 off coupon
1 box Hello Kitty Band-aids trial size $0.97 - FREE + $0.03 back after $1 off coupon
Total Paid: $0.15 !!!!! Can't beat that!

Beall's:
Polo shirt $40.00 on sale for $20 - $14 after additional 30% off coupon
Levi's jeans capris $44 on sale for $22 - $15.40 after additional 30% off coupon


Well, I'm off to see what other coupons I can find.