We wish you a Happy New Year!

If you're really bored, you can take 8 minutes and see our year.....

Love,

Tim and Morgan

This Holiday Season...

I have had the opportunity to take a few holiday family photos. The Pizzuto's (family of 4) were friends with the Harris's and even used their house for the pictures - for a more "Christmas" scene. Ms. Harris loved the pictures so much, she called me to take their Christmas photos. On Christmas Eve the Harris's had their three kids and all thier grandchildren coming into town for two days. I was so happy that I could take these photos for these wonderful families and give them some lasting memories. It didn't hurt that I also got to make some extra cash in time for Christmas!

More Christmas Memories!

Growing up, this was my favorite Christmas thing! Every day had a different piece of chocolate and when you moved the mouse, you got the chocolate! Well, seeing as how we had to alternate, I got every fourth day, and then every third, and then every second, and then every day! Now that I am not living at home, I still move the pieces when I go visit my parents! What, I can't help it if they are slackers and don't move the mouse to get the candy themselves! So we wouldn't all fight over the advent calendar that they have at home....last year, my parents bought all of us our own advent calendars!

Ours has no candy in it. It's not nearly as fun....well, maybe it still is, because every day, I move the piece and smile (and hope to move it at Mom and Dad's too!)

Christmas Time....

Christmas Time: I have my tiny tree and massive stockings up.

I love my ornaments.The newest ones are this years sweetgrass baskets. See, every year growing up, my parents gave us a "themed" ornament so that we would have ornaments when we moved out of the house. I can tell you stories behind almost every single ornament. Everytime I hang them, I smile and laugh, remembering the things my parents did and said when they gave us our new ornaments! So every year I hang my ornaments, and look at my goofy, unmatching, wonderful, and happy tree. See, I love the traditions my family had growing up. I love the memories. I wouldn't trade them for the world!

It's been a while....

I know it's been a while....but here is our Thanksgiving. I'll show more for our little Christmas decorations later..

November? Really?

I haven't kept up with this or much of anything since the past two months have been a blur. I can't wait for next week, when I get almost the entire week off! Anyway, here is a recap of what we've been up to. And, to make it more fun...here's some photos that show you:

October 1st: Park
There was a BEAUTIFUL day at the park, so Tim went fishing and I brought things to study. Tim fished, yet, I slept in the sun.


October 4th: Wedding
Robbie, is a friend I have had since I was 4 months old. He married Jennifer on October 4th. Tim and I were so happy to be able to make their wedding. I took their engagement pictures over the summer.






Double Date October: PF Changs
We double dated with my parents one night at PF Changs. : ) It was amazing. Here was the dessert that Tim and Dad shared. Mom and I each got two mini dessert "shots."


Mid October: Engagement Parties
I photographed two engagement parties for the same couple, in the same day. It was the same couple that I took their engagement photos....



October 31st, Halloween: Parental Photo Shoot
My mom wanted pictures of her and dad. So, we went out to find places where I could shoot some photos for my parents...They cracked me up.






Today, On campus....Beautiful day.

Consumed with Coupons

So this week, Tim and I, as well as my friend Rachel, have been consumed with triple coupons at Harris Teeter.

With six trips in all (one in which I made an error and lost out on $12.25 of savings) we finished our week with a LOT of food. Our pantries are stuffed. We stockd up BIG TIME on a lot of items that last forever.

We spent a grand total of: $81.90. Slightly more than I thought we would......
But perfectly fine when our savings came out to a grand total of: $197.26! !!!

We saved 70.66% on our groceries! We ended up with 109 items, at an average of $.75 per item! We thankfully were able to donate some food to the pantry (it was so cheap or free, why not get it to share?) and some health products to a children's home.

I LOVE that my husband gets so excited about coupons with me now. I LOVE saving money. I LOVE that we have incomes and jobs, despites the ups and downs. I LOVE that we have opportunities to get advanced degrees. I LOVE that we have some good friends in Charlotte. I LOVE that I am slowly getting a photography business together. I LOVE that God has blessed us so wonderfully!

Physical Therapy

Another adventure begins..........

For two months now my lower back has been bothering me. It's been swollen and causing a lot of pain. Starting this week, I have a new wonderful symptom....tingling down my leg, foot, and into my toes.

I was told I had: paraspinal muscle spasms, slip disk, sacroillitis, and a lumbar strain. No, I don't have all of those. X-rays showed nothing. Muscle relaxers helped little. Steroids have helped reduce some swelling but have made me unbelievably HUNGRY and zombie-ish.

But finally, someone has an idea of what they are talking about. I met with a physical therapist this morning. Apparently, (we don't know which started first) but I have a back strain/problem with my piriformis muscle (I had to look up what muscle that was). That muscle is spasming and causing my nerve to be compressed and cause the tingling down my leg. It was hard to figure out whether or not the back pain caused the muscle spasms or the muscle spasms are causing the back pain. I am walking with a limp now.

However, after an ultrasound to heat the area and break up the toxins in the area and get blood flowing, and a massage of the area, I'm definately a little sore. I'm pretty much in some sort of constant pain, have constant tingling, and can't sit in one position for very long. I'll be doing PT a couple times a week, and go back to the specialist in two weeks to check in. Hopefully, it gets better.

After all of this though, all I could think was, "I'm too much like my mom."

I have....

I have the best husband. Ever.
I have an amazing and supportive family.
I have spent A LOT of time as a photographer for engagement photos/parties lately.
I have an opportunity to take some landscape photos and be published in a magazine.
I have learned what it means to have a clinician's intuition about safety.
I have heard more about suffering/loss in two months than probably ever in my life.

I have...plenty.

Juice.

I love juice. Which is why tonight, I must write about my new favorite thing:



Tim wanted to be healthier, so we bought this. It's already gotten it's fair share of usage and a permanant spot on our counter. He juices: carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, apples, lemons, ginger, etc. He loves his veggie juices - and already has eaten more veggies in one day than in a while! I on the other hand LOVE fruit juices. Tonight, I sit here drinking my freshly juiced grape/peach drink. It's the best thing ever. The plain grape juice was the best I have ever tasted. Add the peach - you get a wonderful, frothy, amazing drink.......

Coping

I walked into my professor's office and sneezed. He said, "Oh, you're getting sick!" I said, "Nope I just had hot chocolate and I'm allergic to chocolate." He said, "Why'd you do that?" and I replied, "It sounded good."

I left today thinking about that he had just read a reflection of mine in which I said, "I processed my very intense and rough week by writing and eating a lot of chocolate.

I wonder what he thinks now.

1 month.

Let's refresh to last month on August 18th - I'll give you a brief recap...We had to get two new tires because we almost blew out two tires when the tread came all the way through.

This month on September 18th - Tim thinks something is going wrong with the car. He gets out, walks behind the car as I drive slowly and says, "Stop!" I get out and look with him at our rear tire. We stare at the huge bulge in the rear tire. The one that was fine a month ago. So, we head off again to the car shop for two new tires and a new alignment. As they are going to do the alignment they realized that there is a tire rod (or something) broken, hence the reason our alignments have not lasted.

So one month and a few hours later we have had: Four brand new tires, 1 new tire rod, and 2 alignments. Oh the joys.

Practicum

I find myself asking myself one thing every day: Really? I have seen a lot and heard a lot. Here is a glimpse of my life as of late:

The juvenile court counselors who sit there, mouths gaping, at the newest client they have referred. The sick woman who reading her file makes it seem like she is 40 years older than she is and can't remember the 20 medicines she takes a day. The man who had a DWI and just wants to "get on wit his life so he can make money." The person who LOVES talking to you because really she has a personality disorder that makes her crave attention. The, "I'm fine. I'm great" client who just attempted suicide. The mixed up siuation in which everyone is seeking therapy and everyone is related and really...they shouldn't be in the same state. The woman who tells me she isn't depressed but has every single symptom. The woman who comes to therapy but says "talking doesn't help." The individuals only coming to seek drugs. The fact that three of the four clients I see have a substance abuse disorder. I'm geting used to asking every client if they want to kill themself, kill someone else, and if they hear or see things that other people don't hear or see.

Oh, my first couple weeks on the job. I'm learning a lot.....it's intense. I have good days and bad, but I really love it so far.

August in a nutshell....

1. Coldplay: Enough said...

2. Birthday: Wonderful!

3. Haircut: Chopped 6+ inches off! I LOVE it!

4. Vacation: Absolutely wonderful! We spent time with Candace/Jonathan and the Ruddys!. Then we headed to Searcy and stayed with Sara/John. I got to catch up with Megan, Kim/Willie, My Sunshine School friends, the Diles, Bible Study friends, and all my roomies! Three of the 4 of Tim's roomates were there and all of mine were there. It was great because as we stood in the kitchen of Sara's house, eating desserts, and just being so happy that we were all together. None of us ever thought we would be in one room together, ever again. Our old Bible Study friends were all together and we had dinner together. It was so much fun laughing and joking with each other. I'm putting some photos here but eventually I will post them all into facebook. It was MUCH needed and MUCH enjoyed. We loved spending time with our friends and family who we hadn't seen in over a year. : )


5. Practicum - This deserves it's own post - or multiple posts. Keep reading later for more details - because I know I'll have some.

I think in blogs...

So, sometimes, something comes along that my first reaction is, "I must blog this." This story is one of those things....

Tim and I headed out to Memphis and Searcy, to visit family and friends, and were SO excited that we were going. Picture me, speechless because I was so excited, and jumping up and down. Yes, that excited. I worked Saturday morning, we left following my getting off work. I barely made it to the TN line before I needed Tim to drive. I was done (I hate driving - it makes me sleepy). Tim drove to Memphis. Pretty typical things.

After visiting family, we leave Monday morning. We are prepared to make the 2 hour drive. About half way there, we hear a noise. A weird one. I look behind us and nothing had fallen off our car, I don't see anything, so we keep driving. Then, the car starts making a noise. It's like "thudump....thudump....thudump..." and I look over at Tim, and see his arm, shaking pretty furiously, as the STEERING wheel is vibrating it. It continues to "thudump" and his arm continues to shake rapidly. Have I mentioned, we're on 64, with no cell phone service and no town nearby?

We get to Searcy, pull over, get out and look at the car. We see nothing. We drive around, hearing the "thudumps" as we go. Finally, we get to Sara's and unload our bags. Tim believes we should get the car checked out immediately in case it will take a few days to fix. We head out to find some small shop with no cars so they can check it out immediately. I'm angry at this point. I hate this car and am about to give it away.

Then, the guy walks in, with the most peculiar expression on his face and says, "You need to come look at this." So we go look. I stand there, staring at my car and I know my mouth has to be wide open. I stand there gaping, as Tim goes to the back of the car. Want to know why I was gaping? Here:




Yes. This was the right front tire. Stripped to the core of the tire. Want to know what Tim was looking at? The back left tire, with metal wirings coming out as well. Oh yes, the man looked at us and said, "Good thing you stopped when you did. You were about to blow two tires. I don't know how this one didn't blow already." Needless to say, he didn't to tires. So we drove, carefully, to Sara's and stayed put that night. Next morning, we drove, carefully, to the tire shop and got two tires replaced & an alignment.

I have never seen a tire look like that. I never want to see it again. Oh the adventures....

Thankful.

5 Reasons* I am Thankful Today:

1. God and his miraculous ability to calm my deepest fears and handle all of my problems. Who never leaves my side and always forgives. Who takes care of the biggest challenges. Who protects, guides, and loves. Who uses a simple book to guide me back to my place.

2. A wonderful best friend, who despite crazy schedules, still makes time to help me when I need her most. Who understands my inability to talk at times, knows when she needs to respond and when I need her to listen, and who can say just the words I need to hear.

3. A wonderful mother, who listens to me, who encourages me, who calms my fears. A mother who is patient, loving, dedicated, and devoted. A mother who buys me a birthday cake, comes right up in my face talking to me just to make me laugh. A mother who calls me Morgie to make me smile when I'm having a rough day.

4. My wonderful husband. Who is more patient, understanding, reassuring, supportive, and encouraging than anyone. Who makes me laugh when I want to cry. Who knows when I need a hug and when I just need a shoulder. Who listens to my insane rambles and who does more for me than I could ask of. Who is the best person and fully warms my heart.

5. VACATION! I am so thankful that Tim and I get to take off and spend 5 1/2 days together on vacation! We haven't been gone that long since our honeymoon. We get to head to see Candace & Jonathan & the Ruddys. Then we get to head to Searcy, to see some of our best friends! I am so excited for this chance to spend some time with people we have not seen in a YEAR! And excited to spend so much stress free time with my husband!

*These are in no particular order

Oh, it'll be different.

I don't know why people always say, "oh, when you have kids, it'll be different." That statement will not excuse all behaviors, actions, smells, and so on.

I was having a conversation with someone the other day. She is a nursing major and was telling me stories to pass the time. She was talking about blood and paused to see if I was okay with it. I assured her, I was. Blood doesn't really bother me. I don't know why, it just doesn't.

However, she was telling me about a this patient who was REALLY large. Without grossing you out, we were talking about some very gross sounding things that occur with sick patients. I told her I was so not okay with things like that: ie throw up.

She laughed and said, "oh, when you have kids, it'll be different." I shook my head and said, "nope." She looked and me and I said, "I don't think becoming a mother will help my nose stop attaining the awful smell nor will it change my stomach's ability to properly keep food down myself as a result of the smell."

She looked at me with her mouth dropped open. I smiled, continued to work, and laughed to myself.

Prices, Paint, and Pennies!

Prices:
You all know I have a LOVE for saving money and getting things for free. I haven't really had any super great deals lately. BUT, lo and behold, it's Super Double coupons. Which means, coupons up to $1.99 will double (so, my $1.50 off coupon means I get $3.00 off)! Anyways, so I went and stocked up on some great things for CHEAP! The following picture (not pictured but included in the price is a 24 pk of Deer Park Water) is everything I got.


The total price that I paid out of pocket: $2.22!
My total savings: $87!
I was SO excited. Tim laughed at me as I rambled on and on about how I love getting things for free.

Paint
We decided we wanted to do some more things to our house - so we went and started painting again. We redid the kitchen - by painting, rearranging the table, and adding some cuteness to the dull area.



Then we continued on with the redecorating. Which brings me to:
Pennies

We have been wanting to rearrange and get new furniture that semi-matches for our living room. We looked around and realized that the only things we have really bought in our entire apartment is our mattress and a microwave (to replace the one that blew up). So, finally we decided to redo our living room. We decided, hey we have all of these coins - let's use them. So we went to the bank and we cashed in $85 (but we didn't use many of the pennies)! Over half of our new living room paid for in coins! Anyways, here is the before and after!

Anniversary

A few days before our anniversary, Tim gave me my present. He gave it to me early because he was acting so weird (he can't keep a secret) and I kept asking why. Finally he admitted it was a suprise he didn't know if I would like. So he went and got it right then.

He did an amazing job. I have a beautiful jewlery box and photo collage.

We decided to do a "staycation" and visit downtown Charlotte. We decided to stay at a nice hotel with an INCREDIBLE view of downtown Charlotte. Two walls of glass with the city view. It was so neat.

It was close enough that we could walk to dinner.....

Which was Ruth's Chris! It was AMAZING. By far the best steak we have ever had.

It was great food, neat experience, and a wonderful night. After dinner, we walked around downtown Charlotte until my heels decided to kill my feet.

Saturday, when we came home, we ate our wonderful cake.

It tasted fantastic. As good as I remember. Yummy.

Sunday, was our real anniversary and we spent it with Mike & Gracey & Mom & Dad as we cooked out and had a bunch of fun on the Wii.




A wonderful anniversary weekend celebration!

Summer!

This summer has not been a "summer" at all. I've been busy, taken no real vacations, and have tried to get summer classes out of the way. However, June ended, and July began. I am only taking one class and it isn't too hard. I am finally able to do stuff around the house, read a book, scan letters and photos, create my portfolio, and relax! I could not have made it to this part of the summer without Tim's help. He's done most of the cooking and cleaning around here because I haven't had a moments time! While that has been amazing....he deserves a break! He is a truly amazing and supportive husband.

Last night, around 11, we went out to excercise for a bit. Walking through our apartment complex, we came across three or four people, dancing to the music from their car. They were making us laugh as they were dancing towards us. One guy mocked walking fast behind us, and a girl went, "aww, leave them alone!" The guy, swinging his arms fast said, "I'm just trying to get my walk on." We laughed quite a bit.

Anyways, not much has happened. We grilled out with my parents for July 4th & then sat around listening to their 45s and LPs - songs like The Streak, Purple People Eater, Simon Says, and Who Put the Bomp in the Bomp Bomp Bomp Bomp...It made for quite a bit of entertainment! It reminded me of when we were kids and danced around the den to the music. Anyways, that is really it, not much has happened!

We celebrate 1 year on Sunday. I'm excited. Tim's excited too...he wants the cake! I'll post pictures later of it!

Memory Lane

Tim was on the phone for forever today and I was searching tons of old photos. I was looking for specific photos, but got caught up in memory lane.

It was AMAZING. I found some of the funniest photos, sad photos, photos filled with meaning, and photos that reminded me of why I didn't like middle school. My afternoon was filled with memories of friendships that faded over time and friendships that have grown over time. So, I thought I would share with you some of the "before" and "after" photos that I ran across today....





Sorry if anyone is embarrassed. There are a LOT more embarrassing ones that I found....(Taryn - do you remember all our "modeling" photo sessions?) Anyways, I smiled a lot as I reminisced.

Oh yeah, The Proposal: One of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time.

10 random thoughts.

I was going to blog but decided I had nothing long or truly interesting enough to blog about for an entire post so I'm doing this: 10 random thoughts.

1. I love Tim. He is amazing and I am thankful to hear everyday that he loves me and thinks I'm beautiful. It's a self-esteem boost every day. I love it and love him.

2. Time Warner has called me 6 times over the past week to try and sell me a digital phone plan. They annoy me.

3. My mom sometimes tells Tim things long before me. They apparently talk a lot. I'll go to share a story I learned and my mom has already told him.

4. I'm learning to eat squash - this week I've had grilled squash and fried squash. Hooray for our own gardens producing edible foods.

5. Tim gave up coffee! He has only had one cup in about a week? It's amazing. However, now we share my Dr. Pepper obsession.

6. I finally printed my 11x14 photos to hang up over the beds in the bedrooms - after having empty frames for forever!

7. I took some engagement photos on Saturday in BLISTERING heat, but it was absolutelly wonderful. I got some great shots in and hope they love them.

8. My best friend makes jewlery - so far I have a necklace, three pairs of earrings, and a ring! I LOVE THEM!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6749518
http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=17216

9. The card we got my dad for Fathers day was as follows:
Front: Dad, what would we do without you?
Inside: Well, one of us wouldn't exist and the other would be married to a loser. Happy Fathers Day.
He laughed so hard. It was an amazing card.

10. The last thirty seconds have been flooded with these thoughts: School's insane. My sister is hilarious. I need to write a 12 page paper. I have finals next week. I hate my job. I wish I could eat ice cream.

Anyways, all is well. Life is good. God is great.

Good, bad, and the in between!

Let's start with:

From the last time I blogged, our car had issues. We had to get a new transmission, finacial aid was being a pain, and oh yeah Tim's wallet got either lost/stolen in Portland at the airport! I wanted to break down and cry but we were on VACATION!

The weekend, after that moment, was WONDERFUL! Stephen and Emily's wedding was so pretty and it was a blast to be there with friends we hadn't seen since our wedding in July. We hung out a lot with Aaron and Erin, so that was fun! We also went to the coast & I got to stick my feet in the Pacific Ocean!!!







Since then, we got back and school has been in full blast! I have conducted two play therapy sessions, and LOVED it! I am going to get a certificate in Play Therapy and hopefully work with children using this type of therapy. I'll update soon with more, I'm just tired of typing! So there's a mini update on our life!

The week of insanity

So, last night began the week of insanity:

I was to work on Monday, start summer school Tuesday/Wednesday, leave for our flight at 6:15am on Thursday, be in Oregon and start wedding festivities while catching up with great friends! I was running around trying to get everything ready and Tim finally got me to calm down and relax.

I went to work this morning - I had a really long day and after many delays, I was on my way home. I was below empty really, so Dad put some gas in my car so I could make it to a station. I filled up, and got on the interstate. I was exhausted. Then it started raining.

I hate rain. I hate driving in the rain. I hate driving in the rain on the interstate. I hydroplane off an exit ramp in Sep/Oct so I was being really cautious going to that same exit. All of my sudden my car makes a funny noise. Not loud, not weird, just funny. All of a sudden as I round the bend of a the ramp and start heading up the hill to turn right on 49 (mind you, I'm 1 mile from home).

So, all of a sudden, my car refuses to drive. It starts actually going in REVERSE. I start heading down the hill. I throw it in park, I try other gears, and get nothing. My car continues to go in reverse rather than drive. I put my hazards on, frantically call Tim, and hope no one comes sharply around the turn and hits me. Tim gets there, we call Allstate, they send a tow truck. One hour and fifteen minutes after my car refuses to drive, the tow truck gets there. One hour and fifteen minutes of freaking out and thinking someone is going to hit my car.

So now, I have no car. Mandy Jo is taking me to class tomorrow. I have no idea how I'll get to class Wednesday. HOPEFULLY, all goes well and the car can get fixed. I have no idea what's wrong. Tim thinks it's the transition. Let's hope the rest of the week goes better!

You know you're old when....

Three things in the past couple of days have made me realize that I feel old. Granted, I'm not technically, but none the less.

1. I'm laying in bed, falling asleep. It's about 11:00. All of a sudden, our neighbor decides to play music. And by play music, I mean very loudly blast rap. In the room that is adjacent to ours. After banging on the wall, alternating between Tim and I so that we don't hurt our hands, and an hour or so later, I fall asleep. Poor Tim. It kept him up for a lot longer.

2. My Amazon wishlist is $500+ dollars on books about counseling/mental health/therapy, etc. And the list is ever growing.

3. We went out to celebrate Tim's birthday with about 10 of his co-workers. We didn't meet them until 10:30. It was about 12:30am, I am yawning, they are teasing Tim for his gray hair, and they are asking us if it is past our bedtime. I answer, "yes." We leave and head out to another place, then decide, we can't do it. They all continue on, laughingly, and we go home and fall straight into bed. One of the girls who is my age is engaged and I think, oh just wait. It'll happen to you too. Married life apparently makes you go to bed early! No more late nights.

4. I spent the ENTIRE day house cleaning. Tim, who is absolutely wonderful at helping clean the house and cook and all that, and I have been keeping up but we both wanted it CLEAN. So I vacummed, steam cleaned our entire apartment, dusted, Windexed, washed dishes, cleaned the kitchen/fridge out, and did about 6-7 loads of laundry. I smell like household cleaners and laundry detergents. But our carpet is fluffy and one day, when I can breathe again (too much dust for one day), I'll appreciate it.

Oh well. At least I can laugh about it!

Happy Birthday TIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is my wonderful husband's birthday.



This was Easter Sunday when we celebrated Easter/Tim's birthday with my parents! He was completley suprised with the coconut cake Mom made him. It was fun - he and Mom went to work on their vegetable garden & Dad and I played Wii. Haha.

Anyways, I make a bigger deal about his birthday than he does, and have for three years now! Anyways, happy birthday Tim! I love you!

My recent joys of savings.

I've always loved coupons - but since January I've gotten very precise and every month have saved about 50% on our grocery/household items. I thought I'd write my favorite things for saving money on those items.

My four tips for saving money:

1. Use an envelope system.
Put a certain amount in and use cash for all your purchases. Keep the receipts in the envelope with the remaining cash. When the cash is done, you don't buy anymore for the month. It really saves a lot of money because you keep to a certain amount and don't go over that. We've never had a problem and always have plenty of food. Because of the following tips, we are going to be able to reduce the amount of money monthly because we've stocked up so well.

2. Buy in Bulk for products you USE!
I am partial to BJ's and I love it. It is the only bulk store you can use COUPONS on everything! Make sure to compare the prices to see if it's a good deal. Since I know the prices at Harris Teeter and Walmart Supercenter. I buy only what I would normally buy. When I compared the prices to what we would have spent at HT - we saved over $70! We only spent $60 as well! That is about 54% savings!



3. Use coupons on sales products to STOCK up!
I knew this was a great deal and while we didn't need all the cleaners right away, we definately will use them eventually. So we made a trip and ta-da: Original cost: 17.86.

We paid: $2.09! We saved 88%!

4. One of my favorite things ever: Triple Coupons!

For those of you with a Harris Teeter - every three months or so they triple coupons up to $.99! This can add to some INCREDIBLE savings. The sale usually only runs four days, but this time is a whole week.



The entire purchase above cost $57. We saved 53% by using coupons and sales items! That included a few special purchases of desserts, which we don't normally buy!
Check to make sure - other stores double coupons but they double different values (some do up to .99 while others are .50). I have heard that some other stores do Triple Coupon weekends - and it never hurts to ask!


Anyways those are my four tips. Feel free to share any you have.

Trout fishing & Wild Animals

From The life of the Lavenders

Tim and I went to Stone Mountain for three days to camp and fish. We also did a LOT of hiking on the trip. We ate well, had a blast, and most of all relaxed. There were very few people since it was a Sunday-Tuesday and the weather was amazing. Did I mentioned there were deer? EVERYWHERE! We saw deer all during the day and in groups.

From The life of the Lavenders

The fishing was great. I caught 5 fish (four out of the water unhooked, one decided to break my line as I was getting him out and he swam off with part of my line, my hook, and my bait). Tim caught 6 fish.

From The life of the Lavenders

On the way back we did not want our adventure to end so we went to the Lazy 5 Ranch - a 3.5 mile drive through your car of about 700 animals. Giraffes, Zebras, Rhinos, Kangraoos, Camels, Llamas, Pot belly pigs, Gizelles, Wildabeasts, White deer, Water buffallo, Ostriches, Peacocks and more. Most of the animals would just walk right up to your car & you could feed them if you had the feed buckets. It was AWESOME. Tim and I had so much fun.

Buddha.

I went to a Buddhist meditation service last night. Tim had to work so he didn't go but my dad decided he would come with me. An interesting experience to say the least but enjoyable.

The entire service lasted about 40 minutes but the time absolutely flew by. During meditation, I found myself loving every minute of it because it was a time to sit still. When does that happen? When can I just sit and think and relax to the core of me and be okay? Life goes so fast that it seems like I can't even sleep because of too much to do. Like right now, I'm cooking lunch, blogging, sorting papers, opening mail, cutting coupons, and filing papers.

My meditation time last night was so nice. Despite I doubt I "truly" cleared my mind, it was so relaxing to just sit at peace with myself. I won't ever search for Buddhahood or their enlightenment, but I loved the idea of meditation to listen to the wisdom within yourself. The silence and peace of not DOING anything was also really nice.

After a day like today - I have fully acknowledged that whenever years down the road that I have children - I will be the worst mother when they are sick. I can't do it.

The sight. The smell. The sound.

I can't handle it.

Proof in point, I was trying to get the bag full of nastiness out of a can today. Thankfully, MY MOTHER, has a tolerance to vomit. I ran gagging to the sink while she took care of it. Then, trying to clean up something later, I ran dry heaving to the sink again, ran outside for air. Finally, with a guard over my nose, my eyes, and holding my breath - I took care of it. And then gagged.

I am not cutout for sick people.

Coupons

One wife who loves using coupons and getting great deals.

+ One husband who loves to stockpile certain things because of inflation

-------------------------------------------

= A whole lot of coupons, savings, and products.

I love using coupons, sales, bulk, etc. Whatever gives me the most product for the least out of pocket cost, I love. I'm even slightly picky about some products - so I just shop smart! So....needless to say, we went to the envelope system for our groceries/household products. At the end of the year - I'm going to calculate the savings to see how much shopping smart has saved us.

So, here are two pictures to show you exactly how hilarious this has gotten to us.

This was our grocery purchase from today. The original cost of this was 75.06.

We payed 19.66.
To show you the best deals:

• The Colgate toothpastes were $.22 each
• The toothbrushes were free.
• The Aquafresh was $.34.
• The Pamolive dish soap was $.85 each.
• The Grands biscuits were $.34 each

This is our backstock of toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, deoderant, soap, shampoo.

Every toothpaste, toothbrush, and deoderant was purchased for $1.00 or less. All shampoos (except the 40 oz Pantene) were purchased for $1.50 or less. The mouthwashes were purchased for $2.00 or less.

To some people this is boring - to me - this is fun.

I am awful at updating. So much goes in my mind and I just don't have time to write it down. I just finished reading for school tomorrow and just completely freaked out about my future career. The chapter ended with a list of common but completely wrong things to say to clients - not even say, but the mere reflection of their words and feelings. I know in the core of me that this is what I want to do. I know that my career is a path that will bless others, help me to grow, and one in which I can serve God in every day. I will make a difference in so many people's lives. However, I hate the idea of having to tape my counseling sessions (my mock ones that are really counseling sessions with someone we semi-know) and critique them with others. Between that and between having to have so much videotaped practicum experiences - well, needless to say I am nervous.

Anyways, I have nothing fun to blog about. However, I want to write down the best thing that happened to me: Tim and I often have opposite schedules. So, when I got up and had to leave by 6:20 this morning, he got up and packed my lunch. He knew I was exhausted so he got up and packed my lunch for me. Then, when I came home he had cleaned the entire apartment. We then got to just sit down together and relax for a little bit. That was my favorite part of my day.

Memories and Snapshots 2008

Anyone who knows me knows I love pictures. So I thought I would recap my absolutely insane yet completely fun and crazy 2008 year with my snapshots of those memories.

Highlights of the year - In no particular order:

My parents!

The time I have been able to spend with my parents this year has been a blessing. Through all that has happened this year, they have been encouraging and uplifting!

Our nieces and nephew!

Seeing as how my siblings don't want to let me be an aunt - at least I have in-laws! Tim's nieces and nephew are adorable. The most recent proof, his sister told his nephew to say, "Goodbye Timmy" and he said, "Goodbye Morgan" and then she said, say "I love you Timmy" and he said, "I love you Morgan" and kept repeating it. Totally cute.

My family!

Because of the numerous events this year, I got to spend a lot of time with my family! Graduations - Tim and I graduated from Harding and much of my family was able to come! Chris graduated from law school and I was able to make it down to the celebration! Tim and I made it to Mountain City a few times to see my Papa and Karen, as well as they came for both my bridal shower and my wedding. My siblings/spouses all came in for Christmas this year as well which meant a packed house for my parents. It has been a good year and great to spend so much time with my family.

Engagements & Showers!

The year of engagements and bridal & "fun" showers! Between my showers, my wonderful roomie Sara's showers, my dear friend Jessi's shower, Rachel's bridal shower, Megan's engagement, Jennica's engagement....It has been a blast celebrating with dear friends!

Friends!

From childhood friends, to Home Bible Study friends, to Harding friends, psychology friends, club sisters, and now to grad school friends, the year has certainly been blessed and impatcted by them. Whether we have stayed close, whether we talk all the time, whether we haven't talked in months, my friends are truly wonderful.

Weddings!

So much fun! Not only the year of engagements and showers - but weddings! I had a friend/relative get married every month from April to September. Sadly, I missed a few but was thinking of them on their special days! Candace (my sister-in-law) kicked it off in April and we spent some good time that weekend with Tim's family. Jenny's wedding was so much fun to spend time with all of our family that was able to come in - all my siblings made it and my dad performed the wedding. Sara's wedding in Nashville was a blast. I loved spending time with those girls and it was so much fun. She was beautiful and her wedding day was full of laughter and lots of dancing! Rachel got married in August and Kati/I had a blast spending the day there!

My Wedding!

A wonderful day that I remember almost every detail of. A day where some of my dearest friends drove so far to be with us. A day where my family and friends gathered around Tim and I as we commited our life to each other. A day where I became a Lavender and now constantly hear. "oh that's pretty." A day that brings so many wonderful memories (and pictures). A day that I felt so relaxed and together about. It was such a great day and by far the biggest day of theyear for me(and Tim, but he doesn't write this or read it so....)!

Tim & I and our life!

Many changes! Tim moved, I moved back, we got an apartment, Tim got a job, I started graduate school, Tim started a business, we got involved at our church, we spent holidays together, we started new traditions for holidays together....

All in all, we started our life. It might be insane but it is wonderful. As for the crazy, unreal, happy, sad, rejoicing, mourning, celebrating year that this was - God has been faithful and blessed us with so much. I pray that he continues to bless us with family,

friends, and a good life lead and directed by Him.