Can I get a witness...

For those of you savvy shoppers out there you probably already know about the great deals at Harris Teeter using coupons but I am just finding out the benefits. My mom has been using coupons for about 3 months now and is always telling me about her savings. And so I decided to give it a try... I mean free food, what could it hurt. (And those of you who know me well know that I love, I mean LOVE, a good deal).

So this endeavor started off with buying a Sunday paper, printing off some coupons from the internet and "borrowing" a few coupons from my mom. Then I visited a site online called Southern Savers and the Harris Teeter site. This lady at Southern Savers will tell you what coupons to use with specific deals at Harris Teeter to get items free (that's right I said "F-R-E-E) or extremely cheap... I am talking cents. However, I did find that the prices at her store (wherever she may be) didn't always match our prices here. So what might have been a good deal for her wasn't a great deal for me. I did find though that there were deals at our store that she didn't mention on her site. So, I organized my coupons in my little 3 ring binder (don't laugh) and went into the store and walked the isles looking for deals. This week happened to be triple coupon week. Harris Teeter will triple any coupon up to 99 cents. That means if you have a 75 cent coupon then you can get $2.25 off of that item! I did find that because the prices at Harris Teeter are usually more than say Walmart that most of the items needed to be on sale already at Harris Teeter plus my coupons.

Example: I bought an item that is usually $4.68 but this week was on sale 4 for $10. So, individually each one cost $2.50 (you don't have to get 4 to get the sale price). With my 75 cent coupon (tripled to $2.25) I paid 25 cents! I mean really, WOW!!!

Another great thing about getting these savings is that my family has decided to start a "food box" where we will put some of our free or low cost deals to use for ministry opportunities. I am super excited about being able to do that! Adele and I have already set aside a few of our items for this purpose.

Here is the breakdown of my 2 visits to Harris Teeter:

FREE ITEMS

2 bags of mahatma rice - 10 oz. each

3 bags of Wacky Mac pasta (the tri colored spiral pasta) 10 oz. each

Starkist Tuna pouch

Example:

Starkist Tuna reg. $1.99

coupon for .75 cents off (tripled) - $2.25

FREE

Great Deal Items:

Ortega Taco Season Pack - 2 for .13 cents

French's Mustard - .05 cent

Franks Hot sauce - .09 cents

3 Betty Crocker Warm delights -2 pack (mini cakes you cook in the microwave) - .16 cents each

Zatarain's long grain and wild rice - 2 boxes for .75 cents

Breyer's yo-crunch - 4 pack for .75 cents

Marie Callender's Fettuccini Chicken Balsamico (reg. $4.39) - .25 cents

Here is a picture for those of you who are visual learners!

So overall my bill would have been $34.68 and I paid $2.76. (So even though the prices at Harris Teeter are higher than other places it can still be a HUGE benefit to shop there for deals)

I was and still am really excited about the deals I got. I am just getting started and I know that there are people out there whose grocery bill is cut by 80% just from using coupons. I hope to get there.... but until then I will just go into the kitchen and fix myself an .08 cent snack!

10 year anniversary

August 14th was mine and Jason's 10 year anniversary. We took a weekend trip to Charleston, SC (post about that soon to follow... or if you have been to my blog lately you know it may not be soon to follow). We left around lunch time on Friday and around 2:35 pm Jason quickly pulled into a rest area (if you have ever been to South Carolina you know that there is a rest area about every 15 minutes!). Once we stopped he turned to me and said, "Ten years ago today about this time we were married." So, we walk over to a shady spot under some large trees and sat down at a picnic table and at 2:41 pm (the exact moment Mr. Porter pronounced us husband and wife) we kissed. Isn't that romantic! Also we exchanged rings that Jason had purchased and had engraved on the inside. He had written me a poem as well and he read that to me. That evening we went on a dinner cruise in Charleston which was so much fun and then later in the hotel we looked through a box of wedding memorabilia that I had brought from home. It contained items like our wedding planner, napkins, wedding invitation, pictures and etc. It was sweet to look through it all and remember our wedding day.

The inscription on the inside of the rings is:

Sg. 8:6-7. That verse reads... "Set as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it."

This is the poem:

Flashes of Fire

The lines on these rings are jagged and strong

much like the lines of a fire.

We made our vows and sang our song

once awakened, our love so desired.

Taken us through seasons where easy to stand

other times so out of breath.

Now setting this seal on our hearts and hands

for love is strong as death.

Its flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord

jealousy fierce as the grave.

I've been given this flower to protect with the sword

and that I will all my days.

Many waters cannot quench love

though at times I've made it easy to doubt.

No amount of rain, no amount of floods

will overcome or drown it out.

I am thankful for my marriage and my husband. I am glad love so desires...

Plug for a friend...

My friend Kay is embarking on 2 new adventures...getting ready for a new addition to her family (baby boy #2 on the way) and starting up a new online business called Sew So Sweet (click the link to see her cool creations for kids). I have seen first hand the so cute baby gifts she has made for her many nieces and nephews over the last few years so I can give her creations a FULL endorsement! Also if you would like to visit her personal blog you can find that here! If you know Kay and have seen or received any of her great homemade baby gifts then leave a comment as to how great they are! I hope that you will visit her store (you will not be sorry) and Kay... I wish you all the best!

Garden

Well... it has been awhile since I posted last and boy has our garden been growing. I am sure for all of you out there who are garden savvy that you aren't surprised or even really impressed by this news. However for those of us garden newbies this is sheer excitement!

We have watched the sunflowers grow larger and larger almost everyday. It seems like each time we look out the kitchen window they have grown even taller. All the other veggies have grown quite nicely as well. We have had a few casualties (it took Jason a few days to learn to use the hoe) but for the most part our garden has been a great success.

For mother's day I received a potted herb garden and it has been fabulous. The herbs included basil, thyme, oregano, chives, cilantro, parsley and sage. Since mother's day we have added rosemary and a citronella plant (it really is suppose to rid off mosquitos). I have already used several of the herbs for cooking (recipe to follow shortly... OK well maybe not shortly).

Jason also started a compost pile. I don't really have a lot to say about that except... I save all the leftover scraps for it. I know you might be thinking WOW those Sessoms sure have gone green or healthy or something. Let me be the first to inform you that ALL of this growing and decomposing is because we are cheap not because we are trying to save the planet (although that is a nice plus).

It has been really interesting and quite honestly fascinating to watch our garden grow. It is not a lie when I tell you that we go outside every day to look and see what is new in the garden and it is also not a lie when I tell you that certain grown people in this house (who shall remain unnamed) have actually jumped up and down in excitement when the "veggies" started appearing.

So, it goes without saying that I think if you don't have a garden you should start one. It has honestly been a learning and bonding experience for our family. Isn't that precious...

Enjoy the pics!

And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth."

And it was so. Genesis 1:11

#2

For those of you who read my "25 random things about me" post, this was #2 (you thought this post was going to be about poop didn't you?).  Anyway, yes we finally got our garden started and it has been so much fun. We started this winter talking about and planning our garden and then as spring was approaching I honestly was having second thoughts.  I wasn't sure we could pull it all off... the tilling, planting, weeding, watering and so forth.  But we decided to give it a go. Along the way we have gotten some very helpful advice from many people and a really great book my g-ma let us borrow (although we have had it so long she probably thinks she is never getting it back... sorry g-ma).  

We planted corn, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers (several kinds), watermelon, sunflowers, zucchini and carrots (Jason did I leave anything out?).  And speaking of Jason, during this planting adventure I have seen a side of my husband that I didn't even know existed. I wasn't really planning on him helping me with the garden, I just didn't think it would be something he would be interested in.  BUT... it all started with him printing some graph-paper off of the computer (you read right) and making a map of the garden... to scale!  In the process we had to change some of the locations of the plants and silly me I said, "Lets just plant them wherever."  Apparently that phrase is some sort of garden blasphemy.  No he said, we have to redo the "map".  Did we switch places or what? (usually I am the one who is so anal)  Any who... 

Adele has really enjoyed the garden too and I hope that she learns a lot about life and the meaning of life and.... just kidding, I just hope that we get some good free veggies!  Seriously I would recommend starting a garden, it really has been a fun family project (check back with me after about a month of pulling weeds in the 90+ weather and then see if I still recommend it). 

Here are a few pics. 

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9