Philippians 3:14 Friday- April 10

I like having a "to-do" list, the only problem is, if I do something that isn't on the list, I want to add it so I can cross it off. This week has been like that. I've accomplished a little of what I set out to do, but some of it has been sorely lacking. My justification is that I've did some additional things that weren't on my list (!) so that should count for something, right?

These are the areas from my monthly goals that I've worked on:

For my Blog:

• Participate in, and complete, the 31-Day Build A Better Blog challenge.
• Take this opportunity to refocus on my original goals for A Virtuous Woman.

Although I haven't posted about what I'm doing for the 31DBBB challenge, I am doing the activities behind the scenes, and I've begun the refocus, as well.

Physical:

This is my weakest area--the only thing I've done so far is try to be moderate in my eating most of the time.

Spirtual:

I started my reading at Psalms 111 and haven't progressed to the Hallel yet, but I'm almost there. I attended a Messianic Passover Seder Wednesday night---participating in the "appointed times" ordained by the Lord have an especially profound impact on me becuase it isn't something I was raised up doing, it's something that I believe the Lord has brought me to, and that I do with purpose and thoughtfulness.

Household:

• Establish a morning routine
• Clean and organize the front bedroom/junk room
• Fix my broken filing system--sort through and file/shred as needed

I posted Monday about my morning routine--I've been successful on most, but not all of these points this week-getting up at a regular time, making the bed, straightening the bathroom--I haven't always gotten dressed within an hour, or done my Bible reading and prayer before I leave the house, but overall I'd give myself a 75/100.

In the front bedroom/junk room, I put our old computer back together so I could get some documents/files off of it before I find a new home for most of it. Once that gets moved out of the way, my next task is to organize the desk area and re-establish a filing system. I need to clean out craft supplies for things I no longer do, or are outdated, and then the hardest task of all--purge books.

How have you been about setting and meeting goals? Need to get it "out there" for accountability? Join everyone at Which Proverbs 14:1 Woman for Phillippians 3:14 Friday!

Until next time...

But It's Still Dark Outside!

• She rises also while it is yet night...
• She looketh well to the ways of her household

I shared in an earlier post about my struggles to cast off my night-owl ways and become more productive, not only in the mornings, but also the rest of the day. I know from first-hand experience how much better my day goes when I have a morning routine. So, as part of the Proverbs 3:14 Challenge of setting goals and "pressing toward the mark", my morning routine goals are these:

1. Get up at a reasonable hour every morning. No sleeping in for no good reason.
2. Read my Bible and pray.
3. Get dressed, to include hair and make-up, within one hour of waking up.
4. Make my bed every day. Even a clean bedroom looks messy with an unmade bed in it--when the bed is made, to include the decorative pillows and the throw draped artistically across the foot, I tend to automatically clean and straighten as I go--put the folded clothes into the drawers instead of laying them on the foot of the bed to be put away later, etc.
5. Wipe down the bathroom sink and vanity; change the hand towel; swish and wipe down toilet.
6. Think about dinner--do I need to put something out to thaw or start something to simmer?
7. I tried to think of seven things because seven is supposed to be the "perfect number", but now I'm danger of veering into daily routine territory, and for this post I want to stick to morning routine. So number 7 is this--don't bite off more than I can chew for a simple morning routine.

Do have a morning routine, whether conscious or unconscious? What do you do in the mornings to set the tone for the rest of your day?

Challenges

This month will be one of changes and challenges for me; some circumstantial, some self-imposed.

The first challenge is circumstantial--I've left my home-away-from-home in Georgia, and returned to home-home in small-town, rural Louisiana, where I'll be for the next several weeks. It's definitely a different life here, with fewer stores and a different household dynamic, not to mention change in scenery!

Some additional challenges are self-imposed.



I'm participating in the Phillipians 3:14 Bloggy Carnival, hosted by Kate at "Which Proverbs 14:1 Woman?" This challenge is all about setting goals and holding ourselves accountable by posting about them and sharing our successes, and, dare I say it, failures, for all the bloggy world to see. Or at least as much of the bloggy world as cares to read about it. This was supposed to start Friday, but that was my travel day--I drove the 10 hours from home-away-from-home to home-home all my myself. More on that later. Needless to say I did not post afterwards. And while I meant to get my Phillippians 3:14 Fridays post ready the night before, I didn't actually do it. More on that later, too.

In addition to the Phillippians 3:14 challenge, starting Monday I'll be participating in the "31-day Build a Better Blog challenge", sponsored by Darren Rowse at ProBlogger. Susan at Craving the Savings is my partner for this challenge. This challenge of this challenge will be compounded by the fact that at home-home I have dial-up internet access, unless I take my lap-top to town to find a wi-fi spot, or borrow someone else's computer who has high-speed internet to do my posting. We aren't home enough to justify the expense of maintaining satellite internet, which is the only high-speed internet we country gals have access to, at least in my neck of the woods.

So, here are my goals, in no particular order:

For my Blog:

• Participate in, and complete, the 31-Day Build A Better Blog challenge.


• Take this opportunity to refocus on my original goals for A Virtuous Woman.


• Find, create, build, or buy, a logo design for A Virtuous Woman.


• Find, create, build, or buy, a logo design for Secrets of a Southern Kitchen.


• Find, create, build, or buy, a logo design for the weekly Mission Possible post.

Physical:

• Lose 10 pounds


• Monitor my blood pressure and sugar at least 4 days a week


• Do something about my hair. Cut, color, style, something needs to give.

Spiritual:

• Read and study the Hallel--Psalms 113-118


• Start a new prayer journal


• Fast at least 3 days

Household

• Establish a morning routine


• Clean and organize the front bedroom/junk room


• Fix my broken filing system--sort through and file/shred as needed


• Replace kitchen curtains


• Establish daily and weekly routines

Mental (?)

• Read one new book

I think I'm all over the map with my goal-setting--I've read that in order to be successful at meeting goals, you have to be specific--"exercise 3 times this week" instead of "exercise more this week", and I can see that I've failed miserably at being specific in I didn't exactly do that for some of these. But, since this is an ongoing project, and I'll see what I can do to fix that by next Friday.

Until next time...

Ultimate Blog Party 2009

Making this post "sticky" so it will be easier to find till the end of the party!

It's Party Time!

Every party has it's early birds as well as those who are fashionably late, and the Ultimate Blog Party 2009 is no exception! I've already had one visitor to my Party invitation post, so I'm going to go ahead and put my actual party post a little bit early!

Welcome to A Virtuous Woman!

For those of you who may be visiting, I am, as my profile states, first and foremost a Christian woman, wife, and mother. I am a credentialed minister with the Assemblies of God, and would love to have an opportunity to minister to your church or women's group on a number of different topics. At this time I have two bases of operation, one in Southwest Louisiana, which is home, and one in Columbus, Georgia, which is home away from home.

This blog started out to chronicle my struggle to become a true chayil woman of strength and virtue. Some of my favorite posts on this topic are:

• It's a Love/Hate Relationship
• What Does Virtuous Mean?
• Meat to Her Household

I'm also a newly frugal couponer and deal chaser, so lately a lot of my blog posts have been about the fabulous frugal and free deals I find. For frugal shopping posts, check out my Mission Possible label.

I have a food blog, Secrets of Southern Kitchen where I post easy, everyday recipes and kitchen tips. Stop by there for some quick and easy party foods!

Please feel free to look around, leave a comment, try out a recipe, and by all means, come back and visit any time.

For questions or contact information email me at charlene@avirtuouswoman.info.

Added Friday, March 27th:

I've had such a good time this week blog hopping, "meeting" so many nice ladies and finding lots of new blogs, some of which I'll be sharing in the coming days and weeks.

Meanwhile, I finally went back and looked at the list of prizes, and while I'd be glad to win anything, whether for me or something I could gift to someone else, these are my top picks:

#58--the top pick for several of the blogs I've visited--a Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer, provided by Moms Who Think

#68 – $30 gift certificate to Christian Book Distributors, provided by A High And Noble Calling

#88 –$40 gift certificate to Carrabba’s Italian Grill, provided by The Divine Miss Mommy

And any of 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 51, 95, 111, 113, 121,or INTL 1,INTL3, INTL5, INTL23, INTL33, INTL35, INTL36, INTL65

Until next time....

Ultimate Blog Party 2009

It's a virtual party!

You, the readers of A Virtuous Woman

are cordially invited

to attend

the

Ultimate Blog Party

2009

Where:

5 Minutes for Mom

When:

March 20-27th, 2009

What:

An opportunity to visit blogs of literally hundreds of other women who blog "out there" in the blogosphere.

How:

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom's Ultimate Blog Party 2009 post on their site; from there, find the Mr Linky linking to hundreds of other blogs written for and by women. You don't have to visit them all, but it's a fun way to see blogs of all different kinds of style and content.

Why:

Because it's fun, that's why! And because you may find some blogs you'll like and want to come back and visit again.

Don't forget, this party lasts all week! Bloggers will be adding their links all week, so check back and see what new wonders of the blogosphere you may discover!

Lagniappe:

All bloggers who link to the Ultimate Blog Party main post will be eligible to win a plethora of prizes. And lest you non-bloggers out there feel left out, visit and leave comments on at least 20 of the participating blogs, and leave a comment at the main site, and you, too, will be eligible for prizes!

Looking forward to the party!

Until next time....

CVS Basic Training

I had a comment on my Mission Possible CVS post from Kim at Forever...Wherever, asking about the Extra Care Bucks. I've had a few other people who have asked questions about my CVS deals, so I wanted to do a quick CVS boot camp this week.

Get a CVS card
The absolute first thing you have to do for CVS boot camp, is get a CVS card. Without a CVS card, you don't get the sales prices, the coupons, and most importantly, the Extra Care Bucks. What are Extra Care Bucks? Extra Care Bucks are rewards that CVS gives you for shopping at CVS. There are two different kinds of ECBs--those that print at the register when you buy certain products, and those that print quarterly. Once you get your CVS Extra Care Card and start using it, the CVS computers will track the spending associated with that card, and once every three months the register will spit out some extra Extra Care Bucks based on what was spent with that card the previous quarter. Extra Care Bucks are $$ off of any purchase that can be used just like cash at CVS. There are a few limitations on what ECBs can be used to purchase, such as lottery tickets, prescriptions, gift cards, etc., but that's not what I use my ECBs for anyway, so I've never had an issue with it. When in doubt, ask.


How do you get a CVS Extra Care Card?
You can apply at the CVS website, but the easiest thing to do is to get one at your local CVS store. Tell the cashier you need to get a CVS card--they will give you a simple one-page form to fill out. It's important that you provide a mailing address and an email address--I've gotten good coupons and money-off offers, via both email and regular mail. You'll be given a card which is good immediately for shopping. After a few days, go online and register for an on-line account; then follow the on-line instructions to '"attach" you card to your on-line account. Note: You may have to call the customer service line to get this done. Once it is, CVS will email you a $4/20 welcome coupon, (this is good for $4 off of a $20 purchase) and will send you additional $x/$xx coupons from time to time. ($4/$20, $5/25, $5/30, etc).


Have the cashier scan your card for every transaction
Once you have your card in your hot little hand, you're ready to begin! You'll get one regular card and I think two of the little keychain cards. You must have the cashier scan your card when you check out, so keep it handy. That's why I use the keychain card, I always have it at my fingertips!

Check out the weekly and monthly deals
The Sunday newspaper inserts have a CVS weekly ad circular; these are also available on a stand right inside the door of every CVS I've ever visited. In addition to the weekly deals, there is a monthly circular available in the store, with deals and bargains that last all month, not just one week. Because of the transaction tracking due to the CVS card system, some month-long deals don't have to be done all in one transaction. For example, buy 2 Dasani, get $1 ECB. If this is a monthly deal, I can buy one this week and one next; when I've reached the amount needed to get the ECB, it will automatically print. Some deals do have limits on the number of times of times you can do them, which are usually mentioned in the ad circulars, and will also be noted on the bottom of your cash register tape if you buy one of the limited products. (This doesn't mean you can't buy it again, but you won't get the deal again.)

Regular Sale items
In the circular, you'll see regular sales items, like this week--Dove shampoo and conditioners are on sale for $4 each. These prices are only good with a CVS Extra Care card.

Sale plus ECB deals
And this is where it starts to get exciting, and can be confusing and intimidating at first. There is also a ECB deal going with Dove this week. Buy $15 of select Dove products, get a $5 ECB (Extra Care Buck). Today I bought two Dove hair products, at $4 each, and one package of Dove bar soaps at $7. ($4 + $4 + $7 = $15) The great thing about an ECB deal like this, is that it counts the price that rings up, before I've used any coupons. I had three manufacturer's coupons from the weekend coupon inserts, $1.50, $1.50, and $1, off of Dove shampoo, conditioner, and bars or body wash. The price then becomes $15-$4, or $11). If I stopped right there and checked out, I'd pay $11 plus tax, and on my cash register tape I would see my transaction, plus probably some CVS coupons for specific products, plus $5 ECB--this is $5 that I get to turn around and spend again--like spending the same money twice!

Free After ECB
One of the good things about the CVS Extra Care Bucks program, is that there are some items weekly or monthly, that are free after ECB deals. You pay for the item at either the full or sale price as the case may be, then you get an ECB back for the full purchase price. Combine these free-after-ECB items with a coupon, and you have a money-maker!

Stacking Coupons
CVS puts out their own store coupons, on the cash register tapes, and sometimes via email and/or regular mail. If you have a CVS coupon, you can use the CVS coupon plus a manufacturer's coupon on the same item. This is called stacking coupons. You cannot use multiple manufacturer's Qs (coupons) on the same single item, but you can use both a store coupon and a manufacturer's coupon.

The Ultimate--Combination Deals
The best example of a combination deal was the L'oreal deal I did yesterday. L'oreal Paris products have an ECB deal going through April 11th--buy $20 worth of L'oreal Paris products, get $5 ECB good on your next transaction. I got a flyer in the mail last week from CVS, with a $5 off of 2 L'oreal products, and a $2 off of 1 L'oreal product. I also had manufacturer's coupons, $3 off of any L'oreal product, and $2 off of any facial product. I bought two items, totalling $22.99. I stacked one CVS coupon for $5/2, with two manufacturer's coupons, $3 + $2, making this $12.99 for two products. Once I paid for this transaction, I received a $5 ECB good on my next transaction, making my L'oreal products $7.99 for both.

Coupon order is important, and fillers are our friends!
One final note--if you have a combination of store/manufacturer's coupons, ECBs, etc, the best way to use is to first give the cashier any $4/$20, etc, coupons that you have; then other CVS store coupons; then manufacturer's coupons; then ECBs that you want to use. If you end up with a total due that's less than the ECBs you want to use--the total after coupons is $7.59 and you have an $8 ECB, the cashier will adjust it down, you will NOT get change back. If you don't want to lose the value of your ECB, you can always throw in a small "filler" item, like a candy bar or a pack of gum to bring the total up to slightly more than the ECBs you want to spend. This will help to get you the best results with the least out-of-pocket and no loss of ECB value.

Start small and build from there
Remember to start slowly at CVS--don't walk in and try to do a complicated transaction with sales, ECBs, stacking coupons, etc. My very first CVS transaction, I paid $7 out-of-pocket, and got $6 in ECBs, making me net OOP $1, and I was so very proud and excited! If you want to see some examples of the other deals I've done at CVS, look at the "labels" list on the right hand side-bar, and click on "CVS" to see all of my CVS posts.



I hope this helps some of you, and is not too confusing. If you have any questions, leave a comment or email me, and I'll try to answer it if I can.

Until next time...

You Know You're a Couponer When...

I was home in rural Louisiana for 10-12 days; I've mentioned before that the shopping venues are limited at best in my small hometown, but I did manage a couple of trips to Walgreens while I was there. My next most favorite place to shop when I'm home is Dollar General--did you know that Dollar General takes coupons? You can get some really good deals on name brand items by using coupons with their already low prices.

Those two stores--Walgreens and Dollar General, are where my mom and I did some shopping one day and where I encountered two of my most recent "You know you're a couponer when..." moments.

First one--I was browsing the aisles at Walgreens, looking at the clearance tickets with my coupon binder(more on that in a later post) spread open on the buggy when a woman walking by did a double take, then turned around and came back "That's what I need to organize my coupons!" she said. I showed her my binder and my baseball card and photo pages while she exclaimed and ooohed and aaahed over it. "Are you the one who comes in here and gets things for free all of the time? The ladies in here have told me about her, are you the one?" I told her I was probably not "the one" because I don't live there full time and don't shop that particular store that often, but that I do, in fact, get things for free or almost free all the time with my coupons, rebates, and sales.

Second one--same shopping trip, different store--this time it was the cashier at Dollar General--my mom and I checked out back to back with our stacks of coupons, and the cashier asked me "Where do ya'll get all of your coupons? With things the way they are now, I need to start doing this--you saved a lot of money!" There were people in line behind me, so I didn't have time to tell her much, but did take the time for a quick mention of the Sunday newspaper coupon inserts and internet printables.

Third one--my mom on the phone with you me--"You'll never guess what your Daddy was doing earlier---couponing!" Dad asked her if she could get some dog food coupons, so they got on the internet and found some at Alpo's website and a couple of others. Now, it's one thing to convert your Mom to internet coupons, but your Dad?? I was impressed! You go, Dad!

What are some of your "You know you're a couponer when..." moments?


Until next time....