All You Magazine

Okay friends... I have a little inside information for "ALL YOU" other thrifty wives! :-) Actually, I've talked about All You Magazine before but I recently discovered some new info & thought I'd share it with you! All You Magazine has a Facebook page (seriously, why did I not look for this before considering almost EVERY other company on the planet has a facebook page!!)!!! On the All You Facebook page they post daily tips - from recipes, to budgeting, to saving money, to COUPON LINKS & DAILY FREE SAMPLES!!!! I just discovered the free samples on Friday but they post one each day... they put up a link & you must follow through the link to get a free sample of something - today it's laundry detergent - what a deal! Sometimes, I'm weary about trying new things so free samples seem like a good way to try things out. I'm going to start grabbing these up if they're something I'll use (if not then I'll leave them for folks like you that might want to try them out). & I know that I have given All You a serious plug but I LOVE that magazine, I seriously get excited when it comes in the mail each month - I would suggest subscribing to it, I've gotten some great recipes, tips, budgeting ideas & COUPONS!!! Alright ladies... get to it - "like" their page on facebook ASAP & grab some good deals!!

Blogging & Blessings

Obviously, I have been completely M.I.A. lately!!! The Howards have been INCREDIBLY busy!!! We started summer camp at work for our sweet kiddos (LONG, EXHAUSTING DAYS!), we've had 3 weddings, 1 bachelorette party, 1 shower, 3 birthdays, Father's Day, I was subpoenaed to court for work, Family Appreciation Night for Jon's work, a friend in extreme need, and 1 concert/girls' night in CLT with my sister... ALL SINCE MY LAST POST!!!! & this doesn't even include our regular day to day lives.... its been INSANE! So, I'm not making excuses... BUT, if I was - I think this does it!!! After this week of camp I'll have 2 solid weeks OFF - WOO HOO & plan to update more regularly... I have some yummy recipes & fun things to share with you all!

In the midst of all of this chaos that we call life I must say that I have been incredibly aware of the many blessings that we have! I know that I speak a lot of God's blessings in our lives but it is only because I see those blessings daily. I could go on and on about all of the smallest things in our lives that are truly the most enormous blessings from God but we'd be here all night just going through the last couple of weeks! I will say... PRAISE BE TO GOD for my dear friend completing treatment, for my amazing family and friends, for being able to do what I do and having the opportunity to help others, for the wonderful team of co-workers/supervisors that I have, for Jon's job, for our home, and for our amazing marriage and friendship - all of these & more have been part of my thanksgiving in my daily prayer to our Father!

I know that I wrote before about thanking your spouse for even the smallest day to day things but I should have also mentioned that I firmly believe in thanking our Heavenly Father also. Thanking Him for what we have been given and for what He has provided for us... which is EVERYTHING. I will leave you with this for now as these verses have been weighing heavily on my heart recently:

Deuteronomy 8:17-18a You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.

Psalm 150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.

And, if there is ever anything that I can pray for you about please let me know - I absolutely believe in the power of prayer!

"He teases you because he likes you!"

Who in the world ever decided that "he teases you because he likes you!"??? I'm curious really! I even say this to the little girls (elementary age) that I see for therapy. I think that it's probably true... but then if this is a true saying then WHY in the world did little boys ever start teasing little girls BECAUSE they like them!?! Isn't this just the most ridiculous concept you have ever heard?!

Something I fail to tell my little therapy girls is that boys (when they become men) never grow out of this... at least my husband didn't (and neither did my Daddy for that matter)!! I don't know if you other ladies experience "teasing" from your husbands but I do... & frankly, I don't get it! Just tonight... Jon knows that I am deathly terrified of turtles (& frogs for that matter) so when Max (our sweet little boy!) was barking up a storm in the back yard & Jon discovered that it was a turtle... decided to bring it on our back porch. I was in the house but came outside (per Jon's request... ONLY AFTER he sat it on the porch & backed away) to look at it. Max was completely in love with this turtle (aka - horrible, disgusting monster thing!) & wanted it to play... it was cute watching him. Then - it was time to put the turtle back... I get up to go back in the house... JON DECIDES TO CHASE ME WITH IT & TRY TO MAKE IT TOUCH ME! Of course, I'm shrieking the whole time & hopping around like an idiot trying to get away while Jon just laughs! I DON'T GET IT!!! How in the world does this show a girl (or a woman) that you like them?!? Maybe some of you mom's with boys can explain it... or if any men read this blog please enlighten me!!

While I'm tattling on Jon I'll also note that he frequently hides around corners & jumps out at me (I also do this to him... he screams, its hilarious!) & he teases me with the frogs in our front yard as I run to the door! & apparently, I'm not the only woman that doesn't understand this - on our recent trip to Atlanta while I was telling Jon's sister a story about a time he put a frog down my bathing suit cover up she asked "was this before or after you were married?" - before... "I wouldn't have married him! Why did you?!" hahahaha! Unfortunately... maybe the teasing worked for Jon after all... we've been together for almost 4 years & married for a little over one. Ladies... why do we torture ourselves!

"He teases you because he likes you!" I guess it's all in the name of LOVE!

Love, Marriage & Reality

Jon works 3rd shift & his weekend ends on Sunday night; he usually goes to sleep around 6pm on Sundays & sleeps until 9:30pm or so - this gives him the opportunity to spend most of the day with me. On Sunday nights I usually take a few hours to do "me" things; sometimes this includes relaxing, painting my toe nails, watching a Lifetime movie, reading & then some nights I clean the house & some nights I catch up on paperwork before the work week starts... whatever I want to do really. Tonight - I used my couple of hours to clean up around the house & finish the laundry, as I was doing all of this I thought to myself "When did we ever decide who does what?" I know that every marriage is different & each partner takes on different responsibilities, I wonder though if this is discussed in other marriages? For the run down:

Brandy:
Cooks Dinner
Packs Lunches
Pay Bills
Balances the checkbook
Washes/Dries Clothes
Cleans Bathrooms
Dusts
Mops
Clean Windows/Glass Doors
Takes care of errands: Dog appts, bank, calling places

Jon:
Cuts Grass
Takes out Trash
Does the Dishes
Vaccuums
Puts away the laundry

We share:
Sweeping
Changing the sheets on the bed
Grocery Shopping (I make the list & the coupons but Jon has started going with me on actual shopping trips)
Feed the Dogs (I feed in the morning & Jon feeds at night)
Bathing the Dogs

I can't remember an actual conversation that we had about who does what, I think it just happened. Sometimes, I admit, I get frustrated when Jon is relaxing & I'm running around doing things around the house after a long day at work! BUT - I really AM a lucky girl!! I have a husband that helps me around the house & doesn't complain & sometimes Jon does extra things for me just because he knows that I am tired. I think that sometimes I forget to tell Jon how much I appreciate all of those little things that he does for me - I've been working on this & so has he. I think its important to tell each other "Thank You," for even the smallest things that get done on an every day basis - it makes your spouse feel appreciated & like their hard work doesn't go unnoticed (even if it's only something simple)!

So... Love, Marriage & Reality - love your spouse always & thank him/her for those realistic parts of marriage, tell him/her how much those simplest, every day things mean to you & how appreciated they are!

Howard Pups on the Hunt

The Howards are parents... to 3 fur babies! We have 3 dogs - Max is our 3 1/2 year old buff colored cockapoo & a total mommy's boy; Marley is our 3 year old black cockapoo (that really looks like a miniature cocker spaniel) & loves her mommy more than her daddy but will deny it & Miya is our 2 year old German Shepard/Sheltie mix that we got from the Humane Society & hates her mother with a passion & is the most jealous dog on the planet! We LOVE them! Actually, we're kind of pathetic in the way that when we go on vacation we miss them; we actually considered (for about 3 minutes) taking them on vacation with us this year (umm... the outcome was: we have a house sitter! HA!).

These Howard pups live the good life! They eat special (more expensive than my grocery bill) food, they ALL sleep in the bed with us, they have more toys than probably most children, they get maximum amounts of cuddle time, love, kisses, etc. I talk to them all the time (yep, I'm THAT crazy lady! BUT I don't dress them up or stuff them in a large purse!) - basically, we LOVE them (can you tell yet!).

So - when it comes to grooming OF COURSE they deserve the BEST! However, this is much easier said than done!!! When I lived in Greenville Max had a fabulous groomer & a wonderful doggie daycare... Spartanburg is REALLY lacking in this area!! Once we moved to Spartanburg I had the most difficult time finding a groomer that I LOVED - Max was probably traumatized from the groomer inconsistency (a groomer here actually cut him once & he ended up with stitches... eek!!). I FINALLY found a groomer that the Howard pups loved & they went to her for a couple of years, then for some reason she quit doing all of the things that the Howard pups require (& they're not all THAT high maintainence!) (anal glands cleaned, ear hair plucked, toe nails trimmed, etc) & of course this upset the Howard pups... so the hunt resumed.

Last week Max tried a new groomer & his hair got butchered... he basically looked like an idiot (how dare a mother say that!) but its grown on us (unfortunately, his hair hasn't grown a bit!). The groomer shaved his ears & cut his beard WAY TOO short & charged me more than I pay to have my own hair cut!! So, the hunt resumed again... Marley tried ANOTHER groomer today. I passed this groomer's car driving down the road & decided to give her a call, she was super nice, had a great price & could work Marley in at the end of the week. Yesterday morning - off to the groomer we go - I picked up Marley on my lunch break & she looked AWESOME!!! She had a cute little hair cut, an adorable bandana, she was happy & she looked relaxed; I was one happy mama!!!! So... we're going to give this groomer a go for a bit & see how it goes, if she turns out to be *the one!* then I'll definitely recommend her!

YIPEE, maybe the Howard pups' Hunt can end!!! Happy Howard Pups make a happy mommy & daddy!!!

The Thrifty Wife's Stash

In the post prior I talked a little bit about my fascination with Southern Savers via Publix (again, you REALLY need to check it out)! There are a few other sites that I LOVE & visit pretty much daily for a deal or two...

Living Social sends a daily deal usually at least 50% off. Today I got 2 movie tickets from Fandango for $9!

Groupon also sends a daily deal, a couple of weeks ago I got $30 worth of tapas & drinks for $15 from one of mine & Jon's favorite restaurants.

For those of you in the Upstate of SC - Upstate Perks has a couple of deals a week similar to those from Living Social and Groupon.

Once a month I get the ALL YOU magazine (you can only buy this magazine at Walmart), I have a subscription - I bought the magazine as a fluke to support our nephew Max's school... I'd seen the name mentioned on Southern Savers & thought I could get some good coupons. I spent about $15 for a 2 year subscription & each month there are at least $90 of coupons in it!!! TOTALLY PAID FOR ITSELF!!! Also, the magazine has some GREAT recipes, ideas, budgeting tips, etc. LOVE IT

This year Jon & I decided that we wanted to pay down some of our debt (in addition to continuing to remodel our home & still live a comfortable life... who did we think we were kidding?!?); we make these massive payments each month to help us become debt free - the 1st couple of months this completely stunk!! But, with my (tooting my own horn) fabulous budgeting skills, my little bit of couponing, helping us find good deals, etc we have managed to pay off close to 40% of our debt (not including our house payment & my student loans) in 6 months. Extra money in our wallet each month is fantastic!!! We expect to be *almost* completely debt free (*almost* due to our house & my student loans) by April of 2012! (Apparently, we weren't kidding ourselves... this is completely manageable without ruining your life... HA!) However, I doubt when the time comes when we're debt free that my thriftiness will end... why spend money on stuff that I don't HAVE to spend $ on!!

So, get thrifty... check out those sites & save a buck or 2 too!! & if you know of some other fabulous places that help cut cost I'd love to hear about them!

The Thrifty Wife

About a year and a half ago I came across a website for "couponing," it absolutely boggled my mind, completely overwhelming... "forget it!" But then all over my Facebook my friends were posting these enormous grocery savings using this site "If they can do it, I can do it." I started small, I think the 1st time I saved $14 (I was super excited!). Who has time for coupons? I never did so I never bothered with them... well now I believe - If I don't have to pay full price for it I'm not going to, I'll take free money in my wallet any day!! So... I decided to take this couponing thing in full force... now, I'm no Extreme Couponer like that TLC show - I shop at one place, Publix (LOVE PUBLIX!) & I use 1 website to help me... Southern Savers. Ladies, if you haven't visited Southern Savers get there quick, you'll save some serious dollars!! The first couple of months it took me about 2 hours to get everything together before heading to the store (I plan out all of my meals in advance, ingredients, etc also) now, I can get my coupons & list together in 30 minutes & be in & out of the store in 30 minutes, always saving money! I ran in for a quick trip today because the new Publix ad comes out tomorrow & there were a couple of great buys that I wanted to get in on, the total of my groceries was $51.84... after my coupons I paid $25.53; this was a quick, simple trip but even with that I saved $26.31 (that's 1/2 a tank of gas!) I always get giddy when I see my receipt now, something I used to dread!! I'm telling you ladies, Southern Savers is amazing!!! Jenny (the creator) is a genius, she posts many other wonderful deals everyday, I try to stop in at least once a day to check them all out - she has a facebook page also.

Marriage tip for the day: A thrifty wife makes a happy husband! (or at least in the Howard House!)

Stress & Then Some

Anyone that personally knows me knows that I get stressed, usually over insane things - especially my job! Give me a break though... I'm a therapist - HELLO, it HAS to be one of the 10 most stressful jobs on the planet!!! & as a therapist, I teach stress management skills to my clients everyday, do I use these techniques... yep, but not often enough I can assure you! We all deal with stress differently... I SLEEP! I literally come home from work and take an hour nap, does it help... no, but it does give me 60 full minutes to not deal with anything. So really, I'm just shutting it out or running away for 60 minutes; this of course, causes even more issues that night when I go to bed, because not only is my mind reeling with possible solutions for hours but my body doesn't want to fall asleep either because I've napped. & when I don't sleep, I'm a pain in the butt to say the least... it's a vicious cycle! So - help a therapist out... what helps you manage your stress?

The last couple of weeks have been particularly stressful at work for me; it hasn't been only 1 thing but a multitude of things. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my job so please don't think that I'm complaining! I can't imagine a more fulfilling, rewarding (stressful yes) career for me to have... I believe that God's purpose for me in life is to help others. I'll give you a brief overview - 1 last week of school, 2 find out that I am moving schools next year, 3 plan summer services and schedule appointments, 4 go to a training, 5 work on summer packets and paperwork for hours & work late, 6 find out summer services are (temporarily- fingers crossed) canceled & have to figure out what to do with a whole caseload of kids, 7 play the waiting game! Yesterday, several of the other therapists that I work with had a little get together to unwind - this is incredibly helpful. I'm blessed to have made friends with most of the therapists in my department & since we all become a little loopy when we're overwhelmed the humor is flying free in our halls right now! I need to learn to set things down and walk away... "Let go and let God." You'd think after 27 years I'd have figured that out... maybe one day!

Thankfully, I have a rock at home - my amazing husband, my sister who is my best friend on the planet & that I can talk to anything & everything about for hours, my parents, my family, my wonderful friends - I'm blessed to be surrounded by such a great group of supporters everyday! So, the verses that I need to focus on for the next couple of weeks:

Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Howards for Hire

Jon and I bought our house a couple of months after we got engaged in 2009; we knew that we wanted to make a lot of updates to the home before we even moved in, so we took around 5 weeks to get the house ready to live in & then moved in. We've been living here for about a year & a half & we're still working on the house - home improvement projects are time consuming & EXPENSIVE!!! We deemed 2011 The Year of the Kitchen & started looking for ceramic tile, new counter tops, back splash, etc etc in January & by March we were ready to go. I made a budget for our project based on everything we picked out & we started buying everything. Thankfully, my mom, dad and grandparents have done their own fair share of home improvement projects so they teach us how to get started & help us out a TON & then Jon & I take over. We complain A LOT to each other about how tired we are, how much this stinks, how much money we're spending, etc but when the project is complete we both have this overwhelming sense of pride "We DID IT & it looks AWESOME!" Ceramic tile was AWFUL... it wasn't that it was hard work but it was time consuming & messy!!! We put ceramic in the kitchen, breakfast nook & laundry room... we have a lot of space - we started this the week of our wedding anniversary & got all but about 20 square feet grouted... ummm... that was 2 months ago - I finished it last night! HA! I'd been saying for weeks that I was going to finish it but I never had the time, yesterday, Jon began to install our new counter tops so I guess I felt the need to be productive in the kitchen too (aside from the daily cooking and cleaning!). I'm off today and I have a few projects (that don't involve remodeling) that I need to take care of but the rest of the day I will spend on the floor with a little brush and cleaner to clean all of the grout so that I can seal it, its slowly coming together & I get so excited!! After we finish the counter tops (hopefully tonight) then we are going to put up a stone back splash, under cabinet lighting, finish the door separating the kitchen and laundry room, and hang a new pot rack... then I can add the final decorative touches. It really is a lot of fun and I also think it's good for a marriage to do things like this together, we see our work everyday and know that WE DID IT TOGETHER - my brother in law Mark said that exact thing this weekend because he and Dede (my sister in law) are constantly working on projects at their home too. We love our home and still have many more projects that we're going to be tackling over the next few months (years!)... up next, the guest bathroom! So... Howards for Hire... umm... not really, only in our home - ask for help in oh, say 2015!

Bless This House

Bless this house, o Lord, we pray.
Make it safe by night and day.
Bless these walls so firm and stout,
Keeping want and trouble out.
Bless the roof and chimney tall,
Let thy peace lie over all.
Bless the doors that they may prove
Ever open to joy and love.
Bless the windows shining bright,
Letting in God's heavenly light.
Bless the hearth a-blazing there,
With smoke ascending like a prayer.
Bless the people here within...
Keep them pure and free from sin.
Bless us all, that one day, we
May be fit, O lord, to dwell with Thee.

Life's Blessings

Jon & I are home together all morning since it's Memorial Day - we're having a cookout with my whole family this afternoon & hanging out at my parents' pool. I decide, since we've been gone to Atlanta for the weekend that I'm going to use the morning to do laundry, run by the grocery store for some projects I'm tackling tomorrow, etc; I consider this a lazy morning... although there's really nothing lazy about it. I go in our laundry room & I say to Jon "If I'm not out in 30 minutes start digging through the piles of clothes until you find me!" - he laughs & says "Deal!" Seriously... that's HOW MUCH LAUNDRY WE HAVE!! I could've sworn I just did a TON of laundry last week. You'd think after 3 years of living together that I would know HOW MUCH laundry the 2 of us accumulate... apparently, I don't! I mean really, how in the world do 2 people wear so many clothes??!! How will I ever manage this load(s) after we (dare I say) have kids?! Maybe there's a laundry service for hire!

So, as I sit here thinking about all of this laundry & semi-complaining in my mind what is my sweet husband doing? He's installing our new coutertops that have been in our garage for at least 6 weeks! Jon has to go back to work tonight so it's his only lazy day of his 3 day weekend & he's installing our countertops. I didn't ask him to do this today & I'm not even helping - nor has he asked... I'm sitting at the breakfast table blogging & he's working to get this finished & it's hard work; knowing that after working on these all day and a family cookout all afternoon he'll have to go to work for 8 hours tonight & I'm off again tomorrow. Oh, how blessed I am! God provided for me the most amazing, hard working, supportive, loving husband! I thank God for him each and every day, Jon is my rock, my best friend and the love of my life - days like this & little moments like these really open my eyes even more to the wonder of God's love for us... He brought this amazing man to be here with me until I am in Heaven with Him!

So - Life's Blessings... husbands, laundry & all that goes along with those!

Ephesians 1:3 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."

Busy Bee Howards

It's probably not a good sign that I've only been blogging for a week & I've already taken a 5 day hiatus... BUT in my defense it was an INSANELY BUSY week! I'll recap: Wednesday was my last school day as a school-based therapist, I made it through my 1st year! Woo hoo! I spent the afternoon working on summer plans with another therapist & then I had a study group until 7:30pm for my LMFT exam (more on that later). OF COURSE, since the Idol finale was Wednesday night Jon & I were glued to the television for 2 hours... thank goodness for Papa John's - I usually cook dinner but I was exhausted - little did I know the following 2 days would be even more exhausting!!! Thursday I had to go to Columbia for a training for work... leaving my house at 6:15 in the morning does NOT make me a happy girl - but training is done & now I'm a better driver (HA! It was driver's training so I can drive my kiddo clients all summer - we watched videos for 8 hours). Friday - in true mental health fashion, I had plans to catch up on paperwork, get out all of my summer appointment reminders & summer camp letters & instead there was a crisis in one of our districts & the rest of the day didn't go as planned - however, a lot of kids & families were helped with our presence & that is one of the most rewarding feelings you can have. Jon of course had take-out 1 night & leftovers 1 night... nothing wrong with that... I was asleep on the couch Thursday night before 9 & Friday night I was in the bed before 10 - worn out! Luckily, 4 days of stress free bliss follow!!! So - no excuses... I'm back to blogging; busy bee Howards or not!

Oh, American Idol

Every season Jon & I attempt to rebel against the American Idol hype & every season we fail miserably! We decided that we weren't going to watch this season as soon as we heard that Simon, Ellen & Kara all left and wouldn't be back for Season 10... how long do you think that lasted? Umm... until the very first show of Season 10 - Auditions! We said "We'll just see how we like the new judges, we still won't watch the whole season." BOLOGNA! We were once again sucked in & have watched EVERY SINGLE episode this season!! We comment during the performance nights & then attempt to identify the bottom 3 & the contestant going home each week... we are borderline addicted - thank goodness for tivo because we'd probably miss half the shows without it & we just couldn't have that!!

Tonight was the final performance night & tomorrow the Season 10 American Idol will be named... guess where we'll be tomorrow night at oh, say 8:00 pm?!

I am...

I read a small daily devotion from Women of Faith and on Friday there is a longer devotion posted, this was last (5/20/11) Friday's; I copied it from their website. I am carrying it with me this week, what a powerful message to know who I AM TO GOD, I thought I'd share it with all of you.

Who Are You - Really?

Your hands have made me and fashioned me. —Job 10:8

Do you know who you really are? Do you really?

I know this may sound like a radical concept to some of you, but the more I’ve soaked myself in the truth of God’s Word, the more I believe I know who I really am. God has the kindest and most amazingly brilliant methods of affirming who we are to him.

Well, just in case you aren’t completely sure who you really are, consider this wonderful list of verses as a daily reminder of what God thinks when he thinks of you—which is, by the way, constantly. Let them lift you up and open your heart to see your true identity.

1.I am God’s daughter. (John 1:12)

2.I’m a friend of Christ. (John 15:15)

3.I’m God’s coworker. (1 Corinthians 3:9)

4.I’m God’s workmanship. (Ephesians 2:10)

5.I can’t be separated from the love of God. (Romans 8:35–39)

6.I am free. (John 8:31–32)

7.I am forgiven. (Romans 8:1–2)

8.I can do all things through Christ. (Philippians 4:13)

9.I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. (Ephesians 1:3)

10.I have Christ’s mind. (Philippians 2:5–7)

—Sandi Patty

Excerpted from A Grand New Day © 2008 by Thomas Nelson. Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Mexican Monday

In the Howard house we LOVE Mexican food! The Mexican restaurant near our house is our go-to place when we're really busy, I work late or we're just plain tired & don't feel like cooking. A month or so ago Jon & I went to The Cazbah in Greenville for dinner (we LOVE The Cazbah, GREAT tapas!!!) & we ordered shrimp tacos... delicious!; I've had a craving for them ever since! So, tonight I decided, craving Mexican as always, that I was going to make my own version of these shrimp tacos; I googled & cook.com & recipe.com, etc etc until I had made my own recipe. They were WONDERFUL!!! I served them with homemade corn chips & the organic, homemade salsa that I had gotten at the FM on Saturday, great Mexican Monday!

Shrimp Tacos:

In a large pot:
1 teaspoon of ground ceyenne pepper
1 tablespoon of kosher salt
1 tablespoon of ground black peppercorn
Quarters of 2 limes (from the squeezed)
Approximately 3 quarts of water

*Bring to a boil for 2 minutes & then add 1 pound of shrimp, boil shrimp for approximately 4 minutes or until done

In a seperate bowl:
1/4 cup of fresh squeezed limes (about 3 limes)
1 medium tomato diced
1/4 cup of minced green onions
1 avocado diced
1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 turns of a black peppercorn grind
1 cup of corn (I used frozen & heated throughout)
1 jalapeno seeded & minced

*Once the shrimp is cooked fully drain it and it to avacodo mixture.
*Shrimp mixture goes on corn tortillas (that I had already warmed in the oven on 350 for about 7 minutes)
*You can add a dab of sour cream to each if you'd like & some salsa

For the homemade corn chips (SUPER EASY):
Corn tortillas, cut into quarters
Spray a baking sheet w/ cooking spray litely
Place Quartered corn tortillas in rows, spray litely with cooking spray
Top with a touch of Kosher Salt
Bake approximately 10 minutes on 375 or until litely brown & crispy
Serve with Salsa!

With this recipe you can enjoy Mexican Monday ANY day of the week! :-)

Let's Make A Deal

My Uncle texted me yesterday to let me know that the Adidas plant in Spartanburg was having a short warehouse sale & that running shoes & apparel were CHEAP! We weren't able to make it by there yesterday so we ran by today in hopes that maybe there would still be a few good things left. BOY WERE WE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED! It was basically complete chaos with boxes of stuff to dig through that were labeled with sizes & prices BUT it wasn't all that crowded & Jon & I were in & out in 30 minutes with some great buys!!

Here's our list:

Jon -
2 pair of gym shorts
1 athletic jacket
1 pair of tennis shoes

Brandy -
2 pair of running shorts
1 sports bra
2 pair of running socks
1 pair of running shoes

Grand Total, retail price of our buys = $417 (before tax)
Sale Total... WHAT WE PAID = $95.68 (INCLUDING TAX!!!)

WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!! I LOVE a good deal but heck, this was a PHENOMENAL DEAL!!!! I could do a little happy dance over this one! :-)

And on the 7th day He rested....

Do you ever realize on a Sunday night, "whew, I'm exhausted, WHAT DID I DO WITH MY WEEKEND?" Well, that's how I'm feeling today. Yesterday was nothing short of amazing, I spent the day doing things I wanted to do, took an afternoon nap & had a wonderful date night with my hubby. Today, started like any normal Sunday with my coffee & coupons (more on that later), getting ready for Church & going to Church... but then my day just took off! After Church Jon & I had a Couple's Shower to go to for some friends of our's, I usually buy gifts in advance but since I was out of town last weekend I'll admit that buying a gift completely slipped my mind... so off to Target we went, then we ran to Panera for a quick lunch, went & visited with Jon parents (we do this every Sunday after Church), went to the shower, then went shopping at the Adidas Warehouse sale (I'll post my good buys later, AMAZING!), got gas in my car, came home to do laundry, sweep, mop, dust, clean bathrooms, pack lunches, do dishes & then of course our 2 cockapoos decided to dig a massive muddy hole in the backyard & needed baths!!! INSANE DAY! It's now 8:30 & I still have laundry to finish & have to get ready for the work week... I literally forgot to eat - I'm actually eating a salad and some strawberries while typing this blog! Sunday... a day for rest... apparently NOT in the Howard house!!! But who's complaining (it really does sound like I am), we are incredibly blessed, we got to spend the day with each other praising our Lord, with our families, with our friends and we have our wonderful home with our sweet puppies to! I hope you all had a blessed Sunday as well, exhausted or not!

Buying Local & Eating Fresh

For those of you in the Upstate of SC you MUST go to the Hub City Farmer's Market. The FM (Farmer's Market) is open on Saturdays during the summer, opening week was last week - since I was out of town I missed opening day but after a great workout at the gym my sister & I headed over to the FM to pick up some local, fresh goodies. The FM did NOT disappoint! My sister had never been with me before & she's already talking about going again next Saturday. Today I bought a quart of strawberries from Belue Farms, 2 heads of green leaf lettuce, homemade organic salsa from Blue Moon Sauces & Seasonings and a loaf of whole grain, cinnamon, raisin, walnut bread from Great Harvest Bread Co. not only was all of this fresh and organic but it's all grown and/or made locally & did I mention CHEAP - I bought all of that for $19. If you a have a few minutes on a Saturday morning then buy local & eat fresh from the Hub City Farmer's Market!!

Saturday Delight

Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending the weekend in Charleston with a dear friend that is undergoing treatment at MUSC. My friend is a nutritionist and I LOVE to pick her brain & to eat with her; she has taught me so many wonderful things, probably without realizing it, one of those being my new found love of 6 months, RED WINE (but I'll leave that for another post)! Saturday morning she made a wonderful brunch for us, Egg Whites w/ Organic Spinach, Multi-Grain Toast, Black Grapes and Hot Tea - I was completely blown away; the meal was absolutely delicious & SUPER HEALTHY... my kind of meal! So, picking her brain as usual I inquired about how to prepare this at home - umm... really easy!

Being Saturday and having some time before I meet my friend at the gym I decided I'd give this meal a go... I DID IT w/ a few small differences! & it was a Saturday Delight!

My Saturday Delight:

1 - Egg White
1- Whole Egg
a touch of Skim Milk
a pinch of Kosher Salt
a pinch of Black Pepper
Organic Spinach Leaves (I use about a handful & a half)
Spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray (I prefer Pam with Olive Oil) & place on medium heat, after the pan warms a little add your spinach, let spinach begin to wilt but not to the point of mush. In the meantime, beat together your egg white and whole egg and the skim milk. Pour the egg mixture over the spinach, add salt and pepper and scramble.

I had mine with 1 whole wheat English muffin spread with a touch of I can't Believe it's not Butter and 5 chunks of cantalope and Gevilia Swiss Hazelnut Coffee. Its delicious & healthy - I had a vegetable serving, a fruit serving, a complex carb and a protien. The meal will probably serve as lunch too because it's a larger breakfast than I'd usually have but I'm sure I can whip up a healthy snack later.

Enjoy! Let me know what you think & if you have other healthy, yummy breakfast recipes please share them with me.

And then they lived happily ever after...

So, I have contemplated starting a blog for MONTHS now; I've actually started a blog, deleted a blog & so on, so on, so on. I'm not really sure what I'll even have to talk to about; I don't find myself all that funny - so don't be expecting much humor!! :-) I figure that I'll talk about life, my opinions, marriage & family (I AM a Marriage & Family therapist, so maybe I'll have a FEW good things to say), saving money, recipes, God, and all of the incredible blessings that I have daily.

The last few years of my life have been nothing short of amazing, I'll sum it all up & probably talk about these things in more detail along the way. In the fall of 2007 I met Jon and eventually (thanks to my good judgement!) we began dating... if you hear Jon tell the story he'll tell you that I basically tortured him for several months (NOT true!!) & our love story began! We moved in together about a year later, got a 2nd dog, became an Aunt and Uncle to an adorable niece, got engaged a year after that, bought a house & began the remodeling process, got a 3rd dog, planned a wedding, got married, still remodeling, I graduated from graduate school, became an Aunt and Uncle to a handsome nephew, started a new job, still remodeling, decided to start becoming debt free, decided to live a healthier lifestyle together, still remodeling, decided to expand our walk with God and have a more Christian marriage, talk about having babies, talk about not having babies, still remodeling... you get the point! But with all of the chaos in our lives the first few years we were together I must say that we have learned to enjoy the simple moments together and appreciate each minute we have together. We live an incredibly blessed life together and my goal is to share those blessings with all of you!