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."