Couponing Made Simple by Christi the Coupon Coach (TOS Review)

 



I have to admit that couponing is something that totally eludes me. I have read a few book about it and do subscribe to a couple of coupon sites, but that is about the extent of it. I recently received for review Couponing Made Simple by Christi the Coupon Coach, which was an easy read and then set out to see if I could learn a thing or two.

 

Couponing Made Simple starts off by whetting your desire to save money with a handful of success stories. The book then shows how by couponing you will learn a whole new way to shop. The first thing you learn are the first two Rules of Couponing which are:

• Rule 1: Buy on Sale
• Rule 2: Stack Coupons

The author, Christi, then gets into the nitty-gritty of couponing by covering many different topics such as:

• The language of couponing (blinkies, peelies, etc.)
• How to organize your coupons
• Tips and tricks
• Ethics in couponing
• Networking and communicating
• Other ideas and ways to save money that don't require couponing

I tried implementing her system, but again it was a no-go. As much as I liked her idea of filing the inserts in a file folder and cutting out as needed I discovered that that didn't work for me. I need to handle every coupon to help put it into my visual memory.

One problem I have with coupons is that we don't use many of the items that they give coupons for and yes, we eat processed food. Outside of Target, I don't know of too many other stores that you can stack coupons at. Every once in while I can do it at Fred Meyer, but those occasions are few and far between.

I also usually ignore what Walgreens and Rite-Aid have on sale since I HATE shopping at those stores, but that being said I did read the through the blog posts from the coupon sites that I subscribe to and honestly, I didn't see anything there that I really needed to stock up on. I checked thoroughly through Safeway and the Fred Meyer ads each week, but again the deals were for things we just wouldn't eat or use. Because of this I didn't think the time it took for me to research out the deals was worth it. (The author did tell us that she only devotes a couple of hours every two weeks to shopping and couponing.)

I had the biggest success at Target where I scored 4 bottles of body wash, 2 bags of mini Kit-Kats, and a can of shaving cream for $7.09.

Even though I wasn't successful I do think if you are interested in couponing, Couponing Made Simple is a great introduction to couponing and chocked full of other money saving tidbits.

Couponing made Simple by Christi the Coupon Coach is available in paperback for $18.00 or in Kindle for $4.99. She also has a page where she lists her favorite websites for matching coupons.


 

5 Days of Great Kid's Books

Here is a list of our favorite kid's books compiled from 5 Days of Great Kid's Books Series that I did in participation in Schoolhouse Review Crew "5 Days of ..." Blog Hop.

 Enjoy learning about some of our favorite Kid's Books reads!

Day 1 - The Melendy Quartet by Elizabeth Enright

Day 2 - The Mysterious Benedict Society Series by Trenton Lee Stewart

Day 3 - Swallows and Amazons Series by Arthur Ransome

Day 4 - Fun Fantasy Reads featuring E. Nesbit and Edward Eager.

Day 5: Our Favorite Kid's Books

What's On Your Nightstand - July

 

Another month has come and gone and I am dreadfully behind in posting book reviews. Another think to put on my ever growing to-do list. This coming month is going to be especially busy with a visit from my mom and dad, a small vacation, and homeschooling planning, and planning an Economics class for a homeschool co-op and yes, my knowledge of economics basically consists of 'what comes up must come down'--scary, I know! My picks for August may be a little generous for the time I have, but for now these are my goals.

August Nightstand:

From June's Nightstand:

• Clouds of Witness by Dorothy Sayers - Just continuing the Lord Peter Wimsey series I started last month.
• I Serve: A Novel of the Black Prince by Roseanne E. Lortz - This novel was very slow going and it definitely helped to know some British history. Thanks to Ambleside Online I was in the 'know'.
• My Heart Remembers (My Heart Remembers Book #1) Kim Vogel Sawyer - A freebie off of my Kindle about kids going on the orphan train. It was an okay read.
• Girl Talk: Mother-Daughter Conversations on Biblical Womanhood by Carolyn Mahaney & Nicole Mahaney Whitacre  - A book for moms and daughters to read together and discuss. I don't know yet if I'll do that yet, but I did gain some insight from it.
• Raising Kids for True Greatness: Redefine Success for You and Your Child by Tim Kimmel - I really enjoyed this book. Down to earth and at times convicting. A great reminder that what the world defines as successful isn't always what makes people great. Yet if you raise your child to be great many times they are successful.

I also read:

• Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government by Glenn Beck - Yeah, I know this is NOT my typical reading. Honestly, I can't stand to listen to any kind of talk radio so thus I avoid Glenn Beck, but I really enjoyed this book. Very insightful on what is happening in our government today. I think what also makes this book appealing is how colorful the pages are and the illustration included which make it easier to read than just a normal book.
• Parenting From the Heart by Marilyn Boyer  - A mother sharing a heart about parenting. Filled with lots of illustrations from her years of parenting along with homeschooling the author offers a lot of encouragement to a homeschool mom.

Booklets from my Kindle: Freebies from my Kindle. Short, sweet, and even though I can't say they were profound reads I can truly say that I think I found little tidbits in each one to help in our homeschool journey.

• Delight Directed Learning: Guide Your Homeschooler Toward Passionate Learning (Coffee Break Books) by Lee Binz
• Homeschool High School Writing: You Can Do It! by Sabrina Justison & Vicki Tillman
• Simplify Your Homeschool Day: Shorten Your Day, Sweeten Your Time by Tamera L. Chilver

I listened to:
Appointment with Death: A Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha Christie - Sloooowly, making my way through Poirot's stories.

See what others have read over at 5 Minutes for Books.

25 Truths by Ed Douglas (TOS Review)

 

 

It is nice to come across a book that reinforces Christian principles that you are trying to train your children in and shows how it can they look in real life situations . We recently have been reading the book 25 Truths from Ed Douglas Publications.

 

 

25 Truths: Life Principles of the Happiest and Most Successful Among Us is written by Ed Douglas who is a retired bank president, chairman and CEO of a local bank located in Missouri and a financial planner. This book was inspired by:

... a three-page list that Ed had compiled and titled "Life’s Truths" or "25 Tips for an Enjoyable Life." He shared the list with friends, acquaintances, and students that he coached as the head high school tennis coach. (see more here)

 

25 Truths deals with character, values, and what is important in life. Each truth is discussed by the author in concise and easy to read sections. The author also gives many examples of how these truths related to incidents in his own life and how they guided him in making better decisions.  

 

A samples of truths include:

• Protect Your Reputation
• Be Slow to Judge
• Make every Day Your Best Day
• Practice - It Make Perfect
• Set Goals and Write Them Down
• Spend Time with Your Family
• And so many more!

Following each chapter is a summary which summarizes the truth in one or two short, easy to understand sentences. Then there follows a summary portion which repeats the 'truth' and then gives a series of questions to be answered.

I read 25 Truths as a read-aloud to Chantry (11), Destini (13), and Caleb (17). I enjoyed that so many of the truths he covered are things that we have been teaching and instilling into our children since they were young. The examples were a wonderful way to show how other people apply these principles in their own personal life. Plus, they got to see that maybe mom and dad aren't crazy after all!

We then would go through the summary portion and answer the questions. I have to admit that a lot of the questions were hard for them to respond to since they haven't experienced for themselves yet, but we didn't let that stop us from talking about them. The questions still gave opportunity for great and sometimes hilarious discussions. Also, it made me have to share things in my life that I was doing or not doing. Yes, I had moments of conviction.

I did have two small issues with the book. The first was that the term "Christian principles" was used when so many of them were "Biblical principles" which could have been backed up from the Bible. Yes, he does use some scripture in book, but there could have been a lot more used. If I go through this again I will probably do some quick Bible digging and find scriptures to look up to add.

My second issue arose when we got to the "You Gotta Believe" truth. He started off the chapter saying that you needed to believe in a higher power and then told his story about how he believed in God and what God had done for him. I appreciate his honesty, but I eventually gave up reading that chapter since I believe there is no other Higher Power except for God and I do not want there to be any confusion on that point with my children and we did discuss that. Since the author talks about being a Christian through out the book I was surprised he straddled the fence on this one truth.

I think 25 Truths is a very helpful book and it made a great family read-aloud. The chapters are short and don't take very long to read, yet they are packed with full of great things. We had such a wonderful time talking about these truths and I think my kids came out with greater insight on their mom (and dad, when he was awake).

25 Truths by Ed Douglas is available from Ed Douglas Publications for $12.50 plus $3.00 for shipping and handling.

Now I'm off to set come goals and write them down!!!

 

The Homeschool Mother's Journal: Summer Fun in Pictures!

Happenings Around Our House

 

1. New Review--American the Beautiful by Notgrass Company.
2. The Beautician--so proud of doing her own hair with a bunch of hair clips.
3. Dress I made for the County Fair. It is the first time I've ever shirred anything. Thankfully it was easy to do and turned out great.
4. I don't know if this consists of summer fun, but I was rear ended. My poor van.
5. Put this boy to work ironing all of his dress shirts. I have a hard enough time keeping up with his dad's.
6. Ice cream cone at the Fair.
7. Tried a new dessert from my Pinterest Board. Oreo Delight--it was a big hit!
8. Of course, I had to get a Twinkie!!!!!!
9. Delani finally decided she was brave enough to take a shower. She declared it was sooo much fun.

Marion County Fair 2013

 

I entered items that the kids had entered in the ACTS Student Convention into our county fair, plus I added a few things myself.

1. Caleb placed first for his colored pencil for his age. He also won a shirt, hat, water bottle and 5 day passes to the Kroc Center.
2. Destini received a 3rd place ribbon for one of her photography. I think that is awesome since I know photography is a tough category to place in.
3. 1st place for Destini's quilt for her category and age.
4. The dress I made placed first and Best of Show for the category.(Please ignore the terrible picture of myself. It was the only one that showed the whole dress. I can't take all the pictures. Sigh.)
5. Delani thinks this is her entry, but the skirt I made won a 1st place ribbon.

Day at the Park

 

Yesterday I had an appointment in Wilsonville, so I told the kids that we would go to the park so they could play in the water feature. We had to take a small detour to Target since the sun had to burn off a cloud cover and it was a little chilly get in the water. Then we headed to the park and had lunch and by then it had warmed up considerable and turned out to be a great day to play in the water.

 

 

Read-Aloud Thursday: Badge of Honor by Susan Marlow (TOS Review)

 

I recently had the opportunity to review a book from Susan Marlow and Kregal Publications. We received Badge of Honor, the first book in the new Goldtown Adventures series for 9-12 year olds. At first I was going to have Chantry read the story, but decided on a read aloud to help occupy time while his older brother and sister were away at church camp. This turned out to be a great decision.

 

Badge of Honor is set in 1864 during the last days of the Gold Rush. Though Jeremiah "Jem" Coulter's claim along Cripple Creek is played out, he still loves to pan for gold hoping the "strike it rich" someday. He also sells frog legs and firewood to help his dad and his sister, Ellie, to survive on their ranch.

 

Jem's life is turned upside down when his father becomes the sheriff for the lawless Goldtown. Then to make matters worse his Aunt Rose, along with his city slicker cousin, Nathan, arrive from the east to start a new life. Jem is just sure that life will never be the same and feels only shame that his father become the sheriff.

 

One day Jem, Ellie, and Nathan head out Cripple Creek to pan for gold. Upon their arrival they discover that the creek is almost dried up and Gem's friend "Strike" and his mule have gone missing. The next thing you know they are headed up the mountain to find Strike and to investigate the creek. Thus they begin a dangerous adventure where Jem discovers that his dad's badge isn't something to be ashamed about after all, but rather a badge of honor.

 

Badge of Honor was a big hit with Chantry. Many nights we had to read just one more chapter. In his words, "It wasn't a dull story. It was a fun adventure. I liked the Western setting. I liked that the main character was a boy. It also had funny parts." He said he would give it 5 stars!

 

I felt Badge of Honor was great read for my 11 year old boy. We haven't read many books set during the Gold Rush so that opened up a new world to learn about. It had plenty of adventure, some great life lessons, and some plain fun included in it. Chantry can't wait to read Book 2 - Tunnel of Gold, which means I better get on the ball and add it to our book collection!  Overall, Badge of Honor was a big, big hit and one that is highly recommend!

 

Badge of Honor and its sequel, Tunnel of Gold are available for $7.99 (plus S&H) a piece or you can purchase both for $13.95 (plus S&H). Also, check out the free enrichment guides and sample chapters that are available for Badge of Honor (sample, guide) and Tunnel of Gold (sample, guide).

 

Reading Journal - Cordelia Underwood: Or the Marvelous Beginnings of the Moosepath League by Van Reid

{Affiliate links enclosed.}


Book Description:

In the idyllic summer of 1896 in Portland, Maine, several people are embarking on adventures of a most audacious and entertaining nature. The lovely Cordelia Underwood unexpectedly inherits a large parcel of land, and discovers that it holds an irresistible secret; it is her newfound friend, Tobias Walton--a man of a certain age and Pickwickian characteristics--who will eventually help her to unravel the mystery. In parallel journeys up the coast of Maine, Cordelia collects a handsome suitor and several opinionated relatives, and Mister Walton is soon accompanied by an entourage of hapless friends--the honorable members of the Moosepath League. Together this motley group encounters a colorful variety of true Maine eccentrics--from old salts to bootleggers, grande dames to prospective beaus--and find themselves embroiled in some good old-fashioned wonderment and laughter that includes a boxing match between two aging politicians, an escaped circus bear named Maude, a dastardly kidnapping, and the parachutist Mrs. Roberto in her attractive suit of tights! Superbly written, with a vivid sense of place and period, this is a book for any day that begs a few hours of pure delight.

My thoughts:
I first read Cordelia Underwood: Or the Marvelous Beginnings of the Moosepath League by Van Reid several years ago after reading a review posted by Carrie at Reading to Know. I really enjoyed the book and continued reading the series. I decided that they were worth a re-read so I recently picked up Cordelia Underwood again.

I really think what I love about this story is the great character that are involved. Mr. Walton is a happy go lucky kind of guy who sets out on a journey and through many different circumstances eventually comes to help Cordelia Underwood and her family.

If Mr. Walton's travels and the interesting creatures that he comes in contact with (a smiling bear?) aren't exciting enough then enter the characters who become the Moosepath League. These three cause more mishaps than you can imagine and bring hilarity to the story. If you have ever read the Pickwick Papers you can truly enjoy the members of the Moosepath League.

Honestly, I don't think words can really describe what this story is like. The author does a great job of bringing in a host of different characters, which make for a delightful story. Even though a re-read Cordelia Underwood: Or the Marvelous Beginnings of the Moosepath League did not disappoint.