We will have these snack packs available for purchase next week TUESDAY, October 7.  They are $6 each.

They have the following inside:
Moana Sweet and Salty Popcorn
Premium Arare
Gummy Apple Rings
Red Li Hing Mui
Dried mango slices

If you would like to purchase, please email me at olipasinc@gmail.com.

We will only have 50 packs to start next week.

Thank you for supporting us! It'll be a wonderful learning and BONDING experience for Shelby and I next summer and we are both excited!

Ju-Mui Pops are ice pops mixed with evaporated milk for creaminess and a li hing mui seed inside. They are $2 each. We will have an assortment of snacks for sale as well for $2 each. 

Thank you for your support. Spread the word and come down to Crosspointe near the Aloha Stadium!

Colliers International is conducting their annual campaign to raise funds for Aloha United Way (AUW). 

If you are in the area this Friday, be sure to stop by and help support the Aloha United Way!

AUW Fundraising Sales Event
Friday, October 3rd  (11:00am to 1:00pm) 
Central Pacific Plaza
220 S. King Street
Suite 1610
Honolulu, HI 96813

One of the things I get asked a lot is, "How do you manage your time?" When I meet people and they ask me what I do, I rattle of in a very TINY nutshell the things below in under 3 minutes. After all, that's all you've got. I've got less than 3 minutes to sell myself to a stranger.

 In order of priority, this is what I do:

Wife and Mom to my three children. I'm down to two at home since my oldest moved out (he's soon to be 19). 

Work a full time job in town. I commute to and from work.

I teach coupon 101 classes in any open time slots available.

I blog my shopping trips, reviews, or provide other tips that may help other improve, empower, and, be more efficient.

Manage my website to keep the monthly specials updated.

I do Essential Oil presentations when needed to those interested to learn more about natural alternatives to medicine and well being.

I promote Nomades, a sterling silver jewelry company that specializes in patriotic and military themed pieces.

I am a Notary Public. When I have time in between the other things, I meet up with those in need of a Notary.

I'll give you a few minutes for your head to stop spinning.

I am currently reading another free book I received from Mr. John Cruise called "Time on Your Hands: How to Manage your Schedule.  (Thank you John for always allowing me the opportunity to read your work!)

In the introduction, Mr. Cruise quotes a very popular saying which I have personally taken to heart about 10 years ago.  You've probably read this before and reminders are necessary. Especially when the words are true to every single person on this planet. Enjoy!

To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who has given birth to a 
premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who just missed a train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask someone who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal at 
the Olympics.
Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it 
with someone special, special enough to spend your time with. And remember time 
waits for no one.
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it’s called the 
present.
(Source: If Only It Were True by Marc Levy)

It's been over 3 months since I've stocked my house groceries. I use my blog as a way to track my trips. My last commissary trip was 6/2/14. As scheduled, I finally made the time to hit up the commissary on my regularly scheduled program, quarterly. LOL.  

This particular trip took me FOUR hours. Yes, you can pick your jaw up off the floor now. Four hours. One reason was I was enjoying the AC. It's been humid as heck and as cold felt great. Secondly, I can't pre-shop because there are no ads to the commissary. So, I have to go down each aisle and look at the prices and do my price matches at that time. Thirdly, I was alone which allowed me to take my time and not rush. Fourth, our house was bare and I seriously needed to fill up our household with food. 

Rather than try to maneuver two wagons by myself, I broke it out into two shopping trips. So, I did half the store, checked out, and went back in to finish up. Thank god I had my thermal bag to hold the meats in the car while I finished shopping the 2nd half of the store.

I also made a few friends along the way. I met new people and bumped into old friends. That probably added a good hour to my trip. :)  Thank goodness I had business cards in my wallet. I passed out quite a few this afternoon. I left my house at 9:45 am and got home at about 3 pm. It is not almost 4 and we are still STAGING the groceries for the pictures for this blog. It's a lot of stuff!

Today was by far my largest haul and the most savings I have ever received in the commissary using coupons. It took a lot of time, but with the amount of goods I got, it would make ANY Costco shopper drop their head in shame. I know. I used to shop there. 

The one thing I want to point out is although the military commissaries are cheaper on boxed food than civilian stores, the surcharge will get you good. The savings using coupons help to offset that 5% surcharge.

My total before coupons $602.14.

My OOP after coupons = $489.11

My total coupon savings= $113.93!!!!

Note: That does NOT include my rebates from Checkout 51 and Ibotta. I'm getting back $0.25 for buying bananas (checkout 51), $0.25 for buying bread (ibotta), and $0.25 for buying milk (ibotta).  Those little rebates add up!  

So, here I go with the breakdown.

Pringles $1.09. used B3G1 mq = $.82 each (LIMIT 1 LIKE COUPON PER SHOPPING TRIP!!)

Sushi Nori - $1.19 each. No coupon

Yellow Mustard $1.59 no coupon

Uncle Ben Microwave Rice cups $0.79 each. Used $1/4 printable mq = $0.54 each

Hormel chili with beans $1.11 each. Used $0.55/2 printable mq = $0.84 each

Long rice (Bean thread) $1.89. No coupon

Bushs baked beans $1.29 each. Used $0.30/q mq (emailed them for a coupon) = $0.99 each

Mung beans $1.89  no coupon.

Golden Curry mix $1.99 each. no coupon

Hinode long grain white rice $1.39 each. used $1/1 printable mq = $0.39 each. (That's $0.20 a pound!)

Hinode black grain rice $1.49 each. Used 1-$1/1 printable mq and 1-$0.75/1 printable mq = $0.49 and $0.74 each

Newmans own pasta sauce $1.69 each. Used $0.50/1 printable mq = $1.19 each

Barilla pasta sauce $1.76 each. Used $0.75/1 printable mq = $1.01 each

Olive oil $3.93 . Used $1.25/1 = $2.68

Pineapples (canned) $1.09 each. Used $1/3 printable mq = $0.76 each

Bumble tuna Sensations snack kit $1.09 each. Used $1/2 printable mq = $0.59

Suddenly salad pasta salad kit $1.50 each. Used $0.50/2 printable mq = $1.25 each

Golden grain pasta (both large and pot sized boxes) $0.75 each. Used $1/2 mq from sunday paper = $0.25 each

Lindsay black olives $1.39 each. Used $1/2 printable mq = $0.89 each

Campbell Homestyle soup $1.09 each. Used $0.50/2 printable mq = $0.84 each

Coconut milk $0.99 each. No coupon

Canned spaghetti sauce $0.69 each. No coupon

El Paso salsa $1.50 each. Used $1/3 printable mq = $1.17 each

El Paso refried beans $0.99 each. Used $1/3 printable mq = $0.66 each

El paso seasoning packets $0.59 each. Used $1/3 printable mq = $0.26 each

El Paso dinner kit $1.99. Used $0.50/1 printable mq = $1.49

Fat free milk $4.89 each. No coupon

Tillamook cheese slices $2.69 each. Used $1/1 printable mq = $1.69 each.

Kraft shredded cheese $2 each. No coupon.

Large Eggs. $1.90 per dozen. No coupon.

Sour cream $1.59 each. No coupon.

Challenge Whipped butter. $1.95 each. Used $0.50/1 printable mq = $1.45 each.

Challenge butter sticks $3.87 each. Used $0.50/1 printable mq = $3.37 each.

Frozen mixed vegetables and frozen green peas $1.89 each. No coupon.

Frozen corn and broccoli $1.79 each. No coupon

Frozen chicken wings $9.99. No coupon

Garlic bread loaves $1.99 each. Used $0.50/1 printable mq = $1.49 each

Dreyers Ice cream $2.99 each. Used $1/2 mq from sunday paper = $2.49 each.

Tostinos pizza $0.99 each. Used $1/4 printable mq = $0.74 each.

Freschetta pizza $4.25 each. Used $1.25/2 printable mq = $3.63 each

Michelinas lean gourmet meals $0.75 each. Used $1/5 printable mq = $0.55 each

Tai pei chinese frozen meals $1.99 each. Used $1/2 printable q = $1.49 each

White bread $2.89 each. No coupon

Mission Tortillas $2.77 no coupon

Hungry Jack syrup $1.50. No coupon. (I was kicking rocks because I missed my $0.50/1 coupon in my binder which would've made this $1)

Maruchan soup bowls $0.69 each. Used $0.50/1 mq from sunday paper = $0.19 each

Maruchan Yakisoba $0.69 each. Used $0.50/1 mq from sunday paper = $0/19 each

Aunt Jemima pancake mix $1.50 each. No coupon

Combos snacks $1.40 each. Used $1/2 printable mq = $0.90 each

Jiffy pop popcorn $1.45 each. Used $0.50/1 mq from sunday paper = $0.95 each

Best Foods Mayo $6.99 each. No coupon. 

Cocoa puffs $1.89 each. Used $1/2 printable mq = $1.39 each

Alpo wet dog food $0.65 each. Used $2.50/12 printable mq = $0.44 each

Wisk detergent $3.99. Used $1/1 mq from sunday paper = $2.99 each

Mardi gras napkins $1.99. used $0.25/1 printable mq = $1.74 

Sponges 4 pack generic. $1.17 each

Johnsons baby wash and lotion $2.67 each. used $0.75/1 printable mq = $1.92

Tresemme shampoo and conditioner $3.98 each. Used $5/2 mq from TODAYS sunday paper = $0.99 each. LIMIT 2 LIKE COUPONS PER SHOPPING TRIP!!! (I shouldve picked up 2 more when I went back in the 2nd time. Kicking rocks again)

Gillette deoderant $1.99 each. Used $1/2 printable mq = $1.49 each.

Axe deoderant $3.49 each. Used $2/1 mq from sunday paper $1.49 each. (LIMIT 2 LIKE COUPONS PER SHOPPING TRIP!)

For my meats and produce, I did not use any coupons for. 

Meats (pork and beef) - I dont have a breakdown. But it totaled $65.

Fresh pineapples $2.75 each

Carrots $3.27

Kale $2.60

Tomatos $2.65

Celery $1.15

Spinach $5.19 each

Romaine hearts $3.31

Iceberg Lettuce $1.93

Onion $3.36

Ginger $1.41

Garlic $1.88

Green Bell peppers $2.31

Cabbage $1.41

Bananas $4.20

Cucumbers $2.82

Clover sprouts $1.07

Shelby came home telling us about this LitCon Educational tour coming up in June 2015. What kid wouldn't want to go, right? If I could, I'd go too! I'm sure they'd love having a chaperone to help round up the kids. Campbell does this every other year. With her being a sophomore, her next chance (if they agree to do so) will be her senior year. Each time they do this, it's a different. Knowing another chance may come again in a few years, that'll give us more time to financially plan and fundraise for the BOTH of us to go.

She will be going on a 10 day trip exploring Italy, Greece, and Rome. You can see more on the trip below, including videos on what the tours are like. I'm excited for her and really wish I could go with her.  She asked me to go and depending on how well the fundraising goes, that will determine if I agree to go with her. 

If I do opt to join her, we'll be fundraising for at least a year to recoup the funds used to pay for the trip.

Shelby has a donation page where you can give money to help soften the blow of the trip. If you are able to donate, that would be amazing! Every dollar counts!  

Here is Shelby's donation page for those who would like to help fund her trip. Thank you!  Keep scrolling down for more info..

Here, you can read more about the tour, including the itinerary and view the map of places she will get to see. EXCITING!!!

I wanted to share my recent experience with Best Buy online orders. Since sending one letter of complaint to a department probably will go unheard and maybe even unread. It seems when you call customer service the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing and the call center must be in different locations or so big that no one knows each other.

Before I continue I want to point out that I have been shopping with Best Buy for YEARS. My Best Buy Mastercard is the ONLY credit card I use and the perks are of higher value to me than earning miles. Especially since this card does NOT have an annual fee like most mile earning cards do. This was my very first bad experience with them and it had me blowing smoke out of my ears.

I am an Elite Plus member and I bank my points. When I am ready to make a purchase, I redeem my points and then use the rewards certificate that very same day.  Last week, on 9/17, I created my online order, redeemed 1500 points for a $30 reward certificate and used it. I remember seeing the order go through and went on with my day.  I have always trusted their online buying system because for years I have NEVER had a problem. Being in Hawaii, the expedited free shipping is a plus. I normally get my items in 2 days which is very fast by Hawaii shipping standards.

A week goes by and I never got my order. So, I start to go through my emails to find my confirmation. I couldn't find it. I go to best buy online to see my order history. My order is not there.  I check my best buy mastercard account and my small charge was not there either.  I then tried to recreate my order and use my reward certificate again because now I think I'm going crazy.  My reward certificate was coming up as REDEEMED. OK. So I have a lost order. (I am now kicking rocks because the order number pops up after you hit submit and because I always trusted them, I never write it down.)

I email best buy over the course of TWO days to find resolution. This person was of no help at all. I kept getting canned responses and not one ever addressed my simple request.  "Can you find the order that was attached to this reward certificate?" 

After two days of getting nowhere, the girl that has been emailing me calls my work cell phone and I was on lunch.  When I get back I call the 1-800 number. I get passed around to different departments, NONE of which could understand my dilemma or give me a solid answer. AND, no one knows each other. Each time I'm passed off I have to explain my situation AGAIN and confirm my identity AGAIN. All I want is my credit back so I can place my order again. Not one person is able to help me. In fact, the lady on the phone from Best Buy online tells me I need to go to My Best buy for help on the rewards. I stop her and tell her that I was JUST on the phone with them and they passed me to YOU for help because they stated that they cannot find the information I am looking for and YOU can.  She babbles on and on and talks to herself while banging heavily on the keys to do more "digging" for nothing. Mind you, the entire time I'm on the phone with her, her voice sounds muffled, there's static, and the sound is just plain horrible. (Really BEST BUY?)  She kept saying I was getting cut off or she couldn't hear me. I took it as a blow at me for being on a craptastic phone. I'll have you know I was calling in on a hardline desk phone holding a hardwired handset. Not using my usual bluetooth headset. 

She passes me BACK to my best buy to talk to them again about my situation. This time, the guy HANGS UP ON ME. He picks up and asks me to once again identify myself and confirm my account info and the line goes dead. Cut off, hung up, whatever you want to call it. Now, I'm LIVID.

I call back and this time I refuse to maintain my pleasant tone. I told the operator that I was just hung up on and I have been trying to find resolution for an HOUR for such a simple request. She apologized profusely but at this point, I was about ready to reach out and choke someones neck.

She forwards me to "John". Finally, someone who can speak clear english and can comprehend it as well. He asks me (as well all the others did) how I'm doing. I flat out say in an exasperated tone, "FRUSTRATED".  He apologized and allowed me to explain myself. This time, rather than go through the whole rigmarole, I said in a slow and calm voice, "I need to know what order was attached to this reward certificate and when it was redeemed." 

In under 15 minutes, he managed to find that my certificate shows redeemed but the order number is MISSING and it was lost. He confirmed that there was a GLITCH in the system the week prior and MANY orders were affected, not just mine. I breathed a sigh of relief. My god. How is he the ONE AND ONLY person in the entire best buy universe to KNOW there was a fricken GLITCH!??? It took me an hour or more to find this ONE person who knows whats going on over there. 

He put my points back in my account and I managed to redeem my certificate again and finally get my order through. 

The difference in service I received with John was he LISTENED before typing. He LISTENED before digging. And he LISTENED to understand my full question. 

Because I have lost complete faith and trust in their system, I will be keeping all screen shots, print outs, and emails until my orders are received complete.  Thank you JOHN. 


Note to Best Buy: You need a better communication flow through all your customer service departments. Give your employees BETTER HEADSETS! And teach them to speak clearer english. ENUNCIATE. Talk slower, and LISTEN before speaking. They cannot get a full understanding of the situation if they do not allow the customer to talk first.  

Moral: Always write down order numbers. Never rely on the confirmation email. (Something I already knew, but a reminder is always good.)

Of course, in this case, the order number wouldn't have mattered because the entire order became a ghost. It was the reward certificate information that saved me.

I've been meaning to write this review for months now and I finally have the time to get it together.

The pack and pull is designed to be used anywhere you can hang it. More than likely, it'll be used in a vehicle. I received this as an amenity at one of our Celebrate and Connect quarterly meetings and was thrilled. I needed something to put my toddlers things in to help keep the van floor clear of objects.

At first, it worked great. After about a month, I loathed it. I have never felt as ill about any other Thirty One product until I met this one. I feel bad for hating it so much but the entire design of this bag is faulty.  In the catalog they make the bag fit perfectly when attached around a headrest. Just like photo shoots with humans, you have to remember the things you DON'T see.  

The bag is cute. It has good intentions. Dipes and wipes. Or Kleenex and reading material. Or kleenex and a trash bag.  This square bag has two compartments. One has an opening to release wipes (OK. Seriously, who is going to leave a container of baby wipes OPEN? Did a man design this?) or facial tissue.  The other side can hold diapers or other miscellaneous things. Use your imagination.

For the purposes of this blog I'm going to refer to the side without the open slit the "diaper" side.  So the diaper side has two small velcro tabs on each side that you can use to hold a shopping bag to use it as a trash bag for the car.  It's very spacious. What I do is hang a trash bag using these velcro "snaps" and hang the bag on the outside of the compartment. Now, I can use the compartment for my daughters toys, shoes, jacket, etc.  

The two sections are separated by a velcro attached wall. It has velcro along the bottom and side. If this wall is not put up, it loses structure and does not stay closed with the small velcro pieces intended to keep the cover shut. There are also two mesh side pockets on the outside of the bag to hold SMALL items. 

The strap to wrap around the headrest is NOT adjustable. For my 2008 Toyota Sienna LE, the strap is too long. Therefore, the bag sits low when hung up thus getting in the way of the poor passenger who has to sit in front of this bag.  The strap is a nylon material with a plastic locking closure. 

Because it hangs low, the bag pops open. There is not enough velcro to keep this bag shut. I think it would be better of they put a nice wide strip of velcro to close the entire bag up. Not just small patches. 

What I did to fix the strap issue was tie the straps together and then clip it. It was the only way to shorten the length of the strap so it would hang snug and not sag down. Because I don't use this for it intended purpose (to hold dipes and wipes), its structure does  not hold up. I throw in my toddlers shoes, socks, and other misc items that she leaves behind in the van. 

For the most part, it will stay closed. If you hit it, or bang into it a lot, it will pop open. Majority of the time, this bag will sit open in the van until I get annoyed enough to match up the velcro pieces back together again.

Personally, I don't recommend this product. Not for a vehicle anyway. I purchased another for my husbands truck since he drives our daughter to the sitter in the morning and because its not the most used vehicle, it sits fine. Because it's not being used.  I now wished I had waited and gotten the hang up activity organizer instead (which you can see on the other chair in one of the pictures below).

Disclaimer: I am a thirty one consultant and I was not paid to write this review. These are my own true honest feedback regarding this product.

Do you pay for your family movie nights? We don't, usually. If you're on instagram and NOT following Redbox, you're missing some nice deals!  Follow them. Once in a while they'll post promo codes good for one free rental. I try to share those as soon as I see them on my instagram and my facebook page. If you're not already, please follow me. :)

A few weeks ago Redbox ran this promo where you text 727272 every day for 10 days and they send you promo codes. Some were for free rentals and some were for $0.50 off your rental. I texted from my personal cell phone, my work cell phone, and my husbands cell. So, I had a log of rental codes to use. They all expired on 9/14 so I had 10 days to use them. This is one of the many reasons why I love Redbox. They're very generous! 

Here are my tips to using Redbox. Most of you probably already know how it works. For those that have not used Redbox yet, I hope these help you!

- The rent 1 get 1 promo codes can be used for ONE rental only. Thus making your movie FREE. Must be a DVD. For bluray, you'll be paying $0.31 for the rental with a free code.

-When using free rental codes, the trick is to return the the rentals ON TIME to avoid being charged. 

- Rental periods begin the moment you RESERVE your movie. Not when you pick them up.

- Rentals are NOT 24 hours. They are due back by 9 pm the FOLLOWING evening.
     -If you reserve your movie at 11:59 pm tonight (Tuesday), the movie will be due back Wednesday at 9:00 pm.
     -If you reserve your movie at 12:01 am Wednesday morning, the movie will be due back Thursday at 9:00 pm.

-You can return your rental at ANY Redbox Kiosk. After you're done watching your movie, carry it with you. You can return it anywhere.


-Sign up for their emails and/or text notifications. They send out promo codes from time to time.

-Create multiple Redbox accounts using your different email addresses. You can use their special promo codes on more than one account. For example, they had a free rental code SEPT22 yesterday. I have three accounts and got my 3 rentals for free. This only works on those codes. The one time use only codes is just that. Good for one free rental, period.

I hope these tips help. Never pay for a movie rental again! Enjoy!

I was going through events on Yelp and found this one. Pretty awesome! So, I'm sharing it everywhere I can.
Click on the picture below for more information

I have had the pleasure of meeting Paula Glenn in December of 2012. As a Power User for the new SAP program, our job was to train the admins across the US on how to now do their jobs using this new system. After work, I found things to do, including going to the Mall of America to ride the rides, scream and laugh the night away still in work attire.

On this night, we had dinner at Crave and had sushi, then hit the Nickelodeon Amusement Park in the center of the Mall. It was such a wonderful time.

In 2013, Paula was diagnosed with Cancer. She continues to fight the good fight and has accepted the path that God has given her with open arms. She cherishes every breath that God is giving her and embraces each day. She is now nearing the end of her life here on earth and my thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends during this time. I heard that she used to be a blogger so I decided to google her and found this video of her. I wanted to share it with you.

Learning just a small bit of her life with cancer has made me realize that there is no time to be angry, hold grudges, or even waste a minute being unhappy about something beyond your control. Just live......

Paula, you are an inspiration and such an amazing woman.  You are my hero.


Update 9/22/14: I came in to work with very sad news. Paula took her last breath on Friday, Sept 19th. Two days after I posted this blog. I was very saddened to come in to find that message in my inbox but at the same time, uplifted that she is now in a better place no longer fighting cancer.

I received this email at work today it has truly opened my eyes. Death isn't supposed to be scary, is it? When you know the clock is ticking, do you embrace it, or fear it? Her email has taught me to embrace every moment. 

Her message is so moving, it deserves to be shared.



Subject: Paula Glenn - update September 11, 2014

Hi there dear loved ones, family and friends.  Well, here we are, weeks down the road from last time I emailed.  It does seem pretty crazy, considering all that has happened and come about.  It's hard to believe that it has been 42 days since we were told I had weeks to live.  In 42 days, I feel like I've lived a lot.  We had a wonderful week in Oregon, have gone to the aquarium, lots of movies, Greek Festival, Park City, some weddings and spent some amazing time with friends and family. And the best part is that I'm still living, I'm still waking up each morning receiving this amazing gift of breath and life.  We still don't know what God has planned, but after being in limbo for 6 weeks and still being here, I've decided to get off the hospice/end of life bus and get on the bus that is headed toward living.   God was so faithful to put a very clear message on my and Shawn's heart yesterday. 

Psalm 30
I will praise you, LORD, for you have rescued me.  You refused to let my enemies triumph over me.  O LORD my God, I cried out to you for help and you restored my health.  You brought me up from the grave, o LORD; you kept me from falling into the pit of death.  Sing to the LORD all you godly ones!  Praise his holy name.  His anger lasts for a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime!  Weeping may go on all night, but joy comes with the morning. When I was prosperous I said, "nothing can stop me now!" Your favor, O LORD, made me as secure as a mountain.  Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered.  I cried out to you, O LORD. I begged the LORD for mercy, saying "What will you gain if I die, if I sink down into the grave? Can my dust praise you from the grave? can it tell the world of your faithfulness?  Hear me, LORD, and have mercy on me.  Help me, o LORD.  You have turned my  mourning into joyful dancing.   YOu have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.  O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.


It's time to keep living. God is still clearly calling me to rest in Him and that this fight is being fought on my behalf, he's not asking me to continue to fight. I know the circumstances haven't changed and my only chance of surviving this is if God decides to heal me. Period. There is no compromise on that part. He alone is my healer, and can and will use any means necessary to facilitate his healing.  So as I rest in Him, and am completely at his mercy and will for healing, I embrace every morning, every breath, every second he continues to give me.  It's been an awesome morning because Shawn and I are starting to have different kinds of conversations, making future plans. That is probably going to include a new job for him, possibly getting on disability for me once my Honeywell disability runs out in a few weeks. I don't think I'll have the option to work for them anymore, but am not totally sure. We'll be in all new territory, but it's sure a lot more fun to make future plans that involve life than involve death.  However, we know that death is still an option, that seems further and futher away each day, by his grace and mercy.  I am cherising new opportunities to learn about God's goodness and faithfulness and the chance to talk about that with people.  Finding new ways to glorify God each day as he continues to be so good to us. Yay! I am feeling so hopeful and excited right now.  God doesn't owe us a darn thing, yet continues to lavish his abudance on us, I can hardly even contain myself.

There's a song that has been on my heart the last few days that correlates perfectly with all the stirring up I'm feeling right now. 

It's called Whatever You're Doing by Tenth Avenue North:
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly

Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything I surrender...
To...

(Chorus)

Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to release all my held back tears

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This is something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly
Something Heavenly

It's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out

Please continue to pray with and for us, for clear direction from the LORD as to what we should be doing right now, continued health improvement, strength, healing and MIRACLES!!!  And God willing you'll just keep getting updates from me.

All to his glory alone!

Paula

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

I saw this on Yahoo and HAD to share this. This is simply AMAZING.

by Rumble English Videos 5:51 mins

While thinking of how he could help his friend Carlos, who is deaf and blind, experience the excitement of the World Cup, Brazilian sign language interpreter Helio Fonseca de Araujo came up with this brilliant idea. He rigged up a tabletop model of the field, and recruited his friend Regiane to provide additional assistance for all the complex information which would need to be relayed during a match. Here you can see Carlos watching the opening match of the tournament live. Helio provides sign language interpretation, which Carlos follows by feeling with his own hands (tactile signing), while Regiane provides information regarding fouls, cards, and jersey numbers with social-haptic communication on Carlos's back. Now that's amazing! Credit to Helio Fonseca de Araujo and Regiane Cunha Pereira.

Register for the job fair tomorrow at the Neal Blaisdell Center

I got up early today to check out the Longs Ad. As you can tell, it's my favorite store to shop. It's easier to plan and I can beat the crowds. The commissary requires a minimum of 2 hours because I cannot plan ahead when I shop there (no ads).

Here's what I picked up today.

5 boxes of Cheerios $2.50 each. used $0.50/1 mq = $2 each

Garnier Shampoo and Conditioner $2.99 each. used $2/1 MQ = $0.99 each

Mr Clean spray $2.79 each. Used B2G1 MQ = $1.86 each

Gain Flings $4.99 each. Used $2.50/2 MQ = $3.74 each. 

My total before coupons $56.72

I paid $36.14. Not bad.

I'm sure you could probably get the flings for much cheaper. I just wanted to try them, so I picked up two bags. They smell good. :)

If you'd like to get the sunday paper delivered for $1 each, contact me. Save time, gas, and get the coupon inserts weekly GUARANTEED! 

Happy Sunday!

That's right..TODAY. It's only 9:40 am here in Hawaii. Thank God my husband woke me up early this morning as he was getting ready for drill. I don't normally get up early on Sundays anymore to scour the ads. But this morning I figured I'd do it before Emily woke up. Boy am I glad I did. 

This is a longs value book week. After I perused the ads and matched up my coupons, I started SWEATING! I knew I had to get out there ASAP before the churches get out and the shelf clearing couponers got up. I hit the stores by 7:30 am. I left my binder HOME. Can you believe it? I NEVER do that. This time, I did not want to waste time hunting for extreme deals on unnecessary crap. If I don't need it, I'm not going to hunt for it. Besides, Longs doesn't give overages. So it's pointless. 

When I rang up at Longs, it took a lot out of me to not scream out loud, "WOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!!!" I already precalculated what I'd be paying and knew if it rang up correctly, the total should be a little bit lower due to my coupon stacking. I wasn't expecting THAT price. LOL!! I was stoked.

I got to the store and one shopping cart corral was already empty. BAD SIGN. ugh. Thankfully, the carts were strewn in the parking lot. The store was fairly quiet. I had my note pad with my list, my coupons, and the value book. Stay on task Maria. 

As I was shopping, I saw another gal buying up the Dawn dishsoap. I knew she was a couponer. I saw other older women holding envelopes with their coupons inside. NICE! I bumped into the couponer gal again and I said, "you beating the crowds?" LOL. We started chatting. It was nice to see a fellow couponer who was friendly, not stressed, and NOT clearing shelves. 

As I was in line to pay, I flagged her and told her one of my finds. The chinet plates on sale for $1.99 (36 count) had $0.55/1 peelies on them. They were all tucked on the very BOTTOM shelf. The whole shelf had them. I told one lady at the shelf who was eyeing the plates. She was about to rape the shelf. But she put some back. I told the coupon gal and told her hurry. It's right there (as i point her to the aisle) and tell her go straight to the bottom and grab em. Woop woop! For $1.44 per pack, that's a steal for Chinet! Someone tell me how much the costco sized chinet plates cost so I can compare it. 

As I rang up, I told other shoppers that I might be a while. They were all friendly and said ok thanks. Sometimes I'll get some extremely grouchy person who scoffs and stomps away. Whatever. As the cashier gave me my total, the young fellow who was going to line up behind me kept looking. As he drove away outside he saw me. He stopped and asked me how much did I save. I told him about $40, only thinking about my savings I had calculated at home. That total did not include the in store savings against their retail price. When I got to the van, I literally screamed out loud in my closed vehicle. You'll see why below. Dammit. I wish I whipped out my receipt when he asked me. He'd be FLOORED! lol!

So here's what I scooped at Longs.

2 - 12 double rolls Angel Soft TP $6.69. used $1/1 printable Q = $5.69 each

2 - chinet paper plates dinner size 36 count. $1.99 used $1/1 printed q = $0.99 each

4 - Crest toothpaste $1.79. used $0.50/1 MQ stacked with $4/$20 oral care store coupon =   $0.72each

3 - glade air freshener sprays $0.99 each. used $1/3 glade spray store coupon = $0.66 each

3 - Ivory bar soaps 10 pack $3.99 each. used $.50/1 MQ stacked with $2/$10 soap store coupon = $2.82 each

3 - Listerine 1 Liter $4.49. Used $1/1 MQ stacked with $4/$20 oral care store coupon =  $2.92 each

2 - total home bleach $2 each. No coupon

I broke out the 7 oral care products by the $4 savings per unit above. I stacked ALL of this with the CVS mailer I received yesterday which saved me an additional $10. Are you getting these? If not, you need to head to the longs cvs website and sign up for everything!

Also, upon entry of the store ALWAYS scan your extra care card at the coupon center and get those store coupons!!

My total before coupons (includes tax): $59.61

I paid out of pocket (OOP) including tax = $33.72

My TOTAL SAVINGS = $76.08!! That's based on retail prices versus what I really paid. 

After hitting up Longs, I headed down to Walmart. There is a printable buy 2 get 1 renuzit air freshener printable coupon running NOW. If you haven't printed it, DO IT. It's on sale at Longs for $0.99 each. BUT certain scents at walmart are $0.97 each! AND, Longs does not take branded coupons. If it states and/or has pictures of another stores logo, they will NOT accept it. Be sure to read up on their store policy to be informed. So, I took my 4 printed coupons to walmart and picked up 12 of them. We use these all over the house AND in our cars. It's the cheapest air freshener you'll ever get for your vehicle.

I got each one for $0.66 each plus tax. My total out of pocket for them $8.29. Nice deal!

Without coupons, I would've paid $12.19. No thanks! :)

Happy Sunday!

You've seen them in grocery stores, walmarts, and some supermarkets. Coinstar. Bring your jugs of coins, dump them in, and it counts and sorts it for you. I was skeptical at first and I knew they kept a portion of your monies to pay for their service. The percentage at my local coin star (Walmart Kunia) was 9.X% I can't remember exactly. That can be a lot if you're dumping in a load of change.  I was just putting pennies in there to see how this thing really worked.

Well, here's the pros and cons to what I found.

Pro's: 
-If you get a gift certificate/e-certificate in lieu of cash you pay NO FEES. That's right. $0 is lost.
The machine I went to had the following e-certificate options: Applebees, Chilis, Starbucks, Itunes, and Nike.

-It's quick and fun. You pour your coins in, lift the handle up and load it into the machine. As the machine counts, you can watch the screen and watch the numbers go up.

-No sorting needed

-Got odd coins mixed in? It spits it back out at the bottom. I had a military coin and a pressed coin that I had hidden in the bunch. WHEW!

Cons:
-9% fee if you choose to get cash back.

-Must load slowly. If you load the coins too fast, it backs up.

-Noisy. Be prepared for stares as you load your money and start coinstarring. LOL

-There is a minimum $5 amount required to get any gift card. If your total amounts to less than $5, it will automatically give you cash back less the 9% charge.

The machine tells you what its doing and will direct you the whole way through so its pretty foolproof.

If you haven't tried it, you should. I enjoyed it. :) It's so much easier than sorting all the coins out yourself and rolling them up to take to the bank. BUT! If you have a crapton of coins, it may be worth your while. 9% of hundreds, adds up. 

I rate everything I do, I see, I try, I buy, I eat, etc. I review the movies I watch on Redbox. This particular movie stunk SO BAD, I had to blog about it. 

From the very beginning, I was annoyed. The kids were out of control. The mom was obviously exasperated. Yet, she had time to "blog" to her 3 reviewers? She reminded me of those weak minded moms who just wallow in self pity instead of picking themselves up and moving on to try to make things better. Now, I am no longer a SAHM (stay at home mom). I was one 18 years ago, very briefly. 

I understand the chaos, the tired days, sleepless nights, the "no breaks". Not only was I a YOUNG SAHM, I am an Army wife. Back then, I was a "single parent" 6 months out of the year. My husband was always deploying somewhere with the A. Co. 84th Engineering Battalion. They were constantly on missions to build things in places like Kwajalein and Mongolia.

To see these moms so desperate for a break annoyed me. Everyone has a choice. You have a choice to sit there and cry in the middle of the room on the floor. Or you can get up, ask for help, and pull yourself back together again. You're allowed your breakdowns. You're allowed your shitty moments. But to feel that way everyday that for just one night its no holds barred, is ridiculous. I know, it's just a movie.

I saw some reviews on redbox that said those giving the movie bad ratings are probably NOT SAHM's. That's what compelled me to write this blog. Correct, I am not a SAHM....anymore. The movie could have been way funnier. It wasn't. Every funny scene (not even LOL ones) is in the trailer. In fact, I did not laugh out loud once and I am one to be easily amused.

I should've known as soon as I saw a few actors from the movie Courageous, this would have some religious undertones to it. There was. So if you choose to watch this, you have been warned.

Thank god I had a coupon from redbox so I didn't have to pay full price for this movie. I watch a lot of movies and this has been the very worst one I've seen yet.  This one had me kicking rocks for wasting 90 minutes of my day. Don't do it unless you can get the movie for free and have absolutely nothing else to watch.

I managed to print some $0.75 and $1.00 off Hinode rice coupons this morning! That was a huge score for me!  The 2 lb bags of rice in the commissary is $1.49 which means, I'll be able to pick up some rice at $0.25 a pound!! I don't remember which zip code I got them from but I always go through this list of zip codes that I keep logged. I'm sharing them with you. So go and hammer these out and print!

75034
64093
77477
99218
60007
64093
30187
84042
90001
83605
37203
55109
62946
84121
84123
90210
02021 - This one I recently added and got some nice coupons from this zip.

If you've got your favorites that I haven't listed here, share them with me! I'd love to use them too. 

Thank you!

Word on the street is very VERY soon, the commissaries on Oahu will no longer provide grocery bags. That's gonna suck for those who aren't prepared for that day. Most of us who shop in the commissary don't shop for the week. A lot of us shop for the month. That's a lot of groceries! 

I just received my hard copy Fall catalogs for Thirty One. If you would like one, please email me. Or you can attend my launch party on Sept 12th and pick one up then as well as see some of the new bags now on sale. 

From the little "tweets" I've been hearing, the no more bag policy is set to start in October. So, you may as well start preparing now and getting accustomed to toting your bags into the store with you.

It's the beginning of the month. Time to purge expired coupons and make room for new P&G coupons. Coupons.com also refreshes the online coupons so now is the time to print them out before they're gone. They have print limits and once they hit the magic number, they disappear. 

So be sure to go to PRINT COUPONS HERE and print away. Remember to always tinker with the zip codes and see different coupons that are offered in those regions. I'm once again on the hunt for more rice coupons :)