Going Back To School

It's amazing how fast time flies by. I started going back to school last August and it's almost October. Yes, I am going back to school and taking up nursing. After finishing a teaching degree and taught for ten years I got tired of doing it that's why I'm shifting another career which is in the health care side. I am grateful that hubby is so supportive of what I want to do in life. Right now I am taking Biology 207 and English 101. I am in an adjustment period right now since I went to school for almost a decade ago. One main reason why I want to work as a nurse is because it pays better than teaching. I want to buy a house spacious enough for our family of four. We had a house in New Jersey that we have to give up since we can no longer pay for it. Hubby got laid off from work there so we have to move. We rented an apartment in South Carolina last year and then moved to Maryland. Maryland is one pretty place that I would love to live a little more longer. We have a small house here but it's not really conducive enough for the four of us. The house we have is a good for two people and with the four of us it gets too crowded. On top of that I want to send the kids to a better school system. I am excited about finishing my degree and getting a job to be able to help pay for the monthly mortgage which is a long term plan. As of the moment, my family is seriously searching for a better house even if only hubby is working for the four of us. For sure there are a hundred units available around the area. A four bedroom house will work good for our family. Getting help from trustworthy people is a big help to us. I am looking forward to finding our next residence.

A Bang for Every Buck

I was cutting my coupons last night. The Krazy Coupon Lady is my guide and my inspiration. They give us a heads up a week or days before the sale of items go on sale and where to find the coupons in certain stores which I find amazing. I went to drop off my red box movie to CVS today. I decided to bring my coupons that I gathered last night. My kids helped me out in finding and gathering the items in the store. Here is the breakdown of the items I bought: Purex on sale for 1.99 used $1 mfr qpon Garnier 2.99 used bought 5 used 5 $1 qpon received $5EB for buying $15 Listerine 2.99 used $1 mfr qpon Nature Made vitamins BOGO used 2 cvs $2 coupon John Frieda 6.99 used 2 $2mfr qpon I used a lot of my CVS extrabucks from previous purchases. I have a 98% savings. All these I paid for 59 cents. I did not expect I will save big today. I'm glad I can help out my family in my own little way. I'm getting there saving each dollar to help my family makes me happy.Thank you CVS and krazy coupon lady for all of these.

Finding Solution

In these struggling economy where jobs are hard to find and bills are rocketing a mile higher than usual what is the best solution? When so many homes are foreclosed and politicians are blaming each other on who's who. Where will we find the answers to our problems? We need jobs but employers will hire someone only when his abilities and capabilities will match with what they need it's not just how you look. Education is very important. Unlike before where jobs are abundant nowadays it's a survival of the fittest. Just to graduate high school is no longer a good option. We need to further our education to conquer the world out there that is if you want to be the best among the rest. I have two kids who are still young and I want to make sure I have answers for them when the right time comes. Of course they will question as to how, where and when. There are scholarships available to help the young generation continue their education. Oh well it's not only for the young, it is for everyone who are willing, patient and ambitious enough to be educated well. The higher the education the better chances you will have to fit into the right job.

California Visit

I love summer time. It gives us a chance to relax when the kids are out of school. Last year we went to the Philippines for a 21- day vacation. That was our first after 3 years of living here in the US so it was really memorable. This time we opted to visit my niece in the West. We went to California for a five-day vacation on June 20 - 25. Yes that was just less than a month ago. I greatly appreciate my niece Jonna and George for letting us stay in their house for the five days of stay there. We also visited a new friend who is also a blogger named Comely. She's a relative of a dear friend from New Jersey. Jonna live in Northern California up in the mountains which has a breathtaking view. Day 1 we went to see the Golden San Francisco Bridge. It was a 2-hour drive. A rather long drive but worth it. We never expected it to be foggy and cold so we ended up buying some sweaters. It's a good thing there are a lot of stores along the streets. We ate lunch at the Californian Restaurant where a lot of Hollywood stars have dined in. Day 2 we went to the Bear lake just a 30-minute drive from my niece's house. Day 3 we went to the Discovery Kingdom in Six Flags. We had a lot of fun. We saw a lot of animals and there were a lot of rides. After that we decided to stay at Comely's house and we had karaoke. Thank you also Comely for being such a good friend to me and my niece. You're awesome!We also went to the pool the next day back at my niece's house. It was just a 15-minute drive so basically we went there twice. The ride going back to South Carolina was long. The plane stopped for a little while in Phoenix to pick some passengers. Then we changed planes at Tennessee. From Tennessee to Charleston our final destination then drove home for another three hours. I'm glad we reached home safe and sound. I hope we can go on cruise the next time around.

Addicted to Coupons

I have been watching how others coupon to save some money. You know how it goes with money nowadays. it won't take long to spend a hard earned dollar. It amazes me how they save so much so when I started to do it that's it I got hooked with coupons. We went to target today to get a dozen eggs for free with a coupon. I let my son line up so he will know how it feels to coupon with a 100% savings. On the other hand me and my daughter used a coupon for her hair color. The Revlon hair color cost like $3 something and she ended up paying 83 cents with the use of coupons! How awesome! And then we went to CVS my favorite store. I paid $11.02 and saved $46.97 for a whole bunch of stuff. I am posting a pic for you to see. So here's the breakdown 8rolls Bounty paper towel 10.00 on sale for 6.49 - .25manufacturer coupon 2 Crest toothpaste 3.00 each on sale for 2/5.50 - (2) .75 mfr coupon 1 gallon 2% milk 3.89 2 tide 5.97 each - (2) 1.00 mfr coupon and $3 cvs coupon 2 dawn .97 each - (2) .25 mfr coupon 3 nivea cream in tin .99 each - (3) 1.00 mfr coupon 1 nivea skin firming 10.99 - $3.00 coupon 1 greenville newspaper 2.50 I also used $21.50 Extrabucks as payment. I saved more than 85%. Do you wanna save money too? Get your sunday paper and start couponing!

I Passed

I'm so happy. Finally I passed the test for my CNA! I am now certified to work as a nursing assistant. I took it last Saturday. This was the second exam I took since I failed the last one last month. There are only three attempts and if you won't pass you will go back to school again. I made sure that I pass. I practiced with my classmate Shauntae almost everyday the week before the exam. We took the effort and I'm glad it paid off. Thank you so much Shauntae for helping me. You are very supportive of me. She even came to my classroom to morally support me on exam day. How about that. We laughed, we ate, we prayed so hard. It sounds like a book right but this is for real.

New Neighbors

Guest post written by Christine Duncan

Early last week, I noticed that a realtor had come to the empty house across the street and put a sold sign across the for sale sign in front of it. I had been watching the in and out activity there for the last several weeks and knew it was close to being sold. I love that house and I miss my friends who lived there and were my neighbors for many years. The economy is so bad that I wondered if they would be able to sell it for a profit or if they would have to unload it at a loss because they wanted to purchase another home in their new city. When I saw the sold sign I called my friend and she told me they made a small profit and were pleased that they didn’t take a loss on the property. And she told me I would like my new neighbor. So when I saw her in the yard yesterday, I went over and introduced myself. We talked and she said she had looked into http://www.expertsatellite.com/ because she had seen the previous owner’s satellite dish when she viewed the house. She has decided to go with them for her service. Good choice, I told her!