More relaxation............

This was our day yesterday - just chilling out - we didn't leave for anything and it was great! Went fishing in the eve... I spent more hamock time... (the Moomers pic is from Friday night)...

Today we went to Mass, headed toward Traverse City - breakfast at Flap Jack Shack - then to see "The Dark Knight" then a nice scenic drive and another stop at Moomers (it was on the way :P) then home to get Pounce and our swim suits and we spent the evening at the beach at Lake Michigan, playing with Pounce in the water and watching the sun slowly set. It was so relaxing and enjoyable :)

Ice Cream at Moomers - voted the best ice cream by "good morning america" and I agree - it's pretty good :)
Jon Paul's first fish
Jon Paul's second fish
Beautiful sunset on Little Platte Lake
Campfire

Calm before the Storm.

So, this weekend, Jon Paul and I scheduled a weekend at my family's cottage on Little Platte Lake in Honor, Michigan . This place is known for it's fresh air and ability to convince you to take multiple naps a day - whether on the couch or hamock.

We call this the calm before the storm because both of us have a tremendous amount of stuff to do before our trip TWO WEEKS from when we get back... then we'll be gone for two weeks (a crazy vacation with little/no "rest" that is typically associated with vacation) then we anticipate spending the next two weeks catching up... so, this little weekend is the relaxing we need to get us through the next few weeks.

I've told many friends about this place, so I've added some pictures and video of our day so far so you could get an idea of what it's like up here:

The back of the cottage

Jon Paul napping :)

Pouncy sleeping on my legs while "reading a book" in the hamock


Taking a ride in the boat

Well, we're getting ready to go get some of the best ice cream in the united states, so, I'll add the video when I get back :)

A Piece of Cake.

This weeks is the St. Boniface Parish festival. The youth ministry is in charge of TWO booths: the cake wheel (aka, the magic wheel of destiny) and the cotton candy book (aka, mystery labratory)... sooo, my contribution (other than my entire weekend living at these two booths) was to make 9 cakes - well, 6 cakes and 3 brownies... I will post the pic when my computer decides it's ready to work :)...

Off to the festival!

WOW at Walmart!

Notice: There are 38 items presented from this purchase.

After $7 in coupons and tax, I only spent $17.05!
Starting at the top of the picture:
3 plastic folders for $.88 each (normally close to $2)
12 college ruled, 70 page spiral bound notebooks $.05 each
2 packs of Schick disposable razors $1.97 per pack, had a BOGO coupon, so both for $1.97
Rose Art colored pencils $.60
Crayola 10 pack markers $.88
Crayola 24 count crayon $.22 each
Planters Peanuts $2.67 combined with 3 x $.18 Kool-aid MINUS $3.00 coupon for buy 3 Kraft items get $3.00 off a planters peanut item (so, $.21 for all 4 items)
Gold bond powder $.99, had a coupon for $1.00 off, so paid $0 and got a penny back :)
2 travel bottles $.50 each
Wedding confetti (I put it in Wedding cards) on clearance for $1.50
Pretty candles (okay, spontaneous buy) $.50
Clearance Necklace I've had my eye on for a couple of weeks now rang in with the biggest purchase of the day at $3.00
Papermate pens $.50 each
Bic Pens $.88 each, with a coupon for $1 off 2, so $.38 each

Total Estimated savings of 72% if I had paid full price for the above items!

So, I was able to stock up on some supplies for school (Jon Paul uses the notebooks for his classes) and our travels and got a snack on the side :).

I have to admit, I did not come up with all these ideas. Many of the coupon help came from Money Saving Mom an AWESOME resource for anyone looking to save a buck. I have also added some other sites I use on the left that help with coupons and it cuts down on the time because they tell you where the coupons are. I'm addicted!

Coupon Savings..............

I forgot to share the coupon savings I managed on Saturday when I had been couped up long enough...

After researching what Kroger had on sale and scouring the newspapers for coupons, I went to Kroger and saved $17 in coupons and $42 in Kroger sales items (a total of almost $60!!!)(stocking up a bit on things too)! I ended up still spending about $150, but I got food that will last us a few weeks and non-perishables that will last us much longer (if you need cereal, I'm the one to ask!)!
The highlight of this trip was 2 $.88 14oz (the big one) boxes of Cheerios!

Yay for Kroger's double coupons!

Much better.

Thanks for all your prayers! I am feeling much better. After 3 visits to the chiropractor, things seem to be back in the right place - finally! Muscles are still a little tight at times, but, all-in-all, a vast improvement from this point last week. I just wanted to say thanks :).

Holy COW!

One month from today, we will be boarding the plane and heading for Europe! So much to do still! AHhhhhhhhhhh

New Look.

Same great product, Brand new look!

Okay, so as you can tell, I might be a tad bit bored. I was getting tired of all the purple... and I figured if *I* was getting tired of it, whew, you guys must have really been tired of purple! I'm not tired of the color purple... it will always be my favorite color (I think - though pink is coming back)... I agree it was a bit much. I find with this neutral background, the purple decor sticks out much more! :)

Ahh... enjoy it. Don't be surprised if it changes again. We'll see. I'm not 100% happy with this template choice... I wish I knew more HTML and I could change some more things... maybe that will be the next thing I learn as I sit/lay here in bed...

Home Alone. Again.

So far this year, Jon Paul has gone to a wedding in Texas without me in March (even on my bday), a conference in Geogia without me(in April), a retreat for teens without me (in June), a camping trip without me (also in June), and it sure feels like more... but that's all I can think of right now...

So, once again I am on my own this weekend, Jon Paul is escorting 150 teenagers to a Franciscan University Youth Conference. I was suppose to be there with him, but nooo... I'm home. Alone. In bed.

Why?

Once again, my back is aching like crazy. I decided enough was enough and went to the chiropractor to find out what's going on. After some x-rays it was determined that my left ilium is out of place (pelvis bone) - it has rotated back and down... then the muscles around it are so tight that it got stuck there and can't move back on it's own... soo doc did some electro-therapy and some adjustments and sent me home feeling worse than I did when I went in. We asked him about going away on the trip and he said it was not in my best interest to go... So, here I am... home... Disappointed that I am not with Jon Paul and the rest of the teens on their way to Steubenville. Jon Paul had to quickly find a replacement chaperone for me. Luckily, a parent of one of our teens was willing to spontaneously give up her entire weekend... So, I just trust that it is God's will that she is on the trip and not me.

The worst part is that I am more or less confined to bed for now. I go in tomorrow for another adjustment, and hopefully that will provide some relief.

The craziest part of all this is that the chiropractor that I pulled out of a hat because he takes my insurance, ended up being a parent of kids that go to my school! Yes, that's right. The school where I teach - 30miles away... He lives in Dayton and commutes to Piqua, and I live in Piqua and commute to Dayton. I had no idea who this guy was before... or even when I saw him. It wasn't until he looked at my charts and saw where I taught when we put two and two together. Crazy!

Praise God for computers, books, and tvs. Without them, I'd be bored to tears... Now I am reading up on some long awaited information. More to come on what I discover (today i am focusing on using coupons and getting the most out of them. It is quite fascinating and really giving me the desire to use coupons and save $$)...

Untitled.

I just didn't know what to title this post. Thank you, Lord, Praise-worthy, Answered prayers... endless titles that just don't do justice... but here's the news -

Jon Paul's biopsy came up NEGATIVE! NO CANCER! WAHOO! What wonderful news, especially when she was pretty certain one of them was! Thank you all for your prayers! I KNOW they made a difference!

A Backyard's Eye View...

4th of July is best seen from the point of view of our backyard:


Alicia and Mom playing HillyBilly Golf
Jon Paul and Gordon playing Corn Hole



Mom and Dad posing cutely :)



Chrissy stopped by for a short visit since she was partying just a few blocks away...



Joe, one of Jon Paul's friends from grade school, came to visit for the weekend



The best part of the 4th of July is that the town's firework display can be seen from our very own back yard - along with our neighbors'. Unfortunately, I didn't get many good pictures...

Happy Birthday/Biggest Loser

Happy Birthday, ANGELLE! By this time next year you'll be MARRIED!

Speaking of which, there is a little wager between many members of the Hebert and Farley households... Who can lose the biggest percentage of weight before Angelle's wedding, next June 13, 2009?

Participants:
Jen
Jon Paul
Mom Hebert
Mom Farley
Dad Hebert
Dad Farley
Gordon Farley
Alicia Ankrom (soon to be Farley)
Andre Hebert and
Angelle Hebert

Totalling up to $775 for the biggest loser.

Keep an eye on A Bear Challenge to see who's winning!

Prayers

As you may or may not know, Jon Paul was diognosed with melanoma (skin cancer) when he was 18. Doctors removed it all then, but he just went in today for a check up and the doc found 2 more spots. She removed them, but if the biopsy shows they are cancerous, he will have to go in for more tests to see if it has spread.

Please join me in prayer - that these spots are not cancerous first and foremost - but if they are that they don't spread to other parts of his body...

We are pretty optimistic since he has no symptoms of it spreading, but are anxious to hear the news for sure.

Thanks foryour prayers!

Oh, and to answer questions about my heart... it's still beating (praise God!) The doc put me on meds for it, but they seem to have given me some side effects (light headedness, sore throats, itchy skin ALL over - which I still have - etc)... and has decided to take me off of it. Luckily, since I've been off, they haven't returned too bad, so yeah. They [the palpitations] are not life threatening or anything, just uncomfortable at times and can cause unneeded worry if I let them. Hopefully my itchy skin will go away SOON, otherwise the skin itself will be gone due to the itching (I'm trying SO HARD no to scratch)!