$20

I feel that I have been blessed in many ways so this year one of my goals is to try and contribute more to charitable causes using the skills that I have learned. It's easy for me to write a check but I want to do something with my skills...

As many of you know, I've couponed for over 30 years. I think I've nearly perfected the art of living on nothing. It's no longer a necessity for me but I love the game. Since I only have a family of four and we really have no need for 50 bottles of shampoo or a 100 boxes of cereal (even if it's free) I've decided to share my spoils this year and donate my finds to the local food pantry.

Goal is to donate $20 worth of goods every month, essentially sharing my good deals for that particular month. I'm not going to donate anything that I wouldn't buy for my family. Most will be the same things I buy for my family that month.

Here's my January donation...

Total spent: $19.66

(10) 14.5 oz cans of Red Gold diced tomatoes

(10) 16 oz boxes of Creamettes spaghetti noodles

(4) 64-ct boxes Kotex panty liners

(4) 18-ct boxes Kotex tampons

(3) 4-packs of Gillette Sensor 3 disposable razors

(3) bottles Suave Men's Shampoo

(3) bottles Dove Men + Care Shampoo

All of these items this month were purchased from Kroger. Regular shelf price for all of these items was $83.23. I combined weekly sale prices with additional Mega Sale discounts and coupons and paid $19.66. That amounted to a savings of over 76%.

Can't wait to see what kind of deals I'll find in February!

Updates on Life

Time has flown by these last couple months. It's actually been wonderful yet a bit unsettling at the same time. I know. A bit hard to explain...

Looking back, my last blog post was on November 16, 2016 and I had just started my new marathon training cycle. Then, life got good but busy.

G danced "Nutcracker" the first weekend in December. Five performances from Friday to Sunday, nine different dances in each performance. We decided to stay at a hotel across the street from the theater for the weekend rather than drive home after every show. I volunteered to make 12 dozen centerpiece cookies for the annual Nutcracker Tea that Saturday so I ended up spending the week making cookies to take with us for the weekend. Running was put on hold.

Nutcracker weekend started a whirlwind of December activity. I got several custom crochet orders from friends as well as through my Etsy site. I also got several custom baking orders for Christmas parties and such. I loved it. I got to wake up every morning and do the things I loved, plus I was getting paid to do it. Not gads of money, but enough to cover all the supplies and fund some personal projects.

J's cheer season was also in full swing by now. There were basketball games to attend, plus I still had to drive G or find her transportation to dance 6 days a week. Of course work was crazy too. The hospital was full and the ED was full every day. Most days I could hardly stay awake driving home from work. Forget about running... or blogging... or keeping track of what I put in my mouth.

I loved everything about December except the fact that I felt guilty about not running. But I didn't feel like running. I suppose that in order for a goal to be successful you have to have a valid WHY. My WHY wasn't there. I think I wanted to run a spring marathon because it seemed like everyone else I knew in the running world had gotten their 2018 BQ already and I thought I wanted one too. But not really. So no more marathon training for me.

So... January rolls around and I realize I can't comfortably fit into my clothes anymore. Fact is, I pretty much feel like a cow. All of my baking and crochet projects are now done, Christmas is completely put away, and now I feel like focusing on ME (as in my body) again. Plus, this time, the rest of my family (hubs included!!!) is focusing more on eating better food and exercising. Time for some new goals.

I'm blogging again because I find that journaling helps me keep on track with my goal setting. Things I will be working on...

Lose 10-15 lbs. Seriously. This is the heaviest I've been since I had kids.

Do another Grocery Challenge for February. $400 budget for the month.

Donate $20 worth of goods to the food pantry every month. This is not included in the $400 budget. What's the biggest bang I can get for $20 each month?

Be more consistent with my workouts and do more core work. Back in November right before I stopped running I'd been fit enough to go 8 miles at 9:00 pace. I'd like to get back there in February.

Finish organizing J's cheer photos and G's Nutcracker photos.

I'll be back tomorrow with deets on my food pantry donation for January.