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Sunday, May 9, 2010



I posted this a couple of weeks ago, but thought it would be fitting to post again. Happy
Mother's Day to everyone.  Rejoice in the life God has called and entrusted to you whether it be a daughter, mother, sister, or friend.  With love and appreciation.  Kelly, Kasey, Jamie, and Robin.

The Invisible Woman
 
Excerpt By Nicole Johnson

It started to happen gradually…
    One day I was walking my son Jake to school. I was holding his hand and we were about to cross the street when the crossing guard said to him, “Who is that with you, young fella?”
    “Nobody,” he shrugged.
    Nobody? The crossing guard and I laughed. My son is only five, but as we crossed the street I thought, oh my goodness, nobody?
    I would walk into a room and no one would notice. I would say something to my family, like “Turn the TV down, please.” And nothing would happen. Nobody would get up, or even make a move for the remote. I would stand there for a minute, and then I would say again, a little louder, “Would someone turn the TV down?” Nothing.
    Just the other night my husband and I were out to a party. We’d been there for about three hours and I was ready to leave. I noticed he was talking to a friend from work. So I walked over, and when there was a break in the conversation, I whispered, “I’m ready to go when you are.” He just kept right on talking.
    That’s when I started putting all the pieces together. I don’t think he can see me. I don’t think anyone can see me.
    I’m invisible.
    It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I’m on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I’m thinking, “Can’t you see I’m on the phone?” Obviously not. No one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.
    I’m invisible.
    Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more.
    Can you fix this?
    Can you tie this?
    Can you open this?
    Some days I’m not a pair of hands; I’m not even a human being.
    I’m a clock to ask, “What time is it?”
    I’m a satellite guide to answer, “What number is the Disney Channel?”
    I’m a car to order, “Right around 5:30, please.”
    I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude – but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.
    She’s going…she’s going…she’s gone!
    One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out of style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped
package and said, “I brought you this.”
    It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn’t exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription. “To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.”
    In the days ahead I would read, no, devour, the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I would pattern my work:

•    No one can say who built the great Cathedrals—we have no record of their names.
•    These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
•    They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
•    The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

    A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, “Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.”
    And the workman replied, “Because God sees.”
    I closed the book, feeling the missing piece just push into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, “I see you Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one else does. No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.”
    At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn, pride.
    I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who will show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
    When I really think about it, I don’t want my son to tell the friend he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, “My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.” That would mean I’d built a shrine or monument to myself. I just want him to come home. And then if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, “You’re gonna love it here.”
    As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we’re doing it right. And one day it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

*The book that Nicole used in The Invisible Woman is Churches (2001) by Judith Dupre. For more information, visit www.judithdupre.com.*


© Nicole Johnson, Fresh Brewed Life, Inc. 2006

Kroger Highlights - 5/9 - 5/15



It's a slow week at Kroger. 
The "Mix & Match 4" - Promotion is still going this week.  When you purchase 4  of these items you will receive $4 off your total grocery bill. The price on the match ups below reflect the discount per item. So be careful to make sure you purchase these in multiples of 4 in order not to miss your discount.  The best items are included below and marked with (**).  Check your local flyer for a full listing of all included items.

Current Catalinas include:

Kellogg's Cereals (thru 5/14)
Buy 3 - Get $2; Buy 4- Get $3; Buy 5 or more, get $4 off your next order

Breyer's Ice Cream (1.5- 1.75 quarts) (thru 6/20)
Buy 2 - Get $2; Buy 3 - Get $3; Buy 4 or more, get $4 off your next order.

Ice Mountain Natural Spring Water or Nestle Pure Life Water (.5 litre) 24 pk (thru 6/2)
Buy 2 - Get $2; Buy 3 - Get $3; Buy 4 or more - Get $5 off your next order

Post Cereals (thru 5/16)
Buy 4 - Get $3; Buy 5 or more - Get $4 off your next order

Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom or Toilet Cleaner (thru 5/16)
Buy 3 - Get $2; Buy 3 - Get $3; Buy 4 - Get $4 off your next order.

Meat/Produce:

Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts - $1.99/lb
Fresh Ground Chuck - $2.10/lb
Mixed Pork Chops - $2.49/lb

Grocery:

McCormick's Grill Mates - $1.25
Use .50/1 from 4/18 RP
(makes it .25 cents)

Yoplait Yogurt Cups - 2/$1
Use .40/6 from 4/18 SS, .50/8 from 4/25 SS
(makes it as low as .38 cents each)

Pepsi Soft Drinks - 2 (litre) - Buy 4 Get 2 FREE
(makes it .84 cents each)

Bird's Eye Frozen Vegetables - $2
Use .50/1 from 4/18 SS or $1/4 PRINT
(makes it as low as $1)

General Mills Cereal (select varieties) - 2/$4 ($2)
Use .55/1 Cheerios PRINT
Use .55/1 Cinnamon Toast Crunch PRINT
Use $1/2 from 5/2 SS
Stack SS coupon with .55/1 MultiGrain Cellfire coupon
(makes it as low as $1.23)

**Tropicana Pure Premium or Trop50 Orange Juice - $2.38
Use $1/1 from 3/14 RP or PRINT
(makes it $1.38)

Ore-Ida Potatoes - $2.79
Use $1/1 Steam n Mash PRINT or $1/1 Hash Browns PRINT
(makes it $1.79)

Lean Cuisine or Stouffer's Red Box Entrees - 5/$10 ($2)
Use $1/5 from 5/2 SS
(makes it $1.80 each)

Hormel Natural Choice Lunch Meat - $2.50
Use .55/1 PRINT
(makes it $1.95)

Bertolli Frozen Skillet Meal - $4.98
Use $1/1 PRINT (Making Life Better)
(makes it $3.98)

From Nature's Market:

Knudsen Just Juice - BOGO
Use $1/1 PRINT (use 2 coupons)
(makes it great deal)

Gatorade Sports Drinks (32 oz) - .79 cents each

Household/Beauty

**Tide Detergent - $4.99
Use $1/1 from 5/2 P&G
Stack with .50/1 Kroger ecoupon
(makes it $3.49)

**Downy Fabric Softener - $4.49
Use $1/1 from 5/2 P&G
Stack with .50/1 Kroger ecoupon
(makes it $2.99)

Nature Made, Nature's Bounty or Disney Vitamins - BOGO FREE
Use two  $1/1 Nature's Bounty PRINT
Use two $1/1 Disney Vitamins PRINT
(makes it a great deal)

Tums - $3.50
Use $1/1 PRINT
(makes it $2.50)

**Crest Toothpaste - $1.50
Use .75/1 from 5/2 P&G
(makes it .75 cents)

BABY:

Gerber Main Meals - $1

**Pampers Diapers or Easy Ups - $7.99
Use $1.50/1 from 5/2 P&G
Use $2/1 from 4/18 RP
(makes it as low as $6.99)

**Luvs Diapers - $8.99
Use $1/1 PRINT
(makes it $7.99)

I just saved $107 on my hotel! WOOT!


I haven't stayed in a hotel in years - but I am in one RIGHT NOW (in Louisville, Ky!) so that I can be here as my little brother graduates from Medical School (Yay!)

When trying to find the cheapest way humanly possible to get a hotel for 3 nights, I decided to take my own advice from a recent post I wrote on "Travel Deals" and use a cashback program and a hotel dealfinding site...  AND WOW!!  Let me show you how I saved a ton!
  • Then, seeing that ShopAtHome had some Hotels.com coupons available - I checked them out... and there was a $20 Rebate on a 3-Night Stay!  Thanks ShopAtHome!
  • Next, I entered the Hotels.com site and found a hotel that was 30% Off the regular rate - Yippee!  It was right in the location I need to be and everything!
  • When I got to checkout, it asked if I had a coupon code - so I opened up another tab in my browser and searched for "Hotels.com Coupon Code".  I found one right away via RetailMeNot - 10% Off each night using code "41010"!

My 3-Night Stay if booked through the hotel's website = $237
(- about 30% Hotels.com Discount) = $197.97
(- 10% Off Coupon Code) = $179.67
(- $20 Mail-In Rebate) = $159.67
(- 6% Shop At Home CashBack) = $150.17
My 3-Night Stay booked through ShopAtHome & Hotels.com = $150.17!

★I saved $93 guys - enough to pay for Gas both ways!★

Other great sites to check: Travelocity,  Expedia, Hotwire

Rite-Aid Highlights: 5/9 - 5/15


This week at Rite-Aid is a little slow in my opionion, but you can stil get a couple great deals on Tressemme & Kotex!
  • Get Rite-Aid *MAY* Video Values Coupons HERE - earn 20 pts. and get a $5/$20 Printable!
  • Print a $5/$25 Coupon HERE (Use zipcode 19459 with a 50 mile radius) &  HERE + Others!
  • You should use these BEFORE any other coupons, when your total is highest.  This is A-OK and even addressed in the Rite-Aid Corporate Coupon Policy HERE (Take a copy with you just in case!)
  • Although Rite-Aid in-ad coupons SAY Manufacturer coupons, they're NOT!!  The barcode is a store barcode, and will stack just fine with other coupons

Best SCR Deals:

U by Kotex 2/$7
Submit $3 Rebate #54 wyb 2
Use (2) $1/1 from 4/18 SS
Stack with (2) $1/1 Rite-Aid Video Values PRINT
(makes it FREE!)

Old Spice Red Zone Deodorant, Body Wash/Spray $2.99
Submit $1 SCR #61
Use BOGO from 4/18 RP or 5/2 P&G
(makes it $1 ea!)

Zegerid $9.99
Submit $2 Rebate #27
Use $4/1from 4/18 SS
Stack w/ $2/1 In-Ad Coupon
(makes it $1.99 ea!)

Benadryl $4.99
Use $5/2 from 4/11 RP
Use (2) $1/1 Rite-Aid Video Values Coupon PRINT
(makes it $1.49 ea) *Counts towards Allergy SCR

Best Coupon Deals:

Tressemme Hair Care $3.29
Use BOGO PRINT
Stack with (2) $2/1 Rite-Aid Video Values PRINT
(makes 2 FREE!) *If you can only use one VV coupon - it will be 80¢ ea

Bounty Basic Paper Towels $1
Use $1/2 from 5/2 P&G
(makes it 49¢ ea!)

Infusium 23 Hair Care $3.99
Use $3/1 from April ALL*YOU or 5/9 SS
(makes it 99¢ ea!)

Nestle Pure Life Water 24-Pk $3.49
Use $1/2 PRINT
(makes it $2.99 ea!)

Coke Products 12-Packs $2.50
Use $1/2 In-Ad Coupon
(makes it $2 ea!)

Deal Idea:
Buy:
(2) U by Kotex $7
(2) Old Spice $5.98
(2) Tressemmee $6.58
(2) Infusium $7.98
Total = $27.64

Use $5/$25 Printable
Use (2) $1/1 Kotex + (2) $1/1 Kotex Video Values 
Use BOGO Old Spice
Use BOGO Tressemme + (2) $2/1 Video Values
Pay $3.28
Submit $3 Kotex SCR + $1 Old Spice SCR
(Makes it FREE + 72¢ Profit!)


*If you're only able to use (1) of each Video Values Coupon, it will still be only $2.28 for $27.64 worth of items!

Bic Stationery Product - $1 Printable Coupon



Ok Guys...surely we can find a freebie with this great coupon:


This is a Bricks coupon, so use your "back" button to print it twice.

Please leave us a comment if you know of a place for a FREEBIE or Near Freebie using this coupon.
 

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