Learning a Lesson

So after introducing you to our growing son for the first time -- what do I write about next? I mean it has to be something memorable, ah I have it. The first petty theft.

I get a call this morning from my employer -- someone has called saying they found your purse.
Really? My purse is locked in the trunk of the car (yes I know--not the appropriate place for it). This has to be a mistake -- I call the lady and sure enough someone has broken into our car. Or maybe I left the door unlocked. I thought I locked it, but maybe I didn't :( Luckily -- I keep my wallet in the house.

So the purse was thrown on the street, diamond necklace still in it, and will be returned this afternoon. The first generation Ipod is missing -- good thing Jeremy has an Iphone. All in all -- a horrible experience but not too harsh -- and definitely lesson learned.

Ryan James Spell

I would like to introduce you all to our growing baby BOY, Ryan James. We recently had an ultrasound where we got to watch him move and sleep (sleep mostly). Here are a couple of pictures for you to enjoy.

This is a profile of Ryan -- so much bigger than the first time we saw him like this :)

In this one he is sleeping snugly, but you can still see his face.

We are very excited to know that we will be soon welcoming our son into this world. Please pray that God would prepare us for his arrival, and that we would be able to enjoy the birth plan we have envisioned.

Cutting the Grocery Budget

So here's honesty -- for the past three years we have spent WAY too much money on our grocery/dining out budget. Oh I've always clipped coupons and meal planned. However, until recently I wasn't concerned with pairing what we already had with sale items to make meals that were even cheaper. Oh -- and shopping at HEB didn't help either. Everything was so fresh and tasty we'd just about buy the entire store once a month. Yes..we only shopped once a month, which meant that we made $10-$15 Kroger trips a few times during the week buying what we needed regardless of whether it was on sale or not.

After moving into a house -- this had to change. Our once "disposable" income is now being spent on home projects, preparing for the baby, and trying to furnish our house. So I joined the grocery game , if you haven't heard about it - check it out! Many of our friends play this game and now that I have the time (and incentive -- as whatever I save gets reallocated elsewhere for date nights, trips, saving for a new bigscreen TV, etc.) I decided to go for it.

The first week -- I saved a whopping $53 and brought home enough meat to pack the freezer, as well as, produce for the week and other various items. The second week-- I wasn't too interested in the sale items, but we did have a dinner party, so I spent approximately $50 for the week. This week was the beginning of February -- and a real shot at seeing just how much money we can save each month, it being the beginning and all. So how did I do?

I watched my Kroger bill go from $145 -- down to $78. It was awesome -- I had a cart load of things (many of which I needed -- some of it was stocking up) for well under a $100. We are on our way to cutting our grocery/dining out budget by 50%. I'll update on our final progress at the end of the month! Pray for us to keep it up!

Here's what I walked out of Kroger with for a measly $78.