Sunday routine

Every Sunday we've been doing our routine of coupon shopping. Today we got our first compliment from a checker at Albertsons. As she rang in our items, followed by the stack of coupons, she looked up and said, "wow! good shopping you guys!" We walked away with our grocery bags and a big smile. Yep, it was a good day of grocery deals today.

I did take a picture of our finds to post, but then I accidentally deleted them....I'm still learning how to use i-photo.

Anyway, imagine if you will, a table full of groceries for a grand total of $7.26....an average of $0.33/per item. That included, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, paper plates, shampoo, pasta, juice etc...Our pantry is beginning to look fuller by the weekend. We're stocking up with *free* supplies from that weeks local deals. Instead of making weekly trips to Winco, we're doing more local trips for good deals and then shopping our pantry and freezer.

It's been an exciting adventure and we're still learning the ropes. This coupon world has specific rules and stealth players. For example, today was the first day of the new weekly deals. We had our route all mapped out. We had our coupons bundled according to the grocery store. But, by the time we made it to Walgreens, some of the products were already cleared out by other coupon players....mmmm....we have some competition on our hands, we thought. And yes, apparently we are not the only coupon shoppers in our small town. I think we may have to plan a little earlier to get a jump start with these other savvy players.

We will keep you posted with how that goes. =)

Found the camera!!!

This is one of our favorite beaches, Oswald State Park

Carol and I running after a bunch of birds!

One of our favorite coffee houses EVER....Newport Coffee House
Yurting with the folks...and look, we have a fire extinguisher!
Nate picking berries....YUM! We ate more than we picked....whoops!
live music on the streets of NYC. It's always better live.

A llama.

Me and my honey at the coast!

This is in honor of things I am looking forward to this summer.... (aka, a sampling of my pictures that have been hiding in my camera all year long....)

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Restful Saturday

Yesterday was such a lazy day. We needed that! I tried out a new hair stylist over in Beaverton .... Yes it was a long drive, but well worth it. She knows what she's doing. I told her " im going to be a mom, but im still in my 20's, can you make me look good?" I think my years of hunting for the perfect hair stylist have come to an end.... Kendra is it!

Next door to her shop is a little baby store- perfect! I bought our first little outfit for our girl. It's a little duck onsie with duck feet and the little tag says " squeeze me" it's adorable! Nate asked if they came in adult sizes so he could match her;) silly Nate!

When I got home we decided to take a walk in the BEAUTIFUL weather. We walked down to the new little cupcake shop in town. They make fantastic cupcakes and have a very interesting selection. We sat and chatted for a bit while enjoying out cupcakes and milk.:) yum!

On our walk back, we were pleasantly surprised to be honked at by a dear college friend, Jane! We chatted for a bit before she had to take off. It was great to see her! I'm not sure the last time i saw her......
Between last weekend and this weekend i have seen more of my college friends than I have in a few years. For example,
Yesterday Lisa came over with their dog africa. It was great to catch up with her too. And it was good to hear they are doing well up in Washington.

When we got home from our walk we began organizing ourselves for our weekly coupon trip. This time we came ready with our file in hand fully loaded with our coupons for the day. Once again walgreens has been the most excited place to shop at. I got 2 bars of yardley soap, a new razor with refill blades and an oil of olay body wash all for: $2.27. And to top it off they gave me a receipt with $4 of walgreens cash back! Couponing has become addicting!!

later that night Rick and Christine came over to watch a movie and catch up with them. We like hanging out with them!

And that concluded our restful Saturday.

Drum roll....

The most anticipated ultrasound apt happened on Tuesday. I had my blue sweater and pink sweater ready to make the declaration of our child's gender.

Both Nate and I had our guesses and " intuitions" but we were still very curious going into the ultrasound.

Our technician was much more chatty and helpful than the previous ladies. She explained everything that we were looking at throughout the whole apt. It was a much more thurough exam than before. She looked at the brain, the four heart chambers, the main blood vessles, the stomach, kidneys etc... And our baby's thigh bones measured at 3cm. :)

Finally, after looking at everything in great detail, she asked us if we had any guesses as to the gender. We both said we were thinking it is a girl..... And YES it is a girl!!!!!!

We enjoyed watching her clench her hands, open her mouth to yawn, suck on her thumb and kick around. It made everything more real to see her moving. I still can't feel her yet, but I guess that is normal. I've been told that I will feel her moving soon enough.

We are very excited!

I wore my pink sweater to work to help announce the news. My coworkers came running from the conference room to see if their guesses were right too. It was hilarious!

Now we are looking at little girl names and keeping a running list. I've already discovered that little girl clothes are much more fun to shop for. The consignment shop down the street has a great selection of darling little dresses and cute shoes! I'm very excited!!!

coupons and heart beats

Nate's new hobby - coupon clipping.

Yesterday he bought 3 boxes of cereal and 2 boxes of granola bars for a grand total of $2.

That got him (us) hooked!

Today we did a little more grocery shopping. We bought $96.87 worth of products for a grand total of $53.22....a savings of almost half ($43.65).

We are still very new to this coupon world, so if you have any great tips to help us along our journey of cheaper shopping, please let us know. =)

And as for heart beats....we had another pre-natal apt. today with our midwife. It never gets old hearing the heart beat of our little one. It did take her a while to find the little (girl/boy) as they were swimming and twirling all over the place, but the heart beat was strong. In only a few short 2 weeks we will know the gender. I CAN'T WAIT!!! It told my coworkers that I would come to work wearing the color of the gender so that they would not have to ask. The only problem is that I don't own any pink....I guess we're looking good for a boy for now. =)

I'll keep you all posted.

good night!