Great deal on Staples Paper and Coupons!

I just read this post on Precious' website about the great deal she did to get FREE paper (and a LOT of free paper!).

Also, check out this cool website where you can get free printable Staples coupons as well as awesome coupons you can purchase. Staples coupons are available at staples-coupons.com.

UPDATE: I went on my lunch hour and used my Staples coupons from Staples coupons to receive $25 off of my $100 purchase. The cost of the coupon was $5.49, so I still saved almost $20!

Auntie Becca comes for a visit

The girls were thrilled beyond words to find out Auntie Becca was going to be "spending the night" with us last Monday. She had come up for her great-Uncle's funeral, which was sad; but we were glad to see her.

It's been 10 years since I first met Becca. She's the youngest of my sibling-in-laws, and was only 12 years old at the time. Here's a picture that was taken in June of 1999. This is Becca, Matthew (my boyfriend at that time), me (much skinnier then) and my fabulous in-laws.


Becca is now 22, about to graduate from college, and then a summer wedding is planned! We are so excited for Auntie Becca, and the girls can't wait to meet Uncle Jeff.

Me & Becca, March 2009

Being silly, Staci just wants to sit by Becca

FIRST IMPRESSIONS ..... OR ..... What Does Your "Readability" Say About You?

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

While browsing through craigslist, I came across this listing under "rideshare." my name is jared and iam trying to earn some money by driving around the area and helping who ever needs help if you do not have a car or you need something to be drop off or pick up i can do the job the right way the first time i am dependable and trust worthy i have clean driving record clean cut and respectful 30 years old and can lift up to 250 easy please call #916-627-6795.tHanks

I used the spelling and grammar tool to find out the "readability statistics," which looked like this:

I spent about 4o seconds editing the listing to come up with this:

My name is Jared and I am trying to earn some money by driving around the area and helping who ever needs help. If you do not have a car or you need something to be dropped off or picked up I can do the job the right way, the first time. I am dependable and trust worthy. I have a clean driving record, am clean cut, and respectful. I am 30 years old and can lift up to 250 pounds easily. Please call me at #916-627-6795. Thank You

The new readability statistic looked like this:

I recently took a writing class, and the instructor was telling us how amazed she is at the resumes that she's reviewed recently. Since so many people are using text messages these days, emails have begun to be written like text messages. She noted (and I agree) that it is very unprofessional to have abbreviations and such in business writing. Therefore, many people are losing out on their dream job because of the bad first impression they are making on a prospective employer.

It made me stop and think a minute about my first impression on those I meet.

When they first see me do they think of me as:

* a Christian * a godly woman * modest * classy * friendly

or, instead - do they see someone who is:

* upset * frustrated * tired of traffic * unfriendly * dressed like a bum

Matthew 7:15-20 (King James Version) states:
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

What kind of fruit do people see on the tree of my life?

Proverbs 18:24 says "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."

When people see me do I appear friendly? Do I have a good spirit? Can they sense Christ living within me? Am I portraying His righteousness? Am I giving His love to those around me?

It made me think. May it also make you think today.

Have a blessed day!

Rhonda

The Wisdom in Hot Chocolate

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate. When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: “Notice that all of the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups. And then you began eyeing each other's cups.”

Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us. God makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups.

The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. And enjoy your hot chocolate!

FREE Garnier Products at Walgreen's again

This week Walgreen's is doing the 99 cent sale on Garnier Fructis hair products! Yeah! I went to the Dollar Tree yesterday and purchased 5 newspapers because I knew the RedPlum coupon insert had two $1.00 off coupons for Garnier Fructis.

Now I will be able to use this month's Easy Saver Coupon (ESQ)* to get the items for free.

This is what my transaction will look like:
5 Garnier Fructis shampoo/conditioner - $4.95 with the ESQ
5 Garnier Fructis hairspray/mousse/or gel - $4.95 with the ESQ
3 packs of Orbit gum - .99 with the ESQ

Give the cashier the coupons in this order: FIRST, the 10 Garnier Fructis manufacturer coupons; then the gum ESQ, then the Garnier ESQ.

The total out of pocket should be about $1.65, to cover the cost of the gum and the taxes.

I'll let you know if it turns out differently.

Because the coupons for the Garnier give you a penny difference, you want to make sure to buy something small so there are no problems. Also, at Walgreens the system is set up so that you cannot have more coupons than items. With this transaction, I'm using 12 coupons, but I'm buying 13 items. If I did not buy the gum, the transaction would not work the way I want it to.

Even factoring in what I paid for the newspapers: $5.40 with tax, I'm still only paying $7 out of pocket for 5 bottles of shampoo, 5 bottles of hairspray, and 3 packs of gum! That's cheaper than the dollar store, and it's name brand product!


Also, don't forget to take advantage of the Register reward deal from Kimberly Clark. www.coupons.com currently has $5 off Huggies Gentle Care and $3 off Huggies Natural Fit. You can print each coupon twice. (scroll through the coupons until you find the Huggies = they will be there, but may not be on page 1, and may not be together). Purchase two packs of diapers on sale for $10 each and one pack of refill-wipes on sale for $6. Use two $5 coupons and one $3 coupon. Spend about $18 and get a $10 register reward, which is just like cash - a $10 coupon off your next purchase at Walgreens. If you don't have the Garnier coupons, you could use this on Garnier.


* ESQ stands for EasySaver Coupon. Walgreens has a monthly coupon catalog (EasySaver catalog), which can usually be found by their weekly fliers in the stand as you walk in the door of their store. You only need 1 ESQ for the entire transaction. The register will automatically multiply it for each item it refers to. Match it up with manufacturer and it'll be free! You will need to purchase something very small as it will give $.01 overage, and that can be a problem.

Bro. Clark

I'm including both pictures here, since monitors are all different - on my camera, I thought the first picture was too dark, and the second picture was perfect... but actually, the lighting on both is not the greatest. I do like Bro. Clark's smile better in the second picture - there's just something about teeth showing when you smile! :)

Sheldon and his "Holy Ghost" smile!

More Revival

This picture cracked me up. Kadee's shoes remind me of shackles, and I felt like singing

"Take these shackles off my feet, so I can dance - I just wanna praise Him, I just wanna praise Him!"

As Kadee says, Hey, you gotta do whatcha gotta do to get the Holy Ghost!

Revival With Bro. Clark!

First Apostolic Church was blessed to have evangelist Carlton Clark from Arizona with us this past weekend. We've had him many times before, but it had been several years, and he had never met the Sullivan's. The Spirit of the Lord manifested itself in such a mighty presence and move of God.... thank you, Bro. Clark, for helping us reach the next level, as our Pastor has been trying to do, and has prayed and sought the Lord for us, our church, and our community.

The Hardest Puzzle Yet!

You will see that the bottom was the only "easy" part of this puzzle... and Shauna did most of it!

When I told my mom that I didn't think all of the pieces were here, she said "well, we can always count them." I had to inform her she was wrong... the box says "approx" 1000 pieces. :) LOL

The puzzle has many pieces that are odd shaped and just "fit together" but don't interlock.

My Wild Monkeys

You can't really tell in this picture, but I love Staci's ponytail! It's so beautiful - God has given her blonde highlights and the ends are naturally curly. (Shauna's was just like this when she was 4 years old, but as her hair gets longer, it no longer has the curl at the end).

Ladies Car Wash

Saturday, February 21 we had a Ladies Car Wash at the church to raise funds to help out with those of us who want to go to the Annual Northern CA Ladies Conference. The girls of course wanted to do their part to help.

Watch out when Sis. Amy has the hose!

Puzzles ~ My "Rhonda Time"

A dear friend of mine recently asked me if I ever have "Rhonda time." At the time, the answer was no. I have since begun to work on puzzles quite frequently (which I think is a minor annoyance to my husband...) I told him he could help me work on them, but he wasn't too keen on the idea. My mom has been my biggest helper, although the girls like to help.

This puzzle was HARD! Many of the inside pieces looked like edge pieces, due to the round shape.

I love this one - it's a collage of old Hershey's ads/wrappers. It states "MORE SUSTAINING THAN MEAT" and the other one below states "A Meal in Itself." Ha Ha!!! I think those were from the 1940s.

The bad thing is that with my frugality, I buy almost all of my puzzles from thrift stores and Goodwill. Many times they are missing 1 piece... which is very frustrating... but I always like to think of it as a visual reminder that we all have a piece inside of ourselves that is empty and can only be filled by Jesus Christ and His spirit living within us.

Staci's Performance in Chapel

It's really hard to get a great picture when the object (my child) keeps moving around! :)