a few things going on around here...

since 3/14 we have been doing a {$20/2 week} Experiment/(punishment) with s*...
...to make a long story short...
~~it all started one nite when she was being a little fussy (to put it mildly) and blurted out (in front of her dad) that we should get rid of one of the accounts we have (that is really pretty nasty every week) since we just got a new account (which stays a whole lot cleaner) -- Not A Good Idea!
well, let's just say that dad had enough of the complaining and came up with the brilliant idea that she could "feed herself" for the next 2 weeks [with NO help from mom and dad, other than a ride to the grocery, use of the appliances/utensils, and a few 'helpful hints' for a cost of reading an extra chapter a night in Chronicles of Narnia] she already had $10 from her babysitting job, so we doubled it and she had $20 for the next two weeks (3/14-3/26/11)

**the point of this was to help her understand that you don't just 'throw away' work because you don't like it, we are very Blessed to have what we have, and if we don't do a good job, we will lose it and have to either A) Hustle and find more work, or B) Learn to Live Without... which, even if you go with option A you'll have to do option B for a little while, maybe even '2 weeks'**

she was excited about it and even looked forward to 'showing us' all that she knows and how she CAN take care of herself ... i must say, she hasn't done too bad! i Am Impressed!
so, she did use coupons and checked out a lot of sales, and websites online,

she was able to get a shopper card @ Kroger (who knew, at 13 years old??

i am thinking about getting her a checking account, next)!

here is some of what she bought:

(pasta & canned tomatos FREE w/coupons! good job s*!)

over the course of the 2wks. she bought w/less than $1 left over:

10 boxes of pasta, 4 cans of tomatoes, 7 cans of tuna, 4 loaves of bread, 2 jars peanut butter,

1 box (4 sticks) butter, 3 cans of Arizona Tea, 5 boxes of jello, 2 extra-mini pizzas,

2 cans mixed vegetables, 3 pkgs of sliced cheese

The experiment is over tomorrow nite, we are going to let her have some chicken, because that is the thing that she has been craving desperately! i think she has learned a lot:

looking over the packages in the store and what things cost per oz., figuring out tax,

pasta & peanut butter get old after awhile, tuna is better with mayo,

food is Expensive (especially the kind you prefer),

$20 doesn't really go that far -- but you Can get what you need to survive,

not to be so quick to complain - be grateful for what you have
(***yeah! **yahoo!**good job!***)

spiritual sidenote: the other nite when i was studying and preparing for our next day history lesson, i came across a very interesting Scripture ... 2 Thessalonians 3:10

- i found it when i was reading about Captain John Smith, who in 1607,

while establishing the Jamestown colony was forced to deal with 'idle' men

who would've been considered 'gentlemen' in England, but were not willing/capable

to do the hard labor required to tend the land in the New World-

(interesting stuff, and the Scripture so relevant, ... do ... look it up!)

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the other thing we have had going on for the last 2 mos. is Weight Loss Wii Style...

we all set a goal on 1/26 & have been exercising "old school" every nite -

mike -10lbs. *** kim -11lbs. *** s* -10lbs. by 3/26

(i wanted to take 11 lbs. off because i was in the "overweight" category

and that was how much i needed to lose to get down to "healthy weight")

well, i am happy to report that we ALL have met our (1st) goal - some, sooner than others!

mike lost all of his in the 1st wk. of the 2nd month

s* lost all of hers 2 days before the deadline

and, of course, little ol me, i finally got all the weight off, TODAY, 3/26 the deadline date!!

that was cuttin' it a little close, but I did it!

s* and i decided last month that if we could reach our goal by the deadline,

that we would get our hair cut & styled as a reward! i look forward to making that appt. on monday, i haven't even had a trim in over a year!! yikes!

we have all set new goals ... s* and i have decided to eat this elephant in smaller bites, so we are doing 5 lbs. in a month, and then, of course we will have to have a new reward ...

ya' know something to look forward to~

maybe a manicure!