Hot Like Tortillas

Burt's Bees for Sensitive Skin

2011-11-11T10:04:00.002-06:00

I am a member of BzzAge nt which is a viral marketing company that partners with brands to host campaigns to promote their product. I am a "Bzzagent" which means I get to be invited to campaigns that are matched up with my profile. Usually, they send me a "Bzzkit" filled with products to try, samples to give away, and information to share about the campaign's brand or product.

This past month I was able to participate in a campaign for Burt's Bees new line of face products for sensitive skin. I got a full size cleanser and moisturizer to try out! So far I really like the products. They both have cotton extract in them, which is supposed to be gentle on your skin. The smell of the moisturizer is nice, and it is very lightweight feeling, which is important to me. I also like the cleanser because it feels really gentle on my skin and not harsh like some cleansing products. Burt's Bees uses lots of natural ingredients in their products, which is a huge plus too. Overall, I would definitely recommend this product if you have sensitive skin and are looking for a new cleanser or moisturizer. They also have an eye cream and a night cream, but I haven't tried those.

Answers to Prayers

2011-11-02T20:33:00.003-05:00

Thank you everyone for all your prayer for my health and recovery of my leg. I'm very happy to say that as of this past weekend I am over 70% strength in my right quad, which means I can walk without a brace and hold Jonah. Also, it means I can safely drive! I will continue to go to physical therapy for two more weeks to gain more strength. At this point, I will mostly be trying to regain endurance of the muscle.

I really do appreciate all of you who have been praying for our family during this time. God has been so faithful to us to provide help from our families (especially Dan's mom Dotty this past week and a half!), and lots of help from our friends locally as well. It's not always the case that God answers our prayers the way we hope, but in this case we are so thankful to watch how he has answered our petitions and the prayers of others on our behalf. My physical therapist says that the rate at which I am healing is very good and almost as good as we could hope for.

Jonah is doing well. He regained his birth weight and is sleeping well (for a newborn) at night. We are still trying to work on breastfeeding, some days are better and other days I am on the verge of going to formula. We are still trying to make it to 6 weeks for now.

Lucy, our pug, is going to stay with my parents in Texas until Christmas to help us have one less thing to deal with for now. We will miss her, but she will hopefully get more attention and exertion staying with my parents for now.

If you somehow missed what is going on with my leg: During Jonah's birth, either because of the positioning during pushing or maybe pressure from Jonah as he came out, my right femoral nerve was compressed, stretched, or somehow shut down. I didn't feel anything at the time (it may have been masked by my epidural) but once my epidural wore off and I should have been able to walk, I would still buckle and fall. The shut down of the nerve completely shut down my right quadricep muscle and muscles atrophy very fast when they are not doing anything. The nerve should heal 100% on its own ("a matter of weeks" says the neurologist). I am going to physical therapy to build back up my atrophied muscle. The situation is actually really similar to rehab you have to go to when you have ACL surgery because they have to cut through your quad for that.

Physical Therapy Update

2011-10-19T16:42:00.005-05:00

Today I had my first session of physical therapy for my quad muscle. According to the physical therapist, I'm making really good progress. She estimates I'm already back to 40-50% and that I could possibly be back to 100% in 3-4 weeks of PT. When I hit 60-65% I should hopefully be strong enough to walk on my own, without a brace or a walker, and carry Jonah because I will be able to catch myself without falling if my knee buckles. Yay! Praise the Lord for the healing I already have and a good prognosis for the future! Thank you all for your prayers- please continue to pray for us that I would heal quickly.

We have also been having a very difficult time with breastfeeding. I have been having severe pain while breastfeeding, despite the fact that Jonah has a very strong latch and no trouble with interest. We saw a lactation consultant who thought Jonah had a posterior tongue-tie that was affecting his ability to suck correctly and explained the pain. She referred us to a doctor who we did end up seeing this week. She performed a procedure to clip his tongue tie. Dan and I are feeling ambivalent about the decision to get the procedure and we can't really tell yet if it worked or not. By the end of the visit, we did not feel like we trusted the doctor, and we won't go back to her again. Now we are trying to make a decision about sticking it out with breastfeeding (which is still incredibly painful most of the time) or switch to formula feeding. Meanwhile I am spending all day either sleeping, eating, attached to a breast pump, attached to a breastfeeding baby, or doing my PT exercises. Please pray that god would give us wisdom about making feeding choices for Jonah, and that we would trust Him to provide and not live in guilt whatever we do.

We are calling Jonah our little eaglet because many of his cries sound like baby eagle screeches :)

Jonah & Brittany Update-Day 6

2011-10-15T11:40:00.001-05:00

Just a quick update. Jonah is doing great- though I think his days and nights are opposite from ours.

Brittany is doing a little better. She saw the physical therapist Friday and has 1 month of 2x/week appointments. She can kick her right leg just a little bit, but in no way can put any weigth on it. The PT gave her some exercises to do every day and she's using a prescribed walker. Her biggest frustration, though, is that she can't pick up Jonah and carry him around.

Thank the Lord for these superstars- Patty and Cary Tanamachi and Kim Vander Velde!

-Dan for the Smiths

Plum District: $60 voucher to EcoMom for $21 = 5 packages of diapers for $4.20 each shipped

2011-09-27T10:09:00.002-05:00

Plum District- a deal of the day site offering both national and local deals- is giving 30% off the purchase of all deals when the promo code plumlove is used at checkout through Friday. Some people are also reporting that if you are a first-time sign-up, they are getting a $10 credit to their account!

Plum District also has a deal on a voucher to EcoMom.com this week, a site offering all-natural and organic products for babies, kids, and parents. For $30, you can snag a $60 voucher. But then use the plumlove code at checkout to bump the price down to just $21! Shipping is included.

Visit Plum District under their “everywhere” deals, to find the EcoMom sale.

If you’re in the market for diapers, here’s a great way to get a nice deal on some chlorine-free, eco-friendly ones using this Plum deal.

1. Buy the EcoMom voucher for $21, after using the promo code at checkout.

2. Once your voucher is ready to use, visit EcoMom and go to the diapers. (My voucher was ready immediately.)

3. Add 5 packs of Nature BabyCare diapers to your shopping cart.

4. Go to checkout and enter your PlumDistrict voucher code.

5. Your total should be $0 with free shipping. Proceed through checkout.

That comes out to paying just $4.20 a pack for eco-friendly diapers, or (13.5 cents each for size 3).

Ecomom also has some Melissa & Doug products on sale. I see baby bjorn stuff and cloth diapers too!

$49 - Monarch: 'Transcendent' Dinner for 2 w/Wine, Reg. $127

2011-09-26T12:13:00.001-05:00

We love Monarch! Dan and I ate here when our friend Garrett was working in the kitchen, learning to be a chef. This place is really good and this looks like a pretty good deal. I'm considering telling Dan to buy it for my birthday.

$49 - Monarch: 'Transcendent' Dinner for 2 w/Wine, Reg. $127

Land's End Convertible Diaper Bag for $12 shipped

2011-09-25T09:59:00.002-05:00

Convertible Backpack Diaper Bag $11.25 at lands end

Source: landsend.com via Brittany on Pinterest

Lands end has this Diaper bag for $15,

use code DISCOVER and pin 6956 for additional 25% off and free shipping.

for me it was $11.85 after tax.

There are many colors available.

There are mixed reviews, but Land's End makes pretty good bags so I am risking it :)

Leard/Tanamachi Shower in Mesquite

2011-09-24T09:58:00.000-05:00

This shower was held at my mom's house in Mesquite, TX. It was mostly for my side of the family and friends. Also whale themed!

Dan and I made whale cookies to give as favors! I got the idea to shift the icing color as I went from Beth's cupcakes. Some are light blue, some are dark, some are more grey, some are more blue-green, etc.

Cute whale clothes and some repurposed decorations ;)

My mom's idea to make it look "under the sea"

I get the comfy chair!

VIP's. From left, future grandma "JoJo" Janis, soon to be great-grandma Nana, and future great-aunt Lynda.

Mom really wanted a Mavericks theme - so this is her hold out decoration.

I made these to put together in a book later.

Nana noshing.

Work friends of mom. So glad they could be there!

One of the games - cut up pictures of Dan and me to create what Jonah would look like!

My aunt Lynda embroidered this for us - I love my face but my mom's is even better!

Sweet friend Megan was one of the winners of baby-gift BINGO.

Leard family photo. From left, Uncle Jefferson, Me, Lucy, Dan, Nana, "PawPaw," "JoJo" and Aunt Lynda.

SO HAPPY to see my friend Rachel who lives in Waco!

Baby Backpack for Dan

2011-09-23T09:46:00.001-05:00

So far, I have yet to buy a diaper bag. Thanks to an AWESOME friend, I was given a gorgeous pre-loved Kate Spade baby bag in great condition, which I plan to use personally. It definitely looks like a purse. I like it that way.

However, I realize that when Dan has baby duty or when we go out together and he needs to carry the supplies, he might be less-than-stoked to carry around what looks like a purse. He assures me that he is willing to carry anything, and I know he will because he loves me. But since he hasn't had as many fun baby gifts yet, I suggested we go to REI and buy him a cool-looking backpack that's water resistant, wipable, and usable as a baby backpack even though it looks nothing like it. We have three now we are trying to choose between, what do you think?

Source: rei.com via Brittany on Pinterest

Option #1

Source: rei.com via Brittany on Pinterest

Option #2

Source: rei.com via Brittany on Pinterest

Option #3

When the REI employee asked if he could help us, I explained what we were shopping for, and how we were actually going to use it as a diaper bag, which meant it needed to be wipable or washable. I could tell he didn't really like the idea of any of those awesome bags getting soiled. He said, "all I can think of is baby poop all over it." I did explain we would use wet bags.

Gracey Shower in Dallas

2011-09-22T09:44:00.001-05:00

This shower was given to us by Dan's family. Dan's mom Dotty is one of 6 six sisters, daughters of John and Martha Gracey. All the sisters now have so many kids who are cousins, and many of them still live in the Dallas area, so they have throwing baby and bridal showers down to an art. All the Gracey sisters (Dan's aunts) pitch in, plus my sister's-in-law Sarah and Ellen. It was held at St. Mark Presbyterian Church in Dallas.

Beautiful cake made by cousin Lauren.

Diaper cake made by Ellen. She also hand painted the wooden letters for Jonah's room!

My friend Caroline was able to be there!

About to open gifts, Dan is caught on camera.

Dotty explaining her gift to me:

She gave us a subscription to Growing Child, a monthly newsletter that helps you understand your child — why he does certain things at certain times, what he's learning by doing them, and what you can do to help him develop. Each monthly issue of Growing Child matches the age of your child. Growing Child will keep you informed about what to expect at each stage of your child's development, and how to deal with each month's changes and challenges.

Sweet sister.

From left, me, Dan, Memama (Martha Gracey), Philip, Dotty, and Ellen

Trinity Shower in SLO

2011-09-20T09:22:00.002-05:00

This week will be mostly some blogging of photos from some of my baby showers friends and family so graciously gave us this summer/fall. To start, the sweet ladies of Trinity Presbyterian in San Luis Obispo gave me a sweet, crafty shower in July while we were in California. It was the beginning of many whale-themed events to come.

Cute whale cupcakes made by Beth Appel.

Favors also made by Beth.

Chip and Beth's house decorated so cute!

Playing a game. Guests had to mold play doh into a baby behind their backs.

Picking the winner

Andrea, on the left, also hosted. Friend Annie on the right. Chip watching strategically from the food area.

Give them Grace - Review, Study & Resources

2011-09-16T13:00:00.002-05:00

This summer I was able to help lead a quick book study with some moms on this book, Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus. The book has lots of good things in it. There are some things I don't agree with, things I would challenge, but I'd definitely affirm:

The authors expose the formula many of us operate on in raising children: Good parenting in, good children out.
The authors correct this false formula: "Parenting with grace must not be employed as another formula to try and control God and your children." - page 52.
On page 54, "One way to judge is to consider your reaction when your children fail."
And page 59, "There are no promises in the Bible that even our best parenting will produce good children. None."
"God may use your parenting as a means to draw your children to himself. But he may use other means and at a different time. Or he may use your child's rebellion and disinterest as a way to accomplish his unexpected will." - page 61.

The book has discussion questions for each chapter, some are good, some need work.

As part of our discussion, I also wrote a case study to help us talk about some of the principles, with accompanying questions. You can access it here:

"I know what the Bible Says!" - Parenting from the Backseat

We also read this article from The Gospel Coalition Blog:

Failure is not an Option

Which was somewhat in response to the July/August 2011 cover article from The Atlantic:

How to Land Your Kid in Therapy - Why the obsession with our kids' happiness may be dooming them to unhappy adulthoods. A therapist and mother reports.

And I wrote these discussion questions:

Questions for Failure is not an Option

DIY Flower Hairpins & Washcloth Lollipops

2011-09-14T12:57:00.002-05:00

Made these for friends & family and packaged them with some baby bath products or lotion for a fun & cute gift. Lots of baby showers these days....

I still need some work/help on putting it together for presentation...

I was inspired and helped to make these hairpins by my dear friend Andrea (check out her blog and etsy site). I gave them away as party favors at one shower, game prizes at another, and part of a hostess gift for another.

DIY Wedding Programs Created by Me

2011-09-12T12:29:00.003-05:00

These are the wedding programs I created and assembled for my wedding in 2008. I always planned to post pics of the process and never did.

I used red card-stock for the backing, and cream colored paper that I printed the pages from my designs on the computer for the other layers. I used a corner-cutting punch to make the corners curved and then tied all the layers together with gold ribbon.

I had lots of help from friends and family assembling it all as well :)

Here are some more photos

Nationwide Free Night of Theater!

2011-09-10T11:29:00.005-05:00

Theatre Communications Group's
FREE NIGHT OF THEATER

Over the past six years the Free Night of Theater program has introduced more than 250,000 new theatergoers to the thrill of live performance. This year tickets will be offered for performances from October 1-31. Tickets become available beginning in September.

This is apparently a nationwide event. Click here for more information on how to get free theater tickets at a location near you:

http://www.freenightoftheater.net/

St. Louis tickets will be given away for the following theaters starting Sept 19:

Avalon Theatre Company (enter to win 2 tickets to Oct 15 performance of PORTRAIT OF MY PEOPLE)

Black Cat Theatre

Insight Theatre (enter to win 2 tickets to Oct 1 or Oct 2 performance of RABBIT HOLE)

The Black Rep

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Upstream Theatre

Click here for more information for St. Louis.

I am bummed, because since the tickets will be for October, it won't likely be possible for me to go, but I hope someone else does!

Sweepstakes loot

2011-09-05T14:15:00.001-05:00

About to list all this on ebay

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Smith Update - The Return to St. Louis

2011-09-02T22:19:00.003-05:00

We met up with Patty (Brittany's mom) and her friends who were vacationing in California. We toured The Hearst Castle.

Inside of Hearst Castle - this dining room was used for inspiration for the dining hall in the Harry Potter movies.

Awesome pool.

Awesome pool #2 - indoors.

Last sunday at Trinity Pres in SLO - sweet friends.

This was the group of regulars from Theology Pub for college students that Dan went to most Monday nights.

Dan with the Trinity elders.

Sweet friends, from L to R: Julia, Iris and Annie.

We love the Appels!

Sunset at the Hermosa Inn on the way back to Texas.

Happy 3rd anniversary!

The summer flew by, and it’s already been a month since we drove east toward the rising sun, away from the Pacific Ocean and the wonderful people of Trinity Presbyterian Church in San Luis Obispo. Though the internship ended, our full schedule did not.

Dan preached our last Sunday at Trinity Pres in SLO - it was a great way to end, although sad to say goodbye to all our wonderful friends in California.

The Hermosa Inn, Paradise Valley, AZ. Our first stop driving east was at this wonderful boutique inn in Scottsdale, AZ. We stayed two nights for our 3rd wedding anniversary and began readjusting to the heat we did NOT face in SLO. We highly recommend this inn- especially if you get a deal through Jetsetter.com

We stayed a week in Texas- splitting between Dan’s hometown- Longview, and the Dallas area. We had two baby showers- one from the Gracey clan (Dan’s mom’s family) and one from the Tanamachis, Menascos, Leard, and friends. We enjoyed celebrating with our friends and family the coming arrival of Jonah. We also stopped in Tulsa, OK for a night, to see our niece Katherine’s baptism Sunday morning. Our travels through Texas and Oklahoma provided great time with friends and family.

We separated for our drive back to STL and Brittany drove our new Jeep Grand Cherokee- a great and truly appreciated gift from Dan’s parents. Thank you so much!!!

Since being back in STL, we’ve: continued prepping our 300 sq ft apartment for Jonah’s arrival; started a 6 weeks childbirth class at the hospital; Dan’s returned to free-lance landscaping and Brittany has substituted taught at Covenant Christian School.

Dan’s school started back this week. He’s excited about his classes- especially his class about the Psalms and Wisdom Literature of the Bible, and a class about Leadership and system dynamics in relationship in ministry. Brittany will also spend time at the seminary this year- she will be a Teaching Assistant and Grader for one of her great education professors- Dr. Donald Guthrie.

Life is pretty much getting back to normal... except we have a baby coming in about a month!!!

Prayer:

We are grateful for how the Lord blessed us this summer. Please give thanks with us for:

The hospitality and love of the folks of Trinity Presbyterian Church and the Medlock family for letting us live with them
Much love and support showered during several baby showers
A great safe car for Brittany and Jonah- Dan’s parents’ former Jeep Grand Cherokee. Now we have a safe place for a car-seat that has working AC.
A wonderful scholarship from First Presbyterian Church, Longview, TX
An amazing blessing of a full tuition waver from the seminary. The scholarship is for students in their final year, planning to enter pastoral ministry, and who met certain qualifications.

Please Pray

For Jonah’s continued development and preparation for his arrival in about a month
Brittany’s health as she becomes more uncomfortable and closer to delivery
Dan as he tries to figure out how to balance caring for Brittany and Jonah, as well as diligence in study, and regularity in his landscaping work.
Our future as Dan starts applying for jobs for when he graduates in May.

Sorry the photos aren't working on the other postsI

2011-09-02T10:06:00.002-05:00

If you want to see the photos from the first 4 recap posts, let me know and I will email them to you. Otherwise, I think from now on the photo problem should be fixed for blog updates.

Smith Summer in San Luis Obispo (Recap #4)

2011-09-01T21:28:00.002-05:00

Wow! We are about to enter our final week of internship on California's Central Coast. The time has flown by and we will be said to have to say good bye to some of our new friends. The people have been wonderful and the experience has been educational as we continue to prepare for ministry.

Some highlights from the past two weeks:

* We traveled to Atlanta, GA for Reformed University Fellowship's Assessment. It was like a three day job interview with RUF Area Coordinators and other former RUF campus ministers. Dan preached a modified version of the sermon he did three Sundays ago at Trinity. We both participated in two case studies- or scenarios to see how well we interact with others and with problem solving. We also spent a good amount of time with our two assessors, David and Ruth Green. At the end, they told us that we passed without any reservations. They will try to place us on a campus for Fall 2012, but cannot guarantee a job for us right now. They have to see what opens up. We're grateful for our time there and grew in our appreciation of each other as ministry partners through the process.

*After RUF Dan flew back to CA and Brittany flew to St. Louis for a busy weekend with her mom (who flew from Dallas to meet her). They rearranged the apartment for life with baby Jonah, shopped for strollers and car seats and other baby things, and went to a doctor's check-up. Dan was glad to have her back this past Tuesday. Brittany was glad to get a little nesting done and time with her mom.

*Last Friday, the folks at Trinity gathered at Grover Beach for a church-wide bonfire/potluck. Dan enjoyed having more conversations with Trinity folks. He's going to miss these evenings on the beach!

*The women of Trinity Pres threw Brittany a baby shower this past Thursday. We both have felt so loved by these people, and Brittany enjoyed celebrating the coming arrival of Jonah with these wonderful women.

* Conversations over coffee, breakfast, and lunch- Dan and Brittany have both met with different folks from the church over the last week and a half and discussion life, faith, marriage, babies, vocation, and the church. We love relational ministry.

*Other things: Kayaking on Morrow Bay, beer brewing and bottling, Theology Pub, hospital and home visits, session meetings, worship planning....

Please Pray:

- in praise for a good trip and time in Atlanta at RUF Assessment- as well as thanksgiving safe travel.

- for Dan as he prepares and preaches God's word our last Sunday here.

- for us as we begin the long drive back on Aug 1. Please also pray that we have a refreshing 3rd year Wedding Anniversary at a nice hotel (at a great price) Brittany found in Scottsdale, AZ.

- that we would end our time well here with good processing and debriefing so we can reflect upon what we learned.

And now for the visual learners:

Dan always has to stir the pot

Smelling the beer ingredients... mmm

Men's kayaking event

Dan and Andrew Medlock kayaked together

Trinity Presbyterian congregation making their way in for Sunday worship

Chilling on the beach after kayaking

Dan talking to some folks before church

No trip to the california coast is complete without some winery visits!

Originally composed July 25, 2011

Smith Summer in San Luis Obispo (Recap #3)

2011-09-01T21:19:00.002-05:00

Hi Friends and Family,

We are halfway through our SLO Summer and it is going fast! Some highlights from the past few weeks:

*We stayed one week in Morro Bay with our new friends Chip & Beth Appel while the Medlocks hosted friends from out of town. The Appel's house is within sight of the beach, and it was much cooler there. Chip is a deacon at Trinity Church and he took Dan out surfing our last day with them. Chip is a soil sciences professor at Cal-Poly and loves to teach, so Dan had a great time learning surfing - which is hard!!

*We took a guided tour of Cal-Poly this past week. It's a beautiful campus and it was hopefully good to hear a refresher about college life and what students are thinking about as they come to college. (Lots of questions about sharing bathrooms and what the dorm food is like!) I'm sure people were wondering why we were on the tour since we don't look 18ish and the only kid we have is obviously in utero.

*Dan has been working on his next sermon as well as putting together a plan for Trinity to launch a small group ministry in the fall. He's been reading over resources and talking with Jon and other Trinity members to try and put something together that is both educationally and theologically robust but also in line with Trinity's context and church personality. He's reading Simple Church by Thom Rainer. Dan also helped plan a men's event which is happening right now (Saturday morning). They are kayaking and having lunch on a sand bar and had lots of men sign up to go, which is great.

*Brittany has helped Laurabeth lead a book discussion over the past two weeks over the book Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus. So far they all really like the book. Brittany even wrote a case study for the first week to help the discussion get going.

*Other things: baseball games, yummy mexican food, more jamba juice, beer tastings, fireworks, and lots of fellowship.

Prayer Requests:

THIS WEEK! We travel to Atlanta for RUF Assessment. We are really excited about this and looking forward to how God will use this to help give us direction in our future call to ministry. Please pray that we wouldn't be anxious, and that we would be honest and candid with the assessors, and not try to be anybody but ourselves. Pray for patience and energy, for us as well as the assessors, as we've heard it can be an intense three days of hard questions and thoughtful reflection.

Also continue to pray for Dan's sermon preparation and delivery tomorrow. He preaches at least two more times after this as well.

Pray for Brittany and Jonah's continued health - Brittany had a stomach bug last week but is pretty much back to 100% now. Brittany is also traveling to St. Louis for a Dr. appointment before returning to SLO next week. Pray that all the tests turn out normal :)

We think we probably still have some money to raise, but we'll find out for sure next week at Assessment how much we still need.

Thank you all for your prayers!
Love,

Dan & Brittany

4th of July party with church members

One of Dan's favorite activities here - weekly Theology Pub with college students!

Black Horse Coffee - Dan meets here to plan worship with Bret every Tuesday morning.

Cold water

Chip's crash course in surfing

He stood up once, but mostly made it to his knees. Much better by the end!

Professor of soil sciences analyzes the sand quality :)

Surfer dudes

Beth & Brittany in Morro Bay.

Taco Temple - so good!

Morro rock in background.

Sweet family in Morro bay who hosted us for one week.

Feeding the seagulls!

Cal Poly tour - beautiful campus

Agricola! Board games with the Rooks family

Dan & Jon at Tap It Brewery. Right now they only make IPA and APA, but both are pretty good.

At the local baseball game. Lots of big 12 players come out here to play for the summer.

Originally composed July 9, 2011

Smith Summer in San Luis Obispo (Recap #2)

2011-09-01T21:08:00.005-05:00

Hi friends and family!

It's been another fast two weeks of our California Adventure. Here are some highlights:

*Dan preached for the first time at Trinity Church. Check out their website (http://www.trinityslo.org/). Dan's sermon is available for download. He preached on Pentecost Sunday on Acts 2.

*We enjoyed lots of fun and fellowship with Trinity members so far including a Bunco night, a beach bonfire, a beach lunch get-together, the weekly Farmer's Market on Thursday night, a games night of Bohnanza! and much more.

*Lucy went to the beach for the first time, but I don't think she liked it. She had sand everywhere in her eyes and face and wouldn't romp in the water with the other dogs. She is happy to lay in the sun on a nice pillow at home instead.

*Baby Smith now has a name: Jonah Mills Smith. Mom and baby are doing well. Jonah kicks a lot throughout the day. Brittany is having some back and hip pain but overall is doing fine.

*One thing Dan has especially enjoyed is the weekly "Theology Pub" on Monday nights. One of the ruling elders has led group discussion with college students every Monday to discuss the week's sermon or whatever else comes up relating theology and life. Dan has been able to attend three times and even lead once. We both really enjoy getting to know and minister to college students again, even for just this short time. (Students are mostly from Cal-Poly, which is located in SLO)

*We traveled this past weekend to Dallas for a quick trip to attend a family wedding and were also able to see all our Dads to celebrate father's day.

*We have almost raised all our support! Thank you for your prayers to this effect. We now only lack $1000 towards the fee of RUF Assessment in July.

Prayer requests: Prayer for our continued work with the church. Dan will preach 4 more times, as well as working on helping develop small group and children's ministries at the church (Brittany will help too). Also please pray for pain relief for Brittany (she's trying some new daily stretching techniques to help with this also). Prayer for our upcoming trip to Atlanta for RUF assessment and for the rest of the funding we need.

We miss you all and hope you are well - please keep us updated on your lives as well!

Below are some pics from the past 2 weeks as well.

Love,

Dan & Brittany

Look at those beets!

No unpasteurized dairy for baby Jonah please

From L to R: Andrew Medlock, Laurabeth Medlock, Anna (adopted college student), Chloe Medlock, Jack Medlock

We got the veggie crepe and soup combo

Farmer's is all about the chow

Chloe helping out the street performer

Man vs. kabob

This is the main city street downtown - look at the awesome trees!

Farmer's market stall

Minimum once a week Brittany gets jamba juice. SLO has the original location!

At Matt & Shannon's wedding in hot Texas - glad to be back in CA in the cool!

Stopped at the Santa Monica Pier on the drive back to SLO from LAX

Looking more pregnant now

The amusement part wasn't open at 9am, but it was good to stretch our

legs after our early 3-hour flight!

Originally composed June 23, 2011

Smith Summer in San Luis Obispo (Recap #1)

2011-09-01T18:14:00.001-05:00

On the road to sunny, CA

Lucy says, are we there yet?

Brittany kickin back as we roll into Denver

Utah landscape

Utah sunset

The only picture we took in Vegas - of the motel six sign. We did walk around but we were beat - got in after midnight....

Made it to CALIFORNIA!!! Bird's eye view of SLO (San Luis Obispo)

Dan chillin at Friday night bonfire on Grover beach.

Awesome back patio of the house we are staying at. Lucy is snuggled up to bff Mabel.

Hello Friends! We hope that your summer is going well.

After three days in the car of watching the terrain change, we made it to San Luis Obispo, California on Saturday May 28. It took us a couple of days to recover, but the trip was worth it. We are glad to be out here.

So far, we’ve gotten to spend some good time with the Medlock family and meet plenty of different people who are connected with the church. The first week Brittany attended a craft night for mom’s and kids, we ate dinner with a church family, and played board games with another family. Brittany got to teach the game Bohnanza (Beans) again. We also attended a weekly bonfire that several folks related to the church host on the beach every Friday evening.

Dan has been in conversation with Rev. Jon Medlock about the church’s strategic plan and how that relates to establishing small groups and children’s ministry. He has helped plan the worship service for this past sunday and this coming Sunday, June 12. This will be a big Sunday for him, as it will be the first of four or five sermons that he preaches here this summer. Dan will be preaching on Acts 2 for this coming Pentecost Sunday. He also had the opportunity to meet several college age students through a “Theology Pub” the church hosts at a local coffeehouse.

In the past two weeks, Dan felt the baby kick for the first time (Brittany has felt it for several weeks). Brittany’s belly is definitely growing and we’re amazed at the human life that God is growing inside her.

Please pray for us.

Pray for:
-Brittany and the baby boy’s continued health and development.
-Brittany as she is just now able to mentally prepare and plan for the fall. Pray that she would balance well planning for the future being present where we are
-Us as we fold into the Medlock family- that we might be an encouragement and help to them
Me as I prepare to preach this week and several other weeks
As we prepare for RUF assessment this July
As we continue to raise support for this internship and RUF assessment.

Praise
For Brittany’s graduation from Covenant Theological Seminary with her Master of Arts in Educational Ministries
The warm welcome we have received from the Medlock’s and the folks of Trinity Presbyterian
The Lord’s financial provision. We’ve raised about half of what we need for the internship and RUF assessment. Please pray that the other half will come in as well as we have conversations with other folks.

Love,
Dan & Brittany

Originally composed June 9, 2011

iPad for Sale!

2010-11-20T11:14:00.001-06:00

Us at Cloud Gate or more commonly called "The Bean" at Millenium Park, Chicago.

We are going to Dallas and Longview for Thanksgiving. We are also going to be coming to Texas for 3-4 weeks over December and January to save and earn money by staying with and working for our parents. We are thankful for them.

Also, if you or your friends or family are thinking about buying an iPad for someone for Christmas, come talk to me about it. I have two brand new, sealed 16 GB wifi iPads that I'm trying to sell for $50 off what you would pay at the Apple Store ($499 + $40 tax = $539 in store. I am selling for $489.) Apple care warranty is included for one year. Keep your ears open :)

Last night Dan asked me to make cookies for him, and I pulled out eggs from the fridge that had a sell-by date of July 27. I found out you can substitute corn starch and water for eggs!

Love yall,

Brittany

My awesome science family

2010-10-13T14:54:00.001-05:00

Click on this link to see the video my family made--

http://ptanamachi.posterous.com/

Birthday Freebies, Round 1

2010-10-06T12:08:00.003-05:00

So far, I've redeemed my Aveda and Victoria Secret Birthday freebies - and boy were they awesome! The Victoria's Secret was just a free $10 to spend, so I got a $10 body wash. Aveda has you come in and do a "scent journey" where you smell all these different oils and scents, pick your favorite and they custom make a full-size product for you. I chose body lotion and it smells really good! If you are interested, go to their websites to sign up for their mailing lists to get your own free products during the month of your birthday.

Start using Mint.com to manage your money today!

2010-10-01T10:04:00.001-05:00

"We use mint to manage our finances - it's a pretty helpful tool!"

With Mint, you can:

* Get set up in minutes
* See all your accounts in one place
* Set and track your budgets & achieve your goals
* Find hundreds of dollars in personalized savings
* Stay safe and secure...and it's free!

View >>

Master List

2010-09-14T20:19:00.003-05:00

*I compiled this for a seminary email list I am on. Some of the information will be unique to St. Louis, but not all.

Cov-Lov Master List of Deals, Coupons, Freebies, and ways to make extra cash

Collective Buying Websites:
How It Works

Each day they feature a substantial discount for something. For example - “$10 for $20 Worth of food at restaurant “X” - Sign up for daily emails to stay updated, or visit the site every day.
You only get it if enough people join that day.
Each day will feature a new and different deal.

*Note: sometimes they do have a limited number they are selling and will run out.

Groupon- easily the most reccomended, highly publicized, and successful of this category.
Living Social

**There are litereally hundreds more of these kinds of sites.

Cashback websites:
How it Works

If you ever plan to purchase something from an online retailer, check first to see if they are registered with any of these websites.
First visit the website, then click on the link to the retailer.
You will receive a percentage back in cash, check, paypal or giftcard.

*Note that some websites require a minimum $ amount or point number before you can cash out.

www.mypoints.com
www.ebates.com
www.mrrebates.com
www.shopathome.com
www.upromise.com

Also - here is a helpful Cashback rate comparison chart, to help you decide which site gives the best cashback on a particular retailer...
http://www.cashbackmonitor.com/

Surveys or emails for cash or giftcards:
How it Works

Some of these overlap with the rebate sites
The sites will send you:

Emails that you get points or cents from for viewing the email and clicking the link. This takes awhile to “read” enough emails to get enough for a payout or giftcard, but for the most part I am able to average 3-4 $25 giftcards a year from this method alone from MyPoints.
Emails that have links to surveys you can take to earn money (typically much more than those from category a.)

*Note that not all websites do both kinds of emails.

www.mypoints.com
www.inboxdollars.com
www.pandaresearch.com
www.opinionoutpost.com
www.erewards.com

Coupon sites:

www.stlmommy.com - coupon match-ups for St. Louis area grocery stores, plus freebies, giveaways, etc.
www.wildforwags.com - extensive coupon match-ups for Walgreens shoppers
http://www.restaurant.com/ - discounts on gift certificates to restaurants. *Note the fine print on minimum purchase requirements.
www.myspringfieldmommy.com - coupon match-ups for Missouri area grocery stores, plus freebies, giveaways, etc.
www.retailmenot.com - compilation of coupon codes for use shopping online at TONS of sites

Sample Sales:
www.gilt.com
www.ruelala.com

Marketing Research companies in St. Louis that pay:
Delve - sign up for emails to alert you when they are looking for participants for research studies.
Submitted by: Brittany Smith - I have done an in-home product trial over 2 weeks for $85.
www.delve.com

Hatch - sign up for emails to alert you when they are looking for participants for research studies.
Submitted by: Brittany Smith - I have done a 2-hour focus group for them before for $65. (We had to eat powdered donuts and honeybuns and give our opinion).
http://www.hatchglobalresearch.com/

Peters Market Research - sign up for emails to alert you when they are looking for participants for research studies.
Submitted by: Brittany Smith - I have been contacted by them many times by phone to see if I qualify for studies, but haven’t gotten one yet. From their emails, they seem to do a lot of health or disease-related studies.
http://www.petersmktg.com/index.html

Other helpful sources for frugal living and money-conscious spending:

Swagbucks - Everyone must use this!! It’s free money in your pocket! Just switch to using Swagbucks search engine for all of your online searching (instead of google, bing, or yahoo) and you will win “swagbucks” which you can redeem for Amazon giftcards and other great prizes.
Submitted by: Brittany Smith - I have literally made over $100 in amazon gift cards this way. www.swagbucks.com

Slickdeals - user-based forums for discounts, freebies, coupons, and sales
Submitted by: Brittany Smith - I have found this to be the most in-depth source for all my frugalista ways.
www.slickdeals.net

Money Saving Mom - this is a blogger who writes on frugal living and domestic financial issues, as well as posting coupon match-ups and other normal coupon blog things.
Submitted by: Brittany Smith - I also enjoy that she seems to write from a Christian worldview about finances (although I am unsure of her exact religious affiliation).
www.moneysavingmom.com

BzzAgent - this is a viral marketing company of which you can sign up to be a member They are paid by clients (brands) to have marketing campaigns where they let us, the members, have free trials of products that are sent directly to us if we are accepted into the campaign. Your only obligation is to spread “Bzz” and talk about the products openly and honestly with your friends, family, coworkers, whoever. Then you submit “bzz reports” back.
Submitted by: Brittany Smith - I have had a great experience with this company. I have participated in campaigns for Aveeno hair products, Softsoap bodywash, and Scrubbing Bubbles automatic shower cleaner. In all campaigns, I received full-size products to use and keep for free, plus lots of great coupons and samples to give away to friends!
www.bzzagent.com

Free Amazon Prime for Students - Get Free 2-day shipping for 1 year Great deals! No cost to join.
www.amazon.com/student

All your base is mine

2010-08-20T17:09:00.001-05:00

Me: i got a stool for my standing desk today
Jeff: a stool for your standing desk
Jeff: congratulations on undermining your own awesome

Backpacking

2010-08-08T19:25:00.002-05:00

Here we are at the beginning of the trail. Ready to go! You see we have our rain gear out because when we got out of the car it started raining.

Cataract Gulch is a four mile hike, very steep. Although it connects with at least one other trail that keeps going further, we were just going to do the Gulch up to Catarack Lake in-and-out. The original plan was to hike two miles in to camp for night one, two more miles to the lake for night two, spend one day at the lake playing, taking pictures, relaxing, etc, then four miles down on the last day.

We made it two miles up and were getting pretty tired. That may sound wimpy to some people, but this was my first time carrying 30 lbs up a steep hill and frankly I was very impressed at all times that my body kept going. It was getting later, it was still raining, and we found a workable place to make camp, although it was not as flat as we would have liked. Pretty though. We made Pad Thai for dinner this night.

The picture above was a shot the next morning. We put out our wet clothes to dry in the sun, and left a little later in the day. We did not know that this would be the last time we saw sun on trail!

Also at this point we realized that though we had lugged up my nice, HEAVY DSLR, extra telephoto lens, and tripod, somehow the battery for the camera was left in the car.

Right ahead and above our first campsite was this great series of waterfalls, which lulled us to sleep. Another bummer was we found an even better, flatter place to camp about 100 meters past where we camped, but such is life. We met a nice couple from Oklahoma who offered to take our picture with his camera and email it to us.

Continuing up, we had to cross lots of streams, which I did not expect. I was thankful for my $24 consignment leather, rainproof hiking boots for sure! Dan was really encouraging and let me lead all the way up so I could set the pace. I think he really enjoyed the hiking with me and I was proud of carrying all that weight.

We finally got above treeline the second day, and had some great views. The trail was really rocky and had some steep drops off the side occasionally. Lots of little critters lived in the rocky areas. We saw a lot of chipmunks and these critters that looked like a rat but with rounder ears, kind of like chinchillas. They made noises like "meep meep" and Dan would "meep" back and forth with them a lot.

We had to drink lots of iodine water, yummy! We definitely overpacked on the snacks, we had candy bars, hershey nuggets, gorp, dried mangos, and laughing cow cheeses.

About an hour after we got above treeline, it started to sprinkle, and then rain pretty quickly. We stopped to put on our rain gear and continued. The rain got harder and then very suddenly it was a hail storm with thunder and lightning and tiny little needles hitting my head and shoulders. Dan was not totally sure what to do at first, because he had never been in a hailstorm above treeline- there were no trees to get under! We ran down the hill on the side of the trail to maybe squat under some shrubbery, but saw that wasn't going to work because a stream was forming from all the runoff. We hiked a little further on until we found some higher shrubbery to squat under, and Dan got out the rain fly from our tent to put over us. The hail was really coming down, about pea-sized, and starting to cover the ground so much it looked like snow.

Dan was worried mostly about hypothermia and kept asking me how cold I was on a scale of one to ten. I kept saying 6 or 7 (it WAS cold) but I certainly had been MUCH MUCH colder before. We kind of hugged for body heat, not wanting to get out warmer clothes since we needed dry things for later to stay warm at night. We were both praying for God to protect us and make the rain stop soon! It was about 3:30pm and we really wanted to be getting into camp before evening. Finally the hail subsided to just a steady rain after about 30 minutes of huddling.

Dan decided he wanted us to get the packs back on and keep going to keep our body temperatures up from hiking. We put the packs back on and continued with him leading. We didn't really know how much farther to the lake and campsite; the map we had was small. I followed and we were able to go a little faster since the trail had leveled out some and wasn't so steep. We were mostly going over hills, up and down, crossing engorged streams in between them.

I remember at one point the trail itself was basically a stream, completely muddy and there was no way to not just splash and muck my way through. I was cold and soaking wet, tired from carrying a heavy backpack up a MOUNTAIN, and this was the one moment I could not help thinking to myself, "That's it! I just do not want to be here anymore!!" I think I only said out loud to Dan that I just didn't want to DO this, but before I finished saying it I was already splashing through. What other choice did I have? There was no where else to go but forward.

We reached the campsite about an hour after the hailstorm. I remember coming over yet another hill and Dan saying, "Here it is, this has to be the lake." And I was just so happy! "We made it!" I yelled. The rain was now just a sprinkle. Dan told me what he wanted us to do was immediately pitch the tent, take off our wet clothes and get in thermals in our sleeping bags to warm up. So we quickly unloaded the stuff, trying not to stay still for too long to avoid getting the shivers. At this point I remember thinking, "Thank you mom for buying me cuddle duds four years ago. Thank you Dan for buying me a fleece for Christmas. Thank you REI for having fleece pants in my size the night before we left for the trip. Thank you MyPoints for paying for this sleeping bag." We fell asleep for about an hour, then decided we should try to cook dinner before dark. We made guaco tacos, which were delish.

The next day we woke up to lots of fog and mist. Since it had been cold, rainy, foggy and misty the whole first two days, and the third day looked like it would be the same, we decided to cut the trip short and go home that day instead of spend a day being cold in the tent. We did hike up a little hill near our campsite at the lake to take pictures with Dan's point and shoot camera.

This shows the end of the trail. If you look at the tiny white dot in both pictures, that is our tent. To the right is Cataract Lake. Other than the critters, this morning was the first and only time we saw an animal on trail. A deer of some kind was hollering at us from across the lake. I don't know really how to describe the sound, I didn't know deer made sounds. It was kind of like a hooting or a honking, but more guttural.

We packed up and started back down the trail. Right as we were leaving the lake, we met another day hiker who had just made it up the trail with her dog Astro. She made me wish Lucy had come with us, although I don't know how she would have done being so wet the whole time. Astro was a poodle but you could hardly tell because of all the mud and muck covering him!

It took us more than four hours to make it down the four miles of trail. All the way down the trail I was thinking, "Thank you Ed and Kathy Sunder for lending me a hiking stick." Because my knees started hurting from the impact about a mile down and hurt the whole rest of the way. My left knee is still hurting when I walk today. I'm icing it.

This is what it looked like the whole rest of the way down, if you add rain:

But we made it down! Hooray!

And now it's time for Brittany to get some TLC. "Thank you mom and Japan, for my car."

Photos from our parents visiting!

2010-07-07T16:42:00.000-05:00

Covenant Church Memorial Day Picnic

2010-06-01T00:18:00.002-05:00

Wade Jewett Look Away

2010-04-27T23:47:00.005-05:00

My friend Corinne encouraged me to post my deals from tonight's insane "wagging" (That is what they call coupon-shopping at Walgreens).

So here it goes:

Transaction 1

Stayfree Maxipads (1) @ 2.99ea
3M Scotch Packaging tape (4) @ 3.49ea
Dried Apricots (1) @ 1.00ea
Skintimate Shave Cream (1) @ 2.99ea
Clio Hair Trimmer (1) @ 4.99 ea
Nail clippers (1) @0.69ea

used
$2/1 Stayfree coupon (1)
$1/1 Scotch coupon (4)
$2.50/1 Walgreens in-ad coupon for Scotch (3)

Total: 10.62
Paid with
$5 Register Reward (2)
$0.62 OUT OF POCKET
Received
$3 Register Reward from Skintimate
$3 Register Reward from Stayfree
$5 Register Reward from Clio

Transaction 2

Stayfree Maxipads (1) @ 2.99ea
Stride Gum (3) @ 1.00ea
Plackers Mint Flossers (1) @ 2.00ea
Skintimate Shave Cream (1) @ 2.99ea
Benedryl Allergy (1) @ 4.99 ea
Tylenol Sinus (1) @4.99ea

Used
$5/2 Allergy Medicine coupon
$1/1 Stayfree coupon
.50/1 Plackers coupon
B2G1 Stride gum coupon (took off $1.29, price before sale)
$1/2 Walgreens Stride coupon (took off $1.50/3)

Total:
$11.76
Paid with
$5 Register Reward (2)
$1.76 OUT OF POCKET
Received:
$2 Plackers Register Reward
$3 Skintimate Register Reward
$3 Stayfree Register Reward
$5 Allergy Register Reward

Transaction 3
*This transaction did not go so good. The cashier did not scan TWO of my coupons for the scotch tape, and I also gave one less $5 RR to pay with than I meant to so it ended up being high $$ out of pocket

3M Scotch Packaging tape (3) @ 3.49ea
Photo Albums (2) @ 0.85ea --> Going to use these to help organize my coupons
Skintimate Shave Cream (1) @ 2.99ea
Plackers flossing pirate swords (1) @ 2.00 ea
Tylenol Cold (2) @4.99ea
Schick Quatro Disposable Razors (1) @ 5.99ea
Hallmark Cards (8) @ 0.49ea

Used
$2/1 Schick razor coupon
$1/1 Scotch tape coupon (1) --> I gave him 3! But he only scanned one :(
$2.50/1 Walgreens scotch in-ad coupon (3)
$0.50/1 Plackers (1)
$5/2 Allergy coupon (2)

Total: $20.61
Paid with
$5 Register Reward (2) --> I was so flustered b/c he was having trouble scanning all the items that I didn't give him the 3rd $5 RR I had!
$2.50 Register Reward (1)
$8.11 OUT OF POCKET --> so frustrating, this should have been $1.11
Received:
$5 Hallmark Register Reward
$5 Allergy Register Reward
$3 Skintimate Register Reward
$2 Plackers Register Reward
$1 Schick Register Reward
$3 Phantom Register Reward triggered by Schick

Transaction 4
On this transaction, I was back on my game. No more messups. And this was an awesome store-- everything in stock except the stride gum.

Stayfree maxipads (1) @ 2.99ea
3M Scotch Packaging tape (5) @ 3.49ea
Weird candy (2) @ 0.12ea --> needed to round total up to over $20
Skintimate Shave Cream (1) @ 2.99ea
Plackers flossing pirate swords (1) @ 2.00 ea
Tylenol Cold (2) @4.99ea
Schick Quatro Disposable Razors (1) @ 5.99ea
Hallmark Cards (8) @ 0.49ea

Used
$2/1 Schick razor coupon
$1/1 Stayfree coupon
$1/1 Scotch tape coupon (5)
$2.50/1 Walgreens scotch in-ad coupon (5)
$5/2 Allergy coupon (2)

Total: $20.06
Paid with
$5 Register Reward (4)
$0.06 OUT OF POCKET
Received
$5 Hallmark Register Reward
$5 Allergy Register Reward
$3 Skintimate Register Reward
$3 Stayfree Register Reward
$2 Plackers Register Reward
$1 Schick Register Reward
$3 Phantom Register Reward triggered by Schick

Transaction 5

Stayfree Maxipads (1) @ 2.99ea
Stride gum (3) @ 1.00ea
Dried Mango (1) @ 3.00ea --> not pictured

Used
$1/1 Stayfree coupon
B2G1 Stride gum coupon
$0.50/1 Walgreens Stride coupon (3)

Total: $5.49
Paid with
$2 Register Reward from Plackers
$2.50 Register Reward
$0.99 OUT OF POCKET
Received
$3 Stayfree Register Reward

So I started with $47 in RR and ended with $58 (a difference of $11)

Total Paid OOP $11.54

The total shelf, retail price of all the products at Walgreens would have been $175.88, but you also have to take that with a grain of salt because Walgreens does have a very high mark-up (so I have been told, and it seems true to me). The prices I listed in the transactions were after sales or in-store mark-downs.

This is pretty good, because if I had not messed up a bunch with that one transcation, I would have come out ahead. Essentially, the money I paid out I earned back in rewards for next time, though.

It's exhasting to type all this up, but I wanted to give some of you a good idea of what I'm learning to do with couponing.

Three times while I was checking out, random strangers (all men) made comments to me about how much my husband must love me and be proud of me for how much I am saving. I appreciated the compliments very much but also thought it was kind of strange that they were thinking about it only from my husbands point of view rather than my own. :)

A few girlfriends have told me that they want to start couponing with me this summer, so I'm excited to see how that will go. I think Corinne and I are going to start a club. Corinne, if you are reading this, I also wanted to tell you that I think someone from the seminary probably does coupons at Walgreens a lot too, because that 2nd transation I did at the Wags at Olive and Mason and they were cleaned out of all the Free-After-Register-Rewards items (that is the closest one to the seminary).

Goodnight everyone!

Genesis 3: The curse

2010-04-23T20:00:00.002-05:00

When God curses in Genesis 3, is he pronouncing something that is a natural result of sin and disobedience because it could be no other way according to the way God has ordained the universe to operate? Or does God pronounce judgment and impose a sentence that would not necessarily have been in place had he not deemed it so right then? Does this question even make sense? Or is it significant? I am leaning toward it being a tension – the nature of justice is really known only perfectly through God, who is perfectly just. So only God would be able to pronounce a just sentence that also happened to be set up to be a natural and just consequence of sin in his created world. I think I am thinking too much in terms of a human perspective (which is the only one I have!) In a court of law, when a judge or jury give a sentence or a judgment, we ask the question of our own consciences – is this a just sentence? Well, in some sense it is justice, according to the system of justice our government has implemented. But God’s perfect justice is our standard, it is possible for us to say – no this such-and-such sentence is not just as God would see it (if our consciences lead us rightly). But if God is doing the sentencing, there is no higher standard of justice to apply to. God is his own standard. This is blowing my mind.

Ebates - Don't shop online without it!

2010-04-23T13:31:00.002-05:00

I wanted to tell you about Ebates, a shopping site that gives you up to 26% Cash Back every time you shop online. You can shop at over 1000 stores including Barnes & Noble.com, Gap, Target, Buy.com and Expedia. Plus you get additional savings with exclusive coupons, free shipping offers, and limited-time sales!

Anytime you start to shop online, before you make a purchase, be sure go to ebates first to get your cashback. I have already received over $20 in cashback from purchases I would have made anyway.

Sign up with Ebates today and we'll each get a $5 bonus when you make your first purchase.

Click here to sign up.

Happy shopping!

Suffering and Glory

2010-04-21T20:00:00.001-05:00

Most of us who have started seminary already have a sense of the place of suffering in ministry – many seminary families struggle financially, for example, and have to live a simpler lifestyle than they once did. I find that I try to minimize the suffering that this causes our family at times – I try to think of it in terms of a challenge or game to figure out how to save money or make extra money. Other times, in order to avoid thinking about financial hardship now and in the future, I let our relative poverty make me feel better about myself – that someone we are more holy than others (ugh). I need to name it for what it is – its suffering and it sucks to not have money sometimes. It is a struggle to have integrity in my suffering – to legitimately recognize the sacrifice we are making as hard and painful, but to also not turn it into my own glory. Instead I give the glory of my own suffering to Christ.

Jesus invading the heart

2010-04-19T08:00:00.002-05:00

From page 58 of The Cross of Christ by John Stott:

The same evil passion influences our own contemporary attitudes to Jesus. He is still, as C.S. Lewis called him, “a transcendental interferer.” We resent his intrusions into our privacy, his demand for our homage, his expectation of our obedience. Why can’t he mind his own business, we ask petulantly, and leave us alone? To which he instantly replies that we are his business and that he will never leave us alone. So we too perceive him as a threatening rival who disturbs our peace, upsets our status quo, undermines our authority and diminishes our self-respect. We too want to get rid of him.

This passage is incredibly convicting. This is the way I often feel in marriage. I’m often exasperated and wanting my husband to get out of my business, so to speak, in our marriage. But my husband has every right to be in my business. In fact, if he wasn’t concerned about my life, heart, mind, actions, etc. he wouldn’t really be doing well in his role as husband to me. Jesus wants to be in my business because he loves me (way more than my husband). Sometimes it is really hard to understand why Jesus gets into our business, because it can be incredibly painful when things change, even if it’s simply your own mind or heart. But Jesus changes us for good. I’m glad Jesus isn’t defeated by my own resistance, just as he wasn’t defeated by death on the Cross. He continues to pursue believers and he remind us of the victory he has won for us over our sin and death.

Relish Retreat

2010-04-16T20:00:00.001-05:00

This weekend we are going to Springfield, MO. Again! Twice in less than 4 weeks. Dan is preaching (again), the same sermon only to a different audience. We are meeting up with OURUF students who annually come to Doug's hometown for their leadership retreat.

I keep forgetting we are going and start to get excited about what movie Dan and I could see on Friday night. (We still have like 7 or 8 fandango gift certs that expire June 30). But then I remember we are going to this retreat and that is better.

I'm excited to see my friends, many of whom I haven't seen in a good while. Lucy will come with us. It will be nice to sleep in some AC, since we don't have a new window unit for our apt yet. It's getting hotter every night, and we made the mistake of eating frozen pizza and using the oven for dinner last night.

This is why I coupon

2010-04-16T00:42:00.005-05:00

I did my first hard-core Shop N Save coupon/sale/10-50 thursday extravaganza today. For those of you outside of St. Louis or who don't know, that means I collected the coupon matchups for the sales at Shop n Save this week, collected my coupons, and shopped on Thursday, when they do a $10 off $50 purchase BEFORE coupons. Here was the result

4 Banquet frozen meals (for school lunches)

5 green giant steamers

2 coffee mate creamers

4 boxes of kashi cereal

2 4-packs Yoplait Yoplus yogurt

3 boxes Quaker granola bars

2 boxes of Quaker Life cereal

Oreo cakesters (free item)

2 20 count Cottonelle double rolls

On my receipt it says:

Total after tax $24.79

Advertised savings $10

Manufacturer Coupons $17.77

Red Tag Savings (Sales) $28.48

YOU SAVED A GRAND TOTAL OF..............$56.25

THAT IS A SAVINGS OF..................................70%

I haven't analyzed too closely this feeling I had coming out of the store. It's like the feeling when you win a game of Agricola against Doug Serven. Triumph. All went according to plan. Only with couponing I saved us $50.

Children's Ministry

2010-04-04T22:40:00.002-05:00

If any of you were wondering where the last post came from (my Philosophy of Children's ministry) I have an answer for you. It is twofold.

1. I took a weekend class about a month ago on Children's Ministries. The PoM (Philosophy of Ministry) was part of my course integration paper.

2. In March, I started working for our church as the children's ministries intern. (I am raising some support for a stipend.) It seemed like a great idea to use the assignment as a way to really develop a PoM for me to operate under for my internship. Brooke, the Children's Director at our church (my fearless leader!) also welcomed my thoughts on the topic since our church is sort of reworking some of it's own PoM right now.

Now, I am also starting a NEW BLOG to post specificially about my internship. Hopefully, I can put in some decent time and regularly update it with what is going on in Children's Ministries at CPC, what I am learning, how I am integrating class material, funny stories from the kids, etc.

Without further ado:

http://childrensministrymatters.blogspot.com/

My Philosophy of Children's Ministry

2010-04-03T17:20:00.003-05:00

Philosophy of Children’s Ministry by Bleard

At Covenant Presbyterian Church, we view all children as a blessing. Throughout the scriptures, children are most often referred to in terms of blessing (Psalm 128:1-4), and Jesus himself not only takes great delight in children, be regards them with honor and dignity (Matthew 19:13-15). At CPC we hope to guide children towards maturity in Christ of their whole person (in knowledge, heart, and activity).

Because children are people, and people are made in God’s image, we view children as image bearer’s of God, created by God to be in relationship with Him, with others, and with creation. Because sin entered the world, our relationships with all three have been broken and corrupted, no longer reflecting God’s original plan for us. Through the saving grace of Christ’s death and resurrection, God has provided the way for all three broken relationships to be restored and redeemed.

Our goal for Children’s Ministry at Covenant Presbyterian Church is to promote growth in grace and the reconciliation of each child to a relationship with God, relationship with others, and relationship with God’s world.

We hold to the following presuppositions in our ministry with children at Covenant Presbyterian Church (adapted from PCA2 developed by Donald Guthrie, and the RUF Philosophy of Ministry):

The Bible
The Bible is God’s revealed Word to His people and the authority under which we operate. The bible tells the story in which God is the hero and we see the big story of redemption: Creation, Rebellion, Redemption, and Restoration.

Demographics

We at Covenant Presbyterian Church are a particular group of people who live in a specific place and time. We care about who we are as a church, and seek to live faithfully as the specific group God has called us to be in this particular context. We also care about what kind of environment we create within the children’s ministry – we strive to be welcoming to all, invitational, and incarnational in all aspects of ministry life.

The Individual
In the children’s ministry, we recognize that children are individuals, who are each made uniquely by God. We also realize that children have age-specific developmental challenges when it comes to how they learn and understand concepts, respond to stimuli, and view the world. Because of this, we strive to account for all kinds of learning styles and modalities. We are committed to creating a developmentally appropriate learning climate for all participants.

The Church
The children’s ministry at Covenant Presbyterian church is committed to not becoming a silo, operating apart from the rest of the church body. We are committed to working closely with all other ministries of the church to develop a climate within the larger church body that welcomes and has a meaningful place for children. We are committed to the nurture of children as well as their parents and families

The Learning Process
Because learning is a process, we are committed to coming alongside all children, wherever they may be in their faith journey. Our goal is maturity in Christ in knowledge, heart, and activity. We want our children to experience God’s love for them, and be transformed in mind, heart, and soul.

God is at Work
The children’s ministry at Covenant Presbyterian Church recognizes the reality of God being at work among his people, including children. The Holy Spirit works in the hearts of children of any age to bring them to saving faith. We realize that God has his own set of curriculum for each child, and that all faith journeys will not look alike. We are committed to praying for the children and families in our ministry, and seeking what God would have us do in all things.

At Covenant Presbyterian Church, we take great responsibility for the growth and nurture of children. The Lord calls us to teach our children about Himself and what He has done (Deut. 6). We hope to share the love of God with every child.

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

2010-03-20T12:42:00.003-05:00

Today is my mom's birthday and my half-birthday.
Dan's birthday is Tuesday!

Free Pilgrim's Progress Audio Download

2010-03-17T20:54:00.003-05:00

“The Pilgrim’s Progress” Free Christian Audio Book Download
Christian Audio is offering a free download “The Pilgrim’s Progress” this March. Just add the audiobook to your cart and then use coupon code PROG103 at checkout to get it completely free. This offer is available up to 3/31/10. Of course you need a Christian Audio account to download it. You to download the parts individually though but it's worth it.

Click here to download!

I think this website has free audio downloads every month. This one is an extra - their downloads for this month include The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die by John Piper.

Tanga in the morning

2010-03-14T06:03:00.004-05:00

It's 6:06 a.m.

I haven't slept all night - this is what drinking coca-cola after 7pm at night now does to me. Up all night - no sleeping - now I have to get out of bed, get dressed, drink coffee and drive to the church by 7:30 to practice for my big egg-shaking debut at Covenant Church this morning during worship.

Tanga.com has a deal today: $2.77 for one year subscription to Everyday Rachel Ray (you can buy up to 4 years). It may say something like $36 or something, but register with the site and then log in and see if the price drops -- that's what I had to do. We got Dan a cheap sub to Backpacker magazine and there was a problem with it, and Tanga gave us a $5 credit so went ahead and used it up on this.

Dan and I get Backpacker, Food & Wine, Real Simple, The Alcade (my alumni magazine), Business Week, and now Everyday with Rachel Ray. I think the only ones we paid for out of those is the Backpacker, the rest were from rewards programs or gifts.

What magazines do you subscribe to?

Reading List

2010-03-09T18:57:00.001-06:00

Books Read in 2010 (so far)

The Hunger Games – a young girl is sent to a fight to the death by her overbearing government but finds a way to bring courage and dignity to a terrifying and grotesque system.

Catching Fire (sequel to above) – rumbles of rebellion against the totalitarian state and hollow culture of the capitol city.

The Other Boleyn Girl – way too long, but dang the Tudors were messed up.

Created in God’s Image – We affirm man’s personhood and his creatureliness. The image of God in man is dynamic, not static (sanctification). Evil’s origin is a riddle.

The Sacred Marriage – Anecdotal, reflective, compelling. Marriage is to make us holier, not happier.

The Jesus Storybook Bible – “Why has no one ever told it like this before?”

God Our Teacher – How to account for the Holy Spirit in our teaching?

Dewey

2010-03-02T20:03:00.004-06:00

John Dewey taught us many things but none more important than this statement: "Perhaps the greatest of all pedagogical fallacies is that people learn the thing they are studying at the time they are studying it."

-Nothing Never Happens (John D. Hendrix)

This weekend I am taking a weekend class on Children's Ministry.

Dan is going to be in charge of small groups at our church starting in the summer.

I am going to be writing curriculum for WeBS (Wednesday evening Vacation Bible School) for our church this summer.

Dan is teaching a few classes of the Intro to Covenant class during sunday school this spring (when the regular teacher is preaching in worship).

Whew!

Oh yeah, and lots of regular classes still going.

Wags

2010-02-28T20:31:00.003-06:00

2 locations and 5 purchases later

After sale prices:
$135.85 in merch

Spent out of pocket:
$43.08

Coupon Savings:
$92.77

Also, I will be sending off for a $7 rebate for the organic shampoo.

Why I don't like Saint Valentine's Day

2010-02-17T10:49:00.002-06:00

It's not because it is overly commercialized... let's face it, what holiday isn't commercialized? We are a culture of commerce and consumerism. That doesn't make giving gifts bad - although we might do well to think about idolatry and materialism as we browse the candy aisles at Wal-Mart.

It's not because I don't love my husband, or that I wouldn't readily use any excuse to celebrate the romantic love we share. I do. I would.

It's not because there isn't any real reason or known history behind the holiday, especially about this Valentine character, who probably died a martyr for reasons unrelated to romantic love (though there are many fabled stories who tell differently).

It's not that the holiday might have pagan roots - who cares? God's common grace given to all of his creation means that we can celebrate God's good things when they reflect the truth about life or about God (celebrating love (eros) in marriage = awesome).

No, none of these reasons galvanize me to dislike any sort of holiday, even Valentine's. What I do dislike is remembering what it felt like to have the world celebrating a holiday that I was excluded from, because I had no romantic relationship at the time. I think I would very much more enjoy a holiday celebrating romantic love if it was actually only a piece of a 3-part holiday celebrating all three types of biblical love: agape, eros, and philia. Any reason we should have a whole day celebrating just one of those and not the other two? Frankly, if we are going to celebrate one, wouldn't it be better to celebrate agape love, sacrificial love, the kind of love manifested by God towards us in Christ?

I guess we could make an argument that we do celebrate that - on Easter. But do we do anything with it? One thing that I would love to affirm about Valentines is that we are at least DOING something with our love - going outside of ourselves to love another, by giving gifts or serving dinner or even just spending time with the human object of our love.

Dan and I did not celebrate Valentine's day this year. The day after, we talked about why not (I, at least, had told him I didn't want to - but the main reason is because we were driving back in snowstorm from Kansas City). I think we decided that from now on, we won't boycott it or anything, but we might just start to minimize the focus on eros celebration and look for ways to celebrate agape and philia love as God's good gifts to his people - in marriage, in communities and the church. How could we do this?

Parenting in your face(book)

2010-02-08T09:38:00.002-06:00

see more funny facebook stuff!

My Walgreens Deals for the Week

2010-02-07T19:31:00.004-06:00

Shopping List:

(1) Quilted Northern Bathroom Tissue, 9 big rolls, $3.99
(3) Nabisco Ritz Crackers 8oz $.99
(6) Reach Toothbrush 2 Pack $1.99
(2) Dove Men's Body Wash $5.99
(2) Kotex Feminine Care 2/$6.00
(3) Arm & Hammer Deoderant $2.79
(1) Aquafresh Toothpaste $2.19
(2) Oceanspray Cranberry Juice $2.50
(1) Burts Bees Knockoff Lipbalm $2.99

This totals to $72.28 worth of products (and some of those are already marked down to sale prices).

After in-store sales, coupons, and register rewards:

We paid $10.77 (out of pocket)

My favorites were:

1. Getting 12 toothbrushes for $3
2. Getting 3 sleeves of ritz crackers for free
3. Getting the dove men's bodywash for free - so Dan will not have to use my fru fru stuff anymore!

Conan O'Brien's Final Thoughts

2010-01-30T15:02:00.003-06:00

Dan and I were so impressed with Conan's last words. Leaving well is important. Good job Conan.

2010-01-28T13:56:00.002-06:00

Today in my class "Humanity, Christ and Redemption" Dr. Matthews gave a helpful Intro Lecture on what Systematic Theology is and why it is important. Here are a few things from my notes I found especially good:

A chart showing all the categories of systematic theology. The column on the right are the classes the MA degrees take and what they cover.

Also, here is a quote for you:

"The degree to which you diminish the depth of sin is the degree to which you diminish the glory of humanity. And the degree to which you diminish the glory of humanity is the degree to which you diminish the depth of sin."

What Dr. Matthews was getting at is the fact that all the categories we study are equally important and affect our views of the other. And of course they all affect the entirety of our lives, etc.

Yay systematics!

Time for a new post

2010-01-26T15:59:00.004-06:00

I quit my job! Ok this is actually sort of old news. I quit in December, and my last day was Jan 15th or something. I am going to school full-time to finish my degree for sure before any accidental babies come or anything like that (not really-- but it will give us more flexibility to have my degree over quicker for future opportunities, etc).

I'm also going to be the full-time housekeeper-cleaner-cooker-budgeter and everything in between for our life maintenance. This will hopefully free Dan up to work his part time job consistently and also keep up with his own studies.

This semester the class we will take together will be Christian Ethics, taught by Dr. David Jones. Dr. Jones is retired (I think?) and is coming back to teach this class this one semester, which he used to teach. So we tried to arrange to take it this semester since we both need it.

Here's the rest of our schedules:

Dan:
Hebrew in Exegesis (Translating lots of the Old Testament!)
Pentateuch (Focus in on the Moses books)
Christian Ethics (The moral of the story is...)
Calling, Vocation, and Work (Doctors, Lawyers, and Bears oh my)
Gospels (Dr. Doriani, holla)

Brittany:
Teaching and Learning (This class is so meta)
Curriculum Analysis and Design (My only class that will ever have a prerequisite)
Humanity, Christ, and Redemption (They fit all of this into one class??)
Christian Ethics
Leviticus - Audit (Lots of rules, but important stuff)
Gospels - Audit

I am also excited that I am auditing Leviticus, because Dan and I will be studying some of the same material. Dr. Jay Sklar is teaching it, who is also Dan's Pentateuch professor. He has apparently been working on a commentary on Leviticus for a long time. Also, Dan says he must live close to us because he has run into him several times while walking Lucy, who Dr. Sklar says is cute (brownie pts!)

School starts Thursday.

Free Pair of Pearl Earrings ($25-$30 ARV)

2009-12-04T14:56:00.003-06:00

Sign up to enter the following sweepstakes for Helzberg Diamonds:

http://www.helzberg.com/category/about+us/sweepstakes/expressions+of+love.do

Soon, after you might receive a postcard in the mail or an email offering you a free pair of pearl earrings if you bring the card into the store. This is confirmed, I received mine a week or so ago, although it seems holiday related, so I am not sure how long they will be sending these out.

If you try it, let me know how it turns out for you!

I must share this

2009-11-28T21:06:00.003-06:00

I know some of you are bored by my couponing and deals and freebies. You guys stop reading here.

The rest of you, check it out:

Today after we got home from our trip to Springfield, MO where we spent Thanksgiving with our friends the Servens, Dan picked up the mail and newspapers for our landlords. In it, he saw a few great adds for some deals and suggested we go (we were out of toilet paper too). Of course, I am not going to just walk in to Walgreens without having done some coupon-matching research first. So I checked out a favorite coupon blog of mine, here to check out the Walgreens deal matchup for this week. With her help, along with my collected coupons and the advertisement itself, I made a plan and off we went. We got:

Oceanspray 100% Juice Cranberry Juice x4
Aquafresh Cavity Protection Toothpaste
Infusium 23 Shampoo
Neutrogena Lipgloss x2
Angel Soft Toilet Paper, pack of 9
Walgreens Brand Tylenol, 50 gelcaps

Okay, before all sales, coupons and rainchecks, the cost would be:

~ $53

We paid:

$3.21

Verified Freebie and Nice Coupon

2009-11-23T16:35:00.001-06:00

Text "ALWAYS" to 467467 for a free sample of Always Infinity. When I received mine, it also had a manufacturer's coupon for a FREE full-sized package from the store.

Want a $40 credit at 1-800-Flowers.com?

2009-11-15T13:03:00.002-06:00

The original post on slickdeals.net

1-800Flowers.com is offering a 40 Fresh Rewards points (up to 400 points maximum) for each reminder you add to your Fresh Rewards account. 400 Fresh Rewards points may be redeemed for $40 Fresh Savings pass for use at their store.

1. Click here
2. Click on the "Get paid to get organized" banner
3. If you do not have an account, create one, otherwise log in
4. Add 10 gift reminders, one at a time
5. Your rewards will be deposited into your account within 48 hours

We Love Cranberry Juice

2009-11-10T11:19:00.003-06:00

Walgreens deal!

Walgreens has the Ocean Spray 100% Cranberry and Cranberry Pomegranate Juice on sale for $1.99 this week. Use the $1/1 coupon in the November Coupon Booklet and you'll get the Cranberry Juice for $0.99 each. Dan and I go through this stuff like water, so I am going every day to get more (limit 2 per purchase). The November coupon book is usually available at the front of the store near the weekly print ads and newspapers. There is also a $5/$25 coupon available here if you want to stock up on some other stuff. We bought 4 packages of butter using the coupon in the print ad to make them $2 each as well.

Thanks to Money Saving Mom for this deal.

In The Heights

2009-10-28T23:22:00.002-05:00

Please Click to help me win tickets to In The Heights! http://www.beintheheights.com/bleard

Groupon

2009-10-26T20:24:00.004-05:00

Hey friends, I just signed up for Groupon, they have huge discounts on the coolest stuff in your city - a new deal every day!

Click here to sign up

From the website-

How It Works

Each day, Groupon features an unbeatable deal on the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in your city. By promising businesses a minimum number of customers, we get discounts you won't find anywhere else. We call it "collective buying power!"

If you like today's deal and want to buy it, just click "BUY" before the offer ends at midnight. If the minimum number of people sign up, you'll get a printable gift certificate in your inbox the next morning that you can use whenever you want. If not enough people join, no one gets it (and you won't be charged), so invite your friends to make sure you get the deal!

City Style Charmeuse Sleeveless Ruffle Tunic

2009-10-26T10:30:00.003-05:00

Attention frugalistas! I think this top is adorable, and I'm thinking about ordering it with some of my birthday cash... Only $11.98 at NY&Co!

Here is the link

Bluefly 30 Bags in 30 Days

2009-10-22T12:21:00.001-05:00

Free Snuggie

2009-10-19T23:19:00.004-05:00

I'm not sure if this is going to work or not, but I signed up to give it a try...

http://suzzly.com/snuggiepromo.html

Wish I could get a free LONGHORN snuggie. And one for Dan. To keep him warm.

The Joys of REI and a Texas Win

2009-10-17T15:36:00.003-05:00

Well, all is right with the world. Texas wins again. Undefeated. Contented Sigh.

Dan and I watched together, it is currently our only family tradition. Actually, Dan got paid to watch the game. He had to babysit the church building for a wedding party that was getting there early, so we brought our TV and set it up in the pastor's office to watch the game together. I brought us leftover poppyseed chicken (thanks K. Spears) and 4 cheese macaroni (thanks Chacha Oliver) to eat and we skyped my mom and brother at half-time. Now Dan has gone in to do sound for the wedding, so I am watching the TTU/Nebraska game.

Yesterday Dan and I went to make a big purchase at REI. We have been saving up giftcards from Christmas and MyPoints to get me a quality sleeping bag so that we can go camping. We finally had enough to get something good, so we pulled two or three off the shelf and I climbed in them a few times each to compare space and thermarests, etc. We picked this one:

Big Agnes Lulu +15 Sleeping Bag - Women's Petite - REI Full Price $149.95

Therm-a-Rest Trail Lite Sleeping Pad - Women's Regular - $59.95

We get to the register. They ring us up. We get %20 off one item with the coupon we brought in from the mail catalog, which is $30 off the sleeping bag. We also used Dan's leftover Dividend from being an REI Coop member, which was $8.17. Then the good stuff starts. We started handing over giftcards to the checkout guy. Every time I handed him a new one, he would exclaim "No Way!" more and more loud and more and more like he should have joined Bill or Ted on an excellent adventure.

Sleeping Bag $149.95
-%20 discount
=$119.96

Thermarest $59.95

Subtotal $179.91
Tax $15.88

Total $195.79

-$8.17 divident
-$50 REI Giftcard
-$25 REI Giftcard
-$25 REI Giftcard
-$25 REI Giftcard
-$25 REI Giftcard

At this point there is about $35 left on our bill, so I decide to go ahead and make it even better and get out my $25 Mastercard Gift Card I won from texting in the code under my coke cap a month ago.

-$25 Coke Rewards Mastercard

Final Charge - $12.62

The checkout guy loved it and we couldn't stop grinning.

Design Your Own Free Luggage Tags

2009-10-16T10:02:00.002-05:00

I want to share the love a little when it comes to freebies, so here is one you can do without going to the mall!

Design Your Own Luggage Tags

Dan tried home roasting coffee last night for the first time. The house smells really weird now. I am drinking some of the fruits. It is far from terrible, but since he has spoiled me with all his fair-trade-organic-pure-source-unburnt-gourmet-shipped-straight-from-the-mountains-of-columbia stuff, I do hope he gets better at it.

Ebay

2009-10-16T00:18:00.003-05:00

So readers, how do you like swagbucks?

Today I posted my first ebay listing. Shameless - I am selling the contents of my second sweepstakes win of my life. Check it out:

Here

It was fun to receive all that in the mail, but also it is useless and I am always out to make a buck out of useless stuff. It provided some good content to try out ebay selling too, since I could care less whether or not it sells or if it gets lost in the mail, etc.

Today in between classes, Dan and I went to the mall to eat Chick-fil-a for lunch (and paid full price for the first time in ages, since I left all our coupons in Dallas-ack!). Before we left, I gathered all my freebie coupons for mall-related things and, yes, I definitely came back with a good haul.

2 Free panties from Victoria Secret (one from a coupon in the mail and one from signing up on their website to be a member of the PINK club). 3 free lipglosses from Sephora for my birthday (sign up for email list online). 2 free samples of the new BareMinerals Matte foundation (just ask in store). 1 bottle of some kind of protein water I found a coupon for online from GNC (this will be for Daniel).

Not in the picture is also a bra I purchased for ~$14 after the $10 off coupon at VS also. Not a bad day for freebies!

I must say thanks to MoneySavingMom for the heads up about the protein water coupon.

Swagbucks

2009-10-05T20:19:00.002-05:00

See that ad to the right of my blog? Click on it and sign up. Swagbucks is awesome. You earn "bucks" for just using their search engine instead of google or yahoo. 45 Swagbucks is redeemable for a $5 amazon gift card! And you can do it over and over. I am about to redeem my fourth amazon GC. Please sign up with my referral link so I get a bonus!

There are lots of other things you can redeem swagbucks for, just look around at the prizes. You can also hunt for "swagcodes" that are occasionally given out via twitter and the swagbucks widget. Swagcodes = More swagbucks.

http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/bleard

Sweepstakes

2009-10-04T13:21:00.001-05:00

Another Bzzkit

2009-10-03T13:23:00.002-05:00

Here is my newest bzzkit.

This one doesn't come with a full-size version for me, but plenty of nicer sized bottles to give away. Can't wait to try it!

Interested in spreading some bzz of your own? Head over to BzzAgent and sign up.

On my agenda for today is laundry, making egg salad, exercising, and getting some seminary reading done.

Late Cali pics and more Freebs

2009-09-25T18:03:00.002-05:00

1. Here are my latest freebie finds and contest wins:

Just received my Aveeno Nourish bzzkit which included everything in the photo above: notice my FULL SIZE shampoo and conditioner for me to use?? Awesome! I also hand out the samples and coupons and spread "bzz" about the product ("bzz" is my honest opinion about it). So far I really like both products. It is supposed to repair damage to your hair using wheat complex after only 3 uses. My third use will be tomorrow, so we'll see!

Also recently I have gotten some other great freebies: $25 preloaded mastercard from MyCokeRewards Instant Txt and Win Game, Free advanced screening tickets to Zombieland (saw it last night - very funny!), 2 free $10 giftcards to the Galleria Mall (Dan and I treated ourselves to Cheesecake factory), and a free after rebate bottle of the a new palmolive dish soap. Also I'm finishing up a month long beta test of a shopping website and will receive a total of $70 at amazon.com for participating. Last but not least, The Black Eye Tour added one last show - in Saint Louis! So we will get our free tickets to see Derek Webb and Sandra Mac on October 27 at blueberry hill. I will have to leave my night class a little early to attend, but hoping Tasha will not mind.

2. Here are some late california trip pics:

Eating the first night in San Francisco at Mel's Diner

We found you out Crule: Miley Stewart:Clint Rule as Hannah Montana:George Lucas. Moving to Rochester for an "internship" mhmmmm....

Dan and I before going to see "Wicked." Wicked was originally staged in San Fran before it went to broadway. It was a great cast - excellent Elpheba. Dan loved it too. Notice my green scarf, green purse and red shoes I wore for the occassion. AND notice my awesome headpiece I won from Charissa at mudpiemagnolia.blogspot.com!

Pasta

2009-08-14T12:08:00.004-05:00

Last night Dan and I made fresh, homemade pasta at a hospitality class our church had. I already know what I want for Christmas:

We didn't use the kitchenaid pasta attachment, we used the manual ones you attach to your counter. But Karen, who taught the class, told us the kitchenaid ones are awesome. So if anyone is still planning on getting us a late anniversary gift, this would be a great idea! :)

I do plan to get some more california pictures up soon. Today Dan and I are painting a cabinet we scavenged from dumpster week at the church. Also on the agenda is bathing Lucy. Yay for days off!

California Dreamin

2009-07-29T11:41:00.003-05:00

Dan and I and the other Smith-relations have been living the dream this week in cool, beautiful Pacific Grove, California. To give you a little context: Pacific Grove = Carmel by the Sea = Monterey Peninsula and Cannery Row = Pebble Beach Golf.

The weather is steadily in the upper 50s and 60s. We got in late Sunday night and had some take-out Chinese food. Monday was orientation - we slept in, ate some yummy Mediterranean lunch in Carmel (I had Duck ravioli with feta) and walked around a little bit followed by a delicious lasagna dinner cooked by Sarah and Ellen. Tuesday was spent at the Monterey Bay Aquarium followed by asian grilled chicken Dan and I made for supper. Today we are getting ready to head out to Big Sur to do some hiking and see some awesome coastal views.

My cord is hiding, so I no telephoto pics for the blog yet. Here are some from Dan and Dotty's camera though.

Eating breakfast at the airport

G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S, flying first class

Upon arrival, taking pics of the sea lions on the coast

Dan getting some Love

Sarah, Ellen, and the sea lions (The sea lions are on the left)

Ellen and Regan trying to resist their sweet tooth in Carmel

Awkward Braniel

My New Hobby: Coupons, Promotions, and Free Stuff

2009-05-26T09:50:00.004-05:00

I am bursting with awesomeness over some recent savvy shopping I have recently accomplishments. Here I share them with you. (If you decide to get in on any of these sweet offers, please refer me so I can get rewards for recruiting you!)

1. I am in Ellen’s wedding this coming January. She wants us to wear gold, closed toed or peep-toed shoes. She send us some beautiful choices from various places, but shucks they were all $60 or $70 bucks each. Every week I receive an email from Shop It To Me, a site that shops your favorite online retailers for sales in clothing/shoes in your specific sizes. I get sale items from JCrew, Ann Taylor Loft, Banana Republic, etc. sent right to my email. I hadn’t bought anything that I’d seen on there yet, but that exact week Ellen emailed us about the shoes, what was on sale at Old Navy but gold high heels at only $10! Score! I ordered them along with a few other cheap tops since I was already paying the flat rate shipping. Got the package today, tried them on and they fit great! My smaller right foot slips out just a bit, but I’ll put some kind of pad in there to fix it.

2. My sweet friend Charissa told me about MyPoints which everyone should do if you like free giftcards in the mail. The basics of it are that you get points for reading advertising emails they send to you – you really don’t even have to read them, just click through to the site and then delete them. Also you get points for clicking through their site before you go to an online merchant to make a purchase. For example, before I made my sweet Old Navy purchase, I went to the MyPoints site, searched for the Old Navy link, and clicked through to the website from the MyPoints link. The promo for Old Navy was something like 3 or 4 points per dollar spent. So not only did I get my cool gold heels (+ extras), I also got 91 points towards a gift card redemption. (Giftcard redemptions run ~3500 points = $25 gift card).

3. I do the office supply ordering at work. MyPoints has a great deal for Office Depot, which is what we already use to order our supplies online. I asked to be in charge of the ordering, so I could clickthru MyPoints before and rack up the points. So far it has been great – I have already gotten a free gift card out of it. We order so much paper, I usually get either 500, 1000 or even 2000 points per order!

4. Also, I have been scouting the web for promo codes for Office Depot after seeing an advertisement for a free gift with purchase. So far I have received (with $100 or $75 purchases) the following: A free picnic coffee tote bag with stainless steel coffee mugs and vacuum flask ($60 value), A free red tote bag which I used this past weekend on our trip to Jeff’s Graduation ($40 value). Coming in the mail is a free 2GB mp3/4 player, which looks like a shuffle knockoff in the picture ($70 value). And while placing all these orders, I am still racking up the MyPoints to get free giftcards.

Maybe some of you think this is nuts but I am flipping out with delight. I also started clipping coupons and scanning all the weekly Wal-Greens, Target, and local grocery adds for deals to match up with the coupons. When we move in June, I am going to ask if Bill and Sally will give us their coupon section of the Sunday paper every week, so I won’t even be paying the $1.50 for the paper. For some reason, CVS only has locations east of the river, which sucks because they have a cool coupon program I wish I could get in on.

Cream colored ponies

2009-05-07T09:51:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I wrote this haiku for Dan about myself while at The Daily Bread:

My wife, the raptor
She eviscerates strudel
I get the entrails

(It was my secretary's day strudel, thank you very much!)

A week in the life

2009-04-18T13:21:00.000-05:00

For some orientation, here is a map of St. Louis with our most frequented locations. As you can see, the closed highway (I-64) really sucks for us. It reopens in December, but by then we will have moved closer to the seminary to where we won't need it as badly.

Okay this picture is just to show you how ridiculous the winter was. Lucy may have liked it, but she was the only one. I hate cold and snow and cannot wait to live in a southern climate where I can again wear flip-flops year round as life was meant to be lived.
This also points out one daily activity of our life: Taking out the dog in the morning and after we get home every day. Dan usually takes her to the park across the street, but now that it is warm again, I will join with him for a leisurly walk after work.
Sunday: Here is where we have settled on attending church. The Covenant Presbyterian Church has been around for about 100 years or so. It originally met in a building in downtown St. Louis, but sometime in the last 50 years moved out to a suburb-ish kind of area in West County. We have been attending the new members sunday school class and will probably meet with the church elders to be interviewed for membership at the end of May. (This is also where we are employed part-time, see below).
This is actually the only picture I have of us at the seminary. I go to class 3 days a week, Dan goes 4. It is a pretty campus, though the buildings are a little mismatched. We have one class together, Apologetics and Outreach, which is taught by Jerram Barrs. We highly recommend his book, The Heart of Evangelism. He and his family started the L'Abri in England and ran it for many years until he came to teach at Covenant.
Here is my nameplate thing. So official.
My desk at work. I am the front desk person for the church office. Primarily, I answer the phone and direct calls; but I also put together mailings, maintain the church database, and put together the weekly prayer list.
Dan works at the church part-time as well, doing maintenance and grounds. Here he is sad because his ipod broke one day and he couldn't listen to it while he was working. Now he uses mine everyday to listen to sermons or npr podcasts or jammin oldies.
Monday: This is a bad photo of us in line at Chick-fil-a. We come here for lunch many mondays because if you take in a church bulletin you get either your sandwhich or nuggets free with purchase of drink and fries. Cheep and yummy!
Tuesday: Class in the morning, work in the afternoon, come home to study/veg.
Wednesday: Dan goes to class and studies, I work all day. In the evening we go to the home of Jon and Laurabeth Medlock, who work as the assistant pastor and school secretary, respectavly with us at the church. We watch LOST and they cook us a delicious meal after their kids have gone to bed. It's very fun.
Thursday: Same as Tuesday, except Dan doesn't work. Lots of time we will go to "Ministry Lunches" at the school after class. There is often free food and a presentation by a speaker on a particular ministry issue or opportunity going on in the Church or Missions or whatever.
Friday: I try not to work this day, but Dan does and goes to class. Then we hang out with friends or whatever.
Saturday: Sometimes we like to go to the Soulard Market, this huge awesome market near the river that is historic and cool. They sell lots of food (pictured here is the meat market) including veggies, fruits, meat, fish, and other specialty items. Its about the size of a football field overall and really cheap and fresh.
Some of the usual suspects if we have friends over to grill or drink or whatever. On the right are Garratt and Sara Lathan who graduated with us from Texas - Garratt was an RUF intern for four years. On the left are two other kids who were interns with me also, Robert and Charissa Stowers. They are supercool. Charissa is who told me about mypoints.com and how to be a chacha guide.

More photos.

2009-04-18T11:29:00.002-05:00

We haven't blogged in awhile.

Here are some photos!

In Longview over Spring Break.

Missouri Botanical Gardens...

Katie and Joshua Burdette came to visit the seminary... they will be moving here this summer yay!

More of the gardens...

It's Morphin Time

2009-04-01T17:14:00.001-05:00

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity

Album

2009-02-25T23:42:00.000-06:00

Some Things I've Been Thinking About

2009-01-16T10:57:00.002-06:00

1. Babies. I love them so much. I can't wait to have one.

2. Ginger. I really enjoy the flavor/smell of ginger. I don't like the taste on its own with sushi though. There are several things that fall into the category of "I like the flavor and smell of this but not he pure taste." Coffee is another one.

3. Adventures. I'm trying to discover how I go about adventures. Dan and I realized that I enjoy navigational adventures (in the car, walking, geo-caching, etc.). I sort of like cooking adventures: I like to try new recipes but I don't like making up recipes out of nothing. I don't think I like explorational adventures. I don't really like to head out into the unknown and discover something new to the world. I like to discover things for myself that have already been discovered by someone else. Hmmm... Still thinking about all of this.

4. Cold. I hate the cold. I am forced to bundle up and put on layers, which I hate, and cannot wear skirts, which I love. I have come around to liking wool socks. I can't wear skirts. Our car doesn't always start in the morning. I don't like to walk Lucy in the cold. And I can't wear SKIRTS!

5. Crystal stemware. Dan and I are trying to decide how to spend the last bits of our wedding gift card money. We have enough to buy a full set of pretty, simple stemware from Dillards. I am inclined to think it is a good choice.

6. Decision making. How do you do this when you are married? Married decision making is still a mystery to us. We really only know how to operate as singles and have been struggling not to just constantly make decisions as two single people compromising instead of a married unit deciding together. It is very weird and hard and slow going. But we are trying. Any responsive thoughts to this would be appreciated.

7. Advice. How much is too much? I am mostly thinking about being on the receiving end. We have been trying to decide where to go to church. In addition to #6, we are also wading through an enormous amount of advice we have received from friends, family, pastors, coworkers, seminary people, etc. Everyone has a new perspective and I feel like every time I hear something different and that it sends us back to the drawing board on how to think about where to go to church. It might be time to close the door on any new advice for this topic.

Use Number 1 : Bread Maker

2009-01-03T16:22:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas (late)!

My (Brittany) parents gave this to us for Christmas. We (Brittany) used it today for the first time to make bread. I finally remembered to make a batch using all of the ingredients like salt. So it turned out the yummiest so far. This machine is... words cannot describe. It made the bread almost all by itself. I think it can maybe change the oil in my car too.

Redundant Expressions

2008-12-31T15:27:00.001-06:00

From Professional Secretary’s Handbook

Redundancy – needless repetition of words and ideas – is one of the principal obstacles to writing clear, precise prose. The following list gives some common redundant expressions. The elements that are italicized in the phrases should be deleted.

old antique

ascend upward

assemble upward

capitol building

fellow colleague

consensus of opinion

habitual custom

doctorate degree

passing fad

free gift

past history

continue to persist

advance planning

individual person

new recruit

temporary reprieve

shuttle back and forth

completely unanimous

from whence

visible to the eye

My colleague, Lois has this book at her desk. It’s very interesting. I don’t know what to make of the fact that I find it very interesting. I like my job.

A Goodreads Review

2008-12-08T14:18:00.001-06:00

The Man Who Was Thursday, Large-Print Edition by G.K. Chesterton

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Very very good! Clever and wild and enrapturing. I stayed up way too late to finish this book. I will point out that it might be helpful to read the title page and the full title before or as you read the book. Chesterton pointed this out to me in an excerpt from an article he wrote that was printed at the end of the copy I was reading. Dan and I enjoyed reading part of this aloud to each other on the train to Chicago at Thanksgiving.

View all my reviews.

Bread!

2008-12-03T22:51:00.003-06:00

I know we have been not so good at blogging. Here are a few pics from a couple of weeks ago when I first made successful bread! I went to my friend Virginia's house, who did all the steps with me except baking it in the oven. I have made a few more batches since then, including some for Thanksgiving.

Injured Bad

2008-11-25T11:44:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite commercials.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dXGj_-orxw

Big XII BCS Armaggedon

2008-11-22T23:29:00.002-06:00

So do I have this right?

Scenario 1: OU wins against OSU and then the computers and coaches to love Texas more because we lost AWAY to Tech and beat OK at a neutral site.

Scenario 2: Tech is so downhearted that they lose to Baylor.

Scenario 3: Tech wins, OK wins, and OK goes to Big XII Championship and loses to Missouri.

Scenario 4: Tech wins, OK LOSES, and Tech goes to Big XII Championship and loses.

One of these things have to happen for Texas to go to a BCS bowl, right?

I LOVE COLLEGE FOOTBALL ESPECIALLY THE BIG XII!!!!!!!

Even though I probably agree more with the playoff system for fairness... I kind of like the complicated NONSENSE that goes into figuring out who will play what when where why at the end of the season. It is a fun game.

Just Another Election Post

2008-10-27T13:10:00.006-05:00

Dan and I are currently reading Children of the Living God by Sinclair Ferguson for our Spiritual and Ministry Formations Class at Covenant. I am really enjoying it. I don’t have any specific reflections on the text, but I feel like it might have been sparking some other reflections I have been making lately.

On the Presidential Elections: Ya’ll, I am EXCITED about this election. This is strange, because I also understand and empathize with everyone else who feels fearful, disgusted, or annoyed by it all. Let me explain:

1. Last week I heard a news report on NPR. A woman was interviewing people from other countries, including some kind of farmer/herder person from the Middle East somewhere. The man told the woman that (despite the fact that he didn’t know too much about American politics) if Obama was elected, it would go a long way for him in believing America when it claimed to be a land of equality.

2. Anthony Bradley wrote a blog post for the St. Louis dispatch Civil Religion blog on The McCain/Obama Messiah Complex: "Americans strangely have messianic visions about the office of president in these tough times: "He will heal our land and make us prosperous.” Too many of us have been drinking from the weird Kool-Aid again. Don’t believe the hype! Neither candidate can deliver their messianic promises to fix the world. There’s a three-ring circus called Congress that will serve as the reality check on the candidate worship many Americans have been duped into practicing lately."

So here is how I see it: I am probably going to vote for McCain. I also think he will probably lose. But when I am sitting on my couch and watching the election coverage the night of November 4th I am only going to be proud and hopeful no matter who has won. Why? Because Jesus is Lord, not the next president of America. And because God is going about this business of advancing his kingdom either way. The President has power over our future, yes. But I have no fear of this! I am freed from my fear because I know that God is the one who provides for me (even when “my” candidate wins.) And God is not up for election.

So I am left with excitement. Because this is a big decision for our country. It matters who is elected. But since I know God provides for me, I am free from the insane anxiety of the negative consequences of electing either candidate. I am free to eagerly anticipate the good that could come.

I seriously want McCain to win. I generally think Republican policies are much wiser for our country. But I am also totally weirded out at how excited I would be to have Obama as president and the possible peace and reconciliation that could promote in the world.

I understand why Americans are fearful of whom to elect. They believe the world-view that this is the single person who has maybe the most sweeping power over their lives (which is probably even false from a secular perspective). But if you are in Christ you must not succumb to this way of thinking. You know that this is false. And you also know that God is your heavenly father whose affection and love for you exceeds your conceptual ability. It gives you stability in an unstable world.

(I couldn't find the exact NPR report I heard, but this one is similar.)

Reformation Sunday Worship Service

2008-10-26T19:56:00.004-05:00

The Reformation. I have nothing profound to say but that I am grateful for our ancestors in the faith.

Tonight, Brittany and I attended the Reformation Sunday Service at Memorial Presbyterian Church here in St. Louis.

A guest minister preached on Isaiah 6:1-8. This passage is a very familiar passage for people in the Reformed circles about God's holiness. My initial reaction was to think, "Oh, I've heard this. I know this passage. I've lead a Bible Study on this. I don't need to hear anything else on this subject." But man, I am very wrong. God's holiness is not something that is mundane or old. The sermon didn't change my life, but it did remind me that I should not forget how different I am from God- and how he became like men to redeem all of us.

I am grateful for the Reformers reminding us of this truth. The truth that God's grace is the only thing that saves us.

Sola Scriptura. Sola Fide. Sola Gratia. Solus Christus. Soli Deo Gloria.

Hmm upset

2008-10-13T11:47:00.002-05:00

I just needed to post post-Longhorn victory. I just didn't want Colt McCoy to be at the top of our blog anymore.

I was really sad on Saturday, but I'm glad my wife was happy. But it was still hard.

The end

Longhorn Lovin'

2008-10-12T16:00:00.003-05:00

Dan was not in the greatest of moods on Saturday. I was.

What a good game, though. I wish I had done a Chuck Klosterman-esqu commentary through the game to document all my ranging emotions. OURUF has totally messed me up. I found myself simultaneously cheering and sighing when Texas made a good play. I would snap my fingers with me right hand and high-five Dan with my left when OU completed a pass. It was very schizophrenic. But of course I really do love my alma mater the best and I'm glad we won. I love my husband more, but that doesn't change anything.

The Good, the Bad, and ChaCha

2008-10-06T19:30:00.003-05:00

The Good

Today I had an interview to work at a church here in STL part-time starting in December. I won’t say exactly which church it is, since the position isn’t officially open yet for some reason. Tomorrow morning I am going to call them and tell them I will take the job (if they’ll have me, which I think they will). This job sounds really awesome. It will be a little bit of tedious stuff like record-keeping, but also some creative things like putting together flyers or calendars and things. It’s also the front desk position for the church office. And they are flexible around whatever class schedule I would have at Covenant (the girl I am replacing is about to be a Covenant graduate). So, I’ll let you know how it goes.

The Bad

Since Saturday, I have been having several symptoms which clearly indicated to me that I probably have a urinary tract infection. Today Dan and I decided to get me to a doctor to get some antibiotics. After my interview at the church, we were directed to a clinic at a hospital which was supposedly an urgent care clinic that took walk-ins. There was a clinic, but it didn’t take walk-ins. We called some doctors offices that took our insurance. They couldn’t see me until December. They told us to go to another hospital that also supposedly had an urgent care clinic. It didn’t have a clinic. Instead we spent 3 hours at the emergency room waiting to see someone. THEN they have the gall to tell me I DON’T EVEN HAVE AN INFECTION. Apparently my urine is just fine, thank you (can I say urine on the internet?). The PA says I am just having bladder spasms. So we go to leave. To top all of this off, we don’t even know if or how our insurance will cover this possibly exorbitantly expensive bout of bladder spasms because we haven’t received my insurance card in the mail yet. So, I’ll let you know how it goes.

I am working (?) as a ChaCha guide. If you don’t know what ChaCha is, you should go to the website here. Using ChaCha is free except normal text messaging rates from your carrier. So you can use it and not only get useful information with your cell phone but also make me money. So far I have made a little over $7. But I haven’t worked very much, and your pay rate doubles once you start answering above a certain threshold amount of queries in a given time span. If you are interested in becoming a ChaCha guide like me, talk to me about it. (If I refer you I can get a bonus.) So, I'll let you know how it goes.

Discovered: Quality Espresso in St. Louis

2008-10-04T15:51:00.005-05:00

I admit it, I have become a snob when it comes to certain beverages- especially beer and coffee. Regarding coffee, I have been ruined. After being trained and having the freedom to pull espresso shots at my leisure on a very quality commercial machine, it takes a lot for me to enjoy espresso from most coffee shops. By no means am I an incredible barista, but if I know that I have pulled better espresso than the baristas at the shop, I won't bother ordering it. I'd rather drink subpar drip brew than par espresso.

Since leaving Norman, Second Wind, and the Lundgaard Coffeehouse, I haven't had a quality cup of espresso. But, now I hope. I have found it at 4251 Laclede Ave in the Central West End of St. Louis. They roast their own beans, they use a very quality espresso machine, and their staff knows coffee. Well done Northwest Coffee Roasting, you just gained another customer.

[For those of you who care, they pull Northern Italian style of espresso that is lighter in color, lighter in body, a little fruity, with some flora notes.]

Banking in the Midwest

2008-09-19T20:32:00.002-05:00

"This is gonna sound weird but..."

Dan and I had just finished up some banking at our local Bank of America. Our very nice personal banker associate, David had helped us consolidate some credit cards and change my name on our new accounts, etc. The last time we had come to the bank, David had offered us some Cardinals tickets. Unfortunately, they were for the Friday night my parents are coming to town to visit us, and we had to refuse. This time, David had no cardinals tickets for us. Instead:

"This is gonna sound weird but... do you guys like cucumbers?"

"Sure," said the Smiths.

It was nearing 6 o'clock closing time, and apparently someone had brought home-grown cucumbers to work that day and one really huge one had gone untaken. David returned with not only the cucumber, but some dog treats wrapped in a money envelope for our dog, Lucy.

Is this weird to anyone else? I have NEVER gone to the bank and left with anything but cash in my pocket. But here in Missouri they apparently give gifts to you when you come to the bank. Cucumbers, dog treats and cardinals tickets.

Upon handing us the dog treats, David said, "Here ya go, a late wedding present, if you will."

One other thing to note is that I am applying to work at this Bank of America location. They really are ridiculously nice there. Both David and his boss Richard said they would call the Bank of America recruiters and recommend me for the teller job that is posted. And I had already seen a notification of their referral when I got home tonight. So maybe I will get to work there and 1. get lots of free dog treats/produce 2. Get the scoop on why they give away fun free stuff so much...

Comin Right Up

2008-09-18T21:57:00.003-05:00

I haven't blogged in a week or so because, well because I'm BUSY THANK YOU VERY MUCH. That and I've been cooking. A lot. I've realized that when you cook a meal everyday for not jut yourself you are little more conscious of providing a complete meal that has a variety of foods and seems somewhat balanced. No just eating mac and cheese for your whole dinner. (3 nights in a row)

I'm also a lot more excited about meals. They are challenging and I want to impress Dan with something good (I'm sure this will fade). And when the plates are on the table, I end up making him wait so I can take pictures to show you people.

First we have tonight's meal:
Ribeye steaks marinated in soy sauce, EVOO and steak seasoning
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Corn
Blood Orange Juice and Tequila (for me)

September 16:
Salmon with Tequila Cream Sauce
Blanched Asparagus
Rice
Sliced Avocado
Chardonnay

September 12
Ceviche with Shrimp, Tilapia, Sweet Potatoes, and Avocado
Modelo Especial

I think this was by far the worst meal we've had. The raw fish just didn't taste good. And I like sushi. So I'm not really sure what went wrong.

Finally, on another topic, Lucy is really excited about Halloween. She tried on a cotume possibility recently:

Some Wedding Photos

2008-09-10T00:05:00.004-05:00

We got our wedding photos in the mail! Here are a few of my favorites:

Getting ready. The AC was only just starting to work properly when we arrived at the church.

My wonderful bridesmaids!

Us.

Feeding.

Dancing.

Clint.

Doug.

Colin.

Aaron.

Everyone.

This video goes out to my brother the day after his birthday

2008-09-02T12:16:00.003-05:00

Last night our friends the Lathans came over to grill some yummy chicken and corn and bratwursts. Sara and I were messing around on the computer for awhile, checking out sites like Fail Blog and Engrish and Cute Overload. We found the above video and laughed so hard we cried.

Dan is back at school today. I am taking a class with him on Monday nights, Spiritual Ministry Formations. That starts next week. Other than that I'm just at home getting house-type stuff done. And avoiding the huge task of writing thank-you notes. I will probably start some of that this afternoon.

Dan and Brittany in STL

2008-08-30T22:51:00.000-05:00

Brittany: Well, here's our bloggy blog.

Dan: It's been a month since we got married, and almost two weeks since we moved to St. Louis. Today we got internet in our apartment and thought it an appropriate time to start our blog.

Brittany: Our blog, together. Both. We just doubled our readership by getting married and combining blog-forces.

Daniel: Now as we munch on popcorn from our new popcorn popper,

Brittany: (A wedding gift!)

Daniel: ... we're opening a little window so people can see our St Louis adventures.

Brittany: In blog form, of course. Cause we're so cool and tech-savvy.

Daniel: Is that how you spell savvy?

Brittany: I think so.

Daniel: I'll look it up on my computer. Hey! Why are you still writing that?

Brittany: Because I'm trying to be an accurate recordist.

Daniel: Yeah, that's how you spell it. Wait! Are you doing the whole... conversation. People will get bored at this.

Brittany: Okay we can end here.

Daniel: What about the title name. Why are we calling it Hot Like Tortillas? Or should that be another entry. Hey I thought we were ending it there. The transcription.

Brittany: We can save the title name for a future post. Maybe no one cares anyway.

*Right after this entry, Dan got his first drunk dial from a wrong number in St. Louis. Someone was looking for the shuttle to take them from the stadium downtown.

** Right after we wrote this I told Dan: "First blog posts are just like first dates. You just have to get it over with."

Hot Like Tortillas

Burt's Bees for Sensitive Skin

Answers to Prayers

Physical Therapy Update

Jonah & Brittany Update-Day 6

Plum District: $60 voucher to EcoMom for $21 = 5 packages of diapers for $4.20 each shipped

$49 - Monarch: 'Transcendent' Dinner for 2 w/Wine, Reg. $127

Land's End Convertible Diaper Bag for $12 shipped

Leard/Tanamachi Shower in Mesquite

Baby Backpack for Dan

Gracey Shower in Dallas

Trinity Shower in SLO

Give them Grace - Review, Study & Resources

DIY Flower Hairpins & Washcloth Lollipops

DIY Wedding Programs Created by Me

Nationwide Free Night of Theater!

Sweepstakes loot

Smith Update - The Return to St. Louis

Sorry the photos aren't working on the other postsI

Smith Summer in San Luis Obispo (Recap #4)

Smith Summer in San Luis Obispo (Recap #3)

Smith Summer in San Luis Obispo (Recap #2)

Smith Summer in San Luis Obispo (Recap #1)

iPad for Sale!

My awesome science family

Birthday Freebies, Round 1

Start using Mint.com to manage your money today!

Master List

*I compiled this for a seminary email list I am on. Some of the information will be unique to St. Louis, but not all.Cov-Lov Master List of Deals, Coupons, Freebies, and ways to make extra cash

*I compiled this for a seminary email list I am on. Some of the information will be unique to St. Louis, but not all.

Cov-Lov Master List of Deals, Coupons, Freebies, and ways to make extra cash

All your base is mine

Backpacking

Photos from our parents visiting!

Covenant Church Memorial Day Picnic

Wade Jewett Look Away

Genesis 3: The curse

Ebates - Don't shop online without it!

Suffering and Glory

Jesus invading the heart

Relish Retreat

This is why I coupon

Children's Ministry

My Philosophy of Children's Ministry

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

Free Pilgrim's Progress Audio Download

Tanga in the morning

Reading List

Dewey

Wags

Why I don't like Saint Valentine's Day

Parenting in your face(book)

My Walgreens Deals for the Week

Conan O'Brien's Final Thoughts

Time for a new post

Free Pair of Pearl Earrings ($25-$30 ARV)

I must share this

Verified Freebie and Nice Coupon

Want a $40 credit at 1-800-Flowers.com?

We Love Cranberry Juice

In The Heights

Groupon

City Style Charmeuse Sleeveless Ruffle Tunic

Bluefly 30 Bags in 30 Days

Free Snuggie

The Joys of REI and a Texas Win

Design Your Own Free Luggage Tags

Ebay

Swagbucks

Sweepstakes

Another Bzzkit

Late Cali pics and more Freebs

Pasta

California Dreamin

My New Hobby: Coupons, Promotions, and Free Stuff

Cream colored ponies

A week in the life

More photos.

It's Morphin Time

Album

*I compiled this for a seminary email list I am on. Some of the information will be unique to St. Louis, but not all.

Cov-Lov Master List of Deals, Coupons, Freebies, and ways to make extra cash