That's what cakes are made of...

Mark and I celebrated our one-year anniversary on Monday! Yay! Even though this sounds really cliche, I cannot believe it has been a year! We have had so much fun and I cannot wait for many, many more years together. We were definitely made for one another!

So, cool anniversary story. For those of you who don't know, Mark and I grew up together. We met in Kindergarten and lived 4 miles apart our whole lives. When we were about 15 or 16, Mark was playing and singing at our church one Sunday. After church, my mom looked at me and said, "In ten years, remind me to tell you what God told me today." TEN years...seriously! To a 16 year-old, ONE year is ridiculously long, much less TEN! Needless to say, I have bugged her beyond belief ever since. "What did God tell you? Tell me, tell me, P-L-E-A-S-E!!" I begged and begged but to no avail.

Well, fast forward to last year...my mom, who is amazingly talented, baked and decorated our wedding cake. It was gorgeous and quite yummy, too! Like tradition suggests, we put the top of the cake in the freezer for safe keeping until our anniversary this year. Mark has been SO excited about eating our cake ALL year long!

So, Monday morning we woke up and decided to eat wedding cake for breakfast! I cut Mark a piece of cake and noticed something hard in the center. Huh? I cut another piece for myself and there was plastic sticking out of the cake. I cleaned the icing off of the plastic and noticed my mom's handwriting underneath. What!? Mark slowly pulled the plastic bag out of the center of our cake. My mom had written us a note, put it in a ziploc bag, and tucked it into the center of our wedding cake! Who does that!?! Haha. We retrieved the note while trying to retrain from getting icing all over everything. Mom's note was filled with sweet, sentimental anniversary wishes. How thoughful! BUT, at the very end of the note was a surprise...She gave in! I only had to wait EIGHT years! Here's what it said:

"...it's time that I told you both "the secret"!!! Mark, when we were at church one Sunday, and you were playing the piano, the Lord said to me, 'That's your son-in-law!'"

She KNEW!! No way! All this time and she knew! What is it with mothers? I can't wait to be one just so I'll know cool stuff! Haha.

Anyways, I was so blessed by my cake surprise and it was a sweet end to a perfect anniversary celebration weekend!! I am a blessed woman!

How to buy groceries...in any economy!

So, Mark and I have a new hobby...shopping!  Don't worry, we're shopping smart!  Let's take a look at our most recent Walgreen's trip, shall we?

We bought:

a $9 razor

5 toothbrushes

4 tubes of toothpaste

Rimmel foundation

Loreal facial cleansing cloths

cold medicine

4 bottles of Pert Plus shampoo

And our total: $1.03

No, I did not leave several numbers out!  Seriously, we paid $1.03.  How?  I'm glad you asked!

There's a website called couponmom.com.  If you're like I used to be, you probably think that coupons do not save enough money for your time or the off-brand version of the product is cheaper even after you have a coupon.  Well, Coupon Mom has proven all of my theories to be incorrect!

Basically, here's how it works.  Mark and I buy 4 papers each Sunday.  When we get home, I "gut" the papers and file the coupon circulars in a file folder with the date noted on the folder.  All of the circulars for the week go together and I don't touch them again until I am ready to go shopping.

Then comes couponmom.com!  Coupon Mom has several tips for saving with coupons.  First of all, it is important to know your store's coupon policy.  For example, Kroger and Publix double coupons up to $.50 which means a $.35 coupon is actually worth $.70!  Also, the best time to use a coupon is when the product is on sale so that you're getting your best bang for your buck.  

Well, the good thing about this website is that it does all of the work for you!  Coupon Mom let's you know when the product is on sale, which circular has a coupon, and, perhaps the most important information to a math teacher, the percentage saved on the item.

Mark and I have only been taking advantage of coupon savings for a month and we have already saved somewhere close to $300!  Crazy!!  Some deals we've snagged:  cereal for $1 a box, free Betty Crocker box potatoes, free doggy treats (that we gave away), and we were even paid $4 to buy 4 bottles of shampoo!

Here's how the shampoo worked...it's my best deal yet!  The shampoo was on sale for $.99 and I had a coupon for $2 off.  $.99 - $2.00 = a credit of $1.01...and I bought 4 bottles and had 4 coupons!!  Amazing!  

We are SO addicted to finding deals and saving money!  Mark thought I was crazy to begin with but now he is just as hooked as I am!  Also, since we are finding great deals, it is easy to stock up...and stocking up means there's lots to give away...which feels even better than saving lots of money!!