It was a full but good week this past week.
I finished my book edits and turned them into my editor on Monday… and what sweet relief that was! I didn’t realize how much they’d been hanging over my head until I turned them in and she approved them later in the week.
These were the substantive edits — which means that this was the hardest edit. The next rounds of editing will be more for grammar/typos, etc. Those kinds of edits are much easier to go through than this round where I needed to completely redo a few of the sections!
We’ve been loving the new addition of Morning Time to our homeschooling. You can head over here to see a video I posted of our Morning Time on Tuesday. And you can read a little more about Morning Time here.
On Wednesday, we had our usual morning routine and then I ended up having back-to-back meetings all afternoon and then Jesse, Brian (one of my business managers), and I met with a potential new hire that evening at our house. So it made for a long day, but it was productive and worth it.
I spent Thursday afternoon getting ready for our first Say Goodbye to Survival Mode event on Friday while the girls had a play date at a friend’s house. I decided to completely revamped one of my talks for it — which is always a time-consuming, but rewarding task.
Earlier in the week, I had felt like I had zero creative ideas for this presentation. I knew what I wanted to communicate, I just couldn’t figure out how to effectively communicate it. So I’m so grateful that it all came together on Wednesday and Thursday and it will definitely be a talk I’ll be tweaking and re-sharing again and again.
I left on Friday morning to fly to Mississippi for the event. We were thrilled that over 140 people showed up for our first ever Say Goodbye to Survival Mode event — especially because the church that hosted it was in the tiny town of Purvis, MS!
{There are a number of other churches and groups very interested in hosting a similar event in other areas of the country, so stayed tuned for more details on where our next event will be held. I’d love to get to meet you there!}
The women in Purvis were amazing! So warm, friendly, gracious, and welcoming. I was incredible blessed and encouraged to be there. Thank you, all, for having me!
While I was gone, Jesse took the kids to Movie Night at our church on Friday night. They were supposed to wear PJ’s and had all sorts of fun kid-friendly things and yummy snacks. The kids had fun at the photo booth, as you can tell. 
Jesse surprised me by cleaning out the garage, taking a bunch of stuff to Goodwill and completely reorganizing it today. The garage had been the one part of our house that had been neglected pretty much ever since we moved in here. It felt amazing to come home to a spic-and-span garage!
I arrived home late this afternoon and we spent the rest of the day just hanging out, catching up on the events of the past day, and having a Family Movie Night tonight. And now we’re looking forward to a restful Sunday to refresh and recharge for the coming week.
My #Choose30 Challenge Update
I told you earlier this week that my #Choose30 Goal was to get up and exercise, shower, get dressed, and read my Bible first thing every morning. For those of you who have to get up really early to leave for work, this might seem like an easy-peasy thing to do. But for me, since I work on my own time schedule and don’t have to clock in at a certain time and can dress however I want to, committing to get up, exercise/shower/dress/read my Bible first thing takes some effort and discipline.
I’m happy to report that, so far, I’ve been really committed to this goal this week. I’ve slipped up a tiny little bit and gotten a little distracted here and there, but only for a few minutes and then I’ve gotten back on task.
And I’ve noticed a big difference in making this change. Not only do I seem to get more done every day, but I feel better about myself and feel more energetic since I’m starting the day off with exercise, making myself look presentable, and quiet time to read and pray. Yay!
How was YOUR week this past week? Anything interesting or eventful happen?
Aldi
We were out of town all last week and I had used up most everything in our refrigerator before we left so this week I had a LOT of items to buy!
2 pkg Strawberries – $1.29 each
1 pkg Cauliflower – $1.69
1 pkg Celery – $1.29
1 pkg Asparagus – $1.49
1 pkg Green Peppers – $1.49
1 pkg (3 lbs) Navel Oranges – $1.68
1 pkg (5 lbs) Potatoes – $0.99 (I was so excited about this price!)
1 dozen Large Eggs – $1.49
1 pkg Carrots – $1.49
1 pkg Baby Carrots – $0.99
1 pkg Trail Mix – $1.99 (My 3 year old son is growing like a weed and is constantly hungry. I saw this and thought it would be a great snack for him on those days we are out and about.)
1 pkg Ocean Spray Craisins – $1.29
1 pkg Spinach – $1.79
1 pkg Rice Cakes – $1.29
1 pkg Frozen Peas – $0.89
1 frozen Orange Juice – $1.19
1 pkg Mozzarella Cheese – $1.79
1 Mild Salsa – $1.69
1 Grape Jelly – $1.45
1 Natural Peanut Butter – $1.69
Total with tax ($2.16): $32.40
Dillons
1 Green Leaf Lettuce – $0.99
2 pkg Tyson Frozen Chicken Breast – $5.57 each (This was NOT on my list to get this week, but when I saw it was on sale for my target price, I ended up buying 2 bags and going over my grocery budget this week. I will spend less next week to even out this month’s grocery budget and will save money in the long run. )
2 half gallons Dillons Milk – $1 each
0.32 lbs Broccoli Crowns – $0.60
1.64 lbs Bananas – $0.97
1 South Beach Diet Bars – $6.99, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon
1 Chobani Greek Yogurt – $1.25, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon
2 Kroger Shredded Cheese – $1.99 each (These were advertised as $1.67, so I was disappointed they did not ring up correctly.)
2 Cantaloupe – $0.99 each
Total with tax ($1.61): $24.07
Homeland
1.11 lbs Tomatoes – $1.43
2 Cucumbers – $0.69 each
1 Farmland Sausage – $1.25, used $0.55/1 printable (doubled) (no longer available) – $0.15 after coupon
1 Hiland Cottage Cheese – $1.94, used $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – $0.94 after coupon
1 Motts Applesauce – $2.89, used $1/1 printable (doubled) – $0.89 after coupon
2 Kellogg’s Pop Tarts – $1.29 each, used $1/2 printable (doubled) – $0.29 each after coupon
2 Wishbone Salad Dressing – $1.69 each, used $1/2 coupon from the 1/11 SmartSource insert – $0.69 each after coupon
Total with tax ($0.69): $7.95
Total for all grocery items: $64.42
Menu Plan for This Week
Breakfasts
Cereal x 3, Scrambled Eggs & Juice, Oatmeal, Cranberry Almond Scones & Fruit (We are having a playdate at our house this week and I will be serving this.)
Lunches
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches/Veggies, Turkey Meat/Cheese/Fruit/Crackers, Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches/Carrots x 2, Leftovers, Vegetable/Banana Smoothies x 5 (I will be eating this for lunch every day.)
Dinners
Hawaiian Haystacks (Brown Rice, Chicken, Gravy, Canned Pineapple, Coconut, Cheese)
Venison Stew, Steamed Asparagus, Leftover Scones
Hamburgers & Fish (A church friend kindly gave us a bag full of fish he had caught, cleaned and frozen for us!), Tossed Salad, Homemade French Fries
German Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage, Cantaloupe
Venison Roast, Potatoes, Carrots, 30 Minute Rolls, Steamed Asparagus
Homemade Cheese Pizza, Tossed Salad
Dinner with family
