Cooperstown

My parents took us to Cooperstown during our visit to PA. Geoff’s a big baseball fan (Go Angels!), and it was really exciting for him to see the hall of fame. Cooperstown is only a couple of hours from my hometown, and the car trip worked in our favor, as Paige napped most of the way! 

By far my fave photo of the day.

A Few Photos

We had a wonderful time visiting Geoff's family in Riverside, Calif. It was perfect timing, as his aunt and uncle from Atlanta and sister Laura and brother-in-law Carl, who's been deployed and has never met Paige, were all in town. It was a full house, but what a blessing to have all of that family together at once. I bought a tripod and managed to get a few nice photos in my in-law's backyard. Enjoy!

The Anderson clan.

Laura & Carl

The faces in this photo are classic.

Carl, Laura & Denny dog

Getting Away

Geoff arrived home from this trip early this morning, and we're in luck, as I booked last-minute plane tickets yesterday to visit his family in Riverside, Calif., before we head off to PA and DC for a couple of weeks. This is what I love about military life (sarcasm): unless you have the rare chance to have actual leave, it's nearly impossible to plan anything. I can't believe this plan actually worked out, although it still was very last minute. With the C-5, which breaks all the time, it's never certain when he'll make it home. This is going to be such a special trip for the three of us. It's our first family trip, and we're actually going to get to see both families and close friends back-to-back. It's also a much needed vacation, as life has been absolutely crazy lately with Geoff's missions, 14-hour days here at home, and countless hours of work on his master's degree each week. I don't know how he does it, and at the same time, I don't know I manage to keep everything balanced here at home. This trip is exactly what we need. I just hope we're both able to relax. I also hope we don't have too many tears leaving the city we both love so much (D.C.) to come back to California.

Anyway, we leave tomorrow for nearly three weeks! SoCal/PA/DC here we come! :)

My first photos

I took a few photos of Sweet PEA in our backyard today. Paige gave me only a couple of minutes to practice before she started to fuss, but I got a couple of cute ones. I have so much to learn!

My new baby

After months of prayer and saving up, I finally caved and bought a brand new Nikon D7000 camera. As a journalist, I've long wanted to pursue photography, but at the same time, it's an expensive hobby. Also, with my husband gone almost around the clock and me functioning practically as a single mom, it's rare that I find any time for hobbies. But photography is a passion I can pursue with Paige. I'm so excited to get started. It will be great having my new camera for our upcoming trip to PA & DC.

I have SO much to learn, but I'll be sharing photos as they come!

Too Much Fun @ Mealtime!

I shot an adorable video of my little gal eating dinner. I was a bit disappointed in the video, as she was extremely goofy until I picked the video camera up. But the video is cute nonetheless. My favorite part is when she cries out after I mention missing daddy. She also tries to imitate me waving bye, or at least it seems that way. Enjoy!

Creative Couponing

I've been working on my own personal Happiness Project, thanks to the bestselling book by Gretchen Rubin. One of my many happiness resolutions has been to get more creative with coupons. I've always been amazed by moms who can get products ridiculously cheap or even free! There's a learning curve with it, but I think I'm finally beginning to master it.

For example, I bought everything in this photo for just $8.57!

The regular price for all of this would have been $30.13, meaning I saved $21.56!

Here's how I did it:

Target:
Purex Crystals: $2.99 (reg.) - $2 mfr. coupon - $1 Target coupon = FREE
Soft Scrub: $2.49 (sale) - $0.50 mfr. coupon - $1 Target coupon = $0.99
Shampoo: $2.84 (sale) - BOGO FREE mfr. coupon - $1 Target coupon =  $0.92/each
One-A-Day Vitamins: $6 (sale) - $2 mfr. coupon - $1 Target coupon = $3
Pacifiers: $4.80 (sale) - $1.50 mfr. coupon - $1 Target coupon = $2.30

CVS:
Shave Gel: $0.99 (sale) - $0.55 mfr. coupon = $0.44

Basically, the gist of getting these great deals is by "stacking" your coupons. Target allows you to combine their store coupons with manufacturer's coupons to get great deals. I clipped coupons from our Sunday paper as well as online (Target.com, RedPlum.com, SmartSource.com, Coupons.com). The idea is to only use the coupons for items that are on sale. I scoured the ads for sales and planned out my shopping trip accordingly.

I'm also learning that the best deals are not always at the commissary. The commissary charges you a 5 percent surcharge before coupons are deducted to pay for things like staff and maintenance. It's like paying a 5 percent tax on groceries!

Anyway, part of my happiness project is not only to shop smarter using coupons, but also to put the savings generated from those coupons into a special account. After a few months, I'll assess how much I've saved and put that money into some new investments for our family, whether it's retirement savings or college savings for Paige. I'm proud to say Geoff and I have started up quite a retirement nest egg over the past few years, so it only makes sense to supplement that good work, especially now that we have a daughter in the mix!

Clipping coupons is time-consuming, but I'm beginning to learn that it's more than worth it. It's also fun, now that I've discovered that I can get products needed for the family for cheap or even free. It really does feel like you're robbing the bank :)

So, does couponing bring happiness? You bet!