Fair Trade Certified™ Green Mountain Coffee®

I love trying new and free things =) , so I decided to be a BzzAgent! They send me products, I try them, and then I get to tell you about great stuff! I've already been given FIVE different things to review. Today I get to tell you a little bit about Fair Trade Certified™ Green Mountain Coffee®...

BzzAgent sent me some Fair Trade Certified™ Green Mountain Coffee® Three Continent Blend K-Cup^® packs to use in my Keurig^® brewer. If you don't have a Keurig^® brewer, Green Mountain offers bagged coffee, as well!  You might say, "Fair Trade Certified?" Fair Trade Certified means that the coffee farmers are given a fair price for their coffee beans. Do you know what that means?? When it comes down to it, farmers getting a fair price leads to community development projects like new schools, improved roads, and safer drinking water. There's more, of course, and you can find out more about it here: ChooseFairTrade.com. While you're at it, why not buy some and find out how great it is for yourself?? You cave $2 on a 24-count of K-Cup^® packs with one of the five following coupon codes*:

• FTBZZ-LKDV4G0, FTBZZ-LKF2YWY, FTBZZ-LKF50F7, FTBZZ-LKFNGYQ, FTBZZ-LKFQD4R

While I was drinking my Three Continent Blend, I noticed how smooth it was. No bitterness here, folks! It seemed just the right balance in flavor I was looking for. Such a treat!! I really enjoyed it, because right now, my coffee cup is empty! I might just head to the kitchen and get myself another cup. If *you* want some, head to your grocery store and check out the different blends Green Mountain Coffee® offers...

a glue gun and screwdriver are your friends...

It's been a long while since I've felt the urge to blog.  Today is one of those "extra" productive days (trust me, those don't come that often!), so I decided to share my latest project and news.  For months I couldn't figure out what I was going to do for summer employment.  I thought I might dust off my waitressing skills and get a "real" job, but after I decided to do that, something wasn't quite right.  Yep, it always comes back to my daughter and wanting to be there for her, since I'm the only parent she has around.  Her dad lives in Miami, so that would be juuuusssst a bit difficult for him to help out with her! lol  She could stay alone some of the time and/or go to Mom's, but that wasn't setting right with me either.  Finally an idea I've had for awhile came to fruition...

I'm getting a large booth at an antique mall!  The odds were stacked against me when I checked into different places:  long waiting lists (one place had over 50 people waiting!) and a monthly payment whether I make money or not...which of course was a big deterrent at my first thought of doing this.  I left my name at some places, and really didn't think I'd get in anywhere anytime soon.  I thought I had waited too long to make a decision about it and "What am I going to do now??!?" crept into my mind.  Fortunately, I got a call about a week and a half later from Heart of the Lakes in North Webster!  A woman had just given her 30 day notice, and she had two booths.  I even got to choose which one I wanted, and let me tell you, the one I got is ideal!!  It is near the front of the store on a wall that already has a large shelf that is the length of the booth--i.e. using this shelf would be like putting things on top of kitchen cabinets.  I'm a visual person, so describing it this way seems better to me.  Anyway, I don't know where the waiting list went!! Maybe the people before me couldn't do it or maybe the lady just decided she liked me.  God opened doors because they sure were all shut!  This, along with the other eBay & Etsy stuff I do will provide my income for the summer and hopefully continue to give extra income later when school starts.  I'm not nervous about the monthly payment anymore.  I have a calm feeling about it.  This past weekend, especially, I was able to get some really good deals.  In fact, I got so much for so very little, that I told Emma it was as if God had opened his hands wide and gave all of these things to us.  His generosity to us was so overwhelming on Saturday, that I broke down and cried. (and I don't cry much anymore!)  Those were tears of relief...of feeling so undeserved...of the release of being the sole provider...of God's graciousness and care.  God knows when the sparrow falls, right?

......The mall allows other things besides antiques.  Of course collectables, but also some newer or upscaled things that "fit in" as she told me.  One of the things I picked up two weekends ago was this step stool/chair (NO, I don't know the real name for it! lol).  It's a newer old-style chair and I thought it was cool.  Plus it was only $2, so the price was right!  It just needed a little TLC and it would go right into my booth come the beginning of June when it becomes available to me.

Today I gave it a new look with a crisp, NEW pillow sham I picked up at Goodwill for only $1.  I cleaned up the chair with one of those AWESOME Magic Erasers, got out my screwdriver, crescent wrench, scissors and glue gun...

 I doubled up the fabric on the seat for extra durability, put everything back together and tightened all of the screws so it's not wobbly anymore.  I sprayed some Stain Guard on it and put it outside to dry.  PRESTO! a "new" chair!                                                                                                                                

Not too shabby for $3!

So now you know about my new adventure!  Turning things over for a profit or having my things in a store isn't new to me, but having my own "mini" store is!  I am tooootally excited and ready!!  Let the "games" begin! ;)

lean not unto thine own understanding...

I woke up this morning fully expecting to go to work, just like I expected to do yesterday.  As we were getting ready, those plans came to a screeching halt!  I missed work yesterday because my daughter, Emma, was sick, and today wouldn't be any different.  It's been a long winter with sickness for both of us; if it wasn't at the same time, it was one of us or the other.  I've heard it's been a hard winter on a lot of people...nasty germs!!  Anyway, when she stayed home from school yesterday, I told her I was so happy and thankful to be able to take care of her.  Today isn't any different...I love being her mom and can't express enough how I want to be there for her! 

There was a problem, though.  I had a pit in my stomach about canceling my substitute teaching job.  I called the computer generated system THREE times before I could work up the nerve to hit #2 to cancel.  My mind was racing.  ...Will I continue to be called for other jobs??  How will I pay my bills??  What about all of the school days Emma has already missed????...  Single or married, you all know how that feels; I'm sure.  It's the dread of the unknown...the pressure of being responsible, not only for yourself, but also for another human being who needs you beyond measure.

Making ALL of the decisions isn't always easy.  I do *love* having the freedom in making a lot of them (oooohhhhh yeah, is that nice sometimes!!!), BUT when the outcome could potentially be negative, I WANT MY MOMMY!!!  Do I have to be an adult??!?  I had that phone in my hand and the anxiety was setting in.  Without thinking, I started praying.  Lord, help me to make the right decision here.  Cancel the job and take her to the doctor or send her to Mom's and wait to see if she gets better?  I kept praying the same thing over and over.  All of the sudden I mentally heard that still voice in my chaotic prayer.  "Trust me.  Trust me."  It's amazing how in asking God for the right thing to do, my thoughts STILL shifted to the potential problems and fear when I had the answer!  Giving that "control" over is hard, even when I asked, and yes, even when I wanted the answer!  I heard it again.  "Trust me."  It was then I dialed the third call and actually declined the job.  I hung up, and right away the fear left me.  God would take care of us, just like He has always immeasurably done.

You know what?  We got an appointment right in the morning.  She has a sinus infection, just like I thought.  That headache she's had for two days straight will go away.  Emma was ok being at the doctor's office.  She really gets scared going, and had to sit in the car a minute when we got there because she was nauseous and dizzy. (When she was little, she had too many shots at the doctor before those tonsils came out!  Poor kid!).  As we were leaving, she looked at me and said, "Well, all that worrying and being scared was for nothing!"  Geesh, I didn't even say anything to her about it.  It felt good that she recognized that, and said it out loud!  I must have planted some good seeds along the way, and it's really great to see those seeds growing.  I'm glad to be reminded that I'm making some right choices.  (ummm...sometimes, not so much!  You know those times when your kid has an attitude that's not cool, and you *know* that they are only being your "mini-me"?? ugh.  Ahhh, well, that's a topic for another time. lol)  Anyway, back to the end of the story...No payment was due at the doctor's office (I thought I had to pay a $20 copay??), and when we went to CVS to get the prescription filled, there wasn't any charge there either!  This afternoon, I sold something on eBay, and they paid right away.  Even better, my phone rang a little bit ago with a job offer at my favorite school!  My worries and fears, just like Emma's, were all for nothing!

Something else even greater happened today too.  Right after I told Emma I was staying home with her, she hugged me and said in a small voice, "You are?"  I looked into her beautiful brown eyes and saw such contentment.  happiness.  such love.  and the peace of being loved and wanted.  You know, I really crave that security and acceptance too.  Some days, I ache for that kind of love from another human being.  The fact is, that unconditional love is always right in front of me.  It surrounds me.  It is deep inside my heart, even when I don't feel like it's there.  Today, my Heavenly Father gave me a whole day as a reminder of that love.  He's seeing all of same things in my eyes that I saw in Emma's.  I feel Him smiling down upon me, and His arms tight around me.  Through all of these circumstances, He is showing me that I am NOT doing this life alone.  He's got me in the palm of His mighty hand.

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."  Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV

  



   

 

and so it begins...

I sat down to do a little facebooking and looking around the internet tonight, and as I was typing a post for my facebook, I thought, "This post sounds like something I'd write in my blog!".  I've really had a blog for a long time...you just didn't know it!  I've also written books, redecorated my house in 20 minutes, sang professionally, restored a multitude of homes and log cabins, along with many, many other things...all in my MIND, of course! ;)  Dreaming is, as my Uncle Kim put it years ago, "Free HBO".  I think my dreaming is somewhere in the middle of TLC and heaven. Some of my dreams at night, though, are probably free HBO because they get pretty crazy!  My daydream blog is absolutely FANTASTIC.  I wish you could see it!  Anyway, this is the "official" start of my *real* blog. (YAY!!)  It will evolve, I'm sure.  Maybe one day it will be as fantastic as the one in my mind, but for now I am happy just to start it!  So...drum roll, please!...here is what I started typing on facebook, along with some other thoughts:

Sometimes I chuckle at magazines, tv shows and internet articles talking about slashing your budget, how thrifting is cool, and repurposing is all the rage; mostly all due to this bad economy. There are those of us that have lived this way our whole lives!! We were smart before it was "cool".  Apparently we were ahead of the times!  Then, I started thinking about the fact that some people didn't have the kind of upbringing I had.  There are people from all walks of life.  We are all unique and, thankfully, are not "cookie cutter" people!  I had hardworking grandparents who made it through the depression and passed their life lessons on to my parents during the lean times of their childhoods.  My Grandma Plew's motto was, "Waste Not, Want Not." I try not to waste, but I definitely don't have the not wasting thing down like my grandma did!  My parents did a bang up job of teaching my siblings and I frugality.  Looking back, we didn't have a lot of money, but I never really felt it.  Dad & Mom fixed what was broken, shopped sales, clearance, salvage & second hand; clipped coupons and, sure, sometimes bought things at regular price. In all honesty, even though we had our problems (who doesn't?!?), I had an ideal childhood; a good Christian home with lots of love, two parents together, an older sister, a younger sister, and the youngest; a brother...complete with cats and dogs along the way. =)

Since I don't have the Superwoman capabilities in real life that I do in my daily thoughts, I think this is a good place to stop.  Thank you for joining me on my blogging adventure!  I hope you will continue to follow me through whatever this journey may bring.  Before I go, I will leave you with a picture of me...