Proud.

This is my husband. He is a spoken word poet.

He has been writing and performing spoken word poetry for a while now, but I have never gotten to go to one of his out-of-state shows (I know, bad wife) until this weekend.

I got to go with him and watch him perform at Winterfest in Arlington, TX.

Winterfest is a HUGE Church of Christ youth convention in Texas and Tennessee. He got to perform one piece there last year, but this year he was asked to perform twice.

It went SO well.

He performed his two new pieces.

Sold out of his new DVD's that he released with Drew Chancey.

Signed lots of CD's, DVD's, and T-shirts.

Took lots of pictures with swooning girls.

And most importantly...spread God's message to many hearts.

I think my favorite part of the weekend was listening to people come up and tell David how his poetry touched them and revived their spirit.

I am a proud wife.

Sorry all you high school girls out there who thought you found your future husband this weekend, he's taken.

Coupon Queen

That's what I'm striving to be. A coupon queen.

I would say I'm at princess status right now, but I long to be a money-saving maharaja.

So since I know that the majority of people who read this blog are money-scraping married or soon-to-be marrieds I will share some of my favorite saving techniques.

1.) If you buy anything from the internet search for a coupon code before you check out. This could end up saving you a lot of money. You can find a coupon code for almost any website. I'm not kidding. It's fabulous.

2.) Join Groupon and all of the sites like it.

Living Social

Seize the Deal

These sites are literally the best.

They offer half price deals such as $40 worth of food at a restaurant for only $20.

You may seem weary, but trust me, I've bought and used coupons from all these websites and they work.

They also make for great date nights or gifts.

3.) Special restaurant nights.

Some restaurants offer deals on certain days of the week.

McNellies has $3 burger and fries on Wednesdays (we go almost every week)

POPS has $2 burgers on Tuesdays

Souper Salad has $4.99 buffets on Tuesdays

ElChico has $3.99 enchiladas on Wednesdays

Just look around, you'll find more.

So, I hope these ideas help you save a little cash and if you have any money-saving secrets I am MORE than willing to hear them!

Happy Shopping.

This year I will...

1.) Give more.

Of myself, my time, my money, my spirit.

We are a society that commends greed and scrutinizes charity.

I am choosing to live simply and give freely.

2.) Cook more meals at home.

I am not a cook. Some people have the gift, not me.

I do cook, but not as much as I should. I used some Christmas money to buy some healthy cookbooks so not only will I be cooking more, but I will be helping us to live healthier lifestyles.

3.) Stretch daily.

I love stretching. I used to be a cheerleader and a dancer and stretching was a part of my daily routine. So I want to work on stretching out every day to gain some of that flexibility back.

4.) Save for a down payment on a house.

We are not planning on buying a house for another year or two, but we want to be able to put down the full 20% so we are starting to save now.

5.) Start subbing.

It's kind of hard to get a teaching job mid year so I am just going to substitute teach this next semester.

6.) Find a new church home.

David and I are looking for a new church where we can get involved and grow in our walk with God. Suggestions welcome.

7.) Go to a million weddings.

We have so many friends getting married this year and I am so excited to watch every one of them make the same commitment we did.

8.) Stay on top of the laundry.

Laundry is the one chore that gets out of hand. There is a permanent mountain of clothes in our bedroom. My plan is to demolish the mountain and keep it down to a foothill.

9.) Finish my 22 list.

I have been keeping up with a lot of my goals, but I still have a lot left to accomplish. You better believe I will!

And last but not least.....

10.) Move to the Philippines

David and I have discussed doing mission work for quite a while and I think God has finally led us to the place we need to be.

David is now the executive director of the non-profit "Give-a-goat" which is based in the Philippines so this is the perfect place to move and continue the work that is being done there.

This is a HUGE step for us (especially me since I have never been out of the country), but we are confident that this is what we need to do at this point in our lives.

If we don't go now, we probably never will.

We haven't made any definite plans, but we do know that we won't be leaving until October (due to all the weddings) and it will only be for 6 months.

So we would appreciate lots of prayers, support, and encouragement as we begin to make this idea a reality.