Lasagna

Navy fed himself lasagna for the first time. 2011.



Lily feeding herself lasagna for the first time. 2007.

We don't have homeless people in Fort Wayne.

The picture is from Dallas, Texas. August 2011.

A couple of months ago, I gave a friend some soap. He offered to let me walk with him and the Saints On the Streets crew. I thought that it would be a wonderful experience, but that's as far as it went.

Besides, this is Fort Wayne. A nice, quiet, sedate city in the midwest. We don't have homeless people. Heck, we're the "City of Churches," and churches take care of those less fortunate. So, we don't have homeless in Fort Wayne. Period.

The subject had kinda been pushed by the wayside. Honestly, minus a couple of comments here and there, I'd pretty much completely forgot about it.

Then, I went on vacation...

Dallas is huge. The metroplex just blew my mind, still does. It all started as a joke. We were "Hooker Hunting" on Harry Hines Blvd at 11 in the morning. Which, by the way, was a bust.

A repeat a few days later around 9 at night also revealed zero working girls. So, we decided to go "Homeless Hunting." Hell, it's Dallas. There have got to be homeless people there.

Drove by American Airlines stadium. Fail.
Drove by the Grassy Knoll. Fail.
Drove by the Greyhound station. Fail.

Then, we were just driving up some street that I forget the name of and people were sitting on benches. Those can't be homeless people. Where's all their stuff? Yes, I realize that homeless people don't have a ton of stuff, but where are the shopping carts? The bags?

When I took the above picture from the safety and security of my friend's car, something clicked. I don't know what or why, it just did. I still can't think of this lady, whose name and story I don't know, without tearing up a little.

After we got home, I hit up my friend for answers and to see if the offer still stood. After all, there has got to be a concrete reason why and how. This kind of thing doesn't just happen in America, and most definitely not in our fair city.

Why? I just don't get it. Alcoholism. Drug addiction. Mental illness. Even with all of the years that I've listened to Dr. Drew, I will never understand addiction. Continued use in spite of consequences. How can you lose everything? How does it get to that point?



My night out with the homeless started around 7:45 when I dropped my children off with my Dad. It'd been a hellish day for me. Dad said that I needed to do this. So, I did.

I was so nervous. People don't realize how painfully shy I am. Add to that the fact that I was going to see real homeless people!

Drew. He was our first stop. Under a bridge. The guys were talking to him. I just observed. What do you said, do? The flashlights lit up Drew's face. I started to tear up. Then, I started looking at the view of the river. It was quite lovely. I can't think of that interaction with Drew, without tearing up. The intimacy of it all. Drew said he's been feeling tired, so the guys prayed for strength and better health for him. I didn't hear it all, nor did I really listen. I'd seen and heard enough for a while.

Nick and Bernard. I didn't really hear much of what Bernard was saying, but Nick is a real character. He was talking about his kids and things he's been doing to keep himself busy. I kept thinking that his guy cannot be homeless. He doesn't look it. I guess, I'm still a little naive and looking for his "badge of homelessness." I kept smiling. Both guys were so good-natured.

We stopped at another bridge. There were 2 guys sleeping until there, so our group left some snacks and drinks for them.

Then, it was off to the Salvation Army. That was an experience. It kinda turned into a mini block party, which was kind of fun. The guys there needed toiletries and socks. It was very overwhelming, but I really think it all goes back to my naivete. I just don't get it.

The walk back to the car was full of chatting and jay-walking. A lesson of the evening, no one has been hit when jay-walking with SOS. Close calls, but it's never actually happened.

Debrief was hard and full of more questions than answers. I want to know why. How. "Because it is," and "I don't know," are the answers I got and was not happy with. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. At the same time, I'm thinking about and gearing up for another walk around Fort Wayne to spend the evening with the homeless.

Seven Months Old

Happy 7-month birthday, Navy!!

Navy has six teeth: four on top, two on bottom. He's mastered scooting and is beginning to crawl, only to resort back to scooting because it's so much faster. He's pulling himself up to stand and starting to climb.



I was really looking forward to getting his 7M pictures taken. Dave had given me a picture of him at 7-months-old that I wanted to recreate with Navy. He didn't cooperate as much as I had hoped, but I think that we got a couple of really cute pictures.



Navy also absolutely adores his big sister, Lily. She's really good with him, but sometimes, she really wishes he'd respect her space. I'm sure this is just the beginning of that...

Coupon Binder

Coupon binders are all the rage right now. Coupon Mom is where I heard about them a while ago, but it wasn't until recently that I really started needing one of my own.



I raided my office supplies, so the only expense that I really had to start up were the baseball card sleeves. I used some 3-ring binder address book organizers that I bought several years ago. They helped to get me started until I had time to order what I needed. I also used a snap-closure binder that I had on hand. Again, one less thing to buy at the moment.

First, I found a binder that fit my needs.

Finding a binder to fit your needs, you want it to be big enough for all of your stuff, but not too big. Also, it really helps if it has a closure (zipper is best, but mine snaps), just to keep all of your stuff in it. I like Five Star 2-Inch Multi-Access Zipper Binder, Black (72121), but I have Day-Timer Pink Ribbon Microfiber Snap-Tab Organizer Starter Set, Notebook Size (D88125) (minus the pretty pink awareness ribbon). Makes me wish that I would have kept my Five Star from high school!

Second, to get organized.

I like things in alphabetical order, so I got Avery Ready Index Table of Contents Dividers, 26-Tab, 1 Set (11125) for just that reason. All of my coupons for products that start with A (Aquafresh, Alpo, etc.) are all in the same place and I can easily find them.

If you'd prefer to organize by category, Avery Extrawide Ready Index Dividers, 10 Tab, Laser/Ink Jet, 9.5 x 11 Inches, Assorted, 10 per Set (11165) would probably work great. They also have other sets (5, 8, 12, 15, 31) available.

Third, coupon pockets.

Pretty much everyone I've talked to uses baseball card sleeves. I have Ultra Pro 9-Pocket Trading Card Pages - Platinum Series (100 Pages), with plenty left over for, ya know, baseball cards (or spares if a page tears or something).

I also use Avery Economy Clear Sheet Protectors, Acid Free, Box of 100 (75091) for oddly-sized coupons, weekly ads for the stores I'll be hitting up, and for various stores' coupon policies (just in case...though I've never run into a problem).

$20 Off Lansinoh Affinity Pump

Lansinoh Affinity Double Electric Breast Pump is $20 off at Target and on Target.com!

What can I say? I'm very passionate about breastfeeding. It's nice to see that a good pump is on sale and hopefully more affordable to Moms who wanna continue to feed their babies breastmilk, even when they don't nurse them.

$5 OFF any can of Enfagrow powder

$5 off Enfagrow - Enfamil website

$5 off Enfagrow - Coupons.com website

My daughter has a poor appetite every once in a while, so this (and Ovaltine), are items that are nice to have on hand.

Huggies Diaper Deal -- Cute Packaging is EVIL!

I was reading the Target weekly ad (page 12) and saw that they are doing the Huggies diaper deal again. You buy 2 "big packs" of diapers, get a $5 gift card.

Try not to get sucked into the Huggies Jeans coupon/deal. Regular packages of Huggies wipes are $2.39 and the Jeans pack with the same count size is $3.99. This seems like a "good" deal because you can get 2 Jeans wipes and 2 Jeans boxed diapers, plus a $5 gift card, but here's the break down.

Huggies $3/1 printable coupon.
$.50/1 Huggies 64ct+ wipes (SS 5/15/11)

$2/Huggies Jeans wipes+Jeans diapers Target web coupon.

Jeans	Snug & Dry*
$39.98 -- 2 boxes of diapers $7.98 -- 2 packs of wipes $47.96 -- TOTAL -$6 -- using 2 $3/1 -$1 -- using 2 $.50/1 -$4 -- using 2 $2/wipes+diapers $39.96	$39.98 -- 2 boxes of diapers $4.78 -- 2 packs of wipes $42.76 -- TOTAL -$6 -- using 2 $3/1 -$1 -- using 2 $.50/1 $37.76

*I believe the Snug & Dry and Little Movers are $1 cheaper at the Target I shop at, but for the sake of arguing (and the price they have listed on Totally Target, I used $19.99. The price was not listed on the website, so prices must vary across the country.

Free Kool-Aid

Kroger currently has packets of Kool-Aid for $.10 each. Enter the sweepstakes and print a coupon for $.50/5.

Kool-Aid's website, or you can also "like" Kool-Aid's Facebook page and enter from there.

Target: John Freida hair color & Pantene

This was my first attempt at trying to score wicked awesome deals at Target. I love how they allow you to 'stack' coupons to make items super cheap.

Some Target stores seem to be having problems with the Banana Boat/Hawaiian Tropics deal. I purchased one Banana Boat baby sunscreen ($7.44) and the Banana Boat Aloe After Sun lotion ($4.99). I should have gotten a $5 GC back when I checked out, but I did not. I didn't realize it until after I'd left. Needless to say, I will be returning to Target to either get the GC or return the items.

Target's coupons specify: "Limit one coupon or offer per transaction."

John Freida Precision Foam hair color
Price: $11.99
Coupons: $5/1 Target web coupon and $5/1 from the 5/1/11 SS.
Final Cost: $1.99 + tax

Pantene - Buy 2 shampoo or conditioner, Get 1 styling product
Price: $3.79 for conditioners, $3.94 for styling
Coupons: $3/2 Pantene product from 5/1/2011 P&G and $1/1 Pantene/Herbal Essence from Target
Final Cost: $3.58 + tax

Pantene - Buy 2 shampoo or conditioner, Get 1 styling product
Price: $3.79 for conditioners, $3.94 for styling
Coupons: $3/2 Pantene product from 5/1/2011 P&G
Final Cost: $4.58 + tax

Did this, just to show that I can.

Told my Dad about the pickle deal, so he wanted some for his house for Lily. I wanted to score him some French's Spicy Brown mustard because they have the peelie, but the Kroger I went to was all sold out. He gave me a dollar. Not gonna lie, I only did this to say that I did get 94% off of a transaction. Normally, I wouldn't shop like this.

French's usually has $.30 off the mustard in the paper. I just happened to have a $.50 off manu that Kroger sent me (thanks to using my Plus card and their system monitoring what I buy).

Total OOP: $.57

Manu Coupons: $1.50
Bonus: $3
Plus: $4.70
Special: $2.40
Total Savings: $9.20 → 94%

Mount Olive Pickle Spears (x2) Regular Price: $3.39 Plus Price: $1.69 Coupon: $.50 off (x2) **blinkie** Bonus: $1 off (x2) Final Cost: $.19 each Total Savings: $6.40 → 94%

French's Yellow Mustard Regular Price: $2.99 Plus Price: $1.69 Coupon: $.50 off Bonus: $1 off Final Cost: $.19 Total Savings: $2.80 → 94%