Remembrance

Ten years ago today I was asleep, in Sherman Oaks, CA when my roommate came in to tell me that one of my best friends was on the phone. Carla lived in Maryland, at the time, and knew that I would be in bed and have no idea of what was going on on the east coast. I was groggy when I got on the phone but listened in disbelief when she told me what was going on. It didn't really hit me until I clicked on the TV in my bedroom and saw the horror.

I will be forever grateful that I heard the news about the 9/11 attacks from one of my best friends. Carla still works for our U.S. Government but is currently living in England. She used to be in the Army Reserves and was in her Army fatigues that day. She said that that day, and many days after, people would wave, give her thumbs up, tell her thank you, and show their respects in many other ways.

With the battle between political parties, and whether we believe in the current war or not, it's easy to forget about the individual soldiers who are out there risking their lives so that we can live free.We must remember the thousands of soldiers who's lives have been lost, in the last 10 years, from fighting the battle for our freedom.



We will never forget the innocent lives that were lost that day...people who were at their jobs in New York and the Pentagon. All the people who had just boarded a plane and so bravely saved many other lives by crashing themselves into a field in Pennsylvania....we can never forget.
And as much as we pay tribute to those innocent lives, we must remember the 343 firefighters and paramedics who's lives were lost because they were doing their jobs. They went down to ground zero and into those buildings to help save other's lives.

As much sorrow as we feel today, remembering all of the victims, we also must wear our red, white and blue, and be thankful for living in a free country.

If you see a soldier today, thank them.
If you see a firefighter or police officer today, thank them.

And never forget how you felt that day.

Some Time Off

Last weekend my family took a trip to Nebraska to visit family and attend a rockin' Husker football game. Traveling with two toddlers, in the car for 10 hours, can be interesting but all in all my kids did great! The few days before the trip I spent packing, doing laundry and tying up all the loose ends you have to manage before leaving for out of town. The few days after the trip I've spent unpacking, doing laundry and tying up all the loose ends you have to manage after coming home from a trip.

I think I'm still recovering. lol

So in my recovery I've taken a bit of a couponing break. Yes, I did go to the store on Tuesday after we got back because, well, I had to. But I ended up getting the bare minimum of what we needed and just a couple free/cheap items.

The thing is, it's ok to miss a deal. It's ok to take a break. My freezer is full, my pantry is full and we just needed some of the basics.

I'm slightly pained when I see some good deals going on that I know I'm not going to snag but, all in all, I'm just too tired to really care.

The thing with couponing (for those of us who aren't extreme couponers) is that I can still have a life and step back from it and it's ok. There will always be good deals. It's not life or death if I miss something. My sanity is more important.

Now off to finish folding some laundry...