Happy Birthday to My ~ First Baby Girl

A couple of years ago today (wink) my first baby girl was born.

She was bright, inquisitive and kept me on my toes from the moment she was born!

When her sister arrived a year later, she took her "big sister" duties seriously.

Now she's a wife and a mother of her own two little girls.

Happy Birthday, First Baby Girl!  I love you!  Mom

(Thanks for visiting ~ Reia)

Coupons ~ CVS ~ Happy Dance Back!

As I recover from Kroger stopping their doubling of coupons, an amazing blogger (http://novafrugalfamily.blogspot.com/) made me feel better.  She reminded me of CVS and I vowed to get to know CVS again.  Thank you for your ideas & encouragement!  (BTW - if you aren't following her blog - you really should - it's great!)

So - I headed to the CVS website and wow!  They've really made some changes.  The "Extra Care Offers" are grouped together making it so much easier to put deals together.  They're color-coded and everything!  For a visual person like myself - this is a wonderful improvement and helpful tool!

Thank you, CVS!

I'm excited about saving - again!  I've got my smile back on, I'm putting my coupons together and heading out to CVS tomorrow!  I'll let you know how it goes.

Now, I'm curious - what savings and deals are you working on this week?

Thanks for visiting ~ Reia

Coupons ~ After the Doubling Stops

Yikes!  Kroger changed it's coupon policy and is no longer doubling coupons.

Now what?

I'm trying my best to be positive but I've got to admit - it's not easy.  For years, I've planned my shopping around those 50 cent coupons meaning a $1 savings to me.  No more - 50 cents now means 50 cents.  I know, I know, it's better than nothing and 50 cents is still a good savings.

Here are the positives I've come up with so far...

1)  Kroger mails me coupons tailored to what I actually buy - definitely a bonus.  The top left coupon in the photo below is $3 off of $15 in produce and the top right coupon is for $5 off of a $50 transaction.  I can certainly make good use of those.

2)  The 75 cent coupons that used to be in the back of my coupon box have now moved up to the front.

3)  I definitely need to make better use of Kroger's digital coupons.  I load them on my Kroger card and there's no need to carry my coupon box.  Not bad at all!

4)  Kroger's brand of products certainly look more desirable.  (Hmmm - wonder if that was part of their plan?)

Ok, I'm feeling a little better.  Any ideas to help me get past the "Coupon Doubling" withdrawal that I'm going through right now?  All hints and tips are appreciated!

Thanks for visiting ~ Reia

It's All About the Young People

At our church, the last Sunday of every month is "Youth Mass" Sunday.  As the new Music Director, this is my second month to be involved.  I'm thrilled to tell you that October's Youth Mass was a great success!  

The Youth Group took the place of the adults and what a wonderful job they did!  The teens sat in the chairs where the Adult Choir normally sits.  The rest of the church's left side was filled with the children and their families.  It was truly a "Wow" moment in my life!

Plus - it was so much fun having a Youth Choir, Youth Lectors, Youth Ushers, etc.  A special part of the Mass was when the children came down to the front and sang "Seek Ye First" during the offering.

Since I was busy with the children and the youth, I didn't get any videos or recordings - hopefully the links below will give you an idea of what these incredible young people accomplished today.

Seek Ye First

One song requested by the Youth was "Rain Down" -  http://www.ocp.org/compositions/7881

My short recording of "Rain Down" - http://www.southcountrysides.com/mass/raindown.mp3 

My heart is full and very happy and...yes, I'm one thankful Music Director.  I love being part of an active, loving, giving Parish!

From my little corner of the world ~ Thanks for visiting!  Reia

PS - I have two groups to thank.

1)  Sandy and Salvador - what a difference you make with your guitars!  Thank you for bringing life and fun to our music!

2)  The Adult Choir - thank you for being a part of the Congregation during "Youth Mass" and allowing the Youth to participate.  You're the best!

Advent and Christmas ~ it's almost here!

It's time to prepare for Advent and Christmas.  As the new Music Director of our local Catholic Church I've gone back and forth with ideas.

I know I want it to be different from the past because - well - things have changed.  There are so many songs in our new Purple "United in Christ" book that we haven't explored yet.  So...first thing...make a cd of the songs we haven't sung before since that's the best way to rehearse when we can't formally rehearse often.

I'm not sure if you'll know any of them but here's the list of the songs and the YouTube links for the songs that we haven't sung before.

  by  roger4336 

Advent Songs

Awake, O Sleeper - 266

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Byh3ElOl_Q

A Voice Cries Out – 271  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY04L2j0WbI

The Advent of Our King – 272

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9yEQOdBFow

People, Look East – 274

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbfKd5u8gmI

Every Valley – 276

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBndmHyuicg

Creator of the Stars of Night – 277

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOXOE2caXpo

Save Us, O Lord – 280

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVMAklBA7ps

The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns – 285

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWxBIIm84xE

O Come, Divine Messiah - 288

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOIQAICNeIw

(By the way - Advent's all about a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas.)  I'm looking forward to Advent ~  I'll keep you posted about what we decide to sing from the list above.

Thanks for visiting ~ Reia

It's a Wonderful Life ~ My Life

It's been seven (7) months since I became the Music Director at our local Catholic Church.  It's also been about seven (7) months since I've actively posted to my blog.  I know that's not a coincidence. 

My life is filled with wonderful people and wonderful music.  I'm very blessed.  Since my time is full of planning, researching, facilitating, preparation and performing, I've decided to merge the blog with the way I use my time now.

While I'm not going to get "preach-y" or "church-y", I do have some beautiful music to share and maybe a glimpse of what it's like to work with multiple choirs and multiple services each week.

I'll leave you with this - a beautiful song with a beautiful message by the people who wrote the song.  Give Us Your Peace - (YouTube link) sung by Jesse Manibusan and Sarah Hart.

Until next time - thanks for visiting!  Reia

Helpful Grocery Planning Sites

Since we work with a very small amount of money for groceries ~ every dollar counts.  A few minutes ago, I started working on this week's list and thought you might find my "go-to" planning sites helpful also.

Our local stores are Kroger, Wal-mart, Food Lion, CVS and the discount chains (Dollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Fred's, Big Lots and Save-a-Lot).  It's amazing what you can find and the deals you can pull together at these stores.

The following sites help me strategically plan and make the most of the dollars we have.

Food on the Table - see what's on sale at YOUR stores.








  Southern Savers - this site has always been helpful to me.  Loads of information to help you find the best deals.





All You Magazine ~ Weekly Circulars and Ads - same idea - see what's on sale at YOUR stores.  This site can show all the stores at once (see image below) or you can sort by category and stores.

Thanks for visiting!  I've got to get back to my grocery planning now.  ;-)

Please visit again.  Reia