Things to Consider When...

Dealing with Coupons.

In the holiday spirit, I have become obsessed with coupon collecting. Not going to lie, it's super fun :)
Here are a couple of tips and tricks that I have found helpful :

1- Get your priorities straight...

Before I even go looking for coupons or deals, I make a general list of the things that I want to look for and I prioritize them. This helps give you a direction and it makes it easier to say "NO" to something that you don't need that may be on sale. Lets face it, yes that DVD player is on a really good deal, but you don't have a TV.
Why on earth would you spend your hard earned money on something that you might not ever use. 
Use the list.
Let the coupons work for your wallet, not against it. 


2- Check your Receipts and Do Some Research... 

Go ahead and dig out your old receipts and ask yourself some questions; 

Where do I spend the most?

On average, how much do I spend and in what ways?

Finding the answers to these questions gives you something to build off of. Figure out if your favorite stores have some type of membership rewards. Do your research and see if getting one will actually benefit you in the long run. 
I shop at Target a lot (I also work there, ha) and so I got a debit red card. Now every time I shop, I save 5%. It didn't cost me a dime and I get to save money! 


3- Get your Sources Right


So you are in line getting rung up when one of two things happen; your coupons don't apply or you have them from the wrong store. How can you keep this from happening? Read the fine print and prepare what coupons you are going to use by reading your list (that you made earlier). 
Coupons ALWAYS have catches.
Make sure you know the catch for each one. 


4- Check out the Printables!


One of the easiest places to find coupons is online! You can either check group coupon sites or go to a specific companies webpage. Here are some of the places that I like to visit:
http://www.coupons.com/ (has general coupons)
http://www.retailmenot.com/ (you can find amazing deals on here, you just have to sort the good sources from the bad)
http://coupons.target.com/ ( okay okay, more target stuff. But there are some really good ones on here!)
http://www.couponmap.com/ (This one has more coupons for smaller places, but there are still some really good ones on here)


5- Fake Email


Hate getting junk mail? 
So do I. 
But occasionally that company that keeps sending you stuff will send you a coupon. I actually have a separate email account that I use just for getting coupons. I will give this one out to the cashier that asks (and sign it up online) to get coupons. That way it helps separate my personal mail and then everything else. But when the time comes that I need coupons, I have another place to check for them. 

.......................

Well I hope this has helped some. I haven't been couponing for every long but I plan to continue, and to find more ways to save. 

Thanks for reading, you are wonderful! :)
Kendra Ann

Little Blue Flower

"My dear Relief Society sisters, you are closer to heaven than you suppose. You are destined for more than you can possibly imagine. Continue to increase in faith and personal righteousness. Accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ as your way of life. Cherish the gift of activity in this great and true Church. Treasure the gift of service in the blessed organization of Relief Society. Continue to strengthen homes and families.

Continue to seek out and help others who need your and the Lord’s help.

Sisters, there is something inspiring and sublime about the little forget-me-not flower. I hope it will be a symbol of the little things that make your lives joyful and sweet. Please never forget that you must be patient and compassionate with yourselves, that some sacrifices are better than others, that you need not wait for a golden ticket to be happy. Please never forget that the “why” of the gospel of Jesus Christ will inspire and uplift you.

And never forget that your Heavenly Father knows, loves, and cherishes you.

Thank you for who you are. Thank you for the countless acts of love and service you offer up to so many. Thank you for all that you will yet do to bring the joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ to families, to the Church, to your communities, and to the nations of the world."

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf , Forget Me Not

Basically everything...

I have been thinking a lot about how science and religion fit together due to Morgan Freeman's Through the Wormhole series. When I was younger, if felt like you had to pick one or the other because they didn't seem to get along, but the more and more I learn, the more these two opposite topics seem to fit together.

The other day I stumbled upon this video (Click me!) and it all just made sense. Science and religion are different things, but they both are witnesses to the same exact thing; that there is a greater being who created everything and who loves us.  

In Moses 6:63 it says:

And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me.

This is one of my favorite scriptures and in recent light, has acquired a different meaning. 

John Lewis (from the video) says that Science and religion are two independent witnesses, that they are not opposites but are like the vision that you see with your two eyes. If you open just one, you will see the picture a little differently then you would with the other one opened by itself. However, if you open both of your eyes, you see the whole picture. 

If you look at the world with science and religion, you will see the whole picture, the way things really are because "All things bear record of me". 

Have an excellent Wednesday! Learn something new today! :)

Kendra Ann

Wishful Wednesday

This lovely Wednesday, 

I wish that I could spend more time outside. 

Just sit on the grass, let the sun hit my face

and daydream <3

..........
Have a great day! 
Kendra Ann

Happiness!

  Happiness- The Weepies

I absolutely adore this song!

Not just because I think it is catchy, but because of the message that it has. I feel like so many of my bad days are spent blaming my situations and the actions of others when in truth, I am the one that decides to be happy or not.

We have the power and the responsibility to change our lives and the way that we live them. What gives anyone else the right to make these decisions for us?

Kendra Ann

I heart Scriptures!

Last night I was reading the very famous Alma chapter 32, where Alma compares the word unto a seed and we learn that "if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true."

A pretty popular chapter in my opinion. I can't tell you how many times I have read it myself or gone to Sunday school where this lesson has been taught. But it seems no matter how well I think I know a chapter, there is always something to learn. 

While I was reading, the chapter felt new to me. Every word had a slightly different meaning, the cross references seemed to focus on different ideas, and I made more connections with other scriptures that I hadn't before.


The chapter had changed meaning for me. How amazing is it that we can open the same book, with the same words and get a different message every single time?! I guess that just goes to show that Heavenly Father does talk to us through the scriptures. What a wonderful blessing it is to have my own copy of the standard works!


Kendra Ann
(Have a Happy Wednesday!)

Just a thought

"No pain that we suffer, not trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility. ... It is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation that we gain the education that we come here to acquire."
                                 - Elder Orson F. Whitney

"But he knoweth the way that take; when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold."
                                 -Job 23:10

A Very Overdue Post

First of all, Sorry!  I know that this post has taken my awhile to get done but it is better late than never. Also, this is a long one (just warning you ahead of time) but you should still read it :)

I was inspired to write after participating in a relief society activity last Thursday.  We were to have a talent show for the elderly at a care center. Unfortunately, I don’t really have a talent that I can perform, but I came anyway to support my friends and get some free cake ;)

Along the way, I noticed a little old lady sitting all by herself, looking rather sad.

I don’t know if you know, but I am not the most outgoing person on the block and the idea of just sitting down and talking to a stranger absolutely terrifies me.

Just as I was about to toss that idea, that little voice started speaking to my heart. And like it usually does, it told me that I had to do what I didn’t want to.

I finally gave up and pulled up a chair next to her, asking her how she was.

Her name is Mary. She enjoys the Hunger Games series, watches Grey’s Anatomy and she thinks that skittles are the most amazing treat on the planet. Honestly, that was one of the most amazing conversations that I have ever had.

I cheered her up, and she made my day.

When I got home, I started thinking about what effect one person can have on another. Why is it that we don’t talk more?

Every single day we walk past so many people in the grocery store, down the street, on the bus without even saying hello. Imagine what we all could accomplish if we started talking to the people sitting next to us in class or if we asked how someone was doing as they passed us in the hallway. Not only could we make the day better for them, but I think that it would change our day as well!

All we have to do is speak up!

I decided to challenge myself so that every time I see someone, I have to at least let out a “hello” or “good afternoon”.  Just a little start, but hopefully I will be able to make a difference in someone’s day.

I will let you know how it goes :)

Have a great one!

Kendra Ann

Just a leaf

Here is a little taste of my Photography. This was taken on the same day that I decided to start this blog so I though that it would be appropriate. :)

Just a Leaf

Here we go :)

Well Hello World!
 I am going to be completely honest with you. I am a terrible writer.
With that in mind, lets get started, shall we?

I have been toying with the idea of starting a blog for some time, but there was nothing that really pushed me over the edge until yesterday. I woke up (rather late), the sun was in my eyes and as I stared out the window I saw the most perfect day; that right there was the straw that broke the camel's back. 

I was finally ready to write about something, not just any something, but something Amazing! What is this amazing something, you ask? I am talking about the small and the simple in our everyday lives. In other, less complicated words, blessings.

Yesterday was one of the best days in my entire life and it started with just a little sunshine from Heavenly Father. 

That blessing was what I needed

It was decided! I was going to blog about that moment, about all the little moments I have. Why? So that you can maybe have a glimpse of that sunshine that I felt, secondhand per se.
Sound good?
See you soon!

Kendra Ann :)