The big 4-0

I know that it's been over a week since I've blogged. Is it just me, or does it sometimes seem like activities take over your life beginning in March and you really can't get your head above water (another pool reference) until mid-summer? Beginning in March, we have had activities every weekend. Many weekends (like this past one) have been STACKED with events where we would be out at 8am and back late in the evening. The good part about staying busy is that we are also staying active. It totally beats vegging out on the couch all weekend.

I started my first week of boot camp at the gym LAST week. I just completed my second week this past Monday. Wow. The first week was not very difficult, so I was kind of looking forward to the second week. FAIL. The second week kicked my tail. She had us running all over NE Covington - through the neighborhoods that surround the gym. After all the running, we did block-long sprints. UGH. I am not a runner. If anything, I am hardly a jogger. So needless to say, I was spent. We then went back inside and did push ups, squats, abs, step routines and some lifting. I was still able to move on Tuesday, which was a plus and even crawled to the gym before work at 5am because Jonathan was off. The payoff? I finally hit the big 4-0 of lbs lost. Actually, as of today I am down 44.4 lbs. My next mini-goal is 50 lbs before our beach weekend on April 29th, so I think I should be able to hit that.

Jonathan also joined the gym with me and actually took a spinning class with me last week. Although he may never spin again, he seems to enjoy going to workout before picking the kids up from school. I keep saying that going to the gym makes you happier - almost like you know deep down that you are going to do something better for yourself. I've been a member of gyms for years and have never been as addicted to it as I am now. I actually miss it if I can't go.

Speaking of addictions...I've really been intrigued by this whole new "extreme couponing" phenomena. I watched the series on TLC last week and I just cannot get over how (or why) these people spend 8 hours a day strategizing how they can save 99% of a grocery bill to stock up on 200 sticks of deoderant and 100 boxes of cereal. It has however made me take a look at how we do things in our household. I am not one to coupon. We do not (that I know of) have a grocer on the Northshore that will double or triple coupons. If you know of one, let me know! But I realized that there are coupons for things we definitely buy every month: cat and dog food, diapers, Fiber One bars, hair color (no comments necessary), toothpaste, etc. I can probably save at least $10.00 if I were to coupon. So I went to the dollar store and bought a little coupon organizer to keep in my purse. I now clip coupons for the items that we use. BUT- here is what I have been doing to save us money here and there: When you go to restaurants (fast food or otherwise), many times there is a survey on your receipt. Wendy's has one that is $2 off a sandwich, Chick-Fil-A has a random one that gives you a free sandwich, etc. Fill out the survey online. I promise it takes you no more than 2 minutes. I keep those receipts and then trade them in for $$ off or free food. I acutally use those to determine where I will be eating for lunch during the week. For example: I had a free Chick-Fil-A one and used it yesterday for lunch. Just my luck, when I purchased a drink to go with my free grilled chicken sandwich, another random survey receipt popped out! So now I can get ANOTHER free sandwich within the next 30 days. I currently have receipts in my coupon organizer for Wendy's, La Madeleine, Quizno's and McAlisters. They do vary: La Madeleine is a free cup of soup or petite salad, Quizno's is $2 off a large sub, etc. But still- every little bit helps. Free food or money for my opinion? Yes, please! Also, take advantage of local daily deals or Groupons on restaurants. Usually you can get 1/2 off ($20 of food for $10, etc) when you dine out. It's a great way to save money as well as try new places to eat in your area.

So, to recap the Evans Family weekend: On Friday night, we went to K-Gee's. It is a seafood restaurant in Mandeville by the same people that used to own Bozo's in Metairie. It was a Local Daily Deal ($40 of food for $20). It was delicious! We had boiled crawfish, I had a grilled shrimp salad and Jon had the broiled shrimp platter.

On Saturday morning, we went to the St. Jude's Trike-A-Thon at Northlake Christian. This was Morgan's second year to participate. Maddie even joined in for the ride in her super-trike.

We then went to the Strawberry Festival in Ponchatoula. We met up with our friends, The Lindsey's, and enjoyed the day celebrating everything strawberry. It was an incredible day to be outside.

On Sunday, we went to church, quickly went to Slidell for a dash through Sam's Club, checked out an open house where Morgan will be attending Summer Art Camp, and then I went and walked/jogged 6 miles on the Tammany Trace. I came home, sent the girls to my mom and dad's for a few hours and then cleaned the house. Whew. What a weekend!!

This weekend, we expect more of the same: Pick up unsold items from that Children's Consignment Sale from last week, Easter Egg hunts in the community, Ladies Tea at the church, 5K run/walk Saturday evening in downtown Covington, church and more Easter Egg hunts on Sunday. I will update you next week! Have a great one!

Janel