For Kayla....the wedding, the wedding

From the moment Kayla and Patrick got engaged, Jenny Wood and I both said "Welcome to the club --  the coaches' wives club."

Kayla has started a blog to chronicle her life and at the moment the wedding. So here's a little bit of friendly advice for the BIG DAY. And I'm sure I'll write you up something special about your new role as the wife of a coach in the months to come.

I can honestly say that my wedding wasn't planned out in my mind before Paul asked. I hadn't dreamed of the day. In fact, I thought it probably wouldn't ever happen at all -- not to Paul but to anyone.

However, the moment I called and told my mom and dad and said "We're engaged!" The wedding planning took off full steam ahead. The brunt of it was done in the summer so that Paul could be a part of some aspects before football season started.

My mom was my greatest help! She and I make list and make list and plan and plan. If you one person like that and I am sure Chelsea is that person, you will be fine.

Here's my advice:

-- The BIG DAY: Don't worry if things don't go as planned, you will be in a state of euphoria on your wedding day and it will all go by so fast!

--As far as the REGISTRY is concerned -- If you want and/or need it register for it! This is the one time in y'all lives that people will pay good money to send you a gift.

-- Thank yous for MONEY -- Thank you so much for the money. I know we will put it to good use as we set up our home together. It was so kind of you to think of us during this special time.

--Who is going to show up; Who is not? -- It's the week before Christmas, you will have all the people closest to you there and all the people that matter. Not too many but just the right amount. I can speak from experience since we got married Dec. 18. Don't sweat it!

Back to the couponing....

Spent $65 and saved $30 on my shopping trip at Wal-Mart, Family Dollar and Dollar General in Kosciusko.

I've had a couple of people ask me what's my secret because they can't save that much money!

My secret is that I let everyone else do the work! There are sites out there that calculate the coupons and the price of stuff. -- http://www.krazycouponlady.com/ and http://www.couponmom.com/

Also, where I get my coupons from a monthly magazine "All of You" has at least $85 worth of coupons, The Star-Herald and Sunday Clarion-Ledger and http://www.coupons.com/

I also look at the sales papers in the newspaper and see if I just spot a deal.

I don't regularly shop at Family Dollar but I got 1.4 oz. Lady Speed Stick for 50 cents. They where 4/$5 and I had a 75 cent coupon. FD also had a 2/$5 in store coupon on 12-pack Coke products.

One of my "All of You" coupons was $1 off/2 20oz. Hunt's Ketchup. At Wal-Mart, they were $1. So I got two bottles at 50 cents each.

Gain detergent is what I usually buy. I buy the largest one @ $15. So I bought 4 of the small 32 loads of Gain @ 4.97 w/$1 off each for a total of $15.88. I can do twice as many loads of laundry with the four small bottles versus the large one. Thought that was pretty good.

Happy Couponing. :)

Brooke Ann gets hitched!



Memorial Day weekend Paul and I traveled to Pontotoc to see Brooke get married. By the time, I came into Paul's life he had been in Pontotoc for almost 7 years and Roger Chism had been with him at South Pontotoc almost that long as defensive coordinator.

Roger, Denise, Brooke and Jason welcomed me into the fold with open arms.

Looking at Brooke in this photo, I see the girl who was so shy and tom boyish and how much she looks like a princess! She has the biggest heart of anyone I know and I think that is what makes her such a great teacher.

Anything I've learned about being a coach's wife, I learned from Denise. She's the BEST! I miss her every Friday night during football season. (I'll see her one Friday during football since Ethel and South Pontotoc will be playing. Roger is now the head coach. Should be interesting!)

We will be traveling to see Jason and Rebecca get married at the end of this month. I can't wait!

Congratulations Brooke & Tyson!

The Class of 2011 -- Jasmine & Price

As part of my work duties at the newspaper, I have to cover some of area graduations including Ethel High School.

This year was "extra special" because my cousin-in-law Jasmine graduated. She's super smart and will be attending Millsaps next year.  I'm so glad that I've gotten to know her over the past four years we've been in Kosciusko. Paul's family isn't very close so that makes it all better that Malinda, Marc, Marcus, and Jasmine have been so welcoming and treated me like family from the moment they met me.

Paul and I are so very PROUD of you, Jas! We love you very much!!!

Jasmine receiving her diploma from Principal Michael Ray

Also, my cousin, Price graduated from Heritage Academy in Columbus. He's a super young man who has had to overcome a lot of physical limitations with several surgeries to his shoulder. I am sure not being able to play sports this year was very hard on him.

It blows my mind that the little baby boy I held when I was 15/16 is sooooooooooo grown up.

We love you very much, Price! I know you are going to do great things!

Price with his brother, Dylan. 

It's not that EXTREME but we saved some moo-la!

After Paul and I watched TLC's "Extreme Couponing," we decided that we could do this too.
We are far from extreme but we began clipping coupons and downloading coupons and even paying a "clipping service" through Ebay to get a set of coupons.

We've got a binder full of coupons and through in-store sales, digital coupons and clipped coupons .... We saved $175! The best deal we got was the $1 Gillette Bodywash. It was on sale for $2.99 w/ a $2 coupon. Paul isn't going to need body wash for a long time! He got 9 bottles and also 4 discounted or free deodorants. I also got a great deal on Pantene Conditioner.

Every week, we The Star-Herald comes out I "tweet" a deal of the week using the sales papers and coupons. This week the deal is......drum roll....25 cent French's Worcestershire Sauce  from Dollar General or French's 8 oz. Yellow Mustard $1 @ Dollar General, coupon 30 cents off; or 18-20 oz @ Walmart for $1.37 w/ 30 cent coupon.

Can you believe that Spring Football has come and gone...

I can! So in the midst of Spring Football, our air conditioner went out, we had tornadoes in Attala County and no power,  and I went to home to help pack up in case of flooding. I am sure there is something I'm leaving out. You get the point! CRAZY!

I can't believe that D.W., Brent, Adams, Corey Mac, M.J., JerMich, and Garrett have played their first game as seniors. Man, how times flies....seems like yesterday they were playing 8th grade football. They are a really good group of young men.

This year is going to be very emotional for Paul and me because we've grown very attached to them. Next year, is going to be even worse! Because Antez, Potts, Hunter, Justin and Moody are our "babies."

I'm so tired of natural DISASTERS!

My mom has been pestering me for quite some time to come and get "my stuff" out of her house.
I think it's only fair that my childhood home contains my childhood toys and photos, etc.

Now, my mom is getting her wish thanks to the possibility of the Mississippi River flooding the South Delta and my hometown of Rolling Fork. In all actuality, where my parents' home sits and granted the back water levee holds, everything will be fine.

So just to be on the safe side, I'm going to head to Rolling Fork tomorrow and get all the things that can't be replaced -- photos, original land deeds, my wedding dress, and whatever else they want me to take.

Two sets of great aunts and uncles will be moving out of their homes this weekend. My Uncle Horace and Aunt Florence are very dear to me and live in Issaquena County. They live in my great-grandmother's home and we spend Thanksgivings and Christmases there. My dad grew up in that house.

Uncle Marion and Aunt Betty Jo are moving out of their home too. Uncle Marion just had surgery and predictions of the flooding would close two paths to Jackson. They are moving in with their son in Vicksburg.

All of this has been emotionally draining. From viewing last week's storms here and elsewhere in the state to Rolling Fork's Red Barn collapsing (I'll blog about that later)  to now the flood, I think I'll just lock myself in my room and hide.