For My Girls All Over the Country!

Stacia was in Town!

This girl make my heart sing. Her Soldier Boy husband makes her live far away from me so I only see her when there is a wedding or, in this case, when she is homeless for a month and she comes home until their new digs are set up on the next Army base.

She was in town Monday - Wednesday. She, Collin, Bekah (plus Anna) and Alena came over on Mondy night and we watchted the Bachelorette, drank too much wine and got all caught up. We all discussed how we are terrible phone talkers but Bekah said it best "Who needs to talk on the phone when it is so easy for us to get caught up the moment we are all in one place."

Wednesday I got to meet her for lunch before she and her mom headed back to Hot Springs. While eating, I realized there is not any more weddings to rely on to make sure we see each other so I made her promise me she would see me again in the year 2012. She agreed - even if that means a girls trip somewhere.

This was the only picture we took the entire time she was here and I hate that. I am not in the college days mode of taking a picture of every second of every day.  We were leaving lunch and Fennette pulled out her iPhone. Don't ask why I am wearing sunglasses inside. ugh!

So glad I got to see my MOH and now am counting down the days until we meet again. I can already say, it will be too long.

Pettigrew's Penny Pinchin'- Clothing Edition

Black Cardigan with Flower detail

• Originally $24.99
• On sale for  $7.48
• $3 off retailer coupon
• TOTAL = $4.48

Pink Lace Tank Top

• Originally $10
• On sale for $6
• $3 off retailer coupon
• TOTAL = $3.00

 Aztec Swim Cover Up

• Originally $19.99
• On sale for $9.98
• $3 off retailer coupon
• TOTAL = $6.98

 Blue Patriotic Tank Top - I will be wearing this on 4th of July!

• Originally $12.99
• On Sale and TOTAL = $10

Four items of clothing for only $24.46! Not Bad!

The Babies Have Arrived!

Remember this post when I laid out all the new babies that were coming into the world. Well yesterday was an exciting Mother's Day! Not one, but TWO of these precious bundles arrived!!

Kendall Elizabeth Koch

7 lbs, 5 oz

I am pretty sure I have a sixth sense about babies. Proof #1 was explained in this post and it happened again on Saturday night. I had a feeling I should text Sheri to see how she was feeling. She had been dilated for a couple weeks now and was due in 10 days. I never heard back from her that night, and for good reason: she was in labor!! I am telling you, I can sense these things! We got to go to the hospital and meet her on Sunday and she is perfect. I can't wait to babysit!

George Theodore Bokermann

3 lbs, 3 oz

Man George is a fighter! His mom Tracey has been in the hospital for the past few weeks on bed rest. This kid just couldn't wait to come out. The doctor's wanted to get him to 30 weeks and he made it to almost 31. I got a text around 8:30 last night that Tracey was going in for an emergency C-Section. Tracey says he is in the NICU now and doing good. He is such a cute, tiny little thing. Please pray that he continues to grow and gain weight. We know he can do it!

My Mothers

Happy Mother's Day to all my mothers. I am lucky to have THREE mothers - one wouldn't be in my life with out the other and one I got as a bonus because I feel in love with her son.

Mom Robin
She came into our life when my Dad needed her most. She became the matriarch of our family. She gave me another brother. One of my favorite memories with my mom growing up was shopping for Prom and Homecoming dresses together. I always looked forward to spending that day with her. She always said every dress looked beautiful on me, when we all know, they probably didn't. Obviously we are not blood but we are still mother and daughter. I remember one time we were eating sushi together and our waitress said "Wow, you two look exactly alike." We looked at each other and just laughed. Below is a picture of us at the end of my bridal portrait session. That was another special day for me. A day for just us to enjoy together during a very stressful time. I love you Momma!

Mom Kathy

I am so fortunate to have married into an amazing family. My mother- and father-in-law are amazing people and they love me as much as they love their son.  Kathy is very funny. I think she thought I didn't know how to cook because I didn't know how to make homemade bread and she is never afraid to tell me what she thinks of my clothes or jewelry - good or bad. Every time she meets her sisters for lunch, she always calls me to come along. I am glad to add another girl to her family. I give her back up now against those three Pettigrew boys.

Mom Diane

I only knew my Mom for four and a half years but I am a part of her. I wonder sometimes how much like her I am. So many people that knew our family back then always tell me I am my dad's female version, and not much like her.  My dad even tells me I am more like him than her. One thing I felt brought me closer to her was when I pledged Tri Delta like she did in the 1970s. I had several of her pledge sisters contact me that year and tell me how much they loved her. I miss her a lot but she sent an excellent replacement for our family. Without her, I would never have met my other Mom. I can't wait to introduce them to each other once we are all in heaven. Until then, I know she is watching over us. 

Happy Mother's Day to all my mothers. I love you more than words can say. Thank you for being such an inspiration to me.

Love,  Meredith

My Baby Brother's Getting Hitched!

Spencer's GETTING MARRIED! It is so hard to believe he is old enough to become a husband. We are very excited for him and we adore Lyndsey. The moment I knew she was perfect for Spencer was last year during football season. We were in Heber Springs for a playoff game. We won and were scheduled to play the next week which was the Friday after Thanksgiving. Lyndsey immediately called her mom and said she wouldn't' be home for Thanksgiving because she would be at a football game. She will make a great coaches wife!

Lyndsey's birthday is April 27th and Spencer surprised her with a trip to NYC - her favorite place. While there, he popped the question on her birthday in Central Park. Below is the moment after they got engaged.

 Lyndsey texted me a picture of her ring. Dad gave Spencer our mom's ring and he put the diamond in Lyndsey's ring. When I saw the ring, I started bawling. My office mate asked if everything was ok- I looked a little ridiculous. It was a Friday and I didn't get anything done at work that day.

They flew back in town on Sunday and all of their friends and family came to my parents' house to surprise them with an engagement party.

Dad, Aunt Janie and Uncle Doug

 Everybody waiting for them to arrive

 She was shocked!

Showing off that Bling

 The cute family

 Newly engaged in front of their cake

Lyndsey with her besties. Funny coincidence- Lyndsey's best friend and Zeta sister is Kaley. Kaley was one of the members in my Gamma Chi small group her freshman year when she went through rush. Kaley also introduced Lyndsey and Spencer. Small world!

 Opening gifts. I gave her a "Mrs. Adams" wedding dress hanger and a massive binder of all my wedding notes. She now has a head start.

The Adams Family

The Kepesky Family

I am so excited to finally be getting a sister. My baby brother couldn't have picked any better!

Congrats Spencer and Lyndsey. Let the planning begin!

Pettigrew's Penny Pinchin @ Walmart 5/6/12

Do you like the title? Hehe. That will be my new title for savings posts like these. I'm getting better too. See below.

All the items above cost me $4.28 (including tax) with coupons. It retailed for $15.33 = 71% Savings!

• White Cloud 12-roll Toilet Paper - $5.37
•  $2.50 coupon
• Total = $2.87 ($0.24 per roll)
• Spectracide Bug Stop - $2.88
• $3 coupon
• Total = FREE + $0.12 overage
• Kikkomann Stir Fry Sauce - $1.98
• $2 coupon
• Total = FREE + $0.02 overage
• Kikkomann Teriyaki Sauce - $2.08
• $2 coupon
• Total = $0.08 - eventually FREE (using overages from bug spray)
• Kotex U Liners - $1.24
• $1 coupon
• Total = $0.24
• Morton Season Season All - $1.44
• $0.55 coupon
• Total = $0.89

I see some Asian-inspired meals in the Pettigrews' future.

Nina

Who watches the Vampire Diaries on CW? I do and I am not ashamed to say I love it! So dramatic, so much blood drinking, so unrealistic but sooooo addictive. Will Elena, the mortal, choose Stefan - the most romantic vampire you have ever seen or his brother Damon - the bad boy vampire that ever girl thinks she wants? Elena and Damon are a item in real life so part of me wants her to choose him but she was with Stefan first on the show until he went all Vampire Crazy on her. They were the perfect couple and I am always rooting for them to get back to where they were.

Nina Dobrev (Elena) always looks stunning at any event but I think the best she has ever looked is at the Met Gala last week. By the way, what in the heck is the Met Gala? It was jammed packed with stars. Anyway, this was my favorite dress from the whole evening and seeing it on one of my favorite actresses was a plus. It fits her like a glove and the dramatic train makes me swoon.  You go girl! 

Abandonment

One thing that REALLY erks me is animal cruelty. I am an animal lover, especially doggies, so the story below sent me over the roof! Let me share.

My neighborhood is a very dog-friend place. Out of the 9 houses, 7 of us have dogs, well I guess it is 6 now. There are several dogs in nearby neighborhoods that wander over to our street. It is not unusual to see the occasional dog with a collar trotting through your yard. It doesn't bother any of us because those dogs always go right back to their home. They never linger, they are just saying hi to our dogs who stay in their fences during the day.

Last night I took my two furry pals on a walk. I noticed a group of my neighbors were out with their dogs and this sweet thing.

I recognized her right away. She lives in the neighborhood at the only house that is on the second street of our area. I always thought they were kind of strange. They never waved back when I said hello and I NEVER saw them playing with their precious lab. She is one of the dogs that wonders because they leave her fence open during they day. Lately I have seen her more and more on our street. When I pulled into our drive way she woudl come into the garage and want to come in with me, which she never has done before. I thought this was strange but didn't think anything of it.

Once I met up with the group of neighbors, Mike (who is single and owns a black lab that I swear is 20 years old but the sweetest thing in the world) told me a horrible story. The owners of this precious pup have abandoned her! Mike said one of our other neighbors took her back to her house one day and when she knocked on the door the lady said "Nope, she is not ours anymore. I am done with that" Then shut the door . HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO THIS SWEET FACE?

They literally have stopped taking care of her and she doesn't know where to go. She has no food, no water and no home. We all decided that we would put food and water out for her on our porches, alternating days, until we figure out what to do. We don't want to take her to the shelter because she is older and we are afraid she would be put down. And believe me, I already asked Ryan if we could keep her and I got a prompt No!

Granted - this story is not first hand so it could have gone differently but I am finding it very hard to give them the benefit of the doubt.  It breaks my heart that people can just decided to abandon their responsibilities. I know most people don't see their pets as family members like we do, but still, this is beyond ridiculous!

 I have decided to call her Snow - because of her color and because of her mean mother.

 If anybody is interested in taking her please let me know. She needs a good home with a loving family who will take good care of her. 

Extreme Couponing Attempt #2

Last night I tried my version of extreme couponing at a different retailer (because of my job and my clients, I will not say which retailer).

I thought this trip was going to be bigger but it ended up not being. I found at this store, the prices were not as comparable as Walmart so I didn't end of buying as much. But the one bonus about this store is that it offers its own coupons which you can stack with other coupons (double the savings!) I never knew you could stack coupons until I started reading my couponing blogs. It's a very handy trick.

Here is my loot from last night

I spent a total of $10.12 for merchandise that retailed for $25.41 = 61% savings! This time I did save more than I spent!

• Nail Polish remover $0.97
• store coupons - $.50 off
• Total = $0.47 (50% savings)
• GE Light bulb - $3.79
• store coupon - $1 off
• manufacturer coupon - $2 off
• Total = $0.79 (80% savings)
• Revlon Mascara - $5.69 on sale for 2.97
• store coupon - $2 off
• Total = $0.97 (83% savings)
• Rimmel Powder - $3.59
• store coupon - $1 off
• manufacturer coupon - $1 off
• Total = $1.59 (56 % savings)
• Maybelline Eye Shadow - $2.94
• store coupon - $1 off
• manufacturer coupon - $1 off
• Total = $0.94 (69% savings)
• Quaker Oats Oatmeal $1.79 each ($3.58 total)
• 2 manufacturer coupons for $0.50 off ($1 total)
• store coupon - $1 off
• Total $1.58 for two ($.79 each) or 1 FREE
• Milo's Kitchen Dog Treats $2.99 on sale for $2.42 each ($4.84 total)
• store coupon for $1 off
• manufacturer coupon for $1.25 off
• Total $2.58 for two ($1.29 each) or 1 FREE

And on top of my savings, when I got home last night this was in my mailbox

It is a sample beauty bag from the exact same retailer. On my couponing blogs they also tell you where you can go to request free samples. This was a pretty awesome one! It is a make-up bag filled with shampoo, lotion and face wash samples, cleansing face cloths and a coupon book!! Why not request free products if you get cool stuff like this?


I think I am getting better at this couponing business and I actually enjoy it. I'll keep you updated if I find any other good deals.

Anger is not a Sin

First let me start off by saying I have truly been blessed with the women's bible study I am in. There is 8-10 of us who meet monthly to discuss our lesson and I always leave loving our lesson, loving the time we spend together and feeling challenged to be a better Christian.

This past week's lesson from James was about Anger. When I started the lesson on Monday I felt like I was slapped in the face and had a "ah ha" moment from God.

Lately I have felt like I have been angrier more often than usual. I get annoyed easily and that turns into anger. I am one of those people that just can't let things slide and therefore I stew in it and it turns into anger which just consumes me. It is never a good feeling to have and I hate it. I don't want to be that kind of person.

My favorite verse from the lesson was James 1:19-20
"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires"

During the lesson we learned that anger is not a sin but feeding anger and speaking about anger becomes a sin. We learned even Jesus became angry. Angry men are considered foolish but those that hold their tongue are considered wise.

This lesson has been by far my favorite. I'm not sure if because it was so perfectly timed for my life or if it is something that I continually struggle with, but nonetheless, I learned a tremendous amount last night. On the way home from the lesson I promised myself I would not let things get to me so easily and I would not hold on to my anger but I would just give it to God. I truly believe by doing that I will become a happier person. Isn't it amazing how God chooses to speak to us?