Back at It Again with the Blog Posts!

WOW!  It's been so long that I have NOT blogged I didn't even give an update on the babies!  Life has definitely come in and taken it's toll.  I find myself not calling family or friends, in the house, or just trying to figure out what actually happened to my so called LIFE!  The twins will be 8 months this month!   Time sure does fly...especially when you are having fun.  They are crawling, babbling, and introducing their own personalities.  Miss Malaya is a D-I-V-A already honey!  And Mr. Junior is fun, cute, and can be sensitive.  Don't scream to loud or he will cry!  Those are my babies though and I am enjoying every part of motherhood.

I had decided back in October that I wanted to continue to pursue my PhD.  Guess what?  I decided to stop...AGAIN!  I really had no true career desires where I needed my PhD.  The good thing is that I have completed 30+ hours past the Masters and that adds into my income for my current job.  WHOOPEE!!!  Today is the LAST week of classes and I couldn't be more happier than saying that I am quitting school.  However, along with that comes a bill...and I mean a BIG bill.  While quitting school, I also reached my cap for Standardized/Unstandardized Financial Aid with the government.  $140,000 is what I owe them....yup you read that right....a whole house it was what I owe them for two sheets of paper and 36 hours worth of work.  SMH....they'll get their monies...soon or later...the latter part is what is going to happen.

Other than that I am just trying to be a better mother/daughter/sister/grandchild/counselor/friend that I can be overall.  Attempting to get my credit together so that this dream of purchasing a house this summer will become a reality.  We are currently in the process of buying a townhouse (more to come in a separate blog).  But life is life and every day I realize that I need to live it to its fullest!

As always, Peace & Happiness :)

~Erika B.

Walgreens 1/19-1/25

Walgreens is one of my new drugstores that I am utilizing to earn more deals and rewards.  First things first, you MUST and I mean MUST join the Walgreen's Rewards program.  This gives you the opportunity to earn reward dollars so that you can spend less of your own cash and shop more for free!  The more rewards points you accumulate, the more money you have to spend with those rewards.  Secondly, Walgreens has monthly savings books that are provided in-store when you first walk in.  Most of the time you can find the savings books with the weekly ad papers.  It is imperative that you grab one or three (depending on how often you shop) so you will have coupons available to you for the next thirty days.  Walgreens currently has a January Savings Books, which all coupons expire 1/25/14, so be on the lookout for the February Savings Book.  last, but definitely not least, Walgreens provides their own coupons in their weekly ad papers.  For this week (1/19-1/25), Walgreens has a coupon for their Winter Beauty event starting now thru 3/1/14.  If you are a drugstore beauty junky like me, then this is a good fit!  The coupon is located on the second page of this week's ad.  All you have to activate the offer is:  1) Have coupon scanned on first eligible purchase (read fine details), and 2) use your Balance Rewards card each time you shop in store and online.

Some deals for this week are (you MUST use your Balance Rewards card to receive these deals):

• $1.99____ General Mills cereal (select varieties, 10.7 oz to 13 oz)
• $3.99___ 24-pack Dasani Water (16.9 oz), Limit 3
• 2/$1____ Arizona Tea or Drink (23 oz)
• .99____ Daisy Sour Cream (8 oz) or Hormel Chili (10.5 oz or 15 oz)
• $1.99___ Gold Medal All-Purpose Flour (5 lbs) or Domino Pure Cane Sugar (4 lbs)
• $1.99____ Barilla (9 oz) Meals or Cheeseburger Macaroni Skillet (9 oz)
• 5/$5____ Chobani Greek Yogurt (5.3 oz)
• $1____ 2-liter soda (7-Up, A&W, Sunkist, Canada Dry or Hawaiian Punch), Limit 3
• 4/$5____ 2-liter Pepsi or Dr. Pepper, Limit 3
• $2.99___ Era Laundry Detergent (26 or 32 loads)
• $1.99____ Speed Stick or Lady Speed Stick (2.3-3.25 oz), Plus $1 off coupon in Sunday paper, final price .99!
• $8.99___ Huggies (Jumbo Pack Diapers, Pull Ups or Good Nites, or Wipes 320-400 pack)

Buy 1, Get 1 Free

• Free Nature's Bounty or Osteo Bi-Flex Vitamins and Supplements ($1 off coupon in most Sunday papers)
• Nice! Facial Tissues (75, 90, or 184 sheets)
• Arm & Hammer 2X Laundry Detergent (25-32 loads)

Buy 1, Get 1 50% OFF

• Loreal Cosmetics
• Revlon Foundation, Concealer, Blush, Powder, and Lip Cosmetics
• Jergens or Curel Skin Care (select varieties)
• Organix Hair Care, Plus 1000 points on 2=$1 Reward
• Neutrogena Cosmetics or Skin Care (select varieties)
• Nivea or Nivea for Men Skin Care (select varieties), Plus 2000 points on 2=$2 Rewards

Balance Rewards

• 2/$4____ Capri Sun (10 pk), Plus 1000 points on 2=$1 Reward on next purchase, like paying 2/$3!
• 2/$7____ Angel Soft or Quilted Northern Bathroom Tissue (9 rolls), plus 1000 points on 2=$1 Rewards, like paying 2/$6

Change of Plans

I have decided to take my blog to another level and bring information that I, myself have been working on for the new year.  I would like to bring more deals, sales, and savings to those so we can start saving, yet continue to spend!  I find that I spend a good amount of my time shopping whether it's for grocery, clothes, or makeup.  I don't like to spend full price on ANYTHING!  I just went to H&M Saturday and bought a dress on sale for $3.75!  Now beat that b!tch with a bat!  Starting tomorrow I will be bringing more savings and deals in an array of grocery, clothing, or drugstore.  *Disclaimer:  I do live in Florida so some deals may not apply if you live in a different state.*  However, I will ensure that I post deals that are conducive to all other states as much as possible.  Catch me tomorrow and start the year off not spending full price on any item EVER again!  

Peace & Happiness!

~Erika

Phoenix Rising Boutique Giveaway Details!

I am happy proud to announce my first giveaway for Phoenix Rising Boutique!  *YAY!  Cheers & applauds roar the crowd!*  This giveaway is to celebrate the New Year and the new goals that I have in my life.  I actually started my boutique about two months ago and have been really slow to get it going.  I am thankful for those family and friends who have supported me thus far.  I have put a lot of time (and money) into this and I would just like to reap some of the hard work I have been doing so what better way than to do a giveaway!  I would like to thank Jasmine Rose (@JazzyTe007) for supporting me when I reached out to her.  PLEASE go check out her YouTube channel as she is AWESOME!  She talks about fashion, makeup, JIY/DIY's, and most of all community.  She is all about giving back and reaching out to help someone!  Here's a link to her channel and her blog!

Okay, so enough with the intro and into the details about the giveaway!

1. You must "Like" my Facebook page, Phoenix Rising Boutique.  My page is www.facebook.com/shopphoenixrising or just click here!
2. Write one of your New Year's Resolutions in the comment section under the giveaway post!  Please be specific and try to limit your resolution to one specific thing.
3. Name the quote from my blog dated for today (December 29, 2013) along with your comment.

Winner will be selected at random and contacted through Facebook.  Giveaway ends 12/31/2013 at 11:59PM EST.  Winner will be contacted via Facebook on the Phoenix Rising Boutique page.  The winner has 24 hours to respond on the page or forfeit their winnings and another winner will be selected.  Good luck and Happy New Year's!

Peace & Happiness!

~Erika~

Online Store! Phoenix Rising Boutique

So...I've been gone for a while now.  So long to trying to post a blog a day or at least every other day.  UGH!  But anyway, during that time I wasn't blogging, I FINALLY made my online store.  *jumps up and down hysterically*  This is such a hobby of mine and I finally took the opportunity to share it with others.  I have started making homemade earrings to include button earrings and other types of earrings.  I want to add stuff to the collection such as embellished beanies and eventually sell dresses. Here are a few of my pieces that I have created so far....

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On the site they have little names given to them that I thought would spice things up and add some flair.  I am in the process of promoting myself more and hope that I would have the support of friends, family, and others who are just interested in supporting a small business.  I am proud of my work thus far and hope that others are too and are willing to spread the word.  If interested just go here:  Phoenix Rising Online Boutique.  I will continue to add and update as needed.

Also, if you could leave a comment in the comment box to tell me what you look for when shopping online and what do you look for when receiving an item purchased online?  This would help me with connecting with my customers, having good packaging and promote great customer service.

Peace & Happiness!

~Erika

What to do next???

I signed up for to sell Mary Kay and become my own Independent Beauty Consultant in June.  Needless to say, from the title of this post, I decided to end that business and move on to something different.  Although Mary Kay would allow me to make my own schedule and my own money, I just wasn’t feeling it like I did when I signed up.  Plus it was hard to get people past the “old” Mary Kay and the lines like, “Mary Kay broke me out.”  I heard that one too many times.  It was just a stressful situation to even get to talk to women, many who I did not know, and try to sell them a product that has the brand to be used by “old women” and “grandmas.”  I wasn’t into that and only sold one product since June so why continue the hassle.  What to do next?  My next few projects that I have in mind are creating my earring organizer, making new earrings, and working towards buying a sewing machine.  I have had the thought of buying thrifted items and revamping them to fit today’s style.  It may not be until the end of the year before I get a sewing machine though.   Plus with a wedding that I am planning, I don’t know if buying sewing machine would be the ideal thing to do.  Although there are many DIY projects I would like to have for the wedding so the sewing machine idea is 50/50.  If any of you have any suggestions on what I could do to cut down costs, PLEASE let me know.  I’m also working back on getting back on my coupon game.  I really need to save every penny, nickel, and dime I can at any price. I’ll keep trying to make that dollar out of fifteen cents…

Target...Must be the bullseye!

Why, oh, why is Target undeniably a magnet to go spend money?!?!  It NEVER fails that I can go in Target with one thing in mind and come out with five plus things that I say I really needed, however, it was more of a want.  There are TOO MANY incidences to count on hand how I went to “look” and came out with about the store purchased!  One thing I can say is that although I spend money that wasn’t meant to be spent, many of the items I buy, that’s not regular price, are on clearance.  I went to Target about 2 weeks ago and spent $60 dollars on clothes and shoes, but EVERY item was either 50-70% off!  A trick/tip that I learned from Pinterest(another addictive site) is that Target marks their items off daily by department.  Also, the tip is if the clearance items last price digit is an “8,” it will get marked down again.  If the items last price digit ends in a “4,” thats the lowest the item will be (disclaimer:  haven’t tested the theory fully, but seems to be true).  I wouldn’t say wait until the price ends in an “8″ or “4,” however, I would say wait until you feel you are ready to make a purchase and a thoughtful purchase at that.  Most times I purchase items that end in an “8″ because there are only one or two items of that article left.  If there are multiple items of the same thing, then I wait about a week to check and see if the price is marked down again.  If it’s not, I repeat.  If it is, I BUY!  That simple.  I’m trying to do better, but I think the bullseye subliminally hypnotizes people to come in.  Damn you Target, damn you.

What am I doing wrong?!??

I often find myself comparing where I am and where I should be.  I am only 27 and have a lot going for myself, but I don’t give myself the credit that I deserve.  I’m always looking at the things I want versus the things that I need or already have.  Being that I moved from Virginia to Florida, it took a lot of nerve and courage to move from my comfort zone to what I didn’t know.  On top of that, during the time I moved I didn’t even have a job.  Starting in 2010, I started taking more leaps of faith then sitting back and waiting until the time that I thought I was ready.  Surprisingly, I have been faced with situations such as working part time or not having a job and having to pay rent, a car note, and utilities with no means of income at all.  Those were the times that I knew I was being held on faith and my trust with the Lord became stronger.  Now as I write this post, I feel that I’m disappointing Him because I’m always asking “what am I doing wrong?”  And what I mean by that question is why don’t I have a nicer car, but I have a car.  Why can’t I save money?  But my bills and rent are paid.  Why, why why?  And I feel bad internally because I feel like I’m being selfish and not waiting for my time and comparing my time to someone else’s.   The saying is that people don’t know the struggle someone else has been through to have what they have.  I know it’s not the time for me to be wealthy or rich.  The time for me is right now and right now I have what I need and more.  Now I have to ask myself what am I going to say or do when I start asking what and why?  I’ll have to remind myself of what it took to get to where I am, and how much I have grown…”Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows what’s best for us.”–Socrates.  Everyone be blessed…