Update!

Things have been pretty much the same these days, except my husband is working 20 hours of overtime a week! My poor man is so tired when he comes home, but he really enjoys what he's doing. I, of course, miss him like crazy, but I must say I enjoy the large influx in our bank account! The Lord has really provided for our needs. The additional income has allowed us to catch things up after almost 6 months of unemployment. It will also (Lord willing) allow us to get a second car in a couple weeks. We have been looking around for the right vehicle to fit our needs. We would like an SUV with 4-wheel drive. Since Andy has a little sports car, we would like to at least have one vehicle with 4-wheel drive for the rough winter weather here in St. Louis. There is a dealership that has a Chevy Trailblazer that we really like. We're also hoping to maybe find a Dodge Durango. We know the right vehicle is out there and will find it soon!

I'm also currently CRAZY about coupons! I've been clipping coupons out of the Sunday paper for quite some time now, but only within the last couple months have I been scouring the internet for them. Mainly because our printer was broken and we just replaced it about a month ago. Since then, I've been on coupon web sites a couple times a week. It has really paid off! I used to wonder how some women would save $100 off their monthly grocery bill, but now know and I have too! I always have a stack of them when I check out. I know it ticks off the people behind me (because it ticks me off when I get behind people with lots of coupons! :), but I feel a sense of accomplishment when the total goes down $20!

I also love thrift store shopping. Lately I've been finding lots of things for my kitchen. New dishes and decore! Also, lots of clothes for Andy and myself. We usually go to the thrift stores in the rich areas because over there, people wear name brands and they only wear them one season! So we find almost new, name brand clothes! Andy has found a few nice suits! All we had to do was take them to the dry cleaners! I love my thrift stores! I hate when people look down on them and the people who shop there. I find great stuff and when you look me, you would never know that I bought my clothes at a thrift store!

I also started school a couple weeks ago. The class is interesting but I HATE taking it online. I definitely don't want to take anymore online. Next semester I plan on taking only in-classroom classes.

Things have been really good here! The Lord has really blessed us. Even when thing are bad, He is always there with us, strengthening us, and taking care of us!

I LOVE fall!!!

It is now officially my favorite time of year! I love all the tastes and smells of fall. Spiced candles and hearty soups are some of my favorite things! Today we woke up to temperatures in the 40's. It made me crave one of my favorite soups. Pumpkin soup! I got a taste for it when I was in Australia. Over there, pumpkin is not a sweet thing, it's savory. Since I don't care for sweet pumpkin things (other than pumpkin spiced lattes!!!), I tried the soup and LOVED it! It's SO easy, healthy, and very low in calories! Here's my recipe!

4 cups of chicken stock
1 1/2 cups of carrots (cut)
1/12 cups of onions (cut)
2 cups of water
1 15oz can of pure pumpkin puree

Put the stock and water into a pot with the carrots and onions. Boil until vegetables are tender. Take off heat and add pumpkin puree.
Allow the soup to cool before putting it into a blender. Blend until smooth.
Pour soup back in the pot and put back on medium heat.

From there you can season to your taste.

Here's what I like in my soup:

Salt and pepper
Garlic powder ( i have used fresh garlic before and it always seems to over power the soup)
Dried oregano
Cumin

I don't measure my spices. I just keep tasting the soup and adding the spices until it tastes right to me.

This recipe serves 6 and is only around 60 calories per serving. This soup is great with a salad for lunch or as a starter for dinner.

This weather also makes me crave a nice roasted chicken. So tonight, I'm going to make a lemon herb roast chicken for dinner!

I love this time of year!