Please bear with me, as I am updated the site today.

http://www.multigraincheerios.com/

Just add your name and your email!

http://kashi.com/connect?utm_medium=email&utm_source=osv&utm_campaign=wom10#coupon

February is almost over. So, I decided to go ahead and give my stats, since they aren’t going to change til next week which will be a new month!

Just to recap:

End of January,2010 standings:

Debt Payoff: 6.6%
Emergency Savings Fund: 34.8%
Christmas 2010 Fund: 33%

Financial Aspirations for February,2010:

Pay off debt “N”
To get Debt Payoff to 8% paid off by the end of February,2010
To build emergency fund to 45% funded
To build Christmas 2010 fund to 44% funded

First of all, I did finish paying of the little education debt! So, its off my list now! Wahoo!

FEBRUARY, 2010 Standings

Debt Payoff-25.1% PAID OFF

Emergency Fund-40.7% Missed my goal by a little, but I’m getting close!

Christmas Fund-47.5 I actually went well over my goal. However truth be told, I got a couple gift cards from my boss, so I just added that to the Christmas fund! They don’t expire, so they’ll be ok!

Now for MARCH,2010 Goal. I’m going to concentrate on paying off a personal loan that is on the list. It is for $1294. I really want it paid off by the end of April. But, I’m going to see how much progress I can get for this month! Wish me well!!!

You don’t always hear about Depression in the news. But the clear fact is that over 25 million people have depression in the United States. That is approx 1 in 4 adults. That is a major amount of people. It is something that people have and yet can be hidden so well. It is something that for many years has a stigma. But, I think as time goes on more people are not as ashamed to dislose their ailement.

Recently, an actor from the 80′s hit, GROWING PAINS was missing and just today was found deceased. He had suffered from depression for most of his life. From his family and friends speaking on television, that before he went missing he was increasingly dispondent and had given away his possessions. So, it appears that he had a plan.

I just finished watching a news conference, where,  Andrew Koenig’s parents were speaking about what happend. What his father said was so incredbly profound to me. I could relate so much. He said, “If you are thinking about taking your own life, there are people who love you”. I think that is a reality for so many people suffering from depression. They are so deep in their sorrow that they think they are all alone. They think that there is no one there to listen. Or maybe they don’t want to be burdened. But, if you know someone who is depressed, Reach out to them. Listen to them. Know that what you do, can Positively Impact their lives and really can be the difference between life and death.

 ”If you can learn anything from this, there are people who really care.” 

“If you’re one of these people who feel like you can’t handle it anymore, there are people out there who really care. You might not think so and ultimately it might not be enough, but there are people out there who really really care

“So before you make a final decision check it out again and talk to someone.”

If you are suffering from depression. Please know that you are not alone! There are so many people suffering from this illness. It is an illness. Like diabetes or heart disease. You must do what you need to do to get help. You must get treatment. I won’t say you Must be on medication, but I know it helps a lot of people. There are many different types of treatment:

• Therapy
• Prescribed Medication
• Accupuncture
• Herbal Remidies, such as St Johns Wort

But the most important things is to get support. Contact you family, your priest, your pastor, your rabbi, a co-worker, a therapist, a crisis support hotline.

I have experienced this. I have went throught this. I have had those thoughts. It is such a cripiling disease. It can destroy lives and you can’t always fix what gets broken. This is so hard to write. Depression is so painful. Suicide thoughts are so devasting. Its so hard when you have those thoughts and you want to die, just so your life will get better. There was a time, where I didn’t have the strength to do what I had to do to maintain my own life. Depression had a grip on me. I lost everything. Just think about everything you have in your life. You family, your kids, you home, your car, your possessions, your friends. I lost everything. Some things are replaceable. Some things aren’t worth worrying about. But what hurts me almost every day,  is that I lost custody of my precious children. I lost almost 2 yrs of time with them. It took me 2 years to get back to be their mom. I don’t know if I will ever forgive myself. It wasn’t all my control. But, I was in such a deep depression for so long, I couldn’t even see straight and I thought they would be better without me. They weren’t. They needed their mom and I wasn’t there for them. Time is something you can never get back.

I can say that for the past 18 months, I’ve been the best mother to my kids. I’ve tried my best to reconnect with my family. To continuely reach out to others. I am remarried now and have an incredibly supportive husband, whom i am so thankful for.

But, depression is always there. But, what I have learned in the past 18 months is that I must take my medication every day. I must accept this is a medical condition. I must do what I have to do to get by. I must not take on more than I can handle. I must rest when I need to. I must seek out help when I need it.

My life is nothing like it was before. My life is better in some ways. But, not always easy. Sometimes I wish I was “normal”. Maybe I am normal, but just my kind of normal. I am thankful that I got a second beginning. A new start. I am thankful that my children love me and accept me as their mother. They forgive me. I know that. I just don’t know if I forgive myself. I don’t know if I ever will forgive myself. I guess I just have to accept and learn to live with life and my choices.

I never intended on writing this post. But, it needed to be written.

To close this post…

If you have depression, seek help. Don’t give up. Fight the fight, and do what YOU need to do to feel okay. Life is good, you just have to find the right road and live a life you can be proud of.

If you know someone who has depression, Please reach out. Don’t give up. Support that person. Be there for that person. Love them. Know that it may be hard for that person to hear what you are saying, but it matters what you do!

Be well and God Bless you all

I’ve been busy the past few days, so all I’ve had time to post about is My Mail!!! You can get on their mailing list and get coupons too! Simply go to:

https://www.pgeverydaysolutions.com/pgeds/register-eds.jsp

I got a Coupon from Puffs Tissue.

This is my coupon that I won for a free Jar of Pace! You can win too!!! Just go to:  http://www.pacefoods.com/hand-pick-win.aspx

These I got in the mail today from a friend! This will keep me busy for awhile. lol

Happy Monday, everyone. Its a start to another fantastic week!

Today, I received two cool things in the mail.

1. 2 coupons from General Mills, one of which is good for a Free box of Nature Valley Granola bars. A few weeks ago, I purchased their peanut butter granola bars, and unfortunately they were harder than a rock! I sent them an email regarding my experience,  and in return they sent me the coupons. That was really cool. I will try another one of their granola bars and hopefully the next one will be better!
2.  I also received the new Home Made Simple booklet. This was a freebie. In it is over $35 in coupons from Procter and Gamble! Awesome!

I’m a little late posting it, but better late than never~!!!!

Friday I received, the March/April, 2010 issue.

This was a 100% Free magazine thanks to Collin @ http://www.hip2save.com

In this issue there are wonderful recipes, tips, and Coupons!

Coupons included are:

Eggland Best Eggs Save $.50

Fiber One Yogurt Multipacks Save $.50

Ziplock Brand Bags Save $1.50

And More!

What is Swag Bucks?

Swag bucks is a website you sign up with. You can earn Swagbucks by searching, shopping, or completing offers. It is so easy to do, and very effortless!  For each search you will earn usually about 1-4 swag bucks.

You can earn gift certificates and prizes. Personally, I redeem the swag bucks for Amazon Gift Cards. For amazon you just need 45 swag bucks to get a $5 Amazon GC!  But, you can also redeem for Paypal, too.

I use Swag bucks for all my internet searches. I also use it at my job, when I need to search which it is very often!

Sign Up, today!

Also Friday, is MEGA SWAG BUCKS DAY! You can earn high value Swag bucks.