Today I ventured out of my comfort zone and tapped into my adventurous side....."Black Friday Shopping!" 

This is the first time in my life I recall braving the swarm of shoppers during the busiest shopping day of the year.  I'm not a big fan of shopping, so this hasn't appealled to me in the past.  However, there have been a few items on my "to buy" list and I admit that I've been intrigued by my friends tips/plans for this shopping day. 

This experience proved to be very valuable by helping save money and make wiser purchases.  Plus, it was a great time for me to spend with my oldest daughters as we set out just after sunrise with determination, a reasonable cash budget and modest list of potential purchases.

Here are my top 3 BEST money savers from the day:

Overall, I think I may be a Black Friday Shopping convert.  Not because I have an insatiable desire to shop, but it is a wise way to knock some items off my "to buy" list and save a few bucks at the same time!

(BTW, for the record, don't look for me camping out at the store at 3am just to run wild with the masses...lol)


Do you have any good shopping deals to share?  (I'd love to rejoice with you!!)

The forecast for the next 24hours:

• Temps drop to negative six degrees (-6)
• Five to Ten inches of snow (5-10")
• Potential power outages

Need I say more??

It looks like we're in for an exciting winter, so the children & I are going to take our preparations up a notch and getting serious.  We all started doing inventory of clothes yesterday so we could invest in some coats, leggings, etc.  I also need to research more winter soups and healthy meals so I can do some bulk shopping.  We have a pretty decent emergency kit prepared in the event of a power outage, but I'd like to get more family centered books to read around the fire & candles to have on standby.

Here is a little article I received in my inbox.  Before you read it, I'm appealling to all you Northerners once again, ANY PREPARATION TIPS FOR THIS SOUTHERN GIRL???

      PREPARING FOR WINTER TRAVEL

Motorists must prepare for winter storms.
The  National  Weather  Service has stated that the first cold storm of the
season  will reach our area this weekend.  If you must travel during winter
storms, be prepared and use caution as well as common sense.

Make  sure your vehicle is in good working condition.  In particular:

• check the antifreeze
• tire pressure and tread
• brakes
• windshield wipers
• heater
• defroster  
• exhaust  system.  

When  traveling  through  snow country, motorists  should  carry tire chains that are the proper type and size, and are  in  good  condition.  Chains must be installed on the drive wheels, so
make  sure  you  know  if your vehicle is front or rear wheel drive.  Other useful  items:

• a flashlight,
• chain repair links
• ice scraper
• spray  deicer
• a shovel
• water
• food
• warm blankets
• extra  clothing  will make you more comfortable if you experience a lengthy
  delay.  
• And  before  you  leave,  put  an extra vehicle door key in your pocket; a
  number  of  motorists have locked themselves out of their cars when putting
  on  chains.  

“A prepared motorist is a safer motorist to themselves, other
travelers,  and  our  highway  workers,”  said  Charlie  Fielder,  Caltrans
District 1 Director.

Don’t  be  rushed; 

• get  an  early  start  to allow more time to reach your
  destination  safely.   
• Let  someone  know your travel plans, (the route you plan  to  take  & when                                                                                                                       you  expect to arrive, and update them if things change)  
• Keep  your fuel tank full in case it’s necessary to change routes
  or you get caught in a traffic delay. 
• And above all, be more observant and slow  down.  
• A  highway speed of 55 or 65 miles an hour may be safe in dry
  weather, but is an invitation for trouble on snow or ice.
• Snow and ice make stopping distances much longer, so leave more distance between your vehicle
  and  the  vehicle ahead.
• Bridge decks and shady spots can be icy when other
  areas are not.
• Avoid sudden stops and quick direction changes.

Before  traveling  and  during  your  trip,  be  sure to check current road  conditions. 

The official start of winter is right around the corner & we're exploring more ways to stay healthy this season.  Maintaining good health is really important, yet we are sometimes exposed to viruses that may compromise our immune system.  Aside from cleaning door handles, purifying the air and getting some daily sun exposure (vitamin D has been proved to help the immune system) here are a few other things that have helped us combat sickness:

GARLIC-We ike to eat "garlic pops" (oiled and heated garlic bulbs), but recently my friend gave me a quart of pickled/fermented garlic & it works very well
PURE ESSENTIAL OILS- Eucalyptus mixed with some carrier oil or even vaseline on the chest, back & under nose.  Peppermint oil also helps open up passages and enourages deep breathing
VITAMIN C-Oranges/Juice & definately Rose Hips (in a syrup or an infused honey)
GINGER DROPS-This is one of my favorites!  Super easy to make and very appealling to the children---Here's my older post about how to make them:  http://www.joyfuljunction.com/1/post/2010/07/boosting-our-immune-system.html

Marlon had an interesting health encounter last month.  Without divulging "tmi", you can sum it up by saying "we're not spring chickens anymore."  In other words, we can't take our youthfulness for granted.  Let's be honest, we're not getting any younger, so it's time to make our health an even bigger priority. 

Aside from a strict diet and herbal regime, Marlon has also been encouraged by a friend to begin cycling.  He's done two 10mile rides and  I'm so glad he's found this outlet.  As for me, I plan to schedule more outdoor walking and to maintain my exercise schedule on Wii-Fit.

Here's a great article about the benefits of cycling which includes stronger immune system, stress reduction, weight loss and cardiovascular health:
( http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/cycling_ttgw.htm )

(Background)
Thankfully, Marlon & I have recently been blessed with consistent construction projects that help provide for the needs of our family.  We are also praying regularly for wisdom and direction on how we manage the operations of the company. To date, we have over 30 active clients and approximately a dozen people working within our company to help it run like a well oiled machine.  But as you know, sometimes we must change the oil in order things to run smoothly.  Here's our most recent discovery of change:

On 3 recent occasions we have had significant challenges  concerning our business banking account. On one occasion the banking system made an error by overcharging us several thousand dollars which took 5 days to resolve their error.  On 2 separate occasions, we deposited a significant amount of money from our clients into our checking account which posted/cleared fine, then we recieved a "debit memo" and our deposit was reversed the very next day! WHY?  There is no justifiable reason for these errors, yet I see them as a warning about our dependence on the banking institution.

These errors virtually handicapped us from ordering materials and paying subcontractors.  They were completely out of our control and we were at the mercy of the bank (so to speak.)  Now, I'm wondering how they have the power to reverse a completely valid deposit at their discretion?  What other powers do they possess concerning our hard earned resource?  And what if the economic crash predictions are right?  We will have limited control of our resource and be at the mercy (once again) of the institution.  Something isn't adding up for me.

This experience brought to mind another lesson we learned this summer while traveling out west.  We were in western Arizona trying to fill up our gas tank, when we received an "invalid card" response from our ATM card.  Apparently, our debit card was flagged by our bank and put on hold due to their "Fraud Prevention" policy.  It occurred after we purchased our theme park tickets 3 states away from our home bank.  The banking system tagged and froze our card until later investigation. Since that experience I really take to heart my dad's advice, 'Don't leave the house without cash.'

Anyway, I'm not trying to be controversial or try to influence the way in which you function.  I do realize that this may even seem insignificant to some, (especially since I'm not revealing exact dollar amounts due to privacy purposes.)  However, the impact of these errors on our family was MAJOR and I wanted to offer our experience to hopefully encourage you to examine your relationship with the current systems that we've grown to depend on.

Finally, can anyone think of any SCRIPTURES that jump out at you based on this post??