Oh happy day

For Bug's 11th birthday, I told her that we could paint her and Nan's room and get new bedding for their beds (Bug got her bedding probably about 7 or 8 years ago...I managed to find the matching set for Nan's bed when Ande and I got married 5 years ago.) Needless to say, the girls are a little tired of it, and want to upgrade to something a little more "grown up". (You know, because at 10 and 9, respectively, Bug and Nans ARE grown up...LOL)


Last weekend, when both girls were home, I took them to Bed Bath and Beyond to see if they could find a color scheme they could agree on. It's hard, because they have different tastes, but I told them they had to agree on something or we wouldn't be doing anything. The girls talked it over and decided that they wanted their room to be "sunset" colors (like orange/red/dark pink). I said that was fine - and they found a comforter that was the color scheme they wanted and I was okay with buying.


I interrupt this important programming to tell you that Puckey was just combing my hair for me, and she said, "You look SO pretty!" What a sweetie. Last night she was singing "You are my sunshine", but when she got to the end, she sang, "Please don't take my mama away." Talk about melting my heart!!


Okay, so back to the bedding...I went back and forth in my mind about going ahead and getting the comfortors they picked, because there were only 2, and Bug's birthday isn't until the end of May. This morning I decided to go ahead and get them. I grabbed Puckey and The Jib (and some 20% off coupons) and headed over to BB&B. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO thrilled with my purchase!! Let me break it down for you:


2 Liz Claiborne Twin Size Comfortors - Regular price $99.99 EACH

2 Liz Claiborne Twin Size Sheet sets (to match the comfortor) - Regular price $59.99 EACH

2 Liz Claiborne "Breakfast Pillows" (Decorative pillows) - Regular price $39.99 EACH

(For those of you who aren't so good with the math, that adds up to $399.94, and that's not even for the whole set shown in the picture on the package)

Now, those of you who know me know there is NO STINKIN' WAY I would pay that much for some bedding. I'm just too cheap. So how much was my total bill???







Ready??







Are you sure??







You're gonna be JEALOUS....







The total, including sales tax, was $87.51!!!!


Yeah, you read right. Everything I got was on clearance - I got the sheet sets for $9.00 each!! I'm going to hunt up some more coupons (I love the fact that you can use the coupons from there even if they're long since expired, as long as you have an item for each coupon you use) and go back to get a few more sheet sets - I can use them for curtains, throw pillows, seat cushions....plus it's always nice to have a couple of extra sets handy.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE some bargain shopping!!!

(Bump) An interesting article about Oprah

(I started writing this the other day, so when I posted it, it showed up a few posts down instead of right at the top....)

I'm not a huge fan of the Oprah show, but I have seen it and know what an influential person she is. I had also heard something similar to this article recently and wanted to share it.

"Oprah labeled 'false prophet' and 'conduit ... to Hell'"
Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 3/27/2008 8:00:00 AM

A Christian author who was saved out of the new age movement says media icon Oprah Winfrey has become a false prophet for a false Jesus. Oprah Winfrey identifies herself as a Christian. But she says that, when she was a young woman, she was disturbed by a pastor's declaration that the God of the Bible is a jealous God. "And something about that didn't feel right in my spirit because I believe that God is love and that God is in all things," she told her television audience. "And, so, that's when the, the, the search for something more than doctrine started to stir within me." Warren Smith, author of Reinventing Jesus Christ: The New Gospel, is a Christian who was saved from the new age movement. He says Oprah's search led her to Marianne Williamson and the new age teachings of A Course in Miracles. "Marianne Williamson was on Oprah back in 1992 with her book about the Course in Miracles," Smith recalled, "and back then, Oprah said, 'I believe that the principles of A Course in Miracles can change the world' -- and she's saying the same thing today." Williamson is now promoting A Course in Miracles through daily classes on Oprah's XM satellite radio channel. "I will be on Oprah & Friends every single day talking about the ideas in A Course in Miracles," Williamson said during a promotional announcement for the program. "We can have miracles. We can have greater inner peace. We can shift from an experience of fear to an experience of greater love." Oprah told her audience that she has no problem reconciling the differences between the new age religion she is now promoting and the Christian faith she claims. "I reconciled it because I was able to open my mind about the, um, the absolute, indescribable hugeness of that which we call 'God,'" Oprah said. "I took God out of the box." But Smith, appearing on the March 11 edition of the AFA Report, said the false teachings of A Course in Miracles should be obvious to any Christian. "Here are some of the lessons: Lesson 29, 'God is in everything I see.' Lesson 186, 'The salvation of the world depends on me.' 253, 'My self is the ruler of the universe.' 337, 'My sinless-ness protects me from all harm,'" Smith said, quoting from the lessons. "This is the Bible upside-down." Smith also criticized Oprah for the selection of Eckhart Tolle's new age book A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose as her book of the month. "It reminds me of Jeremiah 5 where he says, 'A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land, the prophets prophesy falsely and my people love to have it so,'" Smith explained. "What is more wonderful these days than Oprah? A wonderful and horrible thing is happening in the land, the prophets prophesy falsely. Oprah -- by now teaching this class with Eckhart Tolle -- is no longer a pointer to deception. She is a false prophet and part of it herself." Christians have an obligation, Smith concluded, to point out the error of Oprah's new age "christianity," even if doing so means risking public ridicule. "Unfortunately, Oprah does so many things that are really good [that] people make the mistake of thinking that she's on to something with this whole spiritual deal," Smith argued. "What she's doing is, she's creating a new worldview. They're calling it a 'shift' that will prepare people for when the next shoe drops. "And this will be the way that world peace would be achieved," he said, explaining the new age philosophy behind A Course in Miracles, "by everybody adopting this view that 'we're all one because we're all god, we need to come together, we need to be in unity.' "And the only people who are going to hinder that are the people who are saying, 'No, we're not God. Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.' Internet evangelist Bill Keller, appearing on Fox News Channel's Cavuto Report, echoed Smith's warnings, calling Oprah the queen of the new age gurus. "These new age teachings are really sucking in millions of people to these false philosophies, these false theologies, and they're literally leading people to Hell," Keller said. "Oprah, whether she knows it or not, is really being a conduit to lead people to Hell."

I'd like to hear people's thoughts on this one. I will only make one rule - no nastiness. I imagine that some people will agree with this article, and some may not. If you leave a comment that I consider to be mean-spirited directed at either myself or anyone else who chooses to comment, your comment will be deleted. I'm sure this won't be a problem, given my "regular" readers, but just in case...

Laura

Not long ago, I asked you to pray for my friend Destini's friend Laura and her family. Laura passed away on Monday. You can read Destini's post about it here. Please keep Laura's family in your prayers. Thanks.

A breath of fresh air...

It's possible that in the near future, as in later today, that Tricia Lawrenson may be getting a new set of CF-free lungs! Nate updated his blog a little while ago and said they got a call this morning. They probably won't find out if the lungs are viable until this afternoon. Please keep them in your prayers (and stop by to wish Nate a "Happy Birthday" while you're at it....)