Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Welcome ~ Dishing It with Amanda



I am excited to be taking part in Amanda’s first Dishing It party at Serenity Now to get to know other bloggers. If you are stopping by from this party, welcome! And for my new subscribers (there have been several of you recently) this welcome is for you too!

First, an introduction…

My name is Jennifer and I am a 30something wife and mom in North Carolina. I’ve been married to my hubby for 13 years (time flies) and am Mommy to 2 kiddos ~ a 9 year old daughter and 6 year old son. My son has Alopecia, an auto-immune disorder that causes hair loss. I will share this on my blog in an upcoming post. I am blessed to be an at-home mom right now.


Some things I love are ice cream, pajamas, flip flops, getting lost in a good book, chick flicks, ice cream, home décor, and, of course, family and friends. Oh and did I mention ice cream?


I have been thrifty my whole life but really learned how to coupon and start saving a few years ago when my husband started his own company. Living off of unemployment and savings really forced me to look at how we were living and make some changes. So, I dove into couponing and once I learned the ropes I discovered how much I enjoy helping others do the same. Initially that was how my blog started but I am learning to branch out and share other parts of my home through my blog. I hope you will stick with me as I continue to grow Home Matters.

Now onto the party...For the first Dish It party, Amanda has asked us a few questions. Her questions are in bold followed by my answers.


I want to know about your blog!

~How long have you been blogging?

Hhmm, it’s been about a year since I first started Home Matters. Back in the fall, after some technical difficulties, I re-launched it. And now as I learn more about the blogging community I am beginning to grow it.


~Why did you start blogging?

I originally started my blog as a way to share some of my coupon info, deal shopping and freebie finds with my local friends. I thought it would be easier to put it all in one spot instead of sending out several emails each day. Eventually as they started telling their friends I saw my subscriber numbers grow. A few months ago I began adding some recipes to my blog and linking to a weekly recipe blog party. I began receiving comments (who knew I would get so tickled over a few little comments?!) and getting more subscribers. Hhmm, maybe I should learn a little more about this blogging stuff. So, I began blog hopping and finding SO many really awesome blogs out there. I am still learning a lot about blogging and am still trying to find my voice on here but I am excited about growing Home Matters, adding new features and beginning some giveaways. I hope you’ll stick with me!


~Tell me about your blog's title. Why did you choose it?

My family is number one for me, of course, and I strive to create a HOME for us, not just a house to live in. To me HOME conveys comfort, security and being surrounded by things and people you love. And I want to do all of this as inexpensively as I can since I have always been a very thrifty person. It just seemed like a good name to me J


~What do you blog about?

I love to share my couponing info and grocery deals and help others learn how to slash their grocery budget too. Plus, I like to share other deals I find and I am all about getting things for free (samples, etc). As much as I love to share this info I will never be the most thorough bargain blog out there and I am not trying to be. So, I love to direct readers to my favorite bargain blogs and give credit to them as much as possible. I am in the process of adding a new blog roll to my site for many of these fellow bloggers.


As I am learning about blogging and finding my voice, I am doing more with adding recipes each week and am getting ready to start showing my thrifty finds (aka Goodwill goodies) and showing some thrifty home projects we are working on. I guess my blog is a continual work in progress as I learn J


~What is your favorite thing about blogging?

I love sharing deals with others and hearing that I have helped them save money. And as I blog more I am learning that I love meeting fellow bloggers. There is so much out there that I love discovering and I am continually being inspired.

Be sure to head on over to Amanda's party and meet some other bloggers and share the love with them (and don't forget me too...we all LOVE the comments!).



16 comments:

  1. Hi, Jennifer. I entered your link for you. :) The new link system can be persnickety...it wouldn't let me link up a few days ago with Southern Hospitality. Thanks for linking up! FYI, you may want to add your email address to your Blogger profile. ;) I'm glad you joined in. :)

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  2. Hello, again. I'm making the rounds and wanted to take a minute to actually read your post. I love thrifty posts, so we share that in common. :) Thanks so much for linking up. Have fun "partying." ;)

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  3. Hello! Aren't you excited about the new company news tomorrow? I can't wait - squeal! Coupons have been a God-send for our family. Friends keep asking me to help them get going. You have inspired me to try and do that! Happy party - have a blessed week!

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  4. I'm visiting from Amanda's party. I should do a better job with couponing. It's amazing what you can save when you make an effort to use them.

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  5. I'm visiting from the party, and it's good to meet you. We have a lot in common: ice cream, pajamas, a love of friends and family, ice cream, saving money ....

    My husband gave me an ice cream maker for Christmas, so we've been experimenting with recipes. Yum. I've blogged some of the recipes, but I have a few to catch up on.

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  6. Visiting from Amanda's Party! I just started couponing and am so excited and amazed at how much money you can save! Have a great day!

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  7. I will have to go through your archives to learn some thriftiness! I am usually very confused by that sort of thing, so I need step by step instructions, someone to tell me where to go and what to do to save money lol :)

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  8. I am in from the party and hope you are having a great day!!

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  9. Great to meet you! Hopped over from the party!

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  10. Hi! I really need to learn how to coupon. I have a friend who is really good at it and is always coming home with amazing deals. It's so nice to meet you!

    XOOX
    Jen

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  11. Hi i'm over from the party! Great family picture. I hope you will do some post on coupon clipping and shopping. I could use some help on that. =)

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  12. Hi, I love couponing, too. It is so addicting when you find the deals and can take care of your family by the way you shop! They are our top priority. Nice to meet you and thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  13. Hi Jennifer!
    I am going to learn SO much from you- I am not the best couponer in the world-
    BUT! I have found a store here in Greenville, SC called Amazing Savings-
    I posted about it (the post is called Whole Foods vs. Amazing Savings,
    you should SEE the deals I get!! Oh my word!)
    -maybe there's one in NC, near you?
    My hubby was unemployed for a year and so I TOTALLY know how that changes our perspective! I enjoyed getting to know you!
    I'm following you so I can learn from you- you have quite a few posts I can catch up on, too, so here I go to read a few of them :)
    Blessings from my home to yours!

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  14. Hi there, it was so nice to meet you! :) I came over from Amanda's party. I totally have to agree with you on the ice cream -- yum! LOL! And I wanted to tell you that I think it's wonderful that you are so conscientious about being money savvy with your shopping -- what a blessing you're providing for your family! That's great! Hope you'll stop by my blog sometime to say Hi!
    Blessings,
    Stacey

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  15. Nice to meet you. My sister has alopecia too. It started when she was a teenager. Nice family picture.

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  16. WHat an awesome blog - I need to be better with coupons, so I'll be browsing around!

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