New Year Resolutions

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Lucy: Charlie Brown, I think you should resolve to be perfect during the coming year.
Charlie Brown: Perfect? Good grief, nobody's perfect! What do you expect of me?
Lucy: I think you can be if you try... I really do!
Charlie Brown: All right, Lucy, if you have that much faith in me, I'll try! I hereby resolve to be perfect during the next year!
Lucy: YOU? PERFECT?! HA! HA! HA! HA!

So, maybe not perfection. But here are my goals for the new year

1. Eat less meat-more omega 3's (More about this at a later time)
   
2. Date my husband once a week
3. Don't let clutter overwhelm my life
4. Spend some time a couple times a week on my relationship with God
5. Start my Master's Program at Liberty
   

What I am doing today

The plan for today

• Laundry
• Test driving a HUGE TRUCK for a 50$ gift card. Check out the details HERE
• Discussing reinstating a Date Night with my hubbs. Read THIS and THIS for more details.
• Going to Kroger with my list of coupons from HERE.
• Taking down Christmas Decorations while watching my new movie

Little Mermaid was my favorite when I was growing up.

Can I tell you how much google reader has impacted my life. I used to have to wait for magazines or all of this kind of info. What are you doing today?

After Christmas...Disapointment

Monday, December 29, 2008

Firstly, I must apolagize for not having posted anything about Christmas. I promise I am not a scrooge and I did decorate. Christmas is my favorite time of year, I just didn't get around to posting anything about my Christmas decorations. Things just got a little overwhelming with school, doing the yearbook, Christmas shopping, and everything else. Something had to give, so I had to back off of the blog for a little bit. But I am back.

My Bunny and I spent some time today shopping. We don't spend very much on each other so we can go shopping together after Christmas when everything is cheaper. I got some great deals at target. Scotch tape for .25 a roll (after coupons), Free M&M private reserve(or whatever they are called) for free plus a .13 overage, and a .24 scotch wrapping paper cutter. I hit the Victoria Secret Semi-Anual Sale and got some of my favorite panties ;), but I couldn't find anything exciting at bath and body works (who is also having their Semi-Annual)

What I have done since I have blogged last:

1. I have finished all four twilight novels-on Audio while working on things around the house
2. I have gotten a good...enough start to the school's yearbook so that I don't feel like it has me in a choak hold.
3. I have welcomed a new kitty into our home
4. I have saved a lot on groceries with a little help from my favorite bloggersand lots of other menial tasks that, no one really wants to hear about
5. Wrote a mother letter and included it in a basket of encouragement for my mother for Christmas
6. and lots of other menial tasks that, no one really wants to hear about

An award and some of my favorite bloggers

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Meg's Musings gave me this award and I am supposed to list six things I love and then pass the award on to some others. I have the special privilege of knowing Meg in real life and she is just as entertaining in person. Her outlook and energy are very refreshing.

1. I love reading (latest fav. is the Twilight series)

2. I love my pets, we have a new kitty and as soon as she comes out from under the bed he will make his internet debut.

3. I love spending time with my friends

4. I love reading blogs, but struggle with the posting

5. I love the feeling of triumph when you get a really good deal

6. Garage Sailing!

Now, I get to pass the award on to some very creative bloggers!
Julie from My life with boys is a missionary mom who is serving in Hungary) She is very creative with her learning opportunities for her boys. I have several of them marked in a mommy folder on my google reader.
Nikki at Project Domestic Bliss. She, unlike me is great at showing us all exactly how to do any number of her creative crafts. She has even been known to throw in a video.
Shynea at Penny Pinching Diva is the one I always rely on for the up to the minute news about where to go to get those hard to find coupons, and when I am looking at a pile of sales fliers and coupons, I always check to see how she combined sales with coupons for great savings.

Christmas Card

Monday, November 10, 2008

This is our Christmas card for this year. The photos were taken my Christina, aren't they fabulous?

I created it on scrapblog.com. It was super easy to create but a little more difficult to actually get it once I was finished. They would like for you to purchase it from them and order the cards for a dollar apiece. A little too much for me. I had them sent to my flicker account and then copied it from there to print. Each year we do Christmas postcards instead of cards. Postage is much cheaper this way. I always order from vista print, their prices are very reasonable. I also ordered thank you post cards for our wedding gifts there. You can type out your message for the year on the other side. I paid $10 for 50 cards and if you are a an ebates member you can go through their site and get some cash back. I have also used scrapblog to make my blog header and desktop backgrounds. Enjoy playing with it.

***A note about ebates***

I have recently discovered ebates. If you go through their site to buy things you are already purchasing online they send you a check each quarter. My husband and I have made $25 this month already (due largely to the fact that we signed up for netflix through them, but we were going to get netfilx anyway). This could add up to some guilt free garage sale money. I tell my husband it is great that someone is finally paying me to be a smart shopper.

Click here to sign up:
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=iPM5zB2fvMRdRjfHfq1NTw%3D%3D

Happy shopping!

Giveaway's on Tip Junkie

12 Days 2, winners per day!
Starting tomorrow there will be really great stuff given away on Tip Junkie. While you are there check the links for some of the great stores, I have already found several things that would make great gifts. Happy shopping!

Versitile Seasonal Decor

Saturday, November 8, 2008

This is my honey do list. (because it is the first thing seen when you walk in from our garage. I showed it a couple of weeks ago and it was looking a little nanike (naked). I have since gotten some more of the metal fabric hoops and filled them accordingly. Christmas is going to present a bit of a challenge. I have a little christmas tree in the kitchen with it's own little theme one in the living room with a certain color scheme and the one in the dining room with another. It is the closest to the one in the kitchen. We shall see how it goes. The plan is to change out the fabrics and the chalk color in order to go with the different seasons. Tune in to see what I find for christmas. I have had a great time collecting fabrics at different rummage sales.

Dust ourselves off

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

America has spoken and even though it is not what I would have chosen, I accept it and I will not wallow. My heart was very heavy this morning and after reading what some very beautiful ladies with gorgeous hearts said. Check out what Nikki wrote. It was very encouraging. Also read the comment by Kristi.

Sunday Savings

Sunday, November 2, 2008

It is Sunday again and that is my couponing day. After Church my husband plays softball with friends and family and I head to my local convenience store and pick up the double paper and get to clipping. I grew up clipping coupons. I remember mom teaching me about saving by letting me keep the money saved by the coupons. I only wish I knew as much about it then as I do now. I have had a lot of help from the money saving mom and the Penny pinching diva. They work hard and usually will give you a heads up about what to look forward to in the weeks Sunday Paper. Here are a few things that are important to remember when trying to work your coupon magic.

1. Pay attention at the register, make sure things are ringing up correctly. I usually hold all of the things I have coupons for until the end.
2. The key to saving a lot of money on things is to wait for them to have a good sale AND THEN use your coupon.
3. Stock up. If something that you use a lot goes on sale. STOCK UP ON IT. Sodas, are one that we are known to buy four 12 packs of the same thing.
4. Many of you already do this, but you can also plan your menu, snacks, breakfast, etc, on what is on sale that week.
5. Know your stores coupon policy. I know that most stores double coupons that are .50 and below. Therefore, don't overlook those .35 cent coupons when you are clipping. When I see .50 cents on paper, I see a dollar in my mind. I hate those pesky .55 cent ones, but I still cut them.
6. Know how low things go. My example for this is Goldfish. I am hooked on those little cheesy crackers. But I don't buy them unless I can get them 10 for $10. And when they do I stock up. Same thing goes for sodas. I have a price in my mind that I will pay and not a penny more.
7. Have a good system for organizing them. I will show you my system that I got from Nikki at Project Domestic Bliss. She made a handy video. The only thing that I would change is not organizing it based on one store. I go to the store that packs the biggest money saving punch for me.

My System

Here is my notebook. I still need to make it cute like Queen Bee, but it works for me. I keep a little pockety thing in the front. I think it's original purpose was to store floppy disks in. I use it for keeping extra care bucks (CVS), rebates, and coupons divided by stores. I have a miscellaneous pocket for stores that I don't usually frequent. Next is where I keep my lists. I have a list of Thanksgiving things to purchase, Christmas gifts I am looking for and then my list for the week. I list the things that I definitely need at the top. So I can keep them in the forefront of my mind. Then, I make a list like I am going to each store(I definitely don't actually go to them). But I want to make sure that I get the most out of my time and money. Some weeks I will go to more than one. I don't go out of my way, I just stop by on the way home if the thing on sale in addition to my coupon makes it a deal I can't resist.

After I am done making my list I prioritize from the store that I need to go to the most to the one I need to go to the least. Often there will be certain days that I want to hit a certain store. Publix for example has coupons for penny items in the Sunday paper. They only do this on Monday. This item is always a mystery, but in the past two weeks I have gotten two packs of four rolls of toilet paper and two loaves of publix white bread. So, if Publix is one of my top priority stores for the week I try to go on Monday. Note: I got two of these items because I had two of the coupons. I was told that they are not supposed to give two, but so far they always have and I didn't even ask. Good Luck with your couponing, I hope that something here will help you and your family save money. Every family is different, so take a system and make it work for you.

I am alive

Sunday, October 26, 2008

I have been on a little blogging hiatus. But I promise that I am alive. See.

I have several projects that are undone. A little overwhelmed right now with school, home, ect. This is my craft room right now.

Lots of ideas and potential fighting for space on my desk, n my mind, and on my calendar. Stay tuned though, like I said I am still alive and have several things in the works. I have a few posts lined up for later this week. Here is what there is to look forward to in the near future.

-some more fall decor

-more about my new favorite hobie...couponding

-and a shout out to my new favorite photographer

-one of the creepiest things I have seen for a long time

-some more "best of the web" in saving

In other news. Meg tagged me with the fourth of a fourth. This computer is my school laptop so it only has one folder. So the following is the fourth in my one folder. This is from when Meg and I went to the Aquarium. It was an educators night at the Georgia Aquarium. Even though we didn't win any of the giveaways, we still had a great time.

Have a great week!

Some Link Love

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

So in my previous post I didn't get to add some of the links. This was due to some Major computer issues. I actually had them in and my connection failed! So, since I must give credit where credit is due here goes, plus a few things I have marked in my google reader to do list.

Here is Christina's tiny little chalk board. Here , here and here.

Here are some cuter pumpkins than mine
Shabby Vintage Chic
The Shabby Nest
Meg's Musings
As Time Goes by
Ask Kari &Kijsa (the original books...I think)

Check out this Budget Art, I love the flower made of musical notes.

Resetteling Avendale Flea Market Finds and other Randomness

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Meg, Victoria and I went to the Avendale Flea Market on Saturday. It was fabulous. This was the first time I had been but, Christina and Victoria had gone since they were very young. It was a church parking lot with lots of booths and parking spaces rented out. Here is what I got...

I bought this shelf and painted it my favorite shade of chartreuse. I needed something to set my plants close to the window when I brought them in for the winter. I love how everyone is painting rod iron things in bright colors, so I just had to do it too.

This is nothing from the flea market, I cut this picture out of an October issue of Martha Stewart from 2005, she used to do this every month, I know "Real Simple" does this as well I have a few from there. I painted this frame Ivory and designated it for the monthly picture of my choice, I don't have one I like I tuck it away or put some other cute magazine picture in it. It satisfies my need for change.

We made some pumpkins last night from books that we bought at the flea market. I bookmarked the idea on my google reader weeks ago and just got around to doing it. It is much more fun to do with friends. Tip, make sure your books are a little yellowed, they look much better. I got one that was smaller that I thought would be a good height to compliment this but once I got started I saw that the pages were made of a different material and they were very white. Live and Learn.























I am very excited about this one. I am an impatient decorator and sometimes that means hanging things.......without ironing them....Yikes. So, this brand new $80 steamer (I paid $15). I was given one as a wedding gift and exchanged it...oops.























I painted this frame from the dollar store. I painted over the glass part with chalk board paint. I got the idea for having a smaller chalk board with cute little things written on it from here.

I also made this little chalk board. I will become my much friendlier version of the "Honey Do" list. I found these metal fabric hoops at the flea market. I need a few more right now it looks a little sparse. I found someone who was cleaning out their fabric scraps, I thought I could just change out the fabrics to reflect the different seasons.

Last but not least is my favorite find. This little tray, actually much larger than it's predecessor, will come in handy for T.V. dinners that are the result of two teachers coming home late and eating chicken fingers and tots. The sides fold down for extra room.

Creamy Cheesy Bacony Potato Soup

Monday, September 29, 2008

Bloggers, forgive me, it has been one week since my previous blog. A friend of mine e-mailed me today asking for my potato soup recipe. I love this recipe, it is creamy and cheesy and bacony (<--made up word). The recipe is not mine, it comes from a lady that I teach with. It is very easy to make and reheats even better than the first time. It would be great with some of Christiana's rolls.

Potato Cheese Soup

6-8 large baking potatoes
2 c. milk
4 c. chicken broth
2/3 c. flour
2/3 c. butter
8-12 strips of bacon, cooked ( I use the precooked hormel crumbles they keep forever and I buy in bulk at Sam's Club)
1 c. sour cream
8 oz shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

****You can use lighter versions of any of the dairy products, I almost always do****

Bake potatoes untill soft and then peel. Mash or cube the potatoes depending on the desired consistency for the soup. You can also do a combination of both.

In a large soup pot, combine butter and flour to make a roux. (This sounds more difficult than it is, basically you are just using the flour and butter to make a thicker sause to start off your soup with. To do this keep the heat low and keep stirring. After 1 minute slowly whisk in the liquids.

Add salt and pepper, potatoes, cooked bacon, and cheese. At the last minute (about 10 min before serving) add in the sour cream.

When reheating the soup will be thick. Add milk to reheat, it keeps getting better and better. Enjoy with some rolls for a warm fall meal.

In a cloud of paint

Sunday, September 21, 2008

This table was graciously given to me by Victoria as a birthday gift. I absolutely love the color, but it would take a massive overhaul to make it work in my kitchen. Therefore, since I am not moving any time soon, I had to paint this beautiful blue table.

Meg came over (she loves painting) and we got to work on several projects. It is always more fun to project with a friend. If you look closely you can see the pumpkins that she painted on the floor.

We wasted no time and made a total mess all over the grass and the garage. We are both a little sloppy when it comes to painting. I am so impatient and just want to get it done so I can see the finished project. We worked constantly applying one coat here and there while another dried.

So here is the finished project. I wanted to have a chair in an odd color. As you can see from above there is a lot of antique white going on in my house. I decided to go a little different direction with my sewing room chair.

And here is my beautiful finished table. I resisted the temptation to paint these cute little pumpkins. I thought that would be entirely too much. The orange makes a great contrast with the green (curtain) runner I found. I look forward to having family over and no one having to sit on camp chairs!

Now the only thing remaining is to get the paint out of my hair!

Top Ten Favorite Things in my House

Thursday, September 18, 2008

I love to look at everyone else's homes and what they do with their stuff. So when Laurie over at Tip Junkie asked the question I wanted to be a part of it and see everyone else's stuff. Here is the post if you would like to join in. I think it closes on Saturday at midnight. So, here goes. Sarah Kate's top 10 in no particular order:

My husband loves penguins and I have to admit they are adorable the way they waddle around, but I never thought there would be any that I would actually decorate with. My mother in law gave these to us from Target and we both love them.

I get made fun of all of the time for this stick. It is the only one left. I gave in to peer pressure and mother(who is my real estate agent) pressure. I took them all down except for this one. Who knows maybe after the next storm I will have another one to match it.

I am a bath tub girl. When life gets hard I hit the bubbles. When I have school paper work to do, I pull up a chair and my lappy and get to it. The only thing this one is missing is jets!

I have a very formal looking home with all of the trim. I love the outdoors and wanted to bring it in in order to tone down how formal it looks.
I made the framed art from a very ugly bird picture. I spray painted the mat and then added this fabric swatch that I got at a rummage sale. It is one of those things that I just bought and had no idea what I would do with it, I just knew that I liked it. I may put a big letter on it...yeah that sounds great.
This is one of several mini chairs in my house, but it is not the thing I wanted to highlight. I love all of my plants. I have had this ficus tree since college and it is finally growing! I am definitely a P.O.O.P.I.E. but I try to bring in real plants wherever I can.

I found this Ironing board at a huge garage sale. They were closing up for the day and the man that sold it to me had no Idea what it was. It is real wood and I didn't even have to paint it for my sewing room. I like all of the boards comming across.
This cookie jar was the thing in my grandmothers house that I knew I wanted when I was older and had my own house. My whole kitchen is designed around this piece.

This little dude is one of my favorite things. If you can't tell he is a hedge hog and is made up of all of these nesting little cups. I am not sure what it was made for initially, but right now he just sits there looking cute and making me smile. I think he is bronze under there, but I kinda like the worn look he is sporting right now.



Corney I know, but this is part of my closet. My dad built our house and made my closet just for me. I love jewelry and boxes. I used to get too busy and forget to accessorize, but now I have an earring hanger, an bracelet tree. All of my necklaces hung up and pins and miscellaneous stuff in the largest box. In the frame there is a letter from my husband when we were dating and some of the flowers he gave me. It is one of my favorite places with all of the shiny things and a little reminder of how much I am loved.