Thursday, August 19, 2010

Life well lived

If you've noticed I have been absent for a few days, sorry about that.  Life got in the way of my blogging.  We've had lots to do with mall scavenger hunts, bargain hunts and, ugh, yardwork. 

The girls are the life of the party

The peace sign-tie dye cake that embodies Maddie's style
Thanks Kelly!
Maddie's birthday party scavenger hunt was a huge success and the easiest party I have ever had.  Finally, a party I can enjoy, too.

Wearing hats and purple eyeshadow--what a sport
The kids had to really let loose and talk to people to get the most points. Thank goodness Maddie's partner, Brandon, isn't shy.

Clowning around with a salesperson named John-more points
Cole and Riley won the actual contest.  They did a great job.  Kelly and Lamyaa were a close second.

Maddie and Lamyaa-the hugging queens
















To say the least I was exhausted from the party, but the day doesn't end there for any mom. Nope it was off to Target to get my deals of the day. I spent $35 for $68 worth of foods.




Not all the healthiest-but most were. The Pop-Tarts are hidden for a special treat one day.

Coupon clipping does pay off.  Plus, I ended up getting two more coupons I used the next day for dinner.  Buy one-get one free Target pizzas.  Four pizzas for dinner cost $9.  That is my kind of luxury.

Sunday we had tons of rain, but were able to get some of the yard work done.  I just had to include one of my morning glory pics.  These babies have taken over my front porch railing.

The week is pretty much over now.  It has been fun and I am sure there will be more excitement on the way as we get ready for back to school.  Maddie has a 28 page placement test awaiting her, and Riley has her open house August 31.  Fall is fast approaching and I am not sure if I am happy about that or not.  Cooler weather does sound great, though. 

Other key dates fast approaching
School starts-Sept. 7
Kahle is due-Sept. 10
Kahle, Moses, Grayson and Garrison come to visit--Oct. 8ish
Maybe Grandma, too!!!
Trip to Belvedere Plantation and Sesame Street Place while they are here.
My fortieth birthday-Oct. 30
Halloween Oct. 31

Not to mention a family vacation in November, plus a holiday cookie exchange and Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Busy, busy, busy.  I love it!!



Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Spilling the beans on saving

A few days this week, I decided I would cook with what I had in the kitchen.  Being a vegetarian means I have lots of staples, including beans.  What to do with beans, hmmm...used the dried navy beans Sunday to make baked beans...used the pinto beans Friday to make chili....still more beans, and lentils, and split peas, and some type of french green lentil.  Well, I finally decided I wanted to be a little lazy and I didn't have time to soak and cook the beans first, so it was off to the inventory of canned beans.  This is where I discovered the versatile garbanzo bean or chickpea.  I consulted my computer and  found a few recipes that used them and finally decided on Indian night.  I could use up almost all of my veggies with that.  Peas, potatoes, cauliflower, onions, as well as the kale that was two days beyond its best by date.  The results were great, and you can see my adapted recipe on the recipe tab. 

Purchasing dried beans is one of the most economical ways to replace meat in your dishes.  A one pound bag of beans is about $1.50 and makes about 10 servings.  A good thing to remember when and if you are questioning whether you can afford to go vegetarian.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Flipping for birthdays




Saturday morning started off with Jeff and I putting together Maddie's big birthday present...a trampoline.  If you have never put one of these things together, let me tell you, they are heavy and time consuming.  The directions say two people are needed.  I would say unless the two people are crosses between Hulk Hogan and Einstein, at least three people, if not four, are needed and a physics degree would be a plus.

Sisters, Friends
While we were struggling with assembly, Riley had the harder job of keeping her sister away from any windows and entertained.  So, she resorted to lots of picture taking.  Thank goodness for me, because I really got to see the loving bond between the two sisters.







The kids jumped and jumped and jumped some more.  In fact, Riley was so sore the next day, she could barely move.  Check out the videos of their stunts.  (I should probably insert disclaimer here--you know, the kind that says 'don't do this at your house'.)




The day continued on like this for quite a while, even with the summer sun beating down on the kids.  

We decided to wrap up the evening with a small backyard bonfire.  Of course, Cole wanted to light the fire. 
Again-Don't do this at home!


The excitement couldn't end there. Nope, right before the s'more marshmallow toasting got underway, the neighbors called out for us to come look in the front yard.  We couldn't believe what we saw.    
Cole tried to catch him to release elsewhere, but was unable to do it.  We checked the next morning and the snake had left the tree, but we did see that there was a bird's nest up there.  Maybe, he was just looking for dinner.  

That pretty much wraps up August 7, 2010.  My baby turned 12 and I got to spend a wonderful day with the family.  I don't think it gets any better than that.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Money well spent

The whole point of this blog was how to save money, right? There are times in life that you need or maybe just want to spend it. We had one of those days last Monday.  Jeff, Riley, Maddie and I, plus Riley's bff, Lamyaa, went to DC for the day.  The girls couldn't wait to stop by Georgetown Cupcake. Yep--it is the one from TLC's show, DC Cupcake.  I thought going to the newly re-opened American History Museum was going to be the best.  I can't really say what was truly the highlight of the day--it may have been the landing of Marine One, the President's helicopter, just as we were trying to get close to the White House--or--it may have been the twenty minutes we had in the park while waiting for the helicopter to land.  We did walk to the White House, but then were turned away or shepherded to another area, as I am assuming, a safety zone was created for the President's landing. We did have to wait, but when the deep resonating thuds of the helicopter blades broke the quiet afternoon air, it was hard not to get excited.

Reflecting on that afternoon got me thinking about the safety zone I had established around that day so I could enjoy it.  Again, I am talking about money...moolah...dough...the green stuff.  I wasn't stressed at having to eat a couple of meals out. I wasn't stressed about the cost of metro tickets.  Heck, I wasn't even stressed about the cost of the cupcakes (worth every penny, too).  All this because I had planned and budgeted and revised and did it all one more time.  If money had been tighter, I would have created a different plan, a different option, for our family day out.  But, I was able to enjoy all the items we spent money on and all the things that were free--cartwheels in the park, making faces at each other while waiting in line, laughter, excitement, love and togetherness.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

It's all in the attitude

This morning I was awakened by the flapping ears of our chiweenie, Tok, and the quiet huffs of our Australian cattle dog, Aussie.  They wanted to go outside. They definitely thought it was time for me to get out of bed.  I glanced at the clock--4:30--yep, that's in the a.m.  So, I trudge downstairs and let them out.  While standing in the kitchen, I load a stray dish into the dishwasher...dogs still aren't done...walk to the laundry room and put the wet clothes in the dryer...thank goodness, the dogs are done.

Now what?  I could have gone to bed, but I really was past the point of going back to sleep.  You know what I mean.  You crawl back into the now cold bed and it takes you 30 minutes to fall back to sleep and you never feel quite right when you wake up. So, what did I do?  I figured I got an extra hour or two in my day and I was going to put it to good use.  I paged through a magazine, All You, and checked out all the great coupons and articles.  Then proceeded to do my morning devotionals.   If you want to know which ones I am doing, post a comment.  I will be glad to share. By then, it is 6.  I decide, what the heck, start a blog.  This is something I have wanted to do for awhile, but was a little computer user shy.  Well, I have taken the plunge.  It is now 7:30ish and I am proudly finishing my first post.  I accomplished something I was afraid to do or thought I didn't have the time to do. But, I did.

I hope to cover many things to help others do everything they want to do in a day, week or year.   My topics will include family, faith, food, finance, fitness and frugality, as well as, time management.  I couldn't think of an "f" for time management.  There went all the cool alliteration.

I guess it is time to come back to what really started this whole thing--attitude.  I could have been a grouch to my dogs, ugly towards my hubby, and in a bad mood the whole day, just because I was woke up or was awakened early.  Instead, I looked at it as a blessing and was able to accomplish more by 7:45 (I didn't mention the two loads of laundry already done and hung or folded ready to put away, plus the running dishwasher) then I would have done if I had held a grudge and plopped myself back in bed or in front of the television.  I have always told my kids, bad attitudes are contagious...I also think that a pleasant attitude will get you further.  It really works.  Try it at the store, with your kids, with your neighbors and, don't forget, your significant other. 

Choose to look at the bright side and have a wonderful day!