Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Christmas shopping

I have started my Christmas shopping. I received a Target coupon that would net me a $15 gift card if I spent $150. So I spent $150 and received the gift card. I also received a $10 gift card, as one of my purchases entitled me to that. Yay!

So, I went back and used my new $25 in gift cards and finished my shopping. I also printed coupons for $4 off of a woman's sweater. There was also one in the paper, so I bought two clearance ladies sweaters each with a $4 off coupon.

I do not participate in Black Friday. I don't believe in it. It's far too stressful. I just plan, save and look for coupons.

Christmas shouldn't be stressful. It should be relaxing and happy. I actually shop and prepare months in advance. There are just some things that need to be purchased closer to the day. Especially if you have kids that keep changing their minds! ha ha

I actually enjoy strolling the malls during the frenzied shopping times of Christmas. The music, cheer, decor...LOVE IT!

Stressful, crazy shopping is NOT the Reason for The Season!!! ♥

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Every good thing must come to an end

I read an article, in the paper recently. It was discussing seasonal jobs. There are literally thousands of people applying for a handful of these jobs.

I feel even more blessed to have landed one of them!

The place where I have a 4 month seasonal job, may keep some people on after the holidays. You would need to reapply and interview if you are interested. The part time income is really helping us right now. I just don't like the idea of applying for and interviewing for a job that I already won. It seems weird to me. If you are hired and do a good job, why don't they just keep you?

I think that I may reapply. Its close to home and works well with my family's schedule.

It's just sad to think that my days of being a "stay at home" mom will come to an end. I like that title. I love being there for my family.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

I give up...

I have tried to do the environmental thing. I also was trying to do the frugal thing.

I stopped using dryer sheets.

I've tried vinegar as a rinse agent. I've tried spraying liquid fabric softener on a rag, and throwing that into the dryer. We've also tried the new fabric softener crystals. {our washing machine doesn't mix liquid softener correctly and ends up staining our clothes. Darn high efficiency washer}

We have spent so many days with our clothes just clinging to us. Everything that you touch shocks you. We were literally electronically charged. Ouch.

I used part of my free coupon to buy a box of dryer sheets.

I'm not going back, to life without dryer sheets, but I promise to compost or re purpose them in any way I can find.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Do you pick up stuff, off of the ground?

I never used to, until a few years ago. My younger son found a scratch lottery ticket, and picked it up. It was a winner! We felt sorry for the person that lost it, but there was no way to find out who that was. The ticket had been run over a few times, so we knew it was there a while.
I cashed the ticket in, and gave him the money. You'd never seen a 10 year old that happy! ha ha

So, I always keep an eye out. I've found Catalina coupons, for items that I was going to buy. Mostly we find not winning scratch tickets. But I figure, its a win-win. We are picking up trash, which makes everything look better, and occasionally we find treasures.

Yesterday, I found a Catalina coupon for $10 off of a $10 or more purchase at Safeway! I don't normally shop there, but if it's free...☺ It expired yesterday so I needed to act quickly. As soon as I got off of work, I planned to head over to Safeway. I was tired and ready to go home, but free is free! So, I called hubby and asked what was on my grocery list and went shopping.

The funny part was the reaction of the man in line behind me. He said "You got all that for $0.09?" ha ha. Yep.

I will continue to pick up "trash", you never know what you may find!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Starting over

This has been one very busy year! I had the best intentions, when I added my daily workout to my goals list. I really planned to keep up with exercising and eating healthy.

I failed.

I would do well with my food journal, for a few weeks, and then forget. I would be right on with my walks and/or workouts. Then forget.

It's been a few years since I lost 18 pounds. I really don't want to gain any of it back. So far Ive gained only about 2 pounds back. That's not too bad, but I just feel blah most of the time. Not drinking enough water, too much sugar, no exercise. I need to fix this! Time to add my health back to the to-do list!

I started small. I'm starting with the workouts first. The diet will come second. It takes time to make it a habit. I'm sore today, but I feel happy about that. My food journal is making a comeback. I had more water today and less coffee. I had more veggies and less chips. I had egg whites and veggies for breakfast, and no bread. I'm adding a few more minutes to my workouts everyday. My goal is to get back to at least 20 minutes per day. For now.

I can do this

Friday, November 4, 2011

There's a mouse in the house

I seriously wish that I was referring to a children's book. Unfortunately, the house I speak of, is mine. There's a mouse in my house.

How did it get in? Why is it here? How can I get it to leave? I am 1,000 times freaked out! There are tell tale little mouse poopies on the floor. My son saw it run by him. Hubby heard it scratching along the wall. HELP!

The irony is while we are trying to eradicate a field mouse from the house, we have 2 domestic mice as pets. Oh geez.

Any suggestions?