Rain Rain please Stay!

Its beautiful here today. Its raining on and off. I LOVE the rain. Its warm outside and since we live in the dry hot desert theres really no humdity so its a nice warm weather. Ahhhh, I really dont want it to stop. Ive got the windows open and the smell of rain is drifting through the house.

Whats the weather like where you all are?

Look what I got Yesterday! Wiiiiiiii

Ive been so busy lately that I havent been posting. But I got something yesterday that I wanted to share. Im so excited.

I kept putting off buying it because I felt I shouldnt be spending the money but with a gift card I was able to purchase it 1/2 off :)

Yesterday I workout for 20 min and today Im alittle sore. I cant believe how out of shape Im in.

I love how it weighs you, keeps track of your workouts and your minutes. Fun! I'll let you know how it goes.

Any of you work out with the wii fit and if so how do you like it??

Current WeightLoss

Currently on my weightloss journey I have lost 4 lbs! Thats almost a 5 lb bag of taters :)

Im doing this challange right along with Mom of One.

Well, I got a new cell phone not to long ago. I always opt for the free phone except this time I bought a razr. Got an awesome price on it so I went for it. Well, I decided since my cell phone is always with me I would put it to work. It has alerts that you can set for meetings or everyday events. So my small servent girl, I mean my cell phone, is now programmed to go off every 2-3 hrs. reminding me to eat. It goes off at 8, 10, 12, 3, 6 I used to skip breakfast then I would scarf at lunch and dinner but now when it rings my first thought is "AGAIN? ALREADY?" but its been paying off since Ive lost 4 lbs. Im never hungry because Im eatting all the time. Their small meals or healthy snacks.

breakfast is healthy cereal and vanilla soy milk (small lactose problems)

snack is one of the following: fruit like orange, apple, alittle peanut butter on celery, almonds

lunch is wheat bread, alittle mayo, alfalfa sprouts, lettuce, tomato, smoked turkey, maybe alittle avoc.

snack again (same as above)

dinner is whatever I make for the family but I eat alot less because IM NOT HUNGRY LOL

Ive also programmed it to remind me to drink water everyday, do the laundry on wed. (wash day), thurs. (thirsty thursday=water plants), etc.

Gotta love technology

The Electric Bill

I know I said I wasent going to share this months electric bill since after doing the calculations on how to save even more on my electric bill found HERE and since I've only been really putting into effect these other energy saving tips for a couple of weeks now , I got the bill and I couldnt resist!

Last month was $106.14
This months bill $69.14 YIPPIE!!!

Because we used less it threw us into a different tier level with a lower price :)

I couldnt believe it. Pick me up off the floor!! I guess all the unplugging, switches off doing, and turning pc's off, it paid off. At first I thought it was because of Southern CA. Edisons summer discount plan Im on during the 4 months of the summer. We receive a $40-$50 a month discount for having the unit put on our a/c unit so they can turn the a/c unit off remotely at any time if they need to conserve. We never use the a/c unit since we have a swamp cooler so it works out perfect :) giggle

Oh happy day! Im $40 richer :)

Awarded The Attitude of Gratitude

I was honored with the award of The Attitude of Gratitude by mimi charmante Her pictures on her blog are just beautiful. They make you want to pack your suitcase and jump on a plane to a far off place that is full of history and art. Thank you so much Kim. :)



The rules of accepting and sharing this award are:




1. Put the logo on your blog or post

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that show an attitude of gratitude.

3. Link to your nominees within your post.


4. Comment on their blogs to let them know they have received this award.


5. Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award. Tell us how you've come to have an attitude of gratitude.



As far as my "attitude of gratitude", I am thankful everyday for the people in my life, my family & my friends. I know, thats what everyone says, but its true. If you really think about it in the big sceme of things, what really matters? If a fire blazed through your house and took everything you owned would you fall to pieces or say, Ya know, its only things and we can rebuild again but my family I can never replace. Its amazing how as you start to look at life through different eyes when life throws you a curve ball things start to come into focus in a different light. You see what really matters and what doesnt.

Im nominating the following bloggers :

1. Marva @ blessedfrugalness times two with twins
2. Christy @ Mabel + Lola
3. Kaye @ Kayes Kreative Korner
4. AnNicole @ Our Suburban Cottage
5. Jane @ Work that Wardrobe
6. Donna @ Never So Simple (shes going through alot right now, she needs big hugs)
7. Terrie @ Terries lil piece of serenity (my blog sista)
8. Rebecca @ Its 5 oclock somewhere
9. Everyday mom of one
10. A Mayberry state of mind (fellow homeschooling mom)

Yippie, I Won

Thank you so much Everyday Mom of One. I received my prize and I LOVE it. Its exactly what I wanted and I was so excited to get it in the mail. I think I forgot to mention what I liked in the email but this is what I wanted. So when I opened the box to my surprise there was the items! Yippie!

Heres a pictures of my prize and the link to this Eco Friendly company that is commitment to the environment. SeaSide Naturals

Look what I found

Saturday the twins came running in saying something was wrong with our outside cat. Shes our mouser. We have a really big problem out here with rats the size of cats and field mice. They wreck havic on our garage and everything else. But since mouser has been here... no mice ! It looked like something had attacked (same coyote that hurt Elmo the duck??) and she needed to mend so I cared for her and put her in the garage in a dog kennel.


Sunday night as we were getting ready to close the garage door I heard something. Like a kitten crying in the distance. I listened and didnt hear it again. I thought maybe it was the echo of the puppies our dog just had. I had the twins come out and listen but they didnt hear it either. So the next morning one of the twin and I went to investigate over near our pigs where I thought the sound was coming from. nothing. humm... I decided since I was so close to our big horse trailer I'll just go into the living quarters and grab some thing out of it and as I closed the door I heard the crying again! Sure enough in the middle section of the trailer where there are built in dog kennels there they were ......

This one......

and this one.....

and this one.....

Arent they cute~!


They were very weak and wobbly. The poor things hadnt eatten in two days. She was so happy to see her kittens. Happy to say mama cat and kittens are doing great. :)

Yippie, now we have more cats to help with the mice population!

The Electric Bill

Im totally agree that if you save alittle here and alittle there, its starts to add up and you'll be saving alot. So Im starting to work alittle on the electric bill. Something we can control.

I started posting my electric bill awhile back when I plugged in all those power surgers. Well, so far my bill has gone back up.This month its was $106.xx. When I call the electric company they just say that for the size of my house (2700 sq ft) that is an excellent price. Well, Im not happy with that price. I worked really hard turning off those power surgers. Makin sure they were all off when the appliance wasent being used, driving my family crazy to turn those lights off!

So yesterday I spent about 3 hrs researching what everything costs in my house. I wanted to know what was using the most. My moms electric bill is in the $30's. (1800 sq ft) I thought I have almost exactly what she has so why is mine so much higher? Well, after comparing my moms, and our electric bill I figured it out.

I found a website that helped me work the numbers. I didnt want an exact number, just a very close number and this website matched what I came up with. Link

Also here in Southern California they charge you in Tiers. So the more you use they move you up a tier and you pay more and more.

I couldnt believe how little electricity somethings in the house used compared to others. Did you know that my coffee maker that runs 2 hrs a day (auto shut off) cost more a month to run than my fridge or my freezer that runs 24 hrs, 7 days a week. Heres the approx break down so you can see how things add up. These are approx. but their close. Theres a few items not listed like the oven digital clock and plugging in the cellphones to charge.

_My house_____
55" big screen tv $15.73 (15 hrs daily)
Coffee maker $7.28 (2 hrs daily auto shutoff)
Laptop $2.17 (12 hrs daily)
Hubbys pc $14.56 (24/7)
My pc $7.28 (12 hrs)
Twins bedroom tv $0.60 (1hr daily)
Twins bedroom tv $4.03 (8 hrs daily)
Dryer $13.78 (4 days month 4 hrs each day)
Washer $2.24 (4 days month 4 hrs each day)
Fridge $5.46 (24/7)
Freezer $5.46 (24/7)
DVR $2.86 (24/7)
Lightbulbs (11)$3.96 (energy savers 5 hrs daily)
Microwave $2.86 (30 min daily)
Dishwasher $9.36 (20 days mo. 1hr each day)
PS2 $.85 (8 hrs daily)
Wii $.25 (2 hrs daily)
Fax/copier $5.40 (24/7)
Electric blanket $4.03 (10 hrs daily, auto shutoff)
Total $101.34 not including taxes and fees

It amazes me how things add up. Now that I know what is using the most Ive decided to cut down on the use of those appliances to see if I can save.Less tv, Less dishwasher, less dryer, hubbys pc will be turned off unless in use, and so will mine when were not doing school. And that COFFEE MAKER, Im setting the timer for 1 hrs and I'll manually turn it off. Their reading our meter in 2 weeks so I might not post the next bill but I'll post the following bill since we'll be starting this money saving goal starting today. OH and yes I'll still be turning off those surgers :)

If you have a money saving tip, please post it. I would love to hear them. :)

Happy Easter Everyone :)

ahhh pottery barn does it again :)

Cutest Idea for Easter for your Kids!!!!!!!!!!!

The Easter Bunny was HERE???

I usually dont get too excited over holiday decorating but this one is just the cutest idea Ive heard in a long time.

Not only is it super cute but its a tradition that Kaye remembers from Childhood. I love that. This is what makes those lasting childhood memories. Head on over to Kayes blog to check out the instructions!

Its just too cute!!!!!!

Meet Elmo !

Heres some photos of my sweet duck Elmo. Shes been living in our laundry room in a large dog crate for several days now. She was attacked by some wild animal and her left leg was hurt. Shes usually pure white and fluffy but now the poor thing looks like she went to war. I gave her a bath to get most of the dirt off but her face still needs alittle work. Shes very animated and really cracks us up. Or maybe that should be "Quacks us up"!! hee I wanted to practice using the new camera so I took her outside and snapped these photos :)

Tagged ... alittle bit about me

I have been tagged by the Jane over at one of my favorite blogs called Workthatwardrobe.

The guidelines are as follows:1. Respond and rework. Answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your own invention; add a question of your own.

2. Tag several un-tagged people.

What is your current obsession? Hum.. blogging and playing with my new fancy dancy camera. (Big thanks to Kim over at Mimi Charmante for helping me)


Good fika place? (That would be coffee to us non-Swedes) Starbucks of course!


Do you nap a lot? Hardly ever. Only when Im sick.


Who was the last person you hugged? My hubby


What’s for dinner? Beef Barley Soup with garlic bread (made with my dads recipe)

If you could be any rock/pop icon for a day who would it be and why? (Janes question) I can only think of a actor. I like music just not into the rockstars so I have no idea. So since Im a hippy at heart I would be Goldie Hawn. I love her kick back, let things roll off her back, easy going attitude.


If you could go anywhere in the world for a fully paid for vacation where would you go? (my question) Before I die I want to go to England, Scotland and Ireland. My hubby is irish/scottish and his gggrandfather (Might need more greats added) was a mason and built castles. I would love to find some of those. Another goal is to find the spookiest, grandest old castle and stay in it. My mothernlaw and I want to do some research for our ancestry work we've been workin on so that would be fun to do. I know I have a family member that owns a pub somewhere in London or right outside of London so that would be fun to find him.

What are you listening to right now? My hubby talking to a customer on the phone.


What is your favourite weather? WARM!!! Im always cold, my bones feel cold all the time so warm weather is my favorite. Not hot, just warm. Even though my favorite time of the year is Fall.


What’s on your bedside table? Lamp, plant, my bible, cell phone, favorite lotion, Stephanie plum series (book 14) by Janet Evanovich. Totally hiliarious series.


Say something to the person/s who tagged you. I love reading your blog. I just love seeing how your putting your outfits together and how you work them and reuse items of clothing to get a totally different look. Ive learned so much. Ive found my favorite jeans because of your blog (thank you ). I also feel a connection since since most of my mothers side of the family is from England so seeing the scenery is fun for me.



If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be? Hum... this one is hard. I live where its dry, brown and theres a ton of dirt so I want to live where its GREEN. Where grass grows on its own without a million dollar water bill every month to keep it alive. hee Anywhere its green!

Favourite vacation spot? Sequoia National Park where you find those huge huge huge redwood trees. They are so grand they take your breathe away.


Name the things you can’t live without. My family and my computer.



What would you like to have in your hands right now? Enough money to pay off my house.




What is your favourite tea flavour? Hum.. I really dont drink tea cause I like coffee better but when I do I like Peach flavored.


What would you like to get rid of? All the junk in the garage. Ive cleaned that darn garage 6 times now in the 2 years we've lived here and it keeps getting cluttered again. LOL


If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Somewhere green and warm! Probably Hawaii. My favorite island is the big island and I like the town Kona. I got pregnant in Hawaii so watch out for the black sand and jelly fish.!!! Im warning you from experience! hee


What do you miss? (This is Belette Rouge's question) Warm weather and my grandfather. I was very close to him and I miss his humor.


What are you reading right now? Havent read in weeks since Ive been so busy. Stepheanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich "Fearless Fourteen".


What do you fear the most? (Andrea’s question) Losing my family



What designer piece of clothing would you most like to own (new or vintage)? LOL Im fashion challanged so I have no idea! Im not really into designer clothing. Im a Gap, Old Navy, Jeffery Beane kind of gal.




Admit one thing you feel awful about. Once you have written it down, you are no longer allowed to feel bad. (Mervat's question) That I dont always spend time playing video games with the twins. They always ask me but I really dont like playing video games so I tell them later. Well, sometimes later never happens. I think today I'll spend alittle time playing with them :)



Heres the people I tagged:

Our Suburban Cottage

My kids Momma

Blessed Frugalness times two with twins

Kayes Kreative Korner

Mabel + Lola

Terries lil piece of Serenity

Mimi Charmante

Thoughts from an Evil Overlord

Mom of one

Ducks in a Row



PS: If anything doesnt make sense Im blaming it on the cold medicine. LOL

New Challange

Ive decided to join a weightloss challange! GULP.

I do not have an addictive personality so for me to stay on track is sometimes hard. I go gungho for a week or so then it peters off to something else that has my attention... something like decorating.... or food.... or couponing..... or decorating.....or organizing...... or weightloss? Weightloss??... what weightloss????

So heres the deal, Ive joined Everyday mom of one. Hopefully I can stay on track and I can lose alittle weight that Ive gained. If you want to join us just click on her link and head over to see the details. Its very simply and easy. Nothing hard or confusing. Which is perfect for lil' ole me!

Let me know if you join us on this journey :)






Start Date: Monday April 6th

Current Weight =158 (fully clothed, and just ate breakfast)



1st Goal = 153



Date to Reach 1st Goal = April 20th





Goal for this week = Walk 10,000 steps each day with pedometer. whether its steps from walking, riding exercise bike or whatever as long as it reads 10,000 for that day.

Drink min. two water bottles daily. I really dont like water. I hardly ever drink it. But when I do drink water I lose weight. So 2 water bottles daily min. is a great feat for me. :)


My mom gave me her ab lounger so I'll be doing 80 crunches daily also.





I LOVE this pedometer. Works great. Bought it from Costco online awhile ago. I just dug it out and its battery is dead so I'll be buying one today.






My super duper fancy camera should be delievered today. OHHHH, I hope so, so I'll be taking pictures. I might even take a picture of myself. Gulp again. I really dont like my picture taken but it might be a good incentive to stay on track :)

Ive been sitting here searching blogs and websites looking for the perfect blog background. Im still feeling alittle sick. So between coughing and blog searches I got to laughing at myself.

I cant leave well enough alone. I go to others websites and get ideas then the computer geek in me starts thinking, "I could do this", "I could do that"! UGH I serously need to go to a "Learn to stop changing your blog background every other day AA meeting".

Meeting would go like this....'

Councelor: Ellie, you really should be happy with what background you have at this moment.

Me: I am but have you seen all the totally cute backgrounds out there?

Councelor: yes, but you need to at least live with your new background for a few days to see if its what you really want.

Me: Are you kidding me? I might miss a new background or find something Way better. Gotta go look now!

Councelor: I think your hopeless.

Me: (nodding in agreement) I think your right.



Im blaming this on the cold medicine. Its making me search new background! Thats my story and Im sticking to it!


A big thank you to my good friend Linda who was very sweet to offer to pick up pig food for me so I wouldnt have to drive anyway today :)

Im tired of being Sick!

I havent posted lastely because I have just felt icky. I got a really bad cold and now Im coughing like crazy. All that nasty stuff is in my chest and I feel so tired. Im on the upwards hill through. Im feeling alot better today. Twins arent too happy since that means no more slacking on homeschool.





On an upnote Im getting a new camera! Im so excited I get goosebumps when ever I think about it. Well, technically its for the business. We need pictures for my hubbies website and our old digital camera is dying a slow death. He walked over to my desk the other day with money in his hand that we got unexpectedly and said "Go order that camera you've been wanting". YIPPIE! So I emailed Kim over at Mimi Charmante asking for advice since I know she loves cameras and I love her pictures she posted. She was kind enough to call me with all the information. Between my coughing and hacking I got so much information and I felt that I knew what camera I wanted. So off to Costcos website to buy one. Now Im waiting. .......... I feel like a little kid at Christmas..... waiting.... waiting.... is it here yet?..... wait..... I know I just ordered yesterday but is it here yet???.....



Tic toc.....



Tic toc.....



Hum... maybe if I move the hands on the clock time will go faster??

Disneyland Birthday Trip

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E !!!

Yesterday was the Twins 12th Birthday. I cant believe their 12!!! We got to disneyland around 9:30 and first thing we did was head to over to Town Hall to get their money and their birthday buttons. They also gave me 9 buttons for everyone in our party to wear that said "We are celebrating a birthday"!. If your wearing a 'Happy Birthday button" with your name on it the workers at disneyland will say "Happy Birthday to you"! So all day the Twins heard "Happy Birthday", Or "Hey, are you guys twins?" as their looking back and forth between the two. That always makes me laugh. I asked Mikey at the end of the day after another worker said loudly "Happy Birthday" , are you tired of that now, and he said "No, I think its cool"!

When we first got to the park we headed to City Hall and got their Gift Cards. If you go to disneyland on your birthday you get in free or if you already have season tickets you get to chose I think 3 different choices of what you want. Cant remember what they were becauset he twins wanted the gift card. They each got a gift card loaded with $69 to spend in the park!!! They were so excited.

Our family also has season tickets so both sets of grandparents, my husbands youngest sister Lori and her family joined us. I took some picture with my cell phone but because Im sick and on meds. (this is my excuse on top of Im blonde) I forgot the camera at home and I forgot to save each picture after taking them (Im not used to taking pics. with my cellphone) so I have NO pictures! Whhaaaa. Im hoping Lori knows how to send pictures from her Cellphone to me so I'll have some pictures to post.

What the twins bought with their money. Theres a Star Wars store right at the exit of Space Mountain so they each made their own Light Saber. How cool is that!!!! They got to pick the colors, the pieces to make it with and whether to have a single or double saber. Then after riding the Tower of Terror (we got papa on this one) and after waiting 75 MINUTES IN LINE theres a store at the exit of that ride too and they each bought a T-shirt that says "I survived the Tower of Terror". They have been wanting that shirt for awhile so I was excited for them.

We had ice cream towards the end of the night. I brought candles and matches and we stick the candles in their ice cream and sang "Happy Birthday".

What a fun and exciting day!!

Now this sick mama is going back to bed. Im tired, sick and exhausted but so happy the twins had such an awesome and fun birthday spent with their family. :)

Fun Craft Project

I was surfing the internet looking for idea for one of the twins rooms and I found a great blog called Design Dazzle. She has a collection of great pictures of kids rooms with some great ideas!

She just posted a fun craft made out of magazine pages (Design Dazzle). This really intrigued me since I have magazines galore! Im thinking I might try this. Might be fun for a craft for the twins and I do to together :)

Not Me Mondays

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.



It wasent me who kept walking by the sink full of dirty dishes all day today, trying to wiggling her nose like Samatha, hoping that the dishes would magically wash themselves and put themselves away. Their still there. Maybe my nose is broke.

It wasent me who ate some left over birthday cake & ate a hand full of sugar candies for breakfast instead of riding the exercise. I would never do that! Nope, no siree! It wasent me!

It wasent me who secretly didnt want the twins to stop showing me how to play their new wii game Mario cart so we didnt have to finish Homeschool. Seriously, what mother would do that!

It wasent me who took a very long hot shower tonight just to keep from cleaning and straightening up the kitchen and washing those dishes that for some reason arent washed and dried yet. Darn nose!

I did however make my sweet sick boys their favorite soup for dinner :) Yeap, that I did do !

SprAy PainTing CHallenGe

Yippie!! This is one challange I can do. I love to spray paint. Easy Peazy! My friend Sarah over at Thrifty decor chick is having a spray painting challange. Shes spray painting her treasures and wants us to join in and show her our projects. Head on over to her blog, sign up on Mr Linky so others can connect to your blog and see what wonderful projects your creating :) I cant wait to see them too!

Twins Birthday

I really need a new digital camera. If anyone moves just a little bit they appear blurred in the photo. But then again, like I always say, maybe its the photographer! LOL

New Giveaway

Marva over @ Blessed Frugalness Times Two With Twins is having a Giveaway!

The Giveaway
I am looking for your BEST money saving/frugal minded tip. Leave me a comment for a chance to win the prize. Link me to your blog for another chance as well. Anyone that you send over, needs to leave your name or blog name in their comment for you to get more chances to win.This contest is open from now through next Monday the 23rd. Now for the goods. You will win 7 items. There is a book, a journal, something crocheted (bought from Gooseberry Patch), among others. It will be kept under wraps until the winner is announced.


So head on over to Marvas site and leave a great saving tip. OH and dont forget to mention that you heard it from little ole me :D

Finally fixed the blog!

Okay, I confess, as a computer geek I cant leave well enough alone and I started messing with the blog and I wiped it out. I love working with HTML code and messing around with things and trying new things and before I knew it. BAM! GONE! Sigh! But some how, thank goodness, some of the widgets are back and intacted! YIPPIE! So I'll leave it alone for awhile. At least for a week or so. Theres just too many fun things for this computer junky to mess with or maybe mess up.

The twins are turning 12 next week. Ahhhhh, time is flying! We're having a small party with some of their buddies tomorrow then we'll celebrate it with family @ Disneyland next week on their actual Birthday.


Have a great weekend everyone! I know we will.

This Weeks Coupon Deals

Went shopping today and heres how I did ......

First stop Walgreens

Total without sales/coupons $57.52

I paid $27.13

Used remaining balance on rechargable Walgreens gc $14.30

Paid OOP $12.83

Getting $10 rebate back from rechargable battery unit and extra batteries (middle of pic) for the twins Wii controllers so everything cost $2.83!! SCORE!

Walgreens

Second stop CVS

Total without sales/coupons $63.16

I paid $13.76 OOP

Minus the listerine, floss, and toothbrush. I accidently put these in the cvs loot. I got those in the above photo from Walgreens. Im tired. I gotta go find my ginormous hershey bar. That will help me wake up :) Big grin!

CVS

Third stop Riteaid

Total without coupons/sales $31.94

I spent $16.86

Getting back $13.99

So basically everything cost me $2.87 :)

Riteaid

4th stop Staples

Total without coupons/sale $70.46

I paid OOP $50.59

Getting $32.95 back in rebates

So everything cost $17.64 Score!

Staples

Have a great week everyone :)

Need your help

The twins are turning 12 at the end of the month!

We're going to disneyland with the family on their birthday so they can get the gift card Disneyland gives out to each season ticket holder on their birthday! Im thinking they will get around $60 each. Yippie!

A week before Im thinking we'll have a sleep over. The twins can invite several friends. I would love your suggestions on what to do. My friend Debbie suggested I have a movie night and just let the kids play. Which sounds awesome to me.

If you have any fun ideas that we can do I would appreciate your help. I want to keep it simple.

Thanks everyone :)

Good Morning

Sorry I havent posted in awhile. Been busy helping hubby get his business going.

Ive been working on exercising more. Trying to lose alittle weight that Ive gained over the winter.

Been riding my exercise bike several times a day. It adds up to about an hour a day. 80 crunches a day on the old ab lounger. Watching what I eat and trying to stay around 1200 calories a day. And Im drinking water which I never do.

Hey, look at this beauty.. I could actually get two things done at once if I owned this! Lose weight and mow the grass. That is if I had grass. Genious!

Picture from Flikr.

Coupon Deals Today

Went coupon shopping with my friend Linda and heres how I did!

First stop Walgreens:

Total $114.37

After coupons & sale prices $35.49

Put it all on my rebate rechargeable Walgreens Giftcard so ZERO out of pocket!

Second stop CVS. Did 6 seperate transactions . Total of those came to:

Total $109.97

After coupons & Sale prices $19.83

Plus I have a $5 ecb to use next Monday when we go :)

Im thinking I need to invest in a new digital camera. Seems like my pictures keep getting worse. Or maybe its the photographer! LOLOL

Have a great week everyone :)

Dreaded Taxes!!!

Finally, its OVER! The dreaded Tax appointment. Not my favorite time of the year. Of course it wouldnt have been so bad if I had kept the books up to date like Im suppose to, and if I had been watching the calendar and realized that I had a tax appointment like in 2 days!!

I only had 6 hours of sleep in two days but I gotter done!

We went to our appt. and its over with till next year. Thank goodness!

Clothes shopping! Gulp

Okay, I hardly ever buy myself something new to wear. I always feel that I shouldnt and I end up buying the twins or my DH clothes instead. Since Ive gained weight Ive havent wanted to buy anything either for that very reason. :( But lately Ive felt so lumpy and dumpy. I need a change. So Im getting ready to cut my hair, maybe cut some bangs, and change my wardrobe alittle.

I just found a new blog that I just love. Its Workthatwardrobe. Jane has made a challange of not buying any new clothes for a YEAR and only using what she has. Shes put some cute outfits together. Ive gotton some great ideas so far.

Well, today I bought my first pair jeans in a long time. I usually get them from a yard sale or hand me downs. I got the idea from Janes blog. Their Gap Curvy jeans ( and man do I have Curves!!) and after researching the web I found that soooo many people say these are the greatest jeans. So for two days Ive been trying to find a great deal on Ebay. These jeans are $70 new at Gap!!! YIKES. but I found them on ebay for $32.50 shipped. Hopefully they fit. I got a size 10, low rise, flared legs, Rhinestone on the back pockets (SCORE! I love rhinestones) and their dark wash to make me look thinner! Yippie. This picture is probably a size zero because they look so thin in the legs compared to all the others ones Ive seen. LOL

Oh and shes got some Mary Janes from Clarks that I WANT!!!!!!!! (Lissa if you read this go check them out!) They are sparkly! Too die for!

Anyway, Im on a mission to find some nice tops and some new tennis to go with my new jeans. Ive always wanted Converse tennis and when I saw Janes I knew I had to get some. So maybe thats my new ebay hunt.

LaSt Monthly Spending Challange Post.

This will be my last post on the spending challange. Im proud of myself for keeping track for this long. Thanks Marva for the encouragement to keep going. I appreciate it.

Okay, this is going to be alittle confusing. I put several bills on CC that reward me for doing that. It also makes it much easy since I dont have to worry about late fees and I can pay one bill (the Creditcard) instead of 5 or 6 seperate ones. So I wont actually spend money out of pocket for these charges till next month so Im not going to count them. So here is run down for the Actual out of pocket spending for the month of Feb. So heres goes ... (totals are rounded)

House $1790.00 (includes equityline)

CC $400.00 (health insurance and a little more to help pay it down)

Discover card $586.00 (Only gasloine and food are on this card to keep track)

Phone $ 21.00

Alarm Co. $ 60.00

American Express $ 810.00 (Several bills on this one like Internet service, Directv, Cell phones, propane, horse feed, dog food etc)

Magazine $10.00 ( I LOVE THIS MAGAINZE!!! Simple & Delicious magazine sub. They send me a 1/2 off deal and I couldnt resist. YIppie!)

Tithe $ 45.00

vet supply 10.00 (rat and gecko food)

Elec $91

vet supply $2

Disneyland $40

Grand total $3865

$250 Target GC Giveaway from Barking Mad

Over at my friend Elizabeths blog she posted a contest that is going on right now hosted by Barking Mads blog. Their having a giveaway for a $250 Target Giftcard. Man could I use that right now !! Holy smokes! The twins birthday is coming up!! OHHH Pick me Auds, Pick me!! (hand raised waving in the air!!!)






All you have to do is post the button she has on her site and also tell her your favorite blog you've written. Show her your most proud and favorite blog. I havent been posting too long but I have one that stands out to me.

My favorite blog post would be about my Crockpot and the recipes I shared. I know not very glamorous but hey, anything that keeps me sain and helps me spend more time either with the family or doing fun stuff is worth posting :) Everyone should have a crockpot. Im thinking maybe it should be a law.

My entry is: Do you Love Your Crockpot??

Free Personal signatures - cool!

Yippie, it only took me over an hour. I wanted a personal signature on my posts but just couldnt figure it out. I went surfing the web and found this link. Thought I would share incase you all want to fancy up your blog posts too :) OH, and best of all its FREE !

Click here

The dreaded Spending Accountablity Challange

LOL Okay its not too dreadful but Im really tired of keeping track.

But I tell you, I cant remember from a week ago what I spent so it goes to show you, writing it down and seeing it on paper really does help!

Okay, heres the run down.

Starting total $1151.84

Feb 17 None

Feb 18 None

Feb 19 $19.31 (We drove almost an hour to a field trip so I rewarded the twins with lunch)

$ 150.84 Cell phone bill

Feb 20 $86.09 DH going on a huntin trip.

$62.00 Gasoline

Feb 21 $73.27 Target food

Feb 22 None (yippie)

Feb 23 $24.42 (but getting $26.98 back in rebates SCORE!)

New spending Total for month $1567.77

Coupon DEALS!!

Please forgive the squishy website layout. Im still working on it. :)

I went coupon shopping today!! I love coupon shopping. Its a total game to me and of course I get to spend it with my good friend Linda who I have nicknamed Eagle eyes because the woman can see deals from a mile away. You go girl!

We first went to Walgreens and here is my Loot!

Spend almost nothing out of pocket (OOP) since I used my rechargeable Walgreens REBATE card (you get 10% more back if you do this method instead a rebate checked mailed to you)

Theres 3 bags of gummy bears (hard to see) just waiting for me to open them. Now im drooling! Ahhh, they must wait for disneyland. But the minute I hit the gates watch out! Hey, look at my cute Hershey shirt that Eagle eyes found for me :) Score!

Original Total $68.00

My total with coupons $25.05 (used giftcard)

Had to spent $0.32 cents out of pocket. IM such a big spender :) LOL

And I'll be Getting back $14.00 back in rebates :)

Second store was CVS. gotta love CVS!

Did 3 transactions. This is the combined totals:

Original Total $57.42

I paid out of pocket $11.83

Got some things for Valentines next year :)

Third Store was Riteaid

Original total $37.30

I paid oop $12.27

Getting back $12.98

Made $0.71

SCORE!

This includes another gift for someone :)

Do you see it?

Might not make it though.

Might come up missing.

It wasent me I swear! (As choclote is smeared all over me face)

Fourth and last stop with COSTCO!!

Used my rebate check.

Gotta love free food!!

Got $211 worth of food and stockup items and I have enough left to pay my costco membership $100, money for the twins birthday and alittle left over for Disneyland. We have 2 trips planned within a month :)

So all together we had a pretty good day!

How I made the sign.

Rebecca,

Theres probably alot easier way to make it but this is how I did it.

I bought the wood from Lowes. My sign is smaller than the Ethan Allen sign. I made it
33" x 27 1/2". I used 5 1/2 x 1" pieces of wood. I used 5 of them cut to 33". Because I didnt want to spend the money on a biscuit joiner machine thingy and I didnt want to jimyrig something, the guy at Lowes suggested just getting some smaller boards and nailing them down the back of the art work. So theres (2) approx 1" x 3" boards running down the back and the 5 boards are nailed onto those boards. (so 10 nails will be needed) I like this because the art looks like its standing off the wall. Very cool. You can also use wood glue if you want to make it more secure but Im too impatient so I didnt use it.

1. Cut the wood to the desired lengths, sand the wood alittle.
2. Paint the wood black (I already had black matte spray paint so I used that)
3. After they have dried, sand the wood alittle, especially around the edges to make it look worn.
4. Nail the pieces together
5.Draw the roundish circle in the center
5.Once you have the circle where you want it, draw your letters and numbers
6. Paint the circle and your numbers. I just used my acrylic art paint. I did two layer. Painted then let it dry then did another
7. I printed the Ethan Allen picture from online, scanned it, and used my photo editor to blow it up as big as I could get it. You probably could take it to an office store and have them blow it up even more but I was on a budget so I did it myself
8. After the paint is dry I used graphite/copier paper to trace on the horse
9. Paint the horse black, two coats also
10. After paint is dry, I used a power sander to sand the top and edges to give it an aged look.
11. I nailed some picture hangers on the back. Ta Da!

If you need me to explain alittle more on certain steps let me know. I'll be happy to explain them.

My new Sign

As you all know money is tight right now. While searching blogs I saw on MySweetSavannahs blog that she had made wall art copied from Ethan Allen. The original is $329. yikes. I thought maybe I can do this too. So this is the result. Of course its not even close to Melanies version. Shes a pro. But Im happy with the results even though my letters are too fat, part of the letters are too close together and the horse is too small. Its unique and I like it. LOL Oh and I spent $12 to make it :)

What makes your house special to you?

About a year or so ago I posted my house on HGTV rate my space and I had people asking me to please post more pictures of my home. I was too embarrassed at the time because I honestly dont feel Im all that great at decorating. A designer I am NOT. There are sooo many more lovely houses that are just so amazing and stunning. My house is alot different than most houses I see, at least I think so, and Ive noticed most people like the lighter colors of white, pink and blues. I on the other hand love dark browns, beige, golds, burgandy, leopard print and African masks . If you put me in an old Victorian home, in the library, walls covered with bookshelves floor to ceiling, tons of wood work everywhere, leather chairs, smell of pipe smoke and antiques everywhere I would never leave that room.

It got me thinking.. What in my house makes it special to ME. . So I thought I would share with you some things that I find are special.

I would love to hear from you and see pictures of your homes too. What makes it special to you. What makes you smile? What are the things in your home that are TOTALLY YOU?


Mine are....



This HUGE mirror was a Mothers Day gift from my sweet DH Its hanging in the dining room.

The leopard rug that greets you when you walk in our front door.

An African mask brought back from Africa by one of our customers.

Another African mask from a different customer. We have the best customers Im telling you !!!

The wall clock my DH bought for me when we moved in the house. He has name it our "Jack the Ripper clock" since it looks like something that would be on a London street.

Heres our kitchen fan. While the "fans" are spining the whole unit also rotates.


The other three fans in our house have leaves for blades. Their all different. Here the one in our family room


I collect old suitcases and I use them in my decorating. I find them mostly at yard sales for $1 each. When I look at them I wonder where they have traveled to.







More suitecases. My DH stuck his great grandfathers walking cane up there so thats what your seeing crossing the front of one of them.









More african masks. The wall looks white in the picture. How funny. Its actually all the same beige color.

I LOVE black and white photography. Heres one of the pairs of large pictures I have hanging in the family room. I bought the frames and pictures at World Market.

More african masks that hang over the one of many archways we have in the house. Found the masks at a yard sale for $1 ea and the picture in the background that says Africa I bought at another yard sale for $5