Riley Paige

Today was the baby shower for the lovely Riley Paige and her mom. I've not actually met Riley yet, since she seems to still be incubating...but I'm certain she's wonderful.






I hooked Miss Riley Paige up with some sweet dresses. The white one is her first fancy party dress, the only one she's received so far.

It will not be her last. When I saw she was severely lacking in the fancy dress department I made a vow to buy her more.

In addition to the fancy party dress, and the other three outfits I bought Miss Riley a stack of books. Reading is vital to one's future. I'm hoping this kid gets into the habit early with the literary stylings of 'If You Give a Moose a Muffin', 'Winnie the Pooh', Dr. Seuss and an anthology of nursery rhymes.

Riley Paige is destined to be one smart chick.

Random Musings

I went in Babies R Us for the first time in years last night. And I instantly realized why I will not be having children for several years now...I've got terribly expensive taste. I mean I've known this about myself for sometime now (for all of my saving money pep talks), but it was bad. I love the $500 Maclaren and Peg Perego strollers. The $60 hotslings. The Dr. Brown bottles. The Britax carseats. The $450 cribs. The boppy pillows and the bumbo chairs. I loved it all.

It was bad.

The friend I'm buying this stuff for has known me for years. She's very relaxed, doesn't need much of anything, doesn't get into trends and things. And she says I'm very high maintenance.

She might be right.

So let it be said, I can't afford to procreate. I'm not entirely sure I can afford to attend this baby shower to be honest.

So that's what I'm doing this weekend, a little more shopping, going to the shower. And hopefully taking a nap. I'm not a huge sleeper, but this was such a busy week in terms of classes that I feel like I deserve a few hours of rest.

Then maybe I'll make the cupcakes on the cover of this:



Which was waiting for me in the mailbox this morning. Mmm...I love the smell of FREE in the morning. Smells like money! ha

And I'll continue to upload pictures like this one:



I don't know where I found this goober at, but how do you like his BLUE STEEL? I think he's watched Zoolander a few too many times recently.

P.S. Chihuahua,



I want another one.

I'm like the Mama Duggar of the dog world.

We're All Girls Around Here, Right?

There are some things you can never have too much of in my book. These things include toothpaste (4 people go through an insane amount of it in my house) and feminine products. I keep a drawer full of toothpaste in the bathroom, and a basket full of tampons, pads and pantiliners under each bathroom sink. Normally fully stocked.

So imagine my shock tonight after going to both baskets and finding them EMPTY. Seriously?! How did I let this happen?

So I pulled up CouponMom.com (free to register there, provides a coupon to sales matchup for Kroger, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Target and Walmart) and matched up the Walgreens deals with my coupons to remedy this emergency situation.



Carefree pantiliners (40-60 ct) and Stayfree pads (16-24 ct) were on sale for $2 a package.

Stayfree, 2 packages= $4.00-$2.00 off of 2 coupon= $1.00 per package
Carefree, 2 packages= $4.00-$1.00 off of 2 coupon= $1.50 per package
Colgate 4.6oz toothpaste= .99-.75 off coupon= .24 cents
grand total after tax= $5.78
total savings after sales and coupons= $11.31

I've said it before: I love saving money. But I also love knowing I'm walking away with much more of a stockpile for less money.

Free Nail Polish

Get 2 Free OPI nail polishes when you sign up here: http://www.teenfreeway.com/opi_nail/index.htm

I went with hot pink, a summer mainstay in my book, and yellow...just to be bold.

All I've Got Left

Go read THIS to find the links to get a FREE 2 year subscription to Parents Magazine, one year of Women's Day or Martha Stewart (third offer for anyone who has missed it so far.) Given the number of Mommy blogs I seem to be reading as of late ;) , the Parents Magazine seems timely.

While I'm on the subject, you Moms and potential Moms should also go read THIS POST on having a baby without breaking the bank. It's never too early to start stockpiling and learning how to play the CVS deals could save you hundreds of dollars on diapers and wipes and other baby needs each year.

Speaking for my own situation, I've gotten the weekly grocery budget for my family of four down to about $75. This weekend I spent $37 at Kroger, coming home with deals like 4-4 packs of Cottonelle for FREE, Cheereos for 67 cents per box, and Colgate toothbrushes for 24 cents each. I just find that super exciting! haha

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I originally listed the ways in which my life currently sucks here. But I'll spare everyone the details.

But if you're the praying sort, please throw one out there for me. That I find some clarity and that maybe soon the burden is lifted. My shoulders are feeling awfully heavy.

The Non Update

Gosh, been a while, huh?

I feel like I begin an insane number of blog entries that way, no?

Things on my mind:

• exercising more
• going to the beach (on a budget!)
• starting a new blog about going to the beach on a budget!
• buying new clothes (I haven't, but I seriously NEED to)
• eating a buddy boy from Frisch's (see bullet point #1)
• highlighting my hair, am long overdue
• restocking the kitchen
• making banana bread and muffins from the bananas I grabbed on clearance Monday. (78 cents for 2 huge bunches!!)
• rocking out my history paper yesterday in workshop. Nice to be reminded that I can occasionally write things that make sense.

I found this quote from Secretary Clinton this morning:

"How does anybody know about love? If you can describe it, you may not fully be experiencing it. My husband is my best friend. We have an endless conversation [and] we never get bored. I’ve loved and been loved. And all the rest is background music."

— Secretary Clinton mused when a student at Seoul’s Ewha University asked her how she knew that she loved Bill Clinton

I thought that was the sweetest thing. Everybody knows they've not had the perfect marriage, but the fact that they stuck it out through the problems and she can...all these years later...still talk that way about her husband? So cool.

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Expect another update from me in a week or so...because I really don't have many interesting things to wax poetic about lately. Unless you wanted to know what I had for lunch. In which case my answer would be: Cajun Trail Mix....like every single day.

Martha! Re-Do

Free, 1 year subscription to Martha Stewart Living is back again! Snag it before it's gone again!

http://www.rewardsgold.com/mags/ms_living_em/sg_ms_living_pg1.htm

Mom A or Mom B?

My neighbor's kids are outside playing in the pouring rain right now. Weather.com tells me it's 63 degrees outside, they have on shorts and t-shirts. The other day the temps were in the upper 50s and the boys were playing outside with no shirts on.

I'm kind of amazed by it, if you can't tell. This stuff would have NEVER happened in my house growing up. If you wanted to play in the rain in 60 degree weather you'd better have a jacket on, and rain boots, and an umbrella. Otherwise you'd end up sick. If Jon wanted to run around shirtless, it better be in the 80s...at least.

When the ice was still caked thickly to every tree branch around the boys next door were allowed to go explore the woods by our homes. Jon was told to stay out. Limbs were cracking and popping and audibly falling to the ground, so why take the risk of getting yourself knocked out? Am I right?

I guess what I'm getting at here is that I'm constantly in awe of how different the parenting styles are of people. I wonder what kind of parent I'll be when faced with the decision. Will I be the jacket and umbrella Mom? Or the who gives a crap, run around naked in the freezing cold if you want Mom?

Truthfully I think I have an inkling as to which will probably prevail. You see, my parents instilled this innate sense in me that A-behavior begets B-result. And I wouldn't want my babies to end up with hypothermia.

But in the meantime I'll just sit here, hoping that Mom B over there has those boys some hot chocolate ready. ;)

(Disclaimer: I'm not saying either way of parenting is right or wrong, just musing on my upbringing versus that other style.)

Best of...

I think it's easy to forget that many of my regular blog readers don't actually follow along with what is going on over at Tumblr, where I dump most of my favorite photos, links and quotes (among many other things) as of late. So forgive me. I'm going to try to pull together a Best Of kinda post here, just for you guys.

Another Right Wing Conspiracy in Washington?

Ann Coulter Under Investigation for Voter Fraud

"Back then, stimulus and package had a whole different meaning."
-Rahm Emanuel, former Clinton aide and current White House Chief of Staff, on the Clinton Era

"And really, if you’re at a college party and you see Michael Phelps smoking out of a bong and you think “man I should take a picture of this and sell it to magazines” rather than “man I’m partying with Michael Phelps” then you need to take a good hard look at yourself in the mirror, because really, you’re a dick.”
- Seth Meyers, during the “Really?” segment on SNL's Weekend Update

"An estimated 90,000 sex offenders have been identified and removed from MySpace this week. So to those sex offenders I say, ‘Welcome to Facebook’!"
- Seth Meyers, SNL, Weekend Update

50 Amazingly Helpful Time-Tested Tips for the Kitchen



"It’s like our President only has two speeds - John Kennedy or John Kerry!"

--Jon Stewart, the Daily Show.

This is a Norman Rockwell painting of Ruby Bridges, who had to be escorted to school by federal marshals. “On November 14, 1960, 48 years ago, Ruby Bridges faced hostile crowds as the first black child to attend a previously all-white New Orleans school. She was 6 years old and had only been told by her mother that she was going to be attending a new school that day and ‘had better behave.’ Little did she know that she would be bombarded with jeers and even death threats, and that she would end up being the sole child in her first grade class after other children were kept home by their parents.”


…Forty-eight years later — January 5, 2009 — here is a picture of Sasha Obama, a little 7 year old Black girl, being escorted to school by her mother, First Lady-elect Michelle Obama, and the Secret Service because Sasha’s daddy is now President-elect of the United States, Barack Obama.

If Loving Rahm is Wrong....

When I was 10, we went to England. My mother was shooting a miniseries there… My dad took me to Paris for the weekend. We had the most amazing time. On the plane back to London, he asked me, ‘Do you know why I took you to Paris, only you and me?’ And I said, ‘Why?’ And he said, ‘Because I wanted you to see Paris for the first time with a man who you know will love you for the rest of your life.

--Gwyneth Paltrow

I know many of you loved this show as much as I did, so if you didn't already know: Dead Like Me: Life After Death

"Our president’s approval rating is somewhere between pictures of baby pandas on the Internet and Free Beer."

-- Rachel Maddow

TripAdvisor's 2009 Top 10 Dirtiest Hotels

"The GOP won’t regulate the market but they will regulate my uterus."
--Ashley Judd

"What if schools got all the money they need, and the military had to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber?"

--Pete Seeger


via Silenced Majority Portal

Joaquin Phoenix

"I met last week with a number of career State Department employees and was surprised when one said she was looking forward to the “Glinda Party” next week. I asked her: if Hillary was Glinda, the Good Witch of the South from the Wizard of Oz, did that make Condoleezza Rice the Wicked Witch of the West? “You’re on to it,” she said."
--State Dept. Staffers Compare Rice to Wicked Witch of the West
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I think that's enough for now. haha

Lessons in Domesticity

This weekend I made homemade dryer sheets.

I also clipped and organized my coupons into a nifty new system that I think is going to work great. It's based off of this idea. After that I took the coupons to the store and cashed them in on some deals. I saved $35 at Kroger and $20 at Walgreens. It felt wonderful. My stockpile of shampoo had officially run out, and my cabinets were dangerously close to lacking any toothpaste. I can now say I haven't paid full price for either of those things in over a year. Nice!

Tonight I did a taco bar for the family and a friend that Jon had over. I made Katie's guacamole, which was great! (Recipe to follow.) I also made homemade taco shells for the first time, I usually get the pre-made junk in the box. But never again, it's so bad to fry up the corn tortillas, but no more than I eat tacos I figure it's an okay treat. So tasty!

The weather as you all know is just fabulous. I did all of my errand running today while wearing flip flops! Mark the calendar: February 8, 2009 and I'm already sock-less. I can only imagine my mood will plummet when it chills back up though.

Finally I leave you with my vacation short list, because I need opinions. I have no idea which beach to go to.

-Hilton Head, South Carolina (or another SC beach, suggestions welcome)
-Outer Banks, North Carolina
-back to the panhandle of Florida
-St. Simons Island, Georgia (or Jekyll Island)
-St. Augustine, Florida
-Orange Beach, Alabama

P.S.

The Guacamole:

2 ripe avocados
the juice from 1 lime
(mash the avocado with the lime juice together before stirring in the rest)
some diced red onion
chopped habanero pepper
2 cloves garlic (feel free to use a teaspoon-ish of that pre-diced stuff you keep in a jar in your fridge)
handful chopped fresh cilantro
pinch of salt

stir it together and then nom nom nom! :)

My note: the nom nom nom part is especially vital when consuming this guac. ;)

She's gone to the dogs

It's been a while since I've talked about the animals around here. Okay, maybe not...I have memory loss problems. What I am certain of is that my animals have been extremely cute today. Extra smooshable, if you will.

Look, first off, I'm not going to pretend this is normal. At all. But when you have cats, and I know this is a good reason why people choose not to have them, this is what happens. They get on shit that you don't want them on. And they do things you don't want them to do. Did you know cats have the 3rd highest IQ of any animal on Earth? Yeah, they do. Which means cats know, and they don't care. So my cat, Emily, is a total terror. Her favorite spot in the world it on top of the kitchen cabinets. She's NEVER affectionate, so don't think about touching her. She likes to bite us or attack our feet when we walk by, and torture the chiweenie because she squeals. Okay...she is the definition of hellion. I can't say enough bad things about this cat.

And if I'd given my Dad, the avid cat hater, this photo ten years ago and told him this was his cat in a basket on his kitchen counter he'd have called me a liar.



But come on, would you tell that face to move? Or to go on a diet? No. You wouldn't. Because she'd kill you in your sleep.

(Yes, that's an iron. My Mom doesn't believe in ironing clothes. That iron is a good 18 years old and is only kept in case of funerals. Or quilting, as was its purpose today.)

This is, of course, Jill. Jill likes to follow my Mom from room to room. She's not big on letting that woman out of her sight. My Mom's been busy today. Jill is exhausted. Can you tell?


Poor thing. My mother should really learn to rest, for the sake of the dog, you know?


I peeled back the covers to reveal Molly sleeping in my bed this evening. It was the cutest thing I'd ever seen.

I dare you to think this isn't cute.

Double dog dare you.

Triple dog dare you.


Couldn't do it, could you? It was the puppy paws wasn't it? I know, gets me every time.