My Car Is As Neurotic As I Am

Yes you read that title correctly, my car is neurotic. My fancy (not so schmancy) car has the neat little feature that tells me the tire pressure in each tire. When you have your spare on the car (as I do right now), the spare does not have the sensor on it. This small detail wreaks havoc on my car's little mind. It goes something like this: turn on car, car tells me "check TMP system"--and has exclamation point (my car does not realize it does not need to yell), the system tells me all the pressures in the tires, except for the spare, which tells me is --. I ignore the warning because I know what's going on. The exclamation point begins to flash because at this point my neurotic car apparently thinks I am driving down the car without a tire on. It's probably saying "hello lady, you're driving with no tire on, this is EXTREMELY dangerous. Please stop and place said tire on me." So I keep driving because contrary to my car's belief, there is a tire on the car and all is ok. About 5 minutes later the exclamation point goes away. I figure at this point my car is saying "fine, you don't want to listen to me? Drive me completely ignoring any safety concerns. Whatever is about to happen is not my fault and I completely wash my hands of this situation. You're on your own. P.S. Oh if we somehow survive this no-tire apocalypse, please clean me." I figure I have completely pissed my car off and it will probably find some way of retaliating against me.

Wedding Planning

AAAHHHHGGGG!!!! Sorry, I needed to get thought out before someone commits me. The closer it gets to the wedding, the more I think wedding planning is something the devil himself came up with. I guess this is what I get for not being that girl who had her wedding planned out since being a teenager.

Walgreens 5/10/11

Today I made my Walgreens trip and made 2 purchases. I have to admit, I am starting to feel more comfortable doing more than one purchase and using my register rewards, coupons, etc.

My first purchase:

• Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner--sale price 2/$7 with $1 RR and I had a $3 coupon.
• Colgate Toothpaste--sale price 2/$6 with $4RR and I had a $1 coupon.
• Reach Floss--sale price .99 and I had a $1 coupon.
• TRESemme Hair Care--sale price 4/$15 with $5 RR.
• End cap sale Walgreen Early Result Pregnancy Test (3 pack)--$3.99
• End cap sale Accuclear Pregnancy Test (2 pack)--$2.99

My total came to $33.49. My total savings was $33.22 and got $10 RR to use on my next purchase.

My second purchase:

• Rimmel Trio Eye Shadow--50% off with $1 coupon.
• Rimmel Mascara--50% off with $2 coupon.
• Rimmel Foundation--50% off with $3 coupon.
• Sunburnt Gel--sale price $3.99, with $3.99 mail in rebate, which makes it FREE!
• 2-2 liter bottles of 7-up--on sale for $1 each.
• 2-2 liter bottles of Canada Dry Ginger Ale--on sale for $1 each.

My total came to $4.13, this total included the $10 RR I received from my other purchase. My total savings came to $32.16 and will get the $3.99 back after I send the rebate in.

Scholastic Parent and Child Magazine Subscription Deal

Head over to Tanga and take advantage of this great deal for a magazine subscription. You can get this subscription for $9.99 plus free shipping for 9 issues. Hurry to grab this deal within the next 5 hours! Click here for the information.

Parent & Child is the parent’s resource for raising an intelligent, well-adjusted and happy child. Published by Scholastic, Parent & Child enhances the learning link between home and school and helps parents understand their children’s emotional, physical, and intellectual growth. Written in everyday language that parents can understand, Parent & Child addresses the needs of busy parents and their desire to play an active role in the development of their children. Parent & Child puts the professional knowledge and advice of experts in child development and education in the hands of everyday parents.

This magazine has 9 issues per subscriptions and you can buy up to a 4 year subscription.

Couponing

So I decided to get back into couponing. I realize I will never be one of those whose purchase would be thousands of dollars and walks out of the store paying maybe $50. Don't get me wrong, I am very impressed by people who can do that; however, I don't ever see that being me. I probably won't go and buy numerous copies of the Sunday paper for the coupon inserts and I won't be paying out money to a coupon clipping service to send me coupons that I would like to use. I'm a simple couponer lol.

So today I did my visit to Walgreens, here are the results:

My first purchase:

• 2 Hawaiian Tropic Sunscreen--on sale for $8.99 and I had a $2 coupon. When you buy $15 worth you got $5 RR.

I had $5 RR from a previous purchase so my total came out to $12.24. My total savings was $11.00.

My second purchase:

• St. Ives Body Wash on sale for $1.99
• Sinful Nail Polish (2 for .99 each) $1.98
• Rimmel Trio Eyeshadow $4.99--$2 coupon
  
• Rimmel Mascara $7.49--$2 coupon
  
• Clorox Wipes (2 for $5)--Walgreen's coupon $2

I used my $5 RR from my first purchase on this purchase and had a $4 RR from a previous purchase,my total came out to $8.95. My total savings was $18.98.

Not bad for a "newbie" at the whole couponing thing. I've been trying to steer away from buying things if I don't have a coupon for or if it isn't on sale, even if I don't need it at the moment (i.e. the body wash, Clorox wipes, nail polish). I am trying to get a supply built up of things we typically use so that if things are tight at one time I don't have to worry about buying them and/or running out if I don't have it in the house lol.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday--Lima Bean Pasta from Meatless Monday
Tuesday--Grilled burgers and fries.
Wednesday--Tilapia with Mango Salsa and Couscous.
Thursday--Corned Beef and Cabbage in the crock pot.
Friday--Vegetable Lasagna.
Saturday--Grill something ;)
Sunday--Philly Cheese Steaks

Review of Tummy Zyme

My daughter has been complaining about her stomach hurting for so long I've lost track. I've tried Mylicon drops, pepto for kids, and just about anything else over the counter that I could give her for her age or that her pedi recommend I try. I got tired of hearing my poor child crying because her stomach hurt so bad with gas to the point where when I would rub it, I would feel the gas bubbles. On an off chance I went to the health food store to see what they would have that is natural and would ease her tummy woes. I decided to try the Tummy Zyme chewables. She began taking them on Friday (and that was only one pill since we were traveling) and then began taking the suggested 3 a day, one with each meal. I have been able to tell a huge difference. No more waking up in the middle of the night with a tummy that was hurting. Sometimes she does really good about taking her "vitamin" as I tell her, other times I have to coax her a little bit but she still takes them. These are great and I would suggest them to anyone trying to comfort their little one's tummy. The suggested age for these is 4-12.

Nature's Plus Animal Parade Tummy Zyme™ Description

• Animal Parade Children's Chewable Tummy Zyme™
• With Active Enzymes, Whole Foods and Probiotics
• Digestive Aid Dietary Supplement
• Vegetarian - Gluten Free
• Natural Tropical Fruit Flavor
• 90 Animals

Animal Parade® Tummy Zyme™ Children’s Chewable is the complete natural digestive enzyme supplement kids love. With a delightful tropical fruit flavor, each fun, animal-shaped chewable tablet contains highly active food enzymes that help digest and liberate proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Powerful, yet gentle to the stomach, these digestive enzymes help to ensure that the wholesome nutrients in foods reach children’s growing tissues, improving health and digestive comfort.

Wordless Wednesday

Menu Plan Monday

Monday--Great Northern White Chili from Meatless Monday

Tuesday--leftovers

Wednesday--Tacos

Thursday--leftovers

Friday-Sunday--will be out of town for my birthday!

In Love With A.....

Vacuum?! Yes, it has happened again. I guess I have some sort of vacuum fetish (hey, don't get any ideas, this isn't that type of blog lol).

My first love was the Dyson Animal. Oh the times we had together. From leaving the awesome vacuum lines in the carpet at one house, to being able to go between area rugs and hardwood floors in the house now in a blink of an eye. All the while never getting clogged up and picking up the dog hair marvelously. Well after about 5 or 6 years, my beloved Dyson is beginning to fade. The motor is giving out for the carpets and personally, I'm not going to use 2 vacuums to vacuum the house, it cheapens the chore altogether. Since I'm a little tight on money or *cough* broke, buying a new vacuum is not an option. So, I ask my mom if she still has her old Rainbow vacuum. The Rainbow is a canister vs. the Dyson being an upright. So I pick up my mom's Rainbow yesterday and despite the dust it had on it (from sitting out in the work garage), it still worked great. I remember my mom using this vacuum the whole time while I was growing up. When I used it yesterday I thought I had figured out why my mom only vacuumed once a week back then. The little Rainbow is a heavy bugger. I was out of breath and could feel my arms burning a little, odd since I vacuum on a daily basis. So I call my mom and tell her my epiphany about her vacuuming habits from back-in-the-day. Her response? "No, I only vacuumed once a week because I wanted too." Oh, so much for that theory. I was in awe at how much stuff the Rainbow vacuumed up. There's something fulfilling when you empty the canister and see what it no longer in your carpets or on your floor anymore. So while I won't be able to afford to buy a new Rainbow, I can have my little tryst with it while it's in my possession.

Friends

I saw this on Open Seven Days a Week. Closed Sundays blog and thought I would share it because it is very true.

We should thank the friends that:

• made promises that they didn't keep
• broke our plans or stood us up because something better came along
• abandoned us every time she got a new boyfriend
• excluded us when planning a girl's spa weekend, or a ladies' night out, or choosing her bridesmaids
• smiled in our face, then stabbed us in the back
• sneaked around behind our back to date our ex
• provided plenty of backhanded compliments, and loved to tell us all the nasty things other people said about us
  
• continually hijacked the conversation to talk about her life and her problems, but changed the subject when we needed to vent
• told us they'd be there for us, but made themselves scarce just when we needed them most
• conveniently forgot when she owed us money, or when it was her turn to pay

Because without them, we wouldn't have learned to appreciate the friends who:

• went out of their way to be helpful in times of need
• looked out for us when we couldn't look out for ourselves
• always treated us the same, in happy and unhappy times
• always pointed out what was best for us
  
• were always sympathetic when the chips were down
• were the first to rejoice at our good fortune
• stood up for us and stopped others who spoke against us
  
• always gave more than they needed to

And without them, we wouldn't have learned that:

• a good friend is worth more than all the world's purest gold, platinum and rhodium combined
• in order to have a good friend, you need to first be a good friend
  

"Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget." - unknown

Menu Plan Monday

I am getting back into the swing of things by Menu Planning, it feels good to be back :)



Monday--grilled New York Strip and roasted potatoes. (The steaks are generally out of my budget. However, after I dragged my sweetie to The Fresh Market, he couldn't resist buying them.)

Tuesday--leftovers since my sweetie won't be getting home til 11:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Wednesday--white bean chili.

Thursday--leftovers

Friday--going out to eat.

Saturday--Mexican night (tacos and margaritas)

Sunday--grilled subs.

Stella and Blue

On Friday I was thinking this weekend would be like any other. Do some chores around the house, run some errands, spend time with mini-me and my sweetie. My mother went to the beach this weekend, so that meant on top of running after my brood of 6 dogs, I also had to go by her house to feed and check on her 3 dogs. Really no biggie. Saturday morning the 3 of us head over so I could check on them and give them a cookie (ever loved Milk-Bone). To my surprise, my mother's electric gate was wide open. I start worrying already and see no dogs anywhere. We pull up to the garage and out comes Speedy, 1 dog, check. Then Dawn comes running, 2 dogs, check. Hmm where is Stella? I yell and yell, walk all around the house and backyard in the awesome Georgia heat and humidity to no avail. Stella is MIA. So I tell my sweetie let's go drive down the road and see if we see her (and hoping we see her running down the road, not the other way to find her on the road). We do this and still, no sight of Stella. So I call the pound to see if they happen to have her, and thank goodness they do. I go bail Stella out of doggie jail and we take her back to our house so Blue (our lab/shepherd mix) can have a play date. Stella is 14 months old and Blue is right at a year so they would be perfect for each other. My sweetie fills up Blue's kiddie pool, yes Blue loves her pool and before we know it (with a little coaxing) Stella is laying in the pool with Blue. I think all they were missing was a nice margarita or a drink with a little umbrella in it :)

Is That A Post? Why Yes It Is :)

I apologize for being gone for SO long. My life was turned upside down for a little while and now I feel as though I have more of a steady grip on things.

I am now a divorced, working mother. I found out my now ex-husband had been cheating on me and when confronted with this, he did not want to work on things. He now lives in Oregon with his new girlfriend. He just came last week to see Sophie, which he had not seen since September.

This would be the other part that has been difficult to deal with. Sophie hurts and misses him and I can understand that. She gets upset and acts out because he's not here and has no contact with her. It got to a point in school where other kids would ask her if she had a daddy and she would say no, which myself and her teacher would quickly reframe for her. As much as she has frustrated me this past year and a half and tried my patience, I am amazed by her every single day. Sophie is such an awesome and wonderful child that I cannot thank God enough for.

I have missed blogging and will be back here much more often now. I hope everyone is doing well and I look forward to catching up :)

Wordless Wednesday

I am definitely lucky

Why do you ask? Because I do not have a picky eater for a child. My DD has never been a picky eater and each time I hear another parent talk about how their child won't eat this or that, I thank my lucky stars. The deal I have with DD is, take one bite, if you don't like it, you don't have to eat any more of it. Guess what my 3 year old ate tonight. Lobster and shrimp (unfortunately she does have expensive taste lol). The waiter at Red Lobster looked at me like I was nuts, until he saw her eat it. This was the first time DD had lobster and will probably be the last for awhile (it was my grandfather's birthday, so dinner was his treat. Lobster usually does not make it on our shopping lists).

There is one thing about picky eating kids that does get me. It's not so much the kids, and I know not all picky eaters come from parents who say this, but it grates my last nerve when I hear a mom (or dad for that matter) say "No, you won't like it, but here try it". Yum serve me up some of that. Who in their right mind would eat something after hearing that? Like I said, I know not all kids who are picky eaters come from parents with this mindset. For some kids it's a texture or a taste thing and let's face it, as adults we all don't like everything out there so why should our kids, right?

Oops, sorry I got off on a tangent. Anyways, I'm very glad and lucky my DD will try almost anything, at least once.

Wordless Wednesday

How I'm feeling today.

Menu Plan Monday

I'm trying my hand at getting back into monthly menu planning, so doing the menu plan on Monday's will become even easier :)

So for this week:

Monday--fried rice.

Tuesday--Rouladen and spaetzle.

Wednesday--Hamburger Steak, fries and a veggie.

Thursday--Bird's Eye Viola Frozen Meal (they were BOGO this week)

Friday--Roast chicken and German potato salad.

Saturday--Pizza.

Sunday--Leftovers.

View more menu plans at Organizing Junkie.

Wordless Wednesday

Monday--Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas.

Tuesday--Gries Suppe

Wednesday--Hamburger Helper.

Thursday--Rouladen, noodles, potato salad.

Friday--Pizza.

Saturday--Grilled cheese, tomato soup.

Sunday--Leftovers.

My daughter will never lack personality or a sense of humor

Tonight while I was putting her to bed, she told me she needed a new pullup. After that, this is how our conversation went:

Me: Finish your nutrigrain bar.

DD: What did you say?

Me: Mommy said to finish eating your nutrigrain bar.

DD: Did you call me grandma?

Me: No (trying to hold back laughing), I said eat your nutrigrain bar.

DD: grandma?

LOL, such is life.