Ride 'Em Cowgirl!

Summer seems to be sweeping me away...

We have been busy with day-to-day things that somehow consume every available moment so that there is no time to blog about potential bloggable moments.

I have a new worry that has developed in the last two days: my oldest cat, Tiger seems to be very sick. I took him to the vet Saturday and he has fluid in his abdomen. Why or where it came from seems to be the big question. Could be anything from an inflamed liver, to a virus called FIP, which is untreatable. He has refused food since Saturday. I lost Tiger's half sister a few months ago to some dogs who attacked her in our yard.

To say my heart is heavy and distracted would be an understatement...

The Beginners Beginning Guide to Couponing

Let me say, right off the bat, that most of the information here comes from a coupon workshop I just took led by Jenny Martin from Southern Savers and from the information on the website. So jump on over there and check out her easy to navigate site. (Uh, right after you read this post.) I am receiving NO compensation from Jenny or Southern Savers by writing this post.

I've been clipping coupons for my grocery shopping ever since I got married over 20 years ago. However, in the last month, I think I've realized how to save money more effectively with coupons.

Excuse me...did you just say, " I don't have time to clip coupons?"! (Yes you did. I heard you.)

That's like saying "I don't have time to save money" which we all know is just stupid. As with any new activity, you're not going to be proficient right away. It takes practice. But I betcha if you do this ONE time and save a significant amount of money, you.will.be.hooked. I saved $100 at the grocery store on my first try and now I can't wait to go play the "grocery game" again.

Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It's super simple.

You are going to maximize your savings by buying an item on sale and pairing a coupon (or two) with it. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

Now if you're going to do this, here are some basic things you need to know.

1. You need coupons.
2. You need to know what's on sale.
3. You can't have brand loyalty.
4. You don't HAVE to go to a bunch of different stores to save money. (But you might want to go to more than one.)

Coupons: Find them in the Sunday paper (larger city papers have the most to offer) or online at sites like coupons.com, redplum.com and smartsource.com. You can also buy coupons online. One reputable source that I'm most familiar with is The Coupon Clippers . Now why in the world would someone BUY coupons?! Yeah. I wondered that too, so I asked. Here's what Rachel from The Coupon Clippers said: "Well, because many places the newspaper costs $2.75... if someone wants, say 10 of one item (i.e., 10 packages of Marcal toilet paper), they'd have to spend $27.50 buying 10 Atlanta Journal and Constitutions.... and then do all the pulling out of the coupons and then the cutting. Whereas, they can just pay us $2.00 and we'll ship them 10 coupons for the $2 off Marcal Toilet paper. So, it saves them time and money. Instead, we buy the papers and do the cutting.

If you spend $6, you're going to save $60 at the store, if you do not double the coupon value."

Knowing what's on sale: What I love about Southern Savers is, Jenny posts the absolute best price on items. She doesn't just list items in the sale flyer, because not every item in the flyer is really on sale. She's doing the work for you.

Items are usually on sale once every 6 weeks. This is called the sale cycle. So when you find an item on sale at it's lowest price, you will buy as many as you need to last you six weeks, making sure to pair a coupon with each item. That might mean one box of cereal or three, depending on your family.

Now there are slightly less than a jillion ways to organize coupons. My favorite lazy way is to get my coupons out of the Sunday paper and write the date in marker on the front of the insert and file it in an accordion file according to month. Each week, I check Southern Savers for the grocery specials which lists the coupon needed for each item and then I go through my inserts and cut my coupons. Easy, peasy, lemon cheesy.

Hopefully, this has piqued your interest and encouraged you to TRY. It is not hard. It takes a little time and a little thought, but it is SO worth it.

If you're curious to learn more, go here for Jenny's Get Started Guide.

I'm betting the first time you save some money or actually get something FREE, you'll scoot over here and tell me and the rest of the world about it, won't you?

WON'T YOU?!

I thought so.

In Memoriam...Monet

It's been a hard weekend, folks.

I started down my driveway early Friday morning to find my cat lying there having been mauled by dogs.

I got Monet when she was a kitten. We picked her out of the litter, my friend telling my husband, "Oh, this one is a sweetie. Very loving."

Snort.

She became MY cat. She hissed and complained at anyone else who was near. Tolerating them but little else.

My husband graciously allowed her and her half brother, Tiger, and a beautiful grey cat called Monaco, to live indoors for many years; then hubby got fed up with having to dig me out from under the cats at night to sleep with me. :D

The older the cats got, the more digestive trouble they began to have and hubby lost it when someone lost their lunch on one of his cameras. (Can't say as I blame him...) So, outside they went.

Monet always greeted me as I arrived home. Meowing loudly to inform me of the days events. After I went inside, she would hop up on the warm hood of the truck and sleep.

Most mornings I could count on her sitting in my kitchen window staring at me as I made coffee, making sure I realized it was time for breakfast.

Making coffee has never been so lonely.

Although she was 15, she was feisty and wasn't showing signs of aging. I am so angry that she was taken from me in such a violent way.

And that we were helpless to prevent it.

My brain is at odds with itself. Wondering at the depth of grief I have-- "It wasn't a human, it was an animal." "This is part of the circle of life." -- is at war with-- "She was my baby." "She was a family member."

So while I'm trying to reconcile all this in my head, Tiger and Coco (remember the three legged kitty?) are getting lots of extra strokes and hugs.

Wild Child

I'm looking through a book called 1001 Ideas for Color & Paint and have been inspired to concoct some color combos for different rooms in my home.

Up first--the master bedroom.

Lime walls, Charcoal floor (painted concrete) with black and white accents and pops of primary colors.

This is my creation over at COLOURlovers

Color by COLOURlovers

Generosity

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed. Proverbs 19:17

See this book?

(photo from ecrater)

I've been on a bit of a Julia Child bender since watching Julie and Julia. I checked out Julia Child's biography from the library and also found this book: From Julia Child's Kitchen. I have fallen in love with it. It is full of notes, explanations, basic instructions, definitions and, oh yeah, RECIPES! I mentioned on Twitter that I was reading it and this sweet lady mentioned that someone had given her a copy and she was going to make a purse from it. My heart stopped. "Nooooo!!!" I screamed. (She assured me that she only uses the cover of books and leaves the guts intact.) She offered me the book. THE BOOK!!! I breathlessly accepted and received it yesterday. I've been walking around reading snatches of it, cradling it like a newborn.

Hopefully, I can get unbusy enough to experiment with some of the recipes. I can practically smell them simmering...

In the meantime, go to Zaties on Etsy and have a look-see. That'll give me time to start some stew.

Cuz I Still Obey My Momma

So since we haven't heard from either side of the family requesting the glory of our presence for Thanksgiving, we decided to stay home.

Not a hard decision. I like to stay home every chance I get.

Unless I want to go somewhere.

Which I didn't.

Then my mom calls me at work in the middle of the day last week.

Once my heart stopped pounding loudly and I could hear what she said, I realized she was asking me if we would be home for Thanksgiving.

Which we would, coincidentally.

Once she and dad make their tour around the state attending 50th wedding anniversary parties and visiting other family members they've decided to crash our Thanksgiving party.

And bring half our living relatives with them.

I don't mean to be unkind, but I'm glad our numbers have dwindled over the years.

Cause as it is, I'm going to have to make Thanksgiving dinner stretch by making lots of desserts.

Maybe I should tell them to bring a couple more...

My Life is Thus

I run.

On the one hand, this is great. I've been getting exercise and working at being consistent. I've run 3 miles, two weekends in a row and am feeling quite smug and self-satisfied. During the week, I'm working on a MWF running routine with weights on TTh. Sounds reasonable, eh?

The second aspect of running has to do with life in general. Weekday mornings start with my early morning jaunt to the gym, then the "game" of beat the clock begins. Rousting a child from bed, packing her lunch, breakfast, clothes, teeth brushing and practically shoving her and her dad out the door to school feels like a day's work in itself! Usually there's a small window of time left to get myself ready and to work. I'm growing frustrated/coming to terms with the fact that other things I love/enjoy have fallen to the bottom of the priority list.

Every now and again, I'll snatch at something I love (like blog writing) grabbing a small piece and wondering how long it will be before I get a more satisfying creative meal.

Until then..

Applesauce Cake with Caramel Sauce

Applesauce Cake with Caramel Sauce

2 cups Whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbs brown sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
3/4 cup maple syrup ( I use pancakes syrup)
1/4 cup safflower oil (I use Smart Balance)
2 lg eggs
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Add wet to dry. Pour into a greased 9x9 pan and bake 30 - 40 minutes.

Caramel Sauce (From the Joy of Cooking -- Caramel Icing

Stir until sugar is dissolved:
2cups brown sugar
1 cup cream or 1/2 cup butter plus 1/2 cup milk. (I chose milk and butter method.)
Cover and cook about 3 minutes or util the steam has washed down any crystals that may have formed on the sides of the pan.Uncover and cook without stirring to 238 or 240 degrees.
Add;
3 Tbs butter
Remove icing from the heat and cool to 110 degrees. (I couldn't wait that long and made it to about 150.)
Add:
1 tsp vanilla
Beat the icing until thick and creamy.(I gave it a good stir, but didn't beat.) If it becomes too heavy, thin with a little:
cream
until it is of spreading consistency.

Living Life 30 Minutes At the Time

*SIGH*

That about sums it up for me right now.

I find myself distracting myself with inane things, raising procrastination to a fine art.

I'm tired.

I'm burnt out.

I'm overwhelmed just thinking of all that needs to be done and frustrated that I can't get it done quickly.

I'm very impatient.

I find myself with the mindset of "let's get this done and get on to the next thing". Perhaps my job feeds that mindset. Every 30 minutes, I'm doing a color or a haircut. My job is wonderful. I love the variety and creativity of it.

But real life is not always that interesting.

There are projects around my house that are more mundane and won't be done handily in a 30 minute window.

Neither, apparently, will they be done in the space of a weekend.

I've found that a weekend holds just enough time to "get ready" to do a project, but not enough time to actually complete anything.

So I'm gearing up for...HOUSE CAMP '09.

This year for vacation I will accomplish several things--I hope.

1. Rest. No getting up at the crack of dawn and scrambling to the gym and then on through my day.

2. Plan. Map out the projects I have and break them down into manageable sections. (Preferably in 30 minute windows.)

3. Progress. Be able to look back at the end of the week and feel good at what's been accomplished.

4. PLAY. REMEMBER THAT I'M ON VACATION, FOR PETE'S SAKE!!

Now I'm going to go figure out how to procrastinate my procrastinating!

Well. That was Anti-Climactic.

So for the last week, I've cleaned, straightened, tidied and generally freshened up. Because there are so many things that need to be done around our house (and we are in the middle of scads of unfinished projects) I am always self-conscious to have company. I girded up my courage in preparation for the family visit.

They arrived a little after 9pm last night. We visited for about an hour and a half then B&SinL went on to a motel I had reserved for them (I didn't have enough beds to go around an I don't think all the blankets in the world would soften a concrete floor.) and the two girls spent the night with us on an air mattress.

This morning we all met up for my girl's soccer game and after that, they were gone. The visit lasted 15 hours.

1 1/2 hours of it, the adults were actually, physically in my house.

That was so not worth the week of freak I did.

Is There a Hospitality Gene that I Missed?

So, I need to figure out how to get rid of my husband and daughter.

I don't think I need to contact the mafia, however...

I just want to clean the house.

I found out that my brother in law and his family are coming into town next weekend.

Yesterday, I began panicking. The good news is: I toook a few deep breaths (people say it helps, but I think it's overrated) and I'm not panicking anymore.

I've advanced to...

FULL FREAK OUT MODE!!

The Highlight of Some One's Saturday.

So proud in my soccer gear. Check out my shin guards! The hair in a rare ponytail. It's the official soccer ponytail.

Look Cousin! I do the dance of joy!

I just love this look of exultation!

Green Acres is the Place for Me.

Friday evening I had the opportunity to go out with one of my friends. Her husband gallantly offered to watch my girl along with his own two girls. I was giddy with excitement. I would wear heels because what girl wouldn't want to go strolling through Hobby Lobby and Books a Million without possibly breaking an ankle?

I was also gonna wear these shoes because, by gum, they matched my jeans perfectly.So as I hike my leg up to hoist myself into the car, I hear a little voice say, "Mommy, what's that on the concrete?" I look across the empty half of the carport and wonder if perhaps an interesting pollen formation has formed. I walk around the car and find...

a poor female cardinal who had met an untimely demise at the paws of someone of the feline persuasion.

The probable perp:

What's a girl without a man in the house gonna do?

Especially a girl in heels and designer jeans.

You don't let something like a pair of heels stop you from manhandling a shovel!

Dah--ling!!!

Wonders upon Wonders

Two miracles have happened in my home in the last 24 hours.

Considering I've always considered miracles to be one of those once-in-a-lifetime type of events, I feel very fortunate indeed.

January 9th will forever live in my memory as the day all the Christmas decor came down.

Wait.
What?
You don't think that's a miracle?

You obviously don't realize what this means. Mine is the house you drive by loooong after Christmas is over and make bets to see if they'll take it down by Valentine's Day.

Move on to the next suburban redneck, cuz I ain't playin' this year.

Miraculous event #2:
While preparing some leftover spaghetti for my girl tonight, she called from the other room, "...and I want broccoli and meat sauce and noodles. Just like yesterday!"

Honestly, how often does a child REQUEST broccoli?!

See? Miracle after miracle...

Another One Bites the Dust

My laptop has developed a case of amnesia.

While my hubby was online yesterday, the computer decided to take itself out of this world. Hubby cranked it up again and it's like it remembers nothing we've told it in the past. It has created it's own profile, conveniently forgetting anything we had set up for ourselves.

It's particularly devastating to my photographer hubby and his sentimental wife, because he has most of my girl's life in pictures stored in the memory and now cannot find anything. I do believe he transferred a lot of things off to an external drive (I don't even know what I'm saying--I'm repeating.) but he has to find them and remember if he actually did that. (The computer is not the only one with amnesia...)

Off to the computer hospital it will go on Monday with hopes of a new brain being installed or the old one being accessed. There is talk around here about getting a new computer. Since he does lots of photo editing and it takes up so much memory, we should have one devoted completely to editing and one for internet and personal purposes. I really wish we could have his and her computers. I want one of my own that is free from his idiosyncrasies. (He likes to go in and fiddle with the settings. I've learned a lot through him, but am likely to find things moved around on the computer which causes me to scream: AAAARGH!!! Inside my head of course.)

Thankfully, we do have a spare computer, otherwise I would be in serious withdrawal right about now...

In other news, (is there any?) we are immersing ourselves in Christmas music and decorating the tree today and one particular little girl is lobbying to make sugar cookies.

And that makes life just about perfect.

I Gotta go be Thankful Somewhere Else.

I am joining the swell of folks riding the roads to visit family for Thanksgiving.

This morning signals the start of the great race that finds me juggling not just hair goings on for a solid 8 or 9 hours, but also the bank business and payroll that I usually do on my "day off". Not to mention the packing and general chaos that ensues when a family takes a trip.

Whee.

But I just wanted to poke my head out of my boiling pot of activity and wish you all a wonderful, Thanksgiving.

I'm grateful for each of you who reads my blog and thank you to those who have taken time to comment. I enjoy getting to know you.

Be blessed...

Shampooing...But Not.

Well, snap.

I can't find it now.

I was cruising the internet the other day and found an intriguing concept on one of my fave blogs. I have been trying to find it again so I can share it with you and I can't find it!

Anyway, the concept is stop washing your hair....with shampoo. Use apple cider vinegar. (I'm familiar with using this as a rinse to give the hair shine after shampooing, but I was not familiar with it being the shampoo.)Several people (who think a whole lot about these things) are concerned about the harshness of shampoo. Can't say I completely disagree. Shampoos do have sulfates which = detergent and that is a strong cleaning property. If you color your hair, some of these shampoos (even ones for color treated hair) will cause the color to fade. They can also be drying to the hair. Technology is offering us sulfate free shampoos and there are some very good ones out there.

Nevertheless, some people just don't want to use products with chemicals and are conscious of how they are produced and the pollution that results when they are made. (Wonder if anyone ever thinks about the personal pollution people emit everyday. Especially after a good bowl of chili...but I'm not going there.)

I decided to try an experiment. I would put about 3 tablespoons of ACV in a bottle with water (think: restaurant sugar shaker) and some drops of lavender essential oil. I tried it on my girl and was satisfied with the results enough to do it a couple more times. Then I tried it on myself. I just had my hair colored last Friday. I have a few vivid red streaks in my hair and remembered that vinegar will help to set the color in clothing after dying, so....I gave it a shot. I wasn't too sure how my hair would feel since I have a gravity defying hairstyle and use a paste type product to style it. I expected my hair to have some residual stickiness to it.

But it didn't.

It worked surprisingly well. The fading on my red was minimal. I used this method two or three times before I finally broke down (after a particularly sweaty workout) and shampooed it (with a natural baby shampoo). During the trial, I continued using my paste for styling , but didn't use hairspray, although adding baking soda to remove that would have been effective.

I finally shampooed my girl's hair with natural baby shampoo after she got sticky popsicle in her hair and I just wanted to make sure that came out.

*edited to add: http://www.itstherecessionstupid.com/2008/05/ufo-recession-1.html

I Employed Some Chicks, But I Still Love My Husband.

I wish I could have some chickens.

I think.

At least in my mind I dream about a little house in the country with a few chickens running around my grassy yard full of crazy growing zinnias and other colorful flowers.

So I've gotten some chickens.

Sort of.

I met a gentleman at the farmer's market last time who came up with (what I think) is a brilliant concept.

Adopt-A-Chicken.

No, I'm not kidding.

For $5 a week, you adopt 4 chickens. Chip (the farmer) takes care of them, making sure they have plenty of grass, grain and bugs and space so they'll be happy chickens. Then he brings you the eggs for free.

Yes, I know it's ridiculous, but doesn't it sound better than $5 for a dozen organic eggs? I think it is a brilliant marketing concept that focuses the consumer on the care of the hen rather than the product. It doesn't sound like much at all to say $5 a week to care for 4 chickens now, does it?

So off I headed yesterday to Adcote Acres with my girl and "Mrs. Greensleeves", one of my clients. (She's in it for the chicken poop for her garden more than the eggs.) We took some photos of "our" chickens.

Coincidentally, we were encouraged to name our chickens and Mrs. Greensleeves proposed some biblical names:

Faith

Hope

Charity

and

Jezebel

Love it.

Who Knew?

Who knew six years ago that I would be wishing you a Happy Father's Day?

We had no idea what we were in for, we just knew we had been handed a gift beyond measure.

How things have changed!

I have grown to admire you so much as I've watched you grow to fill the role of Daddy. Nothing is more attractive to me than watching you as you tenderly love our daughter.

You are indeed, a good Daddy.

But it hasn't come easily, has it?

It has pulled and stretched us. Our relationship has been sorely tested. Being parents has brought to the fore aspects of us that I think we never realized were there. I've wondered, sometimes, if we would stand the strain.

Thank you for the sacrifices you have made to be a stay at home Daddy.

You've sacrificed your very manhood, unselfishly, in order to provide for our family on a higher, intangible level. I've watched you wrestle with the emotions that are a result of that, and all I can say is how grateful I am for you. For your passion and love for your two girls.

You are an incredible man.

I love you so much.

Streaming...

Nothing much going on around here to speak of.

I'm sure I'll stir up some trouble of some sort around the house this weekend.

The closet needs some serious attention and then vines have begun sneaking up some of the windows of the house.
Walls need to be finished painting after last weekend when I walked around, paint brush in hand looking for something to paint so I could use up the paint I'd poured out.

I ache to do something creative. Paint for personal pleasure; but the house is in too much disarray right now to even consider that. I will use that as my motivation...

Hubby brought the TV back in. I've not had a chance to even glance at it, but a good movie sounds good right about now.

Just planning on riding the stream of the weekend and see where it will carry me...