I Can't Believe He's 3!

3 years ago right now, I was in the process of having this sweet, mischevious, loving, obstinate little boy.
He has an undeniable light in his eyes and the best laugh EVER!

Snow Update

Here in these parts of Oregon, we have reached about 3 feet of snow and there is more in the forecast. We will definitely be having a white Christmas. No questions. Our Subaru is completely under the snow, our deck is nearly unrecognizable and the snow drifts are nearly to the top of our picket fence out back. This unlikely Oregon weather has broken all of the records. This crazy weather has made Ryan and I realize that we could easily live in a community where its like this all winter. It just makes me so happy. Regardless of my current gimpy state and the reasons behind it. Just looking out at this insane snow, makes me so happy. I know to most of my friends that makes me sound totally mental (April, Jackie, Dana...) After living in California for a short stint, I have come to really dislike the rain. I much prefer this snowy weather to a rainy day...any day.
I only wish that I could go out and play in it!
The only thing that will make this weather drain on me, is losing our electricity. The lights have been flickering all day. I think it's only a matter of time before one of the ice covered trees falls on a power line and poof...off goes the power.
There has been talk of the possibilities of postponing Christmas celebrations, nothing set in stone yet.
Not sure what the future holds, but all I know is this...
I love the snow!!!

Saturday Snow Fun...

...pre knee dislocation.
After telling Ryan how much fun we had up at our little neighborhood park on Thursday, we took Wyatt up to the park on Saturday morning. Since we both went, I was able to take my camera.
We had so much fun once again. It wasn't snowing as hard as it was before, but he still went very fast down the slide with his snow pants on. Ryan even had some fun hanging on the monkey bars and going down the slide too. And then when we got back from the park our neighbor let us borrow her sled and Ryan and Wyatt went down our driveway a couple of times. Wyatt wasn't as crazy about this as I thought he would be. It took some convincing to get him on there, but after he was on, it was all smiles.

Ham Anybody?

This is another short edition of "Wyatt Says":

Saturday morning Wyatt came into our bedroom before we got up. Ryan and I were just lounging around and Wyatt was on the floor playing. I heard him saying something to Gertie (our pug), and so I listened up. He was saying:
W: "smell the shirt, Gertie, smell it."

Me: "what does mommy's shirt smell like buddy?"

W: "Ham"

I have absolutely no idea where that came from, we haven't had ham in ages and I'm fairly certain that I don't smell like ham.

Ryan and I were rolling!

Kids say the darndest things.

What do you have for lunch?

A few days ago, I couldn't help but take a picture of this lovely little sammy. I have been really trying to make myself lunch lately instead of snacking through lunch and being famished for dinner. Making myself lunch is better for everyone involved since I tend to get snarly if I haven't eaten in awhile.
This little creation is made with Bob's Red Mill's Whole Wheat Potato Flax bread, rotisserie chicken lunch meat, olive oil mayonnaise (my new favorite, it has half the fat of regular but the same consistency of the regular fattening stuff), stone ground mustard, colby cheese, and a buttload (technical measurement) of pepperoncinis.
I throw all of this in a pan with a layer of olive oil, heat it all the way through and melt the cheese.

Delicious!

Boo Hoo...I gotta boo boo... *Edited*

*my mom took this picture with her cell phone right before we left the hospital...Pretty forlorn if you ask me!! (disclaimer, this photo has not been airbrushed, I'm keepin it real today)

(disclaimer) I am on some pretty heavy muscle relaxers so this post should be interesting!

Ryan, Wyatt and I spent the morning playing out in the snow. Other than falling flat on my butt, sparing only my camera, it went without incident. I got right back up and went on my way with a snow covered bottom and some bruised pride!! This is credited to my beloved Uggs that keep my feet dry and warm but have positively no good traction.
Wyatt and I took Ryan up to the park to go down the slide again. We had a great time and since Ryan was with me, I was able to bring my camera and get some great shots of playing in the playground. (they won't be added for awhile)
We went back home, had some lunch, tidied up the house and decided to come in to Clackamas to drop Wyatt off at Babu and Papa's house. We had high hopes to finish our Christmas shopping.
I hopped out of the Tahoe at Becky and Ray's and turned around to go get Wyatt out of his carseat. At this point I'm not positive what happened, but I think I slid off the curb and twisted my knee...resulting in a dislocated knee. (Thanks again to my Uggs) Not to be gross, but if you looked at where my knee cap should have been it was completely twisted to the side. Talk about pain. Ryan called 911 and after what seemed to be an eternity (about 5 min) the firetruck showed up. We waited a little longer for the ambulance. My leg was stuck in a bent position and it took a small army to get me moved into the ambulance with minimal moving of my knee. I had to transport in a bent position, and despite pillows and paper towel rolls for propping, I still felt like I was holding my leg up for the entire ride from Clackamas to Gresham (Legacy Mount Hood). They had a hard time getting an IV in me (like usual) and the firefighter just finally gave up. But, the paramedic that I had, had 30 yrs of experience in the field and got it in first try. I can always appreciate that because no matter what, it's always a huge ordeal for me to get an IV.
Anyway, the pain was excruciating. Worse than when I had Wyatt. With Wyatt I had an epidural. I kept teasingly asking them if I could please get one of those wonderful epidurals! They said no.
poop heads.
No, really. Everyone was really nice and helpful. I don't remember ever being in so much pain when the doctor grinded and popped it back into place, I screamed. It wasn't a lady like oooohhh ouchie scream. It was gutteral and haunting.
I kept thinking on the ambulance ride over, that it could have been so much worse. Sometimes when things like this happen, I wonder what worse fate this protected me from. Oh ya, I was also thinking, why me and why now...when we've had such a fun day.
I was also really concerned about my camera and computer. And the eggs that I had bought for Becky at Safeway on the way in. I had had them in my hand and they got dropped on the ground when I fell. Apparently we were 7 for 12. Not bad!
But I'll tell you what...
Mama's going shopping soon...
My list: snow boots with monster tread
and a new pair of gap jeans. (whaaaaaa they had to cut me out of my favorite jeans...no fair) (they wanted to cut the Uggs but I told them no, I could bear through the pain of them just taking those off)
Ah, the things us girls do for fashion.

Anyway, they were a little concerned about some extra swelling, so they want me to follow up with an ortopedist and possibly get an MRI. I have a giant brace on and am scared to move. The pain is bearable now, but Ryan is out getting me my Perkaset. Just in case. I'm just sitting over at my mother and father in-law's house trying to relax.
We came over here to get out of the house....but looks like I'm housebound no matter what.
Bummer.

Snow n' Swides

There is so much that I'm behind on that I want to blog on. So much, that I'm getting ready to just forget about it all, wipe the slate clean and call it good.
I've been trying to figure out where I'm going to find the time to catch up on all of this. Well, maybe if we have an ice storm this weekend, I might get it done.
It's been snowing like crazy around here. It started on Sunday and was extremely cold (low 20's)! We tried to take Wyatt outside to play then, but it was just too picking cold. Hurt your face cold...brrrr
*Side note* Ryan told me that they are calling it "global cooling" now. (oh brother)
Well we have about 6 inches right now as I write this. Thursday morning, I took Wyatt outside to play. We live on a private drive that we share with 4 other houses, so I took him up to the end of the driveway and we played on the level part. He had a big time running around, purposely falling, making snow angels, jumping and then looking at his foot prints...the list goes on. So, then I let the dogs out of the house and they ran around and entertained us for awhile. When they got tired, (harley laid down in the snow) Wyatt wasn't ready to go in yet. So, I told him that we could walk down and get the mail. To which he replied, "want to go to da park an go down the swide?" I thought, what the heck? Really, it was like a built in sled. This was the highlight of the morning, he literally went down that slide about 50 times. With the ever replenished snow, and the snow pants, he flew down that slide. It was so much fun.

I debated bringing my camera, and its times like this when I really wish I had a little pocket camera instead of my DSLR...well I don't wish for that instead, I guess I wish for both! Mix and match. I just hate the delay time that comes with most point and shoot cameras, delay time makes me positively nutty. Anyway, I knew that if I took my camera, I wouldn't get to play with Wyatt so it was a pretty easy decision. For the sake of disclosure, I airbrushed some dark circles and enormous bags from underneath my eyes, I just couldn't bear to post the sooc(straight out of the camera)picture on my blog, it scared me. I love photoshop!!!

I was able to snap this picture before we went out, please don't mind the pained look on my face...I was holding up my camera and it had the flash attached to it...so I was really trying to take the picture and not drop the camera.
Anyway, it was a great morning. He'll only be little once and won't want to play with mommy forever. I really cherished this time with my baby boy.

My Christmas List **Edited**

This is exactly what it means...
it's my Christmas list...my friend April put her list on her blog and I found it interesting to see what she was wishing for.
So, here is my list:

Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book - (can be found at Costco)

NIV/Message Parallel Bible (Leather or fake leather) I suppose I'm a Bible snob.
Pink by Victoria Secret

Silicone Basting Brush

Fiestaware Sets (I like Orange, Red, Green, White...could mix and match) (Can be found at Macy's for 40% off right now)
**April commented with a fiestaware giveaway. I love this stuff...I have 4 sets already but we are always running out and have to use the yucky plates.
So go on over to Ravings of a Mad Housewife and enter the contest for 4 sets of these lovely dishes!**

Camelbak Water Bottle (with straw)

Nikkor 50 mm 1.8 lens

Ryan just e-mailed me and asked me to send him my list. Last year, he surprised me with a pair of Uggs. This was the best surprise gift that I've ever gotten. So babe, I know you've got something up your sleeve this year. This is just what I can think of that I would like. But I'm not itching for any of these things in particular, well except for that basting brush I'm tired of using the paintbrush it keeps dropping its little hairs on our food.
Anyway, a couple of other people (my mom, his mom) have asked me what I would like for Christmas, so there you have it.

Knitting Fool

I go through phases all the time. The last couple of days I've been knitting like crazy. I go through this phase every couple of years. My most popular item to knit are dish cloths. Many people love them and request them from time to time. They are so easy too, because you don't have to cast on or cast off.
But recently, I found this website with video tutorials on how to knit. I took 4-h classes when I was a little girl and the basic knit stitch always stuck with me. I've always wanted to know how to do more, but when I look at those beginner books for knitting my eyes glaze over.
These video tutorials are very simple and easy to understand.
So, if you've always wanted to learn how to knit, this website is highly recommended.
The videos are less than 2 minutes apiece.
I know I should have a picture of the things I've made so far, but I don't.
Maybe I'll add one later.
And to my family: if you get something that is hand knitted for Christmas, act surprised!

Oprah's Got Another Giveaway!

I'm downloading it right now as I type this.
Today is Oprah's favorite things show. Because of the economy she is doing a show with items that are affordable.
I haven't seen it yet, but in looking at blogs that are in an earlier time zone, I found that she is giving away a CD's worth of free music downloads.
It's a star studded CD of Christmas music, looks great. Can't wait to get mine onto a CD and into my car.

Here is a link!

I don't think they sold boxes of chicken stock in "the olden days"...

...but if they did, I just got "the olden days" pricing!

3 Oregonians (only 1 purchased), one coupon pack from ebay, 7 trips to Safeway, 26 boxes of stock and $2.47 total cost.
I was turned away once at our local Safeway. They said that they couldn't use coupons on the free boxes of stock, because there was no value on them. I didn't want to tell her that I had just did this same deal an hour before at their store and it went through just fine. I just politely asked her to take them off my bill and "can I please have my coupons back".
I didn't visit that Safeway again during this process. The good thing about living as far out as we do, is that there are a few Safeways on the way to and home from church.
No one else batted an eye at my deal, as I handed over $.38 per transaction for $12.76 worth of stock. I mainly just dug around in my purse and got rid of the loose change rolling around for this deal. For the very last one, I did have to whip out the old debit card because I was short a few pennies.
But like I said before, I use stock all the time! So this is an awesome stockpile item for me, and most of them don't expire till next December.
This was a fun deal for me, because I figured it out on my own, it is pretty exhilarating really.
So, snicker at me and my nerdy coupon box if you will. But, I just might be the one getting the last laugh....Mua ah ah ah ah!!! (In case you couldn't tell, that was my best attempt at typing out a sinister laugh)

Please Excuse The...

...Blurry Pictures.

Goodness Gracious!
I think my camera and I are in a funk right now. This is what quite a few of my pictures have looked like lately, for whatever reason. It's quite disheartening actually. It's probably because I boycott using the pop-up flash, at all cost. Such harsh light. But what would I rather have, harsh light or blurry pictures. Both are pretty equally frustrating for me.

Anyway, most of you know by now that my mom comes over on Monday mornings to watch Wyatt so I can go to the gym. Well, mom usually tries to bring Wyatt a little something every time. This time it was a cool pair of little spinny-tops that lit up (he later took them down to his bed and broke both of them...sorry mom). She also brought him these "coke-bottle" glasses and a clown nose. At first he wasn't too keen on having anything to do with these. But, the curiosity of just leaving them on the coffee table got the better of him. The next thing we knew, he had those silly glasses on and was posing for pictures.
Whatta little hammy.
He cracks us up so bad.

A couple things that he's said lately.

We left him at Babu and Papa's (Ryan's parents) for the evening...
They were eating dinner and Lisa (Ryan's sister) started choking on her food.
Wyatt said, "Lisa Slow Down Girl"

Later that same night.
Wyatt wanted Babu to take him out to look at the pool. (that had recently been covered for the winter)
He took one look at the pool and said:
"Pool's Covered....Darn"

My mom asked Wyatt what he wanted for Christmas. (a question that hasn't really been explored with him...
He thought about it for a long second, then said, "a candycane"
(ah the simple things)

This one was from last year at the RV show...not sure if I shared this one already.
We were going in and out of the beautiful motor homes. And it became quite obvious that we were saying "HOLY COW" ALOT!!! Well, at that time Wyatt was learning all of his animals. He looked at us and said "HOLY DONKEY" That one makes me smile inside.

Anyway, he's just getting funnier and funnier. I know that there have been dozens of other things that I can't remember right now.
I can't believe that he's already almost 3 years old. Where has the time gone, really?

You Know You're Crazy When...

...you give up going to a football game to go grocery shopping!

Ok just a disclaimer, yes this is a coupon post. I promise the next post will have some cute pictures of Wyatt.

Pat and Jackie & Ryan and I were supposed to go to the Ducks game on Saturday afternoon. On Friday morning Jackie called me and asked what I thought about keeping our babysitters and spending the entire day shopping with our coupons. I was game, so that's just what we did.
We started at Pete's for a cup of coffee and game plan.
Deciding to hit Safeway first we headed to Damascus where I bought the following items:









6 Cans of Progresso Soup- On sale for $.97 (MQ's $2/4, $1/2) .47 each
1 box Wheat Thins - On sale for $1.88 (MQ $1/2, Double $.50) $1.13
1 box Triscuits - On sale for $1.88 (MQ $1/2, Double $.50) $1.13
Pilsbury Pizza Crust - $3.29 (clearance stickers - $2.25, MQ 1/$.40) $.64
Kraft Cheese - On Sale for $3.00 (clearance stickers - $1.50) $1.50
Minute Maid Pomegrante Tea - $3.49 (clearance stickers - $2.25) $1.24
Ranch Dip - On Sale 2 for $5.00 (MQ $1/1, Double $.50) $1.00
Dill Dip - On Sale 2 for $5.00 (MQ $1/1, Double $.50) $1.00
Sunday Newspaper - $2.00

Total Out of Pocket: $11.96 Ok I realize that this doesn't totally add up but this is the gist. This was all the way back to Saturday and I'm trying to remember to the best of my abilities. Also, these receipts are really hard to read, after the fact!

Safeway took us forever. Jackie was going after the coveted catalina promotion (home for the holidays). Yay for her too, she got it $10 off her next purchase. That made it sound like it was Jackie's fault that it took so long. It wasn't, we were just taking our time.

We stopped back by Jackie's house and dropped off her groceries and my perishables, picked up her sister and were off to lunch. Her sis was craving breakfast, and we thought we had coupons for Sharis so to Sharis we went. The coupons didn't work on the weekend, but that was ok, because not too many other people serve breakfast at 3pm. Ok it was a late lunch.

After lunch we headed off to Gap outlet to try to use the friends and family 30% off coupon. I struck out. I couldn't even find anything for Wyatt. I'm sure I could have bought something, but I didn't want to just get something for the sake of getting something.
We ducked into a couple more stores before leaving and I got Luke his birthday present.

We wanted to go to Walgreens and "figure it out" so that was our next and final stop together.
They had a coupon that was only good for Saturday and Sunday for $5 off a $20 purchase.
So, the goal was to go in there and use that.

Here is the list of the stuff I got:












Maybelline Mascara x2 $3.99 - Buy one Get one Free (MQ $1.00 x 2) $1.99 for both
Notebook - $1.99 because I needed one
Bic Soleil Razor System - $6.99 (Store Coupon $3, MQ $3) $.99
Bic Soleil Razor Refill - $6.99 (Store Coupon $3, MQ $3) $.99
Loreal Age Moisturizer - On Sale for $14.99 - Free after Mail in Rebate

With the $5 off coupon my Out of Pocket total came to $15.95
Since Walgreens adds 10% to the total if you elect to have them send you a gift card I will be getting $16.49 back.
And that my friends is my first profit of $.54
So yay, I got all that stuff that I will totally use for free!!! And I love that moisturizer!

By this time, it was almost 8pm at night. We were ready to go home to our babies and we were all tired. But the guys weren't home yet, so after awhile I left and made a quick stop by Albertsons for a toilet paper sale that was going to be over that night.

Here is my Albertsons List:












12 pack Cottonelle Double Rolls (I got 2, second pack not in picture because it's...ahem...already in use! - $11.59 reg price (FM coupon $4.99 ea, MQ $1/1 not double-able) $3.99 ea
9 pack large rolls charmin - $4.99 (Albertsons Rain Check $2.99 ea., MQ $.25, Double $.25) $2.49

That finished out our day of shopping!

The weekend wasn't quite over yet.
One thing of note, that I'm very excited about is a great deal on Progresso Chicken and Beef Broth.
I showed my couponing skills off to my hubby on Sunday after church...once again back to Safeway.
We needed to buy his brother a gift card and I had figured out this deal, so why not right?

Progresso 32 oz chicken stock x 2 - $3.19 Buy 1 Get 1 free (MQ $1/1, MQ $1/1, Doubles $1) $.19 for 2
AHHHHH ISN'T THAT AWESOME? I enlisted the help of a coupon clipper on Ebay and bought 20 more coupons. Hopefully they come in time so I can do that deal some more times. What a great item to put in the food basket at church.

I also met up with a gal after church that bought some scrapbooking stuff from me for $40. (I've switched to digital scrapbooking so I don't have a need for the paper and all that jazz)
With $40 burning a hole in my pocket, and the burning desire to buy a printer so I can delve into the world of internet printable coupons...I searched the ads for a good deal on a printer.
And, did I ever find one... An HP printer, copier, and scanner for $39.99, it came with the print cartridges. The print cartridges retail at $30.99 for the combo pack so, I like to think that I got a printer for $9. Ha. I love this machine so far. It rocks.

All in all it was a pretty productive weekend.

This post took FOREVER, and while I love sharing my deals, it was exhausting to try to remember everything!!!


Ok...pictures of Wyatt next, I promise!!!

More Coupon Madness

I set off for Albertsons today with a few purchases in mind. I had my plan. It didn't work out quite like I had planned, but I did pretty good anyway.
I had planned on stocking up on toilet paper with some great deals that I had worked out in my noggin. The store didn't have the right quantities that went with the coupons that I had. Two of the coupons were Albertsons coupons, so I was able to get a rain check. I will get my deal eventually! *evil laugh*
But for now, I'll be content with the rest of my list.
Transaction #1:
1. Melita Coffee Filters Ct. 40 $10 for $10 (I bought 2)
$1 x 2 = $2
2. Old Spice Deodorant - On Sale 2 for $7 (I bought 4)

• Fred Meyer Coupon - $2.99 Each (Limit 4)
• Manufacturers Coupon - 2 @ $1 off 2
  
• Safeway Double Coupons - 2 @ $.50 off
• $2.99x4= $11.96 - $2 = $9.96 - $1 = 8.96 / 4 = $2.24 each x 4 = $8.96 Total
  

3. Fresh Express Premium Salad Mix - On Sale for $1.47 ea
Manufacturers Coupon - $.75 off (Not Subject to Doubling)
$1.47 - $.75 = $.72 ea

Total should have been $11.68 Actual total was $8.20
There was alot of confusion swirling around due to the toilet paper fiasco. Somewhere in the mix I think my checker messed up and I didn't realize it till I got home. These receipts are so dadgum confusing anyway, I couldn't figure out how she did that if I tried. I can only do the math on my own.

Transaction #2

1. Tag Deodorant - On Sale 2 for $7 (I bought 1)
Fred Meyer's Coupon - $2.99 ea
Manufacturer's Coupon - $1 off 1
Safeway Double Coupon - $.50
$2.99 - $1 = $1.99 - $.50 = $1.49 Ea
2. Fresh Express Premium Salad Mix - On Sale for $1.47 ea
Manufacturers Coupon - $.75 off (Not Subject to Doubling)
$1.47 - $.75 = $.72 ea
Should have been - $2.21 Actually Charged - $1.71
In this case, she doubled the coupon that was not to be doubled)

Total Out of Pocket $9.91

My goal with couponing right now is to get some nice "stockpiles" of things that we use all the time.
Since Ryan goes through 1 stick of deodorant per week (I'm not exaggerating) , 5 sticks of the stuff was not a bad deal for me. What can I say, my husband is paranoid about smelling. That's not too bad for me, even if I have to buy him deodorant once a week.

I'm kinda becoming the "crazy coupon lady". But when I see that total on the sidebar slowly rising, it makes me feel quite sane, thank you very much!

How Was Your Weekend?

Since, once again, it has been a very long time since I've posted something. I just now decided to set aside some important things (Ryan, I promise to pay the window guy sometime today) and do a post.
Friday evening, Ryan came home a little early (due to some late nights earlier in the week) and we had Shredded Pork Burritos with Caramelized Onions, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and guacamole for dinner. I kinda made these up as I went along, and OH MY GOODNESS they were delicious! (If I do say so myself) So, after dinner we took Wyatt swimming at the gym (might as well utilize family night). He is a very confident child and because of the superman swimsuit (with built in floaties) that Babu bought him this last summer, he can afford to be confident. Everyone looks at us in amazement as we throw him back and forth between us and he is just delighted. He can go underwater, and come back up with a sparkly smile and say, "do it again".
We went home after that, Wyatt went to bed and Ryan and I watched a movie I had rented from the Safeway kiosk.
Saturday morning, Ryan cleaned the house and I sorta helped him here and there. We had an open house on Sunday so it had to be cleaned.
There was a Ducks game on, and where the Ducks are, so is Ryan. Whether in person or otherwise. So I dropped Wyatt and him off at his parents house and hit the Old Navy hat sale. ($1 for performance fleece hats) I dinked around a little more, hit up Costco for some dog food and eggs...boring stuff.
*Disclaimer*
Oh my goodness, are you asleep yet?
I'm sorry, I'm halfway done. I know this is probably really boring.
Anyhow, I have been bugging Ryan to take me on a date, so after the Ducks game we headed off to McMenamins Edgefield for a showing of Dark Knight. It was pretty scary for me, but I'm kinda wimpy when it comes to that. I will say that Heath Ledger played an INCREDIBLE villian. Seriously, it was an amazing performance. The wonderful thing about going to McMenamins is that you can order food and beverages and eat and drink during the movie. Plus the movie is only $3 apiece so it's a great value. It was a great time out.
Sunday was church and our open house. After Lunch/Dinner (depends on what part of the country you're from, in these parts its lunch) at Becky and Ray's, Ryan and I headed over to the little house to do some work. We have slowed way down on going over there and working. There is still this and that to do, but we are so burned out.
Then we went to night church and out to Chevy's with "our gang" after church.
So, all in all, it was a good weekend for the record books.

Points of Note:
* We don't know how our open house went yet

* I won the motherload of coupon contests. I'm very excited about that. (Even if my husband makes fun of me for being "that wife") Seriously this is a coupon jackpot. Thanks Rebecca and Angela!!

*Someday, (very soon) I will post the recipe for that yummy pork roast that I made. If you like sweet and spicy...this recipe is just for you. You can also really cool it off by using a can of mild chilies instead of the 4 (yes I said 4) jalapenos that I like to use!!

* I need to get back to a rhythm of blogging. This couponing is seriously cutting into my blogging time. It'll happen.

I know, no pictures. But I will leave you with this. A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that I had ordered and received the first digital scrapbook that I made myself. I love this scrapbook and it came out to about $.60 a page. That's pretty darn good. In my "paper days" I would have spent that in paper alone per page, and possibly more not to mention stickers and the pictures themselves. And definitely $20 min on the book. This book was only $60 and that included shipping. Granted, I landed on a pretty good sale with MyPublisher and you have to have a Costco card to get the really good deals with them. But they are always running specials.
And they put my book online. Let me know if you have problems viewing this.

Ok...I'm done rambling.
I promise the next post will be useful!!!

Shopping Trip(s) and Menu Plan

Tonight is part 2 of 2 of the Frugal Living Workshop that I attended last week. I've been working on collecting my coupons and trying to start slowly. It is very inspiring to read the blogs ( Frugal Living Online, Super Coupon Girl, Money Saving Mom, Common Sense With Money...) and see how much money there is to be saved.
Before Bible study last night I went to Fred Meyer's to take them up on a $10 for $10 coupon that they had on milk, chocolate milk and orange juice. It was a great deal, so I bought 5 - 1/2 gallons of whole milk, 2 - 1/2 gallons of orange juice and 1 - 1/2 gallon of chocolate milk...all for $8. The milk is the non-hormone milk, that's something that I always look at first.
Then, after Bible study, I went to Winco while Ryan took Wyatt home to go to bed. I shopped for 2 hours, and used 3 or 4 coupons. I didn't save too much using my coupons at Winco, but I figured if I had them and was buying the product anyways, why not use them.
There was one snafu though, the Pumpkin Spice Creamer that I bought rang up at $2.98 and I knew that it was marked at less than that. So I told the checker and she was really nice about it and made a phone call for me. The person on the other line told her that it was $2.98, I knew that was wrong but I didn't want to argue over pennies. But it was right up front so on the way out, I double checked it... it was marked at $2.78. Ok $.20 you say? Normally it wouldn't be worth it to go complain. But dang it all, I had clipped a coupon for that little puppy and this clipping coupons business is hard work. So, I went back and waited for my $.20. (did I mention that it was just past 11:00pm?) Talk about feeling silly, but it was the principle.
So, I came home and Ryan and I worked on our ballots till 12:45am. Ryan had been reading all the measures since he had gotten home. Talk about more hard work. I always forget how much thought and studying voting takes. But, we got it done and I delivered it promptly to a voting box first thing this morning.

Part of these classes I'm going to is making a budget and a meal plan. I did 1 of 2. Yikes, I sat down to do a budget and didn't even know where to start.
Making a menu plan wasn't too hard for me, because I've been doing this since we moved back to Oregon and decided that I would be a stay at home mommy. It really does save money, because when I get lazy every once in awhile and don't do it.... well let's just say it wipes us out.
I wanted to try a couple new recipes this time so here you have it:

- Turkey Curry on Flatbread (this is a tried and true recipe from Everyday with Rachael Ray)

- Coca-Cola Glazed Pork Roast w/ acorn squash

- Pulled Pork Burritos w/ Sauteed Sweet Onions and Rice (I will make this recipe up as I go and use the yummy pork from the roast above) (new to us)

- Knockwurst Stoup (I have no clue what knockwurst even is so I use 2 pkgs of turkey bratwurst) (I also don't do the apple/parsley topper)

- Chicken Parm Meatball Subs (this is a Rachael Ray recipe, but I can't find a link)

- Apple Juice Pork w/ Squash and Golden Rasins (From my Everyday With Rachael Ray Magazine, October 2008) (new to us)

- Crockpot Black Bean Chili w/ Beef (new to us)

This will last us for about 2 weeks as we are big on leftovers in this house!!

If any of these sound tasty to you, please don't hesitate to ask for the recipe. I'm always happy to share!

Coupon Giveaway?

Anyone interested in getting into "couponing"?

Check out this blog entry by Frugal Living Online and enter their contest for a coupon giveaway!!

Who knows, you could be the next crazy coupon person.

Good luck!!!

True Conservatives Unite!!

Ok, I'm gonna do it.
I'm gonna take my family blog and put something out here.

I truly believe that Obama is a not who everyone may think he is.

Amongst other reasons, this is first and foremost:

http://www.obamacrimes.com/

I heard this on a very well known talk show last week. Even though the media is slanted, I can't believe this isn't even a little bit out of the bag. They are sure keeping a tight lip about this one.

Berg vs. Obama (yep that's right Obama is being sued)
Let me give you some of Philip J. Berg's credentials first. Here is a quote I found on a website... "Berg, who served as Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania for eight years, ran twice for governor in 1990 and 1998 and once for the U.S. Senate in 1994, was former chair of the Democratic Party in Montgomery (PA) County and a former member of the Democratic State Committee,..." (from this site)
So, Philip J. Berg (stauch democrat) has filed a lawsuit against Obama based on evidence he has collected, that he is not a natural born citizen. This evidence includes, but is not limited to proof of forged documents and an audio clip of his paternal grandmother calling her family member to say that Obama was born in Kenya. The crazy thing is that Obama hasn't disputed the charges. If these allegations are true, Obama is constitutionally ineligible to be president of the United States of America.

This is not a crackpot republican trying to pull some last strings to slip Obama up. I would probably disagree with most everything that Philip J. Berg stands for. But this is his attempt to hold up the constitution. It looks like he's coming up against many roadblocks.

I'm just passing on the information to my few readers, because it's awful that the liberal media doesn't present both sides of the story. If this was the other way around, it would have been smeared all over the place.
If you want to hear the same interview that I heard, here is a link.

All I will say is choose wisely my friends.
Romans 16: 17-20

I haven't totally decided who I'm voting for. Here in Oregon, the presidential vote doesn't really count, unless you're voting for Obama.
I'm considering a vote for the constitutional party candidate, Chuck Baldwin.
He's in your voter's guide.
He stands for everything that I want in a president.

I know that it is our American right to vote for who we want to.
I wouldn't have done this post if I thought that we were being given all of the information.

In composing this post, I have tried to be as respectful as I can be. So if you have a comment, please do the same for me and the rest of my readers.

Reasons For Not Blogging

Normally I would space each of these out into several posts. But we've had alot going on. Blogging has taken a backburner for a little bit.

1. Our house that we live in and "the little house" went up on the market to sell on Monday. Call it a preemptive strike if you will. We are ok for now, but a few months down the road if something doesn't happen with one of them it won't be pretty. We really feel like this is what we were being led to do. If both houses sell, so be it. Ryan really wants to move in closer to his job anyway. Well, he REALLY wants to move to Bend, but I don't think that's in the cards. The grandparents would revolt, BIG TIME!!

2. I've been cleaning out my front bedroom. I haven't even scratched the surface of it, but the last couple days I've been listing stuff on ebay and craigslist. That is very time consuming. And I'm not totally sure if it's worth it this time around. I don't know...I have some auctions ending today, so ask me in a few hours. I only have 1 watcher to one of my 4 auctions.

3. Just generally cleaning my house constantly in case of a showing. I'm not a naturally "keep things clean" person. Just ask my old college roommate, my mom, my husband, the next door neighbor....

4. I've been "busy" learning the art of couponing. Tuesday night I went to a class held by these fine ladies... This is stemming out of the mom's group that I go to at Damascus Community Church every month. Last month's topic was No More Excuses: Getting real with your Family's Finances. At the end of the discussion, she announced that they were going to have a class on saving money on groceries. She also gave a list of blogs to check out in the meantime.
Well, Jackie and I have been perusing these blogs quite regularly and it's true, there is quite a lot of money to be saved if you know the tricks of the trade.
To check these blogs out yourself here are a few more:
Super Coupon Girl
Money Saving Mom
Frugal Finds From Your Frugal Friend
Common Sense With Money
That is a smattering of the ones I've been checking pretty regularly.
I'm working on my shopping list and very excited about the deals I'm working on.

5. I ordered and received my digital scrapbook that I've been working on all year long. I'm extremely happy with it! Other than a few little typos on my part, it's absolutely beautiful! I'm so excited about this. The best part is, MyPublisher was running a special thru Costco and it was 55% off. So a book that was supposed to be $113.95 before shipping was about $60 after shipping. It's 100 pages so that makes it $.60 a page. There is no way that I could make a paper book for that cheap. I would spend $20-30 on the book alone, not to mention the page protectors, paper, stickers, embellishments, adhesive, and the list goes on....

6. I'm going to be trying to take pictures of Wyatt this afternoon at the park by our house. Just try to wrangle a very busy toddler at a park by yourself. Heaven help me...I don't know how I'm gonna do it.

There you have it...that's the update.
I'll probably think of stuff I forgot later.
Oh ya, I got tagged. That might have to wait till the weekend.
It's a pretty fun one though!

Everyone have a fun and safe Haloween. While I really don't like Haloween itself, we have fun celebrating in our own special way.

Sir. Winston Churchill

My mom is a sculptor.
She made this! (amazing right?)
This is the 2nd installment in a commissioned project that she is working on for Pinewood Preparatory School in Summerville, SC.
The first installment was her Mother Theresa sculpture. (you can see that here)
Mom has been working on this project all year, and it is a huge accomplishment to see the finished project.
She is a very unique artist because not only does she do all of her own sculpting, but she did the mold, and the patina (color) herself as well.

So, needless to say, I'm proud of her and her work and wanted to share it!!

Next up, a bronze sculpture of Frances Suddeth Josephson. Mrs. Josephson was a code breaker in WWII (you can read more about her amazing story here).

"Street View"

Have you ever looked up google "street view" and found your house?
Well, I have.
I've also found other people's houses. It can be very interesting.
For instance...
This is our house on street view.







But more importantly, I looked up the "little house" on street view the other day. It is a fabulous "before" representation of the house.







Ewwww...
There's that "cousin eddie" motor home. Don't forget the Christmas lights and dried up wreath. That, by the way, Ryan ripped off the first day we took possesion. Oh ya, and did I mention that this picture is well over a year old. So, the dried up wreath wasn't from this last Christmas, but from a Christmas of yesteryear.

This is a picture that I took a couple of weeks ago for our Craigslist ad.













And this is a picture that I took today. We had some of our wonderful family come over today and help us paint the house. They worked tirelessly all day long and the results were impressive. We had quite the crew today...Ryan's parents (Becky and Ray),my dad, Grammy Clay, Lisa, Jared, Cresslyn & Doug (thankyou so much Lynnann). My mom watched Wyatt all day and we were able to get a major portion of it finished.
We are expecting another day of really good weather tomorrow so, after church, Ryan and I will go and work on it some more.

Thanks so much to our family for helping us so much during this very stressful time!

Let's Go Ducks!

To say that my husband is an avid Oregon Ducks fan would be a mild statement. So, when his birthday was rolling around this summer, he began to hint about wanting tickets. I bought him tickets to Ducks vs. UCLA. (Thanks Pat)
It turned into a party because Doug and Lynnann, Jared and his friend Dean and us were all going. Uncle Tom and Aunt Jackie were kind enough to let us borrow their mini van and we all got to ride to Eugene, OR together. It's roughly a 3 hour drive to get there, the game started at 7:30. What time did the boys want to leave???? Two PM. TWO PM!!! They were talking constantly throughout the entire trip there. They were all literally like a bunch of Jr. high girls. And Ryan was absolutely giddy. Ryan is not usually giddy. Truly.

So, we got there a couple hours early and ate some horrible Mexican food. There wasn't a soul in the place and I'm not sure what I ate was actually edible. So, I just didn't look at it as it went into my mouth.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm not a big sports person. I find it so boring to sit in front of a TV and watch people run around the screen with a ball. Just not amusing to me at all.
But there is something about being there. Especially at the Ducks game, I don't know if some of Ryan's enthusiasm rubs off on me or what. I just get sucked in and all of a sudden I want to know what the heck I'm watching and why. I find that very interesting about myself.
Apparently they didn't play very well. (I know this because I was forced to have the post game show blasting in my ear on the ride home at 11:30-2am, Another guy thing I suppose)
But, the game itself was very exciting. It wasn't a blowout but the Ducks maintained a decent lead the entire time.
One of the UCLA players got injured and was on his tummy on the field for what seemed like about 20 minutes. Simultaneously, there had been a fight in the stands and a spectator was pushed over the edge and fell on his head (6-8 feet they said).
So while they were tending to the player that was very hurt. There were about 10 police men and firemen on the field tending to the other altercation.

We spent the night in Becky and Ray's (Ryan's Parents) trailer and Wyatt spent the night with them. Ryan and I were getting up early Sunday morning to help my grandma move into a retirement home.
So, we fell into bed at about 2:30 am.
That made for a very tired couple the next day, but it was worth it!