Thrifty Sassy Mama

Change

2012-01-17T10:31:00.000-08:00

Recently a dear friend of mine had a major health scare. He is older and obese. He is a sweet guy and I couldn't help but be scared when I heard that he was in the hospital. The first news we heard was that he had bronchitis. I have had bronchitis before and I knew how that felt. However, I never had to stay in the hospital. A couple days later it was bronchial pnemonia. Upon further investigation by the doctors on staff, it was discovered that he had had an extremely serious heart attack. He had actually been at work and had this heart attack on the jobsite. The saddest thing is that he didn't even know he had it. With being so unhealthy and smoking like a chimney, he just went on his way. Imagine if you will going three whole weeks without knowing anything was wrong.

When in the hospital and finding this information out, it was soon planned that he would have surgery to assist this. However, upon the operating table, it was discovered that it was more serious than they could have ever imagined. They couldn't continue with the surgery. When he woke up, doctors informed him that they couldn't do anything for his heart. He would have to have a heart transplate. I couldn't imagine being told that from a doctor. It broke my heart when he and his wife told me. It took everything I had not to immediately cry on the phone. Now he has to wait to be put on the list after approval from the doctors after numerous tests are conducted. They had to transport him to another state for these tests. It is just a matter of time. When talking to him, I have to admit that it didn't sound as if he had much hope.

This entire situation brought me to think of my life. I am not ready to go. I have so much to do before I die. Life is a gift. For the past couple years though, I have been stuck in a little hurdle and just been going through the motions of life. Not out of depression, but out of just not having much hope. Shaking myself out of the mundane habits I have been living for this long is my current road block.

My birthday is fast approaching. As I look around me in my current life, I want a lot of change in my upcoming years. I really want to get healthy, travel more, enjoy life and not let my finances dictate my opportunities. I want to become happier, satisfied, and more caring. I want to be a better person. I want to be more accepting of people and things in my life. That might sound kind of broad to some of you, but I know what I mean by that.

Hold the ones tight that are dear to you. Don't forget to let them know how much you love them. You never know what can happen. Each day is an extra blessing.

Financial Sins

2012-01-13T14:47:00.000-08:00

Confession time. What are your biggest financial sins? Be honest now. Me? Well, I will be honest and tell everyone that even though I am really thrifty and frugal, I DON'T HAVE A BUDGET! I know that all the books and sites say that should be your first step when it comes to personal finance. I just haven't done it. Never. I went to and then I just stop and put it off. So for me that is huge. I am sure I could save even more money than I am now.

Another really bad thing that I have a tendency to do is not paying my utilities on time. It isn't that I don't have the money for them either. I just literally put them to the side and forget about them. In turn I add late fees on mine. Pathetic huh?

Head over to this site and enter for a chance at some cash to confess your financial sins. I am trying to win the $500 Financial Blogger competition, sponsored by Life Insurance Finder – the easiest place to compare life insurance. Crossing my fingers that I win! Check it out now. :)

The 10 Pound Challenge

2012-01-12T12:46:00.000-08:00

As a way to keep myself accountable, I decided to join in the 10 Pound Challenge over at Newlyweds On a Budget! check it out.

I joined the 10-pound Challenge hosted by Newlyweds on a Budget. Lose 10 pounds in 12 weeks, win $$$. Are you in?

Progress

2012-01-12T12:37:00.000-08:00

So I weighed myself the other day and I am down by 6 pounds! I am so proud of myself. I haven't had one Mountain Dew at all since this year. Considering today is the 12th day of the year, I am on a great track. I have been eating much smaller portions (with the exception of a binge last night, but that is a whole other topic). I have been drinking plenty of water. I feel much better about myself sticking to losing this weight. I can't say it hasn't been hard, because it has.

At work we have my beloved Mountain Dew stocked in the fridge. Those dang cans stare back at me every day when I grab my lunch or snack from there. I would be lying if I said I haven't been really tempted to partake of a can here or there. However, I have held firm and haven't had one. My coworker even mentioned how it wouldn't hurt me to have one from time to time. I know myself better than that though. I am the type of person who will internally decide it won't hurt to have one here or there and then before I know it, I will be back to my soda habit. I am not strong enough to allow myself to have one.

The hardest has been yesterday and today. My boss has a tendency to come unglued over anything. When I say anything, I mean quite literally anything. One minute you are talking to Bobo the Clown and joking and the next second he just starts snapping and screaming like a Shark. Ummmmmm..... for what reasoning? Nothing good enough.

Well, he was freaking out over stuff and I was so stressed out. It took everything I had not to have a soda. In the past I have relied heavily on food and soda for comfort. I wish I could say that I am able to get away from the stress. I can't though. If only it were that easy. Some days I would love to scream back, but I know that will lead me to the unemployment lines. I can't afford to be unemployed. What is the hardest part of it all is that you never know who you are going to be talking to with him. Will today bring a caring, compassionate boss or will it be the psychotic jerk? Hmmmm....

After such a long, hard day yesterday, I did what any normal person would do. I turned to food. We went grocery shopping and I picked up a loaf of french bread while there because it sure looked good. While cooking dinner for myself someone ate half of it!! Can you believe it? I looked around to see which of my kids had gotten into it, but I didn't see it torn apart like some crazy animal had sneaked it away from my sight like I would have expected had one of them gotten into it. It was cut ever so neatly by the sharp knife immediately surrounding the bread. Then I realized something. I didn't think it was my kids after all. It turned out that it was me! Oh the shame of it.

While eating it, I focused on how good the bread was and about how plain crappy work had been. I snatched some of the kids' yummy chicken nuggets that were just finished from the oven. Mmmmmm how tasty. They need to cool down so I will put them over here so the kids don't burn their mouths. I don't mind if I do. Next thing I know I smell the aroma of those fresh curly fries. Oooooo I smell those . I think they are almost done. Oooooo I don't mind if I do have some of these tasty curls as well. Mmmm.

One nugget turned into 5, which then turned into some more... You know where I am going with this. I had purposely made that food for the kids while making me a big pot of some goolash which has chicken, tomato juice, macaroni noodles (don't knock me- I like noodles and yes I know they are full of carbs), onions, a few seasonings and some garlic. Much healthier than nuggets and fries.

Instead of exercising or cleaning or doing anything at all productive, I sat my fat butt in my easy chair and watched the T.V. which had nothing good on, but I still wanted to watch it. Somehow we ended up on Wheel of Fortune. Yes, I knew plenty of the answers before the contestants guessed them. I had my warm, cozy blanket on me and next thing I knew I had some added weight on my chair.

As I opened my eyes at around 2 in the morning, I discovered that added weight was my sleeping son who just wanted to cuddle with Mommy. We both had been out cold for a long time. I resorted to my bed.

When I woke up this morning, I felt total guilt for what I had done. There is no way I am going to get to my goal by eating like that! I need to be off my butt and doing stuff instead of just sitting there and doing nothing. Even though experts say to weigh yourself once a week, I decided to weigh myself again this morning (as I had done the day before). Two whopping more pounds than the prior morning! Wow, you stupid scale. You must be wrong. There is no way.

And then I thought about it. No, the scale is right. I need to just continue and be better. On the positive side, I have lost about 6 pounds. I just need to be stronger and not resort to my friends- food. Dang you food. Dang you for tasting so good and parading yourself in front of my eyes like I am some crazed animal. Dang you!

A Relationship

2012-01-03T16:43:00.000-08:00

Last night I was lying in bed and texting a friend. I don't remember what brought up the conversation or anything, but in our conversation my love life was brought up. I mentioned how I was tired of being a single mom and how frustrating it can get sometimes. I love my kids to death and would never change anything I have done. I love them so much more than I can ever explain. For those who really know me, you know that I believe in God and go to church. I stated to my friend that maybe God just didn't think I was prepared and ready for a guy yet. Her response was along the lines that if I don't really have God as a priority and focus on Him, then it is pointless. She said to focus more on my realtionship with the Creator. "When you forget about your pursuit of a husband, then He will send you someone."

Her response was so clear and made me think for a while. I love God! I do. I wholeheartedly love him. But part of me kind of hurt when she said that. I don't know how to explain it. Guilt? Yeah, possibly. Maybe I haven't put focus in the right areas. I think I need to work on that more than anything. I need to have a real relationship with Him.

I have never been one to preach or put my nose in everyone's business when it comes to religion. That is one topic I like to leave alone. I choose to agree to disagree. Can't we just be in harmony and not bickering about religion? There are so many religions out there. I won't turn this blog into some preaching sermon and insist that you all agree and convert to my church if you aren't already.

Today I have been thinking a lot though. I am left thinking how God has a plan. I struggle sometimes trusting his timeframe. In my mind I just keep thinking the following:

Remember that He has a plan. Everything happens in HIS timeframe.

So many times in my life I have prayed and prayed thinking that He just didn't answer and that for some strange reason God didn't grant my prayers. However, looking around I see how He has had a plan the whole time.

From the time I was little I always wanted to own a house. I remember that was the great, American dream. I worked hard and "somehow" got working in pretty decent jobs. I had steady employment and was making okay money. I thought it was time to buy a house. I wanted a house so bad. It was when prices were sky high and credit was easy. I will never forget putting an offer in for a house. Let's be honest- there was no way I could even afford one, but I put in an offer anyway. I was determined to be a homeowner. My payments would have been over 50 percent of my income and it was a fixer upper house AND THE MORTGAGE COMPANY WAS GOING TO APPROVE IT!!! Seriously, they were insane. I was even more insane for being so convinced that I could do it. Well, I put my offer in for their asking price and the bank came back and said that wasn't enough! It was a short sale. I wasn't prepared to increase my monthly payments any more. I prayed and I prayed so hard at that point. I was so mad later when it didn't work out.

Now at this point looking back to then, I know my prayers were answered IN HIS TIME not mine. There was no way I could have afforded the payments. Not even close. I was so set on having it though. As a look around me, I have an ever increasing respect for God's timeframe. It is hard to notice when you are praying so hard and think that He has let you down.

I am hoping that maybe this whole "OH MY GOSH I WANT TO GET MARRIED ALREADY AND STOP BEING SINGLE" crap will be the same way. From my earliest memories, I remember thinking I would find a husband at 18 and live happily ever after as they did in stories. I was so convinced that that was how it was going to work. I dreamed of my wedding and all the details and colors that would be involved. I was determined and focused. hahaha I wanted to have 7 kids and live in a big house, being a single mom and watching my kids while my husband was working. I would be the best mommy in the world. I would bake the best homemade cookies. I would be the prettiest and funnest. I was going to be the best wife in the world. My husband and I would grow old together and be happy. I wanted it all.

Now that I look around to the present day, wow! Time passes and wounds heal.

I know that I need to not worry about a relationship with a guy right now. I think I need to focus more on the Lord, my kids and myself. As hard as it is to say, when the time comes then it will come. Patience.

A New Year, A New Start

2012-01-02T14:42:00.000-08:00

Today I feel strong. I haven't had any Mountain Dew yesterday or today. The only drink I have consumed has been water. I feel so proud and accomplished of myself, considering how much Mountain Dew I would consume on such a consistent basis.

Last night I was on the exercise bike for, oh....about 10 minutes or so. Yeah I am a total slacker on that. I just couldn't stay and focus on that. However, this morning we walked up to the park around 10:00 which is uphill. While there I actually ran around and played with the kids. I normally sit on the bench and watch them play. Our friends came and met up with us to join in the fun. In addition to playing with them, I walked all around the park with my friend for a long time while there ( I would say over a good hour though I didn't time it or anything). It helped having a friend there to talk to. It felt awesome. When we were finished, we walked home, though the kiddos were pretty tired after being on the go that whole time at the park. We just got home about half an hour ago (1:50). So I was up off my butt the whole time. I will be honest and say that my feet hurt now, but I am so proud and happy with myself for sticking with this and working hard.

When we got home, we drank plenty of water and had some Progresso canned soup. My choice was the Beef Barley. Pretty yummy stuff and has plenty of veggies. I liked it and so did the kids. It was very filling and sustainable. I had a whole can to myself. As I sit here typing, I think I am going to have to work on my portions in time, but right now it is baby steps. Just having to work on it.

Yes, it is only the 2nd day of the year but I am still on track. In talking to my friend at the park while we were walking, we talked about resolutions and goals. She mentioned how her and her family plan on putting together vision boards together as a family for what they plan to do this year. I think that is such a great idea. While walking we talked in detail about some of our goals for this year and what we plan to do and I thought of some other things that I would like to do this year.

In addition to losing a significant amount of weight, I have some other things that I want to work on. I want to work on having better self confidence and happiness. I really would love to start dating again and hopefully find a good guy. I know so many people who don't have any problems with dating and meeting people. I, however, have a hard time for some reason. Let's be honest- when you basically just go to work, get the kids, go home and do the motherly things without any additional time for going out, it is hard to meet people. I don't really go out. On the weekends I go to church and let's face it, there is noone there. I just can't seem to find date worthy men. Of course, I need to work on myself and be happy with myself first.

I want to read more. I want to stay off Facebook more. I want to be more organized. I want to be more serious about my blogging. I want to be happier in general. I want to go out more often and not just stay home all the time. I need to make more friends in my life. I need to work on being a more patient mommy. Man, sometimes that can be tough. There are so many things I would love to do new this year.

I think I am going to work on a vision board sometime soon and have it all put together. With this new year I have high hopes for myself. Here's to you 2012! A new year and a new start. Thank you, I really need you.

My Weight Loss Goal

2011-12-30T13:18:00.000-08:00

I was reading this post and got to thinking how maybe I need to be more specific about my GOAL of losing weight. Not just some want, wish or resolution! So here is my goal for 2012:
I want to lose 50 pounds by the time Bug has
her baptism!

In our church people that are raised in the church are typically baptized at the age of 8. She is set on getting baptized. She talks about it randomly out of nowhere. Her birthday is at the end of June. With baptisms come family. With family functions come pictures. With pictures come Sassy not happy with herself. I can't stand my picture taken with me at this current weight. I know that might sound weird. but I seriously am not happy right now with my weight.

So Bug will be baptized in either July or August I think. We will have to work on the real details of this. I have plenty of time.

I have a long way to go to get myself to where I want to be, but I am going to work really hard at this and keep my goal. How do I plan on getting to my goal weight of 135 pounds?

For starters, I am going to cut out soda completely!

I will admit that this is going to be so hard for me. I have a great love for Mountain Dew. Nothing pleases me more in the morning than that sugary tingle on my tongue from my beloved Dew. After all I would Do the Dew!! ;) No more though! Dew is out. Water is in. Mountain Dew has unwanted calories. I don't want them on my waist. So long, Dew. It has been great knowing you. It is over. Get your stuff and move out, why don't ya! Sassy is tired of seeing you. (Okay seriously seeing this picture on here of the Mountain Dew brand makes me want one so bad. I can tell this is going to be harder than I thought. I thought it would be smoothe sailing from here. Not so. Oh what a shame.)

I am going to replace Mountain Dew with water and drink lots of water. It is much healthier and keeps you full longer. Best part of all- NO CALORIES~!!

I am going to start walking and exercising. Back when I was good and lost all that weight (and kept it off for such a long time even after giving birth), I would walk and exercised. I loved walking. We would walk around the park and just go! It was such a great stress relief. I loved it. In addition to the stress relief, I felt so great by the time I was finished. I would go home and shower, drink more water, unwind and soon I was ready for bed. I just felt happy and content. The biggest thing I need to do right now is put an exercise routine together. It is time! I need this. Whether it is walking, cleaning, yard work, exercise videos (don't get me started on how many dang work out DVDs I have just sitting around collecting dust like the dust is in fashion or something), or hiking, it is time to put them in place. It has been too long. I have to stop making excuses.

I plan to make sure I get 8 hours of sleep. Did you know that getting 8 hours of sleep somehow revs up your metabolism? I was reading some article somewhere on weight loss and it stated that. Considering I have been running on less than that for a while, maybe it is time to start working on that. That can't be too hard can it?

I have to start eating more fruits and veggies. Okay I will tell the truth, a lot of days I won't eat any at all. I know that is horrible! I have to really work on that. It isn't that I don't like them, I have just been too lazy. Pure laziness.

Above all things I have to really cut back on my portions. Let's face it- I am a total foodie!! I love fooooooooood! I just can't get enough.

My coworker and I were discussing this and she said, "Being a foodie is fine. You just have to make sure you are burning the food off afterwards."
I said, " Let me rephrase that! I am a lazy foodie."
She laughed and I guess she thought I was joking. Unfortunately, I wasn't and I'm not. I am serious. I have to get really serious about this though. I have to start exercising and I have to cut back on my portions really. It isn't unheard of for me to eat big plates of things and go to town on them, only to go back for seconds. (Sassy covers head and face in total shame.) I know; it is really bad.

I am a snacker. I like to have my meals, but I like to snack in between. Unfortunately, I reach for unhealthy things for snacks- chips, candy, cookies, cake, nackos, peanut butter filled pretzel nuggets, or anything else within reach of my fast hands. Finishing off an entire bag of flaming hot cheeto puffs can be chalked up right to me. (Dang it- I can't blame it on anyone else but me.) Sad huh? I love them!!

I need to replace those bad foods with good ones. I need to start having string cheese, yogurt, fresh fruit, veggies, nuts, granola and other healthy, filling foods within reach of my hands. What can I say? I am really bad about this.

I need to plan healthier meals out and stick with it. The laziness just takes over sometimes, I swear it. I can buy some healthier things to make meals with but without sticking with it, it just goes unused in the fridge, when in turn I reach for the easy and lazy things to make. Can anyone say Ramen or Macaroni and Cheese? Spaghetti-O's anyone? Oh you're tired of that? Ummmmm how about some... some.... some...... uhhhhhhh...................................uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....................... microwavable burrito? No? Ummm.... go find something for yourself then. ;) So I have to get real serious about making better foods AND STICKING WITH IT AND MAKING IT!!!

(I am such a terrible mom sometimes. By the time I get home I am so beyond tired to the point that I just want to crash out and sleep. It doesn't help when you have a boss who screams and belittles everyone at various times. It would be one thing if he was consistent, but I swear this guy is bipolar. One minute he is nice and joking with everyone. You think everything is going great. Then suddenly he is screaming over something that is not a matter to be screaming. I swear if this economy was better I would be out of here in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, as we all know, the economy and job market are stinking. Peeeeewww what is that stench?? Oh wait, it is this dang job market and economy totally stinking up the place.)

Back to this whole goal thing though--- I am going to stick with this! I have to. By family pictures for Bug's baptism, I need to have myself down to size. Then maybe I can start fitting in my old clothes. (Yes, I am guilty. I have held onto them because I wanted to be back to that size and didn't want to part with my clothes. I am such a hoarder.)

So what goals do you have in place for this next year? I can't possibly be the only one here who plans to actually follow through and do something with this new year.

2012 is Coming

2011-12-30T07:04:00.000-08:00

2012 is coming! Changes come with a new year. As I look around me, I just can't be satisfied with my weight. I have put on so much weight to the point of embarrasement. I am disgusted with myself. I now weigh more than I did when I was 9 months pregnant!!!

A few years ago I got real serious about my health and worked out hard, as well as eating healthier and kept it off. I got pregnant with Jack and lost the weight right away. I was at my old size in no time. I felt happy and content. Above all things, I felt healthy.

Then, enter my sister. My big sister was in a horrible living situation with roommates. They were taking advantage of her to the point she was paying the majority of things. Out of frustration, she moved into my house and rented a room. For any of you who know my big sister, she has always been a bigger person weight wise. Soon her eating habits and unhealthy ways started really rubbing off on me.

McDonalds, fast food and junk food were very abundant in our house suddenly. Candy and soda. Fattening processed junk. Impulse buffet trips just for the heck of it. Eating out. Suddenly I didn't exercise at all.

She has been moved out of our house for a long time now, but those poor habits have really stuck with me, unfortunately. I hate to admit that I drink my beloved Mountain Dew EVERY SINGLE DAY now. Some days it isn't just one can either... I don't really eat fruits and veggie too often. Healthy string cheese, yogurt, and various heatlhy snacks are nonexistent in this house. My clothing is at the largest size I have ever been at. It is disgusting for me! Yet, I have just continued on and on.

As I look around me this morning, I am filled with shame and saddness. I worked soooooo hard all those years ago to get myself at a weight that I was content with. I was healthy and confident. I was happy.

This week I have decided that I am going to get serious about my health again and stick with it. I want to start walking again. I want to start eating healthier foods. I want to be a good example for my kids. Above all things I want to have self confidence in myself and my weight.

I want to be in my skinny clothes again. I am not going to disclose my current clothing size out of pure shame, but I want to get to my old size 5-7 again!!!!

I want to do this all for me. I need this. This past year I have really focussed on entering online giveaways. It has been to the point where I don't want to do anything else. I was so focused on entering so I could provide a big Christmas for my kids. I am going to continue to enter, but I think it needs to be in moderation. It has been to the point of complete and total focus in the past. No more of that.

It is time to get myself to a point where I am satisfied and happy with myself. 2012 here I come!! Beware 2012 because I am going to change a lot this year. I am going to work so hard and not just let this be some random new years resolution that I drop within a week or two. 2012 you are my year. The year I will work on myself very hard. I can do this!!

What do you intend to do in 2012? Let's hear your ~~resolutions~~ intended changes!!

2011

2011-12-28T14:16:00.000-08:00

2011 is coming to an end. This year as I look back and think hard of all the new and different things I have done this year, I can't help but be proud of myself. This year I did some pretty different things.

1. I started entering online giveaways and ACTUALLY WON!! So many years I thought all these giveaways were just gimmicks and that no one actually won. I couldn't believe when I actually won something. It was so fun and unexpected.
2. This year was my first time ever driving to Arizona. I didn't just drive a short distance either. Scottsdale, Arizona is pretty far I discovered. The best part was seeing so much snow on the way, even though we didn't get to stop and play in it. I drove all the way down there to pick up Bug's new bedroom set that I just happened to have won online. The only stipulation was that it had to be picked up down there. It was a Mommy and Bug trip. Just the two of us. I literally woke up at 2 in the morning, had Bug up and dressed and ready, gassed up and we were out of town by 3. We drove straight down there and back, not stopping for fear that the rain was going to get us. Imagine if you will, looking behind the truck with brand new furniture and seeing dark rain clouds circling! Pretty scary. I was so terrified of the furniture getting wet that I just kept driving and driving. There was no way I was stopping and getting this furniture completely ruined after driving so long and being so exhausted.
3. Adding to the above the first time I took such a long road trip running on three hours of sleep. No nap, no rest stop resting or anything. I must admit that it was an extremely long, tiring day. In the end though, it was totally worth it. The look on Bug's face was priceless when I told her it was for her.
4. I took Jack and Bug up to the mountains and hiked while there was snow out. It was so fun and unusual. I loved it. Bug completely fell on ice and I just couldn't stop laughing. ( I know I am such a mean Mommy!) We also had a little lunch and just enjoyed the outdoors.
5. I drove up to our family reunion up in Utah by myself and the kids. I had never driven up there on my own. It was such a fun trip and I completely loved it. I intend to do this more often as long as they keep the reunions going. We also actually camped out. I hadn't camped since.... someone died! (Long while ago when Bug was just a tot we went on a camp out and one of her grandma's friends had a heart attack and died. It was very unexpected and she was only in her 40's!) So it was fun making cool memories of camping. The kids totally loved it.
6. I had a mostly giveaway Christmas for my kids with my winnings from giveaways and we had such a blast. I spent a little over $20 out of pocket for Christmas and we had one of the biggest Christmases (as far as gifts) ever. I worked really, really hard at my online giveaways in hopes of winning for Christmas gifts. It really helped a great deal.
7. I finally filed for Child Support!!!!! Yes, you read that correctly. After all these years I finally did it. No, it isn't even close to completed, but at least I took the steps necessary.
8. I started really working on my food storage. I have a long way to go on this but at least I took the first steps and really started to dive into it.
9. Oh yeah, I MADE HOMEMADE BREAD FOR THE FIRST TIME!!
10. ?????

Hmmmmmmm for the life of me I can't really think of much else right now to make it to number 10. I am going to have to work on this next year to make a lot of new things on next year's list.

This next year I intend to get healthier. I want to lose a significant amount of weight. I won't announce the number out of embarrasement. hahahaa But I want to work really hard at it. I want to start walking.

I want to start a real budget. I want to start writing down where all my money is going. I mean REALLY start getting serious about this. I am very frugal and watch my money but I want to get more serious on it.

What do you intend to do this year? Anything spectacular?

Chuggington Table Giveaway

2011-12-26T17:21:00.000-08:00

As you should know by now from reading other posts on here, my son is a huge Chuggington fan. I have been trying so hard to win one of the cool Chuggington tables. I want one so bad to go with his Chuggington train set that Santa just brought him. Right now if you head on over here to Rockin Mama, she is having a giveaway for one. I am keeping my fingers crossed very tightly for this one. Wish me great luck! I think I may really need it. Chuggington is such a great brand and I love their products. They are dependable and durable for little ones. (Hey they NEED to be durable if MY son is playing with them, hahaha. He can be pretty rough on things without even remotely trying.)

Chuggington Table Giveaway

2011-12-21T15:09:00.000-08:00

Currently if you head here to The Mommy Files, you will see an amazing giveaway!!!!!! Woo Hooooooooooooo! She is giving away a cool Chuggington Let's Ride the Rails Table.

Now anyone who has a Chuggington lover will know just how awesome this giveaway is. As mentioned before on my blog, Jack is receiving a Chuggington train set this year from Santa. Instead of having to have his train set on the floor, it would be GREAT to have this table for him.

I love Chuggington. It is a great brand with great customer service. I love the durability of their products and just how great they are.

Head over and enter the giveaway today . I want this table so badly for my son. I know he would totally love it. If any of you win, let me know so I can be happy with you.

All Aboard.... :)

2011-12-20T16:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas is almost upon is. I can't believe it. Really I can't. I have been so busy and on the go lately. As you all know, I have been working extra hard this year to provide a great Christmas for my kids this year. In my never-ending effort to work hard at entering giveaways, Santa scored an amazing Chuggington train set. I will admit that I was literally doing a happy dance when I found out. I just couldn't believe it. As you all know from previous posts, being a single mom sure isn't easy financially. Christmastime for some reason just about scares me because there is always something else that comes up that I owe on.

So Jack is getting this awesome train set for Christmas now and I am so beyond excited to give it to him. I can't wait to see his expression and excitement. Today as I was just looking around online, I found the ultimate giveaway!!!

Right now if you head here to Real Moms Real Reviews, they are having a... GIVEAWAY for a Chuggington TABLE!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, you read that correctly. An awesome giveaway for a table for his train set. I want this so much. It will be much easier than having his train set on the floor and having to be cleaned up or stepped on. I can only imagine his ultimate excitement at this table.

I am crossing my fingers and hoping that I win this. Even if I don't, you should head there to enter. What a great giveaway. Enter now. It ends soon. :)

My Financial Bucket List

2011-12-14T08:48:00.000-08:00

A Financial Bucket List. Do you have one? There are so many things I could put on this list for myself. Some of the items might mean nothing to some of you but could mean a lot to me. You might have some on your list that I would think are unneccessary but it is yours.

My Financial Bucket List:
1. Pay Off My Mortgage in Full- Considering I just bought my house less than 3 years ago, I have a ways to go on this. I can't wait til the day I don't have a mortgage payment to make, considering a large majority of my paychecks go toward my house.
2. Save Up Money to Visit Wales With My Kids- For any of you who don't know, my mother lives in Wales. That is where she is from. Her and my father married and when they divorced years later, she decided to go back to be with her family. I have a whole side of my family who I have never met. Some of them I have emailed, facebook messaged/ wall posts, etc. However, I have never met any of them in person, with exception of my mother of course. I think it would be awesome to finally have the chance to meet them and enjoy their company.
3. Save Up Money to Visit Big Ben in London- I don't know why, but I have always been interetsed in seeing Big Ben.
4. Buy a New, Reliable Car- My car is seriously a piece of s*&^! One minute it works, and the next it just breaks down. It is horrible. I have had my car now for 6 years. I would love to have a new one. My dream car is a Lincoln Navigator. Other choices that come to mind would have to include a Dodge Journey, Ford F350 (don't ask me why but I have ALWAYS wanted a big truck for me), Dodge Avenger, Toyota RAV4, and the list could go on and on.
5. Start a Retirement Plan- Enough said
6. Obtain Health Insurance- Yes, we are living without health insurance. It is scary when you think of it. However, due to my limited income I can't afford it. It is scary. Work doesn't offer it.

I am entering a cool competition right now for sharing my financial bucket list, that is the $500 Give Me Back My Five Bucks competition, sponsored by Life Insurance Finder, the life insurance experts. Head there and enter right away. This ends today.

$500 Giveaway

2011-12-13T19:51:00.000-08:00

If you head here right now you can have a chance to enter a giveaway for $500. I’m posting this to enter a contest offered by Check ‘n Go at Creating Motherhood! I want to win a $500 gift card! Enter to win here: http://bit.ly/plaidcash

When driving around I never know how reliable my car will be that day. One minute it runs and the next minute it literally just breaks right down. Imagine driving and starting to break at a stop light and it just dies. The scariest is when I am driving with my kids in the car. It is so scary. I have had it looked at by a good Christian mechanic, and he can't seem to figure it out. I haven't been able to afford to take it in to a big shop, but it sure needs it. As a single mom, money is always tight, and I swear around November and December money seems extra tight. With $500.00 I could finally get my car worked on. I am sure any of you could use $500 extra in your pocket. Head there to enter the giveaway for a chance to win.

Chefs Catalog Giveaway

2011-12-09T10:46:00.000-08:00

Currently Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms is having a Chefs Catalog giveaway. Up for grabs is a $250 gift certificate to Chefs Catalog. I was browsing Chefs Catalog and found so many amazing kitchen items. I totally want a pressure cooker and some awesome bread pans now. "As soon as the giveaway ends, you can shop on line at your convenience! There’s no crowds to fight or traffic to sit in!"

2011-12-09T10:18:00.000-08:00

If you head HERE to Deal Hunting Diva's site, you can enter her AMAZING giveaway for...

wait for it......

wait for it.....

A VTech MobiGO Touch Learning System and Game Storage Cartridge! :)

Woooo hoooooo! How fantastic huh? What is it you might be asking? Well, the coolest thing ever!!

Vtech’s MobiGo Product Description: Put your kids on the cutting edge with VTech’s MobiGo Touch Learning System. Touchscreen technology makes learning fun as kids look, listen, and touch! This touch technology educational toy allows your child to tap, flick, pat, and drag their way to learning and fun! Numerous learning games teach basic skills including math, vocabulary, spelling, logic and categorization.

From Deal Hunting Diva's Site:
The MobiGo Storage Cartridge allows kids to have all of their favorite downloadable games with them in one place. You insert the cartridge into your MobiGo, connect it to the computer, download your games from the VTech Learning Lodge, and they are automatically stored on your cartridge. Learning on-the-go with your favorite educational toy has never been so easy! This is a pretty neat feature.

Head there now for this giveaway!!! This is a very short giveaway. You'll want to enter this right away. :) Happy entering.

New Age Mama's Think Geek Giveaway

2011-12-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

New Age Mama is having a super, fantastic giveaway!!!!!

Have you heard of Think Geek yet? If you haven't, check out that site and you will see some awesome things that I just can't get enough of. Do you have any geeks in your family? Their items would make great Christmas gifts.

From New Age Mama's site:

If you are looking for a fun gift this holiday season, than Think Geek is the perfect place to start shopping. You can shop by price, category, or even pick stocking stuffers using their convenient search engines! Be sure to check out their sale section for savings on already low prices. Whether you're looking for toys for kids, fun finds for the die hard collector, or even something for the techie geek in your life, you can find it all and more at Think Geek!

Well, New Age Mama is having a giveaway for a $50 gift card to Think Geek.

If I won, I would totally buy the Nintendo Monopoly. I grew up playing Nintendo and Super Nintendo. Mario is so awesome! I know I am not the only Geek out there, so get over there and enter!

A $100 Target Gift Card Giveaway

2011-12-07T11:13:00.000-08:00

Right now if you go here, you can enter for a chance at Practical Frugality's $100 Target Gift Card Giveaway!!! Wooo hooo! I love Target. They have such great things there.

If I were to win, I would totally purchase some glass bread loaf pans so I can make a bunch of fresh, homemade bread. I would kindly share with neighbors and friends. I love fresh bread. mmmmm. I made some this week and it was my first time ever making bread. Let me just tell you, it was AMAZING!!

Well, head over to Practical Frugality now for your chance and happy entering! :)

I won!!! :)

2011-12-06T18:12:00.000-08:00

I WON!!!!

Woooo hoooo! I won an awesome giveaway over at Familylicious! This giveaway is the one that I won. What is it that I won you ask? Well, I won a LullaPet with an MP3 player.

I am super excited. My daughter is going to love this. How awesome is that??? Check out their blog. I am so happy right now.

Invest It Wisely's $300 giveaway

2011-12-06T08:02:00.000-08:00

Invest It Wisely is having a $300 giveaway. With the holidays soon approaching, I know this could help so many people out. Make sure you enter. What I love is that they will be donating half to charity. How awesome. Head there now!

Autism United Giveaway – $300 Sears Giftcard Giveaway

2011-12-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

Autism United Giveaway – $300 Sears Giftcard Giveaway! Here is an awesome giveaway at Mommy Matter. How would you like $300 to shop at Sears? How about a gift card in that amount? I would love one. I surely could use it.

This giveaway starts Dec. 5th and runs to Dec. 15th, 2011 and is for a $300 Sears Gift card available via email which can be used for online shopping or printed out and used in you local Sears store. This gift card is the perfect item to be able to bring a hard year to a happy ending. At Sears you can get a wide range of gifts or items on your list that will ensure everyone can have a gift.

Calphalon Slow Cooker

2011-12-05T14:00:00.000-08:00

If you go here you can enter a giveaway for a Calphalon Slow Cooker. I love slow cookers. They are perfect for winter time. Just throw the food in and go. No worrying about it. Make sure you enter soon, as the giveaway ends in two days. Who can't use a slow cooker? Check it out now ! :)

Perplexus Maze Game

2011-11-28T11:43:00.000-08:00

I was in Target recently and spotted this fun game- the Perplexus Maze Game. It looked pretty fun and I started playing with it in the store. That evening I came online and found all these reviews for them. I think this is going to be all the rage this Christmas. If you head here you can enter the giveaway for one. Who wouldn't want one of these?

PERPLEXUS is a maze game where players maneuver a small marble around challenging barriers inside a transparent sphere. Unlike traditional flat-surface mazes that are composed of one path, PERPLEXUS houses various challenging tracks with 100 barriers providing a frustrating three-dimensional experience. Players select the track they would like to attempt and must work with gravity to carefully shift, flip, and twist the sphere to guide the marble. Players can race each other or the clock.

Life With the Stevens

2011-11-21T21:36:00.000-08:00

Life With the Stevens has joined in on the Coupon Cabin giveaway going on right now through November 25th. Up for grabs currently is a $35 Target Gift Card which is sponsored by herself! Head over and say hi and check out her blog. Happy entering.

$150 for Holiday Shopping

2011-11-20T22:32:00.000-08:00

Right now if you head here you can have a chance at $150 for holiday shopping. I know I sure could use that. Go there now and enjoy.

MamaNYC Giveaway

2011-11-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

MamaNYC has moved! As a result, she is having a fantastic giveaway.
It is actually a "thank you for understanding and being so patient with me while I stopped blogging for X-amount of days because I had to move in a snowstorm and now my life is in boxes"
giveaway.

What a great kind of giveaway. Did I forget to mention something really special about this giveaway. Oh wait. I think I did. How about the fact that there are 6 winners?

[1] Grand Prize Winner: $100 American Express Gift Card AND $50 PayPal Cash

[2] First Place: $75 Visa Gift Card
[3] Second Place: $50 Visa Gift Card
[4] Third & Fourth Place: $25.00 Amazon Gift Card
[5] Fifth & Sixth Place: $10.00 Amazon Gift Card

You guys know that I love a good giveaway. So I will be entering this. :) Head on over here to check it out.

Frugal Follies' $50 Amazon GC Giveaway

2011-11-12T08:01:00.000-08:00

If you head over to Frugal Follies right now, you can enter to win $50 in Amazon gift cards! How exciting is that??!?! :) You could use that toward Christmas presents for your loved ones or something for YOURSELF!

Everytime we go to my cousin's house Jack BEGS to play with their Beyblades. I don't really understand the whole thing, but he seriously LOVES it. In fact, whenever we drive anywhere near their house he asks if we can go there to play. hahaha He stays playing that for hours. If I won $50 in gift codes from Frugal Follies, I would totally buy him a Beyblade vortex battle set.

Head over there now to enter this giveaway. If you win, head here and let me know. I always love hearing when people win things.

Fun Giveaway

2011-11-11T21:53:00.000-08:00

Horseshoes is having a fun little giveaway. Up for grabs is a Target giftcard. Who couldn't use one of those right now with the holidays around the corner? What could you use this for? Something special on your Christmas list or for someone else you are shopping for? I know I cuold really use this. It would help out. Head there now and check out the giveaway. Enter right away because the giveaway ends really soon. You wouldn't want to miss out on this one.

Looking for a Blog about Family, Money and Values?

2011-11-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

Are you looking for a blog on family, money and values? Head over to this awesome blog and check it out! Very cool huh? So excited to have found it myself :)

A Vtech Kidizoom Camera Giveaway

2011-11-07T14:46:00.000-08:00

With holidays fast approaching, I have already experienced the numerous commercials on tv. The other night I saw one that Jack told me he wanted really really REALLY bad for Christmas. It is a chidlren's camera that is safe for kids. I must admit that I thought it was pretty cool. nycsinglemom is having a giveaway for one Vtech Kidizoom Camera.! If you have any aspiring young photographers (or any child who likes taking pictures), head over and check it out. How fun!

2011-10-23T18:16:00.000-07:00

We all know that Christmas is around the corner. With Christmas comes gifts. My son would absolutely LOVE a Chuggington All Around Chuggington Set! Well guess who the heck is having a giveaway for one! Mom Spotted is!

From her site:
The Chuggington Interactive Railway brings your favorite engines to life via SmartTalk technology! Featuring spiral elevation and 60 total pieces, the All Around Chuggington Set features over 4 feet of track and includes 3 interactive train stops: a loading yard, a tower platform, and a roundhouse with an Interactive Vee figure. It also includes an Interactive Wilson engine, a hopper car, and 6 pieces of cargo.
Best of all, the Interactive Vee and Wilson included in the set actually recognise and react with other Chuggington Interactive engines and train stops! This set features over 250 sounds and phrases when used with other Chuggington Interactive products…the more pieces you add, the more interactive your world becomes! Requires 11 x AA batteries (included).

Jif Giveaway

2011-10-23T17:36:00.000-07:00

Mom Spotted is having a great Jif giveaway right now!

Jif® Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest provides the perfect opportunity for families to stir-up some fun at home by getting creative in the kitchen! Not only is involving kids in preparing mealtime is a great way to spend quality family time, this contest encourages kids to experiment with new cuisines, ingredients and flavor combinations. One creative kid can earn a $25,000 college fund -and in honor of its tenth anniversary – Jif is adding $10,000 in educational prizes. Visit www.jif.com and www.jifenespanol.com through October 12 to enter and for official rules

Arm & Hammer Giveaway at The Mommy Files

2011-10-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

The Mommy Files is having a giveaway at her site. 1 lucky reader on The Mommy-Files will win a $25 VISA Gift Card!!! Who doesn't like Arm & Hammer? It is such a great and trusted brand. I love their line of laundry detergent. The fabric softener is great too. Head there now. :) Happy entering!!!

Retired by 40's {Giveaway}

2011-10-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

If you are looking to be the proud owner of a Kindle, I would go here right away.

As you can see, Retired by 40 is having a giveaway for a Kindle Fire!!!! :)

Win the new Kindle Fire – The new Kindle Fire looks like a great tablet for content consumption and is selling at a blistering pace of 2,000 units per hour at Amazon right now. It has a 7″ touchscreen, new Amazon Silk web browsers, email , Amazon cloud access, and weight less than a pound. I think this will be a great device to take on a trip or on a commuter train. You must enter the contest at Retire By 40 to win this prize.

This giveaway ends on November 7th at Midnight.

Couple Money's 2nd Birthday!!!

2011-10-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

Couple Money is celebrating their 2nd Birthday!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY OH HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
And many more on channel 4.... ;) .......

In celebrating of their birthday, Couple Money is having a Tablet Giveaway!!!!!

Woot, woot!!!!

From Couple Money's site:

Velocity Micro T301 Cruz 7-Inch Android 2.0 Tablet

Ultra responsive capacitive touch screen and dual core processor lets you navigate the installed Android 2.2 operating system with ease. The Kindle for Android app allows you to read your Kindle books and gives you access to the largest selection of books people want to read in the Kindle Store. The Amazon Appstore for Android lets you install the newest applications with just a tap. Whether on the go, at home, or at work, the Cruz T301 is the perfect complement to your mobile lifestyle. Backed by Velocity Micro’s expert US-based support.

Don't wait to enter. I really like their site. It is very cool. I have been subscribed to their emails for about a year now. It is awesome receiving their emails. They post about all things finances which is awesome.

Thousandaire's Giveaway

2011-10-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

Wow guys! So Thousandaire is having this super huge, awesome, gigantic, amazing, fun and big giveaway!!!! Thousandaire is giving away a total of $683.90 worth!

From the website:
Thousandaire Giveaway Prizes

•$275 Amazon Gift Card (enough for a Kindle Fire and accessories)
•$100 Amazon Gift Card (enough for a Kindle Touch)
•$100 Amazon Gift Card (enough for a Kindle Touch)
And now the sponsored prizes. Thank you very much to all the PF bloggers who are sponsoring this giveaway, and please check out their sites:
•iPod Shuffle ($50 value) from Prairie Eco-Thrifter where you will learn how to go green, save money, and have fun.
•$25 sent via Paypal from MaximizingMoney.com, where you’ll find the best bonus offers and promotional deals.
•$25 Amazon Gift Card from Retire By 40, where you can read about saving 50% on your medical bills.
•$25 Amazon Gift Card from Invest It Wisely, where it’s all about getting out of the rat race.
•$25 Amazon Gift Card from Accountant by Day, making it as a 20-something professional in the corporate world.
•$20 Amazon Gift Card from Bucksome Boomer where you’ll read about life and money on the way to retirement.
•Dave Ramsey’s Entreleadership Book ($14.95 value) from Personal Finance Whiz, where the goal is to spend smarter, beat debt and grow wealthy.
•Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover ($12.95 value) from Hank. If you ask a money question at Money Q&A you could win more prizes if your question is featured on the Money Q&A
•$10 Amazon Gift Card from My Personal Finance Journey, where understanding how to prioritize new funds is bringing sexy back.

Get your butt over there NOW!!!

{Giveaway} Time

2011-10-15T16:46:00.000-07:00

Head here for an awesome giveaway today! Trust me, you will want to see this one.... ;) Happy entering my friends!!!!!!

To Infinity and Beeeeeeeyond.................

2011-10-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

Go here to check out Two of a Kind's giveaway for a Mattel To Infinity And Beyond Space Toys.

Who doesn't like the Toy Story crew?? My son loves Buzz Lightyear. Who doesn't? They are such a great bunch of toys.

Coca Cola Giveaway

2011-10-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

Have a Family Game Night with Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is offering to kick-off Family Game Night!

Head here to enter a giveaway! What is being offered you ask? Well, how about

(1) $25 Amex Card for snacks and supplies

(1) Coca-Cola Coupon

(1) Yahtzee Board Game

(1) Monopoly Board Game

(1) Coca-Cola Polar Bear Puzzle

(1) Checkers Mat

Happy Entering!!!

It's a Grand Giveaway!

2011-10-11T11:34:00.000-07:00

Who wants one of these hot numbers?

Two of a Kind is having a giveaway for a DXG Luxe 1080p Slim HD Camcorder.

From her site:
The DXG Luxe 1080p Slim HD Camcorder combines HD technology and style in one device that's hip, hot and haute. It features a classic design that is inspired by the latest trends in fashion and will complement anyone's taste and personal style. This camcorder records real 1080p high definition video and captures still pictures up to 12 megapixels. It also boasts a 3" touchscreen display and an HDMI interface so it can easily be connected to your HDTV. This camcorder comes with everything you need to start recording your precious memories right away.

It is less than 1 inch thick so it takes up very little room. The screed flips out and can be turned to the front or back so you always know what you're recording.
I would LOVE one! Head over to her site now. You know you want to enter this one!!!

Finally Winning Again!! :)

2011-10-07T13:13:00.000-07:00

This week I won not one,

not two

but THREE things!!!!!!!!!! :)

At Jolly Mom I won a Chuggington Laptop from a giveaway I entered on her site.

At My 2 Cents I won a CD! Yay, something for Meeeeeee!

And last but not least my friends, I won (from The Staten Island Family) an awesome Mechatar for my son!!!!!!

A Mechatar is a fun robot toy that my son is going to completely freak out over. You must check them out! I chose Wrexx. He is red and totally awesome!!! :) I can't wait until that arrives. I am going to have to hide it so carefully as to not be found until Christmas.

Okay you have to keep these secret so the kids don't find out. ;) I am trusting you guys. Don't break the trust!!!!

Buzz Lightyear Spaceship Command Center Review & Giveaway at Jabbering Jessi

2011-10-07T11:29:00.000-07:00

Jabbering Jessi is having a Buzz Lightyear Spaceship Command Center Review & Giveaway over at her blog! Do your kids like the Toy Story movies? Such a fun adventure. How about a fun Buzz Lightyear Spaceship Command Center?

From her blog:

The Buzz Lightyear Spaceship Command Center is awesome with its lights, sounds, phrases that go off when the command center is opened or closed. It even has a voice PA amplifier that allowed the kids to give their own commands. Inside of the spaceship there is a Mission Control Launch Deck, Prison Chamber and Observation Deck. While it does not come with any figures you can purchase Woody, Rex, Buzz, Zurg and the Zurgbot separately for $10.99 each. Buzz and Woody each come with their own spacesuit, helmet and blaster. Rex has a helmet and spacesuit with claw-like hands and Zurg has a space cannon while the Zurgbot comes with two extra bots for backup.

Happy entering!!!

Giveaway at Thanks, Mail Carrier

2011-10-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Mail Carrier is at it again. Have I mentioned before how much I love her blog?

Check out her blog for an awesome giveaway brought to you by Hellman's. Who doesn't like Hellman's? Check out the Hellman's Chicken Challenge right now.

Moving On

2011-09-29T11:34:00.000-07:00

Change.

Such a difficult part of life at times.

I will be the first to openly admit that I tend to have a difficult time with change. I want things to be constant and lasting.

When you are young you think you will always have the friends that you have. At my age you look back and realize how life is constantly changing. Friends come and go. I have always taken hold of the past when it comes to people and held on for dear life.

Today it kind of hit me over the head. Embrace change. Allow it and love it. Let certain people go. There was a reason and season for them, but now it is time to let it go.

Even best friends I had in my past who I swore would be by my side no matter what and I for them as well, just don’t fit into my life anymore. I don’t fit into their lives I am realizing now. People are all at different phases in their lives.

I don’t think people know how to handle or relate to me. Sometimes it feels like my friends who are married and have families don’t relate to me because I don’t have a husband. Other friends can’t relate to me because I have kids and they don’t. There are so many factors that come into play. I have always let it bring me down. But for what reasoning? It isn't something to bring you down. It is time to LOVE Change!

Today I am embracing it and coming to the realization that it is okay. Letting people go is just fine by me. Not in a dramatic “I’M DELETING THEM FROM MYSPACE/FACEBOOK” kind of way or anything. Just letting it go and moving forward.

Mr. Change I take thee to be my lawful wedded...
Happiness.

The ULTIMATE Giveaway

2011-09-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

Okay happy bloggers and readers:

Christmas is just around the corner.
We all know how much fun Christmas shopping and preparing is ;)

Do any of your kids have a playhouse on their Christmas list??

Shining to Save is having the ULTIMATE giveaway right now!

How about the Step2 Gather & Grille Playhouse??

RUN, don't walk, over there as fast as you can and enter this hot giveaway! Step2 is such a great company and makes quality items.
I know my son would LOVE one of these for Christmas.

Mechatar

2011-09-21T22:36:00.000-07:00

The Girl From the Ghetto is at it again!

She is having a giveaway for an iloveRobots Mechatar!!! How many of you are preparing for Christmas early? Anyone have a robot lover in the house? I know I do. My son is into such a vast array of things. Robots just so happen to be on that list. Check out the giveaway and get entering. :)

DXG Luxe Collection Camcorder Giveaway

2011-09-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for a cool DXG Luxe Collection Camcorder Giveaway then you should head on over to Our Ordinary Life.

Kristin has a great giveaway for this hot item. What could you do with this?

Check out her post!!

"It features a classic design that is inspired by the latest trends in fashion and will complement anyone’s taste and personal style. This camcorder records real 1080p high definition video and captures still pictures up to 12 megapixels. It also boasts a 3″ touchscreen display and an HDMI interface so it can easily be connected to your HDTV. This camcorder comes with everything you need to start recording your precious memories right away."

All Aboard (Giveaway)

2011-09-16T15:37:00.000-07:00

All Abooooooooooooooooooooooard!

Jolly Mom has a sweet givewaay for a Vtech Chuggington Laptop! What is great about this is that it isn't just fun, but in fact helps with learning. Head to her blog now. Don't delay in entering this as today is the last day of the giveaway!

Peg Perego Pliko Switch System

2011-09-14T22:28:00.000-07:00

Mama B is having the ULTIMATE giveaway right now!!!!

She has a giveaway for a Peg Perego Pliko Switch System!

Peg Perego makes this amazing system. My little sister is pregnant with her first child right now and could really use this for my little niece or nephew. How helpful and great this would be.

Right from Mama B's blog:

Here are some fabulous features of this Peg Perego system :

» Reversible seat.
» One hand umbrella–style folding. Compact and self standing once folded.
» Stroller seat also easily separates from chassis for even more compact stowing.
» The included infant seat creates the perfect travel system.
» The included bassinet easily attaches directly to the chassis.
» Height adjustable handles with rubber insert.
» Central handle for folding and side carrying handle.
» All wheels suspension: swiveling or locking at the front.
» Adult cup holder.
» Built–in rear footboard provides safe ride for second passenger.
» Large, practical basket.
» Zippered hood, can be used as a sun canopy.
» Hood with loop to dangle baby’s favorite toy.
» Five–point seat belt. Hinged front tray opens and removes easily.
» Backrest reclines to several positions and leg rest is adjustable to 3 positions.
» Stroller seat attaches easily to the stand enclosed in your Modular System.
» Convenient single purchase.

Check out Mama B's blog and make sure you check the review for this out. She has completely sold me on this.

The giveaway ends on September 30th

$25.00 Amazon Gift Card Up For Grabs

2011-09-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

Manager to Mom is one year old as of yesterday!!!!

Happy Birthday, Manager to Mom!

She started her blog to document her adventures in pregnancy, birth and parenthood. Little did she know it would grow to have 360 amazing followers. I have been following for a little while now. I must suggest that you visit and follow her blog! :)

Woooo hooo. Let the celebration begin. In honor of her ONE YEAR BIRTHDAY, she is having a fun little giveaway.

How about a $25.00 Amazon gift card up for grabs?

That sounds like music to my ears!!! :)

The Little People (Giveaway)

2011-09-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

Have you or your babies ever played with the Little People? Oh my gosh, my kids LOVED them growing up. They even have movies about them. Right now Two Boys One Girl and a Crazy Mom is having a giveaway for the Zoo set. If you or anyone you know likes Little People, check it out!

Freebie Junkie

2011-09-14T09:14:00.000-07:00

thefreebiejunkie is having a good giveaway right now! You can enter a giveaway for a 7 inch Digital Photo Frame. If any of you really know me, you know that I love pictures. I seriously LOVE pictures of my kids and family/friends. Head over there!

Going Through A Dry Patch

2011-09-13T21:08:00.000-07:00

I am going through a rather dry patch in my giveaways.

I haven't been winning lately.

Where the heck has my luck gone???

I know I should be thankful for all that I have won and be happy. I consider my giveaways/sweepstake entering my second job.

Well, Sassy's 2nd job sure isn't paying up lately.

I spend so much time on my giveaways. I know I should just concentrate on it a whole lot less.

Maybe I am just a spoiled little brat sometimes, but come on! My luck has got to turn around. I was on such a good streak.

Food Storage and Preparedness {Giveaway}

2011-09-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

Did you know September is Preparedness month?I am not one of those doom and gloom kind of people. However, with the recent tragedies of weather and as we just came upon the 10 year anniversary of one of the biggest events that have affected all of our lives, (and let’s not forget the fact that food prices keep rising and RISING), I have been steadily working on my food storage. I buy things at their rock bottom price and stock up my pantry. In my effort to save, I stumbled upon Deals to Meals.

Have you ever checked out Deals to Meals? Oh my goodness is it awesome. Shandra Madsen shows you how to easily stock up on food storage and incorporate the items in your everyday lives. She shows you awesome recipes and how to perfect items your family loves.

I was always scared to cook with beans due to the time and …. AFTER AFFECTS, hahaha. After following her bean month, I will tell you that my kids’ favorite food is my white chicken chili. They absolutely love it!!!

I am much more open to incorporating better foods in our diets. She has great tips and shows you how to easily put together a food storage plan. As she shows in one of her videos, you don’t just want to stock up on macaroni/spaghetti and peanut butter. You want to incorporate full meals that your family could be sustained on. No, I don’t have a year’s worth of food in my house or anything, but in the event that I didn’t get paid for some time or the stores were all closed, I know our family wouldn’t be too frantic over it. At least we wouldn’t starve!

Shandra explains on her blog how her family stocks up on food when they receive windfalls, such as tax return money. She is more excited over food than clothes and jewelry. I never was too thrilled with my grocery shopping until I started following her site. If you haven’t checked her out, I really think you should. I am sure her blog could help you!

Bucket List

2011-09-13T08:33:00.000-07:00

What are some things on your Bucket List?

Here are mine:

#1) Visit Wales and meet/see my Mom's side of the family.

Did you know they have really old castles there??? I think that would be awesome to see.

#2) See Big Ben in London

I have always wanted to see Big Ben in London. I think it would be grand and exciting.

#3) Take my kids to Disneyland again

You know, the happiest place on EARTH!!! :)

If you head over to Budgets are Sexy, they are having an awesome giveaway toward your bucket list. How about $500 toward yours?? The $500 Budgets are Sexy giveaway is sponsored by Life Insurance Finder. Run, don't walk over there now!!!

Marshalls Giveaway!

2011-09-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

Have you finished all your Back-to-School shopping or do you still need to pick up some things? Head over to Mommy Gaga right now for a chance at a $50.00 Marshalls gift card. Oh the endless possibilities. Jack keeps growing out of everything so quickly. I would love to win this to buy him some new shirts.

Have you ever been to Marshalls? I have. I had a great experience and found some great finds. Head to Mommy Gaga NOW! You won't want to miss out on this giveaway. Happy entering.

Scrabble Alphabet Scoop {Giveaway}

2011-09-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

I have always loved the game Scrabble. I remember my big sister getting this HUGE Scrabble set from a yard sale when we were really little. This was one sturdy set. It was so fun to play (or act/try to play when you are so young that you don't know how to really spell).

Well, Hasbro has made a Scrabble Alphabet Scoop game now. Head over to Home Grown Families for a chance to enter and win this. I recently started playing Scrabble with Bug and she loves it! I know this new game would be a blast! Who else likes Scrabble?

TJ Max Giveaway at Shining 2 Save

2011-09-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

Shining 2 Save is currently having a nice giveaways over at her site. Do you like T.J. Maxx? I do! I could spend so much time in there shopping. They always have super cute clothing and decently priced name brand items. I always love hitting up their toy section and finding great discontinued items that I don't see in other stores anymore. Oh the possibilities on this TJ Max Giveaway! Check it out now before it is too late! :) Happy entering.

Cooler Weather and Motivation

2011-09-06T12:09:00.001-07:00

I just love when the weather starts to cool down. I want to start walking again and get in shape. I hope that with the weather starting to decline, it will give me initiative to get outdoors. I need to really work on that. Oh I just love when it gets nice a cool.

Good Ol' Labor Day

2011-09-05T22:24:00.000-07:00

Oh how nice it was to have an extra day off work this week. I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed having that little break. This weekend I had my whole family over for dinner. My step mom's best friend was in town from Texas. "Aunty Connie" only tend to come here once every year or every other year. I decided it would be perfect to get the family together since they were in town.

In preparations to have everyone over for dinner, I scrubbed the house down until it shined. We had Hawaain Haystacks. Fresh cooked rice, the chicken mixture and all the toppings were prepared ahead of time as to not add pressure and stress to me later on. I will admit that dinner was a huge success. I felt so accomplished and happy having our whole family in my dining room. The joy and love that I saw before my eyes just made me so happy. I loved seeing my kids playing with their cousins in the other room and just being kids. I loved witnessing everyone eating plenty of food.

I wish our family would get together more often, but it seems that everyone is always so busy pertaining to their own lives.

Our family keeps growing and growing. My little sister got married a couple months ago and just found out she is expecting. I get to be an aunty again! Whether the baby is a boy or a girl is not an important matter. The parents just want a healthy baby. I personally want another nephew! :) I just think a boy would be so fitting on my sister at this stage in her life. Of course, if Aunty Sassy has a niece she would be pleased as well.

During dinner my step mom and Aunty Connie were discussing going thrift store hunting this morning. Apparently there are 99 cent days at Goodwill on Mondays and my stepmom always has great luck when she goes. I was more interested in hitting up Savers' 50 percent off sale I knew they would have. I haven't really gotten all of Bug's school clothing. I focused on purchasing her pants to get her through the year before school starting. In our conversation, I agreed to give Goodwill another try with them, though I never had an inclination that I would find anything worthwhile. We put together a plan based on Savers opening at 7 in the morning.

My nephew asked if my kids could spend the night last night after dinner, and I had the entire house to myself. I must admit that it was kind of odd. I am not used to having the house to myself. As a single mom, I just hardly ever am at home alone. I must admit that it kind of saddened me last night. I was having a tiny bit of a pity party being single. The feeling comes and goes at times in my life. Instead of excelling, I just feel like I am spinning my wheels lately. Instead of going further, I am just here. Is that a normal feeling? Strange?

Being a single mom, I feel the stereotypical judgments of others.

No, I am not some whore who sleeps around and doesn't care about her kids.

I love my kids with all my heart.

They are the reason I do what I do. Everything I do is for them.

I know that I have to look up and look toward the future. Just today my aunty was asking when I am going to get married. She told me it is my turn next in the family. It took everything I had not to laugh at her. Does she think I purposely am not dating or married? In a sense, it feels like people think I just live off in my own little world and have a lack of desire to find anyone.

I am not desperate by any means, but people it isn't as easy as it sounds or looks! hahahahaha

I feel like it is the church scene that I don't fit in with the most. It hurts that guys at church or of the religion don't give you a real chance because you have kids.

My step mom had been single for 10 years before she remarried. She had one daughter who was one year old when she and her ex husband divorced. She faithfully kept in the church and went, as well as single adult activities. She has told me many stories of activities and dating and how it just never happened until my dad came around.

Is it sad that that makes me so sad to even think of 10 years of being single?? I have been single for a long time now, hahaha!

I just have mixed reactions to hearing that it can happen "one of these days". Like I mentioned previously, I am not desperate by any means. It just isn't as easy as some people make this dating thing out to be.

What really makes me the saddest about it is my kids' ultimate love and yearning for their dad. He doesn't even call them. When they get in trouble, who is it that they cry for? Him.

He hasn't paid ONE DAMN PENNY, or even a birthday present, card or Christmas present in years! Is it so bad that I wish they had a more permanent figure in their life? By no means will anyone EVER replace their dad, nor would I ever want anyone to. I just wish things would be easier in this whole thing sometimes.

Sorry for the rambling guys. Just wishing things were better in my life. I know that I am blessed beyond words. I don't know where I would be without the Lord. He is in control and it is all in His hands. I know everything happens by His time. So Sassy has to be patient and deal with it. Fine. :)

On a positive note, I did find some great finds at Savers and even a few things for Bug at Goodwill. Aunty Connie got Jack some great shirts while we were out and about. She also got Bug some formal wear from Goodwill for dress ups. Bug was sooooooo excited. I washed them all up really good and she was having a ball after they were all dry. It was so cute.

Who Wants an iPad 2???

2011-09-02T14:08:00.000-07:00

Head over to Life and My Finances to enter to win...

wait for it....

wait for it.....

an iPad 2!!!!

How awesome is this??? I think it is very awesome. Head there now, no really NOW! :) Happy entering my peeps.

Nutrimill Giveaway

2011-09-02T12:28:00.000-07:00

There is a giveaway for a Nutrimill going on over at Heavenly Home Makers. Do you ever make homemade yumminess?

From the Heavenly Home Makers Website:

The Nutrimill will grind wheat and beans—hard and soft wheat, kamut, spelt, hulled buckwheat, oat groats, hully barley, triticalae, rye, brown rice, wild rice, popcorn, sorghum, soybeans, split peas, and dried beans.

I would love one of these. I want to start cooking more naturally and healthy. I know this would definitely help me in the process. Does anyone have one of these? What was your experience?

Who Loves to Cook (Giveaway)

2011-09-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

Okay there is a great giveaway going on right now over at Cooking With Thas. Who loves some great cookbooks? How about one from the Pioneer Woman? I <3 that lady. She is so inventive and awesome. Okay the giveaway includes 4 books! But hurry before it is too late to enter. You will want these. One of them is an Indian cookbook! Have I ever mentioned my absolute LOVE for Indian food? Oh my mouth is watering just thinking about that yummy curry right now. Okay enough of my jabbering already. Get over and check out the giveaway NOW!!!

I Want It NOW a.k.a. Sassy the Spoiled Little Brat

2011-08-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

Today I have been thinking of my life. Thinking of my life immediately takes me to my kids, which then in turn brings me to responsibilities, which then in turn brings me to my house, which for some weird reason today brought me smack dab to my dishwasher.

Or shall I say…. LACK OF A WORKING DISHWASHER.

I have decided today that a new dishwasher is no longer a want. I am kind of throwing that up there to a need. Okay so I might be being petty and know that a dishwasher is not a need, but I really, really, REALLY, REALLY, REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEALLY want a new one.

My life just can’t go on without one (grin). If I have to scrub another sink full of dishes by hand again I might just stop eating all together so I don’t have to do the dishes, though that might not exactly work as I know my kids will still be eating. And I just don’t wanna do dishes by hand.

Yes, the frugal side of me can easily deal with it and do dishes by hand, thereby not dishing out such a substantial amount of money on a dishwasher. But the spoiled brat side of me doesn’t care about being frugal right now. Time to get my butt in gear and save up to get me a dishwasher.

Maybe my spending freeze on food for next month will kick start some of the funds for my much needed dishwasher. Maybe I can save a substantial amount by not shopping for food, even though we currently eat pretty frugally. But that is beside the point.

Sassy is tired of not having a dishwasher!!!!

I immediately am brought to remembering in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where the Veruca Salt girl sings that song “I WANT IT NOW”. Yes, I can be a spoiled brat too. ;)

Hoarders, Food and Heat

2011-08-22T09:08:00.001-07:00

Over the weekend I had this weird, sudden urge to cook. Remember I live in the desert where it is hot! In the middle of summer where it is so deathly hot, cooking can have very bad consequences. Namely heating up the whole house! I immediately thought it through and stupidly decided to cook anyways!

I ended up making homemade spaghetti sauce all from scratch. Tomatoes, bell peppers and onions have been on MAJOR sale this and last week. I will admit that I don’t like tomatoes. I do like spaghetti sauce and tomato based items, but not tomatoes raw and plain. So I figured I better use them up as this had been the first time in my entire life I had ever purchased tomatoes. Am I weird? Maybe. I just never had done that in my life. I didn’t even know how to pick out a good tomato. But I did cook and swimmer the sauce until it was perfect. I feel like a pro now though ;) I looked in the freezer and added some meatballs and broccoli in it. The kids would eat it at least.

I also made a 15 Bean Cajun Soup from dried beans. The beans alone took about 2 hours to make. It also required tomatoes, onions and bell peppers. I must admit that it turned out so great! I added sausage links in mine.

Needless to say, our house was quite HOT over the weekend. While cooking I realized I had no space in the freezer to store anything. So I decided I need to get working on eating up the foods in the freezers. Yes, I said FREEZERS. I have a deep freezer and my regular freezer. When foods go on sale, I stock up and purchase plenty so I don’t have to pay full price later down the road. So needless to say, we are well stocked up. But now it is a matter of rotating foods and using them up.

So I think I am putting myself on a “NOT-ALLOWED-TO-BUY-ANYTHING-FOR-FOOD” kinda spending freeze until I use up a lot of the items in the freezers. I am initiating this spending freeze for the month of September. I am permitting myself to purchase fruits, veggies and milk. However, I think other than that, I shouldn’t be buying anything else.

I feel like I am living on the show of hoarders when looking in my freezers (okay maybe that is stretching it a little). But I think it will kick me in the butt to use up the foods in there. Yes, I might end up heating up the house quite a bit over the next month.

Tragedies of Window Shopping

2011-08-22T08:50:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I was invited to a family member’s house for dinner. They told me to bring a salad if possible and come sometime after 5:00 that evening. I showed up at about 5:10 and they were nowhere in sight. Well, since they don’t exactly live anywhere around our house, I decided to go window shopping and looking around in Ross right by their house. While in there, the kids wanted to look at the cool toys. I just wanted to browse around.

In my browsing, I found a darling purple children’s ottoman. I thought it looked so cool and would look great in Bug’s room. My mind raced to all the awesome uses she could make of this. It was plush and very stylish. I thought how cool it would be to put all her dress up items in. I thought how cool it would be next to a mirror. Then I looked at the price tag. They wanted $40.00 plus tax for it. That is a pretty big penny for a storage item in my opinion. I let my mind wander and thought how awesome it would be for Christmas. Then I looked to my right and saw an awesome looking coat rack. You know those old coat racks from back in the day, well that is what I saw. And I got to thinking how cool that would be to put her dress up items on- next to the ottoman and mirror. How much was the coat rack? The same price as the ottoman! So here I am thinking about how awesome these would be in her room.

Remember that I set a $50.00 limit out of pocket for Christmas this year. I am currently at almost $10.00 as of right now. Had I seen these items at Ross before, I must openly admit that I would have definitely put together a different strategy and list for Christmas for my kids.

I am not one of those parents who buys my kids whatever they want. I honestly pretty much only purchase toys and things of that nature for birthdays and Christmas. Heck, I only purchase clothes for my kids around back-to-school time or at yard sales when they are really in need of them.

I am left wondering what to do about getting these things for Bug. I really think they would be of great use to her and I know she would love them. But there is no way I want to shell out $80.00 plus tax for them. That just isn’t wise spending in my eyes.

So now I am hoping I work hard to win some gift cards and such in order to get her these. Wish me luck! I might need it. What would you do in this situation? Would you just buy them and not worry about it?

My Quest for an Amazing Christmas- Ongoing Still :)

2011-08-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been quite a while since I really blogged significantly. What have I been up to? Oh you know- the usual. Saving, stretching my pennies to their max, working, kids, ~~cleaning~~ oh wait, I have been completely slacking and NOT cleaning (I know I need to be punished, hahaha), deal hunting, entering my online giveaways and everything else in between.

You all know I have been on a quest to provide an amazing Christmas for my kids for under $50.00 out of my pocket this year, with hopes that I can provide great presents for my kids. Yes, I am a single mom and our money needs to be stretched. If you go here, here and here you would see all the preparations and anticipations I have put into Christmas thus far.

In addition to those posts, I won a few gift cards and have items to add to the list :) Yes, I am so blessed to be on track to reach my goal.

In addition to my kids, our agreement in our family is that everyone purchases just for the kids for Christmas beginning this year. So I have one niece and one nephew to purchase for in addition to my kids. So I decided I should add them to the list and figure out something to get them at an inexpensive price. So I got my brain working (yeah pretty sad that I have to turn on my brain, don't ya think???).

Target was having a big clearance sale, which my friend Michelle (aka Shelli) was so kind to let me know about (HUGE THANK YOU TO YOU, SHELLI!!!), and I went to check it out. I was so happy to find some great items at such little prices. I found a Knex set for $5.32 for my nephew (originally $21.00), 3 fun card games for under $1.50 each for stocking stuffers for me, Bug and Jack, a Carz 2 walkie talkie set for only $8.48 for Jack, a fun board game for $3.24, and an Iron Man light toy for only $1.24! To top it off, I had a $25.00 gift card that I had and used.
                                      Total: $25.14
                             Gift Card: ($25.00)
                                      Total: $0.14
Yes, you read that correctly. 14 whole cents out of pocket. Woot, woot.

I took in some cans that I have collected from work for a while now and received $6.00. I decided to purchase the Cheaper by the Dozen movie (which I have been wanting to get the kids for a while now) on WalMart.com for $5.41 with ship to store shipping. So nothing spent out of pocket! In fact .59 whole cents left over. So I will take that 14 cents off the total I would have added in my total for above.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So far for Christmas here are the running totals with designated gifts listed below:

Jack:

Hook the movie (won online)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Tutles DVD set(won online)

Cars Toy Laptop (won online)

Monsters Inc. DVD(won online)

Arthur and the Invisibles DVD (mixed won online and overage out of pocket)

Arthur and the Invisibles 2, 3 DVD (won online)

Batman DVD 4 pack (won online)

Stash of 14 Chevron Techron cars (yard sale)

Car Rug (yard sale)

Veggie Tales Live DVD (won online)

Crocodile Hop Game (won online)

Cars Shirt and puzzle prize pack(won online)

(2) Mater toys (received for free)

Cars 2 Walkie Talkie set (clearance- won online with gift card)

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus game (clearance- won online with gift card)

Iron Man toy (clearance- won online with gift card)

card game-stocking stuffer (clearance- won online with gift card)

Jack's Total: $8.19 spent out of pocket

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bug:
Taylor Swift's Fearless CD (won online)

Taylor Swift's Self Titled Album (won online and a little overage)

Taylor Swift's Speak Now CD (won online)

A Flip Camera (won online)

Cheaper By the Dozen 2 (won online)

Enchanted DVD (won online)

Build-A-Dream Playhouse (Castle) (won online)

Judy Moody Book (won online)

card game-stocking stuffer (clearance- won online with gift card)

Cheaper By the Dozen DVD (money received from recycling cans from work)

Lilo and Stitch Movie (purchased with a gift card won online)

Neverending Story 1 and 2 DVD (purchased with a gift card won online)

Problem Child Tantrum Pack (purchased with $5 of Swagbucks gift card and overage of $2.69)

Bug's Total: $4.07 spent out of pocket

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Niece and Nephew:
Barbie playset (already purchased on major clearance last year so I am not going to count this in my total for this year's total though it was only $3.00)
Knex set (clearance- won with gift card plus overage but overage deduct due to recycling)
Total: $0.00 due to recycling overage lol
---------------------------------------------------------------

TOTAL SPENT OUT OF POCKET: $12.26
---------------------------------------------------------------

So who else has been preparing for Christmas? How prepared are you? What does Santa plan on getting your kids this year? How are you feeling about your Christmas preparations? Let's hear all about it!

My Struggle With Working and Being Mommy

2011-07-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

As a single mom, I don't have the opportunity to stay home with my kids. I love my kids so much and would absolutely love having the chance to be home with them.

This morning as we were getting in the car, my son saw my bag of oatmeal that I was bringing to work for my breakfasts that I just heat up in the microwave. The bag has oatmeal, brown sugar and cinnamon. It is a simple and extremely inexpensive breakfast. My son saw the bag and immediately started talking about how much he wanted some oatmeal.

I wish I could have gone back in the house, made oatmeal and honored his wish of having oatmeal. Unfortunately, I couldn't do that. I had to get to work and rush out the door and drop the kids off to get to work on time. How my heart ached. I told him I would make him some on Saturday. He was so happy and delighted in the thought of having oatmeal on Saturday.

Some days I feel like a total failure. I have always wanted to be a stay-at-home Mommy. At work I struggle with that desire and yearning to be home with my kids. When something goes wrong at work, whether it be a mistake I might make or a cranky, bipolar boss, I immediately think of how great life would be if I could just stay home with my kids. When at home, I think of work and something I might have forgotten to complete. It is such a struggle at times. I know I shouldn't let this consume me, as I have to have a job in order to provide for our little family. Oh the struggles!

Sometimes You Just Wanna BOUNCE

2011-07-21T16:32:00.000-07:00

Okay huge, extremely fun giveaway gone on right now over at WTwo of a Kind Working on a Full House. You HAVE to check this one out. Do your kids love bounce houses? There is an awesome giveaway from Bounce Houses Now for what better than a bounce house!!!!

Bounce Houses Now is giving one reader $500 towards the Bounce House of their choice.

They have some amazingly fun bounce houses. Make sure you check out Bounce Houses Now online. You must see these incredible bounce houses.

My kids would FREAK out if we won. Okay, who the heck am I kidding?

I WOULD BE THE ONE FREAKING OUT.

I have this secret obsession with bounce houses and fun. What can I say? I am just a big kid who doesn't want to grow up. What fun is growing up? ;)

Stupid Blogger!!

2011-07-19T19:23:00.001-07:00

Is Blogger down yet again???? It is so frustrating trying to enter giveaways when you can't leave comments. Why, oh why does Blogger have to do this to me?

Running Total For Christmas

2011-07-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

This is my running total for Christmas for my kids so far:

Jack:

Hook the movie (won online)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Tutles DVD set(won online)
Cars Toy Laptop (won online)
Monsters Inc. DVD(won online)
Arthur and the Invisibles DVD (mixed won online and overage out of pocket)
Arthur and the Invisibles 2, 3 DVD (won online)
Batman DVD 4 pack (won online)
Stash of 14 Chevron Techron cars (yard sale)
Car Rug (yard sale)
Veggie Tales Live DVD (won online)
Crocodile Hop Game (won online)
Cars Shirt and puzzle prize pack(won online)
(2) Mater toys (received for free)

Jack's Total: $8.19

Bug:

Taylor Swift's Fearless CD (won online)
Taylor Swift's Self Titled Album (won online and a little overage)
Taylor Swift's Speak Now CD (won online)
A Flip Camera (won online)
Cheaper By the Dozen 2 (won online)
Enchanted DVD (won online)
Build-A-Dream Playhouse (Castle) (won online)
Judy Moody Book (won online)

Bug's Total: $1.38

TOTAL SPENT OUT OF POCKET: $9.57

I feel so accomplished and at peace. Have you been preparing for Christmas? If so, how well do you feel about your preparations?

A Christmas Wish...

2011-07-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

While we were on our way to our family reunion this month, we stopped at Kmart in St. George, Utah. I was on a quest to find a disposable camera since I hadn't brought my camera with us. While in the electronics department, my daughter excitedly showed me a digital cameracorder thing that looked pretty neat. She said how she wanted one and I told her she would have to save up for it. She told me she was going to ask Santa for it. I always tell my kids they can ask Santa for TWO items. That is the rule in our house. It works pretty well for us. She informed me she would ask for that and one of the Taylor Swift CD's.

Imagine my excitement when I entered a contest for the worst vacation story ever, and I WON!!!

The prize- a Flip Camera!! :)

Don't you think Bug will be ever so excited when Santa honors her Christmas wish?

$100 Visa Gift Card Giveaway

2011-07-17T17:37:00.000-07:00

Head over to Eighty MPH Mom where you can win a $100 Visa Gift Card! You read that right! A $100 Visa Gift Card. What could you use this for right now in your life? Christmas shopping? School shopping? Something fun? Day to day purchases?

M&M Giveaway

2011-07-12T13:21:00.000-07:00

A really great giveaway is going on over at Daddy Forever. What is the prize you ask? Well, how would you like to be the lucky winner of a $150 gift card AND some personalized M&M's? I know I surely would love to win this. I just love M&M's and always have since I was little. Check out the giveaway and make sure you enter.

Question for My Readers

2011-07-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

How often do you enter giveaways? What is your strategy for winning? How do you go about entering? What have you won in the past year from entering giveaways? Anything cool? Please share.

Still Preparing and Wrapping Up :)

2011-07-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

So today I was looking around on Amazon and stumbled on a little deal they have going on. They are giving a $30 gift card if you sign up for their credit card. Yes, I know that credit cards can be bad for some people. However, for me I think it will be okay. I am responsible with my purchasing and pay it off in full every month as to not incur interest. I decided to sign up for one. And it got my mind thinking.

I also had a gift card for $20.00 to Amazon that I won on a blog giveaway, in addition to one for $10.00. So $60.00 in total for free. Here is what I purchased for my kids:

Hook the movie. My kids saw this last weekend and have been begging to watch it ever since. This morning Jack informed me that he was going to ask Santa for it because he really liked it.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles DVDs with all 4 movies. Jack really likes the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and I know that he will love it, because he also informed us in the car this morning that he was going to ask for that. (I tell my kids they get to ask Santa for two items.)
Taylor Swift's Fearless CD for Bug. She really loves Taylor Swift's music and I know she will love this. In addition, I purchased the other two CD's by Taylor Swift, Her Self Titled Album and Speak Now.
Cheaper By the Dozen 2 was purchased. Both kids love this movie. And I will just grab the first one from Walmart for like $5.00, unless I win something online.

            Subtotal of Items: $61.38

            Shipping & Handling: $7.93
            Super Saver Discount: -$7.93
            Promotion Applied: -$0.00
            ------
            Total: $61.38
            Gift Cards: -$60.00
            ------
                              Total for this Order (out of pocket): $1.38

I also won a $50 gift card for Toys R Us on a blog a little while back. I decided to purchase my son a toy laptop in hopes that he will LEAVE MINE ALONE! ;)  I know he will also really like it. So this is what I found. If you look it is only about $30.00.  I thought long and hard and calculated something else I could get until I checked out and realized they wanted almost $13 just for shipping that one item, as the item is discontinued and they won't allow shipping to the store for free shipping. I decided I wanted to get it that bad, so I continued and purchased it. I have about $7.00 left for Toys R Us, but I am not sure what I can get for that.

My previous tally was $8.19 total for Christmas spent.
So as of right now, a grand total of $9.57 out of pocket!!!

I kind of think I am about done with Christmas shopping for my kids, unless they change their minds on what they want for Christmas.

Knowing my luck, I could totally see them changing their minds. hahaha Oh the joy of kids!

I am pretty dang proud of myself though. It is only July and I am pretty much done with their shopping.

Pretty Pink Momma

2011-07-11T13:47:00.000-07:00

We all know that the holidays will be here before we know it. Kind of scary huh? Well, if you head over to Pretty Pink Momma right now, she is having a great giveaway out of appreciation of her readers. Take the time to look around her site while you are there and enjoy.

Giveaway, Giveaway Here Is A Great Giveaway

2011-07-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

Right now if you go to Locate Utah Homes they are having a great giveaway for a $25 Visa Prepaid Gift Card. I know a lot of you could use that at this time. Heck, I would really appreciate this for myself. I swear every time I go to the mailbox, there is always some bill there that I wasn't expecting at all. Enter for the giveaway and enjoy.

Flip Camera Giveaway

2011-07-10T14:05:00.000-07:00

Right now there is a Flip Camera Giveaway going on over at Living My MOMent . Check it out and enter. I could definitely use this. My daughter has been saying how she wants a video camera now. Happy entering.

$100 {Giveaway}

2011-07-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

Head on over to Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls for a chance at a $100 gift card. I know for me, that would really help on Christmas for my kids. I would purchase the Taylor Swift CDs for Bug, the Lightning McQueen toy laptop for Jack and hopefully be able to find some great deals on some Pogo Sticks for them as well. Check out the website and enter her giveaway.

HELP!?!?!? I NEED YOUR HELP

2011-07-06T08:07:00.000-07:00

Help!!!?!?!?

I need your help everyone. Please head over to this website and vote for my story. It is story #2:

Story #2 S Lang

My kids and I went on a trip after so much hassle to get a rental car. We were finally on the road and had been driving for what seemed like to my kids FOREVER. We went on the turnoff and drove a while toward our destination. Then I hit a deer! In my rental car!!!! Only the deer didn’t die, it started bucking at the car after we hit it. My kids were screaming. I was frazzled and in shock. I threw some items out the window toward the trees and the deer got spoofed I guess. I dialed to get ahold of the rental car company and lo and behold, there was no service out there on my phone. It was getting pretty dark and I didn’t know what to do! So I grabbed the kids out of the car and put the hazard lights on. We walked a mile back and there was some old guy at the gas station who said he would check it out. I talked to the rental car agent and they asked me to take pictures of the car and email them immediately. The guy looked at the car and said that it would work just fine. So off we went to continue our adventure. When we finally got to our destination, our family couldn’t believe what had happened. We got to bed, woke up and my son threw up all over me. It turned out that he came down with a pretty bad bug and was sick all weekend. L The day we were heading back home, my daughter somehow managed to get the same thing and without me knowing. While we were driving, she threw up all over in the back seat. L Remember, this was a rental car. I couldn’t pull over fast enough. So disgusted and frustrated, I started crying. My daughter started crying thinking I was mad at her. I cleaned the back seat as best I could and gave her a bag to throw up in if she needed it on the way back. Next thing I know, I had to pull over to throw up. Let’s just say the entire ride home was a horrible scene between her and I throwing up.

All you have to do is write something like: I vote for story #2 because it is funny/sad/scary etc. I would really appreciate all your help. You can only vote once. Please spread the word. I really want to win this so I can win the prize for my daughter. Please!?!?!? I will love you forever and ever ;)
http://www.alittlebiteoflife.net/2011/07/awesome-summer-giveaway-vote-for-worst.html

Arm & Hammer Giveaway

2011-07-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

So right now if you head on over to The Mommy-Files you can enter a giveaway for a $25 gift card which is being sponsored by the makers of Arm and Hammer. Make sure you follow her blog while you are at it. Do you use Arm & Hammer toothpaste? I have used their brand of toothpaste before once. I was pretty satisfied with it. :)

Frugality and Comfort

2011-07-05T11:04:00.000-07:00

With Summer here, what temperature do you keep your house at? I must openly admit that our house is rather, uncomfortably warm. I just can't bare the sight of the electric bill. In order to keep us more comfortable, we take cool baths in the evening in an effort to cool ourselves down. Yes, our water bill might be a tad bit bigger than it normally has been, but it is much less than running the air as much. I just got my bill for power and it was $60.00. Last year, it was about $125-$150 or so. We still kept it pretty warm during the summer last year as well. This Summer we have been keeping it even warmer. What does your typical power bill run during the summer? What do you do to keep yourself comfortable yet frugal? Would you keep your home warmer in order to save?

Updating Christmas AGAIN

2011-07-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

Okay so I have been updating the stash of items I have set aside for my kids for Christmas and have made some adjustments. I am quite certain everyone is going to be so over hearing about my Christmas plans since I have been talking about it so much lately, but this keeps me on track and focused.

This is what I have set aside for Christmas for my kids so far.

Jack:

Monsters, Inc. DVD, which he has been begging for for a long while now. This is such a great movie, if you haven't seen it. I highly recommend this to anyone, and not just if you have kids. I must confess that I absolutely LOVE this movie.- I won a GC online and got this for free.
Batman Movies 4 pack since he is such an avid Batman fan- I won a GC online and got this for free.

Arthur and The Invisibles 2 - I won this online on a blog (New Age Mama) and I know he is going to love it. Free

A stash of 14 Chevron Techron cars that I found at a yard sale, various styles for only 25 cents each! $3.50 total

A car rug that I scored at a yard sale as well, for $2.00! I couldn't believe it when she told me that price. It looks like it has been hardly touched.

Last year's Lego finds. One was at a yard sale which if I remember right was only $3.00. One was given to us when their grandma was cleaning out their shed and I set it aside for when he was a little older. $3.00 total I decided he is still too young for Legos. I came to this realization after seeing him chewing on some really little Barbie toys. Really son????

I decided since I got the 2nd movie to the Arthur and The Invisibles, I would get the first one with some left over money on a GC from Amazon that I won on a book blog a couple weeks back. (I decided to purchase used books vs. new, so I was able to buy 2 books and this movie instead of just the one book I would have been permitted to had I purchased brand new.) The overage was exactly $2.69.

I won a Veggie Tales Live DVD online and will give it to him.

I won a game from Mom and More's blog and know this will help him significantly. We need to work on colors and numbers together. I think this will be great for him.

So far the total for Jack is $8.19!

Bug:

Enchanted DVD- I won a gift card online and bought this primarily for her for Christmas. She has been wanting this movie for a while now. Every time we check it out at the library, she throws on her dress ups and sings her little heart out. It is so precious! So this was free.

I entered a giveaway on Hip2Save for a Build-A-Dream Playhouse and won a little while back. I was so excited, as I knew my daughter would absolutely love it. I picked the castle. It is sitting in the garage hiding. So free.

Bug's Total is $0.00!

So a total of $8.19 spent so far in all.

$25 Visa Gift Card

2011-07-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

Head over to Eighty MPH Mom where you can win a $25 Visa Gift Card! You know how much we all love those awesome gift cards. :) With Christmas right around the corner (or so it seems to me) this could definitely come in handy! Check Eighty MPH Mom out right now.

$20 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

2011-07-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

There is a $20 Amazon gift card giveaway going on at Peace Love and Poop. Who couldn't use one of those right about now? I know I surely could! With the high probability of me losing my job this month, I would love to get my Christmas shopping done early. Go to Peace Love and Poop and enter the giveaway. Happy Entering!!

S.I. Money Savers

2011-07-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

Right now S.I. Money Savers is having a giveaway for (2) $5.00 gift cards from Amazon. Could you use this? Do you shop on Amazon frequently? What could you use these gift cards for at this time? I would most likely purchase my daughter a Taylor Swift CD and put it aside for Christmas. I know she would absolutely love it. Head over to S.I. Money Savers right now and enter for your chance to win. :)

Lego Pirates of the Caribbean Sets Giveaway

2011-07-03T23:30:00.000-07:00

Head on over to akronohiomoms right now and you'll find a great giveaway for Lego Pirates of the Caribbean Sets. Have you seen the movies? My kids LOVE Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp is such a great actor, I must admit. Who doesn't like playing with LEGOs when you are young? Even young girls can enjoy them. I am sure you will want to enter this. Head on over to her site and enter!

Christmas is so Close, yet so Far Away

2011-07-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

Christmas is so close, yet so far away. Have you started your shopping already? Any great buys? I have been doing pretty good at winning items online, which I am saving for my kids for Christmas. I have also hit up a few yard sales and found some good items. I think I am doing pretty dang good. Today I have been brainstorming what other items I would like to get. Here is my brainstorming list:

My daughter likes Taylor Swift's music. I must admit that there are some really good songs she has. So I would like to get her CD's for Bug. Speak Now Album is the one I think she would like the most, though she doesn't have the other two either ( Fearless and Taylor Swift ).
The movie Cheaper By the Dozen with Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt is such a great movie! Even though I have seen it plenty of times, my kids and I laugh every time we see it. We have requested it from the library and the movies tend to all be pretty scratched lately, so we don't get to enjoy the movie. :( So I would love to get this. It really is a great film to watch as a family. I must admit there is no way I could handle having 12 kids! hahaha
I also liked Cheaper By the Dozen 2. Enough said.
My son won't leave my computer alone lately. He wants to do everything I am doing. I know that I should be so flattered that he wants to do everything I do, but maybe he she get his own? So since he loves the movie Cars, I found this laptop and I know he would love it! A Lightning McQueen laptop for him to learn and enjoy all on his own.
I would love to get my kids a pogo stick each. Did you ever have one growing up? My grandparents had some at their house and we would go out there for such a long time competing with each other to see how many bounces we could go in a row without falling or knocking into something. It would also be great exercise for my kids. Let's face it- my kids tend to be full of energy! As a result, they can tend to bounce off the walls at home and not want to go to bed when it is time. These would help wear them out! :)
My daughter loves the movie Tangled. She received it for her birthday. I would like to get her a shirt with Rapunzel on it. I know she would absolutely love one.
With the Cars2 craze lately, I see my son excited in the store with all the merchandise. I would love to get him a shirt with the Cars2 characters on it. I know he would be really happy!
My son likes the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and I know he would love this pack of movies of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles .

Those are what I have come up with so far. Of course, that could change by Christmas. This is just a list from brainstorming.

So what items are you brainstorming for Christmas? Or are you not even worrying about Christmas right now? I know I might be crazy to already be preparing now, but it is much easier for me this way. How many people do you shop for for Christmas?

Blessings Abound

2011-07-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

Blessings About Mommy is currently having a great giveaway for $25.00 Visa gift card !!! :) Head on over Here to check it out. What would you do with a $25.00 gift card? Right now, I would use it toward my kids' Christmas presents. My daughter loves Taylor Swift and I would buy her latest album and set it aside for Christmas.

Money and Fears

2011-06-28T15:37:00.000-07:00

So in a couple weeks we are going to our annual family reunion out of state. Since my early childhood I remember these reunions. They were always magical trips growing up, and it was always something we looked forward to all year long. At our reunions, there are camping, good fun and great family. Activities include water games, cards, geocaching, candy cannon, fish pond, and other various fun activities for the kids. It is an all weekend long event.

Now that I am older, I must admit that the whole magic of the reunion has kind of washed off a bit. {I mean, yes I love to see my distant family members, as the reunion is from my Great-Great Grandparents on down. It is a pretty big thing. Lots of people there. Imagine a Mormon family from all those generations. Get the picture? ;) } It can get kind of boring sitting there at times. Not to mention it is an entire weekend.

We typically go up for just one day instead of the whole weekend, but since my kids have never gone, I figured we should go the entire weekend so they can say they have been camping. Not only that, but I am a bit burnt out right now. I need a break.

My dad usually drives and we just ride with him. I would usually pitch in for gas or dinner or whatever we decided to do. However, this year he won't be going. He has a new job and can't get time off work. Not to mention it is pretty warm up there and he will want to enjoy his after-work hours to relax in the air conditioned house, as he works outside.

That brings me to the thought of money. I went to a rental car agency, I won't name names of companies, but it was outrageous! They wanted about $400.00 including the rental and insurance. We're talking just your typical midsize car, nothing fancy at all. To someone else, that might not sound too bad, but to me THAT IS A LOT!Not to mention, I would be paying for gas to fill up that car to make the trip. I don't know how much gas that will take us to get there and back but I know it is about a 3 hour drive. Not to mention I will need to drive to a few places up there on the mountain to take the kids to. With gas at about $3.50 a gallon, which I am seeing they are slowly going down in price, but still that is a lot of money.

So I got to thinking about what I should do. Should I just scratch out the whole trip? Save the time and money and not bother? Should I just try finding someone else going up and split the gas? Decisions, decisions.

I will openly admit that I am most likely going to be losing my job this next month. The person who had this position before me moved out of state. I was informed by someone else here at the company that she is coming back because she didn't like where she moved, in addition to overhearing the boss say it himself. I will admit that I started freaking out at first wondering what I was going to do. In the end, I am just going to roll with the punches and let everything happen how they are going to happen. As a single mom, my income is the only income in our home, as I have mentioned many times before. There isn't anything I can do to change her coming back.

However, I could stay home and save a bit of money toward our needs in the next few months by not going on the trip. It would save a good chunk of change. But I decided we should go.

Honestly, life isn't about money. Life is about the memories we make. Yes, I am extremely frugal in order to provide for my family as a single mom, but you never know when someone is going to pass away. If any of you remember, my cousin passed away last year unexpectedly. It saddens me to think how I don't really spend a whole lot of time with my extended family. Growing up we were all so close. Even though the reunion has distant relatives as well, I think we shouldn't miss out on the memories. I know that my kids have so much fun going to these events, as I did when I was their ages. So I decided it was time to get my mind spinning and working.

Well, in order to go on the trip, I will have to drive up there. My car isn't terribly old or anything, it has just been having some issues lately. I took it into a shop and had them check it out and was informed we needed the transmission flushed. I just had my oil changed as well. That set me back about $150.00. I don't know what gas will run me, but we will cross that when it comes. I purchased new tires back in December due to my tires being quite old and extremely worn, so that shouldn't be an issue. Let's just hope the car makes it there and back ;)

I decided for food the evening we go up there, we can have canned Spaghetti-O's and canned peaches, as that is easy and won't be needed to heat up really. We already have these items in the cupboard. For drinks we will be using up the remaining water bottles and sodas from my daughter's birthday party recently. Again, they are already on hand. The reunion provides breakfast Saturday morning and dinner that day as well. So I will need to come up with something for our lunch. It isn't like we have a fire to heat anything up at the site. I am thinking of bringing peanut butter, jelly and bread and some chips. We already have the peanut butter and jelly at home. Come to think of it, we also have unopened bags of chips remaining from my daughter's party as well. So if I decide to do that, we will just need a loaf of bread, which I would pick up on the way up the mountain I think.

I don't have a tent, so I will have to pick up one. I don't know of anyone who is willing to loan their tent to me for the weekend. I also would like to have one for future use. I have been pricing things out at our local stores. Right now they have tents on sale. I found one at WalMart for a pretty good price. It sleeps 6 people. But it will have plenty of room for us. It is about $60 plus tax. Not what I was thinking I would need to spend right at this time in my life, but we will be using it in the future as well. We already have some sleeping bags, so we won't have to worry about those.

Although this really isn't a necessity, I love Golden Corral restaurant. We don't have one here. I don't eat out very often, but I want to eat at Golden Corral. I have always loved that place. It is sooooo yummy! I know I could really save myself the time and money going there, but for me it would be great to go there. Do I dare take the kids and myself there and eat? Spending all that money that I could use toward other areas in our lives? Hmmmm..... decisions, decisions.

Have you ever eaten there? The Golden Corral has great food. If you haven't eaten there and you have one near you, I HIGHLY suggest eating there. Their endless buffet is around $10.00. Much cheaper than a lot of other places you could choose to eat. Their yeast rolls seriously feel like they melt in your mouth. Such delicious food! :) Can you tell I am really leaning toward just eating there anyways?

Back to the trip and reunion though- In addition to the expenses I mentioned above, there is the reunion itself. At the reunion we do have auctions, thrift store like store, raffle tickets and other items that helps provide for the means to hold the reunion for the upcoming year. And those aren't always cheap. The items at the auction can get pretty pricey. I am not one to spend lavishly when I don't have the means obviously. I just hope they can generate money off their items without me feeling guilted into buying items, because let's be upfront- if they don't make enough for the expenses, the reunions won't be held.

So now, I am left with decisions to make in my life. I am trying not to let the fear of job loss ruin this trip for me. I really want my kids to experience the fun and joy of camping and going on this trip. What would you do if you were in my shoes?

Necessary Roughness

2011-06-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

Being Alison is currently having a giveaway right now on her blog! Have you heard of Necessary Roughness? It will premiere tomorrow night on USA. After reading her post, I must admit that I am planning on tuning on for the show.

The prize pack contains:

■Custom Nylon Bag ($10)

■Branded Football ($10)

■American Express Gift Card ($100)

■Stress Relief Body Products (or equivalent) ($50)

■USA Summer T-Shirt ($15)

■USA 10-City Summer Guide

About the Show:
Dr. Dani Santino (Callie Thorne) is a Long Island psychotherapist whose personal life unravels when she finds her husband cheating. Diving fully into her work, she takes on the challenge of rehabbing a bad boy professional football player (Mehcad Brooks) whose off-the-field antics threaten his career and the team franchise. Underestimated at every turn, she succeeds beyond expectations and soon finds herself as the most sought-after therapist for high-profile clients. Athletes, entertainers, politicians and others living in the spotlight clamor for her unique brand of tough love therapy during their moments of crisis. Although her career is reenergized, it wreaks havoc on her life as a newly minted single mom of two teenagers. Recognizing her ability to change people’s lives, she’s determined to strike a balance between both worlds.

Check out the show and tell me what you think of it.

$50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

2011-06-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

If you head on over to Blessed Beyond Words you can enter for a chance at a $50.00 Amazon Gift Card! What could you do with $50 right now? Me? Well, I would purchase a tent to go camping at our family reunion. We have the reunion annually, but have never camped.

In fact, my kids have never gone camping.
How {un}American is that?!?!

Pretty sad if you ask me. My kids are so deprived ;) hahahaha Or so they THINK they are deprived. I just thought it would be fun to let the kids experience the great outdoors and go camping this year though. So head over to Blessed Beyond Words and enter the giveaway. :)

Baby Shower

2011-06-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

Mom Start is having a giveaway! Do you know anyone who is expecting and is deserving of a baby shower? How about a giveaway providing $300 in the form of a gift card for the baby shower? I bet you will want to enter this. :) I know some awesome friends who could really use a shower.

Mixxed Reviews Giveaway

2011-06-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

Mixxed Reviews is currently having a $50.00 Visa Card giveaway at her blog. Head on over there and check her out. Follow her and join in the fun. What could you do with a $50.00 gift card? Right now I would use that toward my daughter's birthday party. We are having a fun swim party at our house. If not that, I would use it for Christmas. As you know I am on a quest to spend very little this Christmas as I have been preparing throughout the year. I would most likely purchase This Laptop or This Batman One. Also I know my son would like one of These since he is such a Batman fan. Oh the possibilities. What would/could you get with this $50.00 Visa Card? I am sure Mixxed Reviews would love to hear from you. Check her out!

Lady and the Blog giveaway

2011-06-16T09:55:00.000-07:00

Lady and the Blog is having a grand giveaway right now. She is currently having a giveaway to Diapers.com. Have you checked out Diapers.com yet? If not, I highly suggest doing so. I found some great items at really awesome prices. Diapers, baby furniture, baby needs, games, toys, and anything else you can think of. I really enjoyed looking around on Diapers .

Updated Preparing

2011-06-16T08:55:00.000-07:00

If you go Here you will read what I have set aside for Christmas for my kids so far. In addition, my boss was cleaning out his house and brought me in a big bag of stuffed animals today. I will be honest and say that I don't particularly like stuffed animals very much. They end up all over the house and somehow they reproduce quite quickly ;) hahaha They also aren't very functional.

But I said thank you and looked to see what was inside. I was pretty excited when I saw the following mixed in the bag:

It's a bird. It's a plane. Oh wait, it is....

MATER

(Not a very good picture, I know.)

He loves Mater from Cars and with all the numerous ads on tv, online and everywhere we turn, he is getting more and more excited about Mater. So these two bad boys will be cleaned up and set aside for him for Christmas! :) Total cost: FREE!!!

So my total for Christmas as of right now is $11.19. Pretty good if you ask me. Let's see what else I can score by the time Christmas rolls around. Stay tuned for additional finds.

Who Loves Giveaway!?

2011-06-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

Right now Mommy Katie is having a grand giveaway! She is giving away an XBox with A Kinect pack!!! Who else is jumping up and down? I have always wanted to try out the Kinect since hearing great reviews from friends and various reports online. How fun would that be?

I need a way to get my butt off the couch when I am at home. This would be such a great way to do so and of course motivate my kids to do the same. Let's face it, we need a little kick and this would surely help. Head on over to Mommy Kate and check out her blog. I have been following her for a little while and love her site. Feel free to follow her and enjoy.

Closing a Chapter to My Life

2011-06-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

Well, today I decided that I am closing a chapter to my life. When I say that, I primarily am speaking about certain individuals in my life that frankly, just don't belong. No, this isn't me sitting here saying I am better than anyone and have no use for certain people. Not at all. Certain people that have been in my life for quite some time are
a) too judgemental
b) negative and downright rude
c) love to talk crap behind your back and when confronted say they never said anything
d) just too much drama to handle.

So today I am embracing taking my imaginary scissors and cutting the strings/closing a chapter. I am beyond tired of focusing on the problems and worrying about what they think or say. I am me. I will never be anyone else. Of course, I will change in my life. In fact, I will change MANY times in my life. Isn't that what life is?

WE ALL CHANGE. We learn. We grow. We find ourselves and focus on who we want to become and how we are going to get there. I for one will happily detach myself from said individuals in an attempt to better myself and my life. Maybe I am better than having these people in my life? Maybe that is wrong to think or say, but I am done. Not in a negative, venting kind of way. I am just happy to let it go. I will be the better person and be content :)

Pampers (Giveaway)

2011-06-07T22:16:00.000-07:00

Health, Beauty, Children & Family is having a giveaway! Do you know anyone who is expecting and is deserving of a baby shower? How about a giveaway providing $300 in the form of a gift card for the baby shower? I bet you will want to enter this. While you are at it, check out Pampers Mission.