And Then I Ran Into the Door

Saturday was a big day in humiliating moments...

Sooooo if we're judging a day's success in ratio to blog worthy moments, I think it was a rousing success!

To start with, Popcorn and I had to run to Walmart to pick up a birthday present.  She had two parties to go to, and we had to do an emergency gift change as we found out that one of the girls no longer plays Barbies, and Popcorn ALWAYS plays Barbies with her.... She was quite surprised to learn her friend had forsaken Barbies.

I must say I will be SO SAD when my kids no longer play toys...

Anyway, she was much speedier at picking out a new present than I had planned, so we had time to kill.  We wandered all over Walmart...

When it was time to meet the mom who was taking them for a movie/mall party, I got out of the car to go greet them...Because I think it's polite, and I'm a chatter...Christie gestured to my torso...

Oh, wait!  I must describe my uber cute outfit!  I had paired a hand me up shirt from my niece Sarah with black & white stripes and a wide black belt with a big shiny patent "leather" buckle that was sitting high on my waste!  Look at me and my fashionable self!!!  I knew Christie was impressed, because I've always had excellent powers of deduction.

So...Christie gestures to my torso and being the super cool chick that I am, I began to saunter to her...Because I was Luh-OOkin' GOOOODD!! 

Except Christie began to frantically shake her head no...And pointed more emphatically...and in all of my amazing reasoning skills, I deduced that something was perhaps amiss...

MY STUPID SHIRT WAS UNBUTTONED!!!

Good grief...

I laughed maniacally, buttoned up, and laughed some more...Because what else is there to do???

My only other thought was, "Please, God, I hope I didn't just walk all over Walmart with my shirt unbuttoned!"

So, I dropped off my beloved child and stopped to get gas...

And winds were at gale force, so even though I shook the handle before removing it from my tank, gas splattered all over me....

So.  I went home, showered and changed.

After feeding my family a highly nutritious lunch of bean and cheese burritos, I headed to Norman to do a little Christmas shopping and meet Popcorn at the mall to take her to a second party that was a slumber party at the Embassy Suites in town...

My back had started spontaneously hurting while we were in Walmart earlier, but I tried to convince myself that a good dose of Aspercreme rubbed in, a hot shower and two Aleve were going to fix what ailed me...

And my back continued to hurt...

It hurt to push the cart through Target.  Target is the store that I try to avoid as every time I go in, I spend a hundred bucks and wonder what happened...

I left with one measly purchase...

As I wandered in Target I realized that I had left the sleeping bag at home that Popcorn had told me at least TWELVE times to not forget!

Grrrr...

No problem.  Academy was up the road.  I ran in and found a sleeping bag for ten whole bucks...Which was probably cheaper than gas wasted to drive back home...I wandered all over Academy, trying to find gifts for a few people...And nothing appealed.  All I could think of was that my back hurt to stand still...I had to keep moving or just sit down...

So.  I left Academy and ran into a shoe store.  Because OBVIOUSLY everyone is getting shoes from me this Christmas!

And I left without purchasing or even TRYING on a solitary pair of shoes. Because every pair of shoes I buy for someone else must first be tried on...

I knew it was a dire situation when not one pair of shoes was even worthy of trying on. 

I spied a Dollar Tree...

Hooray!  The store where EVERYTHING is a dollar or less!  Surely I could find some great stocking stuffers in there!  Problem solved!  This day would not just be a day of agonizingly wandering through stores, staring at items, but not registering what I was seeing.  There was much joy and singing in my heart...

Only I didn't find any stocking stuffers!  However, as I was about to throw up my hands and leave in exasperation I found the most unthinkable thing of all!

I found food storage containers that WERE MADE IN AMERICA!

Shut! Up!  Yes they were!!

So, after joyously handing the lovely lady my money, I turned to stroll out of Dollar Tree, American made product firmly in my grasp, silently celebrating over my find on Veterans' Day weekend, no less!

And I walked smack into the door.

You see, I anticipated an automatic door, and I was so lost in my daydreams of jubilation/don't move to quickly or you will surely collapse in pain from your back that I failed to notice the door wasn't opening...

I mean, seriously people...Surely a store where everything is less than a dollar rates an automatic door!

*Sigh*

And as I limped my poor pitiful self to my car, I realized another fact...Not only had I exposed myself in public, forgotten a sleeping bag, limped through a basically unsuccessful shopping trip, and ran into a door...

I HAD WENT OFF AND LEFT THE PRESENT FOR THE OTHER PARTY HANGING ON THE BACK OF A CHAIR IN THE DINING ROOM!!!!!!

I did what any sane woman would do...

I called Studmuffin and told him the entire pitiful tale...

He immediately volunteered to bring Bookworm and her friend (who was staying the day with her so she wouldn't be lonely without a sister to play with.  I've learned that my kids get lonely quick without each other.) to town, meet me at the hotel to drop off the gift, then he would also generously treat me to dinner at the ever fabulous Chik fil A.

My hero!

And Then I Saw These Shoes...

We are going camping in the near future.

At a lake...

And every year when we go camping my youngest gets her shoes wet.  I know!!  It is shocking.

In the not so distant past she asked me for rain boots.  "She doesn't need rain boots.  It doesn't rain here," her dad stated quite sternly.

Have I ever mentioned that man is the rain on my parade?

Anyway, as I began making my list of camping necessities (last year we forgot our skillet.  Try cooking eggs and bacon with no skillet, I challenge you.  I ended up having to bum my brother's electric skillet off of him...Which if you understood anything at all about my brother you would see the sheer irony in HIM having something that I needed to borrow.)

Did I just digress?  Imagine that!

So, I was making a list.  I made a note that perhaps I should buy socks as Bookworm only has about four pair that fit properly, and there is nothing worse than wet feet...

Which made me wish we had rain boots for the girls...

Which led me to nagging my husband to let me BUY rain boots for the girls...

Which led me to checking out Target.com for boots and Halloween gear...

Which led me to finding Bookworm's Wednesday Addams costume for twelve bucks, and Popcorn's Indian costume for $20...I only needed to spend $18 more to get free shipping...

Of course I decided to throw in two pairs of rain boots.  However, as I went to check out, I realized the boots may not get here in time...

So, I removed the boots from my list and instead ordered Popcorn a super cute pair of winter boots that are only $8 more than I was going to have to pay in shipping if I did not buy them...

Of COURSE I bought them!

Sadly, I sitll did not have rain boots....

I loaded Popcorn in the car and drug her to Goodwill...Where she was horrified at the used shoe smell and racks of clothes organized by color...

Sadly, Goodwill did not have my Morticia costume, or even a black witch dress I could improvise with, and they did not have one single pair of rain boots...

We headed to Target...Except before going into Target I decided to run in to TJ Maxx and see what they had to offer...

No, they did not have rain boots for children.  But they did have a cute sweater dress for Bookworm and a lovely sweater for Popcorn and an adorable black pea coat with hot pink lining for Popcorn!  As she pointed out her current coat is from first grade.  Now that she's in fourth grade, she apparently thinks she needs one that actually reaches past her forearms.  She is just so needy.

We meandered over to the fitting rooms to try on a variety of shirts for Popcorn, and Popcorn was even trying Bookworm's dress to see how it might fit on her sister...

 As you can see, our guess was pretty good!  I think I may have to forbid her wearing it due to she looks entirely too grown up in it!  Of course, if I do perchance crumble and let her wear it, she will be wearing leggings and knee boots.  Which will probably only add to the grown up look, but at least she won't look like she's wearing a mini dress with those long skinny legs!  Can't have my daughter trampin' around at eleven years old, now can we?

We decided on the clothes and as we left my eye caught sight of these:

They were only $49!!!  These Dansko's sell for like $150!  Granted, I'd been saving for a pair of Barefoot Merrel's, but I simply had to buy these! 

And so I did.

Oh, and for anyone who may not realize:  These are for work.  Considering I'm weary of wearing the required navy blue scrubs every. single. day.  I'm quite excited to have something with definite personality to wear! 
  
After splurging on unplanned purchases we dashed on in to Target where I bought the two pairs of rain boots the girls had picked out online...

By the way, did I mention that I was doing all of this on a tight schedule?

Did you know that people tend to spend more and impulse buy more when they are on a tight schedule?

And to think that before I left the house today I was stoked that I was actually going to have cash left in the clothing envelope this month!

Oh, and here's an image of Barefoot Merrells.  Yes, they are purely frivolous.  Which is why I've been yearning but not buying them for nearly a year now.  They look and feel exactly like my high school track shoes...Which is perhaps why I want them, but I'm not really sure I have any glamor associated with track...Click here to read about my illustrious history as a track star.  But, even if you can't be bothered to read about my humiliations, here's a picture of the shoes I'm unsuccessfully saving for!

Signs of The Times

I'm observant.  I notice people.  What they are wearing, their hair, their overall appearance of health.  I tend to spontaneously make diagnoses as I'm out and about based on skin tone, fingernail health and the shape of their hands and chest...The list goes on.  I like to watch people and see how they act, and wonder what they are doing, where they are from and what sort of lives they lead.  I like to try and guess if the mom stays home or if the grandma is raising her grandkids, or if that dad who is buying groceries with kids in tow is going to get home with any real food...

Like I said, I'm observant.

Except when I'm not observant, and then I'm just narcissistic and wrapped up in myself.

I'm sure that is an astounding revelation as I write a blog that is all about me.  Clearly, any narcissism I have is minimal...

I went grocery shopping on Saturday evening, and while I had not planned to coupon (and believe me if you're using "coupon" as a verb it takes extensive planning) my husband had suggested I run to Crest for all but the toiletries we were in need of.

As I walked into the store I saw an in-store coupon sheet that had a giant sign on it "One flyer per customer and one coupon per item listed per day."  I chuckled at the sign, remembering a lady who walked right in front of me at Homeland the other day and took every single in store coupon flyer.  And she didn't even let me have one!  I just stood their and stared with my jaw on the ground.  In hindsight, I wish I had said, "Seriously lady?"  However, Crest has a lovely greeter who hands you a cart and stands right by the coupon bin, so I doubt they have that issue.

I happily picked up the flyer and perused it.  It looked to have some pretty good deals, but until I saw the price of the product I was unsure.  I also was unsure if I could stack the coupons in the flyer with manufacturer coupons, so again I was skeptical on it's worthiness, but decided to compare as I shopped.  I was pleasantly surprised to realize that the coupons were usually on two items, but if you used the coupon, your second item would be free.  For example Kraft singles were two dollars and the coupon was for two dollars off two packages of Kraft singles.

I joyfully pulled my handy dandy scissors out of my coupon organizer and clipped out the coupons I decided to use as I bought my originally planned items.

As I clipped my coupons I could not help but notice the number of people who were buying the exact item I was, but not using a coupon.  I felt compelled to point the coupon flyer out to them.  A few of the said "thanks" but others felt coupons were too much work.  Even if the flyer was right in front of them and the item was on sale! 

I also noticed the large number of families carrying multiple competitor store flyers around, deciding which store had the best price and whether they should wait and go to Homeland in the hopes that they could get some good double coupon deals, or debating if Walmarts chicken breast would be cheaper after the coupon was factored in.  Granted, I'm fairly new to couponing, but I promise the amount of people with plastic shoe boxes and binders full of coupons is astounding.  Take a gaze around next time you are in the store.  You might be surprised.

 If you are ever in the downtown area the other thing you might be surprised to notice is the alarming amount of homeless.  I drive under the interstate on my way to work in the downtown area every day.  As I am driving, the homeless are starting to get up from their beds under the bridge.  They each have their own little space between the bridge beams, and they are usually getting up and stretching or straightening their beds as I am stopped waiting on lights.  There is also an empty lot just north of the underpass, and the other day I noticed a man standing up in the Johnson grass and diligently combing his hair.  Another day I saw a man and woman walking with their arms around each other as they left the little underpass community.

As I mentioned yesterday I went to a resale shop and grabbed some clothes for the girls.  Two of the shirts I bought were from Old Navy and still had the tags on them, but I only paid $2.99 for them.  I even noticed some jeans from The Buckle with the tag still on them.  They were $8.99, and way too big for my girls.  I didn't buy them as I have no desire to store jeans for two years in the hopes that the super skinny jean will still be in style when one of my kids can fit them.

Today as we left gymnastics Popcorn begged me to take her to eat Chinese.  I was resisting her, saying that her father and I had already discussed tonight would be leftover night, and she could have a sandwich or hot pocket or burrito if she didn't want leftover lasagna...My husband called and suggested that next week we start swapping off who takes Popcorn to gymnastics and make Thursday a little date night with the kids.  I decided to make the plan effective immediately, and I wheeled into a little Chinese place in a nearby shopping strip.  I had skipped lunch at work, and though I'd stuffed my face with cookies, a handful of goldfish left from my daughter's lunch and a few almonds when I got home, it did not satisfy my hunger. Skipping lunch tends to do that to me.

As we left the shopping strip I noticed that there were sprinklers going in all of the flower beds.  The wind is blowing 25 miles per hour and the water was running down the driveway.  I find that shameful when we are in a drought that is showing no signs of any significant relief.

So, I really had nothing to say.  Just lots of observations. 

People are desperate to save money, while others can't even be bothered to take advantage of a deal when it is easily within their grasp.

There is a serious drought going on, and I can't help but shake my head at the folks who have maintained immaculately green lawns.

Some are selling clothes on consignment that have never been worn, while just twenty minutes away others have built themselves a little village under the bridge in downtown.

P.S.  On a totally unrelated/irreverent note:  Every time I type in couponing, blogger spell check suggests coupling...

The Perfect Sunday

Before you read this post, you really need to go visit my mother and wonder why she has any hair left...And understand why what she has is all gray!  Click here to find out why.

Are you back?  Good!

Do you remember Darma and Greg?  He was  down to earth attorney, and she was a yoga instructor raised by hippies?  There was an episode where she has their super market checker move in with them because she's pregnant with no place to go, and Greg keeps wondering how they know this lady.  Darma says, "GREG!  She's our super market checker!  If we don't step up and help her, then who will?!"


I think of that every time my husband goes to the store with me and he's flabbergasted to realize I ask about their children, their spouses, how they are feeling, etc.

This statement seems random right now, but you will understand later on.

Sunday it rained all day long.  It was wonderful, except we had a track meet scheduled that afternoon for my youngest daughter.  We went to church as usual, and then headed home straight after to change in to rain gear for the meet.  We headed on into town to make sure that we wouldn't be rushed and enjoyed a light lunch at Subway.  While we were there we got the news that the meet was delayed until further notice due to the rain...

Well, since we were in town anyway, and I happened to have my coupons with me, I made my family go with me to get groceries...Because I had resisted going on Wednesday, but now that we were right next door, there was no reason to not go!

Yes, they drove me crazy.  No, I didn't get everything I could have if I hadn't had distractions...But I did walk away with 4lbs of chicken at 29 cents a pound!  What a steal!!!

Of course, if they hadn't been with  me, i would have never bought that dad gum Axe deodorant that was on clearance because I would have realized my coupon expired the day before.  The bagger had already buried it in other items, so I just coughed up the wasted two extra bucks.  Grudgingly.

Dang it.

Anyhoo, my girls said, "Mommy, if you let us stop by the house and grab our purses we will go with you to Walmart."

What a blessing!  NOT!  However, their garage sale earnings were burning a hole in their pockets, so I let them tag along for cat food and other items I had to buy.

We came home and I saw Studmuffin watching FX.  IT WAS SUPER HERO SUNDAY!  We love super hero movies.  Because I'm nerdy like that.  I watched the end of Hulk, then watched the first Iron Man, which I have on disc but still endured commercials to watch on tv.  We cracked ourselves up talking about all of the symbolism and the little Easter eggs you miss until you've watched it 12 times.  The commercials ended up being handy to change out loads of laundry and empty the dishwasher and talk about all of the deep symbolism in Marvel comic heroes...

As soon as Obadiah was killed, we flipped it over to the news...to find out Bin Laden was dead!

What a day!  Couponing, super hero movies and Osama dead!  I could scarce get to to sleep there was so much excitement around here...

So, do you want to hear about my nerdy couponing adventure the last two days?  We are out of razors.  I noticed in the Walgreen's sale bill that I could get Studmuffin a razor with a four dollar off coupon and get five dollars in register rewards.  I also needed razors, and could get two dollars in register rewards.  I happened to already have five dollars in rewards from getting my kids allergy medicine there Sunday...

Wait!  They had forgotten to give me my rewards, but I had my receipt, so I was planning on getting them given to me.

So, last night on my way home I grabbed Studmuffin's five blade razor, and headed to the check out.  I let a man with one item in front of me.  I insisted he go, "Because I'm hungry, but not that cranky...Yet."  (And I didn't want him to realize that I'm going to beg for my forgotten five dollar coupon) Which lead to me discussing our dinner plans with this random stranger and the checker.


After I explained my situation, she happily corrected the problem, but there was a hitch.  I was going to have two manufacturer coupons for one item, so I HAD to purchase a second item.  She recommended I grab an Ooey Gooey Butter Cake at their check out for 99 cents.  I walked away spending $2.89 on a Ten dollar razor and a 99 cent snack cake...

But it gets better!!  They gave me my five dollar register reward...

I know lots of people do several transactions in one trip, but I was too embarrassed to do that.  I had learned that my checker was closing the store last night in our little chat, so I figured it would be safe to go back this morning to grab razors for me and some Qtips, as we were out anyway.  And she would be none the wiser and forget all about me and my plans for chicken tacos...

I headed straight there after dropping the kids at school.

I made the small error of wandering into their lawn and garden area.  I am now hoping my husband and children go there and get me some Mother's Day gifts.  They had the cutest things, and I got my mother a gift that there was only one left of, so she better dang well appreciate it, because I REALLY wanted it....

Moving on...

So, I headed to the check out and THE SAME LADY WAS WORKING!!  "Maybe she won't recognize me,"  I told myself.

"Are you the lady who bought one of those cakes last night?"

Caught!  "Yes.  I shared it with my daughter.  You are right, they really do melt in your mouth."  And I sheepishly handed her my razors, the Qtips and my mom's gift....Along with my coupons.

Guess what?!  I got another two dollar register reward!  And their Garnier hair products are on sale, and I have a coupon, and if I use my two dollar off coupon, I will get them for free!

Only I am waiting at least two days before I go back.  Because then maybe I won't appear as if I have nothing but coupons in my life...

So, in closing I wll say that apparently friendliness and chattiness doesn't always pay off!  Because if you share your life story with everyone you meet, they remember you!

DRAT!

I Think I've Went Over the Edge

It's official.

I'm becoming one of THEM...You know the ones.

Those crazy ladies in the grocery store with a shoe box full of coupons?  The kind who write down the price of items at Walmart, to see if they can get them cheaper at Homeland if the coupon is doubled...

I'm one of them.

*SIGH*

It's really no surprise.  I've always been disgustingly frugal.  Take my couches.  I've decided not to get new ones.  I want new floors and a bigger fence in the back yard more. It's really okay, though.  When I bought my couches I very carefully considered whether they were "traditional" and if they would match a variety of settings.  Considering I've had them in 3 different houses and an apartment, and I've had different colored walls every single place, I think I did fairly well.

But, this is actually a post about my couponing endeavors...

Studmuffin took the girls to softball practice Thursday night.  (I loathe softball, and the whole family knows it.  I consider practice their special time with Daddy...)  I decided to go hit the stores and do some couponing.  I am still trying to stick to only shopping every 2 weeks, so I really have to think about what I'm going to buy.  It takes a lot of work and preparation, I'm not gonna lie.

I decided to pop into Walgreens.  I was totally unprepared.  I had not even glanced at their sale bill.  However, I was able to get all of this for $4.43.  That was a total savings of $13.93.

I know I could have gotten tons of stuff more, if I had actually looked through the sale bill and my coupons, but I was just giving this a trial run to see if I have time or energy to add another store to my shopping.

Next I ran into Walmart to buy the things I needed that I did not have coupons for.  I ended up finding manufacturer tear off coupons in their aisles.  They were for $1.00 off.  That doubles at Homeland!  However, if Walmart was enough cheaper, I would not be saving at Homeland.  Homeland is notoriously overpriced.  That is why I only buy things with coupons that are on sale there...Needless to say I was in Walmart a looong time, deciding if items would be cheaper that I needed if I had  coupon that doubled at Homeland.

At last I went to Homeland, and I felt like I scored pretty big!  I got all of this for $39.98.  That was a savings of $54.69 off the retail price!  A sixty percent savings!

The only kicker is that I bought a bunch of junk I would normally NEVER buy because it is just junk, and it is a waste of money.  However, since it was practically free, I couldn't resist!  You will laugh, but I actually had a talk with my girls this morning on what they are allowed to eat, and how many a day.  One yogurt or pudding cup a day.  One snack bar a day.  One bowl of cereal per day.  You see, the first time I went couponing, the little twerps snarfed down all the junk food in the first three days because they were so pumped to actually have junk food!

And, for those of you who know what a label reader I am, those dad gum frozen dinners sucked me in at sixty cents a piece.  I know my husband will use them for work some day when we don't have leftovers and he's sick of sandwiches...

And those snack bars?  You bet your boots they have high fructose corn syrup in them...How the mighty have fallen in the face of super cheap snacks.

So, we will see how this whole couponing thing continues to work.  I bought all of the groceries I will need for the rest of the month, through the first week of April yesterday, aside from probably 2 more loaves of bread, 4 gallons of milk, and I will have to replenish fresh produce as we do eat apples, bananas, grapes, and such daily. 

Oh, and just in case you were wondering about my month overall, I have saved every receipt and my grand total spent on groceries for this month was $282.57 (remember this gets me through the first week of April.)  That is every single household item we have bought from cleaners to fish food to people food.  My normal budget for groceries is $500 per month.  That may seem like a lot to some of you, but we only eat out once per week, and we take our meals to work, and I'm kind of freaky about labels.  I have learned that junk food is a lot cheaper than wholesome food like yogurt, cheese, fruit and peanut butter...

This month I went a little crazy and tried to buy very little without a coupon or sale items.  I forced myself to make a meal when typically I would have said "I have no food, I need to go to the store."  That means that next month I will have depleted much of the stuff I normally have extra of, so I may not do as well.

We shall see.  We shall see.

P.S.  After I typed this Coupon Closet posted her Homeland shopping trip...Which totally depressed me as I didn't do nearly as well.  But, if you need inspiration to at least give coupons a try, go over and visit her to learn how she bought $255 worth of groceries for $27.32!!!!   That is amazing.

The FINAL Final Vacation Post

I desperatley need new couches.  

Okay.  

That is an exaggeration. (Exaggeration always makes things feel so much more important, don't you think?) Mine look good on the surface.  They are completely stain free, believe it or not.  But the cushions make you fall to the middle.  I have resorted to tucking blankets under them to hold them up.

I have no idea why my couches are failing me a mere 14 years after purchasing them.  I mean, it's not like we sat on them every single day for the last 14 years.  And it's not like my children have ever jumped in the cushions.

Or my then 12 year old nephew, Kris.

Nope.  These things have been treated with gentleness and love.

However, it is perhaps time to consider replacing them.  But I still like the way they look.  And I don't want to spend actual money on a couch...New couches just don't go with my hand me down, garage sale, dig through Aunt Aleta's cellar for furnishings look.

However, I had spotted a couch I like in JCPenney online.  As it turns out, it was actually in stock at the JCPenney in Fort Worth.  Since we were going to be in the area, we decided to go do a test run on them.  We love them.  However, I want them in cranberry.  So, the delivery would be 6 weeks away.  We have a town wide garage sale in 4 weeks, so we could sell our old couches then.  I think 2 weeks is not too long to go without living room furniture.  But I have been unable to truly commit to purchasing the couch.  Especially as I seem to be required to pay a delivery fee.  Yuck.

While in JCPenney, we decided to let the girls do a fashion show.   They could try on whatever they wanted and come out and model it.  

There was only one catch.  

We weren't buying them one single solitary outfit...We had already bought them each 3 outfits the day before, and ended up buying them 2 more each the next day.  So don't pity them.  Plus, in summer they can share all clothes since they don't have to worry about leg length.  In essence they each got 10 new outfits.  Score!

As they were doing their runway show, we decided to snap some photos of ourselves...

 Oops.  I'm not sure what he was going for here.  But I am sure it didn't work...

 Oh.  How sweet.  He really DOES love me...But really.  He's making my eyes all wrinkled-ey.  Please.  Don't age the diva.  Thank you.

What?

Surely you don't think that real divas wear makeup and actually fix their hair!!

Okey Dokey.  At least he's not smashing my face.  But I wanted a new Facebook profile picture.  I just somehow feel this is not what I was going for...He looks like a drunk college boy.

Alllllrighty.

  Now he is a  serial killer.  And yet I continue to smile.  Oblivious to the danger he is posing to me.  And what about that shiny skin?  You can tell I had left the arid climate of Oklahoma for the humidity of Texas, yes?

 I gave up.

  He was not going to cooperate.  If you can't beat'em, join'em.  Thank heavens I was nose friend's free in this shot!

 Now.  This is better.  If one overlooks my flared nostrils.  I think I was laughing here.

And excited.  

At least that's my story.

Yoiks.

For sure laughing here.  

Look at that frizz. I had not determined the correct amount of frizz serum for that day. 

So there you have it.  The FINAL final vacation post.  Unless I should post the runway show?

Hmmm....

I shall think about it, and ponder if I have any repartee to share with you.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot LIke Christmas!!

Wednesday is my day off, get everything done that I possibly can day. It involves bill paying, grocery shopping, laundry, and cleaning. Ugh. Strangely, it doesn't really feel like a day off. Why do you suppose that is?

This Wednesday was a bit different. I had my follow up appointment for my measles titer to see if I for sure for sure had measles. I won't have those results for several days as they have to go to California for testing.

I had to finish up Christmas shopping. I was determined to finish and not be tempted to buy that one more thing I think of...

I will confess right now that I realized I never bought envelopes to mail Christmas letters. I haven't even written a letter! I've sat down and tried, and I'm completely blank. Totally, completely blank. How weird is that?

I started my marathon off at Walmart.

I needed dog and cat food and a groceries. I was determined to walk in the door, check out their ice cream cakes as Popcorn has decided this must be on the menu for her slumber party Friday, grab some stuff and go....

Then the Christmas spirit overwhelmed me, and before I knew it I bought entirely too much totally necessary to my life and future happiness stuff.





Like new cookie cutters. And wrapping paper. And a jigsaw puzzle! Because my great great grandmother's dining room table MUST have a jigsaw scattered on it during Christmas. I also clearly NEEDED to buy an adorable gingerbread village kit. Clearly. I needed it!

Oh! A cute Rudolph coloring book! Of course every new coloring book requires a brand new box of sharp pointed crayons....Oh, the smell of a newly opened box of crayons. Simple childhood times come rushing back.

Sadly, my entire Walmart visit followed this pattern. I left with some groceries, but I fear not everything I will need to get me through the Christmas season. That is what an unprepared trip to Walmart gets you!

Remember the clever cupcake scam my youngest pulled on me Tuesday night? Well, in my wanderings I found these adorable sprinkles and cupcake picks. I decided they were a must! So I bought them! Aren't they cute!




I finished my shopping in time to run by a real grocery store, buy some perishable items and dash home to throw them in the freezer and stash a few gifts before I had to get the girls.

Only I finished that 15 minutes before time to go.

So I colored a picture. That's right. I colored a picture. In a coloring book. With my brand new crayons.

It was bliss.





Then I picked up the kids, came home, scrambled to get laundry done and these cupcakes done and dinner on the table before I had to be at choir from 7-9pm.

And now I'm heading to bed.

With pink frosting smears on my kitchen floor where the dog got into the trash last night while we were asleep. SOMEBODY didn't put up the trash before we went to bed, and apparently the smell of that grilled fish that SOMEBODY didn't carry out to feed the stray animals in the back pasture was more than she could ignore.

I've decided it will still be there tomorrow.

And the day after that if I don't get to it...And that day will be Friday, and I will have a house full of little girls, so what will be the point of cleaning my floors then?

Safety FIRST!!!

We went to the State Fair last Friday night...


AKA The Freak Show.

I saw two police officers in a golf cart, forcing their way through the crowded midway...The cop riding as passenger was eating corn on a stick. He had a kernel of corn on his chin.

I felt safer just looking at him.

Don't you love how you can virtually everything on a stick at the fair?

We stopped to admire a dude spray painting AMAZING landscapes. I failed to notice the drunk guy next to us. Until he literally almost fell on top of Popcorn. I mean, cuh-RAZY drunk...

This was about 8:30. Did you know I hate crowds? I do. I get all nervous and sweaty and irritable. Add alcohol to the mix, and I'm a complete bundle of nerves. I have issues with that too. Seriously. That drunk guy almost sent me into a total chest clutching anxiety attack. Now, I won't pretend I never drink. That would be a lie. But I have an absolute phobia of drunk people. They are just too unpredictable and I am so nervous that I can't even relax.

So. I was having a great time in a crowd surrounded by drunk people...

I kept thinking, "What kind of parents are we to have our kids out in this? Next year, we are leaving by dark." Which is what we typically do. Primarily because we go on Dollar Day, which is a school night. Of course, we couldn't go on that day this year, so late drunk night it had to be...

In other Super Safety Encouraging News, Popcorn wanted to ride every single ride that spun and ESPECIALLY the ones that went upside down...

Bookworm nearly hurled on the swings, and she was done. She did decide to ride the Ferris Wheel. You know those lines take forever to let all the people off and on...

As we finally got close to the front I noticed a disturbing grinding noise. I saw one of the workers climb under the ride, open a door, and begin to bang on something with a wrench. Loudly. I started to question the safety of this ride, but in typical amusement park fashion, I was hesitant to step out of line to get on one of the other 4 Ferris Wheels...The line was SO LONG and we had waited forever..."Baby, I think we need to ride a different ride. This one is making funny sounds and they are working on it...While they continue to put people on." She was disappointed, but as we walked away, they shut the ride down. WHEW!

In even more Super Safety Encouraging News we had to go shopping Saturday. NOT my favorite activity. However, Popcorn's shoes that were all of 3 weeks old were too small, so we bit the bullet. On our way home we held a vote between Chik fil A and Freddy's Frozen Custard. We unanimously voted on Freddy's. Their fries are to die for...

As we were eating, a strange banging sounded on the roof. We were wondering if it was a nail gun or a sledge hammer when suddenly a loud crash was heard and a large pile of roof fell onto the table across from us. Literally. A hole appeared in the ceiling. As in, a hole you can see sky through. I'm not sure what sort of roofing materials they were using, but I think a sledge hammer was somewhere in the mix.

Remember the fries that are to die for? Well, apparently, they really are.

Because we totally stayed and finished eating.

No joke.

As we left we noted the sign written in ball point pen on a piece of printer paper: Lobby closed dew to construction. Drive thru open.

Good to know that the people at Freddy's not only make a mean fry, but they obviously excel in grammar.