Much of my weekend has been spent de-cluttering (or trying to) the girls' room. How 2 little girls, under the age of 5, can accumulate SO MUCH stuff is beyond me!! So far four trashbags full of toys will be taken out. That's just what we got through & the girls could freely part with. Another 10 or so gone, and we'd be in really good shape.
I tried limiting part of the stuff animals to five apiece, but the littlest one just looked so sad. So yep, ended up keeping them all. I know, I know, I'm a sucker for a sad face.
In other news, their beds FINALLY arrived!! We got those put together today (before noon), and the girls have been excited about them ever since. Let's hope they're just as excited to sleep in them tonight. Now just as long as they stay in them all night, we'll be doing good!
Allergy season is upon us & I'm not liking it one bit!! The runny nose is bad enough, but the migraines that come with it, I could live without. Seriously, I'm such a baby when it comes to headaches. But the 80+ degree weather that comes with allergies, I'm totally diggin' it.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Seeing the BIG picture
UGH! Sometimes the BIG picture seems so small & hard to see. In this case our house & saving for it. I know what the end result will be, I know what it is I want to achieve, but man, it is hard training yourself to do things differently.
Saving money is not something that I've ever been good at. I have the best of intentions, I have the thought process of how to do it, but when it comes right down to it, I like to buy things. Sometimes it's things I need, sometimes things I want, and sometimes just because I "deserve" it. So I think anyhow.
For example, I really want new clothes. Not because I necessarily need new work clothes, but I seem to wear the same things all.the.time. It won't change even if I buy new clothes, I'll just wear those instead of the older ones. Ugh!!
Ah yes, arguing with myself. The wanna-be saver vs. the I-know-I-shouldn't spender. Which one will prevail?!?!
Saving money is not something that I've ever been good at. I have the best of intentions, I have the thought process of how to do it, but when it comes right down to it, I like to buy things. Sometimes it's things I need, sometimes things I want, and sometimes just because I "deserve" it. So I think anyhow.
For example, I really want new clothes. Not because I necessarily need new work clothes, but I seem to wear the same things all.the.time. It won't change even if I buy new clothes, I'll just wear those instead of the older ones. Ugh!!
Ah yes, arguing with myself. The wanna-be saver vs. the I-know-I-shouldn't spender. Which one will prevail?!?!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
SPRING is in the air!
Ah yes, spring is in the air. The past 3 days were 60+ degrees and yesterday even reached 77 (maybe that was Thursday??), but either way totally diggin' the warm temps. Today a little cooler & rainy, but I'll still take it. Tomorrow back to mid-upper 70's. Yeah for spring!!
Perhaps we'll hit the zoo tomorrow. I'm ready to be out doing stuff! The kids are too. All I hear is talk of fishing, archery shoots, swimming, etc. In my head I'm going to start the couch to 5k program, though I have a feeling it's going to stay there...in my head. :) I've never been a runner, but I like to believe that somehow I could train myself to be.
And now I'm off for a very rare date night with hubby!!
Perhaps we'll hit the zoo tomorrow. I'm ready to be out doing stuff! The kids are too. All I hear is talk of fishing, archery shoots, swimming, etc. In my head I'm going to start the couch to 5k program, though I have a feeling it's going to stay there...in my head. :) I've never been a runner, but I like to believe that somehow I could train myself to be.
And now I'm off for a very rare date night with hubby!!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Why is it that...
when you ask a question, people will automatically assume that they know what you're asking & then proceed to answer, without answering your question? Please, take a moment & actually hear what is being asked.
This happened twice today in a meeting, with two different people. So instead of getting a straight yes/no answer, with minimal explanation, which is what I was after. No, instead I receive a 5 minute explanation of a question that wasn't even asked. Seriously?!?!
I get that the one person has the whole condesending attitude & that he is sooo much more all-knowing than the peons he works with, but come on. It is very difficult to show respect to superiors, when half the stuff out of their mouth is just a bunch of hoity-toity, I'm better than you crap. UGH!!
Thankfully tomorrow is another day & with any luck, I can avoid conversations with this person completely. Wish me luck!! :)
P.S. My FAVORITE scrapbook store is hiring part-time help on the weekends. Soooo tempting to apply for the job. I won't because it's coming upon spring/summer & we'll be super-busy, but man is it ever tempting. Maybe they'll need help this fall/winter.
This happened twice today in a meeting, with two different people. So instead of getting a straight yes/no answer, with minimal explanation, which is what I was after. No, instead I receive a 5 minute explanation of a question that wasn't even asked. Seriously?!?!
I get that the one person has the whole condesending attitude & that he is sooo much more all-knowing than the peons he works with, but come on. It is very difficult to show respect to superiors, when half the stuff out of their mouth is just a bunch of hoity-toity, I'm better than you crap. UGH!!
Thankfully tomorrow is another day & with any luck, I can avoid conversations with this person completely. Wish me luck!! :)
P.S. My FAVORITE scrapbook store is hiring part-time help on the weekends. Soooo tempting to apply for the job. I won't because it's coming upon spring/summer & we'll be super-busy, but man is it ever tempting. Maybe they'll need help this fall/winter.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
After much searching...
We finally found beds for our girls. After being on the look-out for SEVERAL months to find beds that would fit in the girls' super small bedroom, we finally bought them new beds. Let me just say bed shopping is tough.
Bunk beds were out (due to their age), single twin beds were out (due to the size of their room), so then we started looking at trundle beds. Several of those peeked my interest--a daybed with trundle, captain's bed w/ trundle, extra drawers underneath the trundle for storage...many, many possibilities. So that is what we were after. A nice trundle bed. Until last weekend, when I happened upon this...
PERFECT!! Not so high so that I would be completely uncomfortable with them sleeping on the top bunk & yet enough room in between the beds, that we could leave decorative pillows & stuffed animals on the bed even when pushed underneath.
I must say shopping around PAYS OFF. I found these online & the price ranged anywhere from $1600-$700. Since these are Ashley brand, I found an Ashley Homestore within an hour of us that sold these for $600. AWESOME! There were still a couple other stores we wanted to check too, so today we headed out to check them out.
We ended up at Roommaker's which does sell Ashley furniture. They had this bed for $699, but matched it to the Homestore's price & we could pick it up in our hometown instead of having to drive an hour. Not only did I save us driving an hour (twice) to order the beds from the Homestore, or driving an hour to pick up said beds at Roommaker's, we got the cheaper price AND local pickup. Suh-weet!! Gotta figure the driving alone saved us probably $200.
Decided to let the girls pick out their own bedding also. I did limit it slightly, and perhaps encouraged specific bed sets :), but they did have their choices. That counts right?? Had to have some restrictions or we would've come home with some bright pink/orange combo with sequins attached to it. Probably not the best idea or the most durable for a 5 year old. AND even somewhat coordinated. YEAH!! & half the price of what I was finding online. Score!!
Bunk beds were out (due to their age), single twin beds were out (due to the size of their room), so then we started looking at trundle beds. Several of those peeked my interest--a daybed with trundle, captain's bed w/ trundle, extra drawers underneath the trundle for storage...many, many possibilities. So that is what we were after. A nice trundle bed. Until last weekend, when I happened upon this...
PERFECT!! Not so high so that I would be completely uncomfortable with them sleeping on the top bunk & yet enough room in between the beds, that we could leave decorative pillows & stuffed animals on the bed even when pushed underneath.
I must say shopping around PAYS OFF. I found these online & the price ranged anywhere from $1600-$700. Since these are Ashley brand, I found an Ashley Homestore within an hour of us that sold these for $600. AWESOME! There were still a couple other stores we wanted to check too, so today we headed out to check them out.
We ended up at Roommaker's which does sell Ashley furniture. They had this bed for $699, but matched it to the Homestore's price & we could pick it up in our hometown instead of having to drive an hour. Not only did I save us driving an hour (twice) to order the beds from the Homestore, or driving an hour to pick up said beds at Roommaker's, we got the cheaper price AND local pickup. Suh-weet!! Gotta figure the driving alone saved us probably $200.
Decided to let the girls pick out their own bedding also. I did limit it slightly, and perhaps encouraged specific bed sets :), but they did have their choices. That counts right?? Had to have some restrictions or we would've come home with some bright pink/orange combo with sequins attached to it. Probably not the best idea or the most durable for a 5 year old. AND even somewhat coordinated. YEAH!! & half the price of what I was finding online. Score!!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Hurry up & wait!
I learned this game well when my husband was in the military. Plans would be made & then changed & changed again. So you'd hurry up to finalize things for the initial plans & then wait to see what they changed to. It is one of my least favorite games. EVER!
Alas, this is where I am today. Hurrying up & waiting to see what changes come about. Waiting to see where we find land at to purchase, finalizing house plans to fit the landscape so those can be ordered, waiting...waiting...waiting while we save up money to build said house. Hoping the plans in my head go as planned. UGH! Have I mentioned that I dislike this game.
And yet, "good things come to those who wait." Patience, I admit, is a virtue that I do not have. I am very much a "see now, buy now" type person. I am a work in progress, so I keep telling myself. HA!
All that said, I'm not complaining about the wait. Certainly not the wait for the house. Other randomness however, I do wish would speed up. I keep waiting for a email & checking it 50 times a day to see if it has arrived. Nothing yet. Waiting & watching for an email is much like watching the grass grow. It doesn't speed anything up & starts to take a toll on your mind.
Now admittedly, I really did watch the grass grow at our first home. We had this crazy yard that we didn't really ever smooth out, with ruts & humps, and dirt. Just DIRT! No grass. We'd plant grass & wait (patiently, mind you) for little sprouts of grasslings to grow from the mud. It was so exciting to see little tufts of grass sporadically around our yard. So yep, I really have watched the grass grow & it was EXCITING!! :) Poor old yard, pretty much stayed a dirt patch with few splotches of green here & there.
And that is today. Hurry up & wait...& wait...& wait. One thing that won't wait...sleep.
Goodnight!
Alas, this is where I am today. Hurrying up & waiting to see what changes come about. Waiting to see where we find land at to purchase, finalizing house plans to fit the landscape so those can be ordered, waiting...waiting...waiting while we save up money to build said house. Hoping the plans in my head go as planned. UGH! Have I mentioned that I dislike this game.
And yet, "good things come to those who wait." Patience, I admit, is a virtue that I do not have. I am very much a "see now, buy now" type person. I am a work in progress, so I keep telling myself. HA!
All that said, I'm not complaining about the wait. Certainly not the wait for the house. Other randomness however, I do wish would speed up. I keep waiting for a email & checking it 50 times a day to see if it has arrived. Nothing yet. Waiting & watching for an email is much like watching the grass grow. It doesn't speed anything up & starts to take a toll on your mind.
Now admittedly, I really did watch the grass grow at our first home. We had this crazy yard that we didn't really ever smooth out, with ruts & humps, and dirt. Just DIRT! No grass. We'd plant grass & wait (patiently, mind you) for little sprouts of grasslings to grow from the mud. It was so exciting to see little tufts of grass sporadically around our yard. So yep, I really have watched the grass grow & it was EXCITING!! :) Poor old yard, pretty much stayed a dirt patch with few splotches of green here & there.
And that is today. Hurry up & wait...& wait...& wait. One thing that won't wait...sleep.
Goodnight!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Cheesy chicken burritos
My Favorite & super-easy burritos. It's a combination of a couple of recipes, but man are they good.
boneless, skinless Chicken breasts
White refrigerated mexican cheese
cream cheese, cubed
cream of chicken soup
refried beans
Rotel
Tortillas
Shredded, mexican cheese
Cook chicken breasts. Cut (or chop, I use my pampered chef hand chopper) chicken. Combine chopped chicken, cheeses, cream of chicken soup, and rotel. Let simmer until cheese is melted.
On tortillas, thinly layer refried beans. Add chicken mixture**, and roll up. Place into 9x13 bake pan. Add shredded cheese on top and bake at 350 for approx. 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
**Chicken mixture is also really good as a dip with tortilla chips.
Can you tell I like cheese? A LOT! Mmmm...these are so delicious!!
boneless, skinless Chicken breasts
White refrigerated mexican cheese
cream cheese, cubed
cream of chicken soup
refried beans
Rotel
Tortillas
Shredded, mexican cheese
Cook chicken breasts. Cut (or chop, I use my pampered chef hand chopper) chicken. Combine chopped chicken, cheeses, cream of chicken soup, and rotel. Let simmer until cheese is melted.
On tortillas, thinly layer refried beans. Add chicken mixture**, and roll up. Place into 9x13 bake pan. Add shredded cheese on top and bake at 350 for approx. 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
**Chicken mixture is also really good as a dip with tortilla chips.
Can you tell I like cheese? A LOT! Mmmm...these are so delicious!!
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