Homecoming 2009 - done frugally!

Sarah attended homecoming this year. She's in the 9th grade. They grow way too fast. We hit the mall right after she was asked to find the perfect dress. We found it at Dillards. I know! DILLARDS! Her date shopped with us, so he get coordinated. I was so proud when she told me she found his tie for 34.00 at Penny's and refused to let him buy it until after they checked around. They hopped over to Kohls and found the same name-brand tie for 15.00. He already had the pants and shirt.

My sister popped over to snap some photos. She has an awesome camera, loves to take pictures and it really good at it!

We found the perfect accessories. Not too gawdy, and her older sister has already claimed them to wear for her Cmas party at work so they must be cute.

Her older sister did her hair.... cause you know.. it's means so much more.

Here is our baby girl .....

All smiles!

Dress at Dillards was first marked down to 80.00, then 23.00, and then I got an additional 30% off... so I paid 16.83 for her dress!!!! I got the accessories buy one get one free for 20.00. Her sister did her hair 0.00. She borrowed her sister's shoes 0.00. His boutonniere was 8.00. Total = 44.83.

She did draw the line at using a coupon for the dinner HAHA. He paid for that... so maybe I should have asked him directly.

They had a wonderful time.

I am a mean mother.

I love butter. REAL. BUTTER. My kids, well, they want the spreadable kind. Let's face it, real butter is hard. yummy, but hard.

I love to make things from scratch. I had a friend who asked me once why I liked doing things the "hard way". Needless to say, that girl is not someone I keep in touch with anymore. Hard? It's BETTER. As my husband says, "It is made with love." :)

I have butter and I want to make it spreadable. What to do? Hit the internet of course. Who better than Heather?? It works. It really works. Until it came to the taste testers.

My oldest said it didn't even LOOK like butter. It was pale. It should be YELLOW. She claimed it didn't have much of a taste. It should TASTE buttery. What's a mom to do to feed her kids right?

Bring out the immitation butter extract flavoring and yellow food color! HAHAHAHA

I have to admit.. it really is much more eye pleasing and it does give that hint of buttery flavor. I have refilled the butter container.. let's see if they notice!

Yes.. I am a mean mom who is about to fool her kids, but they will thank me for it later!

shopping

I made a dash to the grocery store before the sales changed. I found a lot of things on sale for Tgiving. Great!

Lots of coupons. A grocery cart FULL.

Great. The only checkout line is the 15 or less ... and the self check. I do not do the self check.

Sorry for the one's behind me.. Kroger needs to get more checkers. :)

I saved 70.00 in coupons and store savings.

I was happy!

Preparing for Tday!

My brother and his family are coming in this year for Tgiving. Today, my sister, mom and myself got together to decide the Tgiving menu. I was glancing thru the grocery ads and noticed a few things on sale to use for Tgiving, and I have coupons :) Great!

Today we celebrated my grandmother's 89th Birthday! Whoohooo! We gave her a snuggie and she loved it hahaha. It's a big joke in our family because my oldest hates them and we keep telling her we are all getting her one. Everyone else loves them.

Are you getting ready for Tgiving too? what's on the menu?

Turkey
Corn casserole
yams
green beans
rice dressing
rolls
cranberry sauce
desserts

Seems like I'm missing a few things.... i'm debating on doing the carrot souffle. We shall see!

time to meet some friends !

another day in the life....

Time just seems to fly when you are busy and we are super busy these days. Work has picked up for me and for Richard. When he isn't here, that means all the daily duties fall on me. Hauling kids, overseeing things, gathering things, fixing things, cleaning things. Yikes!

The kids are busy with school. Daniel graduates this year. I just ordered his grad stuff. For Pete's sake! 12 dollars for shipping and handling? for a cap and gown?? AND 80.00 for said cap and gown?? it's flimsy nylon and will never be worn again. 17.00+ for taxes... and lets get to the invitations... cmon people! He didn't want a ring.. so I shouldn't complain, but still. Portriats, senior fees...graduation.. it adds up quickly. Good thing I'm frugal and can put some money aside for things like this.

Sarah is doing great at her school. I'm so happy I made the decision to move her and have never regretted it. :) She's was asked to homecoming by a senior! I know, i know.. but it's a very small school.. so every knows everyone. We got her dress at a STEAL. Yesterday, we bought the jewelry. My frugal daughter suggested she wear her sisters black flats and saved me some $ . She also found her date's tie ON SALE and I think even HE was impressed with her savvy shopping skills.

Jessica is working and busy with friends on the weekends. I love watching her grow, mature and enjoy life. Such a smart, beautiful, young adult. :)

I have been enjoying weedends OFF. This Saturday we went G'ing (garaging saling). 5 crazy women on a mission to find good stuff.

I was able to get:
1 nightshirt from Nordstrom
1 tie dye nightshirt (jokes between us 5 friends)
1 very nice gown
1 heart print tote bag - i have a slight "thing" for totes
1 wall hanging decorative thingie.. fruit-themed for my kitchen
1 pair of flip flops... they are made of hard rubber-like material. maybe generic cros? I'll have to ask the kids. They know those kinds of things.
1 eyelash curler

2 Aladdin kids 8 oz travel mug. Perfect for sarah and I to have our hot cocoa/coffee/tea/water on the drive to school in the mornings or while zipping around town. Love those things and the 8 oz size is perfect for me.

1 pr of Christmas socks - sarah loves socks and fuzzy socks even more.

1 pill dispenser with the 7 days' compartments. I have been searching for this for weeks at the grocery store and never could find them. I take vits and meds every day. Since Prilosec is now over-the-counter, it comes in foil packets that are so hard to open. Now, I can pop the lid and be done! For a week.. I know.. kinda silly, but it's the small things that make me happy :) Paying 5 cents is even better.

Not a big haul.. but stuff we needed and will enjoy.

Time to get another load in the washer... and find and make speadable butter! post.









1 coin purse - given to Jessica

Where does the time go?

I had a few weeks of sleep troubles. I think i have that ironed out.

I am super busy with work.. it's a mess. I have never seen such unorganized people! In every way possible! I dunno who they have stayed in business. Seriously.

Rich has been at the land every weekend.. seeing deer.. :) Not hunting season yet.. close tho.

The kids are busy in school. Rich is busy with work.

Busy Bees!

Stopping by...

Work has been stressful to say the least. I'm giving it my best shot. We will see. It's tough. I won't lie.

I spent the weekend relaxing at home. It rained most of the time and days like that I love to be in the kitchen. I whipped up some coffee mixes. YUM! It's like having Starbucks IN my house. MMMM

I also mixed up some more detergent. This time I used Castile bar soap. So far so good. I did the math and it equals to .09 a load. The cheapest I can find detergent is .14, and that's usually with a coupon. Next time I'm making a double or triple batch. The hardest thing is pushing the bar of soap thru the processor lol. Since I'll have everything out, it just makes sense to make a few batches at once.

I am not the only one who lives to be in the kitchen when it rains. Richard cooked chicken and sausage gumbo Saturday afternoon. I made the potatoe salad. MMM Good eating.

Today, he bought me a deep fryer and we had homemade fries, salad and wings! I have been so hungry for wings. They were so good and eating them at home was so much better than trying to get everyone dressed and happy and to the place, which is usually so loud with the tvs and music. I think we will be very happy with the fryer. Next up is shrimp! I have been wanting to cook them but Rich's frying stuff has been at his uncles. They fry fish for clients and keep it all at the shop. We don't each much fried stuff, but sometimes it is a nice treat.

Time to go put the food up and run the dishwasher... hopefully work will go better this week.