Operation $40K

We had a wonderful vacation in Branson with the family - for almost a week! I know what you are thinking...HOW? How can you go on a vacation when you are trying to save money? Easy! First of all, you have to have a place to stay. Hotels can be simply insane in trendy touristy spots like that so it's nice to find an "out of the way" option that gives you a lot more for your money. We found a great place to rent, with three bedrooms and all the bells and whistles you could ask for! http://www.comptoncovelogcabin.com/ This cabin had everything from a washer and dryer to a dishwasher in the kitchen! Seriously, I could live in that cabin, LOL! When you split $650 more than one way, you get a GREAT deal on a room! Now, let's talk food. They have these neat things called grocery stores. They are in every state - and pretty cool! You should check it out, LOL! Mom and I figured that things *might* be a tad more expensive in a touristy place so we brought a lot from home! Ever...

Both my mother and mother in law have diabetes so I try to keep current on all the available information. I even sat in on the classes with my mother, who is now diet controlled. I am a big girl, but keep an eye on what my Mom deals with, so I can make sure that I don't get the same thing! The free magazine from the Pharmacy department at Walgreen's, called "diabetes and you", had a very interesting article in it. (summer copy) It says what we eat may be the key, more so than the risk facto of being overweight or inactive! The paragraph I found the most interesting is: The researchers who did the study found that people in these two groups who ate a lot of fats, meats, eggs and refined grains, had a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The study also showed that vegetables help protect some people from getting type 2 diabetes. Diets rich in fruit, milk and yogurt were found to be very helpful, especially in women. The first thing that came to my mine was "I...

The other day I was watching my four year old daughter hop back and forth across the garden hose as it was moving around the yard as Grumpie was attending to the flowers around the pool. It was the simple magic that a kid finds in almost anything that they do. Today we didn't run errands, we went on an adventure! It started with the chipmunk we saw on the front steps who, when he saw us, ran around to the back yard. Next, it was all about the butterfly that was dancing around inside the video store. (Yes, we went to rent a few movies - they were $1 for the week)! At Walgreen's we had to guess what color my new Asthma puffer was going to be. We were both wrong but I still think it should have been MUCH fancier for the $30 I paid... We ended up at the grocery store and then came home with our Magic in the Water movie to watch after supper...I got the largest hug from the littlest person saying that we had a fantastic adventure day! I challenge you to create some magic in your cor...

It took me two days and two bottles of crack filler but I got it done! :) As I sit here typing, I can feel the hamstrings and quadriceps in my legs having their little muscle spasms. I can also feel the arthritis in my right arm throbbing...but the satisfaction of knowing that I did it myself over comes that all! Here are a few tips: --Attending yoga classes for a few years before you try this might help keep you from getting muscle cramps as you are doing a form of downward facing dog during most of this application. --Wearing a head/sweatband helps keep the sweat out of your eyes and that said sweat from dripping on your blacktop canvas (remember, water is your enemy on this project!) --Having a 4 year old, ready with a nice cold glass of water is the ultimate necessity for proper recovery from your efforts! I have to let this set a day or two in the heat before the next step...which makes it perfect timing for the few days in a row of rain that we have coming! This project won't...

Have you ever seen the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"? I could swear that movie was written about my neighbors! I am often blessed with Greek Salad, Greek cookies or Baklava, even Gyro leftovers. (Yes, life is tough...) If you aren't lucky enough to live next to a couple like that or you can't make it to Greek Fest in Madison or the local Gyro joint? Try this tasty alternative: Gyro Burgers! Grill 4 burgers as normal on your grill. Mix 1/2 cup Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt and 1 minced clove of garlic. Cut your grilled burgers in half (after they sit for five minutes to reabsorb the juices! Cover pitas with sliced plum tomatoes, a little shredded lettuce and some chopped cucumbers; top with sour cream sauce, burgers and a little bit of crumbled Feta cheese.

Curb appeal is a HUGE thing to a home buyer -- you need to have everything visibly appealing to help make that killer first impression! I have done a great job with the flower beds, there is always something blooming in my yard - all spring,summer and fall. When the did the street work a few years ago, we had the front walk replaced. Hubby put nice black railings in by the stairs. The dying 80 year old pine trees had been removed and their stumps drilled out so we could create a grassy front lawn. Now it is time to address the driveway! This is the year of me getting it done or paying someone to do it for me! Mom taught me how to repair concrete cracks and I touched up the foundation of the garage. (Looks pretty darned good, if I say so myself!) I also have windows to repair and re glaze and a bathroom project to finish - along with getting my dishwasher installed (I earned it almost 10 years ago from Tupperware and it's been sitting in my garage on a pallet) Now it is time to tack...

Do you know some other local coupon queens? Occasionally, we get our hands on coupons that we won't use, or have more of one than we really need. This is where swapping comes in! Let's say I have five extra $1 off Cheerios and we are SICK of Cheerios...but my friend Pam has five $1 off Uncle Ben's Wild Rice and her family swears that they will become Japanese if they eat rice one more time! Swap for swap...they now have cereal and you have a new side dish! Do you have expired coupons? Occasionally, some stores may take them...I find it simpler to pass them on and so can you! Send them to a military wife overseas -- their local PX will take them for up to 6 months after they are expired! You can help our military families and if you don't know anyone, let me know - I can give you contact info for a base in Japan. You COULD deduct your postage as a charitable contribution on your taxes, however - most APOs are the same as mailing in the continental United States. Swap aw...

Early June, I shared a huge list of things we planned to do this summer. This is my accountablity check for what I had on it and what I might have added to it. So far our list: *swimming (done a bunch so far) *make popsicles (did it once, need to repeat a few more times!) *library and bookstore reading programs (We are only doing Half Price Books!) *Going to the Dells with our Russian Girl Dasha--thinking Circus World and Devil's lake *Going to Branson (we leave in a week!) *Going to the Voss's cabin with my inlaws *crafting (making a red white blue 8x8 album for the Dasha to take home) - Album half done, a few more pages for our personal album planned as I ordered prints *make homemade ice cream (I got a machine free from TW a few years ago and we didn't use it ONCE last summer and found a pretty cool recipe for SnickerDoodle Ice Cream to try!!) We *MIGHT* try the ice cream in a bag recipe! *homemade bubbles with dishsoap and white corn syrup (Did it - a huge hit!) *we di...

Part of he 4th Of July Fun this year. The kids got to make a fun pariotic treat! This year they made "Bald Eagles". First you take a marshmallow and put it on a fork... then you dip it in white chocolate... Then you roll it in shredded coconut real quick and set it on an Oreo. Then poke a hole in the middle to stick a whole cahsew and use cake decorating gels for eyes... Then you have the cutest little bird on your plate! All you need to do is eat it! This would be a FUN thing to do for a party that has little kids, LOL! I would love to hear if you try this!

One of the joys of having a large family is the simple fact that THEY can get your kids "stuff" and you don't have to! Add the fact that the kid has a birthday in the summer and you have the entire year covered between that and Christmas! Bendaroos are one of those things that I would never spend money on. To me, a box of wax covered string for $20 is insane! However, it is effectively marketed to the under 5 years old set and in high demand. Keep in mind that these are wax covered, so they are sticky. Picture in your head, a few on a long haired cat...who is now streaking through the room and lightening speed. Enough said. These gems even come with a box of templates to show you roughly how to do things with them, other than sticking them to a cat. You can see Sarah and Aunt Janet working intensely on a shark. Boy, was it fierce! We now have a completely stocked "art cart": pipecleaners, beads, paints, glitter glue, Bendaroos, a Lite Brite and more! What a luck...

After all the talk about "simplifying" ...last week was a trifecta of stupidity! 1)My mom and I participated in the local neighborhood garage sale 2)My big Sis and her hubby came up from Topeka for a visit 3)My hubby's Uncle and wife came from Minnesota for a visit The dumb part was organizing and prepping a sale while prepping for two separate family visits! I ADORE my big sissy and really should have had more time to just "be" with her, but she did get a great insight of how cool a kid my little bugaboo really is. They swam, we swam with the Aunt & Uncle and we sold crap at the sale, LOL! Seriously, after day one - Mom and I were at just over $100 between the two of us! We both snuck out to other garage sales and she spent more than she made and I spent about $9. (I did score some cool dinosaurs, 3 separate Halloween costumes and some nice books...) We decided not to do day two, and just box up our leftovers for tax donations. SO, we had a great dinner out...