Mad Boastings of a Cheapskate Mom

Free Health Tests: Walgreen's Way to Well Tour Coming to Milwaukee!

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 01:46:00 +0000

My local Walgreen's has always been my go to place for last minute items and late at night "Oh my gosh, he's burning up and we have no fever medicine!" runs when everything else is closed. I love Walgreen's because they have great deals and coupons too. Recently, I learned about an initiative that Walgreen's has created to bring preventative wellness services to local communities. Walgreen's is calling this their Way to Well Health Tour.

The Walgreens Way to Well Fund is dedicated to providing free prevention and early detection health services to the nation’s underserved communities. Now through December 2012, the tour travels the country providing free tests, assessment, education and consulting services to populations of communities with the highest prevalence for leading diseases and uninsured and unemployed community members

Walgreen's has teamed up with AARP to bring you the Walgreens Way to Well Health Tour. This community outreach program will be in and around Milwaukee, WI beginning tomorrow, 7/12 through 8/4. The national mobile tour focuses on prevention and early detection of today's leading diseases: heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

The free health tests provided include:

- Cholesterol

- Glucose

- Blood Pressure

- Body Mass Index

- Body Composition

- Skeletal Muscle

- Reseting Metabolism

- Visceral Fat

- Real Body Age

The tests are valued at over $100 and only take about 20 minutes to complete. Anyone 18 and older is encouraged to visit the tour - no appointment or insurance is necessary.

Wisconsin readers, you can check out where the next tour stop is near you by viewing the event times and locations here.

Not in Wisconsin? Visit www.walgreens.com/waytowell and enter your zip code to find your nearest tour stop location.

Can't make it out to visit the tour? You can still contribute to this community outreach campaign by purchasing Walgreens brand health and wellness products! 1¢ from the purchase of each product, up to $3 million annually, will support brining preventative wellness services to local communities through the Walgreens Way to Well Fund®.

Disclosure: Although I was compensated for this post, I only agree to share information with my readers that I find to be useful and related to the things I share on this site. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.

I hope you find this to be helpful and that it helps encourage you to visit the Way to Well Tour in your area so that you can have access to these important health maintenance tests at no cost to you. If you have loved ones in any of the areas near the tour, I encourage you to let them know of this opportunity as well.

Here’s to good health!

Emm Eye Ehh

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:46:00 +0000

This blog used to be my sanctuary amongst the chaos of my boys screaming through my home and playing "destroy everything in sight." Cheapskate Mom was my outlet to connect with other adults and explore my creative side. As a stay at home mom, this was essential to my sanity.

As a working mom, blogging has unfortunately taken a back seat. As much as I enjoy being in touch with my creative side, I only have so much time to spend with my family, and I had to make a choice to cut down (a lot) on my blogging time.

My time with them is precious!

I still spend time on Facebook and Pinterest. Both are quick and satisfying while fitting into my busy schedule! Many of the friends I have made through blogging are on my personal facebook page, so I am grateful to keep in touch. Pinterest is amazing! I recently started planning my meals there. I am also planning Micah's 4th birthday, decorating ideas, displaying my WiWI photos, and more!

If you would like to keep up with me on Pinterest you can find me here: http://pinterest.com/cheapskatemom/

Work has been great! Our family has been wonderful! I am effing cold but awesome!

Barn near my home.

I am hoping to resurrect Wordless in Wisconsin in the near future. As with blogging, I have not had a moment to dust off my camera and get in touch with nature since I started working. I really miss my creative side. I will be fondling it soon, I just need to learn how to manage my free time!

If I could get his brothers to do my chores, I could blog more often!!

Hope you are all well and enjoying the New Year!

Christmas Clown

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:27:00 +0000

Guess who Santa probably has.....

...on his Naughty list??

It's Beginning to Taste A Lot Like Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 23:32:00 +0000

The turkey is done gone and the tree is up and decorated.

It's unseasonably warm here in central Wisconsin. Not one ounce of snow on the ground and it is raining. Yeah, you heard me, raining!! I'm ok with that, though. Once winter hits, it doesn't leave!

With the change of the season comes the urge to cook comfort food and keep your home toasty and full of aromas that bring back memories of holidays past.

Recently, I realized that although we celebrate Christmas, we do not have much of a family tradition. My kids are growing up fast, and I would love to start holiday traditions that are special to our family so when my boys grow up, they too will look back on this time and have fond memories.

One tradition I am hoping to continue is making tamales. I did this for the first time last year, and next weekend I am hoping to do it again!

Food and the holidays go hand in hand and I wanted to share a couple of our favorite holiday recipes with you.

Here in Wisconsin, when the weather turns chilly, the bars start serving Tom & Jerrys. They remind me of hot buttered rum, but the ingredients are a bit different.

You can find Tom and Jerry mix in grocery stores after Thanksgiving around these parts, but I guarantee if you live west of here, you likely have never heard of a Tom and Jerry until now! So I am sharing the recipe with you!

Tom and Jerry Mix:

Ingredients:

6 eggs, separated
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 pound butter, softened
1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice

Directions:

Beat egg whites with salt in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form.

Beat the egg yolks to soft peaks in a separate bowl. In another bowl, beat butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and vanilla to the butter/sugar mix. Stir in nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and egg whites; beat until well blended.

You can store the batter in a sealed container in the freezer for a couple of months.

To make a Tom and Jerry:

In a large mug add 2 heaping tablespoons of the Tom & Jerry batter. Add 1 shot of brandy and 1 shot of dark rum. Add boiling water to the mix and stir. I like to leave a couple small clumps of the mix on top. It's really frothy and good! Top with a little nutmeg and cinnamon. Sometimes I add a couple of ounces of egg nog to the mix to make it even creamier.

Here is a recipe for one of my favorite holiday breads. I am a big fan of egg nog, if you haven't noticed already! I love including egg nog in my recipes!

Egg Nog Bread

Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs
1 cup eggnog

8 oz sour cream

3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 shot (or more) dark rum

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.) In another bowl, beat the eggs, eggnog, sour cream, sugar, butter, rum and extract. Combine with dry ingredients just until moistened and all lumps are gone.

Pour into prepared loaf pan. This makes one large loaf or can be combined into 2-3 mini loaves depending on your pan sizes.

Bake at 350° for approx 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The sour cream makes the bread moist so if it is browning on the top faster than the inside cooks, move the rack to the lowest postion of the oven.

Tips:

You can also make these as muffins, they are fantastic with cream cheese frosting! Add a little egg nog to the frosting too!

These taste great with craisins and walnuts too.

For reduced fat recipe use light eggnog, fat free sour cream, and light margarine

I would love to hear what your favorite holiday traditions and recipes are! If you are looking for new recipes to add to your holiday list, check out these great Christmas recipes from Reader's Digest!

Here's to hoping your Christmas is merry and bright!

Deer Lord Help Me

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 04:25:00 +0000

OK ya'll. I've been told one day I will make the transformation into a Wisconsin Girl and I was almost convinced the transformation had taken place until I heard this on the radio the other night:

Double you tee efff.

No. I am not quite there yet.

The sad part is this song is 100% true. Every single word of it. No lie.

I used to be all "Don't kill sweet innocent deer" but that was before I realized those sons of bitches actually like to play chicken with your car. I'm not ok with that.

In fact I have been terrified about hitting a deer since we moved out here. I've seen enough of them dead on the side of the road. I am so scared that one will run in front of my car and I will swerve and end up in a lake or something. My husband makes it sound so easy. "Honey, just hit your brakes, don't swerve." Hmmmm..

So tonight as dusk was creeping up on me while driving home from work, I started to eye the woods and my anxiety levels began to rise. Gripping the wheel I tried to be on the lookout for deer. All of a sudden it happened...a big assed deer startled me as it darted in front of my car. I hit the brakes and DIDN'T swerve! Meanwhile a raised bronco with the grill cage thing attached to his bumper was in the oncoming lane of traffic. That mofo SPED UP and tried to hit that deer!! People out here are effing crazy! I mean what if he had hit the creature? Would he have gotten out and strapped his fresh roadkill to his hood? Damn rednecks phhhhhhhffffft.

The rest of my drive was spent with my knees knocking and me going 5 miles under the limit while muttering "Mother Fuc*ing Deer" all the way home.

Tomorrow my husband leaves to go deer hunting. He hasn't been very successful in the past and I like it that way. He thinks if he catches one of those things he is hanging it in our garage to skin it and stuff. UMM NO. Hell no! You can move the California girl to Wisconsin, but you cannot get the California girl to agree to skinning a damn deer in her garage and/or paying hundreds of dollars to process, then hang that creature's head on my wall. He can shoot the deer and drag it to his dad's house where they can paint their faces in it's blood and dance around it while wearing it's skin and decapitating it or whatever men do when they have a fresh kill.

So I guess I am a Hunter's Widow this weekend. That is what the wives call themselves during this time of year.

Hope you enjoy the song. I wasn't kidding when I said that is a perfect description of hunting season out here!

Thunderstruck

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 23:11:00 +0000

Once upon a time, I lived in Vegas. It was during that time that a new show had hit the strip called "Thunder From Down Under." A bunch of hunky Aussie men had come to bring a fresh show for the ladies to the strip. Of course I was intrigued but I never did catch the show.

Many years passed with many visits to Vegas to see family and friends, and yet, I never did see those hot Aussies from Thunder From Down Under.

Recently, the Thunder took their show on the road and I got wind they were coming to Wisconsin. A bunch of girls at work thought it would be fun to go as a group so we all got together and bought tickets. I have to admit, I had no idea what to expect. I started to question it: Will the show be cheesy? Will it be funny? Will the men be hot? Am I going to have to bring a spare pair of panties?

I wanted to do a little homework so I visited the Thunder From Down Under website. I got to know the "Blokes" and the gals and I had fun picking out our favorites. (waves at Marty)

Thursday night came, and us girls got dressed up and made the nearly hour trek to the Casino where the show was being held. I had a couple of drinks before we got there so I was feeling pretty good at that point. It was time to bring on the Blokes!

Of course, we were told not to take photos which was a total let down (for you!) so I have no photos to share of the actual show. I will say this:

The show was worth every cent.
The men were HOT
They preferred giving the Grannies lap dances over screaming women (such as myself)
All the things you hear about these shows are TRUE
No matter how reserved you are, you WILL act a fool
You haven't lived until you have touched hot sweaty abs on a nearly naked Aussie man
The costumes were HOT the dancing was HOTTER
I should have grabbed a spare pair of underwear.

I can't even tell you how long the show was. It all went by in a blur. What is time when you have a group of hot, ripped, nearly naked men dancing around you? Those moves...ohhhhh.....they had me wagging my tongue like a salivating animal! The men. They were mostly scrumptious. I was concerned that the men would be mostly ButHisFaces, (you know, hot but his face is not) but I was wrong. They were hunky!! The MC was Adam Hughes and he is a a former Thunder man, now in his 40's he has retired but he is still holding strong to his physique.

Photo Source: http://www.girlsvegasgetaways.com/celebrity-hosts/

If there was any "cheese" to the act, he brought it. He was fun and engaging, and served as the entertainment buffer between acts. Perhaps I didn't warm up to him because he kept his clothes on and when he was on the stage the hunky half naked sweaty beefcake men were not. I was obviously there to observe the beefcake. (Sorry, Adam!)

The Thunder had their numbers they would dance to. The music was right for the scene, some hip hop, some R&B, some country. They donned outfits like Greek soldiers and cowboys, and old school gangsters. The men were talented in ways I had never imagined. Their thrust game was top notch. They took sexy to another level. I was personally screaming like a rabid banshee the entire time. I felt like a kid in a candy store and it was ok to touch the goodies, if only I could wave my dollar bills high enough.

I was surprised at the small turnout. The auditorium was nearly half empty. I had assumed since there was hardly much action in our town that the place would be filled with screaming women (I even expected some to be in camo, lol) but it was a bit dead. It's hunting season out here and a lot of women are home without their men. You'd think they's take this opportunity to do a little hunting of their own! "Sure honey, you go hunt for deer, I'm going off to score me some beef!"

Personally, I think this show is brilliant and I am glad they took their act to the road. I did not find it to be tasteless or tacky. We did not see any ummm errrr lightning rods, if you will. They had to leave at least their bits to the imagination. The rest, however was nothing short of phenominal and I for one will be marking my calendar for next year's show! If they make it back to our neck of the woods (PLEASE come back boys and bring Alex with you!!)

Before I knew it, the lights came back on and it was time for the souvenier photo. For $20.00 a person you could choose to do an individual or a group shot. I wasn't sharing so I chose individual! The men, freshly toweled off, and a bit worn down from their show, lined up to do their standard pose. Alex, the super hot hunk of Aussie scrumptiousness, took me by the hand. "Hello Gorgeous, right this way." Oh his charm was on. Those eyes...his smile. I floated to the other men and arranged myself across them. The photo guy was having camera issues and the men were getting antsy. I however, enjoyed every bit of the delay.

Here is my photo from my night with the Thunder:

Top: Alex Biffin, Ryan (Something?) Bottom: Aiden, Daniel, and Brent(?)

While the rest of my party was waiting to get pictures, I witnessed one of the Granny ladies do a face plant while heading up for her moment with the men. Poor lady was wasted. To the max. It took 3 people to get her up and shuffling towards the door. I couldn't help but laugh, I mean she looked like a nice lady who would normally be at home knitting a pair of booties in her Snuggy while parked in her favorite recliner watching the Young and the Restless. Granny was into those hot hunky men, and she was into her booze. Apparently, the booze arm wrestled the Thunder men and won!

Adam, the retired hunk MC was trying to schmooze some more money out of us for a group photo at $20 bucks EACH person in the photo.   No can do, roadie manager, Adam! The picture is a damn polaroid! I didn't even know polaroid photos still existed!   Here is some advice, use a digital camera and buy a photo printer. Step up with the times!   No way were the 6 of us forking over that kind of dough for a group shot.   This was the part when the show was over and it was apparent these men were money makers and they were there to rake in the money. (Duh)

So now we had a photo but no autographs, and they herded us to the bar with promises that the men would come out in a little bit to mingle. Alrighty then, off to the bar we went! On the way there, I nearly pass out from oxygen deprivation from screaming so damn much earlier! No joke!

The autograph and mingle time was fun. Watching a couple of the guys hunt for the hot chicks was amusing. They were all nice but I have to say that Daniel, and Alex were the most pleasant. Adam Hughes was on auto pilot. He literally grabbed my photo card like 5 times to sign it, not realizing in the course of 20 minutes that he had already signed it. A couple of the guys quietly left with some hoochies who were likely going to experience a private show (lucky whores!) One of my friends actually scored some digits and the Thunder man was working the charm hard trying to get her to stay with him, but she is a respectable girl and politely declined. (Though she kind of kicked herself the whole way home, haha!)

Alex (my fave...did I mention that?) was being stalked by a little Asian woman with a bad red weave. She seemed like a nice lady but I kept looking at these super hot men and thinking with the exception of my friend who is quite a hottie, most of the chicks these guys were trying to hook up with were not attractive. I asked one of his mates if Alex was going to settle for that little red (not so) hot, and he said "Fahhrhk no, he's alright." They even say f*ck sexy.  I heard them say that quite a bit.   Especially when one woman came up and said their accents were fake. The f-word was flying around a bit after that. I just smiled and nodded and soaked in that sexy aussie accent, which is legit, by the way!

Seems like doing the show not only revvs up the motors in us ladies, but these guys were rearing to go! Too bad I was married or I would have taken Alex up on his offer.

(OK he didn't offer, but I'm sure he would have....HE WOULD!  Oh shut up and just allow me that one thought, please!)

My down under is still rumbling!

So, my advice to you is if you want to score some grade A Aussie man-meat, all you need to do is attend one of their road shows away from the big cities where all the hotties live. Small town women can be hot, but the market is wide open and you have a better shot of standing out and getting noticed for perhaps some storm watching!

If I were a single girl, I'd be a Thunder storm chaser! That is for damn sure. Alex would have to watch his back....and his front...uh huh! wink wink

Image Credit

I'm going to Vegas in March and you bet, I'm planning on catching the real deal show while I am out there!! If I have money to burn, I may just spend $400 for a couple hours to cart one of the Thunder hunks around town for a bit. Ahem--Alex is missing off the host list...they better fix that!

Wisconsin gals....next stop on the Thunder tour is in the Wisconsin Dells at Ho Chunk Gaming! On November 19th! Tickets are just $15! That is a steal! We paid $25 and I would have paid double that and then some!

If your husbands are griping that they don't want you to go, ask them how many times they have hit the strip club. If that doesn't work, then tell them you are there to look and not touch (too much!) Men should not feel intimidated by shows like this, if only they knew it helps their cause, they would be happy to get rid of their wives. It's like foreplay time is done! All systems are a go! All your man has to do is come in for the landing!

I hope you enjoyed this post. I'm still enjoying it, hehe

Trick or Treat

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:57:00 +0000

When I was a kid, trick or treat time meant grabbing 3 pillow cases and marching through all the neighborhoods for several hours collecting as much candy as we could, and then racing home to count our bounty and see who got the most.

Here in Wisconsin, I am lucky if I last an entire hour.

It is DAMN cold outside!

Too damn cold to be trick or treating. I think we made it about 15 minutes before I started trying to bribe my kids to go home. I told them instead of going door to door, we could go buy bags of candy tomorrow (clearance, baby!) and I'd let them each pick out like 3 bags. But noooooooooooo, they wanted to march up driveways and say "trick or treat" and be social and junk.

My youngest picked up something new from his friends in day care. He traded in the classic "trick or treat" with what he learned instead. When he got his candy, he'd turn around, stick his butt out and start spanking himself while saying "Na Na Boo Boo..." and the grin on his face told me he knew he was being a naughty stinker! I tried to correct him, but it's hard to take Mom seriously when she is laughing...

We lasted another 20 minutes before my red nosed kids started whining to go home. So much for 3 pillowcases full of candy! You California trick or treaters have it made!!

Hope you all had a fantastic Halloween!

Wordless in Wisconsin (WiWI) Serenity

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:56:00 +0000

Last moment to take in the trees before the snow comes in for the season.

Rare moment when these two aren't trying to kill each other

Her Milkshake Brings all the Boys to Macy's

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 16:11:00 +0000

Dear Macy's,

I've always figured your store was a high class kind of place. You know, the kind of establishment where cheapskates like me have no business being there. I really wouldn't be there, except your store is always placed on the side of the mall I want to shop in, so I have to walk through and try not to oooh and ahhh over all your wares. Usually I have my blinders on, but once in a while something will get my attention. Once, I looked at a really cute top, and then came out of the cuteness coma when I saw your price. $53.00 for a shirt?   In the Juniors section? Yeah, no thank you.   I'll take my $53.00 to TJ Maxx or Rue 21 and get myself a whole outfit and shoes for that price!

Sincerely,
Me

So naturally, I had my blinders on when we visited the Mall of America and once again I had to stomp through a Macy's in order to get to the parking lot.   I had almost made it to the doors before something stopped me dead in my tracks...

This wasn't a cute shirt or something I could buy. It was nipples. Yes. I said it. Nipples. Like "Hey boys I think it's a bit chilly outside!" nipples.   I mean, really...what kind of person wears a turtleneck but forgets their bra??

It's a bit nippy in here.

Now to those of you who are gasping "OMGeee how could she take that woman's picture?!?" You can settle down. This woman is that bitch we all love to hate. The woman we all have to look at when we are shopping. The one who looks amazing in just about everything that is put on her. The woman we can look at and see our own head where hers should be, so we can picture ourselves in that very outfit and be suckered into thinking we could look just as stone cold fabulous in her clothes as she does....

She's a bit wonky, this one.

None of those plastic bitches have bras on! The other mannequins look acceptable because the colors and patterns disguise them, but every woman knows that a ribbed sweater enhances every curve (or in my case, flaw) and I'm shocked Macy's would allow their mannequins to look this way. I mean I expect the mannequins to have their nipples out in Frederick's or Victoria's Secret but not your Granny's favorite department store!

So there you have it. I went to the Mall of America and this was where the excitement was at.

Here in Wisconsin, you won't see nips peeking out under sweaters. Even without a bra. Wisconsin nipples crawl inside their caves and hibernate for the winter. You won't see another nip around these parts until May. That's why the men have hunting season around here. It's the lack of nips. Makes them all crazy and out for blood.

On another note, the sun is out on this breezy fall October day and I am currently sunning my nips under a blue ribbed turtleneck on my deck.

Hope your weekend is as perky as mine!

How much is that drag queen in the window?

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 02:49:00 +0000

While window shopping in the Mall of America last weekend, I couldn't help but gasp at this large colorful ad in the window of the MAC makeup store:

My apologies to drag queens. This lady is pretty not pretty. No self respecting drag queen would allow themselves to look like this. I mean, what are your marketing people ~~huffing,~~ ~~snorting,~~ smoking, MAC? (and can they share some of that with me, please?)

I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, so I went in for a closer look. I just had to take a picture! As I was taking the photo, a bunch of people walked by and all of them said stuff like: "Eww" "What the f*#k?" "Gross!" (and yes they were looking at the lady thing in the window, not me--smartass readers you are!)

Am I missing something here? Is this Lady Gaga's granny? Who is this person, and why does he/she look so damn FREAKY?? For the love of God, WHY is he/she in a Mac MAKEUP ad??

Is looking like a busted blow up doll the new trend?

I am not really on the up and up when it comes to being trendy, so maybe I missed the boat.

Did I miss a boat here, people?

I may not know much about style, but I do know that ad makes me want to run far far (really far) away from that MAC store!

However, I need to find me a cougar coat. I have to admit, that coat is badass.

Disclaimer: I am not trying to insult the model in the photo. Model, if I have insulted you, then I apologize. Obviously, MAC is going for a certain look and made him/her up the way they did. Perhaps he/she is as beautiful as a fresh daisy without all that stuff on his/her face and in his/her lips. I am simply stating that this ad in no way shape or form makes me want to buy MAC makeup.

A trip to the Mall of America...an IKEA Diversion.

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 04:03:00 +0000

Last weekend, my husband and I took a trip to Minnesota to visit the Mall of America. We planned this little getaway to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary. No kids. Just hubs and I together in a big assed mall.

I have to admit I was more excited about visiting an IKEA store for the first time. I have admired their product catalogs for years now, and was SO disappointed to hear that about the same time we moved away from Denver, CO they just broke ground on building an IKEA there. My darned luck!

So when we pulled up to the monster blue IKEA building, I felt like a little kid in a candy store! I couldn't wait to get in there and unearth some hidden treasures!

Once inside, I couldn't help but to take pics of some things that intrigued me. I had lots and lots of pics but I'll spare you most of them!

I really like how compact and functional this kitchen shelf was. Also, the knife holder is magnetic which was pretty nifty!

LOVE these lights! Not sure we could pull it off, but it is really neat!

Would love to have my boys rooms this organized!

Our IKEA breakfast! $1.99 Big breakfast with eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and $1.99 crepes with lingonberries and a nice cup of Swedish coffee. Less than $5.00!

I just LOVED it there! I felt like I could pack a suitcase and just move right in! We had dinner there on our first night. Swedish meatballs and they were delicious and everything was so cheap! I knew I had to come back for breakfast the next morning!

We did pick up a ton of stuff and if we would have had a bigger car, we would have gotten a lot more! Remember when I was trying to get design tips for my living room and walls? Well here are some of our IKEA finds!

Living room before IKEA

Living room after adding the IKEA goodies!

When I say I bought a rug to put over my rug in the living room, I get a lot of confused looks. I am not sure if there is a rule about that, but I like how the rug kind of perks up the room. This picture was taken in crappy light but we got new pillows, some wall art, a rug, and a couple of lamps. Oh and the bamboo plant and vase.

We got this wine rack for $9.99

We got this message center with chalkboard, mail holder, chalk trays, and key holders for $14.99! The magnets were $1.99.

I needed a mirror for my foyer and this was actually a bathroom mirror in the display. It's heavy and wood. I got it for $29.99. I also got the vase, stones and flowers for a few bucks more. I was trying to tie in all the colors with the orange and green.

View from foyer. Sorry about the box. Always a little something out of place in my home!

I still have some decorating to do, but it is so nice to finally start to put some finishing touches on the walls and accents in my home. I am already planning the next trip to IKEA! We got a ton of stuff, too much to share in this post!

We had a great time in the Mall of America too! I'll share some pics from our adventures in the next post.

Have you ever been to an IKEA? Oooooooh do tell me about your experience!! I know the furniture gets a bad rap, but I just love all the things we got and everything seems to be pretty good quality!

Wordless in Wisconsin: Fall day at Rib Mountain

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:44:00 +0000

There is a giant hill in the middle of Wausau. They call it a mountain. I just moved here from Colorado, and that is no mountain! This big hill has a ski lift and people come from all over in the winter to ski Rib Mountain, or Granite Peak or whatever it is called at the moment. This "mountain" is covered with trees and right now they are bursting with fall colors. It is beautiful up there! Our family decided to visit Rib Mountain over the weekend, here are some photos of our hike:

View of the city. Look at all those beautiful fall colors!

My little blondie on the rocks

I just adore this picture. Boys doing what they do best...climbing, ha!

My oldest son at the top. He couldn't run so I finally got a pic of him!

I don't know why he is so shy, he is very handsome. :)

Got all my guys together

My hubs and our youngest

I loved how the sun was hitting that colorful leaf here. Perfect fall shot!

Oh how I wish it was Fall all the time!

The tower at the top of the "mountain"

Fall. Oh I love you.

My Zachie at the bottom of the tower.


Zachie rockin' it out ;)

I'm digging Rib Mountain, it's lovely!


Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter. - Carol Bishop Hipps

I took so many pictures, I will have to do a part 2 to this post!

Hope you are enjoying the beautiful fall weather and scenery!!

Serenity NOW!

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 02:02:00 +0000

Life with boys is hectic. Crazy. Messy. Frustrating. Impossible at times.

Sometimes I lock myself in the bathroom just so I can have a moment to myself. Usually those moments of respite last only seconds before I have a kid banging on the door, someone punched somebody, or my little one is shoving his fingers under the door as he tries to push his blonde head into the crack to get a peek at what the heck is taking me so long in there. Even my wiener dogs shove their noses under the door and start snorting. Sniff Sniff Snort! We can't smell any poop! We know you are on facebook! Sniff Sniff Snort! Damn nosy wieners!

MOMMY NEEDS HER SANITY BREAK, PLEASE GO AWAY!

So when I found these little signs on clearance at Kohl's, they spoke to me. I couldn't hang them up in my bathroom fast enough:


Hey boys...here's your sign!

Do you think they will get the message?? Please dear Lord God up in Heaven, please let them get the message. Amen.

Skip the drive thru: Freezer Cooking Simplifies Dinnertime

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 19:08:00 +0000

The transition from stay at home mom to working mom has went quite smoothly, much to my surprise. I was very concerned about how my kids would handle the switch, especially my youngest. Thankfully, day care has been an adventure for my little one. He loves the kid sized toilets and sinks. He finally has people his own size to play with, and when I go to pick him up at the end of the day, he runs up and gives me the biggest hug and has the widest smile as he shows me the picture he colored for me. Then he runs back to play with his friends and I pretty much have to drag him out of there because he is having too much fun!

Another concern of mine was dinnertime. I loved cooking meals for my family and I was concerned that my return to work would lead to more nights of take out than eating in, (which defeats the purpose of working to make money...lol) so I looked in to how to create shortcuts so I could provide my family with a home cooked meal, at least 6 times a week.

I also wanted to avoid eating lunch out while at work, so each dinner I make would need to include enough left over to feed my husband and I for lunch the next day. Around the time I was preparing to return to work, I was asked to review a book about freezer cooking. I had toyed with the idea in the past, but I was intimidated at the thought of making a month's worth of recipes in one day. It's hard enough to cook one meal with my schedule, how on earth could I cook 30?

Freezer meals kind of scared me. I am really picky about the taste of my food and freezer taste is not something I enjoy. I wasn't sure about how to freeze meals without getting that nasty freezer taste on them so I never really tried.

When I received the book and the software disc, I was excited to try it out! Dinner is Ready: 30 Meals in One Day is written by Deanna Buxton. She has written quite a few books on cooking, including, On The Side: 30 Meals in One Day, which focuses on side dishes to pair with your main meals.

For a beginner when it comes to freezer meals, I found Dinner is Ready to be very informative. As a seasoned cook, I found the recipes to be somewhat lacking "spice." Though, most recipes in the book are simple, and satisfying, and with a few personal touches, they can be suited to your family's taste.

Deanna takes the intimidation out of freezer cooking with her detailed, and easy to follow instructions. She has each chapter laid out in the book so you can learn the in's and out's of freezer cooking. Her tips about how to go about preparing the meals are informative and useful. I learned that I didn't have to tackle 30 different recipes. In fact, you can still create 30 meals by using 15 recipes and just doubling the batches! That cut my anxiety in half right there!

I decided to take baby steps and make 7 recipes in double batches to create 14 meals. I made many of my own recipes and a couple of recipes from the book. One of her great suggestions was to pick and choose different types of recipes so you can multi-task and use multiple cooking methods. She has her recipes categorized in four sections:

Slow Cooker
Oven
Stove Top
Assemble

Here is what I made:

Lasagna (Assemble - my own recipe)
Chicken & Sausage Gumbo (Stovetop - my recipe)
Chicken & Sausage Penne Pasta with Spinach(Assemble - my recipe)
Teriyaki Chicken - (Oven - recipe from book)
White Chicken Chili (Slow cooker - my recipe)
Wisconsin BBQ (Stovetop - my recipe)
Chicken Cacciatore (Slow Cooker - recipe from book)

I had an abundance of zucchini from my garden so I wanted to incorporate it into as many recipes as I could. I also made zucchini muffins to take for breakfast in the mornings. We had a lot of chicken on hand, as you can see it is in many of the recipes. I used italian sausage in three of the recipes as well.

The book came with software which was very handy when it came to planning the recipes and compiling a grocery list. The recipes could be adapted to whatever servings you planned to make and the software was very user friendly. Although I only used a couple of recipes from the book, I was able to adapt my list as I needed.

It took me most of the day to assemble and cook my recipes, which I expected. This was my first time and I took a lot of shortcuts. I don't like the idea of writing out my recipes ahead of time, or making lists. That is where the software came in handy. I could just pop the recipe up on my computer and follow that. Another perk of having the software is you can store your menus. This is a great feature, if you don't want to spend hours mulling over creating a weekly menu. After freezing meals for a few weeks, you can pick and choose your family favorites and store weekly or monthly menus for future use.

My freezer cooking experience was a time for learning and I learned a lot. I loved that feeling of accomplishment when I stacked all my meals in the freezer, knowing that for the next couple of weeks my evenings would be less time consuming and we would avoid the fast food rut, which I find myself in more often now that I have been working. The last thing I want to do is come home and cook a big meal for my hungry family.

Cheapskates don't need fancy labels, masking tape and a marker will work!

The 2 recipes I tried from the book got mixed reviews. The Chicken Cacciatore was very very bland (I made it as the recipe was written) and it was a bit watery. The Teriyaki Chicken was great and we used it in stir fry veggies instead of rice. The flavor was tasty too.

There is something about freezer lasagna and pasta recipes that I never knew before. They really soak in the sauce and the flavors are enhanced so much more.

Our family really enjoyed the pasta dishes and they were so easy to assemble and store. Deanna has some great tips in her book for keeping your pasta from getting soggy in the freezer cooking process.

For my first freezer cooking experience, I have to say I was impressed and I plan to do it again soon!

There were a couple of downsides. I really only have the weekends now to get many of my household duties done, and taking an entire day to cook can really put the rest of my schedule on the back burner. I used a three day weekend to prepare these meals, and I think I will make that a tradition. That extra day helps to balance things out.   Also, some meals took a while to cook through so I need to re-read the chapter in the book on Thawing.   Clean up after cooking this many meals is not fun. After all that hard work slaving over a hot stovetop, oven, and crockpot...the last thing you want to do is clean up the mess!

Cleaning as you go is key to staying on top of the kitchen mess, but it is a lot of work! Having an empty dishwasher in advance of cooking is important. Also, I tried to utilize the same pans. When I got done cooking my Wisconsin BBQ, I washed out the pan and made the Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. I also found that most chopped veggies do come in freezer form. I bought a couple of bags of gumbo veggies, and chopped onion and peppers. This saved on time and mess. Just be aware that frozen veggies add some water, so adjust your liquids as needed to make up for that.

Overall, I think this book is a great resource for anyone who is not familiar with freezer cooking. It is loaded with valuable information and tips vital to anyone interested in freezer cooking.   I do suggest that you taste test the recipes with your family, before cooking them in double batches. Any recipe in the book can be adjusted. If you look at them as a "base" recipe and adjust it to your tastes, then they can be quite useful. If you plan to utilize the recipes in the book, I highly recommend the software as well. I do not recommend you buy just the software, as you need to have the book paired with it in order to understand freezer cooking methods. I would suggest to the author that combining the book with the software is a much better idea, and makes the book more marketable. Selling them separately makes it complicated for the consumer and it is rather costly to invest nearly $40.00 in a cookbook even if it comes with software. I am not sure what the costs are to print the book and distribute the software cd, but as a consumer I would much rather get the book and software together for a lower price.

I will say that reading this book has helped me to take the chance on freezer cooking, and without it, I would have been too scared to try it!

You can purchase Dinner is Ready from dinnerisready.com or from your favorite bookseller. Right now, Dinner is Ready has the book and software available for $31.95, normally priced at $39.95.

For great recipes and freezer cooking tips, check out the Dinner is Ready Blog:

I also promised you some tips on how to make dinnertime a breeze, these are shortcuts I have learned in the past month since I went back to work. I hope you find them helpful and time saving for you and your family!

Cook ground beef before freezing:

I've picked up on some shortcuts of my own. We buy ground beef in large packs from Sam's Club, and I used to divide the raw beef in freezer bags. The thought of taking the freezer bag out, defrosting it, then cooking it seemed too time consuming to me, and made the idea of eating out much more appealing.   Now, I cook the ground beef before dividing it in freezer bags, and let me tell you this has been a HUGE time saver for me! I pop a frozen bag of cooked ground beef in the freezer for about 45 seconds, it is defrosted and I cook it as needed for whatever the recipe is for the night. It has cut my cooking time drastically. I say it saves me about 20 minutes between the defrosting and cooking times!

Use that slow cooker!

I like to be one step ahead of myself, and I have discovered that my crock pot can work hard for me, even if I have a meal on the table. While I am preparing dinner for my family, I combine ingredients for another dinner and place it in the crock pot. I let it cook on low overnight and place the meal either in the fridge for dinner the next evening or in a freezer pan for dinner on a future date. This way we always have something on hand!

Grill more than you eat!

If you are planning to grill, then grill double the meat you intend to eat. If you are grilling chicken, use the extra portions by cutting in strips for salads or stir fry. Leftover grilled chicken or steak makes for a great fajita night too.

Prepare your veggies after you buy them!

Wash and rinse veggies like carrots, radishes, peppers and celery. Cut them up and place into portion sized baggies for snacks. Use larger baggies to make your own "prepared" salads. The small bags of prepared lettuce you buy at the store are expensive because they are convenient. All it takes is an assortment of your favorite salad veggies and 20 minutes of your time to make your own salad bags. I like to use gallon sized freezer bags and I poke a few holes in the bag. I keep the salad bags in my crisper and they are usually fresh for a week or so. These are meant to be eaten within the week. Having a ready made salad on hand makes it easy for me to remember to eat my veggies and serve them to my family as well!

So what are your favorite dinnertime shortcuts? Please dish!!

WiWI: It's coming

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 03:42:00 +0000

Fall is here, and the trees are vibrant and full of eye catching colors.

Unfortunately, as beautiful as this is, I know what is coming and I am not thrilled about it.

I guess that is what happens when you experience your first winter in Wisconsin. I'm dreading the next one! That's what 7 long months without sunshine will do!

We are traveling to Minnesota's Mall of America next weekend, so I am hoping to get some great fall shots on the drive over!

Are you looking forward to winter?

You Say Tomato...

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:15:00 +0000

Being a California girl in Wisconsin sometimes creates funny moments. For instance, I often hear that I talk funny. No I don't. YOU people talk funny!

This conversation came up today at work. A bunch of us were in the meeting room going over test plans we had done. My trainer says the word packaging like this: "peckaging" and I pointed out that almost everyone from Wisconsin says bag (like a grocery bag) like "beg" but that I get made fun of because I say "baaaaaaag" instead of beg.

I said that a bag is what you put groceries in, (or sometimes it could be a grumpy old lady.) Beg is something dogs do when you cook bacon, (or what I do when I ask my kids to behave in the grocery store.)

Those Wisconsin gals stood their ground that I was saying bag wrong. I said:

"I don't get it. You guys say beg and peckaging but you don't call your football team the PECKERS, do you??"

Insert foot in mouth. I had no idea that was going to come out of my mouth. It was totally just something that fell out before I had a chance to analyze it.

Good thing they all thought it was funny. Meanwhile, I was a nice shade of flourescent pink.

My brain runneth over.

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:05:00 +0000

I've been a naughty blogger. A naughty, neglectful blogger. I haven't fallen off the face of the earth! I've actually been trying to work on a few posts and I'm hoping to get them put together so they are legible soon!

I went back to work full time and right now we are in training. It feels like I am learning a whole new language! My head is so full of coding, numbers, and acronyms that every time I sit in front of my computer at home my eyes go all wonky and cross eyed. I can hardly string a sentence together, after a full day of training!

In the meantime, if you are looking for some ideas on how to keep the green in your wallet, check out my Cheapskate Tips! There are a ton of fun ideas there!

Come visit me on my facebook and twitter from time to time because it is much easier to pop on and say a quick hello or post something that intrigues me. Once my brain gets used to all this thinking, I will be back to blogging more often. I'm really itching to get my Wordless in Wisconsin or WiWI posts up and running soon! Fall is upon us already and the trees are bursting with colors!

Anyone familiar with the Mall of America? I'm going there for the first time in a few weeks and to tell you the truth I am waaaaaaay more excited about going to IKEA than anything! I just got my catalog and I am in love!! Any savvy IKEA shoppers out there? I've never been there before, so please let me know your absolute favorite IKEA must haves. Have you eaten in their restaurant? Everything is SO cheap! My kind of place. I just hope the quality is good!

Winners!

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 23:05:00 +0000

Winner of the Lysol Healthy Touch System and Wipes:

Comment #7 Confessions of a Closet Hoarder

Winner of the ShouldersBack Posture Corrector:

Comment #3 Heather (Heather, you did not provide an email so if I don;t hear from you by Monday, I will have to choose another winner!!)

Winner of the Mabel's Labels Ultimate Back to School Combo:

Comment #31 HolliLynn

Winner of the Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life:

Comment #33 Donna

Congrats to all the winners!! Hope you enjoy your swag ;)

More great giveaways are in the works so stay tuned!

Catch up. Catsup. Ketchup.

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 02:26:00 +0000

Catch Up

I'll be announcing the winners of the giveaways on my sidebar this weekend. There are still a couple left if you want to get in on the action , just click over there ---------->

My brain is overflowing with lots of information I am gleaning from work so I haven't been able to clear my mind enough to play on my blog. Hoping as I start to process all the new stuff I am learning, I can enjoy my home computer time again ;)

Catsup

Who spells ketchup this way??

Also, any good prank ideas? Seems us new people are being initiated at the office and we are plotting our revenge....

Ketchup

Oh oh...I do have to sign up for my first work pot luck soon. What is your favorite pot luck recipe? Any pot luck disaster stories? I want to impress my new co-working friends, not poison them!

Wordless Wednes...err Week

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 23:05:00 +0000

I haven't been saying much of anything on my blog this week. I would love to, but I have been swamped. On Monday, I officially went back to work and I have had to adjust my night owl way of life to one of the regular working folks. In bed around 9 and up at 6. Let me tell you, that has been an easy adjustment! I was fretting over how I would get to sleep at night, but after my first day, it has been a cakewalk to fall asleep because I am EXHAUSTED by 9pm!

My husband is home with the kids this week and tomorrow is their first day of school. So we are in the hustle and bustle of adapting to my new schedule, starting the school schedule, and then on Tuesday, our little one will have his first day of day care! *Whew!*

So far, I have LOVED working! I love having some independence, and being able to think about things on the half hour drive to work. No interruptions, which is unheard of, when I am home! I can line up all my thoughts for the day and plan out what needs to be done each day, before I get to my desk. I also can just drive and not think, and jam to the music instead. My choice!

I love having a reason to dress up, do my hair and makeup, and wear some jewelry for a change. I enjoy being around actual adults and thinking about stuff people actually pay you to think about. I love having my own place to think, and I'm thankful it's not a teensy cubicle. I'm grateful that everyone I work with, and work for has been really awesome, and I already feel at home there. I love that my work is "downtown" I put quotations around that word, because it's not a big city downtown like the places I am used to living...San Diego, Denver, Vegas...nope. This is small-town in Wisconsin downtown. So it's like 1/2 mile long and the tallest building is around 10 stories, if that.

There are a lot of perks when you work "downtown." For instance, we get to park in a covered garage. Which is awesome in the winter! No more scraping my car off in -10 degree weather! We even have a covered bridge that connects from the garage to work! Oh, and on the other side of the garage is another covered bridge that leads to THE MALL!! Wahooooo!

Oh. Yeah. I'm working to pay off bills, not create new ones. Gee. Well. Maybe window shopping?

I started this post yesterday. So now it's Thursday and I am posting my Wednesday post. GAH! I seriously have zero time for my computer habit! Oh and the boys made it off to school ok, so that's a hurdle we have successfully cleared! Now, we gear up for Tuesday when we are all at work and school, and Micah is in daycare. Fingers crossed for a smooth week. Once we make it through the end of next week, we should hopefully be somewhat adjusted. Hopefully.....

I'm hoping once we all ease into our day to day routines, I will be able to spend more time playing on this blog-diggity! Oh how I miss you so!

In the meantime, I have some great giveaways that are ending any moment now! Check my upper sidebar!

Hope you are having a great week! Tomorrow is Friday. In the work world, that is a good thing, especially if your office is in favor of "jeans day." I'm thrilled to get out of these career pants, even if just for a day. I swear, I had to pee so bad today, and I had a belt, two buttons, two of those metal sliding things, and a zipper to get through before I could actually get my pants down to go!

That's a perfect place to end this post. I told my husband that I really want to talk about how different it is to use a bathroom at work, vs at home, but he thinks I am crazy and no one wants to read about that. I personally think it is quite funny, and I may just share my thoughts on that at the risk of someone from work finding the post and laughing at me. ;)

Lysol Helps Make Back to School Less Germy

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 21:42:00 +0000

Ahhh the back to school hustle and bustle is in full swing all over the country. Parents are scooping up school supplies and buying their children spiffy new clothes. We are making our list and checking it twice, when it comes to getting each child ready for their first big day at school.

Along with going back to school, our kids will be introduced to all the fun germs that go hand in hand with sharing spaces with other kids. It's expected, but sometimes in the chaos of preparing for school, we forget to prepare our home for all the new germs that will come home with our kids.

Through MomSelect & Lysol I was able to try LYSOL® Dual Action Disinfecting Wipes and LYSOL® Healthy Touch® No-Touch Hand Soap System. I've had both for a few weeks now, and we have enjoyed using them so far.

Learn all about the LYSOL® Healthy Touch® No-Touch Hand Soap System and LYSOL® Dual Action Disinfecting Wipes:

LYSOL® Healthy Touch® No-Touch Hand Soap System, a recently-named 2011 Product of the Year*, helps eliminate the millions of germs that your hands can pick up each day. It automatically senses hands and dispenses just the right amount of soap. Handwashing is one of the most important steps you and your children can take to help you stay healthy and with the sleek stainless steel-inspired Lysol® No-Touch handsoap system, you and your family will never have to touch a germy soap pump again! The new look not only makes hand washing easy and fun, it helps consumers avoid the germy soap pump and also blends with any kitchen or bathroom decor.

*Winner, Hand Soap Category. Survey of over 60,493 consumers by TNS

LYSOL® Dual Action Disinfecting Wipes have two sides that go beyond ordinary wipes. Use oneside for everyday touch-ups and the other to scrub through tough messes. Because Dual Action Wipes are from the Lysol Brand, you can also trust them to kill 99.9% of germs when used as directed. You can use Dual Action Wipes all around your home to clean and disinfect

My Thoughts on these products:

LYSOL® Healthy Touch® No-Touch Hand Soap System

This not so "handy" soap dispenser comes in either white or stainless steel. I like the look of the stainless steel as it blends in nicely with my kitchen decor. All you do is uncap the soap, pop in in the dispenser and turn it on! There is a sensor under the pump that dispenses the soap for you so you don't have to pump the soap out yourself.

Initially, I had the dispenser on the corner of my sink where I normally keep my hand soap. I quickly discovered that as my kids would put dishes in the sink, the dispenser would spit out soap. So I gave it a new home on my window ledge above the sink. It has done well there, and
no more whoopsie globs of soap in the sink!

Check out the dispenser front and back:

The other night I was dividing raw chicken into freezer bags and I was SO happy to have the automatic dispenser because my hands were just full of raw chicken juice. It was nice to slide them under the dispenser and soap up without touching anything.

I would suggest to Lysol that the amount of soap should be adjustable. I use very little soap, and the dispenser gives a good healthy dollop of it. I would likely use only a third of what it dispenses out.

You only buy the dispenser once, and it comes with batteries too. Currently, you can buy this on Amazon for $15.06:

A 2 pack of refills is available for $9.98 as well:

I've been using my Healthy Touch for a little more than a month and I have about 1/3 soap left. I like to stretch my dollar far, and I would really like to have more control over how much soap it dispenses. Overall, I really like the cleanliness and convenience of the Healthy Touch system, and I will likely continue using it, but only buy the soap when it is on sale or I have a coupon.

I am a fan of disposable wipes because I know rags and sponges can collect germs and mold over time. With a disposable wipe, it is fresh out of the container and you know you are getting a good, deep down clean with Lysol products. I have used these wipes and will continue to do so. From quick bathroom wipedowns, to day to day cleaning in the kitchen, these wipes hold up well. I love using these for pretty much everything, because my boys always seem to have something dirty or sticky on their hands, and I'm constantly behind them cleaning up smudges and spills!

You can find these handy wipes in any store that sells Lysol products.

Check out the Lysol Healthy No-Touch Sweepstakes on Facebook for a chance to win the grand prize of an "automatic" stainless steel kitchen set including a refrigerator, dishwasher, and stove!

For great offers and more information about Lysol Products visit their website at lysol.com Right now they have a rebate form available, if you buy any 2 Lysol products you can get a free container of wipes!

WIN IT!!

Would you like to win a Lysol Healthy No-Touch Stainless Steel System & Lysol Dual Action Disinfecting Wipes? Well now is your chance!

The kind folks at MomSelect and Lysol have offered to give one Cheapskate Mom reader a chance to win both items!

To Enter:

Like Lysol on Facebook then comment here letting me know why you would like to win.

Extra Entries:

Follow me on Google Friend Connect (in my sidebar)

Like Cheapskate Mom on Facebook

Follow @CheapskateMom on twitter

Easy stuff, right? Be sure to comment for each entry to coGood luck!!

Giveaway begins today and ends 9/5. Winner will be chosen via random.org and notified via email. Winner has 48 hrs to respond or another winner will be chosen. Available to residents in the US only.

*Disclosure*

I received a Healthy Touch System and a canister of Lysol wipes through MomSelect and Lysol in exchange for my honest review. My opinion of these products is my own.

Totally Together: Is it possible?

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:01:00 +0000

It's a little after noon. The doorbell rings. My boys drop their xbox remotes and run to the door. Meanwhile, I'm hiding while praying that the door isn't for me. I rolled out of bed early and had a to-do list a mile long. I managed to feed the kids breakfast and then wondered where to begin on my list. Instead, I felt overwhelmed with all the tasks at hand and decided to hop on the computer to clear my head. Somehow time flew by, because now it is noon and we are all still in our jammies and my to-do list is leering at me, unchecked and undone.

The visitor was one of my son's friends so my two youngest are clamoring to get their clothes on while I call out for them to brush their teeth before they head out to play. Meanwhile, my teeth also need brushing. I throw on some clothes and put myself together. The doorbell rings again and I cringe as I look around my home. Video games are strewn across the floor, cereal bowls on the table, the dog got a hold of a paper towel and ripped it into 575 pieces right in front of his empty water bowl.

I peek around the foyer and confirm the latest visitor is a friend of my teen son. I call out his name and breathe a sigh of relief that it isn't a friendly neighbor stopping by for a visit. My son wants his friend to come in and I tell him "NO!"

It's time to face facts...My house is in C.H.A.O.S. Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome.

How did it come to this?

My house is not dirty. Let me get that straight. I clean my home on a regular basis, but if I have no plans or no one coming over, and it's just the kids and I at home all day, I tend to be a bit too relaxed. Why spend the day chasing after the messy trail my boys make as they tear through my home? I'll just pick it up at the end of the day. Why get dressed and waste my good makeup when I am not going out? Why sit on the playroom floor and spend 2 hours organizing the 45 lego sets into different containers when my toddler will just dump them all in the middle of the floor again?

Why do all of that now, when I will have to do it over again at the end of the day?

Sitting on my computer, sipping coffee all morning while the kids play, sounds like a much better plan, doesn't it?

Except when the morning turns into afternoon, and unexpected visitors show up and snap me back into reality.

When I found out I got the job I had been wanting, I knew I would have to start getting my household under control. Right now, my kids just do as they wish and I am there behind them cleaning up. I know that isn't the "right" way to go about things, but when I clean, I want it done right and trying to teach my kids to pick up after themselves is about as fun as slamming my head against a brick wall repeatedly.

So whats left are kids who don't respect the work I put in to keeping my home clean, because they don't know how much work it is, and a mom who is fed up with pretty much everything. I go on strike quite a bit, but that doesn't really help, because eventually I have to cave and clean up sometime!

So what to do?

One thing is for sure, I need to recruit my children and include them in the day to day responsibilities. My husband is actually quite helpful, as he does the "man stuff", and also helps me when I ask him to. Going back to work is a big change for my family and it will change the dynamic of who does what around here as well.

Around the time I was fretting with what to do to fix this mess, I was asked to review a book called "Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life" by Stephanie O'Dea. This couldn't have come at a better time, so I jumped at the chance to see if Stephanie had any pearls of wisdom to help me.

Totally Together - Dream or Reality?

Of course, who has time to read, right? It took me quite a while to make the time to sit down and read Totally Together, and you know what? I read it in less than 2 hours! The two hours were broken up into two days, and I read right before bed.

All About the book:

Totally Together is the indispensable guide to organizing a busy household so anyone can have a tidy and tranquil home in just minutes a day. Stephanie O’Dea provides a practical, how-to guide in a weekly calendar format to make home organization and time management a snap.

Stephanie has developed the “clean less, play more” method, which allows you to fly through all the chores and minutiae in minutes a day so you can move on to what you really want to do: spend time with family and enjoy living life. Using a weekly organizational planner format, Stephanie spells out exactly what chores are essential and how they should be tackled to maximize time and minimize effort including:

• Seven daily chores that anyone in the family can do in just minutes
• Yearly, seasonally, monthly, and weekly chores divided into bite-sized chunks
• Household tips and cleaning shortcuts
• Guide for setting up meal plans
• Fun, fast recipes
• Reproducible grocery list with check boxes
• An action plan for keeping the entire family organized
• And much more!

Stephanie’s book is ideal for both working and stay at home moms and even those with no children who want an organized home but don’t want or have the time to spend hours cleaning. Stephanie O’Dea is a New York Times bestselling author, award-winning blogger, and mother of three. Before becoming an author, Stephanie ran preschool centers for underprivileged kids. She has appeared on “The Rachael Ray Show” and “Good Morning America” and has been featured in publications such as Real Simple, Woman’s World, Prevention, the Washington Post, the New York Post, the Los Angeles Times and Publishers Weekly. For more information on Stephanie and her organizing tips, visit her websites at www.stephanieodea.com and http://totallytogetherjournal.com.

My Review of Totally Together:

I have to admit that I didn't have a lot of faith in this book. I mean, we all know "how" to clean, and listening to someone tout about how perfect their life is because they follow the rules is not something I want to read. I am a rebel. I make up my own rules...well, ok my rules aren't exactly working out for me, so I guess it is time to open myself up to trying it someone else's way.

As I read through Stephanie's book, I found myself highlighting all sorts of areas that I related to. Here are a few things that spoke to me:

"The biggest obstacle to overcome in any task is procrastination."   Guilty as charged.

"Do not alphabetize the spice cabinet if you have a mountainous pile of dishes precariously balanced in the sink." But....but...ok guilty.

"We all have vices that drain our time. Mine is the internet." Wow. Mine too!!

"Children learn in three ways: 1) By example. 2) By example. 3) By example. If you come home from work and leave your belongings in a heap by the front door, guess what your child will do? If you never make your bed in the morning, guess what your child will not do in the morning? If you moan and groan when it is time to tend to your garden, guess what your child will do when asked to help pull weeds?"   OK. You got me there. Dammit.

Throughout the book, there are pearls of wisdom. Stephanie doesn't talk down to you and tell you that you are doing it all wrong. She gives you ways to slowly tweak what you are already doing so that with consistent effort, cleaning can truly be a breeze.

The biggest message I got is that I need to involve my entire family in the household chores and stop doing everything myself. My motto has always been that things get done right the first time when I do them. Well, that motto isn't exactly working because I am so tired and frustrated from trying to do everything myself, sometimes I just wave a white flag and ignore it all, which just makes everything worse.

There is a portion of the book where Stephanie says "Perfection Schmerfection" which basically says that you need to allow your kids to do chores even if they don't do them nearly as well as you, they have to start somewhere. She says to resist the urge to correct or fix the way they do chores because it gives your child the impression that he isn't capable of accomplishing a task. She also mentions that an older child (like my teen) will likely sabotage his work in order to get out of doing the chore altogether. (This was a light bulb moment for me!)

I learned that baby wipes aren't just for butts. They can be used for quick wipe downs of bathrooms and counters. Besides "The Daily 7" Stephanie also has the acronym PROM which stands for Purge, Remove, Organize, and Maintain. I'm really good at purging and removing, but not so good at the organizing and maintaining. One tip she gives to keep a clean room clean is to take a photo of that room while looking it's best and place it somewhere in the room. This way, when old habits begin to reappear you can refer to the photo and how the room SHOULD look!

Other helpful things I found in this book:

How to communicate with your kids and teach them to be responsible and helpful.
A handy list of Age-Appropriate Chores
Suggestions to reward or not to reward (I actually like the idea of not rewarding now! Being a part of a family shouldn't come with "bribes" for doing your part, in my own opinion)
Suggestions for consequences if the chores are not completed
Ideas for kid-safe cleaning methods & ways to make chores fun (Who knew antacids and shaving cream could be effective cleansers?)
How to plan meals
The importance of family meetings
How to handle the Holidays by planning a little at a time, beginning 8 months in advance
Weekly journal pages to keep you on track and motivated (begins in September but can be used anytime)
Grocery list/Meal Planning Chart & a sample meal planner are also included

I have thoroughly enjoyed this book and the advice it offers. I have been quite stressed with the idea of going back to work and how to maintain order and cleanliness in my home. I have already purged and removed quite a bit of things from my home and donated them to Goodwill. I had planned to tackle organizing everything on my own, but thanks to Totally Together, my husband and I will be discussing a game plan and then presenting our plan to the family by having our very first Family Meeting this weekend! I know it will take time and some effort to get my kiddos on track when it comes to helping out around the house, but I am more confident about my approach. I also love the idea that I can maintain my home's clean appearance in less than an hour a day! So much easier than hiding under the kitchen table and pretending I can't see the stuff everywhere!

I've been SO inspired that I'm thinking of doing a "Totally Together Tuesday" to update you on our progress each week. What do you think of that idea?

I also love the fact that the Weekly Planner starts in September. (You can start anytime, but September seems to be a good time as parents are getting their kids ready for a new school year, etc) So this gives me enough time to really gather the troops and focus on getting our family truly totally together.

Totally Together Weekly Journal (click to enlarge)

Stephanie really put a lot of time and effort into making the Weekly Journal as easy to follow as possible. I really LOVE how she has certain chores and checklists laid out all nice and organized. It looks so easy, right?

Much nicer than my post it notes all over the place! (click to enlarge)

So what do you think about Totally Together so far? I have to say that I have not tried the plan yet, but I intend to follow along with the journal and post weekly updates here. If you would like to join me in the quest for total togetherness, you can order Totally Together and we can motivate each other! Isn't togetherness swell? =)

Buy it!

Totally Together retails for $15.00 and is now available in all major bookstores, and wherever books are sold. You can also buy from Amazon below:

Win It!

The kind folks over at Penguin Group have offered to send one lucky Cheapskate Mom reader a copy of Totally Together!

Mandatory Entry: (Please note this giveaway is for readers of this blog: If you are not following my blog, please look in the sidebar under Google Friend Connect and hit the follow button before placing your entry, thank you.)

Tell me why you need this book.

Extra Entries:

Follow Stephanie O'Dea on Facebook

Follow Stephanie on Twitter

Subscribe to the Totally Together Journal

Follow Cheapskate Mom on Facebook

Follow @CheapskateMom on Twitter

Subscribe to my RSS feed

Giveaway begins today and ends on 9/9/11. Winner will be chosen via random.org and will be notified via email. Winner has 48 hours to respond to email or another winner will be chosen. Open to US and Candian residents.

Easy Peasy, right?

Good luck!!

WiWI: Our Week in Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:06:00 +0000

Chunky Doxie chillin'

Soccer tournament

My little ham in front of the cam

Go Zach!

We had soccer all weekend

I giggled at this one...looks like they are terrified of the ball, haha

The ref reminded me of Napoleon Dynamite. I'm sure he hears that a lot.

My oldest refuses to look at me for a photo, but Micah is always camera ready!

Storms came in on Day 2 cutting the tournament short

Storms from yesterday

Love these clouds. Love the rain that came with them too!

Sunset. One of my favorite shots so far.

Back to School is Cool with Mabel's Labels!

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:07:00 +0000

Summertime. My boys have relished every waking moment of summer. I'm beat and sure glad that school is less than 2 weeks away! I have gone through the back to school stockpile, and supplemented that with more back to school supplies. Next week we have the back to school open house, and on September 1st, the school bus will be making it's rounds again, scooping up the kids and ~~outta my hair~~ off to school they will go!

My 8 year old is notorious for losing things at school. We make frequent trips to the lost and found box and sometimes we are lucky to find the item he lost, sometimes things are gone for good. It's a bit frustrating for me, as everything costs money and when lost, those things usually need to be replaced.

So when I was given the opportunity from Mabel's Labels to try out the Ultimate Back to School Combo pack, I jumped at the chance! If you haven't heard of Mabel's Labels I encourage you to take a moment and check them out. There are labels for nearly everything! I admit that before I came across their products, I would use a marker to write my kids name on stuff, but the truth is, that method can be messy and my handwriting is not the greatest. I'd normally get a big blob of ink on his tags instead of his name. Using the labels from the Ultimate Back to School Combo is much easier, and neater. OK the labels are just downright cute and I much prefer them over the sloppy markers!

When I placed my order, I decided to use our last name, instead of each child's first name because that way I can try out just one combo pack and use the labels for my two youngest kids. My 3 year old is going to daycare for the first time ever, starting next week. (He calls it school so shhhhh don't tell him it's daycare!) Tagging his items is very important as well. There are many designs and colors to choose from, but for me, the adorable yellow school bus was just too cute to pass up!

My order came perfectly packaged in a reusable pretty green polka dot box:

The Ultimate Back to School Combo includes:

2 Teeny Tags™

50 Tag Mates™

16 Shoe Labels

40 Skinny-Minis™

Some cool facts about Mabel's Labels:

Skinny-Minis are dishwasher and microwave safe

Tag Mates™ are washer and dryer safe

Shoe Labels and Teeny Tags™ are waterproof and UV resistant

These labels are super durable. My youngest immediately tried ripping off one of the labels, but it clung tight and the label wasn't harmed!

Check out the labels in action:

I also used some labels for things that aren't so Back To School related because we have a lot of kids in our neighborhood, and my boys are constantly leaving things in other people's yards and homes and vice versa!

These labels are brilliant! I love that I can use them to pretty much tag anything for anyone in our family. I even added a label to my new lunchbox for work.

Want to get the Back to School Combo pack for your household? It's available for $42.00. There are 106 labels and 2 tags included in the pack, which makes it less than 39 cents per label! Well worth the investment when you think about all the things your kids have lost, and the cost you invested in replacing those items throughout the years!

Now between September 6th, when you place an order with Mabel's Labels totaling $85.00 after discounts and prior to taxes, and shipping, you can earn $25.00 Mabel Moolah to use on future orders. This is a great deal if you plan to order labels for more than one kiddo. Or maybe you and another parent can go in on an order together and earn that moolah! It's awesome if you plan to order multiple labels!

Oh and this morning, Mabel's Labels was featured on the Today Show as one of the Back to School must haves this year! Check out the video feature HERE!

Win an Ultimate Back to School Combo pack!

The folks at Mabel's Labels have been super kind to offer one Cheapskate Mom reader a chance to win an Ultimate Back to School Combo pack! Once again, this is valued at $42.00 and you can customize the labels however you wish!

To Enter:
(Please note: You must follow my blog via Google Friend Connect to enter my giveaways. If you are not currently following me, please click "Follow" under the GFC widget in my sidebar. Thanks!)

Visit Mabel's Labels and tell me which labels you like, besides the ones in the Ultimate Back to School Combo.

Extra Entries:

Comment me why you want to have the Ultimate Back to School Combo pack.

Like Mabel's Labels on Facebook

Follow Mabel's Labels on Twitter @MabelHood

Like Cheapskate Mom on Facebook

Follow @CheapskateMom on Twitter

Subscribe to my feed

Contest Rules:

Open to US and Canadian residents
Contest starts today and ends 9/2/11 (extended!)
Must be a Google Friend Connect follower of this blog in order to enter
Winner will be chosen via Random.org and notified via email
Winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen

Happy Back to school time! Good luck!

Drabby to Fabby: Don't Slouch!

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Dawn) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 20:50:00 +0000

"Sit up straight!" "Stop slouching!"

I wish I had listened when people told me to sit straight. I have the most awful posture. I am quite comfortable sitting in a chair hunched over with my spine curved. If I keep this up, I'll soon look like this poor woman:

Photo Source

Yikes!!

I have gotten away with this behavior for so long because I am at home with the kiddos and no one is around to correct me. When I am seated in front of my laptop, I slouch. When I walk, my shoulders are forward. I've seen myself in photos and I look nearly 10 pounds heavier because I am all hunched over instead of sitting or standing straight and tall.

In a little more than a week, I will be returning to work. I will spend the majority of my day in front of a computer. I need to get my posture under control before I start having serious spine issues.

I've been browsing for posture correction products and most of them look like torture devices. Many of them have been poorly rated, and most are quite expensive.

I came across a product called ShouldersBack and the reviews looked promising. I contacted the company and inquired about trying their product, because I truly need a reliable posture corrector and the ShouldersBack looked less like a torture garment and more like something I could wear somewhat comfortably to correct my slouching.

Shouldersback

I eagerly awaited my ShouldersBack to arrive. About a week later, the delivery guy showed up with the goods and I ran to my room to try it on immediately.

The ShouldersBack arrived in a tube like this:

Once I unraveled it, I had this:

I have to admit, I was lost. I referred to the website for help and found a "How to fit" guide. Once I followed the instructions, I had my ShouldersBack ready to go!

Now, keep in mind that my husband is out of town and I do not trust my kids with my nice camera, so I hope to have photos to show with me wearing my ShouldersBack soon. When I do, I will update this post with a photo or two of me wearing this.

That first day I wore my ShoudlersBack for several hours. I had instant relief and the product truly keeps your shoulders back! It was comfortable to wear, though I was aware of having it on. The straps are adjustable so if you need it to fit more snug, or loosen them, it just takes a moment to feel comfortable in it. A little bit of advice, ease into wearing your ShouldersBack. Like I mentioned, I wore mine for quite a bit the first day, and at the end of the day I was sore. The muscles in my back are weak and need to build up over small bursts of time. The following day I wore the ShouldersBack for an hour and have since worked my way up to 3-4 hours a day.

I do not recommend wearing this against your skin, as the velcro straps can overlap. They can rub up on your skin and cause irritation. It is hot here right now, and dressing in layers is difficult, so I have only worn the ShouldersBack in my home. Once it cools off, I will likely wear this under a shirt outside my home.

The ShouldersBack is an instant fix for slouching. I have noticed that since wearing ShouldersBack that I am quite aware of my posture at the times when I am not wearing ShouldersBack. If I find myself slouching or my shoulders are pushed forward, I correct myself. When I am standing straight and tall, I look thinner and my confidence is higher.

Here are some facts about ShouldersBack:

ShouldersBack was originally developed to help horseback riders keep their posture straight. The name comes from the continual call of ShouldersBack! that riders hear from their instructors. And literally that's what this product does — it keeps one's ShouldersBack.

Physical therapists, musicians and trainers use ShouldersBack to eliminate back pain, support good posture and open up the chest for proper breathing while exercising.

Spa workers swear by its support. Yoga afficiandos like it to help them maintain that euphoric pose and strengthen their back muscles while pursuing daily activities.

ShouldersBack is a product of EquiFit, inc. A leading manufacturer of horse and rider products.

My bad posture took years to achieve and I know that it will take a long time to correct it to the point where I won't need a reminder. ShouldersBack is that voice telling me to sit up straighter! It gently eases my shoulders into the correct position and keeps my back straight. I am quite thrilled with the results so far!

Interested in ordering a ShouldersBack? Check our their Order page for more information.

Want a chance to win your very own ShouldersBack? Well, you are in luck!

Thanks to the kind people at ShouldersBack, one "slouchy" Cheapskate Mom reader will score a ShouldersBack of their very own!

To Enter: (Please note, in order to enter my giveaways, you will need to "Follow" my blog. If you are not a current follower, please click the follow button on my sidebar under Google Friend Connect, thank you!)

Comment me why you would like to win the ShouldersBack.

Extra Entries:

Visit ShouldersBack.net and check out their selection. If you were to win, what size, color and type would you order?

Like EquiFit, inc. on Facebook

Follow @CheapskateMom on twitter

Like my Facebook Page

Subscribe to my feed

Be sure you leave a comment for each entry!

Giveaway runs from now thru September 2nd. Winner will be chosen via random.org and notified via email. Open to US Residents only. Winner must respond within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen.

Good luck!!