Life Reinvented in Phoenix

Interesting Presidential Facts in Honor of Presidents' Day

2012-02-20T10:46:00.000-08:00

In honor of Presidents' Day, here are some interesting facts about Presidents, that you may or may not already know:

Bushu-Suru (literally translated 'to do the Bush thing') is a Japanese word for public vomiting due to the 1992 incident where George W. Bush vomited at a dinner party held at the Japanese Prime Ministers home.

In 1967, Ronald Reagan began eating jelly beans to help him give up a pipe smoking habit. Three-and-a-half tons of Jelly Bellies were shipped to the White House for the 1981 Inaugural festivities. Blueberry, one of the most popular current flavors, was developed for President Reagan’s inauguration so that there would be red, white and blue jelly beans at the festivities.

Jelly Belly Jelly Beans

George Washington only received the equivalent of an elementary school education.

George Washington

Jimmy Carter was the first President to be born in a hospital.

Jimmy Carter

James Madison was the shortest President of the United States, standing at only 5'4". He never weighed more than 100 pounds.

James Madison

Three presidents died on July 4th: Thomas Jefferson (1826), John Adams (1826), and James Monroe (1831).

James Garfield could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other hand, simultaneously.

The three best known Western names in China are Jesus Christ, Elvis Presley, and Richard Nixon.

Elvis Presley

Richard Nixon

Jesus Christ

Abraham Lincoln was the first president to ever be photographed at his inauguration. In the photo, he is standing near John Wilkes Booth, his future assassin.

Abraham Lincoln's Inauguration

No president has ever been an only child.

Every so often, Calvin Coolidge would press all the buttons on the President’s desk and hide and watch his staff run in. He would then pop out from behind the door and say that he was just seeing if everyone was working.

Calvin Coolidge

Gerald Ford was the first person to be both vice president and president without being elected by the people. He was appointed vice president when Spiro Agnew resigned and he succeeded to the presidency when Nixon resigned.

Gerald Ford

Getting Crafty for Valentine's Day - Bird Feeders

2012-02-13T10:15:00.000-08:00

As if my initial Valentine's project wasn't enough, I decide to make something for the kids' teachers too! I stumbled upon the idea on Pinterest. The original project was supposed to be an idea for wedding favors, but I thought they would make cute teacher gifts for Valentine's Day.

First we assembled all of the supplies.......

Corn Syrup, Gelatine, Flour, Bird Seed and Jute

We mixed up all of the ingredients and pressed some of the mixture into a greased cookie cutter. Then we poked a hole in it with a chopstick and removed the cookie cutter. We did this over and over until all the mixture was used. We let them dry over night on wax paper and then tied a length of jute on them for a hanger.

We packaged them in a plastic bag and decorated it with more jute and a tag.

We made enough to give 2 bird feeders to all three of Connor's teachers, Madison's teacher, the school nurse and the principal. Hopefully, they all enjoy birds in their yard!

Original recipe by Intimate Weddings.

Weeeeee

2012-02-05T19:31:00.001-08:00

Chicken Mole, 2 shots of tequila and 3 Coronas.....weeeeeeeee! It's amazing I can still type!

Poo Bags, Worth Every Penny!

2012-02-02T13:44:00.000-08:00

Source: Michael McConnell

As you may or may not already know, I make my own dog food. Not just occasionally, but all of it. The only time I ever step into a pet store, is for poo bags. I know, I know, I could reuse grocery bags, but there is nothing worse than picking up a steaming pile of dog poo only to find out that there is a hole in the bag and you just stuck your finger in it. Meanwhile, you are 2 miles away from home with nothing to wipe the poo on.....so you walk all the way home with your fingers outstretched making sure that you don't touch anything, trying not to think about the poo on your fingers (not to mention the hole in the bag, from which the poo could rub up against your pants). Store bought poo bags.......WORTH.......EVERY......PENNY......enough said!

Anyway, dog food. I make my own. From human grade food. My dog eats better than a lot of humans. I do not, however spend a lot of money on said homemade dog food. I buy whole chickens when they are around 69 cents per pound and I keep them in my freezer. I have various recipes, some use rice, some use barley and oats others use potatoes. A while ago, I read that if you cook a whole chicken in a pressure cooker, the bones turn to mush and the dog can eat them. This is a great source of nutrients and calcium. I had been wanting to try it for a while but I didn't have a pressure cooker.

Last weekend, we were out shopping and my Mum decided to buy me a pressure cooker. I got it home and decided to go online to do more research about making dog food in a pressure cooker. While looking, I stumbled upon a video on YouTube by a veterinarian who has written a book about cooking for dogs. I watched the video and to my surprise, you can can cook a dog food stew in your slow cooker, using a whole chicken and the bones break down. I couldn't wait to try it out, after all, I love my slow cooker. And, I didn't have to learn how to use a new piece of equipment.

This is what I put in my slow cooker:

1 Whole Chicken
Giblets from Whole Chicken
1 Large Sweet Potato, Scrubbed and Cut into Large Chunks
1 Large Russet Potato, Scrubbed and Cut into Large Chunks
1 Can of Green Beans with Liquid
2 Large Carrots Scrubbed and Cut into Chunks
1 1/2 Cups Frozen Corn
1 1/2 Cups Frozen Peas
1 Tbsp Dried Rosemary
Water to Cover Ingredients

I put the slow cooker on low for 20 hours (that's not a typo, you need to cook for 12 -24 hours to break down the bones) and then I mashed the stew with a potato masher and voila.......

Healthy chicken stew packed with nutrients. I tested the bones just to make sure they were safe. The small bones just disintegrated into the stew and the larger bones are the consistency of a dog biscuit.

I switched up the recipe a bit based on what I have learned about the health benefits of various vegetables for dogs. Here is the original recipe by Dr. Greg:

I guess we will be returning that pressure cooker! View my other dog food recipes here.

Getting Crafty for Valentine's Day

2012-01-28T14:11:00.000-08:00

First of all, I have to say that I hate those cheesy little Valentine's that you buy for the kids to exchange at school. They are lame. They are overpriced. I mean, they don't even come with envelopes anymore. Why bother? Because the kids love to exchange Valentine's!

This year, we decided to make Valentine's for the kids to exchange at school. We had to make use of what craft supplies we already had on hand. After all, we still aren't in a position to be throwing money around! So I began to scour the internet for inspiration. I stumbled upon an idea for crayon hearts that looked cute and we just happened to have a shoe box full of old crayons.

So we began to remove the paper from all of the crayons in preparation for the melting phase. This was the least fun part, especially when we got to the crayons with extra strong glue. We ended up soaking some in warm water in order to get the paper off. Then we broke all the crayons into pieces and put them into heart shaped silicone muffin molds. We then melted them in the oven.

After they were cooled, we popped them out of the molds and voila, swirly crayon hearts.

Source: Michael McConnell

We printed a message on card stock and mounted it on a square of decorative scrapbook paper with glue dots. We attached some double sided foam tape to the back of each crayon heart and then stuck it to the card stock. We made a total of 44. We had enough supplies to make them all without having to buy anything.

Source: Michael McConnell

Click here for the original directions for crayon hearts. For more Valentine's Day ideas, click here.

Source: Michael McConnell

Pinterestingly Enough, I Was Right

2012-01-20T13:04:00.000-08:00

I have been aware of Pinterest for a while now but have been avoiding it due to the fact that I DO NOT need another time waster in my life. My fear was that it would be addictive like Facebook. But, I kept thinking that it would be a great venue to gain exposure to my Hubpages articles and my blog.

Well, I finally did it and the verdict is............I was right! What a time waster. The minute I signed up, I was hooked. I can't believe the over pouring of interesting "stuff" on there.

Here are some cool things that I found:

DIY Dishwasher Detergent courtesy of Lady with the Red Rocker. I'm pretty sure my friend Dwija over at House Unseen, Life Unscripted might like to try it!

Source: Lady with the Red Rocker

Cupcakes Baked in a Jar courtesy of Running with Glitter

Source: Running with Glitter

And, this was just funny

Chocolate covered sugar cubes courtesy of Cute Food for Kids. These would be perfect with a Valentine's Day Tea Party.

So that's it! I'm hooked. Unless you have lots of spare time on your hands, I do not recommend joining Pinterest! It is way too pinteresting!

Pin It

Underwear Made of Gold

2012-01-18T19:07:00.000-08:00

Sliding into a pair of underwear earlier this week, I put my finger through yet another hole in the lace. Scouring through my underwear drawer, one morning, for a stretch thong to wear under my workout Capri's, I was forced to wear a fancy lacy thong instead. I couldn't take it anymore, it was time to break down and buy some new underwear!

You see, I haven't purchased any underwear since early 2010. Mommy's underwear just isn't a priority when you are trying to cut expenses. I had a gift from Christmas that I was planning on returning and it came from Kohl's. So I set off with return in hand (alone, yay!) to Kohl's on a mission to find some new underwear. I went straight to customer service and received a $10 credit to be used in the store. I walked away from the counter thinking, "Cool, I should be able to get three pairs with this, give or take a dollar!"

I began to walk up and down the underwear aisles for the perfect pair. I wanted something that can be worn everyday and can also be worn under my workout pants without creating lines (no one wants to see that!). The only underwear that could handle that responsibility would be a microfiber or cotton thong. I thought to myself, "No problem, 3 tiny little pieces of fabric..........I can find that for $10." Within a very short period of time I found the perfect pair, they were a thin microfiber with no decoration. I picked them up with a smile on my face, but suddenly my expression turned to horror. You see, these perfect little panties were $9 per pair! One tiny little piece of fabric with a little bit of elastic was $9.......WTF!!! Since when did they start weaving gold into underwear? I quickly put them down and decided to keep looking; every pair I found was the same story. I was beside myself.

I decided to give up on the underwear, thinking that I might be able to find a better deal at Target. With my $10 credit in hand, I wandered off to see if I could find a bargain to take my mind off my underwear disappointment. When I rounded the first corner, I stumbled on a rack with a big sign that read, "Discontinued, 3 for $9.99". My heart leaped with excitement! Was it true, was this really a rack full of underwear? Well folks, it was AND there were lots and lots of thongs. I was so excited!

Realizing I had stumbled upon an amazing deal (now that underwear is more expensive than gold) I decided to buy 6 pairs (3 cotton, 3 lace). And, I no longer have to wear holey underwear!

Catching up......

2012-01-17T09:45:00.000-08:00

It is time to get caught up on my blog since I have been a little ~~lazy~~ distracted lately. It isn't that I don't want to write, it's more like ~~I have been lounging around too much~~ I haven't felt like sitting at my desk. I haven't been on e-mail, Facebook and the rest of the Internet as much as usual. So here is what I have been up to since my last post.

I used my Christmas money to join the Gym at Freestone Community Center. I have been without a gym membership since we left Las Vegas. Honestly, I made an effort to exercise without a gym but I love the classes too much. I just couldn't do it. So, I broke down and joined.......I couldn't be happier about it!

My brother and his wife had a baby on January 12th. I am finally an Auntie and my kids finally have a cousin. His name is Jaxon Nicolas and he is so sweet!

I made some food to put in the freezer for my brother and his family. I made two chicken pot pies and some baked rigatoni with Italian sausage. I also made some plum and almond cookie bars and some cranberry bread.

We have a new visitor staying with us, his name is Flat Stanley. He was sent to us in an envelope from Madison's friend Matthew who lives in California. We are documenting his visit with us through photographs and Madison will be writing to Matthew to tell him all about his adventures. We will be sending Flat Stanley home in March.

I should give myself ~~a pat on the back~~ some credit, I have actually published a few articles on Hubpages.com lately. I am hoping to get back into writing more frequently again. I would like to publish at least two articles per week and write my blog at least four times a week.

HubPages

For Christmas, Michael and I received a check from his Mom to be used for a night out. Since my Mum is still here, we left the kids at home and went out for dinner and a movie last night. We saw "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". I highly recommend it and now I think I may have to read the book. We only used half of the money so we have another date night in our future. Can I get a "Yay" for date night?

Quick Update....Money Earned/Money Saved

2012-01-08T18:59:00.000-08:00

I did another mystery shop on Friday and got a $12.00 haircut for Connor and got paid $10.00 at the same time. Total money earned/saved..........$22.00!

That Guy That Lives Here

2012-01-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

First of all, Happy New Year!

I have high hopes for 2012. 2010 and 2011 brought much turmoil and now I feel, as though the dust may be settling for good this time. Third time's a charm, right?

I have been putting off writing this post because I didn't want to jinks things, but now, I think the time is right. I have been telling you my story for about 4 months and occasionally I mention Michael, my husband. I realize that you all know of his existence, but I rarely write about him. He may occasionally get a quick mention, but that is it. I'm not sure why, maybe because he doesn't say much?

While I have been telling you our story, he has been busy in the background trying to find a new way to support his family and enjoy life at the same time. We did toss around the idea of me going back to work, but we all agreed that life is better and things run smoother if I am here to take care of everyone. So that decision is final, I will remain CEO and CFO of The McConnell Household.

Michael has been studying for A+ Certification which could get him an entry level job as a computer technician. His plan was to have a simple way to get into a field in which he enjoys and hopefully work his way up. He had planned to take the test after the holidays.

Flash back to California, Michael was doing some freelance photography (self taught) for Southern California hotels. He photographed the interior and exterior of hotels for their brochures and websites. In June of 2010, he was published on the cover of AAA's Westways Magazine. He has also done a great job of photographing our family. Photography is some thing he really enjoys.

Flash forward to the middle of December 2011, he responded to an ad on Craigslist for a photography assistant. He realized that it wouldn't pay much but thought that it may be a good opportunity to expand his portfolio and learn some skills from a professional photographer. He got a response immediately and was asked to assist on a wedding the next day. This was a "try out" or an audition to see how he did. It turns out that the photographer is well known and a favorite in the LDS community here. He was actually looking for someone to take over all of his overflow business. He has been having Michael apprentice with him and plans to hand over as many as 60 weddings a year. Michael already has two weddings on the books.

He has given Michael his own page on his website. If you click on "Galleries" and scroll over to "Michael McConnell" you can see some of the shots he has already taken.

cvanrensburgphoto.com

I am so happy for him. He worked so hard as a Hotel Manager, for many years, to support his family. He never really enjoyed it. But, he did it anyway, so he could provide a comfortable life for his family and afford us the luxury of me staying home. We realize that it may take a while before this provides a steady income but we feel like we are finally on the right track. We have the luxury of a free home to live in while we rebuild our life. He may still take the A + Certification test and try to get a part time job as a computer technician. We are waiting to see just how busy he will be with his photography.

He has tons of photography equipment but he needed one last thing to make that jump to a "real" professional. So this week we made an investment in our future....hopefully it's a good one!

That's right, a $2,000 camera lens!

Snow Much Fun!

2011-12-24T20:04:00.000-08:00

Wow, it has been a busy week but it has been filled with fun! It has been five days since my last post but I am finding it hard to blog or write with all of the festivities and preparations involved with the season.

On Tuesday we spent time at the school. First we went to Connor's class to help make gingerbread houses. Michael helped Connor, and my Mum and I helped one of the special needs kids in his class. His name is Dominic and he is VERY special needs; he was a handful for the two of us but an absolute delight at the same time......such a sweet boy........we were all wearing frosting by the end of it.

The kids sang some holiday songs at the end but Mum and I missed it because we had to run over to Madison's class to help with their Holiday Around the World Party. My Mum donated Christmas Crackers for the kids which they took turns pulling after eating a smorgasbord of treats from around the world.

Madison pulled her cracker with her best friend Chloe......

Each cracker has a toy.........

A joke.......

And a hat..........

The kids each read their joke aloud, a lot of them wore their hats, some of them wore them upside down.....

Wednesday night we headed out to Tempe Marketplace where they have "Snow Much Fun". They have artificial snowfall every night along with Christmas songs. We had a great time......

Then we headed over to the JW Marriott Desert Ridge for a visit to the Whoville Gingerbread Village. It is absolutely amazing and free to the public......

Thursday night we headed out to dinner at a friends house. It was someone that Michael used to work with. I had never met them but we all had a great time. Madison got along great with their 9 year old son and Connor had fun playing with an old train set they had been saving in the garage. We are hoping to have them over for New Year's Eve.

Friday we spent the day celebrating my Mum's birthday and taking care of last minute preparations. My brother and his wife came over for breakfast after their graveyard shifts at the hospital. I made baked french toast and sausage quiche. It was yummy! In the evening we headed out to dinner to celebrate and then hit some Christmas lights on the way home.

We have spent the entire day at home, relaxing and enjoying each others company........can't wait for tomorrow!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

It's Been Ten Days.....

2011-12-19T08:02:00.000-08:00

It's been ten days since my last blog post, sorry. I guess it's just that time of year. Last week we picked my Mum up from the airport, she is staying with us for two months. We have been busy doing lots of things to get ready for Christmas.

We decorated the house.........

We went back to Santa's Winter Wonderland at Bass Pro Shops.........

Mum and I went to the school and helped the kids make chocolate covered pretzels and chocolate covered candy canes. Then we packaged them, so they can give them as gifts. Against my advice, Madison skipped all the way home with hers in her backpack, hence the broken candy cane........

Mum baked her famous Lemon and Apple Pie.........

We went to my sister-in-law's baby shower, she is carrying my first nephew and my kids' first cousin. I gave her a blanket and a hat that I spent a lot of time finishing last week.

Connor went to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese, he had a blast, I needed a glass of wine when we got home........

Today is my day to catch up on things that I have fallen by the wayside because tomorrow we are helping make Gingerbread Houses in Connor's class and in Madison's class we are helping with their Christmas Around the World party. My Mum bought Christmas Crackers for the kids, to represent England.

Source

Things are pretty crazy around here with all the festivities, an extra body in the house and the kids all wound up with excitement. The best part of it all, is that the chaos makes it really feel like Christmas!

P.S. Last minute addition, Madison's wiggly tooth FINALLY came out!

"Best Day Ever!" (and it was FREE)

2011-12-09T07:27:00.001-08:00

Last Wednesday was an early release day from school, which means the kids get out at 12:25pm while the teachers get caught up on their work. We decided to take advantage of that time and do something fun.

A few weeks ago I was flipping through the channels and came across a commercial for Bass Pro Shops Santa's Wonderland. I have never stepped foot inside such a store before. If you are not familiar, Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World is like the Disneyland of Outdoor Stores. They sell everything for hunting, fishing, camping, canoeing, kayaking, boating, etc. Inside the store, there is a giant waterfall and a pond full of real trout. Surrounding all this, is realistic outdoor scenery complete with a huge collection of taxidermy, strategically placed to enhance the whole ambiance. I use the term "taxidermy" because the animals appeared real, but I'm not really sure if they were "real". I DO know that they were not "real" as in "living". That is how exciting this place is year round.

For the holidays, they set aside a special area where they have all kinds of fun things for the kids to do. That is what they call "Santa's Wonderland". Following the outdoor theme, there is a carousel complete with reindeer, moose and bears, instead of horses. They have a shooting gallery, a sling shot gallery, slot car races, a real Lionel Christmas train, remote control monster trucks and activity tables. Santa was also nestled in a corner waiting to hear the kids' Christmas wishes, with a professional photographer ready to snap a 4x7. All of this, including the 4x7 is F-R-E-E!!!!

When we walked in the door the children's heads came dangerously close to exploding. They looked around at all of the things to see and do and their brains just went into sensory overload! They were so excited and they wanted to do everything NOW! We managed to calm them down and restore some kind of order but they were amped, stoked, and ready to roll. We spent half of the time in Santa's Wonderland and the other half just enjoying the rest of the store. During our visit, Connor looked up at me and said, "Mama, this is the best day ever!"

I love finding little gems of fun like this. Seriously, the kids enjoyed this more than a visit to Chuck E. Cheese and it didn't cost a penny! If you are fortunate enough to have a Bass Pro Shop near you and you have children you can't miss this opportunity to visit Santa's Wonderland. Because we went in the afternoon on a weekday, we were lucky enough to to be one of the few families there and we didn't even have to stand in line to see Santa.

I Got Paid 62 Cents to Order Some Boots from Old Navy

2011-12-05T17:31:00.001-08:00

Do you think my title is catchy? Do you think it's a trick? Well it's not! It's a shopping method a la Dwija @ House Unseen. As I have mentioned previously, I have been trying my hardest to provide the best Christmas possible for my kids with limited funds. Here are the boots that I ordered for our dear Madison from Old Navy.

Here is how I got paid 62 cents to order them.............

Short story long........we have been using an American Express card for as long as I can remember and we have been accumulating Membership Rewards points on all of our purchases. We buy as much as we can with our American Express card and then every month we pay off our bill in FULL! In fact we do not believe in carrying a balance on our credit cards. We have so many points and we have been saving them for a "rainy day". Well, considering our financial situation, that rainy day has come!

Last weekend, I received an e-mail from Old Navy stating that if I ordered in the next 2 days, I would receive 30% off my order. So what did I do? First of all, I went to ebates.com and clicked on their link to make sure that I would get my 5% rebate and then I went to Old Navy and placed the boots in my shopping cart. I then went to American Express and ordered $30 worth of (free) e-gift certificates for Old Navy with my rewards points. My total order at Old Navy came to $30.42 with tax and shipping. I used my $30 worth of Old Navy gift Certificates and put 42 cents on my American Express card. The next day I received an e-mail from ebates.com stating that I had received $1.05 cash back in my account for my purchase at Old Navy.

$1.05 - .42 cents = .62 cents profit

VOILA! That is how it's done!

Ka- Chow!

I Finally Did It!

2011-12-02T08:12:00.001-08:00

We have been here in Arizona a little over 2 months and I have yet to make the giant leap to put myself "out there" and make some friends. If you are not church goin' type of folk and you move to a new town it can be difficult to make friends. Sometimes, you only need to go as far as your neighbors, but sometimes, that doesn't work out so well. If you need to, please read my recent post "Brownies, Lemonade and Dog Poop" for evidence of this! Every time I step outside my front door, I am armed with an excuse of where I have to run off to, and when I return, why I have to quickly run inside.

Enter Meetup.com..........Meetup.com has been my friend on several occasions. It got me involved in a playgroup when I lived in California and my kids were small. When I moved to Las Vegas, I started my own Meetup group which didn't amount to much, but I did get one good friend out of it before the group fell apart. In the end, I made a few friends through the school too and managed to host and attend several coffee dates. Not bad, considering I only lived there for 9 months.

Earlier this week, I finally did it, I got on Meetup.com and searched for groups that interested me. There were lots of Mommy groups but I decided that I didn't want to be "defined" that way anymore. After all, both my kids are making their own friends at school now; they don't need me to make friends with other people with kids (not necessarily a bad thing, but not my motivation). I finally came across "The Chandler Women's Social Meetup Group". It appears that they are a group of women of all ages. I looked through their past and upcoming events and it seems like the events will fit me perfectly. Let's not forget, that we are on a tight budget around here and I can't be meeting for dinners, lunches and movies. This group does meet for movies and dinners but they also have simple meetups at bakeries and coffee shops. I can eat before I go and simply order a cup of coffee.......that won't break the bank! They also have a monthly book club meeting at the Starbucks inside Barnes and Noble.

My first meetup is tomorrow and it is at a bakery. The point of the meetup is to get together and bring a donation for a local women's shelter (right up my alley). In my couponing adventures, I often overstock on things like toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, lotion etc. Sometimes, I will purchase other random things and put them in my stockpile. I usually get these things free or nearly free and I always end up having too much. I have been donating these items to homeless shelters in the last year. For this event we are collecting things that Mother's and their kids can give each other for Christmas. I just happen to have an extra bottle of perfume and a My Little Pony toy saved up in my stockpile! Woo hoo! I am so excited to participate in this event! I can meet some new people and do some good for those in need!

I am also quite excited about the book club because I have recently started reading again. Until Thanksgiving weekend it had been years since I had actually read a book. I haven't had the ability to slow my brain down enough to stay with a novel. I have read lots of magazines, cookbooks, "how to" books and let's not forget......never ending amounts of research about "stuff" on the Internet. If I have a question about something or an interest in something new, I look it up on the Internet or head down to the library and get a book about it.

For some reason, last weekend, I went to our bookcase and started looking through the Stephen King books. He is my favorite author and I have read a lot of his books. We have quite a few in our personal library that I have not read. I picked out "Gerald's Game" which is a book that I tried to read a few years ago but just couldn't slow down enough to do it. This time, I finished it in four days. Pretty fast considering all the other housewifey things I accomplished at the same time.

When I saw that The Chandler Women's Social Meetup Group had a monthly book club, I looked at the upcoming book selections then went to our local library's website to see if they had the books available. I hit the jackpot; they are available! I have already checked out the first book and I started it yesterday. I am a third of the way through the book and the book club doesn't meet until January! In case you are interested, the book is "The Romanov Bride" by Robert Alexander. It is a pretty easy read and very interesting. When I am finished, I think I am going to check out the other books by Robert Alexander.

BTW, I got another one of those Kohl's $10 gift cards this week and got 3 pairs of pink patterned knee highs and two pairs of underwear for Madison.........grand total: $1.18!

I'm Out of My Coma!

2011-11-28T08:19:00.001-08:00

I am finally out of my Turkey and Apple Pie coma and back into reality. We had a wonderful four day weekend! The kids made Turkey Hand Print Place Cards for everyone.

My brother and his family came over for Thanksgiving and we stuffed ourselves! Turkey, Garlic Smashed Red Skinned Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows on Top, Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing, Broccoli Casserole, Carrots, Pan Gravy & Homemade Cranberry and Orange Sauce. For dessert we had Apple Pie and Ice Cream and Pumpkin Pie with Cool Whip. We all slept well that night!

Now on to "Black Friday"........I have nothing to say because I don't participate, never have. Since there was no shopping to be done, that left the rest of the weekend to horse around! There was a lot of sleeping in and lounging around in our jammies (or as my Dad would have said, "Jimmy Wim Wams") for half the day. I did a little crochet and got a third of the way through the book "Gerald's Game" by Stephen King.

We did a little roller skating, went to the kid park, went to the dog park, took the dog for a run and even rented Just Dance 3 (she says, with a disposable heating pad stuck to her shoulder). All in all, we got in quite a lot of physical activity (good thing since we did a lot of eating) but I think I over did the "throwing my arms in the air" during LMFAO's Party Rock.

We didn't take any pictures of the food or the family together because we ~~are lame~~ were having too much fun, but I did manage to take this little gem when the kids were horsing around.

Connor with his best "Rock Star" face in a blond wig with 4th of July Antenae

$1,010.80 To Date

2011-11-18T09:01:00.001-08:00

I have a head cold. For the last three days I have been thinking, "tomorrow, I will feel better." Today is worse than the rest. Once done writing here, I may just go back to bed, watch TV and crochet all day. I am thankful for my husband who is home to pick up the slack!

I am not feeling very inspired, creative or funny today so I thought I would update you on my $ to date page. There have been a few additions lately which I thought I would add.

First of all, I got my BIG FAT CHECK in the mail this week.

Sorry the picture is so grainy, but the check is for $13.00......every little bit counts!

$952.80 TO DATE

Then, I got a notice in the mail to renew my Sam's Club Membership. It had a coupon included that would give me a $20 Sam's Club gift card if I went into the warehouse and renewed. DONE!

$972.80 TO DATE

Then, one of my mystery shopping recruiters was desperate to find someone to do a shop that I had already done twice, so Michael did it instead, and for that he will receive $28.

$1,000.80 TO DATE

Then, there was the $10 card I received from Kohl's which I consider money in my pocket.

$1,010.80 TO DATE

Christmas is Shaping Up Nicely!

2011-11-16T07:24:00.001-08:00

Christmas is right around the corner and in case you are wondering, we still do not have any money coming in. Yes, there has been the odd $60 here and $28 there for a few mystery shopping jobs, but no REAL money. Thankfully, we still have our savings to live on, but one can never be too frugal when the next pay day is unknown! Forget that, one can never be too frugal, PERIOD!

I have been hard at work trying to come up with ways to make sure the kids have enough presents under the tree. Most of our family lives in the UK and they are awesome about sending money every year for birthdays and Christmas. My kids put their money in their piggy banks and whenever the words "I want" come out of their mouths, I say, "If you want to buy it with your own money, you can have it." This has been a great lesson for both of them. It makes them think really hard about whether they really want it or not, and it has been teaching them the value of money. My point is, this doesn't put presents under the tree and I don't want to change that. They like having their own money and I'm not going to take that away from them.

Back to the presents under the tree.......although I don't feel it necessary to go crazy, I still want the kids to have enough presents to open, to cause a little chaos on Christmas morning. I have been diligent about trying to find great presents and get great deals. Here is my progress so far........

Several weeks ago, I got an e-mail from the Disney Store stating that they were having a sale on Cars 2 items. Well, Connor is Cars 2 crazy!!!!! I went straight to ebates.com and used their link for the Disney Store. I'm not going to tell you all about ebates now, but if you don't already know then YOU MUST click the link and find out about it! I got 2 different coupon codes from ebates which I used while I was there. One of them saved me 25% and the other gave me free personalization on one item and free shipping on my entire order. I ordered a total of 5 items with a retail value of $93.50. I paid $44.04 including tax and shipping. I also received a rebate of $2.01 in my ebates account.

Here's is what I got for $44.04:

2 Pairs of Pajamas
Save the Queen Die Cast Cars Set (4 Cars)
Sarge Die Cast Car
Personalized Cars 2 Plush Throw Blanket

Two weeks ago, I received the Target Christmas Wish Book (I think that's what they call it) and Madison flipped through it. She wrote her list for Santa and slipped it inside the book for safekeeping. Madison is Barbie crazy; she has a large doll house and she plays with her Barbies frequently. She is dying for the Barbie Estate Jet. Barbie stuff is soooooo expensive! The price for this jet is $59.99. Luckily, there was a $5 off coupon in the Wish Book which I could use online. I went straight to ebates, once again, and got free shipping for my order. I used my $5 off coupon and got the Barbie Estate Jet for $59.83 including tax and shipping. Not as good of a deal as my previous transaction but it's pretty hard to get Barbie stuff on the cheap! I still received a rebate of $1.65 in my ebates account.

I have been picking up a few little items here and there to put under the tree and put in there stockings, then last week I received a $10 off Kohl's card. I get them in the mail ALL THE TIME! If you remember, I used one to buy Madison a swimsuit for $2 (read the comments in the link for the full scoop). Anyway, you can use these cards to buy anything as long as it is $10 or more. Madison likes jewelry and anytime she sees jewelry that sparkles, she asks me with excitement, "Is it a REAL diamond?" I am teaching her to be frugal and not materialistic, but come on, what girl doesn't want diamonds?

I went to Kohl's during their 2 - Day Super Duper Sale and they really did have some screamin' deals! I will make you wait no longer...........this is what I got for Madison for $5.43 including tax.........

That's right folks, 18KT gold over sterling silver, genuine amethyst with diamond accent; full retail value $60. She is going to be THRILLED! Christmas is shaping up nicely!

Brownies, Lemonade and Dog Poop

2011-11-12T18:27:00.001-08:00

Today, for lack of anything better to do and in aid of getting at least one child out of the house, I came up with a great idea! Well, actually I came up with the idea yesterday but it came to fruition today.

On Halloween, while I was handing out candy to the kids, the new neighbors came by and introduced themselves. They are a nice couple, no kids or pets, and had just moved from an apartment in Tempe. I had a nice chat with them, which was enjoyable because at this point I had not met any of the neighbors.

About a week later, Marianne (the neighbor) came by to tell me that "they" and some of the other neighbors were having a garage sale this weekend and we were welcome to participate since they were already putting out the signs. She did not know (but YOU do, if you have been reading faithfully) that we just had a killer garage sale back in September, right before we moved. I thanked her and told her of our recent sale and she let me know that if I found anything that I wanted to sell, I was welcome to bring it over to her sale.

Well I thought about it, and I didn't really have anything to sell. But, I did have a good idea that would involve getting to know the neighbors, teaching the children a few lessons and forcing myself to relax a little on a Saturday morning.

Last night, I made a batch of brownies (which I didn't take a picture of because ~~I'm an idiot~~ I was too busy cleaning the kitchen). Then I sprinkled the top with some of the leftover Halloween M&M's before I put them in the oven. We got up this morning and made some Country Time Pink Lemonade, gathered up a few other supplies and headed over to Marianne's garage sale. Madison even made a cute sign with the prices listed on it. I don't have a picture of our set-up because ~~I left my camera at home~~ we were too busy selling brownies and lemonade. I also didn't get a picture of the cute little sign that Madison made because ~~I screwed it up in a ball and threw it in the trash~~ we somehow misplaced it.

Overall the morning was a success, we made about $8 selling brownies and lemonade. Madison handled all of the transactions and did all the math on her own. She even gave out correct change. I was pretty proud of her. I went and introduced myself to the other neighbors that were having a garage sale and spent a good amount of time getting to know Marianne and Patrick.

Right before we were about to pack up, I recognized one of the other neighbors and decided to introduce myself. BIG MISTAKE! I was stuck. I hate to say negative things about anyone, but she just wouldn't stop telling me her life story. I'm not going to embellish, but I will tell you a few facts that may help paint the entire picture...........she lives with her ex-husband, she doesn't have a job, she's not sure when or where she is going to move, her son has a major learning disability, AND ON AND ON AND ON! Too Much Information folks! Somehow, she became distracted and I was able to escape without being detained too long. I felt I had dodged a bullet. I left poor Marianne with her and returned home as quickly as I could.

Later on, I took the kids and the dog out for a walk. The dog did her normal "business" and I returned home with a steaming pile of dog poop in a plastic bag. As I was approaching the driveway, the aforementioned neighbor came running over to me (this is Karma for leaving her with Marianne). I was trapped! I could not get away. I stood there with the dog poop in my hand, the kids had long since gone inside.....it was starting to get dark. And, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get away.......not even to dispose of the poop that was now cold, but still stinking! I was stuck out there for ages before I managed to effectively excuse myself inside; that's an hour of my life I will NEVER get back!

I now live in fear of running into my neighbor, never knowing how much time she will once again suck from my life!

BTW, here is the only picture that I successfully took today.......don't worry it's not of the dog poop!

The Leftovers!

Thanks Wikipedia!

2011-11-11T13:33:00.001-08:00

I am a Wikipedia junkie. I look everything up on that site. Since I have been publishing articles, I use it a lot for the free photography. That's right F-R-E-E ...........my favorite word. Did you know that you can use any photos on Wikipedia as long as you provide attribution to the original source?

Before I started publishing articles I used the site at least twice a week, now I use it at least once a day. Today, I was looking for a picture of flax seeds for my next article,

Source: Sanjay Acharya

when I noticed a link to the following message:

"Google might have close to a million servers. Yahoo has something like 13,000 staff. We have 400 servers and 73 staff.

Wikipedia is the #5 site on the web and serves 454 million different people every month – with billions of page views.

Commerce is fine. Advertising is not evil. But it doesn't belong here. Not in Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is something special. It is like a library or a public park. It is like a temple for the mind. It is a place we can all go to think, to learn, to share our knowledge with others.

When I founded Wikipedia, I could have made it into a for-profit company with advertising banners, but I decided to do something different. We’ve worked hard over the years to keep it lean and tight. We fulfill our mission, and leave waste to others.

If everyone reading this donated $20, we would only have to fundraise for one day a year. But not everyone can or will donate. And that's fine. Each year just enough people decide to give.

This year, please consider making a donation of $5, $20, $50 or whatever you can to protect and sustain Wikipedia.

Thanks,

Jimmy Wales
Wikipedia Founder"

I can't resist helping them out and asking you to donate if you use Wikipedia. I have provided a link to the donation page here. They accept credit cards and PayPal.

Thanks for listening,

Shar

This, That and The Other

2011-11-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

I have to apologize to you dear readers, because I just haven't been writing at my usual rate. I have been a little preoccupied with this, that and the other, to keep up with detailed blogging. So here I sit in my PJ's, I haven't had breakfast yet but I am going to write something.

Like I said, I have been busy with This, That and The Other.

This: Life just keeps on happening, kids have to go to school, Mom's have to help in the classroom, groceries have to be bought, meals have to be cooked. Also, don't forget, we shut everything down between 3pm and 6pm which apparently, used to be my prime writing time. Halloween, Madison's 2nd Grade Musical (which we couldn't see well enough to get any pictures). I know, we all have those things but for some reason, recently they got the better of me!

That: About a month ago, I decided to start a little freelance writing. I can honestly say that I have been pretty diligent about writing. I started writing on HubPages and have published 22 articles so far. Writing the articles is only half of the work. I have learned so much about the Internet since I began. I have learned about search engine optimization, keyword research, effective keyword use in your articles, bookmarking ........and that is only the start. The key to writing on the Internet is making sure your articles get views (that's how you get paid). You can write the most amazing material but if it can't be found, then it won't get read! I know this sounds really boring but my point is, I have educated myself and am doing the background work to make sure my articles get read.

more » HubPages

I am slowly gaining a following and have had 851 views of my articles since October 6th. I am not really making money yet (pennies a day) but I can see that I am making progress, and that is all that counts for now! I have done my research and if I keep at it, I can expect to make a part time income within a year.

The Other: Exercise Me is BACK! I have been back to more frequent exercise lately, which of course takes up more time. Not just the exercise (30-60 minutes), but the extra showering and changing (30 minutes) and the extra load of laundry that all that sweaty clothes creates (30 minutes) every week. If you missed my last post, I have decided to start a virtual run across Texas to help keep me motivated. You can see my ticker on the right hand side of my blog. I will be running most of it, but since I have a dog to walk and kids to walk to school (Some days I walk to and from the school 4 times. Yup, that's right, 4 TIMES!). I know, you are thinking, how is that possible? Three days a week Connor has preschool. He starts school after Madison and finishes before her. We live just over a third of a mile away from the school. 4 trips there and 4 trips back equates to almost 3 miles. On those three days, I try to take the dog with me once to combine walking trips.

So that is it, I'm not really making excuses because I know we are all busy!! Just thought I would update you on what is going on with me. I will try to keep going and include all of the details here on my blog. Thanks for reading and sticking with me!

Oh yeah, I have done two small Mystery Shopping jobs for which I will receive a total of $49. I would love to tell you the details but I signed a confidentiality agreement and therefor it must remain a MYSTERY! I will be adding that to my $ to Date Page.

Virtual Run Across Texas

2011-11-02T20:44:00.000-07:00

I went for a run today, and a couple last week, plus I have been doing the Nike Training Club thing. I am still not back up to my normal level of exercise. So I decided that I needed a goal........goals always help me with exercise. I am going to virtually run across Texas. I'm going to try to figure out a way to put a ticker on my blog so you can all hold me accountable! Here goes.......does anyone want to join me?

I figured it out.......can you see it over there -------->

UPDATE: I have two people who would like to join me and am thinking about setting up a page on my blog where we can post everyone's tickers. You don't have to run. You can walk, bike, hop, run, swim, skip, jump........whatever! No driving though. This is NOT a competition, just a way of supporting each other! Let me know if you want to join us!

They Haven't Sucked the Fun Out of School Yet!

2011-11-01T13:34:00.000-07:00

I am not going to be long winded here, I am going to get straight to the point. My daughter is in 2nd grade. This is her 3rd year of school. Unfortunately, this is also her 3rd school and her 3rd school district and her 3rd state in which she has attended school. This was the first year that she was able to wear a costume and participate in Halloween parade at school because Patterson Elementary School has not sucked the fun out of school unlike the other schools she has attended!

Here are some pictures that I snapped in the first 5 minutes of being in the classroom in costume with her friends. These are not very good pictures but I was snapping like crazy because I couldn't get over the fact that she was just beaming from ear to ear. She is the vampire in the center of most of the pictures.

Smiling

Really smiling

Still smiling

Smiling and laughing

Smiling

Smiling and posing

Smiling and waving during the parade

My little girl, so happy! After everything we have been through, my Dad, moving, moving again, new schools, making new friends............it makes me so happy to see her take such delight in something. Honestly, I think she enjoyed the festivities at school more than the Trick or Treating later that night!

Waste Not, Want Not - The Dual Purpose Pumpkin

2011-10-30T13:44:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the beautiful pumpkin that we got a couple weeks ago? Well, yesterday we I finally got around to carving it. We looked through the templates from the pumpkin carving kit I bought, on clearance after Halloween last year, and finally decided on one.

I cut a lid in the pumpkin and removed the seeds and strings. Then I proceeded to scrape as much flesh as I could from the inside of the pumpkin. You see, this had to be a dual purpose pumpkin........not just a decoration but an ingredient that will be put to work in the baked goods of our future.

Madison and Connor sat there with me as I pulled the slimy mess out of the pumpkin, commenting on how disgusting it was and insisting that I get none of it near them. After I had finished cleaning it out, I had a small bowl of garbage and a large bowl of pumpkin flesh to be cooked and pureed. The seeds go in the trash bowl because I roasted them last year and no one ate them!

I took the template and taped it onto the front of the pumpkin (Connor had already lost interest at this point and had disappeared to his room). Then I proceeded to transfer the pattern with the pounce wheel. At this point Madison said in a frustrated voice, "Mommy, why don't you just do it really quick?" I replied, "Because this is detail work and it needs to be done accurately. Something that is worth doing, is worth doing right!" She then said, "Oh.........I'm gonna go play with my toys." and disappeared.

So there I sat, carving a pumpkin all by myself. NICE! Happy Fricken Halloween!

After several hours of work, my masterpiece was finally done! I was happy with the results and the kids were thrilled!

I then prepared my pumpkin flesh and got quite a lot of puree out of it.

I took a break and went online to catch up on "stuff". I came across a recipe for Pumpkin Cream Frosting, thanks to my fellow writer, William Odell at Upstate SC Grub Hub. I was already thinking of making a spice cake, so this frosting recipe was perfect!

I made my cake, prepared the frosting and voila!

OK, so it's not the most beautiful cake but it sure is yummy!

I have about two cups of pumpkin puree left over and the possibilities for it are endless!

If you are looking for ways to use up your pumpkin scrapings click here for some ideas.

Mommy, Did You Know Those Boys Were Laughing at You?

2011-10-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Patterson Elementary School kicked off their weekly fun runs. Students and their families were encouraged to come out and it is intended to be a great way to get kids involved in fitness at an early age. The fun runs are going to be every week.

It began right after school and participants could walk, jog or run around the schoolyard two times. I am guesstimating that the distance was approximately 1/4 mile. Piece of cake, especially since I had already run 4 miles earlier that day.

They kicked it off by lining the kids up by grade level and letting each grade start off about 30 seconds apart. They began with the big kids. Of course, every single kid set out sprinting. Being a runner, I shook my head and then said to Madison, "Don't do that, you'll never make it all the way around twice. Start off slow and you will be able to keep going." Did she listen to me? Big, fat, NO! She took off running; as I ran beside her I said, "Slow down, you can't keep this pace up for long."

The next thing I knew, a little kid (maybe 5) next to me totally wiped out. I stopped, told Madison to keep going and then asked him if he was OK? It was at that moment that I realized he would have been fine if I wouldn't have asked him (do you remember that when you were a kid?). As soon as he saw my concern, he started bawling. I came down to his level to check him out and there wasn't a scratch on him. He just sat there with his hands over his face (embarrassed) crying his eyes out. I couldn't get much sense out of him so I told him to head back to the start. With that, I stood up and turned around to start running and almost collided with a MUCH larger boy who was about the same age. Being out of shape and totally overweight, he must have stopped when I stopped and had been waiting for my attention. As soon as he caught my eye, he burst in to tears and said, "I want my Mommy!" I tried not to laugh at the disaster that had struck the "Fun Run" within the first 50 yards. I told him he should head back to the start with the other boy.

I left them in my dust and ran ahead to catch up with Madison who was now walking. I was yelling, "good job, keep up the good work" as I passed all the kids that seemed like they were struggling. It is amazing how much that encouragement worked. A lot of them started to speed up a little. When I reached Madison, I said, "You ready to start running again?" She agreed and off we went passing some fifth grade boys. As we passed them, I heard one of them say, "What's a Mom doing out here?" This was followed by laughter. It was at that point that I realized, I was the only Mom out there running. There were two Dad's. A total of three adults participating. There were lots of parents standing around watching. The school organizes a run to encourage fitness and the parents can't even participate? What kind of example does that set? L - A - M - E !

With lots of encouragement, Madison did her two laps receiving a high five from the principal (I got one too). It was a combination of walking and jogging, but she finished. I was proud of her.

After the run, we started to walk home. She asked me, "Did you know those boys were laughing at you?" I said, "Yes, does it bother you?" She said, "Only because they were laughing at my Mommy and that's mean." We had a little more dialogue about it and I gave her the opportunity to tell me that she didn't want me to participate any more. She didn't.

I told her not to worry about those boys, and if they laugh at me again, I'm going to challenge them to a race. Which, of course, I will win! At this point, I fear I am treading dangerously close to the "Mom you just totally embarrassed me" line. We went home and had a good laugh about it with Daddy and decided that next week it would be funny if I skipped all the way around and wore pigtails.

On an unrelated note: read today's HubPages article!