November Savings Update

With only one more month left in 2009, we are REALLY close to meeting our goal of saving $2000 on groceries/household items this year. I know that December can be filled with extra gatherings, which usually translates to more food to make which means more food to buy. However, I'm going to try my best to save as much as I can by making foods based on what we have on hand (and if you're attending a Christmas gathering with me this year, have no fear...I'll try my best to make the food enjoyable :) ).

For November, we didn't really come in under budget (we traveled for Thanksgiving and dining out several times made up for anything we saved at the store!), but we did save $162.18!

That brings our 2009 savings to $1706.41!!

Now, if we can only save the remaining $293.59 this month, we'll reach our $2000.00 goal!! Check back at the end of the year to see how we did!

December, here we come!

Christmas Carnival

Yeah, I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but I had to give you guys the heads up on a giveaway extravaganza that will feature my at-home business, Whatta Cute Baby. Gina, over at The Shabby Chic Cottage is hosting one heck of a party at her blog on Saturday, November 28th. It's her first ever Christmas Carnival and I am thrilled to be teaming up with her!


Here's the scoop: she's partnering with 24 owners of online shops and hosting a giveaway an hour for a whole day!! Anyone can enter...and you can enter for one giveaway or for them all! You're sure to find some awesome items up for grabs and can maybe even find a few Christmas gifts along the way! Whatta Cute Baby! will kick off the giveaways at midnight, so be sure to stop by to check it out and enter to win this. Even if you don't win, you can find a discount code on her post for a Whatta Cute Baby! purchase.

Hope to see you there! Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Giveaway Time at Three Simple Girls!

Head on over to our Three Simple Girls for a super fun giveaway! You can enter up to FOUR times to win! Giveaway ends on Thanksgiving day.

Have a happy weekend!

Thankful Thursday 11.19.09

Only 7 more days until Thanksgiving! I must confess that this whole decorating before Thanksgiving ordeal has gotten my internal clock all kinds of messed up. It's a constant mind over matter game where I KNOW that Thanksgiving hasn't happened yet, but when I look around my house and see mounds of snowmen and Christmas candles, it takes a few seconds to convince myself otherwise!

At any rate, here I am again with another installment of Thankful Thursday! If you've missed the past few weeks and need a reminder of what all this is about, click here or here. Hope you'll join me again this week in being truly thankful for the blessings in your life!

Things I'm Thankful For (in no particular order)...
*My house is almost decorated for Christmas...and that it's encouraged me to get rid of a lot of stuff!!
*We get to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow with my Mom's family!
*Coffee...Coffee...Coffee...
*I have a husband who works to provide for us!
*My car...and that we are approaching our first anniversary with her
*A week without Facebook (my college DGroup girls issued a challenge last week to give up Facebook for a week...I haven't really missed it all that much!)
*My friends...I really do think I have the best friends in all the world!
*Spray Paint (I just sprayed some Christmas decorations to match the kitchen, and they look totally different...all for $0.97 and 2 minutes!)
*Our new camera-I still haven't figured it all out, but I'm pretty impressed so far!
*Toothpaste...I just had a cup of coffee, and it's at this moment every day when I'm truly grateful for that lovely mint flavored gel :)

Come back next Thursday for the final 2009 installment of Thankful Thursday! And if you've chosen to participate this week, leave a comment and let me know!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

...Christmas!!

I admit, I feel a little out of sorts decorating for Christmas and listening to Christmas music (it's impossible to decorate with out it!) in the middle of November. For someone like me (who LOVES all things Christmas), that's an atypical statement.

This time next week, we'll be soaking up the sun on the shores of Perdido Key, FL for the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm usually a decorate for Christmas on Black Friday kind of girl, but being in a different state changes that plans a bit. I've learned to decorate BEFORE we leave so that we're able to enjoy it when we get home...instead of dreading it due to car-lag and the inevitable turkey coma.

Last night, I convinced Marty to get the Christmas storage boxes out of the storage shed...and this might be THE thing he loathes about the Christmas season....


( You'll notice that the 3 Christmas tree boxes didn't even make it into this picture...that's all ornaments and decorative and gift wrapping stuff there, folks. Warning: This is not a task for the weak!!!)

And so today, the decorating began! I have 2 trees down and only the big one to go!!

(This one is in our kitchen and goes with the black and white color scheme in there.)

(This one is by the front door. It's all decked out in vintage stuff...ornaments from my childhood Christmas tree and ornaments, trim and a topper that used to be on my grandmother's tree.)

Hopefully, the big tree will at least get put up tonight, then I'll start tackling the other boxes. The outdoor stuff will wait until we're back from FL. And the gifts will get wrapped and go under the tree soon after that!

Now, only a few more days until full-blown hours of Christmas music, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Elf and (hopefully) some more winter-y weather! Bring on the Christmas!!

Thankful Thursday 11.12.09

I was so glad to see so many of you participate in last week's Thankful Thursday! If you'd like to be a part of this week's Thanksgiving, you can post on your own blog, leave your list in a comment here or just spend a few moments thinking about and being truly thankful for the blessings in your life.

Things I'm Thankful For (in no particular order)...
*The big Crock-Pot of chili in the kitchen...and the many days of leftovers it will provide!
*Getting to hang out with the kids at Blueprint every Wednesday night.
*Our gas log fireplace-it's so cozy!
*The relief that comes when God provides...especially when it's how you hoped He would.
*Getting to snuggle my sweet little niece, Reagan earlier in the week :)
*A job that allows me to work a few days away from home and provides additional income.
*New ideas for crafts, decorating, ways to help others
*In 12 days, we leave for Thanksgiving with the Gilberts in FL!!
*When someone's reaction to a seemingly difficult situation proves you wrong...in a good way!
*Hopefully (fingers crossed!) finishing my Christmas Shopping today...and being blessed with the money to do so!

What are you thankful for, today?

Tagged

My sweet friend, Katrina tagged me with this sweet award:

Here are six random things that people might not know about me...key word, "random"...

1-If I have the choice of jam or jelly, I'll choose jam. And if I had to choose any jam in all the world, I'd choose my mom's Strawberry freezer jam. Yumm-O!

2-Sometimes I write things I've already done on my to-do list just so I can cross them off. And every day has a to-do list.

3-I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

4-If music is playing, you're likely to catch me in a random dance move. I said random. I did not say well executed.

5-For 23 years of my life, I HATED coffee. For the last 5 years, I've had a cup nearly every morning. My husband would tell you that I don't drink coffee. A little coffee, lots of Splenda and plenty of creamer seems like coffee me, though :) And for the record, I'm totally digging the Peppermint Mocha creamer made by Coffee-Mate right now! (All time favorite creamer is Coconut Creme by Coffee-Mate.)

6-I won my wedding dress at a Bridal Expo! That's right...FREE!! The funny thing is that I won it 3 months before we got engaged. Imagine that very interesting phone conversation: "Hey, please don't freak out. I know we've talked about getting married and even though we're not engaged I just won a wedding dress" Little did I know, he was already ring shopping :)

I think I'm supposed to tag 6 people...if you're in the mood, I'd love to hear your random facts!
Lori-sister-in-law extraordinaire!
Melanie-she knew me in high school and still likes me!
Rebecca-Camp friend turned mom to kids in need!
Sara G.-sorority sister and mom to one cute little Carter
Aleesha-my best friend from elementary school whom I've recently reconnected with...thank you, facebook!
Holly C.-sorority sister, fabulous teacher and one creative gal!

Thankful Thursday 11.5.09

Our pastor started a series on Sunday about thankfulness and gratitude and how, often times, we lack in both those areas. We live in a society that thinks it's entitled to a hand out. We're surrounded by, and often are ourselves, people who think that life is all about us. This series is designed to make us really think about the things in life and become truly thankful for the things we do have. So, in an effort to follow the mandate given in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, I'm trying harder to "give thanks in all circumstances."

Since November is here and Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I thought it'd be a good idea to spend some time thinking about and listing things that I'm thankful for...things that are life-changing in nature and even things that seemingly make no difference at all. Every Thursday in November, I plan to post at least 10 things that I'm thankful for. If you're reading this blog and have your own blog, I invite you to join me in this challenge. If you don't have a blog of your own, you're welcome to leave your list in a comment. Even if you don't get the chance to put your list on a public forum, I challenge you to stop and think, even for just a moment, about how blessed we truly are. Even if you think your life stinks...even if you think it can't get any worse...We have so much to be thankful for.

Things I'm Thankful For (in no particular order)...
*My sweet husband
*Chocolate
*Jesus
*That I get to be a stay-at-home wife
*A cozy bed to sleep in
*A Pantry, Fridge and 2 Freezers full of food
*My precious new little niece, Reagan
*Diet Coke
*The beautiful fall day outside
*Running water

God, help us to be a grateful people.