Decorating for Thanksgiving
"Grateful not only for the blessings I can count, but for the ones that can not be measured." For a few years now, I've slowly collected some Thanksgiving decorations in a frugal way by only buying them after the holiday. All with the good intentions of using them the next year. Well, you know what they say about good intentions. Good. (Because I don't, what do THEY say about good intentions?) Anyway, after a major reduction of goods was attempted when we moved to Lakeland in 2008, I fought to keep my holiday decorations on the promise that I would use them and not forget about them. Guess what happened. Yep. In 2008 I didn't decorat

Mary's 1st Trip to Disney
While yesterday Charlotte had her first hair cut at Disney's Magic Kingdom, I don't want to overlook the fact that the day was also Mary's first trip to Disney. Mary is only 10 weeks old and wasn't very involved in the trip, but I thought I'd show a picture or two of her first visit. Hanging out in the Baby Bjorn

Charlotte's First Haircut
It took me a long time to finally be ready for Charlotte to get her first haircut. And at the end of the day, I'm not even sure she realizes she had it cut. Here is the story, mostly in photos, of Charlotte's first haircut. First, the barber, Michael, plied her with Mickey stickers. Lots of Mickey stickers. Then, he gave her even more Mickey stickers to keep her

How to Save Money with Coupons - Part 2
Before I go on with the how's of saving money, I'd like to address the very important "why" of saving money. If you will, please allow me some liberty as I re-write on of my favorite passages of scripture, 1 Corinthians 13.1-3. If I speak in the tongues of coupons and of sales, but have not love, I am only a squeaky cart or a clanging cash register. If I have the gift of savings and can fathom all FLIPs and all sales ads, and if I have a stockpile the size of a mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my stash to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. You see, it does us me no

Giveaway: Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters
You might have seen these at your store recently and wondered if they were any good. You might have also thought, gee, those are kind of expensive. Well, let me tell you, they are very good if you are looking for a crunchy snack, but they don't have to be expensive. Especially when you can win some for free right here! (Plus there is a $1 printable coupon available online). You could win the same gift set I was sent (see picture below) just by following the instructions below. Included in the gift set are 1 full size sample of each of 4 flavors, 1 pair of binoculars, 1 stainless steel water bottle, 1 super co