Tonight we're gonna party like it's 1999!!!

My friend Aubrey Had this on her blog so I decided to give it a try.....

You Belong in 1999

With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

What Year Do You Belong In?

Frugal Tip Friday 8/29/08

Link your your own Frugal Tip Friday post back here and leave a comment here. I love reading all of your Frugal Tips!!

Today's tip:

Bargain shop when looking for services. There’s no rule that says you have to go with the first plumber that you call. All companies don’t charge the same amount. Checking two or three places will give you a good idea of how the prices stack up. Choose the one with the most services for the lowest price. If you are not sure, ask a friend who may have had the same need that you do now.

A Touching Love Story....

May we all derive inspiration from this very touching love story. After all age is not a gauge in assuring a successful relation.

An incredible love story has come out of China recently and managed to touch the world. It is a story of a man and an older woman who ran off to live and love each other in peace for over half a century.

The 70-year-old Chinese man who hand-carved over 6,000 stairs up a mountain for his 80-year-old wife has passed away in the cave which has been the couple's home for the last 50 years.

Over 50 years ago, Liu Guojiang a 19 year-old boy, fell in love with a 29 year-old widowed mother named Xu Chaoqin..

In a twist worthy of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, friends and relatives criticized the relationship because of the age difference and the fact that Xu already had children.

At that time, it was unacceptable and immoral for a young man to love an older woman.. To avoid the market gossip and the scorn of their communities, the couple decided to elope and lived in a cave in Jiangjin County in Southern ChongQing Municipality

In the beginning, life was harsh as they had nothing, no electricity or even food. They had to eat grass and roots they found in the mountain, and Liu made a kerosene lamp that they used to light up their lives.

Xu felt that she had tied Liu down and repeatedly asked him, 'Are you regretful? Liu always replied, 'As long as we are industrious, life will improve.'

In the second year of living in the mountain, Liu began and continued for over 50 years, to hand-carve the steps so that his wife could get down the mountain easily.

Half a century later in 2001, a group of adventurers were exploring the forest and were surprised to find the elderly couple and the over 6,000 hand-carved steps. Liu MingSheng, one of their seven children said, 'My parents loved each other so much, they have lived in seclusion for over 50 years and never been apart a single day. He hand carved more than 6,000 steps over the years for my mother's convenience, although she doesn't go down the mountain that much.'

The couple had lived in peace for over 50 years until last week. Liu, now 72 years, returned from his daily farm work and collapsed. Xu sat and prayed with her husband as he passed away in her arms. So in love with Xu, was Liu, that no one was able to release the grip he had on his wife's hand even after he had passed away.

'You promised me you'll take care of me, you'll always be with me until the day I died, now you left before me, how am I going to live without you?'

Xu spent days softly repeating this sentence and touching her husband's black coffin with tears rolling down her cheeks.
In 2006, their story became one of the top 10 love stories from China , collected by the Chinese Women Weekly. The local government has decided to preserve the love ladder and the place they lived as a museum, so this love story can live forever.


Even though I have need need to build 6,000 stairs for my husband I would love to be able to show my love to him in such a beautiful way. Can you imagine your home being turned into a museum because of your marital love?

I am thankful for....

Last week Park City Girl did a post listing 5 things that she was thankful for. She invited others to post along with her.

Here 5 things that I am thankful for:

1 : My husband that works his butt off to provide for us.
2: My great kids!!
3: My neighborhood - I have great neighbors!!!
4: DVR -- yes I love TV... It's nice to be able to record my favorite shows.
5: Clean water to drink.

What are you thankful for?

The Desert Flea Market

This post is for all of you that love antiques and hard to find items!!! I have a good friend that I met through Pinching You Pennies that has way nice things for sale on ebay!!! Please go check out her blog --- and then come back and tell me what your favorite antique is - is it something you own???

GO VISIT....... The Desert Flea Market!!!! She's a new blogger --- go give here some love!!!!

Here is my favorite antique..... I really don't know much about them like when they were made or anything but they were my grandma's. She gave them to me a few years ago. They were always in her china hutch. Now I keep them with my china in a rubbermaid tote... you know where all the beautiful things should be kept.....

This is exciting!!!!

So a while back I saw several blogs that had done this test. I did the test back then and I was Jr. High....

NOW........................

Must be all the recent potty talk.....

First Day of Kindergarten and an update!!!

It's hard to imagine that my sweet baby girl is starting Kindergarten today!! Well if you can call it starting.... the first day in an orientation type day and then they go in another day this week for individual testing. The actual first day isn't until September 2nd.


Micayla is so excited!!! Doesn't she look cute in her new glasses? She just got them a couple of weeks ago.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So I took my shirt back to the stupid store, if you don't know what I am talking about click here. I asked the guy if I could talk to the manager and he went and got a girl - not sure if she was actually the manager.... anyway.... I told her what had happened and she told me that they don't have a public restroom and that if they let one person use the restroom then they would have to let everyone. ** Oh yeah the only people in the store on Friday night were my friends Nicole and Aubrey and our kids --- the press was not going to get wind of the fact that they actually allowed a cute little girl to use the restroom.

I told her that I understood but that they really need to have an exception for emergencies. I told her that they may not be so lucky with the next emergency and they might end up with a mess to clean up. They did take back my shirt but they don't give refunds - I ended up getting Micayla 6 shirts so that I used up all my credit and I won't have to go back.

Nicole called both stores on Saturday to complain. At the clothing store she asked to talk to the manager and it was a guy.... hmm... He told her that they are getting sued over someone using their restroom and that is why they wouldn't let Micayla use it. Mind you the guy working there on friday night didn't explain any of this to me.... he just said that they don't have a restroom.... When she called the dollar store they said that another store of their's had been robbed the night before and so they were all freaked out and not letting anyone use the restroom. You know because me and my 2 little kids are so dangerous --- we may have actually purchased something there.

Oh well ---- what do you do????

Contests and Awards.....

Tiffany is having a contest celebrating her 100th post!!! She is giving away a $100 American Express Gift Card!!!

There is also another great contest at SITS!!!!

Mommies United is have a great back to school giveaway!!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bobbi gave me an award!!!! Bobbi is pretty amazing. She has SEVERAL blogs!!! I thought I was busy with 3....

The rules of the award are:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.

2. Link the person you received your award from.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated

Here are the 7 blogs that I am nominating ----

Texas Bangerters

Happy to be Three

The Ferguson's

Nicole

Park City Girl

Shazbraz

The Desert Flea Market

Update about my shirt purchase...

OK So here's the really bad part --- I didn't try on the shirt at the store... I tried it on last night and it goes down to my knees. So I have to take it back.... Normally this wouldn't be a problem for me and I may even use it as an opportunity to have a few words with the manager -- but this store will not give refunds -- so I am going to have to shop there again. I am just going to buy a couple of shirts for Micayla -- I'll take her with me because she will talk about them not letting her use the bathroom the whole time!! That should be some great word of mouth for them!!

Dear _______ Store that won't let a child use the restroom,

Dear Stupid Store that will no longer have my business (We shall call you Down East) and your crappy neighbor (whom we will call - Dollar Tree)

I have been a faithful shopper of yours. You have helped me transform my wardrobe from Walmart to a little more stylish. I have always appreciated that you have a few shirts that fit a girl like me. Hell, you even have some pretty cute clothes for little girls.

Oh yeah, back to why I am writing you this letter. Next time someone asks you if you have restroom that a cute little 5 year old, who is crying and doing the pee- pee dance because and I quote - "My pee pee is starting to come out", can use and you say no -- I hope that said little child will just pee all over your floor. Where do you go to the restroom Mr. man that only works in a clothing store so that you can check out all the women? Do you go the strip mall to another store? Do you hold so long that your pee pee almost comes out?

What I should have done was not buy that cute shirt -- I should have just dropped in on the floor as we headed out the door trying to find a compassionate person in an other store that would see that this child was physically in pain because she was trying so hard to hold it.

Which brings me to the your next door neighbor -- the stinky store whose air conditioning was not working and it smelled like antifreeze -- This is the store were the lady that appeared to be nice looked at this child now bent over, with her legs crossed, eyes full of tears and holding herself and told me that there restrooms were for employees only. You sell buckets don't you? Maybe I should have gone and grabbed a bucket off your shelf -- buckets make great make shift potra-pottys FOR EMERGENCIES!!! No but instead I left yelling back at you that I would never shop again at a store where they wouldn't let a little child use the facilities.

Which now brings me to the next store --- THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH! Were the words that my happy daughter said to the nice lady at JoAnn's that let her use the restroom --- even though the sign said employees only!!!

Oh yeah and --- you may want to call the police about the guy dealing drugs in your parking lot.....

Sincerely,
Micayla's Mom

Frugal Tip Friday 8/22/08

Link your your own Frugal Tip Friday post back here and leave a comment here. I love reading all of your Frugal Tips!!

Ask for a rain check. Some stores don’t give them for certain sale items, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. A rain check can save you money. Don’t buy a six dollar case of water if you can get it for two dollars with a rain check. Buy up to the limit you are allowed to purchase and stock up.

Spa Day!!!

OK so I am mostly a SAHM. I have worked for mom for about 3 years (not included in the first 18 years of my life) anyway..... I started out mostly doing typing at home. With the economy the way that it is and the stack of bills sitting here by my desk - not to mention the need for some ocassional adult interaction --- I have been going to the office 1 or 2 days (sometimes evenings) a week. I go in when Matt is home to take care of the kids.

One of the best benefits that my mom offers in her company is SPA DAY!!! Yesterday was SPA DAY!! We went to lunch to talk business and then we all went to the SPA for pedicures -- Oh how I love pedicures!! I have the most ticklelish feet on the face of the earth and I cannot stand to have anyone touch my feet --- except when I am getting a pedi!!!

Thank you mom for giving me a job that I can work whenever I want/can!!! Thank you for being my mom and my kids grandma ----THANK YOU FOR SPA DAY!!!!


Oh yeah in case you are wondering --- we do clinical research --- we work with drug companies and doctors in studying new prescription medications.

Reusable Grocery Bags

I have been trying to figure out an economical way to make/buy reusable grocery bags. Did you know that some stores will actually give you money off of your total (like a coupon) for bringing in your own bags?

This could be a great way to make your own eco-friendly grocery bags:

Take an old t-shirt and cut off the sleeves and collar. Turn it inside out and hem down where you just cut and use a secure zig zag stitch the bottom closed. Turn it right side out and you have your eco-friendly shopping bag.

You can also use an old tank top, and depending on the size of the neck hole you may only have to sew up the bottom. It's a great way to reuse old clothes you'd rather not get rid of completely and reduce your plastic consumption.

I....... Sherri

I AM ...wishing that money grew on trees. My car needs a very expensive repair that I am not happy about

I WANT... To go on a vacation alone with my husband. I need a break!

I HAVE ... never liked scary movies..... or books.....this is why I am afraid to read Twilight.

I WISH I COULD ... play the piano or sing

I HATE ... folding laundry, actually it's not the folding par that I hate it's the putting stuff away.

I FEAR ... losing one of my kids..... I am a paranoid mom

I HEAR ... right now I hear my husband mowing the lawn.....

I SEARCH ... for ways to save money. I search for the best deal on almost everything.

I DON'T THINK ... we will ever be out of debt. Several years ago while I was in school and not working Matt fell off his bosses roof and cracked his heel. He couldn't work for a while and since i didn't have a job we lived on credit. Then just when things were getting better Micayla --- my million dollar baby was born.

I REGRET ... That I didn't try harder in school. I never understood math. I wish i could do math!

I LOVE ... My husband and my kids. I feel so blessed that I am able to be a mom and I am so grateful for the 2 great women who made it possible

I ACHE FOR ... Couples that are struggling to become parents

I ALWAYS CRY ... ALL THE TIME!!! Seriously!!!

I AM NOT ... A great housekeeper.

I DANCE ... Whenever I can. Although the only people that I ever allow to see me are my kids and Matt (only when we slow dance)

I SING ... In the car --- I always see people laughing at me!!!

I NEVER ... go a day without a Diet Coke!!!

I RARELY ... Go to the movies --- we are not movie people.... I think the last movie I saw in the theater was Armageddon

I CRY WHEN I WATCH ... Extreme Makeover Home Edition

I AM NOT ALWAYS ... nice --- I can be a bitch! I can admit it.

I HATE THAT ... The price of gas is so outrageous!!!

I'M CONFUSED ABOUT ... politics.... although I try to be wise about it!

I NEED ... Lose weight ---- I admit it.....

I SHOULD ... Go clean my house instead of sit here at the computer.

(This post was inspired by Stretch Marks)

Great Tips - Have you tried any of these?

You know how you always get all kinds of tips? You get them in emails, your mom tells you, you read them somewhere --- old wives tales.... Well anyway I found some tips that I hadn't heard before on Pinching Your Pennies.

I was wondering if any of you have tried any of these tips. Do they really work?

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have
to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the
primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!

To Reheat Pizza -Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Expanding Frosting When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper keeps weeds away. Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

No More Mosquitoes Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away! To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it. Flexible vacuum

To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Measuring Cups. Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield? Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car . When the window s fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Conditioner Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Goodbye Fruit Flies To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

This was a quote from someone else, this story did not happen to me...... INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of mesh material... I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. Well ... the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free... that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box .well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very longtime (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!

Great Back to School Gift!!!

The Popcorn Factory has a great deal on a back to school treat!!!

The Chalkboard Sampler: "In 5th grade, being called to the chalkboard often resulted in the sweaty palm and a dry mouth. Finally, being face to face with the �board is a happy place-this 8" Sampler is packed with Cheese and Caramel corn, alphabet pretzels, chocolate chip cookies, kiddy mix candies, gummy bears and mini gumballs. Whew!"

The sale price is 9.99 and there is a $5.00 off code.... 5JUAG shipping is $5.00 so your total is $9.99 - if you want to order more than one do it separate orders because you can use the code over and over!!!

Have A Happy Sunday

I hope everyone has a great Sunday. I have decided to no longer post on Sunday's. The only exception will be if there is a hot coupon in the Sunday paper that I think you should track down.

See you on Monday!

Another Award --- I AM A KICK A$& BLOGGER!!!

Jaime at Just Add Laughter awarded gave me this great award!!!! I am speechless..... Jaime has a blog that I just started here a few weeks ago and she is great!! I guess she thinks I am great too!!!

So, here are the rules:

* Pick 5 Bloggers that you feel are Kick A** Bloggers
* Let em' know in your post or via email, twitter or blog comments that they've received an award
* Share the love and link back to both the person who awarded you and back to
Kick Ass Blogger Award
* Hop on back to the Kick Ass Blogger Club HQ to sign Mr. Linky then pass it on (which you can also get to on the above link)

Got it? Good... Now that we have all that in order, I pass this award on to:

The Musings of a Mom --- because she is so sweet. She has a beautiful old photo of her mom and her kids are so cute with cream puff all over their faces!!

Nonna's News --- because she is inspiring me to create my own Bucket List. Matt will be so proud of me if I do this --- see he's the dreamer and I am the realist. I am challenging myself to create a Bucket list of Dreams..... Oh yeah and go check out her recipe blog.

Park City Girl ---- because I love Park City!! And this girl can quilt!!! Note to self: add quilting to my bucket list..... Oh yeah go check out her music!!!

Jenny --- because she loves Donny Osmond. She's a great friend. She's new to blogging --kind of and she's doing a great job. I need to sing the "Happy Working Song".

Aubrey --- because I really hope that she will enjoy this award with a swear word in it.... hehehe I know she will!!

Frugal Tip Friday 8/15/08

Yeah!! It's now super easy to link your Frugal Tip back here!! Look over the right sidebar and you will find a convenient box with the code giving you both the button and the link back!!!

My tip of the day is:

Buy in bulk only if it is something that you need. Buying everything in bulk is not necessary. Some bulk prices have a higher unit price than buying a couple of boxes of cereal or baby formula. Carrying a calculator to the store with you can aid in figuring up which is the best buy. Join a shopping warehouse if you frequently buy bulk items.

New Design!!!

After playing with the templates (which are great) and realizing that this blog is here to stay I have taken the plunge and paid for a new blog design! I highly recommend Lex!! She communicated with me the whole way and while I didn't do the work I was definitely part of the process!!! If you want a great blog --- for really not a lot of money (you know I shop around for the best deal) go visit Lex!!!

In the change over however we had a little problem with my blog roll. I hope to get everyone added back in today. If you were there yesterday but you aren't today --- let me know!!!

Just what DOES Sherri need?

Insane Momma posted this. So I had to try it!!!!

I googled Sherri + Needs and this is what I came up with..........

Sherri needs a taller tripod.............. How did google know that I am short?

Sherri needs some soap in her mouth................... um yeah probably

Sherri needs help....................

Sherri wants to save Barbara................ clearly they have me confused with Sherri Shepard

Sherri needs a history lesson

Sherri needs to get her head out of the Bible

Sherri needs names of crafts people available to set up at FF Development Day in October..... I have no idea what they are talking about

Sherri needs a cheeseburger

Sherri needs to contact Patricia Tuck...................who?????

Sherri needs to continue seeking a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Sherri needs to come clean

Sherri needs the support of her fans

Sherri needs this slam dunk to show her constituents that she can prosecute a case

Sherri needs to shut up about ................ what???

Sherri needs to watch her dollars......................... hence Frugal Tip Friday!!!

SHERRI NEEDS TO TAKE A CHILL PILL

Wow!!! The things we can learn on Google!!!

Updated.... I changed my mind!!!

This is the recipe that I am submitting for the great contest at The Secret is in the Sauce. I love it!!! I have posted it before.....

Sweet and Sour Chicken
I will do it again for sure. One thing that I realized is that if you cook the chicken this way you can easily make the sauce many different ways. Here is my Sweet & Sour recipe. It sounds kind of hard but it really isn't. I prepped everything in the morning and then it took maybe about 1/2 to get everything cooked.

Coated Chicken (& marinade)

* 1 lb chicken (cubed)
* 1 tbs. soy sauce
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1/2 tsp. sugar
* Cornstarch
* Oil

Combine the soy sauce, salt, sugar, and chicken. Let marinate at least 15 min. – up to all day. Dredge chicken in cornstarch (put it in a ziploc baggie and shake to coat chicken). Cook in hot oil until cooked through. Drain well and set aside.

Sauce Ingredients

* 1/4 c. vinegar
* 1 tbs. ketchup
* 1 clove garlic (I used the pre-chopped garlic in a jar to save time)
* 1/2 c. pineapple chunks – reserve the juice
* 1/2 c. green pepper
* 1/2 c. red pepper
* 1/2 c. celery
* 1/2 c. onion
* 1/4 c. sugar
* 1/4 c. water
* 1 tbs. soy sauce
* 4 tsp. cornstarch
* 1/4 c. water

Heat 1 tbs. oil in a large pan. Stir fry garlic (30 seconds), add veggies & stir fry for about a minute. Add sugar, water, pineapple juice and vinegar and bring to a boil.
Combine soy sauce, corn starch, and water. Add to boiling mixture. Stir until thick. Add pineapple and chicken until coated. Serve over a platter of rice.

Here is a sauce that you could make for Ginger Chicken, then just add whatever veggies you want. I think baby corn, water chestnuts or bamboo shoots would be good. You may also want to add a little cornstarch to thicken the sauce.

Ginger Chicken

* 2 tbs. Oil
* 1 tbs. chopped garlic
* 1 tsp. chopped ginger root or 1/2 tsp. dry ginger
* 1/3 c. soy sauce
* 1 tbs. sugar
* 3 tbs. chopped green onion
* 1 c. boiling water

Fun Things....

This is a fun blog...... Blog Around the World


I am also super excited about this blog.... Good Stuff Maynard. I am so excited about this because I am actually a contributor!!


And last but not least.... after posting our adoption story I received lots of email from bloggers whose children have VCFS - like Micayla! So I started a new blog with an emphasis on our awesome VCFS kids!!

What do you do to keep your sanity?

This is another post that was inspired by something that I read on PYP.....

Is there something that you do as part of your daily routine to keep your sanity and make yourself feel better about your house/life?

There are people that must keep their sink empty and clean, vaccum the whole house, do the dishes, make your bed, eat chocolate cake, bake, drink a Diet Coke, scripture study......

What do you do?

I would like to say scripture study but....... I can't......

One of the things I do is to put a little Pine Sol in the sink with some really hot water..... it makes my house smell clean. I try to make my bed - I think that happens 3-5 days a week.

Beef Stroganoff ala Sherri

The Secret is in the Sauce Recipe Girls are having a great contest. I will be asking for help in voting for my recipe.

This is an absolute favorite both at our house and at the firehouse. I will never make the stroganoff that my mom used to make again!!!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beef Stroganoff

Round Steak - Cubed

Diced Onion

2 T Paprika

1 t fresh ground pepper

Brown and then simmer for at least one hour.

Add family size Can of cream of mushroom soup and 16 oz of sour cream and mushrooms (optional). Serve over noodles or rice. We usually eat this with green beans or steamed carrots.

I love being a mom!!!

I love being a mom!! It's hard work. I am so proud of my kids.

Caleb says, "Au-goo" ---- that means Love you! He also gives me BIG kisses!!

My sweet Micayla.... says "I love to be your daughter." I hope she still feels that way when she is a teenager.

Drumroll please......

Thank you 7 Clown Circus for giving me an award!!!! Angie is awesome! What a great blog and a great mom!I am not sure how many people I am passing this on to 4 other bloggers in no particular order.

Megan...... Her kids are so cute and her daughter and my daughter are going to be in the same Kindergarten class...

Jaime..... what a cute blog!!!

Marrdy..... This is a blog that is new to me -- but I am already a fan!!!

Shanna.....Shanna has a couple of blogs --- but I am a sucker for some yummy food!! Check out this recipe for Chicken Enchiladas with broccoli!!!!

Frugal Tip Friday, 8/8/08

Happy 08-08-08!!! Today is the 1st day of the Summer Olympics!!!

Link your your own Frugal Tip Friday post back here and leave a comment here. Keep those tips coming!!!!

My tip of the day is:

Don’t shop on payday. This is when you have the most money. You haven’t paid the bills or put money away for savings. In error, we believe that we have more money at our discretion than we really have. At the end of the shopping trip, we are a few hundred dollars in the hole and a bill goes without being paid.

Fishing for Nemo..... We are not vegetarians.......

We went fishing today. It was so much fun! We went up to a lake that I used to go to all the time with my grandparents when I was growing up. Matt and I usually try to get up there at least once a year. It is usually about 20 degrees cooler there than it is at home. Today was no exception. It was almost cold! Everyone wore long pants and for the first time in about 2 months (other than at church) my kids had to wear socks and real shoes -- not flip flops or sandals. We also had to wear jackets most of the time. We got rained on a little bit WHICH WAS SO REFRESHING!!!

Matt and Micayla were the only ones actually fishing. Micayla has a super cute pink Disney Princess fishing pole. I didn't have a license and I was trying to keep Caleb under control. He played in the mud and was covered!! I am so glad that I thought of bringing extra clothes.

We had some nice neighbors, that probably thought that there was no way we were going to catch anything with our noisy rock throwing kids, that gave us their 2 fish to bring home. Then Matt caught 4 more -- one of which was to small to keep so we released him. As Matt put the fish on the stringer the kids started calling them Nemo. Nemo is a favorite at our house!

When we got home Matt was cleaning the fish and Micayla asked to see them. She asked what was wrong with them. We told her that they died and that we were going to eat them for dinner. She got so sad!! We tried to us this as a learning opportunity. We explained to her that there are some animals that are put on this earth to be eaten. We told her that fish is good for us.

Matt actually doesn't like to eat fish so I kept the biggest one to bake for dinner and took the other's over to the neighbors. As I wrapped the fish in foil and stuck him in the oven Caleb cried out "NEMO". Yes it was a little heart breaking. When it was time to eat Micayla decided that she wasn't going to eat fish - she had such a sad look on her face. Caleb just kept saying, "Nemo."

Note to self....... Don't tell them about #57 the cow that we ate at Grandma's house.....

The 15-Minute Challenge.....

Inspired by Karen via PYP

I spend too much time blog surfing and not enough time on housework. So I have decided to implement a few 15-Minute Challenges into my days. I am inviting all of you to join with me ---that is unless your house is clean, your kids are fed, your laundry is caught up, you drawers and closets are organized and you already know what you are going to make for dinner tonight....... Set a timer for 15 minutes and see how much you can get done. Come back and tell me what you did.....

Did you set the timer for another 15 minutes? How much more can you accomplish if you try to so it 15 minutes at a time?

Do you think this could work with your kids? Of course it can. I frequently set a timer for Micayla to get her to clean up the playroom faster. She has fun racing the clock. It's amazing what she can do in just a few minutes.

Product Testers / Word of Mouth Advestising *ETA

I have been participating in Bzz Agent for over a year. This is a word of mouth advertising program. Typically they send you out something to try and then in return they expect that you will share the product or your opinion of the product with other people. Then you come back to the site and report your "Bzz" I highly recommend it! Over the past year I have received... Raid Yellow Jacket Traps, Back to Nature Nuts, Teddy Grahams Trail Mix, Ziplock Products, Glade flame less candles, a Sonic-Care Toothbrush ($199 value), Coupons for Free food at Chili's, and much much more!!! After you submit your reports you get MyPoints. I just cashed in some points for $50 in Target gift cards for school clothes.

There is a new website that is just getting started from General Mills ----I am hoping that it will be something similar!!

I love doing this stuff!! Who doesn't like FREE things?

What have you been able to get for free?

BZZ AGENT LINK FIXED!

Waitin' On A Woman.....

This Brad Paisley song is great! Watch this video --- watch the whole thing. This is a song that I imagine my grandpa would dedicate to my grandma - from Heaven. My grandma told my sister that grandpa comes and sleeps with her every night and that he told her that he loves her more now than he did when they got married.

Am I the only one?

Am I the only person not running out to get the new Twilight book? Am I the only person who hasn't read any of them? I am the only person that doesn't have a strong desire to read them?

I don't like vampires!! I am THE biggest chicken on the face of the earth --- yes bigger than the San Diego Chicken, The Coronal's Chicken, the Chick-Fil-A Chickens all put together.

OK so I am not the only person...... am I the only female under 40 not reading them??

Frugal Tip Friday, 8/1/08

Link your your own Frugal Tip Friday post back here and leave a comment here. I love reading all of your Frugal Tips!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Save Money at the Deli

1- Don't buy anything from the deli unless it's on sale (or you're just in desperate need of special deli foods), they are definitely more expensive!

2- Ask the deli attendant to slice meats and cheeses really thin, this will make them go a lot further!

3 - In most grocery stores the deli section is right next to the bakery which usually offers fresh baked loaves of bread for a little more than a dollar (French and Italian). The bread is definitely a good buy but sometimes I wonder if they're just teasing us with a low cost item so we'll come on over and spend a fortune on the more expensive items. If fancy cold cuts and prepared side dishes are not in your budget just grab the bread and run!

4 - If you like to have sandwiches often, instead of buying a pound of sliced meat from the deli consider cooking a half ham or turkey breast in the oven (cooking directions are often on the labels), then slice them up and divide into 1/2-1 pound portions and store in freezer bags. (Just keep one in the fridge for this week and freeze the rest until you need them!)

5- You can also save a lot of money on sliced cheeses by purchasing the prepackaged varieties when they go on sale. You can freeze cheese for up to several months.

6- Look for Reduced Price items that are near expiration and eat them right away or freeze them.

7- Watch for meal deals or one of my favorites is one of the store that I shop has yummy rotisserie chickens buy 1 get 1 half price.