There are two websites that I have fallen in love with:

My Savings
Coupons.com

I have made it my goal to use as MANY coupons as possible when shopping. This makes shopping, which is already a mind numbingly ridiculous task, take even longer BUT the results are there.

Here's how I roll ya'll - I shop every other week. Why? Because I get paid every other week. On the Friday that I get paid on, I load up all of my reusable bags and Emilee and we go to our friendly neighborhood HEB and spend two FREAKING hours shopping.
Only four good things come from this trip:
1. Groceries. As much as I hate acquiring them, we have to have them.
2. Emilee. I get to spend quality time with my daughter.
3. Sushi. Emilee and I splurge on sushi as our little reward for the time and brain pain we've just used our Friday night up on.
4. Savings. The money we save by using coupons.

Coupons.
Ugh. Don't you just HATE the thought of cutting, organizing, searching for and then having to be THAT LADY in line that hands over forty-five coupons thereby making ALL of the people in line behind you want to egg your car?
Yeah, me too.
Except when I save almost fifty dollars.
Then I love coupons.

Here is my dilemma with coupon shopping, I am a list person.
I make FAB-U-LOUS lists. I organize by aisle and product type and I break down all of the items needed for each meal I plan to make and then I organize it so that the fresh produce gets used in the early meals and the frozen produce can be used last so nothing goes bad.
I am a list making queen.
But with coupons? It is hard to make a list because you don't know which items you are going to want to try out, which savings will be best or which items will be a waste of time and money. Shopping with coupons should be a sport.
Or an act of faith.
Because sometimes I leave the store and I am not sure if I have enough meals for ten days or if I have things the kids are going to like. The only thing I AM sure of is that I've usually exhausted my budget and I am going to have to hope like hell that I have pulled it off.

Labels: Being Mommy, shopping

when all through the house and back
Not a creature was stirring, or a rat on a rubber sack;
The Jack-o-lanterns were sitting on the porch with care,
In hopes that the Great Pumpkin soon would be there;

The little kids were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions witches flew in their heads;
And lil' sister in mother's 'kerchief, and me in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long midnight's nap,

When out on the street there arose such a racket,
I sprang from the bed and put on my warm jacket.
Away to the window I flew like the Flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen leaves
Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my eyes should see and what came,
But a thin man with a cape and a strange name,

With a lively smile, if not so full of sin,
I knew in a moment it must be Great Pumpkin.
More rapid than eagles his comrades they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Come, Vampire! Come, Werewolf! Mummy, and Creeper!
Frankenstein! Scarecrow dude! Zombie and Grim Reaper!
To the top of the house! To the top of the roof!
Let us hurry! And pray that my suit is fireproof"

The dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an old rope, mount to the sky,
So up to the housetop the monsters they climbed,
With a bag full of treats, as the midnight clock chimed.

And then, in a thud, I heard on the roof
The shuffling of each heavy foot- then poof!
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney Great Pumpkin came with a bound.

He was dressed all in black, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
As I wipe away the dust from my face,
He got up gracefully from the fireplace.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! His eyes, how scary!
His cheeks were like oranges, his nose like a berry!
His pointy big mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the pumpkin head is hollow;

He was thin and lanky, a mysterious creature,
And I screamed when I saw him, at his ghastly feature;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the bags with the treats; what a jerk!
And opened his mouth and whispered "Adieu",
And giving a nod, up the chimney he flew;

He sprang up his arms, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew away, away in a hustle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he flew out of sight,
"Happy Halloween to all, and to all a good night!"

I replied back with a laugh, "And a good fright!"

Labels: Halloween

Labels: Ruthie

I am up to my eyeballs in work and Halloween PARTY stuff.
I miss you!
Be back soon!
xoxo

THE MONSTER WHO WAS MISUNDERSTOOD
This is a tale of poor old Frank --
Frank the monster, not Tom, Rich, or Hank.
He was created by a scientist in a great house.
A house on a mountain, much too big for a mouse.
There in the basement, the docter toiled night and day,
with the help of his friend Igor, who had little to say.
Finally when all was assembled like a bike,
a bolt of lightning gave dear Frank his new life.
He sat up from the table where he laid for months,
scratched his square head, and said "I'm ready for lunch!"
He crashed through the door, and went into town,
where he arrived at the diner and tried to sit down.
But everyone screamed , and left their plates hot.
Even the cooks ran away without their prized pots.
So Frank could have nothing to quell his belly's rumble,
not a burger, or fries, or even Apple Pie Crumble.
He was almost in tears, and very, very sad,
and walked into the streets where everyone went mad,
and screamed in horror at Frank's sight.
No one had seen such a thing in their life.
Frank tried to explain, "I'm just hungry, that's all.
I mean you no harm, even though I am tall."
A little girl saw him where she sat on the corner,
and thought, he's not so scary, infact he might be an orphan.
So she walked up to Frank and tugged at his sleeve,
and said, "My name is Cinthia, Cindy if you please."
He said, "I'm just a little hungry, and don't know where I am."
"That's O.K.," Cindy answered, and pulled out some ham--
ham for a sandwich she was waiting to make,
and she pulled out two slices of bread freshly baked.
They sat on the corner to a half sandwich each,
both happy, and smiling as a sunny day peach.

Labels: At work, Halloween

What do you say?
When you read a blog like this, what do you say? Do you think about your consumer driven lifestyle? The Groom's Cake ice cream you and your daughters had for desert last night? The fact that you were laying on your couch watching The Big Bang Theory AND shopping on ebay for macbooks after you ate that ice cream?
It makes my insides scream.
It makes me want to forsake everything that I am and start over because there are children out there who are DYING because their parents can't feed them.
And I don't help.
Nope... I sit in my ten by ten office and shuffle paperwork while I listen to music and occasionally blog.
I don't contribute to saving lives like the amazing people who work at these places where almost dead children are brought in.
These are BABIES. Babies that die every day because there isn't enough food. How is that okay? How is that acceptable?
I can't get my head around it.
I don't have the words.

Labels: adoption, At work, Being a Chic, Being Mommy