resolving

I know, I know... I'm really anti new years resolutions. I feel like if it's important enough, you should just get up and do it RIGHT NOW. I think though if I put down some actual ideas of things I'm going to do in my future, I will be less likely to break them. So in no particular order:

- get and stay more organized

- create more

- be less afraid to 'weed the garden' this includes people, places and things

- continue to practice honesty at all costs

- do as many things as possible that make me feel good: volunteering, fundraising, etc.

- get back into couponing, not so much for myself, but for a cause

- be a role model

The End! Have a happy and prosperous new year!

several month wrap up

just because i haven't blogged doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything, here is photograph wrap up!

First, when spring hit, we decided we needed to put a more tropical feel on our patio, so we put in some tropical (yet cold hardy) plants including banana tree, hyacinth, and bamboo. Topped off these beds with some red lava rock to complete the tropical look. These will be a constant work in progress as all flower beds are!

I've been unhappy with this space for quite some time. It was completely done in very dark paneling (circa 1983) and it's such an odd shaped space it was hard to do much with. I decided by lightening it up (hello 10 gallons of white paint!) it would at least make it feel roomier and we could go from there. Hubby had built a bar last year so he covered it with bamboo (free from our neighbor, it was headed to the chipper) and put a small thatch overhang to give it a tiki bar feel. The sailboard in the loft was free from freecycle, and the bar stools you see in the picture are now a yellow. I'm sure there will be more pictures of this space as we do some more decorating, but for now, I'm beyond thrilled with how it turned out!

Sometime after the 4th of July this little (and she WAS little) angel wandered up to a friends house. Me being the crazy cat lady that I am, I couldn't resist. I've never had a mostly white cat, let alone one with two different color eyes. How could anyone not love that face?!?!?

Lastly, I bought this very expensive closet organizing system at lowes about 6 months ago (on clearance of course!) and hadn't found time to get it together and in place. So this weekend i cleaned out my closet (woah!) and after some drywall work, convinced hubby to paint it pink and he got the shelves put together and in place for me. Now begins the task of putting it all back together! Shew!

Getting Better Each Week

I try not to be one of those people who has to go to every store that has a sale, I just don't have the time or energy for that. Last weekend I hit Walgreens, because they had vinegar for .99 and I had a .50 coupon, 2 actually, and $9 in RR to use. Picked up a few other things and wound up spending a whopping $6, and saving close to $30.

Next was Target. I wanted to take advantage of some of the Hasboro toy specials they have going on right now. I'm very unfamiliar with ANY toy section, and I got frustrated, so I'll probably try again this week, and eventually I will get familar with it. French's mustard was .99 there, and I had a coupon for $1 off 2, and in their travel section they have visine for 1.97 and I had a ton of $2 coupons. Got close to 10 of those, and a couple deodorants that I had coupons for without size limitations. I think those visine will probably make a great donation item to our local state hospital, this is where I've been giving any toiletry items recently.

Next was Acme, I was more pleased than I expected to be, I spent $60 and saved close to $130. I was nervous because there were some unexpected sales that i took advantage of and I bought a few things i didn't have coupons for (gasp!) but either way, I was pleased, and my regular cashier was cheering me on, so I called it a good day :-)

not extreme...

but getting there. I'm proud of what coupons have been doing for me. I'm able to stock up on what I use regularly and donate to worthy causes with very little out of pocket. I'm particularly proud of my weekend shopping trips. At Walgreens I spent $11.45 and saved $99.68. A large portion of this will be donated to a local organization. At Acme they had an excellent cereal special going on. I wound up spending $30.76 and saved $69.82. My pantry got stocked up in a major way!