And I'm cheap, er, uh, frugal, remember??
Let's face it, leggies are hard to sell in the summer. Found this coupon code for an even BIGGER discount on restaurant.com on couponmom.com. Thought I'd share. Please share it with all of your friends!
80% off Restaurant.com Gift Certificates! Pay only $2 for a $25 certificate when you use code PRESENT Perfect for Father's Day Gifts!
Happy Almost Father's Day!
~Bloggie
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Short, but moving prayer...
A friend forwarded this to me. At first I was like, "Ugh. I've seen these a MILLION AND ONE times..." But I read it anyway, and it really moved me inside.
Just thought I'd share. :-)
Dear Lord, I thank You for this day,
I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning.
I'm blessed because You are
a forgiving God and
an understanding God.
You have done so much for me
and You keep on blessing me.
Forgive me this day for everything
I have done, said or thought
that was not pleasing to you.I ask now for Your forgiveness.
Please keep me safe
from all danger and harm.
Help me to start this day
with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude.
Let me make the best of each and every day
to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.
Please broaden my mind
that I can accept all things.
Let me not whine and whimper
over things I have no control over.And give me the best response
when I'm pushed beyond my limits.I know that when I can't pray,
You listen to my heart.
Continue to use me to do Your will.
Continue to bless me that I may be
a blessing to others.
Keep me strong that I may help the weak...
Keep me uplifted that I may have
words of encouragement for others.
I pray for those that are lost
and can't find their way.
I pray for those that are misjudged
and misunderstood.
I pray for those who don't know You intimately.
I pray for those that will delete this
without sharing it with others
I pray for those that don't believe.
But I thank You that I believe
that God changes people and
God changes things.
I pray for all my sisters and brothers.
For each and every family member
in their households.
I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes; that they are out of debt
and all their needs are met.
I pray that every eye that reads this
knows there is no problem, circumstance,
or situation greater than God.
Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight.
I pray that these words be received
into the hearts of every eye that sees it
in Jesus' name. Amen!
Just thought I'd share. :-)
Dear Lord, I thank You for this day,
I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning.
I'm blessed because You are
a forgiving God and
an understanding God.
You have done so much for me
and You keep on blessing me.
Forgive me this day for everything
I have done, said or thought
that was not pleasing to you.I ask now for Your forgiveness.
Please keep me safe
from all danger and harm.
Help me to start this day
with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude.
Let me make the best of each and every day
to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.
Please broaden my mind
that I can accept all things.
Let me not whine and whimper
over things I have no control over.And give me the best response
when I'm pushed beyond my limits.I know that when I can't pray,
You listen to my heart.
Continue to use me to do Your will.
Continue to bless me that I may be
a blessing to others.
Keep me strong that I may help the weak...
Keep me uplifted that I may have
words of encouragement for others.
I pray for those that are lost
and can't find their way.
I pray for those that are misjudged
and misunderstood.
I pray for those who don't know You intimately.
I pray for those that will delete this
without sharing it with others
I pray for those that don't believe.
But I thank You that I believe
that God changes people and
God changes things.
I pray for all my sisters and brothers.
For each and every family member
in their households.
I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes; that they are out of debt
and all their needs are met.
I pray that every eye that reads this
knows there is no problem, circumstance,
or situation greater than God.
Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight.
I pray that these words be received
into the hearts of every eye that sees it
in Jesus' name. Amen!
Friday, June 12, 2009
It's that time again.... again.
(This is all over the place, and maybe a little hard to follow. It was written at 2 AM, and it's hard to cram two weeks of events (four years ago) into one blog posting. Not to mention that I was emotional while typing...)
Okay, so if you've ever read any of my other blogs, you know that around July I start to talk about my dad a lot. He passed away in July of 2005. Yes, we're working on our 4th anniversary.
Wow! I didn't even realize that it's been that long. I actually had to count out on my fingers to make sure that it was right. I mean, I know that 9 minus five is four, but it just didn't seem right. Wow!
So, four years, and I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. I've never dealt with my dad's passing. (For those of you who don't know, it happened rather suddenly. Well, if you want to call two weeks suddenly... suddenly enough.) I'm not sure when, if ever, I'll be able to deal with it. It's just something that's so big, so painful and so consuming I just don't know where to even start to deal with it. Sometimes, little bits and pieces will start to float to the surface of my brain, and then I'll have this HUGE, MESSY melt down, and it's pushed back to the furthest corners again. I'm just not ready -obviously.
In the two weeks before my dad passed, he was in the hospital. He had a "brain bleed." He had a ventilator, feeding tube, and a shunt in his (fore) head to relieve pressure that was building. I still hate the doctors. When they put the shunt in his head, they said that he was in a coma, and didn't know what was happening. I asked if they were going to give him some kind of anesthesia, and they said due to the coma, he didn't need it. I didn't believe that he was in a coma, as he would try to respond when I talked to him. He just wouldn't do stupid human tricks for the doctors. He never was one for stupid human tricks. ;-)
Anyway, they drilled a hole in his forehead, and put what looked like the tube part of a needle in it. And don't you know, that while they were drilling into his head, while he had NO SEDATION because he was in his "coma" his heart went all wonky. Heart attack? Yeah, probably. Of course, they wouldn't say that to us. Especially not after I was pushing for at least a local anesthesia for the process. I HATED his doctors.
Then, come to find out that the shunt could only stay in place for a few days (it was an external one) due to the risk of infection. What?! Most things were a blur in those few days, but I didn't and still don't remember them saying that. Turns out that they wound up taking that one out, and putting another on in his head on the other side. More shaving of the hair, more drilling, more bandages and tubes....
The day before he passed away, I prayed and prayed and prayed with a so strong faith that I didn't even know that I had. I prayed, and I actually felt a little better.
That night as we were going back home from the hospital, I saw a rainbow that was the most beautiful, vibrant rainbow that I've ever seen. It looked as if I could reach out the car window and actually touch it. It was like it was an actual tangible object, and not just light that's been split.
This rainbow felt to me as if it were the answer to my prayers. I was comforted by it. I still, however, talked to my BFF and asked her what a rainbow signifies in the Bible. She told me that it stands for God's promise. I knew this was an answer to my prayers, and I knew when I went back to the hospital the next day, even though when we left the night before he was starting to run a high fever, everything would be okay. I knew it in my brain, and I knew it in my heart.
The next day came, but we were greeted with bad news: The infection was getting worse, and they couldn't get it under control. After some time, the decision was made to take him off of all life sustaining machines. He had a living will that said that he didn't want to be on them anyway. We were already violating it by having him hooked up to so many things, but ya know, when it comes down to it, that's just such a hard decision to make -living will or not.
I will never forget his nurse that day. It was a man, and he had the most wonderful bedside manner of anyone I've ever met. I think that if you working in a ward such as ICU (or children's) then you had better have the BEST bedside manner ever. If not, you need not apply.
This nurse was so sweet. He was so understanding. He had so much compassion. He even let us bring Cool Dude (who was 20 months old) in to see him after all of the tubes and most of the wires were gone. I wish that I could thank him for those few hours he spent with us. I believe that he was an angel to help us along the beginning of our hard journey that day.
I wasn't in the room when my dad passed. I have a hard time forgiving myself for that. He wasn't alone. My fairy step mom was with him. She tells me that people usually wait for certain people to leave the room before they pass. It doesn't help relieve my guilt though. Nor does it help relieve any of the guilt that I feel because I feel that I'm the one who caused him to get sick.
You see, whenever anyone would come or go in the ICU, they would have to scrub up with antibacterial soap. There are germs everywhere, but staph, which is the infection that killed my dad, is apparently one of the most common. And it's quite common on your hands and under your nails.
My dad could only have the shunt in his head for so long due to risk of infection. When he still had it in, I would dab his sweaty brow with a tissue. I figured he had to be in enough pain and discomfort already, he surely wouldn't want sweat running down his face, or back on his head into is wound from his shunt. I'm afraid that I transferred staph from my hands to his head. I'm afraid that in trying too keep him comfortable I made him sick. In trying to keep him comfortable..... I killed him......
(See why I have a hard time dealing with it???)
I was so angry for such a long time. Yeah, I know that's a common reaction. I was angry though because God sent me a sign that everything was going to be okay. He sent me a rainbow. He sent me the SIGN of His promise.... And then he reniged on his deal.
It's taken me a loong time to be able to look at rainbows again. It just hurt too much. I HATED rainbows.
Then one day a friend put it to me like this, maybe it was God's promise that my dad would be taken care of AFTER he died. After all, The Lord knows everything. He knows what we do not know, and what we do not understand. He knew that my dad was going to pass, and this was his sign to me that he would be taken care of eternally.
After some time, this helped me. I still couldn't look at rainbows though. They still hurt too much.
Then I had another friend put a different spin on rainbows for me, and I wish that I could remember just exactly what she said. It was something along the lines of how a rainbow is not actually there. It's the raindrops acting as a prism, and splitting up the white light. Well, what if while that white light is being split up, it's opening a window to heaven, and allowing my dad to look down on us, and check in on us.
She said it much better, and it made much more sense. It was much more beautiful when she said it.
It's one of the few things said to me after he's died that have actually made me feel better. (With the first rainbow explanation being another that made me feel better.)
Rainbows still hurt to look at, and I still cry when I see them. Now though, I'm crying because I feel that for those few moments, I have visual proof that my dad is looking down on me. And I cry because I know that all too soon, the rainbows, like my dad, will be gone.
Okay, so if you've ever read any of my other blogs, you know that around July I start to talk about my dad a lot. He passed away in July of 2005. Yes, we're working on our 4th anniversary.
Wow! I didn't even realize that it's been that long. I actually had to count out on my fingers to make sure that it was right. I mean, I know that 9 minus five is four, but it just didn't seem right. Wow!
So, four years, and I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. I've never dealt with my dad's passing. (For those of you who don't know, it happened rather suddenly. Well, if you want to call two weeks suddenly... suddenly enough.) I'm not sure when, if ever, I'll be able to deal with it. It's just something that's so big, so painful and so consuming I just don't know where to even start to deal with it. Sometimes, little bits and pieces will start to float to the surface of my brain, and then I'll have this HUGE, MESSY melt down, and it's pushed back to the furthest corners again. I'm just not ready -obviously.
In the two weeks before my dad passed, he was in the hospital. He had a "brain bleed." He had a ventilator, feeding tube, and a shunt in his (fore) head to relieve pressure that was building. I still hate the doctors. When they put the shunt in his head, they said that he was in a coma, and didn't know what was happening. I asked if they were going to give him some kind of anesthesia, and they said due to the coma, he didn't need it. I didn't believe that he was in a coma, as he would try to respond when I talked to him. He just wouldn't do stupid human tricks for the doctors. He never was one for stupid human tricks. ;-)
Anyway, they drilled a hole in his forehead, and put what looked like the tube part of a needle in it. And don't you know, that while they were drilling into his head, while he had NO SEDATION because he was in his "coma" his heart went all wonky. Heart attack? Yeah, probably. Of course, they wouldn't say that to us. Especially not after I was pushing for at least a local anesthesia for the process. I HATED his doctors.
Then, come to find out that the shunt could only stay in place for a few days (it was an external one) due to the risk of infection. What?! Most things were a blur in those few days, but I didn't and still don't remember them saying that. Turns out that they wound up taking that one out, and putting another on in his head on the other side. More shaving of the hair, more drilling, more bandages and tubes....
The day before he passed away, I prayed and prayed and prayed with a so strong faith that I didn't even know that I had. I prayed, and I actually felt a little better.
That night as we were going back home from the hospital, I saw a rainbow that was the most beautiful, vibrant rainbow that I've ever seen. It looked as if I could reach out the car window and actually touch it. It was like it was an actual tangible object, and not just light that's been split.
This rainbow felt to me as if it were the answer to my prayers. I was comforted by it. I still, however, talked to my BFF and asked her what a rainbow signifies in the Bible. She told me that it stands for God's promise. I knew this was an answer to my prayers, and I knew when I went back to the hospital the next day, even though when we left the night before he was starting to run a high fever, everything would be okay. I knew it in my brain, and I knew it in my heart.
The next day came, but we were greeted with bad news: The infection was getting worse, and they couldn't get it under control. After some time, the decision was made to take him off of all life sustaining machines. He had a living will that said that he didn't want to be on them anyway. We were already violating it by having him hooked up to so many things, but ya know, when it comes down to it, that's just such a hard decision to make -living will or not.
I will never forget his nurse that day. It was a man, and he had the most wonderful bedside manner of anyone I've ever met. I think that if you working in a ward such as ICU (or children's) then you had better have the BEST bedside manner ever. If not, you need not apply.
This nurse was so sweet. He was so understanding. He had so much compassion. He even let us bring Cool Dude (who was 20 months old) in to see him after all of the tubes and most of the wires were gone. I wish that I could thank him for those few hours he spent with us. I believe that he was an angel to help us along the beginning of our hard journey that day.
I wasn't in the room when my dad passed. I have a hard time forgiving myself for that. He wasn't alone. My fairy step mom was with him. She tells me that people usually wait for certain people to leave the room before they pass. It doesn't help relieve my guilt though. Nor does it help relieve any of the guilt that I feel because I feel that I'm the one who caused him to get sick.
You see, whenever anyone would come or go in the ICU, they would have to scrub up with antibacterial soap. There are germs everywhere, but staph, which is the infection that killed my dad, is apparently one of the most common. And it's quite common on your hands and under your nails.
My dad could only have the shunt in his head for so long due to risk of infection. When he still had it in, I would dab his sweaty brow with a tissue. I figured he had to be in enough pain and discomfort already, he surely wouldn't want sweat running down his face, or back on his head into is wound from his shunt. I'm afraid that I transferred staph from my hands to his head. I'm afraid that in trying too keep him comfortable I made him sick. In trying to keep him comfortable..... I killed him......
(See why I have a hard time dealing with it???)
I was so angry for such a long time. Yeah, I know that's a common reaction. I was angry though because God sent me a sign that everything was going to be okay. He sent me a rainbow. He sent me the SIGN of His promise.... And then he reniged on his deal.
It's taken me a loong time to be able to look at rainbows again. It just hurt too much. I HATED rainbows.
Then one day a friend put it to me like this, maybe it was God's promise that my dad would be taken care of AFTER he died. After all, The Lord knows everything. He knows what we do not know, and what we do not understand. He knew that my dad was going to pass, and this was his sign to me that he would be taken care of eternally.
After some time, this helped me. I still couldn't look at rainbows though. They still hurt too much.
Then I had another friend put a different spin on rainbows for me, and I wish that I could remember just exactly what she said. It was something along the lines of how a rainbow is not actually there. It's the raindrops acting as a prism, and splitting up the white light. Well, what if while that white light is being split up, it's opening a window to heaven, and allowing my dad to look down on us, and check in on us.
She said it much better, and it made much more sense. It was much more beautiful when she said it.
It's one of the few things said to me after he's died that have actually made me feel better. (With the first rainbow explanation being another that made me feel better.)
Rainbows still hurt to look at, and I still cry when I see them. Now though, I'm crying because I feel that for those few moments, I have visual proof that my dad is looking down on me. And I cry because I know that all too soon, the rainbows, like my dad, will be gone.
Graduation
Cool Dude graduated pre-school today. *sniff, sniff*
And maybe an even bigger event was the fact that I did NOT cry! I was sooo close to it, and figured that if I did, I'd look a fool, and my make up would run down my face. I wasn't about have that... Or maybe it was the INCREDIBLY RUDE woman who, regardless of what side of the cafeteria I was on, came and stood RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME while I was watching, or WHILE I WAS TAKING PICTURES!
Really? Are you serious? I try to be so courteous at things like this. I try to make sure I'm not walking in people's pictures. I try to make sure that I'm not in their line of vision -sometimes that's impossible to help though, but this lady??? Nope. She didn't care AT ALL. Look, I know that I can be selfish, but not like this lady was. She seemed to think that she was the only person in the room. I secretly wished that DH was up with me because I KNOW that he wouldn't have just been seething inside. He would have said something. I almost did, but I really didn't want to cause drama (and this is the kind of lady who would have turned it into a drama) at Cool Dude's graduation.
Rude lady aside, the graduation was one of the cutest things I've seen in a while. Cool Dude is soo well with all of his songs and poems. I really think that he was the best singer there. And really, I'm not just saying that because (he's the main one I was watching) I'm his mom. He was VERY loud -not something he gets from me. He knew all of the words. He knew all of the actions. He had me SOOO proud.
And I can't believe that he was just so little, and so completely dependent on me such a short while ago. He's gotten so big so fast. It's really amazing just how fast the time slips by without us ever noticing.
I also can't believe that Little Miss will be starting pre-school next year. *giggle, giggle, giggle* Gracious! Her teachers are in for QUITE a surprise with her! She's not the laid back, easy going sport that Cool Dude is. She's into EVERYTHING, and she DOES NOT take the word "No" lightly. Gracious! Are they in for a world of trouble. *giggle, giggle, giggle* -But I guess I really shouldn't laugh, should I? They can still choose to send her back home to me every day! ACK!
Of course, I'm finally realizing that she's hyperactive just as I am. Growing up, I wasn't allowed to have sugar, artificial flavorings or colors, chocolate or caffeine. Sounds like it would have made for a suckey time, but looking back now, I don't remember missing any of it too much. (I'm sure that I did then though.) I have a wonderful appreciation for fruits and veggies, and I LOVE things like dried fruit. You would think that I'd have better teeth now though... Maybe it's because once I got old enough, I more then made up for lost time.
So anyway, I'm noticing that with limiting Little Miss's diet, I don't bang my head against the wall with her as much. I'm hoping to cut out A LOT of stuff from her diet, but I'm going to need a lot of help from friends and family with that. I'm going to need them to understand that, no, she MAY NOT have that. No, not even one little piece. I don't care how bad she wants it. I don't care if you think it's okay if you spoil her. No. I don't care. I'm the one who's Mommy. I have final ruling on it. UGH! Why do some people feel the need to blatantly disrespect parental wishes??????!!!!
That's a whole other post for a whole other day. I've already been all over the board today. Welcome to the randomness that is my mind, and the chaos that is my life! ;-)
Congratulations on your graduation, Cool Dude!
And maybe an even bigger event was the fact that I did NOT cry! I was sooo close to it, and figured that if I did, I'd look a fool, and my make up would run down my face. I wasn't about have that... Or maybe it was the INCREDIBLY RUDE woman who, regardless of what side of the cafeteria I was on, came and stood RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME while I was watching, or WHILE I WAS TAKING PICTURES!
Really? Are you serious? I try to be so courteous at things like this. I try to make sure I'm not walking in people's pictures. I try to make sure that I'm not in their line of vision -sometimes that's impossible to help though, but this lady??? Nope. She didn't care AT ALL. Look, I know that I can be selfish, but not like this lady was. She seemed to think that she was the only person in the room. I secretly wished that DH was up with me because I KNOW that he wouldn't have just been seething inside. He would have said something. I almost did, but I really didn't want to cause drama (and this is the kind of lady who would have turned it into a drama) at Cool Dude's graduation.
Rude lady aside, the graduation was one of the cutest things I've seen in a while. Cool Dude is soo well with all of his songs and poems. I really think that he was the best singer there. And really, I'm not just saying that because (he's the main one I was watching) I'm his mom. He was VERY loud -not something he gets from me. He knew all of the words. He knew all of the actions. He had me SOOO proud.
And I can't believe that he was just so little, and so completely dependent on me such a short while ago. He's gotten so big so fast. It's really amazing just how fast the time slips by without us ever noticing.
I also can't believe that Little Miss will be starting pre-school next year. *giggle, giggle, giggle* Gracious! Her teachers are in for QUITE a surprise with her! She's not the laid back, easy going sport that Cool Dude is. She's into EVERYTHING, and she DOES NOT take the word "No" lightly. Gracious! Are they in for a world of trouble. *giggle, giggle, giggle* -But I guess I really shouldn't laugh, should I? They can still choose to send her back home to me every day! ACK!
Of course, I'm finally realizing that she's hyperactive just as I am. Growing up, I wasn't allowed to have sugar, artificial flavorings or colors, chocolate or caffeine. Sounds like it would have made for a suckey time, but looking back now, I don't remember missing any of it too much. (I'm sure that I did then though.) I have a wonderful appreciation for fruits and veggies, and I LOVE things like dried fruit. You would think that I'd have better teeth now though... Maybe it's because once I got old enough, I more then made up for lost time.
So anyway, I'm noticing that with limiting Little Miss's diet, I don't bang my head against the wall with her as much. I'm hoping to cut out A LOT of stuff from her diet, but I'm going to need a lot of help from friends and family with that. I'm going to need them to understand that, no, she MAY NOT have that. No, not even one little piece. I don't care how bad she wants it. I don't care if you think it's okay if you spoil her. No. I don't care. I'm the one who's Mommy. I have final ruling on it. UGH! Why do some people feel the need to blatantly disrespect parental wishes??????!!!!
That's a whole other post for a whole other day. I've already been all over the board today. Welcome to the randomness that is my mind, and the chaos that is my life! ;-)
Congratulations on your graduation, Cool Dude!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Frugal or cheap?
So, am I cheap?
I love the dollar store. I mean, I L-O-V-E the dollar store. Tonight I told one of my friends (who also loves the dollar store, though maybe not as much as me) that if it came down to my husband or the dollar store, it would be pretty close. Just kidding of course! ;-) But really, I do A LOT of shopping there.
Have you been to one lately? I mean, a good one.
Dollar Tree is my all time favorite. They have everything there. I mean EVVEERRYthing. They have your run of the mill candles, flat wear, brushes and whatnot's, but they also have frozen food -I mean some name brand stuff that I get in the Acme, they have flip flops, they have ARTS AND CRAFTS (cool stuff too!), fun toys. Heck, they even have lingerie, ovulation predictor tests, and pregnancy tests! I had to laugh the first time I saw the pregnancy tests. I wished (for a brief moment) that I was pregnant so that I could see if it actually was reliable. I joked about this with the girl who worked there, and she said that they actually came from the same place Walmart gets theirs. Who knew? (We do now.)
So anyway, I do A LOT of shopping there. Yes, I've bought their food. It's actually decent, and it's not old, leftover, frozen, unfrozen, refrozen, icky stuff like I was afraid it would be. Yes, I've bought their lingerie. I have a cute little cami/tap pant outfit that I have yet to wear. It's really cute though. Common... two bucks for a cute little number?? Even if it's disposable, I've spent more money on more ridiculous stuff before.
Yes, I've bought the party supplies. Who hasn't? I've bought the cheap toys. Lots of them are REALLY cute though. (And some even have a good mark up price on them!) I buy the arts and crafts items religiously. Really helps pass the time with two kids! And the coloring books, oh my word, the coloring books! I can't tell you how many we have from there. Shipping supplies -bubble mailers, address labels and return labels, packing tape, legal and letter envelopes, stationary. They have it all.
I LOVE the dollar store.
I also love thrift stores. I love to get a bargain there, plus, it's like treasure hunting for me. I love to find a NWT (new with tag for you not so eBay savvy readers) pair of Gap jeans for six bucks or less. I love to leave with bags of kids clothing (which will all be washed on hot water for the first time) for 70 bucks -most still new with tags. I love to get books for 50 cents. I love to find cross stitch packets -brand new again for a dollar, and then turn around and sell them for A LOT more then that on eBay. I love getting fabric remnants from there, and making dresses for Little Miss. I love tearing apart clothing from there, and up-cycling them into something new. I LOVE IT!
Another thing I love, and this is where DH called me super cheap tonight are the kids cups from restaurants. They're thick plastic ones, and they have these great lids. I take them home and use them until Little Miss chews them until the lids no longer fit on them.
We went out to dinner with friends tonight, and Cool Dude, his BFF, and Little Miss each got a kid's drink. Little Miss got two. On the way out, I asked my friend if she wanted the cup. This was as I was grabbing Little Miss' cup. She said no, and noticed I was taking the empty, and told me to take hers if I wanted it. I explained that they're really great b/c of the lids, and Little Miss chews all of the cups, so I have to throw them away. She kinda chuckled, and said that it was a good idea, but I wonder how cheap she really thinks I am????? I mean, they're not the cheap, hard plastic ones that when you bend them they crack. They're the softer ones; the more "high quality" of plastic restaurant cups, if you will.
DH called me cheap when he saw that I had four cups when we were leaving. (Little miss had two drinks.) He told me I was so cheap.
Whatever. Maybe I am. Or maybe I'm just frugal.
I love the dollar store. I mean, I L-O-V-E the dollar store. Tonight I told one of my friends (who also loves the dollar store, though maybe not as much as me) that if it came down to my husband or the dollar store, it would be pretty close. Just kidding of course! ;-) But really, I do A LOT of shopping there.
Have you been to one lately? I mean, a good one.
Dollar Tree is my all time favorite. They have everything there. I mean EVVEERRYthing. They have your run of the mill candles, flat wear, brushes and whatnot's, but they also have frozen food -I mean some name brand stuff that I get in the Acme, they have flip flops, they have ARTS AND CRAFTS (cool stuff too!), fun toys. Heck, they even have lingerie, ovulation predictor tests, and pregnancy tests! I had to laugh the first time I saw the pregnancy tests. I wished (for a brief moment) that I was pregnant so that I could see if it actually was reliable. I joked about this with the girl who worked there, and she said that they actually came from the same place Walmart gets theirs. Who knew? (We do now.)
So anyway, I do A LOT of shopping there. Yes, I've bought their food. It's actually decent, and it's not old, leftover, frozen, unfrozen, refrozen, icky stuff like I was afraid it would be. Yes, I've bought their lingerie. I have a cute little cami/tap pant outfit that I have yet to wear. It's really cute though. Common... two bucks for a cute little number?? Even if it's disposable, I've spent more money on more ridiculous stuff before.
Yes, I've bought the party supplies. Who hasn't? I've bought the cheap toys. Lots of them are REALLY cute though. (And some even have a good mark up price on them!) I buy the arts and crafts items religiously. Really helps pass the time with two kids! And the coloring books, oh my word, the coloring books! I can't tell you how many we have from there. Shipping supplies -bubble mailers, address labels and return labels, packing tape, legal and letter envelopes, stationary. They have it all.
I LOVE the dollar store.
I also love thrift stores. I love to get a bargain there, plus, it's like treasure hunting for me. I love to find a NWT (new with tag for you not so eBay savvy readers) pair of Gap jeans for six bucks or less. I love to leave with bags of kids clothing (which will all be washed on hot water for the first time) for 70 bucks -most still new with tags. I love to get books for 50 cents. I love to find cross stitch packets -brand new again for a dollar, and then turn around and sell them for A LOT more then that on eBay. I love getting fabric remnants from there, and making dresses for Little Miss. I love tearing apart clothing from there, and up-cycling them into something new. I LOVE IT!
Another thing I love, and this is where DH called me super cheap tonight are the kids cups from restaurants. They're thick plastic ones, and they have these great lids. I take them home and use them until Little Miss chews them until the lids no longer fit on them.
We went out to dinner with friends tonight, and Cool Dude, his BFF, and Little Miss each got a kid's drink. Little Miss got two. On the way out, I asked my friend if she wanted the cup. This was as I was grabbing Little Miss' cup. She said no, and noticed I was taking the empty, and told me to take hers if I wanted it. I explained that they're really great b/c of the lids, and Little Miss chews all of the cups, so I have to throw them away. She kinda chuckled, and said that it was a good idea, but I wonder how cheap she really thinks I am????? I mean, they're not the cheap, hard plastic ones that when you bend them they crack. They're the softer ones; the more "high quality" of plastic restaurant cups, if you will.
DH called me cheap when he saw that I had four cups when we were leaving. (Little miss had two drinks.) He told me I was so cheap.
Whatever. Maybe I am. Or maybe I'm just frugal.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
New view on blog reading...
Okay, so I'm uber sensitive to lots of things. I cry when watching REMOTELY sad or happy movies. I want to donate all of my money (not that I have any) to different charities. I have to fight back the tears when I see other kids crying. (This was a hard task when two kids on the playground -one of whom is on of Cool Guy's BFF's got hurt the other day.) I cry when I watch Johnson & Johnson's commercials... And don't even get me started on the Chicken Soup books!
So can someone PLEASE tell me why I've found myself stuck reading tons and tons and tons of blogs of families of sick babies and kiddos. I'm so emotional all the time, and I'm reading these roller coaster rides of these AMAZING families. Really, I don't know how they do it. Reading these blogs make all of my problems sooo trivial. They remind me of just how lucky, and just how blessed we really are to not have to deal with the trials of some of the families... Families that have the amazing ability to push on, and families that have the most AMAZING FAITH ever.
I once read something or another about why the Lord allows suffering of His children. It was something along the lines of how it brings out the good in people, and how it draws us closer together, and closer to Him. These blogs are the workings of His miracles, as, through their pain and suffering, they are opening up the hearts of countless people. They're touching places in peoples hearts, and opening them up to the Lord without even knowing it. They're causing multitudes of people to pray -to speak to Him.
And, okay, sometimes when I think about it, I get angry that He should work that way -calling us to Him through someone else's suffering, that is. But I know that we do not understand His ways. I know that we CANNOT understand His ways. I know though, that it truly IS a MIRACLE how people DO connect, DO draw together, and DO call out to Him through these sufferings.
And the one who is at the heart of the suffering, the one who is suffering, well, it's just amazing to think that they are responsible for this miracle of, well, love from sooo many people. THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MIRACLE. So this "burden" of being sick that they bear, well, I'm sure that their parents would give it up for them in an instant, but really, they're at the center of a miracle. And to me, that's awe inspiring.
And maybe that's why I've been reading these blogs. Not because I like to cry my heart out for someone elses sufferings, but because I just want to be able to be that much closer to a miracle.
So can someone PLEASE tell me why I've found myself stuck reading tons and tons and tons of blogs of families of sick babies and kiddos. I'm so emotional all the time, and I'm reading these roller coaster rides of these AMAZING families. Really, I don't know how they do it. Reading these blogs make all of my problems sooo trivial. They remind me of just how lucky, and just how blessed we really are to not have to deal with the trials of some of the families... Families that have the amazing ability to push on, and families that have the most AMAZING FAITH ever.
I once read something or another about why the Lord allows suffering of His children. It was something along the lines of how it brings out the good in people, and how it draws us closer together, and closer to Him. These blogs are the workings of His miracles, as, through their pain and suffering, they are opening up the hearts of countless people. They're touching places in peoples hearts, and opening them up to the Lord without even knowing it. They're causing multitudes of people to pray -to speak to Him.
And, okay, sometimes when I think about it, I get angry that He should work that way -calling us to Him through someone else's suffering, that is. But I know that we do not understand His ways. I know that we CANNOT understand His ways. I know though, that it truly IS a MIRACLE how people DO connect, DO draw together, and DO call out to Him through these sufferings.
And the one who is at the heart of the suffering, the one who is suffering, well, it's just amazing to think that they are responsible for this miracle of, well, love from sooo many people. THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MIRACLE. So this "burden" of being sick that they bear, well, I'm sure that their parents would give it up for them in an instant, but really, they're at the center of a miracle. And to me, that's awe inspiring.
And maybe that's why I've been reading these blogs. Not because I like to cry my heart out for someone elses sufferings, but because I just want to be able to be that much closer to a miracle.
When the Muse decends
Do you know where I find that I have the most inspiration? In the bathroom. Nice, eh? No, it's not while I'm using the "facilities." That would just be TOO GROSS to blog about, and quite frankly, I'm not THAT comfortable blogging to you guys about stuff like that.
It could be while I"m in the shower, brushing my teeth, or even in the ten seconds between when I close the door and Little Miss starts screaming as if I've just excommunicated her for life. (Yes, she IS quite the drama queen. I can't imagine WHERE she gets it!)
Yup. I'm inspired by my bathroom. Great. And by the time I get downstairs to the computer... Yup. You guessed it... My train of thought is derailed, and all of my wonderful blogging stories just washed down the drain with the toothpaste.
Inspired by the bathroom. Great...
It could be while I"m in the shower, brushing my teeth, or even in the ten seconds between when I close the door and Little Miss starts screaming as if I've just excommunicated her for life. (Yes, she IS quite the drama queen. I can't imagine WHERE she gets it!)
Yup. I'm inspired by my bathroom. Great. And by the time I get downstairs to the computer... Yup. You guessed it... My train of thought is derailed, and all of my wonderful blogging stories just washed down the drain with the toothpaste.
Inspired by the bathroom. Great...
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