Things I'm thinking about:

~Christianity - What it means. How it defines me. What people think a Christian is. etc...

~Paint - I've been wanting to paint several rooms in the house. Okay, all of them. But as always, I'm indecisive. I just want to feel comfortable in my home. Plain old bagel colored walls just isn't doing it for me.

~Getting Healthy - I know what I need to do. I don't quite know how to do it. I've decided that I don't need to lose weight just to look better. I need to lose it so I'm healthy and live a long & happy life. I need to lose it before I ever get pregnant so that I can have a safe pregnancy. I need to get this body working!

~Crocheting - I absolutely love crocheting. I have finished one slipper, and I'm about to finish the other. Obviously they're pair. I will have to post a pic. They're not the best, but I had to try it once to know whether I wanted to do it again. They'll be perfect for around the house. ;o) I've been thinking about opening up an Etsy shop with my items in it. Not really sure if I should yet? I'm not that great at it, I'm really just learning how it all works. Oh and I finished a blanket for Claire.

~Tonight- Grocery shopping is tonight. Bleh. What do I want to eat the next couple of weeks? No, I should really be asking what should I eat and will I actually eat it?
I have to clean up around the house and get the steps leading upstairs cleaned off. We have a terrible habit of just putting whatever doesn't have a place on those steps. Then we close the door and forget it's there.

~Tomorrow - Dad is coming over to help install two light fixtures and hopefully to help put our bed frame together. Cleaning. Baby Shower. Concert (Of sorts. My future sister-in-law is a participant in an American Idol like contest but for a Christian recording label). We are going to vote for her so she can go to the next round.

~March - Can you believe it will be here Sunday?!? I'm excited and sad all at once. I thought I would accomplish so much more in January and February. Oh well. With March comes Spring! Maybe I'll get out of this funk I've been in and I'll get to work in the yard and such. Ooh, how I love Spring!

Hope ya'll have a great weekend!

Thoughts...

I realized that I'm not really a blogger. I'm not really a talker either. I don't usually get my thoughts out in person, so I don't know why I'd get them out on a blog. I'm very much an observer. I like to be able to view something and then do it. Which is why I'm kind of a copy cat and not always that original. I realized this today when thinking about my marriage. Phil and I are doing great right now (This week) when it comes to communication and such. But I realized that I have wanted to have a marriage like the marriages I observe. To an extent, I think it's healthy. I think it's great to see a couple who's been married over 30 years who seem like they're more in love today than ever before. Then you see their bickering, struggles, and such and I think it shows that they're real. I don't want them to bicker... but what married couple doesn't at one point or another? Then there are the couples who supposedly never get into arguments. I cannot stand these people, but at the same time wish I were them. I know, ridiculous. They appear so together and calm. I cannot imagine living like that, and I doubt they actually do. I guess I wish that we could kind of balance in between the two? Phil & I have been pretty open & honest since the beginning, holding absolutely nothing back. We could be considered an argumentative couple. If we don't see eye to eye on something, we sometimes get a little too vocal and people get silent and then it's awkward. Phil's the life of the party and I'm kind of just sitting there, observing. I get embarrassed by his "life of the party" behavior, tell him so and that's when it (The getting a little too vocal) begins. I'm sure people think we never get along. We do get along for the most part though. If we are fighting, it's about how I stink at communication and he stinks...literally. Okay, maybe not literally but he's so messy!

Anyway... those are my thoughts today. Thought I'd be a better blogger and get them out there. Maybe Phil will read this and think of a solution for our status as an argumentative couple.

Another thought: Pampered Chef's i-Slice is the best little product ever!

I just finished cutting my coupons out and it took me less than half the time as usual! I also used it for cutting open one of those pesky plastic packages. You know the kind of package your scissors comes in, but you need the scissors to get to your scissors? This thing it great for that.

I also tried a new recipe last night for a spinach dish. It's pretty good. I made chocolate chip banana bread and chocolate chip cookies too. I'm of course making this for other people, not just us. We don't need it! I will have to share the spinach recipe later.

Have a great afternoon! ~Toodles!

Target Bargains

Okay, So I said I'd share some of my Target Bargains. Here they are:

Decorative "Globes" or balls. I have always liked these kinds of decoration, but I don't really have a place for them. Right now they're in a cracked glass bowl I got from K-Mart for only $3 on top of our entertainment center. Works for now.

Original Price: $4.99 ea. Sale Price: $2.49 ea.

I didn't know if I should post this, because I didn't want to look like a copy cat again... (Katie @ Bower Power is using it for her clicker box.) but this is really for my husband. Phil loves boxes, trunks, little places to keep knick knacks... I was going to pass this up, but Phil really did like it.

Original Price: $29.99 Sale Price: $7.48

Okay, so ya'll know I LOVE Giraffes. They had a duvet cover & shams for just $30 in the Giraffe print, but I knew that I wouldn't like it with what I'm trying to do in the Master Bedroom. They had several sets of plates, bowls, and one set of mugs. I decided that I just needed to buy one Giraffe oriented item. If I keep up with this whole Giraffe love, I'm going to need a couple rooms to hold my collection. ;o) I better take it slow.

Original Price: $12.99 Sale Price: $3.24

These little cups are perfect for in the bathroom.

Original Price: $2.99 ea. Sale Price: $0.74 ea.

Now for my biggest Score!! I went on Tuesday to scout out my Target close to work and I didn't figure I'd find anything. But I saw these two pillows and fell in love. They're a beautiful grey-ish color and I just couldn't pass them up!! Right now I'm using them in our bedroom even though they don't match our duvet. They're so plush and silky I don't care if they don't match! Yet, anyway...

Original price: $49.99 each Sale Price: $12.48!!

I would love to hear of any bargains you all may have gotten from Target or any store for that matter...

Toodles!!

Valentine's Day & some bargains

So Valentine's weekend was pretty great! Friday after work we went mattress shopping. We have budgeted an amount, and we didn't really find anything that fit into that amount or even our comfort really. I did like the Tempur-Pedic, but wow are they expensive! So we're just going to keep looking around and pray for a good deal. We're okay for right now, but Phil always wakes up with a sore back (His side of the bed is very sunken in) and so we're wanting to get one sooner or later.
We shopped around the mall for a little bit and ran into a couple of friends. Came home, had a snack-ish dinner and watched some DVR'd shows. Gotta love that DVR!
Saturday we started off our day a little later than I'd liked. We were finally on our way to our destination when a woman in the car next to us rolled down her window and started making hand motions at us. Low and behold we had a flat tire! I couldn't even tell! So we luckily were at the exit where we could get off and get it fixed. We of course went to Wal-Mart, it was right off the exit, and it took them over 2 hours to change it!!! I was kind of disappointed. How romantic, Valentine's Day in Wal-Mart. Haha... but it was eventually fixed and we started off on our day again. We have a tradition of painting pottery on Valentine's Day so we went to a new place this year and I loved it! I will post pictures of our painted pieces tomorrow-we've lost the cord to the camera. ;o/
Anyway, if you haven't painted pottery before, please go try it! I enjoy it very much.
We went out for lunch/dinner at a new Chinese restaurant and then to a comic book store (For Phil). We went to a few other places but I got some great deals at Target. They had their Home Design Event products marked down 75%! There was barely anything left, but I found some cute stuff! I went to a Target closer to home on Tuesday and found more! I bought $150 worth of stuff for just $38!!! I am so proud of my bargains! I will post what I got and for how much hopefully tomorrow. ;o)
The rest of the weekend was pretty nice too. Sunday we had a soup & salad luncheon at church. We also had our Jr. High Valentine's party. I made cupcakes & brownies and the kids brought Valentine's and decorated mailboxes. It was a lot of fun! Monday I just relaxed at home, my sister came over, and I cleaned a bit that night. I got a few things really organized and it feels so good! Our budget is back on track (We've kind of been slipping since Christmas)! I felt out of control. I knew that we weren't over-spending or anything because we were still using the allotted amounts for each category, but we weren't withdrawing our cash for the envelopes like usual. Phil was a nervous wreck. Haha... he's kind of nerdy about the budget. Well, I am too. But I'm also a shopper/spender so I think that makes him nervous. ANYWAY....
I will have to post some pics of my bargains and our painted pottery when I find that camera cord! Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Weekend and is having a great week!
Toodles!

Purse tag

Woo hoo! I got tagged! This is a first for me. ;o) Thanks Kim! Kim from NewlyWoodwards tagged me and I'm obviously very excited. Honestly, I wasn't even sure how to do this. Haha... But I suppose I should post the rules for the tag...

Here are the rules for the tag:
1. Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. No, you cannot go up to your closet and pull out that cute little purse you used back before you had kids. I want to know what you carried today or the last time you left the house. No cheating!
2. I want to know how much it costs =). And this is not to judge. It is for entertainment purposes only. So, spill it. And, if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I'd love to hear it.
3. Tag some chicks. And link back to this post so people know what the heck you're showing everyone your bag.

This is my humongous purse. I can't carry a purse any other way! I lovingly refer to most of my purses as suitcases. Hehe... I got this from Target. I believe it was about $25? I usually don't pay too much for a purse. In fact that's the most I'd spent in a very long time. But I was looking for something like this for a very long time so it's kind of worth it!

I carry about everything possible on a usual day. I had actually just cleaned this out a couple days ago. I try to do it once a week.

As for tagging someone... anyone who reads this, please accept the tag! I'd love to see your purses! I'm very curious if anyone else carries such huge purses!

Toodles!

My Desk

I had told you all I had bought a desk and wanted to paint it...

It's for our entryway/foyer. It's not really a foyer to me since you walk in and turn left immediately into the living room but you get the point. I needed a place to pay bills from and keep all my stuff for sending off a letter. I love it! We also aren't losing our keys now because we just throw them on top of the desk (I'm going to get a cute little bowl or something) and pick 'em up as we leave!

Here it is before:

After:

It's a grayish-blue. I'm not sure if I like it yet? I'm wanting to change the colors in our living room a bit so I'm thinking of going with cool colors like this. The desk cost just $23 and the paint was $8. Personally, I think I got a decent deal!

Things I'm thinking about:

~The weather - I'm so ready for Spring. I love it when our house is open and filled with fresh air. I also love going from this dark, stuffy office to the outside where the sun is shining and the breeze is blowing.

~Painting - I cannot decide on colors for a few different things. I have wanted to paint the bathroom since I moved into this house and just can't put my finger on the color I want. We purchased a small entrance desk at Walmart last weekend for just $23!! It holds the mail tray and everything I'll ever need to send something off or pay the bills. The only thing is that it's white. I don't do white furniture. Not because I don't think it's lovely, I'm just kinda messy. It's also a stark white which clashes with our bagel colored walls.

~Food - Phillip and I are trying to fix dinner every night instead of eating out or making our usual frozen pizzas. I've tried to think of meal plans, but I'm not very good at it. I feel very limited being that Phil only eats chicken-preferably breaded & fried, and ham in lunch meat form. We're trying to work on getting more vegetables into our meals. I figured we should work on that first before going on a strict "diet" to lose weight.

~Organization - I need this like I need air... I know it takes time, I'm just impatient. Luckily we have made a goal list just for the house and we have even given each task an importance of Red-Immediate, Blue-Needs to be done but can wait, and Green-If we get it done, great. If not, oh well. I'm determined we'll accomplish it all.

~Children-I want one. A baby. So many people are pregnant! It's driving me nuts. I don't want to be pregnant because everyone else seems to be... I have wanted this for a long time, just not this badly. I know that we'll have children when God wants us too, but I sure hope it's soon. Well, I guess I hope it's soon. It is scary to think that one day I will be a parent, but I think that I will be my best during that time. Who knows?

I have been feeling a lot of emotions and chaos lately. I wish I could figure it all out. There's actually a whole lot more on my mind than these few things, but I thought I'd spare you the chaos. Anyway... back to reading magazines, eh, I mean work. ;o)

Toodles!

The Weekend...

Was somewhat eventful. Friday night we went to my parent's house and had sour-kraut & pork w/mashed potatoes. Sounds dreadful, doesn't it? It wasn't. It was divine! I love my mom's cooking. Then we watched a bit of tv and just visited each other. Btw, Phillip only had the mashed potatos.

Saturday we had to go to a memorial service for a family friend. It suprisingly was a very enjoyable time. It was more of a celebration of his life rather than a gloomy sop fest. That sounds terrible, but I think you catch my drift. He had lived out his life, he was in his 80's... It's sad that he's gone, but he had been ill for almost a decade.

Oh yeah... that morning we found a bird in our basement! A BIRD! It left something nice on our washer and I guess while flying around knocked a few things down. We couldn't get it out so we left it there. When we got back that night I tried to make it fly up the stairs and outside. I was running around the basement with a broom trying to guide this silly bird up the stairs... I'm sure it looked hilarious. Anyway, the bird never flew up the stairs. We aren't actually sure where it's at? Phil walks around bent over expecting it to come attack him when he's doing laundry. There wasn't a way for the bird to get in, the doors are never left open since it's winter and the windows in the basement are all sealed shut. We have a chimney but it's for a coal stove that was removed and the chimney is bricked up now. So... I guess we'll just have to see if it shows up or if we start to smell something (Eeeewwww!). I mean it can only last so long without food, right? I feel bad for the bird, I'm sure it was just trying to get out of the cold. Anyway... I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Nothing else to really talk about. We're just going about life as usual.

~Toodles!