Coupon MOM!

I'm sitting here, my kitchen is still under construction, my house is a mess, my desk doesn't even deserve words to describe it, I'm behind on wash, don't want to do dishes in the bathtub (refer to complaint #1), feeling fat and miserable about myself, and I'm pretty sure I've left something out! SO I decided to BLOG! It's not going to be a long one, but I will have done something to make myself feel productive! Yes, I know I'm retarded, but it's just been one of those days, weeks, maybe even the whole month! I feel like when my kitchen gets put back together I will be a new woman! Blessed be the day! Couponing. So, since I've only been working (doing hair) only 2-3 days a week I've created a new "job" for myself. I have been trying to be as frugal and thrifty at home as I can. I saw this Coupon Mom lady on Ellen (LOVE Ellen!) and she saves money and does all that coupon stuff. So I bought her book and read a little and decided to try a few of her ideas.....OH YEAH! they work and they are easy! So then I took it to the next level and took advantage of Broulims out here in Shelley. Every Thursday for a couple months they would double any coupon you had up to $1. Oh man did I get crazy! There are a few ladies in my ward that are good at this "job" and gave me a few pointers and let me tell you what, I was getting things for free and saving over $100! It made me feel good and that I was doing something else to save money and help out! Here are a few pictures of a couple of my grocery trips...... This one I think was my best one! I THINK I only spent around $80........which is impressive, but I will tell you, you can't see my 18 boxes of granola bars I got for free because they were out and had to give me a raincheck! BWAhahahaha This one was my first attempt at the couponing thing and I think my total was around $35-$40 ( I wish I would have saved my receipts because I love looking at the bottom and seeing how much you saved, this one I had $36 in coupon savings! woot woot) My favorite trick on this one was the tampons. They had a "sale" on the big 36 pack box for like $8 (something like that) and I grabbed it because well, I needed some and my ward coupon lady said HALT! She pointed out that the 18pk box was also on sale for 3.99 and there was $1 off coupon for it............so Broulims will double it so my 18pk box is 1.99 if I buy two = 36 I'm spending $4! Nice try 36pk! I'm sure this isn't a revelation for some, but for me, I would have never looked at something like that!

Anyway, it's addicting and I'm saving extra money! Broulims stopped doubling coupons because I think they were tired of getting coupon raped! Well, I've done something productive! Time for bed! haha

Photoshoot!

Today we ventured down to Poky to get Cades 18 month pictures done! A few weeks late I know but Cade had a few falls and we had to let his face clear of shiners and scrapes. Anyway, we got some REALLY good photos and just wanted to give a preview of what's to come! P.S no we haven't let Cade watch Zoolander....it's all natural!

Just Because

For those who know me pretty well they know that I usually have about 500 "projects". I ALWAYS have really good intentions and really good ideas, but there's just not enough time and enough ME to go around I guess. So, I've made a PROJECT LIST this year and everytime I think of something I'd like to do or try, I add it to the BOTTOM of the list and will get to it as I finish the previous projects. I think it should work............we shall see. I've been editing photos of Cade's "first year" and I'm going to make him a yearbook and as I did this picture I had to share it! It was too tender and I just LOVE my BOYS!

Cruise.....Part 2

This first picture is in St. Thomas at Megans Bay. The weather was SO great the whole trip. I don't mean to rub it in, but 80's + humidity made for good tanning! Looking at these pictures as I edit/post I'm SO glad we took the time to go on this trip. When Cade was born Bry asked me: "Are you going to forget about me now?" Heavens NO! My marriage to my Lover is still my #1 priority and this trip helped with that! We were able to focus on each other and talk about things and just do nothing really! It was GREAT!

This was a good photo opp. Cute, old boats on the shore. Yep!

Look how cute our toes look in the sand! Oh, I'm getting a little sand homesick!

Bry was really good at finding the shady spots. Both of us got burnt like the 2nd day in, so towards the end we weren't to proud to find a little shade and still enjoy ourselves!

I tried to get some cool pictures, some turned out and some didn't. I was really frustrated because I had all these ideas in my head I just couldn't figure out how to make them work/happen with the camera. I still feel like I at least got a few good ones.

LOVERS!

And just for fun........

Cruise, Part 1

In February my lover and I went with our friends Luke and Melanie Furniss on an amazing cruise to the Southern Caribbean! Oh my heavens, it was a well-needed break and a perfect little getaway! I've been trying to edit MOST of my pictures because a lot of them didn't turn out because I was trying to be a pro, and tried a new setting on my camera! Who does that, wait...it's me! Anyway, I was going to put them in order according to our trip, but they are now going to be in order of when they get edited! Enjoy!

This is in Barbados, we swam with sea turtles out in open ocean and then strolled along the beach and stayed in the shade :)
This is where we got to watch the Superbowl. And the guys were in heaven because there were so much food and people to clean up after us, it was a perfect environment for a great game!

This is also in Barbados, sooooooooooo pretty!

This was a cool looking plant in a Botanical Garden on the island of St. Lucia. I love how this picture turned out!

Our cruisin pals! (they workout)

Oh, this place was BEAUTIFUL! This is in St. Thomas and it's called Megan's Bay. It's voted one of the top 10 beaches in the world by National Geographic. And I think we all would agree! It was just a nice place to hang out at the beach and not have a care in the world!

This was in St. Lucia. I can't remember the name of the bay, but they said that a lot of movie filming takes place here. It was pretty.

Here's my little fish! Bry LOVES to snorkel. He has his own snorkel set and he and Luke are like little kids. They get all geared up and off they go, then they bring back souvenirs they found in the ocean to me and Mel, and tell us all about their adventures. :)

Here they are getting ready to go-

Megan's Bay, St. Thomas.

Oh dear sand, how we miss you!

SLACKER!

Oh man I'm sooooooooo behind with blogging its ridiculous! I have a lot to catch up on, Cade, Vacation and our KITCHEN! We have been remodeling our kitchen since after Christmas and there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel here! I can't wait to post before and after pics, for now here's a little taste of sunshine and relaxation to get us all by.

When we're helping.....

I don't think too many people are worried about where I have been, so I guess just for myself I have got a lot of catching up to do. Lots of cute stories about Cade and we just got back from a 7 night cruise to the Caribbean! Oh yes my friends I have a lovely tan line and peeling skin to prove it! But for now, a few pics of our big helper. Bry had to leave town for work so that means me and Caders are in charge of all the animals. So we bundled up and out we went to feed the horses, goat and dog. Cade loves the animals so the cold didn't bother him too much. He also likes to sing the song, "when we're helping we're happy" It's really cute, he fills in the blanks. I will sing "when we're helping we're......" Cade: "happy" Mom: "and we sing as we......" Cade: " g0" Well, you get the picture. He is almost 18 months now and I seriously can't believe it! But it is SO much fun and we have loved every second!