My Christmas wants

Ok, so this blog ...this particular blog, is dedicated to me and my emotional side. Emotions like "gimme gimme" and "o.m.g that's an amazing outfit" and "where did you get those shoes!?"...you know...the typical girly, twirly stuff. So, here is my emotion...
Dear Santa:
I have been surfing the 'net, because as you know I am stuck in the middle of nowhere next to the cows, chickens and Amish, and I have found some materialistic things that have caught my girly eye. Please consider this in a small, for me.

And this in black...



And this too...
Now, my dear Mr. Klaus, I know these are a bit expensive so I wouldn't mind if you waited until AFTER Christmas to get them for me. After all, my birthday only comes two short days after Mary had Jesus in a cave in Bethlehem...I don't mind waiting. Or, I can just dream about these things. You already know that I have a few culinary items on my list as well... The culinary or the sartorial, either will do. I promise. I'm low maintenance...I promise that, too.
Thanks.

P.S
I've been a good girl and mom and I already bought really wonderful gifts for the fam...so, you don't have to worry about them this year. You know ... just helpin' out.
P.P.S All the photos are clickable :) Once again, just helpin' out.

Setting goals and breaking habits

(my trusty sneakers and yes, that is my diaper bag in the background)

Wait. It's not the New Year. It's the END of the old New Year. What's wrong with me? I'll tell you what's wrong. It's that dreaded ol' word -- habit. It's such an elephant in the room for me. But I let him stay around because it's too hard to move him. Most of the time. Well, in spite of my human nature, I'm moving that elephant. I've set a new goal. Run a 5k. Are. you. serious? Let me tell you all something. Over the course of the past year, since having our second child, I have occupied myself with various forms of exercise. Staying in shape, or in somewhat shape, is pretty high up on my list of priorities. I enrolled in a cardio class 4 months after having Roma and once that was done, I started walking thirty minutes every morning before David left for work and after that, doing exercises to a work out DVD. Jillian Michaels is. brUtAL. Love it. She helped me shed those last eight pounds in less than thirty days. Being out here, in PA, has been like standing in front of a full length mirror. You see so much more than the little mirror in your bathroom. My idiosyncrasies have come to my attention with a blaring truth and harsh reality. It's embarrassing. So in an effort to better myself, I have set numerous goals to attain while we're here. I enjoy changing up my routine because the days become stale and so predictable, it takes twice as much effort to stay awake. So, I'm setting MORE goals. My infatuation with playing the guitar hasn't faded and I'm aiming to be able to sing and strum in church soon. But that is for a whole other blog. Let's keep to the subject at hand. Running. Running a 5k with the thought of possibly training for a longer run. Be still my aging heart. I CAN do this. The first time I tried jogging a mile I almost puked. It was horrible. We live in a very hilly area and it will knock the wind right out of you. And in my case, the puke. My second and third time weren't so bad. And then I did it -- I changed it up. I moved my course to the opposite side of our block. And when I say 'block' I'm using that term VERY loosely. Our 'blocks' are contingent on how large the farmer's field is. At any rate, I switched my jog to the other side and it was like I grew jogging wings or something. I could run and run and run and it actually felt GOOD! I didn't feel like puking, or dying, or walking. I started to feel inspired instead of extremely tired. And oddly enough, in my life outside of fitness I'm starting to feel inspired because I'm exercising parts of myself that have long since been dormant. We'll see how this thing turns out. One thing for sure, I won't be the same. That would be a crime...

Every once in a while

You might see me blurb on something I'm trying to win. And this happens to be one of those times! Go check this out ... they are soo cute :)
http://intheknowmom.net/?p=2230#idc-container

Coupon Diva

I'm not QUITE a diva. But I'm getting close. The amount of money I save every time grocery shopping comes around just makes me smile. I started putting away all of the extra money that I saved into our savings account. Novel, huh? The picture up top is my coupon envelope. I love that thing and wouldn't be caught day or night without it. Since I don't have a proper coupons organizer I had to reinforce my envelope with packing tape. It's transferred from bag to bag and never far from my finger tips. I spend about two hours a week scouring coupon sites and coupons from the newspaper. I recently found that the library, here, offers coupons to those who have the patience to filter through, literally, hundreds of coupons that have been clipped and donated by the community of library goers. Granted, most of the coupons I find there are for Miralax, Centirium and dog food. A testament to the dense population of fifty and older in this area. Every once in a while I happen upon a nugget of gold like a $1.50 off Huggies. And then, I hope and pray that Huggies are on sale in the stores. Sometimes, I call the store to see if they are having a sale because not all Targets or Walmarts participate in the sales that you find online. Saves me a trip. Somehow the hunt to find coupons and match them to the sales going on in the stores has become a wonderful game of hide and seek between the hunter(me) and the hunted(those juicey sale items). I challenge myself to see if I can save more and more each time I go out. The most I've saved in one outing was $45. I couldn't believe it. The more I do this, the better I get. I've learned to look at the CVS insert and try to match my coupons to what they have listed on sale that week. I shop and find the items that gaurantee when I check out my receipt will be accompanied with a print out of coupons I can use on my next visit.

I would be remiss if I didn't share a couple of the sites that I frequent regularly. Have fun and try to save a buck or two.

http://sisterlysavings.net/

http://bargainhuntingmoms.typepad.com/

http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/offers.aspx?pid=13903&zid=xh20&nid=10