Note to Self...

A paste of baking soda and water will NOT clean out the smoky stains out of your microwave! Hubby brought home a cream type cleanser (that firefighters use to clean their helmets) and it ALMOST got it all cleaned out. Sigh.

Spring is here...

After our unseasonably cold snap over the last couple of days, it was reasonably warm today. We had lots of sunshine and breezes. It was nice.

But, as happens every year, spring time comes and this chick's thoughts turn to quilting!!! Yes, I know, it's not what you expected.

Hubby wants a blue bedroom. Personally, I love and adore the deep reds and light sages that I have in there currently. But, I will do it for him. I have already changed out the curtains and they have a decidedly farm house feel which I really like. But, now we need some fantastic bed covering.

Enter the quilt. I have selected the free pattern, "Wickedly Easy Quilts" from the www.byannie.com website. Love that it's free. Love the name! Love the quilt. I will do a pale blue, yellow, and white version. You've just gotta love it.

So now I have to dig out from my horrid affectation for clutter around here! I can't even begin to quilt until I have cleared out the place a bit--especially to create a place that I can quilt in.

I just love working with textiles and putting them together in different ways. My very favorite quilts are scrappy looking numbers that use up lots of leftover materials. I have made a few of those myself and I so enjoy the "accidental" beauty that comes from all sorts of randomness.

I did dig though my stash, but could find very few pieces of fabric that would work with the color scheme I chose. So, I will have to find a great sale on fat quarters to fill in the gaps. I have an old sheet that may make a wonderful (and pretty) backing for it. I am so excited just thinking about it. I am going to make this as frugal as possible, of course, but I am sure that I will have to spend some money.

Another Day, Another Drama

Good grief. Just when I thought I was free from drama because I was out on spring break, I discovered just how much drama I could (inadvertently) create in a day.

To begin, I overslept. Big time. Everything I touched became infinitely more difficult just because I touched it. You know, just a crazy day.

Then, I really did it. I put a potato in the microwave for DS12's lunch. I don't know if I hit the wrong button or what, but when the potato burst into flames, I figured it was not going well.

Then the plate exploded and the room filled with smoke. Correction, the entire house filled with smoke. The alarm went off, of course.

Thankfully, DS11, the asthmatic wonder was visiting the grandparents and wasn't here for the oxygen-depriving effects. It was just me and DS12 (the Aspie). He couldn't follow directions on how to help me because he was far too busy arguing with me about every aspect of how to handle the situation (like he would even know). Sigh.

Anyway, we aired out the house (and nearly froze in the process). I am in the process of getting the smoke stains cleared out of the microwave.

After all of this excitement, I went and took a nice, long nap because I figured that it just wasn't safe to try and do anything at all. God forbid that something worse could have happened.

First Official Coupon Run

This morning, after checking with Coupon Mom to help me to see what great sales were in my area and the potential for additional coupon sales, I went on my first real coupon outing.

I stopped by my local Ingles store to pick up two items on sale (Ingle's isn't on Coupon Mom, so I checked the online flyer myself) and then went to Rite-Aid, CVS, and Walgreens. I had varying success at each stop. Some stores didn't even have a shelf location for some advertised sale items.

I scored big time at Rite Aid because they had their generic Zyrtec on sale and I was able to get a 4 month supply for my family for the same price as a 2 month supply.

At each store, I found at least one planned sale purchase was more expensive than a generic, even with an additional coupon, so the generic won out. But, overall it was a successful trip.

It was definitely a good thing to spend a little bit of time on the computer so I knew exactly what was a good deal at each stop. I am sure I will do it again next week.

Pretty in Pink

Today I did something a little out of the ordinary for me. I met a friend who is having a rough week at a salon for a pedicure. We got matching pink pedicures for Easter. It was really fun.

Now, I am perfectly capable of painting my toenails at home. But, it was kind of nice to be pampered a bit. The massage chair that you sit in while being pampered didn't hurt a bit, either! Ahhh!

Coupons

Okay, I have never been one to get totally giddy and into the couponing thing. But, a friend directed me to a website that taught me a different way to look at it. The website is Coupon-Mom and it is fantastic with loads of articles and helpful information.

I still think I will do best with buying generic items and ingredients rather than convenience items, but if I can combine a coupon with an item that is on sale, then I can really see some potential savings. So that is the plan. This website even shows me what is on sale at my local stores and what coupons are circulating that can be used with them. And using the site is absolutely free, and that is a price that I can afford.

The economy is so tight right now and everybody is feeling the pinch. I am hoping to build up some savings to help get through the summer with no income (on my part). I hate that when I finally have time to spend with my kids, I end up fretting about lack of funds. I want to be frugal, but relaxed this year. I want to enjoy the time with my kids and not be worried.

Well, gotta run and put towels on the towel rack to dry!

Spring Break!

Woo Hoo! I am so excited that it is finally Spring Break. We have had a couple of really rainy, yucky weeks, so maybe a few sunny days and sunshine will help us to enjoy the break from the normal daily duties around here!

DS12 is off to spend the night with the grandparents (his home away from home), hubby is on a business trip (actually, he is stuck in the Atlanta airport waiting for a flight to be able to take him to his business trip to Kansas), so that leaves me and DS11 to watch some movies and chill a bit.

He is watching Kung Fu Panda right now, taking his asthma medicine by nebulizer, and writing the beginning of a new "book." He multi-tasks like a pro already!

As for school, I have been pretty impressed with some of the work that one of my classes did this week. Each year, after we read Thornton Wilder's play, Our Town, we add pages to a scrapbook for our Headmaster called Our School. In it, the kids have to decide what it is that isn't appreciated enough about FCA. Sometimes they really blow me away with their insights and the things that they think are important. Often, I don't realize what really affects these kids. It's a great eye-opener for them and for me. It might even be one for the Headmaster, who knows?

We picked up a couple of new students this week that seem to be genuinely nice kids. It's wonderful that we can still grow a little bit, even in this troubled economy. God is blessing us more and more.