2nd Favorite Thing

I know that I've extolled my love of vacuuming. Today, though, you get to hear about my 2nd favorite thing. It is actually a store - the Container Store. In Dallas, I lived fairly near one and could wander it at will. Well, there is not one close to me in Houston. I went up to church this morning to get some work done and discovered that I needed a storage unit for some stuff, so I located one and made the trek out there.

It was MAGNIFICENT. I forgot how much I loved just walking up and down the aisles imagining all the organizational possibilities. I was completely in heaven.

As if this day couldn't get any better, I passed a McAlisters. So, I had to stop and purchase a glass of the best sweet tea in the world.

Then...I had a promotional coupon for a free Fruitista at Taco Bell with the purchase of an items. So, for lunch I had a nachos and Fruitista from Taco Bell for a grand total of $0.86. Now, I will have to be honest, after trying the Fruitista, I am not a huge fan of it. It was a little too 7-upey for me, but I love the $0.86.

Then between the church building, the Container Store, and my house, I passed by 5 Hobby Lobby's and 3 Michael's. Guess what, I stopped at them all, and I didn't even have to go out of my way. Hwy 1960 rocks!!!!

What a fantastic Memorial Day! At this rate, I can't wait until Bastille Day.

Joey Lawrence

I know, I know...two posts in one afternoon is a lot for me, but I just heard this news, and I had to share it with all of you.

(Are you sitting down?)

(No, really, sit down.)

Joey Lawrence is hosting a new television show. Yes, you read correctly. He is going to host a show on TLC called Master of Dance. Does anyone else think he has ridden his Blossom fame way farther than warranted?

Transformation #458

Okay, so I realize that my blog has undergone quite a few transformations over the last week. I have just been trying to come up with something that is not so general blogspot user. I had settled on something that was better, but still not quite worthy of jazz hands. However, one of my friends told me about Leelou Blogs. She has custom blog designs and FREE blog designs. Here is a link to her site. I am very pleased with the one that I chose, and now with so many options from her site, I can continue this pattern of redesigning my blog 6 times a day--especially since I have absolutely nothing else to do.

Speaking of nothing else to do...I heard that phrase again this morning at church. And yes, it was directed at me. This lady came up to me and asked if I could do XYZ since I have nothing else to do. Oh. My. Goodness. I did a quick scan of her body language and tone of voice, and she definitely was not being facetious. Fortunately, I have been working hard a politely saying no and offering an alternative suggestion that does not have me taking on another project. We'll see if my suggestion worked. However, if I am hard to find tonight at church, I am the one hiding in the Richard Nixon mask.

Help, Please

First off, I would like to point out that I said please. Now for my favor. I know many of you know of my lack of cooking abilities. However, with prices going higher and higher, I am trying to eat out less and cook more. Problem is that I need things that are easy (and fairly inexpensive) to make. Plus, I don't really care much for meat (there was a chicken incident when I was in grade school). So, if it could be something based with beans, I would be eternally grateful. Any suggestions? Help, please.

In non-related news, I got a new filter for my vacuum cleaner, so I was very excited to vacuum my whole apartment. It was extra exciting! I love watching my vacuum cleaner work!

Major Discoveries

I made two major discoveries this weekend that totally rocked my world, and I know you will be just as excited about them.

The first is Netflix. I heart Netflix. I don't have to go to the video store. I don't have to think about what I want to see. It is absolutely fantastic! In the past month, I have already seen a plethora of movies that I have been dying to see.

That leads me to my second major discovery. Netflix has all of the first 3-seasons of my favorite show available online. So, I got to chill out this weekend and watch...(drumroll please)...The Office...until my heart was content. What a better way to spend a veg day than with my good friends Michael, Dwight, Jim, and Pam. It was great, and totally worth the $8.99 a month that I pay for Netflix.


I just don't know what I am going to do to top this past weekend. Maybe the Duggars will announce they are having twins.

About 14 Things

Okay, so I just have a smattering of different thoughts for today's blog post. So, I thought I would hit you with all of them.

1. I need to update the look of my blog, but I am not sure how. Does anyone know a good cheap (or free templates)? I'm tired of the ones that blogger has to offer.

2. I am enamored with Craigslist. I have been selling all of the junk (and there is plenty) in my house. It is making my space much neater, and I can post on Craigslist for free.

3. The two youth ministers and one of the children's minister at Saturn Road danced for the Ladies Bible Class, and if they will ever post the video on YouTube, I will link it for you. It is hysterically funny. I hit my head when I fell out of my chair laughing.

4. It is a little cool here today. I'm not really sure what to wear because of that. So, I think I will just have to stay home all day and wear my pajamas.

5. I got my mother a Ped-Egg for Mother's Day (because nothing says love like an object that has "as seen on TV" written on it). Now, I think I need to get one.

6. It's the battle of the Davids on American Idol. Which one is going to win?

7. Is anyone else as bummed out about Pam & Jim as I am?

8. On that same note, I desperately want an anti-gravity device at my next party.

9. I'm very excited that Prince Caspian is out. I think I will go see that today.

10. I have discovered Netflix. That is the best invention ever!

11. I actually thought to myself the other day that I have too many shoes. That is a little blasphemous, and a thought I never expected to have.

12. I am going to break down and go buy a cordless phone for my house today.

13., 14. Okay, I can't think of anything else, and I need to get some work done. Ciao.

Hobby Lobby, Hobby Lobby, Michael's

Okay, so for the past two weeks, I have gone to 2 Hobby Lobbys and 1 Michael's everyday. The reason for this is that they have those 40% off and 50% off coupons, and I need lots and lots of Model Magic for VBS this summer.

I didn't think it would be too bad at first making those stops each day, but it is wearing me down. So, yesterday, I tried to bargain with Michael's (which is right beside the church building). I asked them if they would let me use both the Hobby Lobby and the Michael's coupons at their store (kind of like Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Linens and Things) and if they would let me use more than one coupon at a time (again like BBB and L&T), then I would be completely loyal to their store and just get everything there.

They didn't go for that.

They didn't go for that at all.

So, guess what...

Today, on my way home from work, I will be stopping at 2 different Hobby Lobby's and 1 Michael's.

Isn't life exciting?

True Lemon, True Lime, True Orange

If you have not tried the True Lemon trio, you absolutely have to. This has become my new favorite way to drink water. I have been purposely trying to drink more water because the price of sodas is just really getting to me, and this has made it so much easier.

Plus, and I am a little embarrased to admit this, a True Lime poured into a Diet Coke is actually better tasting than the Diet Coke's with Lime (although I am trying to stick to my not-drinking-sodas plan).

If you want to try it, but not shell out the money, click here and you can get a free sample of the three different flavors. You will be glad you did.

Best News of the Day

........The Duggar's are having their 18th child.

I am very fascinated by them and want to be just like them, minus the bad hair and long skirts.

Here is the baby report.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24537885&GT1=43001

It's a Disease

Okay, yes, I have a little bit of an addiction to coupons. I love to clip out coupons. I love to use coupons, and I love to send coupons to other people. Now I do not actually buy things that I don't need, but I do enjoy spending time in the store figuring out all of the different possibilities.

Plus, I have to add thrifty blogs to my list of addictions. There is a whole series of blogs that I flip through each day of people way smarter than me. These ladies figure out all the best deals, and they give heads up on freebies and special sales.

With that being said, I thought I would share today's shopping excursion with you. It wasn't one of my better ones, but there were a number of items that I really needed, and so I had to purchase them.

Items Purchased at Krogers
- 3 Dawn Dishwashing Soap
- 4 Electrasol Dishwasher Detergent
- 1 Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss
- 1 Cover Girl Lipslicks
- 1 Revlon Fingernail Clippers
- 5 Michelina's Lean Gourmet
- 1 Skinny Cow Ice Cream Pops
- 3 Bounty Basic Paper Towel Rolls
- 1 Scott Toilet Tissue
- 2 Breakstone Cottage Cheese 4-packs
- 1 Fiber One Yogurt 6-pack
- 2 Sunsilk Captivating Curls De-Frizz Creme
- 1 Promised Land 1/2 Gallon Milk

All of this was purchased for...(drum roll, please)...$28.19. (It retailed for $57.09.)

In case you are interested in catching the thrifty blog disease, here are a list of my favorites.

• Be Thrifty Like Us
• BeCentsable
• Centsible Shopper
• Common Sense with Money
• Free 2 Be Frugal
• Freebies 4 Mom
• Going Green
• Money Saving Mom
• Money Saving Methods
• Stretching a Buck
• Totally Free Samples
• Walmart Free Samples

The Goliath Expedition & Such

If you haven't head of the Goliath Expedition, you need to go to check it out. There is this man who is walking from the Southern most tip of South America back to England...the LONG WAY. Which, for those that might not be super geographically knowledgeable, means that he had to walk to the very top of North America towards the west to be able to cross at the Bering Strait because there is no connector from the east side of North America to Europe. So, instead of going South America, Central America, North America, Europe. He had to go across Asia. Think about trekking all the way across Siberia. I've lived there, and unless your in one of the 4 or 5 major cities, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING except lots of open spaces.

It's a very cool project to read about.

Messy Messy

Okay...so I have a really bad habit. When things get too messy, I get completely fed up, and I just start throwing things away to clear out the mess. I do this A LOT with my refrigerator. I have been known to throw away corning ware dishes -gasp- when I have too many uneaten leftovers in my refrigerator. I definitely inherited this extreme desire to throw things away from my mother.

Anyway, this leads me to my point. My office is currently a disaster area. Seriously, someone needs to rope it off and get FIMA in here to help. The problem is, though, that I am seriously fighting the urge to just start throwing things away because I am fairly certain that there is not much that is extraneous in my office at the moment. It is all stuff having to do with work. At least I think it is.

Here is a list of the things currently in my office...

• 6 chairs
• 2 televisions
• 3 puppets
• 4 fish costumes
• large whale tarp
• disco light
• 2 fake flames
• 400 seed packets (for our Mother's Day presentation)
• adult size parrot costume
• 4 pirate shirts
• large orange extension cord
• 2 lamps
• 27 maps
• pirate hook
• 2 pirate hats
• plus all of the normal stuff

Here's the kicker...my office is about to be renovated and is going to look even worse unless I do some serious cleaning.

Here are some pictures taken from my phone (because I can't find my camera in all of this mess).

As an aside, please notice my cute Damask chairs in the second picture. Those are going to be part of my new office look.

Oh. My. Goodness.

In the immortal words of my friend Roxanne...Oh. My. Goodness.

So, I was in Hancock's fabric this afternoon looking for fabric for costumes. I had been there for a couple of hours picking up all the different bolts I needed, and I go to the desk to have the ladies cut the yardage.

As the lady is cutting my fabric, this person walks up and plops a large upholstry roll of fabric down right next to me. I don't really pay any attention because I am trying to do some figuring on my paper. Then he and the lady cutting my fabric start visiting. His voice sounded really familiar. So, I look up, and guess who it is?

Frank Bielec from Trading Spaces.


That's right, Trading Spaces, one of my favorite shows.

So, then he said to me that he heard me talking to the lady about a jellyfish costume, and he starts asking me questions about it. He asked me how I was making the costume, and why I was making it, and about all of the other costumes that I must be making from the pile of fabric sitting in front of me. So basically, I am filling Frank Bielec from Trading Spaces in on Vacation Bible School, the story of Jonah, and the difficulty of finding a pattern for an adult oyster costume.

Like I said...Oh. My. Goodness.