The Quest Continues...

I'm still on my never-ending quest to not spend money. I'm usually pretty good at this (mostly because I loathe buying clothes), but my downfall is food (specifically grocery shopping and eating out). I've taken a few measures, but so far I'm getting mixed results. Such as...

I'm now having milk delivered to my house to keep me out of stores (I'm notorious for going in for just a gallon of milk and coming out with 20 pairs of socks, three books, and a porch swing -- hence, why I am no longer allowed in Costco).

I must admit that me and the kids did go to Burger King last night, but that's only because we found three coupons for free fries and three coupons for free burgers while cleaning up the house. Free dinner for the kids -- yay! But then I bought dinner for myself -- boo! (Nigel was gone, so he had to scrounge whatever he could find for dinner at home -- here, lick this postage stamp and see what's between the couch cushions!)

Tonight I'm going to a special class on grocery shopping. I'm curious as to what their system is. I've tried coupons and all of that before, but I ended up buying a bunch of stuff I normally wouldn't have and spending a lot of time running from store to store. Hopefully I'll get some good tips!

What are your favorite ways to save (or not spend) money?

I think it's time for some hearing aids...

A conversation at our house last night (obviously we all need to get our hearing checked).

MICHAEL SCOTT (From TV's "The Office"): Oh, you must pass the dungeon wisdom test.

JEFFREY: Mushroom seeds? Everyone knows that mushrooms don't have seeds.

FRANCES: What about Muslims?

Shameless Plug

Be sure to go see this genius little movie with some great music (done by my neighbor) called White On Rice!

Right now it's playing in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Orange County (check local listings).

The film opens in Utah this Friday and will play 5 times a day at the following locations:

Century 16, Salt Lake City
12:10 2:25 4:45 7:15 9:30

Cinemark 16, Provo Towne Centre
11:55am 2:10 4:20 6:45 9:00

Co-stars Hiroshi Watanabe (Letters From Iwo Jima), Justin Kwong , and directer Dave Boyle will be attending Provo screenings at 6:45 and 9:00 on Friday, and 11:55 and 2:10 on Saturday.

They will attend Salt Lake screenings at 7:15 and 9:30 on Saturday night.

Check it out!

Oops, I Did It Again!

When I was a little girl, I loved writing letters and making my own cards, stationery, postcards, etc. One day I made a postcard with a short note on it for my grandparents. Later that day my mother told me that she had a stamp ready for my postcard. I just looked at her strangely and said, "But I already have a stamp for it." My mother asked me where I got it from. "I drew it on myself, " I answered. She asked where the postcard was and I said that I had already mailed it in the mailbox down the street.

This threw her in a tizzy and she hurried down the street to the mailbox. She noted when the mail pick-up time was and returned to the mailbox and waited and waited and waited for the mailman to pick up the mail, with stamp in hand.

The mailman never came.

She waited the next day, he never came.

Finally she gave up. Oh well, it's just one little postcard lost in the mail.

A few days later my mother was surprised to get a phone call from her mother-in-law saying that they had received the cutest little postcard in the mail from me -- complete with hand-drawn stamp.

Well, last week I was again making my own postcards and mailing them out to friends and family. I made sure to use real stamps this time, but then found out -- too late -- that my postcards were much too large for postcard stamps, they needed full first class stamps.

Oh well, more postcards lost in the mail.

How surprised was I when I got a call from my family thanking me for the cute postcards.

Thank you, United States Postal Service.

First Impressions

Have you ever seen an actor or actress in a certain type of role and then no matter how hard you try (or how hard THEY try), you can't picture them any other way?

I'm not a fan of mafia/mobster movies (maybe it's because I don't like Italian food), so the first movie I saw Ray Liotta in was "Corrina, Corrina." So when I'm flipping through the TV channels and happen upon "Goodfellas," I can't stop picturing him playing the Jell-O jingle on the piano with Whoopi Goldberg. Not very threatening, I know.
The first time I ever saw Hugh Jackman, he was playing Curly in the musical "Oklahoma." Now I can't watch any of the "X-Men" movies without expecting him to break out singing "Surry with the Fringe on Top" in the middle of a big battle scene.
Don't even get me started on Shirley Jones. After years of watching her as Mrs. Partridge, I still can't bear to see her play a prostitute in "Elmer Gantry," even if she did win an Oscar for the role. I'm sorry, I can't. It's just not right.

Is it just me?

"Be Kind Rewind"

This little gem of a movie I discovered at our local library. I didn't know what to expect about a movie I'd never heard of starring Jack Black, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow and Mos Def (a rapper), but it is so cute! I don't want to say too much because it's fun to just see where the movie unexpectedly takes you, but I do recommend it.

Disclaimers: Please keep in mind that it is PG-13 (some swearing and inappropriate dialog, so maybe not for the kids -- especially since they will be bored by the subject matter) and the director is French (so don't expect your typical "everything tied up neatly in a bow" American movie ending).

Yard Sale Blues

Labor Day weekend my family decided to have a yard sale. Though I usually try to save money by NOT spending it, rather than trying to make more of it, I decided to still give it a go.

I started by cleaning out the house (including all the closets) to see what we could sell. Though I kept adding things to my "sell" box, my pile of yard sale goods kept getting smaller and smaller. Then I discovered that my kids were returning everything BACK to the closets as soon as my back was turned.

We finally had a few items that we ALL agreed to sell. Yippee!

Of course, it was raining the morning of our yard sale. I outfitted my children in matching aprons so they could work hard to earn some money! Then I realized that I had forgotten to feed them before heading out (the yard sale was at someone else's house, since we don't have a yard). So a quick trip to McDonald's for breakfast solved that (did you realize that they sell Breakfast Happy Meals? Who knew?).

FIVE HOURS LATER the yard sale was done -- and so were we. We made a whopping $12.00. Minus the $16.00 I spent on the McDonald's breakfast and the 50 cents my kids spent buying other people's stuff at the yard sale, we actually were in the hole $4.50!!! I could've save money by NOT cleaning my house and sleeping in!

I think I'll stick to saving money by NOT spending it. I don't do so well with the earning it part.

Family Reunion Memories

As I'm reading everyone's blogs, "family reunions" seems to be a big theme for the summer.

One year my family had a camping family reunion. As I was getting out of the communal shower, my sister, Rena, jumped out and took my picture. Luckily, I was able to cover most of my "naughty bits" with a small (very small) towel.

I thought the funny little episode was over. But no. Several weeks later, I get a package in the mail from Rena. She had taken the photo and had a PUZZLE made of it!!!

I must admit that it's my kids' favorite jigsaw. They really love leaving out the pieces with the towel on them so that it looks like I'm naked. This is especially fun for them to display it on the coffee table when they know company (preferably someone from church) is coming over.

I must admit that I don't remember much from that family reunion, but I do remember that! Thanks, Rena, for being such a fun sister.

Guilty Pleasures

What are your guilty pleasures? Not really things that make you feel guilty, but rather things you enjoy that are slightly embarrassing and you find yourself hiding or making sheepish excuses for if someone walks into the room and catches you. Here are some of mine:

Guilty Listening Pleasure -- Tom Jones.
I admit it. I LOVE Tom Jones. How can you not love a Welshman who meows in his songs? Throw those panties, ladies!

Guilty Cinema Pleasure -- Cheesy Mormon movies.
I have to sneak these into the house to avoid Nigel's inevitable eye-rolling and sighing. "The Singles Ward," "The Home Teachers," "Church Ball," etc. I know they're stupid, but I like watching them.

Guilty Eating Pleasure -- Ding Dongs.
They're especially good frozen. The ritual is actually more important than the eating. First, smooth out the foil into one large square (careful, don't rip it!). Then pick all the chocolate frosting off. Then eat all the chocolate cake (this is actually the worst part). Last of all, savor the Crisco-y goodness of the creamy filling. Mmmm.

Guilty Active Pleasure -- Roller Disco.
Not roller blades, not roller derby, but roller skates with the big orange wheels and neon green laces. You know, the kind that you wear with leg warmers. Crank up that Donna Summer and just boogie, oogie, oogie until you just can't boogie no more!*

Guilty TV Pleasure -- "iCarly."
I must admit that I usually watch this with my kids, but there have been a few times when Nigel has caught me watching this alone. His usual question is, "Why are you watching this? The kids are outside playing." I just mumble something about it being on and I can't find the remote. He then will notice the TV remote in my hand and proceed with more eye-rolling. I'm sorry, but the writing is really clever and I have a tiny bit of a crush on Spencer.**

Guilty Reading Pleasure -- Gossip magazines.
I actually look forward to going to the doctor/dentist so I can sit and read People, Us Weekly, Life & Style, etc. Most of the time I have no idea as to who they're talking about, but it's still fun. I'm always early for appointments just so I can have more time to read.

There. Embarrassing, yes. Fun, oh yes! What are your guilty pleasures?


*Yes, I know "Boogie Oogie Oogie" is by A Taste of Honey, not Donna Summer.
**Spencer is the adult on the show -- I do NOT have a crush on a little kid.

Another Shopping Score!

I got tired of getting bonked on the head by wayward bags of chocolate chips every time I opened my pantry door, so I decided to buy one of those hang on the door shoe holders to store them all in.*

I headed to Kohl's in their "decorate your dorm room" section. There they had the door shoe holder thingy for $21.99. YIKES!

Luckily, it was half off, so it was only $10.99

Even more lucky, I had a Kohl's gift card (free in the mail) worth $10.00 on any purchase.

So with tax, I ended up only paying $1.06.

From $21.99 to $1.06!!! Whoo-hoo!

*By the way, my pantry looks much more organized now (it works perfectly for storing bags of chocolate chips, envelopes of gravy mix, seasoning envelopes, bags of Lehi Roller Mill mixes, etc.).