Good Deals This Week

Hit Homeland this morning with Miss Mia to get a few good deals. I got the above for less than a quarter!
Here's how I did it:
Suave Shampoo & Conditioner: On Sale for $1 each, used $1 off 2 coupon (doubled to $2=Free for both)
Jell-O Sugar Free Gelatin: On Sale for 70 cents each, used $1 off 3 coupon (doubled to $2= 10 cents for all 3)
Kotex: On Sale for 2.50 each, used 3 $1 off coupons (doubled to $2= 1.50 for all 3)
Kraft BBQ Sauce: On Sale for $1, used $1 off coupon (doubled to $2= $1 overage)


1.60 total
-1.00 overage
-.45 cents for bringing own shopping bags

=.15 cents for the entire shopping spree!

Feeling Crafty

Now that my papers are turned in, and all I have left is grading, I've been feeling crafty. I have been anxious to try to make Miss Mia some hair clips. So I went on ebay and got a huge stash of metal clasps for $3! Now I'm using up fabric, checking out other designs I want to put on them, and going through my craft boxes for felt and other materials to add to the buttons. Miss Mia loves them. She's been putting them in her baby dolls hair. Evidently, to an 18 month old the clips are "pretty girls!" You think she's heard this before?

Happy Mother's Day

In November of 2007 Miss Mia was born as was a mother. This year marks my second Mother's Day. In ways I still can't believe she is here. Yet I can barely remember life without here. These are two of my favorite pictures of Miss Mia. The first is from our first photo shoot together. The shot was actually not staged, she just reached up for my hand and the photographer grabbed it! The second picture is during Christmas vacation and my hubby took the picture of the two of us napping.

In honor of Mother's Day, I began to think of what are the best aspects of being of Mom:
1) I can buy really cute clothes without feeling guilty b/c they aren't for me!
2) I get to sing the Hokey Pokey, read Dr. Suess, finger paint, write with side walk chalk and am found awesome and hilarious in my daughter's eyes.
3) I gaze upon one of God's most beautiful creations everyday when I look at my little girl!
4) At this stage in life, Mommy can do no wrong, unless M&Ms are denied!
5) I appreciate and adore my own mother so much more given that we now have something so amazing in common!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mother's...and a Special Happy Mother's Day to my Mom & Miss Mia's Nana!! We Love You!

Belle & Boo

I have found a new love, Belle & Boo. I first came across their illustrations whilst browsing on Etsy. The illustrators are from London and have so many beautiful pictures. I absolutely love all of their work and am planning on purchasing some of the prints/cards for Miss Mia's room.

On their blog, they have a free print to download. I am planning on printing it out later today! I love free stuff! Go here to get the free download and other free illustrations as well!

Baking!

Growing up my mother was the town's best baker. Although I grew up in a town of less than 200, that did not make her prize less earned. Whenever bake sales came around, or concession stands, people would call our house early to find out what Mom was baking. Her love of baking carried over to her daughter, who truly believes in the art of baking from scratch. Upon going to college, I was mortified and flabbergasted to realize that most mom's didn't make a 3 layer cake from scratch weekly. She is one of the reasons that I have such a fascination with 50s housewives. (Even though my mother always had a job.)

This past weekend part of my work load ended. I was the president of our history honor's society, and this weekend we had our annual banquet. Very fancy, good food, lots of awards and speeches. I got home Saturday night from the banquet, and needed to unwind. I turned, as would my mother, to baking. (Plus, I had to bake the birthday cake for our church's 4th Sunday luncheon.)

I turned to my "old reliable" cake recipe. Whenever in the past I wanted to impress others

with a good cake or needed to win brownie points with hubby, I have always made a chocolate-peanut butter cake that I learned to make at a Taste of Home Cooking School. Since entering graduate school, I have found that baking and cleaning are fabulous stress relievers. Its a fabulous disorder to have when you can't sleep and thus feel the need to fold laundry or wash dishes.

The cake turned out great, not a crumb left. (Much to dismay of hubby who really wanted another slice after church.) I did, however, cheat a tiny bit on the training/eating healthy and split a slice with hubby and Miss Mia. The cake, however, was well worth the extra workout time!!

Neglected Blog

Oh my poor neglected blog..April is always such a killer. Although I have still not found a camera, thanks to my laptop's cruel decision to die in the midst of my semester; I, being a history Ph.D student, had to invest in the computer and not the camera. So now I am saving once more for a new camera. I guess in the long run, this gives me more time to look through all the consumer reviews. I promise to return to this blog soon and post fabulous new tips, craft projects, and most importantly frugal finds as soon as this month has left me behind. (and most likely in the fetal position!)
But in case you're wondering, here is what the last two weeks have been like:
-Major wildfires in the small towns around Norman (Being in charge of all outreach for our small church, I organized 2 caravans of cars/trucks/UHauls to take everything we could get our hands on to the fire vicitms.)
-2 Major papers due. One on the British Monarchy and the other on the a prolific America West historian's bio/historiography
-1 very big Awards Banquet that must be planned, programs created, contracts signed..and a speech prepared (as I am the President)
-1 Language Proficency Exam looming over my head...studying fervently..must pass before I can take my Comprehensive Exams in the Fall
-4 church cleanings...this was our month to clean the church all month, prepare communion, and bake the birthday cake for the fourth Sunday luncheon
-10 billion loads of laundry (I think we must all be going through 7 outfits a day..or maybe the dog is wearing some around--the dirty clothes are breeding!)

But I promise to return soon..with pictures, better tips, and so much less stress!

Night on a Train

Confession: Hubby and I have never been away from our 16 month old daughter at the same time for an entire night. That was until this weekend.

I had a paper accepted to present at a history conference in Texas. It just happened to be in Lubbock this year and thus I scored free babysitters in my parents who were more than excited to keep Mia all by themselves. (And thus away from my eyes as they give her endless supply of candy!) Hubby had one more day of vacation to use before June and really wanted to go.

I get my conferences paid for due to my fellowship here at the history department, and wanted to find somewhere fun for us to stay. My hubby is such a little nerd that he actually subscribes to train enthusiast magazines, and thus I decided that we would stay in a Lubbock B&B that offers a converted caboose car as a room.

It was so much fun! They did a really great job of the renovation. We had our own shower and bathroom along with a queen bed, air conditioning, and a small living/eatery area. Along with getting to stay in the caboose, we got to see our dear friends, old professors, and of course eat yummy Mexican food!

When we got to my parents house we found most things still intact and no major sugar rushes. She really enjoyed helping her Pawpaw gather the chicken eggs! Every bird we see is now a chicken.

Now that we're back, life is back to warp speed. I am currently looking for a new sewing machine and digital camera. Any suggestions? = )