Frou Frou Gypsy in Combat Boots

Ok, this is not my idea, but it is my take on it. Here is a link to where I read about it. There are 4 in my family, 2 adults and kids age 8 and 11. Our goal is to spend only $300 during the month of January on groceries, household supplies, and basically anything that is not a tithe, bill, medical expense or gasoline.  The people i have seen do this previously, have included gasoline in their monthly "budget" but I really don't see how we can cut our spending in that department so I am not including that. We started January 1 and this is what i have spent so far: Organic Harvest: $14.00 Jar of Salsa Peanut Butter Olive Oil Local Honey Chia Seeds The cost before coupons was $27.18 but I had a $5 off of a $25 purchase and a Living social deal that cost me $10 for $20 of groceries...so when it was all said and done, it actually cost me $14.18 since I had bought the living social deal earlier in the week. I found .18 in the bottom of my purse, so I didn'...

Back at Christmas we let the kids make Gingerbread houses and they had so much fun with it that i just couldn't resist when i saw this kit at Wal-Mart. My DD, who is the one much more interested in cooking and crafts, assured me that she and our DS could share, but that they could decorate it "anyway we want." Her subtle way of saying, "you have to back off Mom and let US do it!" The day finally came and i was going to assemble the house prior to decorating, as the instructions direct. Let me just say that all those little doors and windows sure would be easier to decorate on a flat cookie rather than on the plane of a house, but whatever. As i am taking out the cookie parts, i realize that my roofs are cracked!!!! deep breath. No worries, a little "glue" will fix that. Then the peak of one of the side walls cracks, but i finally got the thing standing and all we had to do was wait a bit for it to dry...... It DOES come with this groovy little stand...

OK so laugh at me if you must...but i LOVE my COKE ZERO! some people have their morning coffee, i have my soda! That is my caffiene kick. It is so much better than diet coke, which use to be my drink of choice. I don't even want to know how they make it or what chemicals are in it! Just gimmie it! The photo is not attached to the page, it is just hole punched and in like a page, the page is transparency with vellum behind it which has the journaling on it.

Things i have LEFT to do: 1. make pecan pie 2. make cheese ball 3. make final batch of cookies 4. bake ham 5. clean kids' bathroom ...AGAIN 6. Clean off island in kitchen 7. vacuum one last time 8. wait for guests!

Dear Santa, All i want for Christmas this year is for my kids to enjoy the day and not get too wrapped up in all the presents. Help me, as well as them, to remember that we are celebrating Christ's birth even though we are the ones getting the presents. If there is room in your sleigh, i'd like a bone folder, and new blades for my paper trimmer. thanks cyndi These little goodies are what i sent to school with my kids for their classmates. I got the suckers at the Dollar Tree, 8 per package! I made the tags with SU! punches, ink and stamps. Added some glitter and ribbon! ta -dah! These are the gingerbread people i made for the playgroup kids. Here's a close up of the tags...SU! again as well as some stuff that's just been hanging around! hope you all are almost ready for the big day!

Oh the joys of Christmas Dinner! The food lovingly and perfectly prepared. All the family gathered around one big table dressed up in their best Holiday clothes. The crystal and China is sparkling and there is a smile on everyone's face. That's what Christmas Dinner looks like, right? I suppose so in a Norman Rockwell or Currier and Ives painting. Certainly not in my house! We use to have a more traditional Christmas dinner, with Turkey and dressing and all the fab sides. It was certainly never all of us at one table, none of us lives in a castle! the kids were usually at the "kids' table" and the adults if they were lucky, all sat together in an adjacent room. As the years went by and we got larger and larger....the more and more tables we needed! so now we may be in any number of rooms at any number of tables. There were years when some china was used because we needed that many plates. I think one of the best stories is that one year my Aunt who was hosting Chr...