Next Resolution

Okay, so I REALLY need to lose weight. I am not a huge person, but a weight loss of 20 to 30 pounds would be perfect. Like I stated earlier, I tend to lose 20 pounds every year, only to gain it back. So, I am thinking that if I post my progress on my blog, I will become accountable to someone in writing. I have no intention of posting my starting weight, but I am going to post my weekly loss as a reminder to myself of what I need to do. Of course, my biggest obstacle will be maintaining my weight loss when I reach my goal. I guess I will need to worry about that when the time comes.

I would love some tips for effective weight loss. I do exercise, but I think that I am either not working our hard enough or long enough. I will tackle that next week:)

Time to use coupons, again

For the last 2 months I have been either too lazy or too busy to clip coupons. It is a shame since the months of November and December have the best coupons. But, I found it too much of a challange for some reason. So, starting next weekend I am going to pull out my scissors and start clipping.

To be honest, I don't have as great a savings with coupons as I have read is possible. That is due to the fact that we eat a lot of organic produce, meat, dairy and not a lot of processed foods. I would like to find a resource that provides coupons for the healthier foods. I have searched the internet, found some websites that give coupons. But, it has not been enough to give me the savings I desire. Anyone have any ideas?

As always, I am looking for ideas to save even more $$$$. So, please send ideas or let me know what you do to save money>

My first novel of the year

I have read my first novel of the year. For my monthly book club we read The Shack. For those who do not know what the book is about, here is a brief synopsis. A man's daughter is kidnapped and brutally murdered. He loses faith in God, so in an effort to restore is faith, God sends him a letter. The letter asks that he meet God at the shack where the murder took place. It is there were the man learns why God lets bad things happen.

I did not like the book. I realize that I am in the minority on that. Yesterday I had really strong opinions about why I disliked the book. But, after book club and talking about the story in detail I came to one important conclusion, for myself that is. The writer is not a good writer. The story could have been fantastic had it been written by someone with talent. Everyone in my book club felt the same way I did. Two of us even thought about Danielle Steel independently when reading the book. In hindsight, it is a shame because the author really had a nice idea, just not the tools or talent to create the book that I think The Shack could have been.

Now, please no nasty remarks about my opinion. My criticism had nothing to do with the message or content, just the writing. I leave my religion out of my blog because I do not like to discuss religion or politics in uncharted territory.

Tonight I am starting the book Olive Kitteridge. A book given to me for Christmas from my children. I can't wait to start.

Date Night

So, date night happened last night! We made the kids fish sticks, fries and carrots for dinner. Set up a movie and put our son in charge. We then went to a local, cheap, Mexican restaurant for dinner. We took our time, talked, ate at a table for 2, and enjoyed some alone time. It was Nirvana. We are committed to sticking to this resolution. Best thing of all, our son didn't even ask to be paid. He just appreciates that we trust him. Yes, life is good.

Outlet Malls

Yesterday I dragged my husband to a nearby outlet mall to do his every other year shopping. He hates shopping for clothes, so he rarely does it. Often times he really does look like a hobo. He will not be offended by that remark because I often tell him that. Don't get me wrong, he dresses nicely for work, but I am the one who shops for him during the year for work clothes. But his casual, weekend wear leaves much to be desired, so we needed to buy clothes yesterday.

I am often skeptical about outlet malls. I find that often times you really do get what you pay for, crap! My daughter has come home with many shirts that are sewn wrong or have a serious defect that she did not notice, leaving the cheap clothing unwearable. But, we decided to give it a try yesterday, and found we were very happy. All the stores we shopped had an additional 50-70% off for New Years. My husband and daughter both needed jeans and shirts, we got them oodles of clothes for a fraction of what we have paid at the mall. We also decided to go to the Columbia Outlet and buy new winter coats for next year for the kids. $120.00 coats were purchased for $40.00 each. I bought the hats and gloves to go with them and hung them in the closets, not to be touched until next winter. I feel so organized right now, knowing that an expensive but necessary purchase for next year has already been taken care of.

We also went to the Corning Ware/Revere Ware store for some kitchen necessities. We like to cook, but we find we are missing some required kitchen tools. My husband enjoys baking bread, he needs big bowls for the dough. The sale was buy 2 get 1 free on many of the items. My husband also found a needed drill that was normally $235, he found it for $80.

In the end, we did spend more money than we are used to spending at one time. But, we paid cash for all of it and saved so much on things we needed. I felt very frugal yesterday.

I guess the moral to the story, I will not be an Outlet mall snob anymore. Next on my list, I am going to start checking out some of the local thrift stores. My sisters in law all swear by them, guess it is time for me to try them out.

Goodbye 2009! Hello 2010!

Happy New Year! I have to be honest, I am so happy see the year 2009 end. It was a terrible year. I have very few friends and loved ones in my life who say that 2009 was good to them. For my family, nuclear and extended, it was awful. I am not interested in dwelling on the year that was, for it is now officially in the past. We can all move on to better things, improvements in our lives and resolutions.

For me, I have come up with a list of things I would like to do to improve the lives of myself, family, friends and loved ones.

1. I am going back to Graduate School in January. I will be getting my Master's Degree in History. My goal is to either work in a museum or teach. History is my love, my passion. I can't get enough of it.

2. Rebuild and improve important relationships in my life. We are all guilty of ignoring that special friendship that we have. Kids come into our lives, responsibilities get in the way, etc. Let me just say a very good friend of mine from Chicago will be getting more phone calls from me in 2010 than she did in the entire former decade.

3. Institute and insist on date night with my husband once a week. That's right, every Friday or Saturday. We have a live in babysitter now that we do not utilize enough. Letting him watch his sisters while I run to the store is simply not enough. Look out Eric, I will become a terrible nag if this does not happen.

4. Spend more time with my family (parents and in laws). The excuse that they are so far away does not cut it anymore. If I learned anything from 2009, it is that life can change in a heartbeat. This year both my husband's family and my family had to deal with illness and loss. Time is too short to say "there is always next year." While it is something I like to believe, it is not a guarantee.

5. Start spending more one on one time with each of my kids. We do a lot of "group" stuff together, but not enough alone time. So far I have a trip to NYC planned with my son and I am going to take my older daughter to see Norah Jones with me. My youngest is pretty easy to please, a trip to McDonalds is all she needs to feel like Queen for a day.

So there is my meaningful list. I believe I have included friends, husband, children, family and myself to my list of improvements. Now on to the list I do every year that will probably be history by January 14th.

1. Lose 30 pounds. I see myself losing the same 20 I lose at the start of every year only to be derailed by Valentines Day.

2. Organize the house. Whatever! I have 3 kids and 2 dogs. Organization is making sure I remember to feed all of them every day.

3. Read one novel a week. This one is not as hard as one would think. I love to read and always start the year with a bang. Summer time is usually the time I fall off the wagon, only to get back on in the fall.

4. Exercise more. I exercise now, excluding the last 3 weeks, I exercise 4 times a week. I should try to add 1 or 2 more days to that schedule.

5. Sleep 8 hours a night. That's a joke. Not because I have kids who keep me up. Reruns of The Office are on at 10:00 pm.

6. Start saving more money for retirement. This will be the year that my husband and I look into saving beyond his 401K. Now that we have established a healthy emergency fund, it is time to look to the distant future.

Well, I guess that is all for now. Happy New Year, let us all pray (I have to stress that I am not a person who prays much) that 2010 will bring in a better year and a truly fantastic decade. I have hope for better tomorrows:)

Making Resolutions

Going to make my post short and sweet tonight. December is proving to make blogging nearly impossible. But, I plan on making a resolution starting in 2010, regular blogs! It makes me happy, keeps me connected and allows me to brag about my kids! Okay, just kidding on the last one. Since Christmas is in 2 days, I am planning on not blogging until at the earliest, next week. Have a Merry Christmas all! Stay warm and safe, it looks like a massive storm will be taking over the continental U.S.