Happy Birthday Hannah!!

Today my little girl turned 11. I can't believe it. She is so grown up and getting more beautiful everyday. Here is my list of 11 things that I think are spectacular about Hannah.

1. She is an animal lover X 100! She has not touched meat since she was 6 years old. She believes that killing animals is wrong no matter what the reason.

2. She is environmentalist X 100! She has educated herself on the contribution humans have made to global warming. She stands by her beliefs and will not be swayed by anyone.

3. She genuinly likes everyone. If she doesn't, she will never say. She is kind to everyone.

4. She can keep a secret and will keep it. I have witnessed friends of hers trying to pry a secret about a friend from her, she will not budge no matter what.

5. She is loyal to her friends, once a friend always a friend.

6. She is helpful around the house. She is always the first if she can help with something. Even tonight for her birthday she asked if I needed help setting the table.

7. She has fashion sense I never had. For 11 years old, she knows how to dress well.

8. She loves her dog Stella with all her heart. The dog sleeps with her every night.

9. School is very important to her. She takes her grades and studies seriously.

10. She plays the violin, and is becoming quite good at it.

11. She is a great daughter.

Winter Blah's

We have entered the time of year that seems to bring out the blues. I hate to sound like I am complaining, but I can't take this weather anymore. It is so cold, there is so much snow and there seems to be no sun, ever! It feels like Spring will never arrive. I long to be able to open my windows, hang my sheets out to dry and to talk a walk around the block that does not require I wear so much gear to keep warm. I know my kids are getting in cabin fever and the dogs need to run around with get snow or salt stuck in their paws. My poor husband reads his gardening magazines and books religiously, planning the garden that is months away from being planted.

I wish I could say that I am one of those people who skis, skates or snowmobiles, but I am not. I really have no business living in such a cold climate. I prefer being outside in the sun and warmth. Swimming in Lake Michigan, biking or hiking. But, the fact is that I live in Wisconsin. I lived here most of my life and will probably stay here for the rest of my life. So, I guess I better learn to live with the blues for 3 months a year or engage in one of the many winter activities this climate allows.

Peapod.com

Today I had a delivery of groceries from peapod.com. Can I just say that I LOVE IT!! I know, some would say that grocery delivery is probably not that frugal. But, I would disagree with that. Let me state here that I hate grocery shopping, with a passion. To me it is the single worst chore that any housewife has to endure. So, any excuse to get out of it I am all over.

I have had deliveries from peapod in the past during times when I could not make it to the grocery store. Times when the weather is terrible, or when I have an ongoing stretch of sick kids. This time I had a delivery just to see how it would effect my weekly routine when all is well and things are normal. I think I am hooked. Now I will state the reasons why I think this service is frugal and practical.

1. Prices are competitive. They had the same kind of sales going on that the local grocery store has going on right now.

2. Discounts are given for using checking, choosing specific delivery times and using E-coupons.

3. While there is a delivery fee and fuel surcharge, I believe the benefit of not having to bag my groceries and carry them into the house outweighs the $7.50 I paid for those 2 fees.

4. It took me 15 minutes to grocery shop in the comfort of my home. The time savings alone is priceless.

5. I did not buy one thing based on impulse. I wonder how much that saved me?

6. I had next weeks meal plan in front of me and was able to type in what I needed. I was directed to the needed items without having to search the store.

7. Peapod takes coupons

8. They took the bags with them, while my groceries were being carried into my house I was unloading and giving them the bags. I was done with unloading my groceries in 10 minutes.

9. The products are high quality, the same stuff you find at the grocery store.

I am hooked. A week of grocery shopping took me 25 minutes total. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Grocery shopping does not have to suck. Yeah!

Frugal Acts - 1/1/10-1/7/10

Here is a list of the things that family has done the first week of 2010 to maintain our frugal lifestyle.

1. Had a leftover night for dinner earlier this week

2. Used the library for needed books

3. Will use a buy 1/get 1 coupon for the pizza we will buy for our weekly pizza night

4. Used cold water in all but 1 load of laundry this week

5. Tonight is family movie night, we stay at home for this and will either watch a Netflix movie or a movie that we already own.

6. Bought several necessities at an outlet mall last week at 70% off.

7. Took advantage of the bulk items currently on sale at Target for household necessities. For example I loaded up on the following: toilet paper, pasta, snacks for kids lunches and cleaning supplies.

I am happy with our start, but looking forward to next week to see what I can accomplish. First thing on next weeks list, I hope, utilized coupons.

Progress!!!

I got on the scale this morning. I have lost 2 pounds since last Friday. I know, I should have waited until tomorrow, but I needed to see some progress. This first week real dieting has not been as bad as I had thought it would be. Today I am not going to "exercise". Nine inches of snow is expected to fall, so I am going to shovel instead of getting on the elliptical. I figure I will probably burn more calories shoveling anyway.

I start school in 2 weeks. With the increase in responsibilities, I foresee issues with getting a hot meal on the table every night. So, I am planning on using the crock pot, a lot. I am looking for some taste tested, kid approved, crock pot recipes for the nights I know that cooking will be a challenge for the whole family.

The weekend is quickly approaching! Where does the time go? My husband and I are planning another date night on Saturday. Time to pull out the Entertainment Book and find a buy 1 get 1 free coupon for dinner. Last weekend we payed full price for dinner, we will not be doing that again. The Entertainment Book is full of coupons for some very nice restaurants throughout the metro area. Milwaukee really does have some very nice restaurants. People are often surprised about that fact.

Time to go outside and do the first round of shoveling. We are really getting a lot of snow today. No complaints from me. This is all part of winter.

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>