Art...

...without spending a fortune. Below is our newest piece of 'artwork'. Our frugal artwork. I love how her jacket matches the chair.
Poster- $5 in the clearance section at Michael's. Frame $29 @ Michael's with one of their coupons. (you have to love those coupons!)

So for $34 (plus tax) we have a very neat picture hanging in our family room.

And I only had to put the poster into the frame! A time saver as well as a money saver.

Check out Wendy's Frugal Friday for more fun, frugal ideas.

Bloom...

Wendy posted yesterday about her pretty flowers. I decided I should get some, too. So for $4 I got these red carnations at the grocery store.

I picked red so I would be in the spirit for Memorial Day weekend which is coming up all too soon.

Money well spent...

Why I shouldn't clean...

I really am trying to be more diligent about cleaning.

Maybe I should just get a cleaning lady.

I broke the lamp in our living room the other day while vacuuming/moving around furniture. Luckily it was not brand new, nor my favorite.

So on this week's to do list (along with 90 other things) is:

BUY LAMP.

Good reads...

I just finished reading 'Falling apart in one piece' by Stacy Morrison. She used to be the Editor in Chief @ Redbook. It chronicles her divorce. Now, I usually don't like books about divorce but I read Redbook and am always interested in people's 'stories'. It is a good book that almost reads like a novel. Plus, she works in New York City and lives in Brooklyn, which I always find fascinating.

I am now on to 'True Colors' by Kristin Hannah. I am only a few chapters in but I think it's going to be good. I enjoyed 'Firefly Lane' which she also wrote. I'll let you know when I am finished if it's worth a read.

Any other summer reading ideas???

Remember when...

'they' (who ever they is) said we were going to a paperless society?

Am I the only one who hasn't gone paperless?

Tell me I'm not.

Seems like I have more now than ever...

Last Day...

Tomorrow is LM's last day of 2nd grade. It's a little bittersweet as she has a great class and teacher & will miss them. But it's summer vacation which is always fun.

We don't have a ton planned yet. She doesn't want to do some of the things she has done in the past, like vacation bible school. I am okay with that as she needs some unscheduled time & I don't want to force her to do anything that is not absolutely necessary (especially church related activities). We have a few short (within driving distance) trips planned but otherwise we'll just stay in town and hopefully relax. That's what summer's all about in my book.

I can't believe she'll be in third grade next year. I had a big go 'round with the principal regarding her teacher for next year. I may have mentioned it when it happened so I'll spare everyone the details. I still don't know who she'll have or even if they are considering our request. Time will tell, I guess. I guess in the big scheme of things it doesn't really matter who she has for third grade. She will do well no matter where she goes, I am sure.

And did I mention the kids get out at 11:45 on the last day? I kind of wonder why since it's such a short day. But with everything, I figure there is a reason. Plus, it means summer vacation starts a little earlier!

Working Girl...

I have been working from home for about 6 yrs now. It is the perfect set up. I can be home when LM is home from school and work here when school is in session. Very flexible. A while back I came up with the 'brilliant' idea to pick up some more work. Although it has been financially lucrative it has cut into my time at home. For one of my local clients it works better for me to be at his office. Also, since my hubby's secretary is on an extended maternity leave (4 months) I have been going in to his office. Just driving around eats up lots of time. My house is a mess and while I have considered a weekly cleaning lady, I am not quite ready to spend a lot of the money I make on that. But this post is not about the true 'cost' of working. It's about how I tote all my 'stuff' around.

I had been using a mesh wire file basket. Not this easiest thing to carry around. I stumbled across these darling file totes (pictured above) from Jamie Raquel. Genius, I tell you. Genius. There are handles which make it easy to carry. Pockets inside for your cell phone, notepads, pens, etc. And they come in super fun colors. Like hot pink, green, chocolate (that's what I have) and of course, black. The files folders hang, just like in your file cabinet. Except it's portable. I am so excited about this tote that I almost forget how messy my house is! And it will be great to carry around all my papers next year since I am the new PTA secretary.

I think I need to look into that cleaning lady deal...

Friends...

I have always believed that people come into our lives for a reason. The good people and the bad people. We may never know why but that's what I believe. Some are here for a season, some forever.



I have mentioned in the past my husband's horrible snoring. Horrible. And Scary. He has recently been diagnosed with sleep apnea. It was a long road getting to the diagnosis.



Like most men he doesn't like to go to the doctor (who does?) He had a check up about 5-6 years ago and he saw the urologist for infertility issues & for a vasectomy (ironic, huh?) His family practice doc, Dr. W, moved practices and she was the only doctor in town he would see, other than the urologist. So after much time I got all the paperwork in order to have him see Dr. W again. He saw her a couple of months ago and she sent him to a Sleep Center where they diagnosed him with sleep apnea and arranged to get a CPAP machine for him. In order to diagnose my husband with sleep apnea he had to spend the night and get hooked up to a monitor. He was told that he qualified for the machine after 10 minutes of monitoring. Usually it takes an hour or two. He had 94 incidents (or apnea's-a brief pause in breathing) in one hour. To be diagnosed with mild apnea you need 5 per hour. Severe is 30. He was 3 times that.



Which leads me to the title of this post. Friends. I believe that one of his friends has entered his life to help him with this. First off, his friend N is a surgeon. He trusts him implicitly. N's dad also has a CPAP machine which is where my husband first heard about it. N was concerned about Bill's breathing and snoring (they travel on a men's hockey team and he's been in the same room with him sleeping). I have been concerned too but apparently the wife doesn't have the same clout as the medically trained friend. That's okay though. The end result was my husband going to the doctor AND telling her about the snoring issue. He has had his machine for about a month now and it has made a world of difference.

He has also started a diet because he has gained a lot of weight (he stopped chewing tobacco last year & his snoring got worse, both which his Dr. think have contributed). We also ordered P90X which we will both be starting soon. N has done this and it really worked. If I didn't know someone who had success with it I would not have believed it. My husband is starting his 3rd week of his 'diet' which is basically nothing more than eating healthier, cutting out sugar, white bread, sodas, etc. Stuff we should ALL be doing. It's so funny, I have been talking to my husband about eating like this for YEARS. But N mentions Ezekiel bread, natural peanut butter, agave nectar and my husband is all over it. Whatever works, I guess. N truly was brought to us for a reason.

I have been joking that my husband used to be cranky because he wasn't getting enough sleep and now he is cranky because he's not eating as much. He'll get used to it pretty soon. Baby steps...

Nothin'...

That's what I've got. Nothing. I guess all writers have blocks every now and then. I just feel like I have nothing to write about of any interest right now. At least nothing that I want to take the time to research and write properly.

I will say that we are watching 'Avatar' right now and I just don't get it. Don't get me wrong, it's okay but not as fabulous as I was led to believe. To each his own, I guess.

That's all for now.

I've still got nothing...

And then there was....

SNOW! Yes, it snowed in Arizona on May 2nd. Didn't stick and it wasn't much. But it was COLD out there watching those hockey games (outdoor) and really windy. Glad to get back home though were it was about 80 and sunny.

Girl...

LM is playing 2 divisions in this weekend's hockey tournament, 8 and under (her usual division) and 10 and under. She is the only girl on either team. Because we were short players another team let us borrow a player. Another girl. LM was excited to have another girl on the team, even if for only a day.

My husband is coaching two teams. Head coach for 8's and assistant for the 10's. He gives the players nicknames. Something short and easy to say fast when he is yelling. LM's nickname is 'B'. As is another player's. Kind of confusing but they have it figured out since they play the same position and they are usually not on the floor at the same time. He has a 'GW', a 'P', a 'G', a 'Sammy', and so it goes. Well, Mackenzie, the little girl who helped them out out day was quickly dubbed 'Girl'. He had everyone calling her that by the end of the second game. And what a player 'Girl' was. She will be the 8's competitor tomorrow so we'll know what to expect from her.

Today was fun and long. LM's team won one game which always makes her happy. The highlight of the day though was when Debra locked her keys in the car. I was told I could call OnStar and sign up and they would unlock my car. I called but apparently you need to be able to get into the car to set everything up. Well, that wasn't going to work. The lady kindly gave me the # for GM roadside assistance. My hubby suggested we call AAA first so I did. Sure enough, unlocking cars is covered under our AAA plan. So an hour later my car was unlocked. When I called to get them to come out the lady asked me if we were in a safe area to wait for the locksmith. We were safe except for the fact that my husband was really mad at me. Did that count? Thankfully, this was the first time we needed to use our AAA benefits.

But I still am considering signing up for OnStar sooner rather than later...