Rock Chalk Bill Self

The girls and I went to Dillons this morning to buy Bill Self's new book-and to get his autograph. We got in line around 9:30. He came in at 10. He drinks Diet Coke. He looks normal, and he was really nice. There was a LONG line of people. We make it up to see him around 10:50. The girls were sooooo good for me. They were excited to see him, too. He signed our books, and posed for a quick picture. He commented on how cute the girls were. I was very impressed with the way Dillons handled this event-free starbucks coffee, cookies, customer service was great. And, KWCH-ch. 12- got footage of us in line and while we were talking to him. Watch for us on the evening news.

Afterwards, we looked around and , since the girls were behaving, I decided to go ahead and do some shopping. They got their carts and we were off. I almost never shop with the girls. I always do it on Sundays when Kevin is home. I must say, again, they were so good. I bought a couple of things that weren't on the list-cherries, yogurt, and pistachios to be exact. But it was a pleasant experience. Presley fell asleep at the very end!Shhhhhhhhhh-don't tell my Dad about this. The book is for him :)

Would you rather...

I was visiting with a friend last week about Project Basement and was asking her opinion on how we should do the layout. In our conversation, she mentioned that she would rather have an old couch for the rest of her life, if that meant she could eat out whenever she wants (which, in her case, is everyday). She about died when I told her that we've only eatin' out once this month.

So, here's the question...Would you rather eat out whenever you want and live with home furnishings you acquired in college or would you sacrifice eating out in order to have nice home decor? And when I mean nice, I'm talking Ashley furniture, not Ethan Allen :)

Let me know...

Menu Plan Monday

Breakfast-cereal, pancakes (Avery's last day of school, sometime this week), toast and smoothies, blueberry muffins

Lunch-leftovers, chef salad, sandwiches, leftovers, leftovers

Supper-Monday-Homemade Gourmet Sunday Roast, garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli
Tuesday-Homemade Gourmet Creamy Italian chicken, bow tie pasta, salad
Wednesday-breakfast for supper-waffles, fruit, sausage
Thursday-Homemade Gourmet Asian pork loin, rice, corn
Friday-I don't know yet...maybe date night?
Saturday-pizza at church
Sunday-spending the holiday with family in Liberal

Thursday Thoughts

It's been a good week so far. I'm officially done teaching at Friends for summer break and Avery is sooooo close to being done with her Kindergarten year.

• We've finished Math, Language Arts, and Art. We just need to finish a couple of lessons in science and history and take one more phonics assessment. Then we're done! yea!!!! I think McKenna will be the most excited. She hasn't enjoyed "school" as much these last few weeks.
• What do I do with the piles and piles of paper and artwork we've accumulated throughout the year? I can't just throw it all away, or can I...
  
• so, this post blew me away. Dave and his wife were our best friends in KY and we really miss them. And I can't believe Anna is 8 already. Anyway, the post is a good lesson in the importance of personal and thorough bible study, to say the least...
• We completed our project master bedroom over Christmas break. Now we're starting Project Basement. I need to take pictures of the way it looks now. We've lived in this house 2 years and the only thing on the walls in the basement is Avery's artwork that she's taped to the wall. The walls are white, which is my least favorite color for a wall and the layout is tricky. The furniture is decent, but we've been using tv trays for end tables and even the tv trays are starting to fall apart.
  
• If you're a parent, you know the series of books, If you give a pig a pancake, If you give a moose a muffin, etc....I've been mentally writing a book like that in my head all week. If you give Michelle a project...I'll post the final writing later.
• We made new chore charts this week. I used this site to create them. Both Avery and McKenna have some of the same chores to do each day, like make the bed, pick up toys, etc...but I divided some chores into each week, so I don't have to hear McKenna screaming, "I always feed Abby!" And I don't have to respond by saying, "I always feed you!" So now we have pink week and purple week chores. For example, on pink weeks, Avery empties the dishwasher (silverware only) and Kenna feeds Abby. On purple weeks they trade chores. We haven't started doing allowances, yet, but I think it's time we start with Avery. Just don't really know how. Or how much.
• Only 9 more months until the LOST final season. What are we gonna do on Wednesday nights 'til then? I know one thing we won't be doing-fighting to get the girls in bed by 8!
• We're in the process of switching from Cox to U-verse. I'm not sure about it, but if our monthly payments are lower, it'll be worth it.
• Watched Slumdog Millionaire this week. What a messed up movie. Seriously.
  
• Looking forward to this weekend. Kevin gets Friday afternoons off in the summer and it starts tomorrow. Maybe an afternoon family bike ride?
  

Someday...

Someday, I'd really like to go on one of those Christian rock band cruises.  I think it would be so much fun to 1) go on a cruise, period and 2) get to see cool bands(especially Toby Mac) play on it.  Since our vacation fund is now our basement home theater fund, I'll have to wait awhile :)  Here is my favorite DJ, Wally, giving a talk about how to approach someone as cool as Toby Mac.  They're on a cruise, that's what started this whole thought, in case you were wondering...

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Success!

McKenna and I made a trip to Dillons tonight since I didn't get to do my weekly grocery trip on Mother's day. I didn't need much, our freezer is overflowing and I already had fresh veggies and fruit, but I had some coupons that matched up to the sales this week. I stuck to the list, with one minor exception, which included-

• 4 boxes of cereal
• fr. pizza
• 2 bags fr. veggies
• 2 bottles of salad dressing
• 2 boxes of strawberries
• 1 bag of fresh spinach
• bag of salad finishers, bag of potato finishers
• deodorant*
• 2 toothbrushes
• pasta
• TruLemon-something that makes your H20 taste a little better than just drinking water
  
• 2 finger cereal for Presley
• 14 jars of baby food
• bag of m&ms-NOT on the list, but Kevin got a free redbox movie tonight, so I got them to go with the popcorn we already have :)
  

My total before coupons was $73.72. After coupons and a Rx transfer (Kevin's allergy medicine) my bill was $13.94!!!!!! Here are Avery and Presley posing with the groceries.
*I should have added deodorant to this post earlier today. I found deodorant on closeout a few weeks ago and bought several, thinking it was the same brand and scent Kevin usually wears. After a few days, he tells me that it's just deodorant, NOT deodorant and anti-perspirant. Ugh. So, I paid full price for the real thing. Apparently, anti-perspirant is a good thing to have this time of year.

I know you're trying...

Yesterday, Kevin says, "Honey, I know you're trying to save us money, but these Q-tips are horrible!" Yeah, I know. In an attempt to save money, I have bought cheaper products, only to regret it later.

• generic Q-tips-they're flimsy, and, well Kevin through them out
• toilet paper-I thought I had gotten used to the crappy brand I bought, until we went to my Mom's house for Easter. Her toilet paper was so soft and smooth, I realized how much I missed my Charmin
• Coffee-I bought Kroger brand because it was on sale and I had a coupon. After 2 days, I threw the 50 oz canister in the trash.
• wheat crackers-Avery threw a fit the last time I bought generic crackers. She only likes the wheat thins. Luckily, I just printed off several coupons for them
• diapers/wipes-lesson learned the hard way. From now on, it's Pampers diapers and Huggies wipes.

Have you ever bought something, thinking you saved money, only to regret it later? Do share...