Friend's Friday

My booger for the day is Vanessa from The Rhinestone Contessa. It would be so much fun to live in her house! Jump over there and check it out!
Have a great weekend,
SonyaAnn

Anna Get the Hell Out List -written by Frances

I'm so lucky to have all of you, first off. Between helping me shave a few dollars off the bills and helping me with all of my problems, I don't know how you all can stand me! Who needs a therapist when I can just come here? I love the fact that you are all so booger honest with me. That said I need a little more help. Well, Anna needs your help.
I was trying to figure out what Anna will need for college so Dear Sexy Frances jumped in to help.
This is what she had to say and no she didn't say Anna get the Hell out, it was me as usual.
Poor thing wrote a guest post and didn't even know it!

Where ever it is, some things that she will definitely need that you can start collecting are:
1) first aid kit that includes everything she MIGHT need: pain reliever, alcohol, peroxide, bandaids, gauze, tape, scissors, antibiotic ointment, cold meds and whatever else you can think of. You never know what you might need and it is best to be ready when you need it.

2)sewing kit with scissors, needles, assorted threads, pins, etc. (I can sew and was quite popular in the dorm. LOL!)

3)basic tool kit. When I went to college, Dad gave me a hammer, phillips and flathead screwdrivers and some nails. This also made me very popular in the dorm as a lot of girls' families did not think of this. LOL!

Definitely laundry stuff, including some rolls of quarters if she will use pay machines.

How is that for starters? LOL!

Maybe you can write a post and we can all add to your list.

Thank you Frances.
Since I'm ubber cheap, I'm going to start collecting everything now hopefully at a discount. So if there is anything else you can think of please, please let me know.
This will be beneficial to Anna and everyone else that hasn't sent their child away to school.
I'm off to clean so I'll update it when I'm done scrubbing toilets!
Thanks for stopping by,
SonyaAnn


Added to by slugmama ;)

4)2 sets of sheets and pillowcases(find out from the school if the beds are reg. length or XL b/c XL beds need larger sheets), comforter
5)Also don't buy dorm fridges, microwaves, tvs, etc. until Anna speaks with her roomie so they can figure out who is bringing which, since you don't want doubles of that stuff(Anna has all of this thanks to her wonderful cousin that graduated.)
6)I'd recommend a plastic carrying thing with a handle to take 'poo/soap/tbrush/tpaste/etc. to and from the bathroom. With holes in the bottom for ventilation and for drying out is good too.
7)We got Matt a trunk too. It's good for locking up stuff like laptops so they don't get stolen when the kids leave the room unlocked....and they will!lol A trunk can also make a good coffee table in the room.
8)1-a mattress cover(like an egg crate type or a tempur-pedic)as the mattresses are thin and uncomfortable &
9)a small area rug, as the floors are tile or linoleum and quite cold.
Added by Pam. :)
10) towels and washcloths
Added by Snafu! And I'm leaving out the hangover remedy. I pray she won't need it!
11)Girl stuff!
12)Cleaning products
Added by The warrior in me
13)FOOD!
14)a few happy movie dvds to up her spirits when feeling down
15) a journal to scribble in when seething with anger
16)TRUCKLOADS OF MOTIVATION and LOVE.


LOVE TO ALL!

Wednesday

I just didn't feel right about calling this Wicked Wednesday since this is my little nephew!


Here is the conversation I had with my SIL after I watched this.
Me: He is super cute.
SIL: thank you.
Me:WOW, he was excited.
SIL: (giggle) His father taught him that.
Me:(giggle) Chris humps kid's toys?

Just another day in the life!
Thanks for stopping over,
SonyaAnn

A little at a time

I've had to revamp the 2010 budget a bit. It needed a tweak. I figured that I should list it again just to keep me on track. It's like you are my parole officers.
This is the before.....

Car Fund $800
Pool Fund $250
Flowers & Garden $200
School Registrations $200
Vet Fund $125
School supplies $200
School picture $200
Christmas $1700
Dr, ER & dentist $200
Glasses and contacts $700
Car stickers $240
WI fee $65
Bdays $500
All other holidays $350
Tax Prep. $25
Clothes $125
Haircuts $100
4th July fund $75
Thanksgiving $100
House Fund $200
Anna's teeth $2000
Kids Graduation $200
For $8555.00
And this is the updated one. Every year it seems we get the majority of the money in the beginning of the year and then it dwindles after that. The green is what has been paid.
Anna's Teeth $1500
B-days $500
All other holidays $350
Car Stickers $300
WI Fee $65
taxes $25
glasses & contacts $700
Dr.ER&Dentist $200
Vet fund $125
garage door $750
flowers & garden $200
Pool fund $250
registration $200
school supplies $200
pictures $100
kids graduation $200
car fund $800
house fund $200
4th July $75
hair cuts $100
clothes $125
Thanksgiving $100
Xmas $1700

Total $8765
I'm still pretty sure that I can shave a bit off of it. I'll keep you posted and thank you for keeping me in line!
Thanks for coming to see me,
SonyaAnn

I have an idea!

I have to say the dread that I felt when I first started Santa's secret has morphed into appreciation and almost fun! There are so many possibilities to cut corners. I should have done this a long time ago. Organization is the key to my success! Why can't I get to this point with dieting?
Anywho, I've decided that I need to devote a bit of time every day to looking on line for bargain for Christmas. It's not a lot of time maybe ten to fifteen minutes but this should save quite a bit. Do you think anyone would notice the difference?

This is a bracelet from Deal Extremes. It costs a whopping $4.97.
This is a bracelet from Tiffany and Company. It's $290.
So my question is would anyone notice and where could I get a cute blue box? Tee hee!
I'm kidding but it is the basic idea of what I'm trying to do. Nice but cheaper. I just wonder how long it would be before you got lead poisoning from El Cheapo bracelet.
If you have a moment, could you explain this one to me? But I did figure this one out!
Thanks for stopping by,
SonyaAnn

Friend's Friday!

My Fridays friend and booger is ............ Jennifer from Eastern Mom's Cents. She is quite interesting has has some wonderful recipes on her blog.
Have a great Friday,
SonyaAnn

New monthly Budget for 2010

I haven't refigured our monthly budget since the beginning of last year. I guess it's time.
Here is the old budget......
1296.00 House payment(bi-weekly) so we save $324 a week
122.00 Car Insurance
183.00 Nicor and Comed
25.00 Home phone
135.00 2nd mortgage with a little extra
280.00 gas for all three cars
38.00 satelite
480.00 groceries for the month 120.00 a week
75.00 Den smokes
70.00 garbage and water
24.00 synthroid and iron pills for me
2728.00 total
I've been able to save in some areas and others not so much.

1300 .00 House payment(bi-weekly) so we save $325 a week
145.00 Car Insurance
176.00 Nicor and Comed
27.00 Home phone
240.00 gas for all three cars
25.00 satelite
480.00 groceries for the month 120.00 a week
60.00 Den "fake" smokes
70.00 garbage and water
188.00 pills for me
40 gym for Den
2751.00 total

This is the break down of how we will use the checks every week.
Week 1 -$325 house, $238 food,gas, pills,& cig, $70 garbage & water, $20 insurance
Week 2- $325 house, $238 food, gas,pills &cig, $125 car insurance
Week 3- $325 house, $238 food, gas,pills & cig, $88 Nicor, $27 phone,$25 sate
Week 4- $325 house, $238 food, gas,pills & cig, $88 Com Ed, $40 gym

This may change because Nicor and ComEd now have a large tax on them. The village of Antioch has to make up a shortfall. Don't even ask me how I feel about this! Read this article is you really want to feel sorry for me. I told you it was expensive here.
Thanks for coming to see me,
SonyaAnn

Wicked Wednesday!!

This is a funny one! And I would never insult a blond.
Have a great Wednesday,
SonyaAnn

Santa's Secret!

I'm still working on this and I've decided to list in blue how much I actually paid for each person/item. This way I will be able to keep track of how much we had budgeted and how much we actually spent. I highlighted the person's name in red if I'm completely done with them.

Me($25)-bathset($2.30)
Den($25)-
Anna($250)-bath set($2.30)
DJ($250)-
Dennis($50)-
Donna($50)-
Cindy($50)-
Chris($50)-
Justin($50)-
Sheila($50)-
Kyle($50)-
Erica($50)-
Nicole($50)-
Chris($50)-11in1 tool($.95)
Grandpa Mott($50)-
Willie & Margie($5-10)-Basket*done*($.06)
Emily($25)-
Aaron($25)-
Al & Phylis($5-10)-Basket*done*($.06)
Laura($10-20)1 Snoopy($.47)bath set($2.30)
Tom & Marsha($5-10)-Basket*done*($.06)
Carolyn & Gene($5-10)-Basket*done*($.06)
Jennifer & Jason($5-10)-Basket*done*($.06)
Savannah-($10-20) 2 Snoopy dolls($.94) and puzzle ($3.03)*done*
Dee & Terry($5-10)-Basket*done*($.06)
Bruce & Lauren($75-100)Basket & Ski Santa w/friends($1.70) jokebook($3.03)&bathset($2.30)
Alex($25)
Andrea & Daniel($5-10)-Basket*done*($.06)
Daniel($40-50)
Jason($40-50)
Spencer($20-30)
Donna & Steve($10-20)-?????-I know you are reading this!
Jordan($15-20)
Bekah($15-20)
Mail Lady($5-10)-Basket*done*($.06)
Jennifer($25)bath set($1.30)
Kristen($20)bath set($1.30)
Karate Teacher-Anna($5-10)-bath set*done*($2.40)
Betty($5-10)-Basket*done*($.06)
Gerald & Maureen($10-20)
Juan($25)
Chio($5-10)-Basket*done*($.06)
Martha($5-10)-Basket*done*($.06)
Soledad($5-10)-Basket*done*($.06)
Anna($5-10)-Basket*done*($.06)
Gloria($5-10)-Basket*done*($.06)
Litsy & Uritsy($20-25)
Mrs. Bauer($25)

I figured out where the other bath sets and the11in1 tool are going. The numbers don't quite match up because of tax. I'm a few pennies off on the list but I'm still at $24.95 OOP. I think I might be getting a bit anal about this. Never!
If you hear of any little girl's toys or dress up clothes being on clearance please let me know. Litsy and Uritsy love playing dress up. I need something in a girls 5 and up.
Thanks for coming to see me,
SonyaAnn

Healthy Eats

So in our quest to eat healthier, we tried Smart Ground.(No paid endorsement here!) And it didn't hurt that I had a $1 off coupon! I'm going to recommend this one. It was really good and it tastes exactly like ground hamburger with one exception there is no gristle. The only problem with this is, it is a bit more expensive than hamburger. The upside is you don't have to fry it just heat and eat.



And this is what the finished product looked like. I'm going to get a few of these and keep them around when we don't have a lot of time for dinner. This meal went together super quick and the kids didn't even know the difference.
Thanks for stopping by,
SonyaAnn

Friend's Friday

Hello and Welcome to another chapter of my Friday Friends! My booger for the day is Annie Jones over at Real Life Living! She is super funny, I love her comment. And if you are in need of a recipe got to her other site, recipes from the real life. I can't even imagine how long it took her to put all of that together.
Have a great weekend and thank you for coming to see me,
SonyaAnn

Santa's Secret!

Here is an updated copy of my list. I've added everything that I have so far and who it is for.

Me($25)-
Den($25)-
Anna($250)-
DJ($250)-
Dennis($50)-
Donna($50)-
Cindy($50)-
Chris($50)-
Justin($50)-
Sheila($50)-
Kyle($50)-
Erica($50)-
Nicole($50)-
Chris($50)-
Grandpa Mott($50)-
Willie & Margie($5-10)-Basket*done*
Emily($25)-
Aaron($25)-
Al & Phylis($5-10)-Basket*done*
Laura($10-20)1 Snoopy
Tom & Marsha($5-10)-Basket*done*
Carolyn & Gene($5-10)-Basket*done*
Jennifer & Jason($5-10)-Basket*done*
Savannah-($10-20) 2 Snoopy dolls and puzzle*done*
Dee & Terry($5-10)-Basket*done*
Bruce & Lauren($75-100) - Basket & Ski Santa w/friends & joke book
Alex($25)
Andrea & Daniel($5-10)-Basket*done*
Daniel($40-50)
Jason($40-50)
Spencer($20-30)
Donna & Steve($10-20)-?????-I know you are reading this!
Jordan($15-20)
Bekah($15-20)
Mail Lady($5-10)-Basket*done*
Jennifer($25)bath set
Kristen($20)bath set
Karate Teacher-Anna($5-10)-bath set*done*
Betty($5-10)-Basket*done*
Gerald & Maureen($10-20)
Juan($25)
Chio($5-10)-Basket*done*
Martha($5-10)-Basket*done*
Soledad($5-10)-Basket*done*
Anna($5-10)-Basket*done*
Gloria($5-10)-Basket*done*
Litsy & Uritsy($20-25)
Mrs. Bauer($25)


I have 4 bath sets left and the stainless steel 11 in 1 tool but I think I'm going to give that to my BIL Chris with a gift card. And I wouldn't mind getting one of the bath sets for Christmas and Anna might get one. So I only have two left if I get my way!;) I have 25 people completely done for $24.95! Only 34 people left. I'm so happy with my progress! Now if I can only spend under a $1 on the others, I'll get away cheap.
Thanks for coming to see me,
SonyaAnn

Wicked Wednesday!!

I love this one! I was all excited that he made the right choice until I saw the end!
Have a great Wednesday.
Thanks for coming to see me,
SonyaAnn

Santa's Secret!

I've added just two more things to my Christmas gifts. We went to Barnes and Noble and got this at 90% off. I always forget to post my finds! It was $6.12 for the two of these and no the joke book is not for me. It's for my very naughty neighbor that loves to tell jokes. So OOP for the year is $24.95. I've covered quite a bit of grounds so far. I'll post what is for who, soon!
Thanks for stopping over,
SonyaAnn

Finding room

As I've said many times, this house is ubber small. Our laundry room/dungeon is just a walk threw. I have no where to line dry. So I put a few nails in the shelf above the door in our closet and hang clothes to dry in there. In this house, it's about finding room. As you can see, they dangle right next to my necklaces. And on the shelf, you can see Den's Darth Vader helmet from one Halloween. We live the dream!
I wonder what I will do next in the closet!
Thanks for stopping by,
SonyaAnn

Friend's Friday!

So my pick for the day is Daddy Times Two! They just adopted an adorable little boy! I've been following them through their struggles to adopt and I couldn't be happier for them!
Have a great weekend,
SonyaAnn

Engage

So I was thinking about what I wrote the other day(my diet and all). It made me think about what level I'm engaged at. There are so many aspects of our lives but how involved am I. I can tell you right now that when I'm cleaning and/or scrubbing toilets my mind is off completely! When I'm with the kids, I've made it a conscious effort to be present. Every once in a while, Anna will start with the "then she said and then I said and then he said" stuff and I find it hard to stay tuned in. But I really do try with the kids. With the bills, all my little cylinders are firing. When I write my book, I'm all there and accounted for. I'm always so thrilled to be writing that it gets all of my attention. So, I was pretty pleased with myself until I thought about my diet. Yup, that is my down fall. I talk about it even complain about it but what am I doing to be engaged with it. I'm not involved with that aspect of my life. I'm talking, not doing. I need to switch on when it comes to putting food in my mouth. I seem to go somewhere else when it comes to eating. And this has got to stop. I'm going to rewrite the grocery list that should help to bring in more healthy meals. But I need to be present and paying attention to actually accomplish my weight loss goal. I'll keep you posted. Hopefully, posting my progress will keep me aware of what I'm doing and centered. Or maybe all of this analysis will push me over the edge and I will end up in the psych ward!
Thanks for stopping by,
SonyaAnn

Wicked Wednesday!!

This one made me laugh! A.Marie No, No, No! Have a great hump day!
Thanks for stopping over,
SonyaAnn

Ms. Frued

I'm doing terrible at my diet. Some days I do great and other days my taste buds win and I eat whatever I want. So I pulled a Frued on myself. The sad thing is my realizations are just common knowledge for everyone else! But bare with me for a moment. I'm not bragging but I'm pretty decent with our budget. We live in a very expensive area and we make it on about half of what everyone else is making. It is because we are so careful with our money. Then I started thinking about why it is that I can put our wallet on such a restrictive diet but not myself. If our wallet was alive it, would have starved to death long ago. Why did it work? Ahh Ha, it's because I have a very clear budget. It is written out and it is automatic. I write one check every three months for water and sewage. Everything else is charged to the credit card(I get points for it and pay it in full every month) or is taken right out of checking. I don't have to even think about it.
I like to be organized with our daily events but I can't remember it all. I have a calendar that all the big events are written on and a notebook that I write out everything that needs to be done for the day. A lot of it is repetition but if it doesn't make it to the To Do List, it isnt happening. So the problem with my diet is there is no planning involved. We grocery shop once a month and only buy fruit, vegetables, and milk on the other weeks. I'm reworking our master monthly list. It will be a bit more expensive but it will be worth it. I also need take time every day to have healthy snacks for all of us. If I write "make snacks" on my daily To Do List that will help ensure that it gets done. I think this should help to get this family a little more healthy. We don't eat fast food and very rarely make processed meals but we aren't cooking as healthy as we should. Changing the monthly grocery list should insure more healthy meals. This is going to take a while to see if it works but I think I got to the root of my problem. If you think I need more counseling just let me know!;)
Have a great day,
SonyaAnn

A Favor for Donna Freedman

We all know what a compassionate and true frugal expert Donna Freedman is and she needs our help! She may be writing a column about online surveys.
This is what she is interested in...
"I'm looking for folks to interview about why they do it, how much they earn, whether the cash is strictly mad money or is used for a specific goal such as snowflaking a debt or building an emergency fund. I'd also like your tips/advice to others who are thinking about doing this.
My balances add up pretty slowly. I think it's because I'm too boring to be included in most of the surveys. But the money *does* add up eventually. I'm thinking that shortly before the holidays would be a good time to cash in."
Please contact her at smartspending (at) live(dot) com. It would also be appreciated if you could post this on your blog.
Thank you so much!!!

A Day In The Life

It is always such an adventure in this house! Sorry it has taken almost a week to post about this adventure but I fell behind. And please know that I would never make light of severe allergies or a life and death situation, this is just the way that I see things! So on with the show.............
DJ woke me up somewhere around 12:30 am Tuesday. Den had fallen asleep on the couch and being the good wife that I am, I left him. I did set the alarm on my phone and set it next to his head. After 15 years of marriage, this is romantic and loving as we get. Anyways, DJ wakes me up and says that he thinks he is having a allergic reaction. And this is where I spring into action. I should not be springing at this time of night or at my age. I got an adrenaline rush and then decided that I was having a heart attack. I'm too old for this kind of excitement! So, I get up and give him the meds his Dr gave him. Then I stare at him. Sounds odd and creepy but I have to make sure that the it is working. Thirty minutes later, it is not working and his lower lip turns black and is swelling. So I break out the big guns. I give him a double dose of Benadryl and 3 steroid pills. All of this was given to us by a specialist. He gave me instructions and I followed them. I keep all of the supplies for the really bad reactions together and labeled. Sounds good so far, not! DJ has had at least a dozen reactions since his first one in 2nd grade and only once have we had to go to the ER.
Now it is about 1:15am and we are both tired. So, I say get into my bed and you can sleep and I will watch you. Still creepy but he thinks it is a good idea. So, I flip on all the lights in my room and stare at him. He starts to dose off and he looks a bit better. His mouth isn't black anymore but his lip is a bit swollen. His face is red and he is covered in itchy welts but I can see that he is on the up swing. So I start to relax a bit. I should have known better! DJ wakes up and tells me that he has a terrible stomach ache. It is so common that I don't think anything of it. And then he farts(he is going to kill me if he reads this) Oh dear lord! I gagged. He put every gassy man to shame. And me gagging made him laugh really hard. But then it would start to hurt again. So it went like this......moan....fart...giggle and then repeat. I had to turn the ceiling fan on and open the doors, it got so bad. And all it did was waft through out the house. It is terrible to say but at that point I was sorry I brought him in my bed.
Then it happened, DJ sort of rolls half /falls off the bed and he drug my comforter and sheets with him. He grabs his stomach and threw up. In my life, I have never ever seen someone puke like that. It sprayed on the bed, the dog bed(luckily the farts scared the dog off and he didn't get puked on) and my comforter and sheets. YUCK! I grab him and try to run him to the bathroom. Not happening! He is a big boy and I just can't man handle him like I used to. I try and push his head down so it goes on the floor. NOPE, he stands straight up and pukes about 5 feet out the door and into the hall. I've never seen anyone this sick before, ever. This was the point where I decided that I was beyond any Dr Mom knowledge that I had. All that was left was the Epi-pen and 911. The problem with the Epi-pen is, it can very easily stop his heart. It was a terrible choice but I decided against it.
I shove DJ in the bathroom and I hear SPLAT. Great! I ran down stairs, screaming for Den to get up and call 911. I give hDen one violent shove and turn and run back up the stairs. Den calls out "what is it?" I scream back "it's him!" I should have been a bit more descriptive because poor Den thought we had an intruder and was heading upstairs to get the gun. I can't even imagine how scary it was for him to think that someone was upstairs. Sorry, Den! He figured it out pretty quick when got upstairs, though. He got a quick run down of what was going on and called 911. Anna comes out of her bedroom. She heard the tail end of what I had told Den and she was worried. Being the wonderful and comforting mom that I am, I yelled at her not to come in the hall and get dressed!
I hear another splat, I don't think he made it once in the toilet. I look in the bathroom. For the love of all things good and holy, I have never seen anything like it in my life. I wanted to go help him but it just wasn't going to happen. So I threw him a towel and got some clothes on real quick. So, DJ hears Den and panics. He didn't want to go to the hospital. He rushes to the bathroom door and calls out, "Don't call 911, I'm fin........." he didn't even finish it because he turned around and puked on the wall, the towel, and into the floor vent. Yay, the heat kicked on!
At this point, DJ is just flat out mad. When I get sick or anyone else that I have ever met gets sick, we whimper and moan about puking. He gets angry, which is so out of character for him. He always has manners and is in a good mood. Not this day. Next thing I hear is DJ say, "Jesus Chris......" Well, the dear Lord didn't like him even trying to use his name in vain and made him puke out his nose. He had a running commentary going while puking. "Just great, just great, I'm PUKING out my nose!" SPLAT! "Hey, do I have to go to the hospital in PUKE covered clothes?" "Ummmm, no son. When have I ever made you go anywhere covered in throw up?" So he starts to leave the bathroom. Nope, he trashed my room, the hall, and the bathroom. I wasn't even going to give him a chance at his room. I call to him to stay put. I toss him some clean jammies and he changes.
There is a knock at the door and it is two Antioch police officers. Thank God! They walk into the house and their noses curl slightly. Can't say as I blamed them. Between the farts and the puke, it was ungodly. If you had brought a dead skunk into my house and lit it on fire, it would have been an improvement. And I'm not kidding!
Then I notice that one of the officers was the one that came to my house when we were getting threatening phone calls. You remember, when that guy called and said he wanted to do terrible things to my husband's butt! Literally, he called and said that he wanted his sweet ass. Could we be anymore white trash?
The officer's look him over and looked terribly worried. To make them feel better, I told them that this is an improvement. For some reason, I didn't make them feel better.
DJ is still mad but he is being polite with the officers just not me. He looks at me and says, "Do you have any idea how horrible it is to have puke in your nose?" "Ummmm no, I have no idea." I reply. "Every time I breathe, I smell it! Could I at least have some gum?" Den tosses him an entire pack. No one wanted to get too close to the poor thing.
The good news is the ambulances pulled up and spared me any more humiliation. I grabbed DJ by the arm and brought him right to the ambulance door. Have I mentioned that it is $750 for an ambulance ride and they brought two rigs? Sorry, the frugal side of me was panicking.
They hooked him up to an IV but that was all they could do for him because he already had so many meds in him. He even got the full treatment, the siren and the lights.
Everyone was so wonderful, the officers, the EMTs and everyone at the hospital. The care was stellar.
The good news is they checked DJ's heart a few times and said that he thought he could handle the Epi-pen. Good to know! So now if his lip swells or his face turns red, I get to stab him with the Epi-pen. I just have to catch him first!
From there on out, it was smooth sailing. They watched him for a few hours and released him. We came home and cleaned up puke for a few hours and then took showers in the other bathroom.
It was just another day in the neighborhood!
Thanks for stopping over,
SonyaAnn
PS-Anna turned 18 today! WOW, I'm old!