Wicked Wednesday!!

This is terrible and if you like the F bomb, this is for you! If you don't have a lot of time, start here! If you have time, start here!!!
Thanks for stopping over,
SonyaAnn

An Update on the Extras Budget

It's been a while since I've updated my list on all of the extras. I've had to change it around just because we have had some added expenses. Everything in green is paid for.


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 $2100
house fund $200
4th July $75
EIU Trip(register) $150
hair cuts $100
clothes $125
Thanksgiving $100
Xmas $1700
Total left for the year-$2025

It's going to be close to get everything funded by the end of the year. I might be able to cash in my points from our credit card in October(ish). That would give me an extra $500 and that would put me over the top. $500 would be a nice chunk off of Christmas. And believe it or not, you actually get more money if you take a check instead of gift cards from the Bank of America rewards program. I was going to cash it in for whatever I could get more for and I was shocked when I did the math to learn that I would come out ahead with cash! Who knew!
I'll keep you posted.
Thanks for stopping over,
SonyaAnn

I'm a List Maker

For some reason, this song keeps going through my head whenever I say I'm a list maker. So hum it while you read! Something is seriously wrong with me.
Anyways before my ADD got a hold of me, I was going to give you the list that I have been working on for college. This doesn't look like much but it has taken me HOURS. I have had about ten people helping me both parents of college students and college grad. I'm now in the collecting mode. I have been asking around and I have been surprised at just how generous everyone has been. If you know anyone that is graduating from college and you have a child going away ask them for their old stuff. This is probably the best tip you will ever get.
Everything in blue is what we have, black is what we need.

Pens/pencil

Highlighters

Black marker

Erasers

Paper clips

Mini stapler

Paper (loose leaf & computer)

Index cards

Scratch paper

Stamps

Stationary and envelops

Folders

Binders

Scissors

Tape

Duct tape

Sticky dots (gummy)

Book covers

Planner

Trunk w/lock!

Laptop

Printer

Cord

Extra Ink Cartridges

Flash drive

Disks

Backpack

Computer bag

Bed risers

Comforter

Sheets

Blanket

Bed topper

Mattress pad/plastic

Pillows

Rug

Towels

Hairdini

Small lamp for reading/3 way pole light

Light bulb

2 Surge protectors

2 Extension cord

Trash can/bags

Room decorations

Chip closure or clips

Fan

Frig

Microwave

TV

Movies

Alarm clock

Waste paper basket & bags

Fan

Storage bin/s

Deck of cards

Plate/s

Utensils

Cup/s

Disinfectant wipes/paper towels

Tissue

Dish soap (small)

Laundry detergent

Stain stick

Bleach/oxy-clean

Laundry bag

Sewing Kit & safety pins (small)

Tool Kit/sm nails, hooks (small)

Flash light (small)

Mace (key chain)

First Aid Kit/Cold or flu supplies

Suntan lotion

Mosquito Repellent

Shower Caddy

Soap

Toothpaste

Toothbrush

Dental Floss

Shampoo

Conditioner

Lotion

Razor

Deodorant

Brush

Rubber bands/scrunchies

Straighter

Hair dryer

Hair spray

Contacts

Contact case

Contact solution

Glasses and case

Sunglasses

Q-tips

O.B./girl stuff

Perfume

Make-up

Nail polish

Nail polish remover

Nail clippers/manicure kit

Mirror

Phone Charger

Tennis Racket/balls

Hangers

Frisbee

Nice Outfit

Shoes/gym, sandals, flip flop, boots

Socks

Jeans

Shorts

Undies & bras

Shirt/long and short sleeve

Swimsuit

PJs

Robe

Sweatshirt

Jacket/ light weight, one winter

Purse(drivers and credit/bank cards/insurance cards)

If there is anything that I missed, I'll add it to the list and repost it. If you have a child going away, I would print this out. After we get her all moved in, I'll add anything that we missed. I hope this helps anyone that is packing up a college bound student!
Thanks for stopping by,
SonyaAnn

Next Week

Next week, I'm going to be in and out of the office.;) We have to register Anna for EIU so it will be a nice road trip. Can you feel the tension?
I'll check the blog when I can but it may take a few days to get back to you. That doesn't mean that I love you any less!
Thanks for stopping voer,
SonyaAnn

Friend's Friday

And my Friday friend is Celeste from Etsy It Up! There are some really neat things over there!
Have a great weekend,
SonyaAnn

Santa's Secret!

I got this little gem for Den for his stocking. It was a $1.99 from Meritline. It a 50 year calendar keychain. I think it will make an interesting stocking stuffer. If you do want to shop there, sign up for there emails and they will send you discount codes. Go here and scroll all the way to the bottom, its on the right side.
So my grand total for the year is $266.88.

Me($25)-bathset($2.30),wipes($2.11)
Den($25)-keychain($1.99)
Anna($250)-bath set($2.30),Monopoly($2.13), Eye shadow, body spray, lotion($4.85),purse ($33.23),wipes($2.11)
DJ($250)-Pictureka ($3.13), light($1.49)
Dennis($50)-
Donna($50)-
Cindy($50)-
Chris($50)-
Justin($50)-
Sheila($50)-purse($51.70)*done*
Kyle($50)-
Erica($50)-purse($44.31)*done*
Nicole($50)-purse($51.70)*done*
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) , Sorry($2.13)*done*
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), purse($40.62)*done*
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($25)
Extra-2 card games($.48)

Thanks for stopping over,
SonyaAnn

Wicked Wednesday!!

Gotta love this one!! Something is wrong with me.
Have a great hump day,
SonyaAnn

Grocery Budget

I just don't think that I can get our monthly spending much lower. Rrrrrr, I think that this is the best that I can do. So for the past four weeks, we spent $510.68. We have $480 budgeted so we went over by $30.68. I'm ok with this one. I still have $3 in Jewel cats, $11 in CVS bucks, and $8 in Walgreens cats. So if I subtract those, I'm at $488.68.
We had to buy some supplies for our little getaway so that is what pushed us over. Instead of going out to eat, I splurged and bought microwavable meals to save money. In the end, it was probably worth it.
And then there was the Den problem. He said about two weeks into the four weeks that he was going to change it up and redo the way that we shop.(I can hear you groaning) He thought that the budget/meal plan was a little to restrictive. Yup, so when it came time to shop, he bought what he wanted. And then when we needed to stock up again, he wasn't up to redoing the monthly menu. So I had to sort it all out when we needed to stock up. My guess is he will just follow the menu plan next time around. Or I hope he will!
I'll let you know what happens in the next four weeks. I would love to have a $300 month. I'm such a loser. This is what I aspire to!
Thanks for letting me ramble,
SonyaAnn

Play With Your Dessert, Dessert!

I made up my own recipe and no one died!!!! Hard to believe but it is true and its edible! I was thinking that this would be a good little gift to give away at Christmas but I'll get to that in a bit.
So it is a bit of a rip off of the microwavable dessert in a mug but a lot easier.
Mix one chocolate cake mix with one box of instant chocolate pudding.
Take one cup of the mix and put it in a snap and seal baggie.
Add one half cup of vanilla ice cream to the baggie.
Zip it shut and smoosh it until it is thoroughly mixed.
Squeeze out the mixture into a microwave safe bowl and nuke it for 3 minutes.
Add a half cup to a one cup of vanilla ice cream for the topping.
And enjoy!
This is pretty good and I think that the kids on my Christmas list would love this one. Who doesn't like to play with their food! I could put a cup of the mix in a baggie and put it in a cute Christmas mug along with a $5 gift certificate for ice cream. What do you think?
Thanks for stopping by,
SonyaAnn

Friend's Friday!

And my friend for this lovely day is.............Carolsue from Carolsue's Blog! Stop over and say hi!
Have a wonderful weekend,
SonyaAnn

Jessie Update

This is my poor pitiful puppy. She is 11.5 years old but I think she is doing alright. Den shaved her and he always leaves a poof on the end of her tail like a lion. He does things to entertain himself.
She has liver spots and still has a skin disorder. The good news is we know what it is. If you put it out in the universe that you need help, things have a way of coming back to you. My sister sent me an email about not using oatmeal soap on dogs that have sensitive skin because it could make a staph infection worse. Den gave her a couple of bathes in anti-bacterial soap and her skin is almost completely healed. It is so sad that she suffered for so long and it was easily cured. We went to the vet half a dozen times and spent a bunch of money and they never did cure it. Now I'm on the look out for a new vet. If only I was as easily cured as the dog.
My soon to be SIL said that Jessie should be called mangled because she is such a mess. She will fit in well!
Thanks for stopping by,
SonyaAnn

Wicked Wednesday!!

I could see myself doing this one. And that just proves that I have issues!
Have a wonderful hump day,
SonyaAnn

I'm Ashamed

I've been a bit leery to post this one. I figured out the cost of our little trip to WI. It ended up being $602 total. I had set aside $215 for the trip but I didn't include the cost of the room which was $184 in that. I had saved $75 in free gas cards for the trip and that would have been enough but we ended up having to take Anna's car. We spent and extra $47(ish) in gas. It was $63 for a WI fishing license. UGH, $63 to catch fish! But he bought the one year license so he can cross the border anytime he wants and not catch anything! We spent a whopping $108 on yummy junk food! And the other $200 was spent on seeing a museum, buying Father's day gifts, thank you gifts for watching the animals and Anna, eating out, and other fun stuff.
I could easily take the money that we spent on food and gifts out and our total would be closer to $402. Either way, it was a pretty cheap trip. Mind you, it wasn't as wonderful as Disney World but for a few hundred bucks, it was nice to get away!
Thanks for stopping over,
SonyaAnn

The Latest Addition to our Home

Tee hee, I bet that you thought that I was going to say a little one or a pet! No here we get excited about wood. This little project cost $60 and only took Den a few hours. And the good news is I had managed to save $60 out of our flower money so it was essentially a free project. The back stoop was cement and was crumbling terribly. Of course, a huge chunk was missing right where you would take your first step up. Den was going to break it up and pour new cement but I said be lazy and just cover it. Yeah for lazy! I just wish every project around here was that easy and turned out so well(It was super easy for me because I didn't do anything!). I wonder if Den could do this to the bathroom downstairs? I think that a wood box would look great in the shower!
Thanks for stopping over,
SonyaAnn

Friend's Friday

My friend for the day is Helga from My World. She is amazing. Stop over and poke around her blog for a while.
Have a great weekend,
SonyaAnn

A Great Tip

Can you tell by the look on her face that she was not happy with me? This was Anna's first little road trip.(Well, at least the first one that I know of!) She started summer school on Monday and had to leave on Sunday so she drove her car. Den, of course, checked everything before we left but I can't help but worry. So I told her that if her car broke down, she wasn't to get out of the car except for the police or a tow truck driver. There is nothing but construction so if she did break down they would tow her right away. I told her to take a picture of the plate of the tow truck and text it to me. I also told her to tell the driver what she was doing. I think that is a great tip for young girl drivers.
The good thing is the car and Anna made it back to her grandmother's with no problem. And I can just hear Anna now,"But Mom, why can't I take my car to college? It made it from Wisconsin with no problems." She maybe able to do things but I need to take it slow or I'm upset and cranky!
Thanks for stopping over,
SonyaAnn

Wicked Wednesday!!

This is terrible!!! Make sure to listen carefully!!! I'm going to Hell.
Thanks for stopping over,
SonyaAnn

A Little Bit of Education!

We went to the Historic Washington House. It was where the ice cream sundae was invented!!! We were all in Heaven. It was that wonderful. We may have to make a pilgrimage every year.
"The historic Washington House is a 19th century style, three story inn with a visitor center, an original 1890's saloon, a ballroom, and an old fashioned ice cream parlor. Ten rooms of the house are devoted to historic displays."-Discoverourtown.com

We spent almost two hours just wondering around looking at all of the displays! It was fun!
Anna loved posing on the stage, DJ not so much.
And the best part, the ice cream parlor!! We sat at the table on the bottom left. Yes, this place was so wonderful that I will remember where we sat!
This is the Buddy-o. It is at the Rogers Street Fishing Village. It was a lot of fun and educational. And the kids didn't rebel or anything!! I feel like Pam!
We also went to the 1st annual Carp Fest. Yes, this place is all kinds of fun! I loved the fact that everyone was so friendly and even teased us about being from Illinois!!
Thanks for stopping over,
SonyaAnn
PS-It is probably going to take a while for me to get back to you. WiFi is a hard thing to come by here!

Our Little Trip

These are just a few shots of our room here in Wisconsinland! I hope that you enjoy and treasure everyone of these pictures because finding a Hot Spot here is not an easy feat!! Treasure them! Things move very slow here and if I ever feel that my life is going by too quickly, I'll come up here for a day or two. DJ and Den were saying the same thing and that one day counts for two. Even the clocks tick slower!
This is the 80's kitchen but it is SUPER clean so I won't complain!
DJ is so happy to go fishing!

And just to prove that I'm a die-hard couponer here is proof. Yes, I packed my coupons. It would be like leaving my woobie behind!
Thanks for stopping over,
SonyaAnn
PS-If you leave a comment, I will get back to you! It's just going to take a while!

And The Winner Is.........

Congratulations slugmama!!! You are the winner of the $40 gift CSN Stores!!!! I used Random.org and number 10 was the winner!!! So this comment was the winner, "#4 of 5 for blogging your giveaway....are you sick of me yet?" I love when a smart ass wins!! So just email me your full name and address and I'll forward it to Jess. Just give me a day since we are on the road.

I had such a hard time picking a picture for this post. And these were the runners up.
Boobies might be a bit too crude for this blog.

This one was a bit too creepy.
And this one was just right.
Have a great weekend,
SonyaAnn

Friend's Friday!

And my booger for the day is Jacque4u2c! She is so much fun!
Have a great weekend,
SonyaAnn

More frugal fixes!

We have two sets of tables and chairs outside. One is on the deck of the pool and the other one is just out the back door. The one by the back door we got on clearance the end of the year a while ago. It was $119 for the table, umbrella, and 6 chairs. I thought that was pretty good considering that it was new.
They have started to rust pretty bad and we don't have the money(who would have guessed it) to replace it. And since DJ has proved that he is quite handy, I put him in charge. I know that he is regretting helping and showing off his talents!
For $21.25 worth of paint and a lot of sanding and taping, our table and chairs looks brand new. I also found fabric paint so I'm thinking about trying it on the faded umbrella. Who am I kidding, DJ will probably be trying it on the umbrella!
With the way that our luck is going the chairs will probably turn to dust when someone sits in them at the kid's graduation party! I know, I know keep a positive attitude!
Thanks for stopping over,
SonyaAnn

Wicked Wednesday!!

This isn't so wicked just funny! With they way things are going around here, this may happen to us.
Thanks for stopping over,
SonyaAnn

What is going on here!?!?

We have been slapped by the gods of unlucky or maybe the gods of disaster! The transmission is begging for death, it is leaking and now has air in the system so it is bubbling. Den is keeping it alive but just barely.
He had to plug a tire because of a nail. That will only hold for so long and we are going to need a tire. We just bought all new ones the beginning of the year. So 4 new tires and one popped in the first week. And Walmart would not replace it. Don't buy tires from them!
The year old water spicket on the back of the house decided to break. And it was broken so that it didn't stop running. It was leaking in the house. Den didn't get to bed until midnight. Fun times!
Please just stay ten feet away from us, it might be contagious. I know that these things come in threes but do they come in thirties?
Thanks for stopping over,
SonyaAnn
PS-Don't forget to go HERE and enter my $40 CSN gift certificate giveaway!!!