Thursday, July 31, 2008

Silly Survey - From Roni!

This survey was posted on Roni's site and I'm taking the challenge...

  1. What time did you get up this morning? 8:30am
  2. Diamonds or pearl ? diamonds
  3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Transformers -- Last July before Finn was born.
  4. What is your favorite TV show? Ellen DeGeneres, Lost, Anything on the Food Network, Grey's Anatomy, Hopkins, Last Comic Standing, Tori and Dean, Today Show
  5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Toast, or eggs, or cereal
  6. What is your middle name? Michelle
  7. What food do you dislike? Thai food. I'm learning to like other things that I used to hate.
  8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Shane and Shane... I've fallen in love with their music again!
  9. What kind of car do you drive? Pontiac Vibe
  10. Favorite sandwich? Grilled cheese
  11. What characteristic do you despise? Rudeness or Arrogance is a close second.
  12. Favorite item of clothing? Um... Do Flipflops count? If not, I've found a new love for V-neck t-shirts. With a little white tank underneath. Very fun.
  13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Disney Land - any of them.
  14. Where would you retire to? Um... I have no idea.
  15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? I suppose the last one... but it was about 6 months ago. So I don't really remember it.
  16. Furthest place you are sending this? Good Question -- You all have to answer this one.
  17. Person you expect to send it back first? Um... Not sure on that one.
  18. When is your birthday? Feb 27th
  19. Morning person or a night person? Is it possible to be both? I think I’m a bit of both. I really like to stay up late sometimes, but like to get up early other times. But not on the same evening/morning. :)
  20. What is your shoe size? 8
  21. Pets? 2 dogs - boston terriers.
  22. Any exciting news you’d like to share with us? Well, my parents and in-laws are traveling across the country for Finnegan's first Birthday. Pretty fun!!
  23. What did you want to be when you were little? Um- A concert promoter. I also wanted to be a chef.
  24. How are you today? Pretty good today.
  25. What is your favorite flower? Dahlias or roses.
  26. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to seeing? Finn's birthday.
  27. What are you listening to right now? Last Comic Standing.
  28. What was the last thing you ate? Sechwan Beef that I made from scratch. No mix!!
  29. Do you wish on stars? No, I ask the Lord. :)
  30. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Fuschia or Plum Purple
  31. How is the weather right now? Cloudy and the sun is going down.
  32. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Mom and dad on speaker phone :)
  33. Favorite soft drink? Root Beer
  34. Favorite restaurant? Mexican anything!
  35. Favorite color? pink
  36. What was your favorite toy as a child? cash register
  37. Summer or winter? SUMMER!!
  38. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla
  39. Coffee or tea? latte :)
  40. Do you want your friends to email you back? always
  41. When was the last time you cried? Over the weekend. I feel much better today.
  42. What is under your bed? Summer and Pregnancy Clothes
  43. What did you do last night? Internet and TV
  44. What are you afraid of? Intruders.
  45. Salty or sweet? Sweet
  46. How many keys on your key ring? 5
  47. How many years at your current job? Just one so far.
  48. Favorite day of the week? Friday!
  49. Do you make friends easily? Yeah, I hope so. I hope I'm friendly.
  50. How many people will you send this to? Whoever reads the blog.
  51. How many will respond? not sure… Let’s find out…. Leave a comment if you played along!

Photos of Finn (again)... Hahaha - the pun was intended!!

Here is a photo of Finnegan and his new talent. Very fun!!


Finnegan just got a music table from Uncle Steve and Jenn. He LOVES it and plays with it a lot.

Finnegan's been teething a bit this week and we found a new key that works... Cold Soda Cans... He loves them on the teeth!!
Here is my new favorite. What a handsome little dude...

Monday, July 28, 2008

Dancing Man



Granted, it's not much - he's still learning. But we can already tell he's gonna be a mover and a shaker!

The Adventures of a Frugle Women?

As many of you have already discovered, it pays to be frugal. Many of you are up on the coupon craze and the CVS/Walgreens deals. Just like any family, we want to live just as we did during recent years in our current time but we're finding that harder and harder to do. Especially on one income!

For me, I just can't seem to get the hang of the coupon thing. And I really hate shopping... well, I suppose not shopping so much but the actual driving to get there and getting in and out of the car with the baby. So, I try to do as much "one-stop" shopping as I can. I am also in the process of 'decluttering' our house (yes, I know... i STILL am in the process), and I can't imagine buying things (or getting things for free) that I have to store for a while.

When we first were married (almost 6 years ago) I was diligent about budgeting and we did very well. Once we moved into our home, I stopped budgeting because I didn't know what to expect with having a home. I have once begun to budget again and find that we can always make changes in things. Along with the budgeting, I was trying to find other ways to make money or to save more money and I came up with this idea...

Our lawn is a nice size and I took a stab at mowing the back half on Friday. I think I did an ok job, although it needed to be mowed again. Normally, when Ken mows it, it takes him 3-4 hours to mow the lawn, edge it and all the little extras. And it takes him so long, because he can't mow it as much as it needs to be mowed in the summer, so when He gets to mowing it, it has to be mowed more than once (at different levels) to get it cut sufficiently. I'd been contimplating hiring a neighbor boy to mow it occasionally and then I thought I'd hire a landscaping company (owned by another neighbor) to take care of all the yard (lawn and shrubs and flowers).

After this mornings short reading about being a frugle women, I thought "Hey, I could mow the yard and it would benefit our family in many areas."
  • We would get to spend more time with Ken as he wouldn't be mowing for so long when it needed to be done.
  • Ken could work more over-time now and again because he doesn't have to mow the lawn so often.
  • I would get my exercise once a week, mowing the lawn. I do break a sweat pretty good!
  • We wouldn't have to pay anyone to do it.
  • I get a chance to be outside while Finnegan is napping.

So, this is my first attempted to be frugle! Now, hopefully Ken will teach me how to edge the lawn and then it will really look nice :)

Any other tips to be frugle that you have and would like to share are appreciated :)

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Baby Steps...

'

New Video of my little Munchkin... I can't believe he's growing up so fast!!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

What the Hell Are Those Kids Talking About??

As most of you know, I LOVE Ellen DeGeneres. I think she is absolutely funny and I thoroughly enjoy her daily show - especially because it's during Finnegan's nap time :) Even though this summer is all reruns, it is great to see some of the better shows from this past year. This past season, Ellen started a new segment called "What the Hell are those kids talking about?" During the segment, she takes current hip-hop and Rap songs and explains the lyrics. It is so funny!! I love this segment from todays show, especially the part with the Justin Timberlake song! Enjoy!!

w

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Cardboard Testimony



What would you're cardboard testimony be??