Mad love for the "older" generation...



I took this picture while I was in Scotland. Love!



I have always had a "love" of people of the "older" generation(yes, I mean elderly people, but I'm trying to keep it sweet I guess). Ever since I was younger I have loved hearing their stories, seeing them(yes, they stir up the same feelings babies and puppies do), and learning from them(they have been through A LOT!). Today I have been reminded of that "love."

Ever gone grocery shopping in the morning? Since I stay home with our kiddos I usually try to get my grocery shopping done in the morning. Why? I miss the lunch time and after school rush. Usually the only people who are there are moms like me and many elderly people. Even with the "extras" I have "helping" me shop it usually proves to be a quite peaceful trip.



I'm going to let you in on a secret of the grocery store.....where's the "cool" place to hang out at the store? The produce section. Since our store comps prices, that, as with today, is where the "older" ladies and I swap the best sale prices in order that all of us get a good deal(Like us they are usually on a tight budget). Let me insert here that it is SO worth it to take 10 minutes to browse the local ads to get the best prices(I'll point that out below), but if you don't have the time you are bound to find some friendly faces who will help you along, plus also comment on how cute your kids are (who doesn't like to hear that?!). Sweet people.

Another reason I love the older gen....they are a lot more polite and friendly than most other people(like in the grocery store). Today I happened to see my sweet neighbor who is about the same age as my grandmother. She can barely hear, smiles a lot, and loves my boys. She is a great neighbor. Today I love her even more because of her comment, "Have you lost weight?" I was thinking "no not at all, but MAY GOD BLESS YOU!" Ha, I needed to hear that. Ever since my thyroid started going downhill it has been incredibly hard to lose the rest of my "baby love" weight. Ha, that and the fact that I don't diet well.

Next time you see an elderly person don't shy away, take the time to say hello or sit down and talk with them. It may make their day and surprise you at how much you enjoyed your visit.

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Okay, like I mentioned above I have a savings tip of the day.....Take advantage of the local ads and go to a store like Wal-mart that price matches that way you don't have to go to 5 stores in order to get the best deals. Just make your shopping list for the week, browse the ads an write down next to your item the best price you can find in your area. Tell your cashier at check-out, easy as that!

For instance there is a store about 20 minutes from me who sells bananas on Tuesdays for $.39 a pound, but Wal-mart(who sells them for $.59/lb) is only 10 minutes away, so I can get the same deal without going as far. Need more proof convincing that you need to be doing this? I found a store that is 25 minutes away that had apples for $.88 a pound...Wal-Mart had theirs for $1.77 a pound...I saved about 50%! I call that a deal and because of this I am still able to feed our family healthy food on a small budget.

And before some of you go crazy on me for helping out a power store like Wal-mart, I do make a point of also going to our "home-town" grocery stores as well. I have some awesome local stores by my house, I give them my business first, and then go to the "bigger" stores for the rest of the items that I can't get there for the smaller price :) Just thought I'd throw that out there!

Sun-shining....

It's amazing what a little sunshine can do for the soul. Today it is sunny with a high of 68 degrees. Sounds beautiful, doesn't it? Well, it is. Today I also have no plans except to stay home, enjoy my boys, and take care of some things around the house that I have been meaning to do for a while. I intentionally asked the hubbs to take the car to work with the carseats in it so that I wouldn't be tempted to go anywhere (don't worry though, in case of an emergency we have extra carseats, I'm just too lazy to put the seats in my hubbs' car unless I have too!)

As much as I love Winter, days like this are incredibly refreshing-- especially after a busy holiday.

Today I took time to drink my coffee, snuggle with my boys, did laundry (a necessary evil), organized our room *a little bit*, and played outside with the munchkins. The rest of my day consists of an adventure to the park, pizza and movie night(Cars, our oldest's choice) with the fam, and my brother coming into town to visit (love his visits!). All are low stress and somehow relaxing to me. This day hasn't been without it's sibling fights, fits or "did you really just do that?'s" but it was still wonderful...and intentional. Intentioned to slow down, let things not get to me as easily, and enjoy this rare, warm, sunny day in Winter.

Here's hoping that if you weren't able to slow down today, that you will make a day for it sometime soon. It's okay to give yourself (and your family) a break every once and a while.

This isn't from today, but this is one of my fav Sun-Shining pics of our littlest



Ever tried to paint your nails in the car?

Meet my new favorite nail color

It is called "Last Chance" by Sinful Colors(quite the name). I have a thing for quirky nail colors, especially dark ones, and came across this one the week before Christmas. Festive, right?! That's what I thought too...

Anywho, I was so excited to try it out, but the week before Christmas was way too busy with packing for our trip to my in laws house for the holiday that I didn't have a chance to use it. So what did I do? I decided I would take advantage of the 12 hours sitting in the car on our trip and paint my nails. The hubbs can't stand the smell so he wasn't too thrilled, but we just rolled the windows down and it gave me something to do for the incredibly long trip.

The result? I have decided that our highways have WAY too many bumps AND I should have brought nail polish remover. My hands looked like a Kindergartner painted them. So about a 1/3 of the way into our trip we took a much needed break and stopped at the amazing, the wonderful, Target, to pick up various things including nail polish remover for my botched paint job. 

There I discovered the best thing since Peppermint Mocha creamer...Nail polish TOGO! Individually wrapped pre-moistened wipes to take your polish off. Apparently I wasn't the first one who decided to paint their nails on the go...

Verdict? AMAZING discovery and I recommend them to all ladies everywhere. My nails finally looked like a sober adult had painted them. The hubbs didn't like the added smell in the car, but he was eventually able to breath fresh air again...