Little Things...

One week down, and 51 more to go...Hubby and I are trying to go the whole year without spending any money on extra things... we are going to try to stick to a budget...no shopping(the kids will still get birthday presents and clothes when needed) other than necessities.  We are putting money in a vacation fund, Christmas account, and regular savings, and extra will go to paying down bills. Because in reality, we really don't "need" anything, most things are just wants. I figure if we have the will power to lose weight, then we have the will power to do this.  So one week in and we are doing good.

And with this new year and new budget, I am going to reexamine things I already have in the house. Weed out the crap and showcase the things I really love.  

I've been cleaning the kitchen and mudroom all day and when I finally got to the point where I could adjust the decor, I started with the kitchen window area.  I was looking at this tiered wire basket stand and realized that I had two white porcelain chamber pots in it. One holding a plant and the other holding dish scrubbers. Then it hit me.... why wasn't my third chamber pot on the top?  I love these chamber pots(yes, my family thinks it is gross and weird to own these, but I like them) but I have never found the right spot to put them all... until now.  It took a bit of finagling to fit that top one in, but it's there now and is holding the dish cloths.

 Now my three white chamber pots are together and right in a spot where I can see them and enjoy them everyday.  All three were from goodwill btw.

I'm off to rid the kitchen of the red Christmas gingham... I'm enjoying light and airy at the moment. Thank goodness redecorating and rearranging doesn't cost anything!!

Have a lovely day,

Tiff

January Bulletin Board...

It's January 7th and I was finally able to get into school and do the January Bulletin board.  The kids were supposed to go back on January 2nd, but because of the weather(first snow and then ice) they had off Thursday, Friday, and Monday too!  We have used up 3 of our 5 built in snow days already and it's only the beginning of winter.  Oh well, the extra long break was nice.

So here is the board...

 The pond turned out more pink than I wanted, but it's fine for something so temporary.

 And the dog mascot became a snowman :)

 My little helper had to wear his batman winter hat that he got from his big sister for Christmas.  He loves it!

Thank you all for the warm wishes for Cameron.  We are looking forward to the wedding :)

Stay warm,

Tiff

Guess What?!?!?!?!!!

Cameron flew back to California on New Year's day. Before he came we learned that he had a pretty serious girlfriend out there. And it just so happened that she was from Maine(small world right?).  We knew things were going somewhere because he actually talked to us about her(he never talked about his social life with us as a teenager), he didn't go out with friends, and snap chatted her the whole time.  On the two hour drive to the airport, hubby and I talked about what his plans were for the future.  He and this girl remind us of hubby and I 21 years ago... they are almost the exact same ages, he's in the military, he will be transferred in the summer, and they are serious about each other.  We told him all about us back then and said we totally understand if he elopes(we did, we were far from family, just like he is), but if he can give us notice, we would really like to be there.  And I made sure I told him that he has to take some pictures of the day... I don't have any and that is my only regret.

Well, while hubby and I were at the gym this afternoon(did a 10k btw on the treadmill and I'm paying for it now in pain) I got a text from him...."Me and Kellsea are getting married". He also snap chatted me a pic of her ring...it's almost like the one above.
So my oldest baby is engaged!!!  Wow.  I'm really feeling old. Especially when hubby says to me that I could be a grandma in the near future.
Seriously though, I am over the moon happy for him. I'm so happy that he is happy. That is what I want most for my kids.

We may be taking a road trip to California soon. I'll keep you posted.

Tiff