another hot day...

...and a very good excuse to power wash the front porch!

Somehow, the hot weather makes this seem less like a chore!

Hope you're staying cool whereever you are... :-)

do the happy dance...

Hope you're having a great Memorial Day weekend!  :-)

the too cute tote...

 OMG, an official juice pouch tote!

I absolutely LOVE it!

Think of all the cool stuff I can hide in here...

Or, maybe just wear it on my head!

Do you like it?  I made it myself today from capri sun juice pouches, and, my trusty sewing machine!  :-)

P.S.  The only thing that Mommy helped me with was untangling the bobbin on the sewing machine.  I did everything else myself -- in four hours!  :-) 

enough, already...

So, the torture continued yesterday -- as if digging big holes in the backyard wasn't enough -- those guys turned  our power off for 3 hours.  Now, that may not seem like alot of time, but -- when it is from 8:20 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. -- which is when I:  use the PC, telephone, vacuum the carpet, use the washer/dryer, turn on the pool filter, turn on the air conditioning because it is already 85+ degrees outside -- and -- need to open my garage door with the electric remote -- then 3 hours is alot of time.  There is a pull string on the garage door opener which I have used once before in such a situation -- but when I pulled it this time -- it broke!  Arrrrrrgh!!!  Luckily it unlatched the mechanism before it did -- so I was able to open and close the door manually until Rick got home. Ozzy benefitted from the power outage -- I sat on the cool kitchen floor with him so that I could groom him a bit and brush his fur.  Once the power was back on and I knew I could leave the house without having Ozzy melt -- I was off to run some errands.  I found these hanging potted plants at my local ShopRite for:  $4.99 each!  They had just been delivered and I had the pick of the lot!  I also had  $5.00 off coupon -- soooooo... five hanging potted plants cost me about $20!  I got a big Fushcia, 2 new guinea impatiens (these have 4 plants + vinca + some other grassy thing in the middle), and, 2 trailing geranium (these have 3 plants in each pot).

In my book, that balanced the day out just right!  :-)

Remember these guys...

This is where they are this morning...

Yup, practically swimming in my pool!  Cookie (the cat) says she'll keep an eye on them for me.  You know, just in case they decide to take a dip!  :-)

a lovely day for Mrs. Duck...

Is it still raining where you are?  So far today it is not raining here -- but it is so humid that we had condensation on our windows this morning and I had to put the air conditioner on so that I could vacuum the family room carpet.  The ducks and the bugs (eeew!) are quite happy with this type of weather -- but not me...  But LOOK what I have to distract me!  I entered a blog comment giveaway over at The Fat Quarter Shop -- and I won some gorgeous Moda fabric by one of my favorite Moda designers -- "3 Sisters" :-)  That fabric bundle on the left side of the photo is 40 fat quarters, or, 10 yards of fabric -- and that cutie little bundle on the right side of the photo is a pack of 2.5" squares from Moda designer Sandy Gervais.

So, it is a lovely day for Mrs. Linda too!  Hope you find your lovely today :-)

50 years...

...is a VERY long time!

Happy 50th wedding anniversary to both of you! 

and the coupon frenzy continues...

http://dealseekingmom.com/cvs-earn-10-gas-cards-all-summer/

I'm not certain if this is available in all areas.  Please click the link above and go to the blog where this was posted originally if you have questions.

CVS: Earn $10 Gas Cards All Summer!

by TARA KUCZYKOWSKI on MAY 19, 2011 · 8 COMMENTS

Would you like to have these great bargains delivered right to your inbox? Join over 90,000 fellow deal seekers and subscribe to Deal Seeking Mom. Also become a fan of Deal Seeking Mom on Facebook for more conversation, additional deals and a peek at the freebies I receive in the mail. Thanks for visiting!

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Starting this Sunday, CVS is offering a summer promotion to help you save money on gas just by buying the essentials you shop for anyway!

Buy $30 worth of qualifying products each week to earn a $10 gas gift card. The products will be different each week, so hopefully there will be a good variety with plenty of coupon matchups!

Limit 1 per week. $30 of qualifying purchases must be made in a single week; totals will not carry over from week to week. 

creepy...

Anyone eat Odwalla bars?  I do.  I buy them by the 15 pack box.  They are my snack food for when I travel.  So, today I took one with me when I went food shopping.  After shopping, I got back in the car and drank some water, and then opened a new Odwalla bar and thought it looked a bit odd...

Looks like someone took a bite before wrapping it up.  I'm off to contact the people that make Odwalla -- I'll let you know what they say...

Update:  I called Odwalla and they are sending me 2 coupons.  They also asked me to keep this bar for a few days -- in case someone from their quality control department needs to contact me.

I've got sunshine...

...on a rainy day... :-)

And -- just as I was writing this post, the sun broke through the clouds!

What do you think of my gorgeous irises?  These are from "Larry's butterfly garden".  They are looking quite at home planted near the hostas (also from "Larry's butterfly garden").  The plants have lots more buds -- maybe when those bloom the sun will come out and stay awhile...

deal of the week...

I realized at about 3:30 p.m. that my 30% Kohl's discount expired today.  Boo hoo!  I wanted to use it with my $20 Kohl's cash to buy a new swimsuit top.  My "coupon" thinking must be in full swing, because I thought to go online and look for a free shipping deal -- and I found one!

So...I purchased the swimsuit top, plus a 10 pack of undies.  The original price for both of these items -- they were on sale -- was $31.19.  With my 30%, $20 Kohl's cash + free shipping -- I ended up paying a grand total of $7.83!

Am I learning? :-)

climb...

I'm feeling good again today (I wrote this post on 5/17, so it's actually 2 days in a row that I am feeling good) -- so, this is what I'm up to...

I have 5 yards of that fabric -- way up there...  I LOVED it when I bought it (maybe 3 years ago).  Now, I'm not so sure about it.  Does it look outdated? or "classic"?

hop, skip, jump...

I'm working my way up to this!

Well, maybe not...but...today has been yesterday was one of the first days (since March) that I can actually say I am feeling like myself! :-)

For the readers that don't know what I'm talking about -- I have been dealing with labyrinthitis since March 16 -- so it's been 2 months to the day since I woke up with that...  The cruelest part of this thing is that I can be feeling good today, and then tomorrow I can go back to feeling bad for awhile...

coupon monday...

Do you use coupons?  If you do, leave a comment and let us know which coupons are your favorites for this week.  If you don't use coupons, then let me show you why you should!

Here is the "extreme couponing" favorite of the week from our personal (behind the scenes) expert:

Offer in CVS stores:
Neutrogena suncare or sunless tanning lotion -- buy 2 and get $10 CVS extrabucks

Combine with:
the $2 coupon available at the neutrogena.com website

So...if you purchase 2 of the "wet skin" 5oz. sunscreens for $7.69 each + tax (where applicable) = $15.38.  Then you subtract the $2 neutrogena.com coupon = $13.38.  Then you subtract the $10 extrabuck (because that's free money you can spend on something else), you end up paying $3.38 for the 2 cans of sunscreen!

oh where, oh where...

... is the Moda fabric that I won -- way back when...

If Ms. Kimberly Walus  just happens to take a look over here at my blog -- maybe she will know that I am following the quilt market happenings vicariously through her blog and other bloggers.  I found these two new lines of fabric over at the Fat Quarter shop blog -- and I would be thrilled with either of them:

cabbages & roses

cosmo cricket

Hint, hint... :-)

congratulations...

Miss Tonianne graduated from college today! yesterday!

Sorry, this was the only photo I could find...hee...hee!

When you get a chance, maybe you could send me a current photo. :-)

[INSERT UPDATED PHOTO HERE]

What is NAHS...

A reason to put on some fancy duds on a Tuesday evening in May...

To sign your name in a big book...

And, have a pretty girl give you a long stemmed red rose...

NAHS stands for the National Art Honor Society.  Congratulations to Nicholas for his achievement!

what's around the corner...

Since we planted the 2 midnight salsa hydrangea plants (left side of photo) I am enjoying this part of the garden... 

but, these guys... 

right over there with the jackhammer...

are giving me a headache!

Rick found out the scoop on that sidewalk "graffiti" from the other day -- something to do with the drainage pipes under the street.  They can't repave the streets until they fix this.

I'm off to find some earplugs...  

time to get organized...

Sofia has been busy organizing her art supplies.  She is following YouTube videos on how to organize her collections of:  nail polish, crayons, duct tape...  I know, the duct tape collection sounds a bit odd -- but wait until I show you what my little artist can make from it!  :-)

happy mother's day...

Hope you spent your day surrounded by love... :-)

hey, that looks terrible...

WHAT the ....?

Hey, utility people --- Tell me where you live so I can come write all over your lawn and sidewalk!