Day 151 - May 31

I got laughed at to take this picture, because I did the shopping yesterday and had to drag everything out.   This particular selection of stuff was only 25 bucks.  Chicken & corn were on super sale.  Pasta was free with coupons & sale.  Everything else was a combination of sales & coupons stacked together.  It was my last super cheap cat food week, so that was nice.  There were originally more ears of corn but I gave Sarah some as a parting gift last night because we forgot to cook it and we can't eat that much alone! :)

Day 150 - May 30

It's in! My car has a home now.  It is happy.  Just in time to make room for visitors in the driveway, too.  :)

Day 149 - May 29

I spent HOURS weeding today.  Hours.  Just about 5.  In my travels, I came across this totally different rose growing amongst the hot pink wild rose bush.  The salmon rose is more "typical" of what you would see if you went to buy roses.  The two rosebushes we have are wild roses (I'm sure there are official names for all these things, but I'm going on prior knowledge here!)  and look and act differently.  It was a surprise to see this other kind of rose appear.  I need to read about roses so I don't kill this bush.

Day 148 - May 28

Look what I found! My spoon and fork windchime!  It's living outside now.  Hopefully it doesn't fall apart.

Day 147 - May 27

For the first time in a long time, I read 2 books in 2 days.  Sure, they're chapter books aimed at 12 year olds, but I'll take what I can get.

I loved this book.  It was better than yesterday's.  Captain Nobody starts off as Newt(on), a regular ole 10 year old who happens to be the little brother of the star of the local high school football team.  Most of the story unfolds after an accident at the big football game and Captain Nobody is born out of a halloween costume.

It's a realistic fiction story*, no superheros, just a kid who finds strength behind a mask. 

*Ok, mostly realistic, because I doubt parents would let a 10 year old stay home alone for days while they were off at the hospital taking care of the big brother.  But other than THAT, it's realistic. :)

Day 146 - May 26

I read this book today.  It's on the grades 4-6 chapter book "Black Eyed Susan" list for next year.

To sum up the book in 2 words I'll just say ... "Groundhog Day."

It was good, and I think the kids will like it.  But it wasn't orginal.

Day 145 - May 25

Had some good coupon/sale matchups this week.  All this stuff was 17 bucks.  Did I need 3 containers of ice cream?  No.  But it made the yogurt free and we'll eat it eventually!

I have one more week of almost free cat food.  I don't plan on buying that stuff for months!

Day 144 - May 24

It's funny, but I'm still not tired of coming home to free stuff every day. :)  I've never purchased Lever 2000, but this sample bar smells better than your average soap!

Day 143 - May 23

What else could I post today? 

Goodbye, Lost!

Day 142 - May 22

I finally got to eat at Sonic tonight.  Two other times in my life I got a drink during their "Happy Hour," but this is the first time I got to eat their food.  I had my fast food staple - popcorn chicken and fries.  They were ok, but the cherry limeade continues to be my favorite drink anywhere! :)

Day 141 - May 21

I must confess, I did not take this picture.  My husband did.  He saw this car when out and about.  This is just the side.  The top of the trunk has a photograph, and there are lyrics painted on it too.  If you look at the ground, you can see just how shiny the letters are - because they make a shiny shadow. :)

Day 140 - May 20

I have an issue with lack of symmetry.  I don't understand why there are 3 sticky bush things on the right, and 2 on the left with the 3rd spot being held by a little pine tree.  Why, why, why?  And why plant a purple flower bush thing on the right and a red one on the left?  And why are there big blank areas in the flower bed when the two lettuce type deals are almost on top of the sticky bush things? 

These are questions that need answers, people.  I know I could solve the problem, but I don't know how to do it yet.  Perhaps next spring!

Day 139 - May 19

I was going to take a dinner of my BBQ Beef Brisket sandwich at Duclaw that I had for dinner.  I really was.  Then it came.  And it smelled good.  And I inhaled it pretty much in 3 minutes.  So you're getting a picture of an empty plate.  :)

Day 138 - May 18

Thank goodness we have hard floors now.  SOMEONE went running on the track at the high school and got goose poop on their shoe.

And, well, we all know that I don't run. :)

Day 137 - May 17

This is the wall above our bed.  It's huge, because our room has a cathedral ceiling.  And it's blank.  Completely.  We can't figure out what to put there and we don't want to randomly bang nails in the wall only to change our minds later.  So we do nothing.

Day 136 - May 16

Most of my food was already put away by the time I thought to take a picture, and I didn't want to drag it all out.  We have been creative with the ingredient purchasing for the last month, so now grocery shopping is very different.  We don't buy whole meals on one trip anymore.  Having the extra freezer space is spectacular! 

All of these groceries cost ..... $16.50! 

Of course we bought other stuff too, this was just the amazing deals pile.  I am a big fan of turkey sausage and turkey pepperoni, so I'm hoping that turkey bacon there in the middle is good.  Even though I usually don't go to Safeway - their 10 ears of corn for 2 bucks was too good to pass up.  We also combined a store sale & coupon to get the 2 jars of pasta sauce & 2 boxes of pasta for just $3.  Cheezeits were $0.49 after a sale & coupon as well.  We don't always buy that kind of thing, but for 49 cents we were on board. :)

Day 135 - May 15

Last weekend, Mike's friend came over with his SUV to help Mike bring stuff to the dump.  However, when they got there on Monday morning they were turned away due to a furlough day.  Since the SUV was already full of junk (pull up bar they pulled out of the back yard, gross chair & ottoman, yard waste, etc.) the boys decided to just switch cars for the week.  Boy am I glad they did!  If it weren't for that furlough day, we wouldn't have had Jeff's car for the week.  And if we hadn't had Jeff's car for the week, I wouldn't have laughed at the discovery of 5 different types of ice scrapers in the car.  And if I hadn't been laughing at all the ice scrapers, I wouldn't have looked closer at this one.  2ND COOLEST INVENTION EVER*!!!  It's a down mitt with a pole inside which is attached to the plastic scraper.  Yes, you could wear gloves.  I get that.  But that doesn't take away from the awesomeness that is this scraper.  AND, they're on clearance at Eddie Bauer.com right now.  So pardon me while I go buy them for everyone I know for Christmas. :)

*To this day, I still find the coolest invention ever to be the keypad connected to the garage door opener.  The little girl in me who still leaves her keys in random places likes the security. :)

Day 134 - May 14

May I present .... my half of the office.  Aka, craft land.  Talk about re-purposing.  The two plastic drawer sets are my & my brother's nightstands from college.  The wooden cabinet is my original kitchen island from the townhouse.  If only I had time to sit and stamp these days.  It'll go so much faster now that it's all available and organized!!!

Day 133 - May 13

Look at everything I got in my mailbox today!  Most of it came from the Kraft Summer BBQ box.  Wheat thins, Vanilla Caramel latte, & coupons for free hot dogs and free bbq sauce.  Then some random cream and shampoo.  Freebies are fun.

Day 132 - May 12

They are resurfacing the road behind us.  Our yard has a privacy fence, but the neighbors just have a split rail style fence.  Hence the long shadows!

Day 131 - May 11

When I took over in January of 2002, our paperback section was just a few ratty books.  As times and budgets have changed, (I have 1/3 the amount of money to spend this year as I had that year), I haven't been purchasing as many hard cover fiction books because the book fair supplies free paperback ones.  Over the years, the paperback section has grown like crazy which means nobody can find anything!  This month, I'm spine labeling all the paperbacks and filing them with the hard covers.  It's time consuming. 

During an assembly, most of my class was gone.  All but 5 boys.  Rather than popping in a movie, I taught them how to take the spine labels I had made and to sticker the books.  They had a ball.  Now, as you can see, they aren't all at the same height or perfectly centered.  But these 5 boys got done in 40 minutes what would have taken me 2 weeks to do with a few minutes here or there.  And they had a ball, which was cute to watch.

Day 130 - May 10

This is what I see when I try to watch cookies bake.  Our oven doesn't have a window. :)

Day 129 - May 9

I've gotten some deals lately, thanks to the new coupon strategies ... but this can go down in history as the first thing I "bought" for FREE!  I learned some lingo that helped - because the coupon was for a dollar and the thing was on sale for 99 cents.  The kid cashier said "can't do it, it's an error."  I politely said, "Oh could you just adjust it down to 99 cents?" And it worked.  And I got my free creamer. Excellent. :)  My dad doesn't use this stuff, so I didn't discover all the wonderful flavors until I was an adult.  I dislike hazelnut which is the most common flavor of flavored coffees, but I like caramel.  I've actually never tried chocolate caramel but I figured since it was free, it was worth a shot!

Day 128 - May 8

It was way more money than it should of been, but the garage door opener now opens and closes the garage door with the push of a button!  Or the tap of a 4 digit keystroke! Success!!!!!!

Day 127 - May 7

There are some down sides to living in a house that backs to a semi big road.  This large piece of construction equipment was moving slowly but with a sonic boom type rumble.  I just happened to be watering the grass seed patch in the back when it went by.  They're getting ready to re-surface the road.  Woohoo? :)

Day 126 - May 6

I had a meeting today. My 3rd one since last Tuesday, which in my world basically means LOTS of sub plans. Anyway. This meeting, like many I attend, was in a library. I noticed a book on display called "Game Faces - some of the greatest baseball portraits." So of course I spent 5 minutes flipping through. I haven't looked up the copyright date, but judging on the main characters, I'd say it's from the early 2000's. Pedro Martinez was on the cover, there were several shots of Cal & a bunch of (baby!) Jeter and A-Rod. Most of the way through the book, I found it! I knew you couldn't leave him out! Here's Moose! :) Smiling, unlike most pitcher pictures on baseball cards. And wearing the right uniform. ;)

Update: I was right, it's from 2001. 

Day 125 - May 5

Our rose bush started blooming yesterday.  These are the first few blossoms.  Time to google "rose bush care," I suppose.... :)

Day 124 - May 4

Our new house has recycling, which makes me happy.  But this is the pile of paper that has accumulated since Thursday night when the paper recycling last went out.  Sadly, the paper doesn't go out again for 2 whole weeks!  Time to break down some boxes...

Day 123 - May 3

Look what came today!  Now Mike's desk doesn't have to be all alone in the dining room.  Granted, there's no table to dine at in the dining room, but we are only 2 people and can only eat at one table at a time, so that's ok. :)  My piano was living in Mike's parents' living room and it was very lonely.  So it is glad to be back with me.  I know cause it told me so.  I am shocked that it isn't (ridiculously) out of tune!

It's very obvious during which decade I played the piano and which years I worked at a music store when you look at my milk crate of music books and sheet music!! :)

Day 122 - May 2

Mike is attempting to make grass grow in the dead spots in the back yard.   We hear from neighbors that the previous owner drove some heavy machinery around his yard last year, and then let it sit.  (He also managed to burst the PVC water pipe in the front yard because he didn't heed the warnings and call Miss Utility.)  Hopefully the grass will be friendly and start to grow!  These are the 3 biggest spots, but there are some small ones too.  I wonder what he was digging for?!?

Yes, that's the shadow of a pull up bar you're seeing on the fence.  Another gift from the previous homeowners. 

Day 121 - May 1

Today was the "Black Eyed Susan - Celebrate Reading" cruise.  They announce the winners of the Black Eyed Susan award and an author speaks at lunch while we take a ride on a paddleboat around the harbor, Fells, Canton, and Ft. McHenry.  Last year it rained, so today's beautiful weather was a nice change!

Mike is finally starting to feel more human, but he was advised to continue to avoid people til today so he stayed home.  He was going to at least let the garage door opener fixer dude in, but since the guy didn't show, he didn't have to.  I was going to go to the outdoor movie party without him, but decided that'd be a little mean. :)