Free Godiva Chocolate

Godiva chocolate now has a rewards card which entitles you to one piece of free chocolate a month plus coupons, special sales, etc. If you live near a Godiva store this is well worth it! Oh, and the card is free too!

https://www.godiva.com/member/rewardLogin.aspx

A Quick Goodwill Stop

I made a quick stop in Goodwill yesterday on my way home and am very glad I did.

I found:

2 board books for Nate: $1

1 knit top for me: $3.50

4 tapas plates in the shape of different veggies
(perfect holiday gift for a vegetarian friend): $6.00

A kit to make photo coasters (which will also be a gift): $5

I'm Lovin' It

It was time, definitely time, to try something new in the diet department. I had hit rock bottom but didn't know what to do to fix it. I tried my doctor's plan but when you eat lunch at 11:30 and don;t eat dinner until 8:00, it is impossible not to snack. Weight watchers was not an option this time. I wasn't going to pay for something I knew I wasn't going to use. I didn't want to track and count points, I wasn't interested. So what did that leave? My husband suggested I try the low carb diet that my dad was on, not really Atkins, not really South Beach, just don't eat carbs or really try to limit the number of carbs & sugar you take in in a day. What the hell I thought, I have nothing to lose... actually I have a WHOLE LOT to lose, but it is the only thing I hadn't tried. So I tried.

HOLY CRAP IT WORKS!

I hate to admit that both my father AND my husband are right about something, but they are... low carb eating really works. In one week I lost 4.1 pounds. Not only that, I didn;t have blood sugar spikes, I didn't fall asleep at my desk, I didn;t have that constant knawing craving for sugar. And I got to eat... real food... not diet food! Cheese and meat and nuts and eggs and veggies and fruit and dark chocolate (in moderation), and cheese... did I mention the cheese? I got to eat cheese!!!!

I know that it will not always be easy and that I will fall off the wagon. I know that this is not a diet but a lifestyle change (GOD! that sounds SO CHEESEY... oops, pun not intended but enjoyed), and that this is for the long haul, but I feel like I am off to a pretty Gouda (I HAD TO!) start. :)

Shoes

These are the shoes that I am wearing to work today. Bandolino... super cute... purchased at Goodwill for $5 (or less I really don't remember). I love them... but they are holding me back... Literally! My feet are killing me now (at the end of the day) and I had to do something I vowed I would NEVER do... put on sneakers with work clothes to walk across campus. :/

Nuva Ring Users

If you haven't already done so, go to Nuvaring.com and sign up for the newsletter. You can get four (4) coupons for $15 off your insurance copay. That's a good deal and if your insurance copay is $15 it means you get four (4) months free!

I'm Back!

I didn't think that I was going to be coming back. I really didn't. I took way more than a month off and I didn't miss blogging one bit. I really didn't. I got way too wrapped up in other things... important things... like the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyers and TrueBlood on HBO. (I am nurturing a little vampire obsession at the moment so bear with me) I resurrected the cross stitch sampler that I started before Nate was born and vowed to finish it before he turns 2. I cut out two skirts that are still sitting on my sewing machine and between working full time and cleaning the house I enjoyed spending time with my hubby and with Nate.

Oh, I also got completely swept up in cloth diapering... which I LOVE by the way... more to come on all of that.

So hopefully ya'll haven't given up on me and someone somewhere had Cuppa, Cuppa, Cuppa in their reader and will notice that I have returned. ;)

Free Coffee on Me

Blogging Break

I will be taking a blogging break for the next month or so. I have, at this time, nothing to say. I have fallen completely off the frugal wagon, and will be concentrating on climbing back on.

Thanks!

National Library Week 2009 -- Day 4

Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen

National Library Week 2009 -- Day 3

The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians by Carla Morris

National Library Week 2009 -- Day 2

Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora

National Library Week

In honor of National Library Week, I thought I would share some of my favorite library/librarian themed childrens' books (since that is all I seem to read these days).

Bats at the Library by Brian Lies

Happy Easter

Happy Birthday Baby!

From: http://www.sugarliciousonline.com/cakes/birthday/animals/black_labrador.html

Happy Passover

And the Winner Is...

Blue Violet

Her frugal cooking tip,

"I try to plan my meals for the week around the grocery store sales for that week. That really helps cut costs on the expensive items like meat. Also, if I double the recipe and freeze half of it for later in individual portions...it saves on waste and prevents us from having to cook on busy days."

Thanks you to all who entered and Thank you to Gina for the free advertising!

I will be contacting the winner shortly. :)

Dining on a Dime Giveaway!

This will be my first ever giveaway of Cuppa, Cuppa, Cuppa, and I am really excited. I have in my possession one brand new copy of the Dining on a Dime Cookbook. I own this cook book and I LOVE IT. If you need a recipe for taco sauce it is in there. If you need a recipe for sidewalk chalk it is in there. If you need a recipe for a pore-minimizing clay mask... well, I am pretty sure that you can find a recipe for something close in there!

So, if you are interested in having your own copy... leave me a comment and a give me one frugal cooking tip. Winners will be picked on Monday, April 6th!

Mama Drama

My mom watches Nate while I am at work. I work close enough to her house that I go and have lunch with Nate just about every day. Today while I was there Nate tripped over a blow-up Krusty the Klown punching bag (don't ask) and fell face first onto another toy made of hard plastic. He hit right at his orbital bone, it must have hurt like hell. He screamed. I happened to be right there when it happened so I scooped him up, coo-ed and cuddled. Nate wailed harder and try to throw himself out of my arms and into grandma's....

It was devestating. I actually felt my heart break wide open. I cried real tears.

We got some ice of his face, gave him his sippy and a bink and he was fine. He's going to have a shiner, but he will be fine.

Knowing the fragile state of the mama ego, my mom whispered to Nate to "go give mommy a hug and a kiss" and to his credit my little man did just that. Complete with the universal sign for pick me up (both arms straigt up) and he cuddled me and kissed me and mended my broken heart.

It was a lot for a lunch hour.

Hillbilly Housewife

One of the things I have always loved about the Hillbilly Housewife is her emergency $45 and $70 menus. Recently, she updated these to reflect 2009 prices.

What a change... the $45 menu now costs $70 while the former $70 menu now costs $89.

What was interesting to me was the price changes of individual items like the 10lb. bag of flour that went from $1.92 to $3.98. That's more than double the price in 3 years! Wow! Rice was another shocker with a jump from $.99 in 2006 to $3.50 in 2009.

I knew the food prices went up, but seeing it in black and white in a side by side comparison is really eye opening. Yet another good reason to keep a price book....

Easter Basket Fluff

I started to put together Nate's Easter basket this week. There isn't/won't be much too it. He is too little for candy and has a ton of toys, so it will contain a few new things for the spring a summer, like sidewalk chalk (the egg shapes they have out at Easter are easy for little hands to hold), bubbles, and these little felted bunnies and chicks from Beneath the Rowan Tree.

So... Darn... Cute!