Snapfish works for me

As far as photo storing sites go they are bountiful. There is Shutterfly, photobucket, flickr, Kodak Gallery, etc. But the one I use and trust the most is Snapfish. I have been a loyal user of Snapfish since about 2004 when I really started taking pictures with a digital camera. I loved that I could order prints for $.09, that I could make gifts using my photos, and the best part was that as long as I purchased one thing every year (even if it was only a $.09 print) they would continue storing all my digital photos on their site so I didn't have to store them on my poor battered pc's hard drive). But one of the other things I love the most about Snapfish is their customer service. I recently ordered a batch of prints that encompassed Easter, a first Communion, Memorial Day and various other shots of my kids and when I received my order of 79 prints, 6 of them had the heads of the person in the picture cut off. I immediately emailed Snapfish's customer service and was ecstatic to find out the next day, when I got the reply, that they were going to credit my account not only for the 6 pictures that were headless but the entire 79 prints I had ordered and the shipping costs for future use.

Wordless Wednesday...Ice cream brings us together

Head here for more Wordless Wednesday Posts.

Money, money, money......

...there's just never enough of it. After paying all the bills and putting some away into savings it seems as though there's really not that much left for discretionary purposes. But there probably is, if you budget right. I work in the financial sector so a budget is nothing new to me and neither is writing one. But I want to have a budget that shows me exactly how much money I have for discretionary purposes ever week and that is where Gail Vaz-Oxlade and Til Debt do us part comes in. Til Debt Do Us Part is a show that is filmed in Canada that I stumbled upon one night while channel surfing. It is a show that is hosted by Gail Vaz-Oxlade that shows as she goes into people's homes and makes them get serious about their finances. She shows them exactly what they're spending (most of it frivolously) and has them fill out budgets. Then she introduces them to the budget binder and the money jars. She essentially takes away all credit and debit cards and makes them live on cash alone. This is where the jars and budget binder come in and where my ramblings are leading you. Here you can find the interactive budget for how much cash is needed in a given week for discretionary purposes, hence the jars (the money has to be placed somewhere) and to track it you need the budget binder. My husband and I have used this system before and now it is just second nature to update it every month. It has saved us a lot of money in the long run and really showed us where we were spending out money. It allows us to put into perspective how much we're actually making and where all our money is going. The interactive budget works for me, how about you? Head over to see Kristen at wearethatfamily.com for more Works for me Wednesday posts.

I am not 25.....

....and I seriously need to remember that.. To help me with this is my what I learned this week post....

I learned that if you go out on a Friday night and drink like you are still 25 and DID NOT just celebrate the 6th anniversary of your 25th birthday your 4 year old will joyously serenade you with "You are my Sunshine" at the top of her lungs at 5:03 am.




I learned that one smile from a 17 month old can make a day all worth it.



What did you learn this week? Head over to see Julie here for more What I Learned This Week

Ugh, this makes me sick

This article is all about what is wrong with today's society. This woman is striving to become the world's HEAVIEST!! She is a woman who is the mother to two children ages 3 and 14 and is in my opinion eating herself into an early grave. What kind of an example is she setting for her children? I will freely admit that I struggle with body image issues every single day. But when I gave birth to my daughter I decided that I wanted to be around for her WHOLE life and made a pact with myself to eat better, exercise and do everything in my power to make sure I was setting a good example for my children and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Within this article it states (near the bottom) that she suffers from Type 2 diabetes (which most of the time can be controlled by diet and exercise) and has difficulty with basic tasks such as cooking and showering. I don't want to be at the point where I can't take a shower because that would mean I also couldn't do things like push my kids on a swing or go down a slide with them. I think that she's doing this for all the wrong reasons. She also says that after a friend died of complications from gastric bypass surgery she decided to quit dieting and weight pills and eat what she wanted. It's fine to indulge every once in a while but charging people to watch you chow down on greasy food and walk to your car is a seriously impaired person's desperation for attention. If her fiancee truly loved her and she truly loved her children, she would take care of herself to ensure that she was there for all the monumental moments of their lives.

No Dining Out challenge for June

Do you like to cook? That's great if you do, I hate to cook. Seriously hate to cook. And I'm all about convenience which all too much falls under the umbrella of eating out or a drive thru meal even if it is a salad. I simply do not enjoy the preparations or physical aspect of cooking. What I do like though is for my children to eat their meals and saving money. That's why I'm jumping on the bandwagon for the No Dining Out challenge for the month of June and will hopefully continue it throughout the summer. You can read more about the guidelines here. I am going to track how much I will save by NOT dining out. If you think about it I paid $4 for a salad and I could have bought 2 bags of prewashed and precut salad mix that would have made lunches for me for the week and a salad to add to one of our dinners this week. When you attach a dollar amount to it it seems so stupid to do that doesn't it? In order to help with the No dining challenge I have committed myself to also writing a menu plan for the week and sticking to it so at the last minute I'm not racking my brain trying to think of what to make for dinner. Are you up for the challenge?

What was I NOT thinking?!?!?!

It's Monday. Which means it's time for yet another installment of Not Me Monday brought to you by Mckmama.

This is a great link up that grew out of Mckmama's desire to post some of her imperfections if you will. I swear I lose 5lbs by reading the blogs that link up every Monday, so here we go:

That was absolutely not me who dropped off my daughter for a overnight trip that would take her (and my in-laws) over the river and through the woods (literally) to visit her Aunt and Uncle then drop off my son at daycare and drove all the way to work (30 minutes away!!) before I realized I still had the car seat in my car. That was needed. To go over the river and through the woods. For an overnight trip.

That was not me who totally debated about just letting my 4 year old eat herself sick on frosting in a can to prove a point.

That was so not me who had a full on conversation with myself while sitting on my butt while landscaping. So much so that my neighbor asked if I knew my "conversation partner" had apparently walked away.

That was also not me who in order to save face told my neighbor that my "friend" must have gone in to grab a beer. Because I am seriously so not lacking adult conversation that I need to create my own.

What did you NOT do this week? Head here to see more on Not Me Monday

Hungry, hungry hippo

That's what my 4 year old told me this evening when scavenging the fridge for something to eat. I guess I should probably make my menu plan for this week. And dinner.




Sunday ~ Tuna noodle casserole, mixed veggies

Monday ~ Meatloaf, mashed potatos, fresh broccoli

Tuesday ~ Pasta fagioli, salad

Wednesday ~ Chicken tacos, black beans, spanish rice

Thursday ~ Burgers on the grill, grilled veggies, campfire potatos

Friday ~ Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup

Saturday ~ Family reunion cookout....

What's on your menu? Check out here for more menu plans

Thank you for being a friend,

traveled down the road and back again, Your heart is true, you're a pal and a confidant. I know that I am totally late to the party (again) in honoring the unbelievable Rue McClanahan. I can't say that I know of anyone who didn't watch the Golden Girls either growing up or in college. Or now when it's rerun in syndication. I watch it every single time it is on. And some of the best lines of that show were from or directed towards Rue McClanahan's Blanch Devereaux. Rest in peace Rue and enjoy the cheesecake in heaven.

Bring on the FUN!

Having kids means there is always fun to be had. Whether it be on the jumpoline or playing in the dirt. I was thrilled when I saw Beth's "assignment" for this week's You Capture because in complete honesty it made it so much easier for me :)

Here's what we do for fun around here:

 

 

 

 

What did you capture for FUN? Head over the Beth's here for more You Capture moments.

Procrastination Nation.....

That totally describes me. If I have an hour to do something I will wait until the last 5 minutes to actually take the time to work on it. If I have an hour to be somewhere, I will leave with the least amount of time given to traffic delays and what not. Due to this, I am just about horrible in every aspect of time management in my life. Except for really my life. Every thing has a time and date to be done. I have to make myself a "To Do" list for my life. But it ensures that household chores get done, bathrooms get cleaned, clothes get washed and bills get paid. I then plaster these lists around my house. I also leave sticky notes where I can (my favorite is the note in the bathroom on the mirror from my bathroom asking me to please clean it). If I don't write it down I won't do it. And that's what works for me, have other suggestions or something that you do that works for you? Head over to Kristen's for more Works for me Wednesday tidbits....

Mama said what?

Mckmama is hosting a new link up called out of the Mouths of Babes Moms allowing us mama's the ability to put to paper so to speak the things we say to our children. Here's what came out of my mouth this week:

"Because it's not a good idea to teach Daniel to blow bubbles in bubble bath"

"No you don't need to have a different color for each finger and toe. Because all together you have 20 of them combined and I'm just not into painting that much"

"Leave her belly button alone"

"No it's not the real Beast. I promise you it's not the real Beast that lives with Belle. Because it's steak that's why now please eat your dinner"

"There's no way you're hungry. Because you just inhaled your lunch. No you cannot have a new lunch. Because you just had lunch. No you may not have a snack. No you may not have a treat. Just because you asked nicely does not mean that I will say yes. Yes maybe I am mean and nasty but I am not old and don't call me Mother. Because I said so."

What's to eat?!?!?

It's the beginning of yet another week (seriously where does the weekend go?) and that means it time for another edition of menu planning. You can check out some more menu plans here and possibly add to your menu as well :)

Sunday ~ Steakumm burgers (these are incredibly delicious hamburgers that Stop and Shop has on sale B1G1 free until 6/24) and salad

Monday ~ Crock pot pulled BBQ chicken from a guest post on Erin's site at 5 Dollar Mom. Potato salad and green beans.

Tuesday ~ Beef Stroganoff and mixed veggies

Wednesday ~ Pasta and salad

Thursday ~ Egg Sandwiches on english muffins, fruit, fried potatoes

Friday ~ Grilled pizza

Saturday ~ Chili dogs and oven fries with corn on the cob.

What are you eating this week?

One shot......

Beth over at I Should Be Folding Laundry (shouldn't we all?) hosts an awesome link up each week called You Capture. It's all about the photographs that a person "captures" in a week's time, each week with a different theme or challenge. This week it was ONE SHOT. The challenge was to take pics all week like usual but to only submit the favorite of the week. Here is mine:




What did you capture this week?

Calorie Counters

Wow have I ever been slacking in the Works For Me Wednesday posts....what can I say Wednesday is a busy day for me but that's really no excuse so alas here is a post about what works for me....

Right after I had my daughter I continued to eat like I was still pregnant and put on more weight than I did when I was pregnant. It wasn't until I saw a picture of myself that I realized I had to do something. I am so not one for starving myself on a lettuce diet or even really one for paying attention to or exerting myself for exercise however I found the one thing that I could do is make a conscious effort to see what I was putting into my body every day. I decided to become a calorie counter. There are several sites out there that will track your calories for you but my two favorite are fitday.com and 411fit.com. I love that they have calorie counts for fast food restaurants and major chains. I especially love that 411fit.com will give you a grade every day based on what you consumed for that particular day. With the help of these sites and making the effort to see what I was inhaling eating I was able to lose all my after baby weight and then some and get to a weight that I was happy with. And that's what works for me. How about you, have something to share? If so head over to Kristen's to do so and while you're there take the time to see what works for others!!