I'm back............

I can't believe it's been 4 months since my last post, what a busy summer! No time or desire to post on either blog. But, fall is on it's way, kids are back in school (my baby is in 3rd grade now!!) and there is a bit more time to do some fun things for the mama!!! :o)

I have added a new fall background and done some other maintenance so now I'm ready to actually do a blog post. Be on the look out, it'll be comin' soon!!!

Have a blessed day.

Amy

Another 2.8 lbs gone!

Things are moving slowly but steadily on the WW front. Down again but gone are the weeks of 2.5-3 lbs weight loss in one week. I'm ok with it though as long as the scale keeps moving and I don't his plateau just yet!!!

Another Blog

I've decided to start another blog that focuses on my love of cooking, couponing and keeping the home. Please join me for my adventures at Cookin' And Savin' With Amy

WW Update

Just an update on the weight loss front since I didn't post last week about it. Last week I lost 3 lbs (got the biggest loser flower again!!!) and this week I lost 1.6 lbs for a total weight loss of 16.4 lbs in 6 weeks. I'm thinkin' that's not too bad. I wasn't sure how this week was going to play out since Easter was the day before weigh in and I almost didn't go but I'm glad I did. I'm hoping to hit 20 lbs by the end of April. I know that the amounts of weight I'm losing each week is going to slow so I need to prepare for that too and not get too frustrated.

Hope everyone has a blessed week!

Channeling June Cleaver

When I woke up this morning I thought it was going to be a horrible day. I had a terrible sore throat and according to hubby, I tossed and turned all night long, (sorry baby!) and it was cold and rainy out. But by the time Em was off to school, my Advil had kicked in and I had downed half a cup of hot tea and was feeling better.

That's when it happened. I was checking out Aunt Ruthie's Sugar Pie Farmhouse and between her blogging and the 40s music that plays on her site, June Cleaver entered my home thru me!!!

I donned my favorite new pink floral apron from Aunt Dorothy and found an online 40s radio station and began making French Toast to get into the freezer for Em's Thursday morning breakfasts. (Thursdays are pancake/waffle/french toast day here at the Sandage house.) I got one and a half loaves of Texas toast converted to French Toast. That's enough to feed her for quite some time as long as we can keep daddy out of it. Doesn't look YUMMY! Too bad it isn't Weight Watcher friendly...4 points per slice!!!!!!! OUCH!


After the French Toast was in the freezer and the mess cleaned up and kitchen sink was shiny,

I set out to iron Delmar's work shirts. Not usually one of my favorite jobs but today it made me happy to do it. He's gotten several new shirts lately and they aren't wrinkle resistant but do come out nicely when ironed so I've decided that's what needs to be done and I'm ok with it.

I've been working this week on our bedroom per Flylady's Flight Plan for the week. Spending 15 minutes a day decluttering. I've gotten rid of 2 kitchen trash bags of clothes that I haven't wore in ages as well as some twin sheet sets. (I don't think we need 5 sets when we only have one twin bed in the house LOL) Now it is hubby's turn but he's been busy this week. I would do his myself but I'm afraid I will get rid of something that he loves.

Time to scoot, hubby just got home from his Kingdom Soldiers group I'm gonna go check and see how his day was.

Here's just something to make you smile. He's in my kitchen window and when the breeze blows in, his head bobbles all over. Just too cute!!!

Four Weeks Down

Things on the Weight Watchers front are goin' good. Down another 2.8 lbs this week for a total of 11.8 in my first month. Not too bad if I do say so myself. For the month of April I would like to start adding some walking into the mix. I think that even a little activity will be helpful in keeping the weight coming off. I do need to remember that I will need to up my points to compensate for the added activity. I didn't do that last time and I stalled out because I wasn't eating enough when I added activity.

Hope you all are having a great week!

Deals, Deals, Deals

Headed to Walgreens yesterday and today and got some great deals! I got all this for $25.46. I also got a thing of elastic hair ties for Em's hair but they didn't make it into the picture and I didn't feel like taking another. As best I can tell this picture represents over $70.00 worth of stuff. Regular price the cereal and tampons alone are about $31.00. So I paid about a third of what I would have without sales and coupons.

Here's what I got:
Kleenex tissues-6 boxes
Colgate Total toothpaste
Raisin Bran-2 boxes
Fruit Loops & Corn Pops-1 box each
Scope mouthwash-2 bottles
OB Tampons-2 boxes
Johnson & Johnson Q-tips-1 box
Planters Trail Mix-2 packs
Aussie shampoo-1
Aussie hair spray-1

I will probably head back to Walgreens to get a couple more OBs and also to CVS in Decatur tomorrow night to pick up some REALLY cheap Kashi Heart to Heart. I've got 4 $1.50/1 coupons and it is 2/$5 right now. Our CVS here in Clinton doesn't carry it, but for a $1.00 a box, I'll take the time to pick it up while there.

There have been quite a few high value coupons on the internet lately. Here are a couple of the sites I follow:
* Common Sense With Money
* The Krazy Coupon Lady

I need to get off here now and work on an IGA list and start planning for tomorrow night's scrapnight.

Lovin' My Aprons & My New Washer & Dryer :o)

Back in July last year, I made a comment that I love the apron that I received from Delmar's mom and would love to have more of them. Now let me say, I'm not really sure how many people actually read this blog because comments are rarely left, it's more of a journal for me. But I'm happy to say that I now know that my Aunt Dorothy does read my blog. I know this because she sent to me not one but TWO vintage aprons. One is red with a fish pocket and the other is a floral print with pink pockets that have buttons on them. I love them both and they are a wonderful addition to my collection. THANK YOU SO MUCH AUNT DOROTHY!!!!!!!!! Here is a picture of them all hanging in the laundry room just outside the kitchen.


I'm also happy to report that when I now do laundry, the whole neighborhood can't hear. My new front loading washer and dryer are so quiet I forget they are running! Aren't they pretty???


I've got lots more to post about but no time to do it just now but I'll be back soon!

Down Some More

Yea, you may or may not have noticed that I didn't post a weight loss report last week. It's because I was very angry. Not at me, I did EVERYTHING perfect. I was my body I was mad at! After the whoppin' loss the first week, I turned around and GAINED 4/10ths of a pound. GAINED I said!?!?!?!?!?! WHAT? I did figure out later that the WW Zero Point Veggie Soup, while low in calories, is very high in sodium if you aren't using low sodium chicken broth. GGGRRRRR!!!!!! Water weight....wadaya do...

Anyway, I didn't let it get me too down and this week it was gone. I'm down 2.8 this week for a total of 9 pounds in 3 weeks. I can live with that. I just need to keep looking at the big picture and not let the little weeks get me down. Slow and steady...

Oops I did it again!!!!

So remember back in April of 2009 when I did this deal and got 10 bottles of Purex for tax only? Well, I DID IT AGAIN!! Ten bottles of Purex for $2.07~!~!~!~!~!~!!!!! I still have about 5 of those bottles left but I also went thru these bottles that were bigger than the Purex ones so I may have to go out tonight at get 2 more bottles. Hopefully that will get me thru the year until this deal happens again next year????? One could only hope.

I love saving money and I love spending it too. I spent the day with mom yesterday and went to Gordman's in Bloomington for the first time ever. LOVE IT!!! I have a wall in my hallway that is kind of my family picture wall and boy is it gonna be purdy after I hang up the frames, etc. that I bought yesterday. I'll post pictures of that later. I have to wait until Tues. when my photo ink is delivered from Staples to reprint some of my pics.

Gotta scoot, mom & Bob are coming over for dinner soon.

Weight Watchers again

I've recommitted to my weight loss again. Feeling like crap all the time is just no good for anyone, especially me. It leaks into EVERYTHING! So last night I went back even tho I've regained ALL that I lost last year plus about 10 lbs. But, I'm excited once again and hopefully by summer I can be back to where I was in the fall of last year. I will be adding a weight tracker to my side bar again to help keep me motivated and hopefully this stupid weather will break and I will be able to get out and start walking again.

Here's to SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What do you get....

when you mix piles of clean snow and the coldest day of the year? Why snow ice cream of course!! Emily and I put our culinary skills to work this evening making this delectable dessert.

The software includes:

A large bowl of CLEAN snow
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk (preferably whole)

1/2-1 t. vanilla

Combine sugar, vanilla and milk:

Mix in enough fluffy WHITE snow until it is the consistancy of ice cream:

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Mommy to Emily): "So does yellow snow make lemon ice cream?"
(Emily to Mommy): "THAT'S DISGUSTING!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Hope you all have had a blessed day!

July in a nutshell

WARNING, THIS POST IS INCREDIBLY LONG AND FULL OF PICTURES-Proceed at your own risk... :O)

This summer has flown by and I can't believe that school starts this Friday (albeit, only a 3 hour day??) Anyway, since the posting has been sporadic at best, I thought a jumbo post covering July would catch us up a bit. Here goes............

The first week of July ushered in a new experience for Emily. Our local YMCA hosts a day camp called Camp Osage and Emily LOVED it! We went on vacation so early this year that I was worried Emily would have a long BORING summer at home. But never fear, Y Camp is here!!! She has learned how to fish, play lots of new games, learned several new songs, seen many friends from school and met lots of new friends. Here she is on her first day and a picture with Delaney, her friend from down the street.

Here is a song that she learned entitled, "God Bless My Underwear". Just in case you can't understand here are the words (to the tune of God Bless America):

God bless my underwear

My only pair

Thru the washer

Thru the dryer

On the clothesline

In the air

Oh, God bless my underwear

My only pair......

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Repeat until it drives your parents CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!! Actually, this time was hysterical. She was just belting it out in the shower one night after camp. Cracked me up!!!

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July also brought the first fruits from my garden, go figure, it was zucchini.And who doesn't need a little more mulch on their garden in the heat of summer? Certainly not I. And our neighbor, Emily's best friend Don, was willing to share his grass clippings with us and Emily helped him out with the rake.Still keeping with the garden theme,I am proud to say that I learned how to can. My dad's friend Mel gave me a rather large bag of green beans that I used as my "guinea pig". Back in June, I had told my step-dad Bob that I wanted him to teach me how to can as my birthday gift. So he came over one day while Emily was at camp (mom came with him to keep an eye on my little ones that I babysit) and I had my first (and only) lesson. Here are some pictures from the experience.

Beans before:
Necessary tools:
Me and my teacher. Final results, MMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These jars sat on my counter all afternoon and evening and every time I walked by I just smiled and felt so proud that I had provided food for my family. And it was all free! The jars came from Freecycle. I was also blessed with a pressure canner as well as some other items needed. And I was presented with the Ball Blue Book for Canning and Preserving by my teacher. THERE'S NO STOPPIN' ME NOW!!!

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THE CHICKEN BORDER COMES DOWN!!!

From the day that we moved into our home, I've not particularly cared for the border in my laundry room. After all, what to chickens/roosters have to do with laundry??? Anyway, one day I got a wild hair and started pulling it down.

Before:
During:

After:

The aprons are mine and Emily's cooking aprons. Delmar's mom gave me the black and white checked one and I love it! I would like to get some other vintage ones. The pink one has a ladybug on it and Emily loves to wear it when we cook. As you can also see, I still haven't decided what color I'm going to paint the doors.

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Relay for Life

Most of you know that I've been participating in Relay for Life since my sister Lori was diagnosed with Kidney cancer in 2002. My first one was in 2003 and I've been doing it every year since, making this my seventh year WOW! Our team is now sponsored by our church and we had a great night this year. The weather was beautiful but cold. But, I'd much rather it be cold than hot.

This year our camp had a hippy/Woodstock/Age of Aquarius feel to it. Here is a picture of our mascots. (Thanks David, Delmar & Gene for keeping us laughing well into the night!)

What is a night being up until dawn without a little food?Kids lap (Emily is in the orange shirt right in the middle of the pic):Me and my man. Stay away ladies...he's all mine!! :o)One of the chiropractors in town was selling massages (all proceeds went to the Relay). Pat tried it out first and convinced MANY on our team that it was awesome and it was!What???? Mike is asleep and SNORING??? No way!

Each year they make a banner of hand prints of survivors. This banner is from 2003, Lori's hand print is the pink one and it overlaps our dad's (the upside down one). I take a picture of it every year.

What a great end to Relay week, the stargazer lillies that I planted in my garden in memory of Lori bloomed! I honestly didn't think they were going to this year but one day, there they were! These were Lori's favorite flower and were in all the bouquets that Mike would send her.

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Our final adventure in July was tent camping at Weldon Springs. We were invited by our neighbor Jenny to join her and some of her family and friends. What a weekend! Friday night was great but Saturday it rained almost all day. We didn't care, we stood around under umbrellas around the fire and at one point gave up on the umbrellas and sat at a picnic table in the rain playing Scrabble. Fortunately, the Scrabble game was mostly wood and plastic!!!

Here is princess Jenny in her castle. Not too bad considering she started Friday with a ridiculously small tent with a queen sized mattress in it. She was movin' on up!!!

Lilly trying to learn to ride a 2 wheeler:

Rise and shine Emily and Kyla:

Here I am helping Sal make breakfast. This covered screen room would have been a great idea BEFORE it rained. Here are a group of campers putting it up and you can't tell but it is pouring!! HA!UHHH...Delmar....Emily....everyone else is up!!

I pray that you all had a blessed summer. While it has gone incredibly fast, Emily and I are both excited that school is starting in a few days. She has already met her teacher and we've heard that she is great!