House of Treasures

Well, the first ever Main St. Preservation Association's Antiques Appraisal Fair Sunday was a huge success!

The weather was perfect, the cookies from Treet's on Market were a hit and several people found out they had valuable treasures hanging on their walls or sitting on a shelf. Scott Nussbaum did a wonderful job appraising the many items brought as well as keeping the crowd of all ages entertained in the process.

There's word this could become an annual event. I'm game!

Nick, Nick, Who's There?

Well, unfortunately for me not the person who put these two nicks in my car door.

It must have just happened in the last day or two, maybe even today, because Tim just discovered them tonight when we went out to dinner and, being the gentleman that he always is, he opened my car door and broke the bad news to me.

That makes me really mad. The bottom one is pretty much just on the surface but the one right below the handle is deep and has gouged the paint off down to a white area.

Now, I'm gonna have to pay to get it fixed or it will eventually rust and the whole idea of my newer SUV was to have one that WASN'T rusting like the Pathfinder was starting to!

And, I know, my car needs a bath. Badly.

The Dog Days of Summer

Off to doggie sit overnight tomorrow for my aunt and uncle. Be back before you miss me!

Favorite Motto: Nothing Is Ever Easy!

Okay, so to demonstrate how this relates to my life let me tell you about a typical day! We'll use today for example.

Do a zillion things around the house from 7am (when the cat woke me up for breakfast...this is the same cat who religiously does this EVERY day but almost EVERY day forgets to come up and eat dinner at 5:00) to noon. Hurry as fast as I can as mom waits in the driveway for 45 minutes. I assured her 1 and 15 minutes prior that I'd be ready in 20 min. Forgot about the big load of laundry to hang up to dry. Finally get out of the house and go by Walgreens to get 6 boxes of FREE hair color.....which I don't use but, heck, it's free and I have friends who can use it! Well, okay, we really went by to give something to the lady in the photo lab who always works on Saturdays but wasn't there today after all. But took care of the shopping at the same time. But still have to go back Monday when she returns.

Off to Clarksville to return more bathroom rugs that didn't match mom's new bathroom. (We've now bought and returned about 4 different sets to various stores in the area) I leave her in the car with the windows rolled down so she can enjoy the hot, humid air and promise to just "run" in really quickly to the register RIGHT by the door. Well, the cashier informs me that bath items have to be returned to that dept. (For your information, dear readers, so do curtains...found that out last week when none of the curtains we bought worked anywhere in her house!) Okay, so trek way across the store and no one is at the register there. Wait behind two other ladies who swear someone was there and will be back. Finally get that done.

Then it's off to Hobby Lobby with two 40% off coupons that we've toted around all week until we could finally get over there to get a small picture easel. Mom stays in the car, enjoying more heat and humidity. Off to the far back corner of the store, via the scrapbooking section-nothing new there, only to find a very limited selection of easels, none of which will work. Trot up to the front to purchase my one piece of scrapbooking paper which is 1/2 price and suddenly remember we were supposed to look for berries for the table arrangement that Dee's is doing. (They didn't have a single stem of berries in their entire store that worked). I have no cart and I end up carrying 8 stems each of 4 different varieties of berries because who knows which color/style will actually look good. (and, we can just bring them back next week, yay!) So, wait in a huge long line and finally get out of there.

Meanwhile, we are starving to death as it's now 1:45 pm. Can't decide where to eat but finally settle on chicken salads at Steak N Sheak since we have a bogo coupon. Park, wait to be seated, sit, realize we are right next to a booth with an incredibly upset little girl, ask to be moved, and then the waitress says it's taking a little longer for the food to come out because everyone in the kitchen is new except one person (meaning no one knows what the heck they are doing back there except one person). Decide we'll just leave since we didn't really care if we ate there or not, we just had a coupon! Off to Dairy Queen where I "enjoy" my overcooked, overcharcoaled kiddie burger and mom tries to find the strawberries in her strawberry blizzard. Go to Kirkland's in the same shopping center and find the easel we need.

Head to her house and discover that the easel tips back too far and spend the next 20 minutes rigging it so the picture will stand up straighter in it. Hang two pictures, move a bunch of furniture and stuff in her bedroom (still trying to decorate it) and manage to bust the leg and wheel off the 300 lb (???) victorian/marble top dresser so now it's gotta be fixed and we are just hoping it doesn't topple over until then. (And you know what's going to be involved in fixing it? Taking off three pieces of marble, the mirror and turning it over or lifting it up to repair the leg, great, huh?)

Get some things accomplished including putting my car windows up just as it finishes raining.

Start to head home via a quick stop at Meijer for 50 cent ketchup only to discover that I'm at the wrong store as I quickly review my flyer for KROGER. Grab milk which is still $2.50 a gallon so as to make the stop feel worthwhile. Mom was sure she was gonna have to wait another 30 minutes to an hour with the windows down while I bargain shopped! Surprised her with this one!

Hop over to Kroger, get ketchup and gas and head home. Oh, and they had milk for the same price...sigh...

Meet up with Tim and head out to dinner for Mexican and okay, nothing went wrong there and we saved $7 with a bogo coupon!

Come home and he notices that the address listed on our new Verizon agreement is Norton Healthcare. So, call Costco and discuss this with Micha who was supposed to leave 2 hrs ago when they actually closed. He was sweet enough to spend another 20 min talking to me then Tim when I handed the phone off to him and said, "Here, you deal with this!" Further discussion discovers that the hour Tim spend registering his work info this morning to get the discount on our monthly statement was pretty much invalid and he needs to redo it all tomorrow. Nice, huh? (Did I mention the hour I spent with Verizon customer service this morning trying to determine exactly WHY Tim's new phone said Invalid Battery after I charged it all night...finally concluded they didn't have it locked in all the way....one hour later)

So, see why nothing is ever easy? I'm going to TRY to watch the video we rented now....

Have You Ever Tried a Toothpaste and Deodorant Sandwich?

I've decided that with all the free and really cheap deoderant and toothpaste we are getting now that I'm going to start giving them to Tim to snack on. Maybe they'll last longer than anything else does around here and at least we have those items in bulk.

I swear it's a cracker and snack thing. I can make a box of crackers or a package of cookies last for literally a month or more. I mean an Oreo or two a day for breakfast or a few cheese topped crackers two or three times a month....one box, one package= a month or more sitting on my pantry shelf.

My dh can polish the same exact thing off in two days tops. And that's okay. It really is. But I guess I just like to see it sitting on my shelf, knowing it's there if I get a sudden desire for a Wheat Thin, Garden Veggie Triscuit, or a cookie. Or sometimes I just like to save it for a special occasion. And then the next thing I know, there's an empty box in the trash can and Tim is licking his lips, rubbing his belly and professing that he didn't know I was saving it for our Christmas Open House four months from now.

The Girl Who Owned A Book

"A killing virus has swept the earth, sparing only children through the age of twelve. There is chaos everywhere, even in formerly prosperous America. Gangs and fierce armies of children begin to form almost immediately. It would be the same for the children on Grand Avenue but for Lisa, a ten year old girl who becomes their leader. Because of Lisa, they have food, even toys, in abundance. And now they can protect themselves from the fierce gangs that roam the neighborhoods. But for how long? Then Lisa conceives the idea of a fortress, a city in which the children could live safely and happily always, and she intends to lead them there."

This book, written in 1975 by O.T. Nelson, is one of my all-time favorites. I read it years ago in either middle or high school and had the paperback in my possession for years. Somewhere along the way though, I either sold it or traded it and I suddenly remembered the book last year. I found it available in abundance on Ebay and hinted to my dh that I would love to have it for Christmas.

Sure enough, last December, it was one of my presents under the tree and I was so excited to have it again! I saved it for a few months, well, actually, I think I forgot about it! Anyway, I read it a couple of months ago and it was just as engaging as I remembered. I highly recommend it and am going to hunt around and see if the author actually did write a follow up as mentioned in the forward.

9 Cents Seems Almost Better Than Free

So, for the last three weeks I have been majorly into couponing! I've always been a bargain shopper....I love thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales, consignment shops, sales, free stuff, rebating at Walgreens, etc! It really must be a genetic predisposition...my dad has always been a bargain grocery shopper and mom has always led me down the path to thrift stores, consignment shops and yard sales. My grandma was thrifty and my aunt and uncle love a bargain or good deal to this day. It wasn't until recently that I realized there were more bargains out there than I ever could have imagined! I've discovered the power of coupons, double coupons, weekly sale ads, bogo (buy one get one), tear pads, and free samples. I've had to admit that Wal Mart doesn't always have the very best price after all. I tend to be obsessive with a new project and this one is no different.

I've given it my all and I've gotten a lot back in return! I've lost a little sleep, spent way too many hours clipping, reading, researching, shopping and organizing. But that's okay, I figure this is the learning process and soon it will be second nature.

Let me tell you about a few of my really good deals. We'll forget all the free products I've gotten because well, Free is Free. You just can't get much better than that and sometimes getting an item for a few cents makes more of a statement than Free.

Bold 'N Spicy Chex Mix: Half price at Meijer this week. Regular price- $2.18. Half price- $1.09. Coupons- 50 cents off. Doubled at Meijer- $1.00 off. Total cost- .09 cents.

Gum Toothbrushes- 2 pack: Rite Aid regular price- $3.99. On sale for $1.99. Rebate in their monthly rebate catalog- $1. Coupon- .75 cents off (thanks Dad, he had to mail that one to me, it wasn't in our regional inserts). Total cost- .25 cents or 12 1/2 cents each.

Can it get any better than that?

This can be an extremely time consuming undertaking but it's also rewarding and fortunately I have the time to devote. Mostly. I'm just trying to figure out how these companies are making any money with all the stuff they give away.

Restin' in Peace

It's been exactly one month ago today that we lost Oscar, my cat of over 16 years. And it's been a hard month. Even with our other furry critter here, our big ol' house has still seemed very empty without our buddy around. Garden Kitty has tried super hard to be extra sweet and she's taken over the spot next to my leg on the bed at night. As hard as it is to lose a pet, I still believe it's worth the pain for the unconditional love they give you. I wouldn't trade those 16 years and 5 months at all. Picture taken on his last weekend with us....

Well, well, I finally took the leap!

After debating with myself for months now, should I start a blog and spend hours posting useless information for people I hardly know to read or should I spend the time scrapbooking and/or doing laundry?Well, obviously scrapbooking and laundry are going to suffer.But, so the journey begins and welcome!

State Fairs Have Come a Long Way In My Book

Years ago when I was about 14 I thought going to the state fair was up there with all sorts of bad things like eating peas, math, strep tests at the doctor's....it seemed so, agricultural? A city girl like me couldn't see the excitement in cows and tobacco, you know? Several years later, I went to one on a date and it wasn't so bad, I don't think, however, all I remember is a ride in a helicopter that was very loud and bumpy.

Flash forward a few more years. KY State Fair in Louisville. It's a big deal here. My husband- to- be at the time took me and even he was a little scared of the crowd. Said we should drive his old Honda to leave in the crowded parking lot for hours. Well, first image I see....cow butt fans. No kidding, aimed straight at the back forty and I couldn't stop laughing. Did a scrapbook layout on the whole thing of course. Anyway, after 8 years of attending it with Tim, I've really grown fond of it. I look forward to it. I am in awe of the photography section, I steal ideas, I love the decorated Christmas trees, the dollhouses and room scenes, the fancy cakes, the beautiful handmade quilts, and especially the antiques section!

Decided to enter a layout or two in the scrapbooking division this year. Thanks SLD for pointing it out....never finished the wedding layout but managed to do a birthday layout and get it entered in time.

Guess what? I won second premium (prize)! I think I love the state fair even more now....