Confession Time

When I'm really bored (or sometimes when I'm stressed) I do one of two things...

1. I eat.

2. I go shopping.

Great, huh? Both are just awesome habits to have. When I say "awesome," I mean stupid. So I've really been working on both of these areas of my life over the past few weeks. I'll save the eating issue for my fitness blog, but here are some things that have been on my mind with the spending issue...

Basically, I am not nearly as frugal as I should be. I am finally realizing that I could be so much more money-conscious than I am, and how much of a difference that could make. Luckily, Nate makes much smarter financial decisions than I do (phew), but I know that I need to rise up to his level.

I recently read an article about the secrets to super frugal families. The biggest thing I took away from it was their ability to separate "wants" from "needs." That's huge. So many of the things I spend money on are not necessities. Each time I'm about to buy something, I'm learning to ask myself, "do we really need it?"

Couponing is another thing I've been thinking about. I've always been hesitant to coupon (it's a verb now, did you hear?) because I believe that many couponers end up buying things they don't really need, or buying lots of junk food because it's cheap. However, I know that many people also save tons of money doing it. So I think it's time for me to enter the coupon world. The key is not to get so caught up in getting a good deal that you forget to separate wants from needs.

Also, we are starting a garden this year, and I'm excited about it. I don't know why we didn't do it last year. I can't wait to have our own fresh fruits and vegetables. And what a great way to save money.

I'm a changed woman, and I feel so much better.

Do you consider yourself to be frugal? What do you do to save money?

P.S. If you see me at Target, please walk me to the door and shove me out. Thanks.

Excuses

My blog is really suffering lately because my camera cord is broken, so I can't upload pictures. I need to get a new cord ASAP.

January is the worst month, isn't it? I feel so... blah. I want to go somewhere. Anywhere.

I'm thinking of cutting my hair again. I cut it myself a couple months ago and I'm just not thrilled with it.

What do you think of this...

Or this...

I think this style of Mandy Moore's is cute, but I don't think I could go that short.

Cute!

I think I'm going to try making some plaques like these. It looks like all I need is some wood, scrapbook paper, mod podge, and homemade stencils (from Microsoft word). Cute huh? I saw them here.

Lemon Herb Zucchini Fettuccine

I made this today (from Our Best Bites) and I loved it! It is so light and fresh and quite healthy. I used whole wheat pasta and a little less olive oil to make it even healthier. Oh, and I added sauteed mushrooms. Delish!

More canvas prints

I made all of these faux canvas prints last week, instead of buying them already made. I am pretty happy with them. The black and white one on the top right is just a filler. I have one more 8x10 to make for that spot.

I swear they look straight on my wall, but in the picture they look a little wacky.

Mele Kalikimaka!!

Nate's mom brought this little hula ensemble back from Hawaii. I had Paige put it on today and she was acting the part, as you can tell. (And Kate couldn't wait to try it on.)

Christmas Weekend

Here is a video of Paige on Christmas morning. The first few seconds is her talking about Jesus being born, but I'm not sure if you can understand it.

On Christmas Eve my sister-in-law and I took Paige and her cousin to see Tangled. I'm not usually into animated movies, but I loved this one. It was really cute and well done. It was Paige's first movie theater experience and she loved it.

We hung out at Nate's sister's house most of the weekend, which is only about 10 minutes away. It was a fun weekend with lots of food and fun games. We all played "Just Dance" on the Wii, which was hilarious. And we also played a really fun game called "Telestrations." I would highly recommend it.

Nate's parents told stories to the kids, and Santa even showed up, which was pretty exciting for Paige. I don't have any good pictures though. :(

Kate got this cute, snuggly outfit from Nate's mom.