Our Trip to Europe-Pictures....

I had a little time on my hands this evening and as I was going through some pictures on our camera, I came across some pictures of my family and I in Europe.

Really no description needed; except that we went to London and Romania, stayed for a month, and it was a good, educational experience. Enjoy!

How did I spend $80 inTarget???????????

Yes, ladies...i went into Target to spend $40 for a birthday gift...and I come out spending twice that amount. Now, I do try to keep track but then again, I LOVE Target. Why does it seem that I always find something I have been needing or wanting when I go in that store. I did come across some FANTASTIC deals, which is why I spent the extra $40.

First, I found an apron. I have been wanting a well made, 100% cotton apron for a while, but they have always been out of my price range...well, did you know I found one on clearance for 3.54!!! Yes...$3.54! It is very pretty..and Ill put a picture of it in my post tomorrow, Lord's will.

Second, I found a beautiful, lavender and dark purple lamp for my daughter's room...on clearance for $6.24! It was marked down from $24.99!!!

Third, I found a 5 pack of thick, 100% cotton kitchen towels..in a range of pretty colors, for $2.34....marked down from $19.99!

I also got my daughter some more socks...10 pairs because for one reason or another, the socks keep getting lost. There has to be a logical reason behind it..LOL

I also picked up a brown, salmon color storage basket, wall clock for our family room, silverware for my daughter, and hats/gloves. Yes, ladies...they already have the winter stuff out. Oh, and the Christmas decoration too! I have to admit..I was getting pretty excited when I saw the Christmas stuff in Target.

I gotta bring cash next time..cause Target will run me dry..LOL...but i'll stick with them over Walmart anyday!

Missing Followers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why are all of my followers missing. Is anyone else having the same problems?????

What is going on with blogger??

New Blog?

Thinking of changing my blog from blogspot to wordpress. I am having too much problems with blogspot and am getting tired of it. We'll see.
I'll let you guys know.
Sheena

Need your input about income...

Recently I was thinking about families and income. Soon I came up with a question so intriguing that I'd post it on my blog to your everyone's input.

Here goes:

Would you take a salary of $100,000 with 2 people working OR a salary of $75,000 with 1 person working???? You have 2 kids (ages 2 and 4), a mortgage of $1,200, and 2 cars.

After some serious, serious thinking I probably would take the 1 person working and $75,000 over 2 people working and $100,000. This is because with 2 people working, you have more bills. With 2 kids ages 2 & 4, there's daycare and maybe even aftercare depending on if you work late a lot, then more wear and tear on both cars, using more gas with maintenance expenses, paying for lunch if you don't take food from home, more eating out because with 2 people working all day, by the time you get home, no one is gonna feel like cooking, when you gotta clean, wash the kids, and put them to bed. That means hardly no family time together as well...and if your not careful, a strain on your marriage.

Now, dont get me wrong..I might choose the $100,000 if we didn't have any kids and it was just us...but that wasn't the question at hand..LOL.

What would you guys choose and why based on the above question?
Looking forward to reading your responses.

What had this Recession taught you?

Since the beginning of 2008, it seems that the economy has taken a downward spiral. No job is safe...and because of that no home, car, savings, etc is safe. Now, we all know GOD is there for us and guiding us but that doesn't means we wont become affected by the state of our economy. In my state alone...they were planning on laying off over 3,000 people, including police officers and fire fighters.

These were jobs I thought would be safe..since someone will always need them. I can't even imagine the thoughts running through their minds and the stress it causes their household. I do have a college degree and if I need to use it to get a job because my husband can't find one, then I will do that to support my family. I will gladly do that. This is something my husband and I talked about. We have been more open, honest, and realistic with our discussions because things are serious in the real world. People are lsoing jobs, homes, cars, marriages, and everything in between and as a result crime in going up.

With that said, I have learned that I should and need to be better prepared financially if something did happen. If my husband lost him job or had a salary decrease..how would we continue on..at least for a little while. I also have learned to be smarter in purchases I make, not just groceries, but our utilities, car, and misc. payments each month. We also started saving more money, keeping our credit card balance's at $0 or VERY low, and finding inexpensive ways to have fun together. We'll rent a $1 movie, order a $10 pizza and there we have dinner and a movie for $11! This is soo much less than going out to a restaurant and then a movie. That alone would cost us $60!

So my question to you is, what has this economy taught you? Have you starting doing things differently as a result?

Giveaway Winners!

Thanks everyone for entering my 1st ever giveaway with 108 comments!

My husband and I are seriously thinking about giving away more gift cards...1 per month through the rest of the year, along with some other 24 hour giveaways..so check back often.

So..................here are the winners:

Comments # 72 ($25) & # 31 ($10) were chosen by Random.org in that order, as the lucky winners!. Congrats and I will be sending you an e-mail for your mailing address shortly.

Comment #71-$25 Gift Card Winner! Congrats Jen B!

Jen B said...

My grocery budget is $50 per week. I do lots of triple coupon shopping! It really helps out.
Thanks for entering me.
Jen
jenbrookern@hotmail.com

Comment #31-$10 Gift Card Winner! Congrats Tiffany!

Tiffany said...

We spend approx $300-$350 a month for a family of 6. I try to spend $50-60 a week including non food items. The rest of the budget goes to my hubby who has a special diet (items that never have coupons :( ). I always use coupons and usually stack them to make the most of my $$. I think we do pretty good with that budget. Our budget changes depending on my stock pile. Thanks!

ctdouglas3@yahoo.com

Winners Will Be Posted Tommrrow!

Don't forget to check back around 6pm EST!

Last Day To Enter Giveaway!

If you haven't already, you can enter the giveaway here.

It's for a $25 VISA Gift Card & $10 VISA Gift Card! Winners will be chosen by Random.org.
1st name picked will receive $25 & 2nd name picked will receive $10.

I will post the winners Sunday, Sept. 20th..so check back around 6pm EST!

I will contact both winners Sunday and they will have 24 hours, Monday 6pm EST, to reply with their mailing address; otherwise an alternate winner will be chosen.

Good Luck!

$121.00............

Yes...that was how much I had to pay at the dentist today. When I was younger, my mother took us to the dentist once in our whole life! Yes, just one time. So today I had 12..yes 12 cavities and I got a screening to see if I had oral cancer; which I didn't. I was able to get 2 fillings today! The process wasn't nearly as painful as I thought. I guess us ladies can take a lot of pain..I.E. cramps, giving birth, etc.

I also went to my doctor for my annual check-up and he said I was in excellent health! Ladies, we have to make sure we take care of ourselves. Sometimes, we put ourselves last to take care of our families, but if we want to be around for a long time, we have to get our check-ups regularly.

Tomorrow, Is the last day of the giveaway! Feeling lucky?!

Today's Outing & A Day In The Life Of Me...

Today I have a long drive ahead of me. Going to visit my mom and dad, which can be an hour of driving. To me that's a lot, but I'll do it anyway. I like to leave after morning rush hour and return home before the afternoon rush hour. My mother wanted to take out her grand baby to get some stuff for her birthday; so that should be exciting!

I am also working on a Day In The Life Of Me post. I've always wanted to do one and I love looking at other people's day. I think I'll take pictures and post them when I'm done. I'll start it tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, I have a dentist and doctor's appointment and my daughter has her 1st ever dentist appointment! I'm so looking forward to that!

Ever do a Day In the Life post......?

$10 OFF any $10 Purchase.......

.............at Sears when you buy from the Junior Department. This is a HUGE deal. You could score some free clothes if you buy from the sales and clearance racks!

Click here to get the coupon. I will sure be using this. Great way to start off Christmas shopping!

Starts TODAY....Expires 11/14/2209!

Happy Shopping!

Camera & Holidays

Click here to enter my giveaway. Ends this Friday!!!!!

Ok guys..I forgot to charge my camera. Why does it seem like I always forget to charge things; and its just not the camera; it's my phone too! Yes, I constantly forget to charge it and when I need it, its dead. Gotta stay on top of these things.

So while that's charging, I have been thinking about the upcoming holiday season. I'm sure you guys have been too. I would be lying if I said it wasn't my favorite time of year!! I LOVE everything about Thanksgiving & Christmas; the meaning, decorating, spending time with love ones, and just enjoying the moment.

Now, with that said, that is the time of the year when we spend the most money in my household. Aside from the rise in our bills due to heating, electric (Christmas lights, etc), and food...we have gifts, wrapping paper, parties and the like.

Before you know it, you'll find yourself drowning in overdraft fees, bounced checks, high credit & card balances..IF there isn't a tight rein on spending.

To prevent myself from going through this and to avoid a massive headache as a result, we have developed a budget system for gifts and such. Here's a peak:

Christmas Budget- $550.

Now that may seem like a lot, but when you add up wrapping paper/bags, food, presents, and a donation...$550 seems very low. I remember when my husband and I had our first Christmas together 6 years ago, we spent close to a $1,000 on each other, which in my humble opinion is too much. S0 $550 will include our daughter's gifts, my hubby and I, a donation, and our family pollyanna's.

Gotta love that time of the year, I sure do.

Hvae you starting thinking about the upcoming holiday season? What are you looking forward to?

Too Tired....

If you would like to enter my giveaway, please Click here.


So today was my baby's 3rd birthday party. How did it go? Let's just say everyone enjoyed themselves. I am so pooped!! Ever try blowing up 40 balloons with your own lungs, LOL. I thought I was going to blow my chest out. My sweet daughter was cheering me on the whole time. I starting blowing those balloons just until the size of a cantaloupe, then tied it up...LOL.

Next time, I'm definitely getting one of those small helium tanks they sell in the store for $15-$20, especially since they come with the balloons in the box. I can enjoy decorating for a party and save my breath at the same time!

Also, since its almost 11pm here and our daughter just went down for the night, I'm going to use the rest of the evening to relax. I'll put the pictures from the party and talk about what we did as well in the next post. Lots of funny stories to share, 3 & 4 year olds pinning the tail on a donkey can be so hilarious at times!!!!!!

My husband is relaxing too! He's in the family room playing a WII Car Racing Video Game while I'm dosing off writing this post. Let me go before I accidentally type a lot of "e"'s...LOL

So with that said, hAVE A gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
ggggood night <---- see..I need to go to BED, I'm dosing off and would hate for the laptop to drop off my lap..then i'll be in a huge and EXPENSIVE pickle..LOL.

Happy Birthday TO OUR DAUGHTER....

Pre-note: If you haven't already, don't forget to enter my giveaway for 2 VISA Gift Card. The giveaway post is right below this one. Thanks!



Wow, I cannot believe its been 3 years already! My little girl is growing up so fast. Its a blessing to be able to watch her develop and grow as a child.

Even today we are blessed.

For many people this is a very sad and grievous day but for it it is a blessing because of our daughter. The Lord turned our sorrow into gladness and for that we are truly grateful and thankful to serve a wonderful GOD.

Here are a few pictures of her:









Happy Birthday Weety!!! Daddy & Mommy Loves you!

Giveaway.....$25 & $10 VISA Gift Card-UPDATE!!!

Pre-note: There were some Blogger issues when I posted this before. All should be fixed now. Please let me know if you guys have any trouble again! Thanks!

Please re-type the answer to the question to enter giveaway and respond to bonus entries if you to like via the comments section. E-mail entries will not be accepted. Thanks guys.

I want to attract more people to my site and one of the BIGGEST ways to do that is by having a giveaway.

And I wanted to giveaway something that many people could use. There are many stores that offer a variety of items, like FOOD, for your family at a good price; especially in this economy. Grocery stores, Walmart/Target, Aldi's, etc.

I budget and spend $200.00 a MONTH for my family of 3; which means $100.00 every two weeks. Look through my archives and you'll be able to see pics, videos, and lists of what items I bought. Investing some time and energy into saving money in this area has saved my family thousands of dollars over the course of a year...i.e. before my daughter was born, my husband and I used to spend $175 a week, I believe! That's a A LOT for 2 people!


Saving money in any area of your income can equal to larger saving account balances and a peace of mind. Using coupons and pairing them with the sales can help you bring your food budgets down to an amount you can be proud of.


To help you in this ailing economy, I am giving away a $25.00 VISA gift card AND $10.00 VISA Gift Card to get to started on the right foot with saving on your food budgets (or anything for that matter).

So, my giveaway question to you is: What is your grocery/food budget for the month and are you happy with what you spend? Why/Why Not?

Here are the Rules:
To enter this giveaway you must leave a comment w/ e-mail address (no anonymous) answering the question above.

Bonus entries:
-Become a follower and leave another comment saying so
-Blog about this giveaway and leave another comment with the link so I can see.

Giveaway is open for entries until 11:59pm EST, Friday, Sept 18th, 2009.
The 2 winners will be chosen by Random.org and I will post the winners Sunday, Sept 20th, 2009. First name selected will win $25 GC & 2nd name selected will win $10 GC.

Both winners will have 24 hours to e-mail me their address so I can mail out their GC. If no response from winners..2 alternate winners will be chosen.

Thanks!
Until Next Time,
Peace Be Upon You.

Sheena

Giveaway Update...

I am having MAJOR problems with blogger. I am going to fix it and repost the giveaway tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for bringing it to my attention! Sorry! Please, let me know if you can leave a comment, again.

Sheena