Back from hiatus.

Hello!!

I'm baaaaacccckkkk! I've been on a self imposed hiatus. I decided I was spending too much time online and made myself take a break. It was a spur of the moment decision and I will admit it was kind of nice to not worry about what was going on in my cyber bubble.

But, as with any lovely vacation...it must come to an end. So here I sit, typing away.

Our new year came and went without a hitch. DH was actually not at home when the clock struck 12. He was out rescuing a friend with a broken car but he did call me precisely as the Space Needle blew up and I watched from the comfort of my couch to wish me happy new year.

The past week or so has been pretty busy here in casa de la small town city girl. I have had more laundry than should be possible with a family of three. We've gone back to school and I have begun procurement for our preschool auction with full force. Our preschool board suckered me into being the fundraising chair this year so this is a BIG deal...the auction that is. I've been on the phone with many local business' trying to convince them to donate to us. So far, so good. I only have about 10 weeks left until the actual date so it shouldn't be that stressful. Who am I kidding?

Other than those things, I've been thinking lots about goals for myself for this year. I want to have something of a goal set for each area of my life: family, health, finance, etc. When I get them completely nailed down, I'll post. I'm thinking by Monday it all should be worked out.

How are all of you? Did you miss me?

It's snowing here...a lot!

The past few days have been downright BORING! We've been stuck inside with colds and paralyzed by the fact that outside is covered in snow. I don't mind driving myself in the snow, but I really don't like to take my son as I don't trust the other drivers. We typically don't get a whole lot of the white stuff here in the greater Seattle area, but we do get a bit. This past week I would venture to say we have had more snow that all of last year combined. Don't quote me on that though, I didn't do any research. :)

We started the week off on an ok foot, we did our normal activities on Monday. Tuesday we had school and although it was only 25 degrees or so and snow was on the ground, the kids had a great time. Wednesday school was cancelled because of the "threat" of snow and wouldn't you know it...nothing fell. It was 35 degrees and the roads were better than the day before but we didn't have school. Late that night, the powder fell and fell and fell and fell. We didn't have school the next day or the rest of the week. We officially started winter break almost a full week early!

Why are we not taking advantage of the hills and going sledding you ask? Well, that's because we aren't prepared here in casa de la smalltowncitygirl. We haven't been boot shopping this year yet, we haven't purchased any of the sledding equipment that we promised ourselves we would be getting this year, and we have colds! YUCK! I have it the worst of everyone. I haven't been sleeping well because I cough myself silly and wake up DH. So, I've been sleeping on the couch...yippie!

As I'm typing, we are having more snow fall. It really is beautiful out and I love the quiet that the snow brings with it. It's as if the world is being insulated. It's really something. I'm hoping that this lovely virus that is infecting my body will pass with the weekend...keep your fingers crossed for me. Then we're off to shop for boots and sleds. Hopefully the stores still have something!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

I've been tagged...

I've been tagged in the game of...name your top 7 oddities/secrets no one knows. I was tagged by my blogger friend Angie over at http://beansntatersmama.blogspot.com/. She has a really great blog with lots of tips for living frugally. Definitely check her out if you have a minute.

Here are my top seven...

1) I deep clean when I'm angry or upset. I'll break out the Comet and tackle the kitchen sink. I dust the corners of everything. You know, all the stuff that gets put off for once or twice a year. I do it when I'm venting.

2) My cleaner of choice is Windex. I love the stuff! I love the smell. I love the squeak the cloth makes when you wipe something. Yeah, I know I'm odd!

3) I organize my DH's sock drawer at least once a week. We share a dresser because our room is small and if it's not just so, all his stuff won't fit in. So, it's my only way of making sure stuff fits.

4) I still have to look up or ask someone what the name of Snoopy's counterpart is. The little yellow guy. As a child...and still, I can't remember if his name is Stockwood or Woodstock. BTW: I just googled it and it's Woodstock in case you didn't know either.

5) I LOVE to bake! It is calming and stress relief for me. I love to mix and pour and measure. Sometimes I love it so much that hubby asks me to stop. Those are the times when he takes things to work almost daily to share. :) His co-workers don't mind though.

6) We don't have a dishwasher, we do them by hand. But the oddity is that my dishes have assigned spaces in the dish drainer. I get upset if they are put in the wrong spot because they all won't fit if they aren't in the right way. (I know...OCD!)

7) I have a secret love for Tweety Bird. I used to have a lot of trinkets but as I've gotten older, I've gotten rid of them by way of donation or passing them on to other kiddos. But I still think she's pretty darned cute. And I do have a sticker on the back of my van. :)

Now, the fun part. I get to tag someone else....who will it be? Will it be you?

I'm thinking it will be MamaNeena. She should have some really funny things to share.

Thanks for stopping by.

Why is it...

That whenever you REALLY need something, in some way shape or form you get it totally unexpectedly? I'm not complaining at all. I've just been pondering this for today.

DH has been off work due to lack of work for 3 days now and it doesn't look promising for the rest of this week either. We are fine on food, our bills are paid, but we're running low on gas. We've made it our goal to get through these tough times without using our credit cards and we would like to stray away from tapping into savings as well. So being low on gas today, I've been plotting my week for all the driving we have to do and making trips run together.

When we got the mail this afternoon; wouldn't you know there was a rebate check we've been waiting for for $20! With gas coming down significantly here over the last couple of weeks...it's now $2.75 per gallon...I'm able to get over seven gallons of gas! WHOO HOO!! This is a big difference from a month ago when gas was almost one full dollar more.

I'm very thankful that I started couponing over the summer and have quite the stockpile of goods. I'm also thankful that we are taken care of. Our needs are met. It makes me very grateful!!

What are you grateful for?

Give me an "A" and kudos to my friends.

A is for addiction!

I'm still relatively new to blogging. I've been here for almost 2 months. In said two months, I have become addicted!

* I find myself checking my blog at least three or four times each and every day. I love to see what my new "friends" have to say.

* I find it fascinating that I get to have a glimpse of what other mom's, wives, and friends go through on a day to day basis.

* I love the fact that I can lurk and no one gets to know that I was even there if I don't want them to know.

* I love leaving comments on fellow blogger's posts and seeing their comments when they visit me.

* I love that I get to keep an online journal that I can refer back to years from now and see what was going through my mind and there is no paper "crap" laying around!

But most of all, I love each morning when I sit down with my cup of coffee and read my favorite blogs: MamaNeena, Money Saving Mom, Take life with a grain of chocolate and The Simple Dollar. MamaNeena cracks me up! Money Saving Mom saves me money. Take life...is a great friend and I like to see what she's up to. And Trent at The Simple Dollar just offers great advice for people looking to reduce their debt and save. I start my day off every day with these great friends and I hope you check them out and enjoy them too. Thanks guys for helping me off on the right foot. I don't start a day without you.