Money Smart Moms

On The First Day of Christmas

“On the first day of Christmas”…oh wait, there is only one day that we celebrate and that’s Christmas Eve. With divorced families, you all shift a little so at some point, you can spent time together. We may not celebrate the day or, or sometimes not the day before, but usually one of those. The last few year, Christmas Eve has been the night that works best for us. Christmas Day finds us spreading in many different directions so that we can all go to our other family obligations.

Each family has it’s own traditions, and it’s always interesting hearing all about them. An Italian family I know does the traditional 7 fishes, which I’d never heard of before meeting them. One family I knew growing up celebrated the week after Christmas, so they could do all their Christmas shopping at half price! That’s clever! It was a large family, with a lot of kids, so it helped them out financially.

If I had to make a Christmas list this year, it would look something like this:

My husband I would replace his television, though he doesn’t think he wants it replaced. I think once he had an awesome Hi-Def television with crystal clear pictures, he’d change his tune. Sometimes you just have to lead the horse to water, and they’ll drink. You can get Best Buy coupons at Coupon Chief right now, and for me, that would save me 10% on a Hi-Def television.

With Dell coupons from Coupon Chief, I’d take advantage of incredible $350 off coupon and get my son a new computer.

With the PetsMart codes, I’d grab a deal so I could get my dogs new dog beds that are plush, comfortable and pampering! Sure, they all ready get the leather sofa, but Grace loves a comfy dog bed, and Buster adores pillows.

With Coupon Chief, you can get great coupons and codes that will save you bundles of money. Don’t shop until you’ve checked out their great deals. This way, you can do things like save on shipping, get a discount, get extras and more. The coupons are varied and change, so check back often, and be sure to bookmark them for future reference.

Wednesday Television Sucks

I don’t like Wednesday night television. There’s nothing on that we watch, and we end up channel surfing, never really landing on anything specific. We decided tonight to just blow it off. I’d rather watch one show for an hour, than 12 shows for 5 minutes. Nothing annoys me more than that, though my husband likes channel surfing. Either way, we decided we’d keep the house quiet and check back down in an hour or two.

There isn’t much that I watch on a regular basis. Monday, there’s 1 hour, Tuesday 2 hours, and Thursday there’s 1/2 hour. That’s a total of 3 1/2 hours of regular TV for me. I used to love prime time shows, but it seems things like comedies have hit the road or just aren’t funny. Now it’s all about reality television or crime and law shows. I’m just not into those. Give me a documentary, and you’ve got my attention.

Aww, well…I can pick up a book and read or play online a little longer. What will you be doing tonight?

I’ll Pump You Up Grabbed My Attention

I love I’ll Pump You Up. What? I’ll Pump You Up, found at IllPumpYouUp.com is a website full of articles, information, bodybuilding supplements, a forum board and more. I first learned about them when I was doing a review of their site on my health blog. What happened next I didn’t anticipate. After I did a review, I ended up going back to the site and spent hours reading their forum boards. You read that right, hours!

I’ll tell you why, they have a great crowd who discuss bodybuilding and all sorts of topics, and offer so much great information. As many of you know, I’m working out with a personal trainer 2 times a week. I’d love to bump it up to 3 times, but I just can’t afford that right now. Having over 100 pounds to lose, and Diabetes as well, I’ve finally taken my health into my hands, and I’m treating myself right.

I was over at I’ll Pump You Up, and I just wanted to absorb what information was shared. There are not only great articles on the forum boards, but on the main site, there is a massive list of articles on all different topics of health, weight loss and bodybuilding. I promise if this is a topic that interests you, you’ll be enjoy their site.

It’s rare for me to spend hours on one site, but I’ll Pump You Up at IllPumpYouUp.com grabbed my attention and wouldn’t let go. Their forum moderator is fabulous and shares so much knowledge, it was a pleasure to read it all. They cover everything from men to women, from teens to the forty and over crowd. If you’re into losing weight, bodybuilding, or taking better care of your health, check out IllPumpYouUp.com.

The Day Before December 1st

Can you believe Saturday is December 1st? We’ll be going out doing a little Christmas shopping this weekend, but we do a lot of our holiday shopping online these days as well. The problem is, I’m just not sure what I want to get for everyone. I’m quite familiar that December is almost here due to the chill in the air, but honestly, more than that, it’s because it’s a day after November 30th.

What does November 30th mean? Thats’ my parent’s anniversary. My father died close to 5 years ago, and it’s been a hard day for my mom for years. This year will be a little easier, because she’s involved in a relationship again, and she feels content and happy. All I want for my mom is her to be happy, and I’m thrilled she has been dating a man for a couple of months now that makes her smile consistently. They’ve been dating since about March.

I’m not sure how she’ll feel on Friday, if it will be with soft reminiscence, with sadness or with renewed joy that she’s living and happy once again. I just always know December 1st is around the corner, since November 30th sticks out in my mind.

Krillion Makes Shopping Easier

Quick, in under five minutes tell me where to find the best deal on a new washer. I’m waiting! What, you don’t have time to do all the research for me? No need to worry, just hop over to Krillion. You can simply pop in your zip code, or in this case my zip code and find all the places that carry the product I want, along with prices and even find out if it’s in stock!

You didn’t know it was that easy? Now you do, so spread the word. You can save a lot of people a lot of time and effort, and save money too! I love how the internet has changed the way so many people shop. It’s taken the hassle out of finding the best deal. Remember when you’d have to wait for the Sunday paper, pull out all the sale circulars and hope you’d be finding the best deal. You don’t have to do it the old fashioned way anymore, Krillion takes all the work out of it, and in moments, you’ll find the best deal for you locally! You can search all sorts of things like a sharp HDTV or a washer, dryer or microwave. What are you waiting for, head to Krillion and find yourself a great deal this holiday season.

Stacking It Up

I desperately need to put time aside to get some clutter cleaned up. It doesn’t seem to take care of itself, so I guess I need to do it. It’s amazing how quickly things add up, but I guess I’m to blame when I stack things for later. I’m a master stacker. I stack mail, papers, books and the like. I’ve got pages marked that I’d like to write about on one side of my desk. On the other side, books I’d like to scan though. I have another small section of “important” things to not lose. Hmmm, in a stack, it’s hard to find!

My intention was to keep my desk neat and clean once I got a bigger one, but it just left room for more stacks. I can still see 50% of the actual wood of the desktop, so I guess I haven’t gone totally overboard yet. I just hate how I’ll look over at it and go “I’ll do it later”. No! Do it now! Stop putting it off, it has to get done. Maybe today is the day the stacks get sorted!

Unsigned Offers Great Music

I’ve just listened to a great song by Amanda Baker. I heard her over at Unsigned.com. Have you heard of Unsigned.com yet? They have unsigned artists and independent bands in all genres and you can listen to their music. Amanda Baker has a soul and blues sound. Her song “Addictions” is off her her debut “Superstitious Woman”. On Amanda’s page, she has 4 of her songs. I love her voice and sound. I’ll be listening to more of what she’s singing.

There are so many unsigned bands that offer so much talent! It’s just a matter of the right person hearing them at the right time. I love all different genres, but this drew me in instantly. If you have a moment, go listen to her and spread the word! This girl is ready to get signed!

Her “Give it All” is fabulous too. It’s a great showcase for her voice! I think I just found a new artist I’m loving! I love that I get to listen to the music first. I’ll be heading to her website next! I’m sold after “Give it All”, that was great!

See, that’s what Unsigned.com is all about. It is excellent exposure for musicians. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you’ll be blown away hearing some of the music over there. And don’t forget Amanda Baker, you’ll be hearing her name again!

It’s My Turn to Cook

The other aspect of getting back on schedule after a trip is eating! I was eating out every day, whether it was at the parks at Disney, or at the food court of the hotel, or even restaurants. Now that I’m home and cooking again, I’m so glad I made extra chicken last night so I can have it for lunch.

I know this sounds silly, but I’m overwhelmed with finding choices. I cooked and figured out lunch and life before my trip, but since getting home, I open the fridge and don’t feel like making anything. I lived on turkey sandwiches most of my trip for lunches. The difference is they made them for me, all fresh and with sliced tomato, lettuce, toasted bread or wraps. I have some of the ingredients, but I don’t want to actually make it! How lazy is that?

Last night, I was making sauteed chicken, so I decided to make extra, and right now with my stomach rumbling, I’m glad I can just toss it in the microwave and reheat that bad boy.

With having to watch everything I eat, these are the times I have to be strong. It would be so easy to get into the habit of just eating something fast and easy, but often times, that’s not the healthiest choice. It’s falling back into the pattern I had before leaving I need to do. I think I’m inching my way to healthier each day, and I can’t let these stumbling blocks get in my way.

Grandfather Clocks

Grandfather clocks add such a regal touch to a home. While many people prefer the more elaborate woodwork, I like the contemporary styling of simple woodwork. I was over at 1-800-4Clocks.com and picked this one out as my favorite. I’d like to add this into our living room. It would look lovely with our hardwood floors.

I’ve always thought that Grandfather clocks were quite stately and add an element of charm to a room. Years ago, I had a beautiful Howard Miller grandmother clock on the wall, and it added such a nice touch to the room. Over on the GrandfatherClocksBlog.com I was just reading an interesting piece about Howard Miller clocks. I didn’t know this much detail before, but it appears that things have changed over time. The picture you see above is a Hermle, and reading the blog post, I see that Howard Miller clocks have different movement inside now. There’s so much to learn! They also have pieces on maintenance as well, so if you have grandfather clocks, you may want to go read those.

For years, Howard Miller was considered the top brand, and we got ours as a wedding gift. My husband (at the time) came from a family that loved grandfather clocks. Each member has a version of a Howard Miller grandfather or grandmother clock. Many were gifted by my ex-in-laws. I used to love to listen to their big grandfather clock chime. It was grand and beautiful.

My style is a bit different these days, so while I still want the classic chimes that are offered, I would want a more recent style for the framing. I was surprised to see that there are all different types of chimes now. You can get things like Beethoven and more! Who knew? If you’d like to learn more about Grandfather clocks, or see a wide selection, 1-800-4Clocks.com has a huge selection. As for information, I’d head straight to the GrandfatherClocksBlog.com since they cover all aspects of information.

Finding My Routine

I go back to the gym today and it feels so weird. I’m off schedule since I was on vacation, and it’s been close to 2 weeks since I was there. I love vacations, but I hate the “getting back on schedule” part when you get home. It’s like all the pieces of your life are there, and you have to figure out how to make them work smoothly again.

I have a hard time with focus coming home. Most people do, but for about 2 or 3 days, I just can’t get myself to do those things that need to be done. Routine is safe to me, and knowing what gets done when, helps me get it accomplished. Don’t get me wrong, I love spontaneity, but routine keeps things moving slowly.

Will I ache more because I haven’t lifted in 2 weeks? I’ve been walking a lot on vacation, but I’ve been slowed down the last few days. Will I breathe heavier during the cardio, or will I be the same? It wasn’t a year or a month, just 2 weeks, but it feels like it was so long ago!

The funny thing is now that I’m home, it doesn’t feel like I was on vacation, just that I’m having a rough week getting things together!