Thrifty Tartinis

I have been rereading my copies of "The Tightwad Gazette" books, and I wanted to share a tightwad victory. I have read them at least 3 or 4 times, and so of course I'm not learning new information. However, when I read it, the cogs in my brain crank out thrifty ideas. Plus it fosters a frugal mindset and I see solutions to problems everywhere. For example, we chosen to live a on a very tight budget so that we can maximize savings, but our power bill was killing us! I wanted a clothes line so we could eliminate dryer use, but I didn't want to pay for the line. On Saturday, one of our neighbors finished spring cleaning and had some black, 18" lengths of plastic chain. I grabbed up a bunch, threaded them together, and hung it between our shed and our deck. I hang the clothes on hangers because then they can go directly into closets, and it saves space. I hung my first load today, and thanks to a gentle breeze, the clothes didn't even dry into stiff shingles :) The clothes dried FASTER than when I use my dryer! I must say, if I hadn't been in thrift mode, I would've passed right by that pile of plastic.

Birthday update

Courtney still tells me everyday her birthday is Sunday. Luckily, she is still fascinated with her gifts, which means we hit the right amount of toys; she wasn't over or underwhelmed! In fact, she got stamps from her grandparents, and she decided that this was an appropriate use of them:

At least she always enjoys herself. And it didn't end up on carpets or furniture.

We are now less than 2 weeks from having Mason here. I saw two instead of one because Courtney, Devin and myself were all born late so I'm keeping my hopes in check. Although I have had lots of contractions over the weekend, so I'm letting my hopes get up a little :)

Sugar Detox Revisited

I had hoped that by making my sugar resolve public, I would have motivation to stick with it. That didn't happen. In fact, my mom called me while I was finishing a candy bar to tell me she was going to join me in my quest. Oh the irony. But now that it is a competition, I'm sure I'll stick with it. Feel free to join in. Just know that the addictiveness will really mess with you on day 2 or 3. For me that was Wednesday, and it seemed like I just couldn't get enough to eat! I had lots of fruit in hopes that the natural sugar and fiber would fill me. I also felt irritable and shaky! Now if that's not a signal of something bad for you, I don't know what is! But I know now to expect it, so we'll see how it goes this time. I will try to get my blog working with comment again soon, so feel free to join in with us :)

The Ocean

First off, I fell off the sweet tooth wagon. Courtney and I polished off her b-day ice cream yesterday. Oh well, at least I now have NO sweets whatsoever in the house. You can't eat them if you don't have them :)

Secondly, we have had fabulous weather here! Last Thursday, Devin was let off work early, so we went to the beach! IT was my first time ever seeing an ocean! Courtney and I walked down and got splashed by the incoming waves. Courtney even found a couple of seashells to bring home. Then we walked along the boardwalk and ate at a tiny italian restaurant. The wind made it cold during dinner so we ate inside, but if we'd braved the patio seating we would've had an ocean view. I can hardly wait to go back with our swimsuits and really take advantage of the area! Also, because it was so unexpected, I forgot to take pictures :( Sorry

3

Our little princess is 3 years old today! We celebrated yesterday with a trip to the zoo in Norfolk. And of course, since we forked over $30 for the tickets, Courtney was only interested in the stupid butterfly flappin' around. What a goober! In the butterfly picture she is wearing a dress with shamrocks that her Grandma Mitchell made :) I can tell she loved it because she wouldn't take it off for dinner and she dirtied it immediately. She received birthday boxes from both sets of grandparents on the same day this week; too bad she had to wait 4 days to open them! Poor little girl. She got puzzles, jewelry, dress up clothes (one of the outfits is doubly pictured above), books, stamps, and a feed me/change me baby boy doll. She is too much fun, and I am lucky to have had her these 3 years. She's now 1/6 of the way to graduating; they sure do grow up fast.
As a side note, I have for years had a weekend sugar problem. Devin too. So I am declaring to you all here and now, that for the next 4 weeks, I'm not going to let any sweets down this ol' hatch. I am actually really excited because during the week I feel so energetic, and then I feel sick all weekend long. Like that awful kind of sick where you know you'll be bent over a toilet. Anyway, TMI, but now you know, and I will let you know how I do!

Brady

I was really hoping to give Mason a middle name to honor my brother Brady. Mason Allen Tartini. I thought it was perfect, because I thought his middle name would flow best if it started with a vowel. Devin had only one request, and he thought, since Mason ends with an "N", his middle name shouldn't. So, we will have a Mason Andrew Tartini instead. But let me tell you more about Brady. Growing up, I always viewed Brady as a baby; I always thought he needed protecting and sheltering. After spending time away at college, and then returning to Spokane while Devin was in BMT, I could see the stark difference in my little, baby brother. He is an independent thinker, he's smarter than just about anyone I know, and he can definitely hold his own. He is just so nice, funny, and suave. He started dating his first girlfriend while I was home, and he was such a gentlemen. He was ASB president, he was active in school events and sports, and he was so good with Courtney. He makes me proud to have him as a brother, so although Mason won't be named after him, I certainly hope he turns out as nice, well rounded, and debonair as him. I love you Brady :)