UGH! My Camera

I am sorry to say that I will not have any real live pictures that I have taken on my blog for awhile. Last night I was in the other room and one of my children ran in and was yelling, "Mom, Mom come quick your camera!" I ran into the office to find my young child holding my camera and saying, "cheeseburger." This is what we say at our house to smile for a picture. Now the lens will not shut and when you actually look down into the lens it looks as if it is crooked and pushed way down inside. Also when I turn it on it says lens error. When I try to turn it off it just makes noises like its trying to close and then it turns off.

Hank's song is swirling in my head tonight. You know the words. "There's a tear in my beer and I'm crying for you dear. You are always on my mind."

I was talking to Lori today and we were trying to decide if this is Gods way of saying, "Kim get your Nikon D80." Or is he trying to say, "Kim you are spending to much time with this camera/blog/coupon thing, now be still."

I am opting toward the get your camera decision.

Man with a Plan

o.k. o.k. so it should read woman with a plan but it is what it is. Here is my plan for CVS this week. Please bare with me I have been sick and my head is still in a bit of a daze. When and if I can ever get to CVS this will be my deals.

WE need diapers so that is why these deals came about. I also have about $17 in ECBs going into this week.

1st transaction
Huggies 8.99
Childrens Advil $5.79
total is 14.78 plus tax
my coupons
$2 CVS coupon
$1.50 Huggies
$1 Advil
OOP 10.28 with 5.79 in ECB earned

2nd transaction
Huggies 8.99
2.99 American greeting card
coupons used
$1.50 huggues
$2 CVS coupon
$2.99 American Greeting card (I got it from the in store scanner a couple of weeks ago)
OOP $5.49 plus tax

3rd transaction
$5.79 Advil
$5.99 Alavert
coupons used
$2 CVS
$1 Advil
$4 Alavert
OOP $4.78 with 8.79 in ECBs earned

4th transaction
8.99 Huggies
$6.99 Skin Effects product
coupons used
$2 CVS
$2 Skin effects
trying to get 1 more Huggies coupon
OOP 10.48 plus tax with 10 ECB earned

I should have a total of OOP or ECB s $31.03 and I will earn $24.58 back. This is not a great deal but we need diapers.

My cash should be very minimal out of pocket because I will keep rolling my ECBs.

Obsessed and Loving It

I am going to share a secret with you all, I hope you don't mind. My secret is, saving money is obsessive. I remember way back when (January) when I started my couponing and I started the grocery game, I ran out and bought toothpaste and shampoo thinking I was getting a great deal. I bought toothpaste for $1 or $1.50 and shampoo for $1 or $2. I really thought these were great deals. Then I learned a few things along the way and I also learned about CVS. Now I cringe at the thought of spending $1 for toothpaste or shampoo. Isn't that funny?

I used to spend $250 every other week at Sam's Club and then spend, probably, $50 a week at Kroger on top of that. Now I stress out about spending $100 or more at Sam's Club and anything over $35 at Kroger is highway robbery.

Yes, using coupons and getting great deals is obsessive and I am as happy as a pig in mud doing so. I would like a moment to wallow in my obsession now.

The Yard Sale is OVER!

THE YARD SALE IS OVER!

First let me correct an error from yesterday. At the close of business Friday our total was somewhere around $650.00 not $750.00. I got so excited with having a big wad of money that I guess I miss spoke.

Today was slower than yesterday but our grand total from last weekend and this weekend was?


It was!


It was!

Excuse me for posting so many pictures but I really really like to look at big wads of money and I really really really like to look at big wads of money that is mine. These pictures are only of this weekends money I put last weekends money in the bank already. I will transfer to my ING account next week.

Anyway our final total for our yard sale was ---- $880.20

Yay! I am very close to my camera. The only problem? I don't know if I want to put all that money on a camera now. I really really want the camera and I really really want to pay some debt.

HMMM. I will let my money sit and earn interest while I make my lists of why paying off debt is good and why having a $1000.00 camera is good. Let me tell you about my sweet husband. He told me tonight to buy my camera, is'nt that sweet? This even convicts me more to save the money and then put it on debt. Or maybe buy him something big that he wants shhhh don't tell him.

The Yard Sale

We did a yard sale last Saturday and we are doing a yard sale today and tomorrow. I have to tell you, "I am exhausted!" I feel like I have been lifting 6ft tables for ever. Tomorrow is the last day, praise God. I will not be having a yard sale for at least another 10 years. If you hear me getting the urge to make some money and have a yard sale I give you permission to smack some sense back into me.

I do have to say the money is very good. We have made a total of $750.00 from last week to this and we still have one more day to go. I was going to use this money for my camera fund. That was before our water pipe broke, so now I think it will sit in my ING account and earn some interested while I decide what to do with it.

We had 5-6ft tables filled with nicely folded kids clothes and now we only have 4, Yeah! We are making progress!

Sorry no pics, I am to tired.

Michelangelo Buonarroti vs. Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera and Michelangelo Buonarroti painted frescos. Fresco is a technique where the artist adds pigment and a little water to wet plaster or lime mortar. When dry tah-dah.
This is such a cool piece of art. I have actually been to the DIA and touched it. O.k. o.k. I know I should'nt have touched but I could'nt resist. This piece of art is in a whole room. You can just stand in the middle and turn around and see this whole auto company, man and machine art. These pictures do not do it justice. The detail is amazing. Rivera was also married to Frida Kahlo. We will discuss her art another time. If you get a chance to see a picture of her check out her unibrow. All I can say is UNI-WOW!

Why is my heading Diego vs Michelangelo, you ask?
The Sistine Chapel ceiling is done in this same technique, fresco, and was painted by Michelangelo. So these two artists have that in common and here is a little fun fact as well.
When they did restoration work on the Sistine Chapel they found paint brush hairs imbedded in the plaster from Michael Angelo. Can you guess what they found in Diego Rivera's fresco? Jalepeno seeds! Yes he was known to paint and eat peppers and the seeds have been found in his art work years later. I think that is cool.

Another little tid bit. When Michelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel he and the Pope did not get along. The Pope thought the painting should have went much faster and Michelangelo was kinda pompous. He was going to work at his pace (God complex). I have included a picture of Angelo (the B & W at the bottom) and one of the Sistine Chapel panels which displays God reaching out to touch Adams hand. Notice the face of God, does it look like anyone we know? HMMM, Michelangelo what were you thinking.

My New Best Friend

No I have not found another new store to get great deals from. What I have found is the British Broadcasting Corporation. Follow the link and then click on Big Toe Books. They have books and live radio for kids and they are all free. On the website this week is Alice in Wonderland, Henry the Cat and some other really good stories. There are always new stories coming. Check them out if you get a chance.