2011 Wrap-Up, Because It's The Thing To Do

It seems like everyone is doing a year-end wrap-up, so I feel like I should, too.  I was going to try to be all creative in some way, but this year has been exhausting!  And I was going to try to include some pictures, but my server (where the photos are stored) is not cooperating and my husband is exhausted, too, so I'm not going to bug him about it right now.  In the meantime, enjoy this very boring, wordy list created from the best of my recollection.  (Items within each month are listed in no particular sequence.)

First Real Coupon Victory

I just got back from Target where I saved more than I spent.  It was incredible.  Mostly, I stuck to only purchasing things we needed (now or later, i.e., Christmas wrap for next year).  I felt so good for the savings I created for our family with only a few extra minutes of strategizing before heading out the door to the store.

Tuesday Whatevers

Okay, first of all, Merry Christmas.  On Christmas Eve AND Christmas Day, I thought about grabbing some computer time to post a message to my readers, but I didn't.  You were thought about though - does that help?  And before I forget and in advance: Happy New Year. 

Now that that is said and done, I can present you with some randomness from the past couple weeks that I've been saving my notes on, but haven't yet posted.

Thank You, USPS

I know that the US Postal Service takes a lot of heat for stuff over the past decade or so and phrases have been created based on a handful of postal workers, i.e., "going postal," but I, personally, have never had an extremely difficult situation with regards to the post office.

Let the Shopping Begin

Everyone knows that the economy hasn't been the best this year for most people.  We are among some of the fortunate who have not felt quite the crunch hundreds of thousands of others have felt the past couple years.  There's been belt tightening around here, but we have yet to lose a job or a house to the bank, so I consider ourselves abundantly blessed in that regard.

Following Up

I've talked about a few things in the past and then failed to follow-up on them (if anyone cares), so I thought this would be a good moment to do that.

Marketing Fun

My sisters and I have had a long, unspoken tradition of finding mistakes in advertisements or product package text or on big signs and sending pictures or written descriptions of these errors to one another so we can laugh together at the situation.  If you are in marketing or advertising, I apologize if this offends you.  However, we don't intend any meanness, it's just something we find funny and it's a way to stay connected over the miles and no matter what is going on in our lives otherwise.

1st, 2nd, 3RD Snow of the Season

For those who don't know, yes, it does snow in New Mexico.  We live in what's called "high desert."  The climate is very dry and it does get pretty hot in the summertime, but in the winter, it gets really cold, too.  I'm typing this at 6:30am and it's 20-degrees Fahrenheit right now.  Tonight, the low is forecasted to be 6.  I don't know about you, but that's cold.

Our Own Room

J has spent most of her early years of life sleeping in our bedroom -- and sometimes, our bed -- for an assortment of reasons.  But I can reasonably say, I think we finally have our own room back now.

Dinner Conversation: Ranch & Bacon

Last night, C took S for the evening, while I had the four younger kids at home.  I made a simple dinner of taquitos and beans that they all seemed to enjoy.  I let them watch a Christmas movie before bed and they each devoured a movie-treat bowl of Tostito's brand tortilla chips in their Limited Holiday flavor edition of Cinnamon.*

What Horses Eat

The boys and I were reading in Matthew this morning during school.  We were reading the section on Oaths in Chapter 5. 

Before we began reading, I asked, "Do you know what an oath is?"

Z confidently replied, "Yes, of course, it's food for horses."

(Oats.)