And the winner is.......

MY MOM!!

How well does she know me?! Apparently she knows me very well! I remember bargain shopping with her many times, though I must say that I still get better deals than her! How great is it that she is the winner and today is Mother's Day?! Now she gets 2 gifts! She wins a stunning new necklace with ornate silver beads - it is truly her style. I must admit, that had someone else won, I wouldn't have awarded the same prize- but this fits her better than the other gift. Congrats, Mom!
Now, here is the breakdown, and this is truly what I paid- honestly, this is a GREAT DEAL!

1. Necklace- $5.50
2. Shirt- $3.06
3. Bracelet- $.85
4. Jeans- $5.24
5. Shoes- $2.86
6. Coat- $7.65

Grand Total of $25.16!!

I know, you don't have to say it, I am good! This is how I shop! I couldn't imagine paying much more for these items, I mean, they are cute and all, but I am cheap! I don't have the luxury to pay full price for anything, not even groceries, most of the time, so this is how I do it! I do spend probably more time shopping to get deals like this than most of you do, but I love shopping, so for me, it is just easy, and part of who I am! The deals are sometimes easy to come by, sometimes it is off-season, but I just bought all of these items within the last 5 weeks! Do you want to hear the coat story?
Well, I saw the coat in the clearance section (the best section, I might add..), and it totally caught my eye- I had been looking for a coat like this for a while. I immediately looked at the price tag- it was $100 then 70% off for a price of $30. Well, not that that isn't a good deal, but I didn't want to pay that much, and justifying large purchases that aren't a necessity is getting harder...BUT, I tried it on anyway..and really loved it! I noticed, however, that it was missing the belt and it had a small black dot on the lapel. I thought to myself that it wouldn't hurt to ask customer service if they would discount it any more. So, I did- I was really proud of myself! I had never done that before, and was a tad nervous, I mean it was already 70% off! The lady at the CS desk checked it out on her machine and said, "how about nine dollars?" I looked at her, wide-eyed and said, "SOLD!" I couldn't believe it! I thought the best she could do would be maybe half off of the $30- but no, she took another 70% off the $30! The smile on my face was so huge! Talk about a great deal- a $100 coat for $7.65 (I had another 15% off coupon!!)
The other items were just seriously discounted, and I got lucky- especially the shoes. They aren't my favorite item, but for the price, even if I only wear them a few times, I will get my $2.86 out of them! They were originally $44!
Thank you for playing along!! I have to say that Bonnie finished a mere second place, within only a .68 cent difference- she knows me too, apparently!
I can't wait to do another contest soon- this was really fun for me! Hope you had fun too!

The Price is Right- My Style

Okay....get ready.....this is going to be fun! I am setting up a CONTEST for my blog readers today...a personal shopper contest, that will involve PRIZES for those savvy shoppers who can guess the price of this newly purchased ensemble you are about to see....

There are 6 items to view and price:

1-Necklace

2-Bracelet

3-Shirt

4-Jeans

5-Shoes

6-Coat

Your job, should you choose to participate, and you should, because the prize is SO worth it!- is to guess the total amount of all pieces together- less tax, of course. So, if you know me, you know I didn't pay full price for anything, so keep that in mind, but nothing was free!

Here are a few helpful hints:

1- The silver part of the necklace is the piece you are pricing: the blue slide was a gift from my mom.

2- The shirt and shoes are both Daisy Fuentes brand.

3- The coat is my favorite piece, and I got it last night- The beginning price was $100.00. It was missing the belt, so I asked for a discount, and I got it cheaper. You figure how much cheaper.

Okay, so are you ready?! This is sooo fun for me! I am reliving all my great purchases through this. Leah took these pictures, see, she is more than an adorable dancer, she is one great photographer, too!

You have to post a comment in order to count- so just give me your thoughts and a dollar total! Are you excited?! I am including a few closeups too.

HAVE FUN!!

The color of the coat is a light gray- more spring-ish with a hood - oh, it is by far my favorite find, possibly EVER!

I will keep this going for a day or two until a winner is found! Even if you don't love shopping, please play along anyway- it is good for the soul! P.S. Bonnie, you are now eligible to play!

Dancing Queen

Leah is my "dancing queen"!! This is her second year taking dance, and she LOVES it!! She loves Wednesdays because Wednesdays means dance!! She can be quite the performer, too. As I told my friend, Jen on her blog, my kids do "talent shows" often, and most times Leah's talent is dancing to her own beat! She is so funny, and we love that about her. Yesterday was "watch week" for parents, so I got to snap a few photos of her. This year she is doing tap, ballet and jazz in a combo class. So the pictures are from all 3 kinds of dances...enjoy and see if you can be the next "So you think you can dance" contestant! You never know, you might see her someday...



Love this one of her and her friend Julia doing the "skip and slide" together- look at how in sync they are! Soooo cute!

Check out the jump! Oh, and the pose is so her!

Leah has recital next month, so keep a look out for her again, this time instead of wearing this cute pink outfit, she will be in the hottest pink costume you have ever seen!

Flashback to 1993 Prom

I can hardly believe I am posting this picture of me as a Senior at Prom!! It is so funny, and my mind is flooded with images of all my friends who looked very similar to me-

1. BIG hair

2. Off the shoulder dress

3. Tinted dyeable shoes to match your dress

4. Costume jewelry

5. A prom limo

Okay, so it was 1993, and at our High School, we only had Senior Prom, so this was my one and only experience (thank goodness!). My date, Mike, was our Senior Class President, and had much influence on voting for the theme for our dance. I remember that our Senior Advisor (a wacky teacher) drove everyone crazy, so we voted for a theme that would surely dissapoint her- and because Mike was President and quite popular, everyone followed suit, so our theme became, are you ready....

"NIGHT OF ECSTASY!"

Yes, I am serious! A huge joke, but that was our theme nontheless! I am not sure if I even knew what that implied, but it was fun to just rile our advisor up! So anyway, we then picked the classic colors of red, white and black, and had our dance at a fancy hotel downtown. It was quite tasteful, despite the theme...at least I think so...

There were 4 couples in our limo- only one couple was actually dating, (not me), and so we basically went as a group of friends- that was so nice. Mike decided to wear a purple tux, and I didn't object, that seemed to suit his personality just fine...later he decided to take a different route and play for both teams, if you get my drift...(okay, that sounded from the 90's!). Anyway, we had this great limo, which turned out wasn't even the one they ordered, it was less classy, but I didn't care since I get motion sickness in the backseat of a car, let alone a limo, so I wasn't all too excited anyway. I don't remember much from the night itself, except that it was sort of fun, but not really worth all the hoopla. I did, however, LOVE my dress, and why? I don't even know now, but it fit me perfectly, and I look at it now, and I think, wow, where the heck are my hips?! They did not exist then! Sadly, I weighted 108 pounds, and was not eating much to try to stay thin! I did not think that was thin! Crazy high school drama that makes you think that! I do not want my daughters to ever go through that!

I do, however, remember Post-Prom, and going to a Knights Inn Motel for the night- can you believe my parents let me stay at a hotel - what were they thinking, I was barely 17! Okay, so since Mike and I were just friends, they said okay, and all was fine, but what they didn't know was what everyone else in our party was doing...okay, don't let your mind wander that direction...but there was alcohol like you have never seen before- at least I hadn't seen before! They loaded up the tub with tons of different varieties for everyone! I was a good girl and didn't drink a drop- honest, but I cannot say that for the rest of the clan- it was a long night for them, and morning for that matter! The next morning, with more hairspray than Aqua Net intented, I shoved my hair in a banana clip (it was the 90's, remember?!), and we headed to Tee Jay's Country Place for breakfast- yuck! It was where EVERYONE goes after prom for breakfast, so we couldn't not go! Sadly, I ate and then felt miserable the rest of the day.

All in all, Prom 1993 was quite memorable, as much as I remember...hope you enjoyed this and got your laugh in for the day!

Down on the Farm...

The kids and I ventured up to visit my Grandparents this weekend- one of our very favorite places to go! We love visiting them so much, and nearly cry the whole way home, knowing we won't be back for a few months, if not longer...it is hard being so far from them- my whole life they have lived there, but we managed to go more often than I seem to be able to go now with my family. Oh how I love my grandparents. The weather was raining yesterday, so we mostly stayed indoors, but I didn't mind because that means I get to spend more time talking to my grandparents. The kids were bummed because they wanted to be with Uncle John and the horses- but they got over it- when the rain stopped for a minute or two, they rushed out to the pasture to spend time with the beloved horses. Here is a few shots of that blessed event...
Leah tantalizes them with old carrots- they don't seem to be very excited...they are far in the background here...
Celeste was actually very excited to see the horses this year, and even does an excellent impersonation of "Misty" (the white horse) stomping her foot with an itch...one day I will get that on for you!

These are "Suffolk" horses, and to me that means "BIG"!! Just look at Alex with them- they absolutely love him, and he seriously has some connection with them that not many people have. They know him and come up to greet him whenever he is near. He isn't afraid, and just talks to them like they are his- he is in his favorite place with them in this shot!

While it was raining, I got to spend time cooking for my grandparents, making my favorite dishes and desserts- they loved it! I loved it too, because we don't have people over that often to cook for and so it was fun to serve them and do for them what they have done for me my entire life. Outside of the kitchen window, my grandma has many bird feeders, and so all day I waited for the perfect time to take this shot of the Oriole that keep frequenting the jelly feeder...here he is...

I also got to visit with my cousin, Jamie, who is a new mom and with her beautiful boy, Evan. He is adorable and you can see him by visiting her new site, (that I convinced her to start!). It was fun chatting about blogging, and how great it is (well, I think so, anyway!). I also got to see her nephew, my cousin Jen's boy, Jonathan on Saturday, and he is so cute, too! I forgot to take pictures, we were so busy chatting. Imagine that!

The sun came out today, and so I snapped a shot of the girls on the deck in the sun...

As we left the farm, driving down their road, we saw this literally 2 feet from the side of the road, and I couldn't help but stop and take a parting shot...we love it here! The only thing separating me from these cows is a one strand electric barb wire fence! They don't seem to mind strangers snapping their picture! They probably think I am one crazy lady...and they would be right!

I could do without the farm smell, but other than that, this is a great place to be! The kids are dying to know when we are going back- I told them it may be a while, and with that, sobs came from the backseat...family truly means everything.

Chapter 40

Okay, so after much searching through old photos, I finally found the ones of my friend, Peggy and I, so I thought I would post them. I told you she was gorgeous! The first one is at her apartment sometime in 1997- I think it was for her graduation in the fall. (Check out the blonde hair I was sporting!- that was a phase and not that great of one at that!) The second one is at her wedding in November of 1999- I was pregnant with Alex, and she was radiant, as usual. I am still thinking of her everyday and the impact she had on my life, though I hadn't thought of it before. I am thinking of Bylle's post of "Counting your Blessings", and the blessing of knowing and spending time with her years ago counts as one of mine today....

Chapter 39

So yesterday, I WAY overspent on groceries, as I began our food stocking-up- I prefer to call it that rather than "food storage", since we are more likely to eat our storage, so we just stock-up and keep that replenished. I am ashamed to say that this is all we really have, and I have let it really dwindle down. We would survive on what we have here, but it wouldn't last long, and I am in need of continuing our stock! I am using part of our "recession" checks to help out, and I will keep it up to date and ready for the future! Here is a sampling of the beginning amount of our stock...you can't see the toilet paper, but it is there, because that is important too!!

Also yesterday, we took the kids to get ice cream at Baskin Robbins- it was 31 cents for one scoop last night, and one scoop was what we got! I loved it, and the kids loved their "bubble gum" ice cream, but Dana didn't think our $1.55 was that great of a deal! He thinks we could've bought a half gallon of Breyers for the cost in gas that it took to get there! He's such a stick in the mud sometimes! I am laughing because he is probably right, though it was fun, and it made great pictures! Pluse, we ran into the Boothe's and Bruckelmeyers- and we just missed the Arriola's- apparently Mormon's love cheap ice cream!!

The pink bubble gum ice cream actually had chuncks of gum in it- great if you are a kid, but it was not adult friendly!

It was not that warm when you weren't in the sun, where the seats were, so we just sat outside on the curb and ate our dessert. Bear in mind that Celeste ate nothing for dinner, but somehow managed to get ice cream anyway- probably because she's so cute!

Daddy doesn't look annoyed here, now does he?! That's because he has his one scoop and three crazies with him!

He was actually stealing my mint chocolate chip, and I didn't even know it!

Embarassing Moment Tag...

After much deliberation and thought, I finally decided which embarrassing moment to post...and it's a doozy, let me tell ya...and one I am reminded of all the time by Dana-our little joke between us...so here goes...
Okay, so Dana and I had just started dating, it was probably our fourth or fifth time being together. We went to a park and walked around, and looked at the pond...I don't know, honestly, I just know we were there and it was getting late...okay, we had been there a while, and it was very late...so late that the park was closed and we were still there...not out walking around, but in his car...okay, don't get any crazy thoughts in your head, we had JUST started dating, so we were just talking....and talking...and talking till the wee hours of the night.
While we were talking, we didn't notice a police officer walking toward the car- the one we were just talking in...
(side note; there was a time that he like to talk as much as me!)
well, he approached the car, and I rolled down the um, steamy window, (because "talking" makes the windows foggy), and politely said,
"Oh, sorry, officer, I didn't know the park closed at 11".
He states back to me, "I didn't say the park closed at 11."
Yeah, way to go, Kelly. Remember that we had just started dating, and I was so embarrassed that I couldn't keep my cool in such a tense moment. Dana just laughed and rolled his eyes, the first of so many in our life together.
The officer, by the way, said we needed to leave, and not to be out at the park at 11 again!
Well, apparently, my lack of composure didn't affect our relationship, because I have done and said things since then that support that I am not cool under pressure- (sometimes)! Today we just laugh and refer to it as, "uh, I didn't know the park closed at eleven!" Oh, the fun...at least we can laugh about it, since at the time I was a tad mortified to say the least.

Okay, since everyone is enjoying this so much, I tag Es, Jen, Laura, and Tina. Let's hear it!

Potty Perfection

This is what the happy potty trained 2 year old little girl looks like at our house...!

It has been just 5 days since we began wearing panties, and I must honestly say that it has been one of the easiest things I have done in a long time! I just think something clicked with her, maybe it was her friends that are going, or maybe it was the lure of Starburst for every potty success, but whatever it was, it is working!! She is even wearing panties all night! She wakes up so happy and announces that she is "dry, and I didn't pee in Diego!" Yep, those Diego boy briefs have been wonderful, and she is so happy! I love it! Let's just cross our fingers that we stay in potty perfection mode! And, that Target doesn't run out of Starburst anytime soon!

Flower Power

Okay, I am so loving this new camera! I have taken nearly 200 pictures in this last week with it! Gotta love digital! This new camera has 8 megapixels, and since my old one had only 3, there is an obvious difference! I soooo love it! Here are some pictures from the flowers in my mom's yard- aren't they lovely? She is so good at planting the right flowers and plants and tending to them so nicely. I wish I had her talent in "green-thumbness"! Enjoy her garden...