Love Day - Monday

I've been thinking a lot about LOVE lately.  And, the different types of love...

  The strong "blood is thicker than water" bond of love you have with your parents, siblings, and children.  The commitment to love "always and forever" that you give to a spouse, or significant other.  The affectionate love for a close friend, and sometimes the love that sneeks up on you when you least expect it.

  There's also the love for a hometown, favorite sports team, or neighborhood restaurant.  The unconditional love of a cherished pet.

Your first love, the love that got away, and even the love that will never be.

What do you think about love? or Who do you think of when you hear the word love?  I would LOVE a reply...:O) www.twitter.com/dmkhotpinkmommy

Do you "Library Thing?"

Hi.  I am officially addicted...to Library Thing.  Have you heard of it?  Library Thing is a cataloging website for your books, calendars, journals and magazines.  So far I am up to 578 books.  I thought that that was pretty good, considering it doesn't include my cookbooks, magazines and bible study aids.  Yet.

 But, then I see that other users have upwards of 20,000-30,000 or more.  Yep, you read correctly.  Enviable personal libraries in the 5 digits.  It boggles the mind.  I'd like to think I'd have time to read that many books (ha!) but, I still wouldn't have a catalog even close to those numbers.  Because to be another shade of "green", mine would be mainly be on loan... from the library. :O)

Cupcakes, anyone??

Different Kind of Green World!

 Originally, when I started this blog I wanted to sentimentally post about my family, blog about my "girly-girl" love of all things pink  and my nod to all things organic, or in a word, "green."

 However, I recently stumbled upon a book at the library called "How to Shop for Free" by Kathy Spencer, and it has already changed my life!

  Back in the 90's, when my eldest son was just a toddler, I clipped grocery coupons.  I had a Rubbermaid coupon box that I would diligently put coupons in and organize them by category.  Ie; Ketchup would be subcategorized with recipe cards that would list the brands, Del Monte, Heinz, etc.  I know.  I know.  I was totally OCD, and my life got way too busy to keep that up.  As we became older and more financially sound, I resigned myself to shopping the "sales" at my local grocery store, and leaving it at that.

 Fast forward twenty years...I now have 3 hungry toddlers!

 We make weekly trips to Costco, and the cashiers at our local drug and grocery store are starting to know us by name...so I know that our budget for fashion, furniture and (ha!) family vacations is being spent stocking our pantry.  What to do?

 Well, from the looks of things, "couponing" has come a long way.  Coupons are not just for cutting out any more.  There are sites like Cellfire.com that send coupons to your store loyalty cards, and online sites like Coupons.com where you simply 'Click and Print.  Sites like Groupon and LivingSocial offer daily deals and specials, too!

I took the great advice from this book, and just since last week, I have already scored 3 free lunch items at Jack In the Box, 2 free dinners at Pei Wei, 2 free lunches at Panda Express, a subscription to Parent's Magazine for a $1, $40 gift certificates to Restaurant.com for $4, and got "paid" $14 to shop at Walgreens.  I am in the process of setting up a "Coupon Binder" and will start my grocery shopping this NEW way, later this week.

Hopefully, this Hot Pink Mommy will start $aving some "green!"  Wink! ;O)

P.S.  I was not compensated in any way by Kathy Spencer for this post.

I Cupcake, because they cry...

This past weekend was rough.  My children are so rarely sick, that when they started getting clear runny noses on Thursday, I literally thought they were allergic to something.  I remembered that the air filters needed to be changed. Check.  That the house needed to be vacuumed. Check.  That they'd had a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches lately... (to set off the mucous, you know) Check.

Nope.  Full blown colds with chest coughs.  Thee whole weekend.  And with many runny noses, and cabin fever driving the boys to fight like they were "housewives" on a reality show, I finally had had IT!

Today, I broke out the cupcakes!!  Hubby had bought a two-pack from Wildflower Bakery.   And, guess what?  They are both GONE!!

Yikes...So uh, February is a great month to start eating right, right?

A New Attitude

Thanks... http://Peterspartyof5.blogspot.com

The Highs and Lows of 2010...

Oh 2010, how will I remember you??

March - SUPER HIGH - Had "Baby Pink," my daughter.  Scratch that.  Elated to have had beautiful "Baby Pink" daughter - 21 years after becoming mom to my eldest son!  There are no words.

 May - HIGH - SATC 2 came out!!  WOO HOO!!

September - SUPER LOW - My father died.  Enough said...

October - HIGH - Fantastic hubby went all out for our anniversary, gifting me with many of my "wishes" and a romantic dinner for two.  Hard to come by these days!!

October - LOW -  Turned 41.  Colored over roots that are as much gray as they are dark blond/brown.  YIKES!!

October - HIGH - Mom started coming over each Tuesday for dinner and game nights with my brood.

 November - LOW - After turning 80, mom has started talking weekly, about her own demise...

December -  LOW - Mom's saving grace "Lola," her little kitty companion, died tonight...  In her arms, no less.  So now, she's even more sad...

If you're keeping track, I'm due for another HIGH any day now...

After all, there is still 22 days left in the month, right??