The ABC's of Me.

I found this idea over at J. Leigh designz and thought it was a great opportunity to let you in on more information about me. Thank You Jennifer Leigh for letting me snag this.


A - Age: 41
B - Bed size: King. Need room for two adults and two kids:)
C - Chore you hate: I DO NOT Iron!
D - Dogs' names: Ashley (7 year old min pin) Blu (9 year old Doberman)
E - Essential start to your day: Coffee and the quiet (I try to get up at least 30 minutes before everyone else)
F - Favorite color: It changes often. Today I'm going to say pink.
G - Gold or Silver: Definitely GOLD
H – Height: 5'8"
I - Instruments you play: None currently. As a kid I played piano and violin.
J - Job title: WAHM, Which covers every job you can think of.
K - Kid(s): 2, Boogie (5 year old son) and Puddin' Pop (3 year old daughter)
L - Living arrangements: single family house
M - Mom's name: Irene
N – Nicknames: Shelly, R2,
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: None
P - Pet Peeve: People who lack common sense. Rude people
Q - Quote from a movie: I don't really do the movie quote thing. Can't think of a single one
R - Right or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: 2 brothers, one older and one younger.
T - Time you wake up: For some reason I usually get out of bed at 6:34. No alarm, it just always seems to be the time on the clock when I roll over to get up.
U- Underwear: Thanks for reminding me, I need to buy some. Yes to underwear, NO to thongs.
V - Vegetable you dislike: I'll eat them all but like peas the least.
W - Ways you run late: I usually don't unless Hubster is involved. Then we are always late.
X - X-rays: Just dental ones as a kid.
Y - Yummy food you make: I love to cook. I'm great on the grill and would never let anyone other than my father cook a steak for me.
Z - Zoo animals: The best zoos are the ones with Penquins.

Feel free to take this for your own blog. Let's all get to know each other a little better!

Ufadili ~ Kind World Goods

If you've been here before you know I am all about raising awareness of charities and easy ways to get involved even if you don't have a lot of time or money to spend. I was thrilled to be contacted by Michele Mandeville to help get the word out about Ufadili. Here's what Michele had to say about her online shop:

What if the clothes you purchased for you and your children were more than just cute?

What if ... the clothes were super cute, taught you and your children how to say things in different languages, shared unique and interesting facts and then 30% of the profits from your purchase went to helping people, animals and the planet?

That is the essence of Ufadili.

Ufadili was founded on the philosophical cornerstone of conscious consumerism. I had an idea of a place where the simple decision of buying a shirt for my daughter or a onesie for my son could be a great connecting experience - an experience that connected us artistically, culturally, educationally and charitably to the rest of the world. In this spirit came the concept for Ufadili , a name inspired by the Swahili word " ufadhili " meaning "kindheartedness, goodwill".

Along with every Ufadili garment is a special "Giving Tag". The Learning side shares fascinating facts and several language translations of the designs. The Charitable side indicates the organizations that will receive 30% of Ufadili's profits. Ufadili garments are made by a fair trade, sweatshop-free manufacturer. All print materials and packaging are made of 100% recycled or biodegradable products.

Everyday I am deeply grateful for my circumstances and feel a personal obligation to try and improve the lives of others. My ultimate hope is that through Ufadili we can help raise awareness and monies for organizations that work tirelessly to recognize, aid, and celebrate the extraordinary wonder of each life and our world.

Thank you for visiting,

Michele Mandeville
Founder

I was hooked just from the that statement. Who puts so much into developing a product that is socially conscious on all levels? I think this idea is unique and inspiring.

The clothes are adorable and each design comes in a variety of styles from onesies to raglans. Made for children of all ages and Mother's as well. The whole family could sport matching shirts or each in a different design. This is one of my favorites:

The gift boxes are just as cute. Look at these:

Some of the organizations that will receive part of the profits are Heifer International, Surfrider Foundation and WildAid. If you want a great, socially conscious, fun learning shirt for someone special in your life, check out Ufadili.

Really? I Should Have Said Plain

Let me start by saying that BK is the absolute best place to get a burger. I have made some pretty tasty ones at home and have had great burgers at restaurants and at cookouts, but NOTHING beats a Whopper. Yes, that's right, I am a huge fan of the Whopper. Now that I think of it, I'm going to have to look and see if they have a Whopper fan page on Facebook, I am so joining.

Anyway. Yesterday I was in the mood for said Whopper. I eat approximately 3 a year so it is a treat I was looking forward to ...and it was worth the wait. The problem is that I ordered a cheeseburger kids meal for Puddin' Pop and I believe my exact words were "I need a cheeseburger kids meal with only cheese." I meant no pickles, onions, ketchup or mustard, but that's a lot to say. We get home for our picnic lunch (blanket on the living room floor, just us girls) and I am so wrapped up in the deliciousness of my Whopper that I don't realize that PP's burger is wrong...it's not even a burger. They gave her a bun with cheese. Really? Because if you took the "just cheese" literally and thought that meant no meat, why would you assume I wanted a bun? She loved it and never said a word, but still.

Did I order it wrong? Should I have just said plain? Please help me out here people.

Happy Mother's Day...and what NOT to do

Dear Husbands and Children of the World,

If you would like Mommy to have a nice Mother's Day, here is a list of things NOT to do.

Do Not let Mommy sleep in only to be awoke by the sounds of a child being "popped" for not listening (Especially if Mom is 100% against hitting) at 7:30am.

Do Not cook breakfast (including bacon) and then leave the dishes for Mom to clean up.

Do Not go lay down (because your back hurts) and leave rowdy kids with Mom.

Do Not "pop" the other kid because he is frustrated he can't tie his shoes that he only got 5 minutes ago at Grandma's house (it's especially annoying for this to transpire at the In-laws who agree the kids should be spanked).

Do Not come home from Grandma's house and let Mommy get lunch for the kids and then decide to "watch a movie" with son who is still upset for getting slapped only to have him come back downstairs 5 minutes later while you "rest" for another hour.

Do Not buy Mommy a gift you can't afford when you fail to respect her wishes and disregard her as a person of importance, it means nothing.

Do Not allow your wife to cook dinner and do all the dishes while you lay on the couch.

Do Not listen to older child yell that younger child just pee'd on the floor and do nothing.

Do Not allow Mommy to clean up pee and get new PJ's for the child.

I think that Mother's should at least be cherished and respected and while I love my family, I would like to spend next Mother's day with other Mother's AWAY from our families.

Who's in?

I Thought I Won...

Remember when I told you that Kissimmee was giving away free vacations? I got an e-mail the other day that said I won. But it wasn't from them. It was some other promotion for Disney. I don't recall entering a drawing or contest for a Disney vacation so I will be interested to see what they send me. But it got me thinking more about a vacation and our need to take one. I think if I have to spend the entire summer entertaining the kids I'll go crazy. They play together in short spurts okay (like 20-30 minutes) then the screaming, name calling, and tattling begins.

So I've looked into even more things to do in Kissimmee in the hopes that my name will be drawn in either this or next month's contest. I can dream, can't I. I would like to go to Sea World. I think the whole family would enjoy that. Hubster has a new passion for fish so I think he would even enjoy that. I would like to stay here

One of the many vacation rentals available with special pricing until the end of May. I think I may never leave the house. It would be like home, but better, and NOT home.

Seriously though, I think it would be nice to take the kids putt putt golfing and there are several different courses in the area. I would also like to take the kids to Downtown Disney. I'll bed they could make an afternoon of playing in the fountain and would probably enjoy it more than going into the actual park. They're just like that. But I remember when Hubster and I went, almost 10 years age, before we were parents, that's where we camped out. We had more fun watching kids, big and old, try to get through tat fountain without getting wet. I guess the apples don't fall far from the tree.

So, go sign up for your chance to win a free vacation, then call me when you win and we can go together. Deal?

Mammogram vs Ultrasound

I wrote on my other blog about my first Mammogram last week and what a wonderful experience it was (my first time). Maybe I shouldn't have sounded so enthusiastic. They called me up and invited me back for a full diagnostic exam with ultrasound. Ouch, that was like a punch to the gut. I freaked for a couple hours, composed myself after several glasses of wine and went to bed. Today I awoke fine. Barely even thought about it. Googled it. But barely thought about it. Anyway, here is what I found out.

Half of all women under 50 (and a third of women over 50) are dense. Well, that is to say they have dense breasts, which yield very poor results from regular mammograms. Full diagnostics with ultrasounds are extremely costly to the radiologists due to insurance covering only 67% and the time involved being 30-40 minutes. So while this is clearly the best way to detect anything, it is currently cost prohibitive to administer to everyone although research is being done to create machines that would cut down on the time involved.

So, I'll be going back. No worries.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Pink

Where Do You Cut Costs?

I'm in no way a penny pincher...though I should be. I've never been organized enough to clip coupons, although I've tried. I do look for good deals on food and paper products and try to stock up when regularly used items are on sale. The biggest area I save money is on things for myself. More like, I never shop for myself unless there is a need for a specific item. I'm curious to know what all the frugal moms spend on their hair. I mention this because I have a very good, thrifty friend who buys clothes for her kids and herself at the thrift stores (and they are always very well dressed) but will think nothing about dropping $100 for a hair cut and color.





I'm getting ready for summer and got a haircut yesterday for $14 and came home and colored it for $3. Including tip, I spent $23 for a cut and color. I need some other summer apparel and went looking for some sandals today. I'm not a shoe collector, but enjoy a couple cute new pairs of shoes and sandals every now and then. Besides my favorite sandals broke at the end of last summer. I happened across a site offering great prices on tons of different sandals and I really like these

At $10, I can fit a couple pairs into my budget.

So, Frugal Mom's, where do you save the most money? Groceries? Stuff for the kids? Or do you, also, tend to neglect yourself like I do? Tell me.

April Top Droppers

A big hug to all the people who visit me here. Each of you are special and the few of you who actually speak (comment) are most special of all. I will always try to reciprocate the comments by stopping in at your place and adding my two cents. I do not update daily and yet some days I provide more than one post so for those that stop by everyday, rain or shine, I appreciate it more than you'll ever know.

My top EC Droppers for April are...

New Dilemma
Hello Kitty Gifts
Lisgold
Beyond Feron
Split Rock Ranch
Wine at Five?

Traders' Hub
I'm Walking On Sunshine
Wii Mommies
Welcome To Bob's Blog

Thank You to everyone who stops by, with or without a blog. I enjoy being here and couldn't do it without you. Okay, I could...but it wouldn't be as much fun!