we appreciate you, chick-fil-a!

today is cow appreciation day. which means if you dress up like a cow, you get free food. i would normally be all about it, but with life being so crazy right now, i was just going to pass this year. however, when jon learned about it, he and abby got excited. so last night, i stopped by our house to pick up odds and ends to put together 4 cow costumes at my parents' house. (yes, we are still not home.) but it was fun. hopefully a good memory for the girls in years to come.

oh, and the hour of work will yield 8 free combos!!! 4 for my family at lunch, and 4 for my friends family at dinner. :)

and yes, julia discovered the wonders of freshly squeezed lemonade today.

thrifty thursday part 7-book bargains

okay, for those of you who don't know me, i love to read. love it. i used to buy books constantly--thus our well stocked bookshelf covering one wall of our living room.

however, in the past few years, buying every book i want to read is no longer practical or economical. heck, it's not really an option. so here's how i'm saving some cash on books.

1. the library. now every system is different, i know, but ours is fabulous. we can request books on-line. then i get an e-mail when the book i want has come in. also, any book i want that my library doesn't have, i can request easily on-line using the interlibrary loan request form. and it's all free. way to go tax dollars!

2. if there is a book that i want to own, i go to paperback swap. such a great concept. you request books from other members. they request books that you have listed. for every book you ship out, you get a credit. for every book you receive, you use a credit. so, on average, i'm spending about $2.50 per book (the cost of shipping). i have loved this for often checked out library books for the girls, books for me that i know i will want to reread and cookbooks. they have a great selection.

3. my third stop if i need something immediately for my own collection is this website. it searches the web and gives me the prices of books plus shipping for both new and used books. i also check out half.com. sometimes they aren't listed in the comparisons.

so how do you save money on books, cds or music?

"it's magical"

this is what my 4 year old loudly proclaimed as she watched the fireworks in downtown decatur, "IT'S MAGICAL!" watching her reaction to it all was just that. i honestly delighted more in her enjoyment than i did the fireworks...although they were beautiful. makes me wonder if God takes more delight in our delight of the wonders he performs and creates than in the actual creation. what do you think?

back to blogging

i haven't been the most consistent lately. could it be because we were moving back and forth from my parents house (whose air conditioning went out this weekend) to our STILL unfixed kitchen? probably. but here are some fun shots from the past week or so.

since this picture was taken, the island and all the flooring have been removed (there was dreaded black mold underneath our lovely bamboo flooring) and the pipes are now covered with concrete. one small step for mankind, one giant leap toward moving back home.

julia is beginning to learn how to use a spoon.
or just turn it up...

abby and her cousin went to the carnival at grace to celebrate the end of a fun week at backyard bible club (a concept that i am a big fan of vs. the whole vbs concept i grew up with). and yes, i wound up climbing up the slide to help jack.
abby wanted to be like her nana. so the curly haired girl curled her hair.

and she wanted to help her papa make hamburgers...until she realized how nasty handling raw meat truly is. no amount of telling her it was like play-doh would convince her otherwise. like mother, like daughter.

NoiseTrade--an even better thrifty thursday!

so this is even BETTER! free music. just choose one of these indie bands (more options to choose from at NoiseTrade), and then send an e-mail to 3 friends recommending that they check it out. and poof-you get a whole free album to download on your computer! i feel like i'm getting back into the music loop once more.

thrifty thursday part 6

here it is. don't pour grease down your drain. because maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, but some day in the future your drains will get clogged. and if they get clogged and you pour the wrong thing down the drain, your pipes will corrode. they will completely be eaten away by the nastiness. and if that happens, and your pipes are in a slab foundation, your foundation will become mush, muck, muddy yuck. and that mess will start to spread away from the kitchen into the rest of your house. and if THAT happens, you will spend thousands digging up your foundation, replacing your pipes, repouring your foundation and redoing your flooring. not to mention the cost of having to evacuate your house for several weeks.

this one thrifty thursday tip, is saving you thousands. and if it doesn't save you thousands personally, it will save the people who own your house next.

i testify.

bedhead

yes. he's a rock star. my rock star. :)