Frugal tip #1 - Kids' birthday parties

So since I am turning into frugal mom of the year, I thought I'd share this tip. I spent forever looking for somewhere to have my kids' birthday party. I could not believe the ransoms some of the places around town wanted to host the parties. Being a penny pinching fool lately, $250 for a jumping party or $280 for a playroom party (with the option to spend more on "extras") just wasn't cutting it for me. I was all set to host a party at home, but even then the question lingered, what would they do? So I continued my investigating and came across the city's park and rec's website. For a whopping $88, the kids would have access to the pool, and the staff would provide decorations, goodie bags and clean up. Um, okay. Sold! Of course I questioned exactly how the quality of the party was going to be. And yesterday I found out.

To my surprise, the decorations were awesome, the goodie bags were stuffed and everything was laid out perfectly. I had booked the last party slot of the day and the pool was available to the kids from 1:30 to 4:00. That was the best part of the party I think. The kids showed up, they swam and once they were worn out, we rested and ate cake, lol.

So that's my frugal tip #1 - discover your parks and rec department and see what they have to offer. Mine in particular offered a lot and didn't charge me an arm and a leg for it.

BTW - We had about 16 kids there. I invited some the kids of some of my friends and I got in touch with a couple of the kids that were originally invited and they were able to make it. So everything worked out in the end. :)

I settled on a few "resolutions" for this year

After I recapped last years resolutions, I thought long and hard about what I want for myself this year. So bear with me as I list these:

• Find a job. A real job. With health insurance.
• Lose at least 10% of my body weight. Which would be about 24 lbs.
• Buy a dining room table that seats 6. And use it.
• Get better car insurance.
• Make more time for my family.
• Make more time for my friends.
• Make more time for my hobbies.
• Start therapy, because I really need someone to talk to so I can clear my mind.
  

Pretty simple I think. Nothing too earth shattering. I just really need to focus my attention back to improving myself, so I can improve my situation.

So tomorrow is the kids' pool party. I'm hoping that everything works out well and we all have fun. Which means I gotta go find my swimsuit.

Here's a picture of the kidlets meeting Santa. I don't think I ever posted this, so I thought I'd share.

Okay, I'm off to read another couple of chapters in my book. G'nite.

I know I said no resolutions, but I changed my mind.

So this was my post 1 year ago, with all my resolutions. *Sigh* I didn't fully keep one, but most were with good cause.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

I know I said no resolutions, but I changed my mind.

I've been giving it some thought and I decided to do resolutions this year. I don't remember what I did last year.

#1~ Spend more quality time with my kids. I want to find some fun activities to do with them. I'm so tired of being the one who has school, homework, housework and general "mean mom" stuff. We get about 3 hours a night together and I want to make the most of it. *** We did work on this. I'm the scout leader for the girls and I tried to find a cub scout troop for my little guy. This one is carrying over into the new year. I actually have a plan this time!***

#2~ I have to start going to gym again. No just for the usual I need to lose weight spcheel. I need to exercise to help control my diabetes. I've been feeling like crap and I know its due to out of control blood sugars. So, its time to do something about it. Besides, I don't actually have to pay for it, since my apartments have a gym. :)***Well, I did not do anything about this one. Nada. I did walk with the girls at work on our breaks, but that was it. We moved out of the apartment and I never joined a gym. This is still on my list.***

#3~ It's time to take control of my diabetes. I need to take my meds as prescribed, check my blood sugars 3X a day like I'm supposed to, and I need to research diabetic cooking and change my eating habits. I know I can do better than I have been. ***I did change my cooking and eating habits a little. And I do take my meds like I'm supposed to. I don't check my sugars like I should because I don't have insurance to pay for the testing supplies. ***

#4~ Organize and Prioritize. There are a lot of things going on in my life and I need to start keeping a schedule. I don't want or need anymore surprise dentist visits, missed birth control appointments, or things like that. Being organized will help with that too, because I won't waste as much time searching for the things I need. ***I did really well with this one. I made my own planner with space for what I needed, no cookie cutter planners for this girl! And I've really tweaked the planner pages for the upcoming year. ***

#5~ Stay in control of my finances. I filed bankruptcy for a reason. Now I need to keep it under control. I'm going to develop a budget, start a savings account, pay my bills on time and keep my debt low (like just my car payment and ONE credit card). Savings goal: $1200 for the year. More would be even better. *** Well, losing my job put a real crimp in this plan. I was doing great before I was laid off. I've still managed to keep my payments on my bills on time (for the most part) and budget my meger income. I have some tweaks on this one this year, and I think it's gonna work. ***

#6~ Scrapbook more. I have tons and tons of stuff. And I just don't. I see so many inspirations and I forget them as soon as they're out of sight. My first project is going to be an idea journal. I gotta start somewhere, right? And I'm going to work on some of the challenges I see on the MB's. There is so much inspiration there it's unreal. Goal: 6 projects per month with only $20 spending per month. ***Didn't get to far with this one. I managed to buy more stuff, but I didn't really make too much.***

#7- Spend less time on the computer. And spend more time reading. I made a list of authors about 4 months ago, and I haven't even started looking up their books at the library yet. And I need to find a place to look for new authors. My goal is one book every two weeks, so about 26 over the year. *** I read a bunch of books, but I don't think there were quite 26. At least 10. I'm still spending way too much time on the computer, but again.... I have a plan, lol. ***

So there you have it. My so-called resolutions for 2008, lol. Let's see what sticks.

Well, that's where I stand on 12/31/08, lol. I didn't do too bad, but it wasn't all that good either. Oh well, next year I'll be better. I swear! :)

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Christmas, Christmas time is herrreee.......

Okay, so my family didn't appreciate my singing either, lol. Nor did they like my recital of the Night Before Christmas. But that's alright.:) I liked it.

I managed to make Christmas pretty good for the spawn this year. Well, good in the sense that they got many small, inexpensive gifts so it looked like a lot. Walmarts $4 hoodies and track sets went pretty far. I managed to get those great deals I mentioned earlier, and my mom had gone to Mervyn's right before it closed and got coats, and other stuff for like $2.99. And I utilized my brother's employee discount at Best Buy to get some video games for like $8 and a really nice bluetooth for $20.

So for Christmas from my Hunny, I got {drumroll, please} - SNOW TIRES!!!! That is the single most romantic gift I've ever received! Seriously. It tells me that I'm loved and it matters to him that I'm safe. Plus I whined after Monday's mishap. A LOT. (**eta** He ended up paying for them so I didn't have to. He's so cool like that.)

I also got the software for my wishblade to make it compatiable with Vista. From my mom, I got my Crop O Dile Big Bite and a Dronkey. He's so cute! I also got two very nice tennis bracelets, one from my grandma with pink stones and one from my daughter with CZ's. And stop my beating heart..... my brother got me headphones that match my mp3 player that Santa got me. My neice gave me a box of chocolate. *sigh* I've been staring at those since 3pm.

We didn't have Christmas dinner or anything, but I think that's okay. My little ones are at their dad's until next week, so my holiday was really over around 2 o'clock. If there's one thing I can't stand about divorce, it's sharing the holiday's with my ex. Of course, my kiddos have already called me wanting to come home. I feel sorry for them, but I can't really do anything about it. Perhaps he'll bring them home early.

Anyway, I'm going to go play with my new software. I'd go into my scrap room, but I can't get in there. It's a MESS. That is tomorrow's project, cleaning that disaster area. I've decided that I am getting a new desk next month. I cannot stand it. Something about that desk I got last year just kills my mojo. I can do stuff, but I feel forced. It's not the relaxing experience it's supposed to be, lol.

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Stay safe and warm!