Well, it's Sunday night again, and I ALWAYS seem to have a hard time going to sleep on Sunday nights. It's partly the anticipation of the week to come, and partly not wanting to give up the weekend that was. I find myself cruising the blogs, reading books, cleaning (yikes! yes, even cleaning) and every other little thing under the sun to avoid going to bed. Where I won't sleep anyway. I saw something shiny on a blog earlier today, can't even remember which blog it was as I looked at lots and lots, but it had to do with COUPONS! I've tried the coupon thing before, and frankly, I'm not very good at it. But, in lieu of the stinky economy right now, I AM GOING TO GIVE COUPON-CLIPPING ANOTHER GO! I'm always so inspired by the shoppers that get ridiculous amounts of groceries for chump-change--like $287.00 worth of groceries for $ .47. I WANT TO BE THAT GUY! I get the whole "coupon, ad matching, stuff on sale" combo. concept, but find that most of the stuff that falls under this category isn't the stuff I'm buying anyway. Not that there's anything wrong with tuna-flavored SPAM (kidding here), but it just isn't what sounds good for dinner. EVER. That being said, I'm vowing right here and now to look really closely at what's already on sale and I will try to combine it with a coupon. Isn't this great stuff??! Yup, it's really late! If anyone out there has any money saving ideas, feel free to leave me a comment. I'm an ALL OR NOTHING girl, and right now, I'm ALL about the savings, baby! Happy Monday to all, and to all a great Veteran's Day holiday on Tuesday!

HALLOWEEN PICS!

Halloween 2006: Her hat says "Sprint", and she has a phone charger cord in her hand that fastened to the side of her shirt. We made her "buttons" with my Sizzix machine circle punch, craft foam, and a white pen. Her tinfoil antenna was stuck through a hole in the back of her hat!

My boy Stumpy.

My favorite felon and her pumpkin-head creation!

The real Stumpy and his pumpkin head creation!

There's nothing like a scorching sinus infection from putting you behind on your resolve to post Halloween pictures in a timely manner! I have been fighting this booger (pardon the pun) for a few weeks now, and am sad to say that it's kicking me in the ba donk a donk. I'm now on steroids (GRRRR!) and a new antibiotic, so we'll see what happens! Our Halloween theme this year was "If we don't already own it, too bad, we're not going to buy it", so the kids repurposed some older costume parts and were very resourceful! Gone are the days of the $40.00 a piece Disney costumes, and truthfully, those were never their (or my) favorites anyway. I have always loved putting together their costumes in a creative, do-it-ourselves kind of way. We've made a bunch of really neat costumes through the years--maybe I'll dig up some old pictures and post them. Many are (gasp!) not digital, so I'll have to scan them in. One of my favorites was Katie's costume 2 years ago--she was a cell phone! She was completely phone-obsessed, so it was a natural fit. Everyone got a big kick out of it, and she was as proud as she could be! This year, she was the prisoner (guilty of stealing Halloween candy, she said!), and Nate was the Headless Horseman, sans the horse. He looked totally creepy, which pleased him to no end. All in all it was a really fun night, and the kids had fun running through the neighborhood with friends collecting tons of candy! Unfortunately, it's still flowing freely around our house--into my mouth, and onto my midsection...oh well, it should be gone in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas goodies!

CASTING OFF

I'm off to cast my vote. It may just be one vote, but it's MY vote, and I'm so thankful to live in a place where I get the luxury of having my opinion matter! We are so blessed as a nation! Whoever wins this election today needs the support of a UNITED NATION under GOD--divided we fall, united we stand! That being said, I'm gonna go punch the heck out of some chads!

"So much has been given to me I have no
time to ponder over that which has been denied."
Helen Keller

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, UNCLE BEFF!

When my son was just a couple years old, he called his uncle Jeff, uncle Beff. We still call him that to this day, I just don't think he's aware of it. We went to the hospital Saturday to see Calli and Jeff as they celebrated his birthday in the hospital cafeteria. I was amazed at Calli's progress--it's been awhile since we've been there to see her due to our amazing collection of viral germs around our house. If she had been able to open her eyes (a side effect of the brain stem injury she sustained), she wouldn't have gotten even a sideways glance from anyone walking by--no one would've even thought she was a patient there! It was wonderful to receive smoochy kisses and tight hugs from this little pumpkin...it even made up for the lashings I received from the plastic bead necklace she was whipping about! I thought this was the sweetest picture--what better birthday present for her dad than the gift of his littlest girl's life itself? I have no doubt that with therapy and God's grace she'll be doing things that no one would've imagined as she lay in the hospital bed just a month and a half ago!

CONTAINER CRACK

PLASTIC CONTAINER CABINET...EVERYBODY HAS ONE, RIGHT?
THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...CONTAINERS AT WORK

This time of year is my favorite for so many reasons: the crisp, cool air, the smell of evening fires, the holiday hoopla that ensues, and the pretty little plastic containers in all my favorite stores. Yup, that's right, you heard me. I have such a hard time saying no to all those little wonderful plastic containers that the Glad company and so many others dress up so fancily for the holidays! There's the Halloween containers that are sweetly adorned with pumpkins and ghosts, the Thanksgiving ones with the fall leaves, and oh boy, don't even get me started on the winter and Christmas collection. Whoa Nelly! I have posted some pictures of my faves right here for your admiring gaze. I think they speak to my freakish need to organize things--all things--even food. Of course, they can hold other things too. I've used them to give gifts in, store craft materials, and even store game pieces for seasonal games. If I made a list of my top 100 favorite things (and I think I may just put that on my list of top 100 things to do), these would probably rank higher than scratch-and-sniff stickers. I know, right?! I really like them a lot! What's your favorite quirky thing about the holiday season?

AN ODE TO WALMART

I was a happy kindergarten sub again today. I love those little guys--all wild-eyed and innocent (okay, maybe not innocent). I was trolling the lunch line and asked one of the little boys in my class if his hair felt soft with his new buzz cut. He answered that yes, it did, and would I like to feel it? Of course I said yes, and remarked at how fabulous it felt--soft like a baby's hairbrush. The little guy behind him was also sporting a buzz cut (hey, we live were it's hot until the end of October), and invited me to feel his hair too. Which of course I did. And also remarked at the fabulousness of it. I told them I just loved their great hair, to which one replied, "Thanks! We got it at Walmart!" Who knew that Walmart sold hair??! So darn cute--and I'm sure he'd make a great spokesperson for the company!

Moments like these are the secret fuel that keeps kindergarten teachers sane after years and years of abuse. The kids' great cuteness is a distraction while they are busy wrecking your stuff, your mind, and your body. Not necessarily in that order. So if you know a kindergarten teacher, give her a big hug next time you see her, and tell her (or him, sorry guys!) thank you for all she does! Also, give her a bandaid if you have one, she'll need it. And some rubber boots. And a flak jacket. And suggest to your school district that she receive hazard pay.

And that is today's ode to The Teacher. Tune in over the weekend--I'll be in a 2nd grade classroom tomorrow--HALLOWEEN!!! Yikes, spooky..........

THE HALLOWEEN PARADE!

We're on parade with all the Sitstas out there! Go ahead, make my...sandwich.

Deranged Psycho Prisoner Having a Really Bad Hair Day...I think that's what
the costume package said.

Mama cop and mini me. The Village People lost their idiot...wait, here I am!

It's no secret why I didn't let this one get away!