Because I have been getting more and more passionate about these kinds of things, I thought this too important and shocking to most, not to share!
I knew artificial colors were bad for you and and at home we avoid them as much as possible, which is quite easy to do if you cook from scratch, but if you don't or if you use a lot of pre-packaged stuff to cook with, you might find it a little harder to avoid dyes. But I think, especially after reading this, it's so worth it to your health, and your children's health, to avoid them at all costs!
I was searching through this blog "Food Dye Diaries" about a mom who's learned the hard way about what dyes can do to the health of your children and her research she's found to support her views.
She says:
"In case you are new to my blog I have to break it to you. It's not just the sugar that is making your child act "that way." It's the coloring. REALLY! Don't just take my word for it. Look at all the research articles I've found on the right hand column. Food coloring causes all kinds of behavior problems and even serious health problems in some people. Moms have written to me from all over the country describing hyperactivity, asthma, motor tics, hives and other issues that are probably diet related."
"Would you feed your child chemicals that would cause them to be hyper, moody, or distracted? Of course not, no parent wants that. Well, this blog is to help parents understand that your kids probably eat foods at every meal that could really keep them from being their best. It's time to get the word out."
"Wonder why your kids have a hard time listening, behaving, or keeping basic self control? Does your child get hyper, defiant, or have lots of tantrums? It could really be the foods they eat."
Here is a little about a few dyes that I thought were incredible!.....(She said she found all this info on the site:
http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/food-dyes-rainbow-of-risks.pdf)
RED 40
Acts like a neurotoxin and excites the brain.
Causes hyperactivity, mood swings, irritability
It’s hidden in everything from vanilla ice cream, mayo, chocolate, brownies, cake, bread, yogurt….
It’s not just the really red foods like strawberry, blueberry, or fruit punch
They use this chemical to mask when they’re too cheap to use real fruit/berries or real food
RED 3
SHOWN TO CAUSE CANCER
Yet it’s still often in candy and sweet treats
It’s in fruit roll ups and Kid Cuisine
Found in lots of other food marketed to children
Banned from cosmetics, but we still eat it?
YELLOW 5
WANT SOME PETROLEUM IN YOUR FOOD?
(yes! Like feeding your kids a little gasoline)
Causes hyperactivity, mood swings, irritability
It’s in your pickles, ice cream, candy, mayo….
YELLOW 6
It’s in mac and cheese, dressing, sauces, popcorn, cakes, cookies, pickles, frosting, etc.
Some studies show chromosomal mutations
Can cause sudden severe allergic reactions
BLUE 1
HOW MUCH PETROLEUM DO YOU EAT?
Linked to tumors and neurotoxicity
Studies showed inhibition of nerve cell growth
It’s in your marshmallows, candy, sport drinks
Face it, bodies weren’t meant to eat bright blue
Wow! She has another post on some alternatives to buy if you want some candy for example but don't want the dyes that go with it. There are actually a whole bunch of options. Looks like we will be saying 'goodbye and farewell' to foods with these colors...don't worry, we won't miss them (or their side effects!)
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Christmas trip
(I will try to do another post with more pics but it's always a guess if it's going to work!! :)
We are back in Jackson and all unpacked. Today is Nathan's last day off before going back to work to start 2011! I am super excited about this year as I think that it's going to be super exciting for us!! Life really just keeps getting better and better. It seems as though each year is filled with fun and surprises! I didn't think last year could be beat as far as 'exciting' goes...I mean, what's more fun than living with 6 people in a camper on the east coast? But I really think the Lord has a ton of stuff in store for us in 2011 and we are eagerly looking forward to it!!
While we were back home, our friends Scott and Angela were going out of town during the same time we were coming in and offered their home to us!! It was SO nice to be able to stay in a house where we didn't feel like that we were encroaching someone elses space. We could leave the hussle and bussle of Christmas parties and go to our own space. It worked out very well. Thank you again guys!!
What did we do on our stay? Well, we started by seeing the house first thing...you didn't expect anything else, did ya? We drove directly there, where we had a super nice surprise waiting for us! Our builder, Steve, hung Christmas lights on the outside of the house...but that's not all. Once we walked inside, we saw a Christmas tree, lit with lights, with 4 stockings hanging on it with the kids' names on them! The tree was sitting in the living room with lights hung around the windows as well. The kids were super excited as even the stockings were full of little gifts for them! I could not believe it! Talk about going above and beyond?? It made the home feel so 'homey' even though construction dust was spread about :) What a special surprise!!
Here are some "sneek peaks" :)
We spent Thursday moving our belongings from Nathan's parents garage to our garage. There was more stuff than I thought packed away in the attic...boxes and boxes of books took a majority of it, not to mention about the same amount of boxes of Nathan's baseball cards. Have a ever said how much I hate baseball cards?? Now once closing comes, we will just have to move the stuff from the apt to the house and everything else will already be at the house waiting.
We celebrated Christmas with the Legatt family on Christmas Eve. 9 of the 11 siblings were there which made for tons of people and tons of laughs! Most of the night was spent taking pictures as it's been awhile since that many siblings have been together at the same time. All 5 boys were there and then 4 of the 6 girls. Naomi even surprised everyone with a flight in from DC and we were super happy to see her!
The "Irish twins" Second Generation...Nathan's siblings, Amanda and Keith are 11 mos apart and so are Caedmon and Brayan!
This is an example of how much fun we had at the Legatts :) Nathan and his youngest brother Jonathan have a good laugh.
Then Christmas day was spent at my parents where all 3 of us siblings were together which has been had to coordinate in the last few years with us moving around and my sister living in Arkasas...but this year it was accomplished! The cousins loved to play together and had a great time building tunnels in all the snow outside!
Gma and Gpa with their grandkids
Our time in St Cloud also consisted of a couple sledding adventures, both of which I spent sitting in the car with the little ones. The second time was just me and Ariella as Nathan took a 3 boys sledding. Nathan's bro Jonathan came with his family and they had a blast. Although someone had the bright idea of letting Tiernan go down the hill on the huge sled by himself. (He was sledding by himself on the smaller sleds and he would always stop at the end of the hill). This sled was bigger and thus carried Tiernan farther....a little too far and he ended up smashing into the chain link fense at the bottom of the hill. I looked out the window and Nathan was holding Tiernan who had nothing but blood on his face. He brought him in the van and since I couldn't find a tissue or anything to put on his face, in a hurry I grabbed a clean diaper, unfolded it and placed it on his face. Worked like a charm :) After we got him all cleaned up, I put a couple bandaids on his cuts and over his huge lip and through the tears and while still crying he said he wanted to go back out on the hill!! So once he got his composure back, he was back up on the hill! Tough as nails that kid!
On Monday, Nathan and his brothers surprised their dad with a 'boys trip' to Millacs Lake to go ice fishing. They left at 4:35AM and got back around 7PM. They caught 3 perch and threw 1 back. In other words, it wasn't a very successful fishing trip, but the guys had fun. While they were fishing, I went selection shopping for the last time with Steve. We picked out the tile and design that will be on the backsplash in our kitchen. The trip also made for a stop at the furniture store where we picked out our couch set!
Once we got back to our apartment, we walked in the door and Tiernan says "Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet home!" It was well said :)
We are back in Jackson and all unpacked. Today is Nathan's last day off before going back to work to start 2011! I am super excited about this year as I think that it's going to be super exciting for us!! Life really just keeps getting better and better. It seems as though each year is filled with fun and surprises! I didn't think last year could be beat as far as 'exciting' goes...I mean, what's more fun than living with 6 people in a camper on the east coast? But I really think the Lord has a ton of stuff in store for us in 2011 and we are eagerly looking forward to it!!
While we were back home, our friends Scott and Angela were going out of town during the same time we were coming in and offered their home to us!! It was SO nice to be able to stay in a house where we didn't feel like that we were encroaching someone elses space. We could leave the hussle and bussle of Christmas parties and go to our own space. It worked out very well. Thank you again guys!!
What did we do on our stay? Well, we started by seeing the house first thing...you didn't expect anything else, did ya? We drove directly there, where we had a super nice surprise waiting for us! Our builder, Steve, hung Christmas lights on the outside of the house...but that's not all. Once we walked inside, we saw a Christmas tree, lit with lights, with 4 stockings hanging on it with the kids' names on them! The tree was sitting in the living room with lights hung around the windows as well. The kids were super excited as even the stockings were full of little gifts for them! I could not believe it! Talk about going above and beyond?? It made the home feel so 'homey' even though construction dust was spread about :) What a special surprise!!
Here are some "sneek peaks" :)
We spent Thursday moving our belongings from Nathan's parents garage to our garage. There was more stuff than I thought packed away in the attic...boxes and boxes of books took a majority of it, not to mention about the same amount of boxes of Nathan's baseball cards. Have a ever said how much I hate baseball cards?? Now once closing comes, we will just have to move the stuff from the apt to the house and everything else will already be at the house waiting.
We celebrated Christmas with the Legatt family on Christmas Eve. 9 of the 11 siblings were there which made for tons of people and tons of laughs! Most of the night was spent taking pictures as it's been awhile since that many siblings have been together at the same time. All 5 boys were there and then 4 of the 6 girls. Naomi even surprised everyone with a flight in from DC and we were super happy to see her!
The "Irish twins" Second Generation...Nathan's siblings, Amanda and Keith are 11 mos apart and so are Caedmon and Brayan!
This is an example of how much fun we had at the Legatts :) Nathan and his youngest brother Jonathan have a good laugh.
Then Christmas day was spent at my parents where all 3 of us siblings were together which has been had to coordinate in the last few years with us moving around and my sister living in Arkasas...but this year it was accomplished! The cousins loved to play together and had a great time building tunnels in all the snow outside!
Gma and Gpa with their grandkids
Our time in St Cloud also consisted of a couple sledding adventures, both of which I spent sitting in the car with the little ones. The second time was just me and Ariella as Nathan took a 3 boys sledding. Nathan's bro Jonathan came with his family and they had a blast. Although someone had the bright idea of letting Tiernan go down the hill on the huge sled by himself. (He was sledding by himself on the smaller sleds and he would always stop at the end of the hill). This sled was bigger and thus carried Tiernan farther....a little too far and he ended up smashing into the chain link fense at the bottom of the hill. I looked out the window and Nathan was holding Tiernan who had nothing but blood on his face. He brought him in the van and since I couldn't find a tissue or anything to put on his face, in a hurry I grabbed a clean diaper, unfolded it and placed it on his face. Worked like a charm :) After we got him all cleaned up, I put a couple bandaids on his cuts and over his huge lip and through the tears and while still crying he said he wanted to go back out on the hill!! So once he got his composure back, he was back up on the hill! Tough as nails that kid!
On Monday, Nathan and his brothers surprised their dad with a 'boys trip' to Millacs Lake to go ice fishing. They left at 4:35AM and got back around 7PM. They caught 3 perch and threw 1 back. In other words, it wasn't a very successful fishing trip, but the guys had fun. While they were fishing, I went selection shopping for the last time with Steve. We picked out the tile and design that will be on the backsplash in our kitchen. The trip also made for a stop at the furniture store where we picked out our couch set!
Once we got back to our apartment, we walked in the door and Tiernan says "Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet home!" It was well said :)
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
sleepin' boys
Well, I am packing again!! Tomorrow we will travel back 'home' and stay for about a week to visit family and hang at our house! Speaking of house, it's coming along great. Paint is finished and they are starting on trim! i will try to sneak some pics on here to give you an update once we see it, it's going to be so nice!!
In the meantime, I am busy packing and cleaning. Nathan and I were talking last night about where we've been in the last 4 years and how much our lives have changed. Then we talked about what we did and didn't like about moving around and if we'd do it again knowing what we know now. We agreed. We'd do it again. It has been such a blessing meeting the people that we have during our travels. We wouldn't trade those relationships for anything! Even being close to people we already knew, like Nathan's siblings in VA, was such a blessing because we got to know them so much better and build memories with them. Nathan said he'll never forget going to the quarry with our niece and nephew and Nathan was the last one to jump...our 13 yr old niece was the first...go Kelly :) And I said that I'll never forget doing my laundry at Sarahs and cleaning out my van...two things she always helped me with and spending the weekend with Naomi in DC doing 'girl stuff', I will miss those things!
One thing that we thought we might not choose to do again would be to live in the camper :) Not that I didn't like keeping tupperware in the bedroom, fruit in the shower, or batheing the kids in a tote....ahem... But I will always say that it was a great learning experience and it refined our character. I mean, I learned that I could can a whole trees worth of peaches in the camper, that we could live 3 days without water & electricity in the camper, and that Tiernan could fit through the window if we really needed him to in order to unlock the door and get out our 16 mo old who locked herself in.
And the one thing that I disliked the most about the last 4 years....PACKING! I hate packing, although I have to say that I'm pretty darn good at it by now! We agreed that we should have ditched 90% of our stuff during that first move, but as we kept moving, we got smarter each time, getting rid of more and more stuff. The move to the camper really didn't give us any other option than to give most of our stuff away. So now, moving to the house will hardly be any effort because we don't have anything to move!! :) There is some stuff that we have kept at our parents' houses...Nathan's weights (biggest item), some gargage shelves, boxes of books, etc but besides those things, we won't have the typical box after box of stuff to move. So anyway, I'm packing again and hopefully this will be the last time we'll have to stay at someone else's house for a long time!!
Here is how the boys' sleep in the same room with no beds...pretty much any way they want! :)
In the meantime, I am busy packing and cleaning. Nathan and I were talking last night about where we've been in the last 4 years and how much our lives have changed. Then we talked about what we did and didn't like about moving around and if we'd do it again knowing what we know now. We agreed. We'd do it again. It has been such a blessing meeting the people that we have during our travels. We wouldn't trade those relationships for anything! Even being close to people we already knew, like Nathan's siblings in VA, was such a blessing because we got to know them so much better and build memories with them. Nathan said he'll never forget going to the quarry with our niece and nephew and Nathan was the last one to jump...our 13 yr old niece was the first...go Kelly :) And I said that I'll never forget doing my laundry at Sarahs and cleaning out my van...two things she always helped me with and spending the weekend with Naomi in DC doing 'girl stuff', I will miss those things!
One thing that we thought we might not choose to do again would be to live in the camper :) Not that I didn't like keeping tupperware in the bedroom, fruit in the shower, or batheing the kids in a tote....ahem... But I will always say that it was a great learning experience and it refined our character. I mean, I learned that I could can a whole trees worth of peaches in the camper, that we could live 3 days without water & electricity in the camper, and that Tiernan could fit through the window if we really needed him to in order to unlock the door and get out our 16 mo old who locked herself in.
And the one thing that I disliked the most about the last 4 years....PACKING! I hate packing, although I have to say that I'm pretty darn good at it by now! We agreed that we should have ditched 90% of our stuff during that first move, but as we kept moving, we got smarter each time, getting rid of more and more stuff. The move to the camper really didn't give us any other option than to give most of our stuff away. So now, moving to the house will hardly be any effort because we don't have anything to move!! :) There is some stuff that we have kept at our parents' houses...Nathan's weights (biggest item), some gargage shelves, boxes of books, etc but besides those things, we won't have the typical box after box of stuff to move. So anyway, I'm packing again and hopefully this will be the last time we'll have to stay at someone else's house for a long time!!
Here is how the boys' sleep in the same room with no beds...pretty much any way they want! :)
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
content.
"...for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." Phil 4:11
WOW!!!!
That hit me right between the eyes when I read this a few nights ago. Be content in everything...that is what the Lord is calling us to do. No matter what situation you find yourself in, be content knowing that the Lord's plans are always perfect and he knows so much more than we could ever imagine!
We have been challenged by this verse for the last few years. There were days during the past year that we weren't so content, living with 6 people crammed into a camper in a campground that was run-down, in a town a bazillion miles away from home. There were times when we didn't have power or water to the camper for days at a time due to the crazy Virginia winter weather. Days like that we didn't feel like being content.
Lately the challenge for me has been to be content while knowing that our house is so close to being completed. Days like today where I have 2 children sick causing dirty little laundry to pile up that I can't wash because someone else has their stuff in the washer down the hall. Days where I can't seem to find what I'm looking for because we don't own a dresser and have everything in totes knowing we'll be moving soon.
It's during these times that I keep this verse in the front of my mind ...."in whatsoever state I am"... that doesn't say "except this" or "except when this happens". No. It's "whatsoever". Wow.
May we all learn to be content with where the Lord has us currently and enjoy the days he has blessed us with!
(Just while writing that last sentence, my *sweet* daughter came up to me completely covered in the contents of her dirty diaper! She's been finding a way almost every day lately to either sneak away or during nap, to empty her dirty diaper and smear it on herself and anything close by...ugh...that is something my boys never did!!)
Content, Dawn, content :)
One benefit of not having any neighbors across the hall...Nathan can leave all his dirty work clothes in the hallway :)
Since I can't put pics up of the house, here's a sneak peak of a part of it. can you guess what this is?!
WOW!!!!
That hit me right between the eyes when I read this a few nights ago. Be content in everything...that is what the Lord is calling us to do. No matter what situation you find yourself in, be content knowing that the Lord's plans are always perfect and he knows so much more than we could ever imagine!
We have been challenged by this verse for the last few years. There were days during the past year that we weren't so content, living with 6 people crammed into a camper in a campground that was run-down, in a town a bazillion miles away from home. There were times when we didn't have power or water to the camper for days at a time due to the crazy Virginia winter weather. Days like that we didn't feel like being content.
Lately the challenge for me has been to be content while knowing that our house is so close to being completed. Days like today where I have 2 children sick causing dirty little laundry to pile up that I can't wash because someone else has their stuff in the washer down the hall. Days where I can't seem to find what I'm looking for because we don't own a dresser and have everything in totes knowing we'll be moving soon.
It's during these times that I keep this verse in the front of my mind ...."in whatsoever state I am"... that doesn't say "except this" or "except when this happens". No. It's "whatsoever". Wow.
May we all learn to be content with where the Lord has us currently and enjoy the days he has blessed us with!
(Just while writing that last sentence, my *sweet* daughter came up to me completely covered in the contents of her dirty diaper! She's been finding a way almost every day lately to either sneak away or during nap, to empty her dirty diaper and smear it on herself and anything close by...ugh...that is something my boys never did!!)
Content, Dawn, content :)
One benefit of not having any neighbors across the hall...Nathan can leave all his dirty work clothes in the hallway :)
Since I can't put pics up of the house, here's a sneak peak of a part of it. can you guess what this is?!
Friday, December 10, 2010
one chicken to last 5 meals.
Really. I'm serious! I cooked a chicken and it provided the main part of each meal!
Here's what I made from one chicken:
1) BBQ chicken sandwiches
2) Chicken dumpling soup
3) More soup that went into the freezer
4) BBQ chicken wraps
5) Mashed potatoes with gravy
Here's how I did it....
First I cooked a frozen chicken in the crockpot with about 2-3 cups water until done (about 5 hours). Took the chicken out and poured all the liquid in a bowl to cool. This liquid is the drippings I used to make my gravy.
Then I de-boned the chicken, although this wasn't very difficult as most of the meat slide right off after being in the crock pot. I seperated the meat into 3 bags, adding homemade bbq sauce to 2 of the bags (ketchup, few shakes of liquid smoke, pinch of brown sugar, and you could add some minced onion but I left that out this time).
Then I took all of the bones from the chicken, gizzards, fatty parts, etc and put them into a stock pot with a bunch of carrots, celery, onion and parsley and water til covered. Simmer this for 6 hours of more. Then strain liquid and discard the solids. The liquid is now your homemade chicken broth! I used this as the base of my dumpling soup, along with the bag of non-bbq chicken.
Whole wheat hamburger buns....
Yummy yummy yummy!!!
_____________________________________________________________________________________
So I begged and begged Nathan to allow me to post the newest picture of the house on here and he denied me. Therefore, you'll just have to wait to see pictures either until it's finished or Nathan gives in :) But I will tell you that it's looking awesome...the windows are fixed so the front of the house now looks as what as were expecting it to, the garage door is on, the siding is on (the stucco will have to wait until spring but I think stone might go on this winter still), they have sheetrocked, mudding and taping should be done, cabinets are underway, appliances are ordered...it's coming together!!
Speaking of appliances....we found out that the frig we originally had picked out doesn't have the right side dor swing that we need and that model doesn't have the option to change the hinge so we need to pick out a different frig. The only problem is that we are limited to a counter-depth frig because of how our kitchen is set up which wouldn't be a problem but we wanted an freezerless frig so we could have more space for our hungry family! The choice is limited now but we think we might have found one that will do. Its not what we had in mind, but it's still a nice looking frig.
What made the search for the new frig a little more difficult was the fact that I was using our "old" computer (the same as I am now) because my sweet little 20 mo old daughter dumped a glass of water on the keyboard of our other laptop. The keyboard is non functioning so I bought a different keyboard..got it to work! Only to find out that all the programs on the computer are all messed up! I click on one, a different one opens! So, since I haven't been on top of my game and have all my pictures on cds, I am at the risk of losing my last couple years worth of pictures! I'm hoping my brother will be able to salvage some for me over Christmas!
My sweet angel that spilled the water....just readin' a book...lookin' all innocent :)
Some people have been asking how I fit all my kids in our 2 bedroom apartment and I was going to show some sweet pictures of my little guys sleeping and how they all work in the same bedroom. I'll have to see if I can get some pictures either off my camera or the other computer...
For now I am going to enjoy the rest of the evening with my hubby as he doesn't have to go to work tomorrow! The weather was predicted to get really bad tonight so they have already canceled work for tomorrow. Hopefully I can keep up with this computer and
Here's what I made from one chicken:
1) BBQ chicken sandwiches
2) Chicken dumpling soup
3) More soup that went into the freezer
4) BBQ chicken wraps
5) Mashed potatoes with gravy
Here's how I did it....
First I cooked a frozen chicken in the crockpot with about 2-3 cups water until done (about 5 hours). Took the chicken out and poured all the liquid in a bowl to cool. This liquid is the drippings I used to make my gravy.
Then I de-boned the chicken, although this wasn't very difficult as most of the meat slide right off after being in the crock pot. I seperated the meat into 3 bags, adding homemade bbq sauce to 2 of the bags (ketchup, few shakes of liquid smoke, pinch of brown sugar, and you could add some minced onion but I left that out this time).
Then I took all of the bones from the chicken, gizzards, fatty parts, etc and put them into a stock pot with a bunch of carrots, celery, onion and parsley and water til covered. Simmer this for 6 hours of more. Then strain liquid and discard the solids. The liquid is now your homemade chicken broth! I used this as the base of my dumpling soup, along with the bag of non-bbq chicken.
Whole wheat hamburger buns....
Yummy yummy yummy!!!
_____________________________________________________________________________________
So I begged and begged Nathan to allow me to post the newest picture of the house on here and he denied me. Therefore, you'll just have to wait to see pictures either until it's finished or Nathan gives in :) But I will tell you that it's looking awesome...the windows are fixed so the front of the house now looks as what as were expecting it to, the garage door is on, the siding is on (the stucco will have to wait until spring but I think stone might go on this winter still), they have sheetrocked, mudding and taping should be done, cabinets are underway, appliances are ordered...it's coming together!!
Speaking of appliances....we found out that the frig we originally had picked out doesn't have the right side dor swing that we need and that model doesn't have the option to change the hinge so we need to pick out a different frig. The only problem is that we are limited to a counter-depth frig because of how our kitchen is set up which wouldn't be a problem but we wanted an freezerless frig so we could have more space for our hungry family! The choice is limited now but we think we might have found one that will do. Its not what we had in mind, but it's still a nice looking frig.
What made the search for the new frig a little more difficult was the fact that I was using our "old" computer (the same as I am now) because my sweet little 20 mo old daughter dumped a glass of water on the keyboard of our other laptop. The keyboard is non functioning so I bought a different keyboard..got it to work! Only to find out that all the programs on the computer are all messed up! I click on one, a different one opens! So, since I haven't been on top of my game and have all my pictures on cds, I am at the risk of losing my last couple years worth of pictures! I'm hoping my brother will be able to salvage some for me over Christmas!
My sweet angel that spilled the water....just readin' a book...lookin' all innocent :)
Some people have been asking how I fit all my kids in our 2 bedroom apartment and I was going to show some sweet pictures of my little guys sleeping and how they all work in the same bedroom. I'll have to see if I can get some pictures either off my camera or the other computer...
For now I am going to enjoy the rest of the evening with my hubby as he doesn't have to go to work tomorrow! The weather was predicted to get really bad tonight so they have already canceled work for tomorrow. Hopefully I can keep up with this computer and
Friday, December 3, 2010
black friday
Last week was my first "Black Friday" shopping experience and I might just hafta say that it was also my last!!
We put the kids to bed and Nathan and I ventured out to Walmart about 10:45pm to get to the midnight sales. So since I've never done this before, I figured we could pick up the stuff we needed, put everything in our cart and just check out after 12. Well, little did I know that you can't touch the stuff on sale until exactly midnight! So it seemed as though everyone that lived within St. Cloud's city limits and then some were also at Walmart waiting for the deals. At one point I asked Nathan if he wanted to ditch our cart and leave because it was getting that crazy. A couple hundred bucks is not worth losing your sanity over!! But we decided to stick it out and see what happened!
We were planning on walking around the store and doing other shopping until 12 but since people kept flooding in and standing on top of the things they wanted to grab first once midnight struck, it was getting harder and harder to move in the store, much less with a cart! If you can see the people in this picture, you can get an idea of just how crazy it was. There was people like this in every aisle and any space there was in the store. NO getting anywhere fast!
Well, midnight happened and you would hear a sworm of busyness start! We picked up the things we wanted to get ie: Shark steamer for $36, Kitchen Aid mixer for $146, some toys over 50% off, and a 14' trampoline for $145! While we were on the way to the check out we noticed that every cart we saw had at least 2 or 3 shop vacs in them so we decided to get one too! Must be a good deal, right?? :) It was a 5 gallon for $15.
So we made our way to the check outs and they had all 30+ lines open with each line crossing the once wide open space and going into the clothes section so we just picked a lane and waited. We were in line at 12:11 and got to the car about 12:50...not too bad but of course we had to be in the slowest line possible! Plus what made it worse was that I start getting really hot standing in line and then I started thinking about all the people there and about how I was hungry and then I thought about how I passed out 6 years ago when I was pregnant with Tiernan and all of a sudden I became dizzy...NOT good I thought! So I whipped off my coat and scarf and told Nathan to hold my purse (he loved that) and I headed to the restrooms to get a drink of water and get out of the sea of people. That helped and was good to go after that.
One thing that we couldn't believe was that the police were outside towing peoples car that weren't in an actual parking spot. How would you like that?...You had a cart full of stuff, it's 1am and you go outside and your car is gone! I'm sure there were a few angry people!
After we got back to Nathan's parents house, I went to sleep about 2am and Nathan's mom woke me up at 2:45am to head out again! This time it was Herbergers which was hardly better than Walmart, with every woman in town at this store! I don't think I'll go there again especially when I could order the deals online with free shipping! that's too crazy for me!
After there we hit up Toys r us...didn't buy anything though. Then over to the grocery store...And then over to Kmart, which I also came out of empty handed. But the interesting thing about Kmart was that we got there 5 minutes before it opened at 5am and there was a line of people about a block long and 5 people wide flowing out from the doors waiting for it to open. There was no way I was going to wait outside in close to below 0 weather for it to open so I waited in the nice warm car and once they opened the doors, Mary brought me up to the front, I got out of the car, walked right in and I was out by the time some of those people waiting in line were even in the store! I'm amazed at how some people think sometimes!!
We made it back about 5:30am and Mary made me an omlet before going to bed. I slept from 5:45 to 9:30 that morning. And that's enough Black Friday for me!!
We put the kids to bed and Nathan and I ventured out to Walmart about 10:45pm to get to the midnight sales. So since I've never done this before, I figured we could pick up the stuff we needed, put everything in our cart and just check out after 12. Well, little did I know that you can't touch the stuff on sale until exactly midnight! So it seemed as though everyone that lived within St. Cloud's city limits and then some were also at Walmart waiting for the deals. At one point I asked Nathan if he wanted to ditch our cart and leave because it was getting that crazy. A couple hundred bucks is not worth losing your sanity over!! But we decided to stick it out and see what happened!
We were planning on walking around the store and doing other shopping until 12 but since people kept flooding in and standing on top of the things they wanted to grab first once midnight struck, it was getting harder and harder to move in the store, much less with a cart! If you can see the people in this picture, you can get an idea of just how crazy it was. There was people like this in every aisle and any space there was in the store. NO getting anywhere fast!
Well, midnight happened and you would hear a sworm of busyness start! We picked up the things we wanted to get ie: Shark steamer for $36, Kitchen Aid mixer for $146, some toys over 50% off, and a 14' trampoline for $145! While we were on the way to the check out we noticed that every cart we saw had at least 2 or 3 shop vacs in them so we decided to get one too! Must be a good deal, right?? :) It was a 5 gallon for $15.
So we made our way to the check outs and they had all 30+ lines open with each line crossing the once wide open space and going into the clothes section so we just picked a lane and waited. We were in line at 12:11 and got to the car about 12:50...not too bad but of course we had to be in the slowest line possible! Plus what made it worse was that I start getting really hot standing in line and then I started thinking about all the people there and about how I was hungry and then I thought about how I passed out 6 years ago when I was pregnant with Tiernan and all of a sudden I became dizzy...NOT good I thought! So I whipped off my coat and scarf and told Nathan to hold my purse (he loved that) and I headed to the restrooms to get a drink of water and get out of the sea of people. That helped and was good to go after that.
One thing that we couldn't believe was that the police were outside towing peoples car that weren't in an actual parking spot. How would you like that?...You had a cart full of stuff, it's 1am and you go outside and your car is gone! I'm sure there were a few angry people!
After we got back to Nathan's parents house, I went to sleep about 2am and Nathan's mom woke me up at 2:45am to head out again! This time it was Herbergers which was hardly better than Walmart, with every woman in town at this store! I don't think I'll go there again especially when I could order the deals online with free shipping! that's too crazy for me!
After there we hit up Toys r us...didn't buy anything though. Then over to the grocery store...And then over to Kmart, which I also came out of empty handed. But the interesting thing about Kmart was that we got there 5 minutes before it opened at 5am and there was a line of people about a block long and 5 people wide flowing out from the doors waiting for it to open. There was no way I was going to wait outside in close to below 0 weather for it to open so I waited in the nice warm car and once they opened the doors, Mary brought me up to the front, I got out of the car, walked right in and I was out by the time some of those people waiting in line were even in the store! I'm amazed at how some people think sometimes!!
We made it back about 5:30am and Mary made me an omlet before going to bed. I slept from 5:45 to 9:30 that morning. And that's enough Black Friday for me!!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
point to ponder
Chocolate??.....What chocolate???
That actually wasn't the 'point to ponder' but she is so darn cute, isn't she?? :)
Here's the real question....
"Would you hire you to manage your money?"
If the answer is "no", then there's some work that needs to be done but the great part about it is that getting on the right track is just ONE DECISION away!!
Are you ready to change?? Are you ready to take control of your finances instead of letting your money control you??
It may sound like a daunting task, but let me assure you that it is not! The hardest part of making a budget, sticking to it and knocking out debt like its a disease is deciding to get gazelle intense about it and letting NOTHING stand in your way! But watch out because once you are on a roll, you won't be stopped!!
Dave Ramsey is having a Christmas/End of the year sale on all of his books, etc and most of you know that we are huge Dave fans so I'd encourage you to go over to his website and check them out.
Also, I am always available by email to answer any questions that you may have on the road to becoming debt free! My email is dawnlegatt@msn.com and I am LOVING the emails that are still coming in from my last post I did on budgeting way back in the summer....when we lived in the rv...in a campgroud...yeah, remember those days?...yeah, me too!
Another thing that motivates us to stick with our budget and to 'live like no one else' because "if we live like no one else then we can give like no one else"...and that has to be the greatest blessing...to be able to bless others! It is so rewarding to take the focus off yourself and to give to help others, it truly is wonderful!!
So go ahead, make a plan for the new year and kick it into action! The only thing getting in your way is yourself!
That actually wasn't the 'point to ponder' but she is so darn cute, isn't she?? :)
Here's the real question....
"Would you hire you to manage your money?"
If the answer is "no", then there's some work that needs to be done but the great part about it is that getting on the right track is just ONE DECISION away!!
Are you ready to change?? Are you ready to take control of your finances instead of letting your money control you??
It may sound like a daunting task, but let me assure you that it is not! The hardest part of making a budget, sticking to it and knocking out debt like its a disease is deciding to get gazelle intense about it and letting NOTHING stand in your way! But watch out because once you are on a roll, you won't be stopped!!
Dave Ramsey is having a Christmas/End of the year sale on all of his books, etc and most of you know that we are huge Dave fans so I'd encourage you to go over to his website and check them out.
Also, I am always available by email to answer any questions that you may have on the road to becoming debt free! My email is dawnlegatt@msn.com and I am LOVING the emails that are still coming in from my last post I did on budgeting way back in the summer....when we lived in the rv...in a campgroud...yeah, remember those days?...yeah, me too!
Another thing that motivates us to stick with our budget and to 'live like no one else' because "if we live like no one else then we can give like no one else"...and that has to be the greatest blessing...to be able to bless others! It is so rewarding to take the focus off yourself and to give to help others, it truly is wonderful!!
So go ahead, make a plan for the new year and kick it into action! The only thing getting in your way is yourself!
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