WWYD?

As more and more of us are dependent on our internet to get us through the day I have come into a situation that is somewhat weird for me.

I am not the most outgoing person in the world. I have, over the years, moved from the painfully shy category into the shy category. It was a long process, but now I see myself moving back to the painfully shy category more and more each day. I don't find it easy to speak up in groups. It usually takes me a while to feel comfortable to express my opinions to people I don't know. I hate conflict. I think you get the picture.

I have really enjoyed blogging because I am able to say what I want and if you are bored by me or offended then you don't have to continue reading. I get it off my chest without the immediate rejection from my listeners/readers.

I recently joined the site MomsLikeMe. For the most part I have really enjoyed hearing what other moms in my community have to say. Everyone is really nice and mostly nonjudgmental. I have been able to talk to other moms in my area with kids that are the same age as mine. As well as other moms that are trying for another. There is a group for virtually everyone out there, and if there is not, it only takes 5 seconds to create one.

There is a safety to having "internet" friends. But when you want to meet that person in real life...face to face...and introduce your kids...I turn into panic mode. What is it about meeting new people that makes me go crazy? I am 26 years old. I should be over the teenage mentality. What if they don't like me? Who cares? I have friends that do like me. So what if that one person doesn't like me. I don't like everyone I meet.

A big part of MomsLikeMe is to set up playdates or other get togethers. The point is to make friends and be a support to other moms. Now, somebody wants to go on a playdate with me and Christian. I don't want to be rude and not go just because I am too shy. I can't take my husband...that would be weird. None of my friends have children that are Christian's same age...hence the reason I joined the site in the first place.

Does this almost seem like Internet Dating? What Would You Do? Why do I push myself into situations that I know will make me uncomfortable?

To meet or not to meet? ... That is the question.

(I didn't know I was so worked up about this...sorry! It's been nagging at me for a week.)

$aving Money

Over the last couple of months I have been trying to get myself into a better routine of grocery shopping and menu planning. Now that I feel like I'm getting the hang of it I am going to try to expand on it a little at a time over the next year. Right now we are only a family of 3, but hopefully in the future our little family will grow. I know that as our family grows, our food bill will grow too and our income will shrink (with me working part time or not at all). So, I figured that starting now would alleviate some of the pressure when we are really trying to save all of our pennies.

I recently found the grocery game. Have you ever heard of it? Used it? I am going to try it out, but I am not convinced that it will work for me. We don't have a place to store bulk items. I don't even have a pantry. But I thought I'd try it for a month and see if it's worth it. It costs $60 a year, but is supposed to save you $100's. I'm skeptical, but I am always skeptical. It's the nature of my business.

Anyway, do you all clip coupons? I know we are all trying to save a few dollars here and there. How do you do it? Do you find the time vs. savings worth the trouble?

Picture Blog

Here is what you do: grab your camera and take at least 5 random pictures around your house. No cleaning up first, this is your house as is.

Here are some categories you could use:

• Room that stays the cleanest
• Work in progress
• What someone else is doing right now
• Favorite decor or display
• Something that represents your current life
• Favorite relaxing spot
• Something hand-me-down
• What someone else is doing right now.
  

My sister-in-law, KaraLynne, was kind enough to tag me for this embarrassing picture blog. I am not a good housekeeper and often let things slide. And now you can all see it for yourself. If you were to come to my house unannounced...this is some of what you would see.

Christian's room.

Our one and only bathroom/laundry room.

Our itsy, bitsy kitchen that is infested with plants.

And our living room/dining room/playroom/office.

You can tell that we live in an itsy, bitsy 950 sq ft condo. We have stuff everywhere. It is so challenging to keep it clean when you don't have a space for everything. Someday we'll have a bigger place. But for now, it works.

Sorry you had to see it, but I can't refuse a tag.

And I tag Angela M, Shalena R, Janiece B, Lene B, Kris H.

I expect pictures!

SPT-Attraction

A few years ago (10) my family moved to Colorado. I was a senior in high school and a new student. It wasn't the easiest move for me. We had previously lived in a small town in northern Nevada. My new senior class was bigger than my whole previous high school. It was a big adjustment. A few weeks after I arrived in Parker was our Stake Youth Conference (a gathering for youth 14-18 yrs old). That is when I first saw you. You were young and crazy and extremely energetic. At that point I was convinced I could never like a strange person like you. From afar I watched in amazement your ability to be who you are without fear of what anyone else thought of you. It scared me. A shy person like me could never dream of being so outgoing. During our senior year I made it a point to stay far away.

Fast forward three years.

I was home from BYU-Idaho preparing to submit my mission papers. You had just returned home from your mission in Argentina...that day. I saw you, from behind, in your suit--still a missionary. I remember thinking you were SO HOT! It was only 8 months later that we were married.



I know that you embarrass me quite frequently because you are not scared by what people may or may not think about you. And I know that a painfully shy person should NEVER marry a person that is just as outgoing as they are shy. But even though I was originally turned off by your energy and outgoing personality, it is the first thing that got me to notice you. I envied you for not being so shy. I always wished that I wasn't so shy and you are a big part of the reason I am as "outgoing" as I am now.

Thanks Babe! You Rock!

P.S. This does not in any way give you permission to embarrass me in the future. :o)

Things to Do in CO

Now that I've lived in the beautiful state of Colorado for 10 years (in June) I have decided to spend this year doing things in our great state. Quick trips that can be accomplished in a days time. Seeing the sights that I have not seen (which is pretty much everything). So I am compiling a list of things I should see/do this year. We will have a couple of opportunities to do long weekend trips, but not many.

A few things that I have added to my list are:

Tiny Town Railroad
Children's Museum
CO State Fair
Red Rocks
Estes Park
Cherry Creek Reservoir

I hope to accomplish at least a few of these this year and maybe some others. I hope my list keeps growing and we are able to enjoy the gems of CO for years to come.

Do you know of a great place we can go as a family for a day trip or even a long weekend?

Menu Monday

We did great sticking with our menu last week. We only deviated once. I can't believe how easy this is becoming for me. And I can't believe how much less money we are spending on groceries. I forgot to post this yesterday since I didn't work (thank you Mr. Presidents!) and my sister was in town.

Monday: White Bean Chicken Chili--We ate at a friends house.

Tuesday: Pizza

Wednesday: BLTs

Thursday: Mashed Potatoes and sausage (this is the one thing we didn't eat last week.)

Friday: Chicken quesadillas

Saturday: Rice and Meatsauce

Sunday: Lasagna

Not much different from what we eat every week. I am going to make it a point to include one or two different recipes a week. We need to broaden our horizons before we all go nuts.

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.



I most certainly did not play Mr. Potato Head with my son instead of cleaning my house for my sister's arrival. Not Me!



I would never let my 18 month old sleep in my bed twice this week because I just wanted some sleep. I would never cave that easily.

I didn't skip laundry day this week. Yikes! And I don't have a mess to prove it. Not Me!

I didn't let my son talk to his Daddy on the phone for 5 minutes just for my own sanity.


And I did not take a few minutes to have a photo shoot with Christian when he found his Aunt's sunglasses on the table before taking them away.


I hope you enjoyed my first edition of Not Me! Monday. I thought it would be a fun addition to my blog. If you would like to join in on the fun the rules are here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Dave and I are spending Valentine's Day with my sister and Christian. We are very excited! Sometime in the near future Dave and I will go on a date compliments of a friend who gifted us a Texas Roadhouse gift card and complimentary babysitting for Christmas. And then I got free movie tickets from work. Now that's love. A free date night!

I hope you all have a marvelous day full of love!

SPT-Romance

I think it would be romantic to go on a vacation and not see ANY family or friends!!! With the exception of our honeymoon almost 5 1/2 years ago, every vacation we have taken is to see family. We may have the intention of just seeing friends, but we always decide to see someone. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE MY FAMILY! But it sure would be nice to be able to relax and do what we want, when we want for how long we want. That sounds really, really nice right now! I don't even care where we go, as long as it is over 500 miles away and no camping. I don't require beaches or cruises. Just my hubby!

10 points to someone that can guess where I want to go.

Menu Monday

I'm trying to be better since last week went SO badly! We spent so much on crap. It was a hectic week and I already didn't feel well and had a sick child. So, this week I will do better!

Monday Pizza

Tuesday Mac and Cheese w/hot dogs, veggie

Wednesday Spaghetti, salad, rolls

Thursday Mashed Potatoes and Sausage, corn

Friday Tacos

Saturday *Maren's Choice*

Sunday Baked Chicken with Baked Potatoes, veggie, dessert

Once again it's just me and the munchkin for Tuesday dinner. And then on Friday my little sister, Maren, flies in from UT (YIPEE!!!) so we will enjoy a later dinner. Then on Saturday I'll let her choose, unless she is hanging out with her friends in which case we will eat something delicious without her. And then on Sunday we might try a new recipe, but I might "chicken" out. (I crack myself up!) I think I'll make a delicious dessert for Sunday night (any suggestions?). And sometime during the week I will make a chocolate pudding pie and eat it all by myself. Nah...just kidding. I'll share a bite with Christian. We have a lot of milk this week and so I was trying to fill my menu full of things that need milk. Dave and I don't drink milk and somehow I don't think Christian can polish off 2 gallons of milk by himself in 9 days (call me crazy). So anyway, that was probably more information than you all needed, but I'm in a sharing mood.

I've Been a Bad Girl

As you may or may not have noticed, I neglected to post my weekly menu on Monday. There is a good reason for that. I didn't make one. I started to make one, but gave up and never bothered to finish it. Which means I did very little grocery shopping. So, we reverted back to our old habits. We had fast food twice this week, plus even when we ate at home it didn't amount to much nutrition. Then one night I didn't even eat dinner. I did manage to scrounge something up for Christian. We've had bagels with OJ (milk for Chip) for breakfast every single day this week. (Once again, a couple days I didn't even eat breakfast.) We have spent so much more on food and still have nothing in the house.

I was sick this week and I think that is why I was so lazy about the menu. I think it takes a lot less effort to come up with a menu than not to. So, in the future, I think I will make a menu even if I am sick. Plus, if I have a menu I can easily create a list and send Dave to the store.

Speaking of the menu concept...I've been thinking of creating a Dinner Recipe Box. Nothing fancy. Just something I could have easy reference to help with menu planning.

My first idea was to write a whole meal on an index card with a list of all the ingredients and quantities needed to make that meal. I think I would have to have more than just an index card to have enough room. Plus it would be nice to change up the sides, veggies, etc. depending on the season and so forth.

My second idea was to write each dish on a card with all ingredients and quantities needed. Then I could file them in categories under Main Dish, Side Dish, Vegetable, Fruit, Dessert, Salad or whatever I have. From that I could create a meal with a little more flexibility. This would take some time to compile, but I think would be very helpful in the end. I think this would be easy to maintain and add to as time goes on.

Do you have a system that works well for you? I would love any suggestions! Hopefully we will stumble upon the right method for our busy family. And if you would like to share any recipes with us we are in desperate need of new ideas! Please, nothing too complicated...and I don't do seafood of any kind (if it used to live in water, I don't eat it).

SPT-I Love It When You...

I love it when you stay home with Christian and let me go out for a girls day. We all know I need a break from time to time and letting me go out to a movie with a friend is all I need sometimes. Thanks for giving me a little girly time (even if I had to take your filthy, smelly truck to do so).