FREEBIES~DISCOUNTS~COUPONS

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Grocery Coupons and Deals
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Make A Chicken Last

Well, here is another little tidbit for all who are interested:

Two chickens; dinners ALL week! Cost of two chickens; around $10.00 and you could have dinner for your family all week.

Roast your chickens in the oven or crockpot. Marinate with your favorite sauce and spices. Take chicken off the bone and set aside in your fridge for each meal. Boil the bones for stock!

Dinner ONE: Chicken soup! After you take the meat off the bones, boil the bones for stock. Add some of your chicken meat, cabbage, onions, carrots, peas and the best part.....tortellini noodles! I love them because they dont soak too much stock, as other noodles do....and the cheese! Add some more stock as needed. Side this with your favorite bread!

Dinner TWO: Chicken pot pie! Use a pie pan or a 9" square casserole; spray with no stick. Boil some cutup potatoes till they are soft (but still hard in center...poke with a fork); saute some celery, carrots and onions till they are clear in a pan with some butter. Combine some of your chicken meat with the veggies in the pan. Add some chicken gravy and stir till all ingredients are covered. Purchase a cornbread mix (or use your favorite recipe) make as directed. Lump the cornbread mix over the mixture in the pan (as you would if making a cobbler). Place in the oven and bake as directed for the bread!

Dinner THREE: Chicken Enchiladas! Get some soft taco shells, enchilada sauce, sour cream, mexican blend shredded cheese (along with some of your chicken meat) you can have a 15 minute meal! Take the shells and coat them with the sauce. Stuff them with some chicken & cheese....roll and place in a 9x13" pan till full. Take the extra sauce and mix with some sour cream then drizzle over the shells in the pan. Top with extra cheese and bake at 375 till cheese is all melted! Serve with more sour cream!! Side this one with some spanish rice.

Dinner FOUR: Chicken Salad! You can seriously do this anyway you like. Use some of your chicken meat along with your favorite lettuce/vegtables/dressing. Serve with your favorite bread! I am thinking of doing a ceasar salad this week, because my kids love it!

Dinner FIVE: Chicken Pizza! This is perfect for Friday. Pillsbury has those awesome pizza dough packets so easy! Take out the pizza dough, top with chicken, sauce and any other toppings you and your family love! Serve with french fries or salad!

Sorry I am not the best at "writing" recipe directions with exact measurements, because I dont really cook that way! But I hope you get the gist of it! Just trying to save on food as much as I can!

Next, I am going to try to find cheap and easy snacks to make on Sundays to last my family all week long too. Any ideas would love to hear them!

A Human Life

Barack Obama voted against the "Born Alive Infant Protection Act" four times. How someone could vote against providing life saving health care to an infant who survives a botched abortion is beyond me. To place this baby on a shelf in a linen closet to die is detestable. That's called infanticide.


The U.S. Senate unanimously agreed to a similar bill in 2003. Obama lied stating if the state bill was like this he would have voted for it. Well it was and he didn't.

Let's look at abortion in simpler terms. Abortion ends the life of a human being -- period. From conception it is a human being, separate and distinctive, not a glob of cells as was thought when Roe v. Wade was decided.

Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, was a believer in eugenics. Her intended goal was the elimination of poor white southerners, Chinese immigrants and African Americans. In her own words, "The human weeds."

Obama said his favorite Bible verse was in Matthew -- as you have done unto the least of my brethren you do unto me. Who else is the least among us but an innocent child in the womb?

Yet today, the most dangerous place for an American to be is in the mother's womb, where one in five are murdered.

Preachers should be pounding the pulpits to end this ghoulish practice but instead they cling to their 501(c)3 like a frightened child clings to a Teddy bear.

It took William Wilberforce 35 years to end slavery. It has been 35 years since Roe v. Wade and the time to end this is now.

When you are in that voting booth, remember, the blood of millions of aborted babies will be on your hands with your vote.

Joseph Conkle

Mansfield

So many things....

on my mind today!

First.......GO PHILLIES! What an amazing season....they played like Champs the whole way through!! They deserve this, the fans derserve this and the city of Philadelphia deserves this....to the parade we go on Friday! We are letting the kids skip school....and see a moment in history!!! Should be a fun end to this crazy week!

Second....I continue to worry about this election! I pray everyday that God's plan whatever it may be....will protect our country. I cant help remember God's word....."When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day." This country is full of people who are looking for that "quick fix", never wanting to work for something better! Everyone is so desperately seeking a "change" and not seeing the bigger picture. FAITH! Faith that God was what this country was founded on. Faith in God, brought our fore fathers here! Faith in God, that now seems less important than the economy, war, taxes, health care, education.....while all these things add to the wellbeing of our lives....the foundation of it all should be FAITH! Where is yours?

I know mine is still in my God, and I chose to follow in those who have that same faith! John McCain! God Bless this Country.....and may he save us from our selfish ways!

"I am a Christian"I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'." I'm whispering "I was lost, now I'm found and forgiven. "When I say... "I am a Christian" I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide. When I say... "I am a Christian"I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on. When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess. When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not claiming to be perfect,My flaws are far too visible. But, God believes I am worth it. When I say... "I am a Christian"I still feel the sting of pain. I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name. When I say... "I am a Christian"I'm not holier than thou, I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!

Wouldnt you just know it.....

HEALTH INSURANCE!

We finally applied and will have it in full force and effect on 11/01/2008!

But, I AM SICK NOW! It all started a few weeks ago.....UTI, along with back pain. The pain was dull and annoying in my lower back on the left side. I knew this feeling all too well....when I was pregnant with Kylee.....it was so bad I thought I was in labor.....turned out to be a kidney infection/stones! Five days in the hospital on antibotics.....peeing out stones....fun!

So, since I dont have insurance, I called my Uncle Jeff's office (he is a doctor) and spoke to my Aunt Jane. I told her I would like some antibotics to help with this, since I was pretty sure it was an infection in my kidney.....just like before.

She then called in the antibotics and within a few days I felt much better. It take longer than usual but thought nothing of it.

Sunday night, I was helping my sister move and within an hour, the pain in my back started all over again.....but it was coming on more strongly.....and it hurt 100 times more.

I came home and layed on my heating pad thinking it was a pulled muscle or something. Benaiah tried to rub it out, but it was too painful for me to bear. I took some Advil and went to bed. I awoke with the same pain.....but had to go to work. I hobbled around getting Kylee off to school and spent the entire day at work sitting in my chair afraid to move.....it hurt too much. I came home last night and sat on my couch again with the heating pad.......didnt move!

I took a Tylenol with codiene just to sleep. I slept till about 10am(Shannon called to check on me) and then fell back to sleep. Didnt get out of bed till after noon. Got up and showered. Now sit here on the couch still in pain.

What the hell is it? I called my Aunt Jane back again, explained my dilema with this insurance.....I have FOUR days to wait for it to kick into effect! But at the same time, I dont want to get worse.......

She is going to talk to my uncle again........hopefully he can help me.......

MCCAIN/PALIN RALLY

McCain & Palin to Campaign in Quakertown

Tuesday, October 28, 2008 from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Memorial Park, Quakertown

John McCain and Sarah Palin plan to be in Quakertown, on Tuesday, October 28^th for a rally expected to draw more than 10,000 people. The free event is scheduled to be held at the baseball stadium in Memorial Park, 600 West Mill Street in Quakertown from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Want to attend? Call for tickets: GOP headquarters, Quakertown, 215-804-1072; Victory Center, Warminster, 267-282-5235 or GOP headquarters, Doylestown, 215-345-6811.

Please read BEFORE you vote :)

THINGS THAT SHOULD BE READ BEFORE VOTING:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/huntleybrown.asp

I truely pray for our nation during this election....I think it is the most important one of my lifetime.

Budgets, Budgets, Budgets

Well yesterday I did my new grocery routine with some success!

This was my process:

1) Bought the Sunday paper, took out the coupon packets and filed them by date. What is cool about www.couponmom.com; they already organized the coupons for you. They have what they call the "coupon database", where they have listed the coupons by product & date. So instead of clipping coupons and trying to keep them organized yourself. You save the packets by date, go online look in the database for the coupons you need and then it tells you what packet to find it in!

2) Went online to find ideas for weekly dinner plans!

3) Used the sales circular for the grocery store to find deals on the items I needed in my home this week. Then went in the coupon database to find coupons to coinside with the sales items.

4) Made a detailed list of every item I needed, what it was on sale for and whether or not I had a coupon for it.

5) At the store I followed my list ONLY! Never stray! And compared the sales items to generic and decided whether the coupon actually saved me or not.

The result? I have groceries for the entire week (including household items) total bill before savings: $202.56 After coupons and sales savings: $143.85

I think that is a success, but still disappointed I couldnt do it for under $100. We usually spend about $800/month on food for this "always eating" family. I really want to cut that down to $600 or less if I can. So I did reach my savings goal if I can do this every week.

I think to bring it down even more; I am going to have to start bulk buying. Which could cost more upfront....but save in the long run.

I think too much :)

Well it has been awhile since my last post....I have no idea how many of you even read these? haha :)



Today is Thursday; busy day ahead of me. I have to CLEAN my house (big surprise), work on accounting stuff (get paid), pay some bills, laundry (ugh I hate it), show a rental property @ 2pm, then rush back home to get Kylee from the bus @ 3:30pm...then dinner, homework, Halloween parade and take Brandi to dance and come home at 10pm!



Benaiah and I have officially paid off ALL of our debt! No car payments (paid our van off 1.5 years early), no credit card payments......nadda! I am also trying to budget our utilities as much as possible....learning to live differently is fun and exciting! So with all this change we have also decided that we have lived without health and life insurance for TOO LONG! So we officially will have health insurance 11/1/2008 and we cant wait to see the doctor and get all our physicals (just to know we are ok!). Oh, to the dentist we both shall go! Still looking into life insurance policies....but they are coming next!



You ever do something nice for someone, then have them use the situation against you? This is how I feel about a person I helped find a home. We moved here over 2 years ago, when my twins started 8th grade here, one of the friends they made happened to be the son of a girl I grew up with on the same block (around the age our kids are now). I heard how her husband became very ill and spent numerous months in and out of the hospital. All the while she was trying to work, take care of the kids and be with him in the hospital. Her bills started to fall behind, eventually so, that one day Benaiah was reading the paper and noticed their address was in the Public Notices and being foreclosed on. Now it isnt like me to ever hear of anyone in trouble and not try to think of ways I can help them. Since being in real estate and working with owners of rental properties (had a listing here in Red Hill) I contacted the owner and asked that he give her and her family a chance to stay in the area and keep the kids in the same school. I talked it over with her and her husband and made sure they could afford this home and they said they could. I was able to work it out so that within 2 weeks they were in a new home and now had the peice of mind knowing that they didnt have to move. Ever since they moved in, I have had to chase them down for rent that is constantly paid late (even the utility companies have contacted me about shut offs). She never returns my calls and now I am being left with no choice to evict them. This sucks for their kids and myself (I put my word on the line). I am very upset because apparently they just dont manage their money right, they had the chance of a lifetime to live in a very nice home in a nice community and for less than others! Such a shame!



Kylee is such an awesome dancer, she is dancing three nights a week now. I love to watch her dance and sing! Brandi is starting a new form of dance along with hip hop this year also....she is so great at it (might see her on MTV someday). Amanda will be starting piano lessons as soon as I can locate a free piano somewhere! I love that my girls are all so musically talented (I could of never been).



Having a house is so much work! Wouldnt be so bad if I could just motivate my husband to do it! When we got this old house, we knew the work that it would take....I knew and was very prepared to handle the inside (decorating and painting, etc.) even the landscape! But Benaiah knew the work that needed to be done on the porch, roof, etc. And after two years......I have a half completed fence! Somedays I think we should of moved into a condo!



Twins are done field hockey! Whew.....now we have catching up to do with academics! They need to refocus and get their grades up! Kylee is an awesome reader for any of you who wanted to know.......I am amazed how well she can read at 6!



Benaiah heard on the radio that the Eagles Cheerleaders were holding a cheer clinic last Saturday...so we decided to take Kylee. She loves cheerleading! So she got a TShirt which they signed, pictures taken with the cheerleaders, her own pom-poms, and learned cheers and then preformed them on the Lincoln Financial Field! Benaiah was more excited than her I think, he even took some of the grass from the field and put it into his pocket (which he says he is going to frame!)





So that is all I can think of at the moment! Thanks for reading my many thoughts...lol.

thrifty is the new me

Well I have always been sorta cheap (despite the husband and kids costing a fortune....haha)...but with the economy the way it is; my thoughts are dont get depressed & down; just figure a way to survive!

Tricks from the "Most Thrifty Family in America" featured on TV:

1) MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL ~ Only spend what you can AFFORD!
2) Clip coupons; there was a woman from www.couponmom.com, who took her $127 grocery bill down to $37! I was inspired to clip more and more coupons and strive to always find the best deal. Go there!
3)Pay off debt; this year we have gotten most of our debt eliminated - but I think we shall be paying it off sooner than later and getting our health insurance back! Why is it that we put our health below (on the priority ladder) paying the car payment? Seems silly when you think about it. So we are taking some savings, paying off the car and using that money each month to get health insurance for us!
4) No more eating out! Ugh it is killing our budget, but with the kids after school activities I find it hard to get us all at the table for dinner! But I think if I strive to plan meals around the stores sales and use coupons; I should be able to get dinner together and save money at the same time!

So with all this news about the economy; I am refusing to get upset and worried about the big picture and playing the blame game. I am looking at my family's situation and doing what is best for us. I dont want to get us in a situation where we cannot afford to keep the roof over our heads, pay for food and health costs! For they are the MOST important things of all :)

Things my father made....

Some of my favorite memories from childhood were the cool things my father built for me. When I was six, Christmas morning I woke up to see the GREATEST dollhouse ever built!! My father created this custom barbie house, complete with furniture and working electricity! I was the envy of all my friends :) I have redecorated this house for each of my three daughters and Kylee still plays with it today!

Then there was the Christmas that he built a table and chair set for Mark & me. I think I was 3 years old. What was so cool about this set....was the chairs. The seats lifted up so we could store things in them. And there were also storage slots in the backs.

Pretty cool, huh?

My dad always thought of something cool to build or rebuild for us as kids. We didnt have alot of money or things growing up, but what we did have was sooo special! I also remember my first banana seat bike that my dad got as a hand-me-down and repainted for me. He also redid a "big girl" bike for me one year; painted it red, with a new seat, headlight and even working blinkers! I remember learning to ride that bike........never forget all the work he put into giving us the best, even if it wasn't "brand new".

understanding when to say "no"

I am sooo not good at saying the word "No". Well except to my kids (lol); but even then they get most of what they want from me, haha. But I was put to the test these last few weeks with our new dog, Milo.

I first heard about Milo from my neighbor who said he was living in an empty house for the last four months (so sad). She said he was a great dog (although a Jack Russell) and six years old and trained at an advanced level and house broken.

We have two dogs already; a german sheppard pup and a chiuhauha (who is 3). So I carefully considered before I asked Benaiah and the kids about meeting Milo (his name was Beenie then) and see if he fits in here with the kids, dogs and kitten. When we first met him he was very calm and careful about meeting us. I had him spend the entire day with us and mingled him with our other dogs and new kitten. He did great!! So we decided to keep him, it was so much better than knowing he was all alone in an empty house. And if he was going to be behaved and fit in, then why not?

The first few weeks went on as expected, he was well behaved, listened with only a few incidents. We realized he needed to be crated since he torn apart my curtains on the front door! But other than that his barking (which a bark collar seemed to solve).

But with in the last few days he started to growl at Kylee when she tried to hug him and snapped at her twice. He was becoming defiant and bit both Benaiah and myself when we tried to get him to listen to us. He barked continuously even with the bark collar, whined when he didnt get his way and began pooping and peeing in the house (completely unacceptable)!

So each day and night I would DREAD coming home, waking up, going to bed and having to deal with his barking, whining, defiance....to the point that on Thursday morning I could no longer take it. A dog is supposed to be a joy in your life and apart of your family....but this dog just was a stress I could no longer bear in my life.

I called the SPCA and asked them about bringing an animal in and could barely contain myself from crying. I hated the thought of taking him there so I called my neighbor who knew the man he came from. She said he would give him a call. She too (living next door to me) saw his misbehavior and told me it was ok since I did everything I could. He is six years old and really (I truely believe) missed his old owner! He was a motorcyle guy (with a Harley) and EVERY time Milo would here a loud car or motorcylce he would jump up on the couch to look out the window to see if it was him. Maybe this man could take him back? Maybe he could realize that this dog truely needed to be with him, despite a loving family trying to take him in.

Later that night, the daughter of the man who owned Milo showed up to get him. It was sad, but again I was sooo over this dog and the stress.

Weird now, my house seems so quiet. Our other two dogs do not bark and whine like he did. I again feel peace in my home.

Sometimes, I should just say "No".

Life gets tough sometimes...

So my last post was to exercise more.....this is a feat that challenges me everyday! I will get there I know it...but I received a call from Bonnie (my baby sister) that very afternoon and she was in need of some support.....so my weekend has been again too hectic!

So I have a few thoughts this morning; most of them being brought on by this crazy world we find ourselves living and surviving in.....what the heck is going on with todays economy?

It has been no secret that the American economy has been in trouble for several years....actually decades....but it has always found a way to bounce back....but now we are possibly headed for some really bad times.....but I like many others are very confused about just how bad?

For me, being in the real estate business, this is really hitting home for me. I am troubled by what I would like to see come from all of this. I know that rising home prices are good for many peoples pockets.....but is it really good to have them increase at the rate that they have for these last 6 years? In my opinion (and has always been) my answer has been NO. Although as home prices rise, I make more money on each transaction....being a real estate agent...but as a human being...I think it is just not right. Reason one....our children! What do we expect them to have to pay for their first home? $500,000? With the growth rate these days.....that is where they would be at.

When I was a child, most mothers stayed home. Fathers were capable of earning enough money to pay for homes, cars, food, etc. My mother stayed home with us when we were young and was always volunteering in our school. Where are mothers now? We are working, cleaning, working, volunteering, working, shopping, cleaning, working....actually there isnt enough time in the day to do all that we have to do....and we are stressed out and getting sick. Everyone complains about not having enough energy...well......I know this all too well.

What ever happened to, if you dont have the money for it....you dont buy it? What? Americans these days, spend well beyond their means.....we all look at each other from the outside and think that if they can have it, so can I....but what we dont see is that behind their closed door....they are DROWNING IN DEBT! So much so that mom and dad both are working to pay for things.....and not spending time with their families....which is just plain sad.

So, my point to my many ramblings....is this: so what if wall street hits rock bottom? So what? Why should the government bail out big business? Bad business, out of business in my opinion. The government at this point is too involved and alot of government officials have been profiting from mistakes made and us tax payers continue to have to pay more in our taxes to bail these rich people out....I say NO MORE!

If the housing markets drops....then I will make due. I will also continue to strive for a better America, one that my children can prosper in. One that my children have a decent future and possibly can stay home with their children and learn to live on what they can afford.....we need to teach them this very important lesson.

If you cant afford it.....dont buy it!!! That is the bottom line. And taxpayers in my opinion can not afford this!!!!!

My daily devotion fit in perfectly with my thoughts today; I found it uplifting:

Today's Verse from the New Living Translation

"O God, I beg two favors from you; Let me have them before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God's holy name." Proverbs 30:7–9

Encouragement for Today

This prayer shows us what a wise person asks for from the Lord. And how different it is from most of our prayers! Where our prayers often simply demand "Give me more," this prayer asks for "just enough." The wise person knows that gaining more blessings from God isn't as important as growing in obedience to God. We should be aware of what tempts us and ask God to rescue us from those temptations. We should also focus on knowing God better and seeing his reputation enhanced. If we do this, we will be wise, and we will be praying as Jesus taught us to (Matt 6:9-13). So yesterday was a bad day for the stock market and wall street. But yesterday my sister had to say goodbye to another baby lost. There are worse things going on in someone elses life to get so mixed up in politics and money....remember this. Each day is a gift from God, use it wisely....be there for someone in need.....and someone will be there when you are in need.

Today is the day.....

that I get off my ass and start exercising. I am so sick of feeling out of shape and old....older than I actually am!

I have a $500 eliptical sitting in our office being unused (as Benaiah often reminds me of) and I recently even bought an aerobic ball and DVD set.....think I should start using them.

This is really difficult for me; I have always been thin, in shape and able to eat what I wanted and whenever I wanted, ever since I had Kylee, that wonderful priviledge has been robbed of me......

I know I will never be a size 0 ever again.....but I need to start taking better care of myself....so there I said it out loud and put it on here.....hoping this will make me stick to it!

Daily Devotions

I get daily devotions in my email regularly....and today I needed to read this, so I thought I would share:

Psalm 147

6 The LORD supports the humble,
but he brings the wicked down into the dust.

7 Sing out your thanks to the LORD;
sing praises to our God with a harp.
8 He covers the heavens with clouds,
provides rain for the earth,
and makes the grass grow in mountain pastures.
9 He gives food to the wild animals
and feeds the young ravens when they cry.
10 He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse
or in human might.
11 No, the LORD's delight is in those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his unfailing love.

12 Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates
and blessed your children within your walls.
14 He sends peace across your nation
and satisfies your hunger with the finest wheat.
15 He sends his orders to the world—
how swiftly his word flies!
16 He sends the snow like white wool;
he scatters frost upon the ground like ashes.
17 He hurls the hail like stones.*
Who can stand against his freezing cold?
18 Then, at his command, it all melts.
He sends his winds, and the ice thaws.
19 He has revealed his words to Jacob,
his decrees and regulations to Israel.
20 He has not done this for any other nation;
they do not know his regulations.

Praise the LORD!

Encouragement for Today
Want to know how to delight God? Trust him! Put your hope in his unfailing love, humble yourself by obeying him, and the God of the universe will actually delight in you. Your trust and obedience have the capacity to bring more pleasure to Almighty God than any other thing in his creation! Make God smile today and experience his support, as well.

Dinner Tonite?

So I was watching one of my recorded Oprah shows....and Mario Batali was on (with orange crocks to boot) and he prepared a fifteen minute gourmet dinner that looked yummy......so I thought I would give it a try tonite......




Flamenquines
Created by Mario Batali



Try this fast and easy pork recipe for a quick meal—perfect for busy moms! Mario Batali recommends serving this dish with a side of fried potatoes.










Ingredients:
8 1/2-inch thick boneless pork loin chops (3 ounces each)
Freshly ground pepper
8 thin slices of serrano ham
All-purpose flour , for dusting
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. milk
1 1/4 cups dry bread crumbs
Pure olive oil , for frying
Mayonnaise , for serving
Working with 1 pork chop at a time, place in a resealable plastic bag and pound into a 1/4-inch-thick cutlet. Arrange the cutlets on a work surface and season with pepper. Cover each cutlet with a slice of ham and, starting with the short end, roll tightly into a cylinder. Dust with the flour. In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs with the milk. Put the bread crumbs in another shallow bowl. Dip the pork rolls in the egg mixture, then in the bread crumbs, pressing them on lightly. Transfer to a plate.In a large skillet, heat 1/4 inch of oil until shimmering. Add the pork rolls and fry over moderate heat, turning, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 155°, about 5 minutes. Transfer the rolls to paper towels. Serve hot, with mayonnaise.The breaded pork rolls can be refrigerated overnight. Let return to room temperature before frying.



I just realized I forgot the fried and lemon! Opps....heading back to the store this evening (good thing it is right around the corner)

I will let you know how it turned out if you are interested!!! :)

Down with the sickness

I dont know why, but everytime I am feeling sick. I feel sick all over. It slows me down and seems to catch up to me.

I hate that feeling of wanting to sleep endlessly...it is a beautiful day out and I have lots to do....but all I wish I was doing is sleeping :(

Funny thing happened yesterday; I was home after my meeting with a colleague and I was out back letting the dogs out.....now every afternoon since the kids are all in school.....I have to let the dogs out myself one at a time (cant wait for my new fence)...I let Stella out first cause she is easy, then take her in and set out her food bowls, get Zeus on a leash and then take him out to his chain and feed/water him....then I come back in for Milo. I wait to take Milo out because he is hyper as hell and I cant keep him calm while I take the others out.....so he is last! Well during the entire process of letting Zeus and Stella out (maybe five minutes) he BARKS and BARKS! He has the most annoying bark too....very high pitch and whiny. So as I was standing outside with Stella (before I let out Zeus) my neighbor, Rachel came out to say hello from across her yard.

I said to her, "Gosh, you hear Milo? He never shuts up". She is a dog trainer by profession and says to me, "You want a bark collar? It is perfectly safe and doesnt shock him"......I was like heck yeah! So she goes in and gets it for me. She explains that it shoots citronella in his face everytime he barks. It is perfectly harmless and wont hurt him, but he wont like it at all.

I was so excited to use this thing; so after I let all the dogs out and fed/gave them water. I put the collar on Milo.

TEST ONE: When I go outside and ask Milo to stay.....he jumps on me and barks at me like he is pissed off. He wont dare come outside, but he barks and barks....then runs to each window and door back and forth, from upstairs to down and tearing everything apart in his path.

So after I put the collar on Milo, I went to go outside.....I told Milo "Stay"...he went to jump and bark and immediately got shot in the face with bitter citronella.....HE SHUT UP AND BACKED DOWN! Freakin amazing!!!

Soooo all day he was a totally different dog; I was able to leave and come in without having to hear his endless barking and cleaning up everything he knocked over. I was able to sit on the couch without having him jump across me and onto the furniture barking at everyone and every car that went by........peace!

Take a walk down memory lane....

with me as I dig up some old pics and scan them here.......thought it would be fun!

This is a picture from the day of my christing. I dont look very happy......probably didnt like the water on my head thing...lol.

I love this picture; my grandfather looks so proud and my dad looks soooo "cool". I love his chill attitude, red camaro and his hat! Funny those hats are back in style these days :)

I love this picture; shame it is stained and didnt scan so well. I was eating cake and you can tell I was throughly enjoying it!

I will post more from time to time.....always fun sharing memories!

it's a small world afterall...

So for the past few years I have discovered MySpace......had a few different pages within those years.....hackers breaking in.....stalkers....you name it. But I keep it because if gives you something to do on here.....(this internet thing) and it is soo fun catching up with friends and family.

As our daily lives take over much of our free time to spend with those we love......we can now at least see pictures and read blogs about their lives.....stay connected.....at least.

So over the years, I have found friends, family on MySpace and have enjoyed seeing their pics and sharing mine. Once in awhile I will change my background or song on my site.....just to jazz it up a bit.....make it interesting for those who care to stop by.....haha.

My husband recently joined Facebook.......he likes it better due to the nature of the GAMES, GAMES and MORE GAMES! If my husband could earn a living at playing computer games we would be rich beyond our wildest dreams! hahaha So I thought, well I will give it a whirl......and I must say, it has become another addiction on this internet thing!!

But recently on Facebook I have discovered people I NEVER thought I would ever see again......Sylvia & Mary Decker; Tara & Nolan Brooke.......just to name a few. These are kids I used to babysit from the church I grew up in. It wasnt just church either, it was my family. Every Sunday morning & night, Wednesday, youth group retreats....we celebrated holidays, weddings, birthdays, babies being born....every important moment in our lives were shared and I remember being with them all the time......

My father was a huge part of that church and he passed away when I was sixteen from cancer. As time passed my mother decided to make decisons that wasnt in anyones best interest other than her own (despite the fact she had four children to take care of) and slowly all these people who were my family started to disappear.

Now, as I see pictures on Facebook of them all........it FLOODS my mind with memories and images that I can remember clear as day......it makes me miss them all. Especially seeing Tara Brooke all grown up and having fun with her parents; Rosemary and Keith (who my father loved deeply)......what a full life they seem to be having! Others like Sylvia & Mary still seem connected to many others from church and I cant help but wonder......if my father hadnt passed would I have grown up with them? Would we still all be connected? Do they ever think about what happened to those "Trotter" kids?

I am so grateful for this internet thing....haahah. It has reconnected me with people I never thought I would see again; never have the chance to maybe have them in my life......I sit here and cant help but get excited to see them again! This life as I know it.....amazes me every day :)

Weekly Happenings...

Monday was the first day of school this week....back to a schedule and a routine!

Tuesday, I didnt have to work...so what better to do with my spare time? CLEAN! And clean I did too. I rearranged Kylee's bedroom and took all her toys down to the playroom in the basement :) I cant have her and her friends playing in her room anymore....the mess is driving me nuts! OCD kicking into high gear with the kids on schedule and me having time to clean....I am in full force cleaning mode. No major events on Tuesday....thank goodness!

Wednesday; I had to work till 3pm....did the usual dog dance and got Kylee from the bus. The twins had an away game in Emmaus and Amanda forgot her sneakers! It was a turf field and you can't play in cleats so I had to drive down there and give her sneakers so she could play. Benaiah and I decided to just go grab dinner at Wendy's and watch the game since we were there anyways! Brandi apparently couldnt get into her locker at school and the coach was nice enough to give her sneakers to wear since I wasnt asked to bring her any! They lost their game....it was tough to watch since Emmaus has the best hockey league in the area...and with turf it is sooo much harder. Our girls have no subs to releave any players and they were RUNNING after that ball the entire game.......I give them an A for effort and not giving up! They didnt get home from the game till 10pm and still had homework to complete.......so it was another late night for them!

Thursday.......no work again...but had alot of errands to do. I had to go do some payroll for a client which took a whole half hour in Souderton so I decided to see what my best friend Shannon was up to........I went and woke her up and we went and got supplies to close our pools! Had lunch at Taco Bell........YUM! On my way home I cleaned out the Honda that my husband so wonderfully had filled with his dirty laudry and FIVE bags of trash! It is much nicer to drive now.....lol. Got Kylee off the bus and picked up the twins at field hockey practice at 5:30pm, made dinner and was off to dance with Brandi at 7pm. Dropped her off and spent the next two hours chit chatting it up with Shannon.........I love that I see her once a week now! We didnt get back till 10pm........Brandi had her second late night in a row this week!

I woke up utterly EXHAUSTED this morning! I didnt want to get up! Thank goodness my husband did! He got Kylee dressed and off to school.........I hung out with the neighbor this morning as she stopped by for a bit......but havent had a desire to remove my ass from this couch.......have some emails to respond to.......need to clean the playroom and go to Walmart to get storage bins for all the toys (trying to organize)......ugh, dont feel like it! Need to get my crockpot dinner together tonite because the girls have another game tonight and I want to go watch........supposed to rain........maybe it will be canceled and I can get out of dinner! haha

So in case any of you wanted the breakdown of my week.......there it is! The routine has began once again in this life as I know it!

Today is just one day.....

of many more blogging to come. Have to bear with me as I am new to this site. I love to tell people all about my day....I tend to complain and brag about whatever I have happen to me or others I know on a daily basis.

I also love to write.........so where not a better place to start than here.

I hope to make this a fun part of my daily life....haha :)