I cannot pass up a good party!

I should be ashamed to read this, but my google reader has so many unread posts in it that it will only show 1000+ as the number. I am hanging my head in shame! Fortunately, I am eating my lunch at my desk today & have some time to catch up on all the blog awesomeness I have been missing out on, such as Sassy Site's Hello Friend Party!

I like friends & parties so I cannot pass this up. Sassy Sites wants me to answer these questions and then check out all the new friends who are linking up at the party. So, here goes:

Why did you decide to start blogging?

I honestly have no idea. I cannot even remember talking about it much before doing it. I think I ate some bad chinese food one night and developed this plan to open an Etsy shop (which has yet to actually happen) and start a blog, ala Jerry Maguire. I consulted my in-house IT department (the Hubs) and he gave me the thumbs up... and then helped me completely redo my original messy blog design. 

When you aren't blogging, what are you doing?

Thinking about blogging. Lol. No, seriously. Since I write a blog about being a housewife, pretty much anything I do can be a potential blog post, so I am constantly thinking whether or not I could make what I'm doing funny/interesting. Lately, I have been working on said Etsy shop- creating inventory & investigating starting an LLC. (If anyone has any advice on this, please contact my people! And by my people, I mean me.) Right now quite a bit of our time is being put towards the deck renovation, but other than that you can usually find me at Target. Or Kohls. Or in the basement doing laundry. 

What is your blog about?

Being a housewife. Learning to live frugally. Decorating a home. Doing good deeds for other people. Marriage. Cooking. Crafting. Awesomeness.

When do you find the time to blog?

I get up at 6am every morning, pack lunches, do the dishes & workout. Then I do my link-up parties & publish the days post. I try to dedicate a weekend day or entire weekend once a month to blog stockpiling- working on projects and writing posts. I also write posts at night while the Hubs watches House. I read other blogs during my lunch hour. 

Why do you love blogging?

I love everything about the blogging community- how open & friendly everyone is, how welcoming & inviting you all have been. I love the support I receive through comments, emails and "friends" and "likes" and pageviews. I also love participating in linky parties & finding inspiration for new projects/posts. 

What is your favorite post so far that you've written?

I love the Modern Translations Series. I enjoy writing them & believe in the purpose of the series. I want my generation (early 20s.... okay, okay, late 20s) to be the first generation to decrease the divorce rate. I believe we can do it, but it's going to take a lot of hard work. Isn't a happy & healthy marriage worth it, though? The little self-reflection exercises I do while writing the MT Series I believe help me become a better wife & above all that is my primary focus. I hope to inspire other wives (and husbands) to dedicate putting time & effort into their marriage. 

Of course, my Budget French Manicure post has been my most popular thus far & brought me so many new friends/readers, so it is probably a very close 2nd. 


That's me! Anything else you want to know? Feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email: 2010housewife@gmail.com

Wife Points Wednesday: Guest Post from My Life: Planned in Pencil

Hello fans of The (always awesome) 2010's Housewife.

I'm so excited to be here for Wife Points Wednesday.

I'm PJ from My Life: Planned in Pencil where I share a little bit of everything!  I'm kind of like the crazy guy from the corner of my favorite flea market.  He sells pictures, mostly of Al Pacino in Scarface and Sponge Bob Square Pants, he calls out to the people passing by, "A Little Bit Of Everything For A Little Bit Of Everybody!"

That's me.

When Tracy invited people to guest post for Wife Points Wednesday I jumped at the chance.  I've been married for almost 9 years and maintaining a strong relationship is something that I'm pro-active and passionate about.  Fairy Tales lead us to believe that once our Prince Charming shows up then we live happily ever after... they don't show us that Prince Charming might have a drinking problem, or that Rapunzel might end up being a hoarder!

Most of the crafts that I do are NOT geared towards my husband.

He could care less about the cool cork balls I made....

Or the crazy red mirror I remade for our bathroom....

He couldn't care, but he is SUPER supportive!

So... sure I could remake something for him, right?

That's harder than you think since most of my projects are either sewing or thrift store redos.

Sunday at the flea market I found something that I knew he was going to love.

I'm not a fan of smoking, and don't condone it at all, but from time to time Mr. T enjoys to smoke a cigar or pipe.  Usually when fishing.   

$5 for this!

A pipe and tobacco holder.

Fun, right?

I figured I could make it a little better with my favorite thing.

Spray Paint!

Krylon's Navy Blue for my Navy Boy

When I showed it to him his response was "whoa cool!" so I guess he liked it!

Tips from All You Magazine

Last month I shared a deal for All You Magazine. Because I love All You so much and in case my argument before wasn't convincing enough, I want to share with you a few of my favorites tips & ideas from the August issue.

If you are interested in purchasing a subscription to All You magazine, Amazon has a good deal going on right now- $19.95 for All You (1-year auto-renewal).

Watermelon Coolers

Ingredients
8 cups seeded 1/2-inch watermelon cubes
2 cups chilled ginger ale
1/4 cup water
6 ounces frozen limeade concentrate

Arrange watermelon cubes on a baking sheet. Freeze 30 minutes, or until solidly frozen. Working in batches, blend frozen watermelon, chilled ginger ale, 1/4 cup water and frozen limeade concentrate in a blender until smooth. Serve in chilled glasses. 

Cost: $1.14 per serving 

Saving Money at the Supermarket

"A trip to the supermarket will run you about 4% more than it did last year." Ouch! I didn't realize that.

Here are just a few of their suggestions for saving on your grocery bill:

"Put your slow cooker to work on a pork shoulder or another tasty, inexpensive cut."

"Add just a sprinkling of a bolder cheese, like sharp Cheddar, instead of piling on a milder variety. Shred your own to save a lot." 

Then Came You, by Jennifer Weiner

Curl up with a book:

Check out the new release by Jennifer Weiner, Then Came You. Jennifer is one of my favorite chick lit authors. To purchase:

Then Came You: A Novel

Then Came You [Kindle edition]

Save Money on Back to School Shopping

I feel so bad for all school aged children. Summer isn't anywhere near over & all the stores are already in "Back to School" mode. Let the kids enjoy their summer!

But, if you are a parent and already gearing up for a budget-busting back to school season, here is one tip I liked:

"Staples gives me $2 in rewards every time I bring in a used ink-jet printer cartridge (to recycle). I hang onto them and turn them in 10 at once, and I use the rewards to buy needed supplies." Connie Schmidt, 45, Slippery Rock, Pa.

"Soothe with sweetener

Do you color your hair at home? Sprinkle a packet of Sweet n' Low into the dye to reduce scalp irritation."

Wow! Does this really work? If you try it please come back & let me know!

Modern Translation: The Awesome Wife’s Guide (Rule #12)

(This is the 13th post of this series. Click here to read the entire series.)


* Your goal: Try to make sure your home is a place of peace, order and tranquility where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.

I have to admit, I am pretty proud of myself and how I am doing with these rules. Sometimes a story or thought or rambling pops immediately into my head when I read each rule. Most of the time, however, I have to think on it for awhile. Whenever I hit a writer's block, I ask my husband how he thinks I could accomplish said goal for him. Each & every time I have asked, his response was "You already do/are."

<Smile>

When I first read Rule #12, I was translating "peace, order and tranquility" to mean feng shui, trickling water fountains and the smell of lavender in the air. Immediately, I felt a sense of failure since I own too much furniture & not enough mirrors and we rarely use candles or room fresheners because of my husband's scent sensitivity. I guess you could count our leaky faucet as having the same affect as a trickling water fountain, though.

That lead me to feeling awful for how long it has been since I completely cleaned the house. With the deck project still in full swing it has seemed sort of pointless to clean. It's been too hot & there have been too any sweaty, dirty family members sitting on the furniture every weekend for a month now to bother vacuuming.

Then I got to thinking about the serious earful I gave my husband when he accidentally knocked a mug of beer off the end table this weekend & managed to coat an entire 10 foot section of the wall with drippy brown goo. (No lie, I measured... 10 feet!) I certainly didn't create a space of peace and tranquility that night!

Feeling like a major wife fail, I emailed the Hubs and asked "How can I achieve Rule #12 for you?" His response (surprise, surprise) was "you already do," followed by a series of bullet points listing the ways in which I do so, to support his thesis statement. (When my husband is in work mode when he replies, I can expect anything from a PowerPoint to a flow chart or data analysis graph.)

I think a few of the Wife's Guide Rules thus far have demonstrated the difference between a wives perception of her role/job/success and a husband's perception of her role/job/success. Here are my husband's bullet point responses and how I was viewing the situation:

Dear 1950's Housewife, 


It's not often enough that either of us gets an opportunity to renew ourselves in body & spirit. There is just too much on the to-do list & not enough hours in the day. Plus, some crazy lady at our house keeps insisting that we work on these insane home remodeling projects! Hopefully soon we will be able to take a vacation & work on that body and spirit business, but for now, we'll have to settle on little reminders to renew our faith in ourselves, each other & our relationship. Little exercises like the one the Hubs and I did today (ie: reminding each other what we appreciate about each other & just how we view the other person) can be just as refreshing- or at least just enough to get us through another round of work, home repairs, and/or the craziness that is life!


Have a pleasant day, 


Mrs. 2010's Housewife

Cassi's Cabinets Week of 7/17

Just a friendly weekly reminder to do your part and help make a difference by supporting Cassi's Cabinets!


Cassi's Cabinets is a service project to stock the pantry shelves of the Family Kitchens at Janet Weis Childrens Hospital at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA. The Project was started in honor of Cassi Choplick, a rising senior at Lewisburg High School who is undergoing treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. When children are hospitalized at GMC, their families have access to Family Kitchens, but these kitchens are stocked through donation only, and currently the pantry shelves are low. 

The type of food that is needed is single serve, easy access foods that can be eaten on the go (and/or put in the microwave), such as granola bars, popcorn, snack sized chips, sandwich crackers, soup (microwaveable- not in a can), mac & cheese (single serving, in a bowl), breakfast bars, fruit cups, etc. Cassi's Cabinets Service Project is taking place during the month of July in downtown Lewisburg, PA and surrounding areas.


To learn more visit the Cassi's Cabinets Facebook page or read my original post about the project. 


Here are this week's coupon match-ups & shopping suggestions for Cassi's Cabinets donations:

Cassi’s Cabinets- Items for Donation

Week of July 17th

WEIS

Betty Crocker Fruit Shapes, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers or Fruit Roll-Ups - $2.00

Use $0.75/3 Betty Crocker Fruit Shapes, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers or Fruit printable

or use $0.50/2 Betty Crocker Fruit Shapes, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers or Fruit Roll-Ups printable

or use $0.50/2 Betty Crocker Fruit Shapes, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers OR Fruit Roll-Ups fruit flavored snacks printable

or use $0.50/2 Betty Crocker Fruit Shapes, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers OR Fruit Roll-Ups fruit flavored snacks printable

or use $0.50/2 Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks, exp. 7/16/11 (SS 05/22/11)

as low as $1.50 after coupon 

Kellogg's FiberPlus Chewy Bars - $2.50

or use $1/2 Kellogg's FiberPlus Chewy Bars printable

as low as $2.00 after coupon 

Nature Valley Granola Bars - $2.50

Use $0.75/2 Nature Valley Granola Bars or Granola Nut Clusters printable

or use $0.75/2 Nature Valley Granola Bars or Granola Nut Clusters printable

or use $0.75/2 Nature Valley Granola Bars or Granola Nut Clusters printable

or use $0.75/2 Nature Valley Granola Bars or Granola Nut Clusters printable

$2.00 each after coupon 

Pop Secret Product

BOGO

Use $0.50/2 Pop Secret Product, exp. 7/31/11 (RP 06/19/11 R)

or use $1/2 Pop Secret Product, exp. 7/31/11 (RP 06/19/11)

Want to spend $10?

4 Kellogg’s Cereal Bars $10

= $10 for 24 breakfasts or snacks!!

CVS

10/$10 or $1 each

Quaker Chewy Granola Bars (3 pack)

Kellogg’s individual cereal cups

Chex Mix snack bags

Polar mixed fruit cups

Frito Lay Munchies 

Kraft Easy Mac - Buy One, Get One Free

Dole fruit cups or Motts applesauce 2/$4

Nature Valley or General Mills Granola Bars – $2.50 (Limit 6)

Use $0.85/1 Nature Valley Granola Bars printable coupon OR

Use $0.60/1 Nature Valley Granola Thins printable coupon OR

Use $0.50/1 Nature Valley Granola Thins printable coupon OR

Use $0.75/1 Nature Valley Granola Thins coupon (SS 6/26) OR

Use $0.60/1 General Mills Milk ‘n Cereal Bars printable coupon OR

Use $0.50/1 General Mills Milk ‘n Cereal Bars coupon (SS 7/10)

As low as $1.75 ea. after coupon!

Want to spend $10?

10 Kellogg’s Cereal Cups

=  $10 for 10 Breakfasts!!

TARGET

4 pack Del Monte Fruit Cups $1.99

Hostess Snack Cakes $2.50

Market Pantry crackers (individually wrapped) 3/$5

Smartwater or Vitaminwater $1.00

Get a free 6pk of Smartwater with purchase of 10

Use (3) Buy 2 Get 1 Free Vitaminwater Target coupon

Final Price: $7.00 for 16 drinks or $.44 each

*Note you would need 2 computers, otherwise use 2 coupons and the price is $.50 per drink.

Kashi Granola Bars, Cookies or Fruit Bars $2.99 (Buy 4, get 1 Free)

Use $2 off 4 Target coupon

Final Price: $9.96 for 5 items

Want to spend $10?

6 Market Pantry crackers (with cheese or peanut butter) $10

=  $10 for 48 snacks or lunches!!

GIANT

Giant Fruit Snacks 3/$5

Giant Wholesome Snack Bars 2/$4

Nabisco Munch Packs $3.99

SnackWell’s Bars $2.99

Chex Mix - $2.00

Use $0.50/2 Chex Mix or Chex 100 Calorie Snack, exp. 8/6/11 (SS 06/12/11)

or use $0.50/1 printable coupon

as low as $1.00 after coupon

Kellogg's Fiber Plus ChewyBars - $2.50

or use $1/2 Kellogg's FiberPlus Chewy Bars printable

$2.00 each after coupon

Kellogg's Pop-tarts - $2.00

Use $0.70/1 Kellogg's Pop-tarts Mini Crisp printable

or use $2/3 Kelloggs Pop Tarts 

Want to spend $10?

1 Giant Fruit Snacks $1.66

3 Kellogg’s Pop Tarts $4 (with coupon)

2 Kellog’s Fiber Plus Chewy Bars $5

=  just $10.66 for 20 snacks & 12 breakfasts!!

KMART

10/$10 or $1 each

Kraft Easy Mac

Hunt’s Snack Pack puddings (4 pack)

Want to spend $10?

10 Kraft Easy Macs

=  $10 for 10 lunch or dinners!