WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SO IN THE FIRST PLACE

After much hinting, groveling, begging, whining and purdy pleasing, it turns out that all I had to do to get my beloved Wii was to become a raving lunatic bitch. Who knew it could be so simple? It seems that My Harley Stud and Daughters #1 and #2 put their heads and their wallets together to get me the Wii and Wii Fit for Mother’s Day. I was beyond thrilled and completely surprised. You know how I wanted a Wii. I mean I REALLY wanted a Wii. By now you’re probably as sick of hearing about how much I wanted one as the family was.

After showing my gratitude by jumping around like a hyperactive 4 year old and squealing with delight, Daughter #2 let slip with, “Maybe this will get you out of your mood.” Ahhhh, the modus operandi was revealed. But I didn’t care! I got a Wii!

And you know what! It worked. My evil twin, Skippy, has left the building.

So far, I’ve been insulted, injured and humiliated by this gaming unit. And.I.Love.It! I think I’m addicted. You may never hear from me again.

If I’d known that’s all it took to get what I wanted, I would have put on my bitch suit a long time ago.

LITTLE THINGS ADD UP - A Money in the Bank Post

I haven’t posted anything for Money in the Bank for quite awhile. For those of you who are new to this blog, MIB is a collection of money saving ideas from bloggers far and near. I’ve listed and linked the entire collection below but you can always find links to all the MIB posts by clicking on the piggy bank in the upper left corner of my blog. I will continue to host this feature until we have complete economic recovery or we lose interest….whichever comes first. If you have any money-saving ideas and would like to participate, feel free to take the little pig and run with it. Just be sure to let me know so I can link back to your post here.

Running a business in this economy proves to challenging on a daily basis. Sadly, I admit that I’m not really that great at budgeting or saving money. But I am quite cheap frugal when it comes to most things. In fact, My Harley Stud will attest to the fact that large purchases make me ill. The first time we tried to put an offer on a house, I hyper-ventilated and had to leave. The realtor came rushing after us as we walked to the car. She was screaming to MHS, “You can buy this house without her, you know. You can’t sell it without her but you can buy it.” True story. *sigh*

I have found that by doing a few things just a bit differently, I can save a few dollars here and a few there. This adds up to big savings at the end of the week/month/year. And keeping more money in my pocket makes me a very happy SMB. Here are a few little things that I do to save big:

• I turn off the ceiling fan(s) when I leave the room. My electric company tells me this can save $7 per month per fan.
• I don’t replace items that are in good working order for the newer, bigger, better upgrade. If it works, I keep it.
• We’re dining out less. Instead we do theme nights to make our meals feel a little more exciting.
• I don’t do Starbucks. My Harley Stud makes my coffee every morning (Thanks, Honey) and I leave the house with travel mug in hand. It not only saves me money but time. The exception to this rule would be during the holidays when I can’t resist their Peppermint Mocha. I think I just gained 3 lbs. thinking about it.
• I reuse my bath water. ………………………..Just kidding. I just wanted to see if you’re paying attention.
• Most of all, I refer to the posts of the bloggers below because there’s some really good stuff there.
• I’ve changed my toilet paper brand because Jan said so.
• I’ve become a regular at our local library, thanks to the reminder from Nothing Fancy.
• I’ve taken to beach walks and inexpensive take-out, thanks to Pseudo’s “date” stories.
• I’m paying more attention to my thermostat settings, thanks to Janie.
• I’m going to add OzGirl’s Waste Notes to the MIB list too. She didn’t actually post as a MIB but the savings were just too good to be ignored so link them, I will. See what she has to say about leftover coffee and saving leftovers.
• I’ve discovered Cheap Chick who has a blog dedicated to saving money. That’s a MIB link if ever there was one.

So there you have it my friends, If you’re looking for ways to cut corners, save a little jingle and keep more of your hard-earned cash, check out these great ideas.

Jan's Sushi Bar
Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp
A real sweet-tart of a dessert

Pseudonymous High School Teacher
Read how Pseudo and Daughter had a lovely evening out for under $20.

Pseudonymous High School Teacher
Pseudo has a great idea that's fun and saves money and it's green too!

Smart Mouth Broad
Chicken and Noodles

Jan at Jan's Sushi Bar
Chocolate Pudding
Ooooooo, how I love this woman!

Jan at Jan's Sushi Bar
Paper Towels

Jan at Jan's Sushi Bar
Bran Muffins
Jan teaches us how to save money and eat healthy all at the same time

Smart Mouth Broad
Sunday Dinner for Less
My recipe for traditional pot roast

Midlife Slices
PC or a Mac?

Janie's been laboring over this decision for awhile now.

Jan of Jan's Sushi Bar
Oatmeal Cookies
The Sushi Bar is serving up another fine recipe.
Nothing Fancy
Outlet Shopping
Here's a woman who knows how to find a bargain!

Smart Mouth Broad
A Cheap Date

Jan at Jan's Sushi Bar

Chicken Noodle Casserole
If Jan posts a recipe, I sit up and take notice. This is a woman who knows her way around a kitchen.

Pseudo at Pseudonymous High School Teacher
Pseudo has combined her Friday Foto with her Money saving post. You get a two-fer and she has not only shown us how to save money but time by combining the two posts. Snaps for Pseudo!
Check out her lovely evening out with the hubs that was pocket friendly too.

Pseudo at Pseudonymous High School Teacher

"Car talk"

Sprite's Keeper

"Step Away from the Sale"

Smart Mouth Broad

"A Valentine's Splurge"

Jan at Jan's Sushi Bar

Jan has combined her money saving skills with some great ideas for Valentines' Day. Check her out.

Nothing Fancy
Calling all book lovers!

Midlife Slices
She's got a million of 'em

Smart Mouth Broad
Grocery Shopping

I MISS LUCY

It’s been awhile since I’ve written a Lucy post. I can think of no better way to celebrate Mother’s Day here in SMBland than to talk about Lucy, my beloved mother who died a little over 5 years ago. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t miss her more and more. So many things have happened in our lives in the past five years and it breaks my heart that she couldn’t share them with us. I don’t know how this Heaven thing works but I believe there is one and I like to think that Lucy has box seats and is watching over us all.

Lucy was one of a kind. Everyone thought so. Everyone loved her. She was smart, beautiful, funny and took GOOFY to a whole new level. The goofiness is what I loved most about her.

Lucy was married for seventeen years to my siblings’ father before she married my dad. Daddy was eleven years younger than Lucy. The age difference was never noticeable until Lucy was in her 80s and got sick. She was always very young looking and could run circles around women many years her junior including me. She had so much energy.

My mother got a kick out of shocking people. I should mention that Lucy moved to our small town in Indiana when she married my father. I think it’s fair to say that many people just didn’t know what to make of her.

Lucy loved to tell people that when she got married, her husband was only 9 years old. Of course she was talking about when she married her first husband and saying that her second husband was nine. Sometimes she would explain, sometimes, she didn’t bother and would just leave them wondering. She also liked to say, “My husband was eleven years old when I had my first child.” You can imagine the reaction she would get. And she loved it.

God, I miss her.

If you missed my previous Lucy stories and would like to read them, they are linked below.

A Strange Telephone Conversation

I Love Lucy

A Roadtrip with Lucy

Lucyisms – A Language all her own

I’m Fine – Really Just Fine

Lucy – Mother Extraordinaire

Whether you’re celebrating Mother’s Day or you’re not……………….I wish you the very best day ever.

Hugs and kisses,

SMB

THE ANSWER

.....at least for me is always the beach. It calms me. Soothes my soul. Refreshes my spirit.

Thanks so much to everyone who commented on my last post. You have no idea how much your friendship means to me.

BIG Hugs,
SMB

ACK!

There is something in the air. Janie suggested that it’s hormonal (read: meno- flippin psycho, raving lunatic, cranky b*tch pausal). I spent a few stolen minutes on her couch yesterday. Thanks, Janie. Erin informed me that tomorrow is a full moon. EEK! Could it be that my werewolf tendencies are working in advance? The point is: all over the interwebs, I’m seeing, reading, hearing that something is about to blow. I think it’s me.

I think I bit Daughter #2’s head off three times yesterday. Rather remarkable actually as she only has one head. (She must be like the chameleon who grows its tail back when you pull it off.) She responded to these multiple beheadings by bringing me flowers at the end of the day. (She’s too young to buy alcohol.)

**Let’s all take a moment to contemplate what a terrible person I am and how very sweet D2 is.**

Here’s the thing: I like all the skies in my world to be blue ALL the time. And as a very wise 12 year old (D1) once told me, "Life just isn’t like that.” Dammit!

I don’t really like posting about the stinky stuff in my life unless I can turn it into a funny because let’s face it we all have stinky stuff and who wants to hear that? I’m posting the sludge today because I need your help. (Read: I can’t afford therapy.)

Below are a list of my current symptoms and some self-analysis. I’m begging you to channel your inner psychologist and therapize me.

• I’m tired. Bone tired. I’m getting enough sleep, I’m sure but still I’m tired.
• I’m cranky, almost angry and having a hard time hiding it. (I’m usually pretty good at deceiving the many and taking it out on the few.)
• I don’t want to do anything (and I have a LOT to do.)
• Mother’s Day is almost here. Perhaps, I’m subconsciously reacting because I miss my mom. I don’t want to be pampered. I want to run away. (oops, did I say that out loud?)
• I can’t remember if I felt this way last year. I can’t remember what I had for breakfast yesterday. I can’t remember to pick up my dry-cleaning. (They may have sold it) I can’t remember what I can’t remember.
• I’m whiny. Please pardon my statement of the obvious.

So……………….there you have it. I have more but I fear that if I continue to whine, complain, snark and grumble, you won’t come back again and to whom will I turn then?

Any suggestions?

I could shoot something but the gun range is temporarily closed due to some ridiculous zoning laws.

The emergency stash of dark chocolate m&ms isn’t working.

I could go to see the Disney Earth movie again. That was a smile maker.

I’m going for a coffee refill. With any luck, y’all will come up with a solution to the disaster that is me by the time I get back.

Geez, I hate being a biatch! And yet…………….I can’t help myself. ACK!