Sweet Southern Belle

I’ll admit that before I married my dear husband I didn’t care much about getting a deal. I bought what I wanted, when I wanted it. Whether it was on sale or not had nothing to- do with me making the purchase. Now, my dear husband is like that about some things but for the most part he loves a deal. When making major purchases (like appliances and vehicles) he prefers to get what you want/need the first time instead of having to upgrade later. However, we still wait for things to be on sale to buy. We’ve been married a little over six years now and he’s slowly converted me over to being a deal seeker too. Actually, I get so excited to get a deal and save money now that it’s almost like a high.

The risk involved with being a deal seeker is in buying stuff you don’t really need just because it’s on sale. I admit that I’m sometimes guilty of that but I try to keep myself in check. This week I’ve gotten some particularly great deals! I got a large box of diapers (126- size 4 diapers, to be exact) for $12.00. The regular retail price is $27.50. Pampers and Huggies are changing their boxes to be more eco-friendly so they have slashed their diapers in old boxes to get them off the shelves. The store had the boxes on sale for $14.00 and I had a $2.00 off coupon! I was so excited in the store I just kept telling the clerk what a great deal it was and how excited I was. I’m sure she just wanted me to hush!

And, today a friend called me to alert me of great 40-75% off sale at Dillard’s. She told me there were some dresses that “looked just like Little Belle”. It just so happened that I had just dropped Little Belle off at Mom’s Morning Out for a few hours and stopping by Dillard’s sounded much more fun than coming home to clean, since that’s what I had planned . I decided to run by there and chec out the sales. I bought myself a few things that I needed for very low prices and then I bought Little Belle a few dresses that were regularly priced at $55.00 for $8.00. Now, anyone that has seen Little Belle knows that I did not “need” to buy her these dresses since her GiGi buys her lots of clothes that keep her dressed like a princess, but I just couldn’t pass up the deal. The dresses are darling and I bought them in sizes that she can wear next year. I guess the dresses fall into the just buying them because they were on sale category but I suppose there are much worse things I could waste $24.00 on than dresses for Little Belle.

As I’ve said in many posts I’m really trying to make my lifestyle one that respects the beautiful earth we’ve been given. I’ve made lots of strides in the last 6 months or so but I’m still moving forward . My latest “green” endeavor is my clothes washing and drying. My washing machine went out and we had to purchase a new one so we decided to go with a energy efficient front loader. And, let me add that it’s awesome!!!!!!!!!!! The clothes have no excess water and they aren’t full of lint and hair like the old washer had a tendency to do. It also doesn’t have an agitator so no heavy clothes or towels get it off balance. And, best of all it should help conserve power which is good for the earth and our bank account.

The same week that the washer went out I noticed that my dryer wasn’t drying well. It was taking several times to get a load of clothes dry I thought it was just because the washer wasn’t spinning the clothes out. It turns out it was the dryer. Even with the new washer the clothes dryer is taking forever to dry a load of clothes. So we talked about and looked at a few new dryers and I suggested to my dear husband that we get a clothes line. I anticipated him shooting my idea down since the last time I mentioned this he just raised his eyebrows. Much to my surprise he agreed to give a try, at least temporarily! The one way to get my dear husband to agree to anything is to convince him it will save money. He loves to save money. I think even if we were millionaires he would save every penny he could. And, I should add that I’m very thankful for that trait since it’s kept us out of debt and allows me to stay at home with Little Belle!

It’s a bit more time consuming to hang them out but I really love the way the clothes smell after drying outside! And with this heat it isn’t taking but 10-15 mins to get a load dry. That’s much more efficient than even the best dryer! It’s also very nostalgic for me when Little Belle helps since I remember helping my mama hang clothes too. Little Belle’s been very sick and not enjoying much, but yesterday she had a blast handing me the clothes pins as I hung up the clothes.

When it comes to most things in life I’m a great Indian but I’m almost never a Chief. It’s just not my nature and I’m ok with that. I love to help and be apart of most groups but I don’t like being in charge. This week was my church’s Vacation Bible School and I taught the 3- year- old class. Many months ago when people began volunteering for various positions I told the director (who happened to be one of my best friends) that I would be happy to help with anything she needed. My only stipulation was that I didn’t want to teach a class or be in-charge of a project. I simply wanted to assist someone else. As the months passed I learned through several conversions with Monica that she still needed preschool teachers. After several reminders that I would be happy to be the assistant in any class I began to feel that maybe I should volunteer to teach a class. I finally told Monica that I was completely unqualified but would be willing to teach the 3- year- old class. I went on to tell her that I had never taught little ones. I was just sure that she would say, “oh no, I have a perfect spot for you to help somewhere else.” I was especially sure of this since her child would be in the class. Surely she wouldn’t want someone as ill prepared as me to teach her child?!?! Well, low and behold I was wrong. Monica said, “Great, I’ll put you down”.

After that I spent weeks fretting over just the right games to play and how to tell the bible stories in ways that they would understand. I also recruited the help of my mother for decorations and age appropriate activities since she taught little ones for many years.

I am happy to report that the week went very well and I enjoyed teaching the little ones a great deal. I’ll admit the being in-charge part (meaning…being responsible for everyone’s well being and planning) still isn’t my favorite but I loved getting to be with the 3-year-olds. They are so spongy. They just absorb everything you say. I was amazed each day that the little ones could tell me the main idea of the bible story we read the day before. This is such a fun age because everything you do is sooo cool! They were so excited with each new craft, song and story. And, at that age they still love to give hugs and kisses. My dear friend Queen Kelley’s little one, Butterfly, gave me several hugs and kisses each night. Moments like that are priceless!

God took me out of my comfort zone and with his help I was able to-do something that seemed overwhelming at first thought. And, like all things God is a part of, I was richly blessed by the experience.

Sorry for the delay in my posting. Life has been like a whirlwind here the past week. My church had a new pastor come for the weekend and we have Vacation Bible School every night this week. I’m teaching the 3 & 4 year olds and having fun! However, we aren’t getting home until at least 9:00 so we have to hurry to get Little Belle in bed. Then I’ve been crashing. Kudos to those of you who teach full time because I’m beat after a few hours with these little ones!  I hope to be back to regular posting soon!  

For some time now I’ve wanted to start making homemade bread for both health and economic reasons. Homemade bread can be made for a little less than $1.00 per loaf while store bought bread is $3.00-$4.00 per loaf.

I love to bake deserts so I thought I would try my hand at baking bread. Yesterday I made my first loaf and it turned out well. I decided to give it a try since I’m visiting my mom and I knew I would have her expertise to help me. My mom made all our bread when I was young. The process wasn’t as hard as I anticipated. It actually wasn’t hard at all, just time consuming. It took about 3 ½ hours to make the loaf, although the entire time was not consumed. You have to mix ingredients and let it rise and repeat the process several times before it can be baked. So, it was easy to-do other stuff while the bread was rising. I made a basic white bread recipe but I think I’ll try whole grain bread this week.

My dear husband and I are now the proud owners of a Moped! We found a great deal on a used 2008 model that gets 110 miles per gallon! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!! We bought it right before my dear husband left to go out of town so when he returns we’re off to buy helmets. I think I’m going to get a hot pink one!  My dear husband will be driving it to and from work most days and I’ll drive it around town when I don’t have Little Belle in tow. I look forward to all the money we’re going to save!

 Don’t we look super cool on our new bike!?!?!?!?!?  And, as you can see Little Belle did not like me on the bike.

My dear husband is in Ecuador on a mission trip. If you want daily reports check out his blog. While he’s out of town Little Belle and I are at my mom’s house visiting family and having fun!

My friend Kelly’s new post got me thinking about the economy, particularly as it relates to rising fuel costs. It’s kind of scary to me that the price of fuel continues to rise. I’ve “heard” that the prices are projected to peak around 7 bucks a gallon sometime next year. I’ve always driven a small sedan so gas prices have never been a great concern of mine until recently.  Only a few years ago I knew I was on empty when it took close to thirty dollars to fill up my Honda. Now, I’m grateful to stay close to 50 bucks a tank. And, to show my age I also remember when I turned 16 it took me 17 to 18 bucks to fill up my car. My dear husband drives a small truck that gets decent gas millage, but it’s taking him closer to 70 bucks to fill up. It just seems crazy, yet we keep driving!?!

Until now we’ve not made drastic changes in our lifestyle because of fuel costs but we will soon have to if we plan to continue eating. I’ve decided that Little Belle and I will only get out two or three times a week instead of daily. My dear husband is seriously considering getting a Moped to drive to and from work. We’ve been shopping around and they get anywhere from 70-120 miles per gallon. Even if he only drove it 40 % of the time it would save us a ton of money! We looked at one today and I have to say it looked kind of fun! I may have to take it for a spin every now and then if we make the purchase.

I really don’t know enough about the politics of this crisis to know what could be done but it seems there should be something. Maybe they will soon develop new ways to fuel cars. I sure hope so since I know we aren’t the only ones feeling the crunch.

My friend Anna Beth has joined the group of Mt. Zion bloggers. Check out the pre-wife’s new blog!!!!

Like most Saturday mornings my dear husband, Little Belle and I ventured out to Target and the grocery store. We first went to Target to get Method Cleaning Products. However, instead of heading straight to Kroger we headed to a local college to feed ducks and then to a local market. Little Belle loved feeding the ducks a ½ loaf of bread. She has quacked since we left the pound.Then we headed to another area of the college for the local market. The market had lots of fresh produce, homemade bread and goodies. It also had some yummy homemade peach ice-cream that we all shared. I bought a few veggies and then we headed to Kroger. We shopped for and purchased our “big” weekly groceries and are now home to put them away. I can’t seem to stay out of Kroger. It seems that I spend a great deal of time and money there each month.

The afternoon will likely prove to not be as much fun since I know it will include mopping the kitchen and cleaning a bathroom. However, I’m thankful to have spent my Saturday morning having fun with my family.