First Attempt

So, I'm attempting this whole Penny Pinching thing and I have

learned some great things from "The Obsessive Shopper"...and I finally was able to go out and give it a try. So, here is my win from my first attempt at pinching my pennies. You pro's out there won't think this is a huge success.....but for my first try, I'll take it!

Out of pocket: $110

Saved: $68

My New Discovery

So, I'm in the shower this morning.....

Shaving my legs.........

And I discover something. Something I've never noticed before......

"Doest my eyes deceive me??? Could it be????"

A calve muscle!!!!

Good friend, it's been a long time since I've seen you! Welcome back!

Feeling Frumpy

So, here's the deal! I have never been one of those size 2 girls that always looks in the mirror and says "Oh, I'm so fat!", but I've also never been one of those girls that really ever had to worry about my weight before....until now! You know, you give a kid room and board for 9 months and they just make a wreck of the place (Thanks a lot Simon!!). So, ever since Simon was born I've been struggling with my own self image. I shall call this term "frumpy". You know, when you go through your entire wardrobe and nothing looks good, you settle for a comfy pair of "jammy-pants" and t-shirt. So, yes....somedays I feel like this:

But, I really really really really want to feel like this:

So, I'm finally going to do something about it! Hopefully by posting this you can all keep me focused! So, I'm on day 2 (baby steps) of no soda and I've started running a couple nights a week (very late at night when no one can see how slow and out of shape I am). I also started working out in my basement to this incredibly awesome dvd. I know, some of you say "why don't you just go to the gym?". Lets be honest here. You know on a workout dvd how they have that one person that is demonstrating how to do the "handicap/elderly" level?? You know, instead of full leg kicks, they show you small toe taps? Ya, that level kicks my ass! So there is no way I'm going to embarrass myself like that in a gym. Plus, I have recently discovered in the confines of my own basement that I uh....well....um....lets just say I focus so hard on some muscles that I completly forget about other muscles.....

So, you see why it's a better decision for me to workout at home! :) Did I really just share that? Um, yes I did! Anyway, so this new DVD is amazing and if you want a great work out you should check it out!

It's called "The Biggest Loser/ Cardio Max". The thing I love the most about it is there aren't a bunch of ridiculously skinny girls doing the workouts! They are bigger, out of shape people that are just in the same boat as me and I feel better about myself (and more motivated!). So, wish me luck in my journey to a better self image! If you see me drinking a soda please throw it away for me! :)

Twilight

OK.....I finally saw Twilight! Thank you Cody for taking me out on a date....he's still regretting the movie decision! :) Since I'm sure I'm the last person on earth to see it here is my review!

I absolutly loved it! Of course as with everything else, the book is so much better! I like my own interpretation of the characters and the scenery better than the movies portrayal. I thought Bella was perfect! Just as I imagined! I really hated who they picked for Edward....at first. But I will say by the end of the movie I was so in love with him! I thought Alice was perfect, but Carlisle was nothing like I pictured and Charlie was so different too! Jacob also was nothing like I pictured but I liked him. The movie had some seriously corny parts, but it surprisingly fit perfectly with the book! I mean really, how do you make someones skin sparkle without looking corny! And the whole runny really fast got quite a few eye rolls from Cody. But I was smiling like a little 14 year old through out the entire film and I am dying to see it again already! I guess the plus side to waiting so long to see it is now I don't have to wait too long before it's out on DVD. It is a must buy for me! Let me know what you thought of the movie!

"DisneyDan" as Simon calls it!

Preface: If your not interested in seeing all these pics and reading this unbelievably long post, but you are interested in the "Penny Pinching" party that we are going to have please skip to the next post and leave me your email address so I can send you an invitation!

OK....so seriously I have a ridiculous amount of pictures on here! So many in fact that I just got denied by my own computer to put anymore on this post! Crazy right? But if you know me, you know that I am always taking pics!!! I believe my grand total from this Disneyland trip was 1,098 pictures!! Don't tease me! I get enough crap from my family!

Like Hayley, I use this blog as a scrapbook/journal so this post is more for me and my family....so feel free to skip ahead.

Here we go.....so, we were able to go to Disneyland with Cody's family for a week and it was absolutly amazing!! I was worried that Simon was still a little too young and wouldn't really get the whole "magicalness" (yes, I think I made up that word) of Disneyland. I was wrong. Although he maintained a pretty "stoic" face through everything I believe it was simply because he was just taking it all in! He even went on more rides than I thought he would. I think his favorite part of the whole trip was meeting all the characters. Don't worry...I didn't post all those pics. The cinnimon rolls and poppy seed muffins every morning for breakfast is probably a close second for him! :) Warning...these pics are in a pretty random order, so just bare with me!

This is the new "Finding Nemo" ride. A personal favorite for me. It was fun to sit between Simon and Brielle (cousin) cause they totally loved it!

Sienna developed a little "crush" on Trayson I think. Doesn't she just look "flirty"? Trayson is such a good cousin....he is always looking out for everyone!
I totally enjoyed seeing Disneyland through the eyes of the kids! Such fun memories!


The girls all went to meet all the princesses. They were lucky enough to be able to meet all 6 of them. I wish I could have seen Ady and Sienna's faces cause they are soooo into the princess thing! In fact one of the days there Ady wore her princess dress and another little girl passed by her and just stared cause she thought Ady was one of the real princesses there! Priceless! Hayley....your a beautiful princess too! :)

OK, OK...I know I said I wasn't going to post any character pics on here....but I love this pic! And Goofy was one of Simons favorite characters to meet! He was so funny and gave every character "knuckles". So fun!

This is one of our first nights making the long, long, long trek back to our Hotel (OK, it was just across the street from the park, but after walking around the park all day it seemed really far away!). We were all so stinking tired but sweet little Sienna still had a little skip in her step and kept us all laughing!

Cody and Breje. I cannot believe how grown up Breje is! It was great to see that she isn't too grown up for some Mickey ears and a quick pic with her Uncle Cody!

I'm always good for a kiss from Simon! He just melts my heart!

I was amazed by Travis on this trip. We will never know if he actually felt good or not cause he never once complained and it was so fun to see that this whole week was 100% for his girls! He made sure that they did everything they wanted to (with a few exceptions due to height restrictions,) and made sure they were always smiling! And lets be honest, when they smile- we all smile! It made me smile that during our last night while we were all waiting for Fantasmic to start he had to hurry and take Sienna on "one last ride". It was so cute! Every day he made time to dance with one of the girls and it was just amazing. Trav....we sure do love you!

After only one ride with Simon on something that goes in circles Cody called it quits for those kinds of rides and I immediatly got volunteerd (sp). I loved it though and Simon just grinned and grinned. Yes, I walked off the rides a bit dizzy at times....but it was worth it! This is me and Simon on Dumbo.

Simon loved the carousels! I was a little nervous that he would hate them since he wanted nothing to do with the carousel at Hogle Zoo....but he loved it!

This picture cracks me up and in my opinion should be a commercial for Disneyland. Ady in her princess dress and Mickey ears, holding hands with her mom and dad. And no, Sienna didn't get left behind....she is in the stroller in front of Travis.

The whole gang of cousins (plus Grandpa Mike) all sporting their Mickey ears and autograph books! Thanks Grandma Linda for spoiling the kids (and adults) so much!!

Trayson is another one that is just getting so grown up! Now tell me he doesn't pull off the "celebrity" look! What a little heartbreaker!

Heather wins the title as "Aunt Teacup" (Cody doned the title of "Uncle Teacup" after our trip a couple years ago with the Downs family) since she was a good sport and took all the kids on the Teacups. Thank you Heather! Simon loved it, and there is noooo waaaayyyy I would have made that ride without puking!

Buzz Lightyear was another of Simons favorite rides. Shocker since it involves shooting things (did you catch the sarcasm there?).

The big man himself! Mickey was actually one of the first characters Simon met....so I don't think he really knew what to think.

We had such beautiful weather the entire time we were there! It was so nice and we even got a little sunburnt.

Such cute kids! One of the few moments that Simon wasn't hitting or hugging someone!

I will say that the hardest part of course was the "traveling" portion of the trip. With 7 kids all under the age of 12 my anxiety level was raised! Trying to make sure none of the kids ran into the very busy street or making sure that none of the kids got lost or stolen for that matter was enough to make me a little grouchy. But we all made it home in one piece....so mission accomplished! Now that I think about it Mike was the only one that ever got "lost". Go figure! This pic is of all of us outside of LAX waiting for our bus (I warned you these were out of order).

Simons first ride on a plane was a success! No pukes or poops- victory! He cracked me up when he pulled out the SkyMall magazine and was all grown up looking at it! What a funny kid!

And here's a few pics of us all at the airport. It amazes me how much like brothers Simon and Kutter look!

All in all it was a fantastic vacation! We walked our guts out (averaging 10 miles a day) and ate many a churro! The kids enjoyed swimming in the pool a couple nights and my legs enjoyed the jacuzzi as well! Fantasmic was amazing and I was able to actually enjoy it this time (long story!) and I even teared up a little watching Ady and Sienna enjoy the magic of Fantasmic. I surprised myself and Linda by going on a few rides that I normally wouldn't have done. Splash Mountain was definatly not my idea of fun, but I loved watching Ady be brave and put her cute little hands up on the Rocky Mountain Roller Coaster, and I heard her giggle on Space Mountain (surprisingly I heard her giggles over my own giggles), and I giggled so hard on Indiana Jones that I thought I would pee my pants! I loved that ride! Thank you everyone for such a fun vacation! One that we all will remember for a lifetime!

Consider Yourself Invited!

OK....I haven't been to great at updating my blog lately! Be careful what you wish for though, cause I have an insane amount of pictures from Disneyland that I will try to post tomorrow. Anyway, I wanted to throw out an invitation to anyone that is interested for our "Pinching Pennies Party" that we are going to have. It will be Saturday, March 21st, at 2:00pm at my mom's house. Leave a comment on this post with your email address if you want details and an official invitation!