Sunday Savings!

I have not had a marathon shopping event for quite some time. This felt good. $22.66 for everything pictured and I got back a $10.00 Register Reward at Walgreens. The canned vegetables are normally .80 cents a can at Dollar General, but were on sale for .45 each. Lucky me that I had a bunch of coupons for a dollar off of three cans, making them .12 cents a can. I have not bought canned vegetables since the Del Monte deal at Target one year ago. (They were 20 cents a can, so I beat that deal!)

Remember, I can afford to spend $22.00 on these items without buying meat, etc., because of my stockpile.

Soup's on!

I love this time of year. I love everything about fall. I love how the leaves change and I even love watching them in their free fall to the ground. I think it is so cool that God decided to give us that last burst of color before putting everything to sleep for the winter. He could have just let them drop as they were.

Tonight I made a big pot of cheesy potato soup. Actually my potato soup is so much more. It has onions, celery, carrots, and potatoes, all simmered in a rich chicken broth, and then loaded with yummy cheese. It smelled so good as it simmered away in the kitchen. I lit a few candles, then turned on the furnace for the first time. Such a cozy evening. I was even lucky enough to get to see our oldest son briefly tonight, as he and his friends are on their way to Florida for a few days. Our house was the meeting place for some of them along the way.

Tonight the temps here will drop below freezing. Tomorrow the warm coat will come out along with gloves for sure. Unfortunately, at some point tomorrow I will probably complain about the cold, but I really do love it right now.

Permed!

What we will do for the sake of beauty!

Recently I decided to get a perm in my somewhat long poker straight gray/white/brown hair. (No, it is not striped) The hair is still brown is underneath for some reason, and the rest is a mixture of pure white and gray. You have seen my pictures.

Well, my poker straight hair seems to have a mind of its own. The first perm was less than 2 weeks ago, and last night I underwent the procedure again. I have an amazing hairdresser who wants to see me happy, so she worked late to help insure that I like my locks.

I had not had a perm for about 17 years, and my hair color has changed drastically in those years. This was uncharted territory for me, and for my hairdresser, who had no idea how it would take.

Well...the thing is, I must have pretty resistant hair because, it still is not curly in some places, and very curly in others. The brown underneath hair curled like it was 1993 and had tight ringlets, other areas have a wave.

I will post new pictures soon, but now I need to go and perfect my style for the day. Wish me luck.

Contest is now closed / Winner has been notified!

Don't these two meals look yummy? I LOVE orange chicken! For years I would have it in a restaurant and wish that I could make it at home. My son and I tried once, and it was okay, but not very easy. Now that Wanchai Ferry makes one in this handy kit I can have it anytime I want.

Sometimes my husband and I want something different to eat, but really want a quiet evening at home. These meals are perfect for a "Stay in and go all out night". A yummy dinner plus a movie are what we are all about.

I was fortunate to receive these two meals courtesy of Macaroni Grill and Wanchai Ferry through MyBlogSpark. I was also given a gift card to use for anything else I needed to make the dinner or date night special.

Good news! I am able to give away the same gift to one of my readers. One of you will receive both the Macaroni Grill kit, and the Wanchai Ferry kit, along with a $25.00 pre-paid VISA gift card. Create your own date night at home and enjoy a delicious dinner with little work.

Here is how to enter: Tell me where you and your spouse went for your first date. Our first date was a college winter banquet. The picture is at the bottom of my blog. We looked pretty good together for a first date, huh? I wish he had kept that jacket though, because I am sure it will come back in style...

Post a comment to this post telling me about you and your spouse's first date. On Monday, Nov. 1st I will select one winner through Random.org Be sure to include your email address so I can contact you.

Here's to Birthdays

I have not been around here for a while, and the thing is, I really like doing this. I just get caught up with other stuff and then I forget about this little project of mine.

I do want to talk tonight about my birthday. On Friday I turned 54. For some odd reason that sounds so much older than 53. I think it is because I couldn't wait to turn 53. Some of you know of that shadow that was hanging over me for my entire 52nd year. My oldest brother passed away at that age, and I just wanted to prove that 52 was much too young for that. I could not let that happen to me, especially after my health problems the previous year. So I longed to be 53. It was a celebration in and of itself.

So now, even if 54 sounds "much" older, I was pretty happy to be having another birthday. In the weeks preceding this day, I would see the short spots on TV from the American Cancer Society where a guy with a guitar is singing a slow rendition of the Happy Birthday song. Its intention was to celebrate birthdays in general for cancer survivors. I decided a few weeks ago that he was singing to me personally and thought it was quite thoughtful of them. Okay, so maybe he was not really, but it is one of those commercials that take on a very special meaning to those that relate to it.

It is a sweet celebration really, just to be having another birthday. I just cannot take them for granted any more. I know we all complain sometime about getting older, and I know that everyday I have a new ailment, but I should not complain about anything really.

What a blessed woman I am. I celebrated on Friday with my family, showered with gifts, enjoying a dinner out and feeling so very loved.

Here's to birthdays.

My name is Anita, and I am a terrible blogger

I want to blog more often. I just have lacked creativity.

I will be back. For those of you that know me, I will probably post something on Facebook when I return full force.