I'm back....for now.....

Well, right now, I'm back. For how long, I don't know. My schedule at work is changing to where I will be doing overnights until Christmas.

So anyhow.

I should talk about how my Thanksgiving meal went. It was pretty awesome. I mean some of it was pop in the microwave and cook, but it was that way because I had to work that day and I only had so much time to get it done.

Menu was:

• Roasted turkey (in the crockpot)
• Mashed potatoes
• Green bean casserole
• Mac and cheese
• Green beans (husband won't eat green bean casserole)
• Gravy
• Stuffing
• Apple Enchiladas - I HIGHLY recommend using fresh apples instead of the canned pie filling.
• Hot chocolate brownies
• King Hawaiian rolls

Everything came out really well. I was not fond of the mac and cheese. I have to do something next time I make it that way to make it taste cheesier. Oh, I know. Use a different cheese sauce or make it homemade.

My husband got a car for himself (finally). Now he can find a better job that Hardee's but I don't know if that's going to happen. He might become a general manager whether he wants it or not. Hopefully something will happen with one of these places he's applied before that happens.......

Him getting a car makes the finances a LOT tighter. Not a fan of that so close to Christmas with Miss Bug's first Christmas coming up, but it is what it is.

I need to get a blank cookbook so I can put recipes in it. I really don't want to use a computer to keep them. Things can happen to a computer, and I'm a little old fashioned when it comes to things like that. Sometimes, it's just better to have a cookbook done with paper and pen.

Oops....so much for doing blog planning

Yeah, oops. Haven't blogged in a month. To be quite honest. I haven't felt like it.

5 days after my last post, my granddad passed away. I haven't felt like doing much of anything. Couponing, anything. I'm getting by right now. My coupon notebook....yeah, it's a mess. HOT mess.

Just getting by.....yup....just getting by...

Possible changes to the blog

Yup, that's right. I've got a few ideas swirling around in my head about some new stuff I want to do to the blog. One of those changes might be a name change.

You see, I don't really talk about the "nerdy" stuff I do. I think I might have mentioned gaming once. (Actually, looking back, I haven't.) I think I found a good name for the blog, so I need to see if it's still available. I need to snag it if it is. If not, back to the drawing board.

I've found some really helpful blog planning printables that I'm now starting to use. Those pages will be going in my home management binder when I get it all set up. That's also a page that I need to set up so EVERYONE will have access to what I'm using (should you want to use them).

Currently, the printables I'm using are from Infarrantly Creative. They were the best ones I could find. I thought about using them a while back, but I decided to look around and see if I could find something else that I liked better. Nope, couldn't find anything else, so I chose them. :)

http://www.infarrantlycreative.net/2012/02/free-printable-blogplanner.html

Somehow, some other household stuff ended up on it, but it's whatever. So far, this is what mine looks like.

Sorry about the pictures being blurry. I took the pictures on my phone because it was the closest thing I had to me to take the pictures with. I really need to stop taking pictures with it because the picture quality isn't the best at times.

Wasn't going to post anything till later today, but......

Here I am. I was going to post something later today, but I'm up and I'm bored. Yea,bored even though I have some light picking up to to in the living room.

Anyhow, I have been obsessed with trying to find printables for home management. I have a feeling that I have found the one that I want. I just have to wait until she finishes her 31 Days of Home Management Printables series. I've already downloaded some of the ones that I know that I will use; I just have yet to print them and get them in the binder I want to use.

Traveling with Baby - Lessons Learned

Recently, I took a trip to Florida with Miss Bug, mainly to visit my dying granddad. It was a very emotional trip. I cried off and on the entire three days that we were there. I learned a few lessons about flying with a baby.

Of course the first person I packed for was Miss Bug. In fact, she was the only person I packed for because I still have a bunch of stuff at my dad's place. She had jarred food, extra diapers and wipes, clothes and a few toys in the suitcase. That was fine, although I took about 2 weeks worth of food and we were only there for 3 days.

Someone in the house (here in Alabama) packed her diaper bag, which I really had no intentions of taking on the plane with us. I only wanted to put the needed items in my backpack and put the bag itself in the suitcase. The only problem would have been the can of powdered formula that I took with us. I would have figured how to handle that because well......I would have done it. (LOL)

If you want to know why I brought the formula on the plane, I made her bottles of it for take off. My mother in law said that it would help with the popping of her ears during take off. It worked wonders!!!

Miss Bug flew remarkably well. She fell asleep while we were in the air. Fortunately on the flights down, she was calm enough to fall asleep on her own and let me get a little nap. (I had to be at work at 5 the morning that we left, so I was worn out.)

My husband talked me out of taking her stroller with us. Yeah, that's the last time that I listen to him about that, but he did have a very valid point about it. It would have been something else for me to keep up with, but I realized in Atlanta that I NEEDED it. I had her in my arms, her diaper bag, and my backpack. That's quite a bit of weight to carry through a very busy airport. I was a little achy after all of that because that's weight that I'm not used to carrying.

On the flight back, I had a stroller to use to carry her through the airport. It was a good thing too because the Charlotte airport is much bigger than I remember. (I flew out of there about 10 years ago.) That airport is crazy and I had a long walk. Apparently you aren't allowed to use the people movers with a stroller. Yeah, just like on the escalators. Should have expected that. Even though it would have helped me get where I was trying to go faster, I followed the rules and walked through the concourses to the next gate.

Miss Bug was super tired because she was out before we took off from Charlotte, but for some reason she did NOT want to sleep while we were in Florida. It took her forever to get to sleep, but once she was out, she was OUT. Slept the whole night through without problems. She let me snuggle her to sleep (a rare treat). Once we were home (in Alabama), she screamed and cried and refused to go to sleep. My husband was really concerned about her screaming and crying, so we took her to the ER. (They diagnosed her as being just as tired as mommy and nothing else was wrong with her.) Once we got her back into her normal routine, she was fine.

Okay so lessons learned about traveling with a baby:

• Pack the carry on bag as light as possible while carrying what you need. Next time, I will pack the carry on with just a few diapers, a blanket, a bottle/sippy cup, a travel case of wipes, some snacks and that's about it.
• Never listen to the husband about how to transport the baby through the airport. (Sorry, babe. Love you though.)
• Figure out some way to maintain a "normal" schedule/environment for Miss Bug when away from home. I think part of her not wanting to sleep was because Daddy wasn't there and she wasn't in HER bed. It was also a new, unfamiliar environment.

What's new?

I'm still working on getting that post about what I learned while traveling with an infant. (Kind of forgot about it until I looked at the blog.)

Other than that, I have recently started selling Avon products. I'm still learning the ropes with Avon. My mom sold it when I was younger and I think she did well with it. I don't really remember.

Oh, yeah. I need to post about my latest CVS and Walmart trips because those were pretty exciting for me. My friend Bekah posted something on her Facebook page about how she spent close to $82 on $500 worth of groceries. I wish I lived close enough to her so I could go with her and perfect my grocery couponing.

I found a really interesting recipe for an easy Mexican dip recipe from couponsavingsinthesouth.com. It looks so good. I can't wait until I get all of the ingredients to make it and try it.

I found some Fila Skele Toes on sale at one of the local shoe stores in town. I can't wait to pick them up and wear them. Now the thing is to find some for my husband that fit. The store had some for him, but they weren't in his size. :(

Okay, back to planning the posts that I want to post soon.

Upcoming post

I need to make a post about what I learned from traveling with an infant, and I need to do it soon. Right now because we are getting a new furry family member (today), I need to get my cat food coupons clipped and get the rest of my house ready for him.