It’s the end of another week. Time is flying by and you know what? I actually feel like I’m filling mine up with valuable things. This is the first year in a long time where I am really “seizing the day” and taking advantage of every opportunity. I’ve done things I never would have thought I’d do and it’s been great! Here are the various things going on in my life or occupying my mind lately.

1. One of the “bucket list” items I was able to cross off this week was going to a real life fashion show. My good friend Stacey was a model in the Cancer Survivor Night of Omaha Fashion Week and I went to support her.

It was neat to see so many cancer survivors walking the runway and showing their stuff! I was really proud of Stacey too – she did awesome!

(source: Shelley)

Another perk? VIP goodie bags!

Ok, I was not a VIP. But there were a few bags left lying around so I stole picked one up… Here’s the loot!

Some samples of beauty products…

Some coupons and gourmet dog treats…

Notice there are 5 bags of dog treats. I did not have all 5 of those in my bag. None of the friends with me own a dog so they all donated their gourmet goodies to Samson.

He scored big man.

Oh, and there were cute little cupcakes too!

I took this picture in my car, 2.5 seconds before I shoved this whole thing in my mouth.

2. Another fun thing I did this week was make my own “glass art”. Some gals from work were getting together to do it and had an extra slot so I gladly tagged along.

Here’s the gang.

No I didn’t make that lovely pumpkin I’m holding. We just grabbed random stuff for the picture.

This is what I made.

That’s what it looks like before being fired anyway. We’ll get the cooked and final piece back in about a week so I’ll post another pic then. I was going for a sunset scene ala Frank Lloyd Wright (you know, the guy who wrote “Phantom of the Opera”…or at least that’s what one of the gals thought (ehem, Nicki)). I hope it turns out!

3. If your office is like mine, people bring in food all the time. Either left over goodies that they don’t want around their house or perhaps a splurge they wanted to share with their co-workers. The gesture is nice and the goodies are appreciated but it can also get to be a bit much.

One of the very forward thinking gals in our pod figured out one way to stop the food drops: puzzles.

If there is a 750 piece puzzle on the table, no one can put food there, right?

Little did she know she was creating monsters. We all know I’m competitive and obsessive at times (wonder if that’s where Samson gets it from…?) so when the challenge of a puzzle was presented, I dove right in. There were a few of us that became hooked pretty quickly and this bad boy was completed in less than a week.

Here’s a closer shot.

 

It worked though! No food was brought over to our area! There was still food in other areas but most of the time I didn’t know it was around so I didn’t get the urge to eat it! Genius!

Next week we take on a 1000 piece puzzle!

4. Moving Isabella to a toddler bed may happen sooner than we originally thought. Yesterday CJ put her in time out, up in her crib. She managed to climb out, open the gate at the top of the steps, climb down, open the gate at the bottom and walk on in to the kitchen. Guess the cage crib isn’t going to hold her any longer. Toddler bed, here we come!

5. I’ve been trying to figure out little, easy ways to save money here and there and have come up with some good ones. Here’s what I’m doing.

• Most of us use way more water than necessary. For example, when washing clothes, the water only needs to barely cover the clothes in the drum. Any more is wasted. So I’ve started setting the size to one less than I normally would. I also change the time to a shorter period. The clothes still get clean but with less water used.
• We’ve started splitting meals when we go out to eat. Most of the time Isabella and I can share and still have plenty to go around. Saves money and eliminates food waste.
• I’ve also started using up all the little travel sized toiletries we have lying around. I actually have a whole drawer dedicated to them in the closet:

We used to travel a lot and it’s like a cardinal rule that you have to take the little toiletries from the hotel when you leave right? But then we never use them.

Well that ends now! I literally have enough tiny toothpaste tubes to last me for the rest of the year. Plus shampoos and conditioners and lotion. And of course shower caps!

At first I was hesitant because my non-existent limp hair needs volumizing products and most of the hotel stuff is for dry hair.  But then I realized that as long as ONE of my products was volumizing, the rest didn’t have to be. So, if I use a “good” shampoo, the conditioner can be a sample and I’ll still look ok! Cha-ching!

 

Well, that’s about it. My mind is emptied and I’m ready for bed. Or a glass of wine. Whichever…

Have a great weekend!