To Write Love on Her Arms

November 13, 2009 is "To Write Love On Her Arms" day.

Have you joined the group on Facebook?

Are you willing to write the word LOVE on your arms today?

To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.

TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

To Write Love On Her Arms Day is a day where anyone can write the word "love" on their arms in support of those who are fighting against depression & those who are in recovery.

Today, just write "love" on your arms.

Show it off.

When others ask why you've written on your arms, tell them about this event.

WHAT WILL THIS ACHIEVE??

This simple action will remind others that there are people suffering, many in silence. For those suffering, it will remind them that they are loved, and that people care about their struggle.

There were over 500,000 people who participated last year. We're aiming for 1 million this year.

What if I stumble?

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today
is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle.
That is what an unbelievable world simply finds unbelievable."
( I don't know where this quote originally came from.
Different sources attribute it to different people. Makes no difference
to me. It's still a good one. )

What If I Stumble - DC TALK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg6HedZ4xGs&feature=related

My blog just went green.

There. That was easy.

Now I'm wondering what all the fuss is about.

I'm just saying.

** ** ** ** (It IS easy being green, KERMIE.) ***

Found a new site SUNDAY COUPON PREVIEW

(TITLE LINE OF THIS POST IS A LINK!)

This is the easiest to read, easiest to access list of upcoming Sunday coupons I've found online.
Keep in mind your Sunday insert may be slightly different than what is listed here, but you should have a good idea from looking at this list if you are at all interested in buying extra
copies of the newspaper on a given week.

Filing Coupon Inserts - NEW (to me) SECRET STEP

First, I must say that
my mother-in-law, the

*ONE * AND * ONLY, * THE ORIGINAL, *

** MRS. AMAZING **

Really is amazing.

She clips my coupons for me.
Close your mouth. Quit staring.
She totally rocks.
And she's mine, so step off.

But I've been getting 4 newspapers myself lately.
Mrs. A clips the coupons that come in her paper,
and I file those in my coupon box.

Then I take the WHOLE inserts from the 4 newspapers I get
and I mark the front of each with the date and source,
like so:

8/2 RP = August 2 , Red Plum
8/2 SS = August 2, Smart Source
7/16 PG = July 16, Procter & Gamble

(Yes, smarty pants, it does already say
SmartSource, Red Plum, etc. across the top of the insert.
But when I'm in a hurry searching for coupons,
my simple mind and my failing eyes
are trained to look for 8/2 RP or 8/2 SS.
So... well... that's why.)

THEN, I do a quick glance through the inserts.
If there's a product I know I'm likely to use no matter what,
I will cut all of that coupon from my inserts.

If it's a product that I don't know if I will use or not, but
wouldn't pass up if it were free or very cheap, I will cut out
one or two.

My inserts get filed by date. All the inserts from a given
date will be in a file together.

Then, when I see something in a sales ad and want
to know if there's a coupon for it, I go to a coupon
database like the one on Hot Coupon World http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/coupon.php
(accessing the whole database requires registering, but
it's not painful).

There's a sad part of this story.
The database is not infallible.
:>( Can you even believe it?
Different areas of the country get different coupons.
It's a fact of coupon life.

The database might say there's a coupon
for hemorrhoid cream in 7/16 SS, but it might not be
in mine.
( Hemorrhoid cream... he he he... now you're all
wishing you had that coupon, aren't ya?
For the record, I made that up.
It was fun to type "hemorrhoid cream".
Easily, I amuse.)

Remember how I said I'll cut one or two coupons
for items I wouldn't want to pass up if they were free
or cheap?

What if I'm in the store and I see one of those items
at a great price, but you have to buy more than one
to get the deal, or I'd like to stock up, but I don't have
the coupons in my file box?

This happened to me a few times before I started doing
this new step that has already saved me tons of time
when I'm actually in the store.

I will now reveal THE NEW(to me) SECRET STEP
which works for me, but may not for you, and you're still ok,
and I'm still ok, and it's all ok, but ANYWAY...

Before I file the cut coupons in my coupon box, I mark
the back of each coupon with the date and insert info.
That way, when I have one of a certain coupon but think
maybe I have more that I didn't cut, I can pull out my insert
file right there in the store (Yes, I often carry it, because OCD
keeps me from leaving it at home.) and retrieve the additional copies
of the coupon.

This is also good when I'm at home searching the coupon database
and I see that coupons for a certain product have been in more
than one recent insert. I can look at the backs of the coupons I
have cut to see if I have all the coups from all the dates. Maybe
I've cut all the 6/28 coupons but not the 8/2 coupons. I know
right where to look, because I have implemented the
NEW (to me) SECRET STEP!

CALLING ALL COUPON FEARERS!!!

This isn't a coupon blog. But it's mine. And I'm talkin'
about coupons right now.

I talk to people all the time who are totally intimdated by
coupons. They wonder aloud just HOW coupon people do what
they do. It overwhems them.

So here's a nice slow start for you.

If there's a Jewel-Osco (or any store that has Bic pens on sale,
but Jewel is my example, so HUSH!) near you
and you have a working printer, get yourself
over to http://www.coupons.com/ and print the coupon for

$1.00 off any 2 Bic stationery products.

It may require you to download a coupon printer. I assure you,
this is no big deal. Just do it. :>)

If you print no other coupons, go print that Bic coupon. When it
has printed, click the BACK tab at the top of your screen.
You might need to click it more than once, but you are backing up
to the point where it will print the coupon again.

It will only print two of them.

(Also good to know if you share a computer with someone
who might have already printed them.)

Now, take those two Bic coupons over to your local Jewel-Osco.

(Don't argue. I'm tryin' to get you some free pens,
so work with me here.)

Jewel has packages of Bic pens on sale 2 for $1.00 this week.
If you use these coupons, you will get 4 packs of pens for free.

The mechanical pencils are $1.00 each, so buying 2 of those
with the $1.00 off coupon gets you what???
Anyone? Beuller? (Paying respects...RIP, John Hughes.)

Right. It gets you 2 packs of mechanical pencils for $1.00.

If you've decided to use your coupon on just free pens, I'd
like to encourage you at this point
to choose one other small item to buy
so that your total is not ZERO. They hate that. And it could
create a hole in the time-space continuum. So don't do it.
You're new. I'm not sure you could handle it.
(Oh, how I slay me! )


Maybe you'd like another pack of pens for that last item.
5 packs of pens for 50 cents plus tax is not a bad deal, you know.
Or a pack of gum??

WAIT A MINUTE! What did you just say?
You don't NEED 5 packs of pens?
Tell me you didn't just say that.

Off the top of my head, without even trying, I can think of
several people/ organizations who would simply love it if I
were to hand them a pack of free pens.

- college student
- charity that accepts school supply donations
- struggling small business
- school nurse
- charity that has office supplies as an expense
- families buying school supp. for multiple kids
- church office
- bank and grocery store (as replacement
for all those pens I've accidentally stuck in my purse
over the years- ok, I'm kidding about this one.)


There are many deals to be had at Jewel this week, but just
try this one on first. See how it feels.

If you don't implode, if the sky doesn't fall,
if there's no major catastrophe as a result of your
using two coupons, maybe you should try
buying 5 cartons of the Breyer's ice cream
that's on sale 2 for $6 until Aug. 12th.

Something wonderful may happen.
But I don't want to spoil your surprise.
Or get your hopes up.

Go ahead, try it.
Then come tell me what happens.

Playing With Children Can Be Hazardous To Your Head!

It was a lovely day.
Moto K, Queen B, and I headed over to the park.

A quick game of catch, that's all it was.

Queen B played happily nearby.

My plan was to catch that ball in my mitt,
but it was not to be.

In case you're wondering,
there's an itty-bitty-bit
of a knot
on my forehead
still today.

That was 2 1/2 weeks ago.

It took a full 2 weeks for my gorgeous
black eyes to go away.

Isn't that special?

Now, get outside.

Play with your children.

Toss a ball around.

Wear a helmet.

Me? No, I'm fine here in the shade.

Really. Go on without me.

Does this frighten you?

It frightens me.

I'm just sayin'.

I *DO* miss you all so much, but ....

...but... life gets so demanding.

Yesterday I performed an ingrowntoenailectomy.
I'm not sure it was a success. This may require a
specialist, and about this matter I am miffed.

I recently vacuumed vomited hot dogs from my very
light carpet.
"Blotting", as the manufacturer suggests, just wouldn't
do the trick.
I won't drag you through the details of the hazardous waste
cleanup, but the area where the hotdog vomit once was is
now completely clean.

I then disassembled the Dyson and scoured
every washable part of the Dyson.

This required fabricating a contraption that would keep
17 feet of hose extended (without creases, where moisture
would sit and e-mold-ulate) until the drying was complete -
allowing an extra 3 days to be REALLY REALLY sure it was dry.

See? Busy.
But I still love you.
Really, I do.

I ' VE B E E N I N C O G N I T O

Which is, of course, a complete lie.

I don't even know where C O G N I T O is!

I have no excuses, other than life, for not blogging.

Though it was almost 2 weeks ago, I have to tell you
about this...

My children went trick-or-treating on halloween with
Mr. Amazing.

*I* was* ill. Feverish. Unable to go. Missed out.
This would have been my first year to make the rounds
with them instead of staying home and passing out candy.

Due to my untimely illness, Mr. Amazing was forced to play
Wicked Stepmother to Queen Bee's Cinderella.

We couldn't just completely bail on a Wicked Stepmother gig.
Not when QB was soooo counting on it.

He did a fabulous job. Wore the wig AND the dress.
Have you ever seen a Wicked Stepmother with a mustache?

Odds are, SOME of you have.

Much to Queen Bee's chagrin, we never did find anyone to play
Anastasia and Drizella, the Ugly Stepsisters.

Not that QB didn't try.
For weeks before halloween, she would ask people
(with great enthusiasm):

"How would YOU like to be my Ugly Stepsister?!?!"

Alas, she had no takers.
Not even the dog.

Poor Cinderella. :>)

And another thing... and then one last thing

Another thing:

QB also informed me this morning that when the larm goes off from my key not working in the door of our car, it is called a mistake and that will make people frighten out from the horn blowing so loudish. So don't do that mistake.

Just, you know... so you know about that.


AND the last thing:

I pack snacks for QB to eat at preschool in little tupperware containers.
I try to always put a little piece of tape on the outside of the container that
says what's inside. My line of thinking is that it's easiest for the teacher to
tell her what's in each container, so she only has to open the one(s) that
QB seems interested in eating.

As I sat here writing the previous post, QB began putting stickers
all over one of these little plastic containers.
I absent-mindedly
(I'm on the computer, I can't pay attention to what she's doing right now LOL)
said "Don't put stickers all over that."

QB replied "I have to, so I know what's in there."

"Oh, " I said. "So, what's in there?"

QB smirked at me, maybe a little frustrated
at having to explain something that seems so obvious.

" Our Heavily Father."

"Oh" was all I could say. I'm just so pleased we have labels for that.

EDITED TO ADD: Lovely! The stickers on the container are Moto K's.
They are skateboard stickers. World Industries. Their logo is a little
devilish-looking guy with a pitchfork. Fabulous.
**H**

Queen B explains why our basement is cold.

Me: It's cold down here.

QB: Yeah, it's cold in the basement.

Me: I think basements are always cold.

QB: No, it's cold down here because we have so many wind-ers.

Me: You think the windows are making it cold?

QB: No, the wind-ers. They are blowing and blowing.

Me: The windows are blowing??

(QB walks over and puts her hand atop one of the three fans that are running to dry out our basement.

QB: NO! THIS! THIS WIND-ER, and THAT WIND-ER over THAY-ER. Too many wind-ers blowing is making this basement SO COLD!


So now we know. Too many wind-ers = cold basement. Mystery solved.

**H**

"I'm incorporated. I'm two idiots." - Gallagher

If you have a preference over which way I sign my posts:

** H **



or

Heather




You should keep it to yourself.

That's all.

Wait - I gotta keep it real..

In that previous post's title I made it sound like
I'm all organized now.

Nope, floods change lots of things. Just look at Noah.
Well, this is nothing like that, and Noah is not visible
to the naked eye at this time, so forget I mentioned it.

But I don't want you thinking I'm all changed
and really super-duper awesome at organization
now that I had some water seepage in my basement.

Nope. I'm still a loser. But things are getting a little more
organized, because we've been forced to go through things
that either DID get wet or were GOING to get wet if
we didn't move them.

These things have to get new homes, on higher shelves, in
containers.

(You know, even though it's not likely we'll have
that kind of rain again soon, I want to be sure, in case I don't
get back down there this year - or next.)

Anyway.... no miracle organizational conversion has occurred.

But don't be all up in my grill about it. I'm workin' on it, ok?

Just wanted to set the record straight. "Organized" doesn't
truly describe what's happening here.

This has been a "keepin' it real" announcement.

I'm Heather, and I approve this message. But I'm not proud of it.

Dried out now. Humbled, more organized, thankful, and dry.

Last weekend's rains were just crazy.

My car was also having some issues, so I wasn't out & about anyway.

I didn't realize until I saw pictures this week how bad it really was.

If you ever want to feel really incompetent,

avoid spending time in your basement unless absolutely

necessary, even if your bedroom and laundry room are down there.

Then you can take everything you don't know what to do with
and shove it down there.
You can do this repeatedly for months on end,

assuring yourself daily that
soon "things will calm down",

and THEN you'll get a complete handle on it.


(Diagnosis..... perfectionism, short attention span,
multi-task performance deficiency,
mother-of-"busy"-toddler-ism,
procrastinati..... I'll finish the list later, but you get the point.)

Later, when there's a stinkin' deluge, and
water seeps into your basement for days on end,

your inadequacy will come to light.

In fact, it will seem to you as though the mostest huge spotlight
(like the kind Crazy Eddie uses for his Midnight Madness sale)

has been shineded down right upon your pajama-clad, bed-headed self.


You'll be humiliated beyond belief.

You'll feel relieved when Mr. Amazing and Moto K -I mean YOUR FAMILY-
don't yell at you, but instead put their durable bodies, forgiving spirits,
and jump-to-it-ive-ness to work to bail (laugh, snort- literally BAIL) you out.


You'll wonder at how God created such a wonderful human being as
your mother-in-law, as she takes all of your laundry to wash, dry, and fold.

You'll feel really terrible for wondering how this awful thing
could have happened to you, once you realize that just down the ridge
there are families who
left their homes that first night,
and have no idea when they'll be allowed to return.

We're all fine, praise the Lord.

Sending up prayers for those who still wait to even get started on the
evaluation of damage done.

Hugs n' kisses (unless I don't even know you, and then.. ewww..)-
Heather

When coupon chicks say....

... "Don't touch my box!"

They are referring to the coupon box. It's sacred, you know.

... " I did Walgreens and Walmart, but not Target. Oh, and I
still need to go CVSing."

They mean that they have gleaned savings of huge proportions
by combining coupons and sales at the stores mentioned.

... " I need multiple inserts."

That chunky little booky-thingy of coupons that comes with the
Sunday paper is called an "insert" (since, you know, it's inserted
into the paper).

... "I NEVER can find a hang-tag, because I don't drink wine, so
I don't get cheap meat."

A "hang-tag" is, oddly enough , a tag-like thing that frequently
hangs around the neck of a bottle of wine, bringing opportunites
for free or discounted meat and other items to its bearer.


I don't want to overwhelm the uncouponly among us, so I'll stop there.

Besides, Mr. Amazing doesn't like it when I blog so late in the evening.
He thinks we need to spend time together.
Which is why I'll be on the lookout for a deal on scissors.
I think he'd enjoy having his very own pair.
Just think of the hours we could spend together.
He could clip, I could sort.
Ya think??? :>)

No? Why not??

**H**

See, it's not just me.

I have less than 10 boxes of cereal on hand right now.
Toothpaste, soap, deodorant, and shampoo are plentiful.

If there's another weather crisis this month, do not fear.
I'll bring the toiletries.

Mr. Amazing was just commenting the other day, though,
how surprised he was that I haven't been doin' my deals
like I usually do.

True, true. We've eaten up the last of the Yogos.
We're down to our last pack of razors.....

I jokingly said "Well, you always harass me about all the stuff
I'm bringing home, so I thought that meant you wanted me to
stop."

Mr. Amazing let me know (in no uncertain terms) that indeed
he did NOT want me to stop. He also seemed to be a little
flustered, like I'd somehow be causing him to lose his place
among the elite. (Coupon Husbands... it's this whole elite group
you probably don't know much about. But if you missed the fact
that this post's title is a link to another blog where a husband wrote
about his wife's couponing skills and frugality, it's not too late to learn.
Just click on this:
http://frugalinvirginia.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-married-couponaholic-5-ways-life-has.html)

See, I don't think he wants me to know (lest I get a big head...
a valid concern, I must say) that he brags to all his friends about
my superior couponing and deal-hunting maneuvers. But he does.
They all do.

I've been trying to use up some of what we'd stockpiled.
But it just might be time to head back to the store. I wouldn't
want to shame my husband, you know.

Announcement/ Invitation

Queen B just wants everyone to know that yes, she is now 3.
And she enjoyed her party (over a month ago).

But she's having another one.
(She asks everyone she meets if they can come to her party!)

Auntie Latcher (not her REAL name, you know....)
was the first to get wind of the actual date of this party.

Wanna know when it is?!?!

Tuesdember Eight.

We hope you will be there.
According to Queen B, it will be so fun, and you will love it.

Thanks.
Please RSVP by Muntober Twunteenst.

Pathetic, I say.

I've been doing things like :

reorganizing kitchen cabinets

paying bills

cleaning up spills

making a dinner at home now and then
(I know, what a concept, right??)

listening to books on tape

trying to stay out of the heat

and so on.

In my opinion, these are very boring things
to talk to other people about. And, if I were to
do so, the other people might decide that *I*
was very boring.

And, uh, CLEARLY, I'm not.
This is where you should affirm me.
Say that I'm not boring.
Go ahead.
I'll wait.

So, I've been silent so you could just think
I'd been busy doing important, interesting things.

And, now that you know the truth, please take an
EXTRA moment to be in awe of how interesting
it's been just reading about how boring I'm not.

There, that will have to do for now.

**H**

The Lemon-O Method of P*tty Training

So, Queen B is mostly potty trained.

We've had a few "incidents" that resulted
in some items getting wet that I would have
preferred remain dry, but....whatcha gonna do??

It was just yesterday morning that I learned the
proper name of our current potty training method.

Here's how it happened:


Me: Do you have to p*tty?

QB: No

Me: Are you sure?

QB: Yes.

Me: Don't p*tty your pants. You've got big girl pants on.

QB: I will do Lemon-O.

Me: What??

QB: I will just do Lemon-O.

Me: What is Lemon-O?

QB: You say, " If you have to go p*tty, Lemon-O."

Me: (talking to self, really thinking about the words.... I say "Lemon-O" ??...
....what in the WORLD is Lemon-O... when do I say "Lemon-O" ???
.....hhhmmmm..... [STOP]


So.... have you figured it out, or shall I explain??

Lemon-O.

Say it fast.

"If you have to go p*tty, Lemon-O."

"If you have to go p*tty, LEMONO."
...
...
...

"If you have to go p*tty, LEMME NO."

.......

"If you have to go p*tty, LET ME KNOW."

Brilliant plan, Queen B. Simply brilliant.
We should market this method.

:>)

**H**