Random thoughts from a wandering mind...

One of my personal goals/guidelines for this year was to try mixing up the blog.  While I mostly write this blog for my family and my memory-keeping, other things come to mind to talk about once in awhile!  One of the ideas I had was a post similar to this one below.  I often will think a thought that might make a great blog post or not a great one...but a post none the less.  But by the time I get around to blogging the thought has left me.  BUT I came up with an idea that might help me track this stuff.  And when I have enough to make it worth posting...I'll just throw it out there.  I just wanted to find some consistent place to share all the randomness that runs through my head in a day/week/whatever.  It's more about the randomness that the world may have made me think about over the course of a day.  I hope you enjoy!


Whitney...
How very sad and tragic was this death?  I understand that she had abused drugs in her lifetime, but it's amazing to me how much talent gets thrown down the drain in the name of addiction.  Strong as it may be, it doesn't change the shame of it all.  The news certainly saddened my evening.  If you were a fan, the tribute that Jennifer Hudson did at the grammy's was emotional and moving.  You should check it out.

Blowing your Mind...
In recent bible study we were introduced to a guy named Lou Giglio.  This guy is a big fan of God and a big fan of science.  He puts them together to help remind us of our big our God really is.  He uses the phrase "blew my mind" lots of times...but I truly have to agree.  There is so much about science and God that are mind blowing. This video reignited my awe of God in a way I can't explain...but it's refreshing.  If you have some time...check these out.  I was told watching Parts 1 through 4 will give you the video we watched.  Pretty neat stuff!  Thanks Pastor Brad for a great share!

Saving some dough...
Another one of my 2012 plans was getting more disciplined with saving, meal planning, coupon clipping (where I can) and just trying to be economical and smart about our spending for household goods!  A couple of things I've done.
*Opened a Target Debit Card. There were some glitches getting started but it does save some cash at check out. And you can choose to have a percentage of your purchase go to the school of your choice.  Alton Early Childhood here we come!
*Created a quick and easy excel file that I have discplined myself to fill out prior to grocery shopping.  Our weekly meals get listed here. Even if I don't follow the meals from day to day, I know that any given night in a 7 day stretch, we have the food for those meals in our fridge/freezer.  It's a great way to keep us from eating out.
*Shopping around for diapers.  This summer as we were expecting Cooper I set up a Amazon Mom account and began doing the subscribe and save.  This was a killer deal for us as we still have free shipping benefits until July of this year.  I think the deal was too good to be true though and now there are memebership fees and other strings attached to the savings. So I headed back to Target.  With some of the weekly deals they have (buy two boxes of Huggies, get a giftcard type deal), we have been able to save some cash that way.  thanks for my bestie I have also taken advantage of a good deal through Diapers.com.  I recommend shopping around and seeing where the deals are. 
*This really isn't saving us money, but it's been kind of fun to track.  We are Huggies user tried and true...and I signed up for an enjoy the ride account.  So every pack of Huggies comes with a code on it.  You enter it and get points.  We aren't sure what we're saving for, but are excited to get a few new toys for free using our points! 

Not a fan...but this bugged me!
I usually keep my opinions to myself.  But reading this...I couldn't help it!!  So I'm the last person to jump on the Brangelina fan wagon.  But this article...it bugged me. Not this particular article itself, but the reports within it. Apparently their little girl was spotted wearing red lipstick (matching her Momma's) and some people felt it was ridiculous. She's too little etc.  I am all about letting your children be little. Childhood is so short and so fleeting.  But I remember when I was little...wanting nothing more than to do exactly what my Mom did.  I wore her sunglasses, dressed up in her clothes and even wore her lipstick sometimes. I looked up to my Mom and it was a way of showing adoration.  Her letting me, helped me gain a sense of self.  And a sense of my mother and the person she was. I whole-hearted doubt that this little girl wearing her Mom's same lipstick to a matinee show is something worth throwing the kitchen sink at Angelina for. When there are kids out there with parents who throw them in a bedroom and leave them alone all day and go drink themselves into a stuper...a Mom engaging with her kids and taking them to see a kids movie...yep. She deserves a call to DCFS.  I just don't agree with stars being judged for something so small. Not only is it none of our business, it's also a personal choice.  And this was my yahoo headline this morning when I opened my mail.  Kinda disappointing.

I hate to end on a crummy note...so this is what I'll end with.

Another thing I owe to my bestie...
Besides owing her about a zillion times over for a million different things...we can add co-op veggie purchasing to our list!  She recently posted about the local co-op.  She had emailed me the link and got me started. I couldn't wait for our first pick up!!   Last Tuesday was my first...and these little beauty's were just one of the delicious creations that my family enjoyed. Roasted Brusselsprouts.  And I can truly say they were delicious!

Do you have a local co-op? It's a great way to get great local produce for your family!