Real Deals

What a beautiful day ... felt like spring. It was nice to be out and about in the sunshine.
Last October while vacationing in Sunriver the Groupon of the day was irresistible. I had experienced a shopping adventure at Real Deals with Donna last spring vacation so I knew buying a $12 Groupon worth $25 was truly a great deal.
With the beautiful weather today I ventured over to the Oregon City store. They are only open on Thursdays and Saturdays. I spent about an hour trying to take in everything. I think I circled the store a dozen times. Each time around I discovered something I hadn't noticed before. Not everything in the store is my style but I never leave empty-handed or disappointed.
The picture shows my Groupon purchase and I only added an extra $2.70. I was delighted because everything reminded me ... spring is coming! I am looking forward to bulbs shooting up, the smell of freshly mowed grass and setting up the deck for relaxing times outside.
Anybody else experience spring fever today?

Best Buys 2009

As we looked to simplify life in 2009, two investments come to mind ... that we ask ourselves ... why didn't we do this sooner?!?!

• we invested in a heated mattress pad and have noticed improved sleeping patterns. A coworker recommended this and it was one of the best investments of 2009. A good night's sleep can make all the difference in your day.
• After waiting months after our Verizon contract expired, we purchased two iPhones on Black Friday for $49 each and love this powerful organizational tool. It includes a phone, iPod, camera (still and video), photos, calendar, a free texting app, Bible with many translations, Google Earth, a Basic Spanish app, games galore: Bejeweled 2, Skee-Ball, Solitaire, Hearts, Cribbage, Scrabble, Yahtzee, Jumbline, Sudoku, a GPS, iTreadmill, Walkmeter, SparkPeople, FastFoodCal.
  

My last cell was a flip phone and as a call came in I would flip it open ... and it would flip shut ending the call before I could even say hello. Sorry if this happened on your call : (

Bargain Hunting

One of the fun things about Christmas shopping is stumbling onto a great bargain. Yesterday I found this blouse on the clearance rack at Kohl's for $3.20. I'm into brown now so even if I only wear it camping at Wallowa it was worth every penny. However, I'm sure it will get use beyond camping. But for now it will be stored with my spring-summer apparel ... bbbrrrr ... it's too cold to wear this today. The current temperature is 33 degrees. I'm heading downstairs to sit by the gas fireplace and warm up!

Ssshhhhh! We're Secret Santas

Last night we picked up the grandkids for a dinner date and Christmas shopping for Mom & Dad. We let them pick the place and it was WENDY'S ... honest, Grandpa had no influence on the decision : ) We enjoyed our favorite entrees and the best part of the meal ... a Leap Frog calculator!
Next it was off to the Tanasbourne area and their favorite place to shop ... Target. What fun we had looking at EVERYTHING ... especially the toy dept. We now have some good ideas for our shopping lists. Our favorite part of this adventure was in the Christmas aisle. Calleigh found all the dancing-singing stuffed characters and had an entire row "performing" at once. What fun!
We did accomplish our mission ... these Secret Santas are good. They picked out one gift for Mom and one for Dad. We even bought gift bags and tissue, went over to the snack bar in the store, ordered Colin's favorite --popcorn, and sat down to wrap our gifts before heading home.
I think this will be one of the highlights of the holiday season and could easily become an annual tradition. However, we need to plan "date nights" for the other 11 months of the year. I'll have to come up with some fun ideas ... do you have one to share?
The only disappointment in our outing ... my "purse" camera was left behind at home. It would have been wonderful to capture some of the magic of the evening!
I hope you are finding JOY in this season ...

Farmer's Market

Saturday morning we woke up to a long to-do list but all that had to be put on hold. I have wanted to go to the Beaverton Farmer's Market all summer but some other priority always "bumped" it off the calendar. I am so glad we made the time to go ... what a fun experience! Walt was kind of dragging his heels but once he got there he was "sold" on the whole idea.
We weren't prepared for how crowded it was on such a hot day. We found parking a few blocks away and even in the crowd we saw familiar faces. It was fun to catch up with a former principal and her husband. She had some great suggestions for where the best deals were on flowers. I couldn't believe it ... the huge paper-wrapped beauties were only $10 ... yes, just ten dollars!!! We picked up some great produce and sampled some wonderful treats from several booths.
If you've never experienced the Farmer's Market, I would encourage you to go. I know I will be back again before the end of summer. Next time I'm going to bring my appetite and buy some of the tempting food items. Yum

Fashion 101

Today was my last personal day of the school year and I scheduled it around getting ready for our Vegas trip. Walt has been checking the weather and it will be 100 degrees when our plane lands. That only means one thing ... a trip to the Woodburn Company Stores to shop for a "lighter, cooler" wardrobe.
My favorite "fashion consultant," Donna joined me and, "Wow!" can she ever spot great fashion at a steal ... no, we paid for everything : ) She helped me find things to mix and match and pointed out many things I may have bypassed on the search. It was so much fun going from store to store and enjoying a good time with a great friend.
Thanks, Donna! My suitcase would have been rather sparse without your help!

What a Bargain!

Another bargain of the day. I found these chairs at BBB -- Bed Bath and Beyond for $4.79 each. I love how they match the playroom.
My retro table and chair from the 50's just wasn't working with two grandkids. They were very good with sharing but they both love crafts and each needed a chair.
They will be spending the night next weekend and now they can both color, paint, and play with playdoh ... sharing the table.
Today was the "day of deals"!

A Great Bargain

Since Walt was at a retreat I did a little shopping after work this afternoon ... with sickness and the big snow event I haven't gotten out much.
I stopped by Joann's and can you believe it ... my word for 2009 was on clearance for 70% off. Couldn't pass it up. What a great reminder this will be!
I love a bargain : )

Photo-a-Day December 27

Bargains ... Bargains ... Bargains!
We finally got out of the house today. We can see pavement again and we don't have to stay in snow "bumper" ruts on the road to get out of our neighborhood. We actually drove 65 miles an hour on I-5!
We traveled down to the Woodburn Outlet Mall this afternoon to check out the "best buys" ... and we were not disappointed. Since the Christmas shoppers couldn't get out before the 25th the inventory was stocked and priced to sell. It was nice just to get out in the fresh air and walk without the fear of slipping. Now we only have to deal with the rain and rapidly melting snow!
Only 4 bags ... not too much "damage."

Black Friday Ads

While the fudge was cooking the girls spent time checking out the Black Friday ads. Calleigh was only interested in finding the Barbies : )

Knit One, Save One Update

Several posts ago I shared an opportunity for knitters to get involved in making a difference in our world. I made a commitment to knit as many baby caps as I could before the December 31st deadline and from one skein of yarn I made six caps. I carried this project with me everywhere ... I spent time knitting on breaks at work, waiting in long Costco gas lines, and I even knit a row or two while waiting in gridlock traffic!
This season I am focusing on a more "missional" Christmas. I want to see my world through different eyes. This year our Black Friday was focused on what we could buy for those in need ... sock and gloves for City Team, clothes and toys for a family our REACH group is sponsoring. I am so thankful for our church, friends and family who have encouraged me to put "feet" to what my ears hear ... what my eyes see. I encourage you to REACH OUT this Christmas and then make it a habit year round.


Yes ... we can make a difference!

It has been a while ...

Wow! It has been a while since I last posted ... nearly two months! Life has moved forward at such a rapid pace and with added stresses ... I've found it hard to keep up on those things which bring so much Joy on the Journey.
This Fall we finally made it out to IKEA (several times now) in anticipation of moving a few rooms around in our house. We moved the guest room downstairs and made the upstairs room into a playroom for Colin ... and Calleigh too. It looks like an IKEA showroom display. What fun we've had making a cozy place for the grandkids to play and spend the night at Grandma's & Grandpa's. To top it off ... the guest room is much more warm and inviting.
Now I need to invest in some toys and books for Calleigh. I'd better go back up in the attic and bring down more of my antique dolls and cradles : )

Shopper-in-Training

Seems like we always include a little stop at the outlet mall while we're at the beach ... all those Labor Day Weekend bargains calling us. I held Calleigh while swiping my debit card and she got so excited watching the transaction. Here she is holding her purchases. I think she likes shopping already : )