Save Money on Photography

I cannot believe it has been a week since I last posted. Much of the past week has been spent (A) Figuring out my husband's Canon Rebel XT (B) Looking at professional photography portfolios to get ideas (C) Considering building one of these PVP pipe backdrop stands (D) Learning how to convert a photo to black-and-white except for one item which remains in color (E) All of the above.

Did you guess "E" ? Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!

My mother-in-law really wants us to get "professional" photographs of Joel done. The problem is two-fold. One, I don't want to spend the money. Two, what she considers professional is not really professional. She wants me to take him to Sears, Target, etc. I consider someone who went to college to become a photographer a professional. Those people don't work at Sears. Those people also charge a lot of money (rightly so). So she's stuck with our home photography. People have commented on photographs we've taken and have said things about them being professionally done.... they're shocked when I tell them that we actually took them!
You can even add borders and/or text before printing them off at Walgreens, Meijer, etc. to make the photos look even cooler.

I'm still playing around with the Rebel XT. I'm experimenting with the AV setting. Smaller f numbers mean that the background gets blurred. It's a cool effect that I have not yet mastered. Hopefully I can get Joel out and get some good photos tomorrow using this new-fangled technique. Until then, here's a few photos that look (somewhat) professional.

RIP White Pages

Finally! Columbus is doing away with the white pages (unless you ask for a copy). I am so happy. I haven't wanted phone books in eons. If you have the internet, you don't need to waste all the paper that it takes to create a phone book.
AT&T claims that they're trying to be more eco-friendly, and that coupled with the fact that many people just don't want the white pages, is why they've been allowed to discontinue the practice. On the flip side, the yellow pages which brings in buku bucks, is going ahead full steam. Hmmm. Sounds to me like AT&T just wants to quit printing the white pages because they have to pay for it and don't see any money in return. If AT&T was truly sincere, then they would quit publishing the yellow pages too for those of us who do not want it, and go 100% online.

Varmint Masters

I was online looking for cheap magazine subscriptions because I think magazines make good birthday gifts. I ran across Varmint Masters. For the low, low price of $4.69, six issues of Varmint Masters can be all yours! Just visit Bestdealmagazines.com for your subscription. Who wouldn't love this as a gift?

Is money tight? Varmint Masters can help. Learn how to hunt down and kill nontraditional game species such as coyotes and foxes. Cook 'em up for supper for a nearly free meal. Tasty! This magazine will be perfect for my parents. Even though they live in an upper middle class suburban neighborhood, they have coyotes running amuck. With the tips and pointers in this magazine, my dad will be able to stop these varmints in their tracks.

I am reminded of something Ted Nugent once said. Ted lives on a large ranch, and he has many coyotes. He was quoted as saying, "I don't have a coyote problem. The coyotes have a Ted problem." (He's on the NRA Board of Directors, just in case you're wondering).

The Price is Right

No, this isn't a post about how sexy Drew Carey is. Or how Drew has breathed new life into a once tired game show. Or how I used to hate the Price is Right but now find myself yearning to fly to California just so I can make myself a shirt to wear there. Or how Drew is a fellow Ohioan and is my homeboy.

Don't get me wrong: Bob Barker is a legend. He can sway you spay and neuter your pets like no other. But Drew Carey really is so freakin' awesome and funny, don't you think?

No, folks. This post is about price books. Talk to me. Do you use them? Have you tried them? Have you ever even heard of them?

What you do is take a notebook with you while you shop for groceries. You take note of prices and jot them down into your book. You begin to notice patterns of prices so you can see what is a good deal and what isn't. It helps you determine whether a price is too high, okay, or stock-up, smokin' hot

I've never used one. I do have some price limits stored up in the ole noggin though. I thought I'd share some prices with you (in US dollars, sorry chicas in Australia and the UK!). What do you think about these prices? Do you have any more to add?

Light Bread (35 calories a slice): I buy bread and buns for 89c because I live near the Schwebels outlet.

Spaghetti Sauce: I never buy it if it's more than a dollar a jar. The other day with coupons, I got three jars for $2.10.

Cereal: I can get it for about a dollar a box when there's a good stock-up sale, however I will go as high as two bucks a box.

Bananas: I hate paying 49cents/lb. Aldi carries them cheaper though their bananas tend to go bad more quickly.

Apples, Peaches, Pears: No more than 99c/ lb.

Packs of Bratwurst: only buy when they're $2.50 or less. The other day I had coupons, and they were BOGO. Woot, woot!

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast: $1.88/lb

One Lb. Ground Turkey: I used to be able to get it for 99c however now they're everyday price went up to $1.19.

2 cups of Shredded Cheese: no more than two dollars

Milk: Aldi carries a gallon for less than $1.70

Eggs: Once again, Aldi is my BFF. Their eggs are usually between 65-75c for a dozen.

Jars of Baby Food: found at Big Lots for a quarter apiece. As I'm making my own baby food, I only bought about ten jars for times when we're out and about. Hopefully they last me for several months.

Large container of Formula: I buy the generic brand that compares to Similac Advance. I've gotten two containers for four dollars apiece on clearance, and two containers on sale for $9.99 each. I've decided to never go higher than ten bucks. As I'm pumping breast milk, a can lasts me almost a month.

Diapers 13c apiece seems to be a pretty good deal. Have you found them cheaper than that?

Baby Puke and Carrot Poop

Is it just me or did the past month fly by? Wasn't it just Memorial Day last weekend?! Somehow I missed the whole month of June. I can't believe the Fourth has come and gone. There were so many blog posts that I wanted to get to but didn't get the chance. For example, there's the Guy-Fieri-is-the-coolest-dude-on-the-planet post. I wish I had his job. I'd love to go around the country and eat at diners, drive-ins, and dives. (And get paid to do it).

There's also the Hubby-Gave-Me-His-Hand-Me-Down-Old-Navy-Flag-Tee post. Isn't he the sweetest? I needed something red, white, and blue to wear to the community orchestra concert I was playing in on Saturday. I don't fit into any of my flag tees because of the extra five pounds I've put on since this time last year.

Fine. You got me. It's a little bit more than five pounds.

Anyway, he gave me his 2006 tee, which is an XXXL I might add. And what was he doing getting a triple X, anyway?! He so graciously donated it to me so that I could sew it down to my current size. I dragged out the sewing machine beast, cut it to size, and sewed it to fit me. I tried it on, and it was a pretty good fit. I then picked up the baby because he was crying, and he promptly puked his guts out onto my newly fitted shirt. Motherhood is the best. The concert ended up being rained out which is a good thing. Otherwise I would have had to go to the concert topless because I wasn't about to sew myself another flag tee.

Speaking of motherhood, I also wanted to post about solid carrot poop. I've been busy making my own baby foods these past couple days (which prompted my father-in-law to ask why in the world was I putting mashed sweet potatoes in the ice cube trays?!) So far, Joel has enjoyed bananas, carrots, and sweet potatoes. His poop is really nasty now. I just thought you'd like to know.

He's also developed a very cute yet annoying habit. He's learned to blow spit bubbles. He's not even five months old, folks. Isn't that a little early to be a human whoopie cushion? He thinks it's quite funny. He and my husband take turns... it's all fun and games until baby blows spit bubbles while mommy is trying to feed him carrots. Spit bubbles + pureed carrots = big mess.

As I think I'm baby fluided out, I'll leave you with some photos of my little monster.
Spit bubbles in action.


Not bad for an entirely thrifted outfit for the babe. I think the whole outfit (red vest, white dress shirt, and blue cords) cost me $1.50.

Friendship Award Peeps

This award is given to the writers of blogs that “are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers.
Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

A huge thank you goes out to Katie for sending me this award! I told her that I really don't feel worthy since I have been so missing these past couple weeks :( I really don't know how I am going to survive once the school year really begins with the regular school day, marching band rehearsals and activities, and the baby. Pfew. I'm tired just thinking about it. I hope that I am able to keep everything up (crafting, sewing, blogging, cooking). I guess I will just have to take it one day at a time :)

I do hereby claim these wonderful bloggers recipients of the friendship award! These are all blogs that I truly enjoy visiting. They are written by very friendly women, and I just wanted to let them know that their amiable styles have not gone unnoticed! Check them out and show them some bloggy love

Joanne at We Knit, Sew, Bake, and Grow

Maggie at Maggie Blue Designs

Felicia at Go Graham Go!

Linda at My Trendy Tykes

The Queen of Fifty Cents, the Garage Sale Queen

Monica from Black Olives on my Fingertips

MJ from Making Do with the Not-So-New

Jen from Lipstick and Laundry

Neighborhood Houligans

First off, let me publicly thank Katie for the Friendship award! I have been fuming over this whole mailbox thing for the past few days and was filled with glee when Katie told me she left me an award on her page! I'll perpetuate the award in my next blog, I promise! (which I hope doesn't take me 8 days this time!)

On to the mailbox makeover. Jason came home from work the other night and said that someone had bashed in our mailbox. It looks like someone took a baseball bat to it. They also hit some of my neighbors' mailboxes. Why do people think that it is okay to destroy other people's property? The disrespect that is running rampant in this country is very alarming. We need to crack down on these punk-kids. Teenagers should be prosecuted as adults. As a junior high teacher, I have had my share of experiences with teens, and I can say without reservation that teens know what they are doing. They know right from wrong. We are doing them a disservice if we do not penalize them by the fullest extent of the law. If we let them off with a mere slap on the wrist, then they learn that they can get away with it. Next time, their path of destruction becomes larger and more severe.

Of course, the punks who terrorized my block will never see any consequences since they will never be caught. But that's another story altogether...

On to the photos.





This mailbox transformation cost me eleven bucks. The mailbox is plastic and cost ten dollars, and we also had to buy a can of black spray paint which cost a dollar. I had the white spray paint already so painting the numbers was free. The numbers needed painted anyway because a few years ago my mailbox was graffiti'ed with green spray paint. I had painted the mailbox white again but never did get around to repainting the numbers.

I like the way it turned out. I especially like that the mailbox is plastic now so it should withstand a baseball beating the next time it happens!