Five for Friday - September 30th

1.  Can we talk about Placemats?   We have never use them for everyday meals and a few weeks ago at a friends house, we got to talking about placemats.  She uses them religiously, and after polling a few friends, now I have a complex.  Am I the only one who doesn't use Placemats?  Do you use them?  And why?

2.  My family is loving this recipe this week.  Chicken and Potatoes in a Garlic Parmesan Sauce.  Super easy and great leftovers.

3.   We watched the debate while we made dinner.  It was hilarious to watch my kids flip flop back and forth between the candidates.  "Oh that is a good point, I'm voting for her."  "Well, wait, that is a good point, so I'm voting for him."  They went back and forth the entire debate and it was my favorite part of the whole election was watching them. 

4. Mr. Man and I are still in the middle of the big house purge.  Things that have been uncovered during this purge... apparently I have an addiction to To Do List Notepads.

5.  The kids and I watched the movie Secondhand Lions a few weeks ago.  I had forgotten how much I loved that movie.  The kids loved it and I think it's in my top ten favorite movies of all time. 

Five for Friday 9-15-16

1.  I want my kids to grow up thinking that dreams come true and that they can be catalyst in making other peoples dreams come true.  So when Mr. Boy decided years ago he wanted a Paintball Party, Mr. Man and I worked to make it happen.  Seeing the pure joy on his face was the best and it was so much fun.

2. Also, our boy has the best group of friends. Seriously, what an amazing group of boys. 

3. I'm a little obsessed with this cheese which I found at Costco two years ago.  When I went back to buy more, of course they had stopped carrying it..until now.

4.  AK is almost finished learning all the states and capitals.  I'm pretty much out of lies stories  to tell AK.  Today I told her that "Daddy wanted to name you Dover and I wanted to name you Delaware... so we compromised on DE, then realized that AK was a better name for you." 

 5.  I'm pretty sure Mr. Man is pregnant, he is in a serious nesting mood.  We've been purging closets and cabinets and every week there is a giant pile of stuff for the charity pick up.   I know my closet is on the horizon and might need to find a safe shelter for my shoe collection until the purge passes...  any volunteers? 

Wednesday Wisdom - Washi Tape for your Cords

It seems like my charging cords that I use in my car only last for about a year.  Which while nothing more than a nuisance, I can never remember to switch them out.  It's out of sight and out of mind for me, once I exit my car.  So then I'll be out somewhere, frantically trying to get the cord at juuuuuusst the right angle for it charge my dying phone.

When I mentioned this to the Genius helping me at the Apple Store, he gave me this hot tip.  Wrap the cords as soon as you get them with tape where the cord connects into the plug. That is the weakest spot and where they tend to break.  It has made all the difference and as a bonus, now in my jumble of cords, I can easily tell which cord is for each device, because they are color coded with different colors of Washi Tape.   (Washi Tape is decorative paper tape, but really any tape can be used.)

Genius Tip from the Genius Bar at Apple.

Anyone else have any hot tips when it comes to devices? 

Wednesday Wisdom: Get Cash Back with Ebates!

Since constructing my beloved home that I refer to as "The Chalet",  I have become a total recluse.  I shop online as often as possible.  One of my favorite ways to save a little dough while shopping online is using Ebates.com.

It's a click through shopping site for many of our favorite retailers.  Like Nordstroms, Living Social/Groupon, Kohls, Hotels.com, etc.  There is even some cash back on certain Amazon.com categories.

Start by going to the Ebates homepage and then click on the shopping site you want to make your purchase at, it will automatically take you to their website while creating a "tracking ticket" that logs your purchase.   Boom! Then you get cash back every quarter. Essentially you make money by clicking on one extra site while you shop online. 

Then you can be like me and laugh all the way to the bank! (or you can have it sent to you via Paypal) Here is a photo of me and my most recent rebate on Ultimate Super Mega Summer supplies. ($45)   So far I have earned $921 in cash back from Ebates!

Right now if you sign up for Ebates, you will get a $10 bonus after you make your first purchase by signing up, simply by clicking on the logo below or any of the links in this post. 

So, join me in living like a hermit and join Ebates!  Now go forth and shop online!!

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Five for Friday, September 2nd, 2016

"My friend named Wyoming loved to greet her best friend by saying, "C Hey Enne" 

1. AK is learning all 50 states and their capitals.  I just don't know if I can do it anymore, I'm all out of lies and stories to tell about each state.  She needs a story to help her remember each state, so I've had to make up stories help her relate each state to it's capital.  Such as Toto, the dog from the Wizard of Oz, is really named Topeka, but Dorothy had trouble saying it when she was little, so she called him Toto. I'm running out of lies stories... and have no idea how I'm going to help her with states like Delaware. 

2.  Every year I go into a bit of a Fall Funk.  I am grateful to at least have a bit of a warning that it is coming.  So I've been making lots of plans for fun things so I have something to look forward to and keep me social.  Both of those things are helpful to battle my fall blues, because I just want to sit on the hillside and talk to the deer all day. 

3.  Mr. Man and I have been cleaning out cabinets, it stresses me out, but I love the results. He discovered my paper straw collection, it's a secret addiction.  The good news is that it's a pretty cheap addiction, way cheaper than drugs.  At least that's what I tell him. Do you have a secret addiction?

4.  Stranger Things... I know!  Watched it, loved it, you should watch it too.  Freaked me out, as did 10 Cloverfield Lane.  EEK!

5.  Spent last weekend at the beach and surfed!  I'm terrible but I forgot how much I loved it.  It was funny how my body just remembered exactly what it needed to do.  My new favorite thing is Swim Pants!  Pants.. in the water?  Weird, I know, but they are amazing and I'm hoping I don't turn into a Duggar because I fell in love with Swim Pants. Anyway,  I'm basically a vampire and when my skin gets touched by the sun it burns.  Swim pants mean I don't have to lather on ten layers of sunblock.  I won't wear them all the time, but at the beach it's a perfect.

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