Hoarders

Have you seen the new show on A&E titled The Hoarders? Kari & Devin, the couple that watched our house for us, had taped a couple episodes on our DVR. I had never heard of the show before so I thought I would watch it one afternoon. After I watched it I knew Gary had to see it as well. After it was over we were both a little quiet, we didn't know what to say. I am so glad they happened to leave that show on there because it really opened my eyes to what was around me.

Unfortunately there are a few people in this world that have actually seen our bedroom and basement. Now that is not a picture of it, but it could be someday. Whenever we did any renovations, all the extra "stuff" got piled into our bedroom or the basement. When we have people over to stay or for dinner, it is quick and easy to just toss it up or down the stairs and forget about it. Over time it can really pile up. Now I can't blame all of this on work we have done, we both have tendencies to want to save things.

Now a lot of you have seen Gary's warehouse. Some call him a "pack rat", a collector, and some say he is creative and that is how he should be. We kind of laugh about it because our son-in-law says that when we go, "the warehouse is being sold lock, stock & barrel".

When my mom moved out west I ended up with a lot of her stuff in my basement. After she died I needed to go through it. but as you can understand it was hard. I had a nice talk with my brother Grover one day and he let me know it was ok to throw it out. Anything that had any real value had already been divided up amongst the family. I have some great memories of the the things that were important to us, I didn't need to keep it laying around. So that weekend I got rid of a lot of it.

Well, the day after I watched this show I went down in the basement and I stayed there for almost 2 days. I think Gary was getting a little nervous! We haven't looked for or needed most of that "stuff" for the past 5+ years. I would love to get a dumpster here and just throw it all out. I was cleaning a drawer out in the kitchen and for some reason we had 8 ice cream scoops. I didn't buy them, they just started accumulating. I told Gary he had to pick out 2 to keep. He grabbed the 4 oldest ones ("antiques he called them) and walked out of the room. He said he likes old tools and wants to keep them.

Watching that show before you clean is like watching the Tour de France before you go on a bike ride. It really gets you charged up and in the mood. It was disappointing because after 2 days you could hardly tell I had done anything in there. The pathway is more noticeable and I threw out 3 giant garbage bags of junk.

The best part of this whole story is that right now, for the next month, Gary is in Utah and I am home. I have a few more episodes taped that I can watch before I head downstairs to the basement or upstairs to the bedroom. As long as we leave my fabric alone I am ok!

Am I Pregnant?

I wish I could find out how quickly you clicked on this when you saw the title!!!!

Michelle has been into couponing for several months. She has a great friend in Chicago, Chrisanna, that taught her the ropes. It's a lot more than just cutting coupons. There is a lot of math involved, computer skills, time management, being able to adjust, being friendly and more.

Every time I visit her or she comes here, she brings a suitcase full of "things" for her family. We have fun going through her bag of goodies and picking out something we can use. She signs up for free samples as well. I was visiting her one day when she got her mail. In it were lots of free trial size samples. She asked me if I would like her to sign me up for some and I said sure. She said sometimes it will be something you don't want but maybe someone else will. Hey, I like getting mail so bring it on!

Within a month the samples started coming. Everything from cat/dog food to shampoo and snacks. I love to have people come & visit and I like to have toiletries available for them in case they forgot something. So I started saving these freebies for visitors. The mound kept growing so I put them all in a basket in the guest bathroom.
This isn't all of it either. there have been lots of food samples that have been consumed.

Anyway, back to my story... (I know you all want to know what does this have to do with if I am pregnant or not!) In the mail I received lots of feminine products like tampons and pantiliners.

Someone always needs them so I just put them in the basket. Then one day, this is what I got.


I was puzzled, why did I get that, I didn't order one. I mentioned it to Michelle the next time I talked to her and she said she ordered it. When I asked why she said that I told her to send me whatever she wanted. It's a good thing that Gary didn't open the mail that day because you can just imagine what the conversation would have been like.

Next I received this...


I can just imagine what the mailman is thinking. The rumors are probably started and I am going to have lots of people wondering. Well the feminine products stopped coming and now this is what I am getting.


I don't know if I should be happy or not!

SAVE THE DATE

As many of you know I am turning 50 this year. Yes, I know it's hard to believe but it's true. I am sure most of you thought no more than 35, but when you do the math and my oldest is 25 the truth comes out.

So to celebrate I am throwing myself a party. So get your pens out and mark your calendar for Saturday November 28. I know it's Thanksgiving weekend, but it was the only date that would work. I promise that there won't be any turkey served. I am planning an open house type party. I am not sure of the time yet but somewhere between 4 and 9pm. At this time it will probably be at our home in Chehalis.

You will get a chance to sample some of Laura's catering. We will let you decide if the tuition for Culinary School has paid off.

I hope everyone can make it. The more the merrier!

September is National Coupon Month

Do I know something that Michelle doesn't regarding coupons?? Yes, September is National Coupon Month. The first coupon was issued in 1887 by the Coca Cola Company. Coupons were mailed to potential customers and placed in magazines. Coupons first saw widespread use in the United States in 1909 when C. W. Post conceived the idea to help sell breakfast cereals and other products. These coupons were for 1 cent!

Coupons became a staple in American households by 1930, prompted by the Depression. The need to cut cost, especially the weekly grocery bill, made clipping coupons a necessity for many families. During the 1940's, chain supermarkets started their growth across the country and continued on with the coupon tradition developed in the neighborhood food stores. One-half of all Americans were coupon users by 1965, and ten years later, over 35 billion coupons were distributed in the U.S.A.

Coupons are now available by mail, newspapers, magazine, and more recently online. Coupons are credited with generating nearly ten billion dollars in commerce a year in this country alone. There are websites devoted to posting coupons and deals for everything from antacids to zagnut bars, food to appliances.

89% of the overall population use coupons while shopping for groceries, household and healthcare items at supermarkets. During tough economic times, manufacturers turn to using coupons, both print and online, to get shoppers back to the store to buy their favorite brand or try a new item. A typical consumer saves 7% on their grocery bill.

So during the month, make sure you look in your Sunday paper for the coupon section. Give it a try, although it can be addicting! Take a look at these two.

Laura at Culinary School

Wednesday night Gary, Trevor, Jenny, Ava & I ate at Portfolio Restaurant in Seattle. This restaurant serves as an educational dining lab for culinary arts students at the Art Institute of Seattle. Upper-level students create, prepare and serve the menus guided by a Chef Instructor.

Last month Gary and I went there while Laura was cooking. The students rotate during the quarter so each gets an opportunity to work in the back preparing the food, or working in the front as a waiter/waitress. (Are they still called that?). We had an excellent meal for a reasonable price. Laura made the desserts since she is the only student in her group that is focusing on pastries.

This time Laura was our waitress/server and she did a fabulous job. I was going to bring some fake dog poop and put it on the floor, and a fake fly in an ice cube. But we decided to be nice, although we still did give her a hard time at the restaurant. Everyone knew we were her parents so we were treated well.

The chef instructor came by and told us how happy he was to have a student that was so enthusiastic about pastries. Now Gary and I are very enthusiastic about pastries as well, but I don't think that is what he meant. He said Laura was doing a wonderful job and he was very happy to have her as a student.

We are both very proud of the hard work she is doing to graduate from the Art Institute. She puts in some long days and late hours but it will pay off.

So I will give a thumbs up to Portfolio restaurant. All the students did a fabulous job and the food was delicious.

Happy Anniversary Jenny & Trevor

On Tuesday September 8 Jenny & Trevor celebrated their 2 year wedding anniversary. I mistakenly thought it was on Wednesday. Apparently Trevor made a wonderful dinner for the two of them and they had a quiet evening at home. It is hard to believe that 2 years ago we were sailing on the Argossy for a spectacular wedding. It was a beautiful evening with great family and friends.