Update

To all my faithful readers who care...my phone survived the toilet and Maycie's first pet, "Frog", has already died.

Dinner is served!

As much as I despise McDonald's and would avoid eating there at all costs, they are currently on my good list. On Tuesday nights from 5-7 pm they offer half priced kids meals. There is a limit of 4 kids meals per transaction. So, you can get a hamburger kids meal for $1.30. We can feed our family on about $5. We sneak and get ourselves a mighty kids meal. Like I mentioned earlier, I HATE the food; however, I join my kids in the fun and choke down a happy meal. Every mother needs a vacation from the kitchen and if McDonald's is my ticket, so be it! I think I will be looking forward to Tuesdays from now on.

Interested?

Since I posted the slide show of my digital scrapbook pages, many have written asking questions. I decided the best way to answer the basic questions is to post it. But, before I go any further, I owe my addiction to my cousin Michelle. She introduced this into my life and rescued my sanity! I am her "little copy cat" because her hobbies are now my hobbies. THANKS Michelle! She has started a little craft boutique, so click on her link on my blog, then the craft link on her blog to check it out.
For digital scrapbooking, I use Adobe Photoshop CS2. It is quite spendy, but well worth the investment. You can also you Adobe Elements which is much cheaper. My sister found it on eBay for about $30. There are other programs you can use; however, I am not familiar with any of them.
As far as the digital scrapbooking kits, there are TONS of sites out there that offer freebies. I have not paid for any kit that I have and I probably have 300+ kits. (Thanks for sharing Jen!) The average kit includes: papers, ribbons, frames, brads, bows, embellishments, etc.

My favorite sites to download digital scrapbooking kits are listed below:
www.peppermintcreative.com (monthly freebie, click on downloads)
www.shabbyprincess.com (quarterly freebies)
www.digitalscrapbookingfreebies.com (monthly freebie)
www.digitalfreebies.com (Friday freebies)
www.twopeasinabucket.com (click on Digital Scrapbooking, Digital kits, Freebies)
www.digiscrapdepot.com (daily freebies...95% junk, but has some cute)
www.happyscrapgirl.blogspot.com (daily freebies...95% junk, has some cute)
*The Two Peas in a Bucket website also has free fonts that you can download.

Once I have completed my pages, I print my books off through www.winkflash.com. They run promotions on their books. You can get an unlimited (up to 100 pages) book for a flat rate of $19.95. With shipping included it is $26.94. WOW...for a 100 page scrapbook! That is really cheap. You don't have to buy your paper supplies and you don't have to print off any pictures because it is all done on the computer. Another thing I love about it is, if you were to buy a piece of paper at a scrapbook store, you would go home and use it, and then have to buy more. But, with digital scrapbooking, you can use the kits you download over and over and over again. Plus, did I mention they are FREE! I finally found a hobby I love and fits our budget...or lack of!
If you are really interested in getting started, buy the program, download some kits, and then email me (mandiejo_anderson@hotmail.com) and I will call and help you get going. If you feel stupid emailing/calling me because we may not know each other that well...your loss! It is really a lot more simple than it looks. If I can do it, anyone can. I love doing this and would LOVE to help you get started as well because as my cousin Michelle would say...it is CHEAPER than THERAPY!

One man's junk, 'nother man's treasure!

I would like to think that we are pretty clean people. I have a little of what some would call the "neat freak" syndrome. I LOVE things in their place and when they are moved even the slightest, I fix it. I am a huge fan of "Friends", the old t.v. show, and related myself a lot to Monica...an obsessive cleaner...a vacuum to clean the vacuum...you get the idea. Anyways, I am starting to feel extremely squished in our tiny, two bedroom, 1100 sq. foot apartment. Conrad has suggested moving multiple times in the last few months; however, he graduates in December and I don't want to move just to pack up and move again. So we're sticking it out! I came home from a baby shower last weekend and Conrad was going through his closet. *Timeout: I have been waiting for Conrad to do this for months. I have tried making D.I. piles from his clothes before...well, he catches me and 95% goes back in the closet before I can sneak out the door. He is sort of a minor pack rat. I LOVE you babe! Okay...back to the story...he started a mad cleaning, de-cluttering, organizing frenzy. I hate "Spring" cleaning, as they call it, because you end up making a bigger mess than what you started with.
Moral of our story...we can now shut the doors to our dresser. We have extra hangers in our closet. Our shoes each have their own place on a shoe rack. We can actually see under the bed. And, the vacuum no longer acts as a coat rack in our coat closet. SIGH! That was tough work!

Uurrgghh!

I went to the dentist for a teeth cleaning a couple weeks ago. We received an "explanation of our benefits" letter from our insurance company which is pretty common after we have a dental, doctor, etc., so I didn't think anything of it. WRONG! Backstabbing, money making insurance company...don't want to name any names...but if your thinking United Health Care, you are right. It stated that our service was denied. I figured something had to have been entered incorrectly because our dental insurance covers two cleanings a year. Conrad called our dental office inquiring about the denial. It just so happens that I had my teeth cleaned a couple days before my six month mark. Our insurance only covers cleanings every six months (to the day...in small, fine print). So, we are stuck with paying the bill. "It's only $110. And because we have a contract with United Health Care we give a discount so really you are still getting a great deal," states the lady at the dental office who takes care of the policies. Why pay $110 when we should have gotten for free? I understand that the policy is between us and the insurance company and not the dental office. But, we are NOT paying the money and are putting our game face on. On your mark, get set....APPEAL!

Phobia...yet intriguing!

I have a huge phobia of snakes. They make my skin crawl. But, yet, as odd as it sounds, they intrigue me (from a distance, of course). My sister-in-law sent this picture to me in an email. I thought it was magnificent, in a gross, creepy kind of way. This picture was taken from Western Australia by some rock climbers. The snake is pulling a cow...I repeat...a cow, out of the water. Pay attention to the size of the snake. YIKES!Rock Climbing, anyone?

I take that back....

You know when you buy a product and they always want you to buy insurance or an extended warranty on it. I HATE that. Is the product so bad that they have to offer a "backup" for when it breaks, or are they trying to get more money out of your pocket. I vote the second answer. I never purchase "extended" anything. I'll take my chances. Well, today I did just that. I was at a friends house and had to use the bathroom. Every thing went smooth and normal until I flushed the toilet and heard a "plop"! I look down as my cell phone....pause....SCREAM!....okay, now we can move on...is caught in a circular motion and headed for the dreadful unknown. I was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and had my phone in the front pouch. STUPID! When I purchased my phone plan, they (Verizon), asked if I wanted insurance in case my phone was accidently washed or dropped in the toilet. "No thanks. Who does that anyways?! Irresponsible people!" I discovered that maybe they aren't just trying to make more money off of me, but they realize that consumers can be THAT stupid!
So, here I sit waiting to see if my phone will come back to life or if I am going to purchase a new one. In the mean time, don't call because I CAN'T answer it! Maybe this time when they ask me if I want the insurance I'll say, "Yes, please!" Nah, I think I'll take my chances!