Try them out Thursday! 4.10.08

So this week i want everyone to know about this blog: Get Rich Slowly. Most of you probably already read it. It's very popular. However, for those of you that don't read it, you should! It is a blog full of awesome tips, big-picture tips on saving money. Seriously. This blog really helps me out. When we finally have consistent income, we will be strategizing with the help of our financial planner and this website. It's really great.

Some of the posts it features are

16 ways to eat healthy while keeping it cheap

Which online high-yield savings account is best?

A simple way to get more out of life

An introduction to square-foot gardening

This blog is just extremely...useful.

There are also really interesting comments from people that give other insights.

Here is a post about tipping, (a BIG issue at our house, since Kris is a server) and there are hundreds of comments, some of which drive me insane, but others that are very interesting and good.

So....Try Them Out!

First garage sale in 08!

David and i went to our first garage sale last Saturday. It was gorgeous outside: like 58 degrees and all the snow was melted and there was no wind and we were very happy. The garage sale itself was quite a disappointment, however. Very small and hardly worth getting a toddler out of the car. i got him a sippy cup and the "Very Hungry Caterpillar" book for $1. This was actually a very good deal, but i like bigger garage sales. Ones that actually go inside the garage and can't be held completley within the top half of the driveway. Anyway, it was fun to start off the GS season!

i haven't totalled up my garage sale money yet.

Wait, i don't know if i've told you the length of my obsession with garage sales. Um, i'm obsessed with garage sales. i save up all my change and some small cash all year, take it to the bank and put into $1s and $5s, and that is my garage sale money. i love going to them. They are fun, you meet new people, you get CHEAP stuff, and it's a really great way to spend time if you happen to have quite a bit of free time, but not much money.

When i was in college, my instant messenger screen name was garagesaleband, due to my love of garage sales and local music. This is how much i heart garage sales.

i'm considering holding a garage sale towards the end of this month. i've got a bit of stuff to sell, and quite a bit of Tupperware inventory to get rid of. However, i don't have enough stuff of my own to really merit a sale. Does anyone else live around the Metro that wants to sell anything?

Saturday was totally just a tease, though. It got cold and rainy again after that beautiful day. Good weather will come again, though! According to my Weather Channel Desktop, Sunday and Monday will be a bit warmer (40s) with only some clouds. This is actually disappointing. i checked this morning and it said Sunday was going to be 58 with no clouds. We'll see, i guess, what the weather actually is come Sunday.

In other Very Good News, my friend Devin is finally engaged! She sometimes reads my blog, and should really start her own, but anyway her boyfriend finally proposed to her, which is very exciting. They've been dating, um, forever and it's about time:) They're very sweet together, and i couldn't be happier for them. i guess he proposed to her at a cafeteria? Or some high-end cafeteria restaurant i haven't been to. The words high-end and cafeteria being in the same genre make no sense to me, but i guess it was very special and a big surprise. i'm very glad they're getting married, but for my own selfish reasons, which i will reveal later.

Anyway, here's a picture of Devin with David at his birthday, her now-fiancee Mark in the background there. How cute! Sorry the picture's so small. Not really sure why it uploaded like that. Anyway, have a good night!

Try them out Thursday! 4.3.08

For this week's edition of TTOT, you should check out my friend Susan's blog, "Womb" For Improvement. It is an important blog read for anyone who has children, wants children someday, or especially are having difficulty conceiving. She is bravely blogging her way through a really rough time trying to conceive after miscarriage, and i really look up to her for her candor and vulnerability.

To really "get" her, please read these posts.

The First Post

The Beginning

The Middle

The End

She is a fabulous woman, and i'm proud to know her. She is also a fellow church musician under the age of 50. That in itself is amazing:)


i love her, so you should Try Her Out!

Tag: i'm it!

My friends Mip and The Bayou Belles and Their Beau tagged me for this meme. So here we go!

The Rules:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Random and weird things about me:

1. i eat the peanut caramel part off snickers bars first, then the nougat part. The last bite, however, i eat both sides still together.

2. i have had a nose ring. It got infected while i was pregnant with David, so i took it out. i will get one again someday, because i thought it was really cute.

3. Feet cannot touch my feet. At night, my husband comes home and tries to play "footsie" with me in bed because he knows i hate it. Toenails really are not allowed to touch my feet. Yuck.

4. "Fur Elise" and Pachelbel's "Canon in D" are two of the most hideously overplayed pieces of music. i shudder to hear them. "Fur Elise", especially is the worst, because any time there is a piano out in public, like after church or at a music store, there is most assuredly some 9-year-old slogging their way through the opening first few lines.

5. i promised myself i would never own a minivan. i now own a minivan, and am the happiest with it of any of my other cars. i LOVE my van.

6. i can't fall asleep without the tv on. i got into the habit while living in an apartment and fell asleep to tv every night. It also cannot be boring. i can't fall asleep to infomercials or something i don't care about. i must be interested in whatever is on tv in order to sleep through it.

7. My feet have no arches. My best friend growing up had a dad who was a podiatrist. Every time i'd go to their house, he'd say "Hello, Pancake feet!" This makes it very difficult and painful to wear high heels. i unfortunately have pretty much given up on them, because after years and years of trying to wear them, my feet have not been able to get used to it. It is a sad thing, because i love purty shoes.

Who to tag? Liz from Blonde Moment, Rachel from Anything Bloggable, Kacie from Sense To Save's other blog, Susan from This One's for me (when she gets back from Spain!), Jess from Dearest Jessica, Cassie from One in a Million Johnsons, and Sarah from This One Goes Out to the Friends I Never Had. If any of you don't want to do it, no harm done. As for everyone else who comes here, i hope will do this, too, as i love hearing random things about my bloggy friends!

Saving money at sporting events

As you know, Kris and i went to the Twins game on Monday. It was awesome. However, outings like that are kind of expensive. Here's some tips to save money at sporting events (but still have fun.)

• We eat before we go. Then we aren't dying of hunger by the time we get there, and buy less of the very expensive food at the stadium.
  
• We bring our own snacks. i usually bring salted peanuts in the shell from the grocery store, (about 1/3 of the price as at the game) and i tend to bring some kind of gummy snack, also bought in bulk at the grocery store.
  
• We take the light rail to the game. Public transportation is awesome when it comes to big events. We park at the Mall, pay $6/person round trip, and are dropped off at the light rail stop in front of the Dome. If we would have driven, it would have been more expensive to park, and we would have had to park blocks away from the Dome. If we hadn't had light rail, we probably would take buses. Parking downtown is awful during sporting events, so the light rail is a life saver.
  
• We bring our own drinks/try not to buy drinks. i'm not actually sure if this is allowed, to bring your own drinks. At least at the Metrodome, they have a "no caps" policy on bottled beverages. But i bring a couple bottles of water in the diaper bag. When they look through it, they don't say anything, but maybe they think the water is for the baby? i'm not sure. So, try bringing your own drinks. They are very expensive at the game.

We do buy food at games. We could live without it, but Kris and i really must each have a hot dog at baseball games. Remember how hot dogs are the only way he got me to go to games originally? It's kind of a tradition for us now. We even served hot dogs at our wedding reception. So we do buy hot dogs, and Kris usually gets a soft pretzel. It is just one of those things we choose to "splurge on". We try to save money in places so we can spend a bit in others.

About me

(After my 102nd blog post, i decided an About Me page is in order.)

i am jessica Gensmer, pianomomsicle extraordinare. The handle comes from the fact that i play piano, am a mom, and am always cold. (My husband calls me jessicle.)

My husband Kris and i have been married since August of 2006 at the age of 21, after dating since senior year of high school. We are still really enjoying marriage. Really. i'll let you know if this changes. :)

We have a son named David. He was born in February 2007. His eyes are a gorgeous color blue, and he is a great sleeper and a terrific eater and the love of my life. He also seems to have "Rain Man" tendencies. i will also keep you updated about this.

You can read his birth story here and here.


In October 2008, i had a little girl, Cadence Rae. i'm working on her birth story.

i am the pianist at a fantastic church in Eden Prairie. To me, getting paid money to play piano is like a 3-year-old getting paid to jump in puddles. i LOVE my job, and all the people around me there.

i have had some college education: 2 years at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso Indiana and a semester at Bethel University in Roseville MN as a church music major. 2.5 years and $20,000 of debt later, i've learned you do not need a degree to play piano at church. i hope to go back to school and finish with a B.A. in Communication and a music minor.

Fajitas with guacamole are my favorite food. Dr. Pepper is possibly the most perfect beverage ever created. Besides margaritas.

Eric Whitacre is a modern composer. His work is so incredible that he is the only musical influence i'm listing on this page. Please go check out his music. His album "Cloudburst" is a great beauty.

i don't have a lot of money. This motivates many of my posts. i'm not niching myself into a "frugal blog" because this is my personal blog and because i don't have enough "wealth" (haha) of information for maintaining a blog about frugality or saving money. But because this is my personal blog, and so much of my life revolves around figuring out how to save money, i tend to write quite a bit about money. If you are wanting actual thrifty blogs, go to my friends Sense to Save and Northern Cheapskate.

If you'd like to know more about me, you can email me : jessica dot gensmer at yahoo dot com.

You can also ask me to be your friend on facebook, right here.




Here are some of my better posts:

An Email i wrote to my mom

My Sweet Night

How we relate to God

i no longer allow anonymous posting, because my stance is: introduce yourself! Stay a while! However, enjoy my gift to you: no unreadable word verification while commenting.

i hope you enjoy my blog. i really enjoy writing it.

Wordless Wednesday-why do we buy him toys?

Home Opener 2008

Well folks, we went to the Twins home opener on Monday. We took David, as per tradition, and also my brother Jason and his 6-year-old son Ros were able to go. So we all parked at Mall of America and took the light rail to the Metrodome. It was very snowy, but much better than trying to drive in it and then walk from wherever parking spot blocks away we would have gotten.

David went to his first home opener last year at 6 weeks old. This year's was quite a bit different. Being 13 months old at a baseball game is considerably more complicated than being a 6-week-old, and that includes exclusive breastfeeding at 6 weeks. David had a rough time, poor guy. We were in general admission seats, as usual, but due to Ros' school and not scheduling quite enough time for the train, we got there and were trying to find a spot during the first pitch. We ended up sitting one row below the top row. i mean, we could almost touch the dome part of the Metrodome. So it was tons of walking, and no space because the place was packed, so David was stuck in our laps and was very upset. We gave him food and everything, but as we didn't want to overfeed him, that had to stop, too. He had an ok time, but we're definitely not bringing him to any more games this year. Kris wants to keep up the tradition of bringing him to openers, but until he's quite a bit older and can walk some of the steps himself, i think we'll go by ourselves.

Here's last year's opener pictures:

Here's this year's opener pictures:


Hasn't he grown so much? i look at the difference in the pictures and i'm amazed.

Kris and i decided in premarital counseling that it was important to us to have a certain number of special times per year to spend. We have promised each other 4 sporting events and i believe 3 music events per year. The Twins games are pretty cheap ($7 per ticket) and are super fun. i don't enjoy any sports besides baseball, but it's Kris' favorite, so he's more than happy to take me. We enjoy our baseball games. Actually, Kris was the one to get me to enjoy baseball. He used to lure me to games with him promising hot dogs, and eventually i started enjoying the games and am now a pretty big Twins fan. He takes really good care of me while we're at them, too. Yesterday we took turns holding David, and for about an inning he carried David all the way down the steps and into the hall so our Little Manster could run around for a bit and so i could eat my hot dog in peace. He put David in the Baby Bjorn for probably the last time, too. i love watching Kris wear David. Anyway, i'm really glad we have promised ourselves at least 7 dates per year. It's important to kind of reconnect and remember why we fell in love in the first place, you know?

Kris wearing David

Our family picture-not super good shots of any of us

David making the happiest,chunkiest face ever!

David was very sleepy on the train ride home, poor buddy.

It was a wonderful night. i can't wait till April 20, when Kris and i are going (sans David) to watch the Twins beat Cleveland!

What a difference a day makes

i just thought this would be an interesting parallel:


Monday 8:30 AM-my deck and backyard

Tuesday 9:00 AM-my deck and backyard


Ah, this is what it is to live in MN: Spring comes flirting around with you at the end of March, but it's just a tease

Food Network Sunday

On Sunday, after church Kris took David and i to Mall of America. We normally try to avoid that mall, especially on a Sunday during spring break, preferring E.P. mall or Burnsville, but there were two reasons we went there that day:


Sandra Lee


Duff Goldman


They were in town for an organization called Share Our Strength. There were baked goods for sale everywhere! We didn't get there in time to get in line for autographs, but we did get to look upon their bright shiny faces. Kris was that guy and took pictures for me while security guards asked him to keep moving, and it was a good time.


David and i were having a nice time when we were on our way out. (Enjoy the pregnancy acne!)

If Paula Deen (Queen Paula) ever comes into town, though, i'm taking the day off and being first in line to meet her!

Sick Saturday

This past Saturday, Kris worked at his old church during from 9A-3P and then at Outback from 4-midnight. So i didn't see him much. i was recovering from a horrible one-day scourge of sore throat/cold symptoms, and David seemed to have it on Saturday. And i was alone. All day.

Anyway, David woke up in the morning and his cries were like little squeaks. You know how when your throat is sore every sound you make hurts? That's what his little noises sounded like.
Then he coughed, and i could hear him gagging. He didn't throw up, but his little stomach was making him gag, just like mine was the day before. It was sad! He actually seemed quite a bit better after breakfast, though, and since i had a bunch of errands to run, we ran.

We went to CVS and bought toilet paper (again) and zip-top bags. Note to self: always buy zip-top bags from CVS, as they are incredibly cheap. i got them from the $1 bin, and they were 1/2 off. Awesome!

We went to Target to buy myself a Twins shirt for the home opener we're attending tonight. (P.S. There is supposed to be 9 inches of snow falling between today and tonight: awesome for traveling to the dome!) i really like the shirt. They only sell men's and boy's Twins apparel, but it's ok. i bought a men's ringer tee that is pretty cute, but will also fit me through all the summer games. i had to get a new one because the shirt i was wearing last year (a boy's size large) definitely no longer fits, thanks to my new baby Lime!

We went to Cub for food. Guys, Cub had great deals last week. It was awesome. They first of all had a huge "Buy one, get TWO free" sale, and you know what? Most of it was stuff we actually eat! So i got a lot of food and saved about $30 or 50% on my grocery bill! Speaking of which, i discontinued my trial of the Grocery Game. Too much of what was on sale and coupons was not stuff we eat, and then what we do eat is even cheaper if you buy the generic than with the coupons and all that. So i signed up for Coupon Mom like my friend Northern Cheapskate suggested, and will keep up with the sales but for free now.

Then we napped.

i slept for about 2 hours, and he slept for 3 1/2! Told ya we were sick. Anyway, i was reading Rocks in My Dryer, specifically her post about Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner. She loves it! i was thinking the similar thing she was:

"Really?" I thought. "Have we as a nation gotten so lazy we can't even scrub our own showers?"

And then I stopped to try and remember the last time I gave my shower a good scrubbing. And then I shut up.

Anyway, i decided to buy one. They were on sale at Target for $18, and i found a $7 coupon online. i also needed a new shower head. Our old shower head was a double one, which is very useful. i think most of the extra shower heads are used for hosing off dogs, but ours does a great job of hosing off Davids after poo emergencies. Anyway, our shower head had broken and now blasts both heads at full blast, wasting lots of water and making the water get cold about doubly as quickly. Plus, it takes forever for the water to get hot again, so basically, Kris showers during the morning and i shower afternoon/night, because we can't even shower in the same hemisphere of the day anymore.

i picked out a new shower head for $30. i got the Automatic Shower Cleaner, which i'm totally pumped about, and checked out. i got out to my car and looked at the receipt. i should pay more attention to the total when i'm ringing up, but at that point, the cashier is flirting with David and i'm being proud mommy. So anyway, i got out to my car and realized i only paid $38 for that stuff! She had rung the coupon through twice!

At first, i thought "Cool! i saved $14 instead of $7!" And then i realized i wouldn't be able to live with myself. So i got David out of his car seat and we went back into the store into customer service. It was nice, though, and they didn't make me pay them back the $7, though they looked at my receipt and seemed grim about it. i think they were about to go have a chat with the lady that rang me up. i made sure it was ok, and i left. So anyway, in the end, i got a $30 double shower head and a $20 shower cleaner for $38. Not bad!

i'm really excited to use the new shower stuff! i'll let you know how the cleaner works, but from all the ratings and reviews i've read, it is a miracle:)

Great new video

It's of Kris tickling baby David with his goatee: turn on your sound!

Good but lonely news

Hello everyone! The weather is getting better, right? That means i'm a happier momsicle.

Anyway, on to the big news! Remember how Kris got a job at Target a few weeks ago? There were a lot of problems with it: it had nothing to do with his ultimate career goal of being in the medical field, didn't pay well, had bad hours along with his Outback job. Then in the following weeks, he couldn't go to orientation because Week 1: his background check hadn't gone through yet, Week 2: they changed orientation to a different night he couldn't make, Week 3: the H.R. guy was on vacation and they didn't have orientation, Week 4: is right now and no one has called him since last Monday. This is obnoxious because he got this job, and was hoping to start earning money soon, you know? However, he was hoping for this Canterbury job, and guess what?

He got it!!!!

They called yesterday! He went in this morning for a drug test and a background check, and as soon as those things go through (somewhere between 2-7 days, they say) they will call him and he'll be able to be an EMT, with starting pay much better than Target, and hours much easier for his sleep schedule along with his Outback job. So yay! We'll be able to pay our bills, he'll be happier because he'll feel like 'the man of the house' again, and he will be working towards his career goal. This is Very Good News. It is considered a seasonal job, through the summer, but if they like him which is unavoidable, he'll be able to pick and choose his own hours in the fall for continuing to work there while he goes to paramedic school and works and has a new baby. So yay Kris!

In the meantime, however, i haven't gotten to see him much lately, which is a bit of a bummer. He's been working on helping gut his parents' basement for his brother's wedding, and then working at night. It just came kind of suddenly: the working during the day thing. i knew it would come eventually, but it was basically like yesterday his dad called and said "Kris, can you come work here today?" and then i pretty much haven't seen him since. But we need the money, and so David and i have been bored at home, but thankful for Kris being such a hard worker.

Speaking of being bored, my dad had pity on us this morning and took David and i to lunch at don Pablo's. Yum! i had chicken fajitas. i fed David some salsa and i'm pretty sure he'll never trust me again! But it was cute. He was really tired on the way home.

Then later this afternoon, my boss Paul and my friend Andy who is the youth pastor at my church called and had me meet them at Chipotle. It was a nice 45 minutes of talking to adults and as always, lots of laughing. My favorite joke my boss has ever said to me was this: (he is a Japanese man)

Paul: "You know jessica, once my wife and i were talking about adopting one of those little Caucasian babies."

i still laugh every time i think of it. i like having my boss be someone i can text after a couple cocktails:)

Speaking of cocktails, i don't get to have those, being pregnant. You know what else i don't get to have? Medicine. And my throat is very sore and scratchy. i hope i'm not getting the flu, but most likely it is just a cold. This is how they usually start for me. But all i can do is sit here and suck on my Hall's Fruit breezers and wish they more medicinal than candy. Nyquil would be my choice, but for Baby Fig's sake, i abstain.

Did you guys watch American Idol this week? i didn't think Chikezie should have been in it much longer, but i think Kristy Cook should have been booted before him.

Ok, have a good night! i've got sleepytime tea and local honey that is calling my name.

Try them out Thursday!

i have started a segment for my blog. Because i am not very inspired to write my own blog posts, i thought maybe i'd tell you what i like about blogs i read. So every Thursday, i'll give you an intro to one of my favorite blogs and you should go Try them out!

This week, you should try out my friend Kacie's blog, Sense to Save. It is my favorite of all (and there are a lot) of the frugal/save money blogs. Her posts are chock-full of tips and information on how to get the most out of your stuff and your money. She isn't a mommy yet, but she is great at coming up with tips for mommies, and poses interesting discussion questions, like this one about how much it takes to raise a child. She herself is on a frugal journey, and gives personal lessons she's learning along the way. In a world where many frugal bloggers are in their late 30's, are out of debt, and have forgotten what it's like to be younger and still be in horrifying debt, Kacie, (a fellow 22-year-old) is a fresh face for those of us just starting out our frugal lifestyles. She's really approachable and friendly and overall a fabulous blogger.

Here are some of her more popular posts:

Top 20 Web 2.0 sites for frugal living

Frugal Ways to Build Your Blog

A few budgeting tools to consider

How to ‘do’ the drug stores

Wasting food is so unfrugal

The Better Budget 2008 Challenge!

Must you buy Brand-X? Or are you fine with generic?

Go Try her out!

Easter, people

He is risen!


i am a church pianist. So it really can truthfully be assumed that i A. am a Christian and B. have had a very busy last week.


You know, i started playing at my church last June. i'd never routinely attended a Lutheran church before, so until this year, i hadn't ever attended an Ash Wednesday service, or Maundy Thursday, or midweek Lenten services. In fact, until probably January i wouldn't have understood the word "Lenten." But as i play at all of those things, i am really starting to understand where Lutherans are coming from. i try to pay attention to the different sermons and liturgy and rituals, and i really like them. My family says they are too "Catholic" and yes, i can see where some of these things i.e. receiving absolution and touching a cross on Good Friday seem Catholic and unnecessary. But the act of them is symbolic and confronts you in a different way than merely confessing your sins or looking at a cross. i, for one, don't think Catholics are that bad, either. (Sorry mom.) i mean, same God, right? If you believe in Him and work towards living for Him, i feel we're on the same side, even if our opinion on certain doctrines don't completely line up. Most of this will show up in various forms again in different posts. Bear with me. i'm trying to digest this.

i just feel grateful. This has been an incredible week. i've gotten to spend a bunch more time with people i absolutely love hanging out with, and have gotten to play piano for hours, but above all else i feel like God is revealing Himself to me in new ways that i might not have been exposed to had i not been in this situation.

i appreciate His sacrifice, and every day am more mind-boggled by it as my mind tries to grasp the concept.

In the meantime, however, i had SO much playing to do this week! We had Maundy Thursday service, which was neato, and then a rehearsal for Sunday directly afterwards, so i was at church playing almost constantly from 6-10 PM. Then Good Friday, also neato, was not so long and i was at church for only 2 hours. Then this morning i got to church at 7:30, rehearsed with the choir and then the band, then played 3 services. It was great! Granted, it was exhausting, but it was the good kind of exhausting: the tired you get when you get to spend hours doing something you love and feel great about doing. i'm already looking forward to rehearsing on Wednesday.

We had Easter with my parents and my aunt and uncle yesterday at my parent's house. Yum! It was ham and cheesy potatoes. My aunt always makes incredible desserts, and did not disappoint this time. She brought a cream cheese-filled pineapple upside-down cake, an apple crisp, and my favorite, an Oreo pie thing with cream cheese/whipped frosting layers alternating with chocolate pudding layers. What she does with that is use low fat and non sugar varieties of all those ingredients, and i swear you can't tell. It's still not good for you, but much better than regular fat and sugar.

Then this afternoon we had Easter with Kris' family, featuring ham and cheesy potatoes, which i can't get tired of, and also blue cheese chopped salad in the style of Outback, cream cheese corn, rolls, and i was in charge of dessert so i made these brownie skewers and lemon cupcakes with lemon frosting with strawberries on top. Unfortunately, being pregnant means that in general, any food i prepare completely loses its appeal to me, so i didn't try my desserts. People said they were good though.

David was so cute today! i didn't get any pictures of him myself, but my father-in-law did, so when i get them from him i'll post them. David was in a black pinstriped pants and vest, with white button-down complete with clip on black patterned tie. So cute. Plus, whenever he wears anything with a stiff collar like a button-down shirt, his cheeks look even chunkier. He was totally appetizing today. i really understand why old ladies squeeze cheeks. Cheeks are the best part of babies and little children!

i am very sleepy, and i'm sleeping for two, so i bid you a fond adieu, and hope you had a great Easter.

He is risen indeed!

Update

Hello! It's been a long time since i have written about the goings-on in the Sicle family:)

A few weeks ago, Kris was a finalist in the Diamond Service Awards Ceremony, an Oscar-esque ceremony awarding the top servers in Bloomington. It was complete with sit-down dinner, two free drinks with every ticket, and "celebrity" presenters, including the mayor of Bloomington and Herb Carneal, the voice of the Twins. We got dressed up, and it should have been serious and fun, but it was difficult not to laugh when Herb Carneal said "And now, for the finalists in the Best Busser category." Kris didn't win, but he is one of the top five servers in Bloomington. So if you're ever at Outback Bloomington (Off 494 and Portland) stop in any evening but Sunday or Wednesday, ask for Kris with a K, and you'll have a magical food adventure with one of the best servers in Bloomington, (not to mention the handsomest!)

The night after that, my brother-in-law's band, Epicurean, had their Metalblade cd release show at the Cabooze. It was fun! However, everyone had been drinking and smoking that night, and it was so loud in the venue that you had to shout in a person's face in order to be heard, so i was feeling nauseated from all the second-hand liquor and smoke smells right in my face:( It was still a really good show though, and i'm glad to be related to a rock star!

David has started walking with no hesitation in the last couple weeks. He had been able to walk before, but didn't seem that interested, preferring crawling. He started walking like a champ just recently and is really good at getting right up without whining after his many trip and falls.

Kris just got a job at Target. He needed a day job, so he will be working there from 4 AM-1 PM to unload their trucks. He won't be working Sundays, but i think almost every other day. i feel bad, because he will be getting home from Outback at midnight-1 in the morning, then having to get up 2 hours later for Target. He'll get home from Target, hopefully take a couple hour nap, then go to Outback again. Yuck. At least it will be a consistent paycheck. Living off tips is not good for us, making it impossible to budget or pay our bills regularly.

He also has an interview at Canterbury (a horse-racing and gambling sort of place) this afternoon. If he gets this job, he'd be a security guard/EMT, and would start with $1.50/hour more than Target. It depends on the time they'd need him. If they'd need him during the day, he'd not start work at Target, and if they need him at night, he'd quit Outback. That's my favorite option, so he'd work in two places a mile away from us, instead of having to leave an hour early during rush hour to get to work. However, if Canterbury needs him at odd days and nights, he won't be able to take the job at all. And this is if he gets offered the job. i hope it works out though.

i've been really exhausted lately. However, i need to figure out how to do my eye makeup in a way that makes me look awake. i'm tired of people telling me how tired i look! Does anyone have any tips? i already have naturally slouchy eyes, which doesn't help.

It is Kris' birthday on Wednesday. i got him a video game he wanted: The Original Halo for original XBox. He's playing it right now. He's got Halo 2 and 3, but had mentioned how he wanted Halo 1, and it was $10 at Best Buy. i also got him the sixth season of Scrubs, one of our favorite shows. This way we both can watch it, because we're running out of stuff to watch we can both agree on. (We own 600 dvds, but can't ever agree on what to watch!) We went to Best Buy yesterday to pick up his presents, and i once again got offered a job. 4/5 of the last times i've gone to Best Buy Shakopee i've been offered a job. But alas, i cannot work retail. For my mental health, i can't do it. Anyway, i will soon have two children, and the $10/hour i'd make at Best Buy would definitely not cover day care for two kids.

This was a very jumbly post, but i've had a very jumbly two weeks! Have a wonderful Holy Week everyone! Oh and happy St. Patrick's day!

Porn for women (G-rated, i promise!)

i read lots of blogs. A while ago, someone wrote a blog about this book, Porn for Women. It is a book full of decently-clothed men cleaning. And it made me laugh. If you read my blog, and you wrote the post about the book, let me know and i will link to you. Unfortunately it was so long ago that my Google reader can't find it and neither can i.

Anyway, on Saturday, i went out for lunch and shopping with my mom, and then i took David to a birthday party. When i got home, my husband had left me with my own porn for women, just minus a man.

He had cleaned the kitchen while i was gone! i was really grateful, because it was a mess, and we had people coming over the next day. i thought i'd have to clean for an hour before getting to go to bed on Saturday night, but instead i got to go to bed early and get a good night's sleep before church and company. Wasn't he sweet?

This post is about toilet paper.

Hello. i am writing about toilet paper, because unfortunately it is the topic on my mind, and i must blog about it before i (forgive me) crap a brick.

Once upon a time, in a little town called Shakopee, lived a man and his wife and their little boy. And the wife was in charge of paying for medical bills, groceries, with groceries usually encompassing all necessary home goods. Said wife was having to be creative to pay for those things, and all the little surprises that come up with her paycheck. She liked to buy things in bulk, because buying them that way generally produces savings. She also would buy generic brand items as much as possible.

The husband and wife's little boy was turning one year old! The day before his party, the household ran out of toilet paper. Wifey decided since they were having a party to buy name brand toilet paper that would be a party for the tushies of all their guests, provided they needed to use it. This was on February 15. She bought 12 rolls, in a package calling it 12 double rolls, but we all know they are just regular rolls and would rather have our packaging be up-front about it. Well, today the husband was looking around the linen closet and bathroom closet, finally calling out to the wife "We are on our last roll of toilet paper!"

This caused the wife to have feelings of mildly explosive rage, but she merely sang "i bought 12 rolls less than a month ago! There must be more in the closet!" But to no avail. The toilet paper she had bought was not enough to get two adults and two parties through one month.

i needed to write that story out because if i write in a cutesy manner, i will be less apt to use exaggeration words like "he always" and "if only i had a good lawyer."

But seriously, folks. Two adults. 12 rolls of toilet paper, and 3 1/2 weeks later we're out? i'm also going to say this. In my efforts to conserve, i have put forth an effort to reduce the use of everything. i mean everything. Not Sheryl Crow conservation, but a good amount. i really try to use as little as possible.

Not to be crude, but that leaves us with this question: how much is my husband using? He does use t.p. to blow his nose. He has a mild case of allergies that he hypochondriacally calls severe and blows his nose seemingly several (hundreds?) of times per day. Honestly, i'd rather have him using t.p. for it, since facial tissues are more expensive, plus he always has to double them up, and only uses one set per blow. (i've seen him go through a box of kleenexes on a day when he wasn't sick.)

i'm thinking, though, that maybe our toilet paper roll is also partly to blame. It rolls with such ease! It encourages one to keep rolling more and more out. It is anxious to please. i was at the doctor this morning, doling out yet another urine sample, and the toilet paper dispenser roll thingy was stuck, so it didn't swing around. i had to manually roll the toilet paper over the back of the roll and out again in order to get any. i am sure i used less than would i have had full swinging action from the roll. It makes sense: if you have to work harder to get the toilet paper, you'll take less, right?

i'm sitting here, figuring that if i continue at this rate, about $10/month, that is $120/year on toilet paper. Is it worth it? Should i rig my toilet paper roll to stick? Should i tell Kris to use a handkerchief for his nose? Really, $120 a year will buy $100,000 of life insurance. If you're brave enough, please let me know A: how much you think you spend on t.p. and B: what i should do about my t.p. touchy subject!

The Grocery Game

You all have probably heard of the Grocery Game, right? It is a very interesting way to grocery shop. From thegrocerygame.com:

The Grocery Game is a fun, easy way to save hundreds of dollars on groceries each month. TERI'S LIST reveals the "rock bottom" prices on hundreds of products each week and matches them up with manufacturers' coupons for the best possible savings at your local supermarket. The Grocery Game has exclusive databases that track manufacturers' coupons along with weekly sales and specials, both advertised and UN-advertised. With TERI'S LIST, the days of time consuming work required for effective coupon-ing are over. The Grocery Game does all the hard work and research, presented in a quick reference format on the internet each week, as TERI'S LIST. Members log in, spend a few minutes with a pair of scissors, and they're off to win The Grocery Game!

It's really quite nice. i just started using it two weeks ago, and i have really saved quite a bit. i'll clip all my coupons, but generally don't know how much is a good price for that item. The grocery game knows all the coupons i get in the Sunday paper, knows the prices in my grocery stores, and gives me lists of grocery store sales, and which coupons from which weeks will work for them. It also tells you how much percentage you save off the retail price for the item, and thus which are the best deals. There is a $1 first month trial, and then it is $10/8weeks of a store, plus $5/8 weeks of any additional stores. i've got the $1 trial for Cub, Walgreens, and CVS right now, but will probably only keep Cub and CVS once my trial period is over. You do, however, need a Sunday paper in order for it to work. i will also use the GG to help out my mom, too, because i know what groceries she buys and now that she has a full-time job she doesn't have a lot of time to clip. i have tried using other free coupon websites, but they are simply not as exhaustive or well-organized as GG. Plus, GG finds all my unadvertised in-store specials and also lets me know if they are actually good deals or if i should wait a few more weeks.

This is a shameless plug, but any three people that sign up for the trial using my email as a referral gets me 12 free weeks, so if you do sign up for this, jessica dot gensmer at yahoo dot com is a good thing to write in the referral:) But even if you don't sign up, i just wanted to let you know about it. It's definitely been working for me.

Have any of you been using the Grocery Game or other coupon-organizing websites? Do you find them to be worth it, or too much hassle?

An easier way to dry dishes

i found this post on goodyblog. It is a towely mitt you wear to dry your dishes. Basically, a glove made of terrycloth. It seems much easier than using a regular towel, but it got me thinking. Instead of paying $14.95 for them, you can make them yourself. i plan on doing this, but will have to borrow my mom's sewing machine. i'll let you know how it works out, but here's the initial plan.

1. Trace a large outline around my hand.
   
2. Take old towels (double them up if threadbare) and cut out my hand pattern.
   
3. Sew the "hands" around inside out.
   
4. Turn them right-side in.
   

Voila! Instant hand towels. (Get it? "Hand Towels"!)

The difference between mine and theirs is that theirs have inner linings, so your hands don't get wet. i'm not too concerned about getting my hands wet while drying dishes, because it's not like they would be immersed in water like when you wash dishes. Anyway, it was good inspiration. i like it when stuff like this comes out and i feel like a frugal hacker:)

It's also a good alternative way to go green. i like the idea of going green without having to buy new stuff to do it. Over packaging and too much consumerism are what has gotten us into this whole mindset that we need to do something different. So i've been trying to think of clever ways to repurpose my old stuff into more stuff more useful for my current needs. i'll let you know when i think of more.