Anna loves it—since she likes playing with paper, it’s like getting a new toy every day. Thank you very much, Gilbert Baker and Joe White.

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…twice actually, by Wendy and Shannon, or thrice (isn’t that a great word?) if you count Megan’s “I’ll tag whomever wants to play along.” [Update: add Casie to that too. I’m only doing this once though!] I’ve already listed some stuff about myself on my About Me page and my Quirks post, so I’ll try to come up with 7 new things.

1. I’m so lucky—I have a baby that doesn’t get up until about 9 in the morning, and I love it!

2. I’ve actually never had a drink of alcohol (not counting food with alcohol in it). I’m not opposed to it or anything, I just don’t see a reason to get into it. I like iced tea. And chai latte. And Coke (real Coke, that is.) So why drink?

3. I’ve worn my hair pretty much the same way since… well… always. It’s been shorter and longer, all one length and slightly layered, but I’ve never made a major change (unless you count the short-lived ’80s perm in the 8th grade).

4. I usually wear flavored kiddie lip gloss instead of real grown-up lipstick.

5. In late elementary/junior high school, while everyone else was watching whatever was cool at the time, I was faithfully watching “Brady Bunch” and “Little House on the Prairie” reruns every afternoon.

6. My parents were born on the exact same day. When I was little I thought it was normal for your parents to have the same birthday. I would ask my friends, “When is your parents’ birthday?” and they would say, “My mom’s or my dad’s?” and that confused me.

7. Despite intentions to the contrary, I exercise on a “2 weeks on, 2 months off” kind of schedule. And you know, I’ve stayed about the same size throughout my adulthood (excluding pregnancy of course). So I guess it works for me. Maybe I should write a book—I might be on to something here!

And I’m going to do the Megan bail-out: I tag anyone who wants to give it a shot.

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I think I’ve already lost 2 of my 5 reusable shopping bags. I wonder if I left them in a shopping cart somewhere? That’s just great.

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If you haven’t been doing the Walgreens EasySaver program, this is a great month to get started. Some months there’s hardly anything, but this month they’re being VERY generous! I think this is the best one I’ve ever done!

Here’s what I’ve gotten so far:

• 3 Pantene Pro-V products (shampoo, conditioner, hairspray)
• 6 Garnier Fructis products (shampoo, conditioner, styling stuff)
• Chemistry conditioner
• Pert Plus shampoo
• Nivea body wash
• L’Oreal anti-wrinkle cream
• Crest toothpaste
• LypSyl lip moisturizer
• Revlon nail polish
• Walgreens acid controller
• Visine
• Excedrin
• Walgreens brand “Brita” filter
• 4 Glade products (candles, plug-ins)
• 2-pack vacuum storage bags

And here’s how much I will have spent:

• Nothing. Actually, I’m going to come out $2.60 ahead.

How’d I do it? Some stuff is obvious; the EasySaver catalog tells you it’s free after rebate. Other stuff is a little harder to see; you have to combine sales, rebates, register rewards, and coupons. And for that I credit Money Saving Mom (found through Jenny‘s blog). Of course, I must thank my bargain guardian angel, as Wendy says!

This almost makes up for all the picture frames we bought at Kohl’s last night with their 50-60% off sale and my extra 30% off coupon. We have so many digital pictures of our little cutie, but nothing on the walls. That’s about to change! Using free 4x6s, of course, which you can get through Snapfish, Shutterfly, Kodak Gallery, and I’m sure many others.

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I’m taking the Community Education photography class at UCA this fall. I’ve only had one session, and I really liked it. I think I’m going to really enjoy this class. But that’s not what this story is about.

I paid my tuition ahead of time, and also noted that there was a “materials fee” that would be paid separately. When I got to class, I discovered that the “materials fee” was for a brand new book, not mentioned in the registration information for the class, that they were having everyone buy for $24 from the UCA bookstore. (Which, even including tax, is above the cover price. They round up to the nearest dollar for your convenience. How sweet!) About two minutes later, I was regretting my purchase (although at the time it seemed like I didn’t really have a choice), knowing that there was surely better price, and possibly even a used book, available on the internet.

When I got home I checked Amazon, and surely enough, the brand new ones were $14.96, and they had lots of used ones starting at $3.99 (plus shipping). I was mad! Not only was it a waste of my money, but it seemed very wasteful of resources for me to consume a brand new book when I could re-use someone else’s. I really thought that they should have announced the book ahead of time, giving students the opportunity to find a used one if they so chose. The only problem with ordering a used one at this point was that I would need the book immediately to read the assignment for next week’s class, but fortunately I was able to borrow Casie’s until mine comes in. So I ordered a used one—easy—and returned the new one to the UCA bookstore—not so easy.

For starters, not having been a UCA student myself, I had to find the bookstore. Nowhere on the UCA bookstore website does it say where the bookstore is, so I called the main line to find out, then I studied the online campus map to try to figure out where the building was. So I headed over there after doing a couple of other errands, then drove around campus for 15 minutes looking for a parking place with my nap-deprived baby who happened to fall asleep right as we parked, causing me to unload the monster stroller that holds the carseat in hopes that she would stay asleep rather than just carrying her in the Snugli like I’d planned. (She woke up anyway.) It was right at lunch time, and there I was, a 32-year-old mom dressed in khaki shorts and a polo shirt pushing a baby stroller through the crowds of 20-year-old college students, feeling a bit out of place. As I whiffed the cigarette smoke, I was reminded of my Hendrix days: “Save the environment! Stop pollution!… cough… gasp… hey, have you got a light?” Once inside the bookstore, the return itself was tricky because of the way the Community Ed. people had done the sales, so it took 3 people to do it. One guy seemed a little annoyed at first, but in the end they were all very gracious and friendly. I expressed my appreciation and went on my way.

I’m satisfied that I did the right thing, and I guess sometimes reducing waste just takes an hour of your time. I wonder how much gas I burned up driving around UCA looking for a parking place? Well, let’s not think about that. :-)

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Good golly, we’re getting the whole hurricane! We often get some rain slung this direction from these tropical storms, but this time it looks like the whole thing is channeling itself right through the state. Just how much rain is in that thing?! We’ve got a lake in the backyard, but that’s not so bad I guess… Anna W. just wrote that they’re sandbagging their house, and I know there is a lot of other flooding around the state.

My Anna slept in until 9:00 this morning! It’s definitely a sleep-in day. I’m glad she’s learning such things.

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During my online search about reusable shopping bags, I came across this quote:

You don’t have to do everything, but you should do something.

And they’re right. If you look at articles telling you how to live in such a way as to save the planet, it can be overwhelming. Some things may be downright impossible for your lifestyle or location. But everyone should do at least one thing that’s environmentally responsible.

For instance, even though I don’t use cloth diapers, take public transportation (because it doesn’t exist here!) or have solar panels on my roof, I do recycle whatever I can, use reusable shopping bags, use florescent light bulbs instead of incandescent ones where possible, and I’ve joined FreeCycle. I think my next goal is to reduce my paper towel usage; I use them a lot for cleaning when I don’t have to.

So if you’re not doing anything, do something. And if you’re already doing something, see if you can do something else. It’s baby steps. If you just focus on one thing until it becomes a habit, it’s not overwhelming.

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I’ve been seeing those reusable grocery bags for sale in Wal-Mart and other stores. I thought, “What a good idea… I hope it takes off… I’ll start using those once I see other people doing it.”

What am I, thirteen?!? I’ll do it as long as I’m not the only one? Geez.

So I’m going to get some. Do any of you have experience with these? If so, have you had any problems using them? Are they sturdy? Are they washable? (I’m thinking raw chicken juice, squished grapes, etc.) If I buy Wal-Mart ones, they have to tag them at the door when I come in every time, so I think I might buy some online, even though they cost a little more.

Any input is welcome here.

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… sleep?

Nah, just kidding. Actually, I have a question for the moms about getting stuff done.

I’ve almost figured out how to fit in the “regular”chores (stuff that needs to be done on a daily or weekly basis). I don’t exactly do Flylady to the letter, but I like some of her methods, namely the ones about having routines. I try to have a morning routine that includes stuff like making up the bed, putting away clean dishes, putting away my stuff in the bathroom and wiping around the faucets, etc. Then I try every day during Anna’s naps to do something that needs to be done weekly, like various cleaning chores and laundry (such as bathrooms on Monday, bedroom on Tuesday, etc.) I haven’t ever actually gotten all this done in a week, but it’s a start. Oh, and I exercise, which also has to be done during nap time.

What I haven’t figured out is how to fit in “irregular” chores. For instance, I do have time to put away the dishes, but I don’t have time to clean out the tupperware cabinet so I don’t have an avalanche when I try to put away said dishes. I do have time to vacuum and dust the bedroom, but I have to work around that pile of stuff on my desk that I don’t have time to sort through and figure out what to do with. And anything outside the house—the garage, the flower beds, the car—forget it!

So, moms of little ones, what works for you? Any tips? Things you’ve tried that have worked or not worked? I know I’ll have to figure this out myself, but I’m looking for ideas here. And I have only one kid and no job; most of you have multiple kids and at least a part-time job! I can’t imagine how overwhelming that is.

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I exercised six days this week! Jogging twice, step aerobics video twice, toning video twice. If I could just keep that up for a few weeks, I would probably see a big difference in how I look and feel.

I think I deserve a slice of that leftover lemon pie in the fridge!

Oh bother.

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