January 08 Roundup

I have been doing the monthly roundups for a couple months now. If you want to find out more about Roundups please visit Katie the Scrapbook Lady's blog here.

Can you believe tomorrow is February? Where did January go? Man it flew by me so quickly. Well, here is my roundup for January.

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

I am trying to add some reading time to my hectic schedule. I read very slowly so bare with me. I started to read "Five-Star Families Moving Yours from Good to Great" by Carol Kuykendall. I am on page 35. It has 220 pages. I received this book from my friend Jennifer from MOPS for Christmas. I have the book in my pocketbook so if ever I get somewhere and have nothing to do I can pull it out. That's what I did when I was at the movie theatre waiting for my friend to arrive.

The other book that I am reading I rented from the library. It's called "ORDER from CHAOS" a 6-Step Plan for Organizing yourself, your office and your life by Liz Davenport. I am on page 41. It has 211 pages in it. I actually brought this one to the gym with me and read on the treadmill. Right now I'm reading about paper clutter and how to file faster.

Magazines - I got my first issue of Digital Scrapbooking. No, I never had this magazine before. Are you laughing? I normally just use the internet or Creative Keepsakes mag for my inspiration. I only read a few pages in my magazine. It's in my bathroom for when I have a few minutes to just sit and read.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?

I rented The Heartbreak Kid. My husband would consider this a girly movie but I think men would like it as well because of all the sexual content. Besides that I liked the movie. I usually like Ben Stiller movies. I think he's funny.

I actually got to see 2 movies in the theatre this month. A record for me. I went once with the MOMS Club to see Juno and once I took Justin to the movies alone as my mom had the girls we saw "Alvin and the Chipmunks". Both movies were really good. Of course, the chipmunks really reminded me of my children. Now, when they are bad I'm screaming, "ALVIN"

What special days did I celebrate and how?

There were no special days this month. We did add 2 new things to our schedule though. Gold's Gym and Wacky Gym. Oh, we did go to our friend Cameron's birthday party. He turned 2.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

We gave Cameron a cute little toy camera. I am always taking photos of him so when I saw the camera I knew I just had to get it for him.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

The children suffered from ear infections again! I had to pick up Naomi from school one day because she had a fever and complained of ear pain. Went to the doctor but she said that there was fluid in her ears and that she couldn't give her any medication because she had no infection.

The worst thing that happened this month was that Justin closed Naomi's small finger in the pantry closet door. She lost her finger nail from this incident. She's been wearing a bandaide for like 2 weeks now. I was so scared when it happened and almost rushed her to the ER as the blood was really bad. Luckily my husband was there to calm me down. I could never be a nurse.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?

My mom took the girls to get their hair cut and I took Justin to the car dealer to purchase our car and then to the movies. It's not very often that I just get one on one with my children so this was special.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?

Well, I have been meal planning every Monday. This certainly has been helping with the question, "What's for dinner?" which I really hate. I made spinach brownies which was really good. Broccoli, Sausage pasta was really good too. These recipes can be found on my blog this month. No new restaurants.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

Stockpiling for my pantry. Let's see! I got tons of peanut butter, ketchup, Ragu pasta sauce and cereals. I have been using coupons for the items that are on sale and getting them for free to $1 each! I've been saving from $30-$80 reducing our grocery bill.

What were this month's disappointments?

Naomi getting her finger caught in the door and her losing her fingernail from the incident.

What were my accomplishments this month?

42 scrapbook pages completed.

Anything else noteworthy to record?

Great website for the month: Hot Coupon World

I have been trying to cut down our grocery spending. I normally spend from $800-$1,000 a month. I actually spent $784 and saved $278 using coupons and price plus only purchasing things on sale and stocking up on certain products that we use often. I also mailed in rebates that total $36 so I should be getting that back in February. I best deal I did was at CVS where I spent .59 and saved $27.92 on Ragu, Skippy Peanut Butter, Twizzlers, Purex laundry detergent getting $8 back in extra bucks to use next time.

Backup your digital pictures to cd/dvd and upload them to an online site or two for an extra backup. Send the links to the online albums to friends and family.

Choose photos (or digital layouts) to be printed out and get that done while you are thinking about it.

Make sure your scrapbooking area is cleaned up and organized. Put away new purchases (or organize your hard drive if you are a digi scrapper)

Look over the calendar for the coming month and make note of upcoming events you will want to capture for your scrapbooks.