Aria'z Ink News and Responses

Happy Hump-day dear readers. No, I'm not being trashy (for a change), once you pass Wednesday, you're over the hump of the work-week... supposedly. This Hump-day, I wanted to update y'all with some new Aria'z Ink news and responses to comments on the last post...

First of all, the new color is not pink or even salmon (I'm a budding colorist, gotta be picky about the shade names, right?)... it's more Campbell's Tomato Soup if you added half a can of milk. LOL It's not so much that I'm in love with the color, but in my opinion, the header pic no longer looks out of place. Every other color combo that I've tried made it seem to float above the page and it just didn't fit. I loveLoveLOVE that pic. I'd never seen a sunset like that before in all my life, so I've been bound and determined to keep that pic as my header. Therefore, with the tomato soup coloring, along with the bright-goldie-yellow, it matches and the picture 'fits the page' now. So, if you're not thrilled with the new colors, discuss it with God, I just tried my human-best to match what He (or She) put in the sky... Besides Brittany of Musings of a Barefoot Foodie likes it, so it's staying! Even if she said that it looked all California mellow, since that picture was taken from my front yard here in Houston~ish Texas in November of 2007... I will totally cut her some slack, she's ready-to-pop-pregnant, the mom of two boys, and she still finds time to write a great blog... I'd cut her slack if she said it was a sunset from the moon.

Next ~ My Girl, who is coming in March, is my 10 year old daughter Josie. Who is smart and beautiful and wonderful from the inside out (even with the standard 10 year old's quirks!). She lives with her dad (aka Ex-Husband, Hubby #1) in Southern California and although we talk a lot, we haven't seen each other in person since late March of last year ~ so, almost a year. Which is why I'm doing the Happy-Dance and why this was better news for me than Sue's good news.

What else? This Friday, February 20th, I'll be doing my first ever product review, which will include a giveaway, make sure y'all check back for that, cause I'm excited. And I'll be doing another mini-giveaway for my One Hundredth Post! I can't believe I'm almost there already! Seems like just yesterday that I was dipping my big toe into the blogging pond.

Also, I'm sure you saw the new item up top, but I'm going to reiterate ~ On March 6th, My Birthday (national holiday), Lucy Adams will let us all read an excerpt from her new book If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny since Aria'z Ink will be one of the first stops on her virtual book tour, If Mama Blog Tour 2009. She has also generously agreed to do a giveaway here, so for the Aria's-Birthday National Holiday, one lucky reader will get a present. Pretty cool for y'all, huh? I'm such a giver... *choke,sputter,cough,coffee shooting out of my nose*

Now I just have to convince beat him over the head with a brick or some equivalent blunt object hubby that it's a national holiday and since it's MY holiday, I deserve a really big present... something to rival the big-ass TV I'll be lucky to see a cake, even though I'll probably wind up with a Blu-ray disc that he wants.

Tips and Tricks Volume One

In these tough economic times, which we all know increases stress levels in every area of our lives; I thought I'd take this post to share some helps and tips for both parenting and saving the bank account that have worked in my home. I will be adding to these Tips and Tricks from time to time, so this is Volume One.

Do any of you have a child like mine that likes to 'rock' their crib or playpen across the room? My son does this in his playpen (as he is his mother's child!) in order to get over to the dvd cabinet and *ahem* explore... I did it in my crib to get over to another piece of furniture in the room in order to climb out. With the wheels on these items, it is very easy for a strong bodied and strong willed child to go where they want to with some effort. This new ability your child has discovered has the potential to be dangerous. After a couple of sucked-on dvd's and cases, I came up with a full proof cure. Take a pair of old sneakers (whatever you have as long as they are flat rubber soles and have traction) and put the wheels of one short-side of the furniture into the foot holes. Viola! No more cross room adventures. And since you already have the shoes, it doesn't cost a thing. If you're not thrilled with the way it looks, make sure you put the bulk of the foot toward the inside so all you see is the heel.

To save money on household items, I recommend joining one of the warehouse type bulk stores. Yes, the membership is $30 (or more) per year, I know. However, what you save will make up for it. Also, DO NOT do all of your shopping there. A lot of things are a waste of money unless you are stocking supplies for a huge amount of people or are getting the items in order to prepare to cook for a church social or block party. Honestly, just because the 3 lb. tub of mayo is only $6, it's a waste if it doesn't get used before it goes bad, not to mention the hassle of trying to fit it in the fridge. Only buy things from these places that A. you use all the time and B. don't expire; diapers and baby wipes, paper towels, garbage bags, toilet paper, Ziploc bags, laundry detergent, fabric softener... These are all great buys at these places. You will get more at a lower per-unit cost and you will use it... eventually. But also a word of warning, don't get sucked in by the 'great price' of anything. Remember to keep in mind how much of something you can store in your home. You don't want to have to navigate around 1000 rolls of paper towels for the next year. Which brings me to my next tip...

When shopping ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS make a list; and then stick to it. With this list in mind, you can budget your shopping and have a very good idea what you will spend before you even set foot in the store. Always round up when you price the items on your list. This will allow you to compensate for taxable items. You would be amazed if you went back through last year's receipts of the stores you shop regularly, and figured out all the money you spent on impulse buys. The store marketers are betting that the 'great deal' on the end cap of the aisle or in the checkout line will have you saying, "it's only a few extra bucks", then adding it to your cart. Add up that 'few extra bucks' at the end of a year and it could be hundreds. The only thing that you should add to your list when you are in the store is something that you already use with extreme regularity. Maybe you forgot to put it on the list, maybe you thought you had enough, but the store has it at a super price and you really would save in the long run by buying it now. If you are tempted to add something you normally wouldn't buy, try this; write it out on your list, with the price. Continue shopping without adding it to your cart. See what you'd have to cut from your list to get the item and still complete the shopping in the allotted budget. Sometimes just taking the time to write the item on the list will bring you to your senses. Other times, the 'high' of the deal will fade as you walk away. And other times, you will still decide to go back and get it. That's fine, I'm just saying you should give it some consideration, before mindlessly tossing things into the basket and then finding yourself staring at the checkout person blankly as she states your total as $200 when all you went into the store for was a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread.

Check out bulk items for things you use with regularity. If you always pack chips in with the lunches, it would be much more cost effective to get some Ziploc bags and a family sized bag of chips and doing the separating yourself. You will spend on average an extra 8 cents per ounce for a few minutes of convenience. If you make up all the small bags at once from the larger family sized bag, it only takes about 5 minutes, the chips stay just as fresh and you have the convenience you were looking for in the single serving packs you were buying. And remember to figure in all of the bags of chips those Ziplocs will make when figuring cost. It may seem the same price on the first round, but the next 3-5 (or more) times you only have to buy the chips... now do the math. You save. A lot.

A bulk item that I only recently discovered... Gatorade. You can get Gatorade in a tin of powder that makes 6 gallons for about $9. That is 24 of the 32 oz bottles. That is huge! One of those 32 oz bottles is between 79 and 99 cents each when they are on sale! Normally they're over $1.50 each. At regular cost you spend $9 on only 6, yes, SIX of those 32 oz bottles. What I did for hubby, was bought about 6 of the 32 ouncers when they were on sale. After he drank them up, I washed out the containers and started rotating them, refilling them with the made-from-powder Gatorade, and sending him to work with one a day in the summer. That savings all by itself, paid one phone bill.

Another tip for around the house about separating bulk meat... I do it at the kitchen table, because my sink is too small (or full) when I go to do this chore. It used to make the biggest mess and I had to worry about not fully getting rid of the germs and viruses on the table surface because I have a glass and wood table. Now, I take plastic wrap and cover my table where I'm going to be working, tucking the ends under the table edge. When I've finished with all of the meat, I simply pull off the plastic wrap, making sure to fold the ends in on each other so none of the drippings spill, and throw it away. This took a lot of the hassle and worry out of this chore for me.

These are just a few that I use. If you have some great tips to share, please leave a comment and share with us all! Great day and good luck everyone.

Ike Imposed Hiatus

Dear Aria'z Ink readers,

I regret to inform you that this will be my last post until Monday, September 15, 2008. I will be back at my post earlier if mother nature allows.

As it stands tonight, Wednesday, September 10, 2008, Hurricane Ike is gonna come 'a knocking on our door. We are in the midst of packing up anything worth two cents to get it to safety tomorrow along with our little family.

For those of you familiar with my posts, you will not be surprised to know that hubby's stereo system and my beloved 'Puter are to be some of the first things aboard the train outta Dodge. I am hopeful that we will still have a residence to return to when this is all said and done.

Rest assured, if we don't, I can still post from the computers at any local library. They are brick buildings, and will survive even if our little trailer doesn't. At any rate, if Ike shifts paths and we are spared, I'll get some great housekeeping done before I put things back to right.

Whether we are on the move or not, our thoughts and prayers are with any and all of you facing this situation along with us. God Bless, and until I post again, stay safe.

Aria

It's 'Bout Time!

I'd like to apologize to any and all that read this blog for my delayed posting. I've been 'learning how' to and doing some freelance writing. One of the things that all the books tell you is that blogging is a great way of honing your craft and recommend 1+ blog posts daily.

Well friends, I simply don't know how to do those shortie, 2 sentence blog posts. I write vignettes. I write full articles on life experiences and no matter how pithy a two sentence post may be, I cannot let it go at that. I have more to say, a position to back-up, an experience to share, a lesson that life has taught me that I can pass onto you without the heartache and time I went through.

I am not a typical writer. I only take assignments that I am comfortable with. I only write blog posts that I am comfortable putting out there to the world. Mind you, most of my family has no idea that I write this, and therefore, my comfort level is fairly wide. My writing has been my lifeline throughout my entire life. And to only be practical and realistic about it, I have been given something of a gift in this area. It comes naturally to me and sometimes it simply flows through me without much conscious thought of my own. There are times when I literally read something I've written and it's brand new as if I hadn't put it on the page at all. I wonder if other people that actually consider themselves writers do this. This disassociated free-flow of words onto the page only to be astounded by what has channeled itself through them.

I guess part of my problem with blog postings, is that I'm not an egoist. I don't think that everything I do is so special or important or interesting that I have to share my view of the world and my little section of it many times a day.

For the most part I consider my daily life as boring. I live my life; I send my husband off to work, I get on the computer and try to make some money myself, I take care of my toddler son, I talk to my pre-teen daughter, I do laundry and dishes and make beds and dinner. Whoop-friggin-eee! I almost put myself to sleep just writing it all down!

But, I have had some amazing experiences, known some awesome people and have a few talents and interests. Since I've been doing the freelancing I've come up with some blog ideas, and I will be updating with more regularity.

Thanks for hanging in there! I wish you; peace, joy, love, balance, courage, light and wisdom.