Looking for houses

As of three weeks ago we are actively looking at buying a house!

So exciting. 

Let me back up a little bit... we've actually already put an offer in on a house, but due to it being a 'short sale' we might not know for a up to a month or two  if we'll get it.  There is already another offer before ours but due to how long it'll take they are on the fence & may walk. So, time will tell.  

 

Groupon has a great deal today!
You can get a $15 voucher to eBay for just $7! This can be used to buy anything on eBay and can even be applied towards shipping and handling.
You must have a registered eBay and Paypal account to purchase this Groupon.
Limit of one per person.
 

Thanks, Money Saving Mom

a little funny for your friday.

need a little humor going into your weekend?

Check this out!

:-)



Simplify your life.

I came across an article this week in Metro Christian Living written by Cathy Haynie. I liked her ideas and thought I'd share 'em.  Just a few simple things to make life more simple.  

1.  Fill up the car when the tank is half full.

2.  Keep a magnet pad on the side of the fridge for you and your family to add items to the list as you run out.  

3.  Keep house plants to a minimum.

4.  Keep only one credit card in your wallet. 

5.  Have a place to drop keys, phone and bag close to the door. 

6.  Keep a travel toiletry bag packed.

7.  Sort mail over the trash.

8.  Double and freeze one meal a week.

9.  Sort laundry as you go by having a basket for lights and a a basket for darks near where each family member dresses.

10.  Pack lunches, work bag, and school bag the night before.

11.  Have a place for duplicate keys and stock it for emergencies.

12.  Adopt the house rule:  Don't just put it down, put it away.

13.  Make dinner decisions the night before.

14.  Severely limit children's activities, lessons, and sports.

15.  Make the bed every day as your feet hit the floor.

16.  Pay bills online, setting up auto pay and auto save.

17.  Maintain a well-stocked pantry.

18.  Keep grocery sacks in the car for trash and quick clean-outs.

19.  Have one place for mail.

20.  Teach little kids to set the table, middle school aged kids to do laundry, and teenagers to do yard work.

21.  Keep evenings free, or at least set a limit to nights out.

22.  Use a crock-pot often.

23.  Leave 10 minutes early. 

24.  Don't answer the phone during dinner.

25.  De-clutter by clearing off kitchen and bath counters, the front of the fridge, and the console of your car.

26.  Keep a supply of household items like toilet paper, light bulbs, and batteries.

27.  Always keep a little cash and change in your wallet.

28.  Plan 5 to 10 great menus on index cards; menu on one side and grocery list on the reverse.

29.  Use baskets wherever you tend to pile clutter.

30.  Buy each family member one jumbo package of their own kind of white sock and get rid of the rest.

 

Makes ya think.  I can't TELL you the times I have looked for a pair of MATCHING socks! :-)

March Madness bet with my hubby!

For the last three years my hubby & I have a bet who will get the most right on our march madness brackets.  The last three years I have LOST every, single time! :-)  

I am determined to win this year.

If I win I get a one hour massage. 

If he wins he gets a golf outing with a cart.

Let the games begin!

last shift @ HP

my last shift @ HP was last thursday.

i cannot tell you how cool it was to have the WHOLE weekend with my family.

Here is a couple of pictures of my last day. 

my three favorite boys came in and visited.

the whole processes ---start to finish--- was six months.  I started right after Tuckers 1st birthday & quit right at his 1/2 birthday. 

(the first picture did not turn out great due to the sun!)

It was SO cute Tucker kept seeing me walk by their table & would blow me kisses & smiling real big.  He couldn't figure out why I couldn't stop & sit with him. :-)

st. patricks day idea {free printable}

I'm a sucker for any holiday.

I thought this was a cute idea for the special people in your life.

Click here to copy this idea!

a cluster of goodness

TODAY is my last shift @ Hickory Park.  As of 10:00 p.m. tonight I will be a full time house-mommy again! boo-ya!

YESTERDAY we got our taxes done. completed. finished!

TOMORROW my men & I are going to our FIRST garage sale of the season. 

THIS WEEK we started our hunt for our next duplex to buy & hopefully move into.  {I'll explain more there later}

LATER this month we have a marriage conference that we are REALLY looking forward to.  Amana Colonies + my husband + childfree= can't hardly wait!

THIS WEEKEND: both my sisters will be in town for some R& R and celebrate their birthdays.  (and I DON't work weekends anymore....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!)

MONDAY I got PAID $20 bucks for my first site review for couponchief.com and found a sweet site in the process!

Coupon Chief: site review

I love a good deal.

there would be no way we'd be debt free right now if it wasn't for couponing!

so I found a cool, new to me coupon site I'd like to share with all my frugal readers:

http://www.couponchief.com/

{Here are just a few reasons why I love it}

you can use the coupon for online shopping & instores!

has a user friendly video to get you started to saving you money!

is one of the fasted growing coupon sites

has over 250k visitors a month!

We have over 50k coupons for over 15000 stores, giving us one of the largest databases of online coupons on the net.

you can share a coupon code & make some extra $$. Every time someone uses a coupon you've uploaded, Coupon Chief will give you 2% of the sales.

...and the best part is how user friendly the site is!

Let me know what YOU think.

Click HERE!

date night half priced!

two good "mail" day happenings:

e-mail find:

so my last post I talked about getting two movie ticets for $9.00? 

Well Ryan & I used it immedately for a good ole movie with some friends. 

yeah for new releases & good finds!

snail mail:

my $10 dollar applebees gift card came in the mail today (the one I scored for $5.00) thanks to hip2save.com

i love good mail days!

P.S.

look who found where we keep the flour:

deal alert!

I just ordered mine!

two movie tickets for $9!

Right now, you can buy 2 Fandango movie tickets for only $9 from LivingSocial (another daily deals site like Groupon.).
click HERE!

Limit 1 per person. Make sure to read the details at the bottom of the offer on how to redeem your voucher.

Hurry and snag this offer fast before it’s gone!



two week notice

tonight I put in my two week notice in.

a little bittersweet...

I have been a server overall for 10 years!  

 that is alot of saucy southerners served  :-)

i thought i'd tell you some fun facts about HP due to my farewell post:

the owner lives next door in the brown house

we sing the happy birthday song 300+ times a week

we serve 17,000 people a week

we sell over 23,000 POUNDS of meat a week

a good server can make $25/hour

we go through 750 gallons of ice cream a WEEK!

the little indian statue at the front of the resturant freaks out alot of young kids

some customers really don't know which is bigger, the 1/4 burger or the 1/2 pound. 

we have three sets of napkins: teal, pink & burgundy-- these colors mean everything & most servers have a set color they like being.   

 my husband loves the chicken tortilla soup and asks for it alot :-)

the resturant can hold 450 guests 

during a shift it usually takes 60-70 people to run everything.

... i am really going to miss the chaos that working in a fast past restaurant give,s but I am

 just so DARN excited to spend 25+ hours a week with these two studs!  

Farewell HP!

$5 for a $10 Applebees Gift Card

yeah!  I just ordered one of these...date night! :-)

Mamapedia has a great deal for new buyers!

First time buyers can get a $10 Applebees gift card for only $5! click here.

Gift card will be mailed to you within 3 weeks. Limit one per household and billing address must be in continental US. No Gift purchases or referral credit s for htis deal.

There is no expiration date on the card!

thanks MoJoSavings!



Ryan turned 30!

My husband turned 30 last Thursday!

{He is just as good of lookin' as the day I first met him! :-)}

Birthdays are big deal in the Houck household.

a tradition is you wake up to the birthday song being sung to you.

 this year it was a solo but hopefully in the next few years the kiddos will be able to help :-) 

Growing up my mom always made certian we felt so special on our birthdays.

  {thanks mom!}

I made some Christmas Morning Rolls for breakfast ( I am not a great cook but these are so easy even I can make a mouth watering dish!)

then... we felt really old & met with an attorney & to do our will

 (I didn't cry once!)

then...went out to lunch

then....headed to Des Moines for awhile

then... headed back home & had two of Ryans best friends over for dinner.

All in all it was a great day!

takethemameal.com review

some dear friends of ours had a baby last Friday.

...a beautiful, healthy little boy!

I volunteered to coordinate meals for them.

A while back a friend of mine, Autumn told me about this website www.takethemameal.com

she said how it made coordinating meals SO MUCH easier..

{for example}

...it says what time the family likes to eat

....if they have any allergies

....how many people they need to feed

...the address

....AND THEN...

you sign up & write what you'll bring the family hopefully eliminating muliple meals such as tacos three nights in a row because you will see the meals others are planning on making!  

to see what I mean: go to www.takethemameal.com

last name: hibbing

password: colton

pretty cool, huh?

thanks Autumn!