Splurging vs skimping

My friend, Heather, asked me to think about what 10 things I splurge on and what 10 things I skimp on. Interesting.

To splurge on:

1. My toes. Gotta get a pedicure. Recently, Cory stubbed my toe and chipped the nailpolish. I was quite upset cause I had just gotten a pedicure that day. His response, “No big deal. I’ll just paint over it and patch it up.” No, no, no. It doesn’t work that way. There’s a definite process that only the professional, Asian, “nao” lady can handle.

2. Eyebrows. I don’t have the time or patience to sit and painfully pluck each hair out. I’d much rather splurge to have someone rip them out with wax in one quick movement.

3. Haircut. I guarantee that my haircut cost more than yours cause mine includes the cost of airfare. That’s right. I hold out for Mina in Utah. All this time, my mom thought I was coming to see her when really it was just time to get my haircut. Ha, ha, ha...just kidding. Mina is the only person who gives me a perfect haircut EVERY SINGLE TIME!! That really helps in between cuts (which is usually several months)!

4. Maggie’s haircut. Sit down while I’ll climb on my soapbox. Kid’s haircuts... most people suck at it, I’ve discovered. Maggie’s hair is so stick straight that you can see every cut and I don’t dare bring a pair of scissors near her head myself. I take her to a professional salon. I know it’s crazy, but I despise a bad haircut, even on my kids!

5. Meat. I only buy it at Costco. I’m not sure if this is a splurge or a skimp because of the bulk purchase, but I’m putting it with splurge cause that’s the way my debit card feels when I pay $25 for ground beef and $20 for chicken breasts. When we were newlyweds, we had a bad experience with a diseased piece of meat from Albertson’s, so I’ve been faithful to Costco ever since.

6. Makeup. I’m keeping Clinique in business. I don’t know if it’s necessary. I’ve never experimented with L’oreal or Maybelline, etc cause I’ve just been so content with Clinique for 10 years now. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

7. Target and Costco. How is it I end up walking out of these stores with a cart full when my original intent was for one item as I walked in?? That’s a definite splurge!

8. Camping. This year, we brought an RV to the annual family camping trip. Honestly, I don’t think we will ever go back to tents.

9. Kitchen knives. Didn’t know how much I needed a nice set of them until I got them. (Thanks, Cory!) Now, I can’t stand to cut things outside of my kitchen.

10. Presents. My mom taught me the value of giving thoughtful gifts. That usually includes considering the specific person in mind BEFORE I go to the store. I hate window shopping anyway. I tend to splurge on christmas, brithday, wedding and shower gifts.

To skimp on:

1. Shampoo. I "got thairapy" and discovered the greatness of Sun Silk Shampoo. Seriously, I’ve never been so impressed with cheap shampoo that really does the job!

2. Mascara remover. I’m about to reveal one of my best kept secrets: tearless baby shampoo. Forget oily mascara removers, baby shampoo does the trick in a snap! (Unless your mascara is waterproof, then you have to use a remover.)

3. Kids clothes. For the short amount of time they actually fit into them and the large amount of stains they put on them, I only shop at Target, Old Navy, Carters and the Children’s Place.

4. Sunglasses. My soon to be sister-in-law has my dream sunglasses and for $200 I could have them, too! But with my record of losing sunglasses or breaking them, I better just stick to the $10 pair.

5. Medicine. NEWSFLASH: Tylenol brand and generic acetaminophen are the SAME THING. Tylenol might taste a little better but the end result is the exact same. Also goes for ibuprofen, diphenhydramine (benadryl) and psuedophedrine hydrochloride (sudafed), just to name a few. Buy generic!

6. Clothes. Sad to see this on the skimp list, but it’s true. I was just complaining to Cory the other day that my entire wardrobe during the week usually consists of t-shirts we have received for free. Isn’t that sad? Clothes are just so expensive and until I loose x amount of weight... you get the picture!

7. Pizza. Dominoes and Little Ceasars have a good thing going. Pizza is pizza, so why would I choose to pay Round Table triple the amount when the above named tastes just as good?

8. Airfare. Jetblue is the only way to fly. Why in the world would I pay Delta $700 for a job Jetblue can do for $150? When it comes to flying, I’ll skimp and “suffer” the prices that Jetblue offers.

9. Lotion. Vaseline intensive care. I use so much, I can’t afford the expensive kind.

10. Holiday decorations. They’re trendy and most will go out of style in 10-20 years anyway. JoAnn Fabrics has cheap but ultra cute decorations.

Now I ask you: What 10 things do you splurge on and what 10 things do you skimp on?

Sandra Lee: Semi-retarded.

This year, I’ve discovered the Food Network Channel. Love it! I don’t know why I’m so fascinated and intrigued by watching people make dishes I’ll never make. I admit, I’ve tried a few of Rachel Ray’s and Paula Deen’s recipes... but Sandra Lee? No way. Not sure what it is... mmmm, maybe the fact that her outfit is always color coordinated with her kitchen decor? Or the fact that I feel like I’m a 2nd grader when she speaks to me? Or the fact that she uses the word “table-scape” to get me excited about seeing how she decorated her table? I don’t know. She’s probably a very nice person, but I’m sorry... she’s too cheesy for me. I admit thought, she’s on to something. Her idea to combine half packaged ingredients with half fresh ingredients is somewhat brilliant. In this day and age, I’m sure she appeals to a wide audience looking for a way to make it faster but just as good and VIOLA: Semi-homemade! She’s even convinced Maggie. While I was partly folding laundry and partly wincing at her show, Maggie was totally glued to the set. Why? Four words: Butterfly cookies and Garden cupcakes. Before too long, “Mom, I want to make that! Can we make that, mom? Huh? Can we make that?” 

How can I resist? 

Big, beefy, juicy clouds!

Would you believe that this is what surrounded our home this weekend?  These were the clouds from every side our house for two WHOLE days!  They were beautiful and I guess I'm overreacting a little, but they are not typically found in Southern California.  It was kind of nice to get the rain and I enjoyed keeping the windows open for the cross breezes... until Maggie complained that she was too cold!  

Our little Hermana...

Last week, we said goodbye to Cory’s little sister, Amber. She is going on a mission to Santiago, Chile for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. For 18 months, she will be sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the good people of Chile. She will also serve them in many other ways. She was so excited to go on her mission. She’d been preparing for quite some time and seemed more than ready to serve. Although she is leaps and bounds ahead of me when I was 21 years old, I imagine she will grow into an even more beautiful person during this experience. We will miss her while she is gone, but there isn’t any other place we would want her to be! Good luck, Amber! See you when you get back!

"Sweet meat"

Poor Cory! He’s been working long hours these days, so he doesn’t make it home in time for dinner. But, that usually means I can make whatever I want since my idea of a good dinner does not usually fit his description of a good dinner. For instance, last week I made Sloppy Joes. But, he won’t eat Sloppy Joes cause he said he doesn’t like the “tangy sweetness” of the meat. He’s right, Sloppy Joes are tangy and sweet. So, last night we had a family favorite... NACHOS! Refried beans, tortilla chips, cheese and a dallop of sour cream... a traditional meal from my childhood that I’ve carried into our family. If we have leftover taco meat in the fridge, we usually add that in, too. So, when Cory got home, I told him the Nacho makings were in the fridge, but I did not supervise his assembly. So, once he was settled in front of his steaming hot plate of nachos and started to dig in, I noticed that something didn’t look right. I said, “What is that? What did you put on your nachos?” He said, “Isn’t this taco meat?” It occurred to me that he had mistaken the Sloppy Joe meat for taco meat. He said he took one bite and wanted to throw up cause he bit into “sweet meat”. Ha, ha!  Oh, poor Cory.  

Autumn: I'm not waiting for the Equinox!

I love Autumn! Summertime and Christmastime make close 2nds, but for me, nothing beats the things I love about Fall. Over the years, I have really come to appreciate and love this time of year!

• First of all, the weather! It’s still warm outside, but there’s a nice, cool breeze. Later in the season, it gets “crisp”. It’s just kinda nice to finally get a break from the HOT weather!
• Second, wouldn’t we all agree that it just looks and feels different? The lighting is warm and the shadows are long. It’s very comforting to me.
• The trees are so beautiful when the leaves change. Since the change here in California is more subtle, I’m grateful I’ve been able to experience this to the fullest extent growing up in Utah and Michigan. What an experience to drive through a canyon of vibrant red, orange and yellow foilage in Utah. And fondly, even though it would take the majority of our Saturdays, growing up on an acre plus of land lined with trees in Michigan meant raking those leaves and then putting them into large piles to burn. I can almost smell those smoldering piles of leaves.
• Fall reminds me of my mom cause it’s her favorite time of year, too! It’s her birthday and in fact there are a lot of our family members birthdays in the Fall. My mom also looks really good in Autumn colors.
• I have very fond memories of Cory and I dating in the Fall. At the beginning of our relationship, he took me hiking to a waterfall near Sundance. As we got deeper into our hike, the forest became infested (I’m not kidding!) with grasshoppers and I am PETRIFIED of grasshoppers. I tried REALLY hard to buck up and ignore them, but there is nothing that makes me more skittish than a jumping grasshopper. So, he got a kick out of that! We also did our fair share of haunted hayrides that Fall and getting hot chocolate on a crisp, cool night. Finally, we got engaged at the end of the Fall.
• I love cooking and baking with apples and pumpkin, but pumpkin especially! For me, pumpkin is so sacred to Autumn that cooking with it at any other time during the year would be like playing Christmas music in July. Some of my favorite recipes include pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin spice muffins, pumpkin loaf bread, pumpkin dump cake (my absolute favorite dessert ever!) and of course... PUMPKIN PIE! Hungry anyone?
• It’s the start of the holiday season!!
• Halloween. I know it’s a kid’s holiday, but what better time of year to throw a party? Halloween parties are the best! Halloween also has the best and cutest decorations! I think I have more Halloween decorations than Christmas decorations. And now that I do have kids, dressing them up in adorable costumes and taking them trick or treating has really been a treat. Oh and speaking of treats... how convenient is Halloween candy... a variety of bite sized candies, uh oh!
• Okay, so Thanksgiving dinner is the best meal ever! Our family grew up with the best traditional menu and it’s been very difficult for me to deviate from that since I got married and have to spend Thanksgiving away from my family on occaision, but it still remains the best meal ever cause I’ve discovered some new, tasty dishes... mainly Sweet Potato Souffle... thanks Julianna!
• Pumpkin patches, how cool are they?! No matter how large or small... you gotta stop to check it out! Utah has some of the best cause they incorporate corn mazes and haunted hayrides. The one down the street from us does bounce houses and a giant blow up Bart Simpson (random?). Some of the best have petting zoo’s, pony rides and of course, a million pumpkins to choose from. Love ‘em! Needless to say, I’ll be making the rounds this year!
• Cake donuts and apple cider... need I say more?
• Pots and pots of homemade soups. YUM! I can’t wait!!
• Grant’s birthday. I’m so glad I was able to give one of my children a Fall birthday, it’s the best time of year!

So, I know that Autumn doesn’t officially start till September 23rd but why wait? As far as I’m concerned Labor Day was the last day of summer, so let the Fall festivities begin!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIANNA!

To my friend and a great and fun sister-in-law! Thanks for being a shining example to me! I hope your birthday is awesome!

Summer 2007 review... the better part!

Despite this summer being accompanied by a series of unfortunate events, mainly the unexpected passing of my sweet grandma Joyce, I tried to salvage some summer fun... especially for my kids!  I think I did pretty good!  Take a look:

I met Uncle Grant.  He's my great-grandpa Joe's only living sibling.  

And he's my Grant's great-great-great uncle.  Isn't that amazing?

We went to visit my grandma Virginia in Chicago for the 4th of July.  

Maggie met her cousin Katie and they became instant buds!  

Too bad we live too far apart!

We went to the Orange County Fair!

Maggie and Cory checking out the llama. 

Maggie and Cory in the giant ferris wheel.

 

Grant having a little taste of corn on the cob.

Cory took us to the turtle pond at Cal Tech.

Maggie and Grant at the turtle pond. 

We played at the pool with friends.

Grant at the pool. 

We played at the beach with friends.

We played at the beach with cousins!

Maggie and cousin Laura, the beach babes!

We went to Disneyland!

After being so excited to meet the Disney princesses, 

Maggie was speechless!