Frugalicious Friday No.10!! The 3 Gift Rule

In our family we want to make sure that when it comes to Christmas, we keep Jesus the reason for the season so we 3 Gift It. I got this idea from a great family we know and love but I know where they got the idea from initially:
There's this book, you might have heard of it, it's has tissue paper pages, can be made in Giant Print (if you are like me and have the vision of a winged nocturnal animal), and can be found in every hotel drawer across the world: The Bible. We do this 3 gift rule for our daughter and for each other because Jesus started it. He only got 3 gifts.
Here's how we do it:
The 3 gifts are chosen by the recipient ahead of time- have them make a list and stick to it- or you could have the kid pick 2 that will be from mom and dad or whomever and then one surprise one from Santa. Mom and Dad you need to get 3 also, or one or none or whatever, but make sure you are modeling what you are teaching. Just sayin'.
And DON'T GO CRAZY ON STOCKING STUFFERS! Or else the kid will realize the loophole- STOCKING STUFFERS - and be all, "Oh yeah we get 3, but I'm so getting an I-Touch for my stocking stuffer!" Put some fruit (nature's candy) in that bad boy and real candy and socks (come on you know you like getting socks!).

And I was listening to 89.3 KSBJ today and heard a great idea. If you by any chance know of a family who is having a tough time this Christmas, get your kids in on a little shopping spree for them and leave the gifts at their door, ring the bell and run. Anonymous gifting- what a great tradition, right?

I just loved how well the 3 Gift Rule worked out last year. So much less stress and less guesswork and so great to keep it what it's supposed to be about- Him, the true gift!

Pardon Me While I Gush...

Today is my hurrrrzband's birthday.
You might remember him from such wonderful anecdotes of:
"John Wheeling Gillian Around Mayo Clinic in a Blizzard"
"John, The Encourager For Gillian When She was Sad About ___________"
or how about from this timeless classic?
"John Helps Gillian Eat Ramen With Both Eyes Shut After Eye Surgery!"
So many wonderful memories have been made with this person I call Johnicles of Narnia. There are not too many men out there that could have made it through this bumpy of a rollercoaster ride. Really, that's not just me saying that! Won't tell you who else verified that truth- hint it rhymes with "sherapist".

I am so very proud to know him, let alone hang out with him on a regular basis.
He is funny.
He is smart.
He is cool.
He is unintentionally and intentionally kind.
He is a softie.
He is a representative of Jesus.
Thank you Lord for this totally wonderful being!
And thanks John for putting up with my absurdities and for always saying yes to an unplanned trip to Walgreens.

Frugalicious Friday No. 9! DIY

Time to get FROOGY!

Today the tip is, minus the politics this time, DO IT YOURSELF!

With the internet and Hobby Lobby and Lowe’s you need to get courage and believe you don’t have to pay Pottery Barn prices!! You don’t!

Evidence A:

This sweet, sold wood buffet I scored at KCM resale shop for $100. The drawers slide out like butter. I had to make an emergency call to the huzby when I saw it. And I did talk them down on the price. I patron KCM all the time. If they didn’t want to do the deal all they had to say was no.

Check out Pottery Barn’s situation:

Can you guess how much their price is?…..

$1,399.00 BUT you do get a delivery discount so you only have to pay $100.00. Total= $1,500.00. Wow. I had an awesome friend deliver our piece to our house for cookies and because his wife is one of my besties! Thank you Core-Dog! Seriously PB, those are crack-smokin’ prices. I can’t even afford the crack to use that would allow me to spend that much on 1 piece of furniture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, there is some wear on the buffet. But with the help of this great how to paint your furniture like Pottery Barn tutorial I pinned on pinterest, I plan on DIYing it and have budgeted $20 for paint, primer and degreasing spray. I have some silver spray paint I plan on repainting the hardware with. So I saved: $1,380.00!!!!!!

DIY it. Do it Yo’ Self.

Evidence B: If you know a Handy Dandy…

This summer we had our kid’s bday party and I wanted seating for our guests outside. I utilized the huzby’s handyman skills and implored him to make our picnic table. He did the job for about $140 with some free plans he found on the internet. Just google “patio bench table plans”. NEVER pay for plans on the internet!!!

We wanted a bench because you don’t have to pay for chairs. LISTEN UP CHAIRMAKERS WE ARE ON TO YOU. Chairs add to the cost. They are expensive!!! Whenever you can get away with not paying for matching chairs or benching it- do it!

Whoop there it is.

Home Depot Version:

Home Depot Price: $399.00!!!

Savings: $259.00

So that’s the tip of the day. Use how to tutorials to do things yourself. And budget for your projects.

Hot Mess Story...

I'm a titch bit high maintenance...
I am dressing up for Halloween early this year as an Undead Mom. Seriously. The sickness must stop. I am about 45 min away from the doc appt where I will show them the inflamed membranes and the doc/PA will look at the meds I'm allergic to (I have a new one to add: Levaquin) she will gasp and then her schooling will come into play. I will then proceed to Targie, where I go when I'm sick and not sick, hit up my fave pharm friends, with popcorn combo already purchased and pick up said meds. I will make sure that I carry my Predisone steroids, benadryl and inhaler so when my body does react I won't get hives that will cause dermatitis again, but just a nice set of plump lips. I have to make sure I take the benadryl quickly so as not to go from Jolie lips to Platypus face. This is my life with a sinus infection. ALWAYS say yes when they offer a shot. It's like they are asking if I'd like to breathe again? YES OXYGEN NEED ME HURT FACE SNARF SNARF HELP.
WARNING: FUNNY, EMBARRASSING SITUATION ALERT!!!!!!!
And it's been fun because my body has kicked in stomach issues with this bug. There is no party in my tummy. There is a crime scene. I had to make THE MOST EMBARRASSING CALL OF MY LIFE the other day to Leelah's school and totally ruin the cred I had built with smiles, brownies and compliments with the office staff in one phone call. Now I'm on the "Diva Mom/Problem Parent" list for sure. Here is how it went:
Me, exasperated sounding: Can I pick my daughter up at 3:30 today since I am ill and cannot wait in the carpool line?
Office Friend: Well we'd prefer if you just pick her up in the car rider line. It goes pretty fast.
UNCOMFORTABLE SILENCE. I have to choose to live a lie or tell the Gosh-honest-this-is-who-I-really-am spastic, low brow and hot mess.... Here goes:
Me: I'm frequenting the bathroom....
YES, I SAID THAT AND I HATE MYSELF BUT I HAD TO. I HAAAAAAAAAAD TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Laugh at my misfortune. Go ahead. Laugh it up. But that is the classiest way I could say that I was having unfortunate stomach troubles requiring numerous bathroom visits and a huge supply of Cottonelle Wet Ones. Come people - you know you've had this happen!!!!! If not first I hate you and secondly get your gallbladder removed and then we'll talk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, better throw on some facial powder and welding mask to hide my ghoulish appearance- it's doctor appt time!

Frugalicious Friday No. 8! (with Politics!)

First of all, I own that I've been lax (lacks?) in posting. I'd like to say it's because I've been caught up in Autumn and have been apple-bobbing and leaf-hunting with my kid. The truth is I've just been flittering here and there like a flibberdigibit. Some of the flittering has been fun and called for, but some of it has not. That would be the flittering of my brain and laziness that ensues while I'm at home. It's hard to just stop and be focused. Maybe I need to stop drinking sugar- water... Speaking of sugar-water:

This would be a pic of John's parents' home and the hummingbird community they have started. I thought it was pretty awesome. But not as awesome as this picture of one of the funniest people ever made:

He's my huzby. So lay off! I think if he had a feeder it would be full of sunflower seeds and ice cream. Ews. Mine would be queso. Double ews!

WARNING RANT COMING ON....
And I really need to say this: Liberal-biased media and left side folks, please let it be known that I am I guess what you would call a "southerner". I'm a Texan. I'm a Christian and a Creationist. Here is what I am not:
I am not a racist. Far from it.
I do not go around trying to convert people. I leave that up to my God. I just try to live my days showing others the love of Christ, God willing.
I do not worship money or big business. I'm a small business owner myself!
And in terms of intelligence, last time I checked my standardized test scores from long ago, if you must use that for some sort of measure, I'm not an idiot. Neither is my husband, who in my love-biased mind, is a genius and also a creationist. Sidenote: If you are an English teacher or a grammar enthusiast- you should be ever so kind to not comment on how horrible my grammar/punctuation skills are please, thank you!

My ideals are conservative and let me state that I couldn't love and root for the underdog more honestly. My heart for equality is immeasurable. I will not qualify these statements with examples in my attempt to remain humble. So please next time you aim to peg conservatives and Texans as "dumb" and as "hicks" please be able to back that up. I would prefer to not be lumped into either of those categories. Thank you very much and please know that I am thankful we live in a country that is protected by the brave so that we can post our thoughts on what we believe. Oh and we do not all wear hats all year round and ride horses to the grocery store. At one time though I was fortunate enough to own a horse. That was a LOT of work!
RANT OFF.

Let's get frugal!!!
Here's the tip cool cats: Make your own silly fruit tray!!! Don't spend $10-15 purchasing a tray of fruit when you can use a little water and a knife and a miniscule amount of time to make your own fruit tray happen! And in my opinion, it tastes way better!!
Savings: $5 at least and more yummy-ness!

Frugalicious Fridays No. 7!

We got another Frugalista in the Hizzouse!!
Her name is Jenna, check out her blog go ahead, I will wait.....
and her fam (spoiler alert: they're precious). Her book reviews make me love books even more, which I didn't think was possible.
We met at aTm WHOOP! Well, she is a friend of a friend that became a friend. Love it when that happens! Jenna is a mommy to 3, with no. 4 cutie coming soon in December! Jenna and The Kevs (I just took major liberty in calling him that and now feel a bit sheepish about it!!) are to put it simply: cool folks. They are living life in a frugal fashion and I'm blessed to know them. Another fun fact about Jenna, they took the 3 kiddos to Disneyworld and she walked the parks in a leg cast/brace thingy. NO EXCUSES!!! Bow down to her mom-hood! So glad to have you contribute and preach on sister!:

So Gillian, this one is for you - there's about to be 3 (little) girls in the Grubbs Household, and if they follow in their mother's footsteps, that's going to equal a lot of clogged drains and hairy hairbrushes. I cringed a little bit (or a lot) when I watched Kennedy's first haircut in the "salon" and had to pay $25 for it. Yikes! So, we took the haircutting scissors we bought to use for Colby, and Kevin cut straight across.

Before:


After:


Such a great job! I estimate he cut about 4 inches off, which has really made a difference because now Kennedy is able to brush through her own hair without so many tangles.

We already cut Colby's hair with our own set of $40 clippers, which Kevin bought 10 years ago in college. And Kevin cuts his own hair too.

All in all, let's say:
Kevin's haircut = 3x/month = 3 x 12= 36 x $15 per haircut = $540 per year
Colby's haircut = 1x/month = 1 x 12 = 12 x $10 per haircut = $120 per year
Kennedy's haircut = not per month, but ~6x/year = 6 x $25 per haircut = $150 per year

That is a total savings of $810. I can really get excited about that.

What are your secrets to saving money? I hope to be posting more tips in future Fridays, and I'd love to link your frugal tips.

From Strife to Confidence

Just letting you in on secrets the Lord is sharing with me on my journey...

Remember when I couldn't walk, couldn't see well either and was heading to Mayo Clinic? Well, I do! Remember when I lost my dad to cancer 3 years ago and then 5 months later lost my ut (uterus)? STOP DON'T GO---- HANG WITH ME!!! I'm sorry. Did I just take you Sadsville, USA? Come back!

My newly found wisdom from the Lord today is this: Who would have thought that the worst things in my life are actually what I'm the proudest in sharing to all who meet me in hopes it will help them in their strifes? Not I! But it's so true. On the other side of all that gloom and terror, let me tell you just last week I got to use what the Lord allowed (possibly a future book title: What the Lord Allowed- love it!) to minister, God-willing, to some precious, beloved sisters. I was actually thankful that I got to use what devestated my heart to repair someone else's. I am taking confidence in the fact that the junk that I have been through is not 'junk' at all but treasure.

Thank you Lord for allowing junk in my life, so you could turn it into treasure. God flipped my heart and I love it! Amen!