baby bargain # . . . [i've lost count]

Let me start this out by saying that I love going to liquidation outlet-type stores. It's the best way to purchase brand new items at prices that are way less than was everyday retailers sell them. When John and I go perusing through liquidation stores in our hometown, we always have great luck, and thanks to these stores, none of our baby stuff has been bought full price.

With that being said, I have never had any luck at Goodwill. Ever. The only things I've ever found were stained, musty smelling shirts and useless kitchen trinkets.

Until I went to the Goodwill in Destin.

Honestly, the only reason it ever peaked my interest in the first place is because it looked different than any other store I'd seen in that it 1) Stood alone and 2) looked more like a beach shop than anything else.

So I went.

And I walked out with this:

Let me also start out by saying that I never intended on buying one of these things. Right after John and I found out I was pregnant, I snagged Chicco's DJ Baby Walker for $30 (new in a box sitting at a liquidation store). I love that walker because it's very simple, with several basic activities that all have one thing in common: making music. The music center is also a removable tray, so if I wanted to just sit the baby in the walker with some Cheetos without the distraction of the buttons, then I could.

Jumperoos are not basic, not by a long shot. And while I'm positive they're loads of fun for the baby, they really just serve as a distraction so mommy can sit down to regain some sanity.

Ok, yeah, and they help build up baby's leg muscles, blah blah blah. If that were only the case, they'd leave off all the toys.

They're also insanely expensive. On Fisher Price's website, this thing sells for $90.

At Goodwill? This was priced at $14.99 (Missing one toy, but who cares? It's less stimulation, and I'd have paid that much just for the jumping mechanism).

I think an occasional Maintaining of Sanity Session is worth $15.

Cute, ain't it?

The model used is the doll I was given at six months old, and as soon as I knew how to put names to people, I named him Taylor.

And yes, despite being 23, married, with my own REAL child on the way, I still have him.

Poor thing; he's never seen the light of day, and he's had multiple decapitations that ultimately resulted in Mom performing major surgery that no longer allows dear Taylor to turn his head.

Anyone else having Toy Story flashbacks now?

Read more...

Here's Hoping. . .

. . . That the 60* weather we've been having is a sign of things to come (i.e. even warmer weather)!

And this:

John, his sister Amy, and yours truly. For the record, I am no longer able to lay on my stomach anymore. Nor am I that tan. These are two goals I hope to accomplish by the end of the summer.

I really am not much of a beach bum, but after being cooped up in the house thanks to constant cloudiness, cold weather, rain, rain, and more rain, I'm looking forward to taking advantage of the fact we have a beach again.

I'm also curious to see what my bathing suit will look like on my going-on-seven-months-pregnant-body.

. . . Then again, I may just wear a pair of maternity shorts and a tank and hang out on beach to avoid being mistaken for Shamu hanging out in the water.

Read more...

Lately

At this moment, I'm propped up in the bed with my laptop on my knees and a couple of new books from Lifeway at my side. I'm trying to decide if my body is tired and just needs to rest or if I'm actually sleepy and need to take a nap. The past week has been full of trips to nearby cities and friends' houses, and while I enjoyed those times immensely, I am happy to have a day to just piddle around the house where my only goal for is cook dinner (which will happily be lasagna, mmm).

Last week I joined a weekly morning Bible study led by a lady in my Sunday school class. I suppose it's actually a daily Bible study, but we meet one morning each week to talk about what we thought about each lesson, or share something we learned, or tell something that spoke to us during our time working through each daily lesson. I actually joined a week late, but since this week's meeting was canceled, I should be able to catch up with the rest of the group. The study is called My, Myself and Lies, and it's tagline is 'A thought closet makeover'; I believe it's loosely based off a verse in 2 Corinthians that says to take every thought captive. I think it will be a good study, and I'm happy to have a weekly fellowship with some other ladies from church.

John spent two and a half days in Biloxi, Mississippi last week for a work trip. While he was gone, I moseyed over to Pensacola to do a little shopping at a spring consignment sale that was going on. I found the sale, but I decided not to go inside because 1) It was in a shady part of P'cola and I couldn't even see inside the shop and 2) There were like, no cars outside, and I didn't see anyone walking in or out, so I thought maybe the whole thing was a bust and left. I was a little bummed, but I decided to drive to Old Navy because I heard they were having a baby sale. I walked around the store and noticed they had a collection of various children's books and toys, so I picked up three board books (123's, Colors, and Animals) that were $2.50 each; I looked at these same books at another bookstore a few weeks earlier and they were $5 each. As I started to peruse through the (oh-so-cute-gotta-have-every-single-thing-i-see) baby clothes, I turned and saw that this particular Old Navy carries, 'WHAT?! Maternity clothes!!! And they're on sale TOO!' I don't have any short sleeved shirts, I got bought two. I then remembered I had a $15 off $75 coupon at home, so I decided to wait on buying more stuff and called John about returning the next day to get a few more things.

And return I did, this time with a friend, and we shopped. I got a couple of more short sleeved shirts, an under shirt, and a short sleeved button up shirt. I found an all wooden shape sorter (one of those cubes with shapes cut out in them; they come with actual shapes that the baby/toddler pushes through the correct shape hole-- kind of like a puzzle) that wound up costing me all of $5 thanks to the fact it was 1)already on clearance and 2) an extra 50% because it wasn't in the original packing. Next to the shape sorter was another board book called Where is my Friend; it's a hide and peek book (one of those books with the flap on each page that reveals something else) that was also on clearance, so I grabbed it too.

Can you tell I want this baby to have books? If you're reading this, and you want to buy this sweet baby something, and you don't like to do gifts off registries, you can never go wrong with a book. Or diapers. And wipes.

*End sales pitch*

I also, predictively, purchased a few baby outfits at Old Navy. However, I did (proudly) remain level headed and purchased items she either did not have (summer dresses-- I picked out three) or items she does not have a lot of (sleepers-- I picked out two). I told John I was finished buying any more clothes, except for maybe a couple of more sleepers in small sizes if I can find them cheap enough (so far nothing I've bought has been full price).

Last week also brought the arrival of the travel system. For a year (yes, I realize I've only been pregnant six months), I've been researching and reviewing all sorts of travel systems. Several factors helped me [finally] narrow down my choices to one: Safety reviews, consumer reviews, price, practicality, and pattern. Once I found the one I wanted, John and I decided to wait until March or April before purchasing it. To make a bit of a long story short, we worked out a deal with my parents: They would purchase the travel system and ship it to us, and we would cover the cost of their phone bill until the system was 'paid off' (Because John is able to give my parents a discount, their plans are in his name). I thought the system had been discontinued because I could not find it at a decent price anywhere. Mom finally found it online from (of all places) Bed Bath and Beyond, decided to go ahead and buy it, and shipped it to us. The day before it was scheduled to arrive, I found it online at Wal-Mart (where it was previously out of stock), and they had it at a lower cost. Mom called Bed Bath and Beyond to see if they price matched, and they did, so they credited the difference back to Mom's account. The system arrived the next day, and I proceeded to assemble and play [read: using my favorite childhood doll] with it.

I'm really glad the system wound up coming from Bed Bath and Beyond, because if this system breaks (or just gets, you know, old) after a couple of kids, we'll be able to take it back and they will let us exchange it for another. I LOVE their store policies!

And all of that brings us to the weekend (though the travel system episode actually happened Friday and Saturday). John and I spent Valentines Day with another couple (hi Amanda!) and their son from church, chowing down on pizza and watching the Olympics. It was very low key as all of our Valentines have been (and intentionally so) but very enjoyable.

Then there was yesterday. John was able to get half the day off work (woohoo for being able to create your own work schedule!), so we tagged along on a day trip to Mobile with an expectant couple from Sunday school (they're also having a girl!). Mobile has a lot (a TON) more options for shopping, and while we didn't really have any plans to buy anything, we were happy to spend the day with friends.

Well, you know me. And my knack for finding good deals. About two weeks ago Babies R Us had a deal where they sent you a $5 e-gift card for becoming a fan on Facebook. So I became a fan. Then I got into John's account and made him a fan. So I got two $5 cards. Then Babies R Us sent me a coupon for $5 off a baby purchase of $25 or more. The family we went with wound up having a whole slew of coupons they received in the mail, one of them being 15% off any Boppy pillow. Once we got to the store, I saw that with the purchase of any Boppy pillow, you received $5 off any slipcover. I picked out a pillow with a slipcover and an additional slipcover. Had I not had the coupons and e-cards, I would have paid $51.21 (I also never would have made the purchase in the first place). However, thanks to coupons and working the system, I paid a total of $23.83! Go me!

I also found a Boppy changing pad cover that was priced at $4.50 in the clearance section at Target last week. Normally they're only available online for $18, but I'm guessing someone returned it to the store and an associate priced it wrong.

After Babies R Us (and Burlington Coat Factory where they also have a Baby Depot and John found a $250 Columbia jacket for $75--woo!), we headed to Lifeway. John has been interested in Apologetics, so he picked up a Quick Source guide to Christian Apologetics. It looks really interesting, so I may read it while he's at work this week. I picked up the book for the Bible study I'm a part of, as well as a laminated pamphlet type thing on the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus. There's so much about the Old Testament I know very little about, so I thought that would be an interesting topic to start studying. I'm looking forward to it!

Annnd. . . there you have it. A whole, busy, bargain filled week in review. Sorry there's not any pictures-- I usually don't carry around my camera when I'm out and about (though maybe I should), so I didn't really take any new pictures (other than one of John inside Claire's-- yes, the girly store-- with some crazy hair/purple tinsel thing on top of his head with my phone!).

I should probably start cooking that dinner now.

Read more...

Photo Filters

Several weeks ago, Amy wrote up a post sharing the results of her experiments using actions with Photoshop Elements [8]. The website these [free] actions came from is created by a blogger who refers to herself as CoffeShop Rita. I checked out the website, downloaded (and applied) several of her actions to my pictures and then decided to link her to my blog so I could keep up with any more actions she made add. I soon learned that not only does Rita provide free actions to Photoshop Elements (as well as the full versions), but she writes up various Photoshop tutorials as well. A week or so ago, she posted a tutorial on using levels in Photoshop CS4, but I was able to 'translate' the steps so that I could apply them to Elements. Having some great results, I was looking forward to see what other information Rita would share. A few days ago, she posted a tutorial on using photo filters, and I proceeded to experiment with them on my own pictures. Have a look:

This picture (taken at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens) is straight out of the camera (SOOC). No editing, all I did was transfer it from my memory card onto my computer's hard drive. I think it's a fine picture as is and doesn't really need any editing. But, I popped it into Photoshop, and this is what I came out with:

Here's the after. All I did was adjust the contrast highlights in order to boost the colors a bit.

Upon learning about photo filters, I went back to the folder containing unedited pictures from the Botanical Gardens and grabbed this picture again. This time, my final result was this:

Ain't that purty? I rather like it!

Here's the stats:

-yellow photo filter applied at 100% density

-sepia photo filter applied at 60% density

-soft light blending mode applied at 40% opacity

I can't believe how much I am learning about this photo editing software. With each tutorial I read, I wind up entering a whole new world of Photoshop Elements, and this new world is awesome.

Read more...

a sneak peak of sweet preparation

Read more...

an event worth documenting

I typically enjoy cooking and don't mind slaving over a hot stove (barefoot and pregnant, mind you) in order to whip up a tasty meal for John and I to devour that night (and maybe even the next, if there's leftovers).

But sometimes. . . sometimes I just want to throw something quick together and call it dinner. Usually it's cold cut sandwiches or a pizza, but every once in awhile, I'll do Brinner.

Brinner = Breakfast for dinner.

Breakfast is easy. Breakfast is quick.

Breakfast is especially easy and quick to make when I can get John to help me out. And since John is a self proclaimed 'Pancake Man', it wasn't too hard to talk him into joining me in the kitchen:

Along with the bacon I whipped up, Brinner made for a successful meal last night!

Read more...

24 weeks

This morning John and I went to my 24 week appointment. Of all of my appointments thus far, today's was the most uneventful: urine sample (I'm a pro 'goer' in a cup by now), blood pressure, weight check (I've gained around twelve pounds so far), fetal tones (145 BPM, yay!), chit chat with the doctor, and we were out!

I was also given a bottle of an orange flavored dextrose drink (containing um, 50 grams of dextrose) that I have to consume on the way to my next appointment so they can test me for Gestational Diabetes once I get there. I'm highly doubting that I have G.D., but even if I did, I'm not that concerned-- John's grandfather, dad, brother, and that brother's fiance' all have either Type 1 or Type 2, so I've been around diabetes enough to know what I'd be getting myself into. I'm just not sure how different G.D. is from the other two.

My next appointment is in four weeks, and after that appointment I will start going back every two weeks! It's amazing how quickly this pregnancy is going by! I'm definitely not complaining though-- when we found out in September, May seemed so far away, but now that it's February 1st, my due date is just three and a half months away!

I think I'm about to make a run to Target to get an idea of what I want to register for. We've already got quite a bit of the big stuff, but there's a few more things (i.e. high chair, pack'n'play, etc.) that I want to look at before I decide what I want. Should be fun!

We still don't have a name-- poor kid. There were (are?) two names in the running, but we can't make up our minds. So stay tuned-- we're hoping to figure that out soon!

Read more...