Not Much

I've been trying to think of what to do for this post, but I have drawn a blank! I don't have any great pictures or any wonderful subject to talk about. We haven't done anything really exciting--just normal. So I guess I'll write about normal.

I'm really starting to like it here. People are wonderful, I'm making friends, I like the area, I like the house, I like the ward, I like my Activity Days calling, I like exploring new places, generally I like Texas! And I like it here in The Woodlands area. It's funny--we've explored a lot of the little towns around, but I haven't ventured into Houston yet. The traffic really intimidates me. I haven't gone back since we dropped Mom off at Hobby airport, right after we moved here. I know, I don't get intimidated by much, but Houston is inimidating for some reason. I wasn't intimidated by Manhattan--I loved it! But we took the train in, and I had studied maps. I guess I need to get a better downtown map and study it. There's just not much reason to go downtown when we've got everything we need and more out here. I would like to go down to Galveston--I just dislike the traffic you have to go through to get there. But I think we will one of these days.

The problem with liking it here in the Houston area so much, is that we're not going to be here very long. We should find out hopefully this week whether we'll be able to move to San Antonio soon, like the first of September! I sure hope so. On our trips over there, (we have another one this weekend) we've been really looking around to find the neighborhoods we like. There are some that I really like, and others I really don't like, so I'm glad I have this chance to really explore and find the right place for us! I just want to start seriously looking, and work with realtors and lenders.

TyTy continues to do great--he likes sprinklers, swimming, stickers, still loves his "American Flag songs," (We keep re-checking the CD out from the library. I think I need to just buy one for ourselves!) really loves his Fisher Price train set that he calls Thomas. We just bought him some Diego underpants yesterday. He was so excited! He kept yelling throughout the store, "Underpants! Underpants!" I still think it will be awhile before he actually uses them, but they're there as a little incentive, I guess.

Tyler came out of nursery this Sunday laughing and yelling, "Bubble butt! Bubble butt!" I had to stifle my laughter and act serious as I asked him where he heard that. He said the kids in the nursery. (Those darn nursery kids, contaminating my child!) I told him that "butt" is a not a nice word and that we don't say it. That he could say "Bubble Bum" instead. So he ran off saying, "Bubble Bum, Bubble Bum!" Not sure that's any better, but oh well! It made me feel like my mom, getting on us every time we said Butt or Crap. Oops. I just said them. Sorry Mom.

Brad has gotten the lawn to look really nice! Well, not really nice, but at least almost normal. That was one of the only things we didn't like about this place when we moved in--the lawn was basically just a field of ugly weeds. They were seriously about two feet tall. It's taken two and a half months, but after de-bugging, de-weeding, fertilizing, transplanting, watering, mowing and trimming, we almost have a full lawn! He also trimmed the bushes up front and made a nice brick border for the flower bed. Of course the back yard is still a big field of weeds. The problem is there's a slope, and everytime it rains, it just creates big ruts. It really needs to be leveled, but the rental company won't do it. So, basically, we're just back lawn-less. Bummer, but I've come to terms with it.

I'm really proud of myself with my coupon-using and frugality. I've really been able to cut our grocery budget over time. We're very well stocked up--had to use the hall closet for our food storage since the pantry's not big enough--and I don't have to go to the store as often now, either. It's just so satisfying! I love getting great deals! My best week was when I got $110 worth of stuff for $8.39! I don't think that will happen again--all the stars were aligned just right on that one! But most weeks I save about 40-50%. The main thing is collecting coupons (paper, internet, store, etc.) and then looking at the circulars and being alert to see what the deals are for that week. Then, by combining the coupons and the store specials and store coupons, and using the coupon doubling and tripling programs (it's all automatic), you can really save. It's really just being aware of what coupons you have and what specials are out there.

Well, I'd better go get ready for the day. We're gonna go to the Library today, I think. Sorry, I hope this post wasn't too boring for y'all.

Love,
sal