Hi Noner, Principessa, Samantha, Jenny, and Cheryl.

If you haven't checked out freecycle yet, you really should! I have met many wonderful people, and have gotten awesome stuff like:

2 cases (yes cases) of books

Assorted Christmas ornaments, decorations, and a Christmas feather tree

a Toys R Us Discount card

assorted girly toys: a Step 2 stove, tea party dishes, and a doll cradle

Two hamsters

It's amazing! The gal I got all the girly stuff from turned out to be really nice, and I think we've got a beginnings of a great friendship. I wound up getting everything on Meghan's Christmas list from her - and everything was in perfect condition.

Check out freecycle today ... sign up for 2 - 3 groups in your area, you won't regret it!

It's been a [fill in your favorite expletive here] day. It's been good and bad ... God willing, everything will even out by the end of the day.

Sue's on vacation today, so it's just me by my lonesome supporting all of the managers. Which is really kinda cool, because they're seeing exactly what I'm capable of, which is alot. They're all kinda amazed because they've all got big projects that have to get done by the end of the day, and I've got a handle on it, and will everything done.

I cheered myself up by going shopping at lunch. Being connected to a shopping mall is dangerous! I had fun at Old Navy, and bought Meghan a pair of fleece lined jeans, and new gloves for both kids. I also went to Radio Shack and bought a DVD player. I've done really great on my budget for a month now, with no splurging, so I'm not feeling too guilty about my lunch hour shopping.

The jeans were on sale for $14.99. Three of Meghan's jeans have torn knees, so she really did need another pair of jeans. And I had to get the fleece-lined ones because she refuses to wear long johns. The gloves were 50% off, and the kids need waterproof gloves to play in the snow. And the DVD player was 30% off with a $10 mail-in rebate. I had to get a new DVD player because I've decided to start working out at home, and I only have aerobic DVDs.

Nope, I'm not feeling guilty at all, despite the need to justify what I bought. I'm not feeling guilty at all ...

Hi Laura, Misty, Cheryl, Jenny, Nancy, Dave, and Shannon!

Thanks for sharing your cookie recipes! The kids want to help bake cookies, so we're going to do sugar cookies, and I'll let the kids decorate them.

I'm also going to try a chocolate chip biscotti recipe ... if it turns out well, I'm going to bake them for my co-workers, kid's teachers, mailman, landlord, neighbors, etc. I always bake a little container of cookies as gifts for the aforementioned people at Christmastime.

Back in November, I bought 2 dozen santa and snowman coffee mugs from Target - they were $1 each, so I couldn't say no. :) Wouldn't that be cute? A Christmas coffee mug and biscotti? Hmmm ... I thought about dipping the biscotti in white chocolate too ... yummy!

I actually answered a telemarker call last night, Talk America wants me to change my local and long distance phone service to their company. To their credit, the telemarker wasn't pushy at all, in fact she was very helpful and informative. I'm thinking of switching right away, because I know my SBC billing cycle will start soon, and it's just easier to switch now rather than in the middle of the cycle.

On the up side, I'll save about $20 a month on my local/long distance service, and $7 on DSL. Hmmmm .... that's $324 a year, which could be a great 2-nighter at the Kalahari with the kids. The only drawback is that they won't have DSL available until January 2005. I can connect to the internet at work, which is a beautiful thing, and I can take Nick to the library on the weekends to feed his internet addiction ... it's really not that long 'til January's here ...

So ... can I live without an internet connection at home 'til January? This is a hard one! Can you?

I am in two Christmas Cookie exchanges in the next two weeks. One is with my co-workers on Monday the 13th and the other is with the Cub Scouts on the 21st. Which means I'll be a baking fiend the next two Sundays baking 12 dozen cookies.

I usually do the Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie for cookie exchanges, which is always a hit with everyone. But I'm getting bored, and the fact that there's always several variations of chocolate chip cookies in the cookie exchange makes it unappealing this year. I want to do something different ... like decorated sugar cookies or sandwich cookies or peanut butter-chocolate kiss cookies.

Yes, my cookies will be exchanged with 50 other families (with my name on the baggie, no less). Yes, most other women in the cookie exchange are Martha Stewart clones or just like Oprah (they have their own chef), so my good 'ol chocolate chip cookies are making me feel seriously a bit inadequate.

That said, I would be absolutely delighted if you would like to share your Super Secret Christmas Cookie Recipe with me (if you can't bear to part with your super secret recipe, a family favorite will be lovely as well).

Please post your recipe in my comments section below, so everyone can share! THANK YOU!!

I was born and raised on the Island of O'ahu, in the State of Hawai'i. My parent's house is up high on the Ko'olau Range, and overlooks Pearl Harbor. After retiring from active duty with the Navy, my Dad worked at the Pearl Harbor Shipyard. When he passed away, he was the Supervisor of Shipbuilding and Repair. My Dad would come home with stories on which battleship or aircraft carrier was in port, and how the sailors managed to bang up their ships :)

My Dad was also responsible for repairing the ferries at the Arizona Memorial. I am fortunate to have gone countless times to the Arizona Memorial. I have memories as a child running among the palm trees, the salty spray on my face as we rode the ferry to the Memorial, throwing leis into Pearl Harbor at the Memorial, right where oil from the Arizona still leaks into the Harbor, over 60 years after the attack.

Today is the 63rd Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Over 3,500 military servicemen and civilians died that day. 1,777 sailors and marines are still entombed in the USS Arizona.

During your day today, please stop to remember those brave men that gave their lives 63 years ago. And please, please say a prayer for our service men and women currently serving overseas. They are giving the ultimate sacrifice, and deserve our thoughts, prayers, and support.

Please see Any Soldier for information on how to help.

Just a quick post tonite because I'm not feeling so great ... I'm officially addicted to freecycle.org. I picked up two bags of Christmas decorations including a 2' feather tree at lunch today, everything was in really good condition and I'm delighted with the ornaments. I also met someone about 5 miles from where I live that's donating 150 ornaments to me (remember, my ornaments were stolen out of my garage?) ... I'm picking those up later this week.

I scored stuff at work today too - Keitha gave me 4 videos (Annie, Matilda, All Dogs Go To Heaven, and Toy Story), and Margaret is giving Nick two box turtles, with a complete aquarium, filter, heating lamp setup.

All in all, today was a great day. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow, because I was pretty bitchy grouchy with the kids tonite.

Thank you Serenity, Beth, Ang, Julee, Mimi, FTS, and Suki for your kind comments about yesterday's post!

Today was a very nice, relaxing day. I deep-cleaned the kid's bedrooms, boy-oh-boy was there a ton of STUFF under Nick's bed! I could not believe how much stuff kept coming out from under there. We found a couple of missing library books, his belt, Meghan's sandals, and about two weeks worth of socks. I knew that kid had socks hidden somewhere!

Meghan's room wasn't as bad, but I still managed to fill a black garbage bag between the two bedrooms. I also deep-cleaned the kitchen and the kid's bathroom. We usually have friends dropping by unannounced at least once a week, but with Christmas right around the corner, it'll happen a lot more, and I wanted to make sure the house was clean for our visitors.

I checked out this great website called freecycle.org. You basically join a Yahoo Group in your area, and people post messages on things that they're giving away FREE. Sofas, appliances, mattresses, toys ... you name it, it's pretty much on there. I offered two coffe tables and Nick's old bicycle (no takers yet), but I am going to pick up two bags of Christmas ornaments/decorations from a lady in Wauwatosa tomorrow at lunch. I also emailed a lady about free tickets to the WKLH Christmas Party on Thursday night. Kids under 11 with tickets get a free bag of toys and a photo with Santa. Luckily, Paul, Kim, and Joe will be on sales call in Ohio, so it won't matter if I leave work early that day for the party.

Hey! Do y'all celebrate St. Nick's Day? I never heard of it until I moved to Wisconsin, but it's today, so I have a bunch of goodies for the kids ... I just have to wait until they're asleep, then stuff their stockings. They're getting chocolates, and a small toy each. I'll put an apple in my stocking, just so they know Momma's on St. Nick's Good list. :)

Thanks again to everyone that commented on my last post. I am very proud of my son, and am figuring out how to fit a Gameboy SP into my Christmas budget. I wonder if I could find one on freecycle.org? You never know!

Hi Catt, ShaeSin, Julee, teddy, So Lost, and A Touch of Style!

My dad served in the Navy for 27 years. He retired in 1979 as a Chief Warrant Officer, and fought in Vietnam. My brother served in the Marines for 8 years. He served our country during the Persian Gulf war. That said, I am a very proud military brat, and gladly support our troops the best I can.

My son Nicholas has adopted a soldier currently serving our country in Afghanistan. He adopted this soldier on the Soldier Angels website. My enthusiastic son earns $5 a week - IF he completes 95% of his daily responsiblities AND does a few selected chores around the house. He has been saving his allowance since July towards a Gameboy SP ... he lost his at the Chicago O'Hare airport when we dropped my mom off after her 4-week vacation with us this summer. At the time, I wanted to teach Nick a lesson, and told him he would have to save his own money to get a new one.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Nick went door-to-door for about an hour asking for donations - things like old magazines, unopened toothpaste, toothbrushes, microwavable snacks, etc. He did a great job, and sent his first care package on Monday the 29th.

Nick's soldier has access to a DVD player and a Playstation, so at lunch today, Nick asked me to take him to Blockbuster to buy pre-viewed DVDs and used games for his soldier for his next care package.

At the checkout station, I did gently remind Nick that using all his money will put him back several weeks from buying his Gameboy. His reply was "Mom, my soldier is away from home. He is fighting to keep America safe. He will be away from all of his family and friends at Christmas time. I want him to know I care about him and want him to have something that I bought all on my own."

At this point, I kid you not, the cashier (and me) wiped away some tears. She called the manager, and told him that her customer (pointing to Nicholas) was using all of his allowance to buy these DVDs and games for a soldier fighting overseas. The manager came around the counter, put one hand on Nick's shoulder and shook his hand with the other. He told Nick he was very proud of him, and didn't want him to spend all of his hard-earned money. He then marked down ALL of the DVDs and games 50% off.

By this time I really had to work hard to wipe away my tears. Then, the guy in line behind us stepped forward and gave Nick $20. He told Nick that he was a very special kid, and that he wanted to help Nick help his soldier. I was just so overcome with gratitude. Nick just smiled a huge smile, and thanked both the manager and the guy behind us. He even asked them to write down their names, so he could include them in his next letter to his soldier.

I am SO proud of my son ... I'm tearing up typing this out. I must be doing something right!

I'm on a budget. A pretty strict budget - I want to buy a new-to-me car AND a house in 2005. I've disconnected my cable television and roadrunner, switched to a bare-bones calling plan, cancelled my cell phone and switched to a pay-as-you-go (as a single mom that commutes 27-miles to work, one way, I felt I needed a cell phone in case of an emergency), cancelled my Blockbuster account, stopped eating out (if it's not cooked in my own kitchen, I don't eat it), buy store brand foods, etc ...

That said, I've become a pretty thrify consumer. I'm continuosly amazed at how much I used to spend on something when I can substitute with something less expensive or even free. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a cheapskate, there are still things that simply cannot be substituted, but for the most part, if I can save a dollar or two, I will.

My new Friday ritual is to check the Cue section of my newspaper to see what free and fun happenings are taking place over the weekend. The kids and I have done so many things, both free AND fun ... between free admission days to the zoo, or any of the 6 or 7 museums, free storytelling and crafty stuff at local libraries, schools, or markets ... our weekends are busier than they were before I started our budget.

My co-workers with kids have started coming to me for suggestions on weekend activities. The funny thing is that they've all grown up in the area, I grew up in Hawaii and moved to Milwaukee 2 summers ago.

Anyway, the reason I'm blogging about this ... tomorrow, I have to choose between free admission day to the zoo, crafty stuff at the public museum, and storytelling at the library. I'll leave it up to the kids, but I suspect they'll pick the zoo. Which one would you pick?