AND I DON'T APOLOGIZE

I’m a bargain hunter…and I don’t apologize!  When we got married while we were both still in college, I learned to economize rather quickly, and I’m still doing that today.  My husband sometimes teases me and says I’m CHEAP, but I prefer to call it FRUGAL. 

“Being frugal does not mean being cheap! It means being economical and avoiding waste.”- Catherine Pulsifer (Thank you, Catherine.)     

And, yes…I’m that shopper who will look at something in one store, walk down the mall to other stores and see if I can get a better price, and then end up going back to the first store.  And I don’t apologize! 

When I was growing up our family didn’t have a lot of extra cash, and so I learned early the value of a dollar.  And though I spent years watching every penny, using grocery store coupons, and usually shopping for clothes only when they were on sale, I never begrudged that.  In fact, looking for bargains is now just something I really enjoy doing.  Besides…the more money I save, the more I can splurge on my grandkids and I do love to do that!  (So do they😊)

What made me decide to write this post was that I was reading a fashion blog today and that blogger said that her favorite jeans were these…

Pricey!!

Want to know the price????  $225!!!!  I don’t begrudge her or anyone else who wants to pay that, but why would I want to pay $225 for a pair of jeans when I can buy this pair for under $50????  

More In My Price Range

If I ever paid over about that much for a pair of jeans, I’ve either lost my mind totally or I hit a HUGE, and I mean H-U-G-E, lottery.     Again, please don’t take offense if you are one who can and does pay what I consider outrageous prices for certain items; I’m not dissing anyone but I just don’t see the need to do that when I can find comparable, quality items for less money.  And I don’t apologize.

Let me show you a few of examples of what I mean by bargain shopping.

These booties are very similar…except for the price!

$150

On Sale $47.59

And look at these two very similar-looking sweaters…the more expensive one is actually 40% off right now (original price $249).  I actually have a long black sweater that I absolutely love that I got at TJMaxx for around $20.  It’s a few years old and looks brand new.

$149.40 at 40% off

$21 Bargain

I realize that some people (my husband) really believe in buying very expensive, high-end sunglasses and that’s OK…again, not dissing anybody. But you can still buy very good sunglasses without breaking the bank.

$250...not for me since I've been known to lose a few pair!

$59...Amazon has them even more reasonable

Now this next one is r-e-a-l-l-y crazy.  I’m not really into camo unless it’s when I go hunting with my soulmate, but if I were can you guess which one I would buy?

$995.00....ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????

$32...That's More Like It!

And remember the BEE RUG that I posted a couple weeks ago…well, here you go!  You can buy it HERE for $69 on sale (regularly $98.57)...OR...you can get a better deal HERE for $34 on sale (regularly $57).  You just have to be willing to shop and compare.

Now don’t get me wrong…I do believe there are times when it makes TOTAL SENSE to go with quality over price.  For example, with things like furniture, mattresses, and ICE CREAM.  But we don’t have to assume that a higher price tag always means higher quality.   I have bought some cheaper less expensive clothes that have lasted much longer than some of the more expensive clothes I’ve purchased.  In the case of designer labels, we are often paying for the name brand rather than the actual quality of the product.  It’s the same with high-end makeup…not all are what they are cracked up to be and have the very same ingredients as drugstore brands…just look for those types of youtube videos (like THIS one) and you’ll see.

Disclaimer:  I do have a couple designer handbags (that I love), but they were special gifts from my husband…and even us die hard bargain hunters like to have a few nice things:) 

And let me just say…if I were getting a tattoo or a face-lift (which I don’t plan to anytime soon), I want the absolute BEST money has to offer. 

Oh dear!  Bless her heart!!!!

So…I no longer use grocery coupons (unless they are really good ones) because I’m just too lazy…and I don’t count pennies because the good Lord blessed me with a good retirement check…but I do still love the thrill of the hunt and the fact that I’m a BARGAIN HUNTER…and I don’t apologize.

Are you a bargain hunter too?

"The way to wealth is as plain as the way to the market.  It depends chiefly on two words, industry & frugality.  That is, waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both."

AN UNWELCOME VISITOR

Earlier this week my husband had gotten up and gone downstairs for coffee and breakfast while I still lounged in bed😊  Well, I was laying there getting ready to bounce out of bed trying to decide to drag myself out of bed when I saw him standing at the door of our bedroom. 

I waved and then he walked around to my side of the bed and sat down.  All the while I was "wondering what in the world?" He usually goes to his part-time (after retirement) job before I get up or either he’s at his desk reading the news and having coffee when I finally wander downstairs.  (Don’t judge me for not fixing his breakfast…he’s a big boy and after a 40 ½ yr. career he thinks I deserve to sleep as long as I want😊  Thank you, my sweet man.)

Oh…sorry, I can get side-tracked….back to the story!

As he sat down he said, “We had a visitor last night.”  I immediately said, “A mouse?”  (I am deathly afraid of those little devils!).  

“No,” he said.   “A squirrel?” I asked.  (We have had squirrels come down the chimney & get in the house before.)  

“No,” he said, “bigger.”  As my mind was conjuring up what was bigger than a squirrel that could have gotten into our house, he shows me this picture on his phone………………get ready!!!!

YES!!!!!!!  A SNAKE!!!!!!!  Thankfully, not a poisonous one…just an oak snake.  I have seen one in the yard from time to time, but that’s a whole different ballgame.  My husband, my hero, had the snake in a paper bag and ready to take to the woods.  He doesn’t believe in killing snakes that are basically harmless. 

This totally freaked me out because at least a few times a week I will wake up in the middle of the night, go downstairs for a drink of water or just to walk around a few minutes to settle me down so I can (hopefully) go back to sleep.  And….I almost never turn on the lights.   We have lots of windows in the kitchen so there’s enough light from the moon and street lights. 

Can you imagine what I would have done if I had been the one to discover our slinky visitor?  What if I had stepped on it????????????????????  

Well, if that had happened someone would probably have been preparing my eulogy.  It will probably be awhile before I wander downstairs during the night!

We have no idea how Mr. Snake got in, but hubby says it could have been through the vent.  Evidently animals like our house…we’ve had an occasional mouse, a few squirrels, a bird or two, and once even a small bat that flew in when the door was opened.  That little sucker could really fly fast!  I sure am thankful for a husband who takes care of all our unusual and unwelcome guests.

In fact, for many years (back when we were young) our little town hosted a yearly RATTLESNAKE ROUNDUP and guess who picked up and weighed each and every rattlesnake!  Yep…that man of mine.  He also hunted for them.  The live rattlesnakes were each milked for their venom which is used to make anti-venom for snake bites. 

Although the roundup was for a good cause and it also brought lots of people and helped our economy, I never really looked forward to it.  But God sometimes watches over people who don’t have enough good sense not to pick up a poisonous snake!!!!

Who says small town life is boring?? You never know who what may come visit you.

JUST BUZZING BY

When I was a little girl my grandmother lived in an old house with a tall chimney, although it wasn’t used because the fireplace had been closed up.  However, the honeybees sure loved that old chimney.  It seems that just about every summer they would build a big hive in there…you could see the bees constantly buzzing around it.  Granny’s yard was where I got my first bee sting…ouch!

Honeybee Hive in Nature

I’ve been hearing and reading a lot lately about the possible demise of honeybees.  It seems they are disappearing at alarming rates…and that is NOT a good thing.  Although, the honeybee isn’t on the endangered list (several kinds of bees are), many people still believe that they soon will go extinct.  And if that happens, our planet will be in a big old mess!  One source I found said that one-third of the food we eat depends on bees and their pollination.  Another source upped that to 90%, and still another source said that about 75% of all the fruits, nuts, and veggies we eat in the U.S. depend on bees for pollination.  I don’t know which is correct, but any way you look at it…BEES ARE IMPORTANT.  Bees take care of our gardens and some of our fields so we need to take care of the bees.

What can we do to help????  Well, there are actually several things including:

*DON’T SWAT AT THEM!  Most bees will not bother you if you don’t bother them, so just get out of their way and they’ll probably get out of yours.

*Try to use NATURAL methods of killing weeds, etc. in your garden.  Pesticides are one of the biggest reasons we are losing so many of our bees.

*Plant flowers, bushes, etc. that attract bees.  The kinds you plant will depend on what area of the country you live in, but some plants that cause bees to dance the HAPPY DANCE are:  butterfly plant, yarrow, pansies, peonies, milkweed, bee balm, lavender, phlox, marigolds, zinnias, and many others.

*Make a BEE BATH.  Bees need a water source, but it needs to be shallow.  A birdbath won’t do…the birds probably don’t want to share anyway. 

source

source

*EDUCATE your children.  Read them books and show them pictures to help them learn all about bees and how to care for them. 

*Buy raw honey from local beekeepers.  It helps their pocketbooks, of course, but it also enables the beekeepers to continue keeping up their colonies.

*You can also provide this type of home for some types of bees.  Just go to Pinterest or Google for more info.

Pinterest

*And one more thing…I thought this was interesting & informative.  Have you ever found a bee just laying on the ground?  You can tell it’s not dead but you aren't going to give it CPR!  Well, you can do something that’s just as good for the bee.  More than likely the bee isn’t injured, it’s just tired!  So instead of that CPR, run in the kitchen and mix 50/50 solution of sugar & water and place a drop or two in front of the bee.  Hopefully it will have the good sense to say thank you and take a sip.  This should reenergize the bee and allow it to fly off and get on with his day😊

Have you ever wondered how honeybees live and what they do…besides gather pollen and make honey?  After reading a few interesting articles I found out that bees sleep, poop, eat, and share a home with its family…sounds like us, doesn’t it???  

2 Bees Sleeping in a Flower

source

Well, now that I’ve educated you a little on honeybees, I thought I’d share some cute things I’ve found in case you’d like to do some “bee-utiful” decorating in your home.

Wouldn’t this rug look great in a bright sunroom?

wayfair.com

And this cute pillow would put a pop of spring in any room.

source

These painted Mason jars would look cute in a baby’s nursery or in a bright yellow kitchen.

etsy

And this adorable teakettle would bring a smile to my face first thing in the morning….well, once I’ve crawled out of bed and gotten over the morning grouchies😊

teakettle

You could also share your love of bees by wearing this cute tee-shirt.  This would be a good reminder to me to LET IT BEE!!!  (I sometimes need to remember that…I can be like a dog with a bone about some things!)

etsy

And the message on this bright & cheerful tumbler is one we all need to be reminded of from time to time.

source

I do love these a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e cupcakes…so cute for a brunch or a child’s bee-themed birthday party.

Pinterest

But what I really, really, really wanted to share with you (I get a little over-zealous) are these cute BEE BUTTS.  Evidently bee butts are a popular thing to photograph…just Google it and you will see what I mean.  If these don’t make you smile, you really are a grouch in need of smiley pills.

source

So….I just thought I’d BEE thoughtful and share some of my un-BEE-lievable finds about those little buzzers that help make our world a better place.  Let’s all remember to BEE kind to the BEEs....and to each other.

PLEASE!

Yo! Do You Know How TO YO-YO???

Guess what!  I have about 100 or more YOYOs!!!!  Surprised?  Well, don’t be…I really don’t collect the fun toys that go up & down on a string, although I did have one of those off and on as a child.  I even learned how to “walk the dog” and to spin it “around the world.”  If you remember that, you may be old as dirt like me!!!  I wonder if kids today even play with yoyos anymore.

I do have 100 or so yoyos though…but they are made of fabric & not wood or plastic.  

made by my mother

Maybe you’ve heard of yoyos before…maybe you’ve even made some.  All of these were made by my mother.  She has had them for years but recently she has been trying to declutter (she’s 91) and so gifted her box of yoyos to me.  I can remember her and my grandmother making them when I was a child. Mama had always said she was going to sew them altogether and make a yoyo QUILT, but she never seemed to get around to it. 

I couldn’t find any definite history of how yoyos came to be, but many people think they could have originated during the Depression when people learned to make do with very little and used everything they owned in creative ways.  Since yoyos can be made any different size, even small scraps of fabric could be put to good use.  Although they probably began with the purpose of putting them together to make quilts, they really weren’t practical for keeping a body warm but were probably more for decorative purposes.

Pinterest

My mother was a seamstress who sewed not only for herself and me, but also at times for the public.  She was really well-known for her skills around our small town.  She made hordes of dance costumes for my friends and me for years, sewing on sequins and seed pearls by hand.  If I had a dollar for every one of those she sewed on I’d be richer than Midas!!! 

Me ©1956 

As a child I always loved Mama’s buttons & yoyos and so I guess that’s why she gave me not only her yoyos but this can of buttons as well.  (I wrote a post a few years ago about my love of buttons…you can read it HERE.)

My box of yoyos has been stored under the bed in an extra bedroom (yes, I have stuff under my beds…along with a few dust bunnies but don't tell anybody about those!)  I recently began to think about what I might do with the yoyos and so went in search of ideas (on PINTEREST, of course!)  It’s amazing how many creative people there are in the world and many of them have come up with some awesome ways to use these little fabric lovelies.

I think these paper clips are adorable.  Did you even know there were people who decorated their paper clips???  There is actually a Facebook group that you can join that is about nothing but fancying up those boring paper holders😊  I'm a member & it's called Paper Clip Art (I'm just a stalker there!)

Molly & Mama

newcrafteachday.blogspot.com

Pinterest

Or if you are into making your own greeting cards, wouldn’t this cute one cheer up a sick friend?

Etsy (no longer available)

Isn’t this headband adorable?  If only my granddaughter still liked bows and cute things to wear in her hair!

Etsy (no longer available)

And if you are into DIY for some small Christmas gifts for neighbors or co-workers, these bookmarks could be easily and quickly made.

Pinterest

Speaking of Christmas (it’s only 136 days away…yikes!)…these decorations for your tree are so cute and unique.

blogconnectingthreads.com

If you are interested in learning how to make yoyos, they really are very simple and there are many tutorials online and even videos on you-tube.  HERE is a good one, although these gals do it a little differently from my Mama.  Or you can also use a special template as seen in THIS VIDEO.  Templates can be ordered on Amazon.  Another step-by-step guide has great photos.  There are many more tutorials…just ask Mr. Google.

from Positively Splendid by Amy Bell

All of these projects are “do-able”, but I’m not sure I will ever get around to completing any of them (I can procrastinate with the best of the best procrastinators), but I came across this idea that I can definitely accomplish…and I think I like it too😊  In fact, it will fit right in with the décor in a spare bedroom.  And…it will be a lovely reminder of sitting at the feet of my mother and grandmother watching them wield their needles in & out, in & out of all that brightly colored fabric…making yoyos and making memories. 

cupcakesndaisies.com

(I just thought of something!  Maybe they are called yoyos because the needle goes up & down, up & down like a yoyo!  That’s probably been thought of before, but I can be a little slow at times!!!)

And if you are in the mood for a catchy tune that you won't be able to get out of your head about the other kind of yoyo, go HERE and listen to the cutest song that you might want to teach your grandkids😊  Disclaimer:  you may not get it out of your head for days!!!

I was sittin' on a fencepost

Slappin' on my left knee

Chewin' on my bubble gum...chomp! chomp!

Playin' with my yoyo...do-wop! do-wop!

Watchin' the birds fly by...

Herman:) 

Molly & Mama