Meandering thoughts...

So my thoughts are meandering, and I thought I would share.

I got an email from the folks at Active Gear, you know, the ones who sell those Pearl mugs (stainless steel wrapped with porcelain and decorated with a great design now with lids so little hands cannot dip themselves in!). I adore the Pearl mugs, they are the only reason I get to drink a hot beverage from start to finish, I think every mom needs one. So if you need a late Easter gift, or an early Mother's day gift, or just know a mom of little ones who needs one, check them out. Enter code Spring07 to get 30% off your order of $30 or more. Once you use the code, you cannot use it again...but other folks can!

Clearly I do not learn from my mistakes, yesterday Miss Pear and I ran a marathon of errands again because Mr. Pear was telecommuting and therefore we could have the car. We went to CVS to correct our overcharge - they reimbursed me at regular price, not the sale price with card, even though I presented my card, so I was up about a dollar or so. Then we went to Vons to correct the wrong price on my Monday shopping, their guarantee is that if you are charged incorrectly we reimburse you the entire price of the product - I had bought a box of diapers so I got just over $30 back...yup, made my day too! Then I did a shop at Vons and my savings were only $4 short of what I spent - my goal is to eventually consistently save more than I spend...more about that later in this post. Then on to Henry's for fruit, veggies, and milk, and home to drop off our purchases. Trip 2 was Costco Gas, Costco to exchange the shorts I got for Miss Pear that were small in the waste which is shocking because she has a teeny tiny waste, and Stater Brothers on the way home because of a great sale on veggies, and cream cheese, and I had coupons, so what could I do!

Oh, and to the truck that almost ran me over, the car that almost backed into me, the semi that first almost side swiped me and then tried to run me off the road, and the Suburban that cut me off twice, all while going from CVS to Vons - I apologize for being invisible - the only excuse I can think of for this fit of bad driving by others I was subjected to!

We were so exhausted when we got home as the temperature had sored! So we had lunch and rested. I made two taco pies - one for supper, one for the freezer and we had a great afternoon/evening. But we did run to Target quickly in the evening because it was that or go today, and Target on a Saturday makes me twitch!

Today we did a quick tidy and vacuum because someone was coming to see our house. Rather than wait around we went out to get our Easter cards, and then for lunch. We got home, they were not early like they were going to try. So we put Miss Pear down for her nap (she did not). We gave up on napping and played outside - no one arrived. We finally went for a drive to check into something, and got home to find out that no one showed up. All this for nothing. I am really tired of this ... but that is a post in itself.

So tonight we are very tired, and have someone different theoretically scheduled to come see our house while we are at church tomorrow morning, and I must say, that if they do not show up, you will definitely get to read all the reasons I am tired of this malarkey!

Oh, and you will probably hear a lot about couponing and getting good deals on household items and groceries as I am making a concerted effort to get both budget items down in cost. We are trying to move up closer to Mr. Pear's job, which is a more expensive area, and also, have some very specific savings goals, so this is basically my contribution. My first goal is to buy all our groceries and household items with just my grocery budget money, and then to cut that. So I am working to get my CVS Extra Care Bucks going, and to work the coupon system, and shop smart while still keeping in mind that heart disease runs in both our families, so a lean diet is vital.

But what is really on my mind is how happy I am that we had a nice day as a family, together, even though there were things going on, we still had fun! We ever got our roses and mandarin orange tree fertilized.

We also watered the pots of dirt where theoretically tomatoes and carrots are growing....

It was a good day. I love my little family and being with them! When things are not going quite as well as I would like, all I have to do is look at my family for a very tangible reminder of God's overwhelming goodness and blessing to me.