Life in the Slow Lane

As an avid shopper, I am always on the hunter for a sale or great bargain. I never pay full price for anything, and use coupons as much as possible. But today I wanted to share a neat little trick I've been using for the last few months that makes shopping even more fun that usual! It's quite simple. I buy sometimes without trying on or even knowing for sure if I need/want an item. Then a week or two will go by, it's still in the bag, and I realize I should return it. Here's where my trick comes in. When I go to return it, I simply ask for a store credit. No cash back, no putting it back on my credit card, just a store credit. My thought when I started doing that was that I already paid for this item, allotted for the money in my budget, so why not keep that money in my shopping 'cart'? I then leave the store with credit in hand, and put it in my drawer with the pile of others. Next time I decide to go out shopping, even if I don't have any extra money t

Today, I did something I haven't done in a very long time. It's something I used to do almost every day, for many years. Last year life changed, and so did my schedule. So I no longer do this thing anymore. But today, I did. And I have to say, I don't miss it at all. It doesn't matter what this thing is. What matters is that I am ok with it no longer being part of my life. Something that was so integral to who I was, or who I thought I was, has no bearing on my life now. I thought I would miss it, I thought I would want to turn back time, when in fact, it's just the opposite. I feel....grown up. I feel like I have moved forward in life, and there's no turning back. That's not to say I might not do something different over the next year or two, but I won't do that original thing again. This post probably makes no sense to any of you. But it makes sense to me. It makes me realize I am ok with change, something I've always had a hard time with. It mak

I love to bake. Sadly, I don't bake as much as I used to. And strangely, I've never made a pie. And even more strangely, I've never had pie other than store bought apple pie or a family favorite chocolate pudding pie. Crazy, right? The other day though, I got inspired to make one. No crust from scratch just yet, but still enough steps for me to consider it a homemade pie. I'm not sharing the recipe today, as I think it still needs some tweaking, but I want to give you a glimpse of my simple, yet delicious masterpiece. I call it Triple Four Berry Pie. Was supposed to be 3 berries, but I really wanted that fourth(strawberry!).                                 Prepped the bottom crust:                                                                                 Mixed my filling:   Prettied up my lattice: Baked and patiently waited to eat: Go me! I know it wasn't my best baked work, but I had to start somewhere!  I will definitely try something a 'bit' mo

After a few months of dabbling with the iPad, I can finally make the decision of my top favorite apps. I don't like to spend much on apps, so I'm sure there are plenty more out there if you don't mind paying! But in no particular order, here are my free/cheap top contenders: USA Today Newspaper: The top news stories, and easy access to different sections of the paper. I suck at the crossword puzzles, but continue to try. Wall of Sound: Not the best music app, but a very cool one. Clips of any songs you can think of. Stream in the background of your game playing, or just search for songs/albums. Sock Puppets : Makes me laugh every time I use it. My kids love it too! IKEA catalog: I love everything about IKEA, and the ability to read and reread the catalog, and dream about the changes I want to make in my home make me love them even more. Lion Brand Yarn: Thorough and easy to use to find a quick project to do over the weekend. 10 Pin Shuffle: Shuffleboard/bowling th