Drew's favorite scents

This is NOT a paid testimonial. He climbed up on the couch, went through the whole basket of scents, and decided that the red one's were his favorite.

Don't forget to flush!

Last chance to "flush" someone and help raise money for a mission trip to Africa. Check out the Flight of the Fuscia Flusher!

And Speaking of Coupons.....

Did you know that military families overseas can use expired coupons up to 6 months old? I have been sending my expired coupons to two different families, one in Guam and the other in Japan. They are very appreciative, and pass on to others what they can't use. If you are a fellow couponer, I'm happy to collect expired coupons from you to send to these families. Thanks!

Warning: Coupons May Cause Weight Gain!

I am a new couponer. Please do NOT call me an extreme one. I have strong opinions on the people who clean out grocery shelves and should be on the hoarders show. My goal is to save my family money, and be able to donate more to our church's food bank. Do I have stockpiles, yes. Will I use them within 6 months, or before they expire, yes. I am still learning the fine art of couponing, and have reached an overall 50-60% savings. That's just the number my receipt tells me. But really, I have more products (and better quality) than before. I have a coupon binder, and you can find me lugging all around town as I shop. Couponing hasn't hit that hard up here, so I get strange looks, or complete strangers stopping to ask about my coupon binder. I have learned what blogs to watch, and to always have a list ( learned that one the hard way).

What nobody warned me about was the weight gain! Seriously! See, when manufacturers want you to try a new product, they give out a high value coupon. Case in point, Magnum Ice Cream Bars. They look sinful, and even the name sounds a bit dirty! I had coupons for these sinful delights, and Safeway was having a sale. I got my first box for free. It's like a crack dealer giving you your first hit, knowing you will be back for more. You think I'm exaggerating? I can't count how many boxes I have eaten so far this summer! I refuse to know how many calories are in each bar. I just know that I can't pass them up when they are on sale (with a coupon of course!). I have even opened a box to eat a bar on my way home from the store. Problem with that is it melts quickly and I ended up wearing half of it. I'm sure I looked hilarious driving down the road sucking all the melted chocolate off my fingers. My only hope is that summer will be over sooner than I would like, and then the coupons will be gone and I won't be tempted to buy more.......or too many more!

Bring Back My Bar Rides Again!

It's July and I am so excited for Bring Back My Bar. For this month only, Scentsy has brought back retired scents in bar form only. Here's the list, contact me if you would like to order, or just click on the Scentsy logo on the sidebar to visit my website. Some of our favorites made the list, and I will be stockpiling ( and will NOT share once this is over!). Nate's favorite all time scent is Strawberry Sweetie. One of Lily's top three is Fried Ice Cream, and I am super excited for Fresh Cut Cantaloupe and Luscious Lemon. Don't wait, only two more weeks before they are gone!

Bring Back My Bar July 2011

Banana Flower
Delightful combination of fresh, sweet banana mingled with soft florals.

Banana Nut Bread
Right from the oven with ripe bananas, nuts, and spices.

Cashmere
Sheer floral bouquet combines Moroccan jasmine, lily of the valley, and bergamot.

Coconut Palm
A blend of tropical coconut and musky patchouli with subtle green notes.

Cutiepie Cupcake
Sweet clementine and yellow cake batter with vanilla and sugary icing.

Exotic Vanilla
Spice up your home with a blend of vanilla bean, jasmine, patchouli, and sandalwood.

Fresh Cut Cantaloupe
Vine-ripened melon with hints of juicy orange.

Fried Ice Cream
Vanilla with a nutty touch along with cinnamon and caramel.

Grape Granita
Sun-warmed grape and pineapple with undertones of honeysuckle.

Irish Cream
Smooth and mellow, highlighted with hints of coffee and chocolate.

Lemon Lavender
Inviting blend of tangy lemon and sweet lavender flowers

Luscious Lemon
Light, creamy lemon.

Orange Dreamsicle
A classic combination of fresh orange, swirled with vanilla cream.

Oxford
A masculine blend of ginger and frankincense with woody cedar and amber undertones.

Red Delicious
Crisp, juicy apples, fresh from the orchard.

Root Beer Float
Concoction of old-fashioned root beer and creamy vanilla ice cream.

Spiced Orange Harvest
Strong, sweet oranges spiced with cloves and cinnamon.

Strawberry Sweetie
A fruity delight of strawberries sprinkled with sugar and vanilla.

Tuscan Garden
Mediterranean floral bouquet, enhanced by cassis, apples, berries, and rosemary.

Watermelon Patch
Sweet, vine-ripened watermelon.

First Annual Slider Cookoff

Our friends host an annual chili cookoff and we have had so much fun with it, we wanted to try a Slider cookoff in the summer. We hosted last week and had 6 different sliders entered. And I really mean they were different. We had spicy, sweet, Thai, cheesy, bacony and Greek. Everyone voted on the winner and my step brother, Wade, won by a landslide with his Greek slider on a pita. I could have eaten a plateful of those! We are looking forward to continuing this tradition for many years. (And watch out, I'm entering next year!!).

Happy Golden Birthday!

Happy Golden Birthday to Nate the Great! A golden birthday is when you turn the number of the day you were born. Nate was born on the 11th, and this is his 11th birthday.
Nate is a smart, loving, and goofy kid. He loves Legos and Star Wars, and loves Lego Star Wars the best. He's reading Harry Potter books right now and will start summer school next week as a mentor. He tried wakeboarding yesterday and was the champion of the inner tube, being the only one that didn't get thrown off.
He's a great kid and we are so proud of him! Happy Birthday kiddo!

While We Were Gone......

My friends and I have a strange tradition of pranking each others houses while they are away on vacation. Last week, 7 out of the 8 of us were out of town. I made sure that Tiff (the only one home), knew that she had 7 houses to choose from. Of course she choose the easiest one, MINE!

She started out with a blog post and facebook post about it being my birthday. I knew she was up to trouble and was scared as to what I would find when I got home. Click HERE to read Tiff's blog.

So it took me three days to find the master list. And I wasn't happy! We came home tired, and frazzled, so my mind was not ready to figure out clues. We are still finding labels in random places. Yesterday I went to grab a towel before my shower and found a label. Dan wanted soup for lunch the other day and we had to start reading numbers off the cans and check the master list to see what they were. Lord help me if we loose that list!

I have told Tiff and Kristen that I will get revenge. I already got Kristen, click HERE and read flush number two. Many people have shared some great ways to get revenge. And of course Tiff will be in Africa for two whole weeks this summer! (Insert evil laugh).

Trip to Oregon

We made a last minute trip to my Dad's last week. Dan got off the boat on Tuesday morning, drove home from Seattle, then we drove the 10 hours to Dad and Marsha's. We had a beautiful sunset on the way over, and a super cool lightning storm after dark. The kids had a blast on the motorcycle and four wheeler. Dad had just cut his hay field, so Nate learned how to rake and bale the hay. Then he drove the tractor when they picked up the bales.
Dad planned a big BBQ and invited everyone he knew. We had some great food and fun! We pulled out the old card to go to dinner at a fun little diner one night. I FINALLY got to drive my Dad's '55 Chevy Bel Air. I'm the last of the kids, so we have all had a chance to drive it now.
We had a blast and loved the dry heat. I hope the kids remember the great times we had.