One of those weeks...

here is how this week has gone

• 1st week of summer
• adjusting to kids being home all day
• staying up WAY to late reading
• somewhat relieved that we are now a cat free household
• sad that the kids are sad that he is gone
• not sad that I am more comfortable at home now
• haven't left the house since Sunday
• I don't mind that at all
• woke up with a sore throat, headache and stuffiness today
• the coughing has started
• I hate being sick and I hope it doesn't last long
• I do like that I can just sit around and read though
• I applied for a job in the boys' school today
• if I get it I won't be subbing next year
• I am excited to do something new and to feel "at home" in a school though
• ...hopefully I will get the job!
• I have had a ton of hits on this blog
• Many thanks to Ryan Winfield for that!
• I have had even more hits on my other blog {Dive} Under the Cover
• Thanks again to Ryan Winfield and SWEET Heather!!
• That makes me SO happy on a week that's been kinda cruddy...

This makes me happy too...only 2 more weeks...!!!

Mother's Day

I am going in to cleaning and cooking mode this afternoon.  We decided to have my in-laws over for dinner tomorrow night for Mother's Day.  This includes Jake's sister, her husband and 2 kids!  I don't think we have ever had them all over for dinner before.  The kids are going to be so excited, they don't know about it yet.  I am going to have to put them to work cleaning too.  I have their lists all made out!  

This is what is on the menu

• Chicken Fried Chicken
• Mashed Potatoes and gravy
• peas, corn and green beans
• Homemade Texas Roadhouse hot rolls
• Strawberry/Blueberry Shortcake with homemade shortcake and whipped cream

I wish I was one of those moms who always had the house ready for company but I am SO not!  I can barely keep up with the kids mess most of the time.  It's actually pretty clean right now, just the usual stuff to do like vacuuming, mopping, etc...  Most of the time will be getting ready for dinner I think.  I love to cook though so that's always fun for me!

I picked out a couple of my own Mother's Day gifts today...that was fun!  We are doing pizza for dinner then we are going to watch this when the kids go to bed...

The day after...

We had a great Christmas here in the Greninger house.  It started when the kids woke up at 4am and Jake had to get up and make them go back to bed until at least 6...they were not to wake us up until 7am though!  They made it, barely.  We had a great time opening gifts.

Here a couple shots I took with my phone, the kids enjoying their gifts and Dillon all dressed up in his new clothes and Nike High Tops that he LOVES!

Here are a couple of my favorite presents from the kids.  Colton got me the Glee page a day calendar, Dillong got me the Tea Infuser Pot (I picked that one out!) and Bailey used some of her Christmas gift (Hot Topic Gift card from Mimi) to buy me the coolest skull Union Jack wallet!  I also got Pajama pants, a pair of slipper boots, some shirts and new boots that have to be exchanged because Jake got the wrong style and they don't fit! 

All in all a great Christmas.  I am looking forward to having the week off, Jake is off too!  I will be doing a lot of reading and we will probably watch a lot of movies and TV shows.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Day!

I finally found it....

My new favorite nail polish, that is!  If you know me at all or have read any of my Facebook or Blog posts you know that I have struggled to find a good nail polish.  One that will last more than 24 hours and doesn't chip or peel, etc...  Well, I think I have found one and I have a new favorite color just in time for fall/winter!  The nail polish is Revlon of all things.  It's a bit pricey if you can't find it on sale, but I got a good deal at Walgreens last week when they marked it down to  $3.99.  I had a $1 off coupon and ended up getting a $3.00 Register Reward on top of that so it ended up being free!  I picked up a bottle of #909, Sheer Petal.  Normally I gravitate toward the brighter colors, but since it was a Walgreens special the shelves were pretty bare, thanks in NO small part to the lady at the cosmetics counter with literally the entire counter covered with stacks of coupons and baskets upon baskets of products all separated out into small transactions!  She had a nice hoard of these polishes.  I will have to do a whole separate post on this type of couponing!  Anyway, I browsed the nearly empty shelf and picked out my polish, oh and did I mention that this was only Sunday afternoon so the sale had pretty much just started!  I painted my nails with it last week and although it took about 4 coats to get the color I wanted it lasted me about 3-4 days, which in my book is a WIN on wear.  A note about the color, I realize it's supposed to be a sheer, but I wanted a nice light pink color that's why all the coats.

Now, here is my new favorite color, which I also picked up at Walgeens using a RR from a previous purchase so it was also free in the end.  It's #570, Vixen and it's AWESOME!  I had to do 3 coats to get a nice dark color, but it's so pretty!  I totally stole this picture from here, but only because her nails are so much prettier than mine are. (By the way you should totally check out her blog, she has tons of cool photos, fashions, etc... on there!)  I am going through a grow out stage from where I had artificial nails that I did myself and so my thumb nails have these weird ridges in them that are almost grown out to the end.  Since they are almost grown out they have been splitting and cracking where those ridges are and I have been keeping them cut all the way to the quick so they don't cause more damamge.

So, I think this is going to be my new go to color in place of black this fall!  I don't know if I talked about the top coat I have been using, but I just ordered 2 more bottles of it so I don't come so close to running out again.  I have been using Seche Vite and I LOVE it!  You put it on before the nails dry and it somehow penetrates through all the layers of polish and completely hardens them.  They are dry to the touch in just minutes and completely hard in less than 10 minutes.  This is a great product for someone like me, who ends up having to re-do my polish every couple of days.  The only draw back is that it starts to get thick after awhile, but Seche has created a Restore product that you just drop in the bottle and roll it around and it restores the topcoat to it's original consistency.  I had to add a bottle of this to my stash as well.  I have ordered my Seche products from Amazon because I have founds great deals on them, but I know that Sally carries the Top Coat in their stores.

Well, Bailey got her top braces on yesterday and this is what they look like complete with green bands!  Green is her favorite color so I am sure we will be seeing that color bands quite a bit.  Her mouth is sore today, but it from the pressure not the brackets scraping.  She has the wax, but she hasn't really had to use it on the brackets just on the backs where the little part of the wire sticks out.  I remember that being where I used the most wax when I had mine too.  I can't believe I have a child old enough to have braces...In a couple of years we will be doing this all over again for both boys!  Apparently they got the crowded mouth from me!

Well, I have tons of work to do, but I am also running out of everything and waiting for hardware to get here.  I  am going to get as much done as I can and then start cutting out bags so I will be ready for when all my stuff starts coming in the mail.

Have a great day!!

Tomorrow is the day...

The day that Bailey gets her top braces on.  She is getting nervous, but thankfully, she doesn't get sick like Colton does when it comes to stuff like this.  I think once we get her there and they get started she will be fine.  They are only doing the top and then in a couple months they will do the bottom.  I remember when I got mine, I was pregnant with Colton so it wasn't that long ago, but I can't remember if they waited on the bottom ones or not.  I hate that she is missing part of a day of school, but I think this early in it will be okay.

I don't really have much of anything else to write about!  I am getting ready to get started working, I have a couple things I need to finish up that I started on Saturday.  We had a Birthday Party on Saturday afternoon and a church get together that night so I got started on some things but didn't get everything done.  I also need to finalize my schedule for this week.  I have 2 shipments of fabric coming from Fabric.com today.  I ordered them several days apart, but for some reason they shipped them both on the same day in separate shipments! 

I hate to leave you without a picture today so I am going to show you what is on my desktop currently...by the way he has a birthday in just a couple days!

Have a great day!

1st week of school down...

Well technically only a half week, but still...  Everything went good.  Bailey is in Middle School now and she is riding the bus, she has a locker, changes classes all that good stuff.  She seems to be getting the hang of it and not having any problems, other than learning how to open her locker the first day.  Colton has a new teacher, she is from Duquesne School, but I think she is fairly new to teaching, she is young.  She has tattoos and a piercing and so far he really likes her so it should be a good year for him.  Dillon has Mrs. Johnson, the 2nd grade teacher that Bailey had and Colton had her last year.  He was happy that he got her and hopefully he will learn a lot this year!!

I am getting back into my normal routine.  I am enjoying my coffee and Kindle in the morning again, it's been a long time since I have been able to sit and read in the morning.  I am behind on my reading too, I set a goal for the year and according to Goodreads I am still 5 books behind so I need to catch up!  I have been trying to figure out when my most productive work time is too so I can get all caught up with work.  I can never get completely caught up, but it would be nice to get close.  Here is a bit of what I have gotten done recently.

This is my first Wholesale order, 12 makeup brush rolls and 12 makeup bags.

Here are a couple of messenger bags, a junior messenger, a laptop messenger and a mini messenger

 

Here is a Hanna Mini with a Flap

And a custom bag, this one is an Izzy that we converted to a DSLR bag

And lastly a couple of coupon clutches in various sizes

I have 3 more of these babies to make today along with a couple of camera straps...so I better get off here and get to work!

Have a great weekend!

Catching up...

Catching up seems to be something I do quite often here on this blog!  Once the kids are back in school I will be able to blog more regularly...I hope.  They start a week from today.  I am ready...they are ready, it's a win win in this house!  It's been a long summer with the extra 2 weeks in the beginning.  Top that off with the fact that it's been over 100* almost every day here for the past 2 weeks and we are all getting cabin fever.  It's too hot for them to play outside, it's too hot to go anywhere if you have to get in and out of the car.  I am so ready for fall this year!  So, one week left and then hopefully we will get back to our normal routine again.

I have been busy this past week, trying to get as much work done as I can.  Here are some of the things I have gotten done and shipped out.

Backpacks with matching insulated lunch bags.

 A DSLR 2.0 and matching Laptop Sleeve

 A Trina DSLR with Matching Accessories

 A Kiely Purse and Accessories

A couple of Ella Mini DSLR Bags

 

 

 And something new, a Claire Mini DSLR Bag!

 

I think I am going to leave it at that today since there are so many pictures...

Have a great day!

It's been madness here this week...

We started out on Sunday with Dillon getting sick in church, followed that with a day of stomach sickness and fever.  I felt awful the whole next day which resulted in my getting nothing done for an entire day and a half.  On Tuesday I had to run errands and grocery shop so I took Dillon with me since he had been stuck inside for 2 days.  We hit up Target, Joanns, Sally Beauty Supply, Office Max, Hobby Lobby, Food 4 Less, Walmart, and then Wendy's and Wing's 'n More for lunch for everyone.  It was  A LONG morning of getting in and out of the heat.  I got home after spending way too much money and made a batch of the freezer burritos, I posted the recipe in my last post.  I decided that I needed to be more frugal and try to not spend so much money and even more to get more out of what I do spend.  I want to do more meals like the burritos so that Jake has different stuff to take for dinners and we have options here when it doesn't seem like we have any food in the house.

I had talked to my little sister Jami last Saturday about couponing, I know she has been doing it for awhile, but I really didn't know too much about it.  I started watching all the Extreme Couponing shows on TLC, actually I watched them all in 2 days!  I decided that maybe this is what I need to try.  I don't want to be an extreme couponer, but I do want to be smarter about what I buy and if I can get the things I need at a discount, then why not?  I am starting small, but this is my coupon haul for this week

 

I have a couple of things that aren't pictured, a 5 pack of Zyrtec and a Velveeta Box dinner.  Here are my totals on what I have here...

• Total Before Savings - $54.47
• What I Actually Paid - $28.84
• What I Saved w/coupons and specials - $25.63
• I saved 47% on things that I would normally pay full price for

Now there are a few things that I bought to try since I had a coupon, but that's when I normally try new things, when I don't have to pay full price!  Here are some of the better deals

• Zyrtec 5 Pack (not pictured) - $0.27 after coupon
• Advil  - $0.82 each after coupon  
• Tums 3 roll pack - $0.99 after coupons
• Pop-tarts - $1.32 a box after coupons
• Shower Curtain - $1.32 after coupon

Our Target will stack a store coupon with a manufacturers coupon, but you have to watch them close to make sure they scan them all.  I learned this yesterday!  She somehow scanned in 2 of the Skintimate gels when I only got one and didn't manage to scan in the $1.50 off coupon because she was too busy making sure to tell me that I need to make sure that the MFG coupons print the barcode so I can actually use them.  I knew that she didn't scan the coupon, but she insisted that she did and I didn't catch the double item until I checked my receipt.  I knew the total was off so I had to take it to the service desk to get the additional item refunded and then she gave me cash for the coupon that the cashier didn't scan.  It was a whole ordeal and I know who to avoid when I use coupons at Target from now on!

This is new territory for me.  I tend to avoid any kind of confrontation with store personnel if at all possible.  I don't like to return things, I don't like to point out mistakes, etc...when I am checking out.  I always let Jake do that.  I guess I am going to have to get over that if I am going to make this work!  I am not looking to stockpile like the extreme couponers do, but I would like to save some money when I can.  My next step is to start getting the Sunday paper and start clipping those coupons.  All I have done so far is use printable ones.

I got all excited and made this Coupon Clutch for myself!  It will have dividers in it as soon as I get them in the mail.  I had to order them since I found them in boxes of 100 for pretty cheap.  I am offering these in several sizes in the store and they will come with 20 dividers, but I can add more if you need them.  I am not to the point of Binder Organization and even if I were I would still prefer something like this to carry with me when I shop!

In other news here at home, I took Bailey to have a consult with an Orthodontist and it looks like she will be getting her top braces put on in a couple of weeks.  She was freaking out the day we went in, but now she is looking forward to getting them.  It's going to cost us a small fortune, but it's not as bad as some!  She has the same impacted eye teeth like I did and I know how awful I felt about mine for so long and I don't want her to have to go through that.  I didn't have mine fixed until I was pregnant with Colton.  My mom didn't have the resources to pay for us to have braces, so it was something that I did when I was older.  I don't want my kids to have to do that and we have dental insurance that will pay part of it so we will be stretched even thinner for a couple years, but we will make it work like we always do!  An even more important reason to coupon!!

Well, I have a TON to get done this morning while Jake has the kids out so I guess I should get to it!  Have a great weekend!

We just saw this....

AWESOME!!  We even took the boys and they sat and watched the whole thing!!

I am a bad blogger...

I really am!  Jake was on vacation all last week and we pretty much just stayed home all week.  It has been HOT here, record setting hot, so we stayed in the house much of the time!  We did re-watch all the Harry Potter movies in anticipation of the last one coming out this weekend.  I think we are going to take Bailey to see it, the boys didn't do so well just sitting and watching them at home so I am not going to take a chance and spend the money for them to see it in the theater.  Hopefully Jake won't have to work on Friday night so we can see it then.

I am the bad mom who didn't take ANY pictures on 4th of July...NONE!  I am usually the one who takes the camera to the get together and I spend the whole time taking pictures and not really doing anything else so this year I decided not to take my camera.  Let's face it, I still haven't mastered the fireworks shot and once it starts to get dark all the pictures are crap anyway.  SO, I had much more fun sitting with my feet in the pool talking to Joan about books, and True Blood, and running off to LA to sit at Joan's on Third in the hopes that we could get a peek at Alexander Skarsgard eating lunch some day!  It's not like I have scrapped any of my pictures in the last 2 years anyway!  I would rather be interacting with people than running around taking less than stellar pictures...

Speaking of Alexander...we have seen 3 episodes of True Blood now, I am not so unhappy as I was after the first episode.  I did not like the whole Faerie thing, they really shot the whole Fae story in the foot with that, then they finished it off last night by having Eric kill Claudine.  She was never right anyway, so I wasn't sad to see her go, but I am a little disappointed that they really ruined any chance of bringing in the Grandfather.  That really was Alan Ball saying that he has no intention of sticking to the book story line or that he doesn't plan to ever take the series that far.  I do like that they are keeping with the Eric amnesia story, but I don't care for how they did it.  I don't like the whole witch/brujo (?) storyline that they have created.  It would take me hours, though, to tell you all the things that I don't like about how they have changed the stories for the show so I will spare you all that and just say that I am enjoying the show for what it is, but I will always like the books much better!

Since Jake is going back to work tonight I will be able to watch the new season premiere of Torchwood.  I have been waiting for this for a long time it seems like.  I hope that Starz doesn't ruin the show, it's one of my favorite shows.

Well, I am trying to catch up on laundry today so I need to go work on that.  I will be back tomorrow to post some pictures of the Pink Punk Bags I have completed in the past few weeks.  Hopefully blogger with let me post them...last time I tried I wasn't able to post pictures for some reason.

It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday...

...everybody's looking forward to the weekend, weekend...

UGH, now I have that song stuck in my head!  It seems like it happens every Friday though!

Yesterday Jake went to work at noon and only had to work 6 hours so the kids and I decided to use that time to go get his Fathers Day gift.  We finally tossed our old grill last fall, it was literally on it's last 3 legs!  We lost something on one of the legs when we moved a couple years ago and it was pretty wobbly, but we made do.  Last summer though it was just really bad and it got to where it wouldn't even stand up anymore so we tossed it out.  So, my idea for Fathers Day was to get Jake a new grill.  Now, I am not a fan of gas grills, I like charcoal, I think the taste is better, etc...Sure it's not as quick, but nothing beats the flavor (except maybe smoking, but I am not ready to shell out the cash for a smoker yet).  We checked a couple places and ended up getting this one at Walmart.   I like the round shape and I wanted one that had the extra rack.  I like to put corn on the cob on there or sliced veggies and they cook just perfect while the meat is grilling.  So we headed to the food side and picked up some steaks, corn on the cob, red potatoes and baked beans.  We gave it to him last night so we could get it all put together and we are having an early Fathers Day cookout tonight!!  I am going to make another batch of Lemon Cookies too.  I made them the other day to take to Sarah's and they were really good, all the kids loved them.

I have a couple of orders I need to finish up today and a couple to get in the mail so I better get to work!

Secret Projects...

Well at least one secret project anyway!  That's what I worked on most of the day yesterday.  I didn't even get to the bag I wanted to do.  I will get that done today though!  This is a little sneak peak of what took up my day yesterday.  Yep, that little stack of yumminess got turned into something pretty, but I can't share it yet.  I don't know when I will be able to share it, but it's worth the wait...at least I think it is!  Aren't those colors just awesome?  I just love them and I hated to take the ribbon off that Honey Bun, they always look so pretty all rolled up like that!  This Tula Pink Neptune is a beachy and warm, I think I am going to have to make myself something with the leftovers!

So today I have errands to run.  I need white thread, I am all out and I go through it like crazy.  I also need fleece and we have to get tubes for both boys bikes and a tire for Dillon's bike.  It's been so nice and warm lately that they want to ride bikes to school, but they can't so they have been walking instead.  It's so nice to only live a few blocks from the school!

I have been having an awful time with my web browser.  I have used Firefox for years now and I upgraded to FF 4 last week and ever since then it's been dogging down and making everything SOOO slow.  They say it's supposed to run faster, yada yada....but it never does for some reason!  So, this morning I deleted it and went back to FF 3.17 or something.  I am sure I will have to upgrade again soon, but hopefully by that time they will have worked out whatever kinks are hanging it up.

In work news, I sat down and worked out my schedule for the next few weeks and at the rate I am going I could be all caught up in about 2.5 weeks!  That, of course, would only happen if I got no more orders, but right now it feels good to be somewhat ahead of schedule.  I have one order that's not a bag order and I am excited to see how it's going to turn out.  It's for drapes and pillows for my cousin-in-law who just turned 16!  It's all pinks and pretty colors...I am excited to see what I can come up with for the pillows, the drapes are may be a  bit daunting, but I am sure they will be easier than what I am expecting.

Well, I guess I should go make sure I have everything on my list that I need to get today so I don't have to make an unexpected run to town.  Have a great day!

Mothers Day and Late Easter...

We spent yesterday afternoon at my Brother and Sister In Laws house.  We celebrated Mothers Day and late Easter.  We were going to do our late Easter last week, but MaKayla was sick so it got moved back a week.  The kids were just thrilled that they got to hunt eggs again!  I only got a couple good pictures, the kids are just running in most of them!

They all had lots of fun and now we have more candy in the house to make them all crazy and hyper!

I ended up getting a lot of work done last week.  I finished up 2 big orders. I posted pictures of the first one last week, but this is the 2nd one I finished, I think this was one of the biggest orders I have had since I started my store.

I love how everything is coordinated!  This is a Laptop Messenger Bag and Sleeve, a Claire DSLR bag, a 3 Pocket Shooter, 6 Lens Sleeves, a CF Card Wallet and a Gadget Pouch.  I don't know if you are a fan of Pink Punk Boutique on Facebook or not, but I post specials there from time to time.  If you want to get in on the savings be sure to "like" Pink Punk Boutique on Facebook.

I am working on a project today that has a deadline...I have been putting it off and I am getting down to the wire!  I still have a few weeks, but I don't want to wait till the last minute so I am going to get it done today.  I am still going to try to get one order done today as well. 

Not too much else going on...I started watching Stargate: Atlantis last week.  I needed something new to watch during the week.  I was thinking about Gossip Girl, but decided that Stargate: Atlantis was a little more up my alley since I am a bit of a Sci Fi geek.  I am looking forward to season 2 for Jason Momoa though!  I do like Joe Flanigan though, his voice sounds just like Paul Rudd and he's funny!   It's 5 seasons so that will keep me busy for a couple months!  After this I should have lots of new shows starting back up then I will be on the lookout for something new so I welcome any suggestions you may have for me.

Ok, I am never going to get anything done today if I don't get off here and get to work!  Have a great day!