Walmart

I know this is a weird one to be grateful for, but hear me out! And I also know a lot of people who will disagree with this for their own personal reasons .. Guys, keep in mind that this is my thoughts on my journey! 

Not having a car, our choices for grocery shopping are pretty limited. We have our regular Indepent Grocer for the main load of groceries - bonus too, they deliver! We've got an amazing Farm Boy for our produce, and there's an M&M Meatshops, which always has great sales. 

And that's it.

We thought we had it pretty good.

Then my friend kept telling me about pride matching and couponing at her Superstore and Walmart and such, which got me thinking about how much we spend on average at the grocery store. 

Now that we are moving into a townhome, our grocery budget will definitely be on the tighter side, so we need to stretch our dollars. And yesterday morning, we did a small load of groceries, where I came home feeling like we got next to nothing and spent about $100. It was a depressing realization that had me almost in tears. We still have stuff we need to buy and only have $16 to make it work until next week.

Last night, Derek and I had a date night. We went to McDonalds at Walmart (I know, we're THAT fancy!) so we could browse through the store to get some ideas for our new home. While we were there, I had a stroll through their grocery section and I could.not.believe what I was seeing. 

They had stuff like yogurt, cheese, sandwich meats .. Y'know, essential staples in our house .. And their regular price is the SALE price at our local store. 

I almost cried. Again.

From now on, though it's out of our way, I will be heading to Walmart for those essential grocery staples. Our grocery dollars will spread a LOT further that way!

So I'm grateful that Walmart is there to help our groceries every week. I'm anxious to buy there and see how much we are able to save! 

The Selfie Game

Strike a duck face at work selfie!

The selfie game is something that my sister, my best friend and I play together in one group text. It's silly and funny and always makes me laugh, and I hope it makes them laugh too!

I'm grateful for the selfie game because it's an inside joke that makes me feel closer to two of my best friends. 

And cuz it's funny :)

The Hubs #1

I'm labeling this post #1 because this will be the first of many "grateful for hubby" posts!

I'm grateful for Derek every minute of my life, for many reasons .. So I'll tell you about last night, because last night is what I'm grateful for today.

It was freezing cold yesterday with horrible snow squalls and white-outs. I left for work at 11:45am and made it back home by 8:15pm, frozen solid. 

The entire apartment was lit up with beautiful candles. There was a candlelit dinner on the table, of baked macaroni and cheese with hotdogs, and two champagne flutes filled with diet coke. My pajamas were nicely folded and laid out for me on the couch. The xbox was set up for a round of Gears. He baked me brownies with a mocha Baileys drizzle.

I was greeted at the door with a warm hug.

It was perfect.

I'm keeping him :)

Frugal Mommy Ottawa

These mommies are amazing. It's a group for those looking for something / looking to give away something .. For FREE. Moms offer up painting supplies that are no longer needed, baby toys and clothes, store gift cards, etc ... For free!!

It's amazing. A mommy in the group will be giving us her no longer required baby monitor! I offered up my Old Navy super cash codes since I wouldn't be able to use them, and another mommy gratefully accepted them. 

Awesome, right? Mothers helping mothers. I'm so grateful to be a part of this generous, supportive community.

Clearance Bins!

I came across a clearance bin this week while I was shopping for my niece's birthday gift. I found a cool art set to do with my kids on my day off this weekend. FOR TEN CENTS!

We had a lot of fun putting the glow in the dark sand art sculptures together this morning. Ten cents out of the bank made a great activity and a wonderful memory :)

Thank you, clearance bin!

My Job

Coffee Break Selfie!

Today, I'm grateful for my job. I truly am. Even though it's dead season and every night shift I have feels like nineteen hours instead of five hours long .. Even though there are days I'd rather be home in my sweats with my family .. I'm grateful.

I enjoy my job! I get to interact pleasantly with customers (and not get reamed out by every customer I speak with, as was the norm at my old job), I have great coworkers that I love chatting with, it's not so crazy stressful that my anxiety freaks out on me, I get just the right amount of hours .. It's all good. I can easily switch shifts or give up shifts if needed, and book off days for special events as they come along. There always seems to be room to pick up an extra shift here and there to earn a few extra dollars on pay day. The atmosphere is overall very positive. 

I could go on and on.

I feel like my job at Home Depot saved me. It renewed my faith in humanity and showed me that good people still exist (my old job was a toxic place that made me see the world through really negative eyes). It's a job I can feel good about and be proud of. 

And it makes me money, and this is nice. I'm able to put food in my fridge and buy treats every now and then. I can (slowly!) save for the future and because of this job, we are able to move this spring! 

Thanks for letting me work for you, Home Depot! :) 

Ham and Corn Chowder

My hubby is the greatest. I could go into great detail as to why I'm so grateful for him .. But today, I'll just focus on this: ham and corn chowder. He made some at work yesterday and brought a bowl home for me to have for supper at work.

Now at work, during the winter, it's flipping cold. The lumber doors are always opening for the contractors and that keeps the front end cashes (where I spend all my working days) about as cold as my fridge at home. Sometimes colder. We are able to wear jackets and gloves but it's still super cold! 

So having this hearty bowl of hot soup to enjoy on my break? Pretty damn awesome. It warmed me right up from the inside out and it was SO delicious!! 

Thank you, hubby! 

2014

Forgive my lack of artistic skills in my picture of 2014!

Today I'm reflecting on 2014 and feeling so grateful. While it's only 22 days into the new year, it has brought on so many incredible changes to many people in our lives. 

So .. here are the positive things about 2014 that I am thankful for!

A close friend of mine, who has been (unsuccessfully) trying for years to have a baby, is now going to be a mommy! She was matched to adopt a beautiful 5.5 month old little girl! 

My sister had two small dreams come true: she got her Bench coat and a Kitchenaid mixer!

We found out that we get to rent a house that falls into my "dream house" category (with the possibility of owning far down the road!). It literally has everything that was on my dream house checklist, and then some. I can't wait to make it our home :) 

My best friend found her dream home! She is now in the process of negotiating the purchase, and putting her first home on the market. I'm sure all will work out and she'll be living in her dream house in no time at all.

A coworker has been trying for over a year to get pregnant, and she just found out that she is six weeks along! Well, I guess that means that 2013 was her lucky year, but since she found out in 2014, I'm counting it here :) 

Another dear friend is finally scheduled to have her final hip replacement surgery, which is something she has been waiting years for. Arthritis has completely torn up her current hip socket (it is now bone on bone) so she will finally have this fixed and will be able to dance again. I'm so excited for her and am praying that her surgery goes smoothly next week!

So many amazing things are happening so far .. I'm incredibly grateful for all 2014 has offered so far! :)

Team Lego Mug #2

My husband got me a Team Lego mug for Christmas 2012 and it was literally my favorite thing ever. It meant so much to me. On one side it had our family name, Team Lego, in pretty multicolored lettering, and on the other side, a "selfie" family photo from when our kids were just babies!

I have a (bad!!) habit of leaving my empty coffee mugs on the armrest of the couch where I sit. One day, I came home from work to find out that Leanna had dropped the mug off the side of the couch and it shattered while Derek was washing the dishes. He was afraid to tell me because he knew I would be devastated. And I was. I cried. But I could only be angry with myself for not putting the mug tucked away safely in the kitchen in the first place. 

We kept meaning to have a new one made, but the task kept getting away from us. I picked up an awesome Grumpy Cat mug on clearance one day and used that one for my daily cup(s) of coffee. My Team Lego mug was a pleasant memory with a tragic ending.

Christmas 2013 rolled around and I was shocked and surprised and SO happy to unwrap a new Team Lego mug, given to me from Leanna! The lettering isn't quite as colorful as the last, but it's just wonderful. I love it and use it in rotation with my Grumpy Cat mug! 

So today, I'm super grateful for my Team Lego Mug #2. I woke up today to see it prepped in the Keurig with a k-cup, ready to go (thanks hubby!) and I smiled because it made me happy. What a great memory and a fantastic mug! 

A Special Kind of Tylenol

It's been a "working long hours with excruciating cramps and horrible mood swings" kind of weekend .. So today, I'm beyond grateful for this Tylenol. 

Thanks for the help, Tylenol! 

MacaMoni and Cheese

Yeah, yeah, I know it's not a healthy or nutritious food .. But I just adore it. And when I'm craving something cheesy and creamy, it's the most affordable option, and the kids eat it really well (hello, mealtimes free from the "eat your food" coaxing!). 

But my most favorite part about it? That Austin calls in macaMoni and cheese. Not macaroni, but macamoni. It melts me every time. I hope he calls it macamoni until he's an eighty-year-old grandpa so he can pass it along to his grand kids!

So today I'm grateful to macamoni and cheese for it's deliciousness and, most of all, for the sweet memory I'll cherish forever! 

My Apartment

I've been so caught up in the excitement of our new house, that I completely ignore that we have a home.

Today, I'm grateful for our current home.

It may not be much. It's small-ish so it always seems to look messy no matter how much I clean. The living room runs into the playroom and the playroom overlaps the computer room and the computer room runs into our dining room. The kitchen has barely any counter space. The bathroom is tiny. We have to share a bedroom with our youngest because the kids don't sleep well in the same room. We can never seem to do laundry for fear of bed bugs (eewww!!) or bringing in someone else's band-aids in our laundry (twice!!) and it is SO expensive (4.50 per load!). 

But .. It is our home. It's where we chase each other in circles around the kitchen-dining-living rooms and have sword fights in the living-playroom. It's where we have dance parties. It's where we paint Halloween pictures. It's where we play Hulk vs Superheroes. It's where we bundle the kids up in the jogger and go for a run on our beautiful, favorite bike trail. It's where I walked over to the hospital twice, in labor, and brought home two incredible babies. It's where our neighborhood drug store employees know we always forget to bring our air miles card. It's where our grocery store delivery man tells us all about his grand kids when he comes by. And sadly, where our pizza men know us by name. 

Despite all the things we will be gaining in our new house and all the negative things we will be leaving behind (read: a horrible neighbor), I'm really going to miss it here. We've made our apartment into our home over the past six years .. And I'll always be grateful for it :)

Online Window-Shopping

Derek and I had been planning to go window shopping through different stores today, to gather some ideas for the "dream" bathrooms and bedrooms in our new home. I'm feeling under the weather today, so we are postponing our trip to the store, snuggling on the couch, and browsing online for ideas. 

While the online layouts are nothing compared to what we will see in person, they do help to give us ideas, and assists us in narrowing our choices for color, style, and price to point us in the right direction when we are ready to make that purchase!

So today, I'm grateful for online window shopping so I can rest and dream :)

My Sister #1

This morning, I'm grateful for my sister. I have many reasons, but today's focus will be on our move. She's been the biggest supporter of our big move in Spring, had given us many helpful and useful bits of advice and tips to help us with our transition from apartment to townhome, and is always there for me. She has even volunteered to help set up the kids' bedrooms for us on the big day so that they are all set and ready to go the first night we are living there. She shares in our excitement and gives me so many fun things to look forward to in our new neighborhood (including coffee dates, wine night AND getting to see her and my nieces more often!!). 

Even though there will be someone helping us move in that day that she has a very difficult time with, she shrugs it off and says, "you're my sister. I'll do it for you," which makes her even more awesome. 

Very grateful for my big sis :)

Grilled Cheese with Bologna

This one is definitely a comfort food from my childhood. It was one of the "meals" dad would make me, served with a handful of potato chips. 

Today I'm grateful for this sandwich because my hubby made it for me and eating it brought back a bunch of happy nostalgic memories. And it was totally delicious. Win - win! 

Budgets

Budgeting can be a stressful pain in the ass. Sometimes you can't get the numbers to work, other times you're juuuuust short of cash to get by comfortably .. And then there are those rare times you realize you get a couple of extra dollars to buy the next book in the Stephanie Plum series.

This week I'm very grateful for my budget. It was still stressful to put together and at times I did start to panic, but in the end when I was finished, I was able to balance everything out and ensure that we actually can move into our new house come spring time without living on crackers and cheese for weeks on end. Big yay! We won't have as much money in savings as we would like to see, but we can move. And that's a huge high-five.

So my budget was my friend this week :)

Taco Night

Today I'm grateful for taco night! 

It's full of healthy foods .. Although I'm so gluttonous when I eat tacos that it probably isn't very healthy at all (ha!).

Our average taco spread consists of chopped tomatoes (sometimes hubs makes a fresh pico and holy YUM), grated cheese, 5% sour cream, guac, and whatever ground meat we choose (sometimes chicken, sometimes turkey, today it was lean beef). There are occasions where we add different toppings, like mushrooms and spinach.

I even have a method for building my tacos. Instead of globbing the guac and sour creams on top of the taco and only tasting them during the occasional bites, I spread them on each side of the taco shell so that I get some in every bite. 

The remains of our taco night buffet. We even use Tostitoes Scoops chips to scoop up whatever dropped out of our taco. So yummy. My belly is happy!

Wonderbar

Okay, I know I look totally possessed here but today, I'm grateful for treats, namely, the Wonderbar. I'd been craving one for a while and today was the day and it did not let me down.

As the wrapper claims, it truly is a caramel and peanut butter experience. 

Picture me yelling "woooooonderbarrrrr" like the cavemen in the old school commercial and my expression totally makes sense! 

Snuggies

Today I'm grateful for my snuggie, a big, comfortably fleece blanket with sleeves.

It is my son's first day back to school after the holidays and I was awake before the rest of the house. I went to the living room (which has a huge draft problem, read: COLD as it's -30 outside today!)

So I grabbed a cup of coffee, the book I'm currently reading, and cuddled in with my snuggie for a bit of cozy "me" time. Ahhhhhhh. 

It may be 30 below outside, but I'm comfy cozy inside! 

New Opportunities (New Home!)

I'm grateful for new opportunities. 

Our beautiful new home, come springtime. 

Travel Mug

Today I'm grateful for my travel mug. I didn't have the greatest sleep last night (I got some exciting news about a new amazing possibility for our near future and it kept me up!) and had some wonderful company this afternoon so wasn't able to get a nap in before work .. So today, on my break at work, I got to enjoy a delicious hot coffee from my own coffee machine at home, because of my travel mug.

 No cash spent at the coffee shop + Great caffeine buzz + Gorgeous red mug = Happy Mama.

Fuzzy Socks

This morning I'm grateful for ..

Fuzzy Socks!

It's -40 degrees outside. I could choose to gripe and moan and complain about this frigid weather that is keeping me trapped indoors when I've got errands to run and I just can't go outside in that cold because my asthma will suffocate me and I'll be sure to get frostbite.. 

But instead, I choose to smile because of my fuzzy socks. They're so comforting. My feet are happy, warm and they feel like they're wrapped in cushioned, fluffy, heated clouds. Walking in them is such a pleasure, and when they're brand new out of the pack, they're so super fuzzy I can "skate" across my hardwood floors like a kid again! So fun! When I can wiggle my toes and feel that gentle, fuzzy softness? It's a smile thing.

So take that, Canadian winter. With my fuzzy socks, I WIN!