Girls week

When Tyler goes away on business, every day turns into a girls day, and every night is a girls night in! He was in Tulsa this week (he's on his way home right now! I feel like it's Christmas Eve). Here's what we did this time:

Monday my neighbor Sharon and I took our kids shopping to get some craft supplies and then to lunch at Chick-Fil-A. We never got to the actual crafting, but we will next week. We had a great morning with them! Millie especially loved riding in the race car shopping cart with her buddy. 

Tuesday the weather was especially nice, and I was having an unusual burst of energy. So we went outside and Millie got to read books while I pulled weeds. At one point Millie got up and walked down the sidewalk. I asked her where she was going, and she smiled and said "Park!" She's one independent girl. We also made paper boats, which didn't really work because Millie put hers right under the tap as I was filling the tub. Oh well. We went on a trash drive in the evening and I gave Millie a blue sucker to keep her happy, which of course ended up all over her face!

Wednesday we went with Gigi to the Heights to see Grammy and Uncle Rob. After playing with Rob's dogs (Millie loved watching them play fetch) we went to a fun park and then to lunch.

Thursday I was quickly running out of fun things to do with Millie, as well as the energy to do them. We made it to the grocery store and that's about it! It was a pretty chill day. Daddy received some blurry and cheesy pictures, as well as one showing how it really is sometimes (teary).

Today we took a walk to the park, which was short-lived because Millie did quite a number in her diaper about two minutes after we got there. We ventured out to Hobby Lobby to get some supplies to finish the banner below. On the way home, while passing KFC, Millie looked at Colonel Sanders and said, "Botz?" (Tyler's grandfather) I was dying laughing! She is very observant and has a great memory. I finished the banner and hung it in an empty frame I found on a trash drive a few weeks ago. It fills the empty space in our kitchen perfectly, and I love that I'll be able to change it with the seasons/holidays.

We had a good week but are so glad Daddy is coming home! 

Trash bandits

You just wouldn't believe what some people throw away. From great furniture to toys to working Kitchen Aids, nice stuff goes to the dump all the time! A friend in our ward Bethany introduced us to selling trash. Yes, you read that correctly- selling trash. You can read more about it on her trash blog HERE, but basically: she and her family find things in the garbage that shouldn't be there, pick them up, and sell them. And then use the money for awesome things like trips to Disneyland/world. So we (I) decided to do the same, but in our neighborhood- you don't just take people's trash that someone else is taking. That's just standard trash bandit etiquette.

So here are just a few of the things I have sold:

Mirror- $20

Oversized lawn chair- $20

Water table- $15 (should have charged more... I had over 10 people in line for it!)

Bike- $20

Pool b-ball hoop- $15

Scooter- $10

Wrapping paper organizer- $20

Stroller- $25 (carseat never sold, so I donated it)

Scooter- $10

Thomas the Train table- $25

Pet carrier- $10

Water table- $15

I'm part of a facebook group where you can sell items- like an ongoing online garage sale. I try to price things pretty low so that they'll sell quickly (only so much space in our garage) and there's $0 investing from me, except for a little gas. I never take things that are cloth, like couches, and I never pick up electronics. But it's been really fun actually! I've met some really nice people selling the items, and have even found a couple things I've dared to keep.

So what do we do with the money? 

We have 3 categories: House Stuff (example: the instawall! Hence that jar only has $1 right now), Fun/Dating, and Food Storage. Someday we can save for awesome trips, but for now these are areas that we feel are important. I am keeping track of my earnings and paying tithing, but I do that all in cash- somehow any extra money deposited into our accounts gets put into savings. That's usually great, but we wanted to have some fun money too! 

So think twice before you throw away something of value! It's really a shame what a throw-away mentality we have today as a culture. This way, people get good deals on things they need, I earn money, and these items aren't ending up in a dump! Win win win.