Rock the Vote

This is just a reminder that it's election day today, and everyone needs to get out and vote!

Too many people have fought and died for your right to vote. 

Vote for you, vote for me, vote for Mickey Mouse, Obama, or Romney. I really don't care who you vote for, but exercise your right to do so today! 

Even if you live in a tiny little state like Delaware, where you think your vote doesn't count. Even if you live in a county where your candidate can have a strong win in your county, and still lose the state because of stupid rules; please vote today.

Please enjoy the video below, that reminds us all about the fight for women's suffrage.  

Again, sorry for the "no posts in forever"- instead of chronicling my life, I've been busy out living it!

Stop Bullying

I know I haven't posted in a very long time, and I apologize for all two of you who read this.  It isn't for lack of things to say, just lack of time.

But today, I am going to make time.

The world has lost another amazing girl this week, due to bullying.  Another young high school student was driven to a depression so deep that she felt the only way out was to kill herself.  She was made to feel this way by her peers.

I didn't know this girl, but I relate to her.

I suffer from depression and anxiety.  Because my problems didn't manifest fully until well after High School, I consider myself lucky.  There were bullies when I grew up.  There are bullies in my child's elementary school, even if the administration doesn't want to admit it.

I was bullied.

I wasn't bullied harshly or much more than other kids; the bottom line is I wasn't popular in High School to be a major target for bullying.  I was cyber bullied before people even had a name for it.  

I was one of the lucky ones who witnessed "the birth of the internet", and played on local bulletin boards was new and exciting.  There was a kid on one of these sites who made it their job to follow me around, game to game, chat room to chat room, and tried to make my life a living hell.  I didn't let it get to me though- I told others about it and eventually had the kid banned.  I had forgotten about this whole experience until recently, when the teenage suicide rate because of bullying began to blow through the roof.

I share my experience not because it traumatized me, but to remind people who are being bullied that they are not alone.  If you are being bullied, TELL SOMEONE!  Share with a parent, teacher, or trusted adult what you are going through.  It won't make other kids hate you.  It won't make you even less popular than you already feel that you are.  

It will make the bullying stop.

Don't spend your life trying to impress others.  Be yourself.  Be awesome.  Don't worry about what those popular skanks think- High School will be the high point in their lives and they will spend the rest of theirs trying to relive the short four years where they felt special.  You have the rest of your lives to be special, and you will be amazing.

I promise.

So today, my children and I have written LOVE on our arms, to remember a young girl who thought she had no way out.  

To remind others that they are NOT alone.

To remind everyone that they ARE loved, and that they have choices.

My hope for my daughters is that by the time they reach high school, cyberbullying will be put to an end. 

My two beautiful daughters, with Love on their arms.

My hope is that when someone notices that my daughter has the word "love" on her arm, that people will ask her why.  

And that she will tell them exactly why.

There are lots of websites out there who support the anti-bullying movement, I just wanted to write a post to mourn the loss of one young girl who might have changed the world, had others left her alone.  

She has changed me.

Check out To Write Love on Her Arms, which supports those suffering from depression for any reason.

  To Write Love On Her Arms

Join a local movement to stop bullying now.

Remember those who have been driven to desperate acts by their peers.

Write LOVE on your arm, to remind yourself and others.

Join this humble blogger in raising awareness.

Comments, thoughts? Leave them here.

Thanks for reading.

Couponing With A Vengance

Hello, My name is Jamie and I am a Coupon-o-holic.

No, seriously, I am.

Coupons aren't just for the crazy people on Extreme Coupons- anyone can be a Coupon Queen.

All you have to do is buy a Sunday paper. Or steal one from that neighbor you don't like. Either way, really. Personally, we but our papers, but hey, no judgement here!

We buy like 6 each Sunday- we like the Washington Post, Balitmore Sun, and Sunday News Journal (local-ish paper).  I try to get 2 of each.

You don't have to buy tons of papers to coupon, you can do it with just one.  To get the best deals, sometimes you need more than one of a coupon, but starting small is NOT a bad thing!

Then just start clipping, and sort them in any way you like- I prefer a binder, myself, but hey, shoebox and rubber bands?  Little Coupon File from the Dollar Tree? Paperclip and an envelope?  All also valid.

I choose to check out a couple of couponing websites each week to see what they feel are the best deals in my area.  These are free to use and are mostly accurate.

The one big thing to remember with coupons is that you can't expect to be like the people on Extreme Coupons overnight- you have to shop the deals, be patient, and remember that the huge hauls that these people do on the show aren't a weekly thing- they film the best possible deal at the store on the right week when the best sale is going on!  Shop for what you will use, or what the store will PAY you to take home (that really does happen, but only if your store will let you apply any coupon overages to your purchase), or what they will GIVE you for FREE, for the coupon.  Your stockpile stash will fill up before you know it, a little at a time.

Case in point:

This week's coupon haul:

Family Dollar (really.  I know you have one too!)

Coupons used:

$1 off any 1 Cover Girl Item

$2.50 off any 2 Cover Girl Items

Items purchased:
(All Cover Girl Queen Brand)
Toe Separators (for pedicures) 3 $1 each
5" Sapphire Nail File (the metal one) 2 $1 each
Pumice Stones 3 $1.50 each
Salon Style Emery Boards (the big ones), 2 pk, 2 $1.50 each
Slant tip tweezers 1 $1
Point tip tweezers 1 $1
Nail Clippers 1 $1
Reg. Emery Boards, 10 pk, 2 $1 each
Total before coupons for ALL of this...$17.50
Coupons- 4 of the $2.50 off 2- $10.00 off
Coupons- 7 of the $1 off 1- $7.00 off
Final Price: FIFTY CENTS for all that stuff.
Now here is where I made a rookie mistake- I kind of went crazy when I saw the full display of nail stuff, and I grabbed a $1.50 item (pumice stone) instead of a $1 item (more files maybe).  If I hadn't have grabbed the wrong one, my total price would have been FREE!!!

What, don't believe me?

Alright.  Here's a picture of my purchase :)

What will I do with it all, you ask?

Some I'll use.

Some I will give away.

Some things will go into my birthday party box, to make presents for the little girls who invite Katie to their party.- Just add some nail polish, and put it in a cute basket.

Not bad for fifty cents, huh? Hey, I could have done it for free.  But I'm not a Superior Mom, I'm an Only Average Mom.

I will try to put up weekly something cool I couponed for free or almost free.

So, do you coupon?  Get any good deals lately?

leave a comment, let me know!

What's On Tonight? Who Cares, I Have Netflix!

Netflix is awesome.

I get to find all kinds of new stuff that I never knew I always wanted to watch on TV.  With the added bonus that Rebecka can watch Dora and Diego All. Day. Long.

Wait a minute, what am I saying??

...Netflix sucks.  Until naptime.  Then Netflix is awesome.

If you aren't familiar with Netflix, basically, you can stream through a device (Wii, XBox, converter) pretty much any video or tv show that you can think of.  For like $7 a month.

Case in point:

I have heard recently a lot of hype about a show called Portlandia.  All kinds of catchy phrases, and I was totally missing the references, and I don't get the channel the show is on (IFC).  This week, Netflix added Portlandia to their list of available shows, so I decided to check it out.  Now I'm hooked.  Lorne Michaels, you are a comedic genius.  Basically, Portlandia is Kids in the Hall (remember that one?) meets SNL, but set in Portland, OR.  

Don't like comedies?  That's ok, Netflix has something for you too!  You name it, Netflix has something that you like to watch.  From Care Bears to Silence of the Lambs, Scream to the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hot Tub Time Machine to What Dreams May Come, and every episode you could ever want to see from pretty much every show you could want to watch (MacGyver?  Dr. Who?  Buffy the Vampire Slayer?  Star Trek?  It's ALL there!)...So awesome.  

Netflix is so great that we are considering getting rid of cable all together, and just keep the internet.  

...after American Idol.  That's the clincher- no live shows- so no Idol for us if we ditched the cable company...decisions, decisions.

So, readers, have any of you done this?  Do you miss "live" tv?  Leave me a comment, let me know what you think, help us make this decision!

Texting Hypocrite

I LOVE to text.  Srsly. 


I would rather text someone for two hours straight than hold a five minute conversation.  
Most people find this rather ironic because I also LOVE to talk, and spend easily an hour on the phone with my 2 non-text friendly friends.
I love to text so much that I will actually put off having a "real" conversation with someone who is not in my "inner circle" for days...even if said conversation will literally last for 2 minutes. 
I hate text speak, so don't worry, any message I send is actually easy to interpret.  If my phone didn't have a keyboard, maybe I would revert to the primitive language known as text-speak, but I'm gonna say, yeah, no, not even then.
But, the problem is, I am a total hypocrite.  I love to text, and receive texts, but I absolutely hate it when you are with someone and they are texting the entire time.  During a lunch, at a Girl Scout meeting, wen you see someone random that you know at the grocery store...and it's all "hey, how are you?" and click click click on the phone...drives me nuts!

And you, dear reader?  What is YOUR hypocritical pet peeve?

My Mom Has Cancer

***I wrote this back in August, and never published it.  Mom has since completed chemo (which she assures me is the worst experience of her life), and has begun radiation.  You CAN come back from Stage 3 Cancer, people.  You just gotta FIGHT!***


Don't worry, I'm not even going to try to be vaguely funny with this one.

A few months ago my mom called me and told me the very sad news that she has Cancer.  Breast Cancer to be more specific.  I love my mom, but we aren't overly close, and this made me more than sad. But if you know me at all, then you know that I am the kind of person to have around in a crisis: I keep it together until the drama is over, and then I fall apart.  This means that I am usually the one who is there for everyone, and I don't normally have anyone of my own to lean on in tough times, but we are who we are, and that's not going to change.

Once my mom had scheduled her surgery, I took the train to New York to stay with her.  Which sounds like a great idea.  On paper.  Until you realize that I was bringing my nearly two year old with me.  On a train.  With no car seat or seat belt.  For 7 hours.  I know, I'm crazy.

 Comfy seats.

 The train is totally awesome.  When you don't travel with a two year old.

So I get to New York in time for my mom to have her surgery, and I met her new boyfriend Ben.  Short story is, the surgery went well, the Cancer is removed, and she has just started chemo.  

Actual text conversation between my mom and me:
Mom: they just injected me with some stuff that makes me glow in the dark.
Me: Will it make you glow in the dark?
Mom: No, but that would be cool if it did!


My mom is awesome, folks.  Not everyone can deal with my warped since of humor while undergoing the hell that is Cancer treatment. 


I hope and pray that one day there will be a cure for Cancer, that works for everyone, and doesn't try to kill the patient as well. 

Welcome to the World, Jeffrey P. Wintermeier!

Guess what???

We have a NEW PUPPY!

A little over a week ago, a friend of the family stopped by, and asked if he could buy a puppy for Becka, as a late Christmas gift.  He had a friend whose litter of purebred puppies had just finished weaning, and could get one from the same parents of the dog that his family had.

How do you say NO to that???!!!

So, we welcome to our home our new miniature chihuahua.

I named him Jeffrey P. Wintermeier, the Third.  

Because I'm awesome that way.

Becka calls him "Tiny Tim", which is what we called him until we found his real name.  If you know me at all, you will find this really hilarious.

 Needless to say, Jeffrey and Becka are now fast friends.  They do everything together.

SO cute!

Now we have one cat (Siamese), two dogs (we also have a Jack Russell Terrier), and two kids.  

Jeffrey is the puppy I never knew I always wanted.  Strangely, our family now feels complete.  I had forgotten how nice it is to have someone small and new to the world, exploring with you as their guide.

Especially one who doesn't need diapers.

So tell me, have you ever received a gift puppy that you never knew you wanted?  Tell me about it below in the comments!

SOPA/PIPA Blackout...It's Not Just for Big Bloggers

Hello, folks.

It has been FOREVER since I posted anything here, and I sincerely apologize. My life just got crazy.  I will try to post more in the future...forgive me?

I am writing today a "non-post", and will join in the blackout in opposition of SOPA/PIPA legislation. I don't fully understand what the government is trying to accomplish this, but I DO know that it would mean the end of the internet as we know it, through corporate censorship. Scary thought.  I'm not one that is huge on the government infringing upon my every day life, and as a confirmed Facebook Junkie who HATES change...well, you get the idea.  

Please enjoy the below video that explains in plain English what the government is trying to do.  Feel free to share (it says you can in the video, so no copyright infringement here!), and to join in the blackout today in opposition of this legislation.