Next Giveaway Kicks Off Saturday the 9th!

This is going to be a double giveaway!

For all you gardeners who are just itching to plant something, I will be giving away two seed sprouters complete with sprouting seeds! Sprouts are delicious, nutritious, frugalicious and satisfying for the winter bound gardener. So get ready to save some green by going green and check back here this Saturday to find out how you can be a winner of one of these sprouters!

My Dirty Little Secret

Okay, true confessions time. I'd rather blog than wash my dishes.

Right now, as I happily tap away to you, my breakfast and dinner dishes are piled up waiting for me. I think some of last night's dinner dishes may be lurking in there also. I know this sounds horrible, but I'm seriously thinking about just surfing for a little while longer and then going to bed...without doing the dishes!

I know some of you are horrified, and I'm sure to lose readers do to my sudden 'coming out of the cupboard', but I value honesty and I must come completely clean with you (except for, of course, the dishes.) I hate doing dishes, always have. I love cooking and otherwise piddling around in the kitchen, but dishes stink.

Unfortunately, leaving my dirty dishes presents me with a few issues;

With a sink full of dishes from the get go, I probably won't be able to make lunches before I go to work. The kids will get hot lunch at $7.40 (that's for 3 kids, two of which always get seconds) My husband will also get lunch out for another $6 - $10. I will also be hungry and I will probably buy lunch myself for $2.20. Right off the bat, my dirty dishes will cost me $16.60! Ouch!

After school the kids will still be hungry, and so will I. We will pass a Subway, McDonald's, Burger King, Sonic, Starbucks, and Asian drive thru. They will all look incredibly tasty and cheap as we drive past them. I will probably be convinced to stop and drop around $25 in one of them, bringing our total to $41.60. Double ouch!

Then, after we're home I will look at the pile of dishes and feel overwhelmed. Instead of washing, I will get involved in homework, filling out fundraiser forms and agreeing to donate blood. The dishes will sit, except now they are no longer dormant... with each sip of water and discarded snack plate the dish mound will grow...and grow! About then dear hubby will call and ask if we need anything on the way home. I'll ask him to pick up a pizza for $8 each from Sam's Club He'll get 2 for $16. Grand total for the day of dirty dishes? $57.60!

This sounds like a lot to spend in one day, but this is actually a pretty normal, dishes-not-done kind of day. Trust me; this is one of my areas of expertise. It seems silly to clip coupons to save $10 on groceries (my meager savings for today's trip) when I'm spending $57.60 because my kitchen is messy. So, my belated New Year's goal is to always have a clean sink. And you all are going to help me. No, my plan doesn't involve you washing my dishes for me.

They say it takes 21 days for a new habit to become established. For the next 21 days I am going to post a photo of my sink every night so you all can see it. I invite you to comment with constructive criticism and encouragement. Of course I'm not going to want the blogosphere to see my messy kitchen, so I better get in there and clean it. See where I'm going with this?

I've been washing dishes, and in 15 minutes look at all I accomplished! I'm nearly done already!

Twenty minutes later and I am finished with wiped counters and ready to enjoy a cup of tea. I feel good, and I know tomorrow will be pleasant because the heart of our home is clean. And, in only 35 minutes I saved $57.60, no clipping required. So here's a photo of the finished product and my first photo for Operation Clean Sink...

Shoot! There's my unwashed tea cup!

First Giveaway Was a Success!

Wow! Did we ever have a blast with the chocolates giveaway. My daughter had so much fun doing the Penny Pinscher film that she can't wait to do another. We're thinking about doing giveaways once a week for awhile (until I run out of stuff to give away;)

What's your opinion? Is once a week too much? What kind of contests would you be interested in seeing? Leave me a comment with your ideas, but right now the unofficial idea is to do a "Monday Madness" kind of blog once a week with different criteria for entering.

And, by the way, for those that have emailed wondering where the "meaty" parts of Penny Pinscher have gone (Fruganomics, Centsible Ideas) rest assured that they will be back. Making the contest movie clip took more of my technical abilities then I bargained for (Thanks so much, Starr, for stepping in and saving the technologically impaired mom;) and that was followed by a wicked cold. I am going to bed now, full of lots of Sambucol (that was free from CVS with $13 rebate on its way;) and tomorrow I WILL be better. Prayers always welcome! So look forward to some more good stuff tomorrow! Until then, leave me those comments!

Congratulations Melissa!

These chocolates will be on their way to her tomorrow morning! This was so much fun I think I will start making a monthly giveaway - every month on the 2nd I'll pick another winner. Keep checking back for more details... and as always - thanks for reading! :)

Tomorrow I will be posting the film clip on the chocolate covered cherries winner! There were so many great comments - I loved reading what you all had to say. As promised, the winner has been picked through a high tech, scientific process. Tomorrow the vid clip will go live and announce to the world who is the winner. It has been one challenging give away - I almost ate these chocolates myself one day after work.

On another note - I got a nice surprise when I came across my Redneck Economics post up at Pokeberry Kitchen. I love Mary T's take on "eatin' gopher", but what really got me was her post on being a packrat. I DO identify!

I'd also like to welcome Dear Diary... into the blosphere. I have a special place in my heart for this little poster - she's my daughter, and when she saw how much fun I was having here she wanted to try it for herself. Please give her page a visit, if you can, and leave a comment. It will mean a lot to her.

Not much else tonight, so I'll see you all tomorrow to tell who I'll be sending the chocolate goodness to. As always, thanks for reading!

Last Chances for Giveaway Entries!

Get those comments in by tomorrow, February 2nd! I will be officially closing the entries at 12:00pm Central Time. My fellow Penny Pinscher, Abby (my dog), will be helping me to select a winner. My goal is to make a movie clip of the whole process to post here. Good luck, everyone!

And remember... tomorrow is

GROUNDHOG DAY!

Glass Half Empty or Full? Depends on How Thirsty You Are!

Another title for this blog could have been; "Why an Emergency Fund Helps Me Sleep at Night", but that's not as catchy. Besides, I like the mental picture of a clear glass of water, partially filled, and your thirst is what determines whether you can view it as an optimist or as a pessimist. But really, isn't that how we view everything – through our needs?

When I have more bills then money, it's hard to sing with the bluebirds in the sun. I'm more likely to gripe because the birds pooped on my car and now I have to clean it off. My financial lack creates a pair of morose tinted glasses that colors everything I see in a shade of grey.

When my bills are paid, however, and I have a bit set aside as padding (a.k.a. my emergency fund), I take the "mo" off my "morose tinted glasses" and put it in my pocket. Having "mo" always makes me feel good, whether it be "mo" money, "mo" groceries or "mo" gas. Taking the "mo" off leaves me with "rose tinted" glasses, and suddenly everything looks good.

What is an emergency fund? I'll leave all the technical how-to and where-fors to smarter folks than me and you can read further here or at Get Rich Slowly's blog. They answer all the great questions like how much and where to put it. All I’m trying to communicate is that if you have a fat emergency fund, you feel more secure and can look at a glass of water and think positive thoughts about it. You know that if the manure hits the fan, you’ve got your goggles on.

No emergency fund is like walking into the woods for a campout expecting that you will eat fresh fish and berries the whole time, so you leave any extra food behind. As night creeps in and you ask yourself "Where's the fish?!?" you find yourself hungry and wishing you had been better prepared.

A few dollars squirreled away now can make a real difference as to whether you have a good or horrible daily experience. Take a good look at your savings, and if it's looking low, do what you can to fill 'er up. Then when someone asks the water glass question you won't be tempted to toss it at them.