Sprite's Keeper

He Said He Wanted The Hair Out Of Her Eyes. I Was Only Following Orders.

John has been after me for a while to cut Sprite's hair since her bangs are covering her eyes. While I appreciate his concern, I am trying my best to postpone any sheering so I can ultimately pull it all into a ultra-cute ponytail or pigtails. (Yes, I am sacrificing my daughter's eyesight to promote my own motives. What?)

So, a couple of weekends ago, when we were on our way to a pretty fancy baby shower, he said simply, "Please make sure her hair is out of her eyes. I don't want people thinking our daughter is Captain Caveman." (Well, she would be more like Cousin It. I believe you can see Captain Caveman's eyes.)

 

I've mentioned before that Sprite has a big head. Well, that big head requires A LOT of hair to cover it.

 

It took twenty butterfly barrettes to tame that mess down.

John's response: "Are you seriously letting her go to the party looking like that?"

"Yup."

"You better not tell anyone that I did her hair."

 

I thought it was cute. By the end of the party, after getting compliments right and left, so did John.

The downside to these really cute barrettes? They came out easily. We were searching high and low for the damn things all over John's aunt's home and left without a few, even after repeatedly retracing our steps. (We forgot to check the spinach dip, but haven't heard about any resulting asphyxiation by accessory, so I guess we're good there.)

 

She had three left by bedtime and now there's one lonely butterfly sitting on her dresser.

I guess the lifespan of a butterfly extends to even the plastic variety.

Spin Cycle: Change (With)Holders

Every morning on the way to work, I stop at Dunkin Donuts for a medium decaf with skim milk and two Sweet-n-Low's. (Let's forget the fact that John makes me a fresh cup with the perfect blend of nonfat milk and sugar-free creamer which is FULLY caffeinated. I do drink his coffee. Way too quickly. I either need a bigger cup or a... um... I think a bigger cup will do it. I just need more coffee. So I make the second cup decaf to negate the fact that it is in fact a second cup of coffee. However, if you really want to get semantical (Bite me, Typepad and your grammatically correct ways!), 8 ounces equals a cup of coffee and since each "cup" holds 16 ounces, I am technically having 4 cups of coffee. Yes, I have a problem..)

Where was I?

Oh, yes. I stop at the DD and get my coffee. In my neck of the woods, a medium coffee comes to $1.79. I've paid that amount so many times, I now count out the exact change long before I make it to the window. Of course, there are those mornings when I only have two dollar bills or five dollar bills and no change, so my "space between the cup holders where the ashtray used to be before the auto makers started going for politically correct and now call all obvious ashtrays 'change holders'" tends to fill up with dimes and pennies until I have enough to save another buck down the road.

I started noticing a few months ago that when I would hand over a five, my change would come back as $2.21. Yes, that amount is wrong. By a full dollar. The first time, it didn't register that I was shortchanged until I had pulled away and then paused in the parking lot to put the bills away. Realizing I was missing a dollar, I didn't have time to turn back and demand my Washington so I made a mental note to watch for it in the future. 

Sure enough, the next time I had a five, I was given $2.21 back. This time, I stayed right there. "Excuse me, but you only gave me two twenty-one back."

The cashier stared at me blankly. 

"It's a dollar short."

Her eyes widened. "Sorry! I don't know where my head is this morning!" She then pulled a dollar from her pocket and handed it over.

Doesn't money usually go into a register? 

I've caught two different cashiers in the same trick since then. Now that they know I come by every morning, they've been good about not skimming from my change... Until the new guy.

Yesterday morning, I handed over two bucks and he gave me my coffee. I sat there, waiting expectantly.

"Did you need something else?" he asked.

"My change?"

He didn't move. "Really? It's twenty-one cents."

I raised an eyebrow. "My twenty-one cents."

The cashier I usually see in the mornings stepped up to the window and passed me my withheld change and a coffee card with every hole punched out. "Next one's on us, hon."

I smiled at her and moved on.

Why do I keep going back there even though they're all scamming the drive thru customers? Because their coffee is good. Even if they are withholding the correct change.

Oh, and sometimes, they give Sprite a free munchkin. (I think it's a bribe to ensure I keep their secret. It's working.)

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This week, for a change, I'm listing all the Spinners in Red! Check them out below and see all the different Spins on change!

Bex over at Adventures of the Grigg Boys

Casey over at Half As Good As You 

Rebekah over at Waffles Waffles All Day Long 

TifRN over at Rapture of the Sleep -Reposted since I screwed up the link last week!

Sarhi over at Random Wiggles -New to the Spin Cycle!

Jill over at Shop Girl's Blog 

Stacy over at True Blue Texan 

Jan over at Jan's Sushi Bar 

Cyndi over at The Adventures of HarryJack 

Smart Mouth Broad over at Words of Wisdom From A Smart Mouth Broad 

HeatherPride over at Riding the Short Bus 

Phhhst over at Pseudonymous High School Teacher 

Wicked Step Mom over at Life and Times of a Wicked Step Mom 

Laufa over at Morgan Madness 

Meli over at Meli's Rambling Randomness

Debbie over at Buzzin By 

Ginny Marie over at Lemon Drop Pie -Updated today! Fresh Spin!

Lori over at My Life Interrupted -Updated today! Fresh Spin!

Rachel over at The Ramblings of Rachel -Updated today! Fresh Spin!

Carrie over at Cole Pack -Updated today! Fresh Spin!

Captain Dumbass over at Us and Them -Updated today! Fresh Spin!

Thistle over at Thistles and Maple Leaves -Updated today! Fresh Spin!

Chris over at Coke On My Keyboard -Updated today! Fresh Spin!

Rachelle over at Diva Mommy of 4 -Updated today! Fresh Spin! New to the Spin Cycle!

The South Dakota Cowgirl over at Whoa My Horses -Updated today! Fresh Spin!

Thanks to all the Spinners old and new for keeping the Spin Cycle turning!

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Next week's assignment: Adventure.

That's right, adventure. Spin it any way you want. Want to talk about the fantastic vacation you took five years ago in the deep jungles of Brazil? Go right ahead! How about the awesome repel you did off of Mount Higherthanyouwanttoknow? Detail the suspense and thrill right here! Maybe you think potty training is an adventure in itself? (I tend to think of it as more of a long LONG lay over and you think your name is going to be called at any time, but it isn't. The flight is canceled. The crew is walking off the plane. And then? They start walking back to the plane. And it gets your hopes up. But it ends up being a "Oh, I forgot my purse!" moment. Back to waiting... Stupid diapers.)

Whatever you think an adventure is, we want to hear about it! Thanks to Rachel from The Ramblings of Rachel for the great topic idea!

Remember, Spin it up before March 3!

You know, deadlines can be an adventure too. Not adventurous enough for you? Try writing it in 10 minutes, with suspenseful music. While doing your taxes. How's that for adventure?

See you next week on the Spin Cycle!

Onslaught

She's overwhelmed.

I can feel her tense within my embrace as we step into the cavernous space, crowded by other children, overfilled bounce houses, and bright bordering on garish colors. The screams of excitement, a few of terror, attack our ears as I struggle to gain perspective of the situation and how best to introduce my daughter to it.

She's closing off. Her hands move in to huddle close to her own body and mine, a classic action from Sprite when she's nervous or intimidated. I step further into the room, looking through the sea of adults standing on the outskirts of the equipment, ready to yell to their children for safety's sake or time out's sake, and my eyes rest on a familiar face. Another mother is here with her own son, whom Sprite is very fond of. I head over, still holding my child whose only sign of life is to turn her head this way and that, watching with worrying eyes.

The boy's mother glances up, recognizes me, and I can see the relief on her face as well, a "thank goodness I have someone to ride this out with" look, which probably mirrors my own.

"Look, Sprite!" I whisper. "Jack is here!"

Sprite looks down to where Jack is huddled up against his mother, also overwhelmed by the noise and antics happening around us. She watches him for a moment, realizes he's in the same emotional spot she is, and withdraws once more to the safety of nuzzling her face into my neck.

I settle down next to Jack and his mother, still holding my clinging monkey, and we talk. We talk about Sprite and Jack, and their closeness since the infant room in day care where they both started within a week of each other. We talk about school currently and how the kids are doing. We talk about the party place and how we're both a little surprised that a toddler would want to have a party here. Then we see the two year old birthday girl squeal as she heads down a steep slide. On her own. We agree that our children aren't nearly as brave.

By now, Sprite slowly detaches from me and spots a Little Tykes car close by. She moves toward it and takes possession.

More confident that she's growing comfortable in the situation, I turn back toward Jack and his mom to resume our conversation. Then the loudspeaker booms.

"Ladies and gentlemen! We are going to move to the next zone in the next five minutes!"

The noise is all it takes. Sprite jumps out of the car and back into my arms. Jack is clutching at his mother's blouse.

The onslaught of noise and activity is more than they can take.

Moving into the next room, we last barely five minutes before Jack convinces his mother it's time to leave. They won't stay for cake. Determined to make it to the end (mostly), I find Sprite another car and push her around the busy room, bypassing the expensive air filled playhouses she's supposed to find irresistible, and sidestepping the older children who are filled with endorphins and just a little destruction to be allowed, even encouraged, to literally "bounce off the walls".

I finally lure her into a deserted bounce house, where she can't decide whether to jump to her heart's content, or just sit in my lap in the middle of this purple mesh enclosed pod. Hesitating, she slowly starts to push down on her feet, a smile cracking the angst-ridden face until it explodes in joy. Yes, she can be happy here. I sit back on my arms and let her do as she will, casting an evil eye to any older kid who dares to consider crashing our party. She jumps, as high as gravity will allow, as long as her chubby legs can stay strong.

Then the loudspeaker booms. Time for cake. She dives for my arms once more, her hands retreating to their safe spot, her joy fading as well.

The small crowd moves into the final destination where pizza and cake are served to refuel the dipping energy levels of both children and adults. Sprite refuses to leave the circle of my embrace, choosing instead to take her lunch while on my lap. As she picks at her slice, she watches the other children and the birthday girl, slightly younger than Sprite herself, engage in wild chatter.

The minutes tick on until, finally, the party is over. Sprite collects her loot bag and grasps my hand tightly as we move toward the exit. As soon as we step outside, the surprise of the bright sunshine greets us and the closing door swallows the noise. I feel instant relief. We make our way to the van, Sprite's steps becoming lighter and her voice piping up excitedly.

As I strap her into her carseat, she smiles broadly at me. "I eat cake!"

"Yes, you had cake."

"I playing!"

I push her hair back, seeing the glimmer that had disappeared for an hour, back with a vengeance. "Did you have a good time?"

"Good time! Sprite jumping! Good time!"

 I pause and concentrate on her face. Were we at the same party? This child, whose claw marks can still be seen and felt on my upper arms, thinks she had a good time? 

When we pull into our driveway, John comes out to meet us.

"Did you have a good time?" he asks as he frees the chattering Sprite from her carseat.

"That depends," I respond.

"On what?"

"On who you ask."

John Isn't The Only One Writing My Posts For Me..

John: "Okay, I've got Hancock downloaded. Let's watch that tonight."

Dad: "Sounds good."

Movie starts.

Hancock: "Coño!"

John: "Aw, come on!"

Me: "What's wrong?"

John: "It's dubbed in Spanish!"

Me: "Well, we're not going to watch it in Spanish."

John: "(Sigh) I'll find one in English. Give me a couple of minutes."

Me: "Gracias."

Dad: "While he's doing that, flip through the stations."

Me: "Grease is on."

Dad: "Let's see how it looks in HD."

Me: "Does Rizzo sound different to you?"

Dad: "Like she's singing in a long hallway."

Me: "The sound is off, isn't it?"

Dad: "Doesn't sound right to me either."

Me: "This doesn't sound like the original movie at all."

Dad: "The network probably got it off the same website as John."

(Editor's Note: John got his movie from a legitimate site, thank you. He just bought the wrong one. But while I was going to leave this disclaimer out and let the humor ride off into the sunset, John thought some spammers would have a field day with the possibility of piracy, so I was forced to validate his mistake with the movie site he had rented from. So, Disclaimer! Piracy is bad. Very bad. Bad tasting too. Bitter.. You should never download movies or media from underground websites or you too will have to suffer through a movie en español. Stay in school. Say no to drugs. Only you can prevent forest fires and every other PSA out there...)

It's Tuesday, It's Random, You Should Expect It Now

Some of my coworkers and I were sitting around in Cubicle World talking about dishes at The Elephant Bar since my manager was headed there after work. I told him about my new favorite meal, the chicken lettuce wraps, and how highly I recommended it. Onto this praise I added, "there's nothing like the cool crunch of lettuce wrapped around hot meat." A few beats later, I tacked on, "Let's rewind that thought, that sounded really bad, didn't it?" My manager answered, "Yes, I wasn't going to say anything, but.." I hoped it would drop there, but another coworker chimed in with "So, is that what you had on Valentine's Day, Jen?" Any hopes I had for a future in restaurant reviews should be buried deep.

I never understand those "health nuts" who take the elevator up, but take the stairs down. Um, I hope they realize that the real work lies in the ascent, not the descent, which is why their asses are not declining..

I chopped Private Practice from my DVR list. I did see last week's show, but had to throw up my hands when Addison delivered a hermaphrodite baby. Sure, it's interesting subject matter, but come on! Is Chondra Wilson just throwing a dart at the Medical Dictionary and praying they haven't dramatized the random winner yet? Their practice must break records with the different maladies that come waltzing through their doors. but I am trying to ban the bad TV from my already overfull schedule... But I think I may just tune in until they say who the father is for Charlotte's unborn baby. They have tests for that, you know. Done in the office. While you wait...

Sprite has discovered a new scream that is so piercing and shrill, yet accurate in pitch, it will not only leave your ear drums ringing, but have you guessing if you can name that song in 2 notes. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at her game yet, so she has to give me extra clues... I don't like this game very much.

Last Saturday, Fort Myers celebrated "Festival of Lights", which honors Thomas Edison and the invention of the light bulb. A twilight parade was held along with fireworks and all the stops were pulled. (Um, Fort Myers City Council? Budget? Maybe you could have done without The Works this year? We're in a Recession. Edison would understand.) (No, he wouldn't understand. He's DEAD!) (Just stating facts, people.) (And think about things this way. Fort Myers was his winter home. I have to wonder what his home town does to celebrate..) Unbeknowest to us, while the parade was ongoing, John, my parents, and I were busy trying to rescue a 4 foot tall Minnie Mouse doll from Sprite, who had the thing in a choke hold while perusing the rest of the items in the Disney Store about 2 miles down the road from the festivities. (Yes, we used the "Napping" technique which still works. Either we're really good at it or the kid is humoring us.) Sprite did give up the doll willingly, however John purchased a set of Sleeping Beauty figurines guaranteed to knock her Aurora loving socks off and even plunked down an additional five bucks for a Sleeping Beauty pillow. As soon as he came out of the store with a larger, fuller bag than what we had agreed on, I immediately grilled him on the contents. Sheepishly, he pulled out the pillow which Sprite grabbed and then demanded, "Up!" since she decided she was done using her feet for the night. (Folks, my kid weighs 31 lbs. I can handle her weight for almost a half mile before I have to put her down, which is pretty good in my book. In fact, they should develop an endurance event for mommies to compete in, with weight limits and everything. I think some records would be set there.. Whoa, where did THAT tangent come from? Anyway, I can handle Sprite in my arms for a longer period of time than one would consider normal. However, when she demanded the balcony level with a pillow in her own embrace? A pillow which weighs mere ounces, not pounds? A pillow that weighs less than a soiled diaper? I lasted thirty seconds before I had to pass her off to my father. Why is that?)
When we finally made it out of the mall, we were just in time to catch a far away view of the fireworks display which was being set off on the river toward North Fort Myers. As we sat in our van and watched, Sprite made all the appropriate sounds of enjoyment as if she were sitting on John's shoulders watching the Disney World show. "Oh my goodness!" "Is beautiful!" "Wow!" "Castle!" (She associates "castle" with fireworks.) (She's two.) When the big finale finally blew up, we started to leave and my dad commented on Sprite's joy of seeing the exploding balls of sulfur. "You know, Jen. For the cost of a five dollar pillow and this fireworks show, you just gave Sprite a night at Disney World without the travel or the ticket."
My dad's right. I just gave Sprite the Mouse on a budget. While two months ago, we brought her to the Mouse, this time, we made Disney come to her. 

I totally rock.

You know what rocks even harder? Random Tuesday Thoughts. You should go there. And tell Keely I said hi.

I still rock.

HASAY: And The HASAY goes to...

HASAY: Original Screenplay by Casey. (This is Casey's eighteenth nomination and first win.)

Ladies and gentlemen, we are short on funds and time, so we'll skip the music and intro by Hugh Jackman, I know, he's lovely, isn't he!, and go straight to the nominees for the First Annual HASAY awards.

The nominees for Biggest Distraction Keeping Me From Exercising are:

Sprite for her musical interpretation of "Once Upon A Dream".
Sprite for her monologue of why bedtime is not important.
Sprite for her record breaking repeated potty attempts within a 30 minute period.
John for working late resulting in a dramatic scene by Sprite asking for her missing daddy.

And the HASAY goes to.... Sprite! For her monologue of why bedtime is not important! Sprite could not be here to accept this award since she's in time out. (Yes, I'm that strict.)

Moving on.

The nominees for Biggest Temptation are:

Girl Scout cookies.
Brisket quesadillas.
Sprite's M&M awards.
Praline Pecan Caramel Cake.

And the HASAY goes to... Praline Pecan Caramel Cake! The cake could not be here to accept this award since... I ate it. (It was only a slice! And it was a cheat day. I'm excused.)

The nominees for Best Supporting HASAY'er are:

Caseyfor visiting all the participants and kicking our online asses.
Jeff from Good Fatherfor being a cheerleader to all the HASAY'ers.
John for still participating even though he doesn't have a blog and gets thrown under the bus more often than not by me.

And the HASAY goes to... Casey for inventing this damn thing in the first place! Casey, you may leave your acceptance speech in the comments section since this Awards post is being written on Sunday night and I just didn't have time to email you and let you know what I was cooking over here.

And the last HASAY award to be presented is for Direction in a Workout. And the nominees are:

The Nord for 3 nights a week of interval training.
30 Day Shred, Level 1.
30 Day Shred, Level 2.
The stairs at work.

And the HASAY goes to... The Nord! The Nord has been training for five years for this Award and while the Nord could not be here to accept, I will accept this Award on his behalf.

To see the other HASAY'ers, please visit Casey over at Half As Good As You.

Thank you and good day! (I'll be at the Governor's Ball putting that pound back on.)

Credits:

Me: 1 down.
John: 2 down.

Spin Cycle: It's All About Change

Changing gears this week, the first Spin is out on Sunday!

Bex over at Adventures of the Grigg Boys

Casey over at Half As Good As You -Updated Monday!

Rebekah over at Waffles Waffles All Day Long -Updated Monday!

TifRN over at Rapture of the Sleep -Reposted Tuesday since I screwed up the link last week!

Sarhi over at Random Wiggles -Updated Tuesday! New to the Spin Cycle!

Jill over at Shop Girl's Blog -Updated Tuesday!

Stacy over at True Blue Texan -Updated Wednesday!

Jan over at Jan's Sushi Bar -Updated Wednesday!

Cyndi over at The Adventures of HarryJack -Updated Wednesday!

Smart Mouth Broad over at Words of Wisdom From A Smart Mouth Broad -Updated Thursday!

HeatherPride over at Riding the Short Bus -Updated Thursday!

Phhhst over at Pseudonymous High School Teacher -Updated Thursday!

Wicked Step Mom over at Life and Times of a Wicked Step Mom -Updated Thursday!

Laufa over at Morgan Madness -Updated Thursday!

Meli over at Meli's Rambling Randomness -Updated Thursday!

Debbie over at Buzzin By -Updated Thursday!

Remember, you have until Friday to get those "signs of change" in! (Funny how the deadline for the Spin Cycle never changes..)

Unduplicated, Unconquered, Unmitigated

I met Middle Aged Woman from Unmitigated! Damn right, you're jealous. When she first started posting about her upcoming vacation, I left a comment mentioning how close I live to their retreat. She and her husband were staying and playing in Captiva, an island hop from the mainland where I live.

On Tuesday, she posted a picture of the scene outside her boudoir door, a picture so idyllic, nature at its finest, at first I wondered if she was really in Florida. I actually looked out my office window to confirm, "Yes, it is that sunny outside," confirming I really do live this close to paradise.

We had emailed each other a few times before she arrived for her week's respite from the snow, sleet, and all things cold and coffee plans were made for Wednesday.

I was nervous. I admit it.

I mean, this woman has a reading list the likes of which I would need to study for before I felt wise enough to crack the spines. You know what's on my nightstand? Sippy Cups Are Not For Chardonnay and Toddler 411. Real brain busters. It took me 4 months to make it through the Twilight series! (Yes, this includes the times I put the book down, sometimes for weeks, in sheer frustration over Bella's angsty, stubborn, "Edward, please do us all a favor and bite her NOW!" life.)

I drove over to Starbucks, wondering how the evening would go. Would she be as nice as she seemed in her blog? Would she think I was who she thought I was from my own site? I had imagined her to be well spoken, quick, knowledgable, and subtly snarky. Think about it. When you find a blog you keep coming back to, the author takes on a persona of your own molding, every post adds more to the character, and any real deviation from the expectation can be a let down.

I really didn't want to be let down.

When we walked toward each other at Starbucks, every fear I had of liking her or her liking me melted into the chilly night. She even had the purse her daughter, Ms. Partly Cloudy, had scored for her. All I could think for a few minutes was, "That's the purse from her site!" Starstruck? Me? Definitely.

As we sat with our drinks, Mary, her husband, and I talked about whatever flew into our minds. As she describes in her own words, virtually any subject was embraced and discussed. At one point, she and her husband even threw out pull quotes from Burn After Reading, a movie John and I had loved. (I know this movie is a controversial topic since you either like it or you don't. My sister and best friend rented the movie after hearing me rave about it and called me afterwards, saying, "Jen, are you sure you liked this movie?") John has since put the movie at the top of our queue so we can re-screen it sooner rather than later. I even failed myself once for not having a recent picture of Sprite to show her husband. (See? You would think from all the photo essays and wordy blather I spew about my daughter, my purse would be overflowing with brag books. I was only able to come up with her year old photo taken last year. What kind of mommy blogger am I?) (John reminded me later on that my phone has a couple of recent pictures worth sharing. Oy!)

I got to hear some posts in person, including some hilarious stories, as told by both her AND the husband, that she had written about before we found each other during the beginnings of NaBloPoMo November. She was as smart, well spoken, and quick as I thought she would be, even more so than I'd hoped. I had such a good time with her and her husband, I didn't even notice the hours flying by until it was well past the time I had promised John I would be home.

All told, it was a wonderful night, I am so glad Mary reached out to invite me to intrude on her vacation and make a virtual friendship a real one.

She really is unmitigated.

And I am unworthy.

I hope your week was thoroughly enjoyed, Mary. You certainly made mine.

Spin Cycle: Why did the baby cross the road?

Answer: It was stapled to the chicken.

As a young teenager who didn't know true dry humor at the time, I would unearth this joke on endless occassions to crack my dad up. It never got more than a smile out of my mom, but my dad somehow found it hilarious.

Lately though, I tend to find my humor in the everyday situations that strike me as funny.

Last Saturday night, that would be Valentine's Day, John, Sprite, and I walked into Target to cruise the aisles. (I was looking for an excuse to scope out new finds in the Dollar Spot.) (It's a new obsession.) John separated from us to check out the prices on some dumbbells, even though the smart bells right next to them were on sale for a steal. I pushed Sprite around (in a stroller, thanks) and checked out the groovy things I would add to my "Never in a million years will I ever tell anyone I want that, but may decide in a fit of 'I can afford it!' delusion and break down and buy it" list. The list is long, my friends.

Sprite had had enough of my moseying and wanted me to quicken into a wandering pace so she started calling out for her daddy.

"Daddy!" she called, looking for him from her seat.

"What?"

Um, that wasn't John's voice.

She tried again. "Daddy!"

"What?" Same voice. Then it sounded again, tersely. "What, Chandler?"

Chandler? (I can guess what syndicated TV show is probably saved on his DVR...)

Sprite was paying no attention to this strange voice who was obviously paying attention to her, even if he did think she was his son... Or daughter?

"Daddy!" Her voice rose, a little more screechy and insistent.

"Chandler, I'm in the next aisle! Unless you want to be smacked, you better get your ass over here!"

I caught a glance of the pre-school aged kid whose fanny was in imminent danger, his eyes wide as he bolted out of sight to find his father before his father found him.

"False alarm!" I called out, and stepped my pace up from a mosey past a wander into an outright sprint.

Poor kid.

Chandler???

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This week definitely provided me with some giggles, and if you can't laugh in light of the news on CNN and FOX, what can you laugh at? Take a look at these Spinners and steal a chuckle, all without threat of prosecution or foreclosure!

Laufa over at Morgan's Madness

Christina over at Coke on My Keyboard 

Phhhst over at Pseudonymous High School Teacher 

CDB over at Fingers and Paws 

Cyndi over at The Adventures of HarryJack -(Cyndi, it won't let me comment, but I loved it! And you're linked!)

Thistle over at Thistles and Maple Leaves 

Jan over at Jan's Sushi Bar 

Kingsmom over at Servant to a King -New to the Spin Cycle!

D.M. Wright over at D. M. Wright Books 

Casey over at Half As Good As You 

Wicked Step Mom over at Life and Times of a Wicked Step Mom 

Lori over at My Life Interrupted 

Debbie over at Buzzin' By

Cameron over at Get The Stink Off 

Sammanthia over at My A Cup Runneth Over 

Michelle over at Michelle's Blog 

Rikki over at Cowgirls Like Me 

HeatherPride over at Riding The Short Bus 

Arwen over at Spors in the Desert -Updated today! Fresh Spin!

Rachel over at The Ramblings of Rachel -Updated today! Fresh Spin!

The South Dakota Cowgirl over at Whoa My Horses -Updated today! Fresh Spin!

Lisa over at Boondock Ramblings -Updated today! Fresh Spin!

Shangrila over at My Bella Figlia -Updated today! Fresh Spin!

Mrs. Bear over at Outnumbered Two To One -Updated today! Fresh Spin!

Gigi over at Incrementum -Updated today! Fresh Spin! New to the Spin Cycle!

Bex over at Adventures of the Grigg Boys -Updated today! Fresh Spin!

TifRN over at Rapture of the Sleep -Updated today! Fresh Spin! FIXED!!!

Hot Sexy Husband over at Geez Louise!!! -Updated today! Fresh Spin! KINDA new to the Spin Cycle!

Smart Mouth Broad over at Words of Wisdom From A Smart Mouth Broad -Updated today! Fresh Spin! New to the Spin Cycle!

Thanks again for helping us all smile when we need it most!

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Next week's assignment: Change.

A change would do you good.... Ch-ch-ch-changes.... Spare change?

That's right. Write about change. Have you changed careers which brought about other changes? Are you changing your ways of living due to the Recession? Did you change your hair? Did you like it? Did you change your habits and what did that do to your life?

Do you like spare change or hate it and want to propose the lowest denomination of money to be the dollar bill? Do you not like changing clothes?

Do you not like change? (I think in some way, none of us like change, but that's just me... Or is it we?)

Spin it up, Spin it out and let us in on your thoughts on change! Did you change your IP address? PLEASE make sure you leave it in the comments so we can find you and salute you!

Hate being late? Spin it up early! Offer good until February 27th! (Lowest APR out there!)

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Please Step Away From The Sale

 

(Editor's Note: Smart Mouth Broad over at Words of Wisdom from a Smart Mouth Broad had an inspiration when we did our Cost Cutting Spin Cycle.  She then put the word out to other bloggers out there to link up with their cost cutting ideas as a way to help each other survive in a world where the life jackets are getting thinner. The cool thing about her idea? It's open ended. You can just hop over, grab her button, link it up, and be added to the growing list of economically savvy bloggers who care and share what they can spare.
Since my Spin was a way of instilling some humor into a topic that's been on my mind for a while, I decided I would hop on and write about the only way I've found to really save money on my shopping trips lately. So, here is my contribution for Money In The Bank. Hop on over after and say "Hi!" to SMB! Link yourself up since I know many of you who are so much better at this than I am.) (Hop..I said "hop" three times.. What is wrong with me?)

Buy one, get one.

Buy one, get one half off.

Buy three, get one.

Buy twelve, pay less.

Buy, buy. buy, save, save, save!

I'm a sucker for a good deal.

I'm a sucker.

I love when I come across a great sale at the grocery store, especially when it's on something I use a lot, like soup. (I have had a soup craving since November, partly due to the cooler weather and the way it pisses off my coworkers since I stalk the one working microwave while it heats.) Campbell's Select Harvest Soups? They were buy one, get one two weeks ago. I bought 20, spending about 24 bucks. I typically buy 5 a week, paying a little over twelve dollars, but thought I would stock up. So, imagine my shock when the receipt total was more than I bargained for. (Well, duh..) Imagine my greater shock when I made excuses for more soup dinners that week because I didn't want to put out the extra effort to make what was planned and ended up putting soup on the shopping list for the next trip. This last week, I bought five more, paying full retail. Total savings? Zilch.

John and I like creamer in our coffee, but try to stick to the sugar free or fat free since it can add up calorie-wise. We buy the International Delights brand for around 4 bucks a large bottle. Sometimes, they have a sale on 2 for seven dollars. Dollar savings, right? Considering it takes us about 2 weeks to finish one, the second one usually goes to waste languishing in the back of the fridge while one of us fishes for it in the front and then announces "We've run out". I just spent another three dollars on something I won't find until well past the expiration date. Total savings? I saved one dollar by spending the extra three and then let it spoil in the wilds of my top shelf. (It's dangerous in there.) So technically, I wasted two bucks.

Goldfish crackers are a favorite Sprite request, however I tend to wait until they're on sale to justify the expense since she has a large canister of organic animal crackers in the shape of Disney characters that was an amazing bargain at Costco. This container takes months to get through, so why shell out the extra for some more crackers? My gullible side advises that the kid needs variety, but the thrifty side says it will be more smoothly swallowed if the expense is at least on the heels of a sale. 2 for three bucks is fine, but my store honors the cost per item, so I think I'm getting a great deal on one. Total savings? Are you kidding me? I just spent a buck fifty on crackers when I have a whole container of cookies she likes just as much that's mostly full at home! I should have just mailed Pepperidge Farm the money!

Juice is buy one, get one? Sprite doesn't need any juice since we have an unopened bottle in our pantry. But to have three? Rock on! Total savings?...Really?

This last week, I decided to forego the sales completely and just shop for what we needed. I stuck to the list and resisted the impulsive pull of "Ooh, I've always wanted to try that!" and "Sure, store brand is cheaper, but 10 for 4 on Dannon yogurt? I can finish them all before they expire!" (No I can't.) I did run into a couple of buy one, get one deals on products I already had highlighted for purchase, so I scored a bit here and there, but other than the meek amount of coupons I came armed with, I stayed away from the endcaps and promotions. Total savings? 31 dollars. Now THAT's a sale I can't refuse.