Elvira and her Homie

Last week Richard and I were asked to help with a "Where's Waldo" type activity for the youth in our ward. We were excited to help out especially since it was Ashton's first mutual activity to attend and it gave us the chance to dress up like Halloween in January. Our job was to dress up incognito and stroll the corridors of the mall. The youth were told that there were members of their congregation at the mall and their job was to find them and answer the questions they had.

Easy right?

Not so much.

Especially when they look like this...

And this...

Elvira and her 'Homie' were totally out of character for both Richard and I, but I think that was what made it so fun for us. Maybe, not so much for Ashton since this was his first mutual activity at the mall, with his friends and his parents show up dressed like a couple of goons.

The best part for Richard and me was walking past Ashton twice and he didn't recognize us. Richard worried that he wasn't disguised enough, but apparently he was.

I also got a kick out of the looks both the leaders and youth got on their faces when they recognized me. It was priceless.
I have to thank my friend, Julie, for the use of her wig. And just so you know, I will not be going 'dark' anytime soon. (You can now breathe a sigh of relief.)

So the next time you go to the mall be sure to look closely around at those walking past you, they may not be the strangers you think they are..... they may be even stranger.

Excuses, Excuses...

If you opened the dictionary to the phrase 'blog slacker' I can almost guarantee you will find a picture of me. My blog and almost everything surrounding it has taken a back burner since the kids went back to school. This is evidenced by my puny number of posts in August and September, my lack of commenting on other blogs (I promise, I am still reading them.), and the absence or extreme tardiness of replying to your comments here. I am sorry, really I am.

I was reminded in church on Sunday that the first step to repentance is to recognize that there is a problem, so.....Hi. My name is Natalie and I am a serious blog slacker.

There. Consider it recognized.

But just because I've recognized it doesn't mean I'm not going to try to justify it. So....I think it may have something to do with the fact that blogging takes me an excruciatingly long time to do. I can "hear" what I want to say in my head, but when it comes to making it travel to my fingertips, it makes a detour somewhere along the way and things never sound like I want them to. Trust me, they are much more witty, funny, and thought provoking in my head. It may also have something to do with adjusting back to a school schedule, Richard's travel schedule, homework, lessons, team sports, volunteer time, scouts, potty training, or that life has simply been crazy and my brain cells stretched too thin.

I know...excuses, excuses.

Because really let's face it....there is time to blog. I have the same number of hours in my day as I did back in June or July, I have just chosen, or in some cases, life has chosen for me, to spend those hours on other things. Whether I like it or not.

One particular excuse some friends recently introduced me to is couponing. Yes, I am now one of those annoying 'coupon people' who takes an extra minute at the end of checkout to scan coupons. Yep, one of those people that apparently a lot of cashiers hate, and someone who has been saving more money than I realized was possible from those little inserts in my paper and mail.

Here are just a few of my conquests from my some latest saving trips.

 Everything in this picture was FREE! including the smile on my cute little model's face.

 Toilet paper- $1.38- because who wants to spend a lot of money on something you soil with nastiness and flush down the toilet?

And the one I am most proud of...

2 bottles of laundry detergent (totaling 50 loads), 1 bottle of dish liquid, 8 bars of soap, 36 of those things in the pink boxes, and 6 bags of Halloween candy = $13.39 at Rite Aid.

BUT if you count the $8 I got back on this purchase from their Up+ rewards program my total was only $5.39. That is a lot of free or really cheap stuff and just by following this blog and by planning my shopping trips using this site.

And although it has taken me some time to get organized and figure out just exactly what I am doing, after one particular day of great savings I felt like I had saved enough that when I visited a friend's boutique party I could safely buy me one of these...

And since I think Richard gave it the universal male look of approval by rolling his eyes, I've decided that maybe some excuses are worth a little blog interruption.

Almost Like Christmas

Standing on my front porch the sound of the big truck's engine reached my ears before my eyes caught site of it rounding the bend at the end of the road.  The excitement in me rose.

Could it be?

A search of the recesses of my memory told me the date was indeed within the correct time frame. The truck was the correct colors- brown and golden yellow- not the competitors white with purple and orange logo branded on its side. (A side note of apology to my brother Nate, a driver for the competition). The truck hadn't stopped yet, but the driver was slowing, glancing to the right and then to the left looking at house numbers.

It just had to be.

I ran into the kitchen to avoid looking like I was anxiously awaiting a delivery and to stop the rising hope that the big brown truck would indeed stop at our house instead of my neighbor's like he normally does. Within seconds there was a knock on the glass of our screen door. With the front door being propped open I had a full view of a Doug Heffernan look-a-like clad in the brown shorts with boots and all.

It was here!

I nonchalantly made my way out to the porch where Mr. UPS left a rather large cardboard box for me. Only nothing in it is actually for me, my name just graces the shipping label and the card that paid for it all.

Away from little eyes, my box and I stealthily head to my room where the door is promptly shut and locked. Interruptions won't do for what happens next. The packing tape is slit with a trusty bobby pin and the flaps are slowly folded back to reveal a pile of plastic packages in an assortment of colors; like gifts within a gift. I sift and sort and then I rip. Plastic bags take flight going this way and that, creating a substantial snowstorm of plastic flakes. When the last bag lands noiselessly amongst the others, there they sat- brand new school clothes.

There were five new shirts for each boy to get them through the first week of school (with 1 or 2 put away for Christmas or birthdays) and a small collection of outfits for Emma. Although Emma doesn't attend school yet, she is my only girl and without older siblings for hand-me-downs she had nothing for cold weather when fall came. Plus, I suppose I'm a bit partial to flowers, unicorns, and butterflies as opposed to skater and sport graphics. Thus, I am justified.

I held them up, each one individually, admiring their unfaded, unstained, and unwrinkled appearance (except for the fold creases that scream new) noting the size and color and how it would fare for the intended child. They were perfect. Even the kids thought so.

They were also a great deal considering the amount I received because of already discounted items being marked down even more with an extra 15% off coupon and free shipping. And even better than that was that is the fact that they were purchased while my body lay sick in bed last week refusing to move. No expending energy taking ornery anti-shopping boys and one "buy everything for me" girl to the mall, Marts or Ko's in search of the right fashion to kick off the 2010-11 school year. Just point, click, check out, and wait for delivery.

I love the whole online shopping experience. It's like a little gift I give myself.