My life according to Facebook

If you are not a Facebook user you are really missing out on a world of excitement. Besides re-connecting with long lost friends and family members Facebook will tell you all kinds of things about yourself. You can take a plethora of quizzes just in case you need to discover your internet identity.



Like:

What's your real name?
Which 80's band are you?
What is your Japanese name?
Which Simpson's character are you?
Are you in love?
What will happen to you in 2009?
Are you a true Southerner?

Some of them appear to be quite useful particularly if you are not good at making decisions. Like: What should you be for Halloween?

I admit I took the bait.

According to Facebook I am 16 years old. Seriously! LOL After filling out a short questionnaire about my health habits I am biologically less than half my age! I'm not sure if I should be offended or flattered. Anyone want to be 16 again? Not me.



Then I took the "What kind of Mother are you?" quiz


The result is: Susie Homemaker

You my dear are a Susie Homemaker!!! Walk into your house and the sweet smell of baking is in the air!!! There are fresh flowers placed by the front foyer, in the ladies room and at the bedside table. The childrens artwork is on full display in the kitchen and not on magnets but hung on the wall perfectly. You my dear have a craft center for the children, scheduled playdates weeks in advanced and annual parties that no one else can live up too. The only little secret you carry is that if things weren't so tidy you'd crack! It's ok though!!! Be who you are.. just try to let loose once in a while and find some time to play in that sand box with the kids and get a little dirty too!!!


This one is partially true see:

Not hung perfectly but also not on the fridge.

Craft center. LOL Got to keep it somewhere. Right?

Only problem. I Despise cleaning. Really. I keep things clean because I have too but I certainly wouldn't crack if they weren't. And with my kids, I get plenty dirty. LOL


Then I learned something I never knew.

I should be living in Seattle.

"You are tired of the scorching sun and the heat. You want to go somewhere were you can enjoy the rain and the ocean and feel like you are at home. You want to go to the top of the space needle and see everything around you. You have an adventurous spirit that is itching to explore."

And finally:

Stephanie took What color is your personality? quiz and the result is Yellow You are Yellow, I can't think of a happier color!! It is a color of Sunlight, joy, happiness, earth, optimism, intelligence, idealism, wealth, summer, hope, and friendship..

So there you have it everything you wanted to know about me and then some at least according to Facebook.

Luck o' the Irish

Happy St. Patties Day!

Yet another year, another leprechaun trap, and no caught leprechaun.

Christian preparing his trap. This has been a yearly event for the last 4 years. He has studied leprechauns extensively and is certain someday he WILL catch one.

I have no clue what this was for but it was important!

And our St Pattie's Day culmination, green shamrock pancakes, green applesauce, and green eggs and ham. The picture does not do them justice. They were greener in real life. I contemplated making it all greener but after the 12th drop of food coloring I started to get sick!

My very favorite part of the whole thing this year was Parker's comment to Christian. Some preface, Christian has thoroughly indoctrinated us on Irish folklore and leprechaun magic.

Christian: "I cannot understand how they are getting out every year."

Parker: "Well you know Christian leprechauns are MAGIC (with much sarcasm) they can get out of traps."

I love that kid! He's all about keeping it real! LOL

Because I'm cool like that

I don't know if anyone cares but it really doesn't matter because it's my blog.

I got more free and almost free stuff today.

Want to see?

Today at Albertson's I got:

1 jug Treetop Trim Juice $ .50 cents

1 McCormick jar parsley flakes $-.01 cents (yes they owed me a penny!)

8 bags Hersey and M&M Mars Easter Candies $1.02/bag
like Cadbury mini eggs, mini Reester bunnies, Robin eggs, Starburst jelly beans. . .

6 cans Pringles FREE

6 15 stick packs Wrigley gum FREE

3 bags Bird's Eye Steamfresh Frozen Veggies .33/bag

Total out of pocket today including sales tax $10.45

I saved $44.59!

Once again YAY me! :)

Wings as Eagles

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

24 months ago

Brandon got better after almost 4 years
The nightmare ended
Life started moving forward again
A miracle happened
Prayers were answered
Dreams started coming true

Oh and testimonies were increased!

“Into every life there come the painful, despairing days of adversity and buffeting. There seems to be a full measure of anguish, sorrow, and often heartbreak for everyone, including those who earnestly seek to do right and be faithful. The thorns that prick, that stick in the flesh, that hurt, often change lives which seem robbed of significance and hope. This change comes about through a refining process which often seems cruel and hard. In this way the soul can become like soft clay in the hands of the Master in building lives of faith, usefulness, beauty, and strength. For some, the refiner’s fire causes a loss of belief and faith in God, but those with eternal perspective understand that such refining is part of the perfection process.

In our extremities, it is possible to become born again, born anew, renewed in heart and spirit. We no longer ride with the flow of the crowd, but instead we enjoy the promise of Isaiah to be renewed in our strength and “mount up with wings as eagles” (Isa. 40:31). –President James Faust

So long Walmart

Well since I am still on my food storage kick I'd thought I share some of my recent accumulations. Perhaps this is a new hobby? It is kind of fun getting things for free or almost nothing. Perhaps it's related to our new situation here in Cache Valley. We are far from stores and money is tight especially with all the bad weather month after month and Brandon unable to fly.

Something that has really been great for me is I am no longer dependent on Walmart. In fact I maybe stop in once a month now. I have always known that Walmart really does not have the lowest prices. I know the argument goes both ways but if you are wise and know when and how to buy things you can beat Walmart's prices on almost everything even their Great Values brand. I can hear you all now. "What about diapers?" Even diapers are cheaper if you know when and how to buy them. For instance, right now at Walgreens when you buy $25 in Huggies products you get $10 back. Online there are $5 & $3 off coupons. Using coupons and Walgreens Register Rewards it is possible to get 3 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers and a giant pack of refill wipes for $11 out of pocket. Recently at Albertsons you could get Pampers for $2.50 a pack. Don't let Walmart fool you into thinking they have the lowest prices.

In the past I think I relied on Walmart so much because of convenience. It was 2 minutes from my house and they seemed to have the best prices. There is no such thing as convenience when it comes to shopping for my family here. It doesn't matter where I go, all the stores are the same distance so I might as well shop around and wait for the rock bottom prices. It certainly seems to be paying off. :)

This month I decided to spend the bulk of our food budget on our food storage. Every Associated Food store is having their case lot sale right now so it was a good time to stock up. I really researched and found that my Dad's store, Ridley's in Hyrum, had the best prices, beating Walmart and Macey's by a land side. I made my list and paired up coupons with the ad.

Each month our total food budget is $300 (up from recent years) which to some seems like very little but if you follow any of the Utah coupon mom gurus my budget is very generous for my family of five. And if you haven't figured it out by now we do not eat Hamburger Helper dinner. I actually cook almost every night. We also budget another $100 per month for other household items like diapers, paper products, personal Hygiene items, cleaners, etc.

Here is what $170 got me this month:

6 lbs of spaghetti

25 more lbs of flour

25 lbs of sugar

Case of 24 Chef Boyardee Ravioli

Case of 12 jars pasta sauce

12 cans mushrooms

12 cans sliced olives

Case of 48 cans tuna fish

Case of 24 cans diced tomatoes

12 cans black beans

12 cans red beans

Case of 24 corn

Case of 24 green beans

12 cans peas

12 cans pineapple

24 cans Cambell's Cream of Chicken soup

12 cans tomato sauce

72 rolls of TP

15 rolls of paper towel

Case 24 Mac & Cheese

24 assorted seasoning pouches

12 cans garbanzo beans

2 lbs dry pinto beans

12 cans Manwich

12 cans refried beans

6 boxes Pop Secret microwave popcorn

1 Gallon jug Pancake Syrup

5 more lbs ground beef. (I know I have a ton of meat but I couldn't pass up $1.30/lb)

This will last us a long time and save us lots of money in the long run.

I used some of my new food storage for dinner last night.

Taco Soup

1lb Ground Beef $1.30

1/2 onion chopped $.10

3 cans beans $1.50

1 can vegetable soup FREE from my Albertson's trip
1 can corn $.33

2 cans diced tomatoes $.90

1 packet taco seasoning $.30

1/2 jar salsa $.75

1/2 cup sour cream $.22

Some crushed chips $.25

1 cup shredded cheese $.80

Total for the whole pot $6.45

Feeds my family 2 meals so 1/2 will be frozen for another night.

Total cost for one dinner to feed my family of five using food storage $3.25

Heritage

Well here we are in Cache Valley. Who knew we would move to the home of my forefathers? Well at least a couple of generations back.

You see my maiden name is Bullen. Bullen is a pretty important name in Logan. At least I like to think so. My great-grandfather, Roy Bullen, was the mayor of Logan back in the day. You can read more about him here. My grandpa's (also named Roy Bullen as is my father Roy Bullen) cousin Reed Bullen was an Ex-senator and the Logan temple president.

The Bullen family still owns a lot of the land in town as well as Bullen’s Inc. owned by my grandpa's 1st cousin Charles William Bullen, Sr. is an agricultural supply and irrigation implement company serving small and medium scale farmers of the Cache Valley in Utah and in Southern Idaho for over 30 years. His company provides alfalfa and corn seed as well as irrigation equipment from several vendors in the U.S. and remains a chief resource for farmers in the area.

There's the Bullen Center next to the Eccles Theater on main street and even Bullen Hall on the USU campus. My great-grandpa and great-grandma even have scholarships in their names. The Roy Bullen Memorial Fund for Engineering Students and Annie (Nan) Nibley Bullen (my great-grandma) Scholarship for The College of Family Life. I have always been proud to be a Bullen.

Every year my entire life growing up we would pay homeage to our great name and family by visiting Cache Valley on Memorial Day. We would spend time at the cemetary visiting the graves of loved ones and every year I got told how much I looked like my dad's cousin Sidney when she was a little girl. EVERY year, I kid you not! The best part of the visit was alway eating at the Bluebird Restaurant downtown.

Brandon and I decided it was time to take our kids downtown and tour historic Logan. We also read the histories of Mendon and Petersboro online with our children. It is amazing how hard the early Saints, many of them our ancestors, had to work to build the town we live in today. History is so cool!

Parish Family Affairs

Here's a little update.

Stuff happens here.

The kids keep growing.

Brandon is finally busy. Thank goodness! Just look at his crazy schedule! I had to make myself a chart to keep things straight.

I made the most adorable meatloaf muffins in the oven. I had the bright idea of wrapping some of them in bacon. Despite putting the muffin pans on a cookie sheet I set the smoke alarm off 3 times in one meal causing permanent hearing loss I am sure. Needless to say, Easyoff became my new best friend.

I got a new dishwasher today! Thanks Chris and boys for coming and installing it.

Christian got an award for being in the top 10% of all 3rd graders nationally!

He's earned his Bear rank in Cub Scouts as well as 6 arrow points, 3 belt loops, and 3 academic pins. All in 5 months time. He's been busy!

Parker is reading! He is also a model student. Who knew he had it in him? He's wearing the pants Christian was wearing in the fall when school started. I told you they were growing.

Ella is keeping us really busy. She is in the dumping stage. She dumps everything, games, cereal, craft supplies, anything with lots of parts.

We decided the kids needed to experience a little more of what Cache Valley has to offer so we took them to see the elk at Hardware Ranch. For a meager 20 bucks we got a real sleigh ride and guess what? It smelled just like Hyrum and Nibley!

What was the kids favorite part you ask? The sleigh ride? Seeing the big Elk? Learning something? NOPE! Elk poop. Isn't it amazing?!!