The Hansen Family

Please NOTE: This was an unscientific study. I recently read online that the USDA wants to regulate refined sugar because they want to label sugar as a toxin.  This lead me to start reading more articles about sugar. I know that you shouldn't believe everything you read online, but it did make me start to think about my sugar intake. Now, I'm a sugar addict, no joke. I love sugar, I could eat it with a spoon. However, to clear up any confusion, I don't get the sugar out of the cupboard and eat it with a spoon, but if I am baking, I will eat the sugar. Doesn't everybody? I was talking with friends last night about whether they crave sugar or salt.  It was a 50/50 response. Those of us that like the sugar said that we will search our house high and low to find some sugar to fulfill our craving. If we don't have any sugar or chocolate in the house my go to sugar/chocolate snack is bananas with Hersey's chocolate sauce. Yum! And then I lick the bowl, no ...

We have a thumbsucker in the house. I won't say who, but she is 9 and has been doing this for a very long time. She started when she was a baby as a soothing mechanism while also twirling her hair. Two things we can't take away, her hair and her thumb. Now I really wish we used a pacifier. I personally am very sympathetic to thumbsucking, because I sucked my thumb until 1st grade. Our thumbsucker tends to suck her thumb while in the car, watching TV and at bedtime.  But this has gotten out of control and we have seriously tried everything we can think of positive reinforcement, charts, gifts, surprises, money, nail polish, games.  We even went to the dentist to have a permanent "tool" put in her mouth.  We decided against the mouth "tool" due to outrageous costs to have it made and inserted. We just recently purchased the Thumbguard online and I hope that it works. Thumbguard The Thumbguard arrived in the mail today she was excited to get it and tr...

So I tried couponing again. I think I've come to the conclusion that 32% is the best you can do in Iowa. I even used a $5 gift card that I got from another coupon experience. I expected better. I started saving the Sunday paper coupons and put them in a binder. Then I went to www.couponmom.com and looked up their database for things I needed. This database shows you what is on sale and what has a coupon. I clipped my coupons and went shopping. Here I was in Target with two kids in the candy isle, with my phone out using the calculator. (Seriously I was using the calculator) While the kids are saying, "buy this, I want that, can we get a toy?" This is so NOT me. I can't believe I've gone this far for a "deal". I've figured that this is the best it gets. I still haven't given up. I want to get something for FREE. I'll keep you updated.

Here is my Couponing follow up: Dear Extreme Couponers, UGH! And I say ugh with MAJOR Capitalization! Couponing sucks, or maybe just getting started with couponing sucks.  I have spent numerous hours searching, printing and organizing coupons.  I've looked online at coupon databases. I've made lists and stuck only to my list when shopping and I only saved 32% off my total bill. WHAT?!?  Is this even worth my time? Am I doing this right? Here's the thing that gets me: The extreme couponers say that they SAVED XX amount of money, but what they don't tell you is what they ACTUALLY paid at the register.  Yes, they may have received some cash back rewards or gift cards for their purchases, but those cards shouldn't be added to their savings on that particular trip. They can use those cards for their next trip to the store, yes.  I guess what I am saying is I don't like their math, it's not realistic. Also, on a coupon website the database stated that one o...

Reality TV has really inspired people to extreme coupon. While I have tried to "coupon" I can't say it's extreme by any means.  I print online coupons and just the coupons that I will NEED. However, so many people have started blogging about coupons, couponing and saving money. This has really intrigued me because our most recent trip to the grocery store was overwhelmingly over priced. I think we spent $90 for maybe three bags of food.  So ridiculous, right?  Well, we didn't use a single coupon either, so that is our fault. I get short of breath thinking of clipping all of these coupons, saving them for the right time, organizing them and then shopping. So I'm going to try this my way. I'll keep you all informed on how much I saved, spent and the time it took me. So far just finding the coupons and printing them has taken over an hour. I feel like my time is more important than researching the coupons and clipping them.  Hopefully this will get quic...

I really like to push the envelope a little when it comes to the COST of decorating.  Now, don't get me wrong, I totally have champagne taste but I won't say I have a beer budget, well, because, I WILL spend the money on decorating when it's needed.  When I say needed, I mean there is no way physically possible that I can do it myself. I get so excited when I find a "solution" to a project I have in mind that will save me money and I mean $100's.  If something is going to save me $20, I would rather just buy the item. It would probably cost me more in gas to drive around trying to solve the $20 issue anyway. I have this vision - which is scary in itself. When I get a vision, I have to follow through with it. It is a must and it is usually because my vision is perfect - of course. ha! No, really it is! Well, perfect for me anyway. My current vision in our house is to decorate the bottom of our staircase. There is a little nook that I have the perfect "...