mischief.

bow-prah introduces groceries.

and the winner is......

shalynn!!! the total on my receipt was $244.74. (forgive the backwards photo--i'm too lazy to fix it.)

she guessed $265 and wrote a very heart-warming comment:

k, shalynn! you have 72 hours to contact me by email starting NOW!!!

thanks for humoring me, that was pretty fun, no? 

i think i shall do this again in the future. you may see some google ads on my blog to fund this new idea. i shall donate money earned from ads to prizes.

so, the more you click, the more fantabulous the prize!

*************************************************************************************

ok, you twisted my arm long enough. here is what some of you asked for....

shopping for thanksgiving.

i think i just heard everyone moan.

you're not the only one. 

don't worry, this is a happy shopping post.

there are still several peeps asking me about the grocery shopping freaks in my ward and how they have perfected the art of grocery shopping. don't worry, "freak" is a term of endearment and oh how i just love those freaks!

 

anyway, i thought i would post some pictures because if you're anything like me--it's soo much more effective to show rather than tell. sooooooo, without further ado, this is what i have learned from the grocery shopping freaks and what it can do for your shopping bill:

i bought this for $58.07:

4 cans of campbell's soup

3 cans of del monte vegtables

8 boxes of lipton onion dry soup mix

4 boxes of swiss miss hot cocoa

4 tubs of land o' lakes butter

2 tubs of pillsbury frosting

2 packages of crisco shortening sticks

2 boxes of ziplock gallon size baggies

2 packages of dixie ultra paper bowls

2 packages of dixie ultra paper plates

4 bottles of crisco cooking oil

32 jars of beech-nut stage 2 baby food

4 bottles of spice island spices

4 bottles of mckormick parsley

16 packets of fleishman's yeast

and i got these for free:

4 bags green giant steamers frozen vegetables

3 boxes of jolly time popcorn

1 15 lb. norbest turkey.

the pictures and totals above are only the sale items i paired up with manufacturers coupons. i actually bought a bunch of other stuff too. 

i won't even show you my receipt. 

well, ok--

you twisted my arm again. i'll show it to you only because i think it wins the record for longest receipt in the world! do i get a prize for this?

i know you're probably thinking i spent about $2,489,481.23 but i didn't. 

i will tell you how much i spent after you guess. 

aaaaaaand because i love thanksgiving soooo much and because i'm so thankful for all of you who humor me by reading all this, i'm going to give away a $30 target e-gift card to the person who comes the closest to guessing the actual total on that receipt pictured above. within 24 hours, the winner will find the e-gift card in their email inbox in which they will be able to print and use for all their holiday shopping needs. because i love you, that's why.

i know $30 is not much to spit at but it's all bow-prah can do right now. if this is successful, bigger and better will absolutely follow. [and maybe some google ads to support the new found fun].

wooo hoooo! can i get a woot woot for happy email?

oh--and i almost forgot

k, blog stalkers, here's your chance to identify.

:)

i would just love to hear from you!

*************

ps i'll give you only one hint: i shopped at albertsons.

ps#2 if two people guess right or if 2 people are the closest, i will take the first one that commented, going by the posted time on your comment. 

ps#3 contest ends friday, november 28, 2008 at 12:00 am pacific time.

ps#4 if you are the winner, you will need to contact me within 72 hours of me announcing the winner to claim your prize. in the event that you don't, i will choose the next closest guess.

good luck!!

if you chance to meet a frown.

new strategies in controlling stress:

1) sing some primary songs in apple photo booth. (see title).

that one is our favorite.

2) play pretend with a princess.

tacky makeup, dress ups and fake eye lashes make EVERYTHING feel better!

SAHM?

stay at home mom.

really?

whatever.

whoever coined this term didn't know what they were talking about. 

i find myself at the end of EVERYday wondering why my house resembles a snow globe shaken up, turned upside down and then left for everything to just settle wherever it wants to.

underwear in the fridge. 

socks in the mailbox. 

toys in the dryer. 

books on the window sill. 

laundry in the cupboards. 

shoes on the bathroom vanity. 

celery in my family room. 

then it occurred to me, we are the culprits. 

from the second the alarm clock dings (ok after we hit the snooze button about 7 times), we rage through here like crazies, a

nd then leave.

just like that...

leaving the fate of our house to barbie giving house tours to mr. potato head and our collection of plastic army men.

alll day. 

EVERYday

i think toy story was really onto something, don't you? anyway...

 

then we come home and just go to bed.

[or...ahem, waste a few hours online and then go to bed]. 

i just busted all you sistas out there.

case in point: my schedule yesterday.

wake up

go potty

wake, feed, change, bathe, clothe children

take addie to school

make lunches snacks

pay bills

return phone calls

give barbie the plastic car keys

take hollynd to pre-school

drop off twins at mil's

go to physical therapy

pick up girls from school

go to store to buy birthday present for addie's buddy

find a cure for the common cold

go to craft store to buy supplies for tithing settlement treats

take addie to birthday party

pick up twins from mil's 

meet sweetheart for quick dinner because there's no time to go home and cook

ready....BREAK!

he goes to meetings

i pick up addie from birthday party

drop off stuff at mom's house

save the world

go home.

am i the only one?

how does this happen?

you too?

and now i find myself starting all over with yet another full schedule, rockin' the mini-van that takes me away from home whilst laundry piles sit and dishes have a party in the sink. 

oh--and barbie giving house tours to the other toys inhabiting this place. hopefully she's wearing some clothes [remember this photo? yep, they're still there.]

sahm.

seriously?

too much acid.

everyone, meet my great-grandparents. aren't they handsome?

when i first discovered photoshop--back in the day--i marveled at the amazing things you could do with just a touch of a button. who knew you could get lovely white chompers without a dentist? blemish free skin without a barrel of proactiv? look 50 lbs thinner without lifting a finger?and 10 years younger with nay a scalpel in sight?

magic, people. pure and simple magic. 

you could imagine the rush i felt after learning to restore old photos. it is one of my favorite things to do. 

yesterday, my mom came over with a doozy: a treasured photo of my great-grandparents. i love this photo. it normally sits on my grandparents shelf in their home for all to see.

the original photo has done its time. even though it just sits in a frame on their shelf, to my astonishment, it is full of scratches, dust and has more acid-damage than the hippies who made it through the 1960s (or was that the 70s?). anyway, i had my work cut out for me. 

in my opinion, the end product still looks like a photo that has been touched up but at least you can see the detail.

i don't post this for any photoshop skill horn-tooting [is that a word?], really--it's quite easy and anyone with 2 fingers can do it. really, i post this as a testament to all who think going acid-free is just for those crazy lunatic paper-head scrapbookers. you know you've thought that! moving those photos out of their old-school mattes doesn't make a diff, right?

YES! 

if you want to save grandpa and grandma from looking like they drank too much lemonade, put them into something acid-free. 

and thank heavens for photoshop.

ps. i charge $10/pound.

rita is awol.

many are wondering why the [relatively] long pause in blogging.

i can't find rita anywhere. 

(rita is my writing voice.)

you know that one voice that speaks to you inside your head when you type? 

yes. that one. 

hey--you know you have one too. 

anyway

i know she's here some place but i just can't find her.

probably the same place as my brain.

rita said she was going to skip the country but i didn't think she was serious.

she didn't leave a number either.

i hope we're not in a fight.

anyway, please stay tuned.

i'm sure i can sweet-talk her into coming back.

rita,

if you're out there, i promise i'll kick roxy out (the swearing voice).

you know her, remember? 

she's the one that sits around drinking diet cherry pepsi while watching america's next top model. i know, i know--the lamest show ever but roxy MAKES me watch it.

i know there's no room for you aand the swearing-inside-my-head voice too.

she's just going to have to go.

please come back home soon!

love ya,

haylie

my man.

lynn likes to hunt.

no--i mean he reallly really likes it.

i'm glad he likes it. he's cute. the deer and the elk aren't.

but he is.

ok, lynn,

you can come home now.

now.

now.

NOW!

it's always summer in hollynd's world.

ah...

there's a chill in the air...

it's raining outside. 

maybe even snowing by tonight.

christmas music is on...

visions of sugarplums dancing in my head...

and then i saw this out my back window:

someone forgot to tell her summer is over.

grocery shopping class.

this is for everyone i don't have email addresses for!

COME LEARN HOW

TO FEED A FAMILY OF 4 FOR $180 A MONTH!

when: wednesday november 5 at 7p

where: my house

rsvp: hayliebowler@gmail.com

shop at only 1 store--no running around town!

buy all your family's groceries, household, and personal care items (including diapers) all for about $180/month for a family of four--while building a massive food storage at the same time!

quick and easy to use! a huge way to save money!

eat a healthy, well-balanced diet and have ease in meal planning!

FREE website and FREE class--there is no cost to attend and no cost to use the website!

what could your family do with extra money every month? bring friends! 

ps

this isn't a "home party" where i get some kind of perk for hosting the party. 

i am doing this purely because this system has saved me A LOT of money and i want to spread the love. i hope you can come.