Overworked!

I think they're trying to kill my husband... his company that is. He's been at work since 7:00a.m. and it is now 10:30 p.m. Yesterday was his day off.... he was there from 3:00 p.m until 7:30 last night.... some day off! But this is usually how it goes... he is required to put in 50 hours a week and we knew it would sometimes be more... but since he got out of training he's been putting in 70+ hours each week. He's usually in there on his day off to fix some issue that no one else can seem to handle..... and instead of his required 10 hour workdays he's putting in 12 or more. Of course he is on salary so he doesn't get paid any more money... he's just working those hours for free.

But I am greatful that he has a job..... so many people don't right now.

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

We Shopped Till We Dropped

I'm baaaack.... I spent most of the day grocery shopping and bargain hunting. K-mart is doing double coupons again up to $2.00.... so we spent a good amount of time there searching for good deals and found a few. We also discovered that they have the Strawberry Shortcake bedding set that I've been wanting to get Steffie... but it's $35.... so now I'll be watching for that to go on sale between now and her birthday.

Adrian gets paid every 2 weeks so we only grocery shop once every 2 weeks as well. This adventure includes going to several different stores to grab the best bargains on what we need. We buy the bulk of our groceries at Aldi.... and certain items at Dollar General... and usually finish off at Ingles.... sometimes we throw in a few other stores as well if they have really good deals on something. So our grocery shopping takes the better part of the day and includes quite a few stops.... even though all of our stops are pretty close together it takes some time to make them. We start at Aldi since it's furthest away and work our way back home... all of our other stops are along the way... so we don't really use any more gas than if we were just going to Aldi. I spend a lot of time before hand searching the sales flyers and picking out my coupons.... but it seems there is always something that I need or want that I can't seem to find a coupon for.... even though I have tons of them. But we always leave home with a grocery list for each store and a shopping plan.

So now I'm dead tired.... my feet hurt.... and I still have groceries to put away. I think everything will wait until tomorrow... the cold stuff is taken care of.... so the rest can sit there overnight. Oh and I still have one more store to hit tomorrow.... we ran out of time today.... but it's just 5 minutes down the road.. so no biggie. Today we went to K-mart, Bi-lo, Aldi and Walgreens... tomorrow is Ingles and then we're done.

Now I gotta get busy dropping EC's... haven't done a single one yet and it's 10:30 p.m.

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

Fun and Educational Games

Steffie and I bought a new game at the thrift store last week for $1 and we decided to finally give it a try... it's called Cariboo by Cranium.... and she absolutely loved it! It's very educational so I love it too. It helps lil ones learn their letters, numbers, colors and shapes... she already knows hers but some reinforcement is always good. It has two levels... one for beginners that covers A-D, 1-4, colors and shapes... and an advanced level which covers A-Z, 1-10, and colors. The object of the game is to find the treasure balls (brightly colored rubber bouncy balls)... the players take turns drawing a card and opening one of the treasure hunt doors that has a trait corresponding to the card (a letter, number, color or shape) you then drop the ball into the "tide pool"... when the tide pool is full the treasure chest opens and the game is over.
Her first Cranium game was Sounds of the Seashore which we also bought at a thrift store over a year ago. She still loves to play this one as well. It also has a beginner and an advanced level. In this game you put the magic seashell to your ear and listen for a sound... then you have to match the sound to the object or animal that makes the sound... these are all sounds you hear on the seashore. It's a really fun first matching game.
She has one other Cranium game... which we also bought at a thrift store.... it's called Hallabaloo. It's kind of like Twister meets Simon Says.... you have lots of mats with different shapes and colors and pictures on them... you spread them across the floor and then listen for your orders. You might have to stand on a color.... put your nose on a shape.... jump to a picture etc..... lot's of active fun! This game would be great for a party or sleepover to get that energy out.

These are great educational games... so if your lil one loves to play games like mine you might want to give them a try. Educational games are also great for homeschoolers.... kids learn so much faster when they're having fun! We were lucky enough to find these in our favorite thrift store... but you can find them here at Are You Game along with many other fun and educational games for kids of all ages.


A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

Music Monday - Gypsy by Fleetwood Mac

I had to do Gypsy this week for Music Monday... well... because obviously Gypsy was named after this song. You see we thought Gypsy was a girl... sometimes it's really hard to tell with cats until they get bigger... and one day I realized that Gypsy was a boy.

This song and video have always been one of my favorites... I love the dancing... and the story in the video... and I especially love the end with Stevie and the lil girls dancing on the cliff in the forest... it's sooo beautiful... and magickal.... but... the original video is not available right now. So here is a live version from the Mirage Tour.

There is a deeper story behind this song... and why it was written... and a deeper story to why this song means so much to me... but I will save that for the time I was actually waiting for to post this song... you'll see it again in October... with the full story. For now... this time it is for Gypsy...




Lyrics | Fleetwood Mac lyrics - Gypsy lyrics

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.




PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!




A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

Thank you all so much for your very sweet comments. We held Gypsy's lil funeral... we buried him... covered his grave with some rocks and flowers picked from the yard.... and lit a candle for him in my old herb garden where lemon balm comes back year after year. I've tried and tried to stop the lemon balm from growing there because I wanted to grow other things there... but it just took over and is determined to stay. So... that is where my Gypsy is now... with the ever returning lemon balm. May his sweet lil soul return to us when and if he chooses...

Steffie cried and cried... which made me cry and cry as well. This was her first experience with death and I couldn't shield her from it because she was right there with me when I found him Saturday morning. So we had to explain death to her... a lesson her had to learn sometime... just a lil sooner than I had hoped. She went to bed crying the last 2 nights saying she would miss Gypsy. I comforted her and told her that he knows that we love him. She will be fine... with time...

Tomorrow starts a new week... and I'm sure we'll have plenty of adventures and distractions... time will heal our pain... and maybe someday another lil black kitten will show up at my door. Of course I will take it in and love it... like I always do....

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

I'm so sad today... my precious Gypsy is gone... and that's all I can type right now... so I'll just copy his story here again....



"This beautiful baby is Gypsy... he is about a year old. Gyspy was brought to me last summer when he was about 3 weeks old. I don't know what happened to his mother but the lady who brought him to me had to work and couldn't feed him every 3 hours. I took him in and became his mommy. One day he got very sick and was just lifeless and weak... I continued to give him water and kitten formula and drops of syrup to keep his blood sugar up. When I went to bed late that night I just knew that I would get up the next morning and he would be gone... he was so pitiful and my heart was broken. But I woke up the next morning and immediately went to check on him and he was just fine... like nothing had ever happened. He's been strong and healthy ever since. He's my sweety baby. I have a real soft spot for black kitties... imagine that "

Now he is gone... and my heart is broken....

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

Thank You Kat!.... For Another Award!

I received this beautiful award from Kat over at Candles, Crafts and WhatNot. Her blog is one of my favorites to visit daily.... she has great taste in music (Stevie Nicks)... and great taste in fashion (Stevie Nicks)...lol... and she is just a very nice and fun person. I love candles.... and I love crafts (even though I haven't done any in a loooong time).... and I love her whatnot postings too. Hop on over and give her a visit.... you'll see what I mean.

Thank You Kat!!!!

Ok, the rules of this award are:
1. Copy the loyal picture above
2. Pass it to you think who is/are deserving.
3. Leave a message to them
4. Pass as many as you want.
5. Message back or leave a comment to the owner.

So here are is my Loyal Friends and Visitors list.... thank you all for your friendship, loyalty, and visits.... you rock my bloggy world :)

1. PJ at PJ's Prose
2. Storm at The Psychotic Housewife
3. Grampy at Grampy and You
4. Jodi at Bargain Central
5. Maria at Conversations with Moms
6. Sherri at Luv a Bargain
7. Stacey at All Stace, All The Time
8. Becki at Harmony In Motion
9. Dorothy at Women's Self Esteem
10. Stacie at Super Mommy To The Rescue

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

I Still Want a Free Wii.... Do You?!

I'm still trying to earn my Free Wii.... so I thought I would remind you all that if you haven't signed up to get your own you can still do it! Just a few weeks ago I read the story of how Julie over at Momspective and Wii Mommies lost 60 lbs by using her Wii Fit and I determined that I really need one of these. I need to lose weight... I hate to exercise... but I love to play games so Julie inspired me to get one of these and get off my backside and lose the weight I need to lose for my health and so that I can feel better and have more energy for Steffie... lets face it... she's turning 4 and I'm turning 45.... so I really need to get into shape! Trouble is this thing is *expensive*! I know I can't fit this into my budget any time soon.... I would have to save for a few years to buy one. But I found this website that will let me earn a Free Wii.... and you can earn one as well. All I have to do is refer 7 people and complete a couple of offers to get my Free Wii with controllers and 2 free games.... and you can help me out by doing the same! So please... if this is something you want for yourself (and/or your kids) and can't afford it either click on the link and sign up under me... then you can be on your way to earning your Free Wii as well!

I've even joined the Wii Mommies already because really want to do this... I'm tired of being fat and tired of being tired! So let's earn a Free Wii together!

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

Thank You Becki For The Humane Award!!

A huge thanks to Becki over at Harmony In Motion for passing this award on to me! I just received this award recently from someone else but since there are so many wonderful blogs out there and their authors deserve it.... I'll go ahead and pass it on again.

"The Humane Award honors eight certain bloggers that I feel are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it wasn’t for them, my site would just be an ordinary blog. Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a daily basis. I thank them and look forward to our growing friendships through the blog world. Link back to the person who gifted you with the award and share the love with other bloggers.”

The eight blogs I'd like to recognize with this award are:

1) Stacie at Super Mommy To The Rescue
2) Sherri at Luv A Bargain!
3) Mrs. B at Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom
4) Melissa at Melissa's Homeschool Blog
5) Bingkee at I Love/Hate America
6) Harriet at I Am Harriet
7) Bob at Black Holes and Astrostuff
8) Kat at Candles, Crafts and WhatNot

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Well at least I got the right day this time... right??!! Casey from Half As Good As You is guest hosting RTT this week since Keely from The Un Mom is on vacation.... and Casey says we're supposed to be naked for this.... do you really think she's telling us the truth???? Or do you think she just really wants to see if we'll do it??? Well since it's soooo hot down here in the south right now.... what's the harm right???

So far neither the bank nor Cricket want to refund my $34 INF fee for the double payment taken from my account last week that was Cricket's fault.... so I'm not a happy camper. Maybe if I had gone to the bank naked to make my request.... naaahhh... they would have just thrown clothes at me.

The last few weeks have been insane... not for any particular reason... I just can't seem to get the things done that I need to get done... but I already said that didn't I... did you know that some people clean their house completely naked????

Jodi... just out of curiosity I opened up IE and went to my blog... and sure enough not only was my EC missing.... so was my Followers list. It seemed to be fine on the other blogs I checked to see if theirs were working... so I wonder what's up with my blog and Internet Explorer. If anyone knows what the problem is please let me know. I use Firefox 99.9% of the time. Thanks for visiting me Jodi... even if ya can't drop.... my blog is naked too....

More blog stuff... I keep seeing people talk about page rank on their blogs... how do find your page rank??..... I haven't got a clue. And someone else was talking about what people are searching for that brings them to your blog... I don't know how to find that either.... it would be interesting to know though. And how do people get all of these products to review and giveaway?? That would be a lot of fun! Maybe if they think I'm naked they'll send me clothes to review... I prefer black...

Now here's a question for you.... If you .... go to your Mother's house... or your friend's house.... or your friend's Mother's house..... etc.... and you see a sign nicely taped to the top of her computer monitor that says
"Do Not Even Think About Using This Computer!"
Do you automatically assume that you are exempt from this and sit down and start surfing and typing anyway??? Just wondering... maybe if I change the sign to "Must Be Naked To Use This Computer... No Exceptions!" they will have second thoughts. But then again maybe not... and I really don't some people's naked butts in my chair... ya know!!

I was up until 4:30 am the last 3 nights watching the first season of True Blood... I had heard a lot about the show but since I don't get HBO I haven't been able to watch it. A friend let me borrow the first season the other night and it is awesome! So I watched all 12 episodes in 3 nights.... now I can't watch the second season which is on now :( .... what's a girl to do??? I don't want to wait a year to see what's going on... and needless to say... I'm need some sleep... oh... and there was a lot of nakedness on that show!!! No Kidding!!

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~