Coupons..budgeting..and cleaning..etc.

I would feel better if I knew how to budget my money better and the best places to use coupons. I've been cleaning non stop for the past two days and I get paid 75 dollars a week. Gas usually eats up half of my money. I hate it but there really isn't much I can do about it. It costs 50+ dollars to completely fill up my gas tank. And usually..I never fill it up completely because it costs way too much. I usually take what's left and use it for food or things for Cayle and me. If I started using coupons maybe it could help save a dollar here and there. I really need to get organized and clear minded (is that even the correct term.?) I want to clean out my car this week..and really get in there and clean it. Maybe one day this week I can. I just wanna have one less thing to worry about. Anything that isn't clean stresses me out lately.!! I've been cleaning like a mad woman lately. Today..I vacuumed, swept, mopped, dusted, picked up toys, folded clothes, cleaned the kitchen, did the dishes. Then I went to school and sanatized my entire station, and did a client's color, cut, and style. It took all night..that lady's hair was ridiculously tangled, long, and crusty from some product she had in her hair. We fixed it though :D On a side note..Cayle is eating again.!! I guess he got tired of his graduate meals so I guess I need to venture out and find some different stuff he likes. Mom said he ate 3 plates of chicken tenders and fries tonight while I was at school.!! They were toddler plates but still.!!! I'm so happy he's eating..its been such a fight to get him to eat since he got that tummy virus. I wanna try to take some updated pictures of him this weekend..but one thing is for sure...he's getting new shoes this weekend. I dont care where I have to go or how far..my baby needs some summer clothes like no other.!!! Thanks to my nanny..she found some clothes for a dollar a piece at walmart and picked up some little shirts for him. I'm truly blessed to have her. She is so good to everyone and never forgets about her grandbabies..and never lets them go without. I want to be able to get Cayle some summer clothes myself though. I guess moderation is key. Money saving tips are welcome.!!

:)

This is Cayle's easter basket. If I could fit anything else in there I would. You know how it is..you wanna give them everything but you can't..but you can try..which brings me to my point today. It's summer time and I'm determined to buy Cayle new clothes. I wanna earn the money myself. And I wanna be sure to get him a hair cut and new shoes.! I know I set alot of goals..but about 95% of the time I meet them or I'm in the process of doing so. I got Cayle's easter basket finished. I decided to wait for another time to get him a dvd. I always try to do too much at once. Like his first birthday I bought almost 20 gifts and I ran out of ideas for Christmas because they're so close haha. I've decided to buy him summer clothes in moderation so I don't go broke every week. I get 75.00 a week for keeping house. I use it for gas mostly. But I wanna try to spend as little as possible on gas this week and buy cayle some clothes and shoes. Adam says as soon as Cayle gets his hair cut we can go have our family portrait updated..considering its been almost a year since we've had one made. I think it's about time for a cut. I love his curls, but his hair is getting a little..unmanageable. I'm looking forward to the Easter holiday. Last year was fun, but Cayle can walk this year and I'm very excited to do our egg hunts this year. The only downside to holidays is trying to make sure we get to everyone. My family wants time with Cayle, his family wants time with the both of us, but we also have to make sure we're doing things as a family too. The more I think about it..the more excited I am to get moved in so we can have our own family traditions and do our own holiday things..like Christmas morning..and easter. And nobody will judge us on how different it is from our own family's traditions..this sounds a little confusing..an example being..easter at my house consists of easter baskets of candy in the morning and a dinner..maybe when the three of us have our own place it'll be easter basket in the morning and going out to dinner. i dunno..not the best example but you get it. sooo here is a list of my goals so far..

decorative cupcakes.
cayle's 1st hair cut.
cayle's new summer clothes.
graduation from beauty school.
re-do the scrapbooks.
get pictures for the scrapbooks.
our family portrait.
plan the wedding.
lose weight for both my and kay's wedding.
a trip to coolidge park for the three of us.
a mother and son's day out downtown.
get my car fixed.
eventually get a new car.
buy for our first house.
find my camera charger and take updated photos of us.
show of my skills in the hair industry.
find a good hair stylist job.
buy for the wedding.
eventually build a demand for both my hair services and cupcakes.
help adam start his new store/cyber cafe.
clean up my car and keep it that way.

I'm sure there's more..but it's all a work in progress..I'm a busy person.

What a fabulous day.!

Cayle and I slept in today and after we ate and I cleaned house a little bit..my nanny came over and asked if Cayle and I would like to go to the mall with her to find an easter outfit for cayle. I found tons of good buys on baby clothes and I found the perfect outfit for him. Its in the pictures to the side. He can wear it again and again and it was on sale.! We found me some flip flops. I've really been needing some new ones. I got four pairs for ten dollars.!! Afterwards we went to wendy's and got lunch. Then I came home and played outside with cayle and showed off my blonde hair. You can't really tell much in the picture but I LOVE IT.!! I feel like a rockstar with my blonde. I really do. After a little while I went to Walmart to get cupcake decorating stuff and the rest of Cayle's Easter basket fillers. All I need now is a little einsteins dvd and I'm DONE. Haha. I just ordered it on amazon.com. I'm looking forward to making my easter cupcakes and Christina's baby shower cake.! The only problem with tonight's firs attempt is that the icing was way to thin no matter how much powdered sugar I used..I would've sent someone into a sugar coma if I used anymore. So needless to say..no more attempts to make my own icing. Other than that they turned out good. Tomorrow Kay and I are spending some time together and then I'll go see Adam.

100th post.!

I think I want my blonde chunks in my hair back..but more edgy. Very similiar to this picture. Opinions please.? My cut is also very similar to this. Also ladies..if your husbands/fiances/boyfriends are really into gaming, my fiance Adam is thinking about getting his business license and opening up an xbox tournament place in the chattanooga area please have them spread the word.! We're trying to think of ways to make extra money..and NOT have to pick up and move. Who's ready for easter.? I know I'm nowhere near ready. I still have some basket stuffers to buy and stuff for my cupcakes. I wanna post pictures soon. I talked to one of the girls about my ideas and she really thinks I can do it. Its so cool to have alot of people believe in my idea. We'll see what happens.! Also does anyone know where I can buy BIG pieces of fondant.?

Just random things I suppose..

Cayle is so crazy lately. It's so interesting to see him react to everything..I guess I'm trying to express how cool it is to watch him act like a little boy. Since the weather has been so nice we've been outside some and all he wants to do is run and throw the ball and ride in his wagon. He always hates to go inside. Today I had a repeat client. She likes the way I roll her hair. Today we cut it too. She was bragging on me to my instructor and that made me feel good after a bad couple of days. I said in my last post that I wanted to get into cake decorating..well, I think I just got my first chance. Christina asked if I would make her baby shower cake for Brentley. And I feel so privileged to do so. Because she could've gone to anyone else for one and she asked me. And the picture to the right is my basic idea. If I can instead of icing, I would like to use fondant if I could find a package big enough. I wanna do at least one trial run of the cake to see what looks good and what I can do to make it perfect. I also would like to put fondant letters on the side saying "Welcome Baby Brentley.!" I want this cake to be perfect, and I know I can make it happen. I am also planning an Easter cupcake. I wanna put a baby chick make out of yellow iced donut holes on a cupcake surrounded but coconut thats been dyed green. I would use black decorators frosting for eyes and a triangular piece of orange gumdrop for a beak, and lemon candies for wings. I dunno..I'm still playing with it. I will post pictures as soon as I start completing projects.

I never realized it, but....

I'm really into baking. And I think it would be neat if I got really good at decorating cakes and cupcakes. If I had the tools I needed I KNOW I could do it. And here lately I've been planning on making my first attempt at fancy cupcakes. And I think I'll make them for Easter. What better time to try.? Christina's gender party cupcakes got me motivated. By the way, I'm excited to announce I will have a baby nephew.! Hehehe. If I get good enough at decorating..maybe other people will ask for them for parties and stuff. That would make me feel so proud.! Being able to cut hair and make cupcakes.? What a combo.! But a very good one if I say so myself.I I also watch a lot of cake shows so that gives me some ideas and motivation. I would love to hear some feedback and your opinions of my new goal.!

On a side note, Adam and I had a great night last night. We went to Longhorn to eat. The service was terrible, but the food was good and that's all we really cared about. After that we killed some time in Walmart and decided on our center pieces. We are going to use a 5 inch square mirror tile with a white dish that has the damask pattern, fill it with purple and black pebbles, a candle, and tiny calla lillies. And around the tile I would like to scatter those fake diamond pieces. I know this description isn't all that helpful so when I have all the materials, I will be sure to post pictures.

Kay's wedding is 6 months away. I'm helping her as much as I can with her wedding preparation. Next weekend, we are planning a day to finish her center pieces and anything else I can help her with. We are also doing trial and error runs on her hair. Trying to decide on what would look best on her for her big day.!

Adam's home.!!

It's amazing how you feel when you get to be in someone's arms again. When Adam came home..it was like a weight off my shoulders. He noticed how much weight I've lost.! Whooohooo.! Cayle was happy to see him too. He just smiled and played with him. Cayle was pretty fussy tonight so any time he was smiling..we were happy. We decided to catch up over dinner at amigos. It was delicious. We went to the mall afterwards and he found a poster for his room and a hat for Cayle..We still have no idea what to do tomorrow night. We may end up at a movie. Blahh..I hate living in a town that I feel has nothing left to offer me. He got cayle a hat. Honestly..I think it's about time for his first hair cut :(. I'm dreading it. Hahah. Tomorrow we are going to find out the gender of Christina's new baby. I'm hoping for a boy.!! They know how to steal their momma's hearts. Adam and I are talking about getting our family portrait updated. I think it's a great idea. Adam loved his cookie cake surprise.! Thank goodness. He got me a really nice flat iron for my birthday. I'm pretty stoked about it. I'm just so happy he's home. Now we can plan our future a little more. And the wedding. He gave me part of the wedding money tonight and hopefully Kay and I can go get some stuff or I can talk Adam into going. Poor Kay is having problems with her gall bladder (sp.?) And has to get it taken out soon. I found my Ipod too..after frantically looking for it. My stomach still isn't right though. :/ I'm still hurting alot. The only way it'll go away is if I lower my stress levels. And with Adam being home and things hopefully getting back to normal..maybe it'll stop hurting in a few days. Anyone who knows of a good portrait studio let me know.!! I'd like the info on prices and how soon you get your photos etc..