Reasons I Want to Quit Pinterest (Well, not really)

I love wasting time on Pinterest.  However, due to the following annoyances, I may have to quit.

1. The pressure I feel when I see all the cute crafts and treats that I will never have time to make.
2. The fact that any gift idea I could use, I won't, because everyone will know I got it from Pinterest (embarrassing!).
3. Pins of crafts made with the most obscure materials one could find.
4. Anchor charts.
5. I am so overwhelmed by the things I have pinned to try, it feels like I am just making my to-do list longer.
6. Burlap.
7. Cutesy maternity photography.
8. Mantel decorating ideas that make me want to buy a mantel to decorate.
9. Printable tags.  Sure I can print the design, but how do you get it to be that shape?  I don't cut that straight.
10. Owls.

However... you will still see me pinning things because, just like Claire's baby book, the scrapbook from our first year of marriage, and the material scraps I plan to learn to sew with, I am a sucker for unrealistic project ideas.  :)

Tuesday Top Ten - Necessary Evils

You know, the things that are very annoying to have to do, but you kinda can't live without them.  This has been my list in my head lately because of number 1...

1. Pumping.  I only did this at night (some nights) in the summer to keep my supply up, but now I have to do it three times a day since I'm back at work.  Oh well.  My goal is four more months!

2. Velcro.  If so many baby items need it (swaddles in particular, which are used when the baby is sleeping), why does it have to be so LOUD?

3. Eating.  I go through seasons when I actually enjoy eating, but when it's 105 degrees outside, I'm trying to set up a Kindergarten classroom, and I have a baby on my hip most of the day, I do not feel like or have time to eat.

4. Using the restroom.  Too many other things to do!

5. Brushing, flossing, washing my face.  I put these together because I have to do all three before going to bed.  I've tried to be a rebel and go to bed with my makeup on a few times, but I'm up within three minutes because I can't stand the thought of waking up in shame.  :)

6. Going to the post office.  This has to be one of my least favorite errands.  I just want to ship a package that should take 30 seconds, and if it were smaller, I could just stick it in the mailbox.  But since it's a box, I have to go stand in line for 20 minutes with, you guessed it, a baby on my hip.

7. Paying utility bills.  Ours last month was the highest it's ever been, and the highest I've heard of out of  my friends in the area.  However, our a/c runs nonstop just to keep it 75 degrees.  I can't see where we could cut back.  Ready for fall and winter!

8. Sweeping and mopping!  We have too much dog hair not too, and since the biddle is crawling everywhere, we have to be even more diligent.

9. Keys.  I have keyless entry to my car, so I never know where they are when I get to the door holding my purse, diaper bag, and a baby on my hip (in a van down by the river).

10. Baby carseat.  I wish wish wish I could hold her in my lap while driving or riding and that this were the safest place for her.  But it's not.  So on long trips we can either listen to her cry the saddest cry in the world, or I can ride in the back and get carsick from trying to make her happy, which doesn't work anyway because she really just wants to be held.

Anything you can't live with, can't live without??

A Couple of Northgate Vintage Lists to Get You Through the Weekend

Top Questions We Get at Northgate Vintage:

1. Where do you get your stuff?  Garage sales?
2. How long have y'all been here?
3. Are you the girl who makes the dresses?
4. Are these clothes used?
5. Is my car gonna get towed?
6. Are these all the TOMS you have?
7. When will y'all get more TOMS?
8. Are there any other vintage shops in this town?
9. Do y'all take credit cards?
10. Are y'all hiring?
11. Are those all your records on the walls?
12. Do y'all buy used clothes?
13. So do people just donate all this?

Top Comments About Northgate Vintage:

1. I feel like I'm in Austin!
2 and 3 (after coming up the stairs).
- Uuuuhhhh.  That was my workout for the day!
- I'm dizzy!
4. I didn't know this store existed!
5. Oh my gosh, ______ would LOVE this place!
6. I've always heard about this place, now I'm finally getting to stop by!
7. I have so many pairs of TOMS.  They're all I wear.  This is my ___th pair!
8. I need to clean out my grandpa's closet.  I bet he has some things you could sell!

Tuesday Top Ten - Skills I Think It Would Be Cool To Have (But Not Magic Tricks)

1. Speak other languages fluently, preferably German and Spanish
2. Talk people into telling the truth (ahem, Casey Anthony)
3. Interior decorating
4. Cut and style hair
5. Throw ingredients into a pot/pan/dish and make a delectable treat, without following a recipe
6. Singing
7. Dancing.  I have more fun with choreographed routines than just going out dancing, so I would love to be able to see a routine one time and do it well like some of the contestants on So You Think You Can Dance.
8. Tumbling.  Even in my cheerleading days, this wasn't my strong point.  I would LOVE to run outside and do a roundoff backhandspring whipback backhandspring backhandspring layout!  :)
9. Be a great Kindergarten teacher
10. Be a great mom to Claire and wife to Ranger.  I know that is really two things but I want a top ten list.

What skills would YOU love to have??

First List of the Week

Oh how I love lists!  To do lists, favorites lists, etc. etc. etc.!  They are constantly running through my head about various topics.  So maybe I'll start a list of the week.  But, given my blogging track record, I will probably say it will be every week, and this may be the only one.  We shall see.  Here we go!

This list has been in my head today.  Over the last couple of years, as we have moved into a home and had a baby, we've (happily) had to prioritize and make some adjustments.  Sometimes I wish I could go back and make these changes earlier and put all the money we would have saved into a big jar!  :)

Things I Used to Splurge On (And How it is Today):

1. Then: Veritas, complete with appetizers, bottle of wine, and dessert
- Now: If we really wanna live it up - Dominos Pizza and Cinnastix

2. Then: Mach 3 Turbo razor blades
- Now: Schick Extreme3 Disposable Razor Blades - 8 for around $10 instead of $24.  They work just as well, but you do have to be more careful to avoid nicks and cuts.

3. Then: Monthly pedicures
- Now: Salon pedicures every other month or so in the Spring and Summer (a girl's gotta live a little!), home self-pedicures in between and during Fall and Winter

4. Then: Weekly bottles of wine, and only the best (well, up to $30 and an accidental $50 purchase on our honeymoon)
- Now: Maybe every other week, and $10 max.  Probably even less than that, mainly because I'm so tired these days after the babygirl goes to bed, and I don't want to make myself even more drowsy!

5. Then: Anthropologie home decor
- Now: Clearing out all that home decor to simplify.  Speaking of, Ranger showed me this helpful blog this morning.

6. Then: Technology convenience items (av and electric adapters for car, extra phone chargers, wireless internet...)
- Now: Nope.

7. Then: Anything medical or dental that was recommended
- Now: Only if it's life or death, or covered 100% by insurance... or I guess if a tooth were to fall out, but I probably wouldn't pay for the temporary fix.  I could be snaggletooth for a few weeks while waiting for the real thing.  :) However, Claire is an exception - whatever is recommended for our little biddle.

8. Then: Almost daily Starbucks drinks and oatmeal
- Now: This and this.

9. Then: Bimonthly massages
- Now: "Scree" (as in Ranger "screes" my back at night or I "scree" his head when we watch TV).

10. Then: Prescriptives or Lancome Mascara
- Now: CoverGirl Lash Blast Fusion

What are some creative ways you have cut back?  Any recommendations for other quality, yet inexpensive items or services that you have used to replace former "splurges"?