My Obsessions

For the last couple months, I have been obsessed with going to garage sales! I just absolutely love it. I think my obsession comes from the fact that I'm really not able to go shopping like I used to since we are now living on one income, so this is my way of shopping.

I have found a lot of clothes for Maddie and Ashlyn, especially sizes they will be growing into. (I really don't have to look for Brooke since she has huge wardrobes to grow into because of the two older girls hand-me-downs!) I also love to pick up puzzles for Maddie, books for Ashlyn and learning toys for Brooke. Last weekend I even found 2 pairs of roller skates for next summer. I can't wait for the girls to get to use them. I also tend to find lots of home decor and scrapbooking supplies and I even pick up clothes for Baby Dylan to grow into, which is kind of fun since I'm not used to shopping for boys.

However, this weekend I found my best deals yet! I ended up getting an 8-foot tall Christmas tree for my friend for $1. Yes, a buck! And, it gets better than that, as we were putting the tree together to make sure all the pieces were there, we ended up finding another tree and a brand new lighted Christmas wreath (the huge ones that you put on the side of your house). I did go back to the garage sale and told her about the other tree and the wreath and I got to keep the tree for my other friend that was in need of one, but the wreath was not supposed to have been sold, so I'm glad I went back to check. To bad, it was really awesome. So, in the long run, I got two Christmas trees for 1 buck! Then yesterday, I found a pretty nice couch (or large loveseat) for my friend and I got it for $5! What a find. I am just loving it. I think my favorite part is getting nice things for such a bargin!!! Too bad the garage sale season is about to end, but I'll be ready in the spring to start back up again.

My other obsession (or really more of a goal) is to lose some weight before the end of the year. I tried doing weight watchers, but they have changed their procedures to make it much harder to do without joining and I just don't have the extra money to spend on a membership. So, I've been doing a diet called the Idiot Proof Diet. Basically it is a fast way to lose weight doing the diet in 11-day increments. The first 11-day try I ended up losing 6 pounds. However, my fear was that I would lose the weight fast and then gain it all back once I went off the diet. But, much to my surprise I have been off the diet for a few weeks now and I have maintained my weight lost. I have now gone back on another 11-day session to see what I can lose this time. My goal is to lose 26 pounds total - I hope I can reach it.