The lost art of family dinners

Family dinners were sometimes outside. via Shutterstock

When I was growing up, we ate dinner at 6:00 pm. We didn't have a lot of money, but whomever was in our house at the time dinner was served was invited to eat with us. My mother made a homemade (not microwaved) dinner that included a raw salad, an entree and side dishes. The drink was water. There was usually some sort of dessert, but not too much of it. There was no TV watching. There were no telephone calls. We sat together and talked.

This was the way life was. Sometimes it was a pain. I HAD to be home at a certain time. I HAD to eat with my family. I HAD to eat what my mom made.

At the time, I did not recognize the value of this daily routine. I didn't recognize the value of the dollars saved or the value of the non-material gains.

Dollars saved:

•  The food was fresh, not processed. Local and in-season fruits and veggies will always be cheaper to buy than processed food.
•  Processed food has more additives and less nutrients. Because our food was more nutritious, we needed less of it to get energy.
• We were healthier. We hardly ever got sick and when we did get sick, the first step to health was a bowl of homemade chicken soup made with bones broth.
• Because we were healthier, we didn't spend money on doctor's visits and medicines to get well.
• Eating at home every evening meant that we didn't waste food. Menus were planned and leftovers were made into the next days meals.

Non-material gains:

• We saw each other and talked with each other. We might not always agree on subjects, but at least there was a time that we could talk about our day and upcoming events.
• I learned to cook because of these meals. Most days I helped to prepare these meals. Even if I wasn't the person actually making the food, I was watching how it was prepared. I am a very good cook because of this and my daughter AND my son are also learning to cook and bake. This skill will save them an enormous amount of money in the course of their lives.
• Because we saw each other every day, we could coordinate schedules and save money and time on errands.
• We had a sense of family and community that I took for granted at the time, but now I realize was very unique and of immeasurable value. To this day, my friends talk about what fun it was to come over to my house and what a warm hostess my mother was.  It doesn't cost a lot to share, but it adds tremendously to the value of your life.

I realize that times have changed and many families just do not have the ability to eat home cooked meals every night, but perhaps starting with just one meal, once a week would make a difference. Let's face it, restaurants and the companies that make processed food are in business to make money, so they don't use the best meats and vegetables. If you make your own foods you can use the best quality ingredients you can afford.

Do you have family dinners?

How to clean copper pots for pennies

Lemon and salt ready to tackle dirty cooper bottom pot.

I'm always amazed when I look under my sink to see how much cleaning "stuff" I have purchased when none of that toxic stuff works as well as some cooking staples that I have in my cupboard.

One of the most fun items to clean is copper pots. The change is so dramatic. So, try some of these recipes and forgo the $25 price tag of copper cleaner.

Here are four different recipes for cleaning copper:

1. Lemon juice and cream of tartar. Not everyone has cream of tartar in their cupboard, but if you ever want sugary icing to be creamier or beaten eggs to be fluffier, then you need some cream of tartar. In this copper cleaning recipe, you mix it with lemon juice (enough juice to make a paste) and slather it on your copper. Leave for 5 minutes and wash off with warm water.
2. Worcestershire sauce. Pour the sauce onto a sponge and then sponge onto the copper surface. Just a couple of minutes wait should do the trick. Rinse off.
3. Salt and Vinegar. Three tablespoons of salt mixed in a spray bottle of vinegar. Spritz onto the copper. Let sit 10-15 minutes. Scrub.
4. Lemon and salt. Sprinkle the lemon on the pot or on the cut lemon. Scrub.

The reason that these recipes work is because the discoloration of copper is caused by copper atoms combining with oxygen to become copper oxide. Copper oxide dissolves in a weak acid and salt liquid. There are lots of cool experiments you can do with this concept.

Cleaning is really the application of the chemistry class you took in high school. The more you know about the material you are trying to clean, the more effective and easy your cleaning will be.

For more cleaning tips, check out my post on magic erasers.

How to buy local, be frugal AND eat organic

Farm Fresh to You box

By now, most people who live in California have become aware of the fact that something is going on with our food system and it is very wise to eat organic fruits and veggies whenever possible.

The very best place to get those fruits and veggies is at your local farmer's market. Let's face it, we need to support the local farmer's that are going out of their way to continue to produce food that isn't toxic to our health.

But, it isn't always convenient to get to the farmer's market or maybe their isn't one near you.

Well, now there is a great service available to Southern and Northern California - Farm Fresh to You.

You sign up for the service and box of locally grown, organic food is delivered to your door. How easy is that?

Well, it gets even easier and better. You can tell them whether you want mostly fruits or mostly veggies. You can tell them what you DON'T want (no kale for me, thanks). There are small boxes and large boxes.

Plus, if you use special code 6164 and tell them my name (Bobbi Brunoehler) you will get $10 off your first box and I will get a credit on my next box.

You can get a box once a month or once a week. You can order just one box and try it out.

I love this service. The food stays fresh so much longer because it is picked right before it is delivered to you.

So, where is the frugal part? Fresh, organic food is much more filling and nutritious so you don't need as much of it. Plus, you save on medical bills because, well, this stuff is actually healthy for you.

NorCal folks - ask about adding some fresh eggs to your order. SoCal folks - they say that fresh eggs will come soon.

Natural window cleaning tip

Even Spiderman needs a natural cleaning solution.

A friend of mine just sent me this great tip on how to clean windows and mirrors naturally.

While in line at the grocery, I let a lady go ahead of me, because I had
many items and she had only about 20 boxes of Corn Starch....I asked her
what she was going to do with all that corn starch. She said she was a
professional window cleaner and it was the best thing she'd ever found to
make the windows sparkle.

Here's how: Just dilute a little bit in a bucket and make a solution. Take a
clean terry cloth and dip into solution, wipe over mirror or window. Then
take a clean/dry terry cloth and wipe excess. Turn cloth to dry side and
polish off.....you'll see it sparkle and never buy that blue or green stuff
again. Or use smelly vinegar!!!

P.S. I just put a few Tablespoons of cornstarch in a qt. spray bottle and
fill 1/2 full with water. You can't store this solution for any length of
time because it will start to smell. Just mix a small amount to use up each
time you want to clean windows, mirrors, etc.

I can't wait to try this. Let me know if it works for you!

How to save money on a demo reel

All the people in front and behind the camera need demo reel.

Are you an actor? a musicians? an artist? Do you have a product that you sell? a room for rent? or a business of any kind? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you need a video online presence. This is referred to as a demo reel or video promo.

Because my kids are both involved in creating these videos, I’ve learned quite a bit about them. One of the things that I have learned is that there are many things that you can do to drastically cut or increase the amount you will pay for these videos.

The more work you do prior to meeting with the video editor, the less you will pay.

Here are three things that you can do to lower your cost:

1. Do your homework. Take the time to watch videos similar to the kind that you want. Take a look at the videos that have high amounts of views. What makes them work? How long are they? Note that the longer the video, the more money it is going to cost you to produce. Most people aren’t going to watch a video (especially a demo reel or an ad) that is more than 2 minutes long. Keep it short.
2. Have the footage in hand. Professionals charge by the hour. If the editor has to call someone to get your footage and then it is the wrong kind of format, they are going to charge you for it. Don’t assume that “Fred has the footage at his house.” Get the footage from Fred.
3. Know what parts of the footage you want to use. Go over the footage that you have and decide what parts you want. Make note of the time on the video where the parts occur. If the editor has to watch four hours of your tapes to try and find footage, it is going to cost you more.

Of course, it is possible that you don’t know how to do steps 1, 2 & 3. You might not even have any footage available. In that case, see if you can get a package deal. Some editors will take pity on you and hold your hand through the entire process. They give you a price that includes all the things that you need to get something up on the internet.

Hope this helps. Have you made a demo reel?

Tips for frugal crafters

By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.

Doing crafts with your kids is a great entertainment that not only helps them nurture the creativity that problem solving requires, it is a wonderful skill that will start them on their road to frugal DIY.
Here are 15 crafting tips:

1. Store your craft materials in clear shoe boxes. Sort them by types of materials: crayons, adhesives, beads, shiny things, etc. Stick labels on the front of the box and write the "name" of the box with marker on the label.
2. Broken jewelry makes great decorations for gift wrap, headbands or restyled t-shirts. A dab of hot glue will glue that bit of bling onto a pin back, barrette or hair tie.
3. Sharpen your dull scissors with sand paper. Cutting through the paper sharpens the edges. I've also heard that tin foil will do the same thing, but I believe that a fine grit sandpaper works better. Try it.
4. Cover an old cookie sheet with pretty fabric and hang up. Instant magnetic board.
5. Dip the end of your thread into nail polish to help thread through a small hole. You can also use a bit of soap to hold the ends into a sharp point.
6. Hang a jewelry garment bag (those hanging bags with all the little slots) near your craft area. Keep the "little things" that normally keep getting lost in those sections. I'm talking about a thimble, thumb tacks, little beads, glue dots, tiny scissors, etc.
7. Keep your fingers from getting burned every time you use your hot glue gun. Get yourself a set of hot glue gun helpers. This helper kit includes insulating rubber to cover your finger tips. No more burned fingers! Or figure out a DIY version and share it with readers in the comments.
8. Use plastic snack bags to keep your craft junk drawer sorted out. I find that this is really helpful for keeping items like rubber bands, wire plastic bag ties, and birthday candles from just taking over the drawer.
9. Use sandwich bags to keep all the little bits and pieces of metal and plastic that you find around the house. You know, the ones that you go, "Oh, this looks familiar. I wonder what this goes to? I better keep it." When no one seems to miss these parts and nothing falls apart without them, I use them in collages.
10. Sign up for discount cards at your local craft stores. I get coupons from both Michaels and JoAnn Fabric. They take competitor coupons.
11. Look for craft supplies at the 99 Cent store. I have found some wonderful finds in their craft aisle.
12. Always look for craft supplies at yard sales. Almost everyone has a few supplies at their sales. When looking at yard sale ads on Craigslist, sort with the words "craft supplies." This will help you find yard sales that are specifically heavy on these items. Go early if you want to score big on these. It will be worth it. These are great resources for teachers and moms.
13. Keep your craft area organized. At least once a year, do a big clean up. You will discover stuff that you forgot you had. This way,when you are creating a piece of art, you will remember what you have.
14. Paper plates and bowls make for easy clean up - especially if you are working with little kids. Use the paper plate like a paint palette, then toss when the project is through. Or let the paint dry and hang it up as a piece of art.
15. Go to estate sales to find wonderful old cards and paper. These can be used for notes or become part of recycled card art. Antique paper and cards are very hip these days, so you can save a bundle. At an estate sale, they are usually found in the room that has the office supplies and/or wrapping paper.

Do you have a favorite craft tip you would like to share?

The confusing truth about cooking dried beans

I like to cook recipes that include dried beans. Beans are an excellent and frugal source of nutrition. Beans mixed with a bit of meat and vegetables makes for practically unlimited recipe variations.

I tend to research everything that I do, so of course, I have researched how to cook dried beans. My research has led me down a long and winding path that eventually comes down to:
A. rinse the beans
B. check for foreign matter (sticks and stones)
C. boil until done to the consistency that you like

However, along my research trail I also read that one can/should:
1. soak beans for up to 24 hour prior to cooking*
2. throw out the water that you used to soak the beans
3. boil the beans in the water that you used to soak the beans (conflicts with #2)
4. cook beans on simmer for 1 hour
5. cook beans on simmer for 6 hours
6. put salt in the water at the beginning, middle or end
7. don't put salt in the water

You can see that trying to align points #1 through #7 above is impossible. Therefore, I suggest that you do the above steps A-C and add any of the steps #1-7 that you agree with.

If you want to do your own research on this subject, a good place to start is this article by Michael Ruhlman.

*There is one other important piece of information about soaking dried beans. Per some sources, you should soak your dried beans for up to 24 hours and rinse them off prior to cooking. During the cooking process you should skim off any foam that rises. This will ensure that the beans will be fully digestible. Dried beans can last in storage for a very long time. The quality that allows them to last this long is also the quality that makes them hard to digest if they are not soaked per the above. Not everyone believes this. Not everyone does this. This information comes from a book called, "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon. I think it is true, but I don't always do it because I don't always plan a day ahead of time that I will be using my dried beans.

Save 80% on Vistaprint - today only

Today only .... 2/21/12 ... save 80% on Vistaprint products - business cards, banners, stationary, photo mugs and the like. Pay $10 for a $50 coupon. Spend $25 above coupon value and get free shipping as well. Great deal if you are in the market for some office supplies or personalized presents.

This is through LivingSocial.com, so you will need to register with them. Coupon is good until May 16, 2012.

This is a good deal. Click here for the deal.

How to clean your toaster oven glass door

Do you have a toaster oven glass door that is splattered with the yuckiest, burnt on grease and gunk? Have you tried all forms of commercial cleaning products that promised to "cut through grease" to no avail? I have.

Then I read that baking soda would magically clean up this impossible mess. I didn't believe it. I'm always up for anything that is So, I tried it myself. Oh my - it worked!

Here are the steps:

1. Unplug your toaster oven.
2. Cover the area in front of the toaster oven with paper towels.
   
3. Open the door and wipe off all the crumbs.
4. Make a thick paste of baking soda and water.
5. Cover the open oven door with the paste.
6. Spray or dribble on tiny bits of water if paste is too thick.
7. Leave on for at least 20 minutes. More if your yuck is super-yuck.
8. Scrub with a non-abrasive scrubber.
9. Wipe off residual with damp paper towel.
10. Repeat if necessary.
11. Ensure everything is totally dry before replugging in the toaster oven.
12. Admire your handiwork.

Do you have successful methods of cleaning burnt on grease?

Have a free priceless experience

I am going to have a free priceless experience with my two teenagers. We are going to work a shift decorating a Rose Bowl float.

Several years ago, I spent the afternoon working on a Rose Bowl Parade float. I was next to a group of a dozen or so people who told me that they had gathered together for several decades, one day a year, to help decorate the floats. They had traveled from near and far to participate in the activity that they looked forward to more than any other in the year.

What makes this SUCH a special event? Here's what I can tell you.

Just thinking about going to work again on the floats gets me excited. There is an intensely creative atmosphere in that warehouse. The air smells of a mixture of glue and the most amazing flower scents. Everyone is engaged in an activity that requires their total attention. The actions are tiny, tiny, tiny... but they are all working together to create this huge, beautiful creation that will be seen around the world. There is anticipation and a sense that time is running out - since the floats MUST be ready in time for the parade. As the date gets nearer, people work around the clock to ready the floats.

Wow! To be a part of THAT. To share such a sense of accomplishment with your kids, your friends, your family. THAT is priceless.

As a homeschooler and a parent, I want my children to understand that great things do not happen just by wishing or dreaming. You must wish and dream to start, but then you must make it HAPPEN. It requires that you DO something. Sometimes it requires that you do A LOT of something or that you get A LOT of people to do something. But when you do that, and persist, you get a great product and a sense of achievement that money can not buy.

That is why I am going to go with my kids to work a shift on the Rose Bowl floats.

If you are in the Los Angeles area in the month of December, you too can volunteer to help decorate a Rose Bowl float. You do need to work a full shift and you must be at least 13 years old to volunteer. You must sign up ahead of time. If you are looking to create a new family tradition, I strongly suggest that you consider decorating a float.

Of course, not everyone can come to Pasadena, California to decorate a float, but there are parades all over the country and most of them have floats that you can volunteer to help decorate. Volunteering is a wonderful family activity and available to just about everyone everywhere.

Super cheap activities to keep teens occupied

So, you are about to have a houseful of family - young and old. The men want to watch TV, the women want to talk and the kids are bored out of their minds unless they are plugged into their electronic devices.

Wouldn't it be nice to have something different to do using just the items you already have in your house?

Here are five fun and time consuming activities to occupy your tweens and teens (and maybe their parents) without costing a bundle:

1. Make this crazy paper toy. Watch the video. Good luck making this ingenious paper toy. Materials: sheet of paper, scissors a bit of tape.
2. Cool paper pop up. This requires an exacto knife for cutting and a surface that one can cut on - like a thick piece of cardboard.
3. Paper treat cups. These are cute cups that can be decorated for your holiday table.
4. Learn to draw a perfect freehand circle. This one won't take up too much time to learn, but could bring about some great pictures of round objects.
5. Origami transformer ball. This is a GREAT project. Requires a hot glue gun and patience.

Let me know if you make any of these great paper projects. Have a Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving calculator for shopping

Here's a sweet calculator to help you figure out what you need to buy to cook up your Thanksgiving feast.

You can plug in how many people are eating. You can separate into meat eaters and non-meat eaters.

It's pretty helpful. It is set up in an excel spreadsheet. Pretty cool.

Handmade present ideas that I love

I love handmade presents. I love to give them and I love to get them. My most prized possessions are handmade gifts that I have received. They are irreplacable. You can always buy a new ipod, dvd, or car. But replacing a handmade, one-of-a-kind cross stitch, sweater, picture or poem is impossible.

For those people that think that they just aren't creative or imaginative and can't think of what they could possibly make for someone, here are five wonderful ideas from one of my favorite Do-It-Yourself sites, Instructables.com.

1. Turn a picture into a picture tiles. (see picture above) This is a truly unique, inexpensive and surprisingly easy gift. This would be a great idea for someone who just purchased a house, got married or had a baby.
2. Beautiful pencil holders from recycled tin cans and styrofoam. I love it when I find a craft project that looks so much better than it should. This is one of those projects. This is an excellent project to do with your kids.
3. Make chocolate balls. This confection making recipe looks super easy and super yummy. I think I will make it without the liquor. Make up a big batch of these goodies. Package them nicely and give them as gifts to your co-workers. They will be asking for more all year long.
4. Turn a book into a clock. This is SUCH a great idea for a little one with a favorite book. Buy another copy of the book at a thrift store or get it from Swap.com.
5. Sew a Santa Hoodie. This looks so cool that I am going to go out today and get a red hoodie and white fake fur. I want to see my skateboarding son decked out in this one.

I hope these homemade gift ideas get you in the gift making spirit. Do you have any of your own favorite gift making ideas?

My very best pregnancy tip - natural heartburn relief

If you happen to be pregnant, and you known who you are, then you may be experiencing now or in the future, HEARTBURN!

You can run out and buy yourself a bulk supply of TUMS or grab one bag of this magic, all natural heartburn remedy. I really like natural health remedies like my article on How to avoid heat exhaustion.

I know lots of pregnant women who have spent their entire pregnancies buying and eating Tums. Unfortunately, if you look at the list of all the ingredients in Tums, you will see that some of them might not be exactly what you want to feed a pregnant mom. Plus, the cost of Tums keeps going up.

So, here is my tip. It's my best tip. Don't waste it.

Blanched, slivered almonds.

Yep. That's it.

My midwife told me about this when I was pregnant with my first child. What a life saver.

I had little bags (divided up a big bag into smaller bags) of these almonds in my purse, bedside table and my desk drawer. If I started to get heartburn, I'd just grab a small amount, chew them well and, voila, no more heartburn.

I've been told by several women that this was the very best pregnancy advice that they ever got. I hope it helps you. Of course, you can use this tip even if you aren't pregnant.

....

This article is copyrighted by Bobbi Burger Brunoehler.

You're Invited to a Food Swap

Have you heard of Food Swapping? It's a great way to trade your homemade and homegrown goodies for other people's homemade and homegrown goodies.

Just a few weeks ago, I went to my first food swap and became a food swap junkie! Yep. I'm hooked. I think food swapping is the most fun... well, since clothes swapping.

So, I've decided to host a food swap this Saturday, June 25th at 11:00 am as part of the Frugal Festival Food! at the Canoga Park High School.

Food swaps are easy. You make some food item or pick some from your and your neighbor's trees. Package them and bring them to the swap.

The above picture is of the items that I brought home from the last swap. I took a basket of my famous chocolate covered chocolate chip cookie dough balls and swapped them for:

• jam
• mixed greens
• 2 potted irises (not pictured)
• oatmeal and lemon face scrub
• brownies
• lemons
• squash
• banana bread
• shortcake

How yummy is that?!

For more information and/or to register for free go to http://frugalfestivalfoodswap.eventbrite.com/

Don't be shy. It is super fun to food swap.

Frugal beauty tip

I received this wonderful beauty tip and movie trivia from Tanii, the daughter of movie and TV actress, Anne Dore.

"When I was growing up, Turkish towels were very much in vogue. (The Turkish towel has a long and rich history. Its weave is distinct in that it has “piles” similar to woven carpets, unlike regular towels with a flat weave so prevalent for so long.)

At the time, I didn’t know why these towels were special. All I knew was that Mother used them to bring circulation to the surface of the skin by rubbing them all over her body usually in circular motions. She never rubbed hard, but vigorously enough to where her skin glowed with vitality. This was as ritual performed after a bath or shower when the skin was warmed up.

Mother also owned and used body brushes, usually ones with long handles. She did a dry brushing of her skin before a bath or shower when she wasn’t using a Turkish towel. Both methods helped loosen and eliminate any dead cells and resulted in very soft skin requiring a lot less creams and moisturizers.

Story: Most of her work in the entertainment industry was as a showgirl - not much dialog, but lots of eye-candy. Among her credits was “The Colgate Comedy Hour” for NBC working with such stars of the time as Bob Hope, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Abbot and Costello, Bing Crosby and others.

But her “claim to anonymity” was doubling for Tony Perkins in the Alfred Hitchcock classic, “Psycho.” Contrary to what audiences thought they were seeing, it was not Tony Perkins (dressed up as his movie mom) who stabbed Janet Leigh in the now-infamous shower scene. It was Mom! She got the part because she was tall. Hitchcock wanted a body double because he knew, quite rightly, that people would recognize Perkin’s body language and figure it all out before the end of the movie. Mother never got screen credit, and very few people in the world know this “secret,” but now you do!"

You can pick up a Turkish Towel at any good linen store or follow my yard sale tip and find the good towels in the linen closet at estate sales.

Save money by cooking fresh

I was lucky enough to grow up in a household that often included my mother, both grandmothers, and my great aunt. All of these incredible ladies felt most comfortable in the kitchen. I spent at least half of my early years sitting at the kitchen table watching them whip up stews, sauces, jams, cookies and pies. All from scratch.

It's not like they ever really showed me how to do anything. I just watched. When it came to the time in my life where I was standing in my own kitchen with no one there to cook for me, I didn't reach for a can opener. I reached for the raw ingredients that were needed to cook.

I knew from observation how to chop, grate, steam, broil, saute, simmer and bake just about anything that I wanted. I knew how to use a strainer, a grater, a rolling pin and a mixer. To my surprise, I even knew exactly how to make homemade pie pastry that was perfect the first time I made it.

Unfortunately, today's children are not growing up in households where they sit for endless hours watching food prepared. A huge number come home from a long day at school to an empty house. They take something out of the freezer and pop it into the microwave where short burst of radiation kills any nutrients that may have mistakenly survived the processes necessary to make food last well past nature's intended expiration date.

Fortunately, there is hope! The internet provides access to incredible videos and recipes that can teach you and your children how to prepare your own food. It's fun and its cheaper than buying prepared packaged food.

Here are five of my favorite sites to help you on your journey to real food:

1. How to cook from scratch. This is a great article on About.com that lists out some very basic recipes. This is a good place to start.
2. Recipes from ingredients you have on hand. Supercook.com is an awesome site that allows you to put together something to eat from what you already have. It will also show you recipes that will require one or two items that you don't have but you might be able to borrow from your neighbor or pick up at the corner store.
3. Videos that teach you the basics of cooking. This site has lots of short videos that show you all sorts of basics like how to cut an onion or how to fry an egg. Fun, fun learning.
   
4. Learn to cook from a kid. I say that the best way to learn a new subject is to approach it like you are a fifth grader. Here's a kid with her own cooking show. I learned a lot.
5. A list of the top 100 culinary blogs. If the above four aren't enough for you, check out this list. Whatever you need and want will be in that list.

I love food and I love cooking. It is so much better to give your family food that is fresh cooked. I hope that these links help you overcome any back-off you might have on using your kitchen for its intended purpose.

The world changes when you become a mother

Almost 20 years ago, I wrote the following letter to my best friend. I was weeks away from delivering my first child.

19 December 1991

Dearest Amy,

Here I sit, much too early in the morning, awake not because my child is hungry (as will be the case in a few short weeks,) but because he now takes up the room that my bladder used to occupy.

Sitting here eating my prenatally correct organic granola with 2% milk and prenatally incorrect coffee, I realize why, years ago, a girlfriend of mine asked me to assist her at the birth of her child. She asked me because she wanted me to share one of the most wonderful and awesome experiences she was ever going to have. I realize this, because although I am a bit scared about what is going to occur physically to me in the next 2-6 weeks, I am also extremely excited about it.

Of all the adventures and misadventures that we have shared, I wish that you would be able to be there with me when I deliver my first child. Not only for the support, but to have the memory of it in common. The memory of the birth that I attended is one of my most treasured possessions. I wish that I could give you such a present.

This is the last letter I will ever write, to you, before I become an official “MOM.” A piece of me is about to become my own mother. Well, worse transformations could occur, I guess. I only hope that I do not become too boring for words to my single friends. Please forgive me, upfront, for my upcoming interest in drool, baby poop, the price of diapers and “Sesame Street.”

If I was much into praying, I suppose I would now pray to be insightful and patient with my child. To not be naïve to signs of whatever will pass for drug abuse. To always make time for my child without overwhelming him and without denying my own needs. In short, to be the perfect parent. Dream on, dream on. OK, then I would pray for an understanding child who will understand and forgive the faults of his own parents and love them because they love him.

I already know that I am about to embark on a love affair with my child that will have no match in my own love life experience. I believe that the kind and amount of love that I am about to experience will dwarf what I have always thought of as the height of emotion.

I think this because I remember what kind of love I had for that child that I helped to deliver over ten years ago. And that child was not my own. What will I feel for this child that I have grown a body for in my own belly and will soon push out into the world?

Well, my dearest friend, I’ve not thought about the above before and I probably won’t have a second to think about it again for about twenty years. I set it in writing to you - perhaps so that you will remind me of it in the years to come. Perhaps only to tell it to someone who has known me so well. Perhaps because at least this part of the experience you CAN share with me.

I love you and wish you every wonderful wish possible for the coming New Year.

Love, Bobbi

Mother's Day freebies

There are so many great freebies out there for Mother's Day. Here are some of the ones that I have discovered.

Free Breakfast on Mother's Day before 11:00 am at IKEA

Free admission to public gardens on May 6th for National Public Gardens Day.

TCBY is giving free frozen yogurt to moms on Sunday, May 8th.

Your local Lowes is running a free Mother's Day Build and Grow Clinic on Saturday, May 7th. Take the kids to make a flower vase for mom.

Make a free garden stake and mother's day card at Jo-Ann Fabrics on Saturday, May 7th from 11am til 2pm. Make sure that your local Jo-Ann's is participating.

Buy one get one free lunch or dinner buffet at Souper Salad on May 8th.

Mom's get in free with purchase of one adult ticket at Medieval Times. Plus she'll get a flower.

Crafts for Mom ebook from FaveCrafts.

Free printable Mother's Day cards from 123printcards.

Free Mother's Day printable coupon books.

Recipes, crafts, cards and more for Mom from Kaboose.

The FirstWatch daytime cafe has free chocolates for mom when you buy an entree.

Do you know of some other Mom's Day freebies?

BobbisBargains is now on Facebook

I'm excited to let you know that BobbisBargains is now on Facebook.

Just click on the "like" button on the top right of the blog page to get BobbisBargains notices on your facebook page. Or go directly to the page on Facebook and click on the like icon there.

The web address is www.facebook.com/BobbisBargains.

The reason I am so excited is that it will now be super easy for me to share with you all the awesome bargains and cool frugal adventures that I find out about each day.

The more people that like my page, the more inspired I will be to share lots of great stuff.

Like my page and pass it around.

Bargains here we come!