Hawks, Coupons and Flips...

Yes, I will talk about all 3 in this post! First, Hawks.. Those of you who know me well know how much joy I get feeding the birds in the winter. (I stop in the summer, there is plenty of food for them to find on their own at that time!) Anyway, since it is starting to get colder I have started stocking the feeders again... Much to the elation of a resident Cooper's Hawk. I saw him last winter quite often perched in the back treeline or occasionally on one of the fence posts in the back. Well, he has discovered that the feeder is a fully stocked gourmet diner! Shortly after filling the feeders this fall, I discovered a huge pile of feathers (from a Mourning Dove, I believe) underneath it. It was quite obvious that some Hawk had a nice dinner. Since that discovery I have seen him perched on my fence post watching the feeder with a murderous glint to his eye. Such is the life of nature. Hey, he needs to eat too.. I just wish he would find his lunch somewhere else!


Coupons... I went and did a MAJOR shopping trip a few nights ago. It was one of those trips where you needed everything, you know, paper products, cleaning supplies, condiments, etc.. I was determined to use the coupons I had clipped and really shop the in-store specials. It took me 2 and half hours, normally it would have taken one. Looking for deals is time-consuming! Anyway, I ended up saving $116.46, about 20% of the final bill. $52.40 in coupon savings and $64.06 in bonuscard savings - instore specials. It still cost me after the savings a little over $400! The thing with coupons is you often have to buy multiples to get the savings which jacks up the total of the bill. I didn't buy anything I didn't need and I figure you can never have too much toilet paper, peanut butter, jelly, or deodorant. In the long run I thing the savings will pay off. Time will tell! I am going to start documenting everything I spend for the month and see how much savings at the end of the month I will see.

And lastly, Flips... I believe I made a grave error in parenting. My Lillian, who never misses a thing and retains everything for the duration, was saving this one for a while. The other night she got upset with her sister and got in her face and called her "YOU FLIP!!!!" I heard this and was baffled, where the heck did she get that from?? Then it dawned on me. A few weeks ago I got upset with something, I don't even remember what happened or what it was, I do remember yelling at something and calling it a "flippin' thing". Whoops, Lillian happened to be in the room when I said this. She didn't give any indication that she was even paying attention to me or what I said. Guess I was wrong! At least I can be thankful since becoming a mom, cussing with "real" swear words has been wiped out of my vocabulary. (that happened shortly after Maria turned one and I caught her saying "dammit!" a lot. Woops again!) That Lillian never ceases to amaze me with the things she comes up with, the stinker!