I think Wal-Mart is part of a conspiracy to make my life more difficult than it needs to be. First, Hubby was going to lay me away a laptop a year or so ago. But when he went to Wally World to put it on layaway, he found out that they no longer did layaways. Then last week, I went there to see if I could find some nice fleece to make a poncho for Pumpkin for her birthday, and the whole damn craft department had disappeared!

They are doing some remodeling, and where the craft department was, there is now an empty fenced off area. I don’t know what they’re going to put there, but I’m betting it’s not craft stuff. How do they know to get rid of the exact stuff that I need?!?

I’m not going to have a lot of money to spend on Pumpkin this year, and I found instructions on how to make a simple but pretty fleece poncho without sewing. I thought it would be something that would be useful, but that she would still enjoy getting. Kind of like the acne scars cream I got for my birthday one year, only better.

I guess I’ll be checking out some of the small local stores to try and find the stuff I need to make that poncho. That’s something that I should be doing anyway. Have I mentioned how much I dislike Wal-Mart?

I’ve spent entirely too much time at the hardware store lately. Every time I go in there, I see something else I want for the house. I found a lovely park bench that would look nice on the front porch, and some carpet that would be great in the living room.

I was looking at pedestal sinks the last time I went in there. I saw this stunning black one I would love to have. But then we would need a black toilet and tub, too. Besides, our bathroom is way too small not to have a cabinet underneath the sink. We need a little storage in there anyway!

So I’ve come to the conclusion that I should not return to the hardware store anytime soon. If Hubby asks me to go pick something else up, I’m going to start talking about all the nice stuff I saw in there. That will probably be enough to make him decide to go get it himself.

There is a store about half a mile from here that I’m really going to miss when we move. It was once a garage, but the fellow that ran it retired from that line of work and turned it into a store. It has a little bit of everything, mostly overstocks and such of food and hardware, but you can find all sorts of stuff in there.

It’s not very well organized, so you have to look around to find stuff. There are bungee cords, pet supplies, weight loss pills and candies all within close proximity to one another. But the deals are great. I go down there pretty often to get paper cups from restaurants that have gone out of business, which he sells for $1 a run. Try finding disposable cups that cheap at the grocery store.

I hope we don’t have to move so far away that it’s too much trouble to come out and shop there. That’s one of many things I would miss about this area.

I am a notoriously rabid bargain hunter. Partly out of necessity, and partly because I just love a good deal. It does my heart good to get stuff at the lowest possible price.

I recently checked out Buy.com, and found that they have some awesome deals on electronics, stuff for the home, DVDs and much more. But they’re so much more than just great deals.

They have a price comparison engine that determines where you can find the lowest price on a given item. And even if it’s not from them (which it quite often is), they’ll tell you where to find it. Now that’s an awesome concept, and one of many reasons why Buy.com rocks!

They also have a feature called Guidester that lets you answer questions about what you’re looking for and shows you products that meet those criteria. I tried it out with laptops, and I was quite impressed with the results. I still found several to choose from, but every one of them had exactly what I wanted, and was within my price range.

They also have weekly deals that are well worth checking out. And I haven’t even scratched the surface yet! Here is a video I made about why Buy.com rocks. Hope you like it!

Our environment is a precious and delicate thing. I’m not the poster girl for green living by any means, but I believe it is important to protect the world we live in. Maybe I should make going green one of my New Year’s resolutions.

Whether you’re already an environmentalist or are just interested in learning about what you can do for the cause, GreenandMore.com is a website you need to see. They sell all sorts of environmental products. Some of my personal favorites are the Juicebags. They are solar powered backpacks and messenger bags that you can use to charge your iPod or cell phone.

If you’re looking for a cool Christmas gift for a child, they have hydrogen-powered racers. And there’s furniture, lighting, recycled accessories, and all sorts of gadgets that can help you conserve energy.

There’s more to the site than cool environmental products, though. They have a learning center that has all sorts of information on things we can do to protect the environment, and a blog where we can read about others’ “going green” experiences. Readers are invited to share their own stories as well.

Green and More is definitely worth visiting. You might learn something that can help you become more environmentally responsible. And if you’re looking to do some green Christmas shopping, you can use the coupon code GREEN10 to get 10% off on your order.

Halloween will be here before we know it. It’s not too early to start thinking about how the kiddies are going to dress up, making plans to visit haunted houses, and that sort of fun stuff. But the kids aren’t the only ones who can get all decked out for Halloween.

I haven’t dressed up for Halloween since the year before Pumpkin was born, but it’s not because I haven’t wanted to. I’ve just been so preoccupied with getting her dressed up and making sure she has a good time that I haven’t bothered. But I saw some awesome sexy Halloween costumes at AngelBodyWear.com, and now I’ve got the fever.

One of my personal favorites is the Rainbow Brite costume. I had a Rainbow Brite doll as a child, but I never thought an adult could look so awesome dressed like that. Unfortunately that one doesn’t come in my size, but the Corrupt Cop does. Hubby would love that, but I’m not sure I would make it out of the house in it, if you know what I mean.

Whether you’re looking for a sexy Halloween costume or just something to drive your significant other crazy in, do check out Angel Body Wear’s costumes. I think you’ll be pleased.

It’s hard to believe that summer is almost officially over. Labor Day is on Monday, and fall will officially begin later this month. As oppressively hot as it has been here in the mountains, I dread seeing it come to an end.

Now is a good time to stock up on yard art and other summer things, because they are going on sale. Online Discount Mart has some great deals right now. I found some stuff that was discounted as much as $100! Hurry on over there while they still have a good selection, and stock up and save.

Now that the weather is nice, I’ve been spending more time outdoors. I love this time of year, even though it gets pretty hot sometimes.

I also like having pretty things to look at when I’m out. I’m not much of a green thumb, so I don’t have a lot of flowers. But I usually get at least a couple of new pieces of lawn decor each year. Online Discount Mart has some beautiful stuff at great prices. I’ve got my eye on a set of colorful sunflowers- the kind you don’t have to water.

Online Discount Mart has all sorts of summer goodies, as well as articles to help you come up with great decorating ideas. And their prices are great.

It has been many years since I have indulged my inner fashion diva. There was a time when whatever I wore made a statement, whether it was jeans or a dress. But I got married and settled down, and now there are times when I get depressed just looking in my utterly lackluster closet.

A big factor in my unfashionableness is lack of funds. I still have an eye for great clothing and accessories. For example, I just love Bracher Emden Handbags such as the one pictured above. I would have one in a heartbeat, but I don’t have $1380 to spend on it at the moment.

For those of you who love high fashion, check out ElectricLadyland.com. It’s an online store that is not only named after an album by one of my favorite artists (Jimi Hendrix), but has fabulous clothing and accessories, including that awesome purse up there!

Mother’s Day is coming up, and I still haven’t bought anything for my mom. Shame on me.

I know I won’t get to go see her on the big day, so I’m thinking about getting something shipped to her. It may get there a little late, but better late than never, right? She knows by now that I would never forget about her, I just tend to procrastinate on things like that.

CouponChief.com is a coupon site with coupons from lots of great online stores. They’ve got some good FragranceNet deals, and Mom does love her perfume. In fact, I should be browsing their selection right now instead of blogging. See ya.