Chic Tots is Heading To Success Mountain !

The Chic n Cozy Blanket Bag now available at Target! That's RIGHT! Have you ever seen a product and thought "I could have used that when my kids were little!" Or sometimes we think of our special mommy needs but we just don't have the talent or the time to create it? Well thank goodness there are moms out there like Michelle Good. Michelle wanted a specific product with ease of use and created the fashionable and affordable Chic Tots line. IF you haven't seen what I'm talking about got to www.chictots.com right now and check them out! Not only are they an award-winning company BUT they also are mom-inspired! Tonight I look forward to attending their site-warming party on Twitter by @ResourcefulMom and of course with @chictots attending :) If you haven't RSVP'd yet go to www.resourcefulmommy.com and click on Site-Warmings you will see it at the very top. Oh yeah and don't forget to comment so you have a chance to win some GREAT PRIZES!! I can't wait to see you there!

So I'm a little New to This Blog party Thing!

I know I should introduce myself and tell you about me but I started this Blog just for me and never thought anyone would ever read it besides me and an occasional friend. So look around I hope you like it! If you are on Twitter I am prncsspurdylily. If you are on Facebook I am Stephanie Arnett Bell. I will make a little more interesting post later. The funny thing is it said to say what prize you would like if you won, WHAT PRIZE WOULDN'T I LIKE? haha!

Movie Review of HBO's Taking Chance

I am neither a proponent nor am I an opponent of war but I do know I have the rights and freedoms I have today because brave men and women died to secure them. I know that I would fight so that my family could always live free and I know that I live my life, not to judge others but to instead prosper under a government who tries their best (even at their worst) to keep us a World Power and safe from tyranny of any kind. I usually can't sit through a war movie, I have a heart that I not only wear on my sleeve but also as a belt, heels, and a really nice bag. It is so easily read that not even the blind are hidden from my feelings. When I see someone hurt, I hurt. When I see children in pain, my heart bleeds. So why sit through Taking Chance? I don't know. It just happened to be on and I thought, I'll just see what happens. The waterworks were on throughout the movie so prepare to have tissues and someone to hang your head on when it gets too much.

HBO's Taking Chance is about a Lt. Col. Michael Strobl (Kevin Bacon), a self-proclaimed "number cruncher", who volunteers to escort a fallen soldier, Lance Corporal Chance Phelps to his final resting place. By the description alone you almost yawn, in a world of high-tech gadgets, interplanetary adventures, and risque love affairs, where does a movie like this fit in as entertainment? You'll have to see it to know. It will grab you by your throat and not let you go till you feel like it's telling the story of your son, your neighbors daughter, the pianist from church's nephew or anyone you have even slightly been assoiciated with that has been killed in battle. So few words are spoken, but it is the images of faces, body language, earthly beauty, and respect in death that you will break into tears and sob as if you had lost the same soldier as the Phelps family had. America is full of patriotism. You might not always notice it, but it is strong and fierce and will rear its head again if ever threatened. America knows the price that our armed forces pay and in Taking Chance it is evident that our souls are sullen in the face of the fallen. I don't want to go into too much detail about the trip, the journey one soldier makes to deliver the body of another. You really need to experience it for yourself. Just don't expect special effects, fancy camera work, or quirky expressions, all that you will find is a faceless but oh so familiar young man who died for our country and to protect his fellow soldiers and the Lt. Colonel who decided he would be honored to travel alongside him (even sleeping in the air cargo terminal ) to protect him, and make sure that even in death his uniform was perfect,his family was comforted in their time of need. I loved this movie. I so often forget to thank those who serve in the military so I'll take this opportunity now. Thank you brave men and women, who keep my children, my family, and my country safe. I will forever be indebted to you and may you live, love, and last till peace is at hand. We truly love you!

MOMeO, Freebies, Frugal Talk and Being a Follower

As some of you know i have recently become a Twit of crazy proportions. The time I spend on it is what is crazy. The best thing about it is the Social Networking aspect and the instant friendship that is developed when you start to follow people who are your "sisters and brothers from other mothers" :p I feel a part of something greater than just the everyday life of wife and mother, and I can tel you now that is a GREAT feeling.

A few of the amazing things I have discovered in the short week I have been a part of Twitter are listed below:

1: MOMeO the site for Mompreneurs. How cool is that? A site for all of us who have BIG ideas and want some guidance. Well now we have a place to go. Tonight is a second kind of house warming site for them and trust me I will be there!

2: Freebies. Who doesn't want things for free? Or even mostly free? Some cool moms and dads list everything from free food, free products, free services, and even ways to free up your time! Most excellent! Go now, join, and feel more free than ever! www.twitter.com

3.Frugal Talk. With the economy the way it is everyone is talking about saving money. Coupons rule so many of the people's blogs these days and it couldn't make me happier. In a lot of instances they do the work for you to. Telling you how to stack coupons, shop CVS and Walgreens, get free shipping, and just live for the day. One of my favorites is @5dollardinners I wish I could feed my family for 5$ a meal, and guess what this month I'm trying it!!

4. Being a Follower. Sounds bad huh? But it's not...not if you're following good people and I am, real good people, with good idea, deep inspirations, diverse aspirations but most of all they all seem to have pretty good heads on their shoulders. If this is what makes up Twitter than I'm hooked and happy to be so. If you have yet to use Twitter, try it..you'll like it..you just might love it..just be careful it will suck you in and the next thing you know you will be saving money and who knows you just might be helping someone save the planet!! IT could happen. I am thoroughly Twitterpated!


3.

Starting over.

Well with my defeat admitted, I have decided February just wasn't my half week. My husband and I have now joined forces to attempt a March No Spending month! I think I can do it with his support and only he can do it with mine. We'll see how it turns out, but until the end of March this is the end of this discussion.

Failure Starts With Good Intentions

I had such good intentions when I wrote my blog yesterday. I knew i had to go out and get some necessities. Plus with KMart having double coupons this week I definitely needed to fish out my stash and use them before they expired. Everything is organized in a little pouch. It shouldn't be too hard to stick to only what I need or at least that's what we like to tell ourselves. My first stop was actually to Peebles. I had bought a pair of Adidas that mistakenly were rung up at the same price as a cute little jacket I had bought for my daughter. So in essence I paid for the jacket twice and the shoes not at all. I thought I must be getting some kind of amazing sale price that I had no idea was happening and headed home without looking at the receipt. Once at home I started to tuck my receipt away when I found out the mistake. $35 dollar in my favor mistake. The guilt overwhelmed me, I felt as if I had almost stolen them! So I took the receipt in showed the mistake and paid them the remainder of the monies that were owed. Ugh! I feel like I paid for them twice! But honesty is always the best policy and let's not forget the Golden Rule. So my No Spend Day started with me spending money I shouldn't have had in the first place. It can't get much worse right? Well, then I was off to CVS. I had a coupon for $5 off a $15 purchase and needed band aids, hairspray, some Cold EZE, and a few other items. I told myself to not go over $15 by too much cause I didn't want the trip to be much more than a $10 pit stop. Let's just say I got sucked in by the whole carrot dangle of ECB's and ended up spending $27. Granted I did get $8 ECB but that's still twice as much as I had planned on spending! I bought some lotion I didn't need, candy that I shouldn't eat, and low dose aspirin that I never use! NOOOOO, I miserably failed on day 2! I am so weak! I'm not going to start over though, I'm just going to mark that day as a complete wash out and try harder. The sad thing is with this being Day 3 I went to Walmart with my Nana and had picked up unessential items and had them in my basket. You know like marshmallows, a video, m&ms, and portable wet wipes. I didn't end up paying for them because my Nana insisted she buy them. So I technically had a No Spend Day, but it could have been another failure day.....what's wrong with me? I'm going to bed telling myself that I WILL NOT SPEND A DIME tomorrow and hopefully this time I'm not lying!! But maybe just to make sure I won't leave the house again! HA HA!!