Crushing on Costco

I used to think people were silly for raving so much about Costco. Sure, it was a fine place to do your bulk shopping but why did it merit such a high level of excitement?

When we moved into a bigger space and bought a bigger fridge I decided I would sign up for Costco to help build up our food storage. Our young family doesn’t really eat enough of most things to require bulk so the extra gets stored away for later use. Plus, who doesn’t HATE running out of something in your pantry right when you need it? Double plus, pushing that GINORMOUS cart around with a couple of kids and loading, unloading and then loading and unloading 20 items that weigh an average of 20 lbs each is a good workout for a Thursday morning.

I visit Costco every other week. Since the receipt is a little bit higher I offset it by alternating weeks at Walmart. Before shopping there, I’d grocery and toiletry shop at Walmart or Smith’s or Super Target. I would spend $125 a week = $500 per week. Getting started at Costco, the expense of buying more was $200 2xs a month and at Walmart it was $125 2xs a month = $650. Since building up a reserve and knowing what things I like to buy where, the bill has come down to $150 at Costco and $100 at Walmart = $500. So for the same price I’m getting more food and much higher quality food at that. I know that if Costco carries it, it’s gotta be pretty darn good (comparatively speaking). Here are a few of the Costco products I have come to love.

 

Izze is good. We don’t drink soda ‘round these parts so Izze gives you the “pucker” in a can but is sparkling juice. Izze is expensive everywhere else.

 

I normally use drugstore brands but I’ve tried a few salon shampoo & conditioner brands such as Redkin, Biolage, etc. But this stuff is THE BEST EVER. My stylist swears it’s Pureology brand which retails for a whopping $53 for the same size as Kirkland sells for $15! Plus, who doesn’t want a vegan shampoo? If you don’t, you must like murdering animals just so you can have shiny, more manageable hair ;)

 

I love pasta. At first bite of this brand, I was sold! I didn’t realize there could be such a discrepancy among dried pastas but, man, this is so much better than the other brands at the normal grocery stores!

 

We are cheesers over here. I can’t stomach paying the price of cheese at the supermarkets. It’s about double.

 

Soooooo much less expensive to buy these in bulk.

 

I bought this plastic wrap during one of my first Costco shopping trips almost 2 years ago. I’m less than 1/2 way through it. ‘Nuff said, except it’s not. Just the right amount of clinginess, thickness, and the slide cutter is just plain fun. Sure I have to heft it up to the counter when I want to use it, but that just builds muscle tone.

 

I like the pure ECO laundry detergent. I wish they’d restock ECO dishwasher detergent.

 

Chicken nuggets are gross but my kids inhale them so at least I can buy the healthiest ones I can find.

 

Like I said, we’re cheesers. We love anything with cream cheese but our favorite is cheesecake.
This brand is restaurant quality and I can taste the difference. 

My kids’ skins require super sensitive everything. Aveeno has been the best for us and way less expensive at Costco…when they sell it.

 

$3 #10 can of sliced peaches? Yep. Perfect when produce is out of season and lasts us a full week.

 

There are many more products I could unofficially endorse (their Take ‘n Bake pizza, their meat department, their photo lab, office supplies, etc, etc, etc), but I’ll stop at those. I don’t want to seem like a lunatic after all…

Now I know I could save even more money by shopping ads and couponing. The thing is, it’s just not my style. I’m all for a streamlined process. I’m all for getting in and out. I like knowing my budget is the same every week and I have other things I’d rather do, honestly. Nothing against people who coupon. I think it’s awesome you can save so much money! I just plan ahead and go to one store a week. If I forget something or find myself in need of something, I change my meals or do without until my next trip. Multiple trips drain my cash flow too much. I will inevitably buy something or a few somethings that I didn’t go in meaning to buy. Too much temptation in there!  

I’m not sure why I posted this. I guess I lacked anything interesting to post. Perhaps I like to keep some every day stuff in here so that in 40 years we can see how cheap everything used to be. Maybe I am just lame. But it’s probably just that I have a huge, almost stalker-ish crush on Costco and I’m not embarrassed to proclaim it from the blogosphere rooftop.

My Sister’s Announcement

A couple of weeks ago Karen wanted to make a cute announcement for the coming of her 4th child. She made the signs and her family came to my house where Rob and I set up our studio gear to get the pic.

These kids are so precious and I can’t believe how big they are getting!

Love you, Karen! Congratulations!

Stake, Ward, Primary

Two weeks ago our stake split. That means the church is growing and that is so exciting! For the last bunch of years there have been 16 wards in our stake. 6-8 is normal. So, yeah, it was time. Our poor stake presidencies…

Because the stake split, it meant all the ward boundaries changed. Half of our ward split off into their own ward in the new stake. We were combined with the rest of our immediate neighborhood. We are sad we lost so many great families but are excited to get to know a lot of new wonderful families.

Because the ward split, I got a new calling. Primary President. I would not be truthful if I said it was a total shock. I have actually had the feeling for some time now, maybe even a year, that this would be my next calling. I’m not sure why I was given that feeling but I’m glad I was! Because of that, I feel I was a lot more mentally prepared than I would have been otherwise. For the last two years I was the primary secretary and so I have been in training. I know all the kids and their parents, I’ve been in on all the planning, and I was there every Sunday watching. The women I worked with are amazing people. They have been nothing but loving, enthusiastic to serve, were always prepared, and have become my friends. I will miss working with them!

In other ways, though, I did feel a little like I was thrown under a bus! Our ward split on a Sunday, I got the call Tuesday night, and I had to be prepared to not only conduct and do sharing time 5 days later, but since half the ward was replaced so was most the primary! I had to organize all the kids (almost 100) into classes and we only had a handful of teachers. I had to pray about and choose counselors and a secretary. Not until Sunday morning was my 2nd counselor called and my secretary (who will be out with her newly born babe for a couple of months). I don’t have permanent music people yet, there is a baptism on Saturday (luckily this was previously taken care of), I don’t know any of the new kids’ birthdays, etc, etc, etc. I have a lot of ideas and plans I want to make but for now I’m basically in primary survival mode just trying to get the week-to-week organized and fill in all the empty calling slots.

One of the things I did last Sunday was brought balloons and played a get-to-know-you game. I realize a lot of these kids know each other from school and the neighborhood, but it can still be quite overwhelming and sad to see your other good friends leave and have everything change. I know, because I had to do it when our ward boundaries changed when I was 15. Granted, I’m sure it’s easier on little kids than teenagers, but I wanted to make sure the kids recognize this as a positive thing. Sunday was chaotic, but it was fun!

I’m not the most outgoing, gregarious, enthusiastic person out there. I have a lot of shortcomings. I tend to over think, stress, and just plain panic at times. But this last week I have felt more inspiration, patience, and love than I have for a while. I know the Lord is blessing me with those things. Hopefully He will continue to do so!

I’m excited to get to know all these new families and help teach the gospel to them. It’s such a beautiful message to learn and life to lead. Feeling the spirit wrap around you is the best feeling known to mankind. I have the strongest testimony that these little ones are children of God and He loves them. Just knowing that one thing can help get you through anything in this sometimes tumultuous life. I want them to gain that same testimony.

Wish me luck and say a prayer for me!

Christmas, Christmas Time is Here

At least it was 2 months ago…You know how it is. Maybe you don’t. I recall seeing many Christmas posts in the week following the holiday. Ok, I guess it’s just me then.

It was fun seeing Nate in his Christmas Concert at school. He knew the songs really well and had a good performance.

My mom invited us and other family members to This is the Place Heritage Park’s Candlelight Christmas.

 

The kids really enjoyed going from building to building doing little crafts, hearing stories, learning a dance, seeing a live nativity, and getting a treat.

This video of us girls learning the dance is so cute! Video link

Bonus: After everyone’s admission, only $5 was due to get a year-long family pass. Score! We will be using this as soon as the weather gets nicer.

Christmas Eve finally came. Due to a snowstorm, we barely made it out of our neighborhood to dinner at my mom and dad’s. We also barely made it back in! That night, our girls received their princess pjs and they’ve barely taken them off since!

We did a white elephant exchange and the gifts I brought were expensive Twinkies I scored in the corner of the Walmart parking lot. I ate a couple, let the kid’s try their one and only Twinkie they will ever have, and then gave the rest away.

Christmas Day brought fun surprises for everyone. The big ticket items were a new bike for Nate and a vanity with makeup for the girls.

 

Here are the girls all dressed up. We’re in big trouble.

                              

One of the best surprises was when Madeleine opened a tin to find “cow”. Madeleine had lost cow in Denver over a year earlier and was still missing her. A few times since then I had looked online for a new one but never had any luck. Then, while in Denver again, I searched and finally found her! I posted this on FaceBook: “Dilemma: a year ago Madeleine lost her beloved stuffed "cow". She has mentioned missing it over and over again ever since. She still looks at pictures of it and wishes she still had her. After searching and searching I finally found cow's twin sister. She is on ebay...for $45! Do I splurge? Or just let madeleine learn the facts of life the hard way :)”  Pretty much everyone thought I should get it but a specific comment touched me. It said, “Teach her that sometimes life is good and full of miracles.” That answer touched me. Thanks, Trina! Even though it was exactly the same, including the flower, she knew it wasn’t the original. But Madeleine has loved having her cow again. Video Link

This ribbon wand in her stocking has continued to be a huge hit. Video link

Then we spent Christmas night at the Snow household and opened even more gifts.

 

Once again, we had a busy but truly wonderful Christmas season. We are more blessed (or at least realize it more) every year. We love our family and friends, and of course our Savior, Jesus Christ. We can’t wait until next year when we can do it all over again!

Home Decor: N&M’s Bedroom

Since I finished Caroline’s bedroom, I didn’t feel like I could leave Nate and Madeleine’s bedroom undone. Really, it just needed a couple of things and some fine tuning.

 

We had the beds as bunks, but just as Rob was hanging the last thing up, we decided that we needed to separate them. Caroline was just too rambunctious trying to scramble up the sides (after we took off the ladder to thwart her) and running across the top bed without any brakes.

I made some curtains. Isn’t this fabric fabulous?! I needed something that works for boy/girl and that went along with their blankets and other things we already had in the room. They keep the room a much more comfortable temperature and block morning light so they can sleep longer when they need to. They will move into Nate’s room later on.

 

I made their blankets a few years ago. They actually are looking worn, but will change those in a year or so anyway when the kids switch rooms. I did replace the sheets, pillow cases, and mattress pads. I’m in love with Walmart’s $5 twin sheet separates. However, I did pass by the Walmart mattress pads. I bought those last time and they were junk. This time I got them from Ikea for $2 more each and I like them much, much better. The blankets at the end of their beds were made by their Grandma Snow when they were each born.

The world map on the wall is my favorite thing. Rob bought this for me a long time ago and Nate has kind of claimed it for himself. He is always studying it, much to my pleasure.

The names are just painted wood letters I did for each of them when they were born.

I love the schoolhouse feel with the map and the clock above the door. The clock is there to always remind Nate not to leave his bed before 7am. He is still such a morning bug and wakes up the whole house. But most mornings he ignores the time and I get annoyed.

The nightstand came from my room. When we changed the beds, we swapped it with a bookshelf. The lamp was bought years ago as a desk lamp but it works perfectly in this spot…if only it worked. I looked at multiple stores for the correct bulb and finally found a two-pack for $8 for a teeny, tiny light bulb. It didn’t even work! So maybe it’s the lamp…but it looks so great…

 

These are some of their books. They are both big readers and love it when I send them to bed early so they have time to read in bed. I do too!!

The picture above Nate’s bed is his award-winning shot from last year’s school Reflections contest. He is proud to have it framed.

I finally got around to hanging a picture of Jesus in their room. This has needed to be done forever but it’s just one of those things that never got done. I already had a frame and looked amongst our bookshelves for a picture book of Christ we inherited in a box of random books that was given to us. The kids helped me choose this picture of Christ with a little boy and little girl.

Oh, the banner. Obviously I needed something on this wall now that the bunk beds weren’t taking up that space. I didn’t really feel like spending more money so I had the idea to make a banner out of the left over drapery fabric. I also already had the rope. Add a little hot glue and some cute thumbtacks from Target and you’ve got yourself a wall hanging for practically free

Madeleine was really, really excited about this stuffed animal hanger. She loves her animals and now they have a proper home. Poor girl had to wait a few weeks for us to get around to hanging it up, though. But it was $5 well spent.

I forgot to take a picture of the lego table. It used to be a train table but Nate has long grown out of that. Now it is a perfect landing spot for all his Star Wars space ships.

They have a few toys in the nightstand drawers (which are hard to open) and there are a few small bins under each bed for toy storage but most of their toys are downstairs. There just isn’t any room in here for a whole lotta play.

Madeleine actually also has a Minnie Mouse chair and a play vanity that I took out of the room for pictures. But they’re usually shoved up at the end of her bed.

Now, if only it looked this put together half the time. Even 30% of the time. 20%? Ok, I’d take 5%. And don’t look in their closet…

Zoo Lights

Back in the middle of December my company (URS) had a holiday party up at Utah’s Hogle Zoo. We had a fantastic time visiting with coworkers during dinner (Julie won a movie prize pack), and taking a short walk around the zoo. We captured a few images during our wanderings (hope you enjoy those). Not many animals were around so it was mostly just fun to be with my sweetheart and see the lights.

We captured a few fun images of the lights. We’ve done this before but it is still a lot of fun. Hope you enjoy these.

 

Always nice to stand next to one of these for a little while. It was so cold that night!!!

The blue cast from these lights accentuates the cold!

Loved the blue lights.

 

Some kind of strange creature in this shot.

More blue!

What was Julie’s idea? Time to get out of there!