I realized soon after moving into our first RV that I would no longer be able to take advantage of those buy 2 get 1 free on the entire site deals at The Body Shop for bubble bath. Because we did not have a bathtub, there would be no long hot soaking bubble baths for me. For a long time, I dreamed of taking a bubble bath and even thought about getting a motel room or cabin at one of the many RV parks we worked at during the 13 years we lived our RV life.

Every time we went on vacation or on any extended trip away from the RV, I always picked up some bath salts or some bubble bath so I could just lay back and relax and soak in the tub. Those times always felt  really extra special because of not having a tub at home.

Now that we have bought another house and have a real live bathtub of our own again, I am still not able to take a bubble bath. Because of my colostomy, I have not yet figured out how to do it. For one thing, I am afraid that if I get down into the tub, I won’t be able to get up! I have read about some options but I have not tried them yet. One thing is a “cap” for the stoma, which I can not for the life of me figure out how that would work. Another is to just take off the pouch, and not worry about what happens. Um, don’t think so. I know I’ll figure it out soon.

What is keeping you from taking a bubble bath?

Someone sent me the link to this website, where they have the most beautiful scent diffuser lamps. The company, Lampe Berger Paris, has been in business since 1898. The company has been making fragrances and air purifiers since then. They started out with lamps to diffuse scents to make the air in hospitals smell better.

During the 1930’s, when the taste for beautiful things was at its height these lovely lamps because collectors items. I can see why, because they are quite beautiful to me. There are so many styles and colors of lamps from which to choose, that you will have a hard time picking one. And because they are so pretty, you can put them anywhere in your house and no one would ever guess that it was more than just an ornament.

Oh, and don’t forget the fragrances! They have all sorts of scents, too. Fruits like Grapefruit Passion, Green Apple and Under The Fig Tree; Flower Scents such as Lavender Fields, Precious Jasmine, and Wild Orchid; Sweet Fragrances such as Vanilla Gourmet and Sweet Pear, and many many more. I know that I am going to have one or two of these in my house, but it will take me a long long time to decide what to get.

I didn’t think that I would survive my children’s childhood. The three of them were into everything, every day, and I never knew what was going to happen next. It seemed like they plotted and planned everything together to see how long it would take Mama to crack!

One day, my s0n decide they should play “barber shop”. This game consisted of him cutting all of my daughter’s hair off. Neither one of them had had a haircut, and had such beautiful curls. I knew they were being too quiet, so you can imagine how shocked I was to see both girls come out of the playroom bald!

Another time,  my oldest daughter was about three years old, and frequently got up in the middle of the night to get things to eat out of the refrigerator. I got up one morning to discover a 2 pound jar of grape jelly and a dozen eggs smushed into her carpet in the bedroom. I could have used a professional carpet cleaner that day!

And just imagine this: I left my husband in charge of the children while I went to do grocery shopping. He took them over to his parent’s home. The kids went outside to play. After a while, they started looking for the kids. They found them in the garage, painting my father-in-law’s red truck with some white paint that someone left within their reach.

Because Fabgrandpa and I are both unemployed right now, we are having to be frugal with our money. One of the budget categories I can save the most on is groceries. I have been brainstorming to myself for the last few days on ways to be able to save more on them. Here are some of the things I have come up with:

Use Coupons: Using Coupons is the obvious money saver for most people, but we don’t buy a lot of things that there are coupons for. We shop mostly the perimeter of the store–you know, the produce, meat and poultry, and dairy aisles. I do use the few coupons that match up, but I don’t buy things just because I have one.

Buy On Sale:  I try to stock up on certain items when they are on sale at good prices. For instance, a couple weeks ago, Boston Butt Pork Roast was on sale for a ridiculously low price, so I bought a large one and had it sliced into pork steaks. Having a small freezer has really been handy for this.

Make Fewer Trips To The Store: While it is true that I used to travel 85 miles one way to buy groceries when we worked at the Grand Canyon, now we only live 13 miles away from a decent grocery store. Since our car gets about 26 miles to a gallon of gas, that means we have to add the cost of a gallon of gas every time we go there.

Make A List:  Yes, this should be a no brainer, but I sometimes to forget to do it. And every time I do, I spend more dollars at the grocery store than I need to. Also, on some things, if I buy it because I can’t remember if I need it or not, it can mean that something goes bad and I have to throw it away. That is not only wasteful, it makes my cost of groceries go up.

Buy In Bulk: I don’t do this often, but on some things it just makes sense. Because I eat gluten free, and not all grocery stores sell all of the items I like and use all the time, when I do come upon something that I like, I buy several. The closest place that sells gluten free tortillas that I love is 40 miles away near my mother’s home. I buy all they have on the shelf whenever I  visit Mama.

Order On-line: Sometimes, ordering online can save a ton of money, especially when it comes with free shipping. We signed up for Amazon Prime so that we could get free shipping on just about anything we buy from Amazon. This is so helpful when I can’t find gluten free items I like in our hick town.

So, what other ways do you save money on groceries?

Oh, my goodness, y’all! Look at this! If you have been reading about my travels and wished you could go there too, here is your chance! The Travel Chanel is giving away The Ultimate RV Sweepstakes.

The prize in this fantastic sweepstakes is a 7-day, 6-night tour on a Type A Luxury RV through the landscapes of Arizona.  The winner and one guest will be touring the Sedona Red Stones, Oak Creek Canyon, Bell Rock and Cathedral Rock. There will be a 9-hour tour of the Grand Canyon, from Flagstaff through the Navajo Nation, and an unforgettable sunset dinner.

I can tell you from first hand experience that the scenery is divine! I miss being there, and wish I could go back. You can live the dream for a 7 days if you win this prize!