Friday Roundup: Finance, Parenting and Mom Blogs

Last week was busy. My brother and his family stopped by unexpectedly. It seems a woman named Irene huffed and puffed until she chased my bro and his fam all the way to little ol’ Iowa. He was planning to visit anyway, so when Irene spit on him and turned his electricity off, my brother simply loaded the car with kids, toys and as much of their refrigerator as he could, hoping to salvage at least a little of the colossal dent Irene was going to make on their perishables.

Saving $50 of food from the newly stocked fridge was truly a tiny dent; the electricity was out on their portion of the East Coast for days, and Irene did take the perishables hostage, leaving only a rotten stench in the freezer for the (wonderfully kind) in-laws to clean.

Meanwhile, my brother, his wife and their three young boys arrived in Iowa to the peaceful, beautiful last few days of Midwest summer. We all had fun and ate way too much, but they decided to return to the East after a week of fun in the Iowa sun.

Before they left, everyone showed up at my half marathon, arriving just in time to see me cross the finish line. We all jumped up and down, screaming like little school girls over my success. I ran all of the level roads and speed-walked the hills, coming in 23 minutes below the maximum time; for me, this is absolutely, fantastically wonderful!

Unfortunately, the road was uneven during one of the last miles, and I over-worked my left calf muscle. Fortunately, though, a few days of rest should get me back to fighting (or running) form.

Back to my brother, sister-in-law and three nephews: they decided to head for home. They wished me a speedy recovery, and I wished them a speedy yet safe return to the East. They packed their bags, said farewells, and returned to the Irene-ravaged East, mentally prepared to spend way too much money re-stocking their fridge.

All of this excitement leaves me a little behind on my Round-Up. I unfortunately couldn’t find the time to read much last week, and I must apologize! I’ll have to catch up this week; I look forward to reading back posts. But for now, I’ll mention the best of the web for this week:

–RetireBy40 takes us to Couponology, an online shopping coupon site. I’m not a big fan of online shopping, mainly because I like to try on clothes before purchase. But, hmmm, online grocery shopping? Christmas shopping? I might have to check it out.

–Money Cone opened my eyes to some pretty shady Buffett deals. It seems that Warren Buffet cares…about Warren Buffet.

–Prairie Eco Thrifter shares the secrets to a happy marriage. She prescribes sex, communication, a sense of identity and caring. I give all of those the Palm Seal of Approval ;-)

–Beatrice at Sustainable Life Blog illustrates to kindergartner parents a great way to show kids the door…I mean, show your little ones the path to a beautiful first day of school.

–Join BrokeTO for a blast from the past: a dorm recipes post. I can smell my popcorn-and-pizza dorm existence now…but BrokeTO takes it many steps beyond average college fare to some surefire microwave recipes on the cheap – delish and healthy!

–Laura laments, “So. Many. Tomatoes. And. So. Many. Squash.” Check out her plans for the weekly menu…and how she plans to polish off ten huge squash and 500 pounds of tomatoes.

–Tumbleweed Tiny Houses may be the way to go for our dream vacation home. Who needs a lot of space when the great outdoors is your living room? Follow Little House in the Valley’s post on all that the tiny house company offers.

–Surf your way over to Super Frugalette to enter for a chance at a $75 gift card. While there, check out her savings via Gift Card Granny – impressive!

–Stuck with a Groupon coupon? Don’t despair; instead follow Femme Frugality’s lead and re-sell it.

–Sarah shares her Labor Day experience, complete with a cloudy beach, good seafood, and a content toddler. Pretty spectacular day of rest and relaxation!

–The Mouthy Housewives is a guilty pleasure of mine. The somewhat un-PC vibe is always hilarious to me, and the advice is usually fantastic (even if hidden under some jokes and funny exaggerations). This week, they address how to make friends when you’re a young mom. I’m not a mom yet (and I’m not all that young), but this still had me cracking up…and ready to befriend others.

–A Caprese Omelet is calling my name, thanks to My Kids Eat Squid. I have fresh tomatoes coming out my ears because a neighbor keeps forcing them on me politely offering them to me, so I only need a few veggies to complete a tasty vegetarian meal.

–Derek at Life and my Finances is giving away a ton of prizes, including an iPad2. It’s his blogaversary, so his kindness has run rampant…wait, aren’t we supposed to give him the presents? Happy blogaversary, Derek!

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