"Cougie"

Yesterday, my daughter asked if I could take her to the local Salvation Army. Nicole loves going there for books and usually comes out with armfuls of classics for very little money. When I was younger, I used to love going to thrift stores with my mom, and then later with my sister. I never knew what treasures I would find. In the 1970s, I would always look for troll dolls. Anyway, I saw this cougar picture yesterday and I had to get it. It's only a print, not a painting, but there's something about it that I really like. It's on my wall now, but I took a picture of it sitting by my china cabinet so you can see how big it is. It was only $6.50. We had the boys with us, so we all had to pile into my Jeep Wrangler with this picture. The boys nicknamed it "Cougie", so that's what it's called now. I love mountain lions.

I also found some books for the boys, pictured below. I got 16 books for a whopping $2.45. You can't beat that! Some of them I picked out myself, to use during themed weeks in school, but a few others the boys picked out themselves. I collect the Little Golden Books, so I got a few of those as well. The Noah's Ark one was marked free and I swear, it doesn't even look like it's been opened. I love buying brand new books for the boys, but sometimes they're so expensive. New picture books can be $20 or more these days. I tell you, it will be a sad day if I ever see one of my books in a thrift store bin for 10-cents, but oh well. We all love a bargain, and in this economy, we all need as many bargains as we can get. If you've been following my Facebook page, you'll know I'm all about bargains and being cheap lately. The other day I bought a pair of jeans for Nathan at Target on clearance for $1.74. I've also been joking about drinking generic soda and eating off-brand Big Stick popsicles. But hey, every little bit helps.

And finally, don't forget to check out Nikki's book tour here for her new picture book, What's Wrong With Mud? I'm really excited for her new book, as well as the 3 books she has lined up for me by 4RV Publishing. She's illustrating my Critter series -- Lemur Troops & Critter Groups, Stork Musters & Critter Clusters, and Pony Strings & Critter Things. Nikki Shoemaker is an awesome illustrator and I hope you can visit the remainder of her blog tour. The full schedule is here.