Money Monday!

When we lived in the States, Tony always had Labor Day off of work.  Our tradition- using that term loosely- was to go shopping together.  We would load up everyone and hit Auburn or Columbus and enjoy the day together.  Here in Panama, there is no Labor Day today so the kids are at school, and Tony is at work.

In honor of our fallen holiday, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite purchases ever.

Extra Silverware!!

Now this might seem really silly to you, but we were always running out of spoons.  I have no idea where they all went- I speculated they had run off with the missing sock from the dryer- but there were often fights in the morning about spoons.  When we moved to Panama, I went to the warehouse store and purchased restaurants packs of spoons and forks.  I can happily report that no one is ever in need of a spoon or fork.  And, if the kids accidentally throw one away with their lunch, it isn't a big deal! 



The Ninja!

If you didn't know this about me already, I am an informercial junkie.  I've never purchased from them (unless you count QVC), but I love watching.  I had fallen in love with the Ninja, but couldn't bring myself to pay all the shipping and handling the commericals charge.  Tony and I were Christmas shopping at Kohl's two years ago and found the Ninja.  No shipping and handling and a 30% off coupon convinced us to try it.  I love it!!  Beside my Kitchenaid Mixer, it gets the most use of any kitchen gadget.  I'm hoping Santa gets me the upgraded one for Christmas!!

My laptop computer!

(I'm skyping with Chloe's bff who is very frustrated that Chloe is at school on Labor Day!)

This computer was a TOTAL impulse buy.  We made the mistake of running out of groceries on Black Friday last year.  I thought (like a fool) that the crowds and sales would be gone after 1:00.  Well, the crowds were minimal, but that meant lots of the deals were still running.  We ended up buying 2- mp3 players, the laptop, the FLIP camera, a wireless printer, and a stack of flash drives.  It was our only Black Friday shopping trip ever, but we have never had a more productive trip.  Our move to Panama would have been more of a nightmare without the laptop!  (I feel confident that our next trip to the States will include additional ipad/laptop shopping!)

What are some of your best purchases ever?  What items get the most use in your house?