I found a new strategy in a Women’s Day mag … start saving $5 bills as you would your change. I believe the family featured in the article saved almost $2,000 over a one-year period and used the money for vacation.

By Photos8.com on Flickr

There are two $5 bills laying on the table next to me that are headed for the jar (although I’m thinking I may need to exchange my jar for a different container). There are also a few dimes, nickels and pennies because quarters are best for meters. I’ll keep you posted on my progress. And I’d love to hear if you have a change jar story or unusual strategy.

I found the exact model I wanted at Ultimate Electronics for $40 less than Lowe’s. Until I peeked at the ad a few weeks ago, I didn’t even know they carried appliances. They are worth a look if you are in need.

Also, this dishwasher thing has me a little perplexed. The new one was under $265. It’s a Whirlpool … not an off brand, and exactly like the one I had, which lasted more than 10 years. It has an electronic key pad, but isn’t stainless, although I think it was available for a just bit more. But gosh, I saw other models for $1,000+. What in the heck sort of dishwasher bells and whistles could be worth $700+? Those dishes come out clean … my dishes come out clean. What else is there? For that much money, I’d expect my dishes to come out of there with a freshly made gourmet meals on them!

It was tough to photograph the puppies when I first brought them home. They were small, clinging to each other and constantly sleepy:

Three and a half weeks flew by fast, and last night, my wonderful retired neighbor that feeds and takes the pups out around noon every day gently asked if I’d gotten them on the Web site. Although Buster and Paisley were more than ready for their individual close-ups, and I had a good idea of their personalities for the profiles, I just hadn’t gotten around to doing it.

The guilt quickly set in … my neighbor is very kind (she has spent time with Chewy pretty much every day while I’m at work since he was a puppy), but the fosters require a more set schedule and are a lot of work. And speaking of Chewy … he’s the reason I started fostering puppies because he loves playing with other dogs. However, I fostered the first set of puppies when he wasn’t quite one year old. Now, at nearly three, he’s not having quite as much fun. These puppies are also a bit needier and seem to have bonded more with me than the others (Paisley is in my lap as I type)… and Chew is just a smidge jealous.

So I made a huge sacrifice last night , and instead of hand washing dishes (still no dishwasher … because I haven’t quite gotten around to that either), I wrote their profile and took their pics (which was a LOT like herding cats).

Here are their profiles: Paisley (aka Whitesnake) and Buster (aka Poison). (Some of their littermates … Kiss, Bon Jovi, Tesla, Twisted Sister, Guns N Roses … are also on the site.)

And here are a few pics that didn’t make it on the site:

P.S. They went for their second round of shots Monday and each weighed around 13 pounds!

While washing and thinking last night, I had to giggle at the thought that I was like a 50s housewife washing dishes with yellow rubber gloves and a gin cocktail …

And yelling at the kids …

I also had to give thanks once again for Facebook as I realized the gin cocktail was the result of a tip from my friend Val on a low-sugar adult beverage (she suggested vodka, lime and club soda; I chose gin). Katie suggested the rubber gloves when I lamented about prune-y fingers. And I got an awesome tip from Sandy, who shared she’d been using her broken dishwasher as a drying rack … brilliant, given that you can keep the dishes out of sight while they dry (if I’m washing, I’m certainly not drying!)

Val, Katie and Sandy are three people I likely wouldn’t talk to very regularly at this point in my life, and certainly not about the issues they helped solved for me.

Here’s hoping for a great dishwasher sale this weekend. And while I’ll never love hand washing dishes, I’ll certainly dread it a lot less … I’ll just have to make sure I have rubber gloves and a cocktail.

They are still cute as buttons though.

I did learn they came from a litter of 10 and were living in a run-down abandoned house in North County with their amazing mom … she kept 10 little ones safe and alive even in the horrid conditions and cold temps. They were able to rescue her with the pups and she’s available for adoption too. Here’s the story of their rescue (in the first row of pictures, momma’s on the left and one of their littermates is on the right).

The living on the street thing explains the slight skittishness they had at first, but that’s getting better everyday as they learn to trust and are being schooled on being a house dog by Chewy, who is enjoying them more as they get older (and less annoying … to him).

And even though Buster and Paisley won’t be going to college, they are pretty smart. They still have accidents, but mostly get that they need to potty outside even at less than 10 weeks old.

If you know anyone looking for a puppy, they are each available for adoption. And if you are able and interested, Stray Rescue can always use fosters. (Read the whole story in the link above and here for evidence of the amazing work they do … and to maybe shed a few tears for the ones that were lost.)

Doubly good for the soul …

And when they up for more playing and less sleeping in a few weeks … double trouble!

At this point, you might be asking yourself, “What about that weird title she gave this post?” Well, Stray Rescue names all the puppies in a litter by a theme. The last set of puppies I had were named after characters on Dynasty. These two … named after 80s hair bands. Fun theme … really dumb names. The adorable little boy on the right is Poison. His cuddly little sister is Whitesnake. Really?

I knew by the time I got the slightly pudgy Poison into the car that he was going to be Buster Brown while he was at my house. I wasn’t so sure about the sweet girl. She’s about half his size so I imagine she was the runt of the litter, but she’s far more adventurous and sassy than he is (so far, he’s a bit nervous and just wants to sleep). Still, Sassy didn’t seem like a good fit. Her little tail wags incredibly fast, especially when she’s trying to play with Chewy, but nothing came to mind that would fit that.

Then it hit me. In the car on the way home, she wouldn’t settle down if any music besides country was on. Naming her after a country artist seemed like the perfect rebellion against Whitesnake. Paisley (as in Brad) seems to be sticking. I also considered Faith and Toby, although that seemed too boyish. Any other suggestions?

Even reduced-fat package microwave popcorn has a fairly long list of ingredients that don’t sound very healthy, including added color. The Glamour recipe … 3 Tbsp. popcorn kernels. Place them in a paper lunch bag. Fold the top of the bag down a few times. Microwave for two to three minutes or until popping slows (mine took less than a minute and a half.) Add your favorite popcorn topping (I’m going with a few sprays of Pam, a touch of salt and hot sauce … healthy hottt corn!)

I was a bit skeptical of the whole paper bag thing and of popping the corn without any fat, but it totally worked! And it has to be a ton cheaper and much healthier than the packaged variety.

For the most part, I’m an artificial sweetener fan … Sweet & Low, beginning as a kid, and recently Splenda. But I’ve always been concerned about the chemicals. And recent studies are showing that our bodies don’t know the difference between sugar and the fake stuff, which could contribute to weigh gain. Here’s a good explanation from Dr. Katz, who is featured on Oprah.

So when my February Glamour magazine featured a week-long “cleanse” with no sweets or added sugar or sweeteners as part of its Body By Glamour diet and exercise series, I was intrigued. The series focuses on healthy, reasonable eating rather than fad-diet extremes, and the “cleanse” is no different.

It includes three smaller meals and two snack, consisting of lots of veggies and fruits, lean protein and dairy, select whole grains and healthy fats. The following should be avoided:

• Packaged foods
• Soda
• Bread, pasta, crackers
• Butter and cheese
• Red meat
• Caffeine (yeah, no caffeine is a goal of mine, but I haven’t gotten here and wasn’t about go cold turkey; instead, I went had a cup or two of unsweetened coffee and then a few glasses of unsweetened iced tea)
• Alcohol (ok … I cheated a bit here)

So … my first sips of unsweetened coffee and tea were … ok (I swear). Of course, the coffee wasn’t quite as yummy as “candy,” but not horrid. Each morning I’ve had a cup of unsweetened oatmeal with a half cup of berries, a few walnuts and a little milk. It’s pretty tasty, and most importantly … I’m not hungry until lunch, which is rare for me. I chalk it up to the fact that I’m not experiencing the drop in blood sugar from the sweet meal I’d normally have. In fact, I haven’t been all that hungry all week, despite eating smaller quantities of much healthier fare. And my energy levels have been good … no afternoon “I need a Diet Coke” lulls.

The “cleanse” is just for a week, but I plan to definitely stick with no soda, no-added-sugar/sweetener breakfasts and unsweetened coffee and tea. If you’re interested in checking it out, the whole plan is outlined at Glamour.com (you do have to sign up, but can opt out of receiving e-mails).

I guess it just shocks me to see fox, raccoons and hawks in my subdivision. I just never guessed when I moved to SoCo (a fairly populated suburb of St. Louis better known as South County) that I’d see so much wild life. I grew up in a less populated suburb, just south of South County and really never saw many animals at all, despite our house being a across from a large wooded area. Perhaps I paid less attention as a kid, or maybe the animals were able to hide in the woods … and here they really have no choice.

It’s kind of a nice surprise (see … who needs theme parks?). This little guy (smaller than Chewy I think) was super cute and looked beautiful running through the brush behind my neighbor’s house.