Becca

What I got for under $1 each this week.....

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 04:03:09 GMT

OUST DISINFECTANT: $4.49
Reduced to $3.99
$2/1 coupon
$1 Rebate
Final Price: $0.99

GLADE SENSE & SPRAY AIR FRESHENER: $9.99
Reduced $5.99
$4/1 coupon
$1 CVS "Extra Buck" (earned from a previous purchase)
Final Price: $0.99
This was a fun purchase. It's a little container with a sensor
and after the sensor is blocked by shadow for a certain amount of time
scented oil is sprayed into the air. Shuts off for 30 minutes afterward
so it can't spray too much. I put it on top of the toilet.

SCHICK RAZOR: $9.99
$4 Walgreens Coupon
$4/1 Manufacturer coupon
$1 Walgreens Credit (earned from previous purchase)
Final Price: $0.99
(Had I used my $2 credit I could have gotten this
for free, but I wanted to save it for later)

KLEENEX (80 sheet box): $2.29
Buy One Get One Free
$1/4 coupon
Final Price: $0.89

SOYJOY BAR: $1.39
Sale 2/$1 (or $.50 each)
Buy One Get One Free coupon
Final Price: $0.25
(These taste good but are incredibly small, like the size of a finger.
Too expensive for what you get, I won't buy these again unless
I get another great coupon deal.)

MENTOS SUGARFREE GUM: $1.69
Two for $2 sale
$1/1 manufacturer coupon
$0.55/1 manufacturer coupon
Final Price: $0.22

Barilla Piccolini Mini Fusilli pasta: $1.59
- $0.50/1 coupon
- $1.00 discount (Triple Coupon day at Harris Teeter
so all coupons up to 99 cents are tripled in value)
Final Price: $0.09

REYNOLDS WRAP (20 FT): $1.69
Reduced $0.89
$1/1 coupon
Final Price: FREE!

SOFTSOAP BODY WASH: $4.49
Manufacturer coupon for 1 free body wash product,
received after buying one on sale this week.
Final Price: FREE!

I'm looking forward to the post-Easter sales so I can use some candy coupons (I need to stock up for sugar cravings during that special time of the month).

Retail Price of Purchases: $47.56
Spent: $7.56

MuaHAHAHAHAaaaaa!

Thank you coupons

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:56:39 GMT

I recently began coupon clipping (like a month ago) and..... I'm a little addicted. Is it weird that I get a natural high from finding good deals? It's like a game, but in the end I know I'm the one being played by the companies. I have been saving coupons, trying not to be impulsive, waiting for the day when a sale and coupon would match up. I had mainly been looking in the Safeway and Giant leaflets for savings ideas, and for some reason it didn't occur to me to look in the CVS/Walgreens/Rite Aid leaflets as well. So this week I did, the stars aligned, and I found some SWEET savings.

If anyone cares, tonight I went to CVS and bought:

SOFTSOAP LIQUID HAND SOAP: $3.29
Sale 3/$5 ($1.67 each), but no need to buy 3 for the discount
used $1/2 coupon
Final Price = $1.17

COLGATE TOTAL TOOTHPASTE: $2.99
Sale 2/$5
$1 Extra CVS Cash Buck
$1/1 coupon
Final Price = $1.50 (although, DANGIT, I just found another $1 coupon so I could have gotten the toothpaste for $1 each!!!)

LADY SPEEDSTICK 24/7 DEODORANT: $2.99
Sale $1.99
$.75/1 coupon
Final Price = $1.24

ENERGIZER BATTERIES (8 pack): $8.49
Sale $5.99
$1/1 coupon
Final Price = $4.99

LISTERINE (500 mL): $4.19
50% off
$1.50/2 hygiene items coupon (split with some dental floss)
Final Price = $1.34

REACH DENTAL FLOSS: $1.99
$1.50/2 coupon (so really just $.75 savings)
Final Price = $1.34

My total for these items was $15.15 but I SAVED $15.07. I basically got 50% off my whole purchase!!!!

I'm awesome.

More excitement awaits tomorrow at Walgreens. Alright look, I know that store sales and coupons "matching up" is no coincidence and it's all a marketing scheme, but I don't really care if it can result in saving money like this.

Although I bought a little too much candy today because it was buy 1 get 1 free.
Kevin's advice to me was this: "If you BUY things that you don't WANT, then you're STUPID." He's so helpful. :) I'll write that on the front of my coupon organizer.

I'm sad

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:32:33 GMT

I got a pay cut of $2 per massage at work today. The amount I was being paid was barely worth my time anyways, but this is just not worth it now.

Apparently I have one of the lowest request rates at work (10%). I feel like 10% is ok, considering I have only been working there shy of six months. Also, I only do about 10-12 massages per week, so I think having 1 or 2 requests is a fine number. According to The Boss, my percentage should be around 60. I am not performing at the level they thought I would when I was hired. I asked what the pay range was among employees, and he gave a very vague answer, but I believe I was one of the higest paid.

Don't feel like talking about details yet, I'm too pissed off. But basically I feel like my boss is trying to cut costs, and my situation seemed like a good excuse to save $30 a week. There was no warning, other than "starting next pay period we are cutting your pay". Quite the opposite of a warning, he told me what was going to happen, then in 30 days we meet again to see if I am being requested more. If I am, then my pay goes back up.... but I have a feeling it will stay the same.

I asked, how do I get requested more? The answer, explained very politely, was basically that I need to massage better. To my boss "money speaks" and if I'm not being requested by clients I massaged, then they didn't like the massage. I am supposed to "learn from my peer group" somehow and magically learn new skills over the next 30 days. What gets me is this.....

#1. First of all, I KNOW that I give a good massage. I can't grade myself on it, because I have no idea how it feels! But I KNOW that clients like it.... yeah sometimes I'm not everybody's cup of tea, but that's fine! They are more than welcome to go to another therapist. Everybody has their own style.

#2. Thanks for the fucking warning.

#3. Learning a couple of new techniques, strokes, stretches, isn't going to magically get me more work.

#4. I've given my boss a massage twice. I asked him to tell me what he thought I could have done differently, and he said he couldn't remember specifics.

#5. What does it matter if I am requested or not???? These people have memberships, they are locked into a 12-month contract. I get a $2 bonus for requests (ironic it's the same amount I'm being cut!), so it's money out of his pocket. Clients are going to come back to the clinic no matter what, because they have a contract, and are being billed monthly, so who cares if they skip around to different therapists?

#6. Do you know what it feels like to have someone tell you that you're not good enough, even when you're giving 100%? And you need to be better or your job is probably in jeopardy? But nobody tells you exactly WHAT you need to do!? Of course there is always something new to learn in the massage world (I would have find a class to take), but I don't understand how I can be "better" when I feel that I am doing my best already. What exactly do I need to change? What the HELL?!?!?!

I feel inadequate...... and I feel like shit.

There was a lot of other sketchyness in the meeting, but I'm too tired to elaborate.

I am known to cry in confrontational situations, and surprisingly kept myself together during the meeting. However, the tears started flowing the second I left work and didn't stop for like 2 hours.

Does anyone know of a spa that is hiring???? Please keep your eyes open for me.....

in the mood for grease (with a side of baked beans)

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:10:42 GMT

I am coming out of a cooking rut. For a while I haven't had the inclination to cook much of anything, and being the main dinner-maker at home, this resulted in another trip to Let's Dish. Assembling the meals is loads of fun, cooking them is easy as well, but I find that they taste "plain". Don't know how to describe it.... I suppose there is only so much that you can freeze in order to have no additional cooking required. Actually there have been a few meals that I loved, but most are eh. We decided to make "half meals" (giving us two meals that serve 3 instead of one meal for 6), but I can't find the motivation to eat some of them again.

Anyways.

Mom subscribed me to "Cuisine at Home", an awesome cooking magazine. I found and made their recipe for almond crusted turkey breast with a sherry gravy and mashed potatoes (amaaaazing gravy by the way, posting recipe soon), and like that the cooking bug bit me again.

So I planned dinners for the whole week, and doing this made me realize how unsettled not knowing what's for dinner (the day of) makes me. I attempted menu planning once before but obviously didn't stick to it.

Somebody got me Paula Deen's first cookbook (The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook) this Christmas (or last Christmas?) and I found a recipe for "Southern Baked Beans". Anyone who is familiar with Ms. Paula knows that she LOVES butter and grease. The beans are cooking in the oven as I type this, with 10 minutes to go. I never post recipes until I have tried and loved it, but I am prematurely posting this one because it has two of my favorite things in it: bacon, and onions cooked in bacon grease. Oh and REAL maple syrup, how can you not love that?!

---------------------------
Southern Baked Beans
serves 4

- 1/2 pound bacon
- 1 large onion, diced
- One 16-ounce can pork and beans
- 3 tablespoons yellow mustard (Crap and poop sticks! Just realized I forgot to put this in!)
- 5 tablespoons maple or pancake syrup
- 4 tablespoons ketchup

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Fry bacon until crisp; crumble.

In bacon drippings, saute onion until brown.

Mix bacon, onion, and drippings with remaining ingredients. Do not take a picture of yourself doing this; it is disorienting and dangerous!

Pour into casserole dish and bake covered for 45-60 minutes.

Then, realize that there's a smidgen of maple syrup left in the bottle! Pretend that the syrup is medicine and pour it into a spoon. If there is any more, waste not, and finish off the bottle.

---------------------------

Ok I just ran back to the kitchen and drew a mustard sad face on the beans, then mixed it after I took a picture. Too bad the card wasn't in the camera! Dumbass!

I commend you for making it to the end of this boring post. I'll let you know how the beans turned out!

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:45:07 GMT

On the dinner menu for the week, in no particular order:
- roasted herb pork chops (a Let's Dish meal) & mashed potatoes
- Spam/Mac & Cheese, some sort of veggie
- Waldorf Salad
- Hot Dogs, Southern Baked Beans
- Flank steak w/carmelized onions and balsamic glaze (another Let's Dish meal)
- Cheese Fondue!!! (I bought some Swiss and Ementaler, we'll see how they taste together)

We got a special Jackson Pollock "print" for the dining room from posters.com (so really it's just a poster). I think it looks nice.

Oh, and a new light fixture!

Here and there

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:49:13 GMT

My first day of class involved getting a facial, then being sent home 2 hours early. My second day (today) involved signing a lot of paper, writing personal/professional goals, then leaving 2 hours early. Tomorrow we supposedly get down to business.

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So far I don't miss Atholton. I love the fact that I can get up with the sun at 7, 7:30, or even 8 (!!!) if I feel like it.

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People that work at the Board of Ed are idiots. All I need is a letter stating that my benefits end on the 31st, so I can join Kevin's plan. This is apparently too much to ask.

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My new windshield was defective. I heard air coming through it on Tuesday and called the company to fix it. They couldn't come out until Wednesday, but then cancelled because it was raining..... after a day of rain my dashboard was covered in water and the headliner was soaked around the edges. Everything was fixed on Thursday.

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I want a Wii so I can play DDR and Wii Fit.

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I am obsessed with this salad. I have eaten it at least 6 times in the past two weeks.

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:21:22 GMT

Today was the first work day after a gloriously lazy 2-week Winter Break. I woke up ON TIME, grabbed the yummy lunch I made last night, and walked to the car at. I was going to be early for work instead of 5 or 10 minutes late! I usually park right in front of our building, but last night the parking lot was uncharacteristically full and I had to park very far away. The sky was still dark at 6:55 AM when I left our place.

As I approached my car I noticed something sparkly on the ground. Like crushed ice, or clear plastic pieces, or..... glass. Shattered glass.

Then I quickly processed the following:

I stood, staring for what felt like forever (likely only 5 seconds), devoid of emotion, thought, and a firm grasp on reality. Then finally words: "Well.... happy fucking New Year!". I took a deep sigh and went back inside. Called work to tell them I wasn't coming in for a while, the police to file a report, my insurance to open a claim, and a glass company to come do repairs. I was surprisingly level headed. I mean, sure I was annoyed about the situation, but I didn't feel angry or like I had to yell or cry.

Funny thing is that one of my first thoughts was of a story I read in the Bible yesterday. Job was a guy that loved God, and Satan thought God treated Job too well. So Satan tells God that if he were ever to test Job with something awful, Job would turn his back on God. God tells Satan to go ahead and test away, as long as Job isn't hurt. No matter what happens.... losing his animals, the death of his children, or some weird skin disease, he still praises God. Actually, he does get really depressed, but the point I was trying to make is that we all get tested in life and we have to remember that everything is for a reason and there is always a bright side. And try not to freak out. Today was the first in weeks, probably months, that I have prayed in earnest....

Some positives from today:
- Didn't go to work!
- repair people came a few hours after I called them, and everything is fixed
- insurance is covering everything
- since I was sitting at home, I was able to answer my cell and accept an offer from work to pick up some massages today

The tool used to break my window! I can't imagine where this rock came from because there are none like it around our parking area.

That's kind of cool, a piece of glass stuck in the steering wheel.

And I thought this was pretty.

Hey there..... it looks like something is missing but I can't quite place it. Oh that's right! My GPS system was swiped from the dash board.

Looks like they tried to break the windshield too.

Understatement of the year = my car is a mess. I filled this whole bag with trash and papers so the glass people could clean better, and can now see the floor of my car! Yaaaay!

Another positive would be that even though my GPS thingy was stolen (dammit!!!), money and CDs were not. They obviously were only after the GPS by the window because there was another (broken) one under the passenger seat, and envelopes of cash tips sitting by the glove compartment.

Go figure something like this would happen on the ONE night I park in a different area. Oh well. Life goes on.

Say Whaaaat?!

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 02:17:01 GMT

So far so good on my goal to read the Bible every day. I have been using the website biblegateway.com, and pulling up two versions (NIV and The Message) at the same time to compare. The Message is easier for me to read, yet its modern twist tends to lose the eloquence of the NIV version.

Example from today.

"While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, 'The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!'" - Job 1:16 (NIV)

"While he was still talking, another messenger arrived and said, 'Bolts of lightning struck the sheep and the shepherds and fried them--burned them to a crisp. I'm the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened!'" - Job 1:16 (MES)

HA! Can't help but laugh at the sillyness.

Another example:

"And the LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."

"God singled out Satan, saying, "And what have you been up to?" Satan answered God, "Oh, going here and there, checking things out.""

The next Bible version, called "Instant Message" will go, "God said, 'What up?'. Satan replied "IDK, NM."

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 05:23:39 GMT

OK so no more crazy list-making about everything I did during the day, at least for everyone to read. It's boring and I found myself skimming along as I re-read posts, which is the last thing I want to make you all do. I'll make these lists on my computer instead from now on.

I got a new planner (actually 2) at Staples today and I'm excited to start using them. I love new planners because they symbolize organization and sanity! There is a big one for keeping track of massage sessions, and a much smaller one to keep in my purse to keep track of upcoming events.

I tend to blog-stalk a bunch of people that I don't even know. Some go to Grace Community Church, others live in different states. Whatever, I enjoy their writing! Some I have been reading for practically two years. Anyways, Kevin and I went to Ruby Tuesdays tonight, and as we walked in the door I SAW one of my stalkees. She was a REAL person, haha! I didn't know what to do! I read a couple of weeks ago that she's pregnant, and I wanted so much to congratulate her tonight.... but how freaking weird would that be if a total stranger congratulated you on your not even 2-month long pregnancy?! It would be very very weird.

Speaking of pregnancy, I have a super power of knowing when people are pregnant but not showing yet. At least five times this past year I was able to tell. And speaking of blog stalking, I had a dream two nights ago that one of the other blogger women was pregnant. Well yesterday I went to her blog and she announced that she was pregnant! I freaking kid you not! And again, it's not like I can post a comment on her blog explaining the strange situation. That would be weird as well.

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 05:39:47 GMT

1/02/08

- got out of bed around 1:30 am because I was hungry. Had a clementine and went on the internet, read my Bible verses for the day and looked at blogs. Enjoyed comparing the difference in writing style between New International Verson (NIV) and The Message. Will post something soon. Fell asleep on the couch next to the Christmas tree
- Somehow woke up at nearly 12 (!!!) even though I set my alarm for 8 am. Annoyed.
- Watch some of The Office, and look at cookbooks for dinner ideas
- Call Kevin to apologize for being unproductive, since I promised to clean my side of the bedroom and didn't follow through
- My first day with the extended schedule at Massage Envy (3-8 pm). Four hours of massage work with 1 regular massage and 2 hot stones.
- Make Almond Rice Pilaf and Lime/Garlic Tilapia for dinner. So awesome.
- Watch documentary about the history of Pixar. Fascinated.
- Watch more of The Office and laugh really hard
- Decided to create a food blog "Trying Not To Burn Things" so I can share my recipes with everyone (www.Drum-yum-yums.blogspot.com)

A section of lights burned out on the Christmas tree today when I plugged them back in. They had been on 24/7 for a couple weeks, but I unplugged them last night so it wasn't so bright at 2 am. Sadness :(

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 04:01:10 GMT

12/31/08
1:30 am- finally go to bed after painting the first coat on the kitchen walls with Kevin
6:30- Woke up asked Kevin if he is going to help me paint, and he says "Um...." and falls back to sleep. Pissed off, I started to put the second coat of purple (!!!) pain on the kitchen walls by myself. Want it done in the morning so we don't have to worry about wet paint when people come over. Kevin thinks he's getting out of work early and wants to wait.
7:00- Tried to get Kevin up. He mumbled something about "the alarm just went off" and falls back to sleep.
7:25- Tell Kevin to GET OUT OF BED AND HELP ME
9:00- We finish painting, the fumes have gotten to me. Kevin is late leaving for work (wouldn't have happened if he woke up earlier!) and my jaw muscles hurt and I have a headache
9:30- Get my free monthly massage at work, yay! Tight all over and my head hurts even more.
11:00- Stop by parents house to pick up my Christmas stocking and coffee for the whiskey pie. Haven't eaten yet and feel dehydrated, so I have a glass of water. Within 30 seconds I run upstairs and barf. Crazy!
11:30- Go to the grocery store and get food for New Year's Party that night.
Basically from then on I feel like shit. Mom comes over and cleans out the 2 months of leftovers in the fridge (I love you!!!) while I prep food. She brings saltines and ginger ale to help my tummy. I eat a clementine and have a sip of ginger ale, and within one minute run out of the room to barf. Mom asks me if I'm pregnant... I am NOT! I take down the blue tape on the walls, clean up the dining room, fight off taking a nap, etc. Kevin gets home at regular time (no early day) and helps clean up. I throw up again. Seriously consider calling off the party but I am looking forward to it too much, plus I've already bought the food. I stayed in my sweatpants and hoodie all day and didn't change for the party.... I honestly didn't care. At 7:30 only Brian and Deb came to dinner; Laura and Doug came late around 9, and Amy and John cancelled. Ended up cooking for 4 instead of 8. I made a yummy salad and pasta (which didn't taste nearly as good as I remember, sorry guys, thanks for pretending to like it), but only ate saltines and butter for my meal.
We played Apples to Apples (always fun), drank eggnog, ate whiskey pie, played with the birdies, and watched the ball drop. I thought I took a cool video of the group counting down the last 10 seconds of 2008, but apparently I pressed the button twice by accident and only have 5 random seconds recorded. Oh well.

Not sure where the sickness came from. Maybe the flu thing that has been floating around? I have had sores in my mouth for the past week, which is rare for me and normally means that illness is fast approaching. Another theory is that two days ago I made a Sun Butter (like peanut butter but made with sunflower seeds) and Jelly sandwich.... the jelly was new, and I found some mold growing on the top whe I opened the jar. I thought, eww gross, but then figured that maybe it's like cheese in that you can cut off the moldy section and the rest is still good. So I spooned a big chunk of jelly off and went about making the sandwich. Now I'm scared to eat the jelly, and pissed that I should probably throw it away because it was new and tasted so good.

1/01/09-
- Kevin went to work, even though I told him that hardly anyone works on New Years Day. He returns 30 minutes later because his office is closed (hah!)
- Slept until 1:00! Woot woot, it was awesome, and I felt mostly better.
- went on the internet, looked for ornaments and Christmas decor on sale, but everything I want is sold out (dammit, I should have bought stuff the day after Christmas and not waited!)
- watched 2 episodes of The Office (season 3)
- ate leftovers from last night
- cleaned the kitchen and dishes with Kev
- tried to watch Billy Madison, but only got through the first 15 minutes. Don't remember it being that silly.
- watched about 30 minutes of James and the Giant Peach, but stop because Kevin thinks it's too childish. :)
- wached more of The Office (one of the best shows ever)

It was a lazy day. And I loved it.

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:15:19 GMT

Haven't posted in a very long time. I often think of posts to share as I go through the day, but the task of writing it all down in full thoughts overwhelms me. Therefore tonight I feel like writing a bullet list.

Goals for 2009:
- Spend less money (2008 was expensive: condo down payment, wedding, honeymoon, furniture, blah blah etc.)
- Budget again (I did this well in 2007 but fell out of it in '08)
- do more weekly menu planning
- treat my body better (start stretching so my muscles aren't so tight, get back into climbing at least once a week, drink more water, get more massages!)
- take more pictures
- keep track of what I do during the day, fun quotes and events, so that I can remember all the little things that happened and not just big events. Expect many more bulleted (and boring) posts.
- give more.... smiles, money, hugs, kisses, and time to others
- be positive
- be respectful towards my husband (less bitchiness)
- be a better person..... that's so vague
- read the Bible. I haven't opened and read my Bible in a long long time, for no good reason at all. This year I want to read the WHOLE Bible, and I want to do it chronologically. Downloaded a daily schedule (I love schedules!) to follow, which requires reading at least 3 chapters per day. I have to be disciplined!
- read more books
- spend more time with friends
- return phone calls and e-mails (I am horrible at this) :(
- clean up after myself

That's a lot of stuff!! Obviously everything won't happen at once, so maybe I will concentrate on a few, and then make weekly/monthly goals as I go along. Then it's less overwhelming.

What are some of your goals?

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:22:36 GMT

When we first moved into our place I cooked up a storm. But for the past month, it seems that I am less and less motivated to grocery shop, not to mention cook or clean up. There was a time that I didn't shop for at least two weeks and we practically ate everything that we had in stock.... not a bad thing, because we saved a couple hundred dollars on food, but not very exciting or nutritious. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to cook and try new recipes but I found myself going to the store practically every day to pick up this and that because I didn't decide on a meal plan until that evening. I'm trying something new, and that is planning out the whole week's meals. Not like anybody really cares though! I will attach links to recipe sources so you can check them out if interested.

I'm forcing myself to cook meat even though I don't eat it that often. Honestly, the reason I don't cook meat that often is because raw meat freaks me out (cooking well enough, sanitization of hands and surfaces, general look and texture, etc.). But cooking pasta night after night is pretty boring after a while so I want to spice it up. Anyways, I gave each day a "theme" (beef/chicken/salad/vegetarian/fish, etc.).

Monday
Chili and Cornbread
(taken from my "Food to Live By" book, which I love)

Tuesday
Creamy Pesto Fish

Wednesday
Leftovers
(Kevin and I go to dance lessons Wednesday night, so I don't want to cook or come home to a messy kitchen)

Thursday
Quick Beef Bourginonne

Friday
Greek Isles Fettuccini

Saturday
Dinner with Parents

Sunday
Slow Cooker- Chicken with Bacon, Mushrooms, and Onions
(Slow Cooking Sundays are to motivate Kevin and I to go to church at 5 and not use the excuse that we need to make dinner or something. This way, I can assemble everything before I go to work at the spa, and it will be cooked by the time we get home from church.)

Some of you might be wondering, why does Becca do all the cooking?! I really don't know to be honest with you! It started when we moved in and he was working full time and going to school, so I decided to cook at night so he wouldn't have to worry about it and could focus on work. I will absolutely let Kevin take control for a night and gain some experience in the kitchen, at whatever point he is ready, but for now I like cooking for him.

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 19:38:53 GMT

I just made this for lunch for Kevin and I. Soooo good, and very easy to make! I threw the extra packets in the fridge for lunch tomorrow.

Foil-Packed Chicken and Artichoke
serves 6

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups instant white rice, uncooked
3 cups warm water
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.), 1/2 inch thick
1 can (13-3/4 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained, quartered
2 cups chopped tomatoes (about 2 large)
1/2 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
1/4 cup pesto

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Mix rice and water; spoon evenly onto center of each of six large sheets of heavy-duty foil. Top each with 1 chicken breast. Cover evenly with the artichokes and tomatoes. Mix dressing and pesto together, then drizzle evenly over chicken and tomatoes/artichokes.

BRING up foil sides. Double fold top and both ends to seal each packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Place packets in single layer in 15x10x1-inch baking pan.

BAKE 30 to 35 min. or until chicken is cooked through (170°F). Remove packets from oven; let stand 5 min. Place one packet on each of six dinner plates. Cut slits in foil with sharp knife to release steam before opening.

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:22:15 GMT

I'm sitting on my balcony having breakfast and checking email, and it's great! Our internet and telephone line is being installed on Thursday so for the time being we are stealing service from an unprotected wireless network. HA! Our condo is on the top floor (the third), and the balcony faces a huge tree with branches extending to only a few feet from the railing. There are also many other trees and a bikepath if you look hard enough. But right now with all the birds singing to each other close by and in the distance, the rain trickling through the leaves, and my field of vision filled with nothing but green, I feel like I am in a hidden treehouse in the rainforest. So relaxing. The tree protects the balcony so well that I can sit out here in a rain storm and not worry about a thing.

On Thursday we got a couch. It's a big L-shaped 2-piece sectional that my neighbors gave us for free. I told them that we didn't have any furniture and they were like, "Take our couch! We want to get a new one anyways and need to get rid of this one!". So obviously we took it! Some friends helped us move it. The best part about that experience was at the beginning when our friends with the van showed up. Kevin and I were sitting on the front steps of my parents house waiting, and as two boys walked up the street a cop car turned onto our street and pulled up behind them. Then another cop car followed. They asked to speak with the boys for a moment, and I don't know what happened, they were just talking to each other and things seemed fine. Then all of a sudden they were being patted down with their hands in the air. The boys sat down next to the cars and at the exact moment that our friends turn onto our street the boys are cuffed. It's always fun to give friends a good first impression of the neighborhood you've been living in your whole life. The moving process was fine, I helped bring the couch out to the van, but I didn't help with carrying it up the three flights of stairs to our place. I've been sleeping on it for the past two nights and it is sooo comfortable.

Yesterday Kevin and I managed to spend a whole day together. I can't remember the last time we were able to do that. I'm always working weekends at the spa so I pretty much work 7 days a week. But since the spa was closed yesterday for the 4th we took advantage and starting around 10 am began to look for furniture. A few days ago we went to the Room Store off of Dobbin Rd and found a dining room set that we liked. We (mostly Kevin) wanted to look at other stores to see options, but quickly found that everything else was very expensive. Also a lot of stores carry the same products, just at drastically different prices! There was a Room Store on Route 40 (where we had been shopping) so we went in to see if any products were different. Not really, just a different floor plan, and we ended up finding the dining set we ORIGINALLy were going to buy and bought it. We also bought a cute coffee table for the living room. The guy who helped us was obviously new and kept making mistakes with the order so the whole process took about an hour, which is absurd, because he just had to write the item numbers on a paper, make sure they were in stock at the warehouse, and have us sign the invoice. We saved 10% on our whole order because of the holiday weekend, and the delivery and set-up fee was only $80, so it seemed like a good deal.

So far I don't have any work at the spa today. It's such a double edged sword..... on the one hand it's great because I can do a lot of cleaning/organizing/painting at our place today. On the other hand I don't make money which I need to survive.

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:01:51 GMT

I am making a promise to myself right now to STOP looking at my online bridal registries. It's an addiction!!!! And I'm ruining all of the surprises for myself. I hereby promise not to look until after my bridal shower.

I also need to stop my multiple daily visits to perezhilton.com and people.com. It's a waste of time.... yet so much fun to read gossip, and not feel guilty because I am not the one gossiping. This is definitely an addiction as well.

Woot Woot

Fri, 30 May 2008 19:10:54 GMT

The seller accepted our offer!!!!!

Well, for the most part. After we saw how much he originally paid and how much he was listing the condo at, and did the math, we realized that he is making a huge profit. So we requested that he cover our full closing costs, but he doesn't want to (and hey, we don't want to either) so our agents are negotiating. It doesn't really matter in the long run though because we got it!!!

Settlement is on Monday June 30th, the day after my bridal shower.

grown up decisions

Fri, 30 May 2008 01:50:59 GMT

So anyways! The point of my last post was to say that over the weekend Kevin and I found a condo in Columbia that we liked, and we made an offer on it today! YAY! We should hear the status from our agent in the next couple of days.

We managed to find something in a good neighborhood, with a lot of space, that didn't need immediate improvements (like de-molding, haha).

I hope the seller accepts our offer. I think he will... because the condo has been on the market for a long time, almost 9 months. We filled out so much paperwork! Signed our names like 50 times! I have a good feeling about this because it all feels right. There is no apprehension about taking such a big step.

Thu, 29 May 2008 22:50:21 GMT

Four and a half months to go until I am a wife. A WIFE!!! Holy crap.

One month until my bridal shower. I can't wait to see everybody!

10 more school days until the school year is finished. You don't understand how badly I summer break in order to regroup myself.

And no more days until I turn 23 because that happened yesterday. :)

In addition to all of the life changes going on right now, and money being spent, Kevin and I decided to add one more thing to the mix. We are going to be homeowners..... hopefully.

The first property we looked at was a condo in a "luxury" building in downtown Columbia. The kitchen was beautiful, and it was patio level so it had a small fenced yard that opened to the shared pool. Unfortunately it was only 1 bedroom, we had never heard of condo fees before, and didn't take that into consideration when we looked at the listing price. The condo fee was like $400/month and that extra cost immediately put it out of the running. We were really upset because we didn't understand how we could possibly find a place to live in Columbia.

After that we looked at a few properties in Westminster (up north) but quickly decided that the long commute, wasted gas money, and decrease in quality time together wouldn't be worth it. Even if we could have bought a real house with a yard up there.

Once we focused in on Columbia things became a little easier to handle. We had to come to terms with the fact that the only type of townhouse we can afford at this point is one that is sold "as is" and needs a lot of work. Or is in a bad neighborhood. We toured (and fell in love with) a end unit townhouse that is a few down from my parents. It would have been so much fun to live on the same street and have a place to grow into.... the house has been on the market for over a year but they are simply asking too much for something that is not worth it at all. We could only afford it if we rented out a room, and we didn't want to have to rely on extra income to pay the mortgage.

One "real" house we found in Columbia was total crap. That was a dissapointment because we loved the neighborhood. It was so ideal.... neighbors smiled and waved, children played on tire swings, etc. They failed to mention in the listing that there was water damage throughout. The hard wood floors would have been beautiful had they not looked like rolling hills. The basement was full of mold.... I had to cover my nose because I was afraid and wanted to barf. There was literally stuff growing up the walls. And it smelled like cat poo and mildew. We were ok with the idea of small renovations, but this was unlivable insanity. That house got filed under "Hell No".

It's been fun going into strange houses that we don't own. It's like legally trespassing, hehe. Opening cabinets and seeing what sorts of things they own. Also uncovering secrets, like the hidden alcohol on the top shelf of a single mom's closet. The other day we went into a neighborhood to view two townhouses, and literally had to turn around and leave before we made it to the front door. There was like 20 teenagers milling about in the parking lot, looking suspicious, holding babies (probably their children).... we were like hmm, but let's still check it out. Then a boy who couldn't have been more than 7 walked by us with a shiny red bike and triuphantly declared to his friends, "I stole this bike! I stole this BIKE!!". We looked at eachother, silently communicated, and Kevin told Gretchen (our agent) that we wanted to leave. On the way to the car we passed through a cloud of marijuana smoke.

I have to leave right now to meet a friend, but I will try to post more tonight!

A quote to remember

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 02:53:45 GMT

Kevin says to me as we are standing in the parking lot after our dance lesson and I'm "scratching" my nose:

"Wow, your ring is really sparkly when you pick your nose!"

Other than that, we are having SO MUCH FUN learning how to dance!!!

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:52:03 GMT

I found my dress!!!!!

Mom and I went back to the Columbia Bridal Boutique last night so that I could try my previous favorite on again. We picked out a few others to try on beforehand too. It's hard to get a good feel for the fit because they are all too big for me and have to be clipped or held in the back. The first few that I tried on were ok, and some ugly enough that I didn't come out of the dressing room. One really surprised me! The dress was pretty anyways but once I walked in front of the mirrors and they showed me what it would look like when fitted I fell in love. :) Then I tried on my favorite from last time and I had a dilemma. They are both so beautiful but for very different reasons. I felt different in each one! One made me feel sweet and pretty, but the other made me feel beautiful. And I know Kevin will love it. Also I tried on veils with the dresses, and with the original favorite I felt "eh" about everything like there was just too much fabric and stuff going on. But immediately upon having a veil placed on my head when wearing the second dress I felt like I transformed from a girl wearing a white dress into something else. Probably sounds silly..... but I felt like a bride. :) I also knew it was "the one" when in the mirror's reflection I saw some people looking at me and saying how beautiful I looked. Of course my mom said that too! We don't have any photos of me from last night because I forgot to bring my camera.... we only have two crappy phone photos.

Needless to say we got it! Actually my mom bought it for me as a gift which was so exciting for me!!!! I was a little nervous though because they kept asking me how high my heels were going to be. How the heck should I know?! I thought you bought shoes after you bought the dress! Right? So I just said 2 1/2 inches because that was the height of the heels that I was wearing. I don't think I will get anything higher because it will be uncomfortable for hours, but if I get something lower will that mess up the way the dress looks? I suppose it can always be altered but I don't want to cause such a hassle just because I picked a different pair of shoes. Oh well!

Once the wedding is over I will post pictures of the two dresses.

Oh! And I went to the Great Room yesterday as well to drop off my deposit and have some questions answered by Angie, the manager. Patricia, my coordinator/planner came with me too. She is so awesome I love her! They both assured me that there would be enough food so I didn't have to worry about getting add-ons. Angie was really considerate and said that if we wanted to save money on alcohol, she could tell us how much catering was planning on supplying, and we can buy it ourselves. We only have to pay $150 for the bartender, but otherwise we save A LOT on alcohol by buying it ourselves, and we have the advantage of picking exactly what we want to serve. Plus there really won't be that much alcohol anyways given the time of the reception. As of now the ceremony will be at 11:30 and the reception will be from 12-4. And any alcohol left over is ours to keep..... haha, we should have a raffle at the end and give out bottles of wine and vodka or something!

An Elegant Champagne Brunch (hahaha)
12:00 - 4:00

Lemon, Cherry and apple filled croissants
Assorted danishes, muffins and breakfast breads
Fresh exotic fruit displays

Fresh waffle station complete with warm maple syrup, fresh berries, sweet cream butter and whipped cream

Gourmet omelet station with market fresh ingredients to include:
Wild mushrooms, caramelized spanish onions, bell peppers, chopped tomatoes, honey ham, bacon bits, cheddar and swiss cheeses

Farmer's style red bliss potatoes
Country sausage links
Apple-wood cured bacon
Scrambled eggs (we may substitute with either french toast or grits)
Buttermilk biscuits

Home-style jams and clover honey

Coffee and Tea service complete with Italian syrup flavorings

Fruit Juices
(and water and soda)

Bloody Mary & Mimosa Bar
(you can also just get a glass of champagne if you want. We will probably bring a little wine too)

We don't intend on having a full bar or anything. Mainly because of how early it will be, I can't imagine people boozing it up. Just some champagne, a couple of special brunch drinks, and maybe some wine. There is a bar in the same development as the Great Room if people want to drink afterwards.

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:34:18 GMT

I want to get magnetic Save The Date cards, but if I order online it's about $120 for 75. Mostly everything I have seen online is awesome but I feel like I can do a lot better if I make them myself. Not like $120 is that much money..... but in the end it seems like people really won't care how I announce the wedding date. I don't know. A 30 inch strip of magnetic tape at Michael's costs a dollar, and enough paper, envelopes, and stamps shouldn't cost more than $30. Part of me needs to suck it up and accept that things cost more money than I know they should because businesses need to make profit. If I buy stuff like this I don't have to spend hours obsessing and being indecisive. The other part of me wants to take advantage of this area that I KNOW I can save money in. If I can make the Save The Date and invitations by myself, I can use the extra money to pay for special treats for guests (it's a suprise!), or use the money if I overspend somewhere else (*cough*the dress).

I've hired a wedding coordinator to help us out with the planning and the execution of "the day". She is a friend of a coworker who is just starting her business so we're getting a really REALLY good price for her services. She is also incredibly sweet and I have full confidence in her even though this is the first wedding (other than her own) that she has coordinated. It's incredibly helpful to me, since I have a full time job and a part time job, to have someone who is willing to do the research and help out with anything I may need. Being that I am type-A at times I still do a lot of research and looking at pictures online though. And I am looking forward to being able to relax on my wedding day and know that somebody has it all under control.... if it's not under control, it's not my responsiblity to deal with or even know about it. I've been to many weddings where the bridal party and everyone there has no idea what the hell is going on. I won't have that!

Also I am super duper excited because I have my photographer booked! Michael DiBari (www.michaeldibari.com) is an old neighbor and photojournalist. His wife is a photojournalist as well and they are both in Ohio finishing their Master's degrees. They should be back in Maryland by October but they may not if he gets into the PhD program..... either way he is going to shoot our wedding. The reason I'm so excited is because I emailed him and said how much I wanted to spend on photography, which is significantly less than he charges, but he was my first choice. I told him that he could just give us the digital files and not worry about prints or albums, and he agreed! Soooo exicted, I know he will do an excellent job.

Time for St.Patty's Day dinner! Yay wiskey pie (the only pie I know that gets me tipsy).

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 22:49:36 GMT

oops, I forgot to include the link to Savage Mill

www.savagemill.com

Hooray for having plans

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 21:49:15 GMT

We've finally set a wedding date!!!!!

Saturday, October 18, 2008
The Great Room at Historic Savage Mill
(reception and ceremony at same location)
In the afternoon (either 11:30-4 or 12:30-5)

This shows the deck where the ceremony will take place. It doesn't look all that impressive, but it will look better once the trees have leaves on them. The deck overlooks a river and some old ruins from a textile factory that used to be there. We would get married on the deck in the back that doesn't have the tables all over it. It's actually really big but doesn't look like like it here. Supposedly it can seat 170 people.

The Great Room is attached to an antique mall. I could either come to the deck from the parking lot and walk down the sidewalk and up the steps, or I could walk through the red doors that connect directly to the deck.

The dance floor is very large.... which is good because Kevin and I need to show off all of our hard work from dance lessons! The room looks very pretty once the tables are set, and so much light comes in through the windows and the skylight. No room lights were on when I took this picture.

Here is a photo that I found online that shows the back of the room. The windows are 14 feet tall and go along two sides of the room.

If it rains the ceremony will take place on the dance floor.

What we liked:
- we can get married outside as long as the weather cooperates
- the price! Because there were no more evenings available in October, and they were trying to fill the daytime slots, we got a little more than a 30% discount off the rental fee
- the incredible amount of light that comes through the windows
- big dance floor with chandeliers and columns. Don't mind having ceremony here in inclement weather
- catering is by Putting on the Ritz, which is supposed to be VERY good food
- Chiviari chairs included. Normally this is a costly upgrade at other locations
- nice scenery for pictures. There is a cool bridge next to the mill for portraits.
- Rams Head is next door, so people could go here for an after-party on wedding day
- Antique and "eclectic" stores, kind of weird, but it gives people something to do if they arrive early

Don't like:
- the "bridal suite" that was referred to on the website is really a small cluttered office
- it's a little confusing to explain how to get there, and where the doors to the deck are. Would need signs.

Here is the website if you're interested:

I am really excited. I feel like now I can finally start planning for REAL. Since we got engaged we were set on having a summer 2009 wedding so that by then Kevin would be finished with school, but there are a lot of reasons why the date so drastically changed. The first being that we are ready to get married!!! Second, we don't want to live together until we are married (or there is at least a couple months until the wedding)..... the thought of waiting another year for this is awful. Also Kevin only had 8 more classed until he is finished with school. The finish date was supposed to be May '09, hence the original wedding month, but we are both so miserable when he takes 3 or more classes a semester and works practically full time. We barely see each other and he is always stressed. He wants to decrease the amount of classes per semester, which pushes his graduation date back, and I didn't want that to mean pushing the wedding date back. We don't want planning this wedding to be an inconvenience that takes up a lot of time, so he is probably going to take only 1 class this summer and fall so that we can do it together. Anyways, we just figured why wait? Let's get married this year! Obviously this affects how much money we have for the wedding, and decreases (by a lot) how much we would have been able to save over the months leading up to next May, but that's ok.

Spring Break is next week (YES!) and I will be searching for a wedding dress.

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:36:14 GMT

My throat has been feeling icky and clogged for the past couple of days. Last night I couldn't fall asleep because I kept waking up to clear my throat.... I think I may have gotten about 3 or 4 hours of sleep. So this morning I called in sick even though I really wasn't that sick. I feel guilty!!! But I ended up sleeping until 1:40 which is INSANE! I haven't done that in a long long time, so I guess my body really needed the rest. And my body does feel a lot better now.

It's a good thing that I woke up too, because I had a meeting at 2:45 with a potential wedding coordinator. I have been looking for somebody to mainly do "day of" coordination and bounce ideas off of throughout the whole planning process. I'm confident that I can do all of the research on my own, I just need some help with the details. We met at Starbucks at the mall and she treated me to a steamed apple cider (which was way too sweet because they added caramel or something to it). She is a psychology teacher at Hammond High School, and is best friends with one of my coworkers who transferred from there. I think I may be her first client, as she is trying to start up a wedding consulting business that she can do on the side after she has her baby in August. At first I didn't want to go with somebody without experience, but then I realized that she DOES have experience (from her own wedding, plus planning proms and stuff at Hammond) and I shouldn't judge her like that. Plus, when I started photographing weddings I didn't have a lot of experience but people took a chance on me, which in the end opened up so many doors in terms of future clients.

We chatted for about an hour and a half, and I feel like we connected in terms of personality. The first coordinator I met with..... she didn't listen to me and made me feel like my ideas were silly (like having cupcakes instead of a wedding cake, or not having a ballroom reception.... scandalous!!). She also said in passing that she had never been married so it seemed like she was living vicariously through her clients, how she kept pushing certain places and companies. I also got the impression that she was getting commission by referring her clients to certain people. Didn't really feel wonderfully about her, but she treated me to hot crab dip at our meeting (yay crab dip). I cancelled my meeting with the next coordinator, who really seemed to have it together, after I got home from the meeting this afternoon. That lady quoted me between $2500-3000 (yeah right!). Anyways, I have the fullest confidence that Patricia will do an awesome job helping me out.

Tomorrow Kevin and I are going to Jordan's Steakhouse in Ellicott City to check out their rooms. We've been there once for dinner a couple of years ago, and it was soooo good (but $$$). Apparently there is a private room upstairs for events that I want to look at. PLUS we get a complimentary appetizer for meeting with them. I'll hopefully be able to take some photos and post them either tomorrow or on Saturday.

Work at the spa has been great! I don't feel like it has necessarily picked up and then slowed down since Christmas, but it's steadier for sure. Also it seems that all of a sudden people are beginning to return to me, and people that I know from other places are making appointments to come in. I now make more at my part time job than I do at my full time job (which doesn't say too much, because I don't make at lot in the school system).... but still. If clientelle continues to pick up at this rate, I think that by the time next June (2009) rolls around and Kev and I are married, and I can get health insurance through him, I may want to work only at the spa. I love working at school but I am so exhausted working these two jobs. Mentally exhausted from school and physically exhausted from the spa. I work 40 hours during the day, and anywhere from 10-20 hours at the spa on evenings and weekends. So I've basically been working 7 days a week since last June.

I don't want to complain though. Working this much is completely my decision, and it's great for now. Especially since I am living at home and not paying rent I will be able to save a LOT of money. I'm putting like 50% of each paycheck into savings. Some of this money is going towards the wedding, but I've also been able to pay off my student loans, and am making extra payments on my car, as well as a general fund for Kevin and I.

Blah.... there's so much to think about! I need to go to sleep.