What I'm Loving Wednesday!

It's Wednesday, and that means I'm linking up with Jamie at This Kind Of Love to tell the world what I'm loving this week!  Strangely enough, I realized that everything I have loved this week has to do with either food or drink....so we'll call this the WILW Food & Beverage Edition.

Starbucks.  Yes yes, I know we have always loved Starbucks, but since going back to work last week I have rediscovered my love for this tasty (and expensive) coffee concoction.  At my old job, it used to be really easy for me to avoid going to Starbucks - there wasn't one close to my office, and unless I left my house early enough, I didn't have time to make it there.  However.....there just so happens to be a Starbucks on the way to my new office and it's been very hard to resist.  So hard, in fact, I've been 5 times since last Monday.....yeah, I have to get this under control.  My drink of choice is a grande non-fat raspberry latte, closely followed by a skinny vanilla latte (remember this in case you need to bribe me to do something for you.)

Lemon wafers.  Technically this picture is of vanilla wafers, but lemon wafers look the same.  I discovered these little gems in the cookie aisle at Kroger while trying to find stuff to put in my lunch.  I thought, I like lemon, I'll try these....and with the first bite, my life was changed.  They aren't overly lemon-y, but have just enough of a bite to make it a refreshing experience.  I went through a box in about, oh, three days.  So much for my "white dress diet."

Raspberry citrus-flavored Diet Mountain Dew.  First let me say, I hate even admitting that I even tried this drink.  I think it's widely accepted in the world that Mountain Dew is like water for rednecks.  I mean, some people (mostly in the eastern part of Kentucky, but let's not judge) drink Mountain Dew from the time they can hold a bottle....and then of course, all their teeth rot out, but that's beside the point.  I am ready to publicly admit that my beloved fiance is a DMD addict (he drinks Diet, so I'll give him a little credit) and while restocking his supply, I was attracted to this pretty blue beverage.  After reading on the bottle that it was a raspberry citrus version of DMD, I had to try it.....and I love it.  I am so embarrassed to type this right now.....but it tastes just like a carbonated version of this blue lemonade Kool-Aid that I loved as a little girl.  Want to hear the worst part?  I bought a 12-pack.  You don't have to tell me, I know I'm headed down a slippery slope.

Convection oven.  Not really food or drink, but in certain cases (such as this evening) it allows you access to food.  I mean let's be honest - sometimes, the oven (for whatever reason) doesn't get your chicken cooked all the way, and you have a hungry man to feed.  What's a girl to do?  I considered turning the oven back on and letting it heat back up, which would take forever....and then I thought, why not put them in the convection oven?  Until tonight, I have never been able to say I found this contraption particularly useful, but it cooked the chicken more in 20 minutes than the regular oven did in 45.  Which leads me to wonder....can I just bake everything in the convection oven?  And, do they come in bigger sizes?  I don't think all my pans will fit in there.  Listen guys, I'm a WIT (wife in training) right now, and if I can find a shortcut...please don't rain on  my parade.  Unless you know I am going to set the house on fire by trying this method...then please, by all means, speak up.

What are you loving this week???

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

It's Wednesday, and that means I'm linking up with Jamie at This Kind of Love to tell the world what I'm loving this week!

Frozen onions.  Strange, yes, but such a big help when cooking.  I just re-discovered my love for frozen onions tonight while cooking enchiladas.  You don't have to do any manual labor; they don't make you cry; and your hands won't smell like onions for hours afterwards.  Perfect for the Suzie Homemaker who would rather expend her energy chopping up something for dessert.  To me, everything about frozen onions is a win-win situation, and that's my favorite kind of situation to be in.

Zyrtec-D.  I don't think I would be able to leave the house right now without it.  I grew up in Ashland, smog/dirty air capital of the world, and never had a problem with allergies.  I move to central Kentucky, and whoa, twice a year (spring and early fall) I lose the ability to breathe.  Can anyone explain this to me?  Clearly I am now having seasonal allergies, but what am I allergic to?  Clean air?

My Vera Bradley desk calendar.  Oh, Vera, you never let me down.  Your beautiful patterns and bright color combinations always make me so happy.  I bought this desk calendar (same pattern as in the picture) at the beginning of this year at a great clearance price.  Seriously, I think I paid $5 for it.  At my old job, I already had a desk calendar so I didn't have a use for it, but I think God was sending me a sign when he told me to buy it.  When I walk into my new job on Monday, I'll be taking my lovely VB desk calendar with me :)  More on my new gig very soon.

Coupons.  I've been at it again, and I have to tell you, couponing gives me a rush.  I know that's sad, but it's a thrill to figure out ways to cleverly coupon and save more money.  I think they call it "stacking" coupons in the business.  Here's what I pulled off this week:

1. Kroger had 12-packs of Pepsi products on sale 4 for $10 with a Kroger card.  I had a manufacturer's coupon for an additional $2 off, so I got 4 12-packs for $8.  Okay, that's not that clever, but considering that 12-packs are about $4 each, 4 of them would have cost me $16 and I got them for $8, about a 50% savings.

2.  This one is my pride & joy.  I had two manufacturer's coupons for Old Spice - one was $1 off two Old Spice products, and the other was a buy one get one free Old Spice bodywash.  I purchased two bodywashes (at $3.50 apiece) and first scanned the $1 off coupon, so the machine still thought I was purchasing two products.  Then I scanned the B1G1 coupon to get the second bodywash free.  So, I got both bodywashes for $2.50 when it normally would have cost me $7.  I was so proud of myself!!!

3. Then at Wal-Mart, I saved about $13 from manufacturer's coupons I had cut out of the newspaper.  I would have saved more but Wal-mart wouldn't let me "stack" the coupons - has anyone else had this problem?  Anyway, this week we saved about $30 on things we would have had to buy anyway.  That's my rule - I won't buy it unless it's something we need now or would need eventually.

What are you loving this week???

A Funny To Get You Through the Week...

Earlier this evening I was wasting time on Facebook, and I ran across this picture I had posted and tagged my dad in:

Yeah, you read right.  My dad has Facebook.  The day I got a friend request from him was probably one of the 10 most awkward days of my life.  But, I digress.

One rainy November evening (insert "November Rain" or Guns N' Roses comments here) I discovered this highly entertaining website called Face-In-Hole.  I discovered this website because my best friend Cathy posted a picture of me "with" Justin Bieber - I found this uproariously funny and decided to spend my entire evening putting my friends in pictures.

I have long thought that my dad resembles Hulk Hogan, and this Face-In-Hole opportunity was golden.  I put him in the picture and promply uploaded it to Facebook, tagging him in the picture so it would appear on his profile.  About 10 minutes after I posted it, I got a call from Dad saying that he appreciated me tagging Hulk Hogan as him and that was really funny.  It took me about 30 seconds to figure out that Dad didn't realize that was his face in the picture and not Hulk Hogan's.  We argued on the phone about this for a good 15 minutes until I told him to have June, my stepmother, take a look and verify for him that it was, in fact, his face.  Even after this, Dad still didn't believe it was him on the screen.  20 minutes later, he finally conceded that it was his face on Hulk's body, only after he saw the birthmark he has on his cheek in the picture.

SHEESH.

And people wonder why I am the way I am?!

My new favorite game?

I believe that I have inadvertently stumbled upon what may become my new obsession....my new favorite game...and probably ultimately my downfall.

You see that?  Yeah, that's what you think it is.  That's a stack of coupons.

I have never been one to clip coupons.  Not because I don't see the value in it, but because I don't usually plan out my shopping trips more than 5 minutes in advance.  Typically, I will drive to Target, pull into the parking lot, and think what do I need to get here?  I make a list on my phone, and I'm off.  This also happens at the grocery store, and just about every other store I go into.  Not very conducive to couponing.

But I'm going to be a wife now, you know, and this means I am going to have to learn how to plan shopping trips.  Specifically, trips to the grocery store, because stopping at Kroger every night on my way home from work and buying a box of macaroni & cheese is not going to cut it anymore.  I have embraced this change and in trying to make myself get used to looking for coupons, I was looking through the ones that came in the mail the other day and I stumbled across a $3 off coupon for Nivea bodywash.

I use bodywash, and I thought, well, that's a pretty big coupon, so I cut it out.  I had to make a trip to Wal-Mart today for groceries (just for one dinner, mind you, I don't have the meal planning thing down yet) and I thought I would check out the Nivea bodywash while I was there.  So imagine my surprise when I only found one bottle left on the shelf (this should have foreshadowed what was about to happen.)  I smelled it; not my favorite scent but I could live with it.  I look at the price tag to see how much I'm going to have to pay for this and the tag says: Rollback!!  $3.00.

WHAT?!?!?

I blinked about 20 times and realized that yes, the bodywash had been on sale for $3.38 but was on sale for $3.00, and my coupon was for $3 off....which meant.....surely not.....that bodywash was FREE!  I about died right there in the aisle.  Is this what it feels like to be an extreme couponer?!?!

Now don't get me wrong, I don't think I could ever be like those women on the show.  First of all, I think it's counterproductive to have to buy 45 bottles of mustard in order to get 30 of them free.  What am I going to do with 45 bottles of mustard?  Or 45 bottles of anything, for that matter?  I am not a hoarder and I'm not going to become one in order to become a couponer.  However, I definitely now see the value in looking for coupons (for the things I need only) because clearly it could save me some dollars.

Of course I know what will happen....I'll start buying stuff I use, but don't immediately need, just because I have a coupon.  So if you see me at Target, Wal-Mart, Kroger etc. and I have a cart full of junk, please stage an intervention immediately.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

It's Wednesday, and that means I'm linking up with Jamie at This Kind of Love to tell the world what I'm loving this week!

Sanuk Yoga Mat flip flops - Seriously, run, do not walk, and get yourself a pair of these stat.  I have never felt anything more heavenly on my feet.  I'm pretty critical when it comes to flip-flops - I don't like ones that are too thin or ones with plastic straps that rub against the tops of my feet.  These flip-flops are the best of all worlds - yes, the bottoms are made out of yoga mat material.  Soooo cushy and supportive, even when you wear them for an extended period of time.  I could probably run a marathon in these.....okay, maybe not, but only because you will never see me running a marathon, not because these would make my feet hurt.  The women's shoes are called Yoga Mats, and the men's shoes are called Beer Coozy (no, fellas, buying these won't make you any less masculine.)

This fella.  Okay, I promise this is not going to turn into a mush-fest, but I really just have to give my man some love this week on the blog.  I have been going through some pretty big life changes recently (hence the reason for my blogging hiatus - more on this later) and he has been nothing less than amazing.  So supportive, patient, understanding, and caring - I could not ask for anything more.  Really, if this is what the unconditional love of marriage feels like, this is the best decision I have ever made.  (But honey, I would appreciate it if you would put the toilet paper back on the holder when you get out a new roll instead of sitting it beside the holder.  See, it's not all hearts and sparkles in my eyes......I kid, I kid.)

Chicks, Ducks, & Bunnies - version 2.0.  These Sweettart jellybeans were an accidental discovery, originally purchased during a moment of desperation when sugar was essential and no CDB's were to be found.  And my oh my, what a discovery.  Not only do these jellybeans come in 6 flavors instead of 3 flavors like the CDB's, but you can also eat a lot more of these before your mouth starts to get raw.  They might have less calories too, I can't say that for a fact, but jellybeans are generally lower-calorie so we'll just go with it to make ourselves feel better.  I encourage you to try them ASAP, and I'll trade you my yellows for your purples.

Giovanni's Pizza.  Oh hello delicious, how are you today?  You Ashland people know what I'm talking about.  Giovanni's Pizza, for those of you that don't know, is hands down the best pizza in the world.  Greasy, thin, and smothered in toppings, you just can't beat it.  I believe Giovanni's is a regional delicacy but I was so happy to discover that there is a Gio's in Winchester.  Sometimes it's just nice to have a little reminder of home.

What are you loving this Wednesday???

Crazy Things We Do For Love...Red River Gorge

I'll be the first to admit it....I'm not what you would call an "outdoors" kind of girl.  Far from it.  In fact, other than my newfound interest in gardening, my idea of "outdoors activity" is lounging by a pool in the summer....and don't even think about suggesting I do anything outdoors in the winter.  If there's one thing I hate more than green vegetables, it's cold weather.

That said, you can imagine the predicament I found myself in this past summer when Daniel suggested we go camping one evening with our friends Scott and Amanda at the Red River Gorge.  Are you kidding me?  Camping to me is, let's go to a creek and run around for awhile, maybe roast some hot dogs, definitely make s'mores, and then we can go home to sleep or go to a hotel, as long as there's indoor plumbing and a bed.  Unfortunately this does not align with the male idea of camping.....so it was sleep in a tent, or disappoint Daniel, neither of which I really wanted to do.

Luckily I remembered that due to a prior commitment, we had to be somewhere that particular morning and so there was just no way I could spend Saturday night in a tent.  I agreed that we could leave early Saturday morning and meet Scott & Amanda to hang out for the day and come back to town that night.

I'll be honest with you, camping wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.  Although according to everyone else, I didn't go camping, I went "camping" because it's not really camping unless you stay in a tent.  I beg to differ.  But I did learn a few things that I would like to share with you now:

1.  Old Navy flip flops are not made for walking in a creek.  While I love a good pair of $3.50 flip flops, the thinness of these flops do not provide for a particularly enjoyable experience while walking on rocks in a creekbed.  However, going barefoot is not really an option either as that hurts even more.  I know, I tried doing it both ways.  The solution?  Wear the cheap flops long enough to get you to a clearing where you can sit down on a towel, and park it.  There's no need to be walking around in a creek anyway.  Unless you are trying to catch crawdads, in which case....

2.  Make sure you bring appropriate wildlife-catching equipment.  Amanda and I quickly discovered that catching crawdads, while a good way to pass the time and have a friendly competition, is just not possible with your bare hands.  I spent about two hours trying to catch a minnow and I just gave up.  We sent the boys to the "general store" to pick up some things and they came back with a net.  Bingo!!!  Amanda & I started catching all kinds of stuff.  I will caution you that if you decide to temporarily keep your wildlife in a container, make sure you cover it, for crying out loud.  I finally caught one of those fish and he jumped right out of the container.

3.  Don't wear scented lotion, unless it's scented with citronella.  Yes, I know, I really should have thought about this, but while fulfilling my desire to have soft skin, I turned myself into a one-woman bug attractor.  It was insanity.  I've always had a problem with mosquitoes but this was absolutely ridiculous.  Trust me on this one, just skip body lotion for the day and you'll be fine.

I thought perhaps I had escaped any future camping trips, but as it turns out, Daniel & I are getting married so I'm guessing this is going to be a yearly adventure for me.  I'll be ready...as soon as I buy some of those rubber-soled water shoes.

You Like Me....You Really Like Me!

I apologize for my two week hiatus from blogging.....I really do.  You might have thought I was running around doing fun wedding planning things, but....not so much.  No, I've been spending my time at the ol' workplace, working some fabulous 13 hour days, and a strange daily schedule to compensate for said 13-hour days.  Yes folks, it's Telefund time, which for those of you who don't know is my station's longest annual on-air fundraising pledge drive.  It lasts for 16 nights and while I don't have to work every night, I have to work enough nights to make me cuh-razy.  Although I will say, the little bit of wedding planning I have started to do has been a real eye-opener.....but more on that later.

It's pretty amazing to me that even though I have been MIA for two weeks, I still received another blog award!  You guys like me...you really like me!  A big thank you to sweet Jessica at Running Through Life in High Heels for my Stylish Blogger Award...if you haven't checked out her blog, make sure you take a look - it's so cute!

Here are the rules:

1. Link back and thank the person that gave you the award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 5 recently discovered blogs.
4. Contact them and tell them about their award.

 

Without further adieu, 7 things you may or may not know about me:

1.  I have a strong aversion to green vegetables and will avoid them at any cost. Strangely enough, I do like lima beans and peas and those seem to be vegetables most people hate. 

2.  Although I was raised in Ashland, I was born in Huntington, West Virginia (my mom's obstetrician was there.)  Sometimes I cheer for WVU since technically I am a Mountaineer by birth (do I like to admit this?  No.)  I like to say I have dual "state-ship" which is not quite as glamorous as dual citizenship.

3.  I am a dog person - cats are okay, but they are so creepy. Say you're doing your makeup in the morning - you can hear a dog coming up behind you and sticking their nose in your business. Cats, on the other hand....you turn around and they have been sitting there watching you for like an hour and you didn't even know it. CREEPY.

4.  I am an only child. Once I got to high school, I started wishing I had an older brother so I could date his friends.

5.  I have a small scar on my chin where I fell on a gas can and cut myself when I was 2.

6.  I have a major sweet tooth, but can easily pass up chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, and oatmeal raisin cookies.

7.  If I don't watch the Today show while I'm getting ready for work in the mornings, I feel totally lost and my day usually turns out to be bad.

I am passing this award on to:

Shea

Allie

Amanda

Scott

Kelly

 

Make sure and check out all of their blogs....well worth the click!  Thanks again to Jessica!