Random Puppy Picture

This is her trick. She does it when you say "go to bed". It makes her lay down and play dead.

Quote of the Day

“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”
― Anonymous

Yankee Candle Deals

I was looking on the Coupon Codes Board this morning and found this.

This is the actual coupon, but if you want the printable version, click here.

If you want to use the coupon online, use code: NG28WYS.

And this is what I got...



The little jars came as a three pack, but I didn't like the third one, but Nan did, so I gave it to her. They are normally $9 per small jar, but the pack of three was $10. It's a steal.

I was convinced by the sales clerk (who swore to me that she doesn't work on commission) that I needed a candle lid to prolong and even double the life of my candle. Do you use these? Is this the truth?

Watchdog.

Meet Powder Puff Snowball.

That is her real name, but everyone calls her Puff. She is my Nanny's dog. I got Nanny to go to the mall with me today, and she had to take a shower before we went. While she was in the bathroom, her dog guarded me to make sure I wasn't messing with anything. She watched me the entire time.

A Piece of History

You'll probably find this totally lame, but I thought it was neat. My grandma (more commonly known as Nanny) has been going through her house to get rid of junk (that has been accumulating for 50+ years) and she has found some interesting things.

This is an envelope post marked 1969. I thought it was cool that she still had it. It is a recipe that a friend from Southern Indiana sent to her...her e-mail was probably down.

Another cool thing is that I had to black out my Nanny's address because it is the same today.

Look What I Got!

My birthday is coming up, and already it's shaping up to be a good one.

Delmar is the closest video store to our house, and they have an awesome selection of older movies that can be hard to find. They often send out these post cards (which reminds me, I still have the Christmas one...Redbox is stealing their business.) They send the cards at Christmas and birthdays, they also send blue post cards to remind you that your movie is a week late. They even put the title of the movie they want back from you. So considerate.

What is awesome about this coupon, is that if I take it in, I get a free rental AND they will REMOVE my late fees. This is HUGE. We stopped going in order to avoid late fees. I've never rented a movie there and not had to pay a late fee. I'm so serious. Somehow I get my stuff together though and get the Redbox movies back in time. So strange.

This is new for me. I've never gotten anything quite this awesome before from a store. I bought Joshua's wedding band from Helzberg Diamonds so they sent me this post card for no-strings-attached free pair of pearl earrings.

I didn't really believe it, but it's true.
They also cleaned my rings for me for free today. I think I'm going to like this birthday quite a bit.

Quote of the Day

“If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.”
― Mark Twain

I'm Addicted.

I've been couponing.

I found this blog, Never Pay Retail Again and on it they had a post about restaurant.com where you can buy discounted gift certificates. It is only for participating restaurants though.

Anyway...I went on there and searched for Fort Wayne. It just so happens that Club Soda is on there, and I've never been. I'd like to go, but just haven't.

If you type in "BONUS" for the promo card, you get $25 gift certificates for $2. No typo. $2.

So I tried it out. I added four $25 Club Soda gift certificates, put in the promo code, and my total was $8. $8 for $100 worth of gift certificates.

Of course, there are restrictions. Each restaurant has their own, but Club Soda only allows one certificate per table, and you can't use it on Friday or Saturday. Whatever. I can deal with that.

The thing is...I'm not positive, but I believe its expensive. I would be saving a great deal, but I would have to go four times to use them all. I could just buy one for $2 and get $25 off of one meal, but we would be going out of our way to eat there, just to save some money. We'd be spending more than normal to save a few bucks.

I can't decide if it's worth it.

Click here for Restaurant.com. Don't forget to put "BONUS" in the yellow promo box. You should definitely check it out.

Would you get the certificates if you were me?

I Wanted To Share This As Well

If you click here you will be redirected to the Kashi website, where you can choose from three different options, what you would prefer a free sample of. Check it out.

Want To Save Some $$$?

Sure you do.

Do you use Redbox for movies?

Sure you do.

I've been using this awesome Coupon Board on the Nest to get some good deals. I found coupons for the Redbox on it. I don't see any right now, but if you go back a page or two you might find some. I try to remember to check here before I buy anything.

Here are the Redbox codes I use:
RBX2NITE
FREE45W
DVDONME
BREAKROOM
RBXLUV10
DVDATWAG (Walgreens only)

The underlined ones are ones I have personally used and I know work. The ones that are not underlined are ones that I have written down to try.
Strike through codes do not work.

What you do is go pick out your movie, and before you go to check out, touch "add a promo code". You put this in and it shows your total, which will be $0.00. You still swipe your credit card because the code is only good for one night. If you keep it longer than one night it will begin to charge you daily.

And now you know.

Storage Solution

We have a habit of letting things like dog leashes, gloves, and various other things collect on our dining room table and our half-wall in the entry way. I just found these pieces of furniture on organize.com, and I think something like this would work great for us. We would have a place to put those items that can only seem to find a home when I know we have company coming.




To check them out, click here, here, here, and here.

Find of the Week

Do you love guacamole?

I do. I love it a lot. But it can kinda suck to make. It's not hard to make, but it is hard to find perfect avocados. It seems like if I want to have guacamole for dinner, the grocery store only has bright green avocados, and if I don't want to make it for a few days, they have dark brown discounted ones. It's tough. Sam's carries this guac. Inside are four packages. I opened one yesterday and put the other three in the freezer. The whole thing is around $10, which if you think about it, is a better price than making it yourself. The package claims that 15 Haas Avocados are inside. At around $1-$2 each, it's a way better deal. It tastes wonderful too.

Could You Put This A Little Higher?

It never occurred to me that the phone at the Y was a little too high until this kid came along. I mean really, don't most kids call their parents from rides home? Why does it need to be at the level of a person who is six feet tall?

Kitchen Organization

I decided to get back on track with my organization. I worked on our utility closet the other night, but forgot to take a before picture of it. Today I worked on our spice shelf. I think I'm the only one who uses it, and I can't stand having to move every spice in the cabinet in order to find the one I want.

This is the before picture:
These baskets were $1 each at Wal-Mart.
Spices in the baskets.
Spices with their labels in the baskets:
Close up of the labels:
My organizational best friend:
Ta-da. Now I must work on the second shelf. I know that the spice shelf is just as full, but with being able to pull the baskets out, it will help to keep the spices from falling out of the cabinet, and as long as I can still read, it should make it easier to locate which one I want since I can view them all at once from the top.
I'll change it if it doesn't work out. I think it will though.

Back In The Swing

Last night was my first night of my new powerlifting routine...which I know nothing about because my trainer won't tell me. I really want to get into shape and get my body to look just how I like it. Josh asked if I would consider powerlifting and my first reaction was:
"I don't want to look like"....this

I did some searching on Google though and found this woman to be an exception (I think its a woman), and decided to give it a go. It was really hard, and I'm feeling it today, but the feeling of hard work really makes me feel like I've accomplished something. And I get a reminder every time I walk down or up the stairs.

Let's see how I do.

Quote of the Day

“Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter which fork you use.”
― Emily Post


Today I'm Thankful for: Not having to pay for tree removal.
Highlight of the day: Waking up to a clean dog crate.

A Fun Before & After

AFTER:

BEFORE:

YUCK! I hated these cabinets so much before I moved in that I was seriously considering taking them out. I'm really glad I didn't because I use them a lot. It just goes to show what a little paint and new knobs can do.

Let's Take A Vote

I have a new idea, and it is courtesy of Organize.com .

First, let me once again welcome you to my tiny kitchen. This is where the magic happens people.

Yes, that really is the whole thing.
This is my ancient stove. It works. I lost that super cool spoon rest behind the stove and I don't know if I can pull it out or not. I decided to leave it be until we get a new stove. I want to put a ceramic back splash on this wall. It is really small and wouldn't look right if I only did behind the stove.
I'm unsure still of what color to paint it. I was thinking a gray/lilac color like Megan has at her lake house (just imagine, I know you've never been there), or I was even thinking a pale yellow, but something about pale yellow makes my stomach hurt. The cabinets aren't very new, and I want to do something that won't make them stick out because I'm not planning on replacing them.

This is the view out into the dining room (also tiny). We have a gigantic living room though. It's like eating was an afterthought when our house was built...which is odd because it was built in the 50s.

This is the dining area with the vinyl letter quote that Sarah made for me on her Cricut.
My question is, if I put this in the kitchen will it be too many words coming all at once? Too much to read? I'm thinking I would put this above the cabinets, or below the cabinets near the microwave. Tell me what you think, is it too much? Is it ok? What color do you think I should paint?
Actually, now that I read it again, I don't really like it as much. Still, tell me what you think.

Oh, Holy Cow

It's Heaven, in a website.

The New Heidi Montag

This is completely repulsive.
The New Heidi Montag
The best part is when she says "Beauty is what is within..."

Adorable!

I found this story and watched the video, and almost cried. It is so sweet.
"Jack Frankel (75) and Fina Nikolos (67) first met at a Whole Foods in Coral Springs, FL this May. It was raining that day and Nikolos offered to walk Jack to his car with an umbrella of course (what a smooth move). He thanked her by taking her to lunch the following week. This past Saturday, the couple got married in the one place they’ll never forget — the Whole Foods in which they first fell in love."

There Is A Lesson Here

The lesson is...do your shopping.

This is exactly the same as this but the first one is $250.00 more. True story.

This is at Kohl's today. I went out to lunch with my Nanny and then we had to go shopping at Kohl's because it was senior citizen discount day. I saw this price tag and couldn't believe my eyes. Mine came from Sam's Club, is exactly the same as this one, and it only cost $260. I am so dead serious.

MLIA

I haven't posted any of these in a while. I'm overdue.

"Today, my brother told me, in order to reduce the stress of finals, his dorm is bringing in puppies for residents to play with. Never have I wanted to transfer so bad. MLIA."

"Today, my friend left his cell-phone at my house. When I saw it, I picked up my cell-phone and texted him that he had left it here. I didn't realize what I'd done until 20 minutes late. I think I need to get more sleep. MLIA"

"Today I read a sign the bathroom that said, "DO NOT overstuff the toilet with paper. If you do the toilet will not flush, then in could overflow and cover you with unspeakable filth. Your friends will shun you, bars wont serve to you, not even the sleazy ones, men in haz-mat suits and evil grins will chase you down the street, your dog will ignore you, old ladies will try to stuff you into oversized washers, you'll be recruited by the the young republicans...Is this the way you want to live?" Needless to say who didnt overstuff. MLIA"

"Today I found out that my mom hacks my facebook daily. The reason? To send items to herself for a facebook game. MLIA "

Very Nice

I'm not sure how I came across this, but I really like it.

I think it would look great in our room, but it is a little pricey. I'm not a big spender on art.

Quote of the Day

“Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupery



Today I'm Thankful For: My relationship with my husband
Highlight of the day: having one dog that listens.

It Doesn't Get Much Better...

This is Serious Business.

Today I'm thankful for: my brothers.
Highlight of the day: my wonderful friends

Another Dilemma

I'm such a whiner. Here I go again.

We got this coffee maker as a wedding gift. We're pretty regular coffee drinkers, so I'd say this has been used every day since May, except for the time we were sick, but that is a different story. Anyway, it is already starting to leak, and leave pretty nasty stuff of the counter. The letters have rubbed off of the front (which isn't a big deal) and the inside is pretty cruddy. I've put it in the dishwasher (which is recommended) and it won't come completely clean. It is really nice because I don't have to clean a coffee pot. I love that it dispenses the coffee straight into the cup.

So I've been eying this. My birthday is next month so I asked my mom for one of these. I think they're pretty awesome. Its the Keurig One Cup Coffee Maker.

You put these little cups, called K Cups into the top, press the button for the size cup you have, and it puts your coffee right into your mug. It has really good reviews. I could only find two negative aspects about it. First, there is a limited selection of K Cups. One reviewer said that in the model I'm looking at you can use grounds, which would be nice. I was also concerned about having to buy the special cups. Sam's only has two or three varieties. The second con was that they're not recyclable. Good for you if you do recycle, but we don't. Sorry, Environment.

So then my next dilemma is mugs. I wish I could have known everything I wanted when we registered for wedding gifts!

We have these Fiesta dishes. Two of my place settings came with this mug, and the rest of the place settings came with tea cups. I don't use the tea cups at all, and they're actually up on the top shelf where I kind of forgot about them.

As wedding gifts, we got eight of these jumbo mugs. They really are pretty cool, and they're huge.

But the jumbo mugs are a little too big for my hands. I like the smaller mugs, but they have the weird circle handle, and its hard to hold them. I like to put my whole hand through the handle and hold it that way. Am I being too picky? Yes.

This is the Fiesta Java Mug. It is 12 oz. while the other smaller one up top is 10 oz. I haven't seen one in person so I'm not clicking away ordering these, but I want to check them out.
Megan I posted this picture for you. Fiesta has a line of square dishes now (click there), even the mugs.

Calzones

These were a hit. I'll be making these again. I used my pizza dough recipe but cut it into four pieces, so we could have four calzones. My dough recipe used to make one pizza, but since I was given a rolling pin I stretch it into two pizzas. So I flattened out the four pieces of dough.
Here is one:
Added: (Not all pictured)
Sauce
Sausage
Turkey Bacon
Pepperoni
Green Pepper
Onion
Mozzarella Cheese
Before going into the oven. I also made slits in the top (not shown).

After baking. Right before eating.
Yum. These were fantastic.

Check out the pizza dough recipe if you want to make these. It's really easy, but definitely not a 30-minute meal. Its a bit time consuming...but worth it.