OK, so today is the BIG special day and you probably have already guessed but my mother-in-law really isn't the one turning 40. I won't say how young she is turning, but its a special day that we share together.
Yesterday was an awesome day. I took the day off work with Big E. We had plans to go for a round of golf, but those plans got rained out. Instead, we spent the day taking turns playing on the Wii.
For dinner, we decided to go to a local steakhouse for dinner. I didn't know it but Big E invited about sixteen others for the dinner too. WOW! It was really fun to get out and have a dinner with all of our friends. The dinner was a lot of fun and we carried the party over to one of the guys house for a little Rock Band II fun.
I want to say a big thanks to Big E for putting together all of the fun and to all those that particiapted. I really had a great time. I feel a little rough this morning, but it was well earned.
This morning, once we finally crawled out of bed, the girls surprised me with a little scavenger hunt for my birthday present. At the end of the hunt was a brand new special edition Xbox 360. It is exactly what I wanted. Now, having spent a couple of hours chasing zombies, I am ready to go to the store and grab another game or two.
To close out the birthday fun, Big E and I have a date tonight with my mom and dad. We are going out to dinner and to see James Gregory. James bills himself as the funniest man on Earth. This will be our second time to see him, ironically, the first time was last year on my birthday. I can't wait for tonight.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Special Day Blog One
Well, we are another day closer to the big day. I'll let part of the secret out of the bag today. If you've kept up with my blog for a while, you have read about me referring to the worlds greatest mother-in-law. I am truly grateful and blessed to know her. Many of you know her too and I know you agree.
This Saturday is her birthday. Since she has been going backwards with her years lately (or for more than a few years), she will be turning forty this Saturday.
Some people like to think that forty is a big birthday. Heck, I would if I was turning forty, but part of my joy would be simply making it that long. Today though, forty is really like the new "twenty". I mean getting to forty simply means that you are finally old enough to know better and still young enough to care less. Also, by forty you are probably far enough along in life to no longer care what others really think about you but not old enough to verbalize it out loud.
So, with that being said, happy early birthday to the worlds greatest mother-in-law. I hope that she gets to do everything she wants for her birthday.
As for the second part of the announcement, I'll save that for another day this week. Which of course means, there will be another post this week.
Now, for a little coupon update. I hope that I didn't bring anyone down with my disappointment about this weekends coupon situation. I still managed and executed a pretty good plan. Check out this picture...
This Saturday is her birthday. Since she has been going backwards with her years lately (or for more than a few years), she will be turning forty this Saturday.
Some people like to think that forty is a big birthday. Heck, I would if I was turning forty, but part of my joy would be simply making it that long. Today though, forty is really like the new "twenty". I mean getting to forty simply means that you are finally old enough to know better and still young enough to care less. Also, by forty you are probably far enough along in life to no longer care what others really think about you but not old enough to verbalize it out loud.
So, with that being said, happy early birthday to the worlds greatest mother-in-law. I hope that she gets to do everything she wants for her birthday.
As for the second part of the announcement, I'll save that for another day this week. Which of course means, there will be another post this week.
Now, for a little coupon update. I hope that I didn't bring anyone down with my disappointment about this weekends coupon situation. I still managed and executed a pretty good plan. Check out this picture...
Throw in three twelve-packs of Pepsi products and you have my total trip to CVS (twice) and Walgreens this weekend with total cost out of my pocket of $15.32. Thats
3 Twelve packs of Pepsi, 1 tube of Colgate Professional Strength enamal building toothpaste, 2 Cans of Oust Spray, 2 of the new Pledge Pet Hair Fabric Brushes, Scrubbing Bubbles for the bathroom, 2 Kleenex boxes with lotion, Pledge Multisurface cleaner, Right Guard Professional Strength, 2 70 foot Reynolds wrap, 2 Dry Roll-on Clinical Strength, Fruitopia Conditioner, a six-pack of toothbrushes and holder, Chap Stick, Walgreens Extra Strength Headache 20 CT Gel Pills, Peter Pan peanut butter, Healthy Choice Rotini lunch meal, 5 cans of Hunts tomato sauce, 4 packs of Stride gum and 2 packs of IceCubes gum.
I guess, I did OK and I will be getting another 20+ in rebates from Walgreens.
Last, I also got the coolest thing at CVS this week. I got a six pack of toothbrushes in a cheap plastic round white toothbrush holder for $1.00. Sure the brushes may end up being lousy after a couple of weeks, but you can use them in other ways too. For example, clean the wheels on your car, clean that nasty underside of your toilet or even the nasty bottom of the sink drains and tub drains. We use them to clean the grout of tile (a little mixture of water, lemon, clorex bleach and salt or arm and hammer). Regardless, you can find something todo with 6 toothbrushes for $1.00 dollar. Give them to a charity or church if nothing else, I bet they would love to have them.
Until next time, if you are in our part of Alabama, get your duck shoes ready, its going to be a long and wet week....
Anonymous Comments
I love getting comments but sometimes the anonymous ones truly are anonymous. Generally, I can figure out who you are by the way you write your comment, especially since so few comment. I got a comment on the last post and I dont know who it was from. Creepy?
To answer the post, some of the girls where at their "other homes". In our house that is code for going to visit their other parent(s). One of the girls was running around the Zoo with her friends enjoying a break from me (since I made her pull weeds, by hand, that morning).
Keep those comments coming and thanks for reading my trivial tidbits, I am truly grateful that this is a little more than a diary for me in my older years!!!!! Can you imagine the "remember whens" when I grow up?
To answer the post, some of the girls where at their "other homes". In our house that is code for going to visit their other parent(s). One of the girls was running around the Zoo with her friends enjoying a break from me (since I made her pull weeds, by hand, that morning).
Keep those comments coming and thanks for reading my trivial tidbits, I am truly grateful that this is a little more than a diary for me in my older years!!!!! Can you imagine the "remember whens" when I grow up?
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Its a Two-fer day
Since I've been left alone at the house today, I thought I would take advantage of the time and have a little fun. No, I have not been playing video games all day, but I am about to get started. I mean a different kind of fun. OK, if what I am about to describe is fun to you too, then you are as cheap as me. Otherwise, you probably will not understand this one....
I figured I could get a jump start on my couponing and planning for tomorrow's trips to various stores (this is now an every Sunday effort for me). The circuit generally includes Publix, CVS, Walgreens, and if the sale or BOGO items are just right, Winn-Dixie. The planning process for these trips currently takes me about 3 hours depending on the quality of the sales and the coupons that I need to find (including Internet search efforts and printing). I generally handle this fun time on Sunday mornings while the girls are asleep and I can watch a movie in peace and quiet. Today, I have peace and quiet, so I am getting it done early.
Now, the reason for the blog, I figured it was a good day to sort through the coupons and pull the expiring coupons out of the envelopes (where I store them sorted by type). To my digust, I have a larger pile of expiring coupons (by March 31) than I have not expiring. In fact, my expiring pile is nearly three inches tall. Think about that, three inches tall stack of coupons!!!!! That is a tremendous amount of savings that I didn't take advantage of. Now, I admit that there are hundreds of coupons in that stack that I would never take advantage of but there are many I would have used.
Here is a quick breakdown of some of the coupons I didn't use ...
1. $50 plus dollars of Oil of Olay coupons
2. $25 dollars of Home fragrance coupons (Febreeze, candles, etc.)
3. $10 dollars of laundry detergent coupons
4. An insane amount of dish detergent (hand and machine wash) coupons
5. A few mouthwash and toothpaste coupons
6. $10 dollars in hair care products
7. $25 dollars or more in shaving (male and female) products. Do you know what razor blades cost?
8. At least $50 dollars in general cleaning coupons.
9. Another $25 plus of body cleaning coupons.
10. There are a few food coupons in there but not many (at least I used those wisely).
I don't know why I am allowing the expiring coupons to bother me today. I guess it's that this is the first month to have so many expiring simultaneously. Did I not use them wisely or am I just collecting more? Either way, I feel like I left something on the table (savings wise) and I dont like to ever leave something on the table!
Oh well, I have a few days left in the month, hopefully I can find a reasonable sale to pair some of them with. Otherwise, I will be in for a bad day next Sunday.
Speaking of next weekend, it is a BIG day for a couple of people. At least one person will be crossing into a new decade of ages and one will be getting another day younger. I will have more on that topic soon.
Until next time, use your coupons or send them to me. I promise I will try to put them to good use.
I figured I could get a jump start on my couponing and planning for tomorrow's trips to various stores (this is now an every Sunday effort for me). The circuit generally includes Publix, CVS, Walgreens, and if the sale or BOGO items are just right, Winn-Dixie. The planning process for these trips currently takes me about 3 hours depending on the quality of the sales and the coupons that I need to find (including Internet search efforts and printing). I generally handle this fun time on Sunday mornings while the girls are asleep and I can watch a movie in peace and quiet. Today, I have peace and quiet, so I am getting it done early.
Now, the reason for the blog, I figured it was a good day to sort through the coupons and pull the expiring coupons out of the envelopes (where I store them sorted by type). To my digust, I have a larger pile of expiring coupons (by March 31) than I have not expiring. In fact, my expiring pile is nearly three inches tall. Think about that, three inches tall stack of coupons!!!!! That is a tremendous amount of savings that I didn't take advantage of. Now, I admit that there are hundreds of coupons in that stack that I would never take advantage of but there are many I would have used.
Here is a quick breakdown of some of the coupons I didn't use ...
1. $50 plus dollars of Oil of Olay coupons
2. $25 dollars of Home fragrance coupons (Febreeze, candles, etc.)
3. $10 dollars of laundry detergent coupons
4. An insane amount of dish detergent (hand and machine wash) coupons
5. A few mouthwash and toothpaste coupons
6. $10 dollars in hair care products
7. $25 dollars or more in shaving (male and female) products. Do you know what razor blades cost?
8. At least $50 dollars in general cleaning coupons.
9. Another $25 plus of body cleaning coupons.
10. There are a few food coupons in there but not many (at least I used those wisely).
I don't know why I am allowing the expiring coupons to bother me today. I guess it's that this is the first month to have so many expiring simultaneously. Did I not use them wisely or am I just collecting more? Either way, I feel like I left something on the table (savings wise) and I dont like to ever leave something on the table!
Oh well, I have a few days left in the month, hopefully I can find a reasonable sale to pair some of them with. Otherwise, I will be in for a bad day next Sunday.
Speaking of next weekend, it is a BIG day for a couple of people. At least one person will be crossing into a new decade of ages and one will be getting another day younger. I will have more on that topic soon.
Until next time, use your coupons or send them to me. I promise I will try to put them to good use.
Big news announcement
I mentioned in the last post that Big E had some big news to share soon. Well, I can officially announce that she recieved a promotion in her job last week. She was promoted to the supervisor of the Networking team. She has worked really hard on this team for several years and was rewarded with a chance to lead it. Big round of applause for her.
Speaking of Big E, she is off to spend the weekend with her mom today. I think they are planning a girls night out and a special trip tomorrow. I hope they have a good time. I wonder what I am going to eat though?
Nahhh, I'm sure that I can find a pizza or something.
I hope each of you enjoy your weekned.
Speaking of Big E, she is off to spend the weekend with her mom today. I think they are planning a girls night out and a special trip tomorrow. I hope they have a good time. I wonder what I am going to eat though?
Nahhh, I'm sure that I can find a pizza or something.
I hope each of you enjoy your weekned.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
The Tax Man Cometh ...
Its been a tough week and a half since the last post, but we've had a few things that may be of interest to share.
First, Big E got some exciting news at work. I'm not going to share it just yet but we are all very excited about it. I will probably be able to share it "officially" next time.
Sunday is Brook's birthday. She will be 15 this year. I know Brook hopes you didn't forget. It's hard to imagine that our "baby" has reached the learning to drive age. I guess it will be another brutal year of teaching for Big E. If you see Big E's car on the road, pull over just in case Brook is driving.
Brook hasn't decided where we are going for her birthday dinner yet. I have no doubt that it will be good though, she usually has good ideas for her birthday dinner. I'll give everyone an update next time.
We haven't been on the running trail much lately. My physical therapy has been a little tougher than I expected which means that I am too sore most days to consider running. I hope that after next week, I will be able to finally shake off the sore and stiffness so that I can get out on the road again. If we don't get started soon, I doubt we will be able to handle the run in April.
And now for the main event ... Paying taxes ....
As I mentioned last time, it is tax time (you probably knew that, huh?). I love this time of year. We get to learn how much (or little!!!) we earned this year and how much our government feels we should share for earning it.
This was the first year that Elizabeth and I decided to actually do them ourselves; together. I am very proud to say that we did not cuss or inflict damage upon each other during this process. I'm glad its done. Now, to quote Bill Cosby, "let the beatings begin!!!!!".
Its a yucky day outside, I think we are going to spend it inside straightening the house and watching TV. I hope you have a great day.
First, Big E got some exciting news at work. I'm not going to share it just yet but we are all very excited about it. I will probably be able to share it "officially" next time.
Sunday is Brook's birthday. She will be 15 this year. I know Brook hopes you didn't forget. It's hard to imagine that our "baby" has reached the learning to drive age. I guess it will be another brutal year of teaching for Big E. If you see Big E's car on the road, pull over just in case Brook is driving.
Brook hasn't decided where we are going for her birthday dinner yet. I have no doubt that it will be good though, she usually has good ideas for her birthday dinner. I'll give everyone an update next time.
We haven't been on the running trail much lately. My physical therapy has been a little tougher than I expected which means that I am too sore most days to consider running. I hope that after next week, I will be able to finally shake off the sore and stiffness so that I can get out on the road again. If we don't get started soon, I doubt we will be able to handle the run in April.
And now for the main event ... Paying taxes ....
As I mentioned last time, it is tax time (you probably knew that, huh?). I love this time of year. We get to learn how much (or little!!!) we earned this year and how much our government feels we should share for earning it.
This was the first year that Elizabeth and I decided to actually do them ourselves; together. I am very proud to say that we did not cuss or inflict damage upon each other during this process. I'm glad its done. Now, to quote Bill Cosby, "let the beatings begin!!!!!".
Its a yucky day outside, I think we are going to spend it inside straightening the house and watching TV. I hope you have a great day.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Havent had much to say..
I haven't really had too much to say so I haven't blogged. Have you noticed? Don't really have much to say today either, so here are a few bullets..
1. Brook has a track competition this weekend, so we are headed for Mobile. Don't know if we are driving down Friday or Saturday yet.
2. I haven't been able to run since the 5K race. My knees are really feeling sore and they sound like its time for an oil change. I went to see the doctor today and the verdict ... physical therapy. It seems that my knees are not strong enough to support my weight so the ligaments under the knee caps are grinding (hence the squeeking noise when I walk). The solution is to build the muscles in my upper leg to bare the brunt of the action. Funny that I started running to lose weight but my weight is making it difficult to run.
3. It snowed on Sunday. Snow in our little part of the world is an oddity. The dog enjoyed chasing snow balls.
4. Amazing Race has started again. I am pulling for the red head ex-cheerleaders. Big Es team went home this past week.
5. Its tax season again. Can't wait to see how much I owe the government. I guess its my small way of helping Obama help the economy. Maybe all his stimulation packages will stimulate the market to help me in return. Its almost like investing in my future. Now that is funny.
Until next time, try this Green Tip of the Post ... Clean out the from behind your refrigerator to insure good air flow. While you are back there, clean the air intake grates. Try this with your washer and dryer too. Good air flow helps the units to run better and smoother.
1. Brook has a track competition this weekend, so we are headed for Mobile. Don't know if we are driving down Friday or Saturday yet.
2. I haven't been able to run since the 5K race. My knees are really feeling sore and they sound like its time for an oil change. I went to see the doctor today and the verdict ... physical therapy. It seems that my knees are not strong enough to support my weight so the ligaments under the knee caps are grinding (hence the squeeking noise when I walk). The solution is to build the muscles in my upper leg to bare the brunt of the action. Funny that I started running to lose weight but my weight is making it difficult to run.
3. It snowed on Sunday. Snow in our little part of the world is an oddity. The dog enjoyed chasing snow balls.
4. Amazing Race has started again. I am pulling for the red head ex-cheerleaders. Big Es team went home this past week.
5. Its tax season again. Can't wait to see how much I owe the government. I guess its my small way of helping Obama help the economy. Maybe all his stimulation packages will stimulate the market to help me in return. Its almost like investing in my future. Now that is funny.
Until next time, try this Green Tip of the Post ... Clean out the from behind your refrigerator to insure good air flow. While you are back there, clean the air intake grates. Try this with your washer and dryer too. Good air flow helps the units to run better and smoother.
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