I've MOVED!

TreasuredPennies.com

2010-03-27T13:45:00.001-05:00

Come visit me at my new site: Treasured Pennies.

Weekly Savings: $79.45

2010-03-26T23:53:00.004-05:00

This week was a good week. It started off slow and ended with a sweet victory!

Before I go into the details of my savings, I need to give some much needed shout-outs.

Andrea: Andrea was house sitting last Friday and extended an invitation to me to spend the night, to which I accepted. I got two newspapers last week and had only had time to cut the coupons from one of them. Little did Andrea know that she was going to spend the night cutting coupons with me, but she cut them like a pro! I'm sure she had a lot of fun.

Dad: When I told my dad how I was venturing into the couponing world, I also told him that newspapers were expensive and I wasn't sure that I wanted to buy more than two each week. He remembered that he gets about 10 Sunday papers where he works and he just so happens to work on Sundays. Let's just say the people who read those newspapers won't be going to the grocery store any time soon to redeem those coupons. My dad volunteered to collect all of the coupon inserts from the Sunday papers and mail them to me each week. JACKPOT! In return, I told him I would pay him $3 a week. I didn't realize shipping would be $5.00, so I'll have to increase his stipend.

Mom: You played a vital role in making sure the coupon inserts got to me before the sales for this week were over. That was some great team work; no wonder you guys have been married for nearly 38 years!

And now for the this week's savings...

Starbucks: You better believe I picked up my FREE pastry at Starbucks on Tuesday! My handcrafted drink of choice? A grande, sugar-free hazelnut, non-fat misto. The misto is cheaper than the latte because it's made with coffee instead of espresso. I can't really tell the difference, other than the $1 in price. Try it! Thank you, H.D., for introducing me to the misto.

Regular Price: $1.95. My price: FREE. Total Savings: $1.95.

Kroger: I did some more grocery shopping at Kroger this week, but didn't come across any hot deals. Even though I only used 3 coupons, I was still able to save a good amount of money from the sales. I had one coupon loaded on my Kroger card from Cellfire and gave the cashier 3 more manufacturer coupons, one of which was $1.00 off Ken's salad dressing. I got to my car and realized that he skipped over my $1.00 off coupon. I was tempted to go back in the store to get it straightened out, but I decided not to. Note to self: Pay close attention to the screen when the cashier is scanning valuable coupons.

Regular Price: $29.86. My price: $20.75. Total Savings: $9.11.

Walgreens: I love saving money and scoring hot deals, but the last thing I want to do is turn into a hoarder. Why buy all of these things, just because they are great deals, when I don't need them? There is a fine line between stockpiling and hoarding. Stockpiling simply means getting your groceries at the lowest price and stocking up on them so you won't have to buy them again in the near future. When thinking of hoarding, my mind turned to ministry. There are a lot of times when I want to donate to a certain ministry, but somehow convince myself that I don't have the money, or can't afford it that month. Using coupons to buy items when they are dirt cheap is a great way to help ministries that are in need of the exact things that you aren't. Because really, who needs 12 toothbrushes and a 20 bottles of shampoo and conditioner? Case in point: Walgreens was having a sale on their Schick Quattro razors this week. Regularly priced at $8.29, they were on sale for $6.99 plus an instant $2 off in-store coupon, making them $4.99. Smart Source also had a coupon in this week's insert for $4 off a 3-pack of Schick Quattro razors. Since my parents teamed up and sent me 14 inserts from this week's paper (7 Red Plum and 7 Smart Source), I had 8-$4 off coupons (I also bought one paper this week) to use on these razors bringing my total to $0.99/each! Do I need 24 disposable razors? Heck no! Does a homeless ministry need 24 razors? Absolutely! By combining my coupons with a sale, I was able to save 90% and now I can spend my savings on even more hot deals on items to donate to ministry! Proverbs 11:24 says, "One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty." The bible also says in Psalm 112:5, "Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice." These are great verses to live by, no matter what your situation.

I also came across an Olay Quench Body Lotion Rebate Form while I was blog hopping this week, and decided to use it at Walgreens since I was already there. With the rebate form, Olay will reimburse you for the full cost of the lotion if you purchase it by 4/16 and postmark your envelope by 4/30. The lotion would normally cost $9.99, but with the rebate form, it's FREE! What are you waiting for? Print off the rebate form, above, and go get you some!

Regular Price: $76.31. My Price: $7.92. Total Savings: $68.39.

WEEKLY TOTALS: Regular Price: $108.12. My Price: $28.67. Total Weekly Savings: $79.45.

Weekly Savings: $83.59

2010-03-22T22:56:00.017-05:00

I've decided to get serious about the colorful sheets of paper that so many people discard upon opening their Sunday paper. I see one color when I look at those inserts - green. I'm talking about the coupons found in the Red Plum and Smart Source Sunday paper inserts. I've heard of people buying as many as 10 Sunday papers in one week, but I'm sticking to 2 for now. 10 papers is a little too intense for me, considering the fact that I'm only buying for myself and not a family of 5 or 6. I found out this past weekend that you can buy newspapers in packs of 2, lowering the cost from $3.00 to $2.50/each. My envelope system I mentioned in an earlier post, here, was not efficient with the number of coupons I had and I found myself getting frustrated/overwhelmed because I couldn't easily see what I was working with. I took my friend Courtney's advice and bought baseball trading card sheets at Wal-Mart. One of the best ideas, ever! It was about $5.00 for 35 sheets, each with 9 slots. If you're having a hard time picturing these, see a picture here. I found an old 1" binder with some dividers and started to categorize my coupons by the insert they came from (Red Plum, Smart Source, printed online, etc.) and by the date the insert came out (3/7, 3/14, 3/21, etc.). Within those categories, I categorized them again by type (frozen foods, cleaning, health/beauty, etc.) I know it seems borderline OCD (maybe it is...) and like a lot of work, but it's not that bad. I just flip through the inserts, cut out the coupons I want and place them in piles as I go along. When I finish cutting my coupons, I pick up the stack of frozen food coupons and put one in each a slot on my baseball card trading pages. Then I pick up the cleaning coupons and continue to do the same thing until all of my coupons have been filed. One of the things I quickly learned from the blogs I follow is that the couponers of the world have their own lingo. For example, when they tell you about a deal, they'll write "Use $1/1 Q - 3/7 SS" which translates to "Use the $1 off 1 _____ (whatever the product is) coupon from the March 7th Smart Source. It is for this reason that I categorize my coupons by the insert and then the date.

I kept my binder in the car this week and took it with me whenever I went to the store. Here are my savings for the week:

Kroger: I received the Kroger ad in the mail on Wednesday and did some prep work before heading to the grocery store. Kroger was having a March Madness promotion, where you would receive $4 off your bill if you bought 8 participating items. I looked at the participating items and compared them to the coupons I had. To save time, I took out the coupons I would need and placed them in an envelope. To avoid a run in with my ADD and to stay on track, I wrote down the items I would buy and the quantity I would need of each in order to qualify for the March Madness promotion. I got to the store and went through my list, item by item. I went to check out, gave the cashier my coupons at the end of the transaction and watched the total drop. I ended up buying everything shown below for $9.40, and saved myself $22.59 when everything was said and done.

Regular Price: $31.99. My Price: $9.40. Total Savings: $22.59.

Walgreens: I went to Walgreens to return a DVD I rented from RedBox and decided to go inside to see if there were any good deals to be had. I have a tendency to leave my make-up bag in the car, which isn't good news for my mascara when it's 32 degrees outside. For that reason, I can't ever have enough mascara. Revlon products were 40% off and Rimmel products were 50% off. I had coupons for both lines. I bypassed the Rimmel mascara packages at the front of the row and grabbed the mascara package with the bonus eye liner. I also wanted some Spring colored nail polish and snagged one from Revlon. Walgreens had a store coupon for $0.49 Reese's peanut butter cups and I had a manufacturer coupon for $0.55 off, (most stores allow you to stack store coupons and manufacturer coupons, and will also reduce the value of the manufacturer coupon if it is higher than the value of the product), making my Reese's FREE! Overall, I spent $4.98 and saved $9.78.

Regular Price: $14.76. My Price: $4.98. Total Savings: $9.78.

Target: Target has some really great deals this week and after looking at my coupons, I decided to participate in two of them. They are advertising a Buy 2 Get 1 Free deal on their Ore-Ida Potatoes. I had 2 - $1/1 coupons, get yours here, for the new Ore-Ida Steam n' Mash potatoes and Target had them 2 for $5, regularly priced at $3.49. With my two coupons, I would end up paying $1/bag. I grabbed 3 bags and headed over to their health/beauty section. Target also has their tampons advertised for $6.99 (regularly $8.99) this week, and you'll receive a $5 gift card if you buy two. That's a pretty good deal, but I also had some coupons, making the deal even sweeter! I had 2 - $2/1 coupons (remember, you can use one manufacturer coupon per purchase) to use, turning the $6.99/box into $4.99/box. This combined with my $5 gift card that I would receive, made it $4.99 for 2 boxes of tampons.

Regular Price: $28.45. My Price: $7.99. Total Savings: $20.46.

Staples: I've been wanting a flash drive for a while, but have been putting it off because they are kind of pricey. I saw that Staples was advertising a 4 GB flash drive, regularly priced at $29.99 for $14.99. Not only would you get $15 off the retail price of the flash drive, but you would also get a $10 gift card to use towards your next purchase. It was like paying $4.99. I also found a 15% off coupon (expires 3/23) and printed it off before I left. After everything was said and done, I paid $3.79 (tax included) for an item that would have normally set me back $32.46 (tax still included).

Regular Price: $32.46. My Price: $3.79. Total Savings: $28.67.

I also went to Rita's with the McCurdys for our FREE regular Italian Ice in honor of the first day of Spring. It was ironic that it was snowing on the first day of Spring and was 33 degrees when we were eating our Italian Ice, but hey, it was fun and FREE, two things I love!

Regular Price: $2.09. My Price: FREE. Total Savings: $2.09

WEEKLY TOTALS:

Total Regular Price: $109.75. Total My Price: $26.16. Total Weekly Savings: $83.59.

FREE 5 Gum!

2010-03-21T23:01:00.004-05:00

5 Gum is offering a FREE pack of gum to the first 100,000 peeps. Here's the deal: Click here to be redirected to their webpage. Click on "See if you are chosen" on the left-hand side of the page. It will ask you to connect to Facebook. Do it. Enjoy the rest. Hopefully, you'll be one of the first 100,000 and will receive your FREE pack of gum!

Whoa Bessie - Free Ice Cream at Ben & Jerry's!

2010-03-21T12:00:00.002-05:00

It looks like March 23rd is a popular day to give away FREE things! Get your FREE Starbucks pastry in the morning and head on over to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream between 12 and 8 pm on Tuesday, March 23rd to score yourself a FREE cone!

Here's the scoop (pun intended):
Who: You.
What: FREE ice cream cone.
When: Between 12 and 8 pm on Tuesday, March 23rd
Where: Ben & Jerry's. Click here to find a location near you. Note: If you're in the Dallas area, there is a store in the Shops at Highland Village and one on Preston, just north of Plano Pkwy.
Why: Just because.

FREE Italian Ice at Rita's on 3/20!

2010-03-19T17:02:00.005-05:00

For the past 17 years, Rita's has been giving away a FREE, regular size Italian Ice to each and every guest to mark the first day of spring!

Head on over to a Rita's near you from noon to 10:00 pm on Saturday, March 20th and enjoy a FREE Italian Ice with a friend!

Free Pastry at Starbucks!

2010-03-18T17:32:00.012-05:00

I'm a little sad to report that I did not have time to swing by Baja Fresh for my free burrito yesterday. However, I have never been to Baja Fresh so I really don't know what I missed out on, which makes the reality of the situation a little less painful.

On the other hand, I would be SUPER sad if I missed out on a FREE pastry from Starbucks! So I'm just not going to do that. You don't miss out either, okay?

Here are the details:
Who: You.
What: A FREE pastry at Starbucks (while pastries last) - get your coupon here - with the purchase of a handcrafted beverage.
When: Tuesday, March 23rd, until 10:30 am.
Where: Starbucks.
Why: Just Because.

Note: If you have a PDA, you don't have to print out the coupon. Just click on the coupon link above and show the barista the coupon on your phone. HOLLER!

St. Patrick's Day Freebie!

2010-03-15T17:51:00.006-05:00

Hey, I just noticed this is my 100th post. Happy posting to me!

In other news, Baja Fresh is celebrating St. Patrick's Day with FREE burritos! Print out this coupon, bring it into your local Baja Fresh between 11:00 am and 8:00 pm on March 17th and enjoy a free burrito! Since you probably won't take time to read the fine print, I read it for you. Here's the deal: 1. You have to be their Facebook fan. Once you click the link above, log in to Facebook. Your name has to be displayed on the printout. I had to click the Account drop down on the top right part of the page to display my name, PDF it and then print it. The fine print says that you have to present "a fully printed Facebook page that includes the offer, comments and fan name" - that's you. Three restrictions apply when redeeming your coupon: 1. You have to present an ID that matches the name on your print out. 2. You have to wear green, well because that's fun to have a restaurant full of people wearing the same color. 3. You have to buy a large beverage. I know it seems like a lot of work, but it's really not. To find the closest Baja Fresh to you, click here.

The Savings Continue...

2010-03-14T14:34:00.003-05:00

Here are the items I saved on this week:

Kroger: I mentioned last week that I tried the Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters and really liked them. I printed off two more $1 off coupons from Coupons.com and bought two more packages at Kroger on Friday. At $1.29 each, I was pretty sure a deal like that wouldn't come along again anytime soon. Regular Price: $7.58 ($3.79 each). My Price: $2.58 ($1.29 each).

Wal-Mart: I used my $2 off $10 or more of gas (expires 3/16) at Murphy USA this weekend. The only place I've seen Murphy USA is at Wal-Mart, so if your local Wal-Mart has a gas station, you're in luck! Regular Price: $10.00. My Price: $8.00

JCPenney Sephora: I went to the mall yesterday to see if our JCPenney had a Sephora counter. They didn't. I decided to wander aimlessly (by aimlessly, I mean straight to the BCBG section of Dillard's) but was stopped by a sweet old lady on my way. Her name was Joy. "Would you like to take a movie preview survey? It won't take too long... (Insert smile too sweet to ignore, here). "Uhhh...hmm...okay. For you, Joy? Sure. One of the pre-qualification questions asked how many times I had been to the movie theatre in the past 2 months. I said zero. The girl interviewing me (it wasn't Joy, she just hooks the people walking past) had a sad look on her face. I said, "Oh, does it need to be more than that?" She said, "Yeah... at least two..." "Oh, okay then, two." "Perfect. How many times have you been to the movie theatre in the past year? This one doesn't matter." "Okay great, ummm 8. That sounds good." The next part was selecting the probability of me seeing a movie, just based on the title and the cast. After reading the title and the names of the cast members, I watched the preview and told her why I did/did not want to see the movie, based on the preview. The whole process took about 20 minutes and at the end she said, "Let me go get your $2.00." Awesome. Here I thought I was just helping Joy meet her quota and I got $2.00 out of the deal. Although that equates to $6/hr, it's better than dropping $50 on clothes that I may or may not have needed. All that to say, I stopped by another JCPenney with Ali after church today and picked up my Free Mascara. It took all of 20 seconds. Survey - I earned $2.00 for 20 minutes of my time. Mascara - Regular Price: $9.38*. My Price: FREE.
*The regular size, 0.27 oz, retails for $19.50. My sample is 0.13 oz, so that means it would have been $9.38).

Sprouts: Sprouts has a sweet sale on their Cuties this week! A 5 lb box normally retails for $7.99 and Sprouts had them advertised for $2.99. I also had a $1.00 of coupon, making my box of cuties $1.99.
Regular Price: $7.99. My Price: $1.99.

Panda Express: I posted earlier this week that Panda Express was offering a FREE single serving of their new item, Honey Walnut Shrimp. I definitely swung by and used my coupon! There were seven shrimp packed in a tiny little box, but it was delicious and far exceeded my expectations. I think of fast-food Chinese as being soggy and nasty, but the coating on the shrimp was crunchy and far from soggy. I liked it so much that I decided to get it again today when Ali and I ate lunch at Panda Express. To my surprise, the serving size that I got for free on Wednesday really was a real serving size. I only got seven little shrimp with my meal today, but had to pay $4.00 for them this time. I think I'll make my own honey walnut shrimp next time. Regular Price: $4.00. My price: FREE.

CVS: I was down to the last little bit of my bar soap and needed to get some more. CVS had an advertised deal on Caress bar soap (limit 3) for $0.99, and I got three.
Regular Price: $4.77 ($1.59 each). My Price: $2.97.

Total Weekly Savings: $30.18 or 69%.
Regular Price Total: $43.72. My Price Total: $13.54 (includes my $2.00 earnings).

I'm Getting the Hang of This.

2010-03-09T21:56:00.006-06:00

Okay, so I told you in my last post that I've been following some money saving blogs to learn the tricks of the trade. Tonight, I decided to test out my skills at Target, with Bonnie by my side for moral support. I haven't discovered the most efficient way to organize my coupons yet, so for now, I have categorized envelopes (e.g. health/beauty, fruits/veggies, cleaning, toiletries, etc., you get the picture) and I write the coupons on the outside of the envelope so I can see what I'm working with. I have read and heard over and over again that the best time to use a coupon is when an item is on sale. I saw on Totally Target that a lot readers were reporting marked down items in the cosmetics department of Target. I had some make-up coupons that expired at the end of the month and decided this would be a good time to use them. I found some Covergirl nail polish that was originally $3.69, on clearance for $0.92. My coupon was $1.00 off any Covergirl product. Side note: I have also learned that if the coupon value is higher than the cost of the item, you can ask the cashier to reduce the value of the coupon to make the item free. JACKPOT! There weren't any more items on clearance that I had a coupon for, so I made my way over to the health/beauty section to see what I could find. I looked at my health/beauty envelope and noticed that I had a coupon for $1.00 off Oral-B floss. I skimmed through the floss selection and found some for $1.02. Oh man, this is getting good! I had one more coupon up my sleeve, and this one was for Bonnie. I noticed that she had conditioner written on her grocery list and I just so happened to have a buy one get one free (B1G1) Herbal Essences coupon. She decided to buy her Herbal Essences conditioner and get some spray gel for FREE!

We walked over to the checkout for the moment of truth. The cashier scanned our items and then all three coupons. All of my coupons prompted a warning on the screen that they were invalid. I made sure beforehand that the coupons would work with the items I was purchasing, so I knew they weren't invalid. Our cashier, Katherine, called for back up. While we were waiting around awkwardly, I asked her if the patient man behind us with two items could go ahead of us. She cancelled our transaction and rang him up. Now it was our turn again. Katherine's back up, Shana, instructed her to mark down the value of the Covergirl coupon to $0.92 and to override the warnings for the other products. Apparently, the registers at Target are not fans of coupons. After waiting in anticipation for a couple of minutes, Katherine handed me my receipt. I was shocked when I saw my savings! After everything was said and done, I saved $6.83 plus the $2.77 markdown on the nail polish for a grand total of $9.60 or 75%. I walked out of Target feeling like I was on top of the world! I could really get used to this using coupons thing.

Bonnie needed to get the majority of her groceries at Kroger, so we headed that way. Another thing I've learned about over the past couple of weeks is Cellfire, a website where you can load electronic coupons on to your Kroger or Tom Thumb rewards card. It's pretty sweet. I've seen ads for the Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters and when I saw the $1 off coupon for them on Cellfire, I immediately added it to my Kroger card. When we got to Kroger, I saw them on sale for $2.29, originally priced at $3.79, and tossed them in the cart. Kroger had a great deal on Charmin toilet paper, 12 rolls for $5.99, originally priced at $9.79 and I also had a $0.25 coupon. Another great thing about Kroger is that they triple coupons with a face value of $0.35 or less and double coupons with a face value of $0.50 or less. Since Kroger triples coupons, my $0.25 coupon quickly turned into a $0.75 coupon. I also bought some extra virgin olive oil (EVOO for the Rachael Ray fans) that was marked down $0.80 and there were also manufacturer coupons for $1.00 off hanging off the shelf.

My total savings at Kroger, including sale prices and coupons, was $8.85.

I'm pretty proud of myself. I've given myself a pat on the back and listened closely to hear my dad's voice in my head saying, "Good job, Britt!" It's too late to call him right now, but had I called him, I know that's what he would say.

Total savings for the night? $18.45.

That's all I've got for now. I'm sure I'll be dreaming of all kinds of saving scenarios tonight.

Free Panda Express, Pinkberry and Mascara!

2010-03-09T17:39:00.004-06:00

The free stuff keeps coming! Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed by following three money saving blogs, but I saw a couple of things that put a skip in my step and I wanted to share them with you. Enjoy!

1. Free Panda Express on Wednesday, March 10th. Click to enlarge and print the coupon, below, to receive a FREE order of Honey Walnut Shrimp. Click here to find a Panda Express near you.

2. Free Pinkberry on Friday, March 12th. Pinkberry is mad about mango and you can join them on Friday to receive a FREE mini Mango Pinkberry with toppings. Read more about it here and find a Pinkberry near you, here.

3. Whether you love your lashes or want to love them, that's beside the point. The point is, FREE mascara! Bring this coupon to the Sephora counter inside your local JCPenney to receive your FREE mascara. Please note that the coupon says if they run out of mascara, they'll give you a sample of whatever you'd like!

I'm going to try to publish deals like this more often, but if you want to know about all of the great deals, please check out the sources themselves, Cha-ching on a Shoestring, Totally Target, and Addicted to Saving.

Frugal Fri...Monday!

2010-03-08T17:16:00.006-06:00

I definitely haven't lost my frugal touch, but I've entered into the world of couponing and am trying to up my game, so I've been a little distracted. Some of my favorite sites to follow are Cha-Ching on a Shoestring, Totally Target, and a new favorite, Addicted to Saving. I am a visual person and that's why I'm so drawn to Addicted to Saving. She has photo show and tells and she also totals how much she spends on groceries. I've always wondered, "Sure you are saving X amount, but how much are you spending?!" These sites are really great, because they do all of the work for you. All you need to do is buy your paper and remove all of your coupon inserts. When there is a really great deal, they'll tell you which coupons to use to ensure that you are spending as little as possible on the items.

There was a post a couple of weeks ago on Totally Target about the Clorox Toilet Wand.

Side note: If I'm going to clean my toilet, I definitely want to use an item that's been identified as a wand, because that's just fun. Back to the point of this post. You can find the post on Totally Target, here, which includes a link to a $5 off coupon and a $5 mail-in rebate form. I found the wand at Market Street today for $9.69 and used my $5 off coupon. I paid $5.19 after tax and once I receive my rebate, I will have paid $0.63 (tax and postage) for an item that would have set me back $10.49. HOLLER!

While I'm on my saving soap box, I want to make you aware of a sweet deal that Bonnie told me about today! Dunkin' Donuts is giving away FREE medium hot or ice coffee every Monday during the month of March!

You may want to print off the ad, just in case the people at your local DD look at you like a fool when you turn to walk away from the counter without paying for your coffee! I think I'm going to treat myself to one tonight!

Get your GROUPON on!

2010-03-07T17:04:00.000-06:00

I heard about this site, Groupon, from my friend Bianca. I'm in love. Basically, Groupon partners with local businesses in major cities to bring customers daily deals. Each day I get an e-mail from Groupon spotlighting the day's deal. You have until 11:59 pm to buy, and then the deal is gone, never to return. Well, it may return, but not any time soon. It's a win-win, because I'm offered a great discount for a service/product I probably haven't heard about before, but would like to try, and the local business gets more traffic in their store.

On another note, I have a girl's night once a month with Bonnie and three of her best friends from high school, who have now become friends of mine. One of the Groupon deals was at a local fitness center. They were offering 3 pole dancing classes and one burlesque class for 80% off the regular price. I instantly thought this would be a girls night to remember. Since you only have until the end of the day to sign up, I sent out an urgent e-mail asking the girls to respond with their thoughts ASAP. They were all in! We planned our first class for the last week in March and I'll let you know how that goes.

In other news, one of my best friends, Callie, got engaged last Saturday! I introduced Jeremy to you in an earlier post, here. He's really great, and we are all really excited for them! I will post the pictures and the proposal details later. I'm off to teach some kids that God is in charge of everything!

Free Taco Bell!

2010-02-19T13:40:00.005-06:00

Get your coupon for a free Fresco Taco at Taco Bell, here!

Deals at Fazoli's 2/22 - 2/26 only!

2010-02-19T13:40:00.004-06:00

Print the coupon, below, at Fazoli's on the appropriate day(s) to receive your hot deal!

I Have Issues...

2010-02-18T17:31:00.001-06:00

I have issues. One issue I have is zipping my pants. This is only an issue if my pants have more than one button. Since most of my pants have one button and one zipper, I'm used to performing two steps and only two steps after I pull my pants up. Step one: Button my pants. Step two: Zip my pants. I don't really think about it, I just do it. So when my pants have more than one button, an issue is created. I just bought some new pants and they have THREE buttons. Yes, three. Is this really necessary? Who really needs three buttons to hold their pants up? Two buttons, okay. I can understand that. But three? I'm sure that extra button adds another $5 to the retail price of the pants. Simply unnecessary. Anyways, I bought these new pants (for a really great price, I might add) and I've worn them to work 4 times, so far. I've forgotten to zip my pants every time. I have managed to button all three buttons, which I am proud of because I'm only used to performing two steps, but I keep forgetting to zip my pants. The good news is that the zipper is short, so it's not too obvious to my co-workers that I'm sloppy. I normally don't realize I forgot to zip them until I spill/drop some part of my breakfast on my pants and look down. I say to myself and sometimes under my breath, "Are you kidding me?" My issues could be more serious, so I'm actually thankful for this one. My solution to the issue? None. It is what it is.

Vote for Hannah and Karl!

2010-02-11T23:08:00.006-06:00

Callie's younger sister, Hannah, is engaged to be married to Karl and they need your help. No, no, they don't need your money, country club membership or amazing voice, they just need you to click on the link below to take their Crate and Barrel Ultimate Wedding contest submission to 1st place! VOTE FOR THEM HERE, okay? No worries, you won't get any spam mail by registering, but you may get pictures of adorable pillows and vases straight to your inbox. I kid, I kid. Just vote for them, already!

You can read Hannah's blog, here. I added her to my reader because I like her style. You will, too.

24 Is Way Older Than 23.

2010-02-05T18:37:00.012-06:00

I'm happy to report that the Lord has allowed me to live another year. That makes 24 years that I've been alive. I like saying "I'm 24." It's way better than saying "I'm 23." 24 just sounds way older than 23, doesn't it? To celebrate my day of birth, I invited some dear friends in the Dallas area to come out for dinner and bowling. I wanted it to be super casual for two reasons: 1. Casual is just more fun. 2. I wanted people to feel like they could come and go. For dinner, I chose my favorite burger joint, Twisted Root Burger. Aside from great burgers, Twisted Root has a really fun atmosphere. Instead of giving you a number to listen for, they give you a celebrity name. If you're lucky, you could be Marilyn Monroe for the night and pick up your order right after Britney Spears or Shaq. If you visit, I highly recommend the Fried Ride: fried pickles, fried green beans, sweet potato chips, curly fries, and friend onion strings. Seriously. You have to save your calories throughout the week in order to eat this and not feel guilty. After dinner, we headed over to the bowling alley for a game of bowling. I'll skip over my score and highlight Bonnie's victory. She beat everyone on her team, including her husband, who's a hardcore bowler. It was a lot of fun and my face was sore at the end of the night from smiling so much. The older I get, the more I enjoy and appreciate good quality time with friends. I'm not sure what year 24 has in store, but you can be sure that I'll share the details here. I'll leave you with some pictures from the night.

Callie and her Boo, Jeremy, giving me "sassy."

Angela and Q

My little Mousey, Bonnie, and me.

David and Bonnie

Callie, Maegan and Kristi

Ali and Dina.

Shout out: Thank you to the McCurdys and Webbs for the great cupcakes!

Kristi, Maegan and me.

Shout out: Thank you to Laura and Leah for the super fun birthday glass! Don't worry guys, a little vodka never hurt anyone.

Okay, okay. It's water.

Update: Free Einstein Bros Bagel

2010-02-02T12:19:00.001-06:00

I heard the original link doesn't work. Here is the coupon itself. Enjoy!

Pictures from Christmas - Finally!

2010-01-31T13:50:00.021-06:00

I finally bought a USB to transfer my pictures from my memory card to my computer. Enjoy the pictures to go along with my Christmas 2009 post.

One of these things is not like the others...

You have a baby... in a kareoke bar...

The original pine cone.

We always get nervous that the caramel sauce for our sweet potatoes isn't going to come together... we have little faith in the power of butter, sugar and heat.

Let the annual card making contest begin...

Evan wins first place in the International division - "Chritma"

Katelyn wins first place in the my little Pepaw division

Mom wins first place for the best use of ribbon.

Kristen wins first place in the ready to hang division.

Jessica wins first place for the most decorative.

Eddie (the dog) wins first place in the K-9 division.

I win first place for the "holiest" card.

Dave wins first place in the "already in the bag" division.

My dad is so cute.

He's in his outdated "TAC by Schneider Electric" branded apparel.

It was a long day...

And now for the videos you've all been waiting for...

Evan

Dave

Jessica

Katelyn

Kristen

Mom and Dad

Passion 2010

2010-01-31T13:09:00.008-06:00

I started the year off right this year, with a road trip to Atlanta, GA with 4 of my best girl friends! On January 1, Maegan, Callie, Ali, Andrea and I piled int0 Maegan's SUV and began the 900 mile trek to Atlanta. We listened to It's My Wedding, WTH???, a CD of clips from one of the local radio morning shows and laughed a lot. We played "My Daddy Runs the Grocery Store," a game where one person thinks of an item in the grocery store and says "My daddy runs the grocery store and he sells the letter... B (or whatever letter the item they are thinking of starts with)" and everyone starts guessing items in a grocery store that start with that letter. The person who guesses correctly gets to think of the next letter. We also played that game where someone says a celebrity's name and the next person has to say a celebrity name that starts with the first letter of the last name of the celebrity name that was just said. For example, I say Faith Hill, and the next person says Hugh Grant, the next person says Gerard Butler, Beyonce Knowles, etc. you get the picture. If you repeat a name that's already been said, you're out. We didn't get any flat tires, no one got punched in the face, and we laughed a lot. Success. Why Atlanta? We went to Passion 2010 to refocus on our true priority in life, the glory of God. The conference was amazing; 25,000 young adults, ages 18-25, praising God and lifting His name high. Speakers like John Piper, Francis Chan, Beth Moore, Louie Giglio and bands like David Crowder Band, Chris Tomlin and Hillsong. There were three main things that my eyes were opened to at Passion: 1. My pride is digusting and needs to be dealt with. 2. We are guaranteed suffering in this life. 3. Our greatest joy is found in the glory of God. At Passion, they had a center called "Do Something Now." The goal was to raise $500,000 for 12 different non-profit organizations pushing back the darkness in the world. That's a steep goal for poor college students and post-college students with loans to pay back. Through God, the goal was met and far exceeded. Over 4 days, we gave (not pledged, gave) $668,597.95. A married couple who were guests at the conference were overwhelmed by the outpouring of money from "kids" that they wrote a check on the spot and matched the donations dollar for dollar. Praise God! We teach our kids in Little Village that God is in charge of everything and only he can perform miracles and it was awesome to be able to experience one first hand. I was blown away and in awe. The trip was great and I came back refocused, rejuvinated and refreshed.

Here are some pictures from our travels. We stopped in Birmingham, AL on our way there and ate dinner at Mellow Mushroom - the best pizza I've ever eaten, no lie. We took a self-guided tour of Alabama's campus and got an indepth look at their Christmas tree. Enjoy!

Frugal Friday - Free Bagel!

2010-01-29T08:41:00.001-06:00

Visit Einstein Bagels between 2/1 and 2/7 to redeem your FREE Bagel & Shmear coupon!

Bermuda, Bahamas, Come on Pretty Mama...

2010-01-16T19:18:00.003-06:00

I find myself apologizing often for taking so long to post and I'm going to stop doing that. One of my new mottos for 2010 is "I'll get to it when I get to it." As much as I want to blog, I haven't really found any convenient times. In the past, I would have stayed up way too late creating a post, but now, I'm going to say, "I'll get to it when I get to it." And here I am, blogging on a Saturday night because my immune system got distracted at some point and let down its guard.

Last time I wrote, I was leaving for a cruise with my family. I asked multiple people, multiple times, to go through a packing checklist; I didn't want to forget anything important. One of the items someone reminded me of was a camera. Well, I broke my camera back in October and decided this was the perfect time to buy a new one. I did a little research and found out the Best Buy was advertising a great deal. I got this camera, this case, and a rechargeable battery for about $200. Score. I got to Austin around 10:00 pm the night before the cruise and asked Callie and my parents to go through the packing list one last time, thinking that I could run to the grocery store to get last minute things.

Dad: Pillow?
Me: Check.
Callie: Passport?
Me: ....Passport? No...
Dad: You're kidding!
Me: No... no one told me I needed that!
Dad: Please tell me you're joking.
Me (almost in tears and straight up panicked): NO, I'M NOT JOKING! Do I have to drive back to Dallas?
Dad: Start driving.

Thankfully, the Lord instilled a calm spirit in Callie and she was able to think logically and speak softly. We looked at the rules and regulations online and realized that because we were going on a closed-loop cruise (leaving and returning to the same port), an original birth certificate would be an acceptable document. Phew! My dad happened to have the original at the house and a huge wave of relief swept over us. I wasn't able to find humor in the situation until we reminisced the next morning. The cruise was great! So much fun and laughter I could hardly go one day without almost peeing in my pants. Callie got to see first-hand that the people in my family really are the way I have described them. She realized that the voices I use to impersonate them are definitely exaggerated, yet accurate. Throughout the cruise, I took all of these great pictures, but when I got home I couldn't find the USB cord to transfer them from my camera to my computer. I had my parents looking all over the house and I was looking all through my stuff. Nothing. It wasn't until tonight, when I was looking for the link to my camera online, that I realized the reason no one could find the cord. THE CAMERA DIDN'T COME WITH ONE! So here I've been, waiting to update my blog until I find my cord because I didn't want to have a post without pictures, just to find that I've been looking for something I never had in my possession. Story of my life. I guess this means I need to stop looking and just buy one. Pictures to come...

The laughter continued into the days following the cruise. If you recall, last year was the first annual Bradberry Christmas Dance. It was also where you heard about the pine cone. The traditions continued this year, but we decided to give the dance participants some options. If you weren't up for dancing, you could karaoke instead. Success. Videos to come...

That's all I've got for now. I will get you up to date in my next post.

FREE iTunes Holdiay Sampler

2009-12-15T17:33:00.006-06:00

iTunes is allowing you to download their Holiday Sampler for FREE! There are 20 tracks - that's right, 20 FREE tracks - by artists such as Amy Grant, Lady Antebellum, Weezer, Barry Manilow, Sarah McLachlan and many more, but hurry because this offer ends on December 17th!

If you don't have iTunes, you can download it here. You can find the Holiday Sampler icon on the iTunes Store homepage with a yellow, "FREE" tab on the top-right corner. Enjoy!

12 Days of Whataburger

2009-12-15T09:08:00.004-06:00

Whataburger knows what's up! In the spirit of giving this holiday season, Whataburger is celebrating the "12 days of Whataburger" by giving away one FREE ITEM every other day through Christmas Eve. Redeem this coupon on Wednesday, December 16th for one FREE TAQUITO. December 16th is day 8 of 12, so I'm a little behind, but better late than never, right?

No matter where you live, I'm sure you can find some hungry homeless people on a corner near you. How fun would it be to print off multiple coupons and pass them out on your way to/from work? The answer is "SO FUN!" I like to give stuff to the homeless people with creative signs. For example, I would totally give a coupon to someone holding a sign that says "I bet you can't hit me with a quarter." If I saw that sign, I would make a paper airplane out of my coupon, tape a quarter to it, aim for the milk crate he's sitting on, and fire. Pure bliss I tell you, pure bliss.

Bingo, Hockey and Turkey, Oh My!

2009-12-09T22:33:00.026-06:00

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last blogged. What has gotten into me? A lot has happened, but there are two events I'd like to reminisce. I went to Shreveport with Kristen and Katelyn, and I went to Austin for Thanksgiving. We had such a great time visiting our Great Aunt Ann and playing bingo with her and her friends! You can read all about the rest of our trip on Kristen's blog.

While in Austin, I went to a hockey game with my parents and good friend, Sean, enjoyed some great conversation and laughter with friends from high school, and ate a delicious and not-so-nutritious Thanksgiving meal with my parents and Jessica's in-laws. My dad got tickets to the Texas Stars hockey game (owned by the Dallas Stars) from a guy who used to work with him. It was $1 hot dog and $2 beer night, can it get any better? Yes, because we also saw a fight and a shoot out.

Aren't they so cute?! I just can't get enough of them...

I also got to hang out with my good friends from high school, Jordan and Jennifer. We went to a local coffee shop, Motzart's, to catch up, talk about life and laugh. I'm a fan of constant laughter in conversation, so I can always count on a good time with these two! After coffee, we went to Barnes and Noble to get Jenn a book. While there, Jordan and I tried to convince her to buy a new favorite book, Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea. Let me warn you before you take my advice and buy this book for yourself. Chelsea Handler is completely inappropriate and vulgar. I think she's hilarious, but someone like my mom would be appalled that Chelsea Handler would be allowed to talk the way she does on her hit show, Chelsea Lately. Jenn passed on the book, but I decided to buy it the next week at Target for 30% off, so she'll get to borrow it over Christmas! Holler.

We also spent Thanksgiving day with Jessica's in-laws, the Conquests. Kristen, Dave and Katelyn were spending time with Dave's family in Waco, and Thanksgiving would be lame with 3 people, so we were thankful for the invite from the Conquests. Jessica volunteered my dad to carve the turkey. Why would she do that when my dad has no idea how to carve a turkey? I assured him that it would be okay and directed him to this YouTube video. He totally owned that turkey and fooled everyone into thinking this was his 100th time to carve a turkey.

Since we didn't have Thanksgiving leftovers, I made the easiest meal ever for dinner on Friday night. It's called something like Beefy Cheesy Ravioli and Kristen sent me the recipe. I also made my mom's favorite salad with cranberries, apples and walnuts. Even Evan liked the meal and he is a super picky eater!

That's all I've got. We are going on a cruise next Thursday, but hopefully you'll hear from me again before we leave.

Let the Games Continue..

2009-11-17T17:45:00.015-06:00

I last blogged about the adventures of the pine cone in July, and the story ended with the original pine cone in my dad's possession. After 3 months of waiting, the story continues. Two weeks ago, my parents took some time off from work to visit friends and family and made a stop in Dallas Friday night. I headed over to Kristen and Dave's Saturday morning for some much needed family time and laughter. I got in my car to head home and noticed some brown things in my seat. I took a closer look and realized they were pine cone remnants. My dad was standing in the drive way waving, with a big smile on his face. I said, "Dad... I feel like there may be a pine cone in here." To which he responded, "Huh?" I looked in my console. Jackpot. I found the pine cone. I held it up and smiled.

That night, I went over to Bonnie's house to get ready for a Halloween party. I grabbed my make-up bag and headed towards a mirror. I opened my bag and found another pine cone, the original one. I laughed.

The next day, I went to the gym and was about to put my sunglasses in their rightful place before I headed in. I looked up and saw another pine cone. Is he serious?

I called my dad.

Me: Dad! I found another pine cone!

Dad: How many is that?

Me: What do you mean how many is that? I've found three.

Dad: Keep looking.

Me: WHAT?!

I grabbed my ID card from the cup holder and walked inside. When I came back out to my car, I put my ID card back where I got it, but this time I saw something I hadn't noticed before. I saw that there was something inside the clip of my work badge. What in the world? It was the world's smallest pine cone...

It's been almost a year since the pine cone made its debut. This Christmas will be filled with more excitement and quite possibly more pine cones. I'm thinking it may be time to assign this pine cone a name. The star of a game that's this fun must have a name. Any ideas?

Frugal Friday!

2009-11-13T07:00:00.002-06:00

Thursday, November 12th: My colleague (and now friend), Michael, introduced me to some sweet money saving websites after he learned of my love for great deals. The websites are similar in content, but one is better organized and I choose to plug that website. Spoofee strives to provide consumers with the best deals everyday. 7 For All Mankind jeans for 40% off? Yes please! Restaurant.com 80% off coupon? Absolutely! I was hanging out with Kristen and Dave tonight and told them about the steal at restaurant.com. It seemed too good to be true. Too good to be true, because you can already get a $25 gift card at Restaurant.com for $10 without a discount code. Dave mentioned that he had gotten some gift certificates from Restaurant.com before and reassured me that it was a pretty good deal. You basically get more food for the same price you would typically pay for dinner for two. You may be thinking, "How does it work?" Let me explain. Restaurant.com helps restaurant owners promote the new and unique aspects of their restaurants while providing diners with great value in a fun, new and cost effective way. Local restaurant owners entice you with cheap gift certificates and hope that you will visit more than once. I wanted to try it out and realized this would be the best time. I refined my search to restaurants in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. After browsing 21 pages of featured restaurants, I settled on two gift cards. I bought one $25 gift card to Maestro's and one $25 gift certificate to Sweet Basil. One piece of advice: Make sure you read the restrictions before you purchase. For example, here are my restrictions for the certificates that I purchased: The certificates are only valid on dine-in service, tax and gratuities are not included and 18% gratuity is added. I have to spend at least $35 at Maestro's and at least $50 at Sweet Basil. No problem! I feel a girl's night coming on... So how much did this cost me? I paid a whopping $4.50 for $50 worth of gift certificates! Are you kidding me? How is this legal? Is this legit? Yes, yes, it is! I read the terms and agreements to be sure. Try it out!

Original price: $50.00. My price: $4.50. Total Savings: $45.50 or 91%.

I Love Real Simple.

2009-11-01T21:06:00.008-06:00

I love Real Simple magazine and for the past couple of years, I have gifted myself with it for Christmas. They typically have a buy one get one free around Christmas and I like to buy one for my sister and gift myself with the free one. Anyways, aside from the recipes, my favorite section of the magazine is the "New Uses for Old Things" section. Here are some of my favorites:

A giveaway shower cap becomes the perfect wrapper for shoes when traveling, preventing them from dirtying clothes packed in your suitcase.

Make no-mess pancakes with the help of a ketchup bottle: Pour in batter, then squeeze out precise portions.

No more worries of camisoles and sundresses slipping off hangers when you wrap the ends with rubber bands.

Give Easter eggs a year-round use (and save on resealable bags) by filling them with snacks like crackers or Cheerios.

At a party, stash ice in a colander set on top of a bucket or a bowl. Water will drain out, and guests will get only the solid stuff.

$1 Meal at Boston Market - THIS WEEK ONLY!

2009-10-26T18:53:00.003-05:00

October 26th has been declared UNFry Day by KFC. Boston Market would like to celebrate with you on this day and every day because at Boston Market, every day is Unfried. In honor of this occasion, Boston Market has a delicious deal - a $1 Real Chicken Meal Deal. Real Chicken, Real Goodness, Really Just a Dollar.

Present the coupon below and enjoy their special offer featuring your choice of a quarter white or 3-piece dark chicken, mashed potatoes and cornbread. Hurry! This great value is available for one week only. (Monday, October 26 - November 1, 2009).

SkyMall Magazine - That's How I Spend My Time on an Airplane.

2009-10-24T20:09:00.019-05:00

I really enjoyed my time in Ohio and found a couple of things out about myself. 1. I like talking to large groups of people if I know what I'm talking about. If you know me, you've probably seen my face turn from sunkissed tan to beet red at the drop of a hat. This doesn't just happen when I'm extremely embarrassed, it also happens when 3 or more people are looking at me at the same time waiting for an answer that I don't have, or whenever my face feels like turning colors. People will say, wow you got sunburned this weekend, what did you do? My response? Nope, if you recall, it was raining this weekend. My face just gets this way sometimes. Naturally, I was kind of nervous that my face would do its thing when I was presenting, but it didn't. I felt really comfortable in front of everyone and confident in the material that I was presenting. Best of all, I had a lot of fun! I think it's because I really enjoy helping people and making things easier to understand, and I felt like I was able to do that. I told my mom that I could get used to this traveling and presenting thing. Someone even asked if I just traveled around presenting to our offices. I informed them that this was actually my first time to do something like this. They said, "Wow! You're really good!" I was excited to hear that. 2. Being alone isn't so bad. I've always been the type of person who likes to do everything with someone else. From going on a walk to grocery shopping, I've always said life is more fun when you share it with someone else. I still think that statement is true, but have found that life can still be fun when I'm alone. I have more time to think about things, I get to sing louder in the car, and I can people watch with 100% focus.

Since I didn't have anyone to talk to on my plane ride from Cincinnati to Dallas, (the lady next to me was asleep and snoring loudly) I decided to browse through the SkyMall magazine placed in the seatback in front of me. One of the first articles I came across caught my attention. It was an article about G-Defy shoes.

Do you see anything wrong in the picture below?

Feel like your defying gravity? Is defying gravity the name of an item that you own? No. The sentence should say "feel like you're defying gravity!" One of my biggest pet peeves is when people do not know when to use to, too, two, their, there, your or you're. I thought to myself, "If these people are going to boldly use 'your' in the wrong context, surely there are some other things about this article that will amuse me." I decided to continue observing...

I would like to know who designed this logo. I'd also like to know the group of people who approved it. This logo looks like sperm. I don't know about you, but I would not sport a shoe with sperm imprinted on the side.

Here, the article talks about the technology of the "Gravity Defyer Shoes." Please notice that the "s" is capitalized.

Later on in the article, they talk about the pain relief associated with the "G-Defy shoes." Notice that the "s" is not capitalized. Make up your mind. Is "shoes" part of the name that you copyrighted or not?

Who knew there were so many benefits associated with the "G-Defy" shoes? Not me. Have you ever thought, "Gosh. I'd really like to look like a million dollars. What can I do... what can I do...?" Apparently, you just need to put on a pair of shoes with a sperm logo. Ever wondered what you could do to appear taller? The answer is G-Defy. This shoe relieves ALL pains? No way. Goodbye Aleve, Tylenol and Bayer. All I need is the G-Defy. This shoe is getting better and better by the second.

Not only are you able to fly over the moonlit skyline in your business suit with your briefcase in hand, but the G-Defy shoe has streaks of flames blazing from the sole! I can guarantee that the G-Defy shoes will not be the only thing flaming if you put these on your feet.

Great news for the overweight? I don't know, you tell me. Why in the world is this a question?

I thought it was comical that they said, "Feel the drive, the inspiration, the energy rush as soon as you slip your feet into the cockpit of the most exhilirating shoes in the world! Go from the weekend warrior to the daily champion at your gym and on the street." That's a bold and exciting statement. The G-Defy article was so great, that I had to continue to browse through the SkyMall magazine. The suspense I felt when turning the page was too great...

"Listen closely and look me in the eye. Keep misbehaving and we'll send you to this little island right here. Do you understand?"

Who wouldn't want to turn off the lights in their bathroom and have a party in the shower? With the option of having three interchanging colors for $49.99, or seven colors for $59.99, I say go big or go home. I'll go with seven colors, please.

This is a litter box for your cat. Please note that there is a special bay window that provides additional space and light. What cat in its right mind would sit in its poop to peer out a bay window at the object that could easily be seen up close and personal if the cat just stepped out of the the litter box?

I understand the santa, snowflake, snowman and dove, but a carousel? This may just be me, but if I was drawing the things that came to mind when I thought of Christmas, I would not draw a carousel.

I hate to break it to you, buddy, but this is not flattering. You do not look sexy and even though you are supporting your pondering mind with your fist, you definitely do not look sophisticated.

Makers of G-Defy, you have outdone yourselves. This article is for another shoe that puts a spring in your step while giving you more energy, but is geared towards the businessmen of the world. This part of the article says, "Wearing Gravity Defyer Shoes (capital "s") you'll look like a distinguished gentlman from the cover story of a quality men's magazine while being propelled into a more active lifestyle filled with luxury and comfort." Hmm... You'll see below this statement, two of the eight shoes they are offering to those who want to look like a "distinguished gentleman from the cover story of a quality men's magazine." No where in this article does it mention that these shoes are for women. So why in the world are you selling the flashy Single Spring Turbo shoe, below?

If I ever saw a man wearing the Single Spring Turbo, "distinguished" would be last word to come to my mind.

Agreed. Personal safety does start with taser. This item has been added to my Christmas list.

This gorilla is too great to leave in the garden. He deserves to be an indoor statue and I know exactly where I would put him if someone so graciously gifted me with him. If I had a guest bathroom, I would put him right in front of the toilet. It would be great. Guests would walk in and be amazed. Please remember this post should I move into a house and invite you to my house warming party. Thank you.

Once a cheater always a cheater. This article is for those who would like to advance their career without doing any of the work. Basically, you receive a Cliffnotes version of the book your boss asked you to read. 360 Leader? Check. Good to Great? Check. With the "personal reader," you will surpass great and go from good to freaking awesome to president of the company! The article says that the "personal reader" is similar to a personal trainer. Except for the fact that your personal trainer doesn't work out for you and you still have to do all of the work. The "personal reader" is more like the smart kid you paid $100 to write your Government mid-year essay your senior year of college.

Something is wrong with this picture. Where is the guy that brought this woman a rose and placed rose petals on the floor that led all the way to the Comfort-U Pillow that she is sleeping on? Men: Do not buy this pillow for your girlfriend or wife in hopes of having a romantic night with her. Apparently, the Comfort-U Pillow will destroy your plans and put her right to sleep.

Can't play the guitar, but still want to impress the ladies? No worries! With the E-Z Chord Kit, you can play the guitar with the push of a button! WARNING TO ALL MEN: If you have to resort to buying the E-Z Chord Kit, please spare yourself the embarrassment and find another hobby. I promise you, you will not be cool if you have the E-Z Chord Kit for your guitar.

LOST BALLS: Great Holes, Tough Shots, and Bad Lies captures the funniest, most unexpected images that golfers will love. In my opinion, this sounds like it could be the title of another book.

For those of you who feel insecure when sleeping, the DreamSack is for you! With the DreamSack, you can "sleep with confidence and comfort anywhere in the world!"

I thought it was humorous that the makers of this item would differentiate it from other blankets or Snuggies by calling it a cape. I don't know about you, but I would much rather have a cape than a boring blanket.

Finally, I can wrap a husky around my neck without having to worry about it biting me.

The ShapeUp Pads was the only item in the SkyMall magazine that appealed to me. I guarantee you that this will be item #1 on my Christmas list this year. No joke.

"Have you ever wanted to make or receive a phone call underwater?" Are you freaking kidding me? If you have the desire to talk on the phone while scuba diving, you need to seek help and get a life.

And that, my friends, is what happens when I have 2 1/2 hours by myself, on a plane, with no one to talk to and no music to listen to.

Is This What Fall Looks Like?

2009-10-22T20:05:00.008-05:00

When I got to Columbus yesterday, it was already kind of dark so I wasn't really able to see the city at its finest. As I was driving to the local office this morning, I had a revelation. The streets and highways are lined with trees, something that you don't see in Dallas. The trees were colorful. All sorts of colors - red, yellow, orange, red-orange, yellow-orange, red-yellow. A light bulb went off in my mind. THIS IS WHERE THE COLORS OF FALL COME FROM! I mean, I knew the colors of fall were red, yellow, orange, red-orange, yellow-orange, and red-yellow, but I never really knew why. How did I not know that? Because I've lived in Texas my entire life. So you've never visited the states that actually have 4 seasons? Not during fall, no. For a second I got kind of upset that I had been deprived of the beauty that is fall for all of these years, but then I came to my senses and realized that it wasn't my parents' fault. They were raised in Texas too. I think my experience today may be like someone's experience with something like TiVo. Hear me out. You don't realize what you're missing until you experience it. I always hear people say that they wouldn't be able to live without their TiVo. Am I saying that I can't live without fall anymore? Well no, but I am saying that it may not be so bad to live somewhere other than Texas for a little while. Ultimately, I would have to come back to Texas, because of the states that I have been to, it doesn't get any better than Texas.

My presentation went really well this morning. I prayed that the Lord would calm my nerves and help me to speak intelligently. He did just that and it was awesome! I drove to Cincinnati today for the other presentation I have tomorrow morning. I asked one of the guys at work where I should eat. He said, "When you come to Cincinnati, you have to go to Montgomery Inn at the Boathouse, downtown. They have the best ribs." When I got to Cincinnati, I had actually already forgotten where he said I should eat. I was reminded when I talked to my co-worker (and friend), Angela. I asked her if she knew where I should eat and I think she might have peed in her pants a little bit when she shouted, "OMG! You have to go to Montgomery Inn! They have the best ribs!" What really enticed me was that she said had she thought about Montogmery Inn when she was booking her travel, she would have volunteered to present in Ohio. The branches in Ohio aren't even the people she supports everyday, so that would be a big deal. I didn't get too excited because most of the time I hear people talking things up, I always end up being disappointed. Was the story of my life going to re-play itself tonight? I wasn't sure, but I was willing to see. I had just gotten out of the shower, so I had wet hair and no make-up on. I wasn't really looking the part to go out to eat, so I called ahead and ordered some ribs to go. I decided to end my long day with a Bud Light from the convenient store. It was the perfect pairing to the best ribs I've ever tasted! Let's pretend like we're reading an issue of Highlights at the dentist's office. Can you find the differences in these two pictures? Good luck!

Oh, Airports...

2009-10-21T22:27:00.006-05:00

I left the Big D today and ventured up to Columbus, OH. Don't get too excited, it's just for business. I'll be presenting to two of our offices in Ohio, reviewing our 2010 benefit changes. I'm excited for a couple of reasons. 1. In my opinion, this is a big girl deal. I don't have a travel buddy and I have to eat dinner by myself. Way out of my comfort zone, but something new and I'm all for it. 2. I think it will be fun to finally be able to put faces with names and voices.

Little did I know that I was going to have one of the best days of people watching I've experienced in a while. I got to the DFW Airport and was waiting to go through security. I noticed that there are two kinds of people who work security at the airport. Kind #1: Hate their job and start counting down the time remaining in their shift the minute they arrive to work. Kind #2: Take their job way too seriously and are on a power trip. I wish I had some videos to show you, but unfortunately I'm only able to replay them in my mind. I couldn't stop smiling as I was watching everything unfold before my eyes - it was that good. I understand that they have to say the same things over and over again all day long like, "Take all liquids out of your bag or else we will be forced to do a bag check!" (power trippers), and "I need to see your boarding pass and ID ma'am/sir" (haters), but it was just comical. P.S. Since when do you have to take lip gloss out of your purse to avoid a bag check?

I got to Columbus and settled into my hotel. It looked a lot nicer on the internet, but I guess that's how it normally goes. My co-worker, Eric, told me that I had to visit a restaurant near the Ohio State campus, called Lemongrass Fusion Bistro. I've never eaten by myself in public before. Is that weird? I would rather just get something to go and bring it back to the apartment than to sit at a restaurant looking like a loner. I decided to face my fears. Eric also informed me that it's not so bad if you sit and eat at the bar. To be honest, it really wasn't as bad as I had imagined. I ordered the Spicy Shrimp Tempura and Cucumber Roll and it was delicious! To semi-make up for not shooting video of the security drama today, I took a picture of my dinner.

Isn't it pretty? I drove back to the hotel and was trying to find a parking spot while talking to Bonnie. All of a sudden, a man appeared on top of the dumpster. Is that a homeless person? What's going on? Oh phew. Not a homeless person, just a shady looking guy jumping over the 10 foot brick wall and walking towards me. Ummm U-turn. I drove out of the parking lot and continued to talk to Bonnie. I guess this part of town gets shady after 10:00 pm. No need to worry - I'm safe and sound in my room and about to go to bed. As long as my car is still there in the morning, I'll be good to go.

Mamaw and Peepaw Come to Town!

2009-10-11T21:28:00.007-05:00

Last weekend, my parents came in town to watch Katelyn while Kristen and Dave had a night to themselves in Dallas. Don't think that my sister and her husband are spoiled and can call Mamaw and Peepaw whenever they feel like getting away. This is not the case. They originally planned to go away to China for one week for a conference, and my parents were going to watch Katelyn for 3 days and Dave's mom was going to watch her for the other 4 days. The conference was canceled, but they still wanted to spend time with Katelyn, and Kristen and Dave were not about to turn down a night alone. I knew that the maximum fun level would not be reached if I didn't spend time with Mamaw, Peepaw and Katelyn on Saturday. For their benefit (okay, mainly for mine) I joined them for a day at the park and McDonalds. I've recently gotten back on a Chai Tea Latte kick. I made one Saturday morning to jump start my day and brought it over. Katelyn asked for a "sip pease Bitty." Hmmm... "Sure, you can have a sip, Katelyn." She loved it! "Sip pease! Sip pease!" Okay, you can have another sip when we get to the park. You need to be patient. "Have patience, have patience..." "Yes, that's right Katelyn, have patience." She was all over that drink when we got to the park. I told her the name of the drink and Peepaw put some in her own cup when we got back to the house. The next morning, Kristen and Dave were back and mom and dad were still there, so I joined them for breakfast. My dad called to remind me to bring some bananas to go with our chocolate chip pancakes. "And bring some of that thai chi latte (he can't ever get it right). Katelyn's been asking for it all morning. I went to get her out of bed this morning and the first words out of her mouth were thai chi latte!" Oh no... what have I done?

I mentioned that we went to McDonalds. Katelyn calls it "adonalds" and yells it out everytime she sees those double arches. We sat in the play area so Katelyn could do her thing. If you've been to McDonald's or anywhere with an indoor playground, you've probably seen a door in the play area that says "EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY. ALARM WILL SOUND" on it. My dad is ~~not very patient~~ efficient with his time. My mom, on the other hand, is not. She likes to take her time. My dad doesn't like to wait on my mom, or anyone really. He would rather be sitting in the car, staring at his watch, counting how long it takes you to meet him in the car, so he can inform you of how slow you are when you finally get there. Sometimes this mind set does not play in his favor. Case in point. We were getting ready to leave McDonalds, but had to get Katelyn's shoes on her feet, pick up her toy, and her bag, you know, all of the things that come along with a child. Dad didn't have time for this. He wanted to get to the car and away from the screaming children as fast as he could. He proceeded to walk out the first door he saw. Mistake. Big mistake. He quickly jumped back and started walking towards the main entrance/exit. This was too good to not document.

Frugal Friday!

2009-09-25T12:54:00.004-05:00

Let me first apologize for being MIA for the past couple of weeks. I apologize. Now, let me get on to my entry for this week!

It's the little things in life, not the big and extravagant ones, that I get most excited about. To give you one example, my dad and I have our father-daughter dates at Sam's Club on Saturdays and I'm giddy all the way to the store! We walk down the aisles and pick up all of the samples. If we are feeling really crazy, we'll get a hot dog and coke on the way out!

To further explain my excitement about the little things in life, I'll tell you about last Friday. Last Friday, "Enrique" and I went on a date. Not that dating him is a little thing in life, but many might not think of our date on Friday as anything exciting. I'm not "many" because it was actually my idea of the perfect date! That day, I wasn't feeling well and he had a long day so he decided to keep it low key. He picked me up and we went to one of my favorite places ever, Central Market. I could spend hours walking around Central Market - tasting samples, looking at the wide selection of fruit, alcohol, cheese, pretty much everything, and filling my cart with something from each aisle - I just love it! I am also a fan of music, especially live music. Lucky for me, Central Market has live music on Friday and Saturday nights. We looked around at our dinner options and each decided to prepare our own salad from the salad bar. We (by we, I mean he) paid for our salads and we (by we, I really do mean we) walked outside to listen to some really fun music. There were family friends talking and laughing as their children were running wild on the playground and all over, there were friends drinking coffee and others eating gelato. It was just a fun, yet relaxing, environment and a great way to wind down from a crazy week. We left Central Market after dinner and drove over to Town Square in Southlake. By this time, the stores had already closed so we just walked around and picked out our favorite things in the store windows. As much as I enjoy the thrill of buying a dress that I have fallen in love with at first sight, window shopping can be just as much fun!

Moral of the story: For me (and hopefully for you, too) dates aren't about how much money you spend, but more about how much fun you have with the person you are with. This is just one idea of a fun date for those of you who are on a budget, or just want to try something else besides dinner at a boring restaurant with mediocre customer service and a movie.

Got any other fun, inexpensive date ideas? Holler!

Pei Wei - 09.09.09

2009-09-09T11:43:00.002-05:00

09.09.09 - TODAY ONLY! - Pei Wei is giving 50% off of their new Japanese Chile Beef Ramen to the customers who bring in a package of store bought Ramen noodles. Pei Wei will donate all of the Ramen collected, plus $1 per package, to a local food bank. Go get you some!

Frugal Friday!

2009-09-04T17:41:00.003-05:00

One thing I've noticed (and love so much) since I started my Frugal Friday posts is that everyone always feels inclined to call and/or e-mail to tell me about their great purchases! I always get so excited and I feel like a teacher might feel when her student comes back and says, "Look Teacher! I did it all on my own! Aren't you proud of me?" From my fingertips to your eyes (maybe your ears if you are like my roommate and the only way you know what my blog says is because someone reads it to you), I am soooo proud of you! Keep it up!

I really enjoy blogging. For me it's an outlet, a great stress reliever. To combine that with something that I'm passionate about, bargain shopping and finding great deals, is so fun! Well, you know it's been a long and crazy week when you have been looking forward to Friday all week long and suddenly realize at 5:30 pm on Friday that it's already Friday! I was driving home and thought, "Oh crap! I forgot to do my Frugal Friday post last night! How did this happen!?!?" Lucky for me (and you), I got an e-mail today from one of my best friends, Bonnie, that said, "Put this on your Frugal Friday!" It was like she knew that I had been running around like a crazy person and didn't have time to relieve any stress by blogging about my frugal week!

Her e-mail said, "September is Volunteer Appreciation Month at Studio Movie Grill! As a reward for all the hardworking volunteers in Texas, Studio Movie Grill is giving away movie tickets! Simply click on this link to print out the coupon and enjoy a movie with a friend! The passes are good from September 8th through September 30th at any Studio Movie Grill location."

If you don't already volunteer at a local non-profit, what are you waiting for? This website will help you find volunteer opportunities in your area. What a fun thing to do as a family or maybe even for a girls day/night out!

If you're in the Dallas area, my vote for a non-profit organization to volunteer with is Camp Summit. Camp Summit's mission is to provide barrier-free outdoor experiences that promote personal growth and foster independence for children and adults with disabilities. Their campers range in age from six to adulthood and may be developmentally delayed, physically challenged, dual sensory impaired (deaf and blind) or have multiple disabilities. Camp Summit, like most non-profit organizations, is always looking for volunteers to serve the community alongside them. If you're interested in volunteering with Camp Summit, contact their main office at 972-484-8900.

Women of Faith

2009-08-31T21:32:00.006-05:00

Let me preface this post by informing/reminding you that my mom is the greatest mom ever, and that's no exaggeration. She bought 10 tickets to the Women of Faith Conference and asked Kristen and me to invite some of our friends. Jessica was not able to come and it was bitter-sweet. Bitter because we obviously wanted her there for a super fun girls weekend, but sweet because she accepted a job as a 2nd grade teacher and could not come because she was in training that Friday. We are so thankful that the Lord provided her with that job - she's going to be one fun teacher! Kristen invited some of her friends: Jill, Jenny, Jessica and Kimberly and I invited some of my friends: Andrea, Bonnie and Naked Nancy.

We stayed at a hotel close to the American Airlines Center (where the conference was held), Hotel Lawrence, and although it wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, we had a great time! There was actually a ghost crew there from Everyday Paranormal documenting some ghosts or something. Andrea, Bonnie, Naked Nancy and I made our own mockumentary, below.

The verse for the weekend was “The Lord's love never ends; his mercies never stop. They are new every morning . . .” Lamentations 3:22-23. It was such a refreshing weekend, and a much needed time of reflection, fellowship, encouragement and laughter. The whole conference was great but one speaker, Lisa Whelchel (The Facts of Life), said something that really encouraged me. To give you some insight into my life, my prayer every day is that my thoughts, actions, and words would be glorifying to God. I go to work and get caught up in all of the chaos. When I get home, I can't recall doing or saying anything that might have been pleasing to God. To be honest, I feel the weight of my sinful heart and I pretty much feel like a failure in life. Just being honest. So Lisa talked about "the facts of life," saying that there are both good and bad things that accompany this thing we call life. She said that despite those bad things, the dirty sin that we constantly battle with, God still whispers to his children, "I love you. You delight my heart." It's just crazy to me that the One who puts stars in their place and calls them each by name (Psalm 147:4), the One who mountains and rivers praise (Psalm 98:8), the One who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand (Isaiah 40:12), delights himself in me (Psalm 18:19). I'm filled with awe and joy that Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice and came to save sinners like little 'ol me.

Be encouraged that the Lord's love never ends. He loves you right now, wherever you are in life. He doesn't love the past you or the future you any more than he loves you right now.

Here is a picture of our group. Thanks again, Mom, for providing these tickets to us so selflessly and allowing us to experience a weekend that encouraged our hearts!

P.S. This was also a special weekend for my mom and dad - They celebrated 38 years of marriage on August 21st! Mom and Dad - Thanks for displaying to us such a sweet marriage filled with ups and downs, yet constantly holding tight to the love you have for Christ and each other.

Frugal Friday!

2009-08-28T07:00:00.006-05:00

Sunday, August 23rd: My strapless bra continues to fail me and that makes me sad. I'm sad mainly because I am not a fan of shopping for new bras, for a couple of reasons. One because it's really hard to find one that fits you just right and does its job. Two because they are expensive. I have not been looking forward to buying a new one, but alas the day has come and I must get it over with. I remembered that one of my best friends, Callie, said she got her favorite one at Kohls. I took her advice and headed over to Kohls. I found the brand Callie recommended, Lilyette, and it seemed to fit pretty well, but I had to do two tests. The first test was putting on a fitted shirt to make sure everything looked right. Pass. The second test was jumping. I had to make sure that it really would stay in place like the tag boldly proclaimed. Pass. I walked to the front of the store and found out that it was on sale. The goodness does not stop there, no. Not only was it on sale, but I got $10 off my purchase just for signing up to receive coupons and promotions in the mail! AND it is tax-free weekend. Perfect!

Regular price: $32.00. My price: $11.99. Total Savings: $20.01 or 63%

My First Haircut!

2009-08-23T22:38:00.005-05:00

I did something last week that I have never done before. I cut someone's hair. What I did to make him feel like he could trust me with clippers next to his head, I'm not sure. I told him I was down for it, but he had to first acknowledge that he understood my disclaimers and ground rules:

1. I have confidence that I can cut hair using clippers. I do not, however, have confidence that the end result will not look like you were attacked by Edward Scissorhands.
2. I have never cut anyone's hair before and you are waiving your rights to be upset with the outcome of your haircut.
3. No crying or yelling allowed.
4. This experiment might consist of cutting your hair while watching a handful of youtube "how to" videos.
5. If I cut your hair, you are allowing me to blog about it and post before and after pictures.
6. If you don't mind the thought that you might look like you've enlisted in the army at the end of the session, I'm all for it.
7. If I cut your hair and it's so bad that I can't even look at you, I'll take you to dinner and consider the tab my punitive damages. You will not be awarded any monies for compensable damages.

He said he would sign my disclaimer if #5 was deleted to "protect my family, sort of like names have been changed to protect the innocent." I convinced him to let me blog about it if I changed his name and somehow concealed his identity. He agreed. He wanted his name to be "Enrique" and suggested that I put a black square over his eyes. Works for me.

Even though he agreed not to be upset with the outcome, I was still pretty nervous. He would have to explain himself to inquiring minds and I definitely didn't want to be known as the girl who gave him a jacked up haircut. It was way easier and more fun than I thought! I can't take all the credit because he did the front and I just did the back. Who knows, maybe I'll invest in some clippers and start a side business.

Here are the before and after pictures of Enrique.

Frugal Friday!

2009-08-21T06:40:00.005-05:00

Sunday, August 16th: So I've been casually looking for some new make-up, specifically foundation. By looking, I really mean thinking about it from time to time and then forgetting. On Saturday, I decided to get down to business. I went to Beauty and the Blush to see if Rayven had any recommendations. She did! She recommended Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse Foundation. I occasionally catch a glimpse of make-up deals in the CVS weekly ad as I'm putting it into the recycling bin, so I decided to look at the ad online. Lucky for me, they were having a buy one get one FREE on all Maybelline products! I went with the Dream Liquid Mousse as well as the Mineral Power Natural Perfecting Powder Foundation. With excitement, I walked up to the counter and presented my CVS card. The cashier told me that they would send me a $5 CVS gift certificate if I updated my e-mail address on my account. I'm down! I pay for my make-up, update my e-mail address and take my receipt. The cashier notices that there is a coupon on my receipt for a FREE chocolate bar. Can my day get any better? Umm yes! A visit to the McCurdy household was the icing on the cake!

Recap: 1. Powder Foundation - Regular Price: $9.99. My price: FREE. 2. Chocolate bar - Regular Price: $2.00. My price: FREE. 3. Updating my e-mail address - Regular Price: FREE. My price: -$5.00. This is historic. My first time to gain money in addition to saving it!

Total Savings: $11.99 or 100%

My Starbucks Experience

2009-08-18T21:45:00.003-05:00

My friend (who also happens to be my co-worker), Angela, was really craving some Starbucks last Friday, but she had a meeting she had to prepare for. I told her that was unfortunate. She bribed me to go get her some coffee by offering to pay for mine, too. That's what I'm talking about. I didn't eat breakfast that morning because our milk had expired and all I had was cereal, so I told her I was going to get the Breakfast Pairing (a tall latte and my choice of one of three pastries). She complained, "That's like $4.00!" Not a problem. I'll pay the $0.70 difference. Excited about my meal, I went to the closest Starbucks with a drive-thru and this is what happened next...

Starbucks Barista (SB): Welcome to Starbucks! Would you like to try a Caramel Frappuccino today?
Me: No, but thank you for asking. I'd actually like to try two other drinks this morning.
SB: What can I start you off with?
Me: For the first drink, may I have a tall soy toffee nut latte?
SB: You bet! And for your other drink?
Me: For the second drink, I'd like to do the pairing. To drink may I have a tall white chocolate mocha with...
SB: (Interrupting) Actually, ma'am that drink is not included in the pairing.
Me: (Confused because I've gotten this combination before for $3.95) Hmm, okay... why not?
SB: Well, the drink has to be a latte, which is milk and espresso.
Me: Okay, but I thought the white chocolate mocha had milk and espresso in it?
SB: It does, but the white chocolate mocha has extra flavors in it, so it's not included. It has to be a latte, espresso and milk.
Me: Okay... well... (Looking at the menu, I spy the words "Vanilla Latte.") I'll go with a tall vanilla latte, instead.
SB: Okay, that's actually not going to be included in the pairing either.
Me: WHAT?!
SB: Yes, in order to be part of the pairing, it has to be a latte - espresso and milk.
Me: But that is a latte, it says vanilla LATTE on the menu!
SB: Yes, but it has a flavor in it and in order to be part of the pairing, it has to be a plain latte, just espresso and milk.
Me: Okay... that's interesting. Well you're making this way more complicated than I thought it would be, so let's just drop the pairing all together. I'll just take a tall vanilla latte with non fat milk.
SB: Okay, sounds good.

I realize that I was abrupt and I truly am sorry SB, but I think you would be a little frustrated, too. Please keep in mind that the menu did not say "latte*" with the option to add vanilla syrup for $0.30 more underneath it. The menu said, "Vanilla Latte." I searched for the fine print and I couldn't find anything that said,"Must be espresso and milk only to qualify for the Breakfast Pairing." I was pretty frustrated. So frustrated that I got back to work and submitted a concern to Starbucks Customer Care. I basically stated the conversation above and ended my post with, "There seems to be some inconsistency in what is covered in the pairing and what is not. Can you please set the record straight and let me know the drinks I can order with the pairing? Thanks!"

I received a response today:

Hello Brittany,

I would first like to apologize for my delay in getting back to you. I truly appreciate your patience.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write to us.

I am truly sorry that you had such a disappointing visit because of the lack of knowledge in regards of the Breakfast Pairings. This is obviously not the experience we want you to have at our stores.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the pairings, substitutions are not available. You can, however, modify your beverage (i.e. add syrup or an espresso shot, order soymilk, get a larger size) at the standard price.

I want you to know that we take your concerns seriously and that I will share this not only with departments here in our corporate office, but also with the manager and district manager of the *I'M PROTECTING THE IDENTITY OF THE STORE* store to address this.

We have made a promise to our customers to provide outstanding service. I know that this is a primary reason why you visit Starbucks and I understand how disappointing it is when we let you down.

We pride ourselves on great service and I would love to invite you back into our stores for the chance to make up for a visit that you did not enjoy. What I will do is mail you some beverage coupons so that your next drink will be on us.

Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to fix something that is wrong. I assure you that we will take this as an opportunity to improve and that we understand that you have come to expect fantastic service from Starbucks.

If there are any questions or concerns that I have not been able to address, please don't hesitate to call us at 800 23-LATTE (235-2883), we are here Monday through Friday from 5:00 AM to 6:00 PM (PST).

Thank you again,
*I'M PROTECTING HER IDENTITY*

I was really pleased with the response I received. Although my question was not answered directly and this is most likely a standard e-mail with fill-in-the-blanks, I was happy to see that someone made me feel special and wrote me back in a timely manner. I forgive you Starbucks. Although I won't order the pairing again, I will give you another opportunity to serve me.

Frugal Friday!

2009-08-14T07:00:00.004-05:00

Wednesday, August 12th: My new friend, Victoria, filled me in on one of her little secrets this weekend. All I had to do was present a card and I would get a free pair of panties. No catch. I love it! After much thought, I decided on this pattern:

Regular price: $8.50. My price: FREE. Total Savings: $8.50 or 100%.

Transform

2009-08-12T20:41:00.004-05:00

This past weekend Ali and I participated in an event called Transform, through our church. Transform is relationship-focused and is designed to achieve three goals: 1) build relationships, 2) focus on education and 3) serve with community. We served at a local elementary school in a lower-income part of Lewisville. This was our third and final Transform event this summer and a time to invite the community out for free lunch, free backpacks, school supplies, and fun! I was the Connector for our group, which means that I get to talk to everyone and help them get to know each other - a perfect job for me! Our group walked the neighborhood for about 3 hours that morning to pass out fliers to the community telling them about the event that afternoon. I was originally supposed to be in charge of face painting that afternoon, but thankfully someone else took my job. Instead, Ali and I were rock star condiment squirters and increased the efficiency of the hamburger/hot dog line by 1000% percent, easy! Towards the end of the day, I was watching a lady walking off with her three kids, all with backpacks in hand. They were laughing and looked like they didn't have a care in the world. We made eye contact and she asked in broken English if she could help with anything. I explained to her that the last project was actually finished that morning and that we were all done. (Side note: I always tell my stories with appropriate accents, so read this in a Spanish accent to get the fullness of this story). She said, "I want to help, but I always working. I work, work, work. I work so hard for my family. I pay bills, I pay rent, I pay insurance, and my husband, he just sits there. He do nothing. I pray last night. I say, "God, how am I going to pay for school supplies? I have no money." This morning, I wake up to knock on my door. I open door and they say, "Free food, free supplies, free backpack!" I say, "Oh, God! Thank you, thank you! You are there..." She asks me, "Is He real?" I said, "Yes, He's real!" She said, "He has to be!" Her eyes started tearing up. She said, "He listens!" I said, "Yes, He does!" She said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I said, "Well, you're welcome! I'm thankful that the Lord provided for your family like he did and that you don't have to worry anymore!" She went on to say that she has been working hard, cleaning houses for 18 years and she loves Americans. I thought that was funny. Not that she cleans houses but that she expressed her love for Americans. Anyways, it was just a really sweet moment and it was so awesome to hear her story and see the Lord revealed in that way. Sometimes it's hard for me to not get caught up in the details and making sure that projects are completed, but I was able to see the mission of Transform in action.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6: 25-34

Be encouraged. The Lord provides.

Frugal Friday!

2009-08-07T07:30:00.001-05:00

I'm sad to report that I did not make any frugal purchases this week. Disappointing, I know. I will, however, leave you with a frugal tip!

One thing I really enjoy doing when I have the whole day to myself is make greeting cards. This doesn't happen often because I typically always have plans, and you really have to have a large block of time set aside if you want to feel like you've accomplished anything. I like making cards for two reasons. 1. It's a stress-free time for me. I just sign in to Pandora (the greatest invention, ever) and let my mind go. 2. Who doesn't love receiving a handmade card? I always try to give original and thoughtful gifts, and a handmade card is perfect for any occasion. You can always find paper on sale at Hobby Lobby, not to mention some great coupons online.

Maybe you don't have the time to make cards, or being crafty isn't your thing - totally okay! There are websites like Etsy (my favorite) where you can buy all sorts of handmade things, cards being one of them. You can find way cheaper and WAY CUTER cards on Etsy compared to those you'd find in a grocery store.

Speaking of Etsy, my friend Erin Chaney makes really cool headbands and jewelry pouches, so check out her stuff! I got my mom a jewelry pouch for Mother's Day and she loved it!

Happy Birthday Maegan!

2009-08-06T23:06:00.008-05:00

This past weekend I went to Austin with some of my best girl friends to celebrate Maegan's day of birth! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAEGAN! We arrived in Austin on Friday night to some sweet Motown music (I can always count on Mr. Woodard to have some great tunes), fresh fruit and veggies, and Johnny Carinos. It was delicious! We woke up Saturday morning to a gourmet breakfast. I mean, really, it was like we were in a 5 star hotel! SIDE NOTE: Maegan's parents are by far the best hosts I've ever encountered. They should totally give some hosting classes and charge big bucks for them. So after breakfast, we drove about 40 minutes to New Braunfels to float the Comal River. We decided to use Texas Tubes and we were really pleased. Important Note: Be sure that your coolers are not styrofoam and are no more than 16 quarts. If so, you can bet that they will be confiscated by New Braunfels' finest. The river was pretty packed seeing that all of the other rivers were low from the drought and the Comal is the only spring-fed river for miles. We had a great time, but were pretty worn out when we got back home. Overall the weekend was so much fun and really relaxing.

Free Taco Tuesday!

2009-08-04T13:24:00.002-05:00

Enjoy this coupon for two (2) free tacos at Jack in the Box. Valid TODAY ONLY.

Frugal Friday!

2009-07-31T07:00:00.012-05:00

Wednesday, July 29th: Bonnie's dad, "Runnin' Rick," sang the National Anthem with a group of firefighter friends, known as "Fireforce," tonight at the Texas Rangers game. Kristen, Dave, Katelyn and I met Bonnie's mom, "Naked Nancy," Bonnie's brother, James, and his wife, Lori, at the ballpark. Runnin' Rick sounded so good and we were so proud of him! Not only did we get one of the cheapest tickets available in addition to the two free tickets from Runnin' Rick, but it was also $1 hot dog night, limit 5 per person. Limit 5 per person? Are you kidding me? America - this is why you are obese. There is no way most of these people would pay $14.75 for 5 hot dogs ($2.75*5), so why eat 5 just because they are $1 each? Ridiculous. People were waiting in line for 30-45 minutes just to score some $1 hot dogs. I was thinking of buying 4 and selling two of them to someone at the end of the line for $1.50 each. I could have made $1 for Dave and then it would have been like he bought one and got one free. I was also thinking of how I could have gotten taken to the side by security, they could have asked to see my ticket, it would have been no where near where I was really sitting because I was supposed to be out in the sun with all of those other people who paid $7 for their ticket, and then I could have gotten arrested for selling my hot dog without a vendor's license... all because I wanted to make $1 for my brother-in-law. Although the idea was genius, I decided I wasn't willing to take the risk.

Total Savings: 1 ticket for the section we sat in + 2 hot dogs - Original price: $27.50. My price: $9.00. Total Savings: $18.50 or 67%.

Please note that I am not encouraging you to steal, lie, or be shady. Please also note that had someone asked to see my ticket, I would have gone to my rightful seat, but it turned out that I wasn't sitting in anyone's seat so everything worked out fine.

Here are some pictures from our fun night...

Naked Nancy and Katelyn reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Dave and Katelyn

Bonnie and David Tie The Knot!

2009-07-27T21:19:00.015-05:00

Well, the day that once seemed so far away has come and gone; David and Bonnie finally tied the knot on July 25, 2009 at Royal Lane Baptist Church in Dallas, TX. After much drama with a reception venue who suggested they give Bonnie her money back and go somewhere else because "it would be cheaper for us in the end" two weeks (yes, I said TWO weeks) before her wedding, the Lord opened the door to a way better venue with supreme customer service!

NOTES:
1. If you are looking for a wedding reception venue in Dallas, TX, I highly recommend The Starlight Room.

2. If you'd like to save a lot of stress by knowing WHERE NOT TO GO FOR YOUR WEDDING RECEPTION, I'll be happy to tell you.

3. Our make-up was done by a college friend of Bonnie's, Rayven. She's super sweet and really great at what she does. Check out her website and follow along as she turns her passion into a profession!

The day was perfect and so much fun! Bonnie was one hot bride and David was one handsome groom! The ceremony was sweet and the reception a blast! Bonnie's mom decorated the entire reception venue and it was so beautiful! She's just amazing... Here are some pictures from the event.

Frugal Friday!

2009-07-24T07:00:00.002-05:00

Saturday, July 18th: I was blog hopping last night and found a post about a comfy t-shirt at GAP that was on sale. I think GAP is generally over priced, therefore, I only shop there when I am looking for something specific or when I’m looking for something that might be on sale – something that was considered stylish yesterday, but is no longer stylish today.

I ended up buying three items, one of which was the comfy tee that was mentioned in the post I read.

Pants: Original Price - $54.50. My Price: $10.97

Shorts: Original Price - $39.50. My price: $16.99. I'm not sure how they managed to get a picutre of my legs in these shorts prior to my purchase. Apparently, GAP uses photoshop.

Black Tee: Original Price: $18.50. My price: $7.99

Total Savings: $76.55 or 68%.

Thursday, July 23rd: I decided to be good this morning and bring my own lunch. NOTE: My own lunch = food that was leftover from a meeting yesterday that I boxed up and brought home for dinner and ended up having some left over for lunch. My friend and co-worker, Alison, wanted to go grab something for lunch and I recommended a new favorite place of mine, B.B.Bop Rice Bowls. I told her that I would be eating the lunch that I brought from home, but that I would go with her. If you’ve ever been to Chipotle, it’s the same concept. There are two sizes, regular and large. Regular is $5.95 and Large is $6.95. Alison ~~asked me~~ forced me to share the large with her. I ~~agreed~~ had no other choice but to say yes. We got a Large with brown rice, beef, corn, mushrooms, broccoli and green onions, in addition to the lettuce and cabbage that’s already included in the price. We got the Teriyaki, Tomatillo, and Chiang Mai Chili sauces on the side and took it back to the office to eat. Just to paint a picture of how huge the portion sizes are, I was only able to eat half of my half. The staff at B.B.Bop Rice Bowls are super friendly and really engage their customers. For someone who is all about great customer service, this is one of the reasons I choose to keep going back.

Lunch for two and then some: Original Price: $6.95. Our Price: $3.50 (roughly).

Total Savings: $3.50 or 50%.

Psst!

2009-07-22T19:46:00.000-05:00

Katelyn does not hold back when it comes to repeating words she hears. Sometimes, Kristen will say something to Katelyn and she'll pretend like she's so focused on her Miss Pattycake DVD that she doesn't hear her. Kristen tries again by saying, "Psst! Katelyn!" Katelyn has focused on the "Psst!" and really likes to say it. Here she is in action...

Hello? Is Anybody Out There?

2009-07-21T07:23:00.004-05:00

Occasionally, I feel like my family is the only one who reads my blog. I know this isn't true because one of my friends will randomly say, "Hey I read your blog today." To which I respond, "Oh really? That's weird. Your comment must have somehow been erased. I'll have to contact the customer service team at Blogger again."

I understand that it used to be difficult to leave a comment on here, not to mention frustrating, but now the options are endless. Okay well they are limited to four, but compared to having only one option before, it feels like the options are endless.

One of the first things I learned about giving presentations is that you need to know your audience. Who is your audience? What's in it for them? What is it that you are saying that your audience needs to hear? Well, as of right now, my audience is my family. How do I know that my audience is my family? Because they leave comments. How in the world am I supposed to know you were here unless you leave a comment? P.S. Calling me to tell me that you read it is not sufficient. The Human Resources Representative in me needs documentation. I need something I can go back to. This is why I prefer to send e-mails versus calling people on the phone at work. I never delete any work e-mails. People try to come back and say, "You didn't send that to me" or "I never said that." Oh really? That's when I respond with "Not really sure what happened..." and attach the original e-mail that I sent to them or the one that they apparently "never said that" in. I won't be fooled. Tangent. Back to the original intent of this post. Can you please just leave a comment? Not only does leaving a comment give me an idea of who my audience is, but it also motivates me to keep blogging. Every Thursday night around 10:00 pm, I think, "Oh no! I have to write my Frugal Friday! My readers are going to be disappointed that the post they have been looking forward to all week is no where to be found!" Maybe I'm overreacting. I guess I'll find out...

Veni. Vidi. Wee-Wee

2009-07-18T12:00:00.000-05:00

An Update From My Dad
July 3rd, 2009:

Man what a difference a week makes. Last Friday I was hoping to keep down lunch so I could get out of the hospital and today I'm free, untethered from drains, IVs, leg compression cuffs, catheter and on the road to full recovery. At each disconnect, You think "Man, if I can just lose this _____ (fill in the blank), I'm going to be so much better." I got down to the last disconnect and found it was replaced with a pad. The subject line of this update appeared in the comic strip 'Get Fuzzy' on Thursday, the day I got a clean bill of health on the pathology reports and had the catheter removed. You talk about God's timing. Plus, I recognized I needed to add a little bit of class to my ramblings about potty training and open robes. What better way than Latin? Mr. Doyle from high school Latin would be proud.

I didn't do it by myself. I had a lot of help. Okay, in high school Latin and in this recovery.

Nikki - still recovering from her last (as in the last one June 19th and the final one #6) chemo treatment hauling me to the hospital and staying with me. She was overcome with the accumulation of her 6 treatments and on top of it all she got an UTI and cough. Two things you really don't want much less together. And she did it in 106 heat.

Our middle daughter Jessica - she's seriously re-thinking being the only daughter in town. She came with Nikki and stayed after she went home and got up early (I'm talking she was by my side at 0630 Friday morning. She comforted me, held my hand, brought me Chickfila shakes, and endured my "open robe" policy. Being in the hospital you lose all dignity or if you don't lose it, you really don't care much about it.

Wally and Mary Huck - from prayers to presence. Mary fixed me my last meal before I began my 2 day all liquid diet before surgery. Homemade pasta - a labor of love.

Charles Parchman and Jim Archer - my prostate cancer mentors, conveniently forgot to tell me a couple of those steps in getting these things removed--like when they tell you "we're going to take this out, just take a deep breath". My lungs just weren't that big. I guess it's like childbirth--once you are through it, there are some things you just don't care to remember. Am I right ladies?

Bill Pewitt, my own personal "Red Box" brought us nine movies to watch--we've enjoyed seven so far.

Terry Sewell, Fran Johnson, and Stephanie Seiler from Bethany UMC - Terry brought by banana pudding and Stephanie a shrimp dinner at just the right times for their dishes. Fran came to the hospital as part of BUMC hospital visitation ministry. Glenn and Renee brought "sunshine salad"--a meal we once shared with them in Corpus Christi many years ago. I told Glenn I thought it was all downhill from here on my recovery. He got really excited. He thought downhill as "Can I have his Rolling Stone t-shirt collection?" but I meant "it only gets easier from here." Sorry buddy, but you are in line for one of my jackets.

My daughters Kristen and Brittany kept vigil by phone and their blogs. If you are interested in visiting their blogs, Kristen and Dave's is http://www.mcmemos.blogspot.com/ and Brittany's is http://www.getreadyeurope.blogspot.com/

Marvel at the self sufficiency of the Brittany youngest one and her ingenuity with her Frugal Fridays--makes you believe in oaks and acorns (the nut doesn't fall far from the tree); and marvel at the sweetness of Katelyn, our granddaughter by Kristen and Dave--sure Katelyn is sweet, but she is my fierce potty training competitor.

Brittany and her two friends, Ali and Pita are here this weekend and have brightened up our home. Kristen and Katelyn will visit next week while Dave is in Atlanta.

My folks, who live in Beaumont, wanted to come to be with me but the heat, the distance, and the wear of the drive were just too much. It didn't matter, I still felt their presence and look forward to limping in (you've got to sell it) to her kitchen the next trip we make there to soak up some belated home cooking.

The older we get and the things that come with the older we get, you come to appreciate those things that sustain you--family, friends, church, and good medical insurance. I want to throw in a plug for my doctor, the world-renown Randy S. Fagin, M.D. Men, if you and your prostate are soon to part ways, Dr. Fagin is who I would recommend. Yes, I did come out with a huge bruise looking like they dropped me off the table but he said that is all typical--just blood pooling under the skin. I might should have kept some of those witty comments to myself.

We hope this is the end of both of our medical updates. We want to just relax and recover for a while. We look forward to spending time with these family and friends and the others who sustained us with thoughts and prayers.

Thank you all so very much. God has surely blessed us both.

DAVID

Frugal Friday Addendum!

2009-07-17T21:59:00.003-05:00

Although I don't frequent Starbucks, I do treat myself from time to time and you better believe I will be treating myself on the morning of Tuesday, July 21st! White chocolate mocha with non-fat milk and no whip, here I come!

Print this Starbucks coupon and present it to your neighborhood barista to receive one free pastry with the purchase of any beverage on the morning of July 21st. Slight catch: The coupon is only good until 10:30 am on July 21st, so plan accordingly.

Who: You
What: Free pastry with the purchase of any beverage
When: Opening - 10:30 am on July 21st
Where: Participating Starbucks
Why: They want you to discover the deliciousness that is their pastries.
Personal Note: I'm a fan of the reduced-fat coffee cake bread.

Frugal Friday!

2009-07-17T07:00:00.008-05:00

Thursday, July 16th: I haven't partaken in one of my guilty pleasures in a while, shopping at The Limited. I decided to go during my lunch break today to look for some work pants. Well, I didn't find any pants that I liked, but I did find some shorts. Pants, shorts, kind of the same thing, right? Oh well.

Regular Price: $44.50. My price: $11.89. Total Savings: $32.61 or 73%.

Frugal Tip:

I love my Real Simple magazines. Plain and simple, I just love them. They always have really fun organizing tips and recipes. The thing I like most about the recipes is that they all have pictures to go along with them. This is really beneficial to the visual readers. I don't know about you, but compared to recipes with no pictures, recipes with pictures make me way more excited to cook. I'll compare it to a picture book for a kid. What kid wants to look at a book with no pictures? Not me. I'd be running around the room in no time. Because I cannot bare to part with the articles that I might need to reference one day, and I definitely cannot get rid of the fun picture recipes, I have been ~~hoarding~~ neatly storing my magazines until I figure out what to do with them.

On another note, we were doing some Spring cleaning at work the other day and I found a binder in the trash pile. We've all heard the saying, "one man's trash is another man's treasure," and I hit the jackpot. Did I mention that I also love sheet protectors, aka slick sheets? Is that weird? When I saw that the binder had slick sheets AND dividers numbered 1-10, a light bulb went off in my head. Oh man, this is going to be good. I brought the binder home and started tearing out all of the juicy recipes that were making my stomach growl and all of the organizing tips and articles that put a skip in my step. After I had compiled all of my pages, I trimmed the torn edges and put the recipes in one binder and the articles in another. I sorted the recipes into 9 different categories: 1. Breakfast 2. Lunch 3. Bread, Soups and Salads 4. Sides 5. Veggie and Red Meat (ironic, I know.) 6. Chicken 7. Seafood 8. Pasta 9. Dessert. I'm still working on my "fun tips" binder, but I finished the recipe binder today. It looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. I don't normally toot my own horn, but toot toot!

Moral of the story: Save money by making your own recipe book - a recipe book that contains only the recipes you like. The slick sheets are great because they guard the recipe from any flying food. Not only did I save money by not buying a recipe book that doesn't have pictures for all of the recipes, not to mention a recipe book that includes recipes with ingredients that I don't care for, I also reduced my carbon footprint by reusing trash and making it my treasure.

The Return of the Pine Cone

2009-07-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

My long-time readers might recall the introduction of the pine cone. If you don't remember, or haven't had the pleasure of reading about it, you can find the story here. In my last pine cone entry, I left the pine cone in my dad's work boot. I have some catching up to do.

I went back to Austin in April for my Dad's 60th birthday and my dad was super sneaky. I left Austin on Wednesday morning and when I opened my make-up bag on Thursday morning, there was the pine cone. Oh, you're good, Dad.

I went home for Memorial Day weekend to float the river with some friends. While there, I put the pine cone inside a sock in my dad's sock drawer.

In June, my sisters, Katelyn and I participated in our 2nd Annual Great-Granny-A-Thon. My parents met us in Houston on our first night. They left that night for Beaumont to visit my dad's parents. The next day, we drove to Kroger where my Granny paid to fill up my gas tank. I pulled the lever in my car to open the gas tank and got out to remove the gas cap. What do I see in my gas tank? The pine cone. My dad put the pine cone in my gas tank.

I called my dad and my mom answered the phone:

Mom: Hello?
Me (panicked): Mom? Can I talk to dad?
Mom: Yeah, one second.
Dad: Hello?
Me (panicked): Dad?
Dad: Yeah, what's wrong?
Me: Well, we're at Kroger right now trying to get some gas and I tried to open my gas tank and it won't open. What do I do?
Dad: Well, it might be because of the heat. Wait a couple of minutes and then try again.
Me: Okay. Do you think there might be something stuck in there?
Dad (not remembering that he put something in there): No, no. Just be patient.
Me: Okay... so you don't think there might be A FREAKING PINE CONE IN THERE?!?!?!?
Dad (Laughing hysterically): Oh man! HAHAHAHAHA! That's funny right there! I don't care who you are, that's funny right there!

My parents came to Dallas the next week for a conference my mom was having. We went to this great place in Old Town Coppell called Hard Eight BBQ to celebrate Father's Day in addition to Dave's birthday. My parents left Dave's gift in the car and I had the pine cone with me, so I offered to run out to the car to get it for them. I'm such a great daughter. While in the car, I slipped the pine cone in my dad's bag.

My sister, Kristen, came home last weekend with a gift from my dad, for me, Ali and Pita. I opened up the bag to find 3 pine cones, all different sizes. He said the size went with each girl by height - Ali got the small one, I got the medium one, and Pita got the big one. Apparently, he found them somewhere in nature (not store-bought), but he won't give up his secret. The original pine cone is still on top of his dresser. The picture below is my pine cone.

A True Friend

2009-07-13T20:31:00.005-05:00

What is a true friend? Some might say a true friend is someone you can call at any hour and talk to without any thought of time in your mind. Others might say a true friend is someone you can really be yourself around. I agree with those things, but I think it goes deeper than that. I say a true friend is someone who will peel the dead skin off your back after you've been sunburned. Bonnie wins my true friend award!

I guess our apartment is extra dusty this week.

* WARNING * THE PICTURE BELOW IS GRAPHIC, MAYBE EVEN DISTURBING
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Frugal Friday!

2009-07-10T16:00:00.008-05:00

Tuesday, July 7th: So there is something that I have known about for a long time, but I tend to forget how easy and great it is! It's also FREE, all the time. I never have to pay for it. Normally, I tell someone what I want and they give me the product/service I request. This situation is a little backwards though, because I start the transaction by giving something to someone and I get something even better in return! The great thing is that there is no bartering involved. Are you confused? Let me explain...

Bonnie spent the night at my apartment tonight and right when she arrived, I decided that we needed to go to Walgreen's to get some Cortizone 10. Why did I wait until she arrived in her pajamas to decide that I needed to go? Because it's more fun that way. At 11:00 pm we drove down the street to Walgreen's. We were a little nervous to see a lady sitting on the trunk of her car with some guy rubbing her leg, and another guy chugging beer on the other side of the parking lot. Shady. We kept driving through the parking lot and turned around to go back towards Tom Thumb. You know how much I hate Tom Thumb, but it was the most convenient place to go at the time. I was really hungry so we stopped by McDonald's first; drive-thru, of course. So we get up to the window to order:

Lady at McDonald's: Hi, welcome to McDonald's. Would you like to try our new mocha coffee tonight?
Me: (Thinking - Really? It's 11:00 pm.) Not tonight, but thank you for asking. I'd actually just like one McChicken sandwich, please.
Lady at McDonald's: That will be $1.08 at the first window.
Me: Great, thanks!

I drove up to the window.

Lady at McDonald's: $1.08.
Me: Here you go.
Lady at McDonald's: Did you know you the first person to say thank you?
Me: Really?! That's not okay.
Lady at McDonald's: Yes. I say, "You want mocha?" They say "No! I don't want that!"
Me: That's not cool. I really do appreciate you for asking.
Lady at McDonald's: Yeah, I tell my boss, "This girl the only one who say thank you."
Me: Well thanks for your help. You have a good night, okay?
Lady at McDonald's: Okay.

After we left McDonald's we went across the street to Tom Thumb. As we got out of the car, we saw a guy walking his cart over to the cart return in the parking lot. We also noticed a Tom Thumb employee bringing carts into the store. She hollered at the guy, hoping that he would bring the cart to her, but he kept walking to the cart return. We could tell that she was upset, so Bonnie and I gathered the 3 shopping carts left in the parking lot and stored them safely inside. As we were walking past the cashier she stopped scanning items and yelled, "Did you girls bring those carts in?!" We said with excitement, "Yes, we did!" She had a huge smile on her face and said in her Northeastern accent, "Oh girls, I feel the love! I feel the love! Thank you so much!" We responded, "Hey, not a problem!" We walked over to the medicine section and got my long-awaited Cortizone 10 and walked back to the register. There was only one register open so we went to our new friend. She thanked us again and said that she was the only one at the store and had so much to do before she could close up. Apparently, the 10 o' clock crew left without doing their "chores" and she was left to clean up after them. We were glad that we could help her, even if it was as small as bringing in the carts from the parking lot.

Now to pull all of this together, from the first sentence... If you haven't figured it out yet, kindness is the free item this week! It's FREE to give, and you feel like you've scored the deal of the century when you are kind to someone else! I found an article titled, "The Untold Value of Kindness: Practical (and Surprising) Reasons to Be a Nicer Person" and wanted to share some parts that stuck out to me.

Allan Luks, former executive director of the Institute for the Advancement of Health and the author of the book "The Healing Power of Doing Good," found that helping contributes to the maintenance of good health, and it can diminish the effect of diseases and disorders both serious and minor, psychological and physical. Among the most significant of Luks' findings was a "helper's high" that 95 percent of the volunteers reported feeling. The "helper's high" reduced stress and released endorphins, the body's natural painkillers. After the high subsided, volunteers reported feeling an extended period of improved emotional well-being.

Kindness is catchy! The Seattle Times recently reported that kindness has a way of catching on. From patrons at a local restaurant randomly paying for another diner's meal, someone buying someone else a coffee at Starbucks, and a man handing out free bottled water and juice to visitors at a local beach, kindness evokes more kindness. "In the modern world, we have a lot of relationships that provide reciprocal benefits: I'll scratch your back and you scratch mine ... those sorts of contractual relationships," says William Talbott, philosophy professor at the University of Washington. But, he continues, "We can say, 'I just want to do something good for you without the expectation of getting anything in return at all.' And what a thrill it is to be on either side of that statement -- the giver or the receiver."

My challenge for you for the upcoming week: Be Kind! I'd love to hear your stories, too!

In the spirit of kindness, take advantage of this 10% off coupon at Barnes and Noble and get after that summer reading!

And the Rocket's Fireworks' Red Glare...

2009-07-07T20:12:00.010-05:00

This past three day weekend was much needed and enjoyed! Ali, Pita and I drove down to Austin on Thursday night and stayed with my parents. We got up early Friday morning to float the river at Don's Fish Camp, just outside of San Marcos, with my friends from high school. I'm pretty sure my dad insisted that I wear a long sleeve shirt and a hat. Instead, I decided to use sun screen and was determined to come home without a sunburn. I'm not really sure what happened, but I know for sure that I got what I like to call "tube burn." My back, the back of my thighs, and my triceps, were burned. Not because I didn't put sunscreen in those places, but because the tube burned them. Trust me, I've been burned plenty of times, but I've never been in as much pain as I was on Friday. Caveat to the tubers: watch your back. If I could go back in time, I would not wear a long sleeve shirt, but I would bring a small towel to put between me and the tube.

After our 5 hour float, Ali, Pita and I came back home to eat dinner with my parents. My mom's body pretty much crashed this past week and she wasn't feeling well, so my dad bought her a salad to eat while we went to Fuddrucker's. After dinner, we met back up with my friends for a night out on 6th Street to celebrate Kirsten's 23rd birthday! Happy Birthday Kirsten! I can't remember the last time I stayed out, much less up, until 2:00 am. I was surprised that my RLS didn't kick in. Maybe beer keeps it under control... I'll do some responsible experimenting and get back to you with a conclusion to my hypothesis.

We spent all day at the house on Saturday and it was so nice to lay around and do nothing. The highlight of the afternoon was when we went to Sam's Club with my dad. For as long as I can remember, my dad and I have had our father-daughter dates at Sam's. It's a perfect place for us because we get free food while we score big on bulk item purchases. For dinner, my dad cooked a mean brisket and some ribs, my mom made her famous potato salad, and I made my almond and garlic green beans. It is always such a treat to have a home-cooked meal, especially with my family. After dinner, we met back up with my friends for the fireworks show at Auditorium Shores. I was in charge of finding parking among the other 100,000 people who decided to head out to watch the show. Jenn remembered that a shuttle picked up from Barton Creek mall last year. Perfect. We were right on time for the 8:35 pm shuttle. One slight problem. The the last bus ride back to the mall was at 9:50 pm, but the fireworks show wasn't going to be over until 10:00 pm. Nice work Capital Metro. Oh well. If we didn't get on, we would miss the show.

The arrow in the picture above is pointing to where we sat. The fireworks picture is, obviously, where the fireworks were.

Afterwards, we walked about a mile down the road to my favorite restaurant in Austin, Chuy's, to eat some chips and creamy jalapeno while pondering on how we were going to get back to the car. Thank you to one of the dads for coming to our rescue!

I'm thankful that I still have such great relationships with my friends from Austin and look forward to the next time I'm in town!

Frugal Friday!

2009-07-03T08:00:00.004-05:00

Saturday, June 27th: Today was such a fun day! Bonnie and I ventured out to the Coppell Farmer's Market this morning for some fun. It was a lot smaller than I had imagined it would be and we didn't purchase anything, but now I can say that I've been to the Farmer's Market. After we got ready for the day, we met one of Bonnie's best friends, Laura, in Mockingbird Station. We ate lunch at Cafe Express, visited some stores and saw a movie. While walking to the movie, we were lured in to Ann Taylor Loft. I've been casually looking for some black sandals for a while, but haven't fallen in love with any. I finally found some that were cute and best of all, comfy! On another note, I lose my sunglasses at least twice a year and happened to misplace mine yesterday. Fortunately for me, they had some really cute, black sunglasses on sale too! When I was checking out, the sweet girl said, "You know we have a great deal on our sunglasses right now, 2 for $34.00..."I'm no fool. I replied, "That does sound like a good deal, but this pair is an even better deal!"

Sandals-Regular Price: $29.50. My price: $12.99. Sunglasses-Regular Price: $24.50. My price: $9.99.

Total Weekly Savings: $31.02 or 57%.

After my sweet purchases, we walked over to the Angelika to see Away We Go, with John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph. I highly recommend seeing it; it was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time!

I am so thankful for the gift of laughter. I always have so much fun with Bonnie and I feel like Laura and I have known each other for years. Today, we were the annoying girls that you look at and think, "They need to shut-up. I wonder what is so funny..." We spent the whole afternoon saying/laughing about completely inappropriate things and it was awesome. I love hanging out with them because we can carelessly say the things that everyone else thinks about, but would never talk about it. It's just great.

Peewee

2009-07-02T11:36:00.008-05:00

My dad called yesterday and left me this message: "Well we had a big outing this afternoon. Your mother took Peewee and I up to HEB and I got to ride around in one of 'em little motorized shopping carts. People do look at you different when you're in it. They say, 'Get out of my way,' but you can't reach stuff on the top shelf. I'ma hafta start makin' it where I can do a better job. I need those good lookin' women to come over and say "Can I help you?" But I think bein' an old man is gonna be pretty fun. Later."

My dad lovingly named his pee bag "Peewee." He said he took it with him everywhere and dragged it around like a little puppy. Unfortunately for Peewee, and fortunately for my dad, they parted ways this morning.

I'm leaving for Austin today to float the river with friends on Friday and take care of my parents on Saturday. Ali and our friend from Little Village (preschool at our church), Pita, is coming too! It should be a good time had by all.

Where is Your Prostate?

2009-06-30T23:01:00.001-05:00

My dad had surgery on Thursday to remove his prostate cancer. He was visiting and joking with everyone, all the way to the OR. When he came out of recovery, however, he didn't think things were so funny. He was not in too much pain, but he did have some nausea that caused him to stay in the hospital until Friday afternoon instead of being discharged that morning. He's been recovering well since he's been home and my mom is trying to take care of him while also recovering from her last chemo treatment.

My sister Jessica sent out an e-mail that said that my dad had his prostate removed. I wasn't really sure what that meant, or if it was even accurate. Jessica is notorious for not being 100% accurate in her story-telling. So I called my mom to get the inside scoop.

Mom: Hello?
Me: Mom, did Dad have his prostate removed?
Mom: Yes.
Me: What does that mean? What is that?
Mom: What is your prostate?
Me: Yes. Your prostate. What is that?
Mom: I'm not sure. (Hollering) Honey, come tell your daughter what a prostate is.
Dad: Hello?
Me: Dad, what is your prostate? Where is that?
Dad: Uhh... well... it's inside of your body, below your bladder.
Me: So you don't have one?
Dad: No.
Me: Oh okay.

He also informed me that he has a catheter.

Me: What is a catheter? What does that do?
Dad: Well, it empties my pee into a bag.
Me: What? You pee into a bag?
Dad: Yeah.
Me: But where does it come from?
Dad: My bladder.
Me: So you don't pee like normal?
Dad: No.
Me: Can you feel yourself pee?
Dad: Well, no.
Me: WHAT?! So you just look at your bag and say, "It looks like I'm peeing."
Dad: Yeah.
Me: Dad! That's awesome!
Dad: Yeah, awesome. I'm so excited...
Me: Wow, that's so cool!

He will go back to the doctor this week for a follow-up appointment. I'll keep you posted.

Frugal Friday!

2009-06-26T07:30:00.005-05:00

Tuesday, June 23rd: Bonnie and I went walking tonight and decided to hit up one of our favorite restaurants, Sweet Tomatoes, afterwards. We visited Sweet Tomatoes a while back, but didn't have time to stay and eat so we got it to go. Here's how it works: Step 1: Grab a container for salad and build it up however you'd like. Step 2: Grab two small containers (or one big one) for pasta, soup or whatever you want. Step 3: Grab a small paper bag for bread. Taking our food to-go was a great idea, for two reasons.

1. Instead of paying $9.59/person for dining in, we paid $7.89/person just because we were taking it to go. I understand that there are more options that come along with dining in; for starters, you can make as many trips back to the line as you wish. That's great if you're starving and eat a lot of food, but for me personally, I can hardly eat everything I get on the first go around.

2. Taking my food to go allows me to maintain portion control by eating half for dinner and saving the other half for lunch the next day. It's a win-win. I save money, and I get two meals. If I were to dine in, I wouldn't be able to get a to-go box because it's a buffet and that's totally against the rules.

Tonight was a little bit different. Although we took our food to-go, we only ordered one to-go because neither of us were starving. I wanted the salad and Bonnie wanted the soup and bread so it worked out perfectly. Although I didn't have any salad leftover for lunch tomorrow, Bonnie did manage to save some blueberry muffins for her breakfast tomorrow morning!

Regular price for dinner for two (dining in): $19.18. Our price for dinner for two (to-go): $7.89. Total Savings: $11.29 or 59%.

Chemo Shmemo!

2009-06-20T12:19:00.008-05:00

My cute little mom had her last chemo treatment yesterday, June 19th. She was such a rockstar through it all and we praise God for the strength and encouragement he provided for her the whole way! Please continue to pray for my mom's healing and also for my Dad, as he is having surgery this Thursday. See update below:

Stick a fork in me, I'm done!
Today I had my last chemo treatment, so all I need is my follow up shot on Monday.
No radiation needed--yeah!
Will start a drug in a couple of weeks that I'll take for 5 years. He didn't mention any side effects, so I guess I'll have to learn those from the pharmacist.
Will have a one-month follow up.
After that, a MRI and mammogram in one year.

Thank you so much for all of the cards, meals, phone calls, e-mails, visits, thoughts and prayers--they really all helped bring me encouragement and let me feel God's love through you. I only had two bad days during the first week of my first treatment and had no sickness after that. I felt a peace and joy through it all, counting my blessings. Prayer really works.

When I was first diagnosed, I was reading tons of literature telling me what to expect as possible side effects--a bit confusing, depressing and scary. Then I thought I would call a couple of my friends who had gone through or were going through breast cancer. Much to my surprise they each told me in similar words that they would not wish cancer on anyone, but that it was an exciting journey that had changed their lives. Melony did not have to have chemotherapy, and Louise Gray was 2 months ahead of me on the same chemo treatment. She described the treatment as "very doable" and sent me a care package that had everything in it that I would possibly need. She became my guide and encourager through my experience. These women were so joyful that it started me out on the right track. Others came beside me like Cindy Goldsberry when she was diagnosed with breast cancer; Jill Saufferer and Terry Sewell, as well as the prayer ushers kept me "prayed up." Mossy Minner (who I have heard of for years at Bethany, but didn't really know her) made me a pouch to be placed over my shoulder and under the seat belt, as well as a heart shaped pillow for over my chest or under arm, both for comfort after my surgery. What a blessing! Bethany Flint cut her hair short and donated it to Locks of Love in honor of her mom, her niece, and me who all have cancer. Louise Gray walked in my honor in the Komen Race for the Cure in Arlington, shortly after she finished her chemo, and Jim Vasek participated in my honor in the Atlas 4000 charity bike ride to raise money for cancer research. My daughter Kristen dedicated Monday's on her blog to me, although I didn't give her much information the past month or so. My daughter Brittany's friend who lives in New York and whom I have never met or talked to sent me two care packages just because she thought I must be a good person since Brittany is so sweet.

I had the pleasure of experiencing the prayer shawl ministry--a very cute pink wrap around scarf, and a pink shawl that I could feel the peace and comfort every time I wore it. The card said "As you wrap yourself in the comfort of the prayers lifted for you, experience the healing grace of Jesus Christ." That is exactly what happened. My husband has been an awesome caregiver and has gone with me for every doctor's appointment and chemo treatment; he's a great cook; he brings me coffee or hot tea every morning when he is not working; and he does mornings and covers for me whenever I am too weak to do what needs to be done.

Many people have been surprised at how well I have handled the whole cancer experience. There are a few secrets that should not really be secrets:1) I am not afraid of death. I have had a great life; however there is a time for everything according to God's purpose and none of us know when, where, or how that will be. I know where I am going after this life and seek to live each day to make a difference through the love of Jesus.2) God is with us all the time and He works everything for good. He promises that.3) There have been many blessings that have come from this experience--the most important is that my relationship with Christ has grown stronger. I had felt a bit distant for 6-12 months which is difficult when you have had a strong and joyful relationship. I wasn't sure where it went or how to get it back. This did it and therefore was worth it all!4) It is through sickness and other challenging times that others are able to show and we are able to experience compassion and we draw closer to God. If everything was great all of the time, we would have no need to trust in God--in fact, we would think we were making everything happen ourselves.5) Dave and I have examined and re-prioritized our lives--work can do without us (a painful yet freeing discovery). We are taking more time off and making a point to visit family and friends and spend time with each other. We no longer sweat the small stuff.

As I close out this chapter of my health experience, we would like to let you know that Dave's follow up tests in April showed that he does now have prostate cancer. He is scheduled for surgery June 25. His physician is very encouraged, saying he is young and healthy (the physician's words, not ours, so no laughing); we caught it early; the recovery/non-recurrence rate is very high--96%; his physician does only these surgeries, every day, and has his own special team that works with him, so he is very competent. Dave will only be in the hospital for one night. He will not need any chemo or radiation. I will stay home with him for a couple of weeks, so that will be the biggest challenge--to see if I can match his caregiving abilities. He's a different kind of patient than me, in that he doesn't really like people to make a fuss over him, but when he needs something he wants it then. He anticipates my needs, and to be real honest I'm not there yet. I'm a fly by the seat of my pants reactionary person. We'll see how that works or if I have to call in a home health agency.

Once again, some people would say "Oh my gosh!" We believe that God's timing is perfect and he never gives you more than you can handle. If we would have both received our diagnoses and had surgery near the same time that would have most likely been devastating, and definitely tough. The fact that I am finished and he will start next week is a blessing. We praise God for our family and friends and ask for your prayers during the next few weeks.

In Christ, Anita/Nikki

I'll leave you with a fun picture of my Dad and Katelyn in my mom's wig.

Props to my sister for allowing me to steal the picture above from the McCurdy blog.

Frugal Friday!

2009-06-19T17:08:00.003-05:00

Sunday, June 14th: Today, my sisters, Katelyn and I went to partake in the goodness that is Dunkin’ Donuts. It just so happened that they were having a promotion on their small lattes – score!

Original price: $2.39. My price: $0.99. Total Savings: $1.40 or 59%.

Tuesday, June 16th: I went to Market Street today to get some much needed toiletries. I was running low on my moisturizer, but I remembered that the lady who did my make-up at Brittany’s wedding used a moisturizer that I really liked. Because I am a visual person, I went online to http://www.cleanandclear.com/ to try to find the turquoise topped bottle. Success. Not only was it a success, but I also found a coupon section on their website and scored $2.00 off any Clean & Clear product.

Original price: $6.49. My price: $4.49. Total Savings: $2.00 or 31%.

Friday, June 19th: My co-worker, Heather M., brought me one of my favorite treats this morning! Apparently, Market Street was having a “buy one get one” on breakfast tacos all week and I had no idea! Why would no one tell me this vital piece of information? Heather did let me partake, however, by bringing a breakfast taco to work this morning for me. How kind! It was delicious!

Frugal Tip: I’ve found that most manufacturers have coupons on their website. Before going to the store for a specific item, check the manufacturer’s website for a coupon. You might have to join the mailing list to get the coupon, but those e-mails will go straight to your SPAM folder anyway. A small price to pay for a great savings!

Total Weekly Savings: $3.40 or 39%.

2nd Annual Great Granny-A-Thon

2009-06-17T21:11:00.011-05:00

Last Thursday, Kristen, Katelyn, Jessica and I departed for Houston to start our 2nd annual Great Granny-A-Thon! You might be thinking, "What is a Great Granny-A-Thon?" Let me explain. A Great Granny-A-Thon is a trip to Houston and Beaumont with Katelyn (my niece) to visit her great grannies (our grannies), each for a couple of days.

My parents brought Jessica down from Austin and Kristen, Katelyn and I drove down from Dallas to meet at our Granny's house in Houston. The first night, we had dinner with our Granny, Uncle Todd and Aunt Toni at one of the best Mexican food restaurants! We always have such a fun time with them! Katelyn was able to spend some quality time with my parents and Eddie before they left for Beaumont.

After dinner, Jessica, Kristen, Granny and I had a fun time laughing and playing Bendomino, a mindless game with very little strategic thinking. On Friday evening, we drove to Galveston to play at Kemah Boardwalk before heading to dinner with our uncle Trent. Katelyn loved it there and had so much fun! They have an area with shooting water fountains for the kids to play in and although she never was able to stand next to the water fountain at the right time, she had a fun time walking around.

We were heading home from dinner when I heard an all too familiar sound... a flat tire. As much as having a flat tire stinks (If you recall, I had one a week ago), we couldn't have asked for a better time to have it happen. Trent was still at the restaurant so he ran across the street and changed that tire like a member of the NASCAR pit crew! Jessica and I went to Discount Tire the next morning to get it checked out. Daniel (an attractive guy at Discount Tire) wasn't able to figure out why it was flat, but noticed that the rims of two of my tires were pretty thin. Apparently I get a little too close to the curbs. So, $200 and 2 new tires later, we were on our way to Beaumont to visit my dad's parents, Mom and Pop.

Mom and Pop are pretty chill and enjoy staying indoors. We can always count on a good card game when we visit them, but this time we got a little crazy and played Chicken Foot, a fun domino game. We went to church with them on Sunday morning so Mom could show us off. To be honest, we were nothing new; I'm sure everyone there had seen us at one point in our lifetime, so Katelyn was quite a spectacle. We visited a local hot spot in Beaumont, Dunkin' Donuts, a couple of times. Although the donuts are not the same as they used to be, the coffee is still the best!

I used Kristen's camera for all of the pictures I took at Mom and Pop's, so you can visit the McCurdy blog to see those, posted on Shutterfly.

Frugal Friday!

2009-06-12T08:27:00.004-05:00

I spent a lot of money this week, but was not able to find any hardcore sales. My sweet friend, Bonnie, is getting married on July 25th and we (the bridesmaids) threw her a bridal shower this past weekend. It was so much fun! Good food and fellowship, can you ask for anything more? I think not. Although the cake was not on sale, I felt like it was a really good deal. I got a half sheet of white cake with white icing for $24.99 from Market Street and it was delicious!

Although I haven't had an frugal purchases of my own this week, I wanted to tell you about a frugal opportunity for those in the Dallas and Austin areas. Ally Davidson, the winner of Season 2 on American Gladiators, started her own boot camp in Dallas, called Camp Gladiator, and recently ventured into her hometown of Austin. Not only is Ally a family friend of ours, but she's one of the funniest people I know! Camp Gladiator was voted "Best Boot Camp" in 2008 and is the fastest growing boot camp in Texas! Camp Gladiator is a 4 week camp, held at 6 Dallas locations (AM and PM times) and 6 Austin locations. The price includes as many sessions as you'd like to attend during the 4 week period for only $150! This is an insane price - you would pay $100 for one hour with a personal trainer! With Camp Gladiator, you can potentially go to 52 sessions (based on times and locations in Dallas) for $150. For all you math wizards out there, that's $2.88/session! Are you freaking kidding me?! Find out what the craze is all about by reading the testimonials here.

For more information, times and locations, visit http://www.campgladiator.com/ or e-mail Ally at contender@campgladiator.com.

Frugal Friday!

2009-06-05T08:00:00.002-05:00

Okay, I missed Frugal Friday last week, shame on me. I did not, however, miss any frugal opportunities. I will just add them to this week’s posting.

Monday, May 25th: I went to Don’s Fish Camp, just outside of San Marcos, to float the river with a couple of my friends from high school today. If you’ve ever floated the river, you know that there isn’t much you can do if you need to go to the bathroom. In order to make sure that I had everything out of my system before my trip, I headed to McDonald’s with my parents to get Mother Nature’s best laxative – coffee. I walked into McDonald’s and saw a big stand with a sign that read “Free Mocha Monday.” Well anything with the word “Free” in it catches my eye, so naturally, I inquired about the sign.

Me: Free Mocha Monday… What does this mean?!
Man at McDonalds: It’s Free Mocha Monday. You get a free mocha coffee, iced or hot.
Me (waiting for the catch): Seriously? Do I need to buy something to get this for free?
Man at McDonalds: No, it’s Free Mocha Monday – it’s free…
Me: What a blessing! This is the only reason I came here this morning and it’s FREE! Awesome!

Well, the coffee did what it does best – it woke me up and ensured that I was not miserable on the river. Best of all – it was FREE!

Original Price: $3.00; My Price: FREE. Total Savings: $3.00 or 100%.

Saturday, May 30th: I went to Sprout’s with Ali today to get some chicken. I’m a serious fan of chicken, but especially theirs. We walked up and saw a huge trailer with incredibly large plastic avocados, at least 20 feet high. Apparently, there are people who travel all over the country giving away FREE chips and guacamole. What an awesome job. I want to do that. So not only did we get FREE chips and guacamole, but they also had a special on the guacamole – 2 packs for $5. The goodness does not stop there. We were also given a “buy one get one free” coupon. So I got 2 packs of guacamole for $2.50.

Original Price: $10.00; My Price: $2.50 Total Savings: $7.50 or 75%.

Wednesday, June 3rd: Sonic was offering FREE root beer floats tonight from 8 to midnight to promote the fact that they are open until midnight or later all summer long. Ali and I went after we worked out and we weren’t ashamed at all.

Friday, June 5th: Krispy Kreme is giving away a free doughnut today in honor of National Doughnut day! Go get you some!

Original Price: $0.90; My Price: FREE. Total Savings: $0.90 or 100%.

Total Weekly Savings: $11.40

The Sweetness that is the Lord!

2009-06-04T23:10:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to share with you a story about the Sweetness that is the Lord! It’s pretty detailed, only because it has to be to show you how the Lord carefully weaves situations together in his perfect timing. Here it goes...

As I was leaving work and walking to my car on Monday afternoon, I noticed that I had a flat tire. My friend Bonnie came to pick me up so we could work out and we decided to come back later that evening to deal with it. We got back to the office around 7:30 pm and apparently looked a little out of our element in our gym clothes. Some guys from work were coming back late from a job site and asked if we needed help. I accepted their offer and put everything from my trunk into the back seat so they could get to my spare tire. They put my spare on in about 10 minutes and we were off. I decided that I would take my car to Discount Tire the next morning to see if they could patch the hole in my tire.

That night, I was talking to God and just confessing the bitterness I had in my heart because of a certain situation. I’ve been really upset for the past 2 weeks or so and I just couldn’t give it over to the Lord. As I was praying, I decided to open up my bible in hopes of finding a verse that I could write on my dry erase board at work to remind me to give up my bitterness and pride. I opened up to Proverbs and kept coming across verses like these: “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow’ – when you now have it with you… He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy… He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God… He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done…” So for some reason, verses like this kept sticking out to me. So I thought, okay, whatever, I’m going to look at this devotional book that my mom gave me because this is not what I'm looking for right now. My sweet mom gave my sisters and me a Beth Moore daily devotional book for Christmas and I honestly hardly ever read it – no offense to my mom, I just don’t think to read it each day. Anyways, I opened the book up to June 1 and read the following words… “O Lord, help me not be afraid to speak to You what's on my heart. Your Word says You know my thoughts and my actions, and You know what I'm going to say before a word forms on my tongue (Ps. 139:1-4). You will never be offended when I pour out the earnest despair and bitterness that wells in my heart. You desire for me to cry out in my agony, and You can take my feelings of anger, dismay, and confusion. In pouring my heart out to You, I rid myself of soul-cancerous bitterness. I also make room for You to pour in Your healing.” O…M…G… So I turned off the light and continued to pray “God, I’m not really sure why those verses in Proverbs stuck out to me, but I pray that you would provide me with opportunities to put my pride to the side and help the needy and serve the poor. Please take this bitterness out of my heart… I really don’t like being a jerk. Fill my heart with more of you.”

I woke up early (for me anyway) the next morning to head up to Discount Tire. They don’t open until 8:00 am so I went ahead and made a sandwich in hopes that I could get to work by 9:00 am, work through lunch, and leave at 5:00 pm. As I was walking out to my car it was thundering and lightning like crazy, but not raining yet. All of the stuff from my trunk was covering up an umbrella that I knew I had back there somewhere. Since I wasn’t sure where it was and I didn’t want to have to dig around to find it later, I just decided to go back inside to grab another one. Right as I got back in my car, the rain started pouring down. So I’m driving down a busy street and I see a grandmother and her grandson walking down the street, in the pouring rain, with no umbrella. The Holy Spirit showed up and said, “Give them your umbrella.” I thought, “Okay… yeah… sure…okay…I can do that…” So I turned around and pulled up next to them and said, “Here you go. Here is an umbrella.” She responded, “Thank you so much! God bless you! What is your name?” As the rain is pouring in my car, I tell her my name. “Brittany, thank you so much. We were running a little late this morning and I forgot my umbrella. I am going to be praying for you! Thank you so much!” I smile and say, “It’s not a problem, really. Have a good day!” As I drove off, I noticed that my fuel light was on. I hate going to get my car worked on when I’m low on fuel because I always get a lecture on how that’s not good for your car. So I pulled into the gas station. As I was getting out of my car I thought, “Give them a ride.” I put everything from my back seat into a large cooler (it was in my trunk) and pushed it to the side. As I was pulling out of the gas station, I looked their way and noticed that they were waiting at the bus stop, which is not covered, and someone else had joined them. I had an audible conversation with myself that went something like this: “Oh, they are waiting for the bus, it’s okay, you don’t have to give them a ride.” As I said that, three cars drove past and splashed water all over them! “Brittany, the umbrella isn’t helping, go get them!” “No, it’s fine, I’m sure the bus will be here soon.” “Brittany, just go get them! Do it!” Somewhat hesitant, I pulled up next to them, rolled down my window and said, “I can give y’all a ride wherever you’re going. Get in.” They responded, “Are you sure? Only if you have time. Do you have time?” “Yeah, yeah, I have time. Get in.” So they got in and the grandma said, “Brittany, do you always do this?” I said, “No, never!” She said, “You don’t always pick up strangers?” I said, “No, I promise. I’ve never done anything like this before.” Well, to make this extremely long story a little bit shorter, I was in the car with the grandma (I forgot her name), her daughter, Andrea, and her son who was autistic, Andrew, for about 20 minutes. The whole time we were in the car, we talked about the Lord and how good He was. It was awesome! Because they always take the bus, they weren’t sure how to get to their destination. So I ended up dropping them off at the park and ride. By this time it had stopped raining and was just drizzling. I told them it was nice meeting them and talking to them and drove off. I got to work at 9:00 am and just felt refreshed. I really don’t know how else to explain it. My heart was joyful again and the bitterness was gone. I was filled with the Holy Spirit once again. The Lord opened my eyes to help me see that I was getting caught up in the things of this world. He reminded me that I have a greater purpose and that He’s the one I serve each day at work. Not my co-workers, not my supervisor, but Him. I serve the Lord in everything that I do and that shouldn’t be a task surrounded by bitterness, but rather with joy! Thinking about all of the tiny details that went in to creating my morning, just blew me away! To think that I had specifically prayed for an opportunity to serve and provide for the needy and that I asked the Lord to take the bitterness out of my heart and HE DID IT, was just awesome. Sometimes I forget that I have a relationship with the God of the freakin' universe. The God who set this whole thing in motion and should have more important things to do, loves me and continues to pursue me even when I'm a brat. He answered my prayer and met with me that morning. He filled me with the Holy Spirit. Nothing I did that morning was of my own effort and therefore I can’t boast in myself, but only in the Lord. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10. Be encouraged. Know that God wants to talk with you and He wants to meet with you.

Frugal Friday!

2009-05-22T07:30:00.004-05:00

Wednesday, May 20th: Well, I was pretty ticked when I opened my mailbox today because THERE WERE NO GROCERY ADS! What the heck? Did someone play a horrible trick on me? The ads come every Wednesday and there were no ads! Is it Wednesday? I look at my watch to verify. Yes, it's Wednesday. I don't understand. Hmmm... Maybe they will come tomorrow. I decided to take advantage of the internet and just view the ads online. Sprouts Farmers Market has double ad day on Wednesdays. This means that the specials from the previous week and the specials for the upcoming week are both valid on Wednesday. Well, my best friend Bonnie is having a bridal shower in a couple of weeks and I volunteered to bring my famous chicken salad. Thankfully, today was the last day to get the boneless skinless chicken breast on sale. I ended up getting seven pounds of chicken. Whoa, that's a lot of chicken! Original price: $4.49/lb. My price: $1.88/lb. I also got one pound of fresh green beans while I was there. My favorite green bean recipe is steamed green beans with sauteed garlic and almonds - mmmm! Original price: $1.99/lb. My price: $0.88/lb. Total savings: $19.38 or 58%.

Thursday, May 21st: I'm not really sure what Victoria's Secret is or how she gets people to pay $10.00 for one pair of underwear, but she somehow manages to do it. I'm not one of those suckers who pays full price on any given day, and today was no different. Victoria's Secret is having a sale and it started today. Typically, their underwear sales are 5 for $25, but the marketing department got a little carried away this time. 10 for $25. YES! After a fun dinner with Bonnie and Naked Nancy (Bonnie's mom) at PF Changs tonight, Bonnie and I decided to hit up the sale. My sister, Jessica, gave me a coupon for a free pair of underwear and $10 off your purchase (not to be used on any promotions) last time I was home. After everything was said and done, I got 6 pairs of underwear (5 + 1 free pair, Bonnie bought the other 5) and some Very Sexy mist. Original price: $72.00. My price: Wait for it... $12.50! Ummm one of the best deals ever? I think so! The mist was on sale for $10.00, but with my $10 off coupon it was FREE! Total Savings: $59.50 or 83%.

Total Weekly Savings: $78.88 or 75%.

P.S. My intention in blogging about my frugality is partially to brag about it, but mostly to inspire you to find out how to get the most out of your hard earned dollar. I hope it's working. More to come next week...

Jessica Graduated!

2009-05-18T07:30:00.001-05:00

My cute little sister, (I say little, but she's actually 3 1/2 years older than me) Jessica, graduated from Texas State University on Friday! Jessica received her Masters and Certification in Elementary Education. She even received a snazzy diploma holder (shown below) when she walked across stage. Way to go Jess - we are proud of you! She is currently looking for a job, so if you know of any open positions in Austin, HOLLA!

NOTE: I definitely can't post a picture of my parents without speaking to how freaking cute they are - don't you just want to run up to them and give them a big hug and a kiss?

Frugal Friday - I Got Nothing

2009-05-17T12:12:00.003-05:00

My apologies... I did not have time to post on Friday or Saturday due to my participation in some of the most fun wedding festivities I have ever been a part of! Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. JR Baker! I'll post details and photos later. You will probably be able to see some of their sweet photos within in the next week, here: www.shaunmenary.com. Shaun is such an awesome photographer and I would highly recommend his services to anyone wanting to get some B.A. photos!

So I did not receive cost savings from any of my purchases this week, BUT I only bought a couple of things throughout the week so I'm not too sad about it. One way I did save money was by making cheese and chicken quesadillas with Ali and the McCurdys! Ali and I went over to Kristen and Dave's to make dinner and watch the season finale of the Biggest Loser, which you know is a favorite show of mine. Helen won after losing a whopping 140 lbs. WHAT?!?! I've been working out for 5 months and I can't seem to lose even 10 lbs! Oh well, what are you going to do?

Frugal Friday!

2009-05-08T23:10:00.009-05:00

Wednesday, May 6th: Oh, Wednesdays... I just love you! Most people would say that Friday is the best day of the week, but I'll venture out and say that Wednesday is. Not only am I encouraged on Wednesdays that Monday now seems so far away and I've already made it through half of the week, but Wednesdays are always an exciting day for me. Why? Because the weekly grocery ads are delivered to my mailbox on Wednesdays. If I have to run home after work to change and head out again, I always stop to check the mail so I can read the ads at red lights, only after checking for found money of course. On another note, I am in two weddings this summer and the last thing I want to be referred to as is the "fat friend" in the wedding party. That being said, I've recently gone on a healthy food kick. Market Street has a lot of fruits and veggies on sale this week and I decided to take them up on a couple of their offers. Red leaf lettuce is on sale, 3 for $2.00. I decided to get one because I didn't want the others to go bad if I didn't eat them soon enough. Original Price: $1.29; My price: $0.66. I also got a couple of bell peppers; one yellow and one orange. Original Price: $3.58 (that jack is expensive); My price: $1.98. Total Savings: $2.23 or 46%

Thursday, May 7th: Today, my friend and co-worker, Angela, told me about a sweet deal. Some might find it hard to believe that she knew about a deal before I did, she is actually one of them. So apparently Oprah mentioned on her show earlier this week that KFC was giving away free food. WHAT?! FREE FOOD?! Yeah. To thank my readers, I've posted the coupon below. Print it off and go get you some! I know it's small, but the coupon says that you get 2 pieces of grilled chicken, manager's choice. What does "manager's choice" even mean? Probably that they take the two smallest pieces that have been under the hot lamp the longest. The free food doesn't stop there. You also get 2 individual sides and a biscuit. Please note that KFC is hoppin' on Mother's Day and your coupon will not be accepted on Sunday. I never thought that the meal a mother might want on her special day would come from KFC, but hey, it's your day mothers and you can get what you want.

OFFER FOR MOTHERS: KFC won't accept your coupons on Mother's Day, but Pei Wei will! Find the offer HERE, print it out, and have your husband buy lunch/dinner for the rest of the family and yours is on the house!

I have been trying to think of fun/creative gifts to give to friends as a wedding or birthday gift and I finally found what I've been looking for! My Real Simple magazine came today and let me just tell you that it is the best Christmas present I've ever gifted myself with. It is also another piece of mail that excites me! Not only is the June issue of Real Simple packed with great organizational tips/ideas and recipes, but it also has an advertisement that got my heart rate pumping when I saw it. The ad is for personalized stationary, note cards, and much more! The website is: http://www.expressionery.com/. The ad also mentions a promo code for Real Simple readers, and indirectly, followers of my blog. Use the promo code "junesimple" and expressionery.com will take 40% off your entire order, now through September 30! In addition to receiving 40% off my entire purchase, 3 of the items I purchased were already 30% off the original price. I can't provide you with too many details because I am pretty sure the recipients of the items I purchased read my blog, but I got some personalized things for some people. Original Price of total purchase: $225.16. My price of total purchase: $82.62. Total Savings: $142.54 or 63%.

Total Weekly Savings: $144.77 or 63%.

Frugal Friday!

2009-05-01T22:07:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, April 29th: Oh man! Today was such a great day, in regards to free stuff! Ali's friend, Matthew, brought Chick-Fil-A over for dinner tonight out of the goodness of his heart; Love that! FREE dinner.

My sister, Kristen, gave me the inside scoop today - literally! Baskin Robbins was offering $0.31 scoops of ice cream tonight from 5:00 -10:00 pm. After our Chick-Fil-A dinner, we headed down the street to hit up Baskin Robbins. Original price for 2 scoops of ice cream: $3.69. My price: $0.62. Total Savings: $3.07 or 83%. Good thing I worked out tonight or else I would have felt really guilty about eating Chick-Fil-A AND Baskin Robbins in the same night. Phew, close call.

Frugal Friday!

2009-04-24T23:12:00.009-05:00

Tuesday, April 21st: There are two people at work who really helped a sister out last Friday. In honor of Earth Day, we gave our employees the opportunity to exchange 10 plastic grocery bags for 1 reusable grocery bag. Each office was supposed to receive their bags directly from the vendor, but there was obviously a miscommunication along the way because all 1,000 bags ended up being sent to my attention. Long story short, I had to repackage all of the bags and overnight them to 21 different locations. I received the bags at 3:00 pm and needed to leave the office at 4:15. YIKES! Doug dropped what he was doing to help me and Jenna stayed late to make sure that all of the packages went out on time. I wanted to let them know that I was super grateful for their help and decided to get them their favorite drink from Sonic. I decided to take a late lunch so I could hit up Sonic during their Happy Hour, which is from 2:00-4:00pm everyday. Regular priced medium drink: $1.40. Happy Hour medium drink: $0.70. Total Savings: $1.40 (I got two drinks) or 50%.

Dave is out of town this week and Kristen wanted some company tonight. I didn't want her to have to make dinner so I opted to pick something up for both of us on my way over. The meal of choice? Pei Wei. I discovered a couple of years ago that if you walk into Pei Wei and place an order to go, you get a complimentary drink while you wait. I'm all about free stuff and people watching, so I don't mind having to wait 10 minutes for my food. I also learned that the Kids' Wei Honey Seared Chicken is significantly cheaper than the adult meal and although the portion size is not the same, it is still more than enough. You can add a kids drink to the the Kids' Wei for only $0.50, but if you are an adult, you have to get an adult drink at the regular price - no kids' drink for you! Since I was placing my order to go, the cashier had no way of knowing if the order was for Kristen and myself, or for my pretend children who were starving at home and both craving a Diet Coke. I got two Kids' Wei meals, both with a diet coke (no ice, idea compliments of my brother in-law, Evan - the coke is already cold, ice waters down the drink and it takes up space that the diet coke could be occupying) AND a complimentary adult size Diet Coke. Price for 2 adult meals with a drink:
$19.00. Price for 2 kids meals with a drink: $8.50. Total Savings: $10.50 or 55%. HOLLA!

Be sure to check out BurbMom to see how much my friend Holly is saving by playing The Grocery Game this month!

My Little Rascal

2009-04-20T21:36:00.002-05:00

Please just marvel at the cuteness that is my niece, Katelyn - 20 months this month!

Diary of a Frugal Shopper

2009-04-17T12:35:00.000-05:00

If you know me, even just a little bit about me, you know that I am frugal. I learned the art of being frugal from my father and I am forever grateful. My sisters and I were introduced to the world of frugality early in our lives. Growing up, my dad had us all looking out the window for coins at each red light we came to. If he saw a penny he would jump out of the car to grab it. I would shield my face from onlookers as they tried to identify the girl with the crazy father. I'll admit that sometimes, when I did see a penny and we weren't the only car waiting at the light, I wouldn't say anything because I didn't want to have to get out and grab it. In my defense, I was at that awkward stage in my life where I truly cared about what everyone thought of me. Now that I'm older, I find myself looking out the window at each red light I come to. I've also added drive-thru windows to my list of places to find coins. I rarely buy clothes at full price and I compare price per ounce on products at the grocery store to find the best deal. I've also learned which stores have the best prices on certain items. Side note, but a very important part of the saving equation, I love games. I love games mainly because I enjoy winning. I make everything into a game. I think that's why saving money is so exciting to me, because I get to win all the time! While we are on the topic of saving money and games, let me go ahead and break it to you, that if we're playing the game, "Which grocery store has the lowest prices," Tom Thumb always loses... always. The frustrating thing is that Tom Thumb is less than a mile from my apartment so when I just need one item for a meal I'm cooking, I end up going to Tom Thumb. I never walk out of Tom Thumb feeling good about my purchase. Shameless plug: Market Street and Sprout's are the grocery stores to shop at. All of this to build up to the reason for this post. I was thinking the other day of just how much money I've saved over the years from planning, being patient and being frugal. I thought it would be fun to document my savings and show the world that it is possible save money without sacrificing anything.

What better way to share my documentation of savings than to post it on my blog? This will be my first of many entries entitled "Frugal Friday." Each Friday, I will tell you how much money I saved during the previous week, Saturday through Friday. Let the documentation begin:

Saturday, April 11th: I have about two more showers until I run out of my favorite shampoo and conditioner, Biolage. Biolage is expensive, so I definitely have to wait until it goes on sale. Typically this sale is buy one get one free - sweet! My second favorite shampoo and conditioner is "Dangerously Straight" by Herbal Essences. Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner was on sale at Market Street. Original price: $3.49/each. My price: $2.99/each. I've also been needing some more mascara. Market Street also had the mascara I use on sale. Original price: $7.69. My price: $4.99. Total savings: $3.70 or 25%.

I've been needing new work pants for a while now, but haven't found any that I've loved. It's hard for me to see the price of dress pants and not throw them down in frustration, but my mom has convinced me that if I find a great pair of dress pants, I'll have them for a while and I need to see it as an investment. That being said, I went to Banana Republic today with Kristen and Dave to find a shirt for Dave. While in the store, I found myself two pairs of pants that I really liked. I tried them on and loved them. Score. Dave did not purchase a shirt, but he did find a nice one at Sam's later that day for way cheaper than any shirt at Banana Republic. It's time to tally my savings. Pair 1: Original price - $89.00. My price - $24.99. Pair 2: Original price - $110.00. My price - $44.99. Total savings: $129.11 or 65%.

Monday, April 13th: I went to Bed Bath and Beyond today to get my friend, Jamie, a wedding present. Happy wedding Jamie and Charles! My salad spinner is one of my favorite items in the kitchen, so I couldn't help but to get them the salad spinner they registered for. It was $29.99, but I had a $5 off coupon. Original price - $29.99. My price - $24.99. Total savings: $5.00 or 17%.

Today is also my dad's birthday! Happy 60th birthday, dad! Last year, I made him a book titled, 59 reasons I love you. This year, I made him a book titled, In the Words of My Father: A collection of My Father's Sixty Most Commonly Used Phrases. I used the Office Depot print on demand function online. Before I checked out, I googled "Office Depot Coupons" and found a coupon for 15% off my purchase. Apply coupon code, please. Original price - $10.14. My price - $8.62. Total savings: $1.52 or 15%.

Thursday, April 16th: The weekly grocery ads come out every Wednesday. The two main things I look for in the ads are Blue Bell ice cream and produce. I have been waiting for Blue Bell to go on sale for quite some time. I'm not sure how the grocery stores do it, but they all manage to have it on sale at the same time. Why they can't take turns and each have their own week to have Blue Bell on sale, I have no idea. Does anyone know the answer to this question? Moving on, I was looking over the ads and saw that Kroger had the best price on Blue Bell. I could get a half gallon at Wal-Mart for $3.67 or get 3 pints of ice cream at Kroger, which means 3 different flavors, for $3.97. Well, I decided to go to Kroger to get 2 pints of ice cream, Southern Blackberry Cobbler and The Great Divide - party on my pallet! Original price - $1.99/ea. My price - $0.99/ea. I also went to Market Street tonight to get some lunch meat, House Smoked Turkey. It's a Market Street original and not to mention, my favorite! Guess what? It was on sale! Original price - $6.29/lb. My price - $4.99/lb. I got 1/2 lb. Total savings: $2.55 or 36%.

Total Weekly Savings: $141.88.

Happy Birthday Dad!

2009-04-13T22:35:00.013-05:00

Today, my dad celebrated the big 6-0. That's right, sixty years old! I know it's hard to believe because he just looks so young. Last night we looked on the internet for all of the places you can go to get free stuff on your birthday. A lot of places require you to sign up for their club online in order to get a free gift on your birthday, so that's what we did. We printed out all of the coupons that were e-mailed to him last night and went around town to pick them up. Lucky for you, we documented the whole day.

First stop? Krispy Kreme. We did sign up for the Krispy Kreme club, but we were warned that you had to sign up ahead of time in order to get your free gift. Rumor had it that the free gift was a travel mug and a half-dozen of glazed donuts. SWEET! We walked in and told the man at the front that it was our dad's 60th birthday and we signed him up for the club, but didn't receive anything via e-mail. The man said it's for children 12 and under. To this, I responded, "Are you kidding me?!" He quickly responded with, "Unless you're 60. What kind of donut would you like, sir?" As much as I wanted to say, I heard you're supposed to get a free half-dozen and a travel mug, I didn't want to push my luck. A free donut is a free donut.

Next stop, Bed Bath and Beyond. We really only had to go here to get a friend's wedding gift. Although Bed Bath and Beyond does not offer any giveaways for your birthday, my dad did get to relax in this fun chair with a canopy to rest up for our next stop.

Next stop, Schlotzsky's. Schlotsky's will send you a coupon just for signing up with the Bun & Fun eclub, and they'll also send you a coupon for a free small Original sandwich on your birthday. We love Schlotzsky's! This was one of the best deals for your birthday!

Next stop, Trudy's! Trudy's offers you a free Mexican Martini, beer, or shot on your birthday. Dad chose the Mexican Martini. He didn't just get one Martini, they gave him the whole tumbler which ended up being 4 glasses! Don't try to pull a fast one on the people at Trudy's, they check your ID to make sure it really is your birthday.

Dad also received coupons from Baskin Robbins and Red Robin. Baskin Robbins offers you a free scoop of ice cream on your birthday (expires 5 days after your birthday) and Red Robin offers you a free burger on your birthday (expires 14 days after your birthday). Dad really wanted to use these coupons today, but we had to convince him to save room for his SURPRISE PARTY tonight at Threadgill's, an Austin local favorite.

My mom started planning a suprise party for my dad a couple of weeks ago. We told my dad that we had to pick mom up from her meeting which was off of Lamar. Threadgill's is on Lamar so it was perfect. Dave drove and none of us saw Threadgill's so we drove down Lamar, past Threadgill's. I guess Dave looked a little confused and my dad said, "Dave, if you're looking for Threadgill's, we already passed it." Shoot. We turned around and arrived at our destination within minutes. We walked in to our own private room and my dad was really excited to see 20 of his closest friends there to welcome him!

Thanks to everyone for coming out, you really made it a birthday to remember! Happy birthday, Dad!

Spring Cleaning = Free Clothes

2009-04-12T13:23:00.006-05:00

Oh, Spring cleaning, so refreshing! It's that time of the year again; time to weed out my closet. Each Spring, I take my Fall/Winter clothes off the hangers and say goodbye to them until October or November (you never know with Texas weather). During this transition process, I like to get rid of clothes that I didn't wear all season. I'll admit, I keep some clothes in my closet just because they look cute in there, not because I wear them. Once the Winter clothes are sorted and the keepers are stored under my bed, it's time for my Spring/Summer wardrobe to make it's appearance. Before I hang these clothes up, I have to make sure that they are worthy of a hanger again this year. Some clothes don't fit and some just don't fit my taste anymore. Each Christmas, one of Jessica's presents is a box of hand-me-downs. I decided to make Christmas come early this year and surprise my sisters with a bag full of clothes for them to choose from. Because I love games, I made the giveaway into a game. Here is how the game works: We had 5 rounds and Jessica got to call the coin toss to see who would go first. I lay some clothes out on the couch and whoever won the coin toss gets to choose first. The girls choose back and forth until there are no more clothes left or until they don't want anymore clothes from that round. I clear the couch after each round. My clothes are pretty cute though, so there weren't any clothes to clear after most of the rounds. After the couch is cleared, I lay out another batch of clothes for the next round. After the game is over, they go try on their new clothes. It's a fun way for me to get rid of my clothes and it's the best shopping spree they'll ever participate in. It's a win-win.

What the Hail?

2009-04-01T22:07:00.007-05:00

Ali and I went to our friends' softball game on Monday night and it was a good time had by all. Although they did not end up winning, they still played really well. Towards the end of the game, the weather got crazy - it was really windy and started lightning. It wasn't that cold, just windy. So typically when there is lightning, it's followed by rain, right? Sure. We would all assume that. But hail? Really? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it started hailing right after we got home. What the heck is happening? It sounds like someone is throwing rocks at our window. Nope, hail. Me, being the selfless person that I am, let Ali park her car in the covered parking spot while poor Claire (my car) got pounded by skittle-sized hail! Here is a video...

My Worst Fear Comes True... Partially

2009-03-23T13:39:00.015-05:00

I went home this weekend for a friend's wedding reception. She and her husband eloped in Colorado about a month ago so we all came together to celebrate in Austin! After the reception, my sister and I went to see a late showing of I Love You, Man. It was freakin hilarious. I would pay to see it again and I would buy it on DVD. That's how you know it's a good movie. Side note: My parents are out of town and my sister has been staying at their house because she is watching their dog. With that being said, we got ready for bed and slept in my parents room. The A/C wasn't on so instead of trying to cool the whole house, we decided we would just turn the fan on high. Jessica and I awoke an hour later, with our hearts pounding. We heard a loud noise and the fan stopped. My first thought was that the power went out. I looked at the clock on the night stand, but it was not flashing. Hmm. Okay. Now I'm scared.

Me (whispering): Jess, what was that?
Jessica (whispering): I don't know... turn on Dad's lamp.
Me: I unplugged it to charge my phone. Turn on mom's lamp.

Jessica turned on the lamp and our eyes fixed on the ceiling. Something happened to the fan. The blades didn't look right. I got up to turn off the switch because the fan was making a loud noise that didn't sound right. There were pieces of black plastic parts scattered all over the floor. What the crap happened?! Your guess is as good as mine, maybe even better. I do know that the fan is now broken and definitely not working. I also know that my dad finds it "hard to believe that the fan would break without anyone doing anything to it." Really dad? I can't imagine that something 30 years old would ever break on its own either.

My worst fear is that my fan will spin off the ceiling in the middle of the night and chop my head off. Apparently, someone thought of a safety measure because the circle the blades are attached to is too small to fall over the part the light cover is attached to. Close call.

Ali went to the store yesterday and bought some milk. When she took it out of the bag she realized that the bag was really wet. Crap. The milk jug has a hole in the bottom. What does one do in a situation like this? Well, you definitely don't pour it out and buy another gallon, that's for sure. See below for a sufficient solution.

Before I left for Austin on Saturday morning, I went to Target with Dave, Kristen and Katelyn. Katelyn really likes to push the cart. She doesn't like it when she realizes that she is not really pushing it on her own, so you have to be discrete when you steer the cart away from the clothes rack. Here is a cute video for you!

That's all I got. Happy Tuesday! If you happen to read this in the next 45 minutes, its happy Monday to you!

Brittany Needs...

2009-03-14T19:52:00.003-05:00

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Go to Google.com
2. Including the quotation marks, type in “[YOUR NAME] needs” (in my case, it’s “Brittany needs”)
3. Take the top 10 results and post them.

————————————————————–

Brittany needs to eat a sandwich.
Brittany needs her black book now.
What a Brittany needs.
Brittany needs her self confidence back.
Brittany needs a hero.
Brittany needs Africa. More than Africa needs her.
Brittany needs daily brushing of the hair coat to keep it free of burrs and tangles after hunting or roughhousing.
Brittany needs braces. Help me smile. I need braces, please help!
Brittany needs coordination.
Brittany needs to act like a mother instead of worrying about partying.

I agree with #7 and #9. God, please don't make me get braces again. I'll be really ticked.

Oh Nuts!

2009-03-13T22:53:00.006-05:00

I traveled to Austin for a conference this week and Kristen and Katelyn tagged along... to Austin, not my conference. My dad had Wednesday and Thursday off and it just so happened that those were the two days we were in town - perfect! The car ride there and back was a little intense. Katelyn got a little moody and decided to throw to the side anything we handed to her to get her to stop whining. Kristen's dancing to Michael Buble did the trick. I've never been so thankful to hear laughter! While in Austin, we were able to spend some quality Bradberry time together each night. Unfortunately, Evan and Dave were not able to be there.

Katelyn is learning to mimic things that she hears. Most recently, she started saying some things she heard from Kristen. I guess I should try to stop saying "poopy head". Here is a video of Katelyn saying her new favorite phrase.

PS. I know the video is sideways, okay? Get over it.

A Mommy Update!

2009-03-08T21:43:00.009-05:00

My mom had her first of six chemotherapy treatments on Monday, March 2rd. Everything went really well and the side effects were kept to a minimum the first couple of days. Thursday was a slight downturn - nothing sounded appetizing and she suddenly became weak and tired. She pretty much slept Thursday night into Saturday morning. Today was a better day. She was able to get out with my sister, Jessica, and my dad to shave her head! She has heard from numerous people that it is less traumatic to lose your hair all at once than it is to see it falling out each day. So she took their advice and went to the salon!

Isn't she beautiful? I admire her strength and constant optimism, among many other qualities.
Please pray for my mom's strength and healing. Pray that her little body would have the energy and strength to get through the day and that the Lord would continue to heal her. Please pray that she does not experience anymore side effects of chemo. Please pray that her ears, eyes and mind are opened to hear, see and understand the significance of this chapter in her life and what the Lord is trying to reveal to her. Her next treatment is on March 26th, I'll keep you posted.

"Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." - Psalm 20:7

Can I Just Have 4 Pumps of Cinnamon Dolce Syrup?

2009-02-24T21:26:00.004-06:00

When the cat is away, the mice will play! Not that we don't enjoy time with Dave, but a girls night is always an added bonus. Dave is out of town this week so Kristen, Katelyn and I experienced a night of homemade pizza rolls, drama on the Biggest Loser, a rude interruption for some "Presidential Address to Congress", and chai tea lattes with cinnamon dolce! Katelyn was only able to participate in the first event, but we're hoping for a 7:30 pm bed time in a couple of years.

My favorite drink at Starbuck's is a Chai Tea Latte, and recently it's turned into a Chai Tea Latte with 2 pumps of cinnamon dolce syrup. After questioning my baristas on multiple occasions, I discovered that I can save a lot of money by making my own drink at home, without sacrificing the flavor! I can spend $4 on 16 oz. of pure goodness, or I can buy four 32 oz. boxes of chai concentrate for $16 and a gallon of milk for $2. For those of you who don't care for word problems, this means I can make sixteen 16 oz. chai tea lattes for $1.125 each from the comfort of my own home! Now, you might be thinking, "Sure, you are saving money, but you are sacrificing your time." WRONG. It actually takes less time for me to make my drink at home than it does for me to drive to the nearest Starbuck's, walk in (no drive thru), order, wait for my drink, and drive to work. "That's a lie." I am not a liar. More on this later...

My friend Andrea, who recently became a Starbuck's barista, came over on Saturday and gave me a bottle of cinnamon dolce syrup with a pump! OMG! I seriously almost peed in my pants due to the rush of excitement streaming through my body. So I brought the chai concentrate over to Kristen's, but I forgot my syrup at home. Crap. So the only catch for Kristen was that she had to drive to Starbuck's and ask for 4 pumps of cinnamon dolce syrup so we could put it in our drinks. Sucker. The Starbuck's run was a success and $0.32 well spent. Here are some pictures from our evening as well as the recipe for the drinks (unless you have vision like no other, you'll have to enlarge the picture).

Back to time vs. money in regards to my chai tea lattes. Here is my morning routine (Steps 3-11 take a total of 10 minutes):
1. Get out of bed.
2. Straighten my hair (only if I didn't do it the previous morning because I only wash my hair every other day).
3. Put small pot on stove.
4. Turn stove on level 4 (low-medium heat).
5. Pour drink contents (equal parts) into pot.
6. Squirt two pumps of cinnamon dolce in travel mug.
7. Walk back to the bathroom.
8. Put on makeup.
9. Get dressed.
10. Turn stove off.
11. Pour drink contents in travel mug.
12. Walk out to car and drive to work.

BAM! Saving time and money, there really is nothing I love more!

P.S. The Biggest Loser continues tomorrow night. Thank you Mr. President.

A Note From My Dad...

2009-02-21T13:17:00.001-06:00

This week was a full one with progress in Nikki's (Anita's) healing and recovery. Monday she got her last drain out. It just all of a sudden decreased output over the weekend. By Monday it was well within the range where the surgeon would take it out. She called for an appointment and got right in. She still has a little hole in her side but can cover it with a bandaid and shower. She did come home and take a long HOT shower. After nothing but sink baths since Jan 9 she enjoyed standing under running hot water and washing her hair and body. Everything got steamed and cleaned. Tuesday she had a chest xray and a bone density test as part of a screening for a clinical trial she will be participating in. After her tests (screenings) we went to Chemotherapy 101 - Yes, it's a real class. They tell you everything you needed to know and some more. We got a tour of the infusion room. It's a big room like an open emergency room but no dividers - just sections with 4 recliners with IV poles beside them. They are all about patient comfort. They have a TV in the center of these chairs and whoever starts first, or isn't sick chooses the station to watch. You get sick, fall asleep, you lose control of the remote. They have baskets of gloves and foot warmers. A refreshment bar has broth packets, teas, hard candy, water, juices and the like. Patients bring their own comfortable clothes, blankets, pillows, books, work, music, computers, TV, or radios. There must be about 6 - 7 such areas in this room. And of course, there is a long counter with the staff behind it who produce the stuff you take. . Wednesday morning we got up at 5 and to the hospital by 6 for the surgery to have the portacath put in. Instead of having to get stuck each time with an IV and hoping they find a vein, she now as a port in her upper chest. No worry they can't find the vein. It's a round receiver device just under the skin that runs a tube directly in to a major vein. In preparing her for surgery they missed 2 times to find a vein. She came out looking like she had been beaten with a stick all up and down her arm. I think they do that on purpose to reinforce your decision to get the portacath. She requested no narcotics for surgery but rather the same drug they used for the original surgery in January so didn't have any worry on being dull headed or groggy all day. She was discharged and home by 10 AM. I went to work and so did she. That afternoon she got fitted for new bras and a prosthesis, and is glad she is looking normal in her clothes now. She is scheduled for a MUGA (a heart scan) on Monday and if she is within guidelines, we'll start chemo Wednesday or Thursday. Then it's every 3 weeks for 18 weeks. She'll be bald headed soon, and will have an array of several wigs to choose from - no caps or scarfs for her. If all goes according to plan, she should be finished by the end of June. She has talked to other women just ahead of her in the process and picked up some tips about what to expect. One thing she has learned from Louise Gray, the mother of Kristen's roommate from Baylor, Bethany, is plan a soup week after each treatment. If you have a winner of a soup recipe please send it on. I'll proabaly fix two or three different recipes that week and freeze some for the next soup week. Everybody doesn't react the same way but generally soup is a comfort food so it'd be good to eat anyway. It's hydrating, a good way to get vegetables, a one pot meal, and I like it too. Thursday we accepted a perk of her job. The Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors Bureau hosted a dinner at an Austin icon restaurant - Green Pastures. It was a nice dinner and we won a gift basket with beach type stuff plus a gift certificate for a two night stay at The Holiday Inn Emerald Beach in Corpus. She has received another offer from a resort on Lake Whitney for an overnight stay for 2, meals, spa and golf package,etc. which we will try to squeeze in for March or April. These getaways will be a welcome break for relaxation. Thank you all for your prayers and support. We can feel the outpouring of your love and it is truly amazing. Nikki's goal is to see this as a journey and an opportunity to grow closer to God, and seeks to handle it all with grace through Christ.

Live to Love Another Day

2009-02-09T20:52:00.015-06:00

So, as of 9:53 am on February 1st, I've been around for 23 years. Obviously I have no idea what the Lord has planned for me, but I'm eager for the plan to unfold. For my birthday this year, I decided I wanted to have a birthday dinner with some of my best friends at Cheesecake Factory. Brittany was in charge of logistics and she even picked up the tab for my fish tacos and lemon raspberry cheesecake, does it get any better? Rachel, Brittany and Asilyn (below) are a couple of my friends who were in attendance and it was a good time had by all! Apparently, Rachel did not get the memo about wearing purple.

I went home this weekend for a benefit concert that a good friend of mine, Sarajane, was hosting. The girl can sing any genre, but she prefers opera! The concert benefited a non-profit called House of Friends. The organization is offered free of charge to individuals with dementia who are being cared for at home by family members. It is a weekly program designed to give the family caregiver a four-hour respite. Participants interact socially with others in a highly structured but caring mode. The goal is to support the family so that institutionalization can be postponed. Check it out at http://www.bethanyhof.org/. Sarajane (below) also has a website. Check it out: http://www.meladailey.com/.

While at home, I was also able to spend quality time with my mom and dad and 3 of my friends from high school. On Saturday, my mom needed to run some errands and I needed to get my car inspected. While my car was being inspected, my mom, dad and I went to Academy and the post office - my dad drove. So we go to the post office and my mom is in line and my dad and I are sitting on a bench inside people watching. It's time to go and this is how the situation plays out, inside the post office, in front of spectators:

Dad: Nikki, do you have the keys?

Mom: No, you have the keys.

Dad: No, I don't have the keys...

(Dad checks his pockets and I can hear the keys, but he can't find them)

Me: Dad, you drove and you have the keys.

Dad: No, I don't have them! Nikki check your purse.

Mom: I don't have them.

Me: Dad, maybe you locked them in the car...

(Dad walks out of the post office first)

Me: DAD! They are in your pants! You tucked the keys in your pants!

(Dad reaches towards his lower back and grabs the keys that are dangling from his pants)
Me: Why would you put them there?!

Dad: I put them there so I wouldn't forget them...

It was so funny, and my mom and I were both laughing so hard! I tried to get him to re-enact the situation so I could take a picture and post it, but he refused.

Another highlight of the weekend was the return of the pine cone. You might recall that I put a pine cone at the bottom of my dad's stocking at Christmas. To my surprise, the pine cone returned to a place I least expected to see it. So, I'm sleeping in one of the most comfortable beds and as I roll over, I kick something. My first thought was some animal with teeth is in my bed. Startled, I wake up and debate on whether or not I should look to see what it is. I think about what I felt a little bit more and thought Eddie (the dog) might have snuck a treat and left it in the bed. I decide to face my fears and pull back the covers to reveal what's in my bed. What do I find? A pinecone. My dad put the pine cone in my bed. Oh, this is funny...

I was breathing heavier than normal and my heart was beating pretty fast, so I decided to walk to the kitchen to get some water. On the way back to my room, I dropped the pine cone in my dad's chair.

I wake up the next morning and run to the living room to find my dad in his chair.

Me: Dad, did you find something in your chair this morning?

Dad (with a confused look on his face): No, but I think my underwear got bunched up because I am a little uncomfortable.

Most Saturday mornings, my parents meet Jessica & Evan and Evan's family at a hole in the wall in Round Rock, formerly known as the Breakfast Taco House. This Saturday was no different than most so I needed to get dressed so we could be there on time. I was going to grab a pair of jeans from my bag, but I decided to wear the jeans that I had worn the day before. I find that it's difficult to pull my pants all the way up because there is a freakin' pine cone in my pocket!

My dad had the weekend off and was scheduled to go back to work on Monday. I thought, "Perfect! I'll shove the pine cone in his work boot!" Well, I told my mom about how I shoved the pine cone to the tip of his work boot and she got a little worked up thinking about his reaction at 4:30 am on Monday morning. She said passionately, "Do not put that pine cone all the way in his boot! Do you hear me?! He's going to be upset and late for work if you do that. Do not make it hard for him to get that pine cone out!" "Ugh! Fine! Mom, he better not find it before Monday morning or I'm going to be upset." "Honey, he won't see it. He gets ready in the dark so he won't wake me up. He won't see it." Well, to my frustration, my dad decided to take Monday and Tuesday off. He already had Wednesday and Thursday off so that meant he wasn't going to find the pine cone until Friday. So I called my dad today and he picks up the phone and starts screaming:

Dad: No doc, no!! Wait for the anesthesia to kick in!!! No!!!!

(I'm freaking out because I don't know what's going on)

Me: Dad! What's going on? Where are you?!

Dad (Panicked): I'm in the minor emergency room!

(Immediately, I think something is wrong with my mom.

Me: Why? What's wrong?!

Dad: I got a pine cone stuck in my foot!

Me: What?! You found it? How did you find it?!

Dad: Are you kidding me? I found it the afternoon you left for Dallas.

Me: Ugh!!! Dad that was going to be so good!

Dad, be on guard...

I had to watch that show...

2009-01-18T12:14:00.007-06:00

Kristen, Katelyn and I came home to Austin this weekend. My mom had a single mastectomy last Friday so we wanted to be with her and relieve our dad and other sister, Jessica, for a couple of days. Katelyn went straight to the pantry to find her potato friend - success! The house is filled with flowers and they all smell so great! My friends, Brittany, Bonnie, Callie and Andrea, had a really pretty arrangement delivered to the house. It's actually one of my mom's favorites, and she's not bias.

On Friday night, one of my dad's best friends, Glenn, brought dinner over for my mom and dad. Kristen and I opted for Pei Wei. Anyways, we were all sitting around the table, and I asked Glenn what his favorite TV show was. I can't really remember what his answer was, but my point in asking the question was to bring up the Biggest Loser. So we started talking about it, and Glenn was not at all hooked on the idea. He thought it was fake, even after I led him to the computer and showed him the before and after photos. To that, I got very defensive for my favorite show. Then my dad told us how he started watching the show.

Dad: "I was in the doctor's office while your mother had her MRI and the TV was on. I wanted to watch something else, but the lady behind the counter wouldn't change it. So I had to watch that Big Fat Loser show and I kind of liked it. You know, you see these fat people doing these challenges and then they weigh in to see how much they've lost, it's neat."
Me: Dad, it's not called the Big Fat Loser, it's called the Biggest Loser. Like you want to be the Biggest Loser, of pounds..."
Dad: Yeah, Biggest Loser.

So our time in Austin was fun and relaxing, for the most part. My mom is healing well and got some of her bandages removed on Thursday. She still has her drains in, but will hopefully have those removed this Tuesday. I got to wash her hair in the sink this morning - who knew washing someone else's hair could be so fun! She will go to the oncologist on February, 5th, to decide on treatment options.

The Biggest Loser

2009-01-13T20:40:00.005-06:00

So, I am addicted to the Biggest Loser. I'm actually watching it as I type. This show is pure intensity. So intense that I've cried 4 separate times in one episode. Even my roommate, Ali, teared up which is completely unlike her. My favorite teams: White team - Jerry and Estella; Orange team - Dan and Dave; Brown team - Ron and Mike; Pink team - Helen and Shanon. I've now cried 5 times. Jerry, the oldest contestant the Biggest Loser has ever had, just got voted off. I really don't like Joelle and I wish she was in the bottom two because her lazy butt would have totally been voted off.

I learned some really helpful tips from the Biggest Loser website: http://www.50millionpounds.com/. Check it out. These guys (below) are my favorite team.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

2008-12-30T21:20:00.016-06:00

So this Christmas was by far the best Christmas I've ever had! It was just our immediate family and was so much fun! I arrived in Austin on Monday night to join the Kristen, Dave and Katelyn, who came in on Saturday. We ended up celebrating Christmas on Tuesday night (my Dad pulled some strings to get Santa to come early) because he had to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas. We made breakfast and celebrated Jesus' birth with a birthday song, cinnamon rolls, egg casserole and laughter... lots of laughter! The cinnamon role cake had a "1" candle on top, because Jesus is #1!

I can't tell you how thankful I am for the love of Jesus and for all the ways He is constantly providing for and growing my family - both together and as individuals. Praise be to God for all that He's done and all that He continues to do! We have been so blessed by His presence in our lives and my prayer is that we'd be able to display His strength through our weakness and His perfection through our imperfection.

This year, Dad asked that we not buy him Christmas presents, but instead, cut out pictures of items we'd like to buy him and attach $5. The McCurdy family found lots of fun gifts in the Office Depot advertisement and attached some $5 bills. I think Walgreens was also pulling out all the stops this Christmas...

Santa always forgot to fill mom and dad's stockings when we were younger (we understand, he has a lot of traveling to do in one night) so we took it upon ourselves to fill their stockings this year. I thought it would be funny to put a pine cone in the bottom of dad's stocking. Kristen pleaded with me not to, but I just couldn't resist. I enjoyed a good laugh and dad ended up with a few cuts and scrapes.

Katelyn made a friend over the holiday! She ventured into the pantry and found a new potato - it was love at first sight. Who needs to spend hundreds of dollars on toys when you can spend $0.50 on a potato and have a child who's still filled with joy? It's a great cost cutting tip during the economic crisis... try it!

So I have been looking for a sleeper for a quite some time. Brittany's mom (not myself, my friend) got her one when she was sick and I'll admit, I was a little envious. I raided every Target in sight and was empty-handed after each visit. I went back to Target with my mom and dad and low expectations. I just needed to return some clothes I had gotten for Katelyn. During my return transaction, I noticed a woman standing next to me who was returning 5 (yes - 5!) sleepers! I asked her which department she got them in and she said the women's department. My parents and I searched and searched, but again, came back to the return counter empty-handed. I asked the girl working if I could see the sleepers the lady had just returned. She told me to go to the fitting room counter. I walked quickly to the fitting room and there they were, 5 sleepers just waiting for me! The Lord totally provided for me that day! As you can see, I got it, with no hesitation. My persistence paid off, and my dad even offered to get it for me for Christmas. YES!

When it came to presents this year, I didn't do what my dad asked - so ironic, I always listen to my dad! Last week, I went over to my friend Alison's house for dinner with some of my other co-workers. Alison's husband, Jim, created a recipe for "Barack Obama Beans." They were the best beans I've ever had. So amazing, that I faced the consequences with a smile later on that the evening as I reminisced about how great they were. Anyway, Jim was kind enough to give me the recipe and I gave it to my dad, along with all of the ingredients, for Christmas. We made them one night for dinner and although they didn't taste exactly like Jim's, they were pretty close! Thanks to Jim for making my dad's Christmas present a reality!

To add to the Christmas festivities, I decided to start a new Christmas tradition this year. I've heard that it's not a tradition unless it's happened for 3 years. So, I'll rephrase. This year was the 1st annual Bradberry Christmas Dance. What does this even mean, you might ask? This means that each person in attendance, in any way related to the Bradberry family, must dance to a song of their choice before they can open their presents. It was AWESOME! I've included some videos below...