On the Second Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

...two sleepy kittens~

(Will update with a picture when I get a good one, they're always moving!)

Not much has gone on since yesterday, honestly...I worked! A LOT!

Uhhh...JCP has a button thingy they're doing, and I want to collect them all- I've already won 3 $5 certificates and 1 $10 certificate...they will be used for Christmas shopping! :)

We had pizza for dinner tonight, it was delicious. :P

Bed time then work tomorrow, and (hopefully!!!) getting and setting up some Christmas decorations!

On the First Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

A partridge in a pear tree!

I meant to post a bunch of stuff over Thanksgiving, but I was way too busy working and cooking and cleaning to even think about anything else! I'm gonna do a list of things I'm thankful for every day until Christmas. :)

The First Day of Christmas: I am extremely thankful that our first Thanksgiving went smoothly and that both sides of the family could make it. :)

Instead of writing a really long post about Thanksgiving, I am going to go heat up a thing to take care of my cramps and then read webcomics. Yay. :3

Getting Organized: Clothing Drawers!

So, I have a lot of Tshirts. And by a lot, I mean A LOT. So I decided to organize them! Of course, this pin from pinterest (my new addiction, there's so much I want to take inspiration from on there!!!) helped motivate me to reorganize some of my clothing drawers. :)

Before:

So, with my shirts stacked in the drawer like this, I had no idea what was actually in the drawer...it also didn't want to close properly. Fixing time!

Step 1: Take all your shirts and throw them in a pile on your bed. Then organize them into piles! Mine were (not pictured): sports shirts, then workout shirts, then  random shirts!

 Step 2: Lay your shirt flat with the side you want showing on the bottom.

Step 3: Fold the shirt in half, lining it all up.

 Step 4: Here's the part I did differently...Fold the sleeve and side in, with the edge of the sleeve touching the other side of the shirt. I wear a L or XL in tshirts, so this gave me the best use of space.

Step 5: Fold the shirt in half lengthwise by folding the bottom up to the top.

Step 6: Fold the shirt up lengthwise again, then put in your drawer and repeat the process with each shirt!

Voila! I fit a total of 25 shirts into my drawer using this method. They fit better, and I caa see them all!

I also used this method with my pajama drawer (shown below- shirts on the left, shorts in the middle, pants on the right) and my unmentionables drawer (never gonna be shown! XD)

The sock drawer is my next target! :D Show me your finished drawers!

Spoils of Victory

I have today off, hooray! Of course, there is no rest for the weary, especially when you have a house to work on- but we're getting closer day by day. :)

Today, I removed the tape from and shelf papered one side of our bottom cabinets. We FINALLY have storage for our cookware!!! It already looks so much better. Before we were just storing our stuff on the stove and on the counter, which left very little space to do anything.

With our newly-acquired counter space, I decided to break down the rest of the watermelon we had in our fridge! Here are the spoils:



And that doesn't include the pot of pickled watermelon rinds I have cooking! Mmm, I hope they turn out delicious!

I already did a load of dishes, but I'm going to have to do another one today after we eat all this watermelon at D&D. :D

To celebrate my shelf papering victory, here are my spoils:




YUM!!!

Still Alive

As the title states, I am still alive. All I've been doing lately is working, coaching, and family stuff. I feel like I'm getting sick again, though- I'm constantly exhausted. Oh well.

Trying to get into a healthier lifestyle, here's hoping I can stick with it. :)

In other news, I've been doing crafty things (making clay things, whoo!) so maybe I can post more and make more things and it'll all be cool. :3

okay bed time. <3 (so tired haha)

Thrifty Find Friday: Super awesome belt :3

I am all about getting things for cheap, or for good deals in general. Yesterday on my break at work, I explored the mall for present ideas for the MANY May birthdays our family and friends have...and found something cool for myself. :3



Awesome psychedelic owl belt, right? :D It was on a super sale...it cost $1.04 after tax. :D


In other news, I am currently suffering from a horrible sinus infection and ear infection and period trifecta...so, trying to take it easy today while still getting house stuff done. If you remember my to-do list from my last post, I haven't gotten a lot done. The fridge is complete and in working order (except the water line...), and Will put a second layer of Spackle on the holes in the walls.

Today I'm working on taping, painting, and cleaning out the cabinets in the kitchen. Being sick does not help matters, but I can do a little, take a break, and do a little more as I feel better. :)

Time to get back to work!

The little things.

Though I've been working hard at my job, I've been hardly working on the house. Time is a very precious thing these days, and, of course, something I (we) have very little extra of.

Some things we did have time for recently was our honeymoon (April 15-20) and a friend's wedding on the 21st. :) The honeymoon was GREAT (more on that eventually, I promise, maybe) and the wedding was very small and beautiful. It was an evening affair, so in the morning we went and returned/exchanged some wedding presents, and got some things we REALLY needed- like trash bins!

Black is for trash, white is recycle.

We also bought a refrigerator from some friends- I love it! It's a almond color, side-by-side fridge and freezer, with an ice and water machine in the freezer door. I feel like we should have paid them more for all the work it took to get it in the house!!! (Sorry Jeremy!)

All in all, we've been making progress on the house, though it is slow and steady. We still have a ton to do, though. Listing for me to remember, and also for progress updates, I suppose?

Things to Do (in no order whatsoever):

1. Kitchen
• Put fridge back together and turn on, replace filter
• Tape to prep for painting walls and cabinets
• Kill kitchen walls
• Put second layer of Spackle on holes in walls
• Put light plates back on walls
• Scrub out cabinets and drawers (again)
• Put shelf paper in cabinets and drawers
• Replace faucet
• Replace filter under sink?
2. Bathroom
• Clean inside and outside vanity
• Clean inside and outside medicine cabinet
• Clean closet
• Scrub floors, esp. grout
• Replace toilet paper holder
3. Every other room in the house
• UNPACK AND CLEAN!!!

As you can see, we only have a ton more to do. Hopefully we'll have a washer and dryer soon! For tonight, I'll be doing laundry and Mom and Granny's. :3

Adventures of Newlyweds

So. Married life is cool, I guess. The only thing that has really changed is that we're now living together in our super awesome house. :D

April Fool's Day was super exciting! ...our water heater decided that it needed a new manifold, so we didn't have hot water for about a day, but it was fixed quickly. Hooray! It cost $172, but my mom paid us back for it- what a great landlord! Haha. She really is a great landlord though, but I think it helps that we're related.

A bluejay (we think) is making a nest above our garage security light- at first, it was failing spectacularly, but now it actually has created something resembling a nest. I'll eventually get a better picture of the nest, but here's a photo of the pile of fail I tweeted a couple days ago:

The nest was really pathetic back then...the nest has been getting better, so we should have some bird eggs up there, and baby birds born soon!!!

I'll eventually make a post about how the house has come along (and how it was before, eugh). But for now, time to watch some Netflix with my honey. <3

.

it's very frustrating to need someone and for them to not be able to be there to give you something so simple as a hug.

this is so stupid.

Extreme Couponing: Practice Run!

I have said many times that I want to be an "extreme couponer." I wouldn't want to be like one of those people that are crazy while doing it, but I would like to use coupons to save money on things we want and need. I have been clipping coupons for quite a while, with the full intent to go on a grand shopping trip and stock up on things; however, with working as much as I have and wedding planning and working on the house, my time is stretched pretty thin. 

Anyway, I decided that this week I would actually GO. Part of this decision was based on Farm Fresh's new ad, which said they would be doubling coupons up to $2. Normally, they double up to 99 cents daily, and $1 on Wednesdays. For those that don't know, doubling coupons means that the store will match the amount stated on the coupon- so, if the coupon states that it will take $1 off the item, the store will match the dollar off, making it a total of $2 off the price of the item. Doubling up to $2 (making the total savings $4) is a big deal, especially if the thing you want is already on sale, so I had to check it out.

After going through the ad, I found a great deal I was super excited about. Tylenol Precise Pain Relief products were on sale for $5, and I had a $5 off coupon, making the item free. That's right, I said FREE. I had wanted to try them out, and now was the best time to do it. :)

I made a list of some of the things I wanted and the coupons I had for them. The list was a great way to keep track of what I wanted and how much I would actually have to pay for them...which makes it easy to write about it later! :D

The following is a short recap of my shopping trip: Go to Farm Fresh, wander around the pharmacy section for a billion years because drugs are UBER EXPENSIVE, only get one Tylenol Precise patch box because it was all they had (I wanted two), wander toward yogurt and get last ones, get call from Will, complain about various grocery things on phone to Will while wandering more, eventually check out with coupons, SUCCESS.

I spent a total of two hours in Farm Fresh. I left a little before 11:30. Hahaha.

Here is a picture of my awesome haul! (Minus one yogurt cup because I ate it.)

And, for my own records, the cost, coupons used, etc:

• Swanson Flavor Boost (Chicken)- on sale, 2/$5, $1 off 1 coupon, doubled to $2, total cost = 50¢
• Yoplait Greek Yogurt Cups- on sale 10/$10, used 2 50¢ off 2 coupons, doubled to $1 off 2, total cost for 4 cups = $2
• Tylenol Precise Pain Relief Patches- on sale for $5, $5 off 1 coupon, total cost = FREE!
• Duncan Hines cake mix- on sale for $1.79, 35¢ off 1 coupon, doubled to 70¢, total cost = 79¢
• YoCrunch Yogurt- on sale 10/$6, $1 off 4 coupon, doubled to $2, total cost for 4 cups = 40¢
• Campbells Soup at Hand- on sale $1 each, 50¢ off 2 coupon, doubled to $1, total cost for 2 = $1

At checkout, my total cost before coupons ended up being $17.64. After coupons, the amount I paid ended up being $5.14. I saved a total of $12.50, which was a savings of 72%. :D (The receipt calculated all this out, not me, btw. Haha.)

The 72% savings is extremely impressive until you learn how small my purchase was...but hey, it's a start. I have deemed this shopping trip as my "practice run." I'm hoping I can find more coupons and combine them with great sales to stock up on things for our house. And hopefully the next trip will take less than 2 hours. XD

Soft Words and Loud Actions.

Silence is too often the answer for the most important questions, and loud answers are given by those that don't know what should be said. Words are often wasted on meaningless things; actions speak louder, but few are willing to take them. Soft words and loud actions rule our lives.


...anyway.

Today, we talked to the florist, got undergarments, picked up the dresses, got an alteration appointment, and got a dress for Granny. Very productive day. Will was also productive- he did a bunch of errands today, mostly related to the house. :)

I'm irritated with certain people currently, but it's my fault for expressing my views. I feel no shame in doing so; I am more upset that I was attacked about it by people I thought were friends that would support me no matter what. This has happened twice recently; once on a facebook post, and once through text. I understand that everyone has their own opinion, but can they PLEASE just respect my opinion and my wishes when and if I express them? :(

Facebook Timeline: Hi, Big Brother, nice to see you.

Facebook is forcing a new layout on it's users called "Timeline." Pretty much it's exactly what it sounds like- a timeline of everything you've ever posted, replied to, games you've played, pictures, videos, friends you added, etc, etc, etc. I got forced into it already, sadly, due to an app I wanted to try (Pinterest). I can't go back to the original layout.

It's very "Big Brother"-esque. Others can choose a year and a month to see all your interactions from that time period. Every single status you made, every single thing you were tagged in, what you liked, everything.

Some people have asked me why I'm deleting everything I can from past years on my profile now.

Though most people wouldn't think it and don't realize it, I tend to be more private of a person. I don't like people being all up in my business, nor do I want anything from the past (pertaining to me or others) to be pulled out of the grave. Therefore, I have made the decision to delete the old content. I have deleted every note I made except one (how he proposed) and have been working on removing content from at least 2009 and on to clean it up.

So when people ask why I'm deleting the old posts: Because I want to. Now fuck off.

Another blog on the internet.

I got a tumblr about a billion (one) years ago. I have just now started using it, and I'm actually liking it now that it's personalized and I have a fandom (Sherlock) to lurk around. Haha.

Speaking of Sherlock, I've been watching other shows that Benedict Cumberbatch has been in. So far I've seen To the Ends of the Earth and Fortysomething, all for free on Netflix Instant. I am now watching The Last Enemy- I've finished the first episode and have enjoyed and been confused by it so far. :)

Pretty much I think he's gorgeous in everything. I actually like him as an actor as well, and I typically don't have an opinion on actors, so.

In life news, we will be getting into the house in about 5 days :3 I am super excited! First things to do will be taking before pictures, cleaning, painting, and flooring. And then moving! :D

I don't know what else to talk about, so I will go do something. Laters! (lol Sherlock reference)

Can you guess my favorite animal?

As far back as I can remember, I've loved cats. I don't know where this obsession has come from, but it's here to stay. :) I just thought I'd share some really cute cat photos I found on www.thatcutesite.com.

These are the type of pictures that make me turn into a bowl of jelly, blubbering incomprehensible words about how cute that cats are and squealing in an incredibly high pitch. It sounds something like this:

eeeeeEEEEEEEpubuporjeuheprjafsaEEEEEEEeeeee

I don't think I'm over exaggerating, either. I <3 cats. :3

My last family Christmas.

This year marked the last family Christmas at my Grandmother's house that I will ever attend. This may sound like a horrible, sad thing, but it's really not- in fact, the reason it will be the last here is because all further holidays will be held at my house. I have great memories of Christmas and holiday times in general with my family, but we've all slowly drifted apart due to sickness and marriage and such. I'm so excited that Will and I will be able to have Christmas at our house, and I'm already planning it out, haha. :)

I spent Christmas Eve with Will's family- we went to his church's Christmas Eve service, and then back to his grandparent's house for eggnog and cookies. Christmas Day was spent with my family, with Will joining us later, after he had finished with his family in the morning. It was a little awkward before he got there- my uncle and his wife came over with his son, but they didn't bring her three kids. Weird.

Anyway, my Christmas holiday was overall very nice and I can't wait for next year at my place. :3

My haul this year (and from who, too):

     Mom: earrings, a bracelet, $50 cash, rain boots, angry birds keychain, angry birds magnets (for our fridge!)
     Granny: $100 cash
     Dad/Virginia: $50 to Olive Garden, cookies, scarf/hat/gloves set
     Will: Guesstures, a kitten salt and pepper shaker set
     David: $15 to Bath and Body Works
     David/Sarah: sugar free bridge mix, $30 to Best Buy, $25 to Cracker Barrel
     Will's Grandparents: $50 check
     Will's Parents: crochet/knitting patterns, crochet hooks, stitch markers, $50 to Home Depot, various other small, useful items
     Blair: New Professor Layton game, $30 to Barnes and Noble
     Julia/Erwin/Lily: a book about Unuseless Japanese Inventions, French White Corningware

All in all, it was a great Christmas. Will and I got some house stuff, and I received some nice and useful gifts.

There are certain traditions that I will steal from both sides of the family (like where Will's mom makes all the "kids" stockings full of useful things, and where the family all eats dinner together from both sides) but I can't wait to start making my own traditions with Will (and maybe some eventual kids ;P).


I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! This was a sorta belated blog post, haha. Happy holidays, all. :)