Another great deal, kids!

Time for a great deal...this time courtesy of Thrifty Florida Mama.

On Oprah's Clean Up Your Messy House Tour, they showed how to organize artwork and pictures with customized photo books.

Visit snapfish to get the coupon code for a free 8x11 Custom Cover Photobook! You still have to pay shipping, but this is a great deal (especially for those of you with kids or particularly awesome pets).

We're making one from our anniversary trip to North Carolina. I hope you all have fun with your books!

Have a great weekend...

Awesome article

This is a wonderful article on Glen Coffee (the leading running back for the University of Alabama this season). I don't care if you pull for Alabama or Auburn or even (gasp!) Tennessee...this is a good kid. You don't see many positive articles written about football players, but seeing Coffee's transformation is awesome! And this year, college football has players like Coffee, Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow. All good kids who have already figured out what's important in life!

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/sec/0-2-43/Alabama-s-Coffee-driven-by-renewed-faith.html

Here are some snippets:

"For a while, living up here, I was depressed," Coffee said. "I wasn't having fun. I wasn't satisfied. There had to be something more, and I found Christ. That put everything in perspective for me."

Coffee was also scarred some by what he said was a rocky relationship between his mother and father. They split up when he was in high school and ultimately divorced.

All the while, he became more interested in partying and looking for a good time and admittedly wasn't the most pleasant person to be around.

"I look back on it now and think about how I was living and what a lot of people live for," said Coffee, who now speaks to church groups and youth groups. "In high school, I was a football star and all that, but there was something missing. There had to be more, and I found it."

Thanksgiving

Now that it is November, its easy to get caught up in the snowball of excitement that is the Christmas season. But don't forget about Thanksgiving!


I have so much to be thankful for! I'm going to make an effort to not get caught up in the negative, but to appreciate the good in my life and the good in others around me.


Here are some things I am thankful for (in no particular order after the first 2)


1)Phillip - I don't think there could be a more perfect match for me. We have so much fun together. He LISTENS. He puts up with my craziness (both kinds...the ups and the downs). He always has my best interest in mind (even if I don't agree with what he thinks is best!). And he loves me so much.

2) My family - I am so thankful my family is close by. I enjoy being able to see my parents, sister and grandmother several times a week (sometimes!). I know that once we start a family of our own, I'll be even more grateful for the closeness.

3) My home - I know I complain sometimes about the townhouse, but I do love my home. Phillip and I work very hard to make a small space OUR space. And I think we have succeeded in creating a very inviting home. We are especially lucky in this economy that we even HAVE a home (and that we can afford it!).


4) The leaves on the trees - I LOVE all the different colors. There are these trees that line Glenn Avenue. I pass them multiple times a day. Right now they are such a vibrant shade of red. It makes me want to get my camera out and take a million pictures. If the urge ever takes over, then I'll post the pictures on here.


5) Blue Ridge Blog - Such a special reminder of my absolute favorite vacation place (and coincidentally the only vacation spot I'd like to live). The pictures absolutely kill me. Such a place of peace and nice people and beauty. I'd advise everyone to get away to the mountains at least once in your life. There is no hustle and bustle like at the beach. I cannot say enough about the area, and my words certainly cannot do it justice. So check out the blog and discover why I am so thankful to have visited this wonderful place.


6) Alabama football - Love or hate Coach Nick Saban, this man is doing something special at the University of Alabama. He's brought pride and discipline back to the sidelines at Bryant-Denny, and I am thankful for that. Whether or not we will win the national championship (#1 in the BCS for now!) is still up in the air, but I am proud and grateful that the UA football program is in the news for positive reasons and not for things like disgraced coaches and arrested players.


7) My beautiful wonderful dogs : Dawson and Bob - These are my babies. They are so sweet and love us so much. If I am ever down, I can go out back and get 2 doses of unconditional love. Dawson is so full of energy and is so smart. Bob is so eager to please and what we call "street smart". They compliment each other so well, and that's really saying something considering we didn't plan to get either one of them.

8) The privilege of voting. If you don't vote, then don't complain about the government. I am so grateful to live in a country that allows its citizens to be involved in the governing process. So GO VOTE!!!

So while I am remembering to be grateful for those things (and so many others), I am also going to try to have an attitude of gratitude. I found this list on another blog (of course!)

20 Little Attitudes of Gratitude
1. Mind your manners. Say please, thank you and excuse me.
2. Smile when you see your family. Turn your frown upside down.
3. Pick up after yourself.
4. Notice when others do kind things for you, show gratitude by action or words.
5. Say I love you before going to bed.
6. Give hugs daily.
7. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Focus on what you are happy about today.
8. Create gratitude journals to keep track of daily blessings.
9. Show thankfulness for even the little things others do for you.
10. Leave love notes in unexpected places like lunch boxes and under pillows.
11. Encourage someone with a compliment.
12. Verbalize what you are grateful for when you feel like complaining about life.
13. Keep a basket of small slips of paper on the table. Write notes of thankfulness during the week and read them to each other during a family meal.
14. Remember to thank God for blessings each day.
15.Surprise your family (or friends) with little gifts or treats to show you thought of them.
16. No grumbling about minor annoyances around the house.
17. Do special things to cherish time with your family. You never know what tomorrow will bring.
18. Reflect on happy memories regularly. Make inspiration boards of special times.
19. Help someone out without them having to ask you. Watch for someone in need.
20. When you are doing household chores, be grateful you have a home to clean.

I don't know that I'll be able to do all of these, but it certainly will help keep me in the right mindset. So what are you thankful for this month?

Here is a great deal from Victoria's Secret

OK, I saw this on a blog I frequent. I just did it and it works. I added some other stuff, and if you choose to do that, then go to Retail Me Not and find an applicable code. Victoria's Secret lets you use 3 codes per purchase!

Go to VS and put two of their bras on sale for 2/$40 and a pair of panties on sale $7.50 each in your shopping bag. The panties must be solid color. Before checkout select the option to use discount codes on your order. When you are checking out use the codes:
FA813789 for $10 off any bra and 25PTY for $25 off any two full priced bras and free cotton panty. Proceed to check out and your total should now be $10 plus $5.99 shipping!

And if you are a member of Ebates, you can get 4% cash back on the purchase. If you aren't a member of Ebates, use this link to sign up: http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=FI92eRbIaTY3Vg%2BSz65ZLg%3D%3D
You will get $5 and so will I!

I love finding bargains!

More thriftiness...

So...its easier just to post this here instead of in the comment section.

Here are a few of my favorite budget/thrifty blogs:

http://beingfrugal.net/
http://budgethelpers.blogspot.com/
http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/
http://www.paidtwice.com/
http://thrifteemomee.blogspot.com/

Once you get going looking at them, they all link to multiple blogs. A lot of them reference each other. Common Sense with Money is one of my favorites.

I also signed up for the Garden Club at Home Depot. There are a lot of good email coupons involved with that.

I felt like I needed to do something to proactively save money. Phillip and I are very blessed. We have all that we need and are able to do almost everything that we WANT without having to use credit cards. In this crappy economy, I would love to be able to continue our (primarily) cash only existence. It will be hard, especially since we both work in education and will not be receiving raises, but these blogs (and others) are helping us stay in the right mindset.

I really appreciate any comments or feedback about any successes you've had in this area.

Thrifty Shopping

So I have entered the world of thrifty shopping. I am becoming quite the nut about it...my Google Reader is FULL of helpful blogs. But I want to get in the habit now of saving money on the things we need and use every day so that once we decide to expand our little family, we'll be on the right track.

This week marked my first real week of comparison shopping. I found some awesome deals at Target (dye free detergent 2/$6.00!), but the real bargains are at the grocery and drug stores. We are so lucky that we are within walking distance of 3 grocery stores and 2 drugstores.

I've always known that CVS has those Extra Care bucks, but I always forget my card or lose the receipt. Well, Walgreens has Register Rewards and you don't even have to sign up for a frequent shopper program. Tonight I stocked up on things we actually use quite frequently and got out for under $50 with an extra $10 in register rewards to use next time I shop (hello...Halloween decorations, anyone?).

So basically what I am getting at is that it wasn't hard to compile the lists I used and to cut out the coupons. I just spent about 30 minutes on Sunday afternoon and another 10 minutes when the grocery store ads came out. I saved our little family at least $40 in one week. And we won't need detergent for awhile!

So if anyone has any thrifty tips, let me know. This is kind of fun!

P.S. Home Depot has some small mums on sale for $.99! Get them before they are gone!

ROLL TIDE!

Just wanted to say....Bama is rolling!

Wonderful Weekend

I love the fall, and I LOVED this weekend.

So we headed to Atlanta early Friday afternoon to see opening night of one of my favorite musicals, Les Miserables. I saw Les Mis 11 years ago (also at The Fox Theatre) and was so excited to see it again. I'm lucky that I have a husband who indulges my love for musicals and plays and all such dorky things. I thought we were just going for the evening and heading back to Auburn that night, but my wonderful husband surprised me by arranging for us to stay overnight. He packed an overnight bag for me and fed the dogs (and gave Dawson her medicine). It was so nice to not have to drive back afterwards (well, for Phillip to drive back, but I always stay awake to keep him company). Les Mis was wonderful...the actors were so talented. The actor playing Jean Valjean played the role on Broadway...and used to play football at the University of Georgia! Of course, Javert is my favorite character (I feel so badly for him), and the actor playing him was great as well...the 2 men's voices blended so beautifully. The only negative aspect was that there are a LOT of people in ATL who have no clue how to behave at the theatre. Cell phones were out (and shining in our eyes!), people were talking and pushing each other around the whole time. I really hope those people choose not to come out to Wicked next month! We were able to have a relaxing dessert after the show at The Melting Pot (S'mores dipping sauce with all kinds of delicious dippers!).

Just a lovely, quicky getaway that was very reviving, and we made it back in time to see the last three quarters of Alabama's big win over Arkansas (Phillip REALLY enjoyed it! ;) )

I really, really wish I was going to be in Athens this weekend, but I'll settle for watching it. Its the biggest game in years for Alabama, and I am very excited about our chances.

I used the fabled KitchenAid mixer last night for the first time to make a very simple...but very yummy and filling...pasta recipe:

1 lb fresh very thin fettuccine
6 ounces unsalted butter
6 ounces parmigiano-reggiano cheese grated (aged 24 months) - I used a fresh parmesan-reggiano-asiago blend

1) Cook the fettuccine noodles in 1 gallon of salted boiling water for three minutes

2) At the same time, mix the butter at room temperature in a bowl with the grated cheese until the cheese almost dissolves, forming a smooth cream. If using a mixer, this should not take more than three minutes at which time the noodles will be ready.

3) Strain the pasta leaving just a small amount of water and toss the noodles with the Alfredo sauce. You'll have to mix for a few minutes, but it will eventually dissolve.

Its supposed to be the recipe for Fettuccine from Alfredo's of Rome. It doesn't really taste quite the same (I don't think anything in Alabama could taste as good as the food in Rome!), but it is so good and quick. Alfredo supposedly came up with the recipe to soothe his pregnant wife's nausea.

You can add chicken if you want a more "complete" meal, but you can't get much better comfort food.

Restaurant Advice

Phillip and I are heading to the ATL tomorrow to see opening night of Les Miserables at the Fabulous Fox (finally using my birthday present!!). We're leaving around noon and will probably hang out downtown, but we need some restaurant advice for dinner before the show...preferably around the Fox (and Phillip asks that it not be too messy because he doesn't want to have food on his clothes during the show!).

Thanks in advance :)

Nothing to see here...

So yet again, I am fulfilling my promise to be negligent about this blog. It seems as if life has been kind of humdrum over the past couple of months.

I am pretty excited about a couple of things:
1) I ordered my new oven and finally bought THE Kitchen Aid stand mixer. We'll pick up the oven from Lowe's tomorrow and Phillip promises to install it for me. I haven't been baking much lately because I've been scared that I will poison us.
2) I was elected to represent the vet school on Auburn University's Staff Advisory Council. I'm excited to see what I can help accomplish for the staff not only at the vet school, but for the entire university.
But other than that, life has been rather quiet. I thought rather than drone on about the little details of my life...I'd share some of blogs and sites on my Google reader that make my day more interesting.

This first blog is extremely emotional. It is the story of Matt Logelin. He and his wife had a beautiful baby girl, Madeline. But as his wife was being wheeled to hold their baby girl for the first time, she suffered a pulmonary embolism and died. His blog is his journey as a widower and single dad. He is a wonderful photographer as well, so you get to really SEE his life rather than just hear about it. I'd recommend starting in the archives and then catching up. You'll probably shed a few tears, but they are worth it.

I also have subscribed to Martha Daily. This site gives you a craft tip, an organizational tip, a cookie tip, and for now a Halloween craft tip at least once a day. I may not personally love Ms. Martha, but the woman is a genius when it comes to the home.

Another favorite is Etsy. If you don't know about it, you should really check it out. It is a site devoted to handmade goods. A lot of it is unique stuff for your home. But you can choose to shop by color or by city (if you want to support locals!). Above all, my favorite shop on there is Paisley Jane...it doesn't hurt that it is my friend Vanessa's shop! She has the cutest, handmade baby goods. If you are expecting or have a friend expecting, you definitely drop in.

Phillip and I enjoy finding "artwork" for our home that is pretty unique...or at least not common. I don't want prints on my wall that anyone can buy at Target or World Market. A lot of people think that having distinct pieces means pricey pieces, but we've found outstanding deals most everywhere we visit. Then we have Hobby Lobby mat and frame them for awesome prices.

Two of my new favorite sites to scour are Photofiddle and 20 x 200.
Photofiddle takes your pictures and modifies them to look like certain painting styles. For our first anniversary, I had a photo that Phillip took in the Forum in Rome altered to look like a watercolor painting. It was printed on canvas and looks fantastic. It was under $80!
And 20 x 200 is even cheaper than that. The concept is simple...new artists selling their work in 3 different sizes for $20, $200 and $2000. There are some pretty weird things on there, but some pretty wonderful and interesting things as well. This is what I ordered this time. I think I will put it in one of our bathrooms (we have blue in 2 of the 3).


We're quickly running out of room on our walls, but we're not staying in the townhouse forever.

That's it for now. Of course, that's not all of my sites...but I need to save some of them for later. Have a great day, and of course...Roll Tide!

Back to the real world

So after a LONG drive home, we arrived back in Auburn late last night. We had a wonderful vacation up in the mountains. Here are a few pictures taken by my wonderfully talented husband.

The Mile High Bridge at the top of Grandfather Mountain. It is the tallest mountain in the Blue Ridge range. It was a little scary for me at some points (I have a slight fear of heights), and it was VERY windy!

I think this was at the Rough Ridge Scenic overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We had already been at Grandfather Mountain for over 6 hours and I was a little cranky! Phillip was great and took what pictures that he could and got me back to the car before I became too whiny (sometimes I think my husband is a saint to put up with me...)

This is the view from the front yard of The Baird House. It looked like a scene from A River Runs Through It. The Watauga River was beautiful. We went walking by it (and in it) often during our stay. We went fishing yesterday morning, and I caught a fish! It was wonderful being out there with NO ONE else around...just me, Phillip and the river.

I can say with absolute certainity that I am not a beach person. I enjoy myself whenever I go, but I'd take the mountains ANY day.

Prayer Request

My cousin, Leah, delivered her little girl at 24 weeks this weekend. Please check out this blog, bookmark it and remember the Killingsworth family in your prayers...especially Leah and her little, tiny Laurie (named for my great aunt Annie Laurie). I appreciate it!

http://www.leahkillingsworth.blogspot.com/

Finally an update!

So...as its been a month, and my sister and Sarah have been bugging me...

Nothing too eventful is going on.

Running class is over. Phillip was so sweet on the last day of the class. He left a card on my running shoes telling me how proud he was of me for sticking through it...especially since so much was going on during the class (primarily my sweet Granddaddy passing away).
I didn't get the drastic results I had been hoping for. I lost between 7-8 pounds. But I feel a LOT better.
So in order to keep working towards my goals, Phillip and I joined HealthPlus. I used to be a member there 6 years ago...and when I saw on the computer what I weighed then, I felt really badly about myself. So I have some new motivation.
I feel a lot better than I did when I started running. My back problems are gone, and with the help of my chiropractor (the wonderfully talented Dr. Tom Vrbka - who BTW is gorgeous, single and a total sweetheart, if there are any single Auburn girls out there). And now that I've started doing cardio at the gym, I've noticed my endurance has drastically improved.
So that's that...
Except we finally became so fed up with Charter that we've switched to DirecTV. I'll post soon with my thoughts on that.

American Idol

I am frustrated. The judges are obviously biased towards David Archuleta. The kid sounds like he is 40 years old. I'll buy David Cook's CD no matter what, and am hoping he somehow pulls this out. I'm still watching the episode on my DVR...so there may be an update coming up later!

So...this isn't the update I was going to do, but as I was searching for a live blog of the finale online I came across the news that Luke Menard (cutie from way early this season) has Hodgkin lymphoma. And as I learned earlier this season, David Cook's brother has brain cancer. As entertaining as the show is...these kids are going through some heavy stuff.

Anyone want a puppy?

I don't know why I have taken on this responsibility, but here goes. Someone abandoned this precious little boy at the vet school. One of the vets is going to do a health check on him. Let me know if you'd be interested in adoption. If no one wants him, he'll have to go to the Humane Society.

The Luckiest

Sometimes, I'm struck by how much I love my husband. He drives me crazy. Crazier than probably anyone. And I get so frustrated during tennis season...its almost like I don't have a husband. But last weekend at his tennis banquet, he made a point to thank me for putting up with his crazy schedule...and to quote Bear Bryant in saying, "There ought to be special place in Heaven for coaches' wives"

For my husband to quote Bear Bryant in front of a room full of people...well, let's just say he loves me a lot.

I was in one of my best friend's weddings this weekend. Its the first wedding I've been to since my own. I was so sad Phillip couldn't make it (stupid national championships!).

But we had a great time! I really had a great time...it is much less stressful being a bridesmaid than being the bride!

Business sucks

Sometimes I really don't understand the powers that be here at the vet school. There is a lot of stuff upsetting me, but the one that is prompting me to write is that we are now requiring service dog owners to pay 80% of their vet care. We had been writing off 100% of the cost for those owners. Owners who are currently under the 100% plan will continue, but once their current dog retires, the new dog will only be covered 20%. I think that is just wrong. These clients depend on their dogs for their well being. One of the things I loved about working here was the genuine concern that the faculty and staff have for animals and their owners. I think that wonderful sense of purpose is evaporating and now we just have this cold business like atmosphere. Its all about the bottom line, and it is so disappointing.

general ramblings

So...like my friend Amanda, I am taking a running class. And like Amanda, I have not lost a pound. When I first signed up for the class, it was to primarily because I wanted to lose all this weight that has mysteriously appeared on me since my wedding.
So while I am discouraged about the weight loss thing, I feel great about actually being able to run (jog) for 5 minutes at a time...multiple times in a class. 3 weeks ago, I thought my lungs would explode walking up the steep hills, and my back was killing me. Now after 3 weeks (and an awesome chiropractor), I can run about halfway up the hills and the entire time on flat and downhill stretches.
And I have an awesome support group. My husband is fabulous (as always), and my sister even gave some good words of advice yesterday before class when I was whining that I couldn't do it!
And then there are always my girls from the nest. Some of their blogs are over to the left. I know some people (including my husband sometimes) think that it is silly to have "online" friends. But it is so great to have these women (most around my age and live in Alabama) who are going through so much of what I'm going through.
Anyway, I should head back to work. Well, kind of work. One of my good friends just brought her baby up here. Sophia Grace is only a week old and is so precious!

Blurg

I suck at Guitar Hero. Just wanted you to know.

Tagged!

What was I doing 10 years ago? I was living in New Hall at UA. I had just recently met Kelly Brown, my favorite person at Alabama. I was WAY into a new show called Dawson's Creek :) I was also probably homesick.

5 things on my To-do List Today

1. Go to run/walk class after work. Unfortunately, its been mostly walking for me. I missed 2 classes when my grandfather died and last Thursday when I went I had shooting pain down my left leg.

2. Buy a big pot and plant something colorful in it. The dogs are making it impossible to have a flower garden in our backyard, so I am determined to have several small beds in the front yard.

3. Finish cleaning up my kitchen. I did a little bit on Saturday, but I am WAY behind on all of my housekeeping. Phillip teaches late tonight, so it would be a good time to finish it up.

4. Go see my grandmother after my class.

5. Eat my Niffer's leftovers so they don't go bad. I have a BAD habit of not eating my leftovers.

5 Snacks I Enjoy

1. Dulce de leche ice cream. So good. Even the kind that is low-fat.

2. Nerds - I STOCKED up on the big boxes after Easter for $.20 a box. Nerds and a bargain. Gotta love it!

3. Cheez-Its

4. Pirate's Booty White Cheddar Puffed Rice and Corn. So good and low in calories

5. Twizzlers (I'm like April. I freaking love them)

5 Things I would do if I were a Billionaire

1. Tithe

2. Build a new house in Auburn and buy houses at Sandestin (on the bay side) and the lake.

3. Invest so I could keep up the lifestyle :)

4. Go back to Italy for a LONG time. At least a month. And do that at least once a year.

5. Buy my parents a one story house so my grandmother could come live with them and they could retire.

5 Bad Habits

1. I procrastinate badly. Filed my taxes on April 15th :)

2. Eating when I'm bored.

3. Texting rather than calling. I cannot stand to talk on the phone

4. drinking WAY too much Diet Coke

5. letting things that i cannot control bother me way too much

5 Places I have lived:

1. Opelika, Alabama - with my parents before high school and when I transferred from UA

2. Tuscaloosa, AL - Some up and down years. I loved living in New Hall and Bryce Lawn Apts. Then I lived on Reed Street. I should have visited that place at night before I signed a lease.

3. Westshore Landing, Auburn, AL - 3 wonderful years with Kari. We had a blast watching movies, doing karaoke, and just hanging out. We both met our husbands while we lived there.

4. Cherry Street, Auburn, AL for a year before I got married. I hated staying there. It was all dark paneling with no overhead lights, and green 70's decor in the bathroom and kitchen

5. In Auburn with my wonderful husband and dogs and cat in our little house for 9 months today!

Jobs I've Had or Have:

1. student circulation assistant (Rodgers' Science and Engineering Library)

2 Medical Records supervisor (Surgical Clinic)

3. nanny (2 of the most wonderful children in creation)

4. paralegal (oh, I was so bad at it)

5. Business office floater (you name it at Small Animal, I probably can do it. Its different everyday and I get paid more than the other people since I can fill in for them all!)

People I want to know more about (you're tagged!)

1. Amber

2. Julie

3. Anyone else who stumbles across this blog. Leave me a comment so I'll know you are reading it.

Scrapbooking and other news

I did it! Something cute as a blog header. Maybe I'll put all the animals in the header sometime soon. Here is a preview...

The first one is Atticus (aka the Devil). The second is my sweet, crazy baby Dawson. And the third is our shy, precious Bob.

So it has been one week since my grandfather died. I went over to Grandmother's today, and the thing that struck me was how quiet it was...not that Granddaddy was talking a whole lot towards the end, but there was no hum of the oxygen machine, no TV blaring because he wasn't wearing his hearing aids. Just me and Grandmother sitting around talking. It broke my heart to think of her there by herself...which hasn't happened yet. But my mom goes back to work tomorrow. And I cannot imagine how Grandmother will find enough busy work to fill her days without her husband of almost 61 years. It makes me want to quit my job and hang out with her. Granddaddy had such a big personality, and the world seems emptier without him. The hugely selfish, utterly human part of me wishes he was back with us. But the rational part of me knows that he is better off and in a better place, and that he didn't suffer. Most of the time the selfish side wins. So now that I have thoroughly depressed myself, I'm going to head to bed. Peace out, internet.

Here we go...

I love blog stalking, so I thought I might as well give blogging a try. Phillip and I don't have any kids (other than furbabies), we're not redecorating and I don't cook much so it may be really boring. I'm going to try to keep this up...we'll see :)