Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Life is Short...

...very short. My sorority daughter called me at 6:30 this morning to tell me that her dad had passed away last night between 8-9pm. He'd been working in the yard doing what he loved, talked to his neighbor about 8pm and then his girlfriend found him around 9pm. The man was an avid yoga-ist and loved his daughters so much. I hadn't talked to him or seen him in awhile but I always loved being around him. He always thought that I was a good influence on her and let me know that. During college, he always treated me as a part of their family inviting me to dinners and talking to me on the phone when he called. He was a great man.

Death is hard enough when you know its coming but to have it hit you out of nowhere...I can't imagine. She's now in her mid-20's with no parents (she doesn't talk to her mom). I really can't think of what that would be like. My sorority daughter and I haven't been on the best terms in the past year but the second I got her voicemail, everything was under the bridge. Life is too short to worry about silly little stuff that in the long run of life...doesn't matter. Family, friends...that's what is important, that's what matters in the long run. Please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers over the next couple of days.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Brownie Points...

...I came home from work on Sunday after a weekend away from my Mattie and boy did he earn some brownie points! I found a coupon online for free lip stuff from Bath & Body Works with a purchase...only problem it expired on Sunday and I had to work! So I asked Matt if he would mind going to get it for me and he said sure. First score for Mattie for brownie points! So I come home and here's where he earned the DOUBLE SCORE of brownie points...flashback to my birthday...my friend Josie bought me this candle I had been wanting from Bath & Body (before you see the pictures, it does NOT match any sort of decor but it smells yummy delicious!). She brought it out to the bar where we were celebrating. Well, at the end of the night, we'd all had a couple of cocktails and she goes to hand me the bag and it drops to the floor and breaks!?! Well, being the cheapskate that I am, I kept the broken candle, burning it when it was just at home. So what did Mattie purchase to get the free lip stuff? He replaced my candle!!!

Here is the broken and NEW candle...Pineapple Orchid if you're interested.



He never ceases to amaze me! Thank you Mattie!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

What a Weekend...

...and its not even Saturday night!!! Yesterday was a big day in my life, a day of firsts...I mowed the grass for the first time EVER and Matt wasn't even home and didn't even ask! Backstory so you don't all think I was a spoiled child...growing up, we lived on a hill that was basically straight up and straight down. Our uncle had a similiar hill and while mowing, his mower flipped over and he messed up his wrist...basically his watch saved his whole hand from being cut off. So from that point on, my dad refused to let us mow the lawn...EVER! Don't worry, I had my fair share of dishes to wash, ice trays to fill (this was the one I HATED the most) and trash to take out! So Friday, I got home from work early and was feeling motivated plus we just got a new mower a couple weeks ago so I figured it would be easier than our 10 year old one we had that just went to Lawnmower Heaven. Matt was very impressed when he got home although I didn't have "lines" in it!

Then we headed over to Florissant for dinner with some college girlfriends of mine and their beaus. We ate at Cugino's which was pretty good but not for the price we paid, does that make sense? Then we headed back to Kim's house for drinks and good 'ole visiting and listening to the Cards! I drank some of my favorite wine which I haven't had in probably 2 years and I'd forgotten how good it was. Now Lucy, please don't boycott me when I say this but there's really only two wines that I like and they aren't even that exciting or exotic. What can I say...I'm a beer girl! The wine I had last night was Sutter Home Moscato or as I like to call especially after a few drinks, mostocoli wine! So it was a great night of food, wine and friends...what's better than that!?!

Saturday morning, Matt got up about 6am to head to KC to visit MY friends while I'm stuck in the STL working!!! He promised them to help with their landscaping and this was the only weekend to do it. I called him about 2pm and they were "working" inbetween bbqing and drinking beer...I told them all that I was JEALOUS!!!

But now I'm just exhausted in these last few hours of the day, I met a friend at 8:30am for a trial 5K and then to a big event at work and now all I want to do is take a shower to cool off and go to sleep! Tomorrow, I'm going to church by myself, I'm kind of nervous and then to work and then around 6pm tomorrow night, I'll see my pretty husband!!! Hope you all have a great weekend!!!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Trying My Hand at Coupons...

...it's tough! My sister and her SIL have gotten into the website http://www.stlmommy.com/. She lists local stores and the specials that have going on. Then she'll tell you which coupons you can use and what the final bill should be. She even has links to printable coupons. This week, K-Mart is doubling and tripling coupons!?!

I decided to go try my hand at this couponing thing but seriously, it is like an art!!! However, most of the items were all sold out. Here's a recap of my trip to K-Mart, I didn't do great but I did save $10!!!


Okay, let's try this again. I bought:

Sure Deo 4.29
Beggin' Strips 4.49
Pledge 4.29
V8 Juice 3.29

With doubling, I saved $10. Based off stlmommy, the total should have been $1.87

Where I errored:

Sure-first off, I didn't have the 75 cents coupon she listed on her site (but I didn't factor that into that total) and I guess I must have grabbed the wrong size because stlmommy has it listed as $2.29

Beggin' Strips-The coupon was for the 5 oz bag which they were sold out. A regular 5 oz bag cost $2.79, after couponing, I paid $2.49 for double the size so I'm happy with this purchase.

Pledge-did correctly!!!

V8 Juice-I ended up paying 1.29 for it because I used a $1 off instead of $2 off or the lady typed it in wrong.

Again, it was the first time I did this coupon thing so I think I did pretty well, just need to pay attention to the sizes better. Good coupon tip of the day-look at the first few numbers on the barcode on the coupon, then look at the first few numbers on the barcode. If they match then you can use it! For example, the coupon I had was for Pledge Multi-Surface but they were sold out. Since the barcodes matched, I was able to still use the coupon for a regular bottle of Pledge. Like I said this thing is an art that I'm working on, I think the key is holding on to your coupons until the items go on sale. Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, I'll have a good buy and I'll post my findings. Cecilia does a great job of couponing especially at Walgreen's.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Ain't No Party Like a PetSmart Party...

...that's right, Emma, Shadow and I went to the PetSmart party tonight. Matt's been working on side jobs the past week after work so the three of us have been left home alone. We decided we were ready for adventure and loaded up in the car to go to the party on Tuesday night. Do you know how difficult it is to control a 100 pound dog and a 60 pound dog with our doggies running around? Needless to say, I got my arm workout in. We got two goodie bags fill with samples of dog food, treats and even some cat food (I gave that to our friend since we don't have a cat).

The two of them got their picture taken. They were sitting calmly waiting and the lady wouldn't come take our picture then finally the photographer came over and we got one. THEN another lady came over with treats and then it was just done. There were people in line behind me, I had on my coat and I'd been struggling with them for about 20 minutes so I looked at the lady and said, "I'm sweating, did you get a half-way decent one?" She laughed at me and showed me the pic. I approved and went on our way. They were going to play Musical Sit but I couldn't handle the two of them any more. Now the stinkers are passed out on the couch!

Here is a couple of pictures with them and their loot from the party. Happy Birthday PetSmart!



Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Fun Day at the Farm...

...this past Sunday, we headed out to Matt's parents' farm for a family get-together. On the way out there, we saw the Lincoln County Fire Department filling up at the gas station. First off, I never realized fire trucks filled up at regular gas stations, I mean I knew they filled up someone but not at the regular 'ole gas station. Second, have you ever seen a blue and white fire truck?



Here is a picture of Emma standing on the window sill trying to look inside for us. It was yucky and rainy out.


Here is a picture of Matt with the catfish I caught. Why am I not holding it? Well, I don't touch fish or worms or anything yucky and slimy. So Matt had to hold it for the big photo op. We'll be eating this guy for dinner later this week.


The dogs were outside all day so they were wet and cold. Here is a picture of Emma all nestled dog trying to stay warm while we fished in the pond.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Exciting Saturday Night...

...so after our exciting Hunter's Education class, we had an exciting Saturday night. My sister and Haley came over to drop off stuff they were giving me. What was it they were giving me? Baby stuff....NO, we are NOT expecting!!! My sister was doing some MAJOR spring cleaning and said if I wanted this stuff that I had to take it and being the cheapskate that I am, I agreed. I had to warn Matt so he wouldn't freak out. So we now have a high chair, stroller and swing in our basement, hopefully in a couple of years, we'll put them to use.

While they were out here, we cooked dinner...Matt did an awesome job bbq-ing porksteaks and making HOMEMADE mashed potatoes, my contribution...mac-n-cheese from the box. After dinner, my sister laid down on the couch and zonked out. Haley's other aunt gave her a purse kit to make. Thanks Aunt Amy, Aunt Lyss had a GREAT time sewing this thing together. Here is a pic of Haley with the finished project. If you look closely, I didn't do the best job especially sewing on the handles but it's in one piece!



After Haley got tired of the sewing, the traitor decided to get on the couch with Matt to watch the end of "A Cinderella Story." Here the two fat cats are...



She's staying an ENTIRE week with us this summer. It will be a good test of our parenting skills and it should be interesting to see how the three of us all mesh together. My prediction is we'll all be okay until about Wednesday and then I think she'll be wanting her mom. Don't worry, I'll be sure to post about it! Hope everyone has a great week!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

I got 100%!!!

...on my Hunter's Education course!!! I can now officially hunt...even without an adult!!! I was like a giddy school girl when I got 100 and I ran to the back of the classroom where Matt was waving my test whispering-cheering that I got 100! The class was Friday night from 5-9pm and Saturday from 9am-4ish. Of course, I was the only girl except for the 14 year old so the two of us made up less than 1% of the class, the rest of the class were all males in their 20s or 30s and married (I'm into checking out the ring fingers) then the other males in the classroom were dads with their kids and from what I could tell, all four dads in the room were divorced (I picked up on it from pick-up/drop-off, convos and no rings). Just an observation...since Matt and I were the only married couple, we got picked on a lot but it was all fun. Here are two stories that were funny:

Instructor: What is a law?
14 year old Girl: It's like a rule that tells us what we can and can't do.
Instructor: And who makes rules?
14 year old Girl: Well, my mom makes them at my house.

Is that not too funny? Here's the other story, the instructor was trying to make a point about not littering and leaving your area better than you found it.

Instructor: So you take out that soda bottle there with you when you hunt?
11 year old Boy: Yes (not understanding what he was getting at).
Instructor: Well, what do you do with that soda bottle? Leave it?
11 year old Boy: Well, we recycle at our house.

You could just see the relief from the dad when he said that. It was a pretty boring class but parts were entertaining and...I passed with a 100!!! Here is a picture of my badge and button!



Now I just have to learn patience for when it actually comes to hunting...

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Walk Like an Egyptian...

...is exactly what my mom and I did back in November 2007. It was before I was a part of the blogging world so I figured better late than never! My mom went to an education conference in Egypt and I tagged along as her guest. It was pretty awesome to say the least! I learned more in the week that I was there than any other time in my life. No, I wasn't scared to visit there especially with what's going on in the world...yes, I did get a little hungry because the food is...different...no, I didn't get shots to go over there so I did get pretty flipped out when I thought I got bit by a mosquito and I was going to get West Nile!

Here is a picture of the Pyramids and the Sphinx during a night show. I am so glad we went to the night show because during the day it is soooo commercial, people everywhere taking pictures and wanting you to buy stuff but at night...no one was there and it was so peaceful.



Here is a cool picture of the Pyramids...I literally have like 500 pictures of the pyramids.


This is a picture of a synague that Moses prayed in. So I was in the same room as Moses!?! I was also the same room (not in this picture) as Jesus, Mary and Joseph! How cool is that?


Here is a picture of my mom on a camel in front of the pyramids. The leader of the camel I rode couldn't comprehend that we wanted the pyramids in the back ground!


Here is a picture of the third largest sphinx in Egpyt. It is King Queen Ketchum. Notice the female features like the eyelashes.



Cool pic of camels lined up!


So that was a brief walk down memory lane to Cairo Egpyt circa 2007.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

The South...

...so Randall over at Happy for this Moment inspired this entry. In May, it will be five years since I moved to South Carolina to start my internship. I moved there in May 2004 and lived there until November 2005. As I stated on Randall's blog, I really miss Zaxby's (YUM!!! I love their zalads) and sweet tea!!! But moving back to Missouri was the best decision I ever made not only because I'm closer to all my friends and family but the job that brought me to the St. Charles area is also how I met Matt!

This is a picture of the 4-5 year olds that I coached! They were all pretty good soccer players and GREAT kids!!! Wow...that was five years ago, they are all like 9 or 10!?! I probably wouldn't recognize them if I saw them. GO PRIDE!!!



Here I am on the Fourth of July 2005 with Ms. Marilyn. She took me in and made sure I had somewhere to go on every holiday. I love you Marilyn!



Here I am with Alpha Gamma Delta alumnae at a Clemson football game. I do miss the hardcore college football!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Hop, hop, hop...

...hoppy Easter! We headed down to Cape for an event filled weekend! Here are just a couple of pictures...I would write more but we just got home and I'm ti...red!!!

Here is a picture of Haley and I dyeing Easter eggs last night. However, the Easter Bunny forgot to come to my dad's house and hide the eggs...it may have been because I was awake before the Easter Bunny...



This is a picture of my Grandma and I before heading to church this morning.



We had to take my dogs to my mom's (where no one was)because it was already a house full of dogs and people at my dad's. This is a picture of Shadow and Emma on the ride home...they were so mad at us for leaving them!!! They wouldn't even look at us or let us love on them. Finally, about 30 miles out of Cape, I crawled in the backseat and loved on them and told them not to be mad at us!



Hope everyone had a Hoppy Easter!!!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Happy Easter...

...I hope everyone has a fun and safe Easter! The pre-school teacher at my work made these for all the students and myself. They are supposed to be s'mores made out of Peeps!!! Too flippin' cute!!!


Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Bitten...

...yep, Matt and I both have been bitten by the flu bug. We went out Saturday night to celebrate his birthday with some friends and we were hardly out for an hour when he said let's go home. He took off Monday and went back to work on Tuesday but still feels yucky! I had to work Monday night and the bug got me at work...I puked three times at work!!! I tried to go in for a little while yesterday but got the chills so I headed back home. I'm still recovering today with the doggies then back to work tomorrow. I hope this bug gets out of our house and fast!!!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Our Wii and Mii...

...as stated in a previous post, Matt and I got a Wii for our birthdays!!! We've gotten into the habit of doing the Wii Fit thing every day where you do different games and it tells you your age. Day 1, I was 80...Day 2...50...Day 3 I was 35 and ecstatic!!! I've gotten worst since then because I have Wii arm. For those of you who don't know what Wii arm is, its extreme soreness and fatigue in your arm that you play the Wii with. I should let it recover before continuing but its just so addicting!!! Since recovering from my Wii arm, the lowest age I've gotten is 27!!!Here's a picture of my Mii and proof I got 35. Do you NOT love the blue eyeshadow?



So far the only bad thing about the Wii is that Emma gets scared with us flailing our arms around so she runs out of the room and hides but Shadow wants to be as close to you as possible so in turn he gets bonked in the head a lot when we bowl. I just hope one day that I can get my real age or younger on the Wii Fit...guess I'd better go practice!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Pancakes, anyone???

...this morning, I ran an event where we served pancakes. When it was time to clean up, we still had one large pitcher of pancake batter and two small ones. As stingy as I am, I wasn't about to let it go to waste!!! We'd already taken the leftover pancakes and sausage to the Salvation Army and I wasn't sure how they felt about just regular batter. So I got home, since being up at 5AM!?!, and made about 100 pancakes! We're giving some to Matt's parents, sister, friends and freezing the rest for us. I added all sorts of things I could find around the house like cinnamon and walnuts. The small plate in the back corner has carmel sprinkle on it! YUM!!! So here's to pancakes for the next month of my life!!!


Friday, April 3, 2009

Matt's Birthday Dinner...

...Matt's birthday was last Thursday. We don't do much as far as presents are concerned but we try to go out to eat somewhere different that we don't always go to. So for his birthday, we went to The Melting Pot!!! He looked at me as soon as the cheese fondue came and said, "I'm really excited!" We were good kids and left only happy (empty) plates. It was a really good time that we both enjoyed. Funny thing...Matt was supposed to propose to me at The Melting Pot but the snow got in the way. I love how he proposed but its still fun to tease him about that. Here is a picture of our cheese fondue and Matt with the dessert tray...he was VERY excited about that course!!!