Forehead Wrinkles

When my brothers were visiting Jon gave me some old pictures he scanned. My grandpa on my dad's side died when I was a baby. After going through those pictures I can see who I get my forehead wrinkles from and am NOT looking forward to getting older. I hope I advance quickly at work because I see a lot of Botox in my future. Thanks Grandpa. I really would have loved to inherited your entrepreneurial sense rather than your forehead wrinkles.
You may have to double click on the picture to blow it up and see the wrinkles.



Uncle Fred and Grandpa Ed



My April No Spending Challenge

For the month of April I am going to attempt not to do any wasteful spending. I have cut back greatly since being unemployed but I do still enjoy the occasional new pair of shoes, new dress, etc. Well for the month of April that is all out. No new shoes, no new dress, no unnecessary item for the house, zip. April is a month of bills. URG…federal tax, vehicle tax, yearly termite inspection, Oscar’s dental work (Milo had his in March), and I am sure there are some more I am missing. After those items are paid for the money I normally budget for unnecessary items (such as clothing, iTunes, eBay, travel, donations, gifts) will be used to buy some more supplies for the covered patio we are building.

Of course as I write this there is a new INC dress out for $90 that will be perfect for my upcoming beach vacations. I am in love with this dress and my $20 off of $50 expires April 26 at Macys. SUCKS! Honey if you want to surprise me with this dress I am a size small, $20 off coupon is in my coupon binder, and your Macy’s card is in my wallet. Use MrRebates.com for additional savings. ID is my yahoo email and you know my favorite password. Hey…I said my spending was done for April but did not say my husband’s wasn’t. A girl can try, right? http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=542431&CategoryID=26513#fn=sp%3D1%26spc%3D56 Before I lost my job I would buy clothing and items for the house if I liked it. Now I have to LOVE it to buy it.

March sucked as well with vet bills, surprise vehicle expenses, and we were not about to give up our sanity by canceling our trip to Charleston. We made it through without dipping into savings or using credit cards. I will say I did pretty good in Charleston for spending. The only things I bought for myself was an olive oil dispenser and a sponge holder for the kitchen. Both handmade by artists in Charleston and only cost me $31. But for the month of April even items like that will be cut out of my spending. Tony bought two shirts and a flag for the garage. Every town he visits he buys a Harley shirt with the dealers name and location on it.

We packed our lunches on the trip which saved us $40 - $50 right there. It is just a smart thing to do when traveling to save money and your waistline. I cannot eat out every single meal of the day. Our hotel had free breakfast but I brought my low fat oatmeal with.

Last month I finally decided to give up ordering wine when out to dinner unless it is a special occasion. For whatever reason the last few times eating out the restaurants have passed off two buck chuck as a nice wine. The heck if I am going to pay $7 a glass for wine that is going to give me a hangover the next day. I will just have a glass when we get home. My wine is under $7 a bottle! If you look at the bigger picture if I buy one glass of wine out to dinner 50 weeks a year that is $350 on shit wine. No thank you.

Another goal I have for April is to hold a garage sale towards the end of the month. Last year Tony and I made $700 from selling stuff we did not use. I know we will not hit that number again this year because there is not a whole lot to sell but even $200 would be nice. Anytime I receive cash it gets stashed away for vacations. Tony and I took that $700 to Curacao with us. This money will be for Aruba. I am sure there still are items shoved away in my attic that can go. I really need to clean out my closet and get ride of some shoes! Well, April is just a few days away. Lets see how I do.

More Charleston Pictures

If you ever come across the US Custom House go around back. Same view as in the front and no one is back there.

This graveyard is very unique. The only graveyard in Charleston where nature has taken over. Yeah it is a graveyard but in Charleston walking them is normal.

Another view of the graveyard.

House window off a side street.

Charleston Theater from the 1700's.

Pictures from Charleston

Tony and I had a three day weekend in Charleston. We go here about once a year. There is always so much to do and see.

The Pink House. The oldest home in Charleston from 1694. Used to be a brothel for pirates. The first floor in the picture is actually the second floor. First floor is buried from fires, hurricanes, you name it.

When visiting Charleston make sure to go down the side roads. That is where you see the a majority of the old homes and many people do not even think to do this!

Me outside the fire department

Making Tony pose for the pictures

How perfect is this pictures?

Every Catch A Picture of a Ghost?

Tony and I are believers in the afterlife and spirits that still remain here. Charleston is one of the most haunted areas in the US. To my surprise in my pictures I have been able to capture pictures of orbs and ghosts.

While on the Ghost and Graveyard Tour in Charleston on Friday I was able to capture orbs in many of my pictures in the graveyards. Some came up with no orbs and others were loaded with them. I was taking several pictures of this tomb and in one I captured the image of a man in the upper right corner. There was no one else in the graveyard at the time this photo was taken. If there had been a person in the picture, my camera is set to recognized faces and would have focused on the person which it did not. When I zoomed in on this picture the man has no eyes, nose, or mouth. I attempted to circle him in red. Click on the picture to blow it up.

Also on the tour we went to Philadelphia Alley but in the 1700's this was called Duel Street. The reason is because duals were held here and some 200 - 300 people died on this alley. I caught an orb on this alley. Orb is circled.

When Tony and I were in Charleston two years ago I captured this beautiful picture of this house which was later featured in Southern Living magazine. When I got my pictures back I noticed and image in the middle top window. Can you see it? It could also be a window pane but who knows. While in Charleston this past weekend where this image appears I saw a lamp. Not to say that lamp was not there two years ago but none the less...interesting. The woman I circled in the bottom floor is a real woman.

Creep picture from the graveyard. No orbs in this photo.

More Pictures

Jon in the bamboo at Duke Gardens

Tim, Ashley, Me, and Jon at Irish Pub

Ashley and Tim

Ashley, Jon, Tim, and Tony playing Cornhole.

Tony painted those boards

Pictures from My Families Visit

Me with Milo

Jon, Ashley, and Tim at
Eno River State Park

Jon just had to jump on the rocks

Duke Gardens

Jon, Me, and Tim at Duke Gardens

Ashley and Tim in the bamboo at Duke Gardens

Tim, Jon, and Ashley at a Civil War Battle Field

Dijon Herb Basted Turkey

This is the turkey I made when my brothers were visiting. I found this recipe on Oprah's website about five years ago. This is the only turkey recipe I will use. It is amazing. I served it with Tastefully Simple Wild Rice Stuffing and Pasta Roni. Did not go the potato route since it wasn't Thanksgiving. With the left overs I made turkey salad by adding low fat mayo, spicy mustard, salt, pepper, garlic, and almonds. This is really easy to toss together. No measuring needed.

Dijon Herb Basted Turkey


Ingredients:
½ cup margarine
2 cups white wine or chicken broth, divided
½ cup Dijon mustard, divided
1 tb rosemary
½ ts salt
½ ts pepper
½ cup orange juice, divided
2 tb flour
1 – 12lb turkey

Directions:

Mix margarine, ¼ cup mustard, rosemary, salt, and paper. Stir in ¼ cup OJ. Remove ¼ cup of mixture for gravy. Pour ¼ cup OJ into turkey cavity. Rub ¼ cup mustard on turkey skin and the ¼ cup mixture on side of turkey. Place turkey in pan. Add 1 cup wine or broth to bottom of pan. Bake 1 hour then brush turkey with remaining mixture every 30 minutes until fully cooked. Meat temp should be 180 degree inside. Cook turkey according to time and temp on bag.

Gravy:

Pour pan drippings into large measuring cup. Add wine or broth to drippings until it reaches 2 ½ cups. Set aside. Add ¼ cup mustard mix to roasting pa. Cook until heated. Stirring frequently. Gradually add flour, bead with whisk. Cook on medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Add pan drippings, beat until blended. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in remaining ¼ cup mustard.

My Family Visits!

My brothers and sister-in-law arrived Sunday. They drove all the way from WI. I cooked a turkey dinner Sunday night – recipe and pictures to come soon. Saturday I took them to downtown Raleigh. We walked around the cities historic district, visited the science and history museum, and saw the state capital. We had lunch at The Pit so they could experience Southern BBQ. Tim tried ordering a burger but I convinced him to go outside of his comfort zone and try BBQ. He did like it.

Tuesday I took them hiking in Eno River State Park. We were gone for about 2 hours. During the hike it became clear to me my big doe is definitely fractured from that last injury at karate. On the hike they were able to see lizards, snakes (including a baby copperhead), beautiful water rapids, cranes, and they saw how out of shaper their sister really is. I thought I was going to pass out on that hike. Amazing what months of rest can do to a person. My knees held up though. After Eno River we went to the Duke Gardens and then to downtown Durham. Tony and I took them out to dinner at an Irish Pub in downtown Raleigh for dinner. They all said that was the best meal they ever had.

Wednesday I took them to two Civil War battlefields outside of Raleigh. It was over an hour drive but I knew they would enjoy it. I cooked pasta for dinner that night.

It was really nice to have my brothers and sister-in-law around. I wish they would consider moving here someday. I think the weather as a little warm for my brothers but we were having record high temps for March. Tony and I are off to Charleston for the weekend. I will get pictures from my family’s visit along with the Charleston trip up next week.

This morning I was terrified to get on the scale. One day I went over my weight watcher points by 5. To my surprise my weight was down. 134.6! The last two week I've been at a stand still so it was refreshing seeing my weight drop. Must have been that hike!

Grocery Store Savings

Kroger is an awesome grocery store where I live. I do most of my grocery shopping at Walmart and BJ’s but go to Kroger for their sale items. There sales are amazing and their produce is really fresh. About once a month they run a special with select items. It is buy 10 of the items and get $5 off. Mix and match. These deals are so amazing. Particularly because the items are also on sale on top of taking the $5 discount. Here is everything I bought.

12 – Smart Ones Microwave Meals $1.38 – $1.68 each
4 – Bumble Bee Tuna – $0.49 each
7 – Pasta Roni - $0.79 each
8 – Rozini Smart Pasta - $0.49 each
9 – Del Monte canned tomatoes - $0.69 each
3 – Bird’s Eye Microwave Bag pasta and rice $1.49 each
3 – Classico Pasta Sauce - $1.99 each

Not in the 10 for $5 deal but on sale.
3 for $10 Morning Star Corn Dogs
Strawberries

I combined my manufactures coupons with the discounts along with a coupon from my City Pass book for $5 off a $50 purchase. Total before coupons and discounts $120. Total after coupons, $48.44.

The Rozini pasta is our favorite pasta that is around $1.50 at Walmart. Two of them were free after my coupon I combined with it. I had three coupons for a $1 off two boxes of the Pasta Roni. The pasta sauce came to 99 cents each after my other coupons I combined with it. Unfortunately for me a few days later Harris Teeter came out with a great sale on Classico pasta sauce and it only would have been 29 cents a jar. It really pays to do your research when grocery shopping. I could not have seen that great deal at Harris Teeter but still ended up paying a good price.

Since January I have been really committed to keeping our grocery bill under $800 a month. The last three years our monthly average has been around $1100 a month. I did a great job keeping it down when I was unemployed but stopped paying a lot of attention to it after I found a job. The biggest thing for me to save money is to plan out the grocery list for two weeks. Put down items for this week’s grocery list I need now and which coupons will expire that week and the following week for items I can wait a bit longer on. This helps so much! I am not over buying on items I do not need. Of course I stocked up at Kroger because the prices were too good not to but in the long run it saves me money. I am happy to report I have been able to stay under the $800 mark so far this year and that even includes going all natural and/or organic meat and eggs and having fresh fruit and vegetables. It pays to map out my grocery shopping. Lately I’ve been stopping at four different stores each week for the best deals just like I did when I was unemployed. The stores are a mix of Walmart, BJ’s, Lowes, Food Lion, Kroger, Harris Teeter, and Earth Fare.

Now for those of you going how in the world do you spend $800 or even more than that at the grocery store? My cost also includes toiletries, pet supplies, and cleaning supplies. Tony and I also take our lunch to work every day. Save your receipts for a month and add it up. I think you will be surprised at how much you actually spend.

Other Vacations Pictures

I can't possibly put pictures on here from every vacation Tony and I have been on in the last 10 years. Heck we did not even have a digital camera until 6 years ago. Here are some more pictures from past vacations and trips I took for work. Some of the old photos I scanned in. Enjoy!

Annapolis, MD - 2008

Palm Desert, CA - View from Grandma's Condo - 2004

Palm Springs, CA 2004

Palm Springs - 2004

Chicago - 2008

Chicago - 2008

Washington D.C. - 2008



Playa Del Carmen, Mexico - Honeymoon 2001
Tony is already trying to collect on life insurance



Indiana 2000
We were just dating in this picture

Wilmington, NC - 2009
Eating at Fat Tony's

West Virgina 2005
Passing through on our way to visit Raleigh.
Fresh Water from the WV mountains was so beautiful.



Carolina Beach, NC - 2008
Tony catching a wave - he eats one later



Caribbean

Since starting this blog I failed to share pictures from other vacations Tony and I have been on. I have so many great pictures for you all to see but had to narrow it down to a few.

In 2007 we went on our first cruise with some friends and in 2009 Tony and I went on a cruise with his family. We really do not plan on ever doing a cruise again. I prefer to go to an island for a week and really take in the culture. In our first cruise we did not plan any excursions. Instead we just went with the flow. In 2009 we planned out our excursions and am so happy we did. I highly recommend paying for the excursions rather than just walking around the port. There are so many great things to see on the islands. Pictures from recent vacations can be found by clicking the Vacations link under Lables on the right side.

Tony snorkeling in Grand Turk. That is a Barracuda swimming towards him. 2009

Atlantis Bahamas - 2007

Island off of Grand Turk - 2009

Old San Juan - 2009

Tony in the Rain Forest in Puerto Rico 2009

Saw many Sting Rays while snorkeling in Grand Turk - 2009

View from Blackbeard's castle. St. Thomas - 2009

Took this from the balcony of my room. Love it.

St. Thomas - 2009

Book Review - The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain
By Garth Stein

On the flight to Arizona last January the guy sitting next to me was reading this book and he could not put it down. Not long after he told me what a great book it is the flight attendant passed us by and noticed we both were book readers. She too, asked if we had ever read The Art of Racing in the Rain and recommended what a great book it is.

I really could not put this book down. It is not a non-fiction book like the ones I am interested in but it still kept me wanting to read more. The title of the book comes from car racing. I originally thought it was a dog running in the rain. The book does a great job at targeting both men and women to read this book but for me I could have done with a little less car racing and a little more drama.

The setting of this book is when Denny gets Enzo as a puppy. Soon the family grows as Denny finds a wife and then their baby girl comes along. Eve, Denny’s wife, become ill with cancer, followed by her death and then a court battle against his in-laws for custody of his daughter. The book is written from Enzo’s view which puts a cute twist on things. You always wonder what is going through a dog’s head and Stein does a great job making it entertaining and humorous.

This book does make me want to read more fiction books. When reading People Magazine this week, one book they reviewed is called Emily and Einstein by Linda Francis Lee. It is about a husband that dies and comes back as his wife's dog to undo the wrongs he did to her during their marriage. Seems like my kind of book. My Aunt Nanu also told me about a book called A Dog's Purpose I have yet to read.

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Racing-Rain-Novel/dp/0061537969/ref=zg_bs_books_38

Daylight Savings Time

I usually can adjust to daylight savings time pretty well. With all the traveling I did through the years I am used to adjusting to timezone changes. My dogs however did not do so well this go around. I came out of the show around 6:15 and they were back to sleep in their beds. Normally they are up and running around and Jack is tossing a ball at me.