Men – Stop Wearing Carpi Pants!

I do now know what it is but for some ungodly reason the fashion industry created extra long shorts on men that look like Capri pants. They are extra baggy, men pair them with sneakers and white socks, and there is probably about an inch or two between the sock and shorts. Please stop wearing these. You look like a complete douche bag. I saw a guy sporting this look yesterday on my way into work. It took everything for me not to open my mouth and tell him how ridiculous he looks. Your shorts should land somewhere around your knee. In exhibit A below I've seen men wear shorts even lower and baggier than this.


Exhibit A: Male Capri Pants - You look stupid

While I am on the topic lets discuss what it is with the extremely over sized pants. I remember baggy pants in high school. I even wore them during that horrid fashion era but now these morons are actually pulling them all the way down to the bottom of their butts. WTF? No one wants to see your underwear or your ass crack. Even funnier is how these idiots have to walk to keep their pants from falling completely down. Get a group of them together and it looks like march of the penguins.

Exhibit B: With how low those are lets hope the front of his boxers do not open up.

Easter Celebration

Friday we met up with Tony's cousin Paul and his wife Emi. We have not seen them since summer of 2008. It was nice to visit with them again. They live in Washington DC and were passing through.

Tony and I celebrated Easter on Saturday night with his Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. Tony's Aunt and Uncle are from Maine, one cousin lives in Charleston with her boyfriend, and the other cousin also lives in DC. I did not do a Easter style dinner. I made pulled pork, pasta salad, bread with dipping oil, and Hungry Girl's banana cream pie. The pie was really good for a low fat banana cream pie. It better have been good since I dropped the whisk on my toe and burned myself. Very nice blister!

Link to Banana Cream Pie: http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/show/1925

Sunday Tony and I relaxed around the house. He went for a ride with is friends during the day and I laid out hoping to get my first tan of the year. That plan was quickly interrupted by wasps flying every where. I hate those things! For whatever reason they love our hammock. I was out for an hour with SPF 4 on. No tan. Not even a dash of color on my porcelain skin. I should have stayed out another hour but I was so scared of burning. We took Sydney and Jack hiking at Eno River State Park. I would love to take Oscar with but he just cannot make those rigid hikes. Sydney barley can with her old age.

I did give in to my no spend challenge this weekend. I bought a $13 cardigan at BJ's. Not upset I did because that was on my list of things to buy next month since mine have holes about to be worn in the elbows.

Extreme Couponing

I use coupons all the time when shopping. I probably save around $100 - $150 a month on groceries. Mom told me about Extreme Couponing so I had to record it. These people are f'ing crazy. One episode I watched the lady had around $1800 in groceries and paid around $103 for it. She bought about 70 things of mustard because it came to 39 cents. Who needs 70 mustards and how in the world are you going to use it before it expires?! I maybe use one or two a year. Why not just buy 2 or 5 but 70? Instead she spent and extra $25 on mustard she did not need and will likely spoil. Oh, and I just loved how she had to constantly touch up her make up for her image. Make up does not cover up crazy. I did not see any fresh fruits or vegetables except for the lady that had a coupon for bananas.

There is a reason this show comes on TV after Hoarders. These people are hoarders and let their couponing take over their house. I have one shelf and my pantry for items I buy on sale. Items I know I need. Not 100 things of Excedrin PM because they are free. These people have an addiction to how much they can save and in doing so buy way more than they need. The two shows I watched none of these people donated to charity. Another lady bough 90 bags of croutons because they were free. What in the world are you going to do with 90 bags of croutons that expire in 6 months? I did not see any decent meals these people can make. Lots of sugary cereal for the kids. I completely understand stocking up on laundry detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, and other cleaning supplies if they come out to be nearly free BUT they should not take over your house and your living space. There will always be more coupons in the future so 100 things of paper towel is unnecessary. One lady even stored them in a shower! Even deodorant has an expiration date.

My take on this is couponing is great when done within reason. Buy what you need and if there is a great sale there is no need to buy 100 of each item. Depending on the item maybe max it out at 5, 20, or even 30. There will always be more coupons and another sale. Do not let the feeling of how much you saved overtake reality and over take your house. I like to cook and have homemade meals. I like variety. I like fresh fruits and vegetables. No way could I eat like these people.

Engagement Chicken

I am sure many of you have seen the stories lately about the engagement chicken by Glamour Magazine. Women claim to become engaged after making this chicken for their boyfriend. This leaves me with five words: “Are you f'ing kidding me?” I mean come on! Were these women shit cooks prior to making this easy recipe? Men are simple but they do not think “oh that was a great chicken my girlfriend cooked; I need to propose now.” Around 70 women got engaged after making this chicken. What they fail to mention is how many tried and how many of these couples were already discussing marriage.

When Tony and I got engaged I do not think I cooked much for him. I was very young and inexperienced in the kitchen. I think at that time the only thing I cooked for him came out of a box but I cooked it in my underwear. We were only dating for three months before he popped the question. What attracted Tony to me as his future wife was my nurturing instinct yet bad girl attitude. I had my first tattoo before we were dating. We had great chemistry. Tony knew I was very young and probably not ready for marriage but saw a young woman with a good head on her shoulders, a woman that does not take anyone’s crap, a woman that can take care of him when he is sick, a woman that wants to have fun in this journey we call life, and many other things.

It takes more than a chicken to get a man to marry you. You need to have the qualities he is looking for and the undeniable chemistry.

April No Spend Update

I am still doing great with my April No Spend Challenge. Another weekend down and no unnecessary spending. I did buy my nieces birthday gifts and some wrinkle creams but still not unnecessary. I am starting not to miss shopping and definitely do not miss that feeling of guilt after I bought too much stuff. I am not falling for the coupons retailers send me. Before I would not pass up 15, 20, even 30% off and Kohls or Macys but now I realize while it is a great discount, I do not need anything. With all the cutting back I've been doing it does look like Tony and I will be able to buy the rest of the materials for our covered porch this month. He also has been putting in a lot of overtime to help pay for the recent vet bills and and taxes. We are so lucky Tony has the ability to put in overtime and that he is willing to do it for the family. I am so grateful to him for everything he has been doing lately.

I participated in a Mary Kay, Thirty-One, and Tastefully Simple open house on Sunday. For a small party my sales were not bad and I have one party booked out of it. Possibly one more. For about 3 hours worth of work I made $60 put had to put about half of that back into the party kit for the next party. It sounds like the party I am going to have next month is going to be huge. My friend Leigh and I are going to do a combined show again. It is nice to give people a variety for shopping.

Tuna Noodle Casserole and Pina Colada Cupcakes

Saturday I made Pina Colada cupcakes and Tuna Noodle Casserole from Gina's Skinny Taste. The cupcakes were so easy. I bought sugar free yellow cake mix and a 20 oz can of crushed pineapple. Mix the two together and follow the cup cake directions on the box. They are fine without the frosting or with. Tony helped me make the cupcakes and in doing so probably ate about five cupcakes worth of batter. Tony does not like coconut so he did not use the frosting. Instead of low fat cream cheese I used fat free. Follow the link below to the recipe.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/04/pina-colada-cupcakes.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weightwatcherspointsrecipes+%28Gina%27s+Skinny+Recipes%29

For the Tuna Noodle Casserole Tony found it hard to believe this was low fat. The only thing I changed in it was I added some shredded Swiss cheese to the top of it. I was shredding the cheese for the Tastefully Simple Spinach and Artichoke dip and had some left over. Tony loved the added Swiss on the top.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/01/skinny-tuna-noodle-casserole.html

Change in Vacation Plans

Well Savannah is off the vacation plan for now. We were supposed to go there in a month for a four day weekend but our poor little boy Oscar has an ulcer in his eye and a few days later they had to remove two teeth when doing his dental cleaning. That blew the vacation budget for next month. I am fine with it since we are going to Aruba for our anniversary and we just had the Charleston trip. We can always visit Savannah in the fall and maybe gas will be cheaper by then. Looks like we will be taking the dogs camping in place of Savannah. They LOVE camping and did not get to go last year so this should be fun for them.

Good-Bye All My Children

This morning on the news they announced All My Children will be canceled in September. I have been addicted to this show since 2000 and remember my mom watching it when I was a kid. I will say in the last couple of months the story lines have gotten horrible and it leaves me fast forwarding through most of the show. How many more times can someone be kidnapped, go crazy, kill someone, get married, screw someone else’s partners, etc. Even with these bad moments of writing I still follow the show.

When Tony heard the announcement this morning he practically was jumping for joy and had a hard time controlling his excitement. I watch the show while I exercise every night I am home. It is the last thing he wants to exercise to. Maybe we can agree on some DVR’ed comedies to watch together while we work out.

My Rude Monday Morning Awakening

I park on the 6^th floor of the parking garage at work and take the stairs down and back up for a little added exercise. My Monday morning was mad a very bad Monday morning when I got to the 4^th floor to realize a homeless person shit on the landing. It was one of those moments you think there is no way that really is what I am seeing. Not sure I will be taking the stairs anymore.

April No Spend and Weight Up Date

Other than the few items Tony bought me last week, my no spend challenge this month has been going great. There was a jacket on sale at BJ’s I tried on but put it back on the rack. A year ago I would have bought it without even thinking twice. I am pretty proud of myself with how well I am doing. Saturday I went to The Southern Women’s Show with a friend and Tony went to the Cigar Expo with her husband. While in there I did not even think about spending money on anything. Pat on the back for me. However next month when I allow myself to buy something it is going to be new cardigans for work. I wear them everyday since the office is cold and I am wearing out the elbows.

I did not try out any new recipes this weekend. I really love the Greek Turkey burgers I made a few months back and made those Saturday. If you have not tried this recipe yet you really need to. They are amazing. I’ve been focusing more on eating what we have to keep our grocery bill down this month. I do have a large stock of nonperishable items and meat in the freezer.

I am down to 133.8 pounds now! I am only 3 more away from my lightest last year. Now I have to lose another weight watcher point though. I am already hungry enough the way it is and to lose another point is going to be hard. Really I would deduct the point at 130 pounds but my implants weigh about 4 pounds so my real weight is 129.8. Once I get to a comfortable weight I would not mind trying the Mediterranean diet which focuses on healthy oils, nuts, greens, and seafood – which I will not be eating the seafood.

Three years ago or so I asked Sprint to block picture mail and internet access on our phones since we do not have that plan. Yes I am too cheap to have internet on my phone. Lately I noticed we were getting billed for picture mail. They were small charges so I never really paid much attention to it. Tony and I never even receive notification we received picture mail so we do not know who was sending it to us. I went back through two years worth of Sprint bills online and found in November 2009 we started getting billed for picture mail again. Over the about year and a half it came to $7 in charges. Not a whole lot but I was mad we were being billed for them especially since we were not receiving notifications. I called Sprint to find out what was going on and my contract changed in 2009 and they did not roll over the internet and picture mail block. She credited me $75! I would have been happy with a $7 credit. Thank you Sprint!

Surprise for Me

Tony had a nice surprise for me. Saturday morning he helped me clean and the said he would go grocery shopping with me. But before we left he said we had one stop to make at Macy’s to buy me a dress! I was surprised he read the blog post and so quickly wanted to buy me the dress. We went to Macy’s and unfortunately the dress was not what it looked like on line. I looked like a cow in it. Not form fitting at all. Tony did not want me to leave empty handed and we continued to look for a dress with no luck. I ended up going to practical route and bought a pair of dress pants, jeans, and a shirt on sale. With my weight loss jeans and dress pants are in high demand. The shirt was something Tony really liked and insisted I try it on. He loved it so we bought it. The total cost for the three items came to about what the dress would have cost. Not sure if this counts against my April no spend challenge but I know this was important for Tony to do for me. He really was surprised I did not pick out a different dress and went with practicality.

We really did have an amazing weekend together. Friday we ate at our favorite Asian restaurant and then went to Black Belt Friday at Karate International. It is a promotion ceremony for the black belts and a performance show. Really fun to watch. Hard to believe but the next one I may be performing in it as a black belt!

Saturday after we finished cleaning and shopping we spent the rest of the day just chilling around the house and watching our favorite show, Ghost Adventures. It was a very relaxing day together and definitely one we needed.

Sunday was our landscaping day. It was pretty nice outside. We planted a few more bushes and trees…like we really need any more. Our back yard really has to be one of the best in our neighborhood. We put in more Cyprus trees that will eventually grow and provide more privacy. The deer were also eating some of the bushes we planted in front of our fence so we replaced some of them with bushes they do not like. I can’t wait until our grass is green again.

Ole Southwestern Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

I just submitted this recipe to Tastefully Simple. This was so amazing! One enchilada will have you so full! I served it with Tastefully Simple Taco Cheese Ball that I made with fat free cream cheese, Tastefully Simple Simple Salsa, and low fat tortilla chips.

Ole Southwestern Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas


Ingredients:
1 ½ pound chicken breasts (about two breasts)
½ of a Green Pepper - sliced
½ cup chopped Onion
3 tsp Simply Southwest Seasoning & Rub
¼ cup water
1 can black beans – drained and rinsed
Ole Ole Fiesta Sauce
2 cups Weight Watchers Mexican cheese
6 low carb tortilla wraps - I used Ole Xtreme Wellness high fiber low carb

Some of the ingredients I used.
The two cans of tomatoes are for the Simple Salsa mix

Directions:

1. Spray slow cooker with cooking spray. Add chicken breasts, sliced green pepper, chopped onion, Simply Southwest Seasoning & Rub, and water. Cook on low for about 5 hours. Remove slower cooker mix and shred chicken.

Chicken, peppers, onions, and seasoning in the slow cooker

2. Spray a large cooking pan with cooking spray. Add shredded chicken mix, 1 1/3 cup cheese, black beans, and 1/3 cup plus 1 tbs Ole Ole Fiesta Sauce. Cook on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes until cheese is melted.

3. Coat 8x11 baking dish with cooking spray. Add enchilada mix to tortilla wraps. About ¼ cup per wrap. Place in 1 baking dish.

4. Drizzle remaining Ole Ole Fiesta Sauce over the enchiladas. Top with remaining 2/3 cup cheese. Cover with tin foil.
5. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

6. Top with your favorite topping such as Simple Salsa, sour cream, jalapenos, lettuce etc.

The finished product

Per Enchilada
Calories: 294
Fat: 7
Fiber: 15.5
Protien: 28
Carbs: 37.5
WW Points: 5
Points +: 7

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