Grandma Cereal

One of the perks about moving is that I have more free time in the morning.  I can sleep in 30 minutes later and eat breakfast before leaving the house. 

I was talking to a coworker this morning about my "grandma cereal" and he asked me why I called it that.  So, I thought I'd tell ya'll the story as well.

When my brother and I were little, we used to spend the night at my grandma's house every now and then.  The next morning we'd have cereal.  My grandma always had kid friendly cereal at her house, but she also had Cracklin' OatBran as well.  The Cracklin' OatBran was her cereal.  I tried it once and it was all over from then.  I loved her cereal.  It's been my favorite ever since and it reminds me of her whenever I see it.  So of course when I figured out that I'd have more free time and actually have the time to eat breakfast before leaving the house....I had to go get a box of Cracklin' OatBran! 

I hope my grandma realizes how much I love her & think about her... and how much I love her cereal, too!

Life Update

Nothing really earth shattering going on here!  But here are a few life updates:

• We've been walking/jogging the dogs every other night or so!  This is something that we'd never done until we moved and the dogs LOVE it.
• I'm not sure we'll ever get all of the boxes unpacked.   We've unpacked a ton and have everything we need to live day-to-day, so I kind of wonder what's in the rest of those boxes.  :)
• As of today, we are FINALLY off the overtime at work.  I'm so happy that I get to leave work at 4pm today!  I've volunteered to work a little bit of OT during my lunch each day.  Hey, what can I say, the money is nice.  It wont be much, but every little extra bit counts.  :)
• Life is fixing to get busier again shortly.  I'm going to be taking a 5 week summer course.  Ugh.  I hate summer school.  But, I'm getting that much closer with being done with grad school!
• I paid $3.14 a gallon for gas today and felt HAPPY about it.  Wow, if you would've told me that 4 years ago, I might've cried! ha!
• And, I'm almost done (finally) with the book I'm reading - The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.

Extreme Couponing?

In case ya'll didn't know, I love me some coupons.  My husband used to laugh at me, but now he applauds me.  Here recently I've been doing better than usual.  Now, I wouldn't call myself an extreme couponer by any means - at all - but I'm learning the ropes!

We just purchased a fridge from Lowe's and I saved us 10% with a coupon I found in a moving packet put out by the post office.  Then, we received more coupons from Lowe's after using that one.  Those coupons went towards the purchase of a new grill, garden hose, hose carrier, and other yard essentials - saving us about $35! 

Then this weekend, I gathered up all my coupons and made my list for Kroger.  Kroger has digital coupons online that you can attach to your Kroger card.  If your store hasn't updated their software, you can stack digital coupons with paper coupons.  Sadly, my new Kroger has the new software version, but that doesn't stop me from racking up the deals! 

I looked at the sales ad, looked at my coupons, looked especially hard at the coupons that would double at Kroger (65 cents or less), then made my list of stuff we needed.  Ya'll my original total was $100 and after my coupons, I paid $80!  I saved 20%!!  That's awesome for me!  I feel like I'm finally starting to get the hang of this couponing thing!  And the thing is - I bought stuff that we needed!  I didn't buy multiples of things.  I didn't buy 4 boxes of pasta or 10 rolls of paper towels.  I bought things we needed!

I'm so proud of myself.  If ya'll aren't atleast trying to save some money by using coupons, then you're coo coo!  ha!  Seriously, give it a try!  You'd be surprised on how you do!

We closed!

We did it!  We closed on our new house last Monday!  We officially moved and all that jazz!

We LOVE the new place!  We now take our dogs for walks in the evenings and we've even seen some deer while on the walks!  It's SO peaceful and wonderful!

And..my commute went from 40 minutes to 16 minutes!  From 29 miles to 11!  UM, YES!!!!

I'll share more later this week, but now, I've gotta get my booty working to pay for this house! ha! :)

It's Friday!

If everything goes as planned, we will be loading a giant uHaul tomorrow morning and then closing on both houses Monday!  I hope and pray that everything goes as planned/scheduled and we'll be in our new house on Monday afternoon! 

Have a great weekend and I'll "see" ya'll sometime in the next week or so!

3 Things Thursday

1. Our house looks like a box factory threw up in it.  The Lowe's installation guy is coming this morning to install our new door and frame.  Tomorrow night we do our final walk-through on the new house AND the buyers will be doing the walk-through on our current house.  This means we have major cleaning to do tonight.  Who decided having a walk-through after we've started packing was a good idea??
2. We went last night and looked at furniture again.  We found a bedroom suite that we really like.  I think we'll make it ours next week.  We're 99.9% set on that one.  I'll take pictures.  Btw, I'll be taking pictures of EVERYTHING - LOL!
3. I'm on vacation next week - moving.  So, I wont be online more than likely.  Which means, no blog posts or pictures or anything from me next week.  Our internet is suppose to be installed on Tuesday, but we'll see.  Plus, I'll kinda be busy unpacking! ha! 

Hot

Moving in the middle of June in Arkansas = one hot day.  With the humidity, I'm sure the heat index will be over 100.  Wonderful. ha!

I'm thinking about trying to plan a little run for Sunday morning.  If I get up at the crack of dawn, it might be below 80.  heh.

On another random note, we bought our fridge last night!  YAY!  We got the one we wanted and I had a 10% off coupon, which saved us some cash.  :-)  It will be delivered on Monday afternoon!

Lesson Learned

Sit back and relax...this might be a tad long.

One of the things the new homeowners put into our closing contract was that they wanted the back door replaced.  You see, our back door is steel and scratched all to bits.  Our golden retriever likes to jump onto the back door and paw at the door - scratching the window and the door as he does so.  Then our little jack russell likes to bounce off the back door when he hears that we are home.  So, between the two dogs, our door looks a little worn on the outside.

Well, the hubs and I thought that we could easily replace the back door by going to Lowe's and buying a new door and just taking the old one off the hinges, placing the new one in it's place.  Um, no.  You see, Friday night we learned that the appraiser wouldn't sign off on our appraisal until the back door was replaced.  We had been waiting to replace the door, because we didn't want the dogs to scratch up the new one.  But, now, a week from closing, we learned it needed to be replaced ASAP.  So, Friday night, we went to Lowe's and purchased a new door.

We bring the new door home and realize that although it's the correct size, the hinges don't match up.  Crapola.  Saturday morning hubs went back to Lowe's to see if we could get someone to install the door, because in order to install the new door, the entire door jam/framing had to come down and a new one be put in it's place.  Awesome.  So, while he's doing that, I'm running around the neighborhood.  During my run, a neighbor stopped to talk to me.  We chit chat and he tells me that we can get our door from another place in town - one we never thought of.  So, as soon as hubs gets home, we go to this other place (Ridout).  Turns out they have our exact door, but it has to be ordered - it will take a week to get here and then we'll have to paint it.  Small problem - we don't have a week.  That would've saved us mucho money, by the way.

So, we go with the Lowe's installation.  The installation guy came on Monday and measured everything to make sure we purchased the correct door (we did).  He's supposedly coming back today to install the door - might be Friday, but we've got our fingers crossed for today.  Then, the appraisal can be signed off on.  Then, the new homeowners can do their final walk through.  And then, we can close on Monday and MOVE.

Lesson to be learned - do your homework WELL in advance.  This little lesson cost us an extra $225.  Not only was our door cheaper at Ridout, but we could've installed it ourselves....

Etsy Shop

I thought I'd take a second and mention that one of my friends just opened an Etsy shop.  She does baby items and they're all really cute!  So, please take a second to stop by her new shop HERE.

Pity Party of One

This may be the most "poor me" post I've ever written.  You've been warned.

For the last two months I have been slacking in the running department.  Majorly.  I'm not really sure what happened except that the past few months have been stressful with school, working 10 hour days for months (and still), trying to sell our house, then selling our house, and now packing and finalizing everything with our house.  I've found that when I'm stressed, I tend to shut down.  I tend to sit myself down in front of the tv and veg.  So my running?  It went out the window.

I've been trying to pretend that I'm okay with that.  That this is just a season and I'll start running again once we move.  And to be honest, I KNOW I WILL.  But, that doesn't help with the right now.  The right now is, I feel fat, slow, unmotivated, and gross.  And FB isn't really helping that right now.  All of those people that I've somehow helped get into running are all posting about their glorious runs.  Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for them and proud for them, but I'm also very jealous.  I want to be running, but right now life is in the way.  We move this weekend.  We close on Monday (God willing).

So for now, I whine.  Next week, I run.  :0)

To-Do List Revisited

We close ONE week from today (if everything goes as planned, which is a whole other blog post).

So, we're revisiting the to-do list.

1. Buy & replace back door.
2. Replace dryer vent outside.
3. Call & schedule back window glass replacement.
4. Call & schedule uHauls.
5. Buy & schedule delivery of a new fridge (to new house).
6. Box up remainder of house & the storage building.
7. Find stuff to put in stepmom's yard sale.  (We have stuff, but it's already packed. Oh snap.)
8. Pack, pack, pack.
9. Buy random stuff that we need before move (trash bags, hand soap, etc)

So, as you can see, we accomplished some of the list!

What I Learned Yesterday

I'm old.  Now, before you roll your eyes, hear me out.

A couple of coworkers were talking yesterday about another coworker and how he's a DJ at night.  I asked where at and they name a place that I've never heard of.  Then, they look at me like I have 3 heads, because apparently this place (that I can't even remember the name of) is a very popular place.  These coworkers are only 5 years younger than me.

Then, these same coworkers started talking about this song (again, no idea the name).  They're talking about how great the song is.  I remember distinctly changing the radio station when that song came on last.  I guess I'm not hip...  Do people still say hip?  ha!

Then, this morning, I see pictures of someone on FB.  I don't agree with these pictures or status messages, because I think they make the person look....trampy?  When I ask my coworkers opinion, they tell me those pictures and status messages are totally normal and acceptable.  Excuse me?  If my mother saw those, she'd roast me without asking any questions.  So, yet another example of how times have changed...

But on a totally unrelated note - today is finally Friday!!!!!  Happy Friday and Weekend my friends!

3 Things Thursday

1. Yesterday I received recognition for my 5 year work anniversary.  I'd show you a picture of my plaque-like certificate, but then you'd know where I work and have my last name.  ha!
2. I'm still trying to cut down on the dairy products.  I'm doing very well and my stomach has been feeling SO much better.  I made a discovery though.  While talking to my stepmom about this, she mentioned that a friend's daughter has the same issues and they've noticed that white cheeses usually don't hurt her stomach.  It's something about the type of milk they're made out of.  This would help explain why pizza doesn't bother my stomach - it's made with Mozzarella, which usually is still made with cow's milk (I believe) but it's usually like 2% milk.  Anyways, after this discovery, I've been able to eat Mozzarella cheese and be okay.  However, I used some cheddar cheese we had to make enchiladas and my stomach hates me this morning.  And seriously, it wasn't even that much cheddar cheese.  Ugh.
3. I bribed myself into going to work this morning.  I know I've said it a billion times, but the 10 hr days are getting old.  So, I stopped by Sonic and got a Route 44 Cherry Vanilla Coke Zero.  I will make it through this week with my sanity still in possession.

Wordless Wednesday

Kinda.

This is part of our new kitchen!  This was taken with my phone, so the coloring is a tad off.  But, seriously, what's not to love about this kitchen!!!!  See that door?  That's the pantry!  There is also another set of cabinets on the other side, plus where the fridge goes. 

I promise to share actual pictures when we move in.  :)

The Dreaded To-Do List

I know ya'll could care less, but this is for my own sanity.

This is our to-do list before moving day.

1. Buy & replace back door.
2. Replace dryer vent outside.
3. Call & schedule back window glass replacement.
4. Call & schedule uHauls.
5. Buy & schedule delivery of a new fridge (to new house).
6. Box up remainder of house & the storage building.
7. Find stuff to put in stepmom's yard sale.  (We have stuff, but it's already packed. Oh snap.)
8. Pack, pack, pack.
9. Buy random stuff that we need before move (trash bags, hand soap, etc)

This is our last weekend before moving weekend and it's already looking busy and full of stuff that is not related to our move.  I might be a tad stressed.  :-) 

Remember??

Remember that bike ride we were suppose to do this past weekend? 

A lady passed away after having a tragic accident in the race.  Here's a link to the story.

Honestly, I'm glad that we didn't participate, because we weren't prepared.  This death reminded me that although we think we're superhumans, deadly accidents still happen - even to those who are well prepared.

Friday! Friday!

On to other things...

• This Sunday paper will have the P&G Saver in it.  That means approx $102 savings in coupons!
• Tomorrow, my stepmom, sister, and I are going shopping for all things baby!  Nope, not for me!  But, it shall be fun still!
• Today is Friday!  Yay!  And, 17 days till moving day!
• We made a rockin good Stir Fry last night!  I wish we could make that every day!  Plus, it was super healthy minus the soy sauce! ha!
• Oh, and I have some quarters to buy a Coke Zero today! ha!  It's the little things that make me happy today.  :-) 

Happy Friday & Weekend!

3 Things Thursday

1. I have gained 7 pounds in the last week and a half.  Can we say stress eater?  I knew what I was doing and I was/am so disgusted with the way I feel and look right now.  The good thing is, I started eating better on Tuesday and I'm already down 5 pounds.  With that being said, I really want to get back to my happy weight.  Which, right now, is 9 pounds away.  I just gotta keep myself accountable!
2. One of the things that I'm going to miss about our current home is all of the rabbits around our neighborhood.  I've become a tad obsessed with looking for them hopping around in the mornings and late in the evenings.  Can you tell I love animals?
3. Remember the 34 mile bike ride the hubs and I are signed up for?  That's this weekend.  I'm going to pick up our packets this afternoon.  However, we will not be doing the race.  I really, really hate that.  If I sign up for something, I always do it.  But this time, life got in the way.  We've been spending our evenings after work meeting with the realtor to do the paperwork that goes with selling our house and buying a new one, walking through the new house, packing, looking for things that we'll need for the new house such as tv mounts, new towels, etc.  Then, there's all the OT that I'm working (still 10 hour days) and then just the usual life errands... All of this has gotten in the way (or made a really great excuse) of our training.  Sure, we could still bike the 34 miles, but neither of us wants to come in last or have a horrible time or experience.  We both would like to do this the right way.  That being said - we'll be doing another bike race sometime within the next year!

Turtle Saver

I saved a huge turtle on the way home yesterday.  He was in the middle of the road and I knew he didn't have a chance.  So, I pulled in to a company drive, ran back, and was waiting for the cars to go by when it happened...  Most of the cars knew what I was doing, I mean, the turtle was HUGE and you could see him in the middle of the road.  So, the cars dodged him, because they couldn't exactly stop in the street.  The last car though, he was too busy bumping his ghetto rap and looking me up and down to notice the damn turtle I was trying to save.  Yep, he clipped the turtle.  I hope it broke something underneath his car.

The turtle flipped and landed on it's back.  I ran out and flipped him over - avoiding the little bit of blood on his side - and moved him into the grass.  I stood there and examined him; he honestly didn't look too bad.  Just a little bit of bleeding.

When I went home, I washed my hands and just started bawling as I told hubs what happened.  So about two hours later, we went to see if the turtle was still where I left him.  He was not!  He was nowhere to be found!  Which of course means HE LIVED!!!  I knew he wasn't bleeding that badly (actually, there was only a small bit of blood on him when I left him) and seeing that he wasn't there anymore made me so happy!  I SAVED THE TURTLE!!