She lied

I just spent the weekend with my parents, and it was so much fun to see them and spend time with them. But being around my mom made me remember all of the lies she told me as a child.

1. Eating anywhere in the bathroom will give you Heptitis B.
2. When I found out about all the staring children in Africa, I asked my mom every single night to mail any left overs to Africa. She told me she would.
3. Eating chicken will make your boobs bigger.
4. If you don't drink after 6pm you wont pee in the bed.
5. If you keep making ugly faces your face will freeze like that.
6. That she had eyes in the back of her head. I knew she was lying, but somehow she always knew what I was doing.

Despite her many many fibs, she was and is a pretty fabulous mom.
Did you parents ever tell you any lies?

Bragging!

Yes, the photo is dark, and not great, it was taken on the husbands iphone.
I don't really talk about it much here on the blog, but I am a couponer. I use coupons for everything I can. Our eating habits have changed, and there are not many produce coupons available. But, I try to save in other areas to give us more wiggle room for food in our budget. .
I just had to share and brag a little about my black Friday shopping! I hit up CVS with my mom, who has begun couponing this year, and is doing really well.
Bottom line, I got all the stuff in that picture, which retailed for over 50.00 for 1.85 out of pocket! Plus, I have over 25.00 in Extra Bucks to use there on anything and those don't expire until next month. d
I got"
3 tubes of toothpaste
2 Expresso drinks
Cough Drops
2 bottles of mouth wash
1 bottle of lotion
Chapstick
First Aid Kits
3 bottles of meds
Razors
Make up
Dish detergent
Just had to brag a bit!!!

Editors note--I forgot to mention this one.
P has been wanting an electic toothbrush. Earlier this year, he purchased one from the dentist for 180.00. We took it back. I have been on the look out for one that was more in our price range ever since.
Today, as I was looking in the flyer, I found one at Target that is normally 70.00. It was on sale for 39.00. I had a 25.00 coupon which made it 14.00. Plus, I have a 10.00 rebate form to mail in, which will make the final price of the toothbrush 4.00! Score!!!

Friday Confessions

Hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving!

Here are my weekly confessions:

1. I cheated while playing foosball against a 12 year old, and still lost.

2. I ate 1/2 a box of Wheat Thins for my appetizer before Thanksgiving dinner.

3. I pretended to spread some cheese from a cheese ball that my sister in law made and eat it in front of her. I told her it was so good.

4. My boss brought me a cookie at work, I threw it in the trash, but thanked her for the treat.

5. I "goose" my husband so often he is scared to bend down, or walk in front of me.

Ok, fess up. What are your confessions this week?

Early Riser

I am an early riser. I always have been. I get it from my mother.
Lately, P has been waking up before me, and it is weird. Most of our married life, I have gotten up first, and waited on him to wake up.

When P gets up before me, he makes his coffee, and then comes and in his soft kind voice, says "Good morning babe" and he scratches my back, or rubs my hair until I wake up. It is so nice, and it is a great way to start the day.


When I wake up 1st, I have been told that I sound like a gorilla in a cage. Allegedly, I am loud. Apparently my idea of quiet and his are 2 different things. When I go to wake him up, I bring him his coffee, smack his ass, and say "Hey get up" then I sing to him. Romantic right? You be the judge.


I had a point----I think it was to show that I am truly a delicate flower. No, that was not it. It was about P getting up early. He now sets his alarm for 5 a.m. and most days, he gets right out of bed. This is the 1st time in our married lives that he has consistently gotten up before me. I usually roll out of bed 15-20 minutes after him.


Some days I hit the gym before work. Other days, I just loaf around and take my time in the mornings. We have also begun taking our dog for a walk in the morning, and that has been a really fun ritual.


Who gets up earlier in your house?

Lunch Rush

Hi, my name is Allison and I am a doer. I thrive on having a lot of thing to do. I am a to-do list freak. I relish making my daily to do lists. I get a thrill highlighting my accomplished tasks. It makes me happy, and less insane.

Every morning I make 2 lists, my work to do list, and my personal to do list. I do what I can on my personal list during the downtime at work, but come lunch time- I go balls to the wall. I have 1 hour, just one precious hour to get as many tasks done on my list as I can. I cram as much stuff into that 1 hour as possible. Stop by the bank?--I will do it at lunch. Return that sweater to the store--see ya midday. Redeem the coupons--I got it covered today.

There is something about accomplishing so much stuff, cramming so much into that 1 hour that gives me a thrill. I start sweating and worrying that I wont get it all done, or that I will be late getting back to work, but it is a rush. Once that clock hits 1pm, I rush down the stairs, jump in the car, drive like a manic, and get everything done that I can.
That hour is not relaxing at all, but I like it that way. I like cutting it to the minute that I have to be back, and knowing that after I run up the 4 flights of stairs, that I will get to sit down, get out my to do list and highlight away.
What is your most productive time?

Friday Confessions

Here are my weekly confessions
1.I was really grumpy one day- I went to McDonalds and ate my feelings in fries.
2. Sometimes when I don't want to take in all the calories on an item, I leave the last bite or 2 and pat myself on the back for not consuming all those calories. (In reference to #1)
3. On Saturday, I didn't brush my teeth until bed.
4. I don't wash the blender during the week, I just rinse it with water.
5. I never close the shower curtin--and it bugs the heck out of P.

Alright, fess up, what have you done this week?

Changing Tastes

My tastes have changed this past year in several ways.


My taste buds have totally changed. This past year, I have found that I can stomach spicy foods better than ever. I have started to put jalapenos on all my food. I have thrown them on some sammies and salads, and the heat does not bother me at all. There have been several times when P and I have been eating the same thing, and he starts hurting because of the heat of the food, and I it does not affect me at all, it is really weird.


My taste in blogs have also changed. I started reading blogs about 4 years ago. Up until then, I had never heard of a blog--yes, I am a technological power house, I know. At that time, P and I were working to pay off our debt, and I was reading a ton of financial articles and one of them mentioned The Budgeting Babe. I clicked the link- and boom- my world turned upside down, and I started reading blogs from there. I was so inspired by her and I learned so much from her about money. That led to me find other blogs about personal finance, and I was in awe of people talking about their lives and money online. I kept me motivated to get out of debt, and made me excited to learn how to handle money. It was through a blog that I learned of Dave Ramsey, which REALLY turned our lives around.

Today, I still read a few p.f. blogs and when I get loose with money, I always go search out my old favorite for a swift kick in the rear. But, now I have expanded my blog reading to include more blogs about food, fitness, and life style. I have played with veganism through Mama Pea, oogled the crafts by Carla, been motivated to organize every nook and cranny of my home by Rochelle, laughed my butt off at Brooke, and been inspired time and time again my Denise. She constantly challenges me, inspires me, and makes my mouth water with her garden and food creations.


My tastes have changed, but I like where it has led me too, and the blogs I have read. I think that is one thing that I like most about blogging is that it has opened my world to people, ideas, pictures, thoughts, and education. It is like reading your friends diary when she walks out of her room, but not have to worry that you will be caught.

Have your tastes changed?

Here are my weekly confessions:

1. I have not washed my hair in 4 days
2. Twice this week I have taken my dog on a walk and I have not brought a poo bag
3. On both of those walks, I bent over and pretended to pick up the poo b/c people were around
4. On one of those walks, I didn't have a poo bag, but I had a dryer sheet in my pocket, and I covered the poo with. So I not only didn't pick up the poo, but I littered.
5. I dropped yogurt and granola on the keyboard. I just slurped/licked it up.


Time to fess up, what are your confessions this week.

My food Philosophy

The other day, I was emailing with an accountant who works in my company. She offices in another state, and we work together daily, and through our emailing, we have struck up a friendship. It is funny, because I only know her name, I have no idea what she looks like, and I have only spoken to her on the phone maybe 5 times. We do all of our work via email. And we email a lot. The past 3 weeks, we have been emailing more than usual. It has been fun to get to know her, but it is also funny how different she is from me. We somehow got on the subject of food, and she told me for dinner she had 3 packs of string cheese, and some oreos. Her boyfriend came over, saw all the wrappers, and made her eat some cereal. Then she told me how much she loved Taco Bell. I decided right then and there she needed help. I ended up typing a really long email, and after I read it, I realized that is was my food philosophy. This is my view of food:


First, if I eat meat, it will be organic.



Second, I am trying to cut out the processed foods from my diet. For example, I like mashed potatoes. I used to go to the store, buy the box of potato flakes, put it on the stove, add some milk, and enjoy. Now, I buy 2 potatoes from the produce section, boil them, and make them from scratch. I does take a bit longer, but I am eating fewer chemicals, it is cheaper, and I feel better knowing exactly what is in my food.


Third, I am trying to cut out meat. I currently go 2 or 3 days a week without meat. I like how I feel and I like that I am doing something good for my body, and my budget.


Fourth, 80% of the food in my basket is fresh produce rather than boxes. That makes me feel good.


Fifth, when I look at the food I eat, I try to figure out if that piece of food could somehow reproduce. If I dug a hole, and put in a powdered donut or some mentos, would they grow into a plant? No. But, if I dug a hole and put the seeds from my apple into the ground, it would (technically) grow into a tree that could produce more apples.


Finally, I realized that food is fuel, and I want to feel good. I don't want to eat food that weighs me down, or makes me tired. I want the food I eat to give me energy to do all the things I love to do.



I fail at this all the time. As I wrote here, I ate way too much junk food. I do not have any training in food. I am not a master in the kitchen like Denise. But, I am learning and trying, and I like where this discovery is taking me.

I had ennui

Generally, I am a peppy, hyper, happy, joyful, delightful person. I tend to be go, go, go all the live long day. Once I am awake, I generally have a quick laugh, an easy smile, and joy in my heart.


But sometimes, I have to deal with a virus that I get, it is called ennui . Please click here for an explanation of this horrible illness. (Pronounced on-wee)

A few weeks ago, I had ennui, and I had it bad. In order for me to be that ravishing, smiling creature, I need to move and to sweat first. I have been that way ever since I was young. Growing up, I would be in a horrible mood, or I would be lazy. My mom would force me out the door to play, make me go run, and boom--within half an hour, my mood was lifted, and I was in good spirits again. It was the same way with my brother. We both could be "grumpy gills" but once we moved and got our sweat on, we are fine.

The other day, I did not get up early to work out. I came home, and rather than head straight out the door, I turned on the t.v. I ended up sitting there, loafing around like a loser, and was just useless. P came home, and I could not shake my mood. He kept hounding me, asking me what was wrong, and I kept telling him I had ennui. He didn't believe me. I insisted that I was not mad, I just had ennui. I just moped around, grumped around, and sat my stanky personality on the couch and suffered, and made him suffer in return.

Luckily, it was gone by the next morning when I got my sweat on my illness vanished, and I returned to myself.

What about you, do you ever suffer from ennui?

Friday Confessional

And here are my weekly confessions:

1. I have called our apartment office 3 times this week and pretended to be 3 different people in the complex in order to get them to do something I wanted.
2. In a training seminar for work, I cheated off the girl in front of me during a practice module.
3. The trainer in the seminar is mean. I made stuff up about her in my head all day because I don't like her.
4. I spy on my neighbors with 2 different sets of binoculars that I keep on the fireplace mantle.
5. I eaves dropped on people's conversations.