OMG...I am becoming my mother....

And it's saving me alot of money!

For those of you who don't know my mother (aka Mutti) super well- she is the most frugal lady ever...she is cheap! But not stingy, let's clear that up. Just money smart :) The great thing is, she became her mother who was also super cheap! Here's a quick look of how this transformation begins...

I was the typical college kid (the first 2 years) that would call up mom and ask for funds to help out with rent, books, or food because I had already spent the money alotted to me on eating out, shopping, or who knows what else...all I know is that the money disappeared! The sad thing was, I had a job! So anyways, I was pretty broke the first couple of years until I realized how great it felt not to ask my mom for money ( and how great it felt to keep my pride!). I slowly learned how to save money- for instance, if I was out to lunch or dinner- my mother's voice would chime into my thoughts "Just get water, Krystal. Why would you spend $2.00 on a drink?!" Sweet. I saved two bucks here and there- which adds up. She tought me to look at the big picture- $2.00 when you eat out 5x a week = $40! I always had to wait until the clothing went on sale to get the best deal or wake up at 4a.m on Black Friday. She always would nag me about getting coupons on Sunday and how I needed to use my money more wisely. After many over-withdrawls from the bank, scoldings, talks, chats, etc, I think her ways of saving money have finally sunken in... and I have proof.

I have previously mentioned about my recent indulgence in coupon clipping and even creating a coupon binder (thanks to Mutti)...and finally, all the monotonous clipping has paid off...big time. It all started because Big B has been whining about how he needed more "man soap" and deoderant, but I have been adimant about- if I don't have a coupon or it's not on sale, you will have to smell like a pina colada! Lucky for him, I got tons of great coupons this past weekend. I went to target and got him 2 "man soaps", 2 deoderants, and 1 shaving cream for $11....yep, all name brand. I saved a total of $8 thanks to coupons. And who did I call immediately afterwards? Mutti!

Since I was on a roll, I went to CVS... saved another $20 thanks to shopping deals and coupons (6 boxes of tissues, 2 boxes of cereal, Reeses PB eggs- hey how did those get in there?)...

then I went to Harris Teeter- because Mutti stated that they will double coupons up to $1.98 (total of up to $3.96 in savings!) ... well, as you can witness below on my Harris Teeter receipt, I saved about $43 (2.5lbs of lunch meat, 1.5lbs deli chz, 12 double rolls of TP, 8 pk paper towels, 2 bags Doritos, 2 loaves of bread, 7 cans of Progresso Soup, organic lettuce, 2 Ken's light salad dressings, and lots more)!

 Alot of people think HT is expensive, but they have the best deals when you hit the sales right...it's my favorite place to go grocery shopping...too bad I have to drive 40miles to get to one! What a great feeling- to save so much moola! See, it's not such a bad thing to turn into your mother...no matter what your husband may say! ;) But then again, your mom would have to be as awesome as mine...

CVS Receipt

Harris Teeter Receipt

Oh, one more thing...then Mutti called me today and bragged about how she saved like $80 something dollars at Harris Tetter... I'm sure, just to remind me that she will always be the queen of frugalness.

Blake is giving _____________ up for Lent....

I have an update...Blake has given up swearing at the television anytime the Terps, Charlotte 49ers, and Orioles play...if he slips, that's a dollar towards lil b's college fund...$cha ching$!! Anyone who has been around Blake during a game should know what a money maker this will be....

Actually, I have been corrected, Big B thought he could curse at the computer- so he is giving up swearing during his team's games for the rest of the season no matter which device he chooses to view/listen to the game. Glad we got that cleared up.

Sometimes we have to be creative to beat the boredom in West Virginia...here's what we came up with:

After a round of Ultimate Tubing

"Yee Haw Dad!"

Valentine's Day Spicy Tuna Roll and Seaweed Salad (yes, we rolled the sushi ourselves...hence the triangular shape...better luck next time :)

Big and lil b ultimate tubing:

Lent is back....dun dun dunnnn

Wow, two posts in one day...what an accomplishment...haha.

So today is Ash Wednesday, aka the first day of Lent, and although I cannot claim to be the most hardcore Christian, I still believe in the meat and potatoes of Christianity. And perhaps, that should be one of the lessons I learn from this Lent season- how can I be closer to God?

I called my mom this morning to specifically ask her what lesson she learned last Lent- because she had a fantastic lesson from the church she attended...which made me laugh and made me think about what it's really about. It was something like this:

"You know, most believers will give something up for Lent- whether it be chocolate, alcohol, red meat, junk food, fast food, sweets, etc...but let me remind you- Lent is not your personal Weight Watchers plan and God does not want your chocolate, alcohol, red meat etc. Instead, why don't we all give up something that prohibits us from connecting with God, or even do something (rather than giving up something) that would benefit Christianity in general?"

I also talked to my Mother-in-Law, Julee, to get further clarification on what Lent means in layman's terms and she simply stated that Jesus was stuck in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights and resisted every temptation that was presented to him...he put his belief in God first. I also tapped into another religious resource, Blake's cousin Reanna, to see what she had to say...and she stated that whatever you give up should not serve a selfish purpose. I'm really lucky to have all these ladies to help in my journey to learn more about and become more involved with Christianity- thanks for all the insight!

All in all, today is the first day of Lent. Last year I gave up dessert...sorry about that. The worst part was, I didn't hear about the lesson from my mom's church until after I had my mind made up for two weeks. Wait, that wasn't the worst part...the worst part was my dad's, sister's, Big Blake's, and Julee's birthdays were in March and my birthday is in April...needless to say, last year's Lent was a big FAIL. I have a severe weakness for cake! "Better luck next year" I said...well, it's 2010.

So....after being reminded what Lent should be about, I have decided that I will try to find the light in every situation- have faith that this is part of God's plan and not be so quick to judge (people). Unfortunately, I think giving up the judging part will be most difficult- I will have to remove myself from gossip and take a step back to realize that I have no idea about that person's journey- so who am I to judge? I'm proud that I am not using this year's Lent as my personal Weight Watchers program to trim inches off my muffin top...but to trim my heart to be better and be more accepting!

I will ask Blake what he's giving up or doing for Lent and get back to you.... :)

lil b in action!

Alright, alright... I've been a little slack about this blogging thing...same story, different week! As you all gathered from the last post, lil b had an ear infection and has been taking antibiotics for the past week. Lucky for us, he really enjoyed his medicine! Probably because it tasted like liquid bubble gum (yes, both the Big B and I had a lil sip :) ) And just to prove to you that our little guy takes his meds like a champ, I recorded a little snippet for everyone to enjoy....he even wants you to try it! Also take note that he now says "cheese" when the camera is present :) he will even chase you down until you say "cheese"!

lil b taking meds and cheezin':


Besides being an amazing kid all around, lil b is a fantastic eater...he grazes all day long and will try anything once...among his favorites are spaghetti, grapes, raisins, oranges, cous cous, apples and avacados! In fact, I think he may love avacados the most....here's proof (sorry that it's sideways...):



I'm not sure where he learned to lick the plate like that, but it's pretty darn cute (as a toddler...We will have to nip that around 4years :) )

For everyone that we haven't seen in awhile, I hope these videos suffice until our next visit! We miss and love all of you!

Surviving Snowmageddon

Alright, so I'm a little late to the blogging... and I am reminded of this by my bff's husband via Facebook. I would hate to disappoint Kristin, so here we go! :)

Today is Thursday, February 11, 2010...We have been snowed in for exactly one week... Despite the inconveinences of a mega snow storm, the sight of it is actually really beautiful. We got about 30+ inches of snow between last Friday and Saturday- which was just amazing. I've never seen anything like it! When we woke up on Sunday morning, after the storm had passed, everything was ice blue- such a gorgeous view! And then reality hit, Big B was going to have to shovel 3 feet of snow from our driveway, side walks, cars etc. (well, someone has to take pictures!). Our cars were invisible in our parking pad because of the massive amounts of snow. When we opened the door, a mini barrier of snow with the door imprint welcomed us (or Big B rather) to the job ahead. And then, as luck would have it, it snowed again on Tuesday-Wednesday! The second storm was not as bad, probably about 6-10inches, but it brought us a blizzard! It was a complete white out- we could not see 5 feet in front of us! Anyways, as of today, the snow has been scooped, I have been working from home for almost a full week (and I miss the office- sad, I know...), I've cooked some good ol' comfort food, and lil b got his first ear infection. The poor lil guy couldn't even enjoy the snow last weekend! But he's feeling 99% better now so I think we will venture out later this afternoon :) Here are some pics from Snowmageddon 2010!

"whoa...that is alot of white stuff"

Helping Big B shovel the back yard

Big B needed a ladder to clear off the Camry!

View of from our basement door.

this was just the beginning!

"I'm free, I'm free!"

"Ahhhh! It's cold it's cooollldd!"- lil b's first time touching the snow :)

can't wait for the summer!

                              

Snowed In! Weekend Recap...Warning: Long Post

It's Saturday morning and the sweet sounds of lil b whining in his crib wake us up around 8a.m....Another successful night! The transition to the crib has been a piece of cake...knock on wood. I stumble downstairs with lil b (Big B and I had a date with microbrews and beach house shopping the night before...) put on some music and proceeded to cook some breakfast! Lil b eats like a champ: a banana, two eggs, craisins. No wonder he is almost 30lbs! And the best part- there was no snow...yet. It's 8:15a.m. when the snow began. We have no milk, bread, or COFFEE...Big B wakes up around 10 and there's already an inch plus on the ground..."honnneeey, can you go to the store??" And the weekend begins...

Big Blake attempted to go to the store (sans wallet) which added a good hour to the trip. He was eventually successful and we had a great breakfast. Don, Blake's dad, gets these sausages from a farm in Southern Maryland where Poppy (Blake's grandfather) spent his summers working. They are fresh, spicy, juicy and the perfect size. The only problem is we only get these sausages around Christmas time and we went through the 10lbs in 2-3months. Next year, we'll definitely have to request at least 25lbs! Anyways, they were delicious. Sorry for the side note :)

The #1 great thing about being snowed in....NAPS! We were lucky enough to indulge in our own nap when we laid lil b down. Now, if only we can figure out how to get lil b to take more than an hour nap. I think next time, I will let him try to go back to sleep rather than kicking Big Blake (to wake him up) to retreive his mini me. The worst thing about being snowed in....CLEANING. Whatever, we got it done. Big Blake had cabin fever so he dragged us out to Walmart to stock up on whatever. This was a horrible idea because I have become dedicated to coupons and searching for deals through numerous blogs and websites. We failed miserably because of one huge detail- we showed up to Walmart without a list...fail. $100+ did not fit into my $50-$60 weekly budget. Oh well, maybe next time. I did, however, score 12.29lbs of chicken for around $20 at Food Lion...win.

The #2 great thing about being snowed in are movies! Blake and I watched "The Blind Side" and it was one of the best movies we have seen in awhile. It's very heart warming and relatable. It really makes you wonder if you can be that great and giving of a person. It reminded me of why I am grateful for all of my many blessings and how sometimes, we all take life for granted. But I think the best lesson may have been: "Your past does not have to dictate who you are in the present." Take some time to watch this movie about Michael Oher.... you can bet that we will be decked out in #74 Oher jerseys next season :) Go Ravens ( I couldn't resist) We also watched Julie and Julia....nothing to brag about there.

The #3 great thing about the snow- pizza! Okay, so we gave in to the Domino's hype and we even drove in the snow to pick up the pizzas. I was talking to the pizza guy, "So, is the pizza reallllyyyy that different?" The pizza guy convincingly went down the list to tell me what was different (I later found out that this info was on the box...I could've waited...) 1. New robust sauce, with just a lil kick of spicyness 2. New cheese mix= mozz + provolone 3. New crust- well, they use a squezze bottle of melted butter and garlic and drench your crust with it...kind of like Papa John's garlic side sauce? Either way, it's a heart attack in a bottle. To be honest, I like the old pizza better.

#4 reason why the snow was great this weekend...we finally decided on a vacation rental in the OBX!!! After many hours of searching the internet for "the one", we (with the diligent help of Julee, Blake's mom) decided on a soundfront home. We are sooooo looking forward to this vacation with the Legnard family, especially after all this snow. We chose a soundfront home because first of all, it has an awesome interior. After many distressed emails and phone calls to Julee, we decided that clean bedrooms were at the top of our checklist. There were plenty of ocean front dives we could have stayed at, but ewww. No thanks. Second of all, we've never stayed soundfront for vacation before. Blake and I used to live on Colington Island, in the OBX, in a soundfront home and it was amazing. The sunsets and views were to die for. So even though we can't see the ocean, at least we know it's there around the corner. Plus, we have family staying oceanfront that we can visit :) So we are embracing this new OBX experience by renting kayaks to replace our morning walks on the beach.....should be a great time! Here are some pics...

Living Room- Check out the cute seahorses on the accent chair!

   

Mid Level Hot Tub

OBX Vacation 2010