Diggin' and Clippin'

                                    

After digging and all the findings, I am loving all the coupon sites! How wonderful it is to save money....especially this time of year! I have never been a coupon clipper, but my banker boyfriend has taught me a few things, not to mention no raise this year, and the economy is not getting any better. I have never wanted to go shopping so badly in all my life, I have so many savings I feel like it is real money burning a hole in my pocket. I must go shopping! WAIT, hold on a minute....this is a ploy isn't it? If they give you a coupon, you will come in their store and shop and spend money. I figured it out! Well, I say keep them coming and I will keep coming. Now for the stores I cannot seem to find coupons for: Anthropology, J. Crew, Banana Republic.....start and I will be on my way faster than I already am. Having worked retail for so many years, I understand what it takes to get those numbers up and to keep them up. The more I find, I will be walking through the doors.

Now for the grocery stores, you are a beautiful mess. All the stacking and doubling, scoping out the sale days, and traveling to numerous stores just to get all you need for a lower price is wonderful and overwhelming at the same time. I hear of so many people saving hundreds every month! Overwhelming is worth saving $100 for me to buy a new, cute pair of shoes (or two).

When deciding you are too tired to cook after all the shopping you have been doing, just go somewhere to eat. There are tons of coupons for restaurants. Too bad there are no coupons for a free night at the bar.

Here are just a few of my favorite sites I have found to be very successful. Hope you are successful too!

www.savings.com

www.coupons.com

www.shopstyle.com

www.hamiltonplace.com

Another helpful hint I have found is going to the website of the brand you are looking for. They are giving things away!

Everybody's Got Their Share Of Battle Scares

It was a great night of being on the couch watching the CMA's. This is one of my favorite nights of the year, I love making the guess before the envelope is opened. Then I received a phone call that would get me up off the couch as fast as lightening. The call shook me to the core and scared me into thinking only bad thoughts. It was my brother telling me my dad was going to the hospital by ambulance. My dad was throwing up, crawling around the house, and all alone. Thankfully our neighbors were home and one is a nurse. My dad was in terrible pain and she feared a heart attack had happened and he could go into cardiac arrest. She quickly called an ambulance. Hearing my dad could have had a heart attack was the worst thing I could ever imagine. Daniel drove me to the ER and helped keep me calm until I could see my dad. My family sat in the ER waiting room in distress and praying for the best. There was no news.

I had a brief moment alone in the waiting room. Daniel had gone outside to call his mom, my mom had not gotten there yet, and Wesley walked out to get some air. On the TV were the CMA's. I never notice a TV or what it had on; I was in another world. I had started crying again. A silent cry with tears streaming when I heard Kenny Chesney singing his new song "I'm Alive." Now, I know what you are thinking, I am a big Kenny fan and so of course I would hear his song. If you know the song, you know it to be a peaceful song, very calming, and a good reminder that breathing is a blessing. I don't think it was a coincidence this happened. I think it was God's way of telling me my dad is not going to leave us, that he is going to pull through. And at this point I am still thinking my dad had a heart attack. Sweet Daniel was watching me through a window and he saw I had started to cry and pointed to the TV trying to cheer me up that Kenny was on....this is something he would never do! I just nodded my head and listened to the words and had a peace come over me.

I finally got to see my dad, I could tell there was no heart attack and I was thankful! When the doctor came in, he was worried about his pancreas. There were lots of tests ran, and the conclusion was his galbladder. It had to come out. At 4 a.m. dad was taken to his own room, and was scheduled for surgery at noon. When the doctor came out to talk to us, he said the gallbladder was inflamed and very large. There was a stone blocking the duct and it was causing all the pain he was in. My dad came back to the room awake, bubbly, pain free, standing, only 4 bandaids on his stomach, and laughing! What an amazing feeling we all had to see him doing so well after surgery! He was finally able to drink and eat, kept everything down and he could go home! When I came back to his room from pulling my car to the front, my sweet dad was writing a note to all the nurses who put up with him and took really good care of him. I knew my dad was thankful and feeling much better.

Dad slept through the night with our cat who was didn't know what was happening to him Wednesday night. She never sleeps with him; it is amazing what animals are able to sense. He is really sore and stiff, slow moving but is doing ok and feeling much better.

It's The Simple Things

I have found all of life's joys for the road I am on in my life. I was on my way to Atlanta when I thought about all the things that make me happy, and realized just how small they are. I was eating (I'm embarrassed to admit this), Long John Silvers Crunchies; I never get them so when I do, they are a real treat!

I love that clean laundry puts a smile on my face. I get excited about warm chocolate chip cookies or a trip to the bakery to get sugar cookies and cupcakes! I love pictures, as if you couldn't tell. I love hearing I love you from the boy I'm in love with. Great movies are that much greater with popcorn and coke. I love that I watch things on TV I would never watch if I were a single girl, and really, I like them. I think it's great to act like a kid when the holidays get here, who doesn't love surprises!?! I love that I can pray to God and know he hears me. Polka dots, paisleys, and stripes make me giddy, and I love a personal touch of monogramming with them! Personalized stationary also makes me smile. Reading one book after another is an accomplishment in the making and I hope to continue this pattern. When my dog talks to me, yes talks, or licks me all over I can't help but laugh! My cat gets much enjoyment out of swatting at people but yet is declawed so we get all the laughs! King George singing Amarillo By Morning makes me stop in my tracks, but play me some Apple Bottom Jeans and I can't help but bust a move! I love the smell of fall, the changing leaves, and of course wearing scarfs and carving pumpkins! The beach is a place of serenity for me and gives me peace. Alabama football as well as Tennessee are who I cheer for. Going to sleep on the couch after a long day at work or on a lazy weekend is always a highlight of my day. Hearing a good song on the radio that takes me back must be sung at the top of my lungs. Laughing is the greatest sound and they say it burns calories so I say bring on the funnies! I love watching HGTV and reading home magazines so that one day I will have all the inspiration for making a house a home. I love the thought of my future and the great things I hope it holds for me. The friendships I have are a gift and seeing them is always like opening a present! I love the wonderful inventor of Purell, you just don't know how you keep me from getting sick so I can enjoy my life! Southern food, Italian, Classic American food, and junk food are all up my ally. Lastly, a glass or two of red wine can make any rotten day better or a happy occasion that much better!

Here's to the simple things!

A Sunday Kind Of Love

Sundays are the best days of all for me. I love having a day of rest. More than anything, I love having someone to share the day with. I love cuddling on the couch just spending time with Daniel and no one else. I know that sounds selfish but I don't care, there is nothing better in this world than doing just that. To be able to be lazy and have a wonderful day with the person you love speaks volumes. We don't have to do anything and that is a great day to us. Sunday is and always has been for me an unwritten rule of staying on the couch in sweats until you go to bed. It's a day to watch Lifetime movies while you sleep on and off, eat a big Sunday dinner after church that more than likely you didn't have to fix, and spending time with family. However, now that I  spend my Sundays with Daniel, I opt to read more than watch TV...it's a losing battle for me and that boy with the remote! Yet, he is pretty good to doze off so I change the channel when I get the chance. There is only 1 negative thing about Sunday: knowing that when you go to bed, the weekend is over and it's back to work. Trying to be positive, I guess having to work to get another weekend is all worth it!

Yesterday, instead of being lazy all day, we headed to lunch downtown at Good Dog (which is wonderful), and walked around Frasier. We went back to being lazy just a few hours later with cooking dinner, and piling up on the couch to fall asleep! I love Sundays!

Standing On A Soap Box

Recently, I've noticed there are several books being made into a movie. These are my thoughts/questions: Is this because there are no creative writers in Hollywood these days? That everything has already been done? No more original writers in Hollywood? Seems to me like the people making the big bucks are the writers. I love it, writers who make great stories should be paid for the story to come to life. I think Hollywood is over rated. I love to see them having to go to the book writers to buy their "script." It's a lovely turn of events. Now I feel like I will get a quality movie experience instead of being disappointed when the movie is over. Granted, I may know what is happening or what is about to happen so there is not a high level of suspense and surprise, but I get to see how my visions, ideas, and faces of the characters compare to everyone else's ideas and thoughts. It leads to more opinions, discussions, thoughts, meanings, and maybe even rethinking the book. I like having more thoughts about a book after I read it. I am no movie critic, but I give this two thumbs up!

Onto my soap box one more time......

Have you also noticed that movies are then turning into books? I think this is a wonderful thing. Think about it. Is our society becoming a book worm? I have so many friends reading more now than ever before. We swap our books, suggest the next book to read, and get carried away in conversation about what we are reading. I love nothing more than coming home from work to pile up and read instead of watching TV. 

What's your opinion? Here are a few books turned movie:

Hello November, I've Been Waiting For You!

I have never been more excited to see November in all my life! In October I was in 6 different cities, including the one in live in, and visited one city twice. Needless to say, it was a crazy, busy, hectic month for me and I am glad it's over! We went to 3 football games, 1 concert, 2 weddings (one I was in), and all I really wanted was to go to a pumpkin patch and get a pumpkin. I didn't get a pumpkin, there was no time. For November, my goal is to decorate and prepare my table for Thanksgiving dinner. I may even see if I can find pumpkins....I have some clever ideas to do with them instead of carving a scary face in it. Another project I want to start on is finding old, antique furniture to refinish. This should be a very funny and exciting thing for me! You see, I have never done this before, but you gotta start somewhere right?

                                                            

I welcome November with open arms and am giving it a big hug from my couch with my sweats on! I'm staying put for a while! Unless it is to look for my table toppers or old furniture!

A Rainy Halloween

This year for Halloween, Daniel and I went to the UT game. It was barley drizzling all day until game time. Then came the steady, constant, cold rain we were hoping had passed. We had great seats: corner end zone, 5th row from the field! UT was kicking butt and taking names so sitting in the rain was actually not a waste of time! We were drenched, shivering cold, and there was nothing we could do to be comfortable. People asked me what I dressed up as for Halloween...I guess I can say a Tennessee fan. Here I am in a bright orange hat to keep my hair from being soaked! Thanks to Hannah for meeting me and letting me barrow a hat. Of course she picked out the one that I would look most ridiculous in. But it kept my hair from looking as bad as it could have been!

Last year for Halloween I was also at a football game. It was a high school game, and the girls had to dance. We decided to make it fun and dress up....we were devils! This is little Cooper as the cutest, softest bear around!

This year, our Friday night game we still dressed up, it was of course appropriate to do so since it was Hollow's Eve Night. We thought we would be funny and surprise the principals with a double image of themselves. Just a little side note, I am wearing my dads pants. They had to be this high or I would've lost them!

This was the last football game of the year, so we closed up shop with recognizing our 7 seniors. It was an emotional night for the girls, me, and for Beth as we are done with a part of the season. It's the end of an era for all of us. We have all been together for 6 years and for some reason, they think they have to graduate and go to college....I don't know what has gotten into them!