Good Deal on Photos

Walgreen's is having a deal on photo prints until October 31, 2009. Buy 30 for $3.00. This makes the prints $0.10 a piece (normal price is around $0.19). Enter in "booprint" at the online checkout.

I uploaded my pictures online and was able to pick them up in 2 hours at my store. I am making my niece a "My First Year" scrapbook so this deal was really nice!

God Bless the Woman Behind Me

Recently I've been spending a lot of my time (I have a lot of time to spend!) looking for good deals. Yesterday I was at Rite Aid and today I went to Walgreen's and Target. Here's what I got!

WALGREEN'S

Retail $42.91 After coupons and Register Rewards for my next purchase, I paid $1.16. WOWZERS! AHHHH I love coupons! However, Walgreen's has given me difficultly the past few times I have shopped there. During this trip the lady behind me gave me grief. She only had 40 minutes to get home to shower and get to work and all that stood between that was her desire for cigarettes and my coupons causing havoc. I didn't say anything to her but driving home I thought of some good comebacks. A lady I use to work with at the florist always said that when a person is acting like they are having a bad day say to them "I'll pray for you". She would say it in a sarcastic manner but I reckon believers really should say it with meaning.

TARGET

Retail $32.15 (this is with the items on sale, I cannot remember their real price). I paid $5.46 plus tax. That's like buying one and getting 4 free. The house will be smelling good now!

Taking a Stab at Couponing

I have been clipping coupons for years. In the past I would only clip brands or products that I liked and used, then would buy that item whenever I needed it. It wasn't until recently when my friend Jessica (http://myquarterlifecrisisjmu.blogspot.com) let me in on the secret of maximizing the coupon experience.

Here was my second shopping trip to Rite Aid on Oct. 27, 2009

I paid $3.02 for these items that I actually use! Retail would have been $18.36 at Rite Aid. I would have paid $2.30 more except the cashier (who was the manager) entered in $4.99 instead of $2.39 for the BOGO Halls coupon. heehee :)

I am hoping that I can stock up on some manly things with coupons so I can make my two brothers a useful and cheap Christmas gift. I will let you know if I succeed.

Jogging

Two days ago I decided to see how well my dog, Griffin, did at jogging. I have not been taking her while I jog in fear that she will pass out on me (she is 13 years old); however she is in relatively good shape for her age. She loved it at first and I couldn't keep up with her. But shortly after her lavish start she began to slow down, going from 10 feet in front of me to beside me and eventually 10 feet behind me. I tried to jog slower so she could be beside me but it was no use. I felt like it would have been borderline abuse if I continued to pull her along.

The new plan is to jog a one mile loop, starting at my house and ending there and picking up Griffin once I am done and walking her for a mile loop or more. Hopefully when I am more accustomed to vigorous exercise I will jog two miles and walk one. YAY!

My Animals

Last June my childhood dog had to be put to sleep. It was heartbreaking but I am happy for having him in my life and realizing that pets are family too. Just this morning I walked by my parents' room and saw the sweetest thing. My 13 year old dog was snuggled up with my 1 year old cat. It inspired me to write a little something for them.

Patch

My family got Patch in 1993 from one of my aunts (I was 7 years old). Her two chihuahuas had a litter of puppies. Patch was one of the four that survived. He was larger than most chihuahuas and people sometimes mistook him as a boston terrier. He also did not act like a normal chihuahua. He was calm and friendly and only barked if the door bell rang. He liked meeting new people, squeaky toys, and laying on the couch with Griffin. The last three years of Patch's life were rough. His health went down hill after a Christmas party my family had where a guest fed Patch the left over little smokies that are cooked in bbq sauce. This caused his pancreas to swell and he had to have surgery.  Patch was never the same; other health issues arose like loss of sight and hearing and having to use the bathroom more often. During the last year of Patch's life we assumed he was close to blind and deaf because he would run into things and would not respond to his name or other calls. The most difficult thing about having an elderly dog was leaving him downstairs at night. He could no longer go up and down stairs and if we carried him up and let him walk around he would eventually fall down the stairs.

The picture shown was taken the December before he died. He was sitting in the spot that I often found him in outside. My stepdad had to construct some sort of fence to keep him in otherwise we would never find him. We soon realized that the chicken wire needed a little tlc as well because Patch escaped underneath it once, so the 2x4's had to be placed on the bottom. Patch was put to sleep June 28, 2008 after he had a stroke. Mom and Jim-Daddy found him in the kitchen laying on his side. He could no longer walk because half of his body was paralyzed. I was in Hawaii at the time doing a 3 month internship so I was not able to see him. He is buried in our backyard beside the rose bush. The pain I feel about losing him is still so strong. It was as if I lost a sibling. I can still hear his collar jingling through the house.

Griffin

When I was young I obsessed over dogs. I would study books on breeds and go hang out in the pet store all the time. I really wanted a big dog, like a dalmatian or malamute, but Mom said no. :(  Mom and I would go to the shelter or adoption days every so often looking for the right dog. Well when Mom found Griffin she fell in love; I didn't like her so much because she would never weigh 60 pounds and to be quite honest she was kinda ugly. After weeks of not finding a dog we could agree on we saw Griffin again at an adoption day. We decided on her because no one else had and it has been a wonderful decision. That was in 1998.

Griffin is really loud. We say that she isn't barking at people, she's talking to them. And she really is. I can ask her questions and she will bark back at me as if she was answering me. She is very excitable, even in her old age. She loves walks more than anything and could go for hours. She has a way of prancing around that makes her look sassy and she sticks her nose up to other dogs we encounter. She thinks she is queen bee. As of now she is missing most of her teeth and her hearing but is still a healthy weight, which is a triumph for some 13 year old dogs. Recently, Griffin has enjoyed sleeping all day, playing with the cats, and learning how to escape from the backyard ghetto-fied chicken wire fence to take herself on walks down to the creek.

Mysti (pronouced Misty)

Mysti started out as my stepbrother's cat that he had in his college apartment. Then the landlord found out and Mysti got sent home to Mom and Dad. At first it was weird to have a cat in the house. We were always dog people and a cat was a new ingredient to our mix. I didn't warm up to her until she came up to me and laid on my stomach while I watched TV. Mysti is a bipolar cat at times. She will love to be the center of action and then she is off not to be seen for hours. She loves to sleep in confined spaces like boxes, under the bed, or dresser drawers that have been left open. Mysti stays outside for the majority of her time and will often come in for 5 minutes to eat and then cry at the door to go outside again. Mysti is very adventurous and explores things that the other cat dares not to come close to. I will often see Mysti chasing other neighborhood cats or little dogs that are on leashes! She is quite funny.

Might I say that both of my cats do not use a litter box regularly. I have a litter box provided for emergencies but the cats go outside like dogs do. It's ingenious and works 90% of the time but do not forget that dogs make mistakes too.

December

December is my personal cat; she will go with me when I fly the coop (hopefully sooner rather than later). I found her outside my apartment door on my 22nd birthday (which is December 1st) however she was not in a wrapped box with a bow but instead wet and hiding behind the little grill. She was very friendly right off the bat but a little scared to come inside the apartment. My roommates and I helped her along to get acquainted with the apartment and soon enough she would only go outside to do her business and roll around on the pavement.

Now that December and I have moved into my parents house she has gotten rather lazy and overweight (due to my mom overfeeding her while I was gone for 3 months). December is very sweet and unlike other cats she loves to be rubbed constantly and lay close to me, as if she were a dog. Her favorite place to sleep is in the middle of my bed. She is opposite of Mysti in that she stays inside most of the time except to go to the bathroom. December gets very upset if we leave her out all night and will cry to you after you let her back in. December and Griffin get along really well; like today I often find them sleeping near one another.

Roxie

Roxie, also know as Roxie Poxie Pookie Pot Pie, is a white boxer. She has one blue eye and one brown but she is not blind or deaf which is typical for white boxers. Her skin is spotted underneath her soft white fur and in the summer when she lays out the spots get darker. Pookies (her abbreviated nickname) is a fun loving, social dog. She gets incredibly excited when we come home. She loves to play fetch with tennis balls, ropes, and frizbees. We are just now kicking the habit of playing tug-o-war when we play fetch. Yay!

Roxie is technically Gavin's dog. She lives with him and he pays for her but I am her Mommy. I am the one who spent time getting her to learn new tricks and how to behave properly. She was a perfect dog until she moved into Gavin's parents' house where she is spoiled beyond belief and fed table food. She use to lay on the rug while we ate dinner now she puts her nose on the table and thinks its ok! Well it's not and I can't wait til Gavin and I have our own place with Roxie so things will go back to normal. But that is a whole other blog...

The Tank Critters

 In March of this year Gavin started the new hobby of keeping salt water corals and fish. His interest has died down now but someone has to help him take care of it, me. I enjoy feeding the fish and scraping algae off the glass, honestly I do. I have heard that owning an aquarium lowers blood pressure and I truly believe it. I will be laying on Gavin's bed watching the critters and before I know it I am fast asleep. The coolest part about the aquarium is watching the corals grow. Gavin bought frags (small pieces) of different corals when we first started this hobby and it is amazing how they have grown.

Besides corals that I cannot name we have two clown fish that I call Little Man and Mama, a skunk shrimp called Jacque, 3 hermit crabs (1 died recently) and 5 snails that reproduced a month back leaving us with 10 plus tiny baby snails hanging around. There is a lot of knowledge in keeping a salt water fish tank up but it really isn't that hard. We change the water every two weeks and scrap the glass every few days (which takes 2 minutes) and of course feed the fish once a day.

My pets have brought me great joy over the years and although it is heartbreaking when they are gone it is imperative to have them in my life. They provide comfort, affection, and laughter and we all need that.

Trials with a Roman Shade

Yesterday I was on my usual Target adventure and I was checking out the window blinds and shades section when I saw the exact same energy saving, cream, 31 inch roman shades that I have been desiring.

Target had a multitude of these shades a few months back and I of course was waiting for them to go on sale. Then one week (I go to Target at minimum once a week; yesterday it was 3 times! eek!) they were all gone and in their place was a sad red sign that read "We are improving this section. Check back in later." or something along those lines. I was heartbroken thinking that they were going to replace my energy saving, cream, 31 inch roman shades!

Since the incident I have been shopping around to find a replacement. Wal-Mart carries something similar but cheaper looking (not less expensive at all). Anna's Linen's claims to have good deals but their window treatments are junk. Being the hopeless romantic I am, every time I would go into a Target I would check the shade section with hopes that my love would be waiting. Then one day (yesterday that is!) there they were. Crammed in with the bamboo and mini blinds were two energy saving, cream, 31 inch roman shades! Hallelujah! Unfortunately there was no sale or clearance sign in sight but there was also no correct price label on the shelf... So I snatched one of the boxes and power walked to the price checker in the main aisle. 

Here's the best part. They were half off! YAY! That is like getting one free!!!!!!! $17.49 a piece; that may not seem like a good price but if they stay up a fraction of the time that the old blinds did it's a bargain.  As you could guess I bought them. Now getting them up and functioning was the hard part.

I began last night taking down the 23 year old outdated mini blinds. These blinds had depressed me for the past few years when I became aware that beautiful rooms make life..well...more beautiful. To make a long story short I will just say that by the third hole in, my drill bit broke and it was 10 PM. Saddness. I bought two replacement bits just in case I broke another one and guess what. I broke another one on the first try. I thought I was going to need to buy 3/32 inch drill bits in bulk! Fortunately the third bit did not break.

Now that the holes were done all I can say is screw these so called electric drill/drivers! The drill part worked excellently minus me breaking the bits, however the screw driver function was defective and useless. I was pissed. Correction, I am still pissed. My hands are still aching and nice red calluses are forming because of hand screwing in 16 screws! Yuck. But that really is the least of my worries now because for some reason I can not get the damn shades to fit on the brackets I so carefully drilled and hand screwed into the window frame. After 15 minutes of attempting to jam the metal "head piece" on to the brackets I make-shifted it and they are functioning...but please if you come to my room do not yank on the cord. :)

I'm workin' on it!

They say if you want to live healthier you have to make a lifestyle change. So I've been thinking about making the change; "thinking" being the key word in that statement. I have never been one for dieting. Actually, I have never been on a diet in my life. But I also do not eat terribly bad. I love salads, yogurt with granola, veggies and fruit and I do not eat a lot of red meat or meat in general. I am against diets. They work for some people... sometimes. I have a friend who lost a ton of weight doing the weight watchers program and then in 2 years time she gained it back because she didn't stick with it after she was a size 4. I have another friend who did that crazy no carb Atkin's diet and she also gained the weight back in time. That's my problem with diets; you can't eat what you want and I have to eat what I want or I will eat nothing at all. And like I said before in order to lose weight we have to make lifestyle changes. For me, I can learn to exercise but I can not learn to go without ice cream.

Every night at about 10 o'clock I get the hankering for something cold...and chocolaty. And that is how I gained ten pounds in 4 years. So in loo (or however you spell it) of the weight gain I am going to make some changes and if I'm lucky they will be life changes.

So I started to exercise. When I say exercise I mean that I walk the dog for 30 to 45 minutes or I jog a mile and then walk one. And when I say started I mean about two weeks ago. Gavin (my boyfriend of 3.5 years) has been working out steadily for about two months now in hopes that he will pass the physical examination for a NC wildlife officer position he applied for. So when he started to work out I decided it's time I started also. Even though I have been walking a few nights a week I haven't seen any change in my figure but I reckon that it will take time, especially since I am not super overweight (only ten pounds according to my physician).
From past experience I know it takes me 2 months to lose 7 pounds with exercising vigorously 5 or more days a week. I know this because when I lived on the Navy base in Hawaii I had nothing to do, no money, a free gym to go to, and a lonely boyfriend back in NC. So to ease the pain I would sweat. Now I am unemployed and living at my parents house maybe I should start that routine again. So I hope to start exercising at least 4 days out of the week and trying to eat less ice cream.

I would really like to keep updates on my progress on my blog but because a lady does not reveal her weight I guess I'll just have to say how much better I look. :)

Leading by Example

On December 28, 2008 I became the most wonderful thing in the world; an aunt. Sadie Madelyn Gibson, now going by Maddy, is the light of my life.

My home has changed a lot during the last year. My brother, Chris, moved to Baltimore, my stepbrother, Jake, and Maddy moved in, and after graduating college and being unemployed I also moved back into my parent's home in Greensboro.

Even though I am not Maddy's mother, I care for her as if she were my own. The quote "it takes a village to raise a child" is definitely the circumstance in my house. We are a 3 generation household. It is tough at times but somehow it seems to work.

I was the first one in the family to put shoes on the little stinker. As you can see it didn't go over so well...

The living room is now a play room and the dining room is now a nursery. Maddy loves her walker; she will sit and play in it for hours while I do other house work. She started to crawl right before she was 9 months.

Maddy has already learned to love technology and will choose a shiny cell phone over Elmo any day.

Maddy Keiki (my pet name for her) is a very happy baby. (keiki means child in Hawaiian) She cries rarely and laughs often. She is the funnest at bath time; loves bubbles, her duckies and turtles, and will sit patiently while I clip her nails and wash her hair.

The best thing about being a "live-in" aunt is that I can play with my niece and take care of her needs anytime I want to and when I don't feel like it there are 3 other adults around. :)

what is she waiting for?

this could be it.

this could be all she's been waiting for all her life.

this could be all her dreams rolled into one.
this could be everything shes been wanting.
could this be it?
could this be the end of heartbreak?
could she end her sleepless nights?
resting asure that he'll be there when she wakes
watching her, waiting for her, breathing with her



falling like a stone
carrie lee

Posted on 9.19.2006 at 12:45 AM

July Nights

this wonderful summer evening

a light breeze blows through the humidity
and the sun sets behind you and your love
as you both look out over the atlantic
your hands are clenched as one.
the sea oats wave on top of the dunes
and a hundred ghost crabs scurry from their homes.
sitting on a sheet that won't lay down
the sand creeps farther up your ankles and
in between your toes as you curl them
your ears are ringing with silence.
you lay down, eyes shut, knees up, and head back
and when your lids open
you find yourself staring at the sweetest pair of blue eyes.
right in the moment when your lips touch one another
you realize that you never want this to change
and you cope with the feelings that you thought were lost.
blood breaks on the shore in your heart
and the currents rush through your veins
as the waves of love pull you under

and you know that you will never breathe the same salty air again

or ever want to




carrie lee

Posted on 7.22.2006 at 5:35 PM