Saving Money 101

Earle and I have prayerfully decided to put our house up for sale to see if anything happens. This leads me into two thoughts. My times has been stretched because of getting the house ready to be seen by strangers and this has also caused me to look for ways to save money for the down payment on the next house.

I also have to admit that looking for ways to save money is fun and I enjoy trying to save the most money each week.

If you have ever seen the target commercial below you will appreciate the following blog.


1. The New Salon
Now, this may look like a really bad idea to some of you, and it took lots of staring at the boxes in the store before I convinced myself I needed to try and highlight my own hair. I combed the aisle's of CVS for several minutes before I made my selection of the perfect shade of blonde.


I was very surprised to find that coloring one's own hair calls for more parts then my car's engine. I fanned my spread out and began the process by reading the directions.


I soon called for backup, beautician Earle to the rescue, to help with the back of the hair. I followed the direction for the first few steps then decided to add my own twist because it did not seem I was seeing any results.

After squirting every bit of solution into my hands I lathered up my entire head (I do not suggest that you do this). I wanted to make sure it "worked" (remember we are working on saving money here and I did not want to have to buy a second box) so I kept it on for more then the recommended time limit just to be sure.

I am happy to say that I did not come out with blue or orange hair. I am not sure that there was even a difference, but at least I can say I tried!

2. The New Weekend Getaway

A few weeks ago a great plan was hatched by my friend Casey, a wine tasting weekend in Helen, Georgia. This plan excited my very much and the weekend sounded like tons of fun. For a different number of reasons our weekend getaway was never had, but we did the next best thing- (and saved money) a wine tasting night.

Everyone gathered at the house and brought a bottle of wine they wanted to try along with an appetizer. I am really fond of food too.

It was not weekend getaway in Helen, but it was quite a night.

Our wine tasting table before everyone arrived.



Brooke brought two very yummy appetizers. She is very talented and has recently started blogging on her creations. Take some time to look at her recipes. She puts a healthier twist on some favorites. Brookes' Blog

Below we have Key Lime Coconut Cupcakes and freshly made bruschetta.

3. Grocery Shopping to a new level

When Earle and I first got married I tried to clip coupons, by tried I mean I did it one time.

Then.............

I discovered the best thing since sliced bread: Southern Savers blog. My sweet friend Jenny tracks the sales at grocery stores and organizes the coupons for you. If you really want to save money you really need to dig into this blog. It has saved me tons in just a few weeks. Here are a few of my shopping trips I am the most proud of.

CVS

6 pack of Bounty paper towels

2 Oral B toothbrushes

4 boxes of cereal

Total Before Coupons: $25.00

I payed: $4.25

Publix

1 Pack of Chicken Breasts

2 Bottles of Vitamin B

1 Yoplait Yogurt

1 tub of I can't Believe its not Butter

Total Before Coupons: $16.00

I payed: $3.52

More savings to come!

Have a great money saving week.


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The Biggeset Loser

About a month ago our school was challenged by the middle school next door. The competition involved a biggest loser challenge.

The Rules:
1. Teams of three could enter
2. Weigh ins are every three weeks
3. The team with the highest percentage of weight loss would win the prize

After the announcement was made at a faculty meeting, eyes began to dart all over the room as teachers begin to pick their teams. I can't say that it is a good thing that someone wants you on their team because they probably think you need to lose the most weight.

Preceding some cut throat discussions and a mean game of rock paper scissors the teams were formed and team names were made up. Some of these include:

More to lose then you think
No Mo Muffin Tops
Wii Fat
Fatty Boom Batty


Work was all a buzz the next day as carrots replaced chocolate and strawberries replaced sugar. It only took a few days before the kids wanted to know why all of us were in bad moods ;)

Truly, this competition has been a great learning experience. I have really taken the time to research foods and what they provide to the body, besides taste. Earle and I joined the gym, where I am proud to say that after a month of working out and watching the calorie intake I lost .5 of an oz! That's 1/2 of an ounce, and that was after I used the potty too!

Though the pounds may not be coming off like I would like, I do feel better and have more energy throughout the day.
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Backfire of a Plan

Listening to a professor for 5 hours may sound like fun to some people, but I do not particularly fit into that category.

During my class on Saturday my brain started wondering all over the Internet. I came across a pet adoption agency and found a ball of fur that tugged on my little heart strings. This adorable small find was Cliff the Cocker Spaniel.

A plan quickly came to mind. I posted a link to help find Cliff onto Earle's facebook wall. I thought he surly could not miss the hint then. I have a dog who I love very much so this "hint" was nothing more then a way to pass the time in class. Little did I know!

A few days later Cliff had been forgotten when I learned of a new word: Goldendoodle- a mix of a Golden Retriever and a Poodle. Seems that all the dog wall posts have sparked a doogie nerve in Earle's heart.

A student of his was in the process of trying to give away their 2 year old Goldendoodle, Rusty. I approached the situation very carefully asking the most important question first: How much does he weigh?

The response I was given by his student was about 40 pounds. Earle teaches math support classes so that should have triggered something right there. They also e-mailed me a picture of Rusty so that I could too see how cute he was.

After receiving the picture. I responded with just one word, precious. (He looked about 40 pounds to me)


Fast forward a few hours later after a long day of teaching and a good run at the gym. I walk into the kitchen and find....

The real 70 pound Rusty looking up at me. Getting a dog without really thinking your getting a dog can be a little shocking to the system. I was a little quiet for a while to say the least.

Now that I am settled with the idea that Rusty is joining our family things have settled down a bit. He is a wonderful dog that makes me want to send Smokey to obedient school!

They are getting along great and becoming good friends.

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A two week nap!

Lots of exciting news and events over the past two weeks…

Earle had a sleep test and spinal tap scheduled at Emory on the 23rd to get some more research on Kline Leven Syndrome. A few days before the test, he had to stop all his medicine to get an accurate measurement of his blood and protein levels. The good and bad news was that he got sick the day he went of the medicine… bad because he feel asleep, good because we know that the medicine must be helping in some way.

After a few boxes of cookie crisp and a few thousand nerds we headed up to Emory to drop him off. They hooked him up to the machines and he did what he does best, slept.

The next morning we made the trip back up to pick him up. I walked in to find they had turned him into a mummy.

They waited until I arrived to do the spinal tab and the blood work, lucky me. He did such a great job considering he was sleepy sick.

It was a long weekend but the tests were run and a few more boxes of cereal were eaten.

As always some of the things that come out of his mouth during this time never surprise me. Here is a snapshot of living with a real live Rip Van Winkle…

· To the Korean doctor at Emory- “You got pretty skin. Can I touch it?” and “Does your daddy own Kia?”

· To Dr. Rye during the blood work as he takes off the band on his arm “Let’s do this another day, okay?”

· As I walked by the bathroom, while he was taking a bath I hear this song- “I’m in Jamica Mon, I’m in Jamica man.”

· Tell Andrea and Whitfield bye” Bye raaaatard!”

It is always a interesting time to say the least with spiritual lessons along the way.

He is up and feeling better!

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Dear God,

Thank you for a new day
Help Earle to get well soon
Give me energy to get through the week
You are a great God
Allow your will to be ours
Let those who are seeking find you
Guide me to stop eating the chocolate in front of me ;)

Amen

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Small Neck-Big Mouth

When I was young I chocked on a the bone of a catfish,

When I was about 10 I decided it would be a good idea to put a game board piece in my mouth, and again, I choked on that.

In college, I freaked myself out and had trouble getting a piece of salad down, to which I thought I chocked.

I diagnosed myself with a small esophagus and just decided to take small bites.

With a slight fear of choking all my life I decided to stay with liquid forms of medicine. This can be a little strange when a 27 year old pulls out her cherry flavored liquid Tylenol to take for a headache.

I recently hit a milestone in my pill taking journey and taught myself to swallow a very tiny pill each day. it continues to be a struggle on some nights but I fight through it.

Then......

what seemed like a typical Thursday night in our house turned into another documented sign that I do have a small espohagus.

I was talking my usually nightly very small pill when it get stuck. Stuck in my throat that is. After a few seconds I realized that I was not dead, but this little thing was uncomfortably lodged in the side of my throat.

We did what any mind abling citizen would do at this point...googled it.

"Pill stuck in Throat" came up with lots of hits.
Some of the advice included:
eat applesauce
drink water
wait
eat bread

After trying a few of these with no luck I decided to jump up and own on the bed hoping I could force it down or maybe stand on my head to make it come back up.

At 10 pm I was still not dead so I decided I would just have to wait for the stubborn thing to dissolve. I put on my pajamas, tucked myself in, and somewhere during the night the pill continued its journey down my digestive track to the correct place.

Maybe I should google small throat disease.

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Christmas Break

Brittany, "I mean where have the past two week gone?"

Earle. "Brittany, we did a lot!"

Christmas break has come and is almost gone. Tomorrow the sound of a blaring alarm clock will resume its' job as my wake up call. Earle was right. We did more then a lot over the break. We had a few adventures, constructed a few houses, and even saw some old friends.

Nothing else can start a two week vacation off then to drive to Orlando to see my favorite older sister graduate. We packed up the truck and headed down south. I was well equipped with movies for the entire trip there and back. Kristy is a very smart person and even managed to get two degrees. Notice all the honor cords around her neck. We did a lot of eating and laughing the entire weekend.
She was very quick to remind anyone that forget that it was HER day.

Very soon after the Orlando trip, the second big adventure of the break began: Gingerbread Wars, version 2.

I'm not sure how the first annual gingerbread war came about last year, but I do have sad memories of the results. Out of the four entries I placed 4th. With the losing pressure from last year mounted on my shoulders I began to do a little gingerbread building research. Some may call this cheating, but I like to call it strategy.

The competition started off a little slow, but things quickly began to pick up.

We had a new entry this year. Earle decided to join the competition at the last minute. Well actually the night before. He stayed up until midnight perfecting his gingerbread creation.



This was the final masterpiece: Gingerbread Cabin

The entries were lined up and the secret voting began. We have a very technological savvy way of doing this. Mom places a number on each house and we vote for the one we like the best. I was very nervous as this point in the game.

After the results were tallied, a tie! Andy skyped in at the right moment and gave his vote from Korea via web cam.

At last the winner was revealed: First place...........me!


As you can see from the family picture we took after the competition I was very excited over my victory.

With the victory fresh on my mind. We headed out for a busy, but fun day of Christmas family visiting.

7:00- Wake up and pack the car

8:00- Mom and Dad's for Santa

11:00- Aunt Teri's for brunch

3:00- The Tanners' for a quick shower

4:15-Nana's house for a little visit

5:00- Andrea and Jason's for a Christmas dinner

11:00- Bed at the Tanners

That's right guinness book of world records. We hit up seven houses on Christmas day.

We got to hang out with some pretty awesome and excited kids. Taylor loves her Uncle Earle.

We tried several times to take this. Taylor kept saying, "Let me see me."

Taylor also took time out of her schedule to put on a fashion show for us. I think she did her make up too.

You may be wondering where Tanner man was hiding all this time.

Well, Santa came through and brought nothing other then a Wii!

After a very eventful Christmas day a little R and R time was much needed with some beautiful college buddies. These two helped me forget about the traveling blues and catch up on some good times.

I even got Earle and Josh to stop talking for a moment and give me a quick pic. BFFs!

The last big adventure involved some extremely cold weather, extremely bright lights, and extremely fun friends. Lindsey and her boyfriend met us as we went though some very pretty Christmas lights. It was freezing, but fun.

Brooke is trying to thaw out. She is still a little white from being frozen.

So friends, it saddens me to say that Christmas break 2009 is now a part of my past. Here's to just as many adventures in 2010!

I leave you with a few videos from our two weeks.......

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