Coupons and Burn Notice

So here we are, home again - true story, work was cancelled again. I haven't been to work since last Thursday and I couldn't be happier (is that terrible?). Ryan got his notification yesterday around noon and I got mine around 7-ish. So we're home again. Together. With lots of food, hot chocolate, and the cleanest house I ever saw in my life.

So we went grocery shopping yesterday and ended up spending $79.87, which was $4.87 over my goal. I'm chalking that up to a last minute addition to the cart (Consumer Reports Healthy Eating Edition - $6.99). However, we did great with coupons and sales - we saved $23.98, which was 23% of the bill!

I feel like we've been doing pretty good sticking to an $80 a week grocery (and household supplies) budget, especially now that I'm a coupon manic. I cut them every Sunday and try to print a few here and there from websites. I'm good about using them only when something is already on sale, and try to stick to my shopping list (which is matched against my weekly menu).

However - I'm not good about buying stuff when it's on sale to start a little stockpile. I generally have cans of beans and corn around, but it'd be nice to have some key items around for when we can't get to the store and I need to make something quick. It's also good to stock up on stuff you use a lot when it's on sale (and you have coupons!) so you never have to pay full price for those things. I just always forget to look around for good deals because I'm so focused on sticking to my list.

As a side note... Ryan and I always watch the first few skits of SNL to see if the episode is going to be funny. If it is, we watch. If not, we go to bed. Last Saturday, Ashton Kutcher hosted and they did a great skit about Burn Notice. Right now you need to go to Hulu.com and search for SNL Burn Notice. The first thing that comes up is the skit from Saturday. Watch it immediately, and then come back here and please tell me what the hell Burn Notice actually is... because I still have no idea.

January Recap

The original reason for even starting my blog (on Jan. 1 2009) was to keep track of debt reduction and weight loss. On January 1 of this year, I made a new list of goals - shockingly (or not) debt reduction and weight loss topped the chart again. What's different this year? I'm going to do a monthly recap to make sure I'm staying on top of my goals so that each and every one gets accomplished.

Weight Loss
This one has been slow going, but I'm still doing Weight Watchers and have lost a total of 8 pounds so far (since November, so it's not really that impressive). However, I'm now in size 4 jeans... I have never worn size 4 jeans in my life. Not even in college. I'm thrilled with my progress on this one! My goal for February is to lose a total of 4 pounds.

Debt Reduction
The little ticker at the bottom of the page is set to count down the percentage paid on our CCCS accounts starting with the total left in November 2009. In the past 3 months, we've paid 19.4%, leaving a total of 80.6% still to go. To be done in November, we need to pay at least 8.96% each month moving forward, so I'll need to figure out how to shuffle to budget to accommodate that. I think I can send in a double payment on my account this month. Keep an eye on the ticker!

Misc. 2010 Goals
Menu Planning & Once a Week Grocery Shopping - I rocked it in January, doing a menu each week and shopping just once! I missed yesterday because we spent Sunday in the emergency vet clinic with Marley so this week is a free for all. Back on the train next week, though. We've been saving a ton of money buying just what we need and not a ton of extra crap "because it's on sale". This has been pretty key in the debt reduction part of things... it was the random trips to the grocery store each week that really killed us.

Getting Rid of Crap in the House - I took a total of 3 trips to the Goodwill store this month, each time with a car load of stuff. It was mostly clothes, but also some random "stuff". An old iron, a few laundry baskets... stuff that was just taking up space in our little house. The closets aren't as jam-packed any more, but we still need to pare down some more. I know there's stuff in here we don't use, and we just need to get rid of it.

Take Lots of Pictures with the Rebel - Mission accomplished. I took a shit ton of awesome photos in January... not I just need to get them on to the computer so I can share them with you!

Beef Up Our Savings Account - This is an area we're really lacking in because our drive to pay off debt is so strong. In theory, we're paying more in credit card interest than we'd be gaining in interest if this money was sent to a savings account.... however, it's a little disconcerting to look at my bank statement and not see our savings going up every month. To be fair, we ended up with a boat load of emergencies (new alternator, emerg. vet bill) this month and didn't touch our savings at all to pay for them, so that was awesome.

Date Night - Pazo in Baltimore. The restaurant was beautiful, the food was amazing, and the little chocolate cupcakes with whipped cream and salted caramel were to die for. Great dinner. A+ on that date night.

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So that was January in a nutshell. I still have no idea what's for dinner this week, so I'll put something together and get it up tomorrow morning. Happy February!

Menu Monday

Here we are, the first Menu Monday of 2010! This, of course, is one of my goals (see #4) for the new year, and what better way to keep myself acountable than to post it here. In general, I'm going to just post dinners, since who really wants to know what I'm eating the rest of the day (cereal and salads, if you do care)? And if you do a Menu Monday, I'd love for you to leave the link in a comment below - I'm always on the look out for new recipes!

Monday: Whatever looks good at the grocery store! We didn't leave the house yesterday (since it was FREEZING) and planned to go tonight after work. What a way to start the week, I know.

Tuesday: Low-and-Slow Sloppy Joes (from the WW Momentum Cookbook) and salad

Wednesday: I'm at Job #2 and Ryan is at home. I'm taking left over sloppy joes, and he's having salad.

Thursday: Again at Job #2. I'm taking a Boca Chik'n Patty, Peas for One, and crackers/salsa, he's having left over sloppy joes and salad.

Friday: Stupid Job #2. Boca Chik'n Patty, peas for one, and crackers/salsa for me. Boca chik'n patty and salad for him.

Satruday: Late dinner, because Ryan is at work all day. I'm going to attempt to roast a whole chicken (I'm a pro at turkey, but have never done a chicken!). Served with salad.

Sunday: Ryan's at work again all day and won't be home in time for dinner. So, left over chicken and salad for me, and he'll take some leftover chicken with him.

Boring week, huh? Oh well. Just means less to buy! I'll do next week's shopping on Sunday and have a new menu for you next Monday! Anyone else menu planning? Leave me a link below!

Last day of vacation (or, Hell tomorrow)

After two solid weeks of vacation, work starts again tomorrow. I want to say that I'm excited to go back. I really, really do.

But that would be a huge, monsterous, terrible lie. And I'm not into lying this far into the new year.

For the past week, my wonderful husband and I have been holed up in our house, doing not too much of anything (except going to the spa and out for new years eve). And you know what? It was awesome. Not just cause we slept till noon, either. We actually had a chance to hang out, like we used to in college, alone with no distractions. We talked about stuff other than work and the evilness of our jobs. We laid around and made dinner together and did a few projects around the house.

And on more than one occasion, we looked at each other and said "I like hanging out with you".

Sometimes it's hard to remember that when there are bills to be paid and three jobs between the two of us, and there's just nothing in the house for dinner. Sometimes it's hard to think of anything other than the morons we've dealt with all day when we get home from work (neither of us are good at "leaving it at the door") or it's the day before Pay Day, or when we're trying to decide who's going to take out the dog at 11pm when it's 20 degrees out (Rock, Paper, Scissors that shit).

I did not think it was possible, but I'm starting off 2010 more in love with this man than I was on our wedding day. And that was a shit-ton; trust me.

So what are we doing on our last day of vacation? Working on #7 of our 2010 Goal List. So far I've put together 2 garbage bags of clothes and shoes to take to Goodwill and 3 bags of just garbage (including more make-up than I care to admit I've kept since college). We cleaned out the fridge, the linen closest (home of said make-up), and under the bed. I put some random stuff on eBay (and already made $75 in sales!). I'm feeling quite good about our progress, and quite sad that it's back to work tomorrow. So let's just not think about it till tomorrow at 8am. Till then, I'm snuggling with my husband and dog on the couch.

Anyone else working on their new years resolutions/goals yet?

***And hey, if you know any fall brides, pass this along - awesome fall wedding (or bridal shower) favors. And if you need more than 25 of these guys, just buy the rest of them from here. You'll save $49.50 off the full price if you buy them from me :-)

Year in Review

I started this lil' blog 364 days ago... and here I am, closing out the year with post #293. Crazy!

2009 was truly a year in transition. We spent 2008 thrilled to be engaged and planned our wedding like crazy. We shared the happiest day of our lives that November, and spent 7 glorious days in Mexico, soaking up the sun and staring at our wedding rings. And then, broke from the wedding and honeymoon, we rung in 2009 together on our couch, excited about what the year would bring, but unsure as to where we were going.

What did 2009 bring us? In no particular order:

• A bigger house! We moved from our 1 bedroom (plus den) apartment in Baltimore to a 2 bedroom townhouse. We feel like real adults with an upstairs and downstairs (real adults who are afraid to have a mortgage, anyway). We even did some redecorating and building.
• A midwest road trip. It's funny how we were in such a hurry to get out of Indiana, and for our vacation this year, we chose to drive through Illinios, Indiana, and Missouri. It's funny how that works out. And Chicago is still my favorite city.
• I spoke with many, many, many, many cashiers who have too much to say.
• I got contacts. I'm 27 and have been wearing glasses since freshman year in high school. A little late to the game, I guess. And funnily enough, I still wear my glasses a lot.
• I went to San Diego by myself. I truly hate traveling alone, but it was nice to have a minute to miss my husband. And miss him I did... who wants to be standing with her toes in the Pacific sand alone, on the complete opposite side of the country? Not this girl, that's for sure. Oh, and I met the guys from Deadliest Catch.
• We went to 2 weddings - my brother-in-law and our friends from college. I love getting dressed up!
• I started working part time at the mall. A huge kill yourself, but the discount is killer. And the extra $100 a week is pretty nice, too. It was supposed to just be a summer thing, but now it's a "till I'm too pregnant to be on my feet for 4 hours" type of thing. No, I'm not pregnant. That's a 2010 type of thing.
• A blue lobster now lives in our house. I now play mom to a dog and a lobster.
• Marley May turned 5! She's been our girl for the past 4 years, but honestly, I can't remember our life without her. I'm pretty happy to say that her grey hairs are minimal (like, maybe she has 5 on her chin?), and thrilled to say (knock on wood) that she's healthy and happy as a clam.
• February Photo Shoot.
• We celebrated our first anniversary! We went back to the Loews Annapolis, took some pictures, had a great dinner, ate year old cake.... it was great.
• Started wedding album on May 15. Was able to narrow down photos to 80 for wedding album on December 15. Should receive it sometime in the spring. Approximately a year and a half post-wedding.

But 2009 wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. We talked a lot about where we want to be in the next few years, and we still haven't come to a consensus on if that's in NJ or MD. We looked at our finances and even though we've made so much progress on our CCCS accounts, sometimes it seemed like it was never going to end. There was lots of talk about jobs and careers and the kind of life we want for our family. And all of these tough conversations have truly made our marriage stronger... even though at the time, there may or may not have been some tears. But we did find our "roadmap" this year. We know where we want to go (though the NJ/MD debate is still up in the air) and how we want to get there. And we have some big plans for 2010.

This year we found our bearings. Next year we'll really begin our journey. But tonight? We're going out in DC to celebrate with our friends. We're doing it big this year, because who knows... next year maybe we'll be at home with a little one asleep in our arms.

Wishing everyone a very happy new year! I have my goals for 2010 ready to go tomorrow, so see you next year!