Coupons, Coupons

I feel a little stingy and cheap when I use coupons. Sad, but true. I feel that if I don't have the funds to purchase crap without little paper slips, then I shouldn't bother. Then I discovered that coupons are: Ta-da! You guessed it! ADVERTISING!

So I've been mooching as many coupons as possible from those coupon books and the mail. I've got 20% of my dry-cleaning, free french fries, $5 of Disney movies--all sorts of stuff. I used to feel that if I had a coupon, it meant I had to use it. Now I know that it's not necessary. It's simply to save when I need it to.

I employed the use of 4 coupon's at Michael's yesterday, saving myself over $10. Although it was a hassle and I had to process 4 transactions, it got 4 MORE coupons in return plus it saved me an hour's work ($11 for an hour of work vs. 10 min. shuffling coupons...).

Mission accomplished and cheapness achieved. It's like, Idaho's gimmick!

I found this...

So I found this ridiculous list on Becky's (AKA Karen's) blog. I thought I'd fill it out because it looked funny...and all the bolded ones are things I've done. Some, I never hope to do...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii (I will soon though!)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyworld/Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you were not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (Not for lack of trying though!)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been laid off from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

No Reason

I just wanted to post some more recent pictures (you know, from BEFORE I lost our camera).

1. Note the blizzard raging outside.
2. Funny Faces
3. More funny faces
4. My fake, hand-drawn tattoo

A Birthday, A Party, and A Crash

...Matt threw me a fantastic surprise party the other day. April 26th was my 23rd birthday, and I was feeling pretty bummed that nobody wanted to hang out. My friends suck, I thought. Until...I arrived home from the SRC; there were about 20 people in my living room!!!

My apartment had been decorated, there were presents on the table, and everyone pitched in to buy some serious sized pizza. I had a wonderful time, and would like to give an extra thank you to Desee, Katie, and Matt who put the whole thing together :-) I didn't have to do anything

Unfortunately, I came down with something terrible ON my birthday, which lasted three days. I missed a day of work, I slept 17 hours straight, and now I'm feeling better.

More than I need!

...For Christmas last year, my combined bosses purchased a gift certificate at a Bed & Breakfast in Spokane, WA for me. This weekend, we FINALLY used it! We stayed at "Angelica's Bed & Breakfast" in the old(er) part of Spokane. We spent Saturday evening looking at Spokane falls, walking around Canada Island, and enjoying ourselves on Riverfront Park.We had a great time in Spokane, walking around, shopping, and forgetting about life for 24 hours.

At the bridge, I decided to get a scoop of ice cream. There is little better than a stroll across the river with ice cream in hand. Dreyer's had three options: The sundae boat (three scoops, toppings), a double scoop, and a single scoop. I requested a single scoop--with hot fudge.

"But you could get the Sundae boat: three scoops and toppings..." says the guy at the counter.

"Right. But I don't want or need three; I just want one" is my reply.

"I don't know if I can do that. We only sell three with toppings" he says.

He fumbles around for a while, asking his fellow employees if he can sell me just one scoop with a topping. Finally, he concludes that he can sell me two scoops with one topping.

"Just one, not two."

"Ok"

So: I paid for one scoop + topping. Mission accomplished!

Lunch, Lunch...

I'm so hungry all I can think about is lunch. If I could have anything, I'd eat a bacon-cheese ciabatta burger at Jack In The Box. Does anyone else find it odd that Jack In The Box resurrected after their horse-meat fiasco?

Anyways, I'll probably just go and munch on those delicious and satisfying vegetables I brought with me today. Or, I'll convince Matt to meet me...

Easter!

Matt has introduced me to Easter. AKA Christmas Jr. That's not to say that I wasn't aware of Easter or its comings and goings, but I got an Easter basket this morning!!! It was filled with purple plastic crap, but hidden throughout were an abundance of malt eggs, Cadbury eggs, and presents. A movie and a CD, to be specific.

Easter was a day-long event, filled with food, clorox, and church.

First, Matt tried to convince me that church actually started at 9:30am, not 9am. He did not succeed. Next, we came home and cooked ham, challah bread (braided Jewish loaf), key lime squares, and cleaned the house. Luckily, I sprayed clorox in the ham glaze, so we had to make another batch. The Langston's made some schmancy veggies, which we all ate heartily of at 4pm. Then, in honor of the day, Katie, Adah, and I made a trip to the church with some plastic bags to pick up some litter. Two 30 Gallon bags later, we still hadn't succeeded.

Either way, Matt and I ended the evening with Juno, and I don't think I've ever wanted to start my family so badly.

Everest!

I'm about 30 pages from finishing a novel by Jon Krakauer "Into Thin Air." AMAZING; I love it. Despite the tragedy, pain, and incredible suffering that go into climb this hulking mass of a mountain, I desperately want to. It's expensive though: Upwards of $65,000 on a guided tour, and that doesn't even pay for your flight or climbing gear. The climb is strenuous, oxygen-deprived, and the risk of altitude sickness is ridiculously high. Nobody else I've spoken to thinks that it sounds fun.

I do.

A Harrowing Weekend

I was about to rant about stupid people today; but, thinking better of myself, I decided to write regarding our decision on the condominium rather than bring up others' faults. I have them too, and it's getting pretty close to Easter.

After much deliberation, we made an offer of $67,000 on the place--asking price was $74,900. Barely a 10% difference, which is generous considering the nosedive the market has taken in the past three years. If you recall, housing was at an all-time-high in 2006; houses purchased at $25,000 30 years ago were selling (like hotcakes!) for over $1 Million. My mom bought her condo for $240,000; it sky-rocketed to $450,000 a year later. Within three years, foreclosures, bankruptcy, and a general flushing of the economy created a surplus of housing at obscenely good prices.

For someone at the stage where house buying is in the near future, it seems like a good thing. That was our reasoning to invest in a condo here. However, when the seller counter-offered with $73,000 (really?), we decided that the investment would be a poor return. A one bedroom, one bathroom apartment doesn't rent for anything above $475 here, and our payments would be around $600 (with taxes and H.O.A. fees). For a seller trying to come out ahead in the current market is absolutely ridiculous.

Besides, we've heard being an absentee landlord kind of stinks.

Overpriced!

The condo was dated, did NOT have a garage (as advertised), and was quite small. Cute, and overall a good financial decision--just overpriced! We're going to see it again next Thursday; perhaps to make an offer. The seller wants the same amount as they paid in 2006, in the peak of the housing bubble.Hopefully, we can get it for perhaps $65,000 or less. It needs a lot of work.