Going to the chapel...

Ahhh...nothing like attending a wedding to reignite the love you have with your spouse. And nothing like having your twin daughters in a wedding to make a nervous wreck.

Travis (Chris' brother) and Yayoi were married yesterday and our girls were the flower girls. The wedding was wonderful and Yayoi looked amazing (Travis, you looked good too, but this day is all about the bride so you're just going to have to deal with it). Travis was grinning from ear to ear. Ashlyn was thrilled to be a flower girl and prissed her way down the aisle like Heidi Klum down a runway. Anna scowled most of the time and was counting down the seconds til she could take that dress off. Luckily, a friend (thank you Randy) gave us the suggestion to let Anna wear shorts under her dress which made the situation a little more appealing for her. She still wasn't too happy about it. And she also wasn't thrilled with my attempts at getting her picture. This is a short video of me trying to film them during the ceremony. I know, I know - it is sideways, but I forgot I can't take video with my camera that way. Just turn your head and suck it up! You will have no trouble figuring out which one is Anna.



We had a great time at the wedding. The food at the reception was amazing and catered by a local Japanese restaurant owner. LOVED the sushi!

Here's a slide show of the pics I took at the rehearsal, ceremony and reception. There will probably be more added to the slide show once I pry them from the other family (Papaw, that means you) and friends (Mike, that means you).

We wish Travis and Yayoi all the best. You two make a wonderful pair and we can't wait to see what the future has in store for you.

Simply. The. Best. Movie. EVER!

Popcorn Extortionists!

Some of you may think I'm going overboard. Some may say I have reached the peak of cheapness (if you think this, then you may not realize how cheap I really am). Some may actually agree with me and stand with me against the mighty tyrant that is T*ARGET.

Now let me say - I love T*arget. It is always one of fave places to go with the girls. Love the $1 aisles at the front. Love that the employees don't judge me (at least to my face) when they see my girls playing with all the Schleich animal toys (lining them up in rows as if to march them onto some sort of imaginary ark and taking up the entire aisle to have their version of a circus). USED TO LOVE their $1 popcorn and drink combo in the food area.

Now they've raised the price to $1.50!!!

What the heck T*arget!!!???!!!

The $1 popcorn/drink combo at T*arget is a mother's staple to get the kids to shut up and sit still long enough to get some serious shopping done. And by "serious" I mean allowing me to try on the clearance shoes and thumb through the 75% off clothing racks.

Now I have to pay a whole extra dollar (remember - I have twins) to enjoy this same luxury.

EXTORTION, I say! Now let us all rise up against this tyrant and tell them what they can do with their extra 50 cents!

Well, actually, let's just grumble about it under our breaths and reach into our cluttered purses and spring for the extra 50 cents. Dang it!

Proud as a Peacock

I'm so proud of my Daddy right now.
(I'm Southern, that's what we call our Fathers - now shut it!)

He rocks!

One funny note though...

My dad has been mentioned in my hometown paper for years. He's not famous really, but he's been fairly well known for as long as my family has lived there because he was the high school football coach there and football is a BIG sport in Maysberry (my pet name for my hometown).

Anyway, even though his name has been mentioned in the paper MULTIPLE times throughout the years and he literally can't walk down the street without someone yelling "Coach", the paper still can't spell his name right (His name is Lew not Lou). They will occasionally get it right, but not often. I just think that's funny.

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important...post?

Ha! That title cracks me up as that is part of one of the songs I had to sing as the rabbit in the Alice in Wonderland play/musical we were supposed to do in middle school. I can't remember why, but we never made it to the stage. hmmm....now that's going to drive me crazy trying to remember why we didn't get to do it in front of everyone. Maybe because we were just bad and our choir instructor didn't want to embarrass himself or maybe because I was so good as the rabbit that he didn't want the other kids to feel too bad when I received a standing ovation for my amazing performance. Yep, that last reason must be the one.

Anyway...

I have LOTS to post about, but I just keep waiting til I have the perfect amount of time. That just ain't gonna happin' folks, so you are going to get bits and pieces of what has been going on the last two weeks in various posts over the next couple days. Yes - I'm sure you will be glued to your computer to find out what happens next.

Let's get this started then...
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Vacation Bible School was great. I was absolutely exhausted by the end of it, but it was well worth it.

You won't hear me get on a soapbox about religion much as I feel that is a very personal decision. I am always more than happy to talk to someone about my faith if the topic comes up in conversation, but I just can't bring myself to strike up a conversation about religion just out of the blue. I will say that it was great seeing so many kids there (over 1,000) and knowing that many of them never would have known about God - or even seen the inside of a church - if they hadn't come to VBS.

My room decorations were great (if I do say so myself)! I know I've already posted pics of my door, but the rest of the room looked good too. Here are a few pics:

Those trees? I made them out of empty carpet rolls and lots of construction paper. I LOVED those trees! Shoot - if you would have given me an empty gum wrapper, some Elmer's glue and a socket wrench I could have MacGyver'ed myself a huge beach scene complete with surfers and body-builders.

And the kids in my class were hysterical. I had younger "5's". I didn't have my girls as they do much better when they aren't in a classroom with me. Not to mention that I would probably run from the room screaming daily. There were a couple kids in my class I could have taken home with me. It was quite a challenge as I DO NOT consider myself a good teacher, but I made sure we all learned about God & Jesus while also having a good time.

Will I do it again? Absolutely, but I may take on a different role as I really do feel there are others in our church that would probably be better teachers.
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And since I brought up "body-builders", I just have to tell you about this guy at our YMCA. He absolutely cracks me up. When not in his TIGHT black swimming shorts (I'm talking had-to-jump-off-the-top-of-the-building-to-get-into-the-suckers TIGHT), he is dressed in full body-builder garb (stretchy "Hammer" pants, weight-lifting belt, black wife-beater tank) with his hair styled just like Elvis. Got that image in your head yet? Good.

Well "Pelvis" (my pet name for him) likes to come to the Y's outdoor pool and show off this body of his, but in a very interesting way. Our Y has two misters located at two corners of the pool's deck area. They spray cool mist on Y guests and it is a nice thing to walk through if you want to cool off, but don't want to take the plunge into the pool just yet.

Pelvis chooses this area to flex his muscles. I'm talking full bodybuilder contest poses which probably go with the music that is floating along in Pelvis' head (along with those voices that tell Pelvis that it is a good idea for him to be doing this at 10:30am on a Tuesday in front of all kinds of kids and their mothers). One pose literally made me laugh out loud at him one day. He stood facing the corner of the brick walls with his butt stuck out toward the crowd. Obviously, we all should have just started clapping and maybe he would have stopped.

I have heard that there have been MANY complaints about Pelvis from those that are uncomfortable with his "performances". While it is a bit odd for him to be doing these things, I have never felt threatened by him or felt that he is truly doing any offensive. I've also not ever seen him approach any children, but I can see where he might make others a bit leery. I'm just hoping he will start singing "hunka, hunka burnin' love" while doing those poses one day.
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My parents came to town last week for a few days and we had a great time. We went to the Farmer's Market and Centennial Park to feed the ducks (Flickr pics on the right side of the blog). The girls also helped Grandma make cupcakes for Grandpa's birthday. Here are a few pics from then:













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My cousin-in-law (is that right? She's my husband's first cousin), Julie, has trekked off to Vietnam again. This girl is CRAZY smart - at least we think she is as she has been in school for almost 20 years straight now and we think she has a doctorate in foreign languages, education and possibly podiatry. I'm pretty sure she hasn't had an official "job" yet. (She's a great sport to all our teasing and I'm hoping she won't hurt me the next time we see her - shoot - she's in Vietnam - I ain't scared!)

I liked Julie the minute I met her and - even though we aren't in the same city much - when we do get together she and I seem to be the only ones that get certain jokes. One time, the whole family (Chris' Dad's side) was together along with some family friends for a dinner provided by the church (this was after a funeral of a dear family member). There were a few of us standing around oohing and aahing over a new baby boy. Someone asked the baby's name and the mother said, "Xander". Almost on cue, both Julie and I made a comment that it was "Xander? Like the Xander in Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" Of course, everyone threw us a look like we were apparently the devil-worshiping members of the family, but we shared a giggle and that was enough entertainment for us.

So, feel free to pay her blog a visit as she is off to Vietnam and FAR from home.
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I have MANY more things to post about - including our Father's Day Deliverance Excursion and my Veg-Out 24-hour vacation coming up next week. Stay tuned. I just know you'll be glued to your seats!

(Not so) Wordless Wednesday

I'm new to this blogging "game", so I'll blame my newness for me not being able to remain totally wordless. You can find out more on Wordless Wednesday HERE.

So - can you guess the owners of the feet in this picture?

And I'm working on a MEGA-post that will catch you all up on our antics over the past couple weeks. I hope to have it posted by tomorrow morning.

Up for saving money?????

Ok - most people I know are aware that I'm a tight-wad (stop laughing Becca & Courtney). It isn't really a secret and is actually a quality of which I am quite proud. I swear the main reason my husband and I have such a strong marriage is because we have the same attitude about money - SAVE, SAVE, SAVE!!!! Well, that and the fact that I love sports! It's a toss-up.

As I've been talking to a lot of people about The Grocery Game lately (my latest & greatest find for helping me save money on my shopping), I thought I would post my experience with the program here and refer people to it when they ask me about it. Who knows...maybe another one of my tens of readers will be interested in it.

Basically, The Grocery Game is a shopping system a fellow Mom (Teri) created to help herself and others save money on their regular shopping bills (groceries, toiletries, paper products, high-end jewelry - ok, maybe not that last one) through the use of coupons and monitored store sales. You can get a complete description here.

Teri's system is amazing!!!! Now - let me say that I do not get any sort of kick-back from Terri for telling anyone about The Grocery Game. If you are interested in the program and put my name/email address in as a "referral" I do get extra weeks added to my membership, but I'm not posting this to convince you to do anything. However, if Teri does choose to read this post then I am totally up for selling out and accepting money for pimping out her services!

The best way for me to explain how The Grocery Game system works for me is by describing my regular week in relation to the program. Here goes...

Throughout the week I have a running list of items I need. I use my Kroger's spreadsheet list (listed by items in rows as Kroger is laid out). For example; if I notice we are running a little low on butter, I'll add this to the list; if I just start a new thing of jelly, I'll add jelly to the list. I always want to make sure I don't run out of any particular item so I don't have to make "emergency"/one-item only trips to the store. That is a waste of time and it drives me nuts.

On Sunday, I clip coupons and put them in my organizer. I clip almost every coupon as you just never know what item might show up as a "freebie" item on one of the Grocery Game lists. The only items I don't clip are for pet food or diapers/baby food (I give those to friends) as I have no need to buy them.

Tuesday is when the "list" becomes available for Kroger & Publix (I only use Kroger right now and I actually think Publix may have changed their date to each Sunday). I try to shop on Wednesday or Thursday so I can take full advantage of the special prices before they run out of items, but it also gives me time to plan my menus.

On Tuesday or Wednesday I will do a tentative menu loosely based on what might be on sale at Kroger during that week. All that means is that I'll put down a few meals that I want to make sure I have the ingredients for during that week. Some nights are fully planned regarding meals and others aren't. As the girls get older, our schedules are not as structured as they used to be so we have to be able to go with the flow sometimes (i.e. have a quickie dinner one night when I was planning on making something that may take an hour to prepare). I'm VERY flexible with this part of my process. I don't base the whole week's menu ONLY on what is on sale as I have some staples frozen or already in the pantry, but I will throw in a roast recipe of that cut of beef is deeply discounted on the list.

As far as spending amounts - I used to spend anywhere from $150-$200 each week on groceries and now it is rare if I ever go over $125. I typically save no less than $25 in manufacturer coupons alone (this does NOT include Kroger Plus Card savings). The biggest "shocker" for me regarding the Grocery Game is that I now get name brand items for MUCH less than the generic in many cases. I still buy several generic items (Kroger bread, peanut butter and frozen veggies), but my brand name purchases have definitely increased. I saved over $60 last week on my big weekly shopping visit to Kroger - insane!

One big reason I save so much at my Kroger is that my store will accept expired coupons, multiple coupons for one item and will also let me use coupons stating "buy 3 and get $1 off" when I'm only buying one of those particular items (typically cereal). Not all stores do this, so be sure to check with your store to see their policies on this. My Kroger is well aware of the fact that I'm using five 50 cent coupons to pay for one carton of ice cream. I'm not sneaking anything by them. Ironically, I find that even though my Kroger (I use "my" like I own the place) tends to have slightly higher prices on items, I still get a much better deal there because of their loose coupon policies where other stores (Wal-Mart, Publix & Target specifically) will hold me to the rules of the coupons (I MUST buy three General Mills cereals to get the $1 off).

Walgreen's is the other store on my list and I save an INSANE amount of money there. The first time I used the "list" at Walgreens I bought $75 worth of stuff, spent $47 on it using in-store and manufacturer coupons and then received a check for $25 by using their Easy Saver program (you purchase certain items and get rebates back from them - all on one check - and now this can be done online - VERY easy). I hear CVS is similar and that their program may actually be a bit better than Walgreens.

Now - I will say that the items I buy at Walgreen's tend to be staple household items (i.e. shampoo, razors, lotion, etc.), but they are things we use on a regular basis and I don't mind stock-piling some things. I don't load my house up with too many items, but I try to take full advantage of the savings.

The Grocery Game is not free, but the savings FAR outweigh what you spend on the membership ($10 for the first store and $5 for each additional store every 8 weeks). Stores available depend on your location (you have to enter your zip code for specific listings), but I know the following are in my area: Kroger, Publix, Rite Aid, Walgreens, CVS & Harris Teeter. They are looking to add Wal-Mart and Target, but haven't yet.

The best idea is to do the $1 month-long trial, but I would encourage you to collect four Sundays' worth of coupons before starting your trial period to take full advantage of the free trial period. And select ALL the stores available in your area for the trial period so you can see what each one has to offer. Just be sure to cancel the trial period before the month ends so you can avoid any charges if you aren't interested in participating.

I hope this helps any of you that are interested in The Grocery Game better understand the program. I find with gas prices the way they are now, it is imperative that I do all I can to help our family save money. Also, it has been a fantastic blessing that I've been able to stay home for most of the girls' lives so far and I want to be sure to find savings wherever possible to help me stay here.

I am happy to answer any questions you might have regarding the program, so don't hesitate to contact me.