As of 5:05 pm today, I have been free! I have 12 days off of school and work, and blessedly little to do during that time. Granted, we are going to move one of those days so we need to pack. And I am going to babysit one of those days, but those boys are easy and just like to play with their friends, so I'll probably read a book that day. And my dad and stepmom are coming down for the 4th of July, so we'll hang with them a bit. And I do still have to work on a project for my class. But no work and no class. I'm so excited.
Tomorrow I'm going to the Raleigh Farmer's Market with my friend Diana. Neither of us has ever been, so I'm excited to see what kinds of things they have there and if there are better or worse deals than in the grocery stores. We're also going to a store called Aldi, which supposedly has shopping carts which you have to pay to use but then get your quarter back when you return the cart...just like in Poland! I'm very excited and will definitely post pictures for you all, since most people have never been to a store like that!
Shannon is working his second-to-last shift at Pizza Hut as I write. He's enjoying his new job and very excited to be done working with pizza after 3 1/2 years. I'm excited too...no more of my husband crawling into bed at night smelling like food! We are both quite excited to both have "normal" jobs for the first time since we've known each other. Maybe we'll even have social lives again! At least until school starts in 7 weeks...
"...yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior." -Habakkuk 3:18
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Summer Solstice
Today while reading the paper I noticed that today, one day after summer solstice, the longest day of the year, the sunrise was at 5:59 am and the sunset will be at something like 8:39 pm. This cracks me up, that the longest day of the year only has 14.5 hours of daylight. Maybe it's because I grew up in Alaska. Actually, it's got to be because I grew up in Alaska. Today in Kenai the sunrise was at 4:34 am and the sunset is at 11:40 pm. Sigh. I miss it.
As far as other news goes, I took my midterm for my class and have completed two of the papers I needed to write. I'm going to read another chapter or two tonight and then tomorrow the craziness begins again. Only 5 more days of class/work craziness and then I get a couple of days off and then we get to move, which will be another form of craziness! We did start packing last night...we now have most of our books in boxes and the spare bedroom is emptied of everything we want to keep. Now it's the holding place for all the stuff we want to sell if we can get our act together to have a yard sale on Saturday. We'll see though...we may end up either a) taking it with us in hopes of selling it 2 weekends from now or b) taking it all to the Tri-Cities Ministry place. I'm hoping for the yard sale.
Not much else is going on here. Just work, school, and preparing for the move. Oh, and Shannon starts his new job tomorrow, so that's exciting. And we're both keeping up with running, although I only ran two days this last week because my stomach was a wee bit squinky at the end of the week. I'll try again tomorrow. If you haven't checked out the recipe link to the right, check it out...I'm making apple pie today, and it's been raved as the best by more than one person! Perhaps more interesting recipes will come after the move and when class is out, but for now it's just time-tested ones holding us through!
As far as other news goes, I took my midterm for my class and have completed two of the papers I needed to write. I'm going to read another chapter or two tonight and then tomorrow the craziness begins again. Only 5 more days of class/work craziness and then I get a couple of days off and then we get to move, which will be another form of craziness! We did start packing last night...we now have most of our books in boxes and the spare bedroom is emptied of everything we want to keep. Now it's the holding place for all the stuff we want to sell if we can get our act together to have a yard sale on Saturday. We'll see though...we may end up either a) taking it with us in hopes of selling it 2 weekends from now or b) taking it all to the Tri-Cities Ministry place. I'm hoping for the yard sale.
Not much else is going on here. Just work, school, and preparing for the move. Oh, and Shannon starts his new job tomorrow, so that's exciting. And we're both keeping up with running, although I only ran two days this last week because my stomach was a wee bit squinky at the end of the week. I'll try again tomorrow. If you haven't checked out the recipe link to the right, check it out...I'm making apple pie today, and it's been raved as the best by more than one person! Perhaps more interesting recipes will come after the move and when class is out, but for now it's just time-tested ones holding us through!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Buried
For everyone out there who's wondering where I've been for the last week or so, the answer is:
I'm taking a summer class and I finished day 3 of a 10-day class this afternoon. So, I've been buried under the schoolwork for the last week and a half. Actually, I guess I've just had my nose in a book since we have to read 3 of them. But the good news is that I finished the second book earlier today, so only one more book to go! Plus a midterm, a final, a presentation, and 2 1-page papers to go! Oh, and 31 hours of class.
Seriously, other than going to class, work, cooking dinner, and reading, I'm not doing much, and Shannon's doing even less since he's not in class. He is making the bed for us every day though and refusing to let me do dishes. :-)
After my class is over we'll be moving, so that will be pure craziness as well. But I'll hope to put up some pictures of the new apartment once we get all moved in. Plus, we're thinking of sanding and painting a dresser we have, so...summer project! But until that fun-ness happens, I need to study for my midterm!
I'm taking a summer class and I finished day 3 of a 10-day class this afternoon. So, I've been buried under the schoolwork for the last week and a half. Actually, I guess I've just had my nose in a book since we have to read 3 of them. But the good news is that I finished the second book earlier today, so only one more book to go! Plus a midterm, a final, a presentation, and 2 1-page papers to go! Oh, and 31 hours of class.
Seriously, other than going to class, work, cooking dinner, and reading, I'm not doing much, and Shannon's doing even less since he's not in class. He is making the bed for us every day though and refusing to let me do dishes. :-)
After my class is over we'll be moving, so that will be pure craziness as well. But I'll hope to put up some pictures of the new apartment once we get all moved in. Plus, we're thinking of sanding and painting a dresser we have, so...summer project! But until that fun-ness happens, I need to study for my midterm!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Moving On Up (The Street, That Is)
Shannon and I got the wonderful news yesterday that we will be able to move into a new apartment on July 1st. We've been praying and thinking about this decision for probably 4 months now, and things have just fallen into place perfectly. We'll be downsizing, from our current 2-bedroom to a much smaller 1-bedroom, but we feel that the move is prudent. We'll be so close to campus that we will never drive to class, because the walk from the parking lot to class would be longer than that from our building. We'll save on rent and utilities as well. And since we're planning on moving overseas in 1 1/2 years, we might as well start parting with things (like furniture we don't need or even like (ahem, Shannon's older-than-dirt recliner. :-))). And even though July 1st is on a Tuesday, it just happens to be during the week that I have off from work since the Waltzes will be in Hawaii.
Other great news is that Shannon got a new job! He'll be able to walk to work, and they'll be flexible with his class schedule. He'll continue to work at the Hut through the summer and possibly into the fall as well, depending on what happens with gas prices. We're grateful for something steady and dependable that will not rely on oil!
My summer class begins in 10 days. Sigh. I'll go to class for 4 1/2 hours a day and then go to work for 4 hours and then come home and do homework or study until time for bed. But, after 2 weeks of that craziness I'll have a semester's worth of classwork done and have an entire week to do nothing but finish anything for the class and move and unpack. God is good.
I've also officially started my training for another half marathon. I've been running 3 times this week, only 2ish miles each time, but I'm more proud of the "3 times in one week" bit than the distance. I can increase the distance I go. Habitually getting my lazy butt out of bed is harder.
Shannon has tomorrow off, his first Saturday off when I have a Saturday off in...I don't know how long. We're excited...date night!
Other great news is that Shannon got a new job! He'll be able to walk to work, and they'll be flexible with his class schedule. He'll continue to work at the Hut through the summer and possibly into the fall as well, depending on what happens with gas prices. We're grateful for something steady and dependable that will not rely on oil!
My summer class begins in 10 days. Sigh. I'll go to class for 4 1/2 hours a day and then go to work for 4 hours and then come home and do homework or study until time for bed. But, after 2 weeks of that craziness I'll have a semester's worth of classwork done and have an entire week to do nothing but finish anything for the class and move and unpack. God is good.
I've also officially started my training for another half marathon. I've been running 3 times this week, only 2ish miles each time, but I'm more proud of the "3 times in one week" bit than the distance. I can increase the distance I go. Habitually getting my lazy butt out of bed is harder.
Shannon has tomorrow off, his first Saturday off when I have a Saturday off in...I don't know how long. We're excited...date night!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Williamsburg
Our timeshare
Shannon and I are finally home and back in the groove of things after our long weekend away in Williamsburg. We had a wonderful time. Shannon's mom and stepdad had a timeshare week that the weren't going to be able to use, so we helped them out a bit and used it for them! My sister and brother-in-law came up for Saturday and Sunday, so we all went to Jamestowne and Yorktown together. It was kind of neat to be where some of America's first settlers were.
An interesting thing that I didn't know about archeology in America: contrary to the European way of doing things, in the States, apparently when they dig up stuff, they figure the best way to preserve it is to cover it back up with dirt. So, we saw a lot of bricks that had been placed in formations similar to what they found underneath. Not exactly Pompeii, but it was still cool to be there. Thanks, Sharon and Milton, for making it possible!
Shannon and I in Jamestowne, on the James River
Wythe Candy and Gourmet Shop
The Chocolate Decadence Truffle that Shannon got
Bruton Parish Church in Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg
Shannon and I are finally home and back in the groove of things after our long weekend away in Williamsburg. We had a wonderful time. Shannon's mom and stepdad had a timeshare week that the weren't going to be able to use, so we helped them out a bit and used it for them! My sister and brother-in-law came up for Saturday and Sunday, so we all went to Jamestowne and Yorktown together. It was kind of neat to be where some of America's first settlers were.
An interesting thing that I didn't know about archeology in America: contrary to the European way of doing things, in the States, apparently when they dig up stuff, they figure the best way to preserve it is to cover it back up with dirt. So, we saw a lot of bricks that had been placed in formations similar to what they found underneath. Not exactly Pompeii, but it was still cool to be there. Thanks, Sharon and Milton, for making it possible!Shannon and I in Jamestowne, on the James River
Wythe Candy and Gourmet Shop
The Chocolate Decadence Truffle that Shannon got
Bruton Parish Church in Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg
Friday, May 23, 2008
Long Weekend
Tomorrow after I get off work, Shannon and I are leaving town for a long weekend. We're going to drive up to Williamsburg, Virgina, and have a glorious 4-day weekend. We are both ecstatic. The semester was a long one, and we haven't had a real vacation since our honeymoon almost 10 months ago. So we're excited to get away. My sister and her husband are going to come up for a couple of days, but my gut tells me that they will spend a good bit of time watching the Stanley Cup playoffs. I'm excited for the beach, being able to wander around a quaint town looking in odd shops and maybe eating fun food, and just being away from "life" and not feeling guilty if all I do is lay around and read and watch movies and play games. There aren't many times when you can do absolutely nothing without feeling guilty about it. So, I think that this is one of those times, and because it is, I'm bound and determined to do nothing productive for 4 whole days.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Coupon Queen
Ok, so maybe I'm not a coupon queen. But I do have to say that thanks to my friend Kate, I am much more able to make our $50/week grocery budget work. I have learned valuable lessons and am still learning, but I think that I've come to a point where I definitely feel like this is a skill that is very useful for helping make the most of what we have.
Yesterday through tomorrow at our local Harris Teeter they are tripling coupons. Usually they double them up to $.99 (as do Kroger, up to $.50 and Lowe's Foods, up to $.99) but about once every 2 months they triple. So, that means that a coupon that's usually worth, say, $.75 is actually worth $2.25 on triple days, where it's worth $1.50 at aforementioned stores any other day. Example: this coupon says save $.55. But yesterday it was worth $1.65 off my grocery bill. Since Teriyaki sauce was on sale for $1.50, I got it for free, plus an additional $.15 off my bill. A lot of people will buy as many as they can to get the extra money off their bill...I personally think that that is going a bit too far. But we didn't have Teriyaki sauce, and now we do! So, how does it all work?
Shannon and I get the Sunday paper for $1 an issue, delivered to our door. Shannon's dad has also been kind enough to start mailing us the coupons from their Sunday paper. Every week when I make our grocery list I check the sale papers with the coupons I have, checking for anything that's a great deal that we might need later (eg: hand soap that I bought today for $.30, using a coupon), or that we need now that I can get for a better price than I can by going to, say, WalMart. Anyways, when triples happen you really have to plan what you're going to buy, because you're only allowed to go to the store once per day and you can only use 20 coupons. So, on Thursday I made my list and then yesterday I went to Harris Teeter at 9 am. Here's my loot:
A breakdown:
Honey Nut Chex
3 boxes Barilla pasta
2 boxes Special K granola bars
2 packages Ortega taco seasoning
1 loaf Arnold's bread
4 packages Uncle Ben's brown rice
Snyder's pretzel pieces
Kikkoman teriyaki sauce
French's spicy mustard
Tea bags
KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce
Joy dishsoap
2 cans of Gillette shaving cream
Dove deodorant
3 toothbrushes
Colgate sensitive toothpaste
Total time spent in stores: 1hour, 10 minutes
Number of stores visited: 2
Coupons used: 22
The grand total: $7.84
Coupons tendered: $52.64
Money saved between coupons and sales: $63.95
I think I paid for our newspaper subscription for a year. At least.
Yesterday through tomorrow at our local Harris Teeter they are tripling coupons. Usually they double them up to $.99 (as do Kroger, up to $.50 and Lowe's Foods, up to $.99) but about once every 2 months they triple. So, that means that a coupon that's usually worth, say, $.75 is actually worth $2.25 on triple days, where it's worth $1.50 at aforementioned stores any other day. Example: this coupon says save $.55. But yesterday it was worth $1.65 off my grocery bill. Since Teriyaki sauce was on sale for $1.50, I got it for free, plus an additional $.15 off my bill. A lot of people will buy as many as they can to get the extra money off their bill...I personally think that that is going a bit too far. But we didn't have Teriyaki sauce, and now we do! So, how does it all work?Shannon and I get the Sunday paper for $1 an issue, delivered to our door. Shannon's dad has also been kind enough to start mailing us the coupons from their Sunday paper. Every week when I make our grocery list I check the sale papers with the coupons I have, checking for anything that's a great deal that we might need later (eg: hand soap that I bought today for $.30, using a coupon), or that we need now that I can get for a better price than I can by going to, say, WalMart. Anyways, when triples happen you really have to plan what you're going to buy, because you're only allowed to go to the store once per day and you can only use 20 coupons. So, on Thursday I made my list and then yesterday I went to Harris Teeter at 9 am. Here's my loot:
A breakdown:Honey Nut Chex
3 boxes Barilla pasta
2 boxes Special K granola bars
2 packages Ortega taco seasoning
1 loaf Arnold's bread
4 packages Uncle Ben's brown rice
Snyder's pretzel pieces
Kikkoman teriyaki sauce
French's spicy mustard
Tea bags
KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce
Joy dishsoap
2 cans of Gillette shaving cream
Dove deodorant
3 toothbrushes
Colgate sensitive toothpaste
Total time spent in stores: 1hour, 10 minutes
Number of stores visited: 2
Coupons used: 22
The grand total: $7.84
Coupons tendered: $52.64
Money saved between coupons and sales: $63.95
I think I paid for our newspaper subscription for a year. At least.
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