There's a show on TLC called Extreme Couponing. Josh kind of got me into this show when he called one evening and said I had to turn on the TV to watch this show. I turned it on to see a guy with over $1,000 worth of groceries piled into at least a dozen carts. He then handed the cashier thousands of coupons and ended up paying only $3 for his groceries. Amazing!
Sadly, most of the people on this show are obsessed with coupons. It has ruined marriages, families, jobs, etc. because of their excessive need to find coupons. Not only that, but these people stockpile their houses full of stuff they don't need all because they can get it for free. It's a cool show to watch but it's a sad life these people live.
I like coupons. I have a wallet full of them. I am not good at using coupons on my groceries, but rather my coupons are for restaurants. I try not to eat at a place unless I have a coupon. I wanted to pass on these few little tips for all you restaurant goers.
1. If you know you're eating at a specific place, go to their website. Often times, I will find a coupon right there on their site. I knew I was eating at California Pizza Kitchen the other night, so I went to their website and got a coupon for $5 off my purchase. Score!
2. If they offer email specials, give them your email address. Qdoba, for example, will send me an online coupon to my email address about once every two weeks. It's usually BOGO, which is perfect for Josh and me. I made an email account for just "junk" mail, so I use that email address for things such as this. My regular email account does not get clogged with all these offers.
3. Look on the bottom of your receipt because a lot of places now offer free or discounted prices if you take a survey (usually a short 5 minute online survey). California Pizza Kitchen offered 20 percent off my next purchase for taking the survey. I rarely pay for my Chicken Sandwich from Chick Fil A because 8 times out of 10 there is a survey for a free sandwich. At Garbanzo, I have three coupons for a free appetizer next time I eat there.
4. Sign up for frequent buyer cards. You can usually get free meals for your birthday by doing this (Red Robin) and sometimes if you buy 9 meals, you'll get the 10th one free (Qdoba card).
5. Shop half off deals, such as groupon.com, denverperks.com or livingsocial.com. These sites feature a different deal every day that is half off. I got a Groupon to Lime for $50 worth of food for only $25. I just purchased a $20 coupon for Pat's Philly Steaks for $10. A word to the wise on these: read the fine print first. They do have restrictions.
6. Look for coupon books. Sometimes you have to purchase the book for $10-$25, but the savings in these books is well worth the money spent.
7. Look for coupons on the store counter. I often find coupons just sitting there free for the taking, so be aware of your surroundings.
I hope these tips help. Feel free to add your own tip in my comment section so we can ALL join in on the savings!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
My Own Big Ben
If you know anything about me, you know that I love Ben Roethlisberger. I think he is so cute, and while I most certainly don't approve of his actions over the past several years, he is hands down one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. When I see Ben, I can't help but sigh and think of how cute he is. 
When I first met Josh, I thought to myself, "He looks a lot like Ben." On our first date, Josh even wore a hat just like Ben is wearing in this picture. About a month ago, Josh and I went to a bar in Greeley to watch the Steelers play off game. I was happily sitting in the restaurant googling over Ben when Josh said, "He's about the ugliest son of a gun I've ever seen."
Laughing, I said, "Actually, I think you look a lot like him." I didn't mean it as an insult, of course, because I think Ben and Josh are good looking guys. Josh laughed and said no one had ever told him he looked like Big Ben.
About two weeks later, Josh's roomate said to Josh, "Has anyone ever told you you look like Big Ben?" Josh called me immediately to tell me this funny story.
About a week after that, my friend Lindsey emailed and said, "Your boyfriend looks a lot like Big Ben." I immdiately called Josh to report this to him.
A day after the Steelers lost the Super Bowl two weeks ago, Josh went to King Soopers to buy me a bag of chocolates. A little old lady came up to him in the store and said, "Well, I'll be darn. You look just like the guy who played in the Super Bowl last night. Ben, that's his name, right? You look just like Ben. Has anyone ever told you that before?" Josh, being the jokster that he is, said, "Why yes, yes I am Big Ben." Then he told the lady he was joking and went on his chocolate purchasing ways.
He emailed me once he got home to tell me this story. I thought he was only kidding, until I talked to him on the phone. True story! A little old lady really did stop him in the store to tell him how much he looked like Ben.
So yes, ladies, it's true. My boyfriend looks just like Big Ben. And he's mine. And I'm very lucky!
When I first met Josh, I thought to myself, "He looks a lot like Ben." On our first date, Josh even wore a hat just like Ben is wearing in this picture. About a month ago, Josh and I went to a bar in Greeley to watch the Steelers play off game. I was happily sitting in the restaurant googling over Ben when Josh said, "He's about the ugliest son of a gun I've ever seen."Laughing, I said, "Actually, I think you look a lot like him." I didn't mean it as an insult, of course, because I think Ben and Josh are good looking guys. Josh laughed and said no one had ever told him he looked like Big Ben.
About two weeks later, Josh's roomate said to Josh, "Has anyone ever told you you look like Big Ben?" Josh called me immediately to tell me this funny story.
About a week after that, my friend Lindsey emailed and said, "Your boyfriend looks a lot like Big Ben." I immdiately called Josh to report this to him.
A day after the Steelers lost the Super Bowl two weeks ago, Josh went to King Soopers to buy me a bag of chocolates. A little old lady came up to him in the store and said, "Well, I'll be darn. You look just like the guy who played in the Super Bowl last night. Ben, that's his name, right? You look just like Ben. Has anyone ever told you that before?" Josh, being the jokster that he is, said, "Why yes, yes I am Big Ben." Then he told the lady he was joking and went on his chocolate purchasing ways.
He emailed me once he got home to tell me this story. I thought he was only kidding, until I talked to him on the phone. True story! A little old lady really did stop him in the store to tell him how much he looked like Ben.
So yes, ladies, it's true. My boyfriend looks just like Big Ben. And he's mine. And I'm very lucky!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
My Elephant
I can't believe I forgot a very important mystery (or not so much a mystery) from my list!!!
The number one thing you might not know about me?!
I sleep with a stuffed elephant named Gooey. I've had him since at least high school, when my friend Christian Frank found him among my stuffed animals. Chris knew I liked elephants, so he handed the elephant to me and said I should keep him in a special place. Since that time, I've been sleeping with him. He's a little worn, but I adore this animal.
The name comes from a high school crush. I was in love with Deak Long for a very long time in high school, and my friend Hannah had French class with Deak. Deak's French name was Guy in French, which sounds a lot like Gooey. Everyone in class called Deak Gooey. When it came time to name my elephant, Hannah suggested Gooey and it stuck.
Gooey travels with me everywhere I go, except sometimes on the plane. But if it's a road trip, Gooey most certainly gets to tag along. I have a really hard time sleeping without him. It's not the fact that I have to sleep with a stuffed elephant. It's the fact that I wrap my arms around him while I lie on my side, and it is the most comfortable position I can sleep in. Ask to meet Gooey next time you stop by my place. He's gray with pink ears, and oh so cute!
Josh bought me a new elephant for Valentine's Day, so he's joined Gooey and me in the bed. I'm looking for a name for the new one. Any suggestions?
The number one thing you might not know about me?!
I sleep with a stuffed elephant named Gooey. I've had him since at least high school, when my friend Christian Frank found him among my stuffed animals. Chris knew I liked elephants, so he handed the elephant to me and said I should keep him in a special place. Since that time, I've been sleeping with him. He's a little worn, but I adore this animal.
The name comes from a high school crush. I was in love with Deak Long for a very long time in high school, and my friend Hannah had French class with Deak. Deak's French name was Guy in French, which sounds a lot like Gooey. Everyone in class called Deak Gooey. When it came time to name my elephant, Hannah suggested Gooey and it stuck.
Gooey travels with me everywhere I go, except sometimes on the plane. But if it's a road trip, Gooey most certainly gets to tag along. I have a really hard time sleeping without him. It's not the fact that I have to sleep with a stuffed elephant. It's the fact that I wrap my arms around him while I lie on my side, and it is the most comfortable position I can sleep in. Ask to meet Gooey next time you stop by my place. He's gray with pink ears, and oh so cute!
Josh bought me a new elephant for Valentine's Day, so he's joined Gooey and me in the bed. I'm looking for a name for the new one. Any suggestions?
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
25 Mysterious (or not so mysterious) Things
Taken from my friend, Dez, here are 25 things you may or may not know about me:
25. I hardly have any eyebrows. I have to "paint" them on every morning with makeup. Don't get me wrong, I have some hair there, but it's so blond it's barely noticeable and without my face drawn on every morning, I look silly without my brows.
24. The left side of my face is numb. It happened about three years ago when I went to Vegas with April, Katie, Irish and Michelle. I was so sick during that trip with a sinus infection that I was hardly able to enjoy the trip. Apparently, the sinus infection was so bad that it ruined the nerves in my face. Therefore, I have very little feeling on that side, and it makes a perfect line right down the middle of my nose.
23. My nails won't grow. They are so brittle that anytime I get any sort of length on them, they snap off. I have learned to accept that I'll always have short nails.
22. I have massive scars all over my body:
Left arm: at least three, one-inch scars that run down my arm from when I fell on a glass Coke bottle.
Right arm: a four-inch scar from a removal of a bone tumor.
Right knee: two, four-inch scars from two different ACL surgeries.
Left back: a two-inch scar from a cyst removal
Right hip: a four-inch scar from where they removed bone from my hip bone to fill in my bone tumor on my right wrist.
21. I had four moles over my body that I have hated my entire life. I finally went to the doctor and had them removed last year. I told the doctor where they were located, and he asked me to keep my bra on while he did the procedure. Once I got home, I realized that the doctor had missed one of the most annoying moles. Why? Because it was sitting under my bra strap and he didn't see it. It's still there to this day, and anger surfaces every time I see it.
20. I honestly have no idea what my natural hair color is. Surprise! Does anyone? I know I'm a light brown, if not dirty blond. It's black right now, but I'm looking into a color change. I get bored with my hair.
19. If I had to choose one food to eat for the rest of my life, I would choose pizza. I could eat it all the time, every day, every meal. It's that delicious.
18. Asian food comes in at a close second. I have fallen in love with Thai food, mostly because I live close to the best Thai restaurant in Denver, and Chinese food makes me very happy.
17. If I had to choose one candy to eat for the rest of my life, it would be Nerds. Yumm! And my chocolate would be Peanut M&Ms or Dove Dark Chocolate with Almonds.
16. I really, really, really like living alone. I thought I would get bored, but I have yet to experience that feeling. I fill my time with cooking, baking, internet, cable, reading, scrap booking, organizing, cleaning and other craft projects. I really enjoy my alone time because my day is so chaotic and noisy.
15. The only plants I have ever been able to keep alive are my bamboo plants. I have about five scattered throughout my house and one on my desk at school. I enjoy watering them and watching them grow. I haven't had as much success with other plants.
14. I haven't exactly counted my shoes, but if I did, I would put the number between 50-75. And I even downsized when I moved!
13. I take a while to warm up to people. I am always warm and friendly, but it will take a while for me to let you know me.
12. Over the past five years, I have lost a total of 60 pounds!
11. As much as I love shopping, since my weight loss, I have been slow to buy new clothes, which has left me with a very limited wardrobe, at least as far as dress clothes go. Therefore, I wear a lot of jeans to work because I have nothing else that fits.
10. I probably have the smallest bladder of anyone I have ever met. When I am going on a road trip, I can't drink anything for 24 hours before the trip. I hit the bathroom at least 10 times a day.
9. I have food anxiety. If I do not have food in my possession (in my purse or within close proximity), I start to feel anxious. I usually don't even eat the food. I just need to know that it's available should I need to snack. On road trips, I always pack the "Bag of Fun." You should travel with me-there really is a lot of fun hidden in that bag. Traveling (flying) is hard for me because I usually can't take my snacks with me.
8. A few of my favorite memories from growing up:
Collin and I playing catch in the front yard.
Sharing a room with Shan, even though she hated me and hated that I wore her clothes.
Climbing all the trees with Collin and playing space shuttle.
Dressing the exact same as Shan one day and coming into the kitchen to show her. She was NOT amused, but mom and I had a good laugh. And yes, I went to school that day dressed just like her.
A family trip to Disneyland in California.
7. I am borderline OCD. I am very neat and tidy, and if you walk into my place and start touching and moving things, I will slowly go crazy. When Josh comes to visit, he's the worst. He'll purposely move my stuff around just to see if I notice, and yes, I always do and spend half my day putting my stuff back the way it was.
6. Even though I am OCD about the order and tidiness of my things, I hate to dust. It's the worst thing ever, so if you come to my place, you'll see everything in it's proper place with a layer of dust over it.
5. My 21st birthday was 9/11/2001. My mom forgot it was my birthday, it was my last day at a job I had held throughout high school/college for five years, I was moving to Oregon four days later, and I spent over two hours of my day waiting to get gas (because of the long gas lines that day). Also, the people at work forgot it was my birthday/last day of work, so I left without the big party I had originally expected. I wanted to go to a fancy dinner. Instead, my parents took me to Dairy Queen, and I was in my bed by 9 p.m. that night. And our world was forever changed because of what some slime ball terrorists did to the Towers. What a great 21st!
4. I can text right along with the best of y'all. I have been known to send over 3,000 texts per month. And I'm fast! I can even do it without looking.
3. I am one of the most curious people I know. If I want to know something, I will ask. I LOVE getting and giving gifts, but the suspense of not knowing what is wrapped just about kills me. Please don't tell me you have a gift waiting for me for the next time you see me....it will kill me to wait.
2. One of my greatest strengths, but also one of my greatest downfalls, is my hatred of confrontation. I am slow to anger, slow to speak my mind, and quick to forgive in order to keep things at peace.
1. One of my biggest wonders that I think about often is WHO READS MY BLOG? I have readers from Virginia, California, South Carolina, etc., but I have no idea who you are. I would LOVE if you left a comment so I knew who was reading my words :)
25. I hardly have any eyebrows. I have to "paint" them on every morning with makeup. Don't get me wrong, I have some hair there, but it's so blond it's barely noticeable and without my face drawn on every morning, I look silly without my brows.
24. The left side of my face is numb. It happened about three years ago when I went to Vegas with April, Katie, Irish and Michelle. I was so sick during that trip with a sinus infection that I was hardly able to enjoy the trip. Apparently, the sinus infection was so bad that it ruined the nerves in my face. Therefore, I have very little feeling on that side, and it makes a perfect line right down the middle of my nose.
23. My nails won't grow. They are so brittle that anytime I get any sort of length on them, they snap off. I have learned to accept that I'll always have short nails.
22. I have massive scars all over my body:
Left arm: at least three, one-inch scars that run down my arm from when I fell on a glass Coke bottle.
Right arm: a four-inch scar from a removal of a bone tumor.
Right knee: two, four-inch scars from two different ACL surgeries.
Left back: a two-inch scar from a cyst removal
Right hip: a four-inch scar from where they removed bone from my hip bone to fill in my bone tumor on my right wrist.
21. I had four moles over my body that I have hated my entire life. I finally went to the doctor and had them removed last year. I told the doctor where they were located, and he asked me to keep my bra on while he did the procedure. Once I got home, I realized that the doctor had missed one of the most annoying moles. Why? Because it was sitting under my bra strap and he didn't see it. It's still there to this day, and anger surfaces every time I see it.
20. I honestly have no idea what my natural hair color is. Surprise! Does anyone? I know I'm a light brown, if not dirty blond. It's black right now, but I'm looking into a color change. I get bored with my hair.
19. If I had to choose one food to eat for the rest of my life, I would choose pizza. I could eat it all the time, every day, every meal. It's that delicious.
18. Asian food comes in at a close second. I have fallen in love with Thai food, mostly because I live close to the best Thai restaurant in Denver, and Chinese food makes me very happy.
17. If I had to choose one candy to eat for the rest of my life, it would be Nerds. Yumm! And my chocolate would be Peanut M&Ms or Dove Dark Chocolate with Almonds.
16. I really, really, really like living alone. I thought I would get bored, but I have yet to experience that feeling. I fill my time with cooking, baking, internet, cable, reading, scrap booking, organizing, cleaning and other craft projects. I really enjoy my alone time because my day is so chaotic and noisy.
15. The only plants I have ever been able to keep alive are my bamboo plants. I have about five scattered throughout my house and one on my desk at school. I enjoy watering them and watching them grow. I haven't had as much success with other plants.
14. I haven't exactly counted my shoes, but if I did, I would put the number between 50-75. And I even downsized when I moved!
13. I take a while to warm up to people. I am always warm and friendly, but it will take a while for me to let you know me.
12. Over the past five years, I have lost a total of 60 pounds!
11. As much as I love shopping, since my weight loss, I have been slow to buy new clothes, which has left me with a very limited wardrobe, at least as far as dress clothes go. Therefore, I wear a lot of jeans to work because I have nothing else that fits.
10. I probably have the smallest bladder of anyone I have ever met. When I am going on a road trip, I can't drink anything for 24 hours before the trip. I hit the bathroom at least 10 times a day.
9. I have food anxiety. If I do not have food in my possession (in my purse or within close proximity), I start to feel anxious. I usually don't even eat the food. I just need to know that it's available should I need to snack. On road trips, I always pack the "Bag of Fun." You should travel with me-there really is a lot of fun hidden in that bag. Traveling (flying) is hard for me because I usually can't take my snacks with me.
8. A few of my favorite memories from growing up:
Collin and I playing catch in the front yard.
Sharing a room with Shan, even though she hated me and hated that I wore her clothes.
Climbing all the trees with Collin and playing space shuttle.
Dressing the exact same as Shan one day and coming into the kitchen to show her. She was NOT amused, but mom and I had a good laugh. And yes, I went to school that day dressed just like her.
A family trip to Disneyland in California.
7. I am borderline OCD. I am very neat and tidy, and if you walk into my place and start touching and moving things, I will slowly go crazy. When Josh comes to visit, he's the worst. He'll purposely move my stuff around just to see if I notice, and yes, I always do and spend half my day putting my stuff back the way it was.
6. Even though I am OCD about the order and tidiness of my things, I hate to dust. It's the worst thing ever, so if you come to my place, you'll see everything in it's proper place with a layer of dust over it.
5. My 21st birthday was 9/11/2001. My mom forgot it was my birthday, it was my last day at a job I had held throughout high school/college for five years, I was moving to Oregon four days later, and I spent over two hours of my day waiting to get gas (because of the long gas lines that day). Also, the people at work forgot it was my birthday/last day of work, so I left without the big party I had originally expected. I wanted to go to a fancy dinner. Instead, my parents took me to Dairy Queen, and I was in my bed by 9 p.m. that night. And our world was forever changed because of what some slime ball terrorists did to the Towers. What a great 21st!
4. I can text right along with the best of y'all. I have been known to send over 3,000 texts per month. And I'm fast! I can even do it without looking.
3. I am one of the most curious people I know. If I want to know something, I will ask. I LOVE getting and giving gifts, but the suspense of not knowing what is wrapped just about kills me. Please don't tell me you have a gift waiting for me for the next time you see me....it will kill me to wait.
2. One of my greatest strengths, but also one of my greatest downfalls, is my hatred of confrontation. I am slow to anger, slow to speak my mind, and quick to forgive in order to keep things at peace.
1. One of my biggest wonders that I think about often is WHO READS MY BLOG? I have readers from Virginia, California, South Carolina, etc., but I have no idea who you are. I would LOVE if you left a comment so I knew who was reading my words :)
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