Absent from the blog

I swear, I do this post all the time.....
"I'm sorry I haven't written, I am really busy. I don't have time. Blah, Blah, Blah."
Bottom line is that I love to write. I miss it, a lot sometimes. I have missed it terribly lately as I have been helping my students with their research papers. I find all sorts of ways that "I" would write the paper. Of course, I have to remember, I have years and years more experience than they do. It's hard. I need to write a good essay or something. Sick, I know.
As for the frugal part of my life...I miss that, too.
To be honest, I have a hard time even getting to the grocery store, let alone shopping sales and matching coupons like I used to. And, I just lost a very valuable coupon and it frustrated me to no end. Fortunately, I work and make money to make up the difference in the money I am not saving. I am still frugal when time allows me to be, but more often than not, I am just grabbing what I need, whatever the price may be. I love to shop at the bread outlet, but it's pretty far from my house and going there means picking up Ayla late from daycare, a trade-off I am not willing to make. So, I buy bread at the regular grocery store at double the price, because we NEED to eat, right?
I have been able to work on a few projects, including making a diaper box into a storage bin with fancy fabric and a liner (I will try to post that soon. TRY is the key word.) If you can't wait for my post, Google it. It's amazing. And I have tons of diaper boxes in all shapes and sizes.
And, on the home front, we finally refinanced our home...our payment is $60 less a month and we went from a 30-year mortgage to a 20 year. Woo hoo. How about that for saving money?

Online shopping

These last few weeks leading up to Christmas have been very busy for me...and I haven't been preparing for the holiday itself. I have been studying for grad finals, writing and grading papers, attending meetings, volunteering at the library, taking cycling classes, taking the dog to the park and doing everything but shopping for Christmas. So, when I did have a moment, I signed online. And did everything I could to save money. Before I viewed my cart, I googled coupon code and the store I was shopping at for some savings. Even a very obscure police officer site I ordered some items for Nate for, had a great coupon code. I usually end up at www.retailmenot.com, but a co-workers swears by www.gottadeal.com. Even if it saves you shipping, or covers tax, it's better than nothing, right? So, don't' forget to take a few extra seconds to save that holiday dough!

Black Friday Bonanza continued

So, after my Wal-mart adventure, I drove over to the Target Complex to a parking lot crowded with cars. It looked like the auto auction. People were parking on the grass on top of the hill. Who even knew there was a hill there?
As I walked into the store, I headed for the clothes. There were a few items that I wanted to pick up. I saw people lined up snaking through the store. I assumed it was like Wal-mart and people were waiting for electronics like video game systems, big screen TVs and Blue-ray players. Little did I know that this line was really the line to check out. I took my time browsing the aisles, only to find the items that I wanted were gone or picked over. I grabbed a few items and walked around the store to find the end of the line. It was back in the pet supplies, but snaked through every other department at least once. It lead into lingerie at least twice. There were employees directing "traffic." Thank goodness I ended up in line behind a very pleasant mother and daughter team, who were also out on their first (and last) Black Friday expedition. We had so much fun watching each others carts in line while the other went off on an adventure looking for items. The mom found me two of the items I wanted that I thought were sold out on other racks. They helped me match items together for my gift giving. It was so fun. I even found out the daughter and I are both in grad school at Temple and have classes on the same night. It was a long line, and I probably ended up spending $75 more than I did when I entered the line. That was the strategy of the marketing department, I am sure. People are on a spending high and just keep throwing items in the cart. I saw it happen over and over again! Even items that weren't on sale were flying into carts. I even bought a few regular priced items. I am hoping that the items go on sale soon and I can get a price adjustment. Well, after I finally exited Target with $175 more on my credit card (but a $10 Target gift card for spending $100) I stopped at Boscovs where I picked up three items (two of which I will probably return) and thank goodness for NO lines. That was the end of my shopping. I made it back home before 10 a.m. and my hubby was still in bed. I snuggled up on the couch with the animated movie UP and slept away most of the rest of the day. But, I think it was worth it. Next year, I am not venturing out alone. I need a partner to keep me sane in all the madness!

Shopping sorrows

I had an outdoor wedding to attend this weekend. It was rainy, it was cold and most people stayed at home in their sweats to watch a movie. I realized that the cotton dress that I had planned to wear wasn't going to cut it. I decided on an impromptu shopping trip after work on Thursday. The problem was, where could I go? I wanted to get home to spend time with Nate, but still hit up the store that would have the best selection. I started at Burlington Coat Factory, where I had luck earlier this year. Nothing looked right. The Calvin Klein sweater dresses were adorable on the racks, not so much so on my curvy figure. It showed off every angle. I ended up buying a pair of cute brown short boots...1980s style. With no luck on the dress, I headed to Ross, which was my first instinct. I loaded the cart with 18 items. No lie. There were so many cute dresses there. I couldn't decide what to wear, so I ended up spending $111 and taking it all home to Nate to help me decide what to wear. I ended up with a Calvin Klein pleated dress, a long sleeved brown and purple dress that will be great for work, four pairs of tights, a brown cardigan, a purple sweater cardigan and a purple Nine West purse. All of the items are interchangeable and great additions to the wardrobe. I ended up wearing the tan Calvin Klein dress with a brown cardigan, brown tights and knee-high brown boots. I was warm and I felt dressed for the season. I got many compliments on my outfit. I actually got some inspiration at a blog I follow...wardrobe911.com. Check it out if you are in a fashion slump.