Stream of Consciousness (#2)....

*I have a chest cold. I blame it on the fact that we felt it was summer and have been sleeping with the window open in the bedroom for the last 6 weeks.

*I still hate the fact that I get carded for over the counter medications for colds. At first I thought it was only items with alcohol in it. Or stuff to make meth. But yesterday I bought Musinex and yep...got carded. Sheesh.

*The mock-up of my wedding dress is done and my mama is in the process of cutting it out and sewing it together. I'd take a deep breath or two, but that causes me to hack uncontrollably.

*We also got our marriage license in the mail yesterday. Again, I'd take a deep breath, but that deep coughing thing seems to get in the way.

*I've just recently referred 3 people to work at my university! Let's hope one of them gets hired as I get a nice little bonus!

*Speaking of my university, is it bad that I love Friday's because of the free bagels/donut/fruit buffet? You get one of your choice. Mine? Asiago Parmesan Bagel. Yum. Yum. Yum.

*Is it a bad thing to pay for part of your wedding dinner with a gift card? I won a $100 gift card to a restaurant of my choice. I picked the restaurant we're eating at after the wedding. I figure that sucker is worth at least 3 meals or a round of drinks.

*I make it a point every week when I work my late night to say Thank You to the housekeeping staff who come through and empty our trash cans. I encourage you to do that, too!

*I got my crew assignment for the 3-day. Sweep van, baby! Now Angi and I need a theme. Any ideas? Last year was Save 2nd Base. Any ideas would be appreciated.

*Have you entered my giveaway yet? If you'd like to play just leave a comment and I'll pick 2 people (maybe more!) to send a cool little prize based on their blog. Check it out by clicking here.

Have a good weekend! Mine will be spent scrubbing our house from top to bottom as my mama arrives on Thursday!

You Know I Love You, But (#2)....
Dear Big Guy,

You know I love you. While we've never had an issue with TP never being replaced on the TP holder, I was surprised to find this on the shelf in the bathroom the other day.

I love you, but blowing your nose with TP just isn't the same.

This too, I know I'll learn to live with.

Love,
Me.

Great Minds Think Alike....
A few weeks ago, one of my favorite little blogs, Growing Older But Not Up, had decided to participate in the Pay It Forward Challenge and do a little giveaway of her own.

Well....
I was picked!
I was so excited!
What would I receive? One of her cool photos? Maybe she'd cough up the cast iron dutch oven she won over on the Pioneer Woman's blog? Perhaps I'd get a fun little something from Murray State University (where I went to graduate school and is only a short drive from her town!)? All I knew was that it would be specific to me, so it could be anything!

The suspense was killing me! And on Thursday...the package arrived.

I opened it. And look what was inside.....


Patti's is THE restaurant in Western Kentucky. When I went to graduate school at Murray State we ate there now and again and oh, it was just a little bit of heaven! The 2 inch pork chop alone is worth its weight in gold. And the pie? Lord have mercy on my soul. That pie is one of the reasons I gained the Graduate School 40 *cough* as well as Dutch Potato Casserole *cough*.

But here's what is funny.

I already had the cookbook!!! Look! It hasn't changed either!




Never fear, Hula dear. I am in love with your copy of the cookbook. Know why? Girlfriend marked her FAVORITE RECIPES! Hello? Why wouldn't I be in love with it! Don't be surprised if that cake makes an appearance at my office one of these days.

So, thank you Ms. Hula. I am grateful for your hospitality and thoughtfulness. I will cherish that cookbook forever.

Now it's your turn!
I've never done a giveaway before and to be honest--I'm a little nervous! Therefore, I'm going to encourage you all to leave a comment and I will pick 2 people out of the bunch!

Rules
1. You must have a blog that I can access and read (I need to learn more about you so that your "prize" is specific to you!!)
2. Just leave a little ol' comment on this post by next Sunday, May 2nd. I'll draw names the following Monday and will notify you of your win via your own blog. No need to follow me, tweet about it, etc. (Who needs THAT hassle?)
3. If you win, then you promise to talk about the Pay It Forward Challenge and do this yourself on your blog! (read: easy blog material!)

The Prize: To be determined by reading your blog so it will be specific to YOU! That's what Pay It Forward is about: sending you a little something to put a little smile on your face!

Good luck!
Now go leave a comment and make my first giveaway a success!

Show Us Your Life--How I Met the Big Guy....
So, today over at Kelly's Korner, we are being asked to share how we met our fiance/spouse. Since I currently have a fiance--I can participate! Be sure to head over and read what others are sharing today.

First, off, let's recall who the Big Guy is.

Awww. Isn't he sweet?

Now. Let's roll back the clock to who the Big Guy was when we first started dating....

Look at him.
Big glasses.
So-so attire.
Thank goodness I came into the picture, eh? hee hee hee.

I met the Big Guy on Match.com. It was 2005, I was going to cancel my membership and I decided to take one last look around when I saw his profile. I sent him an e-mail, he sent me one in return and we set up our first date.

However.

After our first date, I didn't know if he was the one.

It's true!

I called my BFF and said, "I don't know". I proceeded to tell her about our date--which included a story about his place of employment. The Big Guy works for a beet sugar plant and at the time was known as a "Sugar Boiler" (the process is boring for us "non-sugar" people...). We were driving to the restaurant and he was telling me about his job. As I put the car into park he said to me....."...I make one-quarter of one-percent of the nations sugar supply. I guess you could call me a Sugar Daddy."

No lie. I can't make this up. I seriously looked at the sky and mouthed to God, "Are you kidding me? Is this a joke?"

Anyway, in telling the BFF this story she said, "Clearly he was nervous. Give him another chance." So, I did. I called him, left a message for him to get when he got home and said, "Let's do this again!"

We did and then the rest was history.

And now, we're engaged to be married in May!
I mean, how can I not marry him? The Sugar Daddy story is worth it!

**Edited to add: The Big Guy read the post and had this to say:

"...It worked, didn't it."

Well. There you go.

You Know I Love You, But (#1).....
Dear Big Guy,

You know I love you.

But after all our years together I still don't get how you can crowd all the silverware into only 3 wells of the dishwasher. There are 8 wells. You pick the middle 3. Every. Single. Time.


But I'm learning to live with it.

Love,
Me

It's Support & A Workout All-in-One!
As a woman who is getting older, my body isn't necessarily in the shape it was when I was 18. So, when it has come to wedding planning and shopping for the wedding, I told myself that I wanted to purchase the best body shaper that money could buy.

As Truvy said in Steele Magnolias, "Well these thighs haven't gone out of the house without lycra on them since I was 14."

A few weeks ago, I purchased the body shaper that claims to Lose 10 pounds in 10 seconds.

Sign me up.
I'm sold!

This weekend I was invited to the wedding of my supervisor. It was a lovely event and I got to spend some time outside of work with my co-workers (who I enjoy--that's always a bonus!). I made my way to my friend Tracy's and got ready at her place. This was the perfect occasion to break out the new shapewear. After all, if I'm wearing this on my wedding day, this is the best time to try this sucker out!

I have determined how you Lost 10 pounds in 10 seconds.

Yes, the shapewear does it's job and pushes in the stuff and smooths out the bumps. But my goodness....you not only look like you've lost 10 pounds, but you literally break out into a sweat putting these darn things on!

It's a workout!

Pull it here.
Tug it there.
Push this here.
Shove that there.

Perhaps if I just ate better & worked out, I wouldn't need the shapewear!

Stream of Consciousness....

• Hooray for Friday! No sleeping in for me tomorrow, though. I'm working to gain a little comp. time. But still...it's Friday!
• I'm a bit disappointed in a blog that I read. I'm not going to go into details, but I'm concerned that this blogger has lost their "direction." I'm sorry, but I want to read about you: your ups, downs, etc. I'm concerned that they are using their "popular blog status" to make money. Is that so wrong? I don't know. But, sadly, it makes me say, "Ugh." (let me be clear to say that there is nothing wrong with making money off your blog. But there are actually 3 blogs that I used to read religiously that I've now cut back considerably because they talk about "ad space" and other "money making" phrases...)
• I'm a little freaked out as I get married in approximately 1 month.
• I ate 2 BIG Rice Krispie treats yesterday. And I wonder why my jeans are a little snug today. Sheesh.
• I'm going to my supervisor's wedding tomorrow. I will have lots to share on Monday.
• I made cake balls for my supervisor's rehearsal dinner. I will never, ever, ever, never, ever, not in a million years, no matter how much you pay me, will never make them again. Ever. I mean it. Don't know what cake balls are? Check out Bakerella's site. Next time? I'm directing the person who wants them to hire Bakerella.
• I got a great donation for the Breast Cancer online auction. She was featured on Pioneer Woman's site and I contacted her and wala! Donation! You can check out Foxy Blunt here and her HI-LAR-I-OUS cards. Seriously...they're a riot.
• I'm getting married in approximately 1 month.
• I went to the dentist and had another crown. You would think I'm royalty with all the crowns I've had in the last 3 years. Thank the Lord for really good dental insurance.
• Speaking of dental, I'm thinking of having my remaining wisdom teeth pulled so that I can get braces on my bottom teeth. Key phrase being "thinking about it."
• I'm getting married in approximately 1 month.
• I am loving the show The Pacific on HBO. Love it, love it, love it.
• Speaking of TV, when is Mad Men back on?
• Still speaking of TV, I have no idea if I've made it into the episode of Mall Cops: Mall of America. You can read about how I ended up on tape here. Then again, why wouldn't you want to put a girl from Minnesota on TV who chats about scraping manure off the front porch?
• We got an e-mail at work on Thursday about appropriate internet usage. Should I be concerned (considering I'm blogging at work....)?
• Did you know I'm getting married in about a month and I'm starting to freak out a bit?

Have a good weekend!

Livin' on a Prayer....
Well, actually I'm thinking of living on one paycheck.

No. I'm not quitting my job.
No. I'm not getting a different job.

I'm talking about banking my paycheck every month and living off the Big Guy's check. It is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. We, like most families, have a small amount of debt (credit card, school loan, car loan).

My thinking is that if we bank my check into savings, in about a year we could pay off all of our debt. We could then continue to bank my checks to boost our savings as well as have one hell of a down payment for a house.

We would still have access to the money if we needed it. We would just make it a point to live off of the Big Guy's income and go into our future home purchase--and our life together--debt free.

Anyone out there in a two income family who live off one check and save the other?

Is it doable?
What do I need to know?
Give me the scoop!

It's True.....

"The perfect shoes can change you life..."

--Cinderella

I think these little numbers will certainly be there when my life changes in May, on my wedding day. Yes. The hunt for shoes is over!

What do you think?

Edited to add: I've been asked where I got them. I got them at Macy's, on sale and discounted another 20% (whoo!). Here is the shoe website.

Why Do You Blog?

The other morning I was riding the bus into work and listening to the radio on my iPod (oh, how I love that feature of my little iPod Nano!). My favorite talk radio station--or as the Big Guy calls it, "Chic talk radio"--was discussing mommy bloggers.

The discussion was about how popular bloggers need to also deal with the backlash of people who don't like their blog. I can see that. The more popular you are...the more criticism you'll get about every single little thing you do, good or bad.

But the thing that struck me was that blogging in general is a $500 million dollar industry, with mommy bloggers being responsible for a large majority of that. In fact, it is predicted that blogging will reach $750 million in 2012 if not $1 billion. (source)

This got me thinking.
Why do we blog?
The money?
The fame?
The ability to stay at home?

I know why I blog. I love to share stories and write out my crazy observations. To make money, though? Not so much. Yes, I know. I had ads on my site. I had them up for about 3 months to see what it would generate for me. I earned a grand total of $4.09 for all 3 months....which I have yet to receive a check, thankyouverymuch. That could buy me a latte at Caribou!

But some people try really, really hard to get people to read their blog. They want followers and comments. They promote the heck out of their blog by leaving comments saying "I'm following you, you should follow me!" There is one blogger who did this recently and I saw her follow list grow from less than 100 to over 1000 (yes, One Thousand) in a span of a week.

I can barely keep up with the list of blogs I follow much less 1000!

I guess I also wonder...when did blogging become all about give aways and followers, comments, tweets, etc. etc. Don't get me wrong. I think it's cool that people can make some serious cash off their blogs and have a big following. There is also nothing wrong with the occasional give awy.

But I guess for me, blogging has never been about that.

So...why do you blog?
If you don't blog, but read blogs, what keeps you coming back?

Cheaper Insurance (no, really!)....

I know I haven't been keeping people up to date on my own self proclaimed Money Dare. But really, it's sorta boring to write "I saw this on sale and didn't buy it." So I've spared you the details.

But.

What this money dare has done has helped me to look at how my money is being spent. Recently, that realization went the way of my auto insurance.

With the Big Guy and I getting married in just a few short weeks (deep breaths....deep breaths....), we have started the ever popular discussion about finances. During our discussion, the Big Guy said that he was going to make an appointment with his insurance agent so that I could be added to the homeowner's policy.

I suddenly felt old.
Meeting with the insurance guy was for my parents. Not me. Or my husband.
But apparently we have one.
Who knew!

Anyway, the Big Guy asked me for my auto policy to see if the insurance guy could do a little better for me. So, I gave the Big Guy my auto policy and away he went to talk deductibles and other insurance lingo.

When he came home, the Big Guy said, "here is what you'd be paying if you went with him." I looked at the quote and did a double take. Yes. A double take. Not only do I have the exact same deductible, exact same coverage, exact EVERYTHING, but I am saving $253 every six months.

I KNOW!!! That's OVER $500 a year.

I promptly called the insurance guy the following day and said, "SIGN ME UP!!" The funny thing about this is that I felt loyalty to my old insurance provider. I've been with them since 1996. For 14 years I've been with them and every year my insurance crept up dollar by dollar, little by little. What is even more ironic? Once we get hitched--our insurance will go down. Amazing that I thought I knew this stuff.

Apparently that's not the case.

So....my advice to you....consider shopping around for our auto, home, life insurance. Take in your current coverage and ask to have a quote run for you. You might be surprised!

Mr. Steamy Also Buttons Your Shirts!

Have you seen this commercial? Here, check it out:

(OK...so the video couldn't be embedded. So, here's the link to the infomercial site, there's a video that plays in the corner of the site...watch it to see what I mean....click here to see it.)


If this thing (that looks like a dog's chew toy) can get out wrinkles and button all of my shirts while tumbling in the dryer, I'm all for it.

Somehow, I doubt it.

Dear Dress Pattern Makers....

Dear Dress Pattern Makers,

I respect the fact that pattern making is probably a lost art. However, I have a beef with you that started in 1996 when my mom made a formal dress for me. See, I was attending a formal banquet and never having attended prom, I had no "back up dress" in my wardrobe. My mom made me a dress, cut to the pant size I was wearing at the time.

It didn't fit.

In fact, it was too small. This, sadly, caused me to cry and curse up a storm because I wasn't that big! The sad thing is, she needed to sew panels into that dress. Embarrassment doesn't even begin to describe it.

Fast forward to tonight. My mom sent me the bodice of my wedding dress. Thankfully cut out in scrap fabric as to not use the "good stuff", I pulled out the bodice tonight and went to try it on.

I couldn't even zip it up. Not one tooth on that zipper was zipped. Funny thing is...I had her cut it a size too big based on said experience from 1996. It still didn't fit.

So, now, I'm scrambling to find a pattern that is, literally, 3-4 sizes too big so that I don't run into this problem again. Talk about giving a girl a complex.

Yes, I could lose more weight. But that isn't the issue. The issue is that the size I--and every other woman on the planet wears--never seems to match a dress size.

Well. Unless you're a size 4.
I'm no size 4.

Is it too much to ask that dress sizes be the same as pant sizes?

Sincerely,
A Bride Who May End Up Wearing Pants.