A Re-Do

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Remember this wedding from last year?  The one where the bride got snowed on…like REALLY snowed on…like one of the WORST NOR’EASTERS this state has seen?  The one where the power went out for the wedding, the reception was canceled, and then we pretty much had no power for a week?

Well, the bride FINALLY got her wedding re-do!

Her family was nice enough to sponsor a proper wedding reception and she has been looking forward to it this whole year!

I think the weather got the message as well as there was not a storm cloud in sight!  In fact it went the opposite direction…we were in a heat wave!

Thankfully the shin-dig was held in the evening or else everyone would have melted!

We drove to CT with a friend of ours to the place where it was held (the bride’s aunt’s house).  She had a beautiful location…private house and yard with a beautiful swimming pool.  There was a tent set up, seating, and tons of pictures from the big night last October.

Even though it was hot, we had a good time!  There was free food, free alcohol, and lots of people watching…what more could you ask for!

I’m just glad that the bride got a night to REALLY celebrate!  I don’t think I’ve seen someone smile that much 🙂

After a long drive back, we ate some cheesy pasta (I think that is due to the high amounts of alcohol we drank!) and went to bed.

Good (unexpected!) news…and Friday Favorites #6

Friday, June 29, 2012

The good, but VERY unexpected (!), news????

…..

Our hospital is giving a raise this year!!!!!!

I had completely given up hope, considering every other year that it happened, it was announced earlier in the year.

But there will be a hospital wide 2% raise starting in the middle of this month 🙂

With all of our focus on trying to save more money, this could not have come at a better time.  I can’t wait to try to just siphon off that extra money right into our emergency fund!

I think I was smiling all night long at work 🙂

Anyways, hopefully these Friday Favorites will have you smiling too…

Another favorite blog…KERF (Kath Eats Real Food)…I’ve been following Kath as she lost weight, graduated with a registered dietician degree, opened a bakery with her husband, and now as she is expecting her first child (in which she documents baby stuff on Baby KERF)  I feel as if Kath embodies how to eat real food, that looks good!

Favorite Brownie dessert recipes…there are two!

Brownie Batter Parfait

and…

Brownie Batter Milkshake

Favorite way to save money…have a MONEY FREE weekend!

Favorite pizza! This Grilled Vegetable Pizza looks so good!

Favorite inspirational articles 🙂  Just love knowing that there are ways to change in order to improve myself!

12 Habits Standing Between You and What You Want

10 Ways to Recharge Your Motivation

Favorite funny…

Favorite list…The Top 100 Running Songs of All Time…I’m going to have to find some time to listen to some of them…I’m sure they are motivating…and even though I don’t run, I do exercise and I can’t wait to incorporate some of them into my work outs!

Favorite LEMON treat…Creamy Lemon Bars…I could just sink my teeth into one of these RIGHT NOW!

Favorite reading truth…

Favorite GREEN idea…we already use cloth napkins…but what a great idea for CHEAP (and cute!) cloth napkins…BANDANAS!!

Favorite side dishes…NEED to make soon…

Grilled Corn and Cheddar Quinoa

and…

Cheesy Zucchini Rice

Favorite Do-It-Yourself…Homemade Mosquito Spray…

Favorite GOAL helping device…Weekly Goal Planning…10 Goals for the week…divide up your goals in whatever categories you want…make them specific!

Download free goal planning sheet here!

Favorite peanut butter bite…

Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

Favorite inspiration…

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!!

Breakfast out!

Thursday, June 28, 2012

After a long night at work (4 hours in the ER and then 8 hours in IMC) I met up with a few co-workers at Cracker Barrel for breakfast.  One of my night co-workers is leaving 😦 and this was a good-bye.

I had a good meal…Maine blueberry pancakes with blueberry syrup and maple syrup and a side of cheesy hashbrown casserole!

Mmmm!

It was a late one getting to bed considering that I had to get up to work tonight, but I made it happen.  It wasn’t until I was driving home that I really started to get sleepy…and of course my eyes were burning after I woke up this afternoon.  We’ll see how I fare tonight at work.

It’s going to be interesting to see how my co-worker likes her new job…it’s at the other hospital in the area that I would consider MAYBE in the future…just to see more stuff and learn more and also for the money…she got a substantial raise.  Whereas I heard at breakfast from my co-workers (who seem to know all the work gossip!) that we barely made payroll this week.  Geesh!

Anyways, off to get ready for work!

Fall?

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

It is a GORGEOUS day out there today…so breezy it feels like a fall day!

All of the windows are open and the house is airing out 🙂

Today I go back to work, but that’s okay.  Need to work hard to play hard.

I’m going to continue reading my new book…the new Jodi Picoult book, Lone Wolf…I saw it at the library the other day and snatched it up…it’s rare to be able to get the new ones from the library right away.  So far so good…she usually delivers on books 🙂

Anything else I get done today I’ll be happy with…I’m flexible!

Savings

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Another day off…always a good thing!

More errands done…easier to do since Kimm came with me.

We picked up Izzy’s med, dropped off some clothes in a donation bin (that pile of stuff in the basement is slowly diminishing), called about bulk pick up (next day is July 23rd so we have lots of time to get ready for that), and we stopped at the bank so I could ask about opening other savings accounts.

That turned into a 45 minute or so excursion!  Turns out you can open multiple savings accounts, but you have to do it with one of the bank representatives…so I opened four more savings accounts.  This will allow for me to have separate accounts for retirement, gifts, vacation, and one extra.  I’m excited to take advantage of this and hopefully it will help in our quest to save more money.

Starting this next month I’m going to try to PAY MYSELF FIRST.  Basically I’m going to take a certain percentage of the paycheck and stick it into savings right away so we don’t see the money.  I’ll start small since we’ve never done this, probably 1%.  I’m curious to know if we’ll be able to do this since we seem to live paycheck to paycheck most months.

Talked to my mom earlier today 🙂

My parents will be coming out for a visit in October so I’m looking forward to that…already thinking of some fun things to do.

Relaxed after dinner and another movie planned…a favorite comedy…Bridewars!

Unexpected (large) expense…

Monday, June 25, 2012

So this morning we had a person who deals with garages come to look at our garage.

Kimm had seen that a cord from our garage door was hanging down and that the garage door would not open so she called for an appointment.  Turns out that the cable had come off and one of the springs was broken.  Same thing that had happened a few years ago. Back then it was repaired for a little over $100, but the estimate we got was close to $300 today.  Ugh.  I think it was less all those years ago because our neighbor knew someone at the garage place so maybe he got a deal for us??  Anyways, we also got a quote for a new garage door as this guy who gave us the quote for the work (actually the owner of the company and quite nice) said that he wouldn’t put a ton more work into the garage door since it was so old and there was really no guarantee that the spring wouldn’t go again.  So a quote for a new door–around $1400 (for the door, windows on the door, taking down and disposing of the old door).  Double ugh.

So we didn’t decide anything today.

But I’m sure that we will probably go with a new door since it really is needed.

It just SUCKS because that will take up pretty much the rest of the tax money.  Money that was slated for…new bikes, new glasses, grill…

Oh well, I guess being a grown up isn’t fun all the time!

Anyways, nothing is set in stone yet.

The remainder of the day was spent just doing stuff.  It took a lot to get it done because I felt SO unmotivated.

But I …

…went grocery shopping for a few necessities (two stores)

…dropped a load of stuff off at Saver’s

…went to the library to return books and pick up some more (I see that the library is doing an adult summer reading program…for every book you read, your name will be entered into a raffle to win $25…I’m hoping to read 6 books in the one and 1/2 months it will be going on)

…made dinner

I guess that’s enough for me.

Relaxed after dinner and we’re doing another movie…Taken, one of our favorites!

And off again!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

My one night on of work was easy-peasy.

The hospital seems to be in a slower state…only two patients in ICU and only one of them was ICU.

So needless to say, it was a slow night.  Lots of reading done.  I finished another good book, Still Missing by Chevy Stevens.  And then did some reading in my Critical Care Nursing book.

In spite of all of that, I was yawning my morning.  Sleep was not far in coming.

Up in the afternoon and I was off again for three days…a NICE feeling 🙂

Spent the night relaxing…now we are going to watch a movie, A History of Violence…supposedly we watched it several years ago and loved it, so we’ll see if we still feel the same!

Vacation #1 2012: Technically Over, but…

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Well, today is the last 1/2 day of my vacation, so it’s technically over…BUT

I only have to work one night and then I have THREE MORE off 🙂

So it’s kind of like a mini-extended vacation 🙂

Today I plan on learning and relaxing.

I’ll look through some nursing stuff and then either read, watch some TV or nap.

Regarding getting done what I wanted this vacation…even though it all didn’t get done, I still feel very accomplished.  As with most things in life, you need more, not less time to accomplish certain goals.  We DID get through the entire basement.  That was the major goal and I am so happy.

Now on Monday my hope is to get all the stuff off to Saver’s to donate.  Then on Tuesday we will get all the trash out.  And hopefully that same day we can get all the bulk items out to the garage and pull up the carpet.  And put the paint cans out to dry (I guess that is what you are supposed to do).  And then it will be done!

I’m hoping the next few days off I’ll be able to do some more outdoor weeding as well and get the plants for the porch.

Now, I’m already thinking about what we can do for the next vacation…hmmm…I’m thinking organizing the garage??

It’s a gorgeous day out there…enjoy!

Vacation #1 2012: Day Eight (MORE basement, Happy Birthday Mom!!, a party?, Friday Favorites #5)

Friday, June 22, 2012

I seriously cannot believe that a FULL EIGHT days have gone by since I last worked…it seems like I just got home from the hospital yesterday.  Why do vacations always go by so fast?

Regardless, it was another busy day.

Spent about 3 1/2 hours in the basement finishing up everything.  Got through pretty much all the areas that I wanted to.  But it doesn’t look like much progress since so much stuff still needs to come out of the basement.  I’ll take pics tomorrow so you can see.  There is the big pile of stuff to go to Saver’s (donation place), another big pile of trash, a bunch of bulk pick up items, a pile of old paint cans that will need to be disposed of, and of course the ratty carpet to pull up.

So…once all of that is done, I’m sure it will look like we did a lot more.

After doing that, we ate a quick lunch and then I took a much-needed shower.  Working in the basement is dusty and dirty!

A quick call to  my mom to wish her a happy birthday 🙂  She was out with my dad, looking at new cars…wouldn’t that be a sweet birthday gift?!  Expensive I’m sure!

We are in the midst of getting some pretty nasty thunderstorms right now so our dog is hiding out under the bed 🙂

If the rain stops, we’ll be heading out for a birthday celebration!

Enjoy my favorites from the web this week…

A favorite blog…I’ve been reading Daily Garnish for a very long time…I love reading about Emily’s family and her culinary creations…she has such an easy writing style and I always look forward to reading her posts!

Favorite news bite…J.C. Penny’s Father’s Day ad that showed the normalcy of two dads 🙂

Favorite funnies!!  No other explanation needed 🙂

Favorite Fourth of July bites…all of these together would make a mighty tasty meal I’m thinking!

...Seven-Layer Bean Dip

…Chipolte Black Bean Burgers

…Creamy Potato Salad

…Texas slaw

…Sweet Corn Pudding

…Patriotic Cookie Pizza!!

Favorite truth.

Favorite sweat inducing machine…this is the treadmill that I’m hoping to get for the basement!

Favorite smile…I smiled/teared up so many times while viewing this article–21 Pictures That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity…

Favorite chocolate!!  German Chocolate Cake Bars…mmmm!

Favorite INSPIRATIONAL articles…

10 Reminders Worth Reviewing Daily

10 Ways to Change Your Life at any Age

30 Practical Ways to Improve Yourself

Favorite fruit and vegetable combo in dessert form! — Pineapple Zucchini Sheet Cake

Favorite visual goal enhancer…Star Charts (here used for kids…but so adaptable to anything!)

Favorite breakfast indulgence…Cinnamon French Toast Bake

Favorite fruit!  This layered fruit salad looks insanely delicious!!

Favorite thoughts to get the new week off to a great start!

Have a great weekend!!!

 

Vacation #1 2012: Day Seven (Heat wave, more basement stuff, game night)

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Another productive day but this vacation is disappearing before my eyes….NO!

A scorcher today…temps near 100 again.  That AC we bought this year was one of the best investments we’ve made 🙂  Keeps it nice and cool, and more importantly, humidity-free on the first level of the house.

The morning was spent doing two tasks: balancing the checkbook/paying bills and working on the basement.

We’re doing well on the budget front this month which is good.

The basement is coming along too.  We got through a good portion today and probably will finish up tomorrow.

We had a little bit of a meltdown at the end…I’m telling you, going through old stuff can be very overwhelming and emotional…I’ll be very glad when this is done and we can enjoy all the extra space in the basement.

After lunch I spent some time going through some of my nursing stuff, doing a load of laundry, and relaxing.

Kimm’s parents came over for pizza and game night.  We played Imaginiff and laughed ourselves silly 🙂