Random Chatter

~ Last weekend my mom had a get-together with her college sorority girls (they do this every summer) and this year it was in Wichita. I didn't have anything to do on Friday so I went out to the lake house (VERY nice house...). We played on the lake and after a while a bunch of us decided to go over and try the rope swing into the water. It finally got to my turn and, either very stupid or brave, I got up on the 6 ft. plank to swing into the water. Problem: My legs hit the ground before I got to the water...NOT GOOD. The entire left side of my right knee is bruised and skinned up. My right shin is all skinned and since there's no where around the shin to really swell, it went to my ankle. Moral of the story...If you are a klutz do play on the rope swing!

~ Ethan laughed at me when I told him that story...no sympathy!

~ My wedding dress came in...so pretty!

~ I am in the process of moving into Ethan's house. There really was no point in continuing to pay 400/month + utilities when I'm never at the house in Cheney. Plus, with Ethan working contract in Lincoln, I'm here all the time and that will have to continue through the school year.

~ Along with moving into his place, means I get the "girl it up" just a bit. Not too much though...can't shock the poor guy, have to break him in gradually! HA :)

~ I made zucchini bread for the first time yesterday, my grandmother's recipe. Considering my unpleasant experiences with baking in the past and that I can never get my banana bread to turn out right, I was very nervous. However, it turned out wonderful! I'm going to make up more loaves and freeze them for later :-)

~ I broke a nail today while moving my stuff...I hate that!

~ Ethan and I have Engagement Encounter this weekend. We get to spend the whole weekend at the Spiritual Life Center in Wichita. I am looking forward to it, but something tells me I'm going to be very tired by Sunday afternoon...

~ School is starting in less than a month. I haven't done too much school work so far this summer since we're starting a week later than usual. Now, it's less than a month away, I haven't done hardly anything, I can't get into the school cause they waxed the floors, AND I have to pack, clean, and move!

~ I'm so very happy!!!

SKIMP and SPEND

In today's economy many people are trying to cut back and finding ways to save on certain items that they have been enjoying in order to pay bills, tuition, or survive on one salary. I like to consider myself pretty good at watching my money and saving. Lately I have been trying to save a little more each month. Through college I was able to have more than one job, take 16+ credit hours, have a social life, and still manage to save a little each month. Through those college years I learned very quickly which items were worth skimping on and which ones were well worth the extra dollar. Here are some of the things I do to cut back.

SKIMP on Movies: it cost 10+ for one adult to go to the theatre, plus popcorn and a soda. By the end of the night you're looking at a 50$ outing. Wait till it comes out on video and buy or rent it. Pop your own popcorn and snuggle on the couch. (Although this is much easier for me when Ethan has the big screen in the basement and it's like going to the movies anyway...only more comfortable!)

SPEND on Peanut Butter: For the most part I am a true saver with the "Always Save," "Kroger," or "Best Choice" brands. Normally they are just as good as the original for less. With that said, the cheap peanut butter is terrible. The peanut taste is either way off or there's no peanut taste and you pay for oily peanut butter. I will spend the extra for Jiff. It's always Jiff.

SKIMP on Restaurants: Ethan and I love to cook at home. This is a cheaper option for us because we end up with left overs to last the rest of the week. Although when we really feel like something different or going out to eat, we look for the deals. Two entrees for 20$ and other deals like that.

SPEND on Jeans: I am a total convert to the expensive jeans. I thought it was ridiculous to spend 80$ on jeans. That was until I tried on a pair of Silver Jeans. They fit PERFECTLY! Although because they are expensive, I have two pair and wear them only.

SKIMP on Bottled Water: I don't buy it. The tap water is fine at my place and Ethan's. If I ever live where the tap water is undrinkable, the Brita Water Filter pitcher is what I'll use. Much cheaper.

SPEND on Razors: The better the razor the better the shave. The cheaper the razor the more the pain (razor burn sucks).

SKIMP on Car wash: And basically any cleaning type jobs you can do yourself. Skip the 10$ car was and bust out the hose and your bathing suit and get a tan :)

SPEND on Exercise: I golf and swim. Golfing cost every time I tee off and swimming is a monthly fee for the YMCA. Both are worth it. They get me out and about. Taking care of yourself is definitely worth it.

SKIMP on Cable: Get what you HAVE to have. I cut back from 120$ a month to 60$ a month. I get Internet for 40 and 15 for my main channels, add in tax and it's half as expensive as having the extra channels.

Random Chatter

Ha...I started out with Sunday Chatter, and that soon changed to "Weekly Chatter" when I realized I could not always blog every Sunday. Now after realizing it's been many weeks since my last "chatter" I have decided to call it "Random Chatter!"

~ Yesterday was my "-1 Anniversary." I love that Ethan and I are getting married around a Holiday. It means we will always have at least an extra day to celebrate free from work. He got me a card, I was very surprised! :-)

~ My sister has decided that she is addicted to chocolate. This is something most of us who know her are well aware of. I told her to accept it and enjoy some chocolate cake. Jamie however, cannot do that. She has had me bet her that she can't stay away from Chocolate for a month. The terms: If I win, she cooks me dinner, if she wins I cook her dinner.

~ Ethan and I are in the process of trying to pick a photographer for our wedding. It really is a hard decision, but we've narrowed it down to 3. Whoever we go with I am sure we'll end up with beautiful pictures!

~ Little Copper is getting bigger. He is such a good mannered dog, and I love asking mom how he is and hearing what funny or silly thing he did when I call.

~ I bought my first watermelon of the summer on July 1. It was a very sweet and wonderful watermelon, making me wonder why I waited until July to get one!

~ While Ethan has been working in Lincoln doing contract work during the weeks I have been trying to find things to keep me busy during the day to make the week go faster. One day this week I cleaned the entire house, cooked dinner, made a potato salad, did laundry, went to the store. I call that my "mom" day. It was a day that sounded very similar to ones my mother has. The next day I helped Ethan's dad load sod in the back of the truck at a grass farm, helped lay the sod, got very dirty. This is my "dad" day!

~ Speaking of Lincoln...I'm praying extra hard, it might work out!

~ I love KC and Breck! I don't think I could ever live without a dog again. Good thing Ethan agrees with me. However, I'll have to keep working on him if I'm ever going to get a little daschound!

The Meaning Behind "I Don't Care"

I went to Kansas City this weekend to spend an evening out with some of my very best girlfriends from college. We always have so much fun together and I knew that this trip would be the same. After a very long decision process (which is the meaning of my post...) we decided to eat at a Thai restaurant in downtown KC and then walk to the Power and Lights district for a night of drinks and dancing.

I have now spent two weekends with two different groups of women (see mystery weekend) and one common phrase keeps popping up. "I don't care." I noticed myself saying it, my sister saying it, my mom, my friends, and numerous times throughout the trips. I started to think a little about how often I say it, and how often it gets said by women. Then I thought about how many different reasons their might be fore saying "I don't care" and how confusing that might be to men. I thought I would try to explain some of the reasons that I say "I don't care."

1. "I don't care." TRANSLATION: "I really don't care." This one I use mainly when trying to pick a place to eat. I am not a picky eater, and many of my friends can be. So I really don't mind where we eat most of the time. I can find something at any place that I will eat and probably enjoy. Many times I try to get out of the "I don't care" jam by giving a few choices of places that sound good, that way I have at least added to the conversation.

2. "I don't care." TRANSLATION: "My opinion won't really matter anyway." There may have been times when a woman gave her opinion or suggestion and it wasn't taken. This tends to happened a few times before we get to this point, but it does happen.

3. "I don't care." TRANSLATION: "I don't want to seem bossy." Let me clarify. I don't say "I don't care" because I am incapable of making a decision. I am very good at making decisions...sometimes I make them too quickly. But if every time I get to make the decision then I get the stigma of being bossy, or even worse...selfish because "we always have to do what Jill wants"

4. "I don't care." TRANSLATION: "I really do care and I'm testing you to see how well you know me, because you should know me well enough to read my mind and pick what I want you to without telling you" This one is many times used towards men. I hate this one. I've seen many of my girlfriends use this on their boyfriends/fiance/husbands and then end up mad when he didn't pick the right thing. I can honestly say I have never used this myself to date...but I can't promise it won't EVER happen...I am a woman, and we are complex and do things for reasons that we don't even know.

I am sure there are many more reasons behind the "I don't care" but these are the ones that I know and use (or have seen used). If you have any other ideas, don't hesitate to add to the comments!

Mystery Weekend

This last March, my mother came to my sister and I and said "I have an idea, and if you don't like it we don't have to do it, it's just a thought." Of course Jamie and I want to know the idea, we both know that we will want to do it not matter what it is...mom always has such great ideas.

"I would like to plan a trip for just us girls this summer," she said "I've always wanted to start a yearly tradition of simple trips for just us." Of course right away, Jamie and I are enthusiastic and start brainstorming ideas of where to go. "Here's the catch," mom says "I'm going to do all the planning, and I'm not going to tell you where we're going we all pile in the car and are ready to go. What do you think?" We LOVED the idea!

Over the course of the next few months mom enjoyed planning our weekend in secret and teasing us with little smiles and lines like "I just booked our hotel, and it's supposed to be the best hotel in the area." Jamie and I were so excited...finally counting down the days to our "Mystery Trip."

On Friday, mom picked us up and we left for our fun filled weekend. The destination??? Oklahoma City. This was a great place for us to go because we had all been through it a time or two on our way south to Texas, but never stopped to do much. Plus the Oklahoma City Memorial was there...something all of us had wanted to see. Our trip was filled with many fun things!

The Memorial:

We went to the memorial on Friday right after checking in to our hotel. This is something we wanted to make sure we did right away so that we wouldn't end up with bad weather and miss out. I was in the 6th grade with the bombing occurred and I remember watching the news and feeling sad. The main portion of the memorial is located outside, and there is a museum inside that takes you through the events of the day. It is VERY moving and emotional. A wonderful experience.

Wine Tasting:

On a whim we stopped into a little store in Bricktown in OK City. They had free wine tastings and we thought that it would be fun to try a couple. I think we tried most of the wines on the list (except for the really dry ones) and it was a very hard decision, but we each took home a bottle. Mine is called "dust bowl," Jamie's is "Skinny Dip" and I can't remember mom's but it was VERY good...I had a hard time choosing between the two.

Bricktown:

The local area downtown that has lots of food, drinks, and entertainment. We spent most of Saturday evening and night down at Bricktown. We had a "Progressive Supper" where we ate appetizers at one place, main meal and another, and got marble slab ice cream at the end. There is a river walk and you can take a canal ride throughout the entire area. We took the boat that had cocktails. Mom and I had a "Sunrise" (cranberry and vodka) and Jamie had a "Mango Bango" which was some fruity drink that was yummy! I appropriately titled that the "Booze Cruise" :-)

All in all we had a fantastic weekend! We look forward to next year's "Mystery Weekend" which mom is already busy planning!

Walking the Dogs

I have mentioned before that Ethan has to dogs. KC and Breck. Both are a mixed breed of lab, both were free. I have come to love those dogs as if they were my own. One of my favorite pass times with Ethan is to take the girls for a nice long walk on pretty days. This can be interesting in many ways, but mostly due to the fact that they are both still considered puppies and get overly excited about anything.

Through our many walks Ethan and I have learned how to better handle each pup because each one is so different. So far we have found out...

~ KC will pull your arm out. She is just so excited to be going on a walk that every smell, sight, and noise will get her going.

~ Breck is weird.

~ KC is the larger and older of the two dogs. I walk KC. As mentioned above, KC will pull your arm out if you don't have a good hold. Well...the more you fight her the more she fights back. I have learned to just let her pull on the leash and choke herself. Eventually she gets tired of that and slows down. Ethan is a little less patient...so he walks Breck.

~ Breck will walk anyway, but a straight line. she will walk in zig zags in front of you. She will walk really fast to get ahead of you then stop until you pass her and walk really fast in front of you again. Breck will try to grab onto and chew KC's leash. She will also walk in circles around you. Again...Breck is weird.

~ KC will poop in the middle of the road before you even have time to drag her over to the grass.

~ Breck will bark at everything...but is a little scaredy cat in reality

~ KC will pee about 15 times during a walk.

~ Breck does not like cars.

~ KC wants to chase the cars.

~ Breck has the longest tongue ever!

~ KC gets very slobbery...it's gross.

~ In order to make the girls a little less crazy excited for the walk, we have found if you throw the tennis ball in the back for a bout 10 minutes before we go, they get tired sooner and will walk nicely by your side (except Breck, who can't walk in a straight line)

While Ethan is in Lincoln I am walking the girls by myself. Now there is NO WAY I can do that by myself, so I play with the ball and then put Breck in the cage, while KC and I walk. KC goes in the cage when we get back and it's Breck's turn. We just got by from our first try at this "single" walking method, and I think it went ok...just means there should be many more walks to come!

Weekly Chatter

~ I have spent a better part of the last week on the phone with family and friends discussing the new engagement and all the fun details that go along with it. Such an exciting time!

~ My sister is probably as thrilled as anyone that I'm getting married...besides me that is. She is of course the Maid of Honor and has already started looking up what her "roles and responsibilities" include. She has even given code names to my mom, herself, and me. I am BTB (Bride to Be), she is MOH (Maid of Honor), and my mom is MOB (Mother of the Bride). She will be the best MOH!

~ We have 4 days of school left until summer. It is my theory that the kids are extra crazy these last few weeks so that teachers are just as ready as they are (if not more).

~ Ethan just left for Lincoln, NE where he got a short contract position. He was gone just a couple days last week, but will be gone the whole week this time. I just hope the week goes fast and I stay busy to keep my mind off of him not being here.

~ It's graduation time again, and I always seem to have a hard time getting in to it. I have NEVER been real sentimental about graduations. Graduating from HS was no big deal to me, I had 4+ years ahead of me and no real close friends I was leaving. I looked forward to the new life and new friends I would find. Graduation from ESU was nice, but rather than celebrate the piece of paper handed to me...I wanted to celebrate the contract I signed for my first job. To me that was something to celebrate!

~ I tried a Papa Murphy's pizza last night for the first time...that is some gooood pizza!

~ waxed eyebrows, lip, legs, nails redone, hair cut...just a few of the things that I need to do. And all going to cost me a couple hundred bucks...damn its expensive being a girl!

~ Did I mention there were 4 days of school left? :)