Day 340: The End of the 2010-2011 School Year (and Tornadoes!)

It's finally over, I spent my second year teaching in a new school, and now I'm off to another school next year. That means packing up all of my stuff and hauling it over.  I could have the district move it, but I'd rather they don't mess with my stuff.

After I was finished with my work day, Eric and I did a little shopping.  I read on Facebook that Georgeanna Layton is collecting donations for the relief effort in Joplin, and Eric heard on the radio that donations to the Red Cross are more helpful because they can get items at a lower price, or it can go toward things like the cost of shelter.  So we decided to support from both angles - mostly because I really felt a need to give things and I didn't think money alone would feel like I had helped enough.

 As I was bringing carts out to my car, I felt a little like Harry Potter pushing his train cart.

It was a bittersweet moment turning in my keys at Prairie Park.  I'm so sad to be finished there, but it is all in the name of moving forward.

The last two things removed from my office - our wedding "Save the Date" picture that I keep on my monitor, and a fortune that says "The coming month shall bring you much happiness".



Our $20 bought a case of Ramen, cookies, cups, salt, trash bags, soup, veggies, beans, toilet paper, mac and cheese, bananas, and gum.  I know that $2 could have been better spent - but with everything the people in Joplin are living through right now, I thought cookies and gum were trivial niceties that could be appreciated.



This whole tub is full of fleece blankets that Grammy had boxed up - and we also added an old TV/radio that will only be useful as a radio, a box of corn flakes, and a box of grits.  It's really not a lot, but I'm glad we are able to help in some form. 



And as a surprising dose of karma - as I was sorting through the fleece blankets, I found our family stockings!  They have been missing for 2 years, and it turns out that Grammy had them boxed up in storage!

Day 305: An Evening In Town!

Today we did the last shopping for Easter weekend - books for book bags, stuff for food, and final stuff for the egg decorating party at our house.  Our best find at Half Price Books was this gem...

In "Me Talk Pretty One Day"  we found a post it note that said "Boss, this is pee your pants funny!"  We didn't end up buying it, but I'll probably check it out from the library.

Day 297: Swinging in our Hammock!

I worked late today and got out of work about the same time as Eric.  So I met him at Checkers and we did a little bit of shopping (yesterday was bare necessities because the Eudora grocery store is so much more expensive).  Then we drove out to North Lawrence to pick up our hammock stand from UPS.  They tried delivering it today, but we were both at work.

After a stop to pick up my car and a home visit to one of my students, we were home and set up the ENORMOUS hammock stand.  It is 15 feet long and definitely does NOT fit on our porch.  We had it on the porch for 30 minutes or so before bringing it inside - it stretches from the far end of the porch to beyond our front door - oops!  Then we set it up in the office, where it stretches from the far corner of the room INTO our closet.  For now it will live there, I can play Dr. Mario on the Wii while swinging in the room filling hammock!

Perfect!

It takes up all of the porch...and then some!  But it's nice to lay in!

She doesn't appear amused, but Mystic really liked laying with Eric.

It has since been adjusted so I can see the TV without practically falling out.

Addy is also very interested in the hammock, though it took her many tries to gain the courage to jump on.

Panoramic view of it in our office, haha!

Day 285: Late Night Shopping

Today is our day of the week where we get very little time together.  I leave for work before Eric wakes up, then he has to leave for class around the time I get out of school, and I have to go directly from work to KU for my class.  I get home around 7:30 and he gets home closer to 10.  We puttered around the house griping about not having food fod a few minutes before we decided to go shopping. 

We actually made a list and a few meal plans, and stuck to the list so we didn't go nuts!  I've got a school project going on right now where we're tracking minutes of exercise and servings of fruits and vegetables - which has made me conscious of the lack of fruits and veggies in our diet.  Tonight we bought a nice variety of produce and I'm excited to eat it!

And we managed to only spend $35!  I apologized to the cashier because we were fumbling with our envelope systems, trying to work out what came from food, pet, and misc. money.  Then I became giddy with excitement when he said "No problem, I'm a Dave Ramsey nut too!"  I get so excited when other people know what we're doing!

Day 281: A Sad Day for KU

Booooooo, we're out of the March Madness tournament :(  KU played VCU - we were ranked #1 and they were ranked #11...and they beat us by 10 points...  Definitely not a good game.

The day was highlighted by spending the afternoon with Andrew and Mom.  Andrew napped with us while we watched the game, and then we went out shopping and to lunch.  Overall, a successfully fun Sunday!

Chaos really likes the carseat.

Awe, Andrew napping with his Auntie Jess!

Win or lose, we'll still ... take a picture and go shopping?

Andrew REALLY liked these pomagranite and acai seeds covered in dark chocolate.  Really, really.

What a happy boy!  How did I miss getting a picture of Mom?  Oops, sorry!!!

Day 252: Apartment Hunting!

Today we went apartment hunting, and I think we were pretty productive on our first day out!  We had 2 places in mind to look at, and ended up looking at a lot of other places too.  We are planning on moving back to the Overland Park area so we're closer to family.  Here are the few we looked at AND took pictures of!

Then after Eric went to and got off of work, we met a bunch of friends at the Lawrence theatre to see Drive Angry in 3D.  Nicolas Cage escapes from Hell, literally, to save his granddaughter from some crazy cult.  It's pretty amazing - both gruesome and hilarious!  I was even able to sneak in a 44oz Dr. Pepper in my purse!

 #1 - Oak Park Village: I loved the floors and the mirrors in the dining room.  It's a pretty small place though.

#2 - Charter House: Really cheap, but not a great looking place.  Tons and tons and a few more tons of storage!

#3 and our current favorite - London House: Amazing features in the clubhouse, pretty affordable, and really nice inside!

Day 219: Mexico, Day Three

We weren't the first ones up tonight, but we slept really well.  Breakfast was good and then we met up in the First Club for mimosas.  Then everyone except Krista and Randy puled into a van and headed out to Puerto Vallarta for shopping and lunch.  All the way there we played slug bug between me, Ally, Eric, and Alan.  At one point Ally saw 3 in a parking lot and rapid-fire hit Eric and me saying "slugbugwhite!slugbuggreen!slugbugpurple!"  When we got out of the van we started walking down the edge of the beach and saw some really great sand sculptures and then saw the Mexican pole dancers, where they swing upside down off of a pole that is probably more than 40 feet tall.

We spent some time looking in the flea markets, but didn't buy anything yet.  Then our group split up and we went to Bubba Gump Shrimp with Grandma and Grandpa, Greg, Kelli, & Ally.  Paul, Deb, Mom, and Alan went to Burger Paradise.  Everyone ordered a soda, except Eric who got a margarita.  The margarita game with the entire staff singing "Shake it, Shake it!  Get down, get down!  Back up, back up!  Around, around!  Shake it!!!"  I think Eric blushed...  Then when they brought the check, Grandpa said "This is in pesos, right?!" because the total was $1326.

After lunch we met up at Mom & Alan's favorite jewelry store in Mexico.  I skipped over the gold, diamonds, and gemstones and went to the tables of stainless steel.  I found a really awesome chain link rink for $6 that became my "it's okay if it falls off in the jungle or ocean" Mexican wedding ring, because we left our wedding rings at home in the safe.  Grandma, Grandpa, Greg, Kelli, and Ally headed home after this - Ally with her new Mexican wedding ring, with a "real" diamond, wink-wink.

Our first stop back on the street was an artist creating the spray paint art pieces for $15!!!  Eric and I showed him the three designs that we already have (the eye in the pyramid, a scene of Atlantis, and a beach scene), and asked for something different incorporating red, blue, and black.  He made us a fantastic scene that doesn't look like any of the others on display.  Then Paul and Deb had him make a waterfall scene just for them, and we bought a premade all seeing eye for Brian & Jen.

As we walked on, Deb and I found ourselves ready to haggle and purchase some things for ourselves.  She got a blue purse that started at 300 pesos and I got 4 headbands that started at 40 pesos each.  We ended up paying a total of 250 pesos - woo!  Then I got a 200 peso bottle of vanilla down to 170, but we found the same bottle around the corner for only 100 pesos - blast!  Eric had his share of haggling and got a 40 peso cigar for 20, but then found better quality ones for the same price a while later.

I missed out on a lot of pictures from this excursion because I'm not used to having to charge my camera every day and it was dead most of today.  Mom got some good pictures of the swinging bridge, which I took full advantage of rocking it back and forth.

Our favorite stop was a tequila shop where the guy gave us shot after shot of straight and flavored tequilas.  We ended up getting a bottle of tamarin flavored for me and a bottle of blackberry flavored for me, $28 dollars each.  We paid and as we were leaving, the guy selling to us asked us if we had ever had Corona straight from the barrel.  We said no and he gave us three bottles for free!  We hit another tequila shop on the way out of town where they had a buy-one-get-one-free deal on flavored tequilas for $28 dollars each - blast us finding a better deal around every corner!  So Deb bought 2 bottles and we got a bottle of Vanilla tequila, after splitting the difference and a tip this one was only $19 dollars.  Eric asked the guy at the second tequila place if he sold zip lining tours, because it seems like all shop owners are also tour guides, and this guy offered it to us for $40 dollars each!

We were waiting around for a van cab to pull up and I actually hailed one off the street!  Then he got pulled over and ticketed one block later... He is a white cab and is only allowed to pick people up in the state of Nayarit.  We were in the state of Jalisco, where only yellow cabs are allowed to pick people up.  But he was still allowed to take us home, so it was all good.

After we got back, we found out that the guy who sold us the ATV tours was a sham, and that Krista and Greg had to take 5 security guards with them to get our $200 dollars back from him.  Luckily, the money was returned and there were no problems.  Then we changed and headed to the ocean with Mom, Alan, and Ally. We jumped in the huge waves, I found a sand dollar, and we took some fun pictures with my waterproof camera.

We showered and headed to dinner, which was immediately followed by Toy Story in Spanish.  Kelli and I grabbed out laptops and played on Facebook while watching.  Then Eric and I joined Krista and Randy on the beach where the boys smoked their Mexican cigars.  When they finished, we met up with Paul, Deb, Mom, and Alan in the lobby bar and talked for a good long while.  Mom and Alan headed to bed and the rest of our crowd went down to watch the show - dancing and tequila shot yelling contests.  Eventually, it was just Eric and I talking with Krista for an hour before the disco started.  That was really cool, because Krista and I have been cousins for 11 years, and have never gotten to know each other.  We spent about a half hour at the disco before calling it a night and heading to bed at about 11:30.

Mimosas in the First Club to start the day! 

Crazy sand sculptures! 

Mexican pole dancers! 

Eric's Bubba Gump Margarita 

Making a wish in the wishing well 

He's painting that for us! 

Kelli and I on our laptops while watching Toy Story in Spanish 

Randy and Eric enjoying cigars 

Everyone in the lobby bar 

End of night Pina Coladas!

Day 215: Goodbye Hello-Goodbye Titles!

What a beautiful day for a snow day!  Life got ahead of us, and we weren't quite ready for the trip to Mexico.  Cleaning the house and errands all day helped to settle the "we're not ready!" nerves.  We drove into Lawrence for haircuts, returning some things to Kohls and Bed, Bath, & Beyond, returning library books, and getting a new wallet for me.  On our way back to Eudora, we stopped at my elementary school so I could work on my barely started sub plans for next week.

Not ten minutes after arriving, we accidentally locked my keys (and Eric's dinner) in my classroom...  Now, Eric had his car keys and we'd driven his car there, so it wasn't a huge deal.  But we couldn't lock up behind us and would have had to leave my things, his dinner, and my unfinished sub plans if we just left.  So I had to call the principal and our secretaries, and then we waited for an hour and a half for a secretary to rescue us!

Luckily, we have a program on all of the computers called "Cable in the Classroom", which streams live TV from local cable channels.  So I worked on my sub plans on one side of the screen, while we watched reruns of "Friends" on the other half.  We ended up being at the school for nearly three hours, yikes!

Addy begging us not to leave. 

Mystic cuddling with Eric on our last night home!

 Making a big payment toward my car!  Hooray!

We can't wait to pay it off next month!

Day 204: Church, Birthday, & A House

Eric and I met Ashley at church this morning - where Andrew was good for daycare, but crabby for the rest of the day.  Ashley headed to work and we took Andrew home for lunch and a quick nap before we left for Sean's birthday party.  The family had pizza, Papa told us about his visit to Michigan, we watched the Chiefs get trampled and the Jayhawks squeak by.

Our trip to Sams Club with Mom & Alan got us excited about saving money - we bought a 25lb bag of jasmine rice and a 6lb bag of penne pasta noodles.  It also got us excited about Mexico because Eric bought his new sandals for walking on the beach!

P.S. Molly pointed out that we forgot to blog about the house!  The house across the street from Sean & Deb has been up for sale for more than 2 years.  We decided to look it up online and see how much it is going for.  Starting price was $140k, and now it's down to $99k.  We're still in no position to buy a house - but if it were to stay empty for another year or more, we would be able to save up for a down payment and the repairs that would be needed to make the place liveable (new carpets, paint, heavy cleaning).

Happy birthday and thanks for the cake!

Eric held Andrew while I was putting on my shoes and they just looked too cute together!

Eric would like to point out that he would make a great stay at home husband if cooking is the only qualifier!  He made us pork chops and green beans in soy sauce, and a side of rice - extra delicious!

Day 197: A Day with Mom

I was really early picking Andrew up for church this morning, and he was out of baby food, so we went shopping and got a banana and an orange.  He is doing a really great job feeding himself while sitting in the booster seat!  He threw quite a few tantrums in the car today - obviously not happy about being buckled in, and one at church that the nursery lady just didn't know what started it.

After church, we picked up Mom and went off to run some errands.  First to K-Mart for some things Mom needed and then to Borders, where I used a gift card to get my first Bible.  I look forward to learning more about it!  We dropped Andrew off with Ashley for his nap, and then headed out for the BIG TRIP.

We went to Price Chopper and spent the next two hours sifting through coupons and shopping for the very best deals.  Mom ended up getting nearly two weeks of groceries and saving just short of $75 with her coupons and smart use of store sales!  I got a lightbulb for my new lamp, and a Dr. Pepper! :)

After all that, I hung around the house and played with Andrew until Sarah picked him up.  Then I was able to pick up my phone from Paul and Deb, who had gotten it from Steven and Leslie that afternoon while watching the Raiders trample the Chiefs.

After Eric got home, we got him enrolled in his spring classes - 2011 tax preparation and another credit hour of the gym course.  We'll have to order his textbook soon, but he wants to wait and see if a better price pops up because it is $150, used!  I might not take any extra classes this spring - I've still got to finish my independent study class.  I'll meet with my advisor next week to figure all that out.

Andrew fell asleep in the car, I like the lighting in this one!

He learned to sneak chips from the bag! 

Then had a seat and enjoyed to fruits of his labor! 

In case you were curious...this end up ^ 

Trying really hard to put on his daddy's hat, with little success!  He did get it on once, but I missed the picture!

Day 192: A Whole Day Together

Between my birthday, Christmas, and good budgeting, we've ended up with a bit of extra money that we plan on using to get a few things for ourselves before throwing the rest of it at our debt snowball.  I started it off by getting a few necklaces off of Etsy and a bedside lamp and Eric got some motorcycle sunglasses with interchangeable lenses.  We also got a Furminator for Addy and Operation Flashpoint for Eric off of eBay for $15 each.

We spent the day out in Lawrence, window shopping and grabbing lunch at Subway.  Then we headed home and relaxed - Eric playing Fallout New Vegas and me playing The Sims 3!

I made Garlic & Herb Fettuccine for dinner, and Addy wanted a bite. 

Day 157: Thanksgiving Shopping

Tonight Eric and I went up to Checkers to get the materials for our contributions to Thanksgiving.  We bought 20 pounds of potatoes for $3.75, along with the makings for salad.  Luckily it wasn't too crowded, but there were definite signs of the upcoming holiday...no turkey gravy, no turkey stuffing, and cold cases full of turkeys!  

Later that night we looked online at Angel Food Ministries.  I had heard about it through Dave Ramsey, but assumed it was for low income families.  Turns out, it is great deals on food for anyone who wants it!  We are going to order one box for December, and if we like it then we may get 1-2 boxes every month.

 Can you believe that!  $31 - awesome!

Day 144: That's Not Good Enough!

Eric got some solo practice of bargain hunting today!  Last night I did some internet window shopping and found the new wireless router that we need ($20) and a new twin sized heating blanket with 10 heat options and a 10 hour auto shut off to keep you warm thorugh the night ($20).  Both of these amazing deals were at WalMart, so I did the hunting and sent Eric in for the kill before he went to work.

He found the heating blanket and had to call because they didn't have the color I asked him to get and the price was $30 in the store.  I tell him that any color is fine, and to talk to a manager about getting the price on their website - end call.  I get another call a few minutes later, the router isn't on the shelf and it is also prices at $30!  The website showed the router as in stock at that store, so I told him to ask an employee and get the price fixed on that too.  Lame-o manager says they can't price match to the website, which isn't true (unless they changed their policy in the last few months) because a cashier matched a price for me a few months ago.

Eric ended up going to work with no new router or blanket - sad story.  I hunted some more online and didn't find anything close to the $20 price range at other stores, I was hoping to avoid giving WalMart our money after all of that.  But we ended up buying them off the website, for only $.97 shipping, and will have our items at a reasonable price in a week or so.

My new brown heating blanket!

Shiny new wireless router!  I can't believe I have to be wired into the modem until next week... How will I survive?

Day 107: Monday Funday!

Today was GREAT!  School went pretty normal for me - my kiddo that has cerebral palsy is getting really strong and is able to walk further every day, my kiddo with autism who attacks other kids in the hallway and runs away from you is able to walk for more than 10 minutes without eloping, and my girls are starting to understand word problems in math!  I'm still caught up in my Monday night class which covers the instruction and assessment of non-symbolic communicators (kids who don't use words), AND I did extra credit work.  Then I was frustrated that after such a long day I had to attend a PTA meeting to defend my project request.  However, the meeting was really interesting and they APPROVED my request as soon as I finished speaking!

After the meeting, Eric had just gotten home from his Religions class and we were both hungry.  However, our kitchen was barren.  So we made a shopping list and headed out for some quality shopping time!  We got 3 paper sacks and 3 plastic bags full of groceries for $68!  This included bread, hamburger and hot dog buns, chips, crackers, cookies, 15 TV dinners, ground turkey, hot dogs, lunch meat, mac and cheese, hamburger helper, paper towels, foil, peanut butter, oatmeal, yogurt, milk, orange juice, sliced cheese, shredded cheese, and pancake mix!

Oh yea, posted in front of my school!

 I wasn't able to park in the JRP lot and had to walk 127 steps up to my class.

More stairs.

Going to school on a mountain sucks!  So glad I'm not an undergrad anymore!

Addy being cute!