Ruck March To Remember

I was blessed this morning on my commute to work to pass part of the "Ruck March to Remember".  If you haven't heard about this incredible march, you can read about it here. 

The 2,181 mile march honors those who died or were affected by the September 11th tragedy.

The march -- the brainchild of Maj. Jim Alves, the 4th Security Forces Squadron commander at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina -- began July 12 in San Antonio, with individual units selecting 140-mile legs of the journey, which will conclude Sept. 11 in New York City.

I was driving to work when I saw flashing lights up ahead, barely crawling towards me.  As I and the cars around me slowed, we saw them- airmen in fatigues, carrying packs and a flag walking stoically down the road, a line of cars queuing  up behind them, two police cars forming an honor guard around them.  It was a sight I was absolutely unprepared for as I rushed to work, the GPS telling me I would make it on time, but only barely.

I raised my hand- we southerners don't generally wave, we toss a hand up in greeting.  One of the soldiers, the one closest to me, met my eyes and raised his hand as well- then I was past him.

I cried halfway to work.

I don't use this word lightly, but I feel blessed to have passed these soldiers as they honor the men and women who feel in the September 11th attacks.  I wish that every step of the way there could be people honoring them, throwing confetti and cheering as they volunteer to walk in the summer heat, packs on their backs, to a place they could drive to in mere hours.

Instead, they walk to remember and to honor. 

I hope I can remember those few moments forever.  Right now it's as crystal clear in my mind as a photograph.  I don't know why it has affected me the way it has, but it is truly a moment of Grace on a hectic Monday morning.

-Kristen

 

Busy day yesterday!

What an incredibly busy day Saturday was!

It started out EARLY.  We're talking 5:30am early, as I got up and showered before the "Run Wild" 5k at the local zoo. Start time was 7:30am, but we had to get up early because it was almost an hour's drive out to the zoo.

I get there and after a completely frustrating and not-helpful "conversation" with a surly worker, I find out I have to register in a totally different spot that no one knows about.  JOY.  I get registered, meet up with Michelle and her daughter, then off we go!

We did pretty well, we took it easy (I am highly out of shape and was wearing my knock off shape ups because it's SUMMER AND I DO NOT LIKE SOCKS).  We finished the 5k in under an hour, which I consider to be awesome.

From there, it was straight to a city approximately two hours away with 13 bunnies and Tim, where I met up with a friend, Joni, and we hung out for a while (in between the rabbits leaving here and there).  Then it was off to pick up...

Are you ready?

Meet River! Our AKC Golden Retriever puppy. :).  We ended up 20 minutes late to our appointment to meet with the last bunny owner, but she was very understanding.  Sorry Katie!

We finally arrived home, where my belated birthday gift had arrived- 3lbs of foreign currency!  Yes, yet another worthless hobby of mine is collecting coins.  This is my first foray in to foreign money- I do it just for the pleasure of seeing what the coins look like.

After that was a fantastic dinner of Joni-zones (recipe forthcoming) and an exciting night full of puppy-neediness and being very tired. 

Overall- AWESOME day!

The Pets have fleas- joy.

The pets have fleas. I know this, because as I innocently sat in the floor playing on the computer and watching tv (I'm a multi-tasker), one jumped on me. Guh-ross.

I grabbed it and promptly threw it in the toilet to drown. I HATE fleas. Has anyone else noticed how hard these stupid things are to kill? You can't smash them, they get right back up and flip you off before they hop on about their business.

I grabbed our vials of flea medication (one for the cats, one for the dogs) and dosed everyone but Boo. I ran out :(.

I guess it's time to jump on eBay and buy some more medication.

-Kristen

The Light Switcher Off-er

I'm quite sure I drive Tim insane.

As some of you know, I'm way in to couponing and saving money. They are just two of my many talents and hobbies (along with my modesty).

Recently, I begin thinking of even MORE ways I can shave pennies off our bills. Yes, pennies.

I realized that one thing I often do is leave lights on in an area, rather than just in the room I am in. I'm a lights nazi. I will admit it. I despise leaving lights on in any part of the house I'm not currently using and over the years, I've beaten that in to Tim as well- "We don't leave lights on in the kitchen if we aren't in the kitchen!"

However, I caught myself using three different lights while getting ready in the mornings because of the weird way our house is set up.

In the bathroom, there are two lights. One controls half of the bathroom, over the double sinks. One controls the obnoxiously loud fan and the light above the toilet and the tub. I was using both of these. Then, when Tim got up, I would turn on the light in the bedroom so I could get out my clothing for the day- not to mention the light in the walk-in closet. So I guess I really used four lights, but the closet was a quick flip on and off, so it hardly counts.

I digress. This happens a lot.

Anyway, what was the point of leaving all those lights on? Now, I only turn on the light over the sink (or if it's really dark, the light over the tub). Most of the time, the light over the sink gives off plenty of light in the toliet/tub area, I don't have to listen to the insane buzz of the most obnoxious fan ever and I'm not running two lights to light the same area.

Next, I'm breaking myself of the habit of leaving the bedroom light on. I'm in the bathroom drying my hair- why do I really need the light on in the bedroom? Likewise, if I walk in there, it's a quick flip to turn off the bathroom light and turn on the bedroom light. (light light light. light. light light).

Anyway, the point of all this is- even though I thought I was doing really well with turning off the lights to save money and electricity, there is always room for improvement!

-Kristen

Keep Me Sane

I started a new blog.

Why?

Because it keeps me sane. Duh. :)

I have a lot of stories I want to tell, things I want to talk about, aspects I want to whine and snivel about.

This blog is going to be a mishmash of everything and anything I want to talk about. Pets. Life. Food. Whatever I want to post about is going to be here!

I feel free! Not constrained by one subject. This blog can be limitless!

........now what do I talk about?

-Kristen

PS. I am going to be importing my favorite posts from Keep Saving over the next few months :)

"That's Going to be One Expensive Bag of Candy!"

At Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, we were hanging out in the Harry Potter section- Hogsmeade. I was in Honeydukes's, the candy store (having sticker shock) while Tim was waiting in like to get a butterbeer, when I heard the best quote of the trip.

"That's going to be one expensive bag of candy!" It doesn't sound awesome, but imagine being in Hogsmeade, listening to a preteen british girl berate her father and her little brother as the two males giggle wildly at the dispenser of Bertie Bot's Every Flavor Beans.

And she was right! 1/4lb of candy was almost $4.00. As the father discovered, when he was ready to turn off the despenser, another large handfull cascaded down before it shut off- adding that much more weight to his already hefty bag. But it is such fun to see the colorful jelly beans drop down through the dispenser, isn't it? The fact is, based on just a naked eye estimate, I'd guess he had a good $15 worth of jelly beans there. That's all they are- jelly beans.

A Chocolate Frog? $9.95. A small glass container of old fashioned candy? $12.95. Don't get me started on the chocolate wands or "candy floss" (cotton candy)... or even worse, the prices of the homemade fudge and handdipped candy apples.

It is SO easy when you're immersed in an experience, like Disney or Universal Studio's Hogsmeade, to want to buy. Buy buy buy buy buy. Chocolate frogs, just like in the book! But they aren't. They don't move. They don't chirp. They are a molded piece of chocolate candy and to be frank, it's probably not even very good tasting chocolate. Yes- the "every flavor beans" really do have some nasty flavors, like in the book. I imagine it's hilarious the first time you get ear wax or vomit...but after that, I imagine it gets very irritating. Not to mention you've paid $4 a quarter pound to be grossed out and toss out handfuls of candy! Chocolate wands- who cares? You're going to eat it and then your $10 will be a distant memory- as will the cleverly molded chocolate. I'm not saying don't go, don't buy, don't enjoy- but recognize why you're buying what you are. Tim wanted to try a butterbeer- well why not? This is the only place you can get them, they aren't bottled and it adds to his experience both on our vacation and in reading the books.

I struggled hard, standing in Honeydukes, with not buying anything. I wanted a chocolate frog so badly. The package was brightly colored and it was a chocolate frog, omg, just like in the books, and I would buy it in Honeydukes and omg.... It's not real. I didn't want the candy, I wanted the experience. I wanted the books to be real. The people that pushed past me with well over $70 in candy (no joke) wanted it to be real as well. I'm sure they'll enjoy the first bite of their candy, but the feeling is going to fade. If it's awful, then what? A waste of money. Even if it's good, is it better than a $0.50 Hershey or Dove chocolate bar? Sometimes, it's best to just step back, remove yourself from the area and seriously consider what you're about to spend. Once I left Honeyduke's, I didn't feel like I had to have a chocolate frog. In fact, as I am sitting here I'm very glad I didn't buy one. There is so much more I'd rather do with my $10- like save up for next year's vacation!

-Kristen

Disney Savings Tips

Well, we returned from Florida last year! I've got some fresh and interesting blogging ideas, but I'm going to cop out today with just a few helpful tips-

Did you know that you can order FREE water at any of the places that sell fountain drinks in Disney? It's true, and I love them for it! I talked Tim in to going with water and saving $2.50 a drink. I had to promise the opportunity for a snack or a special something later on, but hey- $5.00 in our pockets right there and most of the times the "special something" was a strawberry lemonade from McDonalds- only $1.59!

Split meals! Especially if you take kids, split the adult meals either between kids, or one adult and one kid! Tim and I split one meal in the parks a few days- it keeps you going until dinner and we didn't drop $20 on some frankly forgettable food! It was also easier than trying to haul around a cooler all day.

Did you know Disney allows soft-sided coolers? Yup. So feel free to pack your food if you want to! I'd recommend getting a locker and then going back to it later on, unless you have a stroller you can pile it on top of.

Take advantage of free park-reentry. We would go in after eating an early lunch and then leave for dinner. Then we'd just come back in, or park hop! Or, we'd go in before lunch, split a meal, then leave around dinner time. Just make sure you know when each park closes, so you don't do this and miss out on the last few hours at a park, when a snack could have kept you going until closing!

If you head to Universal Studios, I'd take advantage of the free refills cup. It costs $6.00 (at least the one Tim bought as part of the meal plan package did) and you got FREE soda refills all day. We shared the drink and definitely got our money's worth. You also get free locker rentals for each ride, so you don't have to deal with trying to carry a full drink on a roller coaster, or leaving it sitting unattended while you ride.

Speaking of meal plans- you're not supposed to share the one at Universal Studios. IF you are willing to break that rule and IF you are willing to get caught and have to pay for the additional meal... you can share them and make a $20.00 meal plan much more affordable. Just sayin'- that's completely up to you and what you think is right.

-Kristen