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 :)
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
"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
-Kristen
Saturday, April 16, 2011
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
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
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Discount Tickets
We're going to Disney World on vacation this year for our 5th anniversary. Disney is WILDLY expensive- a pair of tickets (6 day) for me and Tim, with park hopper, was going to be over $630. YEOUCH.
Instead, I got on the internet and begin to research discount tickets. First off- BEWARE. NEVER buy partially used tickets. These can be fraudulent and you'll be out the money before you ever discover they won't work. Ebay or craigslist is not an acceptable place to get discount tickets, ever. Even if they aren't fakes, if they are keyed to someone else's finger print (which Disney likes to do when you go through those turnstiles), then what? You're still out of luck!
Also beware the "too good to be true" deals. A week "all access" pass to Disney for $100? If your Bull-crap meter isn't going off, it should be. We already saw that a base ticket with park hopper was going to be over $300. No one can give you a 2/3 discount AND all the frills and make money. More than likely you're going to be out a $100.
Once you find a place that looks likely (like undercovertourist.com), start researching that specific company. A great place to do this is to check several established disney websites (like mousesavers.com) and the Disney Boards (just google that, they'll come up). See what people say about the website you are considering. Check and see if the website you're considering has a return policy and read that in great detail.
Then you have to decide- is it worth it to take the plunge? I did. I signed up with mousesavers.com and got a discount code sent to my email to use when I purchased tickets through a designated link that led me to undercovertourist.com. Once it was all said and done, I saved over $60 on the tickets for myself and Tim.
Then came the "oh geez...will it work? I did all my research, I think it's legit... will it work?" period of time.
Imagine my relief when the tickets arrived! Perfection. I saved over $60 by doing 30 minutes worth of research. Now you know- Undercovertourist.com is a great website to use to get discount tickets for attractions in Orlando. I know I'll keep them in mind in the future. Meanwhile, we've got $60 extra in our pockets!
-Kristen
Instead, I got on the internet and begin to research discount tickets. First off- BEWARE. NEVER buy partially used tickets. These can be fraudulent and you'll be out the money before you ever discover they won't work. Ebay or craigslist is not an acceptable place to get discount tickets, ever. Even if they aren't fakes, if they are keyed to someone else's finger print (which Disney likes to do when you go through those turnstiles), then what? You're still out of luck!
Also beware the "too good to be true" deals. A week "all access" pass to Disney for $100? If your Bull-crap meter isn't going off, it should be. We already saw that a base ticket with park hopper was going to be over $300. No one can give you a 2/3 discount AND all the frills and make money. More than likely you're going to be out a $100.
Once you find a place that looks likely (like undercovertourist.com), start researching that specific company. A great place to do this is to check several established disney websites (like mousesavers.com) and the Disney Boards (just google that, they'll come up). See what people say about the website you are considering. Check and see if the website you're considering has a return policy and read that in great detail.
Then you have to decide- is it worth it to take the plunge? I did. I signed up with mousesavers.com and got a discount code sent to my email to use when I purchased tickets through a designated link that led me to undercovertourist.com. Once it was all said and done, I saved over $60 on the tickets for myself and Tim.
Then came the "oh geez...will it work? I did all my research, I think it's legit... will it work?" period of time.
Imagine my relief when the tickets arrived! Perfection. I saved over $60 by doing 30 minutes worth of research. Now you know- Undercovertourist.com is a great website to use to get discount tickets for attractions in Orlando. I know I'll keep them in mind in the future. Meanwhile, we've got $60 extra in our pockets!
-Kristen
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Using it all- Pumpkin!
I am not sure there is anything in the world like pumpkin. You can use SO MUCH of it, it's ridiculous. As I was walking in Walmart on November 3rd, I noticed their jack-o-lantern pumpkins were on sale for $0.50. That's right! Half a dollar! I have been wanting to try roasted pumpkin seeds, so I bought one. The smaller cooking pumpkins were $0.78 a pound. Way more expensive!
The difference is that pie pumpkins are smaller and tend to be sweeter and smoother. With just a little more work, my pumpkin will be just as good and hey- CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!
Here is my gutted pumpkin in the crockpot! I first squeezed out the seeds (before gutting the pumpkin!). I find it to be much easier because the "string guts" attach the seeds to the wall and it helps me to just pinch the seeds off! I then used an ice cream scoop to get the guts out. This pumpkin will cook on low in the crockpot overnight (or longer!) before being made in to pumpkin pie filling.
Here are a small sampling of the pumpkin seeds! I used The Green Bottle's guide to roasting pumpkin seeds, so check her blog out here if you've never done it before! These seeds are seasoned only with garlic salt and black pepper. I found them very bland and wouldn't recommend this seasoning.
Here is the Green Bottle's recipe- garlic salt, season all, black pepper! These are probably my favorite for just sitting around and munching.
My own special recipe. These are Tim's favorite, because they have a spicy kick! Want to know the recipe? I can't tell, sorry hehe.
Here are the three sets of pumpkin seeds pre-baking. Yum yum!
I'll be adding the pumpkin pie recipe soon!
-Kristen
The difference is that pie pumpkins are smaller and tend to be sweeter and smoother. With just a little more work, my pumpkin will be just as good and hey- CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!
Here is my gutted pumpkin in the crockpot! I first squeezed out the seeds (before gutting the pumpkin!). I find it to be much easier because the "string guts" attach the seeds to the wall and it helps me to just pinch the seeds off! I then used an ice cream scoop to get the guts out. This pumpkin will cook on low in the crockpot overnight (or longer!) before being made in to pumpkin pie filling.
Here are a small sampling of the pumpkin seeds! I used The Green Bottle's guide to roasting pumpkin seeds, so check her blog out here if you've never done it before! These seeds are seasoned only with garlic salt and black pepper. I found them very bland and wouldn't recommend this seasoning.
Here is the Green Bottle's recipe- garlic salt, season all, black pepper! These are probably my favorite for just sitting around and munching.
My own special recipe. These are Tim's favorite, because they have a spicy kick! Want to know the recipe? I can't tell, sorry hehe.
Here are the three sets of pumpkin seeds pre-baking. Yum yum!
I'll be adding the pumpkin pie recipe soon!
-Kristen
Thursday, May 20, 2010
How to Save Money on your Vacation
Vacation Season is just around the corner- and for some of us, it's already arrived!
There are several things to consider when planning your vacation.
How much is it going to cost? We'd love to go out to Las Vegas or California- or Scotland! However, a plane ticket per person is going to be at LEAST $300. $600 starting off the bat is not something we can afford every single year. Or every other year. Or every other other year.
You get the point. Make sure you know your budget before you ever book the first step.
What kind of things are there to do/ how much do they cost? Obviously, the more "resorty" the town is, the more expensive things will be. We went to Avon Colorado and the McDonald's didn't even have a dollar menu. O.O Talk about expensive. Be sure to scout out things to do that are interesting and reasonably priced BEFORE you decide on where to go. Free museums are always interesting- in fact, in Colorado we had the best time at the Mining Museum ($2 entry per person) even though neither of us had much interest in mining. It was just a fun, out of the way little thing to kill an hour that led to the best priced gift shop I've ever seen and some of the best photo opps EVER!
Stop by the State Welcome Centers! Even when we vacation in North Carolina, I go to our State Welcome Centers. You can get all kinds of coupon books and fliers for things to do. It even helps plan vacations for years to come.
Join Email Lists. If you know you are planning on going to a theme park area, join the lists of those theme parks to get information on ticket deals. I've seen some excellent "entire vacation" deals come through my email.
Go Off Season. You don't have to hit the beach in January, but by avoiding booking around July 4th or Memorial Day, you can often take advantage of betters deals and LESS PEOPLE!
Buy Less Stuff. Tim wants a souvenir when we go somewhere, which is fine. It's not a bad thing to buy yourself a little something. However, (and we talked about this last year too), you don't need to buy everything you see. Are you *really* going to use that Virginia Beach Sun Visor more than never? Do you HAVE to have a teddy bear wearing a t-shirt with the name of the place you're visiting on it? If you have to have something, buy one item and then stop. It will save you headaches years from now when you're yard saleing that visor with it's $20 price tag still on.
-Kristen
There are several things to consider when planning your vacation.
How much is it going to cost? We'd love to go out to Las Vegas or California- or Scotland! However, a plane ticket per person is going to be at LEAST $300. $600 starting off the bat is not something we can afford every single year. Or every other year. Or every other other year.
You get the point. Make sure you know your budget before you ever book the first step.
What kind of things are there to do/ how much do they cost? Obviously, the more "resorty" the town is, the more expensive things will be. We went to Avon Colorado and the McDonald's didn't even have a dollar menu. O.O Talk about expensive. Be sure to scout out things to do that are interesting and reasonably priced BEFORE you decide on where to go. Free museums are always interesting- in fact, in Colorado we had the best time at the Mining Museum ($2 entry per person) even though neither of us had much interest in mining. It was just a fun, out of the way little thing to kill an hour that led to the best priced gift shop I've ever seen and some of the best photo opps EVER!
Stop by the State Welcome Centers! Even when we vacation in North Carolina, I go to our State Welcome Centers. You can get all kinds of coupon books and fliers for things to do. It even helps plan vacations for years to come.
Join Email Lists. If you know you are planning on going to a theme park area, join the lists of those theme parks to get information on ticket deals. I've seen some excellent "entire vacation" deals come through my email.
Go Off Season. You don't have to hit the beach in January, but by avoiding booking around July 4th or Memorial Day, you can often take advantage of betters deals and LESS PEOPLE!
Buy Less Stuff. Tim wants a souvenir when we go somewhere, which is fine. It's not a bad thing to buy yourself a little something. However, (and we talked about this last year too), you don't need to buy everything you see. Are you *really* going to use that Virginia Beach Sun Visor more than never? Do you HAVE to have a teddy bear wearing a t-shirt with the name of the place you're visiting on it? If you have to have something, buy one item and then stop. It will save you headaches years from now when you're yard saleing that visor with it's $20 price tag still on.
-Kristen
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Icky food- make it worth it
Tim and I were shopping a month or so back and ran across a container of BBQ that was discounted to 99 cents! It was a different brand that we normally get and a different flavor, but we said hey, for a dollar, it's worth a try. We took it home, popped it in to the freezer and forgot about it until today.
And that's where our story begins.
As we pulled it out and took a closer look, we discovered it was NOT Pork BBQ like we suspected. It was "beef BBQ". I'm from the south, where we have some of the best BBQ in the world. I'm sorry, there is no such thing as BEEF BBQ. There is not Chicken BBQ. It's Pork or nothing. We also don't Barbecue here- we grill out.
Ok, sorry, I'm back in my happy place.
Anyway, as Tim and I exchanged stricken looks over the horrible accidental buy, I said "Well... we just have to make it worth a dollar."
That got me to thinking. What other normally not very good meals could you eat just because they are cheap? Could you sacrifice quality of meat in ONE meal a month if it saves a few bucks? What about eating one cheap but not very tasty side dish every week or two, if it's super cheap?
There are limits to this of course. If you absolutely despise cauliflower- as in it almost makes you sick just to smell it, don't eat it just to save 50 cents on a meal.
Just keep your eyes peeled for sale meat, sale frozen meals, sale veggies, etc. Maybe if the price is right it's worth a try. After all, you just have to make it worth a dollar- give it a shot, even if you have the sinking feeling it's going to be a battle to eat it.
Oh and the "Beef BBQ"? TERRIBLE. Absolutely TERRIBLE. I could never force myself to eat that disgusting trash ever again.
But- it was worth the dollar just this once.
-Kristen
And that's where our story begins.
As we pulled it out and took a closer look, we discovered it was NOT Pork BBQ like we suspected. It was "beef BBQ". I'm from the south, where we have some of the best BBQ in the world. I'm sorry, there is no such thing as BEEF BBQ. There is not Chicken BBQ. It's Pork or nothing. We also don't Barbecue here- we grill out.
Ok, sorry, I'm back in my happy place.
Anyway, as Tim and I exchanged stricken looks over the horrible accidental buy, I said "Well... we just have to make it worth a dollar."
That got me to thinking. What other normally not very good meals could you eat just because they are cheap? Could you sacrifice quality of meat in ONE meal a month if it saves a few bucks? What about eating one cheap but not very tasty side dish every week or two, if it's super cheap?
There are limits to this of course. If you absolutely despise cauliflower- as in it almost makes you sick just to smell it, don't eat it just to save 50 cents on a meal.
Just keep your eyes peeled for sale meat, sale frozen meals, sale veggies, etc. Maybe if the price is right it's worth a try. After all, you just have to make it worth a dollar- give it a shot, even if you have the sinking feeling it's going to be a battle to eat it.
Oh and the "Beef BBQ"? TERRIBLE. Absolutely TERRIBLE. I could never force myself to eat that disgusting trash ever again.
But- it was worth the dollar just this once.
-Kristen
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