Football season is here!!

Yes, folks, today marks the official start of football season. Which means pretty much nothing to me, except in my title of "wife." You see, football season is Nick's favorite time of year, and if Alabama is playing, he wants to watch it. Thankfully, he is really only tied to the TV for Alabama games and isn't one of those husbands who watches every game no matter what. Also, if we do have plans during one of the Alabama games, he goes along with and only pouts for a little while.

Actually, I do enjoy football season for two reasons: 1) it means fall is nearly here!!! and 2) basketball is over!!!

So, Roll Tide!!

Three words

An assignment for one of my classes is to fill out a questionnaire so the class can get to know everyone a bit better. One of the questions reads: "Name three words that describe your personality." I already put in my three words, but I'm curious; if you know me, what are three words you would use to describe my personality. Leave a comment if you have a minute. You can be honest. (but NICE!) :)

Second 1st day of school and fun as my alter ego "Aunt Molly"

Today was the first day of school at the other campus where I teach. This one, in general, has a more relaxed feel, though in past years it was because I had so few students. This year I have 16, so it might not be as laid back as it has been. But it was another great first day with a super bunch of kids. I like Thursday as well because I only teach 1/2 day and get to leave at 11:15.

Emily teaches there as well but is there a full day. Her normal babysitter for the kids, Annette, is out of town, so I picked them up from another friend's house and brought them home with me for lunch and naps at my house. They were quite fun to play with. Alexa brought me every item she could carry and handed it to me, only to immediately snatch it away, take it a few steps away, then change her mind again and bring it back. She also growled at me quite a bit, which I decided is her way of saying, "I love you, Aunt Molly" because it is generally accompanied by a smile or hug.

They both liked our new recliner and watched about 10 seconds of a movie together in it (before Alexa got tired and climbed down).

Caleb has decided that he will nap only at Aunt Molly's house, and fell asleep in this rather uncomfortable-looking position. He slept so long Emily finally had to wake him up so she could drive home.

At some point, I need to work on homework for my class Saturday morning. But it will have to wait because I need to start on dinner for tonight and tomorrow I'm making freezer meals with Emily and her mom. Priorities.

The first day of school!!

Today was back to school. It was an exciting (and quite busy) day. From the traffic I got stuck in this morning that made me 20 minutes later than I'd anticipated, to the hour-long carpool in the rain, it was definitely an adventure. I have 33 students at this campus, and our smallish classroom makes it a tight squeeze, especially since those 7th and 8th graders' legs are getting long. But this is the first year in a building that we are not renting, so I'm definitely thankful to have a classroom to call my own.

All in all, it was a great day and I'm really looking forward to the year. Tomorrow I have another first day of school at my other campus, so I'm hoping it is as good as today!

Note to self: Do NOT wear your black sandals to school. Even after an hour of soaking them, they are still hurting!!

Day of relaxation? What's that?

In anticipation of The First Day of School tomorrow, I dreamed about making today a day of relaxation. My errands are done, meals are planned, lessons prepared, copies made, and in general, I'm ready for tomorrow. So I was going to sleep in, watch movies and play on the computer today.

So did it happen? Not quite. Instead, I vacuumed the entire house, cleaned two bathrooms, swept and mopped the kitchen, did some reading for one of my classes, practiced the piano, ironed clothes, and ran for 1/2 hour at the gym. The day is by no means over so I'm hoping I still get to squeeze some relaxing in before the end. But, oh wait! I have class tonight at 7 too. So I can't see much of that happening.

I can't complain though - 3 months off during the summer and then a 5 day weekend every week. Ah, this is the life!!

$20!!

Here is what $20 would get you without sales/coupons:


Not all that exciting.

And here is what you can get for $20 WITH sales and coupons (and ECBs):

Publix -

At Publix, I got:

• 3 marinades ($0.40 each w/coupon)
• 1/2 gallon of milk
  
• 2 potatoes
  
• 5 Smart Ones frozen meals (5 for $7 w/store + manufacturer's coupons)
  
• 2 loaves Sara Lee bread (FREE w/coupons)
  
• 3 Koolaid packets ($0.60)
  
• Oscar Meyer hot dogs (FREE w/purchase of 3 Koolaid packets)
  
• Daisy sour cream (FREE w/coupon)
  
• I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray ($0.20 w/coupon)
  
• 1 4-pack Greenwise toilet paper ($0.01 item)
  
• carton of egg whites
  

I spent $17.73 and saved $29.86.

CVS -

At CVS, I bought:

• Playtex tampons ($4.99 - $1 coupon + $3.00 back in ECBs = $0.99)
  
• 2 Zipfizz packets ($5.99 each + $5.99 each back in ECBs = FREE)
  
• 2 packs Stayfree pads (2/$9.00 - BOGO coupon - $1.00 + $5.00 back in ECBs = -$1.50!)
  
• 1 pack Lightdays liners ($1.49 - $1.00 coupons + $1.49 back in ECBs = -$1.00!)
  

I spent $2.85 out of pocket and $15.79 in ECBs and got $21.47 back in ECBs, so they paid me $2.83 to take this home (good thing, because I don't really need any of it!). Best part was that I finally had a good experience at CVS with a cashier who didn't give me grief about my coupons and everything in stock. That hasn't happened in awhile.

Kroger -

At Kroger, I bought:

• 3 4-pack Cottonelle toilet paper packs (FREE w/coupons)
  
• French's mustard ($0.40 w/coupon)
  
• 3 Cattleman's BBQ sauce ($0.25 each w/coupon)
  

I spent $1.38 and saved $11.18. My cashier was so excited that my total was so low that she told two nearby cashiers!

So all in all, I spent $21.96 and saved $70.11. Not too shabby for a Monday morning!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday - Oven fried chicken, pasta, broccoli
Tuesday - FFY (fend for yourself), N. away
Wednesday - Waffles, bacon
Thursday - Teriyaki chicken stir fry, brown rice, mixed veggies
Friday - Pasta w/trees
Saturday - Taco salads w/ground beef
Sunday - Beef stroganoff over noodles, salad, Texas toast

Where there's a Will...

My brother Will came over today to spend the night with us tonight. He'll be 15 next month, so he's quite a bit younger than I am, and for some odd reason, actually likes to hang out with us (we are not that much fun, so I don't know why). So far, we've done a lot of this:

Tonight we'll probably order pizza and watch a movie. Or Nick and Will will play more Wii - Nick loves having someone to play it with him.

Swimming, school, sweet, and save

Emily, Caleb and Alexa came over today to spend most of the day in preparation for our school's open house tonight. Dave was out of town so they decided to spend the night since the meeting was at night and was all the way over here. Which meant that Nick babysat the kids!!! This was his first experience with changing diapers, putting kids to bed; well, babysitting in general!! But he did great and the kids are sleeping and breathing so all is well. I know he'll make a great dad one day.

Before the meeting Emily and the kids and I went swimming, though it only lasted until the word "Elmo" was mentioned, at which point Caleb decided he'd had enough and wanted to "watch Elmo at Molly's" (sounding more like "fa Elmo at Mahee"). So we went back to my house and watched Elmo.

The parent meeting at school went well. I have 16 students in my English class at this campus this year, which is a good crowd. Two years ago, I had 7; last year, 12. So 16 will be quite large.

Afterwards, Emily and I made sure Nick had survived, then headed to get an Italian ice at Rita's, a new store nearby. And of course, we had a buy one, get one free coupon.

Then we headed for some real fun: Publix. I got paper towels, paper plates, light bulbs, marinades and a few other treats (all on sale) and saved over 50%. This is our idea of fun. So sue us.

Last week of summer break

Today is officially the start of the last week of summer break. Next Wednesday I will be back to school. This Saturday my grad school classes start back again so I really only have the rest of today, tomorrow and Friday as my last days of nothing to do. How did I celebrate today? By creating a 4 week grammar unit, running 4 miles and cleaning my kitchen. Jealous?

Actually, school starting back has always been exciting for me. Probably one of the reasons I decided to become a teacher. Everyone else's year begins in January, but my year begins in August/September with the start of school. I love new beginnings and I love that every year I get new students and we read new books and everything is fresh. My blank grade book is calling my name ready for me to write in all the names of my students. I can't wait!

The Dark Knight

While in San Antonio, we decided to take in a movie and saw "The Dark Knight", the Batman sequel for those of you that aren't familiar with it. It was FANTASTIC. Definitely dark. Definitely some scary parts and surprises. But well worth seeing and really good acting on Christian Bale's and Heath Ledger's parts. I had heard from some people that it wasn't all that good and was too gory, so I was a bit nervous to see it, but I really did enjoy it was relieved to see that there wasn't as much blood as I expected. Gross factor, um, yeah. But not all that bloody.

Fort Worth

The second leg of our trip took us to Dallas/Ft. Worth to stay with some friends. Dave is Nick's best friend from middle school and they were inseparable through college. He and his wife were the ones that set up Nick and me on our first date so they claim responsibility for our marriage! They have two sons and we enjoyed getting to run around after them. The boys especially liked playing the Wii together.



We also went out to dinner to a Japanese steakhouse and then walked around and shopping (much to the distaste of the guys, who weren't that interested in clothes shopping - who knows why!) Meg and I also had some fun in the kitchen and made some fantastic recipes, including BBQ Bourbon Orange Chicken Skillet with Cornbread Topper and Austin Macaroni and Cheese Suiza (whatever that is). Both were delicious, but the BEST was a chocolate and peanut butter concoction that was sooooooooooo yummy! We both enjoyed our time with their family and can't wait to visit again! Thanks for having us, Dave and Meg!!

San Antonio

If anyone has been wondering where I've gone, no, the goober burger did not make me sick. We've been out of town for the past week in Texas. We drove to Dallas, stayed with some friends for the night, then drove to San Antonio for 2 nights. After that we headed back to Dallas to visit with our friends for a few days, then got home last night.


Total driving time: 35 hours


We both like road trips (good thing, huh?) so we enjoyed the time on the road, for the most part. The way to Texas was quite interesting, though. It probably rained 12 out of the 14 hour trip. Mostly pretty hard rain too. I read out loud to Nick for about 30 of those 35 hours. Miraculously I didn't lose my voice.




In San Antonio we walked along the River Walk, went to the mall and did some shopping, took a boat ride around the city in the river,

and toured the Alamo.












We saw "The Dark Knight" while there too (movie review to come!). Highlight of the boat tour: a CVS right on the river (we didn't stop in, though!)

The Goober Burger

Many of you know of my affinity for peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches. I do love that combination, as does most of my family.

The other night I saw a show, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, where this guy goes around the world eating some of the grossest things ever, like brains and stomachs and bugs. While this might not be the best place to find recipe ideas, I did see something that looked interesting: the Goober Burger. Basically, a hamburger with mayonnaise and peanut butter on top. So I thought I would try it tonight:
You can't see the mayo very well, but it is there. Nick's plain burgers are in the background. Surprisingly, he wasn't willing to join me in this culinary adventure. Well, I am here to tell you, it was GOOD!! I'd-eat-it-again-good!! Anyone care to join me for dinner next time burgers are on the menu??

Movie Review Friday

I know you've all been waiting with bated breath (not to be confused with baited breath, for those of you seafood eaters out there) for my Friday night movie reviews.

It was again Friday night movie night again at our house. This week's picks: 10,000 B.C. and Flawless. Both were random choices from Netflix. We're pretty much running out of movies to watch.

10,000 B.C. = eh, not so good. I had to bite my tongue to keep from making jokes through the whole thing (Really? People spoke English with a French accent in 10,000 B.C.? And everyone wore their hair in dreadlocks? But WHY?) Nick wasn't thrilled with it either and kept rolling his eyes in my general direction. He gave it 1 1/2 stars out of 4.

Flawless = Much better (and glad we saved it for the second one we watched). It had Demi Moore and Michael Caine in it and was about a diamond heist. Quite intriguing with a good twist. It kept me entertained the whole time, and was a fun Friday night movie.

So there you have it! ;)

Combined savings of 75% at Kroger and Publix

I didn't need much in the way of groceries this week, but wanted to snag some of the deals going on this week at Publix and Kroger. So I made my way over to both and found quite a few good ones. Here is what I got:

Publix:

• 2 bags of Hershey's Bliss = BOGO + $2 in coupons=$1/bag (YUM!)
  
• Ranch dressing = BOGO
• 3 rolls paper towels = $0.50 each after coupons
• 5 bottles Pert Plus = free after coupons (will be going straight to the giveaway pile)
• Softsoap hand soap = $0.35 after coupon and sale
• kitty treats = free with coupon

Total spent: $7.25
Total saved: $33.05

Kroger:

• 7 boxes Electrosol tabs = $0.75 each with coupons and sale (I got 3 for a friend and gave one of my coupons to a lady in the aisle with me who was very excited about the deal)
• 3 potatoes
• 1 crown of broccoli
• 2 Smart Rinse mouthwashes = $1.50 each after coupons
• kitty treats = free with coupon

Total spent: $14.78
Total saved: $32.22

So I got $85 of groceries for just over $20. And all of it is useful (except for the shampoo - we have VERY clean hair around here!).

Letdown at Target today

I went to Target with Emily and her kids this afternoon with a huge stack of coupons and high hopes of good prices to match them with. No such luck. I got a few things on my list, but most items had better prices elsewhere. Then to top it all off, I had a goober of a cashier who didn't ring through all my coupons. He didn't really know what he was doing, and while I knew my total was higher than it should be, I didn't figure out which ones he'd missed until after I checked out and after he insisted that he scanned all of them. When I told Alexa about it, she said:

I KNOW!!

Molly the Ant Killer!

As I posted yesterday, ants had begun to invade my kitchen by the back door. We caulked the cracks as best as we could last night, but this morning there were more (seems the ants found another crack nearby in an area we didn't caulk). So off to Home Depot I went. I bought some Raid ant killer and brought it home. By the time I got home, there were a few more. So I caulked it like CRAZY and filled in every crack I could see. Then I went outside and sprayed and sprayed underneath the back door until it was wet (and quite smelly, I might add).

That was at 11am. Haven't seen an ant since!! Looks like the problem is solved. Or just suffering a slow painful death under my back door.

In other home improvement news, I scrubbed lots of floors and fixed a wobbly toilet today.

I did have some fun today getting to go to the pool with my friend Annette and her 1-year-old son. It was SUCH a hot day today that even the pool water was more like bath water. But it was nice to be in the water and cool off even a little bit.

Productivity abounds!

To celebrate the ending of my class last night (I have one more, but all my work is turned in and completed), I lit a fire under myself today and got a TON done. Now that my class is over, I felt like a weight was lifted and I could focus on other things. Sitting still is never an option for me!

Sooo, I planned out the first seven weeks of school today! I got all my lesson plans done and made out the assignment sheets for the students. Feels great! Now that school is planned, I am free to start my next project tomorrow, which is to get my house sparkling before we go out of town next Tuesday.

Tonight, though, we fight the ants that have invaded our kitchen. I've been spraying them with bleach whenever I see them, but they keep coming in under the back door. We're going to caulk the crack tonight in hopes that they stay away. If that fails, we'll bring out the ant bait and keep our cats from trying to commit caticide by eating it themselves. Last resort = exterminator. I called them today and they wanted to dig holes all around my house and spray everywhere, including behind the face plates of all the outlets. Since I've only seen them in one spot, I felt that was overkill (no pun intended). Hopefully our first option will work and we'll have no more invasion problems.

Happy birthday, Mom-In-Law!!!

Today was Nick's mother's birthday. So in the spirit of take-your-mother-to-lunch-for-her-birthday, I took her to lunch. Nick couldn't come since he works so far from her office, but we had a great lunch together at P.F.Chang's. I'm very blessed to have such a wonderful mother-in-law. Happy birthday!!!

At the Rite place at the Rite time

I went to two Rite Aids today. I was going to get the twin pack Renu contact lens solution which was on sale for $9.99 and had a $9.99 rebate (free is good) and the Fusion razor which was $9 and had a $5 rebate (and I had a $4 coupon to make up the difference so it too would be free). My Rite Aid, however, was having trouble with their registers. They could manually enter the price of something but it would not ring up the specific item, which would make my receipt useless to get my rebates. So he just gave them to me. No kidding. I just walked out of there with Renu and a razor and didn't pay anything. He even gave me my coupons back. So I went to another Rite Aid and did the deal the way it was supposed to be done. I had double the fun today!!! And Rite Aid customer service ROCKS!!!

Then at Publix, I spent $7.24, saved $22.14, and am now eligible to get a JCPenney gift card of $20. Fun times!!

Lazy Sunday afternoons

Most Sundays we have friends from church over for the afternoon. A lot of our church's members live 30+ minutes away, so we open up our house to people that need a place to crash between services and not make that long trip home and back again. We love doing it and enjoy the fellowship on those afternoons. It is usually relaxing since they are good friends and we don't feel the need to "entertain" them.

Today, however, our normal Sunday guests are somewhere else. So, after church, I got into my comfy clothes, crawled into bed with my book, laptop, cat, and stack of coupons and have just been relaxing the day away. Nick is now napping and I'm thinking of sleeping a bit as well, even though that will mean I'll have a hard time going to sleep tonight. Sunday afternoons are my favorites!

Friday night movie night

It has become a tradition at our house on Friday nights to have movie night. This means that we watch two movies, usually our picks from Netflix. Sometimes we watch movies that we own if we don't have new ones available. We only own between 150 and 200. People refer to us as "Blockbuster".

Our tradition has a few musts, some of which are Nick's quirks and some of which are mine. Here they are, in no particular order:

1) All the lights must be off.
2) The surround sound must be on (rather loudly).
3) All bathroom breaks must be taken BEFORE the movie starts. If nature calls during the movie, there are generally some 'humphs' and eye rolling as I walk shamefacedly to the bathroom.
4) Movies are chosen in this way: each movie watcher must choose 5 potential movies, which are then put in a line and then we take turns eliminating until we have one left. (Did I not warn you that we have quirks?)
5) Before the credits begin when the production company logos come on the screen, we have to yell out which one it is in competition to see who can say it first.
6) Between movies, we pop popcorn.

I always look forward to Friday nights! We both loooooooove movies, so it is an entertaining date for both of us.

Tonight's picks? 'Be Kind Rewind' and '300'.

Reviews? 'Be Kind Rewind' was pretty good - funny and heartwarming. Different than I expected. We both enjoyed it. '300' was good as well, though as I predicted before it started, VERY bloody and lots of dead people. Blegh. I had a blanket over my head during certain parts. But it wasn't as bad as 'Braveheart.'