lost without it

It has only been a few weeks since the season finale of LOST aired...I am already feeling lost without my weekly dose of mystery, Jacob, the Island and the others (who just may be the good guys?)

A friend of  mine found this site a few months ago and it seriously cracks my shit up.  

If you are a LOST fan you will love the humor and everyday nuances that make this blog fascinating.

Dispatches from the Island

Platinum baby

My Christmas gift from Jeff last year was the gift that keeps on giving.  

A Cedar Point Platinum Pass.

May seem lame to you but you obviously don't know the joy that is Cedar Point.  

If you think your local amusement park is fun/amazing/awesome/the best...then you haven't ever been to Cedar Point.  

And I don't mean to sound like your park sucks in comparison - but its the truth.  

It does.

Cedar Point is the mecca of all roller coaster enthusiasts.  

With 17 coasters, thrill rides, camp Snoopy for the munchkins, water rides and many, many more kinds of rides and entertainment of all forms it is not a wonder why it is consistently voted top park in so many capacities and why it is called America's Roller Coast.  

The Platinum Pass allows for access to Soak City - somewhere I have oddly never been.  But I am sure I will enjoy it immensely.  

Now don't get me wrong with the whole amusement park thing.

I am not someone who will wait in line for an hour or more just to sit on the plastic seat still dripping with sweat from the rider before me.  

I refuse to wait more than 30 minutes to sit in someone elses sweat.  Sure, call me what I am.  I am a line snob.  And this is obviously not the place for germaphobes (sorry Howie Mandel).  

That is why the season pass is so perfect.  I hate to have to pay a full day admission and spend 80% of that day waiting in lines!  The pass allows for multiple trips to the point and if the line to the best ride ever (Raptor) is beyond long...then I don't feel terrible that I missed it.  I will be able to get on it next time.  

My favorite time of day to go is during the twilight hours when the day-trippers are leaving to go home and the park is emptying.

The beauty of the season pass.

So welcome to summer and Merry Christmas to me!

the cure to 'I'm bored'

Jeff and I purchased this lovely piece of inflatable summer fun on Sunday.  Banzai Sidewinder Falls.

It is already worth every penny and the kids loved it (well, Carah loved it and Brady will grow to love it when he realizes it isn't there to eat him alive).

I cannot wait until the weather is warm enough that I attempt to squeeze into my bathing suit and tear down the water slide!

Not exactly the image of smart money saving but it will save on weekend day trips this summer...this will be our 'staycation' with the kids.

Happy start of summer!

friday seems weeks away

*sigh* Its only Tuesday.

Totally feels like a Friday...or it already feels like I want it to be a Friday.

The boss is gone this week so the office is running at about 1/2 power.  

It is delightful in every way.

I am planning to spend my week at work couponing and planning a menu for a cookout on Sunday with our friends and their kids.  
No, not working.  

Working only happens when the boss is here and needs impressing.

No, I am putzing around on goodreads, facebook, reading blogs, printing coupons and generally avoiding work at all costs.

With that being said I went to Wal*Mart on my lunch and did some grocery shopping...original total = $23.94.

After coupons and deals = $11.44.  

Not my best go at it, but 52% savings is better than none.

After cutting out my coupons from all 4 inserts in all 6 of my Sunday papers...I had to weed out all of the unnecessary coupons because my food accordian file for coupons was basically busting at the seams.

Sad and pathetic.  I know it.

Playtex Tampon deal at Kroger - week of 5/11-5/17

Remember that my local Kroger doubles coupons up to $1 (making them $2) and coupons over $1 and under $2 are automatically priced at $2!!

Select varieties of Playtex Tampons are on sale this week at Kroger for $2.99 per box.  They include the 16-20 count boxes including the Sport tampons.

Click here to get your coupon - and don't forget to hit the back button to print your second coupon! 

Use the coupon to receive $1/1 box making them only $1.99 each but at my Kroger this doubles to $2/1 box making each box only $.99 each!

Now that is a great deal on a necessity!

under 6 weeks

How much weight can you lose in just under 6 weeks?

Jeff and I are headed to Naples Bay Resort and I need to drop about 5ish + pounds in order to feel secure in a bathing suit.  

Plus it would be great to buy a new bathing suit...and a new dress.   Which would spawn a need for new shoes...

Either way - we are almost there.  

I havnt been on a vacation in over two years...and it has been two years for Jeff as well.  

We need this before we lash out, buy guns, foam at the mouth and climb bell towers.

It could happen.

But in order to head that madness off i am eating healthier and I am going to start *shudder* running this afternoon.  Or at least I will attempt to walk really really fast.  I dont know how runnign will go.

Wish me luck.

Happy Birthday To You!

Yesterday was my friend Fayre's birthday!

And I think her husband gave her...a grill.  Ah - update, her husband (who really is very loving) gave her two Twilight book.  That she already has.  But oh well.

Not. What. She. Asked. For.

Not to sound snooty...but I actually gave her what she asked for.  This fabulous hair drying towel from Sephora.  We both knew her husband would not go into the store and ask for some towel.  So I made good on her request...she loves it.

And I am overjoyed!

I have yet to hear how she is enjoying her new grill.

But we went out to Carrabba's Italian Grill on Saturday night to celebrate and I had some freakin fantastic Lamb Chops there.  They were seriously delish.

I live there now

As promised I re-visited Kroger on Sunday morning before I had to go and work the U's graduation and scored 12 more boxes of Kellogg's cereal for FREE.  

We now have 24 FREE boxes.  

I love it.

I love seeing the pantry filled to the brim with near free or FREE food. 

I had yesterday off of work and went back to Kroger to stock up from my coupons found in Sunday's paper.

I got Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce, worstechire sauce and a lot of A1 products for $.25 or under - each, if not for free.

I saved over $80 on Monday and spent only $50 on 53 items.  

I even got to use a handful of my Kraft salad dressing $1.50 off 1 bottle coupons...making them only $.08 each!

All in all I am really getting the handle of the couponing and it really helps that my Kroger doubles all $1 coupons to $2, doubling my savings in so many ways!

breakfast is the meal of champions

At least that is what I will say over the next few months when I am eating cereal for every meal.

But it is soooooo worth it.

I scored 12 boxes of Kellogg's Cereal yesterday at Kroger and received them all for FREE.

At a $3.99 retail value for each box that is $47.88 that I saved!

How did I get them for free?

I printed the $1/1 Kellogg's coupons from coupons.com and from the kellogg's website.

My Kroger doubles all coupons up to $1 and coupon $1 and over are automatically worth $2!

Kellogg's cereals, select varieties, are on sale for $1.99 this week...making them free for me!

Thankfully we have the storage space for this bounty (and even if we didnt I would MAKE room for free food!).

I also received free Kraft BBQ sauce, 2 free large cans of Dole pineapple slices and 3 12-pack's of Coke products for $4!

I saved over $101 on this shopping trip using coupons and matching them with Kroger sales and clearance items!  It also really helps that my Kroger has a fabulous coupon deal each week.

I only saved 56%, which seems like a lot to some, but is somewhat low for me...but I had to buy extra's for our mothers day cookout for Jeff's family.  Should be a great time, good food too!

And I am going back to Kroger on Sunday to use the remainder of my Kellogg's coupons...I will never turn my nose up to FREE cereal and fruit and super cheap Diet Coke.

Happy Shopping!

roadie

Jeff and I have FINALLY planned our trip to Naples, Fl.  

I won a 4 night stay at a fabulously lux resort in Naples last October and we just got around to booking it.  

So in June we will drive down there and do some sight-seeing on the drive down and back.  
But the thing that I look forward to most of all is the ability to do nothing.  

Nothing at fucking all.

I want to tan by the pool...sit in the lazy river...snorkel...maybe para sail...and sleep in.

So freakin geeked for all of this.

It has been years since my last vacation and this could not come at a better time.

Have you ever been to Naples?  What the heck do we do there?

I am not finding much in the way of information that doesn't include eating seafood and playing shuffleboard and bingo.  Not that these don't wildly interest us...but doing that for 4 straight nights may be a bit much.

So we are very open to your ideas.

untitled

It is exam week here at the U.  

It is a joyous time for me because this now means there will be significantly less students around to illegally take my parking spot leaving me to circle around and around praying for someone to leave so I can park and go inside and send nasty anonymous emails to the police station for not patrolling their lots well enough.

I have always said that the students are ruining the U.  Sure, they are the real reason most of us are here...but I work with alumni.  Not current students.  Which means that about 1/2 of the people I work with can identify their ass from a hole in the ground.  It has been that kind of week already, and its only Monday.

People are stupid - plain and simple.

But with the students gone the campus is transformed into a quiet, calm and almost serene location.  

I have to savor the summer here because once the students come back in August it means work becomes bat shit crazy and 40 hour work weeks are a dream.  You begin to hate things you once semi-enjoyed...home football games, tailgates, homecoming, hot dogs, chips, people in general...and marching band twirlers.

But at least we have a three month break from student madness.  Thank freakin goodness.

This leaves me time to get my fill of chips before August rolls around...