Thursday, December 10, 2009

happy birthday, noodle!!

then

now

today is my sweet little puppy boy's 2nd birthday! we will be celebrating by heading to my parents' home so i can decorate for christmas {my mother doesn't have a creative bone in her body and she knows how much i like anything involving interior embellishments, so it works}. i bought pb some homemade pumpkin treats {shaped like christmas stockings!} and peanut butter treats at our local bakery. my mom has a "ginormous" {that was her exact word} soup bone waiting for him in the freezer. and he has a year's supply of heartworm medicine on the way from 1-800-petmeds {i know, i'm so generous. ha.}

i love this little dude so much. despite the fact that he has spent the past three weekends dropping deuces all over the new beau's guest bedroom. and despite the fact that he sheds all over the place and runs like hell when i come at him with the furminator {greatest invention ever}. and because he hates my obnoxious neighbors who leave cigarette butts all over my front porch and have impromptu rap sessions at 2am. and because he has the sweetest, wrinkly face ever. and because he is an awesome foot warmer. and because he always forgives me.

i love you, you little butthead!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

confession part deux

while i'm on a roll with confessions {what is going on?! i'm protestant...we're supposed to keep this stuff pent up.}, i should tell you that i've been keeping another secret from you ladies.

i have a boyfriend. this has been going on for over a month. more on that later.

i need your help! i am spending new year's in alabama with said boyfriend's family. the parentals are divorced and we will be staying with his dad, but we will also be spending QT with his mother. so i want to bring them both a host/ess gift. nothing too pricey; i don't want them to think i'm trying to buy their affections, especially this early on. just a nice little something to say thank you for hosting me and raising such a cutie patootie.

my go-to gift for such occasions {a nice bottle of vino} is, sadly, not an option. i'll be flying down there, so i would rather not have to pack anything a. too heavy or b. too breakable.

i imagine that y'all have a wealth of ideas for delightful gifts for such occasions, so help a girl out!! post comments or e-mail me scg2b {at} virginia {dot} edu with links, pictures, ideas....anything you've got!

thanks in advance. and i promise more dirt on the beau at a later date.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

confession time

ok ladies, i have a deep dark secret that i am coming clean with.

i am in credit card debt and i hate it. i have three credit cards, one with j.crew and two visas {one with my bank and one with the devils at capital one}. i owe a total of $5,799.42. my average interest rate is 19%.

this is incredibly embarassing for me to write about. my parents are both involved in finance and i think they did a great job of {trying} to instill in me the importance of personal financial responsibility. but like so many other things, i just didn't listen. that ends today {well, december 31, to be specific}. i'm getting a jumpstart on my new year's resolutions. this is the year i get {mostly} out of credit card debt. i say mostly because, based on the delightful plan that oprah and suze orman have devised for me, it will take approximately 16 months, give or take a few, to pay everything off.
i'm not including my car loan or my student loan in this because to be perfectly frank, i don't mind being in debt for those two things. don't get me wrong, i certainly don't enjoy it, but i need a safe, reliable mode of transportation and ummmm....education rocks!

i could give you lots of excuses as to how i got myself into this pickle , but they would still be excuses. and for every legitimate excuse {i.e. replacing the entire front end of my car after my accident in april. not cheap, even with insurance}, there are excuses in the form of shoes i "needed" to have.
i am telling you all this because i NEED, nay absolutely MUST, be held accoutable for this goal. putting this out there for the {blog}world to see is motivational to me. a few encouraging words from you lovelies wouldn't hurt either. here's how it's going to go down:

according to suze and o, the most effective way to go about this is paying off the j.crew card first {while still making the minimum payments on the two visas, natch}, then the bank visa, and then the capital one card {henceforth known as "the devil card"}. i owe $1,180.35 to j.crew and will be paying $295/month until it is paid down. By my calculations, that should be done by april 30. at this point, i will begin paying $316/month to wachovia, in attempts to pay down the $972.26 i currently owe {minus the minimum payments i'll be making in the interim}. that should take until july. and then i begin the long process of paying off the devil card. at $389/month, it should take me another 8-9 months to pay that off. so i'm just not going to think about that one just yet.

whew....it actually feels pretty good to get this all of my chest. now i'm realistic...the above plan means assuming that i have zero "emergencies" in the next year and that i never, ever slip and charge a nice meal out on the town or a pretty new dress. which ideally, i won't. but life happens. the trick is just to stay on track, even if i slip a couple of times.

bravo to those of you who made it through this incredibly unfun and long post! you will be getting monthly updates from me from now on about this decidedly dull topic, so i'm going to be brainstorming ways to make this a little more fun for me {and you}. yay for fiscal responsibility!

time to go put some plastic on ice...

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

what's cooking wednesdays

hi loves! hope everyone had a fantastic thanksgiving and survived black friday and cyber monday. i didn't leave the house on black friday and i'm trying to buy as many of my christmas gifts from local stores as possible, so no online shopping for me. yet. {talk to me again the week before christmas.}

so i now share with you the yummiest christmas food ever. that is not an exaggeration. i'm making these for a junior league cookie swap later this week, and i guarantee you people will be freaking out. this is the recipe for my mom's christmas crackers. they are inexpensive and simple to make and HIGHLY addictive. prepare at your own risk.

christmas crackers
club crackers {enough to cover the sheet pan}
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sliced, slivered, or chopped almonds

Lay crackers {they should be touching} on a large cookie sheet covered in foil. Make sure the cookie sheet has sides on it! Melt butter and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour sugar mixture over crackers and spread to cover all the crackers. Sprinkle almonds on top of the crackers and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE. As soon as crackers come out of oven, remove them to a wire rack to cool. Break apart and store in airtight container.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

holy friggin cow

wants it!

please pop on over to fantabulously frugal's INSANELYAMAZINGOMGIAMFREAKINGOUT giveaway and enter immediately. be sure to tell her that belle on heels sent you {there are extra entries in it for me AND you!}. you don't have to be a blog owner to enter {blurkers, ahem a and k, i am looking at you}, so you should enter too!

http://www.fantabulouslyfrugal.com/2009/11/you-deserve-best-giveaway.html

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

happy turkey day!!


wishing you a day full of family and blessings {and delicious food}! i'll be watching the parade and dog show and helping out with the turkey, sweet potatoes, and brussel sprouts. i made a pumpkin cheesecake this morning, so fingers crossed it turned out!

good luck on black friday!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

i am thankful for...

...the fact that i do not live near a starbucks. or a target. or sonic. or chick-fil-a.

because my bank account would most certainly be depleted and i would have quite the muffin top.

seriously, i've been back in the hometown for barely 48 hours and already have been overwhelmed by all of the options. multiple double tall one pump peppermint one pump white chocolate mocha non-fat no whip extra hot peppermint white chocolate mochas have been consumed. {yes, i am that customer.} there is the CONSTANT temptation of diet cherry limeades and small tots from the sonic that i can almost see from our house. i had a #1 combo at chick-fil-a for breakfast on saturday {that's an original sandwich, waffle fries, and a diet lemonade to the uninitiated}. and then there's target....i'm pretty sure i don't need to explain that to y'all.

i don't know how y'all manage to control yourselves. i live in a town with a wal*mart, a tractor supply, one mediocre local coffee shop with questionable hours, and a handful of fast food restaurants that don't stay open past 11pm, so it's fairly easy to control the purse strings. but lord help me, put me within 5 miles of any of the aforementioned establishments and i can't get the plastic out of my wallet fast enough.

thank god i'm out of here on friday or else my christmas shopping budget will be gone!
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