Happy Tuesday 4/28/15

My writing project

The finale of Chuck (tears, so many tears...)

This video

Feeling successful

Getting faster at work

The Avengers comes out Friday

Tax returns

BuzzFeed quizzes

Gym visits

My laptop

Painting my nails

My fish Duke

And Chris for making life better when things get hard

Happy Tuesdays are about making a list of the things that have made me happy. No details, no stories, just the simple beautiful things in life that bring happiness and joy.

If you'd like to join in, stop by every Tuesday and share your post with me!

The Automatic Millionaire Discussion Post

I still have a little bit of this book left to read. My goal is to finish it today... or it would be if it wasn't in my husband's car. Ugh! Anyways, it's the 20th so I'm giving you a discussion post! If you want a discussion post for the second book, Insurgent, let me know. I was think that since it was a "just for fun" kind of book, we didn't need a discussion post, but if you want one I'd be happy to create one. Oh, but I think our GoodReads page has a discussion post for it.

So far I have been absolutely loving this book!! I feel like I'm learning a lot and I've been very caught up in it and making changes in my life. With my husband and I at new jobs that actually pay good money (and my husband is killing it in sales) we're finally creating a financially sound base for ourselves. Reading this book came at a perfect time, and I'm so happy I chose to read it.

Alright, leave your opinions, thoughts, criticisms, etc. in the comments below and let me know overall what you thought about this book. I will include a few discussion questions below (hey, I used to major in English teaching, it's a part of me I can't forget) and if you have not read the book yet, I guess spoiler alert? It's nonfiction, it's not like we're giving away secrets. Although I think reading through the discussion may encourage people to read it, so I take back that spoiler alert.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(You don't have to answer the questions, feel free to talk about the book anyway you'd like, these are here to help you out if you need them.)

1. What's the most important lesson you learned from the book?
2. What story impacted you the most and why?
3. Does this book change the way you look at your financial situation?
4. Have you made any changes since reading the book?
5. Do you think this book will be helpful for future generations to come?

If this book helped you find a little extra cash, why not donate it to my Charity of the Month? 

April Review

Isn't that the cutest little chick? He's on there for two reasons: Easter and the fact that I went to Baby Animal Days. Good times.

So for the first time this year, my Monthly Review post will (hopefully) be more exciting. I'm actually going to write about what happened this month! Shocker for something called a "Monthly Review". Unlike my lengthy reviews last year, I'm keeping things short and sweet and labeling all events by the date they happened. Be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you like the new outline of my monthly review! And be sure to stick around till the end to see how well I did on my New Year Resolutions this month!

1st: I watched the finale of How I Met Your Mother and was truly disappointed. You can read all about that HERE. I also just had an incredibly emotional day and I can't even fully describe how awful the first day of April was. And that's no April Fools Day joke.

5th: Chris and I visited Baby Animal Days!!! You can read about it HERE. I GOT TO PET A COW!!!! It was such a fun event and I hope we can go back every year!!

7th: Happy Birthday to my friend Lauren!!! On this day I began really freaking out about our move to Texas. There was only four weeks left and so much left to do! I was feeling completely overwhelmed!!

10th: I donated plasma for my second time. You can read about my first, disastrous time, HERE. This time was a bit better. I tweeted through the whole experience. I still got lightheaded and they had to bring me juice and crackers, but I made it through okay.

12th: I donated plasma again and I didn't get lightheaded or dizzy or pass out or anything!! I did great! The guy who helped me earlier that week brought be juice and crackers before they even put the needle in me. And anytime he passed me he would make sure I was doing alright. It was nice. Because of my two plasma donations that week I was finally able to buy groceries! Yay! Now we have food in the house and we hope it lasts us until our move.

13th: There has been a duck living right by our front door just sitting on some eggs. On the 13th the eggs were hatched and we got to see three little ducklings! Even though ducks scare me, these little ducks are really cute. But I'm still paranoid about them living right outside my door. (PS, they were gone the next day and have never come back, only leave pieces of egg shells and tons of feathers.)

14th: I had an idea. An ingenious idea that has the potential to change my whole life.... but I'm not yet ready to share it yet. You'll have to wait a bit longer.

15th: I am not doing a Monthly Favorites post this month so I'm adding a few things on here. And on this day I wrote the most popular post of the month: 10 Weird Things About Me.

19th: We went to the aquarium and OH MY GOSH I'M IN LOVE!!! I have always been obsessed with aquariums and zoos and the new aquarium in Draper is absolutely amazing!!! There were so many incredible fish there and I had so much fun with my hubby, brother, brother-in-law, and mother-in-law. It was the best and, since there is no Monthly Favorites post this month, this was my most favorite event of the month! So much fun! And it got me super excited for our Texas move and going to SeaWorld!!

20th: Easter Sunday! I had a fabulous Easter with my family. I always feel so spoiled by the Easter Bunny and this year was no exception. I love my parents and all they do for me and now for Chris as well. Easter is about remembering the resurrection of our brother, Jesus Christ. I love Easter and what it truly means. And I apologize for not doing a blog post about my Easter. If you would like one leave a comment below and let me know. Also on this day, happy 19th birthday to my sweet cousin Cami! I love her so much!

23rd: I was given a free dinner on campus for cleaning up after the Howl! It's nice to go to the all-you-can-eat place for cleaning up after college students at 1:00am. The Howl is one of the many reasons I do not like my job... But (when this post is published) I am no longer working there. We're moving to Texas and I get to find something new. I'm excited!

24th: HALLELUJAH FOR TAX REFUNDS!!! That's all I have to say.

25th: I finally got to see Divergent and I was so insanely happy and I loved it so so much!!! I just want to go see it again and again!!

26th: Chris and I went to the temple with my cousin Cami (and other family members) as she went through for the first time to prepare for her mission! It had been a while since we went through the temple and it was good for us as we are preparing for our big move. Afterwards we went to my cousin Nate's house and had lunch and I got to hold his adorable baby Will. He's the cutest! Then Chris and I went home and fell asleep for hours. Seriously, Chris slept in until like 7:00. It was weird, but I felt incredibly caught up on sleep, so that was a plus.

28th: We got our storage unit so we could start moving the things not coming to Texas with us into storage. It's insane how soon we're moving!!

30th: Tomorrow is my last day of work! What??? Two years ago I thought I was done with my janitor job forever but then last year after three months of unemployment I had to take it back. This past year (school year) of working as a janitor was really hard. It's been four years of being a janitor and that's just not what I want to be doing with my life. I love my boss, I love my coworkers, and it really isn't a bad job. It's just not me, and I'm happy to be leaving and hopefully I don't have to go back again. It's weird to be leaving the same job twice, but I'm excited for new adventures in Texas!

Also, on May 2nd, we move to Texas! This is one of the craziest things I've done in my life but I'm so excited and Chris and I are just happy that we get to try out this new adventure together! As you can guess, I will not be writing on this blog until we're all settled, so it may be a while til my next post (besides scheduled posts about Book Club and Charity of the Month) so I'm sorry that I won't get to talk with you for a while. I love all my readers and wish us luck and safety on our journey to Texas! When I get back I'm sure I'll have lot to say about the longest car ride of my life!

__________________________________________________________

And now onto how I'm doing on my New Years Resolutions. You can read all about my New Years Resolutions HERE.

To gain 100 blog followers: Again, technically I do have over 200 when I add up all my social media sites, but I'm focusing on getting 100 on just one site. I haven't been doing much this month to get new followers but this summer gaining more followers is definitely a focus as well as giveaways for my new and old followers!

To run a 5k: I am no longer doing the Color Vibe, which makes me sad, but I have this big goal thing I'm working towards so maybe I'll be trained enough to run a 5k soon. I just have to find one. Maybe I'll do the one in the fall that they do at Thanksgiving Point. We'll see.

To get six pack abs: Definitely have not been working on this this month. I've been eating ridiculously this month but starting in May I have some big plans.

To improve my math skills: I honestly just want to kick this goal out of the mix. I don't really want to improve in math, no matter how bad I am at it! Ugh. We'll see I guess.

To make school more of a priority: This goal is complicated right now. There is a lot going on with my college career that you don't know about yet and it's changing lots of things. I have big decisions to make and so much to think about so this goal is on hold until further notice.

To eat healthier: Major fail this month. Peeps have been my favorite snack. I eat like four big meals a day. Bad, bad, bad! But as I said, May is my month to make a change and I have lots of goals for next month.

To save up more money: Can I just say how grateful I am for tax returns? Thank goodness that payment was able to help us get everything in order for the big move. We don't have a lot saved, but we're hoping this summer job will help us get lots of money to save up for school... and finally getting me a new laptop.

To not procrastinate: I have been slightly been procrastinating this month with packing. It's just so overwhelming to pack up our entire apartment for a second time. Also, this move this weekend is the third place we will be living since we've gotten married... and we're one week shy of a year. I know this has nothing to do with my goal, but it's ridiculous how many places we've lived in one year. But yeah, I've been fairly organized about a packing schedule, but I put it off till like last week.

To read more: I am super excited because Book Club starts back up next month!!! AKA, tomorrow!!! Be sure to check out the Book Club page on my blog to see what we'll be reading. Also, I'm happy for our long drive to Texas in a few days because I can finally read Insurgent which I bought months ago but haven't had the time to read yet. I'm happy that I'll get to read more now that school is out!

To pray and read my scriptures everyday: It makes me so sad every month to get to this goal and realize I'm not doing it. I know it sounds like procrastinating, but I truly believe this move to Texas is a chance to change my life for the better. I'm starting new things, I have new goals, I have new life plans, and so much is changing and I truly hope I can make a change for the better and work on this goal.

This Monthly Review post was much longer, but what did y'all think? If you have any suggestions for how I should do my review posts please leave a comment below. And please feel free to tell me all about your April! 

THANKS FOR READING!! 

Song of the Week: If I Had A Million Dollars

If I had a million dollars I would pay off my student loans, my husbands students loans and my debt to my parents and then buy myself a car (because I'm so sick of not having a car and having all my cars taken away by brothers (three times this has happened)) and then honestly I'd probably just stick the rest in my bank account. Maybe buy my parents something nice, they deserve it from all the money they spent on me through dance and me being poor in college. Honestly, I am ridiculously good at talking myself out of buying something, I never buy anything unless it's on sale or I really truly feel I need it. I don't think I would be wasteful with a million dollars.... does that little speech win me a million dollars? Because I could really use it right about now...

Anyways, this week we were cleaning the walls at work and Aggie Radio played this song and it reminded me of roadtrips with my family and just how much I love this song!!! I love Barenaked Ladies!! One time on ballroom tour I said that phrase excitedly in a Wendy's and this older woman glared at me. I meant the band... Basically I'm in love with this song and it's a song I grew up listening to a lot, but it's been a long time since I've heard it.

What would you do with a million dollars? Let me know in the comments below!! 

Money Free March

Welcome to March! March is a good month. In Utah the weather flips from Spring to Winter and back and forth again everyday so it's certainly an adventure. But this has been a surprisingly warm Winter so who knows what will happen. St. Patrick's Day is exciting too. One year my best friend and I hosted a St. Patrick's Day party and it was pretty great up until a friend pulled a knife on another kid... yeah, high school was a weird time for me.

Anyways, this month my husband and I decided to do something different to help us out financially. We are not going to spend any money during the month of March. 

Obviously there are exceptions to the rule. We have to pay rent and other bills, we are allowed to buy gas for the car and necessary groceries, but that's it! Nothing else!

There are three main reasons for this challenge:

1. I made a New Years Resolution this year to save up more money and basically to give us a financially safe bank account. 
2. Last year we really struggled to pay bills and ended up having to move to a cheaper apartment. I don't want us to ever be in that situation again. 
3. We eat out... a lot. And by making the decision to not spend any money that means less fried food and possibly I'd be able to lose weight. 

This challenge will honestly be a challenge for us. We are comfortable and set in our ways, but we both know things need to change. So, with the exception of our date night yesterday, we are going to hide away our debit cards, not spend any cash, and only make necessary food purchases. It'll be good for us and help us save up some extra money but also maybe get us in the habit of spending less. 

I challenge you to join us in Money Free March! I'll be tweeting updates about our challenge on my Twitter page so don't forget to follow me! If you end up doing the challenge with us don't forget to tweet about it as well using #moneyfreemarch so I can see how you're doing as well! 

THANKS FOR READING!! 

January Review

This year I'm switching up my Monthly Review posts. Instead of boring you with lengthy stories of everything I did that month, I am going to take a look at my New Years Resolutions and see how well I've been doing. What good are making resolutions if you don't keep working at them throughout the year? I will still tell a few stories from the month but I will mainly focus on the resolutions. So here we go!

First of all, I have absolutely no stories for you this month. This month consisted of me being in school and being deathly ill. And then my laptop broke so I didn't write on this blog for like a week. The only highlight was my first experience snowboarding which was exciting. But yeah, I don't have any stories for you this month. Sorry.

Alright, let's all keep in mind that it's only been one month and I was sick for half of that month, so if I failed on some of these I should be forgiven.

1. To gain 100 blog followers. 
I have not yet reached 100 but I have however increased my followers in the past month. Yay me! Don't forget that if you follow me on Facebook I will be doing an exclusive giveaway for my Facebook followers. I might not even talk about it on my blog so you have to follow me on Facebook to learn about it. That will be coming up after the Ultimate Valentine Card Exchange, which you should also participate in because you could win!

2. To run a 5k.
I have neither done this nor prepared for one. I haven't run at all this month. But hey, again, I was sick.

3. To get six-pack abs.
Also a failure. I haven't been to the gym this month and I ate a lot of donuts this month.

4. To improve my math skills. 
I also have not yet been working on this, but I need to soon. I have to start preparing for the math placement exam because I'm really hoping to get into Math 1050 this summer.

5. To make school more of a priority.
Win!!! I have been focusing really hard on school this semester and have been keeping up with all the homework and reading. My grades are really good right now and I plan to keep them that way. I've also been doing some new studying styles which I will be writing about in a Study Tips Part 2! Be prepared.

6. To eat healthier.
As I previously mentioned, I've eaten a significant amount of donuts this month. I don't know what it is about being sick that makes me crave donuts, but it did. Major fail on this one.

7. To save up more money. 
I suppose I could mark this as a win. We are definitely doing better financially than we have in the past, so that's a win. But there's always room for improvement here.

8. To not procrastinate.
On homework, this is a success. On cleaning my bedroom, this is a major fail. Our downstairs is clean though so I'm grateful for that. But I still have a significant amount of work to do on this one... later. (ha ha that was a joke I promise)

9. To read more.
Because of school I've had to read a lot lately. However, the main point of this goal was to read books other than school books, so it's a sort of success, sort of fail. But this semester it will be really difficult for me to find the time to read for fun, so I might have to procrastinate on this goal.

10. To pray and read my scriptures everyday.
I am sad to say I have not been doing this. However, my husband and I have been going to all our church meetings, participating in class, keeping up with tithing and fast offerings, and really been focusing on making church more of a priority. It's hard to get into the habit of praying and reading scriptures everyday when it's been a while since you've last done it, but we're working on it together. So while I have not met this goal, I have been making progress, and that's important too.

Have you been working on your New Years Resolutions? Tell me about it in the comments below! Don't forget to join in on the Valentine Card Exchange starting tomorrow! 

THANKS FOR READING!! 

Pinterest Sunday: Shirt, Money, Rebel, Glitter, Memento, Olaf, Hair, Psych, Motivation, Leggings, Red, Travel, Map, and Shrek

I don't really have an introduction for this post today. It's just another one of my Pinterest Sunday posts. But I hope you enjoy it! 

This shirt is super cute! I've never been a fan of long sleeves. I'm wearing one right now and I have the sleeves rolled up because I just can't handle sleeves, I don't know why. So I'm not sure if this shirt would actually be practical for me but I think it's super cute. 

Cut Your Spending by $400 a Month

I really love this list! It has a ton of really great ideas to cut spending, which I always need. 

Is there anyone who doesn't like Rebel Wilson? She's so awesome! And I love Ellen so much as well. Best pin I've ever pinned. ;)

Umm, I super need this! I have a glitter obsession and I just want to glitter-ize everything! 

I'm not a scrapbooker but I love to keep mementos from all my trips and general outings. I want to start doing this with all the fun things my husband and I do together. 

My 2014 New Years Resolutions

2013 is almost over and I can honestly say this was one of the craziest years of my life. I started out the year with multiple jobs that I loved, engaged, making lots of money, enjoying life, living with my parents, etc. Then in May I got married to my best friend and the love of my life (Best day ever!) We enjoyed a fabulous, but eventful, honeymoon to Disneyland (and Ogden). We moved to Logan so we could finish college at Utah State (go aggies!!). I had a medical procedure done that I still haven't written about on this blog, but it was a big deal for me. I spent all summer looking for a job and finding myself very unsuccessful. I became horribly depressed (not my new husband's fault, I SWEAR!!!). I realized I had no friends in Logan and felt very much alone and focused the majority of my time on this blog. When school started I got my old job back as a janitor and had mixed feelings about it, but now it's going great. I worked really hard in school but felt extremely stressed most of the time. We ran out of money and couldn't get our bank account back in order and had to ask for help. We had to move to save money on housing. We were struggling for months until our financial aid paid us some money. And now here we are. 2014.

I can already tell 2014 is going to be a great year! It will be my first full year as a married woman and (hopefully) we won't be moving again so we'll be in the same place for the full year. Things already feel like they are looking up! I'm excited for what the year has to bring and I am so excited for 2014!

Before I get into my 2014 New Years Resolutions, let's take a look at my 2013 Resolutions and see how well I did (because I deserve a little shaming). Keep in mind that I haphazardly threw together my New Year's Resolutions last year and didn't do much thinking about them, although that's no excuse for my massive failures... Anyways, let's get into it.

My 2013 New Years Resolutions:

1. To limit my income of sugar and salt. (FAIL. I did really well at the beginning of the year because I had to fit into my wedding dress. But after that I massively failed and gained weight... a lot of weight.)

2. To learn to love cooking. (FAIL. I don't cook. I never cook. I've made some crockpot recipes but is that really cooking? I made cookies! But I did not in any way learn to love cooking.)

3. To become more flexible. (FAIL. I didn't just fail, I greatly failed, because not only did I get more flexible, I lost the flexibility I already had! I'm not flexible at all anymore! And I'm very very ashamed of it.)

4. To become a better friend. (Fail? I don't have any friends... so did I fail? All these failures are getting so pathetic!!)

5. To work harder for my education. (WIN! I count this as a win. There is always room for improvement, but I'm definitely working harder than I have in previous years. I've done really well this past semester and hope to do even better in future semesters.)

6. To learn ways to spend less money. (WIN! Yay! Winning streak! Last month I wrote a whole post about all the things I've learned to spend money, sort of, I'm planning another, better one in the future, but for now I'd say this is a win.)

7. To (finally) get a six pack. (FAIL. Pathetic again. As I said previously, I just gained weight, so this is a definite fail. (And for those of you who are confused, I meant six-pack abs, not beer.))

8. To be more organized and clean. (FAIL. I don't consider this a massive fail, but it's still a fail. But it's something I hope to continue to work on.)

9. To blog more. (WIN! This is a definite win. I've blogged so much more this year than last year, not only that, I've gotten a much bigger response than last year. So many page views and followers! It's been a fantastic year for this blog!)

10. To love Chris more each and every day. (WIN! This is a lifelong goal that can always be worked on, but I feel it's still a win this year.)


So as you can see, I didn't do very well this year. 4 out of 10 aren't the best odds, but we can still work on these right? After looking over these goals again and thinking about what's going on recently in my life, here are now my New Years Resolutions for 2014.

1. To gain 100 blog followers. (This can be through Facebook, Twitter, Blog Lovin', etc. So share this page with your friends to help me reach this goal! As a special incentive, soon I'll be doing a giveaway exclusively for my Facebook followers!)

2. To run a 5k. (This may not sound like a big deal, but I've never been a runner in my life, so it's a big deal for me.)

3. To get six-pack abs. (Yes, I'm bringing this one back. It's something I've wanted for a long time and I'm going to continue working towards it.)

4. To improve my math skills. (I'm being forced to take more math classes as a part of my new major, but this time around I'm going to have a better attitude about it and work harder to get better grades.)

5. To make school more of a priority. (Don't tell my mom, but sometimes I skip class. It's just hard for me to wake up early sometimes! But this year things will be different, I'm going to work harder in school and really earn my grades by working hard.)

6. To eat healthier. (Because popcorn for dinner tastes good, but I really should stop doing it. Also, how else will I get my six-pack abs?)

7. To save up more money. (We've had a lot of issues with our bank account lately but things are starting to look up. We want to make sure that our bank account never goes through that again and want to save up as much money as we can to keep us financially safe.)

8. To not procrastinate. (I am the worst at this, but I'm going to get better this year.)

9. To read more. (I started my Book Club but haven't even been reading the books! This year I'm going to prioritize my time and make sure I read the books I pick so I can't keep up with my followers.)

10: To pray and read my scriptures everyday. (I have been majorly slacking on this and I'm very disappointed in myself because being LDS has blessed my life in so many ways and my Father in Heaven deserves to hear my prayers and all the things I'm grateful for in my life.)

These are my goals of the year. Feel free to chastise me if I you ever hear about me slacking off. I'd love to hear about your goals as well! Leave a comment below to let me know!

I WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! THANKS FOR READING! 

My Christmas Wish List

Last week I posted my 2013 Holiday Gift Guide... which was a joke. I hope people were aware that that was a joke. Although some of the products you have to admit were pretty awesome. :)

With Christmas coming up I think it's time I put up my personal Christmas Wish List, and if you would like to buy me anything from the list please send it to... just kidding. Please don't buy me anything. But leaving comments on blog posts would be a great Christmas gift! And if you do that for me you'll get your Christmas gift from me, a Spotify playlist of all my Song of the Week Saturday posts. Which is actually a pretty cool playlist, but I could be biased. Hey, if you want your favorite songs to be on there you have to share them with me first.

Anyways, this year I have two lists: things that I want and things that I need. These lists are obviously very different. Also, this list is for my family and friends but I still hope it's enjoyable to my regular readers. If not, leave a comment to let me know.

THINGS THAT I WANT:

• A sewing machine 
• I really do, I don't know why... Pinterest probably
• Clothes
• Because what girl doesn't need more clothes? And I'm incredibly sick of my current wardrobe.
• iTunes gift cards
• Because music is incredibly important to me and I always want more!
• Beta fish 
• But my apartment technically doesn't allow it... But honestly, there are beta fish at my work in the offices and I just love to sit and watch them swimming around, it makes me happy. I need one!!! 
•  A new laptop
• Because this one is incredibly slow no matter what I do and it's just incredibly frustrating to use.
• iPod
• Because I love my iPod nano, but it's full and I can't add more music and I can't find any music from it to get rid of and it's just sad that I can't put my new Ariana Grande CD, Yours Truly on there. 
• iPhone
• Or just a smart phone in general. I know this is not going to happen, but I am so bored of my phone and just want to join the smart phone club. Also, I've been stalking my friend's Instagram pages and would like to join that club too. 

I understand I most likely won't get anything on this list. Except maybe clothes. And I'm totally fine with that. I honestly don't need these things and I will (eventually) be able to buy them myself. I'll be happy whether I get them or not because here is the list of what I actually need. 

WHAT I NEED:

• A good snow coat
• I have a lot of really cute pea-coats and I love them to death, but it gets really cold here and I need a good, warm, water/wind proof, sturdy coat for winter. With a hood. Because I have a fairly good snow coat right now with no hood... and it's short... I want something I could play in the snow in. And I found all my gloves and hats so I'm good there. But I want to be able to pick it out so I don't know if I want someone just buying it for me...
• Snow boots
• I also have a good pair of boots but for some reason the designer was like "Let's make the best snow boots with great traction and warmth... but we'll add a three inch heel to it". And I love heels, but for running around in the snow sometimes I'd rather do without the heel. I'd also want to pick this out myself so...
• Money for the above two items... or school or rent or food
• Actually things are looking up for us money-wise, but some extra money in our account is always worth it, because we just eat soup or pizza from Chris's work every night and I get bored of it. 

This post ended up much longer than I expected and I admit it's not the most exciting. But regardless, what's done is done. 

What's on your Christmas Wish List? Leave a comment below and let me know!

THANKS FOR READING!! 

November Review

Okay! This November was full of stress! So much stress! But it was a good month, I suppose. :) Things are looking up now so hopefully this December will be better. But I always love November because it's my birthday month and Thanksgiving was fantastic. To read all about my November, keep reading! To see my other Monthly Review posts CLICK HERE. 

First I have to add something from the very end of October. Halloween night after work one of my coworkers hid in a garbage can and scared me. We then pushed him around in the garbage can, scaring other people as well. It was so funny when he scared this random girl walking down the hall, she screamed so loudly! Later, after I had left, they scared one of the nightshift girls and recorded it. I watched it on Facebook and it was so funny and sad! She fell on the floor, screamed, it was crazy! I wish I could share the video on here, but I can't, it's not mine. So I'll just share this random trashcan scare video:

...Luckily that didn't happen at my work. :)


This month went by in the biggest blur of my life. I had so much school work today I honestly don't remember doing anything but homework. But I'm going to try and do this post as accurately as I can.

November 4th was my birthday and one of the best birthdays of my life. You can read all about it by CLICKING HERE. It was so wonderful and I'm so grateful for my family and my husband for doing so much for me that weekend. I had the best time!

I started up Month of Gratitude on my blog again, this time using my Twitter account to write my daily gratitude. My goal was to write a post at the end of each week with all my Twitter posts of the week, but I was only able to do it that first week. I can't decide if I'll write a blog post with all the other Twitter posts, but leave a comment if you'd like me to.

My husband and I celebrated 6 months of marriage!!! Half a year! That's more than some celebrities. Our marriage only gets stronger every day and more than that I just keep loving him more every day. I love Chris so much and I think I could never love him more the next day, but it always happens. It just keeps getting better every day.

We ran out of money at an extreme level and had to make some major changes. I wrote this post and it became my most popular post this month. I'm glad people enjoy the tips that I put in it. Next year I have another post planned with a similar feel to it on how to save up your money and make extra cash, but it won't be written for a while, so stay tuned. THANKS FOR MAKING THIS SUCH A POPULAR POST!!

On November 13th by brother-in-law Sheldon came home from his mission. Since then he's spent a night with us in Logan, we spent a weekend down there with him and I've gotten to know him really well! He's so much fun and it's great to have another brother around!

On November 15th I developed a fear of boxes due to a traumatic experience at work. I don't think I'm as scared as I was near when it happened but it still was a crazy experience. I didn't like it. But it was nothing compared to the experience my favorite blogger had around the same time.

This month I got over 30,000 page views and I can't explain how much it means to me to see that number! I just feel so continually blessed by my blog readers! You guys mean so much to me and I love that you support me in what I'm doing. THANK YOU!!!

I announced this month that my husband and I were moving. It's a big change for us and the place we eventually found isn't nearly as pretty as where we are now, but it will save us money and it will be good for us. Here's the story though, we were hoping to get into the University Family Housing because it would be the best deal (about the same rent price but utilities, cable, and internet was all included, and it was closer to campus so we could save on gas money). We paid the $150 application fee and filled out the form and were excited to move in. There had been constant ads in the paper so we knew they had openings, but we were wrong. Apparently the ad is just constantly in there and they didn't have anything open.

At the same time our current manager told us that our apartment had been rented out and we had to move out the 20th of December. So we thought we might be homeless. I cannot begin to describe how stressed I was at the time because of this (and a ton of tests, presentations, and essays due in school at the same time). My wonderful husband quickly realized how stressed I was and told me to focus on school and he'd find us an apartment. In one day he visited about five different places and texted me and said "I found our new home!" I'll be honest, it wouldn't be my first choice, I'd much rather stay where we are, but we just can't afford it. We can afford this new place and I figure we're only going to be there till we're done with school in about three years, I can handle that.

So in a few weeks we can start moving into our new place. It'll be a crazy time for us but I'll be happy when we get all settled in and can finally start decorating for Christmas. We have so many friends willing to help us and both our parents have trailers and want to come help. We are truly blessed! But the place is unfurnished, so if anyone has a couch they'd like to give us, that would be fabulous. :)

 On November 26th I donated plasma for two reasons. 1. I love helping people and 2. I am desperate for money. But the experience that happened did not go as planned and I went through such a stressful traumatic experience.

My Thanksgiving this year was fantastic! It was the first Thanksgiving I wasn't with my family, so that was weird, but my in-laws are great too. We had a traditional dinner around 1:00 on Thanksgiving day, everything was very delicious and I loved it all! Afterwards I played ping-pong with one of Chris's cousins and we were jumping around, claiming that it helped us do better. :) Then we watched The Hunger Games so Sheldon could see it because we were going to see Catching Fire that night. I then got to experience Walmart Black Friday... on Thursday... and it was crazy!! I wish I had brought my camera in there to show you all the crazies I saw. We got a ton of movies for way cheap and my in-laws bought them for Chris and I for Christmas. Yay! Then we saw Catching Fire...

I cannot fully describe how much I am in love with this movie!!! When I got out of the theater I was jumping around so happy and wanting more. Yes the movie made me cry multiple times but it was made so brilliantly that I just loved every second of it. I highly recommend seeing this movie if you haven't already! So so good!!!

On actual Black Friday I went shopping with my mother-in-law and she got me a very cute infinity scarf. She's fantastic! Then we got burgers and Chris and I drove back home so he could get to work.

After all that it was the end of November and nothing substantially exciting happened. I went in to donate plasma again but they denied me because I don't have a proof of address, how rude. But they sent me a card so I can get my proof of address and a $10 when I bring it in next week.

I hope all my readers had a fantastic November! I hope your Thanksgiving was amazing! I love all my readers and am so grateful for each and everyone of you! 

THANKS FOR READING!! 

November Favorites

FAVORITE YOUTUBE-ER: LATE NIGHT

These videos from Late Night With Jimmy Fallon are so funny and I just enjoy them so much!! 

FAVORITE WEBSITE: 24 HOURS OF HAPPY

This song and this 24 hour video are just so incredible! It honestly just makes me happy to listen to this song and it's been great with all the stress I've been going through lately. 

FAVORITE FOOD: WILD RICE MINNESOTA SOUP

At my brother-in-law's homecoming talk luncheon, we had this soup that was so incredible!! It was some of the best soup of my life and I have soup a lot, so I should be an expert by now. My mother in law gave me the recipe so I will eventually put it up here and share my experience making it, but we're dealing with a move and finals right now so it won't happen for a while. Sorry! 

FAVORITE TELEVISION SHOW: COMMUNITY

Every night on TV Chris and I watch two episodes of this show from 11:00 to midnight. It's so funny and it's just a great show to watch. :) 

FAVORITE MOVIE: CATCHING FIRE

NOTE: I feel the following video gives away stuff that the other ones don't, so just beware. :)

Okay. OKAY!!! This movie... I saw it Thanksgiving night... SO IN LOVE!!! And the more I think about it, the more I love it. And dare I say it, I think I might like the movie better than I did the book. This movie was done so incredibly well and I came out of the theater jumping around and wanting more, it's been a long time since a movie has done so much for me. I HIGHLY recommend you go see it, as long as you've seen the first one beforehand. WATCH THIS MOVIE!!! 

FAVORITE SONG: HUMAN

This song is absolute perfection! I honestly have no words, it's just amazing and everyone should listen to it and realize just how incredible Christina Perri is. She's so wonderful! 

FAVORITE / MOST POPULAR BLOG POST: CONFESSIONS OF A PENNY-PINCHER

Thank you to everyone for making this such a popular post! Followups to come, but it really is so amazing to see a good response from this. :)

FAVORITE EVENT: MY BIRTHDAY!

You can read all about my birthday weekend by CLICKING HERE but just know that Thanksgiving was a close second for my favorite event of the month, I will write about it soon. 

So this Monthly Favorites post this month is kinda short and boring but I'm having issues with my laptop so this is the best I can do. THANKS FOR READING!!! 

Further Confessions of a Penny Pincher: A Note On Yesterday's Post

Yesterday I posted THIS POST about the "Confessions of a Penny-Pincher" with tips to saving money. And as I looked over it as it stood proudly on my blog, I realized it really is a list of confessions, of the things that I wish I did more. Sure I use FAFSA and visit the Dollar Store for most my items but I also love fast food! I eat it way more than I'd like to admit. Saturday night I ate McDonald's French fries after I had already eaten a full meal!

I don't coupon, my credit card is maxed out, we never make grocery lists, we're always driving, and we are overall just wasteful with our money. And this needs to change! We are so poor. So very very poor. In fact, I can't afford to buy new body lotion so I have to keep using the stuff that makes me itchy (don't worry, it's not that bad).

Basically this follow up post is to warn my readers again that I am no expert in money and my tips from yesterday were just things that have been working for us. I wish we had more money and were able to handle our money better but we're newlyweds and we're still getting used to our combined incomes and sharing a bank account. We're still learning and I hope to share all the things we learn with my incredible readers.

I want to thank all my readers for your constant support! I recently had a reader email me about a job I could apply for and I've never been more grateful in my life! You all are incredible and I feel so blessed to receive all your great comments and good thoughts. I LOVE ALL MY BLOG FRIENDS!!

Confessions of a Penny Pincher (AKA Tips To Save Money)

I'm broke. There. That's my first confession. But if anyone reads this blog regularly or knows me personally, you should already know that. It's not new news. But to anyone newly reading this blog (as you should because it's awesome... sometimes), now you know.

My husband and I are living on an INCREDIBLY tight budget. Basically we live off his tip money from being a pizza delivery driver (so don't forget to tip your drivers) and both our paychecks just go to rent and bills (we're currently trying to find a cheaper place to get out of this situation... and new jobs).

We are forced to be penny-pinchers, or "cheapskates" if you will (but not in the extreme way). It's not exactly by choice, but it's necessary and it works well for us. So I'm here to share my favorite money saving tips (and don't worry, they don't include sharing a toothbrush). So basically these aren't confessions... well sort of... you decide.

Tip #1: The Dollar Store

Okay, I could write a whole post about how wonderful the Dollar Store is. I kind of did with my Halloween decorating post but I have so much more to say about it! I always call it the Dollar Store, my mother-in-law calls it All-A-Dollar but for both of us it's really Dollar Tree, and it's amazing. Here is just a sampling of things that are better to get for a dollar than at other stores:

• Holiday Decorations: It can all add up if you get a lot, but they have great quality stuff that looks great. I've already seen their Christmas collection and am excited to write a Christmas decorating under $10 post! 
• Soap (dish soap or hand soap): I don't see how dollar soap is any different than five dollar soap, except the price. It cleans the same no matter the price. I've even seen big sized dish soap containers and the dollar store so you can get a lot of use out of one dollar. 
• Diswasher/Laundry Detergent: Same as soap, it's all the same to me. And they do have some good brands. 
• Sponges or Cleaning Cloths: Why spend lots of money on something that just gets dirty? In fact, our absolute favorite dish cleaning brush is a Betty Crocker brush with a cool scraper thing on the end that you can get at the dollar store (we actually got it for our wedding so we paid nothing for it). 
• Other Cleaning Supplies: They have so many wonderful things for just $1. They even have magic erasers!!! I'm going to get them and test them out to see if they are as good as the real Magic Erasers and I'll write a review on this blog. 
• Toiletries: Shaving cream, razors, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, lotion... they have it all! Sure we all have our favorites and we like spending more for certain items, but I currently don't have the money to do so. the dollar store is where it's at.
• Party Supplies: Why spend $4 for a package of balloons at Walmart when you can buy it for $1? Same with table cloths, paper products, invitations and gift wrap. 
• School and Office Supplies: As a college student and future teacher, I go through a lot of school supplies. It's so much easier to get them for $1 than to spend lots of money. I mean I already spend like $400 just for textbooks each semester, might as well get my supplies for cheap. 
• Kids Toys: I don't have kids, but I know they're there, and they are awesome. Check out THIS LINK for some really great ideas for both parents and teachers. 
• Things For The Home: They have baskets, vases, towels, dishes, storage supplies, mattress covers, pet supplies, satin flowers, picture frames, etc. It's definitely worth checking out. 
• Food: DISCLAIMER!!! Don't always trust food at the dollar store! Frozen things are probably fine, candy is usually over priced except in bulk (but it's usually stale). Some have milk and eggs that could be good. Just be careful when buying food at the dollar store because it's probably so cheap for a reason. 

Keep in mind that NOT ALL DOLLAR STORES ARE CREATED EQUAL! Just because I love my dollar store and it has lots of great things for me doesn't mean that yours will be just as good, but I think it's always worth checking out. Visit your local dollar store and see what bargains you can find. 

Tip #2: Don't Buy Fast Food

Not only can it help you lose weight, but it can help you save money! The dollar menu may be tempting, but it can all add up, especially if you buy frequently. With my husband being a pizza delivery driver, we tend to get free or discounted pizza from his work, but other than that we don't eat out. We buy most our food at Walmart, which leads to my next tip...

Tip #3: Don't Shy Away From Generic Brands

The Walmart brand fruit snacks are my favorite! Their orange juice is also really good and their applesauce or saltine crackers. Some foods aren't so good in the generic brands, but they're usually cheaper so it's worth trying out. We always look for the cheapest brands, occasionally it's not the generic brand though. 

Tip #4: Coupons! 

I am not an extreme couponer, although I sometimes wish I was. But I look for coupons for things I need because if you can get a discount, you might as well! I know there are classes in Logan about couponing and I'm considering taking one because I would love to save more money on grocery shopping. 

Tip #5: Make A Grocery List and Stick To It

By making a list, you are less likely to buy unnecessary items or be tempted by samples. Also, learn the tips. Watch THIS VIDEO to learn some great tips about the tricks grocery stores try to pull on us. There are a lot more videos like this on Youtube, don't be afraid to do your research before you shop. 

Tip #6: Pay Your Bills On Time

Don't get caught up in late fees or bank fees! Trust me when I say, it's the worst! Don't let it happen to you, keep up with all your bills 

Tip #7: Use Cash

Debit and credit cards seem to have no limit and it's easy to just get caught up in spending that you don't realize how much you've spent. With cash, it's much easier to know exactly what you have and to set your limit. If you only have $20 in cash and hide away your cards, you can only spend $20 and no more. It's a great tool when you're on a serious budget. My husband and I never use our cards anymore, only cash, and it's working really well for us (especially considering that since our bank account is current in over-draft, we get fees if we use our cards). 

Tip #8: Save Your Change

But don't use grocery store Coin Stars to get cash, they often charge you. Most banks have the same thing and can put the money straight into your bank account. Our bank has it and we love it! We currently have a jar for all our change. It works really well for us especially since we're on a cash only basis. 

Tip #9: Avoid Driving

For my husband, this isn't possible with his job. But gas prices are ridiculous now-a-days so it's better to carpool, walk, or bike to get where you need to be. If you're in Logan, like I am, this city has the world's best bus system. Use it! Check out your own city's bus system to see if it will work for you. Save gas money and don't drive. Also, try finding gas point systems, like using a Smith's Fuel Program. Find something in your community to help you save money on gas.  

Tip #10: Be Creative to Make Money

I was recently an alternate crossing guard to make extra cash (until they realized I could rarely sub for them because of class, so I quit). I use websites like Inbox Dollars and Swag Bucks to make a few extra dollars a day (which can all add up, especially if you and your spouse each do it). I blog (but this blog has yet to make me money) and use Google Ad Sense and am an Amazon Affiliate in the attempt to make some extra money (again, hasn't happened yet, but maybe someday). Sell your clothes online or to Plato's Closet to make some extra cash (but keep in mind that are incredibly stingy with girl's clothes). Sell other items you're done with online. Do odd jobs with a temp agency. My husband donates plasma for money. There are so many ways to make a little extra cash. I learned a lot from THIS BLOG about making extra money from home. It's worth the read. 

Tip #11: Don't Waste Money on Things You Can Change

This tip is very vague and I don't know if I can explain it well. Perhaps as a college student you shouldn't take the PE class "for fun" because it cost an extra $50. Maybe you have to move somewhere cheaper to save money. Don't pay for apps or software, use the free versions (at least until you can afford it). Maybe you should stop buying a new pack of gum everyday (because gum is gross). Little things like that can add up and you end up spending much more than you would like. Make necessary changes to keep things cheap.

Tip #12: Don't Be Wasteful

I'm the worst at this! We almost never go through all our milk or bread before it goes bad and that's just money thrown away! Don't buy in bulk if you know it will go bad. On the other hand, sometimes buying in bulk is incredibly useful, for snacks especially. Be sure to check prices though to make sure you're getting a deal and not getting ripped off.

Tip #13: FAFSA!!!

This tip is specifically for college students. To be completely honest, it irritates me when people won't apply for FAFSA just because the think they won't get anything. Trust me, it's worth trying! Only one year did I not receive financial aid, but even then I was offered a loan. You'll always get offered a loan. While loans can be scary, just understand what you're getting yourself into and set goals to pay off those loans. If you're above 24 or married or poor, you will most likely get grants, which you don't have to pay back. This year, Chris and I both had our semester paid for just through grants. It's fabulous! Even if you think you won't qualify, at least try, because you never know if you'll get something good. Apply early to get more money (in theory, I don't really know if that's true). You can find their website by CLICKING HERE. It doesn't take as long to apply as people think as long as you have all your tax stuff (and sometimes your parent's tax stuff) ready to go.

Tip #14: Don't Use Credit Cards

I'm currently struggling to pay off my credit card and I'm ticked off about it. I used to be so good about it! I would never use it unless I knew I had the money to pay it off immediately. And I did pay it off immediately! Usually the day after! That was before I went broke though... Anyways, just don't use a credit card. Yes it can build credit, but it's too big of a temptation to risk sometimes. When you are financially sound and have set goals about your spending, then you can feel free to use a credit card.

Tip #15: Keep Track of Spending

Keep receipts, check online bank statements, use Mint.com (please do, it's awesome), keep a spreadsheet, do whatever you need to in order to know where all your money is going. There is nothing worse than wondering where all your money went. Keep track of everything so you know exactly where all your money is going. After a month look over all your spending and see where you can change things. Maybe you got too much fast food or bought a daily snack on campus, seeing how these things add up can help you change your spending habits for the better.

Last Sort of Tip: Check Out These Websites

Here are a bunch of websites I found off Pinterest with great tips to save money. I'm obviously not an expert, but some of these sites seem to be.

• 118 Ways to Save Money in College
• How Does She Live On a Budget
• 10 Ways to Earn Money From Home
• How to Easily Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half
• Couponing For Beginners: Not So Extreme
• The Envelope System Saves $$$
• 20 Ways to Save Money When Living Paycheck to Paycheck
• Simplest Budgeting Technique Ever
• 12 Things I Do Not Buy
• Dave Ramsey's Envelope System
• How to Build Wealth With Time on Your Side
• Vintage Money Saving Tips That Need to Be Brought Back From the Dead
• Top Ten Money Saving Tips -As Chosen by Frugal Moms
• 141 Best Money Saving Tips
• Student Financial Aid Search Engine: Find & Apply for Financial Aid to Pay for College
• United Negro College Fund Scholarships
• Scholarship America Scholarships
• “No Essay” College Scholarship
• Scholarships to Help International Students Afford U.S. Colleges
• And tons more through a Pinterest Search

Wow, that's a lot. See, I'm not the expert and there are a ton more tips out there that I may not know about. This post is basically the things my husband and I do to make our budget work. Thank you for reading and I hope that this helps you in your situation! 

Do you have an incredible money saving tip? Leave a comment below to let me know! THANKS! 

Read my follow up post: Further Confessions of a Penny Pincher

Five on Friday

This post is a link up with The Good Life

one
It was my birthday week! I had the best birthday ever! I'm 23 now! That's so old! Just kidding, but I honestly feel like I'm growing up. I got married this year, I'm getting my college future figured out and tweaked, I'm just making big decisions and acting more grown up. It's kind of weird.

two
Omeros. I'm reading it for class. Or at least, trying to read it for class. For anyone who doesn't know (which I didn't know about this until recently, so don't feel embarrassed) Omeros is an epic poem written by Derek Walcott. It's over 300 pages. And a poem. So it's confusing. I feel so lost! So anyone who has read and understands Omeros, HELP ME!

three
This is the month of spending no money because honestly we have none. All my birthday money went to my birthday dinner with my husband. We keep craving Subway, but don't have any money to get it. It's difficult, but it's 100% necessary in order to get back into a safe financial state. Our goal is to be out of debt by next month which is very possible if we don't spend anything this month. It's hard, but it will all turn out good in the end.

four
The Secret Life of Bees. That is the new book for Book Club this month! These link up posts tend to bring quite a few new people to my blog, so I'm shamelessly advertising my Book Club in the attempt that I can get more people to join me. Basically I just pick one book a month to read and encourage all my blog friends/readers to join me in reading. Around the 20th of the month I put up a discussion post where anyone can leave comments and questions about the book. We also have a Good Reads Group that is available for anyone to join. And I'd love to have you join! I've never read The Secret Life of Bees so I'm excited. I haven't started it yet because I'm super busy with school but I'll find time this weekend I'm sure. :)

five
My coworker's birthday was yesterday and as a joke I made him a Christmas sweater from scrap paper. I also just blew up some balloons for him and wrote on them saying "Happy Birthday" and "You are old". But honestly, this kid has been listening to Christmas music since September. And the bookstore at work put up Christmas trees and other Christmas decorations. So while I hate all the hype about Christmas before it's even December, I'm getting really excited, and I'm kind of hating myself for that. I'm breaking my own rules!

I NEED YOUR HELP!! Last month I wrote about Halloween decorating under $10 and I'd like to know if you'd like me to do the same for Thanksgiving and Christmas! Please leave a comment below and let me know. Thank you so much for your help! 

THANKS FOR READING!!