101 in 1001

So I stumbled upon this really cool idea of making a list of 101 goals to complete in 1001 in days. I saw a list on a blog quite a while ago and thought it was a pretty cool idea but did nothing about it. A few weeks ago I was in the shower and randomly thought about that list again. After my shower I did some online research and found a TON more blogs with their own lists. Since I am a born list maker I decided to go for it and make my own list and I also encouraged my sister to make a list as well. It was kind of difficult coming up with 101 things at first but once a got more than half way through making my list I found myself wishing I had more than 101 spaces.

This idea was originally created by a website called Day Zero Project. 1001 days is about 2.75 years. The point is to come up with specific things you want to accomplish. They must be realistic but also challenging. Sometimes you have goals (like traveling) that take longer than a year to accomplish which is why 1001 days is much better than 365.

I love this idea so much. I am going to blog my progress and keep up with my list here. I will post on Instagram too. I know there is already a hashtag created so if you want to make your own list or check out other list and progress you can check out the hashtag #101in1001 on IG and twitter.

When I was researching this project I found a ton of other blogs to read too. Like this one. Another plus of doing this project.

Start date: January 12th, 2014
Finish date: October 10th, 2016

1. Get out of credit card debit.
2. New Years Eve in Times Square.
3. Clear out emails and keep them organized (this is seriously a problem).
4. Organize computer and hard drive.
5. Upload YouTube video once a week.
6. Go skiiing.
7. Start geocaching.
8. Organize and simplify my closet.
9. USA road trip.
10. Get a kitten and/or puppy.
11. Make handmade soap.
12. Reopen my Etsy store when we go back to the States.
13. Read 50 new books. (1/50)
14. Go to trivia nights with friends.
15. Go skinny dipping.
16. Go to Europe.
17. Visit Jeju Island.
18. Try 10 new foods.
19. Go to another Disney Park.
20. Leave a $20 tip on a meal that cost less than $20.
21. Invest in a nice black shoulder bag.
22. Go a month without eating out.
23. "Adopt" 2 children for Christmas (each Christmas). (0/4)
24. Run a 5k (color run).
25. Complete 50 Pinterest projects. (0/50)
26. Clean face every morning (30 misses). (0/30)
27. Clean face every night (30 misses). (0/30)
28. Develop more/better sewing techniques.
29. Visit our friends in NJ.
30. Cook dinner once a week (Zack does the majority of the cooking). (1/143)
31. Re-read the Harry Potter series.
32. Have a technology free weekend.
33. Buy a lottery ticket.
34. Watch "50 Classic Matchbook Girl Movies." (0/50)
35. Invest in 10 beautiful coffee table books.
36. Face mask once a week. (3/143)
37. Hair mask once a week. (5/143)
38. Self pedicure once a week. (2/143)
39. Self manicure once a week. (4/143)
40. Date night once a month. (0/34)
41. Have 2 "no buy" months (0/2)
42. Do the 52 weeks savings challenge. (11/52)
43. Crochet another blanket.
44. Exercise 2 hours a week.
45. Figure out how my family came to the USA.
46. Buy my mom a gift on MY birthday.
47. Buy an iPad.
48. Donate blood.
49. Complete 10 random acts of kindness.
50. Pay for a strangers meal or Starbucks.
51. Complete a Wreck This Journal.
52. Get a tattoo.
53. Finish my white sheet rug.
54. Try Project Life.
55. Have professional pictures taken each year. (0/3)
56. (personal)
57. Increase social media following by x 10.
58. Get a facial.
59. Learn to use my DSLR better.
60. Go to a drive in movie.
61. Go to the beach.
62. Go to an NFL game.
63. Go to an MLB game.
64. Go white water rafting.
65. Go to a KPOP concert.
66. Go camping.
67. Make cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning.
68. Make a household organizer binder.
69. Send Christmas cards each year.
70. Learn to use Photoshop.
71. Start blogging again.
72. Coupon when we go back to the States.
73. Drink water everyday.
74. Save $6000.
75. Make a decision for January 2015.
76. Keep a health journal.
77. Do a Couch to 5k Challenge. (Completed 3-1-14)
78. 30 day Squat Challenge.
79. 30 day Little Black Dress Challenge.
80. Actually keep up with Tone It Up.
81. Go rock climbing.
82. Organize the photos on my Mac.
83. Floss at least twice a week.
84. Make a piece of jewelry.
85. Save $10 for each task completed for a fun reward.
86. Make a goal to see all 50 states with Zack (in our lifetime).
87. Learn more Korean. Complete at least Level 4 in Talk to Me in Korean.
88. Buy a pretty bicycle. ✓ (1/17/2014)
89. Try 6 new restaurants. (0/6)
90. Make a book out of all of our wedding cards.
91. Make a shutterfly book out of Instagram photos.
92. See It's a Wonderful Life at Belcourt Theater.
93. Pay off half of my student loans.
94. Go to a musical.
95. Buy a nice hair dryer.
96. Go hunting with my brother.
97. Hike Soraksan.
98. See the East Sea of Korea.
99. Go to Busan.
100. Set a budget and stick to it.
101. Set up an IRA.

Need some new holiday music?

I love Christmas music! I could listen to it all year round. The only reason I don't is because my husband has banned holiday music before a certain time of the year. But I usually pull it out way before normal people do. However, my Christmas music selection has really need some new songs and more vareity. So I have been on the search for some new Christmas music.

While searching iTunes one day I happened upon a new holiday album called "Holidays Rule". It has a really awesome sound and a great mix of songs.

One of my favorite songs on the album is I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day by The Civil Wars. Even though it was recently announced that this duo has split I'm so glad they recorded this song first.

Other artists on the album include Paul McCartney, Rufus Wainwright and The Shins among many others. If you need new Christmas music you have to check it out!

A simple couponing example

So here is a picture of a fun night of couponing. I had had a stressful day and wanted to have a night to myself and have a little retail therapy. This only cost me $2 bucks (less than).

I bought 20 bottles of soap and 2 bottles of $5 nail polish. 

I did this at two different stores.

The soap is normally $1.99. It was on sale for $1.00.

On each bottle there was a "peelie" coupon for $0.50 off a bottle. (Since at Publix coupons $0.50 and under double this made each bottle free). 

There was also a Publix coupon for $1.00 off 2 bottles of soap. I used 5 Publix coupons and 10 "peelie" coupons for a grand total of -$5.00!

So I used my profit to purchase a bottle of nail polish. My total before tax was $0.00 - FREE! 

In my state I have to pay tax on what I purchased so I had to pay $0.94 for 10 bottles of soap and a $5.00 bottle of nail polish (I did the deal twice). 

Not bad for a days work. :)

Korea Bound

From March 28th, 2012

Well, we are going to Korea. We are going to teach English as a language in Cheonan City, South Korea. This has been a crazy ride thus far and we are just in the decision making stage. Zack and I have been talking about doing this for a little while now. When he first mentioned going I thought he was joking. I was like, "Ha, yeah right. We can't go to Korea right now." Then later I was opening up to the possibility of it but "maybe in a year." Then I decided that there is always going to be something standing in the way of any decision so "let's go for it." We can't not do something just out of fear. We put our resume together and testimonies and sent the email. Within and hour of sending the email we were emailed back saying that the positions had previously been filled but they just had a couple back out and had two spots available and we could have them! Unbelievable! That was yesterday. I'm still in shock over what is happening. We are very excited but at the same time it is very scary. We will be leaving sometime near the end of July for a whole year away from our families and everything we have ever known. We plan on spending quite a bit of time with each of our families before we go so that will help some. And technology is so great these days that we will be able to see everyone through Skype and other resources.

April 25th, 2012

We have completed several of the many steps in the process of getting our Visas. (A long process I will write about later). I needed a new passport because I never changed my name on my old one after we got married. So I have sent everything in for that and am waiting for it to return. We have also mailed everything off for our FBI background checks. We have told everyone we need to tell about us moving and have even announced on FaceBook. Everything seems to be falling into place. I can't believe May is around the corner. Still so much to do.

Zack is graduating with his Master's in Theology from TNU in 10 days! Yay! We are so excited. And I am so proud of him. After a year of him working on a Master's thesis I am ready to have my husband back. :) I know that he is ready to have this behind him as well. Things will begin to move even faster after graduation is over. Keep us in your prayers as we prepare for this huge adventure.

Extreme Couponing for the less extreme.

OK, many of you have asked about couponing and how I do it. I have been some what reluctant to post anything because I still feel like an amateur when it comes to couponing. I am still learning but what I have come to realize is that the more I coupon, the better I get at it. So I am going to start posting tips and details about my own personal couponing successes and failures.

The point to couponing is to create a stock pile (not a hoard) of things that you need/use that are non perishable. You buy these things at there rock bottom prices. Sales are generally on a rotation. Things always go back on sale. You should buy enough to last you until at least the next sale. Some people buy things to last them and their families for a year. I buy what I have room to store. And in a one bedroom apartment, I am getting pretty creative about where I put my couponing purchases. (I want to create a list of what I have, but I haven't done it yet).


Here are a few tips of mine when it comes to couponing (I will add more with other posts as I think of more). 

1. I buy 4 Sunday papers every week. (If there are coupons in them, and depending on how good the coupons are). Usually the first sunday of every month there is a P&G (proctor and gamble) saver in the paper. That insert is usually great. It has great coupons for products that proctor and gamble make. They make shampoo, cosmetics, toilet paper, tampons, baby items, etc. 
  *extra tip: ALWAYS check to see if there are coupons in the papers that you buy. I have made this mistake a couple of times and bought papers with NO coupons in them. Either because there were no coupons that week or some selfish person stole the coupons without paying for the paper.

There are many other ways to get coupons as well. Publix has coupons in their stores (they also have free quarterly magazines that you can sign up for that have coupons in them). There are always coupons online at company websites and also at coupons.com . There are coupons on certain items at the store AKA "Peelies". There are the coupons on the shelf at the store AKA "blinkies". If you shop at Kroger there are coupons that can be downloaded on to your Kroger card and when you scan your card the savings come off automatically. 

2. I cut out every coupon. Since I buy four papers every week I usually group each like page together and cut all four of the same coupons at the same time. Then I paper clip them together until I get ready to organize them. (If you chose this method, I would recommend buying about 3 boxes of paper clips). 

3. Just because I cut every coupon, doesn't mean that I use every coupon. I cut every coupon because I don't want to accidentally throw away a coupon I might want later. I usually throw away coupons for items like Depends, etc. But there are online people that may want to trade coupons for depends for coupons for salad dressing. If you don't have kids, there are TONS of people that do and may want to trade or buy those coupons from you.

4. I store and organize my coupons in a binder. There are several ways to store and organize your coupons. Just chose the method that works best for you. 

There is the binder method. This binder is from TangledRibbonParties on Etsy. This method uses baseball card holders and a binder (I use a zip up binder so the coupons don't fall out) and page dividers with tabs. That way you can organize your coupons by category to find easier. 

This is a pocket organizer. This organizer is from allwrappedupandmore on Etsy. It has tabs to organize coupons too. (I use the binder for all of my coupons and this for coupons I want to use in the near future). 

This the accordion folder method. Some people chose to not cut there coupons until they decide to shop. Some blogs will tell you exactly what insert a coupon is in and what date they were in the paper. Personally, I don't like this method for a couple reasons. I like to have my coupons already cut and ready when I want to use them. The coupons might be a little easier to find but they will still need to be cut eventually. I also feel that it gets messy once you cut a certain amount coupons. 

5. It's okay to be brand loyal to somethings. We only use Tide to wash our clothes. There are tons of other laundry detergent coupons I just chose not to use them because I prefer Tide. Some people buy the cheapest deal and don't care what brand it is. I'm like that with somethings. Hot sauce, toilet paper, peanut butter, etc. But if a product that I LOVE is on a great sale I will buy as many items as I have coupons. 

6. I don't buy things that I don't need UNLESS, it's FREE or there is overage. Why do I buy things that are free if I don't use them? Well, I could donate it to a food bank or to the church, etc. I used all kinds of things I couponed last year to give to my church to give to the families we support for Christmas.  

7. Know your grocery stores coupon policy. It varies from store to store. My store of choice is Publix. Every week they have BOGO (Buy one Get one) sales. Which means those items are already 50% off and then I stack a coupon on top of the sale that means I am saving TONS! The next store that I like is Kroger. I tend to keep to these two stores because I know their policies and I like them. You can coupon at a TON of places but it can get complicated and hard to keep up with. Both of these stores I shop at double coupons that are 50 cents or less. So a 50 cent coupon is actually $1.00 off! Where as a 55 cent coupon is only 55 cents off. You can also stack coupons on top of each other. I can use a Publix store coupon and a Manufacture's coupon on the same item. That MORE savings. 

Here is an example. Publix had Advil on sale for $4.49. I had a Publix store coupon that was for $5 off 2. Then I had a manufactures coupons that was for $2 off 1. I used 1 store coupon and 2 manufactures coupons (5+2+2=9). I got two bottles of Advil for FREE! (I did actually did the deal 3 times and got 6 bottles for FREE). 

Beginning couponing takes time. You won't be perfect every time. Just keep practicing. It will take time to build a coupon base (several weeks will go by until you have several weeks worth of coupons). The longer you do it the easier it will get. You will get into a habit, you will keep learning, and it is a lot of fun when you get used to it. It's awesome to see how much you saved at the bottom of your receipt.

I will post again later and walk you through a couponing trip I did a couple weeks ago. Good luck. Go ahead and get clipping. :)

Birthday Baking

So a couple weeks ago was my birthday. I LOVE my birthday. It's the time of year that I feel like I can do almost anything I want and it be ok. :) Since I am getting a little older I don't really have birthday parties (sad I know) and no party means no cake, right? I don't think so. That means I have to make my own cake. However, this year I decided to give making 'cake pops' a try. Here's how it went:

First, the ingredients are super simple. Cake mix, icing, almond bark chocolate. (The great thing about these cake pops is that you can use any mixture that you want. I started out simple. White cake mix, vanilla icing, and white chocolate. But I think it would be awesome to make a strawberry cake pop or carrot cake pops or even german chocolate cake pops. YUM!)

Next I decided that I wanted to make the cake bright colors so I divided the batter and dyed the batter blue and yellow. :)

After baking the colors stayed pretty good! I didn't take a picture but I crumbled the cake with my hands and mixed in the icing. Then I rolled the batter into balls, dipped a stick in white chocolate and stuck it in the cake ball.

I cooled the pops in the refridgerator/freezer.

 Now it's time to be dipped in white chocolate!

After I dipped them in white chocolate, I sprinkled colorful sprinkles all over them and then stuck the stick end in styrofoam to dry. Aren't they pretty?

Then I put them in individual bags and tied curling ribbon around the bottom to keep them fresh.

Yummy and Pretty!

As for my birthday celebration, Zack and I took a weekend trip to Atlanta. Both of my favorite MLB teams (Braves and Phillies) were playing each other on my birthday (which happened to fall on a saturday this year) so we went to the game. Then to our surprise it was civil rights weekend in ATL so Ludacris performed a free (included) concert after the game. So cool! It was such a fantastic weekend. Zack and I got some good quality time in and we just had a relaxing weekend in the ATL. :)

The Start of My Jar Collection

So I want to start reusing my jars for different things around the house. And I have to perfect jar for the start of this project!

First I bought a jar candle about 6 weeks ago and have been burning it for about that long. It finally started to dwindle and I decided that I really wanted to reuse the jar (it has an awesome lid). So I lit the rest of the wick this afternoon to melt the rest of the wax.

 I dumped the wax and washed the jar.

And NOW I keep it on top of my microwave and use it to keep my granola/Larabars handy. :)

How cute is that?!? I LOVE IT. :)

Hopefully there are more fun jars to come.