2020

 I feel like all that I have seen on social media these last few days are people talking about how 2020 was the worst year ever, and while I understand that it was pretty much a trash year on a global scale, I don't think I could even put it in my top three of worst years I've lived through yet (the year my mom died, the year I was raped, and the year after I was raped would all top this mess).

For me, this year brought challenges, but it also brought so much good. While a lot of people that I know were out of work for an extended period of time, I was able to keep on working - and pull overtime many weeks throughout the Spring and Summer. My husband got promoted, so our household income increased a decent bit. Our dogs had a puppy... and then five more puppies when COVID canceled our boy's neuter surgery, and while I shouldn't have let it happen, we kept the first puppy and two from the litter of five and found good homes for the other three, and they are such a joy in our lives. My husband and I were able to start saving money and working toward some goals that we have. I was able to get my anxiety issues mostly under control - or at least, more under control than they had been in years.

I almost feel guilty that we had a decent year. I missed hanging out with my family, and can't wait until this whole COVID mess is over so that we can go sit at the bar with my brother on $5 pizza night, or finally get to do a trivia night at the bar... but otherwise? Our year was full of growth, and I am grateful. Hoping that this year brings us more good in our personal lives, because I have some big plans for 2022...

Thirty-seven

I turned thirty-seven yesterday, and while I am not thrilled about the fact that I am now in my late thirties, it was a pretty decent day. This year has been filled with ups and downs - for most people, I realize - and I am really hoping that things are much farther along by the time I hit thirty-eight next year. I don't want to talk too extensively about my plans, but things are in motion for a better future, and for that I am grateful for sure. 

Here are a few pictures of my birthday week - a balloon (there was also cake) at work on Tuesday since we would be off for the actual holiday (yes, my birthday was an amazing excuse to have the entire store off... we will pretend it had nothing to do with Thanksgiving), chocolate-covered unicorn-shaped rice krispie treats from a lovely co-worker, the best cheesecake in the world from my husband (he also got me the new World of Warcraft expansion, and my brother sent me about twenty battle pets in-game as a birthday gift), and the most adorable hoodie from my other brother and sister-in-law.

Amazon Ad: Halloween Board Books for babies!

I just wanted to share these awesome deals I found on Amazon this morning! Prices are subject to change, and availability may be limited on some titles. If you have a baby, know someone who does, or know someone who is having a baby soon, these Halloween themed board books are just precious, and are at amazing sale prices! At these prices, grab a few and put them away for your littlest trick-or-treaters next year! #affiliatead

• 
  The Legend of the Great Pumpkin (Peanuts) Linus loves one thing more than his cherished blue blanket: The Great Pumpkin! He believes that on Halloween night the Great Pumpkin will rise out of the pumpkin patch to bring presents to all the kids in the world. Will Linus and his friends ever finally see him? Learn all about the legend of the Great Pumpkin in this adorable board book based on the classic Peanuts comic strips!
• Room on the Broom This rollicking, rhyming tale from master storyteller Julia Donaldson is the perfect Halloween read-aloud for the youngest listeners. A friendly witch, hungry dragon, and muddy monster learn about friendship, and readers will delight in the surprising (and not too scary) ending.
• The Itsy Bitsy Pumpkin This gently spooky twist on “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” makes a favorite nursery rhyme just perfect for Halloween! A little pumpkin is trying to find his way back home! And with a little help from a friendly witch, he is soon safe and sound, back on his porch—where there are no spiders to be seen! Little ones will love this fresh fall spin on a classic nursery rhyme!
• Mercy Watson: Princess in Disguise When the Watsons decide to zip their porcine wonder into a formfitting princess dress for Halloween — complete with tiara — they are certain that Mercy will be beautiful beyond compare. Mercy is equally certain she likes the sound of trick-or-treating and can picture piles of buttered toast already. As for the Lincoln Sisters next door, how could they know that their cat would lead them all on a Halloween "parade" of hysterical proportions? Kate DiCamillo’s beguiling pig is back in a tale full of treats, tricky turns, hijinks, and high humor.
• Clifford's Halloween Emily Elizabeth and Clifford are ready for the spookiest day of the year! They make the most of their Halloween: bobbing for apples, listening to ghost stories, and trick-or-treating. But when it's time to dress up, there are too many costumes to choose from! Zebra, Witch, Knight--what should Clifford be?
  
• Happy Halloween, Biscuit Biscuit and the little girl are going trick-or-treating on his first Halloween. What kinds of silly surprises are in store for them? Pull back the flaps to find out!
• Little Friends: Trick or Treat: A Lift-the-flap book Toddlers will love to join favorite Little Friends characters on Halloween night with this fun lift-the-flap book. There is plenty to explore and enjoy as Cuddly Kitten and her best friends get dressed up, find candy in the garden, and visit the Halloween fairground. This sturdy board book has large flaps which are easy for little hands to lift, as well as two gatefolds to reveal hidden surprises, making this a real interactive treat. Trick or Treat is the latest title in the popular Little Friends series from Priddy Books, following on from the best selling Home Sweet Home, which has sold over 100,000 copies to date.
• Chunky Pack: Halloween Boo! Get ready for Halloween with this collection of three, 12-page spooky board books. Inside Ha-Ha!, Boo!, and Meow!, there are pictures of a ghost and a spider, a frog and skull, and other creepy Halloween creatures and things. With fun shaped front covers, this chunky book pack is the perfect gift for a spine-tingling Halloween.
• Bizzy Bear: Spooky House The ever-intrepid Bizzy Bear is visiting a super-spooky Halloween house. As he climbs the rickety stairs and walks the cobwebby corridors, all sorts of creepy characters appear from doors and hidey-holes. Bizzy remains undaunted — but where could he be going and what will he find there? Bizzy’s latest adventure makes for a splendidly seasonal new addition to this popular series, which has sold more than a million copies worldwide.
• Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest It's Halloween! Curious George and his friends take turns surprising each other with a good “BOO!” Whether leaping out of crunchy leaf piles, surprising friends in silly costumes, or jumping out in the pumpkin patch, George discovers that shouting “BOO!” is one of the best parts of a spooky and fun-filled Halloween. This sturdy board book inspired by PBS's Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest special also includes a mirror on the last page for young readers to practice their best "boo" face!

If you grab any, let me know which ones you picked! I may or may not have just started an entire little library for my best friend's soon-to-be-born twins!

How to maximize your twenty-five percent off shopping trip

This post is specifically for fellow Wal-Mart associates across the country. I wanted to write a little guide on how I make the most of my "extra 15% off" voucher that we are given every year around the holidays if we work Thanksgiving (or in this year's case, if we work the event weekends). Every year, I hear a lot of associates say that they don't have the money to spend much that day, or that they can't think of anything that they need or want. I wanted to share how I maximize the value of mine - and how I've converted my husband to thinking about it in a similar way!

For the most part, I do a stock-up sale on toiletries and other necessary household items, because... why not get them cheaper and not have to worry about buying them throughout the year?

Step one: Start saving money now! Okay, so it's a little bit late for the 2020 shopping day, which happens in about three weeks, but this is going to focus more on next year, and subsequent years after that. I understand that times get tough, and I definitely was living paycheck-to-paycheck for years until I recently had some good things happen in my life. I get it completely! Can you afford to put away ten dollars a paycheck, though? Just ten dollars, either in a safe place at home, or preferably in a savings account that you don't let yourself touch. If your store has a Woodforest Bank inside, this might be the time to pay them a visit and discuss your options with them. I personally prefer the savings account option so that I'm not tempted to touch the cash sitting in my sock drawer. Plus, it might even accrue a small amount of interest - interest will be minimal at best, but hey - it's still more than it would be sitting in your sock drawer!

Here is a quick guide to how much money you can set aside in one year (26 paychecks), using a few different savings amounts.

 $10 per paycheck = $260

$20 per paycheck = $520

$50 per paycheck = $1300

Step two: COUPON! Okay, I am going to sound like an extreme couponer, but I am telling you - it is amazing! There is NO SHAME in saving some money. Personally, I am not remotely organized, nor do I ever think to grab a Sunday paper, so I use a website to order coupons. I am sure that there are other sites, but a friend of mine recommended Klip2Save a couple of years ago, so they have been my go-to. The coupons do each cost a few cents - about 15% of their face value - but it still saves a ton of money. For instance, as I am writing this, there is a coupon available for $1 off any size Nutella, and each coupon costs 15 cents. You can select how many of each coupon you want, and they will ship them to you. Basic shipping is $1 if you use that site. I think I spent about $8 total for my current stack of coupons, but they will save me something like $50 off of my shopping trip. Be mindful of expiration dates when looking for coupons. Also, there are some companies that will send you coupons if you ask! Have a baby? Similac sends out coupons all of the time! I wrote to Purina three years ago, and they sent me a coupon for a free large bag of dog food, and free case of canned cat food - the kinds I told them I use. Reminder: Your discount comes off of the pre-coupon price of the item!

Step three: Use ibotta! If you aren't familiar, ibotta is an app that gives you cash back on things that you buy. Sometimes, there are amazing deals that when you use them, make the item completely free. This can also be STACKED with coupons, so if you happen to find an item on ibotta that you also happen to have a coupon for? Extra money off! I just downloaded it yesterday personally, and did a shopping trip just to see what I could save. I spent right around $120 out of pocket (after my 10% Walmart discount), and earned over $47 in cash back already. They even have some deals that are "get fifty cents back for scanning any receipt," or "get twenty five cents back for buying any shredded cheese." Others are more specific - I had to buy a specific size of country crock spread yesterday, for example, but there are definitely some much more loosely worded savings. There's even a way in the app to scan an item and see if it qualifies for the deal, to ensure that you're going to get your cash back!

Step four: Get organized, and make a list. I prefer pen and paper, but a list on your phone/tablet could also work. Write out what you're buying, with notes about whether you have coupons or not, whether there is an ibotta cash back deal, etc. Be as specific as you need to be in your list. Don't just write "cereal," if your coupon is for a certain size and brand. I personally write my list in the order that things will appear in the store - pet things together, dry grocery together (and as close to "by aisle" as I can), dairy together, etc. This makes for a much more seamless shopping trip for me. It also makes it easier to divide and conquer if you have a spouse or another person who can come with you and help pick up your items. 

Here are some things that I tend to get amazing deals on:

• Deodorant. There tend to be awesome coupons for as much as $1.50 off on brands that only cost around $2.00 to begin with. One year, my husband and I each got 12 deodorants and paid only a few cents out of pocket after our discount and coupon.
• Shampoo/conditioner. I see a lot of coupons for these! Stack them with your discount for amazing deals.
• Feminine hygiene products! Ladies, we all know how annoyingly expensive these are. This year, I snagged a few coupons for $3 off when you buy 2 packs of Kotex tampons, any size. My store has them for $3.84 for a box of 16. After the 25% off, two boxes would be $5.76. Take my $3 coupon off, and I'll be paying $2.76 for two boxes, which works out to $1.38 for a box of 16 tampons.
• Toothpaste and toothbrushes. More items that usually have coupons, and even if you can't find some, why not get a few extra tubes with that stacked discount?
• Pet food and treats! I mentioned in the coupon section that Purina sent me coupons once for a free bag of dog food, and free case of canned cat food. Because the discount comes off BEFORE the coupons, and the coupon then takes off the full price of the product, I actually got more money off than the pet food cost. Of course, Walmart won't give you cash back, but it will go toward your other items.
• I personally haven't had to buy them, but there tend to be good coupons for baby diapers, plus you can sign up for coupons through Similac if you're formula feeding.
• General groceries. I try not to go too crazy buying food as I don't personally have a huge kitchen or much storage, but there are cereal coupons regularly, as well as coffee, tea, pastas, lots of other good staples!

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments, and I will answer as well as I can! Happy shopping, everyone!

hello, dear blog

Oh how I've missed you, little blog!

I can't pinpoint why I have been absent, really... life has been hectic between work, home, and my new little side gig (here: Pawsitively in Stitches). I already went through and made a handful of updates on some of my sub-pages, but need to update more. It's amazing how different my pages about the cats and dogs will be now. I have three cats and two dogs who aren't listed on the pages yet, have sadly lost three of the cats that were on there (I added death dates to their little bios because I couldn't bare to delete them completely). I even had two more cats in the meantime who have both since passed. 

I know I say it every time I disappear and come back... but I really do plan on coming back and staying a while again. I miss my free therapy of writing. I miss connecting with other people in this format. I just miss words.

To make you smile, enjoy some semi-recent pictures of the dogs, including our two "new" additions - Spencer the Canaan dog and Abby the Shih Tzu mix.

recently

It's been over a month since I have written anything here, and you would think that meant that I was working hard on the other writing venture I had going on - but alas, my mind has been pretty broken when it comes to writing lately. Shortly after I wrote my last entry here, I got sick - nothing major, just a really rotten cold, where I felt downright miserable for about two weeks. I lost my voice for a bit of the time - something I don't remember ever happening to me before - and I just felt downright awful. I had no spark of imagination whatsoever during this period, and somehow haven't managed to get it back since. I've gone through a month and a half or so of feeling like I am doing nothing more than existing - even though work has been busy, and has brought on new challenges - I just feel like I have been drifting through life, and I really need to change that.

Admittedly, my life is pretty dull right now - the only thing going on really is that I am taking vacation in late September. Tori and I - and hopefully Heather as well - are planning a trip to New England, mostly centering around Salem, Massachusetts. I have been working loads of overtime at work and am excited that I will be able to really enjoy my vacation time and not worry about money while I am there!

Oh, and I adopted a puppy last month! I say puppy loosely - he was born in December, so he was about seven months when I got him, but he dwarfs all of my dogs, so it's hard to look at him as a puppy. He's a Canaan Dog mix, rescued from Jordan, originally from Iran. He's smart, but gosh does he like playing with cats, and gosh is he rambunctious. The older dogs aren't sure how to take him, and the cats are really not sure how to take him - but he's getting better and more adjusted. I just wish I had a huge fenced in yard to let him burn off more of that energy in - but I really think he will be a nice dog when he calms down and loses that crazy puppy energy!

ventures

I feel like I have been absent from this space for such a long time - when in reality, it's been about a week. Life has been good - I have changed positions at work, and feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. There is still the desire to do a good job, to work hard, to be the best that I can be (and this time there is a team depending on me to do my part), but it's less nonsense than I dealt with before, and I really feel like I made the best decision for myself, at the best time possible. The schedule is slightly earlier (I am working 6AM-3PM this week, as opposed to the 7AM-4PM I have been on for the last year or so, but my regular schedule will be 5AM-2PM). Time is absolutely flying by at work, partly because I get out so early, I'm sure, and partly because of the less-stress.

My home life lately has consisted of inter-mixing all of my cats, and ending the quarantine of the vaccinated cat, so she can enjoy time in the entire house rather than being stuck in my room for the rest of her life. Other than some occasional hissing and head-whacking on all sides, the transition has been fairly smooth and uneventful. It has also been interesting because I decided to sleep with my bedroom door open at this point, to let all of the cats come and go as they please, to see who ends up in bed with me at night. It's always the three dogs, but now my fluffy girl Stella is usually in bed, as is Harlow. I forgot how much those two loved to be close to me, and feel like I have been a bad pet parent since I have been quarantining certain ones (before Zelda came along, Gabby and Stella were stuck in the bathroom with us with their upper respiratory infections - this is our first non-quarantine period in months!). Now, everyone is getting a lot more attention, and I feel less guilty about spending time with certain ones who needed it (because they were sick, or were babies).

As far as my absence on here is concerned... I have still been writing, just working on a different project. I need to be better about blogging, still, but I have had words pouring out of me for something else I have always wanted to do - a thirty-ish year dream that I am finally putting into action (here goes nothing!).

Wish me luck! On the new job, the pets all getting along, the writing venture...