Finally! We're in our new home!

     It was a long struggle to get this house, and it was definitely a stressful 4 weeks working on getting to the closing, but now we're here, and I couldn't be happier.  For those who don't know, we've been trying to purchase a home again for a few years now but had to wait, save, and watch the market. We didn't want to rush into the wrong house. We didn't want to jump in too early when we couldn't really afford it yet. The time was finally right, and with God helping things come together for us, we're in.

     Let me walk you through the house. From the outside, it's a typical, single-story home. It's in a nice neighborhood, on a quiet cul-de-sac, with great neighbors, and we're one street over from a golf course (and homes selling for 2 and 3 times what we paid). Our back yard does abut a busy street, but there's an 8 foot wall and with double-pane windows, you don't hear it from inside the house. With windows open, it becomes white noise. The front of the house has a nice lawn I hope I don't kill. I have trouble keeping anything green alive. There's a driveway on both sides of the house for plenty of parking, plus a garage. We have a small porch that provides a little sitting area under our front window. There's an area on either side of the front door for plants. Jordan will put herbs on one side and flowers on the other.  She's great with growing plants.

     When you walk in the front door, the dusty rose tiled floor goes from the door to the hallway, where it takes a right and goes past the bedrooms. On your left, is a sunken living room. It's got light brown carpeting in it that we'll probably replace at some point. The walls are white, but we plan on painting accent walls in this house. The living room will be a light gray.

     If you walk to the hallway and take the right, there's a linen closet, the kids' bathroom, our room with it's walk-in closet, en suite bathroom, and sliders to the back yard. Across the hall is Logan's room and Jordan's room, both with views to the front. Her room has wainscoting covering the bottom half of her walls and a laminate floor, Logan's is carpeted.

     Back out by the living room, if you take a right, you find yourself in our "middle room". It's an odd room. It has a brick fireplace (that I plan on repainting white), and it's carpeted. It's a cozy room, but because of an addition they built (bringing the home from 1500 sf to 2300), and having an open concept kitchen, it's an odd. For now it's our dining room, but it may become a sitting area when we get a square pub table for the kitchen.

     The kitchen has laminate flooring and it's got oak cabinets with (outdated but decent) green marble looking laminate countertops trimmed in light wood. During the expansion, they split the kitchen in two parts because they had to keep the load bearing wall in place - or at least part of it. On one side of the wall is the fridge, cabinets, and stove. On the other side, there's an island built around it plus an additional back wall counter with a few more lower cabinets. Also on the island is the double porcelain sink, under-counter storage, a few drawers, and our dishwasher. There's room for 3 to eat comfortably at the island, it's actually pretty big. It's an odd layout, but it makes it easier for multiple people to be doing different things in the kitchen without bumping into each other. It sort of works.  Off the kitchen is the large pantry, and the laundry room that continues out to the garage. The kitchen addition has a bright window and a door to the back yard and one of the two patio areas.

     Off the kitchen, there's a 4th bedroom that's been converted to a craft room. It's all white. It has a counter that runs almost the entire length of the right side, there's built in cabinets on both sides for plenty of storage, and a door that goes out to the second, smaller patio area shared by the master bedroom. There's also a skylight in that room that makes it so bright during the day, I still find myself trying to shut off the light when it's not on.

     The last room, in the back corner of the house, is a 5th bedroom. This is the largest bedroom but not the master since it has no private bathroom. It's just shy of 12' by 18' long. That's Adam's "bachelor pad" room (since he's paying actual rent now). He has it broken into several areas:  his sleeping space, his sitting area, his guitars & amps, and a built in desk with overhead shelves for working on his computer or using his recording equipment. He's also got a large closet with plenty of extra space. By his bed, there's a bay window that's made up of 3 windows and a window seat with lots of storage inside it.

     The back yard has a curvy lawn, bordered by small rocks and plants that don't require much water. There's also a huge orange tree with really sweet oranges on it. It was covered when we were here for the inspection, but the owners took them before closing. They left about a dozen or so that we've had already, and now the tree is covered in blossoms making the back yard smell amazing.

   So that's it in a nutshell. I plan on taking more pictures and posting them soon. I tried to take some over the weekend, but others weren't cooperating and kept messing up the areas I wanted to photograph. Hopefully that'll be done in the next day or two.

   

Living Intentionally

     This year, I'm going to try to live intentionally. That means no more letting the days pass by, then later wondering where the time went. I'm going to try to make every day count for something, even if it's just a small thing.

     January's focus was on getting out of our rental situation and buy our own house again. In the almost 23 years we've been married, we've only rented for the past 3 yrs. and you know what? We're not cut out to be renters. I like to hang things on the walls. I want to add color to them too. I want to be able to hang curtains without needing the approval of other people. We found a great home that we're hoping to buy before the end of February. Paperwork is mostly done, we're already pre-approved, the inspection came back fine, and now we're just waiting for the appraisal to take place and come back at the right number, which it should.

     In February, I'm going to be focusing on writing and interpersonal relationships. I have a bible study I've wanted to publish for a long time, but only about 1/3 is on paper, the rest is in my head or needs some additional research. I actually got to teach it about 7 years ago to 50 women. It works, but to be duplicatable and sell-able, it has to be just as good, in a book, without me there. I want it so anyone can pick it up and run with it, even if they haven't ever read or studied the subject in the past.

     I'm working in February on relationships - perfect for Valentine's Day, right? I want to make the effort to call my friends and family, have lunch with people I enjoy spending time with, and figure out who will be the first few people to invite over to the new house for dinner. Part of this involves being a good listener, remembering their truth may be different than mine, but that's okay. I also am continuing to work at being a non-reactionary person. I'm there 99% of the time.  I just have to get that extra 1% so I can be like that all the time.

     The boys are now grown. They'll be 21 and 19 in just a little over a week. Can you believe it? Even though I spent every day with them because we homeschooled, the time went by too fast. I can't imagine how fast it must seem for those Moms who have to (or choose to) work and send them to school. I would've lost so much more time with them. I only have another year with my daughter after this school year. Then I won't be their teacher anymore. It's been who I am and what I knew was my destiny for so long. It's a bit scary wondering what life has in store for me next - so I'm choosing the answer to that, intentionally.

     To celebrate the boys' birthdays, and our 23rd anniversary, we're doing a cruise with the boys. Just a few days out of Los Angeles, hitting Catalina Island, and Ensenada, Mexico. It's the trip Tim and I did last year but the boys wanted to do it too. It was fun before, so we'll do it again. It's not that expensive and we already know our way around the boat. We don't go until May when it's warm. My daughter didn't want to go on a boat in case she hates it or gets seasick, and she's not an outdoor type of person anyway.   She'll go to Boston & NH with me this summer for her birthday. We're going to get to meet my new niece and watch a Red Sox game with my 93 year old grandmother who loves baseball. We're SO looking forward to it.

     Tim will get to vacation in August when he heads back to New England for a Guy Cousins' week long trip with hunting, fishing, camping, water toys, etc. It'll be great for him to reconnect with his guy cousins for stuff like that. I'm really happy for him to get the chance to do it.

     So as you can see, we've got quite a bit planned for this year - BECAUSE I want to live it intentionally. What will you do this year?

Happy New Year!

2015...finally!  I'm glad 2014 is over, I had some serious challenges to deal with this spring, and health issues this fall, but it did have some really good moments:

• Trip to Vegas and the Hoover Dam with Tim, Adam, and Jordan.
• Jordan went to a mini comicon event for the first time in downtown Mesa (Adam too).
• I went to a Disciple concert and got to stand AT the front of the stage.
• Logan graduated high school.
• Tim and I got to go on our first real vacation alone: Long Beach, a cruise to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico, and the San Diego Zoo.
• We went to a few Arizona D'backs games at Chase Field.
• Jordan went to her first real ComiCon with her friend, Ari.
• Jordan and I went to the D'backs v Miami game where she got to see Saltalamacchia 
• catch (former Red Sox).
• Although we had to say goodbye to Furlough, we got to enjoy her for the first half of the year.
• Jordan and I discovered Arizona Fall League baseball and our team, the Salt River Rafters won the championship.
• We met a lot of new friends this year, like Christine, Lee, Faye, and Adrienne.
• We went to the D'backs Nation Annual Christmas Party and got to meet other great fans.
• We got to enjoy listening to Ian Eric play live a few times, and got to make friends with Aaron Howard just as he released his new album. 
• Logan started seeing Maria.
• Logan had the opportunity to work at 2 jobs this year - though he'll cut back to 1 in Feb.
• Tim got raise after raise and is at the top end of his pay scale and consistently comes in at the top % of his company's drivers. 
• Our church had the opportunity to merge with Scottsdale Bible Church to create a small venue with the resources of a mega church...and our campus pastor is a Scot! 
• Adam made Thanksgiving Dinner for everyone, including planning the menu, listing the ingredients needed, paying for it all, and cooking it by himself. It was a quiet, candlelight dinner.
• Jordan took over Christmas for me this year. She decorated, cleaned, planned, cooked, did days of baking, washed loads and loads of dishes, shopped with me, wrapped gifts, and handled putting it all away for me.
• My new niece, Ariella Eve, was born 5 weeks early but she's healthy, beautiful, and doing great! 
• Tim got to take a week's vacation at the end of the year so he was here all through Christmas week.

I wonder what 2015 will hold? I'm ready to see all that will happen in this new year, but before I step into it with both feet, I plan on taking today - New Year's Day - to be thankful for all the blessings we already received in 2015.

What happened in your 2014 to be thankful for?

My take on the new WinCo Foods store in Gilbert

WinCo Foods is a grocery chain that's fairly new to Arizona. They're a little different from some of the other stores here, but I'll get into that in a minute. They're in 8 states so far, WA, OR, CA, AZ, NV, ID, UT, & TX. Picture a larger, open store, like a Sam's club or on the east coast, a BJ's Wholesale Club - but you don't have to buy in bulk.  Here's a little info. in case you live near one and have never been there.

The store is open 24 hours. That makes it convenient for shoppers, as well as people trying to pick up a second job during odd hours. It's great for those early morning or late night forgotten items. Fortunately, this one was built literally one parking lot over from where we are, VERY convenient.

They gave me a store map when I entered, but you can download your own local WinCo store's map on their website, www.wincofoods.com. They also have another app called aisle411. It's like a GPS to locate any item in the store for you on your smartphone. Technology really has come a long way, huh?

It's also "employee owned". The employees own stock in the company, so they have a real interest in having it succeed. They also pay well above minimum wage, so you get better employees to deal with as a shopper. Why would a cashier making $12 an hour get fired if they'd only make $8 or so doing the same job somewhere else? Wouldn't it make sense to just do your job well and keep it?

They have a huge bulk item section. Not like a 10 lb. jar of paprika like a warehouse club. They have bulk bins with over 800 items! That's a lot. Everything from spices, to nuts, candy, cereals, grains, flours, sugars, dried beans, soup mixes, etc. If you plan on buying a lot of something from a bin, you can ask an employee if that item "qualifies" for the 5% discount. If it does, you place an order for it.  When it comes in you will save 5% by ordering it by the case, or bag, or however it comes before they open it to dump it in the bins. It's not an advertised 5% off deal, you have to order it and wait for it to come in, and you won't know what items qualify for it until you ask someone, but it's there for you if you can use or if you need a lot of something.

They have cashiers to ring your order up, and take coupons, and make sure your debit card goes through, or you get your change back if paying with cash. The catch is they don't take credit cards. If they did, they'd be passing on a 4% or more charge hidden into the cost of everything in the store. Also, once the cashier puts your stuff down the conveyor belt, you bag your own groceries with the bags they provide. It seems strange, but I find myself, or Tim when he's home, bagging a few things in all the grocery stores from time to time when they're shorthanded, without baggers, or too busy to keep up. It's not a big deal.

They call themselves the Low Price Supermarket Leader. My experience today is that they are competitive with the least expensive grocery stores nearby, UNLESS that store has it on sale. The WinCo regular prices are less than the stores' regular prices, but to find items cheaper than the sale price in the weekly flyers is difficult. If you shop for everything at one store for pure convenience, this is a great alternative. If you shop in a few different stores to catch the sale items & loss leader items, than I'd suggest you keep doing that - but all the NON-SALE items on your list may be cheaper at WinCo. Some items do have the top few stores price for the week listed on a sign for you to compare but not everything.

Coupons...this is a toss up. They do take them, but only at face value. Since 3 stores around here (plus WalMart & Target) only give you face value, and I'm down to just 1 store that offers to make all coupons worth $1 (if less than $1 face value), I guess that's okay/expected. I found that in a few cases, the prices were low enough that buying 2 items at the WinCo price plus a .40 when you buy 2 coupon were actually cheaper than paying more at another store and making the coupon worth $1 on 2. They also offer coupons on their website you can print out at home and bring with you (no loyalty card to download to). They're the same stuff on www.coupons.com.  WinCo offers no gas rewards, no sports team points to trade for merchandise. Just straightforward lower prices across the board. They have no weekly ad to tell you what sales there are. You just have to find out when you get there, or share the info. with your friends after your own trip there. (They also use the ibotta app for savings although I don't use it myself. I understand you do things like watch ads for products or something and they reward your effort with a coupon or give you money off certain items - or something like that.)

Sales: They do have some stuff on sale. You can find them because they're labeled with a green "wow" tag on the shelf that also reads "extra savings". They say on their website they never make you buy in multiples to get the savings. No more making sure you have items in 4's, or 5's, or 8's, or 10's to get that price. That's one less thing to throw off my grocery list. Nothing like having your list planned in groups of 8's to find they're out of 1 item and now you need to find 2 or 3 new things that are part of the deal or you lose the savings on the rest.  Much easier. (FYI: The yellow signs are their everyday low prices. Not sale prices.) The bulk items also have green labels to let you know that the price is a sale price, and only lasts for a limited time.

Finally, they run their website easier than most other stores. It says you can build a grocery list on it, no need to make an account; just bookmark it and it'll remember you. Not sure if I like that it "tracks you" like that, but it beats logging in every time.

Overall, it was a good experience. The employees were very happy, friendly, enthusiastic about the company, and helpful. The prices were low enough that they'll probably be my store where I start with my list. Anything I can get cheaper there will come off my list from the other stores. This way I'll either come in on budget, a little less than budget, or else I'll find a brand or item my other stores don't carry but I've wanted to try (usually I hear about new products by getting coupons for it). If you haven't been to your local WinCo, it's worth a look, and I hear the next one in my area will be opening in Chandler.

Baseball

This is a weird time of year to live in Arizona. Facebook friends and family aren't all back in school yet, they consider it fall already, their days are too cold for swimming and their nights are getting chilly.

Here, the kids have been in school for 3 to 4 weeks. Our weekend forecast is around 109 degrees still. Our nights are in the 90s and somewhat humid due to it being "monsoon season". It's still too hot to really enjoy outdoor activities and sports (maybe by late September?), but we're too busy with school now to have time to swim, and when we do, the pool feels like a hot tub, not very refreshing.

So what's it like here? We're finishing up our 3rd week of school with Jordan. She's in 11th grade, but it may be her last year if we can get her into the Culinary Arts program as a senior next year at the local community college. It's almost the end of baseball season, not sure how the two of us will handle that. We've been sad (losing Parra and Prado, plus all the injuries), got angry (bad rules and calls made this year), and celebrated (we beat the top teams?!) with the Arizona Diamondbacks, or "Dbacks" from late March until now. I know if  you aren't into sports, you think, "so what?" Here's why it's important to us:

1.  This was Jordan's 1st year getting into baseball. She watched the playoffs last year and fell in love with the game, the Detroit Tigers, and of course, the Boston Red Sox. This year, we were given free tickets to Chase Field to watch the D'backs. That was all it took. She fell in love with the team, the venue, and the game. I literally watched her come alive for the first time in years - and she continues to amaze me every day regarding her love for it.

2.  Baseball is something I love because I grew up watching it. I loved it during the late 70s when the Red Sox had Carl Yastrzemski, Fred Lynn, Jim Rice, Louis Tiant, Dennis Eckersly, and those guys. I knew the players by their faces, numbers and stats. I absorbed it all. I also love it because my Grandmother loves the Red Sox (and sports in general). When I watch a game, I feel closer to her, especially if I'm watching the Red Sox and know she is too.

3.  Jordan has always struggled with remembering facts and some has some math issues. For some reason, with baseball, that all disappears. She knows the players, the coaches, the venues, who's on other teams that we like, remembers who got hurt, how and when it happened, who got traded to what team, specific events of specific games, when we last played them, past scores, you name it. I've never seen her mind work like this before.

4.  Jordan also comes alive at Chase Field. Her face lights up, she's willing to do things she won't do anywhere else. She's more independent, more willing to speak to strangers if she has to, and she smiles more watching players succeed than any other time, and any other place.

5.  Talking baseball is something she and I have in common that's "just us". Growing up, I've always had special relationships with my boys that's still in place today. I can have discussions with they guys now about anything and everything, but since she's never had a boyfriend (nor wanted one), never had a job yet, never went away with a group, etc., she's been sort of left out of those type of conversations. Now we have something that's just for us to discuss that's special between us.

6.  2015...she's already looking forward to Spring Training, which moved from Tucson to just up the highway from us. She's looking forward to seeing our injured players return for next season. We even are in negotiations for a small season tickets type of package (but WAY less games and WAY less money with LOTS of extras) with someone at Chase Field. We're hoping to get to a few more games than we did this year. With the package, we'll get to do extra events to meet players, save on in-park items, trade/buy/sell tickets for profit, get all the freebies offered throughout the year, gain early entry to watch the home team's batting practice, and more. We hope we get the one we want for under the price we want to spend.

7.  I love the values displayed at our baseball games. We sing the national anthem, we sing God Bless America, we salute military, fire, and police at every game, we get involved in charities in our own community, we avoid the excessive drinking, drugs, and vulgarity that's so prevalent at say, football games. It's a great place to know we're not alone in holding to wholesome values in this turbulent time of situational ethics.

So as we enter September, it'll be a sad time for us because the season winds down, playoffs (which we're definitely NOT going to be in) will only take us into early to mid October. We'll start to pull out the pumpkin flavored and scented stuff, and readjust to enjoy our wonderful Arizona winter.

Reflective Moods are so Hard for Me

It's not easy being a "thinker". I have what I call Reflective Moods that seem to be coming more and more often these days. Maybe it's my age, maybe it's because the kids are no longer kids. They're 20, 18, and 16 now. Yes, they all still live at home, but it's not the same as when they were little and were fascinated by going just about anywhere together.

I see Facebook posts and people's blogs with so many pictures of those special little moments of and with their children and I think, "That was so long ago for us." Now my kids' days are filled with job schedules that have them working at 4 AM, 6 AM, until 11PM, sometimes until 2 AM. Free time is spent by them doing their own errands, trying to fit in music, live shows, modelling, friends, girlfriends, sewing costumes for Cos-Play events, etc. There's just not time left over for family stuff these days. Even if they did, Tim's always gone in the truck anyway.

What do I miss the most? I miss the baby moments, of course, but it's strange...in my mind, they were at different stages in their lives, and older ages when I picture capturing them at their best.

I miss catching Jordan napping in the afternoon in her little toddler bed, with painted tiny toenails sticking out from under her pink and white frilly baby blanket. The perfect bow of her lips, flawless skin, and curly long hair with streaks of light brown and blonde from playing outside in the sun. Her beauty has always been her innocence.

I miss Logan in his ripped little jeans with holes in the knees, stained T-shirts that he can't remember how they got that way, shoes worn completely through from playing so hard with the neighborhood kids, and his skin so tanned in the summer he looks Latino. His friendliness and eagerness for fun has always defined him.

I miss Adam, in his karate ghi, so serious as he learns his forms for the up-coming tournament, and the huge smile on his face as he poses for a picture holding a 1st Place trophy that's almost as big as he is. Adam has always been at his best as he challenges himself, then sees just how his hard work and self-discipline has paid off.

Now I have all new reasons to be proud of them, and who they've become, but all they really ever have to be is "them" to be special to me.

Stopping the Money $aving Tips for now.

Hi Everyone,
We started school back up today. With the full schedule of classes I'm teaching, plus the reading related to that, the 3 hours or more of videos to stay on top of, and 2 - 3 bible studies - not to mention my couponing - I won't be blogging for a while. Have a great rest of your summer.

Money $aving Tips: Dining out

This week's tips to save money while dining out:

1. Dine Mid-Week.  The slowest nights in the restaurant industry are traditionally Tuesday & Wednesday. Often you can find specials or deals on those nights, coupons for those specific nights, sometimes even a "kids eat free" offer. Many restaurants, especially buffets, charge the most for the same meal on the weekends.

2. Dine earlier in the day whenever possible. Many times you'll find if you dine first and go to a movie later, instead of the other way around, you can save quite a bit. Not only do most restaurants have lunch specials until 3 or 4 pm, but often restaurants offer specials before 6pm. If you don't have to go out after a typical 9 - 5 job, and can dine earlier, than go do whatever else you have plans to do, it will make the day a lot more affordable.

3. Dine at the bar. I wouldn't recommend this for special events or anything, but if it's just a couple of friends getting together and you can get away with some happy hour specials, appetizer specials, or a smaller "bar menu" instead of a plated, sit-down, 2-hour dinner, it's a great way to save.

4. Snack first. Many in the dieting crowd learned this secret long ago...snack before you leave. Even if it's just a tall glass of water and some veggie sticks, some fruit, or a small basic salad, you'll be less likely to feel the need to over-eat. You may be able to skip the appetizer, or you'll be too full for dessert (or you could just split one).

5. 2 for 1 deals...Lots of chains like Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and Chili's do 2 for 1 specials. You pay one price, you get 2 entrees and you share an appetizer for one price. That saves on your bill. Sometimes you can find a larger entree that is designed for 2 people to share too, like fajitas.

6.  Expensive drinks. If a family of 4 decides to order water with lemon instead of the usual Coke or Pepsi product, it can be a savings of $8 or more, which is then taxed, and you'll be paying a portion of the tip based on that too. Alcoholic drinks can be VERY pricey if you aren't careful. Recently I ordered a "half price happy hour margarita" and the half price was almost $8. Imagine if 2 people get 2 regular margaritas, not thinking they're much more than $7 or so, they would end up paying an extra $64 for just drinks, not even the food. Be aware of drink prices. Often the majority of the profit is in them.

7. Discounted gift cards. I noticed lately that some restaurants run specials where you can buy say a $100 gift card but pay just $80, or else, they'll include a second discount card for $10 - $25 for you. Grocery stores run deals through their eCoupons (loaded to your card) where you can buy a gift card and pay a reduced price plus earn anywhere from 2 to 8 times the dollar amount in gas reward points if they do that program already.

8. Coupons! I find coupons in the Sunday papers all the time, in my email box, and online. I've had 6 of us go to a healthy soup/salad buffet with a coupon, which the manager volunteered to apply to all 6 of us, and the savings was over $20 right off the bat. It was better than any Senior Discount or other program they have.

9. Groupon and other similar sites - I find great deals here and have used them for many different things from dining out to baseball tickets. Sometimes the deals are for a FREE item, like a dessert or appetizer. Other times it's a certificate to be used like a gift card, but it's at a 40% savings or more. Who wouldn't love to have a wonderful dining out experience at a higher end restaurant yet pay half what you normally would have spent?

10. Points/Rewards programs. I went to a pizza place to meet up with friends recently and they told me they had a loyalty program. I sign up for a free account/card, which took 2 minutes, and I received points on my card. I got home, went to the card's website and found out I can use and earn points at many different places in my area. They listed everything from frozen yogurt, to pizza, to hookah and vapor shops, to sub shops. The one I signed up for is called FiveStars. They're more popular in bigger cities like Phoenix, Houston, Boston, etc. Maybe you can find a local version for your area with a google search.

Weekly Money $aving Tip: Log it

Hi, I missed last week's tip, sorry about that, I was under the weather - but this one I'll post early for you.

This week's tip is to "Log It". For just 30 days, keep a small notebook with you, or use your phone's notepad and jot down every penny you spend. It's only for 30 days. You can go back at the end of the month, or do it at the end of every day, and assign a category for each transaction. Here's a few to help you get started:

Entertainment - this could be movie tickets, cover charge, out with friends, etc.
Food - this could be anything from your grocery store receipts to eating out to your drive-thru coffee.
Work - this could be dry cleaning for your work clothes, supplies needed to do your job, travel expenses you paid for, tips as you travel, taxis, etc.
Gas - all the gas you put into your vehicles.
Home - this could be repairs, paint, tools to fix something, linens, dishes, furniture, anything.
Auto - this could be anything you paid besides gas in the tank, like repairs, maintenance, insurance, registration renewals, etc.
Mortgage or Rent - self-explanatory
Medical/Dental - any bills paid, co-pays for visits, xrays, insurance premiums, etc.
Insurance - you can group all together or separate them out, your choice. There's usually health, dental, vision, auto, mortgage or renter's insurance, life insurance, etc.
Clubs/Organizations - dues, materials needed, equipment, etc.
Education - classes, loan bills paid for college, books, seminars, lectures, audio or visual material, etc.
Savings

This should give you some ideas to get started.
So why log it?

At the end of the month, total all the categories and money spent. You may find the percentage you're spending in a particular category may be too much (or too little, as in savings and insurances). If you can realize where money may be "leaking" from your income you can take better control of it, and put it to better use. I did this with one friend and she didn't realize that her take out food and drive thru coffees, coupled with her impulse shopping, totaled more than her car payment! She decided to set a budgeted amount aside for them every month (note, she did NOT eliminate them all together and live a miserable life in the process), then with the extra she had been spending, she paid off some of the smaller bills for credit cards. This in turn brought a better credit score, more in savings for emergencies, a feeling of being in control of her money, and less stress, not to mention she started eating healthier by eating less fast food.

It's a 30 day challenge to see where you can save.
Give it a try.

Local Deals

Every area is different, but in most cases, there are local deals you can take advantage of to save money. Here's just a few ideas:

1. Movies - Some towns have a less expensive theater. In our area, it's Pollack Tempe Cinemas. They only charge $3 per person and on Tuesdays, it's just $2 per person. The movies they run are the ones that have just left the expensive theaters, so it's not the first 30 days after it hits the box office, but unless it's really worth an hour of my husband pulling a filthy tarp over his flatbed load and strapping it down in the rain/heat/etc., we wait.

Also, the bigger theaters also run deals where you can like their facebook page for a free small popcorn, or text to their number for free popcorn, or buy a "souvenir cup" of your favorite drink for say, $4, but refills next time if you return with the cup, are just $1.

Netflix, HuluPlus, etc. are all great deals too, although they get less and less movies because I read their goal is to be just on-demand TV shows. Not sure how BlockBuster is doing with that. They stopped mailing out DVDs last year in our area in favor of only online viewing. For under $10/month, it's worth it if you'd normally go to the movies. And don't my previous suggestion for renting FREE movies at your local library.

2.  Live Performances - many local towns, groups, and schools run year-round productions you can see at a fraction of the cost of a real Broadway style show. Sure, the acting isn't as professional, but that makes for great entertainment. Find a local dance company or acting group that performs in your area and you may be pleasantly surprised. When we lived in NH, there was a place in nearby Portsmouth, NH called the Seacoast Repertory Theater. They did Broadway shows, like Joseph, Man of La Mancha, and Phantom of the Opera. The tickets were usually $20 or less, and you could often get in the 1st or 2nd row, which is literally on the floor/stage. The actors were very good with seamless performances too.

3.  Depending on the season, you can sometimes find FREE outdoor events like movies in the park, concerts in the park, etc. They had them in the summer in Rochester, NH, and here in AZ, you see them in the winter.

So where do I find this information? I use our local newspapers' websites and go to their "Get Out" or "Entertainment" section to find what's going on around town. The bigger the city, the more there is, so if you live in the suburbs or urban areas, maybe you could find 2 back to back days of events to make a drive into the city, or overnight stay, worth it.

I also use Google to search for events. In our area, I may put in the name of a casino to see what cover bands are playing, or put in restaurants nearby that I know play live music.

4.  Restaurants - If you have kids you can save a lot more than an adult couple dining alone, for sure. There's so many restaurants with "Kids Eat Free" nights, or coupons in the mail and Sunday paper coupons books for family deals. A common one may be somewhere that offers 2 adult and 2 kid meals, plus beverages, for one low price. There's also military discounts at some restaurants, and Senior Citizen discounts too. If you don't dine with kids and are nowhere near retirement age, try a restaurant's Happy Hour specials. Often they put their entrees on sale or even half price, and you don't have to drink if you don't want alcohol. I know Applebee's does that around here. Another one here does a deal where all entrees are half price after a certain time, usually the last 2 hours before closing. Check with your favorite locations, and don't forget the chain restaurants like Chili's, Applebee's, Red Lobster, Denny's, Friendly's, the'99, and more.

5.  Clothing - I know you can shop at Goodwill and the Salvation Army, but truthfully, you're buying faded, frayed, stained clothing in styles 10 years old (or more), usually with buttons missing or really ugly prints. If you get lucky enough to find a T-shirt that's in your size & color, it's been washed and shrunk so many times that it's a half shirt now compared to when it was new. I find better deals at places like TJ Maxx, Ross, and Marshall's. They have the clothes that are still in style, but maybe I wouldn't be willing to pay $50 for in a regular department store, like Dillard's or Macy's. I find great tops there for under $20. If you sew, that's even better! You can find something, maybe make a minor change, like trading out ugly buttons, or changing a dress' hemline, and you end up with a great bargain. I stopped trying to find clothes at Wal Mart and Target. The shirts are paper thin and the shorts are up to your butt there. Tasteful, classy clothes are best found elsewhere.

Hope this at least stirred up some ideas, or reminded you of a few you may have forgotten. Have a great week bargain hunting.

Weekly Money $aving Tip

Sorry to those who don't live in my area, this won't really help you unless you do an online search in your own area, maybe you'll find one of these near you...

American Discount Foods
www.americandiscountfoods.com

This company started in 1998, and just last year moved to the strip mall on the NE corner of Southern & Longmore in Ray (just 1/2 mile from the 101). It's now a large supermarket-sized store. It's run by a Patriotic, Christian family that believes in giving the customer the best possible prices, and paying their staff well. They get their groceries from closeouts, short codes, discontinued and damaged case products. Many products are available during one trip and gone the next, so when you find a real bargain, stock up! They sell some of their products after the "Best by" dates, but this is NOT an expiration date or mean that it's gone bad. Here's a quote off the USDA's website on these types of dates:

• A "Best if Used By (or Before)" date is recommended for best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.

What types of deals can you expect to find? If you go to their website, you'll see their weekly ad pop up. This is so much better than having to hunt for sale items on a site like other grocery stores often do. They have several weekly items, but they also show the two or more items that are on sale for THAT DAY ONLY. Those are some of the best deals.  Here's some examples:

a store brand Frosted Flakes 15 oz box for just $1.
Rainier cherries, just $1.49/lb.
Seedless personal watermelons, only $1.49 each.
Simply Orange 89oz orange juice (it's huge), just $2.99 (sells for $6.99 often).
Movie box-sized candy for .50, and the candy rack is just .25 each.
Snyder's Hot Buffalo Wings flavored singles bags, 4/$1.
Heartland Whole Wheat Spaghetti, a big 2lb package, just $1.
8pk of Amy's (organic) burritos, just $4.99.
5lb pkg. of yellow banana peppers (sliced) for just 50 cents! 

They also have tons of hidden organic treasures throughout the store NOT advertised.
I find everything from gluten-free organic granola, to organic ground flaxseed, to organic milks, and more. All at amazingly low prices. 

Only once have I ever bought something that tasted "off", and it wasn't past the expiration date. When I called the store, I discreetly asked to speak to a manager (told them I was a customer, not a sales rep). I told the manager I wanted to be discreet, but I bought a 33 cent item that was very "off" and he may want to check them or pull them before they sell too many more. Know what he did? Apologized all over the place and gave me a credit many times more than my purchase - way more than I felt was necessary. They're a great company worth supporting.

Also, when you go, they'll ask if you have an account with them. It takes less than 5 minutes to sign up and so worth it. They do it so they can do credits if necessary like in my example above, or if you call to order cases of advertised sales - they need to know who to save it for. 

For those who like gambling (just kidding), they have a prize wheel too. If you spend over $50 in one trip, you get to spin the wheel. You can win a free product, or a coupon worth $1, $2, $5, $10, $15, $20, or even $25 off your next trip, good for a full 30 days. We've won every single one before, so I know people win the high ones once in a while. 

They don't take coupons, you should know that ahead of time, but they do offer military discounts. I'm not sure when, but I know I've seen them many times before. It may be on military type of holidays like Memorial Day, but it may be more often - call and check if you think you may qualify. 

Last, but not least, they recently put in the Old Glory Cafe. They call it The World's Best $1 Menu, and I would have to agree. Their items are mostly $1, $2, and $3. 

Here's some $1 items: breakfast sandwiches, double cheeseburger, house salad, deep fried zucchini, a cup of soup or chili, large soft serve ice cream, and small iced cafe mocha or espresso. 

The $2 menu has things like:  hot ham or turkey & cheese sandwich, grilled chicken sandwich, deluxe double cheeseburger, bowl of soup or chili, shakes, mocha lattes, etc. 

The $3 menu has: Club sandwiches, Greek gyros, Chicken Parmesan sandwiches, Chicken Salad sandwiches, Greek or Chicken Caesar salads, Cobb Salads, and large sized specialty coffee drinks. 

If you're going to eat there, I recommend doing that first, otherwise your groceries may melt while you eat. The seats aren't fancy, but there's plenty of tables & chairs by the Cafe, as long as you don't mind sitting just past the checkout lines. They cook nothing until you order it, and it's good-tasting food at crazy low prices. 

Check them out. So worth it, that I even carry around and give out THEIR business cards to people when I'm talking to them about coupons and saving money on groceries, paper products, cleaning products, pet foods, kitchen gadgets, dishes, tools, and odd seen-on-TV type of products. It's a great adventure and worth the drive if you're in the Valley.

Weekly Money $aving Tip

Libraries...I know what many of you are thinking...I don't like to read, so how do I save money there?
The truth is, they've come a long way since we were kids...well, since I was a kid. Back in the day, you had a card catalog to look up books but if you didn't know the Author, Title, and get the exact Subject card right, you were resigned to "browsing" for what you wanted. It was a long and tedious process if you wanted to study a subject for school. Well, now libraries have lots more going on.

1.  Their computers where you can look up anything google-style makes it so fast and easy to get what you need and be on your way. Plus the new library cards track so much for you:  what you've already taken out, how you have out now, any late fees or fines, put holds on books, some libraries will even pull the books for you to save you time, and they often will also get books from other libraries for you so you can pick them up and drop them off at your closest branch. And yes, cards are still FREE.

2.  Years ago, if you went to a library to take out an album (yup, vinyl), they only had classical music. Movies were only educational movies, historic documentaries, etc. Did you know most libraries have a great collection of movies? They have everything from Classic black and whites, to the latest superhero movie, and tons of videos for kids. Even in the most remote library I've ever been too, they had movies that were just released that year and they stayed on top of what was popular to buy those. They even took requests for movies before they were released. Also, if you have movies you don't want anymore on DVD, why not donate them to your local library so they can share them with others?

3.  Everyone talks about what a small world we live in, now that communication, technology, and transportation can take us literally around the world in just 24 hours. The new need for knowing a second language for your job is becoming more and more important. You can take an expensive class. You can order a $500 at-home system. But many libraries carry foreign language programs you can take out for free. That gives you about 3 weeks on average to go through it (often in audio CD format), but you can renew items for additional time if there's no waiting list for it. Why not try a free program? Turn your driving and commuting time into learning time with audio CDs.

4.  Magazines...We look at the covers in the store, but we don't usually buy them. Why? Because we know we'll browse most of it, check out the ads, maybe read just a few articles we care about, then it's either thrown out or left to pile up somewhere in your home. Did you know that libraries carry lots of great magazines? Some educational, some on travel, some household related ones, nutrition, cooking, hobby themes, arts and crafts, parenting, and so much more. Why not enjoy your favorite magazines without having to feel like you're wasting money on them?

5.  Newspapers, I found them so helpful years ago when I lived in one city and was contemplating moving to another one. It helped me go through the new city's help wanted ads, store ads to see what was available, check out home and rental prices, everything I needed to know before deciding.

6.  Did you know most libraries offer special classes and events besides just kids' story time? That remote library I mentioned earlier had a monthly book club, local author lectures, health and safety seminars, weekly groups for things like crocheting and knitting, local informational meetings, and more. Here in the city, they also offer computer classes, job search help, teens events, weekly and monthly groups that meet with common interests, car classes to teach you about your car, and more. Check out your local and nearby city's websites and click on their events list or calendar. I think you may be surprised how much they really have going on.

7.  Culture Passes - not sure if this is just in our area or not, but our libraries here offer FREE culture passes on a first-come-first-serve basis. The pass allows free admission for up to 4 people to several local attractions. Here in our area they can be used for the zoo, the science center, several museums, just to name a few. Each attraction has its own pass, and you have (I think it's) 2 or 3 days to use it. The librarians can tell you when a particular pass is due back, but you have to stand in line at opening to get it. They don't hold it for you since so many wait for them. Some of them save you $50 or more, so they're a great FREE value!

8.  When we lived in that remote area, we had our computer break and were without internet. When you live out there, you're VERY dependent on the internet for homeschooling, searches for information and services,  how-to videos to fix things, and to run your business. I was so thankful our little library had several computers available to use for the couple of weeks it took to find a solution to our computer problem. I think you get to use them for 1 hour at a time. If your computer goes down, or you're in the middle of moving, or especially if you're traveling, you can stop into a library and use their computers, and some have Wi-Fi so you can work on your own device.

9.  There's usually a rack full of informative brochures about local programs and things you can pick up free at your library. There's bus schedules, electricity-saving and money-saving programs, tax information, and more. If it has to do with that area, you'll probably find something about it at your library as a center for public service announcements and programs.

10.  Conference Room Rentals - did you ever want to have some type of planning meeting but couldn't find a good location? Ever thought about the library? Most have at least one, and often several, conference rooms that can be rented out by individuals, companies, and organizations for a very small fee compared to other venues. They offer an almost sound-proof room with minimal distractions, away from the ringing phones and frequent interruptions of a typical office. It's a great way to save money.

11.  Last, but not least, did you know there's a Digital Library you can gain access to so you can download books, lectures, movies, and audios to your favorite device? You would be surprised how many things you can "take out" from the library this way. They are allowed to let several people download material at a time, but if, for example, they have 5 copies, and all 5 have recently been downloaded, you may have to wait a few days to download it. They normally notify you by email it's ready. After the 3 weeks, the download stops working so they can license a copy out to the next person. You can send things to your computer, tablet, laptop, cell phone, it's all digital and it's all FREE.

I've also noticed that lately, some of the newer libraries have Teen Lounge areas and even small coffee shops. Talk about inviting! Hopefully at least some of this was new information for you, and you'll find something useful at your own local library. It's great to find things to do, and new people to meet, and yes, to save money.

Money Saving Monday: Gas Rewards

Forgive the lateness of this post. We had to put down our pet yesterday after 16 years with her, so this is late but it's here.

Today's tip: Gas Rewards

Where we are, there are two major grocery store chains that have gas rewards. I've seen it in other places like CA, and have been told several other states do this as well. You usually get 1 point for every dollar you spend, and 100 points will give you a 10 cent reward off every gallon of gas you buy either from them or "partner stores". In our area, we get gas rewards from both Safeway and Fry's grocery stores. Fry's is a Kroger chain, and I believe in CA, Safeway is similar to Von's, but not sure on that. Anyway, they let you have 10 cents off each and ever gallon of gas for every 100 points you accumulate. If a family normally spends $100 per week, they would save 10 cents every week on every gallon of gas they buy for the week. Not a bad deal since I save tons of money at those two stores already. The prices at Safeway are great in their Ecoupon and Just for You programs, and Fry's has the best prices on lots of everyday items if they aren't on sale somewhere else.

The Safeway gas can be bought at either one of their stores that has a gas station attached, or at any Chevron. Their Safeway prices are the same as surrounding places so they aren't raising the price then giving you a discount to get back to normal. There's also a Chevron just down the street from me. Chevron is generally a higher prices brand, but near me there's a Circle K and a QT gas station all on the same corner, so they compete for customers by staying as low as the other two.

The Fry's (Kroger) deal lets you either buy gas from them, which I can do right around the corner, or else any Circle K station. They can be tricky. You can drive by ten of those and every Circle K will have a different price, based on where it is, and if they said anything in the news about rising prices, they'll usually be one of the first to reflect that.

A bonus tip for checking gas prices without driving around needlessly is to go to:
www.gasbuddy.com and enter your area. You can search by zip code, gas station (like Chevron, Shell, etc.), and the site will tell you the lowest to highest gas in your area. It's all run by people like you and me who go to the site on a regular basis and report prices they see. You 'd think that would mean very little entries, but you'd be surprised. Even when we lived outside a rural town, there were entries for the few little stations there. If you use it regularly, report ones near you, or if you spot a great deal, let others know about it. In a city, it's invaluable, because you can compare hundreds of stations along your driving route in just a few moments.

One last note, the points you earn in one month are good for the next 30 days. At the end of the month, the totaling stops and resets to zero on the first of the month. If you don't use what you earned by the last day of the next month, they're gone, no exceptions. Don't try to build up to free gas by spending $4000 over time. It won't work that way. Just shop on a regular basis, and use your rewards as you go. When we were going to be driving to CA for vacation, we shopped almost exclusively at one store, used all the promotions they had going on as best we could, and ended up filling the tank both ways for a lot less than the asking price. In CA, that's very helpful! Some stations make you use your points all at once or not at all. A few rare ones will let you use part of them if you want, it's the owner's choice, but it's hard to find those.

Here's ways to save extra on gas using Gas Rewards:

1. If you go to Safeway or Fry's website, or look through their weekly flyer, you usually see extra gas rewards deals. The most common one is to double your gas rewards by shopping on the weekend. If you spent say just $50, you'd get not 50 points, but 100 points, and you'd qualify for the first 10 cents off per gallon level. You should know alcohol and lottery tickets (and I think tobacco) don't earn points. With taxes on those items being so high, they just can't add those to the program. The double points come and go, so you have to watch for them. Fry's has theirs right now.

2.  Gift cards - Since people live so far from family now that moving is common, and job opportunities have people living further from loved ones, gift cards have become a normal, acceptable gift. They're easy to mail inside a card, they're small and lightweight for the receiver to carry around, and it lets the recipient choose a customized gift at their own convenience. There's even cards for online only places like Amazon. Anyway, the grocery stores run promotions pretty regularly, but they change. They may offer double, triple, even four times the gas rewards on any gift card as long as it's a store card and not a prepaid Visa/MC/Amex type of card. This is a great way to save because you can do a little planning ahead of time, and figure out on the first shopping trip of the month, who's birthday, anniversary, graduation, baby shower, etc. will be coming up that month. Get the appropriate gift cards during the specials and you can save big. If you got someone a $50 card, during a 4x rewards program, you'd have 200 points, or 2 gas rewards (20 cents of every gallon the next time you fill up) on top of whatever else you normally buy. At Christmas time, this is HUGE.

3.  On the gift cards, if you can figure out places you'd normally be paying with cash or a debit card, get a gift card, pay with that, and earn more rewards. For example, if I know our date night will be taking us to a movie, and dinner at Applebee's, I could buy a card for each worth about what we normally spend anyway. Now I can save on gas, do what I was planning anyway, and it's not like using coupons - people receive gift cards every day. The store is happy to take them since they've already received the money for it along the way. If you'll be purchasing books from Amazon, get an Amazon gift card. Just be careful you don't overspend. That won't save you anything. If you normally buy sheets at WalMart, for example, and you buy a card for Bed, Bath, and Beyond, where sheet prices are double or triple that of WalMart, you've blown your savings and then some. Shop smart. Save more

4.  Sometimes you can earn extra rewards on certain items with Safeway's Ecoupons and Just for You program on their website. I sometimes see things like this:
 - double gas rewards when you spend $8 in the produce section in a single transaction
 - double gas rewards on any O Organics (the store's Organic product line) products within a date range.
 - double gas rewards on certain store cards, like itunes, etc.
If you happen to need those things anyway, it's a great way to rack up extra points. So far the deals I've seen were for Organics, produce, and meat, so I don't have to compromise and choose unhealthy items to save more.

5.  The last tip is what I call "double dipping". Fry's has another program where certain items every week (and they change) carry Dbacks points. The Dbacks are the Arizona Diamondbacks Major League Baseball team. Here's an example, if I see in the flyer that beef hot dogs are on sale, and they carry Dbacks points, and I know I'll be grilling that weekend with friends, I'll buy a pack or two. If I buy two and they cost $3 each, I get $6 worth of gas rewards, but I also get 6 Dbacks points in a separate pool that runs all season, not just a month. Then I can trade those points in for game tickets, hats, shirts, bumper stickers, and other merchandise. They run a program like this for the Phoenix Suns NBA team too during the season. Just another way to save on fun stuff while saving on gas, and not buying anything you didn't plan on buying.

Hopefully this gives you some extra ways to save, especially if you live in my area. If you don't, check your own local area to see what's out there. This is a very popular program in many areas. You may be missing out. If you've already been doing this, maybe you found a new way to save on it.

Money Saving Monday

     Over the summer, I'm going to try to blog on a daily basis. I've been thinking of different things to write about, and the first will be this: I will try to do a "Money Saving Monday" post, every Monday, to help you save money. It may be a do-it-yourself, gift idea, coupons site, store, online deals, recipes for household cleaners, etc. Not sure how well this will go, since my schedule often gets changed from what I originally plan, but here's today's post.

My first money-saving tip is to make your own laundry detergent. The cheap brands don't work anyway, and the ones that do cost over .25/load, often close to $10 for a container. This detergent works really well, using safe, environmentally safe ingredients that have been around for 100 years or more. I have been asked for this recipe for years and never had a single person tell me they were allergic to it, or it didn't work. The cost is only about 1 penny per load!!! The ingredients will make multiple batches, so you spend less than $10 on them once, then make 6 gallons with most of the ingredients left over. You just have to buy another bar of soap to make the next 6 gallons, and keep using your original box. Mine lasted a year.

LAUNDRY DETERGENT RECIPE

3 Pints Water
1/3 Bar Fels Naptha Soap, Grated
1/2 Cup Washing Soda (Arm and Hammer, but not baking soda)
1/2 Cup Borax detergent

You'll need a large 2 gallon bucket or larger, but be sure it's something you can later lift and pour out of later. I use a storage tub, then transfer the finished detergent into empty gallon water/milk jugs.

1.  Heat ingredients on low on your stove stirring continuously until dissolved.  Bring to rolling boil.  

2.  Pour hot ingredients in bucket.  Add hot water to total 2 gallons. Stir well.

3.  Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. Stir occasionally. Store in milk jugs or empty laundry soap containers, give it a good shake to mix and then pour. 

* Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load. You don't need a full cup like other powders.

On a side note, I did try adding Oxy Clean to the mix. It maybe worked a little better, but it wasn't significant. Feel free to experiment with your own ideas. 

Day 10: Back Home/Monday

After the San Diego Zoo, we drove home from San Diego, through Yuma, AZ, and back to Gilbert. The ride was nice. We passed sand dunes near Yuma. They were the same ones used to shoot special scenes for Star Wars IV and VI. They were used in addition to filming in Tunisia. On a side note, there were some popular movies that filmed scenes in parts of Arizona - like Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom, Casablanca, Psycho, Wayne's World, and others. Back to the drive...one of the sights Tim pointed out was that along one part of the drive, you can actually see the border fence with Mexico. It wasn't that far away. From our distance, it looked to me like a rust-colored metal fence with vertical strips in between the vertical bars and one long horizontal bar on top. There was no way to judge how tall or short the fence really is from where we were. It was kind of cool in one place because our road went up a slight hill and you could see over the fence into Mexico. It didn't look any different on either side in that particular place, just like a rancher's fence breaks off sections, but it was still cool.



When we got home, the house was spotless! The trash had been taken out, the carpets were recently vacuumed, there were no dishes in the sink, no towels or laundry lying around, the dining room and living room were picked up, and it smelled clean. What a great Mother's Day gift from Jordan. She did a great job taking care of the house while I was gone. Even though she's the youngest, I had told the boys that she was in charge of the house. If she told them to pick up their mess somewhere, or take the trash out (it's their job), then they had to do it. On my bed was a card from Adam with a Red Robin gift card for me. The card was funny - just the way I like them from my kids. Another perfect ending to another great day.

Now, finally, on to Day 10 - The last day of our official vacation. We woke up Monday when we were done sleeping. We started our day by having breakfast, and just relaxing around the house, enjoying our time with the kids as they each got up (or home from work, in Logan's case). We decided to go out to eat since we were starting "clean eating" and a cleanse for a week the following day. We went to Hibachi Grill. That place is great! It's a Chinese buffet, but they also have pizza, Mexican food, french fries, etc. (although I don't think I ever tried any of those there). I always start at the grill. I chose my veggies and then a little bit of steak. I handed it to the chef who grilled it right there in front of me. I figured if I always start with fresh veggies and lean looking meat, I'll be that much more full before hitting the junk food type of choices on the rest of the buffet. Tim started with the grill, then the sushi bar. Nothing spectacular, not much fish, but he still enjoyed it. After that, I chose carefully. I didn't want to gain 5 pounds the day before trying to lose weight. I had been pretty good, since I never gained any weight on the whole vacation, even though I ate what I felt like eating. Anyway...I chose 2 or 3 small pieces of sweet & sour chicken, a skewer of chicken meatballs, some orange chicken, a spoonful of the beef and broccoli, and I think that's about it. I was pretty full. I went over to the dessert bar, which is pretty big. I didn't want jello, or the cakes - they're usually dry anyway, or anything with chocolate, or puff pastries (no flavor anyway), in fact the only dessert I chose was a scoop of their ice cream and one serving spoon of banana pudding with vanilla wafers and whipped cream. I felt more full than I had felt in a long time. I felt satisfied and knew I could now start a strict 2 weeks without sugar, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors/flavors, soy, grains, dairy, or caffeine. I wouldn't feel deprived. By the time I start missing some of those things - especially healthy dairy - I'll be able to have it anyway.

After dinner Tim and I went to the movies to see Captain America 2: Winter Soldier. We thought about Spiderman 2, but figured we'd see whatever was released first in case we missed it by the time Tim came back from his next trip. The movie was very good. Better than the first one, better than I hoped it would be. It was great.

After that, we went home, wrapped up the night, and got ready to return to our regular routine in the morning getting him ready to head out Wednesday - but now we could do that more rested, more at peace, more relaxed. It was the best ten days in a row of my life!

Day 9: Sunday - San Diego/Zoo

Sunday morning we got up early, had the great breakfast Pat had put out for us, then headed out for San Diego. The drive was nice, not much traffic on a Sunday morning, and you can see the coast from the road once you get near San Diego. Tim has always had to rush back from wherever we've been to get home for work, so when we're going somewhere, there is no stopping. Asking him to stop so I can take pictures just wasn't done. For the first time, we had no real schedule, no rush. We could even take another day in San Diego if we wanted to, he didn't have to be back to work for 3 more days. I asked him if we could stop somewhere to get a few pictures, since I'd never been to San Diego and wanted pictures of the ocean there. To my surprise, he said, "Sure we can." I was so happy! We pulled into a rest area that had great views, as well as another lookout area too. The ocean wasn't as close from there, and it looked totally different from the L.A. area beaches. After a few minutes, we were back on the road again.

We found getting to zoo really easy with the GPS. I'd been wanting to see that zoo for years! I've been to a couple of zoos in my life, but I had never seen a koala, hippo, polar bear, panda, or gorilla. I was really looking forward to seeing them. The parking lot was HUGE! I know the Phoenix Zoo lot is too, but I'm used to seeing that one. This definitely looked bigger to me. Getting in was pretty quick. They open at 9 AM, and we got there around 10, but since it was also Mother's Day, (and church day), the crowds were probably much smaller than they usually would have been. It wasn't outrageously priced, either, and of course, I brought a coupon to save us $8 on admission.

My sister had recommended the sky lift ride to see the zoo. She said it was really nice from up there. We did that first while the line was short. I forgot she went in October, and I forgot that outside of Arizona there are trees. The ride itself was nice, and there were great city views, but we couldn't see a thing below us. Nothing but green tree tops. Not a single animal - but still a fun ride to take with Tim.

The first thing we went to see after taking the sky ride was the Polar Bear exhibit. I had no idea how big they were! They had a statue outside the exhibit that stood ten feet tall. They said it's actual sized based on the boy bear they have now. They're twins, a brother and sister. I was watching for a long time, just mesmerized. What beautiful animals.

The next major sight for me (with lots of other animals in-between) was the hippo. They had a big one, and a baby one. They were huge. I knew they'd be big, but I guess I didn't realize how thick their skin was. It was like an old leather sofa. It had some deep scars in it too. Not sure if it's from other hippos or if the zoo got them that way from being rescued in the wild or something.

The koala was a must-see for me. Tim had seen koalas and even held one when he visited Australia with his family the Christmas before we got married. They eat eucalyptus leaves, which is like catnip to a cat, and being "drugged" and "high", they sleep for about 20 hours a day or more. Many didn't move much, and they seemed to sleep like my cat, with their face pushed up to something - in their case, the tree boughs. A few moved a little, but it was very difficult to get a photo of them facing us.

A really interesting thing happened while watching the koalas...we noticed a crowd gathering on just one side of the street, and people were making noises like they were startled or surprised by something (gasps, not like they were afraid). I stepped into the street to see around the crowd and there were two zoo employees walking a cheetah and a white wolf (looked just like a tall, thin dog) down the opposite sidewalk. I read later that these two became friends at the zoo (somehow), in spite of them being "a cat and a dog". They are regularly walked together from their cages to the close encounter area nearby where people can pay $100 and up to get close to a few of the animals. That was the most amazing thing to see. Cheetahs are my favorite animal ever and our zoo just lost the last 2 recently with no idea when they'll be able to get more. This was a wonderful treat for me!

The gorilla enclosure was very similar to our zoo's orangutan exhibit. There were a few in there we got to see, especially once they came near the glass. I think they like seeing all the people sometimes to avoid being lonely. They seemed to enjoy being near crowds more than away on their own.

We also saw lots of other animals and tons of birds. We saw giraffes, zebras, leopards, some similar to what the Phoenix Zoo has, and others we'd never heard of. It was a great day, we spent about 5 hours there and I'm sure there were a few areas we didn't get to see. Also, there were a few other animals that weren't on exhibit that day that we didn't see, so I think another trip someday would be great. I'd love to bring Jordan here. She loves animals and her favorites are all here (except penguins).

I saved the best for last...the PANDAS!!! The signs read that we could expect a 30 - 45 minute wait in line to get to them (mostly because people obviously linger, understandably, while photographing and videoing them). Being Mother's Day and early in the morning, our wait was only about 10 minutes, and it was through a bamboo forest type of setting. We passed a Red Panda along the way. It was about the size of a small lemur, and didn't look much like a panda, but it was still cute. Once we got into the panda viewing area I was so happy! They look like large stuffed animals come to life. We watched them eat bamboo, sleep, move around a bit, and smile at us - at least that's what it looked like. I wished Jordan could've been with us to see them! Unfortunately, it'll have to wait until next time.

Sorry this is sideways, I took it with my tablet.

All in all, it was a wonderful day, with perfect weather, but if you decide to visit the San Diego Zoo, a word of caution...it is a large zoo, and it is NOT level by any means! There are areas with very steep hills, both leading down and others leading up, and many exhibits you have to go up several flights of steps that have been built in the middle of the zoo areas (unless you have crutches or a wheelchair, then you can use the elevators). There are 2 moving sidewalk type of escalators that help, but they are pretty far apart. Also, there is the sky ride to make it shorter to get to the other side, but they're only one way. There's also a train, but you won't get to stop and get pictures when you want. Other than being quite the workout (even Tim was surprised at how tired he was from it all), and the paths are a bit confusing in places where they don't match the map quite right, it's a beautiful zoo with some reasonably priced gift items, a great selection of animals, and good food at the restaurants (or at least the one we tried). I look forward to another trip there with Jordan someday.