The Deal with Christmas Deals

I have an extraordinarily hard time coming up with things I want for Christmas every year. Or, at least things that fit into a price range that people would actually buy me things in. I can come up with plenty of other things--a car, a private jet, a new dslr package, world peace--but not small things. Mostly, I think it's because I have a thrifty shopper problem.

What kind of problem, you ask? (Because, in my mind, you care about my problems). Well, I am a thrifty shopper, and I hate asking for things from other people because I know I'll get a better deal on whatever it is then they will.

I've been conditioned this way. I blame my mother. And she blames her mother. But, at the same time, the only other people that I trust to get as good of a deal on something as I could get are my mother and my grandmother. Oh the irony.

But really.

For example, I bought this coat from Kohl's a couple weeks ago:



This coat was originally $200.00
When I got done at the register, I paid $40.00 AND got $20 back in kohl's cash.
If I would have asked someone for this coat for Christmas, most likely they could have gotten if for something around $100-$120...and that would make me feel bad.

Even today, I went shopping for my husband's Christmas gifts from my parents. I got him a dress shirt, a tie, a combo t & polo shirt, and a plaid button down that he told me he wanted that I'm certain he'll never wear...all for $36 (none of which were special Black Friday deals, as I worked through all of those). He also wants a book, which I'll use a 40% off coupon on and finish off his Christmas.

I can't not do this.

"Full price" is not something I am willing to recognize in my vocabulary.

I'm going to be that crazy old lady cutting out coupons and organizing them in a box by product.

...I'm going to be my grandmother.

Dear AF: All I Want for Christmas

Dear AF,

I've tried like crazy to think of things I "want" for Christmas this year. I'm at a serious loss for material things to want for, however, and this is where you come in.

You are moving us 18 hours away from our families 2 weeks before Christmas this year. Due to the fact that this timing is separating my husband and I for months while I finish my degree, and the fact that he will be gone from ou rnew base for several months for TDY, we have to live on base. You said you wouldn't put us on the housing list until we had his orders. We got those two weeks ago, called, and you said you wouldn't put us on the list officially until we literally got in the car and left our current state.

You said the house we're supposed to have is on a 2 year wait, so we agreed that the converted JNCO housing would be just fine for us. You said the wait for that would be 0-90 days. USAA said we can't get renters insurance the things we have to bring in our car with us without having an address to where we're going. Which you said we won't have for awhile.

So, all this aside, all I really want for Christmas is a place to live. I will only be with him for a couple days after that and then I have to come back here. Please don't make my husband and I spend our first Christmas as a married couple in a hotel.

Please.

Love,
Meg

DIY: Peppermint Stick Cocoa

Last week, I couldn't figure out what I was going to get my grandmas for Christmas. Ever since I can remember, my mom and I have made some awesome ornaments for the families. But, this year I have 3 grandmas in assisted living and 1 who gave me back a box of all the ornaments I ever gave her last year. So, ornaments were a little out of the question.

Instead, I went on a quick DIY search for simple, cute gifts I could do at home. I found Peppermint Stick Cocoa, tweaked the recipe, bought my own $1 plastic air-tight containers, created my own tags and went for it. I'm impressed with how they turned out--I wasn't really expecting much!

This is actually the only thing it looks like I'll be making for Christmas. I have all my Christmas gifts bought and wrapped, and I have directions on how to make some homemade decorations that are awesome, but it's looking like we'll be spending Christmas in a hotel so...I don't think I'll be doing anything else lol.

What do you think?

Fall Foto Contest (week 6!)

Sarah over at G.I. Joe's Wife is hosting a Fall Foto Contest!

Click the button to check it out and vote!



Here is my 'foto' for the week!

Fall Foto Contest (week 5!)

Sarah over at G.I. Joe's Wife is hosting a Fall Foto Contest!

Click the button to check it out and vote!



Here is my 'foto' for the week!

What? No teacher? Normal.

This post is part of Mama Kat's writer workshop!

Prompt: Describe a moment when you saw someone hit their breaking point.

In my senior year of high school we had this English teacher. In all fairness, she was a good teacher and got is interested in things we weren't interested in before, and was a good confidant at times.

You know, times that she wasn't being completely insane.

I don't know what ever happened to this teacher. She quit after us and moved, then moved back, and no one has really talked to her since then. If one day she finds this and reads this then she'll just have to suck it up and come to terms with the fact that she's nuts, or at least was nuts at this point.

Anywho. To the breaking point.

In my senior year I didn't have a first period class and that was also her planning period. The next bell I had her. Our class was small, only 11 students, and at this point I was only on campus half the day and was teaching the other half of the day. But, a week or two before we had started a bookclub with this teacher during lunch--when I am usually gone. But, my schedule was flexible and I could change it if I needed to.

Right before my second bell class I was standing in the hallway outside her room with some friends. We had previously talked about a teacher meeting during lunch that day with 2 of the other teachers who were in the book club with us (shut it--I was a nerd and proud of it). This teacher came out of her room and this conversation ensued:

Her-"Are you going to be here for lunch today?"
Me-"I can be. Are we meeting?"
Her-"Well since the other teachers are in a meeting..."
Me-"Okay, then I won't. It doesn't matter, I can do whatever."

She then proceeded to stomp off, declare that she was not teaching the seniors anymore, and lock herself in her classroom.

Um....yea.

So we spent our class period in a big conference room with another teacher, and we're all sitting there just laughing because we all witness this psychotic outburst. The next day she "agreed" to teach us again, but it was obviously an unforgettable moment. Ehmm. This wasn't the only crazy moment of the year with this particular teacher. She occasionally left in the middle of the day because she felt like it, yelled at us for not knocking and then yelled at us FOR knocking, and occasionally went off on a random student just for fun. But this was, by far, the best.

I'm just saying...sometimes medication is good.

Bakeoff Winner!

I know she had so much competition, ehmm, but our winner is...

Jessica from Jesstagirl and her Officer!

Congrats Jess!

This will be on it's way soon!