Lots to tell you!

Wow, last post was in May...things certainly have changed around here!

Well, at the beginning of June we went to Las Vegas for my brother & dad's birthdays-it was Cory's first time and we had a blast! It was only for a long weekend, but we managed to see my grandmother, visit all of the "big name" hotels, tour the pawn shop from Pawn Stars, see Lake Mead & Hoover Dam, go to the top of the Paris (eifel tower) hotel to view the Vegas skyline, and come out even in our winnings...now that's a good trip! Here are a few quick photos:

Dad & Cory playing the slots

Us at the top of the Eifel Tower looking at the Vegas skyline

Me, Cory, Dad & Josh waiting for the Lake Mead tour-nice faces dad & Josh :/

(By the way, it was 115 degrees that day-unpleasant)

Moving On....

Later in June, we found out we were expecting our first child. Told you alot has changed! We waited a few weeks to tell our families and then exploded the information to our extended family and friends.

Don't mind my excitement-or my lack of actually brushing my hair after the shower ;)

This was taken August 23, 2010 at 11 weeks, 3 days-which we would later come to find out that we were 10 days farther along than we thought!

September 22, 2010 at 17 weeks-we found out we were having a GIRL!!

Hello sweet Ella :) You are already so spoiled and loved!

Next,
We took our 1 year anniversary trip back to The Origin in Panama City where we spent 5 relaxing days on the beach. I finally got to lay in the sun and people probably wondered why such a whale would even think about laying out in a 2 piece-oh well, Ella enjoyed basking in the sunshine!

October 3, 2010-Happy Anniversary :)

Fast forward ...

October 28, 2010-22 weeks, 1 day!

Today...

I am 24 weeks, 4 days and getting bigger by the second! We had our most recent doctors appointment last week and everything looked great. We have one more monthly appointment before we start going every 2 weeks, which totally freaks me out-the thought that we will have a newborn baby at our house in a matter of months is just crazy. But, we can't wait to meet her!

Speaking of the house-who knew it would be so expensive to update one! I don't think we've gotten nearly as far as we had hoped to by now, but we've done the best with what we have. Between the pregnancy and Cory having class & clinicals for paramedic school, we just have limited amounts of time. We're trying to get Ella's room done first, which has become quite a task. Over the summer, we discovered a water leak in that room and have had to pull up the carpet and tear a hole in the wall. Cory has been wonderful though-the wall has since been patched, and he is now working on scraping the popcorn off of the ceilings. Next, we'll be dealing with flooring, then PAINT! Wait til you all see what we have in store!! Pictures to come soon....

Saving Money!

Yup. I've been saving money and super excited about it.


I've always cut coupons-started doing it for my mom, then went to college and used them every now and then, and now that I have my own house with my own bills-I've gone crazy. I admit-I never miss a Sunday paper and I get bummed when there's only one coupon insert. Dorky, I know, but don't judge just yet ;)

Some girls at work are really really good at "couponing" and saving loads of money-so of course, I jumped on the bandwagon. It all started with http://www.southernsavers.com/. This site is amazing. She finds all these great deals at local grocery stores and places like CVS, Rite Aid, and Target. My favorite section of the website-$1 or less deals. I have been trying to base my grocery shopping every week solely by these deals-only buying what's under a dollar. However, I have quickly come to realize, it's harder than I thought. Once you start buying meat and milk-forget it. But, aside from those 2 items, I do fairly well. The first time I went to Publix and saved more than I spent-I couldn't stop smiling! Still sounding dorky? Ok, maybe so. I was proud :)

But, this has become a weekly occurrence. Since I started this new craze, I have yet to spend more than I save-which is saving me tons of money!

Granted, most of the blogs I read, which teach you how/where to use your coupons, have avid followers that save up to 100% on their shopping bills or spend $4 on a $90 shopping trip, but I generally average about 50% savings, which is good enough for me! I'm able to buy so much more and cut my $500/month grocery bill in half!! See...not so nerdy after all, huh?! The best part-getting FREE stuff! These blogs tell you how to do this!! It's so easy!! As long as you get to the store before everyone else-that's been my one problem. Publix, for example, starts its sales on Thursdays, which I just so happen to work every Thursday (or so it seems) lately and by the time I get there on Saturday, the deals are down to a minimum. That being said, I live an equal distance to 2 different Publix's, so sometimes one still has stuff the other may have sold out of! Yes, I will go out of my way to find a great deal on John Frieda shampoo & conditioner ;)

Of course, with all of my great savings, I had to splurge....check out this super cute coupon organizer I bought from iSew on Etsy. I could just eat it up! Seriously-I love it that much. Just look at the cuteness and tell me you don't love it :)


So, that's my money saving adventure in a nutshell. We have lots of projects going on-we start one and then start another. Cory's almost finished with changing our bathroom ceiling from popcorn to flat so pictures to follow. We're also working on our fencing, landscaping, and back porch-I really want a great backyard for cookouts....I found some adorable condiment holders at Pier 1. Yes, really-condiment holders that look like mini grills. I know-I've gone too far.

Where to Start?

Wow...so, it's certainly been awhile since my last entry. I feel like we've been so busy lately with me working night shift, Cory working 2 jobs and going to paramedic school, and trying to still get our house to look like a house.




Thankfully, the weather has improved, and we've been able to get started on the outside of the house. Cory bought a "new" lawnmower (he actually got a great deal on a John Deere that a friend of his needed to get rid of). It has, in fact, replaced me. I'm pretty sure he dreams about it at night ;) I suppose that's ok, since our yard is always cut!





Speaking of the yard-I've been digging up the old rose bushes and weeds that sit in front of the house. Whew! It's alot of work! I definitely need a little help in the gardening department. I just wanted to replant some pretty flowers-apparently there's perennials, annuals, biennials....who knew?! I wish I could just snap my fingers and it be taken care of!





As for the inside of the house, we finally finished painting the living room....just as I decided I wasn't completely sure I liked the paint color! Cory says it's staying ;)


We bought a couch and loveseat after 6 months of searching for a good price, a set that would fit in our living room, a set we actually agreed on, one that was comfortable for Cory to sleep on after work, debating leather vs. fabric, ruling out every set that had microfiber, deciding what would be best for the animals/future children,....the list goes on and on. But, we found a set-one that we kept going back to every time. It's the Portland collection from Haverty's and we love it! It is soooo comfortable! Unfortunately, we have to wait until the end of May for it to be delivered, but it will be well worth it. We really wanted the sectional, but our living room is just too small.

Yay!

Current projects: Almost done painting the master bathroom. Painting the hallway. Painting the front porch and finishing the landscaping. Installing our fence!! (Duke will finally have a huge yard to run in...and Lord knows, he needs a little exercise in his life!). That's it for now, pictures to follow :)