Time sure does fly

We got back from our honeymoon in Canada at 2am this morning. Had to go into work at 12 and was actually excited about it. Got good news that I can start full-time on Monday. Bad news: working on my thesis around my work schedule--I take full blame for that one. More bad news: even though I'm full-time now, I'm still temporary. To go from temporary to permanent, the position has to be re-listed & I'll have to reapply. My boss has to interview at least two applicants. I do have an advantage since I've been in the position for a while now, but it's still a little disconcerting. Especially since anyone who applies and was previously terminated due to budget cuts gets first dibs. Great.

I've forgotten the real reason for this post. Oh! Time flies...I noticed the bulbs popping up around the house. I exclaimed: oh my gosh! And then realized it is almost March. Where does it go?? I remember when a year was an eternity.

Yo-yo dieting

I just got up the nerve to weigh myself. I knew it'd be bad & why I've held off. I've gained about 11.5 lbs since I got married. Which puts me right back where I started.

I'm thinking I should go buy another really expensive dress a size too small and set a deadline to fit into it. ;o)

But then, I've already seen that doesn't work--long term at least.

Diet & exercise. Diet & exercise. Diet & exercise.

The Office Part Deux

We bought the desks, shelves, & bookcase from Ikea & the black storage boxes from Office Depot. There are two boxes I just spray painted black. The paint on the walls turned out a little lot darker than I was hoping for, but it definitely grew on me. I think it makes a nice contrast to the white desks.

I really love our new office & spend more time in here than the rest of the house now. (Callie likes it too.) :o)

Here are the after pics:

P.S. I don't know what those brown bars are in this post. When I go to edit the post they're not there. Annoying, but oh well.

The Office

Ours. Not the tv show.

We decided we needed a total overhaul & boy was it worth it!

Before (After coming soon!):

Baby it's cold outside

C finally divulged where we'll be going on our honeymoon: Banff, Canada

I'm a little confused because it looks like there's three different ski areas nearby. I guess it makes sense...I'm just used to there usually being just one.

And check out this weather forecast for Banff...guess I'll be packing heavily:

Extended Forecast Dated: 1600 MST SUN JAN 24 2010

TONIGHT	MONDAY	MONDAY NIGHT	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY
Flurries	Snow	Flurries	Sunny	Sunny
Lo: -15°C	Hi: -10°C	Lo: -14°C	Hi: -8°C	Hi: -4°C Lo: -15°C
Pop: 30%		Pop: 40%

Woman to woman (or man, I don't discriminate)

I love blogs. They keep me up to date on everything from friends, books, deals and savings, politics, and even provide a good laugh once in a while (to name a few).

I have to pass on some info about a site I just learned about from Fantabulously Frugal (which I learned about from My Cup Runneth Over).

It's Alice.com and I just ordered some items a few minutes ago. The idea behind it is that instead of making a trip out to the store just to get a few household items, you can sit in the privacy of your home (without changing from your pj's) and order them online at Alice.com. The website automatically adds coupons to your items (if there's any associated with them at the time) and notifies you when it's time to reorder the product.

Pros:

1. Shipping is always free!

2. The products I ordered should arrive in 2-3 business days (that's pretty good imo).

3. They have major brands as well as the under dogs (at least that's what the website says).

4. Coupons automatically added...no clipping!

5. Really cool "Budgeting" tab that keeps track of spending history with nice pretty graphs.

6. Free to join!

Cons:

1. Must have at least 6 items in your cart to check out. Seems counter to their point that if you only need a few items, rather than drive to a store, buy from them. A few items to me would be 2 or 3. It makes sense though if they're going to keep shipping free.

2. When you order a product, you can specify when you think you might need to reorder...2 weeks, 6 weeks, etc.

a. This doesn't work for me because I have no idea when I might run out of something &

b. I don't like buying the same thing over and over. I buy whatever's the best deal at that particular moment. I guess it'll be alright though, if I get a notification (& I really am running low) I'll just do another search for 'toothpaste' or whatever and buy the cheapest.

I went to the grocery store as well today. This website is obviously not one-stop shopping. But that's part of it's appeal to me. I'm trying to wean myself off of the big W and with this website, I just might be able to do that. Except for my medication...$9 at W or $33 at another major pharmacy? I think I'll go with $9. But I digress. As I was saying, I went to the grocery store and while I was there I compared the products I intended on purchasing on Alice.com to the products in the store. The ones I was able to find were a tad more expensive if the item was on sale. Translation: I'll be buying my household items from Alice.com from now on. (assuming shipment & everything goes okay) It will definitely make shopping at the grocery store quicker and less of a hassle.

My Alice.com order summary:

Band-aids $2.15

Charmin toilet paper $4.13

One-a-day multivitamin $4.47

Suave body wash $1.97

Crest toothpaste $1.76

Alpo dog treats $1.88

Resolve carpet cleaner $8.91

The only thing I'm a little upset about, *a little--nothing to go to war over* is that I found additional coupons for two of the items I purchased after I paid. So take my advice if you decide to join up: check "My coupons" under the "My products" tab before you checkout. :o)