January 2007 – akaemi.com
 

Month: January 2007

$663! My husband was a little scared when I told him the good news, but he sometimes forgets that I am a world-class bargain shopper. (For real. I have trophies.)

And just how much did I have to spend to save so much money? Half as much as I saved. (Ok, ok, half as much as I saved plus $10.) That’s right, by waiting 2 months to buy my leather jacket, I was able to get 3 turtlenecks, 4 sweaters, a pair of slacks, a pair of jeans, 3 pairs of khaki-jeans, a hoodie, a bathrobe, a tote bag, AND that leather jacket, for the original price of the jacket.

I love 75% off January! Mostly because I like a good bargain, but also because I love jackets, sweaters, and boots. And I would be broke if I paid full price for everything in my jacket-sweater-boot closet. Which, consequently, now has more room in it since I moved those pesky trophies to my new trophy room …

I love buffets. Not because I eat a lot – in fact, I am incapable of eating a whole lot in one sitting. But the great thing about buffets, is that you can eat whatever you want. There’s no entree, 2 sides and a roll rule. There’s no salad first, dessert last rule. The only rule is get a clean plate every time around. And THAT’s a rule I can follow.

The other morning, I found myself at Shoney’s for breakfast. Intrigued by the promise of a buffet on the menu, my husband snuck over to check it out while the waitress was getting our drinks. He reported back that it had everything: biscuits, gravy, sausage, bacon, potatoes. When he couldn’t give me details on the fruit and cold cereal selection, I had to make my own not-so-covert run. I didn’t see any cereal (one of my four basic food groups), but there were enough other tasty food items to satisfy my needs, so we signed up for two buffets when our drinks arrived.

And so it was, on my second plate, that my husband stopped mid-sentence and asked, “Is that a pickle?!” I had to concede that it was, in fact, a half-eaten pickle I was holding in my hand. He then proceeded to tell me that red jello, pickles, cucumber slices, cinnamon apples and french toast sticks was not a good breakfast. I agreed, and said it was a good thing I had a strawberry shortcake and potatoes on my first go round …

tartar sauce

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The other night, at Dairy Queen, I stole 4 packets of tartar sauce.

Now, it’s not about the money. I can afford tartar sauce. I just never seem to be able to remember to buy it when I’m at the grocery store. And when I eat my fish-sticks-frozen-dinners, it really makes me sad when I don’t have any tartar sauce. You might wonder how I can remember to buy fish sticks, but not tartar sauce – it’s because the condiments aisle comes way before the frozen foods aisle.

So, anyway, the other night, I found myself at Dairy Queen, waiting for a fish sandwich, a basket of chicken strips, and 2 blizzards – and I saw a bin of tartar sauce packets. I was ordering a fish sandwich, so I figured I had good cover – even though the sandwich comes with plenty of tartar sauce already. I donated a quarter to the leukemia kid, and then I pocketed me some tartar sauce.

As we speak, I’ve got a fish-sticks-frozen-dinner cooking in the oven. And I am looking forward to enjoying the first of my stolen goods.

cowgirl pants

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Thanks to a generous gift from my husband’s grandfather, I am now the proud owner of my very own cowgirl pants. The generous gift being cash, not the actual garment.

I grew up in Washington state (NOT cowgirl country), so I was unaware until very recently that there was such a thing as cowgirl pants. When I pressed the issue with my husband (born and raised in Texas, very much cowgirl country), all he could come up with was, ‘Tight. Real tight.’

When we got married a few years back, I bought myself a cowgirl hat. A shapeable, black-and-gray mottled number, accented with turquoise bits. It’s perhaps a little flashy, but it tickled me, so it joined my collection of hats I never wear.

A few months ago, I found a cowboy store in Frederick, MD, because my husband decided he needed a new cowboy hat. He didn’t find anything he liked, but I sure did. I found my very first cowgirl shirt! It’s a completely impractical rhinestoned-handwash-only piece, but it really is quite becoming. And since my husband didn’t find anything he liked, I had to buy something to make the trip worthwhile. I’m pretty sure that’s the law.

And that’s when I found out about cowgirl pants. My husband informed me that none of my jeans cut the mustard as cowgirl pants. When he couldn’t explain what, exactly that meant, I gave up all hope of ever finding any.

Until I found myself in Texas with $100 (thanks Danny!) burning a hole in my pocket, and in close proximity to all kinds of western wear stores.

And so I tried on all kinds of jeans, all the while with my husband saying, ‘No …. tighter …’ I finally found the perfectly tight pair (I’m pretty sure I can only wear them on skinny days). And then, of course, I needed some authentic boots. And also, I was informed, a rhinestone belt. The first belt I fell in love with was $85, so I quickly fell out of love, and found a … cheaper option.

Now, my outfit is complete. Someone find me a rodeo!

merry christmas to me

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Thanks to the magic of amazon.com, I made out like a bandit this Christmas. As you get older, Christmas becomes less about the stuff you get, and more about spending time with family and friends, and with finding the perfect gifts for others. So, imagine my surprise when I came home from my visit with the inlaws with a suitcase full of stuff that I love. And I owe it all to amazon!

Amazon has this wondrous invention called the wishlist. You can add anything amazon sells to your wishlist – and amazon sells EVERYTHING. Books, cds, dvds, jewelry, clothing, kitchen gadgets, appliances, toys, electronics, food – you name it, and they probably sell it. (After a quick check, amazon does not sell automobiles or livestock. So, I guess they don’t have quite everything …)

After you’ve made your wishlist, you can prioritize and comment on the items. This, of course, so others know what’s really important to you, and what’s just mildly intriguing.

And the best thing: you can mass email your wishlist out. So then everyone knows what you want! And then – you get stuff you want. And you can’t quite help feeling like you’re 6 years old and Santa brought you everything you asked for.

(Just a quick shout-out to my folks – I love the gift cards! Any time I can enjoy my favorite pasttime guilt-free is a happy day for me. Or should I say, was a happy day for me …)

happy new year!

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2007 – where has the time gone? It’s hard to believe that I’m all grown up. I mean, really, really grown up. With a degree … and a husband … and car payments … and a mortgage … And I’m still no closer to exercising regularly, eating right, or taking full advantage of the multitude of things that are within a 4 hour drive. But – that’s what 2007 is for! Seeing as 2006 failed to deliver.

forge and batmobileSo, me and my kitties rang in the new year by doing a new project. I actually got it for Christmas, but was holding off for New Years to put it together. And it’s a good thing I did! It took me through most of Harry Potter and all of Willy Wonka to put it together (thank goodness for HBO). I’m glad I had so much help from the cats, or the process would have been much quicker. Forge so thoughtfully put pieces under the coffee table and couch for me. (No, I am not joking. He is almost as fascinated with the little plastic pieces as he is with yarn, the mortal enemy of felines everywhere.)

I was just looking at the pics I took, so if you’re confused about what exactly the end product is, it’s a batmobile. I promise.

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