Showing posts with label Shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shopping. Show all posts

2/13/13

It's Inevitable

It's always so daunting to file your taxes, isn't it? I always dread it, which is kind of funny because we pay someone to do it for us! It's not even a big, hard task for me. It's really just gathering all of our crap paperwork & sitting across from a tax person. Come on Steph, it's not that bad!



I've never been one to procrastinate doing my taxes. No way, no how - not when there's a chance I will be getting some money! I like to go in the first day we can. [Reese has a bunch of stocks & shinanigans, so it usually takes a while until we get everything.]

This year we could have gone in January 18th. We got everything in the mail super fast! Woohoo, bring on the money! Every year I am a little nervous, thinking maybe, just maybe we won't get a return & we'll owe the government more money! Yikes. Scary thought. Every year my nerves are put at ease when we find out the government shall be paying us! This year I had no nerves! We had a baby in 2012! There is no way we'll be paying anything extra.

So, the 18th comes around & I tell Reese I am ready to go file our taxes! This is going to be a fabulous year! We can't go, he tells me. He's waiting for one more piece of paperwork for his 401k. Blerg! I want my money now. I told Reese I was pretty darn sure that we didn't have to do anything with his 401k until we get the funds, but he insisted we wait.

So we waited.

We waited almost a full month! Last night he gets an email from the company telling him his "Taxable Amount is $0". Fantastic.

We waited for nothing. [I'm not one to say 'told you so', but....]

So we went in today! Hooray! 20 minutes sitting across from some lady & now we are days away  from getting a hunka chunka moolah.


We are really good about saving our tax return. We always have been. We  don't go out & buy big fun things. We put it away. My momma always tells me she's proud of how smart we are with our money. [I love making my momma proud.]

Reese likes to take a portion of it and invest it. We have done this for the last 2 years & we have seen great returns [even though those returns are taxable...eesh]. I let him decide where we invest & how much, because honestly - I don't care. Maybe this year I will care, I'll tell him I want to have the same amount we invest to go shopping. Stephy could really use a new pair of sunglasses...


If I am good with my money 99% of the time I deserve to splurge on something once in a while, right?!

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9/11/11

Tell Me, Tell Me.

Well, I suppose I should tell everyone [mostly my mom] about my first day of work on Friday.

First of all, I should tell those of you who don’t know that I am working at a bank. I got hired on as a Customer Service Representative & Teller.

It went really well. Everyone there was very nice & friendly. First days are usually pretty boring because it’s a lot of tours, explanations, & training. My first day did not disappoint; it definitely fit into the “typical first day” category.

I spent the morning shadowing a fellow employee & got to see how the bank runs. Then a quick lunch, off to the Police Department for a finger printing session, & back for some afternoon training. I spent the whole afternoon doing training modules online. Boring. Wow. Have any of you ever had to endure anything like that? No human interaction, just reading slides on the computer. It is not fun.

My position requires me to be dressed up everyday & I don’t have enough dress clothes to get me through more than a week or so.

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First Day Outfit.
This pic is for you, Mom.

So….that means I got to to go shopping! Darn =) Saturday morning Reese & I headed 2 hours east to get our shopping on. I had great success. 3 pair of shoes, 3 pair of dress pants, 4 dress shirts, & 2 sweaters. We got just about everything on sale & got a lot of bang for our buck. [I also got some stuff at Bed Bath & Beyond and Bath & Body Works - I heart those stores!]

So my job update so far - it looks like it’s going to be great & I’m going to really love it. The boss is really nice & friendly & I think I’ll really get along with my employees. I am so grateful that I have this job & that it’s enjoyable!!

I hope you all had a great weekend & that this coming week is fabulous!!

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8/26/11

Friday Confessional

Right now I am in Utah with my family & I have been busy playing with them, but now it is TIME TO CONFESS!!! So, do what you know you want to & head over to *OurDandelionWishes* so you can confess it all. 


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I confess…
I hate being away from Reese.
I had to be apart from him most of last week & it was the worst.

I confess…
Reese & I are going to Ikea today.
I've never been & I hope we can find a great table!

I confess…
I like shopping.
I do pretty well with saving money & not shopping excess.

I confess…
I did just get some REALLY cute new shoes though…
I had to get rid of an old pair before I could get these - that was Reese’s stipulation.

I confess…
I HATE when I am posting a comment on someone’s blog & it makes me type that dumb word verification.
I don’t care if I’m offending someone who does it; I hate it that bad.

I confess…
I lied. I actually do care about offending people, but I do hate doing the word verification.
I also hate when music starts up right away. - Let me decide whether or not I want to listen to music you like.

I confess…
I’m worried that my last two confessions were a bit too snotty, but I don’t want to delete them.
Some people tell me my opinions are “too strong”.

I confess…
I have a family reunion tomorrow with my Grandma’s side of the family; mostly people I have never ever met.
I’m excited to see some of the people that I do know & meet new family members.

I confess…
This has been way too long, so I better say goodbye!
I'm still thinking I may need to delete those 2 snotty confessions.


I hope you all have a glorious weekend =)



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7/6/11

I Love A Holiday Weekend.

I know that it's Wednesday, but this is my first chance to sit down at the computer. If blogging were a job, I'd be so fired. Thank goodness it isn't & that I can blog at my leisure!

We had a fantastic weekend. Tons of fun with the family. Tons of great food. An all around amazing time. On Saturday we went shopping & ended up getting a kitten. He is the cutest thing I have ever seen. We love him so much. We are having a hard time getting our adult cat to like him & welcome him into the family. The Vet said it could take up to a month. That'll be fun't. If anyone has ever experienced this & has some advice for me I'd love to hear it!

On Sunday we all went up into the mountains for a picnic & hike. It was so beautiful up there! We wanted to hike all the way up to the top of a waterfall, but there was some flooding & we couldn't make it all the way up. We still spent a few hours out there & had a blast.



Then it was Monday - the 4th!!! I love it! We had so much fun. We took it easy, slept in, ate some delicious French toast, played games outside, watched Big, & then went over to Reese's uncle's house to have a BBQ. So much food. It's a little bit sick & wrong how much food we ate all weekend! We played Ping Pong & Cowboy Golf [I wish I had a picture of me schooling EVERYONE at Ping Pong. I rocked it.]

Cowboy Golf

Now for the best part of the day - darkness! We can finally do some FIREWORKS!!! Oh, don't worry - I had been doing firecrackers all weekend & I never blew any fingers off - mine or anyone else's. Reese's parents spent a lot of money on artillery shells [the big pretty ones], but my favorites are Blooming Flowers & Fountains. Lame, I know. But the flowers are fun to hold until they're about to go off & then throw them up in the air as high as I can & watch them spin while they fall. It's one of the simple joys in life, I guess.



Oh, for those Harry Potter fans out there, my sister-in-law & I totally nerded out with Roman Candles & had a wand war. Yeah, we're that awesome.

Avada Kedavra
My festive eye shadow.


All in all it was a great weekend, with lots of food, family, & fun. I love spending time with family! This coming weekend we're headed to Utah & see my side of the family [and for a dentist appointment-more on that later]! I can't wait to see my  family.

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th as well. Enjoy the rest of your week =)


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7/3/11

The King Is Here!

Yesterday we were in Billings, Montana with Reese's brother, Jordan, & his wife, Brittany. We had a great day shopping & eating, but that is not what this post is about! We adopted a KITTEN yesterday & he is the cutest thing I have ever seen. He is 8 months old & such a lover. He has not stopped purring & cuddling since we got him yesterday at 2:30 pm. I am smitten.

This is Simba.

We're in love!

He's playing with the string that is attached to my camera.

Reese & Simba sizing each other up...

They're in love too!


Paw to the face. I love it.

Seriously, enough with the paparazzi! 

I told Reese he better not share that milk with my baby!

He did it anyway.

Simba, the king of our family.

There have been so many fun things this weekend, but this one is the topper so far. He is so adorable & such a little lover.

I can't wait to blow stuff up tomorrow. It's going to be amazing! I've already gone through 2 boxes of firecrackers & I still have all my fingers!!!

Have a WONDERFUL 4th of July everyone =)


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6/25/11

My Hubby Is Better Than Yours...

That sounds so rude, doesn't it?! Normally I would care about sounding rude, but today I don't. [Ok that's kind of a fib, I do care about being rude - I never want to be rude but...] Today I have to brag about how amazing my man is. Because, really, he is the best there is.

Thursday night at about 10 pm I got some bad news. I was very upset. Crying into Reese's arms, calling my mom, talking to my best friend about how this could be happening - it was not a pretty sight. [I don't want to get into all the terrible details.] It took Reese a good two hours to get me calmed down enough to sleep & it was a rough night's sleep.

I didn't get out of bed until 10 am on Friday, and only did because a phone call woke me up. A phone call that delivered more bad news. Wow, today was not going to be my day! I texted Reese & said something to the effect of "I just got more bad news. I'm getting back into bed & not getting out for the rest of the day. That's ok to do sometimes, right?!!!" He called me and was very sweet & understanding. He told me he had an idea to help me feel better - he said "I just got my commission check, I booked a hotel, & we're going out of town right now so you can shop & forget about everything. We're turning our phones off & enjoying our time together."

He works so hard to make the money for us & he wants to spend his whole commission check on me? No. I can't have that. That's much too selfish. I tell him I don't need to do that, I'd just like to spend the weekend with him & in his arms - that's all I need. He told me he could hold me in his arms in our hotel, because it's booked & we're leaving within the hour.

At this point I was kind of in shock about how utterly amazing he is. How can he love me this much? How can he want to drop everything to take me away for the weekend? So, I slowly packed a bag & waited for him. [I was still feeling pretty crappy & not in the mood to get ready, so I was looking pretty crappy as well.]

We got in the car & headed out of town. Then I got another phone call. I thought, "I can not handle anymore bad news. I just can't." So I didn't answer. The caller left a voicemail....I reluctantly dialed & listened. It was the person I had interviewed with on Tuesday - they wanted to offer me the job if I was willing to take the amount of money they could offer. Good news? Wow. I didn't know how to process it at that point. I didn't mention this in the post about the interview but this bank is 30 minutes away from where we live. For people who live in big cities that's nothing - that's a typical commute. But not for me, not living in a small town. 30 minutes is a long time. Reese & I started talking about what we should do. The highest $/hour they were able to offer was $2 less than I had asked for. We spent an hour & fifteen minutes of the two hour drive talking about what we should do. We finally decided on turning down the job. We feel good about that decision.

Anyway, back to why my hubby is better than yours...We get to our destination, finally, & I am beginning to be in a better/happier mood. We are 2 hours away from the bad news/drama & I am with my man! He took the afternoon off of work to be with me! I am a lucky girl. We make a quick stop at Wal*Mart before checking in at the hotel to get some necessities for our hotel stay...


Then we go to check in at our hotel! We got a nice, big room! I am getting happier & happier and forgetting all my woes. Life can't be that bad when I have a man like Reese who supports & loves me, right? Right.





I don't know if you can tell how nice our room was from these pictures, but take my word for it - it was a nice room! Reese now tells me it's time to shop! But....I am still in my jammies & looking like cra-ap! So off to the bathroom I go to try and get gorgefied, even though I'm still feeling a little dark & grey. I'm not really one to brag, but I wish I would have taken a picture of myself because I looked good! I had some new make up on, a new shirt, & I was feeling like hot stuff! Also, it is important for the story later on to know that I was wearing some VERY CUTE 5 inch wedges - it was all part of the looking hot package.

Looking better on the outside made me feel a little better on the inside & off we went! The first store we hit up was Bed Bath & Beyond. I rarely go in there because I feel like I want to spend my limited shopping time in clothing/shoes stores, but we had all night. Reese was in for the long haul. So, we went everywhere! [Just so you know, this was his idea. He wanted us to go everywhere & buy everything. I had to start saying no. I couldn't take full advantage of his amazingness -- although I may have a little.] We eat salad 3-4 times a week in the summer & I've been wanting a lettuce spinner forever, but we just never feel like it's worth the money. Well, yesterday it was! I got one!! AND a lettuce knife! Ha!


Since we knew we had a lot of shopping ahead of us we decided to take these back to the car first thing. I told Reese it was now his turn to get something & I would not pick out anything else until he did. He said he would look. Then we got into the real shopping! I have never had so much fun in my life. I kind of got to act like a kid with no worries that has parents with an endless budget! It was very exhilarating. [When we got back to the hotel room & did an inventory/added up the receipts I felt a little self indulgent & selfish - but I got over it quickly.]

Reese said he would "look" for something after every store we went into, but he never got anything - until this morning, he found a video game he wanted. I kept telling him over & over that I was done getting things until he picked something out, but then he'd see me eyeing something & he'd buy it. Again I say, how am I so lucky?!

We went into JC Penney & I got some really cute brown crop shorts. They fit so well & I love them! Then we decided to go over & look at shoes for Reese, because he needs some nice black shoes. He tried 3 on, but none fit well. Then I spotted some heels that I almost died for. They were probably the cutest shoes I have ever seen, but I was not getting anything else until he did! After all I had already broken my rule & gotten the shorts. So we left.


Then to Ross, where I found some slacks for $9! Holy crap. What a steal! [I heart Ross.] I was going to have to break my rule & get something AGAIN before Reese had gotten anything! But I had to get these - we couldn't pass up this deal, and they fit like a glove. So, he bought me the pants. All the while we keep talking about those dang heels @ JC Penney. Why do they have to be so cute? Why are they so tall & gorgeous? He says lets just go back & get them. I strongly say no way! I've already gotten too much.


Oh crap! We are walking past Bath & Body Works. Those of you who know me well, know I have a weakness for the yummies there! I am not going in. I start to walk past & Reese says "Look, they're having a sale. We have to go in there." So we do. And guess what? I bought stuff! Dang it! I am terrible, I keep breaking my own rule & getting stuff before Reese does. I'm a failure!....but I don't feel bad about it for long, because I have lots of new yummies!!! [Also, we went back to Bath & Body Works today & bought more. I more than doubled what shows in this picture. I have a problem, I know.]


Like I mentioned before, I was wearing 5 inch heels. I may have been looking good, but by this point my dogs were barking! Howling, really. So we stepped into Famous Footwear. Roxy sandals. 50% off?! What! Reese says "Yeah, we better get those."


But crap! Now we just  bought me shoes [that I love & are way comfy] but now there's no way I'm getting the amazingly sexy ones from JC Penney. Oh well. Comfort is important & I've been needing brown sandals.

Time to break for dinner. We are starving! So we go to Sanford's & it is delicious! We start talking about what we want to do for the rest of the night & Reese says we better go back to JC Penney to get me those heels. No way. Not happening. We've already spent oodles of money on me & he hasn't gotten one thing. There is no way I can get anything else. He then looks at me, smiles and says, "Babe, that's the point of this trip. We're here for you to shop." My heart melts. How am I so lucky? Wow. [Not that I need Reese to buy me things for me to feel loved, it just means a lot that he wants to fully take care of me when I am having a hard time. It means so very much to me that he wants to do anything & everything to make me forget my pain.]

So back to the mall we went....and guess what? They had the shoes in my size. Praise the heavens! They're comfortable - even when I put my barking dogs into them! [Also, this picture does not do them justice. Just sayin'...]


We're waiting in line to check out & I spot some brown sandals that are quite adorable, but I say nothing. No WAY am I going to get anything else. It's too mortifying. I've already behaved like a spoiled brat. But Reese is too quick. He knows me too well. He says he really loves the brown sandals & that I should get them too. Nope. Not happening. I tell him they're $50 & not that cute. He grabs them, asks the cashier if that price is right....Nope, they are on sale for $20. Reese says we're getting them too. [We did NOT spend his whole commission check, or even come close, but it was very sweet of him to have offered that.]


They are quite cute, aren't they? Time to go. The mall is CLOSED! What the what?! How had we been there so many hours that they are literally kicking us out the doors so employees can go home? That's sick.

We get back to the hotel, change into our swim suits & go down to the amazing hot tub! Oh yes. While we are there I tell Reese, "You know, I'm very mad at you. I told you I wasn't getting anything unless you got some stuff & you got nothing & I got lots. You need to get something!" [He knew I wasn't really mad at him, but he needed to get something. This just wasn't right.] He spent some time doing some research on the internet & decided on getting an XBOX 360 game. Dragon Age II. Good, I thought, this is a new game & he'll love it! We went straight to Best Buy this morning for him to get it [& by straight there I mean at noon, once we finally rolled out of bed]. The dang game was on sale! Only $35. Normally I'd be thrilled with the sale price, but not today - today he needed to get spoiled!


Now we are home. He is playing his new game & I am blogging about my wonderful Friday & Saturday with my amazing husband. So for those of you who read my post title & thought I must be exaggerating, now you know - I've proven it - I have the best husband in the world. So, by default, he is better than yours =)

Oh, one final thing - I am fully aware that I got spoiled & Reese is far too good to me. I am truly, honestly, the luckiest woman alive & I never ever take him for granted. He is my heart, soul, & whole world. I would be completely happy to sit on the couch with his arms around me for the rest of my days. I don't need shopping & new things, but I do need him.



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6/8/11

Yummies.

For those of you who don't know - there is nowhere to shop in Riverton. Unless you count WalmartK-Mart, & Maurices, which I do not. So I am left with online shopping. It really isn't the same. It's not as fun as walking through the stores, trying stuff on, holding things, smelling things, laughing at things people are wearing in public - but it's all I've got. There is one thing that makes it almost as good as 'real' shopping, though & that's when whatever I ordered arrives in the mail! That wonderful thing happened yesterday - twice!


I got tons of new yummies. I love BathandBodyWorks.com, it keeps me sane! If I had the room in my cupboards I would shop there daily. It is the best; it all smells so delicious! I do have some fantastic news & that is: I get to shop in a real live mall this weekend! I cannot wait. I get to walk through the stores, try stuff on, hold things, smell things, & most importantly laugh at things people wear in public!