Valentine's Day

So I've never been a huge Valentine's Day fan. In a relationship or not, I chuckle at the idea of randomly buying gifts to celebrate. Isn't that what an anniversary is for? I don't dislike Valentine's Day, I just don't get all crazy about it. Matt and I usually just do something really small (sometimes just saying, "Happy Valentine's Day") to mark the occassion. This year Matt came home with a dozen red roses, and I must say, they're beautiful.

Luckily, I had also found the perfect card for us. I actually laughed out loud in the store when I first read it. I wonder how many times a similar conversation has taken place in our house.

I wonder what St. Patrick's Day will bring.

My Mother's Daughter

I grew up with a mother who had an amazing ability to sniff out great deals. Deals on bread machines, deals on shoes, deals on baby clothes...you name it. It's not like she went shopping all the time. She just always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. One Christmas all of us kids got softball gloves and mitts because Mom found them for 99% off or some ridiculous price. It didn't matter that we only played softball once in a blue moon. It was a fantastic deal, so we started playing softball a lot more.

Although my Mom usually made my formal dresses, I decided to borrow one from a friend for Homecoming my junior year. It was bright blue satin (welcome to the 90s). Not an easy color to match. But that didn't stop my Mom from finding a pair of bright blue satin shoes that were just my size...at a yard sale for $1. What are the odds?!

Even after most of us were married, we'd get a call from Mom on a Saturday morning asking us if we wanted her to buy a chair or some shelves she found at a fantastic price. They had to load up the trailer and van every time they came out to visit just to fit in Mom's amazing deals. I don't want to sound ungrateful. I loved that about my Mom. Plus, she found me 5 brand new oak chairs that perfectly matched the kitchen table my Dad made. No complaints here.

So, with genes like these, I have to be excited about a great deal, right? I am. I admit it. I get really excited about finding things for 80% off. And all my friends know it. My sisters are both the same. It's not uncommon to hear some variation of the following conversation:

"Cute shoes!"

"Thanks! I got them for $4."

"Really? Where? I want to get some for ______. Is the sale still going on?"

Or this conversation:

"Hey, I'm at the store and I found some bins like the ones you were looking at. They're only $2. Do you want me to get you some?"

We have a running tally to keep track of the money we spend for each other.

So, I decided to blog about my latest deal. I was searching for a good price on "The Little Mermaid." After all, it's going back into that blasted Disney vault today, right? But while I was searching, I came across a cute corduroy bedspread. There were only two, and they were both the right size for my bed. It must be fate.

Original price: $89.99.

Andrea's final price: $8.99.

Yep, I found the perfect bedspread for 90% off. I must be my mother's daughter.

Back to Reality

Matt and I just got back from our cruise to Mexico. Weather was absolutely perfect, the water was warm, the food was fantastic, and the company was great (we went with 3 other couples), so we were a bit sad to return to 20-30 degree weather and shovelling snow. Sigh. The group that we went with is already planning another warm getaway for next winter. I guess it was a hit!

This was our stateroom number. The rooms were tiny, so it's a good thing that there's so much else to do on the ship.

While walking around Ensenada, we were surprised at how HUGE the curbs were in some places--sometimes about a foot and a half tall. Here's Matt hiking up one.

This is a beach in Cabo San Lucas where we spent a couple hours. We had it mostly to ourselves to play in the water and snorkel. Now I remember why I love the beach so much.

It makes we warmer just looking at this picture!

I love walking on the beach barefoot, and you don't get many opportunities to walk where there are so few people around in such a beautiful place.

We enjoyed the sunsets from the ship. Pictures just don't do them justice.

A to Z About Me

A--Attached or Single: Attached to Matt
B--Best Friend: Matt (how cheesy is that?)
C--Cake or Pie: I don't care as long as it's chocolate!
D--Day of Choice: Tuesday (Singing practice day)
E--Essential Item: I suppose a water bottle. I keep one with me at all times.
F--Favorite Color: ?? Orange? Red? Green?
G--Greatest Accomplishment: Running the St. George Marathon
H--Hometown: White Plains, MD
I--Indulgences: Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. I'm drooling just thinking about it!
J--January or July: July
K--Kids: Just Matt
L--Life is incomplete without: Matt, church, exercise, chocolate, good friends
M--Marriage Date: January 26, 2001
N--Number of Siblings: 7--5 brothers, 2 sisters
O--Oranges or Apples: Grapes
P--Phobias or fears: Public speaking
Q--Quotes: SO many, but here's one..."So what if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?"
R--Reason to Smile: Life is good!
S--Season: Spring
T--Tag 5 Friends: Valerie, Alona, Jennifer, Lacie, Dadra.
U--Unknown fact about me: Umm...I guess I'm an open book. =)
V--Very favorite store: The ones I can afford.
W--Worst habit: 4 words--piles of clean laundry.
X--X-ray or Ultra Sound: Ultra sound. It's kind of cool watching things move around.
Y--Your favorite food: Mmmm...warm chocolate melting cake. (But I would never turn down a good steak.)
Z--Zodiac: Libra

Is it SCOOTER WEATHER yet?

I just looked outside and it is snowing AGAIN. I'm all for a little snow, but this is getting out of hand! I can hardly wait for weather warm enough to drag that scooter out of hibernation!

This was on Halloween (can you tell from my socks?). My friend's twins were being motorcross kids and our neighbor brought his bike to give them a ride. She is (obviously) pregnant, so we thought it would be great to get a picture on my scooter. The "helmet" was her idea.

Me and another neighbor forming a "scooter gang". We look pretty intimidating, don't we?

Around the Town

Recently I got a chance to sing on Temple Square with the group I'm in, "Voices." We ended our Christmas singing season at the Visitor Center on the 23rd and it was a blast. Most of my family came to hear me sing. Aren't families great?! On the way home, we stopped to snap a couple pictures of the temple and the lights.

This is our group. I'm the one with the microphone in my face. (Matt's still getting used to being the photographer...)

I Hate Moving

I realized a long time ago that I really hate the moving process. Why this hasn't stopped me from moving...who knows? But it hasn't. Matt and I decided to buy the house directly across the street from where we live now. (Double the square footage, craft room that's ONLY for crafts, huge master bedroom, STORAGE space, etc.) So we're not packing up boxes, having lots of friends over to help load a truck, having more friends over to unload the truck and then unpacking boxes. That method is bad enough. But no...we decided it would just be easier to carry stuff directly across. For the last week or so, I've been filling bins with items from our house, taking it across the street (with several strange looks from passersby), putting the stuff away, and bringing back the empty bin. Sounds great, right? No boxes, no unpacking that takes months. I thought so too, until I made about a thousand trips across the street and I'm not even close to being finished. And we haven't even started to move the furniture. We have a LOT of stuff. Yikes! Luckily we do have friends who are coming to help us finish Saturday, not to mention those who have already helped me carry lots of stuff across.

So Matt gets to listen to me whine while he reclines and watches TV. (He got a pressure sore on the bottom of his foot and he's supposed to stay off it for a while or it will continue to get worse. I think he bribed the doctor.)

All I can say...thank goodness for amazing friends who are also willing to carry about a thousand loads across the street.