Tuesday, February 28, 2012

CH CH CHANGES.




It never fails, or at least not in the past 3 years that as soon as my birthday draws near I suddenly need a change. This year was no different and rather than chop my hair off and go for a color switch I kept it simple and just a at home dye job.

The picture just looks dark (not a bad thing) but in the sun it's a pretty deep burgandy color. I seem to like the purple hues for some reason and so does Evan so I guess I'll stick with it.

Yeah, I know, big update. :)

-Brittnye

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Totally not taking credit for this entry but just HAD to share this. This is so me and I have some friends who think I'm nuts but I seriously don't mind going everywhere when the savings are worth it..
Why I shop at 9 different stores for groceries
..By C. Jeanne Heida
.PostsWebsite .By C. Jeanne Heida Yahoo! Contributor Network – Thu, Feb 16, 2012 5:31 PM EST
As grocery prices keep climbing, I've had to change the way I shop for food for my family. Now instead of buying all my groceries at our two neighborhood supermarkets, I'm shopping at nine different stores for the best grocery deals of the week. By taking advantage of the low prices, coupons, and advertised specials that each of these stores have to offer, it has been possible to lower our family's grocery budget by 40% or more without having to give up the foods we like.

Stocking up on the loss leaders at my favorite supermarkets is one way to save money. Buying groceries at off-beat stores is another. Here's just a few of the other places I shop at to save our family money.

Third-tier discount stores. Did you ever wonder what happens to food that's nearing the expiration date? Overstock and close-to-expiring foods are often sold to third-tier discount stores where they are priced to sell. Including stores like these on my shopping route lets me buy my favorite organic foods, dairy products, and more at half the price found elsewhere. Most discount stores will also honor manufacturer coupons to leverage the savings even more.

Farmer markets and the corner vegetable stand. Buying direct from the grower is another easy way to save 10-20% on fresh fruits and veggies for the family. Farmer's markets and fruit stands are the best place to find these deals, though for larger quantities, it may be worth the drive to the country to pick up bushels of orchard fruits priced at 50 cents a pound and less.

Stores that sell staples 'by the bin.' Long before there was Costco, our community had discount stores such as Winco and Smith's, warehouse supermarkets with "bulk bin" aisles. It's here where shoppers can save money by packaging up their own staples such as rice, beans, pasta, spices, and more. Bulk bin prices range from 25%-90% less than packaged goods and is an easy way to save money without having to sacrifice quality.

Restaurant supply outlets. For the times I'm entertaining a crowd or need a sack of onions or potatoes, these wholesale stores sell restaurant quality foods priced 20-50% under regular retail. Most restaurant wholesalers will sell direct to the public on a cash basis with no membership required.

Gas station. Gas station convenience stores tend to be much more expensive than grocery stores except in one area -- milk. With limited shelf space, gas stations price milk about 75 cents less per gallon than the cheapest grocery store in town. While it's not worth making a special trip to a gas station to stock up on cheap milk, it's good to remember the next time the car needs gasoline.

When it comes to keeping grocery costs under control, comparison shopping is how a family can stick to their budget without sacrificing variety and nutrition. To get the most savings out of a morning of comparison shopping, these four tips are also worth remembering:

--Always shop with a list and a calculator
--Always grab the circulars on the way into the store for unadvertised bargains and in-store coupons
--Double check the receipts to avoid an accidental overcharge
--Plan your shopping route in a circle to minimize time on the road and wasted fuel

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Should have gone with Cautious....

Today has been brutal.

I was so excited to share with you my joyous news tonight and instead, I'm fighting back tears and internally punishing myself for yet again getting my hopes up. Many of you, who are sweet, devoted readers may remember awhile back when I talked about us getting a dog someday and how we were just waiting to find the right one. Well, last week, I found him. "Goldie"was a stray found and taken to the Denton  Animal Shelter and would be available today if not reclaimed. He caught my attention and my heart quite quickly. 6-8 years old, male, neutered Golden Retriever. Or as I call my dream dog.

I talked it over with Evan almost jokingly but instead, he asked more about him and once he saw how excited I was to show him pictures and talk about him he too was hooked on the idea. We emailed the director who answered several questions and asked us questions, she was excited for us to come this morning and get "Goldie". I posted it on FB, I shared his picture I even wrote on the shelters wall about how excited we were to get him and bring him home. We cleaned the house, organized, made plans for how to introduce Gus and Paris, bought food, a collar, leash, crate, etc all ready for this morning.

We arrived at the shelter to see "Goldie" playing with a few other dogs and wagging his huge tail in excitement, I was so happy to see him and know he was ours! We went inside, checked in and waited our turn as there were 5 people also in the lobby. Then someone asked a simple enough question to someone else as Evan and I told the officer we were  there to meet Amy and sign our paperwork for "Goldie".

"What?! I'm here for Goldie!" Said this older woman sitting in a seat and staring at us in suprise. This woman walked in directly in front of us and I signed in after her. When Amy came into the office the woman stood up hurriedly and let Amy and the officer know that she was there to pick up Goldie and she had been there first. I was flabbergasted. Was this lady really going to be so rude?!

Amy looked at us and asked if I was Brittnye, I said yes and she smiled and let me know how happy she was to finally meet us and how excited she was to have me start volunteering next month (Something I start on March 10th). Then the woman made another comment on how she hoped they weren't holding animals for friends of workers.....*sigh* I just met Amy, we don't know her personally at all.

The officer was not as friendly as Amy, and said they didn't hold animals and it was a first come first serve basis. He then had us write our names down on a piece of paper, folded them and had Amy draw a name to see who got "Goldie". My heart broke as she read the other womans name and not mine.

Just like that, my early birthday present from Evan was taken from me. All with the dog being in my sight! I just sttod there not sure what to do while Evan rubbed my back. Amy handed the woman the paperwork and asked if we wanted to look at the other dogs available, which we reluctantly did. Since I follow the FB page, I knew who was available and none of the other dogs tugged at me like "Goldie" had. when we went into the dog room and walked down a few kennels Evan grabbed me asked if I was okay to which I started crying my eyes out. I know, seems stupid to cry over this, my main concern was he would be adopted which he was but still....we did so much to make the house ready for him and it was like we were bringing home a new baby. I was that excited about it and I waited all weekend to allow myself to get to that point of letting my guard down to have everything be changed in an instant.

So I cleaned myself up, we looked at a few cats and then went back out to the yard to watch the dogs and play with a few. The woman came outside and started asking a volunteer about "Goldie". She didn't even know his story or if he was neutered. She had seen him on petfinder after her husband had told her to look for another Golden after theirs passed away 6 months ago. The fact that she lives in the country and has had other goldens made me feel a little better....but this woman then had the gall to approach us and ask us what we had planned to call him. When Evan told her we were going to call him Samson, she made this weird face and said "Oh. hmm well, we're naming him matador but Matt for short." She had heard we had a child and then said "We live in Gainesville, you can come play with him if you'd like!"

BLESS my husband and his sweet heart because after that I wanted to be rude to her, I wanted to make her feel low and throw Avery into the conversation for a kick in her own chest for taking a dog from a toddler but I didn't. I just smiled and wished her the best and went back to chatting with the volunteers and Amy. I seriously don't know if the woman was trying to be rude or intentionally hurtful but it just shocked me.

We got in the car and I just told Evan to ignore my tears on the way home. I truly am thankful for his sweet words of encouragement and understanding, he knows my heart so well and he knows just how badly I wanted this dog. A dog. I never go crazy over dogs, I've always been a cat person and the last time I owned a dog was 2003! Something lately though has me wanting one so bad!!

We looked at some Golden rescues today but it's 2-300$ to adopt and the process is crazy. I also read on several sites that they won't adopt to a family with a child under 5 years of age.

Yeah, the hits kept coming.

Evans best friend drove in from Fort Worth soon after and we spent the afternoon with him. I was Thankful for the distraction because my mood went sour fast and I have had such a crummy afternoon. I'm hoping an early bed time after a nice hot bath can help me shrug this funk off. I hate feeling this sad and defeated!
Ugh.

Over & Out,
Brittnye

Long Time, No See.

I promise, I haven't fallen off the face of planet. Just not sure I have much to Blog about lately.

Life as usual has been going great with lots of things happening. Between date nights, Avery in general and work all combined with daily living it's pretty mundane lately. *Shrug* You will not hear me complaining about that.

I will say that since I have so many friends currently having babies I have had so much fun shopping! I'm all good on things for girls but I swear, everyone is having BOYS! I have 12, yes TWELVE friends having babies in April within the same 2 weeks and only TWO are girls. I had a baby shower 2 weeks ago, one on Sunday, another this Saturday and the following Saturday. All for boys.

Sundays shower was for the oh so amazingly fantastic Michelle who is ridiculously cute in all her pregnant glory. :) I have never been to a shower where the majority of the guest were also pregnant so it was a little overwhelming for me (since we're not pregnant yet) but it was also the most fun I have had at a shower in years! To see how truly blessed Michelle and her husband Bryan are by just this room full of women who love her and cherish her friendship as much as I do was an amazing experience to watch and be apart of.
Everyone made a onesie for Michelle and baby boy (His name is a mystery to EVERYONE) which I thought was so adorable. However, I am not as creative as some of those ladies...
I tried.

ION- (In Other News)
Be sure to check my next post for a HUGE announcement.
Today is a big day for the Hartfield family and I am so excited to share it with everyone soon. Correction, Excited doesn't cover it, I'm ecstatic....and cautious too. Guess we'll see which wins out soon. ;)

Blessings on your day,
Brittnye

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy "I Love You" Day.


I'm very mixed with today.
 I don't ask for anything which drives Evan crazy. I do not care for Flowers or Chocolate but I do expect at least a card and something sweet.  Evan used to make Valentines a HUGE thing but the last few years he's slacked and now...he's trying to make it like he used to and in the end you get a frustrated wife and sad/guilty husband.

Today during lunch after being annoyed with how weird Evan was acting I told him today wasn't Valentine's Day and that since it wasn't Valentine's day, he could act normal and go back to being my sweet husband and enjoy our Tuesday lunch date like it was any other Tuesday. So he did, and we had a really good day together before we picked up our true Valentine from MDO.

I did get a sweet card and as well as a gift card to Cheesecake factory. :)

I just hate the idea that people go out of their way to show someone they love them simply because a calendar date says to! If you love someone you should show them daily with your words and actions from the heart. Why can't my husband buy me flowers on any other day besides 2/14? Where does it say I wouldn't like a piece of candy in July? Or even that it has to be for a reason?
SMH....

So there's that. I do hope everyone has a sweet and lovoly Valentine's Day with their loved ones. I just also hope that you share this same hype during the rest of the year as well.

I'm off to spend the evening with these 2 crazy kids...

XOXO-
Brittnye


Monday, February 13, 2012

MIBA

M.I.B.A

Missing in blog action.

Still alive, promise. Just been busy and devoting more time to my other blog (I know, I know).

Update soon with new pictures to share, promise.

Happy Monday,
Brittnye

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Daddy/Daughter Date Night!

UGH. I wrote a really neat entry last night and then it never saved!! I hate that.


I just wanted to share a updated picture of Evan and Avery. Since we lived in Fort Worth Evan used to take Avery on Daddy/Daughter dates every Thursday night. I loved having a few hours to myself every week but since we moved back to Denton and Evan works the night shift, date nights got put on hold.

So when Evan handed me a receipt for a reservation at Chickfila for Saturday night I was kinda confused...until I read that it was for his table for their daddy/daughter date night. Apparently when I took Avery on a date 2 weeks ago for doing good with potty training, that upset Evan. He felt like he needed to find the time to take his girl on a dates again. So I did Averys hair and she picked out her outfit to wear and off they went.

They had dinner at Chickfila and then daddy took her to Mardel where she got 2 new Veggietale movies (turns out we don't own them all yet!)

And what did I do? I went to MovieTavern and ate dinner while watching a movie. Not too bad at all for mommy time. :)

Happy Sunday,
Brittnye

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