this is why I call her, the wind beneath my wings

She like literally just posted this. I mean really, just now. Seriously, look at the timestamp. And it was fitting because I've been going through the awkward puberty phase that 20somethings inevitably go through where you realize you can't just throw your hair up in a ponytail and put on the same pair of jeans you wear everyday with the semi-matching hooded sweatshirt you took from your friend on the soccer team (Hi Aubren!!!) because being away from her will be hard but if you just have the hooded sweatshirt it will be less hard . The only thing different between this phase and the pre-teenager phase is this time around I'm not rushing my mother both excited and panicked because of, you know,*it*.

Leslie's post was comforting. Well, comforting and a HUGE reminder. Comforting because I'm not the only one (thank YOU confession.....) and also a reminder (yet again) that I am not-straight-out-of-the-movies-and/or-soaps girly around chateau de chapell. Because I forgot that. Remember, I'm ADD. I'll forget again once I post this and then I'll be all what? when I am doing the nightly routine which does involve brushing the nite-guard thank you very much.

I too wear a dental appliance. My confession. But coupled with my same pair'o'jeans thing I have going on it makes me a tad bit boyish. I mean, how do you sauce up a nite-guard? Or how do you feminize dirty jeans?

Well... by painting your nails. Pink. Bright little-girl pink. And so I did. I'm becoming a bit more feminine. I figure I have to wear the nite-guard and I'm so not not going to wear my jeans, so painting my nails is the only reasonable solution. Score.

sisters don't shake hands...

This is my sister.
She just rolled a strike. Holla.
This is my sister with her husband.
They just saw the arch and are in stinkin' awe of that steel beast.
They flew on an airplane to see us.
Good times.

Jordan isn't home to check

By the way, I really hope I added all that up correctly. Because if not, that's just embarrassing.

sit caroline. roll over. good girl.

Oh sweet STL Coupon lady... you make me happy.

I'm cracking down on my expenditures and trying to be a tad more *frugal* Up until now I believed that gas and groceries were FREEBIES and it didn't matter how much I spent. I fell victim to the credit card game and since I never logged onto it nor paid it (Jordan did... don't worry people we pay our CC) I just thought the money that went out for it all never actually came out. Oh foolish Suzanne. Dad said the money tree ended 5.15.05 and somehow that didn't translate to gas and groceries.

SO... new year, new leaf, new game. I met someone and she tells me almost everyday how I can save money and take advantage of discounts. If you are in STL MEET HER.

Again, I'm new at this so don't judge me BUT I just saved a whopping $7.79 tonight at Walgreens, plus I have a $1.00 off my next Walgreens purchase coupon because of all this shenanigans. Yeppers. I bought:
Excedrin for $1.99 (24 count)
Loreal nailpolish for $4.99
Loreal nailpolish for $4.99
Reynolds Wrap for $1.69
That's $13.66 for you English majors-- before tax. Add on the $0.48 in tax and we are at $14.14.

I saved:
$4.99 on the Buy 1 get 1 free Loreal nailpolish
$0.80 on the Walgreens Reynolds wrap coupon
$1.00 on the Manufacturers Reynolds wrap coupon
$1.00 on the Manufacturers Excedrin coupon
For a total of $7.79.

I paid $6.35 for the above. Probably to the experienced couponier this isn't much to brag about, but re-read the beginning of this post to better understand why it is to me.

New year, new habits. I'm off to do some jumping jacks.

*feel free to correct my grammar. seriously.

For Free....

Turn around... Every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears.

I could be slightly biased, but people would kill for these eyes.
Tomorrow my sister and brother in-law fly in. I am like pee-your-pants excited.

GOOOOOOOO BOBBBBBBBBBCCCAAAAAATTTTTSSSSSSS!

We are sooo firing our maid.

Foxy Lady

So I briefly mentioned my parent's 40th Anniversary the other day. They were married February 15, 1969. When planning the wedding they wanted to consciously pick a day that was not around any holiday- totally forgetting Valentine's Day. It makes it fun... and incredibly easy to remember.
How insanely adorable, stylish and otherwise hot are they? Yes, I know. They are stunning. Ok now everyone wish them a happy anniversary. Nnnnnow.

For a mere $2.25 I was able to buy fabric and thread and bust out these bad boys. I love cheap fabric and I love being able to thread my own bobbin without calling my mother for help. I think she loves that too...

Continuing the winter theme:

First snow of the year worth blogging about.

O Tannenbaum

Not really 'tis the season, yes, but in sorting through old photos I wanted to pull all the Christmas tree pics. Probably this most recent one was my favorite- the tree had this brilliant curve towards the top. It was sad and in need of some TLC. Christmas 2 in Charlotte we kept our tree up until almost March. If we ever had the condo door open to the balcony we could hear people comment on how *idiotic* it was to keep the Christmas tree up that long. So we did miss the tree pickup and had to call in a special one to our condos. Yes of course they chose to pickup in the section that was not our own and so we were (read: J was) forced to drag that dried up thing all the way up the street. There was a trail of needles for months. One thing I was super pumped about was the fact that our tree, our not-watered-in-weeks tree, never failed to provide that beautiful Christmas tree smell.

Christmas 1, 2005 - Lookout

Christmas-ish 2, 2006 - CLT

Christmas 3, 2007 - STL

Christmas 4, 2008 - STL

Happy Anniversary to Dad and Mom Jenkins- 40 years!

"Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh."

W.H. Auden, "Notes on the Comic"
- yes found and ripped from Real Simple.