Cats in Neckties

Every time I look in the pet section of a store, I see tons of adorable costumes for dogs. However, there are never any for cats and I get so disappointed! I guess dogs are little more forgiving and cats would hiss and spit at you for trying to dress them up. Oh well. I found a kitty necktie at Target and couldn't resist it. Here are pictures of my 2 little boys all dressed up. They actually didn't mind it either.

Rocky is the slick businessman ready to make a deal.

Peyton hates his 9 to 5 and is ready for Happy Hour.

10 Reasons to be Thankful on Thanksgiving

Alan and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and were fortunate enough to see both of our families and eat a lot of great food. We drove to Abbeville to visit my family on Wednesday night and had lunch at my grandparent's house on Thursday. We went to Beaufort/Spring Island on Saturday morning to visit Alan's parents while they were in town and also went to our niece's baptism this morning. Even though we spent a lot of time on the interstates of SC, we had a great holiday.

10 Reasons I can be thankful on Thanksgiving

1. I have an incredible husband that loves me unconditionally for who I am. (and he's a hottie, too!)
2. My family is a breath of fresh hometown air when I come back for a visit. It's comfortable and relaxed and that's how "going home" is supposed to be.
3. I still have 2 living grandparents that are the sweetest ones you could ask for and I have great memories of my other 2 that I can keep with me forever.
4. I have discovered my love of animals through the 3 precious cats that I am able to share a home with. I get to kiss their sweet little faces and I love them more than you would believe.
5. It's great that not only do I not hate my job, I kind of like it sometimes. I am thankful for the things it has taught me about myself (and others) and the fun people I have met along the way.
6. Alan graduates in 2008 - yippeeee!
7. Being a Clemson fan is one of the greatest things in the world and I am so thankful to have an education and a spirit from there - especially the day after they beat USC. That glorious, proud feeling will NEVER, EVER get old. Did I mention, it NEVER gets old beating the shit out of that team? Oh, I did? Oh, Ok. Just checking. Can I get a woo hoo?
8. I feel that I'm finally an adult in my parents' eyes and I am grateful for their support in life.
9. God allowed me to be born as an American and considering the alternatives, I cannot be thankful enough to have food, shelter, freedom, love, a voice, an education, healthcare, and all of the other many things that others don't have that I take for granted every day.
10. Chick-fil-a

Coupons are Awesome

There are many things that I inherited from my mother: my looks, my ability to ask a million unnecessary questions, uterine fibroids, and the love of SAVING SOME MONEY. Yah-uhhh!!!

I am devoting today's post to the joy of coupon clipping. Call me an old lady, call me a cheap skate, call me what you will, but I just saved $8 at the Teet (my affectionate name for Harris Teeter) and you didn't so, HA!

The Sunday newspaper is a coupon clipper's delight. Pulling out the innards of the newspaper to find 2 (or maybe 3 on a good week) sections of coupons is like buying a lottery ticket that you know will at least be worth what you paid for it. At first my husband was surprised by my thrifty ways, but he has stepped into the light and has even been known to whip a few out to the cashier himself from time to time. Before going to by cat food or cereal, we must have our coupons in hand.

Perhaps I'll make some later posts with my tips on how to be successful at this task, but for now I just wanted to get off my chest that I love saving money even if it's $0.35 at a time. The feeling of watching your grocery total diminish by 10% or more is so rewarding and fun. The best part about our grocery store is that they will double coupons up to $0.99 which is great! Sometimes I'll have a coupon for $0.75 off of something and then at the register it really subtracts $1.50 which is a lot considering the item may only be 2 or 3 dollars to begin with. I promise if you get this rush of quickly saving money, you'll never, EVER, go back to paying full price!