a big update and then a bunch of chatter over coupons. just to warn you haters.

I have been in Kentucky since Monday (I thought we were going to TN but our hotel was a few miles inside KY) visiting my sister-in-law Melissa, her husband Larry and their new baby girl, Jaiden. My mother-in-law and I did the drive together and yesterday on our way up 81 we stopped in Harrisonburg to pick Andy up and continued on to Strasburg, where we met my parents for dinner. Afterwards Barb continued on to Winchester and Andy and I drove home in our new van!

Big news: My parents sold us their Honda Odyssey! Even though I'm not a mom yet, after Andy's car died we both decided we should look for a vehicle that would hold future babies + our dog Casey. We were hoping my parents would consider selling the van and we are so happy to own it! It is the nicest van. Leather, heated seats, DVD player, lots of room...and my favorite: volume control on the steering wheel.  :)

Andy now drives "my" Camry (it's going to be weird to call it his now) which means he finally gets to have AC and a working radio/CD player! As sad as he was to say goodbye to his beloved Mitsubishi Mirage, I think a part of him is relieved to no longer sweat the whole way home from work.

After he left for work today I got to work organizing all the coupons my Mom had brought me and headed out to CVS, Bed Bath and Beyond, Target and Kohls. I saved $40 at CVS (spent $61), saved $10 at Bed Bath and Beyond (spent $26), saved $16 at Target (spent $85), and saved $55 at Kohls (spent $21). While I still spent a lot of money: $193 total, but I saved a total of $121! The ONLY thing I bought for myself that I don't need was a $1 small blue bin from Target that I plan on using for stashing my many lipsticks and glosses and balms.

I have been doing a LOT of shopping lately, and it's time to put a stop to some things:
-- no going to Bath and Body Works until 2011, even though I keep getting amazing coupons. I have enough hand soap to last me until then.
-- no more candles unless they are for gifts.
-- no more shampoo, body wash or deodorant for Andy
-- no more razors or shave gel for me
-- no buying makeup unless I'm getting Extra Care Bucks (or it's on sale) AND I have a manufacturer's coupon
-- no buying pens or notebooks (sniff)

I'm exhausted.

saturday

foreword: the engine on andy's car completely overheated on wednesday night. we have to get a second car. this was our last month paying off student loans, so this was both good timing and bad timing. also, I leave for TN on monday, andy has very little time off right now, and I need a car by the 28th which is when I go back to work.

Saturday

8ish: move from bed to couch where I sleep peacefully until

9: andy comes downstairs and laughs at my curled-up-ness. I make muffins and we discuss cars. andy gets overwhelmed and angry because this has been the worst week ever for him at work, and he doesn't want to spend his much-needed down time before another long day at work talking about a car he wishes we didn't have to buy. he takes his muffins and coffee and goes upstairs to cool down. I feel torn because a part of me wants to give him massages and kisses and make it better, yet the other part of me is realistic and knows we have to get the car figured out ASAP.

9:40: andy apologizes for his crankies and pulls me to my feet for a big bear hug. we watch the two SNL videos that are on the previous post.

10: we arrive at the Toyota dealership and test drive the model we had researched online

11:30: we get home and freak out about how much we liked the vehicle, then do more online research

12:25: andy and I stand in the doorway to kiss goodbye and he smiles at me and says, "God is good. I'm getting excited about having a new car, and I'm realizing more and more how awesome it is that we won't be paying two loans at the same time." He leaves for work. I fall in love with him a million times over.

Now it is 2:34, and since then I have made pizza dough for strombolis, chatted with K Stoops for a while when she brought over pics for me to edit, found a show on hulu that I'm dying to watch and cleaned the kitchen. Oh, and I've also looked at the car a million times online. :)