A Song(s) That Make You Happy

So many of the songs on my favorite song list also make me happy, but I'm glad to have the opportunity to diversify! In no particular order, here are five songs that never fail to make me happy.

1. Dirty Water - The Standells

This song is played immediately following every Red Sox home win - that in and of itself is enough to make me happyv (I'm a huge Sox fan as well as a Red Sox Blogger). Add the fact I'm a Massachusetts native I just love singing out "Boston, you're my home!" *Note: It makes no difference to me that I no longer live in Boston and am actually closer to Providence, RI ;)

2. I'm Shipping Up to Boston - Dropkick Murphy's

I promise, not all songs on this list are going to have to do with Boston...or the Red Sox. This Irish-Punk Rock song has become a ballad for New England Sports, especially the Boston Red Sox as it is the entrance song for Red Sox closer, Jonathan Papelbon. It came to be his song in 2007 when the Sox won the ALCS and Papelbon did a Irish Jig out on the field after the game....in his underwear. True story for you non-Sox fans. Previously his entrance song was "Wild Thing."

Image Source here

3. My Heart Goes Boom - French Affair

I lived in Germany 1999-2000 and this song was a huge hit in the clubs while I was there. I didn't meet SH until March of 2005 and at some point shortly after meeting him I learned he was also a fan of this song. I had never heard it played in America and was shocked he knew it. SH and I RARELY agree on music, so every time I hear this song, I'm happy.

4. Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me - Keith Urban

As I mentioned above, SH and I rarely agree on music. That led to many years of us listening purely to country music when we were together. I couldn't stand his techno/pop and he couldn't stand my grunge/rock. Country, that was one genre we could agree on. It was hard to choose one song that makes me happy (I'll Take That as a Yes, Dust on the Bottle, Sold, etc) but it is definitely one of my favorites. It's one that makes me happy thinking about days driving around in the convertible Corvette with my SH.

5. Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti & Spearhead

Really how can this song NOT make you happy?

See the original post on the 30 Day Song Challenge
     Challenge 1: Your Favorite Song(s)
     Challenge 2: Your Least Favorite Song(s)

A Mail Surprise!

When I got home from work today I was excited to see I had some mail.

I mean I get mail every day, but that mail usually consists of bills, junk mail and other such unpleasant items. This piece of mail was personal, I could tell.

What could it be?

A bunch of hearts...with letters.

Fun! A Puzzle!

I called over SH to help me try and figure it out. 

The first word I got was "hurts" - I have been in an IMMENSE amount of pain over the past week (that is a story for another day, maybe...) makes sense that word would stick out to me, but it wasn't right. 

SH got "Thanks!" I think he's onto something....

He was! Puzzle solved....but the mystery had only just begun. 

Who sent this adorable puzzle, and what had I done to deserve thanks?

We hosted a brunch last weekend (last minute) but I knew that wasn't it. SH thought it may have been...but the post mark from the "letter" was Providence and that didn't add up with the people who were at the brunch.

What's a girl to do, but turn to Facebook? I posted the picture and said "You're welcome, but who mailed this to me???"

A few hours later I got my answer and it was one of those "DUH! I should have known that!" moments.

Earlier this week one of my friends wrote a brave blog post on how she's going through postpartum depression and seeking therapy. She mentioned how she's seeking therapy for many reasons, but one of which she feels like a burden for venting to her friends (**she's NOT a burden!).

She said while she can pay a therapist to work through some of her feelings, she can't pay all of her friends unless they take payment in the form of cutout paper hearts.

I mentioned that I happened to love cutout paper hearts and so she sent them to me.

It was so incredibly thoughtful of her to send those, and they TOTALLY made my night.

It's been a crappy week (health-wise, work-wise, weather-wise, commute-wise, finding out my husband had to go away for a week for work instead of us going on vacation-wise, etc) and gestures like this really help put things in perspective and make me realize how lucky and thankful I am for the things I DO have.

Now I have to find a way to pay it forward :)

10 Reason's I Haven't Blogged This Week

Join oh Amanda's Top Ten Tuesday Link Party

The best laid plans of mice and men....right?

I have no fewer than 10 posts cluttering up my brain, but none of have made it to the Internet just yet. Why? Well....

1. Work - My day job is busy and demanding and while I'm definitely not saving lives, sometimes clients and project managers don't understand that (or don't care).  I'm not complaining*, I realize how lucky I am to have a good job.

2. Commuting - On top of my long hours at work, I also commute 3-4+ hours a day (round-trip). Until recently SH and I commuted together and that made it so much more bearable (especially b/c he drove!) but he got a new job** so now I'm driving myself and it's exhausting.

3. Quality Time with SH - Since we are no longer commuting together, we don't spend as much time together. It was nice having that "forced" time together on our rides to/from work. That way once we got home if we were both online/out with friends/watching TV/doing whatever we wanted we never felt like we weren't spending time together. Now it's an adjustment and I want to make sure we still get to spend quality time together so I'm not running in the door and straight to the computer.

4. Hockey - Oh.My.Goodness. Growing up I was a big hockey fan, but around the time I entered college (which was a lot of years ago) I started losing interest - football and baseball are my true loves. Once the Bruins started doing well in the playoffs I kind of jumped on the bandwagon a bit and started watching. I forgot just how STRESSFUL hockey can be! But what a run!!! Congratulations to the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins!!!

 

(Photo by Dave Sandford / Getty Images)

5. Sleep - Because of reasons #1, 3 & 4 I've been exhausted and I'm trying to make sure to get enough sleep. Now that I am not commuting with SH I actually have to drive myself to work in the morning and can't catch any sleep in the car.

6. My Brother's 30th Birthday - My brother turned 30 on June 18th and a lot of time was spent with his girlfriend planning and organizing a surprise birthday dinner for him. Unfortunately the plans had to be changed at the last minute because of #3. See, my brother's gf had gotten him tickets for the Red Sox game on the 18th. It was a day game. The plan was to meet at Foxboro Stadium (home of the New England Patriots) that night for dinner. Buuutttt....the Bruins won the Stanley Cup and had a parade in Boston the day of the 18th which moved the Red Sox game to the night. That meant our dinner plans had to be changed last minute and those last minute plans turned into brunch at my house on the 19th.

7. Brunch Planning - I love planning and hosting events at our house, but I tend to want to go overboard. I want things to be perfect. So I spent lots of time on finding just the right recipes and thankfully I succeeded! Here is a sneak peak of some recipes I'm hoping*** to share this week!!

8. Father's Day - The 19th also happened to be Father's Day. Both my father and my step-father were here for brunch to celebrate my brother's big day. But the day was also spent celebrating dad and I didn't log into the computer at all. After everyone left, SH and I snuggled down and watched movies and napped. It was a perfect day, but no blogging was done!

9. SoxyLady - As you can probably tell from this post, my family is really into sports. I mean my first word was "touchdown"**** My first big foray into blogging was a Boston Red Sox Blog. While I've been trying to get this personal blog up and moving, I have also been trying to revive SoxyLady. It's a lot of work and a bit overwhelming, but I'm committed to getting these two sites to where I want them to be.

10. Perfection - I know I'm not perfect, but that doesn't mean I don't try and do things as perfectly as I can. Perfectionist. It's a term that's often been used to describe me. Because of my visions of perfection I often don't do things out of fear. Fear of failure. I may be putting too much pressure on myself to get my blogs in perfect working order. Right now I'm trying to remind myself that it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game.

Image source here

What about you? Were there any things that kept you from blogging this week?

*OK maybe I am, just a little bit
** Congratulations honey, I'm SO SO SO proud of you!
***You know, so I have something better to share than the "10 Reason's I Haven't Blogged This Week"
**** Although it came out as "tutdown" according to all parties involved

10 DIY Home Projects and Crafts

Join oh Amanda's Top Ten Tuesday Link Party

Growing up I was always crafty, maybe even a little artsy. I get it from my mom. But growing I was also the type who got easily discouraged when I tried things and they weren't perfect; who am I kidding? I'm the same way now. My mother and my brother are both more artistically gifted than I am...but that doesn't mean I don't have the desire!

Lately I've been addicted to Pinterest and it's been great b/c it let's me "pin" a bunch of crafty projects I see out on the blogesphere that I want to try. Here is the list of Top 10 DIY Home Projects and Crafts I want to try in the near future (with links to original posts)....rest assured if I do them, they'll be posted here!

1. Saving old letters, cards and postcards

Photo from this blog post, taken by Katie Clemons

I'm one of those people who can't throw away meaningful birthday/anniversary/just because cards from friends and family. I know they take up space and I don't ever really go back and look at them but they mean a lot to me.

Years ago when we had to move my grandmother into a nursing home I found an old scrapbook of hers. It was completely filled with old postcards. They were beautiful! It was so interesting to see the old designs and read the old notes. This would be my version of a card/postcard scrapbook.

2. Custom Dog Silhouette

Photo from this blog post

One thing I've been drawn to in crafts recently is silhouettes. What a great idea to make one of my dog, Spike and hang it on our (future) picture wall! 

3. Tiered Cupcake/Dessert Plates

Photo from this blog post

Isn't this the most adorable thing ever? I'm in love with every aspect of it. And while this particular one has a spring theme, imagine the possibilities for all of the different seasons/holidays. That being said I honestly have no use for this. I'm not trying to be snobby but I already have beautiful serving pieces. However..what a fun gift this would make!!! 

4. Ribbon Organization

Photo from this blog post

I know this isn't really a craft or big DIY project, but I need to do this. It's such a simple idea I wonder why I didn't think of it myself. I know every time I buy a new spool of ribbon, gift bag or roll of wrapping paper my husband dies just a little bit inside. Not because he doesn't want me to have these things, but because he will find them stuffed in bags/closets/drawers all over the house.

First step, hang ribbons on the pants hanger that we already own! The gift bags/wrapping paper will have to come next. Have any ideas?

5. iPod/iPhone Case

Photo from this blog post

I got a sewing machine this past Christmas. It's out of the box, and I even learned how to thread it. So far the only thing I've sewn are a couple of square dog toys. Hmph. I need to push myself to learn how to use it and this looks like a simple (and useful) project!

6. Paper Bird Painting

Photo from this blog post taken by Ashley Ann Photography

O.M.G. I am in love. Love.

I want this in my house, now. Only there is no place in my  house to put it. I'll have to think, but while I'm thinking maybe I'll start creating. In addition to having a recent love of silhouettes, I'm also in love with birds and this may just be my first "bird" project.

7. Flip Flop Hanger

Photo from this blog post

Organization at it's finest! And without costing a lot of money!! The only problem is I don't think we own any wire hangers (Thank you, Mommy Dearest for my fear of wire hangers) but I'm sure we can find some. I have an ever growing flats and flops collection and this is such an easy way to 1) keep them off the floor 2) make it easier to find the matching pair!

8. Ribbon Trees

Photo from this blog post

I saw these in a circular from Michaels a while back and was gung-ho about making them to match the different seasons/holidays. Then things got busy and I totally forgot about them until I saw this blog post (yay!)  It is a simple and adorable craft with endless possibilities. 

9. Toilet Paper Roll Storage

Photo from this blog post

Simple. Affordable. Eco-friendly. Need I say more? On each roll I'll even label what the cord is for. No more guessing! 

10. Elegant Family Tree

Photo from this blog post

I love this family tree idea. It's elegant and different, a real conversation piece. It's a great way to display (copies of) old family photos and it even fits in with my bird theme. 

So that's it! What about you, are you a DIYer? It always amazes me the creativity some people have. Maybe once I get back into crafting I'll even come up with some of my own great ideas!

"Extreme" Couponing - Soxy Style

It's no surprise the interest in coupons has grown exponentially over the past few years given the rotten economy and shows like TLC's Extreme Couponing.



The chart above shows the rise in search interest in Google where you see it really took off in 2008 and has only continued to grow (the y/y spikes you see are around the holidays).

My interest in coupons started many years ago. My dad, in both an effort to save money and keep my brother and I entertained, used to make 'coupon clipping' a weekly family activity. When we got to the grocery store he would send me and my brother out on shopping "missions" where we'd have to find the item listed on the coupon. Dad kept track of the money saved using coupons and that money was put aside in a savings account. Every year we used that money on our family vacation in Ocean City, Maryland. 

Photo Source

When SH and I bought a house I immediately subscribed us to the weekly Boston newspaper so I could get the coupon inserts. Sadly I very rarely looked at them. That is until I started watching Extreme Couponing and got annoyed that I wasn't saving us as much money as I should be. I always make sure to use my store loyalty card (which, lets face it, replaces coupons on a lot of levels) but was there more I could do?

Yes!

I got out my divided coupon envelope and got ready to clip...

SH doesn't share my couponing enthusiasm. He subscribes to the notion that coupons "make" you buy things you don't really need, or want. And his skepticism only heightened when on Extreme Couponing he saw the huge stockpile of items these women have (like the woman who has enough diapers to last months, but doesn't even have a baby).

So I've decided to make my own challenge...

Over the next year I am going to keep track of how much money we save* on groceries. I'm going to put that money away in a separate savings account and lets see, maybe we'll save enough to go on our own vacation ala my childhood.

I have NO intention of becoming an extreme couponer, but I do anticipate being able to save a good amount of money.

Here are the results from our first shopping trip today (combined from two grocery stores):


Booyah! A 34% savings!!

And before you say anything, yes, $228 is a TON of money to spend on groceries. We stocked up big time on meat to freeze and use throughout the summer. It likely won't last us all summer but it should last a couple of months. We hadn't been on a proper grocery store trip in well over a month so there were a lot of things we needed.

Sadly I threw away my bills before I could calculate what my biggest deals were on, but here are some I remember:

• At Shaws if you bought 4 General Mills boxes of cereals you got an instant $6 savings, combine that with a $1 coupon and we basically got 2 boxes free 
• At Shaws 4C drink mixes were $3.99 each on sale 2 for $5 - if we bought two boxes we'd get a free 24 case of bottled water (about $4). We had one coupon for 4C for $1.00 of one type and another for $2.00 off a different type. So for $2 we got $12 worth of water and drink mixes...all of which we will use
• At Stop & Shop we bought 3 different types of meat (pork ribs, roast and ground beef) and got 400 gas points (gas points means for every $100 we spend at S&S we get 10cents off/gallon next time we're filling up our car...considering the INSANE commutes we have and the more than $160/week we spend on gas this is important to us) -- our next trip we'll be saving a combined 50cents per gallon which is about $8.50 savings - so while this isn't calculated in the chart above it's a true win!

What about you? Do you coupon?

*Money savings will only be tracked at stores where groceries are purchased, the savings will be a combination of using store loyalty cards, coupons and refunds for reusable shopping bags.