Quiche Lorraine

One of my proudest funny moments was when I was telling Clint about the two types of quiche served at one of my favorite restaurants. I told him there was quiche lorraine and cheese pie. He asked me what cheese pie was and I quickly replied, "Quiche without the lorraine."

We laughed quite a bit. Sometimes we still laugh about it.

Anyway, tonight I'm making quiche lorraine. For the first time ever I am making homemade quiche. I've made it from pour-a-quiche but I have a really hard time finding that at the grocery store, so I finally decided to suck it up and make it from a recipe.

Have I mentioned how much I love my Better Crocker Bridal Edition cookbook? It is amazing. I have made many a tasty meals from it. Here are some of the delicious recipes I've made from the cookbook:
1. Mixed Roasted Vegetables & Pasta
2. Mexican Casserole
3. Cheese Enchiladas
4. Potato Chip Chicken
5. Pumpkin Bars
6. Garden Saute Patch

There are more I'm sure. But you should check out the cookbook for sure, if you enjoy cooking. Amazon has them used for like 10 bucks. Totally worth it. Definitely let me know if you have a cookbook that you love, too.

I love love

I am so incredibly, undeniably in love with my husband. Which works out, since, you know, we're married. But really, I do love him. I never fathomed a love like this. I always prayed I would marry a man with certain characteristics, but I think I never once prayed for a love like this. God has been so good to us, giving us stuff we don't even ask for. There are so many things I asked for in a husband and now that I'm with Clint I see so many things I didn't even think of asking for that are enormously complimentary to my personality. God knows me so much better than I know me.

I will say, though, there is definitely an element of fear that comes with a love as intense as this. I am so afraid of losing him. I anticipated this, though. It was one of my hesitations when he asked me out on our first date. I argued with him about the risk and he convinced me to take the chance. You know, better to have loved and lost . . .

I never thought for one second that I could comprehend God's love for me but that incomprehensibility is now even more so. I never knew a love like mine and Clint's. It has blown my mind. And this is just an earthly love. God's love is so beyond that. It's mind-boggling.

Who Knew Grocery Shopping Could be a Thrill?

In lieu of my new get-out-of-debt endeavor, I am now attempting to be a thrifty grocery shopper. I'm a Hy-Vee addict, so this is where my endeavor takes place.

My basic strategy is to check out the Hy-Vee weekly ad online before I write my grocery list, then make a menu (with cookbooks and www.kraftfoods.com to inspire me). Finally I make my grocery list.
I take my grocery list in, along with the calculator on my phone, and bargain hunt like I was never raised to do.

The main thing I do is get Hy-Vee brand for a lot of things. Basic products, like dairy and pasta really don't seem to have that much, if any, of a taste difference. And they are almost always cheaper.

Also, for produce and cheese, I buy the things that haven't been prepared for me. Anytime I buy carrots, celery, lettuce, cauliflower, I buy the kind that still needed to be peeled and chopped (very rarely is it cheaper to buy the pre-chopped sort). I often buy cheese by the block as opposed to the shredded/sliced. It's almost always much cheaper. But sometimes not - today the shredded was the exact same price per ounce as the blocks of cheese, so I got shredded for the kinds of cheese that I needed shredded ultimately anyway.
The tricky thing is that I have to do a lot of math. I'm constantly figuring out how much products cost per ounce, because sometimes the bigger thing is a better deal, but sometimes the smaller thing is the better deal, ounce-wise. For instance, this week the smaller block of cheese was cheaper per ounce than the bigger block, but last week the reverse was true. Sometimes I wonder if people think I'm weird standing there with my phone out, staring at prices. But, hey, I'm saving money.

Another thing that helps out is remembering the prices and paying attention when I'm ringing up. Hy-Vee has an amazing thing called a scan guarantee - if something rings up at the wrong price, it is free. But you have to notice it and point it out, of course. A while back, Clint and I got 4 free frozen pizzas because of the scan guarantee and today I got a bag of shredded cheese for free.

I would like to get better at coupon clipping, but every time I try it, I don't find a lot and even when I try to use some, the off-brand is usually still cheaper than the brand-name with the coupon.

I will say, though, that there are a few things that I have found that are, in my opinion, not worth skimping on. Toilet paper, cereal and deodorant are the main ones so far.

If you have anything else I could do to save money on groceries, let me know.

I love getting out of debt!

We are already partway through paying off our debt and it hasn't even been that much work! This week we are going to be going from a Buick Rendezvous to a Pontiac Grand Am and this little switch will almost entirely wipe out our car debt! Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!


I love this paying off debt crap. Here's what I think will happen with our Dave Ramsey plan over the next few months:

1. Finish building our $1000 emergency fund.
2. Take the next 10 months or so to pay off all debt except my school loans. That just leaves a little bit of seemingly justified debt.
3. Take a short break from paying off our debt to save up a down-payment for a house.
4. Buy a house!!!!!!
5. Resume our plan of paying off our debt, getting rid of my school loans. Then our only debt will be for our mortgage.
6. Continue with the rest of the Baby Steps.

This our tentative plan. We will, of course, probably have some kinks to work out and some punches to roll with, but, if the Lord wills it, this is what we'll aim for.

Plans feel good and so does paying off debt.

Now, if only losing weight were this easy to get started.

When it rains, it pours!

In the context of the last post, this post would seem even more meaningful, so you might need to review.

Today was a day for Clint and me to be blessed. See blessings below. You know, God does tell us to count them!

1. I ran out of leave-in conditioner about a week ago. The stuff I use is $14. I know most of you wouldn't see leave-in conditioner as a "need" but it means I only have to brush my hair for 1 minute instead of like 15 very painful minutes. But we haven't had fourteen extra dollars lately. But we got a coupon for the exact stuff I use for FREE in the mail! Yay!

2. My average electric bill is like $80. Last month it was like $156 and I about shat myself. This month it said $228. Before Clint and I had a conniption fit we noticed two little letters next to the 228: CR. We have $228 in credit for electricity! I had put a big deposit down last year and they gave it back to me! That's like 2-3 months of electricity!
3. We went to Hy-Vee to buy a frozen pizza to cook for lunch tomorrow. There was a sale for 4 for $11. That's a pretty good deal so we got 4. When we went to ring up, they rang up as the regular price but Hy-Vee has a scan guarantee. That means when something rings up for the wrong price, you get it for free! So 4 free pizzas!

So yay!

P.S. I'm going to start keeping track of product prices at Hy-Vee. Free stuff for their mistake, here I come!

Money, Money, Money!

Baby steps:

1. Save $1000 for an emergency fund
2. Snowball debt
3. Save up for 3-6 months of bills
4. Can't remember - maybe pay off house?
5. Build wealth

These are Dave Ramsey's baby steps.

These are the steps Clint and I are going through.

These are the steps that currently feel interminable.

But we're doing it. We're downsizing from a two-bedroom apartment to a one-bedroom. We're going to try and sell my SUV and get a cheaper car. We are holding ourselves to a super strict budget.

It feels as if we'll never be able to eat out again.

So if you invite us to do something frivolous and we refuse, don't be offended. Maybe we can play cards instead.

It's Real!

Ugh, I'm exhausted! Today was the first day of school. I spent the entire day getting to know 18 second graders and teaching them about the way I do what I do. Every year this day exhausts me. Takes everything out of me. Blah! I will say that this class seemed like they are going to be easy to get along with. Wide range of readers, but easy to get along with.

Anyway, I digress. I've been married for nearly two months and today, it felt real. I was Mrs. York a million times over. I had to write it many times, I heard it said many, many times and I even had to correct my principal with it once.

Now I've been married for 50-some days and it has felt, while thoroughly amazing, like I'm just playing house. Today took away a little bit of that pretend feeling. It was nice. And you know what else was nice? Coming home to my wonderful, sweet husband. That's what else. My real-life husband.

I'm getting married!

that's all. i'm getting married. :) saturday. eek!

Almost Here!

In 24 days, my life will be changed forever. I will give up the name I've grown up with and gain a name to grow old with. I will marry Clint. Ah, I am so incredibly blessed.

The problem with this is that I HAVE TOO MUCH CRAP TO GET DONE!

Why do people do this to themselves? Everyone does this. Long (torturous for those of us who are saving certain things for their wedding night) engagements and months of planning. I just want to get married. Be married to Clint. All this planning hoopla does not seem worth the work. If I could do it all over again I would either go to the courthouse or have a church wedding with cake and punch in the basement. Boo for all this work. Maybe I'll feel different after we're married, like, "It was the best day of my life. I wouldn't change a thing." But for now I feel like, "I want to pull out my hair. Let's cancel the whole shindig and go to the courthouse." But invitations have already been sent out. Oh, well. I'm sure it'll be the best day of my life. At the very least (and the very best) I will get to spend the rest of my life with Clint.

84 days!

it is gorgeous outside. i love it! sunny saturday mornings are my favorite (especially with pretty crazy daisies from my fiance gracing my table). i can't wait for when clint is here in the morning for us to share it. i would love to have a back porch to sit on and drink our coffee (because when we grow up, that's what we'll drink).

we have 84 days left and guess what. i'm just now motivated (but it's always easier to be motivated when you're just sitting there, thinking) to lose weight and get in shape. but i'm worried that if i lose a bunch of weight i'll have a hard time with my dress. i already bought it. i can get it altered, but what if i lose too much? i'm such a freakin' nerd. my mom yelled at me for this reasoning. but really, how late and how much can a girl get her dress altered?

i'm rockin' and rollin' with wedding planning. wedding dress: check. preacher: check. church: check. reception site: check. flowers: check. cake: check. food: check. start pre-marital counseling: check. cute shoes: check.

the list of things to do continues though: help clint pick out tuxes, centerpieces, find out about linens, invitations (do you really have to do reply cards? money, people.), gifts for wedding party, and i'm not sure what else, but i know this isn't all.

you know what advice i would give to all girls planning their wedding? ignore those checklists for brides. they will only freak you out. at least they did me. i got engaged january 9th (friday) and the following thursday, i was in tears because i was so stressed out, thinking i could never plan it all. so i ditched the list (totalling my car did a good job distracting me from it all, too. weird blessing from God.). i just prioritized and went at it. every now and then i get stressed out - especially when it comes to guest list size - but overall, i keep it at a steady hum of slight stress/excitement.

84 days, y'all!

Wedding Planning

In a short 99 days I get to marry this amazing guy. Right now I'm listening to his super sexy snore while he naps on my couch. Something for me to look forward to. And by look forward to, I mean, try not to think about it too much.

Lately I've gotten a lot planned for the wedding. I got my dress what feels like forever ago. It is white. And it's a wedding dress. That's all you'll get out of me until then. Then after some struggling and picking a new date, we got a church (a pretty baptist church in a fairly small town), a reception site (a golf course that my brother-in-law works at), and a preacher (Clint's brother's pastor).

I forgot that he moans when he sleeps. Like a ghost. Something else to look forward to.

Plans slowed down after that for a while. I took a short intermission to total my car and drive a few rentals until I got a my new car (a new-to-me Buick Rendezvous with wonderful heated seats). I'm not very good at managing my teaching and making lots of phone calls, so dealing with the car was about all I could do for a while, thus the stand-still on the wedding plans.


So now that all the car shiznizzle is taken care of, it has been back to wedding planning. We have registered at Bed Bath and Beyond and Macy's and still need to register at Pottery Barn asap, since Christina is sending out invites to my first shower, coming up in April.

Poor baby, I think he just stopped breathing for a second. He needs to turn over. Oh my gosh, he totally just turned over. We're so in tune.

I recently found a deejay and I wish I had a recording of our last conversation to post on here because it was freaking hilarious. The part I found most entertaining was when he turned down his t.v. and said he was listening to Catherine McPhee sing Barbara Streisand, then said, "Sounds super gay, doesn't it?" Hopefully he busts out with some of that stuff at our reception.

My mom and I set up all the flowers last weekend. Red and white and all sorts of pretty. Oh, I forgot to mention, my girls dresses are red and gorgeous. I think most, if not all, of them have ordered them, so we're on track with that. Oh, and I got my pretty red peep-toes to wear that day. Yup, red.

Tomorrow we're going to do the cake and catering. Fun, fun, fun! Hopefully I don't look as awful as I do today (pink eye rocks, y'all).

Soon we need to do tuxes, invitations, finish registering and I don't even know what else. Oh, yes, rings. That'll be very soon. Have I told you about my gorgeous ring?

99 red balloons go by. 99 bottles of beer on the wall. 99 freaking days until I get to marry him.

he asked me

i'm sitting here, with this thing catching my eye. i can barely type without pausing to stare at it. guess what the thing is. no, really, guess. it's a freaking ring, that's what it is! a diamond ring. a ring that means i get to spend the rest of my life with this amazing man. an engagement ring. obviously, i'm thrilled.
last friday, he made me chicken parmesan which was delish. i wish i had some right now, as a matter of fact. he had built a fire and we had some candles on the table with the lights off as we ate. we're just sitting there talking about work and education in general when he pops up and tells me he has something for me. he has a game for me. he hands me a baggie with a puzzle in it, one from kaleidescope. the kind that you draw on and they roll it through a press that cuts it into puzzle pieces. i had made him one when we first started dating and i had taken my class on a field trip to kaleidescope - i had written "you make me laugh. oh you" so i'm thinking where did he get a kaleidescope puzzle from. he tells me to put it together, so i did. all put together, it said will you marry me. he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. hugging and kissing and yessing ensued. so romantic, right?
so in a few months, i will be changing my name. i'm so blessed.