I Will Not Shop...I Shopped

I've been on a no shopping kick starting in September and it's been good because I know I don't really need anything.  Only 1 1/2 months and I already broke my little streak.  I knew I was going to make one purchase at DSW.  That was a given; because I had a rewards certificate for $10.00 that I earned and it would be just wrong to let it expire.  Then, this Old Navy deal popped up that I couldn't refuse.

I may be terrible at using Grocery Store coupons but I am very strategic about using coupons and taking advantage of deals for everything else.  Getting an amazing deal and saving money is such a rush.  Not only do you get to buy something new which is a rush in itself but then you have the extra high of saving money on top of it.

Source:  Old Navy.com

Anyone ever heard of Restaurant.com?  Well, a really long time ago I had some airline mileage that was set to expire.  I didn't have near enough points for an airline ticket but they offered restaurant.com credit and magazine subscriptions.  I took advantage of both.  A few weeks ago my mom and I were planning to meet up for lunch so I logged on to restaurant.com to see what restaurants were available and found one near us.  It's really easy.  I hit redeem for the restaurant of my choice and printed out my $25.00 off coupon.  It never expires and you can even exchange it if you change your mind.  We didn't end up meeting for lunch that time but I used it last weekend for dinner at Cicotti Trattoria on a double date with my parents.

Anyways.  When I redeemed the restaurant.com gift a bunch of offers popped up that I could choose from.  One of them was a deal from Yub.com to spend $39.99 at Old Navy by a certain date and get a $50 Restaurant.com gift card.  I love eating for free and I love Old Navy so even though I've been on a no shopping thing I went for it.  Just an itty bitty extra shopping trip can't hurt- I mean, what's $40 at Old Navy?  I'm happy to do it.  I signed up the credit card I planned to use for the Old Navy purchase and then got a tip from The Tiny Heart that Old Navy has some girly and not at all ugly sweatshirts that I've been dying to get my hands on.  I went immediately to get my shop on.  So here is the deal.  I got this adorable blingy sweatshirt and this beautiful soft heather grey boyfriend cardigan with sequins elbow patches for $20.00 and $25.00 each when they were $29.94 and $34.94 regular price.  On top of that I got my 10% military discount.  Thank goodness I remembered to ask for it.  I barely squeaked in at my minimum which is exactly the way to maximize deals spending $40.50 + tax.  On top of that it was the LAST DAY to earn Super Cash so I got a $10.00 off on a minimum $25.00 purchase coupon.  They sure know how to get you.  And yes.  I'm going back.  How can I not? I will be there with bells on.

After that I went right next door to DSW to redeem my $10.00 reward.  I found a pair of cute grey wedge booties.  They are synthetic and I usually go with leather but grey is really hard to find, it's the only color I don't already have and they were too cute and too comfortable to pass up.  I did all of this on a one hour lunch break.  Power shopping at it's finest.

It was like magic.  An hour after my purchase I got an e mail acknowledging that I had completed my Old Navy purchase and then a 2nd e mail with my restaurant.com $50.00 gift card.  I was also given the chance to re activate the offer and do it all over again.  It totally makes sense to do that because I have to spend $25.00 to redeem my $10.00 super cash anyways.  Can you just see how the shopping gods and the stars have aligned in my favor?  This was totally meant to be so I don't feel guilty about any of it.  A slamming good deal is always my best shopping justification.  Plus, although my preference was to divert more to savings I know that my budget can handle this minor relapse.

If you want a $50.00 restaurant.com gift card for spending $39.00 at Old Navy this is the link.  And no this is not a sponsored post.  Unfortunately, I haven't exactly figured out how to get someone to pay me to write a post yet.  And yes, I'll get $1.00 if you follow through on the deal but then you can turn around and do the same thing later.  And you get to shop.  And eat for free.  You can shop and your husband will love you for financing date night.  Win Win Win.    

Wouldn't it be cool if I actually modeled these clothes that I'm so excited about on my blog instead of resorting to pins?  I really, really want to but it just feels like so much work with the camera and the make up and the whole not wanting to look like an awkward fool thing.  It's only been 7 months since my one and only official outfit post and I honestly don't know if or when there will be another.

After this there is no more shopping.  Ideally, for the rest of the year.  Unless I'm on vacation.  There is always a BUT.  I have The Limited, Express and Macy's coupons burning a hole in my purse.  I don't even know why I torture myself by hanging onto them.

I will not shop.  I will not shop. 

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I Don't Go to The Gym

In 2009 I worked out exactly one time. Terrible I know. Even worse, the only reason why I did it was because my mom dragged me to a Yoga class. I didn't work out again until around September of 2010. I started slowly with exercise videos at home. Still not very consistently though. It wasn't until Jan of 2011 that I actually started going back to the gym and working out regularly. We get so little of time to ourselves, especially during the week that I just didn't want to spend it at the gym. Once I accepted that working out might mean I only get a few measly hours at home to myself before bedtime it was all good and I just dealt with it.  For the2 1/2 years the gym had become a regular part of my life with the occasional home exercise DVD at home.  Then I started doing my own at home work out regime.  Doing  Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred changed everything.  I only went to the gym once in a month and a half during that time.  After I finished the shred I trotted back to the gym to get back into my old cardio ways.  It wasn't the same and I just couldn't motivate myself to keep going back.  I don't go to the gym much anymore and here's why.

1) No gym commute and rigamarole.  My gym is on the way home from work and it's a 10 minute drive from my house. It's not out of my way at all but I have to pack a few things the night before, carry the bag to the car, carry the bag into the gym, change, lock up the bag, work out, get the bag and drive home.  If I forget something essential I'm screwed.  Or should I say my work out is screwed because I'm not going back.  When I work out at home I don't have to bother with any of that.  I come home, undress and work out immediately.  Working out during the work week has always been a challenge for me but this makes it so much easier to fit it in.

2) I get to be sexy for my husband.  Sometimes you gotta shake things up a little.  Seeing his wife in her underwear and sports bra doing man push ups might be just the thing.  Mj says he loves it when I work out at home.  He doesn't sit there and watch me like a creepy stalker but he catches some peaks here and there and he likes it.  I also enjoy watching him work out in his undies.  It's win win for everyone. 

3) Less laundry.  When I work out at home I'm wearing only a sports bra and my undies.  If it's Yoga I'll add a towel on top of my yoga mat so I don't stick.  I just don't see the point of putting on gym clothes and creating more laundry when I'm in the comfort of my own home and nobody but my husband can see me.  As the weather gets cooler I may have to add bottoms.

4) More variety on my own time.  My gym is open 24/7 so I can go anytime I want to but if I want to do a class then I'm stuck with the schedule that is available.  I'm also stuck with what there is available for me to do at the gym.  Weights, Cardio or Classes.  When your home is your gym and a DVD is your instructor the possibilities are endless.  There are a million at home DVD's to choose from of varying lengths and types and all you have to do is pop in the video whenever you want.  The key is finding workouts that truly are a good work out.  I just bought 4 more DVD's and I'm already scoping out more.  They are relatively inexpensive and if you use them it's worth it.  I used to think I had to go to the gym to really get that good workout but now I know that I don't have to at all.

5) The only sweaty and possibly stinky person I have to deal with is me.  Have you ever been stuck next to a stinky person at the gym?  It sucks.  More then once I've been about 10 minutes into my 60 minute elliptical work out when some stinky person who is either deodorant resistant or forgot to put it on rolls up next to me.  I still have 50 minutes to work out and I don't want to switch machines because it will screw up my numbers.  I hope that he's doing a quick work out and then my heart sinks when I see him enter 45 minutes.  If something stinks it's me and if there is sweat on my mat I know it's mine.

6) No classic "gym smell."  My gym is huge, nice and very well ventilated but after not going there in a while and then going back the first thing I noticed was the smell.  It's not as bad as someone with BO working out next to you but it's just that gym smell.  Well, you don't have that at home.

I got my abs back, built up my biceps and got a lot of my flexibility back all with exercise videos a yoga mat and a few hand weights.  It is possible to get in shape without ever stepping foot in the gym.

It would be harder to mostly quit the gym if I felt like I was wasting money.  I've been on the same gym membership that my mom started for the family since I was in high school.  It's so dirt cheap that I don't even feel bad for letting my parents continue to cover it and I will definitely hold onto the membership.  It's nice to still have the option to go to change things up.  It would also be tough to do without it if I didn't have the space for it or AC when it's hot in the Summer.  I haven't been in 2 months but I'm planning to go back today because I kind of miss the elliptical.  Let's see if I still miss it when it's 5:00pm and I'm on my way there.  Or when I've been on for ONLY 45 minutes and want to die.  When I was going all the time seeing the same people every time and then they dropped off the face of the earth I always wondered what happened to them.  If they come back with obvious weight gain I assume they haven't been working out.  Hopefully, no one will be compelled to assume that about me.  In my case, I'm still working out.  Just not at the gym.

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Watching People Fall Is Funny

What is it about watching people fall that is so funny?  You feel terribly bad about it but at the same time it's just so damn funny that you can't help yourself.  As long as no one gets hurt watching people fall is funny.  Sad but true.  Falling as an adult is always embarrassing.  I wrote a post about a tumble I took down concrete stairs at the front entrance of my job here aptly titled Fall Down Go Boom.   

Well, these ladies fell on the job too when their only assignment was to walk.  I only feel a little bit sorry for them.  It's hard to feel too sorry for a tall, beautiful, thin model who gets to work the runways of New York Fashion Week.  The scary thing about heels is that once those ankles start turning you are in trouble and your fate is solely at the discretion of gravity and momentum.  I tend to stick mostly to flats and 2"-3" max in heels not only because they are more comfortable but they are also safer!!

You will not make it through this 3 minute video without laughing uncontrollably. I promise. It's hilarious in the same way that treadmill accidents are.  If you need a good laugh, and don't we all?  Watch it.

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We Didn't Get the Memo About Fall

Seriously.  I can't even put it into words how perfect Saturday was.  It was like a gift from mother nature.  The high was 91 degrees and it was magnificent.  I sat by the bay and switched between reading magazines and gazing out at the beautiful water.

We were there for the 4th annual Dragon Boat Festival at Mission Bay Bay Park.  They have the professional category made up of people who actually train for it and know what they are doing and then they have a corporate category open to the community for amateurs who just want to get out there and have fun.  I have never even heard of Dragon Boat Racing.  Mj had never done it before but if it's athletic and even slightly competitive he's willing to give it a try.  He works for a huge company but it's always the same people that sign up for these things.  It's a really cool group of people that I see over and over at Flag Football or Kick ball or whatever else Mj's signed up for.  I think of them as the unofficial BAH athletic team representatives.

They got to do three races.  Each race had 3 teams, except the last one had 4.  There are 16 people packed into each boat.  Each boat has a drummer who sits in the front and there is a Dragon Head at each end.  Hamburgers and Hotdogs were provided by the company and we brought some snacks of our own.  We were there hanging out in between races from about 9:30am to 3:30pm.  I don't even know what place they got.  If they had won, I'd know so I know they didn't win but I don't know where they placed.  At the end of the day winning is awesome but no one seemed too upset that they didn't.

I love that sun drenched and exhausted feeling that I get after a fun day outside.  I feel all hot and gross and worn out but in a good way and I can't wait to get home and take a shower.  On the way home I said to Mj.  This is why we can never move.  This is why we live here.  This beautiful place is our backyard and I love pretending that it's still Summer in October.

We didn't get the memo about Fall.  The one we got had flip flops and shorts written in all caps and I didn't mind it one bit.

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