That time I moved into my apt and a girl was living in it

On my 21st birthday I moved into my new apartment for my senior year at Texas Tech and there was a girl STILL LIVING there.  Yep. I swear, these things only happen to me.  Imagine my dismay when I twist my shiny new key into my brand spanking new (to me) apartment door and a girl is in a towel, doing her laundry and getting ready for work.

Excuse me mam, but don't let me interrupt you.

You see, what happened was ...

The apartment complex failed to tell this girl what day I was moving in so she had not moved out yet.  Just a huge, hot mess.  I had a moving truck with movers waiting to move all my stuff into an apartment still OCCUPIED.  We had to pile everything in the living room and wait for this girl to move out the next day.  I mean ... really? 

Since she had to rush to get all of her stuff out, she did not clean one thing and I had to move into her filthy apartment.  I found her weave in my closet and I don't think the girl had ever used a vacuum a day in her life.  Not to mention she left a HUGE grease stain on the wall where her head touched it while laying in bed.

This is the stain after scrubbing and painting over that wall.  It was disgust and I wish I could tell you this is a joke, but it's not. 

Oh, welcome to your new greasy ass room.  

You may be wondering why I'm telling you this story.   Basically because I wanted to! But also because I start moving into the townhouse today and I've been reminded how much I absolute hate moving.  Like literally I think it may be the worst thing on Earth.  Then I'm reminded it could always be worse.  At least I'm not moving into a greasy room. 

So while y'all are out living it up this weekend toasting to the good life, I'll be slaving away moving into my new lair.  I can promise you I will not be looking anything like this.  Who does this Martha Stewart beotch think she is? This is not real life and I will NOT be smiling.

 Ta-ta for now!  p.s. Don't forget to enter my e.l.f. givewaway before MIDNIGHT! 

Confession Session: The "Does that make me crazy?" edition

TGIF bargainistas.  It's Friday, which means it's time to confess.  I've been thinking about doing a "Does that make me crazy?" post for a while, but it's pretty similar to a Confession Session, so I've decided to just combine the two. 



So ... Our local Dallas morning radio show, Kidd Kraddick in the Morning, does a "Does that make me crazy?" segment on the air and I laugh out loud listening to these people call in.  They make me feel better about my life.  The gist of the segment is people call in and dish on idiosyncrasies or OCD things they do in their life and then the morning show decides if that makes them crazy or not.

For instance, a woman called in on Monday and said any time she sneezes she has to slap her left leg then clap. HAHAHA!  I mean, what?

Then another lady called in and said any time a dog "relieves" itself outside, she has to lick her finger and touch her eyeball.  Again, WHAT?!

I also heard a lady call in once and say that when she washes dishes, she doesn't put the clean ones on top because she thinks all of her dishes need to be rotated.  She doesn't want any dishes to get their feelings hurt.  That's not normal.

All righty, so y'all get the idea.  I've always wondered if I called in, what would I say?  Well, here's what:

I confess that I sleep with a sleep mask on and the covers over my head.  Does that make me crazy?

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I confess that if the air is not on in the car I feel like I'm suffocating and I cannot breathe.  Does that make me crazy?

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I confess that I have started a wedding file with pictures of things I want for my wedding when if I get married. Does that make me crazy?  You know you have one too.

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I confess that I have a closet full of baby clothes for my future baby.  Does that make me crazy?   OK, I'm totally 100 percent kidding about that one (I swear), but my friend knows someone that does that.  Now that is crazy!

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So you knew this question was coming, what makes YOU crazy?  Don't hold back on me now. 

These are my confessions

I had so much fun confessing last Friday that I'm back to spill some more secrets. 

Forgive me blog world, for I have sinned ....

I confess I still have not unpacked my suitcase.  It's now been 2 weeks since I've been back to Texas.  See:

I confess I never finished reading The Happiness Project and in fact, I only made it to page 130. Also, if you haven't already noticed, I quit making monthly goals after March.  The book got boring and redundant.  Sue me.

I confess I drink out of Christmas coffee mugs year round.

I confess that there is a boy in my nephew's gymnastics class that I want to punch in the face.  He and his father are so strange, the kid can't pay attention and he pinches and hits the other kids when the teacher isn't looking.  Seriously little boy, pinch or hit my nephew one more time and see what happens!

I confess last night America's Best Dance Crew came on my TV, I was too lazy to find my remote to change the channel and I actually liked it.  How amazing is this dance (fast forward to the 1:20 mark)?


I confess that I didn't shower today.  God bless dry shampoo.

I confess that I have been sucking on cough drops as my afternoon snack for the last 2 weeks because that's all I have in my desk drawers and I keep forgetting to bring a legit snack.

I confess I left a cup of soup in my gym bag the entire time I was in Arizona and forgot about it.  I found it the other day and couldn't stop gagging.  Who forgets there is soup in their gym bag?

I confess I don't clean my make-up brushes nearly often enough. I know I told y'all they're supposed to be cleaned weekly, but I clean mine monthly. On a good month.  I'm a fraud, I know.  However, I did clean all of them this Sunday because I felt guilty after posting that post.

I confess I have a serious addiction to the 99 Cent Only store.  It's for realsies my favorite store.  On Monday I went there on a whim and left with so much stuff I just "had to have".  My favorite purchase was these 4 pots of flowers for my balcony. 

I confess last weekend I ate an entire Little Caesars pepperoni pizza by myself (over the course of 2 days, but still).  This is why I don't order pizza.  I can't control myself.

I confess I bought these new pair of Nike's on Monday but have yet to make it to the gym.  Make that one week hiatus now a two week hiatus. If it's the last thing I do, I'm working out every single day next week.   Got these at the Nike outlet for only $39.99.  Don't mind if I do.

All right my bargainistas, it's your turn.  What do you confess?
[If you wanna play too, link up here & here.]

Flashback Friday: Girly Electronic Board Games

I have two besties I've met via blogging: this sexy biatch and this hot ginge.  Even though I have yet to meet either of them in real life, I consider them real life friends because we text, BBM, Google chat or e-mail all day long.  Fingers crossed, I will meet both of them this summer if all goes as planned and when this magical day comes (and it will), my life will be complete!

Anyway, today I'm linking up with the hot ginge (real name: Beth) for Flashback Friday.  We were getting super excited talking about this post idea earlier this week, so hopefully you enjoy this flashback as much as we did.  Although, I have to admit, her FF post today is hands down the funniest thing I've read in a LONG TIME.  You have to go read hers here. 

I'm flashing back to old school girly electronic games from the late 80s to mid 90s.  You know, the ones you HAD to have or your life would have been OVER.  I'm talking ...

DREAM PHONE

MALL MADNESS

ASK ZANDAR

 and ...

TALKBACK DEAR DIARY.

1.  Dream Phone, my favorite of the bunch.  To play, you'd draw a photo card and dial the number on it using the hot pink Dream Phone.  The boys you called would give you clues, which you used to figure out who had a crush on you.  When you thought you knew who your crush was, you'd call his number on his card and if you were right he'd say, "You're right, I really like you!"  So legit. 

Steve was the hottest of them all and don't try to convince me otherwise.  Helloooooo Steve ...

How pissed were you if you got the Spencer or Jason card?  Ugh.  Bob wasn't bad, but he was a little too borderline uni-brow for my likes.

The clues were like, "he’s not wearing yellow," or "he’ll eat anything except popcorn".  And then of course there was the annoying, “I know who it is, but I’m not telling!”  Oh, dream phone.  I loved you.

2. "It's Mall Madness, the mall with it all!"  The object of the game was to be the first player to scoop up the items on your shopping list at the best prices and get back to your parking lot.  You had to be on alert for exciting announcements like, "Attention mall shoppers!  There is a sale at the fashion boutique!"

I mean, maybe this was the game that started my bargain fascination? 

Apparently there’s now a Hannah Montana version.  I don't know why people try to mess with a good thing.

3. Ask Zandar, the talking wizard.  You'd ask Zandar a question, wave your hand over the "crystal ball" and he'd give you you an answer.  Clearly what Zandar spoke was truth.  "Zandar, am I going to prom with a geek, please say no!"  "There's an excellent chance!"  Pure devastation.

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4.  Dear Diary, the electronic diary.  "Hands off creep!"  I know I had one of these, but I remember it not being nearly as cool as it seemed in the commercials. 

 

Did you play these games?  Which was your fave?  I loved this little trip down memory lane.  Have a great weekend you little bargainistas!  TGIF.

"Welcome to McDonald's, would you like to try our 20 piece McNuggets?"

Uh, should I be offended?  Do I look like I'd eat TWENTY McNuggets?  OK, don't answer that.  I pulled through McDonald's during lunch for a $1 Diet Coke (FYI: I don't know if it's everywhere, but in Dallas large drinks are $1 right now) before shopping for something cute and green(still outfitless) and that's what they ask me?  No wonder America is obese.

I'm just posting to tell you guys that I gotta button, I gotta button, I gotta button ... hey, hey, hey, hey!  So ... if you wanna slap it on your page ... here you go my ladies:

<a href="http://www.thebargainblonde.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e215/LindseyLeeTTU/bbbutton-1-1-1.jpg" border="0" alt="www.thebargainblonde.blogspot.com" /></a>

Happy Friday and prayers for Japan. The video coverage is just awful and devastating.

p.s. I had a talk with my liver and we're all set for tomorrow's St. Patty's Day festivities.  Let the green drinking begin!

OK, so I lied

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Scratch my plan to work-out today as mentioned in the previous FF post. Instead, I'm going to Happy Hour to sit on a patio and enjoy a margarita with a few friends. I mean, it's 80 degrees here and a Friday ...

need I say more?

It's not going to be a total bust because I am going to request a "Skinnygirl Margarita", Bethenny Frankel's 100 calorie margarita concoction.  I am also going to force myself to do some extra cardio this weekend to make up for it.   You just can't say no to patio weather, especially when we were snowed-in a few weeks ago.

The Skinnygirl™ Margarita
"The margarita you love, only 100 calories."

Ingredients:
•2 oz of Clear Premium Tequila (count 1, 2 while you pour, no need for measuring)
•Tiny splash of Orange Liquor
•Juice of 4 Fresh Lime Wedges

Preparation:
To serve on the rocks, combine all ingredients over a glass of ice and garnish with a lime wedge

 
TGIF, enjoy your weekend.

Coming soon: Fitness Friday

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We finally made it to Friday, hallelujah.  I was searching for an image for this post when I stumbled across the perfect one above.  It was picture destiny.  At about 1 p.m. I had to throw my hair up in a messy bun just like this and I didn't care that I was at work because it's Friday and I do what I want.

And since it's Friday and "I do what I want", I've made my decision for my goal for the month of February: Fitness. 

As a part of My Happiness Project, each month during 2011, I'll be choosing a goal to focus on and document in order to hold myself accountable and track my progress.  I started a little late in January, but my goal was to organize my closet and Tupperware cabinet.   I promise I haven't forgotten about that goal, I just haven't gotten around to taking pictures of the finished masterpiece (it's not a masterpiece), but my closets and cabinet are much better than they were before and accomplishing this goal actually does, in fact, make me happier.   I promise I'll take and post the pictures before February 1.

Anyway, I know "fitness" is just a word, but what focusing on fitness will mean for me is working out at least 3 times a week and consciously making healthy food choices.   Along with this comes drinking at least 8 glasses of water daily and taking a daily multivitamin.  You see, my pants are busting at the seam don't fit, so it's time to do something about it because I'm not getting any skinnier sitting on my couch watching The Bachelor and drinking wine.  Easter weekend I am in my dear friend Christina's wedding in Scottsdale, AZ, so my goal is to feel fit and fabulous by then.  I've got a little less than 3 months and I think I can do it.

In my "Fitness Friday" post I will write about my progress toward weight loss and since this is a bargain blog, I'll also post about cheap and healthy food options, affordable work-out clothes, tips for exercising on a budget, etc. If you have any inspirational fitness tips, I'd love to hear them in the comment section.

Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend!

The weekend has finally arrived!

This week has been crazy busy for me, which is why I've been MIA on the blog front. How much did you miss me? I've literally had something to do every single day after work this week, which I typically try to avoid at all costs. I am the complete opposite of someone who has to be "on-the-go", and most of my friends just don't understand how I'm so content staying at home on my couch. I love my mindless TV, what can I say?

Unfortunately, my DVRs have gotten ridiculously backed up this week, which means I have a lot of catching up to do this weekend. The one show I did catch was the premiere of the new Bachelor on Monday. If you watched too, you know what I'm talking about when I refer to Madison, the girl with fangs?? Are we serious? How people like this exist let alone get on a national reality dating show and then get picked for the next round is beyond me. But I'm not complaining, it makes for some great entertainment!

Anyway, I am babysitting the little guy below tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. so the madness doesn't stop quite yet. I can't wait for Sunday to just relax and hopefully get caught up on blogging.
Have a fabulous weekend. ♥

My Favorite Christmas Movies

I am by no means a movie critic or expert, these are just the top 5 Christmas movies that I have watched over and over again.

1. Without a doubt, Home Alone is hands down my all-time favorite Christmas movie. Other 80s babies like myself know what's up. Who didn't want to be Kevin McAllister? I could quote this movie all day long and yes, I still have the VHS version my brother and I watched when we were kids. My friends like to make fun of me for having (& watching) VHS tapes still.

"Buzz, your girlfriend ... woof!?"

2. Love me some Love Actually, and I don't know any girl who doesn't heart this romantic comedy. This now holiday classic for me delves into all different aspects of love by following 10 different relationships that all intertwine. And call me crazy, but I've yet to meet a Hugh Grant or Colin Firth movie I didn't enjoy.

3. I don't know if everyone has heard of my third pick, Prancer. This oldie but goodie was released in 1989 and if you read the plot, you'd probably think I was crazy for liking this movie. And I'll admit, the storyline does sound pretty ridiculous; I think this is one you just have to trust me on. It's sad at times, but very touching at others. Definitely a feel-good.

4. I've always liked The Santa Clause for some reason, but I haven't seen it in years. Maybe I liked it because I grew up watching Home Improvement and a had huge crush on Brad (the older, more athletic brother). I even sent him a letter via his fan club seriously thinking he'd read it, want to contact me and we'd fall in love. Totally normal. Anyway, in this festive flick Tim Allen must become Santa Clause after he accidently causes Santa to fall from his roof on Christmas Eve. Again, this plot sounds ridiculous, but it's a good one for kids and even adults. If you liked Tim "the toolman" Taylor, then I'm sure you'll like this movie too.

5. And last but not least, I always have to watch the Family Stone, a comedy-drama about a quirky family's misadventures during Christmas. SJP, Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson and Rachel McAdams all star in this (among others) and I'm big fan of all of them. This is the kind of movie that will make you feel better about your family. If the TV shows Brothers & Sisters or Parenthood were a Christmas movie, this would be it.

TGIF

Happy Friday friends! I discovered Panera Bread coffee earlier this week while having lunch with a co-worker, and dare I say I like it better than Starbucks? eeepppp.

They started a "MyPanera" rewards program and today when I went in to get a coffee, they swiped my rewards card and told me my coffee was free! Umm, jackpot!

Where is your favorite coffee spot?

{Please excuse the poor picture quality; I just snapped the pic @ my desk w/ my Blackberry camera. Do you love the napkins my friend Erin got me for my bday??! They are so cutie!}