ZipList

If you have never heard of ZipList.com you have really been missing out! This site is great! A friend of mine from work showed it to me and I have been addicted ever since.

Basically the site helps you with your grocery list. You can make the list online and then add the app on your phone and access it while in the store! And no need for a pen because when you can mark things off on your phone which just requires a tap!

ZipList also organizes the things on your list into categories in the store; like all the veggies will go to the produce section and be together in your list. That way you do not have to scan your list 100 times and you don't have to walk back and forth in the store. This is one of my favorite features! I always hated having to re-type my lists just so they were organized.

It can also find deals in your local area, and you can see what is on sale and where. So when you add something to your list, if looks for deals and will let you know if there is one. This is quite amazing in my opinion. I do not use this feature because I like to buy all my groceries at one place but I could imagine this would be very good for saving money.

That's not all though! There are also recipes on ZipList.com! You can find a recipe you want to cook and add it to your cart, and all the ingredients will automatically go into your grocery list! How great is that! Then you can just go through and mark off the ones you already have at home. This makes life so much easier if you are someone who plans meals weekly. Trust me, I have tried LOTS of methods and this is by far the best thing I have found!

I have found tons of new recopies I am going to be trying and sharing with you from ZipList! I have about 3 months worth! I am so super exited. We will start that in about two weeks or so, once Anthony starts working and I can spend more money on food. I did make a whole bunch of recipes over the past three weeks and I will be sharing those soon as well.

Seriously though, if you have not tried ZipList, you need to get on it! No one asked me to make this post, I just really love the site and wanted to tell people about it =]

Silent Sunday: More Wedding Photos

March 28th Blood Work Results

Yesterday I went to the doctor for my follow up appointment. I had a physical done and everything was normal with that. I got the results back from my stool sample and it was negative for everything they tested me for so I was referred to a GI specialist. I am currently waiting on them to call me back with an appointment.

I also got the results back from my blood test and they found three things. First off, my cholesterol is high, it should be under 130 and mine is 153 :O guess I don't eat that well? Not sure. He started me on medication for that. The next thing they found was that my thyroid gland does not work... at all. The doctor told me this is very bad and I need to start medication ASAP, so I am now also on medication for that. I am not sure what this means, I do know that when there are issues with your thyroid it makes your hair fall out sometimes and I have been having issues with that, so maybe that will get better now with the medicine. The third thing he found was that I am in fact anemic. Not only am I anemic but I am extremely anemic, he ordered more blood work to see if I had a B-12 deficiency as well as an iron deficiency and in the mean time he started me on iron supplements. This would explain why I am cold all the time and why I get tired so easily. He also gave me a medication that stops stomach cramping and diarrhea, about a weeks worth supply until I can get to a GI specialist. And he ordered me to come back in one month to see how things are doing.

All in all I think it went well, I went to the doctor to get a GI specialist referral and he found 3 other things that were wrong with me that I would have never found if I had not gone to get the referral. Hopefully I can start taking these meds and get better real soon and hopefully my GI specialist is a real good one who knows what he's doing and can figure out what is wrong with my stomach! I am quite optimistic at this point :]

Catching Up - Part 12 - Etsy

Etsy is going very well! We have now reached 291 sales! We made around $700 in the month of February as well! We are beyond exited about where our Etsy adventure is going and we are now expanding!

I am in the process of adding lots of new crayons shapes too the shop. I believe I have somewhere around 45 new products to add! I hope to have them all listed with in the next 2 weeks. 

I also bought a new background and I think it looks just fabulous! Check it out for yourself! I LOVE it! I am even thinking about re-doing all my old pictures on this new background.

The other major development going on with Etsy is........ we are preparing for the opening our soap favor shop! We have bought all the soap supplies and plan to launch on or before May 23rd. I am so exited for this! We are going to have around 50-70 products to start off with but that will just grow as time goes by. We are hoping to be making $700 a month on this shop as well for a total of $1,400 a month, that is our current goal. 

Now I know you are just dying to know what my new shop's name and theme is and so here it is! Introducing our new soap favor shop.....

Smellepahnt's! I can't wait to see where this adventure takes us!

Catching Up - Part 10 - Baby's First Steps

On Feb. 25th Bear started walking! He just stood up and took about 5 steps out of no where. At first I thought it was a fluke but he then proceeded to do it about 3 more times in the next 10 minutes. Then he got tired and did not want to have anything to do with walking anymore lol.

He has not made much progress since then, he is still just taking 5-6 steps and then sitting down. He has been sick this past month a lot though so we are thinking that may be why he hasn't been real into learning how to walk. All he has really wanted to do is lounge around and rest these past weeks. I am sure he will be up and at it running and all in no time!

Shoes... I got real exited to start putting shoes on Bear now that he is walking... but he has been having none of that what so ever. This boy will not wear shoes. The minute I put them on him, he takes them off. Same with socks, he just hates having things on his feet. Hopefully he will outgrow that soon, because I have lots of adorable shoes that I am dying to put on him.

I did manage to catch a few of his steps in this silly little video. This video was taken on the day he started taking steps, Feb. 25th.

Catching Up - Part 9 - Seeking a Diagnosis

Over the past several years of my life I have had unexplained gastric issues. I can remember these issues as far back as from when I was 6 years old but they really started to get bad when I hit puberty at around 12. In the past year they have worsened times ten and I have finally obtained the means to seek a diagnosis and treatment.

The main issue is, when I eat, I get sick. I get lots of cramping in my abdomen, and then diarrhea. At this time it is happening about 3-5 times a week and has gotten so bad to the point where I do not eat anywhere else other than at my own home, in fear that I will be running back and forth to the bathroom. I can not enjoy going out to eat or eating at family's house and this is really upsetting, not only for me but for Anthony as well.

Sometimes the episodes are worst than others and last longer or I have more pain. Sometimes I get a fever start sweating, vomit, and really feel like I am going to pass out and die, its really that bad. Sometimes I pass mucus as well.

I have also had some other random symptoms, I am not sure if they are related or not but I am always freezing cold, my hair is thinning, my hair on my legs does not grow as fast as it should (I only have to shave like once a month), and I have had some pain in my side and chest as well.

On Feb. 28th I went to the doctor and told them about what was going on and the processes of getting a diagnosis had officially began. I know it is going to be a long road, but that is ok, I am just really really hoping that everything is ok and treatable.

The doctor did not really say what she thought it was, she decided to take blood work and a stool sample and ordered me to come back on March 28th to go over the results. I am still patiently and nervously waiting for that appointment next week. I have to admit I am very very scared to find out the results, but I know it is for the better.

She did start me on a medication that is used to treat heartburn and abdominal pain and it may or may not be working, at this point it is really hard to tell because I have had the stomach flu this past week. I have been keeping a journal of what I eat and when I have an episode and so far since I started the medication on March 6th, I have not had a full blown episode yet (aside from the week that I was sick with the flu). I have experienced pain, bloating, and nausea though, but it has been less than normal so I think that may be at least one move in the right direction even if this is not the correct medication. We will see come next week what the doctor thinks and what the next coarse of action will be.

Catching Up - Part 8 - We Bought a New Car!

Finally! With our tax return we were able to buy a new car! This has been a long time coming. We have been thinking about this purchase for many many months and decided ultimately we should wait until we had a large amount of money to put down on the car before we bought one.

So out with the old (our old car is the white van on the left)...

And in with the new!

Our new car is a 2005 Christlyer Pacifica and we love it! We were not really wanting to pay more than $100 a month and ended up with $163 a month so it is more expensive than we would have liked but we are still very happy with our purchase and are super glad that our old 1994 Ford Aerostar is GONE, GONE, GONE!

We were able to get this car in mine and Anthony's name only so we will both be able to build credit on it which is great because that is our main goal for 2014! The insurance is a little rough too, its at $70 a month so all in all we are paying $233 a month for our car. We do hope to pay the whole thing off with in 2 to 3 years although our car loan is a 5 year loan. We shall see how that goes. =]

Catching Up - Part 7 - Tax Returns and Shopping Sprees

The past month for us has been one huge shopping spree! We got our tax return and we have been spending away! I know some people may frown upon this but we have been waiting for this for a very long time and I do feel as though I fully deserve to buy the things that I want, after waiting for so long and working so hard.

Anthony got audited on his taxes and got no money back at all (that's a long story involving his family and we really have nothing to do with it). On my tax return we got a very large amount back. We were able to pay off my lawyer and buy many new things that we needed and wanted too.

I bought a new laptop, a Samsung Note 3 cell phone (love that thing so much!), all new dishes and kitchen ware, a bunch of clothes, some other random things as well as two really big things that I plan to write entire blog posts about =]

We made out really good! I am so happy with all of our purchases and I do not regret a single one. We originally did plan to pay off Anthony's computer but in the end deiced not to because we wanted more money to get the things we have been wanting for for a really long time. And the $65 a month is not that bad, along with the fact that we are helping his mom build credit by paying that every month as well.

Now that our funds are winding down we are not buying anything else, I am really able to say I am all shopping spree-d out! I do not want to buy anything or go shopping for a long time! All though I know I will have to still go food shopping and such, I just am not interested in buying anything else lol.

NOTE: I know lots of people see this a irresponsible because they think that when you get money you should pay off all your debt... we don't have any debt. Only thing we owed was money to my lawyer which we did pay off in full and the money on the computer which we decided not to pay off for the reasons listed above.

Catching Up - Part 6 - Baby's First Day of Day Care

When Anthony was told he got the job we went ahead and put Bear in daycare thinking he would start working in about a week or maybe even 2. We had no idea we would be here 5 weeks later and still he is not working. If we had known that, we would not have put Bear in daycare as soon as we did, but now that he has already started we figured we should leave him in daycare to maintain the schedule. Also the daycare that he is in is literally right in front of our apartment complex so it is SUPER convenient and they have no more spaces available, so if we pull him out chances are once Anthony starts working and we are ready to put him back in, there won't be a spot available. So he has been in daycare for about 5 weeks now!

He seems to be adjusting great. He did not cry the first day but he did the second day. Some days he cries when we leave him and other days he does not. He has been bringing home all sorts of germs, we just got over a cold and now we all have the stomach flu! I suppose that is to be suspected though.

The first day was really hard on me I stayed up half the night because I could not stop thinking about leaving my baby with strangers. When we left him there I felt HORRIBLE, but I called every few hours and they kept telling me he was doing great so it made me feel a little better. All in all it has been a good experience so far and I am glad he is now able to interact with kids his age. Now all we need is for Anthony to start work because $100 a week is really hurting my wallet!

Bear and Daddy on his first day of daycare! It was still dark out because I had to go into work an hour early that day. This pic was taken at like 6:30 AM.

Catching Up - Part 5 - Anthony Got a Job!

Anthony got a job! Seriously, for real! My stay at home dad husband is now gonna be going to work! We are still going through a very long and grueling hiring process, but he has already been told that they have chosen him for the job and they are offering it to him and he has accepted their offer. He will be working with me at the School Board in the department that handles student records and report cards. He will only be working part time for now, but we are hoping that this will be a great way to get his foot in the door and hopefully with in a few years, a full time position will open up that he can apply for. That is how I got my full time position with the School Board as well, I worked part time for 4 years and gained experience and then got hired on full time. So in good time, we hope he will get a full time job, but for now we are so thrilled over his part time job!

We are hoping he will start working in the beginning of April. Currently we are waiting on his transcript to come in the mail and he also has to go to a new employee orientation and do a 2nd interview as well. And after that he has to get finger printed and drug tested, so it is going to be a few more weeks at the least. 

We do still plan to Etsy as I was the one doing most of the work anyways so the fact that he is going to be working has not really changed that at all. We will simply do our post office runs during our lunch hour to make sure everything gets out on time. 

As for Bear, he is now attending day care! (more on that tomorrow!). 

We are so so exited to begin this chapter of our lives and really just can not wait! Well... I can not wait anyways lol he is prolly not so thrilled about going back to work after not having to work for over a year. Never the less! I am exited! =]

Catching Up - Part 4 - Baby's First Birthday!

Bear turned 1 year old on Jan. 3rd 2014!

We were originally going to have a party for him in Kissimmee but Anthony's mom only wanted to invite people with kids and we only knew one person with a kid so we decided to just not do the party. We didn't actually buy him anything for his birthday because he already had everything under the sun, and he is not really going to remember his 1st birthday anyways.

We did go to my dad's house for dinner and cake. My sister and her boyfriend were there and so were my uncle and aunt. We let Bear eat his own cake and boy did he LOVE it. Here are some pics of Bear and his cake!

Catching Up - Part 3 - Baby's First Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years

Thanksgiving was pretty normal. We went to Kissimme, ate dinner and hung out. It was really nothing fancy at all. We had lots of fun and ate lots of food. Bear did not want a single thing to do with any of the food though. He was just not into it at all.

Christmas was a three day thing for us.

On the 23rd we opened presents at our house (Bear, Anthony, and I). We bought bear a play house and Anthony's dad sent money and we were also able to get him loads of bath toys, a xylophone, and some sippy cups. He also got lots of blocks from my sister. Anthony got clothes and a George Foreman Grill, and a Game Stop Gift Card. I got lots of Bath and Body Works from my co-workers and sister. All in all it was a really great day.

On the 24th (Christmas Eve) we went to Anthony's Aunt's house to celebrate. We ate dinner, watched movies and hung out. At around 10 PM we opened gifts. Bear got some toys from them as well.

Then on the 25th, Christmas morning, we were still in Kissimmee as we had spent the night at Anthony's mom's house, we opened more gifts with Anthony's family. Bear got a walker from Anthony's mom and 3 Mickey Mouse DVDs from Anthony's brother and his girlfriend.

New Years, we celebrated at Anthony's cousin's house. We listened to music and ate all night long then at midnight we went outside and set off tons of fireworks. One bounced off the house and clipped my neck! I was ok but that could have been very bad had it been just an inch to the left or right. Other than that incident happening, we had a great time!

Playing Catch Up - Part 2 - We Adopted TWO Kitties!

Yes you read that right! We adopted two baby kitties! This was back during the last week of November 2013. I had to do an awful lot of convincing to get Anthony agree to this LOL. They were actually my birthday gift from when I turned 22 (Dec. 1st, 2013).

So at first we went to the pound and adopted this adorable little guy and named him Turkey! He was just 4 months old at the time. We named him Turkey because this was about a week before Thanksgiving that we adopted him.

A few days latter we realized he was probably lonely... so we actually went back and adopted another kitten! This kitty happened to be a female and was his blood sister, so she was also 4 months. We named her Foofa (like the Yo Gabba Gabba character).

There is a story behind these precious kitties. They were found in an empty parking lot, glued together with industrial strength glue! The sheriff's office was able to get a video of the incident but they could never see the person's face so no one ever got prosecuted in the case.

At first when we adopted them there were a few hiccups with their health. Turkey came to us with an upper respiratory infection and a few days after getting him we had to take him to the vet. We treated him with antibiotics and he was all good to go. Foofa had some stitches hanging out of her incision site where she was spayed, so we had to take her back to the pound and they had to clip them off. After that was taken care of she was also good to go and has been ever since!

These kittens have become a part of our family real fast! They do drive me crazy sometimes but I love them so so much, and have become very attached. I just love having them around.

Playing Catch Up - Part 1 - We Got Married!

Dear Bloggy Friends (all 8 of you!),

I have been off in my own busy little world for 4 months, but I have not forgotten about you! I have been wanting to blog so badly but have not had the time at all! I have been so busy I barley have time to even take a shower. I seriously need to slow down! I hope that is what will be happening in the weeks to come.

SO MUCH stuff has happened in the past four months! Let me catch everyone up! I will post this in several posts over the next week, so that this post is not 3 years long lol.

Anthony and I got married! - Yep, we did it on Valentines day! We had a mass wedding and it was pretty great. This was something that just sort of happened! We did not plan it, we just decided it was time, and we saw that the court house was doing a mass wedding on v-day for FREE so we jumped on that quick! 23 couples were there, they had the ceremony with poem reading, singing and all. Then after we took pics and they had cake and stuff if people wanted them but we decided not to get any. The next day we went to Kissimmee and Anthony's family did a little celebration for us with dinner and a wedding cake... and of coarse more pics! lol

So you may be wondering... how is married life? Its absolutely the same. =] Nothing changed but the fact that we now have a legal document stating we are husband and wife. I do plan to hyphenate my last name though! (as soon as I have time to make it to the social security office).

Here are some pics from our wedding, these were the professional ones take by the photographers. I have many more that I will post later as well as the ones from Kissimmee.