Lent Starts Today-What to Give Up, or Change?

Today is Ash Wednesday, which start the first day of Lent. I'm not preaching any religion or anything, but it's a good time to sit back and evaluate your life and see what you can 'give up' for Lent, since Christ gave up his life for us. I consider myself to be Catholic, but I do not practice it regularly. I do not go to Church every week, or even on some holidays. And when I do, it's for my mother, not for myself. I did get married in a Catholic church, again b/c of my mother and father. DH and I wanted to go to Vegas to elope. When I was younger, I was a ton more into religion, but I guess as I grew older, my viewpoints changed. Sometimes on Christmas I will go to midnight mass with my parents (dragging DH the entire way). We normally go on Easter morning as that's been a ritual in our home since I was little. I can remember getting all dressed up Easter morning (bonnet and all!) and off to Church in the 'boat' (my parent's had a Lincoln Town Car that my friends nicknamed the boat). My dad would slap on WAY too much cologne and I remember feeling sick to my stomach from smelling it in the car. Then after church, on the ride home, my dad would put on the Polish music. When we got home, we'd sit down for a traditional Polish Easter Sunday breakfast - Keilbasa and babka and hard boiled eggs and my dad's home-made horse radish, ham etc. When DH came over for his first Polish breakfast, he was totally flabbergasted...eating kielbasa for breakfast! HA!

So, today I woke up, rolled over and told DH, "No meat today honey!" And he laughs, "yea right" He's worse then me. On today and Fridays during lent, no meat and you're supposed to fast between meals, so no snacking. That won't work with me b/c if I don't eat, I'll get lightheaded and pass out. Ok, I've never passed out, but it feels like I will if I don't get sugar in me. But I try hard during Lent not to snack between meals. So, I kept telling DH that he can't have meat today, so he looks at me and says 'Okay, then I'll have to spend $2,40 a slice for pizza on lunch, so I'm going to go over my lunch budget' I felt like throwing my brush at him. I told him do 'whatever you think is right' So he will most likely be at Wendy's on lunch scarfing down a burger and nuggets. Ugh. Today I brought in a salad from home. I had no fruit at home as I ate the last banana yesterday and I haven't yet gone food shopping this week....yes, I have NOT gotten and produce, bread, etc. and it's already WEDNESDAY! And Thursday (tomorrow) starts a new week in our budget cycle. I may head out tonight after work to get some fruit to bring in.

So to the point, what to give up for Lent. NO, I'm NOT giving up poker! Don't even say it, keep it to yourself. Poker is my escape from the world and it's the ONLY thing DH and I do. We don't drink (well, at home we will), we don't go to clubs or bars anymore, we're too old. It's the only thing we do, and we're NOT giving it up. So, I was thinking soda. i did this last year, lasted a week, then I had ginger ale as I had a little tummy bug. But now I'm thinking of giving up dark soda (like pepsi) so that way, if I need a swig of ginger ale, I'd be in the clear. But I'm supposed to be sacrificing, right? I was thinking of giving up sweets, but my body does not agree with that. I've tried that in the past, and within a week, I need the sweets. I can't give up work (darn! haha!) so I need something to give up. I may give up the dark soda thing, and also give up procrastinating on getting my business up and running. I've been gung ho with getting debt paid off, so I'm keeping up with that.

So ,what's everyone else giving up for Lent?

Be Wary of Quizon's Q!

So, I got my Q for a free Quizno's sub. I actually got a few for myself with the different emails that I have! I also got DH his so one night this week we can go. This morning, I didn't have any leftovers to bring in for lunch, so I figured I'd use my Q today for lunch. I sent the link to some lunch buddies here at work, so 4 of us made the trek to the car and off to Quizno's. We looked at our Q on what we can get, and there's a sign about the Q, that it's only for Everyday and Signature subs, not on premium subs. Okay, makes sense, and it says that on the Q. So one girl goes to order, shows the Q and the guys like 'Oh, we don't take those...the Q's on the sign are for the buy 1 get 1 free' or half off, I forgot what he said. He said that not all locations are taking those Q's. UGH. So I got a sandwhich, which I believe the sign said $1.99. So when I pay the lady is like '4.23' I'm like 'The sign said 1.99' She said that was only for the sammies, but I really thought it said $1.99. People were behind me and I was already ticked off, so I paid and left. Got out cheaper then anyone else in the group, but still. I was agitated.
So, for all those wanting to use your FREE sandwhich Q, make sure you call ahead and see if your location is taking the FREE Q's!

I Know I'm Getting Old When....

Bon Jovi comes to town and I DON'T go psycho-stalk him! So, anyone that knows me personally knows that I'm probably THE biggest (or one of the biggest) Bon Jovi fans. Back in the 80's, my first concert experience EVER was Bon Jovi. That's a memory that I made with my mom, sister and cousin's that I'll NEVER forget (damn those girls that took OUR handmade signs that took forever to make out of the garbage and hang them up and take credit for it!). I'm from Sayreville, where Jon grew up. I even sat in the same desk that he sat at in English class. I've gone to numerous shows since I was young and everytime he's in Jersey, I go see him. But not yesterday. Here's why:

In order to get tickets, you have to be part of a Bon Jovi's Backstage Fan Club, which is $50 a year. The only benefit from what I see is early access and great seats to his shows. However, all I heard about were members of the club getting screwed and paying a ton more money for seats that anyone could get. Then, to purchase a ticket, it's $250, probably plus tax, fees, etc. So right there, you're looking at over $300, over $550 for a couple (Hubby Mike's a HUGE fan as well). Then you had to bring sports memorbilia like sports jerseys to the show that will get donated to children of soldiers in Iraq. Yes, that's a great cause, but sports jerseys? HELLO, I won't even buy myself one b/c they're so expensive! We do a lot of donation stuff at work, but never have they asked for high priced items! Oh, and the cost of the tickets which is high, all the money (so they say) will get donated to Jon's Philadelphia Soul Charity...IN PENNSYLVANIA! Now, he hasn't come back to Sayreville to do anything, now he comes and NOTHING goes to where he grew up? Not even the same STATE??? come on now! At least Bruce gives back to his hometown!

Need to Hit My 50% Goal

Okay so last night, DH and I went to Shop Rite and did the dollar deals. We got 4 8 packs of the Bounty Basic for $16 and giving us $5 ONYO.

We went back inside and did our shopping...$41 OOP and 36% savings...UGH! I believe I'm not at 44% for the month and only a week and a half left! I'm thinking of returning DH's deodarant, he forgot to give me the Q I gave him for .75 off (doubled to 1.50). That may help a bit. I have to go shopping without him. He has to find THE most expensive things to get, like the Mission Tortillas for taco night. I told him to get the other brand that's on sale, and he fussed with me 'But I don't LIKE the other brand' He's never had it. He is sick w/ a bad cold, so I let it slide. Next time he's home, I'm going by myself and when I'm just about done, I'll call him to help me bag LOL.

So I think for the next week, I need to desperatly hunker down and get THE best deals with Q's, that way I can up my percentage. A & P I normally do good at, but they don't have many good deals this week....let's see....I do have Q's for the Chex Mix for .25 and I also have Q's for the Warm Delights that are .66 each. I'm not sure if I have any more Q's for Colgate, but I DO have 3 more for Aquafresh, so maybe I'll run into Shop Rite, return the deodarant, they buy it again with the Q and get some toothbrushes (Aquafresh). Oh, Herbal Essences are on sale at A and P too....2.49 each, so buy two for 4.98 and I have a $3/2 Q so that's 1.98 for two! Not too bad! Oh I see Totino's too! We love them things! I'll probably get those too.

Since that sale ends tomorrow, looks like I'm going to A & P on lunch tomorrow!

Free Dunkin Donuts Sample

January Totals, yes a few weeks late!

So, without further ado, here are my January totals....drumroll please:

# of items: 232
Total before savings: $692.39
Store Savings: $188.92
Coupons: $190.99
# of Q's: 117
OOP: $321.87 ($21.87 over budget...boo!)
Total Savings: $370.52
Final Savings: 54%!!!!

YAY! I believe I wanted to do either 40 or 50% in total savings, and I exceeded that goal! I'm going to shoot for 50% this month (February). The month is half over and my spreadsheet shows that right now I'm at 47%...boo! I gotta get up there in the percentage to hit my 50% goal!

Day After Vally's Day at Borgata...Cruel Punishment followed by Sweet Rewards

Well, DH and I got up early (well, I did, early riser) and my girl Roz sent me a text that she was going to the breakfast buffet at 9am and then gonna play the 11am tourney. We don't normally do breakfast, so I declined on the buffet. Told her we'd see her around 11 at the poker room. So DH and I watched some TV then got ready to check out and go to the casino. I go to the poker room, Tim is still there from 1pm Saturday! He's nuts! Then I see Judy at the 1 2 table with not too many chips...she's card dead. We start talking about possibly playing 2 5. So DH wanted to get something to eat for breakfast (he needs to be up to eat, not just getting up) So I have him put me on a let it ride table while he eats. So I order an OJ when I sit and off he goes. He comes back, line was too long. I lose my $200 in a matter of 15 minutes...geesh...so much for staying awhile. Then we go back to the poker room, Judy doubled up...YAY! We start talking about 2 5 NL again, then DH wants to go downstairs to get something to eat. On our way down, Judy texts 'As you guys walked away, I got 2 5...it's a sign, but for you or for me?" So then I made my mind up, I'm gonna play 2 5.

I get on a table and it's a fairly new table, not much money at the table, just about $500 or less at each seat. I bought in for the max, $500. First two hands I fold. One was 6 4 off to a raise when I posted, then the next hand was like jack 5 off. Next hand, I get pocket 8s, I limp in. One guy makes it 20 two callers, then to me, I call. Flop is 8 Jack 3 rainbow. I'm like 'YAY!' I bet out $80 and the raiser calls. hmmmm, I'm thinking ace jack. everyone else folds. Turn is a jack...so even if he has ace jack, I'm still good now cuz I got a boat! So I bet out $200, he thinks, pushes all in, I insta call and show my boat. He flips over jack queen. He's like 'You got me' Freaking river pairs the damn 3, and my boat was washed out by his boat. Wow, that hurt. I wanted to cry! LOL. I go to Judy tell her, she can't believe it. I go to Hubby Mike, and everyone at his table can't believe it! I then go to Tim and 'fake' cry on his shoulder. Then I go to sit down at a let it ride table. At that point, my cash game was off. I haven't been doing great at cash the last 4 sessions, so I figured I needed a break. I tell Hubby Mike that all the time...if he's constantly on a bad streak, take a break and go to Blackjack or something. He never listens. So I heed my own advice telling myself that I'm done with poker for awhile. I say I can get tons of rest instead of making the bi weekly trips to AC :). Try to get on let it ride, nothing is open. So I stalk a table, nobody moves for like 20 minutes. Hubby Mike came over to see me and to let me lean on him for awhile since my bad beat. He then leaves, then after a few minutes I give up and decided to watch Hubby Mike play (another tip I give to Hubby Mike....if you're having a bad streak, just watch me play, he says no b/c I would never watch him, so now I try to make good on my advice). As I get to him, they open a brand new 2 5 table. The devil and angel appear on my shoulders. Devil won, as always when we're in AC. So I grab my remaining $300 in my purse and sit down for less then the max buy in at a 2 5 table. I tell DH that I'm 'Going big or going home!' He's not happy but everyone at his table wishes me the best of luck after my horrible 8 outer beat.

So I sit down, not everyone bought in for $500 which is good, so I'm not the only short stack. I get down to like $150...not happy. Can't win a hand to save my life! Finally, I win a pretty good pot and I'm excited....make friends with some people at the table, and Joey Z give me a candy bar....actually I stole it cuz he did me dirty one hand. I got pocket aces, I make it 25 to go, a few callers. Flop is king king 5, I bet out 50, he raises me 150 on top. He's a regular and he says 'what do you think I have?" and I'm like 'A king, I know' So I fold, showing my pocket aces, he flips over king nine...off. UGH! I yelled at him for doing my dirty and 'stole' one of his candy bars. We made nice over the hours we played, and exchanged phone numbers since he lives close. Hubby Mike doesn't mind, he's older then me, and we're both married....but since we live close, we can invite each other to home games. We made friends awhile back with a nice couple and the husband was there. He's very sweet and would 'check up on me' every once in awhile and give me pointers. Everyone at the table thought he was my Hubby. LOL. Too funny. Then Tim came over and the table is like 'Is that your hubby?" And I'm like 'No, he just wishes he was" LOL. Then a friend we made down there, we call him Red cuz he has red hair was there. He's a sweetie too. They're like 'Is THAT your husband?" nope! So now we start numbering my 'Husbands' at Borgata. Tim is Hubby 3, Howard is Hubby 2, and Red is 7 b/c we all lost count and I have husbands from previous trips. Red picked 7 b/c he likes the number. So he's now 'RED SEVEN' just like in Wedding Crashers.

I started making my way back up picking up some pots, and I doubled up when I hit a set of jacks on the flop. I had about $300 or so, actually less then that. I get pocket jacks. I raise to $35 pre flop, 2 callers. Flop is jack high, so I bet out $75, guy to my left goes all in, guy folds, I call. He's had 6 9 hitting two pair. I flip over my set. So he's out, and he rebuys. So I doubled up. I took someone else out with another big hand, but I don't remember. The table got fun after awhile too. People would raise to ten without looking at cards, and Joey Z would raise 30 blind. The one hand, I called the 10 blind, he makes it thirty, almost everyone calls. So I do as well. The flop is like 5 7 9 or something. Guy in seat one who won a MONSTER hand that I woulda had $3k in front of me if I played (I'll tell that story in a bit) bets out $400! He threw out like 3 blacks and 4 greens. It looked like he knocked it over on accident, and I ask if it was a serious bet...he says yes. Crap, I look, I had top pair...ugh. I fold....Joey Z is like 'Okay, for $400 I gotta look okay everyone? " We all agree. He goes all in for not much more, seat one calls. Joey Z flopped a straight and the guy that raised 10 and called the 30 raise blind had pocket aces!!!!!! WOW!

So, about the hand that I woulda had $3k in front of me. Now, the table was pretty friendly, but a lot of the time people are putting a ton of money in the pot pre flop. Joey Z raises it to $30, guy two to his left, re-raises to $130, 5 callers....wow!!!!! I had queen nine off, so I folded. Wouldn't you know I flopped nuts, had I stayed in? I had queen nine, flop was 8 10 jack (two hearts). Bet, all in, call, raise, you name it. Like 4 people were all in on the turn. Which happened to be a black five, river was a black 2. So my straight woulda help up! One guy had ace jack, the other (seat 1) had a set of 8s and Joey Z was on the flush draw. He sure did like his flush draws! So Seat 1 won a TON Of money. Lots of blacks and greens in there that coulda been mine...ho hum.

So, back to me. I would win a few pots and was excited that I was up this session. One hand, the guy makes it $10, so I say I'm gonna look at one, it's an ace. So I call. Guy to my left, who seemed to raise EVERY hand I limped in or flat called, makes it $40. Joey Z calls and 2 others call. So now I announce I'm gonna look at the other card....another ACE!! YIPPEE! I push all in. haha. If I take the pot down, I'm getting $40 times 4 which is $160....I'll take the $160 right now, instead of getting sucked out. They all fold. YAY! Another time, early on, I had aces and there was a raise, so I re-raised a hunge on top. Now, Hubby 2 (howard) had just come over, and I'm telling him how tight i'm playing, and he says that since I have that 'stature' at the table, when I get a shitty hand, push a ton pre-flop. So I do with aces. The guy made it $25 I believe, and I raise $150 on top. The guy that raises is upset and he's like, "I got a hand, but that's more then half my stack to call' So I just sit there, he folds, I pick up the pot. They kept talking 'Did you have kings? Jacks? queens? What did you have?" Joey Z knew what I had:) They kept talking and talking....so I asked if anyone heard what Howard said to me, they say no. So i repeat his advice and they're like 'No way did you make that raise with nothing' So I shrug my shoulders and say, "okay think what you want' He went on mad tilt!!!! HAHA!

Before I know it, I'm sitting with $1100 in front of me, from my original $300 buy in...sweet! Hubby Mike wants to leave soon cuz he had to work today haha! I gave some to Joey Z on this hand. I have ace jack suited, I limp, Joey Z raises and a few other callers, including me. Flop is ace 7 something rainbow. Seat one bets 15, I call, Joey Z raises to $60. Everyone folds. Back to me. I'm like 'Did you flop a set?" and Joey Z is like 'I have an ace' I'm like 'Okay, well so do I" and he's like 'Okay, that's all I'm going to give you." So he flips over his ace. So now I'm like 'Do you have the case ace under there?" Referring to his card not showing? "Or did you flop two pair?" I still have a high kicker which can pair, and a back door flush draw. So he's like 'Baby doll, if you have an ace, why aren't you showing?" I wasn't sure if this was allowed in cash or not as one guy kept saying that Joey Z's hand should be mucked since he showed it...meanwhile it's heads up. I'm not 100% sure you can do it, I'm pretty sure since it's heads up and it's a friendly game w/ me and him. So I flip over my ace. Joey Z got nervous, I called the 60. Turn is a 10, I check, he bets 60. Dammit I say, then call....nothing on river, he flips over his 10 kicker which paired...dammit! I flip over my jack. He's like 'I had you on the flop, why'd you call?" I'm like 'hey dummy, the 10 hit on the turn jackass!" (being sarcastic) and he's like 'Oh, my bad' LOL. Guy (Buddha we call him cuz he had a buddha card protector) is getting upset about how we showed our cards and insisted both hands should be mucked....then who wins the pot? The last guy to fold...everyone gives him a look as the dealer shoves the pot past me to Joey Z :(

We did had a guy at our table that people kept pointing out when he was at another table. He had on a blue mets hat, and supposedly, he was there when the bad beat jackpot hit at $306k. He was at the table playing, and went to go potty. While he was in the potty and not dealt in the hand, the BBJ hit. NOW, had he been dealt in, then went potty, he woulda been paid the 17.5 k that the table split...but b/c he was NOT dealt in the hand, no payout. Now, had I been at the table, I would have made the casino split the money 9 ways ( I believe it was 8 at the table that got the 17.5) or if they can't do that due to regulations, would have figured out the math that each person should pay him out of pocket. Okay people, if this person did not have nature calling, the BBJ wouldn't have it. NOBODY but the guy that won the $126 K (bad beat) gave him money, and he only gave him $2k...nobody else gave him anything. Yes, $2k is better then nothing, but still, had he have been there, it wouldn't have hit, so it was all him that it did hit. What jerk offs in my opinion. I felt really bad for him. I told him not to worry b/c the money is now 'bad money' Bad karma is on that money now, so it will ruin the people's lives that got it. I'm a big believer in Karma. When I left, I was saying my goodbyes to my table, and I told him that I hope he is at the table when the bad beat hits again. He thanked me and said that he hopes that when it's hit and he's at the table, he wants me to be at the table too...aw, how sweet! And I told him that if I'm in the casino and that happens to him again, I'll kick everyone's ass if they do him dirty again. Joey Z who is next to him says that he doesn't doubt for a second that'd I'd kick everyone's ass :)

Good times at the Borgata....can't wait to go back!

Valentine's Day at Borgata

I had been looking forward to our Vally's Day Borgata trip for a few weeks now. So, Thursday we did laundry at my MIL's since our washer won't do the spin cycle. Then Friday night, the dryer vent guy came to do the dryer vent as required by our condo association. Whatever....very nice guy. HAD to shove a Vitamin Water in his hand. DH helped him get the stackable out of the closet room thingy it's in and he was great. I offered him food and a drink since he mentioned that he has been running around since 6am...it was now 8:30. He refused any food, so I pulled him, literally into the kitchen and told him to take what he wanted....he took a Vitamin Water. See, sometimes I'm motherly!

So Friday we heated up a Freshetta pizza and packed for our trip the next day. I'm an early riser (DH is not). So I made sure he showered Friday night cuz if he had to shower in the AM on Saturday, we'd never get to AC! So, we went to bed around midnight or so, and I was up at 8:15, 45 minutes before the alarm. DH and I snuggled for a bit and did our marital stuff, then we got up and ready. I had some errands to run before we went, so I wanted to be out of the house by 10 at the latest. So we got ready but DH wasn't feeling well. He'd been coming down with a cold since Wednesday, and now it was full blast. And I'm a germaphobe. He NEVER gets sick, and it figures, the ONE time he does, it's Valentine's Day. Oh well. So we get out of the house at 10am (good timing). A friend of mine called to see if we can pick up her wife and bring her down as she is going down later that night, but her wife wanted to go earlier. So I said that's fine, no sense for her to take the bus alone. So we did our errands while she got ready. Went to the bank, to the credit union (and opened an account of rewards checking with an APY of 5.01%! That's great!) and went to shop rite, Dunkin Donuts and my mom's. So by time we were done, our friend was ready so we picked her up and on our way to AC!

We dropped Judy off at Caesar's and the city was PACKED! We got to Borgata around 2 (I soooo wanted to be there before noon, all well) and we had an issue checking in. The girl is like 'Ok, Ms. Russo, we have you down for one comp night with two queen beds...' She's still talking, but I don't hear her. I look at Hubby Mike and he's like 'Is that a suite?" She's like 'Oh no sir, we don't give out free suites here' ( I felt like cursing her out, but I kept my cool). I pull out my letter from the girl at customer assurance that specifically states a free comp suite. So she looks at it and says that 'Even if it's a free suite, they won't give it away on a holiday' So I tell her that the girl that wrote me the letter booked us the suite, and of course, it's a Saturday and she doesn't work weekends. She goes to talk to her 'manager' who is a guy that's younger then me. I'm 28, and this kid was no older then 25. So we see them and other guys in suits looking at the letter, like it's forged, I don't know. So I'm about to lose my cool. NEVER had we EVER had any issue at Borgata, and the two times we go to Water Club, ISSUES GALORE! So I tell Hubby Mike that if this guy gives me lip, we're gonna stay at a suite at Borgata. So he comes over, pushes some buttons and says that they only have smoking vistas available. I ask if it smells bad (we don't smoke) and he says it shouldn't. To that, I said, 'Well, if it does, we're coming right back down, and you're putting us in the biggest suite at Borgata' And he just looks at me and says to enjoy your stay. I felt like cursing him out too, but I don't. We get to our 'vista suite' and it's just a regular room, but a little bigger and 2 windows instead of two. Our friends were in a suite too, they had the same room. What a rip off. Although I did look online and the vista suite is only $10 more....whatever, it was a free room.

So we make our way down to see my friend Tim at the poker room. It was about 2:30 and we had 5pm dinner reservations at Izakaya so I didn't want to sit at the poker table for like 2 hours only. So we walk around, and end up playing Let it Ride. Never played it, but on the ride down, Judy mentioned how good it is to play to kill time b/c you can sit with a hunge or two hunge and it lasts awhile. So I sit at a $10 table with $200. It has the 3 card bonus, which is great b/c I LOVE 3 card. First hand, I got a pair of queens, yay! However, after that, nothing, and each hand I'm pulling back two bets, so I"m losing 1 $10 bet and 1 $10 3 card bonus. So I'm down to my last like $20 or so, and I'm like 'all, well, it's almost 4pm anyways, so once I'm done with this, we can get ready'. I look at an ace, and Hubby Mike makes the comment "Look at the others, this isn't 3 card lol' So the second card I look at is another ace. The guy to my right is like 'Put it down, don't look' (he helped cuz I was new). So I put it down. He looked at ace jack rag. Then Hubby Mike said that the lady to my left had the other remaining ace. All well, still had a pair better then 10s, so I'd still win. Well, lady to my left did NOT have the case ace....I DID! The dealer flips over 3 aces for me!!! YIPPEE! So I won like $400 or so on that hand, and I played out my reds, and then when the guy to my right left, we left too. So that was nice! Then up to change to get ready for dinner :)

We had dinner at Izakaya and it was great! I had shrimp tempura (first try at sushi) but it was too fishy for me. I had the edamame (awesome) and the roasted soy chicken, which came out in like a witch's crockpot, it was pretty funny, but sooooo good. Hubby Mike and my friend's girlfriend got the filet mignon and it was soooooo good too! Great place to eat if anyone is interested!

So back to the room to change into jeans and hit the poker table! Of course DH does well, me not so well. One hand I remember, I had ace king suited, I make it 17 pre flop and 2 callers. Queen 8 queen on the flop. Everyone checks, I bet out, one caller. Blank on turn, check to me, I bet. call. River nothing. kid checks, I check. He's like 'come on show your ace king, so I do, he flips over 8 4 off. UGH. So I try my darndest to get him back and every hand he's in, I limp...can't catch anything! UGH Oh well. DH did well, and at the end of the night, I cash out for like 89 bucks....but I was still up from let it ride, so not too too bad.

Part two coming up about yesterday.....what a stories I have about that day :)

From Monty With Love

I had to post this to get the word out about a dog named Monty. A few weeks back, Monty was hit by a train up in North Jersey. Poor fella didn't have a fighting chance to survive, but he has and is getting better each day. Not sure if I ever mentioned it, but I am a volunteer with the Garden State German Shepherd Rescue (Hubby Mike is as well). We get dogs from shelters or from people who need to give up their GSD (German Shepherd Dog) and we try to find Forever Homes for them. We do an extensive background check on the adopters and many people cannot believe that we are volunteers and don't get paid. We make sure that the adopters of the GSD's keep up with shots and training with the doggies. We don't just give them to anyone. We do home visit, reference checks and vet checks as well. Anywho, more about Monty. He was found by some police officers and a great vet in Union took him in and worked on him. I don't know all the specifics, so I'm putting a link on here to his blog.

He is now in PA with another rescue and he's with his foster parents (not his forever home). He has gone and will continue to go through a ton of therapy and surgeries. It was with great heart that the original vet kept on with Monty. Most vets would have put Monty down because of the severity of his injuries. He has no use of his back legs as seen in the video of his blog. I think it's sad to watch, but just seeing his face, and how happy he is, makes it worthwhile. He will be getting fitted soon for a 'wheelchair' (wheels for his hind legs) so he can walk a ton better. His vet bills and care bills are huge, and if anyone wanted to lend a helping hand, I ask that you help out Monty. You can go to the Last Hope Safe Haven and make any kind of donations. When you do donate, just mention that it's for Monty, so it will go for his meds and necessary items.

This is not a ploy to get donations. GSGSR is in no way affiliated with Last Hope Safe Haven. This is just my personal plea because I feel so strongly about Monty. I would love to take Monty myself, I would even take on the financial responsibility, but with work, we're hardly home and that's no fair to a pup. My heart goes out to Monty and I want to do all I can to help him.
Here is the link to all that are interested:

http://adogandatrain.blogspot.com/ (that is Monty's blog page)
http://lasthopesafehaven.com/ (that is the link to the Last Hope Safe Haven)

Valentine's Day

This Friday marks our '3 year engagement anniversary' and I figured I'd share some background with everyone on how I became Mrs. Mike. We went down to Maryland a few days before Valentine's Day to visit my best friend and to attend her daughter's Sweet 16 party. We went down Friday, and Saturday was said party. Saturday, Maryland got about 6 inches or so of snow so going to the party was pretty fun (good thing we took the truck and not the Mustang!) The party was a blast, and the next day (Sunday) we headed from Maryland to Atlantic City. We woke up to a ton of snow on the ground still. Some roads were plowed, some were not. The battery on the truck died, and we got a jump from one of the nice people at the hotel. We went to Wal-mart for some truck necessities to make sure we got to AC in one piece. DH saw signs for the AC Expressway off the NJ Turnpike and we took that way. What a wrong turn! Jersey was complete opposite of Maryland....no roads plowed! The way we took was all backroads....lovely. It ended up taking us double the time to get there. So we got to Harrah's, checked in and went to play some cash games in the poker room.

Okay, so in AC, since it's right on the ocean and bay, they had NO snow on the roads, but the grass and sidewalks had MAYBE an inch....but everything was closed! Some restaurants didn't even open in the casino. So there was no drink lady or food runner for the poker room. DH kept getting up to go to the bathroom, so I figured I was in for him having a stomach problem all weekend...lovely.

We went upstairs to the WSOP Circuit to see what was going on. The next day I was going to play in the ladies event and there was a $1000 buy in event that I was going to try to win DH into. I played a satellite and got sucked out to no end. I was chipleader the entire time, and just kept doubling people up with stupid hands. So I busted out of that satellite, and it was late and I didn't feel too well, so we went to the one place that was open, the diner place at Harrah's (no longer there). I got some chicken soup and complained how I didn't feel well or how badly I got sucked out.

It was pretty late, and I like to get a nice night's sleep before a tournament, so we decided to go up to bed. It was a little past midnight when we made our way back to the room. As we go down the hall, I'm thinking we walked too far down. We get to our room, and DH can't seem to get the key to work. I'm like 'Honey, this isn't our room...we weren't this close to the end of the hall' He's like 'This is our room' Meanwhile, door still not open. Finally he gets it open and I go in. My eyes fixate directly to a vase-ful of long stemmed red roses (my favorite). I didn't even see our luggage on the floor. I get to the flowers, and I'm like 'Honey, we're in someone else's room and they got flowers! How nice! I'm gonna be nosey and read the card' meanwhile, I didn't even look at DH. I open the card, and is says Beth, I love you with all my heart, will you merry me' (yes, it says merry me....they totally blew that one, but at the time, i didn't realize it! HA!). So as I see my name and that, I'm like 'OMG, he meant to propose on Valentine's Day, but it's only Feb 13th!' (it was technically the 13th, it was past midnight). So of course I say yes (who wouldn't!) and we hugged and what not, I called my parents, who already knew! I think I woke my dad up...woops! He did mean to do it on the 13th, he didn't want to do it on Valentine's Day and wanted to surprise me....well...he did!

So of course every year, we go to AC around that time to celebrate our 'engagement' anniversary....and it gives us the excuse to play some poker in the meantime :) This year, thanks to having my money stolen from an employee at the Water Club, our vacation is now comped! Free suite at the Water Club on Valentine's Day AND $100 in food comps to use. Yippee!
This year, on our 'engagement' anniversary, we are having some lovely people come to our house between 5 and 7 to clean our dryer vent and then maybe we'll go out to dinner. We are going to bed early so spend some quality time together snuggling, then getting up early to go to Borgata.
I want to surprise DH with some fun gifts before we leave. I won't post on here because my luck he actually reads my blogs and I don't want to give it away!

So, what's everyone doing for Valentine's Day?

NEW To Do List!

All my 'hound' friends do 'Mean Plan Mondays' and I HAVE to start doing that, but maybe I'll do "Monday To-Do Lists" LOL

-Start and finish taxes - just about done, just need to submit, but I want my accountant friend to look it over :)

-Letters to Senators - did not do yet :(

-Update grocery stuff done!

-Clip Q's and get envies together to send out - Done on 2/9

-Do at least 30 minutes each day on the Wii fit and TWO sections on my Denise Austin DVD Did on 2/9 and planning on keeping up with it!

-Get Q's ready for the week done!

-Pack for mini-vacation and finish up laundry at mom in law's house done!

-Make up meal plan for the week. didn't do :(

-Update WIR numbers - Done 2/9

-Clean out work bag done!

-Finish reading Suze Orman Book. done!

-Reference Checks for potential adopters for Garden State German Shepherd Rescue.

Follow Up to My To Do List on my Snow Day last week

Alright, let's round out last week's to do list and see what got accomplished, then I'll start another to do list:

-I did go out on Friday and got my Turbo Tax at Staples. I'm a bit upset b/c this week, it's $10 cheaper at Best Buy. Dag Nab It! If Best Buy were convenient, I'd return and get my refund at Staples and purchase it at Best Buy, but Best Buy is too far :(

-Did budget for February! YAY! Also made new 'Gift' account on ING to have money go into that account each week so we're not scrambling when a birthday or shower or anniversary comes up.

-Paid the bills for the first two weeks of Feb.

-Did not get the letters started for the Senators, but found out the reason the co-worker sent it out is because SHE is pregnant with baby #2. So now I'm saving up my baby Q's for her.

-House is very clean. Just had an open house yesterday, nobody came, but a guy made an appt to see our place and he did come and seems somewhat interested.

-Filing is done!

-Gift was returned to Babies R Us.

-I did my Q's for last week, but now I have to do them for this week.

-Did not update my grocery stuff just yet, I'm getting bad with my procrastination!

-e-vites were sent for my Partylite party.

-Did not get my envies ready for brides.

Randomness

Okay, I know I haven't written a blog in awhile, but I just got a bit busy and a bit lazy. Those do not go. I'm off from work today. I called out b/c of the snow. DH takes a guy to work everyday since his wife has to take her son to school. Some snow days, his friend is able to take him to work so I can have the truck, but today his wife had to take her son to school, so I figured I'd just call out. It's supposed to be bad down by work, so I figured I didn't want to get stuck down there. I hear if they do early dismissal, it takes 2 hours to get out b/c there are about 9,000 people trying to exit out of 3 gates. So, the Mustang is staying parked. Here's what I plan on doing today:

-I want to go get TurboTax since I finally got DH's w-2 yesterday and start our taxes

-I want to hash out my budget. I got my raise and now I want to sit and figure out how long it will take to pay off debt. I want to also put money aside each week for DH's tires ($600), vacation (was thinking I can use the money I put away from grocery savings), gifts (I have two showers in the next month and they are getting costly!).

-Pay bills.

-Start letter to Senators about the act/bill for Federal employees to get 4 weeks paid leave after having or adopting a baby. Right now, we get 12 weeks unpaid and we still have a job type of thing...but this year there's a bill going up that needs to get signed to give Federal employees 4 weeks paid leave.

-Clean up from Super Bowl. The kitchen looks like we went grocery shopping and didn't put anything away. Need to find space for that stuff.

-Do my filing. I procrastinated in that 'I'm an organizing junkie' contest. I got it all together, but just never filed it. I need to get a basket too to keep my filing stuff in.

-I wanted to take a ride to Babies R Us to return a gift-got the wrong thing. Also, my DH's cousin who is having one of the said showers said they are having a big sale on baby clothes. She's having a little girl and I LOVE shopping for little girls! I may have to wait for DH to get home to take me...it's quite a ride to that store from here.

-Get my Q's ready for the week. I need to get a few things from A & P and Shop Rite and CVS, so I need to get my envies ready.

-Update my grocery stuff and put on here. I need to get my January totals together as well.

-Get e-vites ready for my Partylite party. I really want to get my business going this year, so I'm doing an open house on Feb 22nd. If anyone in Jersey wants to go, let me know so I can send you the evite.

-Get envies ready for brides for my Partylite business.

Okay, so I have a ton of stuff to do, and I'm still in my PJ's at 11:33am. Oh boy...better get myself going!