Really good deals and a bonus...sweet!

Howdy! Apparently I am going to be making a tradition of Tuesday blogs. I hope that this Tuesday finds you all well rested, happy and in the process of a good week. I had a nice weekend including an Iowa win (honestly I'm not trying to rub it in, I just like it when my boys win), and excellent chat with my dad and an absolutely gorgeous day on Sunday! I didn't really accomplish anything of worth, unless you count decontaminating my kitchen, but I did get some crafty things done. I've been working on some crochet projects for Christmas presents this year and not only did I finish Bob's John Deere green and yellow blanket but I made a few hats that will, most likely, ultimately become presents for the nieces and nephews. I'm going to be very skint this year so hand-made gifts it is! I also got my used copy of 'Sewing for Dummies' in the mail (Amazon.com for the win) and hope to dig into that. My mom was the only person in my immediate family who could sew, well more than crude hemming and buttons that is, and she got me a nice sewing machine for Christmas last year. I figure it's time I learn how to do more than sew straight lines. Anyway, as the weather gets cooler and we have those rainy fall days I think I'll be able to really get into the book. There are several small and easy projects in the book that allow practical application of the lessons, it might make me nerdy but I'm really looking forward to them! If you promise not to laugh I might even post pictures!

Speaking of being skint and needing to save money, I am excited to report I got a great deal on some work pants yesterday! Late last spring within a two week period, 3 pair of my work pants bit the dust. I had two zipper catastrophes and one pair practically started falling apart at the seams. Granted, I wasn't terribly surprised by the zipper issues. I bought those pants when I was attending Luther which means they were probably bough in 2004, maybe earlier. It wasn't a huge deal at the time because summer was just around the corner and I tend to wear capris in the summer because I'm hot all of the time. With fall approaching and the decline in temperatures, I'm not going to be able to get away with only having 2 pair of dress pants so I went to Lane Bryant's website. I hate that they are so expensive but they are the only place that sells pants that fit me well, God bless yellow, right fit pants! Anyway, the work type pants are usually $54.50, ouch. However, yesterday was the last day of a pant sale where select styles were $29.99, score! I could get the two pair of pants that I needed for $60, excellent! However, it gets better. Online only, they had a deal where you could take $20 off when you spent over $40. I assumed that it wouldn't count on sale items but I was wrong! So, I managed to get $110 worth of pants for just under $40!! I even got free shipping because they now have free site to store shipping. I was pretty pumped.

As if saving $70 on pants wasn't enough, shortly after I made my purchase my boss came in to talk to us. This month we got our yearly raise added to our paychecks (which we didn't get last year because of the financial crisis). It bumps me up about $40 a paycheck which is really helpful. Anyway, when Matt came in yesterday he handed each of us a piece of paper and told us that because the department did so well last year that on top of our salary increase, we also get a lump sum bonus which has never happened before. I was stoked. This couldn't have come at a better time. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to ask Bob for a loan to get by for the next 9 months and then, out of the blue, we get a bonus that will probably tide me over until my finances are back to normal. It's amazing how things always manage to work out in the end. You know how people say God works in mysterious ways, well...I think they might be onto something. I don't think I say it enough so I'll say it now, God is really good...for real!

Lastly, the last week was pretty good in regards to eating and exercising. I've still been a bit peckish at night and snacking when I probably shouldn't be. I know I snack when I'm bored so I am trying to work on that this week. I've been very faithful to my exercise plan but I really feel like I should bump up what I'm doing. I really wish that the hospital had an exercise facility that employees could use for free. At a place this large it doesn't make sense that they don't. They have a gym but you have to buy a membership, which is not cheap and I can't afford right now. They also have a variety of fitness classes that they offer but again, they are really expensive and hard to get into. You would think that a hospital of all places would not only know the benefits of regular physical activity but would understand the need of having an easily accessible exercise space. Sigh, my complaining won't help so I should just suck it up and use the sucky work out room at my apartment. Is it too much to ask for free weights?!?! Oh well, it's better than nothing I suppose.

OK, it's lunch time and I'm quite hungry so I should go. Have a great day and week all!