It's Finally Here!!!!

I cannot begin to tell you how long I have waited for this day. The past two months of boring, weekday summer nights have lead me to this day. This night. The night that Prime Time television premiers the Fall TV Lineup!!!!


Can you hear the choir of angels? Can I get an Amen or Hallelujah?

I'm kind of ashamed to admit this - but I spent my lunch break last Thursday mapping out our evening TV schedule. We recently switched from DirectTv to Time Warner Cable which means that we lost all the programming on our DVR and it will need to be reset. So I spent an hour visiting NBC, ABC, Fox & CBS online to see what their fall line-up looked like and mapped out our DVR schedule. Don't judge me......

I'm not going to tell you all the shows I will be watching, because it would be a little embarrassing. But I figure, I wake up at 5:00 a.m. every morning and get my workout in before work. I work from 8-5 and have an hour long commute home. If I want to relax in front of the TV Monday-Thursday evening for a couple hours, that's my perrogative. Plus you know me, Little Miss Frugal loves some free entertainment!

I will however share a few of my favorites and a few new shows that I have high hopes for:

Grey's Anatomy

Hands down all time favorite show. I can't believe Meredith gets fired - I'm sure that won't last long because what would the hospital drama be without Meredith??

Castle

Please, please, please can they just get together??? Will Beckett remember that Castle said the L word??

Modern Family

ABC Comedy Wednesday is my favorite night of the week largely in part to this fabulous show! Congrats on all the Emmy wins last night!

Criminal Minds

JJ is back! :)

I'm also adding a few new shows to the mix:

New Girl

I love Zooey Deschanel and this new show looks hilarious.

Whitney

Have you seen the promo where she says, "I don't get why guys have to wear jerseys while watching a football game. It's not like they are on the team. That would be like me dressing up as a hooker to watch SVU." Bahahaha.....

Is anyone else as excited about their shows coming back on as I am? Feel free to share your favorite shows!

I Love It When My Passions Collide

So as many of my long term readers know - I'm what you might call frugal. Some might even say a penny pincher. My husband likes to call it plain cheap. Whatever way you spin it - I love saving money!


When Steven and I decided to start following Zone, I immediately thought of the cost of eating healthy. I worried that we would not be able to stay within our allotted monthly budget for groceries if our entire diet consisted of lean meats, fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts and dairy products. I had a preconceived notion that eating healthy was expensive.

I'm glad to say - I've been pleasantly surprised to find out that notion was wrong!

It has been rather easy to find cost effective healthy lunch and dinner options; however, I found myself spending majority of our grocery budget on balanced snacks.

I love Greek yogurt. It's packed with protein and offers a conservative amount of carbs. One cup around 3pm each afternoon is enough to hold me over until dinner every night. I'm especially in love with the Key Lime flavor. I swear, if I close my eyes, it's almost as if I'm eating real key lime pie. And who doesn't like to snack on key lime pie??

One tiny problem with Greek yogurt is it can be quite expensive. The average single yogurt pack runs about $1.25. Add that up over a week and you've spent $6.25 just on afternoon snacks!

Thankfully my mother turned me onto couponing. Our local grocer, Harris Teeter, doubles coupons up to $.99. About every six weeks they will triple coupons up to $.99. So I save my Greek yogurt coupons until a special comes along and when it does - I stock up on healthy snacks at a steal.

Harris Teeter is running the triple coupon special this week and they have Yoplait Greek yogurt on sale 10/$10. I had 5 coupons of "Buy 2 Get $.50 Off". I purchased 10 yogurts for $10 on the VIC special. I had 5 coupons for $.50 off which was a total of $2.50 in savings. Triple that savings and I save $7.50 in coupons! I purchased $12.50 worth of yogurt for $2.50!!! I paid $.25 a piece when the yogurt was normally $1.25 each!!!

Call me crazy - but knowing that I saved 80% makes this key lime yogurt cup taste that much better!

I'm Back!

It's official ladies - after many not so subtle hints from many of my followers, friends and even my husband - I've decided to come back to blogging.


For the first time in a long time I'm started to feel like myself again - and let me tell you, it's a good feeling. Now that my schedule has slowed down slightly and I've been able to catch my breath, I have the itch to get back to blogging!

I've experienced a bit of a whirlwind the past six months though. I'll spare you the drama and give you the high lights:

-Knee injury has completely derailed Crossfit efforts. After 5 months of a vicious cycle of rehab for a week then working out for a week, I've finally committed to staying off my knee and rehabbing it properly. I'm two weeks in and not seeing much improvement - but I trust that within another 4-6 weeks I will see signs of improvement and be able to return to Crossfit.

- Remember that big girl job that I was so excited about in April? Turned out to be a BIG fail. Out of respect for my friends who still work there, I won't go into any particular details. Simply put - it was not for me. After four months, I made the difficult decision to explore other career opportunities and the Lord quickly blessed me with a new path.

-I've been at my new job three weeks now and already I feel a huge weight has been lifted. The schedule is much more reasonable and I truly see opportunity for long term growth and happiness. Thank-you Lord!

-I'm finally a blonde again!!!! After 8 long and difficult months, my hair has regained it's sparkle. Although, not without a lot of damage. Lesson learned - I will never go dark again - ever.

That about sums it up. Thank-you SO much to all of you who have checked in on me over the past six months. It makes me feel so great to know that my absence has not gone unnoticed and that there are people out there (even if you are technically strangers!) who care for me and my while being.

I'm done with the pouting and poor me stories. I can't wait to jump back on the wagon and see what everyone has been up to!

It's About So Much More Than These Current Struggles

I’ve stared at this blank computer screen for weeks now planning my blogger comeback.


I’ve searched for witty quips, inspirational stories or heartfelt words that could somehow explain my absence over the past four months.

There has to be some grand explanation for why I have been silent for so long.

But the truth is, there really is none.

Arguments could be made that I am going through a legitimate quarter life crisis. Or I could point to the 55+ hour work weeks coupled with a 45 minute commute and multiple weekends worked over the past four months. There’s also the fact that I’m still struggling through a knee injury. Or maybe I’ve felt too guilty to blog – my house is a mess, I’m gaining weight again and I have felt like an utter failure as a wife for the past four months – so why should I spend time blogging when I obviously have so many issues that need to be addressed?

The last time I blogged I referenced some 30 Days To A Better Me. Seriously? What was I thinking? I’m not sure where I got that. Maybe too many articles written by Bethenny Frankel or Dr. Phil? Either way – that challenge was an epic fail.

I’ve learned some seriously difficult lessons over the past eighteen months. And through each of those hardships I have put unnecessary pressure on myself to overcome with perfection.

And I’m flat out tired.

I looked at myself in the mirror this morning and I don’t recognize the woman staring back at me.

Where did these bags under my eyes come from? When is the last time I actually fixed my hair? And what’s with this chipped finger nail polish? Or the fact that I haven’t shaved my legs in days? Why have I felt nauseas for weeks?

But there are signs that are more troubling than the physical. Where has my passion for life gone? Since when do I let fear control me? Why can’t I sleep? Who am I and how do I get the real Amber back?

I don’t want to give the wrong impression. I’m not depressed. I’m not on the verge of doing something stupid. I’m just not me. And I don’t know how or when this happened. Somehow I’ve slowly become jaded over the past eighteen months and I’m so tired of it.

And I think therein lies the truth about why I haven’t blogged in so long. I hate admitting weakness. I hate admitting fear or sadness. I want to be bubbly, funny, encouraging & inspirational. I want to write words that bring a smile to someone’s face or a tear to their eye. I do not want to be this.

There’s enough sadness & drama in this world without another blogger going on and on about feelings of insecurity.

But I realize if I am ever going to find myself again, I’ve got to be honest about how I got here. Writing is a passion of mine. It’s an outlet for happiness, truth, pain, fear, serenity & comfort.

And I have to believe that there are other twenty something women going through the same issues – how do I balance career & a family – how do I maintain a positive self-image – how do I foster my faith and witness to my lost friends – how do I manage expectations from my parents, husband and friends?

So there is no plan. I’m removing the pressure. My Type-A personality is begging me to sit down and write a list of 10 Steps To A Better You. But that’s bogus and I know it.

So I’m just going to write. I’m going to share my insecurities and pray that the Lord will bless my honesty. I’m going to share words of encouragement that have moved me over the past eighteen months. I’m going to find the woman that I once was and I’m going to gain an appreciate for the challenges I have been through.

Because ultimately life is not about success, money, accomplishments or ambition. Life is about relationships. It’s about sharing the best and worst of yourself with others and allowing those moments to change you for the better. It’s about having faith that Christ has a purpose for you and actively seeking His will and following as He leads.

It’s about so much more than these current struggles……