CVS Haul

Alright, CVS had some good deals today. I shopped after church with my supply of coupons (got the paper yesterday). I went in with $15 Extra Care Bucks, spent $13.39 out of pocket, and left with $20.79 Extra Care Bucks. I thought that was pretty good. Comment on what deals you got this week.

• 2 Soft Soap body washes
• ThermaCare back and hip wrap (free after Extra Care Bucks)
• White Cheddar Popcorn
• Olay facial cleansing wipes
• Orange Juice
• Newspaper
• Schick Quattro razor
• Physician's Formula powder
• 3 packs of Trident gum

On a separate note, one broken nail polish bottle at Ulta means 5 Essie polishes for 99 cents each for me.

Last Night on the Cruise

We had entertainment almost every night of the cruise. We saw the ships dancers/performers, a comedy hypnotist, a musical, a magic show, and a group from Second City that did skits and improv. Some were better than others but it was fun. Below are some videos of the last night of entertainment. At the end of the show the whole staff came out. The minute they started this, Robin and I looked at each other and tried not to crack up laughing. It was very cheesy, but I did catch some 'moments'. They all lined up to shake everyone's hands too as we left the theater.

The Norwegian Star

I thought I'd share a little bit more about the boat Robin and I were on during our cruise. The Norwegian Star was more up to date than the Carnival cruise I went on. I shot a couple videos.


This is Sawyer's Glacier. The captain too us up close and than spun the ship 180 degrees so everyone could see it.


Here's our view out of our cabin. Obstructed, but not bad. You can see parts of the life boats. We did have a crew member on the platform one day when they were doing some drills.

In Recent News...

So I figured I ought to post about what's been going on for me.... hmmm let's see. I got a job at Kumon learning center, and all I do is grade for the most part while wearing a fairly unflattering polo. But it's a job, and a job pays money. So for 7.50 an hour, for 8 hours a week, I can't complain. Especially now that I realize how much money I need in order to do all the stuff I want. Earlier me and Jordyn were talking about all the things we want to do this next year, and it all involves money! Ugh, things should just be free, or money should just be more abundant.

Some of the things that I'm factoring into my budget:

Tithe (I should start that habit early)

Compassion International (I sponsor a little girl, Lulu, with other girls in the youth group)

Passion Conference (I AM SO PUMPED FOR THIS.)

California Spring Break Trip (With Jordyn, Matti, and/or Haleigh. It's just an idea right now, but it sounds pretty fantastic)

Youth Camp

Young Life Camp (Me and Jordyn just started going to Young Life this week, but it's super cool and camp seems awesome!)

Mission Trips and other Youth Events

So as you can see, I'm gonna be saving up as much as I can. I will probably still ask for help paying for some things from Mom and Dad, but I'd like to try and pay for most of it myself. I already have envelopes marked for each category, and I have a total of $42 in my Passion envelope, and that's 'bout it.

In other news, I started reading My Utmost for His Highest, as like a daily devotional thing to pair with reading the Bible. Ummm and I have probably the worst case of senioritis ever (I'm putting off work even as I'm typing this.).

That's about everything new with me, so I guess I'll just leave you with a song I am OBSESSED with right now, and that'll be it from me, for now.

- Holly

Afternoon Tea

This was fun. The tea was in the lobby where several tables were set up. We were greeted by our tea captain who explained what we would be served. In addition to all the lovely foods pictured, we were served three different kinds of tea: African Amber, Orange Jasmine, and Pear Caramel. We were also entertained by a pianist who played on a Steinway grand piano. He knew it was our anniversary, so he played the Anniversary Waltz for us. Tony was the only man, but I was proud to be having tea with him.

Perry's Steak House

This is where we ate Friday night. They are known for their pork chops, so I got one - 32 ounces. We brought most of it home. We didn't order dessert, but they gave us a complimentary one since it was our anniversary. You can't see it, but there were also red rose petals on the table.

The Adolphus Hotel

I have quite a few pictures to post, so I decided to keep my comments to a minimum. Most are pretty self-explanatory. The first group of photos of are the amazing accommodations we had. Tony said that it was about 1300 sq. feet of space--about as big as the downstairs of our house. Alot of famous people have stayed in this hotel, including the Queen of England.

Garden City Glassworks - Scagway, AK

The one excursion Robin and I did on our Alaskan cruise was the Glassblowing Experience. We weren't exactly sure what to expect, but it was wonderful. We were picked up at the dock and driven to Garden City Glassworks. It was part tea room, gardens, glass work studio, and vegetable co-op. We toured the garden grounds, watched a glassblowing demonstration, and then both got to create our own ornament. They were shipped to us at home after they cooled.



My video skills are not the best but our final results with the ornaments were great. I think Robin chose red, orange, and blue. I chose blue, aqua, and white. We both did a hurricane pattern with gold leaf.

Stockpile Beginnings

Well, I bought a shelf for the cabinet of my guest bath this weekend and started my beginner's stockpile. This is the stuff I've gotten on sale and with deals at CVS, Randall's, etc. Mainly this is body wash, lotion, razors, toothpaste, soap, and shampoo.

I am starting to notice personal price thresholds for some products. For example, wait for a degree deodorant coupon to get the travel size for free. Only spend $0.99 for toothpaste. Things like that.

Any requests/needs for a particular product? I can start looking for deals on it. Please leave a comment.

Great Link for Beginning Couponing!

The link below has three great YouTube videos that can get you started couponing. I enjoyed them.

http://www.youtube.com/user/hip2save

Hiking in Ketchikan

This is my first attempts to film video on my camera (prepping for that YouTube channel, haha). I also uploaded a ton of photos on my facebook page. Hope you enjoy!

The Parade of Food

Robin and I took pictures of every (almost) meal that we ate during the cruise. Ask me if you want to know what something is. How is it that I lost 4 lbs during this cruise?