Cutesy, Cheapsy Wine Journal: 3 blind moose

Before launching into this, I should let everyone know this segment's creation was inspired by Deidra's wine notebook, my enjoyment of categorizing things, and Andrea's love of pretty pictures. In Kroger today, Andrea and I were admiring bottles of wine and we decided the wines she tastes (and I smell) should meet two criteria:

1. The wine shall have a fun label and/or name


2. The wine will cost less than $10

It should be noted that Andrea only goes through a full bottle of wine in about a week and a half, so there may not be too many posts right away, but the format should be simple enough to keep up. :) Thanks Adam and Deidra for inspiring us! Now without further ado...

Cutesy, Cheapsy Wine Journal

3 blind moose
2005 - Merlot - California
$7.99

Andrea's comments:

- Low sugar according to the legs. Wait... I take it back.

- Really sweet

- I smell cloves!

Evan's comments:

- Smells just like wine.

Andrea's final verdict: "I like it, but it has a little bit of a bitter aftertaste. But I would drink it again."

Chelan

Mireya and Steele

Mireya and Steele got married!

I saw Chuck Norris in person

I wanted to make sure I posted this before April Fool's Day so no one would have reason to doubt the validity of my story.

Question: Who sleeps with the nightlight on not because he's afraid of the dark, but because the dark is afraid of him?

Answer: Chuck Norris.

This evening I was no more than fifteen feet away from Chuck himself as he accepted an award at Texas A&M and spoke about his philosophy of determination and positive attitude. I've got a picture to prove it, though I didn't get one with Chuck. There were way too many folks asking for autographs and pictures, so I didn't want to trouble the man who double-crossed the devil in exchange for rugged good looks and unparalleled martial arts ability.

Jokes aside, Chuck Norris is a pretty incredible guy and has a great message that he can deliver as a result of his popularity. Thank YOU Chuck Norris! - Evan

*Conversation last night...*

Evan: "I downloaded all of the photos off of the camera."

Me: "Thank you!"

Evan: "There were over a hundred pictures."

Me: "Wow, of what?"

Evan: "Mostly Penny."

Me: "That's embarrasing."

Wheelin' and Dealin'

WARNING: The following blog may contain instances of mathematics and may not be suitable for all readers.

We've been shopping for pots and pans for quite some time. Prior to our wedding we were shopping for pots and pans, so it has been close to two years now of perusing cookware. Andrea and I finally settled on a set of Calphalon Contemporary Stainless cookware this past weekend and we are super-psyched about them! They're easy to clean, look great and should hold up to a lifetime of making macaroni and cheese. The best part is, we got an amazing deal on them. Here are the contributing factors.

Through our credit card we've been racking up cash back bonuses for the past two years. The way our bonuses work, we can use them on gift cards with a particular partner and receive even more money to spend at that store. For example: at Bed, Bath & Beyond you can receive a $25 gift card for $20. We had $200 in rewards available so we converted it into $250 in gift cards.

We also had some money left over on gift cards from our wedding (thank you everyone!) that we intended to use on pots and pans in the first place. That's another $ . Maybe most importantly, we have a 20% off coupon (that we get sent in the mail weekly by BB&B). This ended up being the deciding factor to purchase the cookware.

So Andrea and I roll up to the store ready to visit "our" (we haven't bought them yet) pots and pans, but fully armed with gift cards and the coupon should the right deal be available. When we arrive in the cookware section we notice our 10-piece set is being offered for $499. It's also being offered WITH a bonus $50 gift card if we spend $300 on Calphalon and a 6.5 liter soup pot (retailing for $150) if we spend $400 or more on Calphalon. It's time to pounce.

Math phobics, please avert your eyes:

$499 for the set

- 20% off

- $363 in gift cards

- $50 for the instant bonus gift card

Grand total: $18.97 total cash for the set and the bonus soup pot. Whoooop!

Needless to say, we were very pleased with our work. I'll put a picture in so y'all can bask in the gleam of the pans with us. *oooooh* *aaaaaah* - Evan

Penny

When we got back to Texas after winter break, Andrea and I adopted a kitten from the Brazos Valley Animal Shelter. We knew we would be in-town for a while after our big trip, so we thought it would be the perfect time to bring a pet into our family. Andrea scoped out the shelter one day while I was teaching and found a 10 week old, girl tortoiseshell kitten to whom she quickly became attached. The next day, we were signing the paperwork to bring home Penny.

I've come to realize a couple of things as we've had Penny in our house:

1. Cats CAN fetch, they just have to be in the mood for it.
2. People who don't have kids treat their pets like kids... sort of.
3. Kittens are pretty low-maintenence.

We really enjoy having Penny in our home. Hopefully y'all can come meet her someday soon! That's all for now. :) - Evan