TLC's extreme couponing - WTF? {why the flack?}

image from TLC

so i am sure if you saw the ad for this show you were as intrigued as the rest of us: "how the heck do these families save over 90 percent of their grocery bill every time!"

we watched the show {that premiered last night}, and we were very impressed.  yes, some of these ladies have taken this skill to an extreme {thus the name of the show} but they have basically made a job for themselves.  and they have figured out how to beat the system and save money- who doesn't love doing that? while we watched, we looked up various coupon sites and tried to figure out how they do it and where they get all of the coupons!!

one of the women featured, also has a website called the Krazy Coupon Lady {KCL}. and she teaches beginners how to become a KCL by going to the right sites, doubling up, getting extra sunday papers...etc. sounds like a decent plan. if you can make the time to do it. and quite frankly, if you have no other way to make an extra income for your family.

while i was surfing, i kept reading all of these nasty articles about the show, and how some are saying that these women are greedy, selfish, or "spending too much money to save money..."

to that i say, "why the flack?" these women have found something that they are good at. yes, it feeds into our need to watch crazy extreme behaviors on tv nowadays {i.e. strange addictions, intervention, hoarding...etc} but they are moms that simply found a way to help out and yes, now they are extreme about it. some possibly even OCD.

a lot of them are LDS women that most likely started collecting their year-supply of extra goods and created a stock-pile and when they realized what it could save and how it would help the family financially- they went for it!  that is called, using your talents for good! so again, why the flack?!!

most women that stay-at-home now have a way to bring an extra income. women are starting more home-based business and make up more of the business owners than men do now.  you probably took up photography, or you sell your talented craftiness on etsy, either way, you have found something you enjoy doing that also brings in more income. 

they say that is the key to happiness- find a way to make money doing what you enjoy! so lets say that this is a full-time job for the KCLs and leave it at that- it is fun to watch and we can take a page out of their book without getting all mean and antsy.

but check out her site for the best coupon-clipping sites. 
i think i will be getting into it {though on a much lower end of the spectrum....}

something much cooler than Y2K....

yes, i waited at work so i could take a picture of this.

behold:

12:34:56 on 7/8/9

never to happen again in your lifetime at least!

ok, blog....

just sos you know... i am in the process of being crafty... and you will see what that entails soon enough... lets just say it is homemade christmas this year at the moffat's house... and i have nearly 5 projects going on... but i am half done!

i am running all over now that i am back in the az, 

but i won't lie to you, i miss the east coast and my cute roommates: 

(brittney, tali, kim, tami, and elle-- wait- you live here!)

i already miss the thai/soul/indian/asian/pakistani/naughty food that i so indulged in at least once a week...

i miss the gym that was down the hall that i could go run and lift in whenever i wanted to...

i miss the friends that took care of me while there...providing me with fun things to do and see...

i hope my magical job* finds me soon so that i can be there again soon.

oh and for the record, being home for the holidays is my new favorite thing... i have a testimony of it and know that it's true.

* magical job is basically what everyone on the east seems to have: some vague job at "the fed" or "the hill" or some vague consulting or designing thing... getting paid lots to do something that you happen to be great at... so it is exactly what you needed...something like that would be nice.

oh yes... the pictures and;or video from school will be here soon...chill dawg.

life lessons from a random black man in adam's morgan...

today has been a day of learning for this west coaster...

LA-— the other intern in the theatre dept., showed up this morning explaining how he (a larger in stature black man that i wouldn't mess with even with a million dollars in my pocket and a gun in my hand) almost got mugged... he was just walking by his house to get to the bus and these two 17-year-old kids circled him like they was going to get all up in his face and he just jumped on the one until he was sufficiently scared (while the other kid ran) and then he too joined his cowardly accomplice. i guess as he was walking away, he was telling his grandmother bout it on the phone when he watched some middle-aged woman get her purse snatched, right in front of 30 or so people, including a military officer who all just sat and watched the poor woman run after the guy in her heels....

that was my morning...

in the evening, i discovered the greatness that is "adam's morgan." it is the original harlem area where the black jazz babies got their start. i will be returning as soon as humanly possible.

as we first round the corner into the strip of fun places to check out we run into a guy that randomly says as we pass, "your dad said you are supposed to call him" to my date. ok... whatev. note to self: crazies are abundant—be. ware.

my eclectic date (everyone is using that word right now, btw, it is like my first semester at byu when everyone said "ambiguous" all the time...random.) took me to an area with a little band playing in the window, and before we went inside, i got an urban vernacular lesson from the random man sitting against the window to "feel the vibes." i do enjoy the occasional reggae vibe pulsating through my back...

as we sat there with him he explained that "people just don't respect the crown of david anymore. ya know what that is right? the crown of david? david's crown? dreadlocks."
it goes with the Rastafarian belief that the dreads represent power because of the Nazarites mentioned in the bible that wore them... Samson, Samuel, John the Baptist...etc. interesting.

we asked him if he had them (he had a hat on) and he said "no, because I just graduated college"
ah. I would hate to have dreads weighing down my college experience...
"you do know what college is, right?"
am i stupid? no... i did that for like 7 years, thanks...
"round here, we call 'college' prison"
cause you entered a new school of thought? or because it was four years of sleep..?

then he told us the place to be was across the way, cept it dun been shut down on account of the "batties" took em over and they shut it down not two weeks ago...

me: ok. so what are "batties"
random black man: you know.
me: no, actually, i don't.
random black man: think about it honey...
me: still don't know actually...
random black man: like a girl batty... or a boy batty?
me: sorry?
random black man: like gays.
me: i'm so using that.

then we went inside the little reggae bar...
the band was yummy, playing mostly classic reggae that you would recognize, only they were better... and live. we got drinks and danced a bit. note: this is a small place- so like 20 people at best, and we were 2 of 4 white people.... one, who perhaps didn't see my male friend and therefore my sexual orientation because she invaded some serious personal space trying to make me "feel the music" with her. thank you date for saving me.
apparently this place also serves west african food, so i will be back to discover what that entails. can it be bad? i submit that it cannot.

then we met up with the rest of the group over at "tryst" more of a coffee/jazz/cafe/diner=type place... also very moderny with an old town feel and totally different atmosphere. also loved it.

glad to get a taste of the underworld of DC. i love love the embedded culture and heart of the place. so much to learn and so little time. we almost went salsa/latin dancing too... but alas—no shoes. next outing will perhaps give me the jitter bug release i am looking for...

why is today already awesometown?

at least 2 reasons:

1) i set my alarm for 5:15 (normal) but for PM (which is not) which means i was way late and had to go get swigs as penance for my supervisor... I will admit I did get a small morning cocktail myself. otherwise yesterday marks 5 weeks off swigs... i have had about 2.5 in the 5 weeks-- all for medicinal reasons... that is no joke at all... i drink on average 44-50 ounces of water a day now... i awesome.

2) i just got off the phone with a man that offered to pay $50 bucks to anyone who would hand deliver his daughter's exam the Fedex location so she could graduate.... (we just have a cut off time to send them out, but they don't really "go out" until Fedex comes- with is like 4ish...i had told him that the time had passed but i would "see what i could do..."). they hadn't gone out yet so i came back and told him that I would "hand deliver it to the Fedex location" and he got my name to send me a check... "honestly you don't have to do that!" i said... "nope! it will be there tomorrow!!" this place kills me...

honestly...

which reminds me- i helped a girl a few weeks ago that flew in from alaska to take her exam... so she could could hopefully pass them this time and then fly right back to walk off of the plane and directly onto the field for graduation. she was clueless: didn't know that provo wasn't near salt lake, didn't have a ride back, didn't print out her assignments to submit them... which meant i spent the early morning hours figuring out files on a few computers, scheduling a cab, and then (unbeknown to the student) begging her instructor while he golfed to let her pass because she failed by one percent! she did, and i even had to drive her over to an atm to get cash to pay for the cab and we got breakfast cause she didn't feed herself... long story short, her mom called me back that afternoon and asked me my full name, shoe size and favorite color... still waiting to see if she delivers...

and believe me, blog, you will be the first to know!!

now i am going to waste away my evening at the BYU spring opera... just sitting here, all alone, getting credit with bloody q-tips...