Laura's List of Cheapies

Here's a list of things, that if combining coupons, store discounts, sales, and buy one get one free, you should never pay more than half price for: Shaving cream Soap Body wash Body lotion Face wash Razors (do not buy cartridges unless they are a major steal) --> (This is one of my favorite tips, we never buy razor cartridges and just buy new razors on sale) Deodorant Eyeliner Hairspray and all hair products aside from dyes Toothpaste Mouthwash So this is probably the majority of your toiletries, right? I regularly get the brand names I like from CVS or Rite Aid extremely cheap or free. When there's a deal, I maximize the savings by getting as many as allowed and rolling register rewards from week to week. For example, let's say I earned $10 CVS Extra Care Bucks last week buying Almay Foundation. This week Old Spice Body wash is buy one get one free. I can use a coupon on Old Spice plus those ECB's (which are like cash in this sense) to purchase the body wash. I add the bodywash to my stockpile in my upstairs closet and we get it out as we need it. That means once I stockpile something I dont have to buy it for 2-6 months (depending on how much I bought) and I saved the maximum amount on it! Keep your eye out for weekly circulars. Although people often think drugstores are overpriced, you will do the BEST at these stores by rolling rewards, weekly coupons from the store, and adding coupons to sales. Trust me!

Swing Dancing at Glen Echo

I'm a few posts behind where I wanted to be, but I wanted to share a new and exciting activity for couples to do. We've been looking for more ways to incorporate physical activity into some of our dates, and this one turned out really well!


Over the last year in graduate school, I've noticed that if I make a wrong turn on the way home I end up at this strange place that looks like the set of a 1950's horror movie. On a trip home from DC, John was curious about what this place was, so we decided to stop and check it out. While the rest of the park was silent, many people were filing towards one building, so we followed them. As it turns out, this was Glen Echo park and there is swing dancing with live music every weekend! We sat and watched for about twenty minutes, noting how good some of the people dancing at the front of the ballroom were. We decided to come back at some point and try it for ourselves.


This last weekend John's family came to visit so we all went swing dancing. It was great! They provide a one hour lesson that teaches you a 7 step combination beforehand, and the live music was wonderful! We all had a great time and will definitely be returning! We danced for about three hours, so this is definitely a workout!

Great Spring Cleaning idea!

Spring is almost here! Looking to get rid of stuff? I know that after our move last year, I am dying to unload some of this stuff for when we inevitably move the next time! Plus, we've (and mostly me..) have accumulated a lot of clothing and items over the years that I'm sure could be put to good use. We get these mailers at our house all the time and I'm jumping on the chance to donate (easily) to the Vietnam Vets of America. They come and pick up all your stuff outside your house, leave you a tax receipt, and you're done!! Just schedule a pickup. So much easier than dragging it to Goodwill, waiting in line for a tax receipt, etc.


Head on over to http://www.vvapickup.org/ today to schedule your pickup!!

My birthday

My wonderful boyfriend took me out for my 25th birthday and we had a blast! We have several upcoming things on our calendar that I'll share later, but here is a photo from my birthday this year!

Miss America

Well, I haven't posted in months. And that's certainly because over the last several months my schedule has been a nightmare, and within that time I've realized a lot of things that are important to me- along with realizing some things that need to be completely trashed. I'm in the process of making some major changes to my life, but this week I felt like coming back to blogging because a very dear friend, Katie Uze, is currently at the Miss America pageant.

Over my years in pageants, of course there are a few "bad apples" (and that's the case in any group of people) but Katie is truly one of the most genuine and lovable people out there. We first met competing together our very first year (2007-2008) and ended up sharing a car partner at the Miss Virginia pageant. Katie is incredible on and off the pageant stage, and it's easy for me to feel genuinely excited for her as she works towards a dream this week. She's very deserving of this entire experience and is, in my mind, the ideal Miss America: relatable, fun-loving, carrying a strong message, smart, funny, and sweet. If she doesn't win, it's fully Miss America's loss.


Miss America can be a total crapshoot. You can work your butt off and it's just not in the cards for you. It's the same way I view Miss Virginia: it's impossible to feel like you failed when you accomplished so many other things along the way you will cherish for a long time. However, only one girl each year can have that experience and the timing just might not be right. I'm proud of Katie no matter what (although I highly suspect she will win a swimsuit award in Las Vegas) and feel lucky to have become a friend over our time in pageants together.


Go Katie!

TSO

One of the most exciting things John and I did this year was receive tickets to go watch Transiberian Orchestra in Pennsylvania. John's brother, Joseph, got the tickets and treated us all to a spectacular show! It was one of the best concerts I have ever seen. Some people made the mistake of thinking the show was over at intermission. The concert was a good three hours but my favorite part of the show actually came after intermission, when a good portion of the crowd thinned out and the music was the personal creation of TSO. We had a blast, and the band was excellent at working with the crowd and raising interest in each song. The lights were also amazing! I highly recommend this concert to anyone who likes rock music or even classical- you will be amazing at how great it sounds fused together!

Oh, Canada!

I recently had the awesome opportunity to travel to an international conference on Motherhood in Toronto, Canada! This was my first trip to Canada and also my first time experiencing Niagara Falls! Lucky enough, we actually visited the Falls on the last day it was open for the boats. This was also John's first time traveling to Niagara, and we're also planning another trip back!

One of the great things about this conference is that I got linked up with many other people in the field through this organization, and I have an upcoming book chapter to be published in Winter 2011 as a result of the connections made. We also got to go see Second City, a hilarious comedy show (which had come to my college, and, in fact, adopted a Randolph Macon girl into one of their tours because of her great sense of humor). The show was great and although the trip was short, it was a blast! There is so much to do there and I can definitely see why it's such a great honeymoon destination!

Baltimore Comic COn

I have been extremely, extremely busy- to a level I have never personally experienced before. I am a full time graduate student and a full time employee- meaning I literally drive from maryland to virginia and back three days a week and use my weekends to catch up. In any case, I have several posts coming but only get to work on them in my rare free time. So the first overdue post is for the Baltimore Comic Con, which I attended in costume a few weeks ago. They had a costume contest and although I did not win, I had a great time attending and having pictures taken with many people attending the event. In fact, the costume contest was kind of a bust because it lasted over four hours and there were people who clearly had a lot of time and money to invest in their costumes!

A few quick updates

It's been so long since I've posted, but my new schedule is very hectic and the weekends of summer have been extremely full so far! The remainder of this month is no different.


-I've officially entered another dimension of time management, as I'm now working a full-time job on top of working on my PhD. My mother and I are working on a project to be presented at an international conference on motherhood in Canada this fall, I'm writing a chapter for upcoming book about motherhood advocacy organizations, and in general adjusting to life as a researcher/student/employee.

-I'm preparing for a whole new kind of contest at the end of August. When my boyfriend asked if we could attend the Baltimore Comic-Con, at first I was thinking this wouldn't be very fun for me. Until I decided to enter the costume contest (last year's winner received a $1,000 cash prize). Over the course of college due to my busy schedule, positive outlook, and many hats I wore, I earned the nickname wonder woman from many friends. After learning more about this famous female superhero, my boyfriend and I decided there was no one more perfect to go as. Wonder Woman is a curvy Amazon who carries a lasso of truth. She fit me perfectly! So John and I have spent weeks perfecting a costume and makeup for this event. I am sure people will want their picture taken with wonder woman, too! I even have the blue eyes to match!

-Finally, finally, finally, two very important things are happening in my life. I've waited so long for both and I can finally afford them! Years ago my eye doctor told me the only cure to my constant eye infections and now inability to wear contact lenses was Lasik. I'm having the procedure right before Comic Con and couldn't be more excited to have glasses-free vision.

And... I'm buying a car! I'll reveal that later, but for now I am still driving the trust 1984 Cavalier. I've decided that things built in the 80's are just made to last, because she's still going strong!

Miss Virginia 2010

This last month has been a complete whirlwind for me, involving a lot of stress, moving, new adventures, and some very exciting things on the horizon. I feel bad for not posting this sooner, but just over a week ago, one of my favorite pageant friends won Miss Virginia. I have to say, it's much, much harder to watch and support someone than it is to be in the pageant. I was cheering loudly for my friends Shannon Oliver and Katie Uze, and every time either one of them came on stage, I felt like vomiting. I crossed all fingers and toes that they would do their best. I am so proud of both of them- they each won a preliminary award and made the top five.

When they announced that Katie Uze was the new Miss Virginia, I shrieked for over twenty seconds and then called Katie's phone to leave her a crying voicemail of how proud of her I was. There are literally no words to describe how genuine, funny, and dedicated Katie is. She will be an incredible Miss Virginia and I'm so proud of her! Katie and Shannon have been two of my friends that I first met during Miss Virginia 2008 and we have stayed close and in support of one another ever since. Would you believe both Katie and Shannon drove over 4 hours to watch me compete at Miss Hill City? So, I figure it's time to return that favor and head out to Vegas to watch Katie compete for Miss America!

Congratulations to someone who really deserves it!

Rick Myers

I've been so busy that I didn't even realize it had been a month since I'd last posted. A few updates:


My friend Anna Reis is competing for the title of Miss Ohio this weekend and I'll be watching the webcast so catch up with how she's doing.

We've been through a terrible experience the past few days with our little dog. Luckily she has survived and will recover but it totally shook our worlds. Pets are great!

And now, on to share some photos from an excellent Virginia photographer! I met Rick right before the Miss Lynchburg pageant and he came to take pictures of the entire show. I was thrilled to get to work with him out in Nelson County at some of the best waterfalls I've ever seen! Rick is great for just about everything: he does roller-derby shots, too! If you're looking for new headshots, modeling photos, or a couples photo shoot, consider working with him! He's excellent, professional, funny, and produces gorgeous photos! We're having a hard time deciding which ones to blow up in our new home!

Check him out at www.rickmyersphotography.com

Elks Lodge

I haven't posted in a long time because 1) I have many secret projects going on and 2) I've just been busy! I have received my master's degree and in one week, my boyfriend and I will be in our new house in Maryland. We're so excited, but also just exhausted from the last few weeks we've had. John is in his last day of his second year of medical school today (meaning the worst part is now over) and this entire weekend we're showing our house to new renters, packing, and spending time together. I haven't spent time with him for about two weeks because we've been running all over the place, and we actually spent our anniversary last week in two different states.

I will post more about graduation later. Last night I was a special guest speaker at the Roanoke Elks Lodge Scholarship/Valedictorian night to talk about how my Elks scholarship helped jump-start my educational and career goals. Literally, six years ago I could not afford to go to college and without the national Elks scholarship, I would have been attending community college near home and it would have been a much more difficult road to where I am now. Thanks to the $6,000 scholarship I received from Elks, I was able to attend a private woman's college (with a $32,000 price tag per year) virtually free and with very little loan accumulation. It was my pleasure to speak to high school students on the verge of graduation about how I made it through and where I'm at now.

Coming up in June: I'm slated to judge two more pageants! I'm becoming a professional!