Scared the stew outa me!

Last week I watched Oprah b/c she had the lady on who was attacked by her friend's pet Chimpanzee. It was really hard to watch. I was bawling and feeling so bad for this lady. Then a few nights ago, I asked Paul to watch it with me, so I watched it AGAIN.

This morning, I wanted to go through my laundry room and clean out some bags that are going to the Warehouse of Hope. The very FIRST bag I opened had THIS in it...staring at me!

Needless to say...it scared me half to death. This is one of those "real life" animals. He drinks a bottle and goes...ooo, ooo, ooo, eee, eee, eee. Praise the Lord this thing wasn't turned on.

Introducing - Clipsy Chicks

Okay, so we had a little contest to come up with a name for me and my friend's Dana's new coupon Save-inar class. We are now...CLIPSY CHICKS! Thank you to Paulette for the adorable name idea. And, thanks to my incredibly talented friend Tiffany (Gala Design) for doing our logo! I submitted to her a drawing of what we wanted and she WOWED us! To book a save-inar in the Atlanta area, email me at angelarichardson@mac.com.

Just to show you how talented my friend Tiffany is...here is the drawing I gave her...Tif you rock!

Open Mic

Will had a program at the PTA this week for Veteran's day. I was home sick and couldn't go. I didn't realize I was going to miss his FIRST EVER speaking part! Paul video'd it for me. I just wanted to reach through the camera and hug him! He was embarrassed and passed the mic so quickly to the next girl. I love how he applauded the speaker at the end. When I watched the video with Will, he said..."mom, I didn't do very good did I?" Ahhhhhh, BREAK MY HEART! You can be sure I told him he was the finest speaker ever to grace the school's gymnasium! Again, pause my playlist on the bottom right of the page so you can hear him. :) Oh, on a side note, he wanted to correct the girl that said "the earth will have nothing else to give us."

Trip to Asheville...

Fasten your seat belts, this past weekend was a whirlwind. I'm gonna recap. Here we go!

Paul took me to Asheville, NC to the Biltmore Estate for our anniversary. It's a great getaway (for all you in the ATL) just about a 4 hr. drive. And, it's pretty inexpensive. We usually stay at a nice hotel for a good deal. Here's what was waiting for me in our room...

Look who we ran into in downtown Asheville  - the Moxey's. (Actually we knew they were going to be there the same weekend, so we planned a dinner date). This restaurant, Tupelo Honey was INCREDIBLE! Quaint and cozy. Inexpensive. I highly recommend the Charleston Chicken sandwich!

After dinner, we were off to the candlelight tour of the Biltmore. It was breathtaking! My pictures hardly capture it...

As we were wrapping up the tour (which ends in the basement) I stopped by the flower potting room and asked the lady working if she just LOVED working there. I told her it would be my dream job...well, other than naming nail polish. Anyway, I told her we'd been there about 6 or 7 times and I loved learning more and more secrets about the place. As I was talking, she waved at a lady in the hallway to come over to meet me. So, the lady introduces herself..."Hi, I'm Dini Pickering." And so I said..."and I'm Angela Richardson." It didn't dawn on me that I was meeting GEORGE VANDERBILT'S GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER! Paul clued me in after we had been chatting for a few minutes. What did I do?

Ummmm, yeah, not cool.

I pretty much told her I thought I would pass out, then I hugged her. She was so kind and gracious enough to let us get our picture with her. If you're still wondering...who is she? Here's the breakdown.

George Vanderbilt had a daughter, Cornelia (born in the Louis 16th room at Biltmore).

She had a son, William Cecil (also born in the Louis 16th room at Biltmore).

William Cecil had Dini.

See that big cheesy grin on my face? These pictures are fuzzy, but they count!

This is the sweet, dear lady who thought enough to flag Dini down for me. When we were leaving, this lady said..."that's my anniversary gift to you." Awh!

The next day Paul and I walked the property for about 4 miles and took lots of fun pictures. The day could not have been more breathtaking. This is one of my favorite pictures. I love having a camera with a timer!

That night I had another huge treat - seeing my best friend from high school, Collyn. In the past 12 years, I had seen her ONCE! I've never met her girls, so I was ecstatic to get to see them!

It seemed like not a day had gone by. Within 5 minutes, we were cracking jokes and howling. I got to read her girls their Bible story before bed. Precious moment!

Whew! What a weekend! Thank you to my mother in law, Carol for watching our boys! They had a blast while we were gone. Here's some more pic's from our trip...(just in case the album you've already seen isn't enough..sheesh!)

We need a name...

My friend Dana and I held our very FIRST coupon class last night. We had a ball. About 20 women came and more are scheduled to come to a workshop we are having. We sold out of the binders we put together. They were a big hit. If you want to book a class, let us know. However,

We need a name!

I know, I know, this is usually my forte...not trying to brag, but names are my "thing". This one has stumped me however. We love all the names - that are already taken. Like Hip2Save, Tipjunkie, SouthernSavers, etc. So, if you have any name suggestions and we choose your name, you will win a coupon starter kit!

Here are a few pic's from our first class.

We had ladies guess how much we paid for all the groceries on the table...can you guess?

The pink binders have baseball card holders for coupons and dividers for different categories. The starter kits include an accordion file, shopping list and a pair of scissors.

Me and Dana showing off our bargains

Ideas? Do share!

Lunchbox Love

I found these ADORABLE lunchbox cards at Michael's in the dollar bin. They have an encouraging note on the front and trivia on the back. Will LOVES to get a note. And, it's helping him with reading. Go to Michael's and get some, or go online at sayplease.com.

Earning their keep

My boys have made some new friends. Charlie and Douglas live nearby and they have hit it off!  Charlie and Will found out they both love to catch lizards (instant bond).

Now, I might sound like a slave driver, but the boys actually LOVED this activity. We were given a load of firewood last year. It has been in our woods and is now "seasoned" and ready to burn. So I was thinking...how are we gonna get all this wood up to the patio?

I gave the boys some gloves and they carried 1 piece at a time. I'm telling you, they had a BALL! And, look at that stack behind them! They were such troopers. I paid them each a dollar. They were thrilled with a dollar. I'm enjoying THAT while it lasts.