Saving is hard

I'm trying out this new thing where I am trying save some money instead of spending it all. Phase 1 in my plan consists of tracking everything I spend in the month of September. Then I am going to develop a budget and really try to stick to it. So far I can tell that I eat out and spend too much money on groceries. Normally I buy a lot of DVD's but I put myself on restriction this month. Plus if any of you have ever seen my closet then you know I have way too many DVD's already!

Saving money is hard! By nature, I am a spender not a saver. I get a much bigger thrill out of buying something then watching my money grow in a bank account - much to my mother's chagrin. She is definitely a saver. She once said that she wanted to build her own casket and use it to store stuff in our garage until she passed on. My father got really grossed out by that! This cartoon reminds me of her!

I am trying to change my spending ways and be prepared for the future. If any of you have some good tips for me, please post them in your comments. I need all the help I can get.

Amanda is going to see BodyWorlds tonight!

Ninja Kitty

Amanda is wishing she had this kitty as a pet!

None for me!

Some of you expressed interest in my mention of deep fried Snickers in my last post. I regret to inform you that I was not able to eat one at the State Fair this Friday. The lines were too long. We came by the booth several times and there were at least 30 people in line at all times. I was quite sad to miss out on this treat.

I believe they use funnel cake batter to dip the Snickers bar in. This picture was found on www.candyaddict.com (favorite site of mine)

Here is a recipe for you to try at home:

1. Push popcicle sticks into Snickers bar from the bottom about half way up.
2. Freeze Snickers until frozen solid.
3. For the funnel cake batter, you can either buy the mix at the store or make your own batter (there are several recipes on recipezaar.com - even a gluten free funnel cake).
4. Dip frozen Snickers into the batter.
5. Fry in hot oil until golden brown (just a few minutes).
6. Remove from oil and drain.
7. Top with powdered sugar or caramel sauce if desired.

Amanda is trying to decide what to make for dinner tonight.

Substitutions

I had a funny conversation today with one of my friends. There is a group of wealthy LDS guys in her Institute class who think they are really cool and cutting edge. They go around pretending to swear by saying "I'm such a bad A" and they take other swear words and just say the first letter. I laughed so hard when I heard that. They are probably thinking of the swear word anyway so it isn't much of a substitution. I'm not a big fan of alternate swear words - words that come very close to the real thing. I prefer to make up my own phrases to use when I am upset. I have been know to use phrases like "Jiminy Christmas" and "dad crumpit".

This made me start thinking about substitutions both good and bad. Now for me a good substitution might be using Splenda instead of sugar. A bad substitution would be flopping down in front of the tv when I'm bored instead of cleaning out my car.

Then there are the things we do that perhaps we shouldn't as good Latter Day Saints. I'm just throwing out examples here - this is not a confessional of things that I do. Maybe we don't watch rated R movies but we aren't as picky in our television choices as we could be. Or perhaps we don't swear but we listen to music that does or listen to catchy songs with inappropriate lyrics. Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" comes to mind as an example of this. That song is super catchy and the music at the beginning always draws you in. I finally manged to train myself to switch stations the minute I hear it. So I guess the point of this post is to encourage everyone (myself included) to really think about your choices and to watch that you aren't substituting one bad thing for another.

Amanda is going to eat a deep fried Snickers at the fair this weekend.

Guilty pleasures - you know you have them

This will be a short post because I am a little tired of writing, having done so much lately for my English 2010 (Visual Writing) course.

The dictionary defines being guilty as being "responsible for or chargeable with a reprehensible act; deserving of blame". One definition of pleasure (I picked the tame one) is "frivolous amusement". My personal definition of a guilty pleasure is something you really enjoy but you don't share it with people because you think they will judge you. Now I'm going to be brave and tell you some of mine - and I expect you to do the same in your comments.

1. I love disco music.
2. I still occasionally read "The Baby-sitters Club" books.
3. I think the show "King of the Hill" is hilarious.
4. I recently discovered that I enjoy eating potato chips dipped in ketchup.
5. I have always thought that Vincent Price (from the old horror movies) was handsome.

Amanda is going grocery shopping tonight.