Fun For Friday!

Okay, so my cousin posted the link to this video today and I thought it was equal parts adorable and hilarious and I wanted to share it with all of you!  As you probably have been able to deduce by the obsession I have with my furbabies, I believe dogs make the world a better place.  There is no better feeling than coming home and having furry creatures bark, wag their tails, and spin in circles - just because you came home!

Meet Carrie the golden retriever from Chile! She is a sassy little thing - look at those hips go! I think that Dancing With The Stars or So You Think You Can Dance should totally have her and her person, Jose, on their shows as special guests! She is obviously a very smart, spirited, and talented girl!


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Happy Friday, everyone!!!

Until next time,

A Smile Or Two

Okay, I don't know about y'all but I love music.  I also love to laugh.  When those two things are combined, I am one happy Chicken Wing.  In case you're still feeling like you haven't made it over the mid-week hump, here are the two masters of musical hilarity, Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon, with not just The History of Rap, but also with The History of Rap - The Sequel.  Pure awesome.

The History of Rap

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The History of Rap - The Sequel

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Until next time,

Awww, Look At The Baby! Pt. 2 - This One's For The Haters

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I have been so surprised by the amount of questions I've gotten regarding the first post in my series about coolpon-ing (You thought I was going to give that up, didn't you?)!  You can find the post HERE if you missed it - and if you missed it, how dare you??! Just kidding!  The interest is definitely there, but I think that what's surprised me more than the interest were the haters that came out of the woodwork - the nonbelievers or downright angry folks, if you will. 

They have asked all sorts of questions that I didn't anticipate (and a few that I did), so I've decided that this post will be my rebuttal post.  Up first was the growing-in-popularity question:  Chicken Wing, are you going to become one of "those people?"

Cue the horrified face.

No, I am not going to become a glorified hoarder, and it's true that sometimes super extreme couponers make me angry.  I like to think of myself as a courteous coolpon-er.  I don't cut coolpons from 10+ papers so that I can swoop into your favorite store and steal every last item that you are looking for, just because it's on sale, and just because I can (insert evil laugh here).  I only buy the things that I need and I rarely EVER buy the last item.  The only way that happens is if other people buy all the items but one or two.  In my opinion, that's not my fault.

My primary goal is to only stockpile things I need/things I will use/things that will not go bad for forever.  For example, things I would love to create a stockpile of:  toilet paper, paper towels, toothpaste, deodorant, soap/bodywash, dental floss, etc.  These are things that I need and that I use every.single.day, so it makes sense to buy these things when they are at the rock bottom prices so I don't have to make spontaneous trips to the store because I accidentally ran out.  I'm not coolpon-ing in order to donate to charity, I'm coolpon-ing to make my life more comfortable, people!

I'm satisfied with my answer that NO, I will never be featured on Extreme Couponing, but if TLC wants to give me my own show simply for being awesome, I'm down with becoming famous for being famous - it's kind of a big trend right now.  Am I right, Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, and Kristin Cavalleri?

On to the next question/statement from the haters.  "Oh geez, remind me never to go grocery shopping with you.  I bet that takes forever."  You know something, yes.  Yes, coolpon-ing takes time.  It takes time to cut the coolpons out of the paper.  It takes time to organize them.  It takes time to read the weekly circulars and try to figure out what items I use are on sale and where to get the best deal. It takes time to actually DO the shopping.  And for gosh sakes, it might take me a LITTLE bit longer to check out. 

Again, I refer back to trying my best to be a courteous coolpon-er.  If there is someone in line behind me, I inform them that I have coolpons and give them the option to move.  If they have less than me, I offer them the option to go in front of me.  If I have a coolpon for an item that isn't my favorite, and I see that someone in line behind me or in front of me has it in their cart, I will give them a coolpon, thus saving a complete stranger money.  I know that not everyone out there has the same practices and that sucks, but there isn't anything I can do about them.  But hating on the "regular" coolpon-ers, which I am a part of - the group who just needs to save their family's hard-earned money as best they can - is not cool, yo!  We take the time and put forth all the effort to coolpon and thus we get the reward of saving some money. 

As far as I'm concerned, YOU CAN

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Finally, I've gotten the question from the haters of whether or not my account of my shopping trip with the Coupon Queeny is accurate.  For the answer to that, stay tuned to the next post in the series.

Until next time,

Music And Bling

"Music and bling, music and bling, these are two of my favorite things..."  Now, that's a tune that should catch on quickly, and while an unlikely combination for some folks, I happen to love all things music and most things bling!

Let's start with the shiny stuff - I just have to give a shout-out to Nick Lachey, who recently wed his longtime girlfriend, Vanessa Minnillo.  And, by the looks of things, "he LOVED it so he put a ring on it."  I mean, put on your Ray Bans, folks because the new Mrs. Lachey's left hand is currently blinding innocent bystanders all across California (and his ring isn't too shabby either)!

Kiss my Asscher cut, Batman!

Okay, now that I've picked my jaw up off the floor, I'm now going to admit that there has been a song that has been permanently lodged in my brain since the first time I heard it and I am hoping that by sharing it with all of you, it will set me free of my constantly singing, "Craaaazy girl, don't you know that I love you?"  I mean, I'm starting to get strange looks from girls thinking I'm simultaneously calling them mentally unstable and professing my feelings for them.  This = not a good look for the workplace.

So, without further ado, enjoy "Crazy Girl" from the Eli Young Band.  (Sidenote:  I love it because Comanche often jokes with me and calls me silly woman.  He also says, "you're so crazy, babydoll" a lot.  Should I be getting a message here?)


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Enjoy folks, and sorry if it gets stuck in your heads, too!  (But not that sorry, because it's such a great song!)


Until next time,

Songs To Get You Going

I had a lot of positive response to my "Songs of Sunday" post so I thought I'd do a follow-up post with even more musical goodness for my Peeps.  You know, because I really love you and all and I want you to have the encouragement you need to make it a good week!

Some of these are songs we sing at my amazing church and others are ones I've heard on Spirit FM. (Sidenote:  I really never imagined that I'd end up liking this station as much as I do, but when your normal stations are playing the ever-loving-poo out of songs you used to like same songs over and over again, it's a really refreshing break).

Kristian Stanfill - Always

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I'm proud to post this next group because they got their start at a local university and they are pretty incredible - the way they harmonize with one another and have matched their vocals up until they're pitch-perfect is ridiculous!  Here are Anthem Lights with "Can't Get Over You."


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Building 429 - Listen To The Sound

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Sidewalk Prophets - You Love Me Anyway

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Matthew West - Strong Enough

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I hope you find some inspiration in these messages - I think they're beautiful and uplifting and that's what I love about Sundays....I get the good stuff that I need to cope with any week that's thrown at me!  Naturally, I wouldn't want anything less for my Peeps!

Until next time,

Family Matters Pt. 2

There are certain necessary components when planning a family reunion.  The given is family - if you don't have family, you don't have anything!  The rest can be easily depicted in the fancy pie chart I've made for the sole purpose of teaching y'all about family reunions in an easy-to-understand format.

I'd like to affectionately call this the food post in the Family Matters series, as it centers primarily around some finger-lickin' good eats!  If you need a more scientific reference, we're going to be checking out the red section above.  Warning:  You may, in fact, drool all over yourselves.  Second Warning:  In the event that heavy drooling floods your computer keyboard and renders it useless, you have my most sincere apologies.  Third Warning:  Photo-heavy post ahead!

You know you're in for a good time when this is the appetizer table!

Desserts anyone?  Yes, please! {Check out those scrumptious brownies that may or may not have been made by Comanche and yours truly.}

Oh, Southern deliciousness.....come to Mama!

There are few foods I love more than country ham!

Strawberry confections were in abundance, and I'd have to say I like it that way!

This parfait thing absolutely rocks my socks off.  If I could jump off a diving board and into this dessert, I would absolutely do it.


And you may be wondering where all of these goodies were being kept?  Why, at our normal family reunion meeting place - Aunt B and Uncle D's house!  They have an awesome space to host our wonderful family and they so graciously offer their home to all of us - there aren't enough words to explain how wonderful they are and how much appreciation I have for them.

The party house!



So, we've covered all the warnings, and we've also covered the food portion of the family reunion pie chart.  Up next?  The fellowship and fun, of course!  Stay tuned, folks!

Until next time,

Family Matters Pt. 1

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No, this post is not about Steve Urkel!  (Sorry to disappoint you!)  I realize that it may seem that I am leaving y'all hanging with the multiple "Part 1" blog posts recently, but I'm starting multiple blog series at a time - what can I say - I like to go big or go home.  One theme you may find throughout this blog is that I am the luckiest girl in the world.  In most cases and scenarios, that is absolutely true, and one region of my life that I feel the word "lucky" especially applies to is the family I was born into.

Now, I often say that friends are the family we choose because, let's face it, you have absolutely no control over the family you were born into.  Luckily for me, my family are also my friends, and that makes for one very happy Chicken Wing.

One thing that sets my family apart from most?  For the majority of my life, I grew up having two family reunions for each side of the family EVERY.SINGLE.YEAR.  Seriously, this is a big deal. So big, in fact, that I became the topic of discussion during a college sociology class when the question was raised, "Who even has family reunions anymore?" and I was the only one who raised my hand.  (Subsequently, I was also the only one who raised my hand when asked if anyone enjoyed going to family reunions).

A few weeks ago, we had a small small-for-us family gathering on my dad's side of the family, and it was awesome.  It went the way it always does, with everyone bringing a dish that they made to the get-together.  Per usual, my mom stopped and got KFC fried chicken because it's hard to find a main course dish that travels well for 3.5 hours and let's be honest - she hates to cook, and by hates to cook, I mean she doesn't do it.

What did Comanche and I contribute to this shindig?  My favorite course - dessert. 

There's nothing like a flirty chef, right?

Am I the only one who likes to eat batter?

Whew, I am a lucky girl!

The finished product!  Yummy brownies!

Stay tuned on the family fun time that went down in good ole' North Cackalacky (North Carolina for all of you Yankees out there) seen through the lens of my new and awesome camera!!!

Until next time,

Aww, Look At The Baby! Pt. 1

Okay, I know you all are "awww-ing" in unison, and yes, that insanely adorable baby is none other than yours truly.  I was my Grandma and PaPa's little princess and the apple of my parents' eyes, for I was the first born child and the first born grandchild on my Mom's side of the family.  I also happened to be the first girl grandchild on my Dad's side of the family, but who's really keeping score of how awesome I am?

The subject of this post makes me revert back to those days in certain ways because when you're just a young-un as I was in the photo above, everything is a new experience and you have so much to learn about everything!  You're vulnerable and you need guidance and protection from harm.  So, what exactly are we talking about here that would send me back to baby-dom in all its terrifying glory?

COUPONING.  Yes, folks, I said it.  My name is Chicken Wing and I am a baby couponer.

The photo I chose for this post is actually quite fitting as I actually first learned of couponing from my maternal Grandma who was married to the wonderful man holding me up in that picture (my beloved PaPa).  For this post, we'll call her Grandma-the-Great.  If there is one constant that has always been associated with my Grandma in my life, it's that she is a lean, mean, couponing machine!  (And she can cook some amazing Southern staples, let me tell you - she is a Jedi in the kitchen).

Anywho, Grandma-the-Great has oft preached about the values of couponing.  "Chicken Wing, it's like they are giving you money to shop with," she would exclaim.  I oftentimes would scoff at her outbursts or would just brush them off with a nod and a, "You're right, Grandma."

Fast forward quite a bit more than a decade, and yours truly was a twenty-something trying to make it in this big ole world (fairly unsuccessfully if you're looking at the world through monetary-measuring glasses).  I was actually contacted by my part-time job boss while we were in the midst of planning one of our biggest events - the Women's Show!  She had been bogged down by a ton of tasks that were running over in time, and she would no longer be able to take our special celebrity guest of the show on her errands.  Who was this guest, you ask?

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The COUPON QUEENY, I answer!!!  Hello, people, she has received SO MUCH PRESS for her amazing couponing efforts!  Not buying what I'm selling you?  Check out her website here.

So, little-ole-me got to take famous-ole-her out shopping for hours and I quickly came to realize that I had found another couponing sensei to teach this little grasshoppa how to save money with coupons.  This was so awesome, I have changed the name of these little magic pieces of paper to cool-pons.  I'm sure this will catch on.  (When the terminology sweeps the nation, make sure you let people know that Chicken Wing started the revolution.)

We shopped at Kroger, Food Lion, and Dollar General, and what a day it was.  At Kroger, I believe we got $300 worth of groceries for $100. At Food Lion, we stocked up on free toilet paper.  At Dollar General, we got a handful of items, and the store ended up owing us so much money, we had to each buy a bottled soda and a candy bar, just so we could break even (apparently, you can't leave the store with them owing you money, and DG can't pay you overage in cash.  Overage, I learned, is when a store owes you money because you saved so much.  Wal-Mart will actually pay you cash!) Are you finding this to be a tall tale?

I know, right!  Source.

Check out the photographic evidence that this day of shopping did, in fact, happen.

Yes, this is my PT job boss, my biz partner, the Coupon Queeny, yours truly, & my three PT job colleagues holding the longest receipt ever - OURS!

Thus began my own personal cool-poning journey.  I'm not making any more money (thank you, Econo Me McSuckerson), so every penny counts these days.  Financially, it has been an exceptionally stressful couple of years, and I've decided to make the most of my hard-earned cash.  Sure, I could join the "in-crowd" and not work, have ten kids out of wedlock, and be way richer than I am right now by living off the government (I may have pondered it once or twice after witnessing so many people who are living large and not working for a cent of their income).  But, I was raised better than that and I will just make do with what I've been given (because I'm sure there are plenty of folks who would kill to walk in my shoes).

If you'd like to know more about my journey, what methods and resources I'm using, and how it's going so far, stay tuned!

Until next time,