food for finance: oh ship

(healthy) food for finance is a column where we talk about how fitness and finance correlate with each other. join us on our journey to be both physically and financially fit.

I know what you're thinking. Why would Kyle and Angie go on vacation when all they talk about is getting out of debt? Because we earned it! Was it in the budget? OF COURSE! When we decided to really tackle the remainder of our debt, it only took 5 months of hard work. And to think I was going to pay on my student loan for 15 more years. Not this girl! We were focused and we had a goal in mind. That goal involved the sand and sun! We are still in baby step 3, building our emergency fund, but together we thought it was time for a real vacation! One that was not work related. One that lasted for a week! One that we could pay and not have to worry about our debt (except our house) when we came home! It was a time to celebrate being debt free! And our vacation just so happen to be our anniversary week!

We decided to go on a 7 day cruise in April. Kyle had never been on a cruise and I had been on 2. So off we went. We left Friday to go to Mimi's house in Jackson, MS. As always she had wine, chips, and dip ready for us upon our arrival. We left around 8am from Mimi's and headed south to New Orleans. We directly boarded the ship around noon and ate lunch. Ahhhhh, vacation!

We heard that the average person gains anywhere from 1 to 2 pounds a day while on a cruise...1 to 2 pounds A DAY! YIKES! We found the massive work-out room and weighed in. We wanted to be mindful of our weight. 

My sweet husband got us a room by the spa and work-out room. We worked out everyday but one. We did not want to be a statistic!

Here is the view from New Orleans from the deck. 

Look at the muddy Mississippi river! GROSS! I was ready to be in the middle of no where with blue water!

We started cruising around 5. This is a picture of the our view rolling on the river. And look, we had a balcony in our room!!! I had a view of the wall on my 2 previous cruises. Kyle said he wanted to do it right for our celebration cruise. So we did! I can never go back to a regular room. I'm spoiled.

After dinner, I was so wiped out. I think I was asleep by 10.

Day 2 at sea: I read in a blog to leave the shades open for the sunrise wake-up view...

It was early, but it was worth it.  And the strange thing was, we couldn't figure out how to call for a wake up call. There was no alarm clock in the room and our phones didn't work. God took care of us!

We spent the day in the the sun reading, relaxing, and....

...going down the slide!!! I got a great action shot of Kyle.

Kyle is definitely a cruise fan. They added the jumbo tv to the deck (on the left).

A signature item, the animal towels. So cute.

Note the blue water in the background.

We had to watch the sunset since we saw the sunrise.

After dinner we went to the comedy club with our new friends. At dinner, they pair you up with people. Ours were a very nice couple from Boston.

Day 3 at port: Key West, FL.

Kyle is day dreaming he is on this island.....oh wait. HE IS!

If I could only go to an island that looked like this. Wait...I am THERE!

 Watch out Key West!

I loved the trees in Key West.
After breakfast we disembarked and went exploring. We didn't do any excursions on our cruise. We thought we'd just wing it.

We found President Harry Truman's  little White House where he spent his winters.

Harry's sand sculpture.

I heard roosters and chickens run wild in the streets of Key West. They do.

The famous mile zero.

Next up we went on a tour of Ernest Hemingway's home.

Kyle contemplating becoming a writer.

We had the best tour guide. He had a long beard, dark skin from being in the sun, one earring in his ear, and white shorts. A retired hipster who was an amazing story teller. A good option for a retirement job.

I am gathering up blog ideas from Hemmingway's bedroom.

Hemmingway's home is known for the 6 toed cats. There were around 44 there roaming around.

 He is also known for having many wives. Long story short, this fountain used to be a urinal. Ernest and his ex-wife did crazy things to each other to get back at one another. I made sure no one was looking when I had Kyle pose for the above picture!

I was looking for the perfect spot to take our "third" anniversary picture. Low and behold, the Hemmingway house also does weddings!  Perfect picture for our special day! We are 3 years old. I keep telling Kyle that I want to push pause or rewind....it is going by too fast. I've loved the past 3 years being married to him.



A lighthouse picture for my dad.



Another famous spot. The southern most point in the continental U.S. There was even a line to take this picture.

southern most beach

After walking and touring, we were hungry. I was told to go to Sloppy Joe's Bar. It started back in 1933 and Ernest himself was a frequent visitor when it was a saloon.

I guess it still is a saloon because there was a horse peaking his head through the swinging doors. I kept telling everyone it was our anniversary.  Then come to find out, Key West is the number 2 destination spot to get married. How very egocentric of me to think we'd get special treatment on our special day! I thought that since it was a Monday, it'd be different. Then I saw a bride walk in the door....on a Monday at 3pm! I

guess everyone was celebrating their anniversary. 

We gave Key West 2 thumbs up! Time to board our ship and head onward.



Bye Key West! We'll miss you and your southern most points!



Since I was telling everyone it was our anniversary, we got a piece of cake at dinner. Yet again, it was every one's anniversary! There were even 2 weddings on the ship.



Day 4: Freeport, Bahamas
We were already ported when we woke up. We ported in an industrial area. So you couldn't just get off the ship and walk around. We were tired from the day before so we decided to relax and enjoy the ship with less people.

We laid out, played mini-golf, worked out, and enjoyed the ship. We heard later that the people who opted out of the excursions took a taxi for $5 and went to town and to the beach. We don't regret our day of relaxing!  

One thing Kyle looked forward to was our Fun Times daily newsletter. He kept it in his pocket at all times to make sure we wouldn't miss anything. In the picture Kyle is drinking his cup of Joe from the deck, reading the Fun Times! Carvinal runs a tight ship! We were well informed.

Our Boston friends. After dinner, we watched the magic show.

Day 5: Nassau, Bahamas

Yet again we didn't have a plan for the day (very unlike me). We heard that the Atlantis was a fun place to go. We had no clue for what we were about to encounter. We disembarked the ship and took a local ferry over to Paradise Island. It was about a 12 minute ferry ride with a surprise tour guide that told us all about the island. Apparently, the Atlantis is a 144 acre disney world type place with everything you can imagine. Kyle and I were not prepared for the awesomeness!

We walked into the hotel and ended up at the casino where the minimum bet on black jack was $500. Talk about some high rollers! Out of place much?!!! We said to each other "where in the world are we?!" This place went on and on and on. There were tons of high end stores such as Versace, Gucci, etc. Picture Kyle walking around in his swimming trunks and me in my braided pig tales. We totally fit in. We were just on our way to the beach...yeah that's it! 

And the beach is that we found. We followed some people to the pool area then we realized the Atlantis hotel guests had on wrist bands. Being the rebels we are, Kyle put his hand in pocket and I had my hand in my bag! We just acted like we belonged!

It was absolutely breath taking! There were sea turtles hanging out in the water ways. Later we found out they had a 1 hour lazy river ride through the resort. ONE HOUR!  That just tells you how big this place was. They had a slide you can ride down that you go in the middle of an aquarium with dolphins!! 

We noticed everyone had "special towels"  that were for members only! So we inched our way to the beach area. I kept telling Kyle "act like this place is normal....and act like we own it!" HA! So we walked down the private beach. Not long after walking we saw the Carnival cruise towels! We did it! We found the public beach right beside the most amazing resort ever. Then my camera went dead. We laid out for about an hour or so then took the ferry back to downtown Nassau. We walked around then boarded the ship.

Here is an aerial view of the Atlantis. This picture does not even show how big that place was. It was a nice surprise for us! The casinos and some the hotel were open to the public. If you ever go to the Bahamas, I highly recommend the Atlantis!



Our nightly routine was to get sushi and watch the sunset from our balcony.

Another wonderful sunset!
After dinner we went to a Mexican party on the deck and enjoyed the nice cool breeze under the stars.


Day 6: at sea
We slept in, worked out, and caught some rays. I took Kyle to tea time at 3! Then we went back to to pool and slid down the slide some more with the youngsters!

Dinner was formal as it was the captain's ball. Surprisingly, the food got better with each passing day.

After dinner, we went to get a martini. We heard Zoran made the best ones.

He did! I got the tiramisu-tini! It was the best dessert! Afterwards we went to another comedy show and we left because the guy was so bad. So we went to the disco to dance off some calories.

Day 7: at sea
Same story....just relaxing!

I saved our towel animals and our steward left us a note that said it was about time for them to go home.

We could tell we were getting closer to New Orleans with all the oil rigs. And the dirty water.

Our last sunset. From here on out....balcony or bust!

Look! Angie I see land!

My sushi man. He knew what I wanted every night.

Our wonderful waiters. We loved Jovie (on the right.)

Kyle and Mike (from Boston). They wore their shirts and didn't plan it! Later that night, Kyle and I watched the talent show. We took full advantage of our time on the ship.

We docked early the next day and finally got off the ship around 11am. Our friends Jen and Leon met us in New Orleans for the day. After checking in our hotel, we went sight-seeing.

The best pralines were at Southern Candy Makers.

Here is a view from hotel!  Hotwire did us well!

Kyle and I on Bourbon St.

St. Louis Cathedral. We also could see this as were were leaving from the ship.

We saw a lot of wedding parties. Here they are marching down Bourbon St. I also learned that funerals do the same.

Jen and I at dinner after a long day of touring.

The boys-Leon and Kyle.

We went to Cafe Begniet to hear Steamboat Willie. It has special meaning to Kyle and I. When we went to New Orleans back in 2007, we stumbled across him and I feel in love with his traditional jazz. He played A Kiss to Build a Dream On and because of that moment, that was our first dance at our wedding!


Steamboat Willie asked for suggestions and Kyle shouted out A Kiss to Build a Dream On and he played it!  Another moment in to go in the record books.

We left the next morning to head home (after a tiny detour). We stopped in Jackson to have lunch with Mimi and Aunt Eloise. Overall, we only gained a couple of pounds a piece! We'll definitely keep a piece of ship in our hearts, not our waistline. We had the best time and it was hard to come back to reality. One thing I really appreciate about our marriage is how much we agree on money. We are such a good team. There is power in numbers! We motivate each other. We have a long ways to go to pay off our house. But I know with each other, we're going to be very happy when that day comes. So until then, we'll celebrate the little victories and keep on rolling with the punches.

the first and finest

The 2nd weekend in April, I went to UT-Martin. I went because it was my sorority's 50th anniversary on campus. Alpha Delta Pi is nationally know as the 1st secret society in the world for college women.  I honestly can't believe I was in a sorority. I never really thought about joining one.  I didn't know much about it either. When I moved in my dorm my freshman year, everyone would ask if I was going to "rush" or as it is called now "going through recruitment." My roommate decided to do it at the last minute, so I did too. I met some of my best friends through ADPi. It was the best decision I made!

Betsy, me, Fergie and Tiffany Friday night at Cadillac's.

It was the same weekend as Chi O's 50th so it was nice to see some familiar faces!

We stayed at the Brasher's parents home and on Saturday and we took our very own campus tour.

Look at all this new and exciting stuff in Martin. These girls are very happy about the coffee shop that just so happened to be CLOSED!

If you knew me in college, you knew I was an avid Chick-Fil-a fan. I still am!!! But if this would've been here while I was at Martin, I would've gained the freshman 50! This has been here a while. I am still stunned that Martin has this!  I had to drive 1 hour to my nearest Chick-Fil-a back in the day.

Next we met up with some more ADPi's. We toured the Student Rec Center. Of course the school gets this way after I leave! Shelley, an ADPi alumn gave us our very own tour. She is the aquatics director.

Kendall and I are buff. She came all the way from San Antonio.

This treadmill is the bomb. You can plug in your iPod and watch movies and record your trainings. They even have a Jacob's latter like on the Biggest Loser.

Glad to be together again!

Diamonds! I practiced my sorority pose all week in case I forgot how to do it!

Then we saw this alum golf cart pull up.

So we took it for a spin. Just kidding!

We met some more ADPi's for lunch at the Mexican place.

We were supposed to go to a luncheon but it was $40. We felt that was kind of high for Martin and we did spend $60 for our dinner and Gala that was later that night. Some of us emailed and decided it would be better to pick one to go to. However, some people didn't get the memo! The picture above are the ones that skipped the luncheon minus three girls that came by afterwards and hopped in the pic. I am sad that I missed it. 25 of our charter members were there. I even missed the president of UT speak. But I loved seeing my girls!

Carol! She is so skinny to have an 8 month old.

Somehow I am distantly related to Nick Dunagan, past chancellor of UT-Martin. Maybe my great-grandfather and his grandfather were brothers? Or cousins? My Meme knew when she was alive and she told me how but I've since forgotten. Either way, it is nice to have family in high places! HA! I saw him a lot in college since I was involved and we became friends!

This was the favorite thing I did all day! I knew I'd make it big one day! Well, my name at least! Congrats Nick Dunagan! Glad to be related!

Next we drove to Paris, Tn to have our formal night.  It ended up being our 50th celebration/the actives' black diamond (formal)/founders day party.

Stewy and I ready for the party!

We rented a cabin for the night. We had a great view.

The.Golden.Lion.

It is a big deal in ADPi land. It is a national ADPi award that only few ADPi's get. It is based on a lot of factors: grades, college involvement, etc. It is a 6 year step latter of awards a chapter must get and maintain. It means you are the best of the best ADPi chapters. And we got it for the 1st time my senior year! BIG DEAL!

When we got to the formal, I realized that short dresses are the thing these days. I am so out of the loop. My age is showing. However, I had on a short dress!

Betsy, Kristy and Kim

Cindy!

I had an Alpha class (pledge class) of over 30 girls. This is who showed up for the 50th. UNACCEPTABLE sisters! The 55th party better have more representing!

We decided these Paris cops had the best job.



There were tons of people! I gave Kyle a pass and let him stay at home because I'm sweet like that!

The actives came to Paris on a bus. The bus left at 11 and we (the alums) had the party all to ourselves! The DJ played some "old school" music! We had the best time!

I am so thankful for Alpha Delta Pi.  Greeks get a bad stereotype. But for me, I learned so much about long lasting friendships. I learned that I can be in a choir (if only to lip sync)! I learned that I can step! I found that I have a serious travel bug. I learned how to become a better leader. I discovered I could do a lot more than I thought I could. ADPi helped shape me into who I am today. Being an ADPi was one of the best decisions I made in college. With that, I'll get a little cheesy and leave you with our creed.

 I Believe in Alpha Delta Pi. I Believe that my sorority is more than a ritual or a symbol; that it is a way of life. I Believe that the principles established by our founders in 1851 are enduring attributes, exemplifying the highest ideals of Christian womanhood. I Believe that our motto, "We Live for Each Other", expresses the true spirit of fraternity; and that by living this motto my life will be enriched by true friendships and by unselfish service to mankind. I Believe that the privilege of membership in Alpha Delta Pi brings the responsibility to do my best in whatever I undertake, always remembering that leadership requires confidence tempered with humility and courage blended with tolerance. I Believe that I must strive to become a well balanced person by following the dictates of the four points symbolized by our diamond shaped badge: first, strengthening my own character and personality; second, watching my attitudes toward my fellow beings; third, recognizing the value of high educational standards; fourth, developing faith and loyalty. I Believe that these four guide-posts, guarded by the stars and friendly hands clasped in the Adelphean bonds of fellowship will lead me to achieve a rich and useful life.

food for finance: sewing back the cable cord that was cut!

(healthy) food for finance is a column where we talk about how fitness and finance correlate with each other. join us on our journey to be both physically and financially fit.

I know you are dying to know if we turned our satellite (I'll just refer to it as cable) back on. I mentioned before that we cut off our cable last October. And by cut off I mean we suspended it until April. We wanted to pay off our debt really fast so we thought we would delay some pleasures so that we could enjoy them later debt free! Cutting the cable was one thing we thought would help the process.

We got the letter in the mail in mid-April that stated "your services will resume May 1." YIKES! We really miss having DVR and cable but honestly, we have no time to watch tv now. We've been so busy. Kyle now has a part time job and tv is not something that we watch a lot of. Well, I take that back. We do watch some tv but they are all on local stations. We even have a music tv station called the Cool TV that plays.....guess what...MUSIC videos and not stupid reality shows!! So we've been content with our HD FREE tv! We talked about turning it back on in September.

Kyle made the call last week and told them we would like to cancel. They said ok. About 3 hours later, he got a phone call from a guy from the company. He said "Mr. McCoy, you've been a great customer for a while now and we don't want to lose you. What if we give you a credit and you can get 2 months free?" Kyle said "no, we really can't afford it at the moment." (we want to quickly build our emergency fund so that is very true). He then put Kyle on hold for 10 minutes then came back with another offer. "Mr. McCoy, what about a credit that will give you 3 months free?" Since we really were not married to our cable (that is something we learned in our financial peace university class), we really did not care that we had cable. Kyle said "no, we really do not want it at this time, it is not worth it." Then the cable guy said "hold up one more minute Mr. McCoy." He came back and made this offer: "What if we give you a credit for 6 months and in HD?" Kyle said he just laughed inside because he REALLY did not want it and the guy would not get that in his head. BUT this offer was TOO good to pass up! Kyle asked him if that meant we would sign a contract and he said no. He then asked if we could cancel after 6 months and he said yes. UNBELIEVABLE!

So we now have satellite! I asked Kyle "so did you get us free DVR?" He said "Angie, I couldn't push it!" HA!! After this experience, I know now that everything is negotiable! Since we had no ties to cable, we ended up with a much better deal than if we would've been emotionally attached to it. We were willing to let it go but it was our cable provider that was not able to let us go! Their hope is that we'll be ready to 'get back together' when the 6 free months of cable is up.  We'll see when October comes!

Happy cable watching to you and yours!
Quote from Kyle "AHHHH....how I've missed you ESPN!"

meet me in st. louis

Lisa wanted the girls to join her at her parents ranch outside St. Louis to celebrate her birthday. We arrived after midnight to the Burle Ranch, which happened to be April fools! Mr. Dan Burle is a big jokerster. He had a sign that said the ranch was closed until Monday. That stinker!! We went right to bed. However, I woke up to Lisa in my bed as her air mattress deflated in the night!

After a big breakfast Mrs. Bernie made, we headed to Hermann, Missouri to some wineries. Mr. Dan rented a black Yukon so that we all could ride together.

Me, Cindy, Shelly, Betsy, Steph, & Lisa ready for a day full of adventure!

It took about 1.5 hours to get to Hermann.

Look at this nasty copperhead we saw on the way out! SCARY! The neighbor said he shot the snake.

We finally arrived to the 1st winery. Did you know there are over 100 wineries in Missouri alone?

 Stone Hill Winery is nestled up on a hill in the town overlooking the Missouri River. It has been around since the 1800s. We took a tour and learned all about the process on how wine is made.

Wine fermenting.

The Burle ranch also had loggers come out to take some of the white oak trees that are used for this purpose...or I like to think one day one of his trees will be in here!

We did a little tasting.

I am trying to see what one I want to try. A lot of choices!

Where is Lisa? Oh yeah, she is taking the picture!

We had a grand time.

Our 2nd winery. Shelly and I are twins!

Since it was Lisa's birthday weekend, we got her a cupcake headband. Perfect for her.

Our final stop was Adam Puchta Winery, the oldest family owned winery in Missouri.

 I like the wines in Missouri because they mostly come from a German background. And German wine is sweet! We had the best time here.

We arrived back at the ranch and checked on all the horses! I'm not sure how many there are?? Over 15 I know!

Meet Casey. She was hanging out in the stall since her friend was very pregnant. I also learned that horses are pregnant for 11 months! And she was BIG!

They also have cattle. MOOve over Cindy!

For our Friday night meal, we had a wonderful lasagna.

For dessert we had birthday cake followed up with Mr. Dan playing the accordion! We then hung out under the stars listening to Mr. Dan's very funny jokes.

Saturday morning we had another wonderful breakfast then Cindy and I got a tour of the 180 acre ranch!

The tour ride!

We then packed up and drove to St. Louis to watch the Card's baseball game.

Our view of the Mississippi from our hotel suite.

We stopped for a photo-op while on our way to the game.

Too bad the Cards lost. However, we had great weather and a great time. The Burle's went back to the ranch while we stayed the night in St. Louis.

Steph!

Lisa the birthday girl!

We ate dinner at the Drunken Fish, a sushi place! YUM! We ended the night hanging out at Laclede's Landing where Steph had a very hard time walking since she had on very high hills. Sunday we came home and I had a horrible time as the driver. It was very windy. Driving in up to 50 mph wind gusts is very stressful for 4 hours straight. Luckily, I got us home safely! I highly suggest you read Mr. Dan's blog titled, six southern belles visit the ranch. He has a very imaginative twist to the visit and it is a fun read!

how do you like your coffee?

Last weekend, we headed to Jackson, MS for Kyle's grandmothers (Mimi) 87th and Great-aunt Eloise's (81st) birthday party. I've talked before about his Mimi. I could write so much about her. Mimi and Aunt Eloise live in a duplex with a wall separating them.

Oh where do I begin with the Mimi stories? We arrived Friday night to Sutter Home wine and chips & dip. This is a staple at Mimi's place ever since I've known her. We've gotten her wine  for 2 years for a  Christmas present. What do you get an 87 year old?! So we're eating chips & dip, having a good time talking and Mimi made a face, like she just smelled a skunk. Kyle said "Mimi, why the gross face?" She said "I don't like the way wine tastes, I just like the way it makes me feel." We about passed out! She is a hoot!  I tell you, she still has her sense of humor!

Saturday morning, Kyle and I got up for a run. She had us cereal and coffee. We sat down for breakfast. She did not have creamer so Kyle and I dumped sugar in our coffee. I did not put as much as Kyle did in mine. Kyle took a sip and made a face like he just smelled a skunk. Then Kyle said "Angie, try this, it's horrible." So I took a sip and I said "Kyle, this tastes like salt!" So I put my finger in the sugar bowl only to confirm that she had salt in there. Mimi claimed she had no idea how the salt got in the sugar bowl!

Saturday night was the gathering. We went to Kyle's cousins house (Matt and his wife Laura). I loved the way it was decorated! I need her up here to help me! And Laura is expecting a baby in June. The nursery is SO CUTE!

Mimi's grandkiddos plus grandchildren-in-law (did I just make that word up?)

Meredith, Laura, Matt, me, Kyle, Leah

 The Southern Belles ready for the fun! Mimi and Aunt Eloise



Mimi told me that I needed to write my stories down because when I'm 87, it will help me remember them. THAT is what my Meme told me too! So I did. I have a travel journal that I started back in 2001. Now I have this blog and it has taken over as my online journal. Old people are so smart and wise. I could sit for hours and talk to them, take advice from them. So I am. Thanks to both of my Meme's/Mimi's, I hope I'll remember all these times so I can share my youngsters!  

food for finance: it really happened

(healthy) food for finance is a column where we talk about how fitness and finance correlate with each other. join us on our journey to be both physically and financially fit.

"Wealth consists not in having great possessions but in having few wants." Epicurus

Last month, I talked about how we completed baby step 2. Currently, the only debt we have is our home. We had fun checking off our debts from our debt snowball. FUN? How is it fun to pay bills? When you see it on paper, you see results! Like weighing in, we were losing debt!  We made cuts. We were putting all of our extra money towards our debt. It was exciting to see where we were headed and how much freedom we'll have once we are totally debt free! Finally, we only had one debt left....the dreaded student loan.  We were super weird and paid the remaining balance off in 5 months! It did not hit me until I got this letter in the mail a couple of weeks ago.

WHOA!

All of our hard work paid off! It did not hit me until I saw it on paper because we rolled right along with the plan and started baby step 3. Ah, such a relief! We told our financial peace class about our success and since then, others have completed baby steps. It is nice to go through this process with others so I can say "oh yeah, I know exactly how you feel!"