We LOVE Rebates

Ok, never mind that the "economic stimulus" package will probably fail miserably and not bring our economy out of a slump. Forget that the government is actually borrowing this money to go even deeper into debt.

We thought we'd do our patriotic duty and pump our rebate cash back into the economy...

This week we brought ourselves into the 00's and finally kicked CJ's old TV from high school out the door in exchange for this shiny new 47" LCD. We've been talking about doing this for over a year and the government's cash gave us a perfect excuse to splurge. It is amazing. We also purchased a Playstation 3, so that we could play Bluray movies, and all I can say is... amazing. We're in TV heaven. CJ's in Madden heaven.

We've opted to not jump right into buying cable or satellite for now. We figure that the summer is about to hit and there are no good shows on anyway. So we'll spend our summer watching Netflix movies. We've also hooked our computers up to the TV and have been enjoying streaming our favorite current TV shows. But I am afraid that come football season, we'll be needing to get some cable so that we can enjoy hours of CJ watching and me sleeping my Sundays away.

So we didn't really go out and enjoy the great weather this weekend. Instead we watched several movies, online TV shows, and played some games. We've set the TV up for now on a table, but soon we'll be mounting it to the wall. This wall is just perfect for it too. On the other side of the wall is our walk-in crawl space. So it is going to be a snap to install and get at the equipment from the other side of the wall.

And another really great thing about our new setup...we've placed it in our basement which stays super chilly cold in the summer. Today the rest of the house was a balmy 78 degrees while the basement was so chilly we were snuggling up with blankets. It was great! We've decided that we'll probably move our office/craft room to the 4th level room and we'll convert that basement's bedroom into a summer sleeping quarters. We're excited to be able to save some energy cash this year. But the funny thing about it is that we're sleeping everywhere in the house BUT the master bedroom. Ever since we purchased that spare bedroom King-sized bed, we've been sleeping there. And now we'll be sleeping in spare bedroom #2 during the summer. Ha! :) The master bedroom is really great, but we haven't slept there much in this house. The really funny thing is that this is where Bachelor loves to nap during the day while we're at work. I think he must chuckle to himself...Who's the master now? :)

Everything else is going great at the Sweigarts. We're loving the Spring weather with the exception of CJ's allergies. (and lawn work) We're just about ready to start riding our bikes to work again. We're finally getting some good relaxing entertainment at home with our great new TV. I think the only thing that isn't quite right around here is that CJ is a bit stressed at work. Other than that, we're doing great and I'm feeling quite content and happy with the way our life has been going.

Pro-Oxidant

On the way to the gym yesterday, Ciege and I had a very funny conversation. We were talking about all of the "hype" about antioxidants and how we have no idea what an oxidant is and why an antioxidant would be good. But these antioxidants sure are getting quite a bit of attention lately. With the way that things change over the years with the hype surrounding nutrition, we can see there being some news story that comes out and tells us that oxidants are good for your diet. So then CJ blurted out that in fact he thinks he might be Pro-Oxidant. It was hilarious and probably a "you've got to be there" moment...but I thought I would share. If the world ever decides that oxidants are good for you, CJ was "Pro-Oxidant" all along. :)

Someone hates Taxes more than us...

Some crazy person (I'm guessing a crazy man) posted these posters all over Boise this last week. I just think this is hilarious. It's bad enough to have to pay taxes. Who has the energy to post these crazy posters too? And who benefits from these posters? I'm guessing this is a guy who is also somewhere right now complaining about the price of gas.

I'm 30!

I had the best 30th birthday ever. I had the day off of work and I spent the day pampering myself at the day spa. I had the best massage! Then Ciege and I went out to lunch. Afterwards, I spent the day at the mall and got some fun new clothes.

Later that evening, Ciege picked me up and took me to my favorite restaurant, Kyoto. I love it because they cook the food at your table so it comes out piping hot. Ciege doesn't like it so much as evidenced by this photo...

Then Ciege took me to PoJo's arcade where we took some photobooth pics. The problem was that it wasn't obvious when the camera was going to be taking the pictures. So the last picture was an attempt at kissing in the booth, but the camera snapped before Ciege leaned over...

And Ciege found a bunch of free credits left in a few games so we played them....

After the trip to the arcade, Ciege and I went over to Nona and Craig's house for some pie and icecream. The family hid a bunch of cute little presents around the house that I had to find. They call them "hide-a-ways". The hideaways were followed by some great cards with some cash inside. I'm going to use that cash to buy an outdoor firepit for the backyard. I love the idea of cooking smores this summer.

Speaking of cards...I got lots of great ones this year. Here's one of my favorite ones compliments of Ciege's Grandpa "Georgia"....

So cute!

And you might be asking...what did Ciege get me for my birthday this year? A trip to Hawaii! I am so excited. We haven't planned the trip specifics yet, but we'll definitely be going for at least 2 weeks and we'll go sometime next January or February. We can't wait!

Betch Your Bottom Dollar

Tuesday evening my Mom gave me an early birthday gift of a night out on the town. We started the evening at Applebees where we enjoyed some yummy spinach dip & chips and some great food. Next we went to the Morrison center to watch the musical, Annie. As we entered the theater, I noticed that there were tons of cute little girls with their Moms all dressed in beautiful little frilly dresses. It was great. It definitely brought me back to the time when I was about eight years old and LOVED orphans, but especially loved Annie. I had a cute little figurine of her wearing her red dress that I took with me everywhere I went.

The musical was a lot of fun and the sets were amazing. I loved seeing the dog who gave a perfect performance and was so cute. On the downside, my Mom was sitting next to a little boy who could not stay in his seat for more than 15 seconds at a time. It was quite distracting. Oh, and then the other thing....
My Mom and I both can't get "The sun will come out tomorrow" out of our heads. Betch your bottom dollar!

Thanks Mom for a great evening. It was such a treat to be able to spend some time with you and to revisit a childhood fav.