Welcome Money Saving Mom Readers!

If you're visiting from Money Savings Mom, you must have read my post about my recent trip to Hobby Lobby.

Can anyone else relate? 

If you want to read the article, click here.

I just wanted to take a moment and welcome you all! Hi, my name is Elizabeth and I am the wife behind The DC Boeses.

I wear many hats-- wife to my high school sweetheart, momma to our 2 energetic poodles, child of God, and many, many more.

You may know me from my money-saving blog, 20something Saver. 

I decided to create the DC Boeses so I could be on a more personal level with my readers. I blog about our daily life here in the nation's capital, home making ideas, recipes, and lots of pictures of Cocoa & Oreo. 

My most popular posts are:

:: Hard Things

:: My Family Health Binder

:: My Favorite Wedding/Shower Gift

While I don't do Facebook for the DC Boeses, you can find me on Twitter-- @livegivesave

You can also subscribe to get email updates on the top right of the homepage.

If you want to know more about me, you can click here.

Once again-- Welcome! I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you. My email is elboese@yahoo.com xO

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I hope all your little ghosts and goblins are out trick or treating and getting lots of good candy. :) 

Because we're in an apartment building, we don't get trick or treaters from other areas. We just get kids who live in our apartment building. Yeah, I rock because I didn't buy 1 piece of candy. Sorry, kids. 

How am I supposed to pass out candy with these two and hold the door and not scare away children? 

Suppose I should explain the costumes. See the white thing in the center of the photo? It's Cocoa's costume. 

It's too tight. 

Ahem. I promise you it fit when I bought it 2 months ago. 

So, we had to settle with the pumpkin shirt. She is a little embarrassed. 

Oreo is going with Spiderman for the 3rd year in a row. He loves it. Every time a kid sees him in his costume they shout "Spiderman!!" "DAD! Spiderman!". It's hilarious. 

Yes, I'm a terrible mother. They desperately need to be groomed. Honestly? We are trying to wait as long as possible and as close to Thanksgiving as we can get. It will be another 2 weeks for these guys. Luckily, their fur is keeping them warm! 

Of course the chalkboard needed to be revamped for Halloween. I think before it said "Happy Fall, Y'all!". 

I think tomorrow I'll change it to a "thankful" quote. Any ideas?

Happy Halloween, everyone! xO

The Past 6 Years

Six years ago today yesterday I started dating my now husband.

Neither of us know exactly how it happened because we were so young. Shoot, I don't even remember when I met him! We think it was when I was in 7th grade and he was in 8th grade. How sad is that? Guess that means you've been together a long time, maybe?

We were such little babies! 

FYI-- I would give away my left arm if my legs could be that skinny again. 

Here's to many, many more years! Love you N.

We Survived Sandy!

After 12 hours of no power (I'm not complaining!), we are finally back up and running here at the Boese household! It was definitely not as bad in our area as the weather people were making it out to be.

Before the roads closed my neighbors and I went to Target for some last minute "stuff" to keep us busy and entertained. I also cheated and bought a Diet Coke. Shh!

When I got home from Target and still had power, I just worked. The dogs definitely knew something was going on and Cocoa just wandered around the entire day.

Eventually we went up to our roof and tried to get some cool photos. It was too foggy to get anything good but I'll post them anyway..

That's the airport parking lot. How exciting..

I really didn't take many pictures of the "damage". Besides a fallen tree on our power line, there wasn't much. Maybe I'll go outside and take some later. Maybe not.

Yesterday we woke up to no power. I was so surprised but remembered that the worst of it would be coming in the middle of the night. Our apartment was so cold I thought the dogs' noses were frozen. LOL. They were just fine. :)

After about 4 hours I headed to the mall because, as my husband says, I'm like a hummingbird in a shoe box. I had to get out of that house. I picked up a few things and walked around for a few hours. When I got home the power will still not on, but I cleaned and read. 

Finally around 7PM the power was back on! I immediately turned the heat & fireplace on. 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day and if you were in the path of Sandy I hope you are safe! xO

Life According to my Phone-- October 26

I jog to the same park everyday and I never noticed you could see the Capitol from it until a few weeks ago. Granted, I had to zoom in on my sad little iPhone but it was so cool to find it!

Clearly, I did a lot of jogging this day.

Fire alarm friends. The white dog in the middle is Riley-- he is my friends' dog, and Raleigh & Luca are jumping on their owner (my neighbor). Don't Raleigh & Luca look like Cocoa? 

Guess I should mention that this was the fire alarm that the police came to as well. We were outside for a good 30 minutes. 

That is my dog on the coffee table. 

And that is my dog on our dining room table. 

Cocoa had a seizure. She is 100% crazy normal now, but they are always a bit scary. One day I'll write about her condition when I have the time! 

Guess I should mention that no, our bedspread is not moons & stars, LOL. This was a few weeks ago before it got COLD and I just threw Nathan's quilt on the bed. A few days later I changed our bed stuff to the "winter" comforter. Maybe in a few weeks I'll buy flannel sheets! Target had some deals. :) 

I knew Cocoa was over her seizure when I found her leading Oreo in tearing up toilet paper.

This was a while back taken with my iPhone. I should start carrying my "big" camera around but I haven't fully learned how to use it at night. 

Both dogs have this weird thing now where they want to go in the bushes. All the time. It's a little embarrassing pulling them out of the bushes . . 

We love meeting up with the neighborhood doggies. Yup, mine are the only 2 that have to drag their leashes around. Why? Because a few months ago Mr. Oreo dashed out and ran into a bar. No, not a bar at a playground, a BAR. 

So now they run around with their leashes and I can just step on the leash if someone gets out of line. Needless to say I step on their leashes a lot. 

Beautiful fall is officially here!

See, I did change the stuff. This is pretty much what happens when it's time to change the sheets. Everyone just sits on the covers and I have to run in another room, they follow, then I run back and lock them out. It's quite a process. 

These are from a few weeks ago so I'll get better about doing this more often! xO

Five Question Friday-- October 26th

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week and you're ready for the weekend! Nothing too wild here besides the hurricane craziness.. Our management company is sending emails like crazy. I hope it will just be a mild storm. We'll see, I guess.

1. Who wakes up in the morning with the kids, you or hubby?

Maybe I should start using questions from my email that y'all send in because this does not apply. Typically, though, I wake up a bit earlier than my husband to get organized for the day, etc. I usually do the morning walk and get the dogs situated and then my husband will luck out and wake up just as I'm done. 

2. Do you watch the World Series even if your team isn't in it?

I don't think we have a "team", but I watched a lot of baseball when the Nationals were playing. I think my husband did, too. Now that they are out, we have stopped watching. Baseball is a little slow for me..

3. What is the best compliment you have ever received?

Hmm. Someone I didn't know came up to me once and said I had great posture. I had heard it before but it was crazy coming from a stranger. And on our first official "date" my husband said, "You are a smart, cute, and beautiful girl". Or my teeth. Gosh, I'm sounding like I get a lot of compliments. I really don't, so please don't think that!

4. Do/did you dress up to take your kids trick or treating?

Okay, next week I'll use questions that I just answer by email. Don't you think? As far as Halloween, we always dress the dogs up and I'll usually just wear something festive. I don't think I even dressed up much in high school. I just remember one year I dressed up as a present that my mom made (super cute looking back) but a guy chased me with a chain saw in a neighborhood and called me a box. I cried. :(

5. Do you have a favorite Bible verse? What is it and why?

I have several that I refer to often-- Isaiah 66:9, Joshua 24:15, Ruth 1:16, and Philippians 4:6. Why? I have no idea. They have been around me the longest so they stick with me the hardest.

Hard Things

I clearly got the "good handwriting gene"

A while back, a blogger I love posted about doing hard things. You can read it here if you want.

Lately, WE DO HARD THINGS has been etched into my brain on a daily basis. 

I was having a conversation with my friend who's boyfriend is on a ship for 6 weeks (Something for his job, he's not in the military). She was totally bummed about it and I've been talking with her almost daily. 

Anyway, I was telling her that we constantly have to do hard things. Life is always challenging us. God is always challenging us. Where would the fun be if we weren't challenged?

:: We do hard things to make other things easy.

:: We do not-so-fun things so other things can be fun.

:: We workout so we can be healthy (or have a nice body).

:: I stopped drinking my favorite drink so I could be healthy (More about that here).

Now those are just some examples. I truthfully cannot come up with anymore examples-- my mind is blank! 

My point? Remember this next time you're struggling:

You don't want to take the easy way out, do you? 

Where's the gratification in that? Where's the fun in that?

Yup, there isn't any. 

This Week's Goals-- October 23rd

I suck at writing my goals down. This cannot be good for accomplishing my goals. :) I'm working on it, though, and that's got to me something, right?

First things first-- I'm giving away an eBook on my money-saving blog here. Go enter to win 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life. It's an amazing read!

Well this week has certainly been interesting! Cocoa had a seizure last night so I've been watching her like a hawk. My plans for tonight were cancelled and I'm a little glad I can keep an eye on her. (One day I'll get my act together and write about her seizures). 

My neighbor came over to help me while Cocoa was having her seizure and she loved my chalkboard so I'm going to make her one tonight. We'll see how that goes. :)

Okay, here are last week's goals. Let's see how I did..

:: Run 4 miles 5-6 days this week. I'll be happy with 5 days. I mostly do it for the scenery-- I could run towards downtown everyday if I could. 

:: Fill out the paperwork that's in my file box. It just needs to be done. I'll feel better when it's done but it's about 20 sheets of forms. 

:: Head to the library. Nope. Maybe tomorrow?

:: Start looking for some freezer cooking recipes. I have a few but some were not worth the time. I'd like to find a solid ten.

:: Make appointments for the dogs to get groomed. Ha. Maybe this week.

:: Get car washed and stickers off. Still haven't managed to do this but I'd like to get it done because I guess they close when it gets too cold outside? It needs to get done! Ugh. This is just a pain. 

:: Read 30 minutes each day of my book. I'll post about it in more detail, but I never let myself "quit" a book. This one, though, might change that rule! We'll see. I'd like to suck it up and finish-- I'm about half way done! 

:: Order and begin to read Smart Couples Finish Rich. My friend Brittany recommended this book to me. No luck! 

:: Head to the dog park at least once. I can't believe I have to make this a "goal" but I really do. Driving anywhere here takes 20 minutes so we rarely go places that require driving. That being said, the dogs need to socialize off leash every once in a while!

:: Link up with Mandy's Stop & Smell the Roses vlog. Yup, vlog. That means video! Stop & Smell the Roses is a series Mandy does and you vlog about something that is making you smile or something you're thankful for. Seems easy, right? She links this up tomorrow, I believe, so I should do it tomorrow. Seriously, no excuses. 

Here are this week's goals:

:: Write a letter to my soldier. 

:: Finish chalkboard for neighbor and deliver. Include some extra chalk!

:: Do my jogs and ab-work 5 times each week (20 miles, 5 hours of abs total).

:: Get the dogs set up with a vet.

:: Read for 30 minutes each day. I'm so over this dumb book but I need to finish it! 

:: Head to the library. I love being able to check out lots of books and DVDs. The parking is a pain but maybe I'll start going there a bit earlier.

:: Stay strong with no more Diet Coke. :( I'll admit I snuck out and bought one while I was grocery shopping. Ugh. I'm feeling the effects of no caffeine and it sucks. 

:: Head to the dog park 1 time this week. 

:: Write up a post about things we don't use around the house (like paper towels).

:: Read the sample ballot that came in the mail. I know nothing about the VA stuff I need to vote for in a few weeks. Better get my learning on. :)

2 Things Are Making Me Sad This Week

No more Diet Coke!

I'll start with the worst part of my week. Remember how I mentioned going to the doctor? 

Yup, she said the 4 words I have dreaded hearing. 

When I left the appointment I had 3 left in my fridge. Being the addict that I am, of course I drank them. My husband and I kept looking online for something healthy and calorie free. If I was going to have something with calories, I might as well drink milkshakes all day. 

The VitaminWater Zero is okay. It's very sweet but it still has carbs in it. It has 3 or 5 in 1 bottle. I'm only having 1/4 of a bottle a day (and diluting it majorly in water) because I'm worried those carbs will go straight to my... 

Anyways! 

And then this happened. I have no reason as to why it fell! I was walking the dogs, holding keys and mail and boom. It hit the concrete hard face down. Kind of reminded me of this story..

I'm not upset about it because 1-- It works perfectly fine and 2-- It was my fault. I really don't mind having giant cracks across my phone for 2 more years. Yup, that's how long I have on my contract. :-)

So that was this week. What is next week going to bring me? xO

My Family Health Binder *Update*

Remember back in July when I posted about our family health binder?

I was finally able to make some appointments and actually fill the binder recently! I know-- quite an accomplishment. :)

The business card section is slowly growing.. 

My one doctor did not have business cards. I was so bummed because I really wanted to put it in there! Oh well. 

Now that I'm actively using the binder, I keep a pink post it on the inside front cover. This reminds me who needs what in what month/year. For example, my husband needs a physical in May 2013. 

The "Doc Info" section is filled out for me with names, phone numbers, and addresses of all my doctors. 

And now is time for my public service announcement.. 

Call your parents/family/grandparents and get their medical history!

Seriously. Please. Because I have a horrible family medical history, it's absolutely crucial to know what I'm dealing with.

You can learn so much about your family, and it opens the door for conversations that you should have before it's too late.

Okay? Here is my original post on our Family Health Binder. I encourage you to put this on your to-do list this fall!

Five Question Friday-- October 19th

Happy Friday! I am super glad this week is over. To me the week flew by because I had so much crap stuff to do. I had appointments at Georgetown and let me tell you-- it is so beautiful there. 

                            

                             

Photo credit

Because I was driving I could not get a decent picture, but that was my view. Technically, I was driving on that bridge so I was even closer to the view! 

1. Where do you hide junk when people come over? 

Honestly, we don't have junk. You've seen my closets. There is nothing to hide. Although, before people come over I like to vacuum because it is my least favorite chore. And sometimes I'll only vacuum before people come over. Luckily we have people in and out about once every week, so it gets done. :)

2. Do political ads help you decide who you are going to vote for?

No. 

3. What's your favorite holiday party to host?

I love hosting parties! I feel like I have a gene for it. I don't care what holiday, but I'd like to have an "adults only" party soon. I've never done Halloween so that could be next for me! (Not this year, obviously). 

4. You go on an island with your husband and you can only take one personal item. What is it?

Deodorant. Sunglasses are up there, though. I have a problem with sunglasses. If I'm outside and it's not pitch black out, I need to be wearing them. I literally cannot drive during the day without them. It's honestly an addiction! I think I have sensitive eyes, or my eyes are used to wearing them a lot. Who knows. 

5. If you found out your husband was a Dexter-style serial killer (only kills people to save others) would you rat him out?

No. I've never seen Dexter but I think my husband and his dad watch it. I think? I've heard it's good. But anyways, no, I probably wouldn't rat him out.

Can Dressing "Cute" (Or Just Getting Dressed) Change Your Mood?

Gap Tshirt (no longer in stores), Francescas Cardigan, American Apparel Jeans, Silpada Necklace

As most of you know, I work from home. There are so, so, SO many wonderful bonuses of working from home-- my doggies can go out when they need to, saving gas money, and I don't have to wear business attire. Shoot, I don't have to wear any attire. Ha.

Up until about a month ago, I would never get out of my workout clothes. I would wake up at 6, jog, do Hip Hop Abs, and never get dressed. *I should note that I do shower, thank you very much.

Okay, don't get me wrong-- I own "cute" workout clothes. But I'm pretty sure for at least a month I never put on a pair of jeans. That could be an exaggeration, but you get the point.

Then it started getting cold. And I would have to go places-- the store, see family who came to visit, appointments, etc.

Each time I would get dressed, I felt great. I'm not talking "gussied" up-- I'm talking jeans, sweater, coat, scarf, whatever. I would send my husband a picture and I kept telling him how much happier I was. I felt great. He would say the obvious "Well, why do you do that everyday?".

So I have been. For about 3-4 weeks now. I am so much happier and I feel good about myself! (Note: I never felt bad, doing this just makes me feel better).

Lil Oreo Bug had to get some photo action. I love these Sperry's!

Besides looking and feeling nice, there are more reasons to "get dressed" each morning: 

:: You are ready to go at a moment's notice. Our fire alarm went off and we were stuck outside in the cold for 30+ minutes. I'm so glad I had on warm fall clothes and not dry-fit workout clothes! A few nights ago my neighbors knocked on my door asking if I could go to dinner... right then... and I was able to!

:: You set a good example for family. 

:: You see how your body is doing. How are you supposed to know if all that working out if paying off? Nothing like putting on a pair of skinny jeans finding out they are loose (or you can't even button them)!

:: It's motivation. You better believe the first day I did this that I did not end my evening on the couch with Ben & Jerry. I actually went to bed after doing another Hip Hop Abs!

There are so many benefits. You just have to try it out! Give it one day. One day! And see how you feel. xO

The Week's Goals-- October 14th

Okay, back to posting my goals! I really fell off the wagon in posting them these past few weeks. Luckily I've been productive, I just didn't post anything. Ha.

:: Run 4 miles 5-6 days this week. I'll be happy with 5 days. I mostly do it for the scenery-- I could run towards downtown everyday if I could. 

:: Fill out the paperwork that's in my file box. It just needs to be done. I'll feel better when it's done but it's about 20 sheets of forms. 

:: Head to the library.

:: Start looking for some freezer cooking recipes. I have a few but some were not worth the time. I'd like to find a solid ten.

:: Make appointments for the dogs to get groomed. 

:: Get car washed and stickers off. Still haven't managed to do this but I'd like to get it done because I guess they close when it gets too cold outside? It needs to get done!

:: Read 30 minutes each day of my book. I'll post about it in more detail, but I never let myself "quit" a book. This one, though, might change that rule! We'll see. I'd like to suck it up and finish-- I'm about half way done! 

:: Order and begin to read Smart Couples Finish Rich. My friend Brittany recommended this book to me.

:: Head to the dog park at least once. I can't believe I have to make this a "goal" but I really do. Driving anywhere here takes 20 minutes so we rarely go places that require driving. That being said, the dogs need to socialize off leash every once in a while!

:: Link up with Mandy's Stop & Smell the Roses vlog. Yup, vlog. That means video! Stop & Smell the Roses is a series Mandy does and you vlog about something that is making you smile or something you're thankful for. Seems easy, right? 

Okay, here's to hoping I'll accomplish some of these things! Totally kidding. I think the only one that will be annoying or tough is the vlog link up and getting the car washed. We'll see, won't we? xO

Five Question Friday-- October 12th

TGIF! I'm thrilled today is Friday. This week went by very fast for some reason. We have a "freeze watch" tonight so I think we may use the fireplace for the first time. I cannot wait!

I would like to take my bike out this weekend but if it's too cold, I'll be staying in. The dogs don't have much to keep warm so I think I should grab something. Oreo just looks like a sissy in any kind of sweater!

And of course tonight is the Nationals game. GO NATS!

1. Do you have any Homecoming traditions?

Umm. As in Homecoming like the football game? No.

2. Do you ask your spouse before spending money?

Unless I'm buying a car, no. We have biweekly "money meet ups" (one day I'll get it together and post about it) so we know where we are financially all the time.

3. If you could be famous for something what would it be? 

Hmmm. I'd like to be famous for making a difference (Cliche, right?) but probably something with rescuing animals OR gymnastics.

4. Have you ever seriously thought you were going crazy?

Not really. I don't really let myself get stressed out. I worry a lot, but I usually write them down or tell someone and I feel better.

5. How do you eat your steak? Burger?

Medium. Plain cheeseburger. Well, I like veggies on it but no mustard, mayo, etc. I will dip my burger in ketchup, though. And I'll eat any kind of steak.

How-To Foil Line Your Oven

I keep cookie sheets (2) on top of each other in the oven. Does anyone else do that?

With every project there is a story. This story, while funny now, was not so funny a few Saturdays ago.

All I wanted was some stupid cornbread. I used the special recipe on the back of the cornmeal box and it looked yummy! I was even thinking I could cut up hotdogs and stick the hotdogs & corn muffin mix into muffin tins. Hello-- home made bite-sized corn dogs.

Anyways, while the oven was preheating it started to smell bad. I opened the oven to see a flame. Awesome.

Turns out there was stuff on the bottom of the oven that caught on fire. I didn't see it, but we use the oven a lot so I'm sure it's possible. Who knows.

So because we cannot run the oven clean cycle while the dogs are home (the smell is bad for babies and dogs), I just cleaned it myself.

I used water, an old sponge, and dish soap. It literally got everything off! When it was all done I microwaved a wet cloth and did one final wipe down. That was it. The whole cleaning process took maybe 10 minutes.

 Before I was done I really wanted something to catch all the stuff that falls and that I could remove and either clean OR throw away.

Introducing.. tin foil.

It's pretty simple! Seriously. It did use a lot of tin foil, though.

:: Obviously, make sure your oven is off and has been off for a long period of time (1 day).

:: Tear off 4 long rectangles from the tin foil container. 

:: Fold your 4 rectangles in half, and place along the bottom of the oven.

:: Make sure your tin foil goes below the element. Feel free to lift your element up as your need to so you can get everywhere. The element in our oven was easy to move around. Check your oven's manual if you're nervous to touch it.

:: Pat the foil down and make sure it's on there nicely.

:: Your oven is ready for use! This will probably last a while but definitely replace when stuff starts to fall. (Probably after Thanksgiving with that turkey?!)

Good luck! xO

Halloween Has Come To The Boese's!

Three weeks to go!

Halloween is a big deal around here. I love all holidays but Halloween is super fun because of the decorations, scary music, and of course... CANDY! 

If you want to see where I got that lil' chalkboard you can read about it back here. It sits on my mantel and I've been great horrible at updating it. 

This little gem is not new, but I guess I never posted about it. It's from Pier 1-- I want to say $19.99 or maybe even less. It holds 3 tea candles and I just love it!

As you can see, I guess Oreo bug loves it, too! 

Love those purple spiders. 

Before I show the doggies, I have a disclaimer: No, these are not their halloween costumes, and YES, they desperately need a trim. Judge me. 

Well, that was Cocoa's costume last year. It's a T-shirt that says Trick or Treat and it glows in the dark. Then I added the Tutu so she'd look a little girly. They are both from Petsmart and were purchased the day after Halloween at like 70% off. 

I was really trying to get how cute it is but then this happened. 

Ahem. So well behaved. 

Happy Wednesday! xO

Life According To My Phone

I realize I haven't really posted about what I've been up to lately. Let's see..

Meet Shadow. I walk her a few times a week and I locked us out of her apartment. Sweet. She had to hang out with us for an hour one Saturday. 

The dogs have this bizarre obsession with having to be inside the curtains. Sometimes I can't find them and panic for a few minutes, but then I see this. . 

The above picture was late one night and Oreo would not come to bed. Brat.

Found these at Pier 1 and they were just $4.99. They even burn blood! Okay, it's red wax but how awesome is that? I also love that the Bride witch is just a *bit* taller than the groom witch.

We haven't seen the sun in about a week! Good thing I love this cold, miserable weather because it can definitely be depressing for some people. 

I have been running about 20-24 miles a week in this miserable weather so I've been able to get some cool photos. 

I've been sewing like a mad woman because a certain dog keeps ripping up dog toys. This red cardinal was my mom's for many years. It used to chirp.. before my dog got to it. Oh well. At least it's still in the family. :)

Besides that, not too much has been going on. Work has been busy! I did a very creative gift for N but I'm not sharing it until it's 100% done. I will post a tutorial soon, though! I did some damage at the mall this past weekend that I'll have to post about as well.

That's all for now folks! xO