Harry Potter Sets His Final Date

The seventh and concluding film in the series will open July 15, 2011

Mark your calendar: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II will be released July 15, 2011, Warner Bros. has announced.

Part I of the film will open Nov. 19, 2010, the studio said last August. Both films are based on the 608-page seventh book in author J.K. Rowling's series.

In all, the first five Harry Potter movies, with a maturing Daniel Radcliffe in the lead, have made $4.5 billion internationally, surpassing the box-office records of both the James Bond and Star War series.

A penny saved

When Ryan quit his job, I had to get benefits through my work. We got a new plan and I sent in my first claim on Monday. My monthly prescription has cost me $50 for the past two years. When I filled it on Monday it only cost $10! I was so excited, but thought maybe there was an error. When I looked at my receipt it said I saved $47.99! Wahoo! So FYI, switch from United Health Care to Regence HealthWise ASAP.

Also, Ryan always asks why I keep transferring my prescription. Why don't I just keep it at the same pharmacy month after month? My answer is, you transfer it from pharmacy to pharmacy depending on who is giving gift cards for transferred prescriptions that month. I don't think I've ever filled a prescription without getting some sort of gift card with it. The gift cards can't be used on the prescriptions, but on other things. So Monday, when I filled my prescription I redeemed a $25 gift card and yesterday I used it and bought groceries that only cost me $6.00. I also picked up another transfer coupon that I can use in April. I still have one from Target and KMart that I have yet to use. Am I bad for cheating the system? Then again, I'm giving them more business by filling my prescription then using the card at the store again, right? Thank you mom for teaching me how to save money! I knew I'd appreciate it someday.

A star in the heavens

Here's my gift! This morning Ryan set everything out on the table for me to see. Unfortunately, I was running late for work and didn't stop to see anything, when I got home this is what I saw. It's kind of hard to read but it says:

"Know ye herewith that the International Star Registry doth hereby redesignate star number Lynx RA 7h 56m 55s D38 50' to the name Teandra. Know ye further that this star will henceforth be known by this name. This name is permanently filed in The Registry's vault in Switzerland and recorded in a book which will be registered in the copyright office of the United States of America."

Pretty cool, eh? Then it is signed with an official seal by the Secretary and Registrar of the International Star Registry. He wrote me a sweet note too.



And here's my star! It came with a booklet with constellation charts that will help me locate the area of the star. My star is circled in red. Now, does anyone have a telescope I can borrow?

V-Day!

We had a fun Valentine's Day! My gift to Ryan was a list of the top 50 reasons why I love him. Cleaning the house the other day I found tons of pictures from us in college and all the notes that Ryan had written me while we were dating. I'm so glad I kept them. We spent some time reminiscing about all the good times we had and reading over his love notes to me. (He really had me wrapped around his finger!) Ryan's gift to me won't be here until later this week... Funny story for ya. I had made reservations for 6 of us (my sisters and spouses) at The Melting Pot. We were all stoked to go because we'd never been there. We looked online at the menu and couldn't wait for the 3-course meal. We got there and the menus at our table said $69/per person! Ryan piped up and asked if there was another menu, but apparently they have set menus on Valentines Day, who knew? We love food, but none of us were about to spend $69 a person on dinner. (yet!) We swallowed our pride and walked out. Luckily it was only 4:00 so we walked down to the Olive Garden. We only had to wait about 20 minutes and then got to enjoy a nice relaxing long dinner. By the time we got out the place was packed! I was so grateful that my previous reservation was early enough that we could get in. (Hint for those of you who've made that mistake before.)

So excited for...

Some fun deleted scenes

Valentines

This weekend I made lots of Valentines. I went over to my friend's house Saturday night and with the help of her, her mom, and sister, I made some Valentine's cards. I had so much fun that I brought my stuff to my parent's house yesterday and my sister, Ryan and I made even more! Happy birthday Toni! Take a look! I sure married a talented guy. Ryan showed us all up with his two Valentines.

Oh Obama...

I love Dave Ramsey so I'll let him do the talking. Thank you, my thoughts exactly...

Well, we the people have a new president. It’s an exciting time for Americans, whether or not you agree with President Barack Obama’s plans. My hope is that our new president will instill some confidence in people, not necessarily set out to fix everybody and everything.
There are some bogus government strategies floating around to stimulate the economy and "save us from ourselves." Just because they’re all everyone talks about doesn’t make them true! Here are a few of the big issues:
Tax Breaks

These aren’t bad, and I would never turn them down. But to think that tax breaks single-handedly stimulate the economy is laughable. Remember last fall? Those stimulus checks didn’t fix the problem, so what makes us think it’s going to fix everything this time? Did you know it was your money to start with? They’re just giving it back to you and making you feel good about it. If you’re looking for $1,000 to change your life this year, you obviously don’t have a life to start with!
It may help you today or this month, but $1,000 will do very little for you in the long run. To win with money, you've got to think long term.
Patriotic Duty

The government wants you to spend, spend, spend—and many Americans are taking this advice while still in debt! No matter what the talking heads say, it is not your patriotic duty to spend money you don’t have. Your duty is to take care of yourself and your household with the money you earn from an honest day’s work.
If you have your full emergency fund and are in a position to buy something, now is the perfect time! You can get some fabulous deals, but don’t let the deals entice you if you haven’t planned ahead and don’t have the cash!
National Deficit

The dog is still chasing its tail.
Debt started the problem, so what is the current plan to fix the problem? More debt!What really drives the economy? Is it D.C.'s programs or small-business people scattered throughout the country? This down economic time will begin to heal itself. Do we have to go $1 trillion in debt to do that? No way!
The good news is that our future as an economy isn’t coming out of Washington. Our future prosperity is coming out of the hopes, dreams and individual freedoms of the American people. When left alone, we have a tendency to prosper.
The healing of the economy will begin and end with you. Yes, you, the person you see in the mirror! You have to make your decision as to whether or not you’re going to take part in the recession.
As for our new president, if you’re not a fan, pray for him. He’s your president. If you are a fan, pray for him. He’s your president, not your savior. Your hope will be crushed if you wait for him and his administration—or anyone else—to fix your life and give you money.

CSI

No, not the tv show. College of Southern Idaho. My sister-in-law received a full-ride scholarship there for volleyball. A few weeks ago we went and watched her play with her team in Salt Lake at the intermountain volleyball championship. When we were in college CSI beat us in every sport, which wasn't hard, but we're so happy for her and we know she is going to have a blast! Plus they're the golden eagles too, so we like that. At the College of Southern Idaho, winning is expected. They have six sports programs and have brought home 16 national championships, 76 region championships and have arguably the most successful overall athletic program in the National Junior College Athletic Association and the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. Congratulations Alyssa! Here are some pictures from her playing. She's #12, the one with the incredibly long legs..