We Wish You a Merry Christmas

December 26, 2011

Cuff and I had a wonderful Christmas and we hope that all of you did too. I guess we were very good this year because we got a lot of nice things from our family and friends. Cuff got a special outfit from Aunt Sweetie that she hasn’t tried on yet, but keeps eyeing from her tank. We plan to try it on this week. We will take some pictures.

I got a new winter coat and boots as well as a juicer from my dad and step mom. I made delicious beet, apple and carrot juice Christmas morning which Ka-Ka would not drink. My mom and stepdad got me a ton of stuff off my list including a coffee maker, a new camelbak bottle, and some really great bottles for storing my juices in. My mom also made me a lap top  lap desk – well she didn’t build it – she decorated it. It came out really well. It is covered with little cartoon turtles exercising – like motivated turtles!

Christmas isn’t all about the presents though. It was nice just to spend the day in my christmas pajamas with my family. My mom had a hard time with it being her first Christmas with out our grandma here, but we made the best of it. We played scrabble with my mom and Ka-Ka and I watched the final Harry Potter movie which she selfishly saw in the theaters with her boyfriend and not with her sister who did not see Part 1. And why didn’t I see Part 1?  Because I was waiting to see that one with Ka-Ka but she was in the hospital when it was released in the theaters and Ka-Ka watched it with out me when it came out on video! But anyway – I finally got to see it on Christmas. I bought Ka-Ka the box set of DVDs as one of her Christmas gifts.

Hopefully you all had a wonderful holiday and that you got to spend time with loved ones (with out driving each other insane)

Santa Cuff

Santa Cuff

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Zipping Between the Trees at Catamount Adventure Park – Bucket List Item #14 COMPLETED!

September 6, 2011

Souzapalooza Walking the Tightrope

For Ka-Ka’s B-day, we went to Catamount Aerial Adventure Park in the Berkshire Mountains to attempt their aerial forest adventure. The adventure park is nestled in a 5 acres of woods and is made up of 11 courses of varying degrees of difficulty. Per the website, it has 150 platforms each connected by some sort of combination of wood, wire, rope and ziplines.

The crew of daredevils included Ka-Ka, KaKa’s boyfriend The Handy Man, My Stepdad, My Other Sister, and My Favorite Brother-in-Law. My Mom also came but she didn’t do the course, she stayed back and watched The Judge, my 8 month old niece. After driving two hours in the car, and a slight delay due to storm front, we were harnessed in, given our training, and headed up the side of the mountain for an adventure. We did three courses during our time at the park, a beginners yellow level, a green level, and the “Grand Rapids” Blue level which takes you on 8 different ziplines crisscrossing the mountain.

I was the first person in our group to cross each obstacle. Some of them were easy, some of them were challenging, and some were just plain scary. I know I turned white when faced with the “tightrope crossing”. Even though you are secured from you harness with two carbiners and can only fall about 18 inches from where you are clipped, it is still nerve-racking. It is a physical and mental challenge. I honestly can say, even though there is a weight limit of 265lbs (which I am nowhere near), I really don’t think I would have been physically fit enough to do something like this last year. I know I have a ways to go with my fitness goals but I was really proud of myself for attempting and completing each of the courses I started. I didn’t take any short cuts and didn’t punk out halfway through the course.

Since you can’t really have any cameras or phones unless you have pockets (which Ka-Ka, My Other Sister and I didn’t), there aren’t too many photos of this crazy obstacle course. However, the Handy Man did take this lovely video of me standing on flying swing…. and then hitting a tree (don’t worry, I didn’t get hurt!)

I highly recommend checking this adventure park out. It is a great opportunity for you to really test your abilities (and to check zip lining off your bucket list!) For more information about the park, visit their website by clicking here. You can also see a more in-depth video about the park below. (To see the stunt that scared Souzapalooza the most, the tightrope can be seen at the 29 second mark….it doesn’t look that scary, till you are on it!)

Photo Credits – My Other Sister

Video Credits – Souzapalooza on the Swing by The Handy Man, Catamount Video from their site

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Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

September 2, 2011

A lot of good things have been happening this week:

1) We survived Hurricane Irene unscathed

2) My Samsonite video was chosen as a finalist! (Make sure you watch, and watch often please! Click Here)

and 3) I received a NEW JOB! Super exciting and I start on the 12th (the same day classes start for the Health Coach Program…things are going to get busy!)

There are lots of good things happening around me, but the biggest thing to celebrate this weekend is Ka-Ka’s 24th Birthday on Saturday!

Here is a picture of us back then:

Ka-Ka & I circa 1988

and now all grown up (well according to our driver’s licenses but we aren’t really grown ups)

Ka-Ka & I This Year – She is my biggest supporter… walking in the rain while I ran my first 5K earlier this year

Happy Birthday Ka-Ka! I know 23 was a rough one, but 24 is going to be great! 

I love you! 

Special Souzapalooza shout out to Jobin’s mom, The Compulsive Cleaner, who shares the same b-day as Ka-Ka. She always remembers when Ka-Ka was small enough to fit in a 5 gallon bucket at our community pool! May no one make a mess of your kitchen today!

She Still Fits!

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The Secret Alliance of Granny’s Panties

August 11, 2011

Sorry for the late day posting. I have been very busy with my job search. Trying to find a job, is more work than actually having one! I think I am battling a small bout of the blues as well. I decided to motivate myself out of my funk yesterday and hit a 9:30 Zumba class. I love Zumba, the music, the moves, the chance to have fun and think I am super sexy shaking my “latin hips” when in reality I am totally uncoordinated and lack any rhythm what so ever. Of course, one of the highlights of Zumba, when I am lucky, they play Pitbull and you all know how much I love to work out to him! The exercise definitely started my day on the right foot (or my two left feet).

Then I was off to meet my mom at Kohl’s; I got a 30% off coupon in the mail which my mom wanted to use, but she needed to have a Kohl’s card. She never got one because she would always go to Kohl’s with my grandma. She would charge her purchases on my grandma’s card and pay her back. This was her first trip to Kohl’s with out my grandma and although it would seem like an easy errand, it was a bit of a challenge for my mom to be there with out her. I helped my mom pick out some really nice tops for her upcoming trip to Disney World with my nieces and nephew, as well as a few things for my step dad and a b-day present for Ka-Ka (no Ka-Ka, I’m not telling you what she got you). While we were there, I picked up a dress for myself and some new underwear. And then I got sad.

One of the quirky things about my grandma was that she bought everybody underwear for every holiday. I’m not just talking Christmas and birthdays. I mean EVERY holiday. Green ones for St. Patrick’s Day, Red or Pink for Valentine’s Day, Pastel Colors for Easter, Red White & Blue for Fourth of July, Orange for Halloween and Thanksgiving and of course Red and Green for Christmas. One Christmas, I received a pair for that played music. IM NOT KIDDING! It had a mini pouch on the waistband that held a removable musical button that  played Jingle Bells.

The thing that made these purchases even more amazing is that my grandma never drove, yet she would always manage to find these incredibly unique undergarments where ever she happened to go with her girlfriends. I always wondered who actually bought these bizarrely patterned underwear for themselves or if they were specifically developed for a secret alliance of grandmothers, who swore to provide their granddaughters with seasonally patterned underwear.

My sister and I both have overflowing underwear draws full of thongs, bikini, hipsters, and all styles in between. Making a conservative estimate, I could probably go 6 months wearing a new pair of underwear every day and never wearing the same pair twice. We ALWAYS have clean underwear. (I am sure you are wondering why I would need to buy more; well, as I am loosing weight, a lot of pairs just don’t fit right anymore so I have been slowly getting rid of them).

I didn’t count on my grandma for all my underwear needs, however, it always makes me laugh when I reach in to my underwear draw and pull out a pair with a candy corn pattern or ones covered in stars and stripes. I am sure now that my grandma has passed, my mom will take over the responsibility of finding and purchasing underwear for random holidays, but it will never quite be the same.

Photo Credits  - Women corset workers on strike walk down the street wearing undergarments from Kheel Center, Cornell University - on Flickr

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Thank You For Being My Friends

July 5, 2011

Between my grandmother’s passing and trying to divert my attention from worrying about my unemployment, this weekend was a hard one. Through it all, I realized how incredibly blessed I am.

Ka-ka stepped up and took on a lot of responsibility this weekend. She helped my mom and aunt pick out some of the stuff for the funeral and did a lot of relative schlepping. She really pitched in so I could take some time for myself to mourn both my losses and get a small handle on what had happened. She delivered a beautiful eulogy which made everyone tear up, including my step-dad (She likes that she can now call herself a “Eugoogalizer” like Zoolander).

I had an outpouring of support from friends over both my losses which were incredibly surprising and I am incredibly grateful for. I received calls, emails, and Facebook messages from friends all over offering to help me find a job, pass along my resume, or just take me out for a drink to mourn my four-year run at work.

In addition, friends reached out from every where to send their condolences about my grandmother. LH, D1 & the Secret Agent, sent an amazing arrangement of flowers to the funeral home since they all live a little to far to pay condolences in person. Jobin and her mom came to the afternoon services and sat through my grandma’s church group perform the rosary prayer (which they started, made a mistake, and had to start all over again from the beginning! and it is a long one for all of those who are not familiar with it!) Many others came to pay their respects. Doc, her husband the Money Man (he is an excellent financial advisor!), The Dart Champ, Zippy the Derby Girl and her husband Danger Spouse, The Brain Builder and her family, Ms. Brown, Role Model Mom and her husband and brand new baby girl, My other sister and her family, Aunt Sweetie, and the Cookie Lady, all took time out of their holiday weekend to stop by and let us know that they cared.

Many people say their friends, and will stand with you when times are good but, true friends are he ones who stick with you when times get tough. I am so thankful to have these wonderful people in my life.

Today, take a moment to recognize who your true friends are and be sure to thank them for being part of your life.

And incase you need a little bit of cheesy-ness to start your Tuesday…

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Why I Might Be a Super Hero – Just Another Blog Post from Your Friendly Neighborhood Souzapalooza!

June 23, 2011

I think I might be superhero…

In my fumbling along the internet I found this interactive tab on the Marvel.com website where you can build your own Superhero. It’s pretty cool, although I will say that the choices are limited for women in comparison to the guys choices, which I understand. It got me thinking about superheroes. They use to be ordinary people just like you and me, and then something happens to them that makes them special. The ones with moral compasses pointed in the general direction of good, usually end up helping people and saving their city (be it Gotham, Metropolis, or New York) from some major catastrophe or mentally unstable villain. They often sacrifice their own personal happiness for the greater good of the world. I am not a reader of comics, but I do watch the superhero films when they come to the big screen (or HBO of course). So I did a little research on Wikipedia and found a list of common traits all super heroes have.

Marvel's Create Your Own Super Hero - Souzapalooza

Ten Requirements for Being a Superhero (per Wikipedia):

1) Extraordinary powers, skills and/or equipment.

Armed with my handy mac probook (and spellcheck), I can blog a post in a single sitting and bring humor and positivity to a reader’s day. I can also run a 12 minute mile and I am a damn good sales person when it comes to pies and baked good.

2) A strong moral code

I believe in the golden rule – One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself; with kindness, compassion, and respect and most importantly, always do your best.

3) A Secret Identity

I do have a real name, but everyone knows me by my superhero alias of SOUZAPALOOZA!

4) A distinctive costume

Why do you think I have all those red shoes?

5) A supporting recurring characters, including the hero’s friends, co-workers and/or love interests, who may or may not know of the superhero’s secret identity

Many I have mentioned on here before but if you have forgotten here are just a few: Ka-Ka, LH, Jobin, D1, Zippy the Derby Girl, Danger Spouse, Jimmy Whispers. Of  course, I can’t forget my loyal sidekick, Cuff Turtle!  I’ll have to get her a cape…although, I think she might fit better in a role like that of Alfred the Butler in Batman since she doesn’t get around very quickly

6) A number of enemies

Actually, I don’t have many enemies right now except for the 15 lbs between me and my goal weight,  however, the Croc Lady’s ruthless attempts to board the train before me might cause her to fall in to the enemy category.

7) Independent Wealth

I’m working on this one. I haven’t managed to gain my independent wealth just yet, but hopefully lotto will pay out soon. But really there are a lot of working super heroes – Superman / Clark Kent is a reporter, Spiderman / Peter Parker is a photographer, Hulk / Dr Bruce Banner – Nucular Physicist.

8 ) Headquarters / Base Camp

Obviously I can’t tell you where this is, but I will say that unlike Cuff Turtle, it is not on my back.

9) Backstory

Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world… (I’ll have to work on this one a bit too)

10) Weakness

Ice Cream & HBO Sunday night programing.

Do you think I have what it takes to be a Superhero?

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Coupon Tips – My Sister’s Attempt at Extreme Couponing (with a Video)

June 22, 2011

Ka-Ka has started living on her own and now has to do her own food shopping. Thanks to the wonders of television, the idea of extreme couponing has now become an obsession of hers. She is not interested in stock piling toothpaste in the basement, but rather paying $0.02 for $100 worth of food.

So last week, she called me to see if I wanted to go food shopping and watch her attempt to save money (I think it was another attempt to be a featured topic on The Souzapalooza Blog). She made a shopping list and collected coupons on the items she needed. We made a little video about our Stop & Shop visit, including one of the better deals we had on Barilla Pasta and Sauce. Take a look :

Here are the register results of our attempt “extreme couponing”:
Ka-Ka (bought 31 items):

  • Total before Coupons: $67.28
  • Savings from Stop & Shop Card: $16.99
  • Personal Thanks discount: $0.50
  • Double Coupons: $0.35
  • Manufacture’s Coupons: $2.35
  • Ka-Ka’s Final Total (including tax): $47.56

Summary: Ka-Ka saved 30% of her original total, most of the savings coming from the use of her Stop & shop card (84%). 11% of her savings came from manufacture’s coupons. She was able to lower the average price per item by $0.64, from $2.17 to $1.59

Souzapalooza (bought 45 items):

  • Total before Coupons: $123.25
  • Savings from Stop & Shop Card: $26.93
  • Personal Thanks discount: $0.20
  • Double Coupons: $1.55
  • Manufacture’s Coupons: $7.55
  • Souzapalooza’s Final Total (including tax): $87.02

Summary: I saved 29% of my original total, most of the savings coming from the use of my Stop & shop card (74%). 21% of my savings came from manufacture’s coupons, 4% from double coupons. I was able to lower the average price per item by $0.77, from $2.74 to $1.97

Tips from Saving from the Souzapalooza Sisters:

  1. If you don’t already have one, get a store loyalty card! That is where you will save the most!
  2. Make a list (I was shopping with out one and ended up spending on things I didn’t necessarily need) plus, it saves you time.
  3. Bring ALL your coupons, not just the ones you plan on using. Some times there are items on sale that are not advertised in the circular that you might just have a coupon for.
  4. Understand your store’s double coupon program. Stop & Shop doubles coupons up to $0.99. Ka-Ka didn’t quite get that and was disappointed that more of her coupons were not doubled.
  5. Don’t be afraid to by the store brand. A lot of the time it is a better price for something that you probably wouldn’t notice a difference in any way!
  6. Check on-line for extra coupons. Sites like Coupons.com, Coupondad and Couponmom have printable coupons you can take to the store with you.
  7. Bring a calculator; or if you have one on your phone, use it. It is helpful for trying to figure out what the better buy is when comparing different sized items.
  8. If your store has a scan as you go option like ours, you should try it. You can monitor what you are spending and make sure that the prices are in agreement with those advertised.

Now get out there and start saving!!

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Bucket List Item #24 – Attend Mermaid Parade – COMPLETED!

June 20, 2011

That’s right boys and girls, Bucket List Item #24 – Attend the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island was completed this weekend. The Coney Island Mermaid Parade is New York’s kick off to summer. It was started in 1983 to pay tribute to the Mardi Gras parades that Coney Island conducted in 1903 – 1954. People dress up as mermaids, mermen, neptunes, sailors, and sea creatures of all shapes and sizes.

Ka-Ka and I have been trying to attend the Mermaid Parade for years, and this year we finally went! LH was kind enough to let me know that it was coming up. LH, Ka-Ka, my cousin Zippy the Derby Girl, and her husband Danger Spouse, all took the hour long subway ride from mid-town to the Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue subway stop to finally attend the 29th Annual Mermaid Parade this past Saturday!

There were a tone of people dressed up in all sorts of crazy and creative sea-inspired garb. Here a slide show of some of the highlights of the parade.

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