Seven Shopping Havens

Who doesn't enjoy shopping? 

I do.  I probably enjoy it more than most and I surely enjoy more than my wallet does. 

Oh well, life is short, cliche cliche cliche.

I don't do the 5th Avenue luxury shopping thing though.  I don't like designer things, I don't care to dress any nicer than my uniform of t-shirts and jeans.  I don't carry nice purses.  I can't wear jewelery at work and don't much care for it.  I'm low maintenance. 

I do like sales.  I actually love a bargain.  I love when that box on my reciept says:

Total Spent:  $50.00

Total Saved: $150.00

...or something amazing like that.  My dad always tells my mom not to even bother coming home unless she saves more than she spends.  She takes it very seriously and its awesome. 

I love the rush.  Who doesn't like a bit of adrenaline? 

Here are some of my favorite places to shop.

Seven Shopping Havens

• 99¢ Only Stores - I fell in love with this store when I lived in Las Vegas.  I was making lucrative amounts of money, but I loved to spend it at the dollar store.  I have never enjoyed ANY dollar store as much as this one.  Everything is only 99¢ or like 2/99¢ or 3/99¢.  Its easy to know how much you're spending and is really fun to just see how far $10 will take ya.  (hint: ITS REALLY FAR)
• Home Depot - Do I really need to explain this orange heaven?  Have I not explained my massive love enough to you?  Guess not.  Look forward to that post tomorrow then, I guess. 
• Target - My first love.  My first job.  A dream come true, really.  Allow me to explain the ways I used to and still love this place:
  
  • I look amazing in red.  That said, I hate khaki.  
  • I am an excellent ambassador for Target.  Both when they employed me and since then.
  • I still shop there, years after employment.  I know a lot of people who avoid places they used to work as something was ruined for them
  • Normal folks(non target employees) don't know how to read the clearance tags and tell if they are really getting a deal.  Most have caught on as to where to find the clearance shelves though, which is awesome. 
  • Smells the same no matter where you are.  I've been to a target almost everywhere I've traveled and its always a great way to feel like I was back home.  Is that weird?
  • They have the best Black Friday sales, I have been every year for 4 or more.  It is always my first stop and the one I look forward to the most.  
  • You can get everything you need there.  EVERYTHING.  Food, rugs, clothes, drugs, furniture, candy, cat litter, paint rollers, lightbulbs, alcohol, toothbrushes and so on.
• Home Goods - A cousin store to Marshall's.  I've never been to a stand alone Marshall's...I don't think.  I don't even know how I met this store.  I do know that I love it.  I go sporadically to catch the new waves of their stock.  I have so many incredible finds from there.  Stuff I never knew I was looking for but totally needed!  I don't know how to explain my love of this store with mere words.
• Goodwill/Thrift Stores - I like Goodwill.  It has always been my favorite.  I venture into the others but the snob in me really appreciates a certain level of cleanliness and standards.  I find incredible things here and enjoy looking for them even more. 
• IKEA - Haven't I explained this before?  I love this Swedish Yellow & Blue Kingdom.  I think their furniture is great and affordable and allows you to change your style with your lifestyle.  They have bomb-a$$ cinnamon rolls that are ¢heap!!!  Hot dogs too, and mac and cheese and of course those Swedish meatballs.  I'd guess that 80# of my furniture hails from this Mecca.
• Bookmans - A Tucson original with outposts here in Phoenix, this is the best place to go book hunting.  You will never pay full price, mostly about 50% and books are in good condition and there is absolutely something for EVERYONE there.  They have expanded past books into media and other vintage and antique items.  Please, refrain from telling me if you have never been.  I don't even want to know.  You may find more, here.  They also support a lot of great causes and are anti-censorship.  I'm down.

I gotta know where you love to shop!  Tell me all of your secrets!!!  Hit the comments right away!

Seven Freeway Driving Tips

What is today's date? 
10-4.

Does that mean anything to you, out there? 

To me, its the greatest day of the year to flaunt my ridiculous love of Citizens Band(CB) radio jargon.  You heard me. 

Affirmitive, I enjoy this lingo more than I should.

I have put together some tips for driving on the freeway, with a very stong CB jargon influence.  Enjoy!


Or at least, don't laugh at me. 

Seven Freeway Driving Tips (heavily influenced by CB lingo)

1. Don't be a four wheel phone booth.  You know what this means, right?  Don't talk on the phone while you are driving.  To use the phrase in a sentence, try this:  "roger we've got a four wheel phone booth just past the choke and puke on the big 10, steer clear good neighbor"
2. Look out for gators in the road and be careful around the gator guts.  This is the most used CB phrase in my world, outside of the classic "10-4".  A gator is the tread of  a blown out tire in the road.  Gator guts are the shredded remains of a blown out tire.  Guts are mostly harmless and the gators are generally large pieces.  They are truly dangerous, so be careful around gators!
3. Don't be bear bait.  You know what a bear is?  Police.  You know like:  couny mounty, astronaut, blue lights, boy scouts, city kitty, evil knivel, honey bear, kojack with a kodak, paper hangers, and tijuana taxis.  I've had my fair share of bear bites and strongly suggest you avoid getting speeding tickets.   This is coming from a retired jet pilot. 
4. Respect the hammer lane and the granny lanes.  If you feel the need to put the hammer down, ride in the hammer lane - otherwise stick to the granny lane.  Nothing annoys your fellow drivers more than disrespecting these conventions.
5. When you start checking your eyes for pinholes, take a cue and stop at the local nap trap.  Driving when you're tired is never a good plan, stop at a roadside motel and catch a few z's.  
6. Keep your tank full of that go-go juice.  Nobody should run out of gas, if the sign says 50+miles to the next stop, evaluate and maybe refill the tank.  Walking several miles just for some motion lotion is completely preventable.
7.  Don't be a bumper sticker.  Bears will get ya for this, if you don't get yourself into a bit of an ooooops first.  Tailgating is very dangerous especially on the big road where you are often doing the double nickel or more!  Be safe out there!

Devyn out in the Sticker patch - over and out, come back(in the comments)!

I'm not as awesome as you may think, I had to look up a lot of this lingo and was completely helped by this site. 

Seven Best States in the US

Hey you, how you doin'?  Ready for another holiday weekend? I am.

I have to go back to work for a day, and then I have one!  Magic.

In honor of the USA's recent birthday celebration, I shall present the blog entry I had intended on posting on the 4th of July.  I'm getting into the hang of this blogging daily thing, I just need to bank a few posts so its not an "Oh Snap! I need to knock out a bleepin' post today!" before I go to bed...

...at 9pm. Earlier than my grandma...



I love to travel and road trip and just see this great country!  I have been fortunate enough to see my fair share of states and I have a serious goal of seeing all 50 states before I die.  I think I've seen 15?  Seeing  counts as spending a significant amount of time in it, to be determined by ME.  Saw Utah in less than 6 hours.  Check!


The Seven Best States in the US, According to Devyn:

• Tennessee.  Rock and roll all the way!  Elvis Presley's longtime home is here, Graceland is one of my fondest travel memories.  Who can forget the amazing bbq and the sexiest accents to grace my ears?  I belong in Memphis.  
• Arizona. AZ has an unfair advantage because it happens to be my home state.  But with very little true winter weather, sunny skies 90% of the year, and the most amazing monsoons you have ever seen, this state truly is my happy place.  I don't ever wanna live anywhere else!
• Massachusetts.  Hands down, the single most history rich state I have ever visited.  Never knew so much history happened here.  I was fortunate enough to spend a total of almost 3 months in Boston and I feel like I have seen more than the average tourist sees there.  They also happen to have amazing accents here, Harvard=Hahvahhhd.  I also met my first true winter snow season here.  
• Texas.  If my dad is reading this, he will tell you that is all that needs to be said.  He was born in TX and is a proud Texan.  I often call myself 1/4 Mexican, 1/2 Texan and 1/4 mutt.   Another state with a seductive accent to me.  I'll take a tall, dark and handsome cowboy please and thanks.  YEEHAW!
• Missouri.  My grandparents live in a small town in the country here.  I have spent many summers here.  I can truly say I haven't seen a greener state in all my travels.  Trees, grass, nature in mass quantities everywhere you look.  There are Walmarts everywhere too, if you're into that kind of thing. 
• Ohio.  KM is from here and has way more home state pride than I do.  She speaks so highly of it, its hard to not love it like she does.  I went home with her one time and saw a sliver of what makes it so awesome to her.  Wendy's hometown! Yes please.  They also had a huge pile of salt somewhere for the winter.  Look there, that's our salt pile! Jealous.  I don't have a salt pile or a winter that necessitates one...
• Oklahoma.  This made my list simply because I love to drive over the state line and sing "Ooooooooooooooklahmoa where the wind comes sweepin' down the plains..."

Until tomorrow, I bid you goodnight!