If I'm online (this time of year) - I'm probably shopping.

Christmas shopping online is something I've been doing since it was possible. I never got the shopping gene, I have always disliked crowded stores, waiting in line to check out, walking from one end of a mall to the other searching for stores and specific items. Not to mention the fact that Christmas shopping where I live is frequently done in snow storms and frigid temperatures. Ugh!

Not my thing.

So as soon as online shopping started to become a thing - I was on it. My porch would be piled high with boxes many days of the Christmas season and I loved it! But it does take more time than people who don't do it, think. I will search for a specific thing for as long as it takes. It's rare I don't find what I am looking for.

Didn't get my tree up until yesterday - a week later than I meant to, and am still finishing up my gift shopping.

Almost done, though!

The cats are pleased because they've never met a Christmas tree they don't want to sleep under. One cat I had who has since passed away, Jake, she used to climb the tree every year. At least once. I miss her, she was a sweet kitty, but I don't miss that!

Hmm .. seeing the picture it looks like I need to fill in some spots with lights. And yes, I need to fill the holes in the wall from where I used to have cat shelves, but the tree. is. up! I feel accomplished!

Do you like to save money?

Do you shop online?  I'm not asking if you shop online as much as I shop online, that would be just silly.  Not many people shop online as much as I do.  Heh.  But when you shop online, do you shop around and try to find the best deals?  

Looking for another purse tonight, there's just something about the right red bag .. ahem .. I found one I liked, took the manufacturer and name of the bag and searched.  A Google search will do, and I usually also do a search at The Find.  It's basically a shopping search site where you can search multiple stores for a single item and see the prices as well.  Very handy.  But I digress from my point.  After finding where the best price was for the bag I wanted, I went to a coupon site by doing a Google search for promo codes.  In this case all I typed was "ebags coupon codes".  There are many coupon sites, some codes work and some don't but it never hurts to type a promo code into a shopping cart, I have been known to try several until I find one that works.  Tonight, ebags had a sale with 20% off many bags.  I pulled a coupon code from Coupon Cabin and punched that in while checking out at ebags.  It gave me a choice - did I want to save 20% with the current sale, or 30% with the coupon code?  Well I'm no dummy, you know what I picked!  But y'know what?  Some stores will allow you more than one coupon code.  So you might find one for 15% off and another for free shipping.  Or better!  

So if you shop online like I do - try not to miss these deals!  It only costs you a little time and it is so worth it.

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They follow me. Really, they do.

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You know that website People of Walmart?  Or some such thing?  I'm not going to link to it, I don't want to be responsible for anyone burning their retinas looking at all those lumps of flesh escaping the bonds that are supposed to restrain them.  And other grody stuff.


I would call my website - People of Walgreens.  Walgreens is the most convenient store for me to pick up anything and everything on my way home from work.  But I always get behind the lady with the raincheck she is using to buy 14 boxes of Kleenex that aren't on sale anymore, when the store just switched to new computerized registers and the gal behind the counter had fits trying to enter anything other than what that computer wanted to ring up.  


Yesterday I stopped to pick up a few things and had to wait while a woman wearing one latex glove searched through the garbage can she demanded from the employee standing there.  What she was looking for, I don't know.  But she came up with what looked like a receipt all balled up into a crumpled mess.  When she smoothed it out she found it was not what she was looking for and stormed out of the store declaring she would just go look in the parking lot.  A few minutes later she was back, still wearing one glove and waving the other - demanding to know why someone had something that she could not find .. now .. or .. she needed to find it or find out why she couldn't.  Or something.  Huh?

May have been lifted from that other store's site

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So yeah.  People of Walgreen's.  Unfortunately I am too much of a wuss to take pictures of people without permission and too afraid to get smacked if I did.  Can't win.

I did something bad. Really bad.

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How many times have I written about shopping on Ambien?  Ha ha so funny, I bought Mighty Putty and bracelets to give me balance and make me stronger, miracle vitamins God knows what else I can't remember right now.  Ambien and I are going to have to part ways.

Tomorrow I am going to have to spend a good part of my day (most likely) on the phone trying to get my money back from one of those "work at home" kind of scams that have a cheesy website with "As seen on CNN and ABC News!" across the top.  I could really be sick right now if I didn't want to cry more.


I had a feeling most of the day today that there was something in the back of my mind, something hanging over my head that wasn't good.  It wasn't definitive and I didn't know where it was coming from.  When I got home and read my email with the 2 receipts totaling something around $300.00 spent, I realized that had to be the bad thing.  I can only assume that I had some reservations when I did it and that left a residual doubt in my mind.  But I DON'T REMEMBER DOING IT.
  
I did though.  Because when I went to the website I could log in to the member section using my email address and a familiar password I use.  No one else could set that up for me.  What makes me so angry is that I know better!  I never would have signed up for something like that if not for the Ambien.  I know those schemes where you pay THEM to earn money are scams.  Straight up.  Good Lord. 

So yes.  I will spend a good part of my day tomorrow working on getting my money back, possibly filing complaints with the appropriate agencies if I can't, and feeling like a MORON.  Might have to make a belated New Year's resolution so in the future I can say - Ambien free since 2011.

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Some years are better than others ..

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Christmas shopping is done. This is the part where every day is Christmas for me, because packages are waiting for me when I get home from work and me being me - I never remember what I am expecting until I open the box!  Oh!  For me?!?


This year however, there have been some annoyances.  I will generally not spend the amount I did at the store I did, except they were offering 40% off if you typed in the code at check out.  It was plastered all over the site, very clearly stated which items were included in the sale and which ones weren't.  Except - when I clicked submit - 40% did not come off my order.  GAH!


Sent an email, received a reply saying I had not typed in the magic word, they were very sorry.  Um .. NO!!!  I know I typed it because for a second I questioned my spelling of the word and then had to laugh because the word was 'holiday'.  I typed it.


Sent another email, politely explaining that I did type the word and being a reputable company I was sure they would address the issue appropriately.  Giant exhale.  Got another email - over a hundred bucks will be credited to my card. Thank you very much.

The other thing?  Another store I don't usually shop at because it is expensive.  For me.  I bought a .. er .. piece of  clothing.  Someone had taken it off the rack somewhere, plastic hanger and all, slipped a thin bag over it and then - the best part - broke off both ends of the hanger INSIDE the piece of clothing, and dropped the whole thing in a box.  It wouldn't have fit if they had left the hanger whole.  !!!!!!!


You KNOW I sent another email for that that one.  One of those - 'character limit 250' things.  I actually don't expect much from this one I mean - I didn't ask for a refund or anything, I have what I ordered but man - you just expect better service from some places, y'know?  I'll let you know what they say. But I say SHEESH!!!!

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Shopping on Ambien

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Wonder what I was thinking?



I know the evening primrose oil is for hair. A friend recommended it for my *sniff* thinning hair. But weight support? So far my legs are supporting my weight. It smells like cinnamon so it can't be all bad. But does anybody have any idea what blueberries have to do with brain support? Although I can use quite a bit of brain help these days.

But uh ... I, who have never dressed a dog in my life - must have been convinced the new grandpuppy needed a pair of jammies. Lilac jammies with little white fluffy sheep on them. Oh and maybe ..? Maybe a pink hoodie. Well - I AM a GRANDMA you know!!

But Ambien just seems to bring all that out. Aren't I just special!?

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Accidentally frugal

I'm an online shopper. Anyone who knows me knows that I would rather research something, search different shops and compare prices all day long on my computer than take one 20 minute run to the store. I really should get out to do some hands on shopping more often because it's not unusual for me to accidentally save money when I do!

Pillows. I needed pillows for the bed in my daughter's/guest room. Taking my life in my hands I went to Wal-Mart. I simply hate that store because it's where people go who bring 12 children and don't watch them, they bring all their relatives and see nothing wrong with blocking an entire aisle while grandma and cousin Anna argue the pros and cons of a certain brand of toilet paper! But I digress.

Pillows. Found 'em! For $2.50 a piece. Should I repeat that? TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS!!! A lady in line behind me when I was paying asked me how much they were and HUGGED me when I told her. I swear! I bought 4. Oh and I checked, they aren't filled with little lead painted children's toys from China either.

After surviving Wal-Mart I went to get my hair cut at my usual Super-Great-Clips-Sams or whatever it is. Not only did the gal do exactly as I asked her to, but when I went to pay - it was only $7.99!!! Normally it's only $12.00 anyway, but there was a HUGE sign on the window I didn't see advertising the special price. I am so unobservant sometimes it's scary.

This is the haircut. I wanted it shorter in back, and longer in the front, leaning towards a bob. I know it's not long enough on the sides yet but she cut the back nice and short so I was happy.

As you can see, taking pictures with cats around can be a challenge.

You can't SEE me!

What?

Oh - and what's up with spell-check on Blogger??? It wants me to split words up and tells me "special" could possibly be spelled "racial"? It's been this way for a while but I swear it's getting worse.

Now I have a reason

I have mentioned this before. But it needs to be said again. If you like to shop online, find a way to do it safely. My recommendation? PayPal plug-in. I used it for a while and I loved it, but then I upgraded to the newest version of Firefox and it wasn’t available. So I just started shopping the old fashioned way, using my debit card wherever I was buying.

The PayPal plug-in puts a P on your toolbar at the top of your screen. When you start to check out in any shop PayPal drops down a box so you can check out with PayPal. Even if it’s a site that does not have the PayPal option normally. But what PayPal does is every time you use this plug-in it generates a virtual credit card number which is tied to the financial information you have supplied only to PayPal. So if you buy things from 10 stores – generally only 1 or 2 will regularly give you the option to use PayPal. If you have the plug-in, you can use it at every one of those sites. And PayPal is reputable and I trust them.

If you have a PayPal account I would suggest signing in and downloading the plug-in. It now works in the newest version of Firefox and IE. It will save receipts for you and everything, it’s really useful. Keep the records of your purchases all in one place, great, huh?

So why am I suggesting this? Because some slimy bottom feeder made a feeble attempt to rip me off. These crooks out there get your credit or debit card info and try it out by sending a tiny charge to it. Like say .90 cents for pizza at 3:00am. If the charge goes through they know they can hunker down and start shopping for what they really want. Luckily the little charge they sent to my card had already been flagged as fraudulent so when it hit my card it sent up red flags. My card was immediately turned off and a message was left on my answering machine at home. Unfortunately I didn’t get the phone message until I had my card denied at the grocery store on my way home from work, and luckily had one, count ‘em one check in my purse to pay for my groceries!

So now I am being issued a new card. Pain. In. The. Butt. But better than having to deal with a bunch of charges and the mess that would have caused. So tonight I went back to PayPal to download the plug-in and found that it WAS available for Firefox now, so you’re looking at (uh .. reading) a happy gal now. No excuses not to be safe. For me anyway.

Practice safe shopping, people! It’s for your own good. Really

Sharing is caring, right?

The lights on the top half of my tree have gone out. And this year I followed all the rules, didn't string more than 3 strands attached to each other, yada yada yada. I am compulsive about this stuff, it's all I can do to not pull stuff down and start over. I guess it could be a new project! But - we will see. Right now I am trying to ignore it, stretching my panic reducing muscles.

I have mentioned several times that I do all of my shopping online and I thought I would give you a tiny run-down of some of my experiences.

1. Worst buying experience: Amazon - Yes they have everything. Yes, if you are looking for a book, a DVD, a blender, it's there. But I am tired of all these affiliates they have attached to them, causing the things you buy to be shipped from all over the place with separate shipping charges. Normally if I am shopping in at one place I try to make sure I buy everything I want from there at one time - so I get any kind of combined shipping they offer. It's just not that simple with Amazon anymore.

2. Best surprise of this shopping season: Meijer - Normally I wouldn't have thought to see if Meijer had a website, there is a store a few miles from here where I don't really shop. But I did an Internet search for a particular item and found it at - you guessed it - Meijer! The item is big, and it is heavy. The description said it was available at the store or the website and I thought - holy cow would I be a moron to pay that kind of shipping when the store is so close. Until I saw the "Free shipping on select orders - click for details". I clicked and was given a coupon code for free shipping if I used any form of a Mastercard. I don't have any credit cards, but my debit card is a Mastercard - bingo! So I was able to buy this large item and have it delivered to my door for no more than if I shlepped down to the store and braved the holiday masses for it. I was pleased.

3. Quickest shipping: Zappos - I bought a pair of shoes there at about 1:30 or 2:00am one Wednesday morning, and actually received the shipment - by 3:30pm THE SAME DAY. And the shipping was FREE. I'm not sure you can beat that.

Fun Finds this year:

perpetual kid - Found some cute stocking stuffers there

Economy Candy - Found some great candy and didn't have to buy huge bulk amounts

B&H Photo and Video - Bought some electronics, good prices and free and fast shipping

Oldies but goodies:

Overstock.com - Bought several things with either really low, or free shipping

See's Candies - Not gourmet but good chocolate and reasonable prices

Calendars.com - This time of year I always need something from here

Etsy - I bought several things from here this year

I can't mention anywhere else I shopped without giving away what I've bought, but these are some good places to shop. And I'm thinking you could probably buy from Zappos all the way up till 2 days before Christmas and STILL get it on time.

Of course, you can't buy everybody shoes, but I'm just sayin'.

Re-la-a-a-x-ing ...

It's a good day. I officially finished my Christmas shopping on Sunday, including stocking stuff. Last night I wrapped my Mom's gifts and today my son mailed the package for me. I have caught up on my blog reading, I have cats sleeping contentedly next to me and a pot of chili cooking on the stove. Ah-h-h.

Oh, and did I mention I have the whole week off work? Yeah. I do. And after that I still have something like 40 hours I am carrying over until next year. Working for the same company for over 20 years definitely has it's benefits. I don't get paid a ton of money but I DO get a lot of vacation time. I earn something like 11 hours every 2 weeks. It seems like every time I turn around I have more time to take. I'm not complaining by any means but sometimes I get a little nervous that one day someone is going to call me and say "about all that vacation time we've given you over the years, it was a mistake." But, until someone finds out - I am home this week, it's snowing like the dickens outside, and I have a great view from the couch.

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**Edited to add - I am sure it is because I was showing off that right after posting the above - I had to go out into a raging blizzard because - see that on the TV? I didn't have as much of that kind of sauce as I thought I did. Karma. For sure.

Gone Shopping

Must finish THIS weekend.

Oops - forgot a title even. I'm seeing a pattern . .

So I never did remember whatever it was I was going to write about the other day. No clue. Don't you just love it when that happens?

It might have had something to do with Christmas though. Every year I ask my kids for Christmas lists. I need help and figure their suggestions are better than anyone else's. But they aren't giving me their lists this year. I know they are 22 and 24 years old but my gosh! What am I supposed to do without those ideas? I might have to give my daughter some Polly Pockets, she did love those once upon a time. And I could get some Legos for my son except I don't think we ever got rid of the ones he had when he was little. Maybe I'll just get them from the garage and clean them up. It would serve both of them right.

Actually Andy did tell me one thing he would like. ONE. And this is from the kid who used to give me a 2 page single-spaced typed list of CDs and DVDs he wanted. But I suppose with all the new forms of media out there - he may not want that stuff anymore.

And my daughter? Dani hemmed and hawed and finally said "I don't really have any . . . wants . . . right now I guess." WHAT????

So I started my shopping today, and I made a dent in it - without the lists. Hear that Dani? It really WILL be a surprise this year! I do most - if not all my shopping online so I'm usually done earlier than other people and I love that part. I get the stressful part out of the way so I can enjoy the season and the decorations and all that goes with it - in peace. Theoretically anyway.

And I keep lists of everything I buy all the way down to the stocking stuffers because with the proven faultiness of my memory - I'm sure I would forget something I bought and it would never make it under the tree. And that would stress me out.

I'm all for a peaceful Christmas season, and it's coming fast. Amazing, isn't it? This year has gone by faster than any I have ever experienced. Weird how that works. Hope it's not just that I've forgotten big chunks of it!!

Champion shopper

How do we end up doing some of the jobs we do? At work, totally unrelated to what I do, somehow I ended up being the employee responsible for ordering the office supplies for my department. Maybe because people knew I was a big online shopper? No, when I started doing it I had a catalogue and an order sheet that I had to fax to the company we shopped from. Sheesh. Didn't realize I had been doing it that long.

Once a month my Outlook calendar reminds me to send out an email to my co-workers asking them if they need anything, that I will be ordering in the next few days and they can email their requests to me. I do my best to find what everyone asks for but doggone it - sometimes even a champion shopper like me comes up short!

Click to see bigger

But I DID try.

Sorry Laura.

How many good byes?

This week has been a lot of getting ready for Dani to leave for school again. This will be her last semester at school, and I wonder whether or not her leaving this time will be permanent. She is renting a house this time, with another girl, no more dorm-life. Here at home she is 5 hours away from her boyfriend, at school - only an hour and a half.

SHE IS TAKING HER BED THIS TIME PEOPLE!

Besides filling the house with boxes and littering the floor with odds and ends - we shopped for cleaning supplies and some kitchen utensils, a few tools, the things she will need in a house as opposed to a dorm room.

But um .. her house is almost as big as mine, and she has no furniture. Her bed, a side table, things like that do not fill a house. Her roommate will be bringing a few things but more is needed. So we did what any good mother/daughter team with no resources does - we went shopping at the curb, giggling and enjoying the heck out of it.

I know I've done it myself, had a piece of furniture that has seen better days but was still usable that I didn't know what to do with when I was ready to replace it. So I have put things out at the curb hoping someone would come by and snatch it up before the garbage collectors did. And it was usually gone before those trucks came rumbling by the next morning.

We managed to find a kitchen table with 4 chairs, an end table and a recliner. The table and chairs need some cleaning but are definitely in college student shape and the recliner is in surprisingly good repair and has no suspicious odors which was a big prerequisite for even making it into the car.

She leaves tomorrow.

I told her that when she graduates from school it would be a really good idea to move home for a few years to save money. That way she won't get stuck renting and can get some money saved, etc. Don't think she's buying it.

I am very proud of her growing up and being so independent. She's smart, has a good head on her shoulders and I'm sure she'll do fine.

But Mom just might miss her. Some.

A bit of advice for the blissfully ignorant.

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate to shop? I seem to be missing that shopping gene. I can shop online like a champ but braving the stores? Not so much.


So what was I, who has worn jeans and gym shoes to work almost every day for the last 20 years (give or take an aberration or two), to do when my company decided to change the dress code? Or maybe it's more like, enforce the dress code, I'm not really sure. It has always differed from department to department and mine has always been relaxed. Very.


I haven't been in a dressing room in years. Literally, unless you count waiting for my daughter to try things on and to oooh and ahhh over her selections.


There really was no choice so my daughter was nice enough to accompany me on a guerrilla shopping trip. OH the humanity! You would think that stores that are trying to sell you clothing would make the lighting and mirrors more flattering, wouldn't you? I mean - almost to the point of making them like fun-house mirrors? I would rather see the distortion than the real thing.


One time a long time ago I went bathing suit shopping with a friend of mine who was a size 3 with breast implants. I should have just shot myself in the head before I even got in the car. THIS shopping trip was worse. I cannot even describe to you my horror.


Dani was upset when I told her she needed to think more about dressing - say - Humpty Dumpty when she made her style recommendations, as opposed to dressing Stacy London. She (Dani not Stacy) is very sensitive and very much a feminist. She hates the fact that I might feel bad about myself because of what the world says I should look like. I ended up assuring her I don't hate myself, I'm way too arrogant for that. But I'm not real fond of how I look.


We soldiered on, laughing (me) so I wouldn't cry, and actually buying more work appropriate attire. I went shopping again by myself after work tonight, and all I really have to do now is get some more shoes and I will be fine for now.


Shoes. Another story entirely. My feet are like Flintstone feet. If you don't know what I mean - watch the cartoon and look at Fred and Barney's feet. Not Wilma or Betty's little Barbie feet. Look at the broad blocky feet that would qualify as a wide wheel base for a car in another life. And then picture them in some cute trendy shoes. Sigh-h-h.


Yeah, I can hear you laughing. I'll have to regale you with that shopping trip next. But in the meantime there may be a lesson to learn from this. Try to expose yourself to dressing room mirrors and shop lighting at least once every few months. Even if you don't buy anything. Stand there and look at yourself, the backs of your legs even. Gah. I know, it's hard. But at least then you won't embarrass your child when she sees you bursting into tears the first time you see what you really look like after avoiding it for so long. (Not to mention throwing yourself on the floor and screaming "WHY?!?!" and blathering on like a backward idiot. Why are you so dramatic?)


She may be permanently scarred, I'm not sure.


Please. Make the shopping I did - as painful as it was - not be in vain. Learn from my mistakes, I beg you.

Brownies, mud mask, and shopping

I’ve written about how I am an online shopper. I will shop online for almost anything I find myself in need of on the internet. The packages get delivered right to your door, what else could you ask for??

But sometimes I do have to leave my house. Sometimes people make me. Like my daughter. She just keeps asking me until it becomes and assumption and then I am doing it. Today? We went to the mall. Have I mentioned how much I hate the mall? Arg-g-h-h-h!!!

Dani has a wedding to go to and needed a dress and shoes and I was quite impressed with how she managed to find some wonderful things and squeezed those sales until they squeeled. She’s a very good shopper.

While we were there I looked around a bit for a birthday I need to find something for but I start to get hives after a while and just have to leave. The mall and I are not friends.

Arriving home I hopped on the computer and while not finding anything for the birthday I was shopping for – I did find something I didn’t buy – but somebody ought to! I’m one of those people who always grabs the brownie that has at least one chewy edge if I can’t get a corner piece that has 2. I love me some chewy edged brownies. While shopping I found a store named Solutions. And this store has a brownie pan to die for. I hardly ever bake – too many cats and I can’t think of a time when I actually NEED a pan of brownies in my house. If I WANT a pan of brownies – it probably is not a time I should have them.

Now THAT'S a brownie pan!! Every piece is an edge piece, yum!!!

Oh and this? This is what happens when a cat has to check out the mud mask on my face before it's dry.

RILEY

You just know that later he had to lick that off his nose. Yuk!

Leave it to me!

You hear about people being guilty of “drunk dialing”. Making phone calls that are inadvisable when they are sober but in most cases – disastrous if they are drunk. I suppose in my younger days I might have done that once or twice. But I’m not a big drinker at this point in my life.

I had a frozen strawberry marguerite at dinner last night. It was fairly strong but then, I’m a lightweight when it comes to booze, so it might have contained enough to get a mouse inebriated for all I know. I could TASTE the alcohol. To me – that’s strong.

After getting home I felt sleepy so I lay down on the couch for maybe an hour and dozed. When I got up I had a headache. Okay, a baby hangover. Seriously. How sad is that?

There was an incident where I was caught “drunk emailing”. I had gotten some really bad news and was quite distraught, drank wine, didn’t eat, and then sat down to email somebody. Oh boy. The talk about that email! “…she didn’t even use spell check!” Yeah, that was me.

Now I have come up with a new one – shopping under the influence! Or something. A couple of months ago my doctor gave me some sleeping medication to see if I wasn’t getting a sound sleep at night. I took it every night for a month but then I starting getting headaches and felt sort of overall under the weather, so I stopped taking them every night. But I did keep them and have taken one here or there more on an “as needed” basis.

Last night having taken that nap I thought oh no, I’m going to be up till 3:00 or 4:00 am. I’ll take one of mother’s little helpers to get to sleep at a more reasonable time.

The last thing I remember is being on my computer while watching Jon and Kate plus 8. I know I saw the same episode more than once and they were answering viewer emails.

This morning (or should I say afternoon) when I got out of bed, fed the cats and made my tea, I sat down in front of my laptop to check my email. I had an automated order confirmation from Amazon. I’m not unfamiliar with seeing those, but this time I had no idea what it could be from!

Imagine my surprise –

"Multiple Blessings: Surviving to Thriving With Twins and Sextuplets"
Kate Gosselin; Hardcover; $13.59

And even better – apparently I pre-ordered – shipping date isn’t until December 2008!

And I have no memory of ordering it, what-so-ever. Hmm-m-m.

I got nothin'

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I have not been reading blogs, currently I have 65 posts in my reader waiting for my attention. I have been Christmas shopping. Who hasn't, right? For the last 4 years or so I have bought everything online and I got a late start this year so I have been playing catch up. For me - the Christmas season does not even approach enjoyable until after I complete my shopping.

I decorated my blog, but not my house. It's midnight and I have clothes to put in the dryer, the dishwasher to run and some other chores before bed. No time for blogs!!!!

Can you say spaz? That would be me right now. I will calm down and be back soon. In the meantime - go back one post and make another snowflake for me. If I had more time right now that's what I would be doing! :)
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And it felt good.

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I really hate feeling like I'm behind. Behind in my household chores, behind in my bills, behind in my work. And I really hate feeling like I'm behind in making jewelry. Christmas is coming up and I.am.behind.

Not only am I behind in making jewelry for my shop, but I am behind in shopping as well. I do all of my Christmas shopping online. I have done it that way for the last few years at least, and I love it. Just can't go for all the crowds during the holidays, all the hustle and bustle does not feel like fun to me. You see people who never come out of their homes until it's time to shop for Christmas, and with good reason. Those same people generally drive, and you really wish they wouldn't.

Anyway, it's already the middle of November and I have not started my shopping yet. I am usually begging my kids for ideas because by this time of the year I have run out of ideas and need some help. But today I received a Christmas list from my daughter, saying she was sure she was too late, that I was probably done shopping by now. Nope. I'm behind. Argh-h-h!

So, getting into the bead room this evening and making some actual progress in the jewelry area feels really good. I made a few bracelets and a few pairs of earrings and will try to get them photographed and listed some time this weekend.

I paid my bills last night, made some jewelry tonight, and tomorrow - I start my holiday shopping.

In the meantime, chandelier earrings abound and here are a few pictures. Not the photos I will list with, but a few snaps to get the idea. So maybe I'm not behind in everything anymore. :)

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