Got Rocks?

 

It seemed like blue stones were in order for my cruise.  While I would have liked to purchase a few Larimar or Turquoise pieces to wear on the trip, I refrained.  I spent almost three weeks on disability leave and have had to engage an attorney to fight the denial of my worker's comp claim, so frivolous purchases were not in order.  It is a good thing the trip was already paid for!

My alternative was to go to Michaels and buy some blue "rocks" on sale; and they are literally polished rocks/stones.  These are strung on elastic which made the set of three a bargain for under ten bucks.

My Fabulous Life of Opulence and Luxury - For Real!

So I really did have a luxury experience -- probably the most chi-chi thing we've ever done.  I've been blogging sparsely lately because of my injury/recovery and return to full time work, and then because we were on vacation.  I hate to post that I am not at home because it's not the best move from a security perspective -- so I'll admit it now, we were out of town all last week taking a fabulous cruise vacation in the Caribbean.  The trip was the result of a sales incentive that TBG mostly met.  We had to pay a small portion of the trip and cover tips and local activities.   Our portion of a 7 day cruise, along with airfare, ground transportation, meals and a classic beverage package was around $900.  We upgraded our booze package to a premium offering at $12 each per day.  We tipped close to $400 and then spent under $100 on shore transportation plus a few tacky souvenirs. 

Marvelous Moonpies

Ooooh do I love Moon Pies. When I was a kid, they were Scooter Pies.  They stopped being made, then I guess Little Debbie and other companies picked up the idea later on.  Thank goodness!

If there are any MP fans out there, I want to share two ideas.  First, if you want to up the yum factor, nuke your MP for about 3 - 5 seconds.  What to do it one better?  Nuke for 5 - 7 seconds and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  For extra credit, add rainbow sprinkles!!!

If anyone out there tries this, I want to know what you think.  I'm off to make a MP Sundae now...

Table to Window

After the installation of a new window and the acquisition of  a new bed, something had to be done to at least do a little decorating.  I'm not ready to spend any money in this room.  The new bed was a sleep/orthopedic purchase, the head and foot board a small splurge.  My challenge was to reach a drape solution but not spend any money.

Jeans Too Short?

 I hate it when I get a pair of jeans home and find they are too short!  I don't always try things on when I'm blowing through a thrift store and this pair fell about 3/4 of an inch too short.  Not horrible, but it drove me crazy!  No fear -- I had a solution.  Yes, I could have cut them into shorts, but I wanted something sort of capri length -- but I didn't want to have to hem anything.  My solution was to cut five inches off and start a fringe.

They Eyes Have It...

It was time for new glasses, and by that, I mean I had new vision coverage and in order to get my money's worth, I had to order a pair by the end of the year.

Pinning for the Past

Like many people, I am easily sucked in to Pinterest.  I check out fashion, jewelry, RV interiors, pallet projects, decor, and more -- however, I haven't gone so far to set up my own pins.  I'm content to just look.

Bed Story

 Yes, I am a strong and independent female, but even I realize, it's nice to have a man around the house!  There are things he can do, that I just can't -- or don't want to.  There are things we could both do, but he's willing to do for me on his own.  Then there are things I really want or need to have done but am either too injured, sick, or weak to do.  No matter how tired he is, Tommy will do what he can to make me happy and I count myself the luckiest girl in the world.

Fashion Jewelry

My husband is generally appalled by the amount of time I spend watching jewelry shopping channels and even many of those "Real Housewife" shows.  I'm loath to watch television advertising, so any time there is a commercial break, I flip over to JTV, or scan through HSN, QVC and the like.  I'll hit Bravo sometimes too.  I just have a Jewelry Jones.

Fixing What's Broken

One of my favorite vintage necklaces broke.  It was a double strand of white glass beads, with larger beads separated by tiny ones, and two graduating sizes.  I was heartbroken but knew I wasn't going to give up.

2017

 

It is a new year and with it, I have made new resolutions.  My work life balance was so out of whack in the last few months of 2016, that it negatively impacted my health, which is why I had neglected the blog.  My resolve is to be focused and mindful, disengage from work when I leave for the day, and re-introduce activities that are healthy for my mind and body.

Office Christmas Gifts

I am set with my holiday office gifts and the massive lot of oatmeal and cranberry soap is wrapped up.  I'm dropping these on people's desks when I get in Monday morning.  My crushing workload has me in at 7AM, a couple of hours before most people, so I'll be a sneaky elf.  I figured early December works because we've had the company Christmas party and not all folks are Christian.

Dog Tails

This is my Teddy at 6 weeks.  I can't believe she is over eight and a half years old now!  I am in denial that she is getting older but of course, she is now my age in dog years.... so she is no longer a puppy.  But don't tell her that!

Tabletop - Yellow, Green & White

 This is our table setting for tonight.  We're having Jim (from the Art of Gardening) and his wife (blogless & my BFF) over.  I have made the spinach salad appetizer and TBG is making Alton Brown's meatless stronganoff, featuring portobello mushrooms.  Earlier today, I baked an apple pie for dessert.  Our table is yellow and green, using thrift store, dollar store, Pier 1, supermarket (Wegmans), heirloom and modern bone china, plus every day stainless steel flatware elements.

My Fabulous Life - Tabletop Update

We are eating off the white bone china set I ordered a couple of months back and I wanted to give an update.  I love it!  I wish I had done this sooner.  The  plates and mugs are wonderful.  They are slim so a lot fits in a small space -- great when you have only one cabinet to store it all.  Their size also means filling the dishwasher is simple too.  No clunky mugs on the top level, slim plates below -- and when one piece hits another, they don't chip.  Once in the past, I had a set of Pfatlzgraf  that started chipping almost immediately.

Dream or Reality - A New Bed

I see pretty rooms in magazines and catalogues and would love to have a picture perfect home.  The reality of it, is that I never feel like it's worth it to lay out a lot of money for the sake of decorating.  My dream is to have a well furnished home, but the truth is that I am cheap.

Office Gifts

I stumbled upon the perfect holiday gift for my office-mates.  The department I am working in now is comprised of around 16 people.  Men, women, young, middle aged -- and me (old).  Perusing the Dollar Tree today, looking for liquid soap, I saw a bin of these Shugar Soapworks bars in Oatmeal & Cranberry.  Alas, I didn't find a liquid soap I liked.

Birds & Bucks

I have this bad habit.  If I see something I love that I know I will never have a chance to get my hands on again, I buy it.  Even if it's something I have no use for.  I also have another bad habit (OK, I have lots of them).  I buy stuff I would love for other people to have even if I know it is not something they'd buy for themselves.  This picture is a case in point.

Don't Let Fear Sabotage Your Future

Fear can be a potent motivator.  Sometimes that's good, and other times it works against us.

I am fearful of growing old in poverty, so I save and invest.  While the fear motivates me, I do not let it sidetrack me.  Studies of the fight-or-flight instinct genetically encoded into our brains has shown to have a negative impact on investing.  Rather than riding out ups and downs of the stock market, those who panic pull out when prices drop. If they want back in, they wait until the market looks better -- and end up buying at higher prices.  If those funds had been left in place, they would have realized gains during the rebound that followed.  Continuing to invest during market dips means we are buying low and will realize gains later.   Balancing our investments help us spread the risk so that not everything tanks at the same time.

Saving Maven

Everyone who knows me, knows that I am obsessive about saving.  As amazing as it may seem, now that it's time for me to choose my benefits (health insurance, etc.), I get excited.  My employer offers a defined contribution -- they give you money and you elect the benefits you want.  Sure, I have to pay some of the expense myself, but with some analysis, my choices provide me with a great deal.  Perhaps I drink the benefits Kool-Aide as I set up health care exchanges for a living right now.  I see how employers struggle to do right for their people and how they look evil no matter what because they can't give benefits away for free.  Not to start a political debate, but health care reform was a good thing -- and it has potential to get better.