Monthly Archives: December 2009
Where Do We Go From Here?
I’m always at a loss after Christmas when there’s that week left between Christmas and New Years. New Year’s Eve is not a holiday I’ve celebrated with much style in many years. Last year I think I was napping at 9pm that night.
Christmas was great this year. I went home again to Tennessee to see the family. Had dinner on Christmas Eve with family at my Mom’s and opened gifts. I got a new set of pots and pans from Mom, cologne and books, money and gift cards. I ate too much and had too many sweets. Brought too much candy home thanks to Sis! Had Christmas Day breakfast with Dad. Visited relatives. Did some “day after” shopping with Mom and Sis and then came home last night. To my surprise, J had already taken down the tree and packed away all the decorations. What a relief because that’s probably what I would have spent today doing.
So, it’s been nice just resting. We tried some new recipes with the new pots and pans. They are awesome. The recipes were too. And then it snowed today, a nice heavy snow with big fluffy snowflakes. And today, right now, I pause to think…Wow, another year has come and gone. There’s only a few days left. The days just take forever sometimes to go by; it’s the years that won’t slow down.
So it’s nice to have time today to pause and think and plan and contemplate next year and what I would like to accomplish.
Coupon Crazy in 2009…and 2010
Well, I’m happy to say that not only did I finish my book reading New Year’s resolution for 2009 just a few weeks ago, but I also managed to clip coupons all year long which was another goal of mine. While I didn’t do a good job of keeping track of the savings, I’m definitely going to do better at that next year. And I’m starting this week since it’s the holiday!
I hit up Shop N Save on Thursday this week since it was a $10 off $50 day. With coupons also, I saved $21.46. I finished up my grocery shopping today and used a total of $21.23 in coupons. That’s $42.69 which is a good start, and I’ve already put that into my savings account whose balance was only $5.00 before today! So, $47.69 is my balance in savings going into the New Year, although I do have my account set up to move $25.00 each month on the 25th from my checking to savings so I will actually go into the New Year with almost $100 in the cookie jar.
I also joined a Coupon Clipping Group last Sunday. They meet once a month. It was great motivation for me to clip and save more. I mailed off $33.00 in rebates this week, all savings I picked up at the first meeting! That will roll into my savings once I get those checks back too! I’m already looking forward to the January meeting.
One more step in the right direction to savings this week was reorganizing the kitchen pantry. Our current pantry was small and very deep so things had a tendency to get lost, and I usually ended up over buying. This morning I came up with the idea of moving some of our basic goods like canned foods and box goods out of the pantry and to the open shelves we have in the kitchen on one wall. The shelves were currently being used to display decorative bowls and platters, but most of the shelves had become a catch all for other stuff and didn’t really look too decorative. J liked the idea so much he reorganized all the shelves while I was out shopping. This will help us not overbuy on stuff, and it makes everything much more organized and accessible. So, in a way, we’ll be saving here too. And I like the Farmer’s Market feel to it. Here’s a pic of the “new” pantry organization…
Stealing Wishes Featured in Out Front Colorado
Thanks again to Jerry Wheeler for reviewing Stealing Wishes in the current edition of Out Front Colorado. While the book review section is a bit upstaged by a shirtless hunk in the ad next to it, the..ahem…exposure is still quite nice, and a 4 star review at that. You’ll find Jerry’s review on page 31.
My review is on page 31 of Out Front in Colorado this month!
2009 Reading Goal Complete!
I just finished my 25th book for the year, which means I actually completed one of my 2009 New Year’s Resolutions. Looking back at the list now, I can’t believe some of the stuff I read this year.
Here’s the complete list if you care to look.
I’ll probably do this again next year, or at least keep a list of the books I read if I don’t set a goal. I’m thinking of creating a list of books I want to read in 2010 instead. We’ll see what mood I’m in the closer we get to December 31st, or how next year goes I guess.
Why You Should Send Christmas Cards
I filled out my Christmas cards today to drop in the mail to family and friends, something I’ve done every year ever since I left home. In this day and age, I think the art and tradition of a greeting card during the holidays is just about dead. We have email to blame for that, don’t you think? 
But anyone who would use email as an excuse for not sending them, should reconsider.
Email is so impersonal. My email box gets so full of ads, junk, jokes, and bill pay confirmations, that I’d be numb to something heartfelt and meaningful received via email at all. Yes, email is quick but most of us don’t even bother to send a holiday greeting that means something. We send Santa jokes, or cookie recipe chain emails; it’s the same stuff every year.
And if you do take the time to send out an e-greeting, chances are it gets deleted sooner or later with all the other virtual letters and junk mail. No one prints out an e-greeting to hang from the mantel or in the doorway, do they?
So, consider these reasons for sending greeting cards…
- Buying stamps and putting mail into the postal system saves jobs for postal workers and keeps the price of stamps from going up more.
- Cards are cheap. Cards made from recycled paper can also be found everywhere these days. And can be recycled again.
- Everyone loves to get a card in the mail. It’s much more personal and meaningful than email, especially during the holidays.
And for those who are worried about being “green,” consider these options for recycling the cards you receive…
- Cut the artwork from the cards to make name tags for gifts or handmade ornaments.
- Most people write on only one side of the card, just under the verse or greeting that’s printed inside. So, cut the cover off, add your own personal verse or greeting to the back, and mail them next year as Christmas postcards. No envelopes needed!
- If you like the artwork on the card, consider framing it for holiday decor. Or if you are giving picture frames for Christmas, take out the department store model pictures and replace them with greeting card pictures to spruce up your gift. Or glue magnets to the back and put them on the fridge for a holiday look.
So, during these fast paced times when we are emailing and texting and buying gifts that won’t mean anything after they are opened, consider preserving the art and tradition of holiday greeting cards. Buy and mail some today!
Is it really December?
So, it’s December 1st and like many, I’m wondering where the heck did the year go? I always look forward to the long Thanksgiving weekend, but this year I was actually ready to go back to work yesterday. It’s odd how you beg for a break when you are at work, but then you are always ready for a change after a while. Always looking forward. Always ready for a change or something new.
But the tree is up and the Santas are out. I’m always happy to see the decorations, hear the holiday music, see the sights and smell the scents of Christmas. I’m out of money and still have shopping to do. Gifts to wrap. Food to make. Cards to sign and mail. But through the hustle of it all, I still try to pause for a moment and actually enjoy it. It’s the one time of the year I never want to see end, although there’s no choice but to keep moving forward just like everything else, right?
Next year is already shaping up to fly by too because the focus will be on us attending classes to get licensed for adoption. We have our autobiographies to write, a life book to put together, interviews, classes once a week for 11 weeks straight. 11 weeks! That’s 2 and half months right there. It’s going to fly by.
Remember being in grade school and it felt like the year was never going to end. The summers were long, and so were the weekends although I spent half my Saturday in bed. Four seasons were so distinct. There was no 70 degree weather in November like there has been this year. What happened to those times? I can’t say I’d want to do them all over again, maybe if I could keep everything I know now, but otherwise, heck no. No reason to go back. Just keep going forward.
We keep going forward.
Life is indeed a journey, but it doesn’t matter where we start or where we end. It’s all the same. But the path in the middle means the world to us, and it’s always different.
Moving forward….
