Friday, May 29, 2009
Help! Help! Help!
I need a good housekeeper for two residences. I cannot seem to keep up with life. I am exhausted. Yesterday, I slept 11 hours 54 minutes.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
What We Could Have Had: I Need This! I Need This!
These arrived in the mail today. All were too wide. I will return all, except the Naturalizers (mustard sandals); they fit best. I wear 10AA. All the shoes are size 10AA, but fit more like 10M. The Haven (red slides) fit more like 10W! The Haven may have been mis-sized. Nordstrom no longer have the 10N, so I cannot exchange them for another 10N. I shall try to find them somewhere else.
Meet the Millionaire Next Door
Monday, May 25, 2009
The book by Thomas Stanley is one of my bi-annual reads. Since it was published in 1998 the stats are dated, but the theory makes a lot of sense.
I remember when a few of my less frugal friends "strongly encouraged" me to buy a vehicle before I was ready-DUMB, rather than sharing a car - SMART. Well, well. I shared and saved enough to pay three months short of cash for a three year old Jaguar. Those same helpful,less frugal folks are now stuck with five year notes with eight or nine percent finance rates on a lesser quality car and will repeat the cycle in about five to seven years. How smart is that?
I know I am frugal. I keep trying to be even more frugal. I know there is room for improvement.
-I do not have cable.
-Do not own a large screen television.
-Purchase pre-owned cars every 12 years.
-Pay cash for most everything. (I have a mortgage.)
-Drink filtered water. No plastic water bottles. I have a table top filter for the water I drink at work.
-Only see movies at the theatre with free passes.
-'Got Netflix.
-Five retirement plans.
-Drive slow and plan trips.
-Save gas by shopping on line with free shipping and returns.
-Stock up on toiletries when on sale and only purchase from discount stores.
-Purchase all clothing on sale, with the exception of shoes. (I wear 10AA; sometimes AAA.)
-Do not eat meat.
-Drink only water, soy milk, and ginger tea.
-Do not use condiments, nor bottled seasoning except cinnamon, curry, or ginger.
-Eat out once a month. If more, I compensate somewhere else.
-Brown bag it at work. (I have eaten out for lunch only three times in eight months.)
-Hang dry most items.
-Hand wash as many items as possible. It may use more water, but saves clothes in the long run.)
-Use gas, rather than electric appliances.
-Use my debit card (cash)for even purchases less than a dollar. Yes! You are reading correctly. My bank gives me .25 points to a dollar. When I get enough points, I redeem them for gift cards for myself to buy things already on my list, not EXTRA stuff or to give as baby shower, birthday, and other special occasion gifts. (Marshalls, Target, Exxon, are a few.)
-Check out books from the public library, rather than purchase. (Every room in my house has a book shelf, even the bath.)
-Use the Internet for banking, long distancing, etc...
-Cell phone is only on after 9:00 p.m. and weekends.
-Purchase veggies and soy milk from the 99 Cent Store.
What My Value System Dictates
-Spend money on charity, education, and travel. No arguments.
BTW, travel abroad includes roughing it with public transportation, no frills hotel until the last two nights, and native, not tourist restaurants.
Room for Growth: What do I do to splurge?
I know I must get better at this. The following is what most can do without or lessen, but, I do not.
-Healthcare for pets. Since I cannot speak puppytalk, we usually show up at Dr. Palma's everytime a sneeze occurs.
-Drive to Austin to shop at Tesoros.
-Housekeeper and yard crew.
-Wrinkle cream, mani\pedis, and hair salon. (Average $180 per month.) This is the biggie!!!!Help! Help!
-Attend concerts and the theatre. (I will pay up to $500 for U2, B.B. King, Stones, and Elton tickets. I would for Phillip Glass, but there never seems to be a demand.)
-Shoe shopping sprees at Saks, Nordstrom, Shoebuy, Brucette's, Marshalls, and J. Renee. I love shoes!
-Accessory sprees at Charming Charlie, Forever 21, Zen's, World Market, Sam Moon, and Ebay.
-Other sprees at Whole Foods, Farmers' Market at Rice U.
Improvements
-Instead of $27 foundation, I have found the same quality for $9.99.
-Old:Makeup remover & toner; New:just apple cider vinegar
-From Purchasing plastic water bottles to using table top water pitcher
The book by Thomas Stanley is one of my bi-annual reads. Since it was published in 1998 the stats are dated, but the theory makes a lot of sense.
I remember when a few of my less frugal friends "strongly encouraged" me to buy a vehicle before I was ready-DUMB, rather than sharing a car - SMART. Well, well. I shared and saved enough to pay three months short of cash for a three year old Jaguar. Those same helpful,less frugal folks are now stuck with five year notes with eight or nine percent finance rates on a lesser quality car and will repeat the cycle in about five to seven years. How smart is that?
I know I am frugal. I keep trying to be even more frugal. I know there is room for improvement.
-I do not have cable.
-Do not own a large screen television.
-Purchase pre-owned cars every 12 years.
-Pay cash for most everything. (I have a mortgage.)
-Drink filtered water. No plastic water bottles. I have a table top filter for the water I drink at work.
-Only see movies at the theatre with free passes.
-'Got Netflix.
-Five retirement plans.
-Drive slow and plan trips.
-Save gas by shopping on line with free shipping and returns.
-Stock up on toiletries when on sale and only purchase from discount stores.
-Purchase all clothing on sale, with the exception of shoes. (I wear 10AA; sometimes AAA.)
-Do not eat meat.
-Drink only water, soy milk, and ginger tea.
-Do not use condiments, nor bottled seasoning except cinnamon, curry, or ginger.
-Eat out once a month. If more, I compensate somewhere else.
-Brown bag it at work. (I have eaten out for lunch only three times in eight months.)
-Hang dry most items.
-Hand wash as many items as possible. It may use more water, but saves clothes in the long run.)
-Use gas, rather than electric appliances.
-Use my debit card (cash)for even purchases less than a dollar. Yes! You are reading correctly. My bank gives me .25 points to a dollar. When I get enough points, I redeem them for gift cards for myself to buy things already on my list, not EXTRA stuff or to give as baby shower, birthday, and other special occasion gifts. (Marshalls, Target, Exxon, are a few.)
-Check out books from the public library, rather than purchase. (Every room in my house has a book shelf, even the bath.)
-Use the Internet for banking, long distancing, etc...
-Cell phone is only on after 9:00 p.m. and weekends.
-Purchase veggies and soy milk from the 99 Cent Store.
What My Value System Dictates
-Spend money on charity, education, and travel. No arguments.
BTW, travel abroad includes roughing it with public transportation, no frills hotel until the last two nights, and native, not tourist restaurants.
Room for Growth: What do I do to splurge?
I know I must get better at this. The following is what most can do without or lessen, but, I do not.
-Healthcare for pets. Since I cannot speak puppytalk, we usually show up at Dr. Palma's everytime a sneeze occurs.
-Drive to Austin to shop at Tesoros.
-Housekeeper and yard crew.
-Wrinkle cream, mani\pedis, and hair salon. (Average $180 per month.) This is the biggie!!!!Help! Help!
-Attend concerts and the theatre. (I will pay up to $500 for U2, B.B. King, Stones, and Elton tickets. I would for Phillip Glass, but there never seems to be a demand.)
-Shoe shopping sprees at Saks, Nordstrom, Shoebuy, Brucette's, Marshalls, and J. Renee. I love shoes!
-Accessory sprees at Charming Charlie, Forever 21, Zen's, World Market, Sam Moon, and Ebay.
-Other sprees at Whole Foods, Farmers' Market at Rice U.
Improvements
-Instead of $27 foundation, I have found the same quality for $9.99.
-Old:Makeup remover & toner; New:just apple cider vinegar
-From Purchasing plastic water bottles to using table top water pitcher
Sunday, May 24, 2009
NAACP Celebrates 100 Years! & Man's Best Friend
Tonight, I attended the NAACP's ACT-SO Awards and Scholarship Program. So proud I am to have witnessed African American teenagers awarded honors in physics, oratory, poetry, etc...rather than the stereotypical category of athletics. There were over 400 people in attendance. One would think that in a city as large as Houston, such an event would be covered in the local main stream media. One of the winners in the Video/Film category is Man's Best Friend; a documentary about stray dogs on Houston's streets.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
More Crushes
A few weeks ago, I completed one of those Facebook "Which Celebrity Should I Marry Quizes". I was so floored with the result. It was as if they posess the ability to scan my heart. The result was Jude Law!!!! I have been crushing on him for years!!! Now if only this could happen!!!
The past two days:
-BJ's PVD surgery was almost 4.5 hours rather than 1
-WGH went not to regular doc, but nurse practioner after 2nd EMS visit
-WGH decided to go to dentist! Whew! Wee!
-ES is still recuperating from heart surgery, but in pain
-Due to a series of events, I am home now, rather than chaperoning the prom. Maybe I'll have time for some virtual fondling on Enid Collins on eBay.
- I hope everything turns out OK for Mattress Mack. Even though, I never shopped at Gallery because I disagree with some of his political contributions,his philanthropic actions prove that he is a good and caring person.
While surfing fashion blogs, I found more Tom Waits. I interpret the first photograph as Tom's nod to Christianity.
The past two days:
-BJ's PVD surgery was almost 4.5 hours rather than 1
-WGH went not to regular doc, but nurse practioner after 2nd EMS visit
-WGH decided to go to dentist! Whew! Wee!
-ES is still recuperating from heart surgery, but in pain
-Due to a series of events, I am home now, rather than chaperoning the prom. Maybe I'll have time for some virtual fondling on Enid Collins on eBay.
- I hope everything turns out OK for Mattress Mack. Even though, I never shopped at Gallery because I disagree with some of his political contributions,his philanthropic actions prove that he is a good and caring person.
While surfing fashion blogs, I found more Tom Waits. I interpret the first photograph as Tom's nod to Christianity.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
When a Love Affair Becomes an Obsession: Then There Were Three
I am now resuming my love affair with Enid Collins. By 1994 I had over a dozen Enid Collins bags. The operative word here is "had". Now I own three handbags. Please take my advice; NEVER, EVER put a non-fashion conscious male in charge of placing your collectables in storage. I started collecting in 1986 when I could purchase most bags for under $20. Now, I must start over. All you folks who know and love me, create an ebay account and let the spoiling begin.
The Past Few Days
I attended a Desperate Housewives party. Not a viewing party, but, the kind where the females on my block meet and you know... The next night when the actual show was broadcast, I did my usual "viewing" thing. This time was even more special because it was the two hour season finale! I liked the allusion to Norman Bates at the end.
I was a hostess at a literary function. The first guest to arrive was from England. I really enjoyed our visit. Her next work is coming out soon. It was due this month, but had some delays. Pauline , I really enjoyed meeting you. I shall be in touch soon.
Our Houston area professional organization had our annual awards luncheon. I regret that I had to leave early, before I had a chance to do my part on the agenda. I even missed dessert. I can be sure I will be on the program next year. I shall be president for 2010 - 2011. I think I'll start planning our 2010 winter holiday party, our 2011 legislative visit, and our 2011 awards luncheon, now.
The Past Few Days
I attended a Desperate Housewives party. Not a viewing party, but, the kind where the females on my block meet and you know... The next night when the actual show was broadcast, I did my usual "viewing" thing. This time was even more special because it was the two hour season finale! I liked the allusion to Norman Bates at the end.
I was a hostess at a literary function. The first guest to arrive was from England. I really enjoyed our visit. Her next work is coming out soon. It was due this month, but had some delays. Pauline , I really enjoyed meeting you. I shall be in touch soon.
Our Houston area professional organization had our annual awards luncheon. I regret that I had to leave early, before I had a chance to do my part on the agenda. I even missed dessert. I can be sure I will be on the program next year. I shall be president for 2010 - 2011. I think I'll start planning our 2010 winter holiday party, our 2011 legislative visit, and our 2011 awards luncheon, now.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
I'm Back!!!
I took time off to deal with a family member's illness and and my own illness.
Since I've been gone:
(11 weeks;11 events,not in any particular order)
1. Had a special spa day; hair,mesage,mani/pedi,& day ensemble. I enjoy being a girl.
2. Went out of town, six times in as many weeks.
3. Saw Bob Schiably Bob, it was so wonderful to see you again! I LOVE you.
4. Two loved ones underwent open heart surgery. B and E, I love, you, much.
5. Missed a day of work, due to an N1H1 scare. Yes, I had a fever.
6. Ordered to take physical therapy.
7. Hired a new housekeeper.
8. Attended Stanton Welch's Mediaeval Baebes.
9. Scored U2 tickets! This was an early birthday present to me. I wonder if Bono received that Blackberry for his birthday? The news broke the same day as his/our birthday. I bought myself 12 pair of shoes. One fave is the green Gabriella Rocha, pictured.
10. Was stalked AGAIN by an ex. Do not worry,he seems harmless.
11. Discovered that one of my former assistants confessed to murder. I am experiencing insomnia over this.
(Please do not conclude that #11 sums my ability to judge character and that it may affect a future consequence of #10.)
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