I STAYED IN MY BUDGET

Well, Christmas andHanukkah are over and I’m really pleased with the fact that I stayed within my budget.  It wasn’t easy.

How I did that was by making some pretty tough cuts!  I mainly sent to the children and pretty much explained to the adults that this holiday was going to be pretty sparse.  What I found was that most people really appreciated this.  The last thing they wanted me to do was to give them a gift, thereby making them feel they needed to reciprocate.  Everyone I know is watching their money right now.

If you were unable to stay within your budget, don’t feel bad.  After all, this is the time we give and we love to spoil our loved ones.

Just cut back on other things you might have spent big dollars on…such as, New Years parties. Instead of going out for New Year’s, stay in and have a nice dinner at home.  Have a potluck dinner with friends or just sit in front of the tv with a big bag of popcorn and watch the ball drop.  Have some really great omelettes with great cheese and some really unique toppings.

For New Year’s Day:

Take a drive through the old neighborhoods you grew up in (obviously, provided that you’re in the same general area).  Sometimes, it’s really nice to look at the past in order to really plan for the future.

Take some food or clothing to a family in need.

Watch a sunset.

Listen to great music.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

HAPPY HANUKKAH!

Helping the Homeless

Several years ago, when we lived in a condo overlooking the park, I saw a homeless women dressed in layers of clothing sitting on a bench in the heat of summertime.

She just sat on this bench every day for hour after hour until she left to go wherever she spent her nights. (I was assuming it was a shelter).  My husband and I could see her so clearly from our window and every day we saw her, we were so upset.  She was so dignified looking. I had heard that she had been a teacher.  She never spoke.

Those of us that lived in the area discussed what we felt would be the best way to help her. We had differing opinions. Would we actually be hurting her by calling Social Services?  Was it our responsibility to do our best in finding her a shelter? Would she even want us interfering?

I would take my dog out and, just casually going by her, would drop off water or leftovers from our dinner or some nonperishable food.  One day I saw that someone had actually done something wonderful for her — they had made a care package with things a woman might need:  There was toothpaste and a toothbrush, kotex, soap, etc.

Then, one day she was just gone.  After months of seeing her outside my window, she was gone.  I really hope she found a nice place to stay.

I found the Care Package  such a great idea, I looked up the best things to give to the homeless or to the shelters, I found this excellent list:

Tooth Brush

Tooth Paste

Dental Floss

Bandaids

Underwear

Neosporin Cortisone Cream

Cotton Swabs

Listerine

Deodorant

Razors

Nail Clippers

Baby Wipes

Thick Socks

Batteries

Feminine hygiene products

Anti-diarrhea tablets

CLEANING TOILETS WITH A MASTER’S DEGREE

As I went to clean the toilets in the discount outlet store I’d managed to get a job in, I wondered how it got to this point.  I mean, it wasn’t that I thought I was too good to clean toilets, but I had the enormous student debt to prove that I had at one time thought I could get an interesting job, maybe even one in my field.

Part of my husband’s and my strategies to downsize involved making a  big move.  We moved from a rather expensive condo in a large city to a smaller one-bedroom condo in a small-ish southwestern town.  We were able to start living for about 1/3 of what we had lived on.  It was great…until the job situation reared its ugly head.

I really thought it wouldn’t be that hard to find a job.  It was.  More than that, I had to find something that also gave me health benefits.  As quickly as possible.

After sending out resume after resume and never getting a response, I applied to this discount outlet (Yep, bottom of the bottom) store.  I got the job!  I couldn’t believe it. I have no retail experience and they were willing to take a chance on me.  My life in the fashion industry begins.  Furthermore, all I had to make it was 3 months to get my health insurance.  What more could I want?  Plus, it might be fun helping people pick out clothes, crappy as those clothes were.

I had my choice of being a “regular” worker or a “supervisor’.  The pay difference was huge.  I could make $6.00 an hour as a”regular” worker or $8.00 an hour as a “supervisor”.  Well, set me up with that supervisor job right away. I came to find out that the ‘supervisor’ role just gave me the opportunity to do even more jobs.

So, I started my first day with the ugliest red vest you could imagine  and was given my register ID.  But the register was many days from my first day of learning how to put the clothing out according to their unbelievably complicated grid of clothing placing.  Seriously…they had a map for the clothes. That first day , I worked about 8 hours and it was grueling.  I have a new respect for people working retail.  My feet felt like they were going to never be the same again. Everyone said that I would get used to it.

It was going on 10:00 p.m. when we closed that first day.

I was the lowest one on the totem pole and it was announced that toilet duty was now mine.  CRAP!  I have OCD and never even use a public toilet.  I really freaked out.  I went home and picked up rubber gloves and went back and held my nose and used their antiquated cleaning tools and I really thought I would vomit. (By the way, women are slobs.)  The men’s room was virtually spotless, the women’s room looked like an earthquake, tornado and tsunami hit it all at once. Also, not to be gross, but just WHAT are these women eating?  That bathroom was DISGUSTING!

I lasted on the job 3 weeks.  My feet were so swollen that by the time I gave my Notice to Leave, they were wrapped in ace bandages. By then, any money I made went to a podiatrist to find out why my feet were getting worse every night.  Something about the way my feet are formed would prevent me from ever having a job on my feet.

So, I crawled my way home with nothing having been accomplished except that I can really clean a toilet now.  With latex gloves, of course.

10 HOLIDAY HOSTESS GIFTS UNDER $10.00

  The holidays can become very expensive when you have to buy a host/hostell gift for someone at every party you attend.  Here are some great ideas beyond flowers and wine for gifts under $10.00:

1.  French Milled Soap.  Everyone loves beautiful smelling soaps and we tend not to buy these for ourselves.

This South of France milled soap sells for $8.45.

2. A really nice frame can be bought for less than $10.00.  Even better is to put in pictures you have of the host/hostess.

This  Linear Black Picture Frame is from Amazon.com for $9.15.

3. An address book is a great gift and there are so many that are really colorful and fun.

 This beautifful handbound address book is from etsy.com and  made in acid free board with a gorgeous blue handmade paper. The paper has a pattern of leaves and flowers in gold.

4.  Homemade cookies, candy and cakes.

Everyone loves homemade goodies.  Just buy some pretty bows and a nice clear bag or a beautiful tin.

5.  A beautiful coffee mug.  You could also add some coffee from a gourmet coffee shop.  This mug is from Starbucksstore.com.

This cute mug sells for $6.95.

6.  There are some really beautiful Christmas ornaments that are less than $10.00.

This is from Pottery Barn , sells for $8.00 and THERE’S FREE SHIPPING ON ALL ORNAMENTS!

7.  A couple of unique jams put in a basket with some clear wrap and ribbons.

This is just one of those things that people do not tend to buy for themselves.  If you’re bringing it out of town, try to bring some special regional jams.

8.  Another thing that people tend not to get for themselves is stationery.  There is plenty of really nice stationery for less than $10.00.

I found this lovely Iris Stationery Gift Set at Amazon.com for $8.00.  It comes with 20 sheets and 12 envelopes.

9.  Keepsake/Memory Boxes are really easy to make with just a few items from a Crafts Store.

  I found this one at etsy.com and it sells for $5.00.

10.  For people with dogs or cats or people that just love them, this cute keychain with charms  can be bought for $9.95.

These can be bought Petsmart.com and are available in dog breed specific or ‘dog lover’ and cat charms.

IT’S OFFICE PARTY TIME – VOLUME II

Here are some more great looks for younger women:

You need to take into effect the type of office you work in. Are you in a lawfirm?  Definitely more conservative is in order. Are you in the arts?  Perhaps you’ll get away with more leeway in showing your personality through clothing.

I love this dress from Lulu’s.com.   It is so simple, yet elegant.  Definitely perfect for a conservative office.  Lulu’s description:  “Creamy beige jacquard fabric is absolutely breathtaking with a banded round neckline, tailored half sleeves, and front darts. A black grosgrain ribbon sash frames the pleated skirt and rounded front pockets. Invisible back zipper/hook clasp. Dress is fully lined in cream satin.”

MY TAKE:  You cannot go wrong wearing this ANYWHERE!

This sells for $99.00 and goes from an X-Small to a Large.

Another dress from Lulu’s.com, which is on sale for $39.00 and is really classic and sexy:

Here’s Lulu’s description:

“Stretchy black knit tank dress has a comfortable stretch to it, with a printed ivory faux drop-waist design and matching vertical ivory stripe up left side of dress. Five round black buttons add the perfect amount of sixties style! Unlined. ”

MY TAKE:  Beautiful!  I love the fact that it’s a knit and I would add large silver bangles and long drop sterling earrings with this.

This third dress is Nordstrom.com and sells for 50% off the original price and is on sale for $26.90.

Speechless Pleated Strapless Dress (Juniors)

This is so cute and, if you’re worried about it being too revealing you could put a beaded blazer or cardigan with it.  Here is Nordstrom’s description:  Soft draping and shutter pleats down the front shape the curvaceous fit of a slim, strapless party dress.

• Slips on over head.
• Padded bodice.
• Approx. length from top center front to hem: 27 1/2″.
• Fully lined.
• Polyester/spandex; machine wash.

MY TAKE:  I know that Nordstrom’s is not considered an inexpensive store.  Sometimes I feel that buying an on-sale item at a quality store can be better than a cheaply made item at an inferior store.

IT’S OFFICE PARTY TIME!! Volume I

So for my first post on office party attire, I’m going to begin with PLUS-SIZE DRESSES at a good price.

This first dress is from Igigi.com, a plus-size site with clothing and accessories for women sized 12-32.

This dress is so gorgeous!  It’s not too fancy and it’s just really fun.  I love the black lace coverup.  It’s on sale for $174.99, which is kind of expensive, but this is one of those investment dresses.  There’s so many events you could wear this dress to and this dress was given 5 stars by all of its 11 reviewers.

This red mesh dress from Torrid.com  has  sparkling silver beading sewn high at the empire waist. Features a flirty black tulle ruffle under the skirt.  This sells for $68.50 and goes up to a size 26.

This classic black dress is really perfect for an office party.  It can be worn alone or with some really bold accessories or one  large cocktail ring. This is from Woman Within.com and sells for $29.99 0 $34.99.  It goes up to a size 34W and also comes in pale taupe.

SWAK Designs (Sealed with a kiss) has dresses from 14-36 and they have a really cute LBD section that you really should see.

Maxi dresses are really in right now and this one is so pretty.  It’s sexy while being modest also.  This sells for $69.00 and goes to a size 6X (34/36).This timeless and classic evening gown is adorned with 3 rows of glistening rhinestones. Surplice neckline and empire waist flatters your curves in just the right places. Rhinestone embellishments featured on front of dress.

ME AND MY OCD

OK, I admit to a small propensity toward OCD.  I probably wash my hands an average of 50 times a day.  Although alot of that has to do with the fact that I have an incontinent 18 year old lhasa apsa that smells like death.

Anyway, anyone that knows me knows I never go anywhere without my hand sanitizer; I won’t use a public bathroom unless I know that there is hot water and soap to clean up with afterwards and I never, ever, ever share my food unless it’s done before anyone has put their fork to their lips.

Maybe that is a little bit more than “a propensity”.  However, my friends and husband have gotten used to it over the years and have made allowances for this.

That’s why today was so disturbing to me.

I was doing my regular shopping at my regular large supermarket and buying things from the Deli.  As I was standing there, I noticed this perfectly normal looking middle-aged  woman with a big bandage on her hand going toward the olive bins. Then, I saw her stick her hand in, take an olive out, with the olive juice falling around her, and popped it into her mouth.

Well, let me tell you.

I think I saw red because I use olives from that bin in the one meal I know how to make that actually looks like it takes some skill. It’s this Ethiopian recipe that’s easy to make, but looks really impressive when it comes out of the oven.

I noted this to the Deli woman, saying I’m really turned off to those olives now and she agreed that it was pretty disgusting.  She said, ‘well, if you think that’s bad, you should see people that take the soup lables and slurp soup from the “homemade” soup containers.

What to do?  I’ve already gotten a major fear from buffets, chip dip when I’m not the first to use it (you know the double-dippers) and now olives and soup.

So, is it just me or do you have a problem with this also?  Am I really OCD or just hygienic?  Will this make me never be able to even look at an olive again?

GREAT HANUKKAH MUSIC