Once again, it’s time to make a weekly trip to the local grocery store. I hate to shop, let alone grocery shop. Prices have gone sky high and there seems no end in sight. One can of veggies that went for .49 are now doubled…and that is the store brand or generic. I’m armed with my list, pen and grocery money, but it took me all of last night to figure out what I am going to make for a week’s work of dinners, plus what to buy for the extras that we need. It’s all starting to bum me out a bit, to be honest.
Mail order brides
Have you ever watched any television shows where the theme of the show revolved around mail order brides? I seem to remember a movie a long time ago called “Seven brides for Seven brothers” that revolved around that theme. I remember a Star Trek episode that was dedicated to the adventures of the crew that was transporting a man who was delivering mail order brides to his customers. Every now and then I watch a more recent television show that features the story line around russian brides. Usually the story is a murder-mystery type of show like Law and Order or Elementary.
When the more recent TV shows started to feature stories about mail order brides I have to admit that I was surprised to think that this type of match-making was actually really going on! I find myself wondering how many of these types of marriages become long and happy marriages, and how many of them end in a more unhappy way. I guess that as I gotten older, I’ve become more skeptical about other people’s motivations.
I don’t know how I would react if someone in my family told me that they were getting married to someone they had met online but had never actually spent face-to-face time with that person. I would be very concerned about how they will feel after a few months of reality. I would strongly encourage them to date for as long as possible, and maybe even get a pre-nuptial agreement before the marriage took place. But then that would be meddling, wouldn’t it? Oh dear…
Skin Care
Sometimes my friends and family tell me that they think I am crazy. Over the years I have tried several different Natural and Organic Skin Care and Makeup products, and when they come in a pretty jar, when the jar is empty, I wash and save the jar. (Yes, I am a packrat, but not a hoarder – yet! I actually DO throw some things away, and donate other things to charity organizations like GoodWill and local thrift stores like hospital auxiliary thrift stores!) I have a nice collection of pretty jars.
These jars don’t sit empty forever, though. I like to buy hand and body lotions that come in a pump-style plastic bottle. I like keeping them on the counter-tops beside the bathroom lavatory and the kitchen sink, and pump some lotion on my hands (and rub the lotion on my throat, neck and elbows) after I wash my hands. The lotions that I use are so thick that once the level of the lotion gets too low to pump out, turning the bottle upside down to drain into another bottle does not work.
Rather than throwing out the remaining lotion (there is often more than 1/3 cup of lotion left!) I will take a very sharp kitchen knife and cut the plastic bottle open. Then I use a spatula to scoop out the remaining lotion and deposit it into one of the pretty, empty jars that I had saved. Then I will use that lotion from the jars until that runs out before putting a fresh plastic pump bottle on the counter-top! I like how this saves money and reduces waste of product!
Time flys
This summer seems to be flying by really fast, and it seems that with working so many hours, I’ve missed it. I’ve wanted to do so much this summer, but all of July it seems that I was not feeling well at all. I think it was the heat that got to me. It never bothered me before this year. Is this a sign I’m getting old? (Horrors!!) Anyway, it is already August and where did the days go? Hopefully next summer we can at least take a family vacation. Or at least go on a vacation of some sort, and any of the kids that wish to come, can tag along. They are all into their own thing though, so we’ll see what happens. School starts for two of the kids still at home and I’m figuring my oldest son will also take up some college courses. It’ll be nice to have the house to myself for a few hours during the day when I’m not working. Maybe I can get some deep cleaning done around here. It’s nearly impossible with them at home. Ask for help? Yeah right… lol!
Picnic and Fireworks
Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays because the family always goes down to the elementary school for the town celebration. The fire department sells grilled chicken dinner with potato chips, corn on the cob and cole slaw, there are several local bands playing music to provide entertainment, and when it gets dark the fire department sets off a pretty decent fireworks show. We get to see some of our friends that we haven’t seen in a while, spread a blanket out on the lawn and enjoy the nice weather.
Restful Father’s Day
My father loved to nap on the sofa whenever he got the chance. That made it a challenge to our large family, to let the house be quiet enough for him to sleep – we had a lot of very active and loud kids! We always wished he would nap in his bedroom, and I never understood why he did not do that.
On Father’s Day you could usually find him sleeping on the sofa in the afternoon. When he’d wake up, though, he would take us out to eat a nice dinner at a family steakhouse!
Memorial Day garage sales
Around this area, Memorial Day weekend is the biggest yard, garage, estate and what ever type of sale one could ever want, weekend. I try to get up at the crack of dawn and get whoever is going with me around to be on the streets and roads by 8:00 am. It’s fun to make a girls day out of it. I’ve found though, lately my two sons have been wanting to come along. The problem with them going, is that they get tired of looking and road cruising, and then we have to take them back home.
This weekend, my daughters and I are planing on going to the sales and do some other shopping and errands that need to be done. It should be nice if the weather holds. Even if it doesn’t, I know of a lot of barn sales that are going on also. There are at least three flea markets we can hit that are inside, but with the temperatures staying on the warm side, it’s doubtful many garage sales or even tented sales will shut down.
A very nice Mother’s Day
Mother’s day, my siblings and some of my Mom’s grand children gathered at her house to celebrate Mother’s Day. It was a nice day, with a lot of hugs going around and really great conversations between all of it.
What I loved about this day, was how laid back and peaceful it was. Even my Mom seemed to relax a bit and it was great. Usually she gets a bit antsy when there are a lot of people in her home, even if they are all “us kids” and she knows that we are there for her. She isn’t like that with me, but I go to spend time with her far more than my brothers and sisters do.
Once we got back to our house, the evening is going as smooth and peaceful as the whole day went. All in all, THAT is MY kind of way to spend Mother’s Day.
Looking for a You Tube review
I don’t know about you, but I’ve learned to rely on YouTube for product reviews on several things. Music instruments, for example. I will watch several YouTube videos about a product before deciding whether or not a product might be worth purchasing. Often the video demonstrates the product. So when Bob was telling me that he was thinking about buying a squier acoustic guitar for Jason, I went to YouTube to check out the reviews on the guitar. The only YouTube video I could find about that exact guitar was in Spanish. That was disappointing to me. The title of the video was in English, so I was expecting the guy doing the review to be speaking English.
Going To Visit My Nephew
My sister’s son goes to Stanford University on a Fellowship. This is his second year out there, and my sister has been missing him like crazy. She has been wanting to go visit him but since she is not supposed to drive, it has been a real issue about getting her there. Yes, she can fly from airport to airport, but transportation to and from the airport, and then transportation once she gets there (since her son doesn’t drive) would also be an issue.
Also, there is a matter of where she would stay once she got out there. Her son has a girlfriend that lives with him, and they are sharing a one-bedroom studio apartment. Very tight quarters! I have been thinking about flying out there with her and sharing the expenses. I would love to go and get in some sight-seeing while we are out there! So I’ve been looking around for ways to save money, and found that Motel.com has Palo Alto, CA hotel deals that just might help us with our travel plans. I’m going to pull together some tentative itineraries and deals and show them to my sister, and see what she thinks about the whole idea!