Saturday, December 15, 2007

In A Long Time

There are only a few things that make me mad in this world. For one when I order a dollar chicken sandwich from McDonald's and specify Mayonnaise only and they proceed to give me a "double checked for accuracy" chicken sandwich with mayonnaise with lettuce. But along with the other things that make me angry nothing is so big or massive that it's not worth laughing at.

Although one thing which really upsets me is when people start their own blog and then go weeks even months without paying any attention to it. Which is where I'm at. I have totally ignored the story I had started which is about Maxx and myself and our wonderful life together. And now it's almost Christmas, last entry Halloween.

So to make up for this I'm going to let you all in on a few things I've learned while doing Christmas shopping this year.

1. There are three classifications of parking spots. We all know the Rock Star spot, the one that's right next to the door or at the front of the aisle. Then there's the Future Rock Star spot these are mid range spots you get, don't worry you're still pretty good at the game of parking but there are those who have mastered it better. And finally there's the State Fair Runner Up. Most popular at Target, these spots are at the end of the lane. Like the real thing these in some circumstances can be better than Rock Stars this is because with a State Fair Runner Up you don't have to worry about all the people surrounding your vehicle as you're backing out plus you get a little extra exercise in.

2. I LOVE Overstock.com. Last year I bought Maxx and myself some clothing that was SUPER inexpensive so this year I decided to look again. While I can't reveal my purchases at this time let me just say that I got $650 worth of gifts for less than $150. And the items are the real deal they aren't knock offs or you don't get something that is a crap version of what you expected. Plus they have EVERYTHING. Okay maybe not the Wii that Monica and Ben just got but EVERYTHING else. Definitely worth looking into next year. Plus shipping is always $2.95 and like every other day around Christmas it's free.

3. When doing online shopping you can save even more with coupon codes. Now there are a lot of websites out there that "promise" to save you money, even the ones featured on the Today show suck bottles. Most of them are badly designed and give you advertisements instead of coupons. But there's one that's the King of them all. RetailMeNot.com is not only nicely designed but it's simple all you do is type in the website you're wanting a coupon for (like Sephora.com). You're then shown the featured discounts that site is offering currently followed by coupons with their codes AS WELL AS the success rate of the coupon. I've found that any coupon with a "green" success rate (above 60%) is pretty good to go. Lower ratings are iffy but still worth trying. Using this website I was able to save an additional $60 on my purchases.

4. It's nice to get people things that fit their personality. As Noel and Celeste mentioned Gifts.com has a personality profiler which is great. I've found that if you search enough sites you will eventually find the ONE site that has the perfect gift. (DISCLAIMER: The gifts you are about to read about are not the gifts being given so if you're a person mentioned I'm not spoiling it for you.) Example: I stumbled on the site PerpetualKid.com and upon browsing found numerous items I loved. They had a really cool Bowling Clock which would be perfect for Jason and Humidor Cologne by Demeter which would be nice for Noel. With just a little time I was able to find two great gifts with out having to do anything other than being patient until I found the right site.

5. PerpetualKid.com got me wondering around the internet for other sites with unusual gifts. I figured I could find something kitschy and cool for everyone on our list. So I started googleing things like "unique gifts". Here's where I did something I'm not so proud of. Although some sites came up that were worthy of my time I quickly realized that I was becoming addicted to the possibility of the next site having something really cool. A couple of hours passed I was somewhere with a name like UncleBobsBarnofGagsGifts.com looking at the 20th Pooping Reindeer I had seen and realized I had crossed the thin line of looking for unique gifts and wasting my time on sites that had NOTHING I was going to be interested in.

6. There's a simple way to tell you need to use your "back" button on the internet. That is if you go to a site that has amongst their categories of products a section listed as Adult Novelties or Toys for Women. It's not good. You don't want to do your Christmas Shopping anywhere that sells an inflatable moose head, pooping reindeer, and vibrators all in one stop. I made the mistake so you don't have too. And to everyone on our Christmas list don't worry no presents were purchased from said sites.

7. Finally it's amazing all that I'm able to do this Christmas. Labor Day weekend Maxx and I realized that we HAD to quit spending money on alcohol and going out. Although we had said this many times we have really stuck to it. With this change not only are we both SUPER productive now the blessings being given to us are amazing. I am busier with parties than I've ever been. Both November and December were great and I am booked every day in January that I'm not at the Dr's office with the exception of 3. Plus my Saturdays are gone into March and I have parties into April. This is only because we decided to stop ignoring our lives and start being honoring of the God Spirits that we are which is much easier done when you don't buy beer half the week. Maxx is also busier at the salon and we're very much enjoying being at home with each other more often. I'm glad we FINALLY made this much needed change in our lives and we would like to thank all of you who had prayed for us over the course of time. Our lives are wonderful as are all of our family and friends. This Holiday season the number one thing I've learned is that it's absolutely fantastic to be an adult be married to your best friend and love daily all of the wonderful things God and the Universe manifest into our lives. Enjoy each other and please above all REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE.

Have a wonderful Holiday and hopefully I'll write again before Memorial Day.