New Year's Eve

My New Year's eve consisted of shopping this morning. Then I came home and cleaned my dining room carpet and vacuumed the big bedroom where I lay in the floor and play with the dogs. It's also where the pilates machine would go if I order one from QVC tonight.

I also took a couple of naps today. One was at 5:30am - I went back to bed after I ate breakfast and let Fritz out and in. Then later, I took a nap because I knew I'd be up late watching QVC.

After I got up from my nap, I went to Mom and Dad's to pick up my Avon order. As you know I have everything shipped to their address so I can hopefully get it without it visiting the neighbors for a week or two first.

I think I'm going to stop ordering from Avon. I need to spend my money on other things. I figured if I say that instead of "I can't afford it" then I'm in keeping with the Law of Attraction.

Beginning Again

Another 5 day weekend began this evening. Yay! I'm off until Monday.

I got an email today from Tracfone telling me that my issue has been resolved. I never did have to enter in any codes to update the phone. Maybe they did it by remote. I left the phone on all day today.

I've had a headache most of the day. I tried to use the Law of Attraction to get rid of it, but so far it hasn't happened. Maybe it just takes a while for my receipt of a pain free head to manifest itself.

I do think the Law of Attraction works. Right now QVC is selling Tiffany Style Lamps. The other day, I happened to think 'when are they going to sell those lamps again?' So, the Law of Attraction must have brought this show to me :) Not that I'm buying any of the lamps. I just like to look at them. In order to attract money to me, I can't say that they are too expensive or that I can't afford them. But I can say there's better ways to spend my money than by buying those lamps.

Coming to An End

Well, this five day vacation is coming to an end. However, another one begins this coming Wednesday. Yes, I work two days and I'm off five more. I really could get used to a schedule like this, but no work would get done at work.

The dogs could get used to this too. I think they will have a hard time when I go back to work and I'm gone all day.

Out of all of my Christmas presents, I've only got the golf book yet to read. I have a stack of romance novels I bought a while back that I still haven't read yet. Maybe I'll get to those during my next 5 day break.

I don't know if I've said it here, but I've been planning to make a pilates machine my last big purchase before going into saving mode. Well, I think I will need to save up and buy seat covers for my new car. I'm getting tired of using the dogs' shedding tool to pick up the lint and fuzz off of my car seats, although the shedding tool does work well.

It's nice to not have to do my laundry today. Since I'm only working two days this week and only worked two days last week, I don't need to do laundry yet. I did wash a load of cleaning towels, dog towels and dog blankets. A ton of dog hair came out of the dryer but they needed washed.

Ecuador

I watched the Ecuador dvd I got for Christmas today. I was doing fine until they got to the deep fried guinea pig. They showed a cute white one living and squealing and I just had to skip some of the program to get past it. This is one of the GlobeTrekker dvds and I've seen it before so I knew it was on there. But, I still didn't like seeing it.

Guess What....

The new tracfone is working. How's that for funny in the ironic kind of way? Just yesterday I posted that I should use "The Secret" to see if I could get the phone working. Well, this morning I turned it on and was playing with it and saw that it had a phone number when the last time I checked it didn't. So, I called the number and it rang. Then I used the tracfone to dial my home number and my home phone rang. Cool, isn't it.

Then I got an email from tracfone telling me that the phone was activated but that they needed to update the phone with some new codes. They asked me to either reply to the email with times that I would be home to take their call or to just call their 1-800 #. So, I replied to the email.

I hope these codes will leave my minutes alone. I added some to the phone today and I hope to keep them.

Shopping: I bought some on sale christmas wrapping paper and bows today. I also got a remote control for outdoor electrical stuff. It's supposed to be used for christmas lights, I think, but I hooked my dusk to dawn light up to it so I don't have to plug it in and unplug it. So far it works. Don't know if it will burn out or anything. I'll have to ask dad how powerful that light is to see if the remote can handle it. I also bought a couple of mugs that were on sale and a couple of cargo cubes that you put in the trunk of your car. I have a milk crate in my car now, but it tears up the grocery bags.

Reading and Reading....

I read the Diana Palmer book I got for Christmas last night. And today I finished reading The Secret, a book I bought at walmart on Tuesday. This book is about the physics law of attraction and how you can use it to bring whatever you want into your life. There's a website for it too and you can google it to check it out. According to the website there are people who have used this to cure their eyesight problems, lose weight, help with relationships, finances etc. I should use it to see if I can get that worthless tracfone activated and working.

I might try that tomorrow.....

I have to go shopping tomorrow morning - regular grocery shopping and checking out the after Christmas sales, if there are any at walmart. But after that, I should be home all day.


Oh goody, I just saw a commercial for the National Body Challenge that's going to be on Discovery Health starting Jan 5th. I like that show but I liked it better when it ran for a whole 15 weeks or so and followed everyone on a weekly basis. Now they've shortened it to a week for everyone. You don't get a chance to get inspired by the participants.

Christmas Celebration

I'm back from Mom and Dad's where we celebrated Christmas today. It was warm and rainy today so I didn't have to worry about snow or ice on the roads. The puppies spent a long time at their Grandma's and Grandpa's. We got there around 8:30am and didn't leave until about 4pm.

Winnie barked and barked and barked. She was very upset because there were strange smells and sounds all over the house and crazy looking boxes in the living room. PJ didn't seem bothered by any of it.

Dinner was good. We had it around noon. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, home made noodles, rolls, cranberry sauce. I only ate turkey, mashed potatoes, noodles and a hot roll. But the rest of it must have been good because Mom and Dad ate quite a bit. PJ begged and begged for food during dinner but Winnie wouldn't even come into the kitchen. It made me wonder if she really is a chihuahua (they usually are masters at begging for food).

Now for the presents: I am so excited about what I got: the ATP Calendar (pro tennis players - some without shirts and some who kinda need to put the shirts back on), a golf book called "The Scorecard Always Lies", two romance novels: Night of the Jaguar by Merline Lovelace and A Long Tall Texas Summer by Diana Palmer (two authors whose books I collect), a Globetrekker DVD of Ecuador (I love the Globetrekker show), a card with $20.00 in it and a little Santa magnet and a cute little stuffed Piggy. This was definitely a squeal with delight Christmas.

Mom and Dad got so many things that I don't think I can remember it all. They were very happy with everything they got. Smiles all around. My sister and brother in law got them a Web-Cam for their computer so they can talk to my niece and nephew. I hooked it up for them, but I don't know the first thing about actually using it. I'm not a web-cam kinda girl.

One cute anecdote from today: Dad said something about who got him something he opened and I said the kids? And he replied, "Jassie and Timmy". As if to differentiate from my kids Winnie and PJ. LOLOL. Because Winnie and PJ did some shopping for Dad too this year.

I brought home some peanut butter fudge, chocolate fudge, and brownies that Dad made. And I ate a bowl of vanilla ice cream for a snack after dinner. I should have brought home some of that ice cream.

And when I got home, Fritz practically cried for Winnie and PJ. He definitely does not like for them to be gone for that long. I think he was worried they weren't coming back. It's good that he likes them that well. Even though he does growl and snap at them at times.

It's a good thing I have four more days off so I can read all of my books I got today. And I'm in the middle of reading The Secret. It's a book about how the physics law of attraction is supposed to affect your whole life, from the kind of job you have to your weight. I read about it in a Womans World magazine and thought it sounded a lot like some beliefs that golfer Nick Faldo has, so I thought I'd read the book.

Now I'm off to see if Walmart is having any kind of after Christmas sale, other than selling their wrapping paper cheap.

Good Sunday

I read three romance novels, took a nap, gave the puppies a bath, washed dishes and did a load of laundry.

Only two days to work this week, then off until next Monday. Yay!!!

Too Much Money Spent

I was balancing my checkbook today and got the bad news that I've spent way too much money lately. I'm hoping to curtail my spending habits after the first of the year, but there is still one big ticket item that I might buy. A pilates machine from QVC. I've wanted one for about the last 5 years. One reason my checkbook looks bad is that I had to pay a whole year's worth of car insurance this month. That's a huge sum.

I took the puppies to mom and dad's today instead of tomorrow since tomorrow's weather is supposed to be worse than today's. Thanks to having half a day off yesterday I was able to go to the store yesterday which freed up my morning today. I also was able to wash my car yesterday. Yay! It needed it. The cat offered her seal of approval by walking on it with muddy feet.

I made another pillow for the puppies today so they don't have to compete for the first pillow I made for the couch. Now they both have pillow room and are very happy.

Tomorrow I might read some of these romance novels I've got stacked up waiting to be read.

Let's see if Blogger will publish this now. I tried before and it wouldn't publish and it lost the original post. I had to re-type everything from memory. Trust me, the original post was much more enjoyable to read.

Sad, Sad News

I read on E! News that Majel Barrett Roddenberry passed away. It's a sad day for all Trekkies everywhere, and all Earth Final Conflict fans and all Andromeda fans.

One of my favorite stories in the Trek universe is the one of the unrequited love between Nurse Chapel and Spock.

Avon Question

If anyone out there reading this blog knows the answer to this question, please either post a comment or email me: When do the prices in the Campaign 1, 2009 Brochure go into effect? I got this brochure with my last online order and apparently Avon never puts the dates on the cover like real life representatives do. Is there a place on the web that will list the sale dates for every campaign?

Calls and Walks

I was able to add a one year card to my existing Tracfone today. This isn't the phone that I can't get activated because Tracfone is a horrible company. This is the phone I've had for a few years. I had an extra one year card for the phone that doesn't work, so I sold it to mom today since she will need to add a year to her phone too.

I got on the treadmill tonight and walked for 50 minutes. The last time I was on the treadmill, I was having that horrible joint pain in November and thought that the treadmill was causing it. So, now that I know what the joint pain is about, I know I can get on the treadmill and just take an Aleve if I feel pain later on.

I needed to get on the treadmill. I spent the whole day eating candy. Chocolate covered peanut clusters. I'm taking the rest of them to work for my co-workers. I've made myself sick on them. Actually, I'm feeling a little bit hungry now. I think I'll wait a while longer and then see what I can find. I've got some applesauce in the kitchen. And some hot cocoa mix. Some orange juice.

Birthday

I had my little birthday party at mom and dad's today. We had cake and ice cream and I got a present from Mom and a few presents from my sister. From Mom I got Lock & Lock storage containers. I was the one to turn her on to Lock & Lock because I kept seeing it on QVC, but Mom was the first in the family to buy some. From my sister, I got a woven basket in the shape of a pig, a pop can cozy with a pig on it, a few little packs of designer chocolate, and a pretty bracelet. The bracelet was a timely gift since I bought a jewelry box on sale at walmart yesterday. The puppies even partook in the festivities - I gave them each a very small amount of chocolate ice cream.

I took the christmas presents to mom and dad's today. Again, they said that I spent too much, even though they don't know what I got them. They should be happy that I have the giving spirit at Christmas. I could be a selfish, give me-give me, type. I know someone like that. It's particularly sad since that person is an adult.

Cold, Cold, Cold

It is very, very cold this morning. About 20 degrees at 8:30am. It was really cold when I got up at 5am. Yesterday, the snow melted off the driveway with no help from me so I will be able to go shopping today. But I'm not going until it warms up. I'm thinking about a 10:00am start. Hopefully, it will be at least 32 by then.

I made more hard candy yesterday and a pillow for the couch. The puppies love the new pillow. They take turns laying on it.

Tomorrow, I'm going to take the Christmas presents I bought for mom and dad to their house so they will have them in case we get some bad weather around Christmas eve. I can always park my car at the main road and get in and out when it snows but I can't carry the christmas presents too. That would be a lot of walking.

Christmas Party

We had our christmas party at work yesterday. Dinner was provided by management and each employee got a gift from management. It was a nice time. One worker whined until she got the gift she wanted. She had marked the box previously so she would know which one had what she wanted in it but another worker got it before she did. So, she pouted and whined until that worker traded with her. That was sad. My present was nice. No photo album. No candle. I got a round metal tin in the shape of a bucket with a lid and inside there was a coffee mug, four packets of hot cocoa mix, two high fiber snack bars, and a packet of hot cider mix - I left the hot cider mix at work. The tin bucket and mug have snowmen on them and I'm not a fan of snowmen, but I can deal with that. The bucket is perfect for the hard candy I've been making.

I'm off tomorrow so I just have today to go. We are supposed to get some snow tonight and tomorrow so it will be nice to stay home and not have to worry about traveling in the bad weather. Even though it's supposed to warm up on Saturday to melt any snow we get, I might go out tomorrow and clean off the driveway anyway. It depends on how much we get.

Update on the Avon order

The order that was being shipped by UPS - the one UPS claimed was delivered yesterday, apparently was delivered to the post office instead of the house. The postal carrier delivered it to the house today. Along with what I purchased, there was another catalog with new sale items, so I just bought some more stuff. I might not have bought anything but I had a free shipping code I could use.

I've Had it With Customer Service

I ordered some stuff from Avon online and it was supposed to be delivered to mom's house. Well, the tracking info claims it was delivered to a dock and signed by someone named Vest. The detailed tracking says it arrived in Charleston, our state capital and not where I live, and that it never left there. So, I don't know where it is. I'm going to give it another day or two and then file a claim online for not getting the package.

This is really ridiculous. What's with all of these people? The US Post Office people didn't deliver a package to my sister's house and now Amazon has to send out a replacement. The UPS people either have bad tracking info online or they misdelivered my Avon order. And you've read all about my troubles with Tracfone.

You know, with all the bad things happening in America - failed banks, failed housing markets, failed auto industry, you'd think people would be trying to do their best in their jobs since jobs are scarce and money is tight. But it's like no one wants to do their job well anymore. It's sad. Americans should take more pride in their work than what they seem to be doing.

Rest of the Day

The puppies and I were able to go to mom and dad's this afternoon. I swept off the driveway, but the sun came out and melted much of it too. Then I waited around until 8pm for my 48 hour deadline with tracfone and after no one called me, I decided I was tired of calling customer service, so I sent an email to something called the Executive Resolution Department. They probably won't do anything either but at least I've done this so I can then say I've done everything when I file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

I tried to make lemon hard candy today but something went wrong. It turned out brown and I think there's a problem with my thermometer. It reached 260 degrees and I put the food coloring in and then the temperature dropped and had to rise again. I was afraid to eat the candy in case there was something really wrong with the thermometer and it leaked or something. I plan to buy a new thermometer tomorrow.

Today was a pain free day. Even after sweeping off the driveway, which is a big job.

We weighed Winnie today at mom and dad's and she's just under 10 pounds. If she goes over 10 pounds I have to start buying separate worm medicine for her. So, she's on a diet. It doesn't help that Dad fed them both about a loaf of bread today. He thinks it's funny. He doesn't have to pay $24.00 for worm medicine.

Staying Home This Morning

Instead of going to mom and dad's this morning, the puppies and I stayed home. We got some snow yesterday and I figured it wasn't worth it to try to go visiting today. The sun's been out this morning and it's already up to 30 degrees so maybe the snow will melt off of the drive way and we can go this afternoon.

I read a romance novel this morning, ordered a present for my nephew's birthday, bought some books from Eharlequin - they are having free shipping on all orders today as part of their 12 days of Christmas. I've done a load of laundry and I'm making some hard candy. I have a batch of orange and cherry. Today I'm going to do Lemon and another batch of orange. I'll either split it all up and give my parents some or I'll be a pig and keep it all. I won't eat it all for a while because there's a lot of it.

Haven't heard anything from tracfone. But I don't expect to. I'll have to call them back. And if nothing is resolved after this 4th phone call, I'll call the executive relations # that I have. They are supposed to resolve problems quickly. It really is absurd that it's going to take at least 4 phone calls and two weeks to get this phone activated.

I did hear from the Discover card people. They wanted to sell me the protection plan service - where if you lose your job they will suspend applying finance charges to your account. The saleswoman just kept trying to enroll me in the plan and I kept telling her no. After maybe 4 or 5 times she finally ended the call. She asked me if I kept a balance on my card and I said no. She said, "This is perfect for you then." And I was thinking, why do I need this protection if I don't have a balance. I can freely lose my job and not have to worry about paying off the credit card. They really don't think these things through when they are writing up their sales scripts.

Found the Book Hole

It was in the walk in closet in the bedroom that my parents used to have when they lived here. It's now a storage closet. The books are in a storage tote that looks just like one that has christmas ornaments in it and I thought both of them contained christmas stuff.

Whoever called this snow we're getting 'a dusting' apparently has the same housekeeping habits that I do because this dusting is about a half an inch thick.

Pain free day

I had a mostly pain free day today without the aid of medication. Yay!! I had one sore spot on the side of my knee but that was it.

I'm working out in the mornings since I now have an extra half hour before work. Just walking in front of the tv, but it's activity. And I'm trying to follow the I Can Make You Thin system. I still snack a little bit, but I haven't over-eaten at meal times and I haven't felt stuffed at all.

I'm glad I have a couple of days off. Last month I spent three days training a new employee who is assigned to a different office. Well, these last two days, he's been emailing me constantly with questions. I can't get my own work done because of this. I told my boss that I'm not training anyone else. He just chuckled. He'll chuckle when he gets yelled at because my work isn't getting done. And I'll chuckle when I remind him and his boss that they are the ones who created this mess to begin with. It isn't like I went looking for someone to train. They sent him to me.

The Tracfone Saga Continues

I got the replacement sim card today. I put it in the phone and called tracfone like I'm supposed to. After 20 minutes and talking to two different people I get the news that I have to wait 24 to 48 hours so they can remove some kind of error from their computer system and then they will call me and I can reactivate the phone. Sure.

When this is all over, I'm sending one heck of an email to tracfone. I don't blame the customer service people because it doesn't appear to be an issue with their knowledge of their jobs. It seems to me that the whole tracfone system itself is screwed up and completely un-customer friendly.

At this point I can only say do not order a tracfone from the website. Maybe you'll have better luck if you buy one from a local store. Good thing I don't need this phone or I'd really be ticked. I'm glad I was smart enough to just try to activate this one without trying to transfer my number and minutes from my other tracfone to this new one. I'd be out both phones and all my minutes. Because I'm sure in all of this mess, they would lose whatever minutes I had on my other phone and wouldn't give them back to me.

The Book Hole

I just realized today that I haven't seen some of my Nora Roberts books during the many, many searches I've conducted through all of my storage containers full of books. I think my Roberts books might be with the Family Secrets books.