After discovering at my last book club meeting that I was the only member who still wears a slip (we obviously veered away from a discussion of the book when this came up), I decided it’s time to take a poll to see if I’m hopelessly out of date. (Didn’t your mother tell you when you were a little girl to wear a slip so people couldn’t see through your skirt? And it feels so good to have a nice, silky slip against your body.)
Please take the poll below to settle this burning question.
Everyone thinks about certain things in life and speculates why they’re done. Here are some of the things I wonder about (you’ll notice none of them are deep or terribly important…). If you know the reasons behind any of them, feel free to comment!
1) Why do all women’s magazines fill the back of every issue with recipes? (I don’t cook much and just toss the magazine once the recipes start.)
2) Ever notice how women’s magazines tend to have the same subjects on the cover as their competitors do that month? How do they know — are there magazine spies?
3) Why do officials name cities the same name as the country or republic (for example — Djibouti, Djibouti)? They can’t think of a different name for the city?
4) Why do they call individuals in the military “troops”? When I was a kid, we had a troop of Brownies — and that meant a group of people, not one.
5) Why do only men like the 77-year old with the screen name “Fertilizer” contact me on Internet dating sites? (And why on earth would you pick that for your screen name???)
What are the things you wonder about?
My full-time job involves running a corporate communications blog that provides work-related information to employees around the world, and I enjoy it. But writing a personal blog is a lot more entertaining!
The reasons I enjoy personal blogging are:
1) You get to write about things that interest you.
2) You can be creative in choosing subjects to write about and in picking graphics to go with blog posts.
3) You can express your personal opinions and your personality.
4) You can reveal your sense of humor.
5) You have an opportunity to influence people by what you write.
6) You can reminisce about life’s adventures and good times past, as well as hopes and plans for the future, or write about current events.
7) You always have something interesting to think about in your spare time.
8) You look at life differently.
9) You get “likes” and “follows” and comments from “friends-you-haven’t-met-yet.” Positive feedback makes you feel great!
10) You get to communicate with people around the world. (It blows me away to see stats that show people in foreign countries have read my blog posts.)
11) You have FUN!
When you’re a child and a 20-something, you dream of doing many things during your life. Although you don’t formally label it a bucket list — or a lifetime goal — that’s what it is.
What childhood and early adult dreams have you accomplished so far? How did they work out?
Some great bucket list resources are available online at http://bucketlistjourney.net/2011/07/45-inspiring-bucket-lists-that-i-stalk/.
Here are a few of the bucket list items I’m accomplished — comparing the dream vs. the reality: Continue reading
Was reading today about “bucket lists” and found a lot of great resources online with ideas of things to include on your “lifetime goal” list. Check this compilation of bucket lists at http://bucketlistjourney.net/2011/07/45-inspiring-bucket-lists-that-i-stalk.
Here are some items on my bucket list:
1) Take a road trip across the U.S.
2) Try archery
3) Visit every continent and see Egypt and the Greek Isles
4) Get a personal essay article published in a local women’s magazine
5) Go skinny dipping
6) Complete a Ramblin’ Rose mini-triathlon
7) Learn to swim (to do the mini-triathlon)
8) Learn to dance
9) Continue taking a photo a day (have done it for 4 1/2 years so far)
10) See my son finish grad school and get his Ph.D.
11) Find Mr. Right for the rest of my life
12) Do (walk) a color run
13) Visit all 50 states
14) Take a ride on the scenic coastal highway in California
15) Get a white coton de tulear puppy
What’s on your list?
I got the most unexpected and sweet email message last night from R, a childhood friend.
Some background: R and her family lived in a house across the alley from my family’s house all the years I did, from the age of about two through college.
She’s a year younger than I am and, along with my sister, we played outdoors with the other kids in the neighborhood every day for years. (Those were the good ol’ days when you left the house in the morning and only came back for lunch and dinner.)
R lives in Florida now with her husband — and she and I have written several Facebook messages about our families and what’s new with us. R’s mother, Mrs. S, is 95 and it’s been great to see her photo on R’s Facebook page several times. I’ve forwarded them to my parents.
Mrs. S looks almost exactly the way I remember her from childhood (except for the white hair). She was a real seamstress and I remember going to R’s house and her mom would always be sewing dresses and clothes for the two girls, greeting us with pins in her mouth and her glasses on a chain around her neck. Her mom also canned food in their basement – and since I’d never seen anyone in my family do that, it was always fascinating to go to their house and watch the big production when she was in “canning mode.” Mrs. S also had a very distinctive voice when she answered the phone. I bet if she called me today and just said, “Hello,” I’d recognize her voice!
My favorite memory about R is that we waited at the bus stop together all our years of school, and when we were in elementary school, as soon as the bus appeared in the distance, Robin would yell out a little song, “Here COMES the B…U…S!!” Sometimes other people would chime in.
This past summer, R and her sister drove Mrs. S to visit my parents (who also live in Florida, about two hours away), and they had a wonderful time catching up and reminiscing.
Back to the present: In her message, R said that her mom was interested when she told her she saw on Facebook that I started writing a blog with personal stories and posting links to them. (I have no idea which of my Facebook friends read my blog unless they tell me about it or write a comment on the page.) And her mom said, “Is that the girl who got her head stuck in our porch railing?” (Yes…it was…but that’s a whole other blog post…. I did more than my share of dumb things as a kid and remember that experience vividly all these years later (although I can’t remember how they got me out) — but I couldn’t believe her mom remembered, too!)
R started reading the blog posts to her mom – who has low vision – every day. Her mom asked R to write me and say she really enjoys my stories – especially the one about my sister and the mysterious visitor, and the bad date tales! – and to tell me I was “a genius.” They got behind reading the posts while Mrs. S visited her son for a few weeks, but have caught up now.
I’ve been smiling all day today thinking about how nice it was to get that message! And I’m glad that my blog posts entertain Mrs. S – who I have such fond memories of.
It also motivated me to “keep on bloggin’!”
It’s true, isn’t it?
I’ve always been an avid shopper – starting at the age of ten. My mom and sister and I would go to the big department stores in downtown Pittsburgh and split up and meet in a few hours. The stores were close together, but in between them, I discovered a used book store. What a treat! They had shelf after shelf of paperback books for an incredibly low price; the only catch was, for some reason they had to remove the book’s front cover. No big deal; the rest of the book was there!
Over the years, I’ve discovered yard sales and thrift stores — fabulous places to find bargains, in addition to great sales at discount and department stores. And I’m so grateful for all the wonderful, low-cost things I’ve found!
I’ll never forget some of the best bargains of my life – and what I paid for them:
1) A set of matching end tables for $2 each, bought from a yard sale and used in my living room during most of the years my son was growing up
2) A beautiful cherry wood octagonal end table – bought for $25 at a yard sale — which is still in my living room. My friend, who was with me when I bought it, was mortified. I had been laid off and told the seller about my plight, asking if he’d come down in price to $25. His advice to me was to get a job in a prison – which is where he worked – but I did walk away with the end table. (And MEK keeps asking me when I’m going to apply for a prison job…)
3) 
Numerous framed prints (see tips in my blog post on how you can save a ton of money on framed prints, too). Have never paid more than $15 each for any of them.
4) Jewelry – necklaces, bracelets and earrings. My favorite story about bargain jewelry is when my friend C and I went to a yard sale and I showed her this thick, gold necklace that I loved. Then she bought it! I was a little miffed because she’d never done anything like that before, but I found out why she did it on Christmas when I opened my present from her — and there it was.
5) My solid wood living room coffee table, bought for $20. 
6) A ton of some of my very favorite clothes and shoes. Need a separate blog post for those!
7) Wedding reception items. I planned and coordinated my son’s wedding and bought all the glassware for the reception at yard sales and thrift stores. Got boxes of bar quality drinking glasses, lots of beautiful glass serving dishes, vases, decorations and more. For details, see my ebook “How to Have a $30,000 Wedding for Less Than $10,000” on amazon.com.
8) Lawn equipment, including a $2 Scott spreader, a $10 machine that rolls across the lawn and picks up leaves in a canvas sack, an inexpensive blower, a couple edgers and a FREE push lawn mower.
9) 
Many lamps for less than $5 each. Attractive lamps bought from a yard sale or thrift store cost way less than a single lampshade bought at a “regular” store!
10) Scrapbooking supplies. Have had the good fortune to go to yard sales of women who were getting out of the Creative Memories home consultant/party business and bought their remaining inventories for a song.
11) Piano sheet music. Got a big box full for $1.
12) Shower curtains. Bought at least three of them – one beige, one pink, one yellow – in perfect condition for $2 each, and later saw one just like the pink one in Target selling for $24.98 (see photo above).
13) A sturdy Good Wood kitchen table and six chairs for $50. The top was a little marred, but I put cute tablecloths on it and nobody knows the difference.
14) Suitcases. Have bought several nothing-wrong-with-them rolling suitcases – all for less than $10 each.
15) 
Chest of drawers (formerly a diaper-changing unit) for $20.
16) A file cabinet in excellent condition for $15.
17) Several carpet runners for $5 each. 
18) A sturdy TV stand ($15), about five bookcases and a couple wooden wardrobes (none for more than $10 each).
19) Books – hundred of them. At $1 for hardbacks and $.50 for paperbacks, that was a huge savings, since I’m an avid reader!
20) Porch furniture. Bought a white rattan chair ($10) and a brown rattan loveseat and table for $25.
As you see, there’s almost nothing you can’t get at a great price if you’re willing to get out there and look for treasures!
Related blog posts:
Thrift Store Treasures #2: Bare Traps Sandals — Love Them!
How to Get the Best Price Ever on Cottonelle TP
Save Money by Doing Your Own Pest Control
Make an Inexpensive Christmas Gift for Less Than $5
Money Saving Christmas Gift Idea #2 – Zip it Drain Cleaner
Money Saving Christmas Gift Idea #1 – Extend Your Beauty Tool
You Can Make Someone You Love the Best Gift Ever — at No Cost
Cute Halloween Window Decorations for Only $1
I Adore the Dollar Store
How to Add a Low-Cost Reading Rack to a Treadmill to Make Walking More Fun
Decorating Your Home with Extremely Low Cost Framed Prints – Part #2
How to Decorate Your Home with Extremely Low-Cost Framed Prints
Zip It Drain Cleaner – a Product to Love
I once met a man from an online dating site for a Coke at a local restaurant. His profile said he was an engineer — and I envisioned a well-educated professional. Since I was married to, and normally date, blue-collar guys, I was kind of excited.
When my “date” began his monologue, he told me he was an engineer in a hotel — the guy who fixes things that break. OK.
He also said he had a second job since he was in a bad financial situation and that he worked in the deli at a local grocery store.
Then he kept talking.
He talked and talked and talked and talked some more. I politely smiled and nodded, saying “um hum” and showing interest while he didn’t pause to take a breath. He never once asked me a single thing about myself, so I didn’t get to utter a single sentence.
After 45-60 minutes of non-stop oration, his cell phone (mercifully) rang. He answered and said it was an urgent call from his boss — not on his “real” job at the hotel — but at the BiLo deli. He had to leave immediately to handle a deli emergency … (What? They ran out of ham?)
And I (gleefully) watched him rush away …
So much for my fantasy of enjoying a stimulating conversation with a brainy engineer in a suit and tie. This was more like meeting a man wearing an apron and a plastic deli cap who just returned from a desert island and hadn’t talked to anyone for a month.
When he contacted me to go out again, I declined.
***
Other bad date posts:
Online Dating Horror Story #1: Don’t Be Cruel
Online Dating Horror Story #2: Way Too Hairy
Online Dating Horror Story #3: Thunder and Lightning
Online Dating Horror Story #5: First Date with a Doctor and his Son at a Swimming Pool
Online Dating Horror Story #6: A Walk on the Beach Goes Terribly Wrong
Online Dating Horror Story #7: You Live WHERE?
Online Paper Bag Speed Dating: Would You Do It?
Dilemma: Old Flames in Family Photos
GOOD Dating Stories:
Memories of Good Times with Tom (We Met, We Laughed, We Acted Like Third-Graders)
Years ago, I met a man from an online dating site at a fast-food restaurant for a Coke. It turned out to be me listening to an hour-and-a-half monologue. (That happens a lot and I’m too mannerly — or dumb — to just get up and leave. Guess I feel sorry for the guys, even though it is incredibly self-centered and rude.) Continue reading
