A Quick Update

It's been an age since I posted anything, mostly because it's been a kind of sucky month so far... 

• Hubby and I were sick on our cruise, felt better by the time we got home, then caught some sort of respiratory virus lite edition which lasted about a week
• Some friends came to visit; both caught the flu and were sick for about two weeks
• People I work with: one was just convicted of killing his wife, one just got arrested for a long list of horrific crimes against children, and one young mother was just got a terminal illness diagnosis  :(  :(  :(
• Our country is careening towards tyranny (I certainly didn't have invade Venezuela, Greenland, and Canada on my bingo card this year!)
• And prices are out of control (we took our friends out to dinner and the wife ordered a steak with a lobster tail as an add on. It was listed at market rate but since when is market rate $48 for a three ounce lobster tail??? Fortunately the entire bill was free with hubby's poker comps but $50 for parking at the casino (free for hubby), $400+ for a basic dinner for four people, $10 for a Starbucks drink, and minimum play on the blackjack table was $50...no wonder people are avoiding Vegas like the plague!

On a happy note...

• One friend was worried a biopsy she had done would be cancerous and it wasn't so that was good news
• Another friend gave me a bulb in a wax ball (above) which said not to water it, just leave it in a warm, non-sunny spot and two months later these pretty flowers bloomed
• Our weather has been amazing good all winter. If you are in the path of the winter storm set to hit the US this weekend, I hope you are warm and safe in your home!

Dollar Day at the Goodwill

Mondays are Dollar Days at the Goodwill...

So of course we only picked items with blue tags and ended up with these items...

An Old Navy dress and shoes for $2 total...

A simple black dress and heels for $2 total...

Pants and a top for $2 total...

And another top to go with the same pants for $1...

I love shopping at the Goodwill!

Lounging

We haven't left the house in three days, mostly because the weather has looked like this ^ since we returned from vacation, also because the SIL is visiting and she has been feeling under the weather, and I guess it is also taking us a while to recuperate from our vacation.

It will be back to work mode tomorrow (with a mountain of emails to answer and meetings to prep for) but it will be nice to get back into the work groove.

We really want to buy a single-level home but prices here are outrageous (half million dollars plus, and those houses will need all new flooring, all new paint, etc). eeekkk 

Finally, does anyone know what happened to Linda from Practical Parsimony? I know this question was asked on another blog but when I went back to see the answers to this question, I couldn't find the post. She used to post and comment almost daily but she has been MIA for a but so I am worried about her.

Have a happy rest of your weekend!

Welcome 2026!

Even though we live in a New Year's Eve hotspot, we barely stayed awake until midnight to welcome the new year--safely and quietly--at home. On a happy note, it was pouring rain here all evening so our pyromaniac neighbors were unable to burn our house down, despite their best efforts, with their professional-grade fireworks (it literally sounded like bombs going off right outside our windows but the rain kept the landscaping and homes from going up in flames). So, we are off to a good start!

For the first time in...ever...I have decided that this year I will not set any new year's resolutions. Usually I set a list of resolutions then within days I blow most or all of them, so my resolution for this year is to make no resolutions!

Here are some useful links...

• 2026 Celestial Events
• 2026 Public Domain Day List
• 2026 Free Entry Days to the National Parks
• 300+ Birthday Freebies and Discounts for 2026
• July 4. 2026 will be America's 250th Birthday

A (Belated) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

First, I want to wish you all a belated Merry Christmas. We just got back from a 16-night Hawaii cruise and with internet on the ship costing $35(!!) a day, frugal me couldn't, on principle, cough up that kind of money just to write a blog post  :)

The cruise was actually one of the most meh cruises we have done. We only had four port stops so lots of sea days (meh), lots of people were seasick because we bounced from Hawaii to the US on rough seas, the food was just OK, the entertainment just OK, and hubby and I (along with many other passengers and crew) picked up some kind of respiratory virus that had us coughing and sniveling during a majority of our cruise (meh again). To top it off, there was really no "Christmas vibe" which made for a pretty meh Christmas. I don't want to sound too whiney because many people would love to go on such a long cruise, but for us, the cruise ship "experience" over the years has gone from great to just OK. Of course, the staff was still wonderful as always.

Needless to say, we are happily home and settling back into our routine before the new year. I wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year!

A Quick Catch-Up

It's been super busy around here!

• National Finals Rodeo is in town and there are cowboys everywhere!
• Work is busy but should slow down in a week or so. More than a dozen people that I work with are retiring and several have been laid off so the number of bounce-back emails has been startling.
• It's Christmas decor season everywhere (but it is still hard to get in the Christmas spirit when it is sunny and 65 degrees here!). OTOH, I'll take this weather over the weather in New England our family deals with each winter...no more snow blowing or snow shoveling for us!
• We are getting ready for our Hawaii cruise which should be a fun way to spend Christmas.
• The price of food (and everything else) is insane!

Quick Update

Here are my friend's nails all ready for the Christmas season...

And we finally picked a few lemons from our tree...

Early Black Friday Deals are killing me. I tried to do the no spend thing but Best Buy had the Sony WXM4 headphones for $159 (a $190 savings over the normal price!) and I couldn't resist. They are amazing headphones though.

On another note, the Dyson was returned. The charge only lasted for 25 minutes then it needed to charge for 3.5 hours before I got another 25 minutes of vacuuming in. At that rate, it would have taken me 9 hours to clean my house!

The storms in Las Vegas have passed and now we have right, sunny weather. I've had my doors open all day to air out the house and it isn't even cold. I can see why retirees like the desert southwest!

I sent a friend who lives in Japan a birthday gift and for the first time ever, there was a fee that she needs to pay to get the gift (tariff fee?). I couldn't pay it at the post office, and for the exorbitant cost of mailing anything overseas these days, I sent her a quick email saying we should probably skip sending Christmas gifts this year. I can't WAIT until the next presidential election!

I hope you all will have a wonderful Thanksgiving!