7 Quick Takes (Vol 4)

Is it Friday again? Wow the week just flies by. I have to say that I am loving "7 Quick Takes" Fridays. Thank you to Conversion Diary for the idea. Make sure that you go over and read all the other entries who are participating. Here we go.

-1

Explain something to me please. I was in the UPS store this week and found myself behind several people who were having the UPS staff pack and ship their gifts. Now that wasn't the problem. The issues, at least for me who is an admitted frugal person, was that these people were going to pay $100+ to have these things boxed and shipped when surely they could have spent a great deal less if they had just packed the stuff up themselves. The one woman was shipping several baskets full of things. Really why not send the stuff minus the basket which made the whole shipping box issue that much more difficult and very expensive. I am just asking is all.

-2-

I keep waiting for the terrible cold that the hubby and youngest child have had to descend on me. I keep waiting and waiting and waiting but nothing. Could it be that I am going to escape the sneezing and phlegm and coughing and yuckiness. Could I be so lucky? Perhaps it is all the healthy living that I am doing.....minus that McDonald's cheese burger that I had yesterday. Ash and I were hungry OK! And we had been so good for so long.......and it was so good. The perfect combination of salt and fat. Yum.

-3-

It is so nice to have all the girls home for Christmas. Lots of laughing going on at the moment and it is so nice to hear. Oh I am just going to get all teary eyed (not). But I am looking forward to a few games of Mah Jongg now that we have 4 to play with. We are dedicated Mah Jongg players in this house. I have to say thank you to my MIL Linda for introducing us to this game a number of years ago. Total addicition. Now if I could just find a group to play with around here.

-4-

Oh how I love the internet when it comes to finding new and interesting recipes to try. So much variety. Just printed off a recipe for "Baklava Bites" which looks positively yummy. I have a feeling that they are in the our future dining soon. It is almost too much sometimes, all the recipes I find that I want to try. I have to put myself on a "printing diet" sometimes because I will print off all these great sounding recipes and then not use them. So, now I save them onto the computer and then selectively print them.

-5-

I love things that are free, I really love them. But I have had to pass up a free deal today and it makes me sad. However, I just couldn't do it. Oprah has again this year has made available for free (for 48 hours) the songs on her Holiday Hits 2008. Oh that word "free" just makes my fingers want to push buttons and say yes! download that to my computer. But......I didn't do it. You see I am boycotting Oprah, perhaps permanently, and I just couldn't do it. Boycotting Oprah! how can I do that. Well you see, I have never been a great fan of Oprah but she was OK. I don't watch much TV and I never have it on during the day so I tend to miss her show. But, I just am tired of her "preachiness" and culture of victimhood disguised as empowerment. A wordy sentence I know but there it is. So, a while back I decided that I was just done with Oprah. And because I made that little commitment to myself then I couldn't download the CD. Call me picky (and you wouldn't be the first) but I just couldn't do it. I suppose it doesn't hurt that I have most of the songs already (hehehehehe).

-6-

My youngest daughter had a car accident yesterday! Now I have to tell you that she is fine and it wasn't her fault thank goodness. The police (or as we lovingly call them "the popo") gave a citation to the other fellow. But I have to say that when your daughter calls and the first words out of her mouth are, "Now, I don't want you to get upset or anything....." you know it isn't going to be a great conversation. She acted in a very calm manner throughout the whole incident and I have to say that we are very proud of her. It is hard to act like an adult in these situations when you ARE an adult. She is only 17 so I suppose some hysteria would have been expected but she was calm and collected. This was one of those things that you hope you don't have to deal with when you have kids but sometimes these things happen. I just hope it doesn't ever happen again.

-7-

Tomorrow night we will go to our friends' house for their annual "Happy Birthday Jesus" party. I really love this particular Christmas tradition which we have had the privilege of participating in for the last 12 years or so. There are lots of people, lots of food, a birthday cake for Jesus. We eat, visit and then gather to sing Christmas carols and celebrate the reason why we actually have Christmas. It is just lovely. I am glad it is tomorrow when the weather will be better rather than today when we have a winter storm warning.