a shopping experience

I brought the little man with me to the mall the other day. We have not been out of the house for days so I decided to bring him along while I shop. I thought he might like it. I was wrong. He was unhappy most of the time while we were going from store to store. He told me to check out even if I have not even bought a single item. He told me he wanted to go home. It was not a fun experience for us. He only brightened up when we passed by a music store. He loves musical instruments, particularly guitars. The store lined one of its walls with guitars and he was just so tickled with that. He found one that looked exactly like his guitar at home and then pointed at another guitar and yelled "look mom, a bass guitar!" to one guitar in particular. Now, I don't know much about guitars but somebody apparently did his homework. He wanted us to stop and browse but I was afraid he will like something and insist on getting it so I told him we will come back another day. He already has a big boy guitar at home so I did not feel guilty about not letting him get inside the store. Maybe when he gets a little older we will go back to the store and consider getting him a bass guitar, provided he is still interested in musical instruments then. He was not so bad after we passed that music store but I know this, I will not bring him with me when I go shopping. Not unless he has to be there. This mommy is going shopping alone next time.

i want another bag

It has not been too long ago when I purchased a satchel from Dooney and Bourke yet here I am looking at their specials for the month of November thinking I need another bag. Well, the kind that I like is on sale and if I use a code at check-out, will get me the bag for a 10% discount on top of the sale price. Pretty nice, huh? If I get the bag it will be less than $200 which is a steal, in my opinion. Still a bit pricey but the quality is good so if I take care of it it might last a long time. Problem is, I will have to buy this on my own. I know the husband will say yes but it is just too close from my prior purchase and it does make me feel guilty. A little :) Another problem is that I don't think I have enough cash to pay for this purchase. I can use a credit card but it will have to be paid back, with interest. It does put a slight problem to my plan. I will have to think about this and make some plan before I make my final decision. It would be nice if Santa will give me the bag I want on Christmas but he might be busy this year so I will have to do this on my own. I have to go, I have some thinking to do :)

a little knowledge

After years of being married to a mechanic I have learned a lot of things regarding car make, models, and such. I have also been apprised about parts especially when my husband was still an active mechanic. When he got home from work I heard words like piston rings, thrust bearings, transmissions, drive train, and gear box among other things. He used to tell me what he did at work and why, just so I will not feel left out which was sweet of him. I now also know the difference between a wheel and a stirring wheel (they do sound the same, lol). And I don't call everything with wheels a car anymore. That really annoyed my husband because when he asked me questions about what somebody was driving I said a car when in fact it was a truck. This was from somebody who grew up in a place where (at the time) not a lot of people owned cars, and public transport was, and still is, the norm. I am not that dumb, mind you. It is just that things like these were not talked about unless you work in a garage. Even people who own cars do not know anything about car repair and parts. We did not have the need to learn about any of it, see? But learn I did and it is actually beneficial. Why, now I can make a blog post about it :)

too many

Guest written by our friend Sergio Chaney.

It’s tough having so many siblings but when three of us are adults and live in the same house? That’s just insanity. But that’s what we had to do when both my brothers lost their jobs at the same time and didn’t have anyplace to go and my husband was kind enough to let them stay with us since our house is so large. He’s a saint! Anyway, Tommy and Johnny have been driving us crazy and they’re not all that respectful of the fact that we’re giving them a free place to stay. They hooked up TVbyDirect in Madison right into our house without even asking and Tommy broke my favorite lamp last week and told me he didn’t! I know it sounds petty and family is family but when they’re around, I just want to leave the room. I used to love spending time with my brothers so I hope they move out soon so we can start repairing our relationship from the ground up.

a satchel

After months of planning and trying to make a decision on what to buy, I finally did it. I bought a new satchel. It is a Dooney and Bourke satchel in tan. The husband asked me why I did not buy a Louis Vuitton Speedy and I told him it is because of the price. As much as I love to have an original LV I don't want him to get broke by my whims. It is enough that he paid a lot of money for this satchel which I am tickled about. I like the fact that it is big although I was not very happy when I first saw it. I have compared the dimensions with my other bags while I did my selections online and I thought this might be the perfect size. Which it is, after I have come to terms with it. I have been using it since then. The sunny yellow purse (a few post down) I bought about the same time I bought this satchel is still unused and in my closet. I might find a use for it in the future but for now I will continue to use this satchel. I am so loving it. I might aspire to buy an LV speedy in the future but only when I have the money. Perhaps when I start earning my own money from a regular work. For now, I am enjoying my new satchel. Thank you, boss!

fruits and vegetables

We went to the store to buy a lot of fruits and vegetables. I am on a diet where I am supposed to eat mostly vegetables and fruits but since there are vegetables here that I don't really like much, I prefer juicing them along with fruits. I found out it is easier to drink food that I don't like. It requires less work (no cooking) and so it works for me. So we went to a wholesale store, that way I get more of what I need at a cheaper price. We also bought several cases of water for me and the kids. I like the fact that we do not need to get our groceries from the cart, a sells associate with his barcode scanner scans everything in the cart then when it is finished all we need to do is pay for our purchase and then off we go. The only complaint I got is that there are no plastic bags for the items which is not really good when you buy produce or meat. But it can be remedied by bringing used plastic bags when we get ready to go to the store. So it is not really a problem, more like inconvenience. Anyway, I juiced some of the produce we bought two nights ago and I have been drinking the juice every day. The diet has not make me lose a lot of weight but I am not gaining any either so I think I will continue doing this for a while. If I stick to it it might just work.