SHOPAHOLICS: ONE DAY AT A TIME (SUNDAY, 12/14)

Kona - I remember reading that you were prescribed multaq. Is the medication working for you or do you need to wear the heart monitor in preparation for something else? If that's too nosy, let me know, I won't be offended (it's hard for me to remember all of the posts I read so you may have mentioned this already).

You strike me as a responsible shopper, so don't beat yourself over a few treats. I just bought myself a nice vera wang leather bag at a really, really nice price from Koh-s (webbie doesn't like me talking about that store - lol). Original price $169 - bought it for $51. I received it yesterday and it's well made and I am pleased.

Based on what I've read, I know you so love to go to Hawaii and I'm sad that you will shed the timeshare at the end of next year.

Bird--The Multaq seems to be doing the job. I also take Xarelto, which is a blood thinner. The purpose of wearing the heart monitor for 3 weeks is to get a continuous reading of what the heart is doing over the 3 weeks. If it seems to be in rhythm and at the appropriate rate during most of the time, the cardiologist may discontinue the Xarelto. The two meds serve different purposes, so I'll have to continue the Multaq. I had no noticeable symptoms to me but I went from a rate of 150 to a controlled rate of around 70 most of the time. With AFib, the upper chambers of the heart quiver or beat so fast that they can't contract enough to force normal blood into the lower chambers. As a result, some may cling to the walls and clot until a contraction forces the clot into the lower chambers or ventricle which can than push the clot out into the body and cause a stroke.

I'm giving up the timeshare because I don't want it as something to deal with. I enjoy going there but I'm at the point I don't want to do it every year nor do I want to bother with renting it out. I might go back but use VRBO in the future which I used for the Big Island rental. I just won't go back every year.

Good job on the handbag from Kohls. I can't believe the webbie didn't like that word.

Good Morning! Thanks for getting us started Jean. I'm sorry you are so worn out, but I guess it is pretty normal with your health issues. I can understand how you feel about buying a bunch for yourself, but I hope you will be as kind and understanding to yourself as you are to others. Like Birdmama, I am sad to hear that you may be selling your place in Hawaii. But, I do understand how you feel. Hope you don't "check out" for a very long time. I know it is quite different, but after my accident, my attitude about material possessions changed a bit. Hope you enjoy your new purse Birdmama. Waves to Kathleen (end of the carriage rides for this year), Arlene (good luck with your dogs and internet), twinny, Susan, Rosa, Marijane, LindaR, Gayle, Karen, Val, Nancy (welcome home Kendall!), and all of our posters and readers. I took several pictures of my grandchildren this morning -- hope that some turned out well. They are really something, not that I am biased or anything. I didn't watch the Lisa R. goodbye show (on too late, etc.), but I do remember when Kathy left. I still miss Kathy. Of course, I used to watch a lot more QVC on TV during that time. I rarely watch now -- just check things out on the internet. Life moves on as they say. We went to church yesterday afternoon, so we will not be going today. Seems strange to me, but my church does not have Saturday afternoon services. I plan to pick up DH from his son's house this afternoon, and then return the car to the car rental place. It is better for me to get that done than wait until the middle of the night. While we won't have much time to sleep at the hotel, we will have a little. Have a good day everyone! Hugs, Linda

Jean, I count how many days until Christmas. We don't have to buy for many so we are all done except for going to one of the cheese factories tomorrow for some good cheese & then on to the outlet store for a nice beef log for our DS & DDIL. The package will be sent to them tomorrow & their gift cards will be sent separately in their Christmas card. If I lose something at least it won't be everything at once. You made some nice purchases so you can be proud of yourself after working so hard lately. I know you love going to HI, but getting rid of the timeshare might be an advantage to you later.

It is very foggy again today but in the low 50's. This mild weather is welcome for this time of year. We went to church & had a quick lunch out. DH is watching the "Packer's" while I discovered that I didn't put the tree skirt around the tree on Friday. I just ironed it so now I think everything is complete.

Bird Mama, You got a great deal on your new purse. I like Kohl's & so does my DH. I think he buys more there than I do. LOL. DH & I love going to the UP of MI. Are you on the other end of MI?

LL, I wasn't a QVC shopper when Kathy was on, but everybody seemed to really enjoy her. Yes, it is fun to be with DGC. Ours live 1 1/4 hours away, so we don't see them as often as we would like too. We did manage to see both of our DGS's band concerts & our DGD's Christmas program in the past week or so. They were all very nice. It sounds like your trip was very nice.

Hugs to all of you.

Linda--Have a safe flight home. I also stay at a hotel near the airport when having an early morning flight, as the airport is almost 2 hours from me. That makes a 6am flight difficult if you want to sleep the night before. It sounds as if you had a rewarding trip.

Twinny--You are fortunate to live near those excellent cheese factories. Let's think positively; all the packages will make it but sometimes it pays to split up the shipping just in case. Your temperatures are higher than ours but we share the same foggy weather. I'm sure your Christmas tree is beautiful.

My Florida niece is facing another possible surgery. She has now signed a DNR, as I think she is getting tired of fighting first one thing and then another.

Twinny, I'm located at the base of the thumb (lol)

I just got around to reading the online newsletter of my timeshare. It seems they are going to undergo a complete renovation starting next year. I think the fact Donald Trump's condo, etc is in the next block along with one of the most expensive hotels in Hawaii being across the street has something to do with it. Yes, some updates needed to be made but someone will be paying the price.

I did put in my reservation request for next Fall as I have the fees for the year paid. As soon as I get a confirmation, I'll book a free ticket to Hawaii on the non-stop connecting from my "home"airport if still available. If not, I'll book a double connection.

Hi girls!

Jean, I wonder what your idea of "overslept" is - 8 a.m.? I got up earlier to feed the dogs and let them out; I now don't let Angelica off a leash or tie-up when she's outside, as she runs off and she's not familiar with her home territory yet. Autumn took off running, but knows her way around - I was feeling too lousy to go looking for her, so I went back to bed. A little while later there was loud knocking at the door and I heard Autumn barking; I thought someone had found her and brought her back, but it was a friend I hadn't seen in some time; she's a teacher and just brought me a gift of a coupon book that the schools sell every year. There are probably over 100 coupons, and some are great deals - large percentages off at restaurants or BOGO meals, deep discounts on various services, etc. We spoke for a short time, I let Autumn in, and back to bed I went....

I'm finally up; just took some cold medicine, and have some more things I have to list on my virtual yard sale for the troops. I know they're getting lots and lots of package for Christmas (I saw a video one of the ladies from my group posted of mail call), but they'll need some cheering up when the holidays are over and the bleakness of winter sets in.

All the items I'm listing are new and unused, and in addition to purses, shoes, etc., there's a lot of golf equipment. I checked prices on-line, and generally set my price at about 1/2 - 1/3 of what things sell for in stores, or even less. (I'm asking only $15 each for brand name clubs.) Anyway, one woman got me really PO'd - she sent me a PM and said she'd give me $6 for "that golf thing." Well, I have several golf "things" listed for $10 - I assume she means a putting practice mat, which is new in the box. She really got me annoyed - I wrote back, "I'm raising money to buy necessities for troops who are out in the freezing cold and getting shot at, and you're going to quibble over a lousy $4?" What on earth is wrong with people? Don't they think of anyone but themselves? She can just go to the store and pay $25 or more for one...plus tax!

Angelica is proving to be anything BUT an angel; she's now torn up two dog beds, including a pretty pricey orthopedic one, and yesterday when I went out to bring her inside for the night I discovered she had totally chewed up a dog bowl and also tore apart one of the leashes. She has no excuse for that - I've bought her quite a few toys so she doesn't get bored; she totally ignores them. The bed won't be replaced - I'm not made of money, and now I MUST buy another leash. Then when I went upstairs for something last night I saw that she had peed and pooped on the floor...shortly after I brought her in, and after she'd been outside for several hours after she ate. She and Honeybun have also been getting into occasional fights, I guess to determine who the alpha dog is. (sigh) To top things off, when I got up and went into the kitchen I found that the cats somehow managed to get the kitchen cabinet open, find my loaf of bread, tear open the package, and scatter it over the floor - with large bites taken out of some of the pieces. They LOVE break and baked goods; I have to keep them hidden away, but I guess I didn't hide the bread well enough.

I hope you can get a decent price for your timeshare, Jean; it's too bad you have to sell it, but then again, you can always stay at a hotel. I'd love to go back to Hawaii; my pastor there said several people who left the island have returned, and suggested I might like to do so as well, but it's out of the question - I can live here comfortably on my money, but there's no way I could afford even a shack there for what this house cost me, not to mention the matter of my pets - they're ohana, and leaving them behind is unthinkable (naughty as they are), and between their transportation and quarantine alone it would probably cost well over $25K.

Birdmama, that's odd that they won't even let you name that store anymore! (Good to "see" you again, BTW.) I really don't understand some of the words that are blocked, such as f-l-u-f-f, and - for some reason - the letters o-b, put together alone. I did a search, and can't find any nasty meanings for either of them.

LindaL, you're probably home by now - hope you had a good trip.

Twinny, Kathy Levine was a hoot! She and Steve Bryant were the bests host QVC ever had, and I used to love watching them for entertainment value alone, even if I had no interest in the product. There was another host - Jeffery Hewson (sp?) - who used to tease Kathy a lot; I'll never forget when he stole one of her shoes and planted a flower in it, presenting it to her on air. QVC used to be fun to watch, but they've switched to a hard sell now, so I don't bother watching (or ordering) anymore; I suspect I'm not the only one.

I guess I'd better think about some lunch, then get the rest of the things listed for sale. I'll put the link on the FB Shopaholics page.

Have a blessed day, everyone!

Arlene--I have many great memories of QVC back in its earlier days; it was so much fun then, but at the same time the hosts did a great job of explaining things with no hard sell. I actually started with CVN which merged with QVC. I remember some of the hosts from CVN, some who found new homes with HSN with others remaining with the new home of QVC. I still miss Steve Bryant as he was so good with electronics, music, etc. He even emailed me to give his personal opinion of an item being sold compared to another. That wouldn't happen today.