Fashion

[KonaKat]

Good morning, shopping friends. We are almost half way through the month. How are you doing with your goals for the month, or just for the day? Looking back at yesterday, how did you do with your goals for just one day. One day completed successfully leads to another day, and then one day at a time, you will discover that a major goal will be on its way to accomplishment.

I don't think any of us will ever stop shopping. We have to shop for needs such as food, meds, gasoline, etc., and there is the thrill of the hunt for a want that may not be a need but is something that adds a little extra to your life. The key is to do this in moderation when "wanty" calls.

When people are trying to lose weight and reduce their food intake regardless of what program they are following, they are told when sensing "hunger" to delay acting on that "hunger" for at least 20 minutes. By that time, the "need" to eat may have passed. If not, it may just be your body wanting more water....or a veggie, etc. When that happens, you satisfy the urge to eat with the least negative impact possible.

The same thing applies to shopping. Many things are impulse purchases that we think is a justified purchase at the time we see it. If you take time to delay actually purchasing the item, you may find it is no longer calling out to you. If out and about in a store, keep it in the cart and spend time looking. You may find something else, or you may find you have lost interest in the item. If still debating the purchase, and you live near the store, then just leave it and go home and think it over. Time is your friend.

I was up bright and early this morning. The phone rang at 5am. I was thoroughly covered up so it took me time to turn over to get to the phone. Just as I was about to get to the phone, the heart monitor alarm went off. I had a minor issue yesterday so my first reaction was that there was a problem. When I looked at the monitor, the message said that one of the leads had come loose. By that time, the phone had quit ringing. I reconnected the lead and then staggered to the bathroom as I was a little light headed and still very sleepy. When I got back, my cell phone had a message on it. School had been delayed because of the ice. By the time this was over, I was fully awake so I just stayed up.

The extra time resulted in an early breakfast and doing an hour of organizing. Sometimes, I make more of a mess decluttering so I have to take care of it. I did more than the 15 minute segment but will attempt more today. I don't think a minimalist lifestyle is the goal, but I would like to find things more easily. My problem is getting interrupted and not putting something back into its proper spot, only to forget it. I once had a boss whose favorite expression was "there is a place for everything and everything has a place." Sometimes, we just have to bite the bullet, and regardless of what we paid or any emotional association, the item has to go.

Have a great day. If you shop, shop wisely. I'm off to Amazon to see if there are any good free books. Free is good!

[Rock_chick]

Good morning Jean! My alarm woke me from a deep sleep this morning. It was very foggy out but DH got off to the airport and then me to work on time. Yay!

[fbm8282lsm]

Good morning!

We had freezing rain early this am, school was 2 hours late, I did not have trouble getting work tho.

Jean your posts are always so logical and informative. Great reminders!

I need to do a little organizing in my basement, I am bad about just putting stuff down there and not putiing it back in the totes or where it belongs.

[KonaKat]

Kathleen--I now you will miss DH but it won't be long until you relocate. The weather is iffy in many places but good that you got to work on time.

Rosa--I think we all have those places where things go until we have time to deal with it. You have a basement and I have a storage building on top of a detached garage. I'll get into it this Summer. Out of sight, out of mind! When that happens, things go forgotten.

This might be considered enabling but V32389 is one of the best organizers I have ever used. I have one for meds, one for beauty products, one for things I use near my laptop when working when watching tv, etc., and one for the kitchen.

I didn't realize how many utility knifes and paring knives I had until I went through the drawers. Some were shoved to the back. I've now taken them out and given them there special little home.

[Genny1]

Good morning Ladies.....we did get some ice this morning, schools were on a delayed 2 hr start but it has warmed up a bit,about 35,so now just all rain. Can't believe Jan is halfway over too Jean....it's getting us closer to Spring though!!!

Not much else going on here....have a nice day everyone....Marijane.

[Gayle2]

Hello All,

If have been offline the last few days. I find that the less time I spend on the computer, the more productive I am. Also, less temptation to spend.

Our weather is still chilly but not as cold, dreary and rainy as it has been the last few days. Yesterday, the sun finally came out around 3 pm. We decided to take the dog out for a longer walk and so many neighbors were out...everyone experiencing cabin fever I suppose.

I think between the heater, fires in the fireplace etc. I am experiencing the winter weather skin. Funny thing is that I have gone back to the basics of using Ponds Cleansing Crème and Ponds Dry Skin Crème. These products cost very little and have worked better for me than the products I was using (i.e. the higher priced anti aging stuff). Anyway, I will probably just stay with these products. It will save me a bunch of money in the long run.

Today's plan is to do a few things around the home. I have taken it easy the last few days and need to get some cleaning done. Everyone, have a good day.

[twinny70]

Jean, I woke up early today too as our neighbor has to be to work at 4:30. I heard doors banging at 4:25. She works at the gas station just down the street & her DH follows her to make sure she is safe opening up etc. I then got up & watched the end of QF & the start of Pat at 5:00. I went back to bed at 600 but never did fall asleep. For some reason the snow plows have been out since early this morning cleaning up real good I guess. I did fix bacon that I wanted to get rid of & eggs in my cooks essential's pan that I bought at the Q outlet in Sept. It is very nice & only cost $7.00. It has the two circles for eggs or pancakes & the straight part of the pan for bacon or sausages.

RC, We had lots of fog in December as it was very mild. Thank goodness we are getting nice weather & it should get better each day this week. Just think it won't be long & your commutes will be a thing of the past.

Rosa, We don't usually get the freezing rain (knock on wood) but usually lots of snow. I dislike the freezing rain as it doesn't matter how you drive it is treacherous. I swept & organized the basement last week as we are waiting for the furnace man to come clean our furnace. It has been a chase between us as when he calls we are at appts. out of town. Plus with the very cold weather last week he is busy fixing broken furnaces.

Marijane, I also can't January is 1/2 over. We had school closed 2 days last week & a 2 hour delay one day. Things seems to be back to normal now.

DH did get his walk in today. Last week he only walked 2 days & snow blowed/shoveled 2 days. It is nice & sunny & will be getting milder day each week. No snow predicted...just sunshine.

Nothing exciting going on today around here. I will take a nap to make up for lost sleep. I am trying to get extra sleep now to ward off illness. The hot tub will be calling our names after lunch. Then I am fixing Swiss steak for supper. Haven't had it for a while.

Hugs to all of you.

[KonaKat]

Marijane--Each day down in January is one day closer to Spring. Although it seems as if it might drag at times, when the calendar date of Spring comes, it will be welcomed. Last year, we had a late Spring; it didn't obey the calendar.

Gayle--Some of those drugstore products work as well if not better than some of the higher priced lines. As you said, if the product works then it saves money...and that money can be used elsewhere.

Twinny--Black ice is always a big problem for us. Until recent years, we didn't have much snow in our area. If it snowed, it did amount to much and was often gone quickly. The freezing temperatures and black ice is a major issue. The water drains across the road and freezes, creating a skating rink for cars. Sometimes they do road repairs which are not always even and the slightly lower areas collect moisture and freeze. Oh, swiss steak sounds great! I have some Cooks essentials.

I just looked at my master calendar for last year, the year of unusual amounts of snow, etc. We were closed 11 days. Obviously, we lost Spring vacation and other days to make it up.

I did like the cross body bag IM had on his morning show but I didn't like the price. I have some quality cross body bags in various sizes which are in excellent condition. Why add another?

[FunkyHulaGirl]

Hi girls! Well, it's finally warmed up a bit with temps back in the 40s, but it's raining out and is forecast to do so all day, so it's another day of being cooped up in the house. Just as well - after that vet bill I don't have any extra money to spare to go anywhere, although I should probably check my junk email addy and see what freebies I have for my birthday. Classes start today, so that's something to help alleviate the boredom; I'll have to get to that in a little while.

I had what was a bigger wake-up call on an over-abundance of material goods and decluttering than most people do. After I bought my house I was able to finally get my possessions shipped from Hawaii. Well, here I had a fully-furnished house and an extensive wardrobe and didn't need anything else, when a large shipping container was dropped off at my home. After everything was unpacked and brought inside, I realized that the empty container I was looking into that had been used to transport a huge load of mostly non-essentials was larger than the homes that entire families in Third World countries live in. I found myself with so much stuff that I didn't need, many things that I had totally forgotten I had, and more than I had room for, even with my abundant storage space. A lot of it was donated or sold; were it not for my precious bears, I could have done without having that container shipped, much less having paid steep storage fees for several years.

Twinny, that hot tub sounds soooo good, especially since my knee is still aching.

Gayle, one of the items in the winter beauty box from Walmart was Pond's Dry Skin Cream, so I've been using it and like it very much - it's nice and light. My favorite is still the LaCura from Aldi, but if I couldn't get that, I'd definitely buy the Ponds.

Well, I guess I'd better go and check in on my classes; have a blessed day, everyone!

[LindaLatte]

Good Afternoon! Thanks for getting us started Jean. Sorry about that early wake-up call, etc. Schools in DD's area were closed today due to the freezing rain/ice. But, oldest DGS' college classes start this evening, and so far they are not closed. Fingers crossed he makes it there with no problems if they are open. Meanwhile, DD's ankle is swollen again, and she may need to go back to the doctor, which she doesn't want to do, if possible. My SIL has a chiropractor appointment today due to his shoulder injury/pain.

DH had a neurologist appointment this morning, which took longer than it should have just because we had to wait nearly an hour to see the doctor. Then, I went to Curves, and he went to the library. I came home to register for my "classes" that start next month. This time I'll be taking British history, British mysteries, and two short classes (only two sessions each), history related. I'm excited about these classes, but I would like to take more very interesting classes being offered. Just no time to take too many classes.

I have a bookclub meeting this afternoon. No time or inclination to shop today because I have been so busy.

Dinner last night was nice, but I think it lead me to a pretty weird dream. They had adopted a cat that was causing all types of issues -- biting them, jumping up on counters, spilling water everywhere, etc. The lady said she didn't want to take the cat back to the shelter, but it was causing lots of issues she never had with previous cats. They had to re-arrange their furniture, remove glass vases, etc. due to the cat's antics. Anyway, my dream was that I found a very sweet orphan boy, and really wanted to adopt him. But, I realized that DH and I are way too old to deal with a toddler, etc. The weird part is how sad that it made me, and I even woke up in the middle of the night.

Waves to Kathleen, Rosa, Marijane, Gayle, twinny, Arlene, LindaR, Karen, and all of our posers and readers.

Hope everyone has a nice evening!

Hugs,

Linda