Saving Money

I hadn't heard this idea before from the blog "Biblical Womanhood"
http://biblicalwomanhoodblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/frugal-friday-online-coupon-codes.html

Basically - before buying online, do a search for "coupon codes" and the name of the website or store that you're planning to buy from. And if you find some - yay for you!

I'm gonna try it. I'll let you know.

Rapid cold recovery

I had a cold, and 2 days later I'm recovered. For me, that is a miracle! Most colds usually go into my lungs and stay there, sometimes for weeks.
The magic secret: Vicks rub. On the first night, I rubbed Vicks on the soles of my feet and went to bed with socks and a foot-heating pad. I repeated this several times over the next day and a bit, and it seems to have worked! My throat is better but importantly, I'm not coughing! that's a bit of a miracle for me.
Yay for Vicks!

Book-related injury

I've been quite busy lately with work and wedding planning. My brain's been in hyper-mode, so I've been staying up later than I want with my mind buzzing about stuff I need to get done. My body doesn't like lack of sleep so my throat has started to hurt. Finally, yesterday it had had it. It was hard getting up for my 8 a.m. class, and the rest of the day was a bit of a blur - trying to work but really putting in time until my 2:00 class ended and I could go home and crash. In retrospect, a nap in the middle of the day would have been a good idea. The library was having a book sale and I dropped by on my way to the car to buy #4 in a trashy series I absolutely adore. I spent much of the rest of the afternoon and evening finishing "Full Blast" - and yes it was relaxing. Then today I slept in and, needing to rest my body, hung out in bed with lots of tea, Vicks, heating pads and the rest of "Babyproofing Your Marriage" that friends at my shower informed me I needed to read before having kids, or even before getting married. Yes, I finished it before lunch. Clear proof I do not have children. I have read 2 books in 2 days. Flip, flip, flip. Then I went down for a nap. And my elbow hurt! Too much time holding the books, I guess. Poor elbow. But it's better now, as long as I don't abuse it too much.

That snowy feeling

At work yesterday I was hit with my first dose of that awesome sense of winter. I could see it getting dark outside, and had a feeling that the air was crisp. Only 1.5 weeks left of the semester, so I'm wrapping things up at work and preparing to finish things. And that snow-sense came: it's cool and crisp, I'm done my work, I can stay home and read, and it's snowing outside. Yum!!!

I hope for a few days like that before the wedding - which means working extra hard now to get everything finished off.

Wedding planning

Wow ... wedding planning takes time. Joyful time, but definitely time.

My mom & I went out second hand shopping on Saturday for wedding decorations. 4 hours and $90 later, we had lights galore, lots of tablecloths, and assorted other items (red bows, baskets, candle holders). It was a great treasure hunt, and I'm thrilled at how much we can find used.

Today we sorted yesterday's finds. Tested, measured and tied together lights. Measured and assigned table cloths. Made up a sample basket for the centrepieces. It is coming together. The transformation of the hall is underway! And life accelerates towards the wedding.

Keeping calm with bureaucracy

Yesterday I was on the phone with 4 different businesses, trying to get my credit history figured out. During a recent credit check, some unauthorized or incorrect inquiries appeared and I'm following up on them. Yes, talking with 4 different groups about correcting credit-related matters: so much potential for frustration!

During the first three phone calls, I did an amazing job remembering that the important thing is human relationships. I tried to work with the people I spoke with and enlist their help in finding out the information I needed, rather than taking an adversarial role. As a result, I felt calm and in control (okay, always an illusion) rather than freaked out and frustrated.

The last call was to the credit bureau to report on what I found. This is where I started to go crazy. The phone system dumped me 3 or 4 times. None of the options were for what I needed, even though the number (I checked online) was specifically for correcting mistakes in your credit history. I tried (repeatedly) 3 different numbers for the same company. Finally I found one that seemed right - but it was busy. Constantly. My vocabulary and attitude rapidly went downhill. Talking with a rational person, fine. A "service" company that won't let you reach it: not so fine.

Finally get through! And no options seem quite right, but I choose one. And miraculously finally, after a long wait, a person!
And she actually addressed the problem. Put an alert on my account, let me know she had heard me, and resolved the issue to my satisfaction.

So ... too many machines are wrong. But losing my cool doesn't help. Some day, this lesson will finally be fully learned by me.
I hope.

Candlelight

I'm sitting in bed, laptop where it belongs - on my lap, space heater running, gazing at some burning candles. Three tall beeswax tapers sitting in a gorgeous purple glass candlestick holder. They're not dripping - I don't think they're dripless, but I put them in the freezer before burning (I heard it lengthens their burning time).

A year ago, I went down to visit a friend in Washington State. She was getting ready to move so I helped her sort, chuck and whittle down her possessions. She was far more ruthless than I am (at least with my own things) and reduced her possessions to a carful. I can still feel how light that is - how free, to be unencumbered by THINGS and by clutter, to travel only with those things that you love and use and need and choose to have around you.

It's getting colder and darker these days. While I don't like the cold, I love the magic of this time of year. I find myself turning more and more towards the home. It's a time for curling up, snuggling and reading, cooking and eating, cleaning and caring for the space you live in. And somehow, those candles represent it all for me. They are beautiful. Pure and natural. Soothing, comforting, nurturing. Those three candles, and their exquisite holder centre me here, in my room, in my home, in the life I'm living. I can't believe it's taken me an entire year to light them. But now I know, and they will continue to bring me joy and peace for the rest of this winter.

Emotions

Lately I'm all empathy. I think empathy is a beautiful thing, but this is going really overboard.

A friend mentions someone had a date that didn't work out - instantly my heart is with the poor disappointed dude who will (so I seem to think) never recover from the disappointment and loss. My heart sinks, my eyes well, my shoulders droop.

Someone quits a job. Hoo boy this one gets me!!! I imagine the poor disappointed employer, who hired this person on good faith and now is so deeply disappointed that things didn't work out. They're left scrambling to fill a position with limited resources ... what will they do??

And then - and maybe more understandably - elections. Two overwhelming emotions: uncontrollable tears over the significance of the event, and empathetic sadness for the person who had such high hopes but didn't get enough votes. I'm telling you, I could barely watch the coverage I was so overwhelmed.

I love being empathetic. It's just that sometimes, it can be a bit debilitating. I seriously wonder if there's something I can take or do to get just a little bit more perspective on things - recognize that we grow through difficulties, rather than being permanently sunk by them. Empathy without drowning in my tears please!