Avoiding Holiday Hustle

Thanks for the guest post by Jo Levy

I need to order now internet service before the holiday hoobla gets started. I hate getting out in the holiday crowds at the mall. There are just too many people and I get overwhelmed and can’t look at things. That’s why I decided that I needed to try and do all of my shopping this year on-line. I also heard about this website that gives you kick backs from ordering things on-line. The website is called Ebates.com, my mother in law told me about it. Apparently, you sign up and use the website as a spring board to order things from different retailers on-line. You can get up to ten percent back on your purchases. They write you a check at the end of every quarter, or if you have a PayPal account ( which I don’t but probably need to get one) , they will just send all of the money to your account. It seems easy enough and sounds like I can save a lot of money and anxiety this holiday season by shopping on-line. It will be a first, but anything that can keep me out of the holiday hustle, I am ready to try!

One year and counting

I am officially a sophomore nursing student.

Twelve months.

Four Classes.

Three Semesters.


I will be done. There is finally a light at the end of the tunnel and I can see it. And I must say, it is nice to be surrounded by people that support me & offer encouragement. I love you guys!

Ten on Tuesday

1) There's a new family blog in the works.....I promise.


2) One most test and I am officially a "sophomore" nursing student. Almost one year to go. The countdown ticker will commence shortly. One more test next Tuesday and I get a break. Woohoo!

3) Christmas came early for me. I scored some awesome Black Friday deals online and got a Kitchen Aid stand mixer and a new set of knives. As soon as I got the mixer, I made a batch of sausage balls and "attempted" to make cookies. I used the word I did because I ran out of stick butter and "attempted" to use tub butter. Let's say, Craig had chocolate chip pancakes.

4) I'm thinking about going to the Decatur Christmas Parade for the first time in ages. Hopefully, the weather will hold out and not rain again.

5) One thing I love about this time of year is that Duke gets super snuggly. Normally, he's independent, just sleeps wherever. When it gets cold, he loves to snuggle under the sheets down by my feet and sneaks up in the morning to give me a snuggle when it's time to get up. He's absolute sweetness and I love him tons.

6) Can you believe it's been a year since Harley was hit by a car? She's recovered fabulously. Her leg still bothers her at times, mostly when the weather changes or if she plays too hard. Or if you happen to ask her if she has a "broke leg". Improper grammar & all, she's rotten. Rotten to the core.

7) I've been doing a ton of Christmas shopping online this year, which totally makes me happy. It's amazing the deals you can score if you just take the time to put a little effort into it. No need to hold off on what you've been waiting for. Put those michael kors watches on your list and see what magic happens.

8) It would really be nice if it would snow again on Christmas this year, but I'm not going to hold my breath. I'd turn blue...

9) When I got my new washer, I decided to try Gain Apple Mango Tango detergent. OMG, I totally *heart* it and it makes everything smell so good. I'm hooked.

10) I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week.

Flowers with Love

I love it when Craig sends flowers to me. Usually, he saves the for a "surprise" but I do get them for special occasions too. Some people don't like fresh flower arrangements because they don't last forever, but I do enjoy them while I have them. I usually leave them on my desk instead of bringing them home so I can enjoy them at work as long as possible. Sometimes he uses a local florist and a few times, he's ordered using an online service. I must say, I've never been disappointed.

It's really easy to Send Flowers these days. When I need a bouquet sent somewhere, I usually just give them a price range and tell them to work their magic. It amazes me the types of creations they come up with. I personally would just be good stuffing some flowers in a vase and crossing my fingers.

Moving In

Thanks for the article from Isaiah Gaines

I love it here and my boyfriends agrees: Memphis is the perfect place for us. Our families weren’t crazy about us moving in together but it just made the most sense what with both of us getting new jobs in a new city. Why would we pay rent at two different places when we spent the night together almost every night anyway? So we got security system memphis and painted the walls and even went to the pound for a dog and now we’re a happy little family living in sin in East Memphis. I actually really love the city and I know Mark does too and we’ve been talking a lot about marriage lately which is really exciting. I can’t wait to see where the future takes us but I know that no matter where it is, it’s going to be good as long as we’re together. My family loves him and I know they’ll eventually get over the fact that we moved in together before marriage. I mean, it’s the 2000s!