Are discount clubs cheaper?

Now that I'm retired, I take a lot longer to shop! I have a Sam's Club membership, frequent WalMart and love Publix Grocery. One of the things I've found is that prices on any given item or on any given day can be lower at any one of the three! Last week we priced Atkins Nutrition Bars and saved well over a dollar by buying 3 boxes at WalMart rather than one triple size box at Sam's. Since there are only two of us, sizes of consumables at Sam's means waste, but sometimes it's less expensive to buy large and give some away if you can't use it all especially fruit. Several of our friends shop together and split large packages but I've never found anyone that likes everything I like! I'm always partial to Publix meat because Sam's and WalMart have not proved to be that good in quality. Both Woody and I are not afraid to buy clothes at Sam's since they often have Ralph Lauren Polo, Nautica, Levi's, Calvin Klein and other brand names. Clothes shopping does require trying clothes over clothes (which looks a little funny I know), knowing how designers' fit or being prepared to return things that don't fit when you get them home. We've also found that brand name grandchildren clothes can also be found at Sam's but are often cheaper at WalMart! As fast as kids grown and as rough as day care is, Garanimals at WalMart are cheaper than Carter's or OshKosh. You can still buy a really special outfit occasionally...but just sayin...to go to WalMart or work in the yard, you don't need designer duds...you might be overdressed.

Woody and I also entertain ourselves with shopping if we can't think of anything else to do on a rainy day. We love to browse Sam's and sample food! So enjoy shopping but bottom line...watch pricing and try not to impulse buy!

Too busy for words!

I don't even know where to begin! I have been working for The Oncology Group in Amarillo, TX and Las Cruces, NM for the past few months and have really enjoyed it...however, it has left little time for "retirement"! We always talk about working part time or occasionally in retirement for extra spending money but sometimes it does get out of hand. All that being said, the job is finished so I'm back to having a few moments for myself again.

To catch you up, we went to see Mary Poppins in February which was fabulous, popped up to Metropolis to the casino and hit Lobster day in the buffet, and went to see Mirror Mirror which we loved. We took Savannah to Jackson for the weekend to swim and visit family a few weeks ago, went to see the Easter bunny and rode the train and carousel and had a wonderful Easter Sunday cookout with the family. Savannah turned 2 on April 12th and had her party on Saturday the 14th, we did our groupie thing and went to see the Boomerangs that Saturday night and also back in February too, and then drove to Jackson to see my sweet sistuh Dana star in Lend Me A Tenor for the Jackson Theater Guild on Sunday! In between, I broke the garbage disposal and bruised my rib or pulled some cartilage! Don't ask...but if you must know...if you put a penny in a tulip vase to get them to stand up, don't pour the water out in the garbage disposal and then turn it on! One stuck penny and one useless blade. I have little tomatoes on my plants on the screened porch, basil coming up, mint and rosemary running amuck and a gardenia tree that is suffering...not sure what I'm doing wrong. The iris and roses are thriving but I still need to plant a few annuals to brighten up the yard. My flipper is improving slowly after three weeks of Occupational Therapy with Jessica who was wonderful...that's my broken wrist and damaged tendons....but Woody likens me to Nemo with a busted flipper! So all in all...you are now sort of caught up on our fun things!

Miss S and Grandad watching cartoons on Saturday morning in Jackson!!

Here is Miss S using water floatie things for the first time in the wonderful Doubletree Pool in Jackson, TN

and Mimi and Savannah riding the carousel...and the Easter Bunny!

I promise to post more pictures later, but I have to move them from the camera to here!!  Like I said...I have been way too busy! So your tip for the day is don't get so busy working that you forget to have fun!!

I'm addicted to Words with Friends!

If you've known me for a very long time you know I love the game of Scrabble. Unfortunately, my hubby Woody is dyslexic and has trouble spelling anything! Recently I've discovered Words with Friends on facebook. It's an interactive Scrabble game! I've been playing with my sister-in-law...she of the same who made me join a bowling league in 1978! Yes, Juanita...I remember to this day getting a trophy for my high game of 155!! Needless to say the only time I've bowled since 1978 was once for a fundraiser and once very late in Las Vegas...or maybe I should say very early in Las Vegas. But I digress! Our family has always loved games and often played when the kiddos were younger...I'm hoping that soon we can play Candyland with Savannah...we love playing Uno with Riley! So my tip for today is...Playing games can stimulate your brain and put off mental decline, maybe dementia...and it's also lots of fun. Games can be online or around the table. Games are really fun with children and grandchildren and leads to lots of great memories that will outlast any "purchase" you might make for them! So go play! You are never too old to play.

A quick update on the wrist...the wrist doesn't hurt but I am afraid I've done some tendon or ligament damage...lots of numbness and sharp shooting pains...oh well back to the doctor next week so we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Had a great time at Lib and Led's for the Super Bowl...we made a decision a few years ago to quit having a party or even leaving the house for the Super Bowl because we love football and were missing lots of the game. We had a ball...we all love football and had great food and Savannah...what more can you ask! Now I'm ready for some Sounds baseball! Poor Savannah doesn't have a chance...she will love sports or be bored out of her mind!

Hope you're all having a great winter...our jonquils are already up and blooming! Gotta go play!

Interesting doings with a broken wrist!

I am learning lots about how much my hubby really loves me! He has been incredible to help with all those activities of daily living that now have to be attempted with one hand. I won't bore you (or gross you out) with details but suffice it to say he has been walk on water wonderful. Last weekend we kept Savannah and she was so precious kissing my booboo. She just didn't quite get the fact that she couldn't jump off the ottoman into my arms so I quickly learned how to catch her with my left hand. Diaper changes were all Woody all the time! He's a good granddad...or gradad or grd or whatever she chooses to call him!

The worst part of the wrist is dressing...I had to go buy a pair of grandmother jeans. Elastic waist! The epitome of adaptive clothing for the one-handed that allows me to go le toilette unassisted. Chico's is the best clothing line...stylish with elastic. I have to travel for business on Sunday and Monday so this will be the acid test of self-sufficiency and how much my boss Marsha really likes me! Flat iron, elastic pants, bare minerals makeup...check...let's hope I survive!

I had another interesting experience this past week...Woody and I went to Sam's Club and actually walked out with nothing, nada, zilch...not even a hotdog! So my tip for the week...You can go shopping without buying something you probably don't need. 

As many of you know, we have our house for sale by owner....it's not moving very fast but then we don't have to sell. As I wander around thinking about downsizing further and dealing with children who told us to quit bringing them our junk, the last thing I need to do is buy more! So we went to Haverty's to look at furniture! I need a smaller dining room set, a smaller breakfast room set, and two smaller chairs for the living room! Yes, we've picked our house and nothing I have will fit in this cute little cottage at Del Webb.  We're hoping that we can sell some of the furniture with the house and consign some more.  I'd rather do this now than when I'm old and batty and don't want to give up my stuff!  Now I'm not sure about Mr. Packrat...Woody would keep everything! So this is a two tip blog! Remember that your children will be tasked to get rid of your stuff when you die...hopefully well into their later years when they have a full house of furniture...so don't keep something simply because you want to pass it down. Have that hard talk..ask them what they really want...you might be surprised and you might want to give it to them now.  But they still can't have my big TV!

Have a wonderful week! and declutter and give something away!

Bringing in the New Year with a Crack!

Short post...broke my right wrist which makes typing tough! Tip for the day...when cleaning up after a Notre Dame football bowl party, watch out for your husband's big feet! or start paying attention to what you're doing! You tend to break things as you get older!

So...Happy New Year! Stay safe and watch where you walk!

Who Needs Snow?

What a wonderful Christmas! We headed to Murfreesboro to spend Christmas Eve and Day with Libby, Led and Savannah and Led's mom, Marilyn. This precious angel was singing the blessing at 20 months old for our Christmas Eve dinner...and then we wished the Baby Jesus a Happy Birthday! There is nothing as angelic as a baby...unless they've had too much sugar which happened on Christmas day!

Don't I look lovely? This was around 7A on Christmas morning...thank heavens the hair wasn't too horrid, but of course you don't tell a baby to wait while you put on makeup....so all natural! We had the best time with Savannah...you know you've overwhelmed her with presents when you ask her if she wants to open another present and she says "no please"! After a wonderful Christmas day brunch, we headed home to nap!!


Today the tree came down and we started the preparations for the Notre Dame/Florida State Bowl Party at our house and the arrival of Woody's brother and his family for the Mississippi State versus Wake Forest Bowl Game here in Nashville on the 30th! This was supposed to be my year to go to a Bowl Game, but with MSU playing here in Nashville it was silly not to stay home...so ND get back to a bowl next year!! Tomorrow is house cleaning and Wednesday is cooking! This holiday season has been fabulous...we usually head to Florida for the winter but it's so much fun with Savannah that we probably won't head down til February. January is cold in Destin anyway! Estelle and David suggested we go in February...bet they're having canasta withdrawal like we are!

I think my tip for you is to enjoy your friends and family, not just at Christmas, but all through the year! As we get older, we will begin to lose loved ones or may suffer poor health and not have the freedom to run and play....it's important to embrace every minute to the fullest. Run and play and hug and love! Hope you've had a blessed holiday season and best wishes for a Happy New Year!

The Doomsday Prophecy and Dementia!

The History Channel is running Armageddon Week including a series of shows on the Apocalypse 2012 predictions of the Maya Long Calendar...the last baktun of the calendar ends on December 21, 2012. Soooo.....if the world is ending in a year, does that mean I don't need to diet? If the Mayans were so smart...where are they now? Did they leave with the aliens that helped them build their civilization? The problem with all this is that so many of the wars, disasters and conflicts happened as predicted in the katuns that make up the baktuns. December 21, 2012 is also the date of an unusual cosmic alignment where the earth completes a wobble that occurs only every 26,000 years. How did they know? Is this a cataclysmic event? How does this correlate with Nostradamus?

Now you know what I watch when there is absolutely nothing on television!

When I struggle to find something on all these high definition channels, I generally settle on something that is profound...like whether the Mayans were really that smart or how sharks hunt or how to remodel my bathroom on $2.98...JK...it costs more than $2.98. At first I felt guilty about not using every minute of every day in a productive manner, but then I remembered that I'm retired. Life is getting shorter and I should have time to consume vast quantities of knowledge...hopefully in this case, inconsequential knowledge! It's also much cheaper than going back to school unless you find a college that lets you audit or sit in a class free...however...tip for the day...It's never too late to learn something...you can go back to school, watch the History Channel or HGTV, tutor your grandchildren, teach literacy in your community, or just read.

If we quit learning, our brains weaken and life becomes really boring. Not using your brain has also been linked to dementia...I would rather watch the History Channel than lose brain cells! I know people who can only talk about the past and have no clue about anything going on in the world or even in their own community. Our world is challenging us daily...it is important to be engaged and learning and contributing right up to either the end of the world or the end of our lives...whenever they occur!

The Downfall of Rome!

For those of you who know me well, you know I'm addicted to gossip sites and blogs. While I temper it with the NY Times and the Washington Post and post under the nom de plume Healthcare for All, I also love to read about the Kardashian's and Elin Nordegrin and lots of other people who's lives seem unbelievably fascinating to boring old me! One of the things that I've learned is that there is so much negativity in responding to entertainment posts and political posts that I may have to give up this guilty pleasure. I don't really understand why people read things and then say how horrid the people or actions are...if you don't like someone or something, don't read it and then say such incredibly angry things. Civil discourse seems to be missing in the world today. Profanity and tirades are not constructive. If you read something and disagree, state your case. If you're smart enough to use a computer and can read, then one would expect that you could link words together to agree, disagree or make recommendations without resorting to boorish language that would embarrass your mother!

Perhaps my tip for the day is to remind everyone that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all...or to paraphrase a bit...if you can't add to the educated discourse, then perhaps you shouldn't show your ignorance by posting!

I've found as I get older, I'm becoming more sensitive to how our country seems to be spiraling downward in civility. Kindness seems to be missing in our day to day interactions with others. When there is no concern for others, aren't we heading down the same road that led to the downfall of Rome? Someone posted today that charity should not be forced. I don't know that I agree with that...perhaps we should educate others as to why charity is important because our country seems to be a bit too self-centered lately. We are only concerned about ourselves and what we can get out of life in our personal greed. How can we ignore the children in our country who are hungry? How can we ignore that greed on Wall Street has destroyed so many lives? How can we ignore that so many people have no access to healthcare? Why are racism, sexism and lots of other "ism"s still condoned?

I think perhaps I need to go to bed now...maybe I'll feel better in the morning but right now I'm bummed. Please let's be nice for a while..at least through the holidays! Try to say one nice thing a day...or more please!! And if you post in response to an online story....think before you hit enter!!