PLEASE PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAPS!

 I need a quick, easy and cheap Halloween costume to wear to work. I gave up on the idea of the one I blogged about earlier. Because 1) I have no idea how to get a life sized Angelina Jolie head cardboard cut out and 2) I didn't notice the baby had a beer bottle, though in my defense I was planning to use a REAL baby bottle.

But I changed my mind.

If anybody reads my blog..... please give me some ideas. Keep in mind that I HATE Halloween. I tolerate it. And I get a kick out of people who enjoy it. I don't begrudge anybody their right to like it. I just have issues with parts of the whole thing. I'm weird. Whatever.

Snickers Cookies

I found a recipe to take Snickers mini's and wrap them in a peanut butter cookie dough. Bake them.

They taste a lot better than I expected.

So I packaged them up for sale at my vending business.

I should have bought milk too.

Help me make this!!!!

I want to dress up like this for Halloween (at work).

Where can I find a lifesize cardboard head of a celebrity that I can use? (Doesn't have to be Angelina Jolie).

I need the front pack for the baby too.

he he he

R.I.P. Aunt Wilma

My Aunt Wilma Aplin passed away in her sleep last night. She has had pneumonia for a week or so.

I think it's a blessing. My poor Aunt has gone from being a young mom of 3, to a poor, crippled, disfigured, pain ridden woman trapped in her body for years. Her hands are misshapen. Her head is at a permanent angle. She's been in a nursing home for a long time.

It really is a blessing that she is now free from that body. I can't stand the thought of her being like this.

She had a very, very rough life. She was married to my uncle David and he was very abusive. He had polio and was on crutches, and I know he used to hit her with the crutches. She was always VERY quiet. Afraid of her own shadow. My uncle was a mean, gruff, HUGE man. A lot went on that I never even knew about, but the things my mom used to tell me, made me terrified of my uncle.... and feel very sorry for my aunt. They were separated for a long time. Not sure if they divorced, or were just separated. But my uncle died a few years ago and now she is gone.  Sad, but really... I'm relieved for her.

Christmas in Hawaii

 Nothing set in stone, but chances are I shall be spending Christmas and New Years in Hawaii this year. If so, then THAT is where I will do my Christmas shopping for my kids and bring them back something neat.

We have spent Christmas and New Years in Texas the past two years and I know George's daughter Monica is going to be really sad that we won't be there. But it appears he will be working in the islands well into next year and it would cost a fortune for him to come here, and then we go to Texas. So for this year, the holiday will be on the island of Kauai.
Unless things change.

 I have been checking out flights to Vermont for next sugaring season and found some round trip tickets for $350!  Michael claims he can get us free rooms at a hotel. That would be awesome. If we all chip in on a car, that would be great. If we could get a hotel with a small kitchen in at least one unit, we could eat in and save a bunch.

Anyhow.... I'm excited to go to Hawaii again. It's so beautiful.

Actually not bad.....

Got my ring yesterday. Had to go to the post office to sign for it, show ID, write my address in some machine.... and jump through hoops to get the thing.

Does it look like the previous picture? Not exactly. I mean, the previous pic showed the detail pretty well.

This ring is ok. It's pretty. It's not a WOW factor by any means. It's 10 k gold, it's total diamond weight is only a tenth of a carat. The stone is a "G-H" (see below for what that means.)

  
• G,H Nearly Colorless. Unless these diamonds are compared next to a master stone of higher color grade, color is nearly indiscernible. When face up these diamond appear nearly colorless. These diamonds are still rare, but slightly less expensive and are considered a good value.

Still, for under $50 I did score a great deal. I just wish my hands didn't look so old.... LOL.

Finally I scored a GREAT BARGAIN!

This ring is $1000. Yes it's real diamonds and gold. Guess how much I paid for it?

Guesssssss!!!  Come on.... I dare ya!!!

Well, there is a jewelry company that sells really expensive stuff and every so often they will offer something at a steal of a bargain price hoping that the buyer will be pleased and will shop MORE at their store.

My wedding ring was designed by me and unfortunately some of the stones are falling out and it's just not looking so good these days. I bought a fake cubic zirconia wedding set and I HATE it. Well, what can you expect for $30? You get what you pay for.

So I was surfing and found this ring listed at $1000. and it was on sale -- one day only -- for $146.  I kept thinking "This can't be right. There's something wrong with this ring, or it's stolen or something."

So I emailed the seller and said I was interested, but explain to me why it's so cheap and I was told that they do this as I said above, to encourage more buying.

Well, I ALSO had $100 in cashback rewards on my Discover Card.... and they offered me FREE shipping. So... this $1000 diamond ring cost me a whopping $46. (KA-CHING!!!)

I haven't received it yet, so the proof of whether I got a good deal or not, will be when I actually SEE it and WEAR it. But yeah.... pretty good deal either way.

I'm pretty proud of myself anyway. I never seem to find really amazing deals. This one may be the BEST.

Happy birthday Mom!

My mom would be 83 today. Love and miss her every day. This is a picture of us at Fort Ticonderoga many many years ago. That is me she is putting in the cannon. LOL.

Oh how I wish there was a phone line to Heaven.

Waikiki Hotel

See the rainbow mural on the side of this building? Global stone has been hired to update it. It has over 8000 tiles. Can you imagine being suspended from the top of this building, all day, for several days, to work on this? YIKES.

George is hoping that he is not the one chosen to do it. He's not keen on heights.

Can't say I blame him. While the view would be spectacular.... I think I'd get very dizzy.

The job on Oahu should be finished this week. Then he's off to Kauai for who knows how long.

I need to start saving money up for a trip to VT. It looks like maybe Karin, Brett, Ady, Michael, Bryttan and I may make a trip back there. My dad would be so thrilled! I wish I was rich enough to fly the whole gang. But that's not going to happen.

Anyhow, I hope it all works out.