Rambling & Christmas
Finally used that spa gift certificate from my mother in law last night (that she gave me way back on Mother's Day). A facial was in order! I feel a hundred percent better and re energized for our move and all that comes with it. I knew that if I didn't use it this month, it might be another six months before we could afford to have me use it.
After my facial, the esthetician applied a bit of Jane Iredale pressed powder (a mineral makeup). I fell instantly in love! I couldn't even tell that I had makeup on, and the way it made my face look blew me away. I wrote an epic saga on Krystal's blog post about how much makeup she spends in a year, detailing how I've always just picked up the cheap Cover Girl pressed powder - but I'm seriously considering forking over the $59 for the makeup and $44 for the applicator. Papa Bear couldn't believe how much younger it made me look, and how fresh. Yes, the facial had a lot to do with it, but that makeup. Wow. So - what's your opinion on Jane Iredale? Worth the expense? And hey Jane - I'd love to do a review post of the pressed powder, why doncha go on and send me a compact to try?
I've got two questions for you and you aren't allowed to laugh at them, deal? Okay. First, is it more frugal to turn down the hot water in the shower or bath as opposed to simply turning up the cold, when adjusting water temperature? My instinct says yes. What do you think? Does it even really matter?
Second question: when trying to save on heating bills, should all of the windows in the house be closed tightly or can the bedroom window be open just a crack for fresh air?
Don't laugh, you promised. But I'd love to hear your thoughts. Comment!
I finally (finally) listed my thrift store items on etsy (although they've been on craigslist for a little while now). You can check them out by clicking HERE - forgive the pictures, they're awful. I took them, uploaded them to Flickr to compress them and then etsy compressed them again so they are horrifyingly blurry.
So that work at home telephone job I twittered about? Scored an interview. It was advertised as just 15 hours a week but it turns out that I could sign up for extra shifts if I wanted to, so that's a plus. Haven't had the interview yet, but I just sent them my response a couple of hours ago and they are located in Ontario, so I'm not expecting to hear anything till tomorrow. It will be a scheduled telephone interview and I'm pretty sure I'll get the job - professional telephone work is second nature to me, despite my discomfort of talking on the phone socially.
I'll be able to work out of the spare bedroom in our new house, the company provides great benefits and the hours suit our family lifestyle. It won't be a massive paycheck but it will definitely give us some breathing room!
Some of my Facebook friends asked if I didn't think I was busy enough (with Bear and Sweet Rina already) - yes, I'm pretty busy. But you gotta do what you gotta do to make ends meet, and this extra income will really help out our household budget.
So, Christmas. Only 37 sleeps until the big day! What are your feelings on this? Fear? Excitement? Both?
My paternal grandparents always give us cash for Christmas, and then we are supposed to tell them what we purchased at our Christmas get together. We're stuck as to what to use it for: new ink cartridges for our printer (which I can write off at tax time for Sweet Rina), improvements for the house (numerous including a bag of insulation, storm window material, paint, updated furnace ducting, putting towards a new electrical panel...) or using it on the three of us in the way of a new piece of clothing or shoes. What do you think?? Help! Update: we've spent half of it on a sweater, bag and slippers for me, and a t shirt for Bear. Papa Bear will be using the rest for a piece of clothing for himself, we think...
Speaking of Christmas...my brother emailed us all recently letting us know that he and my sister in law would not be participating in gift giving this year. They live off my sister in law's income while my brother attends university and are about as able to afford Christmas as we are. Not only that, but that they were both tired of the stress and materialism that comes with gift giving. I wanted to stand up and applaud when I read the email.
Don't get me wrong - I love Christmas and I do enjoy gift shopping/making. But it's true that Christmas has become so materialistic and greedy and consumeristic (is that even a word?). So, after talking with my Mom, I wrote a mass email in reply letting my brother and siblings know that we were in agreement and would also not be participating in the gift giving extravaganza; at least on my family's side - haven't broached the subject with the in laws yet... My Mom talked to my Oma (maternal grandmother - Oma is Dutch for grandma, essentially) and let her know the situation, as well as other members of our family and it was generally agreed upon that gift giving would not be happening this year (typically we do a gift exchange and there is a set amount to spend). I suggested bringing food for the Food Bank or if a person felt a strong need to spend money, make a donation to a favorite or well deserved charity instead.
So that's a huge relief for us, at least partly anyway. I'm still planning on making a few edible gifts for friends and family but it will be pretty random.
Regardless of whether or not we mention this idea to Papa Bear's side of the family, I'm pretty sure we're going to stick to the homemade gifts anyway. A basket for the brother, his wife and kids (plus cash for the kids; we do that every year) and a basket for Mom and Father in law. All homemade, mostly edible but a few non edible items as well.
I'll probably put together a small basket for my parents, too.
How are you handling Christmas gift giving this year?
PS - shout out to Frugal Changes for including my POM cake post in this edition of the MIFs carnival!











