FRUGAL IS A FOUR LETTER WORD

I am beginning a new venture this year. A new take on all the years of New Year’s resolutions that last a very short time….actually my longest time of keeping my resolutions is 4 hours.


What am I resolving….the year of living frugally. Granted frugal means different things for different people. I am not giving up things like cable, DVR, you know, the essentials. The guy who picks up the dog poop. Having someone wash my car. Haircuts at Jet Rhys…uh, uh, not those things.


I just mean being prudent, because after all, my new blog is called FRUGAL IS A FOUR LETTER WORD. If you put your thinking cap on you can figure out the word of which I speak.


My New Year's Resolutions!


1. Buy only by things that I really need

2. Pay my credit cards off.

3. Eat less.

4. Exercise more (anything would be more, let’s face it)

5. Finish projects.

6. EBay what I don’t need.

7. Donate what I can’t eBay.

8. Divest myself of all (OK not all) my unnecessary objects.

9. Open my mind up to being more creative.

10. Paint.

11. Photograph

12. Write

13. Finish my works in progress

14. Use what I have

15. Create

16. Read

17. Blog



Your job…of course you have a job. You are to encourage me to be the best that I can. This is to a good year. I think that this year I can accomplish quite a few of these. I am resolute in my commitment to these goals.



I will continue to blog Good Directions, but I am committed to Blog FRUGAL every day. Every day. That means I will be thinking about it all the time. At this point it is organic (which hopefully does not mean sh…y).

UNCLE JAY EXPLAINS THE NEWS

This is laugh out loud perfect!!! Make sure your volume is on!

CHRISTMAS ROAD TRIP

What would the holiday be without spending some portion of the day with Clifford. Cliff had to work the Christmas Eve and the day after…retail, as we all know, is rough on holidays. So on to the Rosengren-Friedman version of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles...PTA without the P and T...but with one of the best scenes ever from a frustrated traveler.



This year I happened to have Christmas eve off, so ROAD TRIP. 600 miles—door to door. A very long 600 miles. We left Tuesday after I got off from work and stopped just outside (one side or the other) of Bakersfield. All I know is that there were cows involved, and the lovely odors that go along with them.

When we got to Chico Cliff still had a couple of hours to work, traffic was insane in little Chico (did I mention it was pouring), so what else would we do but go to our fave the Sin of Cortez for lunch and then Barnes and Noble to await the arrival of the prodigal son. 37 books, 1 tea, 1 coffee, 483 magazines later, Cliff arrived in the rain.

So officially Christmas began for us at 4:30. We went to Casa Cliff, met Ruth Bader Ginsberg Chinchilla, Harvey Two Face the cat, then to dinner at the Raw Bar for Sushi. Grocery shopping, gas shopping, sleep, Christmas gift opening, breakfast at the “Sin of Cortez” and on the road again by 9AM.

Let me recap:

10 hours driving to Chico
1 Motel room in Bakersfield
3 hours at Barnes and Noble
2 breakfasts at Sin of Cortez
1 dinner at RawBar
1 shopping spree at Safeway
10 hours driving to San Diego
and yes
Christmas morning with Clifford—priceless.

ACTS OF KINDNESS

Tis the season...and this season I am amazed by both the generosity of people and, of course, Scrooge-ism.

First, is the story of the man who went into the Burlington Coat factory in Virginia Beach and paid off half of the layaways that contained children's coats. What a fabulous thing to do! I would sooooo love to have the money to do that!!! Can you imagine? Fun, fun, fun!

Second, is a woman in front of me in line at Kohl's who ran out of line and bought a stuffed animal to give to the little girl in front of her in line! The little girl was adorable--wishing everyone a "Happy Christmas!"

Third, the incredible generosity of many of the people in our store who helped out our adopted families. Two people in the dress area gave $220 gift card to Safeway! One person who has only worked with us for a couple of weeks donated a bicycle and helmet (what good is one without the other). The donated $2 here, $6 there. They gave their loyalty money, lunch money, their latte money....it was appreciated!! Two families will have their best Holiday ever!!!

This is the reason for the season!!

TEAVANA

Teavana opened in the mall to great fanfare and excitement. This coincided with my having a sore throat yesterday, which inspired me to go get a wonderful cup of hot tea. Thus the adventure begins....

Teavana is a delightful store. I quote this from their mission statement: "As our name implies, Teavana's goal is to be a heaven of tea and to offer our customers the healthy lifestyle and wonderful tastes of tea. This unique name is meant to describe the experience each customer has with our tea and our staff"

Of course their tea is yummy. They give little samples of their heavenly tea at the door and I fell in love. I went to buy a cup of tea and told the tea hostess that I would like to replicate the recipe, this is where it went downhill. Keep in mind it was busy...here is the dialogue..

"I love this tea, can I get what I need to replicate it?"
"Sure, it is a blend of two teas."
"Great!"
"Minimum purchase is two ounces."
"Great!"
"Pick a tin."
"OK, just the plain one is good"
"Buy three tins, and you get 10% off."
"That's nice"
"We used Jasmine Dragon Pearls, Rooibos Tropica, and we sweetened it with German Rock Cane Sugar."

"Great! Some of that too."
"Your tea is ready and I can take your payment over here."

I hand her my debit card, still preoccupied with talking to my friend, Robert. Sign my bill, take my tea, and head back to work. Now the tea is amazing! Amazing!! Truly!! Amazing!! Did I mention that the tea is amazing??

I look at the receipt for my three tins of tea and it was $121.34. Amazing!! I became semi-hysterical. After all, that is the exact amount of my lunches on my Bloomingdale's bill for the month. $121.34. I sat there looking at the bill as I sipped my tea. Pretty much everything was amazing. Oh, except for Henry....he was ballistic.

After a few hours, I decided to head back down to the store with my purchase and ask what happened.

"I just bought this tea and I am trying to figure out how the bill got to be $121.34?"
"The tins are $6.00 each."
"She did not mention that the tins were $6.00 she just said to pick one."
"You got a 10% discount, and she did not charge you for the tea."
"But I only wanted two ounces, not a whole tin."
"But the tin keeps it fresher."
"I would assume so."
"You got a discount. Your discount is like 10 free cups of tea."
"We do not take returns on tea, but I will make an exception for you this time."
"I really appreciate it."
"Do you have your card."
"Yup."
"Do you have ID?"
"I have my name badge which matches the credit card, and my Bloomies phone (securely held in place on the top of my dress)."
"We need ID."
"You did not need ID to charge me the $121.34."
"We need ID to credit your account, can you go back and get it."
"I am exhausted and sick, I know my drivers license number will that do."
"OK this time, but you will need your ID."
"What is your Driver's License number:
"D258937642." I make up.
"What was after the 9?"
All I could think was that this is a test and she knows I am making it up...46823, I say confidently, hoping she does not notice the discrepancy. I know my library card number but my drivers license...no way. Bloomies card...no way.

In the end I got scolded by a 22 year old, and a $51 credit. Thereby making the tea only $70.34.

They simply need to amend their slogan to:

Opening the doors to Health, Wisdom, Happiness, and the Poor House

Did I mention it is AMAZING tea!! I can hardly wait to try a new combo!!