The Week In Review

Good morning! I hope everyone had a productive and pleasant week. I had some highlights that I want to share.

My son has a small desk fan in his bedroom which he has pointed on him during the night because he insists I don't keep the house cold enough. Clearly he doesn't pay the electric bill. Anyway, the fan was acting up (it was a cheap old thing) and Sunday night it simply stopped working. He had a terrible night sleep and had to get up early for his computer class the next day. I felt sorry for him, because it's no fun trying to learn while you're falling asleep, so on Monday I decided to run over to Target and get him another desk fan. I found one for just $15.99, but I also found something else.

I always check out the clearance sections at Target, especially the purse section because I've found some absolute treasures there. This trip didn't disappoint; I found this adorable mauve purse that was originally $36.99 marked down to $18.49. This is going in my Christmas gift stash!

I did go to the Dollar Spot, though not expecting to find anything I wanted. I was wrong.

These little pumpkins are adorable! And at $3 each I couldn't pass them up. I put them on the corner of my dry bar, and only then realized how perfect they were.

The colors match my Dollar Tree florals exactly! How cool is that?!

I hadn't been to Ross in a while, and since it was on my way home I decided to stop in. I had gone back to Ross whenever the stores reopened but twice left empty handed because the store had virtually nothing in the home decor department. Like, empty shelves everywhere. This time it wasn't as bad (though they certainly aren't well stocked yet) and I was able to find this beautiful throw blanket:

It's cream color so it can go pretty much anywhere. It is so soft and cozy, too. I wanted something different for my bed because the throws I have are the same color as the bedspread so they blend in. I wanted something that would stand out but just a little. This fit the bill.

On Tuesday I was on the phone again, this time with AT&T. I use AT&T for my home internet. Last year when we moved into our new home, they offered me 300 Mbps for $50 a month. I'd been paying about $84 a month at the old house, so a savings of $34 a month was music to my ears. Of course that promo was for 12 months, and it was coming to an end, so I decided to see what other offers AT&T had going. The service I currently had, with 300 Mbps, would be going up to $80, but an offer for 1000 Mbps was available for only $59.99. That obviously made no sense, so I started up a chat with one of their agents asking why the discrepancy. After beating around the bush he finally told me that it was because "we want everyone to have fast internet!" Give me a break. I asked a couple of times if the price was actually $59.99, if there were any hidden fees or if this was the actual price. I was assured this was the true price. I also asked if there were any other promotions, and the agent said he'd send me an email with more information. I thanked him and went on looking for other options.

A couple of days later my son asked if I'd gone ahead and upgraded, since he had checked and was able to download to over 900 Mbps. I was pretty surprised and said no, but I remembered I'd received an email that I hadn't looked over yet. When I did, I saw that not only had the agent gone ahead and switched our plan, he upped the price to $69.99. Well, Mama wasn't happy about that. So Tuesday I called and explained what was going on. I quickly realized it was an error on their part. I should not have been offered this promo because it was only for new customers, but since it was their goof-up the new agent said she'd go ahead and honor the price. Then she came back and said she couldn't offer me $59.99 but she did have an offer that was $20 off the $69.99 price and it included the 1000 Mbps plus HBO Max for free. I don't care about HBO but I was only too happy to take the higher speed internet for $.01 less than I'd been paying the past year. Lesson here: always question what doesn't appear right. It can end up saving you money.

On Wednesday we went back to our old neighborhood. My son had been lamenting for the past year that he hadn't found a barber as good as the one back home. I knew it was true; the barbers where he was going, the same place my son-in-law C goes to, were always rushed and did a mediocre job at best. Lucy takes her time and gives him the royal treatment, plus it's always exactly what he wants. I surprised him and made him an appointment with Lucy. After I dropped him off I went to visit my BFF and realtor. We had a nice visit for an hour before it was time to pick E up again. Then we drove by the old house. It doesn't look the same. The new owners painted the exterior, changed out light fixtures and a window, put in new front doors, took down all the coconut palms and the palm trees in front of the house. They even put in a new mailbox and new numbers on the house. It was bittersweet; of course I knew they wouldn't keep the house the same, but it's strange to see it look so different after 20 years. Still, I'm constantly reminded of how God has blessed us, and I'm happy for the new owners.

I didn't do much on Thursday except rest. I pulled a muscle in my back so I took it easy. I studied for our women's bible study on Friday. Since my old church is still doing everything virtually I'm able to participate in the group bible study which I am so extremely thankful for. We are studying Jesus's parables. This past Friday we studied Luke 18:1-8, the parable of the persistent widow. We learned about praying continually and not losing heart. Such a timely Word for the season we're living!

Then yesterday I served in children's ministry at our new church. I like the lady I'm co-leading with; she's a hoot! I also love teaching the children. I'm normally pretty shy, especially in large groups of people, but with the kiddos I come alive. God has shown me that teaching is what He wants me to do, and I'm blessed to be able to do it.

Well, that's been my week. I'm heading off to online church now. I encourage everyone to find a Bible teaching, Bible believing church. Start a relationship with Jesus Christ. It's never too late, and there's no time like the present. Have a blessed week.

The Week In Review

 I had planned on posting more this week, but it seemed like the time got away from me. A lot of my time was spent on the phone - not my favorite pastime but sometimes it's got to be done.

The first call this week was to my internet provider, AT&T. We were having issues with the WiFi - internet worked but nothing was connecting. Thankfully they came out the same day. My son E is doing college online so having reliable internet is crucial. The guy found the problem right away. The first technician had put the WiFi extender in the wrong room and had done the connection incorrectly. I was annoyed at the guy, because he insisted none of their technicians would have done the connection this way and it must have been us. I tried to find the paperwork from the first technician but of course you can't ever find anything when you need it. Ultimately he accepted what I said, though I don't think he believed me. Anyway, he fixed the problem. That was my Monday in a nutshell.

As I mentioned in my previous post, fall decorating is an ongoing thing in my house. I add, subtract, move things around and generally change things till I feel like they look right. I added a few more things here and there, such as in the office/guest room.

I didn't make any changes to my desk other than the storage box. I don't want to have too many things on my desk cluttering the surface space.

I did, however, add a few little touches to my bookshelf (sorry about the glare, this room gets a lot of sunlight). Again, not too much, just enough to remind me that, according to the calendar, it's almost fall.

The little box of assorted pumpkins that I picked up from Hobby Lobby came in handy. I've scattered them all around the house. This one found its way here, next to the ceramic bowl my son R made for me whenever he was in middle school. He's getting married next month; I can't believe how the time has flown.

I got these gold and white pumpkins several years ago from Target. They used to be on my kitchen shelves, but this year they're making their appearance in the office. I don't like switching everything out yearly; instead, I like to buy pieces that I really like and use them year after year.

I added these pillows to my futon. I got these off of Walmart.com about three years ago I believe. They were two for $10, and they are so pretty!

I had two sets, this one and a more traditional set that would have worked for Thanksgiving as well, but I decluttered those whenever we moved. I now wish I hadn't, because they are so sweet and because Walmart doesn't carry them anymore. But I am thankful I kept these. The colors work really well with the rest of the decor in this room.

I did make a small adjustment in my master bedroom. I put this throw blanket instead of the textured one I had initially put down because the color on the first one was off. This throw is pretty much the same color as the bedspread. I want another throw but I haven't found one yet that I like enough to purchase. I've also been considering possibly upgrading to a comforter instead of a bedspread, but again I haven't seen anything I'm attracted to. I'm not in a rush; it's not a need, it's just a want. There's plenty of other things I could be purchasing instead.

Speaking of other things to purchase, I did my weekly grocery shopping for the fill in items I'd need for the coming week. It wasn't a lot of food, just a lot of money (ugh).

Walmart was my first stop:

Y'all, it wasn't even that much food. How did I end up spending $53?! I will say this, the Marketside pepperoni pizza was pretty good, and for $7 I guess I can't complain. It's not as good as the pizza from Costco but it's still good.

Next I went to Costco to pick up some kielbasa sausage and allergy medicine. That's it. Sausage and Allegra. This is what happened:

I got the sausage. I got the allergy medicine. Then I remembered my son told me his socks needed replacing so I got him a pack of Puma socks for $12.99. As I walked by I noticed they were carrying Pocky again, one of his favorite snacks, and they were on sale, so I picked up a box of those. Oh, but it didn't end there...

I love Costco sales! These Fila sneakers were just $17.99! I'd been thinking of getting some nice sneakers because my current ones are looking a bit worse for wear, but I don't like spending a lot of money on sneakers. This price is right up my alley! Of course that meant my total at Costco was $84, but I know I got good deals. The allergy medicine alone is $33 but my son has to have it. 

What else happened this week? Hmm...I dyed my hair because my roots were out of control. My son and I went to my daughter's house for dinner yesterday. We played Disney's Jungle Cruise board game and had a lot of fun. Was there anything else? Oh, that's right. I mentioned spending a lot of time on the phone. That's a whole other post in itself. Let's just say I'm not happy with the IRS. Yep, I've got a story to tell. Stay tuned.