Shopping with the Hubby. . . and Other Things . . .

The hubbs took the day off and we went shopping today, this is the third day he has taken me shopping.  We have almost knocked out our Christmas shopping.  I love Christmas, it is probably my favorite holiday.  I love shopping for presents, looking for that extra special gift for that extra special person.  Our families have gotten older and we do not do gifts anymore, it kind of makes me depressed.  I do still get to buy my boys and my very sweet husband gifts.  My company is helping a family in need this year so I will get to buy gifts for two little boys and a special Mom.   I am looking forward to shopping for them.
My very sweet husband has taken me shopping three days now and bless him he is a trooper.  This is what true love looks like people, in case you have any doubt about your person.  This very sweet man has trucked me all over to find gifts for the boys and shoes (not Christmas gifts) for me.   Today we did the Mall yes, he took me to the Mall.  He did not complain once and I was trying on shoes and everything.   This is the best man on the planet, he is mine and there is no other like him. 
This has been an interesting look in to what our empty nester life would look like, I think I kinda like it. 
We went to Big T's exhibition at school last night, he did a great job and we enjoyed seeing him present and watching the other kids present.  It is exciting to meet these kids and see all of the cool things they are learning and hearing about what they want to do when they grow up.  These kids are taking  high school classes and college classes at the same time.  One of the kids Sprat's age that went to this school has gone in to the military and because he graduated high school with an associates degree he went in to the Army at a higher level than someone just out of high school and he is now studying to be a registered nurse.  This school opens up so many doors for these kids and gives them opportunities to try things out with job shadow and internships.  Big T was invited to go to the middle school to talk about his school along with the principal.  They are doing that next week, he is kind of excited about it.  They will be sharing what all they get to do and the fun things they are learning.
Stay tuned for tells from MA and tells from NC. 

Monday, Monday. . .

Went shopping with my niece this weekend.  I was showing her the neat places to shop for clothes.  We had a great day and shopped till we both dropped.  I told her mama she wore me out and she told her mama that I wore her out.  Ha ha ha ha!!!!  We are both like my mother and her grandmother, we go till we cannot go anymore. 

I remember marathon shopping trips with my mom.  We could go to the outlets and shop all day, I would be completely worn out but not mom, mom seemed to have endless energy.   We would always find the best bargains too.  I am still a bargain shopper but I tend to find my bargains online these days.  I also like travel bargains, I am looking for some of those this week.  I would like to take my kids somewhere neat and educational for a couple days since we did not get a beach trip worked in this year.  Football sort of starts to take over our lives this time of year but, I would not change that for anything, Sprat loves his football.   This is when I get creative on family fun.  Life would be so boring if everything worked out all of the time.    I am keeping my fingers crossed that we can work something out and, I will share our trip with you.  

One of Sprats friends called last night to go practice lacrosse since his friends' mom and I are friends too, we dropped the boys off to practice and we went for TCBY and a chat.  It is nice to have girlfriends to be able to just go for some yogurt and a chat from time to time.  The boys had a workout for sure, Sprat was soaked to the bone.  

The hubbs has some phone calls this week so everyone keep your fingers crossed and I will be posting updates on him as we find things out.

Shopping Online. . .

On this Techno Tuesday I am going to talk about shopping online and share some cool sites for tech research and shopping.
All of the sites I share with you are sites that have been shared with me by my instructors and or are sites I frequent myself.  What I am trying to say is that they are safe to shop and use as research tools.  I am not getting any kickbacks from any of these sites. 
The first one is called NewEgg.com, this site sells all sorts of tech equipment, computer parts, and whole computers.  It is good to research parts for your computer and compare prices from other places. 
Download.com is another neat site.  They offer all sorts of downloads, some are free and some come with a fee.  They offer a lot of open source software for free. 

Some of these I may have posted before but they are worth posting again.  digikam.org is an open source program that helps keep your photos organized.  I have not used this one but one of my instructors swears by it.  This one is on my list to try because I have so many pictures and need to get them put in some sort of order.

I have not linked these sites in my post but, all you need to do is type them in your browser.   This is another shopping site, tigerdirect.com.  This site has everything from computer and tech equipment to office supplies. 

Mom Monday. . . Thoughts on Thanksgiving

I have seen a great deal about stores contemplating opening their doors on Thanksgiving.   I remember working at my first job on Christmas Eve and praying people would go home so that I could go home to my family.  It was our family tradition to open our gifts to each other on Christmas Eve, because Santa came that night. 
I worked in a local drug store and our boss, around 5:00 or so, would say if nobody comes in in the next 30 minutes we could go home.  We usually were able to leave around 5:30.   We were never opened on Thanksgiving or Christmas day. 
I have shopped on black Friday but I don't much any more.  I do not agree with opening on Thanksgiving, that and Christmas day should be held sacred for family.  Not much about family seems important these days to large companies.  My hubby has many weeks vacation and if he does not use it he loses it.  He usually takes almost two weeks at Christmas and this year his company said he could not take it.  
It is all about the bottom line these days.  The employees do not matter it is all about what are you doing for me.  My hubby has been with his company for 22 years and they would not bat an eye if something were to happen to him and he could not work.   They would just hire someone else to fill that spot.  People/employees, have become a disposable commodity.  That is why these companies are so willing to open their doors on Thanksgiving, they do not care about their employees or if it puts them out to have to be at work.  Their only concern is their net profit.
I will not be shopping on Thanksgiving nor will I be shopping the day after.  These folks should be able to enjoy their families and not be schlepping to put money in some CEO's pocket.    

My first boss was a great man, he instilled in many a very strong work ethic.   He was very generous to the kids he employed and he did employ many kids from our local high school.  He was very stern and he expected a lot from his employees but you got a lot back from him too.   If more of these corporate goons would approach things the way the mom and pop stores used to our Country would be so much better off.   We need a time warp back to the days when an employee was valued as part of a company and the employee felt vested in the company.    I think that is what people really need to be encouraged to do a good job.  They need to feel valued and they need to feel they have a stake in the company they work for.  They do not need to be told do it or else, that is the wrong kind of mentality when dealing with people.   If you feel it is wrong for people to have to be open on Thanksgiving day then stand up and do not go shopping that day.  If they do no have big sales numbers they will not do it again.  I hope everyone will enjoy their loved ones on Thanksgiving, I know that is where I will be.  

Shopping with the Boys

Shopping with your kids should be considered vigorous aerobic exercise.   I love my boys but I hate having to take both of them shopping for anything.  One on one they are easy and I have no problem shopping.   Together should be outlawed.
Sprat needed a new bathing suit, the boy is growing out of his clothes like crazy.  Everytime I turn around he has grown out of something else.  
I guess Sprat is in that phase of teenager where they don't want to try things  on and if it is not about them, they don't care.  Ughhh, teenagers.   These two crazy boys cannot keep their hands to themselves and must aggravate each other every chance they get. 
I love them dearly but they do make me crazy.

Great afternoon with Sprat. . .

Spent the day with my oldest yesterday.  I had a dentist appointment and that got us started.  After the dentist, it is off to the MALL, yes I said it MALL.  The mall and a teenage boy don't usually go together well.  We were looking for a bathing suit for our beach trip.  They were having a pretty good sale so we picked up some shorts and shirts too.  Did not find a bathing suit.  All of the suits had a velcro fly and Sprat just did not like that.   We looked at shoes but the sale was not that good.   After the mall it was off to grab a quick bite to eat and then to the barber.  Sprat got his hair all fixed up for the rest of the Summer.  Then it was home, boy was I beat.  It is exhausting picking out clothes for a teenage boy.  It was a good day.  It was so nice to spend it with my son, he is growing in to such a handsome young man inside and out.  You really don't know your kids until you see them interact with other adults in everyday activities.   I am thankful to the good Lord above for these little glimpses in to the person he is molding my son to be.  Blessed.