Shoe Dreaming: Restricted Puppy Love Flats

It's been a while since I have purchased a pair of shoes, at least two months if not more. The horror! It's amazing that the economy has not gone into further collapse due to my lack of shoe purchasing. I'm sure Endless is really suffering right now.

Anyway, that may change soon, very, very soon. You see, I have a $10 DSW rewards certificate burning a hole in my wallet. Said certificate expires within a week. The one and only DSW in Tucson is on the other side of town. We once had two locations but alas, the second and newest closed. Ack! Anyway, my point is when I go to the store it is far, far away and I inevitably end up disappointed because rarely, if ever, do I find my huge honkin' size 10 available in nary a shoe I like. So online shopping it is for me, though even finding a size 10 at the online shop can be hard.

Today I found these flats from Restricted, called Puppy Love. Amazingly the size 10 is still in stock. Also amazingly it is in stock in all colors. I am partial toward the burgundy and the black. I could use my $10 certificate, another $5 off code I found online, plus get free shipping if I buy both pairs (free ship over $35, sigh). Plus, I could get 6% back from ebates. Decisions, decisions.

Reinventing the Thanksgiving Meal

For the last few years we have had our own little family Thanksgiving, just the three of us. Both mine and Jake's parents live here in Tucson, as does my brother and his wife plus her parents, so around the holidays it can get pretty interesting trying to negotiate who is going to be where when. So, for Thanksgiving we kind of opted out and decided to do our own thing. However, Christmas is a whole other ballgame and I imagine planning the logistics of that will commence before too long.

So this year my parents are in New Zealand, my brother will be going to his in-laws' house, and my husband's parents have yet to disclose any of their plans or wishes to us, though they will probably do so the day before (last minute is their style). In any case Jake and I have gone forward and made our own meal plans, and it does not involve turkey.

Say what? Yes I know that the tradition is turkey, but let's think about it, shall we? Do you ever go to a restaurant and order turkey and the trimmings? Probably not. Is it something you cook besides the fourth Thursday in November? Not likely. The last couple of years we did do a turkey cooked on the grill, and boy is it tasty. However, this year I just didn't feel like doing the shopping, cooking, or prepping, so we are going another route. I do understand the whole"tradition" aspect of the meal, but sometimes it is fun to make new family traditions and memories.

We decided to do shredded green chili pork with roasted tomatillos. We'll grill up the tomatillos on Wednesday night, and then put them, the pork, and the green chilis into the crock pot. Thursday morning we'll pull it out of the fridge and cook it all day. It will be oh so yummy with fresh tortillas, cilantro, and sour cream. I can hardly wait. In a nod to tradition we might cook up some sweet potatoes in the cast iron skillet; big, thick salted wedges that are so good and tasty. We will for sure have a pumpkin bread pudding with vanilla ice cream for dessert.

And that's it. Simple, easy, still lots of leftover since we will do two big wedges of pork. We'll freeze some of for a future meal, as it freezes well without losing taste. It will be low stress, little clean-up, and tasty. I'm sure I will miss having those yummy turkey sandwiches on Friday but I will happily console myself with some green chili pork burritos.

Goal Setting; or, Daring to Dream Big

Every year Jake and I like to lay out 1, 3, and 5 year goals. Last year we slacked a bit and didn't really engage in mush discussion except to agree we wanted to be in a new house and have a newer vehicle for him in 2009. Well, we failed miserably with both of those goals. 2009 is drawing to a close and we are still house hunting and waiting to buy a newer truck until we get the house.

Over the last week Jake has been trying to sit me down so we can discuss what our goals will be going into 2010. I have been avoiding this conversation, not because I don't want to dream big but because I am disappointed that perhaps we don't dream big enough. We know we need a new house and we are working on that. Now that there is a new tax credit we can take advantage of I feel we have to really get moving. We know we need a newer truck for Jake and to his credit he has been looking. The issue is mine is the only vehicle our little family all fits in, so I would like to remedy this situation. However, I am reticent to do so until we get another house. If we pay cash then we have that much less for a down payment, if we finance we are risking getting a good mortgage. So, the newer vehicle will need to wait. The Tacoma we have now is almost 13 years old and has not let us down yet, so I am keeping my fingers crossed it keeps on going.

Now, as to why I feel we don't dream big enough...part of our problem is us. We are very cautious with doing big, expensive things, like getting a new vehicle or taking a big trip. We are good at saving; in fact, I'll be doing an upcoming post on how much we saved this year despite all the job turmoil we have had. So what we do is save, save, save because neither of us wants to be in debt.

The problem with this is I have started to feel like we are not really living life. Yes, we have a house, vehicles that run, and a lovely child, but still, we don't really do anything. We don't have the big TV, the new cars, or big house. We don't travel, and we love to. I'm starting to wonder if we are being too conservative. Yes, it feels good to be debt free and have money in the bank, but it also feels nice to get on a plane and experience another culture.

Add to all this our ongoing debate about having another child. I will be 35 next year and am starting to feel that it is now or never. We tried for several months to have one and had no luck. Jake is up for giving it one more shot but I am not so sure. One day I am all for it and the next I can think of several good reasons to just keep our family as a threesome. Some of these reasons are selfish to be sure; I dread the thought of expanding feet (what if this time they stay a size bigger?), an even bigger chest (gah! I felt like one big walking boob), yet more changes to the structure of my body (after Siena my torso/rib area is two inches bigger than before from expanding during pregnancy), and having to go through the post-baby weight loss all over again (I was successful and at my pre-baby weight about six months after I had Siena, but then a couple years ago I had some surgeries, fell off the wagon, and now am just getting back to where I should be). I know I need to make up my mind soon. I have been using the house and vehicle excuse as my justification for continuing to put off making a firm decisions, but once those impediments are removed I will have to make a decision and stick to it. To be fair, Jake goes back and forth, too. We both feel like now is the time but we can't seem to commit even though in theory we really want to.

So, maybe this year for our goals we need to start dreaming big and making these dreams happen. We both want to live life more. The only thing that seems to be holding us back is ourselves.

Make Money While You Shop

I just want to remind everyone about ebates, the best cash back click-through site I have found on the web. It's really simple. You just create an account, and when you shop at certain retailers you get a percentage of your purchase price back in the form of cold, hard cash. The reward is paid quarterly and right now you get a $5 bonus for signing-up. I have written about this program a lot. Believe me. it is not a scam. I just got my quarterly check and it is going straight into my ING account. I figure if I am going to shop online I might as well get something back. And, now that Endless is giving cash back, I can get something for all the shoes I buy.

With the holiday shopping season already upon is it is nice to get rewarded, right?

Sign up by clicking here.

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Peppermint Joe Joe's are Here!

Last year I wrote of my undying love for Trader Joe's Peppermint Joe Joe's. For those of you who do not know what these are, let me tell you...they are like an Oreo cookie but with peppermint filling, with little pieces of crushed peppermint candy in the filing. So good! So refreshing! They sell out every year well before Christmas.

Last year TJ's upped the ante with their Dark Chocolate Covered Peppermint Joe Joe's. I only managed to get my hands on one little box. This year I've already acquired two, but Jake tells me there were not many to be had when he got them at the store. Sob. I love these things. But maybe it is just as well, since they are deadly to the waistline.

How can something so good be so bad?!?

Fun ebay "Wins": Anthropologie Snak Skirt

I have no idea what name Anthropologie ascribed to this skirt. The brand is Snak and I know I saw it in the store at least a few seasons ago. I picked it up on ebay for a song, a deal made even sweeter by paypal funds in my account.

The skirt is actually more of a lighter pink in real life. I was in a rush when I took these pictures, trying to pack for a trip to the Santa Train. Sorry!

The one thing I do not like about it is it is not lined. Still, it will work well for running errands on weekends when I do not want to get too dressed up for the grocery store!