Christmas Music

I have almost six hours of holiday music that I've been enjoying ... and because I purchased some Amazon music as gifts I got a free $5 Amazon MP3 download, and the new Faith Hill album happened to be $5 - so now I have a little bit more Christmas music to enjoy. SCORE!

Cleaning up my receipts. I never fail to misplace every single $5 Duane Reade reward coupon. Why can't it all just be on my card? Why do I have to keep up with a slip of paper. And I usually get the reward (which you get for every 100 points you earn, each point being one dollar spent) right as I'm about to leave. I have a week left here before we jet off to VA, but I hope I find the coupon by then. They expire two weeks after issue or something.

I have to get new glasses. The frames - Prada, the most expensive I've ever had - were cracking the lenses, which were high dollar polycarbonate that shouldn't break even under pressure. So basically a flawed design - WTF?! I went back to the place, picked out a new frame (it's similar but a different color and brand). I should get them in a few days, definitely before the trip. They were about $50 less, when all was said and done, so I just got some contacts with that money (plus paid a little extra). I've got contacts in now - SO nice to see. SUCH a drag ... these glasses have been nothing but T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!!

Update: Found the DR coupon - in my coat pocket. Argh.

Some baking I did yesterday: Peppermint Cloud Brownies (gag) and White Velvet Cutouts (YUM!) ... Let's see how they hold up in shipping.

Shawn and the Rockefeller Christmas Tree, then Mari and the Rockefeller Christmas Tree:

(who's the better photog?)

Shawn and the Saks Fifth Avenue Snowflakes (SO pretty):

Me and SOME of the gifts we're giving this year. Some are already in Oklahoma, others are already being shipped, etc. It's exhausting, especially ... well we all know my life the last six months has been like an awful country song (along the lines of "my wife left me, my dog died, i lost my job, then my best friend ..." - you know, everything going wrong).

I think I'll edit a few newsletter articles, just to get them going for this week. The more times I can look at a given article, the better I can make it.

~mari.

PS WOW am on "A Baby Changes Everything" on Faith's album. SO good. Can't wait for a baby to change my everything ... but that's another story.