Come and Gone

Christmas has already come and gone and I can't believe how quickly. I always feel like I spend a lot of time preparing for a certain day to come and then it's gone before I can even truly enjoy it. It's sad really. I think I much more prefer the season leading up to Christmas rather than Christmas day itself.

This year was especially bitter because of personal family problems with my dad. Usually family gatherings do end with a bust up between my dad and someone else, but this year he decided to throw in a wrench by not coming at all. In fact, he was on the other side of the planet for reasons unknown.

I picked him up from the airport yesterday. I feel a family meeting coming on.

The Countdown

There are a few things left to pick up that are stressing me out, but overall I'm excited about Christmas. Well, partly excited. My dad isn't around so....

I'm watching Rudolph on tv right now, so hopefully it will cheer me up and get me in the mood.

Merry Christmas everyone. It'll be here and gone before you know it.

Highlights from the Christmas Party

The Axe

Well guys, it seems as though I may lose my job. I haven't been able to stay at a job for more than 2 years without there being a buyout and layoffs. Without whispers abound that the bank may get sold, there's major cost cutting initiatives. Severance packages have been mailed to the local HR reps and it seems like the axe will fall tomorrow.

I will keep you updated.

What Should I Worry About More?

Is it good or bad that I'm more worried about the quality of my Christmas gifts than I am about whether I'll have a job or not in the coming weeks? It's just that being laid off isn't something I can control. I'm sure that senior management will do what they want no matter how good I am at my job. However, if I give a chintzy gift...well, that's all on me.

Dear Brangelina

Dear Brangelina,

You spent Thanksgiving zipping through Ho Chi Minh City on a scooter, taking in the sites, buying souvenirs, and visiting an orphanage. Could I ask you to please, please, please adopt another kid so Asians can be in style again?

Thanks guys!
Sophalopalus

A Few of My Favorite Things

I ventured out into the retail world on Black Friday. I went to the Lancaster outlets while Joe was working and spent about 5 hours picking up stocking stuffers and odds and ends for the Christmas party. And since Joe went camping down at the races yesterday, I spent 9 hours at King of Prussia with mom and Jules. There's tons of cool things for Christmas at King of Prussia, I've listed a few things here to give you some gift ideas.

Sweaters Galore! There are tons of really nice sweaters on sale right now. I got 50% off sweaters at the Gap on Friday, but I saw nice cashmere at Anne Taylor and new styles at Old Navy.

Home Accents. You have to get excited every time Yankee Candle comes out with new scents. And they were buy one, get one half off. Williams-Sonoma has really cute bundt pans in the shape of snowmen, castles, train cars, you name it. Plus boxed gourmet candies for Christmas. This is the place to be for the cook in your family.

Beauty Bounty. I only saw this sale at KoP, but Bath and Body Works had a 5 for $10 deal on all Anti-Bacterial products!!! The price was so good, you had to stock up for yourself and for stocking stuffers. Also, the cosmetics counters were crazy busy everywhere. Sephora, MAC, all the department stores. Mom and Jules got eyeshadow pencils and we were all over the anti-aging products.

Ice It and Get Back in There. Sears had a 50% sale on jewelry so mom and Jules were all over that. Sears was also giving away vegetable peelers when we were on our way out too.

Where Did the Month Go?

How is it already Thanksgiving week? I don't even remember the days after Halloween. And now I feel the onslaught of holiday hustle and bustle. I haven't even given a thought to my Christmas list yet and haven't firmed up the party date to even start the invites. Yikes.

I will probably take off Black Friday. To catch up on the above things and make lists and get my car inspected. It's going to be a crazy holiday season this year.

To Do List:
Make Christmas wish list.
Make gift lists for giftees.
Decide on party date.
Make invites (should I do the sleds again, or just paper?).
Schedule appointment for car inspection.
Make Christmas card list (check for updated addresses).
Make Christmas crafts (soaps, cookies).
Coordinate the shipping of long distance gifts.

What else am I missing?

The Gallows

MSN Slate had this great article on how hangings actually work. I recommend you know your international execution rules, read up on this.

How Do Hangings Work?

Remember Remember, the 5th of November

Just wanted to remind people that yesterday was Guy Fawkes Day (in Britain). You're probably thinking you don't know who that is, but I think you know more than you think. At least, you would recognize his face.

Guy Fawkes was a guy who tried to blow up the House of Parliament and assassinate the king at the time. He was actually caught before either of these happened and was hanged for treason. On this holiday, there are typically bonfires and such to recall the original plan to blow up the HoP.

You may be familiar with this story by the graphic novel or adapted movie "V for Vendetta" in which the story is loosely based.

My Advice on Saving Money, Part 2

The Obvious, Giving Up Life's Little Luxuries
-I don't smoke, but if I did I would quit. If I had a pack-a-day habit, I'd be spending about 4 bucks a day, 28 a week, 112 a month, 1344 a year.

-Stop dining out. Making your own food is always cheaper than getting someone to do it for you, plus tips. But if you have to, go out for lunch instead of dinner, the menu is cheaper. Or just eat half a dinner portion and take the other half home, 2 meals for the price of one!

-Cancel subscriptions. I had to cancel the TV and give up call waiting when I really had to cut the fat. Nowadays Netflix and cable internet (dial up again?!) would be shown the door.

Reverse Psychology: Spending Money In Order to Save Money
-Sometimes you have to pay a little extra money right now so that you save money later. Like moving house. At the time of my unemployment, my apartment was expensive and was about to become even more expensive after the initial 12 months of my lease. So I decided to move to a cheaper apartment. I spent some money for a rental truck and some moving supplies but I easily made that money back with the rent I was saving.

-Pay your bills early. You don't want to rack up late fees and then owe even more, it's counter-productive. But my emphasis on early is the key for loans. See, interest compounds daily on loans so if you pay one day early, that's one day of interest you don't have to pay and one day's worth of interest going towards principle. Same for credit cards, you don't want to be paying interest on a meal you had two weeks ago, it's ludicrous.

Put Your Pride on the Line: Going Generic
-I'm always willing to try a generic version at the grocery store. Sometimes generics are comparable or even better than the brand, hey it happens. And I can pocket that extra money for the rest of my life. Sometimes it's not, and that's okay.

-Giving up meat and in turn, eating more carbs. Meat is expensive, so I cut back on that stuff. I'd buy whole chickens a lot because those are cheap and would stretch for maybe 3 different meals. And buy potatoes by the bag, those things make the littlest scraps of food filling, and really, how many different ways can potatoes be made?

-Shop the discount groceries. Heck, I don't know why everyone doesn't do this but the discount groceries can really save you money. I stocked up on a lot of pantry items: boxed pasta, canned veg, bottled juice. And FYI, you have to pay for grocery bags, so bring your own (I didn't know that the first time I went).

-Learn to sew. Making your own clothes is a cheap way to go, but I was thinking more of mending your clothes. A little more practical and can save you from going out and buying a new $35 sweater. Especially when the electricity bill just happens to cost that exact amount.

-Shop thrift or second hand. I'm just like the next girl, I don't want to look like a school marm, but I can't afford a pair of Sevens if I'm trying to save money. You really have to invest time into looking through the thrift racks but, it can be worth it.

Other Ideas
-Reinvent the stuff around the house. Were you going to toss those old socks? Why not use those as rags instead of paying for those magnetic dust mitts. Shrunk your sweater? Remake them into cute winter gloves or a throw pillow.

-Frisk your furniture. When was the last time you gave your couch the shake down? I swear you not, I found 20 bucks in the couch cushion once. Hand to god. Check table drawers and the clothes in the bottom of your dresser.

-Got one of those jars of loose change? Cash it in! Now!

-Move the money around in your bank accounts. Chances are you could get better interest somewhere else or just in a different account. Yeah, maybe it's a few cents here and there, but they compound and could add up fast.

-Drive less. This was a hard one to get used to. When I had to go out somewhere I would have to take some extra time and think about where I was going and if there was another chore I could accomplish in that same trip. It could potentially save gas money.

My Advice on Saving Money, Part 1

Lately, we've been in major saving mode for several reasons. For a house, for a dog, for a flat screen tv, and so on. So I thought I'd write some advice on squeezing out some extra money from your pockets when you really need it. It works for me now and definitely worked for me during my time in unemployment.

First of all, it helps to evaluate what your goals are. If it's for a house, a car, getting out of debt, whatever it is, make a list of everything you want to accomplish for the next 12 months and estimate how much you need to do it. This helps to set your expectations.

Next, make a budget. Calculate how much money you take home on a monthly basis and then start subtracting all your expenses. Include your rent and your utility bills, but don't forget any monthly subscriptions, student loans, gas, groceries and other things you pay for on a regular monthly basis. What's left is what goes into your savings bucket. Not satisfied with that number? Then stay tuned, I'll detail what I do to cut my expenses to put more in my savings.

This Day in History

I just read on Wikipedia that today in 1958, Belgian cartoonist Peyo introduced The Smurfs in Belgian papers.


I didn't realize there were so many actual Smurfs, but my favorite is still Brainy.

Special Day

Ladies and Gentlemen, today I sent in my last student loan payment! This is something I'm pretty excited about because I'm actually 4 years early. What typically should be done in 10 years, I did in 6!!

Wahoo! [Sophalopalus does jig]

Coat Racks Reunited: Update

The past 2 weeks haven't been so good for the Coat Racks. I've been slipping in the overall ranks, as you can see.

Gameweek 1 33 591,334
Gameweek 2 33 511,248
Gameweek 3 61 237,952
Gameweek 4 49 189,029
Gameweek 5 48 187,749
Gameweek 6 30 286,401
Gameweek 7 35 292,282

Here is my current team:
James, Van der Sar
Campbell, Terry, Mellberg, Primus, Sinclair
Fabregas, Neville, Essien, Young, Bridge
Heskey, Hasselbaink, Saha

I don't get it, it would seem that I have a pretty kick ass team. Anyone got suggestions?

House Beautiful

We're in the throes of finding a new home. Part of me doesn't want to buy a house because I love love love my loft. I wouldn't want to trade it. But there comes a time to put some roots down.

We're in the middle of shoring up a down payment and hope to god that something that strikes us will present itself when we are ready to buy. But we've been casually looking at houses in the meantime, just to see what styles we like and how much house our money can buy nowadays. This has become a really stressful and disappointing hobby, though. Right now there's a house for sale that suits our style, but it's just out of our budget.

Part of me is really nervous about the commitment but part of me is also really excited about having more room and decorating and entertaining. Wish us luck.

Movie Review: Lucky Number Slevin

I like these types of thrillers where they don't let you in on what's really going on until late in the movie. This is what happened in Lucky Number Slevin. It starts out as a film of mistaken identity but near the end, it was all just cleverly planned to seem that way. Jam packed with lots of star actors, and surprisingly everyone's talent didn't go wasted.

Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, and Josh Hartnett. I say this is a must see.

4 and a half eggrolls out of 5.

They Don't Do That Anymore

This week: Hypercolor T-shirts.

Remember these as an emerging technology? I never owned one myself, but I think I wish I did. Tell me your fond memories in the comments section.

DE-FENSE!!

This joke never gets old.

Talk Like a Pirate Day!!

Ahoy ye land lubbers! 'Tis Talk Like A Pirate Day!