2 months and counting

Look over at the calendar everyone, there are only two months until Christmas and it's going to go fast, so it's time to take a minute to think about your holiday plans.

I'm a little late this year with my Christmas planning. Going to the mall this Sunday was the big kick-in-the-pants I needed to get started. I do not love crowds.

So I've set the wheels of my brains (yes, both sides) into motion and with a some help from the very user friendly website Organized Christmas I'm on my way to conquering the holidays in 6 weeks of easy planning.

Another Season of 24

I must admit that this season of 24 is back on track with the original season. I stopped watching last season (as I'm sure a lot of people did) because the plot was hokey. OK, the terrorists with weapons plot line is back again this year but they lured me back with a more limited cast (originals Jack, Chloe, Bill) and new faces, like this guy....
Colm Feore is the President's husband. An awesome actor that I look forward to seeing again at The Stratford Festival this summer. With those intense eyes how could I not give this season a try.

Philboy at Give Me My Remote recaps '24' every week. At the end of his post there is a section called "Everything I Need to Know in Life I Learned from Jack Bauer (and Others)…". Some of my favorites so far are:

~ When you get in a shootout, you can just leave any dead bodies wherever the end up. It’s fine.
~ If you know someone who won’t believe things about their significant other, have a photo slide show on your phone ready to go as evidence.
~ If you want to keep something secret and not let anyone know you have it, make sure it glows.
~ A street being “One Way” is really only a suggestion.
~ Surviving a multiple car crash is easy. It’s a kick to the side that hurts!
~ It is totally OK to push your co-workers.
~ The best time to have a discussion where someone’s life is on the line and one person has a gun pointed at the other is next to a car on fire.
~ The more syllables something has, the more deadly it is.
~ Saying, “Copy that!” is so much more badass than saying, “OK.”
~ If I tell you I am going to shoot you, but not kill you, trust me.
~ Just because I make you bleed a lot, doesn’t me I screwed up.
~ Going into a trial without a lawyer isn’t poor legal strategy. It’s BADASS!

Support

Please take a few minutes to read Chai's Story. It's not pleasant but all dog owners should be aware of this this toy and it's affect, The Four Paws Pimple Ball with Bell.

No animal should have to go through that ordeal.

Send your email and boycott all Four Paws products until they remove the Pimple Ball with Bell.

Poor boy. Hugs and kisses from The Payne Family.

Pet Info

Uncluttered had a post about Organizing your pet information in case of an emergency. Most of the this info I have, somewhere, but I need to get the other contact info and put it all together. Another small task to add to our 'Get Things Done' list.

In addition to their points I would add:

1 - Record the number of your pets City tags/license.

2 - Provide your dog-sitter/dog-walker with a copy of the ER information.

3 - Have multiple dog tags. If your dog-sitter lives in another city or you spend the summers at the cottage a local dog license with the local contact info will help get your pet back to you sooner.

4 - Give your Kennel a copy of the info as well. They might not be able to contact you while you are travelling.

5 - Storing the primary info in your PDA or cell phone is a good idea as well. RJ, are you on that?

Websites for Coupons and Flyers, oh my!

When I logged into my yahoo email I noticed an ad on the left side. It was for $5 off Iams dog food. That's the brand Bauer eats so I clicked on the ad and found myself on the Save.ca website. I was a little skeptical but after reading their About Us page I decided to try it.


SAVE.CA is one of the very few sites on the World Wide Web that does not require you to provide any personal information prior to seeing what we have to offer you. If you want our free coupons, only then do we ask you to provide a mailing address. You don’t need to register and you don’t even need to have a user name and password like most sites on the Internet. The coupons we provide are absolutely free. We even pay the postage. Our revenues are generated through the manufacturers who are charged a nominal fee for coupons printed and mailed on their behalf.


I also like that I don't have to open an account and remember yet another login/password. I got my coupons last week and they look good. There is a 3 month expiration date on them from the day I requested them. The items on the website change often (although the Iams dog food is still there) so make sure to check back now and again.


Another website I came across was SmartFlyerCanada. It lists all the flyers that you would normally get with your paper delivery. To view the flyer it directs you to the stores website. Handy if you don't have a paper subscription.

Both sites customize the information based on your province. Happy saving!

Home Inventory

One of my favorite sites is The Simple Dollar. Last month they had a post about creating a Household Inventory. We've been in Dansbury for almost two years and considering our house has already been hit by lightning, it's probably a good idea that we take some time to do this. TSD explains the whys and hows of approaching a Home Inventory. Their rule of thumb is anything over $10 should be photographed/recorded. Not everything needs a detailed description, a couple photographs of a room can provide your insurance company something to work with. The items over $50 should be recorded and anything over $100 should have a separate picture taken.

RJ and I will try to complete a section of the house (basement and garage, 1st floor, 2nd floor and bonus room) over the next month. Taking photos and recording models/makes/serial # in a Word document. Any receipts that we have for furniture, appliances etc.. will also be scanned and everything will be copied onto CDs. We will keep the hard copies and give CDs to family members to hold in case something happens to our copies. I'll post an example as soon as we finish our first level.

It's Murphy's Law right? If you're proactive and take the appropriate actions nothing will happen.

Note to RJ: Try to control your excitement!!