Currently browsing: I love shopping

Time for an upgrade

Jim and I had talked before about upgrading our cars, but it really wasn’t possible until after he’d been working again for a while. On a whim, we went out last weekend “to look” … and I fell in love.

We spent today trading in my old car, a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe, for a newer model — a 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited FWD V6.

Another red car, wheeeee!

Those are the pics I took on my iPhone while we were waiting on the financing team to process our credit application. Interestingly, my credit score has improved greatly since the last time we applied for credit on anything (the house, before our layoffs). Jim’s has gone up a little, but the damage from his ex is still a huge black spot on his record. (Thank you, you stupid bitch.)

We’re planning on upgrading his car when the 2012 models come out. We didn’t have to put any money down on mine, but most definitely will have to on his. Oh well, things are good. All in all, today was taxing but ended with great results. I came home with a tremendous headache and went right to bed (waking up about an hour ago, LOL), but now I’m sitting here at my desk looking over all of the documentation and driver’s manual.

I can’t wait to take it out tomorrow!

We had gone to Tameron Hyundai here in Birmingham and I have to say that they tried their damnedest to make the process as stress-free as possible. A GREAT change from our last car-buying experience, which was a complete nightmare.

Seriously, they treated us so well and were so great about everything that we will definitely be seeing them in about 9 months to do this again!

A pair o’ Harleys

It’s funny that because my main character in Aion is named Harleykin, many people assume I’m a biker. Actually, she’s named after one of my favorite Batman characters, Harley Quinn. I like Harleys, but don’t own one. (might be nice … someday) That said, I do LOVE their gear. Especially their boots.

What can I say? I’m a woman and I love shoes — namely BOOTS!

I had a pair many years ago and wore them until the soles literally fell off. Sadly, it ‘s hard to find a good long-lasting pair of boots. Next to some old Doc Martens (a staple in every self-disrespecting goth girl’s wardrobe don’tchaknow!), they were my absolute favorites. Well I decided that it was time to invest in another pair of good boots. My early birthday gifts to myself are the fitness trainer sessions that I mentioned last week and these beauties:

These are a pair of Harley-Davidson “Robyn” riding boots for women. I normally prefer a more ‘military’ style, but once I saw these I was smitten!

Because none of the local retailers here carried this style, I had to order online. I’ll tell you what — when my package came in, I tore into that box like a 6 year old on Christmas Day! There’s nothing like the smell of new leather. It’s easily one of my favorites!

I’ve been wearing these lovelies everywhere trying to get them broken in. So far, so good!

Once some of this weight starts dropping off, I can invest in some ‘skinnier’ (e.g. not ‘hide the fat baggy’) jeans and sport them around properly.

I’m excited.

New iToy: Pogo stylus

Last week I had discovered something: I can’t type worth a flip on a touch screen when I’m mad!

Jessie had suggested getting a stylus — well, in a round-about way, after discovering that her Nintendo DS stylus would not work with my iPhone. LOL! I thought it was a great idea though and began scouring the net for possibilities. And let me tell you, there are TONS out there. I finally popped back onto the Apple site and looked through their online store. One immediately caught my eye, so I ordered it: the Pogo Stylus.

I got the red one!

It came in the mail yesterday, so I spent a good deal of time last night and this morning playing with it. I don’t think I’ll use it every day, but there will be times when I’ll need to take lengthy notes or maybe post to my blog, and this will come in VERY handy!

I’m sorry, I drank the Kool-Aid

After a long round of BS with Helio Virgin Mobile, today Jim and I took the plunge and drank the Apple Kool-Aid — we dumped Helio Virgin Mobile and got iPhones.

I won’t post the details, but I will say that I am no longer a Helio fangirl … today was the proverbial last straw. Our Helio Virgin Mobile contract is up in June, and I will most definitely NOT be renewing it. And to add insult to injury, the Ocean 2 is a huge disappointment. For the same amount of money, we could get nicer devices — and so that’s exactly what we are doing!

OK now, you iPhone pros out there … got any tips, advice, etc. for an iPhone newbie?

Ode to Cute

Had a good weekend. Jim, Jess, and I went down to Prattville and saw Jim’s mother. We did a bit of shopping, sight-seeing, and had some really awesome barbecue (I’m talking giving Green Top a run for its money good!!!). It rained all the way down there, and all the way back. I’m so sick of all this rain, it’s giving me headaches out the wazoo.

I woke up this morning with a headache and have been in a bit of a mood. Traffic was unreal this morning, so I was late to work. I stayed up late last night watching the Armageddon/2012 specials on the History channel, so I’m tired and a little cranky. (and when I don’t get enough sleep, I’m more prone to having a headache!)

I did get a little happy moment this morning … this bit of cute was posted to my friend Sangi’s LiveJournal:

Beaker was always one of my favorite Sesame Street characters, and I thought that was just too cute not to share!

Arm warmer love

I’m a bit of a sucker for ‘odd’ accessories, and for years my long black Express arm warmers have been my absolute favorites. I love wearing them with t-shirts on days/nights where it’s too warm for a jacket or long sleeves, but too cold to be bare-armed. And when I get too hot, I simply pull them off and stuff into my backpack. I had bought them on Gothic Auctions years ago and unfortunately the material is now pilled to Hades and back, and is wearing thin around the wrists and palms.

I had been searching on and off for the last year for a set of replacements. On a whim, I tried eBay and after about 5,000,000 pages of lame excuses for arm warmers that would barely cover my forearms, I see an entry that said something to the effect of, “Black extra long arm warmers”

I hit gold!

It turns out there’s a young lady who hand makes these, so I ordered a pair right before Christmas. I’m happy to say that they are EXACTLY what I had been looking for all this time!

Here are a couple pics from the auction:

And a pic of the tag on my pair:

These things fit great, are super soft, and look fantastic!!

She makes them in varying sizes and colors, so next payday I’ll definitely be ordering more. Her website is being re-done at the moment, so check her eBay store in the meantime.

She makes all kinds of interesting clothing and accessories. I can easily see Jessie wanting to shop there in a year or so.

You can find her via the following locations:

www.trixyxchange.etsy.com
www.diytrixy.etsy.com
www.stores.ebay.com/trixyxchange
www.myspace.com/trixyxchange

Thank you, Trixy!

Shopping power, I has it

Chico’s is one of my favorite places to shop. Not only do their clothing hold up and wash well, they fit and feel great. Even better: their unique sizes will make ANY woman feel good about herself (no matter what size you wear!).

I was overjoyed when I got home yesterday and read my mail. My membership has finally been upgraded!

Basically what this means is I’ll get extra benefits now, like: previews to sales and new collections, 5% off all my future purchases, free shipping (basic), and more. They also own Soma (think Victoria Secret), so it looks like I can use the card there too. My folks gave me a gift card to Chico’s for Christmas, and I’ve been itching to go get some new “going out” clothes and a few frilly numbers (sexy lingerie, squeee!).

I showed the card to Jim and said, “Guess what I’m doing this weekend!”

Some room to breathe …

Ever have one of those really good productive days at work? One where when you get done accomplishing things you just feel like you can breathe again? I’ve had one today. I spent a good bit of the afternoon clearing out my major email accounts and am pleased to say that I got quite a lot done. Jess is over at her mother’s tonight. Jim came home from work early and has been in bed most of the afternoon (most likely he’s finally coming down with that awful crud that Jess and I have both already had), so the house is nice and quiet.

Tonight I treated myself to a very fantabulous meal from Hamburger Heaven and am currently downloading 6 months’ worth of photos from my Helio Ocean to my laptop. I’ve finally had time to sit down and go through a new cookbook I had bought on Black Friday. I’ve made a laundry list of items I’d need for various recipes that caught my eye — from Chicken Tortilla Soup, to Easy Cajun Stew, to 30-minute Paella, to Spanish Skillet Supper, to Catalonian Stew, …

Yum, yum!

I’ve also started clearing out my desk. I found myself tossing out old notes, papers, and various promotional brochures — everything from Victorinox Swiss Army watches to vacation places …

Gah, I collect a lot of crap!

I’m toying around with the thought of upgrading this blog to WordPress 2.7 RC1, but I think I’ll hold off as I have not yet updated this theme to handle all the new features. I’ve also started on and have almost finished my Christmas card mailing list, and am scanning the Soldiers’ Angels forums to see if there are any new card or letter requests.

Something I had meant to post a couple weeks back — my soldiers’ Christmas packages. Jess, Jim, and I had a lot of fun playing “Santa” and filling up a stocking for each soldier. Each stocking was filled with all kinds of Christmas cookies and candies, different types of trail mixes, a CD of Christmas songs, a wool scarf, various little toys, a novelty tie, and a handful of other things …

I so wish I could see their faces when their packages arrive over there!

I hope everyone’s having a good week. I think I’m going to take off for now and curl up next to the snoring snuffle monster (Jim, LOL!) to catch up on some DVDs.

Ja, mata ne!

Enough with the fuzzy already!

As a boot lover, I’m so happy that it’s now Fall and almost Winter. It’s BOOT SEASON!!!!

Ok, yeah … not that I don’t wear boots year ’round, but hey …

I’d decided a couple of weeks ago that I needed a new pair of “work boots” (presentable enough for work but rugged enough to last longer than 3 months). With Black Friday just a couple of weeks away, I’ve been scanning my favorite shoe maker sites looking for ideas. Jessie was looking with me this morning and pointed to a pair of UGG Boots. Not my cup of tea, but I have noticed a LOT of “fuzzy boots” in stores last year and this year.

What’s the appeal there? I just don’t get it. Keep the fuzzy stuff, gimme a nice pair of knee-high leather boots with reinforced heals and toes — preferably steel!

Jessie’s DS, and I has a LOL…

Jessie’s birthday was Saturday, but because her mother had her that day, we celebrated the night before by taking her out to a “very grown up” birthday dinner — at Logan’s Roadhouse.

We had a great time. Our waitress was a real sweetheart and hooked her up with a couple small goodies because it was her birthday. Towards the end of our meal, all the servers came around and clapped and hollered for her. She ate it up!

She opened our gifts after we ate. We gave her a crimson Nintendo DS with a Legend of Zelda game bundle. She freaked! LOL! She kept hugging the box saying “I knew it! I knew it! I knew I was getting this! I knew it!” She was so cute.

Of course now she’s got a lengthy game “wish list” going. Both Jim’s mom and my parents gave her money for her birthday, so now she’s DYING to go shopping! LOL! But at least she’s happy … she finally got her DS.

What’s that about a LOL?

While looking for a stock image for this post, I ran across a very cute image and was inspired to publish my first (PUBLIC!) LOLcat:

Wanna vote for my LOL? Clicky!!!

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