Tiny project in the backyard

Okay, I realize this is not a big deal at all, but I'm quite pleased with myself. :)

We have a water spigot on our back deck. I had a two-way split on it to allow for a short hose that we use to fill water buckets (which I use routinely to clean up after Wallace) and a drip system on a timer for our citrus tree pots on the deck.

I recently purchased a 50-foot expanding hose by my Mom's recommendation. I have a 100 foot traditional hose connected to a water spigot in the garden level but it is a real pain to reel in after each use. The expandable hose is really convenient, light weight and so much smaller.

I was trying to figure out the best place to put the new hose. I really wanted it up on the deck, but didn't want to take away my other two devices.

Then it occurred to me that 3-way splits are probably made! I looked it up online and actually didn't find any three-way, but did find many 4-way splits.

The 4-way split just came in today, and I just set up my little system. Works like a charm, and I'm really happy with my 50' expandable hose. it's so convenient having easier access to it and it stretches all the way to the back of the yard.

Free 1 hour WiFi with T-Mobile!!

Dick and I are big fans of T-Mobile since we started to use them last year.

One of the extra perks that we just leaned about is that when you are flying in an airline with gogo inflight service, you can get - hour of free WiFi if you are a T-Monile customer. Dick had read about it earlier, and I'm trying it out for the first time.

Just another perk from T-Mobile!

Costco Chocolate Chip Cookies

Game Changer!!

I first noticed these chocolate chip cookies at Costco's bakery a few weeks ago. I really wanted to try them, but couldn't justify buying six large cookies.

We have family visiting this week, and having a game night with five of us in total. Perfect reason to buy the Costco cookies!!

Okay, here's the thing: I love a good chocolate chip cookie. I especially love big, thick, warm soft chocolate chip cookies with good chocolate.

The box that they came in had reheat instructions for both the microwave and oven. I decided to use the oven directions which was to bake them for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. They came out great! Warm, soft and gooey, with perfectly melted chocolate.

When we were in the Seattle area, I was introduced to "The Cookie" from Metropolitan Market, which were always served warm, and quickly became me favorite cookie. I'm happy to say that these Costco Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies are a close second!

They are so large and rich, I wasn't able to finish mine, which is saying a lot!

And, at only $6.99 for 6 cookies, the price can't be beat. I'm pretty sure they will freeze well, so I'm going to give that a shot. It'll help me to justify buying six cookies at a time in the future.

I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I'm really happy to find my new favorite cookie!

Blendtec Warranty Replacement

I bought my Blendtec from Costco in January, 2015. I absolutely love my Blentec, and use it for a lot of things including smoothies, hot chocolate, soup and Cappuccino Blasts. :)

A couple of weeks ago, Blane was over for dinner and I made hot chocolate in the Blendtec for dessert. We noticed a burning smell from the motor - not good. The hot chocolate also wasn't very hot. I looked it up online and found that the burning motor smell was a pretty serious issue that I should contact the company about.

I called them the next morning. Blendtec has an 8 year warranty and I was just less than two years into mine. They offered me two different options.

Option 1:
Send my Blentec base back, and they would repair it. I think it would take 6-8 weeks. Don't quote me on that. I didn't take this option, so I don't remember exactly, but it was pretty long.

Option 2:
Return my Blentec base, and once they received it, they would send me a new but refurbished base within 2-3 weeks (or something like that).

I use my Blendtec a reasonable amount and didn't want to be without it for too long, so I took option 2.

They sent me a prepaid UPS label and I sent it to them that same day. I received a new (refurbished) base and a brand new jar within two weeks exactly. Not bad!

The model I received from them is the newer model. I originally had the Classic 570 model from Costco. They sent me the 575. There are slight variations between the two.

The UI is slightly different. I loved the "hot" button on the Classic 570 model. That's the one I used for hot chocolate and soup. The 575 model doesn't have that. Instead it has a 90 second button that I read is the same thing as the hot button. It offers a few more variations of speed, which is nice, and also has a "clean" button.

The jar seems the same as my original, but the lid is different, and I think, better. It has a much more secure fit, and the way the edges of the lid fit onto the jar enables it to be better/cleaner when putting it off and on after using. My old lid used to drip a little when I took it off, and especially when I put it back on after using it.

I just used my new Blentec for the first time today. I made some hot chocolate. I used to press the "hot" button twice to make the hot chocolate hot enough. On this model, I had to hit the "90 second" button three times. Even at that, the hot chocolate isn't piping hot, but I nice temperature. I may do it longer next time, but that's fine.

One last thing, my original warranty of 8 years after the initial purchase date still holds for this new refurbished model, so it's still under warranty for another 6+ years. Not bad.

I'm very impressed with the customer service at Blentec and the ease at which I was able to get a replacement. Still love my Blendtec!

A First-Time Dog Owner's Guide to Road-tripping with your Dog!

Wallace on the go!

An introduction:
We are first-time dog owners, and have a miniature poodle mix named Wallace who is just over a year old. We've had Wallace for about 5 months. We don't have kids, and recognize that we completely dote over our little pup. We also may think that he may be the happiest little dog to ever live. :)

We recently returned from a 2-week road trip with Wallace. We drove from San Francisco to Seattle, stayed with friends for 7 nights, then drove back down to SF. Along the way, we stayed at three different dog-friendly hotels. We also did an overnight road trip from San Francisco to Carmel a couple of months ago as a road-trip trial-run. I thought it would be helpful to write a blog post of all of the travel tips we learned on these two road-trips with our dog.

Most of these suggestions are probably super obvious, but I find it handy to have a list written with everything I need to pack:

Travel planning:


bringfido.com or the BringFido app for your smartphone.

This is the first and foremost suggestion I would give if you are planning a trip with your pup. Simply plug in the name of the city that you plan to visit, and you'll see categories such as Dog Friendly Hotels, Dog Friendly Restaurants, Parks and Beaches, Dog Events and Other Resources.


The Westin Hotel offers a dog bed, food and water dishes

I made all of our travel plans (hotel/eating out/places to go) using the BringFido app on my iPhone. This tool was invaluable for easily finding pet-friendly hotels, extra fees, house rules, etc. I found that some hotels only allowed small dogs, most charge an extra fee (either on a per night, or on a per stay basis), and some even allowed for a well behaved dog to be left alone in the room (crated) for a short while as long as it didn't bark. In this case, the hotel requests that you leave your phone number with the front desk in case of any complaints. Some hotels offer extra amenities from doggie goodie-bags with treats, and poop bags, while other hotels offer crates, beds, dishes and even walking and massage services.


Dog rules and treats at the Comfort Suites

For the car ride:


Wallace in the backseat

We found out early on that Wallace had a tendency to get a bit car sick on trips over an hour long. It didn't always happen, but we learned to take precautions and to be prepared.

Booster Seat/safety leash & harness:

A friend made the suggestion to get Wallace a booster seat so that he could look out the window and help ease his motion-sickness. Hard to say if that worked or not (he still got sick in his seat) but we love the booster seat for many other reasons. The one that we have is shaped like a dog bed. He's very comfortable, doesn't roam or slide around, can look out the window and often curls up and falls asleep in it. The one we bought is secured by fastening the backseat seatbelt to it. It also has a tether strap that you hook to your dog's harness. (your dog should wear a harness with this strap - not just a collar.) Wallace seems to love his car seat. After he hops in he'll usually lie down and get comfy for a ride. Once in a while he will sit up and look out the windows.

If you have a larger dog who doesn't need a booster seat, I'd recommend getting this safety harness for the backseat. We use this in our other car for shorter trips. Most car safety harnesses that I've seen attach to the seatbelt buckle. This one attaches to the frame of your car where child seats are secured.


Car seat backseat cover:
Here's one I wasn't initially planning to purchase, but I'm glad that we did for the road trip. I bought a backseat cover for our roadtrip, thinking it might be helpful in protecting the leather of our car seats. Wallace has thrown up on it a couple of times, and clean up was really easy. I realize it's also handy to have for those times when we go to the beach, since it helps keep the sand off the seats.

I bought mine at Ross, but it is similar to this one on amazon.com


Dramamine:

Another friend with a dog suggested using Dramamine for long drives. She told me that her small dog used to get car sick, but eventually outgrew it. (We actually think Wallace is outgrowing/getting used to it as well.) I looked it up, and found a few articles that suggest that it is generally safe for dogs, given that you give the proper dosage for their size. We went with a fairly low dosage, and gave it to him any time we were driving over four hours. Wallace only got car sick once, on the very first day on our road trip. I think it may have been a combination of the Dramamine and hopefully that he was getting accustomed to driving.

Travel sized peanut butter to give Dramamine:

I tried putting the Dramamine pill inside a treat, but that didn't work well, so resorted to peanut butter. That went off without a hitch! Lucky for us, the first hotel we stayed at on our road trip had small travel-sized peanut butter that I was able to use. Figured it would be good to add to the list for the future.

Chew toys: (no-hide) or rope:

Wallace loves these No-Hide chews. He'll chew on them for hours on end, and they don't upset his stomach. They can last him anywhere between a few hours, a few days, to even more than a week. We found that having some sort of chew to keep him occupied (we used the no-hides, or his favorite rope chew) worked well on the long drive.

Window sun shade:

This one is probably obvious to anyone who has kids, but I hadn't put much thought into them before. I'm really glad I bought these before our trip! The first day we drove, the temperature got up to 104 degrees. These shades help keep the direct sun off our dog, and off the humans, too!

baby wipes, paper towels and plastic bags:
The next three go hand and hand with a doggie who gets car sick. We learned the lesson the hard way on our short day-trip to Carmel. After the first time that Wallace got car sick, we stopped at a drug store for baby wipes, paper towels and plastic bags. They are now permanent fixtures in our car. :)


For the hotel:

Wallace settling in at one of our hotel stops

crate/bed:
Wallace is crate trained, and we realized that it made staying away from home so much easier!! He loves his crate - it is his safe spot. We have this collapsable version that folds up easily and doesn't take too much trunk space. It's the first thing we set up in the hotel, and Wallace walks right in and feels at home immediately.



Sound Machine:

My friend, Gina, suggested this one, and it turned out to be a life-saver. We've stayed at a couple of hotels where there was a good amount of foot traffic in the hallway outside the door. A few times, Wallace would growl or bark at the noises he heard either outside the door, or through the walls or floors/ceilings. We turned on the sound machine to ambient noise, and the growling and barking stopped immeidately. We kept it on all night, and never had an issue again.

towels:
I like to bring a towel from home that has Wallace's/home's smell on it. I place it down on the floor and will keep his toys on it. He will generally hang out on the towel or in his crate. It gives him another option of a place he feels comfortable on.

toys:
Obviously, you should pack your dog's favorite toys for a trip. Make sure to have a good variety of chews, balls, tug toys, soft toys, etc., to keep your pup occupied. (tip: before we left home, I took a photo of all of the toys that we had packed. it made taking inventory before leaving the hotel much easier.)

Various toys that we packed for the trip.

water/food dish:
another obvious suggestion, but handy to keep written down on your list.

food:
make sure you have enough food to last the duration of your trip!

Misc dog items:

Tags and ID:
Again, probalby obvious, but it's important to make sure that your dog has an up-to-date tag and ID on his collar. Make sure that your cell phone number is on your tag since you'll be away from home.

leash/harness:
Most places require dogs to be on-leash. A harness is important for extra security.

Medication
(NexGard and Heartgard): We were away for two weeks on our roadtrip so I had to make sure to bring the appropriate amount of dosages of any medication Wallace would be due for while we were away.

Travel water bottle:

We love this water bottle, and use it on a daily basis for walks or going to the dog park. We used to have a collapsable bowl version, but found this one to be much for convenient as it didn't need to be refilled time and time again. Very easy to give your dog water while in the car, at a rest stop, or on a walk.

dog wipes:

I love having these wipes at home or on the road to give Wallace a light cleaning after being outside. It does a decent job of getting dirt off his paws, and simply freshening him up.

comb/brush:

Important to comb/brush your dog's fur every day to keep them clean and tangle free.
We use this type of comb for Wallace. It works well for his poodle-ly curly fur. :)

Treats:
Bring plenty of treats for training, recall, etc.,

Towels:
Towels for cleaning the car, cleaning the dog, etc.

Lots of extra poop bags:
self explanatory. it would be bad to run out!

I think that's everything. I've been meaning to write this for several weeks, and am glad that I finally got to it. I think that I included everything that I wanted to. I hope this is a helpful post for someone and their dog! :)

PS: Dogs are a lot more expensive than kitties! ;)


Wallace happy to be in Seattle!

Our new "Ring" Video Doorbell

Now that we're back in our home in San Francisco, Dick and I have a bunch of house projects that we've been wanting to do. One of the first is to install some security cameras around our house. We live in a very urban neighborhood, and even though it's a great and pretty safe neighborhood, it still has its share of crimes.

The first security camera that we bought is the "Ring" Video Doorbell. We've heard a lot of good things about this system, so we're hopeful that it's a good solution for our needs. The device replaces your doorbell button. It has a motion sensor and a camera, and connects to an app on your smartphone.

The motion sensor will pick up movement within a designated range, will alert you on your phone and then will start a video recording. When you are alerted on your phone, you can automatically see who is at your door via the fish-eye lens of the camera.

If someone rings your doorbell, the motion sensor would have already picked their motion up and will be recording, but it also enables you to talk to the person at your door. This may be helpful whether or not you are home.

We just finished setting it up about an hour ago (quick setup) and I'm documenting our experience here.

The out of the box experience is fairly impressive. It literally comes with everything you'll need to install it (down to a screwdriver bit and a level tool!).


Packaging - these guys took a lesson from Apple. Nice packaging.


What's in the box: everything you need to install!


Connecting to our home WiFi and the Ring App on our smartphone


pairing the new device to our WiFi

Installation was fairly straightforward (for Dick, at least. I couldn't have done it on my own).

Dick took off the old doorbell, put up the new plate, made sure it was level, screwed it in, connected the wires, and mounted the unit.


Taking off the old doorbell button


putting in the new Ring plate


screwing in the new plate, and making sure it is level


connecting the wires to the new system


mounting the new Ring unit

Set up was pretty easy, although we're still trying to fine tune the settings for the motion detector.

The Ring will pick up any motion coming up our stairs, alert us (via the app on our smartphones) and record a video.

If someone rings the doorbell, we are also alerted via our phone apps, and can talk with the person at the door, regardless if we're home or not.


The new Ring unit communicating with us (the ring around the button is lit).


this is a still that I grabbed from the video of Dick at the door


the mobile phone app interface

Why we left AT&T over a $100 giftcard

You may recall that I wrote a post just over a month ago about my experience of buying a new iPhone 6s from the Apple Store at the Bellevue Mall. I had a great experience there, and mentioned that it was terrific after the terrible experience we had had at the AT&T Store at the same mall just a few days earlier.

I knew that my blog post rant about AT&T was going to be a big one, and we just wrapped up that story today, so I can now write it.

I've been an AT&T customer since 2001. Actually, I was a Cingular customer in 2001, and they were bought out by AT&T at some point. Within the next year or so, Dick dropped his cellular carrier and we got a family plan together on AT&T. He got a slight discount from work, and I had a grandfathered unlimited data plan from when I bought the first iPhone from them in 2007. It was a pretty good deal, and one that we didn't pay much attention to month-after-month. Our combined bill was roughly $130/month after taxes.

Several years ago, while we were with AT&T, we had very bad cellular reception at our house. It was so bad, that I couldn't make or receive cell phone calls from my own house. Eventually, AT&T offered the 3G Microcell Tower for $150, which we bought. Eventually, AT&T installed more towers around our neighborhood, and over time, we no longer needed the Microcell Tower. At some point, I received a post card in the mail from AT&T stating that we had the option of returning the 3G Microcell Tower to any AT&T Store for a $100 Gift Card! I figured it was a great deal, as we were no longer needing/using the Microcell and it would only be recycled eventually. So, I went to the AT&T store in Milpitas, and traded in my Microcell Tower for a $100 gift card.

Now, the AT&T gift card states on the back that it can only be used for merchandise. I knew I couldn't use the gift card towards our monthly bill, so I saved the card for when we would need to purchase a new phone.

Only, you may know by now, that I hold onto my phone for a few years - longer than most people. BUT, I managed to save the $100 AT&T Gift Card, and even remembered that I had it, and didnt' even lose it when we moved to Bellevue.

Imagine how proud I was of myself when I remembered to bring said gift card to the AT&T Store with me when I FINALLY decided to buy a new phone after 3-1/2 years!!

Dick and I went to the AT&T Store in the Bellevue Mall, decided which model of the iPhone 6s I wanted, and even picked out a case for it. I was told by the store employee that the $100 could be used against my purchase of the phone. At the time, I had decided to go with the monthly plan for the phone, rather than paying it all up front, with a two-year contract. I didn't mind signing up for a new contract, since Dick and I had already been with AT&T for so long, and didn't have any plans to leave.

Our helpful salesman brought me my new phone, and transferred my SIM card and account information over to it. I even had it in it's new case, and was playing with is as he was ringing up our transaction. That was when he informed us that he was having problems with our $100 gift card.

I should state here that the salesman at the AT&T store tried his best. He called at least 3 customer service lines trying to get help. What it boiled down to was that the gift card had apparently never been activated. I don't recall ever being told that I needed to activate it, and frankly, if it came with a piece of paper telling me to activate it, I would have. Because it hadn't been activated (by fault of the AT&T store where I got it from, or my own) they said it wasn't usable.

Now, I know, this card is probably over 3 years old, but here's the catch: Gift Cards don't expire. Legally, they don't expire. In addition to that, there's also an expiration date on the back of the card listed as September, 2019! So, even if it could legally expire, I was still over 3 years away from that date.

We spoke to the manager at the Bellevue store, and frankly, he was no help at all. He was polite enough, but kept trying to sell us other services (home security by AT&T) that he would apply the $100 discount to.

Nope. Not having it.

Mind you, all this over $100. I was about to sign another 2-year contract for a $800 phone, for a plan that we pay $130/month for, and they couldn't find a way to credit this $100 gift card from their own company to us?

Over the next few days, I tried calling AT&T customer support, getting as far as their promotions department that deals with gift cards. NO ONE was able to help me at all, but understood my frustration.

Finally, a few days later, Dick called them one last time threatening to close our account with them over a $100 gift card. They offered to credit our account with $25.

That was pretty much the final straw. We started into looking into other options. I was well out of my contract with AT&T. Dick had bought a new phone with them in June, but was willing to buy out his contract in order to unlock his phone so we could go to any other provider. We did look into switching to other providers who offered to buy out our contract, but ultimately, Dick decided to buy out his contract so he could have an unlocked phone so we could be without another contract.

We looked into a bunch of other providers, and decided to try T-Mobile. We realized that even though I had unlimited data with AT&T, I never went over 2GB/month and Dick used even less. We are on WiFi anytime we are home. Because of this, we qualify for T-Mobile's most basic plan which costs $80 for both of our lines getting 2GB data/month. It also includes unlimited texts and calls in the US, Canada and Mexico. IF you go over your data for the month, you'll still get data, but it'll be 3G at no additional charge. If you travel outside the US, Canada or Mexico, you can still use text messaging and data, but it'll be a slower speed. This is pretty amazing for us, as we travel frequently, and either pay around $50 for each trip for data, or we do without completely, relying only on WiFi. With T-Mobile, we get it all (albeit, slower) at no additional cost. There will be tax on our monthly bill, but it will still come in at under $90/month. That's over $40 less than we were paying at AT&T.

Oh, and by the way, remember my post about when I bought my unlocked iPhone 6s directly from the Apple Store, and they gave me $200 off for trading in my iPhone 5? Yeah, AT&T didn't offer that either.

So, breaking it down:

I bought an unlocked iPhone 6s from the Apple Store for $200 less than I would have paid at the AT&T store.

Our bill with T-Mobile will be $40 less per month, and will give us the ability to use our data overseas.

Oh, and when we went to the T-Mobile store in San Francisco today, it couldn't have gone smoother. We decided on our plan, but because we aren't on a contract, we can change the plan (or leave altogether) at any time. They switched out our SIM cards right there on the spot, and put in the order to port our original phone numbers over. By the time we walked home (less than an hour later) our old phone numbers were working again.

So, there you go. I know AT&T probably doesn't care that they lost another customer, but it seems really stupid that they did. We were with them for over 15 years, were ready to pay full price for a new phone, and didn't even think about looking into switching our plan to a cheaper option. Because of their stupidity of not honoring a gift card given at one of their own stores, they lost us. Over $100. Doesn't it seem like someone along the line should have had the authorization to offer $100 off a bill to keep a customer?

It's been well over a month since this saga started, and this blog review is probably a lot less scathing than it would have been had I written it immediately after our first bad experience.

In the end, AT&T lost a long-time customer, and we're paying a lot less money for better service with a different company.
Shame on you, AT&T.

All this over a $100 gift card that you legally should have honored.

Oh, and PS:
Don't piss off WebTrina. She will write a scathing review of your company on her blog, and will share it with the World.


Look at me! I'm a T-Mobile customer now!


Switch without a Hitch? Yes, we did!


T-Mobile store in the Mission, San Francisco


The $100 AT&T Giftcard


The back of the AT&T Gift Card which clearly lists the expiration date as 9/19

webTrina Moving Tip: TV Moving Boxes

We are about two weeks from our move date back to San Francisco.

We've hired Graebel Moving Company for our move back to San Francisco. They moved us to Bellevue from San Francisco, but it was all coordinated through my husband's company for his job up here. This time, we're hiring them on our own, so I was looking for various ways that we could save money.

One of the biggest savings comes by packing our stuff ourselves. Graebel gave us a quote that included them packing all of our stuff, and another that has us packing everything. We're going to meet them in the middle and pack some of our things (clothing, office supplies, household goods, books, etc., ) but have them pack the bulk of the kitchen and breakables. As I wrote in my last post, I drove to the Graebel warehouse in Kent, WA a couple of days ago to pick up a bunch of boxes. We'll be able to save a few hundred dollars by doing some of the packing ourselves.

Some of the boxes that they use are specialty boxes that cost more money. For example, a box for a television would cost $100 if we went through Graebel. Our representative suggested a cheaper alternative:

Home Depot sells TV moving boxes for about $20.00. They come with a foam corners and a bag.

We drove to Home Depot today and picked one up! They are really good boxes to know about. They hold most televisions up to 70 inches, but are also good for art work, mirrors, etc., The box is 39" tall, and expands up to 70". Pretty neat!

Good tip!

Cheap Gas at Costco, Kirkland!!!

Cheap Safeway Gasoline!

I love Safeway gasoline rewards. We bought a bunch of gift cards as Christmas gifts last month, which give you extra gasoline rewards. We got 60 cents off per gallon, which made the cost of gas $1.96 for Premium!! So awesome!!

Lululemon Seattle Warehouse Sale

Gina and I braved the crowds early this afternoon and went to the Lululemon Seattle Warehouse Sale.

Apparently, they only do a few of these a year, and in different cities. I'm not sure if it has come to Seattle before or not.

The prices weren't great, but not bad, either. This is Lululemon, after all, and their stuff is pricey (but good quality!). We had seen the price list before we went, so we knew what to expect. I bought two items for myself (a fleece vest, which I've been considering getting all Winter, and a workout/beach/tote bag) plus I got a nice blazer jacket for Blane, and a hoodie for Nicole. Two of the more pricey items that I bought (my vest and Blane's jacket) were at least 50% off original price.

Gina found some great deals, too! She bought a couple of jackets, and was able to take advantage of a special 1-hour sale they were having: two for one scarves and two for one girls sweaters for her nieces.

Overall, we were very happy with our experience today! The sale started at 8:00 this morning (doors for the lines opened at 6:00am). We intentionally decided to wait until late morning, hoping the crowds would die down. It worked! I had seen on social media that it was at least an hour wait this morning, but when we arrived at 11:30, we only waited 30 minutes, which wasn't bad at all.

The sale was in Seattle by Pier 91, where some of the cruise ships depart from. Parking was available for $10, then they arranged for shuttle buses to the main terminal. It was all pretty well organized and ran smoothly for us.

The selection was pretty huge. They certainly had more selection in some of the smaller sizes, but that wasn't a huge surprise. They also had a decent selection of mens and girls clothing.

The sale will run through Sunday evening. Hours are 8:00am-8:00pm each day.

Gina and I had a great time, and are happy with the merchandise that we found. It certainly helped that we already knew what size we were (there was a short line for the dressing room, but we didn't need to try anything on) and that we knew prices, and our budget before going in.


prices


Gina boarding the school bus/shuttle from the parking lot en route to the main terminal!


We're on a school bus! Haven't been on one of these in a few decades!


the line when we entered. We got through this in just under 30 minutes. We were very pleased that the line was all indoors! It was chilly and wet outside today. They also had music playing, and random contests to help keep the crowd entertained.


The crowd once we got into the warehouse sale


Racks and racks of merchandise


The puffy, fleeced-vest that I bought. There weren't mirrors in the warehouse (except in the fitting room) so we had to take photos of each other so we could see how the jackets looked!).


Gina's cute jacket!


more inventory - these were full of water bottles, socks, bags, leg warmers, scarves, etc.,

Star Wars Battlefront for Xbox One

Dick and I took a walk to the mall today to stretch our legs. We haven't bought any Xbox games in a while, so we went into a video game store to see what was new. There were a couple of games that peaked our interest, but we didn't buy them right away.

We walked down to the Microsoft Store to check out what they had. It turns out, the two games we had just seen at the other store were on sale 50% OFF at Microsoft today only!! Lucky us! These new release games hardly ever come on sale, let alone for half off!

We've been playing Star Wars Battlefront all afternoon. It's actually been a Cour of years since I've played Xbox since we just have the one console up here and most games are not split screen multiplayer. This one is, which is why we bought it. Tons of fun!!

By the way, the graphics are really amazing!

Replacement Fuses for Christmas Tree Lights

For the last two or three years, the lights in the bottom portion of our (fake) Christmas Tree haven't worked. I chalked it up to traditional light strands where if one bulb does, the whole strand goes, unless you can figure out which individual bulb is giving you problems.

This is our tenth year with this tree, so again, I figured the lights were getting old, and that it would be a pain to try to fix.

As we were putting the tree together today, Dick suggested that we try to figure out the light situation tier by tier. I admit, I doubted him, but he was totally right to try!

When we found the small bag of replacement lights and directions, we also found tiny little fuses! The directions said that most strand light problems stem from a blown fuse. It then gave step-by-step directions on how to replace the fuse for each strand.

Since we knew which strand section was having problems, we tried popping out the old fuses and replacing with new ones.

...and just like that: a fully lit tree for the first time in a few years!! Who knew?!

Thanks to my hubby for having the wherewithal to investigate. Smart man, he is.

Here's a photo of the small fuses, next to replacement bulbs for size reference.