I did a lot of shopping online for Christmas this year. I found that shopping this way saves me money. When I shop online, I only buy the stuff that I need; when I shop at stores, I end up buying more than I planned for. I was able to get some items off my kids' wish list last Black Friday since a lot of the Wii games were on sale. I was even able to avail of a Buy One, Get One at 50%. YAY for that! Unfortunately, I'm still not finished with my Christmas to do lists. It seems I'm a little off this year. Oh well, I'll pass that off to laziness. ha ha

I've seen TV chefs use it. I've heard well-known celebrities endorse it. It was in Oprah's Christmas Wish List (I think). So what is it? It's a set of ginsu knives. Yes, it's not a cashmere sweater or even some kind of jewelry. Why do I want these for Christmas? Simple really, I love to cook. And every cook needs a well-made kitchen knife, not the cheap ones. Do you know that you are more likely to cut yourself if you use a knife with a dull edge? So there it is Santa, do not forget to leave me a pair of nice and sharp Ginsu knives.

If you've had several semi sleepless nights ( that's when you only sleep four hours or less and probably worrying if that pair of men's running shorts you'll give to your husband will fit or not), then you need at least 10 hours of sleep. I've always thought that just one night of restful sleep (8 hours) will be enough to make our body and mind recover but it is not enough. Researcher have found that sleeping in after a few days of missed sleep can help you recover. It will reduce any lingering sense of fatigue and mental fuzziness.

We replaced our couches with some modern furniture style couches. We also bought a big square ottoman instead of a regular coffee table. So basically, we don't have a center table in the living room. I've seen photos of ottoman where they used a nice tray with a small vase and/or magazines in it. Dh re-painted the walls with a color that has a gold/brownish hue. I'm still on the fench with the color because it changes depending on the light. Dh told me that it is going to be a while till he re-paints this room again. Uh-oh, that means I have to live with it for a couple of months, or God forbid, a year or so!

I always see it, teens driving recklessly. They are not only putting themselves in danger but everyone around them. I know that their brains are not wired completely thus their lack of adult common sense. These teen drivers weave in and out of traffic, fail to use turn signals and they always try to beat the red light. Is it because young people always think they are invincible? That is the reason why it is not easy to find cheap car insurance for young drivers. I cringe every time I think that in a couple of years, we will have a teenage driver in the house. We are already paying almost $2000 for the insurance of our two automobiles, I don't want to think about how much more we have to pay for our daughter's.

It is true after all. Your skin loses it's elasticity as you get older. I can see it in my own skin. Oh well, what can we do, we age. Just like fine wine, we try to age gracefully. I don't smoke, never smoked so my skin isn't wrinkly. Can you imagine if I was a smoker? I'd look like a prune and I'll probably need a big vat of wrinkle cream for my whole face. Let that be a lesson to you young ones, do not smoke, don't even start. Unless you want to have lots of facial lines in your 30's.

I heart Google. I admit, I use it for everything. Maps, shopping, research, etc. You can 'google' almost anything you can think of, even about male enhancement and you will get an answer. Well, it might be hundreds of websites that will show up but you will usually get what you are looking for in the first page. I have Bing envy though. I like the different photos on their page. Google tried it but they fell short. When you're logged into your Google account, you can set up a photo for your Google search page BUT it goes to the first page of the results. Unlike Bing where it stays on that page and even the results page has the photo. I hope Google sets it up like Bing. I'm getting tired of the plain white page.

So you started a new exercise regimen, one that requires using weights. You weigh yourself and then voila, you gained weight instead of losing it. What is happening? Well, do not panic. When you use weights, you build muscles and muscles weigh more than fat. That extra weight you see is from your muscle (hopefully) and that is good. Muscles occupy less space obviously so you will start feeling your clothes getting looser. This is the reason why everyone says that a good exercise regimen consist of weight bearing exercises, it'll help you fight off bone disease too.

There are a lot of online sites that offer different printing needs like wedding invites, communion invitations, Christmas or any other holiday cards and much more. I've been using a couple of big online photo shops for my family's Christmas card. It is not cheap, I usually spend around $100 for our card. It is easy, just upload the photo, choose a design layout, write some text and order. This time though, I want to save $$. Since I know some graphic design, I plan to make my own photo card. I'll upload it and order regular prints which will cost about $0.19 each. Compare that to the price for the online photo cards, it is still cheaper even with my own envelopes for mailing, isn't it? Now, that is a great money saving plan.

Have you mailed those Christmas or holiday cards yet? I haven't even started! I still have to make our Christmas photo cards. ugh! Why is it that everything seems to be running on high speed after Thanksgiving? Does it seem like that to you? It sure does to me. I also plan to have some address labels printed, it'll save me time so I do not have to write the return and destination addresses. I do write a short note at the back of the photo card though. I still want it to be personalized.

The photo shows the shipping cutoff dates for the US Postal service. I plan to order stamps online, I do not want to wait in line at the post office. Believe me, the line is already forming!