Two months to go

Don't panic, ladies, we are ready.  We can do this.  It is still early and we have a plan.  Today marks exactly 2 months to Christmas.  I know!!!!!

So for all of you who thought I start too early....come on.....you're with me now, right? It is officially time to make and work our Christmas plan.

So today, just a little prep to get us in the spirit and ready to proceed.

First up, Hallmark is there for us.



Hallmark movies for 2017 kick off this weekend. You can get a full listing for the Hallmark channel here.  But don't forget they will also be showing Christmas movies on the Hallmark Mystery channel.  You can find that listing here. Set your DVRs and enjoy.  There is nothing better while you are wrapping gifts than a marathon of movies.

If you want to get a personalized Christmas countdown click here.


If you want to get the scent of the holiday going, how about some Christmas Spirit Essential oils.

And if you are ready to start your shopping, don't forget to use your Belk online coupon

If you received these in the mail, that bottom coupon is good today only for online shopping.

We still have a few more gift idea posts coming up plus I have some Belk Charity Sale posts coming up too.  Look, this Charity Sale is the perfect time to get several gifts knocked off your list.

And I remind you once again, to use ebates if you are doing online shopping.  You can sign up for a free account here. This is my referral link, when you use it to sign up we both get a little bonus.  And all you do is go to ebates.com then click on the store of your choice, shop like normal and earn cash back.

We went browsing at HomeGoods on Saturday.....if you are truly browsing do not take your purse.  Homegoods has this power....my hands gravitate to a shopping cart and then I proceed to fill it.  We found some really cute felt ball garland and ornaments there, unfortunately I accidentally bought them.  I realize this voids the whole browsing thing but it could not be helped.

I am literally using every ounce of self control to not start putting up Christmas trees.  I am at least trying to make it until Veteran's Day.....but it is going to be close.

Hopefully this cooler weather gets you more into the Christmas spirit.

So get those list made.

Record those Christmas movies.

Stay tuned for more gifting ideas.

See I told you we had a solid plan.....Merry up, Girls.....here we go!!!

Purpose

Who among us has not looked for a great, phenomenal, awe inspiring purpose to fulfill? I mean I often find myself thinking "what am I contributing to the world, what big purpose should I aspire to?"
Well I have come to the conclusion that as of today I've not been enlightened about one.  Perhaps being recorded in the history books is not my calling.

Does this discourage me?

Well no and since you asked (let's just pretend you asked), I'll tell you why it doesn't.

While I don't have a larger than life purpose that will be recorded in history and be talked about through generations to come, I do have purpose.

I am trying to train myself to meet the seemingly small purposes that are right in front of me every day.  I call them seemingly small because they really only seem small to the giver....but to the receiver, well they could mean much more.

I think some days my purpose may be

to smile at someone who obviously needs it
to compliment someone
to look over an offense and not make issue
to give someone a gentle hug
to simply listen
to help someone hold on until indeed this too passes
to pray with and for someone
to bite my tongue when I have 'a really good comeback'
to donate
to honor God in word and deed
to love

If you have ever been the recipient of an unexpected or much needed gesture of kindness...you know these are not small things.

I have purpose. You have purpose. Let's try to knock these out every day and whether history recalls them or not someone's heart will...... and really isn't that enough?

Have a wonderful week!

Gifts for Men

If you need to catch up on past gift idea posts, click below:
Neighbor Gifts
Gifts that Give Back
Gift for the Cooks
Gifts for Girls
Gifts for Readers
12 Days of Christmas
Gifts for Boys

Today we talk gifts for men.

Honestly, I really just wanted to post a Cabelas, Home Depot and Best Buy advertisement here and say close your eyes, point to something and buy that.  But instead I am going to try to throw out a few things and perhaps they will at least spark you to come up with one idea or two.

First up
The Chipolo Plus Item Finder


This is a bluetooth tracker that allows you to track an item up to 200 ft.  If you know a gentleman who spends considerable time looking for a phone, wallet, keys....this could be good for them.

Secondly
Cedar Shoe Trees





These help shoes maintain their shape plus the cedar naturally absorbs odor and moisture.  When that cedar aroma wears down you can gently sand them with sandpaper to restore their potency.

Now if you have a traveler, you might consider the Eagle Creek Pack-it System

You should really click on the link and watch the video on this one.

They have folders
They have cubes
They have  a toiletry bag

Every guy in your life could probably use a good devotional- The One Year - Uncommon Life



This devotional for men has a lot of sports analogies but most importantly God's Word. I always liked Tony Dungy and I like what he did with this devotional.

We have this next item and they are perfect for a guy to use while doing yard work, washing cars, whatever.  They get protection for their ears while being able to listen to music, sports, etc.

3M Work Tunes

If you are into Barefoot Dreams products for yourself, I don't have to tell you how super soft and cozy their stuff is.  Why not treat the guy in your life to some cozy socks by Barefoot dreams

We also own these and they really helped tame the bizillion extension cords in the garage.  Also good to keep a cord tied up on any tool or appliance.  To fully appreciate these you might want to watch the demonstration video. These are the Wrap-it Storage Straps.

So those are just a few ideas.  Listen, if you have others, please comment and share.  I am sure we could all use the help.

Have a wonderful weekend.  I will meet you back here on Monday.

September Book Review

It was a good book month. I read a quite a bit of variety so hopefully you will find one or two that pique your interest.

Here is what I read in September:



Greyhound by Steffan Piper.  This book is based on a true story and that fact will rock your socks when you read this one.  I love a story based on real life because life truly is stranger than fiction and let's face it - you just can't make some of this stuff up. The basic premise of the book is a young kid is put on a bus to travel across country alone. Well, of course, that lends itself to a great story on its own but it gets better because of all the people he meets along the way......some I cheered for and some I wanted to literally throw under the bus.  I really enjoyed reading this one.  I think you will too.

This next one was a super short little story


Shine by Jodi Picoult.  This is a cute little story of a young African-American girl's navigation between her neighborhood where she is in the majority to an elite school where she is the minority.  She is super smart but that doesn't play well in her neighborhood and isn't acknowledged in her school.  I am a Picoult fan and this quick little read did not disappoint.

Now this next one made me break my book reading rule



And One Last Thing by Molly Harper. Ok, this story starts off with the wife accidentally being delivered flowers that were intended for her husband's mistress.  And you can imagine how this goes.  Now there is some language, but honestly I could excuse it because I know this girl.  You know this girl.  And if she discovered on a random day that her husband was having an affair with his receptionist......well these are exactly the words you would expect to come from her mouth.  So I probably read almost half of this one but then it just got too....ummm....how can I put it.....DESCRIPTIVE.  So I broke my rule and I stopped reading.  This is only the 2nd or 3rd book I have ever done this with but while I understood her pain, I needed her to pull it together and to not be a potty mouth.  The general story line is good and if your psyche is more stable than mine you may read it all the way through no problem.


Last but not least.  I loved this next one



Private by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Ok, some of you say all my books are too mushy and lovely....so this one is for you (#Stayce).  If you like Law and Order, you will probably like this one.  But let me warn you, Law and Order does the whole dong, dong and the crime is over and they just solve it.  But in this book you are there for some of the crimes and some of them are tough.  But James Patterson writes the dickens out of this one.  It is all centered around a detective agency named Private and they solve some doozies.  It is suspenseful not scary.  I enjoyed it and will read the others in this series.


Got any suggestions? Let me know.