Author: tonihall805@outlook.com

It wasn’t enough that our nation had to mourn the sudden passing of basketball legend Koke Bryant, his 13 year old daughter and seven other parents and children in a tragic helicopter crash last Sunday. We also had to endure the passing of fairness, truth, law and order, and a big piece of what makes our nation great: our Constitution and the safety net of the separation of powers. There must be a price to pay for the cowardly and corrupt Republican senators who worship at the feet of partisan politics rather than protect and defend our Constitution. They betrayed us! They shamefully refused to hold Donald Trump accountable for his corruption, specifically his abuse of power and obstruction of justice. In the past four years these were among a host of other crimes that they let slide. No more! I want my country back. These GOP senators no longer deserve to represent this nation and its citizens. And we don’t have to simply throw up our hands in disgust; we can fight.

I was in conversation with a colleague this week who shared his strategy for fighting in 2020. I had one of those light bulb moments when you realize there is a whole new world of opportunity. He simply said that he was going to financially support democratic candidates running against GOP senators across the country. This was a huge eyeopener for me. That strategy hadn’t even occurred to me. It’s sad, but research clearly shows that in this nation money influences elections. It takes money to run a successful campaign. Our collective donations can make the difference in the outcome of the 2020 campaigns against the cowardly GOP senators who proved themselves unworthy to represent us from states other than our own.

There are 16 GOP senators up for re-election this year. Starting at the top, and the worse offender of all, who admitted that he was in lock step with the White House as Senate Majority Leader to get to a swift acquittal of Trump is Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Other offenders are Lindsey Graham of South Carolina who spews so much nonsense in defense of Trump that he is unredeemable. There is Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Martha McSally of Arizona, David Perdue of Georgia, Jim Risch of Idaho, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Cindy Hyde Smith of Mississippi, Steve Daines of Montana, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Tom Tillis of North Carolina, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas, and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia.

In addition to sending funds to their Democrat opponents, if you live one of these states or have friends or family in one, contact those you know and remind them to either register to vote or to check their registration, and to be sure to vote because running against someone with longstanding name recognition is difficult. You can also become a campaign volunteer to canvas, make phone calls, etc. The starting point is to find the name of the GOP senate opponent and provide three good policies they are running on to share with friends and family in that state and on social media.

For example, in Kentucky, Democrat Amy McGrath is running against Mitch McConnell. The two are in a statistical tie right now and money to get her message and name out there in Kentucky will make a huge difference. But so will being able to articulate why she deserves the votes of Kentucky citizens. I would highlight her pro-gun control stance, her fight against climate change stance, and her pro-healthcare stance as reasons to vote for her. I’m donating to her campaign today. And I will donate to Democratic senate races across the nation. I’m going to use my Facebook and Twitter accounts to promote the opponents of every GOP senator who is up for re-election until election day.

That said, we can’t afford to forget to also support the four democrat senators who are up for re-election this year. They also need support. They are Doug Jones of Alabama, Gary Peters of Michigan, Tina Smith of Minnesota, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hamshire.

We flipped the House of Representatives in 2018. Now is the time to flip the Senate and to remove the corrupt and cowardly Republicans from our nations capital. They no longer deserve to be there. Of course, it’s a given that Trump has to go, too. Let’s make it a landslide defeat of the corrupt and cowardly in 2020.

A couple of months ago, while watching my favorite Chinese pop singers, JJ Lin and A-Lin on YouTube, the algorithm inserted into my feed what seemed like a random video of a K-pop South Korean boy group called Astro. I’d never heard of or even seen them before, but I liked their sharp black suits and the stage setting so I watched them perform their hit song, “Baby“, a May 2017 release on their Dream Part 1 mini-album. An obsession was born.

Frankly, up to that point, I had only seen a little of the South Korean group BTS on random shows and thought they are good, but I didn’t think much of them. I knew BTS was a popular K-pop group, indeed they will be at the Grammy’s tonight, but their hard hitting rap and tough guy images weren’t all that attractive to me. Astro was different.

They aren’t tough guys. Instead they project good-looking nice guys with a ton of talent and great personalities. They debuted on February 23, 2016 as school boys and have quickly evolved into men. Their early performances are of cute boys dancing and singing in childish outfits. While their early music appeals to me, the dance moves and outfits are cringe-worthy. That changed in 2017 with their newest mini-albums and especially with their new November 2019 release, “Blue Flame“.

The producers at their production company, Fantagio, know what they are doing. K-pop is big business and serious business with huge pressures on their artists who live together, are in training for a long time before their debut, and who have major restrictions on their behavior and social lives. The producers put together a full sensory package with catchy music, incredible choreography, great visuals in clothes, makeup, hairstyling, production staging, and great effort in promoting the roles and personalities of each group member. The finished product in this case, Astro, is nothing short of amazing and I am a true fan. These six young men work extremely hard as they rehearse, travel, perform, and try to project a positive image 24/7.

My daughters rightly laughed at me this Christmas as I made them watch a few of their video performances. But they liked them too, though not as much as me. Human brains work differently and my responds to their music, dancing, and aesthetics in a way that brings me great pleasure. I’ve even added their arm movements in my favorite videos to my morning treadmill routine. It gets my heart rate up and stimulates my brain and muscle memory. Some of my favorite songs are “Moonwalk”, “All Night”, “Blue Flame” “Always You” and “When the Wind Blows”.

I can talk about each member and his role with ease. There is the beautiful face of the group, Cha Eun-woo, who is an actor as well as a singer and pianist. I’ve enjoyed him in the drama, “My ID is Gangnam Beauty” streaming on Viki and “The Rookie Historian” streaming on Netflix. He’s super handsome, smart, and projects a humble kindness. I enjoy his acting much more than his dancing, although he has mastered all the dance moves, his feet bother me a bit and sometimes he just appears to be going through the motions.

My favorite performer in the group is Moonbin. He is a great singer and incredible dancer whose dancing is always on point and full of feeling. He also plays the piano. He is by far the sexist member in the group and apparently he is also the favorite among fans. In November, he didn’t go on the road with the other members to promote and perform the new release, “Blue Flame” mini-album for health reasons. I sincerely hope he gets better soon.

The most accomplished dancer and choreographer is Rocky. He is amazing. He’s a really good slow rapper and can sing, too, although they don’t promote that much. He has a black belt in Taekwondo which may account for his apparent discipline. He appears to be the most serious of the members personality wise. He has a beautiful smile and I love watching him dance for the passion and precision he brings to every move.

The leader of the group and second in the sexist member category is Jinjin. His deep voice rapping and his true b-boy hip hop lends a great vibe to every song. I love hearing him rap and I enjoy his harder hitting dance moves. He has a nice personality, an easy laugh and he watches over the members, especially Yoon Sanha, the youngest of the group.

Yoon Sanha is the most evolved. He is considered the baby of the group and they don’t seem to want to let him grow up, but I’ve seem his performances evolve from a boy into a more manly performer with all the sexy vibes coming out. His talent extends to the guitar. He is the tallest member now, growing taller than Cha Eun-woo, and he’s very slim and graceful. His dance moves are beautiful to watch and his singing voice is really soothing and pretty. I love listening to him sing. He recently talked about his struggle with depression for which I admire his transparency.

And finally, there’s MJ, the personality of the group who is an incredible belter with the high notes in the songs. I adore MJ. One would never guess that he is the oldest member of the group. He seems to be the most fun-loving and loud. He has the most striking features, especially his mouth and eyes. He’s a good dancer, too, but I especially enjoy his singing.

I’ve downloaded at least three songs from each of their six-mini albums. Besides the dancing videos, they do have a several ballads that I love, including, “I’ll be There” , “Innocent Love” (features Cha Eun-woo accompanying on piano), “Bloom”, “Because it’s You” and “Run”. All I can say is that I’m a true fan girl and that for now they are my brain’s happy place.

Few people believe the Republican led Senate will remove Donald Trump from office even though the emerging evidence clearly points toward his guilt.  I feel like I’m watching a movie unfold that depicts the blatant corruption of powerful government officials. This week called into question the behavior of Attorney General William Barr, Congressman Devin Nunez, former governor Rick Perry, and even Vice President Mike Pence. And to think that these men were elected by Americans to protect and defend the Constitution.  The members of Trump’s circle implicated in multiple corruption scandals since 2016 is nothing short of a betrayal of the public trust. But why is this happening?  Can anyone do anything to stop this train wreck from happening in the next few weeks?

I believe the answer lies in the loud and determined demands of the American people.  We the people are responsible for whether the Senate does its job in a fair and impartial way during this trial.  Yeah, they took an oath, but it means nothing.  Over the years, Republican lawmakers have repeatedly shown us who they are.  It’s our good fortune that journalist have uncovered the fact that they are willing to lie and cheat and overlook sexual harassment and all manner of wrongdoing for the sake of remaining in power so that they can stack the courts.  These Republicans know Trump has broken many laws and has violated the trust of his office and the American people, but none of that matters if they can remain in office. Can it really be that simple and that bad? Maybe.

Whether it is or isn’t that simple, I say we remind them that they will not be re-elected to office if they betray our country and the rule of law by denying us a legitimate trial that brings forth relevant witnesses and documents that either exonerate or convict the president.  Let both sides expose the facts of the case.  No covering up the truth.  No withholding of facts.  No distractions. No moves to dismiss the allegations just to make the whole thing go away because you have a majority. 

This past week, I wrote to Mitch McConnell several times, demanding witnesses and documents and a legitimate trial.  I’ve seen several news reports that polls show that 70% of Americans want to hear from witnesses.  I’m grateful for the relentless journalist who keep digging for information, and for pollsters who keep polling, and for reporters who keep reporting the actual news. The legitimate news outlets (not Facebook; not Fox; not conservative talk radio) are helping to inform us during this crucial time in our nation’s history. We have to support them financially with subscriptions and by watching so that they can continue the important work. With the information they provide, we have a job to do, too.

We, the people have a voice.  We must use it to demand a fair trial so that we are sending a clear message to our government that blatant corruption and criminal behavior will not be tolerated.  Our voice is expressed in marches, letters, emails, phone calls, protests, blogs, and voting. Whichever way makes sense, each American should use her voice to demand what is right.  Silence is a friend of the corrupt.

I don’t understand how a person like Donald Trump got elected. I only know that there are criminal and corrupt elements undergirding his presidency and working diligently to deceive the electorate every minute of every day.  It is evident that he has surrounded himself with criminals.  Even those who turn on him have credibility issues because of their own criminal behavior. But think about the role Trump himself gave to those people are who turned on him? These were people engaged in his schemes. This week Lev Parnas became the newest person to turn over evidence of Trump’s bribery scheme. We know that Trump lies, cheats, steals, bullies and kills innocents with his policies without morality.  He has no regard for people who don’t swear loyalty to him.  How is this man still president of the United States?  I know the world is wondering the same thing.

It is time for we the people to demand that the Senate do the right thing and seriously consider the facts as to whether Trump truly deserves to be our president. 

If I remain healthy enough, I plan to retire in four years at the end of June, 2024.  The days seem to fly by and so I realize that four years will be here in the blink of an eye. On some days, it seems like many of my friends and family members have already retired and that I’m a lone holdout.  But I’m not yet ready. However, I’m seriously thinking about how to spend these last four working years.

There are three high priorities on my list.  They could be considered the three-legged stool upon which my successful and happy retirement will depend.  The first is good health, the second is adequate savings, and the third is a satisfying lifestyle plan. 

It’s only to be expected that aging brings health concerns because these bodies were not designed to last forever.  Everything about this body seems to wear out and to become less effective over time.  Move the wrong way and parts tear, sprang, or break.  Eat and more is stored as fat.  Less muscle, less stamina, slower memory recall.  It becomes harder to see and harder to hear.  These are all the norm.  I’ve heard people ponder how “young me got stuck in this old body”. I can relate. The reality is that we can’t stop the aging process, but we can slow it down with a healthy diet and greatly reduced calorie intake, moderate daily exercise for at least 45 minutes that includes stretching and weights as well as aerobics, adequate sleep, and an active brain.  I’m working to modify my health habits to match these best recommendations.  The challenge will be to find brain activity after I retire that matches the rigorous workout my brain gets every day at work, both socially and intellectually.

The second leg on the stool is having adequate savings.  Thankfully, I’ve been saving for retirement since my twenties.  And according to the financial planner, I’ve met the goal.  However, I’m determined to exceed it by far only because I don’t want to be scrapped for cash and who knows what healthcare costs will be.  So, I’m somewhat obsessed with saving and investing.  I made a decision to stop spending on unnecessary things, trips, restaurant meals and entertainment, and to put that money into additional savings and investments for the next four years.  I love to shop, so this will be difficult for me.  However, I acknowledge that I have more than enough clothes, shoes, and accessories stockpiled to get me to retirement without purchasing one more item. 

And that last stool, lifestyle is the most exciting prospect of what I’ll want retirement to be.  I know a few things.  First, I want to be close to family members so we can reach each other quickly.  Second, I want to trade in my professional wardrobe for a simple, leisurely and comfortable one.  Third, I want to be more active in my sorority, not as an officer, but as a supporter of our activities.  I’ll enjoy what I’ve always enjoyed, writing, reading, gardening, puzzles, good television, and decorating.  And the next house will need a really big kitchen because I plan to cook every day.     

Four years will come quickly and it’s nice to have implemented a plan to help me retire the way I hope to.

It’s not very comforting to hear your doctor say that medicine isn’t a perfect science and sometimes a prescription that is good for one ailment can cause another.  At least he’s honest rather than arrogant.  But that is the situation I found myself in this past week when I visited my doctor’s office for severe intermittent stomach pains.  Thanks to WebMD, I knew my diagnosis and treatment before the words came out of his mouth and I had already taken steps to mitigate the problem. 

Of course, the doctor berated me for my proactive behavior.  After all, I hadn’t gone to medical school.  However, in my defense, I was in real pain and the earliest appointment I could get was three weeks out. I can read and I have the internet, so I did some research and diagnosed my problem as a stomach ulcer and took the proscribed steps to begin the healing process. By the time I made it to the doctor’s appointment, 80% of the intermittent pain was gone and I’d even considered cancelling the appointment.  Thankfully, my husband vehemently objected to that idea and so did the doctor.

The doctor confirmed my own diagnosis as being peptic ulcer disease. He officially took me off of my daily baby aspirin, something I had stopped taking two weeks before.  My bad kidneys already demanded that I leave other NSAIDs like Ibuprofen alone.  I changed my eating habits, giving up spicy foods, eating much smaller meals, and adding oatmeal in my morning shake along with my plain Greek yogurt and berries.  Since I don’t smoke or drink, I was halfway there. 

The doctor’s appointment wasn’t totally a waste, though.  I learned that stress doesn’t cause ulcers. Stress can exacerbate the problem. I also learned that apparently 80-90% are caused by an infection of H. pylori bacteria. I was given a breath test to determine if I need antibiotics.  True to form, the doctor ordered a battery of other tests to rule out a host of other potential problems for which I had no symptoms and which he admitted were highly unlikely.  I wanted to object, but having already been berated for my lack of an MD, I compiled with tests that will likely contribute to the skyrocketing cost of medical insurance. That was time and money down the drain, but I wasn’t bold nor confident enough to refuse.

The unsettling part of it all was that the baby aspirin I was taking for years is no longer recommended for most women because it causes bleeding and will worsen my ulcer if it wasn’t the actual cause.  However, I am a female exception to this newest medical finding because of my strong family history of stroke and having had a mini-stroke several years back.  For women like me, aspirin is recommended.  But for women like me with a peptic ulcer, aspirin is a big problem.  My doctor was at least humble enough to admit that he didn’t know what to do. The best he could do for now was see if I needed antibiotics, recommend Pepcid, keep me on the lookout for blood in my stool, and rule out other problems.

I’ve decided to do more.  I left the doctor’s office with a renewed commitment to get more serious about losing weight, eating healthier, getting enough sleep, restarting a lunch walk to my exercise regime, moving more through gardening and housekeeping (not shopping), and keeping my stress levels down.  My most important goal for 2020 is to develop a healthier lifestyle. Pain from a sore in my stomach was the best motivation I needed to do better.

I’m taking the next two weeks to fully enjoy the holidays with family and friends. Take some time to read or reread some of my past posts. Enjoy the holidays and stay safe and healthy. Thanks for supporting me in 2019 by reading, commenting on, and perhaps even sharing my posts with others. More to come in 2020.

In my estimation, the most dangerous man in America is not Donald Trump, but Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell.  Not only is he preventing a vote on most of the legislative bills that Congress passed, including those designed to protect our elections and reasonable gun control, but he is fast filling the federal courts with conservative judges.  And now, he is working with the White House to orchestrate the Senate impeachment hearings in favor of the president.  What the hell?

On what planet is it okay for a judge to work with the accused to mount a defense?  Essentially, the Senate sits in judgement as to whether a president’s alleged behavior against the interest of our democracy and the Constitution warrants that president’s removal from office.  The protection of our nation is why we have three co-equal branches of government.  For such a time as this is the reason the Framers of our Constitution gave Congress oversight of the Executive branch. Mitch has already announced on Fox News that he will definitely ensure that the president is acquitted.  There is not even a hint of trying to appear to give the facts of the case a fair hearing.

And that is the danger of Mitch McConnell.  He doesn’t even try to play fair.  He blocked the federal judges Obama put forth and he also blocked the appointment of Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Count.  But with a grin, he announced that in this election year he would readily approve a new nominee to the Supreme Court should an opening become available.  The hypocrisy is stunning!  But more than that, McConnell’s behavior will have real world consequences for Americans.

By stacking the federal courts and the Supreme Court with conservative judges, the hope of real gun control, the preservation of women’s control over their bodies, the civil rights of the LGBTQ community, the preservation of voting rights, welcoming immigration laws, environmental protections, access to health care, and so many other issues that provide protections to minorities and women will be challenged in court and lost.  The majority of Americans do not want these things to happen and sadly most do not even realize the consequences of McConnell’s actions. 

It is past time to flip the Senate.  The only way to get rid of McConnell is to take over the majority of Senate seats.  Although I would love for Kentucky to ditch Mitch, without a majority of Democratic Senate seats, even if he lost, another unethical Republican leader would take over.  The 2020 election is not just about dumping Trump, it is also about the Senate who protects a corrupt president and stacks our courts with far too conservative judges.

If we are to rid ourselves of the most dangerous American in the country, we must awaken our friends, family, neighbors, students, and anyone with a vote to the reality of the danger we are in.  We will get the America we are willing to fight and vote for.

I thought the Constitutional law professors who testified before the House Judicial committee last week were going to be boring. But they were anything but boring. The four of them were passionate, articulate, and informative in their explanation of the Framers reasons for including provisions for impeachment in the Constitution. Three of the four argued that the President’s actions warrant impeachment while the forth argued that he hasn’t yet seen enough to draw that conclusion. But he hasn’t seen enough because Republicans are hiding all the evidence they can from half of the country who watch Fox News. I think they are cowards.

A coward is someone who lacks bravery. And bravery is only called for when one is under threat. A brave person summons up the mental and moral courage to do the right thing in the face of danger. We can all see clearly that we have a bully in the White House who has surrounded himself with a news outlet and enough people who support his lawlessness to publicly humiliate any Republican lawmaker who goes against him.  And so, what they continue to do is skirt the issue of his bribery in Ukraine and his continuing corruption and obstruction of legitimate Congressional oversight.  It’s rather pathetic to watch.

In normal times, these same lawmakers would have defended the Constitution, the rule of law, morality, ethics, and the American people.  But they want so much to remain in office that they have become shameful cowards. As an American, I decided to use my freedom of speech to call them out publicly.

I reopened a Twitter account when the hearings began and followed the main Republicans like Devin Nunes and Keven McCarthy and Doug Collins and Matt Gaetz and I respond to their absurd attacks on process and even more ridiculous attempts to deflect from the president’s actual misdeeds.  I’m calling them out on their cowardice.  I remind them that they took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, not a lawless President. Their inaction threatens our democracy.

In my book, these cowardly lawmakers need to be held accountable for their behavior during this important time and they should be publicly berated and then thrown out of office when they come up for re-election.  That is our duty as brave and patriotic Americans.

Thanksgiving in my early adulthood was spent in pleasant debate with my brothers over every issue imaginable. While others might have watched these Thanksgiving scenes in horror, we were actually having a great time interrogating each other’s arguments, sometimes loudly, but always in good humor. Those days have been replaced by something decidedly different. For starters, now I’m the cook and usually only a minor player in the dinner discussions. But not this year.

Instead of lively debate which my son and son-in-law might have engaged in had my son been able to come for Thanksgiving, I became the push back to my son-in-law’s musings about democracy, free markets, over-regulation, privacy rights, and government intrusion on our freedoms. I’m in the enviable position of loving not only my children, but their spouses as well. As a result, I greatly value these discussions and am grateful to have a small role in helping to shape attitudes or at least challenge existing attitudes and to have my own attitudes challenged in the process. As a naturalized citizen, my son-in-law is passionate about the United States and freedom.

My greatest take away from our discussion is that none of us can become complacent with corruption in our society. Corruption is the dishonest abuse of the public trust for personal gain. We can’t afford to become so cynical as to believe that all of Washingtion is so corrupt that we should simply ignor what is going on. The reality is that we will have the government we are willing to demand and fight for. If we fail to hold politicians accountable for their corrupt actions then we will completely lose a government that works on behalf of people and instead we will have a government that serves only the rich and well connected.

Now is not the time to turn a blind eye to the corruption of this president and his administration. It is time to uphold the rule of law. Is what Donald Trump did: withholding public funds for the defense needs of an ally until that ally did him a personal favor an impeachable and removable offense? Hell yes! If we look the other way and do nothing, then the United States will become no different from the corrupt country my son-in-law fled.

This Thankksgiving I’m thankful for family, real discussion over good food, and for a country that might just uphold the rule of law. I’ll be watching the new set of hearings this week. It is our collective democracy to keep. Happy Thanksgiving.

I’m grateful for the people who take the time to read my weekly musings about life from where I sit. This past week, a colleague asked if I shopped on black Friday and my affirmative response was a surprise to her. She found what I had to say about taking advantage of the opportunity to save money for the entire year worth sharing with my readers in my blog this week. So, I hope you find it helpful to you and your family as well.

I take a different view about Black Friday than some people in that it’s first and foremost about stretching dollars I can afford to spend on things I actually want to purchase for myself and others for the entire year, not just the holidays. This takes planning and a bit of research before Black Friday. I write a list and then I find out which store will give me the best deal for what I want. I have annual purchases that save me money.

Every year I purchase 1000 piece puzzles and App Store/iTunes gift cards at Target as well as door buster toys to donate. I purchase these gift cards because they have a buy one, get one for 30% off. I usually buy several packages that contain multiple $10 gift cards. In addition, I use my Target debit card for an additional 5% off. A bonus is that on Black Friday when you spend $50 or more, you get a 20% off coupon for another shopping trip. I use these gift cards for myself throughout the year and as gifts.

My other annual gift card purchases on Black Friday are Cheesecake Factory gift cards because they double the number of free cheesecake slices from one card per $25 to two. I love the Cheesecake Factory and so I purchase the gifts cards for me to use throughout the year as well as a few to give as gifts. Last year I ended up giving away about 20 free cheesecake slices which cost about $9.00 each. The only catch is that the cheesecake slice cards expire on March 31st. My husband and I enjoyed dessert a couple of times ourselves this year.

I’ll be adding Wood Ranch barbecue restaurant to my gift card purchases this year because they’re giving $10 promotion cards for every $50 in gift cards purchased. We visit that restaurant about six times a year, so the gift cards won’t go to waste. Again, the promotion cards expire on March 31st, so I will likely only purchase two gift cards.

I’ve always been an early riser, so sitting outside the door of a Best Buy at 4am in years past was not a challenge for me. I may not need anything from Best Buy this year, but those door busters are worth the savings. These days I visit Kohl’s on Thanksgiving night for gifts and staples like bedroom slippers, exercise wear, shawls or sweaters, pajamas, underwear, jewelry and toys to donate. The door busters plus coupons and the extra in Kohl’s cash ($15 instead of $10 per $50) make it worthwhile. I use the Kohl’s cash the following Saturday for more gifts that are on sale. Saturday is the best day to shop at Kohl’s.

Another favorite on Thursday evening or Black Friday is Michael’s. They have huge door busters and usually a coupon for an extra $25% off everything. I like fancy Christmas ribbon and I usually walk away spending $3 per spool instead of $10. I don’t need much these days by way of decorations, but in the past, I purchased a lot of items during this time, especially adding to my collection of 10″ black Santas that actually resemble my husband golfing, fishing, hunting, cooking, etc. I paid about $8 instead of $30 each for them after all the discounts on Black Friday.

So, there you have it. I don’t do much on-line during the holidays these days because I don’t need much. I’m thinking about purchasing a new iRobot Roomba vacume, and replacing my Magic Bullet and George Foreman Grill. Both are nearly worn out and this is the best time of the year to purchase all three items. One regret I have is not being able to save additional money when we got rid of our cable data boxes and replaced all six of them Ruko sticks. Yes, we saved $48 each month on those boxes because of the Ruko sticks, but they are a really good deal this Black Friday, each costing about $10 less than I paid for them at Target and Amazon. Not waiting saved us more in the long run, but I hate that I couldn’t get that additional $60 savings.

It should be evident by now that the start of the holiday shopping season for me is less about Christmas and more about the opportunity to stretch my hard earned dollars. The more I save, the more I get to save, and the more I get to give to the needy. To me, that’s just being fiscally responsible. Happy Black Friday.