Cats and Coupons

Several years ago my beloved Himalayan cat Nikki got sick. In the last day his whole manner changed and I knew the end was coming. I believe he did as well. Looking back, I realize he’d stayed closer to me than usual for a few days before the end. On the last day he wouldn’t leave my side at all. I sat on the floor and he curled up in my lap and passed. My heart broke. We get so attached to our pets, for some of us they are like family.

This past Sunday night my Mom’s cat passed. The cat was about 10 and had a long, good life. For two or three days prior the cat was having a hard time walking but managed to stay near my Mom. I knew my Mom was really hurting, so I tried to help by talking with her. In the course of our conversation I shared my theory of what happened when each of our cats had died.

I believe that in each case our cats stayed near us because they loved us and knew we loved them. I think they knew the end was coming and that being close for a little time together was the cat’s way of thanking me, telling me he loved me and saying goodbye. I believe the cats were all preparing themselves, and us in a way, for their death. I know in Nikki’s case he managed a weak purr until the end, when he let go with one last meow. I believe he was in peace and content with the life he’d had. I still miss him and think of him often.

I have since experienced almost an identical bond with a cat twice. Once was with Pumpkin, a cat who we rescued from a shelter. I nursed him for weeks after we got him to keep him alive. He left us suddenly, again breaking my heart. Now it’s with Shadow, the male cat I have now. You may not think that’s a big deal but, did you know that all three of the cats are/were male Seal Point Himalayans? Sometimes I wonder if in a way my Nikki is still with me.

My middle youngest brother mentioned to me recently that he bought some fitness equipment, one of those all in one gyms they show on television. I must start by saying he isn’t out of shape, he’s underweight and you can see his ribs, so I don’t know what he was thinking when he got it. But I got to thinking that the shipping on those things must cost a small fortune. Why would you not find a comparable machine locally? I can’t see myself in a situation where I’d have something huge and heavy shipped. I always consider shipping costs when buying something over the internet. And, for all major purchases I almost always buy in person. Are there certain items you wouldn’t have shipped?

Shadow used to sleep in our bed until about six months ago. At that time he stopped sleeping there suddenly and wouldn’t even come up on the bed to sit and be pet. He began sleeping on chairs and the couch and even in the towel rack at that time. I am happy to be able to say that Shadow has returned to sleeping on our bed. If we’re awake he sits on top of my husband or myself and gets happy feet for a minute. Then he’ll either come around and curl up next to me or go to the foot of the bed and sleep in between our feet. I’ve missed him in there purring, so I’m glad he decided to come back.

Since my son turned twelve he’s been fighting off acne. He wants me to buy all kinds of acne solutions but I know that many of them don’t work, and that he can help fight acne naturally. He drinks lots of water, and rarely drinks soda and I think that’s a good thing. Spring is here and he’s running track, and I think exercise is good for the skin and body. I’ve seen a noticeable change just in the past two weeks or so since the nicer weather started arriving. But since he’s so interested in the products he sees on television, I decided to see what free skin care samples I can find. So far I’ve found Neutrogena. Do any of you know of any others?

My Mom does this all of the time. The way most kids grow they tend to outgrow their shoes rather than wear them out, which means we need to constantly buy them shoes. And shoes can be pretty expensive, particularly if you’re looking at big names like Naot. When my oldest son started running track this year I couldn’t believe how expensive some of the running shoes were. So here’s how my Mom saves a bunch of money on shoes for my younger son. She looks for really good sales, usually clearance sales when seasons are changing. She then buys a size or two bigger and we put them away. This works great because my younger son is pretty tiny and his feet grow slow enough that he actually wears out his shoes before he outgrows them. Do you have anyone in your family that this method of shoe shopping might work for and save some money?

My sons both receive an allowance. My older son gets money. My younger son doesn’t understand the value of money so each week we spend his allowance on some Thomas the Train toys, because they are his favorite thing in the world right now. In exchange for their allowance the boys are expected to do something. My older son is expected to keep his room neat and help with the garbage and the recycling (taking it out). My younger son feeds the cats and puts the silverware away when we unload the dishwasher. Do your kids have an allowance? If so, what are they supposed to do to earn it?

Do you have to go to traffic court? Do yourself a favor and ask lots of questions before giving a retainer. Unless you personally know a lawyer or have experience with one, you may not know what to do if you find yourself looking for one. My brother hired one for traffic court and spent a lot of money to accomplish what he himself could have done for free. Instead of asking about minimum and maximum penalties and pleading to lesser pleas, my brother hired himself the first lawyer whose name he heard. He didn’t need a truck accident lawyer as he hadn’t had an accident but he did need someone who was worth the money they charged, which she was not. And if you want to save even more money, don’t break the driving laws and you won’t need a lawyer at all.

Some people feel that buying additional warranties aren’t worth it. I have found that it’s worth buying an additional warranty on any expensive purchase. We have bought one for every vehicle we’ve bought from a dealership since we married, and used every one. I follow the example my parents set for me. Buy the warranty if it’ll save you more than it will cost you to spend to replace the product and buy the warranty if it”ll be cheaper to buy it than hire a repairman. Most recently my parents flat panel tv in the den started having problems. The repairman came out to the house and said that he couldn’t repair it there and it’d need to be replaced so he took it right off of the tv wall mount and off to the shop. Soon after the tv was replaced with a brand new one, so it paid to have that warranty. Do you purchase additional warranties on expensive purchases? Have you ever had to use it? Have you ever wished you’d bought one after the fact?

I originally was going to get my hubby an ipod for Christmas, because he travels 90 minutes to work in each direction every day. Each morning he goes through his cd collection and picks out a half dozen or so to bring with him. I thought it would be neat to give him one of the larger ipods so he could put all of his music on there and not have to go through his cds every day. I ended up not getting him an ipod because I wasn’t sure he’d like it.

Last night my hubby asked me how much an ipod costs. I asked why and told him about the different models of ipods and their prices. He seemed interested. So last night I decided I think I’m going to get him one for Valentine’s Day. I started surfing today looking for a deal and stopped on the Coupon Chief website. Coupon Chief is a site that has all kinds of coupons and coupon codes, for just about anything you can think of. I was pleased to find out that Coupon Chief has a whole section of Apple coupons. While I was on the site I had to check out the Best Buy coupons too, because I can always find something in there that he or my son wants. I love finding coupons for online shopping!

Going back a couple of years we had to replace our old metal swing set. It had rusted and was falling apart. My oldest son wanted something big enough that his friends could play on. We wanted something that would last a while and be affordable. So off we went to look at and price swing sets. We looked locally and everything we wanted or liked was out of our price range. Unwilling to give up, I decided to search online to see who else in our area carried them. I had never considered buying one online. I was so surprised to find out that some really big manufacturers sell their wood swing sets online for mush less than you can buy them elsewhere. And they’ll ship them to you on a freight truck. We saved about $400 on the swing set and it’s still standing and in excellent shape. So, if you are considering getting a swing set I recommend doing a little surfing online. You might find what you’re looking for at a really nice price.

I worry about the safety of my children all of the time. My older son says I’m overprotective and sometimes smotherly. My youngest has Down Syndrome so I always worry about him. He doesn’t have an extensive vocabulary so I often worry about what would happen to him if he got separated from us. I have decided that a viable solution for our situation might be to get him a medical id bracelet or something of that nature. Something that I could put contact info and some basic info on. Have any of you ever been in or know of someone that has been in a similar situation? I welcome constructive suggestions on this topic, please feel free to leave a comment if you’ve got one.

We went on our first and only cruise in December of 2006, it was a Disney cruise. It was wonderful and we really loved it. We all want to take another cruise, possibly in 2009. We’re interested in caribbean cruises and having never been, I’m wondering what everyone recommends. I’m pretty sure we’ll travel around the same time of year next time, for a couple of reasons. The weather at the end of November and beginning of December is still warm for us New Jersey folks. Hurricane season is officially over. And, prices are much cheaper because there’s less crowds at that time of year. So, please comment me with any recommendations you have - locale, cruise line, anything pertinent. I welcome the input.

Well, Christmas is over and the new year is under way. We took the tree down this past weekend as well as the decorations. All I have left to do tonight is take the wreath and the sleigh bells off of the front door. And then there’s the gifts. I need a place to put them. I also need to clean again, and get find good spots for the exercise equipment. See, my youngest got Thomas the Tank train sets that are currently up in two different rooms. The one in the living room is right in front of the picture window where we put the exercise bike. That train can’t stay up full time out here. I’m actually looking for a train table with drawers or bins underneath that everything could be stored in. I’m thinking we can put the new smart cycle next to my exercise bike so that my younger son and I can “ride” together.

For Christmas all of the guys (my father, husband, son and all brothers) each received a new Xmod radio controlled car. They all already had at least one but since they like racing them so much my Mom got them all another. One of my brothers loves playing with his so much that he has even put together a track at his house. Sometimes they like to add stuff to them and dress them up, so now I have to keep my eyes open for a Dodge Charger accessory or two as I think that’s the one my son got.