Welcome to May

I decided to go with a very simple title for this blog.  Why?  Because I feel like May is the only month that is very simple, very, Spring friendly.  Some facts about May:

• It is the last full month of Spring.  Where did spring go this year?  I spent over half the season so far with the heat on and freezing or prematurely celebrating the summer to come.  After all, Ohio is not California, Florida, Texas, or Arizona, four of the notorious months where temps can get into the 90’s around June 1^st or before.
• May Day.  It is official, as I said earlier, we are at the halfway point before summer makes her debut for the year.  When my parents were children, they grew up in the same town of Guinea/Moundsville, Alabama, 8 miles north of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, my mom said that they used to dance around the maypole and did other activities that celebrated spring.  According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the tradition started with “Ancient Celts dancing around a tree” not a pole, praying for crops and fertility. If the pairing was a hit, then the courtship will continue, followed by marriage 6 weeks later in June.  No wonder June became the top-rated wedding month of the year.  Blame the Maypole.
• Lei Day.  On May 1 in Hawaii, it is also Lei Day.  If you ever visited Hawaii, which is on my bucket list of places to travel to, you can receive leis everywhere you go, from the airport to hotels and events.  They are given in the symbol of welcome, goodbye, affection, celebration, or honor which is in the spirit of Aloha. This celebration started on May 1, 1928, long before the territory became a state in 1959. 
• Cinco De Mayo.  Everyone knows about May 5^th, it is the day we celebrate Mexican food, right?  Um, wrong, in fact, we celebrate this Mexican holiday in the wrong way here in the United States. In fact, this is a day of victory celebration when the Mexicans won over the French army at The Battle of Puebla in 1862.   So, in technicality, this is not a day where you can get 5 marguerites for $5.  I always caution people to drink responsibly and do not get caught.
• For Star Wars fans, there is Star Wars day, or May the 4^th (get it, May the 4th be with you, May the Force be With You-I can feel that pun going over some person’s head really quickly as they give that look of confusion, LOL).  Nothing special if you are not a Star Wars fan. I am personally a Star Trek fan, but I have seen all but the last movie that came out, and I respect these fans.  You are limited to one eye roll if your co-worker comes in dressed as Chewbacca The Wookie on that day.  Yes, it will be scary, but trust me, by 5 pm, it will be all over with.  Two eye rolls if he screams like
  
  him.  Pray that he does not get fired.  OK, I am done.
• Mother’s day.  This year, it is May 12, and it is merely an appreciation day for all things mother.  Cook for her (although if you are under 12, peanut butter and jelly sandwich will do…. let dad or a restaurant do the rest), present a gift from the heart, or a simple, “I love you” will do.  Do not forget to say thank you.
• Victoria Day.  I am not Canadian, so I know nothing about this day, except it, celebrates Queen Victoria’s birthday. May 20^th
• Memorial Day.  Here in the States (United States) we celebrate those who passed on and served in the military.  Many people go to the gravesites of beloved ones who served, place an American flag or flowers on the grave and reflect on how much the military has served this country.  This month, it is celebrated on May 27^th.

Now for some fun celebrations:

According to the Almanac, May is:

• Get caught Reading month
• National Good Car-Keeping month
• Scrapbook/paper crafting month
• May 1^st- School Principal’s day
• May 2-World Tuna Day (dang I could have tuna sushi-I had salmon sushi for dinner)
• May 5-11: Root Canal Awareness week
• May 8: No socks day (Humm, I should start wearing sandals on that day-YAY!)
• May 14: Dance like a chicken day.  Don’t ask.
• May 28:  Slugs Return from Capistrano Day.  Again, do not ask, but you can celebrate with a game called Best Fiends. 

Other notable things you can do for the month of May:

• Are there any weddings that you have been invited to?  Prepare your planner for all things wedding by:
• Marking the date, which includes any special events leading up to the wedding, especially if you are part of the wedding party.
• Now is the time to buy the gifts.  Look for discounts and coupons, but also be aware of the price on some gifts.  Online shopping may be the way to go and excuse to shop on Amazon, but it may not always be the best price.
• Consider getting a gift that will benefit both the bride and groom, not one or the other.
• When in doubt, get a gift card so they can both be present and pick out the gift.  Make sure that it is a universal gift card (like a Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, or Discover) so they can spend at any place. Also, put enough money on the card so the couple does not have to use their own money for the difference.
• Do you usually put off spring cleaning until this month?  Some advice for May 2020:  Prepare in April.  Do a walkthrough in the house to see what needs to be cleaned and organized by the end of the month.  For example, I started to prepare (I am being honest, half prepared) last week. 
• The two major areas I am concentrating on this month is my master bedroom and craft room, which are leftovers from last year (May 2018).  In my complex, they usually will have a big bin (more like a shipping container) where you can place your broken, unwanted stuff there. Last year, I throw out my old sewing machine, which was sitting in the garage since 2013 when I changed out the old carpet, but never brought the machine back in the condo.  The reason why I threw it out was the bugs.  I saw one crawl of it one day as I was getting into my car, saw the bin, turned around, got it, and chucked into the bin on the way out.  I already see a couple of items that are ready for the bin this year.
• January, I went to Ikea to get a Kallax unit (3 x 4 or 4 x3 depending on which way I turn it) and it still needs to be put up.  I need to clean my room to put the 9-cube Closet Maid unit in my room.  Two items from my room need to go to that bin in the complex.  I also need to buy a smaller Kallax unit (2 x 4) to replace the current bookshelf in the living room. This is a real example of what I need to do and what I wrote down last month for May.
• As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, May is Good car-keeping month.  Now is the time for us to service our cars.  Again, I am being honest, every time I turn on my car, it tells me to get my oil changed.  It has been doing it for 5 months (Busted by my father last month).  I engine has been running rough, probably because I did not get the oil changed.  I also need to get the back door (which says Gate Door on my dashboard, I have a Dodge Caliber 2008) arms replaced since they will not hold up the door anymore.  Everything gets put on the back seat. Comment below if you plan on or have done some preventive maintenance on your car or other vehicles.  May I also mention that since the weather is getting warmer, watch out for Motorcycles, mopeds, scooters, and bikers, as well as pedestrians.

So what does all of this Mean?

As I change and grow this blog, as well as my other one, My Ambiance Life, my website and blog, P. Lynne Designs, my YouTube channel, as well as other things, such as my social media, I want to bring you one of the best contents and I may make some mistakes (such as not making videos during this time), I am building my business and my social footprint. To some of you, it may not mean anything, but I believe in leading by example, and I hope you have enjoyed this post.

If you have enjoyed this little spot or want to see more, please let me know in the comments below.

Until then peace, Happy May, and God Bless.

How Cruising around the World is a Beautiful Reward

Don’t believe me?  According to a document I got from the cruising industry, 2017 was another record-breaking year, with 25.8 million global ocean cruise passengers. This was up from 2016 where the industry reported 24.7, a 4.5 % increase.  Now from what I understand, I have not been able to get the stats from 2018, which I was one of the passengers.

I sailed on the Carnival Dream from December 31, 2017, to January 7, 2018, on my first cruise. I have been on little boats before, including a gambling and dinner boat in Miami, Florida and a gambling boat in between the Indiana-Ohio border.  The latest was during a time when Ohio did not allow gambling, so folks either did it illegally or hopped across the border to Indiana.  Guess Ohio got sick of losing money, and the lottery was no good.

Anyway, I had a wonderful time on the Carnival Dream, and I recommend everyone to take a cruise at least once in their lifetime.  My next ship (never call it a boat, THERE is a difference), I hope, will be a ship called the Disney Dream.  Now, how Disney and Carnival can get away with naming their ships the same.  Both also have the names, Magic and Fantasy.  That is another story for another day.

Before you set sail on your next maiden voyage, beyond the land, I have some tips that may not only save you money but lots of headache in the long run.

1. Plan.  OK, that seems simple, but it is not.  I was lucky.  I went with a group of people and my trip was all set.  I knew the travel agent, the people in my party, and I researched online and even set up my Sail and Sign card.
2. Research the cruise line.  I knew about Carnival.  There is a good reason that it is called, “The Fun Ship”.  If the cruise line has several ships in its line, research several ships before choosing Your Ship.  In my case, the ship was already chosen for me, the Carnival Dream and the Carnival Conquest (more on the Conquest later). You may have another cruise line in mind, and it is good to have a second ship (and cruise line) in mind in case something happens.
3. You can go solo (But why would you?)  here is the thing… there are a lot of things that could happen when you are by yourself.  One thing that I did not know about myself is I had a small bout of motion sickness.  It was a silly little incident.  While in Grand Cayman, the ship did not have a place to dock, so when that is the case, a smaller boat (yes, you can say "boat" with this thing), comes to get the passengers and brings them ashore.  I was fine going to the port and I was fine coming back.  As I was getting off the tender (which is what they are called), I looked down into the water (where the plank hook up between the tender and the ship, and I got dizzy and felt sick.  Now, this is a rare thing because I never get sick in a car, a theme park ride that spins, or on a plane, so I was surprised.  I did bring something with me, in case I did get motion sickness, but I felt better as soon I got to my stateroom.  If it wasn’t for my friend who was traveling with me, it could have gotten worst. 
4. This also leads to a very important step:  know the ship’s schedule for debarking and embarking (leaving the ship and coming back on time to enter the ship). At the time of this writing, a ship will leave you, no questions asked if you are not back in time.  I have seen YouTube videos.  While it may make a good laugh in the long run, it is not a laughing matter at all.  In fact, being left behind could cost you thousands of dollars to play “catch up to the ship.”  It is even worse if you leave all your belongings on the ship, so therefore, bring your passport, money, credit card, and your children. 
1. My travel agent sponsored a trip in which a man traveled along within the group.  He got left at the port.  He had to pay close to $2,000 to get back on the ship.
2. I have also heard of a couple who left their children on board and was left behind at the port.  It is nice to do a getaway excursion without the kiddos, but keep in mind that you do have children on board.  Lucky for them, the kids also had their grandparents to take care of them while mommy and daddy were missing for a few hours.
5. Have a budget.  In addition to knowing how much you need to save and when it is good to have a budget so you will not run out of money.  The best way to budget is to check online to see how much food, drinks, souvenirs, and activities (excursions on and off the ship) will cost you. for example, I looked online at the excursions that I and my friend would be able to do while on the Carnival Conquest. I did not check beforehand for the Carnival Dream.  When we got into the stateroom, there was nothing appealing to us because there was a difference in pricing between booking online and booking on the ship, so we did not have enough money to do anything.  That does not mean we did no on the ship.  There is plenty to do that is included or free on the ship.  If there are any questions, you can always call or email before getting on the ship.
6. Know your food intake.  Did you know there are many different types of menus on board?  If you have diet restrictions, let them either when booking or when you get on board and check in.
7. If you have allergies, the last place you want to be is in the Casino.  I never had any breathing problems before, but once I walked through the casino, I was wondering if I needed an inhaler.  The smoke was so thick, you cut it with a knife.  For the most part, ships are a non-smoker’s paradise. 
8. Take in the shows.  Enough said.
9. Yes, almost every cruise ship has a kid space, but you are your kid’s best protection.  Please do not send your child into the kid space without checking on them, especially if they are teens.  The third night of our 7-day cruise, my friend and I decided to take in the fresh air on Deck 11.  Above us were some kids on deck 12.  One kid even decided to do chin-ups on the overhang. They were rowdy and disrespectful.  The 5^th day, I wanted some sushi, so I went to Bonsai, ordered my snack, and while eating, a kid walked over and stared at my plate of sushi.  Lucky for me, his grandmother was not far, came over, smacked him on the head, and said, “can’t you see she is eating”.  I wanted to kiss her. Not too many parents would reprimand their children/grandchildren in front of a stranger, but yes, I wanted some privacy.  Normally I would reply with “that’s Okay”, but it was not okay to me. So please, watch your children.  Not only that, but there are some strange passengers on the ship, and you do not want your child to go to anyone.
10. Decide if the ship amenities are for you.  Sailing on the ship can entice anyone to splurge and coming home with nothing to show for it. Again, this is where having a budget can save you. Tip: do not forget to let your bank and credit card companies know where you will be while spending your money. You can do it the Online banking section of your bank’s website.  Life changer!!!  On Carnival ships, if you decide to purchase the CHEERS or Bubbles package, everyone in your room has to, even if you have separate money.  I wanted to purchase the CHEERS package, but my friend did not.  I had to respect her wishes and not purchase one.  That was fine, it kept me from getting the fancy coffee beverages and milkshakes, which I should get because I did not want my stomach to tie up in knots.  Oops, I said too much already, LOL.

This pretty much covers it.  I gave you lots to think about when taking your first cruise with or without an agent booking it for you, and with or without kids.

Now for the story on what happened to the first cruise, I was supposed to take on the Carnival Conquest.

The Carnival Conquest is a much smaller ship than the Carnival Dream.  She (forgot that ships are female in nature, LOL) is a first of the Conquest-line.  Her maiden voyage was in 2002, so she is a fairly new ship, and she holds 2,980 with a crew complement of 1,150.  We were to sail from September 9, 2017, to September 15, 2017, on a 7-day cruise from the port of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The ports were San Juan, Porto Rico; Grand Turks and Cacaos, and the Dominican Republic.  I was looking forward to this trip.  This would have been my first trip out of the States without crossing the border in a car.  The only other countries I have visited were Tajuana, Mexico, and three territories of Canada, all as a child.

Three days before we were to leave, Ms. Hurricane Irma made her debut, and I was not happy about it.  I knew she was around, but at the time, she as an itty bitty storm, with no oomph to her.  Then all of sudden, she picked up speed, and before I knew it, Delta would not let anyone at John Glen International (formally know as Port Columbus International) Airport. The ship was delayed but made a decision to sail that Tuesday on an abbreviated cruise (Cozumel and Belize) for 4-days.  My travel agent said nope and asked for everyone’s refund.  I was climbing the walls because I had not been out of the country since my family’s trip to Niagara Falls in 2012, and I wanted to see the world, even if it was only two ports.  That was good enough for me, but I had to do what the rest in the group wanted to do.  In October of 2017, this was when my travel agent found a cruise for us for the Western Caribbean (Montego Bay, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, and Cozumel, Mexico).

Next time:  I will talk about the Carnival Dream.  Until then If you have any questions about the ship. Let me know in the comments or email me at plogan721@att.net.  Until then, God bless you.

How To Have A Hot Meal In No Time

Disclaimer:  This is not a sponsored ad.  I bought all of my meals with my own money on my own debit cards. 

In a Follow-up to my story in October 2018 on food delivery services, I gave basic synapses on the services, and what you could expect from them.  I have tried all the services who deliver in my area except one, which I just signed up for.  For the most part, I was pleased with the services.  No one never got my order wrong, and it is a good way for me to be lazy on that day.

With that in mind, I will give a rundown on the following:

• Order process
• Fees and tips
• Places I ordered from through these delivery services
• Miscellaneous things

The services I ordered from were: 

• Uber Eats
• GrubHub
• Postmates
• DoorDash

The restaurants I ordered from over time were:

• Chipotle (Postmates)
• Red Lobster (GrubHub)(2)
• Jersey Mike’s (Uber Eats)
• Viiza (Uber Eats)
• Piada (Uber Eats)
• Starbucks (DoorDash)

Keep in mind a couple of things, I do know how to cook, in fact, it is my preferred method of eating, and it should be since I work at home. Sometimes life and work to get in the way of having to take the time to properly cook a hot, delicious meal when you are in the middle of a project, AND you have a deadline.  It does not happen often, but at least as long as I have the money to do so, and do not mind the delivery fees on top of that, having your food delivered is a nice back up to get a meal. So, I do not consider myself lazy at all, maybe just a little too busy, which is a misconception about ordering from food delivery services.

Ordering Process:

The first thing you do when you decide on ordering from a service like Uber Eats is to sign up for an account.  It is helpful to have the app on your phone, but in case you do not want to clutter up your phone (like I usually do), you can go through your desktop or another device.  Once you download the app or visit the website, you signup for an account.  Payment can be entered once the order has been made.  Once you created your account, you can then look through what each restaurant has to offer through that app.  If you find your favorite restaurant on that app, and you are familiar with the menu, all food items may not be offered through the app. You could order from more than one place, but I would not advise it.  Act as though you going inside and ordering from the restaurant and having a sit-down meal with the wait staff, only the wait staff is your driver.  Keep in mind like most orders, all delivery services take debit or credit card, even if you are going to pick up the order.

UberEATS:

I order from several places throughout 2018.  I have yet to order through them this year.  So far the service is wonderful.  For Jersey Mike’s, which is a local pizza place with several locations throughout Central Ohio (Not Sponsored), I made the order from my parent’s home.  Usually, any order is made to be delivered to my home.  We ordered two large subs and a salad if I can remember the order, and the driver had no problem finding the house.  (I had a problem with a GrubHub order I will mention in a moment). 

The food was hot (the Subs), which they were supposed to be. The salad was your average salad, nothing to write about.  In all my orders through UberEATS, I had no problems with the orders, the service, nor bad delivery drivers.

GrubHub:

Next comes GrubHub, and I must say that the first time I had food delivered by them, the driver did not know where to go to my front door. In fact, I had to open the garage to get the food from him, as he refused to walk to the front door in case he had to deliver food here next time.  I usually do not have to give instructions on where my front door is, but here was this guy who with no clue.  I am going to chuck this one up as this was his first day or he has never driven in this area before. 

Both orders were Red Lobster orders.  The first one was $19.52 and the second was $25.02.  More on pricing in a moment.

Postmates:

So far, I only had one order with Postmates and that was Chipotle for $19.90, and I did not realize until I just glanced at my receipt, but they will put a temporary hold on your card for the amount charged.  The food was hot and tasty as if I picked it up myself.  One tip, Chipotle does have an app that allows you to pick up the food, so if you are picking up, it is best to use their app then to use Postmates or any other delivery services mentioned in this article.

DoorDash:

Yes, I was reserving this one for a later post, but I could not resist seeing how my Starbucks Coffee comes.  Yes, Starbucks is using a delivery service.  Well, it just arrived as I was typing this.  Since I was a new customer to DoorDash, the delivery fee was waived.  It is normally $5.99, which is not worth it for a $4.45 cup of coffee, so I took full advantage of that.

The coffee:

I ordered a White chocolate Mocha in a Grande (medium), and it is still warm.  This was the reason I ordered from Starbucks to bust the myth of rather your food arrived at the temp that you ordered (hot stays hot or as warm as possible, cold stays cold), otherwise, I would have hopped in my car and drove for 5 mins to Starbucks.  It took 55 mins from the time I placed the order to the time it arrived. For those of you who have coffee machines in your homes, yes, I have one too.  This was just an experiment to see, and I do not order Starbucks that much anymore since having a coffee machine, so this was not the most cost-effective experiment I ever did. (the good news is I probably can write it off in my 2019 taxes, LOL).

Now for the breakdown:

Cost:

Your total food bill is going to be the cost of the food, plus tax, plus service fee, plus tip.  In the case of my Starbucks, I incurred a small order fee (probably the food order has to be more than $10 to avoid this fee).  It was $2.00.  Not worth it in my opinion.  Before you order from any of these services, I recommend that you take a look at the service fee to see if the worth the hassle or can you pick it up on the way home.  As I mentioned, many of these eating places have a separate app for you to order from, and it is cheaper to just go to that app, place an order and pick it up on your way home from work or a long day of running errands. 

Service Fees:

So far the service fees in my area are at a minimum of $5.99 with the maximum being $20.00.  Most of it depends on how close you are to that establishment.  The further out you go to get that food, the heftier the service fee.  Here is the breakdown of my little coffee from Starbucks:

Subtotal, which is the price of the coffee: $4.45

Tax: $0.00 (even though sometimes, Ohio will charge tax on beverages, in today’s order, nope, and I do not have a recent receipt to compare apples to apples on tax).

Delivery Fee:  Free for this round because I am a new member of DoorDash.  This would have easily cost me $5.99, which is the delivery fee on GrubHub since I made orders before.

Service fee:  $.67.  I am not sure if this is the norm for DoorDash or if it was because I was a new member ordering for the first time.

Dasher Tip:  On other services, it is just the tip for the driver.  One thing I have to note is this driver had her children with her.  I could have given her more, but I do not think that is allowed.  For all drivers, they get out of the car with the food, hand it to your customer, and get the heck out of dodge-type mentality, like the UPS and FedEx delivery services.  Mine was $1.00

Small service fee:  Like I said, I think because this order was under $10, they charged me this fee.  I am not going to contest that charge, but I need to watch what I order next time.  I think the idea behind that (and I do not know any other service that I used so far had this fee) is to encourage larger orders or group orders.  I am just grasping at straws on this one.

My total is $8.12 vs. a pickup myself fee of $4.45 (plus whatever tax Ohio decides to impose on people).  Yes, I could avoid that.  It would have been worse if I had the delivery fee, which the total would have been $14.11.  Save yourself the trouble and make yourself a big old cup of coffee in your coffeemaker, two points if the coffee does not come from a pod or K-cup.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my Starbucks and I love my K-cups but if you are on a budget, this should be a luxury, every other month item you need to indulge in and skip delivery unless you are very, very sick.

My Final Conclusion on Hot Food Delivery:

We all want hot, convenience food delivery.  This should be done on an “as needed” convenience.  A lot of people are opting to cook a lot of food and freezing it, which they are calling it meal prep. This is a healthier version of food delivery.  You cook what you like, freeze it for a rainy day, and everyone still gets what they like from the freezer.

I like food delivery, but again, I need to watch my budget.  I have been ordering a lot lately and the main reason is to show you what is out there, how much does it costs, and if it is worth the coins you are trying to save for that new car, house, or to pay down some debt.  If there is anything I have learned from this experience is to buy what you need for the month at the grocery store, and do meal prep, even if it is just your main course.  You can add sides later or add them to the meal and heat the whole thing.

One of the other points that I did not spend a lot of time talking about is time management.  If you have someplace to be at a certain time, food delivery will not be your friend on this one.  Like I said on my Starbucks order was that it took them 55 minutes to get this order to me.  Why it took so long?  Well, I made the order at 5:05 PM EST, they have to receive the order from my computer, make the order.  At that time, the driver has to get there, receive the order, find my house, and give it to me.  In that same time, I could have hopped in my car, drove to the place, put in my order, wait on my order, grab it and drive back home.  I also used the Starbuck App back in the summer.  I placed my order on the app from my location (I forgot where I was, which was not at home), drove to the store near my home, which I assume this current order came from, and the summer order was ready when I picked it up.  So, be wise if you are on a time crunch.

Last tip:  You can also use all the apps for pick up.  I had mentioned this earlier in this piece.  If you are on your way home, use the app to pick up the food.  It will save you a service fee, a driver’s tip, and in most cases, a small order fee.  Your food will be ready when you get there.

Note: Amazon Restaurants was not mentioned in this piece because it is Amazon doing too much and I have not tried the service as of yet.

Part 3 Decorating the Home and Taking Care of Family During the Holidays

The holidays are about decorating, right?  You are only half right.  In fact, I would be happy if the house was not decorated, meaning I am not going to stress out if I do not have any decorations.  You do not have to be elaborate with the decorations.

This reminds me of a little story called, “A Charlie Brown Christmas”.  In the story, turned in a 30-minute television special in 1965, Charlie Brown is in search of the Christmas spirit, so Lucy suggested that he direct the Christmas play.  Meanwhile, Snoopy, his dog is decorating his doghouse.  Now, how many dogs you know who can do that?

If you know the story, you will see that Charlie bought a little tree, whose pines keep falling, and brought it back to the school, to which the other children made fun of the decision he made.  So, after his friend, Linus talked about the true meaning of Christmas, Charlie Brown took the tree and gave it an ornament from Snoopy’ s doghouse, which won first place.  He places the ornament on the tree, and it falls over, devastating him more than when the children made fun of him.  If your decorations feel like Charlie’s then you are missing the point of my analogy. 

If you have very little decorations from the beginning, you can always do what the children did to the tree after Charlie left.  They were secretly following Charlie Brown to see what he was going to do next.  When they saw him walking sadly away they decided, with Linus’s help to fix the little tree, and when Charlie came back to the tree, it has been transformed into this beautiful little tree, and they wished him a “Merry Christmas” and sung.  One day during the season on the My Ambiance Life blog, I may talk about the true meaning of this cute, little show.

How are your decorations?

Obviously, in the story, we see two decorators, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. Charlie decorates very little, entertains very little (See A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, equally as funny, yet meaningful).  He is not the life of the party, and this is the same kid, who is modeled after Charles Shultz’s childhood, who got rocks in his Halloween bag (It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown), never got to kiss the little red-headed girl (You’re in Love, Charlie Brown, It’s Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown, and Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown), and finds out that he is not the first owner of Snoopy (Snoopy, Come Home).  If this is you, take solace in knowing that you are not alone.  Snoopy, on the other hand, loves to decorate, cook, and dance.  This is not a chore for him.  Nothing phases him, and he is glad to do it.  Snoopy also takes care of his own (to a certain point).

This is not a comic strip.

Of course, I am comparing real life to a comic strip, and we are not adults who go “Blah, Blah, Blah” when we talk.  This is the real deal, and this is Part 3 of a 3-part series on the holidays.  Part 1, covered on My Ambiance Life, introduces you to the series, and in another post, talks about taking care of you and your mental health during this time of the year.  Part 2, which is on P. Lynne Designs blog, talks about going homemade for gifts and decorations.  In Part 3, I will be tackling how to decorate and entertain on a budget, organizing everything, and taking care of your family during this time.  I hope you will take from this tip on how to decorate like Snoopy on a “Charlie Brown” budget.

Decorating on the cheap (or fake it til you make it).

I like nice things, and I love decorating even more.  Sometimes, especially the last couple of years while I am trying to pay bills and putting together my business, P. Lynne Designs, I may not have the fancy stuff to decorate and make my home livable.  In fact, sometimes it is hard to do so.  I know what I like and do not like.  I try to come up with ways that I can do that on a budget.  December is the month where I draw up my budget for the next year, so I have to know how much I am allowing myself to spend on new decorations.

Last year, I went to Dollar Tree, and in a way, I have become sort of a Dollar Tree snob.  Now, I do not buy everything at Dollar Tree.  I do go to Target, Walmart, Ikea, and even At Home if have to.  I also look to see what I can make, now that I have a Cricut Maker to use and a new sewing machine.   This year, I have to be careful because of the cat.  I want to make sure that I do have cat-friendly products, so I nor my nephew have to run to do an emergency run to the vet.  I am also working on a budget of $200 (low end) to $500 (high end), but closer to $200. 

One of the things I do advise to signup with lots of rewards programs.  I have signed up with Ebates, Be Frugal, Dosh, and Acorns.  Each one of these programs, I linked my debit card to that program.  The way these programs work is you shop as normal.  When you go to a store that one of these programs are attached to, you will get money back.  It may not happen right away, but it is like paying yourself for shopping. 

Ebates (which I have been with since 2010), sends a “big check” 4 times a year, which I am not happy with (I want to be paid once a month, LOL), allows you to shop both online and in store.   With the in stores, you have to activate online in order for your card to tell Ebates you have been shopping.

Be Frugal works the same way as Ebates, except you do not have to enter a debit card on your account.

Dosh and Acorns work the same.  You put your card number in, and every time you shop, you are automatically given a cash back to our card.    

Entertaining your guests.

Plan your holiday dinner NOW, if you have not already started.  You can find some great deals similar to the ones I mentioned above.  I am a member of Kroger and Giant Eagle rewards program.  If you do not have time to shop, use the delivery programs, such as the ones that Kroger has or Shipt.  Be mindful of food delivery services as some do have a fee. Shipt is $99 yearly or $14 monthly.  So, if you do not have it in the budget or will be shopping on the way home from work, this may not be a good fit for you and your budget.

The way to create a budget is to figure out how many people you will have over for dinner then figure out the cost per person.  in the case of my family, which includes my parents, brother and wife, sister, me, oldest nephew and girlfriend, my brother’s youngest, and my sister’s two children (oldest is my brother’s child), this adds up to 11 people.  I am going to round up the price from USA Today estimate of $49.87, reported in 2016 to $55.00 in 2018, and we have the cost down to $5 for each person.  Of course, you may have more or less depending on where you live.

Last on this part is family.

Family, rather you are married, single with or without children, or with a partner, is important especially this time of the year, and it is important that you do not leave them out.  So, I combine this segment into something I like to call, “divide and conquer”.  

The way it works is a combination of organizing teamwork and individuality, and everyone has to cooperate to get things done.  You are the overseer of all things.  In decorating, do the task at the same time, but assign each person with a task.  Someone gets and decorates the tree, another hangs the garland around the house.  You have little children, they can set things up like the nativity scene, the Menorah, or unity candles for Kwanza, anything that is safe for them to do.  No glassware type stuff and only if they can handle it. 

For cooking, you can have a potluck if you have extended family.  You provide the meats and main stuff while you have someone bring in the side dishes.  See how that works.   If you are sending out cards, one person can address the cards while the other can sign the cards.

In between all of that hustle and bustle, rest, take in a movie night with your family.  See other decorations or have story time with the kids.  Do not forget some coupling times as well.  It is more important to be with family then to plan for the annual holiday party at your house.  Have a family get together with the kids.  My family gets together on Christmas Eve, have our main dinner, maybe open one present (save the rest for in the morning), and have movie night of whatever is on Netflix or Hulu.  Not sure about this year since mom and dad are asked to do the reading of the final advent candle at church, but we will make it work.

This concludes this series on making the holidays work without the stress.  Please check out part 1 on My Ambiance Life and part 2 on P. Lynne Designs blogs.

Until then, my Peace come upon the Earth and have fun.

Your Food is Ready for Delivery

(c) 2018 by Various Websites such as Shipt, Amazon, Walmart,
Blue Apron, and unknown restaurant.
Photos Arranged by P. Lynne Designs

Disclaimer:  I have links to many of the services you will see on in this post that I may or may not receive a small commission.  The commission helps me with maintaining this blog and other business things.  I like to inform readers of these services and you are not obligated to make a purchase. Thank you

A few years ago, I wrote in my blog, Simply Organized Crafts, an article on home meal prep services.  At the time, I was a willing participant of Blue Apron (not sponsored).  By willing participant, I bought the service with my own money.  The blog post was not a sponsored post, and I did a review on what I thought about it.  I also did a product review on my YouTube channel.  You can watch it here.   The reason I loved Blue Apron (and other home meal services) was the convenience of having to prepare a meal, delivered to your home, and you do not have to go out or hunt down the ingredients at an international food store which you are not familiar with.  You get a hot meal with your family which you actually cooked, and you get to spend time at the dinner table.  This is something that experts say we no longer make time to do anymore.  The food is fresh, and it can make time for couples and or families to share together a hot meal. From there came grocery store home delivery services.

Grocery Store Delivery

Grocery stores looked at this and felt that people no longer wanted to shop in their stores, especially when Amazon offers food delivery services, and with the acquisition of Whole Foods, other chains were starting to feel the pinch of fewer shoppers to their stores.  So, they started delivering food to homes as well.  Companies like:

Peapod

Shipt

Curbside (by Giant Eagle)

Walmart

Kroger Grocery Delivery (formally known as Clicklist)

Started popping up for home grocery delivery, turning the dreadful grocery shopping trip into a wonderful experience. Just think, you go to an app on your smartphone, pick out the items listed, select how many you need, and put it in your virtual shopping cart.  Two seconds later, you are in virtual checkout mode, paying for groceries via debit or credit card (sorry, not available for those with an EBT/Snap card).  A personal shopper is picking out your groceries and other items and getting them prep for pickup by you or delivered to your location of choice.  How convenient is that concept?

Restaurants want some love too.

Since I no longer have the blog, I cannot refer you to the post on home grocery or home meal prep, but that is not the point to this post.  I am here to talk to you about the convenience of coming home, too tired to cook, and having a hot, delicious meal delivered to your home by your favorite restaurant faster than you can say, “pizza!”.  This service was started by the concept of delivering pizza and has grown to include steak, cakes, bubble tea, and even sushi for starters.  Services like Grub Hub, Door Dash, and others have made it fun to eat out, and the best part is you get to stay at home, warm and comfy in fall and winter months with your family.  Even Uber is getting into the act.  Not only do they deliver people to their destinations, but they will also deliver your food as well.

I started using Uber Eats a few months ago.  I was bogged down with working and too tired to cook.  Actually, I was close to running out of my monthly stash, and I wanted something different.  I ordered a dish from a local Italian street food place called Piada, and order a bowl dish and some cannoli chips with a spread for dipping.  I paid by debit card, including the delivery fee of $4.99, and in 20 minutes, I was eating my meal and continued working.  The last time I used it was 2 days ago when I ordered a Poke Salad (not very good) and some Thai Iced Tea with Ginger in it (it was very good).  My total was $13.00 for the meal, plus a delivery fee charge of $6.99, making the total, $21.99.  The difference between the two delivery charges depends on the distance between the eating place and your home.  In other words, mileage for the driver.  Could I have gotten up and driven the place?  Yes, I could have, but once again, I was bogged down with work, and having no time to cook.

I Need Some Backup For my Claims…

Certainly, I am not the only one who uses these services.  Yesterday, I asked my Facebook friends if they have ever used a restaurant delivery service like Grub Hub, Door Dash, or Uber Eats, and out of 1,080 friends, I got 3 answers.  A friend uses it at least once a week, another only use it for pizza, and the last friend uses it by ordering and picking it up herself, while a family member uses it for pizza only.  She also mentions that she mostly cooks and take out (which is where all of this originated from) is very rare in her home.  I also asked if it affects the family dynamic by not cooking together and the last person who answered my question said that it does not matter if the meal is home cooked or not, what’s important is the family sits down for a meal together.

Family Matters

I happen to agree with my friend.  We need to sit down to eat together as a family, no matter where you are; no phones or computers, sit down and have a conversation with your children, your spouse or partner, a roommate, your parents, or anyone who is living with you.  A person does not need to feel like a guest in their own home.  During this time, play a game called, Catch-up.  In this game, the rules are very simple. 

Ask the people around the table how their day was before the meal was prepared or delivered.  You do not have to ask for report cards, reprimand a child for not taking out the trash, or ask a spouse where the water bill was $200 this month.  This is a time of peace, good conversation, and a hot meal.  Enjoy each other, and the only rule is to leave the electronics where they are.  No phone conversation, no texting, no playing the latest game, and no scheduling of play dates, hair and nail appointments, or in my case, business appointments.  If there has to be a problem to be solved, do not come to the table mad, explain in a calm, peaceful way, and listen with intention.  Do not criticize the person in need and do not belittle them.  It is not easy for them to come to you in the first place. If you must correct people, especially children, do it in a calm, peaceful manner.  I am not trying to tell you how to parent, but if you want a peaceful time to eat and enjoy a meal, this is not the time to yell and scream at a person.  The world is stressful enough without making dinnertime a place of stress as well.  Not only that, it does nothing for the digestive system when you are trying to eat, and you tense up due to stress at the table.

Conclusion:

There are some many ways of getting hot meals today.  This includes cooking the traditional way (going to the grocery store to pick up what your heart desires or have it delivered, and sling pots and pans), home meal kits (prepare a meal based on a recipe and ingredients, handpicked by a company, delivered to your home, and slinging pots and pans for a delicious meal); or order in (restaurant prepares the food and you either pick it up or have it delivered to your home).  It is not a new concept.  Even fast food eating places are getting into the act.  You can order McDonald's, Wendy’s, or White Castle from the comfort of your own home and have a company like Uber Eats deliver it there.  Some call it lazy while others call it convenience.  I am on the side of convenience.  Some people cannot cook, nor do they want to.  I have also done the traditional, “order pizza in, skip the lines to get a table.”  I do have one delivery service, who I do not recommend, but only because the delivery fee was $36.00.  I cannot remember the name of the service, but for the same meal from the same restaurant I was ordering from, the delivery could have been $6.99, the same fee as the one I ordered from two days ago.  (they are within a block from each other).   This is the only thing that I have to ask you to watch, the delivery fee.  Ask yourself before you put in your debit or credit card number if the food and the delivery fee worth it, especially if you are on a budget.  It may be more convenient for you to drive over and pick it up or not order at all.

Also remember, it is not if the food was cooked by you or Mickey D’s (McDonald’s), what matters is family, and it is more important that you spend time with them. 

I want to thank my three Facebook friends for answering my question, Friday.  I will have more questions to help me with future blog posts later on, and I do not have to mention your name unless you want me too.

You have a blessed day.

As Summer ends and School Begins.

Yes, these look like they could be a bargain,
but check again.  The photo was taken at local Walmart
by P.Lynne Designs

This is the second post I have started.  The first one has already posted.  I have not looked at the views.  Perhaps, it will go viral, or not.  I am not going to wrap my brain around it.

What I am going to try to wrap my head around is the fact that it’s that time again.  What do I mean by that?  If you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle, you know that time.  It is time for back to school shopping. 

Now for some, the school year blends into one seamless motion, otherwise known as “All Year” School.  It is when the kids go to school from January-December, taking the usual spring and winter breaks, but take 1-3 weeks off for summer break.  This allows parents to take the iconic family vacation but also allows them to work normally, without finding a babysitter. 

For others, it is the traditional, “September-June” or now the “August-May” School year.  10 months of studying and learning, followed by 2 months of a family vacation, summer camp, summer school, while parents find the babysitter.  Most babysitters charge enough that you need a small loan to pay for them.  Do not forget the local neighborhood pool, theme parks, and family outings. (Personally, I do not like saying “picnic” because of the origins of the word, please search for it.).

Shorts are now on clearance at Walmart
Photo taken by P.Lynne Designs

Summer is also the time when we go shopping for back to school, and this is the main topic for this post.  As a child, I used to love going “back to school” shopping.  I have never won a uniform, so my parents did not have to deal with that.  OK, I did, the gym uniform.  I remember we have two choices:  a white blouse with navy blue shorts or a unitard (combo top and shorts).  I always choose the white top and shorts because I had bladder issues and was afraid that if I played hard enough, I would not get out of the unitard in time to go, and you know what happens when you don’t.  I can now rock a mean onesie though. 

Anyway, I would have in mind what I wanted mom to get, and that was when the small but stern fights in the store would begin, but my sister was the worse.  She would walk around the store half the time with her lip poked out.  Mom would finally give in to something we really wanted.  She had no problems with my brother.  He agreed to everything mom would put in the cart. (suck up, LOL).

Side note: My parents raised my oldest nephew.  One year, my nephew, who is now 22, wanted everything Pokémon, including underwear, and got it.  I guess as a grandmother, you do things differently for your grands then you do for your children.

School supplies were my thing.  The latest notebooks, binders, planners, pens, and pencils.  You name it, and I wanted it.  This past weekend was “no tax” day, and once again, I missed it. It is a good way to save while trying to shop for clothes, supplies, and all things, school.

I have some tips on how to shop for school.

• When they get out for the year, rather your child goes to a private, public, private-public (otherwise known as a charter school), pre-K, college-bound, or whatever, please do an inventory check when they get out.  My mom did this for a while, and it saves dollars, which is what we want.  Have your child give you their unused supplies and look through them.  If there is anything they can use for the start of the new school year, use it.  Unless it is a new school (5^th grade transitioning to middle school; high school to college), it is not really cost effective if you buy 5 new spiral notebooks and have 5 unused ones sitting at home.  Same with pens, pencils, and other stuff.
• Get your child’s supply list from their school and stick to it especially in high school.  There may be a particular brand that is more cost-effective than that $5 notebook your child has been eyeing.  If they really want that notebook, have them save for it, buy it themselves, but use it at home.
• Catch all the sales.  Staples and other stores are good around this time of year for school supplies.  At the same time, they may issue limits on the number of supplies you can get in each category (ex: Buy 3, get 2 free with a purchase of $50 or more).  Reading the fine lines of a sale will prevent the “I did not know” when you get to the checkout.
• If you can shop without your child, do so.  While it is nice to get your child a toy every time you shop for supplies and clothes, it can add up.  Plus, a child may have everything by the time the holidays roll around.  Save a headache and the extra bucks by not taking children with you.
• If you must take them, please explain to them why you are going to the store and this trip is a “no toy” trip. Stick to that.  By “no toy” means you are not getting anything extra either (that new book you have been dying to read or that top and it is on sale).  You need to set an example for your child.   This goes for the spouse as well.
• Big name stores are not the only source for shopping and discounts around this time of year.  Mom and pop stores (otherwise known as small businesses) will have some deals as well.  Take a look around these stores, who may have a bigger discount than you think.  The rewards include getting on their mailing list and being the first to shop before the mainstream public can shop the latest collections.  You may also find that one-of-a-kind piece that would look good on your little one (or big one).  Also, a lot of these stores are handmade items, sewn by the owner, no middle person involved in the process.  This is one thing I have a personal testament to because I own a stationery company.  The only people I pay at the moment are my wholesale suppliers for my materials.  I do not have any fancy machinery to maintain, just my computer and die cutting machines.  The money I make goes towards the things I need, like supplies, paying my business bills, and maintaining my household.  Other business owners are paying for their child’s dance lessons, or just getting by.  I will touch on why prices are so high for handmade business products in another post.



Looking for a good backpack
The photo was taken at a local Walmart
By P. Lynne Designs

• Use online stores too.  I know there is a huge debate about this topic so I will make it brief:  if it saves you time and money, order online.  Do not order because everyone is doing it.  If there is a cheaper price at a traditional store than an online store (after all, you are paying Shipping and Handling and now sale tax for these items), use your gas and go shopping.  If you do not have the time to go, and you can get that item from Amazon in 2 hours or less, and you save money, shop online. 

There is no right way to go shopping.  Everyone needs to have a back to school budget, and how you maintain that the budget is up to you.  Find bargains, discounts, and institute a few routines along the way will make a smooth transition into the new school year. 

Now I am issuing a disclaimer, which should have been at the beginning of this post:  I cannot help you out with your child’s grades during the year.  I can issue pointers, but if your little Einstein refuses to study with all that stuff you saved to get, then the best advice I can give you is start taking away the electronics.  That should get their attention.  Have a great start to a new school year, and God bless you. 

Planning to Shop for Your Room

Image by P. Lynne Designs

In my previous blog post, I started talking about the art of organizing your room, by first decluttering to get rid of the stuff.  I also mentioned that recycling it the best way to go, and you can do that by re-purposing or make someone else happy with it.  You can also toss it if torn beyond repair. 

Once you are done with decluttering, you can determine this, start organizing. 

The Main Thing that Needs to be Organized…

My craft room is a hot mess.  I can work in it, but I need to put things in drawers, shelves, and make cubbyholes (more on that in a moment).

My craft room is actually the dining room.  I decided when I moved in that it was to be a home office, and then the crafts started coming downstairs. One. At. A. Time.  Soon my computer table doubled as a crafting room/filming room/eating room (because I like to eat while I work).  My dining table got pushed up towards the sliding door, making that the eating area.  My living room became this mixture of living room/storage area for the crafts and baskets.  Yes, this is my bottom half of the condo.

Make a plan

This is one of the first things I do when getting ready to organize a space.  Using my Craftroom as an example, I am going to go through this process. 

1)      Determine what is the space is being used for.  Even if you are remodeling the area, writing down this is part of your plans for this space helps you focus on what needs to go in that space.  In my case, this space will still be a craft room/home office.  Since I have occupants, this is the only space to put it.  Before, I could have transferred it to my second bedroom.

2)      Make a detailed plan for what this space is used for.  Why did I repeat what I just said?  Because sometimes, people are funny in saying, “I am making a craft room, and turn it into a laundry room. So, my detailed plan for my room is to “make and product crafts for myself and others (both paid and gifts), writing (freelance and blog post), stationery products, and to relax on the computer at the end of the day”.  Now, experts say that you cannot relax in the same room you work in.  I do not have that luxury to do what the experts say, even before the occupants.  Why?  Because my second bedroom was not set up that way, and when the new carpet was put in 2013, I tried to get my parents (who are the owners of the condo) to see it that way, but they talked me out of it.  My mom said that I would not like it. At the time, I could keep the security system on, and I would have more walls. Do not listen to others when you know what’s right.  Make these plans, ask people what they think, but it up to you to make that decision.  You have lived with that decision unless you have money to blow, and I do not think that most of us have that decision.

Work with your favorites

1)      What are your favorite stores?  What stores speak to you.  This is a general question to answer.  My favorites are (keep in mind that most are U.S. based stores):

a.       Target.  That bullseye gets me all the time.  I love the layout and the prices (when they are on sale). You can find bargains if know where to look.

                                                               i.      Ikea.  I know it is now a United States based store, but I feel like it.  The store with the funny sounding name and brands that you need a translator for has gotten me with their prices (yesterday I walked out with 7 items under $20). 

b.       Any craft store like Hobby Lobby, Joanne’s, or Michaels.  You know I craft, but in the last few years, the craft stores have been increasing in Home décor and organizational items.  

c.       Walmart.  I do not like them then the way I used to when they sold Cricut machines, but for home décor and organizational items, I still love them.

d.       The Container Store.

e.       Amazon.  Enough said.

2)      Go online, not to the store.  All the stores I mentioned above are online, so go online to shop, but put them in Wishlist form.  Go wild, but not too wild.  Still, check prices, but places like Amazon will tell you when the price has gone down, increased, or go on sale when you register to get notices.

3)      Now go Shopping.   With list in hand, go to the brick and mortar store (yes even with the Amazon list), check to see if that same item can be purchased for less.  You may find a better price.  Sometimes it is higher.  Sometimes they may beat the competitor’s pricing.  You will never know until you go. Take your budget with you.  Do not buy anything with a credit card, if you do not have to.  Debit cards are different.

Takeaway moment:  Just like in the My Ambiance Life blog, I will give you a summary or little bit of takeaway moments.  This takeaway moment is brought to you by the words “plan and shop”.  (Sorry for the Sesame Street take on it).

• Plan your organization.  Know what the room is used for and why is it being used that way.  Plan your furniture and other things to go into the room.  Now is a good time to plan your budget.
• Shop.  Pick your favorite store.  One store I forgot to mention is your own home.  You may already have a piece of furniture that might look better in the room you are organizing than another room. It saves you time and money.  Go online and make a wish list.  Finally, go shopping WITH YOUR LIST AND BUDGET.

Once you do all of that, you are ready to get to organizing and decorating.  Good luck.