Posts Tagged "shopping"

Thanksgiving Weekend Is Ending

Dear Kid,

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving! Happy Turkey! DearKidLoveMom.comThe Thanksgiving weekend is officially ending today. Which is good, because even while we enjoyed every minute of visiting and eating (and eating and eating) we (the collective we) need time to slim back down before the next holiday feast arrives. Which it will. Sooner than my waist will be ready.

Unofficially of course the weekend continues. The shopping, the football, the leftovers (well, not so much in the way of leftovers), the shopping, the traveling, and did I mention the shopping?

Tomorrow is Cyber Monday, but many retailers are offering online deals starting tonight. You should ignore all of them because you are a college student and therefore you should be A) studying and B) hoarding your pennies to pay for things like food.

Some of us have eaten enough wonderful food in the last several days to last us a while. You, however, are a metabolic machine and need to be fed on a regular basis. By not shopping online you can stretch your budget further (more about that tomorrow from our special guest blogger) and avoid all the malware that is expected to hit the web tomorrow.

It’s been wonderful having a few days to spend with you. You are a Most Wonderful Child Adult Child and it is always good to have time to visit.

Love, Mom

 

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7 Good Things About Not Having a Washing Machine

Dear Kid,

Today’s blog is called 7 Good Things About Not Having a Washing Machine.

  1. You don’t have to stay up until the wash ends so you can move the laundry to the dryer.
  2. There is no #2.

I lied. There aren’t 7 good things about not having a washing machine.

But if I stop writing now you will roll your eyes and say “Mom” in the tone of voice that turns three tiny letters into seventeen syllables and 8 octaves.

Fine. I shall try again.

7 Good Things About Not Having a Washing Machine.

  1. You don’t have to stay up until the wash ends so you can move the laundry to the dryer.
  2. You save on water and electric.
  3. Your clothes will be in perfect condition if you need to go undercover as a homeless person.
  4. You have a burning desire to learn how do laundry in a stream with a rock but never had the motivation to practice—now you have a built in reason.
  5. Your boring weekend can now be filled with comparison shopping for appliances.
  6. No one can get mad that you haven’t run the laundry yet.
  7. You can’t get mad that no one has folded the laundry because you haven’t run it yet.

Ta and Da.

Challenge accepted and accomplished.

But if we’re going to be honest about the whole thing, I could live happily without having to fill my weekend with comparison shopping for appliances.

There really isn’t much good about not having a washing machine…

Love, Mom

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Black Friday and Why Spiking the Ball is Legal But Spiking a Drink Isn’t

Dear Kid,

Pi and I have done our part to help  stimulate the economy and support the Black Friday numbers.

And we survived to tell the tale.

In the spirit of complete transparency, we did not hit The Mall. We went to Deerfield, the open plaza type mall, and to several free standing stores (including going to the bank three times).

I wanted to get an iron, but it turns out that iron-technology and functionality have changed since the last time I bought an iron (about 30 years ago) and I was somewhat traumatized by the options I faced. Solution? Punt on purchasing an iron and instead buy interesting coffee.

Spiking a football? Absolutely fine. Spiking a drink? Absolutely not. DearKidLoveMom.comShopping, a trip to the gym, turkey soup and a salad for dinner, and a whole lot of football. Pretty much sounds like a perfect Black Friday to me.

Which of course brings up the question, why isn’t spiking the ball considered intentional grounding (with the attendant penalty)?

Turns out that spiking the ball with the intent to stop the clock (as opposed to spiking the ball in the end zone after scoring a TD) is a Special Rule Case (which means the officiating body of football decided to allow it as it makes the game more interesting and sells more merchandise).

More specifically, there is a section in the rules that says it’s allowed. IF.

If the “player under center” immediately upon receiving the snap, begins a continuous throwing motion and throws the football directly into the ground. (In other words, if the QB spikes the ball, it’s ok.) This is a legal way to stop the clock, use up a down, but not get penalized.

However, if the “passer delays his passing action for strategic purposes” and then throws the ball into the ground, it is not considered a spike and it is considered intentional grounding.

Therefore, spiking the ball can involve no thinking, adjusting, or breathing. You just have to spike the dang ball.

There is also a Special Rule Case for spiking a drink. You’re not old enough to drink, so don’t do it. Especially if the drinker doesn’t expect it to be spiked.

Love, Mom

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Black Friday, DearKidLoveMom Style

When women are depressed, they eat or go shopping.  Men invade another country.  It's a whole different way of thinking.  ~Elayne Boosler DearKidLoveMom.com Black FridayDear Kid,

The parade has been watched (by those of us who were awake), the bird had been eaten (partially), football has been watched (extensively), and tummies are still full from yesterday.

Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping.  ~Bo Derek

It’s funny to think that as I sit here in my p.j.s writing this, there are people who have already been out and come home from their Black Friday shopping. I am not one of them, but I hope they found all the deals they were looking for. Which is actually what Black Friday is all about.

Today I learned (TIL) that Black Friday is so named because it is the day that retailers traditionally move into the “black” (become profitable). Apparently, that is a bunch of hokum put out because it sounds better than the real origin of the term.

According to SEC filings, most retailers are profitable every quarter.

In Philadelphia, the day after Thanksgiving was pretty much a nightmare of crowds and traffic problems. The police department dis-affectionately called the day Black Friday because of the chaos.

Another thing I learned is that Black Friday is not the biggest shopping day of the year. No matter what the advertisers would like you to believe, the Saturday before Christmas is traditionally the biggest spending day as all those happy procrastinators stop being happy and stop procrastinating. People are out looking for bargains. According to my friend the internet, Black Friday doesn’t even make the top five shopping days. But who knows? Maybe this year, BF will crack through and win the crown. Probably not.

When women are depressed, they eat or go shopping.  Men invade another country.  It’s a whole different way of thinking.  ~Elayne Boosler

In still more educational news, it seems that Cyber Monday is pretty much not a big deal in the cyber shopping world. Now that someone from Shop.org named it (before it was just called Monday), Cyber Monday is more important to retailers than it used to be. Now there is push for Cyber Black Friday where people are encouraged to sit on their comfy couches in the comfy p.j.s and shop without having to deal with all those people who flock to the stores.

In honor of Black Friday, Booker has decided not to change a thing about his activities. I am planning to go to the gym to burn off some of the 27 pounds I gained yesterday. My guess is you and Pi are planning to sleep a good bit of the day away.

Sounds like a good day to me.

Love, Mom

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