25 years

Happy Anniversary to me my husband. We were married 25 years ago yesterday! You'd never know it because we still totally flirt and kiss up a storm and are often told we don't even LOOK like we are in our 50's so you could say we have a lot going for us.

We are celebrating today since he gets half days on Fridays during the summer...how sweet is THAT? We will have a leisurely lunch at our favorite upscale restaurant and later have two of our best buddies over for beers, laughs and stories in our front yard.

I say upscale because with my husband's new job, (3 months tomorrow), all the insane overtime he worked that paid for our son's year in college is no more so I've been much more aware of our budget.

Since gas is so pricey and even food prices are rising, I had to find ways to cut corners so we can maintain our lifestyle and not have to sacrifice too much. I switched grocery stores 3 months ago and was soooo happy to see a regular $30 weekly drop in my spending but it's now shrinking even at this cheaper store. So the convenience items like Trader Joe's wonderful cooks-in-3-minute frozen brown rice is off the list. I work from home so I think I can cook a pot of brown rice on the stove for a half hour.

So with all this consciousness, we've got a little extra cash to live it up today at the restaurant.

Business wise, I'm about to finish up a few designs for the Manhattan salon & gallery and a nightmare situation with a temporarily misplaced bracelet to Canada that finally turned out for the good are the latest thrills in my life. The mailer had a greasy strip on it, the box had a mashed corner, the solid silver bangle was slightly bent but can go back into position but all 7 lampwork beads survived the mysterious journey!

Tip: like my friend told me, just email the US AND foreign country postal and/or customs services and magically, even if they tell you they can't help you, the package suddenly appears shortly thereafter.

I don't know if it's just hopeful energy that makes it happen or what, but thanks for all your help with that, Sandy!