Chatbug Karen

I hear that there is a turn around in the hospitality industry. Lodging Jobs, culinary graduates and maintenance workers are finding it a bit easier to find work.

I know, for myself at least, the holidays are a time for shopping til I drop. That means I enjoy staying at a hotel and not driving the hour and half trip home. I plan on buying less this year but that doesn’t mean I have to give up a fun time.

Have you started your Christmas shopping?

After visiting with my son and daughter in-law over the weekend, my family and I have hit the road for Branson, Missouri. I have been looking forward to this vacation for a long time!

I have been amazed, as usual, at the change in the terrain in just a few short miles. I forgot that this area is known as the Ozarks. I have seen very few houses and vast amounts of trees. Is it absolutely beautiful. There must be a zoning law that keeps builders from cutting down trees and building housing additions in this area. I am so glad!

This morning, we are heading into downtown Branson. We stayed in a lovely hotel last night but it is situated on top of a hill so we have not really seen all the theaters and shopping sites. My husband is ready to find a good fuente cigars and I am always looking for bargains. I hear there is an outlet mall here. Woo hoo!

There are nine people in our group so I better get down to the lobby and cast my vote for what is happening today. See ya!

I really enjoyed Christmas shopping this year. My daughter in-law, her mother and I even hit the stores on black Friday this year! I am hooked on that now because the prices of things were unbelievable. It was totally worth getting up so early and having everyone see me without makeup.

I got a steal on a coat for myself. I had been in desperate need of a new coat to replace my antique one. I call it antique because I have had it forever. Anyway, I paid $30.00 for my new coat. I am telling you, you can save on mens ties, cookware and shoes. Those are a few of the items I purchased. I love to save money.

It has been an unusual weekend for my husband and me. We are usually running around trying to get things done. Things like buying groceries and taking things to the dry cleaners etc. We were unable to get out of our driveway today. The road construction crew was laying asphalt! Woo hoo! I think we are finally seeing the light at the end of the construction tunnel. They better not block me in next Friday.

I cannot believe that it is almost time for Black Friday shopping! I dread getting up early but the deals are so good that I would be foolish to not participate. How about you? Do you get up with the other crazies and shop at the crack of dawn?

Hallelujah! My husband is going to the mall. If you have read this blog for a while, you know that my husband is not a shopper. Well, we arrived in Texas last night and it is hot. We both brought long sleeved clothes and jeans. Yes, my sister told me to bring shorts and sleeveless tops but I didn’t listen. Now we are on a mission to find men’s clothing, sandals and bathing suits. LOL

I think I may have died and gone to heaven.

My husband likes to look nice when wearing casual clothes but he never likes to take the time to shop. A few weekends I gently prodded him to the men’s department of JC Penney and helped him pick out a new suit. We are going to a wedding tomorrow. He found some nice navy slacks and a beige blazer that will look nice. He also bought a new shirt and tie. He does need new socks but we forgot about them. He will have to wear his old ones and hope no one looks hard at them. LOL

I was shocked when he picked out a pair of shorts. He has worn them every day after he takes off his work clothes. He even had me wash them and dry them so he could put them back on! I decided he needed more than one pair so I checked out the codes for online coupons and ordered him two more pair plus a pair of docker type shoes to go with. He is stylin’!

Sometimes, a wife just has to push a little.

Visit Audrey’s Country crafts for great ideas on gifts and decorations for the holidays. Yours truly is offering $5 off each bag purchased from my Etsy shop. Click this graphic to see all the giveaways and special buys.

I have to tell you something that strikes me as being funny. My husband and brother in-law went to the mall three times this weekend. Yes, these men who normally whine and beg us not to have to accompany us gals to the mall went there by themselves not once, not twice but let me count the times. One, two, three times to the mall! I must say that there was a knife store there that kept sucking them in. They haven’t become total mall junkies yet!

I rarely go to the mall these days. The Internet makes it possible to order almost everything I normally shop for in the convenience of my own home. I use a wonderful savings site at http://www.couponchief.com that has coupon codes for so many of the shops I used to have to visit at the mall. I am not tempted by all the pretty things I would walk by at the mall when I use Coupon Chief instead. I simply find the shop I need and get the savings code. The link at Coupon Chief takes me directly to the store where I order what I need.

For example, let’s say that I need some lotion from Bath & Body Works. I check at Coupon Chief and get the Bath & Body Works coupons code to use when I check out at Bath & Body Works online. I can even buy my favorite lotion with Lancome coupons through Coupon Chief. I save so much time and most of all I save money by using Coupon Chief.

Shhh, don’t tell the guys that I don’t need to go to the mall.

We got a bit of money as gifts during the holidays. We have been holding onto it because we want to be sure to spend it on something worthy. I can think of lots of small appliances for my kitchen but my husband thinks we need another television. I am not sure how we are going to work this out. Should we put names of things in a hat and hold a drawing?

I am doing research by using my favorite website Buy.com. They show the best prices on many products and I love to check out their “What’s Shakin” section. This where they list all the products that have the highest change in sales rank. I figure if they are up there in the top, I should know what they are in case I need to buy them too.

Back to what to do with our Christmas money. I want to be well armed before I state my case so I have been looking over all the items at Buy.com. I have found a great sale price on a new toaster oven. We have been making toast in the oven ever since our toaster oven died. The Black & Decker toaster oven that I would buy has a beautiful stainless steel case that would add to the looks of our kitchen. It can be used to bake as well as grilling. That means it would save money on our electric bill. No need to preheat and use a big oven when you use a toaster oven like the Black & Decker FC150R.

I think I have my ammo ready. I just need to feed him some great Mexican food tonight, pop in his favorite movie and then hit him with my sales pitch. Wish me luck!

Well, the mid-west is in a winter freeze. We have snow falling onto ice covered roads. The state police are advising that folks stay off the roads as much as possible. That is hard to do when you want to finish up your holiday shopping. I have another sale to check out and then I hope to be done with my gift buying. I cannot let the weather stop me from completing my tasks. My husband might think differently.

I would like nothing better than to put on my flannel jammies and a pair of slippers to keep my feet warm. I’d grab a cup of hot chocolate, put in a Michael Buble cd and curl up on the couch. My two little dogs would cuddle up to me and hope I’d share my hot chocolate with them. That does sound better than going out in a blizzard.

I have actually shopped more online this year. Buy.com is my favorite online shopping source. I have always checked out their weekly specials and hot deals and now they have holiday specials. Those specials include electronics, computers, toys, music, movies, jewelry, and so much more. So, if you find yourself looking for that last gift to put under the tree, be sure to check out Buy.com.