Great Days don’t have to involve Major Achievements

The Washer that Aggravates
VS

The View that calms

Corey left for the UK and Europe last Saturday (June 11). He normally doesn’t leave Saturday DAY for these long trips. This time, however, he was a victim of packed planes, so he left mid afternoon.

I spent much of last weekend in bed due to a cold Corey kindly shared with me.

It is very quiet and lonely when Corey is gone. I have learned to book myself out most days to make sure I don’t get holed up in the Flat.

This week I kept pretty busy. There was only one day when I was at risk of a meltdown. I had spent a lovely day shopping (not buying) and had a nice healthy lunch with a new friend. Somehow though, when I got back, anxiety threatened to set in so I took myself off to the movies.

Today, Saturday, I awoke to relatively clear skies. It has been awhile since we have seen some really blue skies. I did not have anything formal planned and I awoke late due to a worse than normal bad night of sleeping.

I decided today’s mission was to catch up on laundry. I have a combo washer/dryer that in the past has taken (wait for it) FIVE HOURS to wash and dry a load of towels. By load I mean no more than 4 pounds of wash.

This small capacity and ridiculously long washing time discouraged me from doing my shirts.

Today, however, thanks to a friend urging me to investigate the washer closely, I found a better and more functional setting to get things done.

That small discovery led to one of the most productive days I have had here

Getting rolling on laundry led to vacuuming, led to dusting, led to bathrooms, led to kitchen, led to de-cluttering, led to laundry being taken to the Cleaners, led to …well, you get the idea.

I was getting all of these chores done, but not all in one felled swoop.

My day ended at 6:30 with the last of the laundry being hung up to dry (NO, not out our windows! They are hung in the extra bedroom with the A/C on to help with drying).

This type of day has shown me I do not need to have formal activities or even much contact to be happy and satisfied. Mind you, I do not want to make it a habit of my days consisting of only “hello and thank you” with the desk staff. However, when I look back at what I accomplished, I know now it is ok to have these days.

My friend Barbara has told me this more than once and now I can appreciate her advice on this!

Now, I just got off of Skype with Corey, who is in London. I have a glass of wine (no one is shocked at that) and I am looking at my amazing view. More than once this view has calmed my soul. Tonight, it is making me smile.

The water is moving at such a pace that I wonder if the boats in the harbor even need motors. There were many boats out there, but now that the nightly light show has ended, there are just a few.

It is all of 8:30 pm. In a minute I will take myself in to catch up on a couple of shows we have DVRd from Seattle on the Sling box. I will settle in knowing that I have had a great day, and this great day was because of the series of minor accomplishments.

Great days do not have to comprise of great deeds or great achievements. Great days are whatever satisfies you!

When Things Just Aren't What you Remember...

Kirk and Kari have been real troopers sending things over to me as I have wanted them.

Notice I said “wanted” because really, just about everything sent I could do without OR I could have found some substitute here.

Kari nicely refurbished my 100 cal popcorn stock. Kirk had sent a few packs, which I did make last, but Kari brought me 24 packs! I am in HEAVEN.

Kari was also especially nice b/c she actually ran out to the store the night before she came over to buy me a few things. It was really just two things.

First she bought Fiber One bars. I had her bring these because I knew it would be something she could grab for breakfast. I had wanted her to bring three boxes worth, but she brought two. No problem until her Dad and I got into them “just a little” (hey...I TRACKED them…I’m ok!)

Next I had her bring me Betty Crocker Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes. She brought me five whole bags of them…because Albertson’s had five whole bags of them.

Those that know me from my meetings, or those who eat in my home know that I LOVE LOVE LOVE these potatoes. Did I mention I LOVE them? They are institutional, and quick, taste nothing likes home-made but I LOVE them.

I will plan a dinner around them. Turkey breast? Hey, how about Garlic mashed? Wine chicken? PERFECT with Garlic mashed. Pork chops? You get the picture…let’s grab the Garlic Mashed. PointsPlus wise they are not a bad investment. They are made with water and I NEVER add the butter so I keep the PointsPlus value down that way.

I really anticipated Kari unpacking her suitcase and bringing me all of my goodies. She spread them though out her checked baggage and she did not “declare” she had any food when she came through customs here (oopps – do not try this at home…it must have slipped her mind).

Well, Corey had a dinner the first night so Kari and I had chicken and …Garlic Mashed Potatoes! I reread the instructions, though heaven knows it is something I know by heart. Easy. 2 cups hot water…mix in the flakes, stir, wait. VOILA. Potatoes.

Here goes. 5 months. 5 months without my very favorite food.

And

YUCK.

Hm What could have happened? I measured perfectly. I did everything the same.

And they were horrible. Kari agreed. Just gummy and awful.

I was sad.

I put the other four packs on my kitchen rack. I knew once Kari left, I would have other chances to make them up (more for me right?)

Last night I had the opportunity. I had marinated some chicken breasts, and made up one packet (resisting the urge to make two for “leftovers” )

I once again, reread the instructions…made up the potatoes.

And

EWWW. Even adding milk did not help this sad, gummy, icky, mess of a food.

So, I started to think.

Could the water in Hong Kong be sooo different than the water in Lynnwood Washington that my potatoes would stink? I have heard that Coke tastes different all over the world NOT because of the syrup (it is imported to all plants from the US0), but b/c of the water!

Had the formula changed? The package is different, but they do NOT say “New” OR “Improved”

Both of these things are possible. However, I have my own theory. I actually have two.

First, my tastes have changed. I have experienced this before. The best way for me to explain it is with foods I had to “go without” when I moved from Los Angeles (Tommy’s Burgers anyone?) I would RUN to Tommy’s when we visited to Los Angeles. And every time I went back I liked Tommy’s just a little less. I also experienced this when I gave up certain foods when I started losing my weight. Things I just loved held little appeal for me (I am still waiting for this to happen with wine).

Second, they have never been good. Ever. Being away from them for 5 months has shown me that what I thought was a great “go to” side dish” just wasn’t great.

So, I have three more packets, but I have made a decision. The first two packets were just not good. I don’t see them getting any better.

I am throwing them away. They are not worth my effort, and they are NOT worth the PointsPlus value. No bad food ever is…even if it used to be a favorite.

There was a time in my life when I would have eaten them anyway...not enjoying or liking it...but I would have "wanted" it so I would have eaten it. It's a sad day b/c my favorite food is not a choice to me anymore, but it is also a liberating day b/c I can let this food GO...right into the trash!

That is one BIG Buddha

Kate @ the Wisdom Path ------------------------- Kari on the steps to the Buddha

One of the BIG draws in Hong Kong is the Tian Tan Buddha. It’s a BIG draw because it is the home of the BIG Buddha.

I can’t help it. Every time I think of the Buddha…I have to put BIG in all caps. Because, it is one BIG Buddha.

Getting to the BIG Buddha is more than half the fun. The BIG Buddha is on Lantau Island (near the Hong Kong Airport and very near to Hong Kong Disneyland )

The first time I went to the BIG Buddha we took the MTR (trains) to the cable cars. Now, one would think that traveling in cable cars up and over a huge mountain hanging from a tiny steel cable would be the scariest way to travel. The view was beautiful and you can get an “all crystal” cable car, which means it has a clear bottom to really scare the B-Geezus out of you. While a little un-nerving, the view made up for it.

This time, with Kari, the cable cars were not an option. It seems the cars and cable needed a month long maintenance session. Hm. Strangers on our Dolphin trip told us they had heard that the maintenance was necessary due to accidents. I had not heard that, and quite frankly, I don’t believe it. I think that cars that climb mountains need checking once in awhile.

So, Kari and I took the MTR to Tung Chung, and hopped onto the No. 23 bus.

AND SO THE ADVENTURE TRULY BEGAN.

I have written before that the bus drivers have NOT mastered the art of smooth driving…at all. I also ask that you go back and re-read the beginning of my post about going to Stanley.

I have to admit I did not read the ENTIRE description in Frommer’s Guide to Hong Kong about the ride to the Buddha. It was hidden in the middle of a paragraph. They call the ride “not for the faint of heart” Boy, is that an understatement. It was 45 minutes of turns, stops, starts, farm animals and holding on for dear life. Kari and I got the last two seats on the bus so we were in the very back on the bench seat..so we did not have arm rests to hold on to…we braced our feet and prayed the entire way. The ride to Stanley was a cake-walk compared to this ride!

The BIG Buddha becomes visible well before you get there. Well, you catch glimpses of it before you get there. There are vast rolling hills of green and trees that the Po Lin Monastery is nestled in to.

Once there we hopped off of the bus and made our way towards the statue.

So…how BIG IS the BIG Buddha? Here are some of the stats: It was started in 1990 and was finished at the end of 1993. It is 34 meters (112 feet) tall. It weighs 250 metric tons (280 of “our” tons). It was the biggest sitting Buddha until 2007. Rumor has it on a clear day; you can see it from Macau. I am not sure I believe that with the quality of air around here. There are over 260 steps that take you to the base of the Buddha.

There is no charge to go to the BIG Buddha. To go inside the BIG Buddha, you must buy a ticket. For that, you do get served a vegetarian lunch. Kari and I passed. We had our hearts set on Subway.

Walking to the Buddha, you pass 12 warriors. There is also a very fun series of signs that lets you know how far you are from various places in the world. I liked taking Kari’s picture in front of the New York sign.

After getting up the stairs (and taking pictures along the way giving us the opportunity to stop and rest), we walked around and admired the views from almost the peak of Lantau Island.

We worked our way down and made our way to the Wisdom Path. This was a 15 minute walk from the Buddha on a smooth path, but through some very humid woods and through bug central. I knew they were bugs. Kari was convinced there were snakes; we didn’t see any, thank heaven!

The Wisdom Path was built in 2005. It consist s of 38 huge wood pillars that are engraved with part of the Heart Sutra in Chinese characters. Frommer’s says that they are placed in a Figure 8…you cannot tell this from the ground level...and it is supposed to symbolize Infinity.

We were definitely smart by getting to the Buddha relatively early in the day. We also lucked out by being alone on the Wisdom Path. By the time we were making our way back, there were hordes of people coming to get wise. (I felt wiser...do I look wiser?)

In true Hong Kong fashion…what would any destination be without shopping? There are many shops that line a walkway that would have taken us back to the safe cable cars, had they been running. My favorite shop is the chop stick shop (and I do have to admit that when I was there the first time I did buy two pair of shoes)…but Kari and I only had time to glance at one or two shops before heading for the bus.

Because we got to sit in seats on the way down, we didn’t have to cling to each other to stay upright. The ride down was just a little more hair raising b/c the momentum of the bus going downhill made the ride seem faster.

Some of the not – so faint hearted even stood on the way down. That would never ever happen...I would rather wait for the next bus. I don't stand in the city, let alone hurtling down a mountain.

Kari and I ended up at the “outlet” mall (because, once again, what would any destination be w/o shopping?). The outlet malls here need outlets…that’s how high end they are!

The BIG Buddha is just that…one BIG Buddha. It is the center of Buddhism in Hong Kong. It is beautiful, breathtaking, and scary to get to and well worth the effort! I will go back and explore the Island even more.

Vegas v Macau...uh, there is NO comparison!

One of the new adventures we embarked on when Kari was here was a trip to Macau.

Macau is an island. At one time it was a Portuguese settlement. It also is known for its clothes manufacturing (Quick...go check some of your sweater labels…I’ll wait…and I will bet that somewhere in your house there is a “made in macau” label on something you own.)

However, what Macau is BEST known for right now…is Casinos. In the true sense of “if you build it they will come” mentality, Macau has been a hot spot of casino building and boy oh boy, are these places impressive.

The easiest way to get to Macau is by Ferry. There is no shortage of Ferry’s heading to Macau. You can take them from either Hong Kong Island or Kowloon. We opted for “Deluxe” class, not knowing what “not deluxe” would be like. We sat upstairs, in assigned seats, and were served a light dinner with a drink. We did not have to pay for this…it was “included”. The ride was smooth, uneventful and perfectly on time. It was great. “Deluxe” class was pretty empty for a Friday night.

We also opted to have a car from the hotel meet us at the ferry terminal. Never having been before, we were not sure what to expect, our timing to the hotel, or what immigration would be like. We were met like clockwork with the dutiful hotel employee holding up “MAHJOUBIAN” right at the exit from immigration.

OH…immigration? Yep. Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) like Hong Kong is an SAR…but even though they have the same designation, they are completely different places and we needed our pass ports to get in (and out) Kari liked it b/c it meant yet ANOTHER stamp in her brand new passport.

We booked in at the Venetian Hotel. It was a fifteen minute drive from the terminal and even in the fading light was something to see.

As I said, Macau is building Casino complex after casino complex. The Venetian Macau boasts the largest casino floor in the world…not the most rooms, but the largest casino floor.

The newest complex to be built in Macau is the Galaxy. It opened May 15 to much fanfare. We tried to get a reservation, but they were 100% booked. It is three different hotels. The opening was so grand and touted, that the Galaxy bought every inch of advertising space in our MTR station for AN ENTIRE MONTH!

Walking into the Venetian was breathtaking. If you have seen the Venetian in Vegas, this looks pretty much the same.

We checked in quickly and efficiently. Corey was only propositioned once on our way to the room, but hey, it was early on in the evening and we were pretty sure the working girls were not out yet. We would see plenty more of them working the floor later.

All of the rooms at the Venetian are suites and ours was beautiful. Our view was of the Power Plant…but I am used to that type of view. In Las Vegas we normally get the parking garage view. Hey, if you care about your view, you are in Vegas (or Macau) for the wrong reasons.

Friday night and we were ready to get some dinner and drinks and hit the tables. Kari wanted to freshen up…so, WELL over an hour later, we hit the floor.

Let’s just say that the paint job, the rooms and the shops of the Venetian is pretty much where the similarity to Las Vegas ENDS.

There is obvious security everywhere (maybe to help deter the not so subtle working girls?). Someone is standing at every entrance to the Casino floor, and there is someone at the entrance of each wing of the hotel to make sure only key holders go upstairs.

Next, come the games. I was looking around for a simple black jack table, but there weren’t many of those to be found. Those that I did find had some pretty high stakes. Baccarat is one of the most popular games, along with Roulette and Sic Bo (a triple dice game that allows you to bet on what the total number of the dice will be OR bet on what the three numbers will come up to be…crazy, but boy oh boy were people standing in line to play and bet).

So, the rooms were like the Venetian in Vegas, the paint job was like the Venetian in Vegas, and some of the games were like Vegas. But the next thing we noticed literally almost stopped us in our tracks.

For those of you who have been to Las Vegas, besides the games, the noise and the cigarette smoke, what is the one thing you notice about to see on the casino? Cocktail waitresses of course, with endless trays of drinks for the players. Some players order water, but most are taking advantage of the free flowing alcohol. In fact, I have always thought that the Casinos were eager to provide the drinks so people would play loose and free with their money.

This is not the case in Macau. In fact, the only thing you see going by on trays are tiny water bottles…hundreds of them. There are so many water bottles that there are carts full of them staged all over the casino floor. Macau has NOT gotten the memo about plastics and bottles. I hope these are being recycled, but I am not holding my breath.

From what we understand, the Casinos were built to appeal to the Mainland Chinese gambler. For them, it is all about the play not about the entertainment.

Kari and I went to a Cirque du Soleil show on Saturday night. It was called ZAIA. I thought it was about the beginning of man(the clowns kept running around with an egg). Come to find out it was about a young girls’ perception of the stars and the universe (um ok) It was a good show. We enjoyed it. However, the theater was 40% full. When in Vegas could you ever get a 4^th row seat to a show on a Saturday night two days before the show? NEVER!

Even the stores had very few customers. In TST on a Sunday shoppers line up to get into the high end stores…not in Macau!

Again, it is all about the gambling, and not about the other possible entertainments. As we left we found out that the Venetian had 93% occupancy last year. That is CRAZY for a hotel…but not there!

I hate to admit this in writing, but quite honestly, I found relatively sober Macau pretty darn dull! The only action in the form of yells and screams was to be found at a Craps table, and the party leading the screams was a group of Americans. Kari and I played slots and roulette. Corey played some poker (where he was taught to say $300 in Cantonese)…but I just did not feel the “buzz” (and NO not b/c of a lack of alcohol).It is also still strange to me that I am not able to strike up a conversation with the people next to me. Sigh.

Macau has all the wrappings and trappings of Las Vegas, but little of the excitement…

I really think Kari put it best. “A dry casino is like a dry frat…what’s the point?”

Pink Dolphins and a lesson learned

There are many cities that have the claim “if you don’t like the weather here, wait 5 minutes” Well; Honk Kong just might be the King of that claim

Sunday broke to an incredibly humid day. The clouds were low over the city. The difference between HK and Seattle in this respect is that when it looks like that in Seattle, it is usually cold and miserable. In HK, it is warm and clammy. I have also told you that the issue with living on the 40^th floor is that you never really know what it is doing out there. The other issue is that there is no real “weather” channel…no news channels doing the weather every 10 minutes. Well, there might be those channels, but they certainly are not doing it in a language I understand or on a channel I get. SO, imagine us pressing our faces against the windows and looking down, just trying to catch a glimpse of pedestrians and are they carrying an umbrella OR the taxis and are they running their wipers.

Kari and I headed out to meet the tour. It never crossed my mind to take an umbrella. I never have an umbrella. I was in Seattle 12 years and never owned one. I was always kind of proud of that.

We hit the street, and it was sprinkling. No big deal. I knew the Dolphin Trip would go in the rain…hey, Dolphins don’t care. We made it to the hotel for pick up in plenty of time and stayed pretty dry getting there.

I have to say the bus we boarded was a pretty nice ride. It was less than half full, so there were plenty of seats.

Katherine, our tour guide, showed us some pictures of what we would see. The Dolphins or Chinese Dolphins, are actually white. When they surface they appear pink b/c of their blood flow. As they exert themselves, their blood rushes to the surface of their skin. Katherine also shared some horror stories of what pollution and boat traffic are doing to sea life and the dolphins. Nets are a particular menace. Some of the pictures were disturbing. Dolphins with cuts, slashes and one had just one eye.

In good news, HK has just passed a law banning trawling by fishing boats, so maybe one issue will be resolved soon.

As we drove, the rain began. Boy, did it rain. Our ride was about 40 minutes. We were going to Lantau Island where the airport is. By the time we got to where the boat was waiting, it was pouring. The guides looked a little shocked we were exiting the vehicle w/o umbrellas. As we RAN, I realized why. Our boat was actually a couple hundred yards away…and we had to work our way around a fence to get to where it was moored. It was one of those hold the fence throw a leg around and work around the fence to get to the other side situations. All of this in the pouring rain. I envisioned myself going into the water but managed to get around this obstacle. We all did as we ran the rest of the way to the boat.

I am not used to wearing shoes on a boat (safety is in bare feet with wet decks) but I was not stopping to take off my shoes in the deluge. My jeans were soaked a good 12 inches from the bottom. That is a ton of rain!

There were probably only 30 people max on the tour, and the boat was a great size. As we left, the rain slowed down. After a 30 minute ride, it had stopped completely.

We were up and out of our seats trying to be the ones to spot these guys. I was chatting with a man from Australia who had won his trip to HK…including first class airline tickets. (nice huh?)

Finally, the dolphins were spotted. Katherine and her helper kept pretty quiet and our captain did a great job maneuvering the boat to keep the dolphins in our sights.

They surfaced many times. By my count, there must have been at least six to eight and they gave us a great show! It was almost hard to spot them b/c of how quickly they moved. I don’t know how people got pics...I suspect there are plenty of cameras out there with “green water”shots

The adults are pink and the babies are grey. We saw at least one mom and baby combo. At one point, four of them came right by the boat and I swear were posing!

I was pretty happy to see the Dolphin Watch Boat does NOT feed them to come close. We were out for at least half an hour watching them play.

Pretty quickly, the captain was revving the engines and getting ready to go. As we made our way back, the rain started once again.

On this trip we hit a 60 minute window of perfect. While it was cloudy, the humidity was not bad, and we were not getting beaten by the sun. I really think the dolphins were easier to see b/c we were not fighting sunlight.

On our way back it poured once again.

Luckily, where Kari and I got dropped off was right next to an MTR entrance. The train stations run for blocks underground and have many exits. We were able to make our way back to the house without having to face the rain once again.

It rained for 12 hours. It ended up being a “red level” storm…with the potential of dropping 2 inches an hour. I believe it did. The thunder and lightning that accompanied the rain was impressive.

So, the lesson learned? Yes…I will carry an umbrella with me at all times….I just cannot show up many more places with bent and wild hair and soaking clothes. It’s just not a good look!

Wired and Wireless in Hong Kong

For a change of pace I have moved myself into the master bedroom and decided to work on the PC instead of my Net book. For some strange reason I decided that I needed the feel of a “real” keyboard under my fingertips. I wanted to remember what it was like to have my fingers at the “proper” positions instead of cramped on a tiny tiny laptop. Maybe I wanted to move back in technology for just a second.

Maybe I just needed to get away from the wired mess on my Net Book. Let me explain the picture that starts this:

I am having a quiet day. I have laundry and house work to do. But before I dive into that, I wanted to have a quick read of my book. The flat is so quiet when I’m alone. Sometimes I put music on, or I will have the TV on in the background. TV can be dangerous though, it sucks me in. It’s best if it stays off.

Well, the Kindle was almost out of juice and the converters we brought from The States both have other items plugged in to them. So, YAY, I plugged the Kindle into the Net book.

Then, I figured I would try to get my IPOD to charge. This has been a frustrating process in that the Ipod has become temperamental. It will charge, then not charge (mostly not charge) so on random days I will pull it out of it’s drawer and see if THIS is the day it will charge. Today is a good day.

SO, I sat in the corner of the couch, computer on the armrest, Kindle in my hand, attached on one end and Ipod attached at the other.

What a picture that is. The TV remotes were right on the windowsill. Lord knows we must have remotes for the TV and cable box. Where would we be? I am the queen of channel surfing, so who am I to judge.

Off to the side is yet ANOTHER remote. This one is for the window blinds. Each room in the house has blinds, and each room in the house has a separate remote to open and close them. Infact if you try to use the bedroom remote on the living room blinds, all you succeed in doing is closing the blinds in the bedroom…that is how strong the signal is from this tiny contraption.

Enter the remotes for the air conditioners. Again, each room in the flat has it’s own device. Each device has it’s own remote. We did not get the books on how to make these work properly (as in programming them) so we just turn them on and off as we get hot (or in my case cold).

The bathrooms have their own hot water tanks. You guessed it, there is a remote to change the temperature of these.

If I sit myself in just the right spot of the house, I can pretty much control the entire thing with just a few clicks.

I talk all the time about maximizing my steps and being as “inefficient” as possible because otherwise, how WOULD we get our 10,000 steps in?

Anyway, all the technology around me made me smile, so I wanted to show it to someone else.

It's the little things...

Sometimes when I am in HK I feel like a tourist. I almost think of it as an extended vacation. I know this will pass with time as I get more and more used to things. I will learn to take the mini-busses that have no real route or schedule. I will walk the streets with confidence that I only need to “have” my map and not pull it out all the time to triple check that I am going in the right direction. I think I will feel I “belong” when I know every meeting place the American Women’s Association (AWA) has in its bag of tours.

There are things that I miss buying from the store. Certain day to day products that are difficult if not impossible to find in Hong Kong.

Enter Kirk

Kirk lives in downtown Seattle close to school. It’s Derrick who lives in the house and takes care of the day to day world of cats and mail and cats and lawn and cats and basic house maintenance. (can you tell the cats are the number one priority in MY mind?)

Kirk’s BIG job is mail maintenance. He opens the mail every week, sorts it, goes over it with Corey and forwards the important things and makes sure we don’t miss any bills that need paying . That’s Kirk’s job with his Dad. As we have been here, the need to mail things over has decreased.

My need for my day in day out things has not decreased. I am sure I could learn to live without these things, but why should I when I have … Kirk.

Kirk’s job for me is to gather up items I miss desperately and have decided I can’t live without and mail them to me.

One of those “stuff the box as full as you can” jobs from USPS costs about $54 US dollars. What could I need that warrants that cost?

Let me tell you.

DAWN Dish Soap. The kitchens here are ridiculously small. With that in mind, the dishwasher’s name is “Kate”. Because of this, I need really good dish soap. After trying a couple different brands, I had Kirk buy me two bottles. When I am back in July, I will be at Costco buying the super-size.

Splenda Sweetener Packets: The cost of these are off the hook! I had a box in my pantry and it just seemed right to mail the rest over. I am NOT the kind of girl that goes from Starbucks to Starbucks pilfering these, so they made it into the box!

Moroccan Oil – This is for my hair. My hair has decided that FRIZZ is its new natural state. Ivy (new hair person for now) recommended this but it’s not available in HK. Amazon ROCKS.

Bare Escentuals’ Cleanser and Moisturizer – I can’t get this brand here. Thank heaven for Ulta and free shipping straight to the house. I have tried other things, but this works for me...and heck, a box was coming anyway right? It didn’t help that I left a full cleanser in Australia…I could have set that $28 dollars on fire I guess

This last one is big.

Anyone who has EVER sat in a WW meeting will realize how important this last part of the shipment is.

Ready:

94% FF popcorn in the 5 cup size. – YAY TEAM!!!!! First, low fat or no fat is almost impossible to find here. Second, small sizes like this are REALLY impossible to find. I have two boxes of this in the pantry and did not think to bring them. I went through a phase of “stovetop: popcorn but that was not good for my weight…so I insisted that Kirk “fill the spaces” of my box with this. Corey was just crazed that I would have this sent over. But, those who have met me know I am Popcorn-A-Holic. I love the stuff and this keeps me in control.

Well, there is one item that did not make it in my box. But that’s OK. I will be able to talk about that and look forward to it when the next shipment is sent…or MAYBE, Corey can bring it to me when he is back at the house!

I opened this box and I swear it was like Christmas. I mean I was truly joyful.

I am not sure what else I will have sent over at some point. These items made me happy for the time being.

So, as I said…it’s the little things. I won't go into my "be appreciative" speech yet. I just did not know how the little things meant so much until I could not get them!