This Girl is on Fire ...!

Hello again Friends - hope you are all having a great weekend. What are you all up to?  

Here at Barlow Towers, it has turned out to be another rather expensive week all in all.  

First there was the Great Postal Robbery ... 

I do love a bit of home shopping, don't you?   Back in the UK I was known as the 'QVC Queen' LOL!   This was mainly for craft supplies which were often hard to get or if you could find them at a local store, were an extortionate price.  I also loved buying make up and skincare this way too though, as they still sold the well known brands I liked, except you got to try it in the comfort of your own home in proper lighting (instead of leaving your local department store looking like an extra from an Adam Ant video) for a few weeks - which was long enough to see if your skin liked it too - after which if you decided the Umpa Lumpa look wasn't for you, you could send it back for a full refund.  Love it!  Granted, you had to pay for the postage to send it back, but mine were usually small items (I don't think I EVER returned a craft item, LOL) and I always considered it worth a few pounds in postage (and we still had the convenient of a village Post Office), versus driving into Brighton and battling the hideous traffic, paying an extortionate amount to park and then not finding what I wanted anyway.

Whilst I don't have the need to buy craft items this way anymore (since the USA is definitely a paper crafter's Nirvana), I do still on occasion buy the odd beauty product this way so that I can give them a while to see how my skin reacts.  On this occasion, the foundation I had ordered was WAY too dark (think Ross from friends in the fake tanning fiasco) and so I opted to return it.  Now, the process for returning items here in the United States is generally far easier than it is in the UK as most companies include a bar coded return label with any goods ordered, which you simply just stick on your parcel and leave it in your mailbox, raising the little flag so that postman knows you have something to collect (or if it is too big to fit, you can simply go to the USPS website and ask for them to collect from your porch or wherever - so convenient).  When they have collected it, you will generally then receive an email to confirm they have it and a tracking number so that you can monitor it's safe return.  Once received,  the company you are returning it to will then deduct the cost of your return postage and credit the remainder to your credit card.  A very efficient system I have found and very convenient as actual Post Offices seem to be few and far between here and trekking there with your parcels is a hassle.  A fact that QVC appear to be taking advantage of every which way!  After returning my item via the aforementioned method, I received an email to advise that my item had been safely received and that $12.34 had been credited back to my card ... hang on a minute ... I paid $22.32 for the item, how is it that only $12.34 has been credited back?  I called their customer service number and asked them to confirm how this amount had been made up.  

"Well Madam, the cost of the return was $6.99 ..."

"What?!? ... the shipping and handling cost to send the item to me was only $2.99?"

"Oh yes, well, that's because you used the return shipping label.  We charge $6.99 for the convenience of the return"

WHAT??  

"So more than double the actual cost of postage then?"  Great.  "So are you telling me that if I had written my own label and taken it to the Post Office, then it would have still been $2.99 ... or probably less?" 

"Yes that's right Madam."

Unbelievable.  

"What about the rest?"

"That is the original shipping charge.  QVC's policy is to also deduct the original shipping cost from any return"

**mutters crossly ... "Well at least Dick Turpin wore a bloody mask!"**

"Er ... Have a nice day Madam!"

I think my longstanding affair with QVC may now be well and truly over.   

Then there was the Great Physical Robbery ...

Still cross and muttering to myself about "bloody daylight robbery", I marched out to collect the day's mail from the box at the end of the drive which didn't do anything to improve my mood as it included a bill from the Mayo Clinic for mine and Mr B's recent annual physicals.  Luckily I noticed the wording "Notification only - You will receive an updated invoice after settlement from your Insurance Company" before scanning to the amount at the bottom or I might never have made it back up the driveway!   

Given that we both had the same annual physical, except I think I was in there maybe 10 minutes longer whilst she chatted about the benefits of HRT (more on that in a minute), Mr B's total invoice was $1, 082 and mine was $2,173!!  Comparing the two, it seems that my little 'chat' tipped us into an additional charge for a 45 minute+ appt. and then it seems that the more things they check on your 'routine' blood test, the higher the charge!  Good grief.  What a racket!  As we still haven't reached the magic 'deductible' number on our insurance yet this year,  I can't wait for those bills to drop on the mat! (not)  At least we were aware of the process this year and so had budgeted for such expenses, so it's all good, but just a shock after 50+ years of the good old NHS! I know it has it's flaws, but you sure don't appreciate what you had until you no longer have it! 

The next day was the appointment with the GYN Consultant - nothing sinister apparently which is good but she also recommended I try HRT patches to stop me from spontaneously combusting - bad enough whatever the weather, but in the desert? ... hideous!  She advised me that they did however, carry a risk of blood clots (nice) but that this was very small and I would find them beneficial.  

I came home and did a bit of research on benefits versus risks.  Oh.  It appears that in addition to the more widely known risks of blood clots and breast cancer (minimal for short term use) there is a whole list of 'common' side effects to look forward to such as ...

• headache
• weight gain
• acne
• bloating
• nausea
• leg cramps 
• indigestion

Great.  Hmmm, well maybe I'll just see if there are any helpful tips on helping with the 'tropical moments' without taking medication ... ah, here we are ...

"Avoid the following triggers: caffeine, alcohol, spicy foods, heat ..."

Right.  Well, as we live in Arizona, avoiding heat and spicy foods is not exactly realistic so that's those out.  Alcohol?  Are you kidding? This is the home of the Margarita!! Who wants to sit beside the pool with a glass of Ribera (if you could even get that here).  That just leaves the caffeine .... er ... nope.  That's not happening either. 

So .... patches it is then.  I'll report back in a month or so if you're interested (providing I haven't dropped dead from a blood clot that is).

Later that afternoon, just after I had collected Youngest from school and we were headed home,  I was waiting patiently at the junction with one of the main highways, when BANG!!!  We were rear-ended by the car behind!  Brilliant.  After checking that we were both OK, I got out to inspect the damage - not too bad thankfully, one minor scrape on the paintwork and some damage to the bumper - and speak to the other driver.  An ashen-faced young man (who looked no older than Ethan), got out of the car and approached nervously.  It was then I recognized him as one of the students from Ethan's school!  Apparently, he is a Senior so must be at least 17 or 18 but he was tiny and hardly looked a day over 14!  The poor lad was completely mortified and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"I'm so sorry!" he cried.   "I have had the worst day ever and I am late for my tutor class ...!"
I decided it probably wasn't the time to remind him that he would be even later now ... I checked that he was OK and told him not to worry and that at the end of the day cars were just lumps of metal and as long as nobody was hurt that was really all that mattered.  He looked a little more relieved but continued to blather on about how he had only passed his test in March and that this was his first accident ...
"... well, apart from the one I had in the driveway when I got my foot stuck and the car just shot off into the air and I couldn't do anything about it ..."  OK then ....
We examined his car, which didn't appear to be damaged at all - typical - exchanged details (at least I knew where to find him) and then continued on our respective journeys.  I had surmised that he was probably on his parents car insurance or if not, paying an extortionate amount for his own, and despite the inconvenience of getting it all fixed, I still felt sorry for him.  I am sure we have all done stupid things at one time or another, especially as new drivers, whether they resulted in scrapes or we were fortunate to get away with near misses.  I know I have.  Not long after passing my test, I scraped  a parked car whilst simultaneously trying avoid being blinded by the early morning winter sun and wipe the condensation which reappeared as fast as I could wipe it from the inside of my beloved VW Beetle's windscreen!  Whoops!  Let's hope this was his first and last accident on the road and he has at least learned to pay more attention and in future waits for the car in front to move before trying to speed off at a junction!

A few hours later, I received a sheepish text from said boy.
"I'm really sorry about earlier.  Is it OK if my Dad calls you?"  I was waiting for that.
"Sure"
Dad turned out to be a Brit too, who originally hailed from Bournemouth!  Whilst chatting, he also told me that his son 'Lewis Hamilton' had just applied to the University of Brighton!  What are the chances?!  Anyway, thankfully it all got sorted, although I will obviously now have to deal with the phaff of taking the car into the repair shop and all the hassle that comes with **sigh**, but never mind.  No real harm done thank goodness.

This week wasn't all bad though thankfully.  Mr B and I spent a lovely evening out with his team mid week who are all in town for a few days for their annual Travel Conference.  (Co-incidentally there was also a 'Platinum' Margarita featured on the menu, so it would have been rude not to ... LOL) During the evening, I was touched when they presented me with a Hobby Lobby Gift Card as a Thank You for making the monthly Recognition cards for all of their teams, along with a lovely card which they had all signed.  So kind of them all.   As I was opening the cards, the waitress asked if it was my birthday and before I could say anything, someone on the table said yes it was.  The next thing I knew a huge chunk of chocolate cake and ice cream compete with candle appeared on the table and everyone was singing!  Hilarious!  (We all enjoyed the dessert though ;)

Happy Cake Day to me!

Finally, the highlight of my week has been meeting one of my crafting heroes - Becky Higgins, creator of the Project Life scrapbooking system - at the Pinners Conference and Exhibition here in Scottsdale!  As many of you know, preserving our family memories is something I am hugely passionate about and this system has changed my scrapbooking life!  If you missed my post on how I use Project Life to record our family journal and would like to read about that click here to hop on over to my crafty blog (which I have very much neglected of late - soz!)

Hope you all have a good week and stay safe out there people!
TTFN
Bev x

Post Script:

And finally ... The Great Prescription Robbery ...

Just been to the pharmacy to collect my prescription.
"Here we are ma'am.  That will be $365.42 please ..."
"Sorry, WHAT?!?"
"Yes, sorry about that, but it's because you haven't reached your ..."
"Deductible ... yes, I know.  Thanks for that"

See you next time - I'm just off to plant another money tree in the back garden.

App-y Weekend ... !

Hi folks!  How's your weekend going?  Up to much?

I am in the midst of helping Ethan pack for his school trip on Sunday night ... well, when I say helping, I appear to be doing all the packing whilst he stands there looking gormless.  I had to smile at the instructions received from school ... "students should be dropped at school by 12am (to avoid confusion that's 11.59pm Sunday night)..." If they had just put midnight I am sure it would have been clearer.  But then again ...

They are off to Catalina Island in California for the week to study marine biology (which is infinitely more exciting than the day trip to Scarborough on a rattly old coach that stunk of hard boiled eggs and sweaty cheese sandwiches that I recall at the same age!).  Kayaking, hiking, snorkeling etc., not to mention bunking in basic 'open air cabins'  ... ugh, my idea of hell!  Strangely, Ethan is actually looking forward to it, although is already having an anxiety attack at the thought of having to live without wifi for 5 days.  Lol.  And, what's more, they may actually have to talk to each other face to face instead of on Snapchat as apparently there is no mobile phone signal either ... shock horror!  :D

Whilst on the subject of Apps (ok, so it was a rather tenuous link), I have to admit I would be completely lost without mine (although not for talking to people ... I still use the old fashioned way for that).  There are some really great ones out there, if you can find them amongst the dross (and yes, there are also lots of rubbish ones.  Did you know that developers are currently submitting over 1,000 new apps per day to Apple for approval?!).  Anyway, this week I thought I would share with you another  of my 'Top 10' lists, this time for the Apps I am loving right now.  I am not sure whether all of these are available for Android platforms as well as we are all Apple disciples in this house, but I know some of them definitely are.   I am not including Facebook, Instagram or Twitter on here as it goes without saying that I am a BIG fan of those, but am assuming everyone already knows about those. You will also note that my list is heavy on 'photography' type apps, as I love to take photographs (but you knew that too didn't you?!)

Here are my favorites, in no particular order (please note that I am not affiliated with any of these, nor do I receive any renumeration/commission from any of them):

1. Project Life  (Available on iTunes and Android).

Whilst most of you know that I am big fan of scrapbooking and have used the physical version of 'Project Life' for the last 3 years to capture everyday moments and record them in family journals, this app now gives the option to capture digitally if that is your preference.  You simply drag your photos onto the virtual page, pick a journalling card, add your related thoughts and memories and Voila!  Done in a flash.  What's more you can now get these printed as individual pages or as a complete bound book.    As I am still more of a physical scrapbooker, I tend to use it as a planning tool to decide which (of the many!) photos I want to put into my album, see what they look like on the page and then capture my journalling on the go ... waiting at school pick ups, at the Orthodontist (where I seem to spend a lot of time hanging around for Ethan!) or even whilst on holiday, so that I don't forget any of the little details. Here is a link to the main website if you are interested in reading more about it.  Project Life App

2. Little Moments - Photo a day app.

If like me, you like to take lots of photographs and want to improve your photography whilst having a bit of fun doing it, Fat Mum Slim runs a daily photo challenge.    For example, here is the list for this month:

The iPhone/iPad app sends you a daily reminder of the prompt and from there you can use the fun editing tools and also upload directly to FB or Instagram if you want to play along with others.   

Pic stitch

3. Pic stitch (available on iTunes/Android/Windows)

This is a free photo editing app which allows you to make a collage with your photos.  Useful if you want to print photos and don't necessarily want an individual 6x4 print of a particular shot but want to include it somewhere in your album.  A collage is the way to go!

Over

4. Over (iTunes/Android)

This app is great for adding text and artwork to your photos.  You can buy additional artwork to add to your photos from the app if you choose, but it also offers free daily artwork too.
Over

Producer

5. Producer

This app is a really fun free app which can turn any of your photos into a Meme!  There are also some stock photos for you to use and then you can just whatever text you want over it.  There are lots of other apps which do this too, but this one was the first one I found which was free and is very easy to use.  (In case you have been hibernating for the last few years and are wondering what on earth a Meme is, here is an example). Lol

Wunderlist

6.  Wunderlist

I would be lost without this app!  I love a list ... or two ... and especially as I have advanced in years **ahem** I find I have to make more and more of them in order to organize my life!  Groceries ... items for school ... packing for holidays ... books I want to read ... films I want to watch ... you get the idea.  I like that I can create a list on my iPad whilst I am watching TV in the evening and it automatically syncs to my phone so that when I am at the supermarket the next day I don't have to worry that I forgot my list! I love it!  It also gives every item on your list a little checkbox and has a very satisfying 'ping' as you check something off.  (I have been known to add tasks to my lists in the past that I have already  completed just to have the satisfaction of ticking them off! #saddo).  You can read more about it here ... Wunderlist 

My Fitness Pal

7. My Fitness Pal

Whilst I hate to admit that a Fitness app is included amongst my Top 10 apps, I have to confess that I do use this one on a regular basis.  I cannot 'diet' to save my life... the minute I think I am 'on a diet' I immediately want cream cakes, chocolate and chips, when ordinarily I do not crave these things .. well, maybe the chocolate occasionally.  Whilst the app does more than just count calories for you (you can link it up to one of those Fitbit contraptions if you are an addict, mentioning no names ... Mr B and Sharon!) that is really all I use it for.   Every so often, when I realize that I have perhaps been 'over indulging' somewhat I go back to the app.  You enter your current weight and how much you would like to use and Hey presto! it works out how many calories a day you need to eat (or more importantly for me, not eat!) and pretty much every food I have eaten is on there, together with not just calories, but how much fat, carbs, protein etc. is in each thing if you are tracking that too (I just sticking to calories).  I am not very strict with it (understatement!) and usually end up going over my daily allowance, but not as much as I would if I were not using it.  It just makes me question whether I actually really need that extra glass of wine or not ... OK so that was a bad example ... maybe an 'extra biscuit' would be a more appropriate example here :D   If by some mere fluke you do happen to accidentally exercise during the day, you can add that in too and it will work out how many extra calories you can then have as a result.  I started using it again two weeks ago to track what I was eating and without consciously 'dieting' have already lost 4 pounds!  Result!  

Spotify

8.  Spotify

I have always loved listening to music and love the fact that with Spotify I can listen to more or less any song I like, by any Artist (with a few exceptions ... although the Beatles catalogue has now recently been added .. yay!) whether I actually own a copy of it or not.   The free version (which is what I use) does have the odd commercial every few songs or so but it is no more annoying than listening to the radio and I tend not to notice them.  You can also pay a subscription for the premium version which is Ad free.  You can make up your own Playlists and save them for future listening; listen to other people's playlists, listen to the latest new releases or golden oldies if that is your thing.   Currently, as I type this, I am listening to an old Funk/Soul compilation and yesterday it was tracks from the latest hot new Rock bands. Connect to your Bluetooth speaker and crank up the volume. Love it!

Around Me

9.  Around Me

Visiting somewhere for the weekend and need to find the nearest ATM? The nearest coffee shop?.  En route to a friend's and need to buy some flowers?  This App will show you where plus give you the walking and/or driving directions to get you there.  We have used this many times when on holiday and didn't want to pay the hotel's extortionate prices for a decent breakfast!

Cascade

10.  Cascade

I am not generally one for playing mindless games on my phone or iPad.  I never really got the whole Candy Crush thing and requests from Facebook friends to help them grow crops on their farm used to drive me insane, but I have to say that I am totally hooked on this game that I came across recently.  It is totally addictive!  Mr B has been away this week and I have sat down after dinner intending to just have a quick 5 minutes and the next thing I know I have lost two hours!   Great if you are stuck somewhere and have time to kill, but probably not a distraction you want to indulge in if you need to actually get anything done!  You have been warned!

So that's a quick look at my current favourites.  I'm sure there are lots of similar apps that do the same thing - its all a matter of personal preference - and I'm sure if you ask me for my Top 10 in a couple of months they may all be different but for now these are the ones I use on a regular basis.  Check 'em out and who knows, maybe you will find a new favourite!

TTFN

Bev x