i came home from church today, opened up internet explorer and just about cried when instead of looking at my blog i saw a generic ad site. my blog had disappeared.

two angry emails to my hosting company later, i realized that my renewal fee for my domain was supposed to go through my bank yesterday, the day after my bank card was deactivated because its number was stolen. of course, in the wake of trying to get all that taken care of, i forgot that my old card was set up to pay for my hosting. and no payment = no site.

and so in a matter of hours it was gone. of course, since i am so addicted to blogging and apparently have no other life, my first thought was, “what am i going to do?!” i finally got a hold of them and used joe’s card to get everything up and running again. sigh. i will be so glad when this is all finished.

i am always looking to lower our bills, whether it be from scouting around for less expensive car insurance, or watching the amount of water or electricity we use. i have been pretty proud of myself lately. it really is amazing how much you can save by turning off lights in rooms you’re not using. one other thing i always look at are warranties, especially an auto warranty. that can save so much money down the road if something happens and repairs are needed.

since it’s almost christmas, i thought i’d give you an idea of what the holidays are like for my family. i love forward to our christmas traditions every year. on christmas eve, joe and i head up to my parents’ house and go over to my former church with my family for the christmas eve service. i absolutely love this service. it’s entirely musical, and it ends with the congregation singing christmas carols by candelight. it’s such a nice way to start christmas and remembe what the holiday is all about. so many people seem to forget that.

when we get home, we have our christmas eve dinner, which consists of chow mein and fruit salad. my mom also makes cranberry crunch for dessert. after dinner, we gather in the living room to open presents. we’ve always opened presents on christmas eve, and i can’t tell you why. i love it though. i’m still like a little kid when it comes to presents. i can’t wait to open them! more than that, though, i can’t wait for others to open what i got them. i really do enjoy watching their faces more than i enjoy opening my presents. it makes me feel good to know that they really like what i got them.

this year will be slightly different as we’re doing christmas eve at ryan and oriona’s house. everything will be the same just in a new location.

on christmas day, we open our stockings (yes, my parents still hang stockings for all of us!), and then begin working on christmas dinner, which is the same as thanksgiving dinner: vegetarian turkey slices filled with stuffing, a real turkey, mashed potatoes, a broccoli and corn dish, wild rice with vegetarian chicken and plain corn for me. i cannot wait. i love this meal, and i love that we have it for christmas too. joe’s parents will be joining us again, and this year, nana is coming as well. i’m so excited to see them. oriona’s family is coming this year too, so it will be a full house!

after dinner, we always go to a movie. joe thinks this is hilarious because he says it’s been a jewish tradition for hundreds of years.

and that, my blog friends, is how we will be spending the holidays. what are you doing for christmas?

it’s important to backup data on your computer. joe and i keep talking about needing to backup our writing and pictures, at the minimum, in case our computer every crashes. we have yet to do it. we’ve been thinking about putting everything on flash drives or cds, but there’s also the option of online storage where we can backup a lot of things on our computer online. that would make things a lot easier. accounts are supposed to be monitored 24/7, and security is supposed to be good. that’s something that’s important to me when i’m thinking about putting things i don’t want to lose in an online storage system.

on my way to work this morning, i slowed down to let a couple of dogs cross the street in front of me. as i looked closer, i did a double-take: there was a goat crossing with the dogs. yes, folks, i had to stop to let a goat cross the road today. i called joe to tell him. he told me i sounded like a redneck. i guess i did.

i have a problem with fruit and vegetables i buy going bad before i am able to use them all. i think a lot of it stems from the fact that i put them in the crisper bins at the bottom of my fridge and forget they are there. i’m notorious for doing that. that said, i think i might try reusable produce bags. they are supposed to keep fruit and veggies fresh for up to 30 days. it’s worth a shot. there are two sizes — medium and large — and there’s a deal now to get 20 for the price of 10. i figure if they don’t work i won’t be losing too much!

someone has my debit card number. i logged into my bank account this morning, and noticed a transaction in my check card holds for a company i’ve never heard of. i called the bank and was told the purchase was made at 6:49 a.m. that’s funny because i didn’t wake up until after 8:30 a.m. i just don’t know how someone could have gotten my card number. it’s always in my wallet unless i’m using it, and my purse is never out of my sight when i’m out.

now, my card has been deactivate and it will take 7-10 business days to receive a new one, which is great since it’s almost christmas and we’ll be out and about visiting family. this is the time when i really *need* my card. plus, i have bills to pay that are set up to come off my old card. now, i have to set them up to come off joe’s card and then reset everything once i get my new card. what a hassle.

i love designer brands, including designer eyeglasses and sunglasses. i’ve really been wanting a pair of kate spade sunglasses. the only store i can find them at here is bloomingdales, and i really can’t justify spending that much on sunglasses! i love browsing for web sites and finding those with discounted prices on designer products. they are plugged as being the real thing and not knock offs, but that is something you have to take them at their word on. it’s a trust thing. i like to give people the benefit of the doubt, at least at first. and, if you’re willing to try it, these deals can’t be beat.

it can be hard to find bathing suits that fit correctly. swim suits sold at stores don’t always fit full busted women. there are some web sites where you can buy full busted swimwear with each piece of two piece suits sold separately so you can get a suit that fits you perfectly. that is such a great idea and makes swimsuit shopping, which can be a pain and a hassle for some women, much easier and less stressful. i would think that at some point department stores and other shops would follow suit and sell swimsuit pieces separately to give women more of an option.

tonight is the christmas party our kiwanis club is hosting for the local children’s shelter. there are 25-30 people in our club. there will be three people at tonight’s event. that’s including me and joe, in case you were wondering. it blows my mind how people who are involved in a service club that does outreach for children are too lazy to help out at events, especially at ones like tonight’s party. it’s easy. it doesn’t require exertion, so our older members can help. they just choose not to. it makes me angry, and it makes our club look bad. and, it makes me wonder why they’re involved to begin with if they don’t participate. i wish there was some way to make them participate, but i just don’t think there is.