I have not experienced my usual feeling of being totally overwhelmed this season of joy.
A work schedule that was light, after being slammed for months and no money worries, has really made this holiday season relatively stress free. Except for the candle wax on the newly painted living room wall and the realization that I have no available extension cord at this time of year to plug the blow dryer in to fix the problem. Google “getting wax off a wall” if you have questions.
The cards have been sent, the gifts are wrapped, the house is relatively clean and decorated and there is still three days until Christmas Eve.
I have had dinners with friends, had a fun weekend in Las Vegas with the D-Man, and attended Peabo Bryson’s “Colors of Christmas” concert in Cerritos with special guests, two of my favorites, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. A great night of Christmas music that I think I will be making a tradition. Also enjoyed a nice company Christmas party in Santa Monica, right on the beach.
Great stuff and a lot of good memories.
But I am always learning and trying to figure out how to make the next year even better. So here are my Christmas lessons from this year.
TAKE PICTURES OF THE HOUSE
I re-decorated the house three times. Yes, when you aren’t as busy, you get more picky, but I also couldn’t remember what I did last year. The pictures I took were minimal, so remembering where everything went was a problem. I also bought some new decorations at those fab after Christmas sales, but I forgot what I got and by the time I pulled it out, I didn’t know where to put it. Sometimes I think documentation truly is the secret of life.
BUYING CLOTHES ONLINE DOESN”T WORK
Electronics are electronics. Even jewelry usually looks like it does online. Clothes are tough. Almost every piece of clothing I bought online, I returned. I need to touch clothing and when I don’t like how it feels, I can’t give it as a gift. I would have been better off taking a couple of days to shop for the shirts and sweaters I was going to give. Despite not being able to do it in my pajamas, it would have been a time saver.
MACY’S HAS REAL ISSUES
I was a Macy’s girl for many years. When my financial meltdown happened, I became a Ross girl. This Christmas, I went back to where I had been banned (yes, they were part of my bankruptcy, but all has been forgiven and the red card is back in my wallet). The product quality at Macy’s is still great and I love to be able to give designer names to folks at Christmas. The prices are even great when they have those famous Macy sales.
But they have real issues.
Shopping online with them on Black Friday was a nightmare. They had technical issues which basically ended up with me receiving a double order of numerous items. They tried something called “Macy’s Money”, but having used “Kohl’s Cash”, they need to take some lessons from their competitor around how to process it.
The most significant thing, is their absolute lack of service. The incompetence and lack of knowledge of their phone agents cannot be rivaled. Add to that, the in store staff, who have an “I don’t listen and I don’t care” attitude and they are seriously making me change my shopping religion. They do a great Thanksgiving Parade. Maybe next year they can get the rest of their stuff together or they will be joining the May Company and other department stores that no longer exist.
FUN IS FUN
A very simple idea, but I really enjoyed enjoying myself. So much of my life has been about work and making some memories this year was the best.
Not to mention, I think I have found a new holiday tradition!
So my main lesson? ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY!
A work schedule that was light, after being slammed for months and no money worries, has really made this holiday season relatively stress free. Except for the candle wax on the newly painted living room wall and the realization that I have no available extension cord at this time of year to plug the blow dryer in to fix the problem. Google “getting wax off a wall” if you have questions.
The cards have been sent, the gifts are wrapped, the house is relatively clean and decorated and there is still three days until Christmas Eve.
I have had dinners with friends, had a fun weekend in Las Vegas with the D-Man, and attended Peabo Bryson’s “Colors of Christmas” concert in Cerritos with special guests, two of my favorites, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. A great night of Christmas music that I think I will be making a tradition. Also enjoyed a nice company Christmas party in Santa Monica, right on the beach.
Great stuff and a lot of good memories.
But I am always learning and trying to figure out how to make the next year even better. So here are my Christmas lessons from this year.
TAKE PICTURES OF THE HOUSE
I re-decorated the house three times. Yes, when you aren’t as busy, you get more picky, but I also couldn’t remember what I did last year. The pictures I took were minimal, so remembering where everything went was a problem. I also bought some new decorations at those fab after Christmas sales, but I forgot what I got and by the time I pulled it out, I didn’t know where to put it. Sometimes I think documentation truly is the secret of life.
BUYING CLOTHES ONLINE DOESN”T WORK
Electronics are electronics. Even jewelry usually looks like it does online. Clothes are tough. Almost every piece of clothing I bought online, I returned. I need to touch clothing and when I don’t like how it feels, I can’t give it as a gift. I would have been better off taking a couple of days to shop for the shirts and sweaters I was going to give. Despite not being able to do it in my pajamas, it would have been a time saver.
MACY’S HAS REAL ISSUES
I was a Macy’s girl for many years. When my financial meltdown happened, I became a Ross girl. This Christmas, I went back to where I had been banned (yes, they were part of my bankruptcy, but all has been forgiven and the red card is back in my wallet). The product quality at Macy’s is still great and I love to be able to give designer names to folks at Christmas. The prices are even great when they have those famous Macy sales.
But they have real issues.
Shopping online with them on Black Friday was a nightmare. They had technical issues which basically ended up with me receiving a double order of numerous items. They tried something called “Macy’s Money”, but having used “Kohl’s Cash”, they need to take some lessons from their competitor around how to process it.
The most significant thing, is their absolute lack of service. The incompetence and lack of knowledge of their phone agents cannot be rivaled. Add to that, the in store staff, who have an “I don’t listen and I don’t care” attitude and they are seriously making me change my shopping religion. They do a great Thanksgiving Parade. Maybe next year they can get the rest of their stuff together or they will be joining the May Company and other department stores that no longer exist.
FUN IS FUN
A very simple idea, but I really enjoyed enjoying myself. So much of my life has been about work and making some memories this year was the best.
Not to mention, I think I have found a new holiday tradition!
So my main lesson? ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY!
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