Guess the Value of My Gene Allen's Gifts Bargains!

 Last Friday was Brown Bag Bargain Day

at the wonderful Gene Allen's Gifts,

and I was there right after the doors opened!
All items were consolidated at the Randol Mill store.

I didn't get to participate last year, so I'll review
the procedure for those of you who don't know!

The brown bags were $20--

that's for all the final sale items you can

"place" in one. 

("pack," "cram," or "stuff" might be more like it.)

I purchased and filled 3 bags VERY FULL--
for a total of $64.80.


I purchase these items primarily for
Mission Arlington 
and the Metroplex Women's Clinic.
**I will admit, however, that there are
several this year which fit into an
event scheduled for New Year's Eve!
I'll tell you when we get there!**



Your mission, should you choose to accept it,

is to guess the total ORIGINAL PRICE 

of this lovely assortment of merchandise,

including tax.

I will show you pictures, but your estimate

will of necessity be a WAG.

(That's wild a** guess in the vernacular of

Jack Stovall.)

The one who comes closest to the

ORIGINAL PRICE of all items totaled

will win a $50 Gene Allen's gift certificate from

yours truly, LJLS, Brown Bag Bargain queen.
Guesses should be submitted on Facebook.

Here we go.

There are 14 Itty Bittys, 7 Little Golden Books,
8 packs of  fancy bridge tallies, 8 packs 
r/w/b paper plates, 3 lovely Mary's 
Angels wood play sets for little ones, and
5 purse lights.

Here are the play sets up close.

There are nine beautifully gift boxed white
satin bibs, a cute zebra baby "thing," 
2 tall and 2 shorter metal candle stands,
7 packs of Hallmark envelopes and notes, 
and 2 packages of Aromatique potpourri.

One candle holder, one Precious Moments
figurine, 2 super hero books, and
7 Disney sticker books.

These are "Shred Lite" necklaces
made of remnants. 

**We're there!**

These things have a common theme...
The bag says "Cheers to the "Mr and Mrs,"
the wrapping paper "Happily Ever After,"
and the picture frame "Just Married."
Perfect for the Mimi of the bride!

There were several "one of a kind" things,
including this "Because I said so" bag.

I got 4 of these cranberry and citrus cider
drinks--even though the pic only shows 3.
I gave one to a friend when showing her 
"my loot."
(Can't wait for fall--I'm giving me at least
one of these!)




So that's it--93 items.
I meticulously added up the original
prices and added tax.
So...how much do you think I got?
Make your guess on Facebook.
I'll give everyone time to throw their
hat in the ring and won't announce
the winner of the gift certificate until
Monday evening.

A Week of Disney Wonder

I have to tell you--it was truly magical!

Shirley and I (the traveling grannies), Rob, and Susan

flew to Vancouver to meet the ship carrying our

Madeline around for the last few months.

All of us were missing our Susannah immensely,

needless to say.

Susan found us a lovely hotel in Vancouver from which

we could see the Disney Wonder cruising into

port very early on Monday morning!

Here she comes!!!

Maddie got off the ship to meet us!
First time Shirley and I have seen her in months!
Just to be sure you know...she is a mainstage
performer on this beautiful ship, for a period
of 9 months.

She had bought these shirts for us!
(Including one for Rob which you will see later.)
She also had a giant gift bag full of Disney goodies
in our cabin waiting for us!

And here we are shopping at Nordstrom in Vancouver!

And back on the ship...

One of my special hidden talents is...
making the tallest soft serve cone on the ship!

I know Shirley was probably jealous!


We sailed with confidence after our muster drill!
Had the cutest leader!

Then the best looking greeter for
The Golden Mickeys!
What a fabulous show it was!

Our first stop was Icy Strait Point, Alaska.

We went whale watching...

and saw lots of whales!

Didn't I get some good shots?

No--Rob did!

This happened almost every night.

Madeline would come to her Mom's and Dad's

cabin after the show and share with all of us!

A magical experience!

Next stop: Skagway

Breakfast (with a photo bomber!)

Traveling through beautiful Alaskan scenery to

see sled dogs.

Loaded up on the dry weather "sled"

being pulled by very excited, enthusiastic dogs! 

A professional shot of us making a corner
at very high speed!

Then we got to pet our dogs.

At a different location we got to hold

4 week old puppies!

This was the #1 excursion on my wish list,

and it exceeded my expectations!

Thanks, Madeline, for arranging it!

Unforgettable!

On our way to Dawes Glacier,

we saw these seals.

(Rob's picture.)

The beautiful Dawes Glacier.
(Photo Cred: Rob)

I thought this was an interesting picture with

the ship's shadow in the foreground of Dawes Glacier.

(Photo Cred: Me!)

We took one last fun excursion.

It was a duck tour--something I've always wanted to do.

This giant yellow vehicle toured us around Ketchikan,

then drove right into the water

 and toured us some more!

A highlight of the trip for us grannies was

being invited to the Royal Tea, 

presided over by the very entertaining 

Lady Chamomile and Chef Bruleé.

The tea provides an opportunity for the guests 

to meet 3 of the princesses up close and personal and

 receive a host of lovely gifts!

"Be Our Guest!"

Here are some shots with Mickey and pals!

On the final night we got to meet 

Fang and Hook Hand from Tangled

at TWMA ("Twama") or

Til We Meet Again.

(So you'll be in the know if you go!)

Those are lovely rats on Fang's shoulders.

The Disney Wonder is a wonder, as are all the

other Disney ships I am sure.

Elegant, luxurious, sophisticated.

The size of the Wonder was appealing to me.

I was surprised that there were many "unaccompanied

adults" - traveling without children!

I think the shows are top notch perfection,

although I acknowledge I was biased on this cruise.

The costumes and the wigs are exquisite.

The stories and music so beautiful.

The food was the best cruise fare I have had

in many years.

Can you tell I had a good time?

Thanks, precious Madeline, for allowing us to

live vicariously through you and your talent.

You've Been On Too Many Cruises If...Part 2

When last I left you I was cruising on the

Norwegian Breakaway with 50 pounds plus of

clothes, shoes, etc. (lots of etc.!)
and no bag in which to bring them home.

For Part 1 CLICK HERE

I was a well recognized daily visitor to Guest Services

as they debated what to do about my problem.

They readily accepted responsibility, but their...

Solution #1 was:

They brought out a nice new bag which I could

have, but it was a medium size.

No way would it hold all my stuff.

And they were sorry. They didn't have a bigger one.

Solution #2 was:

They offered me $50.
And said I could file a claim on my travel
insurance as well. (Sounded shady.)

My bag wasn't an expensive one, but it had cost

about twice what they offered.

Solution #3 was:

They would reimburse me for the cost of a new

bag up to $100.

The only problem with that was we were cruising

to tiny ports in the Caribbean.

Where was I going to find a big bag to buy?

"Cozumel," they told me. (Our last stop.)

"There is a big shopping center at the port, and

they will have one there for sure."

And they did. They had ONE (1) (UNO)!

It was a typical mall with dozens of souvenir,

handbag, jewelry, and liquor shops.

It was hot as could be, but I walked the entire

thing, finding nothing.

I can't remember how I finally found the ONE

large bag in Cozumel--in a shop past Senòr Frog's,
in a back corner where I would not have gone.

It was kind of a miracle.

It was a fake Louis Vuitton.

With an obnoxious saleslady.

She said it was $350, and when I balked

reminded me I was gettig a LV!

I couldn't say anything sarcastic, because

I had to get home.

I bargained to the best of my ability, but

still had to pay $250.

Since the bag was more than $100 Guest Services
gave me n.o.t.h.i.n.g.
They said I would have to file on 
my travel insurance.
Which I have not had the fortitude to try yet!


A day at sea and it was time to disembark.
No problem. Disembarkation has became a snap.
Usually I walk straight off the ship with no
waiting in line.
Instead of going through Customs, there is now
something called "Facial Recognition" which 
clears one back into the U.S. easily and quickly.
Except on this voyage of the Breakaway!


I came down and faced the rudest of awakenings.
There was a line to disembark which rivaled
anything you have ever seen at Disneyworld.
It was not serpentine, just stretched for miles.
After inching forward for about 45 minutes, I
finally was able to see the exit.
All I had to do was get there and scan off.
But...wait. Two staff members were allowing about
a dozen people to exit, then stopping and
holding up the line.


I asked with extreme exasperation WHY we were
being held up like that.
One of the employees said that it was because the facial
recognition was taking place on the ship.
That was totally wrong.
Once I got off I never stopped "walking" 
(it was more like "limping along" by then)
before claiming my gen-u-ine Louis and  
arriving at the taxi stand.
There were about 5 lines for facial recognition, 
in the terminal, and not one person in any line.



I was so agitated by this time that I had
completely forgotten my unfortunate choice 
of attire for the day.

Yes, I thought it might be a good conversation starter,
never dreaming the conversation might take
an unkind direction.


Only the monkeys and macaws made it worthwhile!
I think my traveling days may be over for a while
Home is looking pretty good.
Except for...a trip to see my Madeline performing
on the Disney Wonder later this month!
I just know I can wear my t-shirt on that one!

You've Been On Too Many Cruises If...

you're embarrassed to blog about your latest.

Yes, I planned to keep it a secret, but then this happened:

How can I possibly keep this to myself?

I can't.

So this is how it came about.

Anytime I am home and my kids are hither, thither 
and yon, I start "just looking" at where I could go.
(I might or might not look other times, too.)

I ALWAYS find something irrestible.

This time it was on the Norwegian Breakaway,

a megaship I have sailed and loved.

The date was not ideal--only one week after I

got home from Colombia--but the perks were

again...irrestible.

I got the specialty dining package, the drink package,

250 internet minutes, $50 excursion credit at all

4 ports, and prepaid gratuities.

Most of these were a first for me, believe it or not!

The trip did not begin well.

This is my suitcase as it was delivered to my cabin.

It had been handled so roughly that

one of the rear wheels and a big chunk of the plastic

 were missing. This was a BIG problem that 

hung over me all week.

Since this cruise was going to be my little secret,

I did not take many pictures.

I did take some in the thermal spa (I paid extra

 to be able to go here because it is

one of my favorite things about the ship.)

Heated tile loungers

Just me and Father Tim in the salt room 

(Reading Mitford Series by Jan Karon)

I had two of my specialty restaurant dinners here
at the French restaurant, Le Bistro.

The view:

The pouring of the soup: (Mushroom)

The entreé: (Veal Medallions)

The dessert: (Profiteroles)

See why I went back?


Now remember, one of my perks was a $50 credit
toward an excursion in each port.
Our first port was Roatan, Honduras.
I decided to take this one:

And that was the best decision of my trip...
and when sharing became a must!
These are all professional photos!

You are messing up my perfect hair!
(But it's okay.)


The only other port I found an excursion I wanted
to take in was Belize.
It was a very pleasant short boat ride during
which I got to see manatees.
These shots were taken by our guide, since
I remembered my recent porpoise shots.

I did something else different and fun. 
On the Cruise Compass one of the first days,
there was a drawing I could enter to have
"dinner with an officer."
I entered and later received my invitation.
Here is our group:
a lst Officer, a 2nd Officer, another grandmother,
and her two granddaughters.

It was a very compatible group and
 a lovely evening!

  
Another way I justified going on this cruise
was that it encompassed my birthday!
Look what Jay and Terri arranged for me
as a surprise!

That cake was fabulous!



I'm going to end on this very happy note!
But the cruise did not.
Stay tuned if you want to hear about the
unpleasant (and a leetle bit funny) conclusion.