UncommonGoods for Uncommon Shoppers

Living in the Midwest, I'm rather used to winter. As a matter of fact, when I have ventured outdoors this week, I have done so looking like Randy from A Christmas Story.

Poor Randy.

I’m so bundled up that if you knocked me over, I’d fall down and be forced into snow angel servitude. And no, I can’t put my arms down either.

You can imagine how I feel, then, about going out to shop for Christmas in this type of weather. The thought of having to leave my warm home (or office) and foray out into the freezing cold does not appeal. Neither does standing in line, overheating in my too-hot coat. I'm in the throes of menopause, dammit. I don't have time for this.

That's why I have turned to shopping online. However, I have found that even having the entire world at my fingertips via my trusty laptop, I tend to get bored with the same old offerings from department stores and discount stores. In my search for something different, I ended up finding something amazing--UncommonGoods.

What? you may cry. Why should I click on that link when I can find the tried and true at Wally World?

I'm telling you why. Because you're going to find the most unusual items as you browse through their interesting website. Guys, having a problem finding something for your lady? Try this link for a plethora of gifts for women...933 of them, to be exact.

For instance, for the woman in your life who enjoys reading--or writing--here's a scarf that I think would be perfect.


For your writer lady.

You think that's cool? For women (like me) who think owl mugs are cool (also like me) you can also find these little beauties:

I want ALL of the owls.

I know, right? 

I can hear what you're saying, though. "Chris, Poopwa, may I just say that I don't have a special lady in my life. I'd just like to find something that's Uncommon. And Good." Well, here's what I have to say to that:  I give you the fire escape shelf, found in Home Decor. This is different, but in a good way, not in a I'm-just-trying-to-be-diplomatic way.

 

Now you just need a tiny criminal escaping the good guy.

 

Not into fire escapes, or plants? Everyone likes candles, though. Check out these beauties.

and my favorite color, too.

Personally, I don't know how people can go through life without having at least one candle lit during the day. I love candles and this set has both the beautifully cut glass and the color I like. Take notes, people. In case you're looking for gift ideas for me.

Speaking of gift ideas, recently I celebrated a big birthday...the big 5-0. I'd like to point out that this is something I would have liked:

 

She's beautiful. She's petite. She's beautifully crafted and hangs outside in your garden, where she hopefully will attract more fairies. If not, though, you haven't lost out because she's still a wonderful addition to your outdoor space. You can find more unique birthday gifts here.

The best part of the whole website, though? The people at UncommonGoods have worked since 1999 to bring only the best artisans together in one space. Their work is showcased on an easy to navigate site. I have spent many a lunch hour paging through their website, finding item after beautiful item. Anything you could purchase from them would be unique and well made.

Now, what I need is an UncommonCheckbook with a hefty balance so that I can buy every single thing I want from this company.

Find UncommonGoods on Facebook, Twitter, and that site no one can ever leave: Pinterest. Tell them Poopwa Foley sent you. They know me there.

Happy shopping!

 

 

Note: This post is sponsored by UncommonGoods. However, all comments and opinions are mine.

 

 

 

 

Naughty or Nice? Read all about the Writing Wenches here...

Naughty AND Nice, those Wenches. 

On December 1, a group of women (and one man they affectionately call “the barkeep”) who call themselves the Writing Wenches pulled off a pretty major accomplishment. They released an anthology collection of twenty-one holiday themed short romance stories, in a single volume, called Unwrapping Love.  It became available for sale on Cyber Monday of this year!

The book is huge. It's got 738 pages. I was one of several proofreaders and take it from me, there is some serious talent in this group of 21 authors. I am extremely proud to be a part of this anthology.

The book couldn't have been completed without the help and guidance of PageCurl Publishing and Promotions. Unwrapping Love was published under their imprint, and they provided editing, formatting, marketing, and cover design services. 

The following Writing Wenches are hosting a blog hop. Each of them is hosting a giveaway, and telling you a bit about her part in Unwrapping Love! You can stop by each website to learn more about the anthology and enter each individual giveaway, which will be posting over the next several days. 

Kay Blake contributed Winter's Gift. 

Kay Blake

 

Kay's cover!! so cute!

 

Christine Cacciatore...that's me!! wrote Noah Cane's Candy.

 

 

here's my cover...can't wait!

 

Patricia D. Eddy wrote On The Eve of Love.

Patricia Eddy

Here's another Christmas short from Patricia, available now on Amazon

C. S. Kendall is the author of Second Chance Girl. She would love it if you would visit her at her website.

CS Kendall

here's her cover!

Tami Lund is the author of The Perfect Christmas.

You can find her here . 

Misti Murphy contributed Christmas Candy, and you can find her here.

Misti Murphy

Quenby Olson wrote First Position, and you can visit her here.

Keisha K. Page contributed Rhythm of Love, and you can visit her here.

Here's Keisha!

Grace Ravel wrote Shut Up and Kiss Me, and you can visit her here.

Grace Ravel

Grace's cover

Jennifer Ray wrote Declan's Special.  Visit her here! 

Jennifer Ray

Here's Jennifer's Christmasy cover!

Jennifer Senhaji is the author of Angels in Disguise. Visit her here!

Jennifer's cover for Sweet Dreams

A.E. Snow contributed Miles and Mae, and you can visit her here.

AE Snow

cover for Miles and Mae!

Sheri Williams wrote Numb. 

Sheri Williams

Numb (in Neon!)

She is sharing the blog hop from the Writing Wenches main website at www.writingwenches.com.

S. K. Wills wrote Hanley's Secret, and you can find her website here. 

Allison Winfield is the author of Stay With Me. You can find her at here.

Allison Winfield

aw. Cute cover.

 

Other stories in Unwrapping Love were contributed by: 

Melody Barber

Sonja Frojendal

Melina Gillies

Michael Simko

Beth Stanley

K.R. Wilburn

***As part of my blog today, leave a comment in the comments section about what your very, very favorite holiday movie is.  I'll pick one at random and the winner will receive a $10 gift card from Amazon.com, where you can purchase Unwrapping Love, or any of the other books various Wenches have for sale!  Including mine I wrote with my sister...Baylyn, Bewitched and Cat, Charmed!

Good luck!

 

 

Touch my Nook.

It was a Christmas present, my new Nook.  I found out later that the very child I had made fun of for going out shopping on Black Friday had, in fact, waited in line for a very long, long time at a local store to buy a Nook for her mommy, at a very, very good price. 

not exactly a Nook, but you get the idea.

All that and a gift card to fill it!  And didn’t I feel like a horse’s ass for teasing?

I immediately mess it up play with it, in the process downloading what I found out later was a very norty book veiled as a romance novel.  It amounted to poorly written erotica.  I read skimmed it and wished for a red pen the entire time.  Don’t these people even edit?  Or attend church?

I figured out how to find the good books, the really good books, and managed to blow through my gift card in under seven minutes.  I also had several books pop up in my library that I didn’t order.  In chatting with a friend later, I discovered that she too had a couple show up in her Nook, uninvited, right around the time she had gone into (rhymes with Smarms & Coble) where there is wifi, as opposed to her home, which is wifi-lacking.

She went back in to Smarms & Coble to find out why these books were downloaded into her library and wouldn’t you know it, those books were gone.  Missing.  She was unable to find them anywhere in her Nook and hadn’t pushed any buttons to remove them.  Now, my friend is not a stupid person and has not begun seeing things that aren’t there.  Yet.

However, the skeevy bookstore employee obviously decided to have a little fun with her.

  

Friend:  Hi, I was just wondering why books I didn’t buy are being downloaded to my Nook? (Hands over Nook)

Bookstore:  (scrolls through her Nook library.)  You must have downloaded them.  Or someone lent them to you.  But they’re not in here anymore.

Friend:  (grabs Nook back, pages through) What the…They were just there!!! 

Bookstore:  (shrugs) Well, they’re not there now.  Next customer in line?

Friend:  Now, wait just a damn minute.  I can barely download books I want, much less lend stuff I didn’t buy!

Bookstore:  If they were ever even there (smirking) I’m thinking maybe that’s exactly what you did; you lent them to someone.  You can do that, you know, lend your Nook library to someone.  It’s in the directions.  That’s probably what you did.

Friend:  (voice is rising a little bit) I didn’t lend them to anyone!  I just got this thing, and I can’t work it; what makes you think that I am so technologically gifted that suddenly I learned how to share my library with someone?
 

Bookstore:  I’m just saying you probably touched your Nook to someone else’s.  Did you touch Nooks?  

Friend:  (gasps) I’ve never, even seen another person’s Nook, much less touch them together or let someone touch mine!  I’m not that kind of person!

Bookstore:  You had to have touched Nooks with someone.  It’s ok; we all want to see what other people’s Nooks look like.  It’s human nature.  Some people cover their Nooks with special decorations and some people just let them be au natural.  (Giggles) 

Friend:  (quietly, defeated) Mine has a light on it so I can use it in bed.

Bookstore:  Oh, a party girl, huh? 

Because I was laughing so hard as she related that story to me, I hardly heard anything past “touching Nooks together.”

Wait…I think I already downloaded that book.

Christmas wishes. And gift cards.

My husband asked me the other day for a Christmas list.  I hemmed.  I hawed.  I wrote a total of:  two things.  One, a good pair of silver hoops for everyday wear (read:  days when I'm too lazy to look at my earring "shirt" and find something color coordinated) and also a soft, comfy black cardigan.  Oh, I may have mentioned "a ring" too.  In that silly, girly, breathy I-want-sparkly-jewelry sort of way. 

Are there other things I want?  Sure there are.  However, I'm the one who does the most Christmas shopping (I'm a control freak) and when I see something around Christmas time that I want, weeeeeellllll, pretty much I get it. 

Case in point...ordering from Kohl's online today.  Got everything I needed for other people but WHAT'S THAT???  Pajama pants with penguins on them?  Yes, please.  Click!

I'm a procrastinator.  I don't do my Christmas shopping like a lot of people, which is to say that I do it much later.  As of right now, I'm only about 50% done and instead of being out shopping right now...I'm writing.  And thinking seriously about a glass of wine.  But really, my kids are old enough now that they would rather have gift cards.  And how long does it take to go get a gift card?  They don't run out, they're always the right size, and the kids really, truly appreciate them. 

I buy gift cards as opposed to the jeans or shirts I would get them once upon a time that would sit in their closets, tagged, until they were outgrown and given to Amvets, mostly because those ba$tards at Plato's Closet buy everyone else's stained, torn clothing but not my new stuff that has tags on it.  People at Plato's Closet, pay attention.  Stop buying crap from your friends. 

I buy gift cards for the kids because I don't have a personal shopper.  Because I am not very good at picking out things that my children would actually wear.  The only things I'm pretty safe buying for them are camisoles (for the girls, and maybe one for me) and funny t shirts (for the boy, and maybe one for me).  I don't really have any sort of sense of style or color matching ability.  What this means is I wear black pants a LOT.
 
Popular gifts for the youngsters:  McDonalds gift cards.  Victoria's Secret gift cards.  Walmart, or Target, or Plato's Closet gift cards (for those children who like Abercrombie jeans without the Abercrombie price).  Gas station gift cards.  A gift card at virtually any store that would actually prevent me from picking out actual clothes, thinking, "Oh, (fill in name of unfortunate child) would just love this.  It would look so great on them.  So smart.  She/he could even start a fad."*

*Note to my mother:  nothing that you said would start a fad actually STARTED a fad. 

And of course, in their Christmas stockings, it's pretty standard:  candy, scratchoff cards, body wash, a Christmas Pez thingie.  An orange.  A candy cane.  Hope they're not looking at this because then they'd know what's in their stocking.  Again.  For the fifth year in a row.

(Actually, thinking about this, why the orange?  Why, because my mother used to put one in my stocking.  Sometimes we'd poke the candy cane IN THE ORANGE and suck out orange juice.  We were hardcore like that.  I also remember my sister and I getting Leggs.  Remember?  pantyhose in the egg container?  Good times.)

No matter what you gift your children with, or how soon or late you shop, it's a wonderful time of year for sharing with friends and family.  That's my focus.  In the hustle and bustle of baking, shopping, holiday parties, etc, it's really easy to lose sight of that.

And that leads me to remember one more thing that is on my Christmas list, every single year...that my family stay happy and healthy.  It is really the most important thing in the world to me.  Every year I hug my family a little tighter.  And next year, there will be a little granddaughter to celebrate with!  I am literally quivering with joy.

Merry Christmas!

Random acts of Christmas

Last year around this time, my 20 year old daughter got to see the ultimate example of the Christmas spirit in action.  Up until October of this year, she was a "comp peer" for a 13 year old girl I'll call Becky through the Mildred Berry program in Rockford.  It works much like a Big Brothers/Sisters program.

To my daughter, it meant giving up half of her Saturday or Sunday every week or every other week to go do something with this little girl.  They went to a craft show, they went out to movies, visited the library, etc.  Sometimes they came back to the house, where Becky would play on the computer, or with our puppy, or watch DVD’s with my daughter.

For Becky's birthday last December, my daughter took her to IHOP for breakfast.  As my daughter never has met a stranger, she was chatting with the older gentleman sitting close by, who had overheard my daughter and Becky talking.  She was explaining the program to him and the fact that it was Becky’s birthday.   Finished, he got up to leave, told them Merry Christmas and walked to the front of the restaurant to pay his check.

A few minutes later, my daughter asked the waitress to bring their check and was extremely surprised to hear that the mysterious gentleman who had been talking to them had very graciously picked up their check.  Their benefactor came back to their table to tell Becky to have a happy birthday.  

What happened next was truly a Christmas miracle, as he smiled and again opened his wallet to give Becky a crisp $100 bill to spend on her birthday or for Christmas.

It was more money than Becky had ever seen at one time.  She was in tears, my daughter was in tears, and even the waitress who had overheard the entire exchange was in tears.   A complete stranger had just paid for their breakfast and then gave this disadvantaged little girl $100.

Those two girls will never, ever forget what happened that cold December morning, and neither will I.  The Christmas spirit is alive and well, everyone.

ps...They finally did get his name before he left because they wanted to send a thank you note.  Being the internet sleuth that I am, (she said modestly) I did a Google search to find the address and found that there was no one by that name in Rockford or the surrounding areas. 

Somehow I was not surprised.

Hey, Santa Claws!!!

Dear Santa. 

I have penned several letters to you this year, all of them unanswered.  This time, I waited until my human went to bed to use the laptop.  Although you can't read dog, I'm pretty sure you can read Times New Roman.   

Santa, I have been a very good boy this year.  I know this because my humans have told me so, over and over again, especially when I’m outside using the potty.   

Do you remember that present I asked for last year?  A new playmate?  And you bought the kitten we named Miss Whiskers?  The one that showed up with a red bow on her tiny little kitten head?   

It turns out that kittens are all cute and fluffy when you get them.  Harmless.  Tiny.  Adorable.  And then, before you know it, they turn on you. Santa, I don’t want bones or chew toys this year.  I don’t want a stuffing free animal.  (You and I both know I can tear that thing apart)  

What I would really like this year is this:  when you come to drop off the presents under the tree for my people, take that cat back with you.  Please.  That cat is a total beach.  I know this because I heard my human say, “That cat is a beach.  She never comes when I call.”  

And she is so mean!  She hisses at me constantly, tricking my owners into thinking I'm the one being naughty.  If I try to make friends and wag my tail at her, she tries to bite it.  Once I bowed to her (yes, I'll admit I was being sarcastic) and barked, and she whapped me across the nose. What other choice did I have but to chase her throughout the house?  It got me nowhere but chained up outside for an hour.  Don't get me wrong.  I like outside, Santa, but the cat laid on the windowsill the entire time mocking me.  It stung.  I was humiliated.   

She frames me for household crimes, too.  She unrolled the entire roll of toilet paper and left some by me while I napped.  I got blamed.  She got up on the counter and knocked down the box of dog treats on accident.  I know that mice can be a problem in the neighborhood so, Santa, I was merely keeping our home rodent free when I ate them all up.  Did they thank me?  No.  I got a newspaper swat on the rear. 

The worst thing, though, is that Miss Whiskers hides.  She hides.  And when I least expect it, she springs up from her hiding spot behind a door or whatnot and scares me half to death.  Twice now, the fright has been enough to make me piddle a little bit on the floor.  I bet you can guess who they blamed for that one too. 

As you can see, she has to go. 

Sincerely,  

Cooper (the Dog) 

PS  Sorry about the Christmas tree.  The beach knocked it over.