Jesse, I am totally going there this weekend because they sent me a $15 coupon.

OK, y'all, I need help with a present for my sister. She's...uh...a lot like me. She likes books. She likes coffee (but I'm getting her husband coffee stuff), normally I get her some nice makeup and a Sephora gift card, because it's something she enjoys playing with but might not spend money on otherwise. But I feel like I've done it a bunch...she also will, starting Monday, have a 3 year old foster kid living with her. Help? (Oh, price range around $50)

This is the most pathetic thing to be happy about, but our cleaners called and have to come next week instead of tomorrow, so we don't have to clean up for them tonight.

Aw, one of my salespeople gave me a gift card to bath & bodyworks. She probably gave them to everyone, but she actually mailed it to my home address which feels like extra effort, so I am touched.

I am drawing a blank on ideas for your sister, meara, but I will keep thinking.

Pretty sure it gets more pathetic than that, Dana. Relief at not needing to tidy up is perfectly corpulent, whatever the cause.

ETA: I drew our Director's name for the secret santa thing at work. I should probably put some effort into it, huh? He didn't do the 3 suggestions thing, though...

Jesse, I am totally going there this weekend because they sent me a $15 coupon.

Yep -- the $15 off, plus my birthday treat, plus whatever I could get for reward points, plus all the samples. Sold! And honestly, for your sister, I think nice makeup and whatever would be even more appreciated with a three year old around.

Yeah, I just took a look at some places you can take kids or whatever, but memberships to the Children's Museum or the Zoo are about $200, which is more than I would spend. Though now I have a few ideas of things we could do (bounce house has a preschoolers-only time!) while I'm in town.

What about one of those Entertainment books that has a lot of coupons to places like zoos and other kid things? Those are pretty national, aren't they?

I'm really glad most of my coworkers and boss were telecommuting today because I had to mute the speakerphone when someone else in the room started laughing at the face I made in the last meeting of the day. We had a long discussion later how we really really need to dial down our boss's Pollyanna can do attitude, because it's becoming a bigger problem. They call me Eyeore to her Pollyanna, and I've been gone a lot and she outranks me so she's been getting the last (bad, I think) call but a lot of folk are switching to Team Eyeore. Especially the people getting fucked by my mandatory absence.

Meara, you might look at memberships to smaller regional museums that are part of a larger association. I can't find the damned card at the moment, but, for example, my dad buys all of us membership in the southern NM Museum of Natural History (he's a board member) for something like $25 per year. With that, I get huge discounts or free entry at various museums and centers around the US.MD Science Center for about 25%, my brother gets his family in free to their favorite rainy day science center (vs $300 annual membership!) etc.

I'll see if I can find more info...

Ok they are a part of the Smithsonian Affiliate program, though I think that isn't the only one.

Oh, what a long day. Eye doctor at 10:40, don't get in till 11:15, then it turns into 3 hours of tests and exams and discussions we had six months ago. But in February I have the right eye done, and in March the left eye. There is a cataract in the left eye, though not as bad as the right, so it would have to be done eventually, and doing both only gives me a month of trying to juggle vision that is wildly different between the two eyes. I was worried about the cost, but that's what the savings account is for, as well as that stash of cash in my desk drawer from the housemate's rent.

I then had a few hours' break before the afternoon appointment with my regular doctor, where my blood pressure was worrisomely high--I need a refill on some drugs, which I' getting tomorrow--and we discussed possible thyroid issues, the perfectly resasonable depression issues, and how diabetes is such a bitch to deal with.

So I got to spend the day berating myself for my sloth and self-destructive habits and wondering what crowbar is necessary to get better choices into my head.

Thankfully I was able to get my longing-for-Hubby crying jags in the bathroom and not in front of doctors or staff. So tired of explaining things to strangers. At least my regular doctor understands.

Oh, and I am glaucoma-suspect, so there's a field of vision test in January. whee. He's not sure what's going on, because the pressure in the eye is low, which contraindicates glaucoma. Weird thicknesses in the nerve layer in the back of the eye.