Know Any Cheapskates?

          Sure you do. You know me. Okay, I’m not the worst cheapskate ever, but I do try to use the very last of the toothpaste before I toss the tube. I tell myself I’m being thrifty and frugal—much nicer words—but I also get great satisfaction knowing that I re-use and repurpose bottles and boxes that most folks throw away, and even greater satisfaction when I find good deals that save beaucoup buckos.

          St. Bob and I are well matched. One time he started a dining club called Cheap Restaurants of All Kinds (Acronym: CROAK). Maybe I should start a penny-pinchers’ club where we get together and brag about bargains we’ve come across.

          Meanwhile, I decided to see where the term “cheapskate” originated. Turns out nobody really knows (or were they just too cheap to do a study?). It started popping up in the late 1800s, has nothing to do with skates, and generally means someone miserly and stingy.

          Well that’s entirely different. I’d be much more likely to splurge on a gift than on something for myself.  And, with Christmas approaching, we all try not to be like Scrooge.

          BUT… I do have an amazing suggestion for you as you scour the internet and stores for gift ideas. It’s a terrific present that only costs $3.49, less than the price of a greeting card! Perfect for everyone on your gift list. Yes, it’s my latest work, a short story about gratitude called ALittle Christmas Prayer, and it’s perfect for kids or grownups of any faith. Hint: Sometimes it takes a child to raise a village.

10 Things You Didn't Know About Chocolate

          Yep, it’s that chocolatey time of year. Actually the entire year is chocolatey if think about it. There’s Halloween which we just had, then Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years' LOADED with goodies, then Valentine’s Day, then Easter, then Mother’s Day, weddings, birthdays, then chocolate ice cream all summer, and now we’re back at Halloween again.

          But did you know these 10 facts about chocolate?

1. When wanting to melt chocolate, most people use chocolate chips. But those were formulated not to melt, so they could maintain their shape when baked in cookies.

2. We've all heard that dark chocolate is heart-healthy, but I have inside info on this, from a friend of the man who led that study. Turns out they only tested dark chocolate. So milk chocolate is probably just as heart-healthy. Just not vegan.

3. Aztecs and Mayans used cacao beans as currency and yes, they had counterfeiters making cacao beans from clay. 

4. The earliest form of it was hot chocolate, and that stayed the case for hundreds of years. “Eating chocolate” came much later.

5. Africa is the main producer of cacao beans.

6. Hershey’s makes 70 million kisses a day (and so named because of the sound the machine makes).

7. White chocolate isn’t technically chocolate, but does contain cocoa butter. 8. The chocolate industry makes over $75 billion in annual worldwide sales.

9.   The blood in Psycho's famous shower scene was actually chocolate syrup. 10.The Snickers candy bar was named after the Mars family’s beloved horse.

Now that I have you salivating for chocolate, there’s one more fact that will give you some willpower: It's believed that people who are allergic to chocolate are actually allergic to cockroaches, as around eight insect parts are typically found in a bar of chocolate, according to the Food and Drug Administration (Google it). Yikes!

Thankfully, no insect parts are in any of my books, which make marvelous Christmas gifts.  You can find them all here, and the most recent one, A Little Christmas Prayer, is a timeless short story about how one boy raised a village. Only $3.49— perfect for those little gifts you need to buy in bulk.

What You Don’t Need to Get Me for Christmas

          Online shopping has changed the world. And whether you shop online or in brick-and-mortar stores, you’re probably doing more of it this time of year as we look for Christmas and Hannukah presents to give those we love.

And that means catalogs in your mailbox, ads on your screens, and marketing of all kinds urging you to buy, buy, buy.

But some gifts deserve a bye-bye. Here are several gifts you don’t need to give me for Christmas:

First, a Dog DNA test which costs $60-$130.  I cannot fathom feeling blessed by knowing my chihuahua-terrier mix is officially part chihuahua and part terrier.  People who care about those things usually have purebred dogs with pedigree papers.  The rest of us have mutts and the last thing we need to know is that they’re part Australian Shepherd and should be a whole lot smarter than they’re letting on.

And speaking of dogs, I also don’t need a Smart Dog Collar. First of all, that sounds like it’s for smart dogs and that lets Mickey out of the running entirely. But even if you realize this is a collar with GPS tracking, don’t you know where your dog is, already? Are people really leaving the doors open and giving their dogs run of the entire world?

I also don’t need unicorns made of particle board that you can burn in your fireplace, a blanket that looks like a tortilla so you can be a burrito, a gnome disguise for my blender, a skull butter dish, a birdhouse that looks like a football helmet, a shark costume for my cat, hot sauce guaranteed to induce a heart attack, or a sofa cover that looks like a giant Lego.

I know, I know, some of these gifts just cry to be purchased, but this year you can save untold sums of money by not getting me any of the above. Instead—and this will stay nicely inside anyone’s budget—you can buy a boatload of my new books (A Little Christmas Prayer) on Amazon for only $3.49 each! This heartwarming Christmas story about gratitude is perfect for kids or adults of any faith. Aren’t you glad you subscribe to this blog? Now your shopping is done!

Does Your Dog Do This?

          Most of us like dogs and agree that all dogs go to heaven; they have such trusting, sweet souls. But every dog seems to have a quirk of some kind.

          I was feeding the neighbors’ dog when they were away recently, and was told the dog had FOMO—Fear of Missing Out.  Apparently, even when they’re home, the dog cannot bear to be fed in a room away from the action, where everyone is gathered. She will race into the laundry room for her kibble, then bring mouthfuls back to eat in their company, glancing nervously from one person to another to make sure she isn’t missing anything.

          Mickey, our Chihuahua-Terrier mix, also has an acronym for her quirk: OTTJ--  Over The Top Jealousy. She cannot abide affection being shown to the cat and will intervene, nudging your hand up and away with her nose. She has even sat on guard duty at the doggie door, hoping to keep Simon outside.  

          Once I was dangling a string for the cat, then got busy with phone calls. When I turned around, there was Mickey with the string in her mouth. She doesn’t even like strings. She just didn’t want Simon to have it.

          But I guess dogs aren’t alone having initialed disorders. I asked a friend at church how she was doing and she said, “Fine. Which stands for Freaking out, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional.”  Ah, yes, I know that one well.

Here’s another acronym I like: GAB, which means Get A Bargain. Okay, I made that up. But you can save a fortune purchasing my latest book—A Little Christmas Prayer—which costs less than a greeting card! Perfect for everyone.