Karen’s Opinion

We are supposed to have record breaking cold temperatures beginning tomorrow. I don’t know if I am ready. I want to escape!

I would love to visit Branson again. (That’s me in the photo above).

Branson is the entertainment capital of the Midwest and offers so many shops and boutiques that you can shop until you drop. There are as many restaurants that would enable you to visit a different one every day of the week. During the winter months, their Hilton Branson Escape Package offers many exciting programs that make winter a lot more inviting. The Polar Plunge is a great event that raises money for charity. I doubt I would participate in that but it sure would be fun to watch others plunging their warm bodies into freezing water in the name of charity.

The Winter Escape Package available at the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel also offers a different type of art festival. Branson holds an Annual Ice Carving festival. I would love to see the beautiful sculptures that the artists produce. I have heard that they are amazing.

Although the events would be fun, I would be as happy to settle in at the Hilton Promenade and read a book. I love getting away and relaxing. Not having to cook is another lure for me. Branson has a beautiful river walk that is fun and lets everyone enjoy nature’s beauty. That’s the wonderful thing about Branson. You can be as busy as you want or relax in ways that fit your needs.

What is it about taxes that makes me procrastinate? I feel resentful that it takes so much time for me to gather stuff to take to the accountant. I don’t want to do it.

This morning I trimmed my dog’s toenails. Now that is real procrastination. I have never trimmed Brody’s nails before and let me tell you, he did not like it one bit. He snarled and growled as if he would take a chunk out of my hand if I didn’t stop. He hates taxes too.

I vacuumed lady bugs out of my window sills. The lady bugs of this world are probably peeved at my choice of procrastination. They would have enjoyed pooping on my windows for a few more days.

Tax preparation is a horrible job.

I think I’ll go bake a cake, or trim my toenails. I think the fringe on my area rug needs adjusted.

I have been cracking up at my dogs. They have been acting crazy with a new toy. It is hard to find something durable enough to withstand those two’s antics. They usually destroy every toy I buy for them. They love stuffed toys but shred them in no time. After much searching, I finally found a great a toy from PetGadgets.com – Innovative Pet Products. Their Powzer Fetch n Dash is made of the most durable plastic that even my dogs cannot destroy it. Elsie, especially, loves this ball. She sits at the closet and whines so I will get it down for her. LOL Thank you, thank you Pet Gadgets! I finally found a toy my dogs cannot destroy! Now they can play and get some exercise and I don’t have to constantly pick up destroyed toys.

Are you having trouble finding toys your animals enjoy? Pet Gadgets has unique items for your pet. They have treat launchers, cool and unusual pet beds and other items you thought were only available to the rich and famous. They have items for all types of pets. Cats, birds, horses and gerbils are just a few of the animals for whom you will find products. Is your turtle bored? Check out their floating turtle log! Pet Gadgets is a cool place. Check it out.

This has been the weekend to watch movies. The weather has made our roads very icy and I do not like to drive on ice. There are too many people who like to get right on my bumper because they think I drive too slow on ice.

Last night we watched Burn After Reading. What a strange movie! It reminded me of Fargo. In fact, it had the woman who starred in Fargo. The movie was odd and took a long time to find the plot. I thought we were in for a dud but it did, finally, get interesting. It was hard to tune out the F word because it was said so many times. I hate when a movie uses it over and over. I only recommend this movie if there is absolutely nothing more to rent.

Tonight we are watching Righteous Kill. It is pretty intense. I think I know who is doing all the killing but am afraid I am wrong. It is just too obvious. Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are both in this movie. From IMDB;

Two veteran New York City detectives work to identify the possible connection between a recent murder and a case they believe they solved years ago; is there a serial killer on the loose, and did they perhaps put the wrong person behind bars?

Good so far….

I hate to come to my blog and complain but it is better to get it out than to kick the dog. Not that I would really kick the dog. I just need to vent.

The week of Christmas, my son said he really needed a pair of shoes. He wanted a good pair that would last. I hadn’t finished his shopping yet and had intended to buy him some luggage. I thought that this would be a better gift. We headed off to the mall to search for a good pair of shoes. We found a pair that he liked but they didn’t have his size in stock so we ordered them. Greg is home from grad school and we thought they would surely come in before he left again for school. Nope. The shoes have not come in yet. Why did we spend our time and energy, oh and gas to drive around searching for a pair of shoes that were never going to make an appearance?

I kick myself now. I am the one who orders all her stuff online. Why didn’t I think to do that with his shoes? I don’t have to go from website to website looking because Shop Wiki does the searching for me. They don’t work like the regular search engines who get paid to list their sites. ShopWikii finds everything for sale on the web. Their search encompasses thousands of websites! I could have put “Men’s shoes” into their search box and a selection of the styles Greg wants would have popped up. (I tried it and am sick about the money I could have saved).

You should try the website for your shopping. It is simple to use. For instance, if you wanted to find a birthstone ring to celebrate your daughter’s 16th birthday, you would simply type in the word jewelry. You can narrow down your search by using a variables such as price. Their website crawls online stores to find the best fit for your query. Say, you forgot which stone represents the month of March, ShopWiki has resources to help with that too. I checked out what stones were for February, clicked on Amethyst and OMG!!! I am in love with the choices that popped up! I am drooling over this loose faceted amethyst that is only $125.00! That is an unbelievable price. Did you know that different stones represent anniversary months? I didn’t know that but I read it at ShopWiki. I got married in July so that means my anniversary stone is a ruby. Here is the stone I want: and this is the result for my search on necklace at ShopWiki. Aren’t they both beautiful? and I neeeeed them!

Another tool that I like at ShopWiki is their helpful reviews. You can find out the good and the bad about individual products. ShopWiki resources will help you decide which products fit your need and where to find them at the price that fits your budget. I love ShopWiki.