New cubicle decoration

I saw this on LinkedIn this week.

It's now part of my cube decor. I have a feeling I will be tempted to point to it while dealing with some of our customers.

Coconut Shrimp with Mango Sauce

This recipe combines two of my favorite foods- shrimp and mango. I hadn't made it in a while, so yesterday I prepared it for lunch.

Doesn't it make you happy just looking at that? I served it over couscous, and it was fabulous. In addition to being tasty, the shrimp, coconut, and mango bring to mind a being on the beach somewhere tropical. Nothing wrong with that either.

The season of friendship

In my life I have had different occasions where I felt there was a theme of my life at that time. For example, when I left my last job it was the season of rest. I was worn out emotionally from the crazy that was that place. Currently I believe I am in the season of friendship, and that is very nice.

In the last couple of weeks I've
- had lunch with a friend I had seen in 6-7 years
- gotten back in touch with someone I hadn't heard from in probably a year
- met up with another friend I only get to see a few times/year

I am very fortunate to have great people in my life, and the opportunity to spend time with them.

Toasted coconut and chocolate chips scones

As you may recall, I have a bit of an obsession with scones. It's all my friend Jen's fault. She lived in London for a while, and when I went to see her I became hooked on these bits of British deliciousness. This weekend I tried a new scone recipe that appeared in the April issue of Better Homes and Gardens- Toasted coconut and chocolate chip scones. The finished product appears below.

They taste every bit as good as they look. The recipe can be found by googling. I can't post it as it requires you to log in to view. Definitely a great addition to my weekend breakfast.

What a contrast

This weekend I had dinner with friends. All six of us have valid passports and have been to multiple countries. I was struck by what a contrast this is to the customers I see at work. Many of them are loathe to cross the bridge less than 5 miles from my office that connects our area to the large metropolitan city in the neighboring state.

Life is about priorities

There was recently a large apartment fire in a nearby city that displaced people from 48 units. Thankfully no one was seriously injured. One of the things struck me after the fact was the lack of renters insurance among the tenants. Of the 48 apartments, 1 person had rental insurance. I was floored. Renters insurance is dirt cheap. Mine is less than $15/month. I asked a few people- how many of those renters had cable? Probably more than 1. If you can afford cable, a luxury (yes, it is), then you can afford renters insurance, a necessity.

I shouldn't be so surprised. I have to document customer budgets for some of our programs at work, and most renters don't have renter's insurance. I had one this week as a matter of fact. I told him in an unofficial capacity he needs to get it. My upstairs neighbors don't have it either that last time I checked. Again, they were counseled to obtain it posthaste. Even one of my siblings didn't have it when she first got her own place. However, one of her siblings ratted her out to my mom. Once Mom was on the case, rental insurance was promptly secured.

Life is about priorities. For most of us there will also be more wants than money. We need to cover our needs first though. Being burned out of your apartment would be horrible. It would add insult to injury to have no insurance to replace your belongings because you'd spent the money on "fun" instead.

Deal of the week

Last week there was a $5 coupon in the newspaper for the brand of contact solution I prefer. It was also on sale for $8.99 at Rite Aid. I received 2 copies of that particular coupon insert, so Monday I purchased 2 bottles. On my receipt were 2 $3 coupons for the same item. I knew from experience that you can stack these coupons with the manufacturer ones from the paper. It was time to find some more coupons! I got one from the newspaper at work, and my mom gave me one from her newspaper. Thanks Mom!

Saturday it was back to Rite Aid with all my coupons in hand. With tax I paid $3.24 for 2 bottles. That was an amazing deal. But it got even better when I got home and looked at my receipt. It seems there was also a promotion on the product- buy $20 worth, get 400 Plenti points. This represents $4 off my next Rite Aid purchase of $4 or more. The $20 is based off the sale price before coupons. So essentially I got paid $0.76 to buy the last two bottles. That is my kind of deal.