Opening Pandora's box

I went to the Bahamas in September 2010 and stayed at the Riu Paradise Island. They had a jewelery store in the lobby. I remember looking at these really pretty 'charm' bracelets that you buy the bracelet and then add all kinds of charms. I was going to buy one and took the brochure up to the room. I ended up not buying one.

Once I got home, I started to notice around friends and other people that they had these bracelets with all different charms. Similar to what I had seen in the Bahamas but not quite. People were telling me that these bracelets were called Pandora. The ones I had seen in Nassau were Chamilla, not Pandora.

My mom and I were lucky enough to be going on a cruise that December and I told her that when we got to Grand Cayman I was buying a Pandora.

When we arrived in Grand Cayman there we made a bee line for the Jewellery store. I saw the pandora logo and off we went.

My mother wasn't in the market for a bracelet, but as she looked at the charms, there was no turning back, two bracelets please.

We both started off with a few charms...and then a few more once we got home. It is a pretty safe thing to say that collecting Pandora charms was going to be one of those things....you just 'gotta have'.

For my birthday in February 2011 it was time to celebrate - and there was a party, with a lot of friends who were generous enough to buy me a lot of charms for the bracelet. A wrapped present, an airplane, a heart, a flower just to name a few. I think there were five charms added for my birthday.

Each charms started to represent either my favourite colour (purple in case you didn't know) or my job (suitcase and airplane) or my passion for purses. 

I was going to Vegas and I googled "pandora charms, vegas" and found out there was an exclusive charm just sold in Vegas - at the Forum shops, so of course I had to have it. When I went into the store, it felt like being on the Amazing race. I asked the girl, "do you have the charm?" she replied, "the exclusive charm"...it is a dice, so of course I had to have that.

That actually became something new to look for charms where I was travelling to. So, in New York, I bought the apple, and in Hawaii I bought the pineapple. At this point, my bracelet was full.

and then.....I saw it....and new I had to have it. The camera charm. But the bracelet was full....start a new one the lady at the store said....sure, not! But I had to have the charm. So, I took off a spacer and put the camera in its place.

I am sad in a way that the bracelet is full. Looking for new charms and then planning where each one would fit into its place was fun. Would I start a second bracelet? I don't know, you don't get multiple birthday gifts every single year. Maybe a necklace...maybe....we'll see.

For now, I have my very beautiful bracelet that I look at and smile when I am wearing it.

What's your favourite charm (if you have a Pandora)? What is on your wish list?

Dining with Character

Day 5 - today's post can be found by clicking here.

http://thestampsinmypassport.blogspot.ca/2012/11/dining-with-character.html

Thanks for reading,

See y'all tomorrow!!

Stars with the letter O

Today's blog post is on my travel blog and it can be found here.

http://thestampsinmypassport.blogspot.ca/2012/11/starts-with-letter-o.html

Thanks for reading,

see you tomorrow!

You've got mail

As you all know by now, I went to Israel in June of this year. I have blogged here on different occasions the impact of the JWRP trip had on me and my life. So many things have happened since returning, that it is hard to put into words sometimes.

On the second to last day of the trip, one of our excerises was to write a letter to ourselves. There weren't any 'guidelines' as how to write it, what to write. It was share with yourself what you are going through, feeling and hope and expect to go through and feel upon returning home. The letter would be mailed to you three months after returning from Israel.

Sounds easy enough...right?

So, here we are - 170 women sitting in the lobby and in classrooms of the Aish building in the Old City pouring out our hearts to ourselves on paper. It was very quiet (except for the sniffling that could be heard from around the room).

I didn't really know how to start? But at the end of it, I filled three pages. Signed it, wiped away my tears, sealed the envelope and put it in the box. Not to be seen again until sometime in September.

If you know me, you know that I don't get to my mailbox often. It is on the ground floor of the condo and I am hardly ever on the ground floor, I go from my suite to the underground and back. It was right around Rosh Hashana and I was in the car with my mom, and it occured to me that it was three months since I had been home from Israel. THREE MONTHS - my letter should be coming soon! So...what did I start to do - check the mail every day!

And then one day, there it was. I almost didn't recognize my own handwriting. Postmarked from Israel. My letter to myself. I went right upstairs to open it.

And what did I find in it? For the most part, exactly what I hoped to happen back on June 11, 2012 was happening. I asked a few of the other ladies from the trip if they had received their letters and how they felt about them. Everyone felt about the same as I did.

I actually left for Israel five months ago TODAY. I can't believe it has been five months. SO many amazing things have happened in my life in the last five months. I am very grateful for the opprotunities I been able to have and experience. I think it will continue for quite a while.

Thanks again for reading, I appreciate it.

Scanning the codes

I was in a clothing store in Florida last week and found a REALLY great top on a clearance rack (50% off). I tried it on, and loved it, so I went to purchase it. When the cashier gave me the total, I said to her, "that's not 50% off" to which she replied, "no, it is 30% off, is that okay?" Well, um, no it is not okay, I got it from the rack that was 50% off. I didn't pay right away and went back to show her where I got the shirt from, and obviously it was put back in the wrong place. The store gave it to me for the clearance price, I have a really nice shirt, all is good.

So....that always brings me back to the laws we have in Ontario and I think most of Canada. There is a scanning code of practice. Essentially what that means is that if the price at the scanner is wrong (scanning higher) and you catch the mistake, you can get the item free (max $10). If you are buying more than one of that item, you would only get the first one free and the additional items at the correct price.

It is amazing to me that so many people are not aware of this code. The next time you are at Wal mart for instance, look right below where the debit machines are, you will see a white sticker with the code printed right there. Right there, where you are checking out, and the prices are wrong all the time.

I would say that for me, it happens at the Loblaws brand of store most often. I have been the lucky recipient of free coffee, lettuce, melba toast, thank you cards, just to name a few.

Here is a short list (many more listed on the link attached above):
Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd.
The Home Depot Canada
Canadian Tire Corporation Ltd.
Toys r Us
Shoppers Drug Mart
Wal*Mart Canada Corp.
Giant Tiger Stores Ltd.
The North West Company
Best Buy/Future Shop
Loblaw Company Limited
Metro
Sobeys

There are also many independent stores that participate as well. It all comes down to being aware of the code and what your rights are if the price is scanned incorrectly.

The bottom line is you need to be an educated consumer. Know what is in your cart because most likely you have put it in the cart because it was on sale. Don't be afraid to question the cashier, even if this make the people behind you pissed. You can do what I do - while you are waiting for the price check, educate the person behind you, because they could be the next person to pay more than you have to at the cash!

See y'all tomorrow!

Move over Mo-vember!

Halloween is over...we are changing the clocks this weekend. They put down the snow mats in my condo this weekend. It can't be avoided. It is November 1st. That means that many men that you and I know are going to trade their clean shaven faces for a month of Movember.

For bloggers, November is the anniversary of NaBloPoMo.That acronym is National Blog Posting Month. Last year I was on facebook and saw that a fellow blogger (and extended family member) was going to participate in blogging every day for a month and we challenged each other to do it. She did 30 posts in 30 days, and I did 28 posts in 30 days. This year, I am ready to post 30 posts in 30 days.

How can you think of things to write about, someone asked me the other day? The truth is, if you know me, you know that I always have a story to share. Something that happened during my travels, or just my life in general. Earlier this year, I started to write about my travel in my professional travel blog. I will be writing there as well this month. Please follow my travel stories here.

So, here we go, NaBloPoMo....hopefully my stories, anecdotes about life as I see it, and my travel related information will help you fill the grey days of the month of November.

I was getting in my car today and looked up at a tree, and all the leaves had fallen, and I started to hum, "all the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey"....

Musical interlude today is California Dreamin', because let's face it, after Superstorm Sandy, who isn't dreamin' of California!

Decluttering my messes

I am currently sitting in my home office/den/collector of all things that don't have a home in my apartment. I am trying to clean up this space, well, all the spaces in my home. I am starting to think about the next 'home' that may be in my future, and before I can do that, I have to fix up this space.

For some people, they don't have 'messes' in their homes. They have found a way to detach themselves from things that have happened in their lives, trips they may have taken, shows they may have seen, paperwork that perhaps they have should have kept, but no longer have. That is not me.

I am currently sifting through piles of 'stuff'. By trying to declutter, I have actually made a much bigger mess.

There are people that specialize in helping people 'clean their messes'. One of them is Peter Walsh. He is a tv personality from Clean Sweep and has his own show on OWN. He goes into people's homes and he helps them find their way out of their "messes".

I like to keep things because they remind me of the good memories associated with them - like programs from plays I have seen, like the map I just found from Pere Lachaise Cemetary in Paris, to birthday cards, thank you cards, invitations to events and celebrations. These are times that have made me happy, and I think that keeping them will allow me to remember that time. Is that silly? I don't know, it is all party of my history. The events of my life.

What about the Food and Wine magazines that I enjoy, or the newspaper articles in the travel section, or memorial sections, etc. I guess I could read them one more time and then put them in the garbage bag.

This is much harder than I thought. I haven't REALLY done this in a long time. I would tidy up here and there, throw out a few bags of garbage and just put the rest of the stuff back where it was. I think I need to really get rid of the 'stuff'....but how is the question of the day?

I guess I should get off the computer now, and back to the piles that have been creeping up around me tonight.

Maybe you are just like me, and have to go through your messes. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share what has worked for you in the past.

I am open to ideas.....

Until next time,