Two huge things.

By now everybody probably knows that I do a LOT of shopping online. This is mostly because I can always find whatever I want for less money than the local retail stores PLUS there’s no shipping or sales tax, you never have to look for parking and your order is delivered to your doorstep. Recent purchases have included: 1) small kitchen appliances and bedding from Overstock; 2) inkjet cartridges from Epson; 3) room fragrances and plug-in scented oils from Yankee Candle; 4) cookware, DVDs, books, office supplies and household products from Amazon; and 5) practically everything else from Wal-Mart.

So here’s my first “huge thing.” I reordered my diabetic testing supplies a couple of days ago from the local pharmacy and sent Sam to pick them up this morning with my discount card. For those of you who may not be aware, diabetic supplies are so outrageously expensive that most people can’t even afford the insurance co-payment without signing up for a manufacturer’s discount program. In my case, the standard co-pay for a 60-day supply of teeny little disposable test strips costs ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS — minus 30% if you have a discount card. Apparently my card had expired, however, so Sam came home empty-handed to find out what I wanted to do.

This turned out to be a very brilliant move on Sam’s part, because while he was gone I DISCOVERED THAT I CAN BUY MY DIABETIC SUPPLIES FROM AMAZON DIRT CHEAP — AND WITHOUT A PRESCRIPTION. A few minutes ago I paid $45.65 for a 60-day supply of the same teeny little test strips, and I’m so excited I can hardly stand it. There were dozens of online product reviews practically kissing Amazon’s feet for making these products available at such a huge discount.

I wonder if a website can have feet.

As for my second “huge thing,” we just found out that Sam’s brother David is coming for a week-long visit in October. I have labeled David for you in the photo that appears below.

David’s visit is REALLY BIG NEWS because we never get any houseguests here except for my mother-in-law. As a result we’re definitely planning all kinds of adventures and authentic Texas excursions, including the Fort Worth stockyards, the Mesquite Rodeo, a tour of Cowboys Stadium, the Texas State Fair, lots of down-home restaurants and a chance to enjoy our brand new patio, which is being remodeled in September with fancy-shmancy stamped concrete and a custom-built cedar arbor. Stay tuned for updates and thank you, as always, for reading this.