You've Got Mail Monday

Yes, it's Tuesday, not Monday. We're nursing a dying cat, so it's been a tough week. We'll be putting Stubby to sleep on Thursday and the entire house is sad right now.

Last week's mailbox was overflowing with goodies. I felt like it was Christmas around here. Several books arrived:

Marilyn The Wild by Jerome Charyn - gift for reviewing many of the author's books

Wish I Could Have Said Goodbye by Shari A. Brady - prize from a giveaway

Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand - free from The Voice of the Martyrs

The Deliverer by Kathi Macias - reviewing for Kathi's virtual book tour next month

What Must I Do To Be Saved by James R. Anderson - reviewing and writing press release

Autumn Winds by Charlotte Hubbard - reviewing for the author's VBT

A Step in the Write Direction by Donna Clark Goodrich - reviewing for Christian Children's Authors

The post office really mangled that last book. It looks like their machines ate the outer envelope and mauled the top right corner of the book. The envelope was retaped and part of the book was visible through the package.

I also received some neat catalogs. The first was for Mini Boden Clothing. I had never heard of them before. They carry clothes for babies, girls and boys ages 0 - 14. There was a special listed on the inside cover--Buy Any 3 Items and Get A 4th for $1 Plus Free Shipping. We finished our school shopping today, but they have adorable things. I might have to buy for now and then save the items for Christmas.

The 2012 Fall Planting catalog from Dutch Gardens arrived too. I haven't planted bulbs in years, but I'm ready to start doing it again. The deer eat my tulips all the time, so I haven't been eager to toss money out the window. I might see if I can plant some daffodils, though, since they don't like those.

The last item in my mailbox was a catalog from Costume® Express. Halloween costumes are so expensive. I'm looking for any way I can save money, especially considering the girls never fit into their costumes again. Yes, they use them for dress up from time to time, but the Lil Diva (11) isn't much into doing that these days and her costumes are usually the most expensive. We almost didn't a get a chance to use our costumes last year because this is what it was doing in October:

It happened on October 29th and the town--along with many other communities--cancelled Trick-or-Treating because of safety issues. Thankfully, we were able to go out another night in a different community that wasn't as hard hit.

The amazing thing is a couple of weeks into November, everything was green again--damaged, but green.

The Costume Express catalog had three coupons on the back: $20 OFF an order of $100 or more, $10 OFF an order of $50 or more, and one for $5 off an order of $25 or more. These are good until September 24th. Maybe by then I'll be thinking about Halloween. Right now, all I'm thinking is how I am going to pay for all the clothes I bought the past two weeks for back to school.

That's it for this week's issue of You've Got Mail Monday. Hope you're having a great week.