Congratulations, Josh!

Josh turned in his dissertation today. Woo-hoo!! Yeah, Josh!

stress

I am in a really stressful situation at work just now. It doesn't help that we are moving, too. Please pray. Pray for Josh's job hunt as well.

Thanks

Praise God!

After months of searches and disappointments, we finally have a flat! The landlords are Christians. They bought the flat for their son when he was studying at New College and have always let it to students of New College. It is in a very nice neighborhood, but they are keeping the rent lower for the students. I will be close to my work and a grocery store (a large one!), 2 things I was really hoping for. It is still close to city centre (though up a series of steep inclines) incase Josh works there or if we should need to go to any of the shops there for any reason. We are very happy to be near the River Leith Walk and The Botanic Gardens.

Big disappointment about the flat: the kitchen is smaller than what we have now. For any of you that saw our kitchen, that might sound surprising! We only have about 3 feet of countertop, 2 cabinets on the wall, one row of 4 drawers, and 2 or 3 cupboards under the counter, and NO MIXER TAPS!! It is going to be very challenging doing dishes (my little kitchen in Chicago is sounding like a dream!). The good thing is that there is more space to work with throughout the flat. I am already planning some things to move around and create more storage for the kitchen and possibly more counterspace. You who know me know that I am the queen of small spaces and this place has more storage than we have ever had (it is a 2 bedroom!), so I can definately work with it.

Please pray for Josh as he begins looking for a job now. It could be tricky securing something before he actually has the extention for his visa, but maybe someone would be willing to hire him knowing that it is very likely he would be approved.

Bomb plot

Is this news not as big in the States as it is here?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4778575.stm

I can't imagine what it must be like to be flying (or trying to) right now.

Mo' free tickets!

Just got some free tickets to see Three Mo' Tenors on Sunday! Woo-hoo!

http://www.threemotenorsontour.com/

You know you are living in 2006 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your mobile phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
8. Leaving the house without your mobile phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )
12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.
14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list AND NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.

Just had to share. Someone just posted this on my forum. I hope it gave you a laugh. :)

Flat update

Well, we are waiting. I got a call this morning saying that one flat had already been taken *sigh* and that they couldn't get hold of the tenents in another flat to get permission to view it. I was say that the one was not available because it looked fantastic for a reasonable price. But that's ok because it still would have been an uphill walk from work (though not nearly as bad as now).

So, we saw two. One was at the top of our price range and, of course, that is the one we loved. It is nicer than anything we have ever had and had more storage than I would know what to do with. A BIG pantry, a good sized freezer (Costco, here I come!), a dishwasher (!!!!). Unfortunately, we do not meet with their income requirements as Josh is not employed full-time right now. It is a difficult time now as we are in transition and do not look good on paper. It is even more frustrating that we had excellent credit in the States, but none of that matters.

We should hear from them soon.

Is it tea weather already??

Well, there is no tea weather here, but I definately go through much more of it when it is cold. It is a particularly blustery day today and the temps have dropped since our 'heat wave' a week or two back. The wind just cuts through this building and despite my sweater and slippers, I am chilled. What month is this again?

Pray hard!

Tomorrow we are looking at 4 flats through the same agency. We have high hopes that one of these will work! Unfortunately, 2 of them aren't available until 2 weeks after our lease ends here. We are doing everything we can to avoid that situation.

There has been a lot of frustration and let down in this flat hunt. Good flats get snatched up practically as soon as they are listed. We are at a disadvantage because we do not have a mobile to phone the agency's office to let them know we want the flat and we don't have a car to zip down to the agent if they take the first person with a deposit. The flat we are looking at tomorrow will go through an application process. Hopefully they will look past our disadvantage of not having much credit history here (though we have fantastic credit in the States, BIG frustration here!) and not yet having a full-time steady income (though our income would be enough to cover rent).

The customer is NOT always right...

Catriona at the till, me at bar...

Cat is dealing with customer #1 and her many requests. Customer #1 has 3 roudy kids in the store. One is literally screaming at the top of her lungs. There is a small line forming. Cat goes to get a pastry for cust #1 and while she is doing that she takes panini from cust #2 (a regular) and pops it on the grill. Cust #1 starts yelling at Cat saying that she was there first and she should be serving her first. Cat tries to reason with cust #1 (this is where I start to hear what is going on). Cust #1 continues to berate Cat saying she is taking too long and her kids are complaining (kid has been screaming at the top of her lungs since they walked in and mum has not even tried to quiet her). I am standing there dumbfounded and customer keeps looking angrily at me. Customer #2 has finally had enough and starts yelling at #1 and they go at it. Catriona is still nice as ever to customer, but since she is frazzled she starts making some mistakes, making customer angrier (I have been there many a times).

So I jump on till so Cat can take a breather. Instead she goes upstairs to bus. She says to irate customer that she hopes she is enjoying her time here. Customer says, "You completely ruined my day! I should not have even come here!"

Later, as customer is leaving, Cat helps her with her pram. Cust says sweetly, "I feel so much better after having my coffee."

I am so glad customer #2 jumped in to stand up for Cat. I was totally dumbfounded and did not know what to say. I feel utterly wretched for not backing Cat up, and I apologized to her for it. At least after thinking through it time and again I now know what I would do if this were to happen again, and it probably would not make the customer happy. There is no reason to abuse our staff.

Josh explained it well to me. He said that we are always in a service mode and we are trained to make the customers happy, that it takes us back when we start getting abused by a customer and we may not know how to handle it.

What I want to know is, WHERE DOES THIS LADY THINK SHE IS LIVING?!?! Does she get stellar service everywhere she goes? I would bet a large sum that she is not. The UK is notorious for poor customer service. And for her to come into Starbucks, where we do strive to provide good service, and to be such a witch just really ruffles my feathers!

Ok, another customer antecdote for today. I am at the till and a customer brings up a bottled water. I smile and say, "Just that for you?" Nothing wrong with saying that. We do it all the time. Just making sure the customer doesn't have anything else in mind that they want. The customer looked up at me in shock and horror and says "Yes!" As if I had just asked her if she was sure she was a female. Cat said she had to move so she didn't laugh in front of the customer. :)

Fringe Fest

About the Fringe:

"The Fringe story began in 1947, when the Edinburgh International Festival was launched. It was seen as a post-war initiative to re-unite Europe through culture, and was so successful that it inspired more performers than there was room for. Well aware that there would be a good crowd and focused press interest, six Scottish companies and two English decided to turn up uninvited and fend for themselves.We are now approaching the 60th Fringe and it's still young! It lives in the present, shifting and changing from year to year to accommodate all of the people who want to attend. Over the years, as the Fringe Organisation got bigger so did the programme. Companies began multiplying as soon as the Fringe got its own phone, and by the time the computers were installed over 30 years later, hundreds were coming."

I guess Fringe officially started today, but I could see the beginnings of it from Thursday. I got out today to take some snaps. I basically rushed up and down the Mile snapping away, so I didn't take much time to focus and frame. You photographers will hate me for missing such a great opportunity. I felt bad that I didn't have money for the people I was snapping shots of, but I will get back out there later. I am posting more pictures on flickr just now, so take a look.

Salsa Celtica!!

As I mentioned earlier, I got free tickets for Josh and I to see Salsa Celtica during the Jazz Festival. This group started playing in the pubs of Edinburgh and Glasgow. As you probably guessed, their music is an infusion of salsa and celtic music. Not a likely mix, but it sounds great! Here is the description of them from the festival magazine:

"...like a mix between a late night club in Havana and a traditional Saturday night Scottish village hall, Salsa Celtica's unique cocktail of steamy Cuban ceilidh is driven by the irresistible rhythm to get audiences on to the dance floor...infectious, energetic, exhuberant music- 'rhythms bordering on religious frenzy' (The List)."

I really enjoyed myself, but Josh didn't really get into the music. I thought it was fun and energetic, just as described. I wished so much that I knew salsa. Though they could have turned the sound down a notch. I am still recovering! I guess I'm just old. :)

I passed!

I am now a supervisor! Though now I have 3 months 'practise' before I can get my raise. I made brownies for my coffee tasting, though I knew my DM would complain about them being fattening. It was easy and all I had time for.

Phew! I'm glad that's over with. I have been working so hard to get all of my books done. Yesterday I stayed late and felt like my brain was going to ooze out all over the floor from overload. I was feeling stressed with all of this and looking for a flat and working more. Tomorrow I am having the girls from work over, so I am preparing for that. One of the girls is wheat-free, so I have to see if I can make wheat-free cinnamon rolls. Should be fun. I wouldn't mind a little less wheat in my diet.

Flat hunting...ARRRRGH!!!

Stress, stress, stress. We saw a gorgeous flat yesterday but it slipped through our fingers. The way to snatch the flat up was to race to the agency's office clear on the other side of town. Well, we were viewing the flat with several others and they had cars and mobiles. I sent Josh down on the bus, but it was depressing knowing he probably wouldn't make it in time. Since then we have seen flats that cost more and get you less. Very depressing. We have an agent now who is calling us when there is a flat available in our price range and area, but I feel really bad when he comes out to show us a flat and we don't want it. Especially since we told him we are having a hard time finding something. I guess we are just being picky. But it is not just us. Everyone says it is highly competative. Flats get snatched up before we even get a chance to view them. We passed one up today that was in the perfect location: next to the river, close to work. But we passed it up because it just didn't 'feel' right. Part of it is that it cost more than the fabulous new flat we saw yesterday. Can you imagine paying nearly $1400/mo including utilities and tax for about 500 sq ft?? That is what we are looking at? Now you are going to ask "Why on earth do you insist on living THERE!?" Well, the price actually isn't so bad in pounds, though it is still a bit much for us. I just like to say that for shock value. :)

A friend on my forum felt bad about our disadvantages while looking for a flat and she is going to give me a mobile! I am so excited! This should make it a bit easier to make calls and try to snag something up.

Well, festival is kicking in. The tourist are rolling in and I could hear the tattoo tonight. At least I think it was the tattoo, but I thought is started tomorrow. It is going to be madness around here for the next month.

Loch Lomond

A couple of weeks ago one of Josh's fellow MTh mates, Susan, took us to Loch Lomond. It was a nice retreat from the city. The drive alone was lovely, aside from the overly fertalised fields we passed. I promise you, in all my years driving through fields I had never smelled anything quite so strong! Anyways, it was a lovely day trip and there are more pictures on flickr.

Americans cheating?!?

I was reading on a website dedicated to Starbucks baristas about customers who try to cheat the system. They order drinks in a way that makes it cheaper, such as a hot chocolate with a shot of espresso (really a mocha) or an espresso in a venti cup with extra, extra foam (really a venti extra dry cappaccino). Most of the people on this website are in America. I posted that we have never had this kind of problem. The VERY day after I posted this, on two separate occassions, Americans came in and did this. One ordered an espresso in a grande cup and asked for extra foam, another asked for a tall drink in a grande cup and added extra milk from the bar.

I definately agree that Starbucks is expensive, but if you insist on these drinks every day, you have to pay the price. And do they really think they are pulling the wool over our eyes?

I like it!

Well, I have 'sort of' run two shifts this week. I am scheduled with another supervisor because I am still training, but I am in charge of the shift (I carry the keys, I am the only one with access to the safe, I am in charge of breaks). Today Narda said, "I forgot what it was like to be a barista. It is so boring!"

Anyways, I have not run into anything complicated yet and I am enjoying it. The time seems to go by quicker because there is more to do. In fact, there is no longer enough time in the day to get everything done that I wanted to do!

I am supposed to get 'signed off' next Wednesday. Then I will be running shifts all by myself!

A perk

Starbucks is hosting the Edinburgh Jazz Festival. They had a jazz night for us tonight and gave us free tickets for some of the concerts. So, Josh and I get to see Salsa Celtica in a couple of weeks! It is a standing concert, so we are gonna have to learn salsa real quick!

http://www.salsaceltica.com/

Streets of Edinburgh

I just found this cool site. This guy is taking pictures of the streets of Edinburgh. I came across it when I was looking for flats. This will be a good tool to help me see what a neighborhood is like.

http://www.streetsofedinburgh.co.uk/index.htm

Some streets you can look at:

Lawnmarket
Milne's Court
Baker's Place (where I work)
Northwest Circus (the street right before I get to work)
Mound Pl. (Josh's university)
George IV Bridge (where we go to church and the way I go to get groceries- the church is covered with scaffolding)
Chambers St. (on my way to get groceries)
Victoria Terrace (on my way back with groceries - notice a pattern?)
Fleshmarket Close (just an example of the closes so common on the Royal Mile - sort of like where we live, there is a sort of passageway between some of the buildings. Sometimes it opens up to a courtyard or quad, sometimes it just goes through with doors to flats or shops in the passageway.)

I could list tons more but I am sure you are already bored.

Maybe now I can mention roads in this blog and you can look them up! :)

missing...

I have really been missing Target lately. :(

http://www.target.com/gp/homepage.html/602-1118282-2810229

frustRA'in'

That is how frustrating is said. Emphasize the second syllable and take out the 'g' and the second 't'.

Anyways, I do enjoy looking for a flat...for a time. I like to see inside other places. I like to look at the pictures on the internet and get all excited when I see a big kitchen (big meaning a few feet of counterspace, a decent sized fridge/freezer, and ample storage?. After actually seeing some of these places in person it gets frustrating. It is rather sickening to see what your money gets you. I think our price range is also just the right place where everyone else is scrambling to get as well, so by the time I say we would like to view a place it is already taken. Well, I will keep up the search. Our lease ends 6 weeks from Saturday.

Cont...

I didn't get to finish my original post, so go look at the next post, first.

More downhill to work. Almost there!

Arrived!

I like this neighborhood. We hope to live somewhere nearby very soon.

Walk with me...

A couple of weeks ago I was ready for work a little early so I took my camera with me to snap some early morning shots. I didn't capture anything spectacular, but I thought it might be fun to let you see what I see on my way to work:

This is what I see heading down the mound. The imposing silhouette is the Scott monument.

Next I round the corner to a nice view of the castle.

Prince's Street to the left.....and to the right.

Then I climb a wee hill and find a stunning view of the Firth of Forth and the hills across the way.

A cute restaurant.

Teach us to count the days

Everyday is a journal page

Every man holds a quill and ink

And there's plenty of room for writing in

All we do and believe and think

So will you compose a curse

Or will today bring the blessings

Fill the page with a rhyming verse

Or some random sketching

Teach us to count the days

Teach us to make the days count

Lead us in better ways

Cuz somehow our souls forgot

Life means so much

Life means so much

Life means so much

Everyday is a bank account

Time is our currency

So no one's rich, nobody's poor

We get 24 hours each

So how are you gonna spend?

Will you invest or squander?

Try to get ahead

Or help someone who's under?

Teach us to count the days...

Has anybody lived who knew the value of a life

And don't you think giving is all

What prove the worth of yours and mine

Teach us to count the days...

Every day is a gift you've been given

Make the most of the time, every minute you're livin'

Chris Rice

Quote of the day

"When we think of the wisdom of the world, we think of someone really smart, like Gandalf." Andy in a Bible study comprised of MTh students, studying James 3.

I would walk 500 miles...

Well, not quite that much, but it feels like it.

I reckoned that last week I walked over 42 miles. That not including the hours I am on my feet at work and small walks here and there. That comes to an average of 6 miles a day! Of course, this was not an average week. I had a lot going on, but one does tend to walk a LOT in this city and don't even realize it (as Narda and I were recently discussing). And, wherever you go, you can count on going uphill.

To say the least, I am exhausted this week! I am off today and tomorrow and I desparately want to stay inside and nurse my sore legs and feet. I already had to drag myself out to get some groceries and I am just about to head back out to see an estate agent (ah, the joys of flat hunting!).

Dear corn

I just got back from the grocery store. I was excited to actually see corn! Maybe I just haven't been looking too hard, but I haven't seen corn here until today. It was 2 ears packaged together. I was too excited to look at the price. I just saw that it was 50p off. When I took it out of the bag at home I saw that it was £1.49. That is nearly $3 for 2 ear of corn! That corn is very dear. I miss the 10 for $1 sales at Dominicks.

A staff night out

One of our customers recently completed a novel in our store and gave us a very generous tip for a staff night out. So, last night we went to Pizza Express!

Click here to see the rest of the pictures on flickr.

Repressed feelings: bullying in the workplace

This is me being vulnerable, so I hope it is helpful for someone.

I had a supervisor training this past Saturday. The first thing we spoke about, and the longest time was spent on harrassment. And of this, the majority of the time was spent on bullying. Gosh, I wish I had this term a few years ago.

Bullying is something that happens often in the workplace and it can often go overlooked. We began our discussion with the question, "What should you do if someone tells you they are being bullied?" One of my fellow supervisors-in-training jumped in and said, "Talk to them. Get their story. Find out if it is true or not. Blah blah blah." I was screaming inside 'NO NO NO!' Our facilitator said, "I want to go back to when you said, 'Find out if it is true or not.' That is not for you to determine..." YES YES YES! You MUST validate their feelings. Feelings are real and they cannot be denied. We were told over and over, if someone is doing something that makes someone feel offended, hurt, upset, etc, that person needs to stop doing what they are doing to the offended.

So, about the repressed feelings, I realized that I had some scars. During this discussion I felt myself withdraw. I could hardly speak. My pulse was racing and my heart was pounding hard. I wanted to cry. I had been through all this and I felt like there was no justice made.

A few years ago I was having a very difficult time with a boss which began nearly when he became my boss. It began so subtly and progressed so slowly that I did not even recognize it until 2 years later during a company given training on (ironically) harrassment. Harrassment was the only term given, but it included things like belittling, extra workload, singling out. By this time I was depressed, I dreaded going to work, I couldn't enjoy the things I once enjoyed. I wondered if I should take action. I union advised me to. I drew up every incident that I could think of (but how do you put into words every little look, jab, body language that happened over 2 years?). They said there would be an investigation. There was a meeting with 4 administrators and little ol' me and my union rep. I was attacked from all sides, bullied in my own meeting! Though I had what I wanted to say written down, I could hardly express myself. I tried to keep composure, but I was a wreck.

Oh, did I mention that this was a HUMANITARIAN agency??

I found out that there really was no investigation, other than the incidents which I had turned in to the union (I was not told that this would be the basis of the investigation. This was only a rough draft.) I asked, "What about Josh? What about the other team members?" I was told that Josh could not be interviewed because he was my husband. What!!!! For the last 2 1/2 years it was pounded into my head that he was not my husband on the job, he was my co-worker!! And the other team members were not interviewed because I did not name anyone as a witness because much of what happened was in private and I couldn't say if anyone overheard anything. Tell me, would this stand up in a court of law? I was told that the harrassment charge was unfounded and, oh, yes, could you sign this paper saying you agree with the outcome?

No, thank you.

After this was my annual review, which he did not have the guts to give to me himself. My first review with him was glowing, this one gutted me. Hmm, do I smell retaliation?

Josh recognizes that there was justice. Almost immediatly he was pulled from our program and put in charge of another. I could not work there any longer though. My spirit had been quenched. I was very, very sad to leave my clients, but I could not work for this agency any more.

They asked me in the meeting what I wanted to see happen. I said I did not want the guy to lose his job. I just wanted him to stop doing what he was doing and maybe go to some anger management or leadership classes. This was just laughed at and I was told our managers recieve good training from the agency.

The only term I had at the time was harrassment. So people automatically think it is sexual. When it is not, they think, what's your problem?

Here are two good definitions I found for bullying:

"Persistent, offensive, abusive, intimidating or insulting behaviour, abuse of power or unfair penal sanctions which makes the recipient feel upset, threatened, humiliated or vulnerable, which undermines their self-confidence and which may cause them to suffer stress"

MSF Union, 1994

"Bullying is a compulsive need to displace aggression and is achieved by the expression of inadequacy (social, personal, interpersonal, behavioural, professional) by projection of that inadequacy onto others through control and subjugation (criticism, exclusion, isolation etc). Bullying is sustained by abdication of responsibility (denial, counter-accusation, pretence of victimhood) and perpetuated by a climate of fear, ignorance, indifference, silence, denial, disbelief, deception, evasion of accountability, tolerance and reward (eg promotion) for the bully."

Tim Field, 1999

Here is some good information on where bullying happens, how to recognise a bully, and what it does to your health. Click around on the other links and find other information on bullying.

If you are or will ever be in a leadership position, take this to heart. Learn how to recognise a bully. You can do something about it. It is not always the person in authority who is the bully. It happens a lot between staff members. Bullying does have lasting effects.

More information from bullyonline:

People who are bullied find that they are:

*forever subject to nit-picking and trivial fault-finding (the triviality is the giveaway)

*isolated and excluded from what's happening (this makes people more vulnerable and easier to control and subjugate)
*singled out and treated differently (for example everyone else can have long lunch breaks but if they are one minute late it's a disciplinary offence)
*belittled, degraded, demeaned, ridiculed, patronised, subject to disparaging remarks

*set unrealistic goals and deadlines which are unachievable or which are changed without notice or reason or whenever they get near achieving them
*denied information or knowledge necessary for undertaking work and achieving objectives

* either overloaded with work (this keeps people busy [with no time to tackle bullying] and makes it harder to achieve targets) or have all their work taken away (which is sometimes replaced with inappropriate menial jobs, eg photocopying, filing, making coffee)

*find requests for leave have unacceptable and unnecessary conditions attached, sometimes overturning previous approval. especially if the person has taken action to address bullying in the meantime

Why do people bully?

The purpose of bullying is to hide inadequacy. Bullying has nothing to do with managing etc; good managers manage, bad managers bully. Management is managing; bullying is not managing. Therefore, anyone who chooses to bully is admitting their inadequacy, and the extent to which a person bullies is a measure of their inadequacy. Bullies project their inadequacy on to others:
a) to avoid facing up to their inadequacy and doing something about it;

b) to avoid accepting responsibility for their behaviour and the effect it has on others, and,

c) to reduce their fear of being seen for what they are, namely a weak, inadequate and often incompetent individuals, and,d) to divert attention away from their inadequacy - in an insecure or badly-managed workplace, this is how inadequate, incompetent and aggressive employees keep their jobs.

You know what? I found it humorous that so much attention was given to this subject during my training for a little supervisor position at Starbucks, yet this supposedly humanitarian agency just brushed it under the carpet, denying my feelings.

Happy 4th, yall!

Sam and Peter were so kind to host our '4th' celebration (on the 2nd) at their place and we were so happy to have Emma with us as well. We served them up American style: so much food you don't know what to do with it. We had hot dogs from Costco (jumbo, American recipe) and burgers. For sides we had taco salad, potato salad, pasta salad, deviled eggs and green Jell-o salad. Oh, yes, and watermelon and homemade lemonade (here, lemonade is carbonated). For dessert we had strawberry shortcake. I believe everything but the meats was new to them. I have to say, when I revealed the Jell-o salad, which I left in the fridge by accident, there was a reaction of wonder and fright. :) There was also a big discussion as to why it is called salad, as they were picturing jelly and lettuce. Hee-hee! So, we're wondering, too. Why do you think it's called salad?

While we were eating we were hit with a barage of questions about American history which Josh and I were embarrassed to say we didn't know the answers to. :( They were tough questions!!

After we found a wee bit of space in our stomachs for dessert we were all sitting around with our hands on our bellies talking of how full we were. Emma said, "This is almost a Christmas full!" Later she said, "So, does it feel like this often when you eat in America?" I said, "Yes! It does!" With wide eyes she said, "REALLY!?" :)

I was sad that we didn't get to see fireworks. That will have to wait until after the festival in August.

Happy Fourth, everyone!

Botanical Gardens

I just uploaded about 25 pictures from our date at the botanical gardens this weekend. Take a look on flickr.

These are a few of my favorite things...

I finally recieved the package I sent to myself while in the States. It is difficult to understand the infatuation with comforts from home, particularly food, until you have been an expat. So I hope you will bear with me. Here is what I sent myself:

Laffy Taffy
Butterfingers
Reeses peanut butter cups
various flavours of Jello
Jello chocolate pudding, instant, cook and serve, and fat-free sugar-free
chocolate Pop Tarts (Josh's treat)
Kraft parm. cheese
Band-aids
Dove deoderant (I can find it here, but I figured I'll get it cheap at Costco)
Starburst jelly beans (this really excited me as I forgot I sent this)
various flavors of instant mash
pasta sauce mixes
taco mix
Scotch tape
mini Oreos
cookies-n-cream Hershey bars
Andies cherry chocolates