FOLLOW ME HERE

This blog has moved to:
http://getcluedincolorado.com

Same great information, same great blog--- fabulous new look! Check out http://getlcuedincolorado.com today!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Lost, Damaged or Stolen Passports

Some mistakes are more costly than others.... as I learned this weekend. We have damaged passports as a result of not doing something simple- like zipping a bag they were housed in. For some reason, my husband and I decided to play with a safe and locked our passports in it - not a smart move at all. In any case, there was water damage and most of the documents were fine but the passports did not make it because I did not ziploc a ziploc(R) bag- ARGH!!

It is so frustrating to make a costly mistake like this one. Granted, my daughter's passport would not work past another 2 years- kids' passport are only good for 5 years because their faces change so much but most adults can have passports for 10 years. So, needless to say, this is frustrating news since a passport runs anywhere from $125 down to $45 depending on what your needs are. Most passport books are $100 for a 10-year booklet. Renewals are cheaper so losing the original, have it stolen or damaged really does add up - fortunately for us, we caught this before a big trip - it would not have been good to have discovered something like this on the eve of a huge international trip. In any case, it is always good practice to have a valid passport so my husband and I should at least get ours replaced. Oh, the fun things we have to do to stay .... well, valid!

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Nuts!

Despite years of hearing the stories, seeing the issues, I have to admit I was completely caught off-guard today --- all I could say was, "nuts!" I took my daughter to her daycare today for her Christmas party or Holiday party or whatever they call it these days. Anyway, my husband had signed me up for cookies. I decided not to run to the store in the sub zero temps and just make what I had at home so I made chocolate chip walnut and macadamia --- you guessed it -- NUTS!

Anyway, as we entered the day care, I was told, you can't bring anything with nuts into this school- we are a "nut-free" zone. I started think to myself, what? Are you nuts? Then I thought better of it. I know for a fact that one of my good friends to this day swells up like a balloon if she encounters nuts in any form including peanut oil. So, I turned the cookies over and we just went to the party. Apparently, you have to bring store bought, sealed items, or you cannot bring anything at all. The latter is just fine for me. As I looked at all the dietary restrictions in the classroom I was in, I realized one of my daughter's classmates was allergic to "tree nuts." Well, there you have it folks - I am glad my cookies were confiscated and in the end, I learned a valuable lesson. So, from now, it is store bought items only for me and definitely no... NUTS!