About my order. . .

If you ever decide to let your young child travel out of the country with people you've never met, to a country that apparently has some difficulties transporting mail in a timely manner, (or possibly a child that has difficulties writing letters in a timely manner), I highly recommend that you plan to host an exchange student shortly after your child's scheduled return. That way, you have an endless number of projects to keep your hands busy while your mind alternates between wondering what your child is doing at any given moment, and counting down the minutes until the mailman's daily arrival.

Elisa is now completely moved into Julianne's room, and the girls' things are organized and tidy. Marie's closet is empty and ready for her arrival, and the decorating is coming along nicely too. I painted her dresser a nice almond color and decided Elisa's old Beauty & the Beast comforter just wasn't going to do.

The wallpaper is a bit busy, so I had to find something that would match, but be simple. I found the bedding I wanted at jcpenney.com. (Speaking of which, you should never pay shipping. Just do a Google search for "JC Penney coupons" and you will undoubtedly find one for free shipping.) Anyway, I ordered a soft pink comforter, a tan bedskirt (JCPenney calls the color hay), and some sheets that would pull it all together with the wallpaper.

Today my order arrived. The bedskirt was exactly as expected. The sheets will work perfectly. I pulled the last remaining bag out of the box. The label said "Twin Comforter: Soft Pink". However, inside the shipping bag was--are you ready for this?-- a navy blue wool coat! I called JCPenney and told the nice lady what I'd ordered and what I'd received. I added, "I'm sure the coat will keep me warm as well as the comforter would, but it doesn't look nearly as good on the bed."

She said she'd have a comforter shipped out to me today--with no shipping charges. Brad said I should have asked to keep the coat.