grocery pick up

Have I mentioned I hate shopping? Really. The only time it's enjoyable is when I'm alone -- except when I'm with my daughter. And even then I can only stand a couple of hours. After that I turn into a . . . Well, anyway, I particularly hate grocery shopping. But something happened a few weeks ago that, at least, made it a bit more interesting.

It was just before the last big snow storm we were supposed to have. RL was out of town (big surprise) and Brandi's rarely at home , so I just needed a few things to get me through the weekend. You know, canned soup, bread, milk, lots of munchies. Oh, and coffee! Had to get coffee.

Everyone in town was expecting the worst, so the store was hit hard. Nearly all the produce was gone; there weren't any canned tomatoes; and the only canned soup that was left was the low sodium healthy stuff, which was alright, because that's what I wanted anyway.

So, I'm walking down the canned soup aisle, trying to decide which tasty low sodium healthy soups I wanted and this guy wheels his cart up beside mine and says, "Looks like they got hit pretty hard." Well, yeah, it was kind of a shock to see the shelves mostly bare. And the fact that some stranger was mentioning it to me didn't seem that unusual, because people tend to get a little friendlier in times of pending disaster. (Ok, it wasn't that bad, but you know what I mean.)

I said something quite clever like, "Yeah, not much left, huh?" Because, you know, I'm so clever like that. We continued this clever conversation for about another excruciating 30 seconds and then I went on with my picking and choosing. Then I headed to the coffee aisle. (CanNOT forget the coffee!!)

Seems this guy that was worried about the lack of can goods remaining in the store also needed coffee. That or he was following me. I didn't really want to think about that and tried not to let it show that I was a little unnerved that he was, once again, on the same aisle with me. I picked up the two pound canister of Folgers 1/2 Caff (because I'm cutting down on caffeine) and placed it in my cart. The guy was standing right next to me with his cart headed in the opposite direction and was talking about I don't know what. All I'm thinking about is how do I get away from him without just coming right out and saying, "Get the hell away from me, you freak!"

Turns out I have this nervous little habit that seemed to really turn him off. Before I knew what was happening he was gone. I just stood there thinking, "Dang! What did I say?" And then I realized I was spinning my wedding ring around my finger.

Ha! I'll have to remember that!!

tis the season

You've probably heard about the crazies out there on Black Friday in New York and California. Well, just be aware they're still out there.While it's not anywhere near as tragic, last night I was waiting in the express check-out line at Walmart. I was second in line and there were about two people behind me. We each had one or two items.

This guy walks up to me and says, "Ma'am, can I cut in front of you? I've got a broken jaw (it appeared his jaw was clamped shut) and I need to get home to get my medication. I just want to get some cigarettes."

I'd already stood there longer than I wanted just to purchase a couple of cans of vegetables and I figured the guy couldn't be in too much pain or he would've gone straight home. So I told him no. He asked the lady behind me and she said no. Then he throws his hands up and says, "Well, F-you all!" And then he left.

Now, maybe I should've let him in line ahead of me. It wasn't really that big of a deal, and maybe any other time I would've. But last night I just didn't. You know, after his reaction I'm kind of glad. Guess I need to work a little on my Christmas spirit.

birthday presents

You know how the saying goes: "It's more blessed to give than to receive." So I started my birthday right by giving myself a 4-day weekend. My birthday is actually today, so it was a weekend full of fun leading up to the big celebration. Not that I'm really having a BIG celebration, as in party or anything. But I am celebrating big in my heart.

Anyway, what did I do these four glorious days? Well, I mentioned in the previous post that Saturday I spent the day with my daughter at the zoo, which was a lot of fun and, yes, I took tons of pictures (I was nice and only gave you a sampling of the 300 I actually took). RL had left Saturday morning to go hunting and wouldn't be home until Sunday night, so I took advantage of an empty house and cleaned my little heart out. No, I didn't clean my heart -- I cleaned the house!! That might sound like a strange way to celebrate, but believe me, it was a gift for my soul.

Yesterday I continued the giving and went shopping. Now some of you may think that is a typical thing for a woman to do and you would probably be right, except I'm not your typical woman. If you'll notice, #38 of the 100 Things About Me states plainly: I hate shopping. To make it more enjoyable I planned the day, made a list, and headed to the big discount members only warehouse store. (Yeah, well, there's a whole lot more there than bulk quantities of Charmin.)

Ok, I did stop off at the mall first. But that was because I needed to take my wedding rings in for repair and some other jewelry to be checked and cleaned. I hadn't planned on roaming down to the shoe store that just happened to be having a "buy one pair and get the second at half price" sale. So, of course, I had to buy two pairs of shoes. I needed some comfy casual shoes. Really. And it seemed a shame to pass up another pair of shoes at half price!

And I couldn't help that, on my way back to the jewelry store, I had to pass the cellular phone kiosk. But since I did I thought I would see if they had a case for my phone. I didn't know I was eligible for a new phone! Hey, it's my birthday weekend -- what a cool gift!! (Actually, it turned out that I wasn't really eligible for the upgrade until the 29th. So thank you, Sam, Paris, and Jeremy for making it happen.)

So after two hours I finally made it back to the jewelry store, picked up my fully inspected, bright sparkly clean jewelry and headed to . . . oh wait! You should have seen them. Simple, shiny, 14K white gold hoop earrings just screaming, "Happy Birthday!"

When I finally made it to the big discount members only warehouse to purchase miscellaneous and much needed items, I discovered there were only two remaining black leather jackets in my size. I couldn't risk waiting for RL to buy me one for Christmas. They'd BOTH be gone. I did what any rational giving person would do. I gave myself one!

This morning RL wished me a very, VERY happy birthday and later asked me if I wanted my gift now or if I wanted to wait until tonight at dinner (at a very special seafood restaurant). Of course I want it now! So this is what my loving husband gave me. It's our children's birthstone and I absolutely love it!

And just when I thought I had received all the gifts any girl could ever imagine, I walked my husband to the door, kissed him goodbye as he was leaving for work, closed the door, walked back into the living room, and to my great surprise discovered my dog had left me a present as well! YIPEE! More cleaning. Happy Birthday to Me!!

in & out shopping

I think I've mentioned before how shopping is not one of my favorite things. Don't get me wrong, I don't really hate shopping . . . ok, actually I do. Though I have had the occasional mother/daughter shopping trips, strolling for hours through the mall or down a quaint street with dozens of shops and boutiques to wonder in and out of never purchasing a thing. *takes deep breath* But usually I would rather just go into the store, get what I need, and get out.

Then came the internet. OMG!! I never thought shopping could be so easy. For RL's birthday I searched the world wide web over for just the PS2 game he wanted and found it at at local store (because I was a procastinator and didn't have time to wait for it to be delivered to the house). I called, asked if they had the game in stock (the last one!), and if they would hold it for me. When I got to store that evening after work I walked in, picked up the game from customer service, paid, and was out the door. Love it, love it, love it!

Later this month RL and I will be celebrating our anniversary. So after having such good luck for his birthday I decided I would see what I could find online for our anniversary. I did a little research and discovered we'd be celebrating our platinum year (20th) and wondered what I could find. Unfortunately, I can't afford the platinum jewelry and I don't think the platinum box set of Cinderella would be quite appropriate. I opted, rather, for a non-platinum item that will arrive in my mailbox, before the eventful day, covered (hopefully) in a plain brown wrapper. And , let's face it, shopping for more intimate items is just so much easier online than in person.

I love technology

52 naughty nights

Sometime around the first of the year . . . Well, actually, come to think of it, it was back around Valentine's Day, RL and I were wanting to spice things up a bit. Not that things were boring (how could it be boring?), but just to add a little something to the soup, so to speak. We decided to go to . . . um . . . the convenience store (yeah, that's what I'm calling it) and see if we could find something fun, inexpensive, and that we both would enjoy.

First, let me just say, going to the store together was itself a little adventure (for me anyway). It made me feel like an innocent teen again. I mean, oh my gosh! There was just so much to choose from. So many spices! It was kind of difficult to make a choice. And I guess it was obvious, because after several minutes of walking around the store pointing and snickering to ourselves, the nice young lady behind the counter came over to ask if she could offer some assistance.

Now, I'm all about customer service. Good customer service. I would give this young lady an A+ in customer service. You cannot believe how knowledgeable she was about the products, their quality, and . . . um . . . performance. I mean, she even explained how beneficial these products had been for her. Can you imagine: "Now this [item] is really nice for when you want . . . And, oh, I love this [item] . . . My boyfriend really likes these [items] . . . We also have some silicone [oils] just for her. They're waterproof and great in the shower." She knew just about everything there was to know about everything in the store.

Anyway, after looking around we found some games. Well, this looked interesting (and inexpensive), so after looking over a few we decided to get a set of cards: 52 cards for her and 52 cards for him in a set. The description boasts fun for each week of the year. The idea is for each person to (there's a two player limit :o) draw a card each week and, sometime during that week, follow the instructions on the back of the card. The instructions? Well, it could be something that she might do right away for him or it might be something he might have to wait to do to surprise her.

It is now week 50 of the year 2007 and we have drawn about 4 cards each. Really! It's difficult to play this game when RL is out of town so much. And I think the instructions are a little more difficult for him to follow than they are for me. Not that he doesn't understand them, but that they just involve a little more effort and, sometimes, preparation. But, oh, it has been fun playing, planning, and anticipating!

his and hers shopping

After 19 years of marriage, my husband and I have finally discovered the secret of shopping together: Don't. You see, my husband is a hunter. Not just the Deer Hunter, but the Bargain Hunter as well. Which, in some ways, is great. But when it comes to Christmas shopping, not so much.

The major problem with his style of shopping is that I HATE shopping. I want to go into a store, purchase the item or items I've jotted down previously on a list (I'm all about the lists), and get the heck out of there. Because, to me, there's no sense wasting a lot of time looking at things (1) I don't want/need, (2) at a bunch of different stores comparing prices, and (3) are not on the list.

So, this past Saturday we tried a different approach: we drove to the desired shopping area, related our shopping plans to each other, and went our separate ways. This was perfect! We each were able to shop for the items we wanted the way we wanted. And when we needed to catch up with each other, we just used the cell phones.

I know this isn't a new idea, because I've seen other people on their cell phones or even two-way radios and overheard the "ok, I'll meet you at the . . ." conversations. But this is a new idea for me and RL, because we've been trying so hard lately to do more things together. You know, going shopping "together" we just thought we'd actually be, um, together.

Now, there were still the awful crowds and seemingly endless lines at the cashier counters, but at least our stress was from those around us and not from each other. This made the whole experience so much better and helped me maintain some Christmas spirit. Well, up until the fourth hour of shopping, when I was just plain sick of the whole thing and wanted to go home.

fashion police -- designers

Ok, I realize I started a trend with the weekly fashion police by having a photo of some obscure person wearing something about which I felt I could possibly make a comment. But since this is my blog (and because, honestly, I haven't been able to discreetly take any pictures --haven't been feeling too Jane Bond lately) I figure I can change it up any way I want. *insert appropiate z-snap*

So, this past week I read, yes I said read The Devil Wears Prada. A cute story about a girl working her way up, paying her dues to maybe someday write for a newspaper with substance instead of a fashion magazine mostly filled with fluff.

But you know what I realized while reading this book? I don't have a clue what most of it was talking about. I mean, I couldn't tell you the difference between Prada and Chanel. Designer names were thrown around all through the book, but they were completely wasted on me. Who the heck is Jimmy Choo? (Apparently they're expensive to-die-for shoes and maybe something else but I wouldn't know.) At one point there was a reference made toTarget brand Mossimo jeans, but it was far from complimentary and, actullay, I felt a little embarrassed since I had just purchased a pair for myself.

I hate designer anything! I was in high school when all that crap first started and, for one, didn't see what all the fuss was about. All I know is what looks good. And if you can get it at a decent price (say under $20) then even better. And, believe it or not, I hate shopping. So if I need, say, a new pair of black pants, then I go and find the best fit at the best price and I'm done. I just don't think there's any sense in getting all googly-eyed over a piece of clothing that costs way too much and was designed by someone I don't even know. Who cares?!

So wear your Mossimos and Faded Glories and wear them with pride knowing you probably saved enough money to take a family of four out to dinner for a month. Just make sure your clothes fit well and don't forget to check the rear view.