Black Friday

So, all of you know that the Friday after Thanksgiving is referred to as "Black Friday", because this is typically the start of the season when retailers enter the black in terms of revenue. Yes, Christmas shopping will do that for them; and we here in America have managed to elevate Christmas shopping (and bargain hunting) to some sort of crazed ritual. We forget about CHRIST part of Christmas, and turn this day into a consumer orgy.

So, naturally, Lisa and I went out last night to find some stuff. :) We left our condo around 2:15 with a plan, and for the most part we stuck to that plan.

First stop: Walmart, which ended up being an epic fail. Lisa was hoping to get some of these micro-chopping things, and by the time we got there, the store has been decimated and there was none left. I was hoping for a Brother sewing machine, but they didn't have the $50 deal on them until 5am, so we were too late for what Lisa wanted and too early for what I wanted. NEXT!

Second stop: Kohls, where we had much better luck. I ended up with 6 Christmas kitchen towels, 2 bath towels, a shirt for my dad, and 2 pairs of knee high socks. Lisa got some Pyrex for our kitchen, and some festive candle holders. I was happy that she got in line while I shopped and then we traded off so she could go look.

Third stop: Target. We actually ended up bailing out because we got there right at 4 when they opened the doors, and the line was about 200 yards long. Lisa went back after she dropped me off.

Fourth stop: the mall. We started a JC Penney, where they gave us a free mini Mickey snow globe upon entering the store. Both Lisa and I have a sweater addiction, so we looked at sweaters briefly before moving on to the jeans. Then, after trying on several pairs, I split off to go look at the unmentionables *snicker snicker* while Lisa stayed and looked at more sweaters. We met up downstairs in the lingerie checkout. Damage for me here was 2 pairs of jeans, a long-sleeve t-shirt, and 2 bras.

Next, we hit Bath and Body works, where we managed to sniff practically everything in the store before Lisa settled on 4 candles, the VIP bag, and some other stuff for her mom, and I got 2 candles and some vanilla foaming soap for the kitchen.

Final mall stop was Macy's; I got my grandma Joann her toaster oven, but stood, of my own fault, in the slowest line in the store. Lisa ran downstairs for some dad stuff and we finished roughly around the same time.

My final stop was Michael's. I didn't get anything, although we looked at fake trees. Lisa had more success.

Lisa finally dropped me off at 7am, and since neither of us had gone to bed yet, I quickly cleaned up and passed out. It was quite a successful and fun night!

Now is that gratitude?

Thanksgiving is in a couple days, and I just wanted to share a couple of the things I am grateful for this year (in no particular order) :
1. Heavenly Father, who is exceedingly patient with this horribly imperfect woman;
2. My family, who sometimes annoys me, but most of all, loves me. Especially my mom, who has a remarkable ability to verbalize what the little voice in my head is telling me;
3. The Atonement, because WOW, do I need the repentance process;
4. Friends, and other non-toxic relationships;
5. The fact that I am debt-free;
6. Chocolate;
7. Sewing night; thank you to Amy for sharing her machine and knowledge with me;
8. Laughter; being able to laugh at myself is such a blessing
9. A job; even though getting up in the morning is often disappointing, I am glad to be financially independent and employed when so many are looking;
10. The lessons learned in the past year.

I am also grateful for the five of you who regularly read this blog; it provides an outlet for me to express myself. Yes, I censor myself, but only because I don't want to make life any more awkward for you than it already is. *tear fingers*

Emergency fun!

Okay, so this happened almost a week ago, but it's still worth an entry.

I had been experiencing escalating lumbar back pain for a couple weeks. On Saturday night, after returning home from Eddie Papa's and the movies, I got ready for bed, thinking that laying flat on my back would be really helpful. WRONG! No matter which was I laid in bed, the pain had gotten to a point that I was literally fighting NOT to cry. So, I put on my robe, marched myself to Lisa's door and knocked. I explained what was happening to Lisa, and she agreed to take me to ValleyCare's Emergency Department.

At the ED, we met a nice male nurse named Larry, who kept us entertained. So, I put on the fabulously stylish hospital robe, and they took my info. Then, another lady came in (I'm not sure if she was a phlebotomist), and asked me again where the pain was. She then proceeded to inject me in my arm and and either side of my hips with Dilaudid, Toradol, and Zofran. They definitely made the pain subside, but man, did they make me loopy. Luckily, Lisa was also keeping me occupied with Conference talks and pictures from Disneyland.

The doctor came in and told me I was going to have x-rays, just to make sure there were no compression fractures (there weren't), and once he had determined that, Lisa and I were free to go home, with my prescription meds. By this time, I should mention, it was around 3:30am. I got up to go to church on Sunday, but Lisa took one look at me and said, "no." But, because I have an awesome Bishop and amazing friends who hold the priesthood, I was still able to receive the Sacrament at home.

Dear Facebook minions,

I hate you. I have had a Facebook account for several years, and am on there enough (and have posted enough photos of myself that you could figure out I am not trying to impersonate a celebrity, whose REAL name, I might add it Kathryn Hudson Brand. Get a clue, and restore my account post haste.

Oh Shaine, where art thou?

I miss Shaine...I haven't seen her in over a week, which is far too long to go without a dose of her wit and humor. Shaine is a great listener, and knows how to make me laugh at life and myself. I find it particularly fun when she brings her own soup over for dinner, and we delight each other with our mutual love of size 10 shoes.

I know she is a married woman, but still...hand her over Kevin!

Love,

Me
:)

:)

Being a grown-up has good points and bad points. I live in a beautiful condo and have fabulous friends. I make enough money to do fun things, and no curfew. My parents still love and worry about me, but for the most part, they trust me to make me own decisions, and only offer advice out of love, and when prompted.

Being a grownup also means being responsible - it means owning your actions and taking control of your own life. Sometimes, being a grownup is "being grownup;" not word vomiting and taking a few deep breaths and moving on.

Bottom line: being grownup, for the most part, rocks. Remember friends, YOU CREATE YOUR OWN HAPPINESS. No one else can make you happy or unhappy - it lies entirely within your power, and that is something that grownups learn. :)

Treasure Trove

I was driving home from the temple, on the ramp from highway 13 to 580 the other day when traffic came to screeching halt. As luck would have it, it wasn't quite dark yet, and this gave me an excellent opportunity to observe all the "goodies" that had collected in the median and on the shoulder. If you are ever in need of some extra cash, I would highly recommend just putting on an orange vest and getting yourself out there, because in addition to the cans and bottles, there are wheel covers, drink coolers, bumpers, and all sorts of goodies out there. It's a collection Ariel would envy. Maybe we should truck some homeless people with their "will work for food" signs out there to earn some extra dough. I'm just sayin'!