shopping marathon

My darling friend and neighbor offered to watch Eva for the day yesterday so I could finish up my Christmas shopping. I thanked her for the kind offer, but I never intended to take her up on it. Even though I was sure she was sincere, it seemed like too much... but she came over and pinned me down to a day and time. I really wasn't in a position to refuse!

me, in the car, with an empty carseat behind! sweet freedom!

First stop: drop off photo CD at Costco. Unbelievably long wait. I think, "I'm so glad I don't have Eva with me!" about 20 times.

Second stop: Roberts, for cardstock. (note to self: next year, stock up on white cardstock in October, before it is sold out everywhere.)

Third stop: Taco Hell, as I affectionately call it, for some shopping sustenance.

Fourth stop: Penney's. I go to Penney's maybe once every 18 months, but I had seen something on their website that I wanted, plus I had a $10 off coupon for anything in the store. They didn't have what I originally wanted, but I did end up getting 4 other gifts, which helped make up for the fact that Penney's is way far away from anywhere I ever want to go.

Fifth stop: Sears, in search of the elusive gift I couldn't find anywhere else. Nada. At this point, I was hot, I was frustrated, I had a pretty bad headache, and I was mad at myself for going to the mall. Fortunately, I had heeded a prompting to bring along some pain reliever. I took some and high-tailed it out of the mall.

Also, "I'm so glad I don't have Eva with me!" was running through my mind on a continuous loop.

Sixth stop: TJ Maxx. Normally I can find a whole cartload of things I want in this store, but this time I walked out empty-handed.

Ditto at the seventh stop.

Eighth stop: success! I found 3 things I was looking for, plus a couple of others I wasn't looking for (including wrapping paper for $.88 a roll! I'm a sucker for wrapping paper).

At this point, I called to check in with Heidi. Eva was tired and cranky. She told me not to come back, but I felt like I should come back anyway.

As I was driving by this store, Heidi called to say that Eva had fallen asleep! I quickly pulled into the ninth stop: success!

Tenth stop: I found both of the things I needed very quickly, with the aid of a very helpful saleswoman.

As I headed home to rescue Heidi, I mused about how different my actual day was vs. my expectations for the day. I thought that, without Eva in tow, I would dash in and out of all the stores, getting my errands done in record time.

Somehow, I had neglected to factor in greatly increased traffic, very full parking lots which necessitated much circling, and long lines in the stores themselves. What am I, a Christmas shopping novice?

I brought Eva home and snuggled with her for a little while. Then I drove Lucas to a friend's house and helped Max make cream puffs with homemade custard for his French class food day. I picked Lucas up, helped Marc clean up a bit for a video game party he was hosting, put Eva to bed, and headed out again to finish the shopping.

Eleventh stop: success. Plus, I found out that the owner of the store is my cousin! A first cousin, that I had never before met. What are the odds? (Although I had hoped he would honor my $5 coupon that I had somehow lost between home and the store. Maybe if I had met him previously...)

Twelfth stop: I bought the very last copy of a book I had been looking for all over town!

Thirteenth stop: Kohl's. Another place I very rarely shop, but I stopped there on a whim. I ended up finding the elusive gift I had searched all over the valley for! There was only one, too. I clutched it to my chest and practically ran to the cashier.

Fourteenth stop: a return, plus I found one more gift.

Fifteenth and final stop: Wal-Mart. I seriously should have planned that better. I saved it for last, because it was the only store I knew would be open late. The thing is, when you're bone tired and achy and all you can think about is getting home and going to bed, the very last place on earth you want to be is Wal-Mart. Fortunately, I just had to return something and then I could hobble out to my car. (my knees were rebelling against my marathon shopping)

I got home at 11:00. I may have collapsed then and there, if Marc hadn't had guests.

It was a long, long day, but I am finished with all my shopping! Whew.

{I really wanted to take a picture of all of my receipts and tally my spending. That would make for some thorough documentation, wouldn't it? But if I waited until I could get all that together, this post wouldn't be finished until January...}