Christmas Shopping, 18th Chapter

I met Suz in Snellville yesterday to Christmas shop.

We had yet another fun, but unsuccessful shopping venture. I can't remember ever having such a hard time shopping. We went to The Avenue in Snellville. There were some different stores, which was what we were looking for. But y'all honestly, what is the deal? Why are things obscenely expensive? I was looking for something to wear over a sequin top to go out to dinner tonight. After hours of looking, we found the perfect one. There was just one problem. It was $129. And according to this guy's calculation, that was WAY TOO EXPENSIVE.

I wasn't about to pay $129 for a thin sweater. No matter how pretty it was and no matter how perfectly it would have gone with my top. Unh-unh. No way. So I left without a sweater. Suz bought only a few things from her still fairly long list.

She had to leave and get home so she could take her kids ice skating at Centennial Olympic Park. I would love to have gone and hope to go before the season is over. According to her, we may expect to see Eli compete in the Olympics one day. But if you know Eli, you know it'll be speed skating, not figure skating. He's full speed ahead at all times.

After she left, I wanted to do a little more shopping. I've been looking for some sort of lighting that is battery operated to but on my bookcase where I display my beloved snow globes. I stopped in at Michael's. Me and about 38,000 strangers were there.

I didn't find any lights, but I did stumble upon these.

Jacks or Jax. I'm going to go out on a limb here and call playing jacks a sport. Why? Because it's the only sport I've ever been pretty good at. Well, I take that back. Once upon a time, I was a pretty good roller skater. But that was eons ago. I can still play jacks.

Crystal and I used to play. We'd go all the way through our onesies to our tensies. Then we'd play around the world or doubles. So much fun. The red bouncy ball smelled just the way I remembered. All rubbery and new. The jacks are made differently now though. Remember when they were metal and if you accidentally stepped on one, you were in agony. Now they're plastic. If you step on one, it just smushes. I know this because Jeff stepped on one last night.

While I did have a little fun playing with them, it wasn't as much fun as I remembered. Made me a little sad actually. I guess it would be a little strange if a 44-year-old enjoyed playing jacks, huh?

I made the best baked potato soup last night. I stopped at Panera Bread on the way home and bought a loaf of French baguette to go with it. We had a fabulous supper. The boys were home, so we all ate together and it was nice.

Jeff took the day off today, so I think we're going to go out for a while. We're getting the car washed. It's been since summer since it was washed and even though it's going to be raining for like four days in a row soon, I can't stand it anymore. It's got to be washed. I may drag him out for a little shopping, too. Even though I'm happy to be going with him, don't you feel like this:

He keeps me in check, that's for sure. But it's good to take him out once in a while because he has no idea how expensive things are. I mean NO IDEA.

Okay. That's my Friday plans. Dinner out tonight. Brunch at Suz's tomorrow morning. Then we're going to the Georgia Dome to watch the high school football championships. That may not sound like too much fun, but honey, I love high school football championship games. So much fun to watch.

Have a great Friday! Till next time.