The Shopoholic

My new project is to start stopping doing my Christmas shopping.

I did my Christmas shopping. I am done with Christmas shopping. Been there, bought that. Everybody has what they are going to get, for better or for worse. They asked for it they got it... or in reality, if they asked after they got what they are going to get, they'll get what I got. I just need to remind myself of that when I go to the store and see the perfect thing. I all ready have the perfect thing. I have many "perfect" things. I am finished. I just have to stop buying things it’s a sickness. I go months without buying anything for anybody, my shopping muscles atrophy and I can actually go into a store and walk around and find no urge to buy anything. I can go to a mall and walk out empty handed. A little Christmas shopping later and I’m like Carrie Bradshaw at a two for one Manolo Blahnik sale.

It’s very hard though. I like buying things. Its fun, it’s validating and it makes me feel like someone with money. I must have money because here I am spending it and even better, I am not spending it on me, so it’s selfless shopping, it’s like Christmas cookies, so bad and yet so good.

After Doggers Santa picture I decided to reward myself for being so good and took myself to Tuesday Morning… This is a very dangerous store. It’s full of things I really want and actually, in most cases need - I did not however “need” the very cute Santa figurine I got, that was on sale, so I got it. So it instantly went form a “want” to a “need” – like the very cute baby clothes for Tiny E. She wants new clothes and if they are on sale she really, really needs new clothes. She’s a baby, she grows out of stuff. She did not need the tiny parka I saw though. I know she wants another tiny parka, what baby who has spent most of her life living in 70 degree weather does not want another tiny pink parka, true, she all ready has a tiny pink parka, but she wants another one. I know she does. I’ve been shopping with her and I’ve watched her eyeing the infant parkas. She can’t get enough of them. She wants mood parkas!!

I did not get the tiny pink parka, as it turned out, I was in a great big area rug mood.

There was an area rug that would have been gorgeous in my living room. I really, really need a new area rug in there. For real. My old one has holes and it’s not really big enough and, and, and. I didn’t get the rug either. I thought about it though. The biggest drawback, well other then the price, which I never did find out because it wasn’t listed... was the size - It was very large. Very, very large. Perhaps too large for Minnie to carry. This may lead to the thought that if the rug is too bug for the van that it may also be too large for the room. This would be unfortunate. It also looked heavy and I wanted to wander the store and I couldn’t do that if I was dragging an area rug with me. You have to set priorities. I could get the rug or I could look at the scratched and dented section. The Rug or the deep discounts, one but not both. Kind of like the Lady or The Tiger but not really. There was no tiger.

Perhaps, one day, I will make another pilgrimage to Ikea, the land of nice, vaguely affordable area rugs. Did you know that Round Rock, Texas has an Ikea? Round Rock! The home of Leather Face and many, many, in my memory - many, single wide trailers. Raleigh doesn’t have an Ikea and we are also are home to many single wide trailers. It makes me sad, what if I don’t want to travel to Virginia to buy a rug. Why should Round Rock have an Ikea and Raleigh not? The Scandinavians suck.