Je suis finis avec mon shopping

Shopping
Originally uploaded by kimbalina.

What time did you wake up the day after thanksgiving? I woke up at 4:45AM, on purpose. My one gigantic shopping day of the year came in full force and I was as ready as ever for it. The night before, I wrote out a little list of what I needed to get from what stores and for what people, and the morning of, went through and started checking things off. It was so much fun aside from watching the cashier who was afraid of the *beep* that her register made everytime she scanned a new item. Hello woman, after scanning 10 items and hearing the beep each time, you'd think she'd stop being surprised by it. I fought the crowds, flexed my shopping muscles, and am now done and ready to relax and enjoy the holidays.

Blessed

You should be thankful for all that you have been given and are blessed with every single day and not just one day of the year, but this year, as always, I am thankful that we have a holiday for it to make it easier for families and friends to get together. Thank goodness for four day weekends so that I could catch up on my sleep, shopping, and being lazy. It's funny how your family can be so weird and sometimes annoying and yet, getting to spend time together can be so great. I am so thankful for a loving, loud, and funny family. There is nowhere else I could feel more comfortable or at home with. This year, after eating, talking, and watching football our family got together for our much loved games. We divided into two teams and started the screaming, yelling, and cheering over Taboo and Pictionary. Let's just say that we had a really good time and some fun memories were made (and teasing rights).

For example, the following picture, most people call this a hippopotamus

others *cough* *cough* ....a HIPPO-PO-TA-TA-MOOSE

Kimmy's Holiday Shopping Guide

Now that the holiday season is here, and with Thanksgiving just around the corner, most people are getting ready to tackle their holiday shopping list. For some like me, someone who loves to shop and who has waken up early the day after Thanksgiving to fight the crowds for years, this is the time to flex my shopping muscles. For others, this is a dreaded task. If the thought of holiday shopping sends a chill down your spine and causes you to break out into a fit of perspiration, do not fear. I have compiled a little list of things I've learned from the few times I've dived right into the holiday crowds. I am by no means a shopping 'expert'...although I'm not even really sure what that is, but maybe these tips can help someone be a little less stressed and make your holiday shopping a little more enjoyable.

• Don't procrastinate. Shop early, plan early, and wake up early if you plan on fighting the day after Thanksgiving crowds. Think of who you want to give a gift this year, if this is something you need to make or buy, and about where you could find what you have in mind. On the day after Thanksgiving, all of the stores have massive sales and if you are willing to wake up a bit early and fight the crowds, you will save a lot money and your checkbook will thank you. The earlier you go, the better. A lot of stores put things on sale for almost 75% off at opening and increase the price of the item throughout the day, so earlier is better. Also, some stores give out free gifts for the first X amount of people in the store. I usually finish all of my Christmas shopping that day and just window shop the rest of the time. This will save a lot of stress and if you hate shopping, just think that you will get it all over with in one swoop.
• Relax. Shopping is supposed to be fun. Don't be one of those mean cranky people who thinks the world revolves around you who snaps at and orders around the retail employees. As an ex-retail worker I can tell you from personal experience...we hate you, the more annoying you are, the less you will get out of us.
• Personalize. I absolutely love giving gifts to people, even more than I like receiving them. There is not a better feeling than knowing that someone put thought and effort into picking something out for you. Listen to your family and friends. Everyone mentions something they like or want in passing without even realizing it. I always make a mental note of this, regardless of what time of year it is, and keep it in mind to stay on a lookout for the 'perfect' gift. Gift giving isn't supposed to be 'just for doing it', so try to have meanings behind your gifts. If your friend is a geek, find some geeky gadget that they will go ga-ga for. Fruitcakes are not cool.
• Pay attention. Some of my best finds were items in the clearance section, below a pile of random junk. Keep your eyes peeled for these treasures. Also pay attention for crazy suburbian moms who feel that they can run you over with their shopping cart like they do with their massive SUVs.
• Dress appropriately. This tip is also to myself. I can't tell you of how many times I have worn the wrong attire to go shopping. You'd think I'd learn. Wear comfortable shoes. Don't be like me and wear cutesy little boots if you are planning on spending the day shopping. Wear your most comfortable shoes. If you are going to wake up at the crack of dawn on the day after Thanksgiving, wear layers and bring gloves. Standing in line outside at 6AM is a lot colder than you think.
• Refuel. Yourself that is. Shopping tends to make me thirsty. Maybe because of the heaters in the stores or the walking around...I don't know. My point is, bring a water bottle and even a candy bar in your purse or manbag. There's nothing worse than a hungry dehydrated cranky shopper.
• Find appropriate shopping buddies. If you are a person like me who likes to browse and just walk around and people watch, either find a very patient person to go with you or someone who also shops the way that you do, if necessary, go by yourself. Shopping is supposed to be fun and the last I heard, listening to complaining, nagging, and whining is not fun. If you are like my dad or brother, and just walk in to pick up what you need and walk out, (aka. complainers) go by yourself.
• Plan. To avoid unneeded stress, plan out what stores you want to go to before you start and the route that would be the most convenient. You can check out the ads in the papers or online to know ahead of time what stores have what you want/need.
  
• Be happy. Don't let rude people or parents fighting over the latest toy craze ruin your day. Ignore them and if you want, take pictures of them to show your friends.
  

Ready? Set. Shop!

Love is all around

Roomies
Originally uploaded by kimbalina.

The wedding was beautiful. After having lived together for four years and being there for each other through many monumental moments, I felt so honored to have been a part of my friend Joie's wedding. It was so touching to stand there at the front and watch her walk down the aisle with her dad to meet her new husband. Congratulations you two!

Rehearsing

My very good friend and college roommate is getting married tomorrow. TOMORROW! I can't believe how fast this day has come. It seems like yesterday when we were living in Davis together, and she came in my room to show me her newly decorated left hand. Last night we had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Everything seems to be falling into place, our dresses are altered, jewelry is shined, appointments made, and cameras are ready. Tomorrow will be great. Let's do this thing!

D'oh!

Don't buy things from far away places that you can only return at the store you bought from. I bought a coat from an outlet store in Napa a couple of months ago, that I have been meaning to return for awhile now. Due to the countless amount of weddings and wedding related things I have been involved with the past couple of months, I haven't had a free weekend to make the trek up to Napa just to return the darn thing. Since this past weekend was my free weekend between weddings, I decided I would go to Napa for a visit and to finally return the coat.

One of my friends knew a little local cafe that served really good brunch with ginormous portions. The breakfast plates, were literally 11 sausages, 3 eggs, hashbrowns, and toast....heart attack on a platter. I didn't order the sausage platter but something equally as big and actually finished the entire plate. Normally, I can't eat very much before I get full so we were all amazed at how I managed to fit all of that food into my body. While eating, my friend asked me again why I wanted to head up to Napa just to go to the outlets, and I mentioned that I mostly came to return the coat. That was when Bertrand asked me, 'Did you remember to bring it?'

We woke up early on our only free weekend, drove all the way up to Napa, energized ourselves with a ton of food, and I forgot to bring the coat. Blah.

Smile, you'll feel better

About a year ago, I started a list of "Things that make me smile." I've updated this list over time adding little events or funny moments as they've happened so that I could look back on it later. Today I went back to this list and added one more item. After adding the new memory, I read over everything that I had written down previously and my spirits were completely lifted. I sat at my computer and smiled just rethinking all of the funny moments that I would have otherwise forgotten. In some ways, I wish that I had created this list years ago because I am sure there are things that have slipped my mind, but simply being reminded about them, could completely change my day around. Everyone should have a "Things that make me smile" list. Try it!

I see dots and squigglies

For the past few days, I've had something in my eye (my one good eye at that). I can see the darn little dots and squigglies throughout the entire day. It's almost like looking through a camera when you get the little dust things in the lens and need to wipe it clean, except this is my every day, every hour, every minute. I've tried flushing out my eye, rubbing it, examining it, but no luck. I've managed to deal with it the entire weekend, but today on my drive into work, the grey skies made the black squiggly even more bothersome and my computer screen also highlighted the annoyance. I finally made an appointment with my optometrist to see what was up, and after some careful examination, I was told that I had a floater in my eye and would just 'get used to it' eventually. Get used to it? Hrmph.

What do you do when you can't sleep?

I read blogs.

You'd think that working for Blogger, being engulfed in the world of blogs, and staring at blogs all day would make me tired of them.

If I ever feel old

Occasionally I'll have a little bout of realization that I am getting old. I see my friends getting married...buying houses...and just doing 'adult' like things. Little kids call me a 'lady' and on occasion, I will find a grey hair or two. Tonight, I put on a warm old sweatsuit with my High School's name on it and handed out candy to the cute little fairies and goblins in the neighborhood. When I opened the door, one group of kids said, "Trick or Treat! Oh Foothill!" I handed out the candy and asked, "Do you guys go to Foothill?" The group proudly said, "Yeah, we're freshman...are you a sophomore?" Sophomore??? hahaha. That's a good one. They thought I was nearly a decade younger than I really am...they must not have seen the grey hairs. A little taken back and amused, I told them that I had already graduated college and was much older than they thought. The expression on the guys faces was of complete shock. Thank you random kids for making me not feel old but at the same time making me feel ancient.