Friday, December 18, 2009

Cash strapped for Christmas?




This year with the dreaded economy (ugh I am so sick of that word this year) Jon and I decided we weren't going to exchange gifts. Aside from the fact that it can be expensive it also adds that much more stress of finding the perfect gift(s). I was sitting and thinking about it one night and came up with something that could be both fun and inexpensive at the same time. I came up with an idea to try and find the worst possible gifts with a ten dollar budget. Where is the best place to go for something like that, and where can you get the worst bang for your buck? Any 99 cent or dollar store. Those stores often have some of the most random things. We decided to buy ten items, or ten dollars worth whatever came first (yes you can get things there for LESS than $1). I can't say what I bought Jon since it isn't Christmas yet but I have to say that it was probably the most enjoyable Christmas shopping experience I have ever had. I laughed the entire time! So if you are having a hard time this year and decided not to exchange gifts try something like we did. Now we each have at least 10 things to open on Christmas morning and will enjoy doing it :)

Sunday, December 13, 2009

I want it now!


I'll be honest, when I started this blog I expected it to be funny and fun, but lately all I find myself doing is bitching and I should probably apologize for that. However, this post will be yet another unfunny one. I want to meet the people who came up with the phrases "Everything happens for a reason" and "Just think positive" and "It always gets worse before it gets better" so I can ask them how the hell they came up with that, AND just how long it take for this thinking positive thing to pay off. Oh yeah and how come no one ever explains what those reasons are?? And WHY does it get worse before it gets better?


We are going on two months now of Jon being out of work and it is frustrating. It has been hard for me to adjust too especially around the holidays. I love to spoil my family with gifts around this time and it is so upsetting that I can't really do that this year. Yeah yeah I know that's not what Christmas is about but for me it is. I love to go overboard on Christmas it is very gratifying for me and it only happens once a year. I honestly would go out and get a job to help out but no one is going to hire a pregnant person especially when you take into consideration of how far along I am. So Merry Christmas honey.....I paid the power bill!


I have been such a broken record lately that I have been getting on my own nerves..."I'm tired, I'm stressed, I'm worried, I can't sleep, what are we going to do, heard anything?" and so on. Being pregnant is for sure not good for the anxiety I have about everything, but there really isn't much I can do. All we can seem to do is continue to "think positive" and do the best we can. I try my hardest to remain positive but it does get tiring, also I have a little problem with patience, I hate waiting and when I want something I want it now. I'm sure we all have a little Veruca Salt in us, it is just more apparent in some than in others.


I can only imagine how I sound..oh boohoo you can't go crazy on your family and shower them with gifts this year..whaaaa but whatever that is how I feel. I know there are people out there who are losing their houses and can't afford to pay any of their bills let alone buy Christmas gifts (and I AM thankful to not be in that position right now) but these past couple of months have made me feel empty. All I can hope for is that this passes soon and things will get back to normal. I hope for everyone that this time next year is much better and this country isn't in such shambles. Lets all just try to think positive....so they say

Thursday, December 10, 2009

And a Merry Fricken Christmas to you too!




What is it about the holiday season that turns so many into mean, rude, unsympathetic, "move it or lose it" people? I thought this was a time where we embrace each other even more and are supposed to be kind and nicer than normal. Maybe it is just the places I am going or it is just the way the times are now....I have no clue but it is so damn annoying! People at the stores are rude and cut in front of you, grab things you are grabbing for and sometimes just pretend you aren't there. I know it is so stressful around this time and everyone wants to get in and out and on with their lives but come on! It just seems that people suck more this year than last.

It isn't even just the regular stores that are bad, my most recent experience at thee grocery store was enough to slap someone. It was raining (which should have been my first clue to stay home since no one knows how to react when it rains here) and I decided to stop in Smiths to pick up a few things. It started in the parking lot. I had my blinker on waiting for a car to pull out so I could have the parking spot and a car comes from the other side and steals my spot! Yeah I know it happens all the time but I never do that especially when someone has already "claimed" it by using their blinker. Ugh whatever so I decide to let it go (not without shooting them a dirty look of course) and find another spot.
Once inside I make my way down to the salad aisle and stand back so that people can walk down the row or so I don't block anyone elses view and this guy and his wife walk right in front of me and start looking too. It was as if I wasn't there, or they saw me and figured I was standing there for fun. I just stood there, I didn't say anything I just stood there, and waited for them to get what they needed and move on. However, they didn't, the man literally stood there inspecting every damn bag of salad for at least 5 minutes. Finally I made my way up there (I may or may not have nudged him out of the way a little bit ;) and grabbed what I needed, while he was STILL inspecting bags of lettuce. Those little instances continued throughout the shopping trip, things like people standing in the middle of aisles with their carts and not moving even though you say "excuse me", being bumped into and so on. The meanest thing happened to me in the parking lot on my way out.

I am visibly pregnant pushing a cart in the rain making my way across the designated crosswalk in front of the store, I get halfway across and this guy in a truck decides he doesn't want to wait for me anymore and decides to pull out in front of me. His truck was so close to me that my face was maximum 5 inches away from his drivers side window. I contemplated ramming my cart into his truck but inside yelled some obscenities to him and just hurried up to my car. At that point I was so done with that night I just wanted to go home.

So you know be nice out there! Slow it down and try not to be in a rush, or if you are don't be a douche, say a Merry Christmas or something a flash a smile