Boycotting Christmas

I don't having anything against Christmas, really, I don't. It's my favorite holiday of the year, but the commercialization of it makes me crazy. Yesterday I went to Michael's Craft Store--would you like to guess what it was filled to capacity with? You guessed it, Christmas Crap. And the store was packed! I'm guessing people have already begun shopping for presents. Today I went to the grocery store, my least favorite chore of all household chores. I hate even trying to pop in for something quick on a Sunday because it is absolute chaos. And crowds. Have I mentioned how much I hate crowds? I hate the noise and pushing and slowness of people that seem to enjoy this stuff. So, I'm waiting in the express lane hoping that they will move us through at an express pace (not a chance when you have food stamps and you have to divide up your bill so you still buy your cigarettes and coke). This is my image of Hell, being stuck in line unable to move or to move the process along....hmmm, just realized that sounds like something else in my life. Anyone care to guess what that might be? So there I stood in my own Hell when all the sudden I hear the tinny sounds of poor quality Christmas music being piped into the room. Are you kidding me? We haven't even cleared Halloween yet!!!

I will admit I kind of started my own Christmas shopping...but only for myself. Since money was so tight for so long (even before I lost my job I had been pinching pennies for the adoption) and I just haven't bought anything for myself, well, I've been wanting Photoshop Elements 5.0 for a very long time (digital scrapbooking, yeah!), but I was unwilling to pay $100. Something told me to pull into Staples after my violin lesson yesterday and take a look. Well, not only did I find the only one left in the store, but I found it on sale AND with a $45 dollar rebate. Yippee!

Yesterday before my lesson Koji (my violin instructor's Japanese bf) taught me how to make origami cranes. I've been wanting to learn so that I can hang some in MayLing's room. I have a few all over the house that people have given me over the years, but not enough to make a mobile out of them. So, now I know. I tend to be a bit obsessive and I like to keep my hands busy so if anyone out there wants any, I'm happy to share. I'll even send you the nice ones, as opposed to the first few I tried making. I've also attempted some other little surprises...so drop me a line and I'll drop some in the mail to you.

Cheers!