Shopping

If there is one thing I don't do, it's shop. I've worked in malls and I used to hang out in a mall as a teen and even in college my friends and I would go to just walk around and eat. Monday, I ventured to the mall on one of the scariest shopping days of the year- after Christmas sales. The place was packed. But there were Great Deals that simply Couldn't Be Missed. It hadn't been my plan to go. I'd called Christy that morning to see how her Christmas had been and what she was doing that day. She said she was going to Macy's- they were having a big sale and that the ad had things she definitely wanted to look at getting. I got some crazy idea that a kid and I would have fun venturing to the mall. So I grabbed Zach and called Christy and off we all went. There was something I'd forgotten, apparently. I don't like malls. I don't really like shopping. We went to Macy's. I bought 3 things- a grill griddle pan, a pot, and a waffle maker that makes circus shaped waffles (a lion, an elephant, and a clown). I used a gift card from my mother-in-law so I consider the waffle maker a gift from her. I thought we might be done at that point. We decided to head to the food court for lunch. Christy mentions that Dick's Sporting Goods is having a sale and that there is a $10 off shoes coupon. I do need new running shoes so... fine. We'll go. I ended up buying 2 pair of Nike Lunarfly shoes. They were marked at $60- I normally see them for $80 or more. I picked out 2 pair- one is white with pink accents and the other are garishly magenta with electric blue accents. Turns out, they were even further on sale than the ticket price and were only $45 each! I also got a headband (covers my ears for outdoor running) for $4- and it's fleece and Reebok. Surely we were done then, right? Nope. Jeff and Teagan had opted to come and join us. We headed down to Sears and Christy stayed with the kids in a small play area while Jeff and I did a quick search for a gift I've been looking for. Come out of Sears and the kids are about to ride on this little Thomas the Tank Engine train ride. Up next- we head to Build A Bear. This was a big part of why I wanted to come to the mall. Teagan's favorite Christmas movie is Rudolph. Zach's favorite is Frosty. My kids love these classic movies. I love that they each have a favorite! Build-A-Bear had an Abominable Snowman and a Frosty so we simply had to commemorate 2010 with stuffed friends of our favorite movies! Up next- Borders. This is where the kids unraveled and I realized I hadn't had coffee all day. So Jeff took the kids home and Christy and I treated ourselves to a peppermint mocha. Again, I assumed we might be done with our shopping but... not yet. We walked past the Disney Store, checked out a kid's clothing place I hadn't heard of, glanced through Bath & Body Works (line was insane). Actually, insane lines were going on everywhere we went. JC Penney was next on the list. Again- a coupon, great sales. Great coupon this time and easy to use- that always makes it better. I bought some stuffed animals for a future project. We got Teagan a new lunch box (the zipper on hers is broken), I got a new nightgown (it is bee-yoo-tee-ful), and I got the kids a present to bring home- little travel pillows for around their necks (a blue dog for Zach and a pink cat for Teagan). Our final stop was a delightful one, thankfully. It was a large candy and gift shop- insane amounts of candy and stuffed animals. In fact, I've never seen so many varieties of stuffed animals- sting rays, octopus, seahorses, turtles, frogs, various breeds of dog, tiny little animals and big giant ones. We picked up a few sweet treats- things we hadn't seen in a long time or had never heard of (Freshen Up gum with the liquid center... peanut butter Snickers squares). Finally, we were done. It was after 4:00. I'd spent more than 5 hours shopping. In a mall. And I survived.