Don't Go Shopping With Me

I'm typing this entry right into the white box today. I seem to get hung up every time I open Word, so I decided not to do that. So if I'm sounding rambly, there are lots of typos, or this is just plain boring, blame it on that.

I think I'm getting used to the work thing. Finally. The kids barely notice when I get home anymore. The only one who gets excited at all when I step through the door is the dog who wags herself silly when she sees me. Everyone else is too busy doing important things like watch TV, play on the computer, or play Playstation. I feel so loved. It's good to know everyone can get along without me, even if it does break my heart.

It might not be long before everyone realizes how crucial my job was as things around the house have been deteriorating considerably. I just don't have the time or energy to do anything on Monday and Wednesday when I work ten hours. Friday is tough too, even though it's my half day. I try to do things on my off days, but I'm just playing catch-up the whole time. Until yesterday, John did two loads of laundry on the very first day I worked. Yesterday he did one more load. Quite an accomplishment. He made dinner only once in the three weeks I've worked. The house did get picked up last weekend only because we had sitter over while we went out to see John's old band. I'm getting frustrated with the lack of effort from the husband who swore up and down he would pitch in when I started working. Bugger pushed me out the door before I was really ready, and now I still have to do all the work at home? He better think again.

Yesterday I remembered that last year I wrote an entry every day in December. I just laugh to think of doing that now. I can see the entries from Mondays and Wednesdays--"I worked. I'm tired. I came home and lay on the couch all evening." Good thing I didn't expose everyone to that, huh?

I finally really started Christmas shopping last week. I already ran into problems finding the Hamtaro game for GameBoy Advance when it went on sale at Target last week. I haven't heard that Hamtaro is the next big thing. Is it? I didn't even know what the hell Hamtaro was. For anyone in the same boat, it's a cartoon about a hamster and all his little hamster buddies who go solve problems and make life better for their owners. It's not all super-heroish like I expected it to be. It's not all the interesting either as far as I'm concerned, but I'm not seven. Booie loves all things cute and furry and all things small, making Hamtaro right up her alley. Even I like the end where he dances to the theme song, shaking his fat hamster butt. So maybe I am seven.

Even though it snowed like crazy today, I braved the roads and found myself at Target today. Actually, I braved the roads to go get my stupid TB test read, but since the doctor's office is right across the street from Target, I went there too, much to the chagrin of all the employees who seemed to have a hairy leer for everyone who dared shop on a snowy day. I didn't find one darn Christmas present, mostly because I'm too cheap to buy anything that isn't on sale, but I did find a couple of cute Christmas decorations for the house, some socks, shirts and shoes for Booie, heel cups for my shoes, cookie mix, and batteries. You know what I went in to buy? A game for Booie. I left without the game but with all that other stuff. That's what Target does to me... that and render me helpless to make a decision.

I stood in the Christmas decoration aisle for near 20 minutes deciding which things I wanted. Everything was so darn cute, and I wanted it all, but I didn't want to explain to John that my entire first paycheck went toward Christmas decorations. I picked things up and put them down. Leering employees passed me buy several times and probably wondered why the hell I didn't have a cart, since I was already carrying all that other stuff. When I finally got the idea I was looking pretty stupid there, I made the agonizing decision and came home with two things. And John wonders why I always want to drag him along when I go shopping. Anyone else is better than going alone. Other people can help me or get so mad at me that I make the decision or leave with nothing. Though leaving with nothing usually makes whomever is with me even more angry for wasting so much time.

I suppose that's enough to be a real entry now. I have laundry to do and a house to clean, dammit. It's probably about time I put the stuffed turkey and pumpkin away too and start thinking about digging out the Christmas stuff. Man, this holiday decorating can be a real drag. Why did I buy more of it?