shopping? completed. here's the list of all our loot: 1 pillow, to replace andrew's "flat-low", 1 pair of boots, 1 season of "friends" on dvd (my only true desire from this day), 1 argyle sweater for my husband, the only man under 40 who likes argyle sweaters except for those who also love other men, 1 dvd of "the dark knight", 1 multi-pack of black socks for my husband who wears out socks so fast that i often think of him as a goat, and, last, but certainly not least, 1 game of monopoly.

i am unashamed to admit that only 2 of these purchases were gifts for christmas. black friday is the perfect time to buy things like pillows and socks - things that we need, and are certainly not worthy of being wrapped and given as a gift. it's weird that they were on sale, though, since this is a gift-giving holiday sale. but whatever. it worked out that i didn't want any of the things that were big gift items... ie: a tv, a wii, an xbox, a camera, a gps, an ipad. all of those things were at the center of the madhouse. pillows and socks, however, were quiet corners of tranquility in the store.

also, they were 3 dollars.

anyway, my mother and i returned unscathed, with our bags of things, expecting to see my father sitting on the couch enjoying our 3 HD channels (brought to us by our convenient situation on a hill and an antenna), drinking a beer. instead, we found him sitting at the table, reading the book about facebook (by ben mezrich), waiting on windows 7 to install on my mother's laptop. i should've known it would take longer than 3 hours to complete that. in fact, it has consumed almost 8 hours of his time today.

WHY, WINDOWS?

i know that i'm a "mac-person" now, and thus, will never understand.... but isn't there an easier way? an easy button? a windows genius somewhere? my dad is good at computers and it's taken him all day. this is how i know i would never be able to succeed at installing windows. this is also how i know i will never even try.

thxgvng

thanksgiving is my favorite holiday ever!! i love how it is a holiday with no other purpose than for being thankful for what you have. usually, i'll make lists of things i'm thankful for, lists of things i want to do, lists lists lists.

tonight, though, i feel like i should just say that there is one thing i am really really thankful for:

knitting.
knitting has changed my life, and i am not being joking.

okay, i am.

no, not really.



OKAY OKAY it's a joke. (but i am reallyreallyreally thankful for knitting.)

anyway, since we all know i can't narrow it down to one, mostly because i feel obligated to say that the thing i'm most thankful for is jesus and his saving grace.... i'll just say that i am thankful for SO MUCH because god has blessed me in every way, and we'll move on.

so, BLACK FRIDAY. i'm looking to purchase another "friends" season for 9 dollars. last year, i got season 5. yeah, that's right, folks, i aim big with my black friday purchases. some people go for things like tvs, xboxes, fur coats... NOT ME. i shoot for the stars. anyway, my mom has decided that she has to go to one store at every mall in birmingham. she has very specific tastes, and i respect her for that, but for a person with about an hour-long endurance for shopping like she has.... this is gonna be rough. here's how i imagine this going: after conquering eddie bauer, and fighting the traffic to escape the clutches of the first mall, we realize that a savings of 5 dollars is really not worth it, even though our minds are like, "that's 5 dollars we could SAVE!!!" and then we call up my dad and he's all "i installed windows 7!!" and we're all "we r tired. comin home to eat pie." and then he says, "did you get some nike socks?" and we remember that we HAVE to go to another mall for the nike socks, so then we say, "AUWWWUUUUUU maaaaannnnnn .........nevermind see you in another 5 hours." as we turn on a ke$ha song (because that is just what this moment needs... the world's worst music, sung by america's most insane singer) and begin our pilgrimage to yet another shopping mecca.

why is the best holiday ever followed by the weirdest consumerism ever? stores are opening at 3 am this year. what up with that?

it's cold. i feel like doing only 3 things:

1. wearing pajamas.
2. drinking hot tea.
3. knitting. LOTS OF KNITTING.

i wish i had a fireplace. or at least a firey furnace like i use to have in our old, tiny apartment. i miss that furnace. the things i gave up for the allure of 2 giant bedrooms and less rent payments.....

i feel so cozy in my little apartment today, cup of tea nearby, knitting covering my feet, and the first blusters of winter outside the windows. nevermind the fact that i still haven't turned on the heat, and it's probably only about 55 outside. it's cloudy and cold, and that's winter.

i've been slowly but surely making myself comfortable in our new apartment, since we moved in april, and i feel like it's really becoming home now. photos and paintings are on the walls, there are enough chairs for everyone to sit in, i have a teapot on the stove, and an idea about where to put the christmas tree in a few weeks. i like it here, even if, truthfully, it's not a very nice apartment. haha! from the outside, our complex looks kind of like a dump. but on the inside, it's homey and i like it, and i think that's what really matters. i've never been a real appearance-driven sort of person, obviously.

anyway, just a little note to say that maybe birmingham could be a happy home for me someday soon, starting in the little corners of my apartment.

sometimes paralyzed.

two things i've thought about today:

1. all the lyrics to taylor swift's new songs. my obsession is approaching teen fan girl level.
2. making one of imaginary lives a reality. in case you aren't a member of my family (HAH! like people other than my mom read this..) and haven't heard, i have a number of alternate lives i'd like to live one day, if i ever stopped liking this life i have. it's such a hard decision because i really do like my current life, but i would also like to try out some other things, just for fun. for instance:
- living in a big city, with public transportation, in the center of it all. like nyc or portland oregon or seattle or even just atlanta. right in the city. having a job i could walk/ride a train to. of course, andrew hates cities.. so this is unlikely.
- living on a farm. andrew loves farms. this is possible, later in life, i believe.
- changing careers. maybe an esthetician (person who does skin care/facials, etc). maybe some other medical technologist. maybe one day i could own my own yarn shop. if i ever stopped living in a stupid place where people don't go to yarn shops.

i have a lot of aspirations, but i'm really often paralyzed by the realities of real life. bills, my husband's career, planning for the future of babies and a house and settling down. i've done the art school thing, so i know that being a professional artist is not my thing. but what about alllll these other options? i'm thinking i should at least try a few of them before i'm older and have children and serious things to think about it. a life of regret is not what i want. i don't want to be 50 and wishing i had tried a few more things when i was younger.

so here i go. to carpool to pick up my faux children. HAHA. i'm laughing at my own ironic situation.

MY FAVORITE!

first: I LOVE FALL. reasons:

1. fall air! the most crisp of all the airs!
2. call clothing! the most carefree of all the clothings! layers! if the first layer looks odd, just throw on a jacket and a scarf and looking instantly better!
3. KNITTING! fall knitting is the best, because at last, i am knitting something i might use the instant it is finished. hats! scarves! shawls! a blanket! HAHA!
4. many, many, many cups of tea.

you might notice i'm using lots of exclamation points. it's because i love fall. also, i'm trying to look on the bright side.

for the last .... 4 weeks, i've had the worst cold/flu/sinuswhatever and i've hated it! it's trying to ruin my fall season! today, though, i'm going to the doctor and he will give me some medicine and also a slap to the back of the head for not going to him sooner. whenever i get sick, i feel it is a competition between me and the sickness, and if i go to the doctor, i am admitting defeat. i hate to admit defeat, even to one-celled viral/bacterial organisms living inside my body. (or are they 2 or 3 cells? i have no idea how many cells. step one to becoming a better fighter in this competition... know my enemy. HM.)

anyway, we are coming up on november, which is my favorite month of the year for these reasons:

1. FALL!
2. perfect hair month! the one month in the year that my hair behaves exceptionally well.
3. my birthday! on a wednesday this year. excited for next year when it's on a thursday, because thursday is a great day of the week. actually, wednesday is okay too, but i like thursday better.
4. and now, most recently, our wedding anniversary! we have no extravagant plans.. in fact, no plans at all. we'll probably eat a nice dinner somewhere, and then come home. we are the life of the party, y'all!
5. THANKSGIVING, my favorite holiday! i love thanksgiving! it is the least commercialized of all the holidays, and it exists as a day to simply give thanks for all we have. i love that. there are no expectations placed on anyone on thanksgiving, except being thankful for our families, our homes, and all the blessings we have. in fact, this year, since my brother's move our to portland, we aren't even really having a big dinner. my parents are coming here and we're all going to eat chinese, haha! and then pumpkin pie, because i couldn't imagine a thanksgiving without pumpkin pie.

anyway, i've got laundry to do and a doctor's appointment to go to. i just wanted to write something here because anna inspired me.

.....and one week later, it is WINTER.

HMPH.