TheBanyanTree: I never shop.....

[Sharon Mack]

...I never shop.  I was always too poor.  I am like my father...why
look if you can't touch.  Always felt like it got the wrong juices going
to look and not be able to EVER buy.  I always went in , got what I
needed and got out!  Done!

Well, this weekend I made up for 57 years of no shopping.

I got a nice piece of change from the IRS (guess having my grandson
offers some material rewards after all) and Saturday he and I went on a
binge.

First stop...breakfast!  We had coupons so we hit Burger King, a place
we NEVER go to in normal circumstances.  We brought along some bird seed
and while we ate our breakfast sandwiches in the car, we fed the birds.

Then it was off to Olympia Sporting Goods where we bought him a
gorgeous pair of $70.00 sneakers.  Now I know that by today's standards
that doesn't seem like much but by ours it was a fortune.  They were on
sale so normally they would have been $75.00.  He was thrilled and wore
them out of the store.  Even though it was snowing, I let him.  It was a
day of fun and shopping.

Next we hit the Wal-Mart where I spent another $100.00 on various other
sundry items.  You know the kind....bird seed, a feeder I've been
wanting, some garden stuff (looking forward to spring) and yadda, yadda,
yadda!  I let 'T'  throw some items in for himself and then I bought a
little something for my eldest son (he wanted some A-shirts and some
socks....always the practical guy), and new toothbrushes all the way
around.  For Patrick?  I got him a shirt and some socks, too.  It was
fun!  Whatever we wanted, whatever we needed, went into the cart.  I
even got a new toilet seat at long last.  Ours was loose and missing the
pads on the bottom so every time the guys closed it it banged really
loud.

The grocery store was next on the agenda and we got some goodies along
with the usual meal items.  Some ice cream and stuff for burritos and
cereals we usually don't buy cause they're too expensive.

Next we went stove shopping at Sears.  Mine is long gone and has seen
better days.  It limped through the last few meals I have cooked and one
burner was completely blown.  The stove was so old that the burners were
not the usual prong  type that you remove and replace.  Nope!  They were
hard wired, baby! 

Well, I got such a good price (I hit a sale day with an ADDITIONAL 10%
off for merely applying for credit-which I did not want nor did I get)
that I was able to buy a new frig, too.  My apartment is small, so I
didn't get the BIG fancy-schmancy ones, but I did get a few goodies at
no extra charge, like an  ice maker and self-cleaning oven and a $50.00
rebate of my delivery charges aaaaaaand they take away the old
stuff...cool!

While we were out the grandboy spotted a Staples and said we should
stop and check out their laptops cause they have good sales sometimes. 
I said, sure, why not, and in we went.

For $1300 I got a new 60MB wireless notebook, router and printer (color
and black and white) with two $50 rebates (on computer and printer) and
a $20 rebate (on the router).  It's wide-screen and just lovely!  I
still can't believe I finally own my own computer.  I'm calling Verizon
today to get my internet going.  I will be changing my email address so
I don't get this stuff at work anymore (bet they'll be glad).

Sooooo, I have shopped until I dropped at last.

After the shopping we went out to lunch and then home and unpacked all
of our goods.  After putting everything away, I ended up asleep on the
sofa for 2 ½ hours.  I was POOPED!!!!!  Now I know I'm getting old. 
Can't even handle a day of shopping anymore...or rather for the first
time.

Boy, money may not be everything but I gotta' admit that was fun.  I'd
even like to do it again...maybe next year if the Grandson hangs!

Sharon

P.S.  Oh, yeah and we hit the Goodwill Store (just outa' habit) and
everything was 50% off cause they're moving to a new location.  I picked
up two copper pieces for my daughter Jennifer who collects copper.  Got
both for $1.29.  Can you beat it!?