Christmas shopping, while fun, is even better when it is done early. Less crazy people, easy parking and the ability to get in and out of the mall is quicker. Unfortunately I have been on the procrastination craze as of late. Meaning that I got up somewhat early to get to the mall.
Of course, shopping this year is a bit tougher. I had my places I went to in Nashville, I had the choice of parking in a garage or valeting and the mall I went to there was never as crowded as the mall here. But then again, in a larger city you have several malls, several Targets and other shops to choose from. Here? Not so much.
I scored a sweet parking space and hit the mall. This year is also tougher since I am shopping for Chandler. Trying to pick out gifts that he might like is a bit trickier than previous guys I have dated. Music? He has everything under the sun. Video games? He has the latest games that he wants. He did put on his list a house, a car, a guitar with lessons and even a piano with lessons included. But unfortunately that is a bit out of my price range at the moment.
But I managed to find a few things and even met up with Bird and her girls. The girls were quite helpful picking out items. When I made an emergency run into Victoria’s Secret for a new bra they offered up fuzzy slippers and girly panties for him. But I am kind of thinking he might not like a pair of underwear made for a woman with the word Pink on the back.
As we finished up in the mall we gathered to discuss lunch options and I got to witness an epic parenting fail. A man was yelling at his under two year old son to stay with him. The woman was pushing the stroller and the kid was going the opposite direction. He kept yelling at him and I wanted to start laughing because the kid was barely two, if that. Reasoning skills really aren’t that high on their skill set at that age. We listened to the man bellow all the way through Dillards as we were heading to the car.
I picked up Chandler and joined Bird and her family for lunch. Then it was to the grocery store where much of my time was spent suggesting this or that for dinner followed by the answer of “I don’t know” from Chandler. And I decided that I would attempt to make mac and cheese again tonight for him. He did look at me like this might be a mistake. And I again stated that I don’t fail at cooking, so this failure to make something as simple as mac and cheese should be easy.
I am happy to report that the BBQ chicken turned out correctly as well as the mac and cheese. Although his choice of cheese (smoked cheddar) might not be the best to use. Next time we are going to go with a sharp cheddar.
And with that, I will hopefully finish up my shopping tomorrow, clean the apartment, take a nap and finish baking. At least this next week is a short one! I could use for some more time off.
Stumbling Through Life 