Window Shopper

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Have you looked out in the stratosphere and checked out the after Christmas sales? I have to admit that I am a tad ignorant about it but from what I have seen, there really are not that many, at least in our area. Of course, we live in outer nowhere at all, so it’s probably just where we live.

Frankly, I am getting a bit tired of the things we miss because of where we live. It is a trade off for us. We get the more tranquil rural setting but we do not get great educational systems. We have the big Wally but the other store in the area is pretty lame too. Yes, Wally is really lame where we live. Talk about preferential treatment. We do not get it here. For instance, if you like some new product, don’t expect to see it for long. BAH!!

So, are there any really good sales going on anywhere? I would love to know about them. If there are, are they online? What’s the url? Yes, I am nosy. LOL!

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First of all, we are gearing up for the New Year as we speak. We needed to make a plan about what we were going to write off “The List” and what we could do without for a while. Not easy stuff here. The List is very important. It gives us a goal or several goals actually. And those goals need to be met by certain times. Not all things on The List are like that but most are.

What am I talking about? Well, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Then, we must get started on this things on The List which includes such things as buying a new car, a new house, laptops for us to make blogging easier to do, a tank of propane that MUST be ordered in January, a new microwave, television set. Actually, The List is larger than that but these are the most pressing things, at least some of them.

Now, as to what we will do first…that’s Phase 1 which includes the previously noted tank of propane. That has to be on top of The List because we will be running low by sometime in January. And these days, it costs a lot of money to fill such a tank. For instance, our last bill to fill it (a 250 gal. tank) was almost $300. That was when it was at about 30%. What that means is that we still had 30% of the tank full. When we buy it again, it’s going to probably cost a bunch more than that.

Phase 2 will include the taxes we have to pay, at least one of the laptops and, hopefully, a microwave. The television and several other items will be in Phase 3. The above list does not include the medical bills we still have to pay but those are not included in this plan but in the one that has me paying those bills a bit at a time each month. It also does not include the furniture we need as much as we need an assortment of other things but that will be probably in Phase 4. By the time we finish The List, if we ever do, we will have a new one to take it’s place. Isn’t life grand!!!

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I confess, we have ratty chairs and the couch has gone “boing” at least a few times. That was not pleasant. Yet, we have that really lived in look in our livingroom. I know. It sounds more like a trailer park. But no, we live in an actual house with an actual foundation. What we really need is more modern furniture. Not likely to happen these days, of course. Why? The Google mess, of course.

See, Google slammed those of us who like to earn money at home working on our computers. So, now my income has dropped and we no longer can think about new furniture. Sigh. Some day soon, we will rise up again, sort of like the machines in the three Terminator movies. ROFL!!

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Are you in the after Christmas blues? Maybe you got some stuff that simply is not going to work, no matter what you do. Hey, I heard about this woman who got a DVD player for Christmas. The tray wouldn’t come out. What do you do with that?? You take it back.

If Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) wasn’t good enough, now we have the day after Christmas when the stores reopen and the reverse rush begins. Sigh. Isn’t getting a tad ridiculous here? First, you have the after Thanksgiving sales. Those take care of the people who are willing to do their shopping early enough to actually get the items on their lists. Next, you have the middle shoppers. These are the ones that shop all December, getting the best deals they can find but the real sales do not start until closer to Christmas.

The next set of sales comes during the last few days before Christmas. This is the time that you really cannot find the one thing you really, truly wanted to give a person because you waited entirely too long. However, they have excellent sales on things like big screen televisions and you could get that instead. Your spouse is likely to never speak to you again but, what the heck, it’s Christmas.

The last day before Christmas is the worst. That’s when there is little that you actually wanted left in stock. However, you find quite a few sales and a number of people you know that are as ridiculous as you are..waiting to to the last minute.

Then Christmas day happens. All the paper is stacked up to be burned or picked up by the garbage guys. The presents are all opened, some to be played with until they break, some to be used sparingly because you really didn’t want it but you won’t hurt the person’s feelings. Then there are the ones that you just know you have to return at first light on the day after…after what? After Christmas, of course.

The day dawns bright and clear and you are ready to go at 8AM. You get to the store and there’s a mob scene. Everybody has something in their hands that they simply cannot use or do not want. Some of it is broken, some not the right style or size, some is just not you…like the lamp from the movie..The Christmas Story…you know, the one with the lamp shaped like a lady’s leg.

The doors open and it’s a stampede to the customer service desk. The line is already so long it’s going to take the better part of the morning to get to you. The item you brought is a DVD that is not working. You have no receipt, nothing to show it was bought here. The store clerk looks at it and wants to know what’s wrong with it. You tell her that it does not work. She scans it and…. nothing. Are you kidding me? Nope. This item does not come from this store. You groan and think of the hours you have wasted already, standing in a line you did not even need to be in for this item.

Outside, you call the person who gave the DVD to you. They claim they did not give that particular movie to you at all. They have no idea who gave it to you. This is not working well. Is this a nightmare or what???? Actually, yes. Time to wake up! There. Now wasn’t your day better than that? I thought so.

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Have you noticed that when it gets to December that Christmas shoppers get a distinctly negative attitude? Did you wonder if they went home to see Marley floating around? When did it become a trial to shop for presents for someone else? Is this the attitude most people have around this time of year?

The answers to those questions may never come. But I can tell you that where we live, the attitudes are as varied as the people. Some are so negative that you just know in your heart that if Marley does not visit, it will be because he got stuck in traffic. Once the ghost of Christmas past shows up, it’s all over but the shouting!

Other people are so merry that you wish they would go home and be surprised and merry with the ghost of Christmas present. Maybe he can help the “too merry” person to get a perspective on life. And then there are those that you know have already seen the first two ghosts and could care less. You hope that they will see the next guy but this person might actually scare the crap out of the ghost of Christmas future.

But I believe that most people are actually happy and enjoying the season whether they enjoy the shopping or not. But the shopping is going to happen, at least for the rest of today and the next 4 days. Isn’t it sort of awful that after that, it’s all over. Well, not here. We have to start planning next year’s presents. Don’t you?

Merry Christmas from the Window Shopper!!! Happy Shopping, at least for the next 4 and a half days! Ho Ho Ho!

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I love t-shirts with sayings on them, all sorts of sayings as long as they aren’t nasty. So, when I saw this website that sells custom t-shirts, I had to take a look at it. What I did not expect was the variety of the political t-shirts they have available. And of course, you do have the option to customize your shirts.

Actually, I think custom political t-shirts in an election year are great! They will give your message faster than any speech or comments made out in the world. Custom t-shirts tell what you want them to say in a way that is silent but gets the point across quickly and without argument. I love the idea.

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The gist of it is that we are in need of a new television set. We have tried for a few months now thinking that it would last a few more years but the fact is we are running out of time. The set is about to go down the tubes, so to speak. It has been in our family now for about 10 years. Not bad for a television that runs far more than it was meant to run. And, of course, the fact remains that in less than a year, the analog television will pretty much be history, at least for the purpose of getting signal without help from a converter.

Okay, so we should go out and get a new set. Not as easy as all that. For one thing, it’s Christmas time. The funds are going out for presents for the family, something I look forward to and dread at the same time. LOL! Nope. We do not have the money to be using on a television right now. But I had my eye on one that is really not that expensive. But then, you think about all the extras that we are probably going to get too. What extras? Well, our vhs player is almost shot too. Then, we could use a new DVD player. But what is really intriguing to my husband are those little boxes called HDMI switches. He wants one of those to make it all work together. Now, my idea was to keep it simple, right? Not these days. No way. You have to bring in the techoweenies to get the job done in a sensible way. That’s why my husband is fixing the whole thing when we do get the set and accessories, not me. I have no clue. So there you are.

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Our webhosting service had some problems but we are back up and running again with a small gap in our blogging.

All of our thoughts have turned to Christmas. Have you noticed the date? Have you noticed how close Christmas really is already? I still have shopping to do. It’s sometimes difficult because what I want to get is usually hard to find. The online stores are great for the hard to find stuff IF I can think about it in time. I took a chance today and bought three things that I am not truly sure will make it here before the big day. And of course, there are a couple of things that must be sent out of town too. That cannot be good with only 15 more official shopping days left before Christmas. Obviously, we do not have nearly as much time for mailing things. Sigh. Sometimes it’s a real chore getting things to their destination on time and in good shape.

Have you had problems finding what you were looking for? I have. For instance, there are some movie titles that just are not available. But I did find a really rare title quite recently. It is supposed to be shipped out already but it might not make it here on time. Since our family celebrates a day early so that those of us who travel can be home on Christmas day, we even have less time.

I usually figure the cutoff time for shipping things, to be safe, is around the 7th or 8th of December. I usually do not order anything else that has to be mailed to me. After that date, I have to depend on the local (Hahahaha) stores. All that does is spur me on to getting my shopping done earlier in the year most Christmas seasons. This year was a tad late getting started because of money…yes, money again. It’s always about the money, isn’t it. But blogging has been a real saving factor this year. Because of our blogging for payment, we were able to actually HAVE Christmas presents. If we had not had this, there would have been a serious shortage for the kids and the adults. We are grateful that we can do this. And this is not the post to lambast the big g for what it has done. This is an upbeat post.

So, what is happening with you? Are you getting your shopping done or are you one of those who figure that it’s just as easy to shop at the last minute? Did you learn nothing from “Jingle All The Way?” Arnie was desperate and so will you be if you wait that long to buy your presents, especially for your wife or husband. Oh, not good.

We can talk about this after Christmas and share what we got, okay?

Happy Christmas Shopping to all and to all a good night!!!

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I have to tell you that I could not believe this particular game, although I should since so much out there in the market is crazy anyway, was available to sell. Now, I am not going to give you the link. You have to find that yourself. But this is great. The only problem I can see is that the thing would make me so hungry for chocolate while I was playing that if I did not have a fresh supply of chocolate, it would be time to head for the store…hopefully BEFORE the game started. If not, that game could be called because of chocolate lack. LOL!

Yes! It IS a real game. The way this one works is buy favorite chocolate properties, sort of like the old monopoly game, you collect chunks of chocolate. You can trade them in for chocolate factories. It’s deceptive in how it sounds…real easy, but you also need to suppress your cravings or get sent to Chocoholics Anonymous. Oh NO!!! This can be a chocoholics dream or something dreadful. ACK! Looks like fun to me. Ah, go hunt it up and give it to somebody for Christmas!!!

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