It's Christmas time in the city

Against all reason, my sister and I went out today to finish up our Christmas shopping. Surprisingly, it really wasn't all that bad. I've seen the mall and Target busier on normal Saturdays than either were today. JC Penney was the real hero of the day, I have to admit. Since Sis is spending next semester studying abroad in Ireland, I thought it would be nice to get our picture made together as a surprise for Mom before Sis leaves. With a ridiculously fab coupon from the internet, the whole photo thing was less than $20. We had an 11:40 appointment, but we got there around 11 and there were tumbleweeds rolling through the studio, so we actually got photographed, ordered, paid, and were on our way before 11:40 rolled around. The girl shot three poses, and even though only one of them turned out really well, it was okay since we liked it the best anyway. The photos are due back on January 4, two days before Sis leaves for Ireland, so we're going to keep it a secret and surprise Mom on the trip to the airport. I hope I didn't spoil the surprise...we both wore jeans and plain black longsleeved shirts, and when Mom asked us if we dressed alike on purpose or by accident, I wasn't quick enough to come up with a fib, and just told her "you'll see."

Besides the photos, JCP yielded two new pairs of jeans on sale for $22 each, which I definitely needed after witnessing the tragic and still-traumatizing demise of my favorite pair of jeans (and one of only three pairs that fit) last night. Also, I got Mom this pretty necklace for Christmas:



We ended up finding just about everything we went to the mall to find, and survived the sporting goods store, Target, Cold Stone Creamery, Barnes & Noble, and CVS relatively intact.

Even though presents aren't the point of the season, I still love seeing our little tree with packages piled all around it. All the gifts are wrapped, the stockings are stuffed, and the apartment is almost clean enough for Sunday night's Thanksmas party.



I should probably come up with a cute and clever way to tie this all up neatly, but I'm too tired, so here's a photo of one of my favorite portions of our Christmas decorations, and more fucking cookies. Man, I am sick of baking cookies.



Goodnight and hooray and yum!