November 19, 2009

Stop the world...

I went to the mall last weekend. I don't like shopping malls, even if I once did, a long, long time ago. If I have to go to the mall these days it's because I need to buy one specific thing (vacuum cleaner bags from Sears, for instance, how exciting) and then I'm in and out. Wandering aimlessly around the mall, with all the lights and people and excessive things spilling out of stores, gives me a headache. I'll take an hour at my favorite thrift store any day.

April 20, 2009

Bag of Tricks: The Swimsuit Edition

Back in July last summer I went swimsuit shopping and it was a complete disaster. Part of the problem was that waiting until July to buy a swimsuit leaves you with hardly any choices to pick from--except, of course all the suits that no one else wanted to buy. And it's hard enough to find the right swimsuit without having to select from all the sad, rejected suits that looked bad on everyone else. This year I vowed would be different.

April 14, 2009

Products shrink but prices skyrocket

I am not a fan of grocery shopping, and I usually do this chore in a "Supermarket Sweep" style. You know, grab my cart and race through the aisles as fast as I can while loading up on everything I can get my hands on that will last for at least three months. But this last time, I decided to mosey, to supervise my spending and buy products I only needed, not wanted. As I was leaning on my cart, dragging my feet down the cookie aisle, I found a childhood favorite; Kudos. I wasn’t surprised when there was an open box on the shelf, so I took a peak and...my heart sunk.

December 18, 2008

Gifted education

Are you done with your holiday shopping yet? We're not. Scott and I have been spending the past three mornings in various stores, our long list clutched in our hands. And although I wish we had done more of it earlier, it's nice that now that the semester is over, the two of us get some one-on-one time together to shop, and talk, and catch up. And kid-free holiday shopping is so much easier to get done.

December 10, 2008

Bag of tricks: the giving edition

I'm knee-deep in final exams this week. Last night I was up until 11:45 calculating grades, and when I went to bed and closed my eyes, I saw small numbers and percentages and class participation points, instead of visions of sugar plums. This is the time of the semester when I get a type of tunnel vision: All I want to do is make it through the next exam, the next batch of exam grading, and the next set of calculations. At the other end of it all is Christmas, a tantalizing and magical oasis shimmering in front of me, my favorite time of the year.

December 1, 2008

Walmart worker killed in shopping stampede

The day after Thanksgiving is famously known as Black Friday -- the day when stores open before sunrise and offer huge discounts on everything ranging from clothes to electronics. Many people eagerly anticipate the deals to be had, and look forward to getting their Christmas shopping started (or finished), but the incident that happened this past Friday in Long Island, NY both shocked and disgusted me.

November 23, 2008

The broken elevator

In preparation for our family’s mission trip to South Africa, my husband, our two children, and one of the young adults that I pastor went to a mall to pick up a few things. We parked our car in the mall’s parking lot and then entered the mall through the Macy’s store. That’s how we’d remember where the car is parked.

November 18, 2008

Back on the (meal planning) wagon

I'm getting really tired of how much we've been spending on groceries lately. Every week I feel like we're hemorrhaging money at the store, only to have us back where we started in six or seven days. Is this just us, or does this happen to you, too? I admit, we've gotten lazy/busy these past few weeks, and I haven't been able to meal-plan as carefully as I have in the past.
October 27, 2008

Me, my body, my self

Last week, when I was waiting outside T.’s school for the doors to click open so I could go inside, a mom ran up, breathless, dressed in a snazzy work-out outfit. “Are the doors open yet?” she asked me. “Nope.” I said. “Whew.” She fanned herself with her hand. “I didn’t have time to shower after working out. I tell you—looking like I did before I had kids is HARD work.”
July 31, 2008

Slowing down

On my way home from Trader Joe's with T. yesterday, I contemplated why my approach to life has become so fast-paced lately. What sparked this off was the fact that as soon as we arrived at Trader Joe's, at 10:05 exactly, I found myself switching into high gear: quickly unbuckling T. from her seat, walking too quickly to the entrance to the store, with T. lagging behind and pulling on my hand.

"Mama, you walking too fast!" she complained, and I was.

12next ›last »