lucyismycat

Most everything is purchased - debating one more gc for DM and probably going to the mall today for some bath stuff for DMIL. I need to figure out what tickets to which show I want to get for DMIL, but that’s just something I can print before we head over to their house Saturday. The boys say they want to go to the mall with me to see just how nuts people are LOL I think they will be disappointed with the lack of crazy. Almost everything is wrapped. I forgot about a book that I got for DS10 that is still in the Amazon package. I will wrap that one after he goes to bed tonight, and maybe the telescope we got him. That box is huge, though, and there’s no hiding it since it has the brand all over the outside of the box. I may just bring it in Saturday morning while we are opening gifts. No baking this year - nobody eats sweets in our house anymore, and I hate to waste them. I will make some bread for our Christmas dinner on Saturday, though. I didn’t decorate much inside this year, either. Just one tree is up, and it’s been finished for weeks. I usually go wayyyyy overboard, and honestly, it’s been kind of nice to just keep things low key this year. Maybe next year I’ll go crazy again but for right now I’m enjoying just this one. Tonight we are skipping hockey practice and will go drive around to look at light displays and maybe catch a late movie.

Our family tradition is to go out for Chinese food on Christmas Eve after we go to church. Last year we didn't go because Covid, but this year both boys have asked to verify that we are back in business. This is funny to me because they will only eat the American foods at the place we go to! (like, what do you care, kid, you're just going to eat mac n cheese anyway?) LOL We are having grilled ribeyes, cheesy potatoes, salad and some other cooked vegetables for Christmas day. It's been a while since I've had a good steak! Bon appetit!

I hit one of our Walmart stores today for random items and walked through their Christmas section. After not having any fake trees for the last few weeks, it looks like they got a shipment in. The shelves were full of them...not sure they will sell at this point. I feel like most people figured out what to do by now if they wanted a tree. They also had several of their BF items in the clearance aisle. I didn't have time to look closely enough to see if they were discounted, but it sure seems like people just weren't that interested in what they were selling this year. Hoping for better next year.

I am off work from 12/17-1/3. However, so far there has been some kind of emergency almost every day. The first day we bought a new vehicle (soooo not really an emergency but something that took DH and I out of town). I found what I wanted and we jumped on it since trucks are hard to come by around here, and probably everywhere. Immediately left town to go the other direction out of state for a hockey tournament over the weekend. Yesterday (Monday), DFIL, DMIL AND my own mother all had either medical or household emergencies that took a day to deal with. DMIL tells me that she doesn't want to do anything "big" for Christmas, so we are scaling way down to keep things low key. I made an executive decision that we are having ribeyes for Christmas dinner! I'm heading to the butcher tomorrow to pick it up, and DH will grill them Saturday. We'll drop off gifts and food for the in-laws and spend the rest of the day playing with new toys. The weather is supposed to be pretty nice, so we may drag out DS10's new telescope to see what it can do that evening. DS10 has a hockey goalie camp on the 27th/28th out of state, and on the 28th I am surprising both boys with a trip. We come back on the 30th or 31st depending on when we get bored. We'll have a couple of days of "rest" and then back to work. Tomorrow I HAVE to finish shopping. DM just told me today that she wants a pair of boots for Christmas, but I am no dummy and will just take her shopping with me to pick them out. I still have a couple more gift certificates to buy, and I have completely neglected sending Christmas cards this year, so I'm going to do "New year" cards instead. Hopefully they're mailed out before the 1st but who knows.

We have 3 Walmart superstores in our town, and I've spoken to different families that were at each one at opening on BF. All have said the stores were dead, not many people. I went to our closest one later in the morning on Friday, and they had pallets of everything stacked up in the middle of the aisle. We were able to get everything on our short list (mostly sheets lol). I ended up back in the store Saturday night, and it was the same scenario. They still had extra pallets of the BF stuff back in the garden center. I think part of my issue is that by the time my family tells me what they actually might want for Christmas, these early sales are long over with. At least with the old days, I had a chance to corner them and force an answer at Thanksgiving. LOL Also, I don't have time (or really even the inclination) to compare a bunch of sales from one store to a bunch of different sales from another store, that take place over weeks, and trying to remember what I'm supposed to get at which store when. I think this new model is just a fail for me, but I know there are a ton of people who like it and it works well for them. I consider myself to be an extremely organized person, but IMHO this new way requires too much work on my part. (I am not a boomer LOL)

Happy December! We are kicking off hockey tournament season this month, with multiple out of town event/weekends for both boys. I am still hoping to find a vehicle before DS10's furthest tourney, on December 18th. DH and I are "discussing" what options we want/need, and I am ready to pull the trigger on the next thing I see that can fit all my crap. I do not pack lightly, and have no intentions of doing so. DS10 has his first ever band concert on 12/15, and now I think I should have bought noise cancelling airpods as an early Christmas gift, for all of the relatives that will attend. I kid, I kid. In the meantime, our outside decorations are done, and we are slowly working on the inside stuff. I really need to replace one of our fake trees, but they are impossible to come by at any sort of price that I am willing to pay. I'm not sure how close I am to being done shopping. Our spending is down pretty drastically compared to this time last year. I think this is our year of "experiences > stuff". NHL tickets, vacation, waterpark season passes, museum passes, etc. I did order a new work pc for myself yesterday from Dell. Expected delivery date is 12/31. I wanted to give the boys my current one for Christmas, but that may not pan out entirely on time.

No lines to speak of, hit Walmart first at around 10am. They had pallets of everything still just sitting there (I went back this evening for groceries and the same stuff was there, so I picked up another sheet set). Then we went to Macys. A few more people there but nothing crazy. I had ordered stuff online earlier on Thursday, but I did pick up a fluffy blanket with two pillows. I’m glad I ordered online because the stuff I ordered never showed up at our store. Next up was H&M for a few things for my youngest DS. Also went to Scheels and Sams Club, just to look around, and JCPenneys. I wanted a vest they had in the ad but our store didn’t receive any, so I ordered online while I was at the store. My mom tried to buy a hoodie for my DH but it rang up $10 more than it was supposed to, so she left it there. Lines weren’t bad anywhere we went. The only thing my mom wanted and got the last of was the Rubbermaid containers at Sams. Everything else was well stocked if the store got the items to begin with.

Yesssssssss! I will be picking up a couple of sets, and probably some pillows for DS11. And maybe a couple of the Straight Talk phones. Both boys want a phone, so I might get them the XR and just not activate it. (I'm a mean mom lol)

Our Walmart had turkeys today for .99/lb. Turkey breast is 1.88/lb, which is pretty good for our area. My local butcher has ground beef for 2.49/lb, still. I get 10 or 20 lbs at a time (it's pre-packaged fresh into 1 pound sections). Walmart was out of Gatorade, which has been hit or miss for the past several months, anyway. Yesterday we went with a large group to a local bar/grill type place that specializes in wings, for lunch. They were out of bone-in wings. Lots of disappointed guys; apparently the national wing shortage is real. lol

A. I have a SAMS club membership, Costco and Amazon. I quit using Walmart pickup/delivery because there were always multiple items that were “out of stock”, but I could go inside and grab them off the shelf. I just wouldn’t use it.

Ready to go! And, for the first time in at least 6 or 7 years, it's not looking like we will be traveling for Thanksgiving, so I can shop on BF!! This is good, because I have no gift ideas for the majority of the people on my list!

I do 2 stockings for each boy. They both are into sports, so one stocking is filled with stuff related to that: hockey tape, sock tape, skate socks, laces, mouth guards, whatever odds and ends we haven't used from a subscription box we get each month, etc. The other stocking gets video game gc, fast food gc, candy, toothpaste, a new toothbrush, deodorant (now that they are old enough to stink!), charger cables, earbuds, body wash, etc. My mom always had an orange and mixed nuts in the toe of her stocking when she was growing up. Sometimes I will follow that tradition if I have oranges on hand and think of it.

I am trying to find a new hockey-mom mobile. I need something gigantic (suburban or yukon XL). Just finding one with all the stuff I want on it would be awesome, at this rate I can't even order one. More realistically, I told DH that I want an immersion blender.

Both boys say they want iPhones. They are 10 and 11, so I'm thinking about doing unlocked phones with no service. I would be fine with an older model.

High thread count sheets from Walmart for a pretty good price ($20 or $30, can’t remember how much). However, this year’s price is a lot higher, and I don’t really NEEEEEEEEED any sheets. I also buy the set of Rubbermaid containers Walmart had every year. After thanksgiving dinner, I sent leftovers home with guests in all of my “old” Rubbermaids, and then I go out and buy all new ones. Lol

No budget, but i will more than likely spend less this year than last just because last year we got both the PS5 and the Xbox series X, tho neither one of those were BF purchases. My mom is hinting that she wants some kind of smart doorbell, so I guess I’ll figure that out for her. Otherwise I am clueless on gifts at this point.

no kidding! What the heck!? We just moved DS11 into his own room and I was looking forward to some decent sheet deals from Walmart as “filler gifts”. Back to the drawing board for that!

Our walmart had plenty of turkeys this week and last. I’ll pick up an extra one the next time I’m there, but we are having a fresh turkey for Thanksgiving, from our local butcher. I have stocked up on all baking supplies, and have any canned or frozen foods purchased for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Canned pumpkin was a little tricky to find this year, but I managed to score some this week. I am starting to think about gifts and need to get it in gear. DS 10 and 11 are getting harder to shop for.

Well, I'd be decorating for fall (outside) right now if I could find the stupid air pump to run the 10' pumpkin. (insert grumbling about DH moving it) Instead, I put up a 4' inflatable stack of pumpkins and that might be all we get done this fall. The pumpkin comes down on 11/1, and the 5' tall turkey goes up. On 11/26 that will come down and the outside Christmas decorations will go up over the course of the following week. Inside is a different story. We usually travel over Thanksgiving weekend, but we host Thanksgiving dinner at our house. Our relatives get snippy if I have Christmas decorations up before T-day. However, we didn't host last year, and this year is still up in the air, so I may start putting up some trees throughout the month of November.

I got mine yesterday - wasn't sure what it was. Held it right up to my eyeball so I could see the on/off button and pushed it. Then kept pushing it. I started to see things again an hour later DH had a great laugh at my antics. ETA: Thanks, Brad! This will definitely come in handy!

A new Suburban. I want a new hockey mom mobile. Having trouble even finding a dealer who can get one right now, let alone one that will haggle with me. I think I’ll be waiting until next summer.

I'll say it - I will miss the Thanksgiving evening openings. That was the one time my mom and I could get out and go shopping together. One (or both) of my kids will have hockey tournaments that will require me to get up on Friday morning and drive somewhere for the weekend, so I will miss any in store sales. She and I would clean up after the family dinner and then take off for shenanigans, shopping and snacking until the wee hours. We'd chitchat with anyone and everyone and in general, just have a fun time. I missed it last year so much, but it sounds like I will have to wait a while longer for those days to come back. I'd much rather stay up late than get up early LOL

I know it's a niche market, but a small business site that we use for a lot of hockey "stuff" (not gear, but just assorted crap that seems to come with the sport), is moving their major sales from November to October. They are concerned about shipping times and want to make sure we can stuff our stockings on time. I've also seen one mom-and-pop shop we use, switch from USPS to UPS. Not sure if that will help a ton, but they are trying. I saw shoepeg corn in a can the other day, and le Seur peas (both staples of the bean salad my mom makes for Thanksgiving and Christmas). I went ahead and got a few of each because last year I couldn't find either one when it was closer to the feast days. Not sure what we will do around turkey, but it won't break my heart if we have something else. There's always so much left over, and usually by then we are traveling every weekend for sports and it's March before we can use anything that's been frozen. DH is a turkey traditionalist but maybe this year I will convince him that we can have beef.

Family - 9, including in-laws and 2 special cousins. I used to shop for employees and their families but with us all working from home, I don’t even see them anymore. I may do some gift cards or something, though. Friends - somewhere between 2 and 5, depending on when we see them, if at all. Hockey “family” - 29, but those are all kids that we will get something small for. Door signs, key chains, probably stuff I will make at tournaments. Last year I made them all hockey related pillowcases and face masks. Our church always does some kind of gift donation, so we will participate in that. all in all, definitely not as many gifts as pre-Covid. We just don’t see as many people these days.

Happy SeptemBERRRRRR! Woke up this morning to cooler temps, after raining for much of the night - right on schedule. August seemed like the longest month of my life. Our dishwasher went out after 22 years (!) so we ended up with a new one after DH and I had many "discussions" around what he/I/we wanted. I think we both won with Miele, which I had never heard of before. Seems like a really good machine so far, and so quiet I can't hear it running unless I'm standing right next to it. School started, we've already been quarantined once, both boys went back today. Hockey tryouts took place, results are posted, everyone made it. whew Bring on fall!!