The Post-Christmas Post

The holiday is past now, but the feelings linger on. Christmas went very well for us, other than financially. The missus and I worked together well to put everything in order, plus into bed by 7am Christmas morning! Luckily, our kids have finally reached an age where they can endure waiting a few hours to start opening packages.

I had a high time shopping for Mrs. Leslie. Most of the purchases were made at Kohl's department store. We shopped together first, so that she could give me some idea of her likes and dislikes. I kept commenting about styles and colors that I liked, and strangely, they were quite different from her faves. So, once turned loose in the racks, I bought things that she would like. I still looked for myself too, of course. Having gotten nice things off their clearance racks before, I combed through them vigorously. I left with an armful of things for Mrs. L, but nothing for moi. That was a downer.

The next evening I dropped by Macy's. I hardly ever darken their door, but people whose fashion sense I admire (Shannon and Petra, for example) swear by the store. I was astounded by both the prices (much higher than I expected) and the fashions ("butt ugly" crossed my lips frequently). I understand that clearance racks are likely to be filled with items that the public refused to purchase at full retail, so that may explain the unbearable eyesores hanging there. Sadly, the items that looked halfway wearable were not great bargains even on clearance.

Finally, I found something that I liked, a stretchy black skirt, cut a bit above the knee. The tag read around $12, but I ran a price check on the bar code and it came up at $7! Even a mistake would be worth that price, so I bought it. It looks okay on me, but I still need some sort of black shoe or boot with a closed toe. There is no way I'm wearing this one bare legged, and I'm not keen on hosiery and sandals. The skirt won't be making an appearance at Saturday's meeting.

Tuesday night, I saw that Soma had a 5 panties for $20 sale online, so I placed an order there too. I truly can't afford to do these things, but, mentally I can't afford not to. These purchases are going to get me through the winter and the worst of my dysphoria, if past is precedent.

The family got Wii Fit from Santa. Four of us have been having great fun with it, and it is making for some fine quality time with the kids. I got a WWII dogfight game, and have been shooting down German planes more than reading blogs in the wee (Wii) hours. I've been ready to write about all this for three days, but couldn't tear myself away from the Wii. Very addictive when you find the right game. Oh, and no surprise, but Leslie did not get any gifts.

Because of New Year's Eve, I have to do the bulk of my meeting prep right now, rather than Friday night. So, if you'll excuse me, I need to go choose an outfit. Happy new year!