Got a little “windfall” of money from the in-laws a couple of days ago, so I decided to replace my old winter boots – Behold the “old and busted” and “new hotness:”

We also went to Staples and got a new computer mouse today, and spent an extra $4.99 for a replacement plan for it. They will replace it if it farts out on me. We deliberately wanted to avoid Best Buy because we thought it would be too busy (hey everyone…no PS5s for you unless you want to buy online from scalpers)!

After getting my mouse, I stopped in to the Sierra Trading Post store in Ann Arbor. It was pretty busy (as you might expect since this is the last weekend before Christmas). All I was in there for was a couple of pairs of wool socks, which I picked up for $10! The “list” price was $25 for the two pairs, which I would’ve happily paid – so the $10 price was a happy surprise! While I was in line, one of the “impulse” items stocked near the checkouts sucked me in, which was a box of Jelly Belly jelly beans (my husband really likes them). Yes, there is a sucker born every minute, P.T. Barnum!

But then, but then…we made the crazy decision to go into a couple of grocery stores. They were pretty busy, but we did manage to get our “holiday dinner” shopping all done. We now have plenty of beer, and plenty of stuff for our Christmas appetizer tray. Instead of cooking a big fatty meal, we’re doing to do more of a “snacking” thing on Christmas (though I will make some kind of dessert). We bought two types of seedless grapes, a variety of vegetables, crackers, cheeses, meats. I got all giddy when I saw that Aldi had a horseradish cheese spread (I LOVE that stuff)!

Our last stop before heading home was a local beer garden, where we managed to score a table outside (not an igloo, which you have to reserve well in advance). We got to see our friend Brad while we were there, and he gave us a couple of gifts – a Krampus holiday ornament, and a Guinness beer sign with a lobster on it.

Yup, that’s about as much holiday shopping as I can stand!