Splurges

I spent Halloween spending. We gave away little candy bags too. I really felt like a kid, I actually got a stomach ache from eating so much chocolate. It takes brains and planning to buy all your favorite candies to give to other people. It also takes a lot of careful strategy to get way more than you actually need so that there are plenty of "leftovers." When I gathered my wrappers to put in the trash it was amazing that I had handfulls. Did I really eat a half a dozen each of Butterfingers, Reese's Pieces, M&M's, Snickers, Twix, and anything else that slipped in like Tootsie Rolls and Milk Dud's? Yes, I did.

It all started with Trick or Treating with a pillow case.
We had strategy in those days. No Trick or Treater in their right mind would ever go out with a plastic pumkin. No body had ever seen a plastic pumkin. It was a different world.

I was planning on digging through pictures to find some old shots of my brothers and me dressed up in our little home made get ups. I loved being a gypsy. Mom would really put the make up on and hang all kids of jewelery on me. My brothers loved to be pirates or hobos. The first store bought costumes came in a box and had shiny painted costumes of characters you slipped on over your clothes. the mask was the best part and it was what you saw on the box. Sometimes a cool mask had a yukky costume. There were a lot of cartoon characters then. My youngest brother and I always consumed as much as was humanly possible in as short a period of time as possible. My middle brother, the potential banking genius cataloged and stored his candy. He inventoried, and itemized, AND counted his loot. He was the kid that could bring out a chocolate bar in February of the next year. This boy also would stay out until his pillow case was full, I mean full. My Dad would drive them to other neighborhoods and go to the "rich peoples" areas where they would get tons of stuff. I never lasted that long. As soon as I got full of candy, I ate as I went, it was home for me. Even as a little kid my feet would give out, whatta whimp.
As I was stuffing my face these memories came back to me. It really set the scene for some mindless eating.

So can I blame the sugar for what happened next? You see, I bought a very pretty jacket the other day and it was too large so I took it back to exchange for a smaller size which they had! They had some fun sales women in the store. one particularly big and friendly black girl took a shine to my junk in the trunk, and was convinced that she could cover my bootay with some fine garb. It was fun, she called me "Cornbread" and said she was calling her mama to ask her why she gave her white sistah away. We did carry on. Carried on, right up to the register with 4 pairs of pants and 2 tops. There was a necklace which I did not buy that would have looked awesome on my new top and jacket but I could not throw in another 20 bucks for that on top of what I have already spent this month. Which is actually ridiculous, that is restraint? My husband is going to have a coronary. This was my 3rd big shop for "work clothes" this month. It was also Tigger's birthday, and we had a party, (two parties), she got a camera, the party had food, and was a lot of money. I also paid for my Sam's membership a 100 bucks, and my nurse license another 100 bucks, and I am sure there are miscellaneous expenses that I totally forgot about that WILL show up on the bill and I'm guessing it's going to be a 4 digit budget buster in a double or triple kind of a way. Anyone want to buy me a one way ticket out of Dodge?

Then when I start catching up on my blogs is there any relief? No sirreeee bob, FLEA has to go and post about Christmas lists. I think I have 10 grandchildren now. Somebody is pregnant again. Last year I just did not do it. It's thousands of dollars just for little happys. It's hundreds for stocking stuffers and the dinner is at least a hundred bucks. I cannot do it. I do not make that much money. I did not save up all year. I do not need to add to my bill which I will be lucky to have a paid off in the next ten years.

So what is everybody planning to do for Christmas? What homemade gifts do you cherish? What do you even remember from spending a lot except the bill later? Anyone have some nice family traditions? I need original cute ideas for babies. I need very creative gift ideas for teens. I do not need to spend money. So come on now ya'll are geniuses lets hear whole blog posts about the non commercial aspects of Christmas and save each others stinkin bacon!