And We're Off....

...into the Christmas season. Despite my hatred of Black Friday, I was up at 5:30 am and out the door into the freezing still-nighttime to get my family a new Sony Cybershot with a free printer for under $100. It came with a new printer, and now A. can have our old falling-apart digital camera and Santa doesn't have to blow his entire Xmas budget buying him a kiddie camera. I think I have a back spasm from shivering, though.

The biggest problem with Christmas shopping for me is that I am a sucker. Despite my whole attempt to reduce consumption, I fall very easily for the "You Need This Right Now to Make You Happy" kind of marketing. "Your Life is Full Already But Wouldn't This Make it Better?" works on me, too. I am determined to stay within a pre-alloted amount of money this year and I'm realizing that unless I shut myself inside with tinsel and eggnog, I'm going to have to work very hard to resist temptation.

By the way, the dinner from Whole Foods was very tasty. And best of all, you can heat the dishes up in the same containers they come in, so there are almost no pots to wash. What Thanksgiving always meant to me over the years was tons of pots, pans and dishes to wash. This one was a winner.