Christmas Shopping

Thursday, my sister and I went out on our annual all-day shopping trip. We've done this for a few years now. We go shopping, mainly for our parents, but for other family members, each other, and our dog, too. Last year was a NIGHTMARE!!! I can't even describe how bad the traffic was and it was just a middle-of-the-week shopping day. The best way I can think of to give you an idea of what it was like is this tiny fraction of the day: it took 45 minutes to get from the stoplight in front of the mall to the parking lot at the back of the mall and another 30 minutes to find a parking space!!! When we got inside the mall, things didn't get any better. We had no idea what we wanted to buy anyone. You would think in such a huge mall we could have easily found something, but we ended up walking up and down the mall, through store after store, until we finally settled on presents for our parents.

This year was better by 1000%. There was hardly any traffic at all and we had previously decided on everything we were going to buy. Of course, we changed our minds about my mom's present when we saw something we liked better, but we had a general idea in mind and that kept us on track. My dad's present was actually the most difficult. We knew what we wanted to get him, but we couldn't find it anywhere. Still, looking for it wasn't even a problem because there was no traffic, no crowds of people, and we were finally able to locate and purchase it. We bought Princess a fluffy, pretty dog bed at Target. I had an idea in mind for what I was going to get my sister, but after shopping, I have a better idea. Now I need to go shopping without her so I can buy it! :) Toward the end of the day, we got a burger and one of our favorite milkshakes. Gabrielle likes an orange flavored one. Me? I go for the double chocolate fudge sundae milkshake. It is a chocolate shake, layered with fudge sauce, and topped with mini chocolate chips, whipped cream and a cherry. Talk about delicious!! Don't think about the calories. :)