Celebrity Sightings

So I am following along with some of my favourite bloggers to do a celebrity sightings link up.

I grew up in “Canada’s PrettiestTown”and we had a LOTof tourists. With tourists come celebrities trying, sometimes successfully, to hide in the crowds. I worked at a china/antique store on the main street with a slew of other little shops. Most of the time I missed said celebrities and would groan in disappointment when other shop employees boasted about who they saw. One time O.J Simpson was sitting in front of the store I worked at, my sister saw him. I did not. Not that I am sure I would care to see him but just to say I saw him would have made for an interesting story.

The first celebrity I saw, I didn’t realize it was her until after the fact. This beautiful tall woman with no makeup on asked me if we had any greeting cards. I looked right up at her across from the counter and stared in these big, beautiful green eyes. I directed her to the store next door. Our store was dead and my co-worker and I were bored out of our minds, my co-worker never even looked up. As the beautiful woman walked away, I noticed a huge man followed her out of the store, he was very bodyguard looking. I watched her walk into the store I just directed her too and I was Oh My Gawd! That was Tyra Banks!

Same store I saw Colin Mochrie. I didn’t know his name but I new he was the guy from “Who’s Line is it Anyways?” so I recognized him. It was my boss who saw him first; she came up to me whispering in a loud stage whisper “OH MY GAWD, COLIN MOCHRIE is in the STORE.” It was a very busy day and I couldn’t see who she was talking about at first. She kept repeating to me over and over “Don’t be a goofy neufy, don’t be a goofy neufy. “ I don’t know if she was saying it more to herself or to me but when he walked by I just stared, haha.

For you hockey fans out there, I was on my lunch break, working at the same store mentioned above, and I was at the local grocery store. I saw this middle-aged man in line.  I kept starting at him; I felt I should know him. He grinned at me and went on his way. When I got back to my work, the neighbouring shopkeeper came in “You guys will never believe who I just saw, Darryl Sittler!” That’s who I saw, I just didn’t think of it at the time.

My husband and I were at the Show of Shows in Toronto,back in, I think 2007. We were walking in and their celebrity guest was Erin Moran, Joanie from Happy Days. She jumped out of her chair to see my husband’s legs that were covered in tattoos. I even talked him into lifting up his shirt for her so she could see his back that is completely covered. She posed for a picture with us. I guess technically that was not a sighting as we went to a show were she was, but she was so nice and jumped out her chair to see my husband that I am counting it as a sighting!

Have you ever seen a celebrity randomly where you wouldn’t expect them?

30 Pounds!

Tooting my own horn, why not?  It's my blog! haha!

I am finally down 30 pounds!  It took me 14 months, but it’s gone!  (If you recall it has taken me more then two months to get rid of these last five pounds, bah!)  This may be the world’s slowest weight loss but as all of the Pinterest “sayings” say “I have no intention of finding it again!”  I still have a ways to go, but I am on my way!  Apparently slow and steady!  (Sure I might have lost quicker if I hadn't indulged as much, but hey, life is short, I am not missing out on yummy food!)

I feel like my weight loss journey is more successful during the fall, versus any other time of the year.  Last fall I lost 18 pounds.  With Thanksgiving and my sister’s birthday aside, I feel like it’s easier to control what I am eating without going crazy, there aren’t as many temptations and we aren’t as busy so it’s easier to commit to a workout regiment.  Summer time there are a ton of birthdays and barbeques, winter is lethargic and also there is the Christmas break which is 2 weeks of non stop eating.  Spring in theory I should have done better but this past Spring I just lost inches instead of pounds.  I was eating well-ish but not reducing my calories enough but was working out.

30 Pounds = 3 bags of potatoes!



I took this picture a few weeks back as motivation, now I can use it to say I did it!

It’s funny as I don’t recall feeling like I was carrying 3 bags of potatoes at the time, but it’s an interesting way to put it in perspective of how much actually came off.  I am feeling pretty good :)

Magic Bars!!!

Full Size  9x 13 pan

Preheat oven to 325 F  

Ingredients:

2 cups of graham cracker crumbs

¼ cup of butter

1 can of condensed milk

½ cup of shredded coconut (I skipped this as I didn’t have any)

1 cup of crushed nuts (Any kind you like, you can mix them too.)

1 cup of chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate)

 

 

Directions:

 

Melt butter in microwave.

 

Mix butter with Graham Cracker crumbs.

 

Press crumb mixture into bottom of pan.

Pour entire can of condensed milk over crumbs. 

 

Spread evenly coconut, nuts and chocolate.  (I like to put the coconut in first as it’s the messiest, the milk will hold it together better.) 

 

 

 

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.  (Reduce cooking time if you make only 1/3 of the recipe)

 

 

Let cool for about an hour.

Cut and enjoy!  CAUTION:  THESE ARE VERY ADDICTIVE!!!  They freeze well, or so I am told, typically they don’t last long enough in my house to make it to the freezer.

 

Weekend Round Up

Friday evening started when I arrived home from work at exactly 5:15, my husband was waiting by the door with his jacket on (we had made arrangements to run some errands Friday evening but I didn’t think it warranted standing in the door way waiting for me.) I opened my car door and he was bouncing around like a little kid “WE HAVE TO GO TO THE HOCKEY STORE!!!  THEY HAVE 40% OFF ALL THEIR STUFF UNTIL 6pm!!!  (He is a goalie and his helmet is ancient and I am always all for him buying himself new safety gear, and hey at 40% off, ok!)  So I dumped my stuff in the house and flew out the door with him.  We arrived at the hockey store and searched through the very small pile of goalie helmets.  They did not have his size in what he wanted.  (He has a very large head for a guy, which works out well as I have a very large head for a girl.)  So he did not buy a helmet.  We headed out on the rest of our errands and then headed home where I ate potato chips for dinner and we watched Frosty the Snowman and I fell asleep on the couch.

 

Saturday morning my husband had to work so I got up early and cleaned up the house and pulled out all of the Christmas decorations.  The house is now decorated and quite festive.  We will get our live tree next week. 

 

 

I got the laundry started and I curled up to watch Home Alone 2. 

 

 

At one point my dog got up and left the room.  I went to go find her after a while, because with pets, you just never know what they are up to.  I nearly crapped myself as she found the bowl of tin foil wrapped milk chocolate that we forgot on the coffee table from the night before.  I figure she ate about two handfuls of milk chocolate.  (My dog is a medium to large sized dog)  She looked fine but I felt terrible.  I emailed our vet tech friend and she said milk chocolate isn’t the worst for the dogs but I could try and get her to expel it.  I thought I would kind of wait a bit to see what happened, the more I read on line the more I figured she ate very little considering her weight.  The smaller the dog and the darker the chocolate the more dangerous it would be.  We had hockey that night and I was petrified to leave her home alone so I brought her to my parents’ house to be baby sat.  Luckily she had NO problems.  The moral of this story, learn from my mistake, don’t leave chocolate anywhere where your dog could reach it, even if you are sleepy and forget it’s there.  WE WERE VERY LUCKY.  DON'T TAKE THE CHANCE!!!  I am so disappointed in myself as usually I walk through the house and make sure everything is pet safe.  I fucked up.

At hockey my team won 4-0 and my husband’s team tied 3-3.  Super fun game!

Sunday morning I woke up and first thing called my Mom to see how my dog made out, my Mom said my dog was perfectly fine, my Mom had gotten up a few times in the night just to check on her. (My Mom is the world's greatest!  I know my Mom would have called me in the night if there had been any issue what so ever.)  The dog pooped her morning poop, no mushies or anything.  (Albeit, I was told it was quite colourful with the tinfoil wrappings.) 

My husband worked again so I spent the morning steam cleaning the downstairs carpets as my Mom was going to drop off my dog at noon and pick up her steam cleaner.  The carpets look like new again!   It’s funny how you can vacuum and assume the carpets look clean, but if you steam clean them, what a huge difference!  PART WAY THROUGH MY CLEANING I SAW SNOW HAD STARTED TO FALL!!!  I LOVE SNOW!!!

Noon time rolled around and my Mom brought my pooch home.  The dog was happy as a clam, and she was still doing good.  Pheff, what a relief!  We then headed out to visit my grandparents.  They love to feed people so upon arrival I had a bowl of amazing homemade tomato based vegetable soup.  Both of my grandparents are AMAZING cooks and bakers.  My grandmother puts Martha Stewart to shame making everything look PERFECT.  And it tastes AMAZING.  My Papa has learned from my grandmother and he too is AMAZING at cooking and baking.  I, of course, had to have three of their amazing cookies; they would have been insulted if I didn’t. It was a really nice visit with my Mom and my grandparents.  (I didn't get pictures of the food, often I forget to get picture of food as I am too busy scarfing it down!)

In addition to being amazing cooks, my grandparents' have amazing green thumbs!  Snap dragons still going strong in their garden with freshly fallen snow.

I got home a few minutes before my husband returned home from work.  I love doing a home cooked meal/roast on Sundays so I went with my Super Easy Roast Chicken andPotatoes.  This time I used the Club House Greek seasoning.  It was really good and hit the spot.

 

 

 

For dessert I threw together some “Magic Bars”.  They are super easy and I made a very small batch as I knew if I made a big batch I would have eaten them all.  I had a can of condensed milk open in the fridge so I just pour out a third of the can to make the small version.  We snacked on my small version of Magic Bars while we watched Love Actually.  Once the movie was over I headed upstairs to watch the Grey Cup half time show with Mr. Gordon Lightfoot who performed.

That’s our weekend!

 

Buy me stuff...

When I was growing up, as Christmas neared, I eagerly awaited the arrival of the Sears Wish Book.  My best friend and I would sit for hours on the phone every year going “OOOOOoooo, look at page 258!”  We were weird kids, haha.  But it was fun looking at all of the items and creating a sort of dream wish list.  We never bothered asking Santa for even a quarter of what we oohhh’d and ahhh’d about, but it was fun regardless.

Now that I am older and we have this crazy thing called the internet, I do my own version of oohhhing and ahhhing.  Here are a few items from multiple stores, that I have oohhh’d and ahhh’d over recently.  This is my dream wish list, I wouldn’t use half of this stuff, nor would I ever ask anyone to buy me outrageously priced items but it’s fun to browse the websites and pretend I am actually going to put my credit card to the items in my shopping cart.

The Snowman Clock by Coalport

http://www.redworldtoys.co.uk/eShop/?p=1617#

I loved/still love this cartoon.  This clock is right up my alley, made by Coalport, an uppity English china company (this goes back to my days of working in a fine china/antique store after high school).  I enjoy this clock.  Only 45 pounds~!

Old Navy Adoraboot - Sweater Boots

http://oldnavy.gapcanada.ca/browse/product.do?cid=88184&vid=1&pid=251604003

Ok these are not that big of a splurge, but I probably wouldn’t wear them, but I like them anyways.  Don’t they look super cozy? (Size 8! In Grey!)  Sale $15

 

 

 

Old Navy Quilted Frost Free Vest

http://oldnavy.gapcanada.ca/browse/product.do?cid=84244&vid=1&pid=557857013

I need a new vest.  I have lost weight and my two men’s vests are swimming on me.  I want one that fits and is feminine.  Sale $20.96

 

 

Danier Leather Jacket

http://www.danier.com/leather-women-jackets-blazers-104030503-P5717.aspx?lang=en&colour=950|666666&mc=yes

I tried this on in the store.  Size medium please.  It's so damned cute.  Sale $299.99

Danier Faux Fur Cossack Hat

http://www.danier.com/fabric-women-new-arrivals-138980112-P7324.aspx?lang=en&colour=950|666666&mc=yes

How cute would I be wearing this hat?  The only problem is that I have a huge skull for a woman, so I have to try it on before buying.  I always have to buy men's hats as my head is so huge.  $29.99

Joe Fresh Print Dress

http://www.joefresh.com/en/product/print-dress-1

I have lusted for this dress ever since I saw it in the store a couple of months ago.  It's beautiful.  For $39 it's a steal but I don't have anywhere to wear it.  For now, I shall place it in my imaginary closet.

 Joe Fresh Faux Fur Capelet

http://www.joefresh.com/en/product/faux-fur-capelet

I NEED THIS.  If Miss. Piggy would wear it: furs, feather boas, sequined dresses, it's in my imaginary closet with a BIG I WISH I HAD THIS IN REAL LIFE.  But how cute would I be wearing this?!?!  I love it.  $39.

 Joe Fresh Nordic Sweater

http://www.joefresh.com/en/product/nordic-sweater-2

I love Nordic stuff.  $39  I love grey!  This is nice and it's not too crazy.

Joe Fresh Sequin Sleeve Shirt

http://www.joefresh.com/en/product/sequin-sleeve-shirt

I think I have to track this shirt down in real life.  $29

Jillian Michaels' Body Revolution

http://www.amazon.ca/Jillian-Michaels-Body-Revolution-DVDs/dp/B0091UIMK0/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1353769579&sr=8-11

I am already Jillian's bitch so no need to buy me this set at $279.99, but it would actually be used!

 

Downton Abbey Season 3

 

http://www.amazon.ca/Masterpiece-Classic-Downton-Season-Original/dp/B0099Y2MYK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1353769817&sr=8-2

 

Have you watched this show?  IT'S AMAZING.  Pre-order this for me and I will be a happy, happy girl!  $39.94.  Maggie Smith is amazing and dare I say her role in Downton may be my favourite role of hers, even over Harry Potter.

 

 

Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer

http://www.amazon.ca/KitchenAid-KSM150PSER-Artisan-5-Quart-Empire/dp/B00005UP2P/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1353769988&sr=8-3

One day I shall own one of these... one day...  in red!

White Christmas Poster

http://www.amazon.ca/White-Christmas-Movie-Poster-11/dp/B004AWQUB2/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1353770196&sr=8-12

I want to frame this and hang it in my house. I freakin love this movie. $7.99

Betsey Johnson Watch

http://www.betseyjohnson.com/Item.aspx?id=96980&np=916_923

I have lusted for a Betsey watch for years, they are so fun.  Ugh.  My heart aches.

Steve Madden Boots

http://www.stevemadden.com/Item.aspx?id=95844&np=595

I have also lusted for years for a pair of Steve Madden boots, aren't these sexy mofos?

Hallmark 1996 "It's a Wonderful Life" Ornament

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Hallmark-1996-Its-A-Wonderful-Life-50-Years-Anniversary-Ornament-NEW-/120970106964?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c2a615854

Get bidding people! This is one of my favourite movies!  I already have a White Christmas ornament, now I need an It's a Wonderful Life ornament!

Ok, there you have it folks.  If you win the lottery and want to buy me a gift, take your pick!  I would love any of these items!  :)  Thanks for baring with me here!  :)  I hope you all get what your heart desires this Christmas!!!

Another Liebster Award!

Thanks to Samantha over at http://www.thetroublewithart.blogspot.ca/, I have been nominated for another Liebster!  As I have already nominated people I will answer Samantha's questions only, but check out her blog if you have time!

 

11 Random things about me: 

1. I love snow.  When I was younger my family used to joke/believe I could control it.  But my controlling powers can only cause it to start snowing.  Last year my powers to seemed to waver but this year will be snowy, I CAN FEEL IT!!! 

2. Sometimes when I am sleeping I must sit up in bed and then lay my head down on my knees, like I was going to get up and then thought better of it.  My husband will sometimes find me essentially bent in half sleeping.  My Mom said she used to find me like that as a child.  Weird, I know.  This must be why sometimes I wake up and my legs are a sleep. 

3. I have always wondered what I would look like blonde, that is one colour I have yet to experiment with. 

4. I despise the band U2. 

5. I have no problem talking about poop, in fact, it’s one of my favourite topics, but you mention snot and I gag.

6. I have an Instagram addiction. 

7. I like to eat icing from the container. 

8. I have only seen a moose in the wild once.  A Mama and her baby on the side of the road in Algonquin Park circa 1993ish. 

9. Nothing makes me happier then a wiggly dog/puppy bum.

10. I love breakfast.  I can eat it anytime of the day.  Growing up my Mom always made us our dinner of choice on our birthdays.  More often then not my choice was pancakes for dinner.  Yum.

11. I wish I could bake and eat said baking all day and never gain a pound, in fact it would be super awesome if it some how caused me to lose weight! Ha!

 

11 questions from Samantha who nominated me:

1. Are you an early bird or night owl?

EARLY BIRD.  I inherited it from my Mom.  It’s a curse really.

2. Where would you like to travel to? (anywhere in the world and any time period!)

New Brunswick 1950

3. What book as a child did you love the most?

I am a book worm, there were so many: All the Nancy Drews, all of the Little House, Do I Have to Take Violet?, The Jolly ol’Santa Claus, The Christmas Tree, all of the Berenstain Bears…

4. What do you struggle with? (meant to be a broad question)

My weight, portion control/moderation, my unending battle with my sweet tooth.

5. If you had three more days to live, what would be the first thing you did?

 

Go to New Brunswick, there I can cross off at least 10 of my bucket list items.  I might even fly there to speed up the process.  (Me get in a plane?!?!)  And eat, eat everything and anything, a gastoromic orgasm for three days straight.

6. Do you talk on the phone or text more?

I talk to my parents every night and text to everyone else, so I guess it’s pretty even.

7. What was the address to the first email account you ever made?

I still use it actually, my younger sister created my first email account for me when the internet first showed up residentially, it’s sort of rude and I ended up with tons of porn emails right off the bat. Haha.

8. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? What do you want to be now?

 

I wanted to be a veterinarian, I knew what school I was going to and everything.  Then one time I was sitting in the vet’s office with my Mom and dog and I saw a lady come in who was sobbing with her big, beautiful, old Sheppard and I had to leave as I was crying so hard, I knew from that day it was not going to happen.  Now I am a bookkeeper.   In the future I want to own a store. 

9. What are you currently obsessed with?

Snow.  It needs to snow now.

10. Are you: team Edward, team Jacob, or team I don't care?

I hate this movie series.  I didn’t actually mind the books so much, terrible ending though.  I am team Jacob.  Edward and his whiney ass self can go get staked.

11. When was the last time you read a great book? What was it?

I prefer mysteries, but light hearted ones.  I don’t want to have the crap scared out of me, if there is a paranormal aspect to the book, then even better.  I read constantly, I always have a book on the go.  Back in the summer I got my hands on a series that made me laugh the whole time, The Missing Pieces Series by Joyce and Jim Lavene.  The third book she is visited by her pirate relative that lived back in the 1700’s, I enjoy a good laugh.

Chip Truck

Let me tell you about the place I find is the most bang for your dollar for take out food.

On McCleod Road, in Niagara Falls, in the Canadian Tire parking lot stands a Fish and Chip Truck. This place is not much to look at. It’s not really a secret as it’s ALWAYS busy. The hottest day of the year or icicles hanging from your nose, you are waiting in line. The reason being, the food is such a good price, the portions are huge AND the food tastes good. It’s always made piping hot while you are standing there. The fries are real potatoes, skins left on, fried fresh. The fries are amazing and you get a generous serving of them. The fish is breaded on order. (Don’t ask me what type of fish, I don’t know, and you don’t have a choice, you get what they have. However, it’s a white fish of sorts.) While my arteries may not thank me, my taste buds and wallet do! The serving portions are so large that my husband is full and I have to leave half of my fries.

Two pieces of fish and a load of French fries cost $4.75; Fridays the Fish special is $4.25.

My husband, an English transplant who swears up and down the best fish and chips in the world can only be purchased in England, says the fish is not bad. I myself love the fish. If you don’t like fish, they have a ton of other foods: hot dogs, burgers, chicken burgers, chicken strips, poutine, etc…. Last week I went crazy and tried the chicken strips. Your standard chicken strips, tasty, but with the load of French fries you can’t beat the price at $5. This food is cooked so fresh that it’s still hot about 20 minutes after they hand you your order. (Try their onion rings! I love a good crispy onion ring!)

 

Next time you are hungry and in the Falls, check it out.

Weekend Round Up

Weekend recap, sorry it’s two days late!  I have been trying to workout more as Christmas is coming and I am trying to get these pounds moving again before hand.  Last week ended up being a cheat week food wise.  I was like screw calories, if it was edible, down my food hole it went.

This past Friday my hubby and I got caught up on Sons of Anarchy with a glass (or two) of Rose and take out from our favourite Chinese food place = a great evening! We don’t get SoA on our TV in Canadaand we are too cheap to stream it in via the internet so my husband’s coworker makes us a copy when he streams it in through his internet. I am not sure I am enjoying this season so much, I find I get angry at the TV. I may have started yelling at the TV at one point as I got really angry with the last episode (this may have also been wine induced…)

 

Saturday my husband had to work so I had made plans with my parents to go on a hunt for Osage Oranges. The last few years we bundled up and headed out to our top secret location (I can’t tell you where or I will have to kill you) to see if we could find the Osages where they grow naturally. My Mom doesn’t make Christmas urns so any Osages that we find get to go in my Christmas urns that flank my front step. I LOVE this excursion as it’s just me and my parents. Especially growing up with two sisters, having an outing with just me and my parents is rare and I cherish those moments. (Middle children everywhere can relate I am sure!) Armed with a box of Timbits, we packed up my dog and headed out. We were disappointed as all of the Osage oranges appeared to have been picked up. Oh well, we had fun hiking and taking fun pictures.

Last year's haul

This year, the only one we could find was hiding on this tree branch :(

I arrived home just as my husband was getting home. We cheated again and had fish and chips for dinner.  This turned out to be a dumb idea on both of our parts as that is far too heavy of a meal to eat before playing hockey. We packed up our hockey bags and headed down for hockey. My team tied 1-1 and my husband’s team lost 3-2. We both had a lot of fun. I am finding I am having more energy throughout the game and I think it’s because I am eating a bigger dinner closer to game time. All of last year I could only eat about four hours prior to the game and something very light, the combination of nerves and not being in very good shape did not bode well with me playing a physically hard game with a belly full of food. Luckily, this is getting better and I have more energy with food in my system.

Sunday morning I woke up early and got some work done and caught up on my cheesy tv shows I tape through out the week. When my husband actually gets a day off, I let him sleep in as late as possible so he can catch up on some of his sleep. He rolled out of bed at around noon and we headed out to the WellandCanal to see the Canadian Submarine, The Ojibwee, as it was transported to the Port Elgin Naval Museum. We waited for about 2 hours and it finally arrived! Those little tug boats sure pull a big barge fast! We got to see the submarine for maybe 5 minutes. It was cool to see and there were loads of other people watching as well.

 

When we returned home, I got busy in the kitchen; I made two different types of meatballs and pre-cooked some sausage for future meals so all we have to do is warm them up when we get home from work. In theory, meatballs are easy, but they take forever rolling. I love pre-cooking in advance so we get a nice wholesome meal on a day when we are busy. I ended up with six different meals, which is awesome. I am sorry, no pictures!

That’s our weekend!

 

Christmas Gifts!!!

I know every family has their own traditions when it comes to giving gifts at Christmas. Some shower one another with gifts; some draw names and give a gift to one person each; some forego gift giving all together and give a donation to a local charity; some give gag gifts; some make homemade gifts; and some say no gifts at all and just enjoy each others company. Regardless of what is done, I am sure your tradition means the world to you and your family.

With my Dad retiring, our family growing and everyone on a tight budget, my immediate family decided a few years back to just give $10 gifts to one another.  $10 for each person, from each couple, not from each person.  At first, I bucked at the idea, as I am a stickler for tradition. (I am the annoying family member that as soon as something is done two years in a row, it is considered tradition and if we veer from said tradition, I throw a fit that “Nobody cares, blah blah blah”.  I LOVE my traditions!)  Once we started doing the $10 gift, I came to fully appreciate and in fact relish in finding $10 gifts for everyone.  As I am a frugal being, I wanted to make sure I got the most bang for my buck, and in doing so this has become a fun challenge for me.

Caution: This is a lengthy drawn out story describing, in pain staking detail, my shopping trip last year. I like to take a short story and make it long ;)

Last year I waited until December 23^rdto buy my family’s Christmas gifts.  This is the longest I have ever waited to finish my Christmas shopping and it drove this neurotic little Type A personality up the wall.  I like planning.  I like lists.  I like being prepared!  I waited because I knew that Old Navy was having a sale starting December 23^rd: Jingle Jammies for $5 a piece.  This was a great price!  I knew the risk of waiting until the last minute that I might not get all of the sizes I wanted.  Ideally, I wanted plaid, flannel, matching pyjama bottoms for my family.  I pictured everyone rolling themselves away from my Mom’s scrumptious, Christmas Eve, button popping meal, and opening gifts. Everyone would open my gift first so they could all quickly change and be cozy in matching PJ bottoms!  Quaint, cozy, and cheesy; right up this quaint, Christmas Loving, cheeseball's alley!  PLUS they would be super practical because everyone can always use new PJ bottoms.  Cute, no?  Therefore, I took the chance and waited until December 23^rd.

On top of the $5 PJ’s, I had a card that would get me 10% off, AND I had a Groupon that I bought, $10 got me $20 worth of Old Navy Products.  I needed seven PJ bottoms and pictured buying three other items for my Mom’s birthday gift in January.  Have you followed the math?  That would work out to $3.50 a piece for 10 articles of clothing at a $5 sale price.

December 23^rd, I got up bright and early and headed to Old Navy.  I got there just as the doors were unlocked.  I raced in, (there was no body else in the mall at that time, there was no need to race, but I am impatient and had been planning for this purchase for the previous two months.) My racing was for naught, as there were NO jingle jammies.  Ok, that was a lie.  There were three, all different patterns and the wrong sizes.  I walked forlornly through the store wondering what my backup plan was going to be.  I always have a backup plan, but for this, this I put it all on the line refusing to believe I wouldn’t achieve my goal.  Then I spotted in the men’s department blue fleece pants.  Cozy, super warm, I suppose you could wear them to bed, but you could also use them as lounge pants, a huge rack of them!  For $5, regular $24.99.  I was leery.  The price worked for my budget as they were the same price as the jammies, the only thing was they were Superman blue. While this may not be a huge concern to some, the goal of the gift was not only a cute family photo with everyone in matching bottoms, but that the gift be USEABLE when the holidays were done.   Would everyone like the odd colour?

I wandered around, and around.  After about an hour of glaring angrily at the near bare, Jingle Jammie rack, I finally started rooting through the blue fleece pants.  There must have been 50 pairs of the blue fleece pants on the rack. (This also made me leery as that meant to me that other people weren’t sure about the colour either.  I am neurotic.  I digress.)  I managed to find the exact sizes I needed.  I had my parents, my two sisters, my brother-in-law, my husband and myself.  They were all men’s pants and I knew the sizes I needed for the men and for the women I just went a size smaller then I would have bought for them in women’s sizes.  These pants all weighed a ton.  I carried them up the counter (also with the three fleece sweaters for my Mom, $5 each as well.)  With all my items my pre-tax, after the 10% discount and after the Groupon was applied, I paid $25. However, you have to add the $10 I spent on the Groupon, so $35 ALL TOGETHER for TEN BRAND NEW ADULT ITEMS. Seeing the actual price at the register made me feel better about my decision.
I hurried home and wrapped my finds.

Double sided paper is worth it's investment when wrapping gifts like a Christmas Cracker.  In the top right hand corner you can see my cat who supervised all of the wrapping :)

Shown here like big Christmas Crackers. I LOVE TO GIFT WRAP. There is a good chance a Gift-wrapping post will show up in the next few weeks, not to toot my own horn or anything, but people look forward to receiving gifts from me as I LOVE to wrap the gifts as uniquely as possible.  (Martha Stewart eat your heart out!)  I need a gift wrapping room, maybe two like Candy Spelling.  My younger sister once said she is most excited to receive my gift just to see how I wrapped it.

Super cozy Blue pants.  (They are brighter in real life)

My sisters and Mom all LOVED their pants. The men didn’t seem to care either way but I know that my husband wore his while lounging around the house during the cold days of January and February! I feel those pants were successful! Oh and when I made them open my gifts first I may have yelled excitedly “GUESS HOW MUCH I PAID FOR THEM?!?!?!” I did not give them time to guess.  “THREE DOLLARS FIFTY CENTS!!!!!!!” With a deal that good how do you not tell them what you spent?! (Don’t worry, they all got a little extra too to make up for the full $10, I am not that big of a cheapskate! Haha!)

What’s your family’s gift giving tradition?