My goal for the next 2 months....(to treat my affliction)......

**sabrelvssammy** · 11-23-2009, 10:50 PM

OMG.... i haven't been shopping in such a long time that i think i have forgotten how to do it... i just hit in the last 3 hrs: wal-mart, big lots, dollar general, 3 different groceries & dollar tree...

the plan was to grab certain items (super sale stuff) at each of the places...and stick to the plan...stick to the list... well i did an excellent job at that... i did not stray off track for even 1 little thing....i was not swayed by the 'shinyness' of the x-mas stuff....it was quite the opposite....

the stores were packed....peoples carts overflowing...everybody milling about....and i was not impressed nor enticed by anything....i did look around at different things....but i needed to get certain items for the thanksgiving weekend so i had a list of items to work from and i have to ask..."when did stuff get so darn expensive???"....... i mean...i am used to living in my own little world consisting of the local grocery and the 'marked-down' items in it... that is what we eat...those items determine what our meals for the week will be... i don't usually buy out of my 'realm'.... so tonight i had to get other things (since i don't think my family would really appreciate the way we eat and would want more)....and i am completely floored by what stuff costs.... it's insane.... and i don't see how people can afford to fill their carts they way they do....no wonder everyone is broke....

so after 3 hrs of sticker shock....and being crammed like sardines in the aisles i am back at home where it is quiet and peaceful and i think now that i just wasted 3 perfectly good hrs of my life battling all that for what...? food....it's just food...and after all this i am so glad for our 'simple, but strange way of eating and i don't think i would change a thing.....

**JanieD** · 11-25-2009, 04:27 PM

Sounds like you're on track... forgetting how to shop, that's funny! I've also been exposed to the stores quite a bit with gift shopping & then to grocery store yesterday. Honestly, I'm not seeing much I actually like & then the prices usually help me to decide I do not want it, much less need it.

**sabrelvssammy** · 11-29-2009, 02:47 PM

it's official....i'm going to be a 'bah-humbug' this year.....

i still haven't worked up the desire to decorate the house...and today i got 'mad' coz i keep telling everyone i really don't want anything for x-mas and they are going behind my back and deciding what i 'need' and 'want'....

what i 'want' is for everone to save their money for their own 'needs'....what i 'need' is for more stuff to be going 'out the door of this house' instead of coming in....but i can't seem to convince certain family members of this....today i found out that my mom is planning on giving me an electric griddle that is designed for a family of 10....this is the last thing i 'need'...and i certainly don't want one....the thing takes up a cabinet all by itself....sure-i like to make 20 pancakes, etc at a time and freeze but i don't mind making them 2-3 at a time...i prefer it actually...its kinda theraputic in a way....there are only 2 of us here...i don't want a griddle built for an army.....

then there is the george foreman grill...i don't want one....i never have...but i can't seem to convince anyone of that either..."you are going to love it" i have been told.... but no...i won't...and i don't want one...apparently i 'need' one though and i don't know it yet.....so now i have the threat of a gf grill entering my life shortly....

why can't they just listen to me and not buy this stuff ? why do they still believe that if i just go against what i want- that suddenly i will wonder how i ever lived as long as i have without this stuff in my life ????....

i asked to have lotions and body sprays instead (coz that is what i truly 'want' and when it comes to stuff like that i would never buy the 'nicer' stuff anyway) but everyone acted like "that's such a dumb present".... well dumb or not to them...dumb to me is a griddle or gf grill that will end up in a garage sale next spring...the lotion i will USE..!

so now i am in a bad mood...and it makes for others in a bad mood and that is not what i am trying to make x-mas into for others....but i hate that we even have to get into an argument about this kind of stuff...its so ridiculous....and i am in a panic with the thought of this stuff entering my house...i feel bad taking these items and getting rid of them after someone spent hard earned dollars on them but i am being left with no choice if they can't respect that i don't 'want' them...

why can't everyone just PLEASE BUY MY LOTION>..!!!!

**sabrelvssammy** · 12-01-2009, 08:49 AM

yea...i am getting cash for x-mas....all the 'little' hints that i don't want a griddle or george forman grill....have paid off.... spoke with mom this morning and continued the 'hints' and she said she was just planning on giving us cash and she already had it in our x-mas card ready to go.....weehee.....i am so glad they finally listened to me and are not wasting their money buying me things that i can't use...(that's good for ALL of us).....so my panicking was for 'not' and things are going to be ok....

now...maybe...if i can just find some 'x-mas spirit' in here we will be in great shape.... asked dh last night if he cared if we didn't decorate like maniacs this year and he said "GREAT"...(of course, he was always under duress every year anyway...the over the top decorating was all me)....i think the problem i am having is i spent the entire year de-cluttering everything and the whole house finally has that crisp/clean look with very minimal objects in it...and i don't want to mess that up....the house is finally providing a 'soothing, quiet, peaceful atmosphere' when you walk thru it and the thought of putting all the x-mas out is almost like thinking when i have finished i will be walking thru here 'holding my breath'....it's like i will feel 'weighted-down' again....i keep standing in the DR imaging the x-mas all up and i am not getting a 'happy/warm/fuzzy' feeling this time.....hm.....

**JanieD** · 12-01-2009, 04:30 PM

I glad you're NOT getting the items everyone knew you needed! CASH is always a great gift, unless you're like me. I'll mention not really wanting anything around birthdays & Christmas... then get cash or gift cards. Can't see the problem... RIGHT? Well, the giver wants to know what I got... uhh, nothing yet (remember I didn't really want anything). Or I'll mention something I'm considering & ITS not what they had in mind for me. Of course they don't say that, but its pretty clear. Guess this is better than having gifts you'll never use. Oh wait, I have all those in the cabinets, closets & under the beds.

Honestly, I'm determined to declutter & let go of those gifts that are just taking up space... just in time to make room for the new batch. What a vicious cycle! I don't mean to sound ungrateful & know how hard it is to find the perfect gift. However, I'm out of space & I'm ready for less stuff PERIOD. Others really don't seem to understand this.

As for decorating, I'm still putting away fall stuff since I like to have it out until after Thanksgiving. I'll start this week/weekend with just a few holiday decoration here & there. Then just fill in a little along, but we don't go all out. We'll wait until the 2nd weekend to cut our tree. As long as its decorated the week before Christmas, I'm happy. I hope the Christmas spirit comes along soon (I could use some too). I do hope you find the right balance decorating for Christmas & keeping the peaceful enviroment you love.

**sabrelvssammy** · 12-09-2009, 03:38 PM

well i did it...i decorated....for two days i had stuff strewn about the house (and it looked like one of those 'hoarder' homes)...but i have to get it all out and layed out so that i can 'shop' from it all... and i never realized just how much stuff i really had...(ok- i guess i 'knew' it...but never really acknowledged it)...

so it all started with dh and i saying we would do the smallest tree and a decor here and there...(we do have relatives coming for x-mas so we thought it was the 'festive' thing to do)... but when i started looking for stuff to put on the tree i had to start digging thru all the boxes coz of the way i pack things...(1 trees stuff is not all together...all like things for the whole house are together)...so i started seeing all the 'shiny' stuff and caught myself saying over and over "that's cool...oh-look at that....pretty..." and before you know it...the bug hits...and hard....and i am clearing out the house to make way for the x-mas decor...

normally i use my pictures to follow a 'roadmap' but i thought maybe that was part of my problem in not wanting to decorate this year (coz i KNOW how much stuff there is everywhere)..so i started from scratch...toned it down a bit...spread it out further throughout ....and i am very pleased with the results this year....
(i'm very glad too...coz i would have been really bumming after doing all this and still wishing i hadn't)..... i even told dh we have to have a new years party this yr since i went all out again....

i haven't gotten to the outside yet... that i don't know if i will get to...it's getting kinda late....

i still haven't caved to buying anyone any more presents...frankly i am not looking at anything so that i won't be tempted...i did have to hit a few stores today and i 'glanced' at the x-mas section of goodwill but they don't ever have anything there good x-mas wise so i knew i was safe... was tempted to stop in st.vinny's (my major x-mas downfall) so i slammed the accelerator to the floor when i got near them..(good thing there was noone in front of me..lol).....and besides i still have about 10 boxes full of stuff that i can continue on with if i want to do more...(i got worn out before finishing).....

so at least i am trying.....

**sabrelvssammy** · 12-18-2009, 08:16 AM

another week and a half and i have kept out of the stores and bought nothing more for x-mas....tomorrow is our families x-mas celebration so the gifts will be handed out and it will all be over til x-mas 2010... everything is wrapped, stacked and waiting on the DR table to take the 3 hr journey to Indpls tomorrow.... even if i 'wanted' to buy more...i have simply run out of time..(oh darn...lol).... i am content with my selections now lets just hope the recipients are also....

so the family get-together is tomorrow and although i thought we were having some more family down over x-mas eve & day..turns out noone can come due to other obligations...(i guess i just have to 'share')....so that means for the first time EVER dh and i will be all alone for the actual holiday... and we couldn't be more excited...(pretty bad huh..? haha).... no traveling...no chaos....no work....just sitting around quietly enjoying the 'do nothing'.... maybe we will go have chinese....

i just wish i hadn't caved and decorated the house in the manner that i did...it's pretty to look at but now i have to take it all down and drag back up to the attic...i should have stuck to the 1-tree rule... but it could be a blessing that it is all out coz this year when i re-pack i am packing up per tree...and instead of putting all like things together i am taking the whole little 'scene' of each decorating area and packing them together so that if next year i am just wanting to do little (just in case this is the 'new' me)....i can grab the MARKED BOX and do as much or as little as i so choose...

**ladytoysdream** · 12-18-2009, 08:54 AM

You're doing good . Thanks for sharing your journey

While you got the xmas stuff out, sort it, and then
maybe you could have a garage sale next summer with only Xmas stuff....
Christmas in July

**sabrelvssammy** · 12-18-2009, 09:27 AM

Originally Posted by ladytoysdream

While you got the xmas stuff out, sort it, and then
maybe you could have a garage sale next summer with only Xmas stuff....
Christmas in July

every year i have 'purged' items that just don't do it for me anymore (unfortunately i made up for it by adding more back in).... right now i still 'love' practically everything i have and can't bear to part with it (just yet).... back into the attic it all goes where i don't have to look at it everyday....i'm sure a couple of things will make it into the yearly garage sale though.... we'll see what happens next x-mas....

**JanieD** · 12-21-2009, 05:12 PM

How did your family get together go? I think it would be great to have a quite Christmas. I enjoy all the visitings & food, but its almost too much for just 2 days (our Christmas get togethers are on the 24th & 25th). Maybe its a good thing you didn't know this when you were decorating. Sure, its a lot of trouble to put up & take down, but really makes the holidays special! Any plans for a nice holiday meal for just the two of you?

My plans are to do what I can & let most of it go this year. We finally have our fresh cedar in the family room, but its still naked. Yes, I know that Christmas is THIS Friday. However, with all the rain & dh's back problem... I'm just doing what I can. I am finally in the Christmas spirit even though I'm running out of time. Hopefully, I'll get something done each night after work & whatever doesn't get done, will be all right. There's always next year!

Are you looking forward to after Christmas shopping? I'd love to get a jump on gifts for several on my list (birthdays mostly), but want to be very careful about selecting things. Sometimes I buy just cause its a great deal & I love it. I won't hit the sales until New Year's Day & plan to have a list of what I'm shopping for.

**sabrelvssammy** · 12-21-2009, 07:14 PM

well the holiday get-togethers are all over...yes...already....well except for new years...i still have to go to an EXTREMELY boring new years party (that we seem to go to every year) when i would much rather be in my jammies on my own couch munching on something that i will probably later regret...lol

we had the family get-together on sat...went pretty much as expected...sis did a whole spread (which of course me being a vegan i ate nothing...) and the thing about my sis is she will not go out of her way to accomodate anyone for anything...its her way or go hungry... so i ate a plain sweet potato...(that my mom MAKES her buy every year).....that's ok....we cheated anyway and had taco bell on the drive up...weehee.....

everyone 'seemed' to like their presents...(or they were better pretenders than last year...) last yr the kids didn't seem to appreciate much (my brothers kids)....i tried harder this year and i guess i must have done ok...who knows.... i think next yr will be all gift cards anyway...its getting too hard buying for people you see twice a year and have no clue as to what they like or dislike....

the get-together lasted about 3 hrs with lunch and present opening and then dessert... then everyone kinda cut out....dh and i then went to ds's and dropped off presents under the tree for ds & his girlfriend (even though they got a trip to cancun as their x-mas...i had bought small things throughout the yr and i gave them all that)....told them not to open them til x-mas morning but who knows...i can't see them...what i don't know wont hurt me right...? haha

got some money from mom...yea....no skillet....dbl yea! and she bought me a handful of small things...my brother/wife got me some handlotion/soaps and a bottle wine....sis got me this silly sign to hang on the wall (that i never would) and a pocket sized book about kittens...

so now its all done...the rest of the week is quiet smooth sailing from here.... dh got up sunday morning and said he had really expected to see all the x-mas down and boxed up already.... i would like to, believe me....i will wait til saturday anyway...

probably won't do anything else 'x-mas related' from here...x-mas eve will be spent parked in front of the tv, jammies on, kitties piled on my belly...and will probably extend right into x-mas day....

**sabrelvssammy** · 12-23-2009, 09:15 AM

some highlights from my family's x-mas get-together:

most useful gift: the styrofoam packing from my mother's snowglobe to bring home and use as 'filler' in the refrigerator.....

lowest moment: my sister throwing all the bows away with the wrapping paper...when i asked her why she wasn't saving them she said "they are like $1 a package whats the big deal ?" (as her big dopey husband stood over her saying "yea... it's a $1...how stupid is that to save them")... i wanted to smack them both but instead tried to 'save' all the bows i could get too before she yanked them from my hands and threw them in the trashbag... she obviously didn't care about her $1 so i didn't even care enough to try to explain to her how her 'bow's' were filling up the landfills...and how more bows made contributed to the breakdown of the earth & skies....someone like her would never be able to wrap her head around that concept....

angriest moment: involving my sister (imagine that...lol)... after she spent probably 3 months planning, 2 days cooking (a most wonderful meal...i will give her that)....she has the entire spread set out and walks up to me and hands me a uncooked plastic wrapped sweet potato and says "here...here's YOUR dinner)...." (being a vegan i won't eat all the stuff she makes and my mom makes her buy me a swt pot every year..i used to just bring my own food)...well she had the oven running the entire day and could not be bothered to just throw the darn thing in with all the other food...that's all she had to do.... so i took my sw. pot threw it in the micro and nuked it....which leads me to-

best meal: taco bell on the drive up there....

best gift: the money from mom...no skillet built for an army...

best suprise gift: dh got a coffee mug...i got a really cool box that it came in....weehee...

best coversation: with dh in the car on the way home..."thank goodness we only to this once a year".....

family observation: priceless.....

MERRY X-MAS EVERYONE....!!!

**JanieD** · 12-23-2009, 02:47 PM

Thanks for the highlights! I'm sure I'll have some interesting things to share later even though I'm just about ready to say forget it & let's try again next December. No one's really interested in that suggestion & I'm sure things will only get more exciting from here.

Honestly, I can't believe your sister handing you your lunch uncooked. She's such a gracious host! I'm not a great cook & know very little about vegan food, but would try to make a dish or ask you to bring a dish to share. She should be more open... she's missing out on so much in life.

AND I so understand the bow moment! I'm sure the family will tosses perfectly good gift boxes again this year (usually they destroy them before I can grab them). They've even tried to use my vintage (I've had them for years, but they in great shape) paper shopping bags for trash bags in the past. Last year I carried my reuseable shopping bags & kept a close eye on them. I waited for a chance to share the knowledge, but everyone was to catch up in the presents that will be tossed away within days or months. Gosh, family makes Christmas wonderful!